I do hope you enjoy.
The Legend of Midna: Twilight Creed
Chapter Eight: Memory Sequence 7
"Ah, Mr. Fox, ready to go, I see," said Mason when he opened the door to my room. I was already standing; I couldn't wait to get back in the animus and find out what was going on.
"You bet, Doc," I said cheerfully. I doubt he caught the underlying dig at him, but it didn't make any difference, really.
"Let's get on with it then," he said as we strode over to the machine. "Time's wasting."
"So more of the story is revealed to us," said Machiavelli when he had finished reading the note I had stolen, which had been meant for Cathar. I had already shown Ezio and La Volpe.
"It seems that Cathar was not only planning on buying off the guards to prevent them from stopping his plans," Ezio said, addressing Link, "but he apparently is also funding the Demien brothers. They have kidnapped an engineer and are forcing this person to design and build siege weapons."
"We believe Dredloc plans to assault the Palace," I said, "once Zant has been returned to life."
"So it's as we feared, then," Link sighed. "Dredloc is a fierce enemy. He is a wicked mercenary, and I couldn't tell you how many men he's killed with deadly cunning. We must work quickly if we are to foil his plans."
"Then we must make haste to Res Nam," said Ezio. "Link, it is on the surface as well, no?"
"It is," said Link. "It's directly under the island that bears the floating lake where Quetzala's shade well can be found."
"I do not know what that means," said Ezio, "but what I do know is that we must hurry. When will the next ship be ready to go down?"
"Already taken care of," said Link. "I knew that since our next target was Res Nam it would be necessary to return to the surface, so there is already a ship waiting for you."
"Eccellente," said La Volpe. "So I'm assuming we'll do this as we did in Makevi?"
"Sì," said Ezio. "I think it is clear that Shweenog can handle himself in the field, but it never hurts to have backup."
I had been to Res Nam before, but only once, and that was years ago. I had forgotten what it was like. In many ways it was much like Makevi or the Floating City, but unlike those cities, which at least were touched by the half-light of light twilight, Res Nam was covered entirely by the shadow of the island floating high above. The southwest side also had a view of the river that flowed up from the surface to the lake, something which the Italians had a hard time processing.
"Water is not supposed to flow up," La Volpe insisted. "Especially not unsupported like that."
"I keep telling you," I said light-heartedly, "that our worlds do not necessarily follow the same rules." Although it was fun to listen to their incredulity, I had to remain focused on the task at hand. It was my job to end two Twili's lives.
"Ezio," I said, "perhaps you could use your talents to help us find the direction we need to go."
"I don't think it will be that difficult," said La Volpe. "Just look for some type of construction yard and they can't be too far off."
"We should ask someone for directions," Ezio suggested. "It would be foolish to go in blindly."
"Nà ētúā ffěindātérěiz zíthèm ŏ qýs'rēxònè(to the east you will find the construction site)," a Twili shopkeeper told me. I did the talking because I thought it would be safer to use the Twili language, and the Italians had not yet mastered the intricacy of it. Not to mention the fact that any Twili would recognize that it was not their first language from their accents. "Bèt ýð fùrø ŏ qĭtŏ."
"Mālùþ," I replied with a short bow.
After we had gone out of earshot, Ezio leaned in to whisper in my ear. "What did he say?"
"He said the construction site is just outside of town, to the east," I said.
We continued on until we reached the other side of the city, and sure enough, we were met by a walled-in construction yard. It appeared to be unattended at the moment, but there had clearly been activity there recently.
"This reminds me of the time I had to destroy Leonardo's war machines," Ezio mused. "We should be cautious."
"Always," said La Volpe. Together we entered the construction yard, keeping our eyes peeled for any sign of movement. After a few moments of nothing, I spotted someone, who spotted me at the same moment. The person darted off toward a large edifice which was likely some type of warehouse. Immediately I took off after him, with Ezio and La Volpe close behind.
"Shweenog!" Ezio shouted. "You go on ahead after him, and Volpe and I will cut him off. He cannot run from all directions!" I didn't give a reply other than a nod as I kept on after him in hot pursuit.
When I finally caught up with him, La Volpe already had him pinned to the ground. He looked up expectantly at me. "Tell him to tell you where the Demien twins are."
I leaned down over him and extended my hidden blade so that the tip pressed dangerously against his throat. "Nà'm sāré ò bènt jímíněiĭ Dēmièn (where are the Demien twins)," I demanded. Fear filled his eyes.
"Bènt nā sŭníþ ŏ ēðíf (they're at the top of the building)," he stammered. "Māþāð, hè'm tŭrèěiz (Please, don't kill me)."
