A/N: The new Volume 8 of RWBY is out, and I have seen the first episode! Not going to spoil it, but damn! Things are getting crazy and messed up now! Well, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 10: Sequence 3: Assassinate Vieri de' Pazzi
"Alright! Time take out Vieri!" Ruby cheered as she controls Ezio guiding him to the next area of the game.
"Should we be worried about your sister in this part of the game?" Weiss whispered to Yang.
The brawler just shrugged and whispered back. "Well, I can imagine what Ezio is going to do to that bastard Vieri but let's not forget that this is just a game, and it's supposed to be fun."
Weiss nodded in agreement, nearly forgetting that this is just a game, and Blake listened with her Faunus traits also agreed while this game is educational.
Ezio Auditore journeyed to San Gimignano to help his uncle, Mario Auditore, kill Vieri de' Pazzi, one of the Templars responsible for the conspiracy against his family led to the execution of his male kin.
The screen now shows a new location offering many people traveling on the dirt road, and out in the distance, they can see a stone wall out in the space.
Their Scrolls altered them from Tython.
'Ladies, what you are seeing is San Gimignano.'
"Wow…" Ruby says in awe while the others were also awed by the scenery.
"Love the view," Yang smirked.
"Anything you can tell us about this place?" Weiss asked.
'There will be a notification about it.'
"Good to know." Blake comments.
After a long travel Ezio arrived at San Gimignano and found his uncle and his troops outside the city. In a small hut that is away from prying eyes.
"Found them!" Ruby chirped as he controls Ezio to go towards his uncle.
He got off his horse and quickly met his uncle, who was with his mercenary troops.
"Ezio? What are you doing here?" Mario questioned, surprised to see his nephew here.
"He's here to help, big guy," Yang smirked, happy that Ezio is helping his uncle.
"Taking responsibility," Ezio answered. "Vieri troubles you because of me."
Mario chuckled happily to hear his nephew. "Vieri troubles us because he is a Templar, and we are Assassins."
"Either way, Ezio still wants to help." Blake comments.
"Either way. I wish to help."
"Va bene. (Alright.)" Mario said as he begins to explain the plan. "Then listen close: First, we must find a way inside the city. Though it seems Vieri expects us..."
"Naturally." Weiss rolled his eyes in disgust. "A man like him would expect to protect himself after all the pain he has caused."
"He has sealed the gates and sent his men to guard them. Fortunately for us, the city is larger than its host. The southern gate suffers for it. So this is where we will strike. Pronti? (Ready?)"
"Ready!" Ruby echoed with a determined look as she grips the controller.
A notification appears.
'WHAT GOES AROUND.'
'Help Mario and his men assassinate Vieri de' Pazzi.'
'Checkpoint reached.'
"Time to deal with another person who caused so much pain for the Auditores," Blake says while she inwardly flinches, seeing a similar theme of revenge, but she reminded herself that Ezio is nothing like Adam. The only difference was that involved Ezio's family while Adam's was just his blinded vendetta.
It was now nighttime. Ezio follows Mario and his mean as they reached the gates, only to find it closed.
"Oh~. A night raid!" Yang punned while everyone just groaned. Ruby's eye twitched in annoyance while he controlled Ezio following his uncle and men until they reached their destination.
"Alright, Ezio. Here's how it is going to work," Mario speaks as the camera begins, so show over the walls showing guards stationed on some of the roofs of the houses inside and the gates closed with a lever close to it while there are tons of guards guarding it against the outside. "My men and I will distract the guards. Once we've engaged them, get yourself over the wall and find a way to open the gate. Take these throwing knives. Use them to dispatch the archers."
"Oh! New weapons!" The Reaper giddily said.
"Seeing Ezio with more than one weapon makes me feel that we should have a secondary weapon than our main ones." Weiss points out the idea.
"Yup! Which is why I'm recreating the Hidden Blade." Ruby proudly said. "I can make you all one when I finish making the first one."
This gave a thoughtful look from the others in what they can do with their own Hidden Blade, but they just focused the game for now.
"I'm ready when you," Ezio says with determination.
"Then let us begin. All'attacco! (Charge!)" The leader of the mercenaries shouts he led the charge to the front gate.
'WEAPON SELECTION.'
'PRESS (button) to access the WEAPON WHEEL. Select your THROWING DAGGERS.'
'Climb the ramparts.'
"Okay! Better follow the plan!" Ruby excitingly said as she controlled Ezio to do just that.
"Good luck Rubes!" Yang cheered for her sister.
Taking this opportunity, Ezio climbed over the southern wall to deal with the archers, while Mario and his men fought the guards outside the gate.
"It's getting intense out there." Blake worriedly said as she was familiar with that kind of violence during her time with the White Fang.
'Activate the lever.'
"That's right. I recall seeing a lever when Mario was explaining the plan." Weiss pointed at as she remembered when the screen showed the gate's location inside the walls.
'THROWING KNIVES'
'SELECT throwing knives on your weapon wheel. PRESS (button) to target an enemy, then PRESS (button) to FIRE them.'
