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“What do you mean?”

“Where did you get that thing?!”

“I… er… Arnold and I stole it off a Templar near Tristan de Cunha.”

“Oh no… no no no no! You have to get rid of it right now, Aveza!”

“What? But, Connor! Imagine what this thing could do now that it's in the right hands.”

“There are no right hands with this thing! I sank that Apple for a reason, Aveza!”

“Wait… what's it doing? Connor…?!”

“Aveza! Don't!”

“Oh my God!”

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

April 13, 1815; Kanatahséton, Kanièn:keh

Aveza and Shikoba’s army had significantly increased by the time they arrived in Kanatahséton that night. The whole journey, they'd spent a good amount of time saving innocents and recruiting them to join the fight. Not only that, but word had also reached Kanatahséton about their recent string of victories. For the first time in years, the citizens of the city felt like they had a chance to have justice served. And the rebels planned to use that to their advantage.

...Except for Aveza.

Once the rebel leaders had met in a secret location in Kanatahséton, Aveza made her way to the door the second she heard where Ratonhnhaké:ton was hiding.

“Aveza? What are you doing?” Shikoba asked.

“I'm going to go kill the bastard running this damned confederacy,” Aveza said simply.

Shikoba seemed shocked by her tone. “Um, not by yourself you're not,” she said in the authoritative voice of an upset parent. “We need to plan our attack, position our allies.”

“That'll take too long. And I want to stick my blade in the king's throat as soon as possible. So yes, I am going.”

“Aveza! Have you lost your mind? You'd get slaughtered by just marching into the palace!”

“No. I won't. Because I've got this.”

Shikoba gasped when her daughter pulled the jug of Tea out of her pouch. She patted her own pockets frantically only to find that it definitely wasn't in her possession anymore. What she saw was real.

“How did you-?” she started.

“Oh please, mum. You're the one who taught me how to bloody pickpocket. Don't look all surprised.”

“Give that back right now, young lady!”

“No! This is the only thing that'll let us take down the king!”

“No it's not! You should've never drank that awful Tea in the first place! Look what it's done to you! Don't you see that you're playing with fire?”

“I have to! I have to fight fire with fire!”

“Then you'll get burned just as badly!”

“You don't know anything about me! You're not even my real bloody mother!”

Shikoba gasped. Tears formed in her eyes suddenly as the words stung like a sword. By now, all the other rebels had gone silent.

“How dare you!” she shouted.

“My real mother would teach me to become the best I could be! She would want me to drink this! To gain its power! And that's not what I'm seeing in you. So what else am I to conclude?”

Shikoba lost hold of her tears. Her cheeks burned with each drop. She didn't know what to say.

“...Who are you?” she said at last.

Aveza frowned and turned to leave. “It doesn't matter anymore,” was all she said before slamming the door behind her and taking to the streets, going invisible so that none could follow her.

Her thoughts swarmed in her twisted mind as she looked for a hiding spot. Why was everyone so stupidly blind? Did they not realize what she could do? She could bring down the king. She could kill him. Maybe she'd even be able to take the Apple from him, keep it safe in her hands. Yes, her hands would keep it safe. Keep safe the power it held. She'd be the only one worthy of it anyway, after all she'd sacrificed.

She eventually found a quiet little ruin on the edge of the city. She settled down and gripped the Tea jug tight in both palms. She had to do this, she told herself. And so she chugged without hesitation, drinking until the jug was empty. She tossed the jug aside as her stomach screeched in agony. Her head spun as she fell to her knees, and then she blacked out once more.

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

April 13, 2015; Sky World

Aveza awoke to find herself once again in the dark, foggy void. She stood tall and ready.

“Alright then,” she snarled. “What do you have for me this time? Come on, bring it on already!”

From the fog, a response came to her in the form of an elk call. She spun around and instinctively jogged towards it, until eventually she found the phantom responsible for the noise. The elk stared at her, and called again. It seemed troubled. Aveza came up to it, and looked all around. What was spooking it? She got her answer when the growls and snarls of a pack of wolves started sounding from the fog. The second Aveza laid eyes on the canines, they lunged.

