Arachnophobia Arc

Please know that this is a major summary and collection of major interactions throughout many RP sessions. Some details may be missed and it will not collect every single action. Also understand that certain details might have been altered or added to give context as well as fluidity. Everything summarized is considered canon. Not all thoughts from every character is tracked here. For more personal perspectives, check character pages and their biographies. As this is an entire summary written out post-role-play, there is the possibility of grammatical errors and mistakes. Don't hesitate to let us know.
== The Arachnophobia Arc ==
=== Campaign One: The Blue Helmets ===
This continues plot-lines from the Esoteric Chase Arc.
===Plot Synopsis===
A female assassin fell in love with a self-sacrificing hero during times of grief in an apocalyptic wasteland, having to face the consequences to pursue her undying love while conflicted with her nurtured loyalty to the acts of murder for business. She will soon realize there is more at stake and a deep interconnected secret chases the man she loves as well as the friends she comes to make. While this happens, a mutant family is challenged by the oppression of humanity and the dark ties of their family legacy now grasped by a woman in white who controls the fates of many lives.
===Chapter 1===
======Into the world of assassinating - Year 2163======
A gathering of powerful and secretive individuals occur within Bargetown. There dressed in an elegant and surprisingly white gown was Ginevene (Darwin's Bark Spider), meeting with a masked man (The Wolf Spider) and woman in a lab coat (The Sydney Funnel-Web Spider, also known as "The Mistress") with a well-built figure. They would each introduce themselves as respective handlers from different parts of the island, managing a large assassin-based organization. After a period of time discussing their pawns, the wolf and funnel would ask the bark spider why she's so keen on hunting down Tanya, a former assassin who failed to kill a contracted target due to love. The Bark spider, also known as the "White Lady", would explain the rules of insubordination and why she seeks to kill the young woman to which the other two deemed there was more to this. The White Lady would express how much control she has over her region and beyond which would cause discomfort for her supposed "equal" handlers that came to pay a visit. Wolf was a relatively new Spider Handler in their organization, so he didn't have much history with the other two. The funnel would then gift Bark an antique cup with a gold coin taped to the bottom inside. 
Tanya is rushing on her own, being chased by a couple assassins while treading deep into a forest. She would successfully kill a couple before hiding out inside a cave again as the former assassin waits it out, watching the snow melt from a trembling cold corner. She didn't have much energy left and had little chances to shower or clean after herself. She was forced to separate with those she was close with when they were ambushed a month ago. The time alone would bother her as she wondered how August was and what he was doing. She could feel the guilt building up in her as she was the reason August and Dion were forced to separate; the assassin felt she tore a father and daughter apart. 
While on a hunt in the marshlands of the islands, August came across a vastly dangerous eldritch with several pincer-like fins. A type of gar that looked to be a mixture of a crocodile and amphibian. It would thrust into August with its fins striking outwards, trying to grab the slayer. After a couple bouts, August managed to take it down with his dagger—pummeling it into the mud. Upon opening up this specific eldritch, he noticed a shine of light shining along its skin. Reacting in time, he dodged an incoming bullet and realized someone was trying to kill him. It was a man with a skull mask and dark robes which he assumed was sent by Tanya's former employer. Frantic, August would utilize the darkness of the swamp as well as his instincts in the wild to escape before he could be killed by the assassin. This caused August to leave for Barge and prepare to leave to go into hiding. 
On his trip back to Bargetown, August met a man named Mark De Mark who manned the Soup Shark. Thinking he worked there, August ordered his usual being crab but the server didn't seem to know what he was doing, mixing random ingredients into a bowl after letting August know there was no crustaceans stocked. After a thorough time eating his meal, August realized he had to leave soon which led to a conversation with Mark to go look for crabs. They would look through beaches unfortunately finding none. August wasn't much for fishing and usually only hunted deer and rabbits in forests so this was out of his expertise. Mark didn't really have any expertise except for the fact he's unusually lucky. After they failed to find food in general, the two travelled back through Sunrise city and caught the attention of wastelanders who made camp. Feasting to a shared meal together. Mark was skeptical, thinking they were cannibals and August thought to see if they could enjoy some food anyway. While eating, Mark pointed out that a strange man was staring at August. And so the two decided to leave, only to be followed by the stranger who wanted to sell August's armor to the Chrome Skulls, a notorious group who recently made their home in Sunrise city and are obsessed with cybernetics. Having only recently upgraded his equipment, August didn't like the idea of being robbed and attempted to run away from this man. The two would then meet an older gentlemen who dressed like a cowboy and ranger. He assisted them and fight this robber who evidently knocked out August and heavily wounded the ranger. Mark successfully used his sword and saved the group after rushing the robber from behind, which caused the enemy to flee. While this all happened, the group was being watched by an assassin known as the Wolf Spider on behest of the Mistress, another spider who both originated from the organization Tanya worked under. Being saved by Mark led August to treat him with drinks and the ranger granting the swordsman a paid meal. While at the pub, a recognizable face would speak to August, stating she noticed he might have had a long day. The voice caught August's attention and there, he would be greeted by Katelyn Nevin, someone from his recent past. They would catch up and she would share a short summary on why she disappeared from Bargetown suddenly. After a good couple of laughs, she would let August know that she did quit being an official healthcare worker but is willing to offer him exclusive free healthcare. 
August would state that he plans to eventually move out and needed to make funds for the plans, asking Katelyn and Mark if they'd be interested in doing a couple jobs with him. They all agreed and would head out but a stranger would contact August alone, stating she would like to invite them to dinner. A woman who went by the title, Mistress. The group already assumed this could be a trap. Suspicious of this invitation, eventually their plans changed to following through with this offer and the group would be led by this woman towards a strange cave. Along the way, Bounty noticed August and asked if he could tag along, assuming he was on an eldritch expedition. Made aware of the invitation, Bounty decided to tag along anyway. As they entered the cave, August would be baffled by the strange questions and awful meals they prepped. The others also had mixed receptions on the food, which they served crab—something that wasn't a mere coincidence. They knew too much about him which made the situation way too unpleasant. Apparently the Mistress wanted to know what August knew on the White Lady, a woman who August figured was Tanya's employer. After a quick back and forth, he realized they were also assassins and told the group to flee while the woman was distracted—talking to a masked man she called the Wolf Spider. That man seemed to have a habit of staring at August which made him uncomfortable. After the group escaped, the mistress demanded they just die in frustration. Realizing the assassins are everywhere, August asked the group on suggestions to where they should hide out. They made the collected decision to leave far away to a place they wouldn't be expected to stay which was a bunker under union control. Since this was the best course of action, away from the influence of the assassins at least temporarily, the group decided to leave together. Bounty chose to make a detour and meet with them later at the designated location. August sends his planned coordinates to Tanya, Samuel, and other allies in hiding with the idea to gather together to make a stand against their oppressors. 
A family of oppressed mutants would be introduced with a special background of being successors to a powerful alcohol trading business known as the Shepherds of Rum. Having traveled to the Sunrise Islands from Huron Ontario, avoiding Southpoint after learning of their messy political situation within and outside. The eldest's name was Max, the middle child went by Sunday, and the youngest Moon; two brothers and a sister. They had attempted to begin a new start in a settlement known as North Tower but it collapsed after an attempted assassination on the elected mayor which was followed by the entire settlement being razed to the ground. A group of men wanted to flee towards a couple bunkers nearby but Max was hell-bent on rescuing the bar they started as well as the home they were building. Sunday would come to make the decision he and Moon had to separate for their own safety. Moon would cry and didn't understand why Max was leaving them, asking Sunday if he'd do the same which he then promised he'll never leave her. 
=== Chapter 2 ===
====== Bunker Madness - Year 2163 ======
Max would return having given up but salvaged a couple of their belongings. He was then embraced by his two younger siblings after finding Sunday and Moon helping the other men start up a garden as they tried to live by these smaller bunkers. They heard by several passerby that the bunker market ahead had a large amount of eldritch activity, stating it wouldn't be safe to take shelter there. So the three siblings decided to leave the group of men who also once lived in the fallen settlement and took the risk, staying at Bargetown. Having stayed there before, they left for the new settlement due to the constant racism towards them as mutants but since it was the safest and nearest option for the family, this was their last resort. As the family traveled together, Sunday and Moon would have a heart-to-heart about missing their parents. Max being left to raise his siblings alone was difficult and Sunday knew this.
Now by Bargetown in their motel room, an inspection would occur which led an angry trigger-happy officer man-handling the young girl after finding illegal substances which was there before the family rented out the space. Watching his sister be abused by the man, Sunday struck the officer with a right hook into his face. He usually wasn't like this, often being a calm and collected person; a sensitive and analytic type. Arrested by the officer and roughed up in a cell, Sunday waited for anyone to come by. A stranger would appear and it would be a person around his age, Ashlyn who looked human. She said she wasn't doing this for Sunday, but for his sister and to follow her out. Following her out, she'd explain to Sunday with Moon listening in the room that she can find jobs he could take to help their older brother. After a period of time in Barge, the racism worsened and led to the group being driven out. Time has passed and Max started a new bar by Sunrise city and Ashlyn decided to tag along. Ash would reveal to the family she had this special technology that masked her skin tone, revealing green instead of the pale white they knew; she was a mutant and understood the challenges they faced. Max didn't trust her but tolerated the girl, allowing her to stay around their new space. Ash had noticeably grew feelings for Sunday, watching him intently during their time together and found his personality especially attractive. Though he was quite odd, being quite lazy and definitely not a morning person. During a period of time, Sunday and Ashlyn had a nice stroll by a fountain which ended up with her revealing such feelings after multiple moments of flirtatious dialog. Moon found this quite enjoyable after discovering what had happened between them. 
Sunday and Moon traveled back to Barge, hoping to purchase new clothes for Moon since that orange sweater she wore has worn out. They decided to also find quick jobs to help fund themselves. Taking a risk, Sunday would ask Moon to try and push herself to find a simple job and after multiple attempts, Moon was on the verge of giving up. She came across racist employers, people that didn't take her age seriously, and no availabilities around Barge Square. Until a woman dressed in white took an interest in her. The White Lady would introduce herself as Moon entered the bounty room and she would offer the young child a simple job, to be her birdie. Moon would be told she had to listen and follow a man who worked at the bar, whom was the racist employer that denied Moon a job earlier. See where he goes everyday and report back at the bounty shop. Moon decided to keep this job a secret from Sunday who was ecstatic that he found a position as a stocking clerk. After a few days of following the man, Moon decided to take a few steps further and overheard that men affiliated with the bartender had been smuggling teenagers to be sold as slaves; one of them being a stocking clerk mutant, whom Moon discovered was her brother Sunday. Realizing that her brother and several other kids were kidnapped, she followed the person she overheard and found the room they were staying in. Moon would be caught by the man and threatened, but eventually shooting and killing him in a messy chase using the man's own weapon. Moon rescued her brother while also releasing the other captives... leaving the room together, only to be confronted by the White Lady and a skull-masked assassin next to her. She would tell Moon that shooting the gun alerted many of the militia forces in Barge. Also stating she broke one of the rules of their contract as Moon was only supposed to follow the bartender. The White Lady decided to give her a second chance and revealed that the intended target wasn't the man, but the girl she was keeping, which was one of the captives who was a girl with blonde hair. The skull-masked assassin proceeds to kill all the children, stating there can't be any witnesses but spared Moon and Sunday who ran off. The White Lady smiled as she watched the two children run off, having plans for them soon. 
Sunday and Moon would return to Max's bar a day ago, extremely stressed from what they experienced. Moon was not only traumatized by witnessing the mayoral candidate die in front of her after asking a few questions before her assassination, but the additional fact that she killed a man and saw other children die. Her brother, Sunday was upset she didn't tell him about this job and that they can't keep secrets from each other. He would tell Max and Ashlyn what happened, leading Ashlyn to talk with Moon and eventually leave her with Max. Ash looked for Sunday who was feeling extremely guilty and eventually discovered that the Vex family's middle child thought he wasn't strong enough to protect Moon. Just tied up watching her kill and fight off a man larger than her. He then ran away which caused Ashlyn to panic, seeking Max and Moon who were having an important heart-to-heart, and interfered. Eventually, the family would hear from the radio that Sunday was caught by the Mistress who questioned the boy why he came after the White Lady in Bargetown. It seemed Sunday ran back to Barge in an attempt to confront the Mistress's colleague, and she was there at the time. The mistress told Max to fetch his brother, which he complied, finding their location by a cave where Sunday was tied up. Several threats about cutting his arm off occurred when Sunday stated he wanted to become strong. After freeing Sunday and leaving with him, Max punched Sunday in the face and Ashlyn attempted to comfort her boyfriend while telling Max off. The older brother was upset he'd do something like, after trying to ensure he and Moon were both safe while raising them. Sunday had dry responses, deciding right there that he was going to leave for Southpoint, asking Ashlyn to take care of his family. Max would soon come to regret punching him as he drank his sorrows away at the bar, watched by Ashlyn who was now determined to find Sunday again and Moon who cried by the corner when Sunday never came home. 
Sunday would meet a woman named April and a man who escorted her, named Azure. They would be friendly towards Sunday even though he was a mutant and taught him a couple methods of fighting as well as survival skills after the mutant boy spoke about wanting to be stronger. After sometime together, they would go their separate ways as the two planned to set up a trading stall in the bunker market while Sunday aimed to reach for Southpoint. 
