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Description
June 25, 1876; Little Bighorn, Montana Territory

Evelyn and Chaytan sat together in the afternoon haze of the village. They had spent the past week making preparations for Custer’s attack. Many of the warriors were currently out hunting, but they were close by. The Americans wouldn't even be able to see them in their hunting grounds as they approached. When they come and try to attack the village, thinking the women and children easy targets, they'd be in for quite the surprise when an entire army comes over the plains to defend the civilians. It would be a hard fight, no doubt about that, but Evelyn and Chaytan had confidence in their plan. They just had to make sure this would be Custer’s last stand.

But until they heard the sound of bugles and the thundering of charging hooves, all they could do was wait.

They sat quietly on a couple of rocks, sharing a few snacks as they passed the time waiting for a fight. Evelyn took a moment to watch the village pass the time along with them. Mothers were shopping with the kids, and young men were on the fringes grazing their horses. It was a peaceful day. Evelyn was disappointed that the peace would have to be disturbed so drastically any moment now.

“So,” she said to Chaytan, taking her gaze away from the people for a bit of small talk, “Where'd you get that necklace?”

Chaytan looked down at the string of beads dangling from his neck. He cupped the necklace’s amulet in his hand and traced the Assassin insignia on it with his eyes. “It is a family heirloom,” he said. “Passed down from generation to generation. It once belonged to my ancestor, the Croatoan Assassin Kahente.”

“Blimey. That's some prestige ancestry!” Evelyn said. She remembered reading of Kahente in grandmother's Assassin history books, of her deeds at the Roanoke colony and abroad in the early days of English colonization. She was quite the legend.

Chaytan simply smiled. “It's one I hope to live up to,” he said. “I hope to become as great an Assassin as her someday. I aspire to have her wisdom, her kindness, her drive to fight to ensure all may live free and equally.”

“If you ask me, you've already made her proud.”

Chaytan smiled at that. A bright, joyful, true smile of appreciation. Not like the ones Edward would always give her, the ones where it seemed like he was just going through the motions of manners. Chaytan felt real, felt passionate. She had only been friends with him for little over a week, but she truly hoped she would get to spend more time with him while she's out here in the desert.

“Thank you, Evelyn,” he said. “I can tell your grandmother is looking down on you with pride as well.”

That gave her the emotional boost she needed to return a smile with equal passion.

“We should do this more often,” she told him. “It's nice having another Assassin accompanying me while I'm out getting all sweaty in this desert heat.”

He laughed. “I would love to, my friend,” he said, making Evelyn’s heart flutter even though she refused to admit it. You're just 31 and desperate, she told herself, don't let yourself get trapped over a crush like you did with Cope.

“I'd be happy to accompany you on your digs while you spend your time in our lands,” he said, making those repressed thoughts punch back as she was trying to shove them down. “I'd like to make sure we keep the Templars from getting their hands on this Scythe.” He smiled. “And of course I'd love to get to know my new friend.”

She swore she felt herself blushing. She hoped it wasn't showing. She really hoped it wasn't showing.

Then suddenly, there was a faint rumble.

The two Assassins froze. Chaytan’s hand automatically fell onto his rifle as his eyes locked onto the horizon like an eagle catching sight of its prey. “They're here,” he said, his sentence being punctuated by the distant sound of a bugle.

“We have to get the villagers out!” Evelyn said, shooting to her feet. “We have to get them out now and call the warriors!”

Chaytan nodded and sprinted back towards the village, shouting to his people to make their way to the evacuation routes as soon as possible. The entire town started scrambling and panicking, the sounds fusing with the cacophony of charging hooves and shouting Americans coming over the desert hills and splashing through the Bighorn River.

Evelyn grabbed her pickaxe, figuring it would be a much better melee weapon than her hidden blades, and she stood at the edge of the village. She watched as she saw the massive cloud of dust rising as the horses and soldiers came into view and surged towards her in a massive wave. She stood her ground, sweating as they were about to plow her down, praying to God that she'd make it out of this alive.

And then the Native warriors came rushing past her, surging in their own wave of shouts and thundering footsteps. She gasped as she suddenly found herself engulfed in a swarm of men all armed with hatchets or guns or anything else designed to kill a man. The smoke assaulted her nostrils, the sight of spraying blood assaulting her eyes, the sounds of battle cries and dying warriors assaulted her ears, and suddenly she had a much much higher respect for her what her grandmother did in her youth.

