Chapter 18: Outlaw Hunt: Alameda Slim

Joshua slowly and carefully lowered his infant daughter Laura into her crib as Ororo finished breastfeeding her.

"Sleep tight, sweetie." Joshua said softly as his little girl slept peacefully while he tucked her in.

Then the two parents left the room.

"People may not think so, but it's hard work being a baby." The mother of one sighed as they laid on the couch.

"Ain't that the truth." Joshua hummed. Then thoughts of his last animus session entered his mind. "... I didn't think it was possible for carnivorous cryptids to be so friendly to humans." He mused, thinking about Cleopatra II. "Why wasn't it recorded?" He wondered.

"No idea." His wife replied, being at a loss for words herself. "Though it is definitely unique. I'm amazed that Cleo decided to stick around." She mused.

"I reiterate, affection from a cryptid like a Wampus Cat is life's highest honor." The male Sage stated. "Though that doesn't mean I'm gonna expect affection from a Wendigo; fuck that." He amended with a grimace.

"Yeah." Ororo nodded as she laid back on the couch, attempting to relax.

As the couple relaxed, Luna decided to join them, hopping on the couch and sitting on both of their laps. Then River and Kali came along, the former sitting next Joshua while the latter sat next to Kali. Then Trevor hopped on top of Luna and got settled in on her back.

With all the animals in the house together for one big cuddle session, Joshua and Ororo felt themselves drifting away for a comfy nap.

(Timeskip)

After a requisite resting period and allowing Cal and Ororo chances to use the Animus to get more information from their ancestors, Joshua was ready to get back to work on his Ancestor's story.

Rasputin, meanwhile, was sifting through the Animus' data banks for anything interesting as Joshua got in.

Animus Active

Cross Genetic Memory Available

Bleeding Effect Prevention Protocols installed

Synchronizing…

In the office of Boss Tweed, the man was sitting with Yor as they discussed things as they stood now.

"Pallimon's becoming more and more developed by the day it seems." The man stated, sipping his whisky. "As I recall, I asked you to dispose and destroy that town for a reason." He muttered.

"I know, but I wasn't expecting the kid to actually rebuild the place, and neither were you, so no point arguing over it." Yor grunted as he drank some water.

"Fair point, I suppose." The senator sighed as the door to his office opened and someone stepped inside into the room. "Hmmm? Oh, Cudgel. I didn't hear you come in." The man nodded.

Said man was of caucasian descent and had shaggy black hair, brown eyes and was in his 20s. He was wearing a newer rendition of the outfit that Shay himself had worn over a century prior, even having the same gear.

This was Cudgel Cormac, the grandson of Shay Cormac and nephew of the Cormac Gang.

"Sir, sorry to bother you, but I've just received word that the Assassins are planning to try and eliminate our next… Ally." The man informed his superior.

"Ah yes, Alameda Slim." Tweed nodded as he looked at an old wanted poster of the man. "Neatly bankrupted half the ranchers in the Midwest before he was brought in by Jaren Ward and his predecessor, Joseph Malphur." He mused.

"He's the one who wrestles the cattle, sells them elsewhere and then uses the money from that to buy up all the land under an alias, correct?" Cudgel questioned, getting an uninterested shrug from Yor.

"I don't really care about what the outlaws do." The former assassin stated.

"He's also planning on stealing the cattle of Pallimon next, apparently." Cudgel told them. "I have… Doubts about his success, since he'll be trying to steal honey from the proverbial beehive." He added, showing his skepticism in the plan.

"Ah, but that could allow us an opportunity to strike at them while their best fighters are away." Tweed responded. "But that can come later. Cudgel, why don't you do me a favor and help Yor with trying to prepare our other allies before the Assassins can get to them." The man nodded.

"Of course, sir." Cudgel nodded in reply.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, at the Pallimon Bureau, the Assassins were rather bored due to lack of missions at the present time.

So what are they doing?

Having a slapping contest.

Right now, it is Ban vs Clover. The two stood across from each other with their shirts off since they didn't want to ruin them like they were probably going to ruin their pants.

Covering his dominant hand in powder, Clover slapped Ban as hard as he could. The force made the thief stagger as the onlookers winced before Ban returned to his place.

"Yikes, that had to hurt…" Fritz winced.

"I hear that." Mansa nodded in agreement with his own wince.

Then Ban covered his dominant hand in powder before he, in turn, slapped Clover, the force actually knocking him off his feet.

"DAAAAAAMN!" The guys all yelled as the Irish teen was knocked flat on his back.

"Ha ha! How do ya them apples?!" Ban cackled.

Clover tried to get back to his feet, but a slap to the face that hard can daze anyone. In other words, he couldn't form the thoughts to get back to his feet and before long, his brain decided it was time for a nap and he fell unconscious.

"Alright, who's next?" The boy questioned right as the doors to the Bureau opened and someone walked inside.