Now at the bunker market—the group (August, Katelyn, and Mark) would hide amongst the crowd after entering through security. Trying to keep themselves rather low profile, a slaver would walk by with a couple children leashed up and trying to sell them just outside the bunker exit. This angered August and his companions would try to stop him from acting out with the possibility of blowing their cover in such a large crowd of people where anyone could be an assassin. Having told the group the information Tanya shared to him in the past about how her organization are planted in different sites as well as disguised as any average wastelander. That each major location and culture is governed by one handler known as Spiders and that it was the White Lady who seeks to execute Tanya. Despite knowing this, August couldn't help but watch as a mutant girl would be sold to a man and dragged by the wrist. Katelyn would try to stop August but he wouldn't allow it, rushing towards the man but is suddenly flipped over. He would then shoot the thigh of the buyer while on the ground and the child would run away after noticing August's left earring. Having personally been enslaved and his soft spot for children, he had to make sure at least that child was okay. He would follow her into a tight alleyway, kneeling while softly speaking he won't harm the child. He would offer the child a small ball with a bunny pattern, something he bought a while ago for Dion to give if they would ever meet again but realized she wouldn't be interested in such a thing. So someone younger might want it, assuming this could get the child to trust him. The girl surprised August with an embrace and would introduce herself as Alice Knight. Now with a child in tow, the group would remain in the bunker with the intentions to wait for the others August called.
Bounty arrived a day later, stating there isn't much news to share. They don't seem to be publicly wanted but it felt like many people were carefully watching. Samuel arrived a little later, trespassing into the bunker to meet with the group. They would gather in the sleeping quarters, discussing what they could do. While this happened, a traveling merchant arrived by the bunker with an escort guard—who recognized August from a distance. It was Azure Cortez, a younger man August mentored last year, They greet each other, shaking hands and caught up. August asked why Azure returned to the islands which was then shared, that work took him back. He would introduce his employer who was a lady with black hair and blue eyes and she seemed slightly older than August. The slayer nods respectfully, eventually leaving after talking about her business she's running. As he left, the lady would ask Azure who August was—which he would clarify is his former mentor and name. While at the bunker, August talked with the group about doing an eldritch hunt to make some funds they might need and although Mark, Samuel, and Bounty were hesitant. They all eventually agreed to do it, leaving Katelyn to tend to the child while the group went out to find a job. The employer of Azure approached August, offering a bounty that an older woman handed to her—stating that someone of August's caliber should do. The group asked what the woman looked like and she stated they had a white dress as well as hair to match. Everyone already called this a trap but August decided to take it anyway. He would have Bounty scan the horizon while Samuel and Mark watched from the cliffside. The eldritch was real and it was taller than the trees. It looked to be somewhat passive, trudging through the forest with loud steps. This would be the third large eldritch August would fight in his career. It had a massive physique, similar to a gorilla with a large mane like a lion's. Its forearms were massive and it towered over the group. August asked if Mark wanted to be the bait which he humbly declined after thinking indecisively regarding the idea. Bounty volunteers to be the bait, eventually heading down into the forest while Samuel and Mark wait with August from the top. Using their radios, Bounty lured the beast towards the group by the cliffside just as August planned.
Using the time given, they would fire upon the beast as it attempted to scale the cliffside. It would then give the group added difficulty, catching Mark and crushing Bounty several times. They would swipe Mark off the cliff which led to Bounty rushing to assist the man. Samuel managed to jab his blade into the neck of the beast, causing it to bleed out. While this happened, August successfully barraged quick successive attacks towards its back and caused the beast to collapse off the cliffside, landing onto the two. Bounty would break his ribs while Mark wailed in pain with his legs stuck under the eldritch. Samuel and August would fire from the cliffside, causing the eldritch to break off a tree and throwing it towards the two. It strikes August slightly, causing him to tumble away. Mark successfully escaped from being under the beast while Bounty was still stuck, slashing the weak point made by Samuel with his sword, almost beheading the eldritch. August decided to saw off the remaining neck of the head and took off to claim the bounty while escorting Bounty to Katelyn. Samuel and Mark stay to collect the meat of the eldritch which August planned to not eat. He'll let his friends enjoy their eldritch stakes. To commemorate this kill, August cuts a chunk of the beast's fur from its head and wrapped it with a rubber band while naming the eldritch the Bunker-Gorilla.       
The group would reconvene in the shelter and Azure's employer would approach August again, stating she needs to talk with him. He asked she wait until after he's done turning in the bounty. He turned it in and shared the earnings with the others who participated. Bounty would receive his while laying down in bed, the other two collecting their earnings upon arriving back with chunks of meat. August would then approach the woman and she revealed her name is April West, that she thought August was dead, and is his older sister. After a couple comments back and forth with April mentioning their uncle stating such things and the fact she believed him, August is angered—having hated his sister for abandoning them and the additional fact she's affiliated with Xavier. He would point his gun towards her, unable to trust someone with ties to his uncle. Azure would respond, pointing his gun towards August and in response to this, Samuel pointed his rifle towards Azure. April looked remorseful, wanting August's forgiveness and a chance to start again as a family but to the slayer, she was only a stranger who just happened to share the same blood as him.
After these events she would approach August once more while he spoke with his friends. Everyone would leave awkwardly or stand nearby to give them space. April planned to depart, ending her business with Azure earlier than stated in the contract. August wouldn't even say goodbye though the chances for that had slimmed as the bunker was attacked by a small pack of eldritch. The security of the bunker was lacking as many have left the area early in the morning. Bounty, though injured, was already outside defending the gates with Samuel. August and Mark would join them. August would hear screaming from the forest, rushing towards it and leaving the small group to defend without him. He found April against a tree and an eldritch laid out on the floor. August knew it was still alive and killed it, surprising April who thought she killed it. Eventually they would reconcile, understanding April just wanted to work things out with August. He looked past the issues at hand and decided to escort her back to the bunker with the others. Returning to the battlefield, August called back his group to flee and prepare a barricade in the tunnel. They would barricade the entrance, walled up from behind and prepared themselves for the inevitable attack.
As they waited out for more eldritch, one would crawl towards the gate and it looked like a freak with several chunks of meat attached to its skin. Bounty would gun it down from the wall and Mark would step out of the barricade to get close, trying to inspect it. A piece of meat would fling onto Mark's face to August's horror and wrap around his friend. Mark would then start talking with a strange speech-pattern, stating to the group that they should not fight their destiny. Azure, Katelyn, and Alice were told to hide out in the bunker rooms by August while this all happened. Mark would attempt to attack April and Bounty who guarded the entrance and managed to take the stray meat off Mark's face, destroying it. Later on, after trying to save someone from being face-hugged and controlled to attack others, Mark is caught with another piece of meat controlling him. Under its influence, Mark attacked August and April. August succeeds in killing the piece of meat. After a certain period of time dealing with the eldritch face-huggers, August leads part of the group with him to escape and eventually find the source of these strange attacks. He is then knocked out by an eldritch hiding in the darkness from the ceiling and is escorted by April, Samuel, and Mark out.
The four discussed what they could do to deal with the face huggers. Mark having been face-hugged multiple times and for the longest amount of time, they decided to use gas masks for radstorms to counter these attacks. Mark received strange visions, like memories of the eldritch and connected the location of it. August and the others weren't convinced at first until Mark drew the location which April recognized as the lake she was saved by August earlier in the day. They head towards the location hastily but realized it wasn't so bright to jump right in with danger. Overwhelmed by a surprise attack by a large blob of meat chunks, the eldritch failed to control them so it relied on slowing their movements. August's group succeeds in taking the creature down after a prolonged encounter with it. They then returned to the bunker to reunite with the others and the eldritch attacks stop.  
A day later, August talked with Katelyn regarding what to do next and wondered where Mark and Bounty was after asking them to leave for explosives he stored near Barge. A risky mission for the duo. He then heard from Tanya after waiting for so long in his radio, which caused them to convene by the entrance of the bunker. They speak and catch up, as August asks if they are still good which she confirmed they are. He then heard Bounty on his radio stating that he is captured with Mark which brought suspicion to August as to how he'd have access to the radio then? Knowing this is a trap and that Bounty might be a traitor, helping the White Lady. August and Tanya's reunion is cut short due to this, so they decide to plan time alone together later and went out to rescue Mark. By the outskirts of Barge, far away enough to not be detected or seen by anybody, August and Tanya discussed what they could do to infiltrate the area. Since Bounty expected only August, he planned that he can lure most of the attention while Tanya swam through another entrance. After a fierce gunfight with Bounty having the upper advantage from where he was shooting, he came down to fight the slayer in person, only to lose terribly to August by being knocked out. After removing all of Bounty's weapons, August rushed towards the crane where Tanya and Wolf were in battle. She would struggle to the Wolf, proceeding to be knocked back to which August joins her. He and the Wolf disarm each other, leading to an intense hand-to-hand bout between the two. The slayer gains the upper-hand, clobbering the mask off Wolf's face, revealing his face to be Jacky Anderson. Questioning the man now, it appeared Wolf has no recollection on who August is and is only doing this to discover a weakness of the White Lady. That he was pretending to help Bounty secure Tanya for the White Lady when in reality the Wolf wanted to question the former assassin on what she knows.
The battle would come into a halt when Bounty wakes from being knocked out, climbing up the crane and pushing Tanya off into the water. Following after her and escaping with the former assassin with the intent to present her to the White Lady. Wolf swears under his breath when his true intentions are exposed to Bounty as the White Lady informs the mercenary that Wolf intended to betray him. To kill the entire group at once, Bounty set off small explosions along the crane. As this was happening, August was breaking Mark free from his restraints and Wolf was climbing down to chase after Bounty who had Tanya. The battle between Bounty and Wolf was fierce but after a gruesome conflict, Bounty would defeat Wolf in a large cement crater they both fell into. 
While they fought, Tanya would make a break for it after regaining consciousness and would reunite with August and Mark. The Unkillable Mark was injured and required alcohol to clean his wound which Tanya expected August to have, much to his dismay, the Slayer gives up his drink to help his friend. She would drink some of it while August wasn't looking.
Now back in the bunker, the group would gather and discuss everything that's happened. August wanted to find a means to stopping the White Lady but Tanya felt that maybe there's a better solution, that she could talk to her which everyone disagreed with. The former assassin personally felt rather uncomfortable with Kate, asking Mark if she was a nurse, which he confirmed was the case and made a silly joke related to it which Tanya didn't find amusing. While by the bunker market, a man would approach the group stating that a woman was looking for Kate. There, a woman named Maria, an older doctor would introduce herself to the group. Kate didn't expect Maria MacKenzie to actually make an appearance on the islands and would greet her mentor, but to everyone's surprise, including Tanya, she was a retired assassin. She would then attack the group, poisoning August immediately and taking him out of commission. Mark would yell ninja grandma, running over to August and protecting him along with Kate. 
Tanya would desperately plead she not hurt August and to cure him while also intensely staring at Kate to ensure he's protected at all costs. Maria would state the group should give up Tanya if they wish to save August and that he only has an hour before he dies. After agreeing, Kate was given the appropriate ingredients to cure August while Maria had Tanya escorted out of the room. 
As Tanya was being escorted out, the Wolf managed to apprehend Maria and free Tanya. They would converse a bit and he offered to take her in hiding if she in return shares information on the White Lady. To which she reluctantly declines, stating she has decided to turn herself in. After some time, August would recover and with the two, would follow after Tanya. Noticing she was with Wolf, he would hold back his curiosities before asking where Tanya was going. She would explain to August to trust her to which he couldn't argue against. He would then state that she promised to do this with him, together. Side by side like she promised which caused her to look at him with grief. Eventually, she would convince August and they would part again.
Tanya and Wolf would travel together and discuss their values as assassins. Wolf would learn that Tanya is the White Lady's sole assassin she has personally trained, which explained partly how much of a weakness the former assassin was to the bark spider handler. He would try to convince Tanya not to meet with the White Lady and she would reveal that her loyalties to the handler are still there. She no longer wanted to run and dream of a life that could never be.
Watching Tanya leave, August would fall back into the bunker market with Mark and Kate. Suddenly the trio would be attacked by a group of assassins which caused them to retreat into the tight hallways, barricading the door. Mark would defend from the front while August shot the assassins who pursued him and his friends. Kate would help Mark and August with their wounds as they retreated. After a prolonged escape, they managed to barricade themselves in the bunker's guest sleeping quarters. Kate would contact the other group which was April, Samuel, Azure, and Alice; who was out shopping in the market that they escape the other way while they lure the assassins after them. August, Kate, and Mark would then plan out an escape route. Having explored the place prior, Mark pointed out a route they could take downwards out a cave system. Agreeing, the three would proceed that route as it was their only way. As they were trying to escape, a near impenetrable assassin with extreme chrome and around 7 ft tall would follow after them through the employee tunnels which were mostly empty because the militia was still out dealing with the eldritch attack from before. Trying to sneak around after noticing the incredibly scary chromed-up assassin who also had a cyclops-eye, eventually August would be caught, being spotted. In an intense chase, the three would rush through hallways, trying to slow the assassin down. The chromed-up assassin would introduce himself as "Crazy Wails" and wanted to kill Tanya due to her status as a legendary assassin but would settle with her friends instead. Bullets wouldn't even damage their enemy and they had no time to figure out a weakness. Eventually, Kate managed to snag a rifle and shoot the assassin in the back which successfully knocked him down, giving August time to escape. The trio would then hop on an elevator platform up into a cave system with the psycho recovering, though failing to catch them as they go up. It wasn't over yet as the trio would celebrate rather too early after hearing the chromed-up man climb up the elevator's shaft with angry grunts and would yell he'd rip the woman apart for breaking his tech. 
