Chapter 15: Fall of the Bravest Lamb

BOOM! The cave erupted in absolute chaos. Qingzuo, Xinlang, and all of the Flameos scrambled to gather up their instruments. All of the students ran wildly, trying to escape the cave without being identified by the headmaster or the guards. Firebenders lit up the interior with blasts intended to cause smoke. Pandemonium ensued. Every sense was assailed by screaming and burst of light and flame in the panic and aftermath of the dance party's discovery by the authorities.

Urdu took credit for quite a bit of the confusion. He had realized that he had a pouch of smoke bombs tucked into his uniform, and so he had run madly around the cave, setting them off as if he were playing the world's craziest game of Hide and Explode. Urdu knew he had to get home before his parents realized that he was missing, but he was not about to leave without Shoji and Senyo. As he circled near the back, he spotted Senyo crouched down next to someone lying on the ground. Hurriedly, Urdu made his way over as fast as he could, huffing and puffing as his worst fear was confirmed.

"Shoji!"

Senyo turned and looked up at him sharply. "Quick, Urdu, you have to help me. I think Shoji passed out, but there's no time to wake him up. Here, you get under one shoulder and I'll get under the other. We have to get him out of here!"

Struggling, the two preteens dragged Shoji up and hoisted him over their backs. They turned and pushed through the crowd as rapidly as they could manage, failing to notice the oddly shaped rock wall blocking the back entrance to the cave.

However, there was one person who definitely took note of the new barricade blocking the cave exit. Songbai Wei had just carefully made his way past the giant white creature tapping its massive feet and groaning to the music when he heard footsteps pounding towards him. Instinctually, Songbai dove behind a nearby rock, crouching low as several figures sprinted past him at breakneck speed.

"I knew this wasn't going to end well for Twinkletoes."

"You see?! This is why I didn't want him in school in the first place. Wang Fire knows best!"

"Can it, Sokka! Let's just get to Appa. I know Aang's right behind us."

Aang! Could it be? From his hiding place, Songbai watched in amazement as the shortest figure in the group launched all three atop the gargantuan fluffy beast with a blast of earthbending. Then, he heard some kind of rock slide within the cave and moments later, another figure flew past him faster than his eyes could process. The last member of the group vaulted himself acrobatically on to the head of the six legged animal and yelled exuberantly.

"Appa! Yip yip!"

Songbai held onto the rock, barely keeping himself from crying out. That was Kuzon's voice. His suspicions were true. Kuzon was Aang. Kuzon was… the Avatar. But Songbai had no time to process this stunning confirmation because the massive furry monster pound all six of its legs into the ground simultaneously and vaulted itself into the air. The shockwaves from this takeoff reverberated and caused Songbai to fall back onto his rump. He could only stare slack jawed as the Avatar and his companions hurdled off into the distant night sky and disappeared.

Songbai remained motionless for several minutes, gazing openmouthed into the night as his thoughts raced. The Avatar was alive. Kuzon was the Avatar. He had hosted a secret dance party for the youth of this Fire Nation town… to do what? But there was no more time to investigate or ask questions. The Avatar was gone, and he had left an entire community changed in his wake.

Suddenly, Songbai realized that he could not hear the music anymore. Instead, he heard screams and what sounded like blasts of fire, although they were faint and strangely muffled. Songbai's educational instincts took over; his students were in danger and he had to protect them! Leaping to his feet, he continued on his way into the dark back entrance to the cave, only to encounter a solid rock wall. Songbai stared uncomprehendingly at it. He knew this pathway led into the cave; he had just seen four people run out this way. How could there have been a random rockslide in such a short time?

Yet then, his brain replayed the moment he had witnessed one of the Avatar's companions earthbending. Of course! Earthbending! If Kuzon was the Avatar, of course he would be able to earthbend. The rock wall looked unnaturally formed, and it was far too neat and clean to have been a natural phenomenon; there wasn't even any dust in the vicinity. This was the only explanation. Kuzon must have blocked the exit after he left to ensure no one would follow him and witness his escape. Quickly, Songbai retreated from the cave and began to run towards the entrance. There was only one way in or out of the cave now, and he knew his students needed him no matter what was happening inside.

Urdu and Senyo ducked and weaved around frantically flailing bodies. As best he could, Urdu continued to use his smoke bombs to provide them with cover, even though that made it hard for him to breathe. They were almost at the exit when a guard finally caught them.

"Gotcha, punks! You're not going anywhere. Into the circle with the others!"

Urdu nearly wet himself, he was so frightened. Senyo nearly dropped Shoji as her knees threatened to collapse. But before the guard could hustle them over to the area where the other captured kids were being corralled, a clean sweep of fire knocked the guard off of her feet. Behind the blast, the pair were stunned to see On Ji sprinting towards them.

"Run!"

Urdu and Senyo didn't need to be told twice. Heaving Shoji high on their backs again, they careened towards the exit to the cave, adrenalin giving them the strength of a battleship. As they vanished into the darkness, they headed towards the coast to find a spot to hide within until Shoji recovered enough to get home.

Working in pairs, On Ji and the other firebenders were putting up quite a fight against the guards. The smoke and chaos were certainly helping, but there were still kids getting caught and confined together in the center of the room. On Ji was determined not to let a few of her classmates take the blame for them all. She knew that it was critical that the captured students escape before the headmaster got around to identifying them. Grabbing a few other firebenders, she communicated through rudimentary gestures what she wanted them to do, as no one could hear one another's voices over the din. One firebender would distract a guard with a well-timed blast, while the other would surge in and free as many students as possible. When the guard chased the first firebender, the second would send a blast to distract him or her again. In this way, the students passed the guards between them over and over again while slowly releasing all of the students they had captured.

It was working. Soon, there were only a handful of students left inside the cave. The guards were exhausted and disoriented. On Ji nodded at her partners and made a beeline for the entrance. However, they had failed to take into account the determination of the headmaster.

Just as she was about to escape into the shadows, On Ji felt two rough hands grab her upper arms and pull her back against a solid form.

"You're not going anywhere."

The others never even glanced back in her direction. As the headmaster pulled her alone back into the cave, On Ji's thoughts coalesced around an expletive she had never spoken aloud.

"Brotherburner!"