Editing Ezio Auditore da Firenze (section)

===Vengeance's end ===

The following year saw the Assassins come together once more at the Villa Auditore, with the Piece of Eden and the last missing pages of the Codex in hand. Completing the Codex wall, Ezio found that by rearranging the order of the Codex pages, the invisible markings on them visible only with Eagle Vision began to make sense. The pages were puzzle pieces, and when these pieces were reassembled, Ezio beheld to his amazement a map of the entire world, with even the unknown continent to the west depicted. As they had expected, this map also indicated the location of the Vault: Rome, beneath the Vatican. The revelation stunned all in the room, for it was now apparent that Rodrigo Borgia had sought the Papacy for access not only to the Vatican but also to the Papal Staff, which Mario and Ezio deduced to be the other Piece of Eden needed to unlock the Vault. With little time to spare, the Assassins prepared their plan: Ezio would proceed to Rome to assassinate Rodrigo while the others would stage diversions in the city.

On 28 December 1499, Ezio arrived at the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, sneaking through the castle to reach the Vatican. Despite being spotted by the guards as he left the castle, he lost his pursuit along the Passetto di Borgo and infiltrated the Apostolic Palace, entering the Sistine Chapel from above just as Pope Alexander VI was holding Mass. Deftly, Ezio dove down with his Hidden Blade, performing an air assassination manoeuvre, but there was hesitation when he made contact. As he held the Templar Grand Master in his clutches, the greatest subject of his vengeance for so many years, the mastermind of his family's tragedy, he battled with his sense of integrity. His confidence in having grown past vengeance had dissolved, yet the pang of guilt momentarily stayed his hand from what otherwise would have been a swift assassination. When at last he resigned to the hatred in his heart, bemoaning out loud that he thought he was stronger, Rodrigo was well-prepared to counter his killing blow.

The Templar knocked him away with the Staff of Eden then repulsed him again with a wave of energy when he charged at him. Unleashing the Staff's powers, Rodrigo drained the vitality of everyone in the room as the priests tried to flee. Ezio, alone, stood immune, unveiling the Apple of Eden that he had brought with him. With the artifact in hand, he generated four apparitions of himself to serve as allies, and a five-to-one duel commenced. Although Rodrigo was able to hold his own for a short while, it became clear that the skilled, young Assassin would ultimately best him.

Defiant, the Templar changed tactics by unleashing more tremors of energy with the Staff, sweeping his foe to the floor once again. Before Ezio could recover, Rodrigo turned invisible using the Staff and effortlessly seized the Apple from his hand. This left the Assassin vulnerable to the telekinetic abilities of the Staff, allowing Rodrigo to immobilize him, lift him into the air, and stab him in the abdomen with a dagger. Ezio was left to bleed out and die on the floor of the chapel while Rodrigo disappeared through a secret entryway on the bema floor.

Thanks to the Armor of Altaïr, Ezio survived with only a minor wound, and as soon as he had recovered, he used his Eagle Vision to scout for the means by which the passageway could be reopened. These were two hidden mechanisms on the wall on either side of the podium. Unlocking the entrance, he advanced below to a vast circular chamber lit by electric lights, technology he had never before seen. Down in a large, central pit, Ezio watched as Rodrigo tried in vain to open the Vault. Laying down his arms, he challenged Rodrigo to a final brawl, which the Templar accepted. As their confrontation reached a climax, Rodrigo revealed the hidden goal he had harboured for so long: he believed that God himself lay within the Vault and that the Pieces of Eden could be used to kill him and steal his power. By the end of the fight, Ezio had not only denounced his fantasy and hypocrisy as the Pope but had soundly defeated him. This time, however, he did not have to think to spare his nemesis's life, even when Rodrigo resigned to death.

==== Those who Came Before====
Entering the Vault, Ezio stood in shock as he was met by a hologram of a woman who called herself Minerva. He recognized the name and those of the colleagues she mentioned as belonging to Roman gods, but Minerva corrected him that her kind were mortals who had "simply [come] before". The hologram confounded him further by silencing him and then insisting that was speaking to another being through him even though he saw and felt no one else around. In the process, she confirmed that he was the prophet but one whose role had been completed by serving as the anchor for the other entity.

Her message commenced, and the the vault projected accompanying holographic images to present it. According to Minerva, humanity were created by her people, but they rebelled. In the midst of the war which followed, both the powerful creators and the more numerous humans were too distracted to defend the world against the calamity which fell from the skies and scorched the planet. In the aftermath, the few surviving humans and her species arduously rebuilt their civilization, but over millennia, her people faded away and became distant memories misunderstood as gods. Implying that there would be a re-occurrence of the catastrophe, Minerva gave instructions to find the "other temples" to save the planet. She closed her message with the name of her invisible recipient, Desmond, before disappearing abruptly and leaving Ezio with many unanswered questions.

When the Assassin exited the Vault, he found that Rodrigo was already gone but that the Staff of Eden had been left behind. Though he tried to retrieve it, it sank into the floor through an underlying mechanism and was locked down. At this moment, he was greeted by surprise by Mario from the top of the pit, for his uncle had arrived to assist. The two exited the vault to the clamorous rancor of priests in the chapel outside. Resistance from guards was mild and easily overcome as they left St. Peter's Basilica entirely. On top of a rooftop looking over the Tiber, Ezio prepared to drop the Apple of Eden into the river, but Mario noticed his hesitation and offered to take the Apple for safekeeping until he could feel more certain about the right decision. Ezio agreed and the two left for home with the Apple in the hands of his uncle.