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Description
October 22, 2015; East Coast of North Carolina

When Ava finally came to, the sound of crashing waves filled her ears. She slowly opened her tired eyes. Her head still felt awful, but most of the pain had deteriorated. She sat up on the couch that she was on. After rubbing her eyes, she looked around. To her surprise, she saw that she was below the deck of a boat. She heard the motors running in the back and the waves crashing outside. Ava took a moment to try to process the events of the past twenty-four hours.

Suddenly, a door opened up. Ava heard someone walking down the stairs from the top deck. To her relief, it was her friend, Ben, who appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He glanced over at her and rushed to her side.

"Thank God you're awake!" he said. "I was starting to think we'd lost you." He grabbed a jacket and handed it to Ava, who put it on.

"What happened?" asked Ava. "What's going on, Ben?"

"We rescued you from those Templar dogs."

"Templars? You mean you know about those nut jobs?"

"Yes. We've been fighting against them for centuries." Ava looked at Ben's attire. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that his white hood had a small peak stitched to the top. He had a symbol embroidered onto one side of his jacket. It was the same symbol that was on her necklace. A few things started clicking in Ava's head.

"Are you one of them?" she asked. "One of those... Assassin guys?" Ben nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Born and raised."

Ava leaned forward and put her head in her hands. "This is so messed up," she said, about to break down. Her whole life was being flipped upside-down.

"I'm so sorry, Ava," said Ben with sadness in his voice. Ava looked at him.

"For what?" she asked.

"I should've gotten to you before they did. I should've been there to help." The two were silent.

"You couldn't have known," Ava eventually said. "It's not your fault."

"It feels like it, though." The two were silent again.

"Well," said Ava, who was still trying to hold back her tears. "I guess it's all in the past now." Ben looked at her.

"Yeah," he said reluctantly. "I suppose you're right. I guess it's more important to worry about the present right now, isn't it?" Ava nodded. The two sat in quiet for another moment.

"So," said Ava, trying to cheer herself up with smalltalk. "I guess we're on a mission then, huh?" Ben worked up a small smile.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess we are."

"It's not as fun as the movies make it look."

Ben chuckled. "It rarely is," he said. Suddenly, the boat bounced hard on the waves. "Eesh," said Ava. "Who's driving this thing?"

"Her name's Rebecca Crane. She's an Assassin, and a horrible driver. Be thankful you're not in a car with her."

Ava laughed a bit. Suddenly, something came to her mind. "Ben?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we heading to?"

Ben looked at his friend. "Roanoke," he said.

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

October 22, 2015; Roanoke Island

"So, what's the plan, Rebecca?" Ben asked the black-haired woman walking beside him and Ava. Rebecca pulled her headphones off of her head and pulled out a map.

"We're gonna head straight to that temple and we're gonna blow it sky high," she said.

"How do you know where it is?" asked Ava.

"We hacked the data out of the Animus that those Templars put you in. We used Kahente's memories to draw up this map. It'll lead us straight to where we need to go."

Ava nodded. She took a look around at the forest and its trees. She felt a weird sense of déjà vu.

"You know," said Ava. "This place looks a bit different since the last time I was here."

"You mean the last time Kahente was here," said Rebecca.

Ava looked at her. "Er... Yeah. That's what I meant. Yeah," she said. Ava felt weird. Something about the environment made her feel uneasy, though what it was, she couldn't tell. She would've pondered further, but Rebecca snapped her out of her thoughts when she said, "We're almost there."

Sure enough, they soon arrived at the entrance of the cave that held the temple inside. The rocks were cracking and crumbling in some areas. "Let's go," said Ben. Rebecca nodded, and the two Assassins started heading in. Ava, however, was hesitating.

"Are you sure it's safe?" she called to the others.

"It's safe," called Ben. "I promise. Come on."

