Pancho didn’t get much tears from the audience for his untimely end, as they’ve always been more focused on the gore and action of the fight rather than the poor Link who ended up dying. Micky Wright got down from the BattleBox to do his usual postmatch interview with Paul as the arena staff gathered on the BattleGround to clean up the bloody aftermath.

“Well, wasn't that intense?" Micky said gleefully “I see you’re pretty roughed up, but hey, at least your head’s still on. So how’s it feel to win your first match here at the BattleGround?” 

“Oh sir, you know it!” Paul exclaimed, the HMCs zooming in on his blood-stained face as he spoke. “No disrespect, but I'm sure we all knew who was more likely to die here.”

“Oof, Easy there Paul!” Micky jokingly says, “We’re not animals, we respect each other here! Dead or not.”

“Oh please! It’s not like Pancho would be listening now–I doubt he would be even if he was alive now!” Paul yells out. 

Micky chuckles, “Ahhh, first match in and I already like you. Treat that as your second accomplishment tonight. But anyways I think you’ll do just fine in the Battleground, Paul. You definitely have a chance at being Grand Colossal.” 

“Hopefully, fingers crossed all the way.” Paul says, looking at how the arena staff bag up Pancho’s severed head as it continues spurting out blood. 

After the staff packaged up Pancho’s headless body, it was taken to the morgue inside the stadium where it’ll be the coroner’s duty to prepare and cremate it; the usual protocol for all the fallen Links. It's a mystery about what happens to the ashes after; some say they are given to the families while others say they are simply trashed. Some even say that they are auctioned off as a sort of memorabilia for the more twisted Chain-Gang fans. Either way at least the bodies are being taken care of justly instead of them being dumped away to be maggot feed. 

Even though Pancho had only known them for a few weeks, his Chain definitely felt the weight of his death back in the cells. The night after the match perhaps was one of the quietest nights that all the Links have lived through. The usual chatter amongst the Links had gone away and the liveliness of the Circuit had died along with Pancho that day. 

The Link who did feel it most however was Rico Muerte, it was quite obvious from his sudden character change from typically outgoing to just dead and quiet. To him, it felt as if his closest friend or family had gotten mutilated for nothing in front of him and thousands of others; perhaps the first time he’s ever felt this way for someone else. 

“Gone, just like that” Rico quietly says, “A young husband, father, dreamer. All for the sake of some motherfucker’s eyes.” 

“May he rest in heaven.” Staxxx says as she places a hand on Rico’s shoulder. She too can relate with Rico’s emotions. “Did nothing to deserve this and still ended up like this, at least he’s not stuck in this world anymore.” 

“And fuck that Paul guy too!” Sai Aye Eye exclaimed, “Bitch still had the audacity to say it was too easy for him. Put him up against Thurwar and then let's hear ‘most likely to die tonight’ from his fucking mouth after!” 

Everybody else cheered in agreement with Sai Aye Eye. They usually weren’t bothered by overly boastful people; for they were often boastful too. But in this case, it would be as disrespectful for them as Pancho’s Chain to let others talk bad about him as it would be saying the insults themselves. They all gathered around the center table of the main cell block and collectively hoped for Paul to not make it out of his next match in honor of Pancho. 

Pancho’s death also caught the attention of Mari and her abolitionist crew too, for his backstory being one of if not the saddest ones that she has encountered in her opinion. She was outside of the MotoKline Arena with her group, protesting the games as usual when she first heard about Pancho and his fate. 

This is evil can’t you see, we don’t want no BBB

This is evil can’t you see, we don’t want no BBB

As they were chanting, Nile gets an update on his phone about the outcome of the match. He reads about the newsflash and immediately goes over to Mari to tell her. 

“Yo, this rookie just got killed inside. I don’t even want to see the aftermath photo and I don't think you’ll want to either.” Nile says.

Mari leans in for a closer look and reads the details off of Nile’s phone, struggling to do so because of the bright sun shining off the screen

“28-year old Guatemalan illegal alien, Francisco Villa. Father of 2. Decapitated…” Mari’s heart broke the more she read about Pancho’s background and it further fueled her anger towards CAPE and its contributors. 