"Boys, we got a mission!" Shin exclaimed. "I just got a lead on the next outlaw!" He added.

"Oh yeah? Who's the unlucky bastard?" Ban asked with a smirk, eager to go on a hunt.

"The cow wrestling thief himself, Alameda Slim." The gunslinger replied.

"The Yodeling king of the prairie?" Raven questioned. "You gotta be kidding me!" She laughed.

"What, is it hard to take him seriously?" Shin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In a way." Clover groaned as he sat up before passing out again.

"Oh, by the way, Ban." The Gunslinger said as he looked at his friend. "Someone's here to see you." He added.

"Huh?" The thief blinked before a girl walked in… A girl that Ban knew in a heartbeat.

She was rather short, only being about five one or two with a petite figure. Her hair was a vibrant blonde and her eyes were an amber color, which matched her apricot colored skin—making her look almost doll-like.

Attire wise, she had on a dress that looked like it was made by east coast tailors from the period, showing that she was quite fashionable. It was actually hard to tell what kind of footwear she had on.

"E-Elaine!" The boy gasped, nearly slipping on the floor as he ran to the girl.

"Ban!" The girl smiled as well as she jumped into the assassin's arms, tackling him to the ground in a hug.

"Oof! Yeah, it's great to see you, too!" The silver haired young man grunted with a chuckle.

"Oh Ban! I've missed you, like you wouldn't believe!" The smaller girl cried before she kissed her lover on the lips, surprising the Assassin and master Thief.

"Wow, this chick is more forward than most modern women." Calvin remarked.

"I think it's because she hasn't seen him in awhile, love." Sarah replied. "Any woman would be like that if they were away from their man for weeks on end." She added.

"Amen to that." Ororo nodded.

"Mmm hmm." Desa hummed.

"I'm guessing this is the girlfriend you mentioned before?" Shin guessed.

"Yep." Ban nodded as he and his girlfriend got back to their feet, the boy taking the girl into his arms. "I missed you too, Elaine. But what're you doing here? Why aren't you with your brother in Leominster?" He questioned.

"Our home was attacked. Harlo's gone missing, our friends were murdered and our orchards were burned to the ground!" The girl told him, on the brink of tears as she clung to her boyfriend. "I-I didn't know where else to go!" She wailed.

"Who did it?" Shin questioned, his eyes narrowed.

"I don't know, I hid in the house when they came before they set the house on fire. I never saw them." The girl choked out, burying her face in Ban's chest.

"Ah crap…" The deputy sighed. "Well, you can settle here in Pallimon in the meantime. If you find anything you can do to help out, feel free to pitch in." He told her.

"Thank you." The girl sighed.

"Come on, let's get you somewhere to rest." Ban sighed as Jaren arrived, the Newspaper in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other.

"Well, Washington is certainly in a tizzy." The marshal noted while taking a sip of his coffee as he read an article about Congressman Lincoln being made the candidate of the newly formed Republican Party for President in the current election.

"Pro slavery crowd not liking Ol' Honest Abe's nomination?" Shin asked as he looked at the paper. "Yep." He nodded upon reading.

"That honestly checks out." Mansa grunted in agreement. "Anyway, who's going after Slim?" He asked.

"I was thinking that we could form a posse, actually." The man replied. "You, Shin and the rest of the others seem like a good selection." He noted.

"Then let's saddle up, boys!" Shin called.

"Aye. Alright." Clover nodded as they headed outside. "Oh, Shin. Mind if we stop at the new Carpenter and Furniture store before we go to the stables?" He questioned.

"What for?" Shin asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the recently reawakened Irishman.

"I want to see if the carpenter I hired in Valentine is settled in yet." The teen replied as they reached the store. "Mr. O'Connor! You settlin' in alright, sir?" He called over the sound of carving.

"Yeah, and I'm enjoying my work while I'm at it!" The man in question called back in reply.

"That's great to hear." Shin nodded at the building where a man was working on a wooden object of some sort, which looked like a very small bed frame that looked almost… like a crib.

"It should be. I got an order for an upcoming mother who happens to be engaged to someone here." O'Connor chuckled as he worked.

The man was a heavyset, auburn haired man in his forties with so much sawdust covering him that you'd mistake him for a mulch pile—his overalls being where his tools were held.

"Her name wouldn't happen to be Cereza Basalisk, would it?" Shin questioned.

"Yes, actually. She told me to make it big enough for two babies. You expecting twins?" He asked.

"No, due to a rather wild and ill advised escapade I ended up impregnating both her and her friend Morgana Munroe, so both children are mine, but Cereza is the only woman I'm marrying." The Deputy explained.

"Oh… I see." The carpenter blinked before shrugging. "Well, you wouldn't be the first to make such mistakes. There are plenty of people out there who have made that same mistake themselves." He mused.

