Assassin's Creed: Winter's Falling

Chapter 34

The next morning, Sol sprang out of bed. She was too excited about the mission to come. Perhaps it was the idea of being the one doing the kidnaping for once, or the idea of finally getting back at the First Will, but truthfully, she wanted to learn more about Project Knight. She turned to wake Lazerus and found him missing. Checking the time, Sol realized she had an hour to get ready. She raced to get ready and was in the agreed meeting room, Andy and Lightning's, in twenty minutes.

"Someone's excited," Andy grinned as he opened the door.

"Just a little," Sol grinned as she entered, then she noticed someone missing. "Where's Laz?"

"I thought he was with you?" Andy shrugged. "Anyway, we should review today's plan."

* * *

Lazerus had gotten up early to talk to Nerida. He wasn't sure what he would say to her, but he knew he had to tell her about his involvement in her past. After an encounter with a half-asleep Ann, Lazerus headed to the roof. He found Nerida looking out at the rising run with a half-finished bottle of vodka in her hand. Careful not to disturb her, Lazerus stepped up next to her. It took him a solid three minutes to pick up the courage to speak.

"Hey," Lazerus rubbed the back of his neck. "What's up?"

"The Sky," Nerida replied. "Obviously."

"I always hated that response," Lazerus shook his head. "You look stressed. Wanna talk about it?"

"This whole thing is just a lot to handle, ya' know."

"Anything in particular?"

"Everything really."

"Can I ask you something," Lazerus looked down, unable to look at her. "Is he really your dad?"

Nerida was quiet for a minute. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to tell anyone she remembered her past, but keeping it a secret was starting to weight on her. If anyone here could understand her problem, it would be Lazerus. He was half Templar after all. With a sigh, Nerida braced herself for the truth.

"Yes," Nerida admitted. "Some parts are still fuzzy, but I remember most of my past. He's most definitely my dad."

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

Nerida looked at Lazerus in shock. She hadn't been expecting that sort of reaction from him. She wasn't even sure of what he was apologizing for.

"For what?" Nerida asked, slightly scared of the answer.

"Your father," Lazerus still couldn't look at her. "Was the Templar who lead the operation that killed my dad. He used to be Sigma team before he joined the research group. When I finally tracked him down, I sabotaged one of his experiments, and caused the explosion that robed you of your identity."

"You..." Nerida was shocked, she stumbled away from him. "You caused the explosion?"

"Yeah."

Nerida was torn. The side of her that was slowly becoming Alice again wanted to kill Lazerus on the spot, but the side of her that was still Nerida hesitated. She walked through her memories, lost as to what it was she wanted to do. Sure, her life before the Assassins hadn't been fun or crazy, but she had had a family. A family that was waiting for her to betray her friends and rejoin them. Then her mind wondered into the last couple of years of her life, and she noticed something strange. Her memories where ablaze with a light she had never seen. Her heart recognized it as Joy.