//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: I missed you... // Story: The Four Elements // by Shining Star //------------------------------// *Read Author's Note* “Long Feng beat us here!” Aang cried as he searched the large chamber. Large metal cuffs were lying on the floor with huge scratch marks along the sides. Aang knelt onto the ground and held a piece of white fur in his hands staring down at it. “Come on, we can still beat him if we get to the surface in time. Let’s go!” Toph said as she ran past the large group of people who quickly followed her down the hallway. Everyone ran down the corridors with quite a few stumbles from Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as they struggled to adjust to their new feet and legs, whereas Twilight had quite a bit of practice with her adventures at High School. They retraced their path to the stone staircase they had come down only a half-hour ago. Before the staircase came into view Toph and Aang suddenly stopped almost causing an accident with Sokka nearly crashing into them. “What the heck?! They’ve completely destroyed the staircase and platform up there!” Toph yelled angrily. Aang paced in a circle. “They knew we would come after them this way!” Pinkie Pie gasped. “Guys! What about Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy?! We told them to wait up there for us! What if they got hurt? What if they got kidnapped?! What if they-“ Rainbow Dash slammed a hand over her mouth. “Pinkie keep your voice down!” she hissed at the red headed girl. “I’m sure their fine Pinkie, but we need to focus on getting out of here.” Pinkie Pie nodded under Rainbow Dash’s grip and stood quietly waiting till they reached the surface. Toph cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms as she explained her plan to the others. “Okay, everyone gather ‘round me. I’m going to earthbend us up to the surface. Aang I’m gonna need you on this one. Now hop to it!” Katara grumbled as she stood behind Toph and Aang along with Sokka and the new Team Avatar recruits. A large crack in the shape of a circle formed around everyone and lifted into the air. “Hold it here Twinkle Toes! I’m gonna crack open the roof and land us near the bank of the lake.” Toph put her hands in the air and put them together in knuckles. Her fingers opened and looked like they were gripping the earth itself as she moved her hands apart slowly making a large crack which slowly became a dark void. “There we go. Now Aang help me push us up like a sort of lifter.” Aang nodded and started moving his hands like he was rowing a boat. Toph started to do the same movements. The earth beneath us moved at a quick pace bringing us further up the narrow tunnel Toph made. Everyone could feel Sokka freaking out on the side. “It’s so dark in here!” he whispered to us all. “I know I can’t see anything at all!” Rainbow Dash huffed most likely with a pout on her face. “Oh no, how horrible! You can’t see!” Toph cried sarcastically. Rainbow Dash muttered an apology to the darkness. The ground continued to rise until the movement stopped. Toph pushed everyone back with a quick apology saying to keep out of the way. She cracked her knuckles and kicked the ground above pushing it like a cork out of a bottle. Everyone scrambled to get out of the darkness and see the sun again. Twilight, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash instantly started searching for their other three friends. But Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were nowhere to be seen on the beach of the lake. Rainbow Dash started running up along the beach. “We need to find them guys! What if they all got hurt? We should never have let them stay here, we should have told Fluttershy to get a grip!” The airbender started to shake with frustration. “How are we going to find them?” Pinkie Pie said softly her normally poufy hair starting to deflate, a sure sign to her two present friends that she was slipping from her normally happy personality. Aang gave Pinkie Pie a small smile. “Don’t worry, we can find them. We were down there for a while, maybe they went back to the city.” He suggested to everyone. “Well what are we waiting for?! Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash yelled waving them all to follow her. She started running towards the gentle slope on the other side of the beach when a giant rock wall grew from the ground with Dai Lie agents lining the walls. The others all yelled at the agents running over to Rainbow Dash only for another wall of earth to box them in to the cliff side and deep lake. From deep within the Cliffside an arch door opened wide and four familiar faces came forth. Tears streamed down Fluttershy’s face and sobs escaped from her gagged mouth, while Rarity and Applejack fought for their lives against the ropes binding their bodies and gags. Long Feng stood in front of the trio, a smirk on his lips. The other half of the six friends instantly went to help their friends but the words Long Feng spoke next stopped them in their tracks. “Don’t move any closer or you’ll never see these pathetic excuses for benders again.” When the girls stopped their advance Long Feng’s smirk became a wide grin. “In exchange for your friends I’m going to make you a deal. I’ll hand over these young girls if the firebender comes with me.” Twilight’s eyes widened as she stared at the monster in front of her. Aang stood in front of Twilight protecting her from the Dai Li while the others looked at Twilight with confusion and shock. Sokka stepped forward slowly almost expecting her to bite. “You can firebend?” Twilight didn’t answer him instead staring at her three captured friends. Fluttershy had stopped crying and Rarity and Applejack stopped struggling against the Dai Li. Each of their eyes was filled with tears begging her to not do it. Without hesitation Twilight stepped forward and nodded her head. “I’ll give myself up if you let them go.” She said using the strong clear voice she used in diplomatic issues back home. She held her head high as she walked forward. Her three friends were still being held by the Dai Li but Aang held her shoulder. “What are you doing?!” he hissed. “You don’t need to do this; we could fight back and save them.” Twilight looked down at the young monk. “But at what cost? If the Dai Li become enraged they could easily take them back into the mountain side and we will never see them again. Our home can handle one element being missing, but certainly not three.” She walked towards her friends and their captors her head held high and keeping her composure. “Hands behind your back scum.” A Dai Li officer said. Twilight complied too his orders smiling kindly as she faced her friends who still stood on the bank shocked. The grip of two cool rock gloves surrounded her wrists as she was officially captured. Her three friends were shoved towards the others, still bound by ropes and gags in their mouths. Katara, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all rushed forward and helped the girls. Fluttershy collapsed in Katara’s arms and sobbed her poor heart out. Twilights was gruffly pulled backwards and was being backed into the tunnel the Dai Li and entered the box from. Suddenly Momo flew down from the sky and landed on Aang’s shoulder chittering to the monk. The lemur took off again with the agents ignoring the creature and continuing their retreat, but Twilight kept her eyes on Momo taking off into the sun’s glare. Squinting her eyes she managed to make out a large shape bobbing in front of the sun. A deep roar filled the air as a giant furry creature, the size of a house, landed next to Aang with a swoop of air that sent dozens of Dai Li agents into the walls and lake. The cowards ran into the tunnel and Twilight’s captor released her ropes and made a dash to keep his life intact. Long Feng made a snatch for Twilight but she was too quick and evaded his hand by rolling towards her friends. Her duck sent her all the way across the beach and into the arms of her friends. Rarity quickly set to work on the ropes binding Twilight’s hands and body together while Sokka, Aang, Rainbow Dash, Toph, Pinkie Pie and Katara all started to fend off any stray agents. Aang fought alongside the new fuzzy animal and quickly took care of all the Dai Li and faced their leader. Long Feng was red with rage as he stared down the beast. “I can take you myself!” he yelled readying his bending powers. Appa payed no attention to him and bit down on his thin leg and flung him into the lake with a snort. All her Equestrian friends surrounded her in a hug as Twilight composed herself again. “Don’t ever do that again Twilight.” Rarity whispered to them all. Twilight nodded to her friend just glad everyone was okay. She lifted her head to see Katara looking at the girls with a faint smile on her face. She could see Aang clinging to the new addition to their group and heard his small whisper… “I missed you buddy…”