The group was continuing to sleep soundly, or as soundly as it could get, with the majority of the group having been forced to sleep in a pile while only Ashe and Lincoln were allowing themselves to sleep in the tent. But now was the time to wake up as they each yawned and un-piled themselves.

Ashe:"Morning, guys."

Lori:"Morning. Did everyone sleep well?"

Luan:"Yes."

Diane:"No."

As they got and saw something that caught their attention entirely.

Group:"(•_•)"

Circling around their campsite was about a dozens kinds of mousetraps and beartraps...and about five goons pointing guns at their heads at the other side of the circle. It was Reginald's main minions, Trace, Hal, Vince, Kasey and Lyla.

Diane:"...What. The. Heck?"

Stepping from behind his goons was Reginald, who had his eyes deadset of his primary target, Ashe, who was holding Lincoln close to her.

Reginald:"Long time, no see, Ashelin. My loathsome target."

Ashe glared towards Reginald while the rest the group looked towards with concern and curiosity. There was one thing that Diane was mainly curious about...

Diane:"Wait...you're full name is Ashelin."

Ashe:"Not now, Diane."

Reginald:"I see I brought a few friends with you...and that you've gained a little wait."

Looking down at her potbelly, Ashe clutches it as she glares daggers at the guy.

Ashe:"Shut up. I keep forgetting about it."

This made Reginald smirked before his turns his attention towards Lincoln, who can tell that he was staring. Then, Ashe could tell that he was starting to look towards her little cousin.

Reginald:"Who's the Albino?"

Lincoln hide behind Ashe, who acted to protect him while glaring at the bounty hunter. Hearing their little brother be called a stupid name like that didn't sit well with Lincoln's sisters, as Luan unexpectedly went and threw a rock at Reginald, who saw it coming and dodged it swiftly. This made Hal fire at Luan, who was luckily that they missed as the bullet had hit a tree. The group huddled together as Reginald grabbed hold of Hal, scowling him.

Reginald:"Don't do something stupid like that again."

Hal:"Y-Yes, boss."

Lori:"Don't you dare come Lincoln that!"

Reginald:"You seem very fond of him. What is your relationship with the boy?"

Ashe:"Just drop the cool guy act, Reggie. I can tell when you're really pissed off."

Reginald:"...And who's fault is that?"

Ashe:"Why don't you ask you're stupid goons?"

Lyla:"Just who are you calling stupid?"

Hal:"Yeah! I'll show you who's stupid!"

Then, the two start to run towards the group, but failed to remember that there were traps set up at their feet as they tripped and got snapped and cracked. The gang had taken the opportunity to run as they used Hal and Lyla's bodies as stepping stones across the circle of traps. Still, that didn't leave them unscathed as a mousetrap ends up clamping onto Diane's butt, making her yelp in pain as they run while the goons fired at them. She pried off the trap and headed to catch up with her friends as Reginald was not amused one bit.

Reginald:"Imbeciles! Go after them!"

The group continued to run as the woods kept on getting thicker and even a few tree branches and leaves got into Lori and Luna's mouths. If that wasn't the worst part of it, the gunfire they had to dodge broke apart a few trees that were in the way, causing them to fall down and some of the group to dodge falling trees. Diane had accidentally tripped over one of the trees that had fallen, quickly recovering and continued running.

Francine:"Least it wasn't your butt that go in the way this time!"

Diane:"SHUT. UP!"

Lori was barely a few feet away when a tree slammed down in front of her and she jumped right over it. Zella had slid underneath one as it fell in front of her, giving the only way through was down under. Luna leaped as far as she could to avoid any of the falling debris coming down on her. But after spending so much time running throught the falling forest, the group had suddenly found themselves cornered by Reginald and his goons, who somehow managed to get passed them.

Reginald:"None of you are getting away that easily."

Luan:"And you? A matrix cosplaying weirdo is gonna stop us?"

Reginald:"Big talk from a little girl."

Ashe:"9 to 6. I'd say the odds are our favor."

Counting their group, Lori could tell that Ashe was even counting her little brother. And there was no way she gonna get Lincoln to fight...

Lori:"Ashe, get Lincoln out of here!"

Ashe:"But-"

Lori:"I mean it! Leave these punks to us!"

Reginald:"You guys know what to do. Leave Ashelin and...Lincoln to me."

And so, Ashe and Lincoln fled from the scene while Reginald chased after the, leaving Lori and Diane against Vince, Leni and Francine against Lyla, Luna and Zella against Kasey and Luan against Hal and Trace.

Luan:"Wait, why do I get stuck with the two boys?"

Lori:"Because you know how to handle them better."