Her first real battle had begun.

She rushed to find her way through the fighting, dodging bullets and blades left and right as she hacked and slashed, equally terrified and determined. “Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god!” she stammered as she plowed through the chaos, looking for so much as an opening. She felt a hand suddenly fall onto her shoulder. She was thankful to see it belonged to Chaytan when she spun around.

“Come on!” he shouted, dragging her away, “this way!”

He guided her through the thick of it, leading her to cover behind a pile of rocks and trees that would certainly become part of the battlefield any minute now. He swept his finger across the atrocious scene, helping her scan as much as she could before that happened.

“Where the hell is Custer?” Evelyn frantically asked.

“He's leading his men across the rivers while his other regiments try to pick off our surprise attackers,” he told her, pointing to a man on a horse way across the battlefield. Evelyn got a good look at his regal blue military coat, his shining golden buttons and his pristine white gloves that made him stick out like a sore thumb. He was barking orders at his men, though he was too far away for Evelyn to hear him. He had a pistol in hand, shooting as many of his enemies as he could as they tried to cross the river.

“I have to go help my warriors fight against General Reno and the rest of Custer’s lackeys. If we lose to them we lose the whole village.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Go after Custer. Keep him from crossing and bring him down in any way you can. And then once that's done, come find me and we will end this once and for all!”

Evelyn was trying her best to control her breathing and clear her mind. “Okay okay okay…” she said, more to herself than to him. “I can do this I can do this.”

He put a supportive hand on her shoulder. “May your grandmother guide you, Evelyn,” he told her, smiling. She smiled back, and pulled up her hood. Right as Chaytan rushed back into the fray, hatchet in hand, Evelyn lunged over the rock and sprinted back into the battle. She ducked and dodged swinging blades and soaring bullets. She made sure to keep her aim on the men in bright blue uniforms, her pickaxe staining them red.

She rushed as quick as she could toward Custer, sprinting through the sea of shouting, dying men. She used a rock she came across to bolt herself upwards and land on top of an unaware soldier before stabbing him in the neck. Another soldier saw her and tried to jab his sword into her chest, but she quickly ducked down and dodged before stabbing him in the chest and rolling over him to carry her momentum into another soldier. He tried to block her attack with his rifle, but she still managed to sock him in the jaw, throwing him off balance and giving her the chance to stab him dead. She kept her momentum going, spinning around after yanking her blade out of the last man and jabbing her pickaxe right into the gut of another. She ran a bit further, the features on Custer’s mustachioed face becoming clearer as she approached.

“Come on, men!” he shouted over the roar of battle and the choking gargles of the Native warrior who's throat he had just slashed. “Let's send these savages down to hell!” He raised his cavalry sword and whipped up a fountain of blood with it, smiling with the thrill of battle as he marched forward towards the river. Evelyn scowled, pushing harder into the chaos as she tried to get close enough for a shot.

Another soldier came charging at her with a rifle, and very nearly blasted a hole in her skull. But she ducked just in time and kicked his legs out from under him, snapping his neck as he went down. She felt two hands suddenly clamp down on her shoulders, and unfortunately it wasn't the comforting grip of Chaytan this time. One of the soldiers put her in a headlock as he whistled for one of his buddies to run over and try to impale her. She didn't give him the chance though, headbutting her captor and spinning him around just in time to make him the stabbing victim instead of her. She used the other soldier's shock to end his life as well with a single flick of her hidden blade.

A bullet smacked into a tree branch just inches from her head, causing her to yelp like a startled puppy. Her eyes quickly went to the source: Custer. He was pointing at her. “The hooded one, men! Kill the hooded one! You bring me it's head and you'll get your pay doubled!”

The men within earshot all turned towards her, barely even giving her time to feel insulted by his calling her an “it” as they rushed forwards and thrust her into another brawl. She sighed in annoyance as yet another obstacle was getting in her way. She never imagined she'd have to go through this much trouble just to dig up some old animal bones.

She swung her pickaxe quick and hard and stacked up the body count as she tried to push her way towards Custer, who became less and less pleased the closer she got.

“Come on men, cut it down! Do you want to go home with money bags or body bags?”

