Taking the Apple to Forlì

Chapter 18: Taking the Apple to Forlì

Sequence 12: Battle of Forl i

Synchronization rate: 61%

I woke up to the sun shining brightly through the window.

Wow, my first official day as an Assassin.

I got out of bed, freshened up, and put my robes back on, placing my weapons in their respective holders.

Seriously, this whip. When the hell did I get this and why the hell did I get it?

I made my way out of the bedroom and greeted Luisella in the kitchen.

"Buongiorno Cole."

"Boungiorno amore mio. Come stai?"

"Molto bene. Listen I have a few things to take care of in Roma, I may be gone anywhere from a few days to possibly a few weeks. It depends on the situation."

"Is everything alright?" I asked. By the tone of her voice, this sounds kind of serious.

"Hopefully. Anyway, Niccolò requested that you meet him, Mario and Ezio at Leonardo's workshop, to further study and understand the artifact obtained from the Spaniard. Make your way there as soon as you can. They are waiting for you."

"Bene. Where is his workshop?"

"Near the center of Venezia. One of them may be waiting for you by the door or is on their way there; keep a look out for them. If worse comes to worse, don't be afraid to knock on some doors. Most people are friendly."

Most? "Alright, stay safe."

"To you as well."

We made our way to the door, left the house and went our separate ways.

Time to find the grand workshop of Leonardo Da Vinci.

I really hope Luisella is right about most people here being friendly.

~AC~IF~

I lucked out and managed to find Mario on his way to Leonardo's workshop. Grazie dio because, I don't know if it was just me, but a lot of people were giving me some dirty looks.

"Salute Cole. Shall we?" Mario spoke.

"After you." I responded.

Mario knocked on the door before entering. We walked in to see Leonardo, Niccolò and Ezio walking to the table that had the Apple of Eden.

So this is what the famed Apple of Eden looks like. I'm not going to deny it; it does have a somewhat alluring aura surrounding it. You don't know what it could yield, the secrets it could hold, the knowledge it could provide you. It's probably why it's fought over so much. It could take everything about the world and completely turn them upside down.

Leonardo leaned down in front of it.

"Fascinating… Absolutely Fascinating…" He spoke.

Agreed.

"What is it, Leonardo? What does it do?" Ezio asked.

"I could no more explain this than explain to you why the Earth goes around the sun!" Leonardo exclaimed excitedly.

"You mean the sun around the Earth?" Mario quipped in.

No, no. He means the Earth around the sun.

"It's fabricated with materials that shouldn't exist… And YET… this is clearly a very ancient artifact."

"The Codex refers to it as a piece of Eden."

"The Spaniard… he called it the Apple."

"Like Eve's Apple? Of forbidden knowledge? Are you then suggesting that this thing…?" Leonardo trailed off.

I guess there's really no telling what it could do. I don't think one could even say what it CAN'T do.

I stepped forward, raised my hand and tapped the Apple. My touch seemed to have awakened the Apple's power. The room was illuminated by the Apple's immense power. Ezio shielded his eyes, Niccolò fell to the ground, clearly overwhelmed, Mario turned away, leaving Leonardo and I the only ones being able to handle the Apple's immense power.

Weird.

The Apple gave off many messages. Some were easy to pick up, some were more cryptic, and some didn't seem to make any sense.

A flash of red filled my vision and I could have sworn I faintly heard maniacal laughter. I reached over and I tapped the Apple again and it returned to its normal state. My vision was still a bit blurry so I rubbed them to return some clarity.

What the hell?

Mario and Niccolò rose up from the floor.

"This must never fall into the wrong hands. It would drive weaker minds insane…"

"No doubt the Spaniard will be relentless in his desire to gain it back." Ezio said.

No doubt the Spaniard will try to "persuade" me to join them too…

"Ezio, Cole, you must protect this with all the skills we have taught you." Niccolò said.

"Maybe we should try to hide it somewhere. Somewhere where it wouldn't be easy for them to gain access to. Keeping it on us all the time may backfire at some point." I suggested.

"Cole is right. Hmm…" Mario said, pacing a bit. "Take it to Forlì. The citadel is walled, protected by cannons-and our ally controls it."

That sounds promising.

"Who is this ally?" Ezio asked.

"Her name is Caterina Sforza." Mario responded.

"You don't say… I think I may enjoy this mission." Ezio said with a bit of amusement in his voice.

"Thank you for everything, my oldest friend." Ezio went over and hugged Leonardo.

"Leonardo! Ezio tells me you travel often to Milano. I have a grand villa in Toscana. You must come visit me there." Mario said.

"I would be honored." Leonardo said while bowing his head.

~AC~IF~

Ezio, Niccolò and I were on the boat heading to Forlì. It was a day and half boat ride to and on the ride there, I just couldn't stop thinking about the Apple of Eden. So much power contained in such a small and seemingly harmless object. In the wrong hands, it could really screw things up.

