Afterlife

part eleven

by Go-Go Spiders

The fire Leonardo had stoked in his workshop had begun to smolder and dim by the time Leonardo put the finishing touches on the repaired hidden blade, Federico hovering over his shoulder. He placed a hand on Leonardo's shoulder absently, leaning closer to get a better look at the hidden blade. Ezio still dozed in the corner of the workshop, his shoulders gently rising and falling.

Leonardo started slightly when he felt Federico touch him, and then he chuckled. "You know, usually I find it irritating when someone does that. Ask any of my assistants. But considering I can't see or hear you, it's not so bad. There's a limit to how much of a distraction you can be, at least."

"A distraction? Me? Never." Federico lightly flicked the back of Leonardo's head with his fingers, which made Leonardo shake his head and grin.

Leonardo refastening the silver symbol of the Assassin Brotherhood to the leather and inspected his work, turning the hidden blade around to give it one final examination. "I think that does it."

"It looks fantastic, " said Federico, patting Leonardo on the back. "Nicely done, Leonardo."

Smiling from ear to ear, Leonardo rushed over to where Ezio was sleeping. "Ezio, Ezio, wake up!" Leonardo said, roughly shaking his shoulder.

Ezio's head jerked up, instantly awake, and he glanced around until he saw Leonardo's smiling face. In one hand Leonardo held the repaired hidden blade – all the metal had been polished to a mirror finish, the leather repaired, stitching redone. It was almost unrecognizable from the broken pieces Ezio had given him to work with only a few hours ago.

At that moment, the hidden blade was the most beautiful thing Ezio had ever seen.

"It's finished?" said Ezio.

"It's finished, little brother," said Federico with a wide grin, standing on the other side of Leonardo's workbench. "Leonardo works surprisingly fast when he has something that piques his curiosity."

"All that's left to do is remove your ring finger," said Leonardo, brandishing a very large cleaver with his other hand. He looked a little too excited at the prospect of cutting off body parts.

Federico's grin froze on his face. "What?"

There was a lot that he didn't know about the Assassins - Father had only recently begun to teach him in their ways when they'd both died, after all - but the thought of Leonardo hacking away at Ezio's hand made him feel surprisingly ill.

"Uh. Is that really necessary?" asked Ezio, eyeing the dulled edge of the knife with distrust. Both Auditore brothers could tell it would not be a clean slice.

"According to the parchment, yes it is. The blade was designed to test the commitment of whoever wields it," said Leonardo. His face was deadly serious. "I'm sorry, but this is how it must be done."

Ezio and Federico looked at each other uncertainly. "But Father had all of his fingers, and that weapon was his," said Federico, confused. "I don't understand..."

Leonardo's stern mouth twitched. To Ezio and Federico's shared confusion he suddenly burst out laughing, lowering the cleaver. "You should see the look on your face - I was only having fun, Ezio! Though the blade once required a sacrifice, it's been modified. You can keep your fin-hey!"

Federico snatched Leonardo's hat off his head and threw it on top of the tallest bookcase in the workshop.

Both Leonardo and Ezio looked at Federico, Leonardo's gaze following where Ezio was looking.

"What?" said Federico innocently. "I was only having fun."

Instead of being upset, Leonardo laughed as he placed the knife down on his workbench. He smoothed down his blond hair. "I may've deserved that," he said pleasantly.

"My brother didn't disturb you too much while you were working, did he?" asked Ezio.

"Oh, not at all," said Leonardo cheerfully. "Hopefully I wasn't tedious company to you, Federico, having to listen to me muttering to myself while I worked." To Ezio, he said, "Go ahead, put it on. I'd like to see it in action. There may be a few slight adjustments I need to make."

Ezio strapped the leather bracer to his arm. He flexed his wrist, and a shining foot-long blade glided smoothly out of the mechanism with barely a sound. He flexed his wrist again, and the blade quickly slid back down. He tried to flex faster, the blade springing out and then retracting in a flash of silver. "This is amazing, Leonardo."

"It is, now that it's working properly," Leonardo agreed. "Thank you for bringing this to me, Ezio – this weapon is truly a work of art."

