Chapter 6:
Kalo

It was the dead of night. Kalo, who had just taken out one of the sentinels that were following him, was hiding in the treetops of Li Mei forest. He sat on a branch and kept a lookout for any moving shadows. Then, he slowly proceeded down the forest; from treetop to treetop. He isn't an acrobat, but does have good mobility. Suddenly, when he reached the next treetop, he saw the back of a sentinel facing towards him. Silently, and swiftly, he took out a dagger and slit the sentinel's throat, catching him before he fell into the leaf-covered ground. He then set the dead sentinel against a sturdy branch, proceeding towards the Southeast border.

Unfortunately, being the unperfect hunter that he is, he stepped on a not-so-strong branch and fell to the ground after a 10-foot freefall, rebounding by rolling to his feet. He attracted the attention of 5 sentinels. This was the rule: if the sentinels were spotted by one of their subjects, they must kill it.

Before Kalo could attack, a sentinel spoke. "Wait! Wait! We have a message for you!" He picked up a branch and set it on fire, creating some light. "It's from Fire Lord Ozai. About your reward."

Kalo's yield of daggers, swords, and blades frightened the sentinels. He slid them back into his canisters and holders, putting the small ones in the canisters that wrapped around his belt and the primary swords in the canister attached to the back of his black suit. "Why be so subtle?" he asked.

"We weren't really sure what we were dealing with until you killed one of our comrades," the sentinel responded.

"He tried to kill me."

"Let's get to the point. Ozai is growing impatient. The deserters have obtained top secret government files. If they reach the coast and blow past the southeast blockade, then the fire nation is doomed. And we all love money, don't we? You will recieve 1500 Gold pieces for each outsider you bring back."

"1500?" Kalo replied. 4500 Gold Pieces... it's hard to argue with that.

"Now you understand how urgent it is to capture these deserters," the sentinel declared.

Deserters. That word was glued onto Kalo's mind. "I'll get what he wants," Kalo said. "Just tell him it will take a while." Before the sentinels could respond, Kalo jumped to the treetops above him, sticking to the darkness.

The other sentinels were confused. "What does he mean by 'take a while?'"

"It means that he knows something we don't know." The angered sentinels continued to follow the unwitting Kalo.

-

Oishi and I were discussing our approach on the coast and our escape from the blockade. To do this by naval means, it would be impossible, but aerial means may be possible. The problem is, where are we to find an aerial source?

"Fire nation rebel squadrons," Oishi responded. "There are plenty of them that run along the coast. They always cross the water blockade to get to the Earth Kingdom."

"How are we going to find a rebel squad?" I said.

"My grandfather used to serve in the resistance forces at the Earth Kingdom," Kai cut in. "You'll most likely find them in the mountains. They always settle in the mountains to keep a lookout for messenger hawks. Many of them are being used late in the war."

"We can't just go up to a rebel squad and ask for help. It's not common."

"And I'm not gonna go near those imbeciles anyway," Kai responded.

"What else can we do?" Oishi said. "A welcome wagon is the last thing I'll ever think of in these kinds of situations. The Kang Mountain Range is nearby. We'll leave for there at mid-day. Just remember, it will not be us that will find them, it will be them that will find us."

Secretly, I was familiar with the rebel squads of Kang Mountain Range. They are very skilled in archery and swordsmanship; two very elite characteristics that can tell anything about a soldier.

-

Fire Lord Ozai and the cabinet members were discussing fire nation presence in the ocean. Presence in the ocean is very important. It is a fundamental of the fire nation. They rule out the other nations by naval means due to naval presence. Their quantity of islands is an advantage in this trait. That's why they have such a good skill in sea power.

"We've called back some of our weaker ships to defend the water blockade," General Matis began.

"We need to keep the Southeast Blockade strong if we want the deserters captured," General Topai added.

"Of course," Ozai replied.

"Sir, I disagree," Admiral Charr responded. Everyone's attention, even the informer, who was writing every single detail down of what was happening in his journal for fire nation primary source, was at Charr.

"Oh?" Ozai said.

