Crossover between Code Lyoko and Assassin's Creed. I know that Code Lyoko is based in 2005-2006, but just imagine that it's 2012, for AC's sake. They're still normal age, and still go to Kadic, Lyoko will be mentioned and described still (In later chapters).
Odd was walking back from the movie theater. He had actually got a girl to go on a date with him. They had gotten through the entire movie, and Odd thought that it might actually work out with this girl, then he must have said something wrong.
He was rubbing the red spot on his cheek. It was the hardest slap he had gotten yet, it might even leave a bruise. He was about a block away from the school gates when someone grabbed him.
He going to tell them to take his money when he was hit on the back of the head. Hard. He blacked out.
Odd woke up, and was blinded by the light. This wasn't his room. A hospital maybe? No, it didn't sound like a hospital. He looked around. The room was sizable, about the size of his room back at home in Italy. He saw that all the furniture in the room was steel and glass, the walls were white, and the light was coming from the brightest lamps he thought could ever exist.
After his eyes adjusted, he walked to the door, which was metal with glass in a "+" design. He saw that there was no knob, and looked out of the window. He saw two guys, one old and the other about college age, standing around a machine that looked like a bed. They looked like they were arguing. He decided to get their attention.
He was banging on the door, but trying not to make a scene. They looked at him, and the younger one approached the door, swiped a card next to it, and typed in a code. The door slid open, and Odd stepped back. Not knowing what to say to this person. The man looked to be maybe in his very early twenties and was maybe 6'2". He was pale, had black hair, and a five o'clock shadow. He had obviously spent too much time at whatever his job was. His attire consisted of a labcoat, black jeans, and a brown t-shirt under the coat. Odd noticed a bulge on his side, but thought it best to ignore it.
"Good morning, Mr. Della Robbia," The older man from across the room said, in a cheerful voice that could only be associated with a psychopath, "Welcome to Abstergo Laboratories. I am Warren Vidic."
"I'm Robert Gregorson." The younger guy said sharply, interrupting the older man.
"Yes," Warren said, "He's the new intern to replace my old assistant."
"It's not my fault she turned out to be an Assassin."
They started to argue again. Something about Templars and a "Subject 17."
"Excuse me, but where am I?" Odd asked.
"You're at Abstergo Laboratories," They both said, Vidic continuing, "You've been chosen to participate in the Animus Project, as Subject 18."
"What's an Animus?" Odd asked, confused.
"That machine there," Gregorson said, pointing to the bed-like machine, "It accesses memories locked in your genetic code, primarily those of your ancestors."
"So then why am I here?"
"You seem to have an ancestor that was close to the legendary Master Assassin Ezio Auditore."
"Marco Soldato Da Roma," Vidic stated, "Also known as Marco Della Veloce. He was known for his greatest assassination."
"What was that?" Odd asked.
"You'll see for your self when we get you into the Animus." Robert said.
"Let's begin shall we?" Vidic said, walking to the machine, "You seem perfectly awake."
"Wait," Odd said, "Just one more question."
"What is it?" Warren asked impatiently.
"Why did you kidnap me?"
"That wasn't a kidnapping," The older man pointed out, "It was a field retrieval."
"Can we just get on with this?" Robert asked the both of them.
"Yes, get into the Animus Mr. Della Robbia." Vidic said.
Odd really didn't know what to do, so he just laid down on the machine. A visor screen came from beside his head. He noticed that the cursor moved with his eyes.
"I'll take it from here." Robert said. The screen started to act on its own, going to access the memories of an ancestor.
"Match found." The machine said. A string of what Odd assumed to be DNA appeared on the screen. It singled out a large string and zoomed in on it.
"Close your eyes." Robert said, and Odd did so. When his eyes shut, he didn't see darkness. In fact, he saw light, bright light. He moved his eyes around to see he was out side, on a stage, with people screaming and shouting at him. Another glance around revealed that he was in a town square, the people were dress like the Middle Ages.
No, he thought, not the Middle Ages, the Renaissance. He felt something around his neck, then noticed that he wasn't on a stage. It was the gallows. He, no his ancestor turned his head to the executioner, who was manning the lever to release the trapdoor under Odd's feet.
