"How did it end up like this?"

Jessie peeked from around a small circular robot, "End up like what?"

"This!" he was currently standing in the middle of their sandy backyard. Covered in an extensive amount of padding from chair cushions and foam they had around the house. The duct tape holding his makeshift body armor together was peeling off in random spots. Before him, Jessie worked on her latest creation. "What is that thing anyway, Jess?"

"I already told you. Special. Compact. Robotic. Artillery. Power. Pellet. Yeeter."

"Or SCRAPPY for short," Marci came out from the back door carrying a tray of snacks and drinks. Her son equipped in his barely functional ballistic suit was always a nice sight. They didn't share many similarities, but Colt was always the test dummy for Jessie's inventions. Seeing them working together like this, even if it was only beneficial for one of them, made her happy.

"But why do I have to be the test subject?" Colt complained.

"Well I can't do it, I'm old," Marci chimed in.

"Then why can't she just target a wooden doll or some cans on a fence post."

"Because dummy, if I program it to target just any old target how will it know to target active enemies in the field?" Jessie ducked under her robot tweaking a couple more instruments within. Suddenly the robot began to make a low humming noise as it suddenly shifted. The top extended upward, a muzzle popping out from the front pointing off into the distance. On both sides, two blue flaps popped out hanging lazily. Jessie jumped up from beneath it with a wild grin. "Okay bro-bro, ya ready?"

"W-W-"

"Sick 'em Scrappy!" she pointed to Colt who was now holding up both hands feebly trying to brace for the attack. The robot snapped in his direction and began to vibrate. Colt ran over to the side of the house trying to evade its muzzle, but Scrappy quickly locked onto his movements.

'This is it; this is where my sister finally kills me,' he thought to himself curling into a safety ball on the side of the house. He braced for impact, but the onslaught never came. Slowly uncurling, he saw Scrappy facing the ground, no longer humming.

"Aww, what happened," Jessie grumbled as she walked up to her busted bot. Colt grabbed a chair, left the wall, and rested his startled heart in the middle of their sandy yard. "I swear, it couldn't have overheated, I installed a special cooling system for extended combat potential."

Marci slowly walked up inspecting the panel her daughter had opened. She noticed the small red fail-safe that she had installed without telling Jessie. She flicked it and watched as Scrappy came back to life, setting his sights on Colt. He unleashed a barrage of scrap metal directly into Colt's chest knocking him out of his chair and onto the ground.

"What did you do?" Jessie looked up at her mother with awe.

"I turned friendly fire on," they both laughed as they watched Colt run frantically through their fenced-in yard, screaming as Scrappy shot him down with extreme prejudice. The further Colt ran the more bullets that missed until he was out of Scrappy's range. The girls were officially rolling on the ground now as they watched Colt try to catch his breath over 100 feet away.

"Turn that stupid robot off!"

"Okay... okay. You're out of his range anyway." Jessie pressed a button on his back, and it shrunk back down to a wide circle with no muzzle or little ears. "I wonder if I can make this even smaller. Then I can take it with me to Colt's missions."

"I will be more than glad to help you with that, baby." Marci crouched down a gave her a small kiss on the head before heading back inside. "When your brother gets back yall come in here, I got a surprise for ya."

Five minutes of Colt complaining plus Jessie teasing later, the family gathered around the dinner table snacking while they conversed about their plans for the day.

"Well I did everything I planned to do," Jessie patted her stomach with satisfaction as she shot a cutesy face to her brother. He returned the obnoxious look with daggers.

"What about you Colton? Anything planned for the rest of the day?"

"Naw Ma, figured I stay here and help around the house. Ya 'know, take the day off from fighting crime."

"Perfect," she quickly jumped from her seat disappearing down the hallway. Colt shot an inquisitive look at Jessie. She just shrugged her shoulders as they awaited their mother's return. Jessie noticed her first as she came back with a light smile and heavy steps.

"Whatcha got ma?" she questioned.

"Well, I noticed that you two have been interacting a lot recently and I thought it was time for a reward so..." she pulled from behind her two small tickets. Colt and Jessie just stared blankly.

"What," he deadpanned.

"What do you mean what?"

"Mom all we see are tickets, what are the tickets for?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" she said dropping her voice, it was deep and smooth like a ring announcer. Colt and Jessie were growing more confused with each passing second. "Yo ass better call somebooooddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" she finished with a big smile.

"Brawl Dog of DX! No way," Colt stood up snatching a ticket to see if she was serious. Jessie jumped up and grabbed the other ticket, both of their eyes lighting up with excitement at the realization. "Tickets to the BWA! How did you get these?"

