[A/N]: Thanks for reading! Feedback is always welcome! It's hard to fit two people on a flying machine prototype, so not too much Rosa in this chapter.

Chapter 32

"You did it! It's beautiful!" Leonardo exclaimed as he observed the series of fires spawn across the city.

"Si, now let's hope your idea works, because we're nearly out of time," Antonio told him.

Leonardo, eager to see his machine in action, quickly explained to Ezio how to use the fires to his advantage. Antonio reminded him to be wary of rooftop archers. Both men wished him luck, and after a quick running start, he was in the air.

He was more familiar with the machine this time, so he was easily able to navigate to the first fire. He was surprised by the amount of elevation the fire gave him, but was quickly off to the next one.

After a few more boosts from the flames, he could see the Palazzo. The trip was becoming easier, but the prospect of landing was beginning to concern him, especially as he noticed the rooftop archers taking shots at him. It was at this point that he noticed that one of his wings had been hit by a flaming arrow, causing the machine to catch fire. As he neared his destination, he began to squeeze himself out of the contraption. He made one last dive and pulled up a bit, slowing just enough to safely drop onto the rooftop below. The machine, on the other hand, kept going. It flew higher at first, then turned as it came back down, diving into a group of guards who scrambled to get out of its way. One, however, was knocked clean off the rooftop.

Ezio had no doubt that Carlo and the Doge had heard the commotion. He had to act fast.

He maneuvered along the walls surrounding the courtyard and, drawing a breath, through a large window that opened to the room holding Carlo and the Doge, the latter of whom was preparing to take a drink from his cup.

"Stop! Signore, don't drink that!" Ezio yelled, but at the sight of Carlo's relaxed demeanor and minimal reaction to his sudden intrusion, he learned the grim news before it came from Carlo's own lips.

"You are too late," he said as he stood up slowly. "The Doge is dead."

Ezio's heart sank at the confirmation of his realization. Doge Mocenigo, who had been confused until this point, stood up suddenly and worriedly demanded an explanation from Carlo.

"Apologies, Signore, but you should have listened to me when you had the chance," Carlo explained, then turned to Ezio as he began moving toward a door to escape. "Seems you have failed, Assassin."

Ezio's first inclination was to turn his attention to the poisoned Doge, but he was aware that there was nothing he could do. "Forgive me, Signore," he asked with a solemn sigh. "I tried."

"Why?" was the response of Carlo's victim, who was only now realizing what had happened. "What was it all for?" He began to stumble, and Ezio heard Carlo call to the guards below.

Ezio ran through the door after Carlo and located him running across the courtyard below. Since he was an older man, he had not gotten very far, and Ezio was quite easily able to fall into the courtyard and catch up with him. In a panic, the old man stumbled to the ground and began crawling away as quickly as he could, but Ezio was already in front of him.

"It takes one assassin to kill another, it seems," Ezio observed.

Carlo regarded Ezio with a hint of terror, his eyes pleading for mercy. "We kill thinking it's best for us, do we not, Messer Ezio?" he tried to reason.

"I do this not for myself," Ezio corrected him. "I do this for the greater good." With that, he released his hidden blade and plunged it into Carlo's heart. He held his victim until his last breath was released, then closed his eyes.

Ezio was suddenly made aware of the guards that surrounded him and held them off with his sword. Just as they stepped within striking distance, Ezio cast a smoke bomb at their feet and made his escape into the Piazza San Marco. Using a combination of crowds, back streets, and rooftops, he made his way discreetly back to Leonardo's workshop to meet with his companions. All the while, the late Doge Mocenigo's voice rang in his ears.

What was it all for?

It was a question Ezio had asked himself countless times since the death of his father and brothers. Another Templar was dead, and he still had no answers. Poor Mocenigo would have no answers either.

When Mario had first told him about the span of the conflict between the Templars and Assassins, Ezio was skeptical. How could such a secret war change the world as Mario claimed? How could power be shifted, leaders be deposed, and innocent people be killed, all at the hands of organizations that remained anonymous. "It reeks of fantasy," he had once told his uncle.

Now he had seen the casualties of this war firsthand. He had seen his family torn apart. He had seen his home city of Firenze brought to its knees at the hands of the Pazzi. He had seen the Doge and the Doge's killer die at his feet. This last piece of news he would bring back to the thieves and watch as they scrambled to formulate a new course of action. They too had been sucked into this war.

What was it all for?