by Max Jager
Oh, how I wish he would come home…so I can scold his ass for leaving for so long.
Suddenly, a bell sounded, and the woman realized that someone had just entered the diner. She stood up as she turned to face the patron or patrons who had just entered.
"Hello!" she greeted as she turned her head, "Welcome to-!"
The woman's voice trailed off when she saw the people who had just entered her establishment. There were five of them, three boys and two girls. The two girls were two of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, while the men were three of the most muscular young men she had ever laid her eyes upon. Her jaw dropped in surprise when she looked at the man who stood in the middle of the group, and tears quickly filled her eyes as she looked at his hair.
It was just as red as her own.
Some of the patrons in the diner noticed the woman's odd behavior, and looked at her with concern.
"Hey," said one patron, "Are you okay, Ruby? What's the matter?"
"Did one of those Landians come in here?" asked another.
Upon hearing the word Landian, everyone else in the diner turned to look at the people who had come into the diner, and all of their jaws dropped when they saw who they were.
"Whoa…"
"No way…!"
"There's no doubt about it…"
"After all this time…"
"It can't be….!"
"Is it really,…?"
Could it be…? thought the woman as she placed her hand over her mouth in shock, Is it really…? Could it really be…?
"Car…mine…"
The red-haired man smiled as tears filled his own eyes, while his friends looked at him with caring smiles.
"Did you miss me…Ruby…?"
The red-haired woman, Ruby Lane, cried out as she ran to her son, and wrapped her arms around him. Tears ran down her face as she ran her fingers through her son's hair, and Bandit smiled as he returned her embrace.
"Yeah, Ruby…" he said as his own tears streamed down his face, "It's me… It's Bandit…and I have finally…"
"…come back home."
The Calm
What started out as a day of torment and suffering had transformed into a wonderful and blessed day in the Ice Lands. Everyone there was happy that they had finally been saved from the tyranny of the rogue Landians who had oppressed them for much longer than they had been comfortable with; they were ecstatic that five of their brethren had come back home to them, and were proud because they had been successful in completing their three year mission.
The entire realm really wanted to show the five how much they missed them, so the day after they all came back home, a large banquet was held for them throughout the streets of the land. Tables, chairs, and delicacies of all kinds were set out, in addition to various desserts and alcoholic beverages. All in all, the citizens of the Ice Lands showed the heroes how much they truly appreciated them.
The five were quite astounded when they first found out about the celebration being held in their honor, but nevertheless, they ate and drank to their hearts content, and considering everything they had done, everything they had been through, they deserved all of the special treatment they received.
August 14, 1854
Somewhere in the city of Lax was a meeting hall, one where people could discuss important matters with each other.
In the evening, Bandit Lane opened the door to the hall, and as he walked in, he noticed Abe, who stood in the middle of the room.
"Car," said Abe as he walked towards him, "You're late."
"Yeah," said Bandit as he scratched the back of his head, "Sorry about that."
"What kept you?" asked Abe as he and Bandit walked towards the meeting room, which was located in the back of the hall.
"Oh, you know…" responded Bandit with slight exhaustion.
Abe smirked at Bandit when he realized what Bandit was talking about.
"Ah," he said, "Another girl hit on you, huh?"
Bandit sighed as he shook his head.
"That was the twenty-sixth girl this week," he sighed, "Twenty-sixth! Oh, what the hell do women see in me anyway? I don't try to get their attention, and I never have, but…"
Abe chuckled as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Try not to think about it too much, Car," he advised, "Anyway, there's something I need to ask you."
Abe cleared his throat as he took his hand off Bandit's shoulder, and Bandit looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What is it?" he asked, intrigued.
"Bandit…" he began as he closed his eyes, "There's something I've been thinking about for quite some time now. Something that may or may not interest you…"
"Yeah?" asked Bandit as he placed his hands in his pockets, "What would that be?"
"I wanted to know if you'd be interested in joining us mercenaries on a more…permanent basis," he said.
Bandit gasped in surprise, for he had not expected Abe to suggest such a thing to him.
"A mercenary…?" he asked.
"I know you only worked with us for the past three years in order to make money for you and your mom, but you did a lot of good. You beat Zor, and you beat Victor, so I can't help but think you'd be wasting your talents if you weren't using your powers to do more good."
Bandit closed his eyes as he frowned a bit, but a small smile slowly grew on his face, and he put his hand on his friend's shoulder as he spoke.
