Where Words Fail

Book Eight: Coming Full Circle

Chapter 1: Break on through to the other side

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is a fan fiction - nothing more, nothing less. It has been made purely for entertainment purposes, and is not meant for commercial gain. Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters, places and concepts are copyright of Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. All original characters are copyright their respective owners and are used with their permission.

SCENE DIVIDE

Pan Xing Bay

11 days until Sozin's Comet

They'd made it.

They'd finally made it!

The only thing separating the Freedom Fighters from the shore was, if the map they'd bought in one of the Fire Nation towns on the way here was correct, some woods. Nothing they couldn't overcome.

Spanning out around them, on all sides, the woods were made up of trees with a thick canopy of emerald leaves, with thick, sturdy trunks the same bleached-white color of bones, and through them, Smellerbee could pick up the scent of the sea. It was salty, lofted alongside the odor of fish...smelling it now brought back flickers of the ferry ride to Ba Sing Se, where the same scent was the only thing that smelled good. You stick a hundred refugees on a boat, many of which without the common sense, desire or opportunity to bathe as they sought a safehaven, and give them thin, watery soup that reeked of bad onions, and the result is toe-curling. It had taken a lot of willpower to keep from gagging during the ride.

Funny, how polar the reasons for the two journeys were.

Still, the memories were just that - memories. Here and now, the ocean smelled fresh, cooling...even though it was summer, and it was balls-ass hot, a breeze combed Smellerbee's cheek, making her sigh. She could hear gulls squawking in the distance, the leaves of the trees whispering at each other, waves crashing against the shore she couldn't see. This really wasn't a bad place, all things considered. The sun hung high in the sky, a few gray-white clouds flecked across azure blue. It'd be noon in less than an hour; the day was young.

"Hey, Smellerbee?"

The swordswoman blinked - had forgotten where she was for a moment there. She shook her head to clear out the cobwebs and glanced over to the speaker, Pestle. The blond Earthbender fidgeted, gnawed on her lower lip, glanced left, right, and left again; this was normal behavior for her, it had been for years, but Smellerbee had noticed a distinct difference from before the Overdweller and after. Before, Pestle fidgeted because she was shy; people intimidated her, and she had been paranoid of saying the wrong thing, of offending people or leaving herself open to be made fun of. She had been insecure, especially if Mortar hadn't been around to back her up. Now, though...now, she fidgeted because she was trying to figure out her life. It was aggressive fidgeting, if that made sense. She hated being here, hated wearing Fire Nation clothes, hated hiding in plain sight like this.

Pestle's venomous attitude towards anything Fire Nation was unsettling, and Smellerbee saw way too much of herself in the younger girl. Too much of how she used to be, before Aang had entered their lives, just full to bursting of anger and rage when it came to their enemy, so furious, and the only way to really vent that fury when it hit its peek was to kill, and kill, and kill. While their invasion of the Fire Nation had been mostly successful, there had been one town where the local military outpost had figured out that the Freedom Fighters weren't natives, and another where Chameleon had been swept up into a barroom brawl that eventually extended to most of the Freedom Fighters they'd brought with them. In both fights, Pestle had put herself right on the front line, swinging her hammers, each impact heavy and hard, most lethal; she fought recklessly, didn't pay attention to her surroundings, to the enemies bearing down on her...she fought self-destructively.

Saying Smellerbee was concerned was a huge understatement.

She'd tried keeping Pestle in good spirits during the trip, because walking on eggshells around the girl wouldn't have done her any favors, and Chameleon had noticed and tried to help, but Mortar's death was too recent, and the girl was still confused. Smellerbee, with Cham's help, would wrench a giggle out of her every now and then, would get her to unwind for a night here and a lunch break there, but mostly she was annoyed, or depressed, or angry, or all three.

"What's going on, Pestle?" Smellerbee asked.

"Sneers wants to see you. Somebody's been here ahead of us, probably recently."

Smellerbee narrowed her eyes. "Really, now?." Shit...she hadn't even thought of that. She heaved a heavy sigh; Longshot was so close, and the thought of his proximity made Smellerbee want to jump out of her skin to save him that much faster, but they'd come this far being careful and they couldn't afford to stop now. "Alright. Come on, Pestle."

"Huh? Why me?"

Why her, indeed? Smellerbee turned the question over in her head a few times, trying to piece out a reasonable answer. Pestle wasn't really good at tracking, and she wasn't officially in any sort of command for this mission...but it felt important somehow, a niggling sensation Smellerbee couldn't shrug off. She adjusted the brim of Longshot's hat and fixed the young Earthbender with a grin. "Why not? You might learn something."

Pestle shrugged, glanced away; Smellerbee saw her fists clench at her sides and resisted the urge to sigh. There wasn't anything to do at this point but move forward.

SCENE DIVIDE

Pestle hunched over Smellerbee and Sneers as the swordswoman crouched down, examining the freshly-churned dirt with narrowed eyes and a wrinkled nose. She ghosted her fingertips across the edge of the footprint she'd chosen, narrow and thin with three long toes that ended in bulbous protrusions. Wherever a bulb had made contact with the ground, a glistening residue had been left behind, coating the dirt. Pestle didn't need to be an expert tracker to figure that the stuff was sticky and slimy.

"What do we have?" Sneers asked, glancing over to Smellerbee. "I mean, it's obvious they're reptiles or amphibians..."

"Looks like five creatures, medium length, medium weight," Smellerbee murmured.. "I can't tell exactly what animal, but you're probably right about them being amphibian. The footprints are deep enough that somebody's gotta be riding them. At least, some of them, anyway. A few of the tracks are shallower than the others. They're fresh, too. They couldn't have come through this way more than fifteen minutes ago."

