It was around five the next morning when Vera heard her phone going off. She groaned slightly as she rolled over and tried to grab it off her nightstand, only to knock over the book that was sitting on top of it. She let out a sigh of frustration as she kept searching for the object. At the last second, she gripped it in her hand, then answered it.

"The living dead does not like to be awoken at such a horrid hour." She spoke as she rolled over onto her back and stared into the darkness.

"Well, I can say that it's almost ten in the morning here. Guess I forgot about the time zone difference. And, yes, you are the living dead, for real." The person on the other end said.

Vera hissed lightly, "Go to hell!"

"It's hard to believe we need a place called Hell."

"Alright! Now you're just being annoying!"

"What? Don't you like INXS?"

"What do you want, Hawk? You're interrupting my sleep time."

"As if you've never had it interrupted before. Anyways, we might need you down here in Italy for awhile."

"And…what mess have you caused to have me go down there to help you out?"

"Well…um…" Upon hearing an angry hiss and grunt from the other end of the line, Hawk let out a laugh, "I'm only kidding. Look, we found something that might be of interest to you."

"I already found the medallion. As far as I know, there's nothing else that could interest me. Now, let me sleep."

"I'm being serious here, Vera. It's not a Treasure of Eden. This is something much different and I feel that you should have a look at it."

"Then send me a picture. I just got back into town yesterday and I don't think Lucas will let me leave on another trip."

"It's not really something that can be taken with a camera."

"Then talk to Lucas. But, if I get woken up within two hours, I'll be sure to drop kick your ass back to the states."

Hawk laughed, "And, that can be accomplished how?"

"Good night!" Vera hung up before slamming the phone down onto the nightstand. She groaned as she rolled over onto her side and placed the pillow upon her head, "Next time, I'm turning my phone on silent, so no one can disturb me while I sleep."

Three hours passed by and Vera was quickly awoken by a knock on upon the front door. Her eyes flung open as she turned and grabbed her phone to check the time. While it had been over two hours, she still wanted to sleep till at least eleven. She glared at her bedroom door and screamed through it, hoping the person at the front door could hear here, "The living dead does not want to be awoken till late morning! Come back then!" She rolled over and placed the pillow upon her head again and gripped it tightly as she heard the door open up and someone ascending towards her bedroom. Within moments, the door opened up.

"I have orders from Lucas to come and get you." Sarah replied to her.

Vera let out a loud groan, "It can wait!"

"I'm not really sure it can."

Vera quickly sat up and threw her pillow to the side as she stared at Sarah with angry, blood shot eyes, "Let me guess, Hawk sent a message his way, didn't he?"

"H-how did you know?"

"By the God of the Highlands, I'm going to drop kick his ass back to the states for disturbing my sleep!"

"Vera, you know I don't wish to cause you trouble, but I really think you should go see Lucas to see what Hawk wants of you."

Vera threw the covers to the side as she slowly slid out of bed, "Give me an hour. That'll be enough time for me to calm down and clean up."

"And…remove your 'contacts' as well?"

Vera turned her head slowly, then gave Sarah a look that made the inside of her body tremble with fear, "Yessssss." She hissed under her breath, "Now, be gone!" She pointed to the door and watched Sarah flee with fear. She sighed a little, then made her way to the bathroom.

An hour passed and Vera was walking towards Lucas' favorite outdoor spot. She was clad in black and wore a cape with the hood up. She seated herself across from him, then noticed that Eluveitie was standing near by, shaded by the tree that he was leaning against. She turned her attention to Lucas, "The living dead is not pleased by this."

"The living dead should, also, respect their elders, even when they are tired." Lucas replied.

"Excuse me, I didn't realize that I wasn't an elder, sir."

"You know what I mean, Vera. Anyways, it seems that Hawk and his team are in need of your assistance down in Italy. You have my permission to go."

"Sir, I'm not sure what they found, as Hawk won't send a picture of 'said item', but I'm pretty sure it's not part of my family. That medallion is the real thing. I highly doubt they found something that might be similar to it. I already told him that on the phone."

"Are you sure there isn't anything else within your family that could possess power that the Templars might want?"