"Wouldn't call it a mistake so much as us getting carried away." Shin shrugged. "Anyway, I'm Deputy Marshal Shin Malphur. I run this town with Jaren." He explained.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." The carpenter nodded as he paused in his work to shake Shin's hand. "Patrick O'Connor, carpenter and furniture maker by trade." The man smiled.

"You've clearly gotten into business quickly." Shin noted as he looked around, seeing some finished and unfinished furniture sitting about.

"It's a new town, people need wooden furniture made." Patrick shrugged. "Besides, the Bunyan brothers saw mill will need someone to use their wood." He added.

"True." The deputy nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then." He added as he made his way to the stables, passing by Lumier who was talking to a man with mining gear with him. "Hey Lumier, you find our town someone to tend the mines?" He called.

"Oui! His name is Auguste Farrow!" The French teen called back.

"Well go ahead and get him settled in!" The teen told him as he reached the stables where Jaren was waiting.

"Checking up on things?" The marshal gummed as he looked at his deputy.

"Yep. The guys have apparently been adding people to the roles we need, so now we're only a few short." His deputy nodded.

"We can worry about that after we deal with Slim." Jaren told him as he brought Ed out of his stable.

"Haven't seen Ed in awhile. Where did he go when you dropped him off in the stables before we went to DC?" Shin asked as he mounted Demon.

"He was sent back to DC to be with the other horses. I brought him here since Nashville's been a bit ride tired lately." The Marshal replied, climbing onto his horse.

"Fair enough." Shin nodded as the two headed out. "Now, let's head to the main Bureau so we can fin out where Slim was last reported. We can head forward from there." He told his mentor.

"That'd be a good idea." Jaren nodded.

(Timeskip)

-DC, 1860-

"Hey congressman Lincoln." Shin called as he and Jaren got off their horses, finding the man talking to Bowery, a familiar Russian Assassin they noticed was Ivan, and a man that Shin recognized pretty quickly.

Specifically, it was the rather famous abolitionist and dualist, Cassius Clay.

"Cassius Clay, in the flesh. This'll be fun." Joshua chuckled.

"Ah, Shin, Jaren. How are you?" The man nodded as he faced the two. "Cassius, these are the Assassins I told you about. The ones who have been tidying up the riff raff in the western territories." He told the man.

"I was wondering who was doing all that." Cassius nodded. "Are you two still working on that?" He asked, looking at the two.

"That we are." Jaren nodded. "Mentor, I'd like to know if you happen to have Alameda Slim's last known location." The man said.

"I do. It was just given to me by a scout of ours." He nodded.

"You guys talk that over, I need to go talk to Alhaytham and Nicholas." Shin said.

(Later)

"Hey you two." The assassin said as he approached the jolly heavyset weapon smith and his younger companion.

"Oh, Shin!" Nicholas smiled, happy to see him. "Need anything?" He asked.

"Yes, actually." The boy nodded. "Alhaytham, you got those schematics for the contraptions of Da Vinci?" He asked.

"Yeah. Why?" The young man asked in response.

"I need a fresh one built. I have plans that involve it." The gunslinger replied.

"Whatever for?" Nicholas questioned as Alhaytham pulled out the plans in question.

"We're going after Alameda Slim and from what I can gather the guy has a favorite hideout in the old mine and underground train trackway of Breakneck Cave." The deputy replied. "And we both know what that place is known for." He continued.

"Natural wind tunnels." The blacksmith nodded, recalling that particular feature. "Alright. I'll see about getting it built." He told the gunslinger.

"I'll handle the metal working, Nick. You can handle the mechanics." Alhaytham nodded.

"Very well." Nick nodded.

(Later)

A few hours later, the two workers finished their project and the Renaissance era glider was complete, and from the looks of things, Alhaytham and Nicholas had also managed to make some improvements on the design as well.

The newer parts included a torso harness and a leg rest at the rear to support Shin's legs and avoid drag due to them dangling. This would make things easier on the body.

They also managed to include several hinges that allowed the wings to flap, meant for sustained flight over long distances.

"Wow, this looks great." The deputy hummed as he and the two men loaded the machine into a wagon Demon was hooked up to, getting the attention of the men who were still talking.

"My God, what is that?" Lincoln questioned.

"Da." Ivan nodded.

"It looks like a giant bat." Cassius noted.

"This is something that Leonardo Da Vinci invented during the Italian Renaissance." Shin explained. "This thing will let anyone fly, and if the conditions are right, the wind can keep it in the air." He continued.

"Shin says the plan is to use Breakneck Cave's natural wind tunnel to his advantage." Alhaytham nodded.

"Speaking of wind…" The gunslinger hummed as he stood still for a minute or two, before holding his arm out—allowing Liberty to perch on it.

She was now officially one year old and her natural brown feathers were now fully visible and her head was now its iconic bald white, her beak was now also sharper as well.

"You've been up there awhile, girl. Don't you ever get tired?" He asked his avian companion.

As if to answer his question, Liberty suddenly fell forward in exhaustion as Shin caught her.

