Toph, Kegare, and Ty Lee sat around in a small clearing in the forest while June went to scope out a lead as to where Zuko could be. The bounty hunter had been gone for nearly an hour, and the trio of misfits was bored out of their minds.
"Finally," Toph exclaimed. Kegare looked to the right while Ty Lee looked over at Toph, puzzled. June stepped out of the bushes, much to Ty Lee's surprise.
"Good news or bad news," the bounty hunter asked.
"Good news," Kegare immediately requested.
"Good news is, I think Zuko is in the town ahead." Ty Lee grinned happily, clapping her hands in excitement.
"Bad news," Toph asked.
"Bad news is…the city is currently occupied by the Fire Nation." The trio all groaned in unison. June leaned her back against the nearest tree and turned her head, "I'm not exactly sure how the hot-headed prince managed to sneak in though, or why the Fire Nation is even here in such force for that matter."
"What do you mean by force," Ty Lee cautiously asked.
"I mean there's a butt-load of Fire Nation soldiers in the town ahead. It's weird though. This place doesn't really have any strategic value, or anything of value nearby for the Fire Nation to mine for resources."
"There might be a group of them just passing through," Kegare suggested. "It's not uncommon for the Fire Nation regiment to rest up in a town and then continue onto wherever they're going."
"Or to follow whoever they're pursuing," Toph murmured grimly. Ty Lee gasped softly and then stood up quickly.
"You think they're after Zuko?"
"That's a possibility," June admitted. "Although we might just be over thinking things, and Kegare could be right."
"But if he's not…and they're after Zuko, then we have to help him!"
"And the best way to help him isn't to just rush into the town and start a big fight," Kegare stated firmly. "There are innocent people in that village that we don't want to get caught in the crossfire."
"Right, but on the same token we can't run the risk of Lu Ten being the monkey leading this clowns," June added. "If he is, we'll be discovered in a heartbeat."
"Then let me scout ahead," Ty Lee pleaded. "This Lu Ten doesn't know me."
"No, but if they are searching for Zuko, they'll be keeping an eye out for you," June pointed out. Ty Lee scowled in defeat and huffed bitterly. "I know you want to help Zuko sweetheart, but you've gotta think this through."
"You guys do know there's a simple solution right," Toph questioned. The rest of the group gave confused, questioning looks to the Team captain.
"I hardly think this is the 'simple' solution," Kegare angrily shouted. At the Team's feet were two unconscious Fire Nation soldiers, completely stripped of their armor and tied with their arms and legs behind their backs.
"It's a very easy solution," Toph said matter-of-factly. "You and June disguised as Fire Nation soldiers take Ty Lee and I into custody, so we can look for Sparky in jail, while you two can walk around in the city."
"I don't know why I'm dressing up as a guy," June muttered in annoyance as she eyed her new disguise.
"I don't know why I had to lure the guards over here by being so flirty," Ty Lee added in a pouty tone.
"You ever heard of a little something called 'variables?' They're unsuspecting factors that like to show up and kick you in the teeth when you're least expecting it!"
"Quit whining and get dressed ya big baby," Toph ordered.
"I hate you some days you know that," Kegare seethed bitterly.
"The feeling is mutual." Kegare growled angrily before he put the helmet on over his head.
Toph and Ty Lee were being escorted in shackles through the town. June kept her eyes narrowed and cautious while Kegare counted the seconds until they were discovered and attacked.
"This way," June whispered. "I've turned in a couple of bounties in this town before. I'd guess the Fire Nation would hold prisoners in the same area." Kegare nodded then followed the bounty hunter with Toph and Ty Lee in tow. To his surprise, Kegare noticed that nobody from the Fire Nation seemed to be paying them any attention. It probably helped that both his and June's faces were hidden behind helmets. "You may have to do the talking," June told Kegare. "I don't know many female soldiers in the Fire Nation army."
"No problem," Kegare replied. The two 'soldiers' turned and walked down a shortcut in the form of an alleyway.
June pushed open the door to the bounty station once they arrived, and let the 'prisoners' enter first. The room was filled with several Fire Nation soldiers. The one at the front desk looked up from scribbling on a few papers with a puzzled look on his face.
"What in the name of Agni are you doing with those people," the man asked.
"The small, pale, pasty blind girl is an Earthbender sir, we caught her outside of town."
