The Blooded

It had been raining that day. For a world that had seemed parched for months, a simple rainstorm seemed wonderful. Children played, farmers rejoiced, and ordinary people smiled at a much needed rain. But, that was when it first started to fall.

The ground was parched. It needed the rain, but there was simply too much falling. Before too long, the ground became saturated. Rivers of rainwater flowed across the roads. And, it just kept falling.

Everything grew worse as the day went on. Eventually the rains stopped, and all of the excitement of a summer's day's rains turned into a veritable depression of mud. What were once dusty dirt roads became virtual canals of mud. And, Ba Sing Se merely attempted to muddle through. Shopkeepers kept mops and buckets handy in some mad attempt to keep their floors cleaner than their competition. The upper class looked down at the misery through the monorail far above. And, for the more average person, the day went on. Most avoided going outside if they could at all avoid it. But, for the few who ventured out into the morass, they found mixed levels of difficulty.

Most who once wore uniforms and swore to rid their land of the plague of invaders found constant difficulty. Their heavy stepping style found them getting caught more and more often. For some, thoughts came of their sacrifices and their returns. For others, they at least took hope in the fact that others share their suffering. All across the capital, screams could be heard from children once at play who had lost their shoes to the mud. Teenage girls complained about their formal clothes becoming soiled so quickly. Teenage boys found that their Earth Soccer games do not spare themselves from the mud, and some lamented with thoughts of their mothers' reactions at their clothes. Even for the few that managed to stay reasonably clean, the new boys in uniforms with high boots, they found nearly constant requests for help.

Yet, all of their difficulties seemed null compared to the cart drivers. The wheels of their carts cut into of the mud in mere seconds and trenches formed behind their wheels. Their ostrich horses' feet dug, plowing deep into the mud. So, they struggle desperately to escape. Young Earthbenders helped some, pulling the poor beast's feet out of the mud, but for other animals, help did not come. Their muscles fatigued, and with each pull, they sank farther and farther into the mud. The cart drivers cursed. They cursed the rain. They cursed their animals. They cursed their deliveries. And, as they did, shopkeepers yelled out at them to stop. The drivers cursed back, and as they did, the entire situation devolved into mere noise. Children cried as they walked by, scared by the cursing, and further scared by thoughts of their parents' reactions at their awful, muddy, and shoeless states.

Yet, through this slow crawl of people sloughing through the mud, two lone souls ran, one male, one female. Their pace was not fast. By no standards could it ever be considered a sprint. Their pace was far too slow, having been barely above a jogs pace. But, even a jogs pace seemed to be faster than anything else imaginable trying to push through that mud.

Their running did not come with ease, though. They struggled. With each and every breath, they seemed to push through utter exhaustion. With each and every step, their arms seemed to flail wildly, desperately attempting to harden the mud in front of them with Earthbending. With each and every heartbeat, they seemed to keep scanning the ground in front of them, searching for something. And, as they did, everyone watched them.

To some they were a sort of wild sideshow attraction. They hooped, they hollered, they joked about the two odd teens, refusing to conform. To others, the male and the female appeared radically different. Especially to mothers and older veterans, the male appeared to be training. They viewed him as a future defender of their great city, a hero who pushed on even through fatigue and pain. They smiled even through their own weariness, knowing that their country has such a great person to defend it.

Yet, only the male received such great perceptions. The female received no smiles, no adoration, only glares. In a society where girls took pride in the fact that they could balance a full tray of tea cups on their head, she appeared as a wild child by thinking simplistically. In a society where girls prided themselves on dressing properly, she always seemed to dress as if she was a male. In a society where girls her age always seemed to spend hours on doing their hair, she seemed to merely braid her hair in a moment and continue on with her life. Even her Earthbending seemed odd. Compared to conventional styles where Benders stayed in one place and attack from there, she appeared to be constantly moving, almost seeming to be in a sort of odd and off beat dance. She could even be heard to hum some odd tune once in a great while, the song inside her escaping as her brother jokingly called it. But, nobody ever recognized it, even her.

By no standards could it be said that she was immune to the fashion obsessions of the time. She merely could never afford it. But, there had been occasions where she could be seen staring at the dresses at the window of each shop, longing for a day when she could escape the world she lived, a day when her dirty world would seem like an odd dream amongst the cleanness of affluence. But, at that time, she had only her dreams.

Regrettably, while she ran, a dress caught her eye. She turned her head to see it, with a look of longing. After all was said and done, it was her last time to long such thing. Just for a second or two, she looked toward that which she could never have. She forgot the world for a short second. But, like a dream, she awoke. Her thoughts had returned to the world, and she realized what had happened in those short seconds.

