I had always wanted to visit the Pantheon, but I had never had the chance to be in Rome. Now, I was getting my chance, albeit a couple of millenniums in the past. My robes were covering me up, shrouding me in the darkness. Ezio was on the layer above, and we were trying to get to the centre. But our job wasn't that easy- it was full of Templars, and we needed to get in stealthily. The Assassin 's didn't have that strong of a presence in Rome yet- and it probably wouldn't until Ezio had been to Venice and back, and the prat Rodrigo Borgia had been laid to rest. I know I said I would try to not alter the timeline too much, but I will not allow Monteriggioni to fall. I will do everything in my power to make sure that it will not happen. Ezio shall not lose his last father figure. I will do everything in my power to prevent him from going through that, even if it is me in his place. He has much to live for- I, on the other hand, not so much. Slipping from the shadows, I crouch to the wall, activating the sight that we had still not named. I didn't know what it was just yet, but I was able to control it well enough with a few of Ezio's tips. It certainly wasn't as easy as a button press, but then again, when is it? The background dulled to a faded grey, a line detailing the guard's paths. It glows a vibrant amber, standing out against the lifeless background. I can see the guards- who are lit up in a furious crimson- walk around, translucently. Ezio glowed a sharp purple colour, flaring viciously above me. I 'saw' the guards patrolling around, around about 30 seconds between each member. They will not see me- but one will catch sight of Ezio if he goes to take one out. I would have to take out the guard that will see him- else we risk being detected.


I still hated killing..it seemed wrong to me, and I felt completely and utterly evil when I did it. But I had to kill to defend us..but does that make it right? It was these kind of philosophical thoughts which tormented me day after day, night after night. It was the same thoughts that made me stay awake at night, giving me horrific nightmares. I never realised how Altaïr, Ezio, Ratonhnhaké:ton, or any of the other Assassins coped with this..or how hard it was. Each had different reactions.

Altaïr was brought into the Brotherhood from a very young age after his parents were murdered. He knew only the Tenets, and when he disobeyed them, he learnt a valuable lesson. But as a result, he was hardened, and prepared for killing.

Ezio was born into the Brotherhood, but the knowledge remained hidden to him until after his Father and Brothers were killed, and his Uncle Mario told him. He followed his anger for revenge, and his first kill was Vieri, his childhood bully. We were never shown how he coped- besides his anger and fury towards the corpse, and I had not asked for fear of upsetting him.

Ratonhnhaké:ton, while not born into the Brotherhood, lost everything when George Washington ordered his village to be burned down. He lost his Ista (Mohawk for Mother, I believe), and vowed to Charles Lee to take his revenge when he was old enough. He refused to kill those who did not need to die- taking the Creed far more literally then his Ancestors did.

Then there was me. Isabella, half Italian, half English, fluent in both languages. Father died when I was 10, Grandparents when I was 16, left with an estranged asshole for an Uncle, and filed for emancipation. Normal school girl besides all that, until I ended up here. Far from what these three Assassins, and other's had been through- in the time I was born, I was protected, and had no need to fight, and as such never had any training.

I was far behind the Assassins, and I wasn't sure if I had any chance of catching up. I doubted it..but I will keep trying.


Snapping out of my thoughts, I sprang like a coiled viper. One hand wrapped around his mouth, my hidden blade piercing through his heart like a knife through butter. As I added another nightmare to the list, and blood pooled, I dragged the corpse back, and hid it in a nearby box. Switching my vision once more, I see Ezio dragging a similarly shaped body back, hiding it in the shrouds of the shadows. I wipe my blade on the cloth of the fallen guard, and quickly retract it with a shink. Seeing that the two guards were momentarily distracted, I dived towards the hay cart, and jumped in it soundlessly. I stayed as still as a statue, trying not to gain any attention.

"Filip?"