"Hè prø èm sās ò qìnù ffěindātér jèniýr," I said. I pressed the tip of my blade a bit further into his throat.
"Ýà, ýà,ès sārù," he said as he tried not to puncture his throat with the tip of my blade. "Jèniýr bèt nā lèðā fěir ŏ zíthā."
"Mālùþ," I said, and sunk my blade into his throat, silencing him forever.
"What was all that?" La Volpe demanded. "What did he say?"
"He told me that the Demien twins are at the top of the warehouse," I said, "and also that the engineer they have taken captive is being held on the other side of the construction yard."
"The engineer, yes," said La Volpe. "I had nearly forgotten. Ezio!" Ezio had just rounded the corner to find La Volpe and myself.
"Forgive me," he panted as he came to a halt. "I took a long route in case he got away. So, what have we learned?"
"That our targets are up there," said La Volpe, pointing to the top of the warehouse, "and that their prisoner is over there somewhere," he said, gesturing to the other side of the yard.
"So, what shall our next move be?" I asked.
"There are two of them," said Ezio, "and three of us. I say two of us go and eliminate the Demiens while the other goes to rescue the engineer. Volpe, are you up to joining Shweenog?"
"Ezio," La Volpe began, "you know I don't have the taste for combat that you do. The two of you should go, and I'll release the prisoner."
"Very well." Ezio then turned to me. "Do you remember the skills Volpe taught you? Because we're about to do a lot of climbing."
We climbed for what felt like ages. At one point I felt as though my arms would fall right out of their sockets, but soon we had reached the roof of the warehouse. I took a quick glance to see, for curiosity's sake, just how high we had climbed, and the sight was so dizzying I nearly fell off the side. I had to drop to one knee just to steady myself, but once I regained my composure, Ezio and I started off toward a small building on the roof.
"That must be the exit to the roof from inside," Ezio said aloud. "We have only seen one person in this whole place, so it is hard to say if it will be guarded or not."
"Do you have a plan, then?" I asked.
"You have a sword, do you not?" Ezio asked.
"Of course," I answered. "The blade is of finely crafted shadow steel. Very strong, and weighs nearly nothing."
"Eccellente," said Ezio. "Okay, here is what we will do. You ready your blade; you will be going in there, down the stairs. I will climb down a ways and try to find another way into the building, through a window most likely. I will meet you inside."
"Capisco," I said with a nod. I turned my attention to the entrance to the stairwell, and started down.
Inside was dark and dusty, lit every so often with glass spheres mounted to the walls that glowed a soft amber color. It provided very little light to see by, but that also meant little light to be seen by. I reached the bottom of the stairs and found myself in a long hallway. I could hear muffled voices up ahead; they sounded like they were having an argument. I followed the voices until I reached a plain wooden door. They were definitely arguing about something.
"I don't know where he is," I heard one say. "Am I his keeper?"
"Don't give me that!" the other shouted back. "You know how important this is. Without those funds, the whole enterprise is ruined, and the master will have our scalps! Now get out of here, and don't come back until you've found him!"
"Yes, Master Demien," said the other man, clearly cowed by Demien's anger. I knew then that this was my chance. One of my marks was on the other side of that door. I would not get another opportunity like this.
As the unnamed Twili came through the door, I pressed myself against the wall into the shadows. Thankfully he didn't see me, and I silently slipped through the door while it was open. Demien had his back to me, clearly trying to calm himself after that last outburst. I crept up behind him, and before he knew what was happening I had my hidden blade against his throat.
"Tell me," I began, "what is the purpose of this construction yard?"
"I'll tell you nothing," he spat, although I did note the slight quaver to his voice. I extended the blade a bit farther, so that it threatened to pierce his windpipe.
"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" I hissed. "I'll ask again, what is the purpose of this place?"
"Alright, I'll tell you," he conceded. "Master Dredloc – yes, I know you know his name by now – has ordered the construction of war machines for when the true King of Twilight returns."
"He intends to use these against the palace, then?"
"Of course he does," Demien continued. "First the palace, and then the rest of the world."
"And by that you mean the Twilight Realm."
"No," he said. "I mean first the palace, then Hyrule and Termina, and I'm sure that Master Dredloc will then suggest he go after your friends' home now as well."
"We'll see," I said, trying to sound threatening, although a wave of panic had just spread through me. I hadn't considered Zant attacking Italy as well.
"If that's all, then go ahead and kill me," Demien said.
"Not yet," I said. "Tell me where your brother is."
"He's downstairs, overseeing the construction of parts," Demien said.
