It's up to the real New Order to accomplish some hero work.

I know this is pretty serious for a Silly Mode short, but it does reveal some background information on characters and further the subplot. The next short, hopefully, will have more silly.

"Another quiet morning in Beacontown," Petra grumbled. "I hate it."

She and Dave walked down the street, bored out of their minds. It had been a while since they were on their last mission. She and Dave went south of Beacontown to stop raiders and bandits. But for now, they were back in the Beacontown area, looking for an opportunity to go on a new adventure. Petra fed off that stuff.

"I wanna be a mighty warrior when I grow up, Mom," Dave said. "I wanna be as tough as you."

She ruffled his hair. "I think you will, honey. The more you train, the better you get. Someday you could have a Defender of Beacontown position."

"Yeah! Just like when we were beatin' up those bandits south of town, right?" Dave smacked his hand into his fist.

"Maybe. But remember, fighting is only half of the battle. Defense is the other. You might get called upon to do a rescue mission."

"Do you think you'd be good at that?"

"I hope I would."

The bandits sat Jake, Andy, Ossa, and Levi up against the wall. Each kid's wrists were tied together with ropes. The ropes itched like crazy and were sure to leave blisters.

"I want my mom and dad!" Levi sobbed.

"Get it together, Levi. You're 13! This is just a...a...oh forget it!" Jake couldn't come up with a hope speech this time. "We're in big trouble."

"No kidding." A bandit booped Jake's nose. "You'd better hope that Beacontown is willing to pay your ransom."

"This was a big, fat mistake," Ossa said with tears in her eyes. "We should have never gone down to Niat-nuom. Why did you guys talk me into this?"

"It was Jake's idea," Andy blurted.

Bar-Nim, who stood by and watched, chuckled. "Wow. Get captured once and suddenly you all hate each other. So much for friendship. Weird. I thought that was what your stupid little Order of the Stone was about."

Jake rocked from side to side in anxiety. He didn't know whether it would be good or a horrible, horrible idea to tell Bar-Nim that they weren't the real New Order. They were just a couple of kids in way over their heads.

A slight man with lots of scars on his face came forward. "Boss, should we send a note or go in person?"

"Go in person, Ranger," the warlord replied. "Go ahead. Tell Beacontown that I'm making them an offer they can't refuse."

Ranger nodded and ran out of the cave to deliver the ultimatum to Beacontown. Bar-Nim smiled and brushed his dirty blond hair out of his eyes. His henchmen chattered amongst themselves.

"Who's going to guard the New Order, boss?" one bandit asked him.

"They're just a couple of weak kids. I won't need many." Bar-Nim chose a couple people on a whim. "You people. You hang back here and make sure these little hoodlums don't escape. I'm going back to my camp. I have territory borders to protect."

"Okay, boss," they said.

Bar-Nim and most of his entourage then left. A group of five bandits remained. The youngest was a nine-year-old boy; the oldest was a middle-aged woman. They kept up their tough cred until Bar-Nim was out of earshot. Then they relaxed. The middle-aged woman broke out a deck of cards and started a game with the other four bandits. The remaining one, a teenage girl, did not join. She pulled her green bandanna off her lower face and strode over to the Order of the Phony.

"We'll never talk!" Andy snapped at her.

"Andy, we're not being interrogated," Ossa told him disdainfully. "We're being held hostage. There's a difference."

"Your boss is a big fat jerk!" Jake told the teenager. "Why on earth do you listen to him?"

"That's not for you to ask," replied the teen, "and the one who should be doing the listening is you. To me."

"Oh, yeah? Who are you?"

"I'm Strabo." She sat on a rock and crossed her arms. "And look here, squeakers. I know what's up here. Bar-Nim might not get it, but I do."

"What do you mean?"

She leaned in and whispered, "You're not fooling me, kids. You're not the real New Order of the Stone."

They looked at her in shock. "But...Wha…?"

"Oh, come on! I can't believe you think that I would actually fall for you saying that you're the New Order. I've been to Beacontown. Heck, I got arrested by Jessie earlier this year. Do you honestly think I wouldn't know who the real New Order members are?"

"It's true," Levi admitted. "We're just kids in over our heads. My name's Levi. These guys are Andy, Jake, and Ossa."

