---

---

"Wait a moment." ... “You’re from Fire, you’re looking for the Avatar and you despise An as well?” ... “Would you believe me, if I told you I was after the exact same things? Cause, I am.” ... “Maybe we could help each other out. I like your reasoning after all, but surely An wouldn’t keep important prisoners and informants locked up in a rundown bender prison in the lower ring. They’d be kept where it’s easier to secure them in the inner ring. Away from potential riots or peasant revolts. I’m Huo by the way, uh, just Huo. Anyway, I’ve got a plan to sneak into the inner ring during the coronation ceremonies when most of his army will be distracted at the main gates with the crowds. Maybe you could come with me, I just need to find a…. Is that….?”

...

“Those two are air benders.” ... “Listen, can you hear that?” ... “They must be cut off from that way, but…. But we could clear a path here. There’s not so many guards. What do you say, um…?”

Zhen had to wince at the point about the Inner Ring. He wasn't anywhere near used to Ba Sing Se - more than one prison in the same city? Hadn't even crossed his mind.

On the other hand, apparently the spirits were with him. Because of course they were, now that he was searching for the Avatar. At least he had an ally, now.

Much to his surprise, he found his lips quirking up. How long had it been since he had enjoyed the company of anyone from Fire? Stone and ash, even the ship's crew, the trader's caravan, he'd only tolerated, and they were Earth! Ren had been a blessing, but other than him...

Well, best take the opportunity while it was there.

"Zhen. Yeah, if you're up for it - how good are you on the offence? I'm assuming you know Mountain? I'm better at Dr - Wave, so I should probably focus on defending, if you want to split it that way."

Almost unconsciously, his stance straightened; limbs loosened as he rolled his shoulders, lifting slightly onto the balls of his feet before dropping back down again, checking his readiness. Rooting was important, but Dragon Style emphasised the flow. Above all else, you had to be smooth.

Ironic, given he hadn't had an actual friend for... it must have been seven years now, and even then the fact he'd had to hide his firebending had made him more or less a drifter on the edge of the little cliques. A year or so ago, he'd have scowled at that, and two further before it would have pulled a snarl out of him, but a memory of the old lizard rose unbidden - a chiding nudge with one knuckle, claw curled carefully away, an amused huff of breath ruffling his hair.

You must learn to let go.

Smiling quietly, Zhen felt the fire begin to blaze within, heat coiling in his gut.

He'd never actually fought anyone with firebending, not properly. And despite the danger, despite the chaos of stumbling into things without more than the barest semblance of a plan... he found himself looking forward to it.

---

Fire burns now. Be in the moment, and let it carry you. - Zhen Long

"We gotta get out of here and get to my boat before the smelly airbender steals it!" She growled, racing towards the metal-covered stonework. There were a few rioting prisoners beating futilely against the wall who were about to be very useful. Throwing her right hand up, Jai let loose a concentrated blast of fire, watching the flickering orange blast impact the deadly-looking razor wire at the top of the wall. Pouncing forward, Jai let loose a feral growl as she leaped onto the shoulders of a rioting prisoner and used his height to spring up. Lashing out with her left hands, Jai twisted her wrist and tossed the chain upwards, watching with surprised satisfaction as it wrapped around a piton connected to the ruined razor wire, and gave her the final edge she needed to pull herself up onto the wall.

With her new vantage point, Jai now saw the threats Laoshan had been talking about. The old man was staying put too, seemingly waiting for her and the other airbender. Jai whistled up to the watchtower to get his attention, glaring up at him with fire in her eyes. "Hey! You better hope you know how to sail if you plan on ditching me again!"

"So, you're an Airbender too? Don't think I'm about to let that go, we've probably got business to settle with each other-" He glanced down at the swiftly approaching, small army headed their way. "After we escape. I'm not leaving without my glider though. If we don't find it on the way to the ship, I have to sneak back in afterward and find it here, it's just that I'm not crazy enough to stay while an army's here on high alert. You can leave me behind then, but it's something I need to do. You might wanna take the pirate lady though. I wouldn't wanna piss her off."

Laoshan blinked. He looked from the young firebender, who was LEGITIMATELY impressive at this point, to the nomad boy trying to pick a fight with him, and loudly declaring that he would break back into the prison after they escaped. His head throbbed, his eyes still burning from the noonday light. The light of noon. When they were escaping. Spirits behold, he loved his life, and this youngblood was going to cause nothing but trouble.

