8 The B Team

Ronin, Gendall, Alev, Cafri, Kedo, and several other Remnant soldiers continue to flee the outskirts of Berani while Ronin holds what was Hakon. They quickly run through the woods while the carriages ride past them as imposing 31st marines march onward from the distance. After hearing footsteps, Cafri warns, "Incoming."

Ronin nods and pulls Hakon's body behind a tree before jumping in a bush. Alev leans against a tree. Gendall collapses and plays dead. One of the marines stares ahead as another male and female trooper stand beside him. The female has a sword strapped to her hilt and the males are both firebenders. Kedo stumbles and falls into the same bush Ronin is in.

Female marine: "See anyone?"

Male Marine: "Not here but I saw a few flee in east. Macai is ordering us to check all routes."

Male Marine 2: "Then let's patrol this area." The marines move forward, Gendall remains still. Alev slyly glides behind another tree, moving her body in a different direction. This whole time Cafri is ducking behind a large rock.

The marines proceed to stroll ahead until they have moved out of sight. Alev gets out from cover first, due to her unquestionable bravery. Gendall rises to his feet. Ronin growls, "Get off me Kedo!" Kedo stumbles out of the bush.

Ronin hops out of his bush and starts to pick Hakon back up, "Hey Cafri, how did you get behind that rock so quickly? Looks like you found the best spot to hide."

Cafri shrugs his shoulders, "Hey, I guess I just have good senses."

Alev: "And good ears. You heard them a bit sooner than any of us."

Cafri: "Well, we all bring something to the table."

Alev: "Um, perhaps that's true with this team. I've worked with A LOT of incompetent people."

Ronin: "Come on, we have no time to waste."

Alev: "Hold up, where are we going?!"

Kedo: "I know a place, Erangu."

Alev raises an eyebrow, "Where is that?"

Kedo: "It's a forest region in the Southeastern part of this island. There is a village within that forest, we can go there if we need somewhere to quickly stop and rest. They are somewhat sympathetic to our cause. They won't agree to stage a base or anything but they have sheltered some remnant outcast before. They seem to not encourage violence amongst our people."

Alev: "I see, so they'll let us stay as long as we don't fight."

Kedo teases, "I know that might be a bit difficult for you."

Ronin asks, "Do bar fights count?"

Kedo: "They are not encouraged but killing is really what won't be tolerated. But if you fight people without a good reason then you are asking for trouble."

Ronin explains, "I just heard about some remnant troops getting into bar fights before and I couldn't help but wonder. Anywhere in our nation, fights in those places seem to be near unavoidable."

Alev comments, "Especially when you look better than everyone else."

Cafri chuckles. Kedo internally sighs and thinks, I'm getting tired of all these constantly narcissistic discussions almost everyone has. It just gets old sometimes.

BREAKING INVESTIGATION

A bearded sergeant with hazel eyes stands in his office. The office consists of dark yellow walls, a light brown desk, and has a medium grey ceiling. The man pulls out a cigar and lights it before deeply inhaling. He exhales and a deep volume of smoke flows across his desk. Seconds later, he sits his cigar in an astray and looks down at several scattered papers.

One paper is blank and the man writes notes before looking up at his wall. The sergeant's wall has pictures of several Remnant leaders and shows signs of their interactions together. A younger officer that seems to be in his early thirties steps behind the sergeant.

The man smiles, "Lieutenant Fordo, when did you step in town? I thought you were still working on another investigation?"

Lieutenant Fordo: "I came by because this one is becoming increasingly important. A major depot in Berani was hit. It strategically put regional bases and units at a disadvantage. It also has given local economies a setback. I know you personally requested this investigation Rakem and Captain Benaki granted you that opportunity. My question is why?"

Sergeant Rakem picks up his cigar and lights it a second time by blowing a small spark of fire onto its tip, "Well (exhaling), I was at the Gokolee Prison, I ran basically ran the facility. We had a major that visited every now and then. But honestly, he was lazy, never really stayed around. He only got away with it because it's a rural district that no one cares about. And now, he's gotten himself into a lot of trouble but hasn't lost his job yet. Still, I let them slip right under my fingers. I did whatever I could to keep them in line and it was not enough."

Lieutenant Fordo: "That is more to maintaining control than inducing fear. As Ozai's failed administration has shown us. You have to be several steps ahead of them and remember these are the kind of people who are beyond being broken. They are at the point that brokenness turns to hate and that hatred could be used to destroy us."

Rakem: "Well Zuko's soft policies will only give them opportunities to stand against us."

Fordo: "Maybe you are right, but he is the firelord so we must respect him. I think the solution is a balance, like most things in life. In times we will find a way to locate that balance. Besides you sound like the Remnant arguing about the administration's motives."

Rakem: "And you sound like them, arguing that we should just go with what someone says. That's what the Remnant believed with Ozai, they just never stopped supporting him."

