[Plot Topic] Fall of the Air Nomads [solo]

Yami hesitated. After being away for sixteen years, she was finally returning home. She was finally going to find the last of her mother's family. "Maybeth Lin Dao. My mother's cousin. She is the only remaining member of my family on that side, and she's the queen. Great. Just great." Yami said aloud, voicing her thoughts. There was nobody around to hear her speak, so she was okay.

She slowly pushed the large gates open. Inside, two gate guards stepped in front of her. One man, who was younger than the other, said "Stay there. Who are you, and what do you want here, at the palace?" he asked. However, his older companion silenced him. "Quiet, Damien, I...I know this girl! Child, what is your name?" he said. Yami looked at the man, a little confused, then said "I am Yami Sentoki." She said boldly. The man's eyes widened, and he dropped to one knee. "I should have realized it sooner. You look exactly like your mother." he said. Damien quickly dropped to one knee as well.

Yami, however, was staring at the older man. "Wait, you knew my mother?" she asked. The man nodded. "Yes. I have been in this position for over twenty years. I saw Ilia in the years before the sealing. She fled here with you and your father." he said. The man named Damien looked confused. "Uncle, what do you mean by sealing?" he asked. "The sealing of the tailed beast. Yami is the Five Tails Jinchuuriki." the man said. Damien looked confused, as he had no clue was a Jinchuuriki or a five tails was. His uncle finally stood, and he followed suit.

"Yami, you must be sixteen by now. What news do you have of your family? Why do you come back now?" the man asked. Yami's expression darkened. "My parents are dead. They have been for ten years." was all she said. The man looked at her, disbelief on her face. "So that's why we couldn't contact Ilia. You see, the kingdom is in lack of an heir. We need to keep track of who is still alive, in case her highness meets an unfortunate end." the man said. Yami's expression turned lighter. "That's actually the reason I came here. I want to see the queen," Yami said.

Uncertainly, the older man gestured toward the main doors of the palace. "Go right on ahead. But be prepared to be surprised. You may find her to be different than what you expected." he said. Yami just gave him a strange look. "Remember who you're talking to. Do you honestly think that whatever is strange I won't be able to get used to?" she asked with a small smile. The man remained silent and pointed toward the door once more. Yami climbed the stairs, feeling anxious. She placed her hands on the handles and pushed the door open.

Ranmaru Mori stood in the middle of the town square of a small air nomad village, about halfway up the mountain to the northern air temple. He looked around at the nine people around her. All of them were trained killers, people intent on taking the world for themselves. People who would kill just for the fun of it. These nine bloodthirsty villains were under his command. These people included his brother, Motonari Mori, Koshosho, Date Masamune, Nene, Okuni, Nagamasa Azai, Lady Hayakawa, Takatora Todo, and Monenori Yagyu. These nine people made up the squad that was to overthrow the air nomads the next day.

Ranmaru stood on a park bench, looking at his followers, then at the calm villagers going about their daily lives. He just shook his head and began his speech. "Alright, I want to test our skills, see if we are really prepared for tomorrow. Destroy this village, in less than ten minutes. Understood?" he said. He got many nods and shouts of confirmation. Hayakawa frowned. "More fighting? I'm going to mess up my dress, my hair, my makeu-" "Just shut up and do it, Hayakawa. We're here for a reason. I need to make sure we don't fail. Understood?" Reluctantly, Hayakawa nodded and turned and ran off down one of the city streets. Ranmaru grinned. Let's get this party started, he thought.

As each member of the squad ran in opposite directions, Ranmaru stayed in the city center, watching their progress from afar. I know they would be able to do it with my help, but can they do it without my help? he thought, grinning. He sat on the bench he had been standing on, and watched and listened as screams began to fill the air, and smoke began to rise to the sky. People ran past her, screaming, yelling to other people to evacuate. He noticed that a small police force had gathered to take care of the problem, but each officer fell as crossbow bolts hit them in the chests, and Ranmaru knew that Motonari had been there. He grinned. Flames began to erupt across the village, burning buildings, trapping people and killing them. He looked at a sundial. Eight minutes. They were nearly done.

Soon, each member returned to the city center. This part of the city was fenced off, and separate from the rest of the town, so the flames didn't reach this point. The last person to arrive was Takatora, his sword in his hands, covered in blood. He arrived at nine minutes, fifty-nine seconds. Ranmaru grinned. "Well done, all of you. This is our proof. We are ready."