"As far as I know, no. Unless someone's been keeping a secret from me. My family did a great job of telling me things, didn't they?" She said in a sarcastic voice, "No, seriously, I don't know.

"Then, I think it would be wise of you to head down there. Even if it means nothing to you or your family, I'm sure you could be of some help to them to locate the object of importance."

"So, I take it I have your permission to go?"

"Of course. And, I hope you don't mind that I send Eluveitie down with you. To make sure you don't cause any damage to one of our fellow Assassins."

Vera grinned slightly, "I'll try my best. When do we leave?"

"Lucky you, tonight. It's a straight flight there."

"Works for me."

Around eight that night, the two of them arrived at the air port. Upon checking in their bags and going through security-which didn't take long do to the low amount of people flying-and having their passports checked, they headed to the terminal and waited to board the plane. Less than an hour later, they were on board and on their way to Florence, Italy. Eluveitie had quickly fallen asleep while Vera listened to some music on her iPhone while drawing Supernatural symbols on her arm with a Sharpie. As soon as she ran out of room, she turned to face Eluveitie, then grabbed his arm and started to draw on it as well. He didn't stir while she did so. Once she ran out of room on his arm, she pulled out her book and began to read until she felt the effects of sleep starting to consume her. It wasn't until they were an hour away from Florence that she found herself beginning to wake from her sleep. She turned her head a little to see Eluveitie staring at her.

"What?" She asked as she yawned slightly, "Are we there yet?"

"By any chance, where you bored last night?" Eluveitie questioned her.

"Purrrrhaps. Why?"

"I don't remember getting any tattoos from that TV show you like." Eluveitie pointed to his arm, "You know I love you, but really? And, with Sharpie?"

"It'll wash off in a day or two." Vera leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "Just be glad it wasn't real ink. Though, I did go over my one tattoo with the Sharpie. It looks good." She held out her wrist to show him, "Might have to get it redone when we get back."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Eluveitie returned the kiss, "You know, you could have drawn on your pants since it appears they've taken some 'beating'."

Vera looked down at the high waisted bell bottom pants she had on. It appeared that she had thrown colorful paint onto them at one point in time. There were even a few hippy looking patches covering up spots where the pants were starting to rip. She looked back at him before leaning over and whispering to him, "I wore these pants to Woodstock back in the day. Best time of my life! Just wanted to add some color to them." She leaned back and said, "And, no. I'd never draw on these."

"Just a suggestion, so you don't draw on me again next time."

"What, you don't like my art work?" Vera looked at him with big, sad eyes.

"I do…I just don't want Sharpie art work on me. Just tattoo like art work."

"I get what you mean. But, like I said, it will come off, so no worries."

The plane landed in the lovely city of Florence and the two of them departed as soon as the plane reached the gate. They headed towards baggage claim, picked up their bags, then took a taxi to a nearby hotel, which Hawk had reserved a room for them. Once they checked in and went to their room, which was on the third floor, there was a note waiting for them on one of the two beds within with a time and location listed on it. Vera stared at the note for awhile almost feeling like she recognized the address, but wasn't sure how. Night had fallen upon the city and the streets were starting to clear. The two of them, clad in black with their signature hoods, made their way to the location, slipping in and out of the shadows around them. About fifteen minutes passed and they were outside a villa that had been board up. They lingered in the shadows until they spotted Hawk along with three other people, two females and one male, approaching the villa. They stepped out of the shadows and walked up to them.

"I see you've had a safe trip." Hawk said as he stepped up to them, "And, I see you've brought an escort with you."

"So I wouldn't kill you for that little trick you pulled on me." Vera replied as she removed her hood, "Though, I'm sure I'd be able to send you back to America in one piece. I still have the urge to drop kick you there."

Hawk laughed, then placed a hand on her shoulder, "If only that were possible. But, we do have business to discuss."

"It could be possible if I want it to be. But, anyways, we should." She looked at the three people standing on the porch behind him. She removed his hand, then walked up to him, "So, I'm guessing this is the group you've been helping since I saw you last?"

