Chapter 38: The Water Tribe

Ash trotted towards the Water Tribe, which was barely visible in the fog. Ash hoped that the fog might help them sneak around. Spots came up to Ash, sniffing the air. Kirin trotted up, looking nervous, followed by Rusty, a look of determination on his face. Stone followed, and Miguel came up as well.
Everyone began moving. Ash trotted down the hill, heading for the Water Tribe, Spots on one side of him and Rusty the other. A breeze swept by, making Ash shiver. I can't wait to get someplace warmer, he thought.
The Water Tribe got closer and closer as they walked towards it. The ground next to it was covered with ice. Ash stood on the ice and walked cautiously, trying not to slip. Rusty, however, tripped and slid across the ice. He tried getting back on his paws but slipped again, and dug his claws into the ice, and he managed to stay put. Ash kept walking, and Rusty walked after him, latching his claws into the ice still to hold on.
"Come on Rusty, by the time you've got to the Water Tribe the Firebenders will be back!" Stone hissed.
"Sorry, but this is slippery!" Rusty growled.
"Well, we're getting across it fine," Stone glared.
Ash approached the Water Tribe and peeked through the entrance. The hallways were empty. Ash walked in and sniffed the air. No one was nearby. Ash walked down the hall, and Rusty fell into the hallway, apparently he had just slipped on the ice yet again. Rusty got up and walked after Ash, muttering under his breath. Stone followed in stealthily, and so did Miguel, Kirin and Spots.
"Hmm...where's the Water Tribe?" Ash wondered aloud.
"Maybe we'd better look around," Stone rolled her eyes.
"Really? I never would've guessed!" Rusty grumbled.
Ash headed down the hall. He peeked in each room to see if any Waterbenders were there, but each room seemed to be empty. He walked up some steps he'd never been up before. Two more staircases lead up, one left and one right.
"Okay...Me, Kirin and Spots will take the right. Miguel, Rusty and Stone will take the left. Got it?" Ash said.
Everyone nodded.
"And if you find the Water Tribe, find the other group," Ash added.
Ash walked up the staircase and it lead to another room that was empty. There was a window by it and Ash leaned his head out it. Down below was the "yard" that was an icy ground in the middle of the place. Kirin was sniffing around, and Spots poked his head out of an exit. "There's a way out of here," he said. Ash trotted over and looked out. There was an ice-covered "fence" on the edge and no wall, so you could look at the yard below. Ash trotted along the floor, looking down at the yard. I've never been to these rooms before, Ash thought. This place made The Bending Tower seem like the Tribe of Flying Birds' camp, which was basically just a clearing in the forest.
They kept walking until they turned around a corner. Ash looked in a room in the side of the wall. It had a big window that faced south of the Water Tribe, and it had a puddle in the ground for drinking. Ash knew what room it was right away: the leaders' room. Right across from the entrance was a balcony across the hall, and Ash could tell it was for when Waterstreak, the leader, made announcements.
Where are they? Ash wondered. He was hoping that they all weren't dead.
Suddenly, there was the sound of wings flapping. Ash turned around to see Waterstreak had flown in through the window. "Ash! What are you doing here?" he demanded. "This place is overrun by Firebenders! It's not safe here."
"We're going to free you guys!" Ash exclaimed.
"What?" Waterstreak said. "You...you guys were free from the Firebenders and didn't help until now?"
"They only just got free from the Fire Nation!" Kirin protested.
"We've been under the Firebenders' control for so long...we're suffering," Waterstreak whispered.
"Come with The Bending Tower," Ash said, "we're gonna defeat the Fire Nation!"
"No...we're not sting enough. We'll leave, but go off on our own. My own nephew gave me this scar," he looked at an x-shaped scar on his chest. "I know where to go. Just...leave. Leave." Waterstreak looked at Ash. Ash grew wide-eyed; it seemed like he was slightly...crazy.
Ash backed up and quickly ran out. Spots and Kirin darted after him. They went down the stairs and saw the others standing there.
"What happened?" Miguel asked.
"Waterstreal will lead the Water Tribe away, but he doesn't want to come with us. He's going mad...we should get out of here," Ash breathed.
"Going mad?" Rusty echoed.
"Because the Firebenders are making him crazy," Spots replied.
"Poor guy...let's leave," Miguel nodded.
They all trotted down the stairs and out of the Water Tribe. They ran around the place and ran alongside the walls. The wind roared in Ash's ears as he ran. The sun was beginning to set. It was getting late.
Finally, they found The Bending Tower behind the Water Tribe.
"Where's the Water Tribe?" Crystal asked.
"They're going a different way," Ash said. "Let's go."

Author's Note:
Writing this while watching Adventure Time. c:

Chapter 37: Plotting

Cumulus struggled under Diamond's grasp as she pinned him down. "But what do we do with him?" Crash asked, "I mean, if we're travelling, it's likely this guy can escape."
"Exactly. Which is why we're having him guarded," Ash nodded. "He'll be in the very middle of the group, so if he happens to escape, we'll have plenty other animals to get him back there." He looked at Cumulus, who was giving a sharp glare at Ash, looking like he wanted to bite him.
"But...we're going into the Water Tribe with other Firebenders. What do we do with him then?" Slice cocked her head.
Ash thought for a minute, then said, "We'll keep him outside of the Water Tribe, guarded as usual."
"Okay," Slice nodded.
"Wait. Do we have a plan for how to save the Water Tribe?" Rainbow questioned.
"Um...not yet," Ash muttered.
"Save the Water Tribe, eh?" Cumulus growled, "you'll never win!"
"Oh. Let's see... Diamond, River and Darner, take Cumulus away from us so he won't hear our plans," Ash ordered. "And if he tries to get away, attack him if you need to."
Diamond and River stood on either side of Cumulus, who was snarling. Darner walked in front of Cumulus, and they walked off, Cumulus still glaring at Ash. Ash was surprised he hadn't attacked; but then again, he was horribly outnumbered and if he did, he'd be killed in no time.
"Okay," Ash nodded, "I don't want us all charging into battle, because the Firebenders would never surrender. And it'd be difficult to sneak them out. I mean, there's plenty of Firebenders, they'd all see us sneaking the Water Tribe out..."
Twister spoke, "Maybe we can lead the Firebenders away?"
"Too dangerous," Ash shook his head.
Tiggerpaka rolled his eyes. "You guys are taking too long! We'll go out on our own. C'mon, minions!" he said, looking at his chipmunks. Ash was about to tell Tiggerpaka not to, but he already scurried off, followed by his chipmunk "minions".
Ash then stood behind some rocks, eyeing the Water Tribe that was down on the hill below. "I wonder what those Firebenders are up to now..." he muttered.

