Ciem: Ash Cloud/In-depth plot

Ciem: Ash Cloud has a very involved plot. This is the lengthy description of it.

Kaiakahinali
In the early summer after Candi is incarcerated for failure to keep her classified Zeran tech a secret from local authorities, per the Kirby Act, SCALLOP agent Randy Lapborn has been setting up Madison Juvenile Correctional Center's staff to allow her to carry out missions as Ciem even while continuing to serve time.

Word of Wishpon's failure to capture the Abdygalis shard due to Anarteq's interference has infuriated Rappaccini and the Society of the Icy Finger greatly. The Hebbleskin Gang and Phaletori, the two others along with the Icy Finger within the newly-dubbed "Triumvirate" suggest making good on their backup plan to aid Halal Affadidah in conquering one quarter of America. Their desire to push further into Arkansas was thwarted by the Gray Champion and Mapacha del Feugo after the destruction of Boston. As a result, "Project: Kaiakahinali" is greenlit.

Sodality Church scout Tyler Brummel intercepts a meeting of Hebbleskin and Icy Finger troops and steals encoded information about it. However, he and his daughter Lacey soon find themselves hunted by Screwworms. Lapborn hears word of Brummel's exploits and tells him to meet him just outside the city of Madison to hand over the information. Fearing capture by the Screwworms, Brummel gives Lacey the flash drive with the encrypted data. They are intercepted by several vans and jetpacked Screwworms and are told to flee toward Madison Juvenile Center's gate to escape the Screwworms. Candi is sent out as Ciem in the new Forfica Mk. I series Ciem suit to make sure the Brummels arrive safely and can give Lapborn the drive.

As Ciem, Candi is able to protect the family from multiple Screwworms. However, to her frustration, many of the Screwworms are armed with suicide vests. Unbeknownst to her, a young woman from the Philippines being dubbed "Anito" is being held captive in one of the vans. The Screwworms tell her that if she ever wants to be cured of her disfigurement and be human again, she must recover the drive. Psychologically tortured, "Anito" leaps out of one of the vans to fight Ciem. The fight is short, and Ciem disables the vans and jetpacked minions. Anito makes a final move when the Brummels' van tips over to rip the van and Tyler to smithereens and take the drive, but Ciem intervenes and resumes fighting her. A final van set to blow by a suicide bomber heads right for the two women to push them into a nearby brick building on North Lane. However, Ciem teleports out of the way and the van takes itself and Anito out.

A horrified Candi realizes that the monster she was fighting was scared, not full of hatred. But it's too late to save her. She checks on the Brummels, and discovers that Lacey is injured and in need of hospitalization. Tyler insists on fleeing while the Screwworms still believe him to have a drive. He warns Candi not to take Lacey to a local hospital, lest the Screwworms get wise. Candi instead calls correction officer Jordan Grentzwell's line at the Madison Mission Control, and informs him they need to set up the infirmary for a guest - and to contact Lapborn for an emergency extraction immediately.

Candi Zeran teleports Lacey inside of Madison, and counselor Stacey Walleye promises she'll have the staff handle Lacey from there. Candi's new "gang," the "Last Legs" (made up mostly of reformed former members of Amirah's Sparks of Vengeance,) offers to help as much as staff will allow. Candi hands Jordan the drive, urging him to get it to Lapborn for decryption. Candi hands in her suit and equipment, and resumes her normal routine as a prisoner. Rappaccini soon hears word of Ciem's interference and the death of Anito, and informs a secretary that "Arfaas' centipede problem" is getting out of hand. He suggests they call in "the Russian" - before the drive is encrypted.

Candi is shown to have made a dramatic impact on the lives of several inmates in only a few months, with many of them striving like never before to improve themselves after observing her example. They are still astounded at the petty reason for Darius having her locked up, and how she has learned to take it in stride. She confides in her cellmate Nancy that she fears for the nation's future - and one whether or not she'll even have a family to go home to.

