Author's note: Hey there! Yes, this is another Assassin's Creed II OC fanfiction, but it won't be that typical girl-gets-thrown-in-the-game-fic. My OC is from the same time as the characters and I will not follow the plot of the original games, so it's a kind of AU. This is my version of what could happen after the assassination of Vieri and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Tranlations:

mercenario – mercenary

bastardo – bastard

nipote – nephew

zio – uncle

madre – mother

piccina – little one (for girls)

fratello – brother

mercenari – mercenaries

Firenze – Florence

Germania – Germany

Sacro Romano Impero – Holy Roman Empire

padre – father

stupido – stupid

sorellina – little sister

Chapter 1 – Not the mission he expected

April, 1478, Monteriggioni

"Ezio, you did good work last night!"

Said man grinned happily. He couldn't get enough of those praises. They made him feel like he was needed, like he finally was something worth again. He wasn't a criminal and he wasn't a murderer – he was an assassin. Staying with his uncle to train was probably the best choice he ever made in his life. He was glad he decided to fight Vieri de Pazzi instead of sailing towards Spain and joined the assassins.

"Oh, and by the way, your uncle wanted to see you"

The words of the mercenario mad Ezio even happier. He was sure that his uncle would trust him with more important missions from now on – maybe even the assassination of Francesco de Pazzi! Then, one more bastardo involved in the conspiracy against his family would lay dead. Step by step, Templar by Templar, he would get revenge for his father and brothers.

He entered Mario's office in high spirits but when Ezio noticed the serious expression on his uncle's face, his smile vanished.

"Nipote, we have to talk."

Ezio gulped. That sounded like trouble.

"This is a hard decision for me, Ezio, but a necessary one."

"Zio Mario?" Ezio asked warily. What was the old assassin up to?

Mario sighted and buried his head in his hands for a while before he looked Ezio straight in the eye.

"I decided to send you away, nipote. An old friend of mine is the leader of the brotherhood in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a constituent state in the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. He shall teach you the way of our order and hopefully you'll return as a proper assassin."

"Return as a proper assassin?! I AM a proper assassin; the assassination of Vieri de Pazzi is the proof!" Ezio shouted. He was angry, very angry. He trained for two years here and joined the assassins and now Mario dared to send him to this cold country full of barbarians?!

"The assassination of Vieri de Pazzi?" Mario let out a mocking laugh. "It was a disaster, Ezio. You let your emotions control you and disrespected the dead." He looked his nephew deep in the eyes and then he sighted – almost in a tired matter.

"I understand your desire for revenge" Mario continued and now his voice didn't sound angry anymore, but soft an understanding. "I, too, want my blade to draw the blood of those responsible for my brother's death but you mustn't let this feeling consume all your happiness. I may be hard for you to understand it now, but I'm doing this for your own good. I'm sure you'll thank me for it one day."

Ezio pressed his lips together until they formed a thin line. He didn't answer his uncle, fearing he would lose control over his boiling anger once he opened his mouth to speak.

Mario just waited and never broke the eye contact with Ezio until the young man finally began to speak.

"When am I going to leave?" Ezio asked and Mario sighted at the pissed tone of voice of his nephew.

"You'll leave as soon as possible. We can't afford to lose more time. Go now and get your luggage. And don't forget to visit your mother and sister. Make sure you're ready to leave tomorrow at dawn."

"I can't wait" Ezio said ironically and left Mario's study to gather the things needed for his journey.

Once he had his bags packed, he went to see his family.

"You are leaving again?" Claudia asked shocked and Ezio thought, she sounded disappointed too, but it seemed like she didn't want her brother to know. "But what's with madre? What's with me?"

The pained expression on his sister's face made Ezio feel guilty. He flirted with the thought of telling her that he didn't want to leave either and he just wanted to stay with the remains of the Auditore family so they could at least pretend that everything was normal. But he didn't want to scare his sister more than she already was. She believed he knew what he was doing and his pretended mental strength gave her a strange kind of security. He couldn't show any weaknesses now; for her sake.

"It's because of my training, piccina. I must go there – in the long run, it's the best thing to do." Ezio grimaced when he realized that he used arguments similar to the ones Mario used to convince him.

"I suppose you are right, fratello, but I'll miss you" Claudia admitted. "Since… you know, since that… that day, you are always away training or joining the mercenari in random fights. You have changed, Ezio, and that scares me. Back in Firenze you were always happy, cheerful and nothing was able to worry you but now… I don't know. It seems like everything you do now is to save the whole mankind. You aren't my stupid fratello anymore, it's like you finally grew up." She said with a weak smile.

"Claudia" Ezio said softly and pulled his sister into a hug. "Don't worry so much – I'm still the same. I just had to think about the things that Mario told me about Templars and assassins and because I did stuff I shouldn't have done at Vieri's assassination zio Mario thinks that this training abroad will help me to avoid similar mistakes in the future. See? I'm still your stupid fratello screwing up our uncle's work."

Ezio's words made Claudia chuckle.