May was pacing back and forth in the throne room. All week she had been receiving messages of a band of people who were making their way up the mountain, destroying countless villages in their wake. Her tail dragged on the ground. She had no idea what to do. The air nomads didn't have a strong military force, accounting for the fact that many nomads were monks, not warriors. There was a small fighting force of benders, staff users and martial artists, but even with their exceptional skills, their numbers weren't that large. In the past, the air nomads have relied on their mountainous surroundings to protect them. But ever since the hundred year war, enemies have been finding new ways to get up the mountains.

May was stressed out of her mind. She had no idea what to do. She saw a messenger run into the room. She guessed it was another report of the approaching band of killers. However, his face didn't look as dire. More surprised than anything. "My lady! I'm sorry to interrupt you, but you have a special guest!" the man said. May looked at him, confused. "Who would be in here at this time?" she asked. The man just shook his head. "I don't recognize her. But she said that the guards let her through, and that they knew who she was. She seems vaguely familiar, but I think you should see her for yourself," the man said. May suddenly found a burst of excitement. "Well don't just stand there, send her in! Let me meet this woman!" she said. "Right away, ma'am," the man said, and rushed out of the room.

Yami waited out in the lobby for the secretary to come back. When he did, he gestured to the door. "The Queen will see you now, ms..." his voice trailed off. "Sentoki. Yami Sentoki," Yami said. The man nodded and stepped aside, letting Yami walk through the doors. She walked through, and stared in shock at her mother's cousin. That guard was right. I am a little shocked, she thought, as she stared at the queen. She was part human, part fox, it appeared. Tears came to Yami's eyes. The only words she could utter were "You're like me," and she rushed toward May, embracing her.

May stared at Yami, confused at who this child was. "Child, who are you? What are you doing in my palace?" she asked. Yami stepped back. "Sorry about that. My name is Yami Sentoki. I'm the daughter of your cousin, Ilia," Yami replied. May thought for a moment. She hadn't heard the name Ilia in years since Ilia had disappeared when May was just a child. She vaguely remembered her cousin, and a baby, right before Ilia disappeared. May smiled at Yami. "You remind me of your mother. Though I didn't know her long, you do look a lot like she did. Wait, if you're Yami, then that means...you're the five tails, aren't you?" May asked. Yami nodded. May's smile increased. "You have no idea how much help we've needed here. There's a group of revolutionists on the way up the mountain. They are supposedly going to launch their attack tomorrow. There are ten of them in total is what my spies say."

Yami looked up at her, confused. "How hard can it be to take out ten people?" she asked. May simply responded with "They aren't just people. They are trained, ruthless killers. My most recent report showed that they destroyed an entire village in ten minutes, and one of them wasn't even fighting. They are extremely dangerous. I need your help, my young princess." Yami stood there, thinking through their situation. She was aware that the air nomads didn't really have a military, and that they would need serious help. Then she nodded. "I will do whatever I can to protect this kingdom. But just know, the chances of victory are slim. But...I know of a place we can go if something goes wrong." Yami said. She didn't want to go to the spirit world. Even though she hadn't been before, she didn't want to. But she knew it would be the best place for May to stay and wait out this war.

"Then Yami, I make you the general of the Air Nomad armies. You will lead them into combat, and hopefully, lead them out," May said. She placed her hands on Yami's shoulders. She was a bit taller than Yami, and she laughed a little. Then she got serious again. "Tomorrow, you will meet the army outside the palace gates at dawn. You must be ready. We have a large arsenal of weapons if you need anything." Yami shook her head. "I'll stick with what I've got. These are what i'm used to." she said.

Yami looked up at May, confused. "But, your highness, why me? Don't you have somebody more qualified for this job?" she asked. May shook her head. "No. Our military force has a lot to be desired. Judging by your weapons, not to mention your reputation, I feel you are probably the most qualified person on this mountain for the job. Will you accept it?" A little reluctantly, Yami nodded. May smiled and hugged Yami again. "It was nice meeting you, my young cousin. I hope this isn't the only time we see each other." she said.