Fordo asks, "And who do you support?"

Rakem: "I support my best interest and also society's best interest. Which is whatever works."

Fordo sighs, "Have you found any leads on what happened with the people who escaped your prison and how high they rank up the Remnant food chain?"

Rakem elaborates, "I'd say in the middle, but it seems they are quickly moving up. They are gaining more and more favor from top-of-the-line leadership and they are more active than most of the top Remnant generals who have become complacent over times. Complacent means they have gotten lazy, more predictable, and less dangerous. They have also made some close friends that seem to be helping them."

Fordo: "And you have spies using the new technology we have recently been working on."

Rakem nods, "Yes they've been taking photos. They have these little pictures, that capture people in real time." Rakem points to several black and white photos, "While the cameras are large in structure, the Intel Department has made a variant that has a scope. It can be used to locate enemies from a distance. We'd had spies and agents keep tabs on them. We also ahve some informants helping us."

Rakem: "Highly active members that escaped and banded together include Kedo (pointing at him), Ronin, and Gendall. Out of them, Ronin seems to be the deadliest. Allies that they have made from my knowledge seem to be the flashy Alev and Hakon. Fortunately, Hakon is dead."

Fordo: "They lost a major contact and supplier there. Hakon had the most rank out of all of their close allies."

Rakem: "Still this may motivate them to act out more. I don't know much more than this, at the moment. I haven't found their major hideout either but I am constantly investigating. I've got some hints of where it might be based on previous sightings, movements, and patterns that the Intel Department has gathered. We may eventually find their base, which could give us a chance to greatly damage the Remnant war effort. It might be a chance to take several of them captive or to even kill most of them."

Fordo: "Just make sure you keep one alive, so that we have someone to utilize for information. The rest can be killed."

Rakem: "Fair and the rest SHOULD be killed. They escaped captivity before and we need to stop giving them chances to do so. Their connections are so heavy that others will always be looking to free them. They may also try to make hidden networking and planning moves while in confinement."

Fordo: "Hopefully Zuko will reestablish execution sentences, but he has recently abolished them. Still there is a way to work around this, order any forces you are in contact with to try taking some of them out before capturing them."

Rakem nods and grins, "No problem. I hate those scumbags and what they have done to other people in our nation. I understand why they fought before, it was a job. But now, it's personal." Rakem intensely stares at their pictures.

Fordo pats Rakem on his back, "And Rakem, don't take it too personal, it's still a job at the end of the day. A very important one, one that comes with a duty, but we can't get everything we want in jobs. So be patient, they will all go down in time." Fordo exits and Rakem continues to take notes.

A Bleak Moment

Alev, Gendall, Kedo, and Cafri stand with a couple of remnant soldiers beside them in a field within Erangu. The sky is beaming with white and light blue light. Hakon sits in a grave as Ronin stands directly in front of his old friend's burial. Two guards stand around the grave.

Ronin: "I'm sorry old friend. So sorry. We begged you to return and you did. For a moment, you fought the Remnant to glory. Unfortunately, that chapter was short lived. But you sparked an explosion of fire that is just brewing. It will be so great and big that people will talk about it for decades. It will be so impactful that our enemies will run into the hills to flee from it and the leaders in their palaces will shake. Just as you gave your life to our mission, I will give my all to avenge you!"

Alev: "Even I must respect you fire, you are unyielding and even more motivated than me at times."

Ronin: "Your humility is surprising Alev, but well appreciated. Our moment of victory will come. Just push harder. Our enemies don't have the same determination as us."

Cafri: "So what's next?"

Alev: "Good question. I think Hakon would know, he was always great at planning things."

Ronin: "We rescue Ozai, isn't that what you wanted Alev?"

Alev hesitates then agrees, "Yes."

Cafri asks, "What about General Hepeski? He gave clear orders to not free Ozai."

Alev: "Then I'll deal with whatever he brings to punish us. Afterall, he will blame me first. I was the clear advocate for it. Once we rescue Ozai, we just need to quickly bring his bending back. To take him to where Eyre was living. You all know I'm not crazy. Once he comes back, that's it. No one will challenge him, accept our enemies."

Kedo: "And with Ozai on our side, we can take this nation right back. Who can beat him? Zuko, nope! He'll take that throne right back. Azula and Macai are children compared to him."

Alev: "I mean to be fair, we all are very young adults. I don't think that's relevant."

Kedo: "I'm speaking in terms of power, not just age."

Gendall: "What about the Avatar? He will just return to stop him."

Alev: "It's worth a chance, to save the dream. Everything happens for a reason. If he comes back, we have a shot at winning more than we do now anyway. If we're going to fight, let's at least fight with roots to back us." Roots is slang for collateral or influence.

Kedo leans back, "Alright Alev, let's try it your way. See how it goes."

