# Main Story Chapter 8-2 — Backtracker Execution, Nest Visit, Flower Shop

> Xavier executes a Backtracker who has begun turning into a Wanderer. At the Nest he hands in Protocores and refuses payment. He brings MC to Jeremiah's flower shop, gives her defensive gadgets, and tells Jeremiah the Backtrackers are being erased from history because their past-interference is unmaking the Philos that produced them.

- Branch: Main Story
- In-universe: 2048 (present day)
- Released: Launch — Jan 2024
- Characters: Xavier, MC
- Locations: The Nest, Philo (Flower Shop), Linkon City
- Page: https://ladsarchive.com/events/xavier-main-ch8-2-flower-shop/

## Description

Chapter 8-2 contains several key beats. Xavier kills a Backtracker who has begun devolving into a Wanderer — a mercy killing that also prevents a potential threat to MC. At the Nest underground broker hub he hands in illegally hunted Protocores and, as is his custom, refuses payment; the bartender warns him he is being watched. He then takes MC to Jeremiah's flower shop 'Philo' and equips her with tracking and defensive gadgets, including a hairpin strong enough to 'take down an elephant.' In conversation with Jeremiah, Xavier articulates the erasure paradox: the Backtrackers' meddling in the past is unmaking the future Philos that created them. Their faces, memories, and histories are fading; some are devolving into Wanderers as part of the fade.

## Related events

- [Main Story Chapter 6 — Subway Fight, Tezcatlipoca Wanderer](https://ladsarchive.com/events/xavier-main-ch6/)
- [Myth 2 — Twilight's Dawn: Lumiere Unmasked at Azure Square](https://ladsarchive.com/events/xavier-myth-2-twilights-dawn/)