=== Chapter 3 ===
====== White Flags - Year 2163 ======
Ashlyn had told Max and Moon she was going to look for Sunday. Max gave his blessing, allowing the girl who had fallen in love with his younger brother to find the stubborn kid. On her trip, she confronted the White Lady and they made a bargain. She would give Ash the route Sunday had taken, since she had recently left someone to keep an eye on him and Moon if she were to do a couple jobs for her as well as one final task later down the line after she finds Sunday. Hesitantly agreeing, Ashlyn was told Sunday had left for Southpoint and should be crossing the Alumni campus now. That there's a group of men she can tag along with, who made trips through that territory. Finding these men, Ash befriended several cheerful individuals who made fun of Antonio for having an unexpected young woman visit for him. Antonio was the leader of this group and the name which the White Lady told Ashlyn to ask around for. She explained her search for a mutant boy and they agreed to take her into the Alumni campus. She would eventually speak to several individuals while looking through a clinic after seeing a glimpse of someone who looked like Sunday be injured by an eldritch across a hill, finding a group of mutants who planned to take a trip for Southpoint. In that group, Ash would speak through the radio on a channel Sunday would know and would hear her own voice come out from a corner in the waiting space where the mutants were. There she'd reunite with Sunday and he'd say sorry for leaving like he did, both deciding to start a life together in Southpoint.
On the run into the woods, August's group would mix with Samuel's as they try to find a safe place to hideout. April would then recognize the area as a place where her best friend, Shun stays. Contacting the red mutant, she would escort the team into the woods, eventually finding a cottage for them to hide out in. After a couple days of rest, they would get to know the woman, learning she is a freelance engineer and a red-skinned mutant. She most notably had a major interest in August. After a period of time, August would continue to worry over Tanya, having tried to contact her tirelessly in which she would eventually get into contact with him after hearing his most recent radio call. The team would disperse to the designated location she suggested they meet after failing to find the White lady. Samuel would stay behind with Alice and Shun. The Wolf decides to stray away, keeping an eye from a distance, knowing the bark spider will find them instead. 
As the group tries to reach Tanya, they would be attacked by Crazy Wails again as he thrashed August around. Injuring him while forcing Azure to defend him. April, Kate, and Mark would battle it out with the assassin, where April would eventually call out a possible weakness with his technology, being the glowing tentacles coming from his body. Kate would take advantage of this, shooting them which successfully weakened and eventually knock down the enemy. The group would then kick him together, beating him to a pulp. Tanya would rush in, noticing this entire fight unfold with a bewildered expression. Suddenly more assassins would arrive on scene and before the group could pull their guns out in response, magnet-based EMPs would explode by their feet, forcing those with metal equipment to the ground. All weapons would be ripped out of the crew's hands, causing Kate and April to bleed but stay standing because at the time, they weren't wearing armor while Azure, Mark, and August were. 
The White Lady would reveal herself with a creepy smile, greeting everyone with a polite bow and stating that Crazy Wails did his duty as a distraction to lure the entire group together, ensuring all their weapons are disabled. Tanya would stare with worry, confronting her former mentor and basically adopted mother. The spider would express that Tanya must be executed for her failures in the most appropriate place or kill August, as he was her assigned contract. We would learn some of the lady's intentions and she believed that everything in her control would help make the world go round. The rules are a necessity to executing and keeping several powers in order though mostly for her own benefit. A form of control within the chaos of a jungle. Tanya would then use the White Lady's mindset against her, stating there is another way to go about this. And that was to assassinate the contractor if they were discovered and had a reasonable case which would benefit the organization. The White Lady would raise her brows and look to August, eventually recalling of information of a secret the slayer had. While this was happening, Wolf would attempt to assassinate the White Lady, failing to shoot her as she was guarded efficiently. They would then fire at Wolf, injuring his shoulder while on a tree. 
Deciding to relocate the group after being shot at, Mark, Kate, and Azure would be tied up inside a wired vehicle garage while the injured August was being treated outside. Tanya would wait for the White Lady in the same room, where she would eventually come with the injured August dragged before her. Tanya would look into horror, watching him be physically beat and chucked to a chair, with clenched fists and a difficult split in loyalty to the White Lady as well as August. She would make her case to the Lady and eventually she would agree, forcefully grabbing August's hand now and confirming he had the imprinted key. She would then let the group go and explain she is always watching. That the person who placed the bounty of August was the Warlord from Texas, a far location from where they are. And that she's giving them only a month as well as a week in Texas to kill Impervious. If they fail to do so, she will not stop until they are all dead. That Tanya is now responsible for all their lives. She would look to August with a slight smile, knowing he's to be a great asset in the future if kept alive, but not enough to keep herself. 
Heading back to the cottage, the group would question what the White Lady was talking about. He would reveal his greatest secret which was something he discovered during his time in Texas. A chip that imprinted on his skin which apparently, later on he'd learn was a special key to open one of many hidden bunkers to access powerful technology which could change the world forever. Now that the White Lady knew of this, August was definitely in more danger than he'd hope. Having went by a different name in hopes of avoiding such attention, especially since he was betrayed because of said chip. Now the group had to accept the fact they must now travel to one of the most dangerous places known on the continent of North America. A place where August used to be enslaved, the Texas Wastelands. 
The group had given themselves a few days to prepare for their eventual trip. August asked the group, assigning everyone jobs to find what we needed. But before they do said jobs, he suggested they take a day to train themselves. He chooses to take the people who don't have much hand-to-hand combat experience, like Kate and Mark, along with Azure to a fighting ring in the Alumni campus. There they would meet the fighting club August used to be a champion in. Participating in a small tournament, Mark would win through sheer luck against Antonio, the reigning champion. And Kate would struggle, though utilize her speed against Rex, a much larger and buff man. Though she eventually loses, the doctor learned a lot from the experience. August would tell her if she used knives, that fight would of been her victory. 
After the fight, the group gathered together with the intentions to gather their belongings. Kate mentioned she could help them find a means to travel by boat. Knowing someone they could ask in the Alumni campus. Now knowing the assassins are held back in agreement to this mission, Azure, and Kate would travel to the campus knowing it's safe. August would be working to increasing their funding through hunting while the rest packed up and said their goodbyes to people they knew. As August was eldritch-hunting, he met with Alexander, another hunter he met through Bounty. Apparently the man tracked August to his hunting grounds, offering to assist him with his journey, hearing it from Bounty. After a couple questioning, August agrees and tells him where to meet in the near future. 
Now by the campus, Kate and Azure would look around and met a man named Gerard who was handling a crew of sailors that were unloading crates during the day time. While they spoke, there was a strange red light along the lake surface but nobody noticed anything suspicious. Kate asked if there was a man named Kaden Nevin (her brother) around and after a brief introduction, she was directed to where he would be which was drinking his sorrows away by a table in the alumni cafeteria. They would reunite and have a sibling-bonding moment while teasing Azure for his stupid questions and statements. After a bit of rejoicing Kate asks if he could get them a ship to sail. He would stay that's impossible with all the seats being fully booked for the entire month and half the routes closed down due to dangerous activity with eldritch and new pirates outside Voyageur-activity. He would then ask why his sister is so desperate to leave the islands and Azure would slip up and explain why they needed too, which was heading to Texas. He would freak out, demanding why she would even consider going somewhere so far and dangerous. After a couple back and forth, they would finally convince Kaden to help them grab a spot if she could successfully sell a radio he invented to a sailor. It was apparently water-proof. She would eventually meet with Gerard again, now at night when it was dark and most his crew were inside the cafeteria eating. He was alone with two other sailors who were playing a card-game while he fished peacefully. She would try to sell the radio but eventually the man would call her out for being Kaden's sister and that he would threaten him if he were to ever try and sell that radio again; especially since he charges high. Kate would struggle to convince the man to buy it, and would state she isn't her brother so technically he shouldn't stop her. Azure would grow bored of this conversation and leave the docks back to the cafeteria, looking for a meal. After a prolonged conversation, Kate was just about to make the sale when the group noticed the red light again. Suddenly Crazy Wails would reveal himself, stating he coincidently spotted Kate and Azure by the campus. Wanting to take his revenge for the embarrassment of beating him to a pulp in front of a spider handler as well as destroying his chrome days before, Kate was his prime target to crush and kill. The assassin would kill the two men and eventually would kill Gerard in front of Kate. Out of fury, she would eventually kill Crazy Wails after gaining the upper advantage in the fight. Gerard would be held in her arms as she would think of any possibility she could do as a doctor to help lessen the pain. Instead, he would stop her and express that he'll help her with that trip to Broken Cleveland. That she can take the boat after giving a locket to his daughter who currently lives in the campus. Broken by this, she would watch as Gerard's life fades from his eyes. Kate then heads to the sailors inside the cafeteria with blood all over her and explained what happened. Most would run out to find Gerard while one stayed to speak with Kate, deciding to show her where his daughter is resting. After a depressing interaction with the daughter, Kate would give the locket and eventually be asked to leave so she could have space. As Kate walked down the steps away from Gerard's daughter's home, her screams of agony could be heard. Kate managed to claim a ship for their trip back to the mainland but not in the way she'd hoped. 
=== Chapter 4 ===
====== Unspoken History - Year 2163 ======
After a short trip to the village, the two would be recommended by the caravan leader an elderly couple who could help them. This couple would offer Sunday and Ashlyn their cottage to rest in as they were planning to stay with their daughter inside Southpoint for a month to let them gather themselves and wait for new spaces to open in their community. The two would be given separate rooms in the cottage and became really close though these moments of peace wouldn't last. On the back of Ashlyn's mind, she wanted Sunday to eventually reunite with his family and she was also worried about the deal she made with the devilish White Lady. As the couple did chores, Sunday pushing himself to try so Ashlyn wasn't doing anything alone, one strange chore was written on the list. To feed the "beast" by the back of the cottage. Sunday and Ashlyn thought this was some dog they kept but discovered it was a Freak Eldritch who looked to possibly be their daughter, whom they hid in a large shed. The Freak looked abused and was quite agitated when the couple came into close contact with it. Sunday thought they should kill it but it might cause them trouble when the couple returned. And they had to be careful since they've received several visitors from Southpoint, who knew the elderly couple with the desire to help the young couple settle. Eventually the two came up with the solution to make it seem like the eldritch escaped through a hole and create a new home for the freak, noticing it wasn't as hostile towards them. As Sunday was working on this plan, a knock on the door was heard and Ashlyn was asked if she could go check to see who it is. Opening it, the White Lady appeared with a much larger assassin behind her. She stated that Ashlyn still has a favor and that the old couple are actually under her payroll. Ashlyn would ask what she had to do and was told that Ashlyn had to convince Moon to come find her in Bargetown... that Ashlyn was to escort the girl herself. Attempting to deny this request, the White Lady wasn't going to take no for an answer, stating she'll have Sunday's knees shot in if she doesn't listen. Deciding to pick Sunday over Moon, Ashlyn complies, abruptly leaving the cottage which upsets Sunday. She would contact someone from Antonio's group to pick her up.
Ashlyn would later return and have a major argument with Sunday, which led to them forgiving each other. The two would decide to follow after Moon and Max who went after the White Lady by leaving Southpoint but on their way back, Sunday was attacked by an eldritch, barely surviving. This led to him falling in a coma and Ashlyn staying by his side in the Alumni campus. 
Overhearing people by the clinic, April learned that the boy she helped before was in a coma and asked the man if she was allowed to visit but there were restrictions made by the person's partner that only direct family can visit. Knowing she had a short amount of time left before her trip to Texas, April asks if he could share her condolences and plans to visit the next chance she can. 
August was called by Shun, the red mutant who grew fond of him during their stay at her cottage. She wanted to see him one last time before he left for Texas. Agreeing, August went to the location she asked him to visit, which was a campsite a few blocks away from her cottage in the forest where she confessed her feelings for the slayer. After a sweet back and forth, August kindly rejected the woman and took off.
As they returned to the Alumni campus, August and April would find each other by the entrance. The slayer wanted to get some shooting practice in before they left and April decided to watch him. While at the shooting range, a strange man came up to April and was identified as someone from her past. He'd try to hit on April, threatening the woman but before he could do anything more dangerous, April ran to August which led to her brother having to beat up the man. He'd realized the individual was an Alumni and this incident would cause problems for them, so the siblings were quick to sneak out to the docks.
The Texas group is called to gather by August where the ship is currently parked. Kate would speak with the sailors and they mentioned, even though they have a route to the Menagerie Market docks, the route itself will be difficult to navigate without a proper captain who knows the ways. And the only person they could convince would be Gerard's daughter. Everyone that gathered for the trip would be: August West, Tanya Wren, Katelyn Nevin, Mark De Mark, Azure Cortez, Alexander, April West, and Ishmael Sayyid (Samuel). They would be accompanied by crew members of the ship as well as the daughter of Gerard who convinced herself to help them out and a mercenary who was hired for protecting the ship, a woman that went by the alias "Iron Maiden." With their assistance, they managed to escape the wrath of a rising Darkport-wannabe group of renegade mutant pirates (having been alerted on the ship's radio later on about who these people were). Before the battle, Kate's brother's radio would malfunction. Asking the maiden to fix it, eventually succeeding, the healer would discover a repeating message that Kaden was with her mentor Maria, looking to stop Kate from continuing her trip but they were captured by the pirates. She was torn and knew she couldn't do anything about it, not wanting to endanger her own friends for the lives of two people, even if it was Kaden, her brother. April herself was hiding an infected wound which August discovered a few days before they sailed and pressured her to seek help from Katelyn, whom treated her at the back of the ship. 
