Chapter Seven

Tahno ducked down, hearing the sudden noise. Although it had taken him completely off guard, it was not completely unexpected. Ever since word had spread about him losing his bending, people no longer held their respect for him. Word had also managed to get out about his team's cheating and illegitimacy in the arena, and as team captain, he was held primarily responsible. His fans had turned on him, and those already against him seemed to hate him even more. The first day after the incident, when word was first finding its way out, his home had been broken in. Left completely defenseless and still in shock by Amon, Tahno had been unable to do anything about it. He had been robbed of a large amount of his valuables - paintings, rugs, and especially the trophies. Entire probending teams had come in at one point and raided his shrine to the sport. The news articles of his victories had been torn off the walls, any trophies either stolen or smashed. After that, other groups broke in but didn't steal anything, they simply came and began attacking him. They kicked him, punched him, spat on him, and left him a disgraced mess on the floor of his home. He lay there for the entire night, bleeding and in pain, wishing for death. That had been in his other home, not this one. He had left his large mansion in search of peace and refuge, and was currently residing in his smaller, quieter home. Very few people knew about this home, and now one more. His thoughts drifted to the girl who had slept overnight here, and he thought about what she might have thought of his other home. Would she have been jealous of all the displays of his fame? Would she have been disgusted by his blatant flaunting of his wealth? Would she be impressed? Did it matter?

Tahno sighed, standing up properly and heading over to where the noise had come from, leaving his tea on one of the countertops. He found the noise to have come from the living room, or so he assumed, based on the large hole smashed into his window, the broken glass shards on the floor, and the brick laying in the center of it all. He cursed mentally as he headed back to the kitchen to get a broom. He groaned, having all his hopes for a peaceful morning dashed entirely. He grabbed the broom from the storage closet, then began walking back to the mess. Despite his prevailing state of exhaustion, he was now somewhat alert and incredibly on edge. He had hoped to just have a simple, relaxing morning for once. Was he unworthy of even that simple pleasure?

His ears suddenly picked up the sound of quick, muted footsteps. He flattened himself against the wall, leaning the brom carefully beside him so it would not fall. He focused intently on the noises, trying to figure out who had abruptly interrupted his peace and quiet to invade his privacy in such a brutish manner. However, the sounds had gone away, and he was left with the deafening sound of silence. Where did they go? What did they want? Who was it? Tahno's head was brimming with questions he had no answers for. He peeked carefully around the corner into the living room, only to find it just as empty as he had left it. He crept into the room, once more wielding the broom, but now in a more defensive and threatening manner.

"Who's there?"

He called, demanding a response.

His question was met with silence.

"I said Who's there?"

He repeated, his tone now darker and more menacing.

Once again, silence.

"You don't know who you're messing with, and I don't think you want to find out..." He said, his voice deep and harsh.

"Oh, we know exactly who you are. You'll have to excuse us if we're not so scared, though."

With this, three figures entered the room. The first of them, the one speaking and clearly the leader of the group, appeared to be a heavy-set, yet muscular, character with somewhat fair skin and short, dark, neat hair. Tahno stared at him, very faintly recognizing the face of the man before him, but unable to place it. The second of them, standing directly behind the first man, had a tanned complexion with even darker hair. A combination of a grin and a scowl appeared to be prominent on the man's face, and Tahno realized that this was yet another mysteriously familiar face. When his gaze transfixed on the third member of the team, a somewhat muscular yet lean man, he realized that this was one of the probending teams that had come after him. Realization struck, as was clearly displayed through the brief look of anguish that took its place on Tahno's face. Unfortunately, it was not quite brief enough to go completely unnoticed. The second man, picking up on Tahno's expression, decided to comment on it. "Looks like waterboy here has remembered us," He remarked, his snide grin growing. "Oh, that's right. You don't have your little powers anymore, do you? And there aren't any paid off refs here, so it looks like you're in for a loss today."

Tahno stepped back hesitantly, defensively holding up the broom in an attempt to keep them back.

The leader of the group stepped forwards as Tahno did this, a cruel smile beginning to spread across his face. "So, Tahno," He spat the man's name out with disdain as he continued. "Do you remember exactly who we are?"

Tahno stared blankly at the leader for a moment before regaining his composure and attempting to take a more confident stance. He narrowed his eyes at the man who had addressed him before spitting back one of his typical sarcastic answers. "Of course I do, you're Bilbo and the Bolar Pears, aren't you?" He stepped back as he spoke, finding himself against the wall sooner than he'd expected to be.

