Say Hello to Signore Ezio
Picking up literally just a few moments after the first game, Assassin’s Creed II kicks off with Lucy rescuing Desmond from Abstergo and coming into contact with fellow Assassin Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. They strap Desmond inside their own Animus so he can relive the memories of ancestor Ezio Auditore de la Firenze in 15th century Renaissance Italy. After his father and brothers are hanged, Ezio learns of his father’s Assassin tools and vows to find and eliminate the people behind the conspiracy against his family. With the help of Leonardo da Vinci and other allies, Ezio discovers the mastermind of the plot is Rodrigo Borgia, who also possesses the Apple of Eden and thinks he’s “the Prophet” that’ll lead the Templars to a Vault.
Ezio and his allies attack Borgia, now Pope Alexander XI, at Vatican City. Using the Apple and the Papal Cross (which is, in actuality, a Piece of Eden called the Staff), Ezio goes into the Vault and meets the holographic form of a woman named Minerva. She explains that she’s part of a more advanced society that existed with the humans early on during our lifetime before going to war and a global catastrophe nearly wiped out both sides. The remaining survivors banded together to create temples across the planet so humans could prevent a similar catastrophe. Minerva then tells Desmond, by name, “the rest is up to you.” Desmond and the other Assassins are forced to book it once Abstergo finds their location, but he jumps back into the Animus to find out what else his ancestor knows. Ezio, confused as hell, heads back home now that his vendetta is over and his demons are laid to rest.
Of course, that lasts about 20 minutes before Rodrigo’s son, Cesare, kills Ezio’s uncle Mario, takes over Monteriggioni, and takes the Apple, forcing Ezio and his remaining family to run to Rome. Womp womp. Rome happens to be the Templar center of power and Italy and also where the Assassin numbers are dwindling, so Ezio spends the next four years building an (Assassin’s Creed) Brotherhood (including his sister Claudia), crippling the Borgia’s hold in the capital, taking out anyone of importance close to Cesare, and rebuilding Rome to its former glory. Cesare kills Rodrigo, Ezio takes the Apple, and Cesare is arrested by Pope Julius II’s Papal army and later breaks out of prison. The two battle and Ezio wins, taking the Apple to hide in a First Civilization Temple built underneath present-day Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Desmond and group go the temple, where holographic apparitions of a woman named Juno tell him that humanity is “innocent and ignorant” and “We should have left you as you were!” before telling him that he descended from her race and is her enemy. Juno takes control of Desmond’s body and kills Lucy, putting him into a coma that requires the Animus to get him out of. The Animus can repair Desmond’s broken mind by making him relive the memories of both Ezio and Altair so it can separate the three identities and get him out of his coma.
Four years after killing Cesare, Ezio has traveled to the Assassin fortress in Masyaf to discover Altair’s secrets and learn the true purpose of the Assassins. Unfortunately, the city has also been taken over by Templars as he discovers Altair’s library, which requires five keys to unlock, one of which is in the hands of the Templars under the Ottoman Sultan’s palace and the other four scattered around Constantinople. He finds the locations of the four keys thanks to Sofia Sartor, a woman who he falls in love with while also not telling her the truth about basically his life, reasons for coming to the city, and feelings. Great basis for a relationship.
Now armed with the five keys, Ezio and Sofia return to the library and discover a sixth key along with Altair’s skeleton. Altair sealed himself inside with the Apple to make sure the Templars wouldn’t discover its secrets, and Ezio opts to continue this trend. He talks to Desmond directly and hopes that his descendant will find answers to what both men before him worked so hard to uncover. His mind, now repaired, Desmond is approached by Jupiter and learns the First Civilization built multiple vaults to study ways to save Earth from destruction, but none of their methods proved effective. A second solar flare is on the way, so Jupiter gives Desmond the location of the central vault where all the data collected goes.