The elk ran away in fear, but Aveza stood battle ready. She fell each wolf within seconds with her hidden blades. But the fight was not over. She heard the elk call in fear from the fog again, and she heard more wolf growls following it. She sprinted towards her prey, and ended them all brutally when she found them. Another wave of wolves came at the elk, and another, and another. All of them died by Aveza’s blade before they even had a chance to reach the elk. The wolves eventually stopped coming. By the time it was over, Aveza was breathing heavily, her skin soaked in blood. She didn't realize it, but she was growling like a rabid animal.

The elk came up behind her. She looked up at it as it simply stared at her. Was it her imagination, or did it look like it was judging her? She didn't get the time to think about it, as suddenly the elk reared up and brought its weight crashing down upon Aveza, who collapsed to the ground as the spirit passed through her and faded away into the fog. The impact left a massive shockwave that reverberated around Aveza. Her flesh glowed again, as did her eyes. On her chest, another tattoo formed: one that resembled an elk’s skull. Her eyes burned. They felt like they were shifting too. She felt the power, felt it course through her veins. Her vision went slightly red as the blood vessels in her eyes bulged. Her throat generated a low, malicious growl.

Voices started reverberating through her skull.

“Why have you done this, Aveza?” she heard her mother cry. “Why have you let yourself fall so low?”

Another voice came, a taunting one: “Do you feel it, child?” the voice of Connor said. “Can you feel the power? Does it feel good? It will not be enough.”

“Please sweetheart! I'm begging you! Fight it! Fight the corruption of the Tea!”

“Revel in it! Become like me! You think anything could bring me down? Ha! I'd love to see you try.”

“Aveza! This isn't what I raised you to be! I love you, sweetheart! Please! Don't let it take you away from me!”

“Come and get me, you rebellious insect!”

“Your father would be ashamed…”

The voices kept coming, endlessly cycling in her mind. They wouldn't stop. And the last one she heard before blacking out again was a familiar one: her own. Saying with the greatest disappointment, “Connor would be ashamed.”

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

April 14, 1815; Kanatahséton, Kanièn:keh

Aveza awoke the next morning to the sound of clashing swords and igniting muskets in the distance. The whole city seemed to be in an uproar, not that she cared. The city could burn for all she cared. Kill Connor, get the Apple. That was what repeated over and over again in her mind. Kill Connor, get the Apple.

She glanced over at a nearby broken mirror. She saw her eyes. They were no longer the bright golden color she was used to, the ones that Arnold constantly told her were as beautiful as the sunlight. No. They were glowing blue, with dark, malicious rings around her irises. They were just like the ones she saw on King Connor.

“You! Rebel!” someone suddenly shouted nearby. Aveza looked over and saw a squadron of guards, who were clearly tired from a recent fight. They all had their guns aimed at her. She simply scowled. She didn't have time for these clowns. She felt a new instinct take over. It guided her newfound power through her veins. She reared up, and her body took another phantom form: that of an elk. The guards looked in terror at the spectacle, and Aveza brought her weight slamming down towards the ground. The impact generated a shockwave, and the blast sent all of the guards flying. They all landed unconscious with a hard thud some distance away. Aveza became human after the attack, and set off towards the massive palace that Connor had set up for himself in the center of his capital.

All across the city, the rebels clashed with the guards, providing the perfect distraction for Aveza to slip by towards the palace. Of course, some guards tried to stop her, but they all met their gruesome end with a shockwave a few seconds later. She sauntered through the palace gates, and started making it towards the palace entrance.

“Aveza!” she suddenly heard a familiar voice call. She stopped and turned, and saw her mother in the heat of battle. A dozen armed warriors stood against her, and she seemed to be losing the fight.

“Sweetheart! You have to help! Agh! Please!”

Aveza looked at her blankly. Kill Connor, take the Apple, she thought. She apathetically turned and continued towards the gates.

“Aveza!” Shikoba protested. “Aveza! Help!”

But Aveza ignored her. Kill Connor, take the Apple.

She blasted the entrance open and walked through. The roof collapsed over the entrance, cutting her off from the outside noises. The last noise she heard from the turmoil was her mother's final agonizing scream. Kill Connor, claim the Apple.

She used her hawk powers to make her way to the very top of the massive monument, and when she climbed up the ladder to the roof, she saw him. Connor stood there, apathetically watching the carnage below. His scepter was in his hands, glowing with the light of the Apple. Aveza’s gaze was dragged to it. It was so close… She just had to kill Connor, claim the Apple.