The crew themselves were close to going past these pirates undetected until a random eldritch jumped out from the water and pinned August, only to be killed by a gunshot from the Iron Maiden which caused it to shriek in pain, alerting the ship nearby. The battle was difficult as they had multiple smaller boats flanking around, shooting at them. With binoculars, Kate noticed they had cages with eldritch and slaves. This would make the fight difficult and not something they could win if they stayed to fight, so escaping was their only option. If the group didn't notice these smaller ships, they would have been docked. The Iron Maiden managed to shoot down many of these pirates before having been confronted herself by a special combatant who used jet-ski boots to speed and avoid all the shots. Having a physical duel with the pirate, the mutant is eventually defeated to the cyborg mercenary (Iron Maiden). Kate found her hands full having to help the injured, as Azure and April were shot by a sniper as well as stray bullets... bleeding out. And the fact Mark had a sun burn all along his face the next morning. The group did manage to escape the pirates with the great steering of Gerard's daughter. 
This would force the group to detour towards a route with a well-known territorial gar eldritch known for laying out spews of acid substances used as poison by certain assassins prior, including Kate's own mentor Maria. After a somewhat peaceful morning, they would then be deep into the dangerous territory. Eventually Mark would sense this eldritch and its hostility, revealing its tentacles, shark-life body, and gastronomical sized human-like forearms, it was difficult to take down. It utilized the water to avoid most of the shots from the group and used the water to channel its acidic poison. It utilized bubbles to lure, trap, and poison its prey... and was defeated miraculously by Mark through a plan August thought of⁠—though against the former's wishes after learning Mark couldn't swim. The results of this battle were minor damages to April and Kyla's equipment as well as health. Mark being absolutely lucky, not being affected at all. While Azure and August were in states that would get them killed. Kate only having a small amount of serum made and collected which she used to save August back in the bunker, had to decide between two friends. Instead she dilutes it, splitting it between the two, only realizing it didn't help both as properly as intended. The group manage to discover later on that Azure's life support can filter the poison out and so, August was left under special care by Kate as well as April. Not before being comforted by the entire group. 
After a couple hours, Kate would hear Maria speak through her radio. Maria would explain the harsh truth of her past and Maria's deep ties with the White Lady, Kate being the young girl that was intended to be given up as payment for a relatively unknown past encounter, replaced by the woman we know as Tanya⁠—she had to face surprising truths as Maria also confirms she and Kaden escaped during the chaos of their fight the day before (Azure noticed their figures trying to pull a small boat off during the fight). Kate's mentor pleaded to Kate that she turn back when they arrive ashore. Kate denied her mentor's request and concerns as the older woman made the mission personal in the healer's words. Kate had found resolution and faith in her friends. August gathers the group, explaining that there is currently a civil war crisis nearby where they are docking. To be aware they might come across dangerous gunfire during their trip out the former American state. That they must prepare to face new and unknown threats along their journey to Texas. Azure suggests to Mark he share his luck with August. To which he agrees, deciding to share a pair of sunglasses he wore (having four in total). The crew offers to pick them up when they choose to return, letting them know that Kate has the radio channel to contact them. 
The crew have finally arrived at the Menagerie Market docks, waiting to be given the thumbs up to unload and depart from the ship. After a short wait and inspection of the goods, they were given the okay. Now climbing out, the group witnessed the bustling and busy environment of the trading market. Mark would then offer his close friend, August the pair of shades as a lucky token. The slayer would happily accept the gesture, taking the gift. August would then split the team into two groups which are: Kyla and Mark with the responsibility to find ammo, clothes, and weapons; while Katelyn and Azure were assigned to find them a vehicle. August himself went to look for information on which routes they could take, the current state of affairs, and a map. Before they departed, April handed out these special golden cards which acted like a special form of currency for each person to use in the market. She having this due to her direct history with the market. Afterward, April, Samuel, and Tanya would head back to deal with unloading the goods they brought with them for this trip which were the tents as well as food supplies. 
Kate and Azure begun asking around for information on where they could purchase vehicles. Many traders they spoke too weren't so knowledgeable or didn't share information on such a large request. Eventually the two came across an old man who sold everything but a map which Azure asked for. He stated they will need to know of some kind of code and ask around with that. He also suggested they don't bring up this code to blacksmiths as they would deny their request. In return, Katelyn gave up her medical supplies for this information as a trade off. Afterward, they would begin talking to other merchants referencing the code. Azure found it enjoyable to begin looting several rooms but in the last space, the two were caught. Luckily Kate and Azure managed to talk their way out, pretending they came into the wrong space and were believed. 
Mark and Kyla decided they needed to find clothes first, coming across a blind child who fell on the floor near a bar, He would ask them kindly where he was standing in order to find his way out and for their brilliant assistance, offered them a deal with information. Mark and Kyla asked if there was any location that sold bulk clothing or at least good quality to which the boy complied saying he was headed there anyway. A person known as the weaver, whom they can speak with to purchase such high-quality clothes for a large group of people. They would then follow the boy and eventually find a building with a password and plenty of security. There Mark would be asked to sit by the weaver who happened to be the White Lady. She would tease Mark, telling her to not be so taken back. Surprised and bothered, Mark reluctantly took a seat while calling her creepy and several derogatory statements. Kyla didn't understand the situation too well, telling Mark not to offend the person helping them and to get this over with. The White Lady said she was expecting him and handed Mark three large bags of clothes. While this happened, the blind boy would close the door behind them and chuckle as he ran off. Mark really wanted to kill that kid. They learned that fabric and apparel was just one of the businesses the White Lady controlled, stating she kept her clothes so white due to the experience she has from this trade. After a short back and forth, the unkillable and Iron Maiden left to find ammo. 
Katelyn and Azure ended up finding themselves with multiple leads, which included the Vipers. A biker gang that those who knew them compared Azure a lot to their leader as they shared a similar appearance. After a prolonged search around the docks for this lead, the two gave up and went back to the code. But before they could, they would hear a man walk by, causing the two to hide by a ladder. Not noticing them, he would be speaking with another guard. They just happened to be pirates there to sell children and a vehicle which caught Azure's attention. Deciding to follow them, they would be cut off as the door would close. So they decided to circle around the crates and noticed several pirates guarding the route to the ship. Azure and Katelyn would be caught and forced to fight for their lives. After a brief shoot-out, the guards would die but not before besting Azure and injuring him. Kate struggled to pull Azure after several attempts. Running out of time as the Menagerie Militia was coming in close to the scene. She would then leave after Azure said he had a plan to explain this situation. Kate said she'll come back for him, rushing off. Now left alone, Azure would be surrounded by the militia and successfully convince them he rushed over after hearing gun shots and was shot himself. Trusting what he said, they decided to bring him in to heal and ask more questions. 
Kate would find Azure in the clinic and is relieved he is recovering as well as scot-free from being investigated further. She would update August through the radio on what happened and then after a hour, would leave with Azure to continue their search for a vehicle. They would enter a different area in the market and met a man named Jojack who offered them the opportunity to meet the blacksmith they were looking for. In return they represent him in a fight for a partner-based fighting ring hosted between Columbus and Cleveland. Agreeing, Kate and Azure are led to a far off hidden garage in the fallen city and could hear loud clanging which they assumed was the smith. Eventually they would meet this smith and his partner who acted as his agent. The smith assumed they were trustworthy customers since only those who can find this place are sent by those he considered trusted clients. Azure and Kate would try to flight the pricing of the vans they eventually decided to purchase with their gold cards. Failing to convince the man a good deal, they spent all their gold cards and secured two vans. 
Looking for ammo and spare weapons, Mark and Kyla would meet with an old man who managed to scam them of their golden cards. Deciding to try and take it back, Kyla would punch the man in the face, accidently killing him. They would quickly flee, trying to avoid the attention of the militia who knew of Mark but not Kyla when they signed in for purchasing sensitive equipment like the ammunition and weapons. 
After all the groups finished their tasks, they would gather by the end of the day. August, Kyla, Mark, and Azure took to rescuing the slaves being hauled by the pirates from earlier, having an all-out gun fight which led to Azure being blinded and crippled by a man with a heat-based rifle. After freeing the children and giving them to the settlement nearby, the group gathered back together to discuss their next strategy. Deciding to take up that favor with the fighting ring in hopes of an opportunity for more resources and information, Katelyn and Samuel (who was asked to take over for Azure) left with August in one van to the fighting ring. Alexander stayed back at the camp with the injured Azure to secure it while the rest of the group had left. 
Tanya and Kyla were asked to recon the biker gang in hopes of finding more information with them while April and Mark went to the market, discussing what they could do before following the group back to the arena in hopes of watching Kate and Samuel fight. The duo fighting would be introduced to their opponents, a masked man and a large brute named Boulder. Both were unusually intimidating, like the masked man especially having kept staring Kate's way. They represented "The Cager", a minor slave trader that does his business around Columbus. Samuel didn't like the idea of this slave trader and decided he would seek him out after the fight. The fighters had some time to relax before their match started. And so Samuel and Kate went to look around the area out of general curiosity. Kate found the resting place for the previous fighters and Samuel discovered some supplies as well as an extremely rare device that connects to a private network which he hands to April for safekeeping. 
Kyla and Tanya are by a bar, learning of the bikers there and they are confronted by a boy named Mato who was confused as to how they managed to get in. After some time of chatting, they discovered that the bikers spotted their campsite and are planning to ambush them when they eventually leave. 
The fight is beginning and both sides knew murder wasn't necessary if you tap out but the battle became so heated, the mask of the man cracked revealing Kacey. The eldest brother of Kate who had lost is sanity years ago before disappearing. Licking his blade after cutting up his sister's shoulder, he would attempt to murder his youngest sister. Eventually Boulder and Kacey would tap out, losing their winning streak to Samuel and Kate. Kate would try to speak with her brother but he would deny her every time. The victory however is short-lived as August is contacted by Kyla through the radio indicating the bikers are planning to interfere with them after spotting their camp. Learning of this, the group quickly departs with the intention of returning to the arena later to collect their winnings. 
The group would gather up by the camp now discussing a plan to counter the bikers. Having already scouted where they were positioned, being the two major roads. After a quick discussion, the group decided to create a diversion by blowing up their bar. April knowing how to use explosives is chosen to go with Mark and Tanya. Along with Kyla, those four would setup the explosives and the three departs while Kyla is asked to stay. Samuel and Kate would be the drivers, readying the two vans as they would drive off when most of the bikers are called back to the bar after its explosion. Alexander and Azure were in the secondary van that Kate was driving. 
The young biker who met Kyla and April before, while also catching Mark and April setting up explosives managed to find the dead bodies of the other bikers would scream as he held his bestfriend who died in action against the crew who escaped. He would kneel down, holding his friend's corpse against him as he sobbed. 
August and Kyla would be assigned to shooting the bikers that remain by the main road for the ambush. The plan is executed perfectly though against August's and Tanya's wishes as Mark and April setup explosives while knowing fully that there were young teenagers within the vicinity. After making an escape, August and Kyla steal bikes while the three who set the explosives follow after. The vans successfully driven out by Samuel and Kate. Returning to the arena, August learns of the murder of the young teenagers and is upset with April as well as Mark. Kyla tries to explain that this would of happened anyway due to the life they chose but August argued if they lived, they would of had plenty more chances to change their lifestyles which Kyla agreed with. Tanya was also visibly upset. 
The group would then be confronted by Jojack, the man Kate and Azure owed a favor for because of his help with the vans and told them to collect their winnings. While collecting their winnings, Samuel and Kate chose x10 gasoline and x4 medium-sized fusion batteries. As they were storing the newly acquired resources, the Cager would approach the group in hopes of making a connection. This plot thread however is cut short as Samuel attempts to hurt and eventually kill the slave trader. With most of the guards and crowd gone from the arena, there wasn't many people here to stop this fight... let alone want to be involved in the first place. The slave trader would call his men to interfere and help him, summoning Kacey and Boulder. Kate's older brother would point his rifle her way and threaten to shoot if they don't let the Cager go. August would decide to just open fire, causing a small skirmish between both sides. This left Boulder defeated, the Cager killed by Samuel, and Kacey asked to walk away. The group would try and talk to Kate, assuring her that Kacey is long gone. 
After departing, the group would come to experience their radios being hacked. A woman's voice would echo through and it was someone with ties to Kate's mentor. She explains to them that she was hired to assist them through their trip out of Ohio, explaining she has been listening ever since they arrived ashore in Broken Cleveland. She warns them that they will have to take a route through Indiana if they want to avoid a hot zone between warring factions and that someone amongst the group has direct ties with Kate, finding it surprising they travel together. The group would then break their radios though Kate would just pull her battery out after the strange discussion with the hacker. Gathering in their vans, August would drive the first van and with Kate, would talk about all the recent events that happened to them. As well as how strange most of the journey has had several ties to Kate's past. Azure would be resting, injured in the second van being watched by Kyla. It was hooked to the rear of the first van like a trailer and had the bikes they took stored in the back. As the group drives, finally starting that planned road trip, ahead of them something sinister waits. 
=== Chapter 5 ===
====== Mercenary's Tale - Year 2163 ======
Having decided to take the long highway, the group found themselves driving down and seeing many things. With everyone asleep and the second van hooked to the rear of the first one, they only required one driver. Going at a somewhat slow pace due to the amount of resources they were bringing, it took quite a while with a couple detours but overall no dangerous problems intervened with the trip. Along the large highway, Samuel was driving while most of the group was asleep. Katelyn was awake, looking out the window and the two decided to have a casual talk while they drove. As they traveled along the highway, they noticed a large active factory sitting on an island by the big river. The two conversed about how it's possible for a factory to be running like this and Samuel educating Kate that this is one of many manufacturing sites the USRF or Coalition rely on. 
