Chapter 45: Electing a Leader

"So you don't even know where this 'Land of Yin and Yang' is, yet we're heading towards it?" demanded Campbell later that day. Misty had explained to the group about what she had learned from Majaka and the Speaker. "I really do not--"
"I suggest we embark soon," said Koro. "We're bound to find the Land of Yin and Yang somehow, right?"
"The Peacebenders can tell us how to get there!" exclaimed Bracken. "Right, Misty?"
"Uh," Misty began, "about that--"
"Bracken. There are no Peacebenders," Koro insisted. "We'll have to get there on our own."
Bracken's face grew sad. "But--"
"Hey, it's true," agreed Campbell. "They're not going to help us."
Bracken's ears drooped in disappointment.
"Yeah..." Misty said hesitantly. "We should head off. But we got to bring Tiggerpaka with us."
The group moaned.
"Let him stay here!" protested Sidew. "He's nothing but trouble."
"He's exiled!" Misty turned to him. "Remember? He can't stay here."
"Who cares?" Sidew snorted. "Besides, you're not leader."
"Well, last time I checked, we don't have a leader, so I can have a say in things," Misty retorted.
"We'd better leave Tiggerpaka here, or I'm leaving you guys and heading back to The Bending Tower," growled Campbell.
"Yeah. Tiggerpaka'll just slow us down," agreed Rhett.
"Tiggerpaka will get killed without us!" exclaimed Misty. "We can't--"
"Once again, you're not any kind of leader!" Sidew said. "You're outnumbered."
"But--"
"Oh yeah. Just because your father's the big leader of The Bending Tower, you got to be leader, too?" Campbell glared at Misty.
"It has NOTHING to do with Ash being my father!" snarled Misty, making everyone fall silent. "Why do you have to assume I want to be leader, just because I think Tiggerpaka should follow us?! It has nothing to do with leadership. It has to do with doing the right thing!"
"I think you'd be a good leader," murmured Bracken, breaking the silence.
"Should we elect a leader?" Lephos asked. "We're going to need one..."
"In which case, I vote myself," smirked Sidew.
"You can't vote for yourself," Lephos retorted.
"I vote for Koro," Rhett said, glancing at his brother, who looked surprised.
"Same," Campbell agreed, looking at Misty.
What's that all about? Misty demanded in her head, anger rising.
"Uh...I'll vote for Koro," piped up Lephos.
"Some brother you are," snorted Sidew.
"I vote Misty!" exclaimed Bracken.
Oh Lifebreeze, Bracken... sighed Misty.
"Misty," said Sidew.
"I thought you didn't want her to be leader," Campbell replied.
"Well, anything's better than Koro," Sidew grumbled.
"If you don't take that back--" began Rhett with a growl.
"Be quiet, it's fine," Koro said. "And, uh...I think I'm going to vote for Misty..."
They were all silent.
"It's a tie," sighed Rhett. "How do we break it?"
"Ooh! They should fight to the death for it!" exclaimed Sidew, laughing.
"Not a fight to the death," Lephos said, "but a fight for the role would be interesting..."
Misty's heart began to hammer. Great. A fight, for a role I don't want, against my mentor. I don't stand a chance.
"Sure, let's see it," Campbell nodded in agreement.
"But no Bending," insisted Koro.
Everyone looked at him.
"I've had more practice in Bending than Misty," Koro explained. "It'd give me an unfair advantage. Just fighting, at least instinct could kick in and that'd be fair."
"I suppose that's fine," shrugged Lephos.
"Alright, prepare to fight!" Sidew grinned. "First to surrender loses! Three...two..." The group all backed up against the wall to give plenty of space. "...one...GO!"
Koro jumped at Misty. Fear took over her and she quickly darted to the side, avoiding the attack from her mentor. I didn't sign up for this, Misty thought fretfully. I could at least try to win, right?
Maybe I could make my father proud.
Misty turned as Koro slammed into her, forcing her into the wall. Misty turned just in time to see Koro about to attack with his claws again, and she easily ducked from his strike and pushed into his chest with all her force. This made her mentor stumble, and Misty shot out from around him, and then jumped.
Koro quickly turned around and easily pushed Misty back with his paw. She hit the ground and scrambled to her paws, only to be pinned by Koro.
"I give up!" she yelled.
"Koro wins!" exclaimed Sidew.
Koro stepped off and looked at Misty. "You okay?"
"Fine," Misty replied.
"Sorry 'bout that," apologized Koro. "You'd be a good leader though..."
"I never wanted to be," insisted Misty.
"So, Koro, what do we do now?" said Lephos.
"We should probably get some food and embark for the Land of Yin and Yang," Koro said. "You guys can all go hunting if you'd like. And...we're going to bring Tiggerpaka."
Everyone - except Bracken and Misty - groaned in response.
"Misty's right," Koro insisted. "We'd be doing the right thing."
"Fine," muttered Sidew.
"We'll announce to the Meerkat Clan that we're leaving," said Koro. "If the world is in danger, well...we should leave as soon as possible."

Author's Note:
QOTD (Question Of The Day): Who's your favorite character so far in this series?
AOTD (Answer Of The Day): Bracken, he's adorable :D

I'm going to start doing QOTDs in the ANs, which you can answer in the comments below. :) I'll also put a AOTDs, which is what my answer would be.