"Just the same way as switching weapons." Ruby hummed.
"I count three archers, Ruby." The cat Faunus said. "Ready to put those daggers to use?"
"You know I am!" The red-cloaked girl cheered. "I'm confident in my aim!"
"Don't you mean with rifles?" Yang tilted her head. "I don't think I've ever seen you use throwing knives before."
Ruby slightly blushed but quickly compose herself. "First time for anything!"
Following this, Ezio focused on the archers and threw one of the throwing knives, quickly killing the archers and making sure that none left before opening the gates for his uncle.
"That was easy," Weiss said, feeling somewhat disappointed at how simple Ezio took out the guards.
"I guess it's because that Ezio had the element of surprise." Blake reasoned. "Or that it's straightforward to take out the guards with throwing knives in a game."
"Maybe I should start practicing throwing stuff aside from using rifles," Ruby says.
Yang grinned and made a mock gasp. "Does that mean you're giving up your precious baby, Crescent Rose?"
"What? No!" Ruby quickly protested. "I-I just want to know what it's like to throw instead of shooting, that's all! I would never abandon my baby!"
The young assassin walks up to the lever and quickly activates it opening the gates.
As the girls watched the gate open fully, they see Mario and his men engaging the guards.
"Whoa!" Yang shouts in surprise. "It's getting crazy out there!"
"And not a moment too soon!" Ruby shouts as she controls Ezio to join the fight.
He then quickly joins in the fight to assist his uncle and mercenaries.
After killing the guards, they quickly entered San Gimignano.
"That's the last one." Ruby proudly said.
"Time to raid the castle now," Blake said while shivered a bit, saying something that her former comrades among the WF would say.
A profile database on San Gimignano appears.
"Oh! A profile on San Gimignano." Weiss said in interest, making Ruby click on the profile.
'Named after Saint Geminianus, who supposedly conjured up a dense fog to save the city of Modena from Attila the Hun, San Gimignano was founded in the 3rd Century. The city grew from the 10th Century onward as a stopping point along the pilgrimage to Rome.
In 1199, once its citizens grew wealthy, San Gimignano separated from the bishops of Volterra and became self-governing. The city's distinctive towers were created as its wealthy citizens competed to display how much money was actually in their pockets. In its heyday, the city had 72 towers.
But the plague of 1348 decimated San Gimignano. Without money for upkeep, the town started to fall apart. The council appealed to Florence, and Florence took control.'
"Fascinating." Weiss hummed. "San Gimignano somewhat reminds me of the history of Argus."
"What do you mean?" Yang asked curiously.
"Well, Argus was originally founded by settlers from Mistral, who struggled with the local climate." The heiress explained while everyone listened. "Since the location was close to Atlas, there was an influx of settlers which resulted in strong trading links between the two kingdoms making Argus flourish and have been protected by the Atlas Military from the Grimm to this day."
"Wow!" Ruby says in awe. "I wonder what it's like there?"
"I've never been there myself, but I heard that Argus has a beautiful northern coastline," Weiss revealed.
"That sounds nice," Blake comments but wondered about something from the profile. "But who's Attila the Hun?"
A message from Tython appeared from their Scrolls.
'In the year 445, Attila is a 5th-century king of the Hunnic Empire and the sole ruler of the Huns. Attila united the tribes of the Hun kingdom and was said to be a just ruler to his people. But Attila was also an aggressive and ruthless leader.'
"I see…" Blake says as studied words. "I take it he tried to invade San Gimignano."
'Actually, it was a man named Saint Geminianus that stopped Atilla from sacking a town named Modena.' Tython's message says. 'He did it by conjuring a dense fog that sopped the king. Thus, the city of San Gimignano was formed and named after him.'
Ruby, Blake, and Yang were awed about this saint, but Weiss looked confused. "Wait. What do you mean, conjured? I thought your world doesn't have any Semblance."
'Oh, silly Weiss. There are other ways to conjure something as simple as a dense fog. Use your little noggin of yours.' In their Scrolls, the text said, making it feel that it is intended to tease the heiress, which made her red in embarrassment.
"Hey!" The others laughed at Weiss's reaction.
"Well done, Ezio! We're in!" Mario commanded his troops inside the city. "This way, men!"
'Follow Mario.'
Ruby did what the instruction said controlled Ezio to follow his uncle.
Inside, they encountered more guards up ahead.
"More guards up ahead, Rubes." Yang points out.
"I want you to distract those guards, and keep them from raising the alarm," Mario tells his nephew. "Hopefully, it will buy me enough time to find and silence Vieri."
"Wait. Mario is going to be the one to kill Vieri?" Ruby said, slightly surprised by this.
"Let's just do what Mario says and see what happens," Weiss said.
"Va bene. (Alright.)" Ezio answered.
"Wait, nipote (nephew). Take a few of my men with you... Just to be safe." Mario says out of concern for his nephew's safety. "Come join me once they are dealt with."
