Disclaimer: All characters and any other AC related items are simply borrowed for my own entertainment.
I'll admit that the idea for this story was inspired by the movie Sabrina and my own unimaginative thinking, plus the insatiable need to put Ezio and Leonardo into a modern setting. :') There are most likely as many kinks in this story as there are grammatical issues (perhaps more of the latter), and for that I must apologize. I get rather impatient about wanting to just be done with it and post it while the ideas and motivation are still fresh. At the moment, I'm just pulling this thing out of my ass (therefore insinuating that any "facts" that aren't "facts" at all should be either ignored or pointed out *shrug*). I have a basic idea of where I want this thing to go, it's just jotting down the in between that I lack patience for. Ah, well, I'll stop bitching and let y'all carry on.
Did I mention how long it's been since I've written fanfiction at all? Hope it doesn't disappoint too much!
Requiem for a Dream
Prologue
He was falling.
He continued slicing through the crisp summer air, chest side pointing down, and arms wide and straight on either side. He lifted his head and noticed night stars slowly giving way to the morning sun. Besides the rustling of his clothing and the air whizzing in his ears, all was quiet in the city he continued to fall towards.
"This is amazing! Not only can he remember his memories, but also—"
The only sound echoing off the chapel walls were his footsteps. He carefully maneuvered around the dozens of bodies at his feet, not wanting to disturb them even though he knew they wouldn't wake until after his business here was done. This was the moment he spent nearly his whole life working for.
There was talking between himself and the Pope. It was fuzzy… and not all there, if the various out-of-place fragments were any indication. They reminded him of corruption, or maybe a virus.
The next scene, free of any interference, was him pulling out a golden apple and summoning doppelgangers. He and, as outrageous as it sounded, the Pope dueled. Parries were blocked, one of his copies evaporated, and still they fought, their grunts and war cries reverberated through-out the Sistine Chapel.
Then he was stabbed.
"What happened?"
"There seems to be complications regarding—"
"Sir! There's a problem on floor 22."
"What has Subject 13 done this time?"
"She hacked into—"
He was in a room.
He was looking outside, admiring the bloomed trees and flowers planted in specific order that Leonardo had requested. In the center of the gardens sat Margaret, beautiful Margaret with her parchment and ink. He remembered a day when he wouldn't think twice about approaching such a pretty lady with coy advances.
However, in his old age, the only true thought he contemplated was that of the person lying in bed. Beside the four-poster bed sat Francis, young and a tad shaken by what was inevitable.
"Is there anything else you require, my lord?"
"No. You may leave," Francis told the nurse.
"Yes, my lord."
He closed the sheer cotton curtains so the sunlight wasn't so overbearing, yet there remained enough daylight to enjoy and use. He walked to stand beside his oldest friend.
"My, how the years have gone by; don't you agree, Ezio?"
"Si, Leonardo."
"I still remember the first day I met you," Leonardo said with a twinkle in his eyes. Even after many years of war and death, his dearest friend somehow managed to maintain a part of his innocence. It was something he both admired and envied. "My liege, have I ever told you about how this gentleman once flew over half of Venice?"
Then all was blank.
Long Island, New York - September 14th, 2012
Morning dew and fog clouded over their estate, shrouding the previous night's decorations. No matter the complications of the weather, the birthday girl commanding the upcoming event demanded perfection to the highest level.
"Why are there lilies in my arrangements?" Marie bitingly asked one of the servants. "I specifically asked for white dahlias and lotuses only! Has the ice carver delivered the sculptures yet? I told Suzy to call them last night to ensure—why aren't the lights hung yet?!"
The only daughter of the prestigious Nilop family stalked across the yard, her strong poise indicating she was looking to hurt somebody if the problems remained unfixed.
"I swear to god, Phillipe, if these glasses aren't properly aligned when I come back, I'll punch you back to the day you were conceived!"
"Lively young girl, isn't she?" Travis, the family's personal chef, commented. "It's a pity that these fools haven't been given any advice about how to deal with our princess."
