Almost immediately after his final declaration, the winds ceased their refreshing run. An eerie stillness floated around them. Mandy's body had frozen up. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't blink. Couldn't see. All she could process was this overwhelming sense of dread.

The men didn't have such a reaction. Chester turned to Gray, "I need you to stay with Mandy for a little bit." Chester checked his bells and tucked his unsettled auburn locks back underneath, "I need to run home and grab some stuff." Gray didn't ask any questions he sauntered over while swinging his cane as if nothing of interest had transpired.

Chester reached out a hand which Gray accepted handsomely. The clown made a clear demand, "Don't let anything happen to her."

Gray merely saluted as he stood just behind Mandy.

Chester gripped her ebony hands and helped her return from the shock, "I'll be right back. Head inside an' lock up the shop."

He rushed off to his home but was yanked back by his collar. When his back smacked the floor he was quickly straddled by his Starr. She nearly yelled, "And where are you going?"

Chester's hands had been locked above his head by her knees, "I'm going to my house."

"Alone?!"

Chester rolled his eyes, "What is your-" he pushed her off him and met her face-to-face, "-DEAL?!"

"My deal? You just heard that someone is after us and your first idea is to split up?"

"They're not after me. They're after you. They're obsessed with me."

"And that's better how?"

Chester was about to pull his hair out, "They aren't going to attack me! They need me."

"You don't know what they want."

Gray watched on as they continued to bite each other's head off. He wondered if they were secretly siblings in disguise. Or maybe they were long-lost relatives. He'd have to research into that later. For now, he just let out an empty sigh as their argument evolved into a dust cloud of hair-pulling and name-calling.

As he let out a throaty groan a misty cloud passed over his nose. He was perplexed as he didn't pretend to pull on a cigar like he would in his office. He blew out another bit of air. The cloud formed once more as his warm breath crystallized before him. He felt a chill run along his shoulders. The air was getting frigid. A bit of frostbite was rapidly forming on his now rosy nostrils.

Mandy and Chester's fight fell out of control when he tripped on nothing in particular. Mandy wasted no time laughing at him but almost busted her butt as well. She asked, "What the heck's going on." She felt severely underdressed as a chilly wind blew past, "Why's it so freakin' cold?"

Chester rubbed his butt then fell again. The concrete had turned slick like ice and twice as cold. Chester's finely attuned nose could smell a sweet confection surrounding them.

His hand felt sticky after running it across the ground. Without a second thought, he brought his palm up to his mouth and licked it. He smacked his lips with a pleased grin, "Syrup."

While Mandy and Chester marveled at the tasty oddity Gray was showing emotions many thought impossible. He panicked as he looked all over the place for the source. His cane acted as a third leg to support himself as the icy ground made standing a struggle.

His mind went back to the missing persons reports. Dynamike went missing outside the mines with no known cause. Afterward, Poco and Emz went missing with a massive crater in their wake. Then when Lou disappeared there were gunpowder remnants as well as a horrid stench in the air.

Then after Spike's disappearance, they found the trifecta. A massive crater, a horrid stench, and icicles against a garbage can. At the time it was just a theory but now it wasn't up for discussion. Gray knew what this freezing wind meant. He needed to find him. He had to be quick. Before it was too late. He had to find...

"Lou?"

Chester's voice cut through Gray's contemplation and he followed his pointed finger. On the other side of the road, just where Gray was standing moments ago, was a lone figure. It stood below a lamp post. Unwavering. Heartless. Yet smiling.

The flavored robot didn't approach them, so Chester managed to shuffle a bit closer. "Lou? Is that you?" He stumbled about but managed to get off the sidewalk. He bumbled a bit more on the road. His goofy shoes found no traction on the supercooled asphalt.

Once he found his footing once more he asked a follow-up question, "What happened? Everyone *cough* Everyone thou- *COUGH*" Chester's voice was getting silenced by his own lungs, "We thought... *COUGH**COUGH**COUGH*"

Chester dropped to his knees as his lungs threatened to come up through his throat. He couldn't control himself. Something horrid had entered his nostrils and was ripping apart his arteries. Mandy and Gray joined in on the rapturous song from their bowels. Though Gray's coughs were breathless.

Mandy looked up as the sky went dark. A billowing fog filled with tiny skulls swarmed the stars. Their faces chirped down at them as a toxic cackle followed.

Their desperate attempt to breathe mixed with a struggle to stand brought their vision to a blur. Chester was able to point out something above between gambles for air. Standing atop the balcony of Mandy's Candy Shop was a young figure. He could tell from the slim waist, short stature, and rebellious haircut only a teen could rock.

