I hadn't awaken for a half an hour, Ruan actually woke up first, dazed and didn't remember at all what happened in the cave. Ruan pushed and shoved me trying to get me awake. "Hey, Khai get up, c'mon it's dark, what the hell happened last night?", said Ruan who kept pushing me. I started to wake up, my head felt as if it was hit by a train. I tried to sit up, my sight was once again blurry. I was really getting sick of that. My whole body ached, it took me awhile before I could stand up.

"Wow, man you look like a train wreck, especially with that black eye", Ruan said chuckling. I touched my left eye, to feel a quick sharp sting and then a burning feeling. I slowly got to my feet , cracking my back on the way up. "Thanks, and you beautiful yourself", I said sarcastically. He laughed a bit, and started to look around, trying to get a fix on where we were.

"The park, I recognize the buildings around here, we're still in The Sand Pits but we're in the park. By the way how did we escape those sand benders? All I saw was the sand collapse on us and blackness. Woke up here hours earlier and I saw you sleeping in those leaves", Ruan said still brushing sand out of his clothes. I sort of ignored his question when he told me where we were. "The park are you kidding me! My dad going to kick my ass, he's not going to believe I fell asleep in the damn park, he'll probably say I took a dirt nap while I was at it", I had suddenly gotten full strength to my legs. I walked around looking at my surroundings, even though I knew now where I was.

Ruan yawned and rubbed his eyes. He walked up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder twice, "Sorry bud, but I got to get home, ya know? At least one of us will be alive," Ruan said laughing. I glared at him as he started walking down the road yawning and stretching. I was lucky he ignored the question of how he got to where he was. Being as sleep deprived as he was, I'm just glad his stupidity kicked in while it could. I knew where I was now, thanks to Ruan. I started walking home, It would be quite a walk in the dark but at least I had something to think about.

Porter and Shana

"So what makes you think that he can help you? He can't even make it more obvious that he's going for an attack", said Shana. The both of them had been sitting on top of the public library, starring at Khai as he walked down the road. Porter thought about this but he had some idea of what he was going to do.

"Shana, we already know that the Equalists are going to overthrow the city, we need as much help as possible, even I can't hold off an army alone", said Porter.

"Yes I know Porter but him? Of all people, I'd rather take his friend, Ruan", she said ending her sentence quietly. Porter look toward her and smiled. "I'll admit observing Ruan's past was alright but we need more then what he has, we need someone who has fire in their heart", Porter replied. He took out his wallet, inside one of the folds had been a picture. It had been a girl.

"Is that her", Shana said calmly. Porter squeezed his free fist until the point where it hurt. He glared at the picture, fury ran through him, not at the girl personally but the events the had happened. He put the picture back in his wallet. He slowly got up, he could no longer see Khai, he looked back to Shana. "look, point is I want someone strong, Ruan's fine, but Khai has that fire within him, inside his heart. I observed this when I saw those sand benders attacking them", said Porter, hopping down ledge by ledge until he got into the park where Khai and Ruan once laid, Shana followed. "Shana lets go, we got to be somewhere.

I had gotten to the district border, entering Kyoshi way hadn't been a problem since I had finished my job and left the parcel at Shino's, whatever he did with it. However I could not stop thinking about what happened last night with him, With Porter. When he countered my attack I was completely surprised. I thought he had underestimated me but it had been the exact opposite. I stretched my arms into the darkening sky, walking home in soaking wet clothes, which I'll admit he dried a little, filled with sand hadn't been the best thing I could ask for but just how Porter analyzed my every move and countering it was strange.

Before I even attacked him he knew, he even warned me, he read me like a book and knew just what I was going to do. I couldn't help but think about that girl Shana and how she had given me this agonizingly painful black eye. How was I going to tell Bao this? I walked on in the night and passed by all the other markets. They were closed of course although some had left their carts outside, but nothing was in them. I had passed by Bozu's stand, the place still smelled like food, grease stains poured of the cart and I could even see some cooked into the ground from the sun.

I smiled as I passed it, Bozu had always had given me a good attitude and was one of those people I completely forgot was an Equalist, like Ruan when he wasn't acting smug. It was hard going to face my family again but somehow Porter gave me hope, the Equalists were a strong force but I had faith. I had turned onto my street, I must've admit I was nervous. I walked past the brick wall that surrounded my front and back yard. Before I had passed through I stopped at the gate. I leaned against the wall, my heart was pounding. How was I going to face my father? I know this was only a courier job but I've never been this late.

I swallowed a couple of times and starred at my front door. I cursed and slowly started to walk up to the front door. I reach out for the brass doorknob, breathing heavily I turned the knob but before it could go further it jammed. I turned it back and forth my hand was going insane but the doorknob kept jamming. The house was locked.