"Pasty," Toph repeated with a bit of a venomous edge on her tone. Despite being blind and the fact Kegare wore a helmet, Toph knew he had a grin plastered on his face.
"And the ditzy looking one?"
"Ditzy," Ty Lee hissed, only to be nudged gently by June to pipe down.
"We saw her with the Earthbender, and they were mentioning something about the rogue Prince Zuko sir." All bodies stiffened in the room, and a few faint gasps were heard. Kegare once again started counting the seconds.
"Take them to the prison," the man ordered as he handed June and Kegare the keys. "And report to Commander Zhao immediately. He'll want to hear of this."
"Yes sir," Kegare took the keys then handed them to June. "I'll speak with Zhao at once."
"Commander Zhao," the man corrected.
"Sorry sir." Kegare headed back to the door while June moved Toph and Ty Lee towards the jail cells.
The cells were all completely empty as the girls entered. June opened the nearest cell door and allowed Ty Lee and Toph to enter. As soon as the bounty hunter closed the door and locked it, Toph growled in anger.
"PASTY! Who does he think he is calling me pasty?"
"He just said it to get under your skin," June replied as she adjusted her helmet. "You do it all the time, and the fact you're upset means he won this round. What is it now, Kegare four, Toph six? He's catching up."
"Shut up," Toph snapped angrily. "He's SO gonna get it for this!"
"Keep it down Toph," Ty Lee softly urged. "We don't want the other soldiers to catch on." The blind Earthbender crossed her arms and angrily huffed. June leaned back against the wall next to the cell bars and crossed her arms.
"I'm wondering why Kegare went to talk to Zhao so willingly," June asked herself. "He's one of the most powerful individuals in the Fire Nation isn't he?"
Ty Lee nodded in confirmation, "Zhao was born into a noble family who were close to the former Fire Lord Azulon. He became interested in the War and joined the army at a young age. He quickly moved up the ranks, and has become one of Fire Lord Iroh's favorite commanders. They say his successes and victories in the War come second only to Prince Lu Ten." June scowled under her helmet at that name, clutching her arm tightly.
"What's he thinking going off on his own," June whispered to herself.
Toph's unfocused gaze softened at the ground, "I hope you know what you're doing Man-Boy…"
Kegare was allowed to meet Commander Zhao immediately by simply mentioning the name 'Zuko.' The guards escorted him to the door of Zhao's private office before entering to tell their commanding officer what was going on. After a few seconds, the soldiers stepped outside and allowed Kegare to enter by himself.
The only lights in the room were a few sparsely lit torches that hung from the ceiling and walls. At the other end of the room stood a tall figure with his back turned as he gazed at a map of the Earth Kingdom. Kegare waited for a few moments for who he assumed to be Zhao to turn around or acknowledge his presence.
"So," the man finally spoke. Kegare stiffened unintentionally from the sound of the man's voice cutting through the silence of the room. "You have information on Prince Zuko do you?"
"Sir no sir," Kegare replied. "The girl I found mentioned Zuko's name. And she was with an Earthbender. I figure at the very least they could have some information on the rogue prince's whereabouts."
Zhao began to turn around, but he kept his gaze on the map a bit longer as he spoke, "Do you realize that-," Zhao paused for a moment and eyed Kegare curiously. The Earthbender in disguise stood firmly to keep himself from shaking nervously. "Aren't you a little short for a soldier?" Kegare looked down, seeing that the armor he wore was about half a size too large for him.
"S-sorry sir. They told me this was the only size they had." The soldier in disguise restarted his timer.
Zhao seemed to register this for a moment before walking towards Kegare, "Why don't you take off that helmet? It's stuffy in here." Kegare nodded wordlessly before taking the helmet off and holding it at his side. His hair was pulled tight and neatly into a ponytail, and his hair gave off a bit more shine, thanks to one of Ty Lee's conditioners. Kegare kept his face straight, body firm, and kept eye contact with Zhao. "Do you know soldier, what exactly the renegade prince's crimes were?"
"Sir…?"
"His crimes," Zhao repeated as he started to walk towards Kegare. "Why he ran away from the Fire Nation, how he received that scar?"
"To be honest sir I'm just a soldier from the colonies," Kegare lied. "I haven't been very up-to-date with my history of the homeland."
"Oh it's recent history I assure you," Zhao quickly replied. "The young prince isn't much older than you." Kegare's eyes shifted to the side as Zhao stopped behind him. The Earthbender's posture didn't change at all. "Now I'll ask you again: do you know what Zuko's crimes are soldier?"