Chapter 44: Mending Bones

"Eclipse has mended broken bones before," said Nightgale, examining Liberty's broken tail. Liberty was going to miss the meeting of Kirin, Snakeseye and Dell's deaths because of her broken bone, but she didn't mind too much. They were in the Healers' den. The tree was still in the roof, but it wouldn't effect them just from sitting there. "But she told me the herb she used wasn't around here...I don't know what to do about this, Liberty."
Liberty grumbled to herself. "Oh, joy. Guess I'll just die, then..."
Nightgale, who apparently hadn't heard Liberty, turned to Comet. "Any suggestions as to what we do?"
"We could ask a traveler," suggested Comet. "Someone who's been traveling for most of their life. They may know what to do."
"Good idea," Nightgale agreed. "But who?"
As if on cue, Tiggerkat came in. "Hello! I heard Liberty's tail broke! Poor thing. Where is she?"
"Uh, here?" said Liberty.
"Oh!" Tiggerkat bounced over to her. "Are you okay?"
"Just dandy," Liberty mumbled sarcastically.
"Oh, good! I thought you were really hurting," Tiggerkat smiled with relief. She turned her attention to the tree. "Whoa! What happ--?"
"Tiggerkat, please leave. I need to figure out how to help Liberty's broken tail," Nightgale insisted.
"Ooh! I can help her!" Tiggerkat insisted.
Immediately Liberty grimaced. No, no, no...
"You sure, Tiggerkat?" Comet said, looking concerned. "You, uh...I don't think you have much medical experience."
"Of course I do! I got this," Tiggerkat smiled.
"Alright then," Nightgale shrugged.
"I'll get the materials!" Tiggerkat exclaimed, bouncing out of the room.
As soon as Tiggerkat would be well out of earshot, Liberty turned on Nightgale. "Why? Why are you letting Tiggerkat mend my tail!?"
"She's the best you got," Nightgale insisted.
"She's not going to help it. She'll make it worse, for Lifebreeze's sake!" Liberty yelled. "Why would you trust--"
"I thought you were taught not to talk back to your elders," Nightgale snapped, taking Liberty by surprise. "Tiggerkat has been proven to be useful in the past. So she may actually know what she's doing. Now, I don't want you to struggle as Tiggerkat mends the bone. You got to be steady. And no insulting her either."
Once Nightgale turned around, Liberty gritted her teeth, growling in anger. She has no idea of the pain I'm going through. Easy for her to tell me to trust Tiggerkat! I'll be that fool of a tiger has forgotten already about my--
"I'm back!" exclaimed Tiggerkat as she bounced back through the door. She was holding two sticks and a bunch of vines with flowers on them in her paws.
"Alright, go ahead," Nightgale said.
Tiggerkat approached Liberty's tail, who immediately flinched, but forced herself to stay steady. She turned and watched as Tiggerkat set the sticks on either side of Liberty's tail and started wrapping the flowery vines around the sticks to hold them against the tail.
Immediately Liberty felt embarrassed. Does that mean I'll be parading around with flowers on my tail for the next couple of moons?
"Done!" Tiggerkat grinned moments later. Liberty examined her tail. Sure enough, her tail was covered in flowers that were holding the sticks on either side of the tail.
"Thank you, Tiggerkat," Nightgale nodded. She turned to Liberty. "You're dismissed. But if anything bothers your tail, please come to me at once. I know you apprentices tend to prefer to avoid the Healer and ignore the pain, but that's not going to help in your case."
Liberty nodded in reply and left the Healers' room. Oh, Lifebreeze, this is embarrassing.
She walked down the stairs, trying to keep her tail up so it wouldn't touch the floor. Liberty headed out into the yard.
The bodies of the dead animals lay in the center of the yard. Animals were around them, looking grief-stricken. But some of the other animals were spread out, looking to be done with their mourning, yet still sad-looking. Why do we mourn our dead? Liberty wondered. It doesn't help anything.
"Liberty!"
Ekaj ran over. "Is your tail--" He then froze, seeing what was on her tail. "Uh..."
"Tiggerkat mended it," she grumbled.
"Well, at least it'll get better," Ekaj shrugged. "It sucks, y'know...Dell and the others dying..."
"Yeah," Liberty murmured.
"My new mentor is Stone. She's okay, but..she'll just, never be Dell, y'know?" Ekaj said.
Liberty nodded. She had a lot of respect for Stone; the raccoon was tough and serious, and from what she heard, handled herself well in combat. Ekaj must consider himself lucky, Liberty thought.
"Malroy now has Leafy for a mentor. She was excited about that," continued Ekaj. "Malroy misses Kirin, though, I can tell..."
Mentors made Liberty recall training and she froze in alarm. With my broken tail...I'm gonna miss training! she thought worriedly. For how long, though?

Author's Note:
I REALLY hope commenters will start coming back since it's summer vacation. I miss everyone's feedback. I'd love all the comments I'd receive after writing a new chapter, hearing about how everyone enjoyed the story and what they thought about so-and-so doing this and all of that. But I'm starting to get worried my readers have left for good. :( Thanks to the few readers who've stayed, though...
Check out my new stories, please. I'd really appreciate it if you'd follow and comment on them.

Chapter 43: The Speaker

What Misty had learned from Busara was overwhelming her. She had set Tiggerpaka free and let him stay in the room she and her friends had been given, but she was no longer distracted and had now settled back to thinking on the words from Busara. Was that even truly Busara? Misty wondered. She recalled when the meerkat had talked to her; how she had grown stiff and suddenly forgotten about Misty altogether.
Frustrated and confused, Misty made up her mind. I'll go back to Busara, Misty decided, and try to find out more about all of this.
She got up and headed inside the Meerkat Clan's tree, which Lilypaka had told Misty was named the Home Tree. Misty had been sitting outside the Tree, watching birds and thinking.
Misty climbed up the steps, going through the Council room - where she slipped past Mbili, Tatu and Moja all in a fight - and entered the room that Busara had been in. "Busara? Hello?" Misty called.
No one was there. Not even Berry. She must be outside, with Berry, Misty assumed with a sigh.
She turned to leave, but then heard a voice.
"Approach me, troubled one."
Misty froze and turned around. "Who...?"
The orb Busara had used was beginning to light up with its brilliant colors. "You did not understand my words."
"Busara...?" Misty whispered. Had the meerkat somehow gotten trapped in the orb?
"You fool. I am no meerkat," the voice hissed. It was scratchy, sounded like a female's voice, and spoke rather slowly. "No, I am above Busara. She is merely my servant. I am above you. Above all of you. I am...the Speaker."
"The Speaker?" Misty echoed in confusion.
"Yes," the Speaker replied in its snake-like voice. "I assist the shaman of the Meerkat Clan. I speak through them."
"Oh," was all Misty could manage.
"No one normally understands the messages I give," the Speaker went on. "That is because I give them an opportunity to determine what it means for themselves. But this...this is too important. You must...understand."
Misty felt relief. "Finally," she muttered. She then brought up her voice. "You're telling me the meaning of what Busara told me?"
"Busara didn't tell you that," the Speaker reminded Misty. "I did."
Misty didn't particularly care for that information. "Tell me what it means!" she begged.
"Patience," scolded the Speaker. "The world is in danger."
Misty's eagerness quickly became curiosity - and fear. "W-What?"
"Yin and Yang are fighting," the Speaker continued. "They are what keeps the world in balance. And if one dies...the world goes with it."
Misty's mouth gaped in horror as the Speaker continued. "You and your group of friends, you are all meant to save the world. Keep everyone from dying. Stop Yin and Yang from their quarrel. But there are animals out to destroy you because of this."
"Wh-Why us?" Misty stuttered. "Why not someone else? And can't we head back home first?"
"You cannot go home until you have completed your quest. Forget all about home. This is more important," the Speaker insisted.
"Nothing is more important than my friends back at The Bending Tower," Misty replied evenly.
"Complete your destiny," the Speaker said, not acknowledging Misty's protest. "Head to the Land of Yin and Yang. Save the world...Misty."
The colors disappeared.
Misty took a breath, trying to comprehend what was going on.
Yin and Yang were about to destroy the world. Out of all the animals that could've been chosen, for whatever reason, it was Misty and her friends that were selected. It was their destiny to save the world. But where was the Land of Yin and Yang? How could they do this? And why couldn't the Peacebenders take care of it?
Misty kept wondering about all of this, but suddenly her vision went black.


