The van jolted from side to side in its intense speed, throwing the passengers hiding inside from side to side, onto the floor and against the hard walls. Will's senses were still unstable; every now and then he would get a glimpse of the poorly lit interior of their vehicle, the faint metal smell and taste of the blood still dripping from the wound on his temple. Images of the fight flashed through his head, being struck to the head, Cathy flying into the walls, the metal wire wrapping around his stomach. Then everything was silenced by the cold embrace of unconsciousness, where the dreams were almost as painful as the reality. Will's daze was only broken as the strong sunlight accompanied by the winter chill burst through the double doors of the van as they were opened from the outside. Cathy held his hand as tightly as she could through the sweat, her grip remained as he was carried out of the vehicle, a stranger resting Will on his strong shoulders.

It took a while for Will's eyes to adjust to the light, but he soon realised he was in unfamiliar surroundings. Due to his ailing he hadn't been able to guess how long the journey had been; it could have been an hour, it could have been a week. He plodded forward, with his weight rested between Cathy and the other he could just about walk. He was led into an elevator, the doors shut behind him and those accompanying him and the machine began its descent. The artificial light was kinder to his eyes, and his mind could process more information through the lessened throbbing of his head. The blood was no longer trickling down his cheek, and Will thought that perhaps he'd had medical attention from one of the strangers in the van with him.

Aside from him and Cathy, there were three others: the man who was helping him to walk, who was coated in what seemed like a skin of grey metal armour; a shorter, curvaceous woman who had remained silent the entire journey from what he could remember; a final man who stood fairly tall, donning a strange robe with alternating patterns of blue and white and a white lotus embroidered onto the chest. This man was juggling an orb of water from hand to hand, and Will concluded this was the one that had stopped the bleeding. He would ask (and thank) later, when he could control his thoughts long enough to utter a sentence. The descent in the lift was making the Geomancer feel nauseous again but he stopped himself as best he could from vomiting. He wasn't sure if he had already done so, but his stomach felt empty. He could murder a hot meal.

The lift came to a stop and the doors opened after the generic 'doors opening' voice was played. After they'd stepped out Will was allowed to lean against the wall for a while to catch himself up. Will wiped his face with his free arm, his forehead was damp with sweat and he could feel that his temple was bruised. He could open his eyes all the way now, and he took a moment to absorb their new location. The walls were crude earth that were somewhat reminiscent of a rabbit's burrow, attached to the earthen ceiling were electronic light-beams, with the wires flowing from light to light and further into the burrow. Some attempt had been made to make the floor more habitable, it was coated in concrete slab hexagons which were lazily slopped into a pattern. They looked worn, so perhaps this was a very old hideout.

Silence was broken by the armour-coated man, who spoke with a slight grin whilst staring at Will with expressionless emerald eyes. "We got to you just in time it seems. Another second and you would probably be on your way to the Mancer-camp on the south coast." He took a moment to stretch before holding a hand out to Will, "My name's Lea. Lea Beifong, pleased to make your acquaintance, Will." Will shook his hand and was met with a firm grip.

Next the smaller woman stepped forward. She looked slightly older than Lea, perhaps in her late twenties or early thirties. A few shallow laughter lines were emerging from her eyes, and she smiled at Will warmly. "My name is Master Ray, I'm the head of rescue operations for this group. I am glad we managed to find you both in time." She bowed before continuing "This is Kai, he is the healer responsible for tending to your wounds on the way here. Would you please follow us? There is much to discuss." Cathy and Will nodded simultaneously. Will pushed himself off the wall and was offered Lea's shoulder to lean on, but kindly refused, insisting that he could walk on his own.

Both of the fugitives followed the others through the warren which seemed to bend and wind more than a crazy straw. It was a good ten minutes walking in near silence before they reached a heavy steel blast door that stood strong before them. "Lea, if you would?" Ray requested, Lea nodded. He stepped forward and cracked his knuckles before placing his hands flat on the door. He seemed to bury his fingers into the door, and with a great screech the door was pulled open before him. Will's mouth dropped in awe, he'd never experienced something like that before. Was it a new mancing type?

"How did you do that?!" Will exclaimed, forgetting his manners and sounding somewhat accusatory. "Are you a metal mancer or something?"

Lea only laughed before responding shrewdly with "Firstly, it's called metalbending, and secondly, yes I am, but it's a skill available to earthbenders with correct discipline. You might even be able to do it one day. Now go ahead, I'll close the blast door behind us."

Compared to the spectacle that appeared before the group, the metal bending seemed like nothing, and it took the pair's breath away. They had been brought to an underground city, unlike anything they had ever seen. The ceiling expanded maybe three hundred feet, and the walls switched from crude earth into a shiny metal coat. Giant metal tubes had been erected from the floor to the roof, with windows dotted every few metres. Stood in the middle of all of this was a great temple, it looked ancient and slightly out of place compared to the rest of the city, which looked so modern it was almost futuristic. The pair were dizzy with excitement and amazement.

"Welcome to the Benders Haven! Follow me, please." Ray said, finally breaking their gawping, and so they did. As they advanced through the city, towards the temple stood tall in the middle, they were overcome with emotion. There were children playing in the streets, laughing, playing and mancing. They saw one woman hanging out her washing on a line, pulling all the water from the clothes and putting them back into the basket, and another splashing her husband with a mischievous look painted onto her face. Will couldn't help but feel like he was still asleep in the van.

They finally arrived at the temple door, and it was even more spectacular up close. It stood extremely tall, so tall that Will and Cathy both felt like insects as they came to the gargantuan doors. Master Ray stomped her foot onto the ground and twisted it on a forty-five degree angle, causing a small square of the huge doors to twist open, through which the group advanced. Master Kai ushered them into a room on the eastern side of the table, before bowing to them and leaving to attend to his own duties (which he did not seem overly enthusiastic about, Cathy pointed out). The four of them sat around a glass table. Lea, having become lazy, slunk back into his chair and rested his bare feet onto the table which received a scornful look from Ray, but for whatever reason she kept quiet about it, perhaps she was used to it.