"Should we ready a treetop offensive?" Sneers asked, and Pestle could almost hear the resentment in his voice for having to kowtow to Smellerbee; without the Boss Pants, he had to have almost everything approved. Pestle knew that, once upon a time, Smellerbee would have delighted being in this position and dangled it over the monk's head, but ever since the swordswoman had come back, she'd been...different. Not completely serious, though she had her cold moments...she just wasn't so, so youthful anymore.

She'd seen Jet die...that must have done it. Because Pestle had seen Mortar die, and the world had become funny and different around her, so the same had to apply to Smellerbee. She'd adapted really well, at least.

Pestle wasn't sure she'd be able to do the same.

Smellerbee paused to consider Sneers' question before giving a slow nod. "Yeah. We'll send Tinker and Scribbler ahead to scout while the rest of us mobilize." Turning to Pestle, the swordswoman added, "Could you go get them and spread the word to get ready?"

"Mmm. Sure, I guess." Pestle stuffed her hands in her pockets and turned on a heel, making towards the others.

As she walked, she started picking at the crimson tunic she'd chosen back in Hong Ye; before leaving, the Freedom Fighters had raided their stores for the Fire Nation clothing they'd lifted from any traders unfortunate enough to pass through the forest, because - apparently - everybody in this Spirits-forsaken place wore red and black. Pestle hated it; every moment she spent in the new tunic, with the yellow sash and maroon pants, was torture. It made her skin crawl, left her feeling icky every time she peeled them off to bathe, as if they'd been thrown in the mud despite how thoroughly the Freedom Fighters had cleaned their spoils. This was the skin of the enemy, of the Fire Nation...Jet had been right, they were nothing but overzealous thieves, taking whatever they wanted no matter who suffered.

Ugh, it was like being covered in slime.

She wondered...would Mortar...if their roles were reversed, if Pestle had been the one to die...would Mortar have had the strength to do the same thing? To have to hide when she ought to be taking action, especially this deep in enemy territory? To wear these disgusting clothes...? She - she would have, it was silly to even think anything else. Mortar had already been so much stronger, she would have gone through anything for Pestle...

...right?

Right.

The other Freedom Fighters had hung back while Pestle, Smellerbee and Sneers had advanced, lounging around Surestance, Fletcher, and the cart of supplies harnessed behind them...waiting, because they knew they were close to Pan Xing Island. Normally they would chat, but now...now it was just silence, waiting, the atmosphere some screwed up mish-mash of oppressing heat (and it was hot, stupid summer in the stupid Fire Nation) and electrified anticipation. They'd traveled long and far, they'd finally reached their goal.

When Pestle drew close, she felt her friends' eyes drawn to her...as if she carried an answer the others didn't have, as if - laughably so - she were also one of Smellerbee's lieutenants. She really wasn't, and she allowed herself a bittersweet smirk at the thought of having power without her sister to support her. And a lifetime ago, being the center of attention like this...everybody's gaze fixed to the young Earthbender...it would have been paralyzing, mortifying, because it would have been so easy to do something stupid and to screw up and to be made fun of.

Not anymore, though.

"A set of people have passed through the woods ahead of us, very recently," Pestle announced, planting one hand on the cart. "Tink, Scrib."

"Yeah?" The latter twin asked, running a hand through her sand-brown hair, glancing over to the former. The two of them...before the world had gone all funny and cold, they'd coaxed The Nightmare out of Pestle, goaded her into sharing with them the vivid dream that had turned into a very literal premonition...and ever since the Overdweller had been killed, the pair had almost been avoiding the Earthbender. It was probably for the best, because she knew she wasn't the best company right now anyway. Not to mention the fact that they'd been the ones to make her verbalize her fears, to give them heft and power...it wasn't fair to Tinker and Scribbler, but Pestle was kinda mad at them for pulling the words out.

"We need to know what we're going up against. Take to the trees and scout ahead; if there's an enemy ahead, don't engage them, just haul ass back here and give a report to Smellerbee or Sneers." It wasn't easy keeping her voice in check...to stay terse, to keep it from wobbling and catching, because - imaginary lieutenant or not - Smellerbee was still counting on her. "The rest of you that are combat-ready, get ready to fight. Once we know what we're dealing with, we're gonna mobilize."

With that, Pestle hoisted herself up into the cart; they'd draped a dust-red blanket over its contents, and all it took was a flick of the wrist to find the prize. Sure, there were actual traveling supplies in here, like hunting sets, jerky and water pouches, but the Freedom Fighters had predominantly used this to carry their weapons and armor without drawing too much attention to themselves. Pestle reached down and grabbed her battle hammers, the same ones she'd picked up in the - the forest, the grips rough and cold and powerful.

They would be enough.

SCENE DIVIDE

Three men, one woman, and one boy. That's what Tinker and Scribbler had reported, and between them five giant lizards - mongoose dragons, based on the twins' description. Smellerbee turned this knowledge over in her head as she leapt from one tree branch to the next, the wind raking her cheeks, her leg and abdomen muscles on fire, her breath raw in her throat, her calves and thighs coiling and aching and alive. The tree branches were sturdy, they supported her and her Freedom Fighters, and even though the colors were all wrong and they weren't nearly as grand as Hong Ye's trees, they were still a decent substitute. It was funny: if you had asked Smellerbee three seasons ago, she would have sworn up and down that the Fire Nation didn't have any trees, that the place had to be so desolate and hopeless. How else could it spurn the monsters that had given birth to the Freedom Fighters in the first place?