Of course, he could always… Heh.

Laoshan took one solid look at the younger airbender, glanced back at the approaching army, let off a nasty grin. “So you think we have business to attend to, eh?” The air nomad chuckled as he dropped down from the tower, landing next to the youths with the softness of air cradling his descent. “Baldy…” The monk paused, his body stiff, and turned exactly 90 degrees to face the oncoming army. Cupping his hands, Laoshan cried out,

The sound echoed off of walls of the city, supernaturally enhanced by the absolutely astounding lung capacity of a master airbender and the geography of Ba Sing Se. It bounced from the walls, curved off of the ground, and there wasn’t a penguin-owl’s chance in a volcano that it didn’t reach the swiftly approaching horde of An’s cronies.

Laoshan turned back, his rank breath escaping through bloodied, smiling lips. “Now, we have business to settle with each other.”

Without another word, the drunkard leapt from the wall, jetting off another burst of wind and sprinting down the stonework to the streets below. He landed with the puff of a zephyr, feet tapping lightly onto the cobblestones before launching him deeper into the city. “We better hurry, kids, the army gets here soon! Best of luck to both of you! Badger Girl, I hope you’re there when I get to your boat or it’s miiiiiine…!”

The monk’s voice echoed up to the stone walls as he ran. He smiled through the pain of his throbbing skull. Those two would have to move fast or they would get caught, and if he had guessed right, he had given them juuuuuust the incentive they needed. They would be after his head, and something told him that a shared goal would help them work together. Besides... “First lesson of being an airbender is freedom. Can’t be free if you’re too attached to your earthly possessions. Hell, I’ll make him another one after he cools off, but breaking back in after the prison break would be suicide.”

Kids these days, he swore…

General Fang's Ostrich horse skidded to a halt not far from the walls of the 8 Paths Prison. She frowned as she noticed the large gathering of prisoners on the building's wall. She hopped off of the steed, her unit following in her example soon after. They'd all be back in their cells by the time the coronation began. That was a promise, one that she made to herself, but a promise nonetheless.

She watched with a raised eyebrow as the people on the walls clearly began to talk to each-other. She turned to her lieutenant, who looked back with a stern look of preparedness.

Suddenly an exceptionally loud roar rang out through the city, one of the men on the wall flat out yelled the rest of the group's plan and then took off at a great speed. Fang smirked to herself at the man's cockiness. One of the airbenders she presumed, only explanation as to how he got so loud.

"Knock them off the walls, I'll catch the airbender," she ordered. She took off in a sprint, lifting the ground into a ramp in order to allow her to run along the walls.

Her troops followed her orders and quickly approached the walls. One of them constructed a funnel out of stone and yelled into it. Roaring out that he would make the escapees beg to be locked back up. He raised his arm and the rest of the unit produced a number of sizable boulders from the ground, keeping them floating over their head with a pair of raised arms. The leader dropped his arm, and the men tossed the boulders, arcing through the air and smashing into pieces against the wall. A number of the unit continued launching boulders, but a smaller contingent approached the wall, launching themselves off of pillars of earth and lodging their limbs into the earthen walls of the prison, beginning to climb.

"We are the elite! There is no escape!" the leader roared into his sound-funnel, cockily grinning as he did so.

Meanwhile, General Fang sprinted along the city's many roofs as fast as she possibly could, watching as the airbender did the same along the city's roadway. Finally she had enough distance on him to leap down in front of him, slamming her feet into the ground with enough force to shatter it, and at the same time bending a large wall of stone to close off the street behind her. Without looking at the airbender, she twisted and slammed her palm into the wall, producing a large cube of stone, which she kicked towards him as hard as she could.

---

---

Move as a unit.

That was one of the first rules that Laoshan had tried to drill into his small group of militant airbenders back at the Eastern Monastery when they decided to learn strategy with him. Stay together, or you’ll be split apart and hacked to the ground. Sadly, no one ever saw fit to teach this lesson to Laoshan’s stomach, something he had learned the hard way over the course of dozens of prison escapes and hundreds of hangovers. Bearing this in mind, the monk tried his damndest to maintain momentum as he dodged General Fang’s offensive thrust. The former prisoner didn't break stride as he was assaulted, leaping atop the stone as it moved, quickly kicking off of the projectile and launching himself over the wall as the missile was forced to the ground. He rolled one way upon his introduction to the ground; his stomach rolled another. Rolling was bad, rolling was VERY bad. A wave of nausea came over Laoshan as he popped to his feet, the world spinning around him as he forced the bile back down his throat. “Keep moving, keep moving…”

Escape. Righting himself, Laoshan immediately dove into an adjacent alley, using the earthbent wall as cover for his escape. The large man bulldozed his way through a series laundry lines, rain barrels, one cooling pie, and a slumbering drunkard with something in her hands. He ignored the alley-drunk's protests as he plowed through her designated sleeping alley, snagging whatever bottle she had been cradling in her hands as he went. "You shouldn't drink this, it'll kill you, trust me I know!"

