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Ace Up My Sleeve was a virtual representation of one of Ezio Auditore's genetic memories, relived by Desmond Miles in 2012 through the Animus 2.0.

Description[]

After being taught the necessary skills to survive in Florence, Ezio returned to Paola to discuss their next step.

Dialogue[]

Ezio met with Paola after having learned to blend and pickpocket.

  • Paola: You can go now, girls.
  • Courtesans: Do we have to?
    So innocent...
    He's cute...
  • Paola: Now that you've learned how to approach the enemy, we need to find you a suitable weapon.
  • Ezio: What would you have me use?
  • Paola: Ah, but you already have the answer...

Paola produced Giovanni Auditore's broken Hidden Blade.

  • Ezio: Hey! My father's blade and bracer... How did you get them?
FT 8 v

Ezio asking why Paola helped him

  • Paola: By using the same skills I've just taught you.
  • Ezio: It's not exactly in working condition.
  • Paola: I assume you are familiar with Leonardo da Vinci?
  • Ezio: Sì. (Yes.) But how does a painter factor into this?
  • Paola: He's far more than that. Bring him the pieces. You'll see.
  • Ezio: Before I go, one last question—if I may?
  • Paola: Of course.
  • Ezio: Why have you given your aid so readily to me, a stranger?

Paola pulled up her sleeve to show scars on her forearm, the result of being tortured.

  • Paola: I, too, know betrayal.

Ezio knocked on Leonardo's workshop door.

  • Leonardo: Oh! Ezio Auditore! I... I didn't expect to see you again. What with all that's happened... Ah! Where are my manners! Welcome back! Now, how can I be of service?
  • Ezio: I was hoping you could repair something of mine.
  • Leonardo: Of course! Come! This way.

He led Ezio to a table, which he cleared.

  • Leonardo: Ah, che pasticcio... Tutto il santo giorno che cerco... (Oh, what a mess.. I've spent the whole day looking for...) Let me clear a space. All right, lets see it!

Ezio handed him the broken blade and bracer.

  • Leonardo: Fascinating... I don't know, Ezio. Despite its age, the construction is rather advanced. I've never seen anything quite like it. I'm afraid, there's not much I can do without the original plans. Mi dispiace. (I'm sorry.)

Ezio reached out to take the blade, when Leonardo noticed the old parchment Ezio possessed.

  • Leonardo: Wait, wait, wait!

Leonardo unraveled the page.

  • Ezio: What are you doing?
Ace 7 v

Leonardo preparing to amputate Ezio's finger

  • Leonardo: The contents of this page are encrypted! But if my theory is correct... Based on these sketches it may very well...
  • Ezio: It may very well what?
  • Leonardo: Please, sit!
  • Ezio: Leonardo?
  • Leonardo: Shhhh!

Obediently, Ezio sat on a chair while Leonardo decoded the page.

  • Leonardo: Remarkable! If we transpose the letters and then select every third...

After some time, Ezio fell asleep. Leonardo woke Ezio and showed him the repaired bracer.

  • Leonardo: There. It's finished!
  • Ezio: Hmm? What's finished?
  • Leonardo: The blade! I managed to decode that parchment of yours. It showed me exactly what to do.

Ezio reached for the bracer, but Leonardo held it away. He then picked up a butcher's knife.

  • Leonardo: Now all that's left is to remove your ring finger.
  • Ezio: Really?
  • Leonardo: I'm sorry, but this is how it must be done. The blade is designed to ensure the commitment of whoever wields it.
  • Ezio: Bene. (Fine.) Do it quickly.

Ezio placed his finger on the table, but jumped as Leonardo brought down the knife to hit the wood next to his hand instead. He glared at Leonardo for his prank.

  • Leonardo: I was only having fun, Ezio! Though the blade once required a sacrifice, it's been modified. You can keep your finger.

Ezio slipped the bracer onto his arm, and a blade hidden within it slid out.

  • Ezio: Incredible...
  • Leonardo: Yes it is! Tell me: Do you have other pages like this?
  • Ezio: I'm sorry, only the one.
  • Leonardo: Listen, if you ever do happen across another one of these, please bring it to me.
  • Ezio: You have my word. And thank you for fixing this. It–

They were interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

  • Guard: By order of the Florentine guard: Open this door!
  • Leonardo: Eh, just a moment.

Leonardo turned to Ezio.

  • Leonardo: Wait here!

Leonardo left Ezio behind to answer the door.

Ace 5 v

The guard beating Leonardo

  • Guard: Are you Leonardo da Vinci?
  • Leonardo: Sì. (Yes.) How may I be of service?
  • Guard: I need you to answer some questions.
  • Leonardo: Certainly.

The guard led Leonardo to the courtyard beside his workshop.

  • Leonardo: What seems to be the trouble?
  • Guard: A witness claims to have seen you consorting with an enemy of the city.
  • Leonardo: What? Me? Consorting? Prepostorous!
  • Guard: When was the last time you saw or spoke with Ezio Auditore?
  • Leonardo: Who?
  • Guard: Non fare il finto tonto. (Don't play dumb with me.) We know you were close with the family. Hmm.

He threw Leonardo to the ground and kicked him several times.

  • Guard: Perhaps this will help to clear your head?
    Ready to talk?
    What about now?
    Tell me what I want to know and we will end this.
    Had enough yet?

