"Nah, you answer to me even if you do join -- got it, Kid?" Jun said, not particularly caring whether Magrus was listening or not. He had to assert dominance over the brat somehow. "Money isn't an issue... My uncle left me enough so that I could survive. That being said, if my tabs at the bar were free I would be most appreciative."

Without any modesty whatsoever, Jun began to layer the Fire Nation uniform over his vest while shaking his head at the now-occupied bushes.

"Manipulating? Me?" he said with mock innocence. "Kid wants to do what's right, just like I did when I was his age. If you don't give them an opportunity they don't go anywhere -- or, when they do fight, they're get destroyed." He peered at Magrus and his morose expression for a second more, staying awkwardly silent. Emotions weren't a thing for him. "Fine. HEY, KID! HURRY UP SO YOU CAN GET A VERY SERIOUS TALK!"

---

Suyin turned back for a moment to block an incoming shard of rock with her plated gauntlet, bruising the knuckles underneath. "Sen! Run ahead and get the door!" she barked out, the swift chi blocker following her directions immediately. Lee ran further ahead, picking up the lid of a barrel at the side of the room only to return to use it as a makeshift shield. Thank Agni for small mercies, she thought as rocks ricocheted against the swordsman's barrier.

After launching a knife at the chest of the closest pirate other than the captain, who would be able to block it easily, she continued, "Ran! Any water left? We need some ice if you can manage it! Slippery when wet!" In the same panicked breath, she shouted for, "Falco! Do what you do best!" Now was not the time to blush. Now having made a bit of space between the pirates, Lee returned to the back of the group and let his allies run past him. His sword lashed out and sliced one of the pirates across the chest, prompting Suyin to shout, "Idiot! Hurry up!"

Lee darted back to the group, his arm torn up by another pirate's scimitar but smiling goofily.

There was only one word to describe the Jin emerging from the bushes...ridiculous. The boy practically was far to small for his adult or at least late teen sized armor, the helmet in particular looked off as it was far bigger then Jin's head ''You know...If anyone laugh's at me i'm holding you two responsible!'' he whined, his big pout obscured by the even bigger helmet.

''Urgh...huff...hufff...even as a mule I walked more comfy!'' Jin managed to drag himself to Jun's side. The armor took some time to get used to but Jin would manage...eventually. For the time being the boy was huffing, puffing and complaining the entire walk to his.....teacher?.

''A serious talk you say?...um first off your not the person to give it...like, not at all'' Jin started ''And secondly I already know all about the birds and the bees'' A look of pride came from under the helmet ''Hehe'' The young earth bender was rather...fond of girls so his big sister had ensured he got his talk early. It grossed him out.

''Uh...good?'' Magrus chuckled ''But uh...the boy's going to give you a proper talk about this line of work''

---

The captain and his five men could not give chase...for now at least but the sound of the alarm told Ran there were many other pirates willing to give chasing them a go. And many a pirate appear to chase them. It was very fortunate they weren't very skilled compared to what they encountered in the captain's room.

''I don't think I can do much with only these flask should push come to shove'' Ran said while he shot a gust of boiling water at a charging pirate. Being inside without a succiciant water base nearby handicapped him but he had an idea. Ran could smell the ocean which meant...

''Genki! Please destroy that wall for me'' Ran instructed which made the fire bender cloak her leg in a great amount of fire and when she reached the wall to shoot it all at it in the form of a large fireball.

Light shined into the dark hallway. The sun was above them....the ocean beneath them

''Sister...please catch me should i...'' Ran mumbled. The water bender called the water of the ocean upwards to gather before him ''I don't expect us to meet once more...goodby'' When Ran released his water he did so in a high pressured beam to shoot their pursuers backwards before flooding the entire hallway before them. The water before the squad froze quickly to prevent the water from reaching them. For a while at least.

A master water bender would have managed to pull this off without a sweat and while Ran certainly was no novice he had not reached that level yet. The effort of manipulating so much water in such forms caused him to collapse.

''Catch'' Was the lone word Falco used to alert them to this. He made no effort to catch the boy commander himself however.

