what's left to lose, anyways?

Chapter 3: Conqueror

~o:O:o~

"I've been looking for the conqueror,

But you don't seem to come my way.

I've been looking for the only one,

But you don't seem to come my way."

~Conqueror, AURORA

~o:O:o~

"Fireteam...ugh, Fireteam 'The Bad Guys Don't Care What We Call Ourselves, Do They', report in to the Vanguard. Zavala out."

Piper snickered when she heard the Fireteam's name. "Probably the Stoll brothers," she said. Annabeth chuckled and nodded.

"Probably."

"Ikora needed to talk to you about something, by the way," Piper said, as she turned to face her friend.

"Oh? About what?"

"Not sure, she didn't say."

Annabeth nodded and turned towards the Hall of Guardians. "You wanna go find out?" she asked her friend. Piper nodded eagerly.

"Hell yeah."

"This is Master Rahool. Apprentice Desalnus, please return to the archives at once; your engrams are melting the table!"

~o:O:o~

Will pulled his hand back quickly and winced as a shock traveled up his arm. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he continued prodding at the device.

"Where'd you get this, anyways? I don't remember you leaving for Venus at all, that's certain," he said, eyeing the Assassin curiously. Altaïr shrugged and shifted slightly.

"A friend. Can you do anything about it?"

The Ranger shrugged. "I don't have the tools with me, since they're all in the workshop. Which makes me wonder, why did you bring this to me instead of someone like Holliday or Valdez? They're much better with mechanical stuff."

"Sometimes Valdez can get a bit overexcited. Besides, you know Vex tech better than anyone in this tower," Altaïr replied, his dark eyes shining. Will chuckled and shook his head. "You flatter me. But like I said, I can't do much with this as is. I need the right tools to get it working again. Which begs another question: why are you messing with Vex tech? You know first hand how dangerous it is," he said. Altaïr shrugged and waved his hand, dismissing the question, much to Will's annoyance. "No matter. What tools do you need to fix it?" he asked the Ranger. Will huffed. "Altaïr, I swear, if this is about the Animus situation again, then-"

"Then what? You won't help me? You know full well what happened that night, and I know you lost just as much as I did, even if you won't admit it. Help me fix this, and I can make things-"

"You know nothing will fix what happened, Altaïr! The past is past, and we cannot allow ourselves to get hung up over it! Do not jeopardize our future. We will all pay if you do."

"I'm not jeopardizing anything, I'm fixing-"

"Nothing can fix the past, Altaïr. Not Vex technology, not acceptance, not forgiveness. It is over now, and we cannot endanger everyone else because of our faults. You of all people should know this," Will said calmly.

Altaïr growled, then unclenched his hands and took several deep breaths. The Assassin strode towards the table and grabbed the device, transporting it to his vault. Will sighed and watched his friend carefully.