Mandy noticed this person was holding something in their right hand. A cylinder that was being rapidly shaken while they smiled down at the disassembled trio. Mandy didn't know why but she quickly ran to where Chester was still recovering from. She tackled him just in time as a massive purple cloud swallowed up Gray behind them.

With their distance, they watched as Gray writhed around in the cloud before the thick fog swallowed up all light within. Mandy and Chester were left sliding across the ice floor directly into the path of the snowy robot ahead. Chester saw an upside-down visage of Lou as he aimed a hand their way. A panel opened on his palm that showed a crystalline ball of sugary artillery.

Chester twisted his back to kick he and Mandy apart. A triplet of razor-sharp snow cones punctured the syrupy floor between them. As Chester rolled away to deal with Lou, Mandy spun on a dime. Her sights were aimed at the store's upper floor. Her perfect eyesight let her see even through the thicket of fog.

She didn't hesitate to put a bolt clean through the Electro Magnetic Zombie. A bullet of fuming fondue slashed her chest. Almost immediately, Emz's body went limp. The stream of smog that she was producing from her hips ceased as her body stumbled over the guard rail. There was a heavy thud when she crashed against the chilled cement hidden within her residual fog.

Chester turned to Mandy, "What are you doing?!"

Mandy's response had bite, "Protecting us!"

When Chester's sliding journey came to a halt he looked back at the supercooled robot. Lou was now retargeting Mandy with a strangely mechanical set of movements. Even for a robot, his actions were choppy.

Chester decided that asking questions could be saved for later. He popped off some explosive bells and assaulted his old friend. The robot's systems detected the projectiles and quickly stepped to the side. When Lou retargeted to Chester he saw a deep red glow in his LED eyes.

Lou planted his feet to fire a trio of cones at the clown. Chester couldn't dodge so he put up his hands to block any vital organs. One cone pierced his flesh leaving a golf ball-sized hole in his shoulder. Chester rolled over on the sticky ground but managed to grab a set of bells and finally connect with Lou. The miniature explosions finally made the bot retreat to the darkness though the ice below them didn't dissipate.

Chester slowed to a halt. His feet nearly flew outward when he tried to stand. His own safety was the least of his concerns, "Mandy?!" The call to his ally was answered by his own eyes. Mandy was aiming her staff back the way Lou had vanished. Another bolt of candy rang through the street as robotic groans followed soon after. A blistering wind came from the darkness as his final goodbye.

Mandy propped herself on her staff, "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Chester's feet caught under his hat's massive tassels and fell face first. They continued to struggle until they were able to prop the other with their bodies. "What the heck's going on?"

Mandy had no response. Everything happened so fast. First Lou suddenly arrives with an icey entrance. Then there was Emz and her smog. That alone almost finished them, luckily they got out just in time. Everyone except...

"GRAY!"

They both hoped to find him suddenly striding toward them as if he'd never even been attacked. That hope was dashed when they saw a lifeless body on the sidewalk. Even in their chilled environment, they saw no gas escaping his lungs. The two struggled forward in hopes of reviving their comrade.

Then came a pain worse than death. A biting feeling in their legs threatened to rush up their spines and slice open their heads. Each step was interrupted by a spike in their souls. Even with her cane as support she still felt as though she was lying in a bed of needles.

Chester was less than lucky as he found himself on his hands and knees. It hurt just to lift his arm and inspect his wounds. Little microfibers of glass twinkled within his palms. All across the cement, mixing with the syrupy flooring was a bed of glass shards.

Chester managed to get to his feet which only worsened the pain. He took a step forward and nearly buckled again. With squinted eyes aimed at Gray, he noticed something blocking his path. An oblong cylinder that reminded him of a poorly welded piece of modern art. In its hand was a spiked ball that it tossed up and down.

Then a heavy heat rose up from its chest. A furnace fueled by an unknown substance. The fire that rose to the top was outlet by three holes in its head. A duo at the middle of the epicenter with a long oval just below.

Chester's voice was hoarse, "No?"

"Spike?" Mandy's question was rapidly answered by the ball it was tossing getting lobbed in their direction. As it entered the light the sharp edges showed off shrapnel metal mixed with clear, jagged shards of glass.

The ball nearly bore through Chester's skull, but Mandy's quick thinking let her jump over and tackle him to the floor. When the sharded mess flew past them Chester followed the path knowing what would happen next. He quickly rolled Mandy over and covered her with his own frame. The ball exploded behind them, sending out six spores in different directions. From under Chester's body, she heard him cough violently. A bit of what she thought was saliva landed on her cheeks. Only for her hands to wipe it clean and see the thick streak of blood running along her palm.