Laoshan emerged from the alleyway, his knuckles white around the bottle of heaven and his lip still bleeding. He wasn’t alone. There were teenagers, two of them. One a woman and the other a young man, both with the look of 'Fire nation tourist' plastered on their faces. Odd. Glancing down, the airbender saw the food stains, vomit stains, and blood stains absolutely coating his tattered sack clothes. The tooth from earlier was still buried in his hand, and somehow he had managed to accidentally steal a solid dress's worth of torn fabric as he plowed through the passage. Between that and the alcohol, he could make something work for a disguise and his headache. That boded well. For the time being, however, his head still pounded and that sturdy earthbending woman was still on his trail.

Laoshan flashed a quick, dirty smile to the two kids, all too aware of what he looked like, and bolted down the new road like An himself were after him, his stride turning from a shifty, side-to-side jog to huge, bounding leaps. The wind swept down to meet him, moving air caressing his body and carrying him to greater speed and height. Whip him bloody and call him Nan, it was good to stretch his legs again!

---

“Sure, I could do offense-” Clapping her hands to her ears Huo winced as someone nearby suddenly bellowed to an unbelievable scale. Vibrations rippled down the street rattling teacups off their display shelves and sending them to a shattering doom on the wooden floor below. Shaking off her surprise Huo cast about for a moment trying to locate the source, but no clear indicator was available. It seemed to her it’d erupted spontaneously, from every direction. “Who in the world was that, they ought to hire him to sound the alarm from now on. It’s better than that irritating bell.” Huo wiggled a finger in her ear, recollecting her thoughts. “So, you can do Wave? Wow, hey you wouldn’t mind showing me after this would you? I mean, I can do a little Mountain, but Wave…” Every fire bender worth their flame knew a little of the acclaimed combat styles. Huo was no exception, but basic understanding paled in comparison to physical martial prowess. Hopefully Zhen wasn’t counting on her form to carry them through a fight. Huo’s personal battle strategy consisted of little more than throwing fire about randomly until the enemy was burned. She’d used it to great success against a ruffian once before, but against a properly trained and armored opponent? Well that’d be a first for her.

Huo placed her open palm and fist came together at the knuckles and wrist, forming the traditional symbol of Fire. Her eyes followed Zhen’s every movement as she studied his form with an almost jealous zeal. Her own upbringing left her null and void of formal training, her only knowledge was that which she gleaned off watching others from a distance. Loosening and stretching her fingers Huo copied Zhen’s actions to the best of her ability, planting her feet and tensing her muscles. Jaw set she inwardly searched for every wrong done to her by An and his cohorts. From her fallen father to the lost Avatar, and her own struggles within Ba Sing Se and the wider Earth Kingdom. Every drop of anger she possessed was amassed onto the inferno until warmth permeated every aspect of her body and soul.

Then Laoshan rocketed past.

All semblance of coherent concentration vanished in an instant. Huo glared after the former monk in open mouthed shock, mere irritation replacing her crumbling anger. Was that one of the air benders? His passing billowed her hair answering her unspoken question and systematically doused her inner fire to a demoralizing degree. Huo’s gaze went from the filthy air bender, to Zhen, and at last to the oncoming earth bending General in rapid succession, the separate puzzle pieces haphazardly falling together. “Hey wait come back here, we need you!” Huo rounded taking one step after the tattered monk before changing her mind and coming back to form full three sixty. Stopping beside Zhen she jerked a thumb at the rapidly departing Laoshan. “He’s getting away Zhen! Come on you’ve got to be faster than me, catch him. I’ll hold off miss earthy over there.” Not waiting to see if Zhen even agreed to her tactic Huo darted forward towards the General, slamming her feet down and sweeping her fists together in a wide arc. Flames erupted from her hands in small orange clouds, expanding into a searing trails like a wave crashing upon the shore of some distant ocean. Releasing the burning energy from her control Huo sent the dual fire blasts spinning down the street, arcing rapidly in the general direction of the oncoming General.

