Rattlers

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Evil Organization
Full Name	The Rattlers
Alias	No information
Origin	The Last of Us Part II
Foundation	After the Outbreak
Headquarters	Hacienda Polanco
Commanders	Rattler Leader
Agents	Small Rattler Pat Amber Angie Cole Judy Marta Mateo Nika Pete Todd Val Wes Zach
Powers / Skills	Skill in setting traps Marksmanship Skill in combat Strength in numbers
Goals	Capture any passing travellers and force them into submission and slavery (succeeded until their destruction).
Crimes	Mass murder Torture Physical abuse Enslavement Kidnapping
Type of Villains	Sadistic Slavers

“	Oh sh*t. One hell of a catch, huh?	„
	~ The Large Rattler after capturing Abby and Lev.

The Rattlers are major antagonists from the 2020 action-adventure game The Last of Us Part II. They are a very brutal and sadistic group of slavers who are set in Santa Barbara, and capture Infected and human survivors alike. They serve as the final antagonistic faction in the game.

Overview

“	I find out anyone helped him, they're going in the f-cking pool! Waste.	„
	~ A female Rattler after an escaped slave commits suicide.

The Rattlers are a group of depraved and heavily armed survivors, best noted for their brutality towards their captives. The group captures and imprisons outside survivors as slaves and forces them into manual labor and tasks, such as farming and harvesting their crops. The Rattlers purposefully harm their prisoners as to wound and injure but not kill them. In addition to abusing their slaves, they also intentionally infect them and chain Infected down to use like guard dogs.

Collectible notes that have been discarded show that outsiders and slaves alike fear this group's cruelty to the point where dying would be better to some than being caught or re-captured. The group's cruelty was highlighted by Abby's appearance months after being caught, with her hair being cut and going from her normal broad and muscular stature to thin and malnourished.

Slaves who escape are labelled as runaways or strays, whom the Rattlers go to recapture. Any slaves who resist too much or try to escape are sent to "The Pillars" by the beach, where they are strung up on wooden beams and are left to slowly die from exposure to the elements.

Events in Game

While Abby Anderson and Lev go around the neighborhoods in Santa Barbara, they come across the Rattler's logo which is graffitied onto a surface. Lev asks if it's the Fireflies symbol, Abby denies this saying that it's nothing she recognises.

The Rattlers first appear in person after Abby and Lev successfully make contact with the Fireflies via radio. The two are ambushed by a group of Rattlers who manage to beat and subdue Abby and knock out Lev. The big Rattler leading the group orders them not to kill Abby and notes her as a good catch as he orders the rest to carry them both back.

At some point afterwards, it is told that the two attempted to escape, but were recaptured and sent to the pillars where Abby and Lev were left to die.

Ellie soon encounters the group when seeking Abby to kill her for revenge. She falls into a trap where she is wounded by a spike emerging from a tree, having dropped her switchblade knife upon trying to escape, an already skinny and traumatised Ellie is left wounded and helpless.

Two Rattlers, the big and small ones who captured Abby and Lev soon come across Ellie. The big one orders the other to tie her up and reset the traps, the small Rattler does so and complains that if Ellie is worth the trip back but is nearly bitten by a clicker strung up nearby. Ellie laughs at the Rattler's reaction which causes the small one to angrily grab her and attempt to force her arm into the Clicker's mouth, much to the leader's dismay. Ellie however forces them both towards the Clicker, the small Rattler has his throat brutally ripped out while Ellie sustains a bite wound on her left hand. Ellie then uses the Rattler's submachine gun to cripple the leader, before she can proceed to kill him however, he remembers that she was looking for Abby and tells her that they picked her and Lev up a couple of months ago.

Ellie successfully interrogates the Rattler and learns of the group's hideout, she executes him and proceeds on her way. Ellie fights and sneaks her way through the brutal slavers base of operations and eventually manages to reach their holding cell. She kills the guard with the prisoners help and confronts them, one of the prisoners reveal that Abby attempted to escape and that she was sent to the Pillars, telling Ellie to head down to the beach while saying that Abby was probably dead by now.

Ellie allows the prisoners to escape, now armed, they fight against their captors and the mansion is set ablaze while the gunshots and shouts can be heard as Ellie proceeds to go and find Abby. This hopefully assured the escape, or at least the revenge of the slaves who suffered from this barbaric group's cruelty. It is unknown if any of the Rattlers survived this, or if the group was finally put an end to by their own captives.

Trivia

• The group show to be heavily armed with police vests, batons, guns, and guard dogs that are able to sniff out intruders or escapees.
• The Rattler's slavery methods are so brutal that one fleeing slave killed himself when caught, as he refused to go back to their camp.
• Ironically, the Rattlers' resorting to enslaving other survivors would eventually lead to their own downfall.