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January 25, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

“You almost ready, Champ?” Ruby called from outside the bathroom.

“Almost!” Ava called back. She was making sure she had her outfit in check. A nice blouse and skirt, a semi-formal jacket, and Kahente's necklace. She looked at herself at every angle. Was she being too fancy? Was she overdoing it? Ruby didn't seem like the kind of gal that would care much, but still. She had three priorities for whenever she was on a date: Firstly, be nice and make some intelligent conversation. That was most important. Secondly, have fun and have some laughs with her girlfriend. This was supposed about the two of them bonding, afterall. And third, look nice for the date. It was just one of those things she was always very self-conscious about, even though she knew she didn't need to be.

She eventually settled on what she had and made her way to the door. She didn't want to keep Ruby waiting any longer. Besides, anything Ava could've chosen probably looked way nicer compared to what Ruby-

“There you are! About time!”

Ava stopped dead in her tracks when she opened the door and caught sight of Ruby. She had ditched her leather jacket and jeans and instead wore a long, elegant red dress that looked like it was brand new from the shop. Her lipstick matched the color. Her hair was combed and washed and tied back into a bun. And to top it all off, she wore a well-ironed blazer, primed and ready for a night on the town. She looked gorgeous. Ava couldn't help but stare. She hoped her nose wasn't bleeding.

Ruby smiled. “You look great, Champ!” she said.

“I… uh… thanks. You too.”

Ruby laughed. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Wha? Oh… No no! It's just… I… didn't expect you to look so… um… nice…”

“I have a feminine side, don't oppress me!” Ruby said before bursting out into laughter and patting Ava on the shoulder. “I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But no really, I clean up nicely, don't I?”

“Yeah. Yeah y… you definitely do.”

“Well let's get a going then! This is gonna be great, I promise you! Carter found us this cool little Mexican restaurant downtown, and they've got an open bar! You'll love it, I swear!”

Ava smiled. “Then I guess we should get going,” she said.

Ruby nodded and took her friend's hand. The two of them walked out of the hideout, saying a quick goodbye to Ben as they got in the elevator and made their way to Ruby's car, her surprisingly nice car.

“When did you get this?” Ava asked as they got in and Ruby revved the engines. The car looked brand new.

“Oh, I've had this for years now,” Ruby said casually as they hopped in, almost oblivious to Ava's surprise. “Got it back when I lived in New York. Won it in a bet and been keeping it spick and span ever since.”

“I can tell. It looks like it just came out of the shop.”

“Then success!”

Ava laughed at that, in turn making Ruby smile. Ruby looked over her shoulder as she backed up and then put her foot to the gas. They cruised across Indianapolis, taking in the lights and sounds and people as they passed. They drove past Monument Circle, which was still covered in gorgeous lights everywhere from the holidays. Colors flashed and shone all across the monuments and buildings in all sorts of festive patterns that all made for an absolutely breathtaking scene. Ava almost considered telling Ruby to just stop here and let them sit and watch the show together.

They carried on, and after a few minutes they finally parked in front of the restaurant. Ruby got out first and opened Ava's door like a chauffeur.

“M’lady,” she said with an over exaggerated bow. Ava giggled.

“Thanks, dearest,” she joked back as she stepped out.

“Oh of course, madam! Shall we commence with the festivities?”

“Yes, we shall.”

The two laughed at each other and held their hands. They stepped on into the restaurant and got a table for two. They sat down and ordered their food, and for a few minutes just absorbed the scenery as they waited. The place was delightful. The orange lights and candles danced across the walls, traditional Hispanic music was playing softly from the speakers, and people were all about, smiling and chatting. It was a nice location, but not like one of those stuck up places that just try way too hard. It felt quite liberating. Ava liked it. She could look nice, and act like a human being at the same time. It was lovely, and was made even more so by Ruby sitting right across from her, smiling ear to ear.

“So!” she said to Ava. “Like it so far?”

“Loving it,” Ava said. “Thanks so much for this.”

“Aaah anything for my girl!”

“I didn't realize you were into all this fancy stuff.”

Ruby shrugged. “Heh yeah. I know I don't flaunt it much, but I do like to get all prim and proper and all that crap now and then. I dunno. Guess it just makes me feel cleaner or something. ...That make sense?”