"A mercenary, eh…? Hm… You know I'm thankful for the offer, Abe, and I really am…but…you already know my answer… Ruby never wanted that life for me. She did her best to take care of me so I wouldn't have to do or go through things like that. Like you said, the only reason I went on that three year mission with you and the others was because we needed the money, and now that we have it, there's no longer a real reason for me to continue being a mercenary. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed the thrill of the adventure a bit, but…look at me. A fourth of my body is covered in scar tissue as it is."
Abe chuckled before he spoke.
"What difference does it make?" he joked.
Bandit shook his head as he chuckled, for he had said those same words before engaging Victor Prey.
"Damn…" he said with a smile, "I said that, did I?"
"Yes," said Abe with an amused smile, "You did."
"…I guess I really should be more careful with the words that come out of my mouth, huh?"
Abe chuckled once more before he spoke.
"Perhaps," he said with a calm smile, "Don't worry about it, man. I just thought I'd ask. However, even if you don't join us in our organization…I do hope that you will consider being an associate of ours."
"It would be my pleasure," assured Bandit, "If you guys ever really need me, I'll do what I can to lend a hand."
Inside the meeting room sat Rachel, Mary, and Brayne, who had been talking amongst themselves while they waited for Abe and Bandit to arrive. They looked towards the door as the two walked into the room.
"Hey, guys," said Bandit with a smile, "Sorry we're late."
"It's fine," said Rachel as she smiled and looked deeply into his green eyes, "It's not really like you to be early anyway."
Bandit rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled, while Abe walked over to him and stood by his side.
"Since we've been back," he began as the others stood up from their seats and gathered around him, "we haven't discussed what happened when you went to Vast Expanse to stop Zor. I know you defeated him and everything, but I want to know if there's anything else you think we should know."
"Hm…" said Bandit as he rubbed his chin in thought, "Well…once I entered Vast Expanse, I met with the natives and told them about Zor and his plans. When I described him to them, one of them said they had seen someone who looks like him out of the corner of their eye while they had been walking through the forest days before. So, I went into the forest, and spent the better part of a month trying to discover where Zor was. Finally, after weeks of searching,
I came across some of his men, who had been sent to locate and eliminate me. One of them must have noticed me sneaking around the forest when I was sleeping and alerted Zor about my presence. I made short work of the men, though they did manage to st-."
Bandit was about to mention how they had managed to impale him through the abdomen with two swords, but upon remembering that Mary was listening, he stopped his sentence short, and quickly attempted to skip over that detail, for her sake.
"…they managed to startle me, and knocked me into the golden river, though I saw them succumb to the blows I dealt them earlier and fall over right before I fell in. Once in the river, I swam for about an hour or two towards Twilight Valley. When the river led me to a large, wide open plain, however, I saw the Infernal army thousands of yards away from where I was. They each had cannons next to them, as if they had been expecting me, and they probably had been, considering my theory that someone had alerted Zor to my presence. I don't know where or how they got the cannons from their battleships onto Vast Expanse without anyone noticing, but considering that most of the land is filled with wildlife and not actual people, I suppose it's not…implausible…"
"Anyway, I climbed out of the river and took care of the Infernal army, before fighting Zor. He still had the Cosmic Sword with him when we fought, but I managed to defeat him nevertheless. Afterwards…we talked for a bit about why he did what he did..."
Slightly disheartened by the information he was about to tell them next, he furrowed his eyes as he took a deep breath and sighed.
"It…uh… It seems that… Well, apparently, criminals from the Land of Power had escaped to Vast Expanse years before and…murdered his family…for none of them had inherited power from their ancestors…as he had."
The women widened their eyes in shock, while Brayne and Abe simply closed their eyes.
"He said he had been trying…to save the people of Vast Expanse," continued Bandit, "He thought that…because none of them possessed powers…they should be 'watched over' by, uh…well, people who did…"
So that's it… thought Rachel, slightly saddened by the revelation of Zor's true intentions, Zor…
An awkward silence persisted in the room for a few seconds after Bandit spoke, for no one knew what to say in the face of the revelations he had presented to them. Realizing that everyone was being affected by the revealing information on Zor, he cleared his throat before he attempted to put their minds at ease.
"Don't worry so much about him," he said as they looked at him, "His past and intentions don't erase all the havoc he created. Besides, he's dead, and when you're dead, you're dead, so there's not much point in worrying about him, right?"
"I guess…" said Mary as she wiped her eyes.
"So…cheer up," he said as he shrugged, "Besides, that's all in the past… Anyway…"
He cleared his throat, and was about to speak more about what had happened to him on Vast Expanse, when he realized that he had said just about everything he had wanted to say about the matter.