Luan:"...Alright, fair point."

And while Francine and Lyla were taking a stance against each other, Leni was admiring Lyla's attire."

Leni:"I love that cowgirl look. It suits you very nicely."

Lyla:"Why, thank you. Here, have a better look at boot."

Then, Lyla was about to give Leni a spinning High Kick, until Francine came and attacked her. Lyla managed to knock her off and Leni began to realize how big of a situation they really are and decided to go into a karate stance. Meanwhile, Lori and Diane were up against Vince, and they've yet to understand that she's a trained fighter who's been through a lot of stuff to get to where she is. That didn't stop Lori and Diane from trying to land a punch on her while she countered each and every one of their attempts to attack her. She pushed Diane out of the way and turned her attention towards Lori.

Vince:"You need to work on your reflexes."

Lori:"Oh yeah? How's this?"

Vince swing her fists at her, to which Lori swiftly dodged herself and then landed a kick to Vince's stomach. This mad Vince groan in pain as she leaned forward a little before Lori began punching her in the face, but Vince didn't seem to be done yet. However, Diane came back and kicked Vince in the back of the legs, forcing her to her knees as Diane got her in a headlock.

Diane:"Take her out!"

Then Lori did a roundhouse kick and manage to drop Vince to the floor. Next came Luna and Zella versus Kasey who had used dual knives against the two. They moved carefully in trying to avoid getting hit by Kasey's knive, but still had to attack as Luna then picked up a huge branch that was about the same size as her guitar as she swung it towards Kasey, who blocked it with her arms as she stumbled backwards. She then turned her attentions towards Zella, coming at her in an attempt to stab her. But Zella then grabs hold of her wrist that was inches away from getting knifed as she tried to force Kasey away, but the girl wouldn't budge. So instead, Zella moved from Kasey as the knife ends up going into a barrel of gasoline that was just sitting there out of nowhere. The forced the girls to move away as they continued to fight.

Then, Luan alone was forced to deal with both Hal and Trace, but she wasn't worried. The two of them underestimated her as Hal came in with a smirk on his face, slowly reaching out to Luan in an attempt to grab her. But, she then takes his wrist and flips him over her shoulder. Surprised, Trace comes in and tress to attack Luan, who dodges all of his punches and kicks before she turns him around and kicks his butt, pushing him away. Then, unexpectedly, Luan takes the treetops, leaving Hal and Trace confused and what she's gonna do next. And then...she throws cream pies at them.

Luan:"You better hope those things were still fresh."

Jumping down, she sees that both of them were getting mad as Hal takes out a knife of his own, but before he could attack, Luan kicks the knife into his own thigh, causing him to grunt in pain and fall over. Trace was about to pull his gun and shoot at her, but she does the same like she did with Hal and kicks it away. Unfortunately though, it was went off and the bullet ends up hitting the spilled gasoline barrel. It was enough to spark and set ablaze, scaring everyone.

Luan:"Uh, oh."

Back to where Lincoln and Ashe were running off to, they heard an explosion and looked back to see where their friends had been...was now in a pillar of smoke.

Lincoln:"No...LORI! LENI! LUNA, LUAN!"

Ashe:"GUYS! ...We left them there."

Reginald:"A shame."

Out of nowhere, Reginald appears and ambushes the two, taking Ashe by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

Reginald:"At least, I have you all to myself."

He then throws her into a ditch of dirt, jumping down himself soon after. Ashe tries to recover as she stands up and tries to punch the bounty hunter, only for Reginald to grab and snap her wrist before punching her in the face, chest and then kicking her back again. Lincoln could only watch his long lost cousin fight for her life as she pulls out her Tanto and gets into a stance. Reginald smirks before pulling out a tactical knife at the same length as Ashe's blade. They swing at each other before their blades collide and they grab hold of each other.

Reginald:"You've gotten better. I'll give you that much..."

But then, Reginald knees her in the gut and sends her to the ground as he grips his knife.

Reginald:"But not quite close enough."

Lincoln had seen enough as then rushes in and jumps on top of Reginald, wrapping his arm around his neck as he begins to try and strangle the guy. Ashe recovers and watched her little cousin stand up for her as Reginald stumbles backwards. But then, he shakes of Lincoln and grabs hold of the boy, throwing him and slamming him onto hard rock on the floor. That made Ashe pissed as she climbed out of the ditch and charges at Reginald, roaring in anger. The two grab hold of each other, now practically wresting and trying to overpower the other as they slam each other's bodies from one tree to another. Then, Reginald spins Ashe counterclockwise, making her lose her balance as she falls to the ground. He soon grabs hold of Ashe by the throat and begins to choke her with a sadistic smile on his face. But Ashe wouldn't give in, as she then kicked him in the nuts, making him groan in pain as she then throws him to a tree and starts to beat him up viciously. Every punch she landed was directly onto the face, breaking his sunglasses in the process as then kicked him against the tree and watched as he fell to the ground, out cold and in a bloody mess.