"Shit, not now", I said out loud, I had no choice, I pounded my fist against the door. There was no answer. Harder and harder I slammed my fist against it waiting for an answer. Why the hell did they lock me out, even they weren't this cruel or at least my mother wasn't.

"What's wrong no answer?", a deep voice called out. I looked around, nobody in sight. "Locked out? No answer, No help...", said the voice again. I got nervous. I looked everywhere my front yard was clear, there were no bushes or hedges for a hiding spot. I started back down the steps to the front gate but saw nobody beyond the surrounding brick wall. I walked back unto the front steps again searching for the voice. "That's quite a shiner", he said again. I had enough, "Alright who's there and why the hell can't I get into my home", I said. I felt foolish, it was like a was talking to nothing, but somebody was there. I heard a thud and quickly turned around without hesitation.

Right there in front of me was an Equalist soldier in full armor. He had his Red arm and leg guards that went up to his shoulder and knees. Underneath had been some hard leather and metal that protected the vitals. He wore a grey buttoned, cloak like robed that he wore with the hood up. Covering his face was a silver mask that had a large red dot on his forehead. People had debated that the face of the mask had either been smiling or frowning, but to me he just looked like more emotionless Equalist trash.

Before I could move he struck me in the ribs, in a spot that would have blocked my bending if I was a bender. It had gave me a weird feeling where I became sick to my stomach, he followed up with a spinning side kick to my chest. I grunted as I hit the ground, I cursed at him and quickly got to my feet, I wasn't going to let myself be beaten again. I ran towards him, he launched out his fist, more of his knuckles on his first two fingers used to render limbs useless if they hit in the right spot.

I had seen this coming, from watching my brother before in his sparring competitions in the academy. I blocked with my forearm, mimicking what I saw from Porter. I used my foot to connect with his legs sweeping him upward and trying to spin him around. He had some moves of his own, instead of fighting he allowed me to spin him. There he jumped up open my back and he had used this to my advantage to grab my arms and pull it behind me like what Porter had done to me.

I couldn't stand up much longer, my legs gave out and I fell to the ground with the Equalist standing. "Looks like someone learned some knew moves, if only you had been taught to use them properly", he said with a confident tone. He had pinned me to the ground sitting on my legs and grabbing my arms, pulling it. He laughed. He leaned forward pushing my face into the dirt but this time he had been standing a little, and not on my legs. "Your cocky, and unorganized", he said to me. "You wanna bet your balls on that one", I said.

When he had gotten up closer to me, he freed my legs. I pulled back my leg as far as I could and pushed up and was also forced to go out. My leg push up enough to hit him in his groin. He fell back in agonizing pain, moaning. I quickly got up and turned towards him lashing out with my foot. He had enough speed to get his hand up but not enough strength to hold back my kick. It connected with his hand pushing back into his face sending him backwards. I tried to combo with a hook punch but he had caught that, still in a kneeling position he and lashed out with his free hand and hit my stomach.

I stumbled back holding my stomach, I panted hard trying to get the wind back he knocked out of me. "Why are you after me!", I said with pain sounding in my voice, my stomach sent pain all through my lower torso. He didn't say anything now that he was back on his feet his began chasing after me. I ran, this became a game of cat and mouse. If i could get to the backyard tool shed before he could catch me, I could find a weapon. I looked back seeing where he was, but he wasn't there, disappeared again.

I caught something in the corner of my eye, the hooded Equalist now ran on the roof of my home, or at least the lower part of it. In his hand was a special type of weapon. He was swing a long cord and on each ends were to metal balls, one heavier then the other. My eyes widened, and turned around and started running. "You can't run coward!", said the man. He threw the weapon and it hit my legs. The small ball using the weight of the big ball to its advantage, wrapping itself around my legs.

I collapsed to the ground, and the man jumped onto the ground. He walked over to me and pulled a small dagger, hidden under his hard leather torso piece. I didn't know what to do, I had to find out something about this guy, his weakness, relativity, or anything but nothing came to mind with that mask on. So I improvised as he came closer with the dagger drawn, I used the weight of my lower half to roll backwards. Since my hands were free I had no problem using them to launch my legs at the Equalist. Hitting him in the chest and knocking him down.

He groaned as my two feet connected with his chest. On the ground moaning I crawled over to him and finished him off, dropping both of my heels, onto his mask, cracking it. The mask had probably shielded his face from most damage but the best I could imagine or hope for was that I broke his noes. "All right prick, you had your laugh, who are you?", I said switching my body so now my face meets his.

I pulled back his hood and took off his mask.