“Totally.”

Ruby laughed. “I just like big poofy dresses, okay?” she said. “I just don't wear ‘em all the time cause it's inconvenient for a lot of our jobs. But if I could, I would.”

“Well, you look very nice.”

“Aw thanks Champ!”

Ava smiled and nodded. The waitress then came over with their food. She put it on their table and wished them a lovely night before leaving them to themselves. They thanked her kindly and started digging in.

“Right,” Ruby said. “Your turn! Tell me about yourself? Any hidden secrets from your past that I get to know about?”

“Eh, not really. I mean, before all of… this took over my life, things were pretty normal.”

“Nothing big and exciting ever happened in Raleigh growing up?”

“Well… I never grew up in Raleigh.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I was born there, I think while my parents were on vacation or something, but I grew up in Minneapolis.”

“Well that's kinda cool. What are your folks… er… your mom at least… like?”

“She's pretty cool. A bit overprotective, but my grandma always straightened her out whenever she got too strict.”

“Your grandmother lived with you guys?”

“Yeah. We were never… um… financially sound, I guess you could say. We weren't poor or anything like that, it was just… there were days when things got rough. So, my grandmother lived with us and still lives with my mom.”

“Aw, really sorry to hear that, Champ.”

“Ah, it's fine. Not your fault. Our… uh… our heritage is just kind of a natural obstacle that we always had to overcome…”

There was a moment of silence.

“Man, I'm really sorry, Champ…” Ruby said from the bottom of her heart.

“Thanks Rubes. I mean hey, it could be worse. We could've ended up stuck on a reservation like my grandmother was growing up. I was lucky enough to be born after my mom left the reservation and got a foothold by travelling abroad.”

“That's good.”

“Yeah.”

Another silence. Ruby quickly changed the topic. “So… um… what tribe are your family from?”

“We're Lakota.”

“Oh! That's cool! Do you speak the language, by chance?”

“Thečhíȟila.”

“Ah rad! What's that mean?”

“I love you.”

That almost made Ruby squeal, Ava could see the strain on her face as she held it back.

“Right back at ya, Champ!” she said. “Your mom teach you?”

“A little, but it was mostly my grandma. She's really proud of our culture and heritage and all that so she always taught me about it all while I was growing up.

“Cool. Cool.”

“She actually fought during the Red Power Movement back in the 60s and 70s. Occupied Alcatraz, protested at Wounded Knee, all that cool stuff.”

“Maybe we should be exploring her memories then!”

Ava laughed. “That would certainly be something,” she said. Ruby laughed.

“Guess your ancestors have always had a craving for liberty,” she said.

“Yeah,” said Ava. “Guess so.”

Something started seeming off suddenly. She felt her head pounding again. Her muscles were getting tense. She started hearing voices.

“Aveza... would you give me the privilege of having you as my wife?”

“Virginia, why don't you go play with Pocahontas? Mommy is busy right now.”

“Dr. Verbeek, we need your help again…”

Ava grit her teeth and did what she could to shove the voices away. Not now, she thought. Please not now...

“So,” she said to Ruby, trying to distract her brain, “have you ever taken a go in the Animus?”

“I have actually! It was pretty interesting.”

“Who were you?”

“I had an ancestor named Uqaab Andleeb who lived in India during the reign of the Mughal Empire. Took part in a lot of the riots against their tyrannical rulers and guess what! She even joined the Assassins! Do you know how cool it was to climb up the Taj Mahal?”

“Sounds pretty cool.”

“It was pretty cool! You know, at this point I'm convinced that everyone on this planet has to have at least one, at least one, person in their family tree that was an Assassin or Templar. It's just such a common thing that we're always seeing over and over! I mean, I didn't know a single thing about either group before Ben found me all those years ago, and yet there's Grandma Uqaab with a beaked hood and a hidden blade and everything!”

“Same with me. I mean, I didn't know anything before last year, but apparently I've got at a whole bunch of Assassin in me.”

“It is pretty impressive that you have two Mentors in your ancestry. Not a lot of people have that. There's only one other guy I can think of.”

“Really? Who?”

“Desmond Miles.”

“Hmm. This guy sure has a lot to put on his resume, doesn't he?”