Along the road, Samuel would spot a small camp with a large sign advertising escort mercenary work. Their vehicles are approached by the old man and they would discuss what's on the road. The man seemed quite surprised there were people driving this route as it was deemed inefficient for supply or travel, with the additional fear of going missing. This older gentleman is a mercenary who offered their group to stay and rest by his camp while also sharing his food. He then offers to tell them a story about how a strange new virus with droids occurred back in 2150 where there was once a prominent and massive faction based on androids, to which they immediately froze still with their lights still active though virtually unresponsive. The mercenary would say that there were moments when the droids would move to new positions and at first thought someone was moving them around as a prank, but certain droids were too massive and heavy to move without a large vehicle. Though after a whole scary story surrounding the mysterious gorgon's virus, the two that listened would attempt to sleep. Samuel struggled to find a chance to rest, feeling as if something was watching the group. And from the corner of his eye, he sees an android he didn't notice before... standing by while intently glaring at the cannibal as well as his friends. He would eventually wake up Katelyn and she would follow suit with a failed attempt to get August up, as the man has been in a deep sleep during the trip due to the amount of battles they've been through previously. 
Katelyn would nervously keep staring at the android while Samuel confronted it, noticing it doesn't respond to anything he does. He'd eventually ignore it, looking around the camp to see if the old man had anything on these androids since the mercenary happened to be asleep. The two would then search together, discovering multiple books and details like how there's a second bed cot which indicated he didn't live there alone. Samuel would find a mermaid-shaped pendant and severed android head inside the mercenary's containers, the head still having lit up red eyes. He decided to hook the android to his belt. Basically the nurse and cannibal stole from the friendly old-man for answers. Eventually the group that chose to sleep out by the fire woke up and took off in the two vans back to their path. 
During their trip, Samuel spots a mermaid painting along the wall of a building as the view of Indiana became more visible. He would see another one and his curiosity got the best of him, stopping the van. As they come out the vehicles, Samuel would spot a strange light shoot across the deep fog surrounding them. Their vehicles would then be disabled and incapable of moving. Surprised by this, August would ask if he should shoot it down but his companions suggested otherwise due the possibility of retaliation. Samuel would compare the mermaid pendant to the painting and noticed a slight different with a mark along the painting that wasn't on the pendant. He presses this mark on the painting which starts an automated door to slide open, stopping suddenly due to being old and damaged. Unable to fit through the crack to see what's inside, Kate, August, and Samuel would work together to pull it open. Kate struggling with her lack of strength. Alexander would wake up from one of the vans to see what the group was doing and why they stopped their drive, thinking this is a waste of time. Samuel discovered a strange ATM-shaped screen with multiple options he can select, which included a map of the region, information (which detailed the company name called Cortex as well as its founders with connections to a tech company formerly based in Canada), and a section for contacting an admin. All the contact names were red and unavailable, having names of old-world ancestors. But one was lit green and the name was a bunch of random letters and numbers. Clicking it, the call would be answered but all they heard on the other end was only heavy breathing. He would learn of a computer symbol just down the block from where they were parked and decided to follow it, finding an abandoned building. As they searched it, all they found was another painting with a frame; It was the same mermaid now drawn on parchment. After carefully comparing it to the pendant again, Samuel noticed the painting had a tail flipped. This stumped Samuel, Alexander, and Kate, though August was quick to figure out that they had to peel the painting off. Removing the paper revealed a computer-like screen with three red squares and a pin along the center. Katelyn would try to press this pin first and found it to collect her blood. She then felt an intense flash of pain surging through her head, and in her vision, everything brighten up around her. Incredibly negative memories flood her mind soon after. This would cause her to collapse on the ground with August concerned. One of the squares would light green. Samuel decides to do the same thing, experiencing the same symptoms but instead his memories showcased his more gruesome past when he slaughtered innocence for the sake of lunch. August would leave Katelyn's side to check on Samuel and decided he might as well try. Instead of it collecting his blood, August would feel an intense shock and is flung back into the wall. Samuel assumed the key rejected the interaction when this happened. Kate would check to see if he was okay, after slowly recovering from what she experienced. They decide to then call Alexander who was nearby to do it, resulting in the man to feel the same symptoms as the first two. A chip would then be printed and fall out from the machine, dropping to August's feet. The screen would then suggest taking the newly fresh AI-chip to a super computer in the city for processing. As it didn't give any directions, the four would head back to their vans and the others to check the ATM-like machine again. 
Now by the vans, Katelyn could hear Azure inside one of the vans yelling in pain and Mark calling for her assistance. April was there trying to soothe the green-haired mercenary. Tanya and Kyla would wake from the occurrence and decided to see what August, Alexander, and Samuel doing. They were by the machine again and Samuel decided to trace where the nearest super computer was, through the map. It would eventually ping deep into Indiana where a mass amount of frozen droids stood along the streets. The group would feel uncomfortable as they were surrounded by frozen droids, just blankly staring different directions as well as their way. Since the two girls were asleep for the beginning half, they were confused on why there were so many inactive robots around them. Samuel would then try to call the "admin" again with no response, just breathing. He said that the man should expect their visit soon, if he's by the super computer and then suddenly the call hung up from their end. The floating light that depowered their vans would fly away with tremendous speeds, allowing them to drive again. 
The group would have a short discussion on whether they should pursue this or keep driving for Texas. Tanya finding this to be a waste of time and to pursue possible unnecessary danger was ridiculous. August happened to agree with this sentiment but also mentioned that the droids are unlikely to harm us, as stated by the old man, which he was told by Samuel earlier. The cannibal convinces everyone they should head into the city to check it out anyway and with that, they all drive off deep into the state known as Haunted Indiana. 
They would arrive near the vicinity of the super computer and the same people who were outside decided to check this place out. April decided to keep guard outside their vans with Mark while Katelyn watched over the injured Azure who once again fell asleep. As they walked along the road, they discussed what they should do about food if they're going to be here for the day. Entering the building, the group would setup a small camp inside as they felt uncomfortable staying out near the dead androids. Eventually, Tanya discovered an elevator shaft which led to a massive computer. Alexander, August, Samuel, and Kyla would follow after her into the shaft. They would all be scanned without noticing and continued their investigation of the space. August noticed there were signs that someone was here recently and Kyla heard this, decided to use her thermal viewer and noticed all the walls had the glow. Unable to spot an outline of someone else. She would then show August and they would question why this was the case. Samuel would be standing by the computer and noticed like the ATM-machine, it asked him to select YES or NO. Previously, when he clicked yes, it let him start the device so he decided to do the same with this machine but instead it deleted all relevant files. The program would then reboot and he would see multiple options which included a map, admin contact, and a direct CPU-coding function. Samuel had no idea how to deal with this device, staring blankly. Kyla would step in, attempting to assist the cannibal as they choose the CPU-coding function. While this all happened, Tanya was in another room investigating while also using this to keep her distance from the group. The stress of the mission has begun to turn her hair white or maybe it was the medicine she's been taking. She would flinch hearing the sudden sound of movement in the walls and called for the others to check with her. Right after calling for them, she would fall into a sonic-boom trap, being crushed into the ground. She would be trapped there for a while and August somewhat worried would check on her with Alexander who earlier found a server-room which he showed Kyla earlier. The two men would fail to notice the sonic trap and would be crushed along with Tanya. As this happened, the door into the room sealed shut which left Samuel and Kyla out. Suddenly the heat would rise up outside the sonic-boom trap room. After they attempted to break the door down several times, Samuel and Kyla failed miserably. They then quickly thought of the server room and ran over there, finding two lit switches which were green. Deactivating them turned off the rising heat and sonic-boom trap, releasing the steel door. Tanya having been in the trap the longest, while collapsing awkwardly on her leg, was injured. She would be assisted by August up, ensuring she could keep standing as the group convened by the super computer. Believing all the traps were deactivated, they would then discuss what to do with the computer. Alexander though was paranoid and fed up, acting irrationally. He didn't want the group to stay down there and decided he'd head up on his own. Samuel would wonder why all of Bounty's friends were so problematic. 
As Alexander stubbornly climbed up the ladder, he would find himself by the ground floor again. While below, the group would look to the computer and select map which showed multiple red dots all along the roads seen. They would begin to move towards the building they were inside. At first they didn't understand what those dots were but Tanya exclaimed that those might be the droids. Were they actually moving the group wondered. They would leave the map section on the computer and Samuel would notice a file finished uploading by the corner, clicking it. Inside the folder were images of the entire group which revealed they were scanned earlier. Kyla would say she might be able to access the network they're connected with, trying to use the direct CPU-code access panel in hopes she could disable the androids. While this happened, Samuel decided he'd head up and check on Alexander. 
Back upstairs, Alexander would just notice an android standing by the exit. Backing up, he'd notice another by the window. He did not see them move. It was as if they teleported out of nowhere. Backed up into a hallway with stairs, an android appeared behind him. Bumping into this android, Alexander was directly stabbed in his hip which caused him to fall prone along the middle of the room. Surrounded by the staring androids who haven't moved. Samuel now finished climbing finds Alexander with an attempt to help him. Downstairs, the group were stressed. August kept trying to support Tanya who complained how she hated technology when a sudden beep could be heard from the index. After several attempts to disable the androids, it kept telling Kyla her access is denied. The cyborg thinks they should plug in the android head with the new chip, which they decide could be an option but before they could, words appeared telling them to give August up and the rest will be let go, scot free while also confirming they could hear them. The group learn this man was controlling all the androids which Samuel who climbed back down with Alexander confirmed is the case. August says maybe it's best he gives himself up which caused Samuel to angerly lash out, punching him in the face to stop his self-sacrificing attitude. That they are here to protect him. The slayer would keep himself collected, rubbing the pain on his face from the unnecessary violence he just experienced. They would try to communicate with this stranger and Samuel grew to hate the man hiding behind the computer screen, using androids to do his bidding. Eventually the group decided to leave but as they were climbing, the roof of the building would lift up and a giant android could be seen looming over them. As the building crumbled around them, the group found themselves out on the streets again with androids around them. They would try to fight through the droids, shooting them down as they rushed to reunite with the others and the vans. Alexander thought it would be a good idea to throw an incendiary grenade when the androids were in melee range, which caused Tanya, himself, and Kyla to catch on fire. Samuel would yell at the man, asking why Alexander did something so stupid. While all this happened, August would start to feel migraines and flashes of strange imagery which looked similar to a laboratory. As they tried to flee, the massive droid would attempt to stomp on the group. August caught on that if the man behind the androids want him, it would be alive. So he leaped into the group about to be stomped and the giant android retracted its foot. Samuel noticed this and yelled to stay near August. Now surrounding the slayer, the man would pull back the giant and utilize the smaller droids to overwhelm them. After a violent journey back to their vans, April could be seen waiting for them. They all hopped into the vans with August handling the women's van and Samuel driving the men's. Kyla would ensure August's van wasn't struck by androids, shooting them down efficiently while the slayer was successful with his efficient driving. Samuel and Alexander had a much harder time, as the latter kept missing his shots and they crashed into several droids which severely damaged the van. 
Eventually the group managed to escape, rushing along the highway where they distanced themselves from the androids view. They could even see the giant android trying to walk through the large river to catch them. After making some distance, they stopped the vans so Kyla could fix up the men's vehicle. Tanya complained they should of never went there in the first place the two girls were quick to wanna find someone to blame. Samuel would argue back stating it was an opportunity to check out. They would continue to bicker and this would remind Kyla, stopping her work on the vehicle after hearing Alexander make a comment on this entire trip being a waste of time. She attempted to punch him right in the face, not caring that he's injured but missed entirely. They would proceed to argue and raise their voices, the cyborg wondering why he would even throw the grenade anyway. April would try to comfort August who looked to be in some pain, but he denied her as she tried to convince him that she was his sister... again. These interactions were short-lived however as a few androids caught up now holding rifles. They would shoot at the group, causing them to all flee into the vans and drive off again. 
After the long trip, the group had to do a pitstop in a random part of the wastelands. They gathered nearby a park-like vicinity to setup camp. With several sections interfering with the drive, they had to delay their trip a day longer. Kyla was visibly upset, trying to get her hand repaired. April asked August if he could help her find some scrap metal since she had trouble... wanting to assist the cyborg in her repair. Half-asleep, August complies and finds it rather quickly. Eventually the cyborg would get her hand repaired. Mark would come out with April as well as August to listen to Kyla play the guitar which she found earlier during their search in Indiana. She would later sing for the group which August found incredible, loving her voice. Of course Kyla would be humble and not believe the others that she was actually talented. They would find a rather peaceful moment to enjoy and August made amends with April, now wanting to do the same with Tanya who wouldn't come out of her tent. Out of curiosity, April, Samuel, and Kyla enter a cave they found nearby which had a chest filled with items as well as a crocodile-looking eldritch. A fierce battle occurred between the eldritch and the three. Kyla had her metal hand crushed while April almost drowned. Samuel was tossed around like a rag-doll and the cyborg would be pinned to the wall, almost dying. April was quite aggressive towards the eldritch as well. They would eventually kill the eldritch, looting the chest, and breaking any eggs the thing might have laid. And to August's dismay, was woken up to Samuel trying to get him to eat his meal this time which he denied with loud jokes to taunt the cannibal... not wanting to eat an eldritch as per usual, since they were once people. Samuel would find a chance to throw things at August, failing miserably. April would forcefully drag August to the group and instead of eating the meal which turned out awful for the others, August enjoyed a can of beans with a simple joke that someone once tried to kill him over a can... proving they can be quite special. August also wondered why they didn't wake him to fight the eldritch and the trio who fought joked he was sleeping so peacefully. 
