Chapter 27: The Chase

As soon as Liberty realized what her opposite was doing, she bolted after her.
Unfortunately, they both went at about the same speed, and Fake-Liberty had a head start. Liberty gritted her teeth and ran as fast as she possibly could, but it wasn't enough to catch the opposite.
Liberty was extra careful not to trip over any stray tree roots or sticks or rocks, jumping and ducking under any obstacles that'd slow her down. Fake-Liberty ran with easy, cocky almost, seeming familiar with the territory. Exactly how long has she been here? Liberty asked herself with a slight growl as she pushed away the urge to stop running and rest.
Fake-Liberty looked over her shoulder at Liberty and smirked before suddenly swerving and running to the right. Liberty tried to follow but tripped as she tried to turn, stumbling. With a fierce growl she collected herself and started up running again, but it became increasingly more difficult as pain shot in Liberty's sides, wheezing with effort.
She found herself now trotting towards the place where she had left Lucky, but then she heard voices.
"What are you doing?"
Dread filled Liberty as she realized it was Lucky, who then let out a shriek of pain.
Then came Liberty's own voice: "You're a disgrace!" she snarled. "WEAK!"
"Stop hurting me!" Lucky cried.
Anger surged through Liberty and she bolted towards the sounds. She could see Fake-Liberty ahead and didn't care that she'd get injured; she tackled Fake-Liberty, and Liberty found herself also screeching in pain as she felt claws dig into her shoulders as she did the same to her opposite, and something hitting her back at the same time she pinned Fake-Liberty down.
Lucky jumped back. "What's going on?!"
"Lucky, run!" Liberty yelled, struggling to keep Fake-Liberty down.
The black kitten didn't hesitate to take off.


Lucky ran back to The Bending Tower, through the yard and into the Tower, and back to the young den, where Airia and the others were. Alista and Cloudie were in conversation, giggling about something, whereas Rhonda and Okerro were talking in the corner, but not acting as giggly as the girls.
Airia looked up as Lucky came in. "There are two Libertys!" he yelped as he ran in and up to the winged wolf. "There are two Libertys!"
Airia studied him, looking rather exhausted, before sighing. "Yes, Lucky," she said. "Some animals can change and act differently."
"But there are two Libertys!" Lucky protested.
Airia nodded. "Most animals can act a certain way one day and another way the next."
"But there are two of her!" Lucky shouted.
"Two of what?" asked Alista.
"Liberty!" Lucky exclaimed, turning to face the orange pup.
"Ooh! Ooh!" Alista said, turning to Alista. "Let's play fight! I'll be two of Raoul!"
"I'll be two of Ash!" Cloudie added.
"I wanna play!" Rhonda exclaimed, bounding over as Okerro followed. "I'm two of Airia!"
"There were two Libertys!" Lucky shouted desperately.
"You wanna be Liberty?" Alista frowned, wrinkling her nose. "But she's a girl!"
Lucky didn't know how to respond, so he didn't, as Okerro started saying who he wanted to be. No one believes me! he thought.
"Are you gonna play with us, Lucky?" Cloudie asked.
"Yeah," Lucky said. "I'm...two..." he frowned.
"You can be two of Streak! He's a cat too!" Alista nodded.
"Okay!" Lucky said, and the group began to play.


Liberty struggled to hold her opposite down, both of them growling at each other. She knew she couldn't fight Fake-Liberty; it could result in her own injury. On the bright side, however, this assured that Fake-Liberty wouldn't try to fight her either.
"Get off of me!" Fake-Liberty shrieked, struggling under Liberty's grasp. Her opposite clearly wasn't a good fighter; then again, Liberty was, so it'd make sense that her opposite wouldn't be.
"I will if you promise not to go to The Bending Tower," Liberty growled. It was not likely the opposite would do so, but Liberty was prepared to keep her opposite there all night if it meant she wouldn't go to her home.
"I can't make that promise," Fake-Liberty hissed. "I can't disobey orders."
"Well you will this time," Liberty retorted coldly.
Fake-Liberty narrowed her eyes at her before growling. "Fine."
Liberty then released her opposite, who took off in the other direction.


