Boss

We spent the rest of the morning and the early afternoon hammering out the details. We knew what the issue at hand was: the threat of an imminent Fire Nation invasion of Earth Kingdom possessions south of the Nip Sea, and the issue exacerbating that one-these aforementioned possessions were low on manpower and supplies. The potential solution was known, that solution being a band of Water Tribe exiles, hailing from the Northern and Southern Tribes, camped in the Foggy Bottom Swamp, provided refuge by the native swampbending tribes.

Kiu gave us a brief summary of what he knew, and how he knew it, accompanied by a brief history lesson speaking of the early days of the war, when zealots from both Water Tribes were demanding their nations' entrance into the conflict. Neither tribal government would answer the call to war, hoping that the war would remain isolated to the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, despite the blatant eradication of the Air Nomads. These zealots, Northerners and Southerners alike, in a rare act of tribal unity, agreed to join another, forming a third, or fourth if you count the swampbenders, water tribe known as the Revanchist Tribe. They began as a nuisance, raiding Fire Nation convoys, transports, shipments, harassing their coastal conflicts, but as the decades of war went by, they eventually grew to become a legitimate threat. Some consider the actions of the Revanchists to be what eventually spurred the Fire Nation into declaring war on the Water Tribes, eventually forming the Southern Raiders who embarked on a brutal campaign of wiping out the Tribes' waterbenders, hoping to cut off potential new conscripts from joining the Revanchists.

Eventually, the Revanchist Tribe, faced by the full might of the Fire Nation, would be reduced to a nuisance once again, which brought us to where they were now: a group of outcasts hiding in the swamp, but they were veterans of decades of war, sitting atop their ill-gotten gains from these wars, just ready for the right moment to bring the fight to the Fire Nation once again. A while ago, Kiu didn't say just how long, he had approached these waterbenders, hoping to unify them and his own Separatist movement, but was met with little success. The only reason he doesn't admit it to be a total failure is because he gained insight about them, and according to him, their trust. All he gave us as a show of this 'trust' was a phrase-"On the side of the righteous," rather cryptic at that, but he assured us we would know when to use it.

Our task was to find these Revanchists, and to convince them that the time for their return, that the time for war was here. That was our task, or, rather, their task: Luke, Zek, Ka'lira, and Gordez. My men, nearly all of them. They were being sent into the swamp, but they weren't going to return after that, not immediately. Their work away from us was far from done. Kiu wanted them to rendezvous with the Earth Kingdom forces south of the Sea, to open communications between them and the Revanchists, and start arranging for a unified front that the Separatists would be a part of to repel the presumably up and coming Fire Nation attack. Needless to say, they had quite the task ahead of them, and I had the gripping feeling in my stomach, even more intense than it had been just 2 weeks ago when last I said 'goodbye' to Gordez, that it would be for far longer this time around.

I had just said 'goodbye' to him 2 weeks ago, now I had to do so all over again, after just seeing him again this morning. I told him we needed to go over some last details, that I needed to give him some additional instructions. Kiu didn't question it, allowing us to take some small leave while the others got ready.

The two of us were out in the woods, and he asked me the question that I myself had wanted to ask. I envied him. He had somebody to ask. I didn't. I was supposed to eb in charge, yet I had none of the answers. All I had was the mask I put on, telling me I did know, but for once, I decided not to leave it on, not when he asked me, "Is this the last time we have to be apart?"

"I wish I knew. I want it to be. You know I do."

"I should be staying with you. You're being left in the Lion's Den alone."

"They had their chance to kill me. They didn't take it. They won't kill me."

"But you're still never safe."

I sighed. "I know."

"Please tell me this is the last time."

"You know I can't make that promise."

"At least tell me you'll try. That once your 'debt' to Kiu is paid off, we can go our separate ways. Live without looking over our shoulders at every waking moment."

"I will."

He nodded. "Thank you. That's all I'm asking."

We were seated on some overturned tree trunk, downed in some typhoon or another. We remained put there for a while, not saying anything, simply there in the presence of one another, somehow that managing to be enough in those last few moments to make things feel as though they were going to be alright. I had to believe they would be. I have to. "I'm going to miss you," I said. Normally, I would have shunned myself for saying it first, for giving up the high ground, submitting to my emotions first, but I couldn't care less about that right now. I had things I needed to say, and I was going to say them.

"I'm going to miss you too, but it's not forever."

"I know. Just…it's going to feel like a while."

"Think there's any way we can keep in touch?"

I shook my head. "I wish there were. Kiu will want us limiting any and all communication, saving it only for what's considered important."

He placed his hand atop mine where it was resting on the trunk at my side. "I always hated other people telling me what's 'important.'"

I chuckled, reveling in the warmth of his hand atop mine, the security it gave, the confidence that everything would work out. "Soon enough, what's important will be entirely up to us."

He turned his head to face mine, a sad smile on his face, his eyes reflecting the same. "Good. I'll hold you to that."

We mad the limited time we had count. In his arms, his lips against mine, it was nice to forget about the rest of the world if only for a moment.

Of course, it couldn't last. It never could. We were heading back before it even felt like our time together had even begun.

"So you'll be able to manage on your own. Can't help but think I should stay. Others can handle themselves just fine."

