Avatar: The Lost Chronicles

[Lila Matsumoto]

 

[General Keith]

I awoke with a jerk. My legs seemed to run by themselves, apart from the commands of their sleep deprived master. With eyes half opened, I saw my mother leading me through a war ridden land. The only thing that comforted me through the destruction and death was the sight of my mother. I kept my eyes on her to protect my own heart from the knives of war and death. The stench of blood and smoke plagued my senses until we reached a place I knew quite well, the Sky Bison breeding ground. She placed me atop a nearby Sky Bison. upon seating my self on the saddle, I questioned my mother, "Is Dad coming too?" in true concern. I was naive.
"Your father and I will see you again one day. But until then..." She started. Using a skill she mastered as a child and has improved over her years that we call air-bending, she raised herself to my level, "I love you, and good bye!" The Sky Bison seemed to listen to a universe that opposed me and took off into the stormy sky.

"That dream again..." I thought as I strained my eyes open. "... Or should I say nightmare." Pushing myself up, I noticed the fire went out, revealing the stars above me. "Well, best not waste my lack of ability to sleep." I climbed to my feet and packed my things. It was time to depart once again.
A few hours of wistful solitude passed before I reached the next town. Hearing the voices of humans besides my own raised my spirits a little. I wondered only what reason a small town like this would have for being lively this late in the moonless night. Restlessness aided in my passing of these questions as I drifted into the town. I aimed my directionless walking into the bar. For I've only one reason to take the next step, and that's to find the one person my enemies are after.
After walking into the life destroying waste of a building, I reached for a gold coin in my pocket. I found and tipped a covetous looking man in exchange for information. "I'm looking for the wife of the previous Fire Lord, have any idea where to look?" I asked without expectation of a helpful reply.
"HA! I'm sorry, but I don't quite know where a mistress such as that might be. But for a gold coin, I may as well give you some supportive information. I've been asked a similar question not too long ago by two young girls, I don't quite remember their names, though."
"That might be the Spirit Reapers!" "Which direction did they go?"
"That kind of information, my friend, does not come cheap." He maliciously squealed. I reached in my pocket. After feeling around, my eyes widened.
"But this is my last gold coin!"
"I guess I'll just keep this info for another gentlemen who is willing to pay." I sighed dreadfully, then tossed the coin over.  

[Lila Matsumoto]

And all I loved...

I plopped down next to a man in a bar.
"I'll take a club soda with mint and lime." I told the bar-tender. "Good thing this place only really has soda..." I thought while the bar-tender went in a back room. Before the bar-tender came back, I had the flashback on the manner of how I had gotten this job.
I awoke bright and early that specific morning. I normally was a early riser, but something made me wake up earlier that day.
My sister and I were bounty hunters. Her name is Kara and my name is Laura. We are pretty good at what we do, but this business was always so slow. To feed ourselves, we also worked at our own inn. It was an inn designed for other bounty hunters to relax and stay, but I may or may have not made them tipsy enough to tell me details and take their job from them. So, the bounty hunters were not really making our business; so Kara and I tried to get customers who also had a job for us. When this happened, my sister and I were given plenty of interesting job offers. Some we did, some we didn't; but I had no idea that my sister and I were going to get a job like this.
As I went out the door and down the stairs that day, I saw a man waiting at the counter, ringing the bell quite furiously.
"How long has he been here? It's, like, what; four forty in the morn." I thought. Two other, uniformed men sat down in the lobby, most likely some type of body guards and I walked to the opposite side of the counter that the man was. This man seemed to be very important, defined. He had fire scar over his right eye and I had sworn I had seen the guy some where before.
"Are you the 'Twin Bounty Hunters'?" he asked. I sighed and replied, "Yeah. Well, one of the twins; yes. Are you looking to hire us?"
"Yes. I'm searching for my mother and have had no luck of finding her. Spontaneously after the man talked, I began to laugh: "A momma's boy, huh?!" I managed to say and I continued to laugh.
"Is it that funny?! the man lashed out in anger. This stifled my laughter and I let the man continue, "Her name is Ursa, my mom. I haven't found her or any clues to where she is. I NEED to find her. "How much are you going to pay for whoever finds her?" I asked, finally getting to the literal million dollar question. The man paused for a bit and then told me, "I am willing to grant anything to anyone who finds her, as long as it is within my power."
By this time, the bar-tender came back with my drink and I paid him. I began to recall the job as I was sipping away at my virgin mojito.
I brought my sister down to meet the client and we talked about this Ursa and he gave us the two most frequent photographs, which was of him, his mother, sister, and father and the other one was of just Ursa. The man gave my sister and I a small down payment of five thousand gold coins in a bag and left the inn.
I pulled out the photo of Ursa and spoke to myself, "I doubt anyone really knows of her. I gazed at the photo of just her and turned to the side of the man who I was sitting next to. I passed a gold coin to him and asked: "Do you know this woman? She was the previous fire lord's wife." The man shook his head and I sighed. I put the photo back into my pocket and jumped off my seat.
"I'll just tell Kara 'nothing here.'" I thought and left the bar to find Kara nd head out to the next town.

