And now, to thank my reviewers.
wanderingmind911: I think they could have made something into a megaphone, like a rolled-up magazine or something. I used to do it all the time.
Katuko: Thank you, thank you. I shall make more.
MysticAnime: Thanks. I actually got the idea from playing the arena scene in Fable. Freaky, huh?
Ryuenjin the Dragon Fire Blade: Sadly, I do not watch InyuYasha (I know, I suck), so I didn't know that there was a character named Kagome. And for the record, you'll see how bad the chances of escape are in this chapter.
Chapter 2: Noble And Poor Beginnings
Aang woke up to see the two slaves he fought alongside, J.T. and Kagome, watching over him. Fear was his first impression.
"Where am I? What happened?" Aang asked.
"First of all, you're in hell. Don't expect to get out any time soon, Avatar," J.T. replied.
"And second, you got knocked out by one of the guards," Kagome replied.
"That reminds me, who are you guys? Why didn't you try to escape?" Aang asked.
"Well, it's about time you asked," J.T. replied. "First of all, I'm J.T., the Noble Thief."
"And I'm Kagome, the banished warrioress," Kagome replied.
"Then there's the whole 'why didn't you escape' thing. Well, we've tried before," said J.T.
"And every time, we always failed. Theoretically, we should be dead by now," said Kagome.
"But for some reason, the guards always spared us. I guess they think we're big-namers in the arena," said J.T.
"How'd you guys end up here?" Aang asked.
"We...tend not to talk about each others' pasts," said Kagome. "Unless you care to talk about your past, kid."
"First of all, my name's not 'kid', it's Aang. Second, it'd take a while to tell you about all my lives," said Aang.
"'Lives'? What are you talking about, kid...err...Aang?" J.T. asked.
"I'm the Avatar," said Aang.
"The legendary Avatar, master of all four elements," said Kagome.
"Well, at the moment, only wind. I'm...still trying to get to the North Pole to learn water bending," said Aang.
"So, where's your air bending ass been for the last century?" J.T. asked.
"Well, I ran away from my Air Temple and ran into a storm. There, my flying bison Appa and I..." Aang began.
"Wai-wai-wai-wait. Flying bison? You've got to be kidding. Those things have been extinct for the last 50 years," said Kagome.
"It's true! Anyway, we got frozen in the South Pole and my friends Katara and Sokka found me," said Aang.
"And ever since, the Fire Nation's been after you, haven't they?" J.T. asked.
"Just Prince Zuko," Aang replied.
"Ah yes, Prince Zuko. I met him once," said J.T. "Smart guy. Always thought of others. It's too bad about the agne-kai."
"Agne-kai?" Aang asked.
"A fire duel," Kagome replied. "He had to fight his own father and lost. That's why he's got that scar on his face."
"So that's why," said Aang.
"Yep, that's why," J.T. replied.
"You guys still haven't told you about your pasts! Come on, it can't be that bad," said Aang.
"Well...I...," said Kagome.
"No, I'll start. Mine's not nearly as bad as yours," said J.T. "My life was what most people dreamt of. I was the son of a rich artist and a general. My father being the general and my mother was a great artist. Her paintings were renowned all throughout Omashu."
"Omashu? That's where my friend Boomy lives," said Aang.
"Heh, so I see you've met King Boomy. He's a little crazy, but some of the stuff he does is pretty cool," said J.T. "Anyway, my parents were very over-protective. I couldn't do anything without one of my parents' knowing. I couldn't even leave my house. So, it's pretty obvious to say I didn't have friends. Matter of fact, the only time I had interaction with other humans was when my parents threw one of their boring parties."
"Wow, that stinks," said Aang.
"However, what they didn't know was that I coud earth bend. So I used to sneak out every night and get earth bending lessons from King Boomy," said J.T. "But one day, they found out. Mother and I were having a fight. I lost control of my anger and stomped the ground, sending her into the ceiling. One thing led to another, and I was stuck under 24-hour watch. I would look at the poor people and see that they were having so much fun with each other, and I wanted to join them. But every time I asked why I couldn't interact with the other people, my parents only said 'You have your place and they have theirs. Yours is to be here and famous and theirs is to be Earth Kingdom cannon fodder'. I got so mad. I decided to even out the social classes. I became a noble thief. I'd steal from rich people and give it to the less fortunate. And for about five years, everything went fine. But about four years ago, I got caught trying to steal from my own parents. I was disowned by my family, and despite King Boomy's judgement, I was sold into slavery. After a year on the slave market, I ended up here, fighting for my life. And until now, I've survived."
"Haven't you ever tried to escape?" Aang asked.
"Hundreds of times. At least 1000 in all. But every time, I failed. Now they've got guards at every window, door and loose brick in the place," J.T. replied.
"Wow," said Aang.
Back outside the arena, Katara and Sokka were trying to figure out a plan to get Aang out. But, nothing came to mind.
"We could always blow the wall apart," said Sokka.
"Yeah, right. With what?" Katara asked.