Enzo snickered when, in the distance, he could see Marie's silhouette unabashedly tell-off one of the workers, her finger stern and reprimanding like a third grade school teacher. "She's just worried about making a good impression on her guest list tonight. Besides, why would you pass up a chance to witness the cowardice of all whom cross her? It is quite entertaining, my friend!"
Travis shot him a dry look. "Tch, only you and the misses would find humor in that. You two are the only ones she won't turn her full Medusa charms on."
Enzo nervously chuckled, "Well, she may have yet to present me with her maximum fury, but you still have to look at the brighter side of things!" Enzo wrapped his arm around Travis, making the cook grunt and halfheartedly fight off the unmanly display. Enzo swept his other arm across the yard, as if to brush off Travis's negative view of life. "These brave souls dare to enter and please the dragon lady in her lair, and for what? There isn't gold to be found or lost treasures to be discovered…"
"Perhaps they came to collect the bones of their lost village idiot."
"Yes, you see Travis! It's not that difficult to—" Enzo grunted his unfinished sentence as he was roughly yanked back by his shirt collar. He was forcibly twirled until his view landed nose-to-nose with his baby sister, Marie. She looked none too pleased.
"Why don't you make yourself useful, Enzo, and go help Kyle with the remaining floral arrangements?"
Enzo knew Kyle, and all the little "incidents" he always managed to find himself in that resulted with mild molestation from Kyle who was trying to "help" Enzo from whatever disaster he was in. "But I was going to go help Veronica with some stuff today!"
"Since when have you talked to any of your dates twice?" Marie gave him a questioning stare. It was quite unnerving. Travis had long ago left the siblings to their small talk.
"Since Veronica has become the pinnacle of my soul."
"I thought Daphne was the 'Pinnacle of your soul'?" Marie sarcastically pointed out, using her middle and index fingers to mimic the popular quotation gesture.
"Marie! The hair dresser is here," called their mother, "You only have about 9-hours left to properly dress yourself for tonight."
"Ah!" Marie pushed Enzo away dashed for the entrance to their mansion. She paused before Nancy Nilop and kissed her on the cheek. Marie pulled back and smiled. "Good morning, mother!"
Nancy held her daughter close, a small motherly smile of her own graced her features. "Happy birthday, darling, and as much as I would love to spend the day with you, I must be off to welcome our guests of honor."
"It's alright, mama!" Marie assured Nancy, "As long as you're here tonight, I'll hold no ill thoughts towards you." She left them then, a silly grin still plastered on her face.
Enzo walked forward and exchanged similar morning greetings with Nancy, only hunching to apply his kiss. "I assume that your date with Veronica is more concentrated on finding Marie's gift, correct?" Nancy levelly asked Enzo, staring into his eyes as if daring him to lie to her or all people.
"Eh… yes, that's exactly what we're going to do!" Enzo nervously assured his mother, habitually scratching the back of his neck. After we christen her new mattress, of course...
Nancy flicked his nose. "You're not lying, but you're also not telling the whole truth. Either way, please, Enzo, show up on time with all your clothes intact and presentable. There will be very important people at the party tonight, so show them respect or I will forcibly enroll you into Princeton sooner than planned, capice?"
Enzo winced at the threat. "Si, mamma."
There would be minor changes in his plans, but all ending up to the same thing. They were a traditional family. Therefore, it was only right that he and Daph—Veronica continued his tradition of dancing in the greenhouse with a bit of wine, right? It was only proper to show respect to all of their guests, even if he presented the donne with more rispetto than others.
"…ah yes, then we'll see you tonight," Jane said into the wired phone. She softly smiled into the receiver, her faraway gaze directed towards the small passenger window. The scene made for a wonderful portrait. "No, I'll inform him shortly of your estimated arrival. I'll let you continue gathering those reports before our conference after Nilop's party."
She placed the phone back inside its mounted cradle right as the seatbelt sign glowed to life. "Please buckle-up for safety, Mr. and Mrs. Birkham. We will arrive at Long Island MacArthur Airport shortly."