Meanwhile, Tiggerpaka skidded down the hill of a slope and landed on the ground. Up on the hill was the Water Tribe, but Tiggerpaka didn't quite care; he was planning to set off on his own for a while. His chipmunk minions bumped into them as they fell, all of seven of them. Tiggerpaka grumbled to himself and glared at the chipmunks. "Hey! Why'd you fall into me? That's unnecessary!"
The chipmunks began squeaking protests, and Tiggerpaka shook his head. "I don't care! You all bumped into me, so apologize. Now!" They didn't, however. Instead, they kept protesting and squeaking at Tiggerpaka. "No, no, no! I don't care if you think I treat you all badly! It's to help you all be tough. I need a bigger army!"
Then, the chipmunks looked annoyed. They began squeaking loudly, and Tiggerpaka began yelling at them, so their voices mixed together and they couldn't hear one another.
Up at the Water Tribe, two Firebender guards were standing at the doorway. One, a Fennec Fox, perked his ears and looked down; below was a meerkat and several chipmunks all yelling at each other. "Hey," growled the Fennec Fox, "I think we got trouble."
"Trouble? That's trouble? We'll just take them as prisoners! Maybe they know where The Bending Tower animals went..." snarled the fox. "Let's go down there."
The two foxes trotted down the hill and stood there for a bit, watching Tiggerpaka and his minions.
"No, no, no!" Tiggerpaka yelled, "that was not my fault when his brother got stepped on by that bear during the battle! He was merely stupid! Worthless minion."
"What the heck is he...?" the Fennec Fox said.
"Come on, Nuewfoow, let's go get 'im," the fox growled.
"What's going on?" a black battle-scarred wolf came up.
"There's some intruders down there, Fang," the fox said.
"Really?" growled Fang, "I think I recognize them...but I can't remember where from."
"Should we go get them? Take them as prisoners?" Nuewfoow asked.
"I don't know," Fang muttered, "they don't seem valuable...pretty worthless. I mean, look at them. The meerkat is an idiot, those chipmunks are puny...why are they yelling at each other, anyway? It'd be no surprise if they were Goldwing's Benders."
"Goldwing's dead," the fox said, "Ash is their leader now."
Fang snarled, "Great. I can't wait till Ironfang kills Ash."
Suddenly, a female black wolf and a hawk approached. "What's going on?" the female asked.
"Darkclaw, there's these intruders on our territory," Fang replied.
"Let's kill them!" the hawk snarled, "I'm getting bored of killing Water Tribe, we need some more animals to murder! Did you see yesterday how I tortured Waterstreak?"
"Yes, Firetalon," the fox rolled his eyes.
"Don't look at me like that, Vitaly," snarled Firetalon.
Darkclaw examined the meerkat. "Hm...we should get them for information."
"That's what we're gonna--" Nuewfoow began.
"Who's down there?" asked a blood-red snake, slithering up.
"Intruders, Wildfire," Darkclaw replied.
"Well, let's kill them," Wildfire hissed.
Then, a yellow female viper came down. "What's going on?" she asked. The viper was accompanied by a yellow fox and a brown female tiger.
"Poisonfang, we have some intruders," muttered Vitaly.
The Firebenders closed in on Tiggerpaka and his minions.
"No, no, no! All of you need to strengthen up!" Tiggerpaka shouted, "you're all being weak by saying this! You dare to speak against your leader? I am your master! If it wasn't for me, I--"
The chipmunks then scurried away, and Tiggerpaka kept yelling at them.

Up where The Bending Tower animals were, Ash was still thinking of plans. He scanned the area. The Water Tribe looked empty, but Ash could tell everyone was inside. A breeze swept by, and Ash shivered from the cold. He turned to The Bending Tower animals; everyone was still thinking, and they were running low on ideas. Come on, Peacebenders, help us! Ash pleaded.
"Hey!" Miguel came up. "Look down there," he nodded towards the bottom of a hill to the right; Tiggerpaka was yelling, and the Firebenders were looking at him with evil glinting in their eyes. "See? Their biggest murderers are among that group. There may still be some Firebenders inside, but with most of those animals gone, we should be able to get inside the Water Tribe."
"Great idea!" Ash nodded. He then turned to The Bending Tower. "We have a plan!" he announced. "Me, Miguel, Rusty, Stone, Spots and...Kirin are going to go retrieve the Water Tribe. The Firebenders are distracted by something. Kabu, I'll have you lead everyone to the other side of the Water Tribe and we'll meet you out over there. Okay? Let's go."

Author's Note:
Be sure to check the new Misitu's Art Central post if you haven't already.
And check out my two newest fanfictions! Go to my profile to see it!

Chapter 36: Creature's Brother

Ash kept falling and falling. The cold air rushed through his pelt. The bridge above disappeared, and he was going so fast he couldn't hear any voices from the animals up above. The canyon on both sides of him were rushing by fast and they became a blur. Ash's eyes began to get water in them from the air. I wish I had wings...wait, Airia!
"AIRIA!" Ash howled out, hoping she could hear him. Although he realized how awkward it'd be if she had to save him, at this point Ash didn't care much; all he wanted was to stay alive. He observed the area in the air around him, and turned his head to the ground, wondering how much time he had left before he'd slam against the ground. Ash flinched to see the ground had came into clear view - it was a fast-moving creek, and, by the looks of it, it was very cold. Ash was about to land in it when...
The air rushed by Ash's ears and he began flying rapidly away from the icy water. Airia was holding his scruff and shooting up towards the bridge. It made Ash feel small since Airia could hold him so easily. And the fact that Airia was bigger than him didn't help. "How can you carry me so easily?" he asked.
"What? Er...I dunno," Airia replied.
Ash was about to ask why when Airia put him back on the bridge. "Just continue walking. I'll meet you all on the other side," she said, and took off.
Ash turned to see Rusty looking guilty and horror-struck. Dust looked angered with his brother. Eclipse looked relieved, and Nightgale looked frozen with shock. Ash sighed. "Well, I'm fine, I guess. I'm still alive. Let's just keep moving along then."
Dust growled, and rounded on Rusty. "Idiot! It really is a mystery why you're deputy! You almost killed Ash, bug-brain!" He glared at him, "I've never seen anything so stupid! I can't believe even you were dumb enough to kick Ash off the bridge!"
Rusty gave him a sad look. "I...It was an accident...I--"
"Yeah, an accident that could've cost us our leader!"
Ash flinched; he had never seen Dust so angry, especially at his own brother.
Rusty looked angry now. "I wouldn't have if someone didn't distract me!"
Dust glared, "At least I'm not a total IDIOT like you are!"
Ash noticed Rusty looked hurt, but then his hurt was quickly replaced with anger. "Oh YEAH? Well, at least I'm braver than you! You haven't even TRIED talking to Charlotte!" Rusty then grew wide-eyed, realizing he shouldn't have said that, and half of The Bending Tower was watching.
Ash looked around; luckily, Charlotte wasn't there to see what was going on.
Rusty then turned to Ash. "Come on, let's continue," he mumbled.
As they started off again, Ash turned to Eclipse and Nightgale. "Okay, now I'm worried," he murmured, so Rusty wouldn't hear, "if those two are fighting, that isn't good."
"It could be worse," Eclipse said.
"How?" Ash asked.
"Well...they could be killing each other," Eclipse suggested.
"They just need time to cool. They're best friends, Ash, and you know it. Best friends don't hold grudges against each other," Nightgale smiled.
Everyone kept moving on. Ash didn't care about how eerie the bridge was. With all that just happened, he was too distracted. They kept moving through the mist, and a cold breeze that swept through made everyone shiver. Ash looked up; the clouds were covering the sky.
Suddenly, a silhouette formed in front of Ash. He saw it was a crocodile.
"GET IT!" came Rusty's voice, obviously seeing it too. Despite the bridge was narrow, Rusty lunged at the crocodile, and he was joined by Crash, Charlotte and Diamond. A growl came from the crocodile, and soon the four silhouettes had pinned the crocodile one. Ash trotted forward and saw who it was.
"Creature?" Ash said, unable to hid his confusion.
"I'm not Creature!" spat the crocodile, "my name's Cumulus."
Rusty snickered. "Nice name."
Cumulus growled. "Be quiet!"
Creature came through the crowd, and looked shocked. "Cumulus?"
"Hello, brother," sneered Cumulus.
"Wha-?" Ash turned to Creature.
Creature sighed. "Cumulus...is my Firebender brother."
"Ha! I told you I scented a Firebender!" Streak boasted.
"What do we do with him?" Crash asked Ash.
Ash thought for a while, then decided. "We'll take him prisoner."