The male, her older brother, had stopped.

She didn't have the time for wondering why he had stopped. She didn't have time to notice why he was standing and apparently waiting for her to catch up. She didn't have time to notice the street he was looking down. She didn't have time to notice the look in his eyes, nor the slight bruises on his arm, nor the dirt and scratches on his face. She merely let out a cuss as she slammed right into him.

"Fuck."

Her voice, at that moment, was unpleasant and undignified. If a voice could be said to be the music, hers would be considered to be the noise of an untrained band of rabid monkeys. Yet, her older brother barely had time to notice it before she ran into him.

Their collision was relatively comical. The male fell forward face-first into the mud, leaving an indentation around him. The female fell backwards, landing flat on her back. Both appeared as if they had died, lying flat on the ground. And, for a few seconds both laid still in the mud, almost appearing to be waiting for the other to get up first.

But, after that moment, the female springs to her feet. As she cusses at her brother, her arms flail violently, slightly moving the mud beneath her as she yells out each syllable.

"Damnit Yatzen, warn me when you decide to drop anchor!"

For a moment, her brother, Yatzen merely appeared to close his hands around the mud. But, after a second, his fingers curl into a fist, and after what would have seemed like a breath, he begins to push himself to his feet. He pulled his feet in toward his body, when he finally reached as far as he could have gone using just his arms. Then he began to stand up straight. Yet, his rise was slower, almost appearing as if a man either twice his age or twice his weight attempted the same. He was always an odd child, though. It was always something odd, something unnoticeable except to trained eyes scrutinizing him. Perhaps his skin was a bit too dark. Perhaps it was that his forearms were a bit too long. Perhaps it was merely his odd forward slouch. Few had known him well enough to really notice such minor things, and for the average person, he was yet another oddball in a world of freaks.

Yatzen was covered in mud. His entire front, from head to toe, was covered in the sludge. It seemed darker on him as well. He towered over his sister as well. When the two stood on even ground, the crown of his sister's head fell only around his pectoral muscles. So, as he turned around to look at his sister, he did not look like a teen looking toward his fraternal twin. Instead, he looked like something out of a nightmare, a horrid brown silhouette looming over a young woman.

For a few moments, his sister just looked at her brother, seemingly wondering if her brother had decided to merely scare her as a portion of some bizarre prank. There was no prank, in reality. Her brother was merely tired. The mud hid his heavy breathing's visual signs. His sister's own heavy breathing hid his breathing's audible signs. The weight of the mud had caused his difficulty with getting to his feet. Still, his sister had never thought of that. She merely thought of all the old pranks, and how wrong it was to joke on that day.

"Oh look, a monster," she stated monotonically and sarcastically. "Well, die."

Her movement was swift. In a single half turn and step, she denied her brother of his precious footing, and he fell once again into the mud.

"Muzen, you sonuvabitch," Yatzen said to his sister. His statement fell on deaf ears, though. She wouldn't listen. In reality, she was turned away from him, protesting his action on such a day.

Yatzen's face was half buried in the mud. Yet, one of his eyes had finally been uncovered. And, his pupil stayed fixed on his sister. To him, she acted like everything was a joke, as if tripping him was all some part of some prank.

He got up quickly that time. As if all his muscles awoke instantly, he seemed to merely explode to his feet. And, even through his windedness, he found the strength to Earthbend. In a single step, and a mere downward swing of his arms, the mud peeled itself off of his body and clothes.

His sister, Muzen, had kept her back to him. So, she didn't see as her older brother moved up to her. His hand closed around her arm. Muzen for a few seconds attempted to keep looking away. And, while she did, her brother stomped down on his right foot. In that moment, he Earthbended once more, that time pulling the mud off his sister's back. It returned to the ground as she turned to see her brother, her face surprised.

"Muzen, quit messing around for a single second. We've got work to do, and I doubt staring away and pouting would ever help with that," Yatzen stated to her. His voice was quieter than usual, as if he didn't want others to hear such things. "You do see him, right?" Muzen began looking around, searching for whomever Yatzen seemed to be talking about. "No, no don't do that. If you look like you're scanning for someone, you'll draw attention to himself. He's just walking past that cabbage stand. Look at him out of the corner of your eye."

For a moment, Muzen hesitated, but then did as she was ordered, merely peering toward the cabbage vendor.

And, out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a small boy, perhaps only as old as eight. He was dressed plainly, merely another face in a crowd to anyone but Muzen and Yatzen. For the two, he was of vital importance.