Gendall: "I have a suggestion. Instead of directly sending our own troops or doing this ourselves, let's hire a team of mercenaries. I think Hakon would have done that anyway. Then Hepeski won't immediately be able to trace the action back to us, but he will be suspicious and immediately look into it."

Ronin: "We would need to hire skilled bounty hunters to complete a task like this. And we would need to be able to properly compensate them."

Alev: "I have the money to put some funds together. Enough to hire skilled bounty hunters. Perhaps not the best in the world, but good enough to complete hard tasks. And if we get a team of them, I think it'll be enough."

Kedo nods, "That sounds like a plan. If it falls through, we won't be able to rescue Ozai for some time. They will beef up security, but as long as they don't rat us out, it won't make things much worse for the remnant. Zuko's administration would focus more on defense than offense and the Remnant would need to just recuperate."

Alev: "The bounty hunters would definitely rat us out and we'd have to flee for some time. It would make us more important targets on the Intel Department's hit list. But won't affect the whole remnant as much. I'm thinking Hepeski is fed up because he doesn't want us to succeed which would force the Fire Nation government to focus more on the Remnant and war than they are now. Right now, they are still thinking more about economic, political, diplomatic, and even education matters."

Ronin claps his hands, "Which is why we STRIKE while the iron is hot!"

The B Team

It is a chilly morning in Erangu. The sky is light grey, winds can be heard as they scrape the sky, and several bounty hunters wait outside. There are about thirty waiting. Alev stands about twelve feet across from them with two troopers beside her, "Welcome! I called you all here for a chance to earn income. Of course, none of you will earn anything until AFTER the bounty is completed. I picked you all because of your track records, which seem to be modest to slightly impressive. Some of you might become the next big thing and just haven't had a chance to show it."

A male bounty hunter asks, "So, are we all going on this mission?"

Alev: "Of course not! I'm going to test each and every one of you. Don't worry, no one will die. I'm going to test your agility. The first test will be a physical one. To see how good of shape you all are in."

One bounty hunter says, "You know what I'm out! Forget these stupid drills."

Alev smiles, "Bye, you won't be missed. Does anyone else want to leave and make my job that much easier?" No one else departs. Alev: "Good, now we will begin the tests." Several bounty hunters run, perform push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, wrestle, climb, are forced to catch balls (agility and coordination test), and hop around while blindfolded.

As the drills continue, it begins to rain. Several recruits fall over, slide, and slip during the drill. Alev: "Show me what you are made of! I hate the rain, being a firebender. It makes me a little weaker, but it also makes me stronger. Because when things get hard, I become more motivated, more game, and more dangerous. I want to see if you all have that spite in you!"

During each drill Alev points, forcing one or two prospects to leave after coming up short. Alev: "No, get out! Not good enough! Better luck next time." Alev forces a mental test as recruits are made to solve time-tested puzzles and untie knotted objects.

A bounty hunter with bright yellow eyes, fair skin, curly brown hair, and a slim frame quickly solves all of the mental puzzles. Another bounty hunter with dark green eyes, thick dark brown wavy hair, light yellow skin, and long eyes named Timur struggles as he tries to untie a knot. A slightly short girl named Reyna looks over at him.

Reyna has slick black medium-length hair, purple eyes, pale skin, and a thin frame. Reyna whispers, "Hey, I can help you."

Timur: "What?"

Reyna: "Quiet."

Timur whispers, "Yes?"

Reyna points at Timur's knot, "Pull it like this and it will loosen."

Timur smirks and begins to untie the knot, "Thanks". Soon there are just twelve recruits left, all waiting beside each other as they sit outside in the rain.

Bounty hunter: "I can't believe she just left us all out in the rain! Why don't we at least have shelter for our break?!"

A bounty hunter named Kota laughs, "It's probably another test." Kota has a brown man-bun, yellow skin, slanted dark brown eyes, a long nose, and a moderate muscular build that is also somewhat compact and slim.

Timur: "And right now you're failing it by being so sensitive. In our job, we kill people for a living, stop being so fragile."

Bounty hunter: "Hey, stop sucking up to her! I just don't like pointless tests! Either we can capture our targets or we can't. This doesn't prove ANYTHING." The man pumps his arms and storms off.

Timur notices Reyna sitting and twirling her hair, "Hey why did you help me earlier? If it wasn't for you, I would have failed that last test. And you're lucky Alev didn't catch us."

Reyna: "Because I wanted to. I didn't have a real reason."

Timur chuckles, "Everyone has a reason. Come on, tell me."

Reyna: "I heard Alev wants a team, so it won't only be one person who passes. I'm sure we will have plenty of thinkers on this team, we might need some muscle and heart. I think you'll do just fine in that regard."

Timur: "Oh, so you're implying I'm dumb."

Reyna: "I am not."

Timur pouts, "You are, just admit it."