Huo wasn’t that great of a shot.

One fizzled out of existence before it even hit anything, and the second slammed into a firewood cart, the concussive blast sending glowing embers and bits of bark scattering everywhere. Her face growing a brighter crimson then her garb, Huo sheepishly hoped no one had been watching too closely. Determined to redeem herself for the initial failed assault Huo skidded to a halt, rooting herself on the cobblestoned street and sweeping her arm about. Slamming one hand into her outstretched bicep Huo closed her second fist, using it to direct a third blazing plume straight towards her target.

That stupid, filthy, wretched old man...did he seriously just sell him out to half of the Earth Kingdom and run away? After Jampa had gone to the trouble of issuing him a proper challenge for later?!

"I'm...going to murder that geezer."

There wasn't time for fuming over things now, though. This place was already swarming with tons of An's soldiers like fleas on a hog-monkey. He'd have to act fast to get away, and he'd never catch that nasty, ancient lousy excuse for an Airbender if he had to chase him and fight off half a garrison worth of Earthbending soldiers at the same time. At least, he'd never manage to catch the old wretch by himself...

Jampa shot a look over to the chain-wielding Firebender woman who'd mentioned a boat, the young and hotheaded Airbender quickly formulating an idea as the first boulders slammed into the wall, managing to keep his balance easy enough as they sent vibrations rattling through the stone under their feet but knowing it was just the first salvo and he'd have to talk fast if this was going to work.

"Hey uhh...chain lady! I'll help you get out of here and stop that filthy geezer from stealing your boat if you agree to give me a ride out of the city. I can probably give these guards the slip easy enough but I have no easy way of getting out of Ba Sing Se, and I guarantee you'll have an easier time with any guards chasing us with me working the escape!" While he talked, he kept his footing and started whirling his arms in wide circles at first, slowly, then shifted to faster and smaller motions, drawing in air around him into a tight, spiraling vortex until it condensed down into a little spinning ball between his arms that he kept moving with little twists of his waist and shifts of his hands. [color=bleached almond]"I'm gonna make an opening. If you want in jump down behind me a few seconds after!"[/color]

Without waiting for her reply, Jampa ran forward while still tightly controlling the little spiraling ball of air, then leaped off of the wall and tucked his legs up. As soon as he was in mid-air, he kicked down hard to hopefully hit a climbing soldier or two and dislodge them, then kept falling. Seeing one of the boulders arcing through the air at him as he fell, he thrust both palms out and let go of the tiny, whirling vortex between them to reverse its course with a condensed blast of wind, aiming to send it flying back toward the group of Earthbenders volleying them and distract them all. Once he touched down on the ground, he kept his arms in motion, whipping up a little more wind to scatter any smaller projectiles, keep non-bending attackers at bay and if he'd been convincing enough, catch a falling Firebender.

Build up power with spiraling movements then unleash it in quick, direct attacks. That was the Airbending Jampa wanted to create.

@Tominas@Dusty@Rokoran

General Fang growled as the airbender cleared her wall like it wasn't even there. She supposed she should have expected it, airbenders were notoriously fast and agile, but she would have preferred it if the chase had ended there. She punched her way through her own wall, taking off at speed. It was hard to run as fast as she was going in full armor, and she found herself beginning to falter and slow, the airbender showing no sign of doing the same. Upon witnessing him leaping past a pair of obvious Fire Island tourists, she decided to stop trying. She took one large breath and screamed as loud as she was able.

"CITY GUARD! STOP THE AIRBENDER AT ANY COST!" she roared out to the city guard, well, army that had drawn city guard duty, hoping that they made an attempt to stop the speedy bugger. She jumped slightly and planted her heels, forcing herself into a slow stumble rather than a full-tilt sprint. At that moment she noticed two fireblasts singe the air... and little else. Soon after one flew into a cart, much to the consternation of the trembling owner. Noticing the firebender preparing another assault, Fang stomped the ground, sending a rock flinging up into the air. The fireball struck the rock much like a ball of water, curving around and away from it like a swiftly growing flower. Not wasting time, Fang shuffled forwards speedily, planting her feet with a pivot and twisting her hips into the palm-strike, which send the boulder screaming through the air, where it collided with the offending firebender.