"You see him now, don't you: little Shifu Lee off to buy snacks for his big brothers. What's it going to be, little Shifu? Your brothers hate cabbages. We all know that. Will it be chicken or sweets?"

"I'm not so sure," Muzen whispered over to her brother, smiling as if she were crazed. "That cabbage merchant is making a pretty good sales pitch."

"Shut it!" Yatzen snapped out, as he watched the little boy buy three chicken legs and turn toward the two.

"What if he sees us and tells his brothers that we're around. Our entire plan could be ruined."

He began to walk toward the two, although he was well beyond any sort of range where he could recognize them.

"Muzen, just act natural. He doesn't know what we're up to. And, he has no reason to be suspicious of us. Don't worry."

"But, he'll still tell his brothers that he saw us. And, they might get suspicious," Muzen whispered. She was talking faster, showing her rising apprehension of the child rapidly weaving through crowds as he walked toward the two.

"Calm down, if you keep whispering, he'll hear you and get suspicious."

The child kept walking toward the two, being well within distance to easily recognize them.

"Oh, I just know that this is going to end badly," Muzen whispered out before Yatzen let go of her arm. Shifu was within listening distance by that point. And, he just kept on walking closer, closer until he was right in front of them.

"Hey Muzen. Hey Yatzen. Hope your mom gets better soon," Shifu said as he stopped for a second. And then, he kept walking right past the two.

For a minute, Muzen and Yatzen remained silent. In reality both had their nervousness, but Yatzen had hid it better. But, in that moment where Shifu had walked right past the two, the two had realized their paranoia. Shifu had kept walking, thinking nothing of them.

Yatzen turned to see where he had headed. And, he somewhat grinned. The boy had walked down an old alleyway. The seclusion was almost too convenient.

"Muzen, come on. I think we found the Lee's."

They followed nonchalantly, trying to not seem as if they are following Shifu, but instead just walking over by the shops. They ogled the odd trinkets that some salesmen tried to pawn off as being from around the world. They smelled the expensive foods, looked interestedly at the cheaper foods, and watched the cabbage vendor's apparent infatuation with his cabbages from a safe distance.

Yet, slowly, the two made their way into that same alleyway.

In reality, the alleyway was a sort of bottleneck leading to an empty lot between three apartment buildings. Muzen and Yatzen both knew that. They had played in that lot when they had been younger, having odd adventures amongst the ruins of garbage that had once accumulated there. Most of the trash had been removed due to health concerns, but most of the larger pieces, barrels, old furniture, and odd pieces of larger junk, had stayed. It was low traffic, anyway. Weeds and grass had taken back the lot slightly, making the ground there into an oddly island area amongst the canals of mud. So, as they walked down that alleyway, they both knew exactly where the Lee's would be. They knew how they would act and how they would win.

As they entered the lot, everything was as they had expected, and they could see the Lee's. There were three all in all: Liu, their eldest; Guang, their middle; and Shifu, their youngest.

Right as the two entered the empty lot, they were seen by the three. And, right then and there, Liu jumped to his feet. For a second he looked over the two odd travelers before smiling slightly.

"Pleasure to see you two, Yatzen and Muzen! How's your mother doing?"

For a second, Yatzen seemed surprised at the statement's kindness. By some standards, the two were walking into another's home, without warning or knocking, and the two were being treated as if they were dinner guests. But, after a second, he responded.

"She's fine, but just a little tired."

"Oh, that's good to hear," Liu stated, "I had heard that it did not look too fortunate. Well, you two can hang out if you want to. It's not like I really own this depressing shithole."

And, with that, Muzen and Yatzen turned and went their separate ways. There was a slight glance before they separated: a short look to remind each other of the plan. Muzen went toward Shifu who happened to be sitting on and old barrel and eating his chicken leg. And, at the same time, Yatzen went toward Guang.

Guang wasn't a skinny person. Frankly, he was a stereotypical fat-ass. While the other two had merely started eating, Guang had managed to finish his chicken and was leaning up against the wall. He had made a mess of himself. Grease had managed to drip off his snack and made looking at his face or hands a harrowing measure for any proper person.

Still, Yatzen was by no standards proper and, therefore, stood next to him. And, for a second, there was silence amongst the two. Yatzen merely watched as his sister walked over to the young Shifu. He watched as the young child held his food out in a sharing gesture, his sister declined, only to sit next to him on a separate barrel. The young child blushed slightly as Muzen sat down. Perhaps at that time, Shifu had a simple childish crush on Muzen. He had always acted more than a little friendly around Muzen, and at some points had seemed to desire her attention. Still, what was to happen on that day would forever destroy that childhood crush that little Shifu had.