Reyna: "No, I think you have average intelligence, I just don't think that's your specialty. Doesn't mean it can't be one day, maybe that just isn't what you prioritize in life."

Timur: "What? Well, I'll show you that it's another one of my specialties."

Reyna: "Be careful, stick to what you're good at. Don't mess up trying to prove me wrong. You shouldn't be so fazed anyway, Mr. Bounty Hunter."

Timur: "Hey, who says I'm fazed. I'm completely unaffected. You must feel self-important." Reyna turns her head. Timur adds, "And you know another thing."

Reyna rolls her eyes, "What?"

Timur: "You probably really helped me because you LIKED me."

Reyna laughs, "Nope, that's not it."

Timur laughs, "Yeah it is."

Reyna stands up, "Now it is YOU, who feel self-important." She then walks away.

Timur laughs a second time, "Oh, we'll see." During the next drill, bounty hunters fight against each other. A young bounty hunter with black hair, teal eyes, and olive sin named Aten prepares for a combat drill.

Aten is from a remote area in the Earth Kingdom called Yanora. The area has a colder climate within the Earth Kingdom and the people are not as culturally close to the other members of the Earth Kingdom; most Yanorans are known for keeping to themselves.

Aten picks up a wooden staff as he stands facing another bounty hunter. Aten's opponent is very fit, has dark grey hair but is only in his late twenties due to a rare genetic trait, copper brown skin, and has blue eyes.

Alev stands across them, "Fight!" Aten's opponent twirls his staff around despite being a distance away from him. Aten looks blankly at his opponent. Aten: "Right." Aten analyzes his adversary's movements and footwork as he plans a counter. The bounty hunter runs toward Aten and lunges at him with a sweeping horizontal right strike at Aten's face.

Aten steps back and blocks the hit. The opponent leaps forward again with two quick left and right blows that Aten blocks. The hunter rotates his weapon and diagonally smacks Aten in his left shoulder with his staff. Aten falls on his behind in the mud. Aten: "Welp, guess I'm out."

Alev pats Aten on his back, "No you're not. As long as you pass your next test." Everyone looks in surprise.

Timur: "Really?"

Alev: "Yes really, Aten has passed every test until now with flying colors. Often being number one due to his exceptional wits. But what he has in wits, he lacks in physicality compared to the REST of you. I want a team with diverse talents, so I'm looking at different things for each one of you. Don't worry about if someone else passes, worry about yourself and how you might qualify. No killing isallowed during this drill."

Reyna returns and looks at Timur, "See, what I was talking about. There are different ways to prove your worth." Kato stands with his staff while another prospect stands across him. The prospect has straight hair that is a mix of dark brown and black, thick eyebrows, cocoa brown skin, a small nose, and very round ears. Kato steadies his staff, keeps his feet grounded, and his heart steady as he and his opponent pace around facing one another.

The hunter crosses his weapon and strikes at Kato's right side. Kato raises his weapon and turns it left, rebutting the hit. Kato keeps a full awareness of the distance between him and his opponent. He fights smooth like water and can seem to sense attacks coming before they occur. He is a master at analyzing the movements of his opponents and coordinating each movement he makes. Kato slides forward covering several inches as he makes a precise strike, sliding the back tip of his staff into the sparer's right rib. The man falls, rubbing his sore right side.

The twelve bounty hunters are gathered again for a final test. Alev: "You all did enough so far, but I have one last test. All of you will perform a race across a field I have created. There are five objects scattered throughout this field. Once you find the object, take it across the finish line which is simply on the other end of the field. Whoever doesn't find an object might not be accepted into my team. In fact, I might call in a second recruitment team if I feel most of you are inadequate."

Kato: "Well that sounds tough."

Timur: "I know right."

Alev interrupts, "Quiet! You all will being shortly after midday." Later that day, the 12 prospects stand together behind a white painted line. Alev stands as does Gendall with a blowhorn. Alev: "Once he blows the horn, I want all of you to quickly search the field and find the objects. A couple of them will be easy to find. Another two will be in locations that are hard to spot. Another will be in a place that is easy to spot but difficult to obtain. I'd wish you good luck, but I don't think it exists."

Reyna looks at Timur, "Good luck."

Timur: "Same to you, be careful out there and try to stay out of my way."

Reyna: "Be careful testing me." Timur smiles.

Gendall blows his horn and the recruits run. One large, muscular hunter quickly pushes someone down beside him and punches another man on his right. Timur looks across in annoyance. As they press on, that strong man grabs a small gold artificial skull from the ground. The jacked prospect smiles, "Well, I found one of the easy ones."

Aten uses a right route to locate one of the less obvious objects. This route consists of several crowded thin trees. Aten analyzes the ground to look for some sort of pattern that will lead him to his destination. Aten sees that some of the ground has been walked tampered with and follows riffles that he sees within it.

