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August 15, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

Ava found herself in the same position she was in the week before, tiredly hunched over at the counter of the hideout kitchen, ready for another night of restless sleep. Ruby was at the fridge, methodically sorting the groceries she was pulling out of her bags.

“Hey Champ, do you like sunflower seeds?” she called from over the counter. “Been thinking of experimenting with a couple new recipes.”

“Yeah they're fine, Chaytan,” Ava tiredly responded in a half-mumble.

“What was that?” Ruby asked, looking up from her work.

Ava shook her head and looked up at her girlfriend. “I said sunflower seeds are fine, Rubes.”

“Aight. Just wanted to make sure. You should really head up to bed, Champ. Like you know I love you, but you look awful.”

“I'll be fine Rubes.”

“I'm seriously worried about you, Champ… Are the medications not working?”

“No no they're working fine, promise. I've just… been having trouble turning my brain off at night I guess.”

“Hmm alright… I'll see if I can find a solution for that. Until then, head on up to bed, Champ. It's gonna take me awhile to get all this stuff put up. I don't wanna keep you sitting there on the counter.”

Ava wanted to make a polite protest but her body wouldn't cooperate when she wanted to have the words come out of her mouth. She was too tired to argue or really want to argue Ruby's completely valid point. And so she simply nodded and stood from her seat.

“Okay Rubes,” she said, rubbing her head and leaning on a wall. “I'll talk to you in the morning then. Love ya.”

“I love you too Champ…” Ruby said, coming up to give Ava a quick kiss goodnight before letting her head up the stairs.

Ava wobbled to her room, barely even at her bed before she started hearing the voice again.

“Why Ava why did you let me die?”

She clenched her teeth, held her head tight. “Get out…” she mumbled as she stumbled towards her mattress. “You're not him. He's gone. Get out!”

“I saved you, why didn't you save me?”

“I tried dammit I tried! Leave me alone! This isn't what Ben would want!”

She stumbled and bumped into her nightstand before finally collapsing onto her blankets, curling up in a ball and clutching her skull. “Leave me alone leave me alone! Just let me let go!” she screamed. Her head felt like it was going to crack open as the moans of her demons swirled around in her brain.

“Even in death, I'll always be here to torture you, Ava,” she heard Lucifer mock her. “You can't cast me out!”

“You're not real,” she sobbed. “Leave me alone! Leave him alone!”

“We need to be cautious, everyone.”

“Since when do you advise caution?”

“Ava… please…”

“Let it go Champ. It's okay to let go.”

“I'm gone Ava…”

“I just hope we aren't too late.”

“Let's hurry. I want to get back to the Dubois family as soon as possible.”

So many voices. Spirits shifted and warped all around in her head. Her room, her furniture, the jungles of Mataram, all tangled in a web of funhouse mirrors that warped and wriggled like a school of fish. It hurt so much. The pain wouldn't leave. Or was it she wouldn't let it leave? How could she? She wanted it over. She wanted peace!

Why couldn't her brain give her peace?!

Why…

Why…

Then suddenly she simply took a deep breath and sighed.

She hoped that once her blade was embedded in van Ham’s neck, this mess would be over. She hoped that once she and the Duboises were safe on British soil, she'd family get the chance to relax with Chaytan and enjoy a bit of family life.

She hoped that would bring her a moment of peace again.

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

August 25, 1894; Mataram, Lombok

Evelyn kept low in the bushes in the vast gardens surrounding Mayura Palace. Every now and then, she'd peek her head up just enough to get a good view, first of the Templars in their palace camp not far off, And second to the small lookout tower on the other end of the base where they would light the signal and begin the battle with the Balinese troops.

The four Assassins stayed crouched on the edge of the lake, hidden by the surrounding foliage. Evelyn looked towards the palace at the center, a small but ornate little structure where the Templar soldiers were holding themselves up and fumbling with equipment. And at the center of it all was van Ham, the man Evelyn was told to be the Devil himself. She had to admit, it honestly didn't surprise her. The man himself was nothing that intimidating or unlike any other brute she had come across in the past like Custer. But something about him still felt… off. She couldn’t tell what it was. He just seemed to have this aura of… wrong. He looked perfectly human, but felt so so inhuman somehow. Maybe it was something about those beaty silver eyes of his…

“I want that damned Pick found, understood?” he barked to his men, all of whom were clearly exhausted from work and a lack of sleep, but kept awake in fear of their commander.

“Yes sir!” they all slurred as they grabbed shovels or rifles and set out across the bridge into the jungles to scout out the various temples surrounding the palace.

