When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
Don't get too close
It's dark inside
It's where my demons hide
It's where my demons hide
When the curtain's call
Is the last of all
When the lights fade out
All the sinners crawl
Demons, by Imagine Dragons, on the album Night Visions, released in 2012
It was the last cage that we had to open. The last one that could possibly hold Pantasilea. If she was not in there, I did not wish to know where she could possibly be, or what they could have possibly done. And as much as I hated Bartolomeo for the way he treated my Isa, I did not wish the pain of losing a loved one on anyone. I had gone through it, and it hurt more then the deadliest blade strike could ever accomplish. Isa had held up extremely well during our impromptu rescue mission- and considering that we had never done something on this scale, it was impressive. Despite her earlier near encounter with a Templar, she had been done as I had trained her to- she did not hyperventilate, kept her cool, and did not give herself away. I am sure that had I not fired that arrow, she could have recovered. It was just sheer unlucky that she accidentally nudged her foot against the Templar's arm- it was an easy mistake that any experienced Assassin could make. But judging from her actions during our final infiltration to the last base, she seemed to have learned from it and built upon it. Pride came to me like a loyal dog to it's master- she had evolved and progressed from that little lost girl I had rescued those years ago. A girl who could not climb, defend herself, and had little to know confidence had changed into a girl who could climb at a speed rivalling me, defend herself to where even I would struggle to penetrate her tough walled defences, and had more confidence then she had previously. Sometimes she would return to that self-conscious state, but I was slowly working on that as her training went on. Becoming an Assassin was not all fun and games after all. I had never gotten over, nor could I even attempt to, how beautiful Isa looked in her customary robes, with them clinging to her body with grace, and bringing out her soft eyes. I was glad about many things surrounding Isa, and while some may think that I was glad about her coming here (which I was, do not get me wrong), I was glad that she was able to adapt, even if it required effort on her part. Can you imagine what it would have been like, being thrown from one, seemingly more advanced time, back to one that you believed did not exist? It would be jarring to say the least. Many would not be able to adapt, and like animals who moved from climate to climate without adapting, they would have died. This was the same for Isa. Now she was like un vortice vizioso. She had managed to adapt her fighting style to suit her, and it had been working better for her then mine would have ever done. Not once had she mentioned ever missing her time, so I was not sure of her issues on the matter. A small part of me, the selfish part, wanted her to stay permanently, regardless of whatever was going on at her home, but the larger part wished for her to do whatever she wished to, regardless of my input. I think I would be devastated had I been left by her, but my ultimate goal is to keep her safe and happy.
I was once again reminded of both how much she had changed but how little she had changed demeanour wise. She still held her compassion despite how much she had been forced to change. She would never kill for no reason, she was always justified. She never prolonged suffering, she always shortened it to the best of her ability. Some assassin's grew to love the blood rush they felt when killing someone, enjoying the power they held and felt. They had no compassion or remorse. Isa seemed to be the opposite- while she could come to terms about the decisions she was forced to make, she could never truly shake the remorse she felt. She hated to kill, and there was nothing that anyone could do to change it. And I was grateful for that. I could never see her as a ruthless killer- and I was glad that I never would have to. Isa reached forward and quickly silenced a Templar who she had managed to catch by herself. She quickly silenced her with a hidden blade to the back, before lying her next to her comrade. We were just a few metres away from the final cage, but from the angle where I was, I could see no female looking woman. And I was afraid that this might be a failure. Or at the very least a partial failure. I knew what one person who lost a loved one looked like...and like I said before, I wouldn't dare wish it on anyone. That was something both me and Isa could agree on. We were very similar her and I- in both that we lost family, and in ideology. We agreed on so many things- and if I was a man who believed in fate then I would say that we are two halves of a whole. Our plan was mapped out to the best of our ability- we would take out as many of the Templar's as we could, before we released the latch, attempting to rescue those who were still captured. And aid those who were injured. But it was nowhere near as easy as that plan seemed on paper. There was a high likelihood that one of us would get seen, because no matter how our skills were, or how stealthily we were, the odds were against us. Especially with the light levels. They could be harsh and unforgiving at the best of times. We would have to be extremely lucky. I was an okay assassin, but I wasn't foolhardy. I looked at Isa, before pointedly nudging my head to the two Templars who were standing guard in front of the cage. She nodded, brows furrowing, before I turned back to face them, my leg bent in preparation to spring. I sprung, Isa following suit, as I stabbed my blade into his neck, before lowering him to the ground. Isa did the same, but by stabbing her target in the back, before lying them together. I snuck over to the cage, leaving Isa hidden in the grass bush, as I took the blade out of my hidden blade, and sliced open the piece of rope keeping the metal door shut. It swung open, as I caught it, allowing it to slowly open. Much to my relief it didn't make a noise, and while I stood guard Isa crept in, telling the captives to hush in softly spoken Italian. Using her hidden blade, she cut their legs and hands apart from each other, allowing them to flee.
