Chapter 27 Chapter 27 I really hope you go play with the thorns...
"Do you think he'll kill me?" asked the Templar named Sil. This should have been a serious question, but Alvin could tell from his tone that the Templar wasn't taking it seriously.
"Once he finds you, once he finds you," Alvin said gravely, "he will. At least, I think he will."
"Yeah?"
Alvin turned his head. Under his gloomy gaze, the Templar paused for a moment, his fingers reaching into his coat. He casually pushed open the cigarette case, took out a lollipop, opened it, and took a bite.
"I look forward to the day when he walks up to me," said the Templar.
He lowered his voice and spoke in a tone that sounded like a villain, but the crunching sound of the candy being bitten completely destroyed the evil atmosphere, and of course, there was also the crisp sound of Alvin's knuckles hitting his forehead with an expressionless face.
Elio, oblivious to this, pulled his motorcycle into the Gotham safehouse. He had certainly not brought the Templars into the Assassin safehouse last night, despite the dire situation and the necessity. Removing his helmet, Elio exhaled and walked into the living room.
"Your bounty has doubled again," Red Hood said without looking up. "I'm a little tempted."
"I didn't do anything," Elio said gloomily.
Red Hood glanced at him, then looked down at the video of the assassin's motorcycle firing on the screen, saying nothing. Elio, not noticing, casually placed his helmet on the table and glanced around. "Where's Red Robin?"
"He's busy," Red Hood stretched, "He said he'd come over tonight."
Elio didn't ask any more questions, but nodded thoughtfully. Red Hood looked at him and asked abruptly, "Are you going to say something about him?"
"Really?" Elio pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down. "I've been wanting to ask this for a long time."
"Ask me, I can tell you all his embarrassing stories."
The Red Hood sounded excited, but Elio didn't take it seriously. He smiled and took off his hood.
Red Hood raised an eyebrow, "I didn't realize we were close enough to be honest with each other."
"Don't be stupid, Outlaw." Elio leaned back in his chair and relaxed. "You know this hood that only covers your eyes is useless."
"You know I'm not going to take off my mask, right?"
"Like you said, we're not close enough to be honest with each other," Elio said. "But let's not talk about that for now." He gestured to put the matter aside. "I've been wanting to ask this for a long time. Red Robin's voice sounds—I know he's partially faking it—but he sounds underage."
"Uh oh," Red Hood's robotic voice said mechanically, "I hadn't noticed until you said it."
Elio looked at him in silence. Red Hood received his signal, rubbed his chin with a look of embarrassment, and began to think.
"I'm a little unsure what Red's expression will be when he finds out about this," Red Hood said.
"Red Hood, I'm serious." Elio said helplessly.
"Do you think he'll be a hindrance or something?" asked Red Hood.
"That's not the case." Elio shook his head. "I have no doubt that any of you could give me a beating." Red Hood seemed to laugh. The assassin was sure he heard a suspicious snort. He raised his eyebrows, but quickly laughed again. "I just... never mind. Just pretend I didn't say anything."
"I remember you're from Gotham," Red Hood said, "so I think you'll understand without me having to explain."
"yes."
Elio murmured. He fell back, resting his head on the back of the chair. Sunlight streamed in through the window, and Elio reached out and grabbed a handful.
"I know it all too well."
That's how Gotham is. Only a newborn baby wouldn't know it's on a battlefield.
"But there's one thing you definitely don't know." said Red Hood, who was sitting opposite him.
"What?"
Elio sat up again. Although he had no proof, he thought the Red Hood was smiling—his eyes seemed to curl slightly, if only for a moment.
"I studied with an assassin for a while," Red Hood stood up and stretched his body, "and I think I learned it pretty well."
"Oh?" Elio's interest was piqued. His eyebrows also rose, waiting for Red Hood's next words.
"So if you have nothing to do, let's go and have a demonstration," Red Hood tilted his head. "It's much more interesting than just sitting here in a daze. What do you think?"
Elio agreed, of course. They walked into the training room with familiarity—mostly because Red Hood was familiar with it, Elio had never been there before—and when they came out, their hair was damp with shower drops.
"...I heard he's been sunbathing in Australia lately," said Red Hood, with only the last piece of his domino mask left on his face. "He even asked me if I wanted some kangaroo eggs last time."
Elio chuckled as he wiped his hair. "He asked me that too."
"Do you want it?"
"Of course not."
"Then he must be very sorry."
They chatted as they walked into the living room. Elio paused, and Red Hood almost bumped into him. Confused, he reached out and pushed the assassin's back, "What's wrong?"
Elio turned sideways and gave him a look. Red Hood looked over his shoulder and saw Red Robin lying on the table, seemingly taking a nap.
The two awake adults exchanged a glance and tiptoed over in unison. Without making any noise, Red Hood quietly removed the still-data-snapping portable notebook from Red Robin's presence. Elio shook out the soft pillows on the sofa, pulled out a thin blanket, and gently placed it over the little red bird's shoulders.