"I can't say as if it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Help us, Strabo!" Jake pleaded. "We didn't want to hurt anyone."

She sniffed distastefully. "Then why did you pose as heroes? Lied to people? Took their glory for yourself? Seems rather hurtful to me."

"Says you. You're working for the guy who kidnapped us!"

"A girl has to eat."

"Well, you need to find a better job."

"Right. I could impersonate the New Order for a living." Strabo twirled her bandanna between her fingers. "What were you kids thinking? Are you even old enough to be here out on your own?"

"Uh...No…" Jake admitted. "We kinda sorta lied to our parents about where we were going. Don't preach to me! I know we messed up. We just need a way out."

"Like I'm going to help you with that. Even though he's totally clueless about who you guys really are, Bar-Nim's my boss. I can't go against him...only fools do that. When he's happy, everyone else is."

"That's easy for you to say."

The next day

Petra walked out of the grocery, a paper bag in her hands and Dave at her heels. She hated shopping for groceries because it was way too domestic for her tastes, but it was something that had to be done nevertheless. Dave hummed a tune and played with a blunt wooden sword that Petra had made for him. Petra smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Where to now, Mom?" he asked.

"The Order Hall," she replied. "Some of this stuff is for the others. Axel complained to me last week that the snack stash in the Hall pantry was low."

"Can I have some of the snacks?"

"Of course you can, Dave."

They trotted through downtown Beacontown, on their way to the Order Hall. Fanatic fans were less of a problem now than they used to be. Perhaps it was because that the New Order was such a regular presence in the city. Petra could walk from the entrance to the Order Hall with minimal harassment from fans. They had either calmed down by this point...or she just wasn't as popular as her friends. She really hoped it wasn't the latter!

"Hey, Mom. What's going on?" Dave asked.

A giant crowd swarmed around the front of the Order Hall, and it was a discordant one at that. People were arguing with each other and seemed anxious. Petra frowned with concern and approached.

"Um...hi?" she asked them. "What's going on here?"

"Petra, there's a guy here saying that your friends got kidnapped," a few people told her.

"What? Where? Who is this guy?"

"His name's Ranger." They pointed at a scruffy, skinny guy in dark clothes. "He's over there."

While Petra stood staring at Ranger, not sure what to make of this, she head some more footsteps behind her. Jessie, Lukas, and Jesse walked up to the crowd with the same puzzled expressions.

"Petra, do you know what's going on here?" Lukas asked.

"Not at all." She squinted. "This Ranger guy here says that you were kidnapped, though."

"What?"

"If you Beacontowners ever want to see Jesse, Olivia, Axel, and Lukas again, you'd better cough up the ransom right now!" Ranger shouted at the crowd. "Bar-Nim has them tied up in his territory, and there's no way you're going to save them yourselves. He wants you to pay ransom. Otherwise, he'll...he'll...I don't know what he'll do, but it won't be good. So let's see that treasure."

"You're lying!" some people yelled back at him.

"No! I saw them with my own eyes. Those kids are tied up in a cave. They've been captured."

"Who's Bar-Nim?" Jesse whispered to Petra as they wove through the crowd to get to Ranger.

Petra frowned. "Bar-Nim. He's a warlord in Niat-nuom. You know, that grasslands place a little ways from here. But where did he get the idea that he kidnapped you? Axel's in Boom Town and Olivia is teaching in Redstonia. And you guys are right here. How could he have kidnapped you?"

Jesse thought for a second. "You know, this seems totally unrelated, but I just realized that four kids weren't at the Saturday Pebble Scouts meeting."

"Who?"

"Jake, Andy, Levi, and...uh...Ossa," Jesse replied. "They're the oldest kids and most outgoing. They're a lot like us. I mean, even their resemblance to us is uncanny. They could pass as a younger New Ord...oh, no."

The color drained from the others' faces as they realized it, too.

"Oh no. Oh, no," Jessie said. "This had better not be what I'm afraid it is."

Ranger was still going on about how Beacontown owed a ransom to get their heroes back. The real New Order held back, not sure what to do. They'd never had to deal with a kidnapping like this before. But given that they were all parents, they felt pretty strongly about this. Jessie could feel her adrenaline coursing.