...I loved alone. ~E.A.P

 

[General Keith]

I ran as fast as I could with the mindset, "I have to stop them!" I was probably running too fast for my own good, but that didn't sound like the main issue at the time. Through the dark of the night I saw-- or thought I saw, a figure in the distance; but I figured it was just my imagination. Well, until the reality of it hit me in the face... Almost literally. I attempted to atone for my mistake through constant apologizing, and aid in his getting up. This mysterious man had a coat encasing his entire body. What could he be hiding? It wasn't any of my business, so I ignored it and moved on. "I'm sorry again! But I'm in a hurry. See ya'!" I yelled as I turned my back preparing my departure. "Hey, you dropped this." A deep, familiar voice emanated from behind me. I turned back and noticed one of my Air Nomad scrolls clutched in the stranger's hand. A shiver went down my spine. Nervously, I dashed back to him and snatched the scroll from his hand. "Oh, yeah- forgot about that- thank you!-" I hysterically stuttered rather quickly.
"Those are Air Nomad scrolls. Are you an archaeologist?"
"Oh, no... I uh, just happen to have them with me-..." I excused while face-palming inside. "I could've said something that at least made sense!"
"Okay, I'll be going then." He stated calmly while rotating and gathering his things for the journey.
"Wha? Really? I mean, uh, same here." I frantically replied. I rushed away from the scene to devolve any suspicions. But, then, a red glare arose behind me, revealing my shadow. As I had then feared, a fireball was shooting in my direction. My instincts kicked in, and I used Air bending to dissipate the fire.
"I was right, you're an Air Bender!" The man hypothesized while pulling down his hood, revealing a familiar scar over his left eye.
"Fire Lord Zuko?" I questioned, followed by a bow of respect.
"Arise, we have a lot to discuss."