"Okay..." Ava looked at the crumbling stones. She felt nervous, but she knew she couldn't just sit and do nothing. She started making her way into the cave. Something stopped her, however. She could've sworn she heard a faint whisper. She quickly looked around in every direction. She saw nothing. She shrugged and carried on.

Soon, she caught up with the Assassins. Ben was fiddling with something in his bag, and Rebecca was still checking the map. Ava noticed the strange, glowing symbols on the walls. She placed her hand near some of them, and the blue haze intensified as it came closer. She pulled her hand away. "This is so weird," she said under her breath. The group carried on.

Eventually, they came to the pedestal that opened the door to the temple.

"It's closed again," said Ava. "What do we do?" Rebecca and Ben stared at the pedestal.

"Based on what we saw in those memories," said Rebecca, “I think the door will only open to someone with a large percentage of Precursor DNA, like Kahente."

"What does that mean?" asked Ava.

"It means," said Ben. "We need you to put your hand on this pedestal."

"Me?"

"You have Kahente's genetic code in you. If it opened for her it'll open for you." Ava was hesitant, but she eventually agreed to do it. She walked up to the pedestal, and placed her hand on the square structure on its top. The square began to glow brighter. There was a humming noise coming from within the walls of the cavern. Then suddenly, the door slid open with a whir. The group looked at each other, and then they entered the chamber beyond.

The chamber was lit up by the glowing patterns on the walls. Everything was coated in a light-blue hue. Ava felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu.

At the other end of the room, the rectangular structure stood, still glowing and still intact. As they got closer, they could see the golden fabric that was still pinned into the structure. "What is it?" asked Ava.

"We call it a Shroud of Eden," said Ben. "Basically, it's a medical tool made by the Precursors."

"And they are?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Humor me."

"Alright." He started pulling things out of his bag. He looked over at Ava. "The Precursors were a race of beings that were way more technologically advanced than we could ever dream to be. They died out thousands of years ago, but some of their technology survived."

"And this Shroud thing is one of them?"

"Yep." He started assembling something with the stuff that he pulled out. Rebecca looked over at Ava. "The Shroud essentially reads a person's DNA and heals whatever problems it finds," she said. "Be it disease or injury, this thing can heal it."

"But if it's supposed to heal people, why did it kill all of the colonists at Roanoke?"

"Well, like I said, this thing works off of DNA. That Templar, Roger Bailie, he accidentally programmed this thing to eradicate a specific gene sequence, that being the gene sequence of an English person. The Shroud was told that that code was harmful to the population, and therefore it had to go."

"That's awful."

"Yeah. It is. I can't imagine a worse way to go."

Suddenly, a clicking noise came from whatever Ben was assembling. "Done!" he said. "The bomb's ready."

"Alright!" said Rebecca. "Let's get this puppy on the Shroud and turn this cave to rubble." Rebecca helped Ben properly place the bomb. Ben hit a few buttons, and then it started beeping. He and Rebecca turned to Ava.

"Alright," said Ben. "We've got two minutes. Let's go!" Ava didn't hesitate. The three started rushing their way to the exit. They stumbled over the rocky floor of the cave until they finally reached the mouth of the cave. They all ran out, got clear of the blast radius, and ducked behind a few trees.

Then, after a few seconds that felt like hours, the bomb went off. The three covered their ears. The sound was the loudest thing Ava had ever heard. They could see the ground above the cave erupt in a ball of smoke and flame. The ground shook. The rocks around the mouth of the cave crashed into an enormous pile that blocked up the entrance. Soon enough, the smoke settled, and the world stopped shaking. The three looked over at the aftermath, and then at each other.

"It's over," said Ben. "That temple is rubble now."

"Sweet. Let's head back to the boat," said Rebecca. All three nodded at each other. They turned to leave. Ava suddenly stopped however. She thought she heard the same faint whisper as before. She looked around her again. She froze at what she saw behind her. There, sitting by what was once the cave entrance, was a young Native woman. She wore a white hooded cloak and animal skins. A necklace hung around her neck, one that looked exactly like Ava's.