Ruby laughed at that. “Guess so. But no, I'm serious. This guy's bloodline was nuts! He was a descendant of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, who's like a freaking legend to the Brotherhood, Ezio Auditore, who was also pretty rad, and even—wait for it—Connor.”

“...Connor as in-?”

“Yep! Aveza’s mentor! This guy was awesome! It's a shame he died the way he did… too soon, man…”

“He sounds like he was a cool guy. Wish I could've met him.”

“Same though.”

Ava smiled and took another bite of her food. Her head started pulsing again. She mentally cursed.

“So Connor, if your father was a Templar, then why are you an Assassin?”

“Mentor, I bring bad news. Squanto has betrayed us, and is now helping our enemies survive the winter.”

“Dhien! What happened? Where is Teuku?”

Ava subtly rubbed her head, playing it off like she had an itch. “Damn it, shut up…” she mumbled under her breath.

“What's that, Champ?” Ruby asked.

“Hmm? Oh. Nothing... Just thinking out loud.”

“Um… alright then. So, you still having a good time?”

“Of course! Tonight is going great.”

“Good. Like I said, only the best for my girl.”

Ava smiled. Her headache died down a bit. She just had to keep talking. She just needed to distract her brain.

“So what's NYC like?” she asked Ruby. “I've never been.”

“Oh it's rad! I mean… I grew up in the slums with a bunch of gang jerks buuuut ignoring that, it was great! You meet a lot of cool people on every street corner.”

“Is that where you got involved with DedSec?”

“Yep. Met up with those guys a couple years before I met Ben. Course, that was before they became a big deal in the public eye. Blume’s big ctOS project didn't start until 2011, so we weren't in a huge war at the time I was a member. Honestly, my sect was kinda boring. We mostly just sat around trolling big name politicians and corporations.”

“Is that why you left?”

“No, I left cause my partners were getting too caught up in personal drama. They got too stuck in “the big idea” and became a bunch of whiny jerks. So I left. Taught them a lesson. They realized they messed up and I stayed in contact with them because of that, but I still didn't go back. I set out on my own path. Wasn't a fun path, but it was my own. Then come winter of 2012, there's Ben saving me from Daniel Cross. And now I'm here with the girl of my dreams. Life's great like that, you know? There's always a silver lining.”

“Yeah… I guess so...”

“Grandma! Grandma! Look at this weird rock I found! It's got fish bones in it!”

“Mother, I'm not leaving you! Come with us please! Mystic is lost to us! Please, mother, please!”

“Tidak ada yang benar. Semuanya dibenarkan…”

Ava rubbed her head again. Her expression must've seemed obviously pained, as Ruby looked up from her food and gave her a worried look.

“You alright there, Champ?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Promise. Just a headache.”

“Well, alright. I've got a few aspirin on me if you'd like.”

“Yes please.”

Ruby grabbed her purse and tossed Ava a couple pain killers that she dug out. Ava thanked her and downed the pills with her drink. It wasn't much, but at least it was something.

“So, which am I?” Ruby joked.

“What do you mean?”

“Am I your first? Second? Third? Where do I stand?”

Ava managed a smile. “You're my third girlfriend,” she said. “I had a couple others back in high school. Didn't work out, obviously. First one I broke up with cause we just wanted different things and realized we weren't working out as a couple. Second one I found out just wanted a date to prom and she dumped me the night after.”

“Well that sucks! Let me promise you this: I ain't ever going to do that to you. Imma treat you right!”

Ava giggled. “Thanks Rubes. Appreciate it.”

Ruby winked and blew her a kiss in response.

Ava smiled. But then it quickly faded. Her head started pulsing again. Hard. She grit her teeth and grabbed her scalp. Ruby froze. “Ava?” she said, immediately worried. “Ava you okay?”

“Yeah I… aaagh… I'm fine… just… nnng!”

“Ava?”

“I'm quite alright, mum.”

“What?”

“I can walk, mum. I just… ow… need to…”

“Dear, you need to sit down. After the Thames, you can't be-”

“I'm fine! Honest!”

“Aveza please!” Her mother gripped her shoulders and started shaking her. “Champ! Ava! Come on, snap out of it!”

Ava blinked. Her head felt like it was splitting open. “Ruby… I…”

“Alright. Come on, Champ. We're getting you home.”