~

"I have expected that there were Air Benders that still existed besides Aang." Zuko explained, breaking the silence that the wind and crackling of the burning wood in front of us could be considered.
"But how? How did you know?"
"About a year ago, after the end of the One-Hundred Year War, I asked my father of the whereabouts of my mother, Ursa. He said he could care less of where she had roamed, but he did reveal to me her true identity. How she was the daughter of the high priest of the White Lotus."
"Ozai knew about the White Lotus?"
"Yes, a lot apparently. My uncle Iroh had explained the basics of the organization to me, but Ozai informed me of much more about the White Lotus. How it started as a simple group of people from all nations studying energy itself and the role it played in bending. But it soon became a way of life when their studies led them to the Positive Energy Islands as you call them. They became more than alchemists, but a people, a nation combined from other nations. A place of refuge for those wanting to escape the rules, sicknesses, wars, or tyranny or their homelands. They continued to study energy, until they themselves could bend it. They turned the islands they drifted on alive using the new bending they created. But as always, greed and power lust had entered the hearts of many of these people. They stole energy from their brothers and sisters to become more powerful. And, to no surprise, they lusted the most powerful energy that was entrapped in a crystal, a crystal that absorbed energy from the planet itself. So, the high priest gave it to his daughter as a necklace and told her to protect it with her life. And so, to protect the most powerful energy in the world from a world threat, he sent my mother to the Fire Nation, the homeland of her mother."
"So that's why the Spirit Reapers want her!"
"Yes, that's what I believe. She connived a plot for my father to become Fire Lord, and for her to run from the Spirit Reapers that were steps away from her."
"So then, how do we find her before the Spirit Reapers do?"
"I've recently hired some bounty hunters, the best of their kind, to find her."
"You told them about the White Lotus?" I shrieked, nervous that my secret had been found out.
"No, I have not, and I'd prefer that they aren't aware of it. I merely want them to find her, and I will take care of the rest."
"Well, then, I will go to them and help them in any way I can. But I will keep them in the dark about the White Lotus."
"Thank you- I didn't catch your name."
"My name is Keith." I introduced myself while bowing in respect. I gathered my things and departed in search of the bounty hunters that Zuko mentioned to me, Laura and Kara. On my journey, a flying creature flew overhead, then descended to the ground scrambling, as if in search of something. "Feng, is that you?" I recognized the creature as I got closer as my pet flying squirrel named Feng. Feng alighted as he heard my voice and flew to me. "Hey there, we have a long journey ahead of us, we had better get going!" I exclaimed and ran ahead. After awhile of running, I heard voices. Not just voices, I heard somebody trying to make sound effects. It distracted me and I crashed into a cart that was transferring cabbages. The man pushing the cart immediately began to scold me. I apologized to him, and traveled to the town from which I heard the voices. I began asking around for two blonde and brunette girls and it wasn't hard to gather information. It seemed everyone in the town heard about them. I searched a nearby stable for the Shirshus that they had brought along.
"Hey! You, there! Is there something we can help you with?" A voice called out from behind me. I turned around to see that it was them, two blonde and brunette girls.
"Yes, are you two the 'Twin Bounty Hunters'?" They remained silent. "I don't mean to frighten you I was sent by your client to aid in your pursuit of Lady Ursa." I explained while handing them a letter by Zuko with the the royal stamp, proving that it was him.  

[Lila Matsumoto]

As the boy explained his case to Kara and me, I took the letter the boy handed to us that was supposedly from Zuko. I opened it and skimmed through it. I took one moment to look at the boy and then looked back down at the letter.
"Seems legit..." I stated simply, folded up the letter, and handed it back to the boy. I then looked to Kara and asked rhetorically: "So, why would our client, Lord Zuko, send something like this to help us?"
I looked back at the boy and huffed, "What in the world was Zuko thinking!? I know the man is eager to find his mama, but we are the LEGENDARY Twin Bounty Hunters; we don't need any outside help. So, do you have some use to us, boy?! Or are you just simply going to be in our way!?" I turned my back to the boy and Kara and went back to caring to my Shirshu. I knew he was really speaking truth about Zuko sending him to help us, but I didn't want to believe it. Was Zuko doubting the Twin Bounty Hunters abilities? Or was he just so eager for his mother that he hired multiple people to track her? Either way, I was determined to have the Twin Hunters rise to the top, get the money, and get the fame for getting Lady Ursa back! As I waited for the boy to reply, I saw a suspicious figure who appeared to be stealing things from the other animals in the stable.
"Did he possible steal things from Kara and myself?" I thought.
"Hey!" I yelled at him. Since the man started to bolt away, I screamed after him: "STOP!!" and I started running after him.  

