Avatar: Bounties

Da-Nines

The trio had been journeying for days and eventually came to a village known as Da-Nines. Once they entered the village, Monkey Joe began to run loose leaving the three to explore on their own. Their stomachs were growling so the first thing that caught their eyes were the foods along the market. Da-Yong could see a pack of donuts ready for the purchasing while on the other end Duncan could smell the aroma of delicious dumplings. They looked into their pouch of coins and realized that they did not have enough to purchase both. The two were arguing over which food to buy while Nilay was looking very unstable. “Hey Nilay what’s up, you still feeling the effects of the poison?” asked Duncan. Nilay couldn’t really talk as his skin was starting to act up. Da-Yong took a sniff and he realized, “COOKED CHESTNUTS! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! WE HAVE TO GET HIM OUT OF HERE!” he yelled. Duncan carried Nilay on his back and Da-Yong ran full speed barging through people and food stands. He even bumped into an old man’s cart full of cabbages and as they were running they could hear in the distance, “MY CABBAGES!” from an old man. Eventually Da-Yong’s recklessness caused him to bump into a little kid. His name was Tirsten, a local boy who was the same age as them. “Hey man you really need to watch where you are going!” Da-Yong had no time to waste so he ignored Tirsten and told Duncan to speed it up. “Wait, no way, are you Da-Yong, Duncan, and Nilay?” The D-Duo looked puzzled as to how this person knew their name. “You guys are legends; The three warriors who stood against the hunters Sitkar, Nase, and Tsuejin and lived!” he replied. Da-yong and Duncan were feeling mighty proud of themselves while Nilay was just trying to keep it together. “Thanks for that, and sorry about bumping you before but we got to hurry, our friend Nilay is in pretty bad shape and we need to get help.” announced Da-Yong. “Hold up, I know an Inn you three can stay at. Follow me!” and they followed Tirsten to their next destination.

They approached an inn with a sign on the top that said “Jams Kore Inn.” It was run by a very friendly elder couple whose names were Neejan and Wardoh. Neejan was a very jolly and expressive caring mother figure and Wardoh was also friendly but a more firm personality like that of a caring dad. Wardoh got them all set up for their room while Neejan was preparing them food for the evening. Nilay was resting on the bed while Wardoh got a towel rinsed with warm water and put it over Nilay’s head. “He will be just fine.” Wardoh assured Duncan and Da-Yong. The two were very thankful to Wardoh and it wasn’t long before Neejan called everyone for dinner.

At the table were Neejan, Wardoh, Duncan, Da-Yong, and Tirsten. The tavern didn’t have much business on this evening so the five of them ate and exchanged conversation while Nilay was healing up back in the room. Duncan and Da-Yong found out that Neejan and Wardoh have been running the inn for over a decade and business has been solid but they did not have kids. Not much was discussed about Tirsten other than the fact he was a high energy child growing up and was well liked in the town. Neejan, Wardoh, and Tirsten were curious about Duncan and Da-Yong’s journey and their bouts against the 3 hunters. With their pride at an all-time high, they shared a bit of their adventure and maybe even exaggerated certain parts. The three listeners were in awe of their story especially Tirsten who always had high hopes of going out on a journey to hunt for bounties. “Keep working hard and maybe one day you will be as awesome as me!” Da-yong exclaimed. Immediately Duncan bursted into laughter, “Ok Dumplings, says the guy who almost blew up a donut!” Da-Yong came right at Duncan with a little punch, “Hey! You said you wouldn’t bring that up anymore!” And they all had a great evening of fun and laughter.

As the evening was drawing to an end, Neejan was cleaning up the table and Tirsten was helping out. Da-Yong and Duncan were very satisfied with their meal and asked Wardoh if there was anything they could do to help out. Wardoh guided them to the counter and pulled out three cups. He poured out some sparkling apple cider and gave them a toast before they headed to bed. Duncan and Da-Yong graciously accepted and drank the apple cider. However, before they could make their way out they felt very drowsy and their eyelids heavy. Within moments, they both fell asleep on the counter.

