"So Alessandra, what did you want to show me? And um, where am I exactly?" Tony inquired as he watched Alessandra study the tree.
"Right now you're in a coma, and you won't be coming out of it for two months, so you're stuck with me in the meantime." Alessandra replied as she ran her fingers over the bark of the tree. "To answer you're other question, I need to teach you about your sixth sense."
At this point Tony was all ears, eager to start learning about this super secret sixth sense of his. It wasn't everyday that someone acquired a sixth sense, so of course you would want to know everything there is to know. Duh.
"You know trees are truly amazing things. To be so stable. Do you know why they are stable?" Alessandra asked as she continued to circle the tree. With only a head shake as a response, Alessandra continued, "Their roots grow bigger and stronger, essentially embedding the rest of the tree to the ground. Foundation, what we all must build if we want to become stronger." Alessandra said as she stopped circling the tree and came to stand in front of Tony.
Tony couldn't explain it, but he just couldn't tear his eyes away from Alessandra's, something was changing in them. Suddenly there was a flash in her eyes, and the next moment her eyes changed completely. Her natural eye color was a deep green, much like Tony's. What Tony was truly scared him; her iris's changed from green to red. Blood. Red. Her pupils went from perfect black circles to a strange symbol Tony didn't understand. The symbol was an 'X' with the ends of the letter extending outwards, like fish hooks. The moment they changed, he felt fear grip him. No, true terror was more like it. He wasn't afraid of anything at the moment, but it was like his emotions were acting on their own, making him terrified of absolutely nothing. He was literally paralyzed in fear, and the next thing he knew he blacked out.
Tony woke up in the exact same spot he was in last time, except lying face-flat in the grass, which was actually really comfy. Alessandra noticed this and tore her gaze away from the lion in the grass stalking them and looked back at Tony, who was starting to sit up. Tony had no idea what had just happened, but he already knew some of the effects. In the short time he blacked out, he saw the memories of all his Assassin ancestors, reliving them as if it were him instead. Everything that they felt seemed so real and he relived them in a matter of minutes. One thing was for sure; by acquiring their memories, he acquired their training. Centuries of training learned within minutes had been essentially downloaded into Tony.
"Glad to see you're awake, hope I didn't scare you too much." Alessandra chuckled, already knowing she scared the shit out of him.
"Yeah well, I've never been so terrified in my life. What'd you do?" Tony replied as he rubbed his eyes. Suddenly he sensed the presence of a lion creeping up behind him, and he stood up abruptly to face the lion. His vision became red, but his vision remained unaffected. He was subconsciously analyzing each movement the lion made, calculating everything from how close he needed to be to attack him, to reading the lion's mentality. Tony had no idea how he knew this, but he automatically knew that the lion was being cautious, yet aggressive. It was put off by Tony's eyes, sensing an air of danger around him, but the thrill of the hunt superseded the lion's concern for it's safety. It underestimated Tony, and that mistake would cost it it's life.
The lion took off in a sprint, and leaped toward Tony, teeth bared with the intent to tear his neck to shreds. Already seeing this before the lion even made it's move, Tony positioned himself slightly to the side, and when the lion was in proximity he struck. Using both of his hands, he grabbed the lion's chin and the back of it's head and twisted it. Hard.
Crack!
The lion fell down to the ground unceremoniously, it's neck snapped, ending it's life instantly. The threat was gone, and Tony's vision returned to normal. The feeling Tony had while in that state was like no other. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion, Tony's own movements lightning fast. He possessed a strength he didn't even know was possible to have. His senses were heightened in every aspect, adrenaline pumping like crazy.
After a few moments Tony shifted his gaze from the lion back to Alessandra who sat there smirking. "What the hell was that with my vision, Alessandra?" Tony asked as he took a seat in front of her. "Your sixth sense was activated. There are two parts to your sixth sense that you should know. First is that your ability to sense others will always remain the same, it is simply a passive effect. The second part is your sixth sense activating, which happens when you sense a threat. It heightens your senses and makes you stronger and faster. Your iris's turn red to indicate to others to stay away, like a warning. The 'X' in your eye that replaces your pupil was the Romano Familiy symbol for assassins, now embedded in your genetic code to practically see things move in slow-motion, furthering your ability to react to any situation." Alessandra replied.
"Wow...that's...man that's sweet!" Tony squealed back. "This reminds me of the movi-" Tony was quickly cut off by Alessandra's palm covering his mouth.
