Everyone snapped their heads towards the direction where a distress yell was suddenly heard. After a few moments, Lariel's eyes widened as she realized.

"Clifton! He's close!"

She turned his head to the other Royal Guardians, "Everyone, prepare yourselves. We're gonna have to face one of the most challenging battles and save Clifton! "

The Royal Guardians rose from their chairs. Their fists clenched with their faces filled with determination.

"Right. Come on, guys. We got an orphan to save," said Leo.

With that being said the Royal Guardians ran in the direction to where Clifton's voice came from. Right before Lariel left, she turned her head towards the others. "Are you going along with us? We could use your help."

"You don't need us, Lariel. I think you and the Royal Guardians already have what it takes to complete your own mission. We have our own village to protect," said Wan.

"Okay," she nodded in response. "Be careful."

"You too."

With that being said, Lariel also headed towards the direction where Clifton's distress yell was heard.

A while later, the Royal Guardians and Lariel found themselves hiding behind the bushes with their eyes peeking out quietly. Lariel found herself on Leo's left while on the other side was Intellizo. Billie found himself between Intellizo and Rover.

Right before their eyes were a three bandits pulling a chained and handcuffed Clifton directly to where they're taking him harshly.

Clifton was snapped into rage and turned to the bandits. "Hey!!! Be nice for once, will ya?!"

"No can do. We're taking you to our second-in-command," one of the bandits said as he and a few others continued to pull him harshly.

Clifton was seen with his head turning away from them. You can barely hear him mumbling to himself, "You jerks."

That same bandit turned to him, "What'd you say?"

Clifton's head snapped his head to him in rage. "I said 'let me go,' you jerks!!! I'm no use to you!!!"

"Again. No can do," he said, continuing to pull him to the second-in-command along with a few others.

Lariel's eyes were filled with worry as she saw all this. She turned her head to the others, her gaze specifically fixed on Leo.

"We need a plan," she whispered.

Leo placed a hand on her left shoulder. "Don't worry, Lariel," he said lowly with reassurance. "We'll figure things out. And when it's all settled, Clifton will be in safe hands."

"That's true," said Intellizo.

But just as they're about to think of a plan, a certain voice joined in the conversation with the bandits. "Unhand the young boy and nothing worse will come to you."

Their heads turned to see none other than Rover himself. Their faces were plastered with a groaning expression.

"All this time and still, he has to show off," Billie whispered.

Leo was seen facepalming as he asked himself in a low voice only Lariel and the three Royal Guardians could hear, "When will he ever learn to think before he acts?"

You can hear an evil laugh from the second bandit. "No can do, lizard. You wouldn't want to hurt a boy, do you?"

Now, his facial expression turned into a confusion. His mind told him to keep convincing them, but his gut-feeling of wonder struck through him.

"Uhh..."

"Good," that same bandit cut him in.

With that being said, he delivered a roundhouse kick on his left cheek. This led Rover to catch himself from falling on the ground. His hand held his cheek where he just got kicked as his face was now enraged. His eyes made contact with the bandit, but his head slightly turned to him.

"Y -You..." he grunted.

His body turned to face him in full contact. "You better let him go now or face the consequences."

"Tch. This lizard's got some guts to stand up for the young crocodile," the first bandit said.

"My name is Nixue Spage!!!!!" he growled in rage.

"Should we fight him?" the third bandit finally asked.

"We shall," answered the first bandit. "I'll take the crocodile to the second-in-command. You two will deal with this so-called 'Nixue Spage.'"

"On it!" the third bandit replied.

With that being said, the first bandit pulled Clifton harshly further around Rover while the other two got into fighting positions. You can see Rover in a fighting position as well.

"You wanna fight to death? Let's do it!" he said with a pride smirk on his face.

With that being said, the lizard and the two bandits clashed each other with flexible punches and kicks. But the one weakness Rover had apart from his pride, though he doesn't know, is that he couldn't handle swift kicks and punches especially those quicker than his own martial arts moves.

With Leo...

"Okay, new plan. Half of us will go after the bandit and save Clifton while the other half will help Rover," he told the others.

"I'll help Rover," said Billie.

"Very well, then," said Leo.

With that being said, it's their turn to show their presence.

"Let's go, guys! We got a crocodile to save!" said Leo.

Billie headed off to help Rover while the others ran their way after the first bandit.

Billie was seen punching the third bandit's stomach and kicking him in the nearby tree trunk. You can see Rover turning to him with a proud smirk on his face.

"Hey. About time you came to help me," he said to him.

"Well, best friends gotta stick together, right?" asked Billie.

"Yup."

The two made a final deal with the second bandit. Both Rover and the second bandit had almost the same amount of their fighting skills.

After a few clashes, Billie threw the second bandit on the same tree trunk where the third bandit was sent flying.

Both Billie and Rover gave each other a high-five before heading after the first bandit.

With Leo and the others, they attempted to stop the first bandit from taking Clifton in the evil hands. But soon, breaths of exhaustion escaped their mouths. Their knees reached the ground as they unintentionally gave themselves a moment to breathe.

You can hear another evil laugh from the first bandit as he continued to keep up his pace carrying Clifton to the bandit being the second-in-command.

Leo, Lariel and Intellizo could hear multiple footsteps behind them. The footsteps were thought to be belonged to Rover and Billie, but in reality, only Billie was present. Their faces were full of concern.

"Everything okay, guys?" asked Billie.

"We're fine... but the bandit... got away," answered Intellizo between breaths.

"I... I'm not. I can't... I can't lose Clifton... like how I lost my family," said Lariel between breaths.

After a few moments of breathing, the trio were finally in their sitting position. Once Leo saw fear deep into Lariel's eyes, he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her body close to him. Lariel was seen burying her head into his chest as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"It's okay, Lariel. I'm sure we'll get him back," said Leo in a comforting voice.

"We can't. It's too late," said Lariel between sobs.

"We may be too late, but I'm sure there's still hope. We just need a new plan to defeat the bandits and rescue Clifton."

It took Lariel a few moments before she became fully comforted. And so, she gently pulled away from the hug. Leo could see a warm and genuine smile on her face, which made him happy for some reason.

"Thank you, Leo. You are truly the leader I wanted you to be," she said in a voice only Leo could hear.

"No problem," he replied.

That's when the two saw how the others were gathered around in a circle readying themselves to listen to Leo's every word.

"Where's Rover?" he asked Billie in wonder.

"I don't know. After we gave each other a high-five, he went somewhere else to clear his mind. I don't know what's going on with him, but he seems... off. "

"I'm sure there's a reason why Rover seems off, but what's more important is to get to the bandits' base and figure out a plan," said Leo.

"How about I tell you the interiors and exteriors of the base? That way, it'll help you with a plan," suggested Billie.

A determined expression appeared on Leo's face.

"Alright, then. Once we hear the details of the bandits' base, I'lltell you the real plan..."