(We are officially back. Events take place around the time of the Firestorm crisis of Tiberian Sun, simultaneously with the events of Syndicate in the Assassins Creed timeline. Desmond: Desmond Files (f-list))

Desmond was surprised when he felt the system shift for a moment before going still. Well, as still as any computer system, but it was lacking at the moment.

Maybe the AI had left the system and reconnected to the other base? Either way, it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Coming out of his hiding spot he quickly started to access the files he needed; it took a bit of searching, but thankfully there wasn't anything encrypted, given that the files were being accessed from their HOME. He copied what he needed and put the files back - nobody would notice he had been there. What he found wasn't very comforting, but it did confirm some things about Kane.

Picture provided, it looked the same as the man he saw back in Abstergo, minus the robotic eye - he was supposed to be dead according to the file, but maybe he had been saved on an Animus? It was hard to say. As far as he knew, the only people with an Animus were the Assassins and Templars. There were also some files on the Cabal AI, something that was pretty advanced and able to take over systems and use them. Parasitic in nature, it confirmed what he saw with Eagle Vision back then. He also now had files on known locations and troops, some mission briefings and known encounters.

With that out of the way, he thought it might be a good chance to find out about the Eva AI that was supposed to live here. It looked like she was fairly advanced... based off a person from WW2? They were stuck here? Maybe an experiment. There shouldn't have been that kind of tech back then, right? He shook his head; he didn't need to get stuck on this. There was nothing he could do about it, and he shouldn't let himself get carried away with trying to help her. He took a breath before resuming his search, and found an order on record to search the NOD tunnel maps - those could be useful, and he needed more info on NOD anyway.

He followed the path Eva took out of the system.

Eva began to navigate the tunnel networks fairly quickly. Starting from her current position, she was able to reach US shores, nothing of use found on the way. As she began to search the different states and cities, something caught her eye - a recent incident, an explosion at a secret, concealed lab. Her instinct kicked in - her human side. For a split second, she could tell something of importance was there.

Scavenging as much data from the blast zone as she could find, she was able to discover trace digital residue of what transpired - and more importantly, who.

"CABAL?" She gasped.

This wasn't right. She SAW how fractured he was left during the Firestorm war. There was no way he could still operate without his underground hivemind. GDI destroyed everything.

"Why was he here? And... what on earth is Abstergo?"

In an instant, she used her satellite uplink to look up information on the place, or what used to be standing there. "Abstergo Industries... pharmaceuticals... multinational corporation... game testing... suspected of being a cover and front for... the Templar Order?"

Placing two fingers on her forehead, she relayed her question again back to the Philadelphia satellite. Again, in under a millisecond, a response.

"The Animus. That has to be it. But... if a valid human test subject is required to operate it, then at least one human would have also been here."

She relayed her partial findings back to the Kodiak, now stuck under an ion-storm at their refueling base. Ion storms were Tiberium-caused climates that had constantly threatened GDI's control of the skies. NOD had used that to their advantage when they built their own tunnel networks to go through ion-storm fault lines.

"Good work," Chandra commended her. He rubbed his temple, feeling the onset of a headache. Chandra was always the softer one of the group, bouncing praise and thanks to everyone around him, even when he was too troubled to do so. It's what McNeil and Brink both appreciated about him.

"Looks like we're not alone in this fight, are we?" Brink muttered. Eva nodded, though nobody could really see her - the Kodiak wasn't designed for cybernetic manifestations like her and CABAL. They could only direct and hear what she had to say.

"Additional data found," Eva communicated to the Kodiak. "The ongoing conflict between the Assassins and Templars concerns metaphysical objects requiring further analysis. Not enough information could be salvaged from the wreckage."

"Objects...?"

"Codename: Piece of Eden. No further data found."

Brink slowly turned her gaze back, meeting Chandra's eyes. Both were mystified. Both looked at the sealed compartment they were escorting.

"There's no way," Chandra scoffed. "The Tacitus is tiberium-infused technology. I don't think anyone aside from us, Tratos and Kane knew about it."

Desmond, having followed Eva into the Nod system tunnels, started to download maps and other relevant data. If the tunnels were abandoned, then maybe the Assassins could use them to get around undetected - or he could try to take over part of the whole system with Becca. It was worth looking into later on. He had kept his distance from the Eva system, but not enough that he couldn't follow her path and get lost. He was a bit concerned when he followed her to the Abstergo systems - why would she come here?

He stayed well enough away himself; he wasn't supposed to be here anyway since he was 'grounded', and the last thing he needed was Templars figuring out he was 'alive'. It was a bit concerning that she was here. He sank back into the tunnel systems to see where she went next and get more data.

Eva awaited further instructions.

"Continue your search, Eva. We'll process your findings in the meantime." Chandra rubbed his chin in deep thought. If someone was in that Animus, and Cabal was confirmed to be there, then GDI cannot rest. One of their targets could still be on the loose. The only problem left is, who was it?

"Ackwnoeldged, Commander Chandra." Eva resumed her mission. She had to make sure she got everything out of the wreckage and data before leaving.

"One final scan," she planned.

Utilizing the Philadelphia's satellite uplink, she scoured the current city for any familiar traces of data that may have made its way out of the blast zone. Any communications, any file transfers, any logs of activity that may have traveled to a nearby intact structure would still be of value. Unlike CABAL, Eva cannot do this without the Philadelphia satellite, but to her advantage, her uplink enables her to do it a lot faster than his parasitic, evolving system ever could.

Her human side wondered for a second if anything could possibly be more powerful. His core processor WAS based off Tiberium bio-technology, after all. Her receptors pinged - they picked up something nearby. An active communication utilizing the tunnel network.

Is someone still using it? It doesn't seem to be GDI. She was cautious not to pursue without orders from the Kodiak first.

"Commander Chandra, I've pinpointed the location of a person of interest. Standing by in stealth mode for orders."

This is it, she thought.

Desmond saw her return to the tunnel system, seemingly distracted by something she found. She looked human to him but also... too stiff? She wasn't doing much - maybe she was waiting for confirmation or something. He slipped out into the open where she could see him.

"So you're the one they call Eva-?!"

We are not dead! This devastating pandemic took its toll on us, but we're back at last. Hopefully a big enough chapter, this time with a very steamy cliffhanger resolving next chapter.

Thank you for sticking around. Enjoy!