Author's Note:
Thanks to Topaz (aka the creator of Creature) for Cumulus! ^-^
Also, I created a Maximum Ride fanfiction, go to my profile to see it.

Chapter 35: Crossing the Bridge

The animals then approached the mist in front of them. Ash looked around, suddenly alert; anything could be hiding in the mist. He could recall that to get to the Water Tribe, everyone had to cross a long rope bridge that creaked a lot. Worst of all, it was right below a canyon that lead to certain death. Hence, they called it "Death Canyon". Slice had almost died in there before, but Airia saved her.
Streak then came to the front. "How do we get to the Water Tribe?" he asked.
"We have to go across a rickety bridge," Ash responded.
"Oh. Sounds easy," Streak responded.
Rusty snorted, "yeah, and the bridge is right over a never-ending canyon."
Streak looked horrified, and Nightgale bumped Rusty. "What?" Rusty said. "He asked."
"You don't have to scare him though," Nightgale glared.
Streak then paused and sniffed the air. "Firebenders!" he hissed.
"What?" Eclipse said, looking alarmed.
"Firebenders!" Streak repeated.
Ash sniffed the air - he couldn't smell anything. "There are no Firebenders," Ash said, "I think you're mistaken, Streak."
"Yeah," Rusty agreed, also sniffing the air.
"But...I could smell it!" Streak protested.
"You're part of the young, Streak. You can't think you know everything," Rusty snorted.
Streak glared, "Fine, I'll go find them myself."
"Streak, do not--" Ash began, but they approached the mist, and as Streak walked off, Ash couldn't see him. The mist was thick, and Ash could only see about two feet in front of him. He looked around him. Rusty was by his side, Eclipse on the other. Ash looked behind him and could see the animals directly behind him, but beyond that, they were either silhouettes or not visible.
Suddenly, there was a yell. Ash stopped and perked his ears. The yell was followed by some thumping noises, a yelp, and a screech. Ash darted after the sound, hoping to help whoever it was. He ran after the sounds, and then saw who it was: Streak, tied up with a vine, and Tiggerpaka pinning him to the ground, his chipmunk friends surrounding him.
"What is going on here?!" Ash demanded.
"This idiot attacked me!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed.
"I thought he was a Firebender!" Streak protested.
"Well, Steak, I am not a Firebender," Tiggerpaka glared.
"My name's Streak, not Steak," Streak hissed.
Cinder approached, purring amusement. Streak looked away, embarrassed. "I can't believe you attacked Tiggerpaka," she giggled.
"Um...yeah," Streak mumbled.
Cinder unsheathed her claws and cut the vines, so Streak was free.
"...Thanks," Streak muttered.
"No problem," Cinder said, still giggling, and she walked away.
"Okay," Ash sighed. "Let's head to the rickety bridge."
Ash began to walk forward, and slipped. He realized he tried to step into the canyon. Quickly, Ash scuttled away from the ledge and got to his paws. "Well...we're here," he said. "Now, where's that bridge...?" He walked along the ledge, and finally saw it. "Guys! Bridge!" he yelled, and everyone came over.
"I'll go first!" Streak puffed out his chest.
"And probably fall off," Nzuri snickered.
"No I won't!" Streak growled.
Ash walked up to Airia. "Um...can you fly below in case anyone falls?"
"Sure thing," Airia smiled, and she flew off the ledge.
Streak stepped on the bridge, and it creaked under him. Streak jumped back, falling into Nzuri. She pushed him off. "Go, scaredy-cat! Or are you not brave enough?"
"I'm going, I'm going!" Streak hissed. He stepped on the bridge again and began walking on it. Nzuri followed, and Patch walked after them.
"Why are my kits going first?" Rainbow asked aloud, and she ran after them, "You need to be careful, someone could fall!"
"Relax, mom, we'll be fine!" Streak insisted.
"Sure you will," snickered Nzuri.
Ash walked on after Rainbow. He was cautious with each pawstep, and the bridge swayed in the wind beyond them. Rusty came on after Ash, followed by Dust.
Rusty stepped down on one and slipped, making his paw go between the wood planks. But, Rusty quickly got to his paws and stood up, and continued walking again. Behind him, Dust laughed.
"And you were made deputy?" Dust snorted.
"I was made deputy for a good reason, thanks!" Rusty growled, turning around.
But, as Rusty turned around, he hit Ash, making Ash slip, and before he realized what was going on, Ash was falling face-first into the canyon below.

Author's Note:
Airia, save Ash or I shall kill you.

Chapter 34: Almost There

That night, Ash expected he'd be visited from the Peacebenders telling him the truth about whether Miguel was really good or not, but to his surprise, Ash's night was dreamless. When he woke up, he began wondering why the Peacebenders didn't explain to him. Airwing and Goldwing said they'd guide me...why didn't they visit me? Sighing, Ash got to his paws. Some animals were awake, but quite a few were still asleep. Ash decided to let everyone sleep in a bit longer.
Ash passed Stone and Darner, who were sleeping side-by-side, and trotted over to Nyx, Twister, Akumu, Raoul and Max, who were all awake and talking. "I want you all to go hunting," Ash said, "take Diamond with you, please." Ash nodded sideways to Diamond, who was awake on the other side of the cave. The group nodded and headed over to Diamond, got her and they began heading for the mouth of the cave. Ash watched them go.
Everyone slowly began waking up, and Ash sat by himself watching everyone; he was trying to decide what to do today: should they rest at Mt. Ice for the day, or continue their journey? Ash kept debating with himself, absentmindedly saying "hi" to those who passed by, not saying anything else.
When everyone was awake, Ash said in a loud voice, "We will continue our journey today."
"What?!" Patch exclaimed, "we didn't get much rest!"
Ash sighed. "We need to get to the Water Tribe as soon as possible."
"I can't wait!" Streak said enthusiastically, "I've never been out of The Bending Tower before!"
"He's got a point," Nzuri agreed, "we're seeing things no ordinary young has ever seen!"
Patch sighed, "I s'pose you're right..."
Masang hopped forward. "I can't wait to see the Water Tribe. Been a while since I got to see Waterstreak..."
"You know him?" Darner asked.
Masang nodded. "I've visited the Water Tribe a few times. But not now, because, y'know..." he shivered, "Firebenders..."
Ash explained to Ember, Moonlight and Masang what the order was for how they travelled. Then Ash got to the front with Rusty, Eclipse and Nightgale, and Ember, Moonlight and Masang went to the travellers' section in the back. Everyone left Mt. Ice, and started heading down the snowy mountain. It was snowing, and a slight breeze was blowing, but it wasn't as terrible as the other day.
Ash then turned and began heading up the hill that lead to the field on the other side. It was hard climbing up; some of the animals had to drag themselves up because, like the downhill one, it was very steep. Rusty tripped, but luckily before he could roll down the hill, he got to his paws and kept walking. Nightgale was panting, looking exhausted, and Eclipse was heading up the hill with determination in her blind eyes.
It took a while, but everyone finally made it up the hill. It was much warmer on the other side, and everyone sighed in relief since it was no longer cold.
"I don't get why it's cold at Mt. Ice, warm here, then cold at the Water Tribe, which is on the other side of the forest," Rusty muttered.
"Well, the temperatures are strange in the land," Nightgale replied.
Everyone walked along the field. Ash's paws began aching from all the travelling, but he kept pushing forward. The forest ahead came closer as everyone began walking for it. Ash could remember being here when he was an apprentice, how he tried hunting in the forest but got caught by Flyingbird, a member of the Tribe of Flying Birds.
When everyone got to the edge of the forest, Ash stopped. Rusty accidentally walked a bit ahead of him, but quickly came back to Ash's side. Ash turned around to face everyone. "Alright," Ash said, "this is home to the Tribe of Flying Birds. We need to get past this territory without disturbing them or letting them know we're here, because they won't like it. So try not to make a sound. Okay?"
Everyone nodded, being silent like Ash asked them to. They all turned and headed into the thick forest. Ash was careful for where he placed his paws, hoping not to snap any twigs. Ugh, I hope our overwhelming scents don't alert the Tribe... Ash thought.
Ash then saw Tiggerkat looking up at the sky, running around. She ran to a tree, looked at it, then scurried over to another tree and looked up at it. She seemed to be trying to find something, but Ash couldn't tell what. "Tiggerkat?" he whispered, "what are you doing?"
"I'm trying to find the flying birds!" she responded.
Rusty gave her a look. "What?"
"This is home to the Tribe of Flying Birds!" Tiggerkat said.
"Uh...they're wolves," Nightgale said.
"Ooh! Flying wolves?!" said Tiggerkat eagerly.
"Er, no," Eclipse muttered, "they're just regular wolves."
Tiggerkat rolled her eyes. "Boring..."
They kept travelling through the trees that seemed to never end. Ash perked his ears when a twig snapped, but then realized it was Raoul, and he flinched when it snapped. Raoul then scurried ahead, trying to make as least noise as possible.
Spots came up to the front. Ash smiled at him. "So," Spots said, "you've been here when you went to the Water Tribe as an apprentice, correct?"
"Yep," Ash nodded. When he had gone on his journey, Spots didn't go; he had preferred to stay back at The Bending Tower.
"When will we be at the Water Tribe?" Spots asked.
"We're close to it. We seem to be moving faster than we did on our first journey..." Ash commented.
"Why's that?" Spots cocked his head.
Ash knew why: the Tribe of Flying Birds had delayed them, because they held Ash captive, hoping he'd defeat Ironfang that night. However, Ash escaped, and got to meet Spirittiger, an ancient tiger who apparently was some sort of famous ghost. "I dunno," Ash lied to Spots.
Spots nodded and headed back to Synthia.
The birds overhead tweeted and flew off. Ash watched them, and turned back to observe the animals from The Bending Tower. They were all moving cautiously. Ash knew that if the Tribe of Flying Birds happened to find them, even with Treebranch as leader, they probably wouldn't want them there. They had enough problems already, because some of them had joined forces with the Fire Nation, so very few wolves were left in the Tribe. And if they saw them, they already thought Benders were trouble; seeing the whole Bending Tower wouldn't help them out a lot.
Finally, they approached the edge of the forest. Already it was colder on the other side. Ash could tell they would be approaching the Water Tribe soon.
"We're almost there," he announced.

