Chapter 26.2- And so the Dragons Danced

Gecko was the first to go in. Headhunter followed afterwards and once the rest had gone in, the Boulder brought up the rear and closed the tunnel behind him. First things first was putting the general out. He was pleased to see the poison dart already sticking out of the man’s neck so it was smooth sailing from here on. Or at least it was supposed to be. They removed the covers, and the Boulder felt the urge to gasp at just how young the boy was. Not even in his second decade, and already a murderer known all across the world. What was it with children of this generation and being insanely overpowered. It reminded him a lot of that new Blind bandit kid that was rising up the ranks and taking down people with no delay. He was expected to face her in a few months to ride out the tension, but he was already beginning to see that she would be more of a challenge than previously calculated.

Sharply, he shook his head as his turn arrived and he moved to bind the boy’s arms together. The chains continued downwards, connected by a single length to another set of cuffs that Headhunter used in binding his feet together. Having secured him, they moved to pick him up and begin their exit. Of course, that was when the wrench in their wheels appeared. She slammed the door open with none of the respect that one would have expected for a Commanding Officer’s personal chambers, “Natsu you said-“ the brown skinned woman with long hair froze as she looked at them. He was ashamed to admit that he also froze on looking at her. His life seemed to flash before his eyes as he had no illusions that they would be making any sort of escape if the alarm was sounded at this moment. The Mayor would disavow them in a blink.

“As you were, then. I saw nothing” She said, turning around and closing the door.

Gecko turned to him. He shrugged. Xin Fu just clicked his teeth and opened up the tunnel again and so they began their retreat. This time, they could not move as quickly, trying to avoid jostling their hostage too much. It was a powerful sedative, but they had already been warned that firebenders tended to have a higher resistance to poisons than others, and this was one of the most powerful of his kind so he could wake up at any time. They followed the bending and winding route, covering the distance until they reached the exit.

The Boulder breathed a sigh of relief at the way the fresh air felt across his skin as they enterred the next stage of their plan- escaping the compound without being caught by the partying fire nation. It seemed to be going well, Gecko and Headhunter acting as scouts, while the rest of them crawled across wide spaces as soon as they gave the all clear.

Of course, it could not last forever as only Lin’s reflexes saved his life. The self-styled fire Nation Man pushed him out of the way of a spear that landed right where he had been standing/