Smellerbee remembered being that person and shuddered. She was glad she'd changed. She'd been so full of...of hate, so angry, never looking at the bigger picture, just knowing that she had to do what she could to keep her family safe, getting a laceration of revenge here, a limb of redemption there. Now, the bigger picture couldn't have been any clearer.

Flitting amongst the canopy, Smellerbee heard the seven Freedom Fighters she'd brought along with her at her back, among them Pestle and Chameleon; Sneers stayed back with Kuei and the rest, waiting for Smellerbee's signal. She didn't need anybody else.

Jet's swords pressed against Smellerbee's back. She'd left Longshot's bow with the cart, though; they didn't have any arrows, and even if they did, she wasn't any good with the damn thing. She still wore his hat though, and had pulled the brim down, blocking out the sun. Being so close to him...it didn't feel quite right, wearing the hat anymore, almost as if bringing it along for this small mission had been a mistake.

Whatever. The hat and its wafting trail of symbolism would have to suck it up.

Ahead, Smellerbee saw the tree line drawing closer; she came to a stop on one branch and held up a fist, and the whispering, grinding sound of boots or bare feet on bark came to a stop behind her. Pestle hopped over to Smellerbee's branch, leaning forward and scrutinizing the scene laid out before them.

It was like what the twins had said: three men, one woman, one boy, gathered near the shore with five mongoose dragons idling nearby, croaking into the wind.

"The woman and two of the men are wearing red," Pestle murmured, and Smellerbee could see her jaw working. "Fire Nation."

She was right about that much. Of the two men in question, one was bald and built like a mountain, certainly not as gargantuan as Pipsqueak, but pretty close; the other, while shorter by at least a head, was still well-built and had mocha-colored skin, and his hair - a shade of brown just a bit darker than his skin - had been pulled back into a ponytail. Both wore tattered, dark-orange shirts and pants, with brown leather slippers...they looked like prisoner's clothes more than anything else. Had they just escaped from Pan Xing? If so, it might be just the distraction Smellerbee's party would need.

The other man and the boy, though - they dressed in pale greens and yellows, giving off a more Earth Kingdom-y vibe. The latter of the two sat in a wheeled chair of some sort, with his legs wrapped in bandages...that was an unusual thing in and of itself, but a traveling party with natives from both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom set off a warning bell in Smellerbee's head. One side or the other had defected, but which one was which?

That left the woman. Smellerbee narrowed her eyes, trying to pick out the details: she wore robes of maroon layered over black, with long, flowing sleeves and her legs obscured. The robes themselves were tattered and filthy, they'd obviously seen better days, but there was something familiar about them. This sense of de ja vu was only accentuated by her hair, tied back into two buns that let a stream of hair fall from each, and...

...oh. Huh.

"What the hell is she doing all the way out here, I wonder...?" The swordswoman pursed her lips.

"You know the woman?" Pestle asked.

"We met in Omashu." Smellerbee rubbed her chin. "She's the girlfriend of Zuko, and a friend to Azula, the crowned Prince and Princess of the Fire Nation. She's a noble, but her status with both Zuko and Azula would mean she should be anywhere but Pan Xing Bay, with Sozin's Comet so close - "

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Without another word, Pestle leapt away from the tree, out into the open, bringing her hammers to bear.

"Pestle!" Smellerbee called, before dropping a silent curse. She signaled for the other Freedom Fighters to follow suit; Smellerbee jumped out into the open (curl into a ball, plant a hand against the rugged ground, roll, draw the swords!), wind hot and raw against her cheeks, what was that girl thinking?

SCENE DIVIDE

A Fire Nation noble, all buddy-buddy with two of the most important political figures in the Fire Nation? No freakin' contest, she had to go, she was a blight on the face of the planet, and if Smellerbee wanted to sit and wait in the trees, then she damn well could. Pestle pinwheeled her hammers around herself, and, and all she'd need to do was slam one of them down to the ground, her target was within range. She brought both hammers up, over her head, down into the rocky shore, a pillar of earth rising up beneath the woman, would launch her into the ocean -

- the Fire Nation woman reacted too fast! She had felt the blow coming even though she had had her back turned, or maybe one of her friends had said something, but she used the pillar as a springboard, leapt clear of the attack. Pestle grunted, swung her hammers around again - lost her balance! - threw one leg out to stabilize herself, slammed the ground with both weapons -

A wall! From Pestle's left, so close she could feel flecks of dirt and pebbles pelt her, a stone wall rose from the ground. She crashed into it, hard, shoulder alight with pain - at first, so confused, but at the back of her mind - the man dressed in greens and browns, must have been an Earthbender! Pestle pushed away from the wall and, the thought of an Earthbender siding with somebody from the Fire Nation - it was like, like Jet, how he had died at the hands of the Earth Kingdom, and how dare this son of a bitch be so presumptuous -

Another wall, blocking Pestle off again, her blonde hair swept back in the backdraft. She smashed the wall apart with the hammer - there! Mocha skin, hair held back with a headband, a fledgling moustache on his face - couldn't have been any older than Jet had been - brown eyes narrowed and dangerous, mouth set into a straight line. Fine. Pestle wasn't playing around either.

She planted her feet apart and raised one hammer over her head; with a roar, she slammed it down into the ground, the ground crumbling in a straight line from her to the Earthbender - he leapt clear, but Pestle was quick to react, stomping with her right foot, sinking into the earth up to her ankle. A small stump of stone jutted up in the man's path - he stumbled, fell, caught himself with one arm and rolled, picking up the stump with one hand and hurling it at Pestle. She raised one hammer out of instinct - the rock hit the handle, shattered, but sprayed Pestle's face with dust and pebbles, getting in her mouth - choking - she scrunched her eyes shut - blind, blind, shit, what would -

She felt the earth rumble beneath her feet, and before she knew it she'd been pitched sideways. One of the hammers slid free from her grip, but she threw the other one out to catch herself. Whirling upright, Pestle blinked - could kinda see, but she couldn't stop coughing - a blur of motion at her left - thrust the hammer straight outward like a sword, missed hitting the man as he cut around Pestle. Why wouldn't he hold still?

