Anyone ever heard of a novel called Ronja, the Robber's Daughter? It was made into a 3D anime and I watched it some time ago. If anyone's a fan of Studio Ghibli, you might like it, it's a cute series!
Pirates vs. Bandits
Historia; Rumphob Woods
The Rumphob Woods was considered a dangerous territory that the locals of the nearby towns feared to venture through. The woods were the lair of a mighty clan of bandits that preyed upon those bold enough to cross the woods. The governor would send his soldiers in to hunt the robbers, and though they knew where they were based, their fortress was impregnable.
The Robbers Fort was a towering structure, supposedly with more space than they knew what to do with. Its most distinctive sign was the gap that was split perfectly down the middle, dividing the fortress and its many layers into two halves, connected only by bridges with fences. This gap, known as Hell's Gap, was created by a bolt of lightning that split the fortress from the heavens. The legend says that this bolt was a sign that the wives of the two chieftains of the Robbers Clan had given birth. Two children, the heirs of the robbers, were born on the same night, under the storm. A new era had begun for the robbers, and they would no doubt be stronger than ever.
"WAAAAAHH!" cried Lill Klippen, a man with shaggy blonde hair and a green tunic. "HELP, MATTIS! These children are monsters, they-!"
A Light Sphere struck him in the back and took the cowardly robber down. "Hee hee hee hee!" snickered Jason Dimalanta with a bright grin. The young pirate had messy black hair and blue eyes. He wore an open green vest with black shorts and green sandals. His skin was tan, and he was most defined by his raccoon ears and tail. "Orright, we got all their loot! You'd better protect me rear, Bella!"
"Don't you mean the 'stern,' Captain?" asked Isabelle Rivera, seated on the large sack of treasure.
"'ey, you know what I mean! Let's just blow it!"
Though his young body was much smaller than the sack he was carrying, Jason had more than enough strength to pull it as he ran, even with Isabelle's weight on it. Jason pulled it through the entrance of the fort that they had torn down earlier, bolting down the path leading to the forest. Isabelle shot arrows to thwart the robbers giving pursuit. "'ey, Bella, get ready to fly!"
Isabelle about-faced: they were now charging through the narrow canyon that connected the forest with the fort, in which robbers were stationed on a bridge above, with other robbers ready to block the way underneath. Isabelle held tight to the sack: Jason hauled it overhead and blasted it to the sky with a powerful kick! The robbers were agape as their valuables flew above their reach. This left the ground guards distracted as Jason blew through then with a spinning punch!
Jason raised his hands to catch the sack, keeping it overhead as he ran steadfastly. Isabelle grinned and waved the robbers good-bye, giggling at their dumbfounded expressions.
Jason and Isabelle set the valuables down by a large tree in the forest. "Yee hee hee! Goes to show even the mightiest and fiercest of robbers are no match to kids of the sea!"
"Hee hee, we're gonna get in big trouble for this!" Isabelle laughed.
"Hey, they were robbers to begin with, it's not like they're gonna call the guards!"
"Hehe, I guess not!"
The friends laughed for a moment longer. "…!" Isabelle gasped. "JASON!" She grabbed her friend and jumped aside, dodging an arrow. Jason reactively shot a Light Sphere to the tree it came from, and they saw a girl jump off.
They heard rapid footsteps behind them and whipped around, seeing an orange-haired boy dash up with a knife. He dodged Jason's sphere by a heartbeat and decided to retreat. Both he and the girl joined sides.
"Who do you think you are stealin' from our fathers?!" asked the boy, Birk. He had fierce blue eyes with a blue tunic and yellow tights.
"Are you from some new clan of robbers?" asked the girl, Ronja with a glare. She had messy brown hair and a pink tunic, and like her friend, she had yellow tights and bare feet. Both kids were about 10 years old.
"Yeh, but we ain't like you bandits, we're pirates." Jason stated. "We sail the sea in search of adventure and treasure! We ain't the type to just root ourselves to one piece o' land. Don't ya get bored explorin' the same forest over an' over?"
"I'll have you know we love our forest very much." Ronja stated. She and Birk spoke Swedish, but Isabelle and Jason had been given knowledge of the language by a Glomourian who worked at the travel agency. "But what business do you have stealin' from our fort?"
"'Cause I wanted to see how strong you robbers really were. We beat you lot fair and square, so the spoils are ours!"
"I've got nothin' against you, I was just tagging along with Jason." Bella explained sheepishly. "I had a ton of fun though! Besides, we only stole the treasure, we didn't take your food or anything."
"Well, we're not beaten, yet! Now you've got us to deal with!"
"I've got the boy, Ronja!" Birk smirked. "You take care of the girl!"
"You got it!" Ronja ran to her right and shot an arrow at Bella, who dodged and returned her own arrow. Ronja took refuge up a tree, but Isabelle dodged her way up to the tree, climbing it with natural ability. Ronja jumped to the branch of another tree, shooting the previous branch just as Isabelle stepped onto it. As she fell, she swiftly grabbed her harp and strummed a Song Road to carry her to Ronja. The robber gasped in shock and quickly jumped down the tree.