Noticing the other Fire Islands expatriate take a fighting stance, Fang shifted her weight lower to the ground, whirling her arms in a circle around her body with a stomp, producing a moderately sized rock, then thrusting her arms towards said Fire Islander with a roar, sending the rock flying at him at high speeds.

Arrows soared through the air, striking the ground near Laoshan's feet. The soldiers in the guard towers shot arrow after arrow, leading the airbender in order to ensure that the arrows at least land near him rather than far behind him. With every arrow loosed, it came closer and closer to striking Laoshan, almost piercing his calf at one point.

The men in the towers twirled the arrows in their hands, the sun glinting off of the arrowheads as they pulled the bow taut in front of their shadowed faces, their farmer's hats keeping the glare of the sun out of their eyes as they focused their shots.

---

@Dblade26


A soldier screamed in terror as a suddenly falling Jampa struck his head with great force, he buried his feet in the wall, sending the back of his head slamming into it, leaving him unconscious and dangling.

The deflected boulder flew back where it came, before being struck by a similarly sized boulder and shattering into pieces in the air, sending shrapnel flying and embedding itself in wall and skin equally. The wall-climbing soldiers shielded their eyes and stopped their climb to avoid being blinded, precious time being wasted.

As Jampa hit the ground, a few of the soldiers charged in, only to get sent careening through the air by his cyclone of air. They each clanged into the ground, letting out a symphony of melodical dings as their helmets hit stone or their breastplates clanked into each-other. Some screams, some groans, then the hearty song of weaponry being drawn. The soldiers charged forth and surrounded Jampa, probing slightly with spear and sword,

Those who hadn't been knocked off of the walls clambered to the top, drawing their own weapons and roaring out instructions to stand down as they rushed the people still on the wall, tossing rocks and insults without even allowing them a chance to follow their instructions.

“Bob and weave, bob and weave!” Laoshan muttered as he flattened himself lower to the ground, zig-zagging through the street. Arrows cut off his path, flitting down from one of the many guard towers positioned immediately outside of the Northeast Eight Path Prison. THAT needed to be dealt with, or the kids could get… in trouble.

Gritting his teeth, the airbender stopped short, pivoting on his heel and launching through the window of the nearest, unfortunate shop. You can’t shoot what you can’t see, and what Laoshan was about to do shouldn’t have to be seen by any man, woman, or child who wasn’t Laoshan.

If one was to scan the streets, as the archers had been, they would see flickers of movement in alleys near where the bedraggled prisoner had busted through a window. They would see fluttering leaves from the nearby pricklepear trees, the whisper of wind through a hanging dryer line. They would see hand signals passed between towers, bows drawn on all exits of the building where the airbender had pinned himself. The airbender had chosen his escape route poorly, his place of residence a one-story building with one door, two windows, and all exits in the front. He’d had a good run of it, but the attempted escape artist didn’t have the ghost of a chance to escape now.

The archers tensed with excitement, bows drawn taut as their shoulders. This fight was as good as over.

---

Behind an old, twisted grandfather oak, there sat a young boy. His name was Ji Ling, and he was watching a prison escape with wide eyes. Ji Ling wasn’t supposed to be here, and his Papa would kill him if he found out, but it was incredible! He had never seen an airbender before, but when the man ran past the alley he was watching from, there was a shattering of glass and the arrows stopped! Ji Ling crouched behind the oak, holding his breath. Then, he heard a strange, horrifying noise, like a dying cat… or maybe even the escapee! They got him, he was dying! Or at least… that’s what Ji Ling thought he heard, until the horrible, wracking noise turned into a harsh panting… then fevered laughter. The boy felt a chill crawl up his spine. They had shot the prisoner and now he was laughing! The young denizen of the city scampered to his feet, turning around and starting to run. He had no place around men who laughed when they were shot. Whatever was about to happen next, there was no way that the boy was going to stay anywhere near what was shortly to become the ruins of Mr. Fong’s Bar.

---

The archers held their aim, one pair of eyes taking note of the movement in the alley behind the bar. There was a moment of silence as the wind stilled, the child’s footsteps petering off into the distance. Then the front of the bar burst asunder in a storm of laughter and galeforce winds. A cloud of dust swirled in front of the establishment, pierced by the swiftly dashing form of Laoshan, grit and sand sticking to his teeth through an open smile, a bottle of the strongest grog he could find in this backwater hole in one of his hands and a makeshift pack full of more on his back. Dancing through the storm of debris and swiftly falling arrows, Laoshan carried the cloud on his back, surging from the earth to a nearby roof and bearing the cyclone over the top of the tower, four bottles racing from the storm above directly towards the unarmored heads of each of the archers in the tower with enough force to deter a small adult air bison. The monk waited for the moments of impact as his feet pit-patted on the street below the tower, allowing himself a private moment of satisfaction at the series of shattering bottles and pained exclamations.