Ranmaru reclined comfortably on a chair. It was the middle of the night, and all ten of them were spending their last night in an abandoned mansion. Well, it wasn't abandoned until earlier that day, when the owner 'mysteriously disappeared'. He laughed at the thought. Not that anyone cared, nobody was left in this village anyway. Most of the buildings were burned to the ground, but Ranmaru was pleased at the thought of staying in a mansion the night before the invasion. The village they were currently in was close to the peak of the mountain, and even closer to the Air Nomad Palace.

As Ranmaru drank more wine than he should have, the other members of the group did their own thing. Motonari was playing cards with Dete, and losing badly. Ranmaru grinned as he saw a flicker of movement that he recognized to be a card sitting in Dete's sleeve. Meanwhile, Azai, Todo, and and Yagyu were outside, training as usual. Those three were a little more serious about what was going on than everybody else. Hayakawa and Okuni were in another room, doing who knows what. Kososho had taken one of the bedrooms and locked the door to get her 'beauty sleep'. Nene had disappeared a few hours earlier, and nobody had seen her since. Ranmaru shrugged and looked back at Motonari and Dete, grinning as Dete collecting his winnings. Motonari was swaying in his chair, and Ranmaru could tell that he had also had a bit too much to drink.

Ranmaru looked outside. It was dark, definitely the middle of the night. He stood up. "Alright, I know I don't normally say this, but if we are going into battle tomorrow, we will need our rest. And none of us have slept in days," he said, swaying slightly as he tried to balance. And we're gonna need it. Can't have anybody passing out from exhaustion on the big day. The boss wouldn't approve of that one bit, he thought, then walked out of the room, taking refuge in the master bedroom. He jumped heavily on the bed, a wicked grin on his face. He pulled his sword from its scabbard and began cleaning off whatever blood was left on it from that day. He looked at his reflection in the steel, and laughed. "This is happening. Tomorrow, I will be crowned king of the air nomads!"

May ran up to one of the guards frantically. She had searched the palace, but still no sign of Yami. "Please tell me you know where she is!" she begged. The guard looked at her sadly. "If I said that, I'm afraid I would by lying," he replied. Frantic, May stormed off, looking back and forth. It had been hours since they had spoken earlier that day, and Yami hadn't been seen since. Nobody even saw her leave the palace, she just seemed to have disappeared.

May ran out of the palace, hoping to find Yami nearby. Unable to stop her, two of the watchmen followed her as her body guards as she ran into a nearby village. People stared at her as she unofficially ran through the streets of the town, looking for Yami. Then a distinct smell filled her lungs: the smell of smoke. At that late hour, most smitheries were closed for the night. But there was one down the street that had smoke pouring out of the chimney. Somebody was definitely hard at work there. Suspicious, May walked into the smithery, and to her surprise, the figure standing at the furnace was not the blacksmith, but it was Yami. "Yami? What...how...what are you doing here?" she asked, relieved that her search was over, yet angry that Yami had put her through so much. Then she noticed a hollow metal shell against the wall. It looked like armor for some four legged animal, although there were slits in the back.

As she pondered over the strange looking armor, Yami turned around. "Sorry, I just wanted to make some armor. Since I can't afford to pay a blacksmith, i found a kind man who let me use his smithery, and I have been here ever since, she said. "That armor is interesting. What animal is it for?" May asked. Yami grinned. "You'll see tomorrow. First, I need to finish this armor and make sure it fits. Then I can show you. And with that, Yami returned to tending the furnace. As she did, May took another look at the armor. The design was intriguing. The armor itself was fairly standard, metal plating with various folds and layers for movement. However, it seemed that the armor had been painted pitch black, with faint white specks on the bottom. Camouflage, she realized, was the purpose of the design. Yet the only thing that matched that pattern was...the sky. The animal that the armor was built for could fly, and it seemed that it would be flying in the dark.

Finally, May left the smithery and went back to the palace to check on the preparations for the upcoming battle. The defenders were ready. Those who couldn't bend were armed with swords and clubs. The benders had endured a rigorous training earlier that day to teach them combat air bending skills. They were ready, but there was an unease in the air. They all knew that many of them would not come out of the conflict alive, yet these men were willing to fight for their kingdom. They were willing to fight for the world.