"Your grandfather wishes me to inform you that he will be joining us tonight, if a bit later than scheduled," Jane said. He hummed, only half listening to her information as he continued to quickly scribble his memory into his notebook. The shading would have to be revised later due to the turbulence. If only he could finish the correct structure of her expression—
"Leon!"
Leon's avid concentration shattered at the sound of his grandmother's chastisement. His hand froze. He lifted his questioning eyes to that of Jane's amused yet stern gaze, a silver eyebrow raised. Blinking a few times, Leon grinned and bit back a chuckle, "Yes?"
Jane sighed. Replying with a shake of her head, she repeated, "You're grandfather will be able to join us for tonight's festivities, in addition, he may even convince Alan to attend."
Sketching forgotten for the moment, Leon's clueless expression dissolved into an exuberant one. Although a bit short tempered and cold, Alan provided Leon with insightful discussion of the inner workings of his family's company. It was a reminder to why he should finish university first than procrastinate with theories of noetics and its possibilities to help—
"I hadn't spoken to Alan since the gala," Leon replied, "it will be nice to see him should he choose to come."
His grandmother nodded, "There have been some recent changes to the company that I think you and Alan will find… entertaining."
After having finally landed, Leon assisted Jane by carrying her luggage and following her to the aircraft exit, politely nodding to the stewardess in thanks for her services. Outside, the sun shined in the cloudless sky, making the warm temperature several degrees hotter than it actually was. Not too far from their landed craft waited a polished Rolls-Royce.
"Good afternoon, Jane!" greeted a middle-aged brunette. Her long hair was casually bunched in a messy bun, several curls falling to frame her face. Even with heels on, Leon estimated she could still meet his gaze without having to look up.
Jane Birkham quickly embraced their apparent host for the evening. "It's been too long, Nancy."
Leon settled their luggage near the vehicle, allowing the chauffeur to pack them. "Leon, come here so I can reintroduce you to Nancy Nilop!"
He straightened his posture into a more presentable fashion worthy for meeting a company colleague, not to mention long time friend of his grandmother's. Nancy grinned, showing off her dimples, and held his offered hand in between both of her palms. "So, this is the famous Leon Birkham, future employer of Abstergo Industries, I hope? There are so many wonderful things I've heard about you."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Leon's grin grew crooked as he imagined his grandmother sending daily emails to Nancy, most likely containing exaggerated stories of his small victories. "Well, yes. I'd like to follow in my family's footsteps and offer my services to Abstergo if it may better help the world."
"I've read in a report that you assisted Warner several times in the development of the cancer cure?"
"Er… yes, but I assure you, most of the work belongs to Warner," Leon modestly held up his hands to further emphasis his point. "I only helped him clear a few obstacles he bumped into."
Nancy giggled. "Well, if you call the genetic breakthrough of one of the world's most dangerous diseases known to date 'a few obstacles', then there certainly are some greater things to come from you yet."
It wasn't that Leon didn't like the expectation. It was just a bit overbearing sometimes, especially when it came from one of Abstergo's board directors. He would like to work for the company at some point in his life, however, his mind tended to wander to other aspects of life that was greatly underappreciated. Instead of fully devoting his attention to the development of another cure or improved testing methods, he could be studying the movement of one of his coworkers, feeling the familiar twitch in his fingers to commit the abstract frame of the human body onto paper—
"I suppose we should get going before lunch turns cold." Nancy led Leon and Jane to her car. "Since you will be staying the weekend, I assume you both would enjoy a proper tour of Long Island tomorrow when the jetlag finally subsides?"
Jane nodded, "That would be perfect!"
Leon agreed, his thoughts jubilantly wondering what possible sceneries he'd view within the coming days. Perhaps he'd even be fortunate enough to paint the best scene onto canvas.
Yaaay! The prologue is done. :D This is pretty just an intro of who I'll be following for most of the story (Enzo and, lol, Leon). And yes, it's hard for me to picture Leonardo walking around the earth calling himself Leon. Oh, creativity, how you suck sometimes.
Concrit (and reviews in general) is most appreciated! ;3