When they came to consciousness, they found themselves in a different place bound to different areas. Da-yong was locked into a metal-reinforced box that was kept to very low temperatures with his hands and wrist cuffed. Duncan was placed in a cage near a raging hot boiler and his arms were chained up. Then there was Nilay who was kept in a wooden cage surrounded by peanuts. Da-Yong was shivering, Duncan was dehydrated and Nilay was just trying to stay conscious. Not too long the door began to open. Five people entered into the shed but our heroes only recognized two of them; Neejan and Wardoh. One of the three unknowns gave Wardoh a pouch and told him that they did a great job. Da-Yong was shivering a lot but he could still utter some words, “Traitors…” Then the leader of their group spoke. “Oh don’t be mad at them, they are just doing what they have to do to survive! You were fools to just enter a village without knowing much about it. This is ‘Da-Nines’ a village heavily controlled by bandits and thieves. These villagers have to do what they can to prevent bandits from invading their property. Oh sorry where are my manners? I’m Kabir and these are my two partners Rajveer and Gurjeevan.” Duncan began to piece things together and spoke to the best of his ability even though his throat was very dry, “So you blackmailed the couple and Tirsten so you could get to us…” Kabir acknowledged his analysis and added, “Yes and there have been some bounties going out for the three of you because of your encounter with the black-listed Hunters so we just decided to take advantage of every opportunity possible.” After that exchange, Kabir bid the three a ‘comfortable stay’ and that they would be back up in the morning to deliver them for a hefty reward. With that conclusion, they left the shed and our heroes had only till daytime to come up with an escape plan.

Hours had passed and no plans had occurred to any of them. Time was of the essence but hope was never lost and Duncan could hear some quiet footsteps outside the shed. There were a couple of loose wood planks in the shed and someone from the outside quietly nudged a couple of them out of the way and slid their way into the shed. Out of the night emerged an unlikely face: Tirsten! Duncan was in shock and Tirsten signaled for Duncan to be quiet. Using a couple of metal wires and picks, Tirsten was able to undo the chains that had Duncan restrained. Duncan then quickly grabbed all the peanuts around the shed and threw them outside. Meanwhile, Tirsten was trying to pick the lock on Da-Yong’s cage but this was a lot trickier than the chains. It took a bit of time but he managed to pick the lock and open the cage up to free Da-Yong from the cold prison. Da-Yong woke up but was shivering and was ready to get pay-back at Tirsten but before he could Duncan stepped in and informed him that Tirsten was trying to save them. Da-Yong was still angry but kept his cool in order to get Nilay out safely as well. Together all four of them exited the shed but as they stepped out a barrage of boulders and fury of icicles headed right at them. The four managed to dive out of the way but the shed was destroyed into pieces.

Kabir and his friends were waiting outside for them. What gave them away were the peanuts that Duncan threw outside of the shed. This was taking place in the midst of the night so Da-Yong was not at full strength for this battle. Kabir signaled Rajveer and Gurjeevan to attack. Duncan figured he was the only one able to fight at the moment so he stood between them and engaged for battle. Rajveer was a strong earth bender who kept punching small boulders at Duncan while Gurjeevan, a water bender, threw volleys of ice-balls. Duncan did his best to dodge and block as many attacks as possible because he did not want anyone else to be taking collateral damage. It got to the point where Duncan had to stand his guard and create a water wall to protect the four of them. Rajveer and Gurjeevan continued their relentless barrage of projectiles hoping to wear Duncan down. It was working as Duncan wasn’t sure how much longer he could maintain the wall. Meanwhile, Nilay pointed to his satchel that was near him. Da-Yong was still shivering and not thinking clearly so Tirsten quickly reached into the satchel and found a bottle filled with medicine in it. He gave it to Nilay and once he consumed it he gained a burst of energy and was ready for battle. He jumped in front of Duncan creating an air sphere around himself that deflected every projectile that came their way. Some scattered around the village causing damage and some right back at Rajveer and Gurjeevan causing them to rethink their strategy. It was now a more even fight, 2 on 2 and both sides were poised and ready to re-engage but before they could resume, a loud noise approached them. The fighting had stirred up so much noise and created so much property damage that the villagers were all outside yelling at the fighters. There was a lot of arguing amongst the crowd and Kabir was getting annoyed with them. Out of the blue, Da-Yong spoke, “How about Kabir and I settle this in a one on one match tomorrow in the afternoon: we win and we will pretend nothing ever happened but if we lose then we give ourselves in?” Everyone was caught off guard by his suggestion but Kabir was itching for a battle so he gladly agreed. The both of them already realized beforehand that they were both fire benders so this wasn’t going to be an ordinary showdown; this was going to be an AGNI KAI!

