Leonardo looked up as he heard footsteps approaching the ring of cages. And with took guards grasping onto his forearms, they dragged an uncontious Ezio into the room and threw him unceremoniously into his cell. Not many places were left untouched. If it wasn't a cut or gash, then it was a scape, or a bruise. Cesare had clearly been hardon the interrogation. Just the way his skin was paled unhealthily was more evedence of it.
"Ezio. Please. Please wake up." He whispered as he started to check him over. He then froze, no pulse! Was his friend... dead?
He was standing in that void, no pain. Nothing. Just that calming numb. It was then he saw a dove swoop down and change before his eyes into his little brother, Petruccio! The boy hugged him as he said, "I came to help." He reached up to where he remembered a guard had stabbed him multiple times in the stomach, and agony lanced through him! He pulled away.
"It's alright, Ezio. Just let me." He placed his small hand back to the wound, the pain dulled slowly down to a sting and then nothing at all.
"So you safe me from a stab wound?"
"An unjustious death." Petruccio corrected softly and he hugged him again. In moments he sat down so that he could easily wrap his arms around the child, but then before he could tell, he vanished, replaced by Leonardo!
The artist was practically crying in his shoulder, "I thought you were gone!"
He lightly patted the blonde's back to sooth him, and realized that there was a soft murmer from the back of the ceil. "Leonardo, I'm fine. Now did you hear that?"
Leonardo released him and listened, "Si, is anyone else here?"
He didn't answer, only came towards the sorce, where he found Mia curled out shivering. She too was victim to a visious beating like he was, only she clearly had more broken than her body. He took her slowly in his arms and cradled her softly, "It's alright. Nothing will happen to you anymore. I'll make sure of it."
It seemed like they was being used as human bait. Of course they wouldn't kill them! They were far too packed with useful imformation to be just murdered.
It was all too easy for the guards to set Bartolomeo off, and he was now joining Machiavelli and the others as they were dragged around. With the philosiper's suspitions, Maria and Claudia would react more hesitantly to just running in and trying to save them. Hell he was wrong...
Wrong how you might be asking. Well let's just leave it at Claudia stubbornly attacked and was easily knocked out, Maria seemed more angry towards what she had seen, though didn't attack. She defended herself. Which took a couple more unexpecting lives more than what her daughter had done. She too had been hit somewhere in the neck and was being dragged.
There's no one else they could capture but all the thieves, mercenaries, recruits, and courtesans. But even that would be foolish and next to impossible to do without an underground like the assassins had. They would obviously be taken and interrogated.
Machiavelli was thrown into a ceil with Bartolomeo and La Volpe, Claudia and Maria having to be with a shallowly breathing Luca.
"Hello? Is anyone else here?" Bartolomeo called, earning a couple looks of what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-dumbass from Machiavelli and La Volpe.
A raspy and uneasy voice, that sounded sort of depribed of water questioned back, "Who's there?"
Although how unsettlingly bad and unnerving the voice was, he remembered it. "Mia? Is that you?"
"Wait a minute, Machiavelli?"
Was that... Leonardo da Vinci? Damn! Luca wasn't kidding! "Yes, it's me. I and some others were captured. Is Ezio there?"
"He's asleep." Leonardo answered back.
"Asleep?"
"I'll leave it at Cesare was none too gentle with him."
Machiavelli made a silent 'oh' and reached a hand out through the bars, "Can you see my hand at all?"
"Si! You're in the ceil next to me!" The artist answered brightly. His voice dropped. "Hold on, I know where we can get a brick out so we can see." In a matter of moments, a brick in the wall wobbled and clattered on the floor. When a guard called from the hallway what the hell they were doing, La Volpe was quick to answer that Machiavelli had tripped over Bartolomeo. Note to self; smack that damned thief into next month. If that's even possible...
He came to the new found hole in the wall and saw Leonardo on the opposite side. The artist explained quietly, "There should be one on the other side of your ceil. Now be as careful as you can."
Machiavelli nodded and felt around the wall on the other side of the ceil, smirking when he found a loose one that he easily pushed in and heard it clatter.
"OW!"
"What the fuck are you doing in there?" The guard hissed from the hall.
"Sorry. I just tripped La Volpe and made him knock Bartolomeo over." Machiavelli answered with a sly grin at the thief, though he was rewarded with a kick to the side by both of his ceil mates.
"At least we can see each other now." Claudia whispered from her ceil.
"Right. Now how's Luca doing?"
"Not well."
"Merda..."
Machiavelli turned around to face the other wall as he growled, "Leonardo! Don't swear with a child in the same room! Dios mio!"
"That was Ezio." Leonardo stated flatly.
"Ezio? You're up? Are you feeling fine?"
With sarcasim lacing his tone, Ezio replied, "Just peachy. Infact, Leonardo and I are having a maserade ball in here, and I'm wearing the finest silk." His voice dropped to dead serious. "What do you think, stronzo?"
"Don't tear my head off for just being conserned." Machiavelli replied. "That's what La Volpe's for."
The thief scowled and punched his arm, "Go fuck yourself."
"You'd like it."
He was once again rewarded with a punch. This he could tell would be a long time...