"Hey Guang," Yatzen blurted out, "Remember that time that you called my sister ugly?" For a second Guang merely looked at Yatzen with a look of confusion at his odd question. "The girls that were around to hear that really attacked her. She was even trying to look prettier that day. But all you had to say was that her makeup looked like a clown's, and all the girls pounced on her like Armadillo Lions. I really have to admit it, you outdid yourself. You, my friend, may have succeeded in making her cry faster than anyone else, in her life. With the exception of that old bitch of course."

For a second, Guang looked down, apparently shamed by Yatzen bringing up such an old statement. He thought back on that statement. It had seemed like such a minor incidence. He couldn't even recall why he had done it. Was he having a bad day? Had Muzen tried flirting with him? Had he tried to phrase it as a joke? His brothers had laughed about it. Or at least his older brother had. Had little Shifu? He couldn't remember. Everything seemed so odd.

"You know what I'm going to do now, don't you?" Yatzen asked. Guang didn't respond, though. He still was too confused and guilty feeling to even guess at the Yatzen's actions. "Goodnight."

Guang didn't foresee what was to happen. He hadn't expected Yatzen to have brought up such an odd and trivial matter. Even as he did, Guang never expected Yatzen to become as violent as he did.

In a split second, Yatzen had managed to plant his knee firmly into Guang's chest. And, there was an odd moment of silence as Yatzen's knee pulled away from his chest. As his body writhed slightly in reaction to the hit, it seemed as if the birds had stopped chirping, and the shopkeepers had stopped yelling, and all the all too typical sounds of a city street had seemed to merely stop. Time seemed to slow as head lurched forward, he pulled his arms around his chest, and his body began to fall to a knee. For a long second, Guang merely kneeled, his face showing the pain of Yatzen's kick.

But, all of the sudden, Gang's face lurched forward, and all the sounds and all the tempo of a normal day returned.

It was his stomach exploding outward that caused everything to return. Bits of undigested chicken, some unrecognizable, halfway digested food, and bile splattered across the grass. Guang lurched forward again, this time forcing up the remnants of his stomach. His brothers watched him, concerned and mildly amused by the oddity of seeing someone, even their brother, vomit. The noise was terrible, disgusting enough to make Muzen force her hand over her mouth, appearing to be a sign of disgust. In reality though, merely the sight and smell of Guang vomiting had made Muzen feel sick enough that her own body showed a desire to puke.

And, as Guang spat out the last remnants of whatever had stayed in his mouth, Yatzen's shadow loomed over him. A moment of terror shot through him. He could never understand exactly why, though. Yatzen lacked that truly terrifying aura that some had. For a moment in hindsight, he thought that his body was afraid of the further trauma that Yatzen might induce. But, he had merely banished it as a passing thought.

Regardless of the reason for the fear, as Yatzen's shadow loomed over him and crept over his back, hunched over with vomit still dripping off his chin, Guang couldn't help but look toward Yatzen with confusion in his eyes.

For a brief second, Yatzen appeared unstoppable to Guang, although he couldn't explain why. But, Guang was only fully aware of his terror for a few seconds. After that, the darkness of unconsciousness closed in.

A simple kick caused Guang to be rendered unconscious. In a mere instant, Yatzen's foot had shot up, arcing as it made clean simple contact with the jawbone. The hit hadn't shattered it, nor had it even cracked the bone, and by some miracle of luck, Guang's teeth were remarkably undamaged in the hit. All Burt would feel as he woke up was a rather vicious aching all around his mouth. But, that was a long way away.

Guang's eyes fell toward the sky, as they closed. And, after that, his body fell forward. He landed on his chest, remarkably again doing very little long term damage, although his clothes were ruined. He had landed in his own vomit. But, he wouldn't realize it, and while he lay unconscious on it, the stench and mere view of it was hidden.

For a second, Yatzen merely looked upon the unconscious being, with an emotionless look. But, after that, his face merely seemed to turn to look toward Liu, and he smiled.

As Liu looked into Yatzen's eyes with a look of neither surprise nor anger, Yatzen merely began to swagger toward him.

Liu neither understood why Yatzen had attacked his brother, nor did he care. He was an older brother, with his only desire being to, frankly, kick the ass of anyone who would do his little brothers harm. And, Yatzen was the only person.

He didn't even look toward Muzen. As far as he was concerned, Muzen was a terrified spectator, like his little brother. So, as he dashed toward Yatzen, he never thought of what she would do.