"Little kids shouldn't be playing with toys like that," the man lilted, and - was he smirking? Pestle couldn't tell, eyes had gone watery, but he sounded like he was, and how dare he treat her like a child? He didn't know! He had no idea what she'd been through - swung the hammer around, down, splitting the earth, blocking the man's path. He skidded to a stop, and Pestle thumped the ground with her foot again, a small rock shooting up beneath the man's right foot, throwing him to the ground. Pestle wiped her eyes with her free hand - there, could see better - she stomped the ground with the other foot, sending the man careening through the air -

- landed hard on his back, groaning, and all that was left was to land the finishing blow on this traitor -

- from the corner of her eyes, three flickers of silver -

- Smellerbee dashing beside her, faster than Pestle could really register -

- bringing one of Jet's swords to bear, knocking the three slivers away -

SCENE DIVIDE

"Mai," Smellerbee said, glaring at the Fire Nation noble. Yes, she had definitely seen better days, and Smellerbee knew - she knew - there was more to this than met the eye, but Mai had thrown her knives at Pestle, had intended on landing a killing blow.

The sun rose higher into the sky, and the bay was just yards away, bordered by this rocky plateau that was just barely high enough to avoid being swallowed up by the tide. Even though the other Freedom Fighters rushed into battle, engaging the enemy, all Smellerbee could hear was the sound of the waves crashing against the plateau, the squawking of squirrel gulls as they scouted the water for their next meal. A gentle breeze rolled over her, combing through her hair, making Mai's robes waft. Jet's swords shimmered in the sunlight. The knifethrower, like Smellerbee, remained poised to attack, had three kunai between the fingers of one hand, and her amber eyes glistened beneath a furrowed brow.

"Are you okay, Pestle?" Smellerbee asked, not taking her eyes off the Fire Nation noble before her.

"Y - " the young Earthbender coughed. "Yes."

"Good. You and I are gonna have a serious talk later." Turning her full attention to Mai, raising one sword up in front of her, Smellerbee said, "It's been a while."

"Omashu. Fun times." Mai rolled her eyes, her tone droll - just as Smellerbee remembered. "This trip has been boring as hell, so it'll be nice to let loose on you again."

Smellerbee felt a vicious grin slice her face, her cheeks tingling. "Likewise."

And - now! Smellerbee rushed to the right, swinging one of the swords around in a narrow arc - Mai tossed her kunai, and Smellerbee felt one scrape her thigh, but she'd have to do better than that if - an opening! The Freedom Fighter tightened her arc, came in with one sword drawn to her chest, brought it around - a quick slice would bring an end to this fight - but! Mai had seen the move coming, loosed a pair of flechettes from her sleeves, flipping one down - she'd block the swing, and that would leave Smellerbee vulnerable -

"STOP!"

The voice was loud enough to make Smellerbee stumble; the Freedom Fighter skidded to a halt, boots grinding against stone loosened from the ground by Pestle and the other Earthbender, missing her intended mark entirely. Mai likewise lost her balance, but managed to throw out a foot and catch herself, preserving what was left of her dignity. Smellerbee turned her attention in the direction of the voice that had interrupted her.. Who had yelled at them to...?

Wait.

Wait!

Short - shorter than Smellerbee, shorter than Pestle. Wearing a dusty green vest over a yellow tunic, with a pike in one hand, a pouch on his belt, and a helmet two sizes too big on his head, almost obscuring wide, round eyes.

No way.

"The Duke?" Smellerbee whispered.

SCENE DIVIDE

There was - holy crow! The Duke couldn't believe his eyes! He dropped his pike and dashed towards - towards Smellerbee, her older sister, a longtime friend, gone from his life for so long, almost permanently, but now! Now she was here, and his legs pumped, his lungs burned, his eyes - vision blurry - hard to see -

Before he knew it - warmth all around - Smellerbee's arms wrapped around him, and she, it was her, she was real, The Duke was holding her! She smelled of dust and sweat, of the road, and, and The Duke was laughing, he was crying too, but he was laughing, Smellerbee was laughing, and!

It had been far, far too long.

"Where in the blue hell have you been?" Smellerbee asked, pulling The Duke away from her so she could look at him.

The Duke grinned - wide, cheeks tingling, chest tight - and straightened his helmet. "I could ask the same thing about you! When Sokka told us Jet had died - that you'd been with him - we thought you were...!"

"Pfft. Takes more than that to kill me," she replied, a sly, wicked grin crossing her face.

At last, Smellerbee let The Duke go; even still, The Duke couldn't stop grinning, and he glanced at the ground. "A guy steps away to go to the bathroom, and the entire world goes nuts."

"Tell me about it." Smellerbee laughed and planted her hands on The Duke's shoulders. "Jeez, it's like - I haven't seen you since we left for Ba Sing Se, and...it's like old times, I guess." She took a quick glance around; The Duke didn't need to follow where she was looking to know that she was sizing up his traveling party. "You've got some strange friends, though. The Fire Nation guys and Mai - they're with you?"

"Actually, I'm Water Tribe," Hakoda said, holding up a hand. "I just spent a few days in prison, is all. It's what you get for leading the Day of Black Sun Invasion."

Smellerbee looked about ready to say something - and paused, her brow furrowed. She turned her attention to The Duke again, and - ugh, here it came, she'd drag it out into the open and The Duke was still really uncomfortable about it... "Where's Pipsqueak? He isn't..."