Shattered hopes
The following day, the dark overcast looming, Candi finds herself in gym class paired with newcomer Patty Trean - a timid young woman with low self-esteem who was railroaded on allegations of intentionally bouncing a check. Fearful that the others will kill her, Patty has a hard time opening up to anyone - until Candi offers to teach her self-defense. Shortly afterward, and after history class, Candi is pulled aside to talk to Bruce and Randy in private.

They inform her that Darius has reneged on his promise to leave her family alone if she were to plead guilty. Until she turns 19, she is informed that she is unable to choose either Erin or Imaki as her caretakers. Imaki is forbidden to visit her, but still has phone privileges. He is also still allowed to mail her packages; but must not arrive to take her home. She will have to find a new host family. Candi objects that she has no means of finding one, and will wind up serving dead time. They also inform her that she can't get a burgundy shirt for good behavior, because Darius won't allow it yet. She protests that this is a rampant abuse of his power, and that the Kirby Act in no way grants him that power. She storms out of the office, asking to be taken back to her cell.

A disheartened Candi bitterly informs Patty, whom she has been temporarily moved in with, that she should be mindful of whom she votes for in the future - if she ever gets to vote in the future. Elections have consequences; and elected officials allow non-elected bureaucrats to seize extra power. No matter how well Candi can teach Patti how to fend for herself against bullies or street thugs, there is no limit to how many ways the bureaucracy can still screw one over.

Gleeful No More
After teaming up with the Gray Champion and the real Extirpon, routine Extirpon imitator Chris "Purge-Flare" Kennal finally destroys most of the Gleeful-N'-Young trafficking cartel. Clyde Spendelworth is deemed expendable by Duke Arfaas at that point, and is hiding in a motel room in the state of Wyoming somewhere to avoid the Chris that he knows won't stop hunting him down "like a shark." For the first time in his life, he reaches for a Gideon Bible and begins reconsidering his direction in life. However, Extirpon teleports Chris into the motel room not knowing this, then waits outside for Chris to deliver the goods. Chris instead snatches the Bible away from Clyde, taunting him: "A bit late for that!"

A terrified Clyde begs Chris for mercy, but is instead impaled through the stomach and then dragged outside. Clyde pleads some more, but is unable to garner Chris' sympathy. Instead, Chris only lectures him about all the innocents he's hurt. Eric arrives, but not in time to stop Chris from carrying out the execution.

The Gray Champion arrives afterward, upset that Clyde was not delivered alive as promised to stand trial before a SCALLOP court. Chris states that he did what he "had to do," and that the hero business was never really for him. He offers to resign from the trio, and have them carry on their next mission without him. Eric agrees to the gesture, with John angrily brushing them both off and heading back to Arkansas. Eric disposes of Clyde's body, and then sends Chris to a horse ranch where he can become a rancher and start his life over. Chris tips a newfound cowboy hat to Extirpon, then proceeds to bury his Purge-Flare equipment in a safe place.

Eric contacts John, alerting him that the Chris problem "has been dealt with," and that they need to get back to figuring out Rappaccini's next plan.

The meaning of "Kaiakahinali"
Later that evening in Louisville, a shadowy figure later revealed to be Eric Korsicht discusses child psychology with Secretary Lisabetta before agreeing to take on Project: Kaiakahinali. He is handed the Tremblewish Rubies, combined on a necklace.

The following morning, Candi gets out of bed more slowly than normal. She is assessed to be still moody after the revelation that Darius took her family away from her, but agrees to help out the kitchen staff when Missy Tabuz falls ill. In Louisville, a new volcano erupts swiftly from the ground below, detonating like a 48-megaton bomb and quickly destroying the city. Earthquakes and other activity ensue, and a giant ash cloud soon covers a 200-mile radius in perpetual darkness. Candi witnesses the ash cloud from her cell, slowly making its way toward Madison and blanketing an increasingly massive area in nightfall.

Korsicht
Korsicht and a band of Icy Finger agents arrive across various correctional centers in the state of Indiana, setting adult prisoners free to wreak havoc on the populous and killing any who refuse to become fugitives. All juveniles are killed without being given a choice. As the centers fall one by one on the news, other news breaks out of a massive assault on Cincinnati. Candi deduces that will be the next major target. The attacks on prisons and schools in Indiana was merely a diversion. Bruce tries to get the staff to not panic; but the Last Legs gang indicates a bogey headed straight for Madison. Storm clouds arrive along with the ash cloud, and early night terrorizes the place further.

