Note- I've done a drawing of Eden for those of you who care, mostly for practice, but it works. The link is in my profile.

Ezio woke up first, without any sort of trigger. The streets outside were still nearly deserted, not even one ray of sunshine lighting up the sleeping city. The wound on his shoulder blade that he got from one of the guards in the tombs ached slightly, but it no longer hurt.

He stood up, and slowly, as if afraid of pain, stretched, carefully at first, and then until his bones started cracking. He glanced over to Eden's sleeping form on the bed, to find that she was curled up in the blanket almost like a cat. Her face surprisingly peaceful, a light smile graced her face. He cocked his head to the side, wondering if he should wake her up or just leave. She'd kill him afterward, though... But she'd be a lot safer here.

Right now, sleeping fully dressed, but without her weapons, she looked almost harmless. Innocent even. Living proof that looks could be deceiving. Eden was neither of those things, least of all harmless.

She suddenly opened her eyes, as if she felt his gaze on her. Looking at him, her expression was sleepy and confused.

"Wha-? Oh, good morning," she said as she lifted sat up on the bed. "What are you doing staring at me so early?"

"Um, remember, people need killing, families need saving?" he reminded her. She seemed to think hard, only to groan and slam back into the bed.

"Right…do we have to?"

"You don't," he shrugged, donning his armor. She sighed, pulling herself up again

"If you actually think I'll let you take all the glory, you're sadly mistaken," she stretched, yawning widely, "But first, food. And I don't suppose there's any coffee around?"

"Coffee?" he raised an eyebrow in surprise, and she shook her head.

"I'll take that as a no. Fine, just food then." She pulled out her bag from under the bed, setting it down beside her. She must have bought the food at the market the day before.

"I don't suppose I'll be able to get my clothes from the tailor today?" He shrugged and she sighed. "Some day this is turning out to be. What's our plan, anyway?"

"Get in there, get close, stop the conspirators," he shrugged.

"Wait, get close to where?"

"Wherever the Medici family is."

"And when it begins, how exactly are we stopping it?"

"By killing the attackers, of course."

"Of course," she agreed, "And if we're too late?"

"Then Florence will be taken over by very bad people."

"Then we won't be late."

"My thinking exactly."

"Fine. I have just one more question," she raised a finger.

"Yes?"

"What's the reward?"

He did a double take, and seeing his shock, she burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding! Ezio, you've got to stop taking me so seriously all the time!" she shook her head, still smiling. He continued staring and she started fidgeting. "No, seriously, I didn't mean that. Please stop staring." He looked away towards the window. Was she always kidding? Why didn't he know whether or not to take her seriously? She was not mocking him, or trying to humiliate him. She was just... being the cheerful, joking her.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face suddenly, and he was brought out of his thoughts. He blinked, looking around at her. "You were quiet for a minute. You okay?"

"Just thinking."

"Really?" He only now noticed that while she delivered the joke with sarcasm, her smile was still light, genuine.

"Lorenzo Medici was my father's friend," he suddenly said. She looked at him with confusion.

"That's... um, okay."

"He wasn't in Firenze when they were executed."

"Right."

"He would have done something if he was here, though."

"Sure."

"And... that's it. I just think things would have turned out a bit differently if he was around."

She offered him a soft smile. "Maybe it would have. But it didn't, so don't dwell," she spoke seriously, the apple she was eating forgotten in her hand. "Someone very wise once told me that I need to shut up and take it like a woman, though I don't think that applies to you."

He stared at her for a moment, and then slowly, a smile spread on his lips, and he shook his head. "And who's this wise man?"

"My friend Jake, when I joined the gang. He was trying to cheer me up." Her smile suddenly disappeared, and she stared out the window. It was getting brighter, the sun beginning to rise. "He was like a brother to me. I'll miss him."

"Do you think there's a way for you to get back to your time?" he asked, and she hesitated.

"Even if there is, I'm not going back. No way in hell am I ever going through that again."

"What happened to you?"

"A lot of things, none of them pleasant," she shrugged, getting up, "But I think now is not the time. Let's go, we have a certain family to save."

"I hate you," she whispered for what must have been a hundredth time as they moved through the crowd. He sighed, and replied the exact same way as he did the ninety nine previous times.

"I know."

Somehow, he knew that this was the result of her apprehension. He simply couldn't think of any other explanation as to why she would want to repeat it so many times otherwise. He was feeling a little nervous too at that moment. There were a lot of guards around the place...

"I ha-"

"Shh! It's starting." Her breath of relief was so quiet he could have imagined it. "There's Lorenzo (It's "Lorenzo") with his wife," he whispered to her, nodding in the right directions. "And there is his brother."