Birk dashed up to Jason directly, slashing the knife with clean swings. Jason dodged the swings and did a spin to whack Birk away with his tail. Birk spun to face Jason again, dodging his Light Spheres before suddenly tossing his knife. Jason yelped as the knife cut his left hip, but the Faunus ran to seize the weapon. Jason bent the knife like a boomerang and ripped off the hilt with his strength. Birk growled and decided to charge the pirate, dodging his spheres and linking hands with him. Jason's hands were much bigger and bulkier than Birk, but the robber used them as suspenders as he kicked up against Jason's jaw, stamping against his chest repeatedly before he could free himself.
Ronja ran around a few trees to lose Isabelle, but the Shandian tracked her using Haki. When turning around a tree, Ronja grabbed a rock larger than her hands, and she dropped it behind another tree, tricking Isabelle into tripping on it. She couldn't shake off the pain in her toes before Ronja jumped and clawed at her face. Bella punched the robber, and then Ronja jumped up and off, grabbing a branch up above and tearing hard enough to rip it off and bash Bella's head.
Birk bolted from Jason around the trees, easily evading the pirate's attacks. He passed Ronja when going around a tree, and the female robber jumped and stamped Jason's face with both feet before resuming escape. Isabelle helped her friend up, seeing both robbers try to confuse them around various trees. "Speedy little blokes, ain't they?" Jason remarked.
"You'd be a lot faster if you ditched the sandals~" Isabelle inferred.
"I saw you trip on that rock, you proved nothing."
"Well, what's your plan?"
"I'm giving them less room to run!" Jason raised his fist, channeled chi into it, and PUNCHED the tree with enough force to snap the trunk and make it topple.
Ronja gasped at this action, but Jason mercilessly ran up to her, and though she dodged, he punched and toppled the tree behind her. "HEY! Tearing down the forest is going too far!"
"Just run for it, Ronja, this kid is crazy!" Birk grabbed his friend's arm and pulled. Jason pursued the robbers and took down every tree that they passed.
From far away, a dark-skinned boy with black and white hair and a blue-skinned girl with pink hair saw trees falling in the distance. "Oh, boy… What've they gotten themselves into?" asked Star Winkiebottom.
"Let's go see." replied Tiffi, her star-shaped spectacles twinkling with curiosity.
Jason was able to make two large trees fall to form a "V" shape, trapping Ronja and Birk in a corner. Both robbers faced the pirate, gritting their teeth with anger. Isabelle had also perched herself on the connecting point of the trees, smirking with an arrow ready. "ISABELLE! JASON! What do you think you're doing?!"
Isabelle turned, seeing Star and Tiffi hurrying over. Both kids were wearing tunics and boots fit for this setting. Jason climbed onto a tree as well. "Oh, hi, Star! It's orright, we were just beatin' up some robbers."
"What robbers?! Do you realize how much trouble we could get in?!"
"Whoever you are," Ronja yelled, "could you please tell this brat to stop destroying our forest?!"
The six kids later gathered by the large tree where the treasure was left. "Okay, I'm sorry for wreckin' your fort." Jason sighed. "I got nothin' against you lot, it's just a tradition me mum told me about. Pirates and bandits are natural enemies, so when I heard about ya, I just felt like challenging ya!" He flashed a big grin.
"Hey, everyone likes a good rivalry." Birk said. "But you got a bit too carried away."
"I'm sure he wouldn't have done that if we weren't giving them a hard time." Ronja smiled proudly.
"Hehe, you got us there." Bella grinned. "We should've known better than to underestimate the robbers of the woods."
"I'd hate to leave the forest in this state though." Star replied. "We'll have to come back with Lily or a few plantbender operatives. They could probably set it straight again."
"Some of this treasure seems kinda cool." Tiffi said as she dug through the sack. "Can we at least keep some of it?"
"HEY! YOU LOT!"
The kids whipped around, spotting a horde of armored guards. "Are you brats part of the robbers?! What've you done to the forest?! And what's all that loot you have?! You brats are comin' to the dungeon!"
The robbers turned to the pirates as Ronja asked, "Want to call a truce?"
"Yeh, you got it." Jason smirked and cracked his knuckles. "If pirates and robbers have one thing in common…"
"WE HATE LAW OFFICIALS!" Isabelle cheered. "AAAAAHHH!"
The four kids charged the soldiers. There was thunderous pounding and men flying into the air. Jason dented their armor, Isabelle kicked the heads off their spears, Ronja shot their weak spots, and Birk grabbed his bent knife and threw it like a boomerang, cutting their soft spots as it came right back. Star and Tiffi merely watched the violence with disbelief. "You're probably gonna have to warp us home." Tiffi said.
"I'm feelin' that spirit of adventure~…" Star sighed.