Author's Note:
Click here and I'll give you a free cookie [link]!
Also, I've updated the Theme Songs and Fan Art page.

Chapter 33: Questioning Miguel

Ash walked over to Rusty and Eclipse, Miguel behind him. "We're going to give Miguel a few questions," Ash nodded. However, he noticed that Rusty and Miguel were glaring at each other, and a small growl was coming from Rusty's throat. Eclipse, however, seemed fine with it.
Oh boy...Rusty is obviously going to want to prove Miguel wrong, Ash realized. He then got an idea. "Slice will be joining us too."
Miguel looked relieved, but Rusty didn't look as happy. "What! Slice is just going to defend Miguel," Rusty insisted. But, Ash also noticed that Rusty shifted his paws awkwardly at the mention of Slice's name; obviously, Slice was still mad at him and Rusty was missing them being friends. And due to the fact that Rusty lost to Miguel in winning her over, despite he was Crystal's mate already.
"I'll go get Slice," Eclipse nodded. Despite being blind, she most likely could sense the anger between Rusty and Miguel. Eclipse got to her paws and trotted over to Slice, who had her head on her paws. Eclipse said something to Slice, and Slice got up, nodded, and trotted over. She smiled at Miguel, but avoided looking at Rusty. Ash nodded and the group all went to the back of the cave, far away from everyone else. Ash passed River and put him in charge until they got back.
Ash then sat down. Rusty sat down on his left, Eclipse on his right, and Miguel sat next to Slice in front of Ash. "Before we say anything against Miguel," Ash glanced at Rusty, "Miguel, tell us your side of the story, please."
Miguel nodded. "Okay. So when the Firebenders had taken over, three days afterwards Goldwing and Airwing called me into the leaders' den. They then told me that they were planning to one day drive the Firebenders from The Bending Tower. I asked them why they were telling me this, and they said to me that they wanted me to spy on the Fire Nation. I got scared and told them there was no way and asked if there could possibly be anyone else for the job. Goldwing said he wanted me to spy because I could come up with a good excuse, and that I've already been there previously. I tried to deny it, but they told me that in the end it'd all pay up. Again, I insisted that I wouldn't, because the Firebenders would kill me if I left them and betrayed them. They told me they'd guard me afterwards, but they're dead..."
Ash thought for a minute; it did seem like Goldwing and Airwing to get someone to spy for them. But still, Ash could see that Miguel could have teamed up with Hachiko to spy on The Bending Tower. Ash decided not to take any risks. "Rusty? Eclipse? Your thoughts first."
"Don't believe him," Rusty growled. Miguel glared at Rusty, Eclipse turned to him, and Slice looked hurt. "This is like a setup. It's like this, basically. Miguel was born in the Fire Nation, right? Right. So he learned to hate The Bending Tower. The Firebenders got him to spy on The Bending Tower--"
"But Hazen was a Firebender spy," Eclipse pointed out.
"--Don't interrupt, please," Rusty said, then continued, "and then he re-joined the Fire Nation once they got in total power. And so, Miguel and Hachiko teamed up - Miguel would once again try to re-gain our trust with a story saying that Goldwing and Airwing made him a spy, and Hachiko would kill them so they would have nothing to say in their defense. That way the Firebenders could take control of The Bending Tower again when they left to go make a rebellion."
Miguel growled, "That's not true!"
Slice glared, "Yeah! And, it's just like Goldwing and Airwing to be that clever."
"He's a LIAR!" Rusty snarled, "because of Miguel, Feather died and CRYSTAL ALMOST DIED! Don't you see?! He is hoping to help destroy The Bending Tower! He already took away the animal who was among one of the greatest healers, and Crystal got TORTURED!"
Ash flinched, seeing how mad Rusty was; Ash had never seen his friend so angry. Although most of Rusty's face had hatred, anger and frustration, Ash could detect a hint of sadness. Rusty then turned away, gritting his teeth, not looking Miguel or Slice in the eye.
Ash whispered, "Rusty...maybe you should calm down."
"No," Rusty muttered, "I...I'm fine."
Miguel sighed. "I didn't know Feather would die or Crystal would be in pain, Rusty. I was trying to be a convincing Firebender. I thought Feather wouldn't die, and I had no idea why Flamingclaws decided to use Crystal as someone to harm. I never knew any of it. That's why I couldn't bring myself to kill Feather. I thought the Firebenders would hurt me for saying no, which was why I said it, because I felt like I deserved it. They didn't kill me...I should be dead though..."
Miguel's words felt so truthful that Ash believed Miguel. Ash looked at Eclipse, and she seemed to believe him, too. Slice looked at Miguel sympathetically. "But I'm glad you're alive, Miguel. If you were dead, where would I be now?" Ash could tell Slice meant that no one would be loving her if Miguel was dead, because Rusty already had a mate.
Ash nodded. "Miguel, I believe you. Welcome back."