Ashe:"(looks back) Lincoln..."

Rushing over to her little cousin, she sees that his white hair was not being stained red, indicating that he was bleeding. She tried to wake him up by gently shaking him and calling his name, but to no avail. She had no choice but to carry him bridal style as she rushes back to where her friends were. Back where they group and goons were at, they looked smoked. Seriously, they were all black and covered in soot as they struggled to recover.

Luna:"I've seen a lot of explosions at rock concerts, but this sure beats the heck out of all of them."

Hal got up and was looking pretty dazed and tried to balance himself, even on his hurt leg.

Hal:"That...that was fun...that was awesome."

But then, he got hit in the back of the head with a wooden board, courtesy of Luan.

Luan:"Speak for yourselves."

Lori:"You jerks owe me some new clothing."

Ashe:"GUYS!"

Hearing Ashe's voice made them turn to see her coming back, with an unconscious Lincoln in her hands. They were horrified to see his blood stained hair as they all circled around Ashe, showing great concern for their little brother.

Leni:"Oh my gosh! What happened?!"

Ashe:"Reginald did this! I don't know if he'll wake him up!"

Luna:"Here! Give him to me!"

Taking Lincoln from Ashe's arms, Luna padded his head as gently as she could and even shook him a little, begging for him to wake up.

Luna:"Come on, Lincoln. Please, wake up."

Lori:"We need to get him to a hospital."

And with that, they run. A little while later, do they slow down and continue on through the woods.

Lincoln's sisters were honestly afraid of losing their little brother, given how he hasn't woken up, and the rags they wrapped his head in were stained in his blood. Ashe couldn't bare the sight of it, as she felt responsible for this.

Ashe:"This is all my fault. I tried to get him away, but he ended up getting hurt. I wasted too much time and he may have lost too much blood."

Lori:"Don't beat yourself up too much. At least you brought him back to us."

Ashe:"He still got caught in the crossfire though."

Luan:"At least he wasn't roasted like us."

Francine:"And least we got him patched up."

Ashe:"He still need a hospital though. How much farther until we reach the city?"

Lori:"Why don't climb up that boulder and see?"

Stopping by an erratic boulder, Lori and Ashe began to climb, along with Diane and Luan. With the way Diane climbed, her behind swayed side-to-side, even sticking out a bit with every climb. And with Luan behind Diane, she couldn't resist making Diane the butt of jokes again.

Luan:"You know, Diane, I've been told you are a butt-load of pain from time to time."

Diane:"Ugh!"

Ashe:"Just get up here."

As they all made it on top of the erratic, the could see Great Lake City was just beyond the horizon.

Lori:"Great! We can see it from here."

Ashe:"How can you see with those shaggy-bangs of yours?"

Lori:"What? It's not like they cover my eyes?"

Ashe:"Still, your hair's pretty huge."

Lori:"(combs her hair with her hand) It's not that big!"

Diane:"Hey! Can we focus here?! It's still half a day's walk from here to Great Lakes."

Lori:"Yeah. But look on the bright side, it's literally all downhill from here."

She wasn't wrong. The path they were taking was a steep slope from there on out. Moving back down, they tell the others about it.

Lori:"The good news is that Great Lake City is just at the horizon from where we are."

Ashe:"Bad news is that it's still a long way and we'll probably have to reach it by nightfall."

Luna:"So we still got a long way to go. Better that we head out now."

And with that, they continue on. Eventually heading back to the main road, the trees seemed to clear a bit around them as they would soon be out of the forest. Ashe was back to holding Lincoln, even with her bad arm, as they passed by a few hilltops and even a mountain way in the back. It wouldn't be long before they reached Great Lake City, as it was still the middle of the day. And as they continued, Lincoln was beginning to stur around before he slowly woke up.

Lincoln:"Uuuuhhh...Where am I?"

Luna:"He's awake!"

Lincoln's sisters, Diane and Francine all came and surrounded him and Ashe, except for Zella, who just stood where she was. The rest of them had mixed feelings of concern and happiness to see that Lincoln was awake. The boy however just seemed a bit confused.

Lincoln:"What happened? Why do I feel dizzy, and...why does my hair feel damp?"

Leni:"It's a long...painful story."

Lori:"But what's important is that you're okay."

Diane:"Just barely though. you've had it rough, kid."

