xxix λ retirement

[assemblatore]

[Needless to say, Ezio Auditore did not expect to be in this place. No one ever does; if you could, it wouldn't be Paradisa, would it?

And Ezio does not go quietly. Instead, he's the one with an iron fire poker, stalking through the halls with as much haste as he can. His old body make it difficult, but adrenaline has a way of providing one with the strength.

He's on edge. He doesn't know what to make of this strange new place, or how he got here. Is he dead? Did Shao Jun's pursuers get the best of him? And –– most important of all –– is his family alright?

And there's his voice, still heavily accented but much older, much more gravelly:]


Come out, you dogs, and greet me! Or are you too cowardly to face an old man?

Comments

[molotov]

[There's yelling in the hall.

Molotov is still trying to recover and get her shit together from her infected freak-out, so she doesn't appreciate this. It's obviously Ezio yelling, and she figures he's drunk, so she opens her door and frowns, rubbing at the side of her face.]

Ezio, for god's sake, shut up.

[assemblatore]

[Ezio turns fast in the direction of the opening door and the voice, not only because of decades of being on edge, but also the fact that this woman knows his name.

He doesn't recognize her. Not yet, anyway. He doesn't move in her direction, but he does lift the iron poker higher.]


No! Who are you?

[molotov]

[That... is not Ezio.

Or maybe it is. She can see a resemblance. The voice is right. But it's jarring, for him to be so old, so suddenly.

Molotov had wanted him to grow up, but come on, castle, this is an extreme.

She holds her hands out in a motion for him to calm down, her voice losing all irritation and taking on a soothing quality, the way one might speak to a scared dog.]

Ezio, it is me, Molotov. Remember? We are in Paradisa, in the castle.

[assemblatore]

[He feels like he needs to be suspicious, but there is something familiar about her when he draws a step or two closer, squinting to scrutinize her face. To scrutinize her name, the name of this place. It's all oddly familiar, like an old dream, and with great hesitation he lowers the fire poker.]

Molotov? [He knows her name, doesn't he?] In Paradisa... how did I get here?

[He can't lower his guard yet.]

[molotov]

You were here already. The castle did this to you, made you old overnight. The first time we met, I was a child, remember? It is all just the castle's magic.

[secondchances]

[Someone's not happy.

Stephanie senses the anger before her mind processes the words and the voice, but by the time she turns, her eyes are wide. She had never met the old Ezio that had been here for a time and piqued Damian's curiosity, but she had spoken to him. Even though it was brief, she remembered that voice--it was still similar enough to be familiar. She kinda knew what was coming before she fully turned. Or that's what she'll tell herself later.

Still, when she finds herself staring (very much staring) at someone who definitely isn't the Ezio she knows, but sounds and looks just enough like him...]

Holy shit.

[That's about all she can manage right now.]

[assemblatore]

[Ezio turns to look at her, too, and as worked up as he is, she seems just as startled as he is. He lowers the fire poker, even obscuring it behind himself a bit, but he keep some distance between them.]

You, girl. What is the meaning of this? What is this place?

[secondchances]

[Girl? Steph's heart plummets. Is this like Lucrezia? Is this temporary? She can't tell. But this is Ezio, so she has to focus on him in this moment right here, and calm him down and... and... something.]

Ezio? You don't know who I am?

[It's hesitantly hopeful, which just sounds a little pathetic. Stephanie slowly takes a few steps forward, hands up. Let's not get beat by an old man.]

We're in Paradisa.

[Please say that's familiar.]

[assemblatore]

[She looks too young for him to have known her recently, and his life is a blur of names and faces –– something about her face is familiar, but he cannot place her at all. She's dressed like a strange foreigner, and who knows where she could be from?

Still, she does not seem to be a threat.]

I have never heard of such a place.

[heloise]

[ Lucrezia steps out of her room to stop the Florentine from making such a racket in the hallway, starting to speak before the door is fully open. ]

Some may be inclined to knoc-- [ She gives him the most perplexed look. What is this fuckery. ]

[assemblatore]

[He turns to look at her, and he greets her with an equally perplexed look. Can it be...?]

Lucrezia Borgia?

[heloise]

[ She gives him a terse smile. Is this a farce? ]

Who asks?

[assemblatore]

[He frowns. Is it he that unrecognizable?]

Auditore. Ezio Auditore. Then again, it had been a long time.

[psych0p0mps]

[who that? it sounds kind of like Ezio, but...]

whoa chill out
youre not sick are you

[assemblatore]

Sick? No!

Who is this?

[psych0p0mps]

sorry its just after what was going around the last few days i wanted to be sure

[although privately she's still going to be cautious, no offense]

im aradia megido
who are you

[assemblatore]

Ezio. Are you another I am supposed to remember?

Dictated forever

[onlyanapple]

...I'd ask you what you've swallowed to make your voice sound like that, but I honestly don't think I want to know the answer.

4evaaaa

[assemblatore]

I have not swallowed anything –– this is how I have sounded for a decade at least! Who are you?

[onlyanapple]

Oh good, you got a dose of insanity with it too.

I'm Crowley. If you say you don't know who I am, I'm afraid I'm going to be terribly hurt. [He wanted to go hunting for women with you bro]

[assemblatore]

You are going to be hurt, then. I am unfamiliar with your name –– and I do not know many Englishmen, on top of that.

[originalcopy]

[Church is wandering the halls, more intentionally this time (he'd been lost for a couple of days). He's starting to get a feel for the place when he hears the shouting and finds... an old guy with a fire poker?]

Woah, easy there old guy.

[assemblatore]

[Ezio never goes easy. He turns to face Church, lifting the fire poker to indicate he is not going to take it easy.]

Who are you?!

[originalcopy]

[The guy in Spartan armor looks down at the fire poker and then to the old man holding it.]

Yeah... ok.

[he shrugs]

Hi, my name is Church. Welcome to the magic castle from hell.

[assemblatore]

[Whatever, Robo-man. Ezio keeps the fire poker up.]

What is that supposed to mean?