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December 16, 1878; Como Bluff, Wyoming Territory

Evelyn found herself back in her tent the following morning. She had been sitting there all night, barely moving at all as she was lost in thought, thoughts that completely drowned out the sounds of clinking pickaxes against stone outside and commands for moving fossils to various men around the excavation site.

She couldn't take her mind off of last night. Seeing Cope there had messed her up rather terribly, and she absolutely hated herself for it. That old sentiment nearly got her and Chaytan killed last night. It caught them both off guard and gave Haines the chance to spot and nearly kill them. Last night was a blunder and it was all her fault. She could've had a chance to kill Leidy right there and end his search for the Scythe entirely, but no.

All because she couldn't handle the emotional weight that her hateful ex still put on her mind.

She groaned and put her head in her hands. How could she be so sentimental with a man who wanted her and everything she stood for dead? She knew he made her miserable 24/7. She knew that if he Leidy succeeded then they'd make life miserable for everyone on earth 24/7. Why couldn't she shake the trauma? Was it because he was her first? Was it because he might be her last given how fearful of new lovers he had made her? Was it because some part of her still loved him? Was it because some part of her still feared him?

She couldn't handle it. All she could do was beat herself up over it. She was weak, she told herself. All the books she read over the years could never prepare her for a situation like this. Her father and her mother taught her her street smarts, sure, but nothing like this ever came up. They'd tell her to just let go. But how could she just let go? How could she let go when that monster of a man was still firmly latching to her brain? She wanted to know how. She didn't want this weakness weighing down on her anymore. If she let if continue then Leidy would use that against her. He'd use that to give him the opening he needed in order to find the Scythe. He'd use that to win.

She started crying. She couldn't let this keep happening! She couldn't! She wanted a way out of this! She wanted a way to let go! She wanted someone to just set her free from this trap already!

“Evelyn?”

She sat up upon hearing the voice enter her tent. She quickly wiped her own tears away. “H-hey. Hey Chaytan…” she said.

He came and sat down next to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Talk to me, Evelyn,” he calmly asked. “You've been like this ever since last night and it's got me extremely worried…”

“It's nothing…” Evelyn said, not wanting to put her problems on his shoulders too, not after he had done to much to make her happy.

“Is it?”

“No…”

“So talk to me about it then. You trust me don't you?”

“Of course I do. I trust you more than anyone else here. You're the only one who hasn't gone behind my back in some way or another…”

“So you know you can talk to me about anything then, yes?”

She finally worked up the courage to look up into his eyes. He was smiling, a soft gentle smile that said, “everything will be okay.” She softly sighed.

“It's… it's just… Edward…” she told him.

“The Templar Cope?”

“Yes…”

“What of him?”

“Well you see… He and I… We used to be…”

“Ahh. I see.”

“Hrmm…”

“I'm very sorry to hear that betrayal has been the main theme of your life so far, my friend. A brilliant young woman like you doesn't deserve such treatment from the universe.”

“Just… hearing and seeing the hate he has for me still last night… It was… it was… I…”

She started crying again, hard as she tried to keep the tears in. Chaytan shuffled towards her and she automatically went in for a hug. He held her gently as she softly sobbed into his robes.

“There there,” he told her. “It's alright.”

“I just want him out of my head, Chaytan…” she told him. “I want to stop getting so emotional over someone who treats me like garbage… I've got many holes in my heart right now but more than all of them, I just want that one to be filled…”

“You will find another some day, I promise.”

“No I won't. I'm 33 years old and he's the only man I've ever dated. And you can tell how amazing that went…”

“Our Brotherhood is founded on hope, Evelyn. An undying hope that things will always be able to get better no matter how dark things get. And I apply that same hope to your life, my friend. I know you will find the right person to fill that hole in your heart.”

“Y-yeah…?”

“Absolutely.”

Evelyn played with the fabrics of her gown a little bit. Tears were still dripping from her eyes, but her crying had calmed into soft sniffling. She stayed leaned against Chaytan, not wanting to leave his warm, comforting embrace.

“I always wanted a family…” she told him after a moment of silence. “I always dreamed of having a relationship like my parents have. They're perfect for one another. Dad and mum do everything together. They share their work and the passion in that work. ‘It's impossible to talk about one without the other’, the neighbors would always say.”