"Do you have any last words, boy?" The man asked in a thick Italian accent. His voice was very gravelly.
"I was avenging my family!" Odd heard himself say. This was so weird. He was experiencing everything his ancestor had, but no control whatsoever.
"Heh," The man grunted, "You stabbed a guard in the back of the head, I wish the Code was still in place, then you'd have a dagger in the back of your head."
"Citizens!" A nobleman by the executioner announced, "See how we show no mercy to those who will dare rise against us!" He motioned toward Odd-no, Marco, "This boy killed five of the city guards! Should he not be punished?"
Odd noticed that the crowd wasn't yelling at him, they were yelling at the others on the platform. A vase shattered at the nobleman's feet.
"You may not enjoy this," The rich man said to the crowd, "But we must show our dominance! The boy will be executed!" He turned around and was about to signal the executioner, but stopped. He looked at the rooftops, then hurried over to the man at the lever. He whispered to him and the man nodded. Odd noticed a motion in the crowd. Someone was moving up, and fast.
Odd heard the lever get pulled, the floor go out from under him, and he fell. At the same time this happened, a young man in a white cloak jumped out of the crowd and used a blade attached to his wrist to cut the rope and used another to stab the nobleman in the neck. The jugular vein to be exact. The executioner pulled out a sword and was about to strike the assassin when a crossbow bolt went straight through his chest. This was when Marco (Odd) was getting up off the ground. When he stood up, he felt something drip onto his face. There was a pool of blood where the nobleman lay. It was dripping through the floor of the platform.
Lorenzo Stalliere Da Toscana stood up and looked at the one who fired the crossbow. It was the same one who had taken out all of the archers. On the rooftop directly across from the gallows was his master, Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. His master pointed down, what did that mean? He looked down and saw that the trapdoor was still open, there was a boy who looked to about 13 in there. The boy looked up, his eyes wide with fear. Lorenzo noticed that his hair was blonde with a darker spot above his brow. He had never seen that before.
"Who are you?" Marco asked, his voice not even half as brave as it had been before. He poked his head out of the opening and saw that the square was nearly deserted now.
"My name is Lorenzo Stalliere." The teenager answered, pulling him out of the hole. Marco looked at him. He was around 16, black hair, and Odd noticed a similarity to the man currently in control of the Animus. He had a white cloak that appeared to be made of wool (The rest of his clothes appeared to be white as well), shoulder pads, probably made of boiled leather, and two bracers with strange mechanisms on the bottom.
"Lorenzo!" Said a voice from behind Marco, it was older, "We need to go before more guards come!"
"I think I just found a potential recruit," Lorenzo said to his master, then to Marco, "Come with me if you want to live." (Famous quotes... Love 'em!)
Lorenzo started running, Marco followed. There was a strange flicker, and the world went white. Odd looked around and noticed that he was back in the room with the windows. He blinked a few times as his eyes readjusted to the light.
"Welcome back," Robert said, staring down at the computer connected to the Animus, "We have to take frequent breaks now, the Bleeding Effect has driven people crazy before."
"I saw someone in there who looked just like you," Odd said told him, "He's an Assassin."
"He was an Assassin," Robert corrected, "Don't be one of those people that looses their touch on reality too soon, now."
Odd just nodded at this.
"As for who he was, that would be Lorenzo Stalliere Da Toscana. I know who he was, he was the first Assassin in my family line." Robert looked around, Odd noticed that Vidic wasn't in the room. "I actually used to be an Assassin."
"Used to?" Odd was confused, it seemed to be kind of a life long occupation.
"I left and joined up with another organization," Gregorson said, "They've been in the middle ground ever since the Assassins and Templars had started this stupid conflict."
Odd didn't even know what he was talking about. He only knew about the Assassins, and that was because he could remember things from his ancestor's mind. Apparently, they had been a newer guild, and had been in Rome for about a year. They had pledged the Liberation of Rome as their current goal.
"Okay, break's over," Vidic said as he walked into the room, holding a cup of coffee, "Lay back down Mr. Della Robbia."
"It hasn't even been five minutes!" Odd complained.
"That's how fast an Abstergo coffee maker works," Warren said, "Now go back to Rome and relive your ancestor's life."
