Chester's death roll balled up his sheets until he was a human burrito. A stiff pain coursed through his forehead forcing him awake. Despite the pain locking him in place he managed to sit up in his void-like sheets. His deep strawberry bangs clouded his vision with a bit of pillow-born cowlicks sticking up in various directions. Chester moved to massage his temples but the pain in his shoulder locked his limb. He reached up to check it but failed to notice the gauze and tape wrapped around his deltoid.

He stumbled to his quaint bathroom. His hands groggily reached for a jellybean-styled soap bar just below his cotton candy-colored toothbrush. The sweet scent washed away last night's dreary smell and his teeth sparkled after a thorough cleaning.

He bumbled his way back to his bedroom and collapsed face-first on the mattress. His entire body was aching like he had finished the toughest workout of his life just the day before. He rolled over to his back and noticed that he still had on his Candy Shop costume. A quick sniff showed it reeked of his own perspiration and probably an array of other odors accumulated from the day. Though one scent was especially prominent.

Syrup.

Smelling it once again awakened something. Memories of an almost forgotten past. He shot up and checked his phone. Mandy. He was supposed to stay with Mandy. A quick navigation to his messages showed no new texts.

He jumped out the bed and threw back on his magenta shoes. His head held the phone steady while he ran around the room looking for his satchel. The phone rang to completion and a voicemail message entered his ear. Mandy's voice told him that she wasn't at the phone currently and to leave a message after the beep.

He hissed as he tripped on his own hat, then snatched it up during a rush for the front door. He continued to call hoping that he was wrong. Maybe his memory was failing him, maybe it was a nightmare, but something happened last night. Something horrible.

Then just as he reached for the door there was a heavy knock. He pulled it open before he could register the sound and was stunned when a group of men were waiting outside his room. They were clearly security guards from their blue uniforms and Starr Park Security badges.

A man with a stuffy black mustache flashed his badge, "Chester. The Jack of All Trades."

Chester gave a confused, "Wha?" Though he wasn't given time to ask questions.

"Sir, my name is Detective Tarlo Mancoff. We are with the Starr Park Security Force. We'd like to ask you some questions."

Chester placed his jester's cap on his head and grumbled, "I don't have time for this." He pushed past them shouting, "Mandy's in trouble."

As he ran past them he was immediately stopped by the cold barrel of a rifle. A small group of officers were dressed in full body armor and pointing firearms in his face. He instinctually put his hands up. Once again he only managed a "Wha?" before handcuffs were placed around his arm.

Tarlo huffed, "Yeah we already know." He locked Chester's hands behind his back and stated, "Chester. You are under arrest for the suspected kidnapping of Candy Queen Mandy as well as The Explosive Miner Dynamike, Social Media Star Emz, El Mariachi Poco, Super Sweet Lou, Silent Spike, and finally Detective Gray."

As his rights were read to him by another office they pushed his head down. From the side, he noticed someone watching from a corner. A man with snow-white hair and shifty blue eyes. He was scribbling something into a notebook while just out of sight. Chester knew this man. He'd only seen him once before, but he'd never forget that figure. As Chester tried to move out of their grasp he was quickly restrained by the officers and carried away.

While he was escorted out several Brawlers that housed themselves within the same complex watched in awe. Questions were filling the entrance hall under hushed whispers. The only thing Chester could say while sitting within the tight and caged-off back seat was, "Wha?"

~-~--~-~

A bright headlamp is pointed towards his head. A bearded man with a gruff voice yelled through his thick, bushy mustache, "Start talking! We know you did it. Fess UP!"

Chester couldn't be bothered to care any longer. "Ma'am. Could you please step back?"

The lady ripped off her faux facial hair, "Well I've done all I can do."

From the corner, the actual lead detective stepped up, "Thank you Officer Shotzi. That will be all." Shotzi pulled off her black cap and let her green hair tumble past her ears. The lady officer made her way back to the hallway and left the men alone. There was a bland flavor in the air. Detective Tarlo didn't bother sitting down, "I'm guessing I can't convince you to confess."

"I'm innocent."

