Willoffire123: Hi!
Haytham: You seem awfully chipper.
Willoffire123: I'm not allowed to say hi anymore? What has this world come to!
Haytham: I'm still waiting.
Willoffire123: I've been doing homework for three hours straight and I am ready for a break!
Haytham: Good to know.
Willoffire123: Now do the disclaimer!
Haytham: Willoffire123 doesn't own Assassin's Creed.
Willoffire123: Good! NOW ON WITH THE CHAPTER!
They met in a shaded, empty courtyard, free from prying eyes, and well out of the way of the bureau. Though he would never admit it to Leonardo or their new quarry, Arno mentally rejoiced at the prospect of seeing of his best friend and lover. He just needed to be sure it was her first.
"Templar! We've come to parlay!" he announced.
"Arno? Is that you?" said the voice of the one person Arno had missed the most during his stay in the Middle East.
The red-haired woman slipped out of the shadows, accompanied by a tall, muscle-ridden black-haired man.
Dobby pointed her flintlock in between the woman's eyes. "Make one move against us, Templar, and I'll blow your brains out."
The woman held her hands up in surrender. "Arno, tell them I mean no harm," she said in rapid French.
"What's she saying, Arno?" asked Leonardo. "Who is she?"
"This is Élise de la Serre," Arno informed his quarry. "And though she may not act like it, she is perfectly capable of speaking to you herself, in English," he said pointedly, glaring at Élise.
"Tu m'as manqué," she said fondly.
"Moi aussi," said Arno, pulling her in for a warm embrace.
"Alright, everyone lower your weapons!" ordered Leonardo, addressing the two colonial assassins and the burly Templar. "Let the two have their moment."
Arno pulled away from Élise, shooting Leonardo a silent 'thank you'.
"Well then," Élise said brightly. "Shall we convene back at your headquarters?"
"Here will have to do," said Arno, motioning for Dobby to once again lower her gun.
"You see, ma chérie," said Stéphane. "You are forbidden from going anywhere near our headquarters."
"It's nothing personal," Arno said quickly. "But you and your friend are Templars, and can potentially compromise the Brotherhood. We'll stay here, if that's alright with you."
"Fine by me," said the dark-haired man in an accent strikingly familiar to Dobby's. "We're here to exchange information and join forces on this rescue mission."
"And your order only sent you two?" asked Dobby, unimpressed.
"I can assure you, lass, we are more than enough to retrieve Haytham Kenway," said the dark-haired man.
"I don't believe I caught your name, sir," said Dobby. "What's a fine Irishman such as yourself doing with a group of Templars?"
"Easy, Élise," said the man, motioning for the Frenchwoman to hold her ground. "My name is Shay Patrick Cormac. I was once an Assassin of the colonial rite, but turned to the Templars to do what I thought was right."
It took the combined efforts of Arno and Leonardo to prevent Dobby and Stéphane from ripping Shay apart.
"You make no mistake, Assassins," Élise said coldly, pointing her own flintlock at Dobby's heart. "Make one move against us, and I won't hesitate to put a bullet through each and every one of you."
"Élise, put that thing down," said Arno. "Dobby, Stéphane, what's gotten into you?"
The two colonial assassins, though glaring daggers at Shay, ceased attempting to tear the man limb from limb.
"Arno, Leonardo, we are better off leaving this man and woman here," said Dobby, never taking her eyes off Shay.
"If you run now, I can hold them off," Stéphane volunteered, raising his meat cleaver.
Shay sighed. "I take it you two are from the colonial rite?"
"Which is why you'll forgive us for keeping our berth," Dobby said with suppressed rage.
"Yes, we like being alive, thank you," said Stéphane. "Arno and Leonardo are blissfully unaware of who you are, connard, so we'll let them take the forefront."
"Dobby, what's going on?" asked Leonardo.
"This man was once an assassin," said Dobby. "Achilles told us the story, should we ever meet the man, in hopes of saving our lives. He is responsible for the Great Purge of the colonial rite."
"I only did what I did to right the wrongs done by the assassins," Shay said impassively. "They were disturbing Precursor sites and destroying cities. Now that Achilles has seen the truth behind the Precursor sites, and the assassins have stopped searching for them, I have no qualms with the Brotherhood."