Odd just laid back and the visor came over his face again. He closed his eyes and found that the memories must have been fast-forwarded, he was in a large room. There were red flags, with a symbol that Marco recognized as the Assassin's mark, all around the room. It seemed fancy, like a ceremonial room.
"Bene," The man in the center of the room said, "It seems you have found your way to the training room. It's also used to swear in Assassins, but you have not had enough experience yet." His voice was deep, and a little rough, but nothing like that executioner's from before.
The man was wearing a white robe, like Lorenzo's, but he was wearing light metal armor, which showed that he had more experience. He also had a sash to hide most of his face. According to Lorenzo, Piero Piacentini (One of my actual recruits on Brotherhood) was the first of the Assassins Guild in Rome to reach the rank of Assassin. He was skilled with almost any weapon you would give him, except two-handed weapons. Because of this extraordinary talent, Master Ezio had put him in charge of training new recruits in the art of the hidden blade.
Of course, to Piero, this was a waste of his abilities. If he was the first to reach Assassin rank, then why was he never sent on missions? Because of this attitude, he preferred to be very harsh with his students, and this one was no exception. Sure, he was younger than most, but he claimed to have taken down five of the city guards, including one in heavy armor. It was time to see how well this child could fight.
Marco was still trying to get used to these robes, they seemed to be very inconvenient in a fight. He had been given black robes with a brown hood and a blue sash, to show that he was only a nuovo recluto. Odd's mind paused for a second. He may be Italian, but he had never thought in Italiano before. There it was again! What was going on?
The world seemed to pause around Odd.
"Sorry," Robert apologized from outside the Animus, "The translation software is a little glitchy, just let me know if you start hearing Chinese or Swahili. We may have a problem if that happens."
The world returned to normal.
"Before we begin, here is the weapon you will tune yourself to." Piero showed him a strange looking mechanism. It had two straps, to attach it to the arm, and looked like a long, thin box of metal. There was a track on what Marco assumed was the bottom of it, with a stub of metal.
"Hold out your left arm, per favore." The trainer instructed. Marco complied and held out his arm. Piero strapped the weapon to Marco's arm.
"Va bene," He said to his student, "Now, flex your hand up to bring the blade out." Marco did so and jumped back as he saw the blade come out of the thin device on his arm. It was like a stationary dagger. Genius.
"Grande," Piero said, "Ora, without cutting your hand off, push the blade back into the slot with your fingers." When Marco went to do this at the tip, the man added, "On the flat of the blade, idiota!"
After about ten minutes, Marco figured out how to do it. Piero then instructed him to do it repeatedly and nonchalantly. (AN: I got this from getting up against my TV to see how they worked the hidden blade.) He left the room, leaving Marco to this. The Animus fast-forwarded this moment, but Odd knew what happened.
After three hours of constant repetitive motion and about twenty cuts and scratches, he had mastered the art of this. He knew how to bring the blade out, and when to bring it back in. He had just went looking for Piero when Lorenzo came up to him. Marco noticed how he looked a little battered and his whole right sleeve was red.
"Guardie dannate put up too much of a fight," The Tuscan teen explained, then noticed the new equipment Marco had acquired, "Learning to use the hidden blade, eh?" He showed his wrists to him, revealing that there was one on each, "You get good enough, and you'll have two."
Marco was silent, as he had been since he first came to the hideout. It was a mix of awe and emotional distress. He was amazed that an organization this large was functioning under the law's nose. But the horrors of what he had experienced just a couple days ago were still fresh in his mind. His father was hung, his mother and two sisters were slaughtered before they took his father away. There wasn't even a reason for it! His father was older, and had used to be a soldier in the papal army. Why would he be arrested for treason against the Pope?
"Ciao?" Lorenzo said, waving his hand in front of Marco's eyes, breaking his terrible train of thought, "You there?"
"Sorry..." Marco mumbled.
"Hey! He finally says something!" Lorenzo announced to the empty room.
"I was just thinking about my..."
"Listen, don't take pity on them, use their deaths to fuel your anger. That is how you can make the best of it."
"How?"