“They’re just killing anybody now,” Mari says, her tone a mix of both grief and frustration, “Even the most innocent and undeserving of them, they all still die for this fucking game!” She rushes to the front and furiously shouts into her megaphone,

A man was killed here today.

A man was killed here today.

Mari tries her best to pronounce Pancho’s name correctly, it was easier for her to get it right this time in comparison to some previous names such as Aleksander Wisnewski’s.

His name was Francisco Villa, Mari screamed along with Nile and the rest of her crew. Their voices sounded resiliently to the wide open parking lot in front of them, untouched by the scorching summer heat and ridicule of the passersby. 

His name was Francisco Villa

His name was Francisco Villa

Then: A young man, son, husband, father was killed here today. He came to this land for a better life only to get savagely killed because of it. Killed for this cruel game. Now a mother can’t see their son anymore, a wife can’t see their husband anymore, a pair of twins can’t see their father anymore. All for your entertainment. Francisco was just a lone migrant in an unfamiliar place. An innocent, harmless migrant. And he died in vain for absolutely nothing at all. Francisco did nothing and didn’t deserve this. Francisco did nothing and didn’t-   

“If that bastard didn’t want to die here, he should’ve taken his ass back to the shithole he crawled out from!” A voice shouted from the open window of a passing car 

Those words made Mari and everyone else instantly lose their temper and they rushed towards the blue sedan where those words came from. They picked up the nearest rock they could find and began lunging them full force at the sedan’s windows; pushing past the soldier-police officers. The rear window of the car shattered from the impact of a powerful throw, causing the driver to stop and step out. The driver was a bearded middle-aged man wearing a red trucker hat with sunglasses along with a white cotton shirt and khaki shorts. He was barely taller than Kai and clearly out of shape; not ideal for fighting multiple people at once. The soldier-police got between Mari’s crew and the driver before things got physical although they couldn’t stop the curses flying past them.

“Go to hell, fucking racist!” yelled one of the marchers,

“Shame on you, cunt!” screamed another marcher. 

“Waste your time on these aliens, you bunch of stupid jackasses.” the driver said as he got back into his car. Blowing shards of glass everywhere as he sped away.

“Alright, pack it up everybody” one of the soldier-police officers said as he kicked the glass on the road over to the side. More and more people started to pour into the parking lot after the match had ended. The marchers began packing up their belongings and cleaning up the area. 

“What a fucking bigot” Nile said to Mari as he packed up the picket signs.

“Ignore them, they have nothing better to do,” Mari said, putting her megaphone in its carrying bag. 

“I just feel sorry for that Francisco guy. He just wanted a better life here. He never deserved to go out like this. Can you imagine? Doing all of that just to die in a place far from your family and not even having proper burial? Unbelievable.”  

“They should at least send the poor man’s body back to his family, it's the least they can do for people like him.” Kai joins in on the conversation 

“They won’t even consider that. It’ll be too much work for them.” Mari responded.

“But it wouldn’t hurt just to ask for respect. It won’t be too much to ask.” 

“You’re right, I’ll try to convince them. That’ll be my focus now.” Mari tells Nile.

Back home, Mari thought about how she could talk directly to the Chain-Gang organizers. Perhaps send a letter? Or protest directly in front of the CEO office? None of these options seemed viable enough until she figured something out. Tracy Lasser, the former SportsCentral anchor who got fired for her sudden outburst a couple days ago. She could work together with Tracy to send the message to the organizers. Besides, Tracy has had connections with the organizers for her previous role as a news anchor. It would be an easier way to tell the organizers to send Pancho’s body back to his home. So the next day, Mari called up Tracy to tell her about her plan and what she wanted her to do. 

“Hey Tracy. I’m sorry for calling you this early but it's urgent for our cause.”
“Don’t worry, all long as it gets rid of those blood games then I'm all up for it.” Tracy responds.

“You’ve heard about that Francisco man that just died right?”

“Yeah, the poor guy didn’t deserve to go out that way at all.”

“Well, I think the least they could do is send his body back to his home for it to be with his family. It’ll be fair to let his family bury him.”

“Good idea, it’ll just be too cruel to just leave him here far from home.”

“So here’s what I want you to do. I want you to talk to someone that works in the system and try to convince them to send the body back. It wouldn't be much of a hassle to do, don't you think?”