"You murdered your brothers," Dobby spat.
"The people I once called brothers," Shay corrected. "Each and every one of them tried to kill me before their demise."
"Dobby, Stéphane, if you won't listen to Shay, listen to me," said Élise. "We are here to join forces; not oppose them. We only wish to see Haytham Kenway retrieved safely. If that includes the four assassins trapped with him, then so be it. Now, what have you learned?"
"We've learned that the targets are those with the sixth sense," said Arno, backing up slowly from Shay Cormac. Arno trusted Élise with his life, but Shay was still cherry-red in his eyes, and his eyes were never wrong.
"Sixth sense?" asked Élise.
"Those who see the world differently," Shay explained. "For what it really is, down to the colors and sounds."
"That makes absolutely no sense," said Dobby.
Arno hadn't the faintest idea what she was talking about. To him, Shay made perfect sense.
He was still red though, albeit a duller red than before.
"Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad coined the term 'Eagle Vision'," Leonardo said helpfully. "The kidnappers took the five and sold them to someone who wishes to study Eagle Vision."
"By any means necessary," Arno added, never taking his eyes off Shay. He had a strong feeling that Shay was like him; that he too saw the world for what it truly was. That, coupled with something Leonardo had said earlier, dulled Shay's red ever so slightly more than before.
"You do realize the danger of you being on this assignment, do you, boy?" asked Shay, addressing Arno.
That was when Arno knew; this man was like him, and Shay knew that Arno was like him as well.
Shay's color dulled to a maroon red.
"As fully as you realize the same danger, Shay," said Arno. "We're the only ones left who can find them; we're going to use that."
"Arno, what's going on?" demanded Élise.
"Well in simplest terms," said Leonardo. "Both Arno Dorian and Shay Cormac posses Eagle Vision, and are in danger, should they be discovered."
Shay bristled at Leonardo's words, his pale face draining of what little color it had to begin with. "Did you say, 'Dorian'?"
"Yes, why?" Arno said suspiciously.
Shay was a marvel with his emotions, forcing back any signs of surprise to regain his composure. "It's nothing. The name sounded familiar, that's all."
"I don't know if now is a good time or not," said Élise, determined to change the subject. "But we found a man passed out in an alley not far from here."
She pointed at a stone bench, concealed in the shadows behind baskets of grain. "We brought him here in hopes that you might know who he is."
"His complexion is too fair to be from these lands," said Shay. "But he's been badly burned. We thought your brotherhood could heal him."
Shay led Arno and Leonardo over to the bench.
"Ringing any-," started Shay.
Leonardo stumbled backwards in surprise.
"Dio mio," he said in a small voice. "Edward?"
"Let's play hide and seek!" announced one of the children.
"Okay, but how will we pick teams?" asked the little girl in pink.
"Girls can't play hide and seek, Claudia," said another boy as if it should be obvious. "Go find Lucilla!"
"It's okay, she's with us," said Federico, putting a protective arm around his little sister's shoulders. "She has a point too. How will we pick teams?"
"Meaning, who gets Ezio?" called another boy.
Ezio grinned, enjoying all the attention.
"You don't need teams for hide and seek, idioti," said Ezio. "I will seek, and the rest of you hide."
"No fair!" said Claudia. "If big brother seeks first, I won't find a good hiding spot!"
"It's not about finding a good hiding spot, Claudia," said Federico. "Ezio's just too good at hide and seek."
"Enough talk," said Ezio, eager to begin the game. "I will count to one hundred. The rest of you, go hide!"
Ezio rested his head against the bridge rail and heard the children scatter.
"Uno, due, tre, quattro…novantotto, novantanove, centinaio! Ready or not, here I come!"
Ezio smiled to himself. This was his element, what he knew best. He may have been alone on the bridge, but he could sense his friends nearby. One by one, he found the spots of blue until only Claudia was left.
"How have you not found her yet?" Federico asked incredulously, jogging to keep up with Ezio as he stalked the street.
"Favoritism, that's what it is," grumbled one of the boys.
"You're wrong, Vieri," said Ezio, remembering to stay focused on finding his target. "I worked from closest outwards; Claudia just happened to be the farthest away."