"Well–" Lorenzo was cut off by the Animus fast-forwarding again. Odd saw that Marco was walking along a rooftop, he was wearing mostly red robes, except for the yellow sash. Marco was examining the pistola on his wrist. It was simple enough to use, but could be improved in several ways. He was currently a milite, the fifth rank. He had a full set of leather armor on and a dagger on his hip.
Currently, he was heading to a position by the Acquedotto. Maestro Ezio had asked for him specifically. It was a simple observation mission, watch for guards, if any came too close, get rid of them silently and nonchalantly. Ezio had asked him to do this because he was meeting with an old friend secretly.
Marco jumped down onto the roof of the stables. He saddled a horse and started riding towards his position. After about twenty minutes, the Aqueduct was in sight. He slowed the horse down to a steady pace, such as to not attract suspicion.
He got off of the horse when he was near, and looked for the marked bench. He found it and climbed up a wall, finding a good vantage point. He saw master Ezio walk over to the bench, and sit.
For a while, nobody came. Then a man, dressed in noble's clothing, came and sat down next to him. It took a while for Marco to notice that they were talking. He was trying to listen when he heard a quiet crack behind him. He turned his head to see a crossbowman, trying to sneak up on him. Quickly, Marco spun around and slashed the man's neck with his dagger, then caught the body. He put him on a more level part of the roof, and then continued his eavesdropping.
He was concentrating very hard to hear what they were saying when something happened. It had only happened once before when he had gone into very deep thought, and his father had explained that it was common in their family.
Odd was surprised when Marco's eyesight seemed to go black, but when the boy looked around, he noticed that certain people were different colors. Maestro Ezio and his friend were blue, the guards patrolling not too far away were red, there were even a few people that were gold. He looked back at his master, who was looking up at him, motioning him down.
After Marco found the edge of the roof (AN: Eagle vision: It reveals the truth, shows the way, and f***s up the rest of your vision) he made his way down. Ezio noticed how his student was walking and knew what it was. He had walked like that when he couldn't figure how to turn off his talent. If this boy had that ability, then he could be a great Assassin.
But currently, it was a little embarrassing to see Marco like this, considering how he had mentioned him to Leonardo as his most intelligent pupil. Leonardo Da Vinci snickered, it looked like the boy had had one too many.
Finally, Marco had made his way over to Ezio, who put a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax your mind," He told the boy, "It will release you from the sixth sense."
Marco did this and his eyesight returned to normal. He looked up at his master, a little confused.
"How did you know?"
"I have it as well," Ezio answered, "You should have told me you come from a family of Assassini."
"But I don't..." Marco was confused. From what he had gathered, his father was a lower level Templar. Why would he have something only Assassins have?
"Maybe one of your ancestors was an Assassino," Ezio suggested, then he turned to Leonardo, "It seems that him and I are more alike than I thought."
Leonardo chuckled, "Yes it seems so. But you mentioned that he had a few ideas?"
"Oh, si," Ezio turned to Marco, "I called you here because Lorenzo found your journal."
Marco's face went red. That was the only thing that gave him privacy! Hopefully Lorenzo didn't show it to Piero...
"He showed me your designs for improvements on the pistolas," Ezio said, making Marco a little less nervous, "It seems a little ahead of its time, but it may work, given the right hands."
"It is far ahead of its time!" Leonardo said excitedly, forgetting that they were meeting secretly, "I'm surprised that his mind could even conceive it!"
"Well..." Marco said, embarrassed at his own ideas, "There are still plenty of problems to work out..."
"I know," Leonardo said, "But if you can find a way to load it quickly, it might work."
To clarify, Marco had been practicing with the newly acquired pistola when he tried to think of ways to fire it repetitively, instead of reloading it after every shot. He had asked around, trying to find ideas. Desideria (Yet another one of my Assassin recruits) told him that there was a model of a weapon called a machine gun in the weapons room. Odd found it, and noticed a description next to it, possibly written by Maestro Ezio. It described it as a rifle mounted to a barrel and fired by turning a large wheel. A chain fed the musket balls to it from the bottom, and there was a constant supply of gunpowder applied to it. Ultimately, it was the gunpowder that was its downfall, as Maestro Ezio shot the barrels, destroying the horrible weapon, its carriage, and several pursuers.