[General Keith]

Suddenly, the girls trapped a nearby boy in a mixture of ice and rock. The commotion caught my immediate attention. The boy they caught quickly exchanged a glance with me. "So that's the kid they were talking about, huh?" He thought over to himself before looking back at the girls, scheming a way out of his predicament. "Alright look, I've never hit a lady before, so why don't we make this easier on everyone and let me go? Maybe we could go out or something?" He flirted while staring at Laura. Laura glared at the man readying to punish him for his words. She tightened the grip on his legs using her Earth-bending. "Or how about I bury you eight feet in the dirt?" She fiercely responded, striking a horrifying fear into the boy."Ow! okay, I get it. Off limits."
"Kara, is this guy even worth taking in?" Laura asked, wanting to distance herself from the stranger. The man's glance intrigued me. An ancient fury blazed within his pupils. There was something different about him that I had to see for myself. I walked up to him and immediately grabbed his arm.

I felt his energy surge through my nerves. Embers swept through his Chakra pools.The streams gleamed in union; yet one of the streams broke the balance with a darker appearance. It nearly felt... alive; like a separate being. As I began to examine it, an unnerving, living pulse forced me off my balance. I fell completely through the Chakra pool and into an ancient settling. Unknown symbols marked the walls. I picked myself up and continued walking. I only walked a few feet before colliding with a hard, fleshy wall. Looking up, I saw a reptilian behemoth towering to the size of a castle. Entrapped by chains encrypted with ancient writings, and driven asleep by powerful forces. There was another being sealed away inside this boy. An ancient dragon who's fire had burned so brightly, only to be extinguished. Patiently waiting for one last spark to set it ablaze once more...

"Um, what are you doing?" The boy questioned, looking at me almost as if he was disgusted. Then the girls gave me strange faces as well. I felt a little awkward as I slowly stepped away while chuckling nervously and rubbing the back of my head. Laura attempted to break the awkward silence and looked back Kara so she could finally answer her question. "Oh! Well, he's only got fifty gold coins on his head, we get more with our average bounty." Kara stated after breaking out of her space. Laura sighed in relief. "Hey! What kind of outdated book do you have there? I'm worth way more!" The boy shouted to redeem his pride. "He's right," A girl let herself into the conversation as she entered into the stable. "Razaai Fierra, guilty for theft, battery, mass murder, destruction of private property, malicious destruction of cabbages; shall I continue?"
"You forgot trespassing." He cracked facetiously.
"Shut up, you have a lot more to worry about than trespassing." She shouted viciously before walking towards him and lifting him from the ice and rock with tremendous strength. "Hey! That's our bounty!" Laura possessively yelled. "Oh, don't worry about your reward. They call me the Peacekeeper, I deliver criminals to the sheriffs. You should receive your money by morning." The girls looked a little surprised, but nodded in return to what she said. As she began to leave, Kara cried out to her, "Hey, wait, what is the price on his head? Our book seems to be a bit outdated." She giggled in embarrassment; they were supposed to be professionals. "Hm? You don't know Razaai? He's infamous! He has a 300 gold coin bounty!"
"300 gold coins!?" The girls yelled in unity. The Peacekeeper walked away shaking her head. The girls looked at each other and giggled; then began leaping in joy together. "We're gonna be rich!!!" They hollered joyfully.

The mysterious woman walked through the fog of a moonless night with an unconscious Razaai upon her shoulders. "Fools, they actually bought my story. I'm one of the most notorious bounty hunters in the Earth Kingdom. I'll claim the reward for myself." She thought to herself while marching forward.

We walked towards the inn we would be staying in for the night. It looked comfortably pleasant and not suspicious. The girls grinned cheerfully at each other. I felt a little left out, like always. I remembered my childhood and how I was the only one left out of the games and parties. I concluded my walk down memory lane as we arrived at the inn. I couldn't help but worry about Razaai. Would he really be safe in prison? With what I saw inside of him...
Kara perked up and looked at me. "Hey, Keith, you can pay your own rent, right?" She asked brightly.
"I- uh, I'm kind of broke."
"What? So we have to babysit you now? Why did Zuko even bother hiring you?" Laura ridiculed roughly.
"Calm down sis, we're on the verge of getting 300 gold coins. We can spot him a little bit, right?" Kara tried to help me get on Laura's good side.
"Fine." Laura huffed a little and walked inside the inn.  

[Lila Matsumoto]

And all I loved...

