"~ So, you were there... when he took his final breaths... what did he say? ~"

The arena's lights were dim. An oily darkness that made her sick to her core. She was not a medic, that was her mother's profession, but their current situation was dire. The blonde battler was beaten and battered on the ground in front of her. His breaths were shallow, his body bruised, and a welp forming on his chin. He had been utterly defeated.

Jessie tried to reduce the swelling with a random drink she found in the stands. As she pressed the cool Koke against his jaw she watched as Colt started to stumble towards her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better..." Colt sat down beside Jessie a bottle of water in his hand. He absently sipped as he examined Tyler. "What about him?"

"Still out cold."

Colt took a second to look Jessie over. Her hair was a mess, strands sticking out haphazardly. A peek at her attire showed the cuts she had taken in their scrap against Poco. She was lucky that Nix didn't take his anger out on her. A red flush was still visible on her cheeks. His mind started to replay the events.

Images of getting launched into the distance by Nix. Rummaging through the darkness until he heard Jessie's voice. The revelation of his somewhat selfish ideals, willing to sacrifice himself without thinking about the effect it would have on his family. All of it culminating with his vision blurring as his lungs caught fire begging for air.

He remembered the sight of Jessie below him, clawing at Nix's massive thighs. Tears streaming down her face. He had seen her cry hundreds of times throughout his life, seen her scared at countless haunted houses, but he had never seen true blood-curdling terror like that before. "What about you?"

Jessie sneaked a peek his way. "I'm fine." Colt didn't pry any further. Her eyes were still red, and her voice was still gurgled. He didn't want to see that side of her ever again. He took another swig of his drink, wincing as he braced his back. "Just relax. We're done... we lost." Colt took her advice laying down beside her. Jessie ran her fingers through Tyler's hair, his golden locks were bright and pure. His hair like a direct contrast to their current situation.

Jessie inspected the arena, chairs were turned up around them, bullet holes made pin cushions of the walls, the floors around them had little drops of blood like a sadistic polka dot pattern. Jessie couldn't understand it, but she knew who did, "Colt..." he leaned up, "What was that?"

Colt laid down, "That... was The Gem Bandits."

Jessie shook her head, "I know who they are..." she stopped running her fingers through Tyler's scalp. "I mean what are they. That was... in-human."

Colt sighed, "That's The Bandits." He sat up, "The Gem Bandits, a rag-tag group of crooks and criminals that have terrorized Brawltopia for a few years. No one really knows where they came from or how they got so popular, all that's known is they have a small army of crooks hidden somewhere in the dunes. And access to technology and training that can alter minds, bodies, and personalities," a coin caught his eye.

Jessie continued caring for Tyler, "If you know they exist why haven't we found them?"

Colt was flipping the coin across his fingers, "Petty theft. Small crimes against department stores. Untraceable coins and gems. They rarely attack any banks. All their jobs come and go like the wind, but hit like a freight train."

"Wait they attack banks?" Jessie's interest in the conversation spiked.

"They have, just not very often. The problem isn't their numbers though, it's the boss." Colt threw the coin away into the dark, "Shelly. The scourge of the dunes. Wanted for 'badassery'. She's left countless bodies in her wake and stolen more than any criminal the dunes have ever seen. She's a monster, a tyrant, a villain." Colt stood up looking down on the youths, "And worst of all she is backed by the underground. All the scum in Brawltopia looks up to her like some kind of hero. As long as she avoids capture, the criminals of Brawltopia will never quit."

Jessie tucked her hands beneath her arms, "They were just... s-so strong." Chills running down her spine at the mental image of Nix and the masked woman.

"I've never fought them head-on like that. I've faced them when they were younger... smaller... weaker. I've never had a head to head clash like that. It's rare for anyone to survive a fight against them. Now I see why..." Colt rubbed at his neck, a red handprint starting to form around his throat, "That monster..." He flexed his fingers, "That skeleton..." He looked towards the shadows, "That masked woman..."

At the mention of the masked woman, Tyler kipped up, his fists at the ready, "Where is she?! I'm ready. Round one was a tie, round two was a fluke, you won't beat me round three!" Tyler's eyes were bugged out in a rage scanning the area.