Ezio stopped, holding a hand up to his entourage.
"Find something?" asked Federico, amused.
Ezio grinned, honing in on his last spot of blue. "Sorella."
Little Claudia had wedged herself in between two wooden barrels. She looked so gleeful to have avoided her hunter for that long that Ezio felt almost sorry for tapping her on the shoulder.
Almost.
"You were gone for so long," Claudia pouted as Federico lifted her out from in between the barrels. "I thought maybe I could win."
"Good luck with that, Claudia," called Vieri. "Ezio's cheating will always win."
Ezio blinked, taken aback. Was seeing the blue people cheating? He didn't think it was. It wasn't like he could turn off the colors at will. Did that mean he couldn't play his favorite game without cheating?
Federico, noticing Ezio's trembling lip, gave Vieri a little shove. "Sta 'zitto, Vieri. Ezio's just good at finding people."
"But can't you see the blue?" Ezio blurted out. "It's so bright against the grey!"
Federico put a hand each on the backs of his younger siblings, steering them away from the group before Vieri could tell all of Firenze that Ezio Auditore was mad.
"It's been fun, amici," said Federico. "But our madre is expecting il bambino any day now, so we must hurry home."
Ezio remained silent the entire way home and through dinner.
"Ezio, what is the matter, my boy?" said Giovanni. "You've barely touched your food."
"Did something happen while you were playing?" asked Maria.
"We played hide and seek!" said Claudia. "And I won!"
"No you didn't, Claudia," said Federico. "Ezio did. You came in second."
Claudia pouted. "I came close though."
"I don't understand," said Maria. "Il mio bambino, why are you sad if you won?"
"Vieri said I cheated," Ezio said quickly, afraid of bursting into tears, should he open his mouth for longer.
"Oh, Tesorino," said Maria. "I'm sure he didn't mean that."
"Ezio didn't cheat, papà," Federico said loyally. "He's just really good at hide and seek."
"Nobody else saw the blue people," Ezio told his father, begging him to understand. "When everything else is grey, it's easy to see the blue people."
Giovanni's concerned expression melted. "I see."
"Really? Because I don't," Claudia said crossly.
"You know what? It's late," said Maria, rubbing her rounding belly soothingly. "Federico? Claudia? Will you help me upstairs? The baby's done quite a lot of kicking today."
"Of course, mamma," said Federico, glaring pointedly at Claudia.
"Oh, alright," she said with a huff, getting up with her brother, leaving Ezio alone at the table with Giovanni.
"Ezio, my boy, have you ever noticed that others don't see the world the same way you do?" Giovanni asked his son.
Ezio nodded vigorously. In all his ten years of life, he'd seen the world in all its colors and sounds and smells. However, he'd recently noticed others treating him strangely if he pointed out obvious things that they didn't seem to see.
"They make fun of me!" he said angrily. "They don't see the colors and sounds and smells right in front of them, and they make fun of me when I try to be nice and point them out for them!"
"You mustn't be angry at them, Ezio," Giovanni said calmly, taking his son onto his lap to soothe the hurt child. "They are blind to the true colors of the world."
"And the sounds?" Ezio asked sleepily. He liked his new place on his father's lap. It was warm, and his papà rocking back and forth was making him sleepy. "And the smells?"
Giovanni chuckled. "Those too, il mio bambino. Sadly enough, most people never get to see all that you see. They live their whole lives blindly. Some manage to catch glimpses, but only if they focus really hard."
"What about me?" asked Ezio. "Is there something wrong with me?"
"No, mio bambino," said Giovanni, lowering Ezio into his bed. Without his knowledge, Giovanni had carried Ezio upstairs and into his bedroom.
Ezio didn't care; he was still warm and sleepy, and that's all that mattered.
"You have a gift, Ezio," said Giovanni, stopping at the doorway. "Cherish it."
"Wakey wakey, Italian!" cackled the short man in the white mask, dunking Ezio's head once more into the ice water.
"That's enough, Pawn," said the other man in the white mask. "He's awake."
"We've been at this for two hours now," said Pawn. "Can't we get to the fun stuff?"
The other man in the white mask pulled Ezio to standing, snapping his fingers in front of Ezio's face. "Subject 2, are you awake?"