When Misty's vision returned, she was at a brilliant green forest. Sunlight sparkled through the trees. There were butterflies, birds singing. Everything seemed peaceful.
"Misty," said a deep voice.
Misty turned to see a huge, white winged wolf with a black pattern on his face. "Who are you?" Misty asked.
"I am Majaka," the wolf replied. "First Waterbender, first winged wolf to walk the land, and your ancestor."
"I'm related to you?" Misty said.
"Of course. Does your mother not have wings like me?" Majaka muttered. "Anyway, Ka--er, the Speaker was right. You're supposed to save Yin and Yang."
"Can't the Peacebenders take care of it?" Misty asked. Her father had told her tales of how all the Peacebenders helped him; wouldn't they do the same for Misty?
However, Majaka simply laughed. "Oh, you naive little girl." Misty felt taken aback at this. "Your top enemy, the one who wishes to kill you because of your destiny, stopped the Peacebenders and cut off their power."
"How?" Misty demanded. What animal could be so powerful as to cut off the Peacebenders?
"One of the Father Stones," Majaka replied. "See, there are several afterlifes, depending on what you are. You're part of the Benders. So your afterlife is the Bender Realm, and you can either go to the Peacebenders or Darkbenders. The Tribe of Flying Birds - who live between The Bending Tower and Water Tribe - go to the Tribe Realm, to the Tribe of Starry Skies if your good, and to the Tribe of Endless Darkness. The Meerkat Clan don't think of any afterlife while alive, but when they die they go to the Plentiful Jungle Realm - all meerkats of the Meerkat Clan go to the Plentiful Jungle - where there are grubs as far as the eye can see. I lived in the Land of Yin and Yang for most of my days. We come here. To what we basically call, 'Land'. Otherwise known as the Land Realm."
"'Land'?" Misty echoed.
"There is no Yin and Yang here," Majaka pointed out. "So we take that part of the title out."
"Oh," Misty murmured.
"Anyway, since mostly Benders dominate the land below, the Bender Realm is the most powerful Realm of all. They're the only ones who can talk to the land-dwellers, which is why only they have a Father Stone that cuts off their power," Majaka explained.
"Then how are you talking to me?" Misty demanded.
"I can go to the Bender Realm, because I'm a Bender. But since I had ran away in my later days to the Land of Yin and Yang, I can come to Land. I happened to be in Land when the Peacebenders' power was cut off, so I was safe," Majaka said
Misty felt relief. "So you'll help me?"
"I have more important things to do, so I'm only talking to you this once," Majaka growled. "It won't be a walk through the field, trying to get to Yin and Yang. It'll take a while. And patience. You'll learn the way there during your journey."
"Why do I have to do this?" Misty asked.
"Because it's your destiny," Majaka replied, as if the answer was obvious.
"I can't choose?" Misty said.
"Of course not. Our destinies are written out before we're even born."
Curious, Misty asked, "and what happens if we don't fulfill our destinies?"
"Then we go to a horrible Realm," Majaka looked Misty in the eye. "They call it the Void."
"What does it look like?" Misty wondered.
"Not important," Majaka insisted. "There are rulers of each Realm, though...the Speaker rules the Void."
"So she didn't fulfill--?" Misty began.
"I'm assuming," Majaka muttered. "I've told you enough, now. Go back."


Misty woke up in the shaman's room, her head buzzing with information.
It was so much to take in.

Author's Note:
No comments on the last post. :/ I write for your FEEDBACK, people.

Chapter 42: Falling Trees

Liberty was eating breakfast, sitting next to her friend Starlight. Her breakfast consisted of a rabbit that apparently Malroy had caught, which Starlight had been happy to inform Liberty about. She had been rambling on about his hunting skills were good for an animal who was half-blind, only to find that Liberty wasn’t listening. So Starlight had then changed the subject.

“What are you gonna do after you finish breakfast?” Starlight asked Liberty.

“Not sure. Haven’t received orders,” Liberty replied, taking a bite of rabbit.

“You’re bound to soon, though. Mentors never stop ordering us around,” Starlight commented.

With a sigh, Liberty silently agreed and ate a bit of her rabbit again. And hopefully I’ll be allowed to eat my whole breakfast before I’m called on, she thought.

The rest of breakfast was uneventful, and then Twister trotted up. “Bending practice, Liberty. We’ll be going with Starlight, Light, Ekaj, Dell, Spot and Max.”

“Why such a big group?” Starlight asked.

“They all wanted to join Liberty and I. Their apprentices all need training,” Twister explained. “C’mon.”

Liberty and Starlight got to their paws and headed out from the yard, following Twister. When they were past The Bending Tower and deeper into the forest, they met Light.

“There you are,” Light said, looking at Starlight. “Took long enough.”
“Sorry,” Starlight apologized. “I had been hungry…”

They waited a while, but eventually the others joined the group.

“Where shall we practice?” asked Dell once everyone was present.

“By Ice River. That way the Waterbenders can do some Bending,” Light suggested.

Everyone seemed to agree and they began to walk in the direction of Ice River. Starlight walked beside Liberty on the way. “I haven’t done much Bending. Have you?”

Liberty shook her head.

“Can’t wait to try it out some more,” Starlight said. “I’ll be the greatest Bender.”

“I doubt that,” said Light, who’d been listening to the conversation.

“You’re so positive,” Spot muttered sarcastically.

Light turned and growled at Spot. “Oh yeah? And your father – Spots – he was positive all the time, never bothering to think about the negatives of an outcome. And is he still here? No. He’s dea—”

“Don’t talk about my dad!” Spot snarled. “I’ve never even gotten to know him!”

“Break it up,” Max insisted. Liberty noticed sadness in his eyes. “A lot of horrible things happened in that battle, Light. Too many deaths. We shouldn’t bring it up.”

Spot glanced at Max and nodded knowingly. Liberty wondered what that was all about.

They kept walking until they ended up at the Ice River. “Alright,” Light spoke up. “We’ll have someone go first to show their Bending. Volunteers, anyone?”

“I’ll go!” Starlight exclaimed.

“Alright, go ahead,” Light said.

Everyone trained their eyes on Starlight as she stepped forward. “I will perform a simple Airbending move: just make the wind blow,” Starlight announced.

“Let’s see it,” Max nodded.

Starlight took a deep breath and then started whipping her tail back and forth and she slammed her paws forward. Liberty expected the wind to blow, but instead, Starlight collapsed.

“What the--?!” Liberty exclaimed, running up to Starlight. Light quickly joined her. “Starlight! Wake up!”

Starlight didn’t respond.

“What happened?” Dell wondered, coming forward. “She…She didn’t seem sickly, or anything…”

Suddenly, the earth started rumbling. Not again! Liberty exclaimed to herself. She then heard something large shaking back and forth, and looked up in alarm to see a large oak tree falling her way, and suddenly became paralyzed with fear. “Oh my Lifebree--!”

“Liberty!” howled a voice. Suddenly, Liberty was lurched forward, and landed down hard. But she felt something heavy hit her tail, and pain shot through her. “OUCH!” she cried out, gritting her teeth with pain.

She looked to realize it was Ekaj who had pulled her forward. Panting, she looked back to see the tree had landed on her tail.

Another tree collapsed, and Liberty heard someone shriek; yet she wasn’t sure who. “It’s bound to be over soon,” Ekaj said reassuringly. “Just…hold tight.”

