Chase of Tori Newell

The **Chase of Tori Newell** was a string of events consisting of attempts by legal authorities to find Tori Newell, who has, on least five occasions, escaped from home without any outside help.

## Background

"*I've been really, really active lately...*"
―Tori Newell[src]
Tori Newell was born to Jena and Ted Newell in 2024, but her father left and she had a stepfather named Dustin Newell. In her younger years, she was repeatedly a victim of sex trafficking at the hands of pedophiles, traumatizing her. Throughout her childhood, Tori often landed herself into trouble, albeit unintentionally. While her naivety often made Tori easy to target, she notably learned from experiences and took them into account; eventually becoming selfless, sensible, and brave. However, when her mother's ex-boyfriend beat her, it reawakened her childhood trauma and made her desperate to avoid her mother. As it was, Ted was more enabling than Dustin and she clung on to him as a result.

## Chase

### An empty bed

"*Troy has been missing since the morning of 3 May, 2041, and was last seen at Central Park East High School in New York City. Troy is 16, identifies as non-binary, has short blue hair (faded) and blue eyes. Troy is about five seven, one hundred forty pounds. If anyone has any info, please call the police, or call and text Jena or Dustin.*"
―Missing poster regarding Troy's disappearance[src]
The escape of May 3, 2041 occurred shortly after Troy met several members of the S.M.S.B. The timing was a coincidence, however, as she was having 'issues' with her parents, Jena and Dustin. She fled in the night and was found missing early in the morning. There were rumors speculating that she may have sought refuge with Nurse Rose Johannson before proceeding to an undisclosed location. Lindsay Kellerman also suspected that she had help.

Fortunately, Troy was eventually located, according to Johannson. Fagin Ford later reported that she was at a mental hospital and being 'analyzed'. Bridgett claimed she was in good hands.

This was the first known occasion where Troy ran away from home, but it is heavily implied that she had done so several, if not many times, before this.

Around the time of the return of Hell Burnbottom, Jena and Troy planned to meet together with a therapist to discuss whether or not Troy was ready to discharge from the hospital. Upon her discharge, she sought refuge with her father Ted, during which time she had access to the Internet.

### Recovery from an ailment

"*Troy ran away again.*"
―Jena Ort[src]
On June 9, 2041, Tori Newell ran away from home again. The previous night, she had become very ill and vomited repeatedly for hours. Late at night, she was located and sent away with her father, Ted Newell.

### Incidents with Rose Johannson and Stanley Vasquez

Upon being driven home from the park, Tori Newell was intercepted by Nurse Rose Johannson, who had just gotten off work and was carpooling several of their friends to go to a camp that was already set up halfway. Rose had wanted Crystal to stay behind while this happened. They all hid out and set up camp for the night. Tori had returned to her mother by the time of Red X's departure, and had been at the park accompanying the S.M.S.B.

About twenty-four hours later, Troy went to Schenectady to seek out her boyfriend Stanley. Troy watched Rose childishly threaten their friend Crystal, disturbing her. Returning home, the driver, Lincoln Strafford, was swerving drunkenly, which reduced Troy to tears. Rose wouldn't let Troy stay, which did not bother her as she wanted to see a girl named Alyssa either way. Later on, Troy was still with Rose, who tried to intimidate her to stay with her.

Troy still did not return home, fleeing through the state until she found a safehouse with Stanley and several of the latter's gang-enrolling friends in Yonkers, New York. However, Master Intelligence knew where she was because Crystal had been there and intended to compensate for supporting Rose. The S.M.S.B. Grand Master arrived in person with Crystal and his apprentice Hardy. When they came, Tori and Stanley hastily turned out the lights in a futile attempt to hide their presence at the safehouse. However, Master Intelligence was not fooled, and he barged inside, prompting several of Stanley's friends to try and stop the trio. However, Master Intelligence intimidated the gangsters into staying in a corner and not interfering. He called the police to extricate them. The police arrived and returned Tori home to her mother, where she began receiving therapy. However, this created a rift between her and her father.

### Betrayal

"*I got Tori and Lincoln in trouble knowing it would separate them. There wasn't another way.*"
―Rose Johannson shortly after getting Tori Newell and Lincoln Strafford in trouble[src]
On July 9, 2041, Troy ran away by sneaking out through the door, as her bedroom window had been boarded up. Before leaving, she mysteriously left a suicide note behind. This time, she sought refuge with Lincoln Strafford in his apartment, where Rose Johannson happened to be. However, Troy did not tell him she had fled from her home, so he assumed she had permission to be there. During her stay, Tori told Rose the truth about her escape and entrusted her with her backpack and asked that she keep it safe.

Things took a turn for the worst when Rose, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, came to fear that Lincoln would fall for Troy, and so subtly 'let slip' that Lincoln was harboring a runaway. Eventually, Lincoln, Tori, and their friends went for a drive, but Lincoln's car was pulled over by the police as a result of Rose's betrayal. Tori was located and sent home once again. Reluctant to do so, but unable to trust her, Jena sent her back to the hospital. Two days later, Master Intelligence procured the backpack from Rose and returned some of Tori's possessions to Jena Ort.

The escape had lasting effects, as Lincoln was kicked out if his apartment as punishment for harboring Tori Newell. The return of Tori's backpack also gave Jena a reason to keep Master Intelligence's mobile safe for two consecutive weeks.

### Prolonged sightings

"*...I don't think they are as safe as they think they are.*"
―Jena Ort[src]
On 3 September, Tori Newell unexpectedly discharged because her parents' insurance refused to continue paying for treatment in that form. Upon returning home, however, Tori immediately ran away once again. She sought out the Commander in Chief, who reprimanded her for leaving but relented from his urge to force her to turn herself in. However, he feared she would use the Phial of the Lumiking to destroy Canyon Secure Center in vengeance and took it from her for the time being. Around this time, she celebrated her seventeenth birthday. Leaving her master behind promising to return to him soon, Tori eventually located Stanley Vasquez and they went on the run together, something that several people came to suspect, including Master Intelligence. On September 8, one of Jena's friends saw her on 6000 by the railroad tracks walking eastward, but this trace proved ineffective and Tori remained out of Jena's grip.

Two weeks after making her escape, Tori and Stanley made their way to the MBH and hid in a nearby bush within the Acquisition District. Tori continued watching the mansion while she nervously debated if she should let Master Intelligence know where she was. However, she ultimately decided not to, deducing that the Order of the Mystic Specters needed her more than Jena did, which meant she might have gone undercover for them recently keeping Stanley in the dark. Throughout the next two months, Tori (and presumably Stanley) ventured across the country, arriving in Montana and Utah for undisclosed reasons, though suspicion was high that she was laid in both locations.

Six weeks after her pit stop at the MBH, Tori generated a random phone number through a phone app, briefly making contact with Jena, making her realize that Tori had survived. However, Tori refused to explain where she was and who she was with. According to Jena, Tori mistakenly believed herself to be safe. In late October, Tori Newell finally returned to New York from abroad, and was reported to be safe with her father, Ted Newell. Tori was happy at his house, where she was freed of the responsibility of babysitting her siblings.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `SMSB1`
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `SMSB2`