"If I'm not mistaken, he spoke against Fire Lord Iroh didn't he?"
"Yes, yes he did. And do you know what else he did soldier?"
"He threatened the Fire Lord." Zhao smiled before he turned his head down to Kegare. The commander continued to walk around the disguised soldier.
"And challenged Fire Lord Iroh to an Agni Kai," Zhao finished. "Instead, the Fire Lord denied this challenge, and his niece, Princess Azula shot and scarred the boy's face permanently." Zhao stopped a few feet in front of Kegare before he turned back around to face him. "Do you know why Fire Lord Iroh denied Zuko's challenge to an Agni Kai?"
"I can't say that I do sir."
"Because of Zuko's disgrace of a father! The reason Zuko spoke out against the Fire Lord was because he banished the pacifistic traitor Ozai!" Kegare's grip on his helmet tightened a bit. "Tell me what you know of Ozai soldier."
"Sir, Ozai was the youngest son of former Fire Lord Azulon, and Fire Lord Iroh's personal advisor for some time. Before his banishment, Ozai started to actively speak out against the War, and tried to convince his brother to bring an end to it." Zhao chuckled as he looked up at the ceiling, as if he were laughing at Ozai himself.
"Because of that, Ozai was banished and labeled a coward and a traitor for trying to impede the glory of the Fire Nation. It was because of this that Iroh denied Zuko's challenge. Because his father was a disgrace and Zuko was no different."
"With due respect sir, I'm just here to report to you."
"Are you?" Zhao narrowed his eyes, and his smile changed into a frown. The commander turned his head and glared at Kegare. "Or are you here to get information out of me?"
Kegare didn't budge in the slightest as he slowly spoke, "Sir…?"
Zhao chuckled before walking back towards the map of the Earth Kingdom. "Do you know what gave you away? Your rigid posture." Kegare finally flinched visibly. Zhao kept his back turned and continued, "Fire Nation soldiers are well known for their discipline, but Earthbenders are also well known for their firm footing to the ground. All of my soldiers, when they become nervous or uneasy at least shift their footing ever so slightly. You on the other hand, Earthbender, haven't budged once."
"Then why humor me," Kegare finally asked, a certain edge in his tone. Zhao chuckled and then faced the young man again.
"To see how much you actually knew. To be honest I'm surprised you knew that much."
"To be honest it's not that hard to read you Fire Nation types. Power-hungry, egotistical, arrogant, and overall just plain jerk-offs." Zhao huffed with amusement, a small smirk forming on the corner of his lips. "But Ozai was different. He stood up for something he believed in, and not something that had been drilled into his mind like the rest of you. He saw this War as pointless and with no end, and pleaded with his own brother to stop it. Iroh has the power to stop this War, and instead of listening to his own brother, he chooses to continue all this unnecessary bloodshed for no other reason than for 'the glory of the Fire Nation.' If nothing else, Ozai deserves to be treated as more of a hero than a traitor."
"Such is the talk I would expect from a fellow pacifist," Zhao replied. "Lu Ten told me about how he encountered two Earthbenders, a young girl and a young boy, who saved the little bounty hunter June. Then I hear about Ty Lee, the girl who sheltered the rogue prince Zuko run off with a young woman carrying a whip and two Earthbenders. Obviously you're not Earth Kingdom army, which means you're draft dodgers. Yet here you are, knee deep in Fire Nation territory." Zhao walked up to Kegare and leaned forward, inches from the young man's face. "You're just as pathetic as the rest of your type you know that?" A pair of Firebenders entered the room and shackled Kegare with no struggle. "Take this filth back to the cells. I'll escort him personally."
Kegare was walked through the small town all the way back to the makeshift prison. Zhao entered the building first and approached the soldier at the front desk, "Where's the other soldier who came with the prisoners?"
"I think he stepped out sir," the soldier replied. Zhao narrowed his eyes before he turned back to face Kegare.
"Where is she?"
Back in Zhao's office, June quietly snuck in. She stuck to the shadows and inched towards the commander's desk. She reached towards a scroll while looking back at the door. To her shock, June felt another hand underneath hers. The bounty hunter quickly snapped her head around, and was met with the angered face of a scarred young man.
"You," both June and Zuko exclaimed. June quickly turned her head back around to make sure nobody heard them before staring back at the prince.
