I'm Ready for the Fight
Chapter 11: I'm Ready for the Fight and Fate
I made my way back to Ezio who was still waiting patiently on the bench.
One of three things here is probable: this man has the patience of a saint, he's a really deep thinker or he's just taking a nice nap.
"Ezio." I called out to him.
He stood up to face me. "Molto bene, let's go."
We made our way east. My heart was beating hard in my chest. I was excited but nervous at the same time. I really wanted to see this play out.
"It would be best if we continued this from the roof."
We climbed up a building. It seems that we made it just in time as a group of soldiers walked off a ship with a fancy package in their hands.
That must be the piece.
"Uncle Mario?" I heard Ezio whisper.
Who's "Uncle Mario"?
Things were a little hard to see from here so I decided to use my precision. I really wonder what I look like when I'm using this power. Are my veins popping out of my head? Do my eyes glow? Do my pupils enlarge? I may never know.
The handed the package to another man who ran off with it.
"Where are they taking it?" Ezio asked.
"Come on, we have to follow hi-." Ezio didn't finish his sentence. I turned and looked at him. He had a stunned look on his face. Is that fear too?
"Wha-what happened to your eyes?"
Better explain fast.
"I have the ability to have a closer view on certain things; I like to call it precision. What does it look like?"
"Your eyes are glowing and you have glowing lines running from the top of your head to your eyes." Ezio explained.
So that's what it looks like! Well that explains the small headaches I get after using it.
"Merda! He is getting away!" Ezio exclaimed.
I quickly scanned the area. I found him coming out of an alley a short distance from us.
"He's over there!" I pointed in the direction the soldier was in. I deactivated my precision, and shot my lightning tether.
"Come on!"Ezio reached out and grabbed my hand and we pulled ourselves to a rooftop near the fleeing soldier.
For an old man, this guy is pretty damn agile.
~AC~IF~
It was a long chase. We had quite a bit of close calls. We were right on top of him when suddenly a scaffold Ezio was standing on gave way. If I didn't catch him, he would have landed right next to the soldier. Talk about awkward. But despite all that, we managed to stay undetected until he arrived at his destination.
"The Maestro awaits. He will not suffer mistakes.-Package it correctly. Do it now."
"The Spaniard's here? That changes things." Ezio spoke. "If we can infiltrate this group, take the place of the courier and a soldier… they'll lead us right to the figlio di puttana…"
"I'm going to guess we have a limited amount of time to do this. So we'll need to move fast." I said.
"Agreed." We jumped down from the rooftop. "If you are unable to take the place of a soldier, try to follow us on foot and stay out of sight."
"Understood."
The both of us went our separate, circling around the area. I used my precision to try to find an isolated soldier. The lonelier, the better.
I managed to find one who was relatively alone. If I time it right I can take him out discreetly.
I circled around the perimeter, made sure I wasn't in plain sight, and waited for the perfect time to strike.
Once the time was right I struck down and landed right on top of him, sending a sharp shock through his skull. There was a secluded area not too far from us. Perfect.
I dragged the soldier's dead body to the secluded area and changed into his clothing. Thank goodness this outfit isn't as ridiculous as the one I took a while back. It even comes with a nice helmet that covers my face. I made sure the body was well hidden before leaving the secluded area. I slowly made my way towards the exit and took my post.
In a secluded area near me, two soldiers had walked out and one of them was holding a large box. The man carrying the large box nodded and smiled at me.
Ezio.
I nodded back.
The soldier leading him came up to me.
"You there. Come with us." He spoke to me. "This is a moment of great importance. Stay in formation. Make this right." He commanded to us.
"Yessir." I responded. Ezio nodded his head in affirmation.
The guard and soldier walked on and I followed behind Ezio. When we walked out of the exit. Two more guards followed behind us. As we walked on, more guards joined us.
My vision had flashed an image repeatedly. It was a picture of a red perfectly symmetrical cross. It then faded to the formation I was currently in.
A perfectly symmetrical cross. The mark of the Templars.