Morning finally came and the two fighters gathered in the arena ready to take each other on. Kabir and Da-Yong stared down each other from opposite ends of the battlefield gauging each other’s ability. Duncan and Nilay came up to quickly offer some last minute pep talk. “So dumplings just keep your head in the game and you got this.” said Duncan. “No pressure, it’s just all our hopes and dreams lie with you, no pressure at all.” Nilay decided to add in. Da-Yong let out a sigh and gave a sarcastic thank you before turning around to face his foe. Both the combatants moved into their battle stance and the drum sounded the beginning of the fight. They both started out with hand to hand combat testing out each other’s strength and agility. They were blocking and evading each other’s punches evenly. Eventually they began to use their kicks as well but every time they would read each other’s moves perfectly so no one could get a clean hit. The crowd’s focus was on the fight, it has been awhile since they have witnessed such an even match.

It took a while but finally Da-Yong managed to land a punch right at Kabir’s shoulder and in retaliation Kabir whipped a kick right at Da-Yong’s ribs. Kabir cracked his neck to signal that he was beginning to get serious. So Da-Yong clasped his hands together and threw fire shurikens right at Kabir just barely making contact. This time DA-Yong decided to charge up for a bigger shuriken and as he was doing so, Kabir began to charge towards him. Noticing his target getting close, Da-Yong let out a strong fire shuriken right at his foe but as Kabir was running he used his firebending to cover himself with a fire armor charging right through Da-Yong’s attack and tackling him down with his shoulder. It looked as if Kabir had the upper hand and he came back with his charging attacks multiple times making contact against Da-Yong.

Da-Yong had taken multiple hits and the crowd had a feeling the battle was drawing to an end. Kabir could sense it as well so he charged one last time in hopes to finish the match. Da-Yong faced with this dire situation began to close his eyes and stood still. Everyone thought he had given up and right when Kabir leaped to tackle him, he sidestepped the attack and Kabir’s momentum carried him into the ground. The crowd was stunned and Kabir was caught off-guard thinking it was just a lucky move. So again he charged at the closed eyes Da-Yong but he could no longer hit his target and instead, Da-Yong was using Kabir’s momentum against him, tripping him up or pushing him forward into the ground each time. Momentum had shifted once again and so Kabir stopped running towards Da-Yong and instead charged up his firebending for one final assault. Da-Yong realized what Kabir was doing and converted to the same strategy to match his opponent. They both focused their fire bending energies into their right fist and propelled straight at each other. Both their punches made full contact against each other causing a huge explosion and a giant smoke covered the battlefield.

It took awhile for the smoke to clear and everyone was awaiting the victor of the battle. As the smoke cleared they noticed that both combatants were still barely standing and gasping for air. They both walked up to each other with what strength they had left and exchanged a left punch to each other’s face. “Just fall, you persistent pest!” Kabir said. “You first!” replied Da-Yong. They both fell to one knee on the ground. Another punch was exchanged between the two but it was clear they had both exhausted a huge chunk of their strength. And the time eventually came that they both fell to the floor unable to move and the battle ended as a draw.