"I, um." The Duke glanced at the ground. "He's not dead. At least so far as I know." He looked across the sea, to the massive, rust-colored prison looming in the distance.

"Huh." Bee pushed up to her feet and dusted off her knees. "Go figure..."

"What?"

"Longshot is there, too." Smellerbee crooked her head and smirked. "Fate is pullin' some serious strings to make all this come together."

"It's not just your friends," Hakoda said, stepping up to Smellerbee. "The entire invasion force is there, and with Sozin's Comet just a few days away..."

"We'll need all the help we can get," Smellerbee finished, nodding. "I like the way you think..."

"Hakoda," the Water Tribesman said, offering a hand. "Chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Smellerbee, leader of the Freedom Fighters." Bee clasped a hand around Hakoda's wrist - when the heck did she learn formalities like that? - and grinned. "Speaking of, Sneers is still waiting for my signal..."

"Sneers?" The Duke pulled a face. "I guess you've been back to the forest, but did you have to bring that jerkbelly along?"

Smellerbee sighed and rubbed her sinuses. "I know, right? It was a necessary evil...hang on, let me birdcall him..."

SCENE DIVIDE

After the rounds had been made - Hakoda, the Water Chieftain, Teo, a non-bender from the Northern Air Temple, Haru, an Earthbender, and Chit-Sang, an escaped convict and Firebender - Smellerbee consolidated the entire group just in time for Sneers and the remaining Freedom Fighters to join them on the plateau. The monk wandered over to the group and announced, "So I guess the big fight is off, then?" Smellerbee and The Duke turned their attention to him, to see that he'd crooked his head and smirked, one fist planted on a hip. "Good to see you again, The Duke. I guess."

"Back atcha." The Duke pretended to keep an annoyed face, but Smellerbee could see the joy and excitement in his eyes nonetheless. You started seeing these things when you grew up around somebody who didn't speak.

Sneers cast his gaze around the assembled group. "I recognize...one other face here aside from my own kids. Hakoda, we're well met once more."

Hakoda nodded, eyes the color of icy blades, fine age lines chiseled out of his face. "Sneers. It seems like all sorts of loose ends are being tied up right now."

"You two know each other?" Smellerbee sighed and shook her head, grinning. "Fate, indeed."

"Speaking of, you were pretty quick to jump Mai." Haru glanced over at Pestle, a frown etched onto his tanned face, eyes going narrow. "Some bad blood between you two?"

"Feh." Pestle crossed her arms over her chest and looked out towards the ocean. "She's Fire Nation. That's enough for me."

"That is partially my fault." Smellerbee rubbed the back of her head. "I told Pestle about her."

"We...met in Omashu," Mai explained waving a hand at Haru and glancing in the opposite direction, tucking her opposite arm up. "It's no big deal."

Casting her gaze out, over the ocean, Smellerbee could see Pan Xing Island rising up over the surface of the water, black with an orange hue, glistening against the ocean and sky. It wasn't an island in the usual sense of the word, because it wasn't situated on land. Supported from below with an enormous amount of support pillars - Smellerbee couldn't even begin to count them - it stood several hundred yards off the shore, a blocky and intimidating deathtrap. Guard towers had been posted all along the perimeter walls, razor-sharp spires that clawed at the sky as if out of spite.

Unless you were a Firebender, you were helpless in a place like that. The ocean water was too far away for a Waterbender, and no stone could be seen maintaining the structural integrity, leaving Earthbenders in a tight spot as well. All that left was...well...whatever your preternatural skills were.

Longshot didn't have his bow. He was terrible at hand-to-hand combat, and what little he'd gleaned about knife-fighting from Smellerbee wouldn't do him any good unless he could cobble together a shiv...and then, that wasn't going to do him any good against a hoard of Fire Nation guards.

At least Pipsqueak was there. Pipsqueak could make a grown man cry just by shaking hands. He'd be able to cover Longshot's back.

"Alright," Smellerbee said at last. Silence had fallen over the assembled - Freedom Fighters, they all were, she guessed, even Chit-Sang and (erf) Mai - and she only fleetingly wondered why. "We've got to get to the island. Hakoda, you don't happen to be a Waterbender, by chance?"

"It'd be too convenient if I were." Hakoda crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "I don't think that's going to stop you, though. What do you have in mind?"

"I'm...not sure." Smellerbee pursed her lips. "A full-frontal assault would be stupid, but without a Waterbender we don't have much in the way of surprise tactics."

"What I wouldn't give for one of the Mechanist's submarines," The Duke murmured. Smellerbee hiked an eyebrow at him (what the hell was a 'sub-marine?') before shaking her head.

"You have a point, though," Hakoda said. "If we charge straight at them, they'll see us coming and take us down. Even if we build an earth bridge, there won't be any room for us to defend ourselves."

"I think I have an idea."

The swordswoman glanced over to one of The Duke's men, the boy in the wooden chair with wheels, Teo. His eyes sparkled with youth that reminded the Freedom Fighter of...strangely enough, of the Avatar - how, despite their age, they still had a childlike curiosity about them. Smellerbee nodded at him, a silent permission for him to continue.

"So, a bridge is out of the question, right?" Teo reached to the side of his chair and pulled away what looked like a brake mechanism from it. As he spoke, he used the brake stick to draw rough images of his design into the packed dirt they stood on. "You guys might want to take a look at this. Even though the prison itself is far away from the shore, there's a large plateau about thirty feet beneath the ocean's surface running from here to there. The Fire Nation has several installations like this, mostly to keep Earthbenders away from land..."

Haru gave an unsubtle cough. Teo chose to ignore it.