"You're the best suited to temporarily lead them. Besides, I'm sure I'll be fine. And I won't be on my own. I have Jadoh, and got Zadok and Kosah too."

"Yeahhh, not so sure if the latter two are going to be very happy about staying with the Seppies. May be best to keep them on the Patriot."

"Well, they don't have much of a choice. Kiu wants Seppies staying on the Patriot now too. Don't-don't give me that look. Trust me. I'm not exactly happy with it either, but Kiu considers that ship a war asset, and doesn't want it being left unattended."

"Ah great. So instead we have rats sneaking around our ship."

"Oh we'll handle pest control later. For now, just tell the others to lock their doors," I finished with my attempt at a reassuring grin. I wanted to think it worked well enough.

At the very least, we parted on good terms. I was going to miss him. I was going to miss him a lot. I feel like I'd said all good things, like it had, at the very least, been a good use of the little time we had together before going our separate ways for the moment. Yet as he left with Luke, Zek, and Ka'lira, I already found myself wishing I'd had more time. Already found myself wishing I'd said just one last thing.

"They're going to be fine," I heard Kiu say from behind me. A number of his Separatists were already making themselves aboard the Patriot to no surprise. W well-built shelter, food, water, heating, gas, electricity, it was as prime as real estate got out here.

"I know. Just can't help but wonder how long it's going to be this time."

He patted me down on the shoulder, something I'm sure was meant to be reassuring, and to some effect, it was. Despite the hell we'd both been through, he'd seen more of it. There was always something to be said about an aged warrior. They knew what they were doing. And maybe that was part of the reason I found myself sticking around. That seniority, that guidance, I'd lost it when we left the Fire Nation. And maybe that's why I wasn't yet ready to leave. Then again, who could really say?

Luke

"Where do they get the fucking nerve?!" Zek was crying out as we left the edge of the forest behind, now taking one step after another in the direction the mountain range surrounding the mystical Foggy Swamp forest that we'd all heard so much about. "We spend a week working on getting that ship up and in working order, only for them to kick us out and take our spots. They got gas, electricity, water, all thanks to us!"

"Hey, you were only working on it for a week," I brought up, him and Ka'li having been the late arrivals.

"Oh I'm sorry," Zek jokingly mocked. "I can imagine those are rookie numbers compared to your whole extra week on the job."

"Well, now that you mention it, I do have twice as much experience as you."

"Right right," Ka'lira now decided to add on. "Man, too bad there isn't somebody who was working on that thing for months on end to get it working for us ungrateful asses." The reference towards Gordez was clear enough, but the joke wouldn't end that easily.

"You're absolutely correct, Ka'li," Zek intervened. "We don't give Zadok and Kosah enough credit. Raava bless their souls." He ended with a flourish of his hands in a mocking prayer, head raised to the sky before it was promptly slapped back down towards ground level by a rather swift hand from Ka'lira, eliciting a chuckle from me easily enough.

"But seriously," Zek continued, reverting to his main point. "If they break the lock to my room, I'm going to be pissed the heck off."

"I think you mean Ka'lira's room," I mocked. "Not, of course, that it makes any difference." I could see some red rising to Zek's face while Ka'lira simply turned her head away, the faint tint of an embarrassed smile on her face, but I wasn't done yet. "Frankly, I welcome my new neighbors. Maybe I can finally get some peace and quiet."

Ka'lira started chuckling, finding some humor in the situation where Zek, as opposed to his normal comedic-minded self, seemed to be taking it rather to heart, of course, to no serious degree, pathetically attempting to come back with, "Oh you're just envious."

"Only thing I'm envious of is the good old days. Not even because of the Seppies, but at least I could get a solid night of sleep when things between you two were ambiguous. Now though…," I let out an exaggerated whistle, making my point.

"Now I hope they ransack our rooms just so you can suffer along with me."

"How kind of you. I pity the poor sod who goes through my shit. All they'll get is my old sweaty clothes that I haven't gotten around to washing. They're welcome to 'em as far as I'm concerned. Why? You leave something important to your soul behind?"

"Privacy, for starters."

I chuckled at that. "Just please keep it at least 50 yards from wherever we set up camp."

"You can stop now, Luke. Your young pubescent mind is too innocent to ponder such vile concepts."

"Oh boy. Here we go again. You know, maybe when cutting my hair, you should have cut lower and deeper. Put me out of my misery."

"Your misery's not the only one that would have been reduced," Ka'lira added on. "What about you, Gordez? You're being rather quiet. What? The old bunch lost its appeal already? Shame."

Hmm," Gordez finally vocalized, his first words spoken since we left save for relaying his plan to us. "Not quite the old bunch." Was easy enough for anyone to see his mood wasn't quite as light as the rest of us. Had been that way back on the Patriot too. Only time I'd seen the fullest expression of joy from him was this morning when he saw Boss again. Doubt we'd see that same side of him again until things were finally set right.

"Not yet," Zek admitted. "We'll set things right eventually. Get the old bunch together, do pest control, head out our own way." He chuckled. "Part of me was honestly hoping for a fight this morning."

"Part of you was clearly hoping to die this morning then," Ka'lira said. "Didn't see things from my angle. We were screwed."