"Hey, Keith, you can pay your own rent, right?" Kara asked Keith cheerfully on the way to an inn.
"I, uh; I'm kind of broke." Keith replied to Kara and I huffed.
"What? So we have to babysit you now? Why did Zuko even bother hiring you?" I spoke to Keith condescendingly. Kara sensed my frustration and said:"Calm down sis, we're on the verge of getting 300 gold coins. We can spot him a little bit, right?"
"Fine!" I huffed again and walked inside the inn. As the three of us headed inside the inn next to the shirshu stable, we walked into the waiting room of the inn. The inn was small and petite; an ideal place for soon-to-be rich bounty hunters not to get any attention. As Keith and Kara sat down on some chairs in the waiting room, I stomped up to the counter still quite upset about having to spot Keith some money for the inn.
"I'll need a room for three." I spitted out to the smiling lady behind the counter.
"I'm sorry. We only have a single bedroom and a double bedroom available."
"What?! Fine. A double bedroom will do." I sighed and the smiling lady handed me two keys to a bedroom down the hall. I walked back to Kara and gave her the bedroom key as I told her and Keith that there was only a double bedroom available.
"Since we are paying, Keith has to sleep on the floor." I pridefully told Keith, but he thanked me instead of being mad. My pride turned into a small surprise with Keith's reaction, but suddenly a sweet aroma filled the air. The three of us sniffed and our stomachs began to growl.
"Come on! Let's go eat!" Kara pushed to go eat and we went along with her because none of us really wanted to resist food. As we hurriedly walked down the hall to find where the scent was coming from, we soon found the inn's cafeteria where some people were being served. Our stomachs began to growl louder as we sat down at the bar to have our order taken. The waiter came to the three of us and asked: "What will ya have?" Kara and I took Jasmine tea and Keith just took water.
"Quite surprising! They usually don't have big-chain restaurants in inns." Keith stated casually. I glanced at Keith with an inquiring face.
"How do you know this is a big-chain restaurant? I don't see a sign..." I inquired Keith and Keith pointed to a table of Pai Sho in the back corner of the room.
"No other restaurant but the Jasmine Dragon has Pai Sho game tables all over the place." Keith pointed out as I looked around and saw that all the tables were Pai Sho tables. My eyes widened and a new server came with Kara and me's tea and Keith's water.
"Very smart. You must travel much. Have you played Pai Sho before?" the new waiter commented on Keith.
"Yes, I know how to play, but I'm not very good at it." Keith humbly stated and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, very few young people know the rules to the game these days; I'm glad to know that there is at least one young man who know rules. the server complemented Keith and began to walk away. I drank some of my tea and exclaimed: "Wow! This tea is great! What's your secret?"
"The main ingredient is love." replied the server and he headed into the back. Why do I feel like I recognize that man?

~

As we finished eating our food, we began heading to our room for the night. We searched for our double room, placed the key in, and went inside. I got the bed to the left and Kara got the bed to the right and Keith decided to sleep between the two beds on the floor. As I plopped onto my bed, I began to think more about the Peacemaker. I recalled the events of the time and I suddenly realized: "That woman!! She stole our bounty!! Kara and Keith jumped startled.
"What do you mean?! Who stole our bounty?"
"You also think she was strange?" Keith asked and I nodded my head.
"She didn't have the Peacemaker symbol on her body, and she's supposed to have it showing at all times..." I explained to Keith and Kara.
"Let's get her!" I exclaimed and stood to my feet and darted out the door.
"Hey! Wait for me!
"Sis! Wait up! Keith and Kara shouted as they ran after me.