Meanwhile, Reyna notices a long red diamond crystal that is hanging in a glass vase. The vase has two metal chains wrapped around two side handles which are connect to two tall trees. This causes the vase to stand about twenty feet in the air. On the ground there is an engraving that says, "Do not break the crystal."

Reyna draws a metal device from her utility belt. The young woman pulls a lever and a hook with a rope flies out of the gadget. The hook wraps around a tree branch and immediately pulls her up. Reyna lands on a large tree branch toward the top of the tree and looks across at the vase. Reyna retrieves the device and reattaches it to her belt after pulling the hilt in. A second later she grabs a hold of the metal chain and slides down it against the glass vase.

Reyna shifts her body in a way that causes the vase to turn over and the crystal falls out of it. A Reyna immediately lets go of the metal chain and catches the crystal while in free fall. A second later, she puts the crystal in an object holder within her belt. As seconds pass she falls closer to the ground, pulls out her hook launcher, and shoots the hook across another tree branch. Reyna glides up and lands on another tree.

After she gathers herself Reyna hangs downward and pulls another lever on her hook launcher without untying the hook. This causes Reyna to slide down from the tree branch and to land smoothly on the ground. Reyna suddenly hears a voice from a man left of her, "Did you make that yourself of buy it from someone?"

Reyna shifts her head and notices a bounty hunter with his sword pointed at her. The man is wearing a straw hat, has light grey robes with several white dots scattered throughout it, and a long white cape. Reyna, "None of your business and nice outfit where did you get that from your grandmother?"

Another male bounty hunter left of her starts laughing. Bounty Hunter 1: "Pity, I might have let you live if you told me."

The second bounty hunter pulls out a combat spear. This hunter has a mask that covers his face, brown armor, and light orange markings throughout his uniform. Bounty hunter 2: "Yeah, give it up smooth, all we want is the crystal."

Reyna: "Alliances? Was that allowed?"

Bounty Hunter 2: "The lady never said it wasn't! And she was kinda hot wasn't she?"

Bounty Hunter 1: "Focus on the job you moron."

Reyna: "And even if it is, you both have to bring back one object to the finish line. So, if time runs out, who will turn it in?"

Bounty Hunter 2: "Don't worry about that?!"

Reyna: "And killing isn't allowed."

Bounty Hunter 2: "You don't know if she really will punish us for it and we'll just toss your body and pretend like you got lost."

Bounty Hunter 1: "You fool! She's trying to distract you! Kill her now so we can get another object and collect this bounty." Reyna backsteps and pulls out two thin short axes from two shinobis that were strapped against her back. The second bounty hunter runs forward and lunges his spear at Reyna's back. The young mercenary rotates her body and defensively swats the spear in the right direction.

Reyna lunges forward with a diagonal strike, slashing the man in his right shoulder. Bounty hunter 2: "Awww!!" The first bounty hunter sprints toward Reyna and glides toward her with a sweeping right strike. Reyna flips behind the man but he quickly turns to face her.

Bounty Hunter 1: "It will take more than THAT to beat me." The man runs after Reyna and swings down at her with a vertical strike. Reyna crosses her axes as she blocks the hit but the man pulls down on his blade and Reyna's shoes push against the ground as he bears his weight on her. Reyna's veins pop out and arms shake as she struggles to hold his blade back.

Reyna groans, "Uhhhhh!!" The bounty hunter smiles and his confidence rises as he continues to push her back. Reyna grows weary as she nearly drops her axes from his strength. As Reyna struggles to hold her foe back, a deep passion within her wakes up. Reyna begins to uses all her strength to push back against the man, "Eeeeeerrrrraaaaaahhhh!!!!!"

Reyna briefly begins to push the man back and he begins to sweat but he immediately decides to overpower her and apply more pressure to his sword lock. However, the bounty collector failed to recognize Reyna's true goal was not to overpower him. Reyna quickly extends both of her blades horizontally and upwards. This causes the duelist to backstep two feet and his sword to glide up and right.

The bounty hunter panics and charges at her again as he rotates his sword to make a diagonal yet high strike at her neck. Reyna reactively leaps low and right. As the man's sword zooms over Reyna's neck, she drops her left axe and slams her right short axe into the bounty hunter's right knee cap. Bounty Hunter 1: "Awwwwwwaaaahaaaiyeeeeeee!!!!" The caped huntsman collapses and tosses side to side as he winces in pain.

Reyna rises and retrieves her second weapon before strapping both to her guard. Meanwhile, Aten follows a path that leads to a waterfall. The water looks to be a teal color and Aten notices a path that leads to a cave. Aten hear a chirping sound behind him. The searcher turns to scan the area and sees nothing. Aten ponders, I need to hurry and get what I came for.

Aten runs up the path until he moves into a path directly behind center of the waterfall. Aten notices a silver box. Aten picks the box up, "This must be it." A man steps a few feet behind Aten. It is the same man who defeated Aten in sparring earlier.

