~ Bad Perform ~

Assassin's Creed II

    "I did not choose this path. It was chosen for me. At first, I thought vengeance would be easy. For thirty years I've lived in the shadows, visited death upon those who deserved it, and vanished like the wind. I don't know who started this conspiracy, but I know who will end it. My name is Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Like my father before me, I am an Assassin."
    ―Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Assassin's Creed II―

Assassin's Creed II is a 2009 video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 17, 2009 (US), November 19, 2009 (AU) and November 20, 2009 (worldwide) on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PC version was released on March 6, 2010 (UK) and March 9, 2010 (US).

~Plot~

The game begins with Desmond giving a brief monologue about the events of the first game and his current predicament. A few hours after the events of Assassin's Creed, in the year 2012, Desmond Miles touches upon how he was held prisoner by the modern-day Knights Templar, Abstergo Industries, and was being forced to relive the genetic memories of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, in order to aid Abstergo in discovering the location of artifacts known collectively as the "Pieces of Eden".

Due to the "Bleeding effect", Desmond has gained "Eagle Vision," enabling him to see a variety of messages and symbols written in blood on his bedroom wall by its former occupant, known only as "Subject 16". While staring at the message, former employee and researcher of Abstergo, Lucy Stillman, arrives, covered in blood, and frees Desmond from the room. He then re-enters the Animus briefly and watches the birth of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, as she makes a copy of the files located within the machine. The two then escape after a brief scuffle with the company's security guards and arrive at a warehouse in which Lucy and two other modern day Assassins, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, have set up their own base of operations, complete with their own version of an Animus

Desmond is asked by Lucy to enter their version of the Animus and relive the genetic memory of his ancestor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, in order to continue the search for the remaining Pieces of Eden before Abstergo locates them. Due to the number in the Assassin Order seriously dwindling, Lucy informs Desmond that she intends to train Desmond in the various skills needed to become an Assassin by exploiting the Bleeding effect and having Desmond absorb Ezio's abilities.

Ezio, living in Italy during the Renaissance, is approximately 17 when he discovers that his family was betrayed by a close friend of his father's in the midst of a political coup d'état. Ezio's father's final instructions lead him to a hidden room in the family home with a chest containing the clothing and weapons of an Assassin. Ezio is ultimately unable to save his two brothers and father from the betrayer and all three are falsely convicted of treason and hanged.

After this, Ezio brings his panicked sister and muted mother to the family's countryside villa where they are given shelter by Ezio's uncle Mario, who begins training Ezio to become an Assassin. Mario also provides information and leads on the conspirators involved in his family's betrayal, which becomes a trail stretching from Florence to San Gimignano, Forlì, Venice, and eventually the Vatican.

During his travels, Ezio befriends several citizens of Italy who aid him in his pursuit for revenge, including a young Leonardo da Vinci, who translates and decodes pages of Altaïr's Codex, enabling Ezio to gain new weapons and assassination skills. Ezio begins slowly locating and assassinating the conspirators involved, and is ultimately able to identify Rodrigo Borgia as the overall leader, whose main goal is to bring down the Medici family and take control of various portions of Italy.

Ezio tracks Rodrigo to Venice and discovers that he has obtained the Piece of Eden known as the "Apple," a similar artifact to one that Altaïr possessed almost three centuries prior. Rodrigo has been researching the knowledge surrounding the Pieces of Eden extensively and believes himself to be a prophet named in the documentation of the artifacts, which would ultimately lead him and other Templars to a location known as "The Vault", which is believed to contain powerful information and more Pieces of Eden.

Ezio and Rodrigo duel and when Ezio gains the upper hand, guards appear and begin to move the fight into the favor of Rodrigo. The allies that Ezio has made over the years arrive shortly after and they defeat Rodrigo, who flees for fear of his life, leaving the Apple behind. The allies and friends of Ezio finally reveal their common trait – that they are all members of the Assassins, including the great Niccolò Machiavelli. They induct Ezio into the Order, informing him that they believe him to be the actual prophet who will lead the Assassins, not the Templars, to the Vault.

Ezio travels to the Vatican and attempts to assassinate Rodrigo, who uses the Staff against Ezio, who retaliates with the Apple. During the ensuing battle, Ezio is stabbed and Rodrigo escapes with both Pieces of Eden. Ezio then chases after him and finds Rodrigo trying to open the Vault in vain. The two fight once more and Rodrigo finally falls. However, Ezio refuses to kill him, insisting he has killed enough in his life and the continued deaths will not reverse the fate of his family.