Ubisoft own Assassin's Creed. All credits goes to them, including characters and plot. I only claim my OCs and minor plot changes.
Here is the next chapter everyone! Thank you so much for all those who subscribe, put this story into favorites, and/or review. It means a lot to me, seriously. I hope that this story will be able to break a hundred reviews...I will throw a damn party if that happens. Anyways, if there is any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, I'm sorry I didn't edit this too much. Happy reading! Lemme know what you think! All types of reviews are welcome and encouraged! Arrivederci!
Chapter Eleven: Rispetto (Respect)
"Once we've dealt with these guards," whispered Trinity as she and Ezio quickly traversed the roof to get to the guards Mario had sent to them to kill, "we have to rejoin Mario. Alright?"
"Alright," he breathed, peering over the roof. They were just above the ten guards who were talking amongst themselves.
"What's Vieri up to now?" one of them growled, clearly irritated.
The one he was speaking to shrugged. "No one knows," he replied. "But something has him on edge. How else would you explain all the patrols he's demanded?"
Ezio was pointing and making hand gestures, trying to enforce a tactical plan without saying a word. Trinity, however, could not, for the life of her, understand his motions and stared blankly at him in confusion.
"What?" she hissed, perplexed with the elaborate moves.
"We're meant to be soldiers," a third guard said below. "Instead, he's turned us into nursemaids. And why?"
The second guard who had spoken, who seemed the most neutral, scratched the back of his head. "Shooting his mouth off again, no doubt," he replied indifferently. "Angering the wrong sorts of people…. And so now, we pay the price."
Trinity had just about enough of Ezio's ill attempts to motion for her to attack which guards and stood up from her crouched position. Before he could stop her, she leapt down from the building, slamming her hidden blade into one of the guards' necks and rolling off him once he hit the floor.
Ezio groaned as she unsheathed her two favorite weapons, her twin daggers, and engaged the nine other guards.
Why doesn't she ever listen!
"Come now," she goaded when none of her opposition made to attack her. "I'm only one woman. Don't be afraid."
This incited an immediate attack from one of the guards on her right, which Trinity easily counterattacked and gutting him instantly. This outraged the rest of the guards and they were provoked enough to attack her.
Ezio threw his last throwing knife, incapacitating one of the guards before he leapt from the roof as well. They pressed their backs gently against each other, making sure that the other had cover as Ezio withdrew his sword.
Now that he was there, they could easily tend to four guards to themselves without difficulty. Trinity and Ezio were able to use each other for another set of eyes, calling out to one another when the other was about to be hit with a sword or mace behind their backs.
Within minutes, they had killed all ten guards.
"Nice work," breathed Trinity, blood splattered across her front. "Though I did see one of them got a good hit to your face."
Ezio heard the amusement in her tone and spat to the side, a small amount of his blood hitting the floor. One of the last two guards he had taken care of managed to land a punch to his jaw, causing Ezio to bite down on the inside of his cheek.
"Chiudere…(shut up)" he said without much feeling behind it, sheathing his sword. She felt herself grin for a moment, though unnoticed by him.
"Come," said Trinity, sheathing her daggers and running up the steps of the street. "We must catch up to Mario."
It seemed like she knew where she was going, which surprised Ezio vaguely. He wondered if she had visited here when she was away for a year.
There was more sounds of the clashing of metal up ahead and they came upon a group of San Gimignano guards trying to fend off a few of Mario's mercenaries.
The two assassins quickly jumped into action, aiding the others in defeating the last of the guards.
"Ezio!" cried one of them, causing the pair to turn around to find where the voice was coming from.
One of the mercenaries was leaning up against the well, hand over his bleeding wound to the stomach. Trinity rushed quickly to him and knelt down to take a look at it.
"Your uncle's under attack and needs help! Go to him!" he gasped as Trinity lifted his hand. The wound was deep and still bleeding quite profusely. She motioned for one of the other mercenaries to come to her.