“You need someone who understands you and loves you as an equal. Not a man like Cope with his Templar ideals of superiority.”

“Not a lot of people I've encountered with such noble qualities…” She paused, trying to force words out of her throat like spitting out molasses. “...aside from you.”

He looked at her, not repulsed like she feared, but instead with a calm, almost curious look.

“I mean Chaytan, you've literally been the only constant on this journey of mine so far… You've been the only one that's been unconditionally kind to me and hasn't tossed his sense of morality out the window. You're my best friend in all of this and I honestly hope we never ever have to go on different paths…” She paused again to choke on the words that she wanted to force out. “I… I…”

“If you would like to try pushing a little past friendship and see where it goes, I would be willing.”

Evelyn’s eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at him, jaw slightly open in disbelief. “I… I… I… really?” she asked.

He smiled at her. “If that is okay with you?”

“I… wuh… er I mean…! uh…! Yes! Yes absolutely that's fine with me!”

He hugged her, and she gladly hugged back. “Then it is official,” he said happily.

“Thank you…” she smiled. She nearly started crying again, but this time her tears were filled with joy. “Chaytan… I… I lo-”

There was shouting.

Evelyn and Chaytan tore apart, much to Evelyn’s displeasure. No, of course. Of course something had to come along and ruin the first perfect moment she's had in ages. Why not?

“What the hell’s that racket?” she asked.

“I don't know but it can't be good,” Chaytan concluded.

They quickly jolted up and rushed out of the tent. Their eyes adjusted to the dim morning haze of the quarry as they stood overlooking the excavation site. The place was in complete panic. Marsh’s employees were shouting at one another as they skittered around like ants grabbing stones and pickaxes. A quick glance up the quarry told Evelyn and Chaytan exactly what was going on. A swarm of rugged men with pickaxes and rocks of their own were charging over the horizon and hurling their stones down at Marsh's men. Evelyn could spot the Templar crosses on their armbands from her position, and she scowled at the sight. She was going to butcher Leidy, she swore to God.

It didn't take long for the stone-throwing to become an all-out battle. Hardly the magnitude of Little Bighorn’s bloodshed, but a battle nonetheless. Evelyn and Chaytan rushed down into the quarry and once again she found herself running through the chaos of fighting. She ducked behind as many large stones as she could to avoid getting stoned herself. She looked around and found a pile of decently hefty rocks that she bounced in her palm before chucking them at the Templar dogs that were causing them so much trouble.

“I swear to God, the lengths they will go to to sabotage our work is bloody ludicrous!” she snarled to herself as she grabbed more rocks and darted to her next cover. She hurled her rocks again, dipping below cover after each hit to avoid earning herself a rather bad concussion.

A couple blokes had managed to sneak around and try to ambush her, but they met swift ends at the ends of her hidden blades. She rushed to collect more ammo from the stones and she carefully peaked out from her cover.

“Alright you bastards, which puppet master is pulling your strings today?”

She scanned the back of the Templar lines until she spotted the tall dark man standing tall overlooking the chaos in the quarry below him. She scowled. Haines.

He simply stood on the cliffside, watching them all, apathetic for any of the lives below, regardless whether they were on her side or his. He was simply doing his job. He was simply there to spread destruction to Marsh no matter the cost.

And Evelyn decided that it ended now.

Her eyes darted around the quarry for a safe path upwards. She spotted a large crevice in the rock walls and settled on going from there. She used various stones as cover as she tried to stealth her way around the battlefield. She stabbed a couple thugs that were in her way and then quickly rushed into the crevice. A short cave took her back up towards the higher level ground. She slipped into a small trench in the rock leading towards Haines, who thankfully seemed to occupied with his command post to notice her sneaking. There was a old tree that was on it's last stretch in life who's branches were growing above his head. Evelyn made a silent rush towards it and she clambered up into the canopy like a lizard. She slowly balanced up one of the branches until she was directly above her Templar foe. She held her breath and tensed her muscles like a cat ready to pounce. Then in one swift leap, she thrust herself out of the tree, flicked her hidden blade out, and landed on top of him before he even had a chance to react. She thrust her arm down and sunk her blade into his back.

And as he let out his last shout of pain, time began to slow.

