"Akane, I hope you realize that I am going to die," my friend Hotaru said from behind me as I carefully put on each piece of my armor. Buckling my sword belt, I turned around to find her sitting on a metal bench, still dressed in her light-weight underclothes and twisting her fingers almost to breaking point. Sighing, I yanked her to her feet and slipped her breast plate over her shoulders, while saying,

" Okay. Hotaru, there is a possibility of that happening. But look at it this way. We're still fairly new recruits, so they're not going to throw something extremely dangerous at us. I mean, all we're doing is invading a rebel camp. It should be fairly simple." I spoke with confidence, though honestly I was a bit frightened too. Everyone here had only been training with the fire nation army for about six months. As I looked around the equipment shed (called that though it was very large) I realized we were all accomplished fire benders and sword fighters and we were against a group of untrained bumbling people who were stupid enough to defy the fire lord.

I leaned back against the wall and practiced making little balls of fire while watching Hotaru shakily clip her belt around her stocky waist and lace up her boots. I glanced out the window, judging by the suns position that we only had a short time until marching out. I was about to pull out my knife and clean it for the millionth time when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and blushed when I saw the easy smile and handsome face of Huang.

"Akane," he said in his deep voice, " I was wondering if I could have a word with you. Before the battle starts." I nodded, all of my abilities at speech out the window. He smiled, leaning down and whispering right in my ear, "Meet me in the armory." He walked away as I realized that room would be empty, since everyone had collected their weapons. Hotaru looked up from where she had been pretending not to listen and grinned devilishly.

"Wow Akane, looks like you might be entering battle a new woman, if you know what I mean." I turned a deeper burgundy and swatted at her arm.

"Shut up, Hota. I'm sure it's nothing like that," I said, focusing my eyes toward my boots to hid my embarrassment. She rolled her eyes and said,

" Sure it's not. God, you're so lucky Aka. Huang is so hot. Only the ugly boys chase after me." Her eyes drifted to a group of said boys huddled together and staring at her and she sighed. "You better go meet up with him now."

I nodded and hastened off to the armory, stopping briefly to examine my reflection in a mirror. My raven hair was dry and lackluster as usual, while my green eyes gazed from underneath unkempt and equally dark brows. My face was spotty and I couldn't help noticing that it was also very plain. My features almost disappeared into my olive skin tone. Not for the first time, I wished the army provided more supplies and time to maintain our upkeep. Still, I doubted I would need it. This was easily the most gorgeous guy here and he could have any of the other girls, most of whom were by far prettier than me. He probably just wanted to discuss tactics.

I tentatively walked into the room and stopped at what I saw. All the candles save one were blown out, and this illuminated Huang sitting on the table that once held a collection of easily concealable knives. He was shirtless and his sculpted body gleamed in the light. My brain had stopped working and I couldn't move. Luckily, though, he took charge pulling me into his chest and looking down at me.

"I've watched you from afar Akane. But with this battle approaching, I feel it would be unwise to leave things unsaid. I've never met a girl like you, and I would be honored if you would be with me before and after the battle," he said, nuzzling the top of my head. These were the only words needed to convince me and my lips latched onto his. He lifted me onto the table and deepened the kiss, allowing his fingers to roam all over my body. My hands began to mirror his and they slid down to his belt, which I started to unclip. He moaned and tugged at my armor. Then, just when he had started on my underclothes, slipping them down my body, the captains voice came from the loudspeaker, surprising us.

"All troops are to report to the appointed site for marching out. All troops are to report to the appointed site for marching out," he said. Huang swore as he got off of me, hurriedly putting his clothing back on. I did the same as he talked.

" Damn it, I was really hoping to do this before we set out. You know, in case I never come back." He gave a sheepish smile and I put my hand on his armored shoulder.

"Don't worry. This is going to be so simple. They wouldn't have sent us if it wasn't. And when we get back, we'll continue where we left off," I said, as seductively as I could. It worked and he gave me a radiant smile before slipping on his helmet and dashing out the door. I followed, him tucking my hair under my helmet and trying to regain a dignified posture. My heart was leaping with glee though and I was barely suppressing my need to express this on the outside. I resolved to fight hard and end this battle quickly so I could return to what I had started.

About an hour later, my whole troop was trudging through the woods. Half of us were holding a sword ready at their sides and the other half (including me) held a small ball of starter fire in their hands. An air of bubbly excitement surrounded the group the more we walked. It would be an understatement to say we were eager for battle.

"So, what exactly happened between you and Huang?" a voice said and I looked over to see Hotaru had broken ranks to come walk beside me. Instead of berating her, as I should have, I animatedly told her what had almost happened. "Well shit, now I really hope we win this battle. Or at least, that one of you doesn't die along with me." Before I could once again reassure her, our troop leader got our attention with a couple of spastic hand gestures.

"From this point until we get to the scene of the battle, you are to be silent. Step lightly and even the tiniest whisper will be met with harsh punishment. And get back into your position, Soldier!" he added, pointing at Hotaru. She made a face at me and scurried back to her place. From that moment on, I was afraid to breathe. I was sure that every twitch of my fingers, every strand of hair blown back by the wind, was what would give us away. Everyone I saw was tense and even Kya, the most relaxed person I knew, had lost her easy smile and had her face set in a determined grimace. Then, half a mile from the Rebel campsite, it began.