"Keep your hand here to stem the flow of blood," she instructed him. "He needs aid quickly otherwise he may bleed out. Do you understand me?"
The mercenary nodded and Trinity rose up.
"Andiamo!" said Ezio quickly, dashing where the mercenary had directed them. Trinity was hot on his trail as they rounded a few corners.
It was easily discernable that there was a massive amount of fighting not that far up ahead of them. Trinity braced herself for the worst, just as they rounded a final corner that opened up into a large courtyard in front of the main church of the city.
Both Trinity and Ezio stopped in their tracks. "Holy shit…" Ezio whispered.
In front of them were…he couldn't even estimate well enough…maybe a seventy or so men, the majority of them the guards of the city fighting against Mario's men. There were so many guards…it was overwhelming to look at all the opposition against them. His heart sank a little, having no idea where to begin.
Trinity clapped Ezio on the back and laughed lightly.
"Don't be such a bambino (baby), Ezio!" she teased, her smile peeking out through the shadows of her hood. She dashed towards the fray, kicking a sword from a guard's hand and slamming her hidden blade into the back of his neck. "Look at this as practice! You need it!"
Ezio rolled his eyes, though an amused smirk crossed his face momentarily. She always had to provoke him, didn't she? He quickly followed after Trinity, targeting a group of guards that were around the well in the middle of the courtyard.
He had killed about five of them when he saw his uncle pass though his field of vision.
"Uncle!" called Ezio, parrying a lunge to his chest and punching the guard in the face. Mario looked over from his own fight with five guards and grinned.
"Ah, nipote, there you are!" Mario yelled back, slaying another guard only for his place to be taken by another. "It seems my plan has hit something of a snag."
Trinity, who had leapt up and over the well lithely to bring her daggers down to a guard who very nearly made mince meat of Ezio, snorted. "Clearly!" she said, chuckling as she continued to deal with the guards that now surrounded her.
Mario laughed as well. Ezio wasn't quite sure these two kept laughing because he didn't see this situation as something that was particularly amusing. Their lives were at risk right now! Why the hell were they acting so nonchalant about the fact that they were highly outnumbered.
"Vieri's men ambushed us," continued the elder Auditore, kicking a guard away from him so he could easily pull out his sword from his body, "and now we've got our hands full."
Ezio ducked a swing before he stabbed his sword straight into the eye of the guard who just made an attack at him.
"There's nothing to worry about," said Trinity next to Ezio in a casual tone. "We'll finish them off."
"No, my brothers and I will deal with these guards," said Mario, a firmer tone in his voice. "You two must go on ahead and root out that snake! See that justice is done!"
"With pleasure!" Trinity replied boisterously.
She slashed in an x formation at the guard in front of her before throwing her dagger at the man Ezio was attempting to deal with. When the guard fell to the floor, clutching the dagger at his chest, Ezio looked up at her.
"Hey, that was my kill!" he exclaimed with irritation. Trinity didn't reply and ran past him, wrenching out her dagger in the process.
"Dai, grullo (come on, stupid)," she said over her shoulder. Ezio exhaled heavily, trying to keep his temper in check. Again with the goading. Apparently, it didn't matter what situation they were in because she still found every opportunity to harass him or call him names.
"Monello (brat)…" he grumbled, making her chuckle again.
Trinity and Ezio navigated San Gimignano silently, avoiding as many guards as they could so they didn't have to keep fighting every one they passed. They mostly took towards the roof as they headed to the northern gate. Trinity hoped they would find Vieri soon because it was getting late into the night. Morning would be arriving soon.
She climbed up another roof for a higher vantage point when she saw the gate they were looking for. Ezio quickly joined her.
"What are we-?"
"Shush," Trinity said while throwing out a hand to silence him. Ezio glowered, not liking that he was just told to "shush."