“That Rajawali brat must've hidden it somewhere around here, and not a single man rests until it is in my hands!”

Evelyn looked towards the others and motioned for them to continue on through the bushes.

“Blimey, the Devil sure is full of hot air,” Evelyn whispered, earning her a chuckle from her friends.

They continued on through the foliage, popping out into the corners of the barracks and temples every now and then when they ran out of brush. They kept their eyes on the watchtower, and made sure to eliminate any obstacles that stood in their way. Evelyn was the first to reach the ladder, and so she began the climb while the others stayed below to keep watch. Once she neared the top, she peeked over the ledge and waited until the guard up top had his back completely turned. Then she carefully pulled herself up, taking care to avoid stepping on any squeaky boards. The guard had her hand over his mouth and her hidden blade between his ribs before he could even take another step.

She lowered his body to the ground and looked down at her allies, giving them a thumbs up to check in if they were ready before pulling out a pack of matches and lighting one up. She strolled over to the large lantern that hung from the ceiling of the watchtower, and she tossed the flame in. It wasn't long before the inside lit up like a bright orange beacon in the dark dark night. Evelyn smiled, satisfied with her work. She started climbing back down to the ground to regroup with her friends, and she was quite satisfied to already hear the sounds of war cries and clashing swords.

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The four Assassins started running straight in the direction of the sounds of battle, already pulling their weapons from their sheathes. Apsarini and Jaga started pulling away from Evelyn and Chaytan as they ran.

“You two go and deal with van Ham!” Apsarini called to them. “We'll go recover the Piece of Eden before the Templars can.”

Evelyn and Chaytan nodded and the two groups split off. Evelyn had drawn from her belt the old family cutlass that her grandmother had wielded during the War of 1812. Good Lord she was glad she made the decision to bring it. It was about to come in very handy.

The sword tasted blood for the first time in years as soon as Evelyn stepped into the area that the area surrounding the palace has become. The Dutch soldier fell at her feet and she sprinted ahead, weaving her way through the sea of clashing Dutch and Balinese troops. She tried to save her energy for her main target, and only slashed when she had no other means of running past. She kept her eyes peeled, looking for any sign that General van Ham was nearby, and thankfully for her it came quickly as he snarled across the battleground.

“I can't seem to go one week without some fools trying to get in my way,” Evelyn heard him groan. She spun her head around just on time to see him saunter across the bridge of the palace and nonchalantly hack open the chests of some Balinese soldiers as if he were swatting flies. “Let's get this over with!” he ordered as he stepped onto shore and continued his march of murder.

Evelyn immediately started pushing her way through towards him, her grandmother's sword barred and ready to meet his throat. She charged forward, taking advantage of the fact that he didn't even seem to notice her. She pulled her blade back, shoving a Dutch soldier out of her path as she did. She sprinted as quickly as she could, lifted her blade behind her shoulder, getting closer and closer to the Templar Devil until she figured she was close enough to embed her blade into his spine. And then she thrust it downwards, expecting to have this whole thing over with the satisfying thunk of blade against flesh to punctuate the turmoil.

But instead, she was surprisingly greeted with the sound of metal clanking against metal.

Without even turning to look at her, van Ham had swung his sword around and countered her attack perfectly. Evelyn’s eyes widened as van Ham suddenly turned and fixed her gaze with those disturbing silver eyes. She gulped.

He smirked at her, and suddenly swung his blade to the side, sending Evelyn off balance. She stumbled, and managed to recover just in time to swing back up and block van Ham’s blade from entering her skull. She jumped backwards, cutlass in hand, and soon found herself clashing against the Devil himself in a duel of death.

“So…” Evelyn said, trying to boost her lost confidence with her usual round of banter. “Satan huh? Not going to lie, I never in my five decades thought I'd be up against the likes of you.”

“Well now you've been honored with the privilege,” Lucifer responded.

Their blades clashed, each of their faces passive as their snark bounced off one another.

“So like are you the evil biblical one or the Paradise Lost one with daddy issues?” Evelyn asked as the steal sparked.

“I'm the Devil,” Lucifer said. “Do you honestly think the embodiment of all evil would be some bratty teen pining for daddy's love?”

“Well when you put it like that-”

They swung and clashed. He managed to push her back towards the edge of the lake, and almost made her lose her balance and fall in. But she caught herself on one of the pillars of the gate and swung herself around it to avoid another slash, and their duel continued.

“So tell me about yourself, Lucy,” Evelyn said, quickly running out of breath. “What's the big evil plan to spit in the face of Christ's good teachings?”