“No no! I'm… ooooow!”

“You're not fine, Champ, come on. Your health is more important right now. Come on.”

“Dammit Jaga I can keep going!”

“No you can't, little sister! We all have our limits! And you have to know where to draw the line.”

“You always draw that line to short!”

“Ava! Present day! It's 2016! Focus on my voice! Please Champ!”

Ava shook her head. “I… I…” she stuttered painfully. She felt so sick. She was surprised she hadn't vomited already. Or maybe she had… she honestly couldn't tell given how much reality kept shifting all around her. People were staring as Ruby helped her to the car. They stared as she stood above the body, her hidden blade covered in blood.

“The Assassins will not allow Indonesia to be pushed around anymore! Join me, brothers and sisters, and take back our home!” she cried.

Water suddenly splashed up into her face. Ava's eyes bulged in surprise. Ruby helped her into the passenger seat.

“Sorry Champ. Had to,” she apologized. She hopped into the driver's seat and hit the road as fast as she could.

“I'm sorry…” Ava said, almost crying. “I'm so sorry…”

Ruby rubbed her back. “No no Ava it's not your fault. It's okay. We're gonna get you home, okay?”

“But where even is our home anymore, Connor? With the Homestead gone-”

“Ava!”

Ava grit her teeth. She bent over and rested her head on the dashboard, clutching her skull in pain and trying desperately to just shut her mouth and stay in the present.

Ruby got them back to the hideout as fast as she could. By then, Ava had finally stopped switching time periods in her head. But she was still shaking, and was also crying and repeating apologies. She leaned on Ruby as her girlfriend helped her down into the elevator. Once they struggled into the living room, Ben spun around and rushed up to them when he saw Ava.

“Oh my God! What happened?” he asked.

“She had a Bleeding Effect attack,” Ruby said. “We need to get her calmed down before it starts up again.”

“I'm sorry…” Ava cried. “I'm sorry… sorry… I ruined everything…”

“No no Champ, you didn't! I promise! Tonight was still great! Come on, let's get over to the couch. Come on.”

Her friends gently brought her over to one of the sofas and lowered her down. Ruby sat right beside her and hugged her tight. Ava cried into her shoulder.

“I'm sorry…” she repeated, her voice muffled against the fabric of Ruby's jacket and her own layer of tears. Ruby stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down.

“Don't be sorry, Ava. Please. I promise it isn't your fault.”

“But I-”

“You couldn't control it, Ava,” Ben assured her. “It was your biology taking the wheel. It's not your fault.”

“I ruined our night…”

“No Champ, no,” Ruby said. “Don't say that. You didn't. We were probably going to leave soon anyways; we finished up our food.”

“But… but…”

“Ava, look at me.”

She did.

“You did not ruin our night. Okay? I want you to grind that into your brain right now. You did not ruin our night. I had a blast talking with you. Hell, I had a blast just being there with you period. So it had a rough end, so what? If you had gotten food poisoning or anything else, it would've been the same. I'd have gladly rushed you to get help in the middle of everything. Same thing here. Your health more important than anything else. So don't think for a moment that you ruined anything. As long as you are safe and happy, then so am I. Got it?”

Ava didn't know what to say. She was simply silent for what seemed like forever, and then she nodded and just curled up on the couch, leaning on Ruby's shoulder and crying quietly. Ruby rested her head on hers, and gave her a quick kiss.

“You need to take a break from the Animus, alright?” she told her. “Apsarini can wait. You need some time for your brain to readjust. Okay?”

“But Gabriel-”

“Gabriel can wait too, Champ. We don't even have the Key to his Temple yet. Carter's still working on it. You need some time off. Alright?”

“...Alright...”

“Atta girl." She paused. "I love you..."

"I love you too..."

The three of them just sat there on the couch in silence. Ruby exchanged a concerned look with Ben, and then went back to comforting Ava. Ava just cried, softly. She knew her friends were right. She knew she had to stop pushing herself like this. If she did, things might get even worse. She just wanted this to be over. She didn't ask for any of this. She never wanted to be some sort of murderous prophet or something. She had her friends here, sure, but would they be enough to keep her sane? She didn't have much choice to think otherwise. They were the only shred of hope she really had left now.

She just wanted this all to be over...

