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~*~~~*~-Chapter Fourteen-~*~~~*~
Ally looked at them; her previous anger at them when she first saw them on that ship had multiplied, making her stalk back and forth in front of them. They had landed on a small Island in the early morning, making camp in a small clearing surrounded by trees.
Kaimi, who wanted to be helpful and help them as much as she could was looking down, avoiding Ally's harsh storm-like eyes.
Malu, the girl who got along famously with everyone, studious and a fast learner, she was looking at Ally but not directly in the eye.
Keoni looked completely annoyed and regretful, but not as annoyed as Ally was.
Hori looked away when Ally looked at him, a look of regret on his face.
Audrey flinched as Ally looked at him, Ally had a high opinion of the four year old, though she shouldn't, she realized now.
And Sophie, Ally met the small girl's large tears, trying not to flinch at Sophie's regretful gaze.
Tom, Lyra, Jin, Kin, Tane and Damien looked mutinous, gazes all looking at the six disapprovingly and traces of anger. The other air nomads were staying very clear of the group. Koiki was still tending to the new face in the group, muttering about 'stupid, cruel, good for nothing fire-benders.'
"I don't know what you were thinking." Ally whispered, her words lingering in the air. "Or if you were even thinking at all." Ally said louder. "Is my mind playing tricks on me, or did two four year olds really believe they could take on a horde of fire benders who would have no qualms of killing you on sight!" Audrey and Sophie flinched. "Did the rest of you think you could take on trained fire benders and think you could take them on without the slightest inkling of high level air benders techniques? Letting four year olds join you just to add to the stupidity!" They all winced at the harshness in her voice.
Ally forcefully calmed herself, "I made a promise," she began slowly, "to Monk Gyasto." Her fellow masters looked at her in shock, Ally hadn't told anyone about this. "You see, when the fire-nation attacked Monk Gyasto awoke me, if he hadn't we would all be dead."
"Ally! Ally! ALLY! Wake up! Wake up NOW!" Someone shouted in Ally's ear. Ally bolted upright. Monk Gyasto came into her view. She got out of bed and before she could ask what was wrong, her answer was the door being knocked down by a blast of fire. Ally screamed in shock, why was the Fire Nation attacking us?
Monk Gyasto swiftly drew up an air shield to protect both of them from a second powerful blast of fire coming at them. Gyasto then shot a gust of wind from his palms and the Fire Nation soldier shot away like a rag doll.
"Ally, go and wake up the children and protect them. Get them far away and don't look back." Gyasto said and he created the air scooter to get out of her room to help the other Air Guardians.
"That was the last I saw of Monk Gyasto." Ally said, trying to mask the emotion that was in turmoil. "And every day I find myself thinking about what he'd want me to do, holding onto the thoughts 'I won't let him down.'" Ally glared at the shell-shocked children. "And I find it getting harder and harder to keep my promise to him, because not only are the fire nation trying to kill us, but the fact that you feel the need to give your life away!" Ally glared at them.
"We just wanted to help!" Keoni said in annoyance.
Ally gritted her teeth, "Oh yes, you all helped a bunch." She said sarcastically. "Efficiently helping our plan that had so much fighting in it as though we didn't have a prisoner to save!"
"Don't talk to me like you're my mentor!" Keoni shouted.
"Like it or not I am your mentor now! Along with Tom, Lyra, Jin, Kin, Tane and Damien." Ally shot back. "Look around you, all of you! These are only thirty-two remaining Air Nomads in the entire world, these are the last survivors, and we are refugees! Everyone else is dead!" Keoni and the rest of them flinched.
Ally calmed herself down again and spoke to the pale faces of her fellow master air-benders. "I've said what I wanted to say." She said quietly and walked to stand in the middle of the Master Air benders, a feeling of lead in the pit of her stomach.
Ally watched as one by one Tom, Lyra, Jin, Kin, Tane and Damien reprimand the children, telling them what they thought about this and various punishments that should befall upon them. When the reprimand had finished Ally half expected that to be that, the children looked even guiltier.
Tane stepped forwards, "I think I know a good punishment, the Monks Northern Air Temple used this method of complete silence. Where they put a mark on their forehead with red paste, and no one is allowed to talk to them."