"Eh. I coulda taken em," He clearly didn't mean the statement, nor on second analysis did he mean the one about hoping for a fight. Well, perhaps he did mean that one. Even against insurmountable odds, I expected that Zek would have preferred fighting against them than fighting with them. I couldn't say I was any different in my perspective of the situation. Even in doing this, I had my qualms in helping the organize a resistance coalition against the Fire Nation. Felt like I was just drawing out this war all the longer. I'd been waiting in anticipation for a talk we could have about finally leaving the Seppies, even if it meant leaving the Patriot behind, but leaving our own people behind: Boss, Jadoh, Zadok, Kosah, that was out of the question. Just needed more patience. We always do.

We were nearing the mountains, and the day was nearing its end. We agreed upon setting up camp for the night, allowing ourselves to scale the mountain range tomorrow, and the day after, make our way down into the swamp.

We distributed our belongings as we set up camp. We'd only dedicated the latter half of our afternoon to travelling. Not much time all things considered. The early afternoon had been spent finalizing our plans and gathering supplies. As we set up camp now, it was interesting to note that, for a band of ragtag mercenaries, we were equipped. I suppose, however, that it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. 3 of the 4 of us were military vets. We had plenty of food: dried meat, fish, bread, cheese, other cereals. We had enough water distributed amongst the 4 of us to last us the next week and a half if worst came to worse. We may have had no room to spare for tents, but we had sleeping bags, changes of clothes, weapons, armor, we were set. I myself was travelling no heavier nor light than anybody else.

There'd been a time back in the early days of our "outlaw band" if you could call it such that we'd clung to our Fire Nation armor as though it still defined who we are. Now, the vague remnants of the red and black paint, nearly completely chipped away or worn over from the experiences it's seen, formed a skimpy layer beneath my outerwear, myself only opting for the chest piece, shoulder plates, vambraces, and lower leg guards. Even faded, the colors allowed me to stand out, something I wasn't too keen on, wearing a green poncho over my armor, which, itself, was atop my normal day-clothing. I catalogued through my equipment as I stripped it off for the night. I'd put it back on when my watch came. I was set to have 2nd watch that night. I'd sooner have opted for first or last, but alas, the decision wasn't mine, left to straws, the spirits of luck playing their games as always.

I was set up across from Gordez, a fire I'd started between us, right next to Zek and Ka'lira. Of course. At the very least, the noise they were producing was simply conversation, but my request stood. "For the love of Raava, please. 50 yards."

"Fine fine," Zek said, the shuffling of their feet indicating adherence to my request. At the very least, by the sound of his voice, he didn't seem annoyed.

"Thank you," I mumbled against the cloth of my sleeping bag. I couldn't beat myself up for it. It's like they said. I was a growing boy after all. I needed my rest.

Zek

"Oh how nice it'll be to be back on the Patriot again. More out of spite for Luke than anything else," I joked.

Naturally, none of us had anything against one another. It was simply the way that entertainment worked in this modern world-at the expense of another. The truth was, ever since Ba Sing Se, I think I'd found myself closer to Luke than anybody else, with the exception of Ka'lira of course.

He reminded me of Hizo in a way. The two couldn't have had personalities any more different, but at the very least, Luke was just as easy to talk to, just as easy to insult and joke around with without him taking it to heart. It's what I needed. It's what got me through Ba Sing Se, having my old childhood friend there to keep me company. Losing him at that forsaken city, Citadel, I couldn't have seen things getting any better. Somehow, of course, they had, at least in some respect.

Ka'lira chuckled, it slowly stifling and being softened as she looked around to see if we were far enough away from the campsite, asking, "We're not really that loud, right?" She was practically whispering when asking this, and I found myself being reduced similarly to a whisper as well.

"I didn't think we were. I thought we were actually keeping it tame."

"And we weren't even doing anything."

"Well…define 'not doing anything.'"

"Going all the way."

"Ah, of course. Right right."

She shot a devilish grin my way, saying, "Just going to have to wait, bud."

"Hey, I didn't say anything!"

"You thought it though!"

"Okay, if I can get blamed for everything that goes through my head, then I really have no chance at all, do I?"

"Nope!" she responded with a smile as we continued along through the darkening landscape, searching for somewhere that offered at least a slight degree of solidarity.

The last few weeks had been, well, there was no other way to put it than to say they'd been nice. There was something oddly refreshing in feeling as though you constantly had somebody at your side, somebody who, when it came down to brass tax, was an friend, an ally, a partner, and beyond that, just somebody to face down the world with. Every moment felt just a little bit easier, more enjoyable, more worthwhile when there was simply somebody else there to do it alongside. For all the shit I'd given Hizo over his obsession with Shanzi back in Yu Dao, I was starting to realize that he may have been on to something. Well, at least in the general sense. His taste in women still had left a lot to be desired.

We eventually managed to find a small cleft left by the malformed mountainside, not too far yet not too close to camp, enough to offer some privacy from Gordez as he took first watch and avoid disturbing our sleeping beauty, Luke, but not far enough to put us at the mercy of the outside world.

Away from the forest, no longer hiding beneath a thick ceiling of leaves and branches, one could finally observe the sky above. It was something I had first learned to appreciate in the days after Ba Sing Se, the first ones we'd spent at sea, miles away from any light source, just in the dead center of a dead sea, nothing to light the way ahead save the stars and moon.