“Oh for the love of God just shut up you yankee prick!” Evelyn moaned as she yanked her pickaxe out of another fallen soldier and simply sprinted past the others as they tried to attack. Custer looked in panic and tried to rear his horse back so that he could retreat, but we was too slow. Evelyn hopped onto a rock and then onto the shoulders of one of the Americans to propel herself into the air, grabbing her Winchester rifle as she did. In a split second, she readied her gun, she took aim...

And she fired.

Custer went tumbling off his horse, a fountain of blood pouring out of his chest. He dropped his pistol as he collided with the ground. He tried to scramble for it, but Evelyn wasn't about to give him that chance. She rushed up as her path was cleared by many Americans falling dead around her to Native bullets. She sprinted forward and attempted to simply drive her hidden blade downwards and end it there, but Custer was quick enough to yank his sword from his belt instead. He parried her attack and wobbled his way to his feet. Evelyn simply gave him a challenging glare in response. The two traded blows, swinging back and forth and making the sound of clashing steel ring in the air. But Custer was badly wounded, and after Evelyn managed to swing around him and shoot another bleeding hole in him, he fell for good this time.

And then Ava felt the familiar sensation of time slowing down. The battle around them froze, stuck in an instant of time as around Evelyn and Custer, reality began to break down. The dust and blood of the battlefield quickly vanished, cracking into oblivion as it all became consumed by the blank wide void of the Animus’s memory corridor.

Evelyn sauntered up to her prey, standing over him like a raptor. He looked at her and frowned through his mustache.

“Damn you Assassin…” Custer said. “I figured this day would come eventually but… not this soon. Not with such a failure of a battle…”

“With all due respect, General, this isn't about your pride and glory. You tried to take lands from the people who rightfully own it. Your people signed a contract with them for Christ's sake!”

“It's called Manifest Destiny, sweet cheeks. The American people have a right to seek out new homes, new work, new wealth. You just going to deny them that?”

“There's plenty of room on this Earth for all of us, General Custer.”

“We gave the savages their little towns and reservations. They have good lands, good resources.”

“No, you gave them prisons. If those lands are so great then send your settlers there instead of taking land from others! You think yourself a noble shepherd but you're just like the men my grandmother killed in her youth! Arrogant, discriminatory, and dangerous.”

“Them’s powerful words, missy. You'd better take care who you wield them against. Because when the Templars come marching in and your little ex-boyfriend hands them that Scythe on a silver platter, you ain't gonna be talking tough for very long…”

Evelyn simply stared in shock. That managed to put the slightest trace of a smile on Custer’s face. “Yeah, Leidy told me about you. Told me all about Dr. Cope and your little expeditions.”

“How about you shut up before I blow another hole in your skull.”

“You think your buddy Marsh is a saint just because he's helping you and your savage buddies win this fight? Hell, he's probably just as slimy as us. He stole research from Cope, did you know that? Had a few of your precious skeletons destroyed just to keep them out of our hands.”

Evelyn recoiled a bit at that, but held her ground. Could… could that be true?

“I don't care what he's done. He's helping our cause and that's what matters,” she answered.

Custer smirked through his now pale lips. “I can see it in your eyes, missy. You've got doubts. And that doubt is exactly… what's going to let us conquer you…”

“Enough!”

“Pick your allies wisely, Assassin. You'll find out soon enough that there are never just two sides to war…”

And with that final statement, he passed on into the next world, leaving Evelyn to stop and stare as his words maliciously echoed in her brain. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an eagle feather which she gently dipped into his blood. “Maybe so,” she said softly, “but if one of those sides spills innocent blood in any capacity, then I'll side with whoever I can to stop it. Rest in peace, General.”

She placed her feather marker back in her pocket and stood from her prey. The sounds of raging battle suddenly started to assault her ears again as Ava's mind surrendered fully back to Evelyn’s as the void vanished and the battle returned in full force. Evelyn gripped her pickaxe ready for a fight, but all she could see nearby were Lakota warriors chanting in victory as they charged away to fight other regiments stationed a ways off where Chaytan was. Evelyn looked around at the carnage that had been wrought. American men laid dead for a vast swath of distance. She looked down at Custer’s lifeless body and, satisfied, rushed off to meet with Chaytan as he asked.

------------

June 27, 1876; Black Hills, Dakota Territory

The battle itself had raged on through the night and into the following day. After Custer’s death, however, it was clear who the loser was going to be. The Americans were scattered, and the whole endeavour ended with their retreat. It was a great victory for the Natives, one that would certainly go down in history books. And as such, it called for a celebration of equal measure.