Description
January 25, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

“You almost ready, Champ?” Ruby called from outside the bathroom.

“Almost!” Ava called back. She was making sure she had her outfit in check. A nice blouse and skirt, a semi-formal jacket, and Kahente's necklace. She looked at herself at every angle. Was she being too fancy? Was she overdoing it? Ruby didn't seem like the kind of gal that would care much, but still. She had three priorities for whenever she was on a date: Firstly, be nice and make some intelligent conversation. That was most important. Secondly, have fun and have some laughs with her girlfriend. This was supposed about the two of them bonding, afterall. And third, look nice for the date. It was just one of those things she was always very self-conscious about, even though she knew she didn't need to be.

She eventually settled on what she had and made her way to the door. She didn't want to keep Ruby waiting any longer. Besides, anything Ava could've chosen probably looked way nicer compared to what Ruby-

“There you are! About time!”

Ava stopped dead in her tracks when she opened the door and caught sight of Ruby. She had ditched her leather jacket and jeans and instead wore a long, elegant red dress that looked like it was brand new from the shop. Her lipstick matched the color. Her hair was combed and washed and tied back into a bun. And to top it all off, she wore a well-ironed blazer, primed and ready for a night on the town. She looked gorgeous. Ava couldn't help but stare. She hoped her nose wasn't bleeding.

Ruby smiled. “You look great, Champ!” she said.

“I… uh… thanks. You too.”

Ruby laughed. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Wha? Oh… No no! It's just… I… didn't expect you to look so… um… nice…”

“I have a feminine side, don't oppress me!” Ruby said before bursting out into laughter and patting Ava on the shoulder. “I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But no really, I clean up nicely, don't I?”

“Yeah. Yeah y… you definitely do.”

“Well let's get a going then! This is gonna be great, I promise you! Carter found us this cool little Mexican restaurant downtown, and they've got an open bar! You'll love it, I swear!”

Ava smiled. “Then I guess we should get going,” she said.

Ruby nodded and took her friend's hand. The two of them walked out of the hideout, saying a quick goodbye to Ben as they got in the elevator and made their way to Ruby's car, her surprisingly nice car.

“When did you get this?” Ava asked as they got in and Ruby revved the engines. The car looked brand new.

“Oh, I've had this for years now,” Ruby said casually as they hopped in, almost oblivious to Ava's surprise. “Got it back when I lived in New York. Won it in a bet and been keeping it spick and span ever since.”

“I can tell. It looks like it just came out of the shop.”

“Then success!”

Ava laughed at that, in turn making Ruby smile. Ruby looked over her shoulder as she backed up and then put her foot to the gas. They cruised across Indianapolis, taking in the lights and sounds and people as they passed. They drove past Monument Circle, which was still covered in gorgeous lights everywhere from the holidays. Colors flashed and shone all across the monuments and buildings in all sorts of festive patterns that all made for an absolutely breathtaking scene. Ava almost considered telling Ruby to just stop here and let them sit and watch the show together.

They carried on, and after a few minutes they finally parked in front of the restaurant. Ruby got out first and opened Ava's door like a chauffeur.

“M’lady,” she said with an over exaggerated bow. Ava giggled.

“Thanks, dearest,” she joked back as she stepped out.

“Oh of course, madam! Shall we commence with the festivities?”

“Yes, we shall.”

The two laughed at each other and held their hands. They stepped on into the restaurant and got a table for two. They sat down and ordered their food, and for a few minutes just absorbed the scenery as they waited. The place was delightful. The orange lights and candles danced across the walls, traditional Hispanic music was playing softly from the speakers, and people were all about, smiling and chatting. It was a nice location, but not like one of those stuck up places that just try way too hard. It felt quite liberating. Ava liked it. She could look nice, and act like a human being at the same time. It was lovely, and was made even more so by Ruby sitting right across from her, smiling ear to ear.

“So!” she said to Ava. “Like it so far?”

“Loving it,” Ava said. “Thanks so much for this.”

“Aaah anything for my girl!”

“I didn't realize you were into all this fancy stuff.”

Ruby shrugged. “Heh yeah. I know I don't flaunt it much, but I do like to get all prim and proper and all that crap now and then. I dunno. Guess it just makes me feel cleaner or something. ...That make sense?”