The sky darkened. No one bothered to turn on the lights. Red Hood sat on the sofa, notebook in hand, and continued working on Red Robin. Beside him, Elio removed his Hidden Blade and gently wiped the blade, which was bathed in the moonlight.
"I never realized there were so many Langstroms in Gotham," Red Hood muttered.
"What can I say?" Elio replied, "It's a good thing the 'doctor' we're looking for isn't named Smith."
Red Hood was amused by him, "You're right, 'Mr. Smith'."
"Mr. Smith" smiled back. He blew on his Hidden Blade, watching the mist condense beautifully on the mirrored surface before quickly dissipating, revealing the assassin's eyes. When Elio looked up, ready to find some vegetable oil to clean his Hidden Blade, he saw Red Robin, who had been lying on the table, had gotten up at some point and was rubbing his face vigorously.
"Your brother is awake." Elio nudged Red Hood.
"Oh," Red Hood raised his head and returned to his normal voice, "You finally woke up, Sleeping Beauty."
"What did I miss?" Red Robin asked blankly. His questioning gaze fell on Jason's face, which was already mostly exposed, but it was obvious that Jason had no intention of explaining anything. He simply patted Red Robin on the shoulder as he passed by and calmly walked into another battlefield that belonged to him.
The kitchen sizzled with the sound of bacon frying. The sweet aroma of freshly cut tomatoes wafted through the air. The midnight snack briefly cleared their minds of their mission, and the vigilantes luxuriously put the Templar conspiracy behind them, enjoying a warm moment under the lamplight.
"…I haven't played many Assassin's Creed games yet," Red Robin said, "but I quite like the Frye Twins. They're cute."
Elio nodded. "Enjoy 'The Gangster.' It's the only story of ours that has a perfect ending."
"The sister fled to India, and the brother was blinded in one eye by the student he raised." Red Hood smiled. "It is indeed the most perfect ending."
Red Robin, who knew the assassin's skill list and various creed concepts by heart, but had not had time to study the assassin's plot, slowly had a question mark in his mind.
"Is that a metaphor for something I'm not familiar with?" he asked cautiously. The detective's eyes flicked back and forth between Red Hood and the assassin, who exchanged a glance. "Welcome to the world of Assassin's Creed," Red Hood said sympathetically.
“Here, you can see the story of a protagonist who lost everything, lost everything in his life, and finally lost everything,” Elio said humorously.
"…That's a metaphor, isn't it?" Red Robin said. As the words came out of his mouth, he suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. Elio looked at him, smiling delicately.
"That's a pretty general summary." Red Hood looked at Elio. "But Ezio's ending wasn't bad, was it?"
The assassin nodded. "I guess he had the perfect ending." He smiled at Red Robin's skeptical look. "He and Sofia are safely secluded in Tuscany, living a peaceful life of seclusion. No one has ever found this renowned assassin mentor again to disturb his and his wife's happy life—at least, no one with malicious intent. I guess no one will ever reach his heights again."
"Or maybe there's simply no record of them." Red Robin looked him in the eyes and said, "Some assassins simply disappeared into history, living a peaceful life in a place where no one records them."
Elio instinctively lowered his head, avoiding Red Robin's gaze. He pretended to be busy poking the fried eggs on his plate with his fork, but he could still feel the young vigilante's gaze lingering over him, as if it had some kind of power, but not malice.
"Perhaps," the assassin finally admitted, "that's not bad either."
"Ratonhnhaké:ton has a daughter," Red Hood glanced at him. "She's called Unioti. In their language, it means 'rainbow'. A lovely name, isn't it?"
Elio smiled. He nodded. "That's cute. I'm sure he'll be a wonderful father..."
"A much better father than his own," Red Hood took over.
The assassin's mouth twitched, as if he was about to laugh, but in the end, he didn't really laugh. In response to Red Robin's questioning look, Elio explained, "Ratonhnhaké:ton's father was Haytham Kenway, a Templar. Many stories happened between them, as you'll read in Assassin's Creed III."
"Is this a product placement?" Red Robin asked deliberately.
"No," Elio said. "I'm not getting paid to advertise Assassin's Creed. I just—"
"I really hope you'll play Assassin's Creed III." Red Hood pointed at Red Robin with his fork. "I think everyone deserves this retribution."
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Author's Note: *In Embers (after Revelations), Ezio and Sofia lived in the Tuscan countryside, raising a son and a daughter. In 1524, the Chinese Assassin Shao Yun sought help rebuilding the Chinese Brotherhood. Ezio was ultimately moved and passed on his Brotherhood's ideals and combat techniques to her. Later, while resting on a bench near the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Ezio suffered a sudden heart attack and passed away at the age of 65. (I personally think this is the best ending for any Assassin Mentor ever...)
**Connor (Ratonhnhaké:ton) has three children, but only Rainbow (Unioti) inherited the gift of Hawkeye.
***For those interested in the story between Connor and his father Haytham, you are very welcome to play Assassin's Creed III and enjoy it with the official novel and Haytham's diary "The Forsaken".
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