Lori:"Once we get into Great Lake City, we're checking you and Ashe into a hospital."

Zella:"...We won't make it without something else to eat."

Francine:"Look over there!"

There just so happened to be a convenience store/gas station not that far away.

Diane:"How convenient."

Lori:"Let's go."

Heading towards the store, Ashe and Lincoln waited outside while the others go in. Lori approached the 20 year old female store clark, who's nametag read "Matilda". She had light blond hair in a high ponytail, a navy blue uniform with a red necktie, black slip on shoes and a chipped tooth like Lincoln.

Lori:"Hey. Do you guys sell first aid kits."

Matilda:"No, sorry. Only first aid kit we have is for employees only."

Lori:"Dang."

Matilda:"Why? Is someone hurt?"

Lori:"Forget it. Just point me to some food and water then."

The clark pointed to the left of the store, where the rest of the group was already looking through. They only had enough money for some food and water, so they were gonna have ration it carefully Diane had picked herself a bag of potato chips, Zella and Luan got some fudge to share, same with Leni and Francine with some chocolate and oatmeal cookies. Unfortunately, Luna only had enough money for a single bottle of water. Lori, on the other hands, picked some candy they could share, such as mints, skittles and pretzels for Ashe and Lincoln.

Lori:"Well, it looks like we got everything."

Luna:"Gonna need a lot more water though."

Lori:"We'll figure something out."

Before they could leave however, they looked at Ashe with Lincoln resting his head on her lap.

Ashe:"You know, there was a lake nearby. Think it would be too much for us to go a little swim?"

Lori:"I wouldn't mind that."

Diane:"Me neither."

Leni:"But where are we gonna get the money for swimsuits?"

It was then that Ashe lended them extra money with the wallet she keeps hidden in her sweater. Inside the store, they looked through the swimsuit section, with Matilda helping them one at a time. And while they look around, Diane says that when she gets the chance, she'll the beach and show off a little. It was then that Matilda confronted Lori as she looked.

Matilda:"You know. You're a very lovely lady."

Lori:"Oh. Why, thank you."

Matilda:"I'm sure we can find the perfect suit for you.

Matilda helps Lori look for hers first as they come across a selection of suits that vary in color, from yellow to purple, teal, blue, magenta and white. But one that stood out for Lori was a light blue two-piece swimsuit with a white hawaiian flower pattern on it.

Lori:"I like this one!"

Matilda:"I'm sure you'll great in it.

While Diane was looking for a swimsuit, Matilda saw that most of what they got was too big for her, so she decided to help.

Matilda:"Um, excuse me, miss."

Diane:"Yeah?"

Matilda:"If I may ask you to come with me, we can find a swimsuit perfect for you."

Diane:"Well, I just hope it's big enough to fit my figure."

After hearing that, the clark couldn't help but stare down at Diane's behind and blush.

Matilda:"Um, I'm sure we'll find something. But I can't be certain that it'll be in your size."

Diane:"Just point me to what you got."

It was then that Matilda showed Diane what could fit her. But what really stood out for Diane a two-piece, hot pink, triangle shaped small bikini. It looked like something a model would wear, and for Diane, it was perfect.

Diane:"Now, this is nice. And the color is just right."

Matilda:"Well, whatever you think suits you best, I'm glad to've helped."

Up next was Leni, who Matilda also decided to help out.

Matilda:"I can see you're a very fashionable girl. I think we might have something perfect for you."

Leni:"Oh really? Well then, show me!"

Matilda then showed a two-piece swimsuit to Leni that was the same color as her shirt, having white ruffles around the waist and white diagonal lines across the each part of the suit.

Leni:"(jumping up and down) Eeeee! I love it! I wish I could've found it sooner!"

Matilda:"(takes Leni by the shoulders) Glad I could help. But I'm gonna ask you to please calm down."

Up next was Francine, who seem to've already found something for herself. A one-piece swimsuit that was dark green with light green horizontal stripes going across it.

Francine:"This one's nice. And it's just my color."

Matilda:"I agree. You'll look pretty good in it.

Next was Luna, who too also found a swimsuit that fitted her personality. A dark purple one piece with a skull at the center and the lower half being light purple at a diagonal line.

Luna:"Wicked."

Matilda:"I could see you're a rock-kind of girl."

Luna:"Really? What was your first clue?"

Matilda:"Oh, nothing. You just look the part."

Luna:"Thanks."

Zella was looking, but nothing seemed to have suited her best.

Matilda:"Having a hard time looking for one that hasn't been taken?"

Zella:"Eh. Swimming isn't really my thing anywhere."

Matilda:"Well, don't worry. We have something for you."