Immediately, Laoshan bore his hands around his body, twisting at the hips, wrists, knees, and ankles to provide the torque required to become a human corkscrew, rocketing up to eye level with the guards and kicking off a quick four strike series of blasts. These knocked the archers to the floor, providing the opportunity for the airbender to crawl inside. There were a series of grunts from both Laoshan and the others as the monk hoisted them over the side of the tower, they fell for a moment, then grunted in pain as they made contact with the street below.

Dust finally settled around him as he surveyed the scene, alcohol peeling off his tongue and leaking into the afternoon air. One destroyed bar, guards below a watchtower soaked in disgusting grog and nursing headaches as bad as the one Laoshan had woken up with, enough booze to get him through the week… And the surge of fire over a distant roof? Right around where he had… ditched… the old woman.

---

Laoshan ran towards Ba Sing Se’s 8 Path Prison: Northeast Building. Badger Girl wasn't supposed to get caught, She was supposed to chase after him and save her tail! He couldn’t drive the thrice-blasted ship, the monk needed the girl and that bald one for that! He was motivating them towards self-preservation, which he had thought a basic skill before this point in his life! Couldn’t they do one simple task correctly??

Jai glared daggers at the younger Airbender, shaking her chains ominously at him. As much as she hated the idea of sharing her boat, Jai wasn't very confident about her chances of escape without some backup... And this guy was at least offering a deal as opposed to threatening to steal the love of her life. Of course, she didn't have much time to consider, seeing as the guards were starting to climb the walls and taking their positions...

Jai dived down after her new ally, twisting in the air and throwing a hand out in front of herself. A fireball burst from her open palm and impacted the cleared ground below, the burst of air from her bending partner combined with the concussive force of her own blast cushioning her fall enough for the disheveled girl to land on her feet. Turning quickly and snarling at the nearest mounted guard, Jai whipped a chain at his Ostrich-horses dainty legs, tripping the beast which let out a terrified squaking sound before Jai took off, running with the young Airbender.

"Sounds like a deal, stick-boy!" Jai cried as she caught up with him, keeping an eye out towards their pursuers. "We're gonna have to lose these dopes and make our way to the docks, they towed my boat from the sea upriver to here! Hopefully we get there before the dirty drunk guy..."

@Dblade26

There were times when Anitelu valued the way that the eyes of the Earth Kingdom citizens would slide off him and his blue clothes, and they'd practically yawn at his waterbending. In fact, he'd been fairly blatantly doing the impossible just over their heads not 15 minutes ago. But here, atop the prison walls, he could scream for that anonymity back. "If you don't mind, I'll..." The earth guard seemed remarkably determined that he stay here. "You know, I'm not actually supposed to..." The spear was rather annoying, the way it was waved in his face whenever he tried to explain. "Look, friend, I-" Anitelu ducked, kicking the guard's legs out from underneath him. Flicking the waterskin open at the same time, Anitelu spread the water out into a thin, but rapidly rotating sphere. The fact that a number of guards were inconvenienced was really secondary at this point. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I must go." Gathering the water beneath him, Anitelu threw himself across the street, catching the roof on the far side with watery tentacles.

He turned, bowed to the fracas below, sidestepped what had to be an arrow fired accidentally in his direction, then began walking very calmly away, looking for those two firebenders. If the Avatar had been here, there'd surely be more bending. There was earth, air, and fire being clearly flung around, but there weren't any other waterbenders. An Avatar would surely make use of the water he'd felt beneath the building. He couldn't have reached it, but the Avatar was impossibly powerful. "Excuse me, sir!" Anitelu called down to a guard below. "Could you point me in the direction of the Upper Ring? I appear to have been turned around in the confusion."