...I loved alone. ~E.A.P

 

[General Keith]

"You'll never get me alive, sucker!" I heard as I received another kick to the face. It was when I continually attempted to seize the most elusive man I had ever met that I realized that I wasn't cut out for all this bounty hunting business. I tried grabbing both of his legs, but he just rolled on his side and tipped me over onto the earthy dirt. As I collapsed onto the ground, one of the books I kept in my bag slid out in front of Razaai. He snapped a quick glance before his eyes-widened. Quick to cover my tracks, I snatched the book and rushed it back into my bag. "So then, you're...?" He started.
"Wait, nonononononononono, it's not what it looks like!" I shouted, waving my arms in the air like a madman.
"It makes so much sense I don't know why I didn't see it before... You're-" I sighed before he finished.
I guess I really am bad at keeping secrets like everyone has told me. At this rate, the whole world is gonna know that I'm an Airbender.
"You're an Orutan fan! Just like me!" I stood utterly dazed for quite a few seconds before I reached into my bag to see which book he had actually seen. To my surprise, it was actually one of my favorite books: the second book in the series of the Orutan books. I looked at the novel and back at Razaai a few times. A gleeful grin hit my face as I shrieked, "You're an Orutan fan too!?"
"Are you kidding me? I've only read the books like a hundred times!"
"Wow, this is so cool, I've never met another Orutan fan before!"
"Neither have I!"
"So what's your favorite book?" I questioned eagerly. Razaai sat up and undid the rope tying him with ease and cleared his throat.
"Ah man, I would say that it's the third book but I didn't like the ending when Sorrow attacked the Root Village. It felt kinda crappy and forced."
"Oh, I completely respect that-" I stated getting ready to share my thoughts, but then Kara interrupted, "What are you guys doing?" She asked hunching over us. "Keith, aren't you supposed to be securing the bounty?"
"Why would I secure the bounty when the bounty is the coolest guy in the world?"
"That's what I keep trying to tell people but they never listen." Razaai vainly shook his head. Kara giggled into her hand and afterward looked me in the eyes.
"Keith, I don't think you understand how bounty hunting works." She used her leftover water to smack Razaai on the head, sending him swiftly to the floor. In succession, Laura made earthy handcuffs for his hands and feet to keep him pinned to the ground.
"Ow! what do you guys think you are doing?" Razaai protested.
"Just helping Keith out is all!" Kara turned her charming gaze to him.
"You just think you're so cute, don't you?" Kara's expression sharply changed into something... different. I didn't quite catch a glimpse of what her face looked like, but after seeing Razaai's reaction, I imagine he could have only stared into the soul of malice and evil.
"Who are you? Why on earth are you attacking me?" The exhausted girl Kara and Laura immobilized blurted.
"Oh, don't play the innocent card! You know what you did. You stole our bounty!" Laura objected harshly.
"I didn't steal anybody's bounty; I got that kid from my sister."
"Y-your sister?" Laura stuttered, shocked.
"I see what happened here. You guys ran into Rosha Tan, right? My name is Izekkiah. Rosha Tan is my sister. We get mixed up quite a lot." She explained after catching her breath. Kara leaped upward in her recognition.
"Izzekiah, that's right, I remember you now." Laura still looked confused.
"But wait, why do you have Ravioli or whatever his name is? And why were you attacking us?" Izzekiah cleared her throat and her head tilted downward. She looked like she was preparing to reminisce with us an old and melancholy story.
"When our father died, Rosha Tan was struck with depression. He was so dearly close to her heart that when he left the world, she didn't want to have anything to do with it. She locked herself in her room for days and days; until about a week or so afterward, she opened the door and declared that father was murdered. We tried to reason with her that the professionals have concluded it as an accident, but she denied it. She was determined to find her father's killer and put an end to him. As she grew up, she searched for any evidence that he was murdered; scouring the dark alleyways of cities to small, desolate towns. I've been following her ever since she abandoned the house to make sure she was safe and didn't get herself into more trouble than she could handle. And it was about a week ago that I confronted her, and she told me that she finally figured out who killed our father. She said it was a boy named Razaai-"
"Wait, me?" Razaai interrupted.
"Yeah, genius, that's what she just said."
"But I didn't kill anyone! My whole life, I've been running from that incident. Everyone says that I was the one who destroyed the village, but I don't remember anything..." Razaai fell into a dejected contemplation after he tried vindicating himself.
It seems there is a lot going on here that we don't understand yet...
Kara decided to break the awkward silence that followed, "Please, continue, Izzekiah."
"R-right. Like I said, she told me this about a week ago. I had lost trace of her for awhile until I happened upon somebody who saw her take Razaai in a village nearby."
"Right, that was when we encountered her."
"Yes. I found where she was going and conitued following her in hopes that she had not yet succumbed to revenge. But when I finally found her, she was covered in bruises and fresh wounds. I immediately tried to tend to her, but she pushed me away and threw the boy over to me. She told me that she had no use for him and asked me to *Justify him. She said that she had found out who was really responsible for killing her father; then she ran off. It wasn't long after that that you guys attacked me-" Razaai perked up.
"Wait, wait, wait! You mean she might have found something that could prove my innocence? Let me go! I have to follow her!" Razaai shouted while struggling to break free from his confinements.
"Don't even think about it, don't forget that you're still our bounty. And I intend on getting the money after all the effort we put into this job." Laura then looked back at Izzekiah. "Now, one more question, why did you attack us?"
"I thought you were the one my sister was referring to, I tried to defend myself while trying to apprehend you. But it looks as if I was wrong." Izzekiah explained. Laura sighed deeply.
"Finally! Things are starting to make sense again." Another silence gripped the conversation. "So, if you're a Peacekeeper, could you take in the bounty for us?"
"Wait, Laura, I think this is wrong. Maybe we should check out if Razaai really is innocent first."
"What? No way! It's not our job to dirty our hands in someone else's business! Eh-uh-you know what I mean!" Laura justified herself.
"I'm sorry," Izzekiah started, grabbing our attention. "I- I have to follow my sister! Please unbind me!" She pleaded with Laura and Kara. They nodded and undid her seals. Izzekiah sprinted away from the scene as quickly as possible, hoping to be able to catch Rosha Tan in time.
"I guess we'll have to find another Peacekeeper to help us out." Razaai gritted his teeth as he watched Izzekiah flee.