"Qualcuno ha visto Pantasilea?"
She got a chorus of 'no's until one young man came up to her and whispered under his breath an answer. The reply was in a heavily accented voice, which to me, sounded like French. Why he didn't reply in Italian was none of my business.
"A Templar came and took 'er a few nights 'go. We aven't 'een 'er since."
She thanked him in English this time, before telling him to flee to safety. He nodded, but said that if we ever needed help, he would help us regardless of Bartolomeo's views on the matter. I wasn't sure if that degree of loyalty was a good thing or not. But we could need all of the help we could get. After we let them all out, I shut the gate, before going back into the grass, as Isa's brown eyes became lit up in a bright silver. She had a brief grimace of pain, before she whispered in my direction that she could see where they went. I took a step back and allowed her to track while I kept an eye out for any remaining Templars. We were loosing the last bit of light we could cling to, but we still hadn't found Pantasilea. I could only hope that we found her, one way or another.
We had both mutually agreed to check the building she had led us to. She confirmed, to the best of her ability, that the last place Pantasilea was, was in this building. I couldn't see any characters covered in a golden hue, nor could I see any shining in a light blue hue either. It was unnerving to say the least. We went back to back on the door, with Isa looking at me cautiously. I nodded, before pushing it open softly, with my eyes scanning our immediate surroundings. Due to the darkness surrounding the room, it was easier to see using my eagle vision, which made the room go brighter to a light grey rather than a pitch black. I couldn't see any glowing red figures, and from the looks of it, Isa couldn't see anything either. I felt something strange dance down my back, and I immediately tried to discern what it was. There was something about this room that felt strange to me- and my instincts were telling me to be wary, that I wouldn't like what I would see. The few times I had felt this feeling, they were always correct- the first time was when my family were killed, and the second time was when Isa was about to get..okay...when Isa arrivedhere. We won't discuss what that Templar had on his mind. My instincts were never wrong- and it kept me on edge.
"Do you feel that?"
I asked her, and she nodded. She looked uncomfortable where she was standing, and she looked like she was struggling with her instincts. There was just something about this room...something evil and cruel here.
"It feels wrong."
I agreed, keeping my vision lit in my eyes. We carefully trudged through the first room, not seeing something too bad. It was just deserted, like nobody had used it in days, or even months. It wasn't unusual to see that, but I knew that there was else that was upsetting my instincts. We opened the second door, and Isa turned to recoil as the horrible smell of blood assaulted our noses. It was enough to upset even my stomach, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was used to the smell. But this was awful..beyond comprehension. Isa had gone pale, refusing to even look at Pantasilea, as she looked increasingly nauseous at the sight. I didn't blame her, I wasn't much longer from doing the same thing. How could they do such a thing? The monsters! She was an innocent- what could they gain from..doing thatto her? From what Bartolomeo had told me, she knew hardly anything about their operation!
"We..we have to take the body back to him."