Ezio chose to remain silent, deciding against wasting his energy on speaking.
"Bishop would be here if he could," said the man. "But after Subject 5 escaped, he needed to isolate himself to prevent himself from carving out the eyes of his remaining subjects."
"This is the part where you ask what his name is, worm," Pawn said in his ear, digging his fingers into the burns surrounding Ezio's new tattoo.
"What is your name?" asked Ezio through gritted teeth.
The man held up a hand and Pawn stopped. "There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?"
With a flick of his hand, the man brought in two guards. "These men will take you back to your cell. As for me," he said as the two guards dragged Ezio out the door. "You may call me Knight."
The guards threw Ezio through the cell door, slamming it shut on their way out.
"Ezio," Altaïr said urgently, a roll of bandages in hand. "How bad was it?"
"They didn't do what they did to you, brother," Ezio assured him. "Bishop wasn't there."
Altaïr sighed in relief. "Come, brother, to the table. I must assess the burn."
Altaïr guided Ezio to the table.
"I can walk myself, Altaïr," Ezio protested. Altaïr didn't listen, setting him down on the table and circling around to clean his burns.
"Ezio, what color am I?" asked Altaïr.
That was when Ezio noticed something he hadn't needed to notice since he was ten.
"Yes, brother," said Altaïr. "They did the same to us. Your Eagle Vision isn't turning off because of them."
It was true. Ezio's eyes would not slip back into the world of only five senses, staying stubbornly in the sixth.
"Altaïr, what's happening to us?" said Ezio. "Where are the others? When did you start talking again?"
Altaïr sighed, pausing in his work. "They took you away while you were still sleeping. Sometime later, Bishop came storming in and took Haytham and Connor. In my solitude, I realized that my sanity is the only thing that's going to get me out of here, so I found it again."
"I'm glad," said Ezio. "But what did Bishop say?"
Altaïr thought for a moment. "I was lost in my own world, so I could have heard wrong."
"If your Eagle Vision has been on since they returned you to this cell, then your eyes and ears and nose weren't wrong," Ezio insisted. "My interrogator said something about Bishop, but you must confirm it first."
"He said that he'd lost one Kenway, and he wasn't about to lose the other two before studying them further," said Altaïr. "But that can't be right, can it? If Edward were dead, we'd feel it."
"Not dead, brother," Ezio said excitedly. "My interrogator said that Subject 5 escaped."
"Wasn't your interrogator Bishop?" asked Altaïr.
"No, he called himself Knight. The other one called himself Pawn. They're probably going for a chess theme, but that's not the point," Ezio said dismissively. "What if Subject 5 is Edward?"
"I sincerely hope so," said Altaïr. "Once Haytham and Connor return, we'll make our escape."
"Why not escape now?" said Ezio. "We can find them and maybe Edward ourselves."
Altaïr shook his head. "It's better to make a straight path to freedom with all of us than to risk being recaptured while looking for half of us."
Altaïr finished cleaning Ezio's burns and faced him at eye-level. "Ezio, what color am I right now?"
"Bright blue," said Ezio, not missing a beat.
"Good," said Altaïr. "You are as well. We are brothers, Ezio. We will escape together with the Kenways, or not at all."
"I never had any doubt we will, Altaïr. But if Edward isn't a prisoner anymore, then where is he?"
Willoffire123: I am on fire this week!
Haytham: Sure.
Willoffire123: Judge me all you want, but it's been a long week and this is how I relax.
Edward: We aren't judging. The longer you wait to update, the longer we have to suffer at the hands of the chess gang.
Haytham: Chess gang?
Edward: It seemed appropriate.
Haytham: You aren't even a prisoner anymore.
Edward: Really?
Willoffire123: *knocks Edward out with her baseball bat* He doesn't need to know that yet!
Haytham: Whatever. I'm done now.
Willoffire123: For now, anyway. Until next time everyone! I hate having to say this, but reviews are greatly appreciated. Those of you who reliably review every chapter are wonderful, beautiful people. Reviews tell me what you want to see more of (for example: should I bring back the Italian and French translations?) and what you could do without, so don't forget to review!
Haytham: She's done now. Until next time.