"We've gotta stop meeting like this," June finally said.
"What're you doing here? Haven't you caused enough trouble?"
"We're here trying to find you Zuko," June snapped. The rogue prince seemed surprised by the fact the bounty hunter knew his name. "We're here with Ty Lee, and we were trying to see if we could find you in this town."
"Ty Lee's with you? Where is she?"
"Uh…would you believe me if I said prison," June asked, trying to sound as innocent and sweet as possible. Zuko's face immediately twisted in anger. His nostrils flared in rage as he stood up with a weak burst of fire shooting out of his nose. "Wait a minute!" June stood up and grabbed the prince's arm. Zuko snapped his head around and glared at the bounty hunter who matched his gaze. "We have a plan to get her and the others out of jail. But you've gotta do as I say, got it?"
"Give me one reason to trust you," Zuko seethed.
"If I REALLY wanted to I could knock you out and negotiate a bounty on you from Zhao, and talk my way out of prison." June's statement seemed to calm the rogue prince seemed to calm a bit, or at the very least eased his tension a bit. "First we gotta get out of here before Zhao realizes Kegare's partner is gone."
"Wait, why were you in here then," Zuko asked.
"We were hoping to find information about you to hopefully narrow down our search. What about you?"
"I was going to see if they capture Ty Lee or if she got away when Zhao's men showed up. Obviously she was fine for awhile…" June gave a sorry smile before moving out of the exit first with the prince behind her.
Minutes later, Zhao came back to his office, enraged that he found nobody. The commander snarled before he turned back around to scream at his men a bit.
"I want you to find them," Zhao half-screamed at his men. "Find anyone who looks suspicious, our own men included! And I want double the amount of guards in the prison!" The soldiers all saluted their commander before scrambling out into the streets. Zhao turned around and snarled in anger.
In the prison cells, both Toph and Kegare hung from their hands chained high above their heads, and close to the walls to prevent them from moving. Ty Lee remained shackled with her hands and feet together, but she had more than enough room to move a little bit. Kegare looked up and wrestled with the chains a bit to see if there was any chance of being able to Earthbend. From the other cell, Toph sighed noisily.
"Can you stop messing with those chains? Believe me, I've tried to break out of this! I'm a better Earthbender than you are, remember Man-Boy?"
"Yeah, but unlike you I have working eyes," Kegare calmly stated as his eyes scanned his cell.
"What's that supposed to mean," Toph angrily snapped.
"There might be a crack or something in the walls that we can manipulate, or some sort of design flaw in the rooms."
"Oh…I didn't think about that."
Kegare rolled his eyes and then continued to look for something to help them. In the furthest cell from the Earthbender, Ty Lee stared at her feet with worry.
June and Zuko crouched next to the corner of a building and looked out to the bounty station, which was surrounded with some type of commotion. "What's going on," June asked.
"I think they're moving out," Zuko replied. "They're gathering their supplies and moving further into the desert." The bounty hunter looked up at the rouge prince curiously before moving her eyes back to the bounty station.
"What's out in the desert except a lot of sand?"
"I'm not sure. Something is out there that's worth Zhao's attention is all I know about." June narrowed her eyes and locked eyes with Zuko.
"I don't like this…"
The soldiers brought out the prisoners in shackles, with Kegare and Toph both being carried off of the ground to keep them from the earth. Ty Lee was sat up on the back of a Komodo Rhino while the two Earthbenders were thrown on the backs like sacks of potatoes.
"Hey, careful," Toph shouted. "I may be able to kick all your butts, but I'm still a lady!" Kegare scoffed under his breath while staring in the other direction. Toph whipped her head around in the direction of the scoff. "You say something Man-Boy!"
"Who, me? No. Had to be one of these Firebenders."
"No talking," one soldier snapped angrily. Kegare rolled his eyes as the mounts began to move forward.
At the entrance of town, Zhao sat on the back of a Komodo Rhino while he stared at a map. "The place we seek is in the center of this desert! We move forward and stop for nothing!" The mount moved forward, and led the front of the moving army.
"The desert," Ty Lee whined, "This is going to do horrors to my complexion."
"What's in the desert besides a bunch of sand," Toph and Kegare asked at the same time. The two Earthbenders snapped their heads in the other's direction, "STOP DOING THAT!"
"Both of you shut up," one soldier shouted.
Several hours into the desert, and several soldiers were ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion alone. Combined with the scorching heat from the sun above, many soldiers were left lying in the sand by their fellow comrades.