---

Bile and saliva mixed in a voracious concoction as every molecule of air in Huo’s lungs burst out, fleeing the pressure of rock and stone that crushed against her lower abdomen. Chunks of rock and dust swirled, mixing with the girl’s bodily fluids staining the front of her crimson garb, caking there as she curled into a tight ball of agony. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes but no sound escaped her gaping mouth, for she possessed no air with which to formulate words. Sucking in great mouthfuls Huo staggered to her feet, trying to reorient herself. There was the smoldering remains of the log cart, there was the rooftops and the wall line, and there the ground and shattered remnants of the earth bender general’s stone. Wheezing like a baboondonkey Huo waited for the world to stop spinning and her erratic heartbeat to calm. Then she focused in once more on the general, who’d just launched an attack towards Zhen.

“Alright so you’re a tough girl who wants to play rough. We can play rough.” Huo growled to herself, her eyes narrowing to menacing slits. Her chest still hurt but at least she could breathe properly again. Summoning her rage at being so easily bested and floored Hup sprinted towards General Fang determined to get at least one good hit in on her. Flames erupted from her palms like twin comets scorching the stones with their fiery tails. Heming in close on General Fang’s flank Huo spun on her heel, bringing her hands together with a resounding clap casting the fire in an upward arc followed swiftly by a sweeping kick which launched a second burning attack towards her foe, mere moments after the first.

As the firebending pirate descended quickly to his level, Jampa struck out hard with windblast punches and kicks from his hands and feet, knocking several foot soldiers aside as she took out an approaching ostrich-horse. As they ran she and outlined what they had to do to catch the ship he gave her a little help, his arms moving in little forward circular patterns during his stride so that the wind would pick up at their backs and push both of them forward at greater speed. It might not be as fast as a single airbender running alone, but the important thing was to outpace their pursuers and hopefully catch up with and overtake the drunk old man.

"Can you do that whole 'fire-blast' thing on any new guys who pop up? It'll free me up to keep us going fast while that useless bum hopefully has to stop and fight his way through."

@Korkoa@Dblade26

More clanging rang out through the sound-polluted air as launched soldiers bashed into whatever surface they found. A few screamed and ran away as pieces of clothing caught fire as a result of Jai's fireball. Many soldiers near the bottom found themselves sent careening off of the prison walls by superheated air or concussive flame, the result of both Jampa and Jai's attacks, a number higher up on the wall began making their way downwards, extending platforms from the stone and hopping from one to another. The commanding soldier at the wall, who still wielded the stone funnel he had used to yell threats at the escaping prisoners, growled, hoisting soldiers to their feet with pillars of earth and directing them to chase after the quickly escaping duo.

A chorus of whistles rang through the air as the soldiers called for their ostrich horses. The soldiers mounted speedily, and kicked their horses into motion, crashing through fruit stalls and wagons on their way. Many soldiers were tossed head-over-heels by the confused beasts, eventually only five remained to chase the two, the rest too disorientated by the escapees' attacks or simply knocked out cold through mistake.

"Stop where you are!" they continued to feebly yell after the escapees. Many bystanders screamed as the cavalry tore past them, some running back into their homes, some continuing their business, and some packing up to leave the "worst city on the planet", if you were to believe their words. The rest of the road was filled with rubble and not much else, so it seemed that the only threat was coming from behind. Then a guard suddenly leaped from the roofs above, then another, then another, three in total. They levelled their spears pointlessly, but it would definitely be a speedbump, and even with the dispersed wind from Jampa slowing them, the horsemen were by no means stopping.

---

@Regitnui

The guard leaped around a foot into the air, flailing wildly as he tried to swing his sword. A confused look crossed his face and he took a normal standing position. He didn't recognize that boy, he wasn't a prisoner. The guard looked around, noting the carnage that had come about as a result of the escape. This boy was interesting, he wasn't dressed like anyone from the Earth Kingdom, but he was no soldier either. He had to get out of here, it was his duty as a soldier to protect people, and if An or anyone noticed what seemed to be a Water Tribe boy near a prison breakout... well, the North pole wouldn't have a city on it for much longer. It was kinda silly of a soldier to not want war, but that was who the guard was.

"Upper Ring? No, you need to get out of here right now, if anyone sees a Water Tribe boy next to a prison breakout..." He grimaced. "You'll be hung from your ankles and asked a lot of questions. I'll escort you out of the city, if there's any pressing business that you have it'll have to wait."

The guard motioned for Anitelu to follow him and began walking away from the prison.

"We're gonna go to the stables, you're gonna get on an ostrich-horse, and you're gonna get out of here, got it?"

---

@Dusty



Fang chuckled, pulling up an earth pillar to block the girl's overconfident attack. Teens were so foolish, she'd much prefer to fight the old airbender, at lead he'd be a challenge.