As Korsicht and the others arrive, staff scramble to keep the prisoners safe. Candi goes on patrol with Bruce to hunt down the Screwworms and thwart them from killing inmates. Another Phexo joins in this mission; but he doesn't survive. The quest to avenge fallen inmates and staff ultimately leads to a showdown with Korsicht himself. He is frustrated that Candi is able to avoid his death traps and hold her own against him; and decides to challenge her loyalty by letting the remaining inmates live and tearing open a hole in one wall that would allow her an easy escape. When she refuses the offer, he overpowers and abducts Bruce to hold as a bargaining chip. He challenges her to a game of cat-and-mouse across Cincinnati if she wants to find Bruce and save him before the necklaces finishes charging - at which point Korsicht will destroy yet another city the same was a Louisville.

Furlough
Jordan Grentzwell finds Candi, and agrees with her that Reese should not have denied Candi access to her full Ciem suit. He contacts Lapborn and informs him that they need Candi to get Bruce back. Lapborn consults with SCALLOP HQ in Houston - which agrees to give Candi only 50 hours to get the job done. They warn she has to wear a S'Poler, and that they can change her allotted time on a whim. Candi's surviving Last Legs members wish her well, and ask her to make an example of Korsicht for all the girls he killed.

Grentzwell and Candi travel to Cincinnati with Lapborn, but soon discover themselves in the middle of a massive war zone. They establish comms to stay in touch, but start rescuing civilians from various disasters that Screwworms and supervillains start causing. Korsicht spots Candi and gets her attention, wreaking worse havoc than the rest while instigating the chase all over again. After several bouts of rescuing civilians, Candi is attacked by several more Anitos. Grentzwell catches up to her; but he's soon injured by them. She prevents part of a building from falling on a young girl, but is hit with a Bezeetol dart by Skellig and knocked unconscious. Grentzwell fights off the remaining Anitos and shoots Skellig, injuring him and forcing him to flee. Emeraldon battles Korsicht overhead, while Flintirah and Mapacha arrive to dispose of the Anitos before they can kill Grentzwell.

The child is revealed to be Karen Trenson, and Grentzwell gets Amirah to rescue Karen's mother Cynthia from some rubble while Marge and Grentzwell free Candi from beneath the rubble she's under. A Screwworm soldier shoots Grentzwell in the left calf, and Mapacha disposes of the soldier before being dragged away by yet another supervillain. Amirah recognizes Candi, and warns Cynthia to make sure Candi recovers. Trudging through the ruined city, Cynthia and Grentzwell drag Candi with Karen's help back to Cynthia's apartment. Amirah heads off to stop more Anitos from terrorizing other civilians.

Love and family
Candi awakes to find a panicked Cynthia trying to treat Grentzwell's wounds fearing the building will collapse or that the wound will go septic. Candi and the Trensons get a formal introduction, and Candi gives Cynthia her contact information. She begs Cynthia to keep looking after Grentzwell, as she needs him to be alive when she returns with Bruce to Madison. Karen begs Candi to beware of anyone else with Bezeetol; but Candi insists that she has to take a risk. They discuss why they are facing the threats they are, and Candi urges the others not to lose faith - even if she fails her mission. She notices her S'Poler blinking, and indicating her time has been reduced dramatically and arbitrarily.

Saving the old men
Noticing a flashing red light in the sky and seeing a figure captured into an MPF stream by it, Candi observes a jetpack-wearing man fly off with the MPF chamber containing the now-captured figure. She reasons that to be Korsicht, and follows him to the ruins of the former Stearns and Foster factory. She discovers a battered Bruce, but also discovers that the Gray Champion had been captured. Bruce lectures her about her moral dilemma in that she must stop Korsicht; but to not give in to Darius' trap to make herself "nothing more than a killer." Candi states to him that she's already found a way to handle the problem and defy Darius' trap at the same time; but needs to get Bruce to safety. Bruce insists that she not worry about him, but free Gray. Candi teleports him to the road across from Stearns and Foster, and gives him her comms to contact Grentzwell with. She then heads inside to confront Korsicht, who is about to contact Rappaccini with the good news of having captured John Domeck.