"I called in a few favors and got these when they first announced they would be touring," she bragged.

"Mysterion, DM Zunk, Rina, Nickie Blanes, we might even get to see The Fix!" Jessie squealed as she imagined him flipping her off in the crowd.

"His theme song is the best," Colt threw both his hands up the way The Fix did in his intro. Jessie jumped on the table and started the vocals, Colt joining in after the intro.

"AAAAAWWWWEEEESSSSOOOOOMMMMMEEEEEEE!"

"I came to play (to play)

there's a price to pay

Time for you to get down on your knees and pray

I came to play

Say goodbye to the good 'ole days

They're never coming back watch your future fade,"

They continued to sing while Marci just watched happily. She didn't know this theme, but she could tell that buying those tickets was defiantly the right choice. They finished their song with Jessie standing on top of the table pointing into the distance with Colt bowing down to her majesty.

"Well I'm happy to see that you two are excited-" they both jumped in her face. Talking over each other thanking their mother before they bolted out the door. Marci sat in her chair with her arms crossed, "3, 2, 1..."

They busted the door down as they returned panting. Jessie spoke first, "Where is it?"

"When is it?" Colt chimed in.

"Where is it again!"

~--~

"So, let me get this straight, you have no idea how or why you're a skeleton. You do however know that you love music and can shoot sentient sound that damages anyone in its path."

"No not anyone, I can pick and choose." Poco and Sam were in their own, little world since they met. Since the sun was at its peak to the rising of the half-moon, they had never left each other's side. Shelly and Veronica followed along, as usual, making comments on the two from a distance.

"Hey Ronnie, you think they would make a cute couple," Veronica jumped backward from the random comment. She violently shook her head as the mere thought made her blush deeply. Shelly just giggled then looked backward at the monster Nix. "What do ya think? Wouldn't they be cute?"

"How would that even work?"

"Hey, not all relationships need to be based on physical love. Although I could imagine it now, Poco your voice is so smooth it melts my mortal soul." She said in the worst Sam voice they had ever heard. "Oh Sam, your flesh is so warm, so... soft," she whispered in a surprisingly close Poco impression. She walked up to Veronica, sweeping her legs and catching her like a man would his woman dipping her down to the ground. Nix just smiled from behind at Shelly's ridiculous antics.

"Poco," she continued in Sam's voice, "Let me breathe life into those hollow bones." She closed her eyes and slowly leaned in to meet Ronnie's covered lips. Nix just watched in awe at the scene before him. It was starting to get strangely hot on the sidewalk. Veronica slipped through her grasp at the last second allowing Shelly to meet the cold hard ground. "Ronnie," she whined, "why'd you move."

Veronica just kept walking, catching up to the duo ahead. Nix lifted Shelly motioning for her to catch up to the group. They continued their walk through the quiet streets, the old school town's lack of artificial lights allowed the night's beauty to illuminate their path. Most of the town was winding down as the events of the day spread quickly. For most of their day, they were constantly plagued by Poco's fans. Constant autograph signings, musical montages, and the occasional tough guy that thought they could take on the members of Shelly's gang. Poco was having the time of his afterlife with the group as he led them along to their destination.

"Okay, so Sammy, how much do they know about..." he gestured subtly to finish the statement.

"They know of it, but I don't think they have ever seen it live."

"We don't even know if we have seen it live cause he won't tell us what it is," Nix added.

"Well people don't worry cause your answer lies on the other side," he moved out of the way gesturing towards a wooden door attached to a random wall.

"This is the place?" Shelly looked around and noticed that this was just a basic stone building. It was just a block on the road, "Sam you're not taking us to some larping shit again are you?"

"Shelly, I learned my lesson last time. I'm still not allowed in there. Hey, you sure this is the place. Thought yall would have like a small stadium or some nicer building for this."

"For you my friends, we take the back entrance. No admission necessary," Poco bowed to his audience.

"Sweet," he cracked open the door, a faint scent wafted out. Sam took a big whiff, "Popcorn, Perspirant, and Body Oil."

"I'm sorry, w-what?" Shelly stuttered.

Sam didn't respond to her, he jumped right into the darkness. Poco turned to the rest of the group with a giant smile. He slowly slinked back into the darkness, laughing the entire time, sending chills down Nix's body. Shelly slipped behind him, pushed him inside, and grabbed Veronica's arm before running inside to join their group.