" Find our mark…"
Is now really the time Sixteen?
A pattern was drawn out. It was an insignia. The Assassin insignia. Then an eagle cried out.
"Keep it together." A soldier had elbowed me slightly, snapping me out of my thoughts.
As we kept walking on, the group of soldiers began to disperse, leaving me, Ezio and the soldier leading us.
The soldier leading us stopped in front of a man in long black and red robes. The soldier had knelt before him. To avoid blowing our cover, Ezio and I had done the same.
"Do you really have it? You were not followed?"
"Absolutely. Everything went perfectly. We have followed your orders exactly as specified. The mission to Cyprus was more difficult than expected. There were…"
Ezio had bowed his head and lowly whispered "Be ready to strike."
I nodded.
Ezio stabbed the man in front of him with his hidden blade. The guard fell back dead. The other guards stepped back in shock then pulled out their swords.
"Ezio. It's been some time." The man spoke.
One guard went for Ezio and one guard went for me. We simultaneously killed the guards.
"Rodrigo." Ezio spoke.
"So where is he?" Ezio asked.
"Hmmm? Who?"
"Your Prophet?! Doesn't look like anybody showed up, Rodrigo! How many people have died for this? For what's in this box!? And look, there's nobody here!"
Rodrigo laughed lowly. "You claim to not be a believer. And yet, here you are… Don't you see him? The Prophet is already here. I am the Prophet." He pulled out his sword.
"Now give me the Apple."
"Come and take it from me." Ezio challenged.
The two of them had engaged in an intense sword fight. This would be my chance to take the apple and run. But I have a feeling that would just make things worse than better. I wanted to step in and help Ezio; a shock to the head could end this, probably all of this. But a voice was telling me not to.
And I involuntarily listened.
It wasn't only saying that this was Ezio's fight and that I shouldn't intervene. It was saying… obey. Freedom for none, obedience for all.
A headache had ripped through my head as voices began talking. Some were saying freedom, some were saying order; some challenged the idea of free will, some justified it.
I fell to my knees, clutching my head.
Images of the Ray Sphere and the Apple of Eden flickered, before becoming one.
"COLE!" Ezio had broken me out of my thoughts just in time to witness Rodrigo to coming at me with his sword. Without thinking, I blocked his attack with my hand. The sword had deeply cut my hand, but I immediately released some electricity to heal it and to prevent further damage.
"Ah… The Man of Light…" He whispered. "How nice it is to finally meet you…"
I looked over and found Ezio hunched over, covering an open wound on his abdomen. The cut was clean and fairly deep. But as long as Ezio kept his hand there, his chances of bleeding out will be minimal. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't eventually happen.
There was an intense struggle between Rodrigo and I; sword vs. electric hand.
"The Assassins have fooled you; deceived you, corrupted you." He spoke. My hand had faltered and he caught me on my cheek. Blood began to seep out. Before I could reciprocate Rodrigo had held the point of his sword at my neck.
"Perhaps there is still time, still hope…" He said.
"You are one of us." He spoke firmly. He raised his sword again.
God damn it why didn't I put my weapons in a convenient spot?!
I used both my hands this time to block his attack. But he was strong, unusually strong and he wound up deeply cutting my shoulder. I cried out in pained agony and placed my hand on my bleeding shoulder. "But I can be a forgiving man. There is still time to repent for your sins."
I looked up at him. I panted heavily as I took off my helmet. I roughly threw the helmet on the ground and slowly rose to my feet, grabbing a sword on the way. I ignored the pain in my shoulder and pointed my sword towards him.
"Hm. Have it your way. Guards! Apprehend him. Then kill the assassin."
I have to fight. I swallowed away all my pain. I have to fight not only for myself, but for Ezio, for the order, for the Assassins, for a just fate.
I took a fighting stance.
I'll lay down my life if I have to.
Got chapter title while listening to Iron by Woodkid.
I had to change a few aspects of this sequence as you can see. When I tried to move things around with the original setup, it did not work for me at all. I hope that's okay! =3
Please favorite, alert, and review =)