Right here, right now, it felt the exact same way, the two of us huddled together, backs against a stone wall, facing up into the night sky, our faces lit by the near full moon.

"Waxing," I said.

"What?"

"The moon."

"What do you mean, waxing? Like, with wax?"

"No. Growing. Getting bigger."

"Ah. That's called 'waxing?'

"Yeah." I was suddenly starting to realize the amount of useless information I'd learned from school back in the colonies. And it was more than apparent right now, being able to give a pretentious name for the moon becoming more full.

"So gonna be full soon then?"

"Looks like it."

"Hmm. Perfect time to be going looking for xenophobic waterbenders who may try to kill us at first sight."

"Ought to make it more exciting at least."

"That's a word for it," she chuckled.

A cold breeze flew over us in that moment, prompting her to huddle herself closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck as I removed my arm from my coat, wrapping its end around her, pulling her closer in what simply felt right at the moment, and judging by the way she turned her head towards mine and our eyes met, I could only assume that it had indeed been the right call.

"Nice sky tonight," she managed to let out in between shivers.

"It is. You know, we can head back to the camp if ya want. Stay by the fire."

"No, no," she said, digging her head further into the nook between my head and shoulder, further pulling herself closer to me. "I'm happy right where I am."

I smiled at that comment. How couldn't I? Having a beautiful woman huddled in my arms, clutching to me for warmth. What in the world could there have possible been to complain about?

Some time of silence had gone by. I wasn't sure how long, save for the fact that, at one point, she'd spoken, saying, as though knowing he'd crossed my mind on more than one occasion today, "Tell me about Hizo?"

"Hmm?"

"Your friend. The one you mentioned before."

I scoffed. "Hmph. I didn't mention much about him. Surprised you remembered."

"I'm a good listener," she retorted, her head still buried into me, not that I would have it any other way.

"Alright. I suppose I can oblige. We grew up together in the colony Yu Dao, first and biggest of the Fire Nation's. Was not much more than a poor, run-down, backwater village. Or at least, that's what I think I remember the history being. Never paid much attention back in school. Hizo and I, when we weren't ditching class, were in some way or another screwing around, finding all manner of ways to distract ourselves whether it was passing flying notes to each other, trying to antagonize this one firebender in our class, Zenji, until he'd firebend, punishable by detention, or something else along those lines."

"How old were you when you first met Hizo?"

"How old was I? Hell, I couldn't tell you. He was just always there so to speak. Even before school had begun and the like. Was just always us taking on the world. Anyway, we were, obviously, thick as thieves. I tended to be more the troublemaker, though. Hizo, while he'd preach responsibility, wouldn't put much of a fight before he'd join me in my antics one way or another, sometimes getting far more into them than even I was."

"Tell me about some of them?"

"Our antics?"

I could feel her head nod against my arm.

"Very well. Remember this one time, we were probably in our teens at the time. For some reason of another, Hizo and I were under disciplinary probation and were made to keep ourselves busy by assisting the Yu Dao local government with this one experiment they'd been running. It was something along the lines of them wanting to write the news from the past week and sell it to people who wanted to know what was going on in the city. We took it seriously at first, at least, relatively knowing us, but after a while, the entire thing was starting to flop as half the people in Yu Dao couldn't read and the other half couldn't be bothered to read. Only people who read were our schoolmates who mainly did so just to poke fun at us for the mistakes we'd made. Since hardly anybody read anyway, we figured we could make reality whatever we wanted it to be and so slowly took to either slandering, no, what is it, 'libeling' our friends, crafting convoluted stories around them, to, eventually, just outright killing them in the news and putting their names in the obituary.

"Turns out, our friends' parents would read our newspaper too, so when one of our friends had spent the night at a girl's place, not coming home, only for his mother to read his name in the obituary the next day, it was, well, it wasn't pretty." I could feel the soft thumping of Ka'li's head against my shoulder as though from chuckling, or maybe simply shivering. It was hard to tell, but I had no complaints. I couldn't think of any way to view the feeling negatively if I had tried.

"Anyway, some more time would go on, and he, like other teens our age, eventually became infatuated with the gentler sex. He wasn't much of a lady's man, so, unfortunately, at least in my mind, he had to sink pretty low, prime example being this girl, Shanzi, hence the name of our tank. Now, mind you, she wasn't a bad looker. She was attractive, and from what I heard, good in the sack. And when I saw 'from what I've heard', I mean from nearly everybody in town. I don't think there was a single male specimen in that town who hadn't had a slice of her, excluding myself of course, but despite this, Hizo would always remain infatuated with her. They'd even started dating, not that she ever, you know, stopped her, how to put it, scandalous ways. She would be the cause of many an argument between me and him back in the day, his mentality being that of women being queens, and mine falling more under the lines of bros before hoes, but, those arguments wouldn't last long, 'specially after we got drafted. Weren't many women in the military to keep us apart then," I finished with a sad smile, a part of me knowing I'll never stop missing the man.

There was still that same motion against my shoulder now, though it was slower, more rhythmic. It didn't take me long to realize she'd fallen asleep. I smiled, myself wanting nothing more in that moment to close my eyes with her and let myself drift off as well, my head leaning against hers, but some risks just weren't worth taking, even though this one came rather close.