Hawk nodded as he stepped up to her, "Yes. This is Desmond." He pointed to the man before pointing to a girl with long blonde hair, "This is Lucy, and that's Rebecca." He pointed to the other girl, who had short dark brown hair, "They were searching for one of the Treasures of Eden and it is now under Assassin control."

"Well, I congratulate you on your success." Vera said to them as she bowed slightly, "I'm sure you all haven't heard of me. I'm Vera, one of several Master Assassins in this world." She turned slightly, "This is Eluveitie. He's from a camp in Finland. He, too, is a Master Assassin."

Eluveitie stepped close to them and removed his hood, "It is an honor to meet fellow brothers." He said as he bowed to them.

Desmond looked at them with a slight bit of confusion on his face, "Um…is this some kind of formal greeting I was never told about?"

"It is a sign of respect. I see you haven't learned much about being a true Assassin." Vera said to him.

"Before we go any further with this, I think we should head on inside. There could be Templars watching and listening to what we're saying." Hawk warned.

"Of course." Vera looked at the boarded up door, "Now, how to get inside?"

"I don't believe there is a way." Lucy said, "We were here the other night. It's almost impossible to get into."

Vera turned her head slightly towards Lucy, "Hun, nothing is impossible." She put her hood up, then moved to the side of the villa.

Curious, Desmond followed after her. He rounded the corner just in time to see her scaling the wall. His eyes widened as he watched her do the same moves he had seen his ancestors do when he was in the animus. He saw her push on a board of a window on the top floor, which fell in with ease, then watched as she vanished within the building. Several moments later, he heard the sound of a board starting to break loose near by. He turned to see the board in front of the door come loose, then open up.

"Come on in, quickly!" Vera said in a low voice and watched as they all passed through the entryway. Checking to make sure there was no one around, she moved the board back into place.

"Um…where are we?" Demond asked as he looked around the large, dusty villa. He stepped into a room that appeared to have once been a living room. The furniture was starting to rot away and reeked of age. He noticed that this was the room Vera had entered.

"We are at the villa that was owned by Ezio." Lucy replied, "Probably should have mentioned that to you the other day. My apologies."

"Not much left, is there?" Rebecca asked as she walked around the room looking at an old painting that had faded with time and was covered in dust and cobwebs.

"This should do." Vera said as she turned to face them, "Please, have a seat."

"Where? If we sit on the furniture, it's sure to break beneath our weight." Desmond said as he walked over to the couch and gently kicked it. Just the slight tap from his foot caused one of the legs to break.

"The floor should do nicely." Vera allowed herself to sit down on the dusty floor as if it were nothing, "I would like to get down to business."

The rest of them seated themselves in a circle around her. Hawk pulled three candles out from his jacket and placed them in the center of the circle. He pulled out a lighter and lit them.

"Oh! We're doing a ritual are we? Sounds like fun. Haven't done one in ages."

"Very funny." Hawk replaced the lighter, then pulled out some old parchment paper and passed it to her, "This is what we found. We're hoping you can provide us with some answers."

Vera took the paper, then opened it up. Inside was a drawing of a knife with edges along one section of the blade with a faded gem on the hilt. There was writing, in Celtic and in another language, all over the paper. She studied it, "Where did you find this?"

"Within a file that we received." Rebecca said, "We thought Hawk might know, but it's obvious that he doesn't. It's not one of the Treasures of Eden that we're looking for."

"Well, you're not wrong about that." Vera replied as she read the writing, "As far as I can tell, I think it's from Ireland. I recognize some of the writing that's not here, but not all of it. Though, I'm not sure if it's from my family or not. I've never heard or seen anything like this before."

Eluveitie, who was sitting to her right, leaned over to have a look, "It looks like one of the weapons from that TV show you watch."

"Supernatural? Yes, it does look like the Ruby Knife, but this one has more edges on the blade." Vera studied the drawing itself, more than the writing.

"So, it's a knife that kills the supernatural?" Desmond asked.

Lucy looked at him, "There's no such thing as the supernatural. Why would a knife be made to kill one?"

Hawk bit his lip as he tried to hold back a snicker.