Aten freezes, "You followed me."

Bounty Hunter: "Of course I did. I've beaten you before, but I knew you were smart. Figured you find somewhere to go and I'm an expert of tracking people down. I figured you'd lead me to one of the prizes then I'd take it from you. Seems to have worked perfectly."

Aten: "You haven't taken it from me yet." The bounty hunter draws a silver sword. Aten: "Oh, well that's different than staff fighting me."

Bounty Hunter: "Don't worry, it'll be the same result. I might even deal with you faster." Aten smiles then sprints forward. The bounty hunter hesitates then follows him. Aten leaps forward through the waterfall and toward a pond below. The bounty hunter takes a deep breath then puts his blade in his utility belt.

The bounty hunter thinks, Oh I actually can't swim. But I have a fix for that. The man pulls out a special blue mask that has a snorkeler attached to it. A second later he leaps down in pursuit of his prey into the pond. Aten quickly backstrokes toward land while holding the prize. Aten is naturally a masterful swimmer.

The bounty hunter flaps around in the middle of the pond. He is tired and annoyed but as long as he is breathing, he won't die with his snorkeler. Bounty Hunter: "Help! Help! I can't swim."

Aten looks at him in confusion, "Then why did you chase me? I don't believe it." As Aten behind to walk off, the bounty hunter begins to slowly butterfly swim. Though Aten said he couldn't swim, it isn't entirely true. He is a relatively bad swimmer, but he has some knowledge of it. Still, he has a fear of swimming and doesn't like to attempt it without a snorkeler and the only way he knows how to swim is by using butterfly strokes (the only way his father knew to swim) which naturally tires him out.

As the chasseur fully extends his arms and legs to propel himself he slowly reaches the land. Just a he gets close to the end he becomes tired and sinks to the bottom. While Aten is about thirty feet from the shore, he turns and notices bubbles rising from the edge of the pond. Aten: "Did this fool drown himself?"

Seconds later the bounty hunter emerges from the water and quickly gasps. The man thinks, If I didn't have my snorkeler, I'd be DEAD! This is why I hate swimming! The grey-haired stalker climbs onto the land and pulls out his sword. Bounty Hunter: "ATEN!!!! You'll pay for making me swim!"

Aten laughs and runs. Bounty Hunter: "You can't outrun me! I might not float well, but I was an expert in track!" The man sprints incredibly fast after Aten but is tiring himself out. Aten hides behind a tree. Aten flows down as he gets closer to his opponent, "Hey! Fight me you coward!! Reveal yourself!! Then you may be granted an honorable death."

While the hunter keeps talking Aten decides to take advantage of the moment. Aten grabs a rock and tosses it into the left side of the man's forehead. The duelist stumbles and a red mark is left on his head, "Ugggghh!! I'll make you bleed for that." The swordsman charges at Aten and Aten swiftly draws his blade but stands still waiting for his opponent.

The duelist moves closer and lunges at him with a vertical swing, "Raaaahahahahha!!" Aten rotates backward as he dodges the blow, the man swings at Aten again horizontally. Aten vertically parries the strike and his foe snarls. Aten backsteps and the hunter swings at Aten with a combination of powerful blows. Aten blocks each attack and the bounty hunter begins breathing heavily.

The hunter goads, "Come on!" Aten steps forward and his challenger lunges at him with a hard downward blow. Aten pivots left and slashes the man's right side. The bounty hunter collapses and blood soaks over his right leg. Bounty hunter: "Awww!! How did you beat me?!"

Aten: "I let you beat yourself, with your own stupidity. I don't know how long you've been in this business, but you must be less impulsive if you want to last. Combat skill alone does not earn bounties." Aten walks away and leaves his opponent in the dirt.

Timur notices a circle of columns. Each column is about six feet tall and are about one foot across each other. Another column is in front of the circle of columns and is just three feet tall. The young man leaps on top of the first column and uses it as a stepping-stone as he grabs onto a taller one. Timur uses his immense strength to pull himself up and notices the center stone that is about three feet away from the columns in the circle.

In the center of the column is a black ball. The bounty catcher leaps only halfway from the center column then extends his hands and raises a column of earth to propel himself. Timur flips over the ball and grabs onto it before raising another earth column to catch himself. A second later, Timur hops off his column onto the ground.

Timur smiles knowing his bending made the job a lot easier. Timur exits the circle of columns and jobs toward the finish line. While this is happening Kota also runs toward the finish line with his own purple belt that he collected. Shortly after, Timur sees the finish line and another person who has a red jacket.

The bounty hunter with the red jacket is being chase by three other bounty hunters. Bounty hunter (in pursuit): "Hey, don't let him reach the finish line!" Timur realizes the remaining prizes may have been collected and challengers are probably looting what's left from people who found them. One of the pursuers catches up the red jacket man but the man rotates his body and kicks his opponent down.