Driving through Louisville... the group had taken several turns around this dense city. There was a war going on between unknown factions under black and red banners, shooting each other along the forest line which they drove by. Azure would wake up, hearing the noise and would question Samuel often what was going on since he couldn't see anything at all. While they drove through, Samuel and Katelyn had to communicate with each other on what to do, since it was their turn to drive. After a long drive down, the group would come across a massive convoy of military vehicles and a large tank leading the way. Samuel switched the radio to hear the ongoing feed of the convoy, hearing them have miniscule conversations and blowing up possible "dollies" which was their term for enemies. They watched as the militia slowly drove and crushed the nature around them. After a while of patiently waiting, the Katelyn and Samuel decided to contact the convoy after one of the navigators spotted them which was indicated in the radio feed. After some discussion, the militia agree on a separate radio channel with Samuel to escort them towards the only standing bridge which leads to a route towards the Texas Wastelands. 
Having been safely escorted, they watched as several eldritch be shot down by the convoy. The commander of the militia explained to Kate and Sam that there is a cease-fire by the bridge so they should be able to travel safely through. Driving through the bridge, the drivers would witness the horrific piles of corpses which would cause Samuel to recall the fresh memories he experienced when he received that AI-chip prior in Haunted Indiana. Katelyn would watch many doctors and nurses as they struggled to assist the injured. They would find a radio channel active, which was a woman singing a heartfelt song of loss and an intense violin-based melody. As they reached the open space and other side, across the ruined city filled with charred land was a man standing alone. Hooded with a large technologically advanced Bo staff and glowing armor underneath the black robes. The sound of pinging could be heard as the man looked to a screen on his arm. He spoke in a strange manner, talking with religious-like ideas and stating that it was their destiny to meet. Samuel would ask that the man move aside since he was blocking their path and Kate would struggle to drive around. April would wake up, noticing the commotion and the drivers would leave their vehicles to confront the hooded man. Eventually, the person would reveal their intentions that they hand "The Bringer", pointing to August and with a disappointed sigh, those first to respond went into battle. He was quite powerful as he started the fight by unexpectedly leaping up far into the air and slamming his staff into the group who was standing close together. Samuel, April, and Katelyn would be flung outward, banging into their vehicles or the ground. They would battle it and the fighters would almost die. While this was happening, August begun to have an attack due to his key chip acting out from an unknown link which had connected to it. Defeating the electric-user, the group discovered he is from a group called the Black Watch from the tracker pad that was on his wrist and the weapon he had came with a function to seek a new owner, which it then chose Katelyn to wield it. They would assist August and attempted to create a concoction to reduce the headache and physical pain he experienced. The group noticed the android head on Samuel's belt flashing and decided to connect it with the radio Katelyn owned. There the voice of the man who controlled the army of androids spoke with them and decided he wanted to help the group after watching them defeat the Black Watch member. He explained that he was like August and had a bio-key that allowed him to enter the bunker in Indiana 20-ish years ago and hasn't spoken to another human for so long. He wanted to only take control of all androids in the world, due to his misplaced hatred for them. Samuel didn't like this about the man and had quite the opinion on him, calling him a man-droid, the thing he hated most. The man explained he could of taken them down at any time but chose to let them go rather easily. The man from Indiana explained he never actually took a life and those that went missing were due to a tribe of mer-mutants who worshipped his androids. He even explained the mermaid paintings were them to keep their people away from spaces he didn't want them accessing via scaring them a little with the frozen droids. While this happened, August received more premonitions of memories which weren't his and instructions to touch his hand on that tracker. There a new marker appeared blue, different to the red which was indicating August and it was the bunker. The man-droid from Indiana stated that this never happened to him before and understood the threat of the Black Watch since he had to face them before when he still had a key. After comparing the map to the direction of the bunker, they noticed it aligned with a direction to Texas, deciding since it was on the way that they can make a trip with the intention of ridding the key from August to stop the chase. The man on the radio would then attempt to make a deal with the group, stating he will help them into the bunker but in return they grant him access to the mainframe to learn more information which Samuel then denied. 
Samuel leaving to prepare their drive with Kyla's help while the rest of the group rested inside the vehicles, Katelyn was left alone with Indiana's android head. He'd begin to speak with the young woman, attempting to convince her to give him access with the bunker's mainframe when they reach it. The doctor didn't want to do this, stating she won't do it without Samuel's permission saying he owns the head by technicality. Indiana laughs at this, clarifying he actually stole it from the old mercenary to which Katelyn couldn't help but agree with. The android-controlling man would then mention he could hear her brother trying to contact them, but the signal is too far—though with his capabilities, he can fix that. Katelyn would ask what's being said and Indiana would hint that it's quite the big deal though he has no plans to share because she isn't willing to connect him into the bunker. Both would come to a regrettable conclusion that they don't plan to assist one another. 
=== Chapter 6 ===
====== A Captive Fairy - Year 2163 ======
The ping would take the group to an old technology-based college city, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Their trip after the fight with the Black Watch Hunter was rather un-eventful and short. Tanya dyed her hair back to brown, not liking how her hair became slightly white. As they found the entrance to the bunker, the group first made a camp which surrounded it. As the group unloaded their vans, Katelyn and Kyla drove them away from the camp to park them somewhere hidden under August's advice to ensure they can secure an escape incase anything were to happen with their camp. April would appear quite upset, finding Mark and Tanya especially annoying. She found August's significant other as disrespectful having hurt August several times with the dismissive decisions she's made as well as her need to be so distant. This erupted when Tanya thought this was highly dangerous and a waste of time. April argued August needed this to rid of his key and Tanya tried to convince August not to head down there with them, since it would be dangerous which August disagreed saying he needs to be down there to erase his key. April would interfere and argue with Tanya again, saying she always bails on her brother and she'd find this offensive. Tanya threatened April physically which led to them readying themselves for a fight. Samuel tried to stop the fight but they ignored him so August gave it a shot by stepping between them to stop the fight and the girls listened. Tanya shamefully looking away. Samuel, Tanya, and August would look over the bunker shaft as they wondered how to enter it. Tanya stated she won't enter, but the West sister denies this saying she doesn't want to bother going down the bunker... stepping away to catch her breath. In the end, the group decided that it would be best if less of the group entered with the possibility of losing the whole group being detrimental to their main trip. The Indiana android-controller as well as August both have stated these bunkers have traps and security protocols which would definitely interfere with them and might take their lives as well, so this led them to leave Kyla by the camp since she's the only other person with tech-based specialties other than August and can act if things went wrong. Tanya and Samuel would be chosen to escort August into the bunker, to ensure his safety and the rest stayed upstairs. 
As they entered, the group was scanned except August who managed to avoid the camera gaze. This led to Samuel and Tanya to succumb to many different traps which didn't affect August. Tanya was shot by a laser to her thigh and Samuel was pummeled into the wall by a moving wall. After surviving many traps, the group managed to reach the bottom floor and were confronted by a dangerous security droid. August took the brunt of a thrown table by the security droid towards Tanya with the realization he couldn't damage nor be targeted by the robot. Eventually, the group took down the android and gave themselves an opportunity to look around the rooms they have access too. Samuel found a medical-based storage facility and found adrenaline-based liquid where he was thrown into by the security droid earlier. Tanya found a see-through walls device which she thought would be useful later. The trio would eventually be greeted by an AI which introduced itself in a feminine voice, stating it was the caretaker of the bunker and mentioned raising a lifeform. That the expected creature is ready to be released into the world but hacked the systems after trying to free itself sooner, which in turn caused it to be locked inside the main chamber room. To open the gate that led to this important room which also stored a powerful weapon which August could use to unlock and rid himself of the key, they had to solve several exams based on knowledge collected before the collapse. Samuel contacted the Indiana android-controller and the man mentioned he could of disabled the traps from the entrance to their dismay and that the caretaker AI doesn't seem to be lying regarding the details shared. August contacted Katelyn, assuming they might come across the lifeform and needed someone with medical expertise to assist. Samuel asked the AI to disable all the traps leading into the bunker which it then complied. After a couple attempts at questions, the Indiana man helping them out frequent, the group passed all the exams. The door would then open where the four would be steamed up by the surrounding walls, entering and found a large machine where the body of a woman could be seen. To their right was the mainframe database which Indiana wanted access too. Samuel decided to just download the information on a chip, knowing it will come in handy, and plug it into the droid head for Indiana to process, which the two would then argue over not being efficient. 
Tanya thought it was a terrible idea to enter the room where the woman appeared to be but August didn't listen, walking into the room with Katelyn behind him. He looked around and found a separate glass container which contained a glowing blue bio-chip. August decided not to release it yet, not understanding what it might do and instead freed the woman who then collapsed into August's arms. She glowed with multiple veins and was identified as Clover when August and Katelyn asked her questions. The woman seemed quite attached to August from her reaction to seeing him. Katelyn would ask the typical questions one would do to ensure she's in good health and August would speak with Tanya who found Clover creepy and a freak. After a certain amount of time, Indiana would explain from the knowledge he collected in the main database that the glowing woman existed because of Project Fae, an attempt by those from the old world to create an automated bio-engineered group of superhumans as well as chips that shared a portion of said beings abilities. Capable of processing matter through computer-like commands connected through the nerves and brain being treated like a computer processor. This was definitely a bunker discovery which would change the surface world forever. After a certain amount of time, the group decided to take a break back in camp above the bunker. 
Now above the bunker, Katelyn, August, and Samuel would assist Clover as she questioned them the things around her. She was in awe with the outside world due to having been born from a machine inside the bunker, living there all her life before her eventual freedom. As this happened, August went to confront Tanya who wanted to split from the group to be alone, stating they needed to talk about what's been going on. He mentioned how concerned he was with her decisions to do things on her own and not communicating clearly but she retaliated angerly accusing August he lacked trust, pinning issues with April to him as well. The slayer would then be told that she killed her own good friends to protect him and he doesn't see that, to which he responded by saying: "friends that kill an innocent old man out of spite" is questionable at best. Tanya would then say that she's a killer and he doesn't like that, but August would respond that he's a killer too. In a tent, Samuel would yell at them that they're all killers and to stop arguing. Eventually Clover would cast a wall of hard-light between the couple, disliking the fight but eventually having it disperse. This was the first reveal of the fae's power. This led to Tanya ripping the necklace August gifted her and threw it to his feet, ending their relationship and storming off. August would have a slight panic attack with nobody wanting to comfort him, instead Samuel as well as Katelyn deciding to follow Tanya to ensure she doesn't do anything stupid. Clover would watch August intently as well as witnessing many of these complex emotions from the group for the first time, eventually following the others to find Tanya. August would begin hallucinating Jacky who'd try and talk to August to think clearly and process his PTSD related to the loss of loved ones (whether emotionally or through death). The slayer would then head into his tent to sleep. 
Katelyn would find Tanya drowning her sorrows in alcohol, blaming herself and identifying herself with insecurities. She'd deny the doctor's attempted approach and eventually went out the back which Samuel noticed. The two would then stop Tanya's attempted departure by catching her along the road. She'd point her gun to Samuel and yell they not approach her. Clover would arrive and see the others, witnessing the situation which the assassin who felt uncomfortable would yell at Clover to stand back with them, reminding the fae that she's a freak. Tanya would then hear the voice of the White Lady whisper into her ear, stating she should do it. That they can change the world together. She'd mutter the motto from her time as an assassin and shoot the bullet upwards. Samuel was ready to fight her but instead embraced the woman non-consensually in an attempt to stop her while convincing the woman that the White Lady doesn't care about her in the correct way and her real friends are here. Tanya didn't want to head back to camp and the group decided it be best if they just camp here and give August the other site for the night, but before they could contemplate on this idea, the group would see a flash of light across the sky which then landed into the camp the others were in. 
At the camp, a massive explosion would propel many of the tents and kept equipment. Mark would be set on fire but managed to instantly fall into a bin of water, now knocked out. Azure was inside the vans which were parked away from the camp, asleep in them. Kyla who was guarding the vehicles also asleep. Alexander was at the brunt of the impact from the explosion, dead on impact along the floor. Above his body was a Black Watch Hunter (identified as Vulture) with a jet and glowing fists. August would come out of his tent, now confronted by the man as he called August by an old name he went by in Texas which was Owl. He stated that the slayer came back to him and had a difficult time finding him years ago. They would battle it out, with the Vulture lifting August up into the air but was outwitted by the slayer and slammed into his back. With an upper advantage, August almost disarmed the man but was overpowered and knocked out. The Vulture was quite pleased a key and bunker were in the same place, about to take him down to see what the prize was but before he could, the group that departed returned. Samuel, Katelyn, Clover, and Tanya confronted the Vulture. The assassin would look to her lover on the floor, knocked out with concern. The Vulture noticed the Bo-staff Katelyn had and realized this group had defeated another hunter before while also spotting Clover with major interest, due to her special appearance. They would battle it out and Tanya fell, defeated by the Vulture. Clover struggled to utilize her abilities but eventually gave the team an edge, breaking a piece of the Vulture's armor after a drawn out beating by the hunter. With this opportunity, Katelyn used her electrical ability to the weak point which led to the Vulture attempting to escape which was then thoroughly stopped by Clover's last concentrated blast of hard-light. The Vulture fell out from the sky and crashed a couple blocks away which Samuel decided to head over too and loot. Katelyn would help the injured in the camp and Clover would follow. Eventually August, Samuel, Katelyn, and Clover would loot the body though it was really dangerous to do so since the corpse was on fire, Katelyn almost burning herself as she picked up a glove. They would talk to see who should take the new Black Watch Glove. August decided to give it to Kyla and the others agreed. Samuel and April who was on the radio discovered that the tracker on the Vulture's corpse contacted other Black Watch members nearest to them. Indiana from the radio would explain that two or three might show up in one to three days depending on the equipment they have to travel. Samuel would ask how he'd know this and the man explained this happened to him while on the run with his bio-key intact. The cannibal thought this might be an opportunity to use the bunker against the Black Watch Hunters. Being a risky plan, Katelyn said it's too dangerous and they already lost Alexander to the fight. And each fight they've had with a hunter was always too close a call, so handling two or three is extreme. It was guaranteed they could die. Samuel countered Katelyn's claim saying they have prep time this time and a bunker filled with traps. August finished this conversation saying they should have a group vote and the rest agreed, taking it to the others to see their opinions. 