His dash was impressive. He was an athletic person: faster than most, quick enough to pick up speed with the best runners, stronger that many, capable of enduring the pain of training, and capable of continuing when most were weary. Yet, instead of trying to evade the impressive force that came against him, Yatzen merely stood against him, as if he merely seemed to be unimpressed with Liu, as if he expected him to fall just as quickly as Guang had. Yet, that was not the case.

As Liu came right before Yatzen, there was a punch thrown. It was an impressive punch. It was fast, and Yatzen had seemed to put a good amount of force into the punch. But, it fell like water upon rocks. Due to a mixture of rage and adrenaline, Liu didn't feel Yatzen's fist pounding into his stomach. And, Yatzen seemed to be swept away by the raw force of Liu.

As his back slammed against the wall, Liu twisted his arm, so that his entire forearm seemed to crush Yatzen's neck. And, as he did, he continued pushing, seeming to want to push Yatzen through the wall.

Liu was larger than Yatzen. He towered over Yatzen by a good head, and over most people. So, as his forearm pushed on Yatzen's trachea harder and harder, Yatzen could only flail like a pathetic child, powerless and helpless. Or at least, that was how it seemed.

Yatzen's deception hid everything well. As he flailed desperately, Liu never saw Yatzen slam his hand against the wall. He never saw the brick go flying out at him, powered by Yatzen's Bending. And, he never saw it hit him.

It knocked the wind out of Liu, and it slammed into him hard enough to push him away from Yatzen. It would hurt worse later, and leave a particularly memorable bruise. But, it didn't matter at the time.

There was a lull in the fight after that hit. As Yatzen fell to his feet and felt those first few gasping breaths, Liu too stopped, trying to regain his breath. Muzen and Shifu kept watching, the two witnesses to this confrontation. As Liu had slammed into Yatzen, little Shifu had smiled as if someone had given him a bag of candy. When, the brick had slammed into Liu's stomach, Shifu had cringed slightly. But, Muzen was nowhere near as engrossed in the fight as Shifu was. She merely kept an emotionless look on her face, one that neither suggested joy nor sadness as the fight ensued.

And, after a few seconds of rest, Yatzen and Liu both rose to their feet.

"So, you want to play Earthbender, eh?" Liu asked, "Fine, I'll see to it that your amateurish mockery of Bending gets crushed by my superior Earthbending. It cost my parents a good amount to put me through all those classes. Now, I'll show you just what proper training can do for someone."

"The streets a far better teacher than those money grubbing old men, Liu," Yatzen said.

And, as soon as Yatzen finished that statement, there was an eerie hesitation between the two. Both were waiting for the other to make the first move, both were waiting for the other to make themselves vulnerable, and both were a bit afraid of being the aggressive fool. It seemed to pass for an eternity, both merely playing some mental game of twitching forward, only to stop short of moving.

But, one of those twitches had follow-through. It turned into the beginning of a Bending move, much to Yatzen's dismay. Liu twitched, but then stepped forward. Dirt and rocks came thrusting up, as if a horrendously formed pillar had shot up from the ground. It got close to hitting Yatzen. It got very close. In a spit second twitch reaction, Yatzen barely managed to roll himself right around the pillar of earth.

Within a second, Liu continued his attack. He kept stomping, and pillars of earth kept on springing up out of the ground. Yatzen kept dodging them. Without any doubt, Yatzen was fast on his feet. He was fast enough to always dodge each hit. Each time a pillar seemed to rise, Yatzen would merely sidestep it. By some standards, it seemed as if he was copying one of Muzen's bizarre Bending dances. He would sidestep one pillar, take a step forward to dodge the next, and then take a step backwards to dodge a later one. And, he made it seem as if the rising pillars were in slow motion, and dodging them was easy.

But, Liu wasn't stupid. Only a fool would continue the same attack over and over again without success or a hint at success. Liu understood that, but he was a bit too clever to show off fancier Bending.

Yatzen realized it eventually. The pillars were boxing him in, trapping him so he couldn't help but get hit. By the time Yatzen had realized it though, it was all too late. He had never seen that Liu had been forcing up two pillars at the same time. As Yatzen dodged one pillar, he found himself squeezed up against another one. He was trapped. Pillars were nearly touching him on all sides. He hadn't realized it, but Liu had been playing a game of strategy with him, and had won.

Yet, Yatzen was a bit too resilient to be defeated that easily. Within a single second, he had made his move. A single quick jab to a pillar in Liu's direction sent a rock flying toward him. It was fast, far faster than anything Liu had bent. It was aimed directly at his face too. With those two factors combined, it looked like it would ravage his face, at the very least break his nose and knock a few teeth out. As it flew toward Liu, one would swear that it should have broken him. And, Liu barely saw it coming.