Isa whispered, with the notable sound of revulsion in her voice. Despite that, she seemed remorseful, even upset. She was still pale, but now she was looking at Pantasilea's body with sorrow, a faraway look on her face. It was just as soon replaced with a familiar sight of guilt, one that I had worn on my own face many times. It didn't belong on her face..why was it on her face?! She had done nothing wrong- we had infiltrated successfully, we had done our best to make sure that we would get her out..but the Monstershad already..taken her life. Isa walked over to her corpse, and covered her with her blanket, before bending down on one knee. She brushed her hands over her eyes, closing them and hiding their haunted looks.
"Mi dispiace che la mia presenza qui abbia affrettato la tua morte. Prenderò il peso della mia colpa su di me."
Wait...why would she say that? There was nothing she could have done to prevent this. It was not her fault, she had done nothing to hasten or disrupt this. So why would she think that? Wait..she said that where she came from, she had lived my story in a 'video game'. Could it be that in the story she was used to, Pantasilea lived? And that the reason she felt guilt was because here she died? It was a very plausible explanation. During my thoughts, she had managed to sling Pantasilea's body over her shoulder and was carrying her out with a bit of difficulty. I walked towards her to offer assistance, but she shook her head vehemently.
"I need to do this on my own."
I didn't argue, instead slowing to match her pace. I was keeping an eye out for any Templars, to protect her while she was carrying her. Fortunately, it seemed like we had managed to be quiet enough to not attract any attention, so sneaking out was an easy enough process. We stuck to the streets, walking between crowds and merging with the walls when needed. If anyone asked, I just said that she could not hold her alcohol. I hated to speak ill of the dead, but if we had been honest then we would have been caught in an instant. And we could not do anything if we were in a jail cell, so it was lying we were left to.
After roughly half an hour of backtracking and avoiding patrolling Templars, we had finally managed to make it back to Bartolomeo's. Isa had shown no signs of stopping with her determined walking. She looked remorseful, and as much as I wanted to comfort her, I knew that attempting it right now would only increase to make her agitated. Resolving to talk to her about it after, I just walked beside her, solemnly and comfortingly. There wasn't much I could do until she had calmed down and chose to speak to me. Pushing would get me nowhere. As much as I was afraid for her mental state- having only seen her like this when she had killed for the first time- I was also afraid of what she would be like once Bartolomeo had hissay. Grief was a fickle, curious thing, and it effected everyone differently. And considering that they did not get on, on the best of days, I wasn't looking forward to his reaction. And it looked like I would get to witness myself. I carefully opened the door, as Isa filed in behind me, carefully placing Pantasilea's body on the floor, with a delicacy that I wouldn't have managed.
"Ezio? Pantasilea, mia cara?"
I could practically feel Isa flinch from where I was. It made me want to encompass her in a hug even more- until I remembered that she was strong. She didn't need me to protect her- she could protect herself. It did not reduce my feeling any less though. Bartolomeo came through a nearby door, smiling and with a bounce in his stride. It was unusual to see in a man like a mercenary, but it was not surprising. But it was about to be shredded into tiny pieces- and I did not want to see what he was like when he was devestated.
"Bartolomeo..there isn't an easy way to explain this.."
I began, hating the fact that I was about to inform him that his partner was no longer amongst us. It was not a job I took lightly, however rare I had to do it. It was not done very often by me, but I had always struggled to break it gently. Some people took the news badly, some took it as well as they could- and by that I meant bursting into tears and collapsing on the ground. Each one I could remember, and it always had upset me to some degree. I am not heartless you know. Isa shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot, but that small movement had managed to allow Bartolomeo to see her corpse. And once he had caught that small glimpse, he charged through the gap, unbalancing both me and Isa, and crouched down, removing the blanket that Isa had draped around her. He looked at her for a moment, before he howled. It was a howl that someone made if they lost everything they had ever owned, a purely lost and forlorn sound. But once he had finished, the sadness and initial shock made way for another emotion- anger. Quicker then I could react, he charged up to Isa, and held his hand up to her threateningly.
"This is all your fault!"