"How long does it go for?" Damien asked emotionlessly.
"As long as the Monks see fit. But under these circumstances I don't know how long it should last. This is a serious matter."
"Three days sounds appropriate." Kin muttered in Ally's ear.
"I agree." Ally muttered back.
"Two days should be plenty." Lyra said.
Two days were the slowest days in Ally's life. Talking to Sophie was such a temptation that Ally dunked her head in a clear watered river to refresh her mind more than several times. Koiki was starting to calm down as the injured boy started to heal and get better. The boy was only conscious for fifteen minutes, enough time to get a name; Aireon, before he slipped back into slumber.
Ally spent most of her time helping Koiki; Aireon's bruises had started to turn old yellow and his burns were covered in that itchy paste Ally despised with a passion. Bandages covered cuts and the worst broken ankle Ally had ever seen.
"He must have been tortured on the ship or put up one hell of a fight." Koiki said.
"Or both." Ally said grimacing, re-bandaging Aireon's sprained wrist. "I'll go and clean the bandages." Ally murmured. Scooping up the blood stained cloths and walking towards the river.
"While or at it do you mind looking for some Twiller leaves?" Koiki called after her.
"No problem." Ally called back.
"Ally is it such a good idea for you to go alone?" Kin asked as she walked along side her.
"No, probably not." Ally said smiling slightly. "Do you think I was too hard on them?"
Kin frowned, "perhaps a little." she admitted, "But you certainly took the words out of my mind." Ally nodded thankful for Kin's honesty. "What's wrong Ally? You seem as though you feel guilty about something, like you've committed a horrible crime."
Ally winced as she kneeled beside the clear water of the river and started to clean the bandages. "Do you remember Afiko?" Ally said hesitantly.
Kin scowled at the name of the traitor. "The traitor? Yeah the one that sold us to the fire nation." Kin started to clean the bandages with the rivers water with anger.
"Well, I kind of... ummm..." Ally bit her lip, afraid of what Kin would think of her. She seemed scared at the thought of her killing fire benders back at the Eastern Air Temple.
"Ally?" Kin asked softly.
"Remember how you asked had I killed the fire benders at the Eastern Air Temple?" Ally asked hesitantly, Kin nodded.
"What would you think of me if I had?"
Kin paused, "I'm not sure... Are you saying that you-"
"No," Ally said quickly. "I just want to know what you'd of thought if I had, would that have made me like the fire lord?"
"No." Kin said firmly. "You could never be like him, his an evil person who probably enjoys killing."
"On the ship I ran into Monk Afiko." Ally admitted, keeping her eyes on the bandages she was cleaning, she felt sick again at the thought of what she had done... She remembered the shock in Commander Lee's eyes... even he thought it was impossible for her to kill... But Ally was only aiming for the temple, to knock the old monk out - not break his neck... It was an accident...
A hand softly came onto her shoulder, "what happened?" Kin asked.
Ally took a deep breath and plunged into the story of her last battle with the traitorous monk.
Ally ducked a rouge fireball and down the stairs into a metal corridor. She created an air ball and hopped onto it, zooming down the hallways and slammed into none other than Monk Afiko. Ally leaped up and out of the way of a vicious air slice that threatened to cut her head.
"Little brat!" Afiko spat, shooting a powerful blast of air. Ally spun a cocoon of protective air and staggered at the onslaught that Afiko sent her way.
Ally took out her Kyoshi fans and flipped them open before diving to the side and running up a wall, landing on the floor in a crouch. She jumped up and twirled three successive kicks to create three tornados and pushed them at Afiko, who slammed into the tornados and was sent to the ground. Afiko flipped back onto his feet and slammed his body into her, she hit the ground hard. The old man then clenched his frail fist and Ally chocked.
He had cut off any of her air supply and she was losing oxygen fast. He was going to kill her.
Ally felt her face was turning blue, she dropped her fans on instinct and clawed at the air, trying to catch it but coming up with nothing, her brain was fogging up with little supply of oxygen, the outside of her vision was turning black...
Ally went slowly went limp and her eyes closed. She was dropped to the floor carelessly. Afiko stared coldly at the unmoving body, which lay there, silent as the grave.
