Pull Me Under
Written by deathroman13
Pull Me Under
It's been little over two years since Élise died in his arms inside the Temple on that dreaded July day in 1794. That blasted piece of Eden became unstable and exploded, throwing the love of his life against a column which resulted in her death. Arno was devastated but forced himself to continue working for the brotherhood. If he had quit right there and then, the sadness and despair would surely have killed him. Even though the master templar was now dead, there were plenty of loose ends to deal with, minor templars to be silenced and of course dealing with the precursor object.
The brotherhood seemed especially interested in the campaign of the Italian army in 1796. The young lieutenant that Arno had met in the king's office was now a general and in command of the army in Italy. The brotherhood saw this campaign as an opportunity to explore templar secrets in cities that were once in the hands of the assassins. Monteriggioni, once home to the legendary assassin Ezio Auditore Da Firenze looked like a dark shadow on a map, still badly ruined by the Borgia attack as no serious attempt has been made to restore the small city to its former glory.
Napoleon's campaign definitely opened the way for the assassins to finally visit the underground ruins filled with Ezio's secrets. The elders assigned Arno with the task of trailing the army and explore any place that could have connections to Ezio and thus possibly encover clues on more precursor objects. Arno was glad to take on this new task as it took him far away from Paris. He needed this distance, to be far removed from the place where disaster struck him over and over again.
Arno left for Italy in April of 1796 trailing the army for months on an end. He generally kept his distance from the armed forces but if necessary he could blend in quite easily with his clothes that greatly resembled a French officer's uniform. No strange questions would be asked and it gave him the freedom to explore at his leisure. He enjoyed the assignment, it involved no killings for once, even though he witnessed several battles from a distance. He never felt the urge to directly involve himself into a battle but kept a close eye on the ongoing warfare. He especially kept track of Napoleon who was still likely oblivious to his presence despite having followed him for seven months through Italy.
They were technically friends, Arno assisted the general several times last year protecting him from royalist assassination attempts. Even though they spoke little with each other, they somehow formed a beneficial relationship. The assassin's creed managed to take out several targets based on evidence provided by Napoleon and in return he was kept safe from possible assassination attempts. Perhaps the general was aware of Arno's presence near the army but kept the information to himself not wanting to disturb the dangerous order of which he knew very little about. Arno could only guess but as the months dragged on, the more disinterested he grew in his assignment.
There simply wasn't much to do. Either the order already encovered all that could be found or Ezio was a true master in hiding his secrets. Arno had no clue where or what to look for so his attention slowly diverted more and more into observing the army and its activities. It was a cold and dreary november's morning as he trailed through the back lines of the army at Verona. He noticed how the army prepared itself for a bridge crossing. It looked suicidal to Arno as he observed the bridge. There's no way the army would reach the other end without suffering severe losses.
It turned out that Arno wasn't wrong with his conclusion. An hour after dawn, hostilities broke out as the French attempted to cross the bridge. The Austrians had a much better and safer position and were in great numbers than the French. Arno wondered what miracle Napoleon had hidden up his sleeves to turn this massacre into a victory. Within minutes most of the French soldiers on the bridge had sought shelter against Austrian volleys. Even Arno himself was in a dangerous position. His distracted mind brought him way too close to the battlefield for comfort as he was only dozens of meters removed from the whole scene.
Arno hid behind an abandoned supply wagon and counted his options. Should he interfere with the battle? Or should he just watch as his countrymen were falling around him. Arno never was a great patriotic man, the brotherhood he served transcended the idea of nations yet he couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling that he had. Suddenly he saw Napoleon out of the corner of his eyes. The young general grabbed a flag from the ground and walked with confidence towards the bridge, fear didn't seem to affect him. Arno cursed to himself, what was that idiot doing?! This is a sure way to get yourself killed. His thoughts were shared by the officers surrounding Napoleon who watched him with great surprise and awe as he marched towards the bridge.
The sight of the general marching with the flag inspired the nearby troops with great fervour. It appeared as if the French regained their confidence as they charged after the flag screaming revolutionary slurs as they did. The Austrians on the other side opened fire once more and men were dropping dead all around the general. It was too much for Arno to bear. He left his hiding place and sprinted towards the bridge as fast as he could. More and more men around him were fatally hit by the Austrian bullets but Napoleon miraciously appeared to be fully unharmed. Arno pushed soldiers out of his way as he neared the general. One of the bullets struck the flag that Napoleon was holding, causing him to drop it.
Before the next bullet could hit him, Arno grabbed the general from behind and threw both him and himself into a ditch near the bridge.
"Merde, que faites-vous?" Napoleon managed to yell before he roughly hit the dirt, the impact knocked all the air out of his lungs disabling him from further cursing the man who pushed him.
Arno tried to drag the general out of the mud before they both got stuck in the ditch but this proved to be no easy task. The effort of pulling another man out of that muddy trench cost him a great amount of energy, especially since the young general was resisting his assistance.
"Calm down, I just saved your life there up that bridge!" Arno yelled at a still struggling Napoleon.
"Let go of me at once soldier!"