Ava gulped. She could see right through the woman, like she was a ghost. Ava thought that it actually was a ghost for a moment, but it seemed more like a vision. It was definitely her, but it couldn't be. But it was. It was Kahente. She was sitting by the cave, and she was crying. Ava stared. She felt a bizarre sensation. It was like she was remembering something, but it didn't feel like her own memory. She just stared as Kahente sat there in her sorrows.

"Hey, Ava! You coming?" Ben called to her.

Ava turned towards him. "Er... Yeah! Hold up! I'm..." She turned to take another glance at Kahente, but she wasn't there. The area was empty. "...coming," finished Ava. She stared for a moment before shaking her head and hurrying to catch up with the Assassins.

"What kept you?" asked Rebecca.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Nothing," said Ava. "Just thought I saw something."

Rebecca shrugged and didn't question further. Ava couldn't help but ponder over what she just saw. "So," she said, trying to take her mind off of it. "What now?"

"Well," said Ben. "For us, it's back to work. For you... I really don't know."

"Guess I can't really go back to Abstergo, can I?"

Ben shook his head. "Nope," he said. "They'll be coming after you. You're as much of a target as we are now."

Ava seemed to consider something. "Well then," she said. "I guess I really don't have a choice but to go with you, then."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. After all if this, after all I've learned and after everything those Templars put me through, I want to help you out."

Ben looked over at Rebecca. She just smiled and shrugged. Ben looked back at Ava.

"Well alright then," he said. "Welcome aboard, Ava." He put a hand on her shoulder. "We've got a long road ahead of us," he said. Rebecca pulled up the hood of her jacket. Ben did the same. The three finally reached the boat, and started to board.

Ava looked at Ben and Rebecca. She pulled up the hood of her own jacket. "I guess we do," she said. She boarded the boat with the Assassins. A new adventure was about to begin for her, and she had no idea how far it was going to take her.

Description
October 22, 2015; East Coast of North Carolina

When Ava finally came to, the sound of crashing waves filled her ears. She slowly opened her tired eyes. Her head still felt awful, but most of the pain had deteriorated. She sat up on the couch that she was on. After rubbing her eyes, she looked around. To her surprise, she saw that she was below the deck of a boat. She heard the motors running in the back and the waves crashing outside. Ava took a moment to try to process the events of the past twenty-four hours.

Suddenly, a door opened up. Ava heard someone walking down the stairs from the top deck. To her relief, it was her friend, Ben, who appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He glanced over at her and rushed to her side.

"Thank God you're awake!" he said. "I was starting to think we'd lost you." He grabbed a jacket and handed it to Ava, who put it on.

"What happened?" asked Ava. "What's going on, Ben?"

"We rescued you from those Templar dogs."

"Templars? You mean you know about those nut jobs?"

"Yes. We've been fighting against them for centuries." Ava looked at Ben's attire. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that his white hood had a small peak stitched to the top. He had a symbol embroidered onto one side of his jacket. It was the same symbol that was on her necklace. A few things started clicking in Ava's head.

"Are you one of them?" she asked. "One of those... Assassin guys?" Ben nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Born and raised."

Ava leaned forward and put her head in her hands. "This is so messed up," she said, about to break down. Her whole life was being flipped upside-down.

"I'm so sorry, Ava," said Ben with sadness in his voice. Ava looked at him.

"For what?" she asked.

"I should've gotten to you before they did. I should've been there to help." The two were silent.

"You couldn't have known," Ava eventually said. "It's not your fault."

"It feels like it, though." The two were silent again.

"Well," said Ava, who was still trying to hold back her tears. "I guess it's all in the past now." Ben looked at her.

"Yeah," he said reluctantly. "I suppose you're right. I guess it's more important to worry about the present right now, isn't it?" Ava nodded. The two sat in quiet for another moment.