She made her way back to The Bending Tower uneventfully, and as she came into the yard she realized the whole of the Tower was out there. What just happened? she asked.
"Liberty!" exclaimed a voice. She turned to see Tiggerkat bouncing over happily. "Hi!"
"Uh...hi," Liberty replied cautiously.
"You just missed it!" Tiggerkat said, her voice cheerful as usual. "Ekaj, Sparky, Ryker, Audrey, Malroy and Spot became full Benders."
Liberty nodded. "Sounds nice."
"Yeah! It was great! I'm so proud of them. They worked hard," Tiggerkat said, talking in a fast and eager voice. "They should include reese cup lessons. I'd teach that. I'd be a great teacher. I'd make sure no one would fail. And I'd give out free reese cups. It'd be so fun! You should--"
"Aren't you like, scared of me?" Liberty blurted out. Tiggerkat blinked as she continued. "Everyone hates me, because--"
Tiggerkat suddenly grew wide-eyed, staring at her intently. "Did you take my reese cups?" she asked slowly.
Liberty frowned. "No, but--"
Tiggerkat then grinned and wrapped her arms around Liberty's neck in some kind of embrace. "Well just ask next time," she said, pulling away. "You can have my reese cups as long as you ask."
Confusion filled Liberty, and she then sighed. "Nevermind. You don't understand what with all these opposites..." She didn't mind if Tiggerkat heard the word; she was quite forgetful, and it wasn't likely she'd be repeating it to anyone, and even if she did no one would believe her.
She looked at Tiggerkat to see her face had lit up. "I know, right? Opposites are so confusing. I mean, one is Yin and one is Yang, one is dark and one is bright, one is on and one is off, one's left and one's right, one's up and the other is down..."
Tiggerkat walked off, naming more opposites to herself, and Liberty could hear it all the way until she was out of earshot.
But Liberty was even more confused than before. Wait, she said to herself. Tiggerkat just mentioned Yin and Yang...

Author's Note:
Dun dun dun...
(also yeah school got in the way again so i couldn't update sooner)