"Has anybody told you how childish you are?" Alessandra quipped, still amused by Tony's personality. "Only every single day." Tony joked back, still giddy from the awesome abilities he just received. With a chuckle Alessandra took her hand off of Tony's mouth and wiped it on his shirt. Tony was about to make a joke when Alessandra's expression suddenly turned grim and serious, definitely not a good sign. "I know about the rescue mission you have planned." Alessandra said quietly. Tony just blew a deep breath before answering, "I don't care how dangerous it is. I need to save them. They're my family and they mean the world to me." Tony replied. Alessandra shook her head at his response. "Tony, you should be painfully aware of this, but the terrorists inside the camp your friends are in are the least of your worries, at least as far as your life goes." Alessandra said.
At this Tony tilted his head in question, not sure where this was heading. Alessandra closed her eyes for a few seconds before continuing, "As Martino already informed you the descendants of the Costa family still plot their revenge on the Romano family, and anyone in their bloodline. Thus the assassination of...your father." Alessandra choked out, already knowing how hard this would be for Tony. The only response Tony gave was a slight head nod, tears already brimming his eyes. "With your father dead, only two descendants remain; You and Martino." Alessandra said as she averted her gaze to the grass between her feet. "While there is only one living member of the Costa family at the moment, you should not underestimate him. His name is Mark Costa, deadly in both hand-to-hand combat and firearms."
"But I have my own training, and my sixth sense will only add onto that, so shouldn't I be able to beat him?" Tony questioned, panic starting to raise in his own voice.
"You won't be able to defeat him because he cannot die." Alessandra said. "He too had a sixth sense like the one you have. The only difference is that his has evolved, something that can only be done by ending the life of the person most important in your life." At this Tony immediately felt a huge lump in his throat, catching up on what Alessandra was hinting at, and definitely not liking it. Alessandra was telling him to end Ziva's life. Tony immediately shook his head in disgust, closing off the option immediately. "Tony think about it! The only way you can kill him is if you attain the same level of evolution of your sixth sense as he has!" Alessandra exclaimed.
"But there has to be another way to defeat him, there has to!" Tony exclaimed, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Tony too saw the importance in ending the life of Alessandra opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. Tony noticed this and immediately questioned her about it, "So there is another way! Tell me!" Tony shouted, anger and panic flaring through his veins. Alessandra just stared at Tony for a few minutes before responding, "There is only one way you would be able to defeat him, and you're not going to like it." Alessandra replied. "Well any option is better than the one you're giving me right now." Tony shot back
Alessandra sighed a couple times before answering, "The absolute only other way you will be able to defeat Mark is by sacrificing yourself." Alessandra said quietly. Tony's heart was pounding in his chest, both from the happiness that Ziva would be saved, and also the sadness that in exchange, he would have to die instead. Alessandra continued after waiting a few moments for the revelation to sink in, "The one thing your sixth sense has that he doesn't is that you have the ability to strip others of their sixth sense. When someone's sixth is taken away, they also lose their life as well. If you were to do this to anyone else that had attained the sixth sense, you would do so without any harm done to you. However, since Mark's sixth sense has evolved, it will overpower your own sixth sense in the process, stripping you it. Thus, you would die with Mark."
This idea really had Tony scared. Scared because there were so many regrets in his life that he hadn't been able to right. The ultimate regret he had was the fact that he was never able to tell Ziva how he really felt about her. But if that was the price he had to pay to save Ziva's life and end Mark's, so be it. Having sensed Tony's decision, Alessandra shook her head, obviously not pleased with this decision. "You must really love her to take your life when you could easily end hers too." Alessandra said, still disappointed with Tony's decision. With a nod from Tony egging her on, the explained to Tony how to strip him of his sixth sense, "In order to strip Mark of his sixth sense, you have to lock eyes with him while maintaining physical contact. Once you succeed in this, you must mentally form a connection into his mind, allowing your eyes to read directly into his. I know this sounds hard, but don't worry, it comes naturally. Anyway, once you do this, your fates will be locked, and you will slowly strip him of his sixth sense. Once completed, you both will die." Alessandra explained quietly.
Alessandra gave Tony one last look, begging Tony to take the alternative approach in ending Mark's life. With a shake of his head, Alessandra knew there was no convincing him otherwise. Mark would die, and so would Tony, all to save Ziva's life.