She was not looking at the nobles, though. Instead, she was ripping through the crowd with the force of a hurricane, and he had no choice but to follow her. "Where are the conspirators?"

He looked over the crowd as well. "There... that old noble, Jacobo, and the two priests beside him. And there's Francesco with the man with colorful clothes."

"Alright," she nodded, all traces of nerves suddenly gone. "If they attack, we need to be as close as possible." She pushed aside some woman, who looked at her reproachfully, but didn't say anything, simply wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Be more gentle. They'll think we're the assassins," he whispered to her, and she looked over her shoulder, smirking. He realized the irony of his statement, and shut up.

"Split up," she suddenly said, "I'll take care of the family if it comes to that, and you do your thing with de'Pazzi."

"With pleasure," he growled. After all this man was the sole reason half his family was dead. They executed them so he'd walk free. Eden nodded with approval just as the commotion started. She whipped around towards the front of the church, and then resumed shoving aside the screaming nobles, both her and Ezio pulling out their weapons in the process.

The fat banker ran towards Giuliano with a menacing roar, a dagger in hand, something the noble barely dodged, shock written on his face. His wife began screaming bloody murder as her husband fell, and Francesco caught up, driving his own knife deep in the man's chest.

On the other side of the plaza things were going slightly better. Lorenzo took a shallow slice on his neck, now bleeding all over his formal robes. But he still held the sword he picked up from the ground with a shaky, but confident grip, his free hand trying to stop the blood flow, all while fighting off at least five turn coat guards at once. Ezio's eyes focused on Francesco though, the blood lust singing in his soul, and his pulse beating like a war drum. Revenge was sweet, he knew from Uberto, and this time it was going to be even better.

Eden disappeared from his side, but he barely noticed, picking up his pace into a run as the crowds dissolved around him.

"Dammit all!" I muttered angrily through the battle. I didn't know how to fight, for Christ's sake! These were fully trained guards with years of experience with the sword on me, as well as an advantage in strength!

But a cornered rat becomes twice as deadly, and right now it was either fight, or die. I tried my best to take advantage of what little I had- speed and aim. I slipped from under the swords, striking a dagger into the gaps between armor. Fighting the best way I could, I stood in between where Ezio defended Lorenzo, striking with deadly force at the guards. I absently noted that he was very good with his sword, the hours of training really paid off on him.

Somewhere along the way I felt a sharp pain in my back. But adrenaline soothed the wounds, and I continued to fight.

I imagine the member of the Medici family couldn't even see who it was defending him. His eyes seemed unfocused in the rare glances I spared him, making sure no one sneaked up from behind. Jacobo and the other guy that looked like a colorful parrot and god knew who else already fled the scene. Somewhere nearby, Ezio was dueling with Francesco. Behind me, I heard Lorenzo groan, and I clenched my teeth, shoving the short blade in my left hand in the small gap in the guard's helmet. An echoing scream, blood sprayed out, and he collapsed. I took a deep breath, spinning around just to find that it was only Ezio and me still on our feet in this section of the plaza. Lorenzo was barely keeping himself up with his sword, leaning onto the hilt very heavily. I put away my own blade, leaving only the knife in my hand, and rushed to help him. However, Ezio got to him first.

"Than-" he struggled, moaning with pain.

"Don't talk," Ezio shushed him, keeping his hand pressed firmly on his wound as I helped Lorenzo stand up. He blinked.

"A woman?" he asked, coughing. I rolled my eyes.

"A woman who saved your life, so please, with all due respect, let me help you."

"We need to get you to safety," Ezio cut me off, shooting me a glare at my sharp retort. I glared in return, my temper rising. Who did he think he was-

"My house," Lorenzo interrupted my thoughts, bringing me back to our rather deadly current situation, "There are people I trust there... Please..." he gasped. As Ezio made sure he was secure at my side, I looked around at frenzy, feeling a familiar warm, oozing feeling on my back. Dammit all. Francesco was fleeting the scene, his back simply begging for one of my throwing knives. As much as I wanted to give chase, getting Lorenzo to safety was more important at the moment.

Without warning, a Brute guard crossed our path, standing in between us and Ezio, who was looking around for Francesco, like I was moments previous. Somehow, I didn't like the very large menacing axe. Ezio wouldn't have time to turn around if the Brute attacked...

Out of desperation, I didn't think twice before I screamed, "HEY, TINMAN! Didn't they tell you that those toys are for adults only?" Surprisingly enough, he heard me, and I heard an angry roar coming from underneath the helmet as he forgot all about the assassin and turned towards me. Even if I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was intent of cleaving me in half. I gulped, but nearly fell down in relief as I saw a familiar tip of Ezio's blade sticking out of his neck. I growled menacingly as the noble kicked him onto the ground with a loud clanging noise. "Come on, we have to get to the Medici house! He's losing blood fast!"

