About an hour into their journey to the Unwoke base, they started to see desolate communities. The Unwoke truly had no value to human life or morals, leaving the surrounding areas of their territory in shambles. Most Cleveland groups didn't venture this far, so the Cucks and Cunts were in uncharted territory. There were a few people who looked lost in these riddled areas. It pained the group, but they didn't undertake any side quests to help the victims of this evil organization.

  "We're not on a rescue mission. Stay the course." Maeve wasn't even sure if she liked the words coming out of her mouth. These were perilous times, and they found themselves in a treacherous, unfamiliar place.

  As they got closer to their destination, traffic increased. They knew it would be more heavily populated, but were still caught off guard. The countryside expanded around them with sparse buildings. However, there were a few newly created buildings, likely with the help of magic.

  Todd stayed behind on this journey to continue working on his gadgets. The group unanimously agreed, knowing he didn't have any skills related to espionage or assassination beyond the tools he makes. As they got closer to the locals, they noticed something odd. The people all seemed lethargic, as if they had just woken up with a massive hangover.

  "Look at that mark." Dusky pointed out. "It's on everyone out here." A brand of the letter T was on everyone they passed. The people associated with the brand seemed to have fallen into despair, their eyes empty.

  "This is bad. Not liking this situation at all." Paige said.

  "We keep pushing." Maeve was determined but felt uneasy about the mission. There was something off about this place, but that was a general feeling that applied to any situation involving the Unwoke.

  They continued to move towards their target, which was still about 3 miles away. They were taking as much caution as they could and remained vigilant and aware of the brand mark. That is when they noticed the base in the distance. The countryside offered a clear view of a massive warehouse-like structure with smaller surrounding buildings. It was an Amazon distribution center along with their fleet of delivery trucks.

  "If their warehouses were stocked and became magical like our convention center…" Adrian pondered.

  "It means we're probably fucked. We need to leave." Maeve commanded.

  The group agreed to head back and forget about the mission.

  As they were heading back, the number of people gradually increased. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the marked people around them, until it did. Like from a horror movie, everyone on the streets stopped at the same time. Maeve, Paige, and Brody halted in reaction, trying to stay still as statues, while Dusky and Adrian hid themselves.

  The marked people all turned to their group in unison, the brands on their skin glowing as their veins turned blood orange.

  "Drive!" Brody called out. They were all packed into a truck they 'commandeered' from their redneck friends and floored it back towards Cleveland. There was no hesitation as the creepy situation revealed itself. They drove, but were too deep in enemy territory. They would need to backtrack miles before they were clear of Unwoke territory.

  "What do we fucking do?" Brody said, panicked. Two marked men surprised the group as they rounded a corner at a rural intersection and grabbed onto the truck. They tried to go for Brody and clawed at him like they were animals who were starving and needed to satiate their desire to kill. Maeve stepped in and easily decapitated them with her spear from the bed of the pickup truck.

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  "Are they zombies?" Brody asked. Maeve was on alert, scanning the growing crowd for an escape route.

  "No. Those zombies are people. Probably the stolen children," Maeve said, still looking in the distance. More and more marked people were coming, and delivery trucks were closing in on them.

  "They're surrounding us!" Adrian, who was driving, couldn't find a way out. They've been encircled. "It's no use. We're gonna have to fight our way out."

  With those words, everyone left the pickup truck, weapons in hand.

  Adrian stopped for a second before he steeled himself for what came next. He pulled out his nunchucks and muttered, ‘The only way is through.’ Adrian took out one of his pokeballs and threw it at incoming enemies. Dusky took out both of his and did the same in the other direction. Dusky's Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee materialized and began their assault on the Unwoke. Some of these marked Unwoke had weapons, so they had some level of intelligence. They all looked strained, with their veins glowing blood orange, but Adrian didn't have time to process this. He had to help clear a way to safety.

  Paige threw one of her pokeballs, and as it was forming, it turned into…Dusky? It looked like Dusky, but it had beady eyes that looked creepy, showing it was an imitation. The Pokémon formed a line and were holding their ground against the attackers as the group continued to create space to escape. As soon as they broke the encirclement, they heard the rumblings of engines and EVs. The fleet of Amazon delivery trucks was assembling.

  "Not good! Not good!"

  The group snuck up to a delivery truck and found a man with the mark on his cheek. He was level 2, hardly a threat outside of being part of a singularity being. Brody stood next to him and imbued his voice with his magic,

  "Drive us away from here."

  The man, who was staring in Brody's eyes, started to twitch. He stuttered and fought the pull of Brody's magic, but put his hands back on the steering wheel and moved the truck into drive. As soon as the truck started moving, the man's twitching intensified as if he were having a seizure. A few seconds later, the mark on the cheek began to glow as bright as a spotlight before detonating. His head splattered across the entire front section of the truck.

  "What the fuck?" Brody said, grimacing and massaging his temples.

  Maeve didn't hesitate and threw the headless corpse out of the truck. "Get in!" And the rest of the group hurried inside the delivery truck, driving as fast and far away from this place as they could.

  Maeve: Todd, keep everyone in town updated. The base is an Amazon Distribution Center equipped with an entire fleet of delivery trucks. The people here are being controlled. Talk soon.

  *****

  Cash

  Cash was looking at the failed infiltration attempt by their brethren from the convention center as he overlooked the base of the Unwoke.

  Cash didn't like the eclectic band of misfits. They were assholes who didn't care about anyone except themselves. They were also disrespectful to his people. Cash didn't forget Todd yelling at them or Dusky cutting down one of his own. He didn't want to hold a grudge, but he couldn't get the bitter taste out of his mouth from their behavior.

  Neutrality between the groups would be in everyone's best interests. Still, neutrality between them would not last forever. Cash would find a way to dispose of them without jeopardizing their position with the rest of the Alliance.

  However, their actions provided pivotal information, and they possessed a unique skill set that could prove helpful in the future. Cash's group followed the vulgarly named Cucks and Cunts. They were able to 'draft' on their movements toward the base, allowing their group deeper access than they had previously.

  "This changes things." Deadeye, his right-hand man, said. "If we can commandeer that fleet, we'll be well positioned for stable expansion."

  "And this isn't even their main base."

  "I doubt their headquarters has the operational significance of this place. It may indicate the Unwoke are just a small part of something bigger. What's the plan?" Deadeye looked at a forest on the other side of the clearing. "And do we do anything with him?" Deadeye was referring to the lone wolf from the convention center, the man with the kitsune mask who stole Vegeta's power, Grimm.

  "Negative. Leave Grimm be until he shows us his true intentions."

  Deadeye nodded and looked back at the struggling saboteurs running for their lives. "Should we help them?"

  Cash got up from his post and began heading north back to HQ, waving Deadeye off,

  "No need. They won't get caught." Deadeye nodded and followed his leader back out of enemy territory.