Then Zella was showed a dark red swimsuits, which comprised of a sports bra and short shorts with white outlines.

Zella:"This one's cute."

Luan had already seemed to have found her suit, being a yellow one-piece with white ruffles at the end of each hole, a dark yellow diagonal line across the belly and she could even keep her flower on.

Luan:"The yellow brightens up my day!"

Matilda:"Glad you liked it."

Lori:"I think I'm also gonna pick out something for Ashe and Lincoln."

What she got for them was a navy blue two-piece for Ashe and dark orange swimtrunks and a black tanktop for Lincoln. Pretty soon, they were all at the lake with all of the girls, and Lincoln, in their respective swim suits. Diane was having a little trouble with hers thought.

Diane:"(pulling at the string) Thing feels a little tight. I'm not complaining though."

Ashe covers Lincoln's eyes.

Zella:"So, anybody wondering if the water is clean or not?"

Lincoln:"Well, this is Michigan so it's anyone's guess."

Francine:"That doesn't really help."

Leni:"Why don't we find out? It's lake time!"

And with that, they hope on in. Lincoln and Ashe stay by a dock and watched as their friends get into position for synchronized swimming. All except Luna, Luan and Zella, who watch while floating.

Luan:"Should we join in?"

Luna:"Nah. Not my style."

Zella:"Same. Besides, anything with Diane in it always ends in failure. Just watch in three, two and one…"

And then, the four became unsynchronized when Lori ends up bumping into Diane's butt, which causes their swimming circle to end badly with them flapping their arms and splashing everywhere. Meanwhile, Ashe and Lincoln took the opportunity to clean each other's wounds, as Ashe cleans the blood from Lincoln's head with a wet rag and then replaces his bandages. Lincoln does the same with her shoulder wound, which Ashe was lucky not have gotten infected by now.

Ashe:"Thank you, Lincoln?"

Lincoln:"I'm just sorry that you got that wound in the first place."

Ashe:"It's okay, Lincoln. I've been through worse."

Lincoln:"Really?"

Ashe:"Yeah. This is just…adding my collection of scars."

It's true that Ashe did in fact have a small number of scars across her body. A cut wound under her potbelly from one of Reginald's goons.

Lincoln:"Where'd you get this one?"

Ashe:"…Reginald"

A bite mark on her foot, thanks to a guard dog from the time she escaped from prison, a story she'll have to tell Lincoln about later. And a burn mark at the upper part of her back.

Ashe:"This one was from a year ago. I was running from Reginald's goons at night and I ended up falling into a puddle of gasoline."

Flashback to Ashe falling on her right side, soaked in gas as one of Reginald's goons takes out a flare and just as Ashe was about to flee, the gas ignites. Lincoln almost couldn't believe Ashe barely survived that.

Lincoln:"They tried to blowtorch you?!"

Ashe:"…Yeah, pretty much. You know, guys always tell me that I'm hot, but that was ridiculous."

That made Lincoln blush and look away. He didn't want to admit it, but he too also found Ashe pretty attractive, even if she was a little out of shape. But their moment was cut short by Diane standing over them.

Diane:"Yo everyone, I'm gonna try doing my biggest cannonball yet!

Ashe and Lincoln moved out of the way while the others were unprepared for what came next as Diane stood at the start of the dock before running and doing a cannonball that splashed everyone in the lake, much to the dismay of Lori and Francine.

Lori & Francine:"Diane!"

Diane:"Woo-boo!"

Lori:"That was literally not cool!"

Luna:"Speak for yourself, Lori! That was wicked!"

Luan:"We got next!"

Lincoln:"Go for it, guys!"

Leni:"Yeah! Go for it! Wait, what are they going for?"

Lincoln:"Just watch, Leni."

And they cheered their siblings on as they do went for a cannonball. Theirs wasn't as big as Diane's buy, but it was still pretty big. After a few hours of swimming, they all settled down and dried off.

Meanwhile, back at Reginald's hideout, Caroline was looking at some footage from the fight that Reginald had with Ashe. It was shocking to see the place go up in flames, as the others had almost begun to panic.

Caroline:"Everybody, relax!"

Minion:"What just happened there?!"

Caroline:"Reginald needs a rest from explosives."

Minion:"I don't recall them taking any explosives."

Caroline:"They didn't. This was the girl's handiwork."

Minion:"Well, what are we gonna do now?"

It was then that Caroline had gotten up from her seat and took off her glasses.

Caroline:"Get the dogs and heavy weapons ready. I won't be long."

Exiting out of the room, she came out a few minutes, wearing a black tactical suit with silver lining around it. Then, she puts un sunglasses, just like her boyfriend. The hunt was just beginning...