"...but it's common sense that, if you're going to build a huge facility like that, you need solid ground to build it on. This explains why the prisons - Pan Xing Island included - are raised high above the water's surface. The Fire Nation might be technologically advanced, but even they can't defy the laws of physics." Teo grinned. "That said, we might not be able to go over the surface of the water, but there's nothing stopping us from going beneath it. Instead of the bridge, we'll make a tunnel on that that goes beneath the water itself, following that shallow area; With Haru and...um..."

"Pestle," the Earthbender said, curt and blunt - Smellerbee could tell that she was still annoyed about the fight earlier.

"Right, Pestle." Teo gave her a nervous grin and rubbed the back of his head, fingers digging into his scalp. "Anyway. You two will be up front, and when we get close enough to the prison, you just make a pillar that puts us up over the top of the prison wall."

"That way, water pressure isn't an issue, and we stay hidden!" The Duke snapped his fingers.

"Precisely!"

Smellerbee nodded, a devilish grin splitting her face. She liked Teo, and could see why The Duke had brought him into the fold. He was smart. He had a tactician's mind. He'd thought of something even she, Sneers and Hakoda hadn't, and felt all the more bolstered by having him on the team.

"Fantastic," she said. Turning to Sneers and Hakoda, she asked, "any objections?

Sneers shook his head, a grin playing across his broad face. "I think it's a solid idea. Let's roll with it."

It had been a little over two weeks since the Overdweller had died, and while he still didn't like having to follow Smellerbee's lead, he'd been remarkably cooperative. Sure, he'd question Smellerbee if she made a tactical decision that he thought was unsound, but Smellerbee at least owed him enough to take his opinion into consideration (he erred on the side of caution, she tended to try to be more straightforward - between the two of them, they found a healthy compromise that kept their group of Freedom Fighters safe). Maybe he went along with it despite his discomfort because arguing it would have been a futile effort.

Or, he could genuinely believe in Smellerbee's cause. She couldn't tell - but he was a lot easier to get along with when he wasn't being completely snarky.

"I agree," Hakoda consented. "The Fire Nation won't see us coming until it's too late."

Drawing a deep breath, Smellerbee glanced around to her and The Duke's assembled Freedom Fighters. "Good. Now here's the breakdown: The Duke, Teo - you're the ones inclined in engineering. Monitor the project and help Pestle and Haru. Do you know where the plateau starts and ends?"

"Yeah, it's not a problem." Teo re-attached his brake and reached over his shoulder, lifting up a rucksack that had been strapped to the back of his chair. "We found some maps that document the geology of the area in one of the Fire Nation buildings we had to raid for supplies."

"Cool. The four of you, get started on that." Smellerbee crossed her arms over her chest. "Tinker, Scribbler, Chameleon: you're our best eyes. Watch the guards patrolling the wall around the prison, try to find blind spots and gaps that we can take advantage of."

"On it," Chameleon said. "I'll take the eastern side."

"I call dibs on the south!" Scribbler called.

"Poo. I wanted south." Tinker pouted, but she couldn't hold it for long as a grin broke out on her face, and Smellerbee couldn't help but grin, too. She'd needed this small dose of levity. "Guess I've got the west, then."

"Hakoda, Chit-Sang - you've been in the Boiling Rock, right?" Smellerbee turned to consider the two men, the oldest of the assembled group. "Prepare a briefing on what we can expect on the inside."

"Hey, Pan Xing ain't no Boiling Rock," Chit-Sang said, his lip twitching. "They could be completely different for all we know. Hell, they probably are."

"Maybe." Smellerbee nodded. "But anything you could tell us that might come in handy could only work in our favor."

It felt...weird, giving orders to people who were probably twenty years older than she was. Particularly Hakoda; Smellerbee might'a only known him for a few minutes, but he'd openly admitted to being the chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe, and he carried around the aura of an experienced soldier, somebody who knew what he was doing. So - why was he letting Smellerbee take point? She'd have to ask him, but if he was willing to let the chain of command fall this way, then it was better to just flow with it. At least, until they had finished with the jail break.

"What about me, Smellerbee?"

The swordswoman glanced up at the speaker; Kuei, the deposed Earth King of Ba Sing Se, held his hand up from near the back of the group, his spectacles shimmering in the sunlight. "I - I want to help, too."

Huh.

"Are you sure?" she asked - though as soon as the words slipped free, she knew that she shouldn't really've been that surprised. Kuei might have been a noble, might have been part of the aristocracy, but over the past week, he'd been operating smoothly with the Freedom Fighters, taking on duties and insisting that he be treated like a member of the team. Giving orders to him had been outright surreal, and she still had a nagging, buzzing sensation at the nape of her neck when solidifying that thought (Smellerbee, a tomboyish orphan raised in the woods, instructing the Earth King!).

Kuei nodded, his mouth set into a straight line. "Please."

"Okay." Smellerbee cast her attention to the woods - could see Surestance and Fletcher hidden just behind the first set of trees, the cart of supplies lashed to them. "Kuei, you and the rest of the Freedom Fighters can go work on weapon and armor maintenance. We need to make sure our equipment is in peak form for the upcoming battle. Glisten, Safehaven, you're in charge. Teach Kuei what he needs to know. Alright, people, we have a prison break to instigate! Report back to me when you're ready."

The group split up, the majority returning to the woods to work on the Freedom Fighters' gear - among them Mai, an expression of disinterest on her face, as if the sudden power shift was no big thing. Smellerbee fell into step beside her, but kept her gaze forward - could feel Mai's amber eyes flit to her for a moment before glancing away.