Evelyn enjoyed the party in Red Cloud’s little village alongside Chaytan, who was clearly ecstatic and proud of her assassination of Custer.

“It was a fantastic feat!” he said as he, Evelyn, and Marsh all sat around a fireplace with a few of the local villagers. “A stunt only a true legend would be capable of!”

“You weren't there,” Evelyn laughed. “You didn't see what I did.”

“Well it was still spectacular!” he said. “I know it was! May we all sing songs some day of the great Evelyn Arlie, defeater of the monster Custer!”

The villagers awarded her with a cheerful applause that made her blush. “Blimey,” she giggled. “It's nice to feel loved.”

Chaytan laughed and patted her on the shoulder. She felt an ecstatic tingle in her arm when he did.

“And also thanks to you, Red Cloud has permitted us full digging rights in this area,” Marsh explained as he took a swig of his drink. “Though admittedly we'll probably only be out here for another year or so. I hear there's some fantastic excavation potential down in a place called Morrison. If it proves true then we'll have to move down there for our searches.”

Evelyn nodded, though there was a slight hesitation in it. After hearing what Custer said about Marsh, she was a bit… distant with him. Her mind told her it was just Templar lies, but she wondered. Marsh did seem more concerned with sticking it to his president than actually helping the Natives… What if deep down we was just another Cope? Evelyn severely hoped that wasn't the case. She didn't want to lose an ally like him in the same way as before…

She felt Chaytan’s arm suddenly wrap around her shoulder. “Well wherever your paths take you, then I shall follow!” he said. “You've got yourself a teammate, Evelyn! After what you did for my people, it would be an honor to help you on your own quest!”

That washed away all the anxieties plaguing her mind in an instant. She smiled again. “Thank you so much, Chaytan,” she said.

“No no, my friend. Thank you!” He raised his bottle for a toast, which she graciously offered. She couldn't help but smile, even as she drank. At least she had one person she could trust with her life. She was probably just thinking too hard about it all.

Yeah, she told herself, everything would be fine.

Description
June 25, 1876; Little Bighorn, Montana Territory

Evelyn and Chaytan sat together in the afternoon haze of the village. They had spent the past week making preparations for Custer’s attack. Many of the warriors were currently out hunting, but they were close by. The Americans wouldn't even be able to see them in their hunting grounds as they approached. When they come and try to attack the village, thinking the women and children easy targets, they'd be in for quite the surprise when an entire army comes over the plains to defend the civilians. It would be a hard fight, no doubt about that, but Evelyn and Chaytan had confidence in their plan. They just had to make sure this would be Custer’s last stand.

But until they heard the sound of bugles and the thundering of charging hooves, all they could do was wait.

They sat quietly on a couple of rocks, sharing a few snacks as they passed the time waiting for a fight. Evelyn took a moment to watch the village pass the time along with them. Mothers were shopping with the kids, and young men were on the fringes grazing their horses. It was a peaceful day. Evelyn was disappointed that the peace would have to be disturbed so drastically any moment now.

“So,” she said to Chaytan, taking her gaze away from the people for a bit of small talk, “Where'd you get that necklace?”

Chaytan looked down at the string of beads dangling from his neck. He cupped the necklace’s amulet in his hand and traced the Assassin insignia on it with his eyes. “It is a family heirloom,” he said. “Passed down from generation to generation. It once belonged to my ancestor, the Croatoan Assassin Kahente.”

“Blimey. That's some prestige ancestry!” Evelyn said. She remembered reading of Kahente in grandmother's Assassin history books, of her deeds at the Roanoke colony and abroad in the early days of English colonization. She was quite the legend.

Chaytan simply smiled. “It's one I hope to live up to,” he said. “I hope to become as great an Assassin as her someday. I aspire to have her wisdom, her kindness, her drive to fight to ensure all may live free and equally.”

“If you ask me, you've already made her proud.”

Chaytan smiled at that. A bright, joyful, true smile of appreciation. Not like the ones Edward would always give her, the ones where it seemed like he was just going through the motions of manners. Chaytan felt real, felt passionate. She had only been friends with him for little over a week, but she truly hoped she would get to spend more time with him while she's out here in the desert.

