Thunder roared in the sky ominously, as it was going to be a rough night. The girl tossed and turned under the sheets that clung to her skin like a constrictor-weasel. Light brown hair in tangles, heart racing, and a cold sweat running down her back, she curled up and stretched out trying to become comfortable. Lighting lit the room with an eerie glow, followed by a loud crack of nearby thunder. Marra shot up in her bed, blue eyes glowing feverishly in the flash of light. She looked around the room in the split second of light she had and coughed. Slumping forward, she held her face in her hands and squished her cheeks together as she sighed, trying to remember her nightmare. A sense of déjà vu circled her mind, but she couldn't recall what it was that made her remember this situation either. Lightning lit the room, and she saw the same old wooden walls, same old stone floor, and same old emptiness. It was home to her though, fifteen years here made it home sweet home. Thunder rumbled once more, the storm was further away now. Marra swallowed hard, at peace with the facts she couldn't remember her nightmare or why she'd felt this before.

Relaxing and lying back down, Marra planned to go back to sleep from her dazed state, but loud crashes rattled her door and her mind, but it wasn't the thunder. She shot up and out of bed, awake with adrenaline, her throat tightened as her body tensed, uneasy of the situation. It was still dark out, she thought, there's no way Mom or Dad are up yet. Swallowing hard, she tip toed to the door and raised her fist, bring up a chunk of earth with it. She softly touched the sliding door with her fingertips. The wood was so smooth and cold, it sent a chill up her arm and down her spine. Pressing and sliding the door, it opened in a flash with the lightning as she brought the earth to her opposite arm as if it were a shield. There was no one there, only the street and city. Turning around, Marra realized her room was gone, replaced with a hard wooden fence, supported by steel that glimmered in the half moon light. She stepped back, astonished and scared. A loud crash came from the next block, causing Marra to spin around, earthbending at the ready. Sweat beads slid down her forehead as she panted for air, unable to ease her wild heart.

From then it was oddly quiet. The wind didn't whistle, nor did the sound of the town ring into the night, it only stillness filled the cold air. The quiet only seemed to emphasize the loud crash just moments ago. With jagged breath, Marra ran towards the corner and turned around the block. Something was odd though. It was the same place she just ran from with the same fence and all. The crash sounded again and Marra ran after it once more, only to be met with the same street. She swallowed hard, extremely confused at the nonsense in front of her. There was a muffled yell from a side road that she hadn't seen before. Finally finding what she hoped was the source of this madness, she ran into the ally, earth trailing behind her. All air escaped her body as she entered the alleyway. Dozens upon dozens of fire nation soldiers crowded the pass, maybe there were even hundreds. Yet somehow not a single one of them managed to block the horror at the end of the pass.

There was a young girl, no more than fourteen to be sure, held against the stone wall by a firebender. The more she struggled, the tighter his grip became, leaving burns in the shape of hand prints along her bare skin. The girl's hazel eyes shimmered with tears in the dim light as she tried to scream. Marra screamed in anger, filling the air with anguish. The soldiers all turned to her, devilish grins along their faces. Marra slammed the earth she'd been hanging onto into the first few guards, sending them down fast as the others rushed towards her. Tears filled her eyes as she cast them aside with stones in their ribcages, limbs or even heads as she moved towards the girl. The alley kept getting longer and longer the faster Marra moved towards the rapist. One caught her wrist and halted her progress. She turned her body to him, he was a large man, bigger than the rest and much bigger than her. A mask covered his face, but Marra felt the evil grin spread on his face as he brought his searing gauntlet up to Marra's face.

"Marra," grumbled the outline large man at her bed side. The only light came from a candle outside her open door and cast shadows that danced like demons in the mostly empty room. "You can't sleep in tonight," his low voice sounded annoyed. He paused for a few seconds, letting Marra readjust to her surroundings. She nodded, sending him off and assuring Turan she wouldn't seep in. Sighing as he walked towards the door, he ran a hand through his half spiked hair. "This is going to be on hell of a night," he grumbled, leaving and shutting the door.

She looked around the room in the last split second of light she had from the candle and coughed. Slumping forward, she held her face in her hands and squished her cheeks together, feeling the scar on her right cheek as she sighed, remembering her nightmare. A sense of déjà vu circled her mind as she recalled how this happened what felt like just moments before. It was the same dream again, the one she failed to remember in said dream. The sense of déjà vu from waking up the same every time.

With a sigh, she got out of bed, readied her dark clothes and mask. Sighing once again, she opened her door and looked around. Everything was so plain at this end of the hall. There was Marra's door, a door across from it and a door to the immediate left. Shutting her door, she walked around the corner to a small open area the spiral staircase. There was a door behind it, and one under a nearby rug. Other than that the entire space was empty and bland. Pale candle light illuminated the stairs as Marra made her way up, careful not to trip. At the top there was a platform where two people stood, Turan and a young girl, Tarka who was about sixteen now. She smiled brightly, despite their plan for tonight. Marra smiled back, under her mask.

"What are we waiting for?" Marra asked, her voice echoing in the stairwell. She balled her hand into fists and readied herself, as did the other two, pushing their arms up, an opening slid across the low ceiling, exposing the night sky and tips of forest trees. The three crawled out of the hole and resealed it tightly, placing the rock back on top. None of them knew how tonight was going to end, but one thing they all knew for sure: This raid wasn't going to be easy.