“Oh, yeah!” Liberty yelled. “Like I was going to go for a walk or something!”

Ekaj flinched at the harshness in her voice. Then, the earthquake stopped.

“Is everyone okay?” yelled Spot’s voice.

“Liberty’s tail is stuck under a tree!” Ekaj announced. “We need to get the tree off!”

Next thing Liberty knew, Spot, Max, Light, Twister and Ekaj where pushing to get the tree off Liberty, who felt embarrassed. Everyone’s going to the trouble of getting a stupid tree off me just because my reflexes were slow!

It took a while, but the tree was finally off Liberty’s tail. “Is your tail okay?” Ekaj asked worriedly.

Liberty tried to move her tail, and winced. “Ow!”

“What’s wrong?” Ekaj demanded, face full of concern.

“It hurts,” Liberty said through gritted teeth.

“We need to get you to Nightgale,” Spot insisted. He turned to Light – he still had anger in his eye about Light’s last remark, but he talked nonetheless. “Is Starlight still knocked out?”

Light trotted over to where they left Starlight’s body. “Yes, but luckily she’s fine. No injuries.”

“Hold it,” Ekaj froze. “Where’s Dell?”

Everyone looked around nervously.

“I had heard a tree crash and someone shrieking,” Liberty spoke up. She ignored the pain stabbing at her tail. “Maybe she’s nearby that tree.”
“Oh no,” Ekaj murmured, eyes full of fear. He darted for the nearest fallen tree and looked around. Spot joined him. “Dell?” Ekaj called. “Dell!”

No response.

“Here she is!” exclaimed Spot.

Taking it easy with her tail, Liberty made her way over towards the tree, curious. She then spotted Dell’s body.

Dell’s dead, crushed body.

“She’s…dead,” Ekaj whispered.

“Get her body,” Light ordered. “We need to get back to The Bending Tower, see how the earthquake affected them.”

“We could probably just drag her out from under,” Spot pointed out. “We don’t have to be gentle. She’s…uh, not with us anymore.”

“That’s disrespectful,” Ekaj growled. “We’re rolling the tree off of her.”

A moan made Liberty turn around in curiosity. “Wh-What happe’?” asked a voice, which Liberty recognized as Starlight’s.

“You passed out,” explained Twister. “Earthquake happened.”

Starlight moaned in response.

“Spot, take Starlight and Liberty back to the Tower,” Light ordered. “The rest of us will get Dell.”

Spot trotted over to Starlight and Liberty. “I trust you two can walk?”

They both nodded.

The three of them walked for The Bending Tower. The walk was quiet and uneventful.

Voices reached Liberty’s ears. We’re nearby, she realized. And sure enough, it didn’t take long before they arrived at the yard.

There were yells, talking and scurrying about. Chaos.

“What are they--?” Spot began, but then he looked at the Tower and grimaced. “…Oh.”

Liberty followed his gaze and gasped. A tree had crashed through one of the roofs of the Tower. “Was anyone in there…?” she wondered aloud nervously.

Suddenly, a female Dalmatian ran over – Liberty realized it was Sylvia, Spot’s mother. “Oh, Spot!” she cried. “Thank goodness you’re okay!” She licked his forehead, but he backed away from his mother.

“Mom,” Spot said. “What happened?”

“Oh, that terrible earthquake came, and…” Sylvia was panting with fear. “And it crashed through the roof!”

“Anything else?” Spot asked.

“It’s…it’s in the location of the Healers’ den,” Sylvia explained shakily. “Nightgale and Comet escaped, b-but, they said…they said that…”
“What’d they say?” Spot pressed.

Sylvia looked her son in the eye. “The impact killed Snakeseye and Kirin.”

Author’s Note:

Ah, character deaths. Interesting to write, sad to read.
I apologize for not posting earlier. Mom took away all my electronic devices. :/

Chapter 41: Lilypaka Explains

Misty sat in the corner of the visitors' room, deep in thought about the words from Busara. Something about the Peacebenders needing me, and Yin and Yang... she thought. Why would the Peacebenders need me? Aren't they powerful? She sighed in frustration. Well, if they do need me, they're not getting help anytime soon...
"Hey, Misty," said a voice. Misty looked up to see Bracken coming for her. "My headache's gone. But I feel a bit drowsy."
"Ah," Misty murmured in response.
Bracken studied her for a bit. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You look really lost in thought."
"That message I got from Busara? It makes no sense," Misty replied. "I don't know what to do about it."
"Maybe I can help you!" Bracken exclaimed, beaming at her. "I can probably figure it out!"
"Sorry, Bracken, I think I can handle this. I'll learn eventually," Misty insisted.
"You sure?" Bracken asked.
"Yes, Bracken. But thanks anyway," Misty said.
Misty looked as Lephos and Rhett trotted her way. "Hey," Lephos greeted her. "We were all going to go hunting, want to join us?"
"No," Misty replied.
"Why not?" Rhett asked.
"She's dealing with that whole mystery thing," Bracken replied.
"Oh, come on," Rhett snorted with an eye roll, "it's just words that came out of a meerkat's mouth, so why listen to it? Come on, Misty, let's go."
"It's important," Misty insisted, "I'm not coming."
"So since you got these big important words from a meerkat shaman, you're going to give up hunting just to sit here and ponder? Makes sense," Rhett muttered.
"Look, just go do your hunting. I don't want to at the moment. Is that a crime?" Misty demanded.
"No, but then again it's not like you actually can hunt, so perhaps it's best that you don't tag along," Rhett smirked.
Misty growled, getting to her paws, but Lephos jumped in front of her. "Whoa, whoa. Break it up," he insisted. "Stay here, it's fine. C'mon, guys, let's go."
"I say let them fight!" Sidew exclaimed, trotting over. "Come on, Lephos, it'll be fun."
"You coming, Si?" Lephos asked, seeming to be attempting to change the subject.
"'Course, let's take off," Sidew nodded. He headed for the exit, Lephos following. Rhett followed without a backwards glance at Misty.
"Y'know he was just teasing," Bracken said to Misty. "That's just the way Rhett acts when he likes someone."
Bracken trotted off.
Rhett can be a pain in the tail sometimes, Misty decided, sitting back down, but he's okay for a friend, I guess...
Lilypaka came through the entrance. "Hi, Misty," she greeted the wolf, walking up to her. "All your other friends are going hunting. Why aren't you?"
"I got stuff to think about, Lilypaka," Misty sighed.
"Oh. Maybe taking a walk will help," Lilypaka suggested. "C'mon, we can visit my brother."
"Alright," Misty got to her paws. "I want to see how well he's doing in his prison, anyway."
"He's actually meeting with the Council," Lilypaka said. "I'll take you there."
Misty followed Lilypaka out of the room. They were now in the main room of the tree. Sunlight sparkled in from the skylight, making the Meerkat Clan's home look beautiful. There were a few meerkats out and about, but obviously not the whole Clan was here; Misty figured they were all doing their duties.
"Tiggerpaka got called to the Council for a small court," Lilypaka explained as she climbed the steps.
"Aren't you concerned about your brother?" Misty asked, realizing Lilypaka didn't have a nervous tone.
Lilypaka shook her head. "Actually, the Council isn't that dangerous. They may claim they'll do stuff, but the worst they'll do is ship you to the prison. I hardly think Tiggerpaka will be in trouble. And with how stubborn and annoying he is, the Council will most likely get fed up and send him back to his cell."
They entered the Council's room to see the Council scowling at an angry-looking Tiggerpaka.
"You are guilty of your crime of treason, then!" exclaimed Mbili.
"You pathetic Council," Tiggerpaka spat. "I saved your sorry hides! I single-handedly saved you from Tiredblade."
"Saved us!? If anything, you endangered the Clan!" Tatu growled.
"And worst of all, us - the Council!" added Moja. "What have you to say in your defense?"
"Puh-lease," Tiggerpaka rolled his eyes. "I have nothing to say to defend myself. I. Saved. The. Clan! You morons are obviously too blind to see that I am your greatest warrior."
"If you were our greatest warrior, you wouldn't be in exile!" roared Mbili.
"I'm not in exile. I chose to leave! Your pathetic Clan was not of much use to me. I had a greater destiny!" Tiggerpaka declared.
"SAY THAT AGAIN!" snarled Tatu, storming up so he was nose-to-nose with Tiggerpaka.
"That again," Tiggerpaka said.
Tatu growled, gripping Tiggerpaka by his chest fur with his paw. "To the prison! Now!"
Tiggerpaka pushed Tatu's paws off his chest. "No! I am an adventurer! I saved you from Tiredblade!" Tiggerpaka protested.
Misty turned to Lilypaka. "Why was Tiggerpaka exiled?" she asked.
"Well," Lilypaka said, "long story, but here's why..."