I hear the guard mutter, his tone annoying and angry. We had a little bit closer to go..just a few more steps and we'd be there. Straining my ears, I could hear the dull sound of rattling, and the extremely light-sounding footsteps. Ezio. I could hear a small thud as he threw something a little distance away, and I peeked out through the hay. He had thrown a smoke cloud, forcing a large plume of smoke to emit. With the Guard's distracted, I sprang out of the hay cart, and we sprinted to the centre. Ezio looked over his shoulder, before his eyes lit up in Eagle Vision. He slammed his hidden blade into the small bricked structure, and turned it sharply. I switched to my vision, and looked carefully at the direction where the guards went. Their paths were still heading in the direction away to us, so we shouldn't be seen. As a sharp light emitted from our necklace and broach, the wall rumbled away, and the floor pulled away, showing a small descending staircase. As we walked down into the unending staircase, it reminded me of a quote from Shaun in Revelations

"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again."


As the entrance shut behind us, I followed Ezio as he guided us through the hidden tomb of the Pantheon. The tunnel was small, claustrophobic, and altogether too tight of a space. If there was any other way, I would've taken it, but if I wanted answers I would have to put up with it. For both mine and Ezio's sake. Anxious feelings racked through me, for a number of reasons, but I hastily shoved it aside. If I even slightly pushed my hands out, they glided over the mossy stone cold walls. Ezio's eyes were glowing a golden colour, to make it easier to see, and I was eager to see if my vision would have the same effect. As the world quickly shifted into reverse shades of colours, I see a duo of people walk through the corridors, each draped in robes that I felt like I had seen before. As they strolled ahead of Ezio, they paused, and one of them lunged towards the wall, hidden blade extended. It slammed into the wall, and the owner twisted their wrist, while putting considerable force behind the push. As it pushed in and twisted, poles emerged out of the sides of the wall, as the floor fell inwards like a trap door. Underneath, I could clearly see spikes..which Ezio would run straight into. I leapt towards Ezio and grabbed him by the hood, yanking him back suddenly. He made a brief coughing noise as the hood temporarily constricted his throat. He quickly turned to face me out of instinct, his golden eyes narrowing.

"Cazzo?!"

He momentarily shouted, surprised by the force of the yanking back. I released his hood, and he pulled it back up, shrouding his face once more. As if to prove my point, the floor dropped, revealing the spikes I had seen prior. Ezio's eye widened as he realised the depth of the danger he could've been in, and hastily murmured an apology to me. With a quiet noise, the poles emerged, and Ezio looked at me quizzically, his eyes still holding their golden hue. In response, I tapped the side of my eyes, demonstrating my eyes shining silver. Sometimes you didn't need words. Just eyes. Eyes are the gateway to the soul. And I happen to believe that. I looked back to the poles, and realised that the figures were only jumping every second pole, rather then one by one. Upon looking closer, I realised that the ones they were avoiding were slightly shinier then usual; perhaps suggesting a different material.

"Ezio..only jump on every second pole."

"Capisco. I can see the difference in my eagle vision."

Ezio lead on first, me waiting for him to cross before I dared to follow. It was simple enough- ad I had improved on free-running enough to allow me to do this simple acrobatic feat. Provided I didn't look down or lose my balance that is. I didn't want to die by spikes, as much as it seem pleasant. Step. Jump. Balance. Jump. Long Jump. Balance. Jump. Soon enough, we had crossed to the other side, and with our eyes still shining our respective silver and gold, we continued our travelling through the tomb, wary for any more hidden traps. Whatever was hidden down here, was something the people last down here didn't want found.


A large gap separated us from the next chamber. We couldn't climb across, the walls to decayed and mossy, and there was no hand nor foot holds, meaning it would be a perilless climb. Hole was however deep it was, and neither of us dared to jump down, in fear of broken legs, spikes, or even death. My vision revealed no secrets, barring the golden outline in the wall to my right. It was only a small marking, but I walked over to the wall anyway, if only to appease my unsated curiously.

"Ezio!"

I called out, gaining his attention from where he was heavily scrutinising the pit. Di morte. I added on in Italian. Of course, I didn't know that for sure, but whatever.

