Post by iziz on Sept 23, 2007 9:18:12 GMT -5
White Bounty
iziz
(disclaimer, i don't own avatar.. altho it'd be cool if i did!)
here were only two ways to get into the prison of Pyang. One was either allowed in because he was a guard, or forced in as a prisoner. There were even less ways to get out. Only guards were permitted that luxury. If one was unfortunate enough to be a prisoner, there would be no chance to leave, one was locked away forever, until of course death. And death occurred frequently in the Fire Nation prison- prisoners had less than six months to live when sent away due to the harsh conditions. Men knew when they were sent here they would die.
Surprisingly though, there were only a little over one hundred escape attempts on record. Men, who decided it was worth it to risk their lives, tried, but all attempts resulted in charred bodies; no one had ever been successful. It was said to be impenetrable and inescapable. Surrounded by thick walls and guarded by over a thousand men, escape was always impossible. Even if one managed to find a way out, there was nowhere to go because it was in Fire Nation territory and soon one would be recaptured if lucky, but usually they were killed.
That fact hadn’t deterred Jun when she entered the prison. She wasn’t thrilled about her odds, but there was almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the kind of money she would get for capturing this bounty on the warrior from the Earth Kingdom. In fact, she had already gone as far as impersonating a Fire Nation guard. If she were caught, she would be killed for treason. But Jun, although she knew the risks, was not about to back down from the challenge.
Getting in had been almost too easy, now she just had to find a way to get herself and her bounty out alive. Now she was focusing on ways to escape. She could not afford to botch this mission.
Jun sat on the bench in the armory and began to carefully polish her falchion. She was a professional and professionals take care of their equipment, even when their line of work is bounty hunting. Her small sword, along with one of her daggers, was her favorite weapon of choice. With her skill, the two were very deadly, but she preferred to use them for intimidation and self-defense, priding herself on the fact that she had never killed any one with them despite the fact they had spilled blood.
There were several other men in the room, but Jun was not listening to their ramblings as she methodically cleaned her weapons. She had spent nearly a month working on surveillance of the fortress, studying everything she could about the prison: vital information such as the schematics, locations of guards’ posts, schedules, the best escape routes. It was information which she had studied endlessly until she was as familiar with it as she was with the back of her hand. She had done extensive planning to ensure everything would go smoothly.
She was now poring over her mental notes reviewing the plan she had formulated. She was almost ready to implement it and capture her bounty so she could finally get paid. Working as a meaningless soldier did not pay well and she was running a little low on money.
A waft of smoke caused Jun to stifle the urge to cough. However, she couldn’t prevent her eyes from watering. She looked down quickly hoping no one was paying attention to her. A mistake like that could get her caught. Jun, however, had never been caught when she was chasing down her prey. Never. She wasn’t planning on changing her record.
“Someone penetrated the fortress…”
For a split second terror ran through Jun’s body thinking she had been caught. But she soon relaxed realizing she was not the topic of the men’s discussion. Her ears remained alert, though, for the subject had piqued her interest.
“… and managed to escape with the Avatar.”
“Really? I thought Admiral Zhou had him locked up tight,” added another man.
“Yes, but somehow the Blue Spirit, that’s what they’re calling him, snuck in, evaded detection and escaped with the Avatar.”
“Blue Spirit?” said another man skeptically.
Another man also voiced his disbelief, “I’ve never heard of the Blue Spirit either.”
“No one had until now. They call him that because he has a blue mask. It’s just a nickname since they don’t know who he is. I heard, though, one of the generals suspects that he is an Earth Kingdom spy.”
“He or she,” Jun felt like adding to squelch their sexist beliefs. But she bit her tongue, remaining quiet in order to avoid detection.
“I bet Admiral Zhou is furious,” said a younger man.
Although she usually tired to remain in the shadow’s while on her missions, she decided to break the tradition, seeing as the men were going off topic. She needed more information. Maybe something could help her. “Any theories how he managed to do it?” she asked gruffly hoping no one would detect her more feminine voice.