That night, May couldn't sleep. The unease of the next day pounded on her conscience. She couldn't help but feel like she was going to fight a hopeless battle. Somewhere deep in her heart, she knew that the rag tag team of air nomads couldn't defend the kingdom from ten people who could destroy an entire village in ten minutes, leaving no survivors. All May could do was think about the coming day, and hope that somehow, either she or Yami survived. The kingdom needed an heir, no matter what came. So filled with these thoughts, she didn't notice the sunrise until it shone in her face through her window. Her heart sank as she realized that the dreaded day had come.

Yami stood in the stables, looking at the horses there. They were tall and majestic, and they looked powerful. Then she looked at Lightning. He wasn't much to see, especially compared to the other horses. Yet he was better than all of them. Strong and fast, and his stamina was amazing. He could ride at a steady trot for days and still be fine. He was specially bred for Rangers. Though it took her a while to realize it, he was her first horse. She had ridden him during her training. When she found him years later, kidnapped by bandits, he knew it was her, even if it took her a while to figure it out. Now he was here, and he was going with Yami into combat. She would ride as their leader in plain sight

Finally, as the rag tag army began to gather, she saddled Lightning and climbed on, riding him out of the stable. Cheers arose as the young girl, clad in various weapons and her trademark cloak that made it hard to focus on her when she moved. The green and gray mottled patterns acted as a camouflage in a more forested area than an air temple, but it still threw people off when the looked at her. She was the only person in the crowd on horseback, and as such, Ranmaru marked her as the leader as they watched from their scouting position. As of yet, nobody had noticed them there, watching as the armies gathered. He turned to face his companions. From what he could judge, they were ready. He wasn't too focused at the moment as he suffered from a hangover from the night before.

"Alright. Sooner or later, one of them is going to spot us. But we will have the element of surprise, as you all know," he said, referring to the bombs they had already set around the large field where the army had gathered. At his voice, he noticed the horse that Yami was riding on had lifted his head, but he shrugged, figuring it had nothing to do with him. He was too far away. Or so he thought. Yami glanced in the direction that Lightning had looked, and using her peripheral vision, caught sight of a slight movement just beyond the rise. Casually, she pulled her bow from behind her back. It had been a gift from her uncle, and it was her favorite weapon. She tested the shield mechanism, making sure it worked. To anyone watching, it would appear that she was just testing the bow. What they didn't expect was the arrow that she pulled from a quiver attached to her saddle and fired in less than two seconds in the direction of the spies.

Ranmaru rolled out of the way of the arrow in the nick of time. Yami was far enough away that he was able to see it coming, but only barely. A fraction of a second later, and he could have been dead. He studied the arrow closely. It was black, with an oddly shaped tip. He realized that something coated the tip. A poison. He handed the arrow to Munanori. "What do you make of this?" he asked. Munanori studied the poison carefully, smelling it and examining the color. "Chi blocking poison. Not deadly, of course," he responded. Ranmaru nodded. Just as he did so, he heard a grunt as one of his grunts fell to the ground, a white arrow protruding from his chest. Clearly, the rider wasn't the only archer in the group. Ranmaru looked over the rise one last time, then held his hand up. Any talking faded into silence. He made a fist, and the group charged into the field.

Yami was shocked to see how many people ran over the rise. "Nobody ever gives me the full story," she mumbled to herself as she searched the crowd. Most of them were dressed relatively the same, except for ten, likely the ten that she had been warned about. Those were the ones to take down first. However, as she studied the army, she saw airships coming over the rise. She nearly dropped her bow. There were ten in all. She looked around at her small group of farmers. She considered giving up. But then she saw the determined looks on their faces. These men were here to die for their country, and all of them knew it. She also reasoned that if they called a retreat now, many of these men would be killed anyway just for attempting to stand up against these people. No. It was too late to back down now. The battle had already begun.

Almost simultaneously, the two armies broke out and began attacking each other with all they had. Yami, more of a long ranged fighter, stayed at a distance, studying the 10 leaders of the group. She noticed that one woman seemed to be commanding them. She could hear the voice, and checked herself, realizing that it was a man who looked oddly like a woman, especially from that distance. Yami nocked an arrow to her bow, targeting that leader. It would be best to take him out first, she thought, then realized that from that great a distance, the shot had little chance of hitting its target. She lowered her bow and saw his eyes boring into hers. He had picked her out as the leader, she knew, as she was one of the few on a horse, and she was dressed differently. She tore here gaze away and watched the battle.