Duncan splashed water to wake up both unconscious fighters. There was no clear victor but the crowd was in awe and cheered for both fighters for the battle they had just witnessed. There still had to be a winner declared but Kabir told everyone to let the 3 heroes go. Da-Yong, Duncan, and Nilay were very skeptical as to what had come over their enemy. Kabir was quiet but Rajveer decided to explain and tell the tale of their village:

Years ago Da-Nines was a village filled with prosperity and everyone lived together in harmony. They were protected by some of the finest warriors and benders around but everything changed when the dreaded trio of hunters appeared: Nase, Sitkar, and Tsuejin. They invaded Da-Nines and took out all of their strongest fighters with the help of the wild animals. With each lost, the morale of the village fell and no one had the will to stand up to them any longer. Nase offered to spare the city as long as they were willing to listen to everything they commanded them to do. And so began the era of Da-Nines under the rule of bandits. Some people were forced to go with them and leave the village for unknown reasons while others were allowed to stay but freedom was lost.

Kabir, Rajveer, and Gurjeevan didn’t want to become bounty hunters under these circumstances but they were forced into it. They wanted to roam freely out on adventures like Da-Yong, Duncan, and Nilay did. It became clear that the reason the three benders wanted to capture the three heroes was because they were forced by Nase and his crew. With this new understanding Duncan, Nilay, and Da-Yong began to see everyone in the village in a whole new light, especially Kabir, Rajveer and Gurjeevan. “So what are you guys going to do now? If you go empty handed they will probably destroy the village.” Nilay said out loud. Everyone stood clueless and the villagers were filled with both confusion and fear. “Enough! We got ourselves in this mess and we are going to have it solve it on our own!” Kabir said in a fierce voice. He was still extremely beaten from the battle against Da-Yong and it was clear they wouldn’t stand a chance against Nase and his team. Da-Yong found new respect for his past foe but couldn’t come out with any solutions. “Actually… I have an idea!” Duncan spoke out loudly. Everyone’s eyes began to focus on Duncan and as he spoke everyone listened very carefully.

“I heard you got into quite a battle against the three annoyances, but I see you somehow managed to pull through.” Nase said to Kabir as he was walking alongside him. Sitkar and Tsuejin weren’t far behind along with Rajveer and Gurjeevan as well. All six of them were making their way to the shed where they would collect their hostages. When they arrived at the shed, Rajveer and Gurjeevan waited outside while Kabir took the 3 hunters inside. Kabir showed them the three different cages that he had the prisoners in. Da-Yong was in the ice-cold metal container, Duncan was bound in chains near the boiler and Nilay’s body lay in the cage surrounded by peanuts. Kabir unlocked the icy confinement that lead to Da-Yong and Tsuejin went to check the body. Sitkar walked toward Duncan and Nilay to evaluate their status. “Well I have to say I’m surprised but you and your two goofs actually did something right for once.” Nase complimented Kabir. “Nase, the airbender, he’s not here! That body's a fake; it’s just pillows and a cabbage head!” Nase turned to look at Kabir who had a huge grin on his face. Nase attempted to pull out his dagger and attack Kabir but Gurjeevan quickly used his water whip technique to create some space for Kabir to get away. Da-Yong woke up from his ruse, grabbed Tsuejin and threw him into the ice-box. Duncan broke loose from the chains that were never locked and used the chains to wrap them around Sitkar. Nilay then popped out of a vase that he was hiding in and blew Sitkar right into the vacant cage. “Haha, sometimes it pays to be small!” He exclaimed in joy. Rajveer came in and used his earth bending to create a circle of heavy boulders to surround the cage that Sitkar was now trapped in. Gurjeevan walked over to the metal container, closed the door and froze the lock to prevent Tsuejin from escaping. Nase managed to escape out of the shed and was the only one left to catch.

