An Assassin's Creed fiction, which can also be found at

Ezio Auditore ran through the wet streets, fleeing for his life from the hundred or so guards that were hot on his heels. He could feel his life force draining away with each step, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he fell, dead. He needed help. He needed his apprentices. Too bad I told them not to get caught up in this one.

The rain poured down, and it was getting harder to hold his footing. There was nowhere to hide, except the river, but if he jumped in, he would probably drown in his current state. He coughed, choking on some liquid that part of him knew to be blood. Whether he admitted it to himself or not, it was a fact that if he didn't get help immediately, he would die a very painful death. Ezio's eyes scanned the rooftops, hoping against hope that at least one of his recruits had disobeyed him and followed. Suddenly, his foot caught on an uneven cobblestone and he hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. As he gasped and tried to drag himself to his feet, the guards closed in. Using the last of his strength, he dragged himself over the edge of the wall, dropping into the Tiber river. The water stained red, and the guards laughed, watching as his body floated back to the surface, totally motionless. One shot him again, hitting him in the arm. Satisfied by his lack of movement that he was dead, they left him.

The moment the guards were out of sight, two white-clad figures swan-dived into the water, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter. They scooped Ezio's lifeless form up and dragged it out, lying it on the opposite bank. He was not breathing, but his heart was fluttering ever-so-faintly. Gloved hands tore the armour and robes off, revealing a mess of holes and gashes in the flesh. Makeshift bandages were quickly applied by one of the rescuers, while the other focused on making him breathe.

As Ezio's body sprang back to life with a choked breath, followed by coughing up watered-down blood, his saviours sighed in relief.

Ezio's breathing was laboured, and the bandages were already blossoming red, but he was alive, for now. He looked around in confusion, before passing out in the arms of one of the men.

His apprentices had saved him.

Antonio and Paolo picked their mentor up and mounted their horses, with Ezio in front of the former. They rode as quickly as they could to the hideout, where they could get him to their doctor, and get his icy body warmed up. Once there, they laid him upon the doctor's bench, where he was stitched, re-bandaged and cleaned up. There was no telling if his efforts were to be successful or not; Ezio indeed should have died.

Through it all, Leonardo da Vinci stood in the corner of the room, shaking like a leaf. He had warned the assassin against going alone. He had told him to take at least a handful of his apprentices. He had tried to explain how many guards would be protecting his target. Ezio had gotten angry, and had gone anyway, after forbidding any of his students from following, as there were 'too many unfinished contracts that needed doing'.

Leonardo knew that Ezio would be angry when he came back to his senses. He would yell, probably break things, possibly punish the two young men who came to his rescue. And Leo would be the one to stand up for them. He would explain that he had sent them, that he had gone behind his dearest friend's back, but only to save his life. He might take a blow if the assassin was angry enough. What happened next would be a mystery until it came to be.

Just over 24 hours passed before Ezio next awakened; a painful 24 hours for everyone at the hideout, who had no real idea if their mentor was going to live or die. When he woke, Leonardo's was the first face he saw. An angry frown crossed his face.

"You sent them."

"Yes, Ezio, I-"

"You sent two innocent men who had no need to get caught up in this. You sent two innocent men who could very well have died to come after me."

"You would be dead if I hadn't!"

"THEN WHY PUT TWO MORE PEOPLE AT RISK?!" Ezio sat up, ignoring the pain and the headspin in favour of tearing Leonardo's defence to shreds, "I AM THEIR MENTOR! I AM THE MOST SKILLED OF ALL OF US HERE! IF I COULDN'T FINISH THE ASSASSINATION, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK MY LESS SKILLED STUDENTS COULD?!"

Leonardo stood his ground, glaring back at his friend. Ezio was unused to this, and it could put him at unease.

"Ezio, I did not send them to do your job for you. If I had, I would have been as much a murderer as you are a suicidal idiot. I sent them to step in when and where they felt they were needed. I told them to keep themselves hidden, and to pick their battles wisely. Evidently something you could not teach, seeing as you couldn't do that for yourself!"

The assassin narrowed his eyes and growled angrily.

"Are you challenging my intelligence, or my skill, Da Vinci?"

"I am challenging your decision to go alone." Leonardo turned around to leave the room, but before he could take two steps, a fist collided with his head. He whipped around, eyes full of fury.

"Ezio Auditore da Firenze, you have made a grave mistake. Firstly, you insult me and my efforts to keep your idiotic ass alive!" He strode forward, "Secondly, you fail to see that you should be dead by now, floating in the Tiber!" Another step brought him within an inch of Ezio's face, "And thirdly, you threw that punch upon your saviour! Now, Ezio, do you dare to throw a second?"

"I will hurt who and what I want, especially those who compromise the safety of the guild!" He went to stand but fell, to be caught by the painter and inventor.

"You are a disgrace, Ezio. You do not realise that, had you died, your body would have been found and searched, and all manners of weaponry that I designed and built for you would have been replicated? You almost gave the enemy our entire arsenal! I simply ensured that the Assassins remained safe."

Ezio looked up at Leonardo, struggling to find something to say. He had never been stood up to in this way before, least of all by a painter. He found himself being roughly returned to the bed, before Leo walked out of the room.

"When you are ready to accept responsibility for your actions, you can send for me again."

A/N

This was fun to write, and is just one chapter of hopefully many. I have an idea for chapter 2 but it might take a while to get it to work. I am open to suggestions so please, rate and review.

And feedback on how in-character people are is very well appreciated. And I know Leo is WAY out, but there's a good reason for this.

Oh yeah, future chapters will have a fair bit of LeoxEzio, so be warned.