“Sure, I’ll do it. But the thing is who would I talk to ?”

Mari thought about it and quickly responded, “Micky Wright. He can be found in the stadium somewhere after all the matches. You can go up to him after a match has ended. That is if he’s not busy with anything else.”
“Ok, I'll try to get to him. But it's just that I don’t really like people who work for these games. They disgust me.” 

“Me too, it’ll just be for this one time. For the cause. For Francisco.”

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”

Luckily, the next Chain-Gang match was to be played in the same MotoKline Arena as before. It wouldn’t be that far of a reach for Tracy. She waited until the next Chain-Gang match day rolled around then she headed for the arena. As she walked through the parking lot, she saw Mari and the marchers doing their usual protest in front of the entrance. She first went towards them before entering.

A man died here today

A man died here today

His name was…

“I’m here Mari”

“Oh good, I think the game is just about to end. Rest in peace to the poor man who died there today. His name was Thomas Baker.” 

“Another one, gone, to this damn game. Now I think I have an idea about where to find Micky now. But now the hardest part is going to that place.”

“The VIP backstage? I’ve thought about that too. It's right over there.” Mari points towards the doors with “authorized personnel only” written on them that were beside some bushes and a generator in the far right side of the arena. She noticed that there were people who were frequently exiting. 

“The only problem is the camera above the doors. But that can be taken care of easily I think.” Mari says.

“Ok, I'm ready. Wish me luck.” Tracy says.

“Nile, go with her. Bring your sign with you” Mari tells Nile

“Got it.” Nile replies.  

Tracy and Nile head towards the doors as Mari and the marches resume their chanting.

His name was Thomas Baker 

His name was Thomas Baker

The two walk close but not directly towards the doors so as to not gather suspicion. They reached the far right corner where they planned on avoiding the camera. 

“You go over to the doors and when the doors open you hold up your sign towards the camera. Ok?” Tracy tells Nile

“Alright.” Nile says. He walks behind the bushes where the camera couldn’t see him, with Tracy following behind. They waited for the door to open up until a finely-dressed man texting on his phone opened the door to leave. Nile then lifted his picket sign in front of the camera from the cover of the bushes so that Tracy could quickly sneak in. The sign read, “CAPE=Satanic” in wide black letters on yellow cardboard; intriguing enough for the camera operator to clearly see. Once Tracy was inside, she began navigating her way through the VIP area. The place was now packed with people chatting and sipping on refreshments. The most luxurious place inside the MotoKline Arena; quality leather couches and fine decor everywhere, Ultra 8K curved televisions on the walls built with high-tech sound systems, a large glass panel overlooking the entire field, and even some hibachi stoves with chefs cooking up fine meals with only the most premium ingredients. A cool jazz played over the sound systems as the robotic waiters went around with drinks and snacks in their trays. All paid for with the blood of the Links down below. Tracy was fascinated by all this but she knew she couldn’t stay in much longer for it would blow her cover, so she quickly searched everywhere for Micky Wright while not taking anything. She spotted Micky over in the corner talking to a bunch of well-dressed people with a glass of champagne in hand. Tracy then went over to Micky to get his attention.

“Excuse me, sir? I would like to have a word with you.” Tracy tells Micky.

“Well, hello there babe. I’ll get to you all later.” Micky tells the people he was talking to.

“What can I do for you now, honey?” Micky says in his usual gleefulness.

“Quit it with that and listen. Do you know who the CEO of Chain-Gang is?” Tracy asks.

“I do, what for?”

“And do you know that man named Francisco Villa who died in the last match?”

“That like, Mexican or something immigrant? What about him?” 

“What are they gonna do with his body now?”

“Oh, they already cremated it and they’re just about ready to throw it away.”

“Well can you make an exception for him this one time? I personally know his family and they’ve been asking me to return his body back. Can you do me a favor and ask if they can do so?” Tracy asks.

“Hmm, I'll try to ask to see if I can but that’s if they haven’t thrown them away already. It’s been a while you know, ” Micky responds. 

“That is if you give me your number maybe?” Micky jokingly asks. 

“Fine, but don’t try sending me anything weird. I’ll leak it for everyone to see.” Tracy says. 