There were a handful of guards at the front of the gate when four figures came through. One was easily recognizable…the bastard Vieri with his idiotic beret. What was presumably his father, with a full beard and longer hair also had the same sort of hat, was also with Vieri. There was another man, much older looking, even from this distance, in fancy robes, signifying his high rank. There also was a heavier set man, one of reddish-brown tinge.
"There's Vieri…" she whispered, going into a crouch.
Ezio eyed her. "Let's go now!" he hissed. "We'll catch him them off guard."
"No," snapped Trinity, not favoring him with a glance. "They may reveal information we need. We wait."
Ezio growled underneath his breath and crossed his arms, watching the unfolding scene with impatience.
"It's settled," said the heavier set man as the four of them stopped just as they passed the gate. Trinity froze.
That voice.
It cannot be… she thought incredulously. Was this the man she had spent a year trying to track down?
"Vieri, you will remain here to coordinate the merceneri (mercenaries)," continued the man in the robes. He had a slight accent, one indicating he was not from Italy. "Francesco will organizes our forces in the city and send word when it's time to strike."
It had to be him. It sounded just like him. If only she could see his face…just to confirm…but his back was facing her and Ezio while he spoke to the other three.
Trinity could feel it. The rage…the pain…everything that she had bottled up for so long within her came rushing forth like a tidal wave. She started to shake, yet immobilized by her realization.
"Jacapo, your job is to calm the citizens once the deed is done," the robed man finished.
"What of that ubriacone (drunkard),Mario?" whined Vieri to the man. "He continues to harass my forces and I fear he'll discover what we intend."
"He's always been trouble," added Vieri's father. "Just like that bastardo brother of his."
Vieri looked at Francesco with a desperate look. "Then let me reunite them, father!" he pleaded. Even from here, Ezio could see the semi-disgusted look on Francesco's face at his son's tone.
"There will be plenty of time to clean up the rifuiti (trash) when we're finished," assured the robed man firmly, putting a hand on Vieri's shoulder. "Now, is there anything else…?"
The other three were silent.
"Muy bien," he said, only solidifying Trinity's thoughts that this was the man she was searching for. "May the Father of Understanding guide you."
"May the Father of Understanding guide you," the three repeated back, all of them with their hands at their hearts and head's bowed.
Trinity didn't care if it wasn't him…it was close enough for her and she was going to kill that man…the man who murdered her family.
She stood up quickly, ready to tail them, having no concern now with Vieri.
"I'll kill him!" she shouted without thinking, her rage blinding her.
Instinctively, Ezio gripped her upper arm and yanked her to the floor of the roof with him, dropping them out of sight as the four men they had eavesdropped on looked up in their direction. Luckily, the positioning of the roof and the shadows hid them well enough for the four men to brush it off.
After a moment of remaining still, where Ezio was lying on top of Trinity, he lifted his head up to see if they had gone.
Vieri and the others were turning back towards the gate.
"Commendante!" called a guard, running from down the street. "Commendante (Commander)!"
"What!" snapped Vieri, turning on the spot and giving the guard an irritated look. He glanced back as his father and the others mounted horses and rode off, away from San Gimignano.
"Mario Auditore has invaded the city!" cried the guard apprehensively. "He comes for you!"
Vieri laughed cynically. "Then let's not keep him waiting," he replied condescendingly before walking away to climb the battlements.
Ezio lowered his head to look down at Trinity for a moment who was stiff under his weight.
"Get off me!" she spat, shoving him away from with disgust. "The hell are you doing!"
He glared at her. "You almost blew our cover, idiota!" he growled back acidly but keeping his voice down. "What if they saw you? Vieri would have made a run for it."
"That man in the robes killed my family!" she hissed, hatred dripping in her voice. "I'm sure of it. And you just let him get away!"
Ezio blinked, shocked with proclamation. The slightest amount of guilt rose in his chest as both of them stood up.
Trinity pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself….
An assassin doesn't lose her temper,she reminded herself. Ezio was doing the right thing…he didn't know…. And she had acted brashly.