As a rather young kit - newly made a warrior - Tiggerpaka was going on one of his "adventures" in the forest by the Meerkat Clan's field. He was jumping through the trees. "I am the best warrior the Meerkat Clan has!" he exclaimed to himself. "The Council shall be proud to have me among their ranks."
The bushes below rustled. Tiggerpaka, determined, snapped a skinny branch off the tree. I shall destroy this intruder! he vowed, holding the stick in his paws as a weapon.
Tiggerpaka hopped off the tree, and suddenly, a black jaguar arose from the bushes. He hadn't seen Tiggerpaka yet. The jaguar looked around, and silently walked to leave. You're not getting away that easily! exclaimed Tiggerpaka in his head.
With a yell, Tiggerpaka leapt and slapped the jaguar with the stick. "Die, trespasser!"
Apparently accepting the challenge, the jaguar snarled and batted Tiggerpaka easily away with his paw. "You puny rodent," he snarled, as he pinned Tiggerpaka to the ground, "you dare mess with a Firebender?"
"You're a trespasser! What's your name? I will kill you single-pawed!" Tiggerpaka vowed.
"Ha. You're not trouble; merely an annoyance," the jaguar snorted, pushing Tiggerpaka away. "I'm Firedblade - the top warrior of the Fire Nation - and I'll give you once chance, kid, to leave and we can act like this never happened. Otherwise, I will kill you."
"I will never surrender to you, Tiredblade!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed. He pointed his stick at Fireblade and charged him. With a smirk, Fireblade easily dodged the young meerkat's attempt at an attack. Tiggerpaka kept running past the jaguar and slammed into a tree, his stick hitting a hornet's nest.
Quickly, a swarm of angry hornets formed in a shape of a cloud. They didn't see Tiggerpaka, but they did see Fireblade - and angrily flew towards the black jaguar.
As they covered Fireblade, stinging him, he roared in pain and began running around in unintentional directions, trying to shake off the furious hornets. Tiggerpaka collected himself and grabbed his stick, and then watched Fireblade running off - in the direction of the Meerkat Clan. "You get back here, you mangy cat! Get back here and fight!"
Fireblade kept running, and Tiggerpaka chased after the jaguar, yelling.
It was a quiet morning in the Meerkat Clan. The meerkats were all taking their break, laying lazily in the field, sunbathing. The sky was a cloudless blue, a slight breeze - a perfect morning. No troubles, nothing to deal with - the meerkats were completely laid-back and comfortable.
A yell split across the clearing. Several meerkats poked their heads up, and jolted in alarm as a black jaguar burst onto the scene, hornets and Tiggerpaka in tow. A meerkat lookout sounded the alarm, signifying danger, and the Clan members began to scramble chaotically.
The meerkats crashed into each other, knocking each other over. They got stung by hornets repeatedly, tripped over their own feet, causing chaos among the Clan.
Reacting to the alarm, meerkat warriors flew out of the tunnels, weapons at the ready. "CHARGE!" roared a meerkat, and the warriors ran.
The hornets were flying everywhere, and some flew for the warriors, stinging them. Upon getting hit, some warriors fell to the ground, but others carried on. A few swatted at the hornets, but this made them madder, and the meerkats who swatted them got stung, crying out in pain.
The few meerkats that managed to make it to Fireblade went to hit the jaguar, but the hornets around Fireblade zipped for the warriors. The meerkats yelled out and fell to the ground, defeated from the hornet stings.
As the hornets began dying from losing their stingers by stinging Fireblade and the meerkats, the Clan began stomping on the already-dead hornets, as if they were still a threat. Tiggerpaka, with a battle cry, lunged for Fireblade, who was standing still, panting from getting hurt so much, eyes swollen shut from the stings.
However, Tiggerpaka came to a screeching halt and slid under Fireblade's belly, the jaguar unaware of the meerkat's presence. Tiggerpaka took his stick and poked Fireblade in the belly. The cat yelled in alarm, jumping up at the unexpected attack, and crashed into a giant wooden cistern next to the Meerkat Clan's tree, which had collected the rainwater that would supply the Clan with something to drink.
The cistern gave way and water crashed out from it. Like a tsunami, the wave swept away meerkats, dead hornets, and Tiggerpaka. Washing them into the forest.
Fireblade, unaware of what had happened, got to his paws. And he fled.


"Wow," Misty commented. "Things about Tiggerpaka are starting to make a lot more sense now."
Lilypaka started snickering.
"What?" Misty frowned.
"I never thought I'd hear the words 'make sense' and 'Tiggerpaka' in the same sentence," Lilypaka laughed.
Misty smiled and put her tail around the meerkat in a hug.
"Hey, I have an idea," Lilypaka whispered to Misty. "How about you use your new 'goddess powers' and ask the Council to free Tiggerpaka?"
"That's a good idea," Misty remarked with a smile.

Author's Note:
Well, here you get to see Tiggerpaka's past. Hope you enjoyed it. OuO
Oh, and check out my latest story - "To Glory". Link in my blogger profile. Click here to see my profile.