The first blast collided with the pillar, than Fang noticed the second. She had missed that, she had thought that elaborate attack would be it, but that second blast seemed to come out of nowhere. The pillar smashed under the force of the second blast. Fang quickly took up a guard stance, planting her feet as the flame crashed into her. She slid backwards, her lower arms screaming in pain as they were scorched. Better them than her face she supposed, breathing deeply as her arms seethed, her gauntlets glowing as a result of the heat.

She had underestimated this one, all firebenders were dangerous, perhaps the fact that she was fighting a girl and not a woman had made her forget that. She'd be careful to not do so again. Fang shook her arms and closed her fists, grunting as her burns protested against her moving them. She adjusted her helmet, pivoted her feet, and twisted her hips, getting back into position. In a sudden motion she threw up her arms and stomped into the classic earthbending stance, one arm raised, one arm lowered, both hands at ninety degree angles from the elbows.

"This was the wrong fight to pick, girl," Fang said haughtily, raising her chin at the firebender, though never averting her eyes. She decided to do what she had been taught to do. She pushed her feet into the soil, causing a small shake in the surrounding dirt. She would let the firebender make the next move, wait for her opportunity, and end the fight with one strike.

---

They were very close now, only separated by a few meters. Huo could see the small beads of sweat on Fang’s face and hear the slightest groan of pain from her movements. Although Huo’s stomach still ached she felt a surge of satisfaction knowing they’d traded an eye for an eye. Still, she wasn’t done yet, and neither was General Fang. Huo began circling her opponent, her unrestrained tongue prodding at the sleeping platypusbear she’d just warmed up. Overconfidence at her own abilities beginning to sink deep because of the small victory.

“The wrong fight, ha, not likely. More like you threw a rock at the wrong fire bender and now you’re gonna be lucky enough to live to regret it after I burn your face off. And I bet it’ll look better afterwards too!” Huo’s scornful mocking evolved into a frustrated growl as the earth bender remained stoically stationary, almost inviting Huo to throw some sort of attack. Acting against her better judgment Huo planted her feet readying herself for an all out assault. “What's wrong, did you freeze in place from the fear, coward? Here, let me help you with that!” Huo closed the remaining few feet separating them bringing her right hand around in a sweeping exaggerated uppercut, her closed fists spouting dancing flame meant to flow under Fang’s helmet and implement its concussive force on her chin. Huo’s waist however twisted mid strike, and her foot spun around once again sending a secondary blast after the first, much the same way she’d managed to land a hit on the General before. Huo reasoned of course, that if it worked once, it would work again.

Jai grinned wickedly as she felt the wind at her back, no doubt caused by her new ally. For as spineless as the warlords would have the Firebending armies believe, these Air Nomads were quite useful to have at ones side. Laughing as the pair ducked through the crowded markets, Jai called out in answer to her companions question.

"Hah! After climbing out of that stinkin' river I can fire blast all day! You keep us running and I'll keep our path clear!" The wild-haired girl exclaimed as she squinted and stared ahead. Her tunnel-vision got the better of her a moment later though, as she failed to see the intercepting soldiers leaping from the rooftops until they were dead ahead.

"Duck right!" Jai cried out, grabbing Jampa's shoulder with one hand as he extended her other arm. Another blast of flame expanded from her hand, impacting the ground between the two of them and the trio of soldiers. The fireball expanded rapidly, too close to the escaping pair for them to simply avoid it. Jai shoved her companion to the right as she lunged forward, putting herself between the fireball and Jampa. Though not completely immune to the effects of her own flame, Jai figured she'd be able to take the heat better than her companion, and she still needed his help to get her boat back.

@Dblade26

Jampa was focused primarily on keeping the two of them moving quickly. So when the enemy Earth Kingdom soldiers dropped down, he had no way of stopping everything that unfolded next. As Jai threw him out of the way he spun rightward to regain his stability and quickly started circling his arms to make a quick shield of air. When the explosive backlash from her fireball hit, she took the majority of its force but he was able to absorb some of the lesser heat impact that would have hit him regardless. Luckily for them, with all that rapidly expanding fire also came a rush of hot air, and even as he whirled it around and away from himself, he flung it backward at any soldiers who might have been pursuing them from behind, parting the concussive wave of air pressure and then sending it on its way with extra force.

Once that was done, he began his running man routine all over again once he was sure the route was clear enough, pulling Jai into his slipstream again as they continued to make a run for her boat.