The Animus’s simulation collapsed around Evelyn and her prey. The quarry quickly shattered into the endless white void of empty digital space. Ava watched through the eyes of her ancestor as Evelyn ripped her blade out of the Templar’s flesh and pulled herself to her feet. Her fallen foe clutched his chest as he gasped for his final breaths. He looked up at her. She looked down at him. They both scowled.

“Do you expect me to beg forgiveness, Assassin?” he asked. “To repent my sins with my last precious breaths at your dirty feet? I won't.”

“I know you won't,” she said flatly. “Men like you never repent.”

“I have nothing to repent for, Ms. Arlie.”

“You blew up fossils! You injured countless innocents! You turned this little petty feud between Marsh and Edward into a bloody war! And for what?”

“For the Order, Ms. Arlie. For the world.”

“The world? The world?! Everything you've done has been against the world! You've taken science and warped it into some sort of abomination just to suit your agenda!”

“Knowledge must be regulated, Assassin. It must be contained and used only by those who would use it to bring humanity into the proper light.”

“No! Knowledge belongs to everyone! Science must be allowed to reach out and evolve and change, not be contained and censored.”

Suddenly Haines started laughing. “So you're a hypocrite!” he declared. “You demonize me for doing what I must to control the flow of information, and yet you side with Marsh who is just as well-practiced in these necessary corruptions as I.”

“I… I follow my own path. I don't need Marsh like you lot need Edward.”

“We don't need Cope, Ms. Arlie. Just like you don't need Marsh. We choose to stick by them though because they are useful. Because despite their flaws and sins, they both further our cause… and that… that is all that matters…”

His breathing went slow until it stopped, and his arms finally gave out. His lifeless body collapsed to the ground, leaving Evelyn alone in the land of the living once again. She knelt down and gently closed his eyes. “I will not sacrifice my passions for each other,” she said. “I will find the Scythe and uphold the good name of the scientific world. Just you watch. Rest in peace.”

She stood from her prey. The void began to collapse back into the scene of history as the Animus re-adjusted itself. Evelyn could already see that Marsh's men on the other side were beginning to drive the Templars away, but when she picked up the body of their leader to display their loss to all of them, they all quickly scattered, fleeing the scene in all different directions like cockroaches. Evelyn nodded in satisfaction, placed the body back down, and strolled back to her side.

The men weren't celebrating in victory like at Little Bighorn. Many of them were covered in bleeding scars and bruises, and had injuries that would probably require a rough hike to the nearest doctor. Evelyn rejoined with Chaytan, who looked at the scene with just as much heartache as her.

“I never wanted my career to turn into this…” she said, almost tearful.

Chaytan simply put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She reached up and grabbed his hand, trying to comfort herself as well.

“Good Lord,” a voice chimed in from nearby. Evelyn glanced over to see Marsh, who was sitting on a rock holding a rag to his forehead. “Cope thinks he can ruin my operation like this? I will not have it! I am the champion in this fight and I will not let him use violence to make me back down from my title of victor!”

Evelyn’s blood started boiling. She felt her fists and jaw clench up. She yanked out of Chaytan’s arms. “Really? That's what you've learned from all of this, is it?” she spat. “Not all these poor young lads who never signed up for this? Not their injuries they just sustained from a fight they never wanted in their pursuit of knowledge?”

“Ms. Arlie they knew exactly what they signed up for when they agreed to work for me. They all knew of my rivalry with Cope. They should expect things like this to arise.”

“They should expect to put their necks on the line just for you and your petty feud?! No Dr. Marsh no they bloody shouldn't! And you shouldn't be expecting them to expect that either! I… Uurgh!”

Evelyn spun around and stormed off back to her tent, with Chaytan following close behind. She didn't even look back at Marsh as they left. She wasn't about to feed his ego like that. Instead she just went to her bed and fell onto it, putting her head in her hands as Chaytan put his arm back around her shoulder. The two simply sat there, wondering how far this mess would go, how bad things would get before they finally got better.

Evelyn curled up against Chaytan and stared into space, too tired to even think about it anymore. She simply stared, watching as the world around her fell apart into shards of data, the sights and sounds of a battle’s aftermath crumbling away into the complete digital blankness of the void. She sat there in the chair, her brain readjusting to the sudden change of mind, and soon Ava found the Animus headset being lifted off of her eyes.