Chapter 40: The Stone Wall

The next day, everyone was outside eating breakfast. Some were about to go out hunting or patrolling, others were planning on training in the yard. A lot of animals were eating the plentiful food - but with white-earth on its way, the prey wouldn't be as common as it was at the moment. But we have good hunters, Ash kept telling himself. He watched as the animals all talked in groups around the yard; they were like Ash's family, The Bending Tower. They'd took him in, trained him and now he was leading them.
I wonder if Misty-- Ash stopped himself. It was a question he asked quite often: would Misty, Ash's daughter, ever become leader of The Bending Tower one day? She can't. She's gone, and I'll never see her again, Ash thought sadly. Same with Adele...
"Hi," said a voice Ash recognized. He turned as Airia came up and sat beside him, hugging him with her right wing.
"Hi," Ash replied.
"Are you doing okay?" Airia asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Ash frowned, looking at Airia.
She held his gaze. "You know why."
Ash sighed. He had tried acting brave about the situation of his two only daughters being missing, but truthfully he was devastated. "Yeah..."
"Look. We'll be fine," Airia insisted. "Adele and Misty, wherever they are...I-I'm sure they're okay."
It seemed as though Airia didn't even believe her own words. Ash shook his head. "I can't believe we're replacing them."
"It's necessary," Airia replied. "I explained why."
"I know. It just feels...wrong," Ash admitted.
Airia put her tail around Ash's shoulders. "Well...see you around."
She padded for The Bending Tower.
Ash watched Airia go, and as soon as she entered The Bending Tower, Bracken ran out. "I'M THE OTHER!" he shouted, but then halted, stumbled and collapsed.
"How many times has he done this?" Eclipse fretted, running over to Bracken. She was quickly followed by Audrey - Eclipse had been trying to cure Audrey's anxiety, and every meal time was when Eclipse worked with the young collie. "Bracken? Wake up," Eclipse urged, pushing the bobcat with her paw.
Bracken scurried to his paws. "I am fine, thank you!" Bracken growled.
He must be getting better, Ash realized, he's starting to talk normally. He watched as Bracken and Eclipse talked back and forth - Bracken growling, looking bitter, and Eclipse looking as though she was fighting to stay calm. Wait...he must know where Misty and Adele are!
Ash ran over to Bracken. "Bracken!"
"I'm not Bracken," Bracken growled. "I'm--"
Suddenly, Bracken froze and collapsed once more.
"Get up," Eclipse said to him.
Bracken slowly collected himself. "Right...What do you want...um, Ash?"
Well then, he's not completely better, Ash told himself, noticing Bracken's strange act. "Bracken, I want to know...where are Misty and Adele?"
"Who?" Bracken echoed.
"Misty and Adele," Ash echoed. "My daughters."
Bracken snorted. "Who cares?"
Ash froze. Normally, all he could ever hear Bracken talk about was how Misty was his best friend. Bracken's traumatized, Ash reminded himself. He's not going to be completely normal. "I do," Ash murmured.
"Well, I don't know where your precious daughters are, so suck it up," Bracken hissed.
"Maybe Bracken hit his head," Eclipse suggested. "Usually a personality change can be caused by being hit in the head."
"I did not hit my head," Bracken snorted. "I am perfectly okay."
"What do you remember?" Ash pressed.
"In the very beginning, I came from the shadows," Bracken responded. "Very rare time when we get to come out. Then I was consulted. Given a task. And now I'm here."
Ash frowned. That made no sense.
"Bracken..." Ash began. He decided to ask Bracken a question only the real Bracken would know. "Where did I find you?"
"I don't know," Bracken growled. "Now shut up, and if you'll excuse me, I need to go do...stuff."
Bracken trotted off.
"Strange," Eclipse commented. "Must be really badly traumatized."
"...I don't think he's traumatized," Ash insisted, shaking his head slowly. "That's...not the real Bracken."
Eclispe's blind blue eyes stared at Ash in wonder. "What...?"
"Look. I think I should talk to the Peacebenders. They'll let me know what is going on," Ash nodded. "I'll see you later."
Ash left Eclipse, trotting inside The Bending Tower. He headed up the steps and walked into his own room - the leader's room. He walked in a circle and closed his eyes. Peacebenders, please come to me...


When Ash awoke, his vision was blurry. He blinked his eyes and realized he was in a small room. In front of him was a huge, stone wall. Otherwise, the room was made of wood. "Hello?" Ash asked, looking around. Why would the Peacebenders summon me here? He asked himself. He began to call the names of Peacebenders who frequently visited him. "Feather? Susan? Goldwing?"
"Ash!"
The voice pierced Ash's ear. It was loud and pleading. "Hello?!"
"ASH!"
The sound was coming from the other side of the stone wall. "Who's there?"
"ASH! ASH! ASH!"
"WHO IS THERE?" Ash shouted.
"ASH! ASH! ASH!"
This voice was joined by another one. "ASH!"
Then another. "ASH! ASH! ASH!"
Soon, there were hundreds of voices calling Ash's name. He ducked down, covering his ears as the sounds overwhelmed him.
"ASH! ASH! ASH! ASH! ASH! ASH!"


Ash darted awake. Why didn't the Peacebenders visit me? he wondered, slowly getting to his paws.
Frequent earthquakes. Misty and Adele gone. A fake Bracken visiting The Bending Tower. The Peacebenders unreachable.
Something is terribly, terribly wrong...

Author's Note:
Sorry I didn't update in a while! But I'm currently at a beach house in Florida posting this. :) I'll have a lot of time to post chapters though, on the bright side. So expect another chapter soon. At least, I hope so...
And check the TFEOB Blog, please! Link on my profile.

Chapter 39: The Assassin and the Stones

The darkness of the land made it pretty difficult to see. No stars in the sky. There never was a sun. The sun lived elsewhere. This place was trapped in the dark. The few animals who lurked here had adapted to the darkness, and could see a bit - a mountain was silhouetted in the pitch-dark land, and occasionally you could hear cries, although no one was ever quite sure what it was of. The place was cold as well; not freezing-cold, but just cold enough to send shivers down your spine. It was hard to believe anything would want to live here. But some unlucky animals called this place "home".

"No, no, no!" a voice spat from a cave in the side of the jagged mountains. Inside, there was a white fox with yellow eyes cowering under something from the shadows. All you could see were red eyes glowing from the darkness, but nothing more of the figure the fox was scared of.

"V-Vortex, it's true," the fox insisted. "The Earth Guardian, they're coming."

"And you're saying this Earth Guardian has the power to talk to Yin and Yang," the red-eyed shadow - Vortex - spoke, "that would mean they could get them to stop fighting, and the plan would be ruined. And who is this Earth Guardian, Vexus?"

The fox, apparently named Vexus, hesitated. "I do not know, Vortex," he sighed. "All I know is, I had a dream. And it said the Earth Guardian is on their way. That's it. Whether they travel alone, I do not know. Theirr name, I do not know. Their appearance? I. Do. Not Know." He growled at the last sentence, as if getting angry.

The glowing red eyes got close to Vexus, and he jumped back, whimpering with fear. Vortex's voice hissed. "Well, you'd better find out fast. Or I will have no further use for you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Y-Yes," Vexus managed, nodding very quickly. 

"Good!" Vortex was silent for a few seconds, but then his red eyes narrowed. "Send in Ophir. I have a task for him."

