Disclaimer: I don't own ATLAB

Stranger Danger

Chapter 2

He saw his village all in one piece, no sign of fire nation anywhere, but something was wrong. It was quiet. No children running and playing like they always did. He walked through the empty streets and made his way to his house. It was right there, in front of him. He pushed open the door, but inside was complete darkness. "Longshot?" he heard his mother asked. Longshot wanted to yell out to her but he couldn't. The words just wouldn't come out. He stepped in but fell through the ground into fire, the flames consuming him.

Longshot felt a hand on his shoulder and his eyes shot open. It took him a moment to remember where he was. He sat up breathed heavily, beads of sweat were on his forehead. He looked up and saw Nami fully dressed, kneeling next to him. She slung the small bag she brought over her shoulder and looked at him.

She looked into his eyes with concern. "Longshot?" she whispered. He shook his head assuring her it was nothing. There was sadness in her face as she got up and walked away. He reached over and put on his clothes and tied on his conical hat. When they were all ready, they left the inn and looked for a place to leave the money. They found and approached a building that was larger than the others.

"I'll take them in,"Smellerbee said as she carried the bags into the building.

Longshot leaned against the wall and looked at the horizon. The sun was rising, peeking over the mountains and pouring colors of gold and orange onto the land. People were beginning to come out of their homes to prepare for their work. Nami pulled over her hood and Wang and Jet shielded their face. Longshot dipped his head and pulled on his hat. They were wanted by the fire nation and they couldn't risk getting recognized.

"We should start training you guys," Jet said low enough for only them to hear.

"We already know how to fight," Wang said. Jet gave a small nod. "We'll see."

Smellerbee came out of the building and they all made their way towards the forest, stealing some food here and there, until the small town was far behind them. They had been walking for a long time in the heat before coming upon a large pond.

"We should rest here," Smellerbee announced. All of them nodded in agreement.

Wang began shouting in excitement. He stripped off his clothes leaving him in only in his underwear. He ran and jumped into the clear water. The rest of them sat on the ground and leaned against trees.

"Now," Jet started, "how about some training for the new recruits?" He stood up and got hold of his hooked swords and pointed one at Nami. "We'll start with you." Nami gave blank expression and stood up. She got out her knives and hooked them onto her belt.

"I'll go easy on you," Jet said with a laugh. Nami gave a fake smile and threw one of her knives and it grazed Jet's cheek, leaving a red mark. It happened so fast that it took time for it to register in Jet's mind. Longshot couldn't help but give a small laugh. He looked at Smellerbee and saw that she was trying her hardest not to smile.

"Or not," Jet said. He charged at her with his hooked swords. He slashed at her but she bent backwards landing on her hands. She stood back up and threw a knife, but Jet learned his lesson and moved out of the way just in time. They both charged each other. Jet slid on his knees and tried to trip Nami with his sword but she jumped onto her her hands then onto her feet, dodging his sword. Jet got back onto his feet and looked at Nami. She had two knives in her hands. She threw them, but not at Jet; at his swords, knocking them out of his hands and out of reach. Jet heard Longshot and Wang begin clapping and laughing.

"Looks like you got a crowd," Jet said. Nami just shrugged her shoulders but smiled. He noticed she was out of knives so they had to go hand to hand combat. She swung many times but he dodged them easily. It was Jet's turn: he swung his left arm and hit Nami's right shoulder, sending her backwards and onto the ground. He could tell by the look on her face that she was shocked. She was a freedom fighter now, she had to get used to being hit by guys.

"Nice hit," she said as she regained her balance. Then she side kicked Jet in the chest, sending him into a tree. He looked at her and saw that she had a knife hidden in her boot. She threw it and it pierced the tree right above his head.

"Good aim," he said breathing heavily. She approached him and retrieved her knife.

"What are you talking about? I missed," she said. Longshot could see Jet's eye twitch. They both walked towards the others and sat down.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Jet asked as he sat up against a tree trunk.

"My father taught me when I was a little girl, but we kept it secret since girl's weren't supposed to fight. He taught me how to fight with knives and how to waterbend," Nami said.

"Then she taught me!" Wang shouted with a big grin. "Together we became the shadow benders of Ba Sing Se!"

Everybody starred at him and Longshot shook his head. "Right," Jet said then looked at Nami. "Well your pretty good." Longshot looked at Nami as her face lit up a bit. "What do you think Bee?"

Smellerbee looked over at her. "She could use some work," she said, "but she is pretty good." This made Nami smile.

Wang clapped his hands together. "Come on guys, the water is great!"

Jet took off his shirt and boots and followed Wang to the water. The rest of them did the same, stripping off their clothes and jumping into the water. Longshot took off his boots and shirt but left on his hat and pants. He sat on the bank of the pond with his legs criss-crossed. He watched Smellerbee run and jump in the shimmering water, causing a big splash. He heard her laugh when she came back to the surface.

Nami hopped out of the water and onto the ground next to Longshot. She rang out her hair and tied it up with a piece of cloth she ripped from her shirt. Longshot looked at her. You could actually see her face now that there was no hair in it. Then, something caught his eye. He held her cheek in his hand and ran his thumb over a long scar that ran down her temple.

What happened? Longshot asked.

She looked into his deep brown eyes that did the talking for him. "The Dai Li. When I went to save Wang, they caught me and threw me into a cell. They interrogated me and when I wouldn't talk, they turned to violence." She grabbed his hand and lowered it. She untied Longshot's hat and put it on her head.

"How do I look?" He smiled and nodded in approval. She laughed then did the unexpected: she pushed Longshot in the water. When he came back to the surface he saw Nami laughing even harder as she put Longshot's hat on the ground. He swam towards her and grabbed both her hands, pulling her in the water too. He gave a little laugh. Things actually felt peaceful for a moment.

Hola again everyone:). I'm sorry my chapters aren't that good anymore:( but they'll get better soon I promise, things are just tough at home right now so I apologize. Things will get exciting in the third chapter so bare with me please haha. Thanks for everyone who read my story. You know who you are you little rascals;) so favorite, follow, whatever bakes your potato and I will be up with a new chapter! Also, reviews make me feel better about myself so please review [: ? They make my stories bettuh! Thanks:D

Marsh-mellows

~Elisa