''We will need regroup with the army on the beach'' Genji said ''Stealthily taking that ape out has failed so all that rest now is an all out assault'' She made no effort to catch Ran either, she figured his sister should be the one to do that.

---

''Clever'' The pirate captain observed the rubble that prevented him from giving chase ''But not clever enough'' The gigantic man flexed his muscles, concentrated deeply and ''Haaaaaaargh!'' With a loud roar his lone punch destroyed all the rubble, being an earthbender could be so useful ''Oh?'' The first thing the captain saw when he broke the rubble was the water charging straight at him ''Clever indeed'' The five pirates were flooded away until they hit the wall of the command cabin at the back of the base but the captain's sheer size prevented him from being pulled along. When the water lied down he was still standing. His five elites groaned and coughed but were far from defeated. The water had merely slowed them all down.

"So!" Jun said, pointedly ignoring his kid's previous comment about the birds and the bees. Nope, he wasn't even going there. Nope. "Are you happy to be a part of the rebellion? Yes? Good. I'm not manipulating you into anything, am I? No? Awesome!"

The swordsman rolled his eyes at Magrus who seemed seconds away from exploding in irritation before adopting a particularly somber, serious tone, "I am in no way responsible for your death, either, so don't get killed." He continued talking after a breath, pacing like an army drill sergeant. "You will experience warfare. You will see death and destruction all around you. But don't worry, with that over sized helmet on, I doubt you can see two feet in front of your face so-ooo..."

"Basically, don't come crying to me if you get a booboo, and by that I mean a severed arm, because I am not good with blood. Now's your time to get up and leave." He sent the kid a look that said, 'if-you-leave-after-that-speech-I-might-just-kill-you'.

---

"Well, men and ladies, it seems that we've done it--," she started, cutting herself off just in time to dive at Ran. Suyin was in the process of striking a victorious, heroic pose - or at least looking suitably proud - when her brother began to collapse, ruining the moment completely. "Damn it, Brother! You're heavy for a saviour!" Somehow managing to sling his arm over his shoulder, she beckoned Lee over to take the other which was not the best of ideas with their considerable height difference.

After the swordsman had taken one side of her brother, she detached herself from him carelessly. Hey, she was a girl -- it wasn't her job! (Of course, some would consider fighting not to be for women either, but she purposefully ignored that side of the argument.) "Genji is right," she said to the group with a nod at the firebender. "However, we need to get my brother to the boat first -- take a moment's breather -- and then we'll join in with the second wave of the assault. If I'm right, the pirates have a chokepoint--"

Looking back towards where they had come from, she could see the pirates they had sort-of-not-defeated walking through the nearby trees. With a groan of disappointment that they hadn't been defeated yet, Suyin noticed they were walking towards where the battlefield would be. "Now! We need to go now!"" Slower than she would have liked, the group set off back to the ship.

Jin thought it over. He couldn't say he ever felt manipulated as with the insurance his sister was save he had been given a free pass to do what he always wanted. Join the heroes to drive out the villains and be the star of it all. Jin was the only earthbender after all. He just hadn't imagined himself looking as ridiculous as he did now.

That last part was a bit of a problem however ''No...no I don't think your allowed to get off quite so easy mister recruiter'' The boy smiled ''You recruited me so that does make you responsible for me....such a shame if the talent you brought in gets wasted because your to grumpy to care. I think you'l make a nice bodyguard'' To Jin it was clear this man would take the subordinate role when his powers developed more but that was just the childish ego children often had. They were the ''main characters'' of any story.