“You know,” he said as she approached him slowly, “I've been waiting for you to get here. I've been intrigued to meet another person from the real world.”

Aveza stopped. “What do you mean?” she spat.

“You called me Connor the last time we met. But that name doesn't exist here, not in this world. No, I left that name behind long ago, when I was taken from my world, when all my work had been undone by mad King Washington. And yet here you are, calling me by that name. The only way you could know that name is if you were from my world.”

He turned around. “It doesn't matter now though,” he continued. “I learned a long time ago that I was stuck in this world. Stuck here with… this.”

He lifted his scepter so that the Apple was in full view. It glowed like the sun. Connor stared at it, as did Aveza. It seemed so powerful, so beautiful…

“This Apple is power,” Connor said. “It showed me the truth.”

“Nothing is true,” Aveza stated, more out of instinct than anything. Connor gave a surprised grin.

“Ah!” he said. “You aren't just someone from my world, but an Assassin as well! Or… I suppose you used to be, given your recent behavior.”

“I am an Assassin, you dog!”

“Really? Based on what I remember, the Assassins fought for freedom, to end power, not replace it. And I can see it in your eyes. You want this Apple, don't you? You want the power it holds.”

Aveza clenched her fists and growled. “Enough talk!” she said. “Let's just get this over with so that I can rip that hunk of silver out of your cold, dead hands!”

Connor chuckled. “Very well, Assassin,” he said, using the last word like a swear. “Let's see what you've got.”

And so they clashed.

The Apple flared with light as Connor used its energy to blast Aveza away. She dodged the blows as best she could, but was still inevitably sent flying back. She managed to regain her balance and sprint at him, using her hawk powers to get in close and land a few slices of her own. Connor reared up, ready to crush her with his bear might, but Aveza quickly dodged and went invisible. Connor looked all around him for his prey, but Aveza still managed to sneak up on him, using her elk powers to send him flying. The floor beneath them cracked and bent, but neither cared. All that was on their minds was blood. Animal instinct had taken over.

The two took to the skies as birds, slashing hard at each other with their talons. They screeched at each other, until eventually their wings wore off and they started falling towards the roof again, and as they landed, the floor gave way, and they fell further. Even in the air, they fought. Blood soaked both of their clothes, bruises stained both of their flesh. They both twisted and morphed in and out of different forms as they fell, clawing, roaring, biting at each other, each trying to rip open the other's throat.

And everything was brought to a complete halt when they hit the ground below. The wind was knocked out of them as they went rolling away from each other in bloody heaps. Aveza could feel a good amount of broken bones and sprains. She painfully looked over with bloodied eyes, and saw Connor was in a worse condition than she was. The Apple had fallen from his grip, and the golden globe went rolling across the room. He painfully tried to crawl towards it, but he was slow, and Aveza, despite her injuries, managed to limp over to him and stab him through the heart before he could reach it. She rolled him over and glared into his dying eyes. He looked up at her and chuckled. “Go on then, claim your prize,” he said, and then he died. Aveza spat on him and started limping towards the Apple, drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It beckoned her, begged her to come closer.

Reality was tuned out as she limped. The voices rang in her head as she got closer and closer.

“You can't handle the power it holds,” Connor mocked. “Don't take it, you're not worthy of its might...”

She was getting closer… She could feel its energy...

“Aveza!” she heard the ghost of her mother's voice plead. “You can still fight this evil! Turn back, sweetheart, please! Don't take the Apple! Please!”

She kept limping toward it, her knees ready to buckle from exhaustion. She weakly held her hand out. It was so close…

She suddenly saw some sort of figure appear beside the Apple, a phantom standing tall, a judgmental expression on its face. Her white robes swayed in the breeze. Her golden eyes glared bitterly at her. Aveza managed to tear her gaze away from the Apple just long enough to see her phantom twin, a version of her that seemed so far in the past by now: the one in Assassin's robes.

The phantom glared at her. “Take it!” she cried. “Take the Apple you wench! You've come this far, just do it!”

And so she did. Aveza reached her hand out, and finally laid her hands on the glittering artifact that glowed like the sun.

And then the world went white.