Author's Note:
I'm having fun writing these chapters now. :3
I got this new dragon book called "Wings of Fire", and I feel like doing a dragon story now. Thoughts?

Chapter 32: Arrival at Mt. Ice

Thunder began rumbling overhead, but everyone kept travelling. Streak and his siblings flinched at the noise and huddled close to Rainbow; Ash could tell they were remembering the huge storm their father, Amur, was killed in. Ash turned and looked forward. They were right next to Mt. Ice. Thunder boomed overhead. We need to get to the cave quickly, Ash decided. Mt. Ice was covered in snow, and as a breeze swept through, the snow flew off and stuck to Ash's pelt, and he shivered. The sooner they got to the cave, the closer they'd get to being warm.
Everyone began trekking up the mountain. The thunder boomed once more, making everyone pick up the pace despite it was hard walking through the snow. Ash pulled himself up the mountain, gritting his teeth. He used all of his strength to climb up. He could tell others were struggling behind him.
"Th-This p-place is t-t-terrible," came Twig's voice.
"You're t-t-t-telling me," agreed Nightgale.
The wind started blowing hard, making everyone shiver something terrible. The thunder came closer, and Ash told everyone to move as fast as they could. Tensions were high as everyone kept climbing the steep mountain. Ash began to fear that the kits would die from the cold, seeing Streak, Nzuri and Patch all shivering from the cold. Rainbow put her tail around them to keep them warm as she walked, a sad look on her face. She must be upset to be doing this alone without her mate, Ash thought, feeling sorry for Rainbow.
Ash looked to see Pine, a dark brown coyote, was struggling hard against the wind. She pushed hard, trying to trek on, but suddenly collapsed. Creature scurried to her side, trying to help her up. Pine got to her feet, but fell down again. Even when Kabu tried helping to get her up, Pine still lay there.
"Pine, we need to get moving," Creature said.
However, Eclipse trotted over to Pine, and thunder boomed, closer then before. "...Pine is dead."
Gaps arose from The Bending Tower. Ash could hear Tiggerpaka snort, "Ha! She'd never survive, anyway." Kabu gave Tiggerpaka a glare.
"We need to keep moving," Ash nodded. Kabu picked up Pine's dead body and carried her, and everyone kept moving up the mountain, and finally, they reached the cave. Inside was a fire, which made it warm in there. Relieved, everyone scurried inside the cave.
"Hello?" came a voice. Masang hopped out of the shadows.
"Masang!" Ash smiled, "we need to rest here.
"Sure," Masang shrugged. "Make yourselves at home."
"Who's here?" came a voice.
Out from the shadows came Ember, followed closely by his friend Moonlight.
"Oh, hi guys!" Moonlight smiled sweetly.
"Hi," said Twister.
"What brings you here?" Ember asked.
"...Why is the whole Bending Tower here?" Masang raised an eyebrow.
Nightgale began telling the three loners the story of their mission against the Firebenders, and about the rebellion, while Rusty began ordering animals to go hunting. Despite they were hungry, Stone objected because she thought there'd be no prey in a cold place during a thunderstorm, but Rusty ordered her to try, despite Stone thought it was ridiculous being bossed around by Rusty.
"Ah," Ember nodded. "May we join?"
"Yes," Ash said.
Tiggerpaka came over. "You know how stupid this is? We can't let just anyone join! What if they're Tiredblade in disguise?" He examined Ember and growled, "who are you, and who are you working for?!"
"I'm Ember," Ember said.
"You liar!" Tiggerpaka snapped.
"Tiggerpaka, just go away," Ash said.
Tiggerpaka glared at Ember before walking away.
Lightning lit up the sky and thunder cracked. Raoul and Max yelped and hid behind Kabu.
Ash trotted over to Miguel. "Yes?" he said.
"Miguel, I'm going to ask you a few questions," Ash nodded.

Author's Note:
The Theme Songs page, Fan Art page and Facebook Benders page are updated.
Happy Mother's Day!

Chapter 31: The Long Field

As The Bending Tower animals proceeded with travelling, they came across the field on the other side of the forest. There were flowers blooming there, announcing a new season had came - new-earth, as they called it. White-earth was now over with.
Everyone trekked through the flowers. When Spots and Sylvia were done telling Ash their story, they went back to join the full Benders in the crowd. Now it was just Ash, Rusty, Eclipse and Nightgale up front once more.
As they walked through the flowers, Ash stopped as he saw something rustling in the flowers. Everyone behind him stopped as well, and Ash looked to see the flowers kept rustling, moving. Ash stepped forward and sniffed at it.
"I'll slay it!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed, running forward.
Just as Ash was about to stop Tiggerpaka, Tiggerkat jumped out from the flowers. "Hello!" she said, a big grin on her face. "What's up? Have you all come out to play in the flower field?" she let herself collapse on her back and began sliding all around the field.
"Oh. It's you," Tiggerpaka rolled his eyes.
"Um, no. We're going on a journey," Ash said to Tiggerkat.
"Ooh! A journey!" Tiggerkat exclaimed, "can I come?"
"No," Tiggerpaka grumbled.
"Yes, you can," Ash said, glancing at Tiggerpaka.
"Yay!" Tiggerkat exclaimed.
"You will walk at the back, that's the travellers' section," Ash nodded.
"Okie," Tiggerkat bounced to the back, and everyone watched her go. Tiggerpaka followed reluctantly, grumbling about "having to walk alongside an idiot for who-knows-how-long". Ash got back to the front and they walked off again, and everyone was all talking and murmuring to each other.
They kept walking through the flowery field, and that was when Streak and Nzuri came to the front. Ash looked at them. "Yes?" he asked. Ash had explained that if anyone had any questions or concerns they could come to the front and talk with Ash.
"When are we gonna eat?" Streak asked, "I'm hungry."
"You are not," Nzuri said, "you just ate not too long ago."
"Yeah, well, this travelling is making me more hungry!" Streak exclaimed.
"Well, I'm hungry too, but I manage to ignore it," Rusty shrugged.
"Because you're bigger than us!" Streak pointed out, "we're not even apprentices yet."
"We'll hunt once we get to Mt. Ice," Ash told Streak.
"Where's Mt. Ice? What is Mt. Ice?" Nzuri asked.
"A mountain," Rusty snorted, "covered in ice."
"Really?" Nzuri laughed, "I never would have guessed!"
Ash sighed. "Mt. Ice is a cold mountain downhill. After we get through this field we'll be at Mt. Ice. An animal who lives there will take us in for the time being. His name is Masang, and he's a blue rabbit. It'll get a bit chilly, but you'll live."
"Great, I don't wanna be cold!" Streak whined.
Nzuri bumped Streak with her head, "Maybe you can lean against Cinder for warmth," she teased.
Streak, claws out, hit Nzuri on the ear.
"Hey!" Nzuri exclaimed.
Rainbow then came to the front, "That's enough, you two. Come back here," she demanded. The two kits reluctantly followed their mother back to the crowd, Streak and Nzuri giving each other glares the whole way.
They had been travelling for so long Ash felt like he wasn't even controlling his paws. He glanced at Rusty, who looked very exhausted.
"Come on, Rusty," Nightgale giggled, "you're supposed to be the strong deputy."
"I'm sorry!" Rusty snapped.
Ash looked up at the gray, cloudy sky. He didn't like the look of the clouds, which had been getting darker since the morning had started. "We need to get moving faster before a storm breaks out," Ash muttered. A breeze swept through the area, making Ash shiver from the cold. He began to trot a bit faster, and some other animals began to pick up the pace as well.
They kept walking until they finally, after what seemed like three moons, reached the edge of the field. Down below Ash could see the fog, and the steep hill that sloped down. Ash could recall being here as an apprentice, when Rusty and Dust got tangled up and fell down the hill.
"Okay," Ash said, raising his voice, making everyone fall silent. He turned to face the crowd. "Be cautious as you go down, because I know some certain animals fell down here and it didn't end up pretty." Ash looked at Rusty, who seemed defensive.
"Ash! Yeah, way to sell me out," Rusty growled, "and that was sarcasm."
The group began walking downhill, and it became harder for Ash to place his paws down. He walked weirdly because of the sloping hill, feeling as though it was trying to tug him to the ground. Everyone else seemed to be having a difficult time too, especially Streak and his siblings; Ash looked to see Patch had tripped and fell, and Rainbow picked her up.
Ash then flinched to see Tiggerkat rolling down the hill; he couldn't tell whether she was rolling on purpose or accident. "Tiggerkat, get up!" Ash called.
Tiggerkat got to her paws. "Sorry, but it's really fun!" she grinned, and then walked to the back of the crowd, where Ash could see Tiggerpaka had his head in his paw, shaking his head and muttering.
They got steeper and steeper, and it began to get really cold.
"W-Wow. This b-brings back memories," came Slice's voice.
"Tell me about it," agreed Dust's voice.
It began to get darker despite it was probaby mid-day. Ash sighed relief as he saw the silhouette of a big mountain in front of them.
"We're here!" Ash exclaimed.