Our original battle plan had been to ambush the rebel camp and take as many hostages as possible. We had been told they were mediocre fighters and could be taken easily. This wasn't the case, though, as nimble fighters dropped down on us from the tree-tops and began slashing at us with wickedly sharp swords. Within a matter of seconds, in which we were all too shocked to move, ten of my comrades were down. Then, springing into action, we fought. I battled hard, alternating between stabbing and using fire. For a brief moment, it looked like we might win as the rebels started to lose fighters. Then, dozens more broke out from the surrounding trees, sword-fighters and benders alike. Though I refused to believe it, some little part of my brain told me that the battle was already lost. I had to keep fighting though, because what else could I do? It didn't seem like they were taking prisoners. As I slashed and burned the rebels that were getting closer and closer to outnumbering us, I heard a horribly familiar scream. I gutted the man in front of me and turned around. What I saw turned my blood to ice as time seemed to slow down. Hotaru, my dear friend, who I had known since childhood, who had been the only one out of all of my friends to join the army with me, was pinned to a tree with a sword that seemed to go all the way through her and into the wood. Her feet were a couple inches off the grass and blood was bubbling out of her mouth. As I rushed toward her and her killer- yes, that was what he was because there was no way she would survive- her eyes locked onto mine and seemed to plead for help. I couldn't save her, there was no way to do it, so I did the only thing I could do. With a scream of revenge, I launched myself onto her killer, who was now defenseless since his sword was stuck in my best friend. Without leaving time for pleading, I put my hand over his face and ignited it. My hand muffled his screams of pain as I melted through skin, then muscle, then finally bone which was where he stopped yelling and stopped moving. Not looking at his face or the body of my friend, I threw myself into battle with gusto, not yet satisfied by this kill. I disposed of several of the fighters single-handedly and my blood lust only increased when I saw Huang become engulfed in a large cloud of flame, emerging with nothing but a charred body. And then… I was the only fighter left for the Fire Nation Army.

I stood in the middle of a circle of the rebels, who were watching with weapons ready in case I made a move to attack. As I looked around at the body of my comrades, though, a terrible exhaustion flooded me and I sank to the ground sobbing. From above me, I heard someone ask,

"Shall we take her as a prisoner, Sir?" I waited for an answer, but in place of one was the crunching of boots walking toward me. I didn't want to lift my head; I wanted to stay in my protective ball of darkness forever. I didn't have a choice, though, as my helmet was ripped off and someone grabbed a hank of hair, forcing me to look at him. The man was clearly the leader; tan, muscular, battle-scarred, and with a certain wisdom in his eyes that showed he was capable of directing a troop this great. He looked down at me with distaste for a moment before throwing me into a guard.

" Hold her, and make sure you keep her head up and eyes open." The guy nodded, using one hand to crush my body against his and the other to maintain the grip on my hair. The captain walked to outside the circle and came back cradling a body in his arms. I groaned when I recognized it as the man who had killed Hotaru. The one whose face I had burned off.

The man laid the body down, right in front of my face. I subconsciously closed my eyes, but the soldiers punch in my stomach made me open them again.

"Keep your eyes open," he whispered in my ear, "or I'll cut off your eyelids." I gulped and nodded. Now that my eyes were open, I couldn't keep them off the mutilated face I had created. The captain knelt down next to the face and stroked his burnt hair. His next words almost guaranteed my death.

"This was my son," he said, to me since everyone else probably already knew. He raised the face until it was right in front of mine, are noses almost touching. I coughed, nearly choking on the heavy stench of burned flesh. "He was killed, in a much more horrific way than need be. She could have spared him much pain and kept his face intact, so those who loved him could have something to mourn. But no, her love of murder and gore brought about this, to please her own sadistic self."

"I only did it because I was trying to seek revenge for the death of my sister," I said, not really a lie since we had been as close as sisters. "Anyway, you should have seen how he killed her. I could see in her eyes how much pain she was in." There was silence for a minute, then the guard released me. For one fleeting, hopeful moment, I thought I might be freed. Then the guard once again grabbed my hair and began dragging me, while the captain said,

"You took your revenge, now I'm taking mine." The guard slammed my head down on a tree stump and I felt him binding my hands behind my back. The captain came to stand in front of me and I raised my head to meet his eyes. Wrinkling his nose, he spat on me. "Dirty Fire nation soldier," he muttered, summoning a large ball of fire. I closed my eyes as the flame met my face.

I had suffered burns before, but none like this. I could feel my skin bubbling, my lips melting as I emitted screams of pain. Then it was over. I was alive, but the horror I felt made me wish I wasn't.

"Water," I croaked. I couldn't see the captain through my blistered eyelids, but I heard his mocking laugh. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, exposing my throat. I felt the cold blade of the sword a second before it tore through the skin on my throat. The pain of my slit throat barely registered compared to the pain from the fire, but it didn't make me feel any better. I hit the ground, the soft grass cushioning my fall, and allowed the blood to spill all around me. As I lay dying, I felt a hand softly stroking my cheek, and though I couldn't see, I knew whoever it was, was welcoming me. Welcoming me to death.