“Totally.”

Ruby laughed. “I just like big poofy dresses, okay?” she said. “I just don't wear ‘em all the time cause it's inconvenient for a lot of our jobs. But if I could, I would.”

“Well, you look very nice.”

“Aw thanks Champ!”

Ava smiled and nodded. The waitress then came over with their food. She put it on their table and wished them a lovely night before leaving them to themselves. They thanked her kindly and started digging in.

“Right,” Ruby said. “Your turn! Tell me about yourself? Any hidden secrets from your past that I get to know about?”

“Eh, not really. I mean, before all of… this took over my life, things were pretty normal.”

“Nothing big and exciting ever happened in Raleigh growing up?”

“Well… I never grew up in Raleigh.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I was born there, I think while my parents were on vacation or something, but I grew up in Minneapolis.”

“Well that's kinda cool. What are your folks… er… your mom at least… like?”

“She's pretty cool. A bit overprotective, but my grandma always straightened her out whenever she got too strict.”

“Your grandmother lived with you guys?”

“Yeah. We were never… um… financially sound, I guess you could say. We weren't poor or anything like that, it was just… there were days when things got rough. So, my grandmother lived with us and still lives with my mom.”

“Aw, really sorry to hear that, Champ.”

“Ah, it's fine. Not your fault. Our… uh… our heritage is just kind of a natural obstacle that we always had to overcome…”

There was a moment of silence.

“Man, I'm really sorry, Champ…” Ruby said from the bottom of her heart.

“Thanks Rubes. I mean hey, it could be worse. We could've ended up stuck on a reservation like my grandmother was growing up. I was lucky enough to be born after my mom left the reservation and got a foothold by travelling abroad.”

“That's good.”

“Yeah.”

Another silence. Ruby quickly changed the topic. “So… um… what tribe are your family from?”

“We're Lakota.”

“Oh! That's cool! Do you speak the language, by chance?”

“Thečhíȟila.”

“Ah rad! What's that mean?”

“I love you.”

That almost made Ruby squeal, Ava could see the strain on her face as she held it back.

“Right back at ya, Champ!” she said. “Your mom teach you?”

“A little, but it was mostly my grandma. She's really proud of our culture and heritage and all that so she always taught me about it all while I was growing up.

“Cool. Cool.”

“She actually fought during the Red Power Movement back in the 60s and 70s. Occupied Alcatraz, protested at Wounded Knee, all that cool stuff.”

“Maybe we should be exploring her memories then!”

Ava laughed. “That would certainly be something,” she said. Ruby laughed.

“Guess your ancestors have always had a craving for liberty,” she said.

“Yeah,” said Ava. “Guess so.”

Something started seeming off suddenly. She felt her head pounding again. Her muscles were getting tense. She started hearing voices.

“Aveza... would you give me the privilege of having you as my wife?”

“Virginia, why don't you go play with Pocahontas? Mommy is busy right now.”

“Dr. Verbeek, we need your help again…”

Ava grit her teeth and did what she could to shove the voices away. Not now, she thought. Please not now...

“So,” she said to Ruby, trying to distract her brain, “have you ever taken a go in the Animus?”

“I have actually! It was pretty interesting.”

“Who were you?”

“I had an ancestor named Uqaab Andleeb who lived in India during the reign of the Mughal Empire. Took part in a lot of the riots against their tyrannical rulers and guess what! She even joined the Assassins! Do you know how cool it was to climb up the Taj Mahal?”

“Sounds pretty cool.”

“It was pretty cool! You know, at this point I'm convinced that everyone on this planet has to have at least one, at least one, person in their family tree that was an Assassin or Templar. It's just such a common thing that we're always seeing over and over! I mean, I didn't know a single thing about either group before Ben found me all those years ago, and yet there's Grandma Uqaab with a beaked hood and a hidden blade and everything!”

“Same with me. I mean, I didn't know anything before last year, but apparently I've got at a whole bunch of Assassin in me.”

“It is pretty impressive that you have two Mentors in your ancestry. Not a lot of people have that. There's only one other guy I can think of.”

“Really? Who?”

“Desmond Miles.”

“Hmm. This guy sure has a lot to put on his resume, doesn't he?”