"Sir, if there's one thing I know, it's common sense," Admiral Charr stated slowly, intimidating the generals. "I want you to think about this very clearly, sir. There is a reason that we should know what archives that they have stolen. They have a folder of top secret amendments that could infuriate fire nation politicians. Tell me, what is one place that is so distant from the fire nation, yet is a part of it?"

"The earth kingdom colonies," Ozai answered, sounding a bit surprised.

"Exactly. If these three deserters reach the colonies and show Governor Lee the archives, then we are thrown off the cabinet. And all of the fire nation's rage and fury will turn onto you, sir."

Everyone could sense Ozai thinking hard on this. Should they direct extra naval strength on the Northeast blockade or Southeast blockade? And if they get past the blockade, which is highly likely, what will they do next?

"Admiral Charr," Ozai said, "You are taking full control over our naval fleet. General Matis, you are now in control of ground division. I want more sea presence in the Northeast blockade, and keep the weak ships back."

"But, my lord," General Matis said. "We're not even sure if the deserters will be able to even reach the coast!"

"If they do or don't, there will be more of them," Ozai declared. "General Topai, send a message to Hellfire. Tell Captain Muran and the Wingman soldiers to report here for an upcoming mission. We're taking a hiking trip in the mountains."

It has been about two full weeks since we've abandoned our post at Camp Wingman. Just thinking about it made it seem like it was a year ago... I was stuck in a tent with three strangers: Oishi, Kai, and Io. Io; he's long gone.

I seemed a little tense when we began to navigate the Kang Mountain Range. This vast heep of rocks and dirt seemed endless. Then again, freedom fighters should be swarming across these mountains. Pretty soon, I'll have a bow and arrow to my head.

"When are these guys supposed to show up?" Kai asked, taking heavy steps.

"Quiet, Kai," Oishi stated. "We don't want them to know about our business. They can be watching us right now." The view from the mountains was really breathtaking. The plains and rivers were vast and the grasslands went far as the eye could see. I could even take a glimpse at another mountain range; a bigger one, silhouetted in the distance. But for a ragtag rock-filled dirt-covered mountain range like the Kangs to be in the middle of this wonderland, it seemed ominous; tenacious.

"The fire lord is great!" Kai intentionally yelled, sounding very false. "He's my hero! I wish there were more people like him; the fire lord."

Nothing was heard, besides a stray wolf.

"This is ridiculous," I said, as the three of us entered a small crater in the mountain. "How do we know if they are here? And when will we know?"

Suddenly, someone jumped out from the boulders behind us and tackled me into the ground, rolling off and then yielding a slightly bent sword. In an uneasy matter, I got up, seeing Kai and Oishi in a battle stance towards the black-clothed figure. He seemed to be directing towards me, the mysterious soldier.

"Are you part of the Kang rebel squadron?" Oishi asked.

"You wish," the black soldier replied. He then hurled a dagger at Oishi, forcing him to duck and recover as he sent numerous fire blasts at the masked figure.

Kai attempted to blast off the figure's head, but was unsuccessful. Me and Oishi took turns trying to knock the black soldier down. He reflected the attacks with his sword, either making them invalid or sending them right back at us. The figure was very good at manuever; any chance he got, he'd roll out for a breather and retrieve his misfired daggers, only to hurl them at us once more.

Without warning, the figure jumped from stone to stone up to the edge of the mountain crater. He picked up a harpoon from the ground, which he had set there, and fired it at us. We tried to dive out of the way, but the harpoon dispersed into a net, hence getting us caught in the net. It was airtight, and none of us could even budge.

Wait, if he isn't part of the Kang Mountain Range rebel squad, or the fire nation, he must be... a bounty hunter. He walked up towards us; I could see his shadow on me.

"Looks like I got 'em," he said. A messenger hawk landed on his soldier as he was finishing up a letter, then rolling it into a scroll and inserting it into the hawk's back container and closing it. The hunter showed a hand signal to the hawk, which I couldn't catch. The hawk flew off into the distance.

"Who are you?" I asked. Without warning, he kicked me across the face. Everything went black...