And after a very long and painful wait...

Ta-da! Next chapter up ^_^ Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter and sorry for the long, long wait. I'm supposed to be reading Lord of the Flies for English at the moment, but meh, I needed a break and thought of you guys ^_^ I love having you as an excuse... even if it isn't good enough in the eyes of my teachers. I hope you like it so please read and review and enjoy. Remember, three (3) review, or no update. :)

Off you go!


20. And Then There Was Hope

He stayed frozen in the little ball he'd curled himself into as the dust settled around him. His heart was pounding so fast and he was having a little bit of trouble breathing. His first thought was that he was crushed to death by the earth which had haphazardly fallen from above his head, but when he could suddenly smell fresh air...

Windu opened his eyes and yelped out in a very unmanly fashion when they were greeted with the sight of the monstrous animal whose head was moving about above him. The beast was sniffing vigorously and as its snout came towards him, its tongue protruded from its mouth and lashed towards him.

"Heel, Nyla!" a woman's voice called, and the animal's head was pulled back sharply. The animal backed out of the hole above Windu's head, but the man didn't dare move.

As soon as the beast was gone, several people jumped down to where he was, one of which he recognized with immense joy.

"SOKKA!!!" the older Warrior cried out, basically throwing himself at the Chief's son.
Sokka let out a shriek as Windu dragged him to the ground with the weight of his body.

Sokka lay on his back for a few moments with his eyes squeezed tightly shut, fearing the worst. But when he cracked one eye open, and then the other, and looked down on himself to see that dishevelled other Warrior, his eyebrows jumped to his hairline and he sat up.

"Windu?" he asked incredulously. "You kidnapped my sister?!"

"NO!" Windu cried. "I mean yes!" He stumbled backwards off of the younger boy and Sokka jumped on him as soon as he was free from his vice-like hug and pinned the boy to the ground on his stomach.
"Where's my sister?!" Sokka demanded.

"Wait, please, hear me out!" Windu half begged, not really caring that the boy looked about ready to kill him but still utterly overjoyed to be seeing a familiar and (usually) friendly face.

"Give her back! Where is she?! What have you done with –?!"

"Sokka!" a smaller girl dressed in green cried. He was pretty sure it was the Avatar's earthbending master. "Get off him – you're suffocating him. He's not going to be able to help us if you kill him."

With a growl of frustration, Sokka pushed himself up again and Windu lay on the ground of the prison cell, panting.

"Where's my sister?!" Sokka demanded again.

"I don't know!" Windu said quickly, rolling onto his back and then sitting up. "She's somewhere here in the underground. She and Mai are being kept here and the Avatar is being kept here too, but in a different location."

Sokka's face was bright red with anger and frustration. "Take me to them!"

"I can't!"

"Take me –!"

"Sokka, he's in a prison cell you twit!" Zuko hissed. "Stop being a pisshead."

Glaring over his shoulder, Sokka snorted and muttered something.

Windu got cautiously to his feet, not quite keeping perfect balance and using the bars of the prison cell for support.

"I'm so glad someone's finally find us," he croaked. "I was starting to think I'd die in here..."

"Don't get your hopes up too quickly," Toph warned bluntly, folding her arms over her chest. "You're staying with us until we find the others, so there's still a chance that you'll die down here."

The corners of his mouth turned downwards and he sighed in worry. But then he toughened up and smiled again, "That sounds fair. Anyway, I'll be able to help you out with finding them."

"You better!" Sokka said, fists clenched.

"Well, if you guys can bust the prison cell open, I'll lead the way!" he said.

Toph smirked, "Stand back then."

He did as he was told. A moment later there was a loud bang and the bars of the prison cell were thrown against the opposite wall. Windu smiled and felt himself relax a little more. There was still hope.

The rumbling of the earth moving was felt and heard everywhere in the underground, but only a few people noticed something different and did not dismiss it as Dai Li activity. Mai and Katara looked up with a frown on their faces as they sat side by side in their cave-like prison. They glanced sideways at each other then looked around. The noise and vibration repeated itself a few times and then stopped.

"What do you think that was?"

Mai shrugged, "Dai Li?"

Katara shook her head, "The Dai Li are usually a lot quieter than that."

"I know..."

"You don't think...?"

Mai looked at her, her eyes a little wider than usual with a hint of excitement running through them, "Do you...?"

Katara shook her head, "We shouldn't get our hopes up."

"But what if...?"

She smiled and patted her pregnant belly, "We'll find out soon."

Long Feng and Admiral Shang took no notice of the noise as they spoke. Aang payed no attention to what they were saying – he simply didn't have the energy. But when he heard the rumble and his chains shook lightly with the vibration, he looked up for a brief moment. But raising his head took a lot of effort and he gave up and zoned out again within a matter of seconds.

Windu stumbled out of where the prison cell's boundaries had been before Toph tampered with them and led the group along with a smile on his face.

Zuko turned to Jun and Kalo who did not seem to be following. Jun looked as if she had been considering, but Kalo was holding her back.

"I couldn't ask you to come any further. We have the warrior boy to help us now. Jun, if you and Kalo head back to the Fire Nation, we can arrange your pay and get it to you as soon as I'm back there too."

A smile lit Jun's lips and she nodded, "It's been a pleasure helping you, Fire Lord Angry Boy," she bowed, slightly mockingly.

Zuko rolled his eyes and nodded, then they waved each other off and Jun and Kalo straddled Nyla again. Jun manoeuvred the beast back out of the hole and they disappeared.

Zuko turned back around to find the others all waiting for him.

"Come on, Zuko!" Ty Lee urged him impatiently.

He smiled, "Alright, let's go!"

"Random dude, lead the way," Toph instructed.

"The name's Windu, random girl,"

"The name's Toph, random dude."

And our chapter comes to an end yet again :( Ok, I'm reeeeeeeeeeally sorry that took so long to post and I'm really sorry that it was so short! I'll try to get the next one up sooner and I really hope you like it and I hope you liked this one too. Now, I've gotta go and do my math homework or I'm gonna be eaten alive by a teacher tomorrow :D

See ya's all soon! I love you all, my awesome reviewers! And I need three (3) reviews before I can update. Love you all! SO REVIEW!

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