"Okay, yeah, you need to rest up, sweetie." He said in concern for the avian he'd been raising since her birth.

"That's a beautiful Eagle." Cassius noted, scratching the bird on the head, getting pleasured peeps from her. "What do you call her?" He asked.

"Liberty." The boy replied as Lincoln, ever the kind soul, took a can of sardines from his pocket he kept for emergencies and started feeding Liberty some of the fish. "She's actually still pretty young, so she still has a lot of growing up to do." He added.

"Well I'd say she's in good hands." Lincoln nodded.

"Come on, Shin. We're heading to a small farm that Slim's been rumored to be planning to hit." Jaren told his Deputy.

"These people planning on moving?" Shin asked as he hopped on the wagon Demon was hooked to carrying the glider.

"The Fa family, yeah." The Marshal replied as he hopped on Ed. "Their rice fields haven't been doing so hot so they swapped to cattle, and they're worried about wrestlers stealing them." He explained.

"Alright. And let me guess, they don't speak English very well?" His adopted son surmised.

"Yeah, so I'm gonna need you to translate for me." The man nodded.

"I got you covered." Shin nodded as they headed out to take down Slim.

(Timeskip)

"So you think we should invite the Fa family to Pallimon?" Shin called as they were back in Wyoming, with Jaren now riding ahead after they got off a train and retook the wagon with Demon.

"Yeah, you mentioned that we still need some farmers, a postmaster, general store owner and a pastor, right?" His adopted father called back.

"Yeah, and Pallimon has great farmland, so they could swap back to crops if they wanted!" The gunslinger confirmed.

"Well given that the guys didn't have much to do anyway, we could have them help Mr. Fa with the livestock while the Native girls we took in a few weeks ago help Mrs. Fa with the farming and gardening!" The Marshal pointed out.

"That's a great idea!" Shin nodded as a small house with a large corral full of what looked like Jersey Dairy cattle and several Texas Longhorns, as well as pens with other animals: pigs, goats, ducks, chickens, a couple horses, the whole nine yards. "I think I see it!" He exclaimed.

"Alright, let's go greet them." Jaren nodded as they came up to the farm.

Upon getting off their horses after arriving, they spotted a Chow Chow guard dog watching them intently.

"Why does a dog like that have to look so fluffy?!" Desa complained.

"It's a Chow Chow, Desa, they're supposed to look like that." Luca told her.

"Funny, my aunt has one of those from her time in Hong Kong…" Sarah mused.

"Uh oh, dog alert." Shin said as the chow chow started barking at them, spooking Ed and pissing off Demon, who stamped and snorted.

Right as the dog was about to pounce, a white and brown blur burst out of the bushes and bashed the dog aside, revealing a familiar looking Pyranese/Labrador-Mixed Wolfdog.

"Fenrir?! When'd you get here?" Shin gasped in surprise as the Wolfdog's fur bristled while he and the Chow Chow snarled at each other.

"I get the sense that there's a rivalry between these two." Jaren noted, seeing that this had been going on for a while.

It was then that a Chinese couple came out of the farm house and saw the commotion.

Both were wearing common Chinese garb, and the man was wearing a coned grass hat. Both had traditional braids as expected and the woman was wearing a sort of apron as well.

But things escalated a bit when the woman, shouting in her native tongue, grabbed a rake and was about to beat Fenrir with it.

"Hey, back off! The wolfdog is with me!" Shin barked, also in Chinese, getting her attention as he drew his Katana and blocked the rake. "Fenrir, stand down. These people are supposed to come with us." The boy told his canine companion as Liberty, worried about the commotion, landed on the roof, chirping in concern.

"What are you doing here? And if this is your wolfdog, then why has he been harassing my dog?" The woman demanded irritably.

"His name is Fenrir, and apologies ma'am, but your dog attacked us first." The boy stated. "It's okay, Liberty, you can keep flying." He told his Eagle, getting a peep in reply as she flew away. "I am Deputy Marshal Shin Malphur, and this is my adopted father Marshal Jaren Ward. I believe you requested to be moved to our town, Pallimon?" He questioned.

"We did." The farm woman nodded. "We just need something done about the fools that me and my husband have been stalking around the farm lately." She added.

"You can leave them to us if they come after us. Meantime, you should gather your belongings and animals. It's going to be a fairly long trip." Shin told her. "Sorry. I don't think I got your names." He noted.

"I am Fa Li and this is my husband, Fa Zhou." The woman replied.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." The boy nodded with a bow.

"You as well." Zhou nodded, this time in English with a thick Chinese accent, bowing in return. "Your Chinese very good." He noted.

"Thanks, my mom was half Chinese so she taught me it from a young age." The gunslinger nodded. "Come on, let's get you guys packed up." He nodded as Jaren dismounted and they got to work.

(Timeskip)

Fast forward to night time, and Shin and Jaren had managed to help get the Fa squared away enough for them to travel to Pallimon, getting about halfway there before having to stop for the night.