~--~

"Listen, bro-bro, I'm not saying that I don't appreciate the thought," she glanced to the back seat with her peripheral vision, "But did you have to bring short round?"

Colt blatantly looked back to an ecstatic Tyler bouncing up and down in his back seat. "Oh, come on Jess, he told me a while ago he got a ticket to this thing. Plus, he knows the way to this place by hand. Don't wanna get lost and miss The Fix do ya?"

Jessie slinked back in her seat pouting, "I thought this was gonna be a me-you thing." She was blushing as she looked out the window avoiding his gaze. Colt couldn't help but smile down at her. Moments like this would make him forget the torment she put him through with her silly projects and remember she's his adorable little sister.

"This is still a me-you thing, Tyler is just like a part of the family to me, okay," he ruffled her hair under her cap. They swapped the usual work gear for more casual wear. Colt had on a regular blue tee and his usual blue jeans with brown cowboy boots. Though tonight he had on a headband with AWESOME in bold, shiny lettering.

Looking at his little sister he thought she would have had more female superstar merch on, but she was a bigger Fix fan than him. Her shirt had The Fix's face screaming how much better he was than the person reading it. Her hat had a caricature of his bust with wildly exaggerated hair and she had a special Fix backpack to match. She had in her lap a giant foam finger that instead of saying #1 said AWESOME. He was glad she liked a heel unlike most youth loving only faces.

He glanced back at Tyler one final time. He ditched his usual floral, loose clothing for some much tighter, civilian clothes. He had on a dark green tee that looked a size too small squeezing his frame. His jeans were so tattered it looked like a wolverine used them as a scratching post. He had his hair loose and hanging slightly over his eyes, with a black leather jacket and black sneakers to bring it all together. 'Trying to impress my little sis with a bad boy look, huh?' he thought as he looked him over. "Good Luck," he chuckled lightly drawing Tyler's attention. He shot back forward focusing on the sandy terrain once again before looking over at Jessie as she fondly gripped her foam hand, 'You're gonna need it.'

Tyler listened and observed from behind as he watched Colt and Jessie laughing and joking about different BWA moments and expectations for tonight's event. He didn't know how to enter the conversation, most of what they said sounded so foreign to him. Was he just inexperienced in the subject, were they just super fans? Looking at Jessie he realized that it was a bit of both. 'If I don't do or say something quick, I'm gonna be stuck as the silent third wheel this whole trip. Or worse, Jessie is gonna think I'm a chump.' He zoned out of their conversation, he needed to focus. They weren't just random casual fans, if he wanted to show off for Jessie, he needed something big. Something they might have never heard of before. He thought back to his conversations with his older brothers. They had said something about this event is extra special, but what? What could make tonight so special?

'My brother said something about tonight's show being independent. Independent of what though?' He racked the deepest darkest corners of his memory for anything to bring this word to light. While he was thinking his subconscious continued to listen in on their conversation in the front.

"Honestly it's been a while since we listened to any of the behind-the-scenes BWA news."

"Yeah, Yeah. For all we know, Razor could have betrayed Norton," Jessie was bouncing in her seat with excitement. "Who knows, maybe they signed some new superstars since we last watched."

Tyler picked up that word, 'New... Independent... a New Independent?' His eyes shot open, "Now I remember!" Colt and Jessie looked at the previously silent boy with interest. "My brothers were just talking before I left, they said tonight there is gonna be a brand-new superstar from the independent scene."

"Seriously! An Indie Star!" Jessie was now fully turned around as her eyes were twinkling with anticipation. "Tyler, you adorable shrimp, those are the kinda leaks I wanna hear. Did they say the name?"

'She called me adorable,' he thought glazing over the shrimp part. "Umm I don't remember any names, but I do remember it started with a-"

~--~

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is." Shelly was not expecting this. They had exited the small dark corridor and entered a giant underground stadium. The seats seemed to be getting filled while a large group gathered on the ground level. She looked at the center of the floor and saw it. A square ring with the words 'War' on the sides. "Please tell me this is boxing or some other martial art."

"Shelly, get ready for the greatest sport ever created by men. Professional Wrestling," Sam began to do Jazz hands as he presented the ring at the bottom of the arena. Poco accompanied his little presentation with a few quick strums of his guitar.

"Sam, please tell me that you aren't actually into this," she knew the answer to her question but hoped he was just doing this as some sick form of torture. Instead, she saw him and Poco both greatly enamored by the stadium before them. Shelly couldn't help but sigh as she looked back at her two companions. "Can you believe these two, I mean they don't believe this is real right?" She turned around to see an indifferent Veronica just scanning her surroundings. "Nix?"