I don't think I'd ever done anything more carefully in my life than I did right then in slowly getting in a position to scoop her up in my arms like a toddler, deliberately placing every foot in front of the other as I slowly and surely made my way back towards the campsite, her in my arms.

Gordez, ever the vigilant watchman, noticed us approaching from a good distance away, but didn't say anything, likely not wanting to wake the slumbering Luke, as I slowly set Ka'lira down on her sleeping bag, taking cautious effort in tucking her in, but somehow, eventually managed to do so without waking her.

"When's next watch begin?" I whispered to Gordez, kneeling down next to him.

"'Round half an hour."

"Hmm. I can take it from here."

"Next watch is Luke's."

"I'll switch mine with his. Don't feel like sleeping just yet."

"We drew straws."

"Eh, screw your straws. Let 'im sleep a bit longer.

"Hmm. Fine. I'll finish my watch though. Not tired either."

"Mind if I hang around then?" I asked, crossing my legs and sitting atop them by Gordez's side, figuring I may as well get comfortable, assuming he didn't respond with a negative, however.

He simply shrugged. I suppose that was as much affirmation as I'd get. I knew what was on his mind. Ka'lira knew too. I doubt Luke did. I assumed that he understood the gist of it-Gordez leaving behind his closest friend, not necessarily knowing to what extent that 'friendship' went. Putting myself in his shoes, imagining Ka'lira in Boss's place, it was easy enough to imagine how Gordez was dealing with this.

"He's going to be fine. If he made it this far, they aren't going to do anything now. They're more reliant on us now than we are of them."

"That's a part of what I'm worried about."

I looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"Really think Boss would leave them behind if he was what was keeping them together? You know how he is. He may just be the next Kiu. Thinks he can control them, keep their violent tendencies in line, ends up just being trapped by them."

"So you don't think he'll want to leave?"

"I think he'll want to, but whether or not he'll be able to? That's different." He let out a long exhale, the result of what I could only assume had been more than enough time spent on his own thinking of this while I was gone.

I knew what he meant. We were essentially the same way after all. The men he'd been responsible for at Ba Sing Se, who he couldn't leave behind. I knew that was the case for Luke, and even for me. He felt like he owed it to us. As though, since he'd been entrusted to watch over us, that responsibility didn't end with the abandonment of his post. He grew attached to those he was designated to watch over from day one. And that's what made him who he was. Not because he gave orders, not because he commanded people to his will, but he made it his responsibility to look over those who had entrusted their lives to him. That's what made him Boss. "He knows who his family is," I said, wanting to believe it to be true. "I know he'll make the right choice when it comes to it."

"Hmm. Guess we can't do anything except wait." He let out a deep yawn, the scruffy black beard of his becoming stretched along his jaw as he raised his arms into the air. "Think I'll take you up on your offer." He stood up, placing an arm on my shoulder before turning away towards his sleeping sack. "Night, Zek."

"Night, Gordez."

The watch would prove to be uneventful. I could make out the vague outline of the Nip from here, a shadow reflected the light of the moon back to the sky, rippling across the waves in the far distance. This was a beautiful world. Even nearly a century of war couldn't change that, or so I wanted to think, because as I looked further ahead, I saw what couldn't be seen, yet I knew to be there-hundreds of Fire Nation ships at the ready. We were in a warzone. We may not know what our role in this is, whose side we're on, but whether we liked it or not, we were a part of it. I looked around me at the sleeping forms of Luke, Gordez, and Ka'lira. Right now, this was the only side that mattered to me. My family. I wanted to believe that Boss saw us that way too. But if I had to make my choice between Boss and the people around me right here and right now, I knew which choice I'd make. I knew where my loyalties lay.

Zhao

-18 First-Aid kits

-90 gallons of water

-378 field ration kits

-2 water filters

-18 reflective blankets

-18 sleeping bags

-9 tents

-2 binoculars

-2 Compasses

-18 pairs of goggles

-18 full-body cloaks

-18 face masks

-9 gas lanterns

-3 camelephant beasts of burden

And all of this still only enough to last us a week in the desert, maybe 2 if we rationed properly. All else in the way of food and water would not be acquired by other means if we ran past our designated lifespan.

This was the most equipment we had been enabled to requisition, and even then, we had more than pissed off logistics with our request. It had been a strange sight watching Harzek come to my defense in helping me to procure the equipment we'd need, but no part of me expected it came from an intrinsic desire to help me on my "quest" rather than ensure that his men wouldn't drop dead while they tagged along on my "crusade."

We left from Shibi at sunup that day, or, more specifically, 0800.

The first stop along our way would be the Misty Palms Oasis once again. We had come equipped for a worst-case scenario, but the ideal scenario would be to secure transportation and safe passage. We figured that, at the Oasis, we may be able to either conscript the hire of the Beetle-Headed Merchants, or potentially even a Sandbending tribe. With the tribes, however, we ran the risk of treading upon local rivalries amongst the tribes and may accidentally sour relations with our intended targets, the Hami tribe. Rather, it would be best to operate through the Beetle Merchants, less likely to face betrayal when faced when a fully-armed squad of Fire Nation soldiers as opposed to 2 envoys as it had been last time with only Zaik and me.