Chapter 26: Walking Through the Forest

They decided to go into the woods. Misty always liked forests, probably because the territory she was born into was surrounded by foliage. "It's kind of nice here though," commented Lilypaka as they trotted through the Tribe's territory. "Despite their hating girls, it's better than being cooped up in jail and rarely fed."
"Agreed," nodded Misty.
"Well, it doesn't change the fact that the boys here are idiots," sighed Campbell.
They walked along in a silence that was not awkward, but weren't in silence for long before they heard hooting and hollering.
"Oh great," Campbell muttered. "Wonder who it is."
Misty followed the noise, Campbell, Lilypaka and Adele walking after her. She looked down a hill to see some Tribe boys - Dezren and Razren, who were twin brothers, and Snowdust, running through the woods, not even sparing the girls a sideways glance. They passed through some sort of invisible finish line, as they skidded to a stop and began arguing.
"I won!" Snowdust declared.
"No you didn't!" Dezren and Razren shouted simultaneously.
"You liar, you did not win! I did!" Razren snapped.
"No, I did! My paws were at least a mouse-tail's length ahead of yours!" Dezren protested.
"You're just upset that you're a squirrel," sneered Snowdust.
"I'm not a squirrel! You're a squirrel!" Dezren snarled.
"Bring it on, then! Prove it!" Snowdust said tauntingly.
"Fine!" Dezren exclaimed, tackling Snowdust. Soon the two were in the midst of a big fight, clawing and barking and biting, while Razren took a few steps back to watch, cheering, "go Dez! Go Dez! Go Dez!"
"Is this Tribe always so chaotic?" muttered Campbell.
"Probably," sighed Lilypaka.
"Glad I don't live here then," Misty spoke up.
"You should be. If you did they'd shun you everyday," Campbell added.
"How long will we be staying here anyway?" Lilypaka asked.
"Depends. The boys probably love it here, so it may be a while," Misty said, making Campbell groan in annoyance.
"Speaking of which, where are they?" Lilypaka ventured.
"Probably still asleep. Or at camp," Misty replied.
"Ah," Lilypaka nodded back.
"What's with those boys calling each other 'squirrels'?" asked Campbell as they continued walking.
"I'll bet it's an insult," Misty said.
"You don't say," responded Campbell dryly.
"Aren't you a little ray of--"
Suddenly the earth began to shake, but right before Misty could ask what was going on, it stopped, and everything was, luckily, intact; no fallen trees or branches. She looked down below to see Dezren and Razren had stopped mid-fight, looking around curiously, Snowdust doing so as well.
"What happened?" Misty asked.
"Didn't that tortoise say something about earthquakes being the cause of Yin and Yang fighting?" Lilypaka suggested.
Misty frowned before nodding. "He did say that...for like, every time Yin or Yang lands a blow on the other, an earthquake happens. The bigger the blow, the bigger the earthquake."
"There was a few back at The Bending Tower," commented Campbell.
"So the earthquakes must all happen in random places at different times..." said Lilypaka, her thinking face on, "which means that for all we know, Yin and Yang aren't taking breaks between fights. They could be fighting all day, every day, landing blows on each other; for all we know they could be dying!"
There was silence in the group before Misty spoke up. "That's...reassuring."
"What'd happen if they died?" Campbell asked. "I mean, I know the world ends and all, but does like, an earthquake happen so large the earth literally splits in half?"
"Perhaps," Lilypaka nodded slowly.
Just then Ricochet walked into the area, followed by Colton and Ethan, He glanced at the girls. "I thought you would be at your side of the camp," he commented.
"And I thought you didn't talk to girls," Campbell growled.
"No, we merely just don't accept them into our Tribe," Ricochet replied calmly. "But we're making an exception in this case."
"Aren't we special," Campbell hissed.
"Why are you out here, anyway?" Ricochet asked.
"Well we're not staying in camp all day," said Misty, speaking before Campbell would say something to get them all kicked out. "It's kinda boring there."
Ricochet studied her before nodding. "Fair enough," he decided. "I suppose I'll see you around. You're with our Tribe for now, after all."
"True enough," said Lilypaka in a dismissive manner before Ricochet walked off with the two Tribe boys, who glanced at the girls over their shoulders as they left. "But back to Yin and Yang stuff," the meerkat said as soon as the boys were out of earshot, "Achak also said something about seeking safety. Any thoughts on that?"
I've been trying not to, thought Misty, fighting back a grimace. Tsovo somehow knew about that - as he was keen to let Misty know upon her leaving the Amorache Tribe - and whenever she heard the words "seek safety", it made her think of the Chief's son. "No," Misty replied.
"Well we'd better figure it out soon. It sounds important," Lilypaka said.
"It'd have to be, if the old guy used his dying breaths to say it," Campbell muttered.
That was when a shriek split through the air, making Misty jump with alarm.
"That sounded like a Tribe boy," Lilypaka gasped, running after the sound. Misty quickly followed, as it sounded like a shriek of pain.

Author's Note:
FINALLY got around to writing this hahaha.
Also, I made a TFEOB post on Megan's Musings that you guys may enjoy; click here to view it.

Chapter 25: Fake-Liberty

Shock rippled through Liberty’s pelt; she looked exactly like her. The same scar on her muzzle, same eyes, same white fur and orange-and-blue markings by her nose. In fact, they both even studied each other the same way; they were so similar it made Liberty realize why animals believed it actually was Liberty who had made death threats and destroyed the herbs.

Fake-Liberty smirked. “Well, I know which one of us is the prettier one.”

Liberty growled. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, right. You know about opposites,” chuckled Fake-Liberty. She smiled. “I’m here on orders from my leader, of course.”

“And you’re gonna tell me what those orders are now or--”

“Or you’ll what?” Fake-Liberty laughed. “Rip my throat out? Tear my tail off? You can’t do that.”