"I don't know. Appa's head?" Sokka replied.
"That might work. We could always fight the guards off and get ourselves captured, too," said Katara.
"Hey, at least I'm thinking of escape possibilities," said Sokka.
Just then, Katara noticed a "Help Wanted" sign on the side of the arena.
"Maybe we could try getting jobs here, then we could find escape routes," said Katara.
"Hey, that's a good idea," said Sokka.
So the two headed back into the arena to seek employment. Back in the holding cells, Aang was pressing Kagome into talking about her past.
"Come on! It can't be that bad," said Aang.
"Believe me, it is," said Kagome.
"Pleeeeeeease?" Aang begged.
"No," said Kagome.
"I'll stop asking if you say yes," said Aang.
"All right! If it'll get you off my back, all right," Kagome shouted.
"Well?" said Aang.
"My past is paved with pain and loss. I lost my mother shortly after I was born, and my dad died when I was five. So I've basically had to fend for myself for most of my life. My mom...I don't even know what she did before I was born, and my dad was a soldier who died in the South Pole," said Kagome. "I wasn't like most girls. Fire bending is a skill abundant mostly in boys. Needless to say, I couldn't practice my bending with the guys and had to take bending classes at night. I was better than all of the boys, and still they wouldn't accept me as their better. I was even called a warrioress by my master, and still they didn't accept me."
"Talk about unfair," said Aang.
"One day, when I was 14, I snuck into the palace, just to see how the better half lives," said Kagome. "I wandered into the war chamber, and heard one of their absurd war strategies. They were going to send in a squadron of new recruits to fight a trained army of earth benders, then send in one of their best units to destroy them from the rear. I spoke out against them and supposedly disrespected one of their generals. So I was challenged to an agne-kai. But instead of fighting one of the generals, I had to face the Fire Lord himself. Much as I didn't want to, I had to. When I struck the Fire Lord with a kick in the head, the crowd went completely dead. But the Fire Lord struck what was going to be a deathblow. Somehow I survived, and I was only slightly conscious. He struck me right in the stomach and left the mark of shame. The whole Fire Nation saw the result. The people, the soldiers, the generals, even Prince Zuko saw it. I didn't get banished, but I felt like getting banished. But instead of being insulted for losing an agne-kai, the people hailed me as a champion for having the courage to fight the Fire Lord. Somehow, my fight inspired women to stand up for their rights. When word got to the Fire Lord, he decided to take care of the wariorress by getting rid of her, I mean me. He branded me an enemy of the Fire Nation and sent me here. And every day since, all I've been made to do is kill."
"That's horrible. Nobody should have to go through that," said Aang. "But something confuses me. If you lost the fire duel, how come you don't have a scar? I mean, Zuko's is pretty obvious."
"It's on my stomach. I managed to move out of the way as he scorched me, but I still got hit in the stomach," Kagome replied. "I thought it looked like a butterfly and used to show it off, but nowadays it's just identified as a mark of shame. So I don't show it anymore."
"And why are you two so close? Nowadays fire benders and earth benders are almost mortal enemies," Aang asked.
"We're both slaves. It doesn't matter where we used to live, we're like family now," J.T. replied.
"We've put our homelands' differences aside. I just wish that other people are like that. Willing to forget that we're all people and that we can all get along," said Kagome.
"Yeah. I remember when people were like that," said Aang.
"We both came from different ways of life. J.T. was a rich person, I was poor. He's an earth bender, I'm a fire bender. He was a thief, I was a traitor. Either way, both our lives came here, where nothing matters except survival," said Kagome.
"So, you guys are always teamed together?" Aang asked.
"Not always. It's always determined by cellblock. We're all in the 'slave' wing. There's a cellblock for gladiators, beasts, murderers, everything under the sun," Kagome replied.
"The gladiators get treated like royalty, the murderers get treated like your average joes and the slaves get bare bones," said J.T. "The beasts get better treatment then us. We're the bottom of the barrel."
"Then what're we waiting for? Let's escape," said Aang.
"Kid, were you listening to me earlier? I told you, there is no escape," said J.T. "I've heard there's only one way out of here."
"Really? Where is it?" Aang aksed.
"In a casket," Kagome replied.
"Oh. I get it," said Aang.
"It's been a long day. Get some rest, Aang. You're going to need it," said J.T.
J.T. and Kagome got into their bed and fell asleep. Aang found a vacant cot and curled up under the blanket. Back outside the arena, Katara and Sokka were in Appa's basket, trying to think of a way of breaking Aang out.
"Did you find anything?" Sokka asked.
"Nothing. There's guards at every door and window," Katara replied.
"And I thought it was just my luck," said Sokka. "Well, at least we're getting money."
"Sokka, focus, Aang in trouble," said Katara crossly.
"I know, I know. But what can we do?" Sokka asked.
"Let's try and find them tomorrow," said Katara. "If we can find them, we can try to find a way out."
Sokka and Katara fell asleep, followed closely by Momo and Appa.