“Once I get my hands on that Pick, I will ensure it is put to use to destroy this entire universe and everyone in it,” he responded.

“I… wow. Talk about big goals. But I'm afraid we cannot allow you to do that. My apologies.”

That made Lucifer smirk. “The only thing you can do is delay me,” he said.

“Well hey, that's better than nothing.”

“You remind me of my brother. I hate that.”

Evelyn simply responded with a smirk of her own, and she spun her sword once more, a good solid swing that managed to cut a gash in her opponent's chest. He grunted and looked down at it, looking rather annoyed. He then grit his teeth and suddenly kicked her legs out beneath her. Evelyn’s eyes widened as she found herself hitting the ground with a painful thud. Her sword fell out of her palm, and she immediately tried to scramble for it. But her progress was cut short, as the heel of van Ham’s boot dug into her wrist. She winced in pain and turned to see him standing above her, sword raised and teeth locked in a malicious grin.

“I told you, girl,” he mocked. “All you are is another distraction. When I want something, I take it.”

He held his sword high, and it glistened against the moonlight as Evelyn winced and held her her arm out of some instinct that thought that would be enough to defend herself from what was about to happen.

But instead of hearing the swooshing of a blade through air, Evelyn’s ears were suddenly hit with the sound of a distinctive shink and a shout of pain. She looked up and saw van Ham pulling away from something, someone behind him. Apsarini kicked him away with a bleeding hole in his back and retracted her blade to help Evelyn back to her feet.

“Thanks,” Evelyn breathed.

“Don't mention it,” Apsarini smiled.

“You have the Piece of Eden?”

Apsarini nodded and patted her jacket pocket.

“Good,” Evelyn nodded.

The two girls turned towards van Ham, who was still standing, but bleeding out heavily. He snarled at them.

“This isn't over, Assassins,” he barked. “Far far from it.”

“Oh just shut up please,” Evelyn said.

She and Apsarini ejected their hidden blades, and suddenly charged right towards him. Van Ham’s eyes widened and he frantically looked around. He suddenly reached out and grabbed the arm of a random Dutch soldier who was running past. The man yelled as the tight grip clenched his arm, but it ended quickly, as van Ham’s claws were unhinged when he suddenly found two hidden blades lodged in his heart. The Templar yelled in pain, and started collapsing to the ground. Evelyn watched him fall, and the world around them seemed to slow and vanish around them as target and Assassin stood alone in the last moments of his life.

Van Ham fell to his hands and knees, clutching his bleeding heart. He started breathing heavily, his eyes widening as if confused.

Evelyn and Apsarini stood above him. “I would've expected the Devil to be a bit more of a challenge, admittedly,” Evelyn said with her arms crossed.

“The… Devil…?” van Ham coughed.

“Hey, we can't help it if we're incredible,” Apsarini joked to her friend. “Stopping evil plans is what we do best.”

“He's… he's not stopped!” van Ham managed to yell to them.

Suddenly the Assassins’ smirks faded, and they looked down at him. The general had their attention.

“He… he left my body…” he choked. “The bastard is still out there! That soldier! You have to go after him! Lucifer is in him!”

“What?” Evelyn said.

“Son of a…” Apsarini mumbled.

“He knows this battle is lost now without me but… he is about to march on the Balinese base! He's going to burn it before they flee!”

“Oh my god…” Evelyn gasped. She looked over and saw Apsarini's face turn utterly pale. Her lip twitched and her pupils dilated.

“Dhia!” she screamed, and she immediately spun on her heels and sprinted off.

Evelyn began to panic and watch her go.

“I… I am sorry…” she heard van Ham say as he fell to his back and closed his eyes.

“So am I…” Evelyn said. She bent down and crossed his arms after he took his final breath. “Requiescat in pace...” she whispered, and then she immediately stood up, and she ran after her friend.

Oh god she hoped they could get there in time…

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Evelyn had grabbed Chaytan and Jaga as soon as she spotted them while hurrying after the Dutch troops alongside that Balinese. Apsarini was already far, far ahead of them, having moved with a speed Evelyn had only ever witnessed in wired cats. They ran as fast as they could to catch up and make it to the Balinese base in time, but once they caught the unmistakable hue of flickering orange through the forest foliage, they knew full well that they weren't quick enough.

They sprinted through a hole that had been burnt open in one of the base’s walls, and their ears were once again assaulted with the sounds of clashing swords and screams of pain as those swords met flesh in the hellish chaos around them.

“Apsarini!” Jaga shouted, the panic in his voice clear for all to see.