Ruby laughed at that. “Guess so. But no, I'm serious. This guy's bloodline was nuts! He was a descendant of Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, who's like a freaking legend to the Brotherhood, Ezio Auditore, who was also pretty rad, and even—wait for it—Connor.”

“...Connor as in-?”

“Yep! Aveza’s mentor! This guy was awesome! It's a shame he died the way he did… too soon, man…”

“He sounds like he was a cool guy. Wish I could've met him.”

“Same though.”

Ava smiled and took another bite of her food. Her head started pulsing again. She mentally cursed.

“So Connor, if your father was a Templar, then why are you an Assassin?”

“Mentor, I bring bad news. Squanto has betrayed us, and is now helping our enemies survive the winter.”

“Dhien! What happened? Where is Teuku?”

Ava subtly rubbed her head, playing it off like she had an itch. “Damn it, shut up…” she mumbled under her breath.

“What's that, Champ?” Ruby asked.

“Hmm? Oh. Nothing... Just thinking out loud.”

“Um… alright then. So, you still having a good time?”

“Of course! Tonight is going great.”

“Good. Like I said, only the best for my girl.”

Ava smiled. Her headache died down a bit. She just had to keep talking. She just needed to distract her brain.

“So what's NYC like?” she asked Ruby. “I've never been.”

“Oh it's rad! I mean… I grew up in the slums with a bunch of gang jerks buuuut ignoring that, it was great! You meet a lot of cool people on every street corner.”

“Is that where you got involved with DedSec?”

“Yep. Met up with those guys a couple years before I met Ben. Course, that was before they became a big deal in the public eye. Blume’s big ctOS project didn't start until 2011, so we weren't in a huge war at the time I was a member. Honestly, my sect was kinda boring. We mostly just sat around trolling big name politicians and corporations.”

“Is that why you left?”

“No, I left cause my partners were getting too caught up in personal drama. They got too stuck in “the big idea” and became a bunch of whiny jerks. So I left. Taught them a lesson. They realized they messed up and I stayed in contact with them because of that, but I still didn't go back. I set out on my own path. Wasn't a fun path, but it was my own. Then come winter of 2012, there's Ben saving me from Daniel Cross. And now I'm here with the girl of my dreams. Life's great like that, you know? There's always a silver lining.”

“Yeah… I guess so...”

“Grandma! Grandma! Look at this weird rock I found! It's got fish bones in it!”

“Mother, I'm not leaving you! Come with us please! Mystic is lost to us! Please, mother, please!”

“Tidak ada yang benar. Semuanya dibenarkan…”

Ava rubbed her head again. Her expression must've seemed obviously pained, as Ruby looked up from her food and gave her a worried look.

“You alright there, Champ?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Promise. Just a headache.”

“Well, alright. I've got a few aspirin on me if you'd like.”

“Yes please.”

Ruby grabbed her purse and tossed Ava a couple pain killers that she dug out. Ava thanked her and downed the pills with her drink. It wasn't much, but at least it was something.

“So, which am I?” Ruby joked.

“What do you mean?”

“Am I your first? Second? Third? Where do I stand?”

Ava managed a smile. “You're my third girlfriend,” she said. “I had a couple others back in high school. Didn't work out, obviously. First one I broke up with cause we just wanted different things and realized we weren't working out as a couple. Second one I found out just wanted a date to prom and she dumped me the night after.”

“Well that sucks! Let me promise you this: I ain't ever going to do that to you. Imma treat you right!”

Ava giggled. “Thanks Rubes. Appreciate it.”

Ruby winked and blew her a kiss in response.

Ava smiled. But then it quickly faded. Her head started pulsing again. Hard. She grit her teeth and grabbed her scalp. Ruby froze. “Ava?” she said, immediately worried. “Ava you okay?”

“Yeah I… aaagh… I'm fine… just… nnng!”

“Ava?”

“I'm quite alright, mum.”

“What?”

“I can walk, mum. I just… ow… need to…”

“Dear, you need to sit down. After the Thames, you can't be-”

“I'm fine! Honest!”

“Aveza please!” Her mother gripped her shoulders and started shaking her. “Champ! Ava! Come on, snap out of it!”

Ava blinked. Her head felt like it was splitting open. “Ruby… I…”

“Alright. Come on, Champ. We're getting you home.”