Tarlo raked his eyes. It had been six hours now. He just shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving Chester alone with nothing but an uncomfortable wooden chair and a cold steel table. The handcuffs that had him locked in place were starting to chafe his wrists. Chester's time was blending together. It was a constant flux of officer after officer. Each one claimed to be the one that would break him. If only they would listen to him. There's nothing to break!

The door creaked open once more. He took a guess who'd it be this time. The previous breaks were for nearly half an hour. A tactic made to push him to insanity. So hearing someone come in so soon was surprising.

A bit of shock managed to grace his face. He had to quell it before anyone watching from the outside noticed. White hair. Blue eyes. And a brown trench coat.

Adam

This man who had been the one who clued him into this nightmare was back once again. Now he was walking into the interrogation room as if he was another officer. The door locked behind him. A moment that he played up as shocking by turning back with a jaw-dropping stare. Then he looked back with a goofy grin. Almost pushing away the absurdity of his humorous arrival. Even the way he sat in the chair was over the top. He jumped back out of the chair like it was on fire then placed himself down normally.

All the while Chester watched on with a frustrated frown. Was this guy mocking him? He might play a clown but he wasn't a fool. Adam leaned in closer. The older male looked around the white walls and rested his elbows against the cold steel table. A singular mirror to their left was the only form of decoration. He looked at an annoyed Chester as the clown rapped his index against the metal.

Adam leaned back with the smack of his lips, "How long have you been here Chester?" The creaky rock of his weight against the flooring echoed through their ears, "Two? Three Days?"

Chester's eyes lazily rolled over to the wall clock. It read just twenty past six o'clock. He remembered how he'd been arrested from his apartment at noon that day. A puff of smoke would have blown out his nose if he got any hotter.

Adam grinned as he pretended to think, "Maybe even four!" Adam suppressed his secret joy from these intense interrogations. He stood up quickly to face the window. He waved his hand around and then made a cutting motion with his hand across his neck. Chester noticed that a red light on the camera blinked off.

Adam came back to the table, "Alright Chester, it's just me and you now." Chester put his hands out, nearly touching the tips of Chester's shackled fingertips. "Tell me what happened." Adam clamped his wrinkled hands together, "The truth."

Chester took a deep breath. "Last night Mandy and I were confronted by Gray-" Adam nodded along patiently. "-He told us about some hints involving the missing Brawlers." Chester's tone was steady, "he told us that the missing Brawlers are following a pattern. One that's linked to me." Chester struggled with his final statement, "And that Mandy was the final target..."

Adam nodded along as he wrote down some notes, "And then?"

Chester's knuckles were snow-white, "Then we were attacked."

"By who?"

Chester tried to control his breath, "The missing Brawlers."

Adam nodded his head along. Chester continued to explain his situation. The cold chill that rolled over their shoulders. The sudden attack from above and below. Then the shadowy figures that accompanied them. "Mhm. Mhm." He dotted his pad with a big exclamation point, "Wow. Ten times and you haven't faltered once." Chester tried to peek at what he was writing. Had he been listening in for the past six hours? Adam continued, "And then there's the final part. Why was Gray taken?" Chester grumbled under his breath as Adam continued, "He never said he was a part of the plan but he's gone as well." Adam leaned in with his pen pointed at Chester's head, "And you always say..."

They said in unison, "I don't know."

"Yep see. That's the hole in this. You expect us to believe that Gray, a mute, suddenly approaches you with secret information that you're being framed. And then warns you that Mandy is the next target. Only for the kidnappers, the missing Brawlers, to suddenly appear and attack all three of you and make off with Mandy and your only alibi?"

Chester threw his head to the table. The thud made Adam respond visibly, "There it is." Adam threw his notepad onto the table, "Curling in on yourself." Adam didn't understand how they had let it get this far. All the clues clearly pointed to Chester. A sloppy teen attacking his idols. At first, they thought it was Colette but she always had a solid alibi. Other Brawlers would speak up that she was busy hunting them during every kidnapping. So with Chester's cart at the scene of every crime, it should have been clockwork to book him.