The Gunslinger was currently cooking a pot of Noodle Soup with ingredients that the Chinese family had on hand, and roasting a pair of fish over the fire for Liberty, Fenrir and the Fa's Chow Chow—Lao Tzu—trying to make sure everyone got something to eat.

The eagle was eager to get some fish since it smelled so good.

"Think Slim'll try to drop on us out here?" The boy questioned as Jaren was cleaning his pistol and the others were eating.

"That's something I'm betting on. Keep your eyes peeled." Jaren nodded in reply as he glanced around.

"Got it." The deputy nodded.

(Later)

As the night passed on after dinner, the Fas went to sleep while Jaren decided to turn in, leaving Shin to keep first watch with his animal companions—the dogs keeping an idle vigil while Liberty was giving her owner an Eagle Eye view.

So far, there was nothing in the moonlit night. The animals were happily sleeping in their chosen spots, nary a sound disturbing them.

That was until three figures started walking up to the camp, which Liberty marked for Shin as he activated his Eagle Vision while the bird banked left to get a better look.

Silently, Shin slipped into the shadows and hid from the three intruders. He needed to see who these people were before doing anything else.

Liberty flew directly over the trio as Shin hid behind a rock, revolving rifle in hand, before letting out a peeping cry as she showed him three young men with blonde hair that covered their eyes, dressed in simple cowpoke clothes and had small derby hats on.

"The Willie brothers, why am I not surprised?" Shin sighed as he watched as one of them, Gill, swatted at the eagle as she kept buzzing them.

"Hey! Get outta my face!" He barked, swatting away the bird, causing her to squawk in protest and actually scratch him with her talons before flying away. "Ow!" He yelped.

Once Liberty backed off, the brothers proceeded toward the where the cattle were with the intent of freeing them for their uncle.

Shin was about to make his move, when a large black blur zoomed past him and someone skid right beside the brothers.

He was a large man, a bandanna covering his face and gloves on, he had the typical cattle garb and a banjo on his back.

But what really got the Assassin's attention, was that he was riding a Bison.

"Wait a minute, is that guy riding a bison?" Cal questioned as the man pulled his bandana down, revealing his mustached face.

"And there's Alameda Slim." Mael commented.

"He's not even slim, ironically enough." Luca chuckled.

"Boys, you able to find us some cattle?" The man questioned his nephews, Gill still tending his wound.

"Not yet, but we think they're over there by that campfire, Uncle Slim." One of the others replied, Glen, replied.

"Let's go check it out then." Alameda nodded as he walked up to the camp with his nephews in tow.

"Oh no you don't, fat ass." Shin growled as he whistled in the same tune as Liberty's Eagle cry, causing her to dive bomb Slim and the brothers.

"Ah! What the–?!" The cattle thief yelped as Liberty started harassing him. "A bald eagle?! When'd that get here?!" He growled as he swatted her with his guitar, dazing the bird of prey.

"Ahem." Shin coughed, getting the four thieves' attention. "That's my eagle, and you just pissed me off by hitting her like that!" He hissed, drawing a revolver and pointing it at them.

"And who might you be?" Slim questioned, keeping Shin's attention on him so that he could get ready for his distraction tactic.

"Deputy Shin Malphur, and you just fucked up when you decided to come after the cattle here." Shin replied. "Cuz I got back up. You might know him, Marshal Jaren Ward?" He added.

"Aw crap, he's here?!" Slim gulped, before regaining his composure. "Well then. Jaren did say he enjoys the chase." He grinned, twirling his guitar. "So why don't I give him one?" He added as he leapt off his Bison and it charged at Shin —before the man started yodeling. "You see, I yodel-adle-eedle-idle-odle! The sweetest way of rustlin' yet devised! 'Cause when I yodel-adle-eedle-idle-odle! Why, looky how them cows git hypnotized!" He sang, which actually caused the cattle to wake up and start walking towards him!

Shin was rather dumbfounded by this as he leapt out of the way of charging bison, who kept rushing him and wouldn't let him get his bearings.

"... How is this possible?" Rasputin wondered, and his tone suggested just how baffled he was.

"I've heard it theorized that Yodeling to cattle works because it's similar to how they vocalize." Mael explained.

"I would wonder why modern farmers don't do it, but I know that not everyone can yodel." Joshua commented.

"You ain't lying." Luca nodded.

Shin finally managed to get away from the bison by getting up high while slim hopped back on it while still doing his yodeling number, doing everything from William Tell, to Yankee Doodle Dandy and several others.

Luckily for Shin, there were rocks he could parkour on and Jaren was already awake.

"Ah damn it, I should've expected this to happen!" The marshal cursed as he ran to catch up with Shin.

"Sorry! The bison charged me!" Shin called.

"That's Junior! Don't worry, Slim trained him to scare and maim but not to kill! He didn't want Junior to get put down if he was ever caught!" The man called as he rode after them on Ed while Demon ran beside them.