His apprehension, though hidden from full public display, was noticeable to the searching eye, himself clearly not particularly enthused in working with the same group of people we'd shared less than ideal interactions with last time.

The trek to the Oasis was but a short one, but we all knew that it would be our last taste of civilization to follow for the near future. Harzek gave his men leave to occupy themselves in a way they saw fit, but in a manner befitting Fire Nation soldiers, clearly advising against drinking, doping, or whoring. For the men, however, any opportunity to have some last time for themselves before taking those first steps beyond the fringes of the organized world, was good enough. Naturally, Harzek and I would not be sharing in the revelry. We were here with the intention of securing transportation, and we would do just that.

We made for the bar, ensuring to arrive their first, wanting to ensure that the first impression the patrons got of the Fire Nation's appearance here would be that of us rather than a sortie of men indulging in the last whiff of normality.

Upon noticing the two of us headed for the tavern, a good number of our soldiers broke off their headings, now pondering new stomping grounds to claim as theirs for the next few minutes where they would be out of sight and mind of their CO. All the better, imagined.

We allowed ourselves to enter through the tarp entrance of the saloon, unperturbed by the looks directed our way by an assortment of characters choosing the exterior of the tavern as their station, likely intent on sizing up those who entered and exited, scanning for easy pickings.

The interior was just a run-down and dingy as it had been last time, splintered wooden tables scattered haphazardly across the floorplan, cracking wooden support beams threatening to bring the roof down on us at any moment, the sole sense of structure in the establishment being the bar and its owner, a bald man sporting 2 dual swords that served the purposes of both self-defense and drink preparation, I managed to observe as he wielded his blades with stunning fluidity and precision as he mixed a custom drink for his present patron. I resisted the urge to order one for myself, simply enamored by his skill, desiring the refreshment less than a better view of his performance.

We took a seat at a table, ordering no drinks. We weren't here to blend in. Our presence was to made apparent to everybody present. We'd approach them when we deemed it right to do so. Some poor sod realized that soon enough when he, a simple merchant, luckily not connected to any larger group, approached us in an effort to sell his wares. What was his mistake would be to our benefit as I grabbed his shirt from the collar with my right hand, raising a yellow flame with my left to his face, pulling him close and whispering loudly enough for him, and perhaps a few others around to hear, "We're not here for you, and it's bad business to intrude on the Fire Nation, now get lost!" I let go of his collar, shoving him away.

Judging by the look on Harzek's face when I returned down to my seat, he approved. The whole thing was just a performance, and he could tell that much. Sure enough, the eyes of the bar were on us, among those eyes, a group of merchants in a well-lit area of the main room. Some less unseemly eyes followed us as well, be them of sandbenders, a good number of them even having their eyes shrouded beneath their goggles, curiously having chosen not to remove them despite being seated in a rather dim interior.

"Well, that got their attention."

"It better have."

"Think the merchants will prove useful."

"I should hope so. I'm not particularly fond of the idea of trekking through this desert for months on end, our food barely enough to last us 2 weeks."

"There, I'll find myself agreeing with you."

We couldn't allow ourselves to wait too long or we'd risk diminishing the impact of our performance over time. So we simply allowed 5 minutes to pass before we both came to the mutual agreement that then was the time and approached the pair of merchants where they were seated.

"Was wonder when you two would come over," commented the one on the right, a lighter build to him, at least in comparison to the more brutish character across from him, but still possessing a degree of authority in the way he spoke, leading one to consider it was him with the superior position at this table, at least, until we had come along, that is.

"We do things at our own pace," I say, Harzek and I, without asking, taking the two empty chairs at the table.

"I take it the two of you aren't here for a game of pai sho?"

I didn't bother to play along with his quip. We were here on business, and we intended on cutting straight to the chase. Harzek had conceded to allowing me to handle the negotiations we make, this being more so my mission, and so I spoke up, ignoring his comment, saying, "We'd like to arrange for transportation and safe passage across the Si Wong."

"We don't do escorts. We're merchants. We carry goods, not people, unless of course, a life of servitude is suiting you two."

The Si Wong slave trade was infamous, rival tribes, more often than not, selling those they captured in raids as slaves to the Beetle Merchants. What exactly the merchants did with them was a subject that was known with little certainty. Most assume they're either sold to the Earth Kingdom as serfs or to the Fire Nation as laborers and factory workers, but there exists rumors here and there, the most notorious of them being that the merchants harvest the bodies for parts, selling them on the black market, or even the not so black market, claiming it to be animal produce. "Not interested," I said. "We don't plan on taking you out of your way. We're interested in touching base with one of the tribes-The Hami."

"The Hami, eh? We happen to be on good terms with them? We'd hate to disrupt that and bring the enemy straight to their doorstep."

"We're not their enemy. We desire information from them."

"What kind of information. Maybe we could be of some help."

"Unless you know anything about ancient monuments hiding in the desert, then no, I don't think you could be."

They took note of the insult, but they were businessmen. Where they saw the potential for cash, they'd be willing to turn a blind eye to an affront on their dignity here and there.

