Secret Avatar

Discovery

When Rosa and Hue went into the chamber,  Rosa realized that she had forgotten to ask the cooperative prisoner his name. “I have to go to see another prisoner now.”

“Would I know him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find that out when I speak to him. See you later.” Rosa then strolled down the hallway, into the prisoner commons, down another long hallway, and into the other interrogation room. When she arrived, the prisoner was laying on his bed.

“Did you capture him?”

“Yes,” replied Rosa. “A couple of guards saw me, though. I think that they might try to rescue him tonight. Do you think they will be able to get in here?”

“I don’t think so. Isn’t it so deep underground that only Earthbenders can get in?”

“Yes, but I’m more worried about how far they will go to rescue him. The Fire Nation might try to dig down here and accidentally collapse the place.”

“I am not so certain that they know where he is, only that he has been captured by Earthbenders,” he replied. “But I’m sure they will figure it out if we give them enough time to think about it. However, if you let me out so I can speak with them-”

“NO!” Rosa interrupted. “I will not let you go aboveground. If you go to the Fire Nation’s camp, I won’t be able to make sure that you don’t escape. But if you really want to go speak with them, you can say that I am an Earthbender that betrayed my village by helping you to escape. That way, they will completely trust me. If you do these things, I will let you go there, but if you don’t, I’ll never let you go. It is your choice. Do you need time to think it over?”

“That won’t be necessary, thank you. I most look forward to the time I will get to be aboveground. When will we leave?” he replied quickly.

“Now. Pack anything you might need, for it will be a long trip. By the way, what’s your name? I forgot to ask you earlier.”

“My name is Yohon, and I don’t really have anything to pack, so if we are going to go, can we get going?”

“Sure...um...Yohon. Let’s go!”

“Very well. Will you lead the way?”

“Yes.”

“Good, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find my way out!”

“Ha, ha, very funny. Follow me then,” and they were off. Out on their journey for Yohon to talk to his ‘comrades’. Soon after they set off, Yohon was jubilantly smelling the clean, fresh air of the open countryside.

“So what’s your name, then?” asked Yohon, only mildly interested.

“I already told you, it’s Rosa,” replied a very puzzled Rosa.

“No, I mean your Fire Nation name.”

“Oh...well I’ve always liked the name Jenna, but I guess it’s not really a Fire Nation name, is it?”

“Actually, it just might be. Anyways, its the best we’ve got and we don’t want to spend anymore time here...”

“Why do we have to hurry? You’ll get to go outside anyway.”

“I...well...it’s just that..it’s just that one of the lieutenants, a guy named Luke, is leaving today, at around midday and I really want to catch him before he leaves.”

“Very well. We can do that. And believe me, we’ll catch him, one way or another.” To Yohon, those few words were all he needed to send shivers racing down his back. He had just gotten the sudden feeling that all was not well. Looking around, Yohon found that this sudden feeling of dread he was now experiencing wasn’t coming from the cold, bare walls of the cell, but from Rosa herself.

He was having second thoughts about this whole venture, but before he could voice them, he heard Rosa say, “Come on! You’re the one who said we should hurry in the first place!” Warily, he followed her out of the bare room he hated so much.

After getting a Fire Nation outfit, Rosa Earthbended a tunnel and followed it until she and her unwilling companion reached aboveground, some seventy-five feet above their starting point. When, finally, they reached the outside, everything was worth it to Yohon. After what had seemed like decades, (but was in fact only a couple of months), he felt almost as though he was free again. It was an exhilarating feeling, but the never-ending fact that he was a prisoner still lingered, always just out of reach, almost as though it was mocking him.

Still, Yohon looked deep within himself and found enough courage to lead his captor into the Fire Nation camp that he knew so well. Oblivious to the puzzled Rosa following in his wake, Yohon relished everyone around him bowing to him once more.

The twosome soon entered the lieutenant's tent, where they bumped into a very surprised lieutenant on his way to make the perilous journey into the mountains and back to the Fire Nation to report that there was a problem and the Commanders had been captured by the rebels.

“C-commander Yohon? Is that you? stuttered the unfortunate lieutenant.

WHAT??!! Rosa wanted to thunder, but she held her tongue for she knew it was not her place to speak.

“Yes, it is me, Luke. I heard rumors that you were heading out to tell our sponsor to send in reinforcements. Is this true?”