~

It had been two hours that I helped the Twin Bounty Hunters bring Razaai to the nearest jail. Surprisingly, he was strangely compliant and awfully quiet for the entire way. Kara felt a little uneasy about taking Razaai in, as did I. It was already sunrise, so we decided to head back to the inn from which we rented a room and sleep off just a few hours. It seemed like the girls slept better than I did. I couldn't stop thinking about Razaai, Rosha Tan, and Izzekiah. And how whatever it was that was inside of Razaai might be connected to what they were talking about.
"Are you thinking about it too?" Kara whispered to me.
"What?"
"The mystery with Razaai and Rosha Tan, are you thinking about it?" Kara quietly clarified. I nodded and looked back at the ceiling. "Laura is sleeping. So, what if we go find out where Rosha Tan went?"
"Without Laura?" I inquired a little louder than I should have.
"Shhh! Yeah, if we go quickly enough-"
"What are you guys talking about?" Laura shouted at us.
"Laura, you're awake?" Kara looked surprised.
"Of course I'm awake, and I heard everything you guys said." She stood up and crossed her arms. I leaped out of bed to grab my bag. "Listen, Laura, I'm going out to look for Rosha Tan, You're free to come along, but otherwise, I'll meet up with you guys later."
"And I'm going too!" Kara resolved.
"Kara, you're going too?"
"Yes, and you should come as well!"
"It won't hurt, what do you say?"
"Laura, please?"

*Justify: A term used by Peacekeepers referring to turning in a criminal and paying any bounty hunters applicable.

 

[Lila Matsumoto]

"Guys, don't you remember?!" Laura started almost shouting. "We are on a mission to find and return Fire Lord Zuko's mother to him; not chase some random girl's vengeful sister!" Laura took a deep breath. "I admit, I am interested, but, sis, we mustn't forget our mission." Knowing exactly what Kara would say in return, Lila sighed again.
"Fine! Lets go! But we need to be swift and not let eve-ry-thing take us off the trail of our actual mission. As soon as we are done or something that we needn't concern ourselves with comes up, we bolt; got it?!" I clarified and Kara simply nodded.
"Lets go! I'll check us out of the inn. Do we even know where we are going?" I asked the other two. They simply shook their heads.
"We know she went in that direction..." Keith said waving his finger in the air in some attempt to show a direction.
"Lets just get out of here first then we can get a direction." I scoffed and the three of us left the room.