"Well. We didn't exactly have any plans to visit them any time soon, but our next trip will be taking us around the area. I suppose we could drop you off around there, or make a small detour and bring you straight to them for an additional fee."

"How much are we talking?"

"50 gold pieces."

That's it? "Done."

"Each." Of course. "Extra 10 each to make the detour."

My face hardened. It was a hefty price they were asking for, but I needed to think it would be made worth it. I nodded. "Deal"

"And we don't care for your Fire Nation credit. We prefer something more, physical."

Of course they did. We'd been ready for that inevitability. The anaphora came back to my head. 'Deals in the Desert…'

Except this time, we didn't come alone. They tried to screw it, and it would be them paying the price. I nodded to Harzek, who understood quickly enough what I was asking him to do. He promptly stood up, putting aside the knowledge of his superior rank for the moment, and returned to the mounts to fetch their payment: 1,020 gold pieces. A good payday for simple merchants, but hardly even a scuff on the Fire Nation's resources.

We remained seated at the table, no words shared between us, the negotiations going no further until the money was on the table, in full sight of them, which, soon enough it was, just a little over 1000 gold pieces, up for the taking. Lecherous gazes painted their eyes as they gazed at the hefty reward, until I reached forward, closing the case the money sat in, the room suddenly becoming all the darker without the overhanging light reflecting off of the brilliant gold. "When would we leave?" I asked.

"We can be ready in the hour."

I smirked. As expected, the solution to all of life's woes always seemed to remain the same. Money.

Luke

We made good time the second day. We had even begun to descend the mountains by the time the sun had become midway shrouded by the distant horizon.

"Making good time," Gordez commented. Of course we were. We were travelling light. We weren't allowing ourselves to get distracted. We had our eyes trained ahead at all times. And all but one of us were military trained. And that wasn't even to say it had been a silent endeavor, the only noise among us the marching of our feet against the earth. It was like old times. What are old times? I had no idea what these 'old times' were, but that wasn't the point. It felt nice, as simple as that, as though we were able to forget for a few hours that the purpose of our journey was to help support a terrorist organization by conscripting a band of bayou bandits.

If I had possessed the opportunity to have a real childhood, I wanted to think that it would feel something like this, as we walked along the mountains, cracking stupid jokes, enjoying the sights, having legitimate conversation, and overall, just feeling like we belonged right there with each other.

It had been a great day for it too. The sky was covered in clouds, ensuring that the Springtime sun didn't bear down on us too too hard. Despite the precarious nature of the terrain, we had taken it slowly and done it smart.

Even the night passed smoothly without incident. We kept our respective watches, myself taking the third, and sure enough, the sun rose to all of us still alive the next day, and from there, it was down into the swamp.

That was when things became less than ideal. The sky was clear, the sun shining bright. By a normal person's standards, that may have been considered 'idealized perfection.' Not for us, not when we were situated thousands of feet above sea level, the altitude already doing enough to exhaust us as it was, somehow, the extra few hundred yards closer to the sun feeling as though, in that moment of time, were making all the difference.

While disassembling the camp, Zek had accidentally cut himself a rather sizeable gash along his arm, much to Ka'lira's obvious concern. He was alright, of course, at least until we had begun descending the mountain, and he'd had a run in with a plant that, upon contact with his wound, had escalated the pain tenfold, to the point he had been yelling at us to just, in his words, "Cut the damn thing off!"

He wouldn't stop scratching at his wound, tearing at it, to the point we feared he would rip right into his arm. Gordez and I had to restrain him while Ka'lira bandaged his arm, and we had to fight against his thrashing for nearly 5 minutes until the pain finally subsided, and he was able to calm down. He spent the rest of that day, sword in hand, chopping at any shrubbery that got in his way.

Mountain had transformed into forest. Forest had transformed into marsh, and marsh into swamp. At some indiscernible point along the way, the sun had decided it would no longer grace us with its company, and had disappeared beyond the multi-layered tree canopy that extended hundreds of feet into the sky above us.

Gordez wouldn't have me light the way ahead with my ability, insisting to me through whisper that we never knew who was watching. I'd called him out for being paranoid at first, but as we trekked deeper into fog, it started to feel to me as though every shadow hid a pair of eyes that were watching me. The others felt it too. We were sticking closer together, Zek and Ka'lira practically holding on to each other with their free arms sporting their respective weapons.

I'd unsheathed my blade on the pretense of using it as a machete, and though I would hack and slash at the recurring vine or branch, I mostly just clung onto the sword, the steel in my hand the only thing making me not feel entirely exposed at this moment in time.

The swamp was moving around us. We felt it. We heard it. It was easy enough to assume single swamp critters going about their days, hunting, being hunted, but it felt like more than that. It felt wrong. Unearthly. And it could be seen too, vines moving, branches falling, water rippling where it shouldn't have. Who knows? Maybe I was just going paranoid, but it wasn't just me. The others were seeing it to. At least, they were seeing something. Zek was jumping at shadows. Ka'lira was training her crossbow on random points in the middle of the swamp, and Gordez would not stop gathering us together like school children, pushing us forward, moving us along. Something was very wrong, and that would no longer be up to debate when we entered an empty clearing in the middle of the swamp, sludge water rising as high as our knees, trapped in what looked to be a cage of vines and trees, the very way we had entered having closed around us. All of us had our weapons drawn. We didn't know what we were fighting, but we knew one thing: we were in for a fight.