"I would just like to say, I am deeply sorry that we did not come soon enough to rescue your mother Will." Will looked down at his feet through the table, shook his head and opened his mouth to ask a question, but he was fearful of the answer. He still received it however. "I'm afraid… she did not survive her injuries, despite out best efforts." The Geomancer lifted his head up quickly, his eyes bursting with sorrow and rage. He slowed his breathing in an attempt to control the tears, but a rogue drop still ran down his cheek. His mouth began to tremble. Cathy bowed her head too, in respect. "The deplorable actions of Commander Flynn will soon be brought to justice, trust me. When the time comes, I will let you decide her fate." These words seemed to bring comfort to the pair; revenge was all that Will could think about after all.

"However, there are things we need to catch you up on, and so I need you to listen closely. Particularly you, Will, as I know Cathy will have a vague idea on the real history of our world and the sorry state it is in." The atmosphere in the room became thick, so much so that Lea lifted his feet off the table and placed them on the floor. "The very first thing I would like to make clear to you, is that your abilities are not a horror, nor are they a curse. They are the noble arts of bending. You, Will, you are not a 'Geomancer', you are an Earthbender. And Cathy, you are not a 'Pyromancer', you are a Firebender. These noble spiritual abilities have been in our history for as long as it has existed. Many hundreds of years ago, there was a revolt in the capital of the United republic, Republic City. During this revolt, the Equalist revolution took over the city, and eventually the world. There were small pockets of resistance, but eventually they all fell. Even the avatar disappeared, and has not resurfaced since. Since then, many countries have returned to their old ways, and bending is celebrated as it once was. However, this is one country which has not resumed this stance, in fact it has become even worse, and this is because this country was once Republic City and the surrounding land, and it is the last stronghold for Equalism in the world. However, they are a very powerful force to be reckoned with. Even now, other countries fear involvement."

Lea leant forward in his seat, continuing the story, "We are a small taskforce, known as the Bending Rescue Service, and we are based here in the Benders Haven, but we have many bases across the country. Our main aim is to rescue all those we can from persecution and get them either safely out of the country, or bring them here. We are made of three main groups; The Order of the White Lotus, the group that Masters Kai and Ray belong to, they are tasked to restore balance within the elements, and between benders and non-benders. Then there's the Metal-Bending task force, which is the group I lead. We are tasked with the protection of all citizens, and to rescue anyone when we can. And the final group, who are based elsewhere, are the Kyoshi warriors. They are a reconnaissance group which aim to gather information that could help us to rescue people at risk. Everyone does what they can to help."

"Now I think it is time we explained fully why we have brought you here" Master Ray continued, "Rather than led you out of the country. You see, you both possess incredible heritage, which you are both unaware of, and that must be revealed to you. For you see, it is because of your lineages, that you are the most important people in this war." Ray focused her gaze on Will first, "Will, you are a descendant of the Earth King Bumi, one of the most powerful Earthbenders ever to walk this Earth, and within you is the power to command the earth in ways that you didn't even know possible." Next, Ray turned her attention to Cathy, "Catherine. You are a descendant of the great leaders of the Fire Nation, your bloodline is directly that of Fire Lord Zuko's, the most revered fire bender in bending history. Within you is the power to command both fire and lightning with unstoppable power and resolve."

Both Cathy and Will were stunned. Nobles? This seemed now more like a dream than ever before.

"Tomorrow, Will, you will start Earthbending training with me, and Cathy, you will start Firebending training with Master Manda, another member of the Order of the White Lotus. We understand this is a lot for you to take in, and so now we will lead you to your quarters. Lea shall take Will, and I will take you, Cathy."

"I have a question, first, if you don't mind Master Ray." Cathy spoke out finally, "If I, a Pyro- I mean, a Firebender, can command lightning, then why can Commander Flynn, an Airbender, also command it?"

Ray's expression became perplexed, and she paused for a second before she responded with "This is something me and the other members of the White Lotus shall discuss and research, thank you for raising this point Cathy."

Will's head remained dipped as he threw in one final suggestion. "What if that monster is the Avatar?"

Commander Flynn tore her way through the Central Army Base, heading straight for the General's office. She never got summoned to see him, and when people were they didn't usually leave in one piece. She burst through the door, barely able to contain her frustration. She didn't like being interrupted while she was working.

"What do you want, General? I'm very busy." She barked at him. She was going to make a point, show him who was really in control.

"That's a very strong attitude for someone who can't even retrieve two children." The General half-accused and half-laughed at her. "No Flynn, you are never too busy to be brought to my office. Now tell me, why did you fail?"

"Firstly, I didn't fail, I managed to slaughter a Mancer. And secondly, they escaped because I was ambushed by that fucking Bending Rescue Service." Flynn shouted at her accuser, he wasn't going to put her on trial, not for shit.

"Why should I give you a second chance?" he responded firmly, trying to assert his power. It wasn't working. Flynn was as intimidating as they said she was.

"Because, thanks to a tracking device I managed to place on their van… I have managed to locate their headquarters using our satellites. Can I get back to instructing my troops on invasion tactics now?" Flynn stood tall and crossed her arms, finding it impossible to contain her smug grin. The general merely dismissed her, and she turned furiously on the ball of her foot towards the door. "Oh, and General, next time I see you in this office, I'll be coming to claim it. Along with your badge." She stormed out.

The General could do nothing except wipe the sweat from his brow and swallow saliva to moisten his dry throat. Checkmate.