"Pff... Pwahaha~" Jessie couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. "At ease officer," she swept the arena with her hand, "we're alone. They left..."

Tyler started to calm down, the adrenaline rush he was feeding on started to dissipate. He fell to his butt, heaving lightly while he clutched his jaw, "What happened?"

"To your mouth? My guess is that masked woman kicked your teeth in." Jessie laid on her back staring at the ceiling, "What happened to us? We lost..." Tyler sat in silence, letting that idea sink in.

They lost. Ever since he joined the Dunes police force, he had never lost. He became Colt's deputy with the hopes to find a true challenge. A fight he would finally lose. He had found what he was searching for, so why did he feel so empty. Why was he sad?

"Not yet." Jessie and Tyler turned in surprise. "We haven't lost yet." Colt was walking away, loading his pistols as he marched towards the door. "We can walk... we can shoot... we can fight." He turned back to his young companions, racking his guns, "We can win."

Jessie stood up first, "You can't be serious." In her mind, he had lost it, "You fought the same group as us, right? You experienced their unnatural strength, their stamina, their weird powers."

"Yeah... Yeah, I did. That's why we have to stop them." Colt looked away from them, raising his voice as if he were talking to a crowd, "I am the sheriff of the dunes. My job is to protect and serve. How can I as the sheriff willingly let threats like that roam the dunes if I can stop them?"

"You can't! We can't! We already tried!" Jessie shot back.

"And we're still alive, right?"

Jessie was stunned, "Are you insane? That giant monster man was gonna kill you. The only reason he didn't end you was cause Poco called him off."

Colt turned back to his little sister, "That was his mistake. They beat us round one, they will regret not finishing us in round two."

Jessie's eye was twitching, she couldn't understand him. "Yeah, that's right Mr. Domire!" Jessie snapped in Tyler's direction. He was slowly rising to his feet, a bright smile on his face, "That masked lady got me good, I won't let my guard down ever again." He ran to Colt's side, looking back at Jessie with a childish grin.

'It's official, they're insane,' Jessie thought to herself. She stood in shock; they were willing to throw away their lives just for the opportunity to catch The Bandits. Maybe Tyler was just following Colt's lead but that didn't excuse the insanity he was suggesting. Jessie looked at the two boys, from this angle they almost looked like heroes. Insane, suicidal heroes but heroes none the less. She chuckled to herself, 'That's why I love them.'

Jessie walked up to the duo, her hat's brim still covering her eyes from the taller Colt. "If it starts to get bad again... promise me..." She looked up to meet his gaze, anger stained on her face, "Promise you will leave and fight another day."

Colt crouched down to her level reaching out his pinky, "I promise."

Jessie blew out a puff of frustrated air taking his pinky aggressively, "You idiots are gonna get us killed."

Colt and Tyler laughed at her frustration, "Alright team, let's move!"

~--~

"~ No... That can't be true... We trusted you! ~"

"And you're sure this is the way?" Veronica returned a so-so gesture with her hands. Nix thought it better to follow her lead rather than question her process. A slight moan came from his chest, Shelly's still body within his grasp. It was surreal, she looked so helpless. Whoever did this to her would pay with their life.

"I know that look." Nix looked down at Poco. "I may have just joined this group, but I know the look of revenge when I see it." Poco hadn't looked up from his guitar, "You are a passionate man and an emotional monster. It is a strength and a crippling weakness."

Nix grunted, "Just get that song ready."

"It's not as easy as it looks."

"You play a note on your magical guitar and we get healed. What more is there to say?"

"Yeah but I don't know which note it is." Poco inspected his guitar, "Every time I use the healing chord it changes its key. And the order of the notes shifts with it. I have to retune it after every encore."

"Seems like a pretty useless ability in combat. There must be a better way to find the note."

"There is one... but I don't like it." Nix would have pried further but a rock struck his head before he could ask. Veronica was waving them down up ahead. Nix and Poco saw in her hands more feather shaped blades. Nix couldn't see any of the green poison on the blades' tips. He did see a red stain running down the cold silver.

"Shit, were we too late?" Nix looked around for any signs of Sam or the assailant. "Where's Sam?"

"Nix we need to keep moving," Poco chimed in. "Something tells me Sheriff Colt won't wait around for us to leave-" his idea was interrupted by Nix's iron grip.