"Sì?"

I ran my soft hands over the stone brick, feeling the engraved details worming it's way into my mind.

"The bricks are engraved with symbols- perhaps they could help?"

Ezio came closer, staring at the wall with an eye for detail. His eyes lit up in surprise. They were symbols that I didn't know, but judging by Ezio's face he knew them well.

"I know this!"

His eyes were like a child's on Christmas, and they were bouncing around everywhere like a child who had too much sugar. Wow, I am on a roll with these child analogies.

"How so?"

I queried, as he continued to concentrate on the symbols. He flexed his hidden blades, but made no move to stab it into the slot I had seen.

"This is the old code of Assassins- a series of symbols used to communicate to other Assassins, throughout dozens of eras, all the way back to the first. It was based off of the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and was made mandatory to learn, all way throughout the Brotherhood. But a century after Altaïr passed, it wasn't mandatory anymore. Mario had made me learn it, as he believed all descendants of Mentores should."

I was surprised by this little revelation (see what I did there?) as even during Origins, we were given no knowledge of this little fact. But I need to stop referencing to the games- after all, this is real life now.

"I..didn't know that."

He smiled at me charmingly, before he turned to the wall. He continued to concentrate on the walls before he mentioned that he would teach me when we got back to Monteriggioni. I agreed immediately, and while he did say he would teach me later, he did point out little symbols to me here and there as he noticed.

"See this here? This is the symbol for Assassin."

The symbol in question was a small indented triangle, with a blade intersecting it. It sort of reminded me of the modern Assassin's symbol, so it was easy to link together. I hummed in the agreement, allowing him to continue to decipher whatever he was deciphering.

"This? This is the symbol for origin."

Ezio was in his element, and it was strange for me to see him like this. I never would've guessed he was into code-breaking, just like I would never have guessed that the Assassins had a hidden code.


"Aha!"

Ezio announced triumphantly, around about twenty minutes later. I got up and stretched, from my previous sitting position on the floor.

"I deciphered it!"

"What does it say?"

I queried, anxious to get our answers soon. I was dying of boredom here..plus I hated the feeling of claustrophobia. Ezio looked towards to me, smirking once more with a cocky expression.

"Two Assassins. Press. Order. Assassin. Origin. Master. Blade. Loyalty. Stealth. Hidden Ones"

How he recited that off by memory lord only knows.

"..so we press the bricks in that order?"

And he nods, and proceeded to get to work. One false move, and everything could go downhill rapidly. But I had trust in Ezio and his abilities, and doubting him would do me no good now. He pressed each brick in one at a time, slowly repeating the code he deciphered to himself like a mantra. Soon enough he had pressed them all in, before slotting his blade into the gap I had noticed prior. With a short sharp burst of noise, a swing like contraption emerged down from the previously tar black roof. Now we could run, grab onto the pole swing thing, (I am so calling it that for the rest of my life) and swing across to the other side, thankfully getting out of this room. I was happening to get sick of it.


How do we end up in these situations? Honestly I have the crappiest luck in the history of luck. Enemies? No. Assassin's Creed, despite the Pieces of Eden, is a fairly realistic game. Thus, no dragons, no skeletons, no long dead God's coming back to bite us in the ass? Water? No I'm not Altaïr (though I wish I was sometimes), I can swim to a degree. And by degree, I mean not very well but enough to save my life. Hate deep water though- I'm way out of my comfort zone in there. Confessed my ever growing feelings to Ezio? Sorry, but no. Too much of a coward to do that. I wish though. Got seriously injured? Okay I'm just going to say it. The thing that I was dreading, the thing I was fearing, was this tiny trapeze like switch in the room. Like the previous room, you couldn't climb, but unlike last time there was no secret switches or engravings. And the Pit, Di morte was back again. Fottermi. And that put an image in my head I'd rather not describe.

'Oh lord, our God, thy children come, grant us thy peace, and bless us all.'