"I think Mario just wants to spare Ezio from doing the deed." Yang deduces, seeing what the uncle is doing.
"I guess," Blake said. "Let's not forget that it was Mario that started this mission, though."
'Checkpoint reached.'
'Targets killed: 0/10'
'Kill the guards.'
"Ten guards… that's a lot." Ruby comments.
"Well, it's a good thing that Mario left you some of his mercenaries." Yang reminded her sister.
Mario left, leaving behind four of his mercenaries with Ezio. As Ezio approached a group of guards, he overheard them talking about Vieri.
"What's Vieri up to now?" The first guard asked.
"Hm?" Blake raised a brow that Ezio was hearing the guards' conversation. "Ruby, hang on for a moment. I think they're about to say something important."
"Oh, okay." Ruby nodded and did as the cat Faunus said.
"No one knows." The second guard answered. "But something has him on edge. How else to explain all the patrols?"
"The Auditores are what's happening!" Yang smirked happily, seeing that their operation was affecting the guard's morale.
"We're meant to be soldiers." The third guards growled. "Instead, he's turned us into nursemaids. And why?"
"Because he's a pathetic spoiled child?" Surprisingly it was Weiss who said it, but then again, she does have a strong dislike to those kinds of people though being born in a wealthy family herself.
"Shooting his off mouth again, no doubt. Angering the wrong sorts of people... And so now we pay the price." The second guard sighs.
"Now, why does that sound familiar?" Blake sarcastically said as she frowned, remembering the White Fang doing the same thing, and the innocent Faunus are paying the price for it.
"Careful." The first guard warned. "Or do you want us dragged before him like Bernardo was?"
"Poor bastard... I heard Vieri took his eyes."
The girls gasped in horror.
"That bastard!" Yang snarled as her eyes turned red while Blake and Weiss were quiet but glared at the screen.
"How could he do that? To his men?" Ruby glared in rightful hatred. She knows the guards are the bad guys, but no one deserved that kind of punishment. "I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your sight."
Somewhere in Remnant…
An elderly lady was minding her own business traveling on the streets of a village outside of the kingdoms using her old weapon as a walking stick. This is the former Grimm Reaper, Maria Calavera.
The eyelids of her artificial eyes slightly twitched, making Maria twitch at the slight pain.
"Phantom pain?" Maria whispered in confusion as she rubbed the skin of her face, closes her prosthetic. "I haven't had that in years…" She thought about it for a moment but then just shrugged it off as she then continued her walk.
Back to RWBY…
After calming down, they continued the game.
"I'd like to keep mine. So let's end this conversation."
With nothing else the guards can share, Ruby starts to control Ezio.
A notification appears saying a similar function with the Courtesans.
"A similar control to the Courtesans." Yang comments. "Do you remember how it's done, Ruby?"
"I do." Ruby nodded as she began to command the Mercenaries to battle.
After hearing what he needed to hear, Ezio commanded the mercenaries to attack, catching the guards off-guard. They charged against the guards, with Ezio joining them and killed all the guards.
'Targets killed 10/10'
Ruby breathed out a sigh of relief. "Glad that's over."
"You did a good job, Ruby." Weiss compliments her partner.
"And so did Ezio," Yang added.
'Get to Santa Maria Assunta.'
"About time to regroup with Mario," Blake suggested making her team leader nod in agreement.
After finishing the job, they then moved further into the city. They thought against a few guards but pressed onward and found one of Mario's men lying wounded near a well.
The girls gasped at the scene seeing the injured man.
"It's one of Mario's mercenaries!" Ruby shouts.
"What the heck happened?!" Yang shouted, as well.
"Ezio!" The injured mercenary shouted in panic. "Your uncle's under attack and needs help! Go to him!"
"Oh, no!" Weiss gasped.
"Ezio needs to help his uncle now!" Blake shouts, and without question, Ruby quickly controlled Ezio to do so.
'Go to Mario.'
Without a word, Ezio quickly reached the Santa Maria Assunta to find Mario and Vieri's men in combat.
"Oh, my goodness!" Weiss screamed, and with good reason. She and her team gaped, seeing Mario and his men engaging against an alarming number of guards.
"There's so many of them!" Yang shouts.
"I'm joining in the fight!" Ruby says as she makes Ezio join the fight while commanding his mercenaries to join in as well.
"Be careful, Ruby!" Blake said.
"Ah, nipote (nephew)!" Mario calls out as he fights on. "There you are! It seems my plan has hit something of a snag..."
"How is it that he sounds so casual while fighting?" Weiss says in disbelief seeing how Mario wasn't affected by his surroundings as he fights.
"Cause he's a badass!" Yang grinned while Ruby giggled as they both recalled a particular drunk who would do that sometimes.
Ezio joins in the fight as he stays close to his uncle while fighting and killing as many guards as he can.
"There's too many of them!" Ruby panicked even though Ezio was doing a good job.
"Vieri's men ambushed us, and now we've got our hands full. My brothers and I will deal with these guards – I want you to go ahead and root out that snake! Find Vieri! See that justice is served!"