"No man left behind." Poco nodded his head swiftly less he evokes Nix's rage. "Veronica, you're with Poco check further down the road. They may have fought out in the open. I'll take the alleyways." He cradled Shelly's head as he stormed off into the darkness. Poco and Veronica rushing down the sandy street.

~--~

Cold. Not ice cold, more wet cold. Yet strangely warm. Like deep in his core he was freezing but, on the surface, it was an inferno.

Darkness. Pitch black. No form of light anywhere around him. His arms and legs were invisible but still there. There were no objects near him, no one to interact with, there was nothing.

Nothing but... the voices.

"You were using us since day one."

"No. I wasn't."

"You learned from the best kid. Survival of the fittest."

"No, I was just trying to make friends."

"We still trust you... Don't leave us... Don't Die."

"Don't Die!"

His eyes snapped open. He felt a cold liquid around him. The sound of rushing water somewhere in front. Voices could be heard above. He observed the crowd above him. The young faces of children he knew gathered around observing him. He heard them whispering something under their breaths. Words and phrases, he couldn't make out.

His ears trained in on two distinct voices. One a whisper amongst the loud rumbles of the youths. The other a high-pitched voice he didn't recognize, both uttering the same phrase.

"Don't die on me, Sammy."

Sam's eyes fluttered open. Above him was the starry night sky. He could feel a light breeze running through his hair. The water around him replaced with sand in his ears. He felt a sharp pain coming from his stomach. His eyes just barely moving down to his abdomen, gawking at the golden mask pressing against a growing red stain.

His eyes shifted upwards, following the arm that was applying the pressure. He saw a woman with a black panda bandana around her mouth. A few tears running down her cheeks. He heard the frantic ramblings of a man beside her.

His mind adjusted to the sight of a bright yellow skeleton and the unorganized strumming of his guitar. He knew these people, these were his friends, but why did they look so sad? His eyes fell on his stomach once more. This red stain, why does it hurt so much? Red, warm, pain... blood.

He was bleeding. There was a bloody creek seeping from his guts. They must have been worried about his health. Sam didn't have the best mental capacities currently, but he knew that this situation was dire. He needed to calm them down if he was going to make it out alive. With what little strength he had he uttered the phrase that would solve all his problems.

"Tisss, ~" Veronica and Poco turned to his face. His eyes barely open his lips just parting. "Tis~ but a scratch~" he choked out between bloody coughs and gurgled laughter.

Poco and Veronica wasted no time to drop down wrapping him in a dual hug. Sam grunted in pain at the gesture causing them to jump off him. "We thought you were long gone." Poco choked out.

"A Gem Bandit doesn't die from a few stab wounds." Sam smiled as Veronica reapplied her pressure. He enjoyed the silence as Poco started to frantically tune his guitar once more. Sam assuming this was a coping mechanism for him and choosing not to discourage him. Besides, hearing one of Poco's songs might be nice with his current situation.

His head laid to the side, looking at the individual grains of sand. They rolled against each other like a course liquid. It was relaxing. Then he saw some start to bounce up and down in place. Strange but interesting to watch. The ground beneath him started to shake with each particle that bounced into the air. Sam looked to his companions, seeing they noticed the shaking as well.

They all turned their heads at the source, the giant shadowy frame of a monster rushing in their direction. Sam was going to scream for them to carry him away but when he turned back, they had moved out the way, leaving him in the beast's path. As the beast got closer Sam started to make out his frame. A large African male with what seemed to be a small Hispanic woman within his arms. Seeing his friends rushing to him calmed him for a second.

But only a second. He watched as Nix deposited Shelly into Veronica's arms, now running full tilt towards him. His eyes were hidden under a dark shadow. His mean mug in full effect rushing towards him.

Sam clenched up as he was swept off his feet, a giant dust cloud following his collision. As the dust settled, he found himself laying on the ground. Nix's head buried into his chest with a few soft whimpers being heard from beneath. "Nix?" Sam softly questioned.

His head shot from his chest, a stalwart stare over his features. He still couldn't find his eyes, but his voice came out deep yet soft, "No man left behind."