Author's Note:
I'm having so much fun writing TFEOB chapters now. c8
By the way, I brought War of the Wolves back, be sure to check that out. :3

Chapter 30: Return of an Old Friend

Ash could hardly believe his eyes, nor his ears.
Everyone in the crowd had stopped, obviously recognizing the voice, too, and turned to see the owner. When they saw who it was, gasps and shouts of surprise arose from them. Ash could barely speak. He couldn't believe it. At first he thought it was a dream, but it couldn't be. Ash could just make out some words from the animals of The Bending Tower.
"Is he a ghost?"
"How'd he get here?"
"No, he's real! Seriously!"
Ash looked at him, and he looked back.
Spots.
"Hello," Spots smiled.
Rusty murmured to Ash, "Do you see a dalmatian that looks exactly like Spots, too?"
"Yes," Ash replied, not taking his eyes off his thought-to-be-dead friend.
"Fantastic," Rusty said, making his way over to Spots.
Everyone ran up to Spots, shouting things.
"Spots!"
"We thought you were dead!"
"How'd you survive?"
"What happened?"
Spots then said, "Calm down, guys." He then looked back. "Sylvia, you can come out."
A very beautiful dalmatian arose from the bushes, looking shy and nervous. She trotted to Spots's side, examining the animals. Spots murmured something to her, then turned to the crowd.
"So, Spots, who is your little friend over here?" Rusty smiled, eyeing Sylvia. Ash couldn't blame him, Sylvia was very beautiful, Spots was lucky to be friends with her.
Animals were still murmuring, so Ash called, "Everyone, hush. Let Spots speak."
"Where's Goldwing?" Spots asked, looking around, ears perked.
Ash sighed. "...Goldwing is dead. So's Airwing."
Spots looked at Ash. "I take it you're leader now?"
"Yeah!" Rusty exclaimed, "and I'm deputy!"
"Pfft," said Tiggerpaka's voice, "the offer was made to me first but I declined."
"Right," Dust snorted.
"But Kabu's still alive...right?" Spots said.
"Yes," Kabu nodded, and everyone turned to look at him. "Spots...I am sorry you fell over the waterfall. It was my fault, I'm the one who had you all swim in the river. Please forgive me."
Spots smiled. "Kabu, it was one of the best mistakes ever."
This made some animals laugh.
"Anyway," Spots continued, "this is Sylvia. She helped me make it back to The Bending Tower. Without her, I'd probably be either dead or still lost by now...what'd I miss while I was go?" Spots then smiled, examining everyone, probably sure he had a lot to catch up on.
Ash then launched into a very long story about how the Firebenders invaded, conquered The Bending Tower, punished them all severely, how a monstrous deer terrorized everyone ("And nearly killed my sister!" Streak had exclaimed), and how they killed Feather and tortured Crystal, and that they were planning to get rid of the Firebenders once and for all.
"I'm in," Spots nodded, "those Firebenders are a nuisance."
"Since Spots is in, I'm in too," said Sylvia.
"Good," Ash said, "we need to get moving. Spots, Sylvia, you'll be able to catch up on your rest sometime later. Sorry for making you travel more." He then turned to Miguel, "you. I want Stone and Darner to guard Miguel in case he tries to do anything." Miguel nodded, and Stone and Darner leapt to his side, Stone giving Miguel a warning glare. Darner gave Stone a look, and then Ash said, "if we catch any prey along the way, the young and elders are to be fed first. They need their strength."
With that, everyone set off. Ash decided that he, Rusty, Eclipse and Nightgale would always take the front while the young and elders would walk right behind them, and everyone else would be behind. Ash had Spots and Sylvia walk at the front with Ash so they could tell him about their journey. As they walked, everyone was talking, but Ash told Spots and Sylvia not to begin their story until everyone had crossed the Ice River; the same river Spots was swept away by.
Everyone stopped at Ice River. Spots looked at it in fear, and Sylvia murmured something to Spots. Spots looked at Ash. "I'll cross first," he volunteered. An air current came through the area and Spots jumped swiftly to the other side, no doubt he used Airbending to help. Sylvia jumped easily across.
"Alright. I want Nyx and Zapada to carry the young over."
"We can swim ourselves!" Streak insisted.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Patch.
"No," Rainbow said, licking her kits, "it's too dangerous. You will be carried over."
Nyx picked up Streak and carried him across. Zapada picked up Patch, and Eclipse took Nzuri, whose injuries were still healing, and leapt across with Nzuri. Kabu swam across, not minding the river one bit, and came out to the other side and shook his pelt.
Everyone else then began to cross. There were no accidents, and everyone made it to the other side in one piece. Then they all set off again in the same order they started. Ash could remember the way to the Water Tribe, because he had been there as an apprentice. As they walked along, he turned to Spots and Sylvia. "So, tell me about your journey."
Spots nodded. "Well, it obviously started when I fell over the waterfall. I thought for sure I was dead. I fell down, but just before I hit the ground a breeze swept by, which floated me to the ground. Someone Airbended it, but I couldn't tell who. I had passed out from shock, and when I woke up I was in a cave with Sylvia next to me. She had been caring for me for three days, she said. I tried asking her if she knew where The Bending Tower was but she had no clue what I was talking about. Then I tried asking if she Airbended me to the ground. Didn't know what that was either. I was in the cave with her for quite a few days when I told her I needed to get back to The Bending Tower. She didn't know where that was, like I said. I tried leaving but Sylvia insisted on me not leaving, saying I wasn't healed enough."
"Because you weren't," Sylvia blurted out.
Spots smiled and continued, "That was when I told her what The Bending Tower was, that it was where I lived. She told me there was no way I could return because one, it was over the waterfall and two, she didn't know where it was and that she had taken me a long way from the waterfall."
"Why had you taken Spots from the waterfall?" Ash asked Sylvia.
"I had detected other animals nearby and was worried they'd hurt him. So I took him far off," Sylvia replied.
It must have been us she detected, Ash figured.
"So I tried leaving, and Sylvia followed, fretting about my wounds. I told her I was fine and that she could leave, but she said she didn't want to, that she thought I would get killed. We ended up travelling together. I tried teaching Sylvia Airbending, but for whatever reason, she was unteachable. We kept travelling until we finally got here. And luckily you're not gone."
"Alright," Ash nodded. "Anyways, our first place we'll stop at will be Mt. Ice."