"Why didn't you guys say we were coming to see a BWA show!" Shelly was surprised to see Nix gushing over the ledge looking down at the ring below.

"You love the BWA too, Nix," Sam was starting to cry at this point, knowing his best friend shared his interests.

"Well I mean it is obviously fake and scripted, but I must appreciate the stamina, endurance, and pain tolerance they have to possess to pull off these stunts." He stood tall above his two tiny brothers in arms proudly. This was a guilty pleasure he kept to himself in fear he would be outcasted for his love. "Besides there is nothing quite as fun as catching some cocky punk with a BWA finisher in a fight."

The three boys laughed as they shared their various reasons for liking professional wrestling. "Ugh, men am I right?" Shelly looked back to see Veronica had slipped away as well. The Megatron above the ramp was currently showing all the different competitors that would be in tonight's show. Somehow Veronica had made her way down to the bottom of the stadium and was staring at one of the LEDs currently showing more wrestlers both male and female. Their shiny physiques glistening in her eyes. Toned abs, bulging muscles, chiseled thighs, a muscle fetish paradise. Sam was the first to run after her followed by Nix and Poco with Shelly slowly trudging behind.

"Uh Ronnie you okay," Sam shook her from behind, her eyes glossy as she ignored his question. He turned to see a small stream of crimson blood leaking from beneath her black panda bandana. "Holy shit Ronnie you good?"

Veronica just gave a thumbs up, they couldn't see it, but she defiantly had a perverted smile on her face. Shelly just sulked behind, 'Am I the only mature one on this team?'

Sam suddenly jumped up on the barricade, "Attention team but this is not the time for relaxation. The show starts soon, and we need to move if we wanna get ready. Nix, Ronnie, you're on snack duty, we need popcorn, soft drinks, and some candy. Nix, use that giant body to fear factor to the front of the line. Ronnie, watch his back." The duo saluted before Ronnie hopped on his shoulders as he bulldozed up the steps knocking people over along the way.

"Poco, some wrestlers might come by before the show starts to see the crowd and sign autographs. Serenade their tired minds with some sweet sounds," he pulled out a bunch of pictures of different superstars and memorabilia from his bag. "If we can attract them to us we can get autographs and sell these for a truckload of gems." Poco instantly pulled out his guitar and started to fine-tune it before playing a practice melody. A small group of bystanders within earshot began to float on his notes towards the group.

"Great and finally, Boss." Looking down at Shelly he could see she wasn't excited. She had found her seat in the middle section and wasn't going to move unless completely necessary. "You just sit there and not look like Shelly the Gem Bandit."

"Tsk, yeah-yeah," she grunted as she tucked as much of her hair as she could under her hat brim.

Sam turned back and took one final look at the ring before jumping down from his perch. "This is gonna be-"

~--~

"-the greatest night of my life!" Jessie knew tonight was gonna be awesome, but she did not expect this. The show started with the pyrotechnics she had seen so much on T.V. but never expected it to split her eardrums in the closed arena. They were sitting close to the front row but still in the elevated seats of the stadium as they watched the wonders before them. The show started with a promo from the current BWA Champion, The Fix, talking smack to all the superstars in the locker room. Jessie was listening so intently and cheering every time he insulted the crowd, eliciting strange looks from Tyler and crowd members around them.

"There is not a person in that locker room that deserves a shot at my title! Nobody back there is good enough for a title shot! The mere fact that you people would even think that I should have to defend my title against those idiots proves that you Sand Dwellers must have grits for brains!" he shouted to the crowd gaining deafening boos. His promo was cut short as a theme began to play over the speakers. The sounds of trumpets began to play as the poster boy of the company, Jeff Zena, came running down the ramp to the sounds of cheers mixed with some boos. Tyler was especially loud beside her as he began to chant "Let's go, Zena!"

Jessie, refusing to have her favorite heel beaten by the poster boy counter screamed, "Zena Sucks!" The crowd members began to join in with Colt taking Jessie's side as the chants grew louder and louder surprising the superstars in the ring.

Jessie and Tyler looked at each other with a heated rivalry. For Jessie, the mere fact that he would cheer for such a basic baby face that hasn't changed his gimmick in years was frustrating. Tyler, however, was confused about why she would cheer and support an asshole like Fix. They stared each other down for a while longer as the dialogue between the two wrestlers faded out into the background.