“What makes you think I can’t?” Liberty snarled.

“Because,” smirked Fake-Liberty. Already Liberty hated that smirk on her opposite. “Whatever happens to me, also happens to you.”

This took Liberty aback and she hesitated. Was her opposite just bluffing?

She decided to test it out and slashed her claws on Fake-Liberty’s shoulder.

Her opposite screeched in pain and Liberty found herself doing the same as pain shot across her shoulder. Just as she saw blood trickle down her opposite’s shoulder, she felt blood coming down her own as well.

“You idiot!” Fake-Liberty snarled. “I told you that’d happen! I’d shred your ears if it wouldn’t hurt me too for that!”

“You could’ve been bluffing,” Liberty hissed.

“Well congratulations, now you got yourself a bloody shoulder,” Fake-Liberty snapped. “If you weren’t so stupid you could’ve just noticed that we both had scars on our muzzles. Who even did that?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Liberty growled. “What’re you doing here? What are these ‘orders’?”

“You can’t make me tell you,” Fake-Liberty smirked again. “There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Anger coursed through Liberty; she could feel herself getting madder every heartbeat. Not only was she powerless in this situation, her opposite also made her become the least popular animal in the Tower, made her friends hate her, and was the reason Liberty had to serve punishment for supposedly destroying the herbs in the Healers’ den. She so badly wanted to take the anger out on her opposite, but she couldn’t. And seeing as how her opposite was smirking, Fake-Liberty knew this too.

“At least tell me all you had done,” Liberty growled. “What made everyone hate me.”

“Oh, that,” Fake-Liberty smiled. “Well, I had gone into the Healers’ den. Those animals in there are pretty dorky,” she added with a chuckle. “I knew about the situation with your friend, how a Shadow Tracker bit her. Unfortunate,” she said in a voice dripping with false sympathy, effectively making Liberty even madder. “So I destroyed the herbs and since, y’know, they’re Healers, they couldn’t do much to stop me. That orange wolf - Comet, was it? - asked me what I was doing, so I told him I did this in hopes that Starlight would die, just to top it off,” Fake-Liberty grinned.

The anger was becoming unbearable, but Liberty gritted her teeth. “Continue.”

“So then I ran out of the Tower and into your territory and I ran into that wolf - Sirius - and her friend Ryker. I know you’ve been becoming close to them. Right? Anyways, so I figured it’d be good for me if I could get some of your friends to hate you. So I tried to kill her.”

“What good for you would come out of my friends hating me?” Liberty retorted.

“Well, what if that was my orders?” suggested Fake-Liberty with a smile, but before Liberty could ask what that meant the opposite continued. “So as you probably already know, Sirius believed it was you trying to kill her. I ran away before she could fight back. I thought by then I wouldn’t run into anyone else you knew, but that’s when your friend Ekaj came along.”

Dread filled Liberty at the mention of his name. “What did you do to him?” she growled.

Fake-Liberty gave a slight smile. “Defensive, are we?  Oh, it was nothing really. He tried to talk to me, but I think I did you a favor,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “That boy is ugly, and it’s quite obvious he likes you. I told him to get away from me.”

Liberty had never been more furious in her life. She howled her anger out, and slashed her claws onto the nearest tree, pretending it was her opposite’s throat.

“Wow, you are really angry!” exclaimed Fake-Liberty, as if fascinated. “I wonder what else I can do?”

It took Liberty a while to process what her opposite was saying. “What?”

“I guess I’ll go find out!” Fake-Liberty grinned. She then took off and dread filled Liberty.

Her opposite was running for The Bending Tower.

Author’s Note:

I wrote this in school while I was supposed to be taking a test. Probably shouldn't have; it's making this post have weird spacing. =n=

So sorry this is kinda short. D:
Also, if you're still curious about what Fake-Liberty's personality is like, think about those mean-girl cheerleaders who gossip and care deeply about their appearance and are very girly.

That's basically Fake-Liberty in a nutshell.