Chapter 4: One Step Closer

Hmm. Yeah so, Linkin Park songs are good for angsty chapters. If you didn't notice, I'm still doing the song title thing. I think that's just for this series though. Oh and I'm working on another story already. For now I'm calling it "Because I Don't Make Mistakes" you can check out the details in my profile yadda yadda, so that's coming up after this story is done. Starting to wonder, maybe I am a little bit addicted to fanfiction….. thinks for a minute……naw. Haha. So Chapter 4, it's short so yeah. Have fun.

Only five men had stayed with Jet. From afternoon to evening, their numbers had slowly dwindled as more and more rebels slipped away to help the Konashi. Help them survive a supposed fiery doom. Jet bit his lip. Why didn't he trust them? Why didn't he trust anyone? He blamed it on the Fire Nation most of them time, but this was different. The five men eyed him warily, watching his expressive eyebrows change. "Damn it! Let's go!"

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Smellerbee gazed in horror at the advancing Fire Nation ships. It was her past all over again. She wiped a tear away and squashed down painful memories. Longshot put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"They'll be within range to attack in a few hours. Then it all depends on when they feel like attacking," Haru said. He had said it many times.

Smellerbee nodded. "So we're waiting for them to attack?"

Haru nodded. "It is a larger force than the one that took the village before. We may have fortifications now but…" He didn't need to finish his sentence. Hopelessness dripped off his words. Not that they wouldn't fight like hell. "Last time, Konashi was saved by the Blind Bandit, a great earthbender. But she isn't here this time."

"We won't give up without a fight," Smellerbee said. "We're the Freedom Fighters."

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Crin sat warm in Sokka's arms by the fire; her head nestled comfortably on his shoulder. An uneasy tension filled her and she shuddered.

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know. I feel like something's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"It feels like…" Crin struggled to find the right words. "Danger. Fear."

Sokka pulled her close. "Nothing is going to happen to you."

"Not me. It feels like…" Crin searched her mind for the words. "A lot of people. Running away." She bit her lip. "Like they're hiding from something." Crin thought again for a moment. "And it feels like… I know them."

"Everything will be alright," Sokka told her, wondering if he was lying.

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Mai's dark green nails glittered in the semi-darkness. It was the closest thing Ty Lee had to black, but Mai still tried to hide them in her sleeves. Ty Lee followed closely behind her. They were in the depths of the ship. They were in front of Azula's room. It was all Ty Lee's idea.

"You knock," Mai said.

Ty Lee knocked. No response. She knocked again. "Go away!"

"Azula, it's us!"

"Damn it! Come in!"

They opened the door. It was dark save a small candle on the bedside table. Azula was sitting on her bed with her hair undone. From the looks of it, she hadn't been sleeping.

"Azula, what's going on?"

"Ty Lee we're leading an invasion, you know that?"

"That's not what I mean and you know it. Your aura is greyer than Mai's. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Azula lied. "I'm fine."

"You aren't fine," Mai said, joining the conversation. "What's this all about? You've been acting like… me."

"But worse," Ty Lee added, receiving a bitter look from Mai.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"It's about what your mother said, isn't it?" Mai pressed. "You're confused."

The flame of the candle swelled. "I don't want to talk about it! Don't tell me how I'm feeling! GET OUT!"

Mai and Ty Lee looked at Azula one last time and left.

Azula was still breathing hard. "They're right. Damn it! They're right. But they still don't understand." She closed her eyes. "What do I do?" She sighed. "What the hell do I do?"

Ok, so if this isn't interesting enough for you, just wait. It's about to get so much more interesting and pretty soon, the part, that I am sooooo happy with how I wrote it, it just makes me giddy. Does that happen to anyone else or am I just a dork? Hmmmm probably still just a dork, but….. hmmmmm…. Yeah….. anyway. So even though there wasn't much response last chapter coughlazypunkscough, I'll put this one up because I still love you. A bit.