Chester rolled off her. His chest heavily fell inward as a crimson pool appeared beneath him. Mandy grabbed his arms and rolled him over. She applied pressure to his back but it refused to stop. She tore off one of her white and yellow leggings to help stall the rushing liquid. While her tights stained red, she heard the clangs of metal approaching slowly. Her grip changed to a single hand applying weight while the other tried to protect herself. The bullet she fired missed wildly. The sheer recoil of her shot sent her staff flying out of her hands.

The flaming Spike continued its steady approach. Its smile was melting the ice below him and creating a new molten mass of scrap within. He retrieved the ball from his guts and shook it about until it rapidly cooled. The jagged edges looked extra sloppy now just a few feet away from her. He raised the red hot artillery high above his head.

Then came a black hole in the ground behind them. Gray jumped through the dimensional door and smacked him in the back of the head. When their altered ally rolled away it quickly jumped to its feet once more. Gray made a finger pistol and fired off three imaginary bullets into its chest. The burning plant clamored off just like Lou had done seconds before.

Gray visibly shuddered from Spike's alarming figure. With the Brawlers' disappearances the ice finally subsided and the metal rolled over. Gray shuffled through the debris to help the two up. He noticed Mandy trying to keep Chester's wound shut and helped by adding his own white vest to the equation. Together it might slow the bleeding long enough to get help.

Chester tried to speak but was quickly silenced by his candy queen. Her lemon locks were a mess from all the panic. She tried her best to mumble out, "What the fruit strip is happening?"

Gray looked around with a nervous shrug. He stayed on high alert just in case someone else was lurking in the shadows. When no one showed themselves, the group began to walk away. Gray's first idea was to head to the security offices. He had his reservations about Starr Park's involvement in all of this but if they were trying to keep this quiet they couldn't attack them while they were in the police's custody.

Gray took one of Chester's arms just like Mandy. They stumbled ahead while Chester mumbled something softly. Mandy leaned in, "Don't talk. You need to rest."

"Mmm..."

Mandy pushed some of his auburn hair out of the way. As she did this a piece of candy rolled out of his hat. She managed to catch it and hand-fed it to him, "Take this. You'll feel better."

As Chester managed to suckle on the orb his color came back. He grunted out, "Muuuh..."

"Muh? Muh what?"

Chester looked off to their right, "...music."

Gray and Mandy froze as they listened closely. They hadn't heard anything during the fuss. There was a low strumming coming from somewhere far away. It felt like the sound was encompassing them from all directions. Then it went silent once more.

A final chord played followed by a wave of green smoke rushing past them. The air was pushed down into their guts. Before they choked from a lack of oxygen, now they were provided with too much. As they coughed once more Mandy was the first to understand their situation. If the missing Brawlers were really attacking them, there was one that had yet to be seen.

Poco.

Mandy turned back to where they had last seen the Brawlers. She saw a massive keg of gunpowder fall just a few feet behind them. The fuse burned away at its tail end.

Mandy pulled Chester down again as the blast erupted. A massive explosion burst their eardrums. They were flung forward like a bullet with Gray landing far away from the rest of them. In his stupor, Chester didn't even register what had happened. He just felt his vision blur and his mind flutter away to non-existence. He felt a weight on his chest and reflectively wrapped his arms around her.

Mandy's form was quickly pulled from his grasp. Another figure loomed over him with Mandy draped over its massive shoulders. They stood like a tower of iron high above the clouds. Whoever this was they were barking out orders to the Brawlers that had just attacked them.

When the giant had secured his boss another body arrived. One of the shorter figures that had attacked them before? Was it Poco? The head didn't match. Where was his hat? Whoever this was they barked out orders as well. "ColdFront, PinCushion." Those were the names he heard. Were they codenames? ColdFront must have referred to Lou as Chester saw his blurred visage appear quickly. For PinCushion that strange Spike lookalike stood at attention.

The shorter general of this surprise attack ordered to retrieve Gray just as the larger commander had picked up Mandy. Chester mustered up the last of his strength to crawl to his friend. Gray was quickly picked up with a gurney and carried away.

Chester locked his hands around the massive monster's ankle. He could feel the power in their calves. Perhaps created from being stuck on their feet all day. The two met eyes though he couldn't make out their face. It seemed powerful with a strong jawline but the colors of Mandy's red dress overwhelmed his senses. He couldn't focus on their face, only her colorful costume.

They casually walked away as if he hadn't even gotten a hold of them. Then as he passed out someone forced him to hold on a little longer. A heel grabbed hold of his chin and lifted his head. Again he couldn't make out who it was but they were shorter than the other one.

He was able to make out a broad smile. And a sultry voice, "Till next time." They let go of his face as his chin clunked onto the ground. Then came the final blackout stomp.