“Thank you, Evelyn,” he said. “I can tell your grandmother is looking down on you with pride as well.”

That gave her the emotional boost she needed to return a smile with equal passion.

“We should do this more often,” she told him. “It's nice having another Assassin accompanying me while I'm out getting all sweaty in this desert heat.”

He laughed. “I would love to, my friend,” he said, making Evelyn’s heart flutter even though she refused to admit it. You're just 31 and desperate, she told herself, don't let yourself get trapped over a crush like you did with Cope.

“I'd be happy to accompany you on your digs while you spend your time in our lands,” he said, making those repressed thoughts punch back as she was trying to shove them down. “I'd like to make sure we keep the Templars from getting their hands on this Scythe.” He smiled. “And of course I'd love to get to know my new friend.”

She swore she felt herself blushing. She hoped it wasn't showing. She really hoped it wasn't showing.

Then suddenly, there was a faint rumble.

The two Assassins froze. Chaytan’s hand automatically fell onto his rifle as his eyes locked onto the horizon like an eagle catching sight of its prey. “They're here,” he said, his sentence being punctuated by the distant sound of a bugle.

“We have to get the villagers out!” Evelyn said, shooting to her feet. “We have to get them out now and call the warriors!”

Chaytan nodded and sprinted back towards the village, shouting to his people to make their way to the evacuation routes as soon as possible. The entire town started scrambling and panicking, the sounds fusing with the cacophony of charging hooves and shouting Americans coming over the desert hills and splashing through the Bighorn River.

Evelyn grabbed her pickaxe, figuring it would be a much better melee weapon than her hidden blades, and she stood at the edge of the village. She watched as she saw the massive cloud of dust rising as the horses and soldiers came into view and surged towards her in a massive wave. She stood her ground, sweating as they were about to plow her down, praying to God that she'd make it out of this alive.

And then the Native warriors came rushing past her, surging in their own wave of shouts and thundering footsteps. She gasped as she suddenly found herself engulfed in a swarm of men all armed with hatchets or guns or anything else designed to kill a man. The smoke assaulted her nostrils, the sight of spraying blood assaulting her eyes, the sounds of battle cries and dying warriors assaulted her ears, and suddenly she had a much much higher respect for her what her grandmother did in her youth.

Her first real battle had begun.

She rushed to find her way through the fighting, dodging bullets and blades left and right as she hacked and slashed, equally terrified and determined. “Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god!” she stammered as she plowed through the chaos, looking for so much as an opening. She felt a hand suddenly fall onto her shoulder. She was thankful to see it belonged to Chaytan when she spun around.

“Come on!” he shouted, dragging her away, “this way!”

He guided her through the thick of it, leading her to cover behind a pile of rocks and trees that would certainly become part of the battlefield any minute now. He swept his finger across the atrocious scene, helping her scan as much as she could before that happened.

“Where the hell is Custer?” Evelyn frantically asked.

“He's leading his men across the rivers while his other regiments try to pick off our surprise attackers,” he told her, pointing to a man on a horse way across the battlefield. Evelyn got a good look at his regal blue military coat, his shining golden buttons and his pristine white gloves that made him stick out like a sore thumb. He was barking orders at his men, though he was too far away for Evelyn to hear him. He had a pistol in hand, shooting as many of his enemies as he could as they tried to cross the river.

“I have to go help my warriors fight against General Reno and the rest of Custer’s lackeys. If we lose to them we lose the whole village.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Go after Custer. Keep him from crossing and bring him down in any way you can. And then once that's done, come find me and we will end this once and for all!”

Evelyn was trying her best to control her breathing and clear her mind. “Okay okay okay…” she said, more to herself than to him. “I can do this I can do this.”

He put a supportive hand on her shoulder. “May your grandmother guide you, Evelyn,” he told her, smiling. She smiled back, and pulled up her hood. Right as Chaytan rushed back into the fray, hatchet in hand, Evelyn lunged over the rock and sprinted back into the battle. She ducked and dodged swinging blades and soaring bullets. She made sure to keep her aim on the men in bright blue uniforms, her pickaxe staining them red.