As much as she wanted to, she couldn't blame Ezio for stopping her.
"Let's move," she said, her tone much more level.
They were just about to leap off onto the roof beneath them when a band of Mario's mercenaries were running down the street, meeting heavy opposition of Vieri's men where Vieri had just been.
"Where is that stronzo anyway?" said Trinity, scanning the streets.
Ezio looked as well when his eyes saw the battlements across the way. "There," he said, his vision turning a strange hue of blue. The weirdest sensation happened but he could differentiate easily who were his allies, who were emanating white, who were his enemies, who were emanating red…and his target, who was gold.
After a second, the blue hue vision vanished. Ezio shook his head, confused as to what just happened but he kept silent, not wanting to bring it up in the midst of battle.
"On the battlements?" Trinity squinted. "You can see from this far…?"
She turned to him, surprised. "Uh…" he replied lamely. "Yes…Vieri's there."
He pointed directly across from them.
"Alright, let's move," Trinity said.
Both of them leapt of the building the one across the street. Ezio led the way across the rooftops before dropping down to street level.
There was a scaffold next to the ramparts that they quickly ascended. They sprinted across the city walls and to the small tower that Vieri was shouting orders from. Now that they were closer, it was definitely Vieri and he had at least five men up at the top of the battlements with him.
"Go," whispered Trinity to Ezio to climb up first. "I'll cover you."
They scooted around towards the back so that they would be able to climb up with out being knocked off to the ground at least forty feet below. Trinity was only half a second behind him when Ezio pulled himself up, gripping a guard from behind to stab his hidden blade through his head.
Trinity was already upon another guard, thrusting her own blade into the back of the ribcage to pierce the heart. By this time, they had made enough noise for Vieri to turn around.
"Ezio!" he laughed darkly, withdrawing his sword. He glanced at Trinity, who stood a little behind Ezio with her daggers drawn. "I see you brought me a present."
Even after his humiliating confrontation she had with him previously, Vieri still had the nerve to mock her as if she were lesser than him.
She spat. "You will not survive this one, Vieri," Trinity said scathingly. "I will make sure you are dead this time."
Ezio was confused as to what she meant by "this time" but it wasn't much of his concern as all he wanted to do was cut Vieri's throat open.
Trinity engaged the three remaining guards, leaving Ezio to deal with Vieri. She knew Ezio's skill now was better that he had a high possibility of surviving this fight, and she was not worried.
And so Vieri and Ezio's dance began. Ezio waited for Vieri to lunge at him, which he sidestepped and made a counterattack. Vieri, however, quickly blocked the move and kicked Ezio back to regain ground.
Trinity had shoved a guard off the roof within a minute, leaving only two more to deal with. They were low ranked guards and she could see the fear in their eyes, knowing their fate already.
She parried a strike at her leg and quickly spun around on the spot, slicing at the man's torso and neck. The guard choked and dropped to the floor.
"Fear not, Ezio," chided Vieri with a snide expression. "I'll make sure your death comes quickly!"
Ezio blocked Vieri's attack and took a swing at his face, landing a good punch in the jaw to send Vieri stumbling back a few steps against the wall.
"For someone who is about to die," said Ezio, anger riddling his voice, "you sure talk big."
At this, Vieri glared at Ezio.
He glanced to his right, seeing Trinity's back facing him while she was attempting to finish off the final guard.
Vieri saw his chance and slashed at her as she was parrying a lunge from the guard. Vieri's sword tip grazed the back of her right shoulder, slicing open the fabric of her clothes and cutting her skin.
Trinity involuntarily gasped, having been caught off guard and dropped her weapon in her right hand. Vieri immediately kicked out one of her knees so that it sent her to the floor, vulnerable.
The guard took this moment to stab at her, but she quickly rolled to her left, seeing the point coming down on her. The guard's sword missed her by a couple inches as she rose to a stand, with only one of her daggers. She quickly abandoned it and unsheathed her sword though her strong arm was now limited in movement.