"Looks like it's going to be Ezio to do the deed in the end." Weiss sighed but expected it.
"Time to put an end to this." Yang narrowed her eyes as Ruby steeled herself as she prepared her first assassination in the game.
'Find Vieri de' Pazzi'
Ezio was a bit hesitant but steeled himself, knowing his uncle can take care of himself. He quickly left to find Vieri while his uncle dealt with the guards.
"Where to go?" Ruby whispered, but Blake heard her.
"Best to use the marker on the map, Ruby," Blake suggested making the reaper nod in thanks.
He climbed to one of the rooftops then finally reached his destination.
'Checkpoint reached.'
"Looks like we have a cutscene." Yang points out as she and the others watch what will happen.
Upon reaching the northern gates, Ezio watched from the rooftops as Vieri entered the city and his father and two other men. Ezio recognized one of them, a man wearing a hood, as the same person at Uberto Alberti's residence and later at the execution of his father and brothers, Federico and Petruccio.
"There's that little brat," Yang growled, recognizing Vieri, but she did not remember the other men. "But who are those other guys?"
"Wait…" Blake narrowed her eyes at a particular man wearing a hood. Then her eyes widen in realization. "That's the same hooded man who was with Uberto!"
"It is!" Weiss's eyes widened then narrowed as she connected the dots. "So, these are the people responsible for Ezio's pain."
"But who are they?" Ruby asked. She knew that they are Templars, but she does not know these new characters.
Their Scrolls alerted them.
'The man with the long black hair is Francesco de' Pazzi, Vieri's father, the elderly man next to him is Jacopo de' Pazzi, Vieri's great-uncle, and the final man with the hood is called the Spaniard. His identity will be revealed shortly after this mission.' Tython's message said in their Scrolls.
"So the whole family is here…" Yang growled.
"Didn't Ezio mentioned that Vieri has a sister?" Ruby remembered at the beginning of the game.
'Viola de' Pazzi, her name is only mentioned in the novels, but she doesn't make an official appearance.'
"Oh." Ruby nodded.
"It's settled: Vieri, you will remain here to coordinate the mercenari (mercenaries)." The Spaniard said as Vieri bows his head in acknowledgment. "Francesco will organize our forces in the city and send word when it's time to strike." Francesco, the father of Vieri, nodded his head. "Jacopo, your job is to calm the citizens once the deed is done." The final older man nodded.
"It looks like the Spaniard is the leader of the Templars." Weiss deduced, seeing how the Pazzis were obeying the hooded man without question.
"What about that ubriacone (drunkard), Mario?" Vieri questioned. "He continues to harass my forces, and I fear he'll discover what we intend."
"He may not, but Ezio might," Blake smirked, noting that Ezio was eavesdropping on their conversation.
"He's always been trouble." Francesco agrees with his son. "Just like that bastardo (bastard) brother of his."
"You have no right to speak to Ezio's father like that!" Ruby snapped as, and her teamed hatefully narrowed their eyes to the man.
"Then let me reunite them, father!" The son begged.
The girls glared at the boy's request. Ruby being the innocent one of the team, couldn't help but feel so much hatred for a single person even though he was just a fictional character in the game.
Weiss hated the boy the most. She couldn't imagine any rich snob like him would even exist in Remnant or Atlas. If there were, she would do everything in her power to reveal these people and bring them to justice when she inherits the SDC and makes things right.
Blake's eyes nearly turned into slits as she barely contained her hateful hiss. Hearing these sickening words, she couldn't help but feel enraged and saddened when she heard such vulgar familiar words during her time in the White Fang, overhearing grunts saying such things.
Yang's eyes turned red as she gritted her teeth. Never in her life, as she ever had such hatred for such a single person to the point that her Semblance activated, making her hair blaze slightly.
After a few minutes of calming down, they continued with the game.
"There will be plenty of time to clean up rifiuti (trash) when we've finished." The Spaniard cuts in as he held his hand on Vieri's shoulder.
"Trash?!" Yang's raged came back along with the others.
"I really hate the Templars," Ruby growled as she and her team have now grown to hate the Templars and the Spaniard.
"Now, is there anything else?" The leader asked. The Pazzi remained silent, and Ezio was shocked at hearing Vieri's intentions.
"Yeah… I would also give that same reaction I would make if it was my family…" Blake said while her bow hiding her cat ears flatten down.
"Muy bien. (Very well.)" The Spaniard said, then held his right hand up to his chest. "May the Father of Understanding guide you!"
"May the Father of Understanding guide you!" The group repeated the Templar pledge remark before everyone left.
"The Father of Understanding?" Weiss perked up at that quote. "What is that?"
'The Father of Understanding is a prayer or pledge that the Templars would say. It is also believed that the 'Father' is the one who founded the Templars.'
After reading the text in their Scrolls, the girls couldn't help but find that topic interesting even though they are the enemy.
A guard ran up to Vieri.
"Comandante! Comandante! (Commander! Commander!)"
