(1) Augmentum | Zuko

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Following after the Masked Man, Rana, Aang, Sokka, and Katara race through streets, squares and alleys of the village trying to outrun the Fire Nation soldiers that chase after them. They cross an alley where there are a group of guards who turn to watch them.

"Over there!"

"I'm calling Appa!" Aang points out as groups and groups of pursing guards link up behind them. Aang produces his bison whistle and blows.

"I hope he can really hear that bison whistle!" Sokka points out. Rana pulls the crystal ball from her necklace and holds it out behind her. Wartortle appears and instantly lets out a stream of water at the ground and Rana slams her foot down, thrusting her hands forward. The water turns to ice, solidifying. The soldiers slip and skid and begin to fall over one another. Rana then grabs the back of Wartortle's shell and hauls him along with her as she runs after her friends. Wartortle lets out streams and blasts of water at any soldiers that still manage to chase them. The masked figure turns into an alley.

"This way!" He tells the others but they soon find that it is a dead-end. "Okay! Not this way!" They turn, but the exit is blocked by guards. The masked man throws another exploding smoke bomb and then run past them into another alley. This one is a dead-end too. It ends in a high wall. On the other side is a huge supply dump of fireworks. But it's fine. Appa arrives just in time.

"Appa! Down here!" Appa lands between the kids and the guards, with his tail facing the guards. Appa flaps his beaver-like tail on the ground and the gale that results blows the guards out of the alley to land in a confused heap some distance away. As the guards run back into the alley, Appa is already airborne. The masked man on Appa's back, bites the top off of some kind of bomb-like object, whose fuse is now lit. He throws it at the fireworks supply and it blows up in an awesome display of colours and sounds. The masked man then removes his hood.

"Nice touch setting off the fireworks" Aang comments.

"You seem to really know your explosives" Sokka adds. The masked man turns to them.

"I'm familiar"

"You're a Fire Nation soldier!" Rana points out noting the faded uniform he's wearing.

"Was. My name's Chey." He corrects her.

........

Rana uses fire-bending to stoke the fading campfire in the centre of them. Appa and Wartortle doze together close by. Sokka pokes at the ground. Not happy about this at all. Chey leans forward, staring into the fire before he looks around the group.

"I serve a man" Chey informs them. "More than a man really, he's a myth, but he's real, a living legend, Jeong Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general, or wait, was he an admiral?"

"Wait, Jeong Jeong?" Rana asks.

"You know him?" Sokka asks.

"Hmm," She nods. Sort of. She knows of him. She's never met him. She'd hear Zhao complaining about him.

"But he couldn't take the madness anymore" Chey continues. "He's the first person ever to leave the army - and live. I'm the second, but you don't get to be a legend for that. That's okay though. Jeong Jeong's a fire-bending genius. Some say he's mad - but he's not! He's enlightened"

"You mean there's a fire-bender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?" Aang asks, standing up. "We've gotta go see him! He can train me!"

"We're not gonna go find some crazy fire-bender!" Sokka scolds. Chey stands in indignation.

"He's not crazy! He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar! That's why I followed you into the festival" Sokka stands up to join Chey.

"Look, thanks for the help, but we're leaving for the north pole in the morning" Sokka scolds, Aang turns to him.

"Sokka, this could be my only chance to meet a fire-bending master who would actually be willing to teach me"

"It can't hurt just to talk to him" Rana offers.

"That's what you said about going to the festival! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me!?" Sokka complains and then turns to stalk away from the group, he almost runs right into a spear. In a flash, they are surrounded by men wearing straw hats and armour and wielding spears.

"Don't move!"

....

Rana, Sokka, Katara, Aang, Wartortle, and Appa are now being led through the forest at night by the rebels. Rana lets out a breath as she looks around at the rebels. Most of them look like they are former Fire Nation. Their gaits and stances.

"Jeong Jeong told you not to look for Avatar!"

"Hold on, you know these guys!?" Sokka asks Chey who walks with them.

"Oh yeah! Lin Yi's an old buddy! Right, Lin Yi?" Lin Yi lowers his spear at Chey.

"Shut up! Keep moving."

........

Sometime later, though it is still nighttime, the group is being led down a hill and towards a little shack at the bottom. Jeong Jeong's shack.

"Go on. He sees you only." Lin Yi tells Chey.

"Oh that's okay, we can chat later" Chey argues.

"Is that where Jeong Jeong is?" Aang asks. "I need to talk to him right away" Aang begins to move forward, but is stopped by a spear shaft across his path.

"No! You wait there" Lin Yi argues and then pushes Chey forward roughly. "Go now"

"Don't worry! Everything'll be fine. He's a great man, great man!" Chey walks toward Jeong Jeong's shack. Rana narrows her eyes slightly.

.........

The town in which the group had fled is now deserted except for some local guards who are being interrogated by Zhao who is flanked by a few soldiers.

"So, the Avatar and the Elemental were here and you let them slip away?" Zhao asks the officer.

"Yes, sir, but other than that the festival went off without a hitch!" A huge piece of burning walls falls in the background with a massive crash. "No fights. Theft was way down."

"I don't care about your local crime rates! Which way did they go?" Zhao scolds. The officer points.

"They headed into the forest, up the river I suspect." Zhao turns to his men gathered behind him.

"Ready the riverboats. We're going after the Avatar" But he doesn't care about the Avatar. This is about Rana. He clenches his fist at this side.