The audacity of this guy. Sam was staring up with a goofy smile. The pain radiating from his core seemed to disappear at the outrageous response. He decided to take this opportunity to have a little fun. He reached his fist out, "GSK for life."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. A river of tears ran from Nix's eyes. The salt of the droplets stinging as they entered Sam's wounds. He winced from the pain but chose to let Nix have this moment. It was rare that he showed any weakness, this was healthy.

"Amazing!" The duo turned at Poco's outburst, "Sorry but this moment is perfect. We beat the sheriff-"

"Sheriff?" Sam questioned.

"We found Sam, though he looks like death, and I'm a skeleton. And I just found the Encore chord."

"Encore chord?"

"I'll explain later. Veronica, you and Shelly sit beside them, and we'll be back in business." Veronica caressed Shelly's neck as she laid down beside the emotional ball that was Nix and Sam.

Nix straightened himself out, getting off Sam's chest and wiping the tears from his face. He inspected the bloodstains on his sweat-soaked white tee. Disgusted with his current state he turned back to Sam, "Any word of this when Shelly wakes up and I'll finish what the assassin started." Sam just nodded lightly with a goofy grin.

Poco stood at the front of the group. Holding his guitar with one arm while he reached high above his head with the other. "Alright, who's ready to move to the-"

*BANG*

"GAH!" Poco dropped his guitar, clutching at his hand. The team looked in surprise as he screeched in pain, a small hole visible in his boney palm. Nix and Veronica snapped towards the source.

In the middle of the sandy road were three silhouettes. On the far right was a small body crouched low to the floor. To the left was a silhouette of similar stature, a sort of rifle shining a dim light. Standing tall in the middle was a man, his flaming red hair visible like stars in the sky. The smoke from his revolver drifting away into the sky.

A cloud that was blocking the moon finally passed illuminating the scene. Before the bandits stood the pint-sized powerhouse Tyler, the technical wonder Jessie, and the sheriff of The Greater Sand Dunes, Colton Domire. The trio standing tall in the middle of the street at their criminal opponents.

Nix jumped to his feet, both arms stretched out to protect his friends. "You just don't give up do you?"

Colt gave a crooked grin, "Heroes don't quit after a little setback."

"Hero is subjective," Poco grumbled behind Nix.

Jessie's rifle sparked up with energy, "We don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk."

"Psh speak for yourself. I want round two against that masked lady." Tyler jumped up trying to spot her in the pile. He saw a woman slink behind Nix's shadow.

Colt racked his pistol, "I'm only going to say this once. Come in quietly and I promise to reduce your sentence... Poco. The rest of you are going away for a standard sentence. Except Nix, you are never seeing the light of day again."

"Not... too good at... negotiating, is he?" Sam squeaked out. Nix inspected his friends. Poco was crouched against the wall, clutching at the hole in his palm.

"Poco..." the skeleton focused on the giant. "Can you hold something?"

"Yeah, but I can't play any notes with my hand like this."

"Don't worry you don't have to play a single song, just grab Sam." Poco followed the orders wincing slightly as he bared Sam's weight. "Ronnie," he whispered back, "Grab Shelly." Nix turned back to the three enemies before him. Colt was not a problem; he could crush him if he got close. The girl beside him seemed to already know her place from their encounter in the arena. The only issue was the boy. Nix could see it in his eyes. There was no fear; he was excited.

Fighting them was not a problem. He feared that someone would get killed in the crossfire. He couldn't protect Sam, Poco, and Shelly while also trying to defend himself and help Veronica. The only choice he had left was...

"Don't..."

Nix looked back.

"Don't... you dare" Sam spoke up. "Don't you dare... sacrifice yourself." The pain in his voice was far worse than the feeling in his stomach. He knew Nix well; he was the self-righteous kind of prick that was willing to throw his life away for others. Then he'd lecture you for even trying to take a punch for him. "You said it yourself. No man left behind."

Nix could hear the inflection in his voice. The frustration with his tone. It was nice, he could see Sam coming back to life. "Who said you were leaving me behind." Nix dropped down to a knee swiftly picking up Poco and Veronica. The two gripping tightly to their passengers as they leaned into Nix's arms. He took off into the distance like a stampeding elephant kicking up a dust storm along the way. His impressively speedy retreat left the trio of justice floored.