The next day, the group agreed to do this plan with August and Samuel setting up traps in the bunker. August had to keep helping Samuel work out the traps and the cannibal kept relying on the caretaker AI to setup existing traps as well as create new ones through the existing machines. Tanya wanted to avoid August, standing guard by the camp above the bunker. Kyla decided she didn't want to participate with the bunker plan, thinking it idiotic and stayed by the vans with Azure who was still blind. She appeared to have started working on possible technology to assist his blindness from the resources found in the bunker. Mark decided to wait at the mainframe room with April who kept an eye on the tracker for any Black Watch members. As they were setting up, Tanya would notice a small drone nearby clouds, eventually zipping away after spotting her. She'd rush down to the bunker and tell the group that someone's watched them. August realized they might know the distance limit of the tracker since April couldn't get a read on them. Indiana and Samuel thought of a plan to use two maid androids, decking one out in equipment with August's help and connected the gorgon-virus chip from his android head into the maid android which then infected the other. August would then take one of the droids Indiana took over and speak with him privately. 
Eventually after half an hour, April would radio the group to run into the main room where they found Clover because her tracker is detected three Black Watch Hunters on their way to the bunker. The remaining group positioned themselves inside the main frame room as per August's orders with the two droids Indiana controlled in separate positions, one guarding August by the space they found Clover and the glass which contained the bio-chip; the other droid located in the steam room which was made into a trap to spray poison instead of its usual vapor. The group could hear the enemies barged through several of their traps with August's set traps destroyed as well as the current bunker traps evaded. The group would feel intimidated by the sound of destruction outside the room. Samuel would take the adrenaline liquid he collected and crashed into from before to improve his strength and stamina while dropping his sanity. 
After a while of waiting, the group would hear them enter the steaming room and hopefully be poisoned which ended up not being the case. Indiana who had a droid in that room, would notify the group what they looked like from his droid next to August would freak out, telling the group that it isn't a Black Watch Hunter with them. Before they could process that information, the doors would bust open and they would be greeted by a woman in black, with dark skin and deep violet marks across her skin similar to Clover. She appeared to be a fae but had vastly different abilities. She was followed by two separate Black Watch Hunters who seemed to treat her as their leader. Samuel and Tanya who were at the forefront would attempt to shoot down the woman and her underlings but she would counter all their attacks with materialized wires which she then hacked and disabled Samuel's prosthetic leg while also snatching all of Tanya's information from her ear piece. The Black Watch Fae then told them to stop attacking and to listen. She explained that she needs the key August has to release a bunker with a far more prioritized technology to counter against a growing power, with the intention to save the world. Tanya would retaliate saying she's just power hungry and wants control, which the fae couldn't deny because it was necessary to win her war. She would then state that Tanya will be a traitor from the information she collected from her ear piece which the assassin denied, calling the Black Watch leader a liar. The fae would then explain she created the organization after being freed from her bunker after learning of this threat known as the paragon-chip was collected, which was a power above all. August would speak from the other room and questioned the woman, stating her methods to threaten their lives weren't necessary. The Black Watch leader would explain she would of killed them all if they showed a hint of greed but has monitored them carefully beforehand to make a decision, which led her to sparing them. She asked August, calling him Owl, that she knows of his good nature and that this is a cause worth investing in. After a deep conversation, the group denied her attempted persuasion and attacked the Black Watch. This led to August stating he no longer wants to run and be controlled by the whims of others as he always had been. That he wishes to be free and now choose to be greedy for the sake of those he cares for. As the slayer realized Samuel's plan backfired, he took matters into his own hands and with Indiana's help, he was electrocuted while releasing the bio-chip that would let August control hard-light like Clover. This loop-hole glitched his already hacked bio-key chip which led it to stay on his hand, a theory Indiana had and discussed with August earlier. Now retaining the key and having a bio-chip alter his body, August collapsed and had a seizure on the floor which he didn't expect to happen. As this happened, Tanya and Samuel would back up into the room August was in, in an attempt to stop him while sealing up their visitors on the other side. Unfortunately, the Black Watch leader followed and revealed that the traps did damage her followers but they didn't prove lethal because she had the ability to directly hack into the technology. Clover looked concerned towards August and the others, unable to decide what they should do under the intense pressure. 
April, Katelyn, and Mark were by the back of the generator; cornered by a Black Watch member using an advanced whip to keep them at bay. As this was all happening, the Black Watch Leader decided that if they're going to retaliate like this, she'll make an example out of them, generating a violet blade-shaped form of plasma and wounding Tanya in front of her. She would then collapse to the ground, bleeding out and Samuel who was near would attempt to retaliate but his prosthetic would hold him back from successfully attacking Tanya. Clover would find the strength in her to finally cast a hard-light bubble around Tanya and Samuel, but her opponent managed to slip into it quickly after seeing it form. Her follower who handled flying drones with the ability to shoot and scout long distances would threaten the newly freed fae to release his leader, while trying to restrain August but Indiana's android interfered by stepping between them. The BW leader would attempt a final blow as she was stuck inside the bubble with the two and before she could, Samuel took what adrenaline serum he had left out from his pocket, only having one left and was struck with a lethal blow, dropping to the ground. Tanya would think August was the one to jump between her and the strike but realized it was Samuel, childishly sobbing while coming to the conclusion August didn't care at all. Clover would release the bubble, allowing Tanya to crawl away but the leader took matters to her own hands and followed Tanya out. 
By a campsite in Sunrise Islands, a mutant by the name of Scruff was playing a guitar. Strumming to chords and singing a song about destiny. From the distance, a man and woman approached him; both were human and dressed in certain ways. One was known as the Black Widow Spider, an enforcer of the rules related to the assassins which Tanya originated from. And a masked man with red clothes who contracted her for an independent mission, seeking April West. Though she was still on a hit-mission, she agreed to the man's request and allowed him to tag along. The Black Widow would then approach the mutant and applaud him for his music. After a couple back and forth, she would reveal that they were there to kill him and he complied saying he won't fight faith. Finding his acceptance and wisdom astonishing, she gives him the opportunity to play one last song before ending his life with a shot to the head. 
Samuel was dying against the wall, screaming off the top of his lungs that Clover must help August and the others escape with Tanya before things worsen or he'll hate her forever but the girl with a confused expression didn't comply. She just stood there bewildered and didn't know what to do. August on the other hand was fighting his body as a surge of pain pulsed through his body like his nerves were on fire. New lines would glow a bright blue along his right arm, somewhat masked by his tattoos. Samuel notices August trying to regain his sanity and yells at him to consume the final dosage of adrenaline, rolling it his way. Drinking it, August would lose his sanity but regain control of his body and with Indiana's help, allowed the others to escape from being cornered by the Black Watch member with the whip. As they ran out, the slayer spotted Tanya collapsed on the floor, dead before the BW leader. Enraged, he shoved the woman to the side and picked up Tanya's corpse where he noticed her hand clutched onto a USB-stick. As the group ran out, Samuel would lay against the wall and yell to Indiana to do him a favor. Indiana's android would kneel beside Samuel and tell the cannibal that he knew he didn't like him, but he always enjoyed their time together. That he mustn't die on him. Samuel replied stating that he needs to meltdown the bunker and never hated him, only thinking his hatred towards androids was misguided. Similar to that of slavery which Samuel despised and made Indiana to promise something once this is all over. The man behind the android would give a final response and said: "I'll do it." The bunker doors would then seal, separating the Black Watch Hunters from successfully following August and the others. "Let the droids free, nobody deserves to be a statue..." Samuel said before coughing up blood, filling his mouth while visions of the very first person he killed appeared, haunting him even to his grave. "Just don't forget to forgive, god I wish someone could forgive me... for all I've done." 
Now outside of the bunker, the others would crawl out and August held Tanya's limp body in his arms. His emotions were dialed up extremely high due to the pain from his body transforming and becoming half-fae, while also the fact he took the adrenaline serum which would cause him to lose his sanity for the moment. He'd collect the USB that Tanya gripped from her hand and his sister April would attempt to comfort him, wrapping her arms over his shoulders from behind. Angered, August would shove April away and tell his sister she hated Tanya. To not touch him and stay away. He stood up to face his sister, eye to eye. "I listened to your words each day as you degraded her," August said to April. She would reply to her brother stating she didn't want Tanya to die, or anything bad to happen. August clearly couldn't hear her sister as the adrenaline enhanced his raging emotions and PTSD, stating he'd kill her for all this but stopped himself, realizing what he had said. Not wanting to fall back into that negative mindset from his PTSD, August distanced himself from April. Looked to Tanya's body once last time and tossed the necklace he gave her. The slayer would yell to the group that they need to run. Eventually, the group would make it to the vans and from behind them, a large cloud of smoke could be seen from where the bunker was. Samuel's last words were: "Huh... thought there'd be a light at the end of the tunnel... but I don't see nothing." 
Blood would pour from the dead mutant and the Black Widow would look to the masked man as they discussed where they were going next. She said they must pay a visit to the White Lady since she knows where to find April West. 
A fancy party near Bargetown was on the verge of finishing. The mayor of Barge and several other powerful figures attended. There, the White Lady who returned from her duties off the islands stood by mockingly watching Max make drinks for her and other guests. The older brother of Sunday and Moon, whom she managed to grasp her full control over—which were direct ties to the connections of Max's heirloom to a formerly powerful company in Huron as well as Moon, whom she can utilize later as a spy. She would meet with certain individuals before leaving for her lighthouse, expecting visitors. 
Knocking on the lighthouse door, the Black Widow and her companion did a courteous bow towards the White Lady who opened and welcomed them inside. There they would ask her on information regarding April West and for such info, they had to bargain a contract from her as well. She stated that the Black Widow's contract lines up fairly well with the traitor handler, The Wolf, who had left to track August's group. To kill two birds with one stone, she said that they must find and kill Wolf before he could interfere in any way. And that they will bring one of her top associate assassins, the Mimic with them. That very assassin would then follow in after them, also bowing to the White Lady and after a couple greetings, the three would agree with the proposal. Leaving the lighthouse, the masked man and Black Widow would speak with the Mimic who specialized in disguises. Their mission was to hunt down and kill one of the most dangerous leaders in the Spider's Nest, now with the intention to travel into Texas as well. 
Having escaped the explosion and processing the deaths of their three friends (Alexander, Tanya, and Samuel), many in the adventuring group were mourning silently. August himself was in a state of shock during the drive out, his expression burdened and serious. Kyla felt extremely guilty she didn't stay to help with the fight and the others were contemplating on their own. They arrived at an abandoned settlement by the border of Texas, deciding to take shelter inside. August was crying his eyes out in one bedroom which could be heard by the group; Clover deciding to watch over him during this vulnerable time. Azure who was still blind would listen to it all, talking with Mark and stating that August has a history of PTSD—that they need to be patient with him. Eventually April would come into the room stating that she's going to leave for his sake, but after a thorough conversation... the siblings would make amends, August stating he didn't mean what he said before. April not wanting to abandon her brother, decided against her previous statement and would follow him anywhere. 
Later that evening, August would step out of the room he was in and would begin hallucinating. Mark would ask how he was and the voices of Jacky guilting him, stating how everyone close to him drops dead like flies would overwhelm the slayer as he tried to have a normal conversation with his close friend. August would freak out at the hallucination, causing Mark to be visibly confused and concerned. Eventually the hallucination worsened and it became Samuel who proceeded to tell August he should kill himself. Attempting to stab himself through his neck, April and Mark would try and stop August. Kyla from the kitchen would rush out, yelling at August if he doesn't drop the knife, he'll beat him to a pulp. August eventually drops it, being whisked away by April back into his room. Returning to what she was cooking, Kyla would continue to blame herself and even shoved her fist into the wall. April came down to see Kyla though grew concerned witnessing the cyborg's violent action but chose to not comment, asking her if she could give a bowl of that stew for her to eat upstairs while she watches August sleep. Kyla hands her a bowl and April leaves to be with her brother. 
The remaining group who witnessed August's actions would talk amongst each other. Katelyn was outside, trying to spend some time alone and Clover was just returning from speaking with the nurse and updating her on what happened with August. Kyla stated she sees that fire which burned brightly in August fading, stating that if he's a danger to himself, he's a danger to everyone. Azure would comment that August is just one tragedy away from fully breaking and Mark was extremely confused. Clover would become upset, stating that they sound like they're going to abandon August. What kind of friends are they, he's only hurting right now since he just lost people he loves. The group would hear this with extremely guilty expressions, excluding Mark who reinstated that he doesn't intend to abandon August. Kyla would reiterate that if the slayer isn't up to the task, she will personally drag him back to the Sunrise Islands. Nobody planned to leave August, especially after everything he's done for them and the friendships they made with him. 
