As Chase walked away from the well, he couldn't stop a smile at the memory of the beautiful woman whose name he hadn't even been told; though he remembered that the doctor guy had called her "Ambrosia". He decided on the spot that the name really suited her. He was glad that she hadn't turned out to be the kind of woman who agreed with everything a man said. He hadn't really meant it when he said that her people were barbaric (though—drilling into someone's head? Seriously?); he had just been testing her to see what she'd say, hoping that she would respond angrily. And she had: she had deftly turned the discussion around onto the point of shootouts.

Causing Chase to seriously rethink the point of his own death.

As he reached his town, he saw people everywhere. It had been at least half an hour since everyone had woken up so there was confusion in the air but no panic. Chase saw several couples being reunited, both with each other and with their children. He continued on towards the town hall, where the sheriff's office was. As he approached it from the side, he saw a familiar girl coming out of it.

"Hi Melody," Chase called.

Melody turned and saw Chase. "Thought ya died."

"Nice ta see ya too," Chase grinned. "Is Jed in there?"

"He certainly is." Melody sniffed. "Still his same ol' self."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" asked Chase.

Melody gave a casual shrug. "By the way, there's a girl in there lookin' for ya."

"Girl?" repeated Chase. "Who?"

"I ain't gonna tell ya when yer a few metres away from findin' out for yerself!" Melody complained, beginning to walk away.

"Nice talk," Chase called to Melody's back.

He went into the town hall and found the blonde-haired Westerner coming out of his office. "Chase!"

"Hey Jed."

Jed punched Chase on the bicep in a friendly manner, though it was definitely not a soft punch. Chase gave a yelp and rubbed his arm. "What were that for?"

"For dyin'," Jed grinned, though Chase could see a sorrow in his eyes.

"Jed…I'm sorry."

Jed looked surprised. "Fer what?"

"For dyin'," grinned Chase, matching Jed's earlier words.

Jed suddenly grabbed Chase in a tight hug. "I couldn' believe it when I saw ya had died," the sheriff said quietly.

"I would have been able to save me," Chase said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

But Jed didn't take the bait. "I almost had Bennett killed on the spot. Hell, Nikki almos' killed 'im on the spot."

"Nikki!" gasped Chase, pulling away. "Where is she?"

"In there." Jed jerked his thumb towards his office.

Realising that Nikki must be the girl Melody said wanted to see him, Chase quickly pushed past Jed and entered the office. Standing in the middle of the rustic room was a familiar girl with short brown hair. She spun round as Chase entered the room, and that was when Chase saw her green eyes and freckles.

Her eyes filled with tears and she ran at Chase, tackling him in a fierce hug. Just as Chase was hugging her back, she let go of him, slapped his face, and hugged him again.

"Easy, Nikki," complained Chase.

"Don't ever die again, do ya hear me?!" Nikki yelled.

"I'll try not ta," Chase grumbled, though he was secretly very pleased to see his twin sister again.

"Do ya have any idea what yer death did ta me?!" Nikki stepped back and glared ferociously at her brother. "I nearly rushed out there and straight-up killed someone!"

"I heard," Chase said quietly. "An' I'm so sorry, Nikki."

Nikki took another step back, her cross expression softening. "Well…I guess ya can' control when yer gonna die…"

Chase smirked and nudged her shoulder with his fist. "Love ya, sis."

"Hate ya, bro."

Just then, Jed poked his head around the door. "Hey, guys. I'm summoning everyone ou'side."

"Comin'."

Chase and Nikki followed Jed outside, where the sheriff went off to talk to his deputy. With a jolt, Chase recognised Bennett, with his overlarge Stetson covering his face. Despite this, Chase recognised him; he was wearing the exact same clothes as he had been wearing when he had killed Chase, and he also had the same gun. Chase felt a stab of emotion in his heart and he turned away.

"He gotta lotta nerve," growled Nikki from beside him.

"It's okay." Chase placed a hand on his twin's shoulder, preventing her from rushing Bennett. "He got as much right ta be here as we do."

"No he don't," grumbled Nikki but she fell silent.

Jed came back over to the two of them. "Chase, I'm makin' ya my new deputy."

Chase blinked, staring at Jed. "What?"

"Bennet killed ya in a shootout that weren't meant to be a deadly one. That's dishonourable. Since ya were my second choice for deputy, ya got a promotion."

Chase almost forgot how to breathe. He couldn't believe that he had received a promotion: for dying, no less! He was snapped out of it by Nikki hitting him on the back. "Stop lookin' so gormless and say somethin'!"

"Th-thank ya," Chase stammered to Jed, who chuckled.

"Just don' let me down."

"I-I won't." Chase saluted. "Thank ya."

At that moment, a loud gong sounded, making everybody look upwards, startled.

"What were that?" demanded Nikki.

"I dunno," Jed replied thoughtfully. "But it came from over there."

The gong sounded again. "It sounds like someone's summonin' us," Chase mused. "A trap?"

"Most likely," replied Jed. "But we won' know if we don' go."

"Maybe not everyone should go," suggested Chase. "Maybe just five o' the best fighters? That way, we're strong enough to fight back if it's a trap but we won' look like we're lookin' for trouble."

Jed grinned and punched Chase on the shoulder again. "Ya haven' been my deputy fer five minutes an' yer already thinkin' like one. I'd like yer to round up Melody. I'm takin' you four."

"Us four?" repeated Nikki.

"Yeah. Me, Chase, ya, and Melody."

"I didn' know I was one o' the best fighters." Nikki smiled humbly. "Thanks."

"Chase, round up Melody," Jed ordered again. "We're gonna see who's summonin' us and what they want."

Forgot to do the disclaimer a while ago, so here it is: Mythicalnightguard owns Rufus, Athena, and Melody (and a couple of other characters but they come later). Nightflame203 created Nikki for me. I do not own Jed or Octavius. If you recognise a name—whether historical or fictional—I do not own them. I will say that I own Jill, Julius, Ambrosia, and Chase.