Fans around the two couldn't help but laugh. In their eyes, they saw two kids having a spat over who's favorite wrestler was better. Though the wiser eyes of Colt saw the powder keg about to explode. There were many things that Colt didn't challenge Jessie on; her machine ideas, taste in food, calculations, and most of all, her fandoms. The look on her face told it all, anger. Colt watched with fear as her hand slowly crept back to the Fix backpack. Colt began to rise from his seat to intercept his enraged sister before the sound of laughter stopped him.

Jessie and Tyler were caught in the throes of laughter from their western-style stare down. Jessie reached into her backpack revealing chips and drinks as she presented some to Tyler. Tyler's eyes lit up with glee as he graciously took the snacks before turning back to Jessie, "Wait did you sneak these in?"

"Oh, what's wrong copper, gonna turn me in?" she mocked as she stuffed her face with potato chips.

Tyler just laughed before following her lead and stuffing his face as well. Colt looked down at the two with a warm smile. He sat back down and focused on the ring as he saw The Fix retreating into the backstage area as Zena began to roar with the cheering crowd. He missed the events but from the tone of the crowd, it was clear that Zena had fought against Fix's comments about the other stars. As Zena began to make his way backstage Colt looked to the Megatron and saw the announcement that later tonight the Fix and Zena would have a match one on one for the BWA Championship.

"Yeah, Fix is gonna cream that goody-toe-shoes," Jessie cried from her seat. Tyler jumped out of his seat and looked down on Jessie with a playful grin.

"Please that scrawny puke could never hold a candle to the physical specimen that is Jeff Zena. Tonight, we are gonna have a NEW BWA CHAMPION!" His hands were crossed as he stood above her. A smug smile across his face as Jessie rose from her seat with a balled fist towards him.

"The Fix is the best superstar to ever grace the BWA," her voice was so low that Tyler could barely make out her words. "His gimmick is the perfect balance of outrageous and believable. He may not look like some beast crafted from stone, but he is still one of the cutest guys in all of Brawltopia." Her eyes rose to meet Tyler's. The flames that flowed from her irises could burn down the whole stadium if they were to escape. Fear shook him to his core, but his determination to stand tall against her held him in place.

He had only ever seen this intensity from her in the scrapyard during her projects. That look of determination that would grow with every failed attempt, every malfunction. This was the fire that he came to admire deep within her. If there was ever a time to stand tall against her it would be now. To show that he could match her intensity, her passion.

"Jeff Zena is a hero in homes all across Brawltopia and the mere mention of the Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect inspires fans and commoners alike to raise their hands," he raised his hand to his face and started to shake it back and forth in front of him. "And look past the haters."

"The Fix has the smoothest DDT in the business and move set that looks clean, realistic, and most importantly, devasting. He has allies around everywhere, Zena is not safe. Not even in a one on one."

Colt watched from the sidelines as the two youths stared each other down. In his eyes, a fiery red aura exploded from Jessie causing some of the bystanders to watch and record the heated debate between the superfan and casual viewer. At this point, Colt was ready for Tyler to back down silently and let Jessie win this debate. Rather he saw Tyler standing tall with a cool smile. The red aura exploding from Jessie began to be pushed back by a new blue flame that flowed from Tyler.

"The Fix's moves... are sloppy."

The red aura that surrounded Jessie disappeared. Her face was low as the words ran through her head. She had never heard the words sloppy and The Fix in the same sentence. It didn't seem possible. The flame that disappeared suddenly erupted once more into a pure white inferno of light. Jessie's eyes were still hidden beneath her Fix hat as she took a step forward. The blue flames he once stood proud with started to die down as they bowed before her light.

"I could show you how painful the Skull Crushing Finale is but that would be gracing you with experiencing greatness firsthand. So instead I'm gonna sit down and wait patiently for tonight when The Fix drags that stupid smile Zena always wears through the canvas."

Tyler was currently on the floor, his blue flame gone as Jessie towered above him, her eyes now sunken into her head and a deadly glare cast down on him. In her eyes was no rage or anger, just disgust. She quickly snapped out of her monstrous state and smiled warmly down at him as she took her seat. A group of Fix fans in the back cheered with her performance as her white light seemed to disappear from around her.

Tyler slowly crept back into his seat with a sigh of relief. He looked over to Colt and Jessie as Colt laughed wildly while hi-fiving Jessie for her performance. Tyler just took a sip of his drink, ignoring the murmurs around him. All except for one comment from a woman in front of him.

"Young love is so cute."

Tyler just blushed and slipped deeper into his seat imagining how they looked like a couple.