"You are right. How silly of me to think that you grew up. You'll always have the mind of a little child – I already pity the woman who will be married to you one day."

Smiling, she walked away and Ezio's joking expression fell from his face like a mask. He was mad. He was mad at his uncle, mad at the world, mad at everything and everybody. He had to leave his family and even lie to them in order to keep them happy. Why did they become like that? This was all the fault of those Templar pigs! They destroyed his life, his happiness, his family! And therefore, they should pay – with their lives! A dark grin spread on Ezio's face. He would travel to that goddamned country in order to gain experience and when he returned, he could destroy them all, when they already forgot about him he could avenge his father and brothers out of the shadows, unnoticed like a true assassin. To him, it doesn't matter that his uncle wanted him to calm down and give up on his revenge – Ezio just couldn't do it. He felt like… like he owed them the death of their murderers. Almost every night their faces haunted him in his sleep. He wasn't able to let them go – just like his mother. They had just different ways of showing it.

Slowly, Ezio began to think that his uncle may me right and that he needed some distance to calm down. Sometimes, Ezio feared his own thoughts. They were dark and full of the desire for blood and revenge.

Maybe he just refused to travel away because he was too stubborn to admit that his uncle's arguments were better than his own.

Ezio sighted. He should go and apologize to the older man…

"I'm really sorry, zio Mario." Ezio muttered. "I just wasn't appealed by the thought of leaving again and this time for so long and to a different country. I understand now that this only to help me."

Mario chuckled lightly before he burst out in laugher.

"Nipote, you sound like I'm sending you to prison! Germania consists of many interesting countries."

"Many interesting countries? I don't understand."

Mario shook his head.

"You should have paid more attention to your lessons in politics! In fact, the county 'Germany' doesn't exist. The Sacro Romano Impero is a very complex union of different countries. You can imagine it as many countries with an own government, but there is also one emperor with power over every region in this union. But all you have to know for now that you'll have to travel in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. My friend lives in the city of Brunswick; it's the biggest city there and I'm going to send word that you'll arrive there soon, so one of his men will await you in the city.

"Sounds good…" Ezio replied.

A grin spread on Mario's face.

"Don't look so depressed, Ezio! I'm sure that once you see the girls there, you'll thank me for sending you to Germania."

"I doubt that" Ezio huffed. "Italian girls are and will ever be the best."

"And you are sure that you don't think of a certain Italian girl, nipote?" Mario asked still grinning.

"And what if I think of a certain girl?" Ezio responded pissed.

Mario's amused expression vanished instantly.

"Ezio, if she was nobility, she'll be married by now. Believe me, there are few woman who are strong enough to stay at an assassin's side. Your madre is one of them… Your padre was a very lucky man."

"Strong?" Ezio asked confused. "But madre isn't very strong. She always needs help with carrying her stuff."

Mario facepalmed.

"I'm not talking about physical strength, stupido. Emotional strength is what matters."

"And you think one of those ugly German women is 'emotional strong'? They are dumb and do everything they are told to do."

"Oh really? How do you know?" Mario asked grinning.

"Everybody knows!" Ezio replied frustrated.

"Just like everyone knows that assassins are evil murderers?"

Ezio didn't know what to answer. His uncle had a point.

"German girls are nothing like you think, Ezio. In fact, they are hard to tame – especially in bed"

"Do you speak out of experience?" Ezio smirked.

"Maybe I do or maybe I don't – I suggest you find out yourself whether it's true or not."

"Whatever, I guess I should prepare myself for leaving now."

"That's a good idea. Maybe you should pack an extra bag for the broken hearts."

Ezio rolled his eyes.

"I have a thing for beautiful women but I'm not that bad. Besides, I'm going there to train and not to find myself a woman."

"Why don't you use this opportunity to…-"

"Uncle!" Ezio interrupted Mario. "What's wrong with you today?!"

"Actually, I had a nice little chat with Claudia, concerning your relationships with several women back in Firenze and…" Mario chuckled before Ezio interrupted him again.

"Ah, so it was my sorellina's idea. I should have known."

"Don't blame her, Ezio. I think too that you should get yourself a proper girlfriend. All those one-night stands you tried to hide from me aren't a solution."

"I'm almost 19, zio Mario! I want to enjoy life!"

"Fucking every girl in your surroundings isn't 'enjoying life'." Mario argued.

"Goodnight, uncle" Ezio huffed without reacting to Mario's previous comment. "I'll see you tomorrow before I'm leaving."

Ezio left the room and Mario sighted. He didn't want their last conversation to be a fight, but he couldn't change it now.

Ezio lay in his bed but he couldn't sleep. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt his thirst for adventure deep inside of him. New surroundings, missions and acquaintances awaited him. Maybe the training in Germany wouldn't be as bad as he thought when Mario told him today. He smiled and slowly he fell asleep.

I hope you liked the first chapter. If you spotted any errors, please point them out. Reviews are appreciated and feel free to criticize me. I want to improve my writing skills and make this fanfiction as enjoyable as possible.