After delivering the borrowed horse back to the man, Ellis pushed open the saloon doors, stepping into the Valentine saloon. It had been years since he last stepped foot in here. His family hadn't abandoned him at this point. His eyes quickly found Javier and Charles, who were leaning against the bar, deep in conversation with two working girls.

"Oh, Ellis! Ellis, come here, come here," Javier called out, waving him over with a wide grin. "I want you to meet our friends."

As Ellis approached, the girls turned to greet him, their expressions a mix of curiosity and flirtation.

"Pleasure to meet you," he said, offering a polite nod.

"Well, ain't you just the tough-as-teak mountain man?" one of the girls teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Oh, you be quiet, Anastasia... anyone can tell this one is a pussy cat," the second girl chimed in, smirking.

Javier laughed heartily. "Exactly, yes, he's a pussy... cat. Ain't that so, Ellis?"

Ellis chuckled, shaking his head. "Whatever you say." He turned to the ladies, a playful smile on his face. "Sorry ladies, I'm a taken man."

Anastasia leaned in closer, her voice sultry. "Come on, honey, she doesn't have to know."

"I'm a faithful man, Miss," Ellis replied, holding her gaze.

Anastasia's smile widened. "Hmm, a gentleman outlaw, a sight for sore eyes. Excuse me."

With a flutter of laughter, Anastasia and her friend walked away, casting lingering glances back at Ellis as they disappeared into the crowd.

"Well, I must say... you got a fine way with the women, amigo," Javier said, his grin infectious.

Ellis shrugged modestly. "I must have, I got Mary-Beth to fall in love with me."

The three men moved to the counter, ready to indulge in a round of shots. As they lined up their drinks, Ellis glanced around, his curiosity piqued.

"Where's Bill?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Javier grimaced, shaking his head. "Oh, man, I dread to think about it."

Just then, they heard the saloon doors swing open again, and all eyes turned to see Bill stumbling in, clearly the worse for wear.

"Hey, hey, hey, there he is," Javier announced, a hint of amusement in his voice.

As Bill made his way into the room, he accidentally bumped into another man, causing immediate tension to fill in the air.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Bill barked, his bravado on full display.

The stranger shot back, "Take it easy, pal!"

"Take it easy, huh?" Bill retorted, puffing out his chest.

Ellis leaned closer to Javier, a smirk creeping onto his face. "He about to kiss that guy or punch him?"

Before anyone could respond, Bill lunged forward, grabbing the man and headbutting him onto a nearby table, the sound echoing through the saloon. Chaos erupted as patrons jumped back, and the confrontation quickly escalated, with Bill finding himself entangled with several others.

Javier looked on, shaking his head with a laugh. "Oh, and we have our answer."

The atmosphere inside the saloon shifted in an instant as Javier, Ellis, and Charles stepped away from the bar. It wasn't long before the loud clatter of a chair echoed through the room, and chaos erupted.

"Come here, you!" a brawler shouted, charging at Ellis with reckless abandon.

"Let's just shoot these bastards!" Bill called out, his voice booming over the noise.

Charles shook his head, his fists already clenched. "Oh come on, we can handle these fools!"

"Who are you fools, huh?" Javier yelled, a wild grin spreading across his face as he grabbed a bottle from the bar and swung it down onto the head of the closest man, shattering glass and sending the unfortunate soul crashing to the floor.

"Come on, you're gonna wreck the joint!" the bartender yelled, panic creeping into his voice as he tried to maintain some sort of order.

"I'll beat this whole town if I have to!" Bill roared, throwing a punch that sent another man reeling.

Charles was already in the thick of it, smashing a chair over the back of a brawler while shouting, "You wanna fight or not?"

"Stop dancing around and fight!" Javier taunted, his voice rising above the din.

"Alright, boys, that's enough!" the bartender pleaded, desperation evident in his tone as the chaos unfolded around him.

"¡Te voy a romper la cara, bastardo!" Javier spat, his voice laced with fury as he lunged at another opponent.