Determined to protect his friend from being treated in a manner that was unduly harsh, Ezio moved in and assassinated the guard.

  • Leonardo: Grazie, (Thank you,) Ezio!
  • Ezio: Sorry about that.
  • Leonardo: Eh, I've grown accustomed to their abuses.
Ace 8 v

Ezio assassinating the guard

  • Ezio: What of the body?
  • Leonardo: Bring it inside and put it with the others.
  • Ezio: Others?
  • Leonardo: The city gives them to me. For research.

Ezio carried the dead guard into Leonardo's workshop and placed it in a corner.

  • Leonardo: Over there. See? Like it never happened!
  • Ezio: Thank you, Leonardo—for everything.
  • Leonardo: Any time! And remember, if you find more of those strange pages, bring them to me. Should they contain new designs, I will upgrade your blade as well!
  • Ezio: Of course. Now I really should be getting back to Paola...
  • Leonardo: Porgile i miei omaggi! (Send her my regards!)

Outcome[]

Leonardo fixed Giovanni's Hidden Blade for Ezio, and he learned how to use the weapon to assassinate.

Behind the scenes[]

This memory was the only time in Assassin's Creed II where Ezio could explore the interior of Leonardo's workshop.

A bug may prevent this memory from advancing, without a marker or option to interact with Leonardo's workshop door.

When Ezio arrived at Leonardo's workshop, any armor or dye he was wearing was removed until he received the Hidden Blade.

Curiously, the main image for the memory showed Ezio wearing not one, but two Hidden Blades.

Gallery[]

References[]

Assassin's Creed II memories
Main memories
The Birth of an Assassin
Sequence 1: Ignorance is Bliss
Boys Will Be Boys - You Should See the Other Guy - Sibling Rivalry - Nightcap - Paperboy - Beat a Cheat - Petruccio's Secret - Friend of the Family - Special Delivery - Jailbird - Family Heirloom - Last Man Standing
Sequence 2: Escape Plans
Fitting In - Ace Up My Sleeve - Judge, Jury, Executioner - Laying Low - Arrivederci
Sequence 3: Requiescat in Pace
Roadside Assistance - Casa Dolce Casa - Practice Makes Perfect - What Goes Around - A Change of Plans
Sequence 4: The Pazzi Conspiracy
Practice What You Preach - Fox Hunt - See You There - Novella's Secret - Wolves in Sheep's Clothing - Farewell Francesco
Sequence 5: Loose Ends
Four to the Floor - A Blade With Bite - Evasive Maneuvers - Town Crier - Behind Closed Doors - Come Out and Play - The Cowl Does Not Make the Monk - With Friends Like These
Sequence 6: Rocky Road
Road Trip - Romagna Holiday - Tutti a Bordo
Sequence 7: The Merchant of Venice
Benvenuto - That's Gonna Leave a Mark - Building Blocks - Breakout - Clothes Make the Man - Cleaning House - Monkey See, Monkey Do - By Leaps and Bounds - Everything Must Go
Sequence 8: Necessity, Mother of Invention
Birds of a Feather - If At First You Don't Succeed... - Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained - Well Begun Is Half Done - Infrequent Flier
Sequence 9: Carnevale
Knowledge Is Power - Damsels in Distress - Nun the Wiser - And They're Off - CTF - Ribbon Round-Up - Cheaters Never Prosper - Having a Blast
Sequence 10: Force Majeure
An Unpleasant Turn of Events - Caged Fighter - Leave No Man Behind - Assume the Position - Two Birds, One Blade
Sequence 11: Alter Egos
All Things Come to He Who Waits - Play Along
Sequence 12: Forlì Under Attack
A Warm Welcome - Bodyguard - Holding the Fort - Godfather - Checcomate - Far From the Tree
Sequence 13: Bonfire of the Vanities
Florentine Fiasco - Still Life - Climbing the Ranks - Upward Mobility - Last Rites - Port Authority - Surgical Strike - Hitting the Hay - Arch Nemesis - Doomsday - Power to the People - Mob Justice
Sequence 14: Veni, Vidi, Vici
X Marks the Spot - In Bocca al Lupo
Secret locations
Il Duomo's Secret - Torre Grossa's Secret - Ravaldino's Secret - San Marco's Secret - Visitazione's Secret - Home Invasion - Over Beams, Under Stone - Shipwrecked - Paying Respects
Beat up events
A Woman Scorned - Wanton Hubby - Philanderer on the Roof - Promiscuity Knocks - Spear of Infidelity
Races
San Gimignano Dash - Florentine Sprint - Romagna Hustle - Venetian Rush - San Marco Scuttle - Horseplay
Assassination contracts
Day at the Market - Fallen Archers - Political Suicide - Reap What You Sow - Flee Market - Supply in Demand - Beginnings of a Conspiracy - Arch Enemies - Wet Work - Blade in the Crowd - Thicker than Water - Zero Tolerance - Honorable Thief - No Laughing Matter - False Legacy - Don't Get Your Hands Dirty - Showtime - Thin the Ranks - Go Towards the Light - Meeting Adjourned - Needle in a Haystack - Leader of the Pack - Peacekeeper - Caveat Emptor - Vertical Slice - No Camping - Dead on Arrival - Mark and Execute - Crash a Party - Hunting the Hunter
Courier assignments
Wedding Bells are Ringing - The Messenger's Burden - Speedy Delivery - The Perfect Marriage - Casanova
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