He did dodge it. He saw it and had just quick enough reactions to move out of the way, but when he did, he was off balance. For Yatzen, it was just what he needed. As Liu stumbled backwards, Yatzen simultaneously escaped from his trap and went on the offensive.

With a single kick to it, a small explosion of mud seeped out from the bottom of a pillar. It hid the truth all too well. Yatzen had forced a crack in the pillar that had extended through it.

The pillar with the crack was in Liu's direction. So, as Yatzen kicked it again, he knew where it was going. He slammed it with incredible force, force enough to send it hurtling toward its maker.

Yatzen didn't stop there. As the pillar propelled forward, he slammed his fists into the ground, creating a sort of twisted earthen wave. It wasn't as elegant as the traditional Earthbending styles that the parents and teachers had taught the children. Compared to the sort of gentle rises that were the norm for styles at that time, Yatzen's Earthbending seemed to form into a sort of wave of rock, as if a landslide had seemed to form and move horizontally.

It seemed to proceed as if nothing seemed to exist to challenge it. It seemed to devour all before it, crush all beneath itself, assimilate all, and grow larger as it proceeded. It destroyed the grass that had taken so long to form, ripping apart the sod and making a muddy looking patch of dirt in its place. It sped toward Liu, an all-consuming beast driven by Bending. For a second, it looked like it would consume him, and all that would be left was his crumpled body. But, that only lasted for a second.

In a second, a single stomping down of Liu's heels forced the ground beneath his very feet to form pillars. It came, Yatzen's Bending came, and when it did, Liu merely jumped over it. His pillars fell, devoured and destroyed by the tidal wave of earth. But, as Yatzen rose and ceased his bending, causing the earth to merely fall to a still pile, Liu stood tall.

For a second, the two seemed to stare one another down. Both appeared to be nearly mirrors of one another, big, strong, and heroic looking types that merely were raised in the wrong world. They were perhaps fifteen paces from each other in a back alley with old barrels and the remnants of old furniture, but, at least for Muzen, it felt as if the two were in the Earth Rumble bouts that she had heard about.

Seemingly in anticipation, Shifu jumped of his barrel. He stood halfway behind Muzen, who had slid off hers moments before. Terrified and attempting to hide, Shifu's face told a simple truth, of which he was unaware. He was afraid for his brother. Yet, Muzen seemed to have no fear of the attacks that were certain to fly everywhere, and she lacked fear for her brother.

And, as he cowered behind her, Muzen began to smile slightly. What followed, forced Shifu to look toward her in surprise. She began to hum a simple, lighthearted tune. As Shifu looked toward her face, she didn't look crazy. She merely seemed to show an interested and amazed calmness, as if she were watching a play that she had seen a thousand times before.

Right as Muzen began humming her first note, the clash began anew. With a single step forward, Yatzen forced up a boulder sized chunk of the muddy earth. It hovered right beneath his hand, but behind him.

His throw of it toward Liu was wild, at best. He seemed to slam his weight around in a sort of spin, using heavy stomping steps as he seemed to throw his weight from foot to foot. And, the piece of earth followed. It followed as he spun, slightly picking up speed. Then, as Yatzen's foot hit the ground for the last time in his lazy dance of a spin, he seemed to throw the piece of earth toward Liu.

As the earth went flying, Yatzen slightly staggered, being slightly off-balance and dizzy from the spin. Still, he could watch as the boulder flew toward Liu.

Liu's response was typical of that time and his training. In a single step, he punched the boulder, and it seemed to crumble before his fist. At first it broke into halves, then rocks the size of a fist, and finally pebble sized dirt clumps.

Before the pebbles even finished falling, Liu attacked. He took a second step forward, one that seemed like he was lunging. But, as he stomped down, it was clear exactly had gone on.

A pillar began shooting up from the ground right in front of Yatzen, and a fast one at that. It was far faster than any of his pillars before. Yatzen barely dodged it. He didn't have time to attempt to merely sidestep it. In the split second that he had to move, he merely jumped backwards.

As he jumped backwards, it would have looked like he was going to cripple his chances of winning. Being ever on the ground was suicide in a fight, if only because of the time it takes to get up. It seemed like he was going to hit the ground, and Liu was going to unleash any technique that would offer a swift knock out. It appeared like Yatzen would be the loser of that clash, but appearances deceived.