She rushed as quick as she could toward Custer, sprinting through the sea of shouting, dying men. She used a rock she came across to bolt herself upwards and land on top of an unaware soldier before stabbing him in the neck. Another soldier saw her and tried to jab his sword into her chest, but she quickly ducked down and dodged before stabbing him in the chest and rolling over him to carry her momentum into another soldier. He tried to block her attack with his rifle, but she still managed to sock him in the jaw, throwing him off balance and giving her the chance to stab him dead. She kept her momentum going, spinning around after yanking her blade out of the last man and jabbing her pickaxe right into the gut of another. She ran a bit further, the features on Custer’s mustachioed face becoming clearer as she approached.

“Come on, men!” he shouted over the roar of battle and the choking gargles of the Native warrior who's throat he had just slashed. “Let's send these savages down to hell!” He raised his cavalry sword and whipped up a fountain of blood with it, smiling with the thrill of battle as he marched forward towards the river. Evelyn scowled, pushing harder into the chaos as she tried to get close enough for a shot.

Another soldier came charging at her with a rifle, and very nearly blasted a hole in her skull. But she ducked just in time and kicked his legs out from under him, snapping his neck as he went down. She felt two hands suddenly clamp down on her shoulders, and unfortunately it wasn't the comforting grip of Chaytan this time. One of the soldiers put her in a headlock as he whistled for one of his buddies to run over and try to impale her. She didn't give him the chance though, headbutting her captor and spinning him around just in time to make him the stabbing victim instead of her. She used the other soldier's shock to end his life as well with a single flick of her hidden blade.

A bullet smacked into a tree branch just inches from her head, causing her to yelp like a startled puppy. Her eyes quickly went to the source: Custer. He was pointing at her. “The hooded one, men! Kill the hooded one! You bring me it's head and you'll get your pay doubled!”

The men within earshot all turned towards her, barely even giving her time to feel insulted by his calling her an “it” as they rushed forwards and thrust her into another brawl. She sighed in annoyance as yet another obstacle was getting in her way. She never imagined she'd have to go through this much trouble just to dig up some old animal bones.

She swung her pickaxe quick and hard and stacked up the body count as she tried to push her way towards Custer, who became less and less pleased the closer she got.

“Come on men, cut it down! Do you want to go home with money bags or body bags?”

“Oh for the love of God just shut up you yankee prick!” Evelyn moaned as she yanked her pickaxe out of another fallen soldier and simply sprinted past the others as they tried to attack. Custer looked in panic and tried to rear his horse back so that he could retreat, but we was too slow. Evelyn hopped onto a rock and then onto the shoulders of one of the Americans to propel herself into the air, grabbing her Winchester rifle as she did. In a split second, she readied her gun, she took aim...

And she fired.

Custer went tumbling off his horse, a fountain of blood pouring out of his chest. He dropped his pistol as he collided with the ground. He tried to scramble for it, but Evelyn wasn't about to give him that chance. She rushed up as her path was cleared by many Americans falling dead around her to Native bullets. She sprinted forward and attempted to simply drive her hidden blade downwards and end it there, but Custer was quick enough to yank his sword from his belt instead. He parried her attack and wobbled his way to his feet. Evelyn simply gave him a challenging glare in response. The two traded blows, swinging back and forth and making the sound of clashing steel ring in the air. But Custer was badly wounded, and after Evelyn managed to swing around him and shoot another bleeding hole in him, he fell for good this time.

And then Ava felt the familiar sensation of time slowing down. The battle around them froze, stuck in an instant of time as around Evelyn and Custer, reality began to break down. The dust and blood of the battlefield quickly vanished, cracking into oblivion as it all became consumed by the blank wide void of the Animus’s memory corridor.

Evelyn sauntered up to her prey, standing over him like a raptor. He looked at her and frowned through his mustache.

“Damn you Assassin…” Custer said. “I figured this day would come eventually but… not this soon. Not with such a failure of a battle…”

“With all due respect, General, this isn't about your pride and glory. You tried to take lands from the people who rightfully own it. Your people signed a contract with them for Christ's sake!”

“It's called Manifest Destiny, sweet cheeks. The American people have a right to seek out new homes, new work, new wealth. You just going to deny them that?”

“There's plenty of room on this Earth for all of us, General Custer.”

“We gave the savages their little towns and reservations. They have good lands, good resources.”

“No, you gave them prisons. If those lands are so great then send your settlers there instead of taking land from others! You think yourself a noble shepherd but you're just like the men my grandmother killed in her youth! Arrogant, discriminatory, and dangerous.”