"Come on, fellers, take it easy, please!" the bartender shouted, but his pleas were drowned out by the cacophony of fists and shouts.

Ellis found himself face-to-face with a burly man who swung at him, landing a hard punch that sent him staggering back. Gritting his teeth, Ellis surged forward, retaliating with a swift uppercut that knocked the man off his feet.

"Are you joining us, Ellis?" Javier called out, a wild gleam in his eyes as he ducked under a wild swing and countered with an elbow to the gut.

Ellis nodded, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he joined Javier in taking down another attacker.

Just then, a loud voice boomed from the second floor, cutting through the din. "What the hell is going on down here?"

"No, Tommy, stay outta this!" the bartender warned, panic rising in his voice.

Tommy, a towering figure, appeared at the top of the stairs, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene below. "Come here, you little greaser," he shouted, zeroing in on Javier.

Javier barely had time to react as Tommy rushed down the stairs, and with a quick jab, Javier landed a punch, but Tommy was unfazed. He shoved Javier back toward the counter.

Meanwhile, Ellis was struggling against another man who had just struck him over the head with a chair. Dazed, he grabbed hold of the man's arm, trying to break free from his grip.

"Get off me!" Ellis shouted, twisting violently to shake the man loose. He managed to break free, pushing the man away and regaining his footing just as Charles tackled another opponent nearby, sending them both crashing to the floor.

The chaos of the saloon faded into a distant hum as Ellis found himself face to face with a figure he never thought he would see again—his father, Rhys. The man's rugged features showed his time in the mine, but there was no mistaking the resemblance. Anger and disbelief surged within Ellis, boiling just beneath the surface.

"My name is Sue," he spat, his voice cold and steady. "Now you gonna die."

With that, he swung his fist, connecting hard between Rhys's eyes. The older man staggered back, surprise etched across his face, before crashing to the ground. But to Ellis's shock, Rhys was up again in an instant, a glint of metal flashing as he pulled a knife from his belt.

Before Ellis could react, the blade sliced through the air, and he felt a sharp sting as Rhys cut off a piece of his left ear, the pain igniting a fire within him. Ellis grabbed a nearby chair and swung it with all his might, the wood splintering across Rhys's teeth. The impact sent them both crashing through the saloon window, the glass shattering around them as they tumbled out into the mud and blood-soaked street.

The fight continued in the dirt, their bodies rolling and kicking. Ellis had faced tougher men in his life, but Rhys fought like a wild animal, kicking like a mule and biting like a crocodile, refusing to give in.

As they wrestled in the mud, Ellis heard a laugh—a low, guttural sound that sent chills down his spine. "You've become quite the fighter, haven't you, Sue?" Rhys snarled through gritted teeth, the name dripping with disdain.

Ellis, fueled by white-hot anger, reached for his gun, heart pounding in his chest. But Rhys was quicker; he lunged for his own weapon, only for Ellis to pull his first. The cold steel of the gun settled in his hand, the weight of it grounding him in the chaos.

"Look at you, standing there all grown up," Rhys said, the smile on his face unsettling against the backdrop of their violent confrontation. "But you've got to understand something, son."

Ellis narrowed his eyes, ready for whatever twisted words were about to come.

"This world is rough," Rhys continued, his voice low and gravelly. "And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough. So I gave you that name, and I said goodbye. I knew you'd have to get tough or die."

Ellis's grip on the gun tightened as he felt a wave of conflicting emotions crash over him. "You think I owe you anything? You left me!"

Rhys chuckled, a dark sound that echoed in the alley. "Now you just fought one heck of a fight, and I know you hate me. You got the right to kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you did. But you ought to thank me, before I die, 'cause I'm the son of a bitch that named you Sue."

"Thank you?" he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "For what? For making my life a hell?"

Rhys's expression shifted, a flicker of something almost resembling pride crossing his features. "For making you strong enough to stand here today. You're not a boy anymore, Sue. You're a man."

