Chapter 3

Dust clouded the air, making it difficult to breath or even see clearly. Rei's chest heaved as his lungs tried to expel the dust from his body. He coughed over and over as he rolled away from the rubble that had nearly crushed him. Light filtered in from one corner of the room where there had been no window before, causing a beam of sunlight dance across the dusty room. Moans could be heard from all around the room as people tried to stand and figure out what had just occurred.

"What the hell just happened?" A large man covered in tattoos from head to foot exclaimed, lifting his massive body up from where he was kneeling. He stood at least a head taller than Rei. "Was there an explosion?"

Rei's head snapped around as he heard something. At first, he thought it was another tremor, but this sounded very different from any earthquake or explosion. "Guys get dow…" He tried to yell out just as the roof shook once more and the hole in the wall widened. A massive chunk of stone flew through the gap, slamming into the man standing next to him, just a few feet away. The man took the brunt of the blow to his right side, spinning him around as the rock hit his body. He dropped to the ground screaming, holding his injured shoulder with his other arm.

"We're under attack!" They heard someone shout. "It's the Earth Kingdom!"

It finally all made sense. The earthquake before, the stone flying through the air like it was launched from a catapult. The Earth Kingdom had finally made its move. There had always been a deep-seated hatred between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. The Earth Kingdom was the most powerful Nation in known world. They had the most land, the most people, and the grandest cities. Compared to the Earth Kingdom, the entire Fire Nation was no bigger than one of the Earth Kingdom cities. The Fire Nation constantly attempted to conquer and expand onto Earth Kingdom territory on the premise that they needed more land to expand and the Earth Kingdom had more than enough to spare. Each Nation constantly fought over new territory. What the Fire Nation lacked in numbers, they made up for with sheer determination and passion for battle. Earth Benders had always been content to sit inside their walled cities and never take the first initiative, until now. It seemed that the Earth Kingdom had finally taken the fight to the capital city of the Fire Nation, and they were intent on breaking down the very city itself.

A tremendous groan and roar shook the very floor itself as the coliseum was assaulted from the outside. The silhouette of a man in full battle armor suddenly blocked the light coming in from the outside. He took a low fighting stance, arms raised above his head, then balled his hands into fists and pulled down at the earthen ceiling. Rei had seen earthbenders fight before and knew exactly what was coming next. He dove from where he was standing, doing a quick somersault to find cover underneath a nearby table. Halfway through his roll his legs collided with something firm.

"OW! This is my hiding spot!" Mira cried out as a body collided with her underneath the table. She gasped as she recognized the face of the boy as he landed on his back and looked up at her. She quickly backed up further against the stone wall behind her. "You're the fighter from the arena!" She gasped one more, this time out of horror instead of surprise. "That means you're a criminal!"

Rei rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the wrist. "If you don't want this building coming down on all of our heads then we need to go now, ok?" He knew this girl was only going to slow him down, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her here to be buried under a pile of rubble. She was no gladiator like these other men. They could handle themselves in a fight, and most were sentenced to death or a lifetime in the arena. This young maid looked like she had never even killed a spider.

Mira began to protest but was cut short as Rei yanked her arm hard, dragging her out from underneath her cover just as a massive chunk of the roof caved in on top of her hiding place. Her eyes went wide and she stopped struggling against him. She looked around the room like a cornered animal, trying to find the next place to escape to.

Several of the gladiators had identified their chance to fight, and possibly escape, and had already taken down the lone earthbender attempting to collapse the ceiling around them. Lucky for Mira and Rei, the path out was now open. Rei pulled her along, encouraging her to run faster and escape the collapsing building.

Mira climbed hand and foot to the top of the rubble mound that led to the opening in the wall, the rough stones scraping at her knees and fingers. She blinked rapidly, the light blinding her for a moment as she exited the dusty room. The fresh air smelled like heaven. She hadn't realized until now how horrid the holding room of the coliseum really was until she was out in the fresh air. A fleeting thought entered her mind and she hoped that she would never again have to suffer the fact of growing use to a smell so terrible. Once her eyes adjusted and she looked up, tears sprang to her eyes. The city -her city- was in ruins. Everywhere she looked buildings were crumbling as earthbenders tore them apart. Anything not made of stone or too large for them to bend was being bombarded by boulders flying through the air.

"We have to run, now!" Rei was holding her by the shoulders and gently shaking her to get her attention.