Seeming relieved to get away from the red eyes, Vexus quickly padded out of the dark cave and into the still-dark world around him. He trotted in silence through the dark, walking along the base of the mountains. His white pelt appeared darker due to the lack of light, but his eyes were much more noticeable; in fact, they were somewhat glowing.

Suddenly, Vexus gasped as something slithered by. It then curled into an arch as it made its way up from the ground and it shifted into a something with a canine-like body and pointy ears, white eyes and a long, constantly-moving tail. Its tongue flickered and hissed at Vexus, before shifting into a snake-like thing and slithering off once more.

"Shadow Trackers," Vexus whispered in annoyance before continuing his walk. Shadow Trackers were kind of like minions, listening to those with authority, who lived in the Land of Yin, and the Land of Yin only. Shadow Trackers listened to Yin itself, and Vortex too - since Yin didn't really command the Shadow Trackers anymore, Vortex stepped in and took them over, and now they saw his as an authority figure. They did whatever Vortex asked. They always looked black with white eyes, but could shift form - their original form was supposedly its canine-like-form with the long tail and pointy ears, but for whatever reason it liked shifting into snake-like forms to move around quickly. No one was really sure why, because it was believed they didn't really have a mind of their own - the animal who commanded it seemed to give the Shadow Tracker what it should think. And, hence the name, Shadow Trackers were excellent at finding animals. Vortex sent the Shadow Trackers after the Earth Guardian, Vexus recalled, the ones he sent haven't quite returned yet...

Whooping and laughing reached Vexus's ears. He turned at a crevice in the side of the mountain. Ophir's in there, he thought. With a grimace he headed for the crevice. This was where Ophir's family - all wolves - lived; the children in this family were crafty and their idea of "funny" was someone nearly dying from one of their pranks. The parents of this family were careless. Ophir was one of the children, and he was often among them with their deadly pranking and laughing at others.

"Excuse me?" he called.

"THINKFAST!" howled a voice, and next thing Vexus knew, he was crushed under the weight of someone. Laughter filled Vexus's ears as he left out a grunt of pain.

"Get...off," Vexus gasped.

"Oh, I dunno. I'm feeling rather comfortable right here," laughed Vexus's attacker.

"P-Please," Vexus begged.

"Oh, get off of 'im, Elim," chuckled a voice.

The weight on Vexus lifted off, and the fox quickly scrambled to his feet. He turned to look at who had attacked him: Elim, the biggest of the children. His fur was dark brown and he had yellow eyes and a light brown undertail. He smirked. "Not so tough, are you Vexus?" he said, prodding Vexus with his paw.

"Of course he isn't!" laughed another voice. A light brown wolf with black markings under his green eyes pushed Vexus, making the fox fall over. The wolf laughed. "He's just Vortex's measly little messenger is all!"

Howls of laughter erupted.

"Quiet," barked a cold voice. Immediately the laughter stopped. Bright green eyes glowed in the darkness, and a dark brown female wolf stepped out of the shadows. She pushed her way through the group of children, who quickly parted as she came through, until she was standing right over Vexus. "What do you want, Vexus?"

Vexus immediately recognized her: Nome, the mother of this family. She was cold and - although she never said so - obviously approved of her children's pranks, as she didn't tell them not to pull them. "Vortex sent me," Vexus said, trying to hide the fear in his voice, "he wants to see Ophir."

Moans could be heard.

"Why does he want Ophir?" demanded a girl's voice.

"Yeah!" agreed another girl, "Ophir is--"

"The best wolf here?" piped up a voice. A gray wolf with green eyes came out of the shadows, smirking. He had dark gray markings over his eyes. He made his way to the rest of the group, keeping the smirk upon his face. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Shut up, Ophir," growled one of the girls. 

"So," Ophir turned to Vexus. "Vortex needs me?"
"Yes. Come with me," Vexus nodded, turning to leave the crevice.

"See you all later. Obviously, Vortex picked the best wolf here," Ophir smiled, following Vexus.

"Oh, right, Ophir!"

"Yeah, sure! He probably only called you to kill you!"

"Don't let your tail get stuck on the way out!"

Suddenly, a rock flew Vexus's way and he yelped in alarm, jumping back. Laughter came from behind him.

"Nice one, Ruby!" laughed one of the girls.

"Why, thank you. If only it'd actually hit him!"

"That's because your aim is terrible."
"Shut up, Nikolai!"

Vexus was now out of earshot of the voices, and shivered. He absolutely hated Ophir's family, always trying to avoid them; all they ever did was pick on others, and seemed to especially like making a target of Vexus himself. But, like most of the animals around here, they saw Vortex as a great leader, which was why they were mad that he wanted to see Ophir.

Vexus and Ophir were now at Vortex's cave. Vexus padded inside, returning to his red-eyed leader. Ophir followed, still wearing the smirk he had when Vexus has called his name. 

As the fox and wolf headed deeper into the shadows, their pawsteps echoed throughout the cave. Vexus could hear the sound of water: drip. Drip. Drip. It actually may not be water, Vexus told himself, shivering. Last time I thought there was water in here, it turned out to be fresh blood... he recoiled at the memory of finding a torn-up coyote body in the cave.

"Ah, Vexus, you're back," said a voice. The glowing red eyes were there, eyeing Vexus and Ophir.

"I brought him," Vexus managed.

"Do you think I am blind? Of course you did," Vortex growled.

"I-I'm not...no longer of u-use to you now, right?" Vexus asked nervously, recalling Vortex's words. Was that a hint that I may be growing useless? he thought worriedly.

Vortex was quiet for a few moments, then spoke. "No, Vexus. I think I have some further use for you. When it comes to messengers, it doesn't get much better than you..."
"It doesn't?" Vexus perked up, feeling pleased at the compliment.

"Yes, despite your idiocy and the fact that you're a wimp, at least you're up for the job."

Ophir snickered, and Vexus's head fell with a sigh. "Do you wish to dismiss me?"
"No, Vexus, I think you can be allowed to know what's going on," Vortex said. "After all, I've let you in on everything this far, right?"
Vortex is in a good mood, Vexus realized. Compliments (despite he seemed to take it back), being allowed to know his plans? Despite it didn't seem like much, that was Vortex on one of his better days - which, actually, were pretty rare.

"First off, Vexus, I learned something," Vortex said. "One of the Shadow Trackers came to me while you were gone. They had seen the Earth Guardian has...friends."
"Friends?" Vexus echoed.

"Yes. The Earth Guardian does not travel alone," Vortex confirmed. "The Shadow Tracker showed me that she's in a group of eight. A meerkat. Two Border Collies. A bobcat. Four wolves. And the Earth Guardian themself. We must eliminate the Earth Guardian - and the rest of the group, if they fight to protect them - and you know why, Vexus."
Vexus nodded. The Earth Guardian is a threat to Vortex's plans, he remembered.

"They're on their way here. To destroy what I had started," Vortex growled. "I'm sending more Shadow Trackers to spy on them and find out more about our enemy. But in the meantime...Ophir, this is where you come in."
Ophir perked up. "What am I going to do?"
"Once we find out enough to know what this group is up to, I want you to find some way to...get rid of them," Vortex hissed.

