From the city's skyline, the sun had gone to sleep for the day. The moon took up its post as the luminescent powerhouse of the night. Despite the lack of light, the rides showed no sign of stopping. Deeper within the park people were rushing to the front for late-night bliss. Concession stands began peddling glow-in-the-dark cups and neon merchandise to keep the party going all night long.

It might be the perfect time for mischief. With the party only growing in size by the minute the chaos was the perfect cover for a kidnapping. All previous disappearances happened in the residential areas. Back by the attractions that went stale in the dark like The Greenery or Gem Mines.

As such Chester stood tall on his usual perch. Staring down over the top as a crowd dispersed below. Stepping out at the front was blood-red hair. A single pigtail bounced along as she moved ahead with her head raised high. She'd just finished a scathing altercation which she masterfully maneuvered through. A smile rested against his lips as he silently watched on from a safe distance. Chester looked down at the poster in his hand. It was a different one from the posters of the day before. She had made the revisions he recommended and removed her own number from the flyers. Just to be safe he retroactively removed all the older posters from Starr Park's streets. He only hoped no creep got their hands on her number before he could fix it.

Suddenly something dropped down behind him. The subtle shifting of a metal chain alerted him of the presence, "Well?"

Crow massaged his beak, "...I guess she'll do."

Chester flicked a hard candy in the air and caught it with his tongue, "Told you." The two stood over the edge and followed Jessie's path with their eyes. She was getting further away much quicker now. A product of the confidence boost she'd surely acquired. Chester waited a bit before breaking the silence, "Crow. I have a question."

The bird noticed that his blue-dyed ally wasn't looking at him, "What."

"What did you say to her?"

Chester knew that the plan was to give her a spook. If she managed to conquer her fear they'd let the plan run. However, if Jessie broke down like she usually does they'd throw away the idea and return to their usual tactics. As such, Chester volunteered Crow to give her a bit of a startle. He was known for picking on the girl. "I did the usual. Just threw some harsh words her way."

"Hmm..." Chester nodded along as if agreeing. Jessie was getting further away and yet he followed her with laser accuracy. Then he leaned a bit closer to Crow, "Now tell me-" he turned around. His smile was extra big with his eyes spiraling into madness. Crow could tell he was holding something back. Something ferocious, "-who told you to touch her?"

Crow stood up with his hands in his pocket. The two had a fire dancing between them. Flames of opposing colors battled for dominance within the skies around them. Two unshaken forces threatening to push a button and settle this dispute now. It was a coming clash interrupted by a third party, "Am I interrupting something?"

Chester and Crow turned to the fire escape. Bo's green vest barely managed to fit around his massive torso. The bow on his back crossed with the quiver of arrows. Seeing the tools gave Chester a flashback to that chaotic night. The two separated quickly. They didn't mention what had sparked this clash and Bo wasn't one to ask. He merely joined them on the ledge and gazed down below. "So what is the plan?"

Chester coughed to break the awkwardness, "Well... I think-"

"We're using the kid as bait," Crow deadpanned.

Chester quickly turned on the bird, "She's not bait!"

The bird rolled his eyes, "We're purposefully having her walk home alone at night in order to see if a kidnapper shows up." He snarled at the jester, "A.K.A. she's bait!"

Chester pouted, "You make it sound so dirty."

On the side Bo chimed in, "It does sound like bait." The clown decided to give up defending this point. He figured it better if they followed along since Jessie had disappeared behind a corner. While the three ran after, Bo asked, "Why have we chosen her as bait."

Chester pleaded, "Can we please stop using the B-word in reference to Jessie."

Crow decided to answer for him, "He thinks Jessie is the key."

"The key to what?" Bo questioned.

"Finding out who the kidnapper is."

They landed on another roof a few feet ahead of her. They hid behind the roof's ledge and watched as Jessie walked on the other side of the street. Bo asked, "So the plan is to use Jessie as bait and then find out who the kidnapper is by letting her get kidnapped?" Chester added that she wouldn't get kidnapped because they would save her first. The other two just rolled their eyes at his ridiculous addendum.

Crow grumbled, "If you ask me his plan is just scorched earth."

It was Chester's turn to doubt his statement but Bo rolled into it, "He has a point." The tribal chief pointed down at their bait. "That is Jessie Junkerton. Daughter of Pam Junkerton." Bo turned to Chester to further his point, "The same Pam Junkerton that once unleashed a tsunami of robots that ripped the park to shreds when her daughter went missing."

Chester's head drooped, "And Jessie was inside of the attic the entire time. We all know the story." Chester watched as Jessie passed under them. She was completely unaware of the eyes watching her, "I just have this feeling. I think Gray was pointing us here."

Crow rolled over to focus on him, "How so?"

