"Mandy, I'm fine."

The door slammed shut behind them, "I said I'm coming with you."

Chester pivoted on his heel, "It's too dangerous to be outside alone."

"Then why are you walking around alone?"

Chester shot a squinted eye glare at her, "Don't accurately debunk my hysteria."

The two had been arguing for hours about how the move-in process would happen. Chester insisted that her time would be better spent increasing the security of the candy shop while he moved in. Mandy called him an idiot.

*tap* ... *tap*

Mandy threw her hands to her hips, "Why are you being so anxious about this?"

"I'm not being anxious. I'm being-"

"It's cause I'm a girl isn't it!"

*tap* ... *tap*

"It's not because you're a girl." Chester awkwardly stumbled, "It's just..."

*tap* ... *tap*

"It's just what?"

"I'm worried."

"You're worried?"

*tap* ... *tap*

"I'm worried."

"That a girl might get hurt if she's alone outside at night?"

Chester rubbed the bridge of his nose, "That you'll get hurt in general."

*tap* ... *tap*

Mandy scoffed, "So you admit it!"

"No! I just didn't say it's because you're a girl!" His cheeks were red as runny ketchup, "It's because I-"

*tap* ... *tap* ... *tap*

"Okay, what is that?" The two's argument was interrupted by a gentle tapping. When they looked across the road, they saw a slim figure staring at them. Behind it, a massive void snapped shut just as a cool breeze blew past.

In the glint of the moon above a black and white man stepped into the streetlight. His monochrome pallet nearly turned the world around him into a 30s noir film.

Chester unknowingly put a hand in front of Mandy which she absently lowered. He calmly asked, "Gray?" as if trying not to alarm the mime.

While he might not have the ability to speak, he'd usually give some inaudible cue to acknowledge your statements. Tonight, he stood in solidarity with his palms resting atop the hook of his cane. Chester noticed that his foot was tapping to a non-existent tune and his eyes were invisible under his cap's brim.

The candy cane jester turned to his female colleague, "Mandy go back inside."

Mandy smacked the back of his head, "I'm not going anywhere." She met eyes with Gray and nearly fainted. There was a malicious glint in his colorless retinas, "But I will run inside and get my staff."

The door chimed as she rushed back inside, leaving the men alone to themselves. Chester never took his eyes off the silent assassin. Ever since his arrival in Starr Park Gray has been an enigma. He never talks, barely interacts with others, and only skulks the streets at night. It was a miracle he hadn't been reported for his creepy undergoing.

Gray's hand flexed open as he dramatically reached into his pocket. A notepad no bigger than a square slice of cheese came from the fabric pouch. He materialized a pen with a rolling gesture and then began to scribble. Chester silently watched until he ripped the paper from its spiral holder.

Gray dropped the sheet off to the side and let it flutter to the floor.

Just before it touched down he tapped his cane, opening a dimensional door below. The black hole connected to a matching apparition that had appeared at Chester's side. Out of this new hole came the note that Gray had just dropped.

Chester reached down without breaking eye contact. He never understood how anyone could feel safe when there was a man with the ability to infiltrate their homes at his leisure living amongst them.

He had to lose this staring contest to read the note. It said, '4 Days Ago?' Chester was a bit perplexed. He wasn't used to conversation with Gray. He'd heard from the more experienced Brawlers that it was like putting together a puzzle without any pictures to use as reference.

He pointed to himself, "Me? You want to know what I was doing four days ago?" Gray didn't nod nor shake his head. He just stood stalwart under the moon's glow. Chester racked his brain but couldn't think of anything specific. "I was working. Just like any other day."

Gray must have gotten an acceptable response as he started writing another letter. This time it read, 'Delivery?'

Chester was starting to understand, "Yeah. I delivered to the Snowtel four days ago. But that was the only delivery we had." Chester also remembered how weird it was when he got there. Lou was practically waiting for him yet didn't expect to be getting a delivery that day. Though he didn't think he should mention this to Gray just yet. He didn't want to show his hand before seeing the river.

Gray gave the first facial expression since arriving. He almost looked surprised by the calm response. He wrote a letter that asked, 'Strange?'

The Candy Shop's door flew open with Mandy aiming her scepter's barrel at Gray. Seeing the candy queen's aggressive revival elicited an increasingly interesting response from the mime. His fingers pointed to her like a child's gun and a single eye shut behind the sights.