"Even if those kids were posing as us, we have to save them," she said.

"That goes without saying," Lukas added. "We have to protect them."

"Bar-Nim is powerful," Petra said, "but he's never faced us before. We've dealt with worse threats before. If we stand together, we won't fall."

"Okay. Okay." Jessie nodded. "We're going out. Ivor's looking after Zeke. Petra, what should we do about David?"

"David, go by Ivor's for now," Petra told her son. "He shouldn't mind. All right?"

"Gotcha, Mom. See you later." Dave left.

Jessie, Jesse, Lukas, and Petra all took a deep breath and steeled themselves for their rescue mission. They worked their way to the front, until they were right in front of Bar-Nim's little henchman.

"Hey, wait a minute," people were saying as the real New Order stood confrontationally in front of Ranger. "Didn't you say your boss kidnapped the New Order?"

"Huh?" The bandit looked back and forth between the people glaring at him and the crowd behind them. He thought back to the kidnapped kids in Niat-nuom and realized he'd made a terrible mistake. Or that his boss had.

"I'm sorry, are we mistaken on something?" Petra asked. "Because Jesse and Lukas are right here."

"I...uh…" Ranger sweated. "Uh-oh. We've got the wrong people."

Zip! Ranger ran away like a bowshot, leaving a confused group of people behind.

"After him!" Jessie shouted to her friends. "Don't let him get away. He's gonna lead us to Bar-Nim!"

The four real New Order members chased after Ranger. The crowd cheered and clapped for them as they made hot pursuit. Jessie, one of the fastest runners among them, was closing in on Ranger. The bandit dashed out through the Beacontown gates and into the countryside beyond. The foursome battled their protesting legs to chase him as he scurried through the farmlands. They followed him into the grasslands leading to Niat-nuom.

Luckily, Ranger wasn't that bright, and it didn't occur to him to throw his pursuers off the trail. He ran near Krebben, took a right at the village, and led them straight to Bar-Nim's camp. The warlord and most of his entourage were nowhere to be seen, which made Ranger even more nervous. He ducked and dodged around the tents trying to lose his pursuers, but they wouldn't give up.

Jessie put on a burst of speed, closed in on Ranger, and tackled him to the ground. He struggled, but she pinned down his arms and immobilized him.

"All right, you!" she growled. "Where are the kidnapped kids?"

"Don't hurt me," Ranger whined. "I don't really like doing this."

"Whatever! Just tell me where the kids are. We are not letting your boss hold them for ransom."

"In a cave! Bar-Nim has them tied up in a cave."

"And where's Bar-Nim?"

"He's out protecting his turf's borders. I don't know where. That's all I know. Honest."

"Fine." Jessie got off him, but pointed her sword at him. "Show us where the cave is. That's a command, not a request."

"So strong, so assertive," Lukas said dreamily. "I just love that woman."

Ranger put his hands up and meekly walked to the cave where the kids were being held hostage. Jessie followed behind him, leading him along at sword-point to make sure he didn't try making a break for it. Not that she actually intended to harm him, but she did want the intimidation factor.

When they got to the cave, Jessie kept her sword drawn in case he was leading them into an ambush. Inside the cave, they found four kids looking remarkably like Jesse, Olivia, Axel, and Lukas. The kids, who were bound at the wrists and sitting against the wall, goggled at the sight of the real New Order.

"Oh my gosh!" Jake said. "It's the New Order of the Stone - the real one! Are you here to rescue us?"

"Yep," Jessie said as she knelt down to start untying them. "All right, kids. Have we learned a little lesson?"

"Don't make fraudulent documents?" Ossa asked.

"Huh?" Jessie looked at her strangely. "Well, I suppose that's not a good thing to do, but I was thinking more along the lines of…"

"Don't impersonate people?" Levi offered.

"Bingo, buddy. And don't sneak out on your parents, either. They're probably worried sick about you right now! I'm going to have to go get them once this mess is done."

"We're sorry, Jessie," all four kids admitted when she finished freeing them.

"It won't happen again," Andy promised.

Jessie motioned for them to stand up. "Go home, now. Jesse, will you take the kids home and get their parents?"