After the group ate, Kyla took the time to finish her project with repairing Azure's eyes. Giving him new cybernetics that allowed him to see a map through augmented reality while also being able to see again in general. A small amount of good chance was enough to lighten the group's spirits through the night. 
August had a dream where he stood next to Jacky by a window. He'd tell August that his kid, Dion is playing outside in the mud with Georgie and the slayer would chuckle stating he didn't want her to muddy the carpet when she returns. After a couple classic August jokes, Jacky would tell him to try and drown out the hallucinations; not to listen to them. And that even though he and Dion aren't with him, that they aren't entirely gone. Dream Jacky would state that he might not remember August in reality but he's most likely looking for him which is highly likely the same for Dion, stating that they will go to the ends of the earth for him just as he would but to not forsake all that work on himself and his new family waiting for him. The blonde would then tell August to wake up as it's time he continues forward and in response, August would state that even with the motivation for Texas was gone, he'll find a new one. Waking up with a changed heart, August gathered the group and expressed his thanks. He would embrace Azure and Mark, eventually letting them go; Mark being uncomfortable sharing a hug with Azure. The group would gather around the campfire that morning and August would explain that although they lost many people, as a group, they could bring good change in Texas. As they discussed the situation and what it's like with the warlords taking advantage of their citizens by taking away their needs to survive, maybe they should go through with the mission. The group would agree and after several instructions, would pull out the bag of clothes that the White Lady sold to Mark, changing into their new attire + equipment to withstand the almost-endless Texas storm. Clover and August would have a short conversation about what she could do next... knowing where they're going is dangerous, she didn't have to follow them and is free to live her life the way she desired. The Fae insisted she'll stay with the group no matter the danger, learn the world, and try to understand this connection she seems to have with the slayer himself. 
=== Chapter 7 ===
====== Depths of Hell - Year 2163 ======
Driving into the Texas outer rim, the two vans would come to a halt after being trapped in the deep sands. Deciding to abandon their vehicles there, Katelyn and Azure would pack up what was left in their vehicles and the group would depart into the barren desert. Mark's eldritch senses would heighten extremely, realizing there were many beneath the sands around them, so he was forced to lead the group forward after mentioning this. Navigating the group safely away from the higher concentrated areas after agreeing that they couldn't afford to battle monsters. Up ahead... miles away from them, they could see a massive wall of sand, shaped similar to a tsunami crash through the sand-clouded skies of Texas. The group was in awe at the incredible sight. For Mark, his senses indicated nothing ahead from where they tread but after a certain amount of time to process what he felt, the swordsman realized they were standing atop an eldritch that spanned wider than they could see. They could feel an earthquake brew as Mark realized, not only could he sense the eldritch but it could sense his feelings too. In a last ditched effort, though against his team's best wishes, August threw explosives towards the sand. Afraid this might alert other eldritch nearby, April tried to stop her brother but instead it caused the large eldritch beneath them to be intimidated... fleeing. A wave of relief would wash over the group after this sudden encounter. As they continued to traverse the desert, multiple dust devils would encircle them and even lift up Katelyn, Azure, Mark, April, and Kyla. August and Clover were left trying to catch the group who were flung into the air. They'd safely meet the surface again, walking deeper into Texas after a short breather.
Moon would appear wounded, standing idly by the entrance of what looked to be a thriving new settlement. From the entrance, a woman that looked to be their leader introduced herself. She called herself Talia Hart and the settlement was known as the Frostlights. After a couple days of staying with them, Moon would learn how kind they were as people which furthered her guilt having passed on the information to the White Lady... regarding them having been funded by August and a child that lived amongst them being something along the lines of a surrogate daughter to the man. The very edge which her employer needed to gain control over the slayer. Having met that girl, she identified her as Dion Smith-Hart, child of the current leaders Talia and Clemont. 
The Black Widow and her associates would traverse the terrain via truck, following the hinted whereabouts sent by a scout on the Wolf's location. As they traversed along the road, they would discuss how they'll go about this challenge but Mimic and the masked man would argue amongst each other on the best methods to go about this mission. Having been spotted and followed by a Menagerie assassin, Wolf's route was tracked towards a location near a Black Watch Facility. 
Having lost August's trail to Texas when they took the route through Indiana, Wolf took a detour to speed along his trip along the path towards Texas and was running out of resources. Desperate, he'd follow a depot of heavily militarized-vehicles that appeared to escort a large convoy towards a facility nearby. Wolf took the chance of finding something useful by following said group. He'd eventually reach their facility and waited for most of the vehicles to depart, choosing the evening to infiltrate and steal any sort of resources he could use. Preferring to do this without attention his way, he penetrated the inner structure and collected spare clothing, ammunition, and an updated map. To his own luck, he also came across two special weapons which was known as the Spider's Web and a fusion-based rocket launcher, as well as an antique tea cup. When Wolf was about to leave, a guard spotted his silhouette and sounded the alarm. This caused the former spider to flee from the location, rushing out the exit while holstering his sniper rifle, pinning down a couple guards before scaling up the mountain-side. 
The widow and her group took the opportunity to rest nearby the facility. Upon listening to the radio, the widow discovered that one of the guards sounded the alarm and stated Wolf's details. Deciding to scout out and possibly catch the traitor, she quietly left the two men asleep whom she thought would bring more trouble, deciding to do this herself. She'd reach the entrance of the facility, quickly entering into a crouched position, scanning the facility and finding many dead bodies. A short teenager named Jack Maxi Benedict was working a short engineering gig with this facility, wanting to prepare for his trip into Texas but after the chaos which ensued from the theft, he found this an opportunity to take advantage of and begun stealing from a shed which contained highly sensitive weaponry. This happened to be near the widow who didn't notice Jack and walked around the structure, anticipating the possibility of a Black Watch Hunter which she knew were extremely dangerous to fight alone. 
As Jack looked through the crates inside the shed, he discovered a highly dangerous weapon in the shape of a War-Fan. It had the hologram asking if Jack would like to become its new owner, similar to the weapon Katelyn came across during her encounter with the Black Watch Hunter Eel. This moment was short-lived however as he walked out looting the place, a Black Watch Hunter flew across the sky and landed across from him. Codenamed "Crescent", he threatened the young man to drop the weapons he collected. After a failed attempt at convincing the hunter of his innocence, the hunter attacked. Hidden from sight, the widow notices this skirmish and decided to help the boy out utilizing her powerful rifle from a distance. Crescent had two hologram-based shields which he used to protect himself from different attacks which challenged the two. During the skirmish the young man failed to utilize his fan and fire well... losing balance and almost dying. Luckily for him, the widow was not identified by the hunter on her whereabouts and kept pressuring the armored man with rounds that pierced his armor. This gave Jack the opportunity to flee and created a wall of fire using his remaining matches to close of an exit for the hunter. He then utilized his fan and created a flaming torpedo which struck Crescent directly. This led the hunter to utilize his jetpack and flee the scene, leaving Jack to dance by the chaos he created. 
While this happened, Wolf noticed Widow was following his trail from a higher angle where he was perched and decided to use her being distracted with the battle against the Black Watch Hunter to take the venomous assassin down himself. Firing at her, this caused Widow to flee behind a crate to cover herself from the gunshots. They would then talk amongst each other through the open radio channel and she'd say nobody escapes from the organization to which Wolf disagreed. Widow would threaten Wolf with a line that referred to female spiders eating the male ones. Eventually they'd cut communication and go about their separate ways. The widow tracks the direction Jack was leaving and confronts him, stating he shouldn't be so hesitant around the person who saved him when he was alarmed after seeing her. The widow then asked him where he planned to go which he responded, Texas, due to the rumors of a Warlord possessing an elixir of life which could bring back the dead. That he wanted to bring back his sister. The widow stated she was headed the same way, figuring the wolf was now entering the Texas borders and thought the two could assist each other in this escapade. 
=== Epilogue ===
====== Feeding Season - Year 2163 ======
It has only been a few days since Moon entered the Frostlights settlement. They were quite large with a tightly-knit community. Many would talk about the sadness of losing their children a few months prior to a group affiliated with a woman named Tanya Wren, whom was the partner of August West which many seemed to have formerly admired. It was said that much of their settlement was funded by him after a crisis which occurred last year. Moon was then contacted by an assassin affiliate through her ear piece and learned they had received a command based on the information she fed, asking her to depart immediately to the south gate. Dion noticed the mutant girl around her age rush out towards the exit, deciding to follow Moon. Before Dion could catch up to the girl, Moon slipped through the back exit and she saw her join with a strange man dressed in black. The two would leave and she'd wonder what this was about. Not long after, Dion could hear screaming from the other end of the settlement and would rush to see what this was about. Circling around her house, she spotted Clemont—her father in a fierce battle against a man dressed in a similar attire to the person who collected Moon. She'd witness him killed right there and this caused the girl to flee towards her home. Gunfire would ensue around her as bodies of people she knew dropped around her. Other assailants didn't wear the black outfit, as some were wearing scrap metal, and she even saw a person wearing the militia uniform of the GLA from Barge. She could hear her mother Talia struggling against an assassin. The sudden sound of gunshots could be heard by a window nearby and the dead body of a perpetrator appeared, collapsed against the corner of the room with Talia bleeding out from her chest. She had her hands cradling her belly and back arched along a wall within the hallway towards their bedroom. Dion runs to her mother's side and Talia would place her hand to the young girl's face, tears running down both their eyes. 
This plot-line continues into the Oblivion's Throne Arc.
===Main Character Cast - Journey to Texas Plotline===
*Tanya Wren - Protagonist (Appears in chapters 1-6)
*August West - Protagonist/Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 1-7)
*Katelyn Nevin - Protagonist/Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 1-7)
*Mark De Mark - Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 1-7)
*April West - Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 2-7)
*"White Lady" - Main Antagonist (Appears in chapters 1-4, 6)
*Wolf Spider - Supporting/Antagonist (Appears in chapters 1-3, 7)
*Kyla Goodall - Supporting (Appears in chapters 4-7)
*Samuel - Supporting/Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 2-6)
*Bounty - Supporting/Antagonist (Appears in chapters 1-2)
*Alexander - Supporting (Appears in chapters 3-6)
*Eden Nessa Alfin - Antagonist (Appears in chapters 1-2)
*Azure Cortez - Supporting (Appears in chapters 2-7)
*Shun - Supporting (appears in chapter 3)
*Anastasia Clover - Supporting (Appears in chapters 6-7)
*Alice Knight - Supporting (Appears in chapters 2-3)
=== Main Character Cast - The Young Birdie Plotline ===
*Luna "Moon" Vex - Protagonist (Appears in chapters 1-3, 7-epilogue)
*Sunny "Sunday" Vex - Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 1-4)
*Maximilian Vex - Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 1-3, 6)
*Ashlyn Dawn - Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 2-4)
*Mimic - Antagonist (Appears in chapters 6-7)
*Black Widow - Deuteragonist/Antagonist (Appears in chapters 6-7)
*Masked Man - Deuteragonist/Antagonist (Appears in chapters 6-7)
*Jack Maxi Benedict - Deuteragonist (Appears in chapters 7)
*Dion Smith-Hart - Supporting (Appears in chapters 7-epilogue)
===Significant Character Minor Appearances===
* "Crazy Wails" - Antagonist (Appears in chapters 2-3)
* Maria MacKenzie - Minor Character (Appears in chapters 2-4)
* Antonio - Minor Character (Appears in chapters 2-3)
* Gerard Ludwig - Minor Character (Appears in chapter 3)
* Kacey Ludwig - Minor Character (Appears in chapters 3-4)
* Kaden Nevin - Minor Character (Appears in chapters 3-4)
* Mato Akecheta - Minor Character (Appears in chapter 4)
* Kacey Nevin - Minor Character (Appears in chapter 4)
* Jojack King - Minor Character (Appears in chapter 4)
* "Indiana" - Antagonist/Supporting (Appears in chapters 5-6)
* Scruff - Minor Character (Appears in chapter 6)
* Black Watch Fae - Antagonist (Appears in chapter 6)
* "The Eel" - Antagonist (Appears in chapter 5)
* "The Vulture" - Antagonist (Appears in chapter 6)
* Talia Hart - Minor Character (Appears in chapters 7-epilogue)
* Clemont Smith - Minor Character (Appears in chapters 7-epilogue)
* "Crescent" - Antagonist (Appears in chapter 7)
=== RP-Setup Credits ===
* Main GM: Light
* Assistant GM: Halo
* NPC Play: Halo, TreeSap, xXj4s0nXx, MrQuanQuan, Light.
* Location & Encounter Design: Light & Halo
* Vehicle Design: Halo (Vans and boats)
* Main Writer Participants: Light, Halo, NeonPhantom, Quinn, Nauna (Mercy), Hole-Goblin/Shark, SlimeGaming.
=== About the Sessions ===
What made Arachnophobia special was how some of the sub-arcs were written and hosted. They followed several themes that influenced how moments occurred as well as the rules set for encounters which developed anticipation and rising risk. A lot of chapter 4 followed themes of familial drama centered around Katelyn's backstory as well as newly discovered revelations related to the main antagonist. It also had several social encounters that relied heavily on charisma checks and trade during the menagerie market encounters. During chapter 5, mercenary's tale, it started with a campfire story by an older mercenary which led towards the introduction of creepy encounters, mystery, horror, and thriller themes respectively. Many of the encounters had investigations and puzzles the group had to solve which eventually led to a high-risk escape encounter from Haunted Indiana. Within A Caged Fairy, the introduction of the bunker had multiple set traps the characters had to try bypassing. It had several drama-filled moments and has thorough sci-fi inspirations. 
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Category:Plot Summaries