Description
“What do you mean?”

“Where did you get that thing?!”

“I… er… Arnold and I stole it off a Templar near Tristan de Cunha.”

“Oh no… no no no no! You have to get rid of it right now, Aveza!”

“What? But, Connor! Imagine what this thing could do now that it's in the right hands.”

“There are no right hands with this thing! I sank that Apple for a reason, Aveza!”

“Wait… what's it doing? Connor…?!”

“Aveza! Don't!”

“Oh my God!”

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

April 13, 1815; Kanatahséton, Kanièn:keh

Aveza and Shikoba’s army had significantly increased by the time they arrived in Kanatahséton that night. The whole journey, they'd spent a good amount of time saving innocents and recruiting them to join the fight. Not only that, but word had also reached Kanatahséton about their recent string of victories. For the first time in years, the citizens of the city felt like they had a chance to have justice served. And the rebels planned to use that to their advantage.

...Except for Aveza.

Once the rebel leaders had met in a secret location in Kanatahséton, Aveza made her way to the door the second she heard where Ratonhnhaké:ton was hiding.

“Aveza? What are you doing?” Shikoba asked.

“I'm going to go kill the bastard running this damned confederacy,” Aveza said simply.

Shikoba seemed shocked by her tone. “Um, not by yourself you're not,” she said in the authoritative voice of an upset parent. “We need to plan our attack, position our allies.”

“That'll take too long. And I want to stick my blade in the king's throat as soon as possible. So yes, I am going.”

“Aveza! Have you lost your mind? You'd get slaughtered by just marching into the palace!”

“No. I won't. Because I've got this.”

Shikoba gasped when her daughter pulled the jug of Tea out of her pouch. She patted her own pockets frantically only to find that it definitely wasn't in her possession anymore. What she saw was real.

“How did you-?” she started.

“Oh please, mum. You're the one who taught me how to bloody pickpocket. Don't look all surprised.”

“Give that back right now, young lady!”

“No! This is the only thing that'll let us take down the king!”

“No it's not! You should've never drank that awful Tea in the first place! Look what it's done to you! Don't you see that you're playing with fire?”

“I have to! I have to fight fire with fire!”

“Then you'll get burned just as badly!”

“You don't know anything about me! You're not even my real bloody mother!”

Shikoba gasped. Tears formed in her eyes suddenly as the words stung like a sword. By now, all the other rebels had gone silent.

“How dare you!” she shouted.

“My real mother would teach me to become the best I could be! She would want me to drink this! To gain its power! And that's not what I'm seeing in you. So what else am I to conclude?”

Shikoba lost hold of her tears. Her cheeks burned with each drop. She didn't know what to say.

“...Who are you?” she said at last.

Aveza frowned and turned to leave. “It doesn't matter anymore,” was all she said before slamming the door behind her and taking to the streets, going invisible so that none could follow her.

Her thoughts swarmed in her twisted mind as she looked for a hiding spot. Why was everyone so stupidly blind? Did they not realize what she could do? She could bring down the king. She could kill him. Maybe she'd even be able to take the Apple from him, keep it safe in her hands. Yes, her hands would keep it safe. Keep safe the power it held. She'd be the only one worthy of it anyway, after all she'd sacrificed.

She eventually found a quiet little ruin on the edge of the city. She settled down and gripped the Tea jug tight in both palms. She had to do this, she told herself. And so she chugged without hesitation, drinking until the jug was empty. She tossed the jug aside as her stomach screeched in agony. Her head spun as she fell to her knees, and then she blacked out once more.

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

April 13, 2015; Sky World

Aveza awoke to find herself once again in the dark, foggy void. She stood tall and ready.

“Alright then,” she snarled. “What do you have for me this time? Come on, bring it on already!”

From the fog, a response came to her in the form of an elk call. She spun around and instinctively jogged towards it, until eventually she found the phantom responsible for the noise. The elk stared at her, and called again. It seemed troubled. Aveza came up to it, and looked all around. What was spooking it? She got her answer when the growls and snarls of a pack of wolves started sounding from the fog. The second Aveza laid eyes on the canines, they lunged.

