With the location of the entrance to the catacombs discovered, Ezio enters in search of Leonardo. Ezio finds his friend deep within the catacombs being held captive by the Hermeticists and their leader, Ercole Massimo. Freeing his friend and assassinating Ercole, Ezio and Leonardo explore the Temple that lies in the catacomb.
Dialogue
Leonardo, in the midst of interrogation.
Ezio enters the catacombs and begins to navigate his way towards Leonardo. He can hear voices in the distance.
Ercole: Leonardo, I still cannot comprehend why you have turned against the ideals we always held dear!
Leonardo: Trust is a terrible thing.
Ercole: You are betraying mine!
A disciple starts to beat Leonardo as Ezio traverses the vast cavern.
Ercole: Tell me where the entrance is.
Leonardo: How naive of me... To have thought you sought knowledge as I did.
Ercole: Why seek knowledge without putting it to use? We have the chance to fashion a better world, one in which we have the freedom to shape our own destiny.
Leonardo: And what if we choose not to be a part of your vision?
Ercole: That is foolish. Do you not see? We can banish ignorance. Free people from their social classes and kingdoms, from their animal emotions. Every one will have the truth at their grasp.
Leonardo: Beating me down here in the dark enlightens the people of Italia?
Ercole: The Pythagorean unifier is in that temple. We both know it. That number is coupled to all nature, all things. It is the source. With it, we can open the minds and souls of men. We can fill them with knowledge.
Leonardo: As above, so below.
A group of Hermeticists disciples.Ercole: That is the Hermetic vow. Together, we will make mankind into Gods. Now, show me the entrance.
Leonardo: Why? Do you not know where it is?
Ercole: How could I?
Leonardo: You know mankind's wants and needs, I assumed discovering the location of a simple hidden entrance would be an easy feat.
Ercole: You-- Where is it?!
Leonardo: Guess.
Ercole: I am finished with your obstinacy. Procedete! (Do it!)
Leonardo: My body may feel pain, but my mind will remain unharmed.
Ercole: Impressive. Do it again. Again.
Ezio makes his presence known.
Ezio: Stop.
Ercole: Ezio Auditore! You who arrested Cesare Borgia, who stopped the spread of Roman ignorance, convince our friend Leonardo to open the temple and usher in the golden age of mankind.
Ezio: Should I persuade "our friend" by kicking him? Or would you rather I used my knife?
Ercole's final moments.
Ercole: On the contrary, there is nothing I would like more than an amiable solution. Help Leonardo see reason. With the Pythagorean unifier, we will remake humanity together.
Ercole: Then the revolution will begin without you. Ucciderlo! (Kill him!)
A group of disciples begin to attack Ezio.
Ercole: Leonardo, I must know.
Please, for the future of mankind.
Tell me!
We are running out of time!
Ezio defeats his attackers. A panic-stricken Ercole throws the last remaining disciple from the elevated platform, accidentally killing him and creating a path for Ezio.
Ercole: Go! Stop him!
Ezio: Very foolish.
Ezio and Leonardo entering the secret chambers..Ercole: Stay away from me,Assassino We are all the same underneath, yet these people persist in their witch hunts! You intend to banish us back to our primitive origins? Firenze against Venezia, Venezia against Roma. Ignorant group against ignorant group forever, is that what you want?
Ezio plunges his blade into Ercole.
Ercole:You... an Assassin... the enemy of knowledge?
Ezio:One must choose to search for truth. Forcing it on others accomplishes little.
Ercole:These lost people... warring kingdoms... I would have ended their suffering.
Ezio: Che tu possa conoscere la verità nella morte. (May you know the truth in death.) Requiescat in pace. (Rest in peace.)
Leonardo: I will be fine. If that number is left intact, we risk another madman discovering it.
Pushing on a triangular mechanism, Leonardo opens the entrance to the next room.
Leonardo: Coming?
Ezio: Take that torch. I will lead the way.
Leonardo: Thank goodness I sent Massimo to look for my paintings, it delayed their progress significantly.
The first chamber.
They reach a large chamber, the first of three trial rooms.
Leonardo: The Pythagoreans believe that the soul moved through cracks in the earth, like a beam of light. It ignites fire, which symbolizes knowledge.
Ezio begins to decipher the puzzles of the room.
Leonardo: You are almost there!
Ezio: Easy for you to say.
Ezio opens the door to the next chamber.
Leonardo: We must continue onward!
They continue through the next passageway.
Leonardo: I suppose Salaì is out having fun spending my hard-earned florins?
Ezio: He is safe at home.
Leonardo: I am relieved... about the florins of course.
Ezio: You do not need to lie to me. Salaì fits you. I approve.
Leonardo: I...
Ezio: Leonardo da Vinci at a loss for words? That is a first.
Ezio and Leonardo in the second chamber.
They enter the second of three trial rooms.
Leonardo: This room could use some light.
Leonardo ignites other torches.
Leonardo: Do you hear that? The sound of wind.
Ezio starts to solving several puzzles.
Leonardo: The Pythagoreans believed all the forces of nature could be whittled down to numbers. Mathematics can then act on nature, allowing man to harness nature's power.
Ezio locks an air exit.
Ezio: Now I can get back up here.
Ezio locks another air exit and a fan gear starts to spin.
Leonardo: The wheel is turning. You are channeling the air, keep going!
Ezio locks the last exit and the fan spins rapidly, activating the mechanism of the door.
Leonardo: Only one final room before we reach the center!
They reach the final room, and Leonardo ignites a torch, prompting several other torches to ignite as well.
Leonardo: How unexpected! Delightful.
Ezio: The fire of knowledge.
Leonardo: Correct! Harmony was achieved for the Pythagorean when multiplicity became unity. When many thoughts combine to form one original idea.
Leonardo recognizing the symbols on the pedestal.
Ezio activates the first lever.
Ezio: That could help if I fall.
Leonardo: Yes! How enlightening!
Ezio: Very funny.
Ezio activates the remaining levers and mysterious pedestal emerges from the ground.
Leonardo: Unity is achieved! But the door is not opening.
Ezio examines the pedestal.
Ezio: Leonardo, come here. Recognize these symbols?
Leonardo: No... Wait. These are the symbols that were shown to me by the Apple of Eden! They are in the wrong order. Let me just... if I rearrange these... done!
The entrance for the vault opens, and the two enter.
Ezio: I know this architecture.
Ezio and Leonardo gaze at the coding on the wall.
Ezio turns to exit the chamber.
Ezio puts his hand on the pedestal, illuminating the vault.
Leonardo: Those are not Pythagorean symbols. 43 39 19 N 75 27 42 W. Nothing. The Cult of Hermes is wrong. The number is meaningless.
Leonardo: You are leaving?
Ezio: No mere number can repair the world. Come, my friend, help me charter a ship to Navarre. I must finish with Cesare Borgia. It is not intended for us.
Leonardo: Ezio. What are you not telling me?
Ezio: What else are you working on?
Leonardo: Well, I have begun several dissection studies. Then King Louis XII seems interested in hiring me as an engineer. Oh yes, I am thinking of repainting the St. John lost in the Villa fire. Salaì would model for it again, of course. Then, perhaps I will study a woman with child to see how her body changes.
Ezio: Interesting. Tell me more.
Outcome
Ezio kills Ercole Massimo, the leader of the Hermeticists, and rescues Leonardo. They both discover the vault hidden within the temple.
Trivia
To achieve full synchronization, the player should not lose any health squares.
Ezio and Leonardo exploring the catacombs.
The pedestal within the third room.
Ezio activating the pedestal.
Ezio and Leonardo walking out of the vault.