“Apsarini!” Evelyn and Chaytan parroted as they scrambled between the flames and burning buildings.

“Little sister, where are you? Apsarini!”

“Get the hell away from her!” they suddenly heard from across the base. Evelyn immediately sprinted in that direction, hacking and jumping her way across the base. She heard crashing and shouting coming from a building that was well in the process of being engulfed by the flames. She didn't waste any time slamming her weight into the door to bust it open. She was immediately met with the sight of Apsarini viciously pounding her fist into a Dutch soldier whom Evelyn recognized as the one whose arm was grabbed by van Ham. The two of them wrestled like rabid lions until the man kicked Apsarini off and suddenly ran towards the sound of a crying baby with his knife in hand.

“No! Dhia!” Apsarini shrieked, immediately giving chase. Evelyn sprinted after them, her pistol locked and loaded. She entered the room that had been made into Dhia’s nursery, just in time to hear the disturbingly distinct sound of a knife against flesh and the baby's wailing getting louder. Then came a noise she could only assume must've come from Apsarini but sounded as if it came from a wild dog of sorts. Evelyn found Apsarini and the man wrestling again, and tried to take a few shots at his skull, only for them to miss. Apsarini nonetheless yanked out her mandau and viciously thrust it down into the soldier's side. He shouted in pain and Apsarini dragged him to his feet. With another animalistic shout she ran to the wall with him by the collar and suddenly thrust him straight into the glass of a window, sending him flying out to the ground below. She huffed and puffed but immediately sprinted back towards her child. Evelyn watched in shock, running towards the window to check for the body, only to be disappointingly met with the sight of the soldier limping away, glaring at them with his silver eyes as he and his troops suddenly began to flee and disappear into the forest. Evelyn tried again to shoot him into swiss cheese, but all of her shots missed. And before she had any hope of going after him, he was gone. “Damn!” she cursed between her teeth.

But she didn't stay on that issue for long, as the sounds of the crying baby and her mother reached her ears again. She holstered her gun and sprinted back towards her friend, who had the crying Dhia clutched in her arms.

“We need to get out of here! Now!” Apsarini shouted, prompting a nod of agreement from Evelyn. They sprinted back down the stairwell and halls and jumped out of the barracks just in time to avoid a sudden roof collapse above them. They ran back towards their friends, who ushered them to hurry and follow the Balinese troops who were also retreating in the other direction. The group ran and ran, getting as far into the forest and away from the fires as possible, until eventually the sounds of flicking flames was inaudible and the only sounds left to replace it were the sounds of the team being out of breath and Apsarini weeping heavily.

“Oh god oh god oh god Dhia!” she cried as she clutched her child.

“Is she alright?” Chaytan asked.

“No! The bastard cut her up! She's bleeding! We need to get her help! We need to get her help!”

Evelyn stepped forward and put hands on Apsarini's shoulders. “Apsarini listen! Listen dearie please!” she begged.

“We need to get her help why are we wasting time?!”

“Apsarini we will get her help I promise but you need to be calm or else the whole process is going to be slowed! Please Apsarini you need to breathe for Dhia’s sake.”

Apsarini choked and cried but she tried to stop her hands from shaking and her breath from hiccuping. Evelyn put an arm around her shoulder and looked to Jaga.

“How far is the nearest doctor?” she asked.

“We can be at a medic in a short walk,” Jaga said, already stepping ahead down a path to take the lead.

“Good. Let's not waste time then.”

The other nodded, and they hurried down the path as fast as they could, the whole time with Evelyn hugging Apsarini tight. Her heart was racing, all of their hearts were. She had hoped she'd leave all this nonsense behind after her last grand adventure. And yet here she was with an injured child and her panicked mother to take care of. Her mind was racing. Everything seemed so loud around her. Even her own assurances in response to Apsarini's sobs seemed faded and disconnected from the white noise.

“It's gonna be okay…” she said. “Just breathe… breathe Apsarini breathe breathe. We're here. I'm here.”

She looked forward into the warping canopies and bushes. Every shadow she saw seemed to be Lucifer’s ugly grin, mocking her about how much she's failed to protect her family. She saw Dhia’s face pop in and out. Ben's face looked at her with utmost concern in the shadows. She heard maniacal laughter and moans of pain, and yet she kept hearing the reassurances.

“It's okay, please don't cry. I'm here Ava, Champ, I'm here. Honey please wake up. Ava please!”

Everything was so loud… the voices, the noises…

The sound of loss.

Why couldn't she just make them stop...

“Ava!”