"What?!" Vieri turned his head to the guard in annoyance.
"Mario Auditore has invaded the city! He comes for you!"
"Wait. Vieri doesn't know?" Ruby asked, surprised after all the commotion inside.
"Either they have terrible security, or Vieri is just that lazy." Weiss snarked.
Vieri just chuckled. "Then let's not keep him waiting." Vieri retreated to the San Gimignano battlements while Mario and his troops attacked the guards.
"Confident brat, isn't he?" Yang sarcastically said.
'Checkpoint reached.'
'Assassinate Vieri de' Pazzi.'
"Time to put an end to Vieri." Blake coldly said.
"That was kinda dark," Ruby muttered.
The cat Faunus shrugged. "Meh. Just a game." Ruby accepted the answer and focused on the screen as she followed the mark on the map, but what confused Ruby was that it was leading away from the fight.
"That's weird…" Ruby commented, getting everyone's attention. "Why does the marker on the map lead away from the fight?"
"That is odd." Weiss agreed. "I thought Vieri is joining the fight."
Blake thought for a minute before realizing something that made her hate the boy even more. "That bastard…!"
"What? What's wrong?" Yang asked her partner but at the same time, felt that it was something she was going to hate the boy even more.
"That brat is planning to watch the fight from a distance and join in when the time is right!"
The girls gasped but then gritted their teeth hating Vieira even more. Without saying a word, Ruby guided Ezio to his target.
During this time, Ezio used the chaos to move from building to building to get closer to his target on top of the battlement.
"A battlement. What a surprise." Weiss sarcastically spat.
"What better place to watch a fight." Blake narrowed her eyes.
"I'm climbing up!" Ruby determinedly said as she made Ezio do just that.
He climbed up until he finally faces his rival Vieri, who recognized him.
"Ah! There you are. I've been looking forward to this for a long, long time." Vieri was surprised but laughed as he pulled out his sword while his fellow guards joined him. "Fear not, Ezio, I'll make sure your death comes quick!"
"Wait. Ruby, why did you make Ezio reveal himself towards Vieri like that?" Blake asked. "I noticed that Vieri was standing at the edge of battlement with his back facing out. Couldn't you have done a swift-assassination or something?"
"Oops!" Ruby squeaked as she sheepishly chuckled. "I didn't think of that."
A message was sent to their Scrolls.
'I would always try to do that myself, but every time I try to do a silent assassination, Vieri would always know and jump out of the way.' Tython's text said, surprising the girls.
"Well, technically, this is a boss fight, so I doubt it would have been that easy." Yang points out.
'Still, it's much more… cinematic. Sneaking up on him, I mean.'
"If you say that he always expects it, then doesn't that mean that's how the game is set?" Blake asked.
'Good point. But I always wanted to make it more like a movie.'
"Isn't that cliché?" Weiss asked.
'It's all about which one is perfect for the right scenario.'
"Yeah!" Ruby smiled, earning a 'thumbs up' emoji from Tython.
The battle that Ezio has trained for has finally come. Ezio used his sword and parried the guards, and swiftly killed them before finally reaching Vieri.
For Ruby playing, it took her a short while to kill the guards with ease leaving the target all by himself.
"End of the road, Vieri!" Yang smugly said. "Don't hold back, Ruby!"
Ruby nodded as she begins the fight.
The battle between the two took a while, but Ezio was more superior in his skill.
Ezio quickly stunned the Templar enough time to switch to his father's Hidden Blade, and with one swift fatal stab, Vieri falls to the final ending of his life.
"Yes!" Ruby cheered, but her face fell a bit. "Is it weird that I should feel happy about this?"
"It's just game, Rubes," Yang reassured her sister. "It's not like you actually did the deed."
The leader nodded, now feeling relieved by that fact as they watched a Memory Corridor activating.
A Memory Corridor begins. The background suddenly starts to deconstruct itself, then the screen turns white, then quickly opens again, showing Ezio holding the dying Vieri by his hand.
"What are you and your allies planning?" Ezio demanded as he growled to the dying boy as he shook him and began to shout. "Is this what my father discovered? Is this why he was killed?"
Vieri groans in pain but chuckled in the end before dying. "I'm sorry, were you hoping for a confession?"
The scenery changes back to normal.
Yang scoffs at Vieri's last words. "Figured he would say that in the end."
Before anyone else would say a thing, they all gasped, seeing a horrific scene.
Ezio snaps in rage as Vieri did not give him the information he needed. He began to shout and shook the dead body as he curses him. "Pezzo di merda! Vorrei solo che avessi sofferto di più! Hai avuto la fine che meritavi! Spero che bru– (Piece of shit! I only wish you'd suffered more! You met the fate you deserved! I hope yo–)"
"Ezio, stop!" Ruby begged.
"He's dead! It's not worth it anymore!" Yang cried, she hated Vieri, but even she wouldn't go that far, even Weiss and Blake widen their eyes in horror.