Farmers fell left and right, but for each farmer, three enemy soldiers went down as well. Yami looked up to the the airships getting closer. She nodded and turned around on Lightning, galloping back toward a nearby shack. She left the horse there and then let out a shrill whistle. A shadow moved nearby, and Yami turned to see Fireball sitting there, waiting for her. She smiled and mounted. Its time for me to take down those airships, she thought as they took off into the sky. The went for the clouds, which were thick that day, to stay out of sight from anyone on the ground. Ranmaru watched this happen. What is he doing? he thought, under the assumption that Yami was a man. He watched as the Dragon and rider disappeared into the clouds. Then, unexpectedly, an explosion rang out across the mountainside as Fireball blasted the engine of one of the airships. It went down, on fire, and crashed into the mountain. Two more airships soon followed suit. "Stop him! Somebody, get up there and do something!" "We can't!" one of his soldiers, a high ranking officer, responded. "The airships are our only form of flight! We have no way to get up there!"

Ranmaru noticed something. After three explosions, the sound had stopped, and the dragon was no where in sight. Did they fall? Did somebody on a ship hit them? he wondered. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening. One of the airships suddenly veered off to one side, crashing into two others. All three spun off down the canyon, beyond sight. Ranmaru watched a lone figure, clad in green, jump from one of the ships and free fall until a dragon caught him. The remaining four airships stopped their advance, unsure of where to go. Should they flee for their lives, or continue to fly to the battle? By now, everybody fighting had turned to see what was going on. However, Yami's soldiers quickly began fighting again, as she had discussed this with them before. It was only a possibility, but she was prepared for airships, just in case there happened to be some.

Caught by surprise, Ranmaru's army was pushed back a bit as the air nomads continued to press on. Meanwhile, another airship went down. Fireball was exhausted. Yami couldn't push him much further. She needed him for that night. That was when she would push her plan into full swing. She knew that she had to finish off the last three ships now, or her idea might be ruined. Flying high into the sky, she turned, and she and Fireball began falling straight down, right into the middle of the three airships. Yami recognized the high pitched sound of the increased speed, and knew that would effect his shot. "NOW!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Fireball blasted the middle airship, then quickly angled up, getting away from the explosion. The entire airship exploded, taking the other two with it. Yami quickly landed which everyone was distracted. Debris flew everywhere, hitting some people, almost hitting others, who yelled as they had almost been hit. All of the airships were gone.

Cheering rose from the crowd, but that was soon silence as the battle commenced. All order was lost and everybody was just fighting each other with no rhythm. Yami could have sworn she saw a few of the enemies kill their own allies. She just shrugged, then gasped as something hit her from behind and pinned her to the ground, face down. "You have been troublesome, young man, and- wait a second..." Ranmaru rolled Yami over and pulled her hood off. "Well, look at that. Our pain in the neck is actually a girl! Not only that, but aren't you wanted all around the Vermilion empire? Something about destroying homes and crops like a beast? Well, it seems your destruction, something you are clearly good at, has come to an end."

Yami's eyes locked on his, each staring deep into the other's soul. Yami could see only hatred and darkness. Ranmaru recoiled a little bit, as he saw not just a passion, but something else. Something she was hiding, something powerful. He just shook it off and pulled Yami to her feet by the collar of her shirt. Immediately, her hands were chained together, as well as her ankles. She was then thrown to the ground and chained to a tree, where one of the 10 stood guarding her, where she was forced to watch as her little army was falling. The man guarding her looked no older than 20. He had blond hair that stuck out of a giant headdress that seemed like it would be cumbersome in battle. He carried a large lance, the kind generally used in battles on horseback rather than hand to hand combat, but he looked like he knew how to use it.

"Why do I have to be stuck here while the others get to fight?" Nagamasa said, more to himself than to Yami. She just listened, not wanting to give her captors the satisfaction of hearing her speak. "Heh, they think I'm the weakest, that I can't do anything right but babysit some prisoner. But they are wrong, I am capable of so much more than they are seeing." Yami sat up straighter, intrigued by the words he said. He snapped out of his trance and saw Yami staring at him. "What are you looking at?" he said curtly. Yami shrugged and turned away. "Wha- don't look away from me! Pay attention when I talk to you!" he said standing. Yami looked back, shrugged again, but this time kept her eyes on the scene in front of her. There was almost nothing left of her army, only a few of the strongest fighters. She dropped her head in despair. There was no doubt now, the air nation was about to fall.[/color]