Chester started counting with his fingers and drawing on his palm. He gathered his thoughts as he said them, "Gray said that Adam the detective was safe. Pam recommended him which means she trusts this guy. I'm guessing that Pam is worried her daughter could be taken from her and wanted the best possible detective on the job."

Crow laughed, "Much good he was. He's the whole reason that you're a wanted man."

Chester ignored that for now. "Gray also pointed out that someone was kidnapping Brawlers with powers similar to the Jack in the Box."

Bo was next to interrupt, "But that was disproven when they took Gray and Leon."

Chester pointed that out, "Or was it!" Chester was going to continue but Crow pointed out that Jessie had moved along. They got up and chased after her once more. Chester continued his explanation when they touched down, "If the Jack in the Box is so dangerous they'll need someone smart to work it. So who's the smartest Brawler in Starr Park?"

"Belle," Bo exclaimed.

"Mr. P," Crow added.

Chester was stunned, "Pam... the correct answer was Pam." The two nodded along as if they had been educated by his analysis. He ignored the absurdity and continued, "But look at all the other missing Brawlers. Small, easily overwhelmed. Trying to take down Pam is like cutting a steel beam with a butter knife." His audience finally kept silent as he stood up to finish his point, "But if the tree's too big to take home-" he pointed down to Jessie, "-just take the fruit and plant a seed."

"Ssh!" Crow silenced him with a pointed hiss. They all got down behind the roof's raised edge. Jessie's walk had suddenly halted as she began searching the area around her. They were unsure what had sparked this action but Crow still had questions he wanted answered. "So you've reasoned out why Jessie might be next. But what about Gray? Why'd he get taken?"

Bo nodded along to add, "And Leon-" Again Crow stopped them short with the click of his beak. In a faraway alley, someone stepped out. They blocked Jessie's path with a frame similar to her. Chester didn't waste any time. He jumped on the ledge ready to pounce on the potential perpetrator.

Bo snatched his collar. He came down hard on the roof with an angry glare. The two had a silent spat as they mostly forgot about the strange suspect that had arrived. Crow's eyes never left Jessie and the stranger. His animalistic vision zoomed in on the truth ahead of them. This was a young boy. No older than Jessie but definitely younger than Bibi. He had on a green hoodie though his face was partially reflecting the moonlight above. While the two continued to quietly argue Crow whispered, "It's Leon."

The two brawlers halted immediately. They ran to the edge and tried their best not to be noticeable. They couldn't help but lean over the side trying to see as much as they could. Jessie had somehow traveled even further down the road and their human eyes couldn't make out the figure standing in front of her. Crow noticed Bo's massive white eagle headdress and scolded him. He needed to get back or they would be spotted.

Bo told him to focus on Leon so he did just that. He was the only one who could see the boy. Even with his advanced vision the dark overcast created by his hood kept his face hidden. However, he was able to notice something strange. The way Leon's limbs moved, they looked stiff. Like he had steel poles in his arms and legs or a metal rod up his spine. The boy's knees looked grotesque.

Despite Bo being the most invested in the children's interaction Chester wouldn't stop pestering Crow for an explanation. The bird dismissed him repeatedly which elicited a heavy sigh from Chester. Crow noticed the cloud of freezing heat before anyone else. Crow could feel his fingertips freezing. A stiff chill rolled down his spine. He could see Chester yelling something. A warning perhaps for oncoming danger. He could only hear the soft hissing of a lit fuse.

A thud was audible below them. Chester was pointing down as Bo had leaped from the rooftop. His knees and ankles survived due to his superhuman strength and durability. The two tried to yell at him to get back up but the chieftain would wait no longer. He had to retrieve his son.

As the two continued to voice their discourse another heavy bump could be heard behind them. In seconds they turned to a massive powder keg in their face. The tons of dynamite inside were spilling out through the sides. Crow moved without a word, lifting up Chester and jumping far away from the roof. Chester reached out to where they were screaming in protest just as the explosion rocked the rooftop. Without much planning, Crow rolled to a stop on a roof nearly a block away. They clambered up shaking off the adrenaline rush and processing the close call.

Chester snatched up Crow by his leather jacket, "What are you doing?!"

The bird pushed him back, "Saving our lives." Even without his keen eyes, anyone could see the dust settling from that blast, "We would have died!"

"What about Jessie?"

"Her? What about Bo?"

Chester and Crow were face to face yelling at each other. They couldn't be bothered with concealing their presence. Anyone below might as well assume it was a lover's quarrel from their distant shouts. The chill in the air almost went unnoticed by the flames lapping at their tongues.