Ezio felt a wave a rage engulf him for Vieri making such a low move as attacking Trinity unaware like he had. With a surge of adrenaline, Ezio swung almost like a madman at Vieri, not letting up with strike after strike to Vieri's sword.
There was no fear in Vieri's eyes even though with all of Ezio's anger and power behind each stroke of his sword…and it incensed Ezio even more.
Ezio ran his sword straight through the junction of Vieri's neck and torso.
Trinity heard a clattering and she glanced over, seeing Vieri bleeding at the neck and on the floor. She returned her attention to the final guard, bringing her leg around when she shoved him away from her, her heel nailing the guard in the temple.
The force was enough to send him flying back and off the building.
She turned to face Ezio, who was holding Vieri by the collar. "What is the name of the man in the dark robes you were talking to?" Ezio demanded for Trinity's sake. "What are you and your allies planning? Is this what my father discovered?"
Trinity watched as Ezio shook Vieri's rapidly dying body.
"Is thiswhy he was killed?" Ezio snapped.
Vieri let a dark smirk slip across his face, causing blood to drip from the corners of his lips. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "Were you hoping for a confession…?"
Even Trinity felt the fury that burst forth from Ezio as Vieri's breathing ceased. Even in his final breath, he mocked the Auditores.
"Pezzo di merda (Piece of shit)!" Ezio shouted viciously, shaking Vieri's body in his rage. "Vorrei solo che avresti sofferto di più! (I only wish you'd suffer more!)"
"Ezio…" said Trinity behind him, but he didn't hear her.
"Hai avuto la fine che meritavi! (You met the fate you deserved)!"he yelled, his voice growing even louder. "Spero che bru-! (I hope yo-!)"
"Ezio!"
He threw Vieri's body down, whose eyes were still open, listless in the face of death…and remnants of his final smirk still at his lips.
Trinity gazed down at Ezio, her blue eyes visible because her hood had fallen back in the fight. For once, her eyes were not holding a look of general disdain for him…but one of sympathy.
"That's enough," she said, surprisingly gentle. "Show some respect."
Ezio's eyes went black as night at her words. "Respect?" he spat in disgust as he rose to a stand. "After all that's happened?"
He pointed to Vieri's body lying in a pool of blood. "Do you think that this stronzo (fucker)," he snarled, kicking Vieri's head fiercely, "would have shown either of us such kindness?"
At this statement, Trinity's gaze hardened slightly. "You are not Vieri," she said in a darker tone. "Do not become him."
She moved towards Vieri's body and knelt beside him. "Che la morte ti dia la pace che cercavi (May death provide the peace you sought)," she said quietly. "Requiescat in pace (Rest in peace)."
She quickly brushed her gloved fingers over the eyes of Vieri to close them and quickly searched his body for anything that would give them answers. She found a small envelope hidden with Vieri's pockets and pulled it out but didn't read it.
Trinity found nothing else of importance so she stood up Ezio was staring at her with a mixture of disgust and revulsion at her "respect" for Vieri.
"I understand your hatred for him, Ezio," Trinity said as gently as she could. "Do not mistake showing consideration for those who have passed on as forgiving them or predilection for them. I despise this man too…but you are from a line of Assassins. We keep to a creed."
She handed him the envelope. "Here, you read this when you get the chance."
Ezio averted his eyes and practically swiped the envelope from her hand, feeling the slightest bit self-conscious for behaving like a child in front of her…especially because she had reprimanded him for it.
Trinity turned away and he saw the bleeding scratch on her upper shoulder blade.
"Stai bene…(Are you okay)?" he asked quietly. Trinity paused just at the wall to start climbing down.
"I'm fine," she said, casting that signature smirk at him. "Let us return to Mario and tell him of our success, eh?"
She then leapt down off the tower and onto the wall below, making a groaning noise when she hit the floor below.
Ezio let a small noise of amusement and followed.