Description
December 16, 1878; Como Bluff, Wyoming Territory

Evelyn found herself back in her tent the following morning. She had been sitting there all night, barely moving at all as she was lost in thought, thoughts that completely drowned out the sounds of clinking pickaxes against stone outside and commands for moving fossils to various men around the excavation site.

She couldn't take her mind off of last night. Seeing Cope there had messed her up rather terribly, and she absolutely hated herself for it. That old sentiment nearly got her and Chaytan killed last night. It caught them both off guard and gave Haines the chance to spot and nearly kill them. Last night was a blunder and it was all her fault. She could've had a chance to kill Leidy right there and end his search for the Scythe entirely, but no.

All because she couldn't handle the emotional weight that her hateful ex still put on her mind.

She groaned and put her head in her hands. How could she be so sentimental with a man who wanted her and everything she stood for dead? She knew he made her miserable 24/7. She knew that if he Leidy succeeded then they'd make life miserable for everyone on earth 24/7. Why couldn't she shake the trauma? Was it because he was her first? Was it because he might be her last given how fearful of new lovers he had made her? Was it because some part of her still loved him? Was it because some part of her still feared him?

She couldn't handle it. All she could do was beat herself up over it. She was weak, she told herself. All the books she read over the years could never prepare her for a situation like this. Her father and her mother taught her her street smarts, sure, but nothing like this ever came up. They'd tell her to just let go. But how could she just let go? How could she let go when that monster of a man was still firmly latching to her brain? She wanted to know how. She didn't want this weakness weighing down on her anymore. If she let if continue then Leidy would use that against her. He'd use that to give him the opening he needed in order to find the Scythe. He'd use that to win.

She started crying. She couldn't let this keep happening! She couldn't! She wanted a way out of this! She wanted a way to let go! She wanted someone to just set her free from this trap already!

“Evelyn?”

She sat up upon hearing the voice enter her tent. She quickly wiped her own tears away. “H-hey. Hey Chaytan…” she said.

He came and sat down next to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Talk to me, Evelyn,” he calmly asked. “You've been like this ever since last night and it's got me extremely worried…”

“It's nothing…” Evelyn said, not wanting to put her problems on his shoulders too, not after he had done to much to make her happy.

“Is it?”

“No…”

“So talk to me about it then. You trust me don't you?”

“Of course I do. I trust you more than anyone else here. You're the only one who hasn't gone behind my back in some way or another…”

“So you know you can talk to me about anything then, yes?”

She finally worked up the courage to look up into his eyes. He was smiling, a soft gentle smile that said, “everything will be okay.” She softly sighed.

“It's… it's just… Edward…” she told him.

“The Templar Cope?”

“Yes…”

“What of him?”

“Well you see… He and I… We used to be…”

“Ahh. I see.”

“Hrmm…”

“I'm very sorry to hear that betrayal has been the main theme of your life so far, my friend. A brilliant young woman like you doesn't deserve such treatment from the universe.”

“Just… hearing and seeing the hate he has for me still last night… It was… it was… I…”

She started crying again, hard as she tried to keep the tears in. Chaytan shuffled towards her and she automatically went in for a hug. He held her gently as she softly sobbed into his robes.

“There there,” he told her. “It's alright.”

“I just want him out of my head, Chaytan…” she told him. “I want to stop getting so emotional over someone who treats me like garbage… I've got many holes in my heart right now but more than all of them, I just want that one to be filled…”

“You will find another some day, I promise.”

“No I won't. I'm 33 years old and he's the only man I've ever dated. And you can tell how amazing that went…”

“Our Brotherhood is founded on hope, Evelyn. An undying hope that things will always be able to get better no matter how dark things get. And I apply that same hope to your life, my friend. I know you will find the right person to fill that hole in your heart.”

“Y-yeah…?”

“Absolutely.”

Evelyn played with the fabrics of her gown a little bit. Tears were still dripping from her eyes, but her crying had calmed into soft sniffling. She stayed leaned against Chaytan, not wanting to leave his warm, comforting embrace.

“I always wanted a family…” she told him after a moment of silence. “I always dreamed of having a relationship like my parents have. They're perfect for one another. Dad and mum do everything together. They share their work and the passion in that work. ‘It's impossible to talk about one without the other’, the neighbors would always say.”