Seeing the rapid swap to hostility, Chester jumped between the two. He defused the situation the best he could by answering Gray's inquiry. It was a question that Gray had no business asking yet it was just vague enough to where he still might not know, "Strange? It was strange. But how do you know that?"

Gray began to scribble at an alarming rate. He was depositing papers into the hole in individual slices. Chester struggled to gather them in the same order they arrived. He had to put them back together like a decrypted message. Or a scrambled puzzle.

He deciphered the following from the notes, "Poco, Emz, Lou. Same Deliveries. Same Disappearances." Chester looked back at Gray. He was a bit miffed by the accusations, "You think that I attacked them?"

Gray finally responded with a solemn nod. Chester scoffed, "What kind of crap is that?" He threw the papers toward the road. They fluttered down between them as he ranted, "I deliver all over the park every day. I drive half the park twice a week. What kind of-"

"Chester never delivered to Spike!" The two males turned to Mandy as she suddenly interjected with a cracked screech. She cleared her throat, "You're saying he's delivered to all the disappearing Brawlers. But he never delivers to the Wild West. It basically sells negative on candies."

Chester was happy to hear her cover for him. Though the way she spoke sounded like she was trying to convince herself he was innocent. It didn't help that Gray responded with a playful gesture. He mimicked picking up a phone and feigning shock at something in front of him. They were both disgusted when he started walking in a circle and swiping his cane back and forth behind him. Almost cleaning his tracks as he moved.

Chester and Mandy were starting to accept that this wasn't going to end peacefully. When Gray turned away from them to scribble on his pad the duo prepared their respective attacks. Chester plucked off a pair of bells from his magical hat that regenerated as soon as they were removed. Gray sent them a message that neither of them were expecting.

'I believe you.'

Gray turned around with his cane on his arm. He pointed at Chester twice to make it clear he was talking about him now. Then he used his fingers to trap Chester in a little box that he stared through with his eyes. Similar to a photographer snapping a mental picture before setting up a photo.

Chester was confused, "Are you saying you want a picture?"

Gray shook his hands dismissively as Mandy corrected, "He's saying you're being framed." Mandy rested her weight on the scepter's length, "But who would frame you?"

Gray made an 'I don't know' motion and went back to writing on his notepad. The next note was a small paragraph of information compared to his usual puzzling messages. 'Reports in. You at mines. Your name said.'

Chester knew this was about what Mandy had said this afternoon. How he's the only name that's been mentioned regarding the missing Brawlers. While he relaxed into this new agreement with Gray, Mandy continued to press the P.I., "How are you getting this information?"

Gray's note showed two symbols. The sigil of the Starr Security Force and a candy caricature of Mandy. When Chester gave her a confused, yet frustrated sneer Mandy got defensive, "I haven't told them anything. They've never asked me any questions." She then turned to Gray with an accusatory finger, "Besides. I already said the Wild West doesn't really sell candies. And the mines always order the same thing in bulk. Rock candies and gummy crystals. We haven't delivered to them in weeks."

Gray stroked his goatee slowly. Perhaps he knew less than he believed. But one thing was certain. A fact he communicated in his next image. A picture of Chester's face within a circle. An army of arrows were pointing to him from outside.

He was at the center of this. "But why," Chester asked.

The next set of images were increasingly shocking.

Dynamike. Big Barrel O' Boom.

Poco. Encore.

Emz. Caustic Charisma.

Lou. Can-Do.

Spike. Stick Around.

With each image, their confusion only grew. Chester demanded that Gray stop speaking in riddles and just get on with it. Gray inaudibly sighed as he drew one final image.

A box. With a little cranking handle on the side.

Chester still didn't quite understand. But Mandy's eyes shot open, "Jack in the Box." The jester's sea-purple suit swirled on point at the mention of that machine. Mandy's voice was nearly a whisper in the unending winds that whisked past them. "The Jack in the Box is chaotic, uncontrollable. Dangerous. But it's not unlimited power." Mandy took a seat on the curb as she reasoned through her conclusion, "Everything has a limit. It's like sucking on a jawbreaker. It's flavor mix and change as you dissolve the layers. But there is always an end to the variety. A point where there is nothing left to discover." She turned back to him with pale cheeks, "And so is that box."

She jumped to her feet and paced the sidewalk, "It can only make so much. You might not be able to control what it creates but you have names for all of it because we've seen everything it has to offer."