“So it’s gotten your attention too?” the guard obviously proud by the attention he had gained himself, and by the fact he was the first person Jun had addressed since she arrived. Somehow she had gained the reputation of a skilled warrior. He then went on with his story. “The Blue Spirit was very skilled and knew his way through Fire Nation territory. Together he and the Avatar almost managed to fight their way out.”
“Almost?” said the skeptic, his doubt now replaced with curiosity. “Then how did they escape?”
“Well, the two were cornered, but the Blue Spirit then threatened to kill the Avatar. Admiral Zhao was forced to allow them to leave. Apparently, though, the Spirit did not know that Admiral Zhao had Yuuyan archers. Those guys are accurate, precisely hitting targets that most people can barely see. Well, the admiral had them fire, and the Spirit was knocked out.”
“Then how’d he escape?” asked the young man with awe.
“No one really knows,” the other man continued. “He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it disappeared, they were both gone. That’s why he’s called a spirit. Some say he never existed. Some say though, that the Avatar aided him, rescuing him from capture.”
Jun doubted that the Blue Spirit was a supernatural being, just a very skilled individual. “Do you imagine they’ll be increasing security?” she asked hoping that the Avatar’s escape wouldn’t affect her personally.
“No doubt about it. At this moment, reinforcements have been set for. Though, I doubt the Spirit will return. He achieved his goal rescuing the Avatar. Besides any one would be foolish to attempt something like that now.”
Jun let out a small sigh as she silently cursed her luck. She hoped no one noticed. The Blue Spirit had just made her job a lot harder. If she didn’t speed up her operations, she’d have a lot of trouble collecting her bounty. On the other hand, she felt like rejoicing. The reward for the Avatar was quite a sum and if she had a chance to bring him in, she could retire for the rest of her life. She doubted she would though. As tempting as it was, she would never hand the Avatar over to the Fire Nation betraying everything she’d ever known. She would kill herself, and probably the Avatar to prevent that from happening.
-=-
iziz
(disclaimer, i don't own avatar.. altho it'd be cool if i did!)
here were only two ways to get into the prison of Pyang. One was either allowed in because he was a guard, or forced in as a prisoner. There were even less ways to get out. Only guards were permitted that luxury. If one was unfortunate enough to be a prisoner, there would be no chance to leave, one was locked away forever, until of course death. And death occurred frequently in the Fire Nation prison- prisoners had less than six months to live when sent away due to the harsh conditions. Men knew when they were sent here they would die.
Surprisingly though, there were only a little over one hundred escape attempts on record. Men, who decided it was worth it to risk their lives, tried, but all attempts resulted in charred bodies; no one had ever been successful. It was said to be impenetrable and inescapable. Surrounded by thick walls and guarded by over a thousand men, escape was always impossible. Even if one managed to find a way out, there was nowhere to go because it was in Fire Nation territory and soon one would be recaptured if lucky, but usually they were killed.
That fact hadn’t deterred Jun when she entered the prison. She wasn’t thrilled about her odds, but there was almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the kind of money she would get for capturing this bounty on the warrior from the Earth Kingdom. In fact, she had already gone as far as impersonating a Fire Nation guard. If she were caught, she would be killed for treason. But Jun, although she knew the risks, was not about to back down from the challenge.
Getting in had been almost too easy, now she just had to find a way to get herself and her bounty out alive. Now she was focusing on ways to escape. She could not afford to botch this mission.
Jun sat on the bench in the armory and began to carefully polish her falchion. She was a professional and professionals take care of their equipment, even when their line of work is bounty hunting. Her small sword, along with one of her daggers, was her favorite weapon of choice. With her skill, the two were very deadly, but she preferred to use them for intimidation and self-defense, priding herself on the fact that she had never killed any one with them despite the fact they had spilled blood.