~

We left the inn after taking a "secretly lovely iced tea" to go.
"Stupid name, but it tastes good." I said to myself. Kara must have thought I said something to her as she asked me to speak up. I closed my eyes and felt the "secretly lovely" taste wash away my anger and fatigue. I sighed with relief and then revisited my question to my "ever-so-interested" companions.
"So, which way are we going to go?" I asked.
"Well, we should probably get our Shirshus." Kara replied. I had totally forgotten about Daisy! I began to wonder if she was okay as I started to run to the stable.

~

"Daisy! Daisy!" I called out in the stable. I knew that my Shirshu wouldn't come if I called her, but it made me feel better to call out to her. I kept calling until I found here in a horse's stable stealing food from the stunned horse.
"Poor, poor Daisy. You've been hungry! At least you didn't eat the horse. That would cause a load of trouble. Did you stun the horse? Naughty girl!" I began to talk to Daisy. I grabbed Daisy by the reins and tried to drag her back outside the stable, with the occasional dodging of Daisy's tongue.
"I love you too, but we gotta go!' I told Daisy every time she tried to lick me. I doubted it was because she was happy to see me again, but I figured if I said it so many times it would become true.
"Kara, your Lady is farther back in the stable. I wonder why mine is so naughty compared to yours? Yours is more like her name than mine is. Maybe I should have named her Rose: because she is so moody and roses have thorns..." I began to trail off. Finally snapping back to the point, I shouted to Keith at the opening of the stable; "Oh! You might want to ride Lady. She is easier to handle for first time riders than here Daisy is." I giggled and finally mounted Daisy.
"Which way is it again, Keith?" I inquired as a some-flying-thing smacked into the back of my head.
"OW!" I exclaimed. The other two laughed at me as they mounted Lady.
"Hey! It's my pet flying squirrel! Can't believe he found me." Keith shouted as the flying squirrel landed on Keith. Keith petted the squirrel and said something to Kara, most likely the direction to go because Lady immediately took off.
"You ain't leaving us behind; not the racer-bloods. Lets go, Daisy!" I shouted and whacked Daisy with the reins to run. Daisy caught up close to Lady but never passed Lady. It seemed as though Daisy knew that she must follow Lady wherever she went because her rider didn't even know the way to go. Daisy managed to keep pace with Lady so that I could also hear what Keith and Kara were talking about.
"If I am right, we need to ride for about a half-day until we reach our destination...."
"Keep going straight?" I asked Keith.
"There should be a path for half of the way when I asked the inn keeper where to go, and then we will need to travel through a forest area and then when we find ourselves in a desert, we will be almost there." Keith answered and I tilted my head.
"How did you manage to ask for directions when you don't even know the name of the abandoned place we are going to?"
"I asked him where I would end up if I took this direction and he told me about the abandoned village called 'Ibis.'" Keith replied to me. I felt as though I had heard the name before and with some type of terror. When I glanced at Kara, her nerves seemed shot, so it must be some freaky place of some kind.
"You probably have heard the stories about 'Iblis'; the one myth about a futuristic person coming to the past to kill someone called the 'Iblis Trigger,' but ended up killing some innocent. But nothing like that has ever really happened. There is no need to worry, Kara." Keith tried to reassure Kara. I remembered the stories, but never knew they affected Kara in such a manner.
"Well, Daisy and I are raring to go, so; see ya when the trail ends. Daisy and I are gonna let the wind try to catch up to us!" I shouted to Kara and Keith. I then smacked Daisy with the reins and she bolted past Lady.
"See ya!!" I waved behind me and faced forward to watch all the colors fly by me.https://i.imgur.com/iDtUfJr.jpg