Ally closed her eyes and looked away from a silent Kin. "I pretended to be dead... To catch him by surprise... I didn't mean to kill him... I've never been so scared and disgusted with myself." Ally whispered. "I feel as though I don't deserve to be around your and the others... you haven't been tainted with evil."
"Ally, this doesn't make you a monster." Kin said quickly, "the fact that you regret tells me you're not evil. Monk Gyasto really would be proud, a little upset maybe, but proud none the less."
"I don't know... I feel so lost without him." Ally said, standing up and drying the clean bandages with air bending. "Who do leaders turn to... when they feel lost themselves?" She wondered out loud.
"They turn to their friends." Kin said smiling slightly, though strained. "I'll take these bandages back to Koiki."
Ally watched Kin walk back to the group then turned to walk into the trees. Looking for Twiller leaves from a small twisted shrub... what properties they held and why Koiki needed them she had no idea.
Finally she found a small bush that held a bush full of Twiller leaves... wow that must have been the first joke she had cracked in ages... pity she didn't say it out loud or people weren't around to hear it.
Ally smiled ruefully, plucking the soft thick leaves from the skinny brown branches. She heard a soft scream in the distance and instinctively shot towards the sound before her mind could catch up to what was happening, and by then she was already staring at what was happening.
A band of fire-nation soldiers were attacking an earth kingdom town. Outrage fueled Ally, shoving her into the line of fire, litterly.
It seems like every second day she attacked or was attacked by fire-benders.
Ally dodged a fire ball that was suddenly hurled at her, and shot off several disks of twisting air at the offender, she flipped backwards and landed her hand on the ground first before twisting her body into a twirl, air lashed out as a fireball shot at her, the fireball rebounded at its owners face, she landed in a crouch protectively in front of two earth kingdom boys.
Both boys, who looked identical to the last freckle, stood on either side of her and kicked up a boulder each and shot them at a fire bender each. Ally smiled, time to blow some dirt in the fire nations eye. Ally took out her Kyoshi fans from her belt and spun her hands like windmills then pushed up; dust was kicked up like an explosion cloud.
"Whoa." The boys said together with eyes wide. Yep, Ally thought, definitely twins.
Fire spat out of the cloud of dust and Ally flicked her fans almost lazily to redirect the fires path with air. She launched into the air and spun a double kick, effectively blowing the dust and fire-benders out of the small town, or at least out of this particular street.
Ally coiled her body and unleashed the tension by spinning high into the air in a fierce tornado. Above she could see every street that was under siege. Multiple funnels of twisting, twirling and lashing air struck down at the fire benders, sweeping them up with little trouble.
Ally scanned her surroundings and was vaguely surprised to see that the town was on a cliff side; Ally twisted her body and the tornado propelled her higher, then trapping the scared shitless fire benders into a large spinning orb of air she lashed her foot in a high arc and booted the fire benders off the side of the cliff and they hovered over the ocean. Ally smiled innocently at their shocked faces.
"No please, I can't swim." One of them, a fairly young one, said desperately.
Ally hid her brief flash of worry by narrowing her eyes, "Leave this place and never return." she warned.
They nodded and Ally left them a hundred meters away from the town, she landed just on the out skirts of the town, glaring at the retreating fire nation soldiers.
"You're an air bender!" someone exclaimed behind her exclaimed in shock, "We thought..."
Ally felt someone tug on her sleeve, "you dropped these." the twins from earlier said together, holding up a Kyoshi fan each.
Ally smiled, "thank you." she said graciously, and taking her fans back and putting them back into her belt.
"If there is anything we can do." said an elderly woman.
Ally smiled but shook her head, "Thank you for your offer but I must get back to my family." She bounded away without looking back.
What did she need before she was distracted by a troop of flame tosses? Oh! Right Twiller leaves. Ally retraced her steps lightly and found the clearing she was picking the leaves, finding the bush she stripped it of half its leaves with a quick use of air bending before she bounded into the clearing where the group were.
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Ally; *frowning in thought* that chapter should have been more action packed…
Author; *smiles amusedly.* I don't want to be that predictable.
Ally; *shoots a glare* I think you proved how unpredictable you are by making me KILL Monk Afiko.
Author; How the hell did I get into your bad books? Anyway people don't forget to review! Remember; Happy Author = Faster Updates!