There was a splash behind us, and we turned. Where he stood, the water had ceased to exist, his feet perfectly dry, a wall of water refusing to shower his lower legs, the displaced water rising above and around him, transmutated into icicles pointed directly at us. He was wearing a green outfit of cat alligator scales lining his body, an assortment of utility belts and bandoliers accessorizing his apparel. From the way his head was pointed, I was prone to believe that his head itself was that of a swamp creature, angry eyes and a snarling nose directed directly towards me until the beast raised its head, revealing the face of a man within the maw of the dead alligator's head. "You shouldn't have come here."

Another splash, to our right this time, then another from behind us, then to our left, then behind us once again, and as we darted back and forth, our eyes trying to keep up with new arrivals, I was starting to realize that, somehow, I was missing the desert.

Zhao

I don't know how, but I actually found myself missing the swamp.

I was already through my self-appointed daily water-ration. I could, theoretically, indulge in tomorrow's, but I was smart enough to know would be rather unwise. At least in the swamp, thirst wasn't nearly as much of an issue. Here, however, I found myself praying for sweat. It was the dryness that was tearing me apart. My skin was crumbling, my lips were cracking, and even with the sun goggles over my eyes, I had to keep them closed half the time to avoid being blinded.

"You're lucky," said one of the merchants, though I couldn't tell who on account of not being able to even open my eyes. "It's a cloudy day today. It's normally much worse."

I didn't even want to begin what "much worse" could entail. At the very least, we were mounted, not having to do the walking for ourselves. Riding atop the back of the sizeable rhinoceros beetles was an interesting experience to say the least, them actually, to my surprise, riding rather smoothly despite the multi-leg tromping that, from a distance, always came off as harsh and erratic.

Our camelephants were keeping at a comfortable distance behind the beetles, an instinctual animosity between the two beings that was only kept at bay by the merit of human intervention. Left unchecked, I had no doubt that these beetles would make short work of our mounts, tearing through them with little to no difficulty.

Luckily, such wasn't the case, and we were enabled to travel at a rather comfortable pace. We had pitched camp that night atop a sand dune, and it was only when the sun had set that I found myself able to look at the desert in its might for the first time since entering it that morning. It was a sea of sand, stationary waves spanning across the entire Earth as far as anyone standing where I was could be concerned. I no direction I looked did the sight change shift. A navy man, I was used to the feeling, but at least at sea, I was in my element. I was in control. Here, however, I felt miniscule, an ant on a dining room table just waiting to be squashed.

I knew as I stared into the horizon that there was only one thing keeping me going right now, and that was the knowledge of what was out there. As I scanned the horizon, to and fro, for what must have been the 20th time, still seeing nothing, I found my resolve in no way shaken. It's out there. I know it. And I'll find it. Nothing else mattered anymore. The key to victory in the Nip Sea, the key to fighting the waterbenders, the key to securing Victory for the Fire Nation, the key to my rise, it was all out there, just waiting for me, and I would find it.

My eyes were more adjusted when the following day came, though that wasn't saying much. Even with the goggles, I still found myself having my eyes squinted throughout nearly the entire journey, hardly even taking a moment to observe the world around me. Soon enough, I learned just how foolish a mistake that had been.

I had heard little more than a monetary yelp before it felt as though I was being showered with shards of broken glass running across the entire span of my body, the force from the blast enough to immediately knock me from where I had been seated on the mount. The rhinoceros beetle let out a horrifying shriek as it no doubt encountered the same sensation as I had, though it larger size absorbing far more pain than I had, no dangling from my straps behind it, out of momentary harm's way. It was clear enough now, my eyes were wide open.

"Sand Benders!" I heard yelled in the last second before, as though a storm had rolled in from the sky out of thin air, the space around me became enveloped in a brown midst. It was a sandstorm, and we were under attack.

I created a flame dagger, cutting through the strap connecting me to the beast, falling the last foot to the ground, next to the motionless beast, it was already dead, still standing on its own feet, its midcenter having collapsed to the ground, lifeless, gone.

I took cover behind it, trying to look around me for any sight of, well, anyone. There was none. My world was, in that moment, confined to the 5-foot radius around me, the only thing sparing me being the flesh shield I had my back to. I could feel the pain in my body, and upon inspection, it was easy enough to tell that the exposed parts of my skin, namely my hands, were covered in blood and sand, the force of the artificial sandstorm so powerful to quite nearly tear the skin right off. I grimaced, turning away, trying not to focus on that right now.

It was only a few more seconds until the storm ended, and when it did, I did not find myself being any more reassured by the sight around me. The sight of seeing a good amount of our own men alive, Harzek included, was enough to send a wave a relief through me, but then the ground began to clear some more, and I could see the dead bodies scattering the field, most of the merchants, and even one of our own. I wondered who it was, but the casualty was not, by a long shot, our primary concern.

In a circle gathered around us were nearly an entire platoon's worth of sandbenders, 4 sand skiffs accompanying them. It was an ambush. Meant for us or otherwise, we were caught damn straight in the middle of it. We were in for a fight for our lives.