"Okay," Jesse said. "Kids! Let's go!"

Jesse shooed the Order of the Phony out of the cave, leading them back to Beacontown. Once they were gone, Ranger crossed his arms and glared at the three remaining members.

"Bar-Nim might still think that those stupid kids are the New Order of the Stone, but the real facts can easily be explained to him," he said.

"Well, we're not planning on meeting him in person if that's what you mean, so tell your boss I said hi."

"Not one of your better one-liners, Jessie," Petra said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's hard to come up with them on the fly."

"I hope you're better at fighting than you are art coming up with one liners." Ranger took out two short swords made from wolf jawbones.

"Let me guess," Jessie said with a sigh. "This is an ambush?"

"So perceptive." Ranger whistled.

The other bandits guarding the kids jumped out of their hiding places. It was six bandits against three heroes. Petra had her golden sword ready in a second, and Lukas nocked an arrow on his bow. But the funny thing is, neither side seemed very willing to attack. The bandits were unarmored and barely armed; their bone-based weapons stood little chance against metal swords and a bow. The New Order was reluctant to fight with the group of scraggly, obviously needy bandits, especially considering that one of them was only nine.

One of the bandits took advantage of the lull to make a getaway. Jessie saw her, a teen girl, dart away from her companions and dash out of the cave. She wouldn't have paid much attention to it if she hadn't noticed the green bandanna on the girl's head.

Strabo.

If Bar-Nim had put the bandits in this cave to guard the kidnapped kids and Strabo was one of the bandits doing the guarding...did that mean…?

"Hey, look," she said to the bandits. "I don't really want to fight you guys."

"Yeah." Lukas lowered his bow. "We get that you're in a tight spot and have to make some tough decisions."

"I'd say," Ranger replied. "Bar-Nim is going to be beating on us if he finds out of that the kids escaped. And I'm pretty sure Strabo just ran off to rat on us."

Jessie was puzzled by that. "Why would she do that? Isn't she one of you?"

"Well, yeah, but if she tattles on us, Bar-Nim won't think it's her fault. Not very ethical of her, but this is Niat-nuom, after all. Sort of every man for himself."

"It doesn't have to be like this," Jessie said. "I like second chances. How many of you actually like working for Bar-Nim?"

None of them raised their hands.

"Why don't you come back to Beacontown with us?" she offered.

"Jessie!" Petra dissuaded. "That might be a bad idea."

Jessie ignored her. "It's not like we'll turn you in to the cops as soon as you get there. We're giving you a chance to turn a new leaf. Start over in Beacontown. How does that sound?"

There was a pause. The bandits glanced around and shifted from foot to foot as they thought about it. The nine-year-old was the first one to respond. He looked at his companions, then crossed the floor to stand next to Jessie.

"I'll go with her," he announced.

"Good man," Jessie said.

The middle-aged woman was next, taking a stand next to Petra. And after her, one by one, the bandits switched sides. Jessie held back a smile. It felt good to see them taking up her offer on a second chance. And she really did want to give one to them!

Ranger was the only one left. He remained on the other side of the cave, arms crossed in defiance.

"Come on," Lukas said. "This will be better for you."

"No way." Ranger backed up. "Not worth it."

"What do you mean, 'not worth it?'"

"Not worth it," Ranger repeated, then ran away. He bolted out of the cave and was gone before anyone could catch him.

"Darn it," Lukas muttered.

"I get the feeling that this might not be the last time we see him, either," Petra said.

"Maybe so." Jessie turned to leave. "Let's go home before Bar-Nim comes back."

They all left after that. The New Order of the Stone and the heel-face-turned bandits departed from Niat-nuom, heading to Beacontown. Jesse and the kids already had a big head start, so they didn't run into them on their way to town. They chatted lightly amongst themselves.

"Let's make sure something like this doesn't happen again," Lukas said. "That was scary."

"Those poor kids could have gotten into a lot of trouble," Jessie added. "I mean, yeah, they did something dumb, but they are just kids."

"I'm sure they'll get quite the lecture from their parents." (They did.)

"It'll be a lesson to them. No more posing as other people. It's better to be yourself."

"Corny but true."