"So," said Ava, trying to cheer herself up with smalltalk. "I guess we're on a mission then, huh?" Ben worked up a small smile.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess we are."

"It's not as fun as the movies make it look."

Ben chuckled. "It rarely is," he said. Suddenly, the boat bounced hard on the waves. "Eesh," said Ava. "Who's driving this thing?"

"Her name's Rebecca Crane. She's an Assassin, and a horrible driver. Be thankful you're not in a car with her."

Ava laughed a bit. Suddenly, something came to her mind. "Ben?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Where are we heading to?"

Ben looked at his friend. "Roanoke," he said.

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

October 22, 2015; Roanoke Island

"So, what's the plan, Rebecca?" Ben asked the black-haired woman walking beside him and Ava. Rebecca pulled her headphones off of her head and pulled out a map.

"We're gonna head straight to that temple and we're gonna blow it sky high," she said.

"How do you know where it is?" asked Ava.

"We hacked the data out of the Animus that those Templars put you in. We used Kahente's memories to draw up this map. It'll lead us straight to where we need to go."

Ava nodded. She took a look around at the forest and its trees. She felt a weird sense of déjà vu.

"You know," said Ava. "This place looks a bit different since the last time I was here."

"You mean the last time Kahente was here," said Rebecca.

Ava looked at her. "Er... Yeah. That's what I meant. Yeah," she said. Ava felt weird. Something about the environment made her feel uneasy, though what it was, she couldn't tell. She would've pondered further, but Rebecca snapped her out of her thoughts when she said, "We're almost there."

Sure enough, they soon arrived at the entrance of the cave that held the temple inside. The rocks were cracking and crumbling in some areas. "Let's go," said Ben. Rebecca nodded, and the two Assassins started heading in. Ava, however, was hesitating.

"Are you sure it's safe?" she called to the others.

"It's safe," called Ben. "I promise. Come on."

"Okay..." Ava looked at the crumbling stones. She felt nervous, but she knew she couldn't just sit and do nothing. She started making her way into the cave. Something stopped her, however. She could've sworn she heard a faint whisper. She quickly looked around in every direction. She saw nothing. She shrugged and carried on.

Soon, she caught up with the Assassins. Ben was fiddling with something in his bag, and Rebecca was still checking the map. Ava noticed the strange, glowing symbols on the walls. She placed her hand near some of them, and the blue haze intensified as it came closer. She pulled her hand away. "This is so weird," she said under her breath. The group carried on.

Eventually, they came to the pedestal that opened the door to the temple.

"It's closed again," said Ava. "What do we do?" Rebecca and Ben stared at the pedestal.

"Based on what we saw in those memories," said Rebecca, “I think the door will only open to someone with a large percentage of Precursor DNA, like Kahente."

"What does that mean?" asked Ava.

"It means," said Ben. "We need you to put your hand on this pedestal."

"Me?"

"You have Kahente's genetic code in you. If it opened for her it'll open for you." Ava was hesitant, but she eventually agreed to do it. She walked up to the pedestal, and placed her hand on the square structure on its top. The square began to glow brighter. There was a humming noise coming from within the walls of the cavern. Then suddenly, the door slid open with a whir. The group looked at each other, and then they entered the chamber beyond.

The chamber was lit up by the glowing patterns on the walls. Everything was coated in a light-blue hue. Ava felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu.

At the other end of the room, the rectangular structure stood, still glowing and still intact. As they got closer, they could see the golden fabric that was still pinned into the structure. "What is it?" asked Ava.

"We call it a Shroud of Eden," said Ben. "Basically, it's a medical tool made by the Precursors."

"And they are?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Humor me."

"Alright." He started pulling things out of his bag. He looked over at Ava. "The Precursors were a race of beings that were way more technologically advanced than we could ever dream to be. They died out thousands of years ago, but some of their technology survived."

"And this Shroud thing is one of them?"