Marco then did some research into this weapon, and learned of the mechanics of gears. They weren't a new technology, but were becoming more popular. It was through these strangely shaped blocks that the machine gun worked. They governed its every action. Marco devised a new loading system for the pistolas based off of this.
Oh my god, Odd thought, My ancestor invented the revolver.
But to return to the situation at hand, Leonardo Da Vinci himself was offering to help build at least one of these. About a month ago, Marco would have asked how a painter could help him build a new form of weapon. But in that month, he learned that it was Leonardo who had designed several of the weapons and gadgets that the Assassins used, though the pistola was not devised by him, its very compact size was his idea. The original designer had devised it to be a little larger, allowing the assassin to hold it, even though it was wrist mounted.
"I would love to build this!" Leonardo told him, "They put me in a tiny room and tell me to design war machines! Yes, I've made weapons for the Assassini, but those were meant for self defense and single killings. The papal army has me making designs for machines that can kill thousands in minutes!"
"And I destroy them all," Ezio pointed out, "A little counter productive if you ask me."
Marco thought about it for a minute. Then he did a little bow, "I would be honored to work with you signore Da Vinci."
Leonardo was very excited to hear this, but stopped.
"I don't know if you could work with me on this," He said, "I'm already on bad terms with the Pope, if he saw an Assassino coming in and out of my home..."
Marco understood, it would seem very suspicious. Leonardo was being watched everywhere he went, even right now.
Marco's thoughts were interrupted by a scream. There was a commotion around the corner of the building.
"Oh dio mio!" The woman screamed, "He's dead! He fell from the roof, and he's dead!"
"That would be our cue to leave," Ezio said, glaring at Marco, then turned back to Leonardo, "My student and I will leave that way," He pointed to an archway heading out to the countryside, "You try to look surprised and copy the crowd's movements."
"I know how to blend into a crowd, Ezio," Leonardo said, "I haven't survived this long by staying around dead bodies."
"The back room of your study suggests otherwise." Ezio said, Leonardo laughed and they parted ways. Leonardo put a horrified face on and ran like a scared idiot. He really could blend into a crowd.
As Ezio and Marco left, the world went white again. Odd opened his eyes, expecting to see bright light, but it was dark. Had that much time passed? He could have sworn that it was morning a few minutes ago. He saw Robert standing at one of the large machines that Odd just noticed were there, in the back corners of the room.
"The Bleeding Effect should have started by now..." Robert mumbled rather loudly, he turned to see Odd staring at him, "Bonjourno, Odd."
Odd was surprised that the man had just spoken Italian, even if it was just one word. He then thought that maybe the machine was making him crazy like what the man had mentioned before.
"You alright Odd?" Robert asked, "You look a little pale."
Thank God, he was speaking English.
"I'm fine, I was just surprised to hear Italian outside of the... What was it called again?"
"An Animus, and I was just trying to help you readjust to the real world."
Odd looked around, he didn't see Vidic anywhere.
"Where's the old guy?"
"Dr. Vidic is in his private study right now," Robert answered, "And I'm leaving soon, so I've got to take you out of the Animus, and get you into the bedroom. Security concern."
Odd got up from the bed-like machine and walked over to the bedroom before Robert stopped him.
"I need to ask you something," He said, "Do you have any of the abilities that Marco has? The Bleeding Effect should be working, so you should at least have his Sixth Sense."
Odd tried doing what Marco had done to activate the ability. He concentrated very hard, and his vision went black.
"Whoa." He said. He saw Robert as blue, the lights were yellowish white, and several markings appeared around the room, Odd had a ad feeling about those markings.
"I'll take that as a yes," Robert said, "Your nose is bleeding, though." Odd then noticed the feeling just below his nose. He cleared his mind and his vision returned to normal. He touched his finger to his upper lip and looked at it.
"I'm guessing from the look on your face that you don't like the look of blood?" Robert asked.
Odd's eyes were wide open, he hadn't seen his own blood in a long time. It was a little unnerving.
"I'm fine," He said after a minute, "Where's a bathroom?"
"In the room where you stay," He said, pointing to the door that Odd recognized as the bedroom door from earlier, "It's the door on the end of the room."
Odd thanked him and went to his room. Robert left the room, locked it with his own security code, and left Abstergo, heading for the suspiciously parked van outside.