“No no! I'm… ooooow!”

“You're not fine, Champ, come on. Your health is more important right now. Come on.”

“Dammit Jaga I can keep going!”

“No you can't, little sister! We all have our limits! And you have to know where to draw the line.”

“You always draw that line to short!”

“Ava! Present day! It's 2016! Focus on my voice! Please Champ!”

Ava shook her head. “I… I…” she stuttered painfully. She felt so sick. She was surprised she hadn't vomited already. Or maybe she had… she honestly couldn't tell given how much reality kept shifting all around her. People were staring as Ruby helped her to the car. They stared as she stood above the body, her hidden blade covered in blood.

“The Assassins will not allow Indonesia to be pushed around anymore! Join me, brothers and sisters, and take back our home!” she cried.

Water suddenly splashed up into her face. Ava's eyes bulged in surprise. Ruby helped her into the passenger seat.

“Sorry Champ. Had to,” she apologized. She hopped into the driver's seat and hit the road as fast as she could.

“I'm sorry…” Ava said, almost crying. “I'm so sorry…”

Ruby rubbed her back. “No no Ava it's not your fault. It's okay. We're gonna get you home, okay?”

“But where even is our home anymore, Connor? With the Homestead gone-”

“Ava!”

Ava grit her teeth. She bent over and rested her head on the dashboard, clutching her skull in pain and trying desperately to just shut her mouth and stay in the present.

Ruby got them back to the hideout as fast as she could. By then, Ava had finally stopped switching time periods in her head. But she was still shaking, and was also crying and repeating apologies. She leaned on Ruby as her girlfriend helped her down into the elevator. Once they struggled into the living room, Ben spun around and rushed up to them when he saw Ava.

“Oh my God! What happened?” he asked.

“She had a Bleeding Effect attack,” Ruby said. “We need to get her calmed down before it starts up again.”

“I'm sorry…” Ava cried. “I'm sorry… sorry… I ruined everything…”

“No no Champ, you didn't! I promise! Tonight was still great! Come on, let's get over to the couch. Come on.”

Her friends gently brought her over to one of the sofas and lowered her down. Ruby sat right beside her and hugged her tight. Ava cried into her shoulder.

“I'm sorry…” she repeated, her voice muffled against the fabric of Ruby's jacket and her own layer of tears. Ruby stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down.

“Don't be sorry, Ava. Please. I promise it isn't your fault.”

“But I-”

“You couldn't control it, Ava,” Ben assured her. “It was your biology taking the wheel. It's not your fault.”

“I ruined our night…”

“No Champ, no,” Ruby said. “Don't say that. You didn't. We were probably going to leave soon anyways; we finished up our food.”

“But… but…”

“Ava, look at me.”

She did.

“You did not ruin our night. Okay? I want you to grind that into your brain right now. You did not ruin our night. I had a blast talking with you. Hell, I had a blast just being there with you period. So it had a rough end, so what? If you had gotten food poisoning or anything else, it would've been the same. I'd have gladly rushed you to get help in the middle of everything. Same thing here. Your health more important than anything else. So don't think for a moment that you ruined anything. As long as you are safe and happy, then so am I. Got it?”

Ava didn't know what to say. She was simply silent for what seemed like forever, and then she nodded and just curled up on the couch, leaning on Ruby's shoulder and crying quietly. Ruby rested her head on hers, and gave her a quick kiss.

“You need to take a break from the Animus, alright?” she told her. “Apsarini can wait. You need some time for your brain to readjust. Okay?”

“But Gabriel-”

“Gabriel can wait too, Champ. We don't even have the Key to his Temple yet. Carter's still working on it. You need some time off. Alright?”

“...Alright...”

“Atta girl." She paused. "I love you..."

"I love you too..."

The three of them just sat there on the couch in silence. Ruby exchanged a concerned look with Ben, and then went back to comforting Ava. Ava just cried, softly. She knew her friends were right. She knew she had to stop pushing herself like this. If she did, things might get even worse. She just wanted this to be over. She didn't ask for any of this. She never wanted to be some sort of murderous prophet or something. She had her friends here, sure, but would they be enough to keep her sane? She didn't have much choice to think otherwise. They were the only shred of hope she really had left now.

She just wanted this all to be over...