“Little feisty girl, huh?, just like Thurwar” Micky says then laughs. 

Tracy scoffs and then heads for the exit. She doesn’t even want to glimpse at what the televisions were showing. Tracy heads back to where Mari was, now that she’s started to pack up.

“I got Micky’s number and now he’ll look into it.”
“Perfect. A proper burial is what Francisco needs after everything. I hope he’s resting peacefully now.” Mari says as she packs up. They all start heading home as the sunset becomes less bright and the night starts to roll around. 

A couple of days later, Micky Wright goes over to the office of the Chain-Gang CEO to ask him about Francisco’s ashes. They get into a discussion over it.

“Why would I care about some random person’s ashes?” The CEO tells Micky.

“Because it's just! I’ve been thinking about this Francisco guy and I too agree that what we are doing isn’t right!” Micky snaps back.

“Listen, it's gonna be too much of a hassle to get the ashes and send them to who knows where. And then others are gonna want to do the same so it’ll just be overly complicated.” The CEO says.

“I know that and I understand. But can’t we focus on the truth here? This man’s family is probably unaware that he’s dead and I'm guessing they’re expecting him to show up eventually. The least we can do for him and his family is to send the ashes back to his home so that they’ll at least bury him with respect.” Micky says.

Micky’s words seem to have made the CEO reconsider his choices and he gives into the demands. 

“Fine, I’ll look into doing this. But the question is where exactly are we going to send them if we don’t know much about this man?” 

“I bet that he probably told others in his Chain about who his family was and they can tell us more about Francisco’s family.” 

“Alright. Now it's your job to go talk to the Angola-Hammond Chain.” The CEO tells Micky.

“I’ll be on it, sir” Micky tells the CEO.

Later that day, Micky heads down to the Circuit to personally talk with the Angola-Hammond Chain; the first time he’s set foot inside a prison with other Links. The soldier-police came alongside Micky to escort him into and out of the Circuit for his safety. Since nobody else but Rico Muerte was able to overcome the language barrier with Pancho, Rico was a good enough person to get information on Pancho. 

“He was a family man. Had a wife named Marissa and two kids named Emiliano and Isabella. They lived in this town called Coatepeque in southern Guatemala, near the outskirts. He barely knew his children.” Rico tells Micky

“Tragic. Real tragic,” Micky says

“Don’t worry now, the coroner is gonna send Francisco’s ashes back to his family after I give him the details.” 

“Good. The only good fucking thing you people can actually do. After all the bullshit you’ve done…” Rico sharply tells Micky in a threatening tone.

The soldier-police hear Rico’s voice turn menacing and they quickly surround Micky to protect him. 

“No need for that anger now,” Micky says as he backs up,

“Save it for the BattleGround.” 

Rico stares at Micky with a hateful look in his eyes while the rest of the Chain watch the both of them talk to each other. 

“I best be going now, I'll leave you all alone now.”
The soldier-police then escort Micky out of the Circuit and he later heads towards the morgue in the MotoKline Arena. There he gives the order for the coroner to preserve and package Francisco’s ashes for it to be sent to his hometown address. Micky later texts Tracy to tell her about the update. 

“They’ve got the ashes now, it’ll take about a month or two to arrive.” Micky texts Tracy.

“Thank you.” Tracy replies before she blocks and deletes Micky’s number. She then calls Mari immediately after.

“Hey Mari. Good news, they sent the ashes back to his family.” Tracy tells Mari

“Oh thank God, he deserves an actual goodbye for everything. May that poor soul finally rest in peace. And fuck Chain-Gang once again.” Mari responds.

“Amen to both.” Tracy says before hanging up.

After about two and a half months, Francisco’s ashes finally arrived in his hometown, as well as a written apology from the Chain-Gang CEO. Singlehandedly the worst news that the entire family have heard that day, what cruel things happened to Francisco. They were devastated but were grateful enough that they could still have his remains in their possession. That same day, the townspeople gathered together to give their utmost respects for Francisco and to bury the urn into the ground. They added the things that Francisco enjoyed dearly; live mariachi, candlelight, and vibrant-colored marigolds. Although Francisco had his life taken from him too soon, he’ll be able to rest easily at home with his most loved ones. Thanks to the help of the kind strangers that he never got to meet.