~Chapter 7- Return to Platt Mountain~

The sun began to rise. After Cook and Chill were defeated by two 13-year-old boys, the remaining bandits on the island fled on their smaller ships.

Even while handcuffed, Cook could use his abilities to seriously hurt people. But there was one place they could throw him that would be safe.

Cook had a furnace that he used to bask in heat. Aero tossed the cruel Mecarne into his furnace and locked him in there. Corri giggled when she heard him shouting, demanding they release him. They loaded the furnace onto Cook and Chill's personal frigate that was docked at the western end of the island.

After looking through the island, they came across Cook and Chill's vault, where they kept the valuables, they had gathered from their years of thievery. Temp was tempted to keep it for himself, but the kids thought it better to turn it over to the authorities. At least then there would be a chance that it'd be returned to their proper owners. Surely, they'd be rewarded for that too.

The children and the Phantine people boarded the massive vessel, and Temp directed everyone aboard it. He took the wheel, and the ship headed out to sea, back to the port town of Tortusa.

Nout and his father Cmar looked at the ocean together and admired its beauty. The young Phantine ran his hand across his chest - there was a fist-shaped burn that Cook left on him, one that he didn't imagine would fade anytime soon.

"You know, I wasn't sure that I'd ever leave that island alive," Cmar remarked, "Thanks to you and your friends, I'm free. You've grown so much, Nout. I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks Dad," Nout said, Cmar had no idea how much those words meant to him, "What now? It's not like we can live in the Bog Woods anymore."

"Well first, we'll have to fetch your mother and the other Phantine women. They all fled to the Densius settlement on Platt Mountain during the attack," Cmar began, "Then we'll have to find a new home. Perhaps, here among the Ralosian isles?" Cmar declared.

Temp approached the two. He had been listening in for quite some time, "I could escort your people around these islands. Help you find a home."

Nout raised an eyebrow at the Mecarne, "How much do you want?"

Temp shook his head, "Nothing. I just want to help out a friend."

The vessel pulled into the docks of Tortusa. Temp contacted the authorities and brought them the furnace detaining Cook. After being handed the bounty money, Temp turned them over.

"DO NOT LET HIM OUT!" Temp stressed as he left the furnace in their possession. Cook would be taken to the prison up north, a place for especially powerful criminals. Temp distributed the earnings from the bounty between himself and all the kids. It was only fair.

Nout figured that since the Phantine women were staying with Densius up on Platt Mountain, and all his friends were planning on going there to see their families, they could go together. After spending some time there, Nout and Temp would escort the women back to Tortusa, and they'd take off for the Ralosian seas to search for a new home.

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The next morning, the group headed eastward while Cmar and the other Phantine stayed with the frigate docked in Tortusa.

Temp and Nout had never been to Platt Mountain proper. The closest he had ever come was when he attacked the three Ralosian kids with Ekor last year. But Aero, Jirro, Corri, and Ruben, had called Platt Mountain home for years.

Ruben was excited to see his people again. While the the three Ralosian kids were looking forward to seeing their dads, they also had pressing questions for them. Corri had queries about her mother after learning her name was most likely Bonnie. And all of them wanted to understand their connection to the infamous Sky Bandits.

The grey mountain range was spread out in front of them. The group scaled the mountain path leading up to the Densius settlement. Partway up the mountain was Aero, Jirro, and Corri's home. A small building built from stones, now shattered to pieces.

"That's strange. I thought our dads would've fixed it already," Aero commented.

"They must still be staying with the Densius at the top of the mountain," Jirro figured.

The group continued further up the mountain until the vegetation was sparse. Soon, the the rocky forms of the Densius people could be seen, as well as the Phantine women of Nout's tribe.

Nout hurried to his people and his mother. Ruben went to see Emer and Dimon as well as the rest of its people. Aero, Corri, and Jirro were happy to see everyone, but they found no sign of their dads. The three kids traveled the mountainous landscape, returning to the flat terrain they used to train on. No sign of their fathers there either.

Jirro hurried over to Emer, leader of the Densius on this mountain, "Hey Emer! Where are our dads?"

The green-eyed Densius looked at him regretfully, "I don't know..."

Jirro rationalized that they must've simply headed out briefly, "Oh, did they take a trip off the mountain? How soon will they be back?"

Emer hesitated before answering, "Razan and Lucar never came back after the tournament."

"What... Why?" Jirro asked.

"How much did your fathers tell you two about their past?" Emer countered with his own question.

Jiro didn't want to hear it, "What does that matter?"

Corri asked, "Is it because they used to be part of the Sky Bandits? Is that why they left?"

Emer rock brows were raised, "I don't know anything about the Sky Bandits. I just know your parents did some very bad things in their youth and the authorities are still after them. After seeing how strong you were at the tournament, they figured that it'd be safer to leave you kids behind. I told them it was a terrible idea, but they wouldn't listen to me."

"My dad would never do that! He was framed or something!" Jirro shouted, "He would never just leave me like that!"

Jirro clung to the idealistic view he had of his father, but Corri and Aero saw through it. They'd begun to accept that they didn't know their fathers as well as they thought.

After Nout told his people how they escaped Cook and Chill's Pit, they celebrated. Never one to turn down a celebration, the Densius cheered and danced with them until the sunset.

But Aero, Jirro, and Corri couldn't enjoy the fun. Ruben, Nout, and Temp found them bickering with each other.