Candi uses a centi-dart to damage Korsicht's phone right before he can dial, irritating him and instigating a battle. Candi dodges his attacks, tries to get a few in herself, and then finds a way to trick him into damaging the MPF chamber containing the Gray Champion. He lectures Candi as they tumble down through two floors together, and he threatens to detonate his necklace. However, Gray arrives in the nick of time and shocks him with a lightning bolt. Candi seizes the distraction moment to nab the necklace off of him. She incapacitates him and heads outside to find Bruce. She finds him limping, and several more Anitos coming for him. She also notices that her S'Poler has been set to go off even sooner, and that she's almost out of time to return to Madison before a bounty is declared on her.

A desperate Korsicht lashes out one more time at the Champion after they debate philosophically; but is quickly impaled and then electrocuted with Fishkiller. Gray arrives and helps Ciem dispose of the extra Anitos. Noticing that she only has half an hour left on her S'Poler's timer, Candi begs Gray to drop her and Bruce Almin off at the Madison Hospital and then come back for Grentzwell. Gray informs her he cannot take long; that every second he is away from Cincinnati means more lives lost. He agrees to take her and Bruce back to the hospital in town in Madison, but warns her that Grentzwell is on his own.

Out of time
Candi arrives with Bruce and Gray at King's Daughters Hospital, and Gray immediately vanishes back to Cincinnati to continue the fight. Bruce tells Candi not to worry about Grentzwell; that Darius will decide whatever he will decide regardless. However, he urges her to let him get the treatment he needs, and to get herself back to Madison Juvenile before time runs out. She begs him to stay strong while his wounds are treated, and he promises her he will do what he can.

She heads to the roof the second she gets a chance to, and then puts her mask back on. Zeran teleporting in the general direction of Madison Juvenile, Candi does her best to outrun the clock and arrive before her Zeran teleporter runs out of battery, with about five miles to cover and only 14 minutes left to spare. She is able to leap the fence and land in a safe spot on campus just before her timer runs out, thus ensuring she is not declared a fugitive and sent to a federal prison out of state. She quickly rushes to the game room, searching for any available staff to ask if they've heard from Jordan Grentzwell.

Program Director Jack Silver finds Candi first, and she assures him that he has heard from Grentzwell: not to worry. The Trensons are on their way to Madison with him, after finding a way to escape the city and secure a bus ride out. However, their apartment was destroyed by Anitos.

Worse before better
Nancy and Patty greet Candi, along with Brittany and Samirah. The Last Legs reflect on how their routine could be adversely affected by the war, and Candi fears that Affadidah will take over a quarter of the country as he threatened to. The girls ask Candi what it will take to bring the Triumvirate down, and she replies that she is uncertain. She looks at the news on a makeshift TV being used in the place of the broken one, and looks out the window at all the destruction outside. She contemplates on how things may have to get worse before they can get better. Like Joseph, she may have to see everything she loves crumble before it can be made whole again - including her chance of ever returning home to her family. That the Last Legs and Madison crew will have to be her family until that day arrives.

Hope returns, with caution
A month later, Candi is pulled aside from classes to go into counselor Stacey Walleye's office. She is asked about how she's learning to cope with all the changes, and how grateful they are that the sunshine has returned to Madison. Candi warns Stacey that if they aren't careful, the enemy will take it away - again. Stacey offers Candi some good news: she has a visitor.

Candi discovers the Trensons waiting for her, with Karen eagerly running up and hugging Candi. Cynthia motions for Candi to follow her to a table, and Candi is given a brochure on what to do to secure a new sponsor family so she can get back on track with getting released from Madison - as soon as Darius will allow them to release her. She is both shocked and grateful that Cynthia would want to be her foster mother, and she begins to feel a sense of cautious hope once more.