“Yes. It is true, Commander. I was in charge while you and Commander Hue were... um... captured, and I thought it was best if we stood a better chance against the rebels. I hope you agree with me.”

“Of course I do, but you should have waited until Hue and I had escaped to conference with us before going. Anyway, we need to talk somewhere private.” Yohon now addressed Rosa, (who was now called Jenna). “You there, Jenna, you have done me a great favor by helping me escape the treacherous rebels’ prison, but could you attend to your duties here in the camp now? I need to speak in private with the Lieutenant.”

“Very well, sir. I will go now,” and having said this, Rosa promptly left the tent.”

Whispering, Yohon asked Luke, “Send a quadrant of guards to arrest her.”

“May I ask why, sir?” whispered Luke.

Still whispering, Yohon answered, “She is not who she says she is. Her name is not Jenna, it is Rosa. She is the sole commander of the rebels, and she came on the account that I wanted to talk to you. Beware her, she is an Earthbender, and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. There is also something really eerie about Rosa, as though she hides a huge secret or something.”

Luke’s voice suddenly raised with surprise, “Really?”

“Quiet!!!”

Whispering once again, Luke said, “Sorry commander. Anyway, why are we whispering?”

“Because Rosa has really good hearing. Now, please do what I asked.”

“Very well,” and raising his voice so that he was shouting, Luke added, “Stephon, bring your quadrant up here right now!!”

“Sir, yes sir! On my way, sir!!”

“Good, I’ll leave now, but do as I asked, Lieutenant, I’m counting on you.”

“I will, sir. Good-bye sir.”

With that, Yohon promptly left the tent. As he was walking down the path that lead to the prison, (for what few Earthbenders they had actually succeeded in capturing), Yohon saw Stephon and his quadrant hustle down to the prison ahead of him, with Rosa tightly sandwiched in between them all. It was a wonderful sight, one that meant that he was finally free at last.

He headed down to the prison, starting a plan that had recently formed in his mind. To tell the truth, the prison was shabby in the least. It was made from scraps of metal, and wasn’t the least bit clean. Yohon had a twinge of pity for Rosa, but it was quickly justified by the fact that Rosa had held him prisoner for some time as well. She deserved the same at least.

        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        

Meanwhile, Rosa wasn't having at all as much of a good time as Yohon was. When she had left the Lieutenant’s tent, she had lingered outside until she was sure they were talking about her, as the lieutenant had suddenly exclaimed, “Really?!” after a large amount of incomprehensible whispers. Then all of a sudden, Yohon emerged from the tent, and Rosa had gotten up to follow - and recapture - him. But she was so focused on her target that she didn't hear the lieutenant give orders to Stephon and his men, nor did she hear the steady thumping of heavy footsteps behind her. Stephon and his men were almost upon her by the time she noticed, and by then it was too late to do anything about it.

        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

In spite of the fact that Yohon disliked Rosa, she was the base of his plan, so he had to converse with her if he wanted it to work. So here he was, heading to the last place in the world he wanted to be, and going to talk to the last person in the world he wanted to talk to right then. He wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t important. Important to the plan.

For the first few minutes of her time in the prison she had found and talked to every one of her “missing” soldiers. She found out what had happened to each one of them and came to the horrifying conclusion that she had a traitor in the camp, as well as several spies hidden deep within her camp.

But before Rosa could figure out who had turned traitor, she heard Yohon’s distinctive footsteps from across the one-room prison. Hurriedly, she hid behind a few of her most trusted soldiers.

The tension was very high in the Fire Nation prison as Yohon searched for Rosa. He most likely wouldn’t have found her if Rosa’s highly-trusted friend Lilly hadn’t gone up to him and pointed to where she was hiding.

Lilly had always been the quiet one. She was always listening, and never adding much to the conversations. In fact, Lilly had only moved into her village a few months before the traitor Firebenders invaded.

Well, Rosa had found her first traitor, but it was too late to do anything about it. All she could do was watch as Yohon strolled past her soldiers and came to a stop before the loyal ones.

“MOVE!!!” roared Yohon. The loyalists didn’t budge.

“You’ll have to go through us if you want to get to our commander,” Layla’s sister Holly stated. She and Rosa made eye contact, and in that instant agreed on a plan. “Charge!” she exclaimed. Half the loyalists circled Yohon and the other half stormed the door with Rosa leading the attack. The first two guards were overwhelmed almost immediately and their four comrades were close behind.