The elk ran away in fear, but Aveza stood battle ready. She fell each wolf within seconds with her hidden blades. But the fight was not over. She heard the elk call in fear from the fog again, and she heard more wolf growls following it. She sprinted towards her prey, and ended them all brutally when she found them. Another wave of wolves came at the elk, and another, and another. All of them died by Aveza’s blade before they even had a chance to reach the elk. The wolves eventually stopped coming. By the time it was over, Aveza was breathing heavily, her skin soaked in blood. She didn't realize it, but she was growling like a rabid animal.

The elk came up behind her. She looked up at it as it simply stared at her. Was it her imagination, or did it look like it was judging her? She didn't get the time to think about it, as suddenly the elk reared up and brought its weight crashing down upon Aveza, who collapsed to the ground as the spirit passed through her and faded away into the fog. The impact left a massive shockwave that reverberated around Aveza. Her flesh glowed again, as did her eyes. On her chest, another tattoo formed: one that resembled an elk’s skull. Her eyes burned. They felt like they were shifting too. She felt the power, felt it course through her veins. Her vision went slightly red as the blood vessels in her eyes bulged. Her throat generated a low, malicious growl.

Voices started reverberating through her skull.

“Why have you done this, Aveza?” she heard her mother cry. “Why have you let yourself fall so low?”

Another voice came, a taunting one: “Do you feel it, child?” the voice of Connor said. “Can you feel the power? Does it feel good? It will not be enough.”

“Please sweetheart! I'm begging you! Fight it! Fight the corruption of the Tea!”

“Revel in it! Become like me! You think anything could bring me down? Ha! I'd love to see you try.”

“Aveza! This isn't what I raised you to be! I love you, sweetheart! Please! Don't let it take you away from me!”

“Come and get me, you rebellious insect!”

“Your father would be ashamed…”

The voices kept coming, endlessly cycling in her mind. They wouldn't stop. And the last one she heard before blacking out again was a familiar one: her own. Saying with the greatest disappointment, “Connor would be ashamed.”

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

April 14, 1815; Kanatahséton, Kanièn:keh

Aveza awoke the next morning to the sound of clashing swords and igniting muskets in the distance. The whole city seemed to be in an uproar, not that she cared. The city could burn for all she cared. Kill Connor, get the Apple. That was what repeated over and over again in her mind. Kill Connor, get the Apple.

She glanced over at a nearby broken mirror. She saw her eyes. They were no longer the bright golden color she was used to, the ones that Arnold constantly told her were as beautiful as the sunlight. No. They were glowing blue, with dark, malicious rings around her irises. They were just like the ones she saw on King Connor.

“You! Rebel!” someone suddenly shouted nearby. Aveza looked over and saw a squadron of guards, who were clearly tired from a recent fight. They all had their guns aimed at her. She simply scowled. She didn't have time for these clowns. She felt a new instinct take over. It guided her newfound power through her veins. She reared up, and her body took another phantom form: that of an elk. The guards looked in terror at the spectacle, and Aveza brought her weight slamming down towards the ground. The impact generated a shockwave, and the blast sent all of the guards flying. They all landed unconscious with a hard thud some distance away. Aveza became human after the attack, and set off towards the massive palace that Connor had set up for himself in the center of his capital.

All across the city, the rebels clashed with the guards, providing the perfect distraction for Aveza to slip by towards the palace. Of course, some guards tried to stop her, but they all met their gruesome end with a shockwave a few seconds later. She sauntered through the palace gates, and started making it towards the palace entrance.

“Aveza!” she suddenly heard a familiar voice call. She stopped and turned, and saw her mother in the heat of battle. A dozen armed warriors stood against her, and she seemed to be losing the fight.

“Sweetheart! You have to help! Agh! Please!”

Aveza looked at her blankly. Kill Connor, take the Apple, she thought. She apathetically turned and continued towards the gates.

“Aveza!” Shikoba protested. “Aveza! Help!”

But Aveza ignored her. Kill Connor, take the Apple.

She blasted the entrance open and walked through. The roof collapsed over the entrance, cutting her off from the outside noises. The last noise she heard from the turmoil was her mother's final agonizing scream. Kill Connor, claim the Apple.

She used her hawk powers to make her way to the very top of the massive monument, and when she climbed up the ladder to the roof, she saw him. Connor stood there, apathetically watching the carnage below. His scepter was in his hands, glowing with the light of the Apple. Aveza’s gaze was dragged to it. It was so close… She just had to kill Connor, claim the Apple.