Description
August 15, 2016; Indianapolis, Indiana

Ava found herself in the same position she was in the week before, tiredly hunched over at the counter of the hideout kitchen, ready for another night of restless sleep. Ruby was at the fridge, methodically sorting the groceries she was pulling out of her bags.

“Hey Champ, do you like sunflower seeds?” she called from over the counter. “Been thinking of experimenting with a couple new recipes.”

“Yeah they're fine, Chaytan,” Ava tiredly responded in a half-mumble.

“What was that?” Ruby asked, looking up from her work.

Ava shook her head and looked up at her girlfriend. “I said sunflower seeds are fine, Rubes.”

“Aight. Just wanted to make sure. You should really head up to bed, Champ. Like you know I love you, but you look awful.”

“I'll be fine Rubes.”

“I'm seriously worried about you, Champ… Are the medications not working?”

“No no they're working fine, promise. I've just… been having trouble turning my brain off at night I guess.”

“Hmm alright… I'll see if I can find a solution for that. Until then, head on up to bed, Champ. It's gonna take me awhile to get all this stuff put up. I don't wanna keep you sitting there on the counter.”

Ava wanted to make a polite protest but her body wouldn't cooperate when she wanted to have the words come out of her mouth. She was too tired to argue or really want to argue Ruby's completely valid point. And so she simply nodded and stood from her seat.

“Okay Rubes,” she said, rubbing her head and leaning on a wall. “I'll talk to you in the morning then. Love ya.”

“I love you too Champ…” Ruby said, coming up to give Ava a quick kiss goodnight before letting her head up the stairs.

Ava wobbled to her room, barely even at her bed before she started hearing the voice again.

“Why Ava why did you let me die?”

She clenched her teeth, held her head tight. “Get out…” she mumbled as she stumbled towards her mattress. “You're not him. He's gone. Get out!”

“I saved you, why didn't you save me?”

“I tried dammit I tried! Leave me alone! This isn't what Ben would want!”

She stumbled and bumped into her nightstand before finally collapsing onto her blankets, curling up in a ball and clutching her skull. “Leave me alone leave me alone! Just let me let go!” she screamed. Her head felt like it was going to crack open as the moans of her demons swirled around in her brain.

“Even in death, I'll always be here to torture you, Ava,” she heard Lucifer mock her. “You can't cast me out!”

“You're not real,” she sobbed. “Leave me alone! Leave him alone!”

“We need to be cautious, everyone.”

“Since when do you advise caution?”

“Ava… please…”

“Let it go Champ. It's okay to let go.”

“I'm gone Ava…”

“I just hope we aren't too late.”

“Let's hurry. I want to get back to the Dubois family as soon as possible.”

So many voices. Spirits shifted and warped all around in her head. Her room, her furniture, the jungles of Mataram, all tangled in a web of funhouse mirrors that warped and wriggled like a school of fish. It hurt so much. The pain wouldn't leave. Or was it she wouldn't let it leave? How could she? She wanted it over. She wanted peace!

Why couldn't her brain give her peace?!

Why…

Why…

Then suddenly she simply took a deep breath and sighed.

She hoped that once her blade was embedded in van Ham’s neck, this mess would be over. She hoped that once she and the Duboises were safe on British soil, she'd family get the chance to relax with Chaytan and enjoy a bit of family life.

She hoped that would bring her a moment of peace again.

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August 25, 1894; Mataram, Lombok

Evelyn kept low in the bushes in the vast gardens surrounding Mayura Palace. Every now and then, she'd peek her head up just enough to get a good view, first of the Templars in their palace camp not far off, And second to the small lookout tower on the other end of the base where they would light the signal and begin the battle with the Balinese troops.

The four Assassins stayed crouched on the edge of the lake, hidden by the surrounding foliage. Evelyn looked towards the palace at the center, a small but ornate little structure where the Templar soldiers were holding themselves up and fumbling with equipment. And at the center of it all was van Ham, the man Evelyn was told to be the Devil himself. She had to admit, it honestly didn't surprise her. The man himself was nothing that intimidating or unlike any other brute she had come across in the past like Custer. But something about him still felt… off. She couldn’t tell what it was. He just seemed to have this aura of… wrong. He looked perfectly human, but felt so so inhuman somehow. Maybe it was something about those beaty silver eyes of his…

“I want that damned Pick found, understood?” he barked to his men, all of whom were clearly exhausted from work and a lack of sleep, but kept awake in fear of their commander.

“Yes sir!” they all slurred as they grabbed shovels or rifles and set out across the bridge into the jungles to scout out the various temples surrounding the palace.

