~Chapter 2- Sky Bandits 2, 3, and 4~

The Platt Mountain range was visible from almost anywhere in the Lands of Ralosia; spanning much of the midwest. On it lived many Densius, beings made from rock, dirt, clay, and other materials of the earth. But a few Ralosians lived with them on the mountain as well.

The black-haired Ralosian Razan looked up at the Chihuahua that stood at nearly twice his own height. Its name was Hopper. His son had left Hopper with him while he went on a trip to his friends. While Razan had him, he figured he'd teach him some tricks.

Razan gathered many rocks from the plateau and piled them together into a sort of wall. As he did Lucar and Vos simply watched.

"Can one of you hold Hopper for a second?" Razan asked.

Lucar scoffed from the rock he was seated on, briefly running his finger over the talon-shaped scar above his brow, "I'm not going anywhere near that dog bro. That thing's crazy."
Next to Lucar sat Vos, whose broad frame made them look small. Vos shook his head and his long brown hair, "I'm of the same mind as Lucar. That dog only seems to like you and your son."

"You two are no help," Razan walked up to Hopper and sternly said, "Stay!"

Razan walked away from the fidgeting dog, but Hopper stayed put. Razan circled around the wall of rocks, so it was between him and the dog. He wanted Hopper to jump over the wall of rocks on his way to him.

Razan flaunted a chunk of meat into the air, "Come!"

Hopper rose up and headed towards Razan, circling around the rock wall, "No, no! Jump over it, not around!"

Hopper reached Razan and wagged its nub of a tail, waiting eagerly for its reward, not realizing it didn't do what it was supposed to. Razan groaned and tossed the meat at him, and the Chihuahua swallowed the chunk in a single gulp.

"Impressive work, bro!" Lucar laughed, "He's so well trained!"

"I just need to practice with him. I'll get what I want from him."

A stout Densius with bright red eyestones approached the three men from further up the mountain. Its name was Ruben. It was accompanied by a few other Densius of varying shapes and sizes, each with different color eyes.

"Hey, can we get your help with something?" Ruben asked.

Vos eagerly stood to greet them, "Sure! What do you need?"

"It's Seraphi," Ruben said, referencing the giant Densius that lived with them, "One of its legs started to crumble, so we're looking for rocks to help build up stronger ones. Can you help us look?"

"Of course! Happy to help!" Lucar said, volunteering Razan by proxy.

"Okay, great! We'll be looking for sizable and sturdy rocks for Seraphi. We don't have anyone looking through the tunnels south of here, you could start there?" Ruben suggested.

Beneath Platt Mountain was a network of tunnels that the Densius had created over centuries. Razan, Lucar, Vos, and Hopper entered the tunnel from one of the southern entrances.

The tunnel was dark aside from the bits of light streaming in through openings in the caverns. Vos flourished his hand, and an orb of purple light appeared at his fingertips, lighting their way forward.

They came upon a rather large rock, one as big as his torso. Lucar dug his fingers under it, lifted it with one arm, and let it rest on his shoulder, "Hopefully this helps."

Razan and Vos found other suitably sturdy rocks and carried them just as easily. It was effortless for the three.

As they neared one of the many exits Hopper barked. Razan and the others saw a group waiting at the mouth of the tunnel. They were Ralosians, just like them. Razan looked closer and saw each of them held weapons in their hands.

"Come out now!" A man from the group said.

Razan and the others stepped out of the cave and were surrounded by what could only be bounty hunters. They all had a cavalier about them, as if they thought they had the upper hand.

"Is there a problem?" Lucar asked respectfully, scratching at his black beard.

One of the bounty hunters pulled several posters from his vest and showed it to them. On them were drawings of the three men when they were younger, with bounties attached to them.

"All of you are under arrest! Come quietly if you don't want trouble."

Razan rolled his eyes. He thought he was done being hounded by bounty hunters, "The bounty on me and my brother has been cleared," Razan explained, gesturing to Lucar.

"Not since you started stealing again."

Lucar cocked his head, "What're you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb! Everyone knows the Sky bandits are back," The bounty hunter unsheathed his sword and leveled it at Lucar while holding handcuffs in his other hand, "Turn yourself in now!"

Lucar stared at the tip of the sword with an amused look. He grabbed it with his free hand and snapped the end of it off with a mere flick of his wrist.

Each of them looked at the three in disbelief, as if it was some sort of trick. Razan always enjoyed seeing the slow realization of how powerful they were.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Razan asked with a smirk. He stomped the ground with his foot and produced a tremor, one that shook each of the bounty hunters.

Razan lunged forward as if to attack them, and they all took off running. As they ran, the head bounty hunter dropped the posters he was holding as well as several others.

"I can't believe the bounty on us is active after all these years," Vos remarked. He seemed solemn about the whole encounter.

"How did they find us anyways?" Razan asked.

"They could've spotted us when we traveled between here and the desert."

The three men looked at the posters.

The poster titled 'Sky Bandit #2' had a drawing of Vos when he was about 20. Razan chuckled when he saw the stupid-looking mullet he used to wear. He wasn't as incredibly muscular back then. Beneath his drawing was the title 'Sky Bandit 2', with the bounty of 60,000 beneath it. It had risen.

The poster titled 'Sky Bandit #5' had a picture of Diva, Vos's wife. Short brown hair and a calm expression. Her bounty was the same as her husband's, 60,000.

Beneath the title 'Sky Bandit #3' featured Lucar as a younger man, and beneath 'Sky Bandit #4' was Razan when he was young and had a pencil mustache; it was all he could grow back then. The bounty beneath both of their drawings was 10,000.

"This has to be some mistake. Our bounties should've been cleared. Why did it go back up?" Lucar shook his head. There shouldn't have been a bounty on them at all; it had paid it off last year.

"Those bounty hunters said the Sky Bandits are back," Vos queried.

Razan glanced in the direction of those bounty hunters, "I say we give those guys a hard time. Show them what happens when people come after us."

Lucar bonked Razan on the back of the head, "Razan! Our sons spent a lot of money to clear the bounty on us. The last thing we should do right now is cause more trouble."

Razan rubbed the back of his head. Normally, he'd be angry, but his brother had a point. "Well... If people are after us again, we should relocate pretty soon."

Razan looked at Vos. He had a shameful look on his face. He said, "Maybe... I should turn myself in?"

"Hey, don't talk like that." Lucar said, "We might've done some questionable things when we were younger, but you've gone through enough. You've served your time. There's no way we're going to let you get tossed in prison, Vos."

Vos reluctantly nodded, "I guess you're right. But what about Diva? They'll be after her too."

Razan looked up at the sky. Recently, his daughter and Diva took off to the sky lands, "I'm sure she'll be fine. If they're in the Sky Lands, they won't have to worry."

Lucar said, "But that does beg the question. Why do they think the Sky Bandits have returned?"