"Are you all okay?" Nout asked cautiously.

"I can't believe they didn't even bother telling us," Corri shouted, kicking a rock, and splitting it in half.

"They must've had a good reason," Jirro rationalized.

"No point in worrying about it now," Aero voiced, "Whenever we do see them, we'll be able to get answers."

"We have to start looking for them," Jirro ascertained, "Between the six of us, we should be able to. We can start at the tournament grounds and work from there."

Jirro looked up at his cousins and friends and saw a series of blank faces, "What's wrong?"

Ruben spoke first, "I want to stay with my tribe on Platt Mountain for a while. I think I've had enough excitement since the tournament."

Nout said, "I need to find a new home for my people on the Ralosian Isles."

"And I need to help Nout with that," Temp added.

Corri spat, "After dad ditched us like that, I have no desire to see him anytime soon. Besides, I've been wanting to return to the Sky Lands. I might visit Wilvur's farm again too."

Aero reached into his pocket and pulled out the red floating orb he acquired back on Weld Mountain, "I still need to bring this back to Oopa's tribe. I could help look for our dads afterward."

Jirro relented, "Well, I'm still going to look for our dads. Even if it's just me."

The six were quiet for a moment. Each of them had their own paths to follow, and they realized that it might be a long time before they were all together again. All of them looked glum at the realization.

"We'll see each other again," Aero said optimistically, "We'll all meet up at the next tournament! Right?"

All of them nodded, "Yeah. We'll all be back together then. If not before," Jirro remarked.

The group slept on Platt Mountain that night before preparing to head out in the morning. 

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~Chapter 8- Across the world~

The next morning, Corri packed her things and got Rojo ready, all while Aero gathered what he had and went to rouse Hopper awake. The temperamental Chihuahua slept in the empty training area on the mountain they used before. Corri knew it'd be a while before she saw her brother again.

"Hey Aero, can I talk to you about something?" Corri asked.

"What's up?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Do you remember Wilvur's farm? With Cecil and Meg?"

Aero nodded.

"Well, when I was there, I saw some paintings of Cecil with her older sister Bonnie. After talking with her for a while, we sort of figured something out," Corri swallowed, "I think Bonnie might be our mom."

Aero looked at Corri somewhat blankly, "Yeah, I figured."

Corri's eyes widened, "You know? How do you know!?"

"I just sort of figured it out. You, Cecil, and Meg already looked a lot alike, and when I saw the picture of that lady Bonnie, I thought she looked sort of like you and me. I figured that we were related to them somehow," Aero explained nonchalantly, "I didn't guess that Bonnie was our mom, but that makes sense."

Corri looked at her brother with astonishment, "Wh-Why do you say that like you don't even care?"

Aero paused for a moment, "They might be blood, but they're not family. I already have you and dad. Jirro and his dad. That's enough for me."

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Ruben watched as all his friends prepared for their individual trips. Nout and Temp were gathering all the Phantine women together for the trip westward to Tortusa. Ruben wished them good luck in finding a new home out on the ocean.

Aero jumped on top of Hopper and fixed his gaze northward. Ruben wished him good luck with Oopa, and the Ralosian boy couldn't help but blush.

Jirro readied a pack of his belongings and slung it over his back, his gaze was eastward, towards the tournament grounds of Challenger's Lake. He planned to start there and try to trace his dad's movements. Ruben wished him luck as well.

Corri readied Rojo for their flight skyward. Through the clouds, one could make out masses of land drifting far above them in the sky. The Skylands. Ruben reminded Corri to visit often.

With a final round of farewells, Ruben's friends left Platt Mountain, all in different directions across the world. Then they were gone.

If Ruben was capable of shedding tears, the young Densius probably would have. The time it spent with them was the greatest it had in its life. But Ruben needed time to rest.

Ruben returned to its people. The Densius Seraphi, which had just been born before they left for the tournament, had started to grow accustomed to their way of life. Seraphi had bonded a series of rocks together to serve as a comically large arm. Newly created Densius always tended to experiment with the formation of their bodies before settling on the form that best suited them.

Dimon, the Densius Elder of Platt Mountain called on Ruben.

"So Ruben, what sort of things did you see in your travels?" Dimon asked as a crowd of Densius circled it. Ruben gave a rocky grin.

"Well, after the tournament, we headed for Titus Forest. But before that, we rescued a little Ralosian girl named Oopa from some bandits. That was the first time I met Temp, he was in a bad crowd then, but he's a good guy now. We saw the tribe around Lupine Lake, they lived off the land and rode on the back of wolves to hunt. An-and after that, we traveled until we reached Titus Forest, the largest forest in the world! There was more green there than I thought existed!"

Ruben told them that it learned how to form its body such that it could roll along the ground at great speeds, which he learned from the mossy Densius of Titus Forest. Ruben continued to enrapture its people with stories of its travels through a great forest, the hostile volcanic region, the unforgiving and mysterious desert, and the vast ocean.

He told them of the many creatures he came across. Birds which people soared through the skies on. Fire ants, massive creatures that dwelled within the lava of the Weld Mountains. Hyena's and Chihuahua's, unruly canine beasts that could be ridden if tamed.

Ruben could've gone on forever about the many sights that it came across. The stories it could tell. Perhaps it would've served them better if it was written down.

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End of Book 1: The Bandit Saga