*BANG*

The two froze at the sudden sound. Something had been fired. A gun? No. That sounded more like a cannon. Chester was sure that something horrible had happened, but something was freezing his tracks. Crow's feathers flourished involuntarily and he gripped his slim shoulders. Chester could feel his toes curl in hopes of gaining some heat. The foggy breath he exhaled was twice as alarming. His head blurred at the speed he turned. Eyes searching desperately for the source of the cold front. They flew so far away. They should be out of range. So why were they freezing?

Crow managed between shivering breaths, "Why's it so cold?"

In a panicked rush, Chester grabbed Crow's shoulders yelling, "It's just like last time. First, it gets cold." The two started coughing their lungs out at a horrid stench. It reeked of solvents and death. The two crouched down in hopes of escaping the chemical warfare. From a prone position Chester continued, "Then the clouds." He pointed upward for Crow's attention. The bird could no longer see the moonlight. A deep purple sheet of smoke blotted out the stars.

While the anthropomorphic avian tried to comprehend what was happening, Chester struggled to his feet with an arm over his nose. He ran across the tiles in the direction they came. If he was fast enough he might be able to save her. This was all his fault. He should never have gotten her into this. He should have known better. He's been targeted since the beginning. Everyone he interacts with goes missing. Why did he think this would be any different?

Then out of his peripheral, he saw something approaching. His body tried to lean away while his feet increased the pace. He was belly up by sheer luck just as the ball flew past. Had he not slipped, the back of his head would be full of shrapnel. The sweat forming on his brow would have been replaced with a crimson waterfall.

The ball continued its path over the roof's edge and exploded in midair. He turned to his stomach and clutched his head defensively. Crow followed suit, narrowly avoiding being punctured on this dreary night.

Chester's head popped up, "Where?!"

Crow turned around with a prickled grimace, "There!" His hands reached into his jacket and retrieved three daggers. They flew through the sky in the direction the ball was thrown from. Two of the daggers lodged themselves into a heater while the other caught the tail end of something hidden behind. The limb quickly vanished behind the steel cover.

Chester returned to Crow's side with two exploding bells in hand. The two instinctually stood back-to-back. Their defensive stance felt appropriate with their lack of knowledge. Who was attacking them? Where were they coming from? What was this fog above them? Why such a frigid change in the atmosphere?

All these questions plagued Crow's mind. The answers lay in the soul of the distraught jester. He'd seen all of this before. The first to arrive would be the concessions. The heavy clanks of metal on clay were near deafening. Their attention was pulled to a southmost heater. Lou's chilling fog spilled from his feet. A heavy foam of crystalized air tickled their toes as it lathered the ground with an icy aura. Crow took note of how the concession robot's eyes glowed bright red. The smile he usually sports was turned downward with an angry scowl.

Before Crow could speak another fit of choking rushed up from his lungs. That purple smoke that rested above was falling closer by the second. Chester's eyes went up in search of her. The teenage terror. She was currently resting atop the stairway door. A heinous cackle escaped her undead tongue. The autotuned snickers were just as odd as the headdress she was sporting. The clown signaled for Crow's attention but was clued in on another oddity.

Coming out from the shadows was the portly figure of Spike. His face was glowing with deadly inferno-like flames sparking up from his stomach. When he pulled out the dagger a bit of coal sprinkled onto the floor with it.

The two were noticing an alarming trend. One that was further solidified by the next arrival. A black dot appeared on the door's face. It wasn't larger than a baseball until it expanded to the size of a submarine hatch. Out of this dimensional door came a jolly robot. It had a crotchety voice with florescent yellow eyes. A white beard made out of fractured metal with residual soot in the crevices. It was like a comedic caricature of Dynamike.

Just behind him came a much more stoic body. Lanky legs and pinstripe pants legs. A cast iron pipe with plated cheeks and chin. A steely gaze that was only enhanced by his removal of the apparition he'd arrived from. The two Brawlers in the center of this mess couldn't believe their eyes.

All the missing Brawlers. They were here. Nearly all of them had arrived almost on cue. Without warning. Like beacons of hope or harbingers of death. Crow was astonished by this revelation. Chester was telling the truth. The missing Brawlers hadn't disappeared, they'd turncoat. Chester was just as surprised as him. While he knew it was the missing Brawlers that attacked him, he didn't realize they looked like this. Mechanical meshes of their true selves. Almost forcibly altered into these new creations. Or did they willingly succumb to this transformation?

They were given a minute to prepare themselves. They noticed Gray with his hands up as if holding off their attack. Crow took this time to plea to his friends. Even if his cries were falling on deaf ears. Chester called to him, hoping to get answers for this oddity. They were unaware of the names they now went by. The missing Brawlers ignored them. The mime didn't bother to acknowledge their pleas. He had a hand to his ear as if listening for a command. Then without warning, he dropped his palm. The ambush had begun.