While still in the midst of jumping backwards, for Yatzen, everything seemed to slow down. And, as time seemed to distort itself, Yatzen saw an option. The pillar was angled in such a way that it would shatter his rib cage. When Yatzen had dodged it, he had less jumped than thrown his upper body out of the way, and it just happened that his feet had left the ground while he did. Yet, his legs were close enough to still be able to hit the newly risen earth.

As Yatzen continued moving backwards, he kicked three times. All three times, he made decided contact with the earth. All three times, fist sized dirt clumps came flying out of the raised earth. And, for each of the three times his feet raised significantly higher, until they were nearly above his head.

While still falling backwards, Yatzen assumed a sort of fetal position, except his was not due to fear. He merely tucked his legs into his body, putting his head between his knees, so that when he would hit the ground, he would roll.

His back hit the ground first, and a sort of elegant move followed. Yatzen knew how to fall. He had tucked his chin into his chest, so he wouldn't crack it open. And, as he held it to his chest, he continued rolling backward. His knees touched the ground, then his shin and toes, and finally his feet.

It was, in that moment, Yatzen stood. His left leg kicked itself backward, and his right leg pushed him up. His arms stayed outward in some attempt to maintain balance. And, he could watch as his attack failed.

It was not due to poor aim. He was an excellent shot, and the clumps of earth had hurtled directly toward Liu. In a single sweeping kick, Liu crushed all three of the rocks before him.

For a second, the fight stopped. As if there was some intermission, the two merely seemed to stare toward one another, sizing up their opponent. It was if they were both waiting for the other to make the first move. For a second, the world seemed to grow silent before Yatzen and Liu both charged against each other. To Muzen, it seemed like armies were charging into battle. She watched with a sort of emotionless look. Right as the two collided, she closed her eyes. After a moment of the darkness of her eyelids, she opened her eyes into an oddly bright world.

Mommy, what was daddy like?

Your father? Well Muzen, he was a sailor, traveling all across the world fighting the evil Fire Nation during the war. Really, mommy? Yep. He was… a hero, a great man, fearless, and unafraid of the unknown. Where is he now mommy? Um, he's traveling. Traveling? Yep, he's going all across the world, trading with everyone. I bet if you and Yatzen are good enough, he'll bring back all sorts of toys for you two to play with. I hope he comes back home soon mommy. I do too Muzen. I do to "Muzen?"

"Muzen?"

As the words entered her ear, they pulled Muzen back to the reality of the present. Once again, she found herself watching as her brother and Liu throw attack after attack at each other. Only short seconds had passed, yet those short seconds being adrift from everything made reality seem all the harsher. She could feel someone clutching her hand. She looks down, down at the young boy grabbing her hand, appearing to be somewhat worried.

"Are you okay?" Shifu's squeaky voice said to her.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Muzen responded. But, as it seemed to Shifu, she wasn't being completely honest. She sounded like she was holding back tears while she said it. And, there was a certain look of wistfulness, although Shifu didn't know it at the time.

For a second, she merely seemed to slip her fingers out of his hand. Shifu struggled slightly, but his hand fell as her fingertips left his palm. He watched as Muzen seemed to take step after step toward the fight.

She stopped after a few short strides, and she watched as her brother dodged another attack only to counterattack. Her feet moved slightly, almost instinctively searching for good ground while in her sort of offbeat dance.

And, she stopped.

Shifu had relatively light knowledge of the Bending Disciplines. He lacked any sort of Bending capability, and Bending at that time were viewed as something improper to do. But, he had watched his brother, staring as he had trained in schools. He had some knowledge of the Earthingbending stances. And, he recognized Muzen's stance. She was preparing to bend, but at who, he didn't know. As it turned out, he would find out in mere seconds.

She struck.

Although Shifu was barely aware of it, at the speed of a blink, Muzen had done her deed. It didn't seem real. All Shifu saw was his brother slip, and in a second, Yatzen had delivered a knockout blow. It didn't seem possible. Liu was the best Bender in Shifu's eyes. It seemed like there was no way he could have merely slipped. Then he saw Muzen. He saw her move her foot, appearing to recover from doing some sort of Earthbending technique. In a second, he began to understand. He wasn't sure exactly why or how, but Muzen had taken down his older brother. He merely watched as Muzen turned toward him.

The entire time she walked toward him, Muzen wore an emotionless face. Her eyes seemingly denied the world of showing any life, and as she walked, Shifu could faintly see Yatzen walking away from his brother. He shook as he tried look for a way out. But, he couldn't move. His legs wouldn't move; they refused to. So, he stood in terror as Muzen's shadow covered him.