“That Rajawali brat must've hidden it somewhere around here, and not a single man rests until it is in my hands!”

Evelyn looked towards the others and motioned for them to continue on through the bushes.

“Blimey, the Devil sure is full of hot air,” Evelyn whispered, earning her a chuckle from her friends.

They continued on through the foliage, popping out into the corners of the barracks and temples every now and then when they ran out of brush. They kept their eyes on the watchtower, and made sure to eliminate any obstacles that stood in their way. Evelyn was the first to reach the ladder, and so she began the climb while the others stayed below to keep watch. Once she neared the top, she peeked over the ledge and waited until the guard up top had his back completely turned. Then she carefully pulled herself up, taking care to avoid stepping on any squeaky boards. The guard had her hand over his mouth and her hidden blade between his ribs before he could even take another step.

She lowered his body to the ground and looked down at her allies, giving them a thumbs up to check in if they were ready before pulling out a pack of matches and lighting one up. She strolled over to the large lantern that hung from the ceiling of the watchtower, and she tossed the flame in. It wasn't long before the inside lit up like a bright orange beacon in the dark dark night. Evelyn smiled, satisfied with her work. She started climbing back down to the ground to regroup with her friends, and she was quite satisfied to already hear the sounds of war cries and clashing swords.

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The four Assassins started running straight in the direction of the sounds of battle, already pulling their weapons from their sheathes. Apsarini and Jaga started pulling away from Evelyn and Chaytan as they ran.

“You two go and deal with van Ham!” Apsarini called to them. “We'll go recover the Piece of Eden before the Templars can.”

Evelyn and Chaytan nodded and the two groups split off. Evelyn had drawn from her belt the old family cutlass that her grandmother had wielded during the War of 1812. Good Lord she was glad she made the decision to bring it. It was about to come in very handy.

The sword tasted blood for the first time in years as soon as Evelyn stepped into the area that the area surrounding the palace has become. The Dutch soldier fell at her feet and she sprinted ahead, weaving her way through the sea of clashing Dutch and Balinese troops. She tried to save her energy for her main target, and only slashed when she had no other means of running past. She kept her eyes peeled, looking for any sign that General van Ham was nearby, and thankfully for her it came quickly as he snarled across the battleground.

“I can't seem to go one week without some fools trying to get in my way,” Evelyn heard him groan. She spun her head around just on time to see him saunter across the bridge of the palace and nonchalantly hack open the chests of some Balinese soldiers as if he were swatting flies. “Let's get this over with!” he ordered as he stepped onto shore and continued his march of murder.

Evelyn immediately started pushing her way through towards him, her grandmother's sword barred and ready to meet his throat. She charged forward, taking advantage of the fact that he didn't even seem to notice her. She pulled her blade back, shoving a Dutch soldier out of her path as she did. She sprinted as quickly as she could, lifted her blade behind her shoulder, getting closer and closer to the Templar Devil until she figured she was close enough to embed her blade into his spine. And then she thrust it downwards, expecting to have this whole thing over with the satisfying thunk of blade against flesh to punctuate the turmoil.

But instead, she was surprisingly greeted with the sound of metal clanking against metal.

Without even turning to look at her, van Ham had swung his sword around and countered her attack perfectly. Evelyn’s eyes widened as van Ham suddenly turned and fixed her gaze with those disturbing silver eyes. She gulped.

He smirked at her, and suddenly swung his blade to the side, sending Evelyn off balance. She stumbled, and managed to recover just in time to swing back up and block van Ham’s blade from entering her skull. She jumped backwards, cutlass in hand, and soon found herself clashing against the Devil himself in a duel of death.

“So…” Evelyn said, trying to boost her lost confidence with her usual round of banter. “Satan huh? Not going to lie, I never in my five decades thought I'd be up against the likes of you.”

“Well now you've been honored with the privilege,” Lucifer responded.

Their blades clashed, each of their faces passive as their snark bounced off one another.

“So like are you the evil biblical one or the Paradise Lost one with daddy issues?” Evelyn asked as the steal sparked.

“I'm the Devil,” Lucifer said. “Do you honestly think the embodiment of all evil would be some bratty teen pining for daddy's love?”

“Well when you put it like that-”

They swung and clashed. He managed to push her back towards the edge of the lake, and almost made her lose her balance and fall in. But she caught herself on one of the pillars of the gate and swung herself around it to avoid another slash, and their duel continued.

“So tell me about yourself, Lucy,” Evelyn said, quickly running out of breath. “What's the big evil plan to spit in the face of Christ's good teachings?”