“Them’s powerful words, missy. You'd better take care who you wield them against. Because when the Templars come marching in and your little ex-boyfriend hands them that Scythe on a silver platter, you ain't gonna be talking tough for very long…”

Evelyn simply stared in shock. That managed to put the slightest trace of a smile on Custer’s face. “Yeah, Leidy told me about you. Told me all about Dr. Cope and your little expeditions.”

“How about you shut up before I blow another hole in your skull.”

“You think your buddy Marsh is a saint just because he's helping you and your savage buddies win this fight? Hell, he's probably just as slimy as us. He stole research from Cope, did you know that? Had a few of your precious skeletons destroyed just to keep them out of our hands.”

Evelyn recoiled a bit at that, but held her ground. Could… could that be true?

“I don't care what he's done. He's helping our cause and that's what matters,” she answered.

Custer smirked through his now pale lips. “I can see it in your eyes, missy. You've got doubts. And that doubt is exactly… what's going to let us conquer you…”

“Enough!”

“Pick your allies wisely, Assassin. You'll find out soon enough that there are never just two sides to war…”

And with that final statement, he passed on into the next world, leaving Evelyn to stop and stare as his words maliciously echoed in her brain. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an eagle feather which she gently dipped into his blood. “Maybe so,” she said softly, “but if one of those sides spills innocent blood in any capacity, then I'll side with whoever I can to stop it. Rest in peace, General.”

She placed her feather marker back in her pocket and stood from her prey. The sounds of raging battle suddenly started to assault her ears again as Ava's mind surrendered fully back to Evelyn’s as the void vanished and the battle returned in full force. Evelyn gripped her pickaxe ready for a fight, but all she could see nearby were Lakota warriors chanting in victory as they charged away to fight other regiments stationed a ways off where Chaytan was. Evelyn looked around at the carnage that had been wrought. American men laid dead for a vast swath of distance. She looked down at Custer’s lifeless body and, satisfied, rushed off to meet with Chaytan as he asked.

------------

June 27, 1876; Black Hills, Dakota Territory

The battle itself had raged on through the night and into the following day. After Custer’s death, however, it was clear who the loser was going to be. The Americans were scattered, and the whole endeavour ended with their retreat. It was a great victory for the Natives, one that would certainly go down in history books. And as such, it called for a celebration of equal measure.

Evelyn enjoyed the party in Red Cloud’s little village alongside Chaytan, who was clearly ecstatic and proud of her assassination of Custer.

“It was a fantastic feat!” he said as he, Evelyn, and Marsh all sat around a fireplace with a few of the local villagers. “A stunt only a true legend would be capable of!”

“You weren't there,” Evelyn laughed. “You didn't see what I did.”

“Well it was still spectacular!” he said. “I know it was! May we all sing songs some day of the great Evelyn Arlie, defeater of the monster Custer!”

The villagers awarded her with a cheerful applause that made her blush. “Blimey,” she giggled. “It's nice to feel loved.”

Chaytan laughed and patted her on the shoulder. She felt an ecstatic tingle in her arm when he did.

“And also thanks to you, Red Cloud has permitted us full digging rights in this area,” Marsh explained as he took a swig of his drink. “Though admittedly we'll probably only be out here for another year or so. I hear there's some fantastic excavation potential down in a place called Morrison. If it proves true then we'll have to move down there for our searches.”

Evelyn nodded, though there was a slight hesitation in it. After hearing what Custer said about Marsh, she was a bit… distant with him. Her mind told her it was just Templar lies, but she wondered. Marsh did seem more concerned with sticking it to his president than actually helping the Natives… What if deep down we was just another Cope? Evelyn severely hoped that wasn't the case. She didn't want to lose an ally like him in the same way as before…

She felt Chaytan’s arm suddenly wrap around her shoulder. “Well wherever your paths take you, then I shall follow!” he said. “You've got yourself a teammate, Evelyn! After what you did for my people, it would be an honor to help you on your own quest!”

That washed away all the anxieties plaguing her mind in an instant. She smiled again. “Thank you so much, Chaytan,” she said.

“No no, my friend. Thank you!” He raised his bottle for a toast, which she graciously offered. She couldn't help but smile, even as she drank. At least she had one person she could trust with her life. She was probably just thinking too hard about it all.

Yeah, she told herself, everything would be fine.