He spat, as I made my way to intercept the two before he could make any attempt at harming Isa. He had once before, I did not want to give him another chance to. By the time I had covered the short distance, he had swung his arm back and punched her in the face. It made an awful sound, but I could not tell if anything was broken. The thing is, I knewIsa could have either ducked away from the punch or deflected in, but she did not. Did she think she deserved it? Because she did not. I could reaffirm and confirm that to her. This. Was. Not. Her. Fault. I extended my hidden blade and pushed it threateningly in front of Bartolomeo's chest, shielding Isa with my body. Even if she was willing to get herself hurt, I wasn't willing. I was furious, anger shaking my entire body, and it took everything I could not to act on it.
"How dare you hurt her!"
"This is all yourfault!"
Our sentences overlapped, as Bartolomeo seemingly became aware of a blade in front of his chest and backed away. I retracted my hidden blade, seeing that he was threatened enough, and I glared at him with as much venom as I could muster. I was snapped out of it by Isa placing her hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look at her after being satisfied that Bartolomeo was not going to harm me. She shook her head, her hand rubbing her jaw absent-mindedly. I wanted to argue but her soft eyes convinced me otherwise. She simply walked in front of me, and looked at Bartolomeo with pity and guilt in her eyes. She made no attempt to attack, she just stayed calm and remorseful.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I wish I could have saved her."
Then she left, as I fought the urge to either attack him or pursue her. Knuckles clenched, I fought off the urge to attack him- not that I did not want to. But I knew that Isa would not want me to viciously maul him, so I kept the rage in, threw one last glare at him, before I left, eager to pursue my emotionally distressed partner. She did not need to be alone. I did not leave before I left him some parting words:
"I will let this slide for her. I hope we can still rely on you to take out Barbarigo. But do not expect to get off so lightly if you dare hurt her again."
He nodded hurriedly as I left, switching into Eagle Vision. I could not see any purple figures surrounding the crowds of Venice, so I decided to try and establish where she could have gone. If I knew her, she always threw herself into her training when she was angry or upset: 'To improve herself' she said, 'to make me better.' Yet despite this, she could never see that while improving was good, to do it like this was unhealthy. Like she had on that day a long time ago, she would throw herself into it until she was no longer able to push herself. I could still remember the last time she had done this- pushing herself. By the time I had found her, she was about to pass out from sheer exhaustion, and when she collapsed in my arms I was worried, afraid that she was going to have a fit or become injured. Sighing, I shook my head of those depressing thoughts, and made my way to the Hideout, knowing that she would more than likely be there. If she was not, well, it could not be hard to find a passero, could it?
Translations
Una verità dura – A Hard Truth
un vortice vizioso. - a vicious whirlwind
Qualcuno ha visto Pantasilea? - Has anyone seen Pantasilea?
Mi dispiace che la mia presenza qui abbia affrettato la tua morte. Prenderò il peso della mia colpa su di me.- I'm sorry that my presence here has hastened your death. I will take the weight of my guilt on me.
Mia Cara – my dear
Passero – Sparrow
Author's Note
Soooo...I killed Pantasilea off. Sorry? I'm hoping to use it as a way to expand both Isa and Ezio's character (as well as Bartolomeo). It's also to demonstrate how everything isn't hunky dory in my version of the ACU. Did I pull it off? Nope. I'm terrible at characterising, and both Ezio and Isa seem very Jane/John Doe ish. I'll work on it, I promise.
I PASSED ALL MY MOCKS on another note. Five A's and a B (although it was 73%, the only prelim to have the A mark over 75.) I lovvveeee revising.. totally. Thank you to everybody who is reading this! I really appreciate it. I know my writing skills aren't the best, but I do try.
Also, if anybody wishes to design me a new story banner, then be my guest. I'll credit you if I decide to use it. I unfortunately didn't take Graph Com, and as such designed a terrible banner for this story.
Anyway, have a nice week:
~Cait
Edit ~ 27/2/19 ~ Changed all instances of 'Bianca' to 'Pantasilea'. Apparently I remembered wrong and got them the wrong way round. 'Bianca' is a sword, 'Pantasilea' is his WIFE.