"Enough, Ezio!" Mario cuts in as Ezio did what he said but not after the dead body the ground. "Show some respect."
The girls sigh in relief, glad that Mario has intervened.
"Thank goodness he's here!" Weiss breathed out.
"Respect?" Ezio spat as he stood up. "After all that's happened? Do you think he would have shown either of us such kindness?"
"He hasn't… but that doesn't mean you have to act that way," Blake says, being glad that Ezio was not acting the same way as a certain bull Faunus's blind vengeful temper.
"You are not Vieri." Mario calmly says as he places his hand on Ezio's shoulder. "Do not become him."
"Wise words, Mario." Weiss smiled, seeing the truth in such words. She is nothing like her father, and she will prove when she brings back the SDC to its former glory and make as many changes to fix the damages Jacques has caused.
This was enough to calm down the young man and feel somewhat guilty about his action.
Mario walked up to Vieri's body and kneeled. "Che la morte ti dia la pace che cercavi. (May death provide the peace you sought.) Requiescat in Pace. (Rest in peace.)" After finishes his prayer, he closes Vieri's eyes.
"That… that very comforting." Ruby smiled, instantly forgetting what Ezio did. This scene showed a peaceful action after assassinating someone and offers a unique way to respect the dead even if that person was scum.
Mario then took a letter from Vieri's body and gave it to Ezio. "Take this. Read it when you have time. Our work here is finished. Let us return to the villa..."
'WHAT GOES AROUND'
'SYNCHED'
'KNIFE BELT AQUIRED'
'CODEX PAGE ACQUIRED'
'LETTER TO FRANCESO DE' PAZZI ACQUIRED'
'THROWING KNIFE SKILL LEARNED'
The screen fades to white then quickly reconstructs back to Ezio, retuning back to Monteriggioni
Ruby sighed in relief. "Glad that's over."
"Yeah…" Yang agreed with her sister and hugged her. "What do you think that letter is?"
"Most be important for Vieri to have it." Weiss guessed.
"We'll find out later," Blake said. "It looks like Ezio needs to go somewhere."
Ezio heads back to the training ring to find his uncle celebrating along with a few of his men.
"Oh! A celebration!" Yang grinned, seeing the reason for it after a successful mission.
"And here he is!" Mario shouts, getting everyone's attention. "Our campione (champion), Ezio!"
"All Hail, Ezio!" The mercenaries cheered as they raised their mugs high.
"Yay, Ezio!" Ruby happily cheered along with her team
"I see you wasted no time starting the celebrations." Ezio mused while he joined the celebration, with his hood down.
"I almost forgot what Ezio looked like without his hood." Weiss pointed out.
"And why not?!" Mario smiled. "You've done us a great service, nipote (nephew)! With Vieri dead, la Toscana (Tuscany) will grow quiet once more. Do you know what that means?"
"Your family is safe!" Yang cheered.
"Basta lavorare! (No more work!)" The first mercenary of the group answered.
"I suppose there will be no more fighting now." Blake smiled.
"Si passa tutto il giorno a bere! (We can drink all day!)" The second mercenary added.
"I suppose it's a well-earned reward." Weiss rolled her eyes but smiled.
"E a puttane! (And with whores!)" The next mercenary added but made everyone looked at him in confusion, he replied. "What?! It's true!"
Everyone laughed at this, except for the girls watching.
"GROSS!" Ruby gagged as she covered her face with her hood.
Yang laughed with both equal disgust and equal hysterical at the innuendo.
"Ugh! Men!" Weiss gaged angrily as her face lit red.
"Seriously…?" Blake just muttered in annoyance as her face slightly turned red.
"Come, Ezio. Walk with me." Mario gestured as he begins to walk back to the mansion.
"Oh, thank the Brothers." Ruby sighed, relieved that the subject has changed as well as her team.
"Yes, uncle?" Ezio said in confusion but complied.
'A CHANGE OF PLANS'
'Learn about the Villa and discover the Codex pages hidden there.'
'Checkpoint reached.'
'Follow Mario.'
Everyone perked up about the new mission—they were about to learn more about the Villa and the Codex pages.
"It looks like we are going to learn more about the Assassins now." Weiss says, with growing interest."
"More lore to learn." Blake calmly cheered.
As they walk discussed the events that occurred earlier at San Gimignano.
"The Pazzi answer to another; a Spaniard," Ezio informed.
"Looks like we're finally going to learn who the Spaniard is," Ruby said.
"I'm betting he's the leader of the Templars." Yang betted.
"He is Rodrigo Borgia, one of the most powerful men in all of Europe and leader of the Templar Order," Mario answered.
"Called it!" Yang's fist pumped.
Ezio was shocked to learn this. "Which makes him responsible for the murder of my father and brothers."
"Yes. And he will kill you too, given the chance."
"Not if Ezio gets to them first." Blake coldly said.
"Woah there, Blake! Kinda jumping the gun there, are we?" Yang said to her partner but just shrugged in response.