Vexus suppressed a shiver. "Does that mean..." Ophir said, hesitating.

"Kill them? Yes," Vortex growled. "And you know what the fun part is? I'm letting you decide how. Painful and slow is preferred. And before you do, kindly let them know that their death is because they decided to try and interfere with me."
"Of course," Ophir smiled. "I'll carry it out, Vortex."
"Splendid. Now..." His red eyes glowed even brighter.

A hissing sound made Vexus jump with alarm. A Shadow Tracker slithered in, examining Vexus and Ophir with the flick of its tongue, and then it slithered up to Vortex's side.

"Ophir, take this Shadow Tracker with you," said Vortex. "It'll take you to the group, and leave you once you get there."
"But how do I--?" Ophir began.

"Find your way back?" Vortex chuckled. "Oh, that's the fun part. You got to try and find the way back yourself. Be sure to remember the way, because I'm not helping you."
"But why? If I do such an important job for you...shouldn't I get some help?" Ophir asked.

Vexus recoiled, expecting Vortex to growl, but he, strangely, seemed calm. "Ophir, please do not ask questions when I tell you something. Since you're new to my plans, you're being let off with a warning. Clear?"
"Clear," Ophir repeated nervously.

"Finding your way back proves that you're not only a killer, but smart. Then I'll know I can use you again. If you don't, then you've already completed the task you're useful for, and I no longer need you." Vortex explained. "Now go."
"Now?" Ophir said.

"Yes. And do know I'll be watching you," Vortex added. His eyes glowed again, and Vexus knew he was speaking to the Shadow Tracker. The Shadow Tracker hissed and slithered up to Ophir, who turned to leave, padding for the exit.

"And Ophir? It's an assassination mission. I expect it to be all I'm hoping for," Vortex called.

"I'll kill them," promised Ophir's voice.

Silence filled the cave as Vexus awaited further orders.

"Now Vexus, come with me. I'm going to show you one of the best parts of this plan," Vortex said.

"You're coming out of your cave?" Vexus said in disbelief, but then realized it was bad to sound so shocked. Then again, all Vexus had ever seen of Vortex was her glowing red eyes and had heard her voice; in fact, Vexus was sure that no one had ever seen Vortex's full appearance.

"Of course, Vexus. What kind of leader doesn't come out of their den every once in a while?" Vortex insisted. "Now come on."

Vortex stepped out of the shadows, and his glowing eyes died down a bit, but still remained glowing, like everyone else's eyes in the Land of Yin. Vexus studied her. He was a wolf. Dark pelt and red eyes, with a blue lightning mark on his side. He turned to Vexus. "Well?"
Vexus snapped out of his thoughts of finally seeing his leader's appearance. "L-Let's go, then..."

Vortex padded for the exit, and Vexus quickly padded after him, not wanting to have Vortex get angry at him for being too slow. They trotted in silence and then left the cave, going to the outside world.
The familiar glowing red eyes came back as Vortex continued to trot east. Vexus, his eyes glowing as well, quickly followed her. "Where are we going?" he asked nervously. East of the Land of Yin was the Land of Yang - it was bright over there, and it's where all good lived. On the borderline of the Land of Yin and the Land of Yang was where the Protectors were: warriors who defended the Land of Yin and Yang from outsiders and anyone who could cause trouble. But could anyone - even Vortex - cross sides? The Protectors also kept animals from switching sides, so the animals in the Land of Yin stayed in the Land of Yin, and those in the Land of Yang in the Land of Yang.
"Oh, we're just going to remove the Father Stones," Vortex replied with an unsettling smile.
"R-Remove the Father Stones?" Vexus echoed. He had heard the Mother Stones, which were elsewhere, was what the Father Stones worked through to help animals on the mainland. "But..."
"The Father Stones help with what the Earth Guardian's group relies on," Vortex said. "And if they're removed of that...well, easier for us to get them away from interfering with my plan."
"Ah...th-that makes sense," Vexus gulped. Still doesn't make it any less dangerous, he told himself.
Finally, they were at a large hill that Vexus knew marked the ending of the Land of Yin. Vortex headed for the hill, starting to climb it, and Vexus followed him.
At the top of the hill, there was black smoke that was rising up higher and higher into the sky - separating the Land of Yin from the Land of Yang. Vexus was sure that, on the other side, it wasn't black smoke. The black smoke fit the Land of Yin. It certainly couldn't fit the Land of Yang.
Vortex padded alongside the smoke wall, and Vexus followed. The Protectors could attack us at any moment, Vexus realized. If they saw Vexus and Vortex walking along the border, that was a good excuse to send them back at the best; kill them at the worst.
The rest of the walk was, thankfully, uneventful. Vortex and Vexus made it to a large cave; at the entrance were two pillars, lit with fire, revealing the mouth of the cavern. Vortex didn't hesitate to dive inside. Vexus reluctantly followed inside.
As they kept walking - Vexus sticking to Vortex's smell for guidance, which strangely smelled of death - and they went deeper into the cave. Vexus couldn't see anything.
Suddenly, Vexus could see. He noticed there were torches on the wall and hieroglyphics on the wall. But it appeared to be a dead end.
Vortex walked up to the hieroglyphics, examining them. He then growled. "Pathetic riddle," he hissed, "don't they realize you don't need to solve this puzzle to get to the Father Stones?"
Vexus watched as Vortex's eyes glowed, and then the wall exploded. Crying out, Vexus went flying back and landed hard on the floor. He scrambled to his paws to see Vortex hadn't moved at all. "Well? Come on."
Nodding, Vexus quickly padded after Vortex into a new room. Light filtered in from a crack in the ceiling, and Vexus could see that, at the back of the room, were two large stones that were sitting on pillars. Light came in, shining on the stones. Vortex approached them.
"The precious Father Stones," he mocked. "Oh, how important they are to the Earth Guardian and their friends." Not quite knowing what to say, Vexus sat down. "But of course...once these Stones are removed, this group's powers will be weakened." Vortex eyed the Stone on the left.
"Bending Stone," Vortex commented. "Their connection with the elements..."
Vortex's eyes glowed harshly and the Bending Stone flew out of its pillar. The light that had been shining on the pillar disappeared. "...Gone," Vortex smiled.
Vexus then watched as Vortex approached the stone on the right, which still had light shining on it. "Peacebender Stone. This is how the dead communicate with the living. This is how the Earth Guardian and their friends will know what to do. But say...this Stone wasn't connecting those two worlds? Well, the Earth Guardian won't know what to do now. Oh, dear..."
Vortex's eyes glowed and the Peacebender Stone flew out of the pillar.
The light that had previously been there left.
"And now we have the utmost advantage," Vortex gave an unsettling grin.

Author's Note:
Sorry I haven't posted in a while! D: Hope this makes up for it...
Oh, and kudos to whoever can guess the name pattern in Ophir's family! :)
Hint: "The Toughest Race on Earth".