The three prisoners had it the worst, as they were barely given any water, and were about to faint from heat-stroke. Zhao's eyes scanned the horizon before him carefully, as he didn't want to miss any single clue. He kept the prisoners because he knew that somewhere amongst his ranks were a pair of moles who were waiting for the right opportunity to get their friends. Once they were far enough into the desert though, Zhao planned on dumping the three prisoners in the sand-box, since he knew that they wouldn't be able to survive even if they reunited with their friends. Not without water anyway.
Toph and Kegare both groaned weakly as sweat poured off of their faces. Ty Lee had it a bit easier, since she could use the soldier in front of her to lean against and for shade. Kegare looked over in his fellow Earthbender's direction, "Hey Toph…remember that thing I said about variables?"
"Shut up Kegare," Toph threatened with a weakened tone. "Just shut up." The young man hung his head to the ground and stayed silent. He figured since Toph used his name that she had to be serious, and far beyond the point of considering to crack a joke.
As the sun began to set, the temperature became a little more bearable for everyone. The cool air was welcomed by all the soldiers, and Zhao mercifully decided to make camp under the cool air. The commander also handpicked four soldiers to guard the prisoners while others set up watch and others their tents.
While the soldiers got a few moderately tasty looking meals, the prisoners received rather charred looking pieces of meat on a stick. "Yummy," Kegare deadpanned.
"Ah shut up and eat," one soldier snapped. "Unless you'd rather have an empty stomach."
"Hey, this one can't see," another soldier pointed out. "Maybe one of us should feed her instead." The soldiers all chuckled in amusement while Toph simply glared in anger.
"Picking on a blind girl, ooh, aren't we the tough guy," Kegare sarcastically droned. The Earthbender was far too exhausted to try to add any sort of tone in his voice. The soldier turned to the prisoner and swiftly kicked Kegare across the face. The other soldiers laughed as the boy hit the ground, unintentionally getting sand in his mouth.
"Where did it say in your job description that beating up kids was required," Toph angrily questioned. The soldiers looked over to her with scowls or amused grins. "How about you just sit down and shut up before I shove my fist down your throat."
The soldier grabbed a handful of Toph's hair and pulled back on it, causing the young Earthbender to wince in pain, "How about I shove something else down your throat to keep you quite?"
Toph's response was a quick crashing of her skull into the soldier's. The blow caused the soldier to cry out and fall onto his back. Toph angrily slammed her forehead into the man's face again, managing to land the hit on his nose and break it. The other soldiers quickly scrambled up and threw the Earthbender off their comrade. The soldier groaned as he held his bleeding nose.
One soldier stepped forward and kicked sand onto the burnt pieces of food they gave their prisoners, "Find your food now you crazy bitch!" The guards walked away with their broken-nosed friend and left the three prisoners.
Toph scowled to herself before sitting upright and shaking the sand off her clothes. "You came from the same nation as those poor excuses for people," Toph bitterly questioned.
"I'm afraid so," Ty Lee murmured with a hint of shame.
Kegare sat up and slowly inched towards the pile of sand that hid their 'meal.' The former Earth Kingdom soldier started to use his feet to dig their food out before he finally found the sand covered food.
"Yummy," Kegare deadpanned in the exact same manner as before. Toph turned her head a bit and questioned if her partner was really digging for food.
"You're joking right? You're not actually going to eat that crap are you?" Kegare sat up with a wide-eyed look as he held one of the sticks in his mouth. He dropped the food in his lap to keep it out of the sand while trying to be as quiet as possible. "After the way they treated us, you're going to act like an animal digging for scraps?"
"I look at it this way," Kegare said before he bent over. The Earthbender picked up another piece of food by the stick and dropped it in his lap, "When we get out of this, those guys will just have that much larger of an ass-kicking coming their way. But, you can't kick their asses properly on an empty stomach can you?" Kegare picked up the last charred-meat-on-a-stick and dropped it in his lap. Toph sighed and growled angrily as her stomach growled in hunger. Kegare smiled in victory as Toph blushed with embarrassment. "I take it your stomach agrees with me."