''Done'' Magrus said ''Kid, as of now your responsible for that boy's safety, he dies and its on you'' The smile on the man's face implied he was more then happy to hand Jun the job of babysitter ''Now follow me, its not to far walk to the nearest base, you will see brigades walking in, just blend in and you'l be fine....you especially'' He said to Jun ''I hope you do not take an issue with my spies going through your...eh'' he glanced at Jin and tried figuring out a way to avoid feeding any mistrust between baby and babysitter ''Hot history''

---

Ran felt just terribly about being a literary burden slowing everyone done. That this situation came from Ran fending off quite the group of enemies was lost on the unsure heir.
''The sea will do this one good'' Genji said ''Should the pirates chase us to the boats then he will have all the power he needs, unfortunately they to employ rouge waterbenders but I suspect that's nothing our lord can't handle'' In fact that was the plan she had in mind. The pirate giving chase and be washed away by the power of water, not very fire nation like but this was war.

''You stay with him my lady'' Genji instructed as they had lied Ran on his bed in the command cabin ''We shall hold the pirates off for half an hour, please keep your brother safe until then, once that is done he will turn the tide on the beach for us and we shall march into the fortress together''

“You better not die, then.”

As Jun followed Magrus to the base, kid in tow, he hissed, “I can assure you – my history's as cool as a cucumber.” A complete lie, of course. Even his amber eyes said otherwise, and it was a miracle the kid hadn't noticed. It wasn't like he hadn't used his own particular heritage before to infiltrate a Fire Nation base. “And you won't find anything else. Anything.” It was more of a threat than he had intended.

His fingertips danced along his blade restlessly as they approached the keep. “We're walking in the front entrance. Hah! Of course we are.” He held his helmet under his arm, the deep red of the uniform making him seem paler than ever. It hurt to look like he was from the Fire Nation, mostly because it felt like a betrayal to his uncle and the Earth Kingdom.

“Just follow my lead, alright?” he said to the brat as they stopped slightly far away from the base. “Beardy, where are the charges – do we have a way in and out or do we need to – improvise..?”

---

Suyin nodded to Genji as she left, the others in tow. Lee had saluted the female commander and shook his head at the water-bender as if he found his weakness hilarious; Sen had merely nodded and disappeared around the corner as soon as they were given leave. “Father'll be most upset if he ever hears about this,” she said quietly, a wry grin on her lips. “I won't tell him you charged into a room full of enemies if you don't say I got kidnapped.”

The girl picked at her bow, tightening the string and plucking it experimentally. Better. Not one to be beaten in close range again, she reached into a nearby drawer of the command cabin and pulled out a set of needles she had been given for her birthday one time. Not her weapon of choice, no, but she could use them. “Maybe I can practice some acupuncture on you.”

''The charges are hidden in the weapon storage...and yes you do have to improvise'' Magrus nodded ''Now if you'l excuse me'' A smoke bomb was thrown on the ground and he was gone.

It really didn't take long for things to go wrong.
''HEY! KID!'' The two could hear almost as soon as they entered the fort ''What are you thinking! your not supposed to be here'' A hand roughly grabbed Jin's shoulder.

''Aaaah! I-i c-can explain!...no really! I can!'' Jin peeped. How they hell did they find out he wasn't a fire nation recruit! The fire helmet hid two eyes gigantic from the panic ''L-listen this is a misunderstanding...I'm just''

''Be quite! You not supposed to be here! period!'' The soldier holding Jin said ''Your supposed to be over there....no slacking off worm!''

''Huh?'' Jin replied baffled, was he found out or was he not? The man pushing him to the drill sergeant horribly pushing his recruits implied he hadn't been found out....but this was even worse!

The boy shot Jun a helpless look as he got pulled in what was going to be an incredible though training.

---

''O-of course not'' From his bed Ran pulled up his arm to reach for his sisters hand ''I would never tell father you were kidnapped, I'm really sorry about letting it happen'' Being the doormat that he was Ran blamed no one then himself. He had placed his sister in a position she could be grabbed and he should have felt the danger as it was taking place. If their father would hear anything about it then it would be an admission of blame from Ran.

''Um...i'd rather you didn't actually'' Ran smiled weakly when he saw his sister grinning at him with those needles. He was so proud of his big sister. Even after just returning from a fight, even if she was kidnapped not long before she still reverted to jokes so quickly while Ran was in his bed mopping around about how sorry he was...then again he really was that sorry.