"Good! That makes things easier!" Shin nodded as he got back to ground level and mounted Demon before the two dashed after Slim.

Unknown to everyone, Cleopatra II the Wampus Cat had gone hunting for some Jackalopes and was in the area when Slim started yodeling. When she got close enough, she actually had to shake her head and rub her eyes with one of her front paws to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

Yes, Slim's yodeling to get cows to follow him actually made a cryptid have a "WTF?" moment.

"Here we are boys! One hundred cattle in the side pocket!" Slim called as he pointed at a canyon in the distance, yodeling again.

Meanwhile, Shin and Jaren were racing on their respective horses to catch up to the yodeling cow thief.

"So long!" He called with a wave as he shot a rock with a shotgun and caused it to fall, blocking the Assassins from following.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Shin yelled in disbelief as he stared at the rock blocking their way forward.

"History repeats itself, I see." Jaren noted.

"What?" The boy questioned, looking at his adoptive father.

"This happened to me before I finally caught Slim. It was really annoying how the cows unknowingly got in my way." The marshal sighed.

"Shit." The boy cursed. "What now?" He questioned.

"Now we get the Fa's to Pallimon and round up a posse of our Assassins." His surrogate father replied. "We have an outlaw to catch." He added.

"Right." Shin nodded as the two headed back to the camp.

(Later)

After getting the Fa family settled in their new farmhouse in Pallimon with their livestock—sans cattle—Shin and Jaren reconvened with the rest of the Assassins, giving them the rundown of what happened.

"Bloody hell, Jaren." Cereza groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You knew how Slim operated and you still let him get you the same way twice?" She sighed.

"In my defense, he had a sizable head start." Jaren sighed in reply.

"And the man's good at what he does." Shin chimed in. "I can see why it took so long to get him the first time." He added, sharpening his blades while Liberty preened herself on her perch and Fenrir gnawed on a bone.

"I can see why you guys need some help with this one." Ban commented. "I heard through the criminal underworld a while back that Slim was one of the best cow wrestlers in the west. Nice to see they were on point there." He added. The thief was actually referring to being glad that the stories he heard weren't exaggerations.

"The man uses a bovine's method of communication against them, I'd say that makes him smarter than the average Outlaw." Clover nodded.

"All the same, even if we wanted to get him, where would we even find him?" Mansa questioned.

"We just gotta follow him after his next hit, I say." Lumier chimed in.

"Actually." Shin, who had been silent for the past couple minutes, chimed in. "I already have." He stated as Liberty, who had been out flying for the past twenty minutes, flew back in and landed on her perch.

"How?" Raven questioned.

"My Eagle vision allows me to see through Liberty's eyes, and she just saw Evidence of Slim taking refuge in Breakneck Creek, specifically the cave and underground railroad of the old Micha mine. His old lair." The gunslinger explained as he tossed his eagle a sardine as a reward.

"Well, that's rather predictable of him." Jaren hummed.

"All the same, it will make things easier." Cereza commented. "Oh, and Shin, darling, when you and the others are finished, stop by Jinn's tailor shop, would you? I have a few things I'd like your opinion on." She said, getting her fiancé's attention.

"Like what?" He wondered.

"You'll find out when you get there." The woman told him in reply.

"Okay…" The boy nodded, not liking how secretive she was being.

"Well, I'm ready to go." Raven said, standing up. "You guys ready?" She asked.

"Yep." The rest of the guys nodded in reply.

"Let's go then." Shin nodded as he got up, whistling for Liberty and Fenrir to follow.

(Later)

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Ban questioned as Shin got himself situated on a high perch so he could gain enough flight velocity and momentum to fly into Breakneck Cave's natural wind tunnel with the flying machine.

"If I can get enough velocity, I should be able to join Liberty in the sky for a while until I reach Breakneck Cave." Shin explained as he looked over the canyon the cave was in.

In said canyon was a giant pillared rock formation that housed the cave, a fairly good spot for a hideout, all things considered.

It was then that he saw something through Liberty's eyes as she flew through the cave and into the mine inside.

It was Slim, and in addition to the cows he was now sorting through, he had two things on his desk—a map fragment… and another one of the Apples from his vision!

"Look at that. Another reason to go after Slim." Ororo commented.

"This guy's just asking for it at this point…" Joshua chuckled.

"Alright. Here I go!" The Assassin called as he leapt off the cliff and started gliding down to the cave.

"Come on guys, let's go!" Jaren barked as everyone followed. "Fenrir, come on!" He called, causing the pup to follow.

Up in the air, Shin marveled at the amazing view he was getting while Liberty joined her owner/father, chirping cheerfully at him. It was like she was asking if he was having fun.

"This has to be the best thing I've ever experienced!" He whooped as he flew, before the wind current caused him to dive. "Hold on!" He called as he flew directly into the cave, the wind tunnel effect making him fly even faster than before.