"But Francesco-"

"Can wait until later, or all this will be in vein anyway! Look around you! The city is in chaos! Do you really think I'll pull him through all this alone?" I nearly shouted at him as I pulled the injured man at my side, thankful that he could still move his feet a bit. Or I'd have a lot more trouble with him. Ezio nodded, and began to quickly walk in front of me, leading the way.

I sighed and rubbed my heated cheeks with the back of my hand. I knew this was all a bad idea.

Another wave of turn coats had separated the three of them from the house. Ezio was the only one able to fight, not including the Medici men that were scattered throughout the alleys and streets. He tried his best not to let any of the enemies get to Lorenzo and Eden. But when they did, they were dispatched quickly with her throwing knives. He didn't know how many she had, but he knew for a fact she'd be running out soon. And she did ever love those knives of hers.

Lorenzo was almost completely limp on her shoulder, though keeping himself conscious out of the lasts bits of energy that was left in him. He now held his sword limply in his hand, refusing to let go.

When there were finally no more of the guards left, they got to the door. Ezio hurried to pound on it, ready to catch Lorenzo if Eden's strength suddenly gave out under the weight. A man looked through the small window in the door.

"Open the door, Lorenzo is injured!"

"What's the password?" Before he could so much as growl, Eden stepped in line of sight of the window. There were gasps behind the door.

"Open the fucking door!" Lorenzo struggled to gasp out. He was nearly impossible to recognize through the blood, but the door finally swung open.

"Get in, quick!" Ezio helped Eden get Lorenzo through the doorway, and they sat him on the bench near the entrance. Someone yelled for a doctor. Eden didn't let go of his wound though. When one of his men tried to get her to step away, she growled with the ferocity of an animal. She was covered in Lorenzo's blood as well and there were several cuts in her clothes. It was nearly impossible to tell whose blood was whose.

A doctor came fast, flanked by a few maids hurrying in with a large tub of water. The doctor directing them and Eden, they worked on washing and dressing the ruler's wounds.

Meanwhile, Ezio talked to the captain.

"The city is at war, stranger. Most of the city guard has turned on us," he claimed. "We barely had time to shut down our doors. And with Lorenzo and his brother still at the service, we feared for the worst. We can't thank you enough for bringing him in!"

Ezio glanced nervously to Eden, who was now washing her hands and face of blood, slightly alarmed by her snort. For the captain's own safety, he stepped away from him and towards Lorenzo, who was just regaining with vision again.

"Thank you, stranger, for saving my life," he was coughing as stumbling over words still, but speaking quite clearly now. "And you, Signora. I won't forget what you've done, be sure of it," Eden finally came back towards them, the tips of her hair dripping, though most of the blood on her face was washed off now.

She sighed. "Gratitude won't help right now."

"You're right," he nodded, hissing in pain. He still didn't stand up, and a good thing, too. He'd lost a lot of blood, so he'd probably collapse again anyway. "You two need to find and kill de'Pazzi."

"We're planning on it," Ezio nodded.

"Tell me though, why did you try to save my life so readily?"

"Let's just say you're not the only one who lost a brother to him," the young assassin sighed, "My name is Ezio Auditore."

"Ah. You're Giovanni's son," Lorenzo spoke sadly, "He was a trusted friend of mine. His death was not just."

"Listen, this is very enlightening and everything," Eden snapped impatiently, grabbing Ezio by the sleeve and yanking him to her so that she couldn't be overhead. Ezio noted with alarm the two blood streaks on her back. That was probably the reason of her intense irritation. "But why are we still standing around here, when there's a certain Jackass Senior that needs a knife in the throat? And more importantly, why am I still here, when I should be out there, trying to scavenge back my daggers? I wasted my entire collection in under five minutes!"

"The lady is right," The captain suddenly spoke, though he seemed uncertain in calling her a lady. She looked surprised that he overheard. "Francesco must be dealt with. If he is left unchecked, they will put their own devils in power!

"And my survival will mean nothing," Lorenzo concluded.

"Then we deal with Francesco," Ezio shrugged. Eden nodded grimly.

A few minutes later...

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look I'm doing? I liked those knives!"

"You can buy new ones!"

"I don't want new ones! I want mine!"

"Why?"

"Because they're mine!" Suddenly, he realized he couldn't help but smile at her childish pout at she searched the bodies around, looking for the throwing knives and her hands getting covered in blood again. He also absently wondered how she managed make him smile in a situation like this.