“You need someone who understands you and loves you as an equal. Not a man like Cope with his Templar ideals of superiority.”

“Not a lot of people I've encountered with such noble qualities…” She paused, trying to force words out of her throat like spitting out molasses. “...aside from you.”

He looked at her, not repulsed like she feared, but instead with a calm, almost curious look.

“I mean Chaytan, you've literally been the only constant on this journey of mine so far… You've been the only one that's been unconditionally kind to me and hasn't tossed his sense of morality out the window. You're my best friend in all of this and I honestly hope we never ever have to go on different paths…” She paused again to choke on the words that she wanted to force out. “I… I…”

“If you would like to try pushing a little past friendship and see where it goes, I would be willing.”

Evelyn’s eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at him, jaw slightly open in disbelief. “I… I… I… really?” she asked.

He smiled at her. “If that is okay with you?”

“I… wuh… er I mean…! uh…! Yes! Yes absolutely that's fine with me!”

He hugged her, and she gladly hugged back. “Then it is official,” he said happily.

“Thank you…” she smiled. She nearly started crying again, but this time her tears were filled with joy. “Chaytan… I… I lo-”

There was shouting.

Evelyn and Chaytan tore apart, much to Evelyn’s displeasure. No, of course. Of course something had to come along and ruin the first perfect moment she's had in ages. Why not?

“What the hell’s that racket?” she asked.

“I don't know but it can't be good,” Chaytan concluded.

They quickly jolted up and rushed out of the tent. Their eyes adjusted to the dim morning haze of the quarry as they stood overlooking the excavation site. The place was in complete panic. Marsh’s employees were shouting at one another as they skittered around like ants grabbing stones and pickaxes. A quick glance up the quarry told Evelyn and Chaytan exactly what was going on. A swarm of rugged men with pickaxes and rocks of their own were charging over the horizon and hurling their stones down at Marsh's men. Evelyn could spot the Templar crosses on their armbands from her position, and she scowled at the sight. She was going to butcher Leidy, she swore to God.

It didn't take long for the stone-throwing to become an all-out battle. Hardly the magnitude of Little Bighorn’s bloodshed, but a battle nonetheless. Evelyn and Chaytan rushed down into the quarry and once again she found herself running through the chaos of fighting. She ducked behind as many large stones as she could to avoid getting stoned herself. She looked around and found a pile of decently hefty rocks that she bounced in her palm before chucking them at the Templar dogs that were causing them so much trouble.

“I swear to God, the lengths they will go to to sabotage our work is bloody ludicrous!” she snarled to herself as she grabbed more rocks and darted to her next cover. She hurled her rocks again, dipping below cover after each hit to avoid earning herself a rather bad concussion.

A couple blokes had managed to sneak around and try to ambush her, but they met swift ends at the ends of her hidden blades. She rushed to collect more ammo from the stones and she carefully peaked out from her cover.

“Alright you bastards, which puppet master is pulling your strings today?”

She scanned the back of the Templar lines until she spotted the tall dark man standing tall overlooking the chaos in the quarry below him. She scowled. Haines.

He simply stood on the cliffside, watching them all, apathetic for any of the lives below, regardless whether they were on her side or his. He was simply doing his job. He was simply there to spread destruction to Marsh no matter the cost.

And Evelyn decided that it ended now.

Her eyes darted around the quarry for a safe path upwards. She spotted a large crevice in the rock walls and settled on going from there. She used various stones as cover as she tried to stealth her way around the battlefield. She stabbed a couple thugs that were in her way and then quickly rushed into the crevice. A short cave took her back up towards the higher level ground. She slipped into a small trench in the rock leading towards Haines, who thankfully seemed to occupied with his command post to notice her sneaking. There was a old tree that was on it's last stretch in life who's branches were growing above his head. Evelyn made a silent rush towards it and she clambered up into the canopy like a lizard. She slowly balanced up one of the branches until she was directly above her Templar foe. She held her breath and tensed her muscles like a cat ready to pounce. Then in one swift leap, she thrust herself out of the tree, flicked her hidden blade out, and landed on top of him before he even had a chance to react. She thrust her arm down and sunk her blade into his back.

And as he let out his last shout of pain, time began to slow.

