Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: This is set about 3 years AFTER the original show, meaning the ages changed. So Toph and Aang would be 15, Katara would be 17, and so on and so forth.
Enjoy!
"Dammit!" Number 52 yelled, as her hair got pulled yet again by one of the branches reaching across the vast swamp. Her companions, Number 24 and Number 53 laughed at her misfortune. Even though they had been hiking through the swamp all day, every day for the past week, they still managed to keep their spirits up.
"Told ya you shoulda worn it in a ponytail or somethin", Number 53 said. Number 52 scowled.
"Next time I'll take you advice, oh Wise One", she said sarcastically.
"That's all I ask", he replied. Number 52 rolled her sightless eyes and continued to hack her way forward.
"I still don't understand how you can get around here, being that there's no solid earth anywhere in this swamp", Number 24, one of the only other girls, said.
"I barely can", Number 52 said darkly. "Don't remind me." They walk in silence for a couple more minutes, before a loud, booming voice cut through the heavy air like a knife.
"Numbers 52 and 17, front and center!" Sergeant said. Sergeant was a cruel man, with a thin mustache and a cold, stony face. When Number 52 heard her number being called, she immediately worked her way to the front of the large group. She knew her number well. Ever since she was 10, that's what she'd been called. She had another name, at one point, but that was many years ago, before she'd been taken by the Boryokudan. She heard Sergeant, and knew to stop, or she'd bump right into him. Number 17 was already there, the suck-up.
"Yes, sir?" Number 17 asked.
"You two will be keeping watch tonight", he said.
"Sir, you may have forgotten, but I'm blind", Number 52 remind him, waving her hand in front of her face to prove her point. Number 17 turned to her, a look of outrage on his face.
"That's your excuse EVERY time! You never have to stay up all night, because you're "blind". Well you can still hear, can't you?" he yelled at her.
"Enough", Sergeant said. Number 17 nodded meekly before looking at the ground. "17 is right. You do have rather keen hearing. You'll stay up, and keep watch." And with that, they were dismissed.
The sun was set, and snore were coming from all around the huge campsite. They were camped on a fairly solid piece of swamp, but Number 52's vibrations were still blurry. She tried to keep an ear out for trouble, but with Number 17 talking loudly beside her, it proved difficult.
"So, 52, you get around?" he asked. Number 52 clenched her teeth and kept her eyes straight ahead.
"I mean, you're, what, one out of six, maybe seven girls?" he continued. "And, between you and me…you're definitely the most attractive."
"Shut up, will ya?" Number 52 snapped, hatred building up inside her.
"You get some from one of your roomies? You and 53 seem close", he said with a wide smirk.
"We're friends", she said through clenched teeth, a warning sign to most people who weren't complete idiots to stop talking.
"Okay, okay. How 'bout anyone else? You gettin' any from them? I know most guys around here would kill for a go with you", Number 17 said.
"I said shut UP!" Number 52 roared, standing up. Her fists were clenched and her ears were red.
"Woah, girl, calm down! You wanna wake the whole damn camp?" he exclaimed. Still seething, Number 52 sat back down from her sudden standing position.
"I mean, if it was any other time, you can yell all ya want. I like 'em feisty", he rambled. "In fact, I bet I could make you scream, if ya catch my drift."
"That's it!" Number 52 yelled, jumping on top of Number 17 and about to pound his face in when she heard a strange whirring noise. Her fist dropped, and her whole body tensed, listening to the noise. She felt Number 17 shift underneath her, a triumphant smirk on him face.
"Kinky", he said, his hand inching towards her shirt, when a gust of wind threw her off of him.
"Hey!" she shouted, waking up a few people. Number 53 walked out of his tent, as did Sergeant and a few others.
"What is going on out here?" Sergeant yelled over the wind.
"I don't know!" Number 52 yelled back. "It randomly-OOPH!" She was cut short as she was thrown into a large tree. Warm, wet fluid seeped down her back, and she new it to be blood.
"52!" Number 53 yelled, trying to run towards her despite the heavy wind. She felt his hands right on her fingertips, reaching to pull her into safety, into warmth. But before he could grasp her had, she was lifted off the ground by some unknown force.
The rushing of the wind was the last thing she heard before blacking out