Some of the excess enemy soldiers had begun burning villagers homes. Yami watched as thousands of Bison and gliders carrying benders and non-benders alike off of the mountain to safety. "Now's our chance! Let's get to the Air Shrine!" Ranmaru yelled. Nagamasa stood up to go after him, but Ranmaru held up his hand. "Stay here and keep an eye on the girl. We can handle this, and I don't want her getting in the way again." He marched down the hill, towards the temple. Yami felt her heart rate speed up as she panicked for the safety of everyone in the palace. She forced herself to calm down, and changed her position, allowing her to begin heating up the chains on her hands and feet to melt them.

Nagamasa wanted to argue, but knew it would be pointless, and he didn't want to make Ranmaru angry. He sat on a rock angrily. Then he turned to Yami. "This is your fault, you know. If you hadn't been rebelling, I wouldn't have had to sit here and do nothing." This time, with none of the others around, Yami allowed herself to speak. "Is it really my fault? I'm not the one who ordered you to sit here doing nothing, that was Mister Ladylike over there. And I'm only defending my home. You are the ones attacking," she pointed out. Silence. Nagamasa turned around angrily, and they sat in silence for a few seconds. "If you don't mind me asking, do you even like that guy? Or is he more of a burden than an ally?" Nagamasa shot her a look, then his expression softened. "No. I was assigned to work under Ranmaru. But he treats me like a child, like i'm worth nothing. But I need to keep fighting. Once all the shrines have been deactivated, the- wait, why am I telling you this?" he said. Yami grinned at him mischievously.

Yami heard a small click as one of the links on her wrist snapped. Nagamasa looked at her suspiciously. "What was that?" he asked. Yami kept her voice calm and said "I have no idea, probably some animal or something. Nothing important." Her excuse seemed to work, and Nagamasa looked away again. Yami watched as the sun began to set. She had no idea it had gotten so late so quickly. She needed to get out of those chains fast. Then she considered the situation, and realized that her previous plan would never work. Her wrists were hurting from the chains rubbing on them. "So, what's your name?" she asked. "I'm Nagamasa, though most of my team gets it wrong. None of them really bothered to learn my name correctly. Someone might as well know the right way to say it. What about you?" he paused for a moment. "Why am I even telling you this? You are just a prisoner!"

After a long pause, he mumbled just loud enough for Yami to hear "And the only person who has thought to ask my name in the last 10 years." Yami looked up at him. She saw sadness in his eyes. "Nagamasa, do you really enjoy what you're doing? Killing hundreds, or even thousands of people? Is this really what you want?" He laughed a little. "To be honest, I still haven't had the guts to actually kill anybody. I feel like it is wrong, but the way we were taught, the way of life our master has planned, its just so much better than..." he paused and sighed. "It's better than the life I had before. Heh, looking at me now, you would never have thought that I was just a lonely orphan, living on the streets. People hated me, treated me like dirt. This way, I can get back at the world." Yami repeated her question. "Is this really what you want? Will getting revenge for your childhood make you feel better? Destroying the lives of countless others, just for something most of them didn't even do?" Nagamasa looked at Yami, sadness in his eyes. "No. I wanted to stop a long time ago. But I felt like it was too late. The damage had been done. I can't go back anymore." "It's never to late to fix the past. Trust me, I would know. Opportunity is around every corner." As she said that, another chain snapped. Her hands were free.

"But how? How can I get out of this...this darkness that I have thrown myself into?" Yami smiled at him. "Nobody is watching you now. Rebellion is right here in front of you." "Woah woah, wait. Who said anything about rebellion? I'm no traitor! I have never betrayed anyone in my life!" "By choosing this path, you have betrayed yourself. But you can fix it. They aren't even at the temple doors yet, you can stop them. Only you." Nagamasa looked at Yami. Another chain snapped, quickly followed by another. "Will you help me? I already know that you have freed yourself, by the way." Yami stood up. "Of course I would help you. Why would I be here if I didn't want to take these people down?"