Nase was now up against six fighters, he was clearly outnumbered but there was no sense of worry from him. “Give it up Nase, we have you outnumbered 6 to 1.” Da-Yong yelled in confidence. Nase laughed and he applauded Duncan for coming up with a great plan. He had such a keen sense that he knew exactly which one of them was the strategist of the group. On top of that he also knew that Kabir and Da-Yong were still recovering from an exhausting battle. “So you see, you really only have 4 fighters and as for me, you might want to recount…” Right as Nase was finishing his sentence, Nilay noticed someone approaching with speed. “EVERYONE LOOK OUT!” A swift fighter dashed in to attack Gurjeevan and Rajveer from behind, knocking them out. It then went straight for Kabir and Da-Yong who were both in no shape to react but Nilay’s quickly used his airbending to gently blow Kabir and Da-Yong away from the impact. Nase ready his crossbow and now backing him up was the one and only Nespade, whose speed was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Kabir, Da-Yong, Nilay, and Duncan knew their biggest thread was still Nase and so they all focused their efforts to reach him. Da-Yong and Kabir tried to create an opening for Duncan and Nilay but Nespade was too quick, blocking their every move. Then she grabbed Da-Yong and threw him against Kabir. Nilay tried to trap her in a tornado attack but Nase fired a volley to arrows causing Nilay to dodge and Nespade would follow up and punch Nilay to the ground. Nase then shot a fury of arrows towards Duncan’s way but Duncan used his ice hockey stick technique and deflected all the arrows away. Nespade came in for close combat and Duncan was doing his best to block all her attacks. Duncan would take a few hits, nothing major but he knew he couldn’t keep it up for long. Da-Yong and Kabir got back up to their feet and combined they threw a fireball in Nespade’s way. She realized just in time and evaded the attack but Nilay’s used his air funnel to redirect the fireball right back to her. The fireball was about to make full contact against Nespade but before it could, Nase shot an arrow that suppressed the fire so Nespade managed to escape with minimal damage. In transition, Kabir used his signature fire charge move which Nespade jumped up and evaded with ease. However, before she could land on her feet, Duncan created a sheet of ice beneath her feet causing her to slip. Nase attempted to come to her aid but Nilay circled around him with the air scooter causing him to stop and giving Da-Yong the perfect opportunity to strike with his fire-sabre attack. Da-Yong’s attack made contact but Nase managed to move away from taking a full critical hit. Meanwhile, as Nespade was attempting to get a solid footing she was tackled from behind by Kabir.

Things were looking up for the four valiant fighters but their opponents would not stop. Nase quickly pulled out his bolas and threw them at Kabir and Da-Yong knowing full well they didn’t have much energy to dodge. Nilay was about to deflect the bolas but Nespade swiftly got back up and elbowed Nilay out of the way. The bolas wrapped around Kabir and Da-Yong causing them to tangle up. Duncan used his waterbending to cut his comrades loose but that left him wide open for Nase to take him out with a direct shot. Luckily out of nowhere, Tirsten jumps on top on Nase causing him to misfire against Duncan and allowing him to cut loose Kabir and Da-Yong. Kabir and Da-Yong quickly shot a stream of fire to separate Nespade from Nilay. The four fighters regrouped for another round but unfortunately Nase was now holding Tirsten as his hostage with a dagger to his neck. Without much of a choice the four fighters let their guard down as a sign of surrender.