The Animus’s simulation collapsed around Evelyn and her prey. The quarry quickly shattered into the endless white void of empty digital space. Ava watched through the eyes of her ancestor as Evelyn ripped her blade out of the Templar’s flesh and pulled herself to her feet. Her fallen foe clutched his chest as he gasped for his final breaths. He looked up at her. She looked down at him. They both scowled.

“Do you expect me to beg forgiveness, Assassin?” he asked. “To repent my sins with my last precious breaths at your dirty feet? I won't.”

“I know you won't,” she said flatly. “Men like you never repent.”

“I have nothing to repent for, Ms. Arlie.”

“You blew up fossils! You injured countless innocents! You turned this little petty feud between Marsh and Edward into a bloody war! And for what?”

“For the Order, Ms. Arlie. For the world.”

“The world? The world?! Everything you've done has been against the world! You've taken science and warped it into some sort of abomination just to suit your agenda!”

“Knowledge must be regulated, Assassin. It must be contained and used only by those who would use it to bring humanity into the proper light.”

“No! Knowledge belongs to everyone! Science must be allowed to reach out and evolve and change, not be contained and censored.”

Suddenly Haines started laughing. “So you're a hypocrite!” he declared. “You demonize me for doing what I must to control the flow of information, and yet you side with Marsh who is just as well-practiced in these necessary corruptions as I.”

“I… I follow my own path. I don't need Marsh like you lot need Edward.”

“We don't need Cope, Ms. Arlie. Just like you don't need Marsh. We choose to stick by them though because they are useful. Because despite their flaws and sins, they both further our cause… and that… that is all that matters…”

His breathing went slow until it stopped, and his arms finally gave out. His lifeless body collapsed to the ground, leaving Evelyn alone in the land of the living once again. She knelt down and gently closed his eyes. “I will not sacrifice my passions for each other,” she said. “I will find the Scythe and uphold the good name of the scientific world. Just you watch. Rest in peace.”

She stood from her prey. The void began to collapse back into the scene of history as the Animus re-adjusted itself. Evelyn could already see that Marsh's men on the other side were beginning to drive the Templars away, but when she picked up the body of their leader to display their loss to all of them, they all quickly scattered, fleeing the scene in all different directions like cockroaches. Evelyn nodded in satisfaction, placed the body back down, and strolled back to her side.

The men weren't celebrating in victory like at Little Bighorn. Many of them were covered in bleeding scars and bruises, and had injuries that would probably require a rough hike to the nearest doctor. Evelyn rejoined with Chaytan, who looked at the scene with just as much heartache as her.

“I never wanted my career to turn into this…” she said, almost tearful.

Chaytan simply put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She reached up and grabbed his hand, trying to comfort herself as well.

“Good Lord,” a voice chimed in from nearby. Evelyn glanced over to see Marsh, who was sitting on a rock holding a rag to his forehead. “Cope thinks he can ruin my operation like this? I will not have it! I am the champion in this fight and I will not let him use violence to make me back down from my title of victor!”

Evelyn’s blood started boiling. She felt her fists and jaw clench up. She yanked out of Chaytan’s arms. “Really? That's what you've learned from all of this, is it?” she spat. “Not all these poor young lads who never signed up for this? Not their injuries they just sustained from a fight they never wanted in their pursuit of knowledge?”

“Ms. Arlie they knew exactly what they signed up for when they agreed to work for me. They all knew of my rivalry with Cope. They should expect things like this to arise.”

“They should expect to put their necks on the line just for you and your petty feud?! No Dr. Marsh no they bloody shouldn't! And you shouldn't be expecting them to expect that either! I… Uurgh!”

Evelyn spun around and stormed off back to her tent, with Chaytan following close behind. She didn't even look back at Marsh as they left. She wasn't about to feed his ego like that. Instead she just went to her bed and fell onto it, putting her head in her hands as Chaytan put his arm back around her shoulder. The two simply sat there, wondering how far this mess would go, how bad things would get before they finally got better.

Evelyn curled up against Chaytan and stared into space, too tired to even think about it anymore. She simply stared, watching as the world around her fell apart into shards of data, the sights and sounds of a battle’s aftermath crumbling away into the complete digital blankness of the void. She sat there in the chair, her brain readjusting to the sudden change of mind, and soon Ava found the Animus headset being lifted off of her eyes.