Why that rhyme sprung to mind I don't know, but I was trying to get the image out of my mind. Hence, the random rhyme like mantra. The room was like a canvas, a clean slate until we came up with an idea to paint it with. Meaning, we were stuck until we figured out how to cross. And trust me, both Ezio and Me tried our damnedest to find one. But alas, there wasn't one. Just that pendulum like swing, covered in vines and moss. I hate the feeling of moss..and seaweed, and tevlon and- I'm going to stop complaining now. Because that would just get boring.

"How do we cross this?"

I muttered, questioning how in the hell we were supposed to cross. Ezio's eyes were still shining a vibrant gold, much like my own with silver. But I was beginning to get a headache-because of the prolonged use. I was so new to using it, my sight had not yet adjusted for prolonged use. Or that was my theory anyway. I rubbed the middle of my forehead, trying to ignore the building pain. Ezio glanced at me worriedly, before I shook my head at him. There was no point in him worrying about me- plus if I turned off my sight then how would I be able to see? Simple, I couldn't.

"No..non può essere. Come?"

"What?"

I asked, looking at him as the worried glint in his eyes is visible again.

"I think..I think someone has to jump."

I looked at him, my eyes blown wide open in shock. I shook my head and rubbed my forehead once more, certain that I was hearing things. Probably just me sinuses buggered up, as a result of this damn headache. It was like someone kept whacking me in the head repeatedly.

"Scusatemi. Ho udito bene?"

Ezio shook his head, as we both leant carefully over the pit. He threw a smoke bomb down into the hole which we couldn't see the bottom of, and listened carefully for the small sound of the bomb hitting the floor. When we heard the smallest sound, we scrutinised the bottom of the pit, but to our dismay we couldn't see the smoke cloud. Well that plan was out. I looked at Ezio and sighed..if I used his back as a springboard I could probably make it. Key word being probably. If not, well I had a nice life.

"I'll jump"


Ezio argued for about thirty minutes, but after realising I wasn't giving in, he just looked at me. This could be my last minutes on earth..well go pessimism. But I couldn't bring myself to go and admit my feelings to him. I just lacked the courage. My throat would seize up at the thought, and if I wasn't careful I would end up having a panic attack. And I hate them. Ezio was crouched down near the edge, his back at a 45 degree angle. I mentally prepared myself for this leap of faith, and got into a sprinting method.

One, two three four. I leap up off the floor

I muttered, trying to calm my nerves. Rhymes seemed to help- I'll keep that in mind next time I had a panic attack. I suppose it was the repetitiveness of it, but who knows. I'm no psychologist.

Cinque, Sei, Sette, Otto. Upon my life, I bestow.

I started to run, heels pounding against the weird stone like floor. Clumsiness, please don't attack me now, because I didn't fancy accidentally dying..even if I might end up that way anyway. Okay, if clumsiness can leave, please can the pessimism? Sometimes I really hate my nature.

Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Upon the depths, I do not delve.

I ran, and I ran, and like an eagle spreading it's wings, I soared.


Translations

Cercare la verità – To seek the truth

Cazzo – the fuck

Capisco – I understand

Di morte – Of death

Non può essere – It can't be.

Come - How

Fottermi. - Fuck me

Scusatemi. Ho udito bene? – Excuse me. Did I hear you right?

Cinque, Sei, Sette, Otto – Five, Six, Seven, Eight.


Author's Note

Here's another chapter :D. Action, action, filler. But then I switched writing styles, again. Don't you love how indecisive I am.

I so want to play the new Spiderman game, but I don't own a PS4. Damn exclusives.

Uhm, so how has everyone been, apart from my first world problems. Hope everyone been okay. Myself? My Granddad's in hospital again after only lasting a few days in his new carehome..but I'm coping. Writing is a good outlet. Honestly, I wouldn't blame you if you skim over the author's note, but if you are reading, thanks for reading my story, and I hope you are okay wherever you are in the world.

Bla bla bla don't own it, blah blah blah, Isa.

You get my point by now.

Hope you enjoyed reading

~Cait