Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: If it's done well and serves a purpose in the story, sure!

Zigzagdoublezee: It's the same kinds of people, certainly. The war is not black and white, and there's good people on the Fire Nation side and not such good people on the Earth Kingdom side.

Ing.victor.zamorano: Yes, I'm still fine. Now could you please stop asking?

As Always, Please Review!

The rest of Team Avatar piled off Gembul's back as soldiers began to turn to face her. Some looked scared, some angry. All seemed to recognise her.

"This doesn't concern you!" One of them shouted.

"You know who I am," Yue called back. "So yes, I'm afraid it does concern me. Where is your commanding officer?"

There was a moment of silence. Then one of the braver ones piped up.

"We have no commanding officer!" He yelled. "Not any more."

"Then let me give you an order," Yue told him, sounding braver than she felt. "Stop this."

"You don't understand," the man said. "We have nothing else. We can't go back. Our general is dead, the army we were in is gone."

Yue didn't say anything for a moment. The reality of what these people were sunk in. They weren't soldiers, though they perhaps had been once. They were desperate men, the detritus of war, wrapping themselves in the trappings of their former profession even as they rampaged across the countryside.

"Then go home. Return to your normal lives."

That was met with mocking laughter.

"Impossible." The soldier said flatly. "What normal lives are there for us any more? There is only this."

He reached for the sword at his waist. Others around him did the same. Others pulled out bows, and a couple produced sleek and powerful looking weapons which looked like a bow mounted sideways on a wooden handle with a trigger. Obviously Yue was not very familiar with the weaponry of the Earth Kingdom for she had never seen one of those before.

"We need this," he said. "Or we starve. Now leave us to it."

"Or what?" Yue challenged him.

You're the Avatar," one of the others said. "Please leave. We don't want to do this. There are lots of us, and six of you."

Yue slowly reached down and flicked the cap off one of the waterskins at her waist.

"Last warning," she said. "I can't leave these people to you. Get out of this town now."

A moment passed, and then another, with nobody moving. And then one of the soldiers with the strange sideways bows raised it, pointed it at her, and squeezed the trigger. Yue dived to one side as the arrow whizzed past with incredible force, making an audible whistling noise as it embedded itself deep in the wood of a building behind her. She turned her dive into a roll, bringing the water out from her waterskin and firing it back in the form of a semi-liquid dart. It crashed into the man's chest and knocked him prone, his strange weapon skittering out of his hands and onto the floor. Then Yue was rushing back towards Gembul, arrows whizzing past her as she recalled her water.

The rest of the Yuad moved into a combat formation in front of the sky-bison as Rinzen blew an arrow out of the air. Pandemonium was breaking loose around them, as men drew swords, axes and even a hammer and rushed towards them. The first one got an ice ball to the chin, and went down, and then Yue's friends were with her.

"Taiyo, protect Gembul!" Rinzen called, as more arrows were launched. Taiyo nodded, planted his feet, and raised his arms into the air. The earth responded to his command, and a wall rose in front of the bison, protecting Gembul. More arrows thudded into it, some embedding themselves and others just bouncing off. Katara opened four of the containers of water on her waist at once and waved a hand, forming a water-whip which latched on to one of the sideways bows held by their attackers and wrenched it out of his grip. The whip then used it to bowl over a couple of others and then threw it at a fourth, knocking him down too. Yue heard it snap and winced.

Then the others were upon them, and one of them swung a hammer towards her. Yue jumped backwards and then Suki was there, using her shield to alter the hammer's course so it slammed harmlessly into the ground and then spinning round behind him to hit him with her fan. She then immediately retreated, allowing Sokka to step forwards and club another one. But Sokka had accidentally left himself open, and a sword was swung at his exposed back. Yue's eyes widened as she realised what was about to happen. Just before it hit, though, the ground shook beneath the swordsman, causing him to stumble backwards and allowing Suki to spot the threat and bash him in the face with her shield. He fell backwards, clutching his nose, scrambled to his feet, and ran.

In the distance, Yue could see carts being loaded with gold, jewellery and even some villagers by the soldiers. The one Suki had hit reached them, and began yelling at them. A moment later, the first cart began to move. They were evacuating.

"Over there!" She called. "We need to stop them!"

But try as she might, too many soldiers were engaged fighting them for the Yuad to be able to break through. The carts were moving now, and more soldiers were beginning to peel away from their lines fighting Yue and her friends to follow. So they were leaving after all. But because they had what they had come for.

Yue could not let them get away with this. She leapt forwards, landing in the middle of a group of men, and lashed out in all directions with a water-whip, scattering them, but more came to take their place. She felt something heavy collide with her leg and was knocked down, her head hitting the ground with a thud. For a moment she was stunned, and a soldier stood over her. He looked young, but he had a terrifying expression on his face. He raised a sword over his head.

Yue raised her hands to stop it when a jet of flame hit the man, causing him to drop the sword and run away screaming. He managed to jump into a nearby fountain, and then got out and hurried after the carts. All around them, the will of the soldiers to fight was gone and they too turned and fled.

Regaining her bearings, Yue sat up and rubbed her head.

"Ow."

"Yue! Are you alright?" Sokka asked, throwing himself down beside her and looking worried.

"I'll be fine," Yue said weakly, smiling at him. Then she realised the rest of the Yuad was standing stock still, staring at something above and behind her.

She turned to see a man in a very familiar red uniform standing behind them, having just dismounted an ostrich-horse. Behind him, three more men stayed sat on theirs, slightly curved swords still in their hands. The man took off his helmet.

"Do you know where they're going?" He asked.

"What?" Sokka asked, baffled.

"The bandits," the man clarified. "Do you know?"

"You're after the bandits?"

"I believe that's what my orders say," the Fire Nation Exploring Officer nodded. "On the authority of Firelord Ozai."