"Uh…" he said in slight surprise, "Well, actually…that's...it. That's all that happened to me on Vast Expanse."
"Interesting," said Rachel.
"It certainly is," concurred Abe, "You did good, Bandit. To have defeated Zor while he wielded the Cosmic Sword…"
"So I guess that means that whole business with Zor and his allies really is over," said Brayne as he placed his hands in his pockets, "Thank goodness."
"Yeah," said Mary with a small frown, "That was the longest and hardest mission I've ever been on."
"Same here," said Rachel with a slight smile, "But at least now…we're finally home."
"Yep," said Brayne as he yawned, "I don't want to go back to work, though. I could use some more time off."
"What difference would it make if you did go back to work?" joked Bandit, "You already spend most of your time napping anyway."
Brayne grunted as he smiled at his joking friend.
"Why, you…"
"Before we adjourn," began Abe, "there's one more thing I'd like to ask you, Bandit."
"What is it?" asked Bandit with raised eyebrows.
"What ever happened to the Cosmic Sword?"
"Oh!" exclaimed Bandit, having forgotten about the infamous weapon, "Well, I tried to break it, but the material was too durable for me to do that successfully, so I…dropped it into the ocean. I imagine it's sitting at the bottom of the ocean floor as we speak."
Rachel smiled as she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Impressive," she said, "That way, no one will ever be able to get to it ever again."
"Indeed, my dear," he said with a grin, "Well, now that we've gotten all that out of the way, why don't we grab some dinner, guys?"
"Sounds good to me," said Mary with a smile.
"Yeah," concurred Brayne, "I could go for a bite."
"Me, too," said Abe.
"Well?" asked Bandit as he walked towards Rachel, "The rest of us are up for it. How about you, Rachel?"
Rachel smiled as Bandit put his arm around her neck.
"We can go to that new restaurant in Snis. You know, the one that makes the best cheesecake in the entire realm."
Rachel's pupils dilated at the mention of the cheesecake, and she turned to look at Bandit in surprise.
"The best…?" she asked, her interest gradually rising.
Bandit chuckled as he whispered into her ear.
"You know you want it…"
Rachel's mouth began to water as she thought about how delicious the dessert Bandit spoke of could possibly be, and Bandit gasped in surprise when she grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the door.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, excited, "Let's go!"
Mary, Brayne, and Abe laughed as they watched Rachel drag Bandit right out of the room, and quickly followed behind them.
They were all so happy that the five of them were able go out and enjoy each other's company without the possibility of a crisis looming.
If only their happiness could have lasted beyond that day.
For a number of nautical miles from the Ice Lands traveled a single mid-sized caravel.
Aboard the ship were a number of people, but only one man in particular, a tall, muscular, fair-skinned man with dark eyes and crimson hair, stood aboard the deck. He had a lot on his mind, and he wanted a little time to himself. Not that the others meant too much to him. No, to this particular man, his associates were simply a means to an end.
It's only a matter of time now, he thought as he stared intensely at the darkening sky, Soon…
…the entire Ice Lands will be under my absolute rule.
Before the Storm
August 15, 1854
Thunder clouds had begun to form in the sky above the capital city of the Ice Lands.
At midnight, Bandit and Ruby laughed as they walked into their now empty diner.
"That was wonderful, Bandit," said Ruby with a smile, "You and your friends sure are something else!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Ruby," said Bandit with a relaxed smile.
"You know, you guys didn't have to pay for the food yourselves," she said, amused, "I'm the adult here."
"Really?" asked Bandit with a raised eyebrow, "You're the only adult here? Really?"
Ruby shook her head as she smiled.
"You know what I mean," she chuckled, "I should have treated you guys, especially after everything you've all been through."
"Don't worry about it, Ruby," insisted Bandit, "It was our pleasure treating a wonderful woman like yourself. Now, how about I make us a cup of hot chocolate before bed?"
Ruby giggled as her son walked towards the kitchen.
"You've been cooking all of my meals since you got back!" she exclaimed gleefully as she sat down at the counter, "It's a nice change of pace, but come on! If you keep doing all the cooking, I'm gonna feel like the child in this relationship."
Bandit laughed as he filled a kettle with water, plac
ed it on the stove, and turned the stove on to let the water boil.
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" he asked, amused, "I'll tell you what: I promise that this will be the last treat I ever make for you. Does that sound fair?"
Ruby smiled as she shook her head.
"You've been gone for three years, yet you still have that smart mouth on you," she said, making Bandit close his eyes and chuckle.