"Eden, I'll get you a whole new set once we deal with Francesco. But only if we move now, alright?"

There was a long silence as she thought about it. Then sighing and sparing the corpses one last look of grief, she nodded, following him. She produced her bag out of nowhere again, probably having stashed it somewhere near here before they went to the plaza.

"Okay. But it better be a damn good set, or I swear to God, I'll take your non-existent balls and shove them up your-"

"His men are around here, but where's..." Ezio looked around, making sure that there were no blades coming his way. He suddenly realized Eden was standing there with her head turned upwards. Confused, he followed her gaze. "Ah."

"Yep."

"Do you think you can shoot him from here? Like you did with the archers a few weeks back?"

Slowly, she shook her head. "No, he keeps on moving, and it's way too far. If I miss, we'll just tip him off."

"Then we climb."

She looked at him sourly. "Yes. We climb. Have I mentioned I hate you?"

"A few times, I believe. Though you can always stay here..."

"Keep dreaming. Let's go."

"You're insane," I stated. "I know I'm not exactly of the best sanity either, but you are completely off your rocket."

"I've done it before."

"Then you're either extremely lucky or just that thick-skulled."

"Look, he's not going to wait forever, so will you just get up here?"

Francesco de'Pazzi had just fled the tower via jumping in a haystack that was conveniently placed right under us. At the moment he was commanding the troops with inspiration, following his loud announcement that he was now the ruler of Firenze, and not the Medici.

And now this suicidal and mental assassin was asking me to jump from the same freaking tower that was at least a hundred meters from the ground? But he was right- it was unlikely that Francesco would patiently wait until we came down to the ground the way we came from. This was the fastest way that would get us pretty darn close to him. Except for the fact that we'd be dead. So I don't see how the saved minutes were going to be relevant.

Getting impatient, he yanked me up on the teeth of the wall. Before I had a chance to protest, he crushed me to his chest and jumped. I was too terrified to scream, my hands instinctively wrapping around his middle, my nails probably hurting him through the fabric. And with that, I waited for the sure, cold grip of death. Well, at least it'll be fast... Right? Most people died of the shock, anyway...

I felt the landing, but to my enormous surprise, it was a lot softer than I expected. I realized that against all odds that we landed in the random hay stack in the middle of the plaza. I'd even managed to use Ezio as a cushion, too. My hands still gripped his back, hoping very dearly that I was causing him as much pain as could at this moment, while I tried to calm down my near-shattered nerves. I opened my eyes, noting that we were buried in the hay and there was no way anyone would see us right now. And that damned arrogant asshole was staring up at me with a triumphant smirk, for which I vowed to slap him for later.

"If you don't let me go, I will be forced to hurt you," I swallowed hard, my voice hoarse and shaky, and not sounding nearly as intimidating as I hoped it would. Actually, I was in pain at the moment.

"Is now really the time to think about that?" he asked suggestively. My reply was my "I'm-not-amused" face.

"No- your hand is rubbing one of my cuts. It burns."

"Oh. Sorry." His hand left my waist and I slid off him and out of the haystack, crouching behind it, my hands automatically brushing the hay out of my hair. Ezio appeared the next moment and then looked underneath the cart.

"Don't worry, the monsters are just your imagination," I muttered. Stupid straw. He threw me a glare.

"He still hasn't moved."

"Then we're going the same way about this. You do your job, and I'll do mine."

"Which is...?"

"Clearing your way out, of course. I doubt his men are going to be very happy with the loss of their leader," I sighed. "They scratch, but they're still just walking tin cans, probably without even a mind of their own."

"Why do you think I'm going to run?"

"Why wouldn't you?" I raised an eyebrow. "Any smart, sensible man with an ounce of logic left would- Oh, I see. Well, fine, but be warned, I'm not cleaning you up off the plaza. The crows can have whatever is left of you after the Brutes bulldoze you to the ground."

He sighed. She was right. No sane person would stay to fight this many heavily armed people after the job was done. No decent assassin would make an assassination into a massacre.

"Cheer up, my little assassin, you'll be fine. Most of the guards are concentrated here anyway, so you should have no problems. I'll meet you at Leo's. Those scratches on my back are really starting to itch..."

The way she spoke so calmly, as if they weren't planning an assassination, but discussing the price rates of potatoes, made his nerves calm considerably. She was still probably going to kill him after all of this, due to the little stunt he pulled when they leapt off the tower. But that was a bearable thought, considering she probably wouldn't kill him. Just... hurt him a little. Or a lot. But that could wait until later; he had a target and he was going in for the kill.