The other two catch up with their foe and one of the men tackles the contestant. The hunter is punched three times in his face when a blaze of non-lethal red and orange fire lay them all out. Steam flows from their bodies and smoke glides in every direction.

Timur widens his mouth. As the smoke fades he sees the muscular bounty hunter from before. Timur never noticed that he was firebender, he takes a second look at his foe. The man has dark orange eyes, yellow skin, curly brown hair, thick eyebrows, and a profound nose.

Timur: "Hey, you did have to hurt them! You already got your prize and that attack was so suddenly and large that you might have seriously hurt them!"

Large Bounty Hunter: "They're lucky I didn't kill them and even if I did it would just be an accident. I fight to win! And who cares? They didn't make it across the finish line, so they were still free game for a bashing! I'm going to prove I'm the best by taking the most objects. And it look like you have something I want, so you'll share their fate."

Timur: "I wanted to punch your face in since I first saw your ridiculous antics. You're unchecked aggression gives us benders a bad name. It's obvious you need some humbling."

Large Bounty Hunter: "No one beats Fettiko!" The muscular behemoth slams his hands together and swiftly pulls them down. An avalanche of explosive light red and orange fire flows toward the young bounty chaser. Timur leaps high in the sky and spins left. As he lands, he stretches his arms and fires six stones at the man.

Fettiko yanks his hands right to left as he hurls orange spheres of fire into the stones. They are blown to oblivion and the man swats another brick aside with his left hand yet still it hurts him. The brute blocks a fourth stone with his right arm, and it shatters on impact. Fettiko groans, "ufff". Another object flies at the man's face but he opens his mouth and spews a beam of fire through the brick. The last stone glides toward his right shoulder but Fettiko catches it, causing his palms to turn pink from the swift impact.

Fettiko spins around and tosses the back at his adversary while setting it ablaze. Timur slides left but his momentum stops and he is still several feet away from his opponent. Fettiko smiles, "Adorable!" The man pulls down his right hand and shoots a shockwave of fire at Timur. Timur raises his hands and a marble wall intercepts the shot.

While still on the ground Timur extends his right hand and splits the wall in half. The top portion of the wall flies at Fettiko. The wall moves mainly horizontally but somewhat diagonally and left. Fettiko being such a large man knows this move will be difficult for him to dodge. The heavy hitter steps left but quickly ducks his head, raises his arms, and braces himself.

Fettiko's right side is grazed and cut by the column. Dark red blood rolls down his armor and Fettiko begins to sniff, "Emmm!" Fettiko wipes his blood and licks it. Fettiko: "It will take more than that to beat me. I will require that much more from you." Timur leaps forward and punches his four bricks at his enemy.

Fettiko punches flames into the first two objects then slams his hands against the ground and a wall of fire accelerates through the bricks. The wall is both wide and tall. Timur gasps and forums a cocoon of earth to shield himself. The exterior of the cocoon is somewhat chipped by the impact but is still intact.

Fettiko extends his hands and shoots a ray of fire into the cocoon, "And now, this ends!" Timur launches himself out of the back of the cocoon and sinks himself into the ground. The cocoon explodes into fragments form Fettiko's attack and the prize hunter doesn't notice Timur's maneuver. Fettiko grins, "Emmm, that was sooo satisfying."

Timur launches himself out of the ground behind Fettiko. As he descends toward the ground, he kicks a sharp stone column at Fettiko. As his foe turns around in astonishment the column pierces his armor and glides through his right shoulder. Fettiko: "Ahhhhhhh!!!"

Timur lands across his enemy, "You've lost, don't ever cross me again." Fettiko rips the column out of his shoulder. Fettiko's right arm becomes limp. Fettiko places his hand left on his wound, heats it up, and cauterizes it. Fettiko deeply inhales and exhales.

Fettiko: "I don't know failure, no man beats me and lives!" Fettiko charges and hurls a flame from his left hand at Timur's abdomen. Timur extends his arms and blocks the shot with a thin wall, the wall crumbles.

Timur looks in confusion, "You've lost, I'll let you collect your prize and we'll call it a day!"

Fettiko: "No! You MUST YIELD!!"

Timur: "You yield, you lost, get over it!"

Fettiko howls, "NOOOOO!!!" Fettiko rotates his arms and begins to generate an aura of fire around himself.

Timur hops forward and shouts, "Stop!" Timur rapidly launches two stones into Fettiko's stomach and another into his left shoulder. The man winces in pain and takes a step back; this hit doses his fire background. Fettiko reenters his battle stance and Timur hurls a stone column into his face. The column smashes Fettiko's nose and blood gushes from it. The man falls hard.

Timur checks Fettiko's pulse and realizes he's dead. Timur sighs but Alev steps a few feet behind him. Her arms are crossed. Timur turns, "I, I didn't want to kill him."