"I see." I was ready to be done with him. "There's one more thing I need to know."
"And what is that?" he sneered.
"Where is Dredloc?"
He began to laugh as much as the hidden blade at his throat would allow. "That, I cannot tell you. He does not reveal where he goes to us. I can promise you this, though: when he is ready for you to find him, you will. Or rather, he will find you."
I didn't like the way that last line sounded, but I refused to show it. "Anything else you'd like to confess before I end your miserable life?"
"Just that my only regret is that I won't see the true King returned to life," he said with conviction. "I do not fear death. Be done with it, then."
"As you wish," I said, and plunged the hidden blade the rest of the way through his neck. He fell with a muffled thud to the floor.
I left the office and headed towards the stairs at the other end of the hall. From there I could see the factory floor. Many Twili men were slaving away at forges, but I could see one who was not. He didn't appear to be doing anything other than walking around the floor bullying others and forcing them to slave away at the forges. That had to be the other Demien brother. I had found my second mark.
Something started to bother me, though. Where was Ezio? He had said he would meet back up with me inside. I assumed by that he had meant that he would take down one brother and I would take the other. However, Ezio was nowhere in sight. I began to worry.
Still, this was no time to let my focus be distracted. I had a job to do. There was a Demien brother in my sight, and it was my job to make sure he never breathed again. I had gotten all the useful information I could think of from his brother, so there was nothing left to do but to kill this one and be done.
I crouched down and made my way out onto a catwalk high above the factory floor. I found myself in a dilemma: how could I go about killing this Demien brother without being seen? Then inspiration struck; it was not a very good plan, but it was the best I could come up with. I took out my entire supply of smoke bombs and tossed them all down to the floor. Soon, the entire building was full of smoke. I could hear coughing and panicked shouting, and it was then I shouted "Fire!" Soon enough, factory workers were running toward the door.
In that confused moment, I leaped from the catwalk and fell upon the Demien brother. I couldn't see anything once I had breached the smoke, so I didn't see where my blade had struck, but I told myself it was his heart, if for no other reason than that it was a satisfying thought. For good measure, I heaved his lifeless body off the floor and tossed it into a forge. I then hurried outside with the rest of the workers.
"It's alright," I told them once I was outside. "The fire is under control."
"What about Master Demien?" one asked. I don't see him anywhere.
"I was not able to save him," I said. I told myself that technically it wasn't a lie; by killing him, I hadn't been able to save his life. "You may all go home. In fact, I suggest you do so right away." Some nodded in agreement, but all hurried out of the construction yard. Then I turned my attention back to Ezio. Where was he? He had said he would try to enter through a window, so I ran back around the building.
To my horror, I found Ezio lying on the ground. His left leg stuck out at a bizarre angle, and I could see the tip of bone protruding from just below his kneecap.
"Dio mio!" I cried as I hurried over to him. He appeared to breathing, but he was in terrible shape. As I crouched down next to him, his eyes fluttered open.
"Shweenog?" he said groggily. "Is that you?"
"Sì," I said, relieved that he was alive. "Sì, sono io. What happened to you, Maestro?"
"One of the bricks in the wall came loose," he said with a moan. "I was not able to keep my grip on the wall, and I fell. To be honest, I am surprised that I survived."
"Well, grazie a Dio that you did."
"Ezio!" came another voice from around the corner. I turned to look, and found La Volpe running towards us.
"Is he…" La Volpe began.
"Dead?" Ezio finished for him. "No. Not yet, anyhow."
"What of the Demien brothers?" La Volpe asked.
"I saw to both of them," I said. "One told me that this place was meant for the construction of war machines. Apparently Dredloc wanted to have a siege army ready for Zant. He also said that Dredloc never revealed to any of them where he can be found. He said, 'when he is ready for you to find him, you will. Or rather, he will find you'."
"That doesn't sound good," said Ezio, "but at least it's something." He turned to look at La Volpe. "What of the engineer? Did you find the prisoner?"
"I did, as a matter of fact." La Volpe seemed very proud of himself. "In fact, he wants to see you. Here he is." The engineer came around the corner. It seemed that he had been staying out of sight until he received his cue from La Volpe.
"Leonardo!" Ezio's face lit up to see his old friend again. He tried to get to his feet, but the pain in his leg forced him back down again.
"Ezio, we need you to get you to a doctor," said Leonardo.
"I will be fine," Ezio insisted. "Leonardo, what are you doing here?"
"I'll tell you all about it," he said, "but for now, we need to get that leg of yours fixed up. Oh, and Ezio," he said.
"Yes, what is it, Leonardo?"
"Vederti ancora è tanto buono."