Author's Note:
Be sure to check out the new TFEOB Character Guide blog!

Chapter 29: New Ranks

All the Benders of The Bending Tower gathered around, as Ash stepped in front of them. "Before we leave, I have an announcement to make. A new deputy is needed."

This sent murmurs rippling throughout the crowd of animals, and Ash waited for them to be silent. Of course tensions were high, because Ash had been made deputy not too long ago before a new deputy was to be appointed. When everyone was silent, Ash continued. He had already decided who the deputy would be: the third animal of the prophecy.

"Rusty is the new deputy," Ash announced.

"What?!" Rusty and Dust yelled at the same time.

The crowd was first silent, but then they all began talking at once. Ash nodded at Rusty to come up, and he did so, trembling. Once he made his way through the crowd, he went up to Ash. "You got to be mistaken. I'm not a v-very good Bender..."

"I'll tell you later why I chose you," Ash whispered. He then rose his voice. "I chose Rusty because despite he has a lack in wits, and may not seem like a hero, I know Rusty would be loyal  to us to the end, never to betray The Bending Tower."

The crowd yowled in celebration, and for the first time Ash realized what it was like to be leader. I made it all this way. I was a former loner, and now...now I'm the leader of The Bending Tower. This is amazing. He looked at Rusty, who seemed excited. Maybe he'll get to know this feeling one day, too.

"Now, I wish to speak to Rusty and Eclipse," Ash nodded. "We'll be leaving here shortly. Dust, since Rusty will be talking with me, get some animals hunting." 

Dust nodded at Ash and leapt away. Ash felt satisfaction. I'm getting good at this.

Ash trotted off into the forest, and Eclipse followed, Rusty behind. He went through the forest, making sure they'd be far enough so no one could hear them. Ash stopped and perked his ears and sniffed the air. The only living souls in the area were Ash, Eclipse, Rusty, and the prey.

"Okay. Eclipse, you already know this," Ash said, "but Rusty...Cloudsky, Feather's mate, once told me in a dream that I needed two others that would help me to defeat Ironfang. He told me one was Eclipse. But the third, my...my father told me the prophecy, saying the third was an autumn-colored animal, mistaken for someone who wasn't a hero. That's you, Rusty."

Rusty was wide-eyed. "Really? Are you sure? I-I...I mean, me? Couldn't it be Firefly? Or anyone else? I'm not destined for something that big, I'm sure. How do you know it's me?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Ash nodded.

"I believe it could be you, too, Rusty," Eclipse agreed.

Rusty looked at both of them. "How am I supposed to help?"

"That, we don't know yet. But keep this a secret," Ash told him.

Rusty looked anxious. "Thank you for making me deputy," seemed to be all he could say.

Ash nodded, and the three made their way back to The Bending Tower animals. Ash stood on the rock he had been standing on for making announcements. Everyone naturally gathered around. "Okay. After we eat, we shall embark on our journey--"

"Hello."

Ash turned to see Miguel was behind him. He was scanning the animals. At his sight, everyone growled at Miguel, and he looked at them with round eyes. "Wh-Where's Goldwing and Airwing?"

"Dead," growled Dust, "but you should be happy about that, shouldn't you?"

Ash saw that Slice had a look of fear on her face, and she slowly backed up to hide in the crowd. Miguel looked a bit frightened. "I...I...Who's leader now?"

"Ash is," Charlotte glared, "and you'll kill him over my dead body."

Everyone was growling at Miguel. Miguel slowly backed up. He was probably scared because he didn't have any Firebenders to back him up. "Miguel," Ash said, "we will kill you if you're here to do any harm to us. The Fire Nation are no longer our rulers."

"But..." Miguel stammered, "I wanted to talk to Goldwing...!"

"Right!" Dust snorted.

"...Because I'm not evil. I was a spy!"

At this, everyone fell silent.

"What?" came Slice's voice as she padded through the crowd.

Miguel looked nervous. "I was spying for you guys. Goldwing and Airwing told me I could spy on the Fire Nation and that it'd help you out. So I did. I miss you all, too. I miss Max and Raoul..." he glanced at the two Border Collies, who were glaring at him, probably not buying his story. "I miss training...Heck, I even miss Rusty. Most of all, I miss Slice."

Slice looked happy at these words, but Rusty was growling at Miguel, and some Benders looked like they didn't trust him. Most of the Benders, however, seemed to understand and believe Miguel's story. Ash had t admit, he kind of believed Miguel.

"What if you're lying?" Rusty demanded

"I'm not!" Miguel insisted, "If I'm lying, may Lifebreeze strike me with lightning."

However, most Benders began to agree with Rusty's statement. Ash couldn't blame them. Goldwing and Airwing were dead, so they weren't here to defend their case to say if Miguel was lying or not. Miguel could have possibly teamed up with Hachiko so Hachiko could kill Goldwing and Airwing, and Miguel could try to convince everyone he was good and spy on them. 

Slice, however, seemed to believe him. "Miguel, I can't believe you're back!" she exclaimed.

"Don't believe him!" Rusty insisted, "Slice, I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Why do you care? You're already with Crystal," Slice snapped, and Rusty flinched. Ash recoiled. He had forgotten that Slice also happened to like Rusty. Ash looked at Crystal, and she seemed puzzled. Rusty ran over to Crystal to talk to her, probably explain some things. Slice trotted over to Miguel, who seemed particularly satisfied.

Everyone began talking, and Ash yowled out. "Everyone!" with this, the animals fell silent. "I will talk with Miguel later. But for now, I have some apprentices I want to make full Benders before we leave. These are quite a few, so it should clear out the apprentices' den," Ash added with a smile. "They've been in training for a while now...Raoul, Max, Twig, Windows, Dell and Slice."

All six of them looked up at Ash.

Ash struggled to remember the words to say, and they finally arrived in his head. "Um..." he stammered, but then continued in as clear of a voice as he could. "Peacebenders, hear my words as I make Raoul, Max, Twig, Windows, Dell and Slice into full Benders. They have worked hard to understand Bending, and are ready to take their turns to become full Benders. Raoul, do you agree that you are ready to be an Airbender, and that you can take on all of these responsibilities?"

"Yes!" Raoul exclaimed, wagging his tail rapidly.

"Max?"

"Yes," Max said seriously.

"Twig?"

"Yeah."

"Windows?"

"Yes!"

"Dell?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Slice?"

"I do."

"Then with the help of the Peacebenders, you may all get your wish. When I tap your head, the Peacebenders' powers will make you stronger, faster, and a better Bender." Ash said. Please, Peacebenders, make this work. He then stepped forward and tapped Raoul's head with his muzzle, then Ash tapped Max's head, then Twig's, then Windows's, then Dell's, then Slice's."

"Raoul, Max, Twig, Windows, Dell, Slice. You are now officially full Benders. Welcome." Ash nodded.

There were howls of pleasure and cheers erupting from the Benders. Ash felt satisfied that it turned out well, and as the new Benders made their way to join the others, a very familiar voice arose from the crowd.

"Congratulations!"

Author's Note:
Who could it be? :o

Do you believe that Miguel is actually good?
Also, I'm considering making a blog that's a guide to the TFEOB characters. It'll sort of be like the Warriors Wiki I suppose, which you can see here [link].

Speaking of Wikipedia, my friend Conchitah, creator of Eclipse made a TFEOB Wiki a while back. She's still working on it, but it's coming along well! :D Check it out here!

Chapter 28: A Problem Solved

Fear. 