Nase used his bolas to tie everyone up and Nespade made sure to seal Da-Yong and Nilay’s mouth to prevent them from using a fire breath or a windy gust. Nase woke up Rajveer and told him to free up Sitkar and Tsuejin or he wouldn’t hesitate to take out Kabir. Rajveer did as he was told as Nespade was watching him very carefully. He first used his earth bending to move the boulders away from the cage freeing up Sitkar and then he broke the door on the other cage to free up Tsuejin. Tsuejin was still shivering from being in the icy prison but Sitkar immediately got payback by punching Rajveer in the gut and he fell straight to the ground. The situation looked dire with the four malicious hunters reunited. They were contemplating how to finish off the benders but as they were thinking, a couple of rocks were thrown their way. Wardoh and Neejan emerged from the night and stood up for the benders and Tirsten. Tsuejin looked towards them with a smirked thinking that they would be a great warm-up for him. Duncan, Nilay, and Da-yong could tell that the elderly couple were shaking and scared. Duncan told them to stay away and run but they would not budge. Tsuejin moved towards them but before he could get close more rocks were thrown towards him. One by one out of the night emerged villagers with torches and pitchforks standing by one another. They were inspired and moved by the benders’ bravery that they finally couldn’t sit back and watch any longer.

“Hehe, this shouldn’t take long at all.” Sitkar said with great confidence. Tsuejin and Sitkar both attacked with their spear and katana but their attack was blocked as a column of stone emerged from the ground. Confused but not deterred they attacked again but another column blocked their attempt. Nase then fired a volley of arrows at the villagers and this time an earth wall emerged to protect all the villagers. Nespade began stepping forward in order to strike, but all of a sudden she began to experience an extricating pain in one of her shoulders and let out a cry of pain. “Show yourself you coward!” yelled Tsuejin. Out of the crowd emerge Ruthar, Da-yong and Duncan’s master.

Nase, Stikar, and Tsuejin were surprised to see Ruthar as if they had encountered each other before. “You young people have zero courtesy, is that how you welcome an elderly person?” Ruthar jokes. Tsuejin and Sitkar were about to attack but someone was creating shockwaves on the ground causing them to lose balance and Ruthar kicked them both away. Nespade was still in pain and in no condition to fight so Nase fired some arrows at Ruthar but another stone pillar came up and blocked the attack. Duncan and Da-yong were really confused; they knew their master was only a fire bender so how could he have been using earth bending techniques. “Oh my gosh, it’s the avatar, he’s back!” Nilay shouted out in excitement. Everyone was shocked and amazed when they heard Nilay but the excitement quickly died down when Sitkar began to speak, “Ha, we fought against the avatar already and nearly beat him, this old geezer is nothing compared to the avatar!” The 4 hunters already knew that Ruthar was not the one using earth bending, there was another fighter hidden amongst the crowd but they couldn’t identify who. Tsuejin and Sitkar got back up and ready for another attack at Ruthar. Once again the ground began to shake, “Ha this old trick ain’t work…” but this wasn’t the same shaking as before. This seismic movement felt more like what Duncan, Nilay, and Da-Yong experienced back in the forest. It was more violent and after about a minute of intense shaking with some houses collapsing, Nase realized that it was time for their retreat. Tsuejin and Sitkar were extremely frustrated about the command but they knew their place and now was not the time to fight. They were outnumbered and one of their fighters could no longer fight. Nase fires a flare arrow up in the air and in seconds three Komodo Rhinos appeared. Sitkar and Tsuejin each hopped on their own mount while Nase grabbed Nespade and hopped on the last creature. So the enemies pulled away and the Da-Nines was saved by the combined efforts of Tirsten, Kabir, Rajveer, Gurjeevan, Da-Yong, Duncan, Nilay, and Master Ruthar.

The villagers cheered in joy and the whole village held a celebration to honor everyone’s efforts in fighting against the deadly hunters. Duncan thanked Tirsten for saving his life and Da-Yong added in, “Tirsten, you did well I might just consider teaching you some neat fighting tricks.” But Tirsten apologetically declined, “It's ok, I think Nilay’s battle is more my style plus we are practically the same height.” And he ran towards Nilay who was equally excited and showed him his super-secret technique: THE AIR SCOOTER! Da-Yong couldn’t believe it; he had lost his very first fan, “It's ok dumplings, I’m sure you will find a fan club in the future.”

Master Ruthar appeared in front of his students and they took the time to get caught up with all that had happened. Da-Yong and Duncan filled their master in on all their adventures thus far, the creatures, the land, Nilay, the hunters, and even bumping into Eric the mysterious fighter. “Oh you met Eric, I had a feeling you all might cross paths someday.” Ruthar interrupted. Da-Yong and Duncan were surprised that Ruthar had met him before. In fact, Ruthar knew Eric a while back when Ruthar used to train him (Duncan and Da-Yong’s jaws dropped). “He used to be a hothead who just brute force everything, kind of like you Da-Yong, but overtime he honed his skills and has evolved into a great strategist (like Duncan) but also an unorthodox fighter.” Duncan and Da-Yong tried to ask Ruthar more to see if he thought Eric is really Rice the rampage but before they could they realized an even more pressing matter. “Hey wait, how in the world were you earth bending? That made no sense at all.” asked Da-Yong. And while Duncan and Da-Yong had their guard down they suddenly heard a loud warcry “SNEAK ATTACK!” and jumping on them was their siblings: Da-wei and Chloe have officially entered the fray!

The siblings have reunited in excitement and they discovered that they were the earth-bender hiding in the crowd during the bout behind Master Ruthar and the hunters. “So you didn’t harm any wild animals out there did you?” Chloe asked. Duncan tried to explain and cover up but Da-Yong immediately shouted, “Of course we did, we had to defend OUR HONOUR!” And Chloe went berserk and started attacking Da-Yong with Da-wei trying to break them up. While all the shenanigans were happening, Duncan asked what their siblings were doing here. “To join you on your journey of course!” Ruthar replied with confidence. Duncan and Da-Yong’s jaws both dropped and they let out a simultaneous ‘WHAT?!’ “Don’t worry, Da-wei and Chloe have been training with me the whole time you were gone, they are more than capable of handling themselves.” However, being the protective older brothers they were extremely skeptical so Ruthar proposed they have a two on two fighting match to see if they could prove themselves. Da-Wei and Chloe were nervous and excited while the older siblings reluctantly agreed.

The battle was occurring just outside the village where a battlefield had been set up for them to fight. The only spectators of the match were Ruthar and Nilay who seemed to be the most excited with his bag of popcorn in anticipation for the grand sibling battle. “This is going to be awesome! Good luck Da-Wei and Chole!” Nilay exclaimed. Duncan and Da-Yong glared over at Nilay, “What?” was the only thing he could say back to them. Rules were to win by knockout or ringing the other team out. Ruthar signaled the beginning of the battle by shooting fire up into the air. “Alright DY just like we planned we will…” Duncan began but Da-Yong interrupted loudly, “finish this swift and painlessly! CHARGE!” and DY dashed off with Duncan just face palming and wondering why he even bothers. Da-Yong went straight for his little brother with a fury of punches but Chloe used her earth bending to create a shield in front of Da-Wei. DY’s fist turned red and began to hurt a bit after punching the rocky shield and Da-Wei followed up by throwing a boulder towards Da-Yong that pushed him back. Duncan created a volley of ice-pucks and threw them right at the two little targets. Da-Wei used the ground to create a rock cover to block the attack then he pushed the rock full speed at Duncan. Duncan quickly reacted by hopping over the rock but what he didn’t notice was that Chloe was hiding behind the moving rock so she got behind Duncan and attempted to kick Duncan from behind. Realizing just in time, Duncan braced for impact and hit the ground fairly hard but he managed to reduce the damage of the attack significantly. DW and Chloe followed up by coming at Duncan’s left and right. Without time to dodge, Duncan created a bubble shield around him to brace the double attack. The duo was withering the shield down but just in the nick of time, DY came in throwing his fire shurikens in order to create some distance between the three of them.

“Ok, so this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought it would be.” DY said in the midst of battle. “Gee what gave you that idea?” bickered Duncan. As they continued to argue, Da-Wei stomped on the ground to create a massive shockwave forcing Duncan and Da-Yong to lose their balance. In that time, Chloe created a rock in the shape and size of a soccer ball. She kicked it with all her might and it made a direct hit against DY’s gut and ricocheted off him towards Duncan knocking him to the ground. Da-Wei then threw two boulders to potentially finish off their brothers but before they could do so, Da-Yong’s right leg began to burn with fire and he kicked one of the boulders and broke it to pieces while Duncan used his water drill technique to destroy the other boulder. “DY come on, let's just do the plan!” and finally Da-Yong realized that he needed to listen.

Some semblance of teamwork finally resonated between the two and the little ones could sense it. Chloe and Da-wei didn’t let up though, they pressed the attack but this time Duncan and Da-Yong changed their strategy. Duncan used a bunch of water from a river nearby and raised the water into the air. Before the water began to fall down Da-Yong aimed his stream of fire right at the water creating a huge steam around the arena. The steam was so thick that Da-wei and Chloe could no longer see each other or coordinate their attacks. Chloe saw a shadow in the steam and immediately attacked it with her earth bending but there was no one there. Da-wei saw a shadow too and attacked but once again no one was there. Duncan was using his water bending to create a human shape figure to throw them off their game. In the state of confusion, Da-Yong grabbed Da-wei by the arm and threw him against Chloe. The two youngsters quickly got up but Duncan used his water whip to grab hold of Chloe. Da-Wei rushed to try and break her free but Da-Yong came charging in and tackled Da-Wei back down. Duncan then spun Chloe around a few times until she was dizzy and fell to the ground.

Still refusing to give up, they got back up one more time. Da-Wei was in pretty bad shape after the last attack so Chloe ran to him and protected them inside a box of stone. Da-Yong created his fire-sabre and began attacking the box furiously while Duncan waited for their next move. It took about 15 strikes and his fire sabre disappeared but was enough to cut through the box, but it was empty. Da-Wei used his earth-bending to dig them out but where did they go? Didn’t take long before they popped up in front of Duncan and both kicked him clean in the hip. Noticing Duncan got hit, Da-Yong attempted a quick strike back but Chloe and Da-Wei each grabbed one of Da-yong’s arms and then punched him in the ribs. Then they threw him with all their might right towards Duncan for the finishing double knockout. As Da-Yong was heading straight for Duncan, Da-Yong yelled out “NOW!” Duncan immediately got up and held his arms straightened together for Da-Yong. Da-Yong reoriented himself so that his feet would land on Duncan’s arms and he sprang off his arms and right back at Da-wei and Chloe. Seeing that Da-Yong was coming in like a missle, Da-Wei and Chloe reacted by throwing all the earth they could find to slow Da-Yong down. However, Duncan created a water vortex around Da-Yong that washed away anything they threw towards Da-Yong. Da-Yong’s fists began to flare up and so Chloe and Da-wei knew their only option left was to use their bending to create a strong shield and brace for impact. A huge boom was heard throughout the village and out of the smoke the results were determined. Da-Wei and Chloe were badly bruised but still able to stand and fight but unfortunately they both had been pushed out of the ring. With Da-Yong’s last attack, he took both their siblings out of the arena along with him leaving only Duncan standing and claiming victory for him and DY!

Chloe and Da-Wei were disappointed that they lost but they held their head up high knowing they gave it their all. Da-Yong and Duncan breathed a huge sigh of relief that the battle was over. “That was the greatest battle ever!” exclaimed Nilay as he rushed to their side. Master Ruthar approached them as well saying, “Well I think the results of the battle speak for itself.” Da-Wei and Chloe began to head towards Master Ruthar and stay by his side when Da-Yong announced, “Yes Sensei Ruthar you are right, that is why we will gladly accept our siblings’ help on our journey toward Marvel Mountain.” Chloe and Da-wei were in shock and then they leaped for joy and gave both their brothers the biggest hug and Nilay joined in too!