Neo Fire

Chapter 2: Leaders and Followers

Chiso slept into mid-morning. When she woke up, she helped herself to more of Uku's food. Uku just stood there, watching her eat. She didn't offer him any this time. After she was finished eating, the stretched and yawned. Then she bowed her head and sat there, motionless. She started breathing deeply.

Uku continued to watch her, confused.

She looked . . . asleep.

But that couldn't be it. She had just woken up not long ago. Why would she go back to sleep?

Maybe she's thinking, Uku justified. Or perhaps she's in some sort of trance or maybe she's meditating. Or . . .

Chiso then snored loudly. Uku stared at her dully.

She's asleep, he thought.

Chiso slept for an hour or two. Uku wasn't sure how long exactly. The sun was higher when she woke up again. She yawned and stretched again. Then she beamed.

"That was a nice nap!" she said. She stood up. "Well, time to go."

Chiso walked up to Uku. She punched the mound holding him and it fell apart. All that was left was a chunk of rock holding Uku's arms. It held both arms to his side while part of it was behind his back. He was able to stand up normally and would be able to walk, but couldn't move is arms.

Chiso then gathered Uku's things back into his pack. She put the green box on the top, just as Uku had. She closed the pack and threw it over her shoulder. She pointed down the path.

"Now, let's go!" she ordered.

Chiso lead Uku through the forest for hours. She acted as though she knew where she was going, but Uku was pretty sure they were going in circles. Chiso turned and zigzagged so much, it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere.

Despite this, Uku stayed silent. He didn't point out how the area they were going through looked familiar. He didn't try to correct her. He also didn't try to get away from her. He felt compelled to follow her wherever she went, even if it did eventually mean he would be turned over to the earth armies.

On some level, he felt like he deserved to be turned over to them.

Chiso stopped walking suddenly. Uku stopped behind her. She glanced around.

"You know what?" she said.

Uku waited. Chiso didn't move or finish her thought. They stood there in silence for a moment.

Chiso started walking again. Uku couldn't believe it.

"What?" he cried.

She looked at him, confused.

"What's what?" she asked.

"You asked if I knew what?" Uku pointed out. "What were you going to say?"

"When did I say that?" Chiso asked, even more confused.

"Just a minute ago!" Uku shouted.

"I did?" she asked.

"Yes, you did!" he snapped.

Chiso thought for a moment.

"Oh, that," Chiso said. "You didn't say anything, so I figured you didn't know."

Uku groaned, annoyed. He lowered his head, feeling worn out suddenly.

"You are the most confusing person I've ever met," he said.

"I asked if you knew," she defended, "and you didn't say anything, so that would mean you didn't know."

Uku was agitated with her logic that actually almost made sense.

He looked at her angrily.

"What did you want to know if I knew?" Uku asked.

"There!" she said triumphantly. "You don't know! Otherwise you wouldn't ask! So you really don't know what I was saying!"

"How can I if you didn't say?" he pointed out.

"But if you really knew," she said, "I wouldn't have to."

Uku was actually getting to understand what she meant. That worried him.

The last thing he needed was to follow Chiso's train of thought.

"Fine, it doesn't matter," Uku said. "Let's get going."

"But I don't know where we're going," Chiso complained.

"You don't?" Uku yelled. "So we really are lost?"

"What?" Chiso asked. "So you did know what I was thinking?"

Uku bowed his head again. Chiso was wearing him out mentally.

Chiso looked around again, tapping her chin with a finger.

"I maybe should have kept better track of where I was going on the way out here," she noted.

"You think?" Uku barked, looking up at her again.

"Think what?" she asked, looking at him.

They stared at each other for a moment. Chiso looked confused again, as if she really didn't know what he meant. Uku groaned again.

Then he heard something. Fast movement all around them. He saw men jumping out from behind trees, surrounding them. He and Chiso looked around.

The men were all wearing battered clothes and were glaring at the two of them. They looked threatening.

Bandits, Uku thought.

"Give us all you got and you won't get hurt," one of the men said, holding up a knife.

"Hey!" Chiso asked. "Do you guys know where the army's stronghold is from here? It's a fort, right, and . . ."

"They're not here to give us directions!" Uku interrupted. "They want to rob us!"

"They do?" Chiso asked innocently. "That's not very nice . . ."

"We'll show you how not nice we are if you don't hand over whatever you have in that pack!" another bandit yelled.

A tall man wearing slightly nicer clothing than the rest stepped through the circle they had created.

"Now boys," he said, waving his hands at the others. "That's not how we speak to a lovely lady."

The man, who Uku figured was the leader of the group, walked up to Chiso. He took her by the hand.

"I apologize for how my men are acting," he said. "Let me make it up to you. Maybe you and I could . . ."

Chiso yanked her hand away from him and slapped him with it.

"Not on your life!" she yelled.

Uku found himself surprised. As dense as Chiso was most of the time, she had immediately understood what the man was getting at.

The man growled and held his cheek.

"No woman turns me down and gets away with it!" he yelled. "Get 'em!"

The men charged, weapons ready. Chiso quickly reacted by raising a circular wall to keep them away.

However, she left Uku on the outside of the wall as well, leaving him vulnerable.

Uku stared at the wall in disbelief. But he also realized that Chiso didn't have much of a reason to protect him too.

The bandits neared, ready to attack Uku first since Chiso was out of reach for the time being. Uku had been distracted by the wall just a moment too long to do much to protect himself.