For a second, there was silence. Shifu couldn't even bring himself to look up at Muzen's face, instead merely staring at her feet.

He watched as Muzen shifted her weight. He watched as Muzen's foot moved off the ground. He watched as she kicked. Yet, he didn't move. He felt and watched as her foot plowed right into his stomach.

He fell. Muzen's kick had been callously powerful. Tears fell down his cheeks, tears he had tried to hold inside himself as Muzen had walked toward him. And, Muzen turned and walked away.

Yet, before she could take five steps, Muzen could hear Shifu's voice. And, she couldn't help but turn and see a pathetic boy forcing himself to stand. He said merely one word.

"Why?"

For a moment, Muzen appeared to be surprised. But, she turned around walked back, and took a knee before the boy who seemed to be reeling from a single kick. She was at his level, kneeling down, and she looked him in the eyes. She had attacked him before. In cold blood she had done him physical harm. But, as she kneeled before the young child, she kept her voice down as she spoke, and she seemed to make her very tones seem gentle.

"I don't want my brother to hurt you. Please, stay down after this one."

"No! I won't! You'll have to break me down. I won't go down as easily as my brothers have. I won't."

For a second, Muzen closed her eyes, preparing to do something she really didn't want to do. But, after a second, she closed her hands into fists.

In that moment, Shifu's body went still. His shaking ceased. He merely took on a look of fear, as he looked toward Muzen.

As she stood up, she towered over the fearful child. She breathed in, desperately trying to psyche herself up for assaulting a child. As she breathed out, she had succeeded, more or less. She felt her leg raise, preparing for a swift kick.

But, as she was about to kick, she watched as her brother proceeded to deliver a simple punch across the child's face. Shifu was thrown by its sheer force. As he desperately struggled to remain awake, he retained consciousness for a few seconds after he hit the ground.

"Was that the last of them?" Muzen asked as she exited the alleyway. Shifu could recognize her voice, but his vision was fading too fast. At the time of hearing her voice, all he could see was two blurry shadows in a rapidly darkening world.

"Yep."

"That means all we have left to do is go… an…d… ge…t… ou… r… ba…"

Shifu's consciousness faded out at that point.

Around ten minutes later, he would wake up. His older brothers would be cursing and plotting against the two. And, he would get up, his jaw, stomach, and right side aching. Yet, he wouldn't feel that pain fully. He would feel something missing, as if something had been taken from him, yet something he could not define. He would follow his brothers to search for the two at their home. Yet, by the time they got there, Yatzen and Muzen would be gone. And, the Lee's would find out about a simple lie.

At the age of 36, Muzen's and Yatzen's mother, after five months of struggling with illness, had died.

The Lee's entered the two's former home, and found it to be immaculate. Muzen's and Yatzen's possessions were gone by that point, taken and packed away. Everything that seemed to have practical importance was gone; everything that lacked practicality was packed away.

They left that home, feeling a bit depressed, but Liu was sure of where the two were going. And, he proved to be correct. Near the walls they saw the two, bags packed, walking toward a tiny tunnel that had led through the world.

The two were silent, and as they walked through the twilight of a post sunset Ba Sing Se, the world seemed to join in the silence.

There was no sadness as they left. Even little Shifu didn't cry. There were no friends coming to see them off, no tear ridden goodbyes, nor any sort of cries for them to stay. Merely the two left as they had lived, faceless nobodies in a world of somebodies.

The Lee's left as Muzen and Yatzen walked into the tunnel. As far as they were concerned, the two were gone. They had died and would never return.

They were correct. Yatzen and Muzen were dead. The two that had once walked the streets of Ba Sing Se were gone. But, Yatzen and Muzen were being reborn. As they walked through that tunnel, they were being reborn into a different world. Through a dark tunnel, they exited the walls of the capital, and entered into a world of freedoms.

It was night as the two walked out of Ba Sing Se, but they walked on, searching for a place to finally rest. The ground had dried remarkably quickly that day, and as they walked on, mud was no issue to the two. Still, after a few yards of walking, Muzen stopped.

For a moment, she turned back toward the city that had taken her childhood. Guards were outside, appearing sleepy and bored. But, beyond them, she needed to look up to see the top of the walls.

Out of her pocket, her hand had grabbed something, although the darkness obscured it. Still, the guards could tell what it was after a moment. It was a necklace. They had watched as she donned it.

And, as quickly as she had stopped, she turned and continued walking. Her brother had stopped, and was waiting impatiently for her. After a second of slightly running, she reached her brother. And, the two renewed their walking, appearing as two shadows returning to the darkness.