She snapped back into the moment, "Where?" She asked, her voice catching as a sob attempted to escape. "Our homes are gone!" She had to yell in order to be heard over the sound of the destruction.

"I know somewhere safe, just trust me." He beckoned with one hand, looking back over his shoulder as he started to jog towards the city.

Mira's heart was racing, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to breath for a moment, but the adrenaline in her blood was telling her to run. She gathered up her dress and ran from the coliseum without looking back. She didn't care if that disgusting place was torn down. It didn't bring her any joy to think about it though.

Rei guided her to the outskirts of the city where the fighting was not as bad. Every time they heard a boom from an earthbenders boulder they would take a new alley and attempt to go around them. Mira had never been to this part of the city before. As a handmaiden she was given a place to stay in the palace and only went out for errands in the fancier part of the city. Out here the buildings were dark greys and browns instead of the rich red and deep black of the Fire Nation colors. Garbage littered the alley ways and everything seemed to hold onto a wet, moldy smell.

Her breath came as ragged pants as she tried to speak, "How much further?" She managed to gasp out.

Rei suddenly turned to her and wrapped his hand over her mouth, pinning her to the wall with his forearm against her chest. Her big green eyes grew even bigger as he pressed against her. He looked directly into her eyes as he let out a silent, "Shhhh". His eyes flicked to the side, signaling something was amiss. Slowly he pulled his hand away and motioned for her to stay put and not make a sound. He ran straight towards the stone wall of the building opposite her and quietly grabbed onto the ledge above, swinging his body up and on top of the roof. He soon vanished out of site, leaving Mira panting and shaking in fear.

Soon she heard the footsteps of the soldiers as well. Heavy, armor clad boots thumped against the cobblestone road. She knew they were coming right towards the alley she was hiding in, but she couldn't make her legs move. Instead she clamped a hand over her own mouth in an attempt to silence her breathing. They walked closer with each step. Mira had no idea what she was going to do if they found her. They had only to turn their head to the side and look down the alley as they crossed to see her standing there in her bright red dress.

The men slowly walked into view. Dark green and sandy brown armor covered their bodies. They didn't wear face masks like the Fire Nation soldiers, but Mira couldn't get a good look at their faces from her hiding spot. One was heavily bearded, and the other had dark brown skin, darker than Mira had ever seen. The Earth Kingdom emblem, a circular coin with a square cut out of the center, emblazoned their armor. Each one carried a spear with them as well, but she knew they didn't need weapons to hurt her. She watched as they both walked past her hiding spot until one stopped.

The dark man stopped, placing a hand on the shoulder of his partner saying something about regrouping with the rest of the army. Both turned around at the same time as Mira made eye contact with them. A cry escaped her closed mouth.

Before she could even comprehend what was happening, Rei dropped down from a nearby roof onto the back of the bearded solider. The sturdy man stumbled forward but held his footing until Rei placed his hands under the mans chin from behind and pulled with all his strength. As the man had been trying to regain his balance from being struck on the back, he could not stop the sudden change in direction as he was pulled backwards. Rei quickly stomped the soldiers head, his helmet ringing off the stone like a dull bell. He turned to face the next soldier just as the spear was thrust towards his belly. He barely had time to react as he jumped backwards, just barely dodging the point of the spear. He pulled on the fire from within his body as he gained some distance and launched a massive flurry of blows at the dark-skinned soldier. A wall of thick stone sprang up between them and the flames rolled over it harmlessly. Just as quickly as it sprang up, the stone wall burst into chunks and flew at him as deadly missiles. Unlike flames which took time to burn a target, a well-placed stone could kill an unprotected man.

Rei quickly realized he could not fight at range like this. The one advantage he had was fighting in close quarters where the earthebender would not have time to lift a deadly chunk of earth and hurl it towards him. Dodging between the projectiles, he inched closer and closer to his assailant.

"Just a little closer." He thought as the Earth Kingdom soldier began to retreat with each stone hurled in his direction.

Then with lightning speed, Rei dashed to the side and pushed off the nearby wall with his feet. The movement pushed him high into the air where he kicked out towards the soldier. His foot connected with the thick metal of his enemy's helmet. The soldier stumbled backwards as Rei closed in on him. He gave the man no time to recover and quickly struck out with both hands, palms facing out, as a huge torrent of flames burst out of him and threw the soldier backwards into a wall. He landed with a dull thud and stopped moving.

Mira looked at Rei with horror in her eyes. "You killed him didn't you?"