"Depends on what religion you're talking about." Vera said as she held the paper up to the candle light, "There is more than one religion in this world, you know. Some do believe that the supernatural exists. It's up to you to decide what you want to believe."

"What if I believe in one God?" Desmond asked her, "And, what if I believe that angels walk amongst us?"

"That's fine by me. I don't judge others by their beliefs. Personally, I like to keep an open mind about all of this. But, that's just me." Vera kept studying the paper as she tilted it back and forth slightly, "I'm still at a bit of a loss here. I understand some of the writing, but…it looks a little weird."

"Weird as in…?"

"Like the person either made a mistake and tried to erase it, or tried to write over it." Vera held it closer to one of the candles, "This is just too strange."

"May I see it?" Eluveitie asked. Upon accepting it from Vera, he studied it for a moment before turning it over and holding it to the candle, "This seems interesting. It almost looks like the map I gave you."

"What?" Vera leaned over to have a look, "Holy crap, it does!"

"But, the paper feels thicker. I'm guessing there's two pieces stuck together." He moved the paper away from the candle and waved it slightly, "Sounds like it."

Vera took the paper back, then held it back up to the candle, "There's defiantly two pages glued together. It would be impossible to separate them without ruining both of them. What's on the other page…I don't know. I need better light than this."

"If we use the fire place, then we're sure to be noticed." Lucy said, "On top of the fact that we have nothing to burn."

"I think we should head back to the hotel. We should be able to talk there in privacy."

"And, we can have some of that wine I left for you." Hawk said.

Vera and Eluveitie looked at each other for a second, then back at Hawk with confused looks on their faces.

"I'm guessing you didn't check the fridge."

"Um…no. And, you know I don't drink." Vera replied.

"Hey, is it just me, or is there a drift somewhere in here?" Rebecca asked as she started to rub her arms.

"Feels like the temperature dropped." Desmond could feel shivers going up and down his spin even though he had his hoodie on.

"It's not even that cold outside. What the heck is going on?" Lucy looked around.

Vera looked at the candles to see that their flames were lowering, but weren't burning out. Slowly, she stood up and moved around the room as she listened. She looked at the doorway when she thought she heard a voice. Within moments, the flames were low on the wicks and the room grew colder, the voice got louder, but she wasn't sure if the others could hear it. She looked at Hawk, "Turn that lighter on."

"Why?" Hawk asked as he rubbed his hands together to try and keep them warm.

"There's a spirit in here and that's why the room has grown cold. Spirits gain their energy from heat. The more heat, the more energy they'll have. I have a feeling this spirit might be of some help to us."

Hawk removed the lighter and lit it. Within moments, it dimmed just like the candles.

Vera slowly moved about the room as she followed the voice. She wasn't too far from the fireplace when an old goblet fell off the mantle. She stopped and watched as it rolled on the floor and came to a stop. She glanced up feeling that the spirit was right in front of her. She held up her hand in front of her, then felt it being touched by the spirit. Slowly, she closed her fingers as she kept her eyes in front of her. A slight smile came to her face when she heard the spirit speak and she was able to recognize two names. She gave herself a moment before replying, since her Italian was a bit rusty.

"My apologize, Mr. Auditore, but I'm not Kida." She spoke in Italian, "She has long since passed, back in the early 1700's. My name is Vera, I'm a relative of hers."

The group all glanced at each other trying to figure out who she was speaking to and what was going on. They turned their attention back towards her.

Vera smiled a bit more when she heard his reply, "I wouldn't be too surprised if I do look a bit like her. We apologize for 'dropping in', but we needed a place to speak in privacy." She allowed her hand to drop and lead him over to the group. She seated herself on the floor, then picked up the paper and showed it to him, "Do you know anything about this?"

Desmond's heart almost stopped when he saw the outline of the spirit in the dim candle light. He closed his eyes and began to pray within his mind, hoping that this was just a dream.

The spirit studied the drawing, then pointed to the gem on the hilt of the knife. The page moved when the spirit touched it.