"It's not like we have much of a choice though do we," Ty Lee murmured as she offered the most convincing smile she could give. Kegare nodded as he returned her smile and scooted towards the two girls. He stopped in front of them and then rolled what was qualified as food onto the ground. "I'm…I'm sorry you two…" Toph and Kegare both looked over to Ty Lee with confused stares. "I…I just sat by and let you two get roughed up by those soldiers…"
"Don't worry about it," Toph replied. "It's no use them beating us all up just because Kegare and I have big mouths."
"Yeah. Besides, I think they like you better, being Fire Nation and all."
"That's all the more reason I should speak out against them," Ty Lee responded.
"Hey, not everyone has to walk away from this in bruises," Toph pressed on. "You just do what you can to keep your girly skin girly, got it?"
Ty Lee smiled and blushed faintly, "Got it."
Kegare bent over and picked up a piece of charred food, which he soon realized was about as hard as a rock, with his teeth. He grimaced with the burnt food in his mouth, causing Ty Lee to become even more reluctant as she bent over and picked up a piece herself. The acrobat's face twisted in a bitter expression as she crunched the disgusting food.
"It's not that bad…once you get past the burning taste of ass," Kegare grimaced.
"That's all I taste," Ty Lee replied. Kegare made the bitterest of faces before he nodded in agreement. The Earthbender turned his head to Toph. The blind Earthbender remained motionless as her gaze stared into empty space.
"You okay," Kegare asked.
"I'm fine." Ty Lee looked over as she reluctantly swallowed the food in her mouth. The acrobat tilted her head curiously to the side while Kegare stared at Toph with narrowed eyes of suspicion.
Realization struck as Ty Lee's head perked up, "Oh! She can't 'see' her food, right?" Toph's cheeks immediately reddened from embarrassment before she sharply turned her head to the side to try and hide her face. "You're gonna have to feed her Kegare." The two Earthbenders both snapped their heads around to Ty Lee. The acrobat was looking back at the former soldier with a stern look before she nodded her head towards the charred food on the ground.
"Why me," Kegare finally asked.
"Because my chains are tighter so I can't move around as much as you can. You gotta feed her."
"I can't move my hands either remember?"
"Grab the stick with your mouth then," Ty Lee suggested.
"Whoa, no way!" Kegare and Ty Lee looked over at Toph who started scooting herself away from her companions. "No way am I swapping spit with Man-Boy!"
"It's not swapping spit," Ty Lee insisted. "He's just picking it up by the stick so you can get to the actual meat with your mouth." The acrobat paused and gave herself a confused, slightly disturbed look. "That just sounded all sorts of weird…"
"All the more reason for him not to feed me," Toph snapped. The blind girl's stomach protested with a noisy growl. Toph narrowed her eyes in frustration at her own organs as her cheeks heated up with embarrassment. "Shut up. I can feel you all looking at me, so shut up."
"Oh will you both stop acting like babies," Ty Lee exclaimed. "Just let him feed you! It's not like he has cooties or anything."
"Yes he does! He has the Man-Boy cooties!"
"Okay, now you're just trying too hard," Kegare said with a sigh, referring to how much Toph throws insults around. The Earthbender started scooting across the sand on his butt before he stopped in front of Toph's food. "Ty Lee's right. This shouldn't be a big deal."
"You're just saying that because you like seeing me suffer!"
Kegare smirked and rolled his eyes, "Oh you're one to talk. Just accept the damn help for once. It doesn't make you any less of a man."
Toph glared at Kegare who leaned forward and took the stick in his mouth. "More of a man than you," Toph muttered under her breath.
Kegare scooted closer until he was in front of Toph. It was at that point that the former soldier realized just how embarrassing of an ordeal this would turn out to be. Kegare took in a deep breath and leaned forward slowly.
Toph blushed furiously as she felt Kegare's face brushing against the tips of her bangs. Kegare averted his eyes, unable to look at Toph as he reddened feverishly. The blind Earthbender slowly leaned forward and prayed that she wouldn't touch Kegare with her lips. She practically screamed with joy once she bit down into a piece of horribly burnt meat that tasted almost purely of charcoal. After biting off a piece, Kegare leaned back to allow his fellow Earthbender to chew.
Ty Lee watched the sight with scarcely contained giggles as she crunched her own disgusting meat. Watching Toph and Kegare's faces heating up the way they were was almost enough to distract Ty Lee's mind from the horrible taste in her mouth. Almost.
"Well isn't this a cute sight," a female's voice asked. Kegare and Toph immediately shot away from each other and looked in opposite directions. Standing over the two Earthbenders were two people dressed in a Fire Nation soldier's uniform. "And here I thought you two didn't like each other."
