Alejandro looked on as his son transformed into Zorro. "Is Emera asleep yet?" Diego asked, slipping his saber into place. "Si. She was extremely tired, and very upset. Are you alright?" Alejandro asked. "Si, I'll be fine. I just need to find those men and make sure that Bernardo is safe." Diego replied picking up the mask, but not putting it on. "Emera is convinced that the worst has happen." Alejandro stated, gently. "I'm not." Diego replied, looking at his father. Alejandro just nodded and said, "Please, be careful, Diego." Diego smiled at Alejandro. "I will, father, I promise." He said, giving his father an affectionate, and reassuring, pat on the shoulder, before going down to the waiting Tornado. "We must find Bernardo, boy." He said, patting the stallion. Putting his mask on, Zorro climbed into the saddle and rushed away.
~~ ~~
Zorro rode slowly to the scene of the attack. On the way, he kept his eye out for any sign of Bernardo, or the bandits. As soon as he came to the scene, Zorro began looking for tracks. The fading light didn't help the situation, but the bandits' tracks were easy to find. He followed them until they disappeared into the hills. After a moment of looking around, he noticed the glow of a fire. "You can see their campfire right up there." Zorro looked behind him and saw Emera sitting on a horse. "Emera, you shouldn't be here!" Zorro said. "I know, Diego. But I chose to come." Emera replied. "I heard someone talking earlier, it sounded like it was coming from the walls. I leaned against one wall to hear better, and it swung open! I followed the sound of voices, I recognized your voice and Don Alejandro's. I stopped when I heard someone coming down some nearby stairs. It was you. I followed you down to where your horse was, and you put a mask on. As I watched you leave, I figured you must be this Zorro. Then I hurried to the stables and followed you." Emera explained. Zorro sighed, looking at the orange glow of the campfire, which was about 10 meters away. "Umm …I'll watch the road, ok?" Emera asked. Zorro just nodded and watched Emera as she dismounted and lead her horse away. Zorro dismounted and slowly made his way towards the camp. He easily dispatched of the only guard and moved closer. By then he could see the bandits clearly. He saw the leader of them sitting by the fire, Diego's coin pouch in his hands. "Don't worry! We gots what we came for, right?" One man sitting near the leader asked. "Idiot. John is dead!" The leader exclaimed. "It's ok, Sam!" the other man said, fingering a necklace. "Pretty, ain't it?" He asked, showing Sam the necklace. "Yes, it is. So was that wench on the road!" Sam declared hotly. "Calm down, Sam. It's not your fault. Who've known that she was so able to defend herself? Most women aren't like that.." The man trailed off, now absently counting a few coins. "Yeah? Well, she was!" Sam stood up, "She was more than able to protect herself and now my brother is lying in the road, a bullet in him! It was my job to protect him, and now he's dead! Just..Just leave me alone, Thomas!" Sam sighed, sitting down and staring into the fire. Thomas just stared down at the coins in his hands, and both men sat in silence. Zorro looked around the small camp. Four men were sleeping a few feet from Sam and Thomas were, and three horses were tied to tree on the far end of camp. Zorro couldn't see Bernardo anywhere. Saddened, he turned away and began walking back to Tornado.