"I figured as much." Vera said, then turned the page over and held it up to the candle light again, "Do you know about this gem?" She listened to the spirit, then nodded slightly, "Do you know what it does?"

The group all stared at each other not sure what to make of the scene before them. Desmond was still in prayer mode. They could see the spirit was kneeled in front of Vera and could see that it was indeed Ezio Auditore. Rebecca almost felt like fainting, but Lucy kept her up by putting her arm around Rebecca.

Vera nodded a little, "I see. Do you know where we might be able to locate it?" She listened, then nodded again, "Very well. We'll check there. Thank you for the help. It's much appreciated." She looked up at the others as she noticed the spirit moving, "What?" She asked them in English.

"What…the…?" Hawk asked.

"That was Ezio. I don't need a Ouija board to speak to spirits. It's part of my 'special talent'." She heard the spirit chuckle a little. She turned her head in that direction for a second before looking back at them, "Anyways, it appears that Ezio knew one of my relatives, Kida, and she had the gem that's on the knife. Apparently, it does have the power to kill the supernatural, but can kill humans as well. It's activated with a spell."

"So, it's not apart of the knife itself?" Elvueitie questioned as he leaned over and looked back at the paper.

"It might not be, but that doesn't mean that there was a knife made for it."

"Where do we start our search?"

"Ezio said there's a cathedral in Rome that has a secret vault. He thinks it might be there."

"And, if it's not…?" Lucy asked while Rebecca fanned herself with her hand.

"Then, we head to Ireland. That's the only other place I can think to look."

"So, are we headed to Rome then?"

"Not just yet. We should go to the hotel first. I still want to study this."

"And, I'm guessing you want us to…" Lucy quickly turned her head when she heard a banging sound.

"What the…?!" Desmond quickly opened his eyes.

"Templars." Vera hissed under her breath as she quickly jumped to her feet, "Eluveitie, take them and get out of here! Hawk, you stick around with me!"

"Why me?!" Hawk quickly got up.

"Because I'm the last person who'd use a gun. Plus, you dragged me into this. Eluveitie, get them to the hotel. The two of us will meet you there."

Eluveitie grabbed the paper before springing to his feet, then helped Lucy and Rebecca up. He lead them to the stairs that went to the second floor. Desmond was quick to follow after them.

Vera watched them, then moved to the entryway of the room, "Ready for this, Hawk?"

"Gun at the ready." Hawk already had his gun in his hand and it was ready to fire when the Templars decided to fire at them.

Eluveitie ran into one of the rooms on the left side, then knocked the board off the window. He looked down to see that they were safe. He looked up to see the roof wasn't too high up, "This way." He said.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Lucy asked.

"They'll see us for sure." Rebecca said.

"No they won't! Just follow after me." Eluveitie climbed onto the ledge, then pulled himself onto the roof. He leaned over, "You all have to come, now."

"I think you're crazy!" Lucy called to him as she climbed out onto the ledge.

"I think your ancestors would consider that disrespectful." Eluveitie held his hand out, "Now, let's go!"

Lucy felt offended by the comment, but, at the same time, she didn't have the training that Eluveitie had. She took his hand and allowed him to help her up. She stayed low on the roof and watched as he helped Rebecca up, then Desmond. She looked in the distance and saw where their van was parked, which appeared to be safe, "Over there." She whispered as she pointed in the direction.

Eluveitie looked, then nodded a little, "Then, that's where we're headed."

"How?!" Rebecca asked as she listened to the pounding from the opposite side of the villa.

Eluveitie grinned slightly, "Leap of Faith!"

"What?!"

"I'm just joking. We're going to jump across the roofs. Simple, right?"

"No! Not simple!"

"If you have the blood of an Assassin, then it'll be easy. Once you start doing something that your ancestors did, you pick up on it quickly. Just follow my lead and you'll be fine." Eluveitie stood, then backed up. He waited for just a moment before taking off and jumping to the next building. He turned and looked back at them.

"This…is going to suck…so much!"

"Better out here than inside. I just hope those two can manage on their own." Lucy replied as she took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "Alright, here goes nothing." She stepped back, looked across the way at Eluveitie, then ran and jumped.