Unfortunately, there was unforeseen red tape. While evidence existed placing him at the scene they'd never found clues he actually committed the kidnappings. His plan was to catch him lying in his alibi, but the kid was locked up tight. He'd clearly rehearsed this thousands of times.

The private investigator dropped his goofy façade. He hoped he could crack Chester by fumbling him mentally but the boy was locked up tight. He spat, "There was a part of me that didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to accept that you were guilty." He slapped his notepad shut, "But you haven't done anything to convince me otherwise."

Chester's face refused to leave his fleshy cover. Adam tapped twice on the table with his pen and waved to the one-way glass. He compiled his papers and made one final claim, "We'll get the truth. No matter how long it takes."

An audible click could be heard as the door finally unlocked. Adam was unaware of the movements happening at the table. A silent hand slipped beneath the fool's cap to retrieve a treat. When the fiery red snack rolled down his throat he felt a searing heat course through his veins. His muscles rapidly expanded and threatened to burst through his clothes. Adam could hear the sharp crack as the metal cufflinks were snapped from the table.

Chester's skin was turning red from the inferno within. Before the shackles' remains could collide with the ground he'd already reached below the table and pulled it from its bolted restraints. The massive metal projectile was lodged into the wall with Adam gasping beneath it. Though uninjured his heart was racing as his tendons froze. He couldn't even reach for the taser he kept at his waist. Couldn't defend himself as Chester grabbed his legs.

The big red clown slung the investigator back into the room. His consciousness was silenced by his head rebounding off a brick wall. Chester felt a bit of joy after finally shutting up the detective. Chester saw the door closing and kicked the table in as a stopper. He vaulted through the opening, taking in the fresh air of freedom once again. His taste didn't last long. On the other side was another odd officer that he dispatched with a powerful tackle. He pulled away the firearm and slung it across the ground. It skidded to a halt under the toes of two officers down the hall.

They quickly unholstered their weapons and barked, "On the ground!" He felt the rush he'd gained before faltered. That rage boost of candy had subsided and his body ached just like it did this morning. While Chester tussled with the down policeman he was put on his back suddenly. The green-haired lady from before tackled him with a wild frenzy in her eyes. During the commotion, his hat was knocked off and the snacks within came rolling out.

The green-haired girl rolled him to his stomach and tried to handcuff him again. With one arm firmly behind his back, he desperately reached out just as another officer dropped a knee on his forearm. They mushed his face against the linoleum flooring and called for more help.

*GULP*

They all looked down and noticed he'd rolled another sweet between his teeth. The red from before gave way to his original crème colored skin. Then the group of officers stood over nothing and fell to the floor below. They scrambled around trying to find him till Tarlo shouted, "Down the hall!"

Chester's mind had been sped up with his body. He was currently running like the superhero Max through the hallways. He was out of Candy Beans after that last scuffle. He needed to get out of here now. If he remembered correctly it was a left turn down this hall then down the stairs to the exit.

When he skidded to a halt around the bend, he froze at the sight of nearly the entire precinct readying their weapons. He looked back and saw Tarlo with his coworkers running after him. Then ahead came a rush of men and women with batons and tasers. Chester took a deep breath as the flavor of speed was fleeting on his tongue.

He dropped his head and ran forward. Pushing through the crowd and narrowly dodging the batons and wires. The window ahead was getting closer and the roadblock thicker. Stray shots were colliding with his body and a single baton cracked him in the skull but he kept running. He didn't jump through the window but rather fell into it. And as the glass shattered he noticed the error in his plans. He wasn't jumping through the second-story window but the fourth.

From within the precinct they clamored to the window with their tasers raised. Tarlo stepped up front and looked down below. There was no sign of Chester's body, a fact that alarmed him more than a lifeless corpse. While they all stared in awe Adam suddenly arrived from the interrogation room. He clutched his skull while shouting, "What are you doing!?" He pulled a revolver from his coat, "After him!" They poured out of the building from every known exit. A wave of blue and white flooded the streets in search of the fool.

Meanwhile somewhere not so far away Chester continued to sprint for as long as the speed candy would take him. And when his legs tired, he walked. Deeper and deeper into the alleys ahead.