It reminds me so much of the Ray Sphere. So many lives, millions of lives thrown into disarray with one just explosion. And even in its destruction it didn't want to leave without harming the world one last time. It left the world with a bang and a parting gift. The Beast.

I'm starting to understand why Sixteen said that the Apple and the Ray Sphere "one in the same." Both of them could cause an innumerable amount of destruction in their own respective ways. But what would happen if they were somehow combined? And has it happened before?

I have the pieces, but still so far away from putting the puzzle together.

With time I guess.

"Cole, are you alright?" Ezio broke me out of my thoughts, concern lacing his face.

"Sì, sì just thinking."

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

We've come a long way him and I. We've gone to him wanting to shove his blades cleanly into my throat to detecting when I'm having a mental breakdown and offering help.

"I am sure. Thank you." I assured him.

He seemed somewhat content with my answer but at the same time skeptical. But because we had a more pressing matter to tend to, he decided to drop it for the moment.

Just shake it off Cole, now's not the time for a mental breakdown.

We stepped off the boat and began to walk. After some time, we encountered a woman talking to a group of soldiers. She looked over and saw us.

"Well, well, look who it is?" She spoke towards Ezio.

"Madonna." He responded smoothly.

Man, he really gets around with the ladies.

"I thought when we met you were a bit special. But an Assassin, hmm?"

Then she turned her attention to me with a certain sparkle in her eyes.

"And you are messere…?" She asked.

"Prego, Call me Cole." I responded.

She nodded her head and gave me a nice smile.

Niccolò explained our situation to her and she was more than happy to help.

"Walk with me cari. You two are going to love Forlì! The cannons in our cittadella alone go back a hundred years. The artifact will be quite safe there." She spoke.

"Forgive me, but I've never heard of a woman ruling her own city before. It's quite impressive." Ezio said.

I couldn't agree more with that fact.

"Well… it was my husband's before, of course. He died." She said.

Not too much sadness in that voice…

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I had him killed" She responded. And she said that without skipping a beat.

"Oh…" Ezio cleared his throat.

Awkward…

In an attempt to get rid of the awkward in the air, Niccolò spoke up to try to change the subject.

"We discovered Girolamo Riario was working for the Templars. Making a map if the locations of the remaining codex pages."

"I never liked the goddamned son of a bitch anyway. He was a lousy father, boring in bed, and a pain in my ass.-" Caterina said spitefully.

And the awkward makes a comeback.

Suddenly a large group of people came towards us running and screaming for their lives. What could they be possibly be running from?

"Aspetta. What's happening?" Caterina asked a fleeing woman.

"They came as soon as you left the city walls, Signora. The city is under attack." The woman explained.

"What?! By who-!?" Caterina asked.

"The Orsi brothers, Signora."

"Aw sangue di Giuda!" Caterina exclaimed.

"Who are the Orsi?" Ezio asked.

"The same canaglie I hired to kill my husband!"

"It's the Spaniard of course. The Orsi have no world view bigger than their purse." Niccolò spoke.

"But how could he know where we were taking the Apple-before we even knew!?"

"Because they're not here for the Apple, Ezio. They're after Riario's map."

"Basta with your map, Niccolò! My children are inside! Oh, porco demonio!"

The three of us ran to the entrance of the city. When we arrived, we found the gates sealed.

"They're already inside! Double crossing bastards…"

"Is there another way into this place?"

"Aspetta… Perhaps, yes. There's an old tunnel under the western wall from the canal."

"Bene. Cole?"

That sounds like it involves water. A lot of water.

"I will stay here with Niccolò and Caterina. Go on ahead."

"Cosa? Why?"

"Caterina, Cole has certain a special ability; the ability to control and wield… lightning."

"So?" Caterina asked confused.

"Lightning thrives within his body. Lightning and water don't necessarily coincide with each other."

"You'd be surprised at how much lightning and water do not mix very well. Their disagreement would ultimately mean my end." I added.

"Ahh, I understand. Very well."

"I'll be right back." Ezio ran off and jumped into the water to find the secret entrance.

"Once inside, he can open the gates for us. In the mean time…"

Caterina went on to try to rile up the guards, probably as a distraction so Ezio could move about without conflict. I could guess that the city is considered, forbidden territory to anyone and the guards won't react too well to his presence at this point.

Or maybe she just needs to get a few things off her chest. Who knows, who cares. It seems to be working anyway.

After some time, the gates opened up, granting us access.

"Ezio! You did it! Seguimi!" We ran into the city and were immediately greeted by a flock of guards eager to paint the city in our blood.

I'd like to see them try.

"There! On them!" One of them screamed.

"They're here!" Another screamed.

Bring it on.

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