Alev responds, "I know. I saw what happened and it's ok. He brought it on himself, I just wanted to avoid the liability of people killing each other in bounty trials. That was never my intention. I can be hardcore, but this was unnecessary. Plus, I've got kills to save for the battles that matter. But I'm not heartless, not completely."

Timur looks at her, "Thanks, so I passed?" Alev nods. Timur meets with the other victors of the test as he walks pass the finish line. He notices Reyna, Kota, Aten, and three other people. Timur sees one female with black hair, yellow-green eyes, and olive skin. Timur smiles, "Hey, what's your name."

The girl smiles, "Suni."

Timur: "Nice to meet you, I'm Timur."

A bald man with dark brown eyes, a small yet pointy nose, small ears, and light brown skin approaches Timur, "I'm Cosmos."

Timur: "What do you do?"

Cosmos: "I don't bend, but I'm resourceful. That's how I got where I'm at." Another girl steps forward, she has long dark brown wavy hair, dark yellow eyes, medium skin, an average height, slanted eyes, and a small nose, "I'm Akira."

Timur crosses his arms, "So when are we going to start this high-stake mission?"

Alev arrives with Ronin at her right and Gendall left of her, "Tomorrow morning. Get plenty of sleep because you all will be up very early. Then I will give each and every one of you a rundown of the mission."

Kota: "So you said our pay would range between 50,000 and 100,000 bronze shekels. So how much will it be?"

Alev: "Each of you will get 70,000 shekels and I said silver not bronze."

Reyna's eyes light up, "Oh silver, that's pretty valuable. That probably would have me set for a year, maybe even the next two years."

Alev grins, "Good, but that's only if you pull the mission off."

Timur: "That's quite a bit of money you're playing with, how did you get the resources to do all of that?"

Alev explains, "The remnant put some funds together and let's just say I'm one of the more well-endowed majors in the Remnant. So I made a modest contribution. It ties a bit to my family wealth, but I'm still no duchess, marchioness, or countess I'm more like a viscountess. My father has influence in Nyarri but the town is smaller so the leader of it and several other adjacent villages and small cities all answer to the same sectoral count who then answers to regional marquess."

Reyna: "So you're only a little rich and not filthy rich."

Kota: "She's still above a baron, sounds filthy rich to me."

Aten: "Interesting."

Cosmos: "Eh, I don't any of us have much of an understanding of the noble system outside of you. It's not like we can relate."

Aten: "Well, I actual have a cousin that's a baron."

Kota: "Lucky."

Aten: "We aren't close, otherwise why would I be doing this for a living. I don't see too many royals doing this job."

Alev: "Um, just so you know, only dukes and above are royals. Like the Princes, Princesses, Firelord, you get it. The rest of us fall in that bracket above commoners but below royals called nobles."

Timur: "Well you're above a baron and that is above whatever we could imagine, so please don't take it for granted. I wish I had rich family members; you nobles don't even have to work."

Alev: "To not work would be dishonorable and a disservice to our society. There are still expectations of nobility."

Kota: "Fair enough but you all still live better lives than us for living up to your expectations. We are just expected to do certain things or be homeless basically, that is unless our parents take us in."

Cosmos adds, "We are also more likely to be imprisoned if we do something wrong. Nobles and royals, ehh. It has to be really bad like murder, huge embezzlement but why steal when you're already wealthy, treason, and a few other really bad crimes."

Alev yawns, "And as fun as this discussion has been, I must bid you all farewell but only for now. As I said, I will be back to check on you all in the morning for the mission briefing. Get some rest, you will need it." As Alev steps away the team prepares for sleep, several of them step into nearby cabins which have tatami mats inside of them. As Timur crawls into his bed Reyna looks at him.

Timur: "What are you looking at?"

Reyna smiles, "You, obviously." Timur puts his head down and giggles. Reyna: "That really made your day didn't it."

Timur raises his head, "You would think that wouldn't you?"

Reyna: "Well obviously, because that's what I just told you."

Timur sarcastically frowns, "On that note, I'm going to bed."

Reyna: "Good, you need some rest."

Timur warns, "Hey, you better.... continue keeping an eye on me, I like it."

Reyna (visible confused): "What?"

Timur: "Chicken-pig butt..."

Cosmos looks at them from the distance, "What?"

Reyna: "Timur, go to sleep, you're tired."

Timur (defiant): "You go to sleep first Reyna."

Aten: "Both of you need to go to sleep, you're disturbing my rest. And I envy Kota, he's already sound asleep. I don't know how he tunes this nonsense out."

Timur: "See look Reyna, you're causing us to anyone everyone."

Akira replies, "I'm not annoyed. I'm actually enjoying the strange convo you two are having." Reyna suddenly falls asleep.

Timur: "Wow, she did it that easily. Well, no more distractions." Timur rotates his body and lays on his back. He suddenly goes silent and passes out.