Inside, the pounding got louder and louder and the board was starting to break. Hawk stood up against the wall as he watched the board carefully, gun at the ready. Vera was across the way from him on the other side of the entryway. Her blade was out and ready for the attack. Just as the Templars were about to succeed in breaking down the board, she felt something on her shoulder and looked up. She felt Ezio's spirit tap her on the shoulder, then take her hand. She felt the hilt of a sword being placed in it. She glanced down for a moment, then carefully ran her hand along the invisible blade to see how long the sword was. With a slight grin, she flicked her wrist and allowed the blade to retract into the bracer. Just the Templars succeeded in breaking the board down, she stepped into the dark hallway and watched as one of the three men entered. She saw the red cross upon the man's chest, then looked him in the eyes.

"Halt! Who goes there?!" The man called to her in Italian as he pointed his gun at her.

Vera cocked her head slightly, "Excuse me, but I don't understand Italian." She began her advance towards the man, dodging the bullets with ease, then slashed the invisible sword across the Templar's chest. She moved out of the way and watched.

While the man had no idea what was going on, he began to feel a very sharp and horrid pain shooting through his body. With a loud yell that echoed throughout the abandon villa, he fell to the ground and was quickly over come with the blackness of death. Within seconds he was dead.

Vera watched as she moved back a little more, then looked at the other two men standing outside of the doorway. She could see that they were both in shock at what had just happened. But, it wasn't until one of them spoke of their fallen man that her blood began to boil over.

"Witch!" One of them shouted in Italian.

"Witchcraft! She's a witch!" The other replied.

Vera's eyes quickly flashed red at the sound of that, "Excuse me?! Did you call me a witch?!"

Hawk peeked out when he heard the man yell and watched him fall to his death. Upon hearing Vera's comment, he grinned slightly to himself knowing that those two Templars had made a huge mistake in the manner they decided to address the situation with. He watched.

Ezio was just as amused by Vera's reaction to the comments of the Templars. If only he could be seen. The look on his face matched that of Hawk's and he was pretty much thinking that those two Templars were about to have the hell beat out of them.

The two Templars heard Vera's enraged voice and quickly turned to her, guns at the ready.

"I'm not a witch!" Vera hissed angrily as she began her assault on the enemy, who tried to slow her down with gun fire. She was stuck by one of the bullets, but kept up her advance. She sliced one of them across the neck and the other she stabbed through the heart. Their voices rang out as they fell to the ground, dead within moments. She panted heavily, "I'm no witch! I'm a vampire! How dare you insult me in such a manner!" She turned her head slightly when she heard the spirit address her. With a slight hiss she spoke in a low voice, "Rest in peace…"

"That was incredible!" Hawk stepped out of the shadows as he put his gun away, "How did you do that?!"

"Ezio offered me his sword. It killed their spirits, which killed them in turn." Vera placed her hand on the blade near the hilt, then held it out. When she felt Ezio grip it, she released the blade, "That was the most fun I've had in a long while. I thank you for allowing me to use that." She spoke to the spirit as she bowed. Once she rose, she felt the spirits lips touch hers. Her face flushed slightly, "You are too flattering, Ezio." A smile came to her face, "We must leave. I'm sure they'll have back up coming soon. Farewell for now." She headed towards the stairs and ran up them.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Hawk called as he dashed after her.

"We're using the roofs to get to the hotel. Need to stay out of Templar sight as much as possible." She saw a light coming from one of the rooms, then ran inside. She saw the window where the others had escaped from. She went over to it, "I'm guessing you can run across the roofs without falling off."

Hawk was quickly on her tail and within seconds in the room. He watched her climb out and onto the roof, "You know, you could have let me answer your question before you decided to leave." He said, then followed after her. Soon, he was on the roof standing next to her. He looked in the direction of the hotel, "We go that way." He pointed.

Vera nodded slightly, "Then, let's be out of here." Within moments, she was flying across the roof tops and sailing over the alleyways below.

Hawk sighed a little as he watched her, "I'm really getting too old for this." He said before following after her, even though his moves weren't as quick and graceful like hers.