"Funny," the leader spoke. "At least you'll have that going for you after we're done with you. If you're unfortunate to make it through, that is," he commented, extending one arm and igniting a fire in it. He slowly began approaching Tahno as he spoke: "I'm not surprised you don't remember us. Few people remember the names of dishonored champions. And after all, your team was the winner…"

Tahno stared questioning lay at the man advancing, and began inching away to the side in the hopes of getting away. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said, matter-of-factly.

This seemed to enrage the large man even more, as Tahno observed from the very carelessly controlled flame quickly growing in the man's palm. "I'm talking about your very first pro-bending championship, of course. The Whitefalls Wolfbats versus, oh, who was it again? Oh, right. The Beijongg Boar-Q-Pines! I remember that match like it was yesterday...the cheering fans, the bright stadium lights, and - let's not forget - all of your illegal moves and paid off referees that cost us our title." His eyes locked onto Tahno, and seemed ablaze with a burning rage that could've charred him had it been real. "So, we've come for a rematch."

Tahno froze upon hearing these words, knowing the inevitable pain that was to come. He lurched left, then charged forwards, hoping to be able to rush past the third member without him being able to stop him. However, the second man, having predicted Tahno's urge to flee, had already launched a water whip and wrapped it around his ankle and was currently winding up to yank it back. Tahno paused, firmly planting his feet into the ground as an attempt to make it more difficult for the waterbender. However, the bender didn't even hesitant as he yanked it upwards, flipping Tahno face-first into the ground.

Tahno winced in pain as his face connected with the solid wooden floors that covered the floor in his house. I should've gone with carpet, he thought regretfully to himself. He turned over and was about to get up when he was yanked from the floor and was smashed against a wall by the rough hand of the third member of the team. He felt a sharp pain in his side, and found himself being crushed in between two large pillars of rock. The large hand against his chest pulled away, granting him a second of slight relief, before it came back and pummeled him right in his jaw.

"Looks like the Wolfbats aren't doing so well, they're already into zone two!" The leader narrated with a booming voice, grinning wickedly at Tahno as he did so.

The flame in his hand had grown quite considerably in the time since Tahno had last seen it. Noticing the gaze of Tahno, the leader of the group began approaching Tahno and brought the fire uncomfortably close to Tahno's chin. He squirmed awkwardly, trying to avoid ruining his complexion and getting burned in the process. However, instead of burning his face, the firebender took his hand and pressed it slowly and painfully against Tahno's forearm. The screams and cries of the former bender echoed throughout the walls of the house as Tahno begged for mercy. After satisfied with the pain he had inflicted, the bender pulled his hand away. "Sorry about the marks, pretty boy. Let me even it out for you." He lit the flame once more in his other hand, and firmly gripped Tahno's other arm with it. Tears came to the once-proud man, and Tahno begged the man to stop. His words were futile against the word of the bender, as he merely cackled and continued with his commentary. "And with that, the Wolfbats are back into the third lane already! Looks like the Boar-Q-Pines are sure to win this one if they could only knock them out of the ring!"

Tahno's eyes widened in agony as he heard this, knowing there was more to come. He was surprised, instead, when he felt the earthen beams loosening their grip on him, and he fell to the floor. Defeated and with nothing more to lose, Tahno crumpled up on the floor.

They didn't seem to like that.

"Get up. You can't give up like this in the world of probending."

They continued their assault on him, kicking at his aides and pummeling him with their elements. Tahno winced with each hit, but he remained on the floor. Suddenly, the beating stopped.

"It wouldn't be fair to continue to brutally assault a defenseless team when you've done all you can to gain the upper hand to secure the championship. Don't worry, we'll give you a break.."

Tahno allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

"...just like you did when you stole our fucking championship title from us like the lowlife, undeserving, and worthless piece of human shit you are!" The leader finished his sentence, spitting out the last of it with an unimaginable sense of brutality and absolutely no sense of mercy.

Tahno felt a strong, sharp kick to his chest that caught him off guard. Completely winded and unable to breathe, he began coughing and gasping for air.

"And just like that, the Beijongg Boar-Q-Pines have sized this year's championship! Outstanding game, ladies and gentlemen!" The leader concluded his narration with an enthustiastic exclamation, then bowed and turned to leave. Both of the men with him followed behind, with the third member turning around before exiting to make a snide comment. "Great rematch, by the way."

Tahno managed to keep his eyes open long enough to watch them leave, but remained on the floor, rendered immobile by the assault. He continued coughing and gasping for breath, more desperately than ever now. He was losing oxygen, and very quickly. He noticed his vision becoming more and more impaired, the shapes becoming fuzzier and the scene before him turning to black. He felt his head spinning and tried to sit up, but found himself falling back to the floor before passing into unconsciousness.

4/12/2016