Smellerbee wasn't entirely sure, but seeing her here, now…she possessed much of the same apathetic, gothic attitude the Freedom Fighter remembered from Omashu, but something was different from last time. And it wasn't because of the tattered condition of her robes, or how unkempt her hair had become, barely held together in the buns on each side of her head…it was because she lacked the cold fire she'd had when fighting with Smellerbee on the rooftops of Omashu's business district. Even if they hadn't even locked blades this time, that brief second where they were tensed, poised to go at each other, had spoken a world to the swordswoman.

Once they'd made it past the tree line, Smellerbee pulled off Longshot's hat - felt the breeze combing her hair, felt so good - and finally, that nagging sensation of prolonged symbolism dissipated. She draped the hat over Fletcher's saddlehorn before saying, "Hey, Mai...I gotta admit, I'm kind of surprised seeing you here, of all places."

The knifethrower rolled her yellow eyes and grumbled an apathetic, "Whatever. Do you have a whetstone and some oil?"

Smellerbee's boots scuffed against the gritty dirt, the sound of work-chatter fluttering around them, and reached into the back of the cart. She withdrew a leather pouch and a silver-gray brick about the size of her hand and passed them off to Mai without a word. Finding a set of tree stumps next to each other, they went to work, Smellerbee sharpening Jet's swords and Mai her throwing knives. Smellerbee could still smell the salty tang of seawater, and it would be hell on her hair (as if managing the shaggy mess of split ends wasn't trouble enough), but...this was for Longshot and the world.

Even while sitting down, Mai was taller than Smellerbee - something the Freedom Fighter only realized when this close to her. It was weird. A lot of stuff about today was weird.

A good half minute of silence passed between them before Smellerbee said, "I owe you an apology."

"Mmm." Mai replied, indifferent, distant, a light frown tugging on the corners of her mouth. "You weren't the one to jump me."

"Maybe not, but Pestle's in my care and that makes it my responsibility, and she wouldn't apologize to you anyway. I think we got a lot of equal footing to stand on, and I don't want to screw that up so fast." Smellerbee sighed through her nose and glanced up, away, towards the prison hunkering on the horizon. "The Duke obviously trusts you...otherwise he wouldn't'a kept me from gutting you. And I trust The Duke's ability to judge character - he's always been good at that. So I...I trust you too. I don't know how you got to the same plateau we're all sharing right now, but I'm willin' to bet you got a good reason for it."

At first, Mai didn't respond - the thought flitted through Smellerbee's head that she hadn't reached the knifethrower at all, that the attempt to make up for lost ground had been a waste. Though maybe Mai had heard, had understood, and was putting together the right words, like Longshot would. She probably had, because the next thing she said was, "Ty Lee."

"Huh?"

"Zuko and the Water Tribe kid that the Avatar hangs out with broke into the Boiling Rock in order to free Hakoda," Mai explained, her own voice - hoarse, like Smellerbee, but deeper because of actually, y'know, having hit the puberty line full throttle. "Zuko traded sides, I guess. Azula found out he was there, though - came to do what Azula does best. You know, the whole tortury-mocky thing. But Zuko and the others put together this plan, I guess, they were gonna escape on one of the gondolas heading out of the Boiling Rock's walls..." The knifethrower finally glanced down at the ground and shook her head, her yellow eyes half-vanishing beneath her eyelids. "Azula and Ty Lee caught up to them. I got there late - and my Uncle, he runs the prison, he was going to cut the lines and drop everyone into the boiling water surrounding the prison itself. Azula. Zuko. Everyone. I...I stopped them. I betrayed Azula by saving Zuko. And you know what?" Mai shook her head and sighed. "It was worth it."

Smellerbee chuckled, a grin twisting onto his face. "You and Zuko really aren't that different, are you?"

"Hmph." From her periphery vision, Smellerbee saw Mai's mouth curl upwards, but only just the slightest bit. "I guess not."

"So, what happened after that?"

Mai drew a low breath. "Azula wasn't very happy with me, but before it got out of hand, Ty Lee intervened, used her chi-blocking techniques to paralyze her before anything could happen. I got locked up at the Boiling Rock, while Ty Lee was hauled off to Pan Xing. I'm here to bail her out."

Smellerbee closed her eyes and grinned. "Our goals were the same in the end."

"The archer?"

"Yeah. We got trampled by the Rough Rhinos a few weeks ago and they took Longshot prisoner. We got word from our intel net that they'd thrown him in this place." Smellerbee opened her eyes again and felt her chest tighten, her lungs tingle. Even though the other Freedom Fighters chatted and worked nearby, the noise was distant, a backdrop. The whispering of the tree's leaves as a sea breeze blew through them, the sharp tang of oiled metal, the high-pitched ring of sharpening stone running across metal...those were close, they made a bizarre atmosphere for this conversation. "Once we found out the Day of Black Sun invasion force was locked up here too, we made this jailbreak our priority. We would have come for Longshot regardless, but this is...insurance. In case Aang can't beat Fire Lord Ozai."

"That's the way your Freedom Fighters work, huh?" Mai asked, at last turning to face Smellerbee. The swordswoman did the same, standing face-to-face with her new ally, flexing her fingers. She felt her mouth quirking, and she succumbed to that familiar renegade smirk. And - she knew, when that smirk came on its own accord, she was doing the Right Thing as leader.

"'Watch out for each other because nobody else will.'" Tilting her head to the side, Smellerbee added, "And that includes you, Freedom Fighter."

Mai nodded, smiling.

SCENE DIVIDE

Pan Xing Island

11 days until Sozin's Comet

The air felt different today, and Longshot couldn't quite place how.

It - it smelled the same, the scent of oil and metal and singed ozone and the toe-curling stench of body odor, from the less cleanly inmates.