With a shaky breath, he lowered his gun, the decision weighing heavily. "Get out of here," he said, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside. "You don't get to come back into my life like this. Just leave."

Rhys's eyes narrowed, but he nodded slowly, the fight in him dissipating. "You're tougher than I ever was. Take that strength and use it well, Sue."

"Everyone alright?" Ellis asked, seeing Bill, Javier and Charles sat on the steps to the saloon.

"Fine," they grumbled, nursing their own injuries.

"That wounds pretty nasty," Charles commented, pointing at Ellis' left ear which was bleeding profusely, the bottom of it missing.

"That was my old man's doing," Ellis sighed, shaking the mud out of his hair as he picked his hat up from the ground.

"Your father?" Charles asked in shock.

"Pleasant man, isn't he?" Ellis grinned.

"Making new friends again, I see, boys," Trelawny remarked with a sly grin as he approached the group. Dutch walked toward Ellis, Bill, Javier, and Charles, gesturing for Trelawny to join them.

"Look who we found sniffing about," Dutch announced, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Trelawny bowed theatrically, a flourish that seemed to fit his eccentric personality. "Josiah Trelawny, at your service."

Dutch smirked. "The very same. What happened to you?"

"Met my father again after a couple of years, nice fella. I should introduce you sometime," Ellis replied sarcastically, a bitter edge to his voice.

Trelawny, ever the gentleman, handed Ellis a handkerchief for his bleeding ear. "A family reunion, I see. How lovely."

Ellis accepted the cloth, pressing it against the wound. "I thought you'd gone to New York?"

"And miss all this glamour? You must be joking," Trelawny replied with a wink.

"How are you?" Ellis asked, genuinely curious.

"Well. Quite well indeed," Trelawny replied, his tone brightening. "I went to Blackwater looking for you gentlemen. You're not very popular there, it seems."

Ellis settled down on the steps between Javier and Charles, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. "Ah, Javier and Charles. I've missed you... and Bill looking well as can be. Gentlemen, always a pleasure," Trelawny continued, acknowledging each of them.

Dutch nodded, his expression serious. "You're right, we ain't too popular in Blackwater."

Ellis frowned, recalling the money they had left behind. "We left a lot of money there."

"And young Sean it seems," Trelawny added, his voice lowering.

"Sean? You've found him?" Dutch asked, his interest piqued.

"Yes, I have. He's being held by some bounty hunters... trying to see how much money the government will pay them. I know he's in Blackwater... but there's talk of them moving," Trelawny explained, his demeanor shifting to one of concern.

Ellis felt a knot tighten in his stomach. "Well, if we step foot in Blackwater..." He winced, holding his head, a fresh wave of pain shooting through him as he spat onto the ground. He stood up, determination setting in. "...well, then we're dead men for sure."

"There'll be Pinkertons all over the place, but... if he's alive, we gotta try," Dutch said, his voice resolute.

"Yeah, of course," Ellis agreed, but unease lingered in his tone.

"It's you and Ellis they want, Dutch," Trelawny stated, glancing between them.

"Me?" Ellis echoed, startled.

"The Ghost of the Wild West is a good nickname for you, Ellis. $10,000 for you, dead or alive," Trelawny continued with a smirk.

"Well, fuck me," Ellis sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Dutch turned to Charles, his tone turning serious. "Charles, go find out what you can, carefully. Josiah, take Javier. I'll send Arthur later."

With that, Charles, Trelawny, and Javier walked away from Dutch, Ellis, and Bill, each of them springing into action.

Dutch turned his attention back to Ellis. "Ellis, ride back with me. Let your woman see what sort of state you're in. She was worried sick after that man spotted you."

Bill chimed in, his brow furrowed. "Well, what about me?"

Dutch raised an eyebrow, a half-smile forming on his lips. "Well, exactly, what about you?"

Bill stammered, "W-What does that mean?"

"Ah, Bill. Come on," Dutch replied, shaking his head with exasperation.