Arno laughed, apparently he still hasn't recognized the assassin. The struggle in the ditch continued while both armies were battling each other above their heads. Amidst the chaos of war, none had noticed Arno and Napoleon fighting in the trench below. The situation was becoming quite dangerous as the mud was a lot thicker than expected. Arno had to drag them both out right now or risk drowning, why was that stupid general fighting him?
With all the strength in his body, Arno dragged Napoleon out of the ditch and onto the grass beside the trench. To prevent any more violent actions against him, Arno immobilized the general by stradling him and holding his wrists firmly against his chest.
"I'm not one of your soldiers general Bonaparte."
Napoleon finally took the time to take a good look at the person who was sitting on top of him, he realised they were quite in a compromising position. "Wait...Arno is that you? Mon Dieu what are you doing here?" As the words rolled out of his mouth, he remembered that Arno is a dangerous assassin, a hired killer belonging to a mysterious organisation with a hidden blade near his neck.
"You are here to assassinate me aren't you?" His voice now barely louder than a whisper. "I..I guess it's smart to kill your target in a battle right? No one would suspect an assassin, no one would look for the culprit. At least tell me who sent you on this assignment, I have a right to know!"
"I think you are getting quite ahead of yourself general" Arno replied with amusement. The man below him was clearly terrified, how ironic since he acted so coolly when they first met in the king's office. "No, I wasn't send here to kill you. In fact my task here has nothing to do with you or your battles so you don't have to worry about my blade." Arno had noticed the man's eyes were focussed on the hidden mechanism on his wrist.
"Then why are you here?" Napoleon asked his face full of confusion. Yet he couldn't help breathing a huge sigh of relief now knowing that his old friend wasn't here to murder him during a battle. Arno sat up a little straighter and thought of a good reply to this question. The small physical motion of the assassin made him groan involuntary, a sound almost inaudible but Arno heard it. Their compromising position turned even more inappropiate and that all the while bullets were flying above them.
"Now don't get all excited here." Arno replied slyly enjoying the effect that he had on him.
"Shut up Arno." The reply came from a face now flushed by both anger and embarrassment. He tried to put some distance between himself and the assassin but his efforts were futile, the hired killer was simply too strong so he resigned himself to this strange yet arousing situation. "You still haven't told me why you are here Arno. Do you just enjoy stalking people or are there other political motives?"
"My assignment is classified information that doesn't concern you." Arno replied in an attempt to bait him even more by telling a half-truth. His little jest succeeded as Napoleon turned even redder in anger.
"I demand that you tell me at once what your intentions here are!" He half shouted at the assassin. Arno just laughed and lowered his face so that he could have a good look at his eyes. The distance between them was close, too close for Napoleon's liking as he started to genuinely panic.
"Maybe I was just bored and I wanted to see what you were doing general. If you didn't go all suicidal on that bridge a few moments ago, I wouldn't have to drag your ass off it."
"I wasn't trying to kill myself, just merely inspiring my men to do what is necessary. No victory comes at a small sacrifice whether it would be mine or someone else."
"Really? Since when did you turn to such deep philosophies?" Arny replied mockingly.
"Wait a minute...You actually genuinely care about my well-being. Is that the reason why you have been following me?"
Now it was Arno's turn to slightly blush. Of course it was his order of assassins that sent him to Italy in search for Ezio's secrets but he also knew that he never put his full heart into the task. No, he spent more time observing this military campaign than he has given Ezio's mysteries any thought. For an unknown reason, the once young lieutenant has fascinated the assassin ever since their first meeting.
Both their agendas couldn't be more different yet Arno continued helping Napoleon out with his tasks and personal troubles. One could say that their relationship was somewhat similar to Arno's relation with Élise, a templar and an assassin working together, each with their own tactics and goals yet united through love and friendship. Arno was raised by a templar, the grand master no less, so he had experience in unlikely alliances, should Arno's and Napoleon be any different?
Arno was still unable to think of a good reply so instead he resulted into doing something quite unorthodox. He lowered his face even more so that his lips were touching that of the general's. To his surprise, he met no resistance from Napoleon. Arno expected him to fight off his advances with absolute fury but the general even seemed to deepen the kiss. This act was unfamiliar territory for both of them yet the pair seemed to enjoy the sensations immensely. It was Arno who eventually broke the passionate kiss due to lack of air, he moved his face slightly back to observe his reaction.
Napoleon's eyes were full with shock and bliss. This was a completely new and alien experience for him but his glance told Arno enough that he relished the event.
"Would you perhaps like to become my aide-du-camp for the remaining duration of this campaign?" Napoleon asked in an unnatural innocuous voice.
"Well that certainly is an interesting offer General, but you know I'm not one for following orders." Arno replied airily, once again reminded of their first meeting.
"I know you aren't, yet you are serving a highly dubious organization. You know what, forget about orders, would you be willing to help out an old friend?"
"You know what, I think I can agree upon that." Arno replied with a smile. He once again reclaimed the General's mouth, both temporarily forgetting the battle raging above them. To Napoleon, the future couldn't look more exciting.