“You know,” he said as she approached him slowly, “I've been waiting for you to get here. I've been intrigued to meet another person from the real world.”

Aveza stopped. “What do you mean?” she spat.

“You called me Connor the last time we met. But that name doesn't exist here, not in this world. No, I left that name behind long ago, when I was taken from my world, when all my work had been undone by mad King Washington. And yet here you are, calling me by that name. The only way you could know that name is if you were from my world.”

He turned around. “It doesn't matter now though,” he continued. “I learned a long time ago that I was stuck in this world. Stuck here with… this.”

He lifted his scepter so that the Apple was in full view. It glowed like the sun. Connor stared at it, as did Aveza. It seemed so powerful, so beautiful…

“This Apple is power,” Connor said. “It showed me the truth.”

“Nothing is true,” Aveza stated, more out of instinct than anything. Connor gave a surprised grin.

“Ah!” he said. “You aren't just someone from my world, but an Assassin as well! Or… I suppose you used to be, given your recent behavior.”

“I am an Assassin, you dog!”

“Really? Based on what I remember, the Assassins fought for freedom, to end power, not replace it. And I can see it in your eyes. You want this Apple, don't you? You want the power it holds.”

Aveza clenched her fists and growled. “Enough talk!” she said. “Let's just get this over with so that I can rip that hunk of silver out of your cold, dead hands!”

Connor chuckled. “Very well, Assassin,” he said, using the last word like a swear. “Let's see what you've got.”

And so they clashed.

The Apple flared with light as Connor used its energy to blast Aveza away. She dodged the blows as best she could, but was still inevitably sent flying back. She managed to regain her balance and sprint at him, using her hawk powers to get in close and land a few slices of her own. Connor reared up, ready to crush her with his bear might, but Aveza quickly dodged and went invisible. Connor looked all around him for his prey, but Aveza still managed to sneak up on him, using her elk powers to send him flying. The floor beneath them cracked and bent, but neither cared. All that was on their minds was blood. Animal instinct had taken over.

The two took to the skies as birds, slashing hard at each other with their talons. They screeched at each other, until eventually their wings wore off and they started falling towards the roof again, and as they landed, the floor gave way, and they fell further. Even in the air, they fought. Blood soaked both of their clothes, bruises stained both of their flesh. They both twisted and morphed in and out of different forms as they fell, clawing, roaring, biting at each other, each trying to rip open the other's throat.

And everything was brought to a complete halt when they hit the ground below. The wind was knocked out of them as they went rolling away from each other in bloody heaps. Aveza could feel a good amount of broken bones and sprains. She painfully looked over with bloodied eyes, and saw Connor was in a worse condition than she was. The Apple had fallen from his grip, and the golden globe went rolling across the room. He painfully tried to crawl towards it, but he was slow, and Aveza, despite her injuries, managed to limp over to him and stab him through the heart before he could reach it. She rolled him over and glared into his dying eyes. He looked up at her and chuckled. “Go on then, claim your prize,” he said, and then he died. Aveza spat on him and started limping towards the Apple, drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It beckoned her, begged her to come closer.

Reality was tuned out as she limped. The voices rang in her head as she got closer and closer.

“You can't handle the power it holds,” Connor mocked. “Don't take it, you're not worthy of its might...”

She was getting closer… She could feel its energy...

“Aveza!” she heard the ghost of her mother's voice plead. “You can still fight this evil! Turn back, sweetheart, please! Don't take the Apple! Please!”

She kept limping toward it, her knees ready to buckle from exhaustion. She weakly held her hand out. It was so close…

She suddenly saw some sort of figure appear beside the Apple, a phantom standing tall, a judgmental expression on its face. Her white robes swayed in the breeze. Her golden eyes glared bitterly at her. Aveza managed to tear her gaze away from the Apple just long enough to see her phantom twin, a version of her that seemed so far in the past by now: the one in Assassin's robes.

The phantom glared at her. “Take it!” she cried. “Take the Apple you wench! You've come this far, just do it!”

And so she did. Aveza reached her hand out, and finally laid her hands on the glittering artifact that glowed like the sun.

And then the world went white.