[A/N]: Thanks for reading! Feedback is always welcome! Apparently there was some glitch when I submitted this chapter that caused a bunch of weird code to appear in the text. I resubmitted it so hopefully it works this time!

Chapter 34

Ezio was back in Venezia within a little over a week. The first thing he noticed upon making his way through the city was the uneasiness of the citizens. The city had changed, and even the festivities of Carnevale weren't enough to bring the city completely back to life. Mario had made Ezio aware of Marco Barbarigo's new position as Doge and of the general distaste that the people of the city had for him. Marco was to be his next target. He used the backstreets of the city to make his way carefully back to the thieves' den, ensuring he was not recognized or followed.

Since Antonio had moved most of his operations into the Palazzo della Seta (largely as a strategic flaunt of power to the corrupt nobility of the city), Ezio found the den to be almost empty. Rosa and Antonio were nowhere to be found, so Ezio decided to check the Palazzo instead, but not before paying Leonardo a visit. He needed the master inventor's help anyway.

As Leonardo turned around to greet the guest who knocked at his door, his eyes widened and a smile lit up his face.

"Ézio!" he cried, throwing his arms up in the air. "Mio Dio! You're alive!" He motioned to hug his companion before observing the solemn look on Ezio's face. "Is it true?" he asked with concern. "They say you killed the Doge."

Ezio sighed. "I was trying to save him, Leonardo," he explained, "but the truth matters little. I failed, and now I'm the most wanted man in Venezia."

Always the optimist, Leonardo grinned again. "Well, perhaps you are in luck! It's Carnevale in Venezia. This is the time when everybody goes without a face!"

"That's why I'm here. Do you have a mask I can borrow?"

"Will you be more responsible with it than you were with my flying machine?"

"Leonardo, I-" Ezio stumbled to make an excuse for the machine's destruction.

Leonardo chuckled and patted him on the back before he could continue. "Relax, Ezio, I'm only kidding. In fact, I should thank you for finally getting it out of my workshop and into the air. Now I can work on other things."

"You don't want to build another one?"

"Of course not! I'm an inventor, not a builder. There's no fun in making something I already know how to make. Now, what did you want again?"

"A mask please, if you have one."

Of course, of course, somewhere in here…" Leonardo began to rummage through his boxes to produce an old mask, and then handed it to Ezio.

"Grazie, amico mio, and I have something for you," Ezio said as he presented a scroll to Leonardo.

"Ohhh! More of the Codex!" Leonardo exclaimed as his eyes widened. Before Ezio could speak again, his friend had snatched the Codex page from his hand and was examining it as he walked to his workbench.

"Can you decipher it? What does it say?" Ezio asked in between Leonardo's mumbles.

"It's a new design, my friend. A mechanism for your wrist, but not a blade. In fact, it seems to be a kind of arma da fuoco, but as small as a hummingbird!"

"Is that possible?" asked a skeptical Ezio. Surely Leonardo had misinterpreted the code somehow.

"I have no idea. Let's build it and find out!"

While Leonardo entertained himself, Ezio stepped away to change out of his robes and enjoy the festive streets of Venezia in his mask. He stopped by the Palazzo della Seta, but the thieves there told him he could find Rosa enjoying the festivities as well. With the special senses he always used to locate a target of interest, he set out to find her.