“Once I get my hands on that Pick, I will ensure it is put to use to destroy this entire universe and everyone in it,” he responded.

“I… wow. Talk about big goals. But I'm afraid we cannot allow you to do that. My apologies.”

That made Lucifer smirk. “The only thing you can do is delay me,” he said.

“Well hey, that's better than nothing.”

“You remind me of my brother. I hate that.”

Evelyn simply responded with a smirk of her own, and she spun her sword once more, a good solid swing that managed to cut a gash in her opponent's chest. He grunted and looked down at it, looking rather annoyed. He then grit his teeth and suddenly kicked her legs out beneath her. Evelyn’s eyes widened as she found herself hitting the ground with a painful thud. Her sword fell out of her palm, and she immediately tried to scramble for it. But her progress was cut short, as the heel of van Ham’s boot dug into her wrist. She winced in pain and turned to see him standing above her, sword raised and teeth locked in a malicious grin.

“I told you, girl,” he mocked. “All you are is another distraction. When I want something, I take it.”

He held his sword high, and it glistened against the moonlight as Evelyn winced and held her her arm out of some instinct that thought that would be enough to defend herself from what was about to happen.

But instead of hearing the swooshing of a blade through air, Evelyn’s ears were suddenly hit with the sound of a distinctive shink and a shout of pain. She looked up and saw van Ham pulling away from something, someone behind him. Apsarini kicked him away with a bleeding hole in his back and retracted her blade to help Evelyn back to her feet.

“Thanks,” Evelyn breathed.

“Don't mention it,” Apsarini smiled.

“You have the Piece of Eden?”

Apsarini nodded and patted her jacket pocket.

“Good,” Evelyn nodded.

The two girls turned towards van Ham, who was still standing, but bleeding out heavily. He snarled at them.

“This isn't over, Assassins,” he barked. “Far far from it.”

“Oh just shut up please,” Evelyn said.

She and Apsarini ejected their hidden blades, and suddenly charged right towards him. Van Ham’s eyes widened and he frantically looked around. He suddenly reached out and grabbed the arm of a random Dutch soldier who was running past. The man yelled as the tight grip clenched his arm, but it ended quickly, as van Ham’s claws were unhinged when he suddenly found two hidden blades lodged in his heart. The Templar yelled in pain, and started collapsing to the ground. Evelyn watched him fall, and the world around them seemed to slow and vanish around them as target and Assassin stood alone in the last moments of his life.

Van Ham fell to his hands and knees, clutching his bleeding heart. He started breathing heavily, his eyes widening as if confused.

Evelyn and Apsarini stood above him. “I would've expected the Devil to be a bit more of a challenge, admittedly,” Evelyn said with her arms crossed.

“The… Devil…?” van Ham coughed.

“Hey, we can't help it if we're incredible,” Apsarini joked to her friend. “Stopping evil plans is what we do best.”

“He's… he's not stopped!” van Ham managed to yell to them.

Suddenly the Assassins’ smirks faded, and they looked down at him. The general had their attention.

“He… he left my body…” he choked. “The bastard is still out there! That soldier! You have to go after him! Lucifer is in him!”

“What?” Evelyn said.

“Son of a…” Apsarini mumbled.

“He knows this battle is lost now without me but… he is about to march on the Balinese base! He's going to burn it before they flee!”

“Oh my god…” Evelyn gasped. She looked over and saw Apsarini's face turn utterly pale. Her lip twitched and her pupils dilated.

“Dhia!” she screamed, and she immediately spun on her heels and sprinted off.

Evelyn began to panic and watch her go.

“I… I am sorry…” she heard van Ham say as he fell to his back and closed his eyes.

“So am I…” Evelyn said. She bent down and crossed his arms after he took his final breath. “Requiescat in pace...” she whispered, and then she immediately stood up, and she ran after her friend.

Oh god she hoped they could get there in time…

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

Evelyn had grabbed Chaytan and Jaga as soon as she spotted them while hurrying after the Dutch troops alongside that Balinese. Apsarini was already far, far ahead of them, having moved with a speed Evelyn had only ever witnessed in wired cats. They ran as fast as they could to catch up and make it to the Balinese base in time, but once they caught the unmistakable hue of flickering orange through the forest foliage, they knew full well that they weren't quick enough.

They sprinted through a hole that had been burnt open in one of the base’s walls, and their ears were once again assaulted with the sounds of clashing swords and screams of pain as those swords met flesh in the hellish chaos around them.

“Apsarini!” Jaga shouted, the panic in his voice clear for all to see.

