Imagine if, during brotherhood, when Lucy started focusing more on getting the apple and less on keeping desmond safe, desmond's eagle vision started seeing her as an enemy. And he is sitting in the sanctuary and is messing with his eagle vision and does a double take when he realizes lucy is red
It starts off as red footprints leading to the villa.
Desmond found it during one of the few short breaks he was allowed to have. He figured he’d check the villa while he could still be hidden by the darkness of night and just… move around.
One of the things he missed from when they were in that hideout in Rome had been learning to move the same way as Ezio did.
Mostly, it felt like Ezio but, sometimes, before he could even understand what was happening, he would jump or move like Altaïr.
If he let his instinct takeover, it was like…
It would switch to whoever would have the better move that Desmond needed right now.
Not once did it felt like he was moving on his own.
That was why when his Eagle Vision activated on its own while he was just walking by the fountain, he knew that it was Altaïr’s habit and not Ezio’s.
Ezio used his Eagle Vision when there was a need to. Even if it was just a poke in his mind that he needed to, he would use it.
Altaïr used it regularly. Every three seconds or even less if he was feeling more paranoid than usual.
Altaïr used it like it was his real vision.
He used it like he was ready to be attacked at every given moment.
There were footprints glowing in red where everyone believed they were safe.
Desmond was immediately on alert, fearing the worst.
He hurriedly followed the footsteps and it led him to Mario’s study. There were many footsteps all around the study but they all led to the hidden entrance.
There was no time to analyze the movements of the footprints. He followed the path quietly, his movements feeling more like fusion of Altaïr and Ezio making their way towards their target.
The Hidden Blade wrapped around his arm felt both light and heavy at the same time, his mind clearer than it had ever been.
But he stopped dead in his track, his heart beating louder and louder that it drowned out Shaun’s complains of him appearing ‘out of nowhere’ and to make a sound or something next time.
The grounds were littered with red footprints and Desmond finally had an answer to the silent question he had upstairs.
“It looked like only one pair of footprints but why was is moving all over?”
Seeing the footprints here and the locations of all their equipment, Desmond realized that the owner of these red footprints had been helping in moving and setting up the equipment they used.
The woman who saved him from Abstergo and brought him to the Brotherhood.
The woman now shrouded in that sickening red glow in his Vision.
Can he truly believe his Vision?
Seeing the dim blue glow of both Shaun and Rebecca, Desmond was reminded that he was still an outsider.
The three of them were close, members of the Brotherhood.
Even if Desmond was to tell them of the red glow he saw…
Why would he even believe that these two, more white than blue, would even believe his words over hers?
It would be easy to destroy any of his accusations.
‘Desmond has been in the Animus for too long.’
‘It’s the Bleeding Effect. Who knows? Maybe he’s seeing me as someone less. Someone like Lucrezia Borgia?’
Worst case scenario, they might sedate him and push him into the Animus under the excuse of ‘this is for your own safety’.
Desmond couldn’t even be sure if this paranoia was his or Altaïr’s.
Hell, at this point, it could the both of them and Ezio’s as well.
“It’s nothing.” Desmond blinked.
The world burst into colors once more.
And Lucy Stillman stared at him with the same concerned expression she always had.
Desmond couldn’t be sure.
He needed to figure out if Lucy was red because she had her own agenda that would be detrimental for him.
If she had turned her back from the Brotherhood and was a Templar sent to keep Desmond-
That was what she was after, wasn’t it?
Like how Vidic desired the map from Altaïr’s memories.
He would play along for now.
He’d make a plan while he lets Ezio’s memories play out.
Now that he knew he was alone.
He had all the time in the world to plan.
(I will say that if this was an actual fic, I would suggest naming this Red Shoes as reference to the fairy tale the Red Shoes)
The red footprint is based on the one you can find in AC Brotherhood as explained in the trivia section of Eagle Vision wiki.