"Yep." He started assembling something with the stuff that he pulled out. Rebecca looked over at Ava. "The Shroud essentially reads a person's DNA and heals whatever problems it finds," she said. "Be it disease or injury, this thing can heal it."

"But if it's supposed to heal people, why did it kill all of the colonists at Roanoke?"

"Well, like I said, this thing works off of DNA. That Templar, Roger Bailie, he accidentally programmed this thing to eradicate a specific gene sequence, that being the gene sequence of an English person. The Shroud was told that that code was harmful to the population, and therefore it had to go."

"That's awful."

"Yeah. It is. I can't imagine a worse way to go."

Suddenly, a clicking noise came from whatever Ben was assembling. "Done!" he said. "The bomb's ready."

"Alright!" said Rebecca. "Let's get this puppy on the Shroud and turn this cave to rubble." Rebecca helped Ben properly place the bomb. Ben hit a few buttons, and then it started beeping. He and Rebecca turned to Ava.

"Alright," said Ben. "We've got two minutes. Let's go!" Ava didn't hesitate. The three started rushing their way to the exit. They stumbled over the rocky floor of the cave until they finally reached the mouth of the cave. They all ran out, got clear of the blast radius, and ducked behind a few trees.

Then, after a few seconds that felt like hours, the bomb went off. The three covered their ears. The sound was the loudest thing Ava had ever heard. They could see the ground above the cave erupt in a ball of smoke and flame. The ground shook. The rocks around the mouth of the cave crashed into an enormous pile that blocked up the entrance. Soon enough, the smoke settled, and the world stopped shaking. The three looked over at the aftermath, and then at each other.

"It's over," said Ben. "That temple is rubble now."

"Sweet. Let's head back to the boat," said Rebecca. All three nodded at each other. They turned to leave. Ava suddenly stopped however. She thought she heard the same faint whisper as before. She looked around her again. She froze at what she saw behind her. There, sitting by what was once the cave entrance, was a young Native woman. She wore a white hooded cloak and animal skins. A necklace hung around her neck, one that looked exactly like Ava's.

Ava gulped. She could see right through the woman, like she was a ghost. Ava thought that it actually was a ghost for a moment, but it seemed more like a vision. It was definitely her, but it couldn't be. But it was. It was Kahente. She was sitting by the cave, and she was crying. Ava stared. She felt a bizarre sensation. It was like she was remembering something, but it didn't feel like her own memory. She just stared as Kahente sat there in her sorrows.

"Hey, Ava! You coming?" Ben called to her.

Ava turned towards him. "Er... Yeah! Hold up! I'm..." She turned to take another glance at Kahente, but she wasn't there. The area was empty. "...coming," finished Ava. She stared for a moment before shaking her head and hurrying to catch up with the Assassins.

"What kept you?" asked Rebecca.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Nothing," said Ava. "Just thought I saw something."

Rebecca shrugged and didn't question further. Ava couldn't help but ponder over what she just saw. "So," she said, trying to take her mind off of it. "What now?"

"Well," said Ben. "For us, it's back to work. For you... I really don't know."

"Guess I can't really go back to Abstergo, can I?"

Ben shook his head. "Nope," he said. "They'll be coming after you. You're as much of a target as we are now."

Ava seemed to consider something. "Well then," she said. "I guess I really don't have a choice but to go with you, then."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. After all if this, after all I've learned and after everything those Templars put me through, I want to help you out."

Ben looked over at Rebecca. She just smiled and shrugged. Ben looked back at Ava.

"Well alright then," he said. "Welcome aboard, Ava." He put a hand on her shoulder. "We've got a long road ahead of us," he said. Rebecca pulled up the hood of her jacket. Ben did the same. The three finally reached the boat, and started to board.

Ava looked at Ben and Rebecca. She pulled up the hood of her own jacket. "I guess we do," she said. She boarded the boat with the Assassins. A new adventure was about to begin for her, and she had no idea how far it was going to take her.