"Shut up June," Kegare hissed bitterly as he recognized the voice. Ty Lee looked over to the other soldier as he approached her.
"Are you alright," the young man asked. Ty Lee beamed happily as her heart nearly did a back flip.
"I am now that you're okay," the acrobat replied.
"Get me outta this now," Toph said threateningly to June.
"I'd love to, as much as I hate to see the two of you getting along, but we're surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers. We'd need some sort of miracle in order for us to cut you three loose without the entire army coming down on us."
Suddenly, the ground shook violently as several pillars of sand shot into the sky. All of the animal mounts cried out in shock as the Fire Nation soldiers were taken off guard.
"Sandbenders," someone shouted.
"Well look at that," June murmured as she looked towards the commotion with shock in her eyes. "I can summon miracles on a whim."
"Now is a good distraction right," Kegare hastily questioned. Zuko quickly undid Ty Lee's bonds as the Fire Nation camp scrambled to their stations. The acrobat rubbed her wrists as she smiled up at Zuko who moved to release the others.
June undid Kegare's restraints while Zuko worked on Toph's. A battle between fire and sand started in the background. The two Earthbenders were released and quickly shot up to their feet. "Can you two bend the sand to distract them," Zuko asked as he watched the chaos come closer to them.
"Uh…" Kegare looked over to Toph who stared forward with a vacant stare. "No. Sand is a different form of earth that I don't think either of us has enough practice with."
"So in other words," June began as she held her hands up before twirling them to point to her right, "We run." A fireball came crashing down near the Team before they hauled their butts away from the madness.
A group of Sandbenders on a sand-sailor noticed the Team running away and moved to intercept them. June quickly snapped her head around and stopped as she threw her arms out to the side. The rest of the Team stopped as well as the sand-sailor shot past them.
"Move!" The Team continued forward, running as fast as they possibly could. The sand-sailor circled back around, with two Sandbenders at the end throwing their arms up into the air.
The sand came up beneath June and Zuko's feet, and threw the two of them flat on their faces. More Sandbenders came out of nowhere and surrounded the Team, armed with daggers and knives.
"Ah crap…" Kegare murmured.
"Take the Fire Nation scum!" All heads turned to a large man with a balding head, and a thick scruffy beard step towards them. "You three, get on one of the sailors and come on!" Kegare, Toph, and Ty Lee all blinked in confusion before giving each other the same baffled look. A fireball came crashing down behind the large man, forcing him to turn around, "HURRY!"
A group of Sandbenders picked up June and Zuko off the ground, tied them up and then threw them up onto the nearest sand-sailor before jumping on themselves and riding off into the distance. Kegare opened his mouth to protest, before another sand-sailor showed up and coated his back with sand.
"Get on," a Sandbender shouted. Ty Lee quickly helped Toph up onto the sailor, seeing it as her only way to reunite with Zuko again, before jumping on herself. Kegare shook the sand off and quickly jumped onboard as well before the sand-sailor was propelled forward.
Toph latched onto the nearest, secure holding she could find and clung onto it with dear life. Kegare crouched down as he was nearly thrown off balance and off the sailor itself. Ty Lee maintained perfect balance as she walked towards the Sandbender moving the sailor.
"Where are they going," Ty Lee asked over the swirling winds. The acrobat pointed to the sailor Zuko and June were on to make sure the 'pilot' knew what she was talking about.
"We're all heading back to the village," the Sandbender replied. "That's where we'll decide what to do with the Fire Nation scum!"
"They weren't Fire Nation," Ty Lee shouted. "They were disguised as soldiers to try to save us!"
"I'd bring it up with the chief lady. He's the one who'll decide what happens to them, not me." Ty Lee nodded before turning around and walking towards the two Earthbenders, who were having more than enough trouble staying onboard.
The acrobat held her hand up to her chest and her eyes softened in worry, "Zuko…" The sand-sailor shot off into the distance, towards the full moon resting beyond the horizon.
So, as a late holiday present I've decided to reward fans of this story with not one, but two chapters since they're not the hardest things in the world to crank out. And I'm updating my other two stories too, my Left 4 Dead and Naruto stories. Hopefully I'll have more time to write for my stories before I go back to school…but don't quote me on that…I'll try my best. Honest lol. Hope you enjoyed the two chapters, and I hope all readers had a good holiday season =)