"What do you want to do about the ...uh..." Ezio gestured vaguely towards the three dead bodies lying spawled near the entrance to Leonardo's workshop. "Those?"

"They're going to attract attention sooner or later. Probably when they start to smell," said Federico.

"Oh, you can put them with the others," said Leonardo nonchalantly.

"'...'Others'?" Ezio echoed after a moment, catching his brother's eye. Federico silently blanched.

Leonardo nodded enthusiastically, not seeming to notice Ezio's trepidation. "Oh yes, the city gives them to me for research. The anatomy of the human body is quite fascinating, both inside and out."

Grimacing slightly, Ezio dragged the first dead guard across the floor to a darkened corner of Leonardo's workshop, out of sight of any visitors.

Federico grabbed the ankle of one guard, dragging him a few feet across the floor before he lost his grip, the guard's leg falling through his hand. Cursing, he grabbed both legs and pulled the body another few feet before the body's legs slipped out of his hands again.

"That is the strangest thing I've ever seen," said Leonardo, watching the guard's dead body slide in fits and starts across the floor of his workshop.

Ezio carried the last body over to the corner, just as Federico had shoved his guard next to the first body. Federico noticed the guard's sword still lying on the floor from where he'd dropped it during their fight. "Ezio, you don't have Father's sword anymore. You could take his."

Picking up the sword, Ezio ran through a few quick practice stances. "It's a nicely made sword. Good balance. It'll do for now." He slid the sword into the holder on his belt where Father's sword had gone before it'd been lost.

"Do you have any more pages like this one?" asked Leonardo, handing Ezio back the scroll. "I would love to study them if you do." He sounded positively gleeful at the prospect of looking at more of the pages.

"No, that was the only one in Father's possession," said Federico. "More pages do exist, but they're scattered all over."

Leonardo's face fell when Ezio repeated what Federico had said. "A pity – the things contained on just this one sheet of parchment alone are astonishing! But if you do happen to come across more pages, you will bring them to me to look at, won't you?" He gave Ezio a pleading look that reminded Federico of a small puppy wistfully begging for food at the supper-table.

"Of course I will," Ezio agreed eagerly.

Smiling, Leonardo held out his arms, and Ezio hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Leonardo. For everything you've done," said Ezio when they pulled apart, placing his hands on top of Leonardo's arms. "You are a true friend."

"It's nothing really," said Leonardo, his cheeks turning slightly red. "And where is your brother?"

Before Ezio could answer, Federico nudged at Leonardo's metalworking tools still spread out across his workbench, two of them gently clinking together.

Leonardo glanced down at the tools, and then at Federico. "There you are!" Leonardo was getting better at estimating where Federico's eyes were, probably from watching where Ezio was looking - if Federico didn't know any better, it was almost like Leonardo could actually see him. "Thank you, Federico." He opened his arms out towards him.

Taking a moment to make himself feel solid, Federico hugged him back. Like Claudia, Leonardo felt less firm to him than Ezio did, but he was more than solid enough for him to return the tight hug without worrying about passing through Leonardo like he had earlier.

Leonardo gave a small laugh, patting Federico's back. "I appreciate what you've done for me, Federico. Perhaps you'll visit again," he said.

"We really should be getting back," said Ezio, glancing at the windows. The sky was darker than he'd expected, the sun sinking down. "Out the window?" he said to Federico. Being caught going out of Leonardo's workshop would only get Leonardo pulled further into the conspiracy against the Auditores, and it appeared that his reputation had already taken a hit from his association with their family.

"Out the window," agreed Federico. Ezio quickly climbed back up the bookcase underneath the windows. Federico followed, pausing to toss Leonardo back his hat.

"Ah, grazie," said Leonardo, shaking out his hat before placing back on top of his head. "Give Paola my regards!" he called up to Ezio and Federico as they clambered out one of the windows and out into the courtyard.

Sorry for the delay in getting this out - this past week's been crazy! And next week is going to be just as busy, so there may be a delay with the next chapter too. Hopefully I can find more free time to work on it than last.