Alright, this story is just an experiment really that I've had under my belt for a while now and want to get out there to see if there's any interest. I might be doing this with a couple other stories, just tests, mostly short chapters. Still, I hope you enjoy and review if you feel like it.

The new bracer felt strangely heavy on Jun's arm as she climbed the tower of the Galata district. She had long ago abandoned the wrist mounted blade in favor of the one hidden in her boot, but she could not deny that this one would have some significant advantages for her in the months to come. And of course, she thought, clamping the long metal hook that came as standard onto the ledge and hauling herself over onto the roof, it is also quite useful on occasions like these. Rising to her feet she gazed intently over the dark form of Istanbul, or as some of the locals still liked to call it, Constantinople. There were many glittering lights streaming through the windows of the city below, and to Jun, it almost seemed like the world was upside down, as the sky was dark with the heavy form of storm clouds, which had blotted out even the moon's light. The darkness had made the climb more difficult than usual, and Jun had had to move more slowly than she would have liked. She had even slipped a couple times, much to her chagrin, only to catch herself with the strangely intuitive hookblade. Indeed it would not be a stretch to say that the gift from her hosts here in the city had saved her life tonight.

Standing this high up, and this close to the heavens, Jun could feel the coming storm in the air, could taste it on the tip of her tongue. It would come soon, and that meant that she would have to leave before too long, but before then she needed to examine the box that master Auditore had given her. It had saddened her greatly upon her arrival in Istanbul to learn that Ezio had died soon after she had left Firenze, and, although she grieved for him, she was also glad that her master could finally rest easy and leave his old life behind.

Sitting and pressing her back against the wall, Jun pulled out her small travel lantern, and struck a fire stick, another gift from her hosts, against the rough stone, to light the fire inside. The soft warm glow of the lantern illuminated the plain form of the wooden box. Though on the outside the box seemed drab, master Auditore had said that it would prove invaluable should Jun ever find herself in dire need. And although he had also said not to open it until such a time arose, Jun was curious. While she had paid attention to her master's directions for the first few weeks of travel she had eventually tried to open it on the ship to Istanbul. The constant comings and goings of the crew, however, seldom gave her a moment of privacy with which to examine it, and even after her arrival at the stronghold in the city Jun was still reluctant to take the box out in the presence of others. So that was how she found herself here, on the top of the tallest building in the city, in the middle of the night, at the crossroads of the world, with a storm brewing, just to open a tiny wooden box.

Jun smiled quietly as the situation dawned on her. She leaned forwards and picked up the box, turned it in her hands. It was heavy for such a small thing. And it must have been tightly packed, for no matter how much the box moved about it never rattled. There was no key either, which puzzled Jun. Surely something as crucially valuable as the box's contents would need some form of protection. After all, what would happen if it fell into the hands of her enemies? Jun hefted the box. She eyed the latch. A moment of indecision passed through her, and her mentor's warnings echoed in her mind. But her curiosity was too much. She clawed open the latch, and tried to slide the lid up. It didn't move. She tried harder. Nothing. She grunted to herself. Extending the new blade on her wrist, Jun jammed it into the thin slit between the lid and the body of the box and pried with all her might. Nothing. Surely master Auditore hadn't been playing a joke in his old age? There must have been something in the box, but the lid would not budge. Perhaps this is why the box needs no key, Jun thought to herself. She sat back, only just beginning to feel the soft pitter-patter of the rain that was beginning to fall. She stood up with a sigh, sliding the box back into the bag at her waist and extinguishing the fire in her small lantern. Then she began to climb again, right to the very top of the tower. The handholds were becoming treacherous in the dark and the rain, but with the help of the hookblade Jun managed to make her way right to the peak. Now to find a place to land, she thought.

The wind had picked up, and as she cast about the street below with her keen eyes casting about for a soft place to cushion her landing, perhaps a cart of hay or even flowers, her robe whipping about her, she began to feel a tingling. She gasped as she saw the electricity arcing between her fingertips. That was a bad sign. Rain dripped down her face and from the brim of her hood. She could no longer afford to wait on the roof of the tower, but jumping now without a safe place to land would be just as fatal. Then she heard the humming. Soft at first, it grew loudly as the rain drove harder, and soft whistles soon permeated the sound. Jun twisted her body on her perch to see the soft yellow glow emanating from the bag with the box. Struggling to maintain balance, she grabbed the bag, opened it quickly, and stared in awe. The box had opened, and it was no longer a box.

Many of the wooden panels had slid sideways to reveal a metal and glass contraption inside. It glowed faintly with yellow light, and gave of soft vibrations. What was even more amazing was the flickering glowing yellow ball, which it projected. It took Jun a moment to realize that it was a globe, though it didn't match any map she had seen before. Was this some other world maybe? Perhaps one of the other planets. Mars, perhaps? The globe began to fade into the darkness of the night, flickering and sputtering, and the humming died down. The rain, now more driving and with a chilling wind to match, came back to Jun. She shook the box hoping for anything at all, just to keep the image from disappearing before she had a further chance to examine the projection. Then there was a crackle, and just as Jun looked up a blinding flash smashed into the small box in her hands, and then an even brighter yellow light engulfed the peak of the tower.

A small wooden box plummeted to the cobble streets below, and clattered to the ground, steam rising from it in the rain.

Cool, yo.