There were several other men in the room, but Jun was not listening to their ramblings as she methodically cleaned her weapons. She had spent nearly a month working on surveillance of the fortress, studying everything she could about the prison: vital information such as the schematics, locations of guards’ posts, schedules, the best escape routes. It was information which she had studied endlessly until she was as familiar with it as she was with the back of her hand. She had done extensive planning to ensure everything would go smoothly.
She was now poring over her mental notes reviewing the plan she had formulated. She was almost ready to implement it and capture her bounty so she could finally get paid. Working as a meaningless soldier did not pay well and she was running a little low on money.
A waft of smoke caused Jun to stifle the urge to cough. However, she couldn’t prevent her eyes from watering. She looked down quickly hoping no one was paying attention to her. A mistake like that could get her caught. Jun, however, had never been caught when she was chasing down her prey. Never. She wasn’t planning on changing her record.
“Someone penetrated the fortress…”
For a split second terror ran through Jun’s body thinking she had been caught. But she soon relaxed realizing she was not the topic of the men’s discussion. Her ears remained alert, though, for the subject had piqued her interest.
“… and managed to escape with the Avatar.”
“Really? I thought Admiral Zhou had him locked up tight,” added another man.
“Yes, but somehow the Blue Spirit, that’s what they’re calling him, snuck in, evaded detection and escaped with the Avatar.”
“Blue Spirit?” said another man skeptically.
Another man also voiced his disbelief, “I’ve never heard of the Blue Spirit either.”
“No one had until now. They call him that because he has a blue mask. It’s just a nickname since they don’t know who he is. I heard, though, one of the generals suspects that he is an Earth Kingdom spy.”
“He or she,” Jun felt like adding to squelch their sexist beliefs. But she bit her tongue, remaining quiet in order to avoid detection.
“I bet Admiral Zhou is furious,” said a younger man.
Although she usually tired to remain in the shadow’s while on her missions, she decided to break the tradition, seeing as the men were going off topic. She needed more information. Maybe something could help her. “Any theories how he managed to do it?” she asked gruffly hoping no one would detect her more feminine voice.
“So it’s gotten your attention too?” the guard obviously proud by the attention he had gained himself, and by the fact he was the first person Jun had addressed since she arrived. Somehow she had gained the reputation of a skilled warrior. He then went on with his story. “The Blue Spirit was very skilled and knew his way through Fire Nation territory. Together he and the Avatar almost managed to fight their way out.”
“Almost?” said the skeptic, his doubt now replaced with curiosity. “Then how did they escape?”
“Well, the two were cornered, but the Blue Spirit then threatened to kill the Avatar. Admiral Zhao was forced to allow them to leave. Apparently, though, the Spirit did not know that Admiral Zhao had Yuuyan archers. Those guys are accurate, precisely hitting targets that most people can barely see. Well, the admiral had them fire, and the Spirit was knocked out.”
“Then how’d he escape?” asked the young man with awe.
“No one really knows,” the other man continued. “He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it disappeared, they were both gone. That’s why he’s called a spirit. Some say he never existed. Some say though, that the Avatar aided him, rescuing him from capture.”
Jun doubted that the Blue Spirit was a supernatural being, just a very skilled individual. “Do you imagine they’ll be increasing security?” she asked hoping that the Avatar’s escape wouldn’t affect her personally.
“No doubt about it. At this moment, reinforcements have been set for. Though, I doubt the Spirit will return. He achieved his goal rescuing the Avatar. Besides any one would be foolish to attempt something like that now.”
Jun let out a small sigh as she silently cursed her luck. She hoped no one noticed. The Blue Spirit had just made her job a lot harder. If she didn’t speed up her operations, she’d have a lot of trouble collecting her bounty. On the other hand, she felt like rejoicing. The reward for the Avatar was quite a sum and if she had a chance to bring him in, she could retire for the rest of her life. She doubted she would though. As tempting as it was, she would never hand the Avatar over to the Fire Nation betraying everything she’d ever known. She would kill herself, and probably the Avatar to prevent that from happening.
-=-