It was actually treacherous, since he had to avoid the rock formations—namely stalagmites and stalactites—inside the tunnel, and there were some bats roosting inside, apparently. Thankfully, they were asleep, for the most part, so he had no hassle with them.

Luckily, both him and Liberty came out to the cave unscathed and were free to fly right into the lair and sore around over the outlaw's heads and were able to make out a rather short man who came in on a train.

He was dressed in a purple suit and hat and was carrying a briefcase… as well as being accompanied by Cudgel Cormac!

'Crap!' Shin cursed mentally upon seeing the Templar agent.

"A good haul today, wouldn't you say, Mr. Wesley?" The outlaw smiled as he was given a case of money.

"Yeah good to be back." The man nodded.

"Enough formalities." Cudgel hissed. "I assume you have what I want?" He questioned.

"That I do, just over here…" Slim nodded as he led cudgel over to the table where the Apple and Map fragment was.

Deciding to try and nip a potential issue in the bud, Shin dropped from the glider and activated his boot blades.

However, it would seem that the Cormac man saw that he was coming and stopped just short of where Shin was falling—and shoved Slim into said drop path…

Animus Corridor

"Ah damn it." Shin cursed as he got off of Slim, who rolled himself onto his back.

"Business partners… Can't trust 'em nowadays…" The man groaned as he felt his life start to fade.

"Especially Templars." The Assassin nodded. "… Why'd you do all this, Slim? Steal all this cattle? All that land? What was it all for? Profit?" He questioned.

"Revenge." Slim choked out. "Against those who refused to acknowledge my talents." He coughed.

"I know the feeling of wanting to get revenge. I do." The boy nodded. "But I think I should let you know, people have acknowledged your talents. Employ the same skills you put so much pride in. And you couldn't see it." He told him, resting the man's hands on his chest.

"Heh, guess we can all be blind to the good things in life, true." The outlaw nodded. "But, thank you, for letting me die, knowing I'll be remembered—for practicing what I love…" The man sighed as he passed away… with a smile on his face.

"Rest in peace, Alameda Slim." Shin nodded as he closed the man's eyes.

Animus Corridor Closed

"So, you're Jaren's little deputy." Cudgel hummed as he neared the table. "Shun, was it?" He questioned.

"It's Shin. Shin Malphur." The gunslinger hissed, his Hidden gun pointed right at the man.

"I don't hear the difference." The Templar stated dismissively as the others finally arrived.

"Well aren't you just a ratty little shit." The gunslinger huffed.

"Freeze, Cudgel." Jaren said, Last Word pointed at the Templar's head, the Assassins now having him and the others surrounded.

"Oh, well, this is adorable." Cudgel scoffed, unfazed by the Assassins around him.

"Shin, you alright?" Ban asked, his trademark knife handy.

"Nice of you to ask, Ban, but I'm pretty sure we both have girlfriends." The boy chuckled.

"Piss off." His friend shot back with an eye roll.

"And you say I'm outmatched." Cudgel said as he suddenly hard dropped a smoke bomb, causing everyone to start gasping as he grabbed the map fragment and Apple…

Only for Fenrir to leap on top of him and grab him by the throat as the man tried to make a break for the train, causing him to drop the objects and allowing Liberty to snatch them up.

"Okay, we seriously need to get more bird and canine companions!" Raven exclaimed as Cudgel finally managed to kick Fenrir off and get onto the train's main engine, taking the coal car with him.

"Damn, he got away!" Clover cursed.

"At least we got the map fragment and the Apple." Shin sighed, figuring it was a good trade off. "As well as the cattle." He added.

Meanwhile, the Willy brothers seemed pretty upset as Jaren and the others arrested them and Wesley, due to their uncle's death.

"Come on." The gunslinger sighed. "Let's go home." He said as they all left.

(Later)

It was later that day and Shin was entering Jinn's shop, where he saw Cereza sitting down in a chair while the town's tailor was busy working on a beautiful wedding dress on a mannequin.

It was an ivory white dress that was done in the fashion of a London style dress, with pearls sewn throughout it and more than a few small diamonds. But what really made the piece unique was the tiara that Cereza inherited from her family that was made part of the veil, and the golden thread embroidered on the chest and abdomen area that was in the faint outline shape of the Brotherhood's symbol.

"Cereza?" He uttered with a surprised look on his face.

"Oh, Shin, love! Come here, I want to get your opinion on the dress." His fiancé called as her lover approached.

"It… It looks beautiful." He smiled as he sat next to her. "I can't wait to see you in it." He sighed, placing a hand on her belly.

"I don't doubt it." The woman nodded, kissing him. "Now come on. Jinn needs to take your measurements for your suit." She told him.

"Alright." Shin nodded as he followed her to another area of the store.

Memory Concluded

Cross Memory detected

Protocols active

Synchronizing…

"You lost both of them?!" An irate William Tweed shouted as he paced through his office, Cudgel getting his wounds tended to while Yor was still as apathetic as ever.