They didn't have any time to waste. Nagamasa unlocked the cuffs that were still on Yami's wrists and ankles so they would make any noise if they needed to move in silence. Ranmaru had just reached the palace gate. "We'll never make it in time!" Nagamasa said as they watched Ranmaru confront the guards at the palace. "Not a problem," Yami said. No sooner did she finish than did she bring her fingers to her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. A black figure took to the air and flew straight toward them. Yami jumped on the dragon's back, Nagamsa following suit. They took off again, flying straight toward the palace.

They landed outside the palace doors, ready to confront Ranmaru as soon as he got past the gate. As soon as they dismounted, the giant gate door exploded, revealing 9 figures, all bent on the destruction of the people. Ranmaru ran toward the doors, then realized that there were two people standing there. One, Nagamasa, and the other, the prisoner he was supposed to guard. Ranmaru's face went from evil victory to anger and hatred. "You traitor, Nagmasha! I knew you were a worthless little scum! Get out of my way!" he yelled. Nagamasa held his ground, finding new courage to stand up to the man who had been pushing him around for so long. "I don't take orders from you anymore! And by the way, my name is Nagamasa. This girl helped me to see that what we are doing is wrong! We need to stop! This won't help the world, it will just make things worse!"

Ranmaru, his sword already drawn, charged at Nagamasa. He dodged with ease, then ran back towards the palace gate, Yami following behind him. They had discussed this previously. Nagamasa knew Ranmaru well enough to know that he would be blinded by rage. If they could make him angry at them, they could distract him and delay him at least for a little while, giving everybody in the palace enough time to get to safety. Their plan worked. Ranmaru turned and began to follow them. The others all debated where to go. While a few followed Ranmaru immediately, others were doubtful, knowing that it was important for them to get their mission done as soon as possible. Finally, they were all part of the chase.

"Get back here, you filthy swine! I'll finish you both myself!" he yelled. They kept running. They looked back often, making sure they were still being followed. Finally, Ranmaru stopped, and began to laugh evilly. "You fools! You should really watch where you're going!" he laughed, then began chasing them again. Yami turned back around, then skidded to a halt as she saw that they were standing at the edge of a cliff. Yami prepared to fight, but Nagamasa stepped in front of her. He turned back to face her and smiled, then faced forward, prepared to fight Ranmaru. Everyone else stopped as they saw the two about to fight. Munenori spoke up: "Ranmaru, i this really necessary? We may still need him, after all! Don't be too hasty!" "He's right," Motonari said, "He is a part of this team. We can't just kill him!" Ranmaru spun around, angry at his brother for defying him. "If you don't want the same fate to befall you, you'll shut your trap!" Both men fell silent.

"Now, to finish what I should have done a long time ago," Ranmaru said, his voice rough with rage. Nagamasa stood his ground, but Yami knew it was a losing battle before it even began. That lance wouldn't be useful in close range combat, she knew. She looked away as she heard the battle commence, heard the cry of pain, heard the body fall to the ground and the evil triumphant chuckle. "Now's your turn, you pain in the neck! I should have killed you when we captured you, but I had wanted you to suffer. Now I see that isn't going to happen." Yami looked around, desperately trying to find a way out of this. She wasn't in a good position. One against eight, and on the edge of a cliff. She drew her blades. If she was going down, she would go down fighting. Then, unexpectedly, the ground under her feet gave out, and she began free falling.

The world seemed to move in slow motion. She could hear Ranmaru cursing at his missed chance, then she saw the dark mass fly towards her. The sun had fully set by now, and she nearly missed the sight of the dragon. Her eyes widened, and she tried to angle herself to land in the saddle perfectly. She failed, and instead landed on her stomach. She groaned, winded from the impact. It was loud. She could see figures looking over the cliff edge, they knew she was still alive. She sat up quickly, realizing that she was an open target for any ranged weapons. She tried to find some way to escape any ranged fire, but couldn't find any. Finally, she just brought her hands up, and to her surprise, a wall of steam collected around her. Her eyes widened as she realized what had happened. As she was bringing her arms up, she had intended to fire bend, but instead, she somehow managed to combine the fire with whatever water vapor might have been in the air, and had somehow been vapor bending. She realized that she couldn't have done that on her own, not without proper training. She looked down at her hands and smiled. They had a faint white glow to them. Looks like you saved my life again. And it seems that I am capable of more than I thought, she thought. Please. You wouldn't be able to vapor bend worth squat without me. That was all my doing, the 5-tails retorted. Yami just rolled her eyes and continued flying, moving through the mist.