It filled up Ash's body. Ash had been scared many times. When he was an apprentice, the big deer scared him terribly, and it still had until it fell over the ledge. Ash had also been scared when Firetalon picked him up and dropped him during a battle, making him break his paw. Although Ash knew he was meant for a big destiny, like everyone else, he could feel fear.

This time, however, he felt so full of fear he could barely stand.

Goldwing and Airwing caught on fire. Just like Feather had. Although, Ash couldn't hear their yowls or any others. In fact, he couldn't hear anything at all. His ears got clogged and all he could hear was his heart beating. Ash stumbled, but tried keeping his eyes wide open. He thought he was going to pass out, didn't quite know why, but fought the feeling. He watched as Hachiko revealed his sharp teeth and looked like he was laughing. Ash watched as Akumu, Light, River and Crash lunged at Hachiko. Hachiko then had a look of fear come across his face, but before he could run, Akumu had pinned Hachiko down, Light sank her teeth into him, River clawed Hachiko, and Crash dug his claws into Hachiko. He yowled out and plopped down, obviously dead.

His ears now ringing, Ash let himself lay down to catch his breath. He didn't dare look at the lifeless bodies of Goldwing and Airwing. But Ash was confused. How could Hachiko have gotten so powerful? That huge fireball couldn't have been made by him, especially if he was easily defeated by only some bites and scratches. Ash looked at the Benders. They were all talking, some howling out, and all looked desperate, scared, and full of fear, just like Ash.

Ash looked at the dead bodies and winced. It made him very upset. But suddenly, two ghost-like forms arose from the bodies and looked at Ash. Ash mouthed, "Goldwing? Airwing?" But they simply just looked at him, and didn't respond. Ash quickly got to his paws and ran at them, but a wind came by and the ghosts swept away with the wind.

The ringing in Ash's ears stopped, and he could hear perfectly again. He flinched as he became overwhelmed by the yowls, murmurs, barks, growls and plenty of noises. He then saw Dust and Charlotte making their way over to Ash. "Ash! You're leader now. Get these animals under control!" Charlotte exclaimed.

What? Ash thought wildly. He had totally forgotten that he was deputy and had to become leader. Shaking, Ash jumped onto a stump and yowled out, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" but everyone either ignored him or just couldn't hear them. I'm gonna make a terrible leader.

"QUIET!" Dust howled, and everyone stopped talking. "You're welcome," he murmured to Ash.

Ash cleared his throat. "Sorry to say, but Goldwing and Airwing are indeed dead."

"Which means Ash is leader," Dust added.

"Shh!" Mistletoe exclaimed.

"Um, yes. Er...I wasn't...let in on what we're doing," Ash blurted out, "can anyone fill me in?" Silence fell over the crowd. Everyone exchanged nervous glances. "Well?" Ash said, "anyone?" He scanned everyone, feeling slightly annoyed at how all of them weren't telling him anything.

Eclipse stepped forward. "We need to travel to the Water Tribe." 

Ash waited for Eclipse to continue, but that was all she said.

"Fine...okay. Yes. Let's go to the Water Tribe. We need to be cautious, because the Firebenders may be on the prowl looking for us," Ash nodded.

"What about us?" came Streak's voice. Patch nodded agreement.

"You're coming with us. We can't leave you behind," Ash said.

Streak and Patch squealed with excitement, and Rainbow hushed them. 

"Do we have everyone? If we're missing anyone, now's the time to find them," Ash nodded.

No one said anything, so Ash looked at the setting sun. "We'll leave at dawn tomorrow. Stone, River, you two set up a guarding system. The rest of us will try to get some sleep. If apprentices are to guard, a full Bender must help them out. We'll all sleep in the cave."

Everyone piled into the cave except Stone, River, Akumu and Flare, who began to stand guard. Ash slept near the mouth of the cave. He thought he'd get no sleep, but somehow, he managed to close his eyes and dose off.

When Ash woke up, he could tell that he was in Peacebender territory. "Alright, spill it," Ash shouted, frustrated, "I know I'm here for you to tell me something, so go ahead."

Airwing stepped out from the bushes, and Ash flinched. However, Airwing simply smiled. "Hello, Ash. Fancy meeting you here. Beautiful, Peacebender territory, isn't it?" If possible, Airwing seemed more wiser than he already was. "Yes, I am here to let you in on some secrets. Sit down." Ash sat down, and Airwing sat down in front of him. "First off, The Bending Tower has been very stressed due to our deaths. You will lead them."

Ash nodded, "Continue." He wanted to get to some more secrets, like why everyone has been keeping secrets from him and why Eclipse didn't tell him much about why they had to go to the Water Tribe. 

Airwing continued, "Ash, the whole Tower has been working on a plan. But you haven't been let in on it because you had some other problems to deal with. We have a plan to save the world from the Fire Nation. And because you are leader now, you must choose a deputy and embark on a journey to save the whole Bending world."

Anxiety filled Ash. "G-Go on."

"First off," Airwing said, "you need to find the third animal to help you out to defeat Ironfang. Eclipse is one of them, as you already know. The third one, remember, is an autumn-colored animal, not expected to be a hero. You need to figure this out quickly."

Ash began thinking, but Airwing snapped him back to reality. "The whole of the Bending world is under the Firebenders' control. The plan is to save everyone from the Firebenders, unite, and drive the Firebenders out of the land. It is not simple, so Goldwing and I planned to die so we could help you better without others knowing what you were going to do."

"You wanted to die?!" Ash exclaimed. He then wished he had hid the shock from his voice better, but Airwing didn't look offended. He looked amused.

"Yes," Airwing nodded. "If us Peacebenders ever have anything to tell you, we will visit you in your dreams. Don't be afraid to ask us questions, even if you know or think that we'll not give a straight-out answer. Did you see how Akumu, Light, River and Crash worked together to avenge our death? That was an example, that if we all work together we can achieve our goal to drive out the Firebenders. But, the Fire Nation will steadily grow more powerful, making this a challenge."

"How do I defeat Ironfang?" Ash asked. He knew that the sooner he killed Ironfang, the better, because the Fire Nation would collapse if their great, murderous leader were to die, especially at the claws of their enemy. 

"That is not for you to know yet," Airwing said simply. "Now, once you choose the third animal, elect a deputy. Also, Ash, you must find out your past. It will help you along the way of the journey, trust me. Oh, and one more thing...guard Airia with your life."

Ash was about to ask more questions, when the world faded around him.

Ash woke up. It was morning, he could tell, but the sun wasn't quite up yet. It was only just skimming the horizon. He looked out of the mouth of the cave to see Airia sitting out in the dark, alone, her head hanging with sadness. 

Ash trotted up to the mouth of the cave. "How long has she been out there?" he asked the guards.

"'Bout an hour," said Dell, who was helping to guard. "Been very...lonely." Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Dell, don't make Ash uncomfortable," Leafy giggled.

Ash tried his best to ignore the apprentices as he walked up to Airia. "You okay?"

"No," Airia muttered. "Goldwing and Airwing are dead."

Ash struggled to find a way to comfort her. "...You got your mother though, don't you?"

"I don't think she understands me. She's wingless. Goldwing and Airwing did. They understood me. They had wings." Airia said.

"Well, I don't have any parents that are alive..." Ash said. He looked up at Airia and remembered what Airwing said: Guard Airia with your life. From what?

Airia smiled and put her wing around Ash. "Then I guess we have something in common."

Ash shuffled nervously. "Um...er...uh-huh." He knew that if Rusty were here, he'd be laughing and teasing Ash, and probably saying, "Real smooth."

That was when Ash grew wide-eyed.

Rusty.

He was autumn-colored, and clumsy.

Author's Note:

...The third animal! c: