THE OMASHU BALL

Rin watched and waited for the spices to kick in, and that is when Rengshi's face went redder than the fire nation flag again. Rin held back a laugh as he serched for something to drink. He was silent, but Rin knew his mouth was currently on fire.

Rin started to feel a little guilty, maybe she should have told him about how hot it was? anyway, he found something to drink, he came walking back, his steps wobbley and unstable. He looked at her with Dilated pupils and semi yelled in a excited voice "Cactus juice! It's the quenchiest! It'll quench ya'!"

Rin had NO idea what Cactus juice was, but Rengshi was acting weird, very weird. She was about to ask if he was okay, when she heard another voice of a woman ask the same thing. Rin looked at the woman, and saw she was a fire nation woman...correction, a fire nation noblewoman immeditly Rin put her walls up, face now expressionless. "Do you know what Cactus juice is ma'am?" Rin asked poiltly.

[[ADVANCING THE PLOT BECAUSE WHY NOT?]]


[[P.O.V. OF THOSE NOT KIDNAPPED]]

Rengshi was about to stumble over to the group of his girlfriend and her seemed to be friend. "Well, ladies ther---" Rengshi was cut off by an explosion by the front stage, smoke billowing from the point of explosion. Several concurrent explosions happened after the first, pouring smoke out everywhere. An Airbender could air bend the air away, but, even then, the air was so clogged with this smoky substance. It seemed to be that some guards locked them in the room, and as soon as it happened, it was over. You could hear random people screaming and then being muffled by a gag of sorts. And you could hear someone, a deep male voice, saying "My queen your duty has been fulfilled." It sounded like it came near where the Earth Queen would have been.

As the smoke cleared you could see those left behind, ironically most of them Earthbenders, Nonbenders, and Earth Kingdom Natives, and the Avatar. Although, the smoke seemed to have knocked you out, seeing as how it was lighter outside than when the night started. People started flooding the Earth Queen, Avatar, and General, for answers as to what happened. However, there was one man clad in Earth Kingdom Armor, making sure the Queen was alright. Randomly, as if intending to start a riot, another man in the Armor, albeit more beaten up, came up as if trying to say what happened, although, 'twas not what the Earth Queen, or her citizens, could have expected. "How could you, my queen? Taking all of the ones you deemed 'unworthy' to the Prison in Ba Sing Se?" Collapsing the man seemed to die. And, it would prove to be true, if someone wanted to test it. Rengshi didn't take this news too kindly, considering his date was just taken out from under him. Rengshi twisted his foot a good ninety degrees, making an increasing spike of earth as Rengshi attacked the Earth Queen. How stupid could he get? Damn emotions. Either way, rock's in her court now.

[[IF YOU'Re ON THIS LIST, YOUR P.O.V.]]

Kidnapped:

As the smoke poured out of the explosions, you felt yourself being dragged into the shadows, surely you'd yelp or yell, make some kind of noise. Being taken wasn't very fun after they gagged you with something you'd rather not think of what it could be. As you regained your senses, chances are you were being dragged in the back of a cart and being hauled off rather quickly to the direction of the sun rising. Being thrown in a cart like a sack of potatoes, considering you were in a sack, anyway. As you continue to be thrown about in the cart, the cart sooner, or much later, arrived at a holding facility on the top of a mountain. You would soon be thrown into separate cells, the bottom dropping out to be a spiked pit, although you were still suspended by the bars of the cell. Making any type of escape method near deadly. You were within talking distance of one another, but in the end, should you escape? Or wait for that inevitable rescue team? Either way the five of you were suspended above a pit of spikes.

[[CAGE DIMENSIONS 4x5x5]]

Rin's eyes fluttered open, her head pounding. "Ah...ouch..." She mumbled before she took a look at her current location. Rin's eyes widened, she was no longer at the ball. She was in a small crampt cell, with no floor! Rin was dangling from the bars which she was shackled to.

The metal rubbed against her skin, causing great sores to apear, bloody and painful. Trying not to conentrate on her head ache and the blood, Rin took a breath to calm herself. Rin's hair was flung wildly across her face, her new dress ripped.

"H-hello?" a sniffly voice called from the darkness, it was Matsu! Rin's amber eyes flickered with hope, she was not alone. "Matsu? you're here too? don't worry, we will get outa here!" Rin siad, her proud voice slightly cracked.
In one swift movement, Rin fire bended from her feet, and like a rocket, it pushed her into the air slightly, flipping herself somewhat upside down. Now her feet were inside the bars, still shackled, As rin looked down nto the spikely pit.

With great balance she held her chains up and breathed fire onto the metal, heating and softening it slowly. Once the chains were bright orange, Rin pulled them apart with ease! free! now to get Matsu!

Yu struggled to her feet as the smoke cleared. Her first thought was for the Queen. She peered around. Meili was nearby, herself trying to regain her composure after the smoke. The moment the explosions had occurred, her hand had flown to her blade. However, whoever had set up the attack had apparently intentionally set one of the smoke bombs up near her.

It took but a few moments for her to realize Pang was missing. He was nowhere to be seen. And he wasn't the only one. She counted five missing at least. However, she didn't have time to dwell on it. The people were moving in on Meili. Yu didn't bother drawing her blade. However, she and a handful of present officers and guards created a perimeter around the Queen.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, remain calm!" she was saying, holding up a hand. "We do not know who was responsible--"

"How could you, my queen?" the voice drew Yu's attention immediately. "Taking all of the ones you deemed 'unworthy' to the Prison in Ba Sing Se?"

The man collapsed, dead, in a void of silence. All eyes turned upon Meili, filled with a fury reserved for looking upon traitors to one's beliefs and loyalties. This had just gone from confusing to dangerous.

"Soldier." she muttered to a warrior nearby.

"Yes, General?" the soldier muttered back. Both understood the great deal of danger they'd just been put in by that fool's words.

"Find General Saka of the 3rd Legion and tell her to get here with every soldier she has immediately." Yu ordered. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword...

Pang had been hanging in his little cell patiently the entire time. This place was less than secure. A flick of his finger would have been all it took to free himself. But this was getting to be interesting and he wanted to see what was behind it all. He'd been alone in his immunity to whatever they had put in those smoke bombs. Perhaps it was more accurate to call it a resistance. He'd been sucking in the fumes of fusing metal and enjoying the effects of hallucinogenic drugs, among scores of other goodies, so long that he was pretty much immune to everything short of poison. Of course, that didn't mean he resisted. When the men had appeared through the smoke, he'd put on a bemused sort of air (because he actually found it vaguely entertaining) and downed what was left in his glass before throwing up his hands, saying: "Oh, my. I've been captured!"

He had the sneaking suspicion that he hadn't been a target of the raid. As far as he could tell, only non-Earth Kingdom citizens had been seized. From the argument he'd heard the captors carry on with, he gathered that they weren't very comfortable taking him. Thankfully, it seemed they didn't know who he was beyond his nationality, otherwise they'd never have put him in suck a painfully bendable cage.

However, when the others began to stir, he gave his plan of waiting and seeing a re-think. He could only keep an eye on them as long as they were willing to stick around. It wasn't until he saw the firebender girl melt her chains that he made up his mind.

"Clever girl." he muttered. Soundlessly, he bent the metal shackles to free himself and blunted the spikes below, walking along their now flat tips and disappearing into the shadows, restoring the lot to their original condition. He'd like to see the look on the guard's face when he got a load of that.

Well, look at these little rascals trying to escape. Cute... Well, Varsha, it'd be good for you to know the path you took was, in fact, a great place to find out what your fates would be if you hadn't escaped. Sadly, being no way out from there, Varsha finds a huge pack of Canyon Crawlers, you can immediately see at least fifty, maybe you should turn around? It looks like they're sleeping and chained, soooo, you could try sneaking around. But with you only being able to see fifty, how many more could there be? Up to you what to do. If you chose to come back, however, you would see some guards making their rounds, where did they come from? Those guys you could probably take out. Again, only if you turned around, though.

Rin and Matsu could have escaped if it weren't for Rin's bright fire, as their was a group of four, two of which were the same guards that were going to be headed towards Varsha's direction were entering to check up, realizing that there fire, the fire benders must have escaped, however, there was only one... The other one must have escaped, too. The group split into teams of two, the one going, well, duh. The other two stayed and earth bent a platform to the airbender and firebender attempting to escape, leaving Zai hanging. Then, the guards took Rin by the arms, Rin would probably realize their hands were covered with Rock. Earthbending her arms and feet to a wall, they soon did the same with Matsu, leaving Zai hanging, he didn't seem like much of a threat. The wall was behind Zai, and about twenty to thirty yards/meters away. Taking away the platform, the men had soon followed in their friend's footsteps, chasing after the other Firebender.

Well, looks like Pang Long Yen could be the good guy and try saving the rest of the lot that was just hanging out. You could yell for help. Maybe the old fart would help you guys out. Either way, when Yen found his way out of "storage" he eventually came to a fork in the path, one left and one right. He could always help the others out, though. But, who knows, the bad guys didn't notice he left yet.

[[MEANWHILE AT THE PALACE]]
Rengshi was met with a rock to the face, probably wasn't his best idea ever. Rengshi stood, shaking it off, however, and, heard the man's offer. Time to kick arse and get his girl back. Rengshi nodded, accepting the offer. Rengshi would follow Daichi, he seemed to know what he was doing.

Rin heard a familiar voice call from the blackness of the cells, she could bearly see her own hands in front of her face. "Zai? you are here to?" she whispered into the darkness.

Rin burnt her way through the bars and was about to free Matsu, when from out of the darkness two guards emerged, Rin new they were looking for trouble. But before she had time to reacted, they tackled her roughly, ripping the top of her dress.

they slamed her into the wall with great force, making pain rush through her body. She kicked and she spat, and even bit one of the guards fingers, before she felt her hands in cased in rock, as well as her feet.

Rin was stuck to the wall, unable to bend, unable to move. She was cold, and alone. And for the first time in along time, a tear fell from her amber eye.

There was a crumbling sound above Rin and a few pebbles rained down on her where she was bound against the wall. A second later, Pang's head popped out of a hole in the wall, peering down at her from above with a grin.

"My, my." he said. "What an interesting day, wouldn't you say?"

Below the pair of girls, a platform of stone silently crept out of the wall, working its way across the room. It covered every last spike, creating a new floor under all the cages. It was amazing how silently it was being bent. As soon as it covered the entire space, the bindings holding Rin and Matsu crumbled. A second later, Pang rose out of the ground at the far end of the room.

"Well, that was fun."

The doors of the hall burst open, revealing General Saka, Major Ai, and the soldier Yu had dispatched to retrieve them leading a company of five-hundred Kyoshi Warriors. The instant their presence was known by the mob of angry citizens, the shouting stopped. Meili's words had satisfied many, but there had still been those determined that she was behind this borderline act of war. Not that it mattered.

"Secure the room!" Yu barked at General Saka. With a curt nod, Saka ordered her soldiers around the hall, moving the citizens back. As soon as there was a safe zone between them and the Queen, Yu turned her attention toward the various officers gathered there, General Saka and the Major included.

"I want the King of Omashu secured in the palace immediately." Yu said. "Until we find the missing people, we will not allow him out of our sight. General Saka. I expect you to see to that personally."

"Do you think he was behind this?" Saka asked. It wasn't an argument, simply a question.

"Given the circumstances?" Yu said. "There's a distinct possibility. A mystery force comes out of nowhere, grabs a bunch of foreigners and makes off without so much as a scratch? They would need inside help. And who better in this situation than the man who planned the event? And besides. He stands the most to gain if Meili is supplanted. If the Queen was forced out, he would be in a prime position to make a political play on the entire kingdom. Seal him up!"

"As you command." Saka nodded curtly, turning and signalling some twenty or so warriors to follow her. Yu turned her attention toward the Major.

"Ai." she said. "I--"

Eriii.

Yu looked down at the feeling of something tugging gently at her hakama leg. She found herself looking directly into the huge, red eyes of Pang's rabbit-mouse, Sym. The moment it saw her looking, it began jabbering. It was obviously trying to tell her something. She stared at it for a moment before looking up at Ai again.

"Assemble a search party." she said. "We might have a guide."

Rin whispered to Matsu under her breath, "We are gonna get out of here, don't worry..." her voice crackled slightly, not sure weather what she just said was accurate.The cuts and bruises coated in rock burnt. She was about to yell abuse at the gaurds again, when she felt small pebbles of rock fall onto her head. She tilted her head up to see what was causing this, and was utterly confuzed with what she saw.

A elderly man's head was sticking out from the rock wall, and he grinned down at them. Soon enough, he had silently bent the spikes into floor, and the rock bindings keeping Matsu and Rin stuck to the wall crumbles.

When she fell to the groung, she groaned and looked up into the darkness, a familiar blue eye shined threw. "Err.... O...K.... Are you two alright," Zai asked, Rin was not surprized he had gotten out so silently. Rin was still on the ground, her leggs feeling like jelly after being in closed in rock for so long, she looked up rubbing her wrists "Yea, I'm fine..." She looked over at the old man who had appered in the other side of the room. "Thanks for that, I owe you one" She whispered.