"Then I must stand against him if I wish to be free..." Ezio says with a tint of hatred in his voice but calmed himself. "...But not until every other Templar has fallen to my blade. Father's list will guide me."
"Oh yeah! Nearly forgot about the list." Ruby remembered.
"At least he now has a goal." Weiss comments.
"Where will you go next?" Mario asked as they approached the mansion.
"Firenze." Ezio answered "Francesco de' Pazzi will share the fate of his son."
"Understandable." Blake nodded. "It won't be strange for the father to have revenge for his son." The cat Faunus points out that logic.
"A sensible next step. No doubt he intends evil for the city." Mario agrees as they entered the mansion. "Alright. That's enough grim talk for one night, I'll be in my study if you need me."
Mario returned to his study, leaving Ezio alone.
"I should read the letter my uncle gave me..." Ezio said to himself.
'Checkpoint reached.'
'Read the letter.'
"Oh! Nearly forgot about that." Yang said.
"Well, let's see what secrets this message has," Ruby says as she opens the notification
A notification appears.
'FROM: FRA GIOCONDO'
'ACCESS DATABASE'
"Who's Fra Giocondo?" Blake asked. Then there, Scrolls received a message.
'Fra Giocondo is an Italian friar, architect, antiquary, archaeologist, and classical scholar. He was hired Francesco to tutor his son. Note that he has no role in this game.' Tython's message answered.
He opened the letter and saw that it was addressed to Francesco de' Pazzi.
Opening the file, Fra's voice begins to read the letter.
'Messer Francesco,
I have done as requested and spoken with your son. I agree with your assessment, though only in part. Yes, Vieri is brash and prone to act without forethought. And he has a habit of treating the mercenari like playthings. I've received reports of at least three men being disfigured as a result. But I do not think him, as you put it, beyond repair. Rather, I believe the solution to be a simple matter.
He seeks your approval. Your attention. These outbursts of his are a result of insecurities borne out of a sense of inadequacy. He speaks of you often and fondly and expresses a desire to be closer to you. So if he is loud and foul and angry - I believe it is simply because he wants to be noticed. He wants to be loved.
Act as you see fit on the information I've given you here. But I must ask that we end this correspondence. Were he to discover the nature of our conversations, I fear what might become of me.
Yours in Confidence,
Fra Giocondo'
The girl where all silent after listening to Fra's message. Instead, they were utterly speechless by this revelation. Each one of them mixed feelings of Vieri now.
Ruby was sad and confused. How could such a man like Vieri do such horrible things just to get his father's attention?
Yang's eyes turned red as she gritted her teeth. She still hated the Vieri but learning his true intentions just made more sense to her, seeing that it was the father that was much more at fault for the son's personality.
Blake just looked away with narrowed eyes. She was now seeing that it was the father who was at fault and their twisted way of handling things. After seeing this, the Faunus could never see the Schnee family or rather Jacques Schnee the same way again. Thankfully she knows that Weiss is never that kind of person.
Weiss gritted her teeth so hard as she dangerously narrowed her eyes at the message. She could relate some similarities to her life with the dead Pazzi. All her life, the heiress tried to be the perfect girl to grab her family's attention. By family, she meant her mother and sister, Klein was family and was happy to hear his praises. She couldn't help but compare the Pazzi's father and son with the Schnee's father and son. Fortunately, she knows that Whitley is not that kind of person but still feared the possibility, making her go and contact Winter as soon as possible to keep him away from Jacques and do the same for their mother.
After calming down, they resumed the game.
After finishing with the letter, Ezio then proceeded to his uncle's study. There he sees his uncle facing towards the wall that has a few papers on it.
"Look familiar?" Mario asked as he pointed towards the wall.
Ezio took a good look at the wall, more specifically the papers that are on it. "Other Codex pages."
"The Codex pages?!" The girls said in unison.
"So, they do have more than one page," Weiss said as she focuses on the wall, counting the number of pages the Assassins have.
"Yes." Mario nodded. "Your father managed to find and translate a few before he..."
Ezio handed Mario the Codex page he had. "Here."
"Another added in the collection!" Yang chimed.
Recognizing the Codex, Mario took it from his nephew and studied it. "This is not your father's work. Someone else has translated it."
"Leonardo da Vinci," Ezio answered. "A friend."
"Leonardo! I almost forgot about him." Ruby remembered the genius.
"Ruby's idol? Right?" Yang gave a teasing smirk making her sister blush while the others giggled.
Mario put the codex page along with the others on the wall. "Do you see the way the words cross from one page to the next?"
"What?" Blake narrowed her eyes and tried to see what they see. "I don't see it."
"Either because it's too blurry, or it's just far for us to see." Weiss reasoned.
Ezio focuses and sees what he means. "There is something underneath it all. Some kind of map. Where is it supposed to lead?"
"A map? How did Ezio see that?" Ruby wondered.
"I'm guessing it must be his Eagle Vision." The blonde guessed.
"Your father and I managed to make out bits of a prophecy scrawled across these pages. It was written by an Assassin like us, who long ago held a "Piece of Eden." His name was Altaïr..." Mario says to his nephew. "He spoke of something powerful and ancient hidden beneath the land."