They got up at the same time, and like his previous assassination, nodded to each other and ran in the opposite directions. She went for the roofs, and he slid to Francesco, who probably couldn't even have imagined in his moment of power and madness that his death was just a stride away...

After I climbed the nearest building by the plaza, I took care to look around for any stray archers. Shooting one down, I booked it towards the place I vaguely remembered to be Leonardo's house. Good thing it wasn't far away, and fairly easy to spot. One glance in his windows, and I was sure I got the right building.

"Eden? What are you doing here? Where's Ezio?" Leonardo's eyes widened as I slipped through the open window into the workshop. I smiled.

"Taking care of something. He'll come here in a few minutes."

"You're covered in blood! What happened? I heard fighting outside, something about men going turncoat, and de'Midici family being murdered!"

"Yeah, that's the gist of it," I nodded, dropping down my bag and taking off my jacket. "We managed to save Lorenzo though."

"You did?" He seemed even more surprised. "I mean- that's great news! But where's-"

"Like I said, he's taking care of something," I said impatiently, "Now, excuse me, but I've got a few nasty cuts on my back, and I can't reach them."

"Of- of course! Let me just boil some water, and then-" I dropped into one of the armchairs, relaxing for what seemed the first time today. This was worse than horse riding for hours.

"So tell me what happened," Leo inquired as he set down the bowl of hot water beside me, along with some herbs and salves. I shrugged.

"Not much to tell. We swooped in, kicked ass, got Lorenzo out of there, and then decided we should finish what we started and kill Francesco."

"So Ezio is-"

"Yep. I made sure his way was clear, so he should get here soon, unless he gets lost along the way." I pulled my shirt up, exposing the cuts on my back. I think there were two, one going from my right shoulder blade down diagonally, the other nearly parallel to it, shorter and a bit more shallow. There was a painful ache in the areas. I prayed to God that they didn't get infected.

"He's not that bad."

I sighed. "No, he's not. But I suppose it depends what you compare him to. He's actually very nice compared to a venomous spider. But I think God will give him a run for his money."

"O-okay." He seemed amused at my statement, if somewhat confused. "Well, I have good news. The cuts didn't get infected."

"Thank Jesus." My relief was very sincere.

"Hm," I noticed he was staring out of the window I popped out of absently. "I think it's starting to rain."

"Don't worry, ducks don't get wet."

"Ezio is not a duck."

"Seriously? Why wasn't I notified of this?"

"Probably because until now, you thought I was female." The subject of my dissection had just entered the building, via the same open window which I came through. I snorted.

"I think I'll go as far as to say you're female duck. But I see you got a little wet, so I suppose we rule out the bird part," I smiled in greeting. He closed the window behind him, breathing heavily. Stray water drops rolled down his armor and hood. So Leo was right, it was indeed starting to rain. "How did it go?"

"Oh, overall, surprisingly smooth."

"Hm," I chewed on my lip, lowering my shirt finally. "And?"

"And what?"

"What happened?"

"I came up to him, he noticed and tried to run for it, but I was faster," he flashed the two of us a cocky grin. Leonardo seemed uncertain of how to act. I stood up, stretching very carefully, so the cuts wouldn't open up again. Now he was staring at me with confusion.

"Yes?" I finally asked, moving over to my bag and moving things around just to do something rather than sitting around motionlessly like some cheap doll.

"Aside from implying that I'm a female duck, you barely insulted me so far."

"There's nothing to insult," I shrugged, "And I was kidding about the duck. I'm pretty sure you're not one. The absence of a beak, for example, is a dead give away."

"What? Not even a tiny little crack on how you're amazed that I managed to get the job done?" he was smiling. Removing his weapons, cloak and armor, he was left in his doublet and tunic. Both of them were stained with blood, especially along the arm, I noticed. His wounds didn't look too deep and he was in a good mood, so I didn't bother to comment on them.

"Don't tempt me," I shot him a mock glare. "Actually, I think you did rather well."

"Pardon?" he was taken aback by that statement as Leo began to work on a shallow cut on his arm.

"For a duck, that is," I smiled brightly, "Keep going like this, and you'll evolve into an eagle or something."

"Or I could, you know, stay human."

"Suit yourself," I snorted.

"Now, if you two are done trading barbs, could someone tell me what is going on?" Leo finally intervened as I turned around and Ezio opened his mouth to say something.

"Well, it's raining, Leo. You said it yourself," I started slowly, still smiling. He shook his head.

"Not what I meant, Eden."

"Of course. No one cares about the rain. Geez, you people are insensitive."

"Eden?" Ezio asked.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Kay."