1931 Winter: The Time of the Oasis/Chapter 3: Bunny & Honey

Synopsis
The origins of the Vanishing Bunny are revealed. Lana had started out as a petty luggage thief who had caught herself in a spot of bad luck after being found out by a group of men she'd stolen from. Her salvation had come in the form of Pamela, a gambler who stole from the casinos she played at, who'd saved her from certain death. After committing several crimes as a duo, the two of them came across Sonia Bake shooting guns by herself in a field; without discussing it, Pamela and Lana took her into their group, and Lana had come up with the name 'Vanishing Bunny'. With the addition of Sonia, getting out of rought situations had become a lot easier, thanks to the threat of gunfire she posed. Despite Pamela's guilt at the fact that Sonia appeared clueless about the weight of what they were doing, she hadn't said anything and had continued to plot out crimes with Lana, leading to their current kidnapping situation.

Back to December 30th, 1931, Pamela and Lana discuss what they should do about the complications that have arisen with their plan; the bungalow they had planned to use as a handoff site for their ransom had turned out to be unexpectedly occupied, but they had already called the Runorata Family mansion with their demand, so leaving had also been ruled out as an option. The trio of robbers along with Carzelio Runorata decide to leave the truck to check out the situation at the bungalow. Getting a clear look through the window, Pamela sees multiple people in there, remarking to Lana and Sonia that they should at least check out the other bungalows.

In bungalow 7, 'he' catches the sound of an engine. Although 'he' doesn't move from his spot in the bungalow, 'he' begins listening for other sounds while 'he' recalls something from his past. At that time, 'he' had been surrounded by humans, though the human that had stood out most had "blazing-red hair". After recounting this memory, 'he' calls out from inside the bungalow.

Outside bungalow 3, Lana hears what she thinks must be a growl of some animal. Startled, she strains her ears to listen for more, but nothing happens. After some time has passed, the three robbers and Cazze congregate in bungalow 3, with Pamela having moved the truck to sit in front of it. They discuss staying in this bungalow for the night, and decide that while Sonia and Cazze remain inside, Pamela and Lana will go confront their neighbors in bungalow 1.

However, when Pamela drags Lana outside the bungalow, she instead expresses a desire to call off the kidnapping plan. When Lana asks why, Pamela expresses that she's uncomfortable with using a kid like this. Lana tries to argue, but before a proper agreement on the status of the kidnapping plan can be reached, their conversation is interrupted by a boy who'd appeared out of nowhere to ask if they would be his little sisters. Looking closer, they notice that the whole group of people Pamela had seen in the first bungalow has also come outside, and is observing them from a distance. Lana attempts to cover up the situation by asking what the group is doing out in a place like this, but Melody steps forward and reveals they had heard the kidnapping plan in full, demanding an explanation from them.

In the woods, a Lemure reports to Sarges that the group of kids they had been observing some time has relocated to the bungalows, putting them in a position to potentially spot the group of negotiators. Sarges determines that, since the negotiators' return route would bring them too close to the bungalows to risk going ahead with it, the Lemures should send out two scouts to the bungalows. If the scouts determine that the group could be trouble, they should be disposed of. After the scouts have left, Sarges smiles to himself, privately challenging the character of Senator Beriam.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Pamela
 * Lana
 * Sonia Bake
 * Carzelio Runorata
 * Charkie
 * Melody
 * Sarges