Chiso let out a yell and her wall broke into large pieces of rock which flew out in every direction around her. The rocks hit the bandits and knocked them back. The pieces also hit Uku who was also in the line of fire.

Uku had realized that Chiso didn't have much of a reason to protect him, but didn't know why he was getting attacked by her.

Uku was knocked to the ground where he grunted.

That woman is getting on my last nerve, he thought bitterly.

The bandits started to regain their senses and climb to their feet. Some of them charged at Chiso again. A few went after Uku.

One of the men going for Uku lifted a blade above him and forced it down towards him. Uku rolled out of the way. Another man ran up to him. Uku twisted his legs around the man's and pulled him to the ground.

Uku got to his knees and then to his feet. He stepped onto the man and looked around.

Chiso was fighting the bandits that were attacking her. She had put Uku's pack down to fight them. She had left it unattended. One of the men was opening it.

The green box was on top. He saw it and smiled greedily. He picked it up.

Uku's face filled with rage. He ran towards him.

"Put that down!" he roared.

The rock holding Uku's arms cracked. Flames erupted from them. He forced the rock apart, freeing his arms.

Within a second of freeing himself, Uku threw flames at the man holding the box. The man dropped the box in surprise. The flames hit him, pushing him back a little and starting his clothes on fire. He screamed and fell to the ground. He flailed around wildly, trying to put the flames out.

Uku ran up to the box and picked it up. He opened it quickly and looked inside. He let out a relieved sigh and then closed the box again. He looked angrily at the man who had put out the flames and was sitting up to check himself to make sure he was okay.

Uku kicked him back down and put his foot against his throat.

"Don't touch this box," he growled.

The bandit looked up at him fearfully and nodded the best he could.

Uku then bent down and grabbed the man's knife which was still attached to his belt. He lifted his foot from the man's throat and looked around. He saw the leader of the bandits, watching some of his men attack Chiso.

Uku put the box back into his pack and then walked towards him. The man didn't notice. He was seeing to it that he got revenge against Chiso, and wasn't paying attention to anything else.

One bandit got in Uku's way. Uku simply pushed him aside. He then grabbed the leader by the arm. He twisted his arm behind the man's back and pushed the blade up against his neck. The man didn't have a chance to react.

The leader did let out a yelp of surprise. This caused the bandits to stop their attack and look at him. Chiso looked as well. All eyes fell on Uku and t he leader.

"Call them off or I'll slit your throat!" Uku ordered.

"You're bluffing," the leader challenged, agitated.

"Do I sound like I'm bluffing?" Uku retorted.

"You could be," he pointed out.

"Oh, believe me," Uku said darkly, "yours wouldn't be the first blood I've spilt." Uku pulled the knife closer. If he moved it anymore, it would cut the leader's neck for sure. "Are you willing to risk your life on the chance that I could be bluffing?"

The leader thought about this.

"Stand down," he commanded, firmly but disappointedly.

The bandits hesitated. They then put their weapons away. Chiso watched them. She was once again confused.

"Now leave," Uku said.

"Go," the leader grumbled.

His men obediently turned and started to walk away. Uku waited until they were a good distance, and then released the leader.

"You too," he spat.

The leader stood there and growled. He turned towards Uku with a fist raised.

"Why you . . ." he snarled.

Uku was faster. He slashed the knife across the man's face, going from below his left eye, across his nose, and down to the right side of his jaw. The cut quickly brought blood and the man's screams. He covered his face.

Uku then forced the knife into the man's right shoulder. The leader let out another scream, one much louder than the first.

Uku pushed him back. The man stumbled a little, cringing and gasping. He was able to stay on his feet, but just barely.

"I told you I wasn't bluffing," Uku growled. "Go!"

The man turned and trudged away, knowing what would happen if he stayed and powerless to do anything else. He walked away with the knife still in his shoulder. He grunted and winced with every step.

Uku and Chiso both watched him until he and the other bandits were out of sight. Chiso stood there, silent.

Uku turned his attention back to his pack. He went over to it and looked into the box one more time to make sure it's contents were safe. They were. He closed it again, relieved.

Chiso had walked up to him while he was looking into the box. When he looked at her, she punched him in the face.

"Ow!" Uku yelled, stumbling back. "What was that for?"

"You could have freed yourself at anytime, couldn't you?" she snapped, waving a finger at him as if to scold him.

"Pretty much," Uku admitted.

"How?" she demanded.

"You shouldn't feed the enemy," Uku explained. He stepped back towards the pack. "I only lost to you last night because I was weak from not eating. Even eating the little you gave me gave me my strength back."

Chiso folded her arms, pouting. Uku picked the pack up and threw it over his shoulder.

"Well?" he asked. "Shall we head to this stronghold of yours?"

She looked at him, confused.

"You're still going to come with me?" she asked.

Uku shrugged.

"Whatever the reason," he said, "I lost. You captured me fair and square. I am personally obligated to do as you wish. If you choose to turn me over to the earth kingdom, then so be it. My life is yours."

She studied him for a moment, and then walked past him.

"I think it's this way," she said.

Uku turned and followed her. He was pretty sure they had already been that way, but didn't object.

"I don't think I even know your name," Chiso said.

"Uku," he told her. "That is my name."

"Are all firebenders like you?" she asked.

Uku paused.

"I doubt it," he admitted.

Really sorry about the slow update on this one. I wanted to get to the point in "Avatar Zero" where the Eye of the Phoenix was at least mentioned. Then after that I was lazy. I know this was a pretty short chapter too, even for me. But, there wasn't much more to this part.