Jun ruthlessly suppressed a snort though his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. At least the kid wouldn't die – hopefully – during training. As the soldier finished dropping his trainee off, the rebel swordsman, voice ripe with false-concern, called out, “Don't treat the boy too hard – 'specially if his firebending's a bit... poor! He's missing home!”

Taking a few steps purposefully towards the ominous grey building, he continued, “And send him to me if he's not doing so good! I'm responsible for him!” He walked on unimpeded by soldiers until he had entered through the thick doors, pulling off his helmet as he did so. There was no point for him to hide his identity – he could lie well enough, and everything about his eyes screamed Fire Nation.

Now... where was the command room? The charges could wait – he needed some maps; maps that could find out where his uncle was located.

---

Suyin poked Ran on the forehead. “You're being frowny. Don't, idiot,” she said, returning to carefully packing the needles into a pouch attached to her belt. “We totally did good. And if Father asks, I'll say you blew the base up with... some water thing. Lee and Sen'll vouch for my story and– ”

“And I'll probably have a heroic part in it, too,” she finished with a smile. “Now, up! Can't let our underlings have all the fun – even if they're waiting for us. You.” Suyin carefully adjusted her ponytail, resolving absently to get Sen to braid it later, and leaned against the door.

The fortress was by now means important enough to house specific information like that but it did have one scroll that could be useful for Yun. Every base of the fire nation had the fire nation's army record proudly on display. On the scroll it could be seen that the battle in which his uncle was captured was won by general....Jia Zhang.

''You rotten traitor!'' Jin had screamed while being dragged off to his doom. Full blown army training was hard enough for any 13 year old boy but Jin wasn't doing himself any favors. His tendency to complain and whine were a terrible combination with a drillmaster.

'WHAT DID YOU SAY WORM! 50 LAPS! AS A START!'' The old commander roared when Jin whined his muscles felt sore after his third round of push ups.

''Aaaaaah! yes sir! sir!'' The boy peeped terrified and started running.

An hour later an utterly exhausted Jin was allowed a break of....two minutes. Jin now played his part masterfully, endearing himself to the drill master...somewhat by offering to clean the weapons in the storage room so he could get to the charges and then get the hell away from that idiot drillmaster!

---

It took a while but eventually Ran had rested enough to be useful again. His first look outside made him curse himself. In his absence the battle had taken quite a dire turn.
Their troops had managed to burn the pirate fleet but the siege on land was going poor indeed. Things had gone well for a while but once the captain emerged from his base the tide turned.

With a single punch on the ground the giant unleashed earthquake after earthquake upon the fire nation troops and even the sand was his to control in order to harass his enemies. Genji and Lee engaged him just to give the army a break from his attacks but it was an uneven fight. The iron gauntlets were touch enough to block Lee's sword and should he not be able to block with that then that massive body could handle quite a few cuts. Genji had it even worse. The captain just kept going despite her lightning bolts. Lightning was a dangerous weapon because it could instantly kill or at least incapacitate an enemy in one hit but it also greatly taxed its user. Genji was exhausted while her enemy didn't seem any worse for wear.

''...I have an idea'' Ran turned to his sister ''Do you recall that...thing father commissioned for me? Its not done yet but...I should be able to get some use out of it, follow me sister'' For once Ran gave orders without hesitation, it was about his and his father pet project after all.

Ran natural had an edge in navy battles but drawing huge amounts of water from the ocean was far to taxing to be used efficiently....so what if something else carried that water out of the ocean, towards Ran and eventually the enemy?
Steel tubes came out of the ship, going down into the ocean, sucking up large amounts of it and storing it in a large tank. The tank in turn had two other tubes connected to it that led to two canons to fire it. Ran did not have to bring the water to him nor fire it away, that was the machines job, he just needed to gently guide the water with his bending.

''Those water benders employed by the pirates will seek to bend the water I'm about the fire at them'' Ran told Suyin as he used his bending the steer the water in the tank into the canons ''Could you snipe them for me?''

High pressured water suddenly shot out of the ships canon, right towards the island defensive fortifications and after that, the enemy troops themselves.