Ruby gasped, remembering the name from the begging of the game. "That's Desmond's other ancestor!"
"Looks like we're going to have a lot of references of Altaïr," Blake said, getting interesting in learning more of the assassin from the first game.
"What is it?"
"What, indeed. Solving that little mystery is exactly why we collected these pages."
"Treasure hunting! My kind of game." Yang smirked.
"Then, let me help," Ezio says with confidence. "It's time I take on my father's work. All of it. I'll start with the page I took from Vieri. Leonardo will decode it for us."
"Glad to know that Ezio is finally embracing his legacy." Weiss smiled, glad to know that Ezio has grown.
"Bene (Good)," Maria says as he pats Ezio's shoulder. "Return here when time permits, and we'll add it to the wall."
'Checkpoint reached.'
'CODEX PAGES'
'Codex page locations are revealed on your map by reaching VIEWPOINTS.'
'Reach the Villa's viewpoint.'
"Viewpoints?" Weiss wondered what that meant. A message came to their Scrolls.
'Just follow the marker on the map, and you'll see.' The girls were confused by this but followed anyway.
After finishing talking with his uncle, Ezio went outside the mansion and limed to the very top and found a viewpoint.
"Is that the viewpoint?" Ruby wondered as she controlled Ezio to walk up to it. Then she sees an action button on the screen then decides to activate.
There he walked up the end and kneeled. He used his Eagle Vison and took the full view of the entire Villa.
"Woah…!" The girls said in awe, seeing such a breathtaking scene that was happening.
"What was that?" Blake asked.
'That was Ezio using his Eagle Vision. By using it in such heights, he cannot only locate things with ease but also map the surrounding area by memory.'
"That's incredible!" Weiss says in awe.
"That's so OP!" Yang says.
"Just imagine someone in our world having a Semblance like that," Ruby says.
'Checkpoint reached.'
'Collect the 4 philosophical Codex pages.'
'Codex Found 0/4.'
"So, there are four Codex pages in the Villa." Ruby points out.
"Time for some treasure hunting!" Yang grinned in excitement.
With that, Ruby begins her hunt.
With that part done, he performs a Leap of Faith to the closest haystack and comes out without a scratch.
Now knowing the locations of the Codex Pages, Ezio searches around the Villa and finds two pages hidden in chests.
After finding two of them in the Villa, he travels outside with his horse to find one in an abandoned hut inside a chest.
After quickly traveling back to the Villa with fast-travel, Ezio finally sought the last one hidden in the Villa.
'Codex Found 4/4.'
After a long hunt, Ruby successfully found all the pages scattered around the Villa.
"I did it!" Ruby cheered.
"That took a while," Wiess stated.
"But it was worth it." Blake smiled.
'PHILOSOPHICAL CODEX PAGES'
'Decoding four philosophical Codex pages will increase your maximum health.'
'A CHANGE OF PLANS'
'SYNCHED'
'Go check on Claudia.'
After completing his search, Ezio decided to return to the mansion and check on his younger sister.
"Wow… what a Sequence." Ruby breathed out as she leaned her back to the ground and relaxed.
"It was." Weiss nodded in agreement. "Seeing more of the outside of the Villa makes me want to go and explore that world."
"Ditto." Yang nodded in agreement.
"But that's sadly not possible." Blake points out, making them sigh in agreement with that fact.
'Actually… it is possible.' Tython's message
"Wait. Really?!" Ruby gleefully asked while the others were shocked and interested at the same time.
'But, I don't recommend coming anytime soon.' The next take took them by surprise and confused them.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked.
'My world is currently under a pandemic.' The girls gasped in horror, hearing that. 'The virus is called COVID-19 or the Corona Virus. Everyone is currently in quarantine and taking caution wearing face masks and staying clean.'
"That's horrible." Weiss gasped. "Is there a vaccine?"
'Numerous labs are working on the vaccine. There are numerous breakthroughs, but it's taking long.'
"I guess raving will have to wait…" Ruby sadly said. "Hope your world stays safe and healthy."
"Is there anything we can do?" Yang asked.
'Well… I could send you the details of the virus and vaccine details. Maybe your world can do something about it.'
"Then send them to me!" Weiss proudly said. "The scientist of the Kingdom of Atlas can research on it."
'Great! Sending them to you… now!' With that information came popping out from Weiss's Scroll, shocked and surprised at how fast it was. 'Just to let you know the virus came from a bat called Horseshoe Bat, the detail should be there.'
"Thank you," Weiss said as she began to study the notes thoroughly. "I'll make sure to send this to Atlas as soon as possible."
'Thanks, Weiss.' After finishing that drama, the girls took a short break before they resumed playing the game's next sequence.
To be continued…
A/N: And that's the end of that Sequence! Looking forward to the new Assassin's Creed Valhalla game!
Next Update: Railgun Girls watches STAR WARS The Force Eternal