Two verses Twenty Five

Delta made his way towards the northern part of the village. He was hoping beyond hope that he would reach his destination without having to meet the enemy before he was inside the village. But as much as we hope for something to happen, very rarely will it happen. Delta was about halfway to his spot when he noticed movement in the trees ahead of him. Instead of hiding in the brush around the trees he jumped up into the V shape of a tree and then climbed so that he had a bird's eye view of the surrounding area. Delta was crouched on the branch for balance and then he saw what was causing the commotion and he was furious. Two children and one teenager were being chased by three armed men. One had a spear, another a sword and the last man had a wicked looking axe. They were running down the three villagers with undivided attention.

From his perch Delta knew that he had to help these three villagers out, he just had to act quickly. As the children ran under his perch the teenager of the group stood back and told the children to run and get help. Delta noticed that he was carrying a wooden stick, which wasn't much of a weapon, but if he knew how to use it then it was his best bet of staying alive. The three men who were charging the group stopped when they saw the teenager stand and face them.

"Oh look at him with his stick I wonder what he's going to do to us?" This was uttered by the man wielding the axe.

"Yeah what are you going to do poke our eyes out?" Taunted the guy who had the sword, and he advanced a little too cocky and the teenager did just that. He dodged a blow from the warrior and hit him in the face with his stick. The man walked away howling in pain and agony.

"Oh why is it the bleeding eye all the time?" The man raged. "Kill him I want his head." "What's the matter isn't your own good enough for you?" retorted the teenager.

Delta had to hand it to the kid being quick witted, but this wasn't a laughing matter. Delta drew one of his rope darts and threw it at the man with the axe. It stuck in the back of the man's neck. Delta leapt down from his branch and this hoisted the man into the air. When he hit the ground Delta made sure the rope stuck into the ground so that the man hanged there.

Before the other two could react to this Delta had his bow out and fired two arrows. One of them caught the man with the sword in the throat and he died instantly. The man with the spear dodged the arrow but it still stuck him in the shoulder. Before he had time to recover Delta ran to him and killed him with his knife. This was the first up close kill for Delta. Sure he had hunted animals, but they weren't human. The only thing animals could do when they were being hunted was run, unless it was an animal that could fight back. The look on the man's face made Delta think about if what he was doing was right. Then he remembered what he saw the other men doing in the village and he vowed to not let one escape.

Delta wiped the blood from his knife and put it back in its sheath. He turned and looked at the teenager who was standing there open mouthed at what he had just witnessed.

"Are you alright?" Delta asked. The boy nodded. "Good. I need you to go and find the two children you were with and keep them safe until this is over."

He started walking again when the boy said "Wait." Delta stopped and turned back to him.

"What's your name?" Delta wondered if he should share it with the boy but after what he was going through the boy probably wanted some answer as to who saved him.

"My name is Delta and I'm here to help your village." Delta said.

The boy looked stunned at this. "Do you have an army with you?" He asked.

Delta chuckled. "An army wouldn't be much good in a small raid like this where stealth and surprise are your best weapons."

The boy looked more confused still. "But how many of you are there?"

"Just me and another guy," Delta replied hoping the boy wouldn't tell anyone else about the size of his force.

Before the boy could ask any more questions Delta said "Now go and find those children you were with. They're probably terrified out of their minds at being alone."

He turned and started walking again. "I hope you know how to bend an element because there's a firebender at the village." That stopped Delta in his tracks. "Did you just say a firebender's at your village?" The boy nodded.

"Well things just keep getting better and better." And for the last time Delta turned and headed towards the northern part of the village.

Chan had been waiting in his spot for a while. He wanted to make sure he didn't cramp up before the fight so he kept loose and drank some water. A little while later he heard branches breaking and someone crying. He decided to leave and investigate who was making the noise. It was two children who were probably from the village. One was a boy and the other was a girl. The girl turned and gasped when she saw Chan.

Chan held up a finger to his lips making silence gestures and then asked "Are you two from the village?"

The boy wouldn't say anything and Chan guessed he had been the one crying. The girl nodded. "Okay I'm here to help you guys. There's no need to be afraid."

Just then the boy spoke and said "Where's mom?" The girl shushed him and said "Mom's back at the village. Dad's looking after her she'll be alright."

Not if these raiders are doing what I saw them doing Chan thought. He told them to follow him and they went back to his hiding spot. They got there and waited. It was during a lull in the fighting that Chan heard the signal.

"That's my queue guys I need to go and help your village. I'll be back for you." With that Chan left the trees and headed for the village.

Delta was at the north end of the village and hiding behind a house. He had gotten a good view of some of the men who were in the village and saw that they had a number of villagers gathered together in a barn on the south side of the village. He wondered what would happen to them. He also saw the firebender in the group. He was tall with black hair that was tied up into a ponytail. He was wearing a set of clothes that Delta had never seen before. It was a type of black leather that had a symbol of the Fire Nation on it and Delta wondered if these men were from the Fire Nation. Then he remembered the way they were dressed and knew they were from the Earth Kingdom and not the Fire Nation. Either way he'd soon find out.

Delta gave the signal from his ocarina and went in. He fired two arrows at the guards who were guarding the entrance to the barn. Not expecting the attack they fell to the ground without time to react. Delta sheathed his bow and pulled out his sword. Two guys came at him one with a spear and one with a sword. Delta blocked a thrust from the spearman and used that to block an incoming swing from the swordsman. With a reverse swing Delta cut the man with the spear across the stomach and then he ducked a blow from the swordsman and then stabbed him there as well. Both of them died within minutes.

During his encounter Delta hadn't noticed a man coming up behind him until a spear was thrown at him. Delta looked at the man and then at the man who had thrown it. Chan had joined the fray and now was battling three guys with swords. Delta turned his attention to five guys who were advancing on him. One had a club, three had spears and one had a sword.

Delta was ready for them. The man with the club charged Delta and Delta sidestepped the swing easily. He grabbed the club and with the man's momentum knocked the three spearmen off their feet. Then Delta released the man and he ran into the man who had the sword. This knocked him down. Before they could recover Delta killed all three of the spearmen and then advanced on the swordsman. The two of them faced off. Delta exchanged blows with him and knew this guy could handle himself.

It was during this duel that made Delta realize that although he was a great fighter from his village, he had no experience of fighting outside his village. But he wasn't about to let this man win and kill him. Delta eventually found a weakness and killed the man with a quick thrust of his sword. The duel left Delta panting heavily but he knew he had to keep fighting.

Chan had taken out the three swordsmen who had advanced upon him. He saw Delta take on five other guys and knew he could handle himself. The number of raiders had been reduced almost by half. Just then four more guys ran at Chan. He blocked and dodged the swings that went for him he then moved in on two of them and managed to kill them without too much difficulty.

The other two had spears and therefore had a longer reach than Chan did with his sword. He rolled to the ground as they both of them thrust their spears at the same time. Chan was close enough that he cut through the legs of one of the spearmen and he fell to the ground. Chan then rolled so that he hit the legs of the other spearmen and this brought him down. Chan pulled his knife out and killed him.

While he was fighting these men Chan saw that Delta had taken care of six others and that only five men remained.

When they saw that there were only five of them left, the four non-benders fled towards the southern part the forest.

"COWARDS," bellowed the man who was wearing the black uniform.

"Chan make sure those guys don't escape and see if you can take one alive." Delta shouted to Chan.

"What about you?" Chan asked. "I'll handle this."

Chan nodded and turned to run down the four guys who were running for their lives towards the woods.