In Bocca al Lupo

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In Bocca al Lupo is the final memory in Assassin's Creed II.

Description

Ezio travelled to Rome to assassinate Rodrigo Borgia and retrieve the Staff of Eden. Arriving at the base of the Castel Sant'Angelo, he promptly climbed it, making his way onto the Passetto di Borgo, where he was confronted by many guards.

After Ezio dispatched them, he continued to make his way towards the Vatican on horseback, and, upon reaching the Basilica di San Pietro, he entered, by using the groups of monks to blend and hide from the guards. Moving as such, he managed to enter the Capella Sistina, where Rodrigo was reciting the Nicene Creed.

Ezio then used the scaffolding suspended over the chapel to make his way towards Rodrigo, before leaping from above to assassinate him. As he began to speak to Rodrigo, as he had done with all his other targets, Rodrigo opened his eyes, and used the Staff to push Ezio away, subduing everyone else in the hall.

However, Ezio was immune to the effects of the Staff, due to his possession of the Apple. Ezio then created clones of himself, just as Al Mualim did against Altaïr, to assist him in his fight against Rodrigo. After the battle, Rodrigo was able to snatch the Apple from Ezio's grasp, and lifted him into the air with the Staff.

Withdrawing a dagger from his robes, Rodrigo stabbed Ezio in the stomach, and left him to seek out the Vault. However, Ezio was able to regain his footing, as he was not seriously wounded, and used his Eagle Vision to find the secret entrance to the Vault.

Entering the Vault, he saw Rodrigo desperately trying to open the door to its inner chamber. Making his survival known to Rodrigo, Ezio then challenged him to a fist-fight, one without trickery, weapons, or ancient artifacts, to which Rodrigo agreed. After Ezio defeated Rodrigo in this duel, he spared him, as "killing him would not bring his family back." Then, using the Staff and Apple in conjuction, Ezio opened the Vault, declaring that Rodrigo was not the Prophet, and that he had never been. From there, he entered the Vault and received the message from Minerva.

Dialogue

Mario: Roma beckons, Ezio. Let me know when you are ready to depart.

Ezio stabs Rodrigo with his Hidden Blade.

Ezio: I thought... I thought I was beyond this. But I'm not. Requiescat in pace, you bastard!
Rodrigo: I don't think so!

Rodrigo uses the Staff on everyone present, causing all but Ezio to collapse.

Rodrigo: How is it you resist? Oh! Kind of you to bring me the Apple. Now give it here!
Ezio: Vai a farti fottere. (Go fuck yourself.)

Rodrigo laughs.

Rodrigo: Always the fighter. Just like your father. Well rejoice, my child, for you will see him again soon. You will give it to me!
Ezio: As you wish.

Ezio split into five duplicates of himself.

Rodrigo: An impressive power, but if you think it's going to save you, you've another thing coming!

Ezio defeats Rodrigo in their first fight.

Ezio: It's finished, Rodrigo! Lay down your arms, and I'll make sure the end comes swiftly.
Rodrigo: Oh really, Ezio? And would you give up so easily were it the other way around?!

Ezio recovers from his stab wound and makes his way down the secret entrance to the Vault.

Ezio: What is this place?

Ezio drops down into the vault.

Rodrigo: Open, damn you! Open!
Ezio: It's over, Rodrigo. No more tricks, no more ancient artifacts, no more weapons. Let's see what you are made of, old man.
Rodrigo: All right then. If that's how you want to play it...

Ezio and Rodrigo engage in a fist-fight.

Ezio: What do you even want with the Vault, Rodrigo?!
Rodrigo: Don't you know what lies within? Or do you mean to tell me that the great and powerful Assassins didn't figure it out?
Ezio: Figure what out?

Rodrigo: God! It's God that dwells within!
Ezio: You expect me to believe that God lives beneath il Vaticano?
Rodrigo: A more logical location than a kingdom on a cloud, don't you think? Surrounded by singing angels and cherubim. Makes for a lovely image. But the truth is far more interesting.
Ezio: Let's say I was to believe you — what do you think he'll do when you open that door?
Rodrigo: I don't care. It's not approval I'm after. Just power.
Ezio: And you think he'll give it up?
Rodrigo: Whatever lies beyond that wall won't be able to resist the Staff and Apple. They were made for felling gods.
Ezio: God is meant to be all knowing. All powerful. You think a couple of ancient relics can harm him?
Rodrigo: You know nothing, boy. You take your image of the creators from an ancient book; a book, mind you, written by men.
Ezio: You are the Pope! And yet you dismiss the central text of your faith?!

Rodrigo laughs.

Rodrigo: Are you so naïve? I became Pope because it gave me access. It gave me power. Do you think I believe a single goddamned word of that ridiculous book? It's all lies and superstition. Just like every other religious tract written over the past ten thousand years.

Ezio grabs Rodrigo by the throat and chokes him. He then throws him to the ground.

Rodrigo: You can't! YOU CAN'T! It's my destiny! Mine! I am the Prophet!
Ezio: You never were...
Rodrigo: Get it over with, then.
Ezio: No. Killing you won't bring my family back. I'm done. Nulla è reale, tutto è lecito. Requiescat in Pace. (Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Rest in Peace.)

Outcome

Rodrigo Borgia was spared, Ezio spoke to Minerva in the Vault and learned of her people, along with a great tragedy that would befall mankind being revealed to him. In response to the message, Ezio was left with many questions unanswered as the hologram disappeared.

Trivia

"In bocca al lupo" means "Into the mouth of a wolf" and is an Italian saying for good luck, being the equivalent of "break a leg."
Despite this memory taking place just before the first memory in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, when Ezio is about to infiltrate the Castel Sant' Angelo, the architecture of the buildings around it are totally different from those in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood are represented.
When Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood picks up from where Assassin's Creed II left off, with Ezio just having talked with Minerva, Ezio has a white strip down his cape which was not there in Assassin's Creed II.