Chester was still confused, "Names for what?"

"The... attacks. Those things you can do. Like. What's that thing called? The big candy bomb. The one that gets thrown like a beach ball?"

"Candy Popper?"

"THAT! It's just like Dynamike's Barrel of Boom."

Chester thought about the similarities and nodded his head. He started to make a connection himself, "And Emz. Caustic Charisma isn't really like anything I do."

"But her spray cans are just like that Slamikka stuff you spray."

"Salmiakki."

"Yeah, whatever." Mandy stopped on a dime and pulled on her lemony hair, "Lou's Can-Do."

"That's just Pop Rocks. Lou's icey aura slows people, but Can-Do doesn't make ice shards on the floor."

Mandy snatched up his shoulders, "But Spike's Stick Around can! What's the difference between massive thorns and shards of ice?"

Chester couldn't breathe. This was too much for him to handle. He had to ground himself, "B-Bu-Buh... POCO! Poco doesn't make sense. Nothing the box does is like Poco's Encore. Or his Power Chords."

Chester felt a little bit better when Mandy too was stumped by this one random addition. A Dimensional Door opened between them and out came a piece of paper. The image on the inside was of a sharp pair of leaves. Mandy just said the first thing that came to a sugar addict's mind, "Mint Leaves."

Chester's voice caught in his throat, "Strong Mint..." the healing candy of the box's creation.

It was true. All of it was true. It made sense yet it was completely illogical. He was at the center of this. Someone was either targeting him or using him as a scapegoat. But why him? What had he done? Who did he hurt to deserve this? Questions that went to the heavens and fell on deaf ears.

Mandy too went back to her seated position. Gray couldn't bring himself to interfere anymore. Not until they were ready to talk again. Chester was on a knee trying to make sense of it all. A problem that Mandy didn't have. She tore her face from her hands, "But one's missing."

Gray silently recognized this fact. Chester shot to his feet, "Right! Jaw Breaker." He turned to Gray with a bit of hope in his eyes, "They haven't gotten a Brawler that can replicate the Jaw Breaker yet." In Chester's eyes, this was a rare opportunity. If they now knew the kidnapper's intentions they could prepare for the next attack.

Gray nodded along as there was now a sliver of hope for finding the missing Brawlers. Or at least their attacker. Gray began miming once more. He pretended his cane was a rifle and aimed it at the other end of the street. Then after pretending to fire, he shuttered as if he had stunned himself.

The candy lovers nodded along as they were starting to better understand Gray's body language. The Jaw Breaker was a long-range shot that could lock an opponent in place with a heavy burst of damage. In the rare occasions when he used it in televised Brawls it was usually the most effective tool in his arsenal.

Gray started drawing on his pad once more. The images he sent over were of three Brawlers. Two of them were the Brawlers Bea and Belle. He had drawn little boxes that they assumed represented their respective choice of ammunition. Belle's line was thinner than Bea's though they were the same length.

However, the longest box belonged to Piper, whose box bent a bit as if she was curving her shots. Chester and Mandy understood. Realistically the next target should be any of these three. Though the best pick is most likely Piper. The two began to plan out how they would go about keeping track of Piper. Should they tell her outright what they've found? Or should they let her go about her day as usual so that the kidnappers are none the wiser?

Their discussion was halted by the stern slams of Gray's cane on the asphalt. He waved his finger with a dismissive wag. Gray got down to a knee and fiddled with the top of his cane. He pretended to pull something off the tip. Like he was opening a compartment or a dispenser. Then he popped whatever he retrieved into his mouth and looked down at an imaginary sight.

The end of his cane was pointed at the duo. More specifically at Mandy. A sign that Chester was the one to call out first. "In your sights." Mandy looked up at him confused, "Mandy... whenever you focus. Nobody can outshoot you. No one's eyes can see like yours can. Not even the average rifle scope can compare to your vision."

Mandy's world fell to a standstill. It was true. She had been altered by Starr Park to have vision-like apex predators. To say she could see a butterfly's wings break from a kilometer away was not an understatement. It was given to her so she could monitor the candy containers from atop her throne. Nobody stole from Mandy. To think that it was her eyes that would be her downfall. She could feel her stomach turning inside out as Gray fired the imaginary bullet to punctuate Chester's final answer.

"Their next and final target, is you Mandy."