There was nothing new to hear - prisoners milling about, chatting amongst themselves, the most brazen enough to cover the low murmur of whispers cast by the other. Even Pipsqueak had managed to keep his voice down to a manageable murmur.

Maybe it was something in the sky, but...no, nothing there, either, just blue, not even a single cloud to be seen. And, well, it tasted almost the same way it smelled, though he was glad the lack of bathing habits of his peers wasn't so bad as to reach his taste buds. And really, the place felt as grimy as it did every other day, grubby and metal and cold and unfeeling.

Still, something wasn't quite right. Some imperceptible difference, some vague footnote that eluded him solely because his senses were not honed enough for him to pick it up. (That was a hell of an irony.) But there was definitely some sort of tension building up. He could feel that, building and clattering ungainly through the prison's courtyard.

Longshot knew he wasn't alone, because the way the others were reacting, they could sense it, too. The way Pipsqueak's cheerful demeanor had given way to a sobered, leery glower that looked left, right and left again, constantly changing. The way Spatula sat cross-legged on the floor with his shoulders hunched up and his head ducked. The way Ty Lee kept glancing up to the sky with worry etched onto her face, the way that The Boulder kept rotating his left shoulder, that Huu had closed in on himself, eyes shut and mouth curled into a frown. The way that Bato had poised himself, head crooked, trying to identify that same peccadillo. Everyone had their own signs.

Sozin's Comet would pass through the planet's atmosphere not too long from now. Longshot knew they had to escape, and soon, if they wanted to make some sort of difference in this war. If they wanted to have a chance at extinguishing the Fire Nation's plans for destroying the world.

The sensation was so thick that he could slice through it with one of Smellerbee's daggers, if he had one in hand. (Remember, Longshot, it's all about the weight of the blade to the hilt, balanced with sand inside the grip.) But he had a fitting substitute waiting for him in the kitchen. Sure, those knives were barely meant for combat, but they were sharp and they'd still cut, even though he planned on throwing them more than using them in a melee fight.

Spatula had been fantastic on this front; he was friends with the rest of the kitchen staff, and they'd conspired with him to secret forks and knives away in a corner of the kitchen itself. From there, he would lead Longshot and Pipsqueak up to the wall surrounding the courtyard, where the three would tear-ass through the guards, meeting up with Ty Lee and the Kyoshi Warriors.

Every member of the invasion force had been brought into the fold on this, united thanks to Bato's ample leadership skill. They knew it would happen sometime during rec, but they hadn't had a specific day set for it - for the right opportunity to fall into their lap. They couldn't keep waiting, though. They were running out of time. He didn't like it, but time had not been their ally from the outset, ever since he escaped Lake Laogai with Smellerbee...

...wait...

Longshot cocked his head to the side, and Pipsqueak instantly brought his gaze to rest on the archer. Of this entire lot, the pair had known each other longest, so of course it'd be Pipsqueak that recognized when his fellow Freedom Fighter was on to something.

"What is it, Longshot?" the giant muttered, hunkering down and frowning. This drew the attention of Spatula, Ty Lee, Bato and the others, who looked from Pipsqueak to Longshot in befuddlement. "What do you hear?"

...not sure yet, but...Longshot's eyes narrowed. After all, being an archer meant having acute hearing, relying on all senses in order to be the best shot you could be. It sounded...grindy, churny, screechy - like metal being wrenched apart just below them by...by...

And Longshot felt his eyes wide and his jaw go slack.

Reinforcements. Somebody was burrowing in from underneath, and coming to free them. Oh Spirits, Pipsqueak, it's time, that's what the weird feeling in the air is, they had to mobilize their efforts now!

Pipsqueak jerked backwards, grabbed his chest - stunned - before hunching forward and grinning a broad, vicious grin, his eyes going narrow. A klaxon wailed - an emergency alarm, and the inmates were supposed to - supposed to be shuttled back into the prison, but this was there chance and Pipsqueak relayed the news to Bato, who would be Longshot's voice.

Message in hand, Bato set his jaw and pushed up to his feet, ice-blue eyes glistening. "ALRIGHT, PEOPLE!" The Water Tribesman yelled, standing up at full height and throwing a fist up into the air. "THIS IS THE MOMENT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! SOMEBODY OUT THERE HAS COME TO HELP US. IT'S TIME FOR US TO SET OURSELVES FREE!"

And - and the cheer, the thunder that hurled itself up into the sky to follow, it was massive, engulfing the archer, so silent as to almost be mute, rocking him. They - they were cheering for his plan, Longshot's plan, and he wasn't even the leader! The other inmates not privy to the information roared their support as well, and that'd be perfect, they would help too, even if it was just to cause chaos for the guards.

Longshot turned to Ty Lee, then to Huu, and nodded; clapping Pipsqueak on the shoulder, the archer turned and led his old friend and Spatula back, towards the belly of the prison, towards the nook in the kitchen where they'd been secreting away utensils. Already, they risked being swallowed up by the throngs of inmates that had began to churn and rumble and stand tall against those guards that had already been dispersed throughout the courtyard, and those that would be pouring out from inside once they realized they had a riot on their hands.

Lungs burning, muscles aching, the three reached the far wall of the courtyard, and Spatula lunged forward, wrenching open the gate that lead inside, the metal squealing in vehement protest. Just beyond lay the dark, ominous corridors of the prison's insides; Longshot knew the way to the kitchen from here well enough, but he would need Pipsqueak and Spatula's muscle if he wanted to get in and out in one piece. He glanced at both of them, and they returned his gaze (as fleeting as it was), and all three surged inside, into the cool, dimly-lit corridors, Longshot taking point.