“Apsarini!” Evelyn and Chaytan parroted as they scrambled between the flames and burning buildings.

“Little sister, where are you? Apsarini!”

“Get the hell away from her!” they suddenly heard from across the base. Evelyn immediately sprinted in that direction, hacking and jumping her way across the base. She heard crashing and shouting coming from a building that was well in the process of being engulfed by the flames. She didn't waste any time slamming her weight into the door to bust it open. She was immediately met with the sight of Apsarini viciously pounding her fist into a Dutch soldier whom Evelyn recognized as the one whose arm was grabbed by van Ham. The two of them wrestled like rabid lions until the man kicked Apsarini off and suddenly ran towards the sound of a crying baby with his knife in hand.

“No! Dhia!” Apsarini shrieked, immediately giving chase. Evelyn sprinted after them, her pistol locked and loaded. She entered the room that had been made into Dhia’s nursery, just in time to hear the disturbingly distinct sound of a knife against flesh and the baby's wailing getting louder. Then came a noise she could only assume must've come from Apsarini but sounded as if it came from a wild dog of sorts. Evelyn found Apsarini and the man wrestling again, and tried to take a few shots at his skull, only for them to miss. Apsarini nonetheless yanked out her mandau and viciously thrust it down into the soldier's side. He shouted in pain and Apsarini dragged him to his feet. With another animalistic shout she ran to the wall with him by the collar and suddenly thrust him straight into the glass of a window, sending him flying out to the ground below. She huffed and puffed but immediately sprinted back towards her child. Evelyn watched in shock, running towards the window to check for the body, only to be disappointingly met with the sight of the soldier limping away, glaring at them with his silver eyes as he and his troops suddenly began to flee and disappear into the forest. Evelyn tried again to shoot him into swiss cheese, but all of her shots missed. And before she had any hope of going after him, he was gone. “Damn!” she cursed between her teeth.

But she didn't stay on that issue for long, as the sounds of the crying baby and her mother reached her ears again. She holstered her gun and sprinted back towards her friend, who had the crying Dhia clutched in her arms.

“We need to get out of here! Now!” Apsarini shouted, prompting a nod of agreement from Evelyn. They sprinted back down the stairwell and halls and jumped out of the barracks just in time to avoid a sudden roof collapse above them. They ran back towards their friends, who ushered them to hurry and follow the Balinese troops who were also retreating in the other direction. The group ran and ran, getting as far into the forest and away from the fires as possible, until eventually the sounds of flicking flames was inaudible and the only sounds left to replace it were the sounds of the team being out of breath and Apsarini weeping heavily.

“Oh god oh god oh god Dhia!” she cried as she clutched her child.

“Is she alright?” Chaytan asked.

“No! The bastard cut her up! She's bleeding! We need to get her help! We need to get her help!”

Evelyn stepped forward and put hands on Apsarini's shoulders. “Apsarini listen! Listen dearie please!” she begged.

“We need to get her help why are we wasting time?!”

“Apsarini we will get her help I promise but you need to be calm or else the whole process is going to be slowed! Please Apsarini you need to breathe for Dhia’s sake.”

Apsarini choked and cried but she tried to stop her hands from shaking and her breath from hiccuping. Evelyn put an arm around her shoulder and looked to Jaga.

“How far is the nearest doctor?” she asked.

“We can be at a medic in a short walk,” Jaga said, already stepping ahead down a path to take the lead.

“Good. Let's not waste time then.”

The other nodded, and they hurried down the path as fast as they could, the whole time with Evelyn hugging Apsarini tight. Her heart was racing, all of their hearts were. She had hoped she'd leave all this nonsense behind after her last grand adventure. And yet here she was with an injured child and her panicked mother to take care of. Her mind was racing. Everything seemed so loud around her. Even her own assurances in response to Apsarini's sobs seemed faded and disconnected from the white noise.

“It's gonna be okay…” she said. “Just breathe… breathe Apsarini breathe breathe. We're here. I'm here.”

She looked forward into the warping canopies and bushes. Every shadow she saw seemed to be Lucifer’s ugly grin, mocking her about how much she's failed to protect her family. She saw Dhia’s face pop in and out. Ben's face looked at her with utmost concern in the shadows. She heard maniacal laughter and moans of pain, and yet she kept hearing the reassurances.

“It's okay, please don't cry. I'm here Ava, Champ, I'm here. Honey please wake up. Ava please!”

Everything was so loud… the voices, the noises…

The sound of loss.

Why couldn't she just make them stop...

“Ava!”