"I was blindsided by a wolfdog and a bald eagle. I wasn't ready for that." The Assassin hunter hissed as he bandaged up one of his scratches.

"So the Brotherhood's renewed the practice of keeping animals for assassinations. Interesting." Yor noted idly.

"The boy dropped on us from some sort of glider. My guess is that he had the smiths Nick and Alhaytham work on them." The Templar winced as he treated a nasty bite mark.

"A glider?" Yor hummed. "Must've been based on the one Da Vinci made back in the day, if I had to guess." He mused.

"Imagine what those designs could do with modern technology…" Cudgel mused as Tweed groaned, drinking more whiskey.

"Yor, your next contact, who was he again?" He questioned.

"Salazar Scythe, aka The Snake." The man replied. "A master of poison, misdirection, sleight of hand, thievery and even assassination." He explained. "He's in possession of the fifth map fragment and is keeping it safe for us as we speak." He continued. "I also took the liberty of arming him as well, even with hidden blades." He added.

"Well, at least my grandfather bought something helpful with him when he left." Cudgel mused idly. "The Assassins at least know what they're doing when it comes to innovation." He added.

"True." Tweed acknowledged with a nod. Even he had to respect Assassin innovation.

"But regardless." Yor sighed as he stood up. "I'm going to begin my search for the final map fragment and final Apple." He stated as he walked out of the office. "I'll leave the rest to you." He added as he disappeared out the door.

Memory Synched

Ejecting User…

-Assassin Sanctuary, Present Day-

Joshua groaned as he popped his neck while Ororo gave him a water bottle.

"Well, that was a bad end for Slim, not gonna lie." Calvin commented.

"Stabbed in the back by his supposed "business partner." Yeah, not much of a business if it's Templars." Desa remarked.

"Makes me think that despite Shay's best intentions, his descendants didn't exactly follow his original example." Josh sighed as he got up. "One last Outlaw to go before Yor. Looks like things are nearing the end." He noted. "At least for now." He added.

"I'm wondering what comes after all of this." The group's historian mused.

"Well we're far from finishing Shin's story yet so let's not go off into the weeds." Calvin stated. "Come on, let's all go home. We can pick up later." He added.

This got nods from everyone else, who left one after the other, except for Josh who had one last thing to do.

"Hey, Rasputin." He said, getting the Warmind's attention.

"Yes?" The advanced AI responded.

"Think you can try and pinpoint Pallimon's present day location?" The Assassin in training questioned.

"To set up an Assassin outpost there, I presume?" Rasputin guessed.

"That, and so we know exactly where to go in the event Shin was buried with the feather." Joshua nodded in reply. "I did a comparison of Wyoming during Shin's time against present day Wyoming a while back, but I'm unsure of how accurate it truly is." He continued.

"Say no more. I will compile the files and Animus data to find it and get back to you within the week." Big Red nodded.

"Good to hear. I'll leave you to it." The second tallest in the group nodded before he left.

Dragon Emperor0: … I apologize for the long wait, guys. This chapter just took way longer than intended to write. Seriously, we meant to have this done on Tuesday and now we're finishing on Saturday!

ThermalsniperN7: It was literally one interruption after the other this week. Kinda feels like my home life, almost, but at least this chapter was done anyway.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah. On that note, this will likely be the last Outlaw Hunt we do for the next few chapters so that we can finish writing the side missions, Cryptid encounters and of course finishing up the Ghost Town missions and finishing the Pallimon storyline. So apologies if you're hoping for the next hunt, but we want to let this one breathe for a bit before we get to Salazar Scythe, as after that… Shit's gonna hit the fan.

Thermalsnipern7: Yeah, a break from the hunts is gonna feel welcome. Speaking of cryptids, yes, Cleopatra II was out hunting when she heard and saw Slim working his magic. The fact a CRYPTID had a "WTF?" moment should serve as a good indicator of how bizarre the guy was.

Dragon Emperor0: Aw, come on! Home on the Range was one of my favorite movies growing up! I used to laugh my ass off watching it all the time.

ThermalsniperN7: I get it, but still, the fact Slim caused a creature like a cryptid to have such a moment is the best accidental achievement ever. Seriously, imagine if Slim suddenly had an XBOX achievement pop up above his head saying "Confused Cryptid!"

Dragon Emperor0: True. Anyway, I should also point out that after this story is done, we'll still be working on Empire, Conquest and Nothing is True, but you likely won't be seeing the next story in this Trilogy: Assassin's Creed: Division, until both Empire and Conquest have at least reached their second acts. Which luckily shouldn't take too long, on account of us being nearly to the halfway point of Conquest's first act.

ThermalsniperN7: We also have Nothing Is True to worry about when it comes to planning. Not sure what its position is at the moment, but we'll work it out. Anyway, see you guys next time.