Full Retreat

"What was he talking about?" Kodok asks as he plops Cheng and himself on the shore see real minutes downstream.

"We need to find Lee and keep moving," Cheng states, trying to wring some of the water out of a sleeve of his tunic.

"Why did he call you a general?" Kodok bends the water out of his and Cheng's clothes and glares at the dark haired swordsman.

"General?" Lee asks, stepping out from behind a bush. The rag-tag villagers follow him hesitantly. "What did I miss?"

"That psychopath called Cheng a 'general' before we escaped," Kodok explains.

"You are a general?" Lee gasps, turning to Cheng. "Wait, general of what?"

Smoke rises in the distance behind the trio, and the smell of smoke fills the air. Cheng frowns and suggests, "How about we keep moving before we find ourselves hanging from a tree?"

"Oh, that's probably a good idea… Where can we run to though?"

"We have to get somewhere they can't find or kill us by scorching the terrain."

"I know where we can go," the middle aged man with graying brown hair says, holding his son.

"Great!" Lee exclaims with a grin. "Show us the way!"

"Who are you?" Kodok questions.

"Where exactly did you have in mind?" Cheng adds.

"My name is Peng, and it will be faster if you just follow me," Peng says as he turns away from the river. "This way!"

Everyone hustles after Peng, but the group is slowed down severely due to the elderly traveling with them. Frustration spreads across Cheng's face as an old woman with long gray hair falls to her knees.

"Maybe if you sit down I can bend a plateau like before to carry you," Lee offers the thin elder.

"No, we would be too easy to follow," Cheng corrects the earth bender. He picks the woman up and continues forward without breaking a stride. "Keep moving, Peng."

The father rushes forward with his son of his back. Cheng follows close behind with the elderly woman. The entire village falls single file behind the black haired swordsman, with Kodok and Lee bringing up the rear.

They trudge through the forest towards a mountain towering over the far side of the valley. Smoke and ashes trail behind them at an ever shrinking distance. In front of them, the mountain looms as if to block their safe retreat.

Coughing breaks out among the villagers as the smoke behind them grows thicker. Exhaustion and fear spreads across their faces as the mountain grows closer on one side and their pursuers close in from the other.

"Can you walk?" Cheng asks the woman in his arms, stopping suddenly. She nods and uses the swordsman's shoulder to steady herself on her feet. "Keep moving forward and get over the mountain pass; I'll buy you all some time."

"What are you going to do?" Kodok asks as his companion passes by.

"I'll figure something out." Cheng puts a hand on the hilt of his dagger and heads back towards the tower of black smoke behind their group.

Lee reaches out, grabs his shoulder, and shouts, "What are you crazy? We can't take all of those fire benders on at once!"

"You don't have to. Just help everyone escape, and I'll slow them down however I can."

"We can't let you go on a suicide mission like that!"

"Cheng, Lee is right," Kodok asserts. "You can't slow them down without getting yourself killed. All three of us might be able to do something."

"Someone needs to stay with the villagers in case I don't buy enough time," Cheng argues. "Besides, arguing just wastes time."

"No one needs to sacrifice themself," Peng interrupts. "Up ahead is a pass under the mountain the a resistance base. You can only get through the entrance with earth bending."

"There is a resistance base out here?" Lee questions, peering up at the mountain.

"How do you know that?" Cheng asks. "The resistance doesn't share very much intel with local villagers, which is one of the reasons they are impossible to find…"

"You could say that I'm a scout of sorts for them, or I was," Peng explains. "Either way, we can disappear under the mountain. That should be a good enough fire proof shelter, and Zurum already failed to find the entrance on his own."

"I see, that's why he captured your village."

"I'm not sure how he knew about me, but I'm afraid that's true. Now, we can talk about the rest once we are safely behind a rock wall."

Peng pushes his way past a thicket to reveal a large lake at the base of the mountain fed by a waterfall on the far end. Crystal clear water is smooth as glass except where the waterfall disturbs the surface. Tranquility radiates from the naturally hidden paradise.

"Right here," Peng announces as he wades to the far end of the pool where the waterfall meets the lake. With a grunt and firm stomp, he bends the rock behind the waterfall upwards.

As the angle of the waterfall changes, water splashes against everyone except Kodok who can deflect the torrent of water. "You are an earth bender too?" Lee shouts.

"Yes. Now, please, enter quickly," Peng responds. He leads the way into the dark opening behind the waterfall.

Once everyone is inside, the rock and waterfall are dropped back into place with a resounding thud. Darkness fills the cavern momentarily and is gradually replaced by a faint green glow.

"Jennamite grows everywhere in this mountain," Peng explains as he leads the group down the dimly lit passage. "Just don't touch it or you will be covered in the creeping crystals in a minute."

"This base is perfect," Cheng comments. "Fire nation soldiers would have a tough time tunneling through creeping crystal, but one earth bender makes living down here easy."

"Exactly. We don't have much farther to go, and Zurum shouldn't be able to follow us anymore."

"Sweet!" Lee shouts. "Not getting roasted and joining the resistance make this a good day, right guys?"

"I guess…" Kodok sighs, turning to Cheng. "What do you think, general?"

"Is there something you really want to ask me?" Cheng shoots back.

"Why did Zurum call you a general?"

"He was taunting me: I lost an important clash with him at Omashu."

"You are a general in the Earth Kingdom Military?" Lee gasps.

"I was in charge of some troops there, but I'm not anymore."

"Sorry for bringing it up…" Kodok mumbles. Silence falls over the group as they shuffle along the tunnel.

"If you have military experience you should consider joining the resistance," Peng suggests after awhile. "All of you should. We need competent people who aren't afraid to stand up to the Fire Nation."

"How did you end up joining them and living in that village?" Cheng asks their guide. "According to the rumors, it's hard to find the resistance, let alone join them."

"They needed a lookout, and I was the only bender who lived close enough to the base to send signals through the ground." Peng makes several sharp turns at intersecting caverns as the refugees continue to descend under the mountain. "I was contacted by the leader down here. She would be grateful to have a couple new recruits like you."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure that is a good idea," Cheng replies.

"It wasn't what I had in mind when I started coming this way," Kodok adds.

"Guys, what other choice do we have?" Lee asks, pounding a fist into the palm of his other hand. "If no one stops the Fire Nation, then there will eventually be nowhere left to run."

"Exactly!" a female voice booms from the darkness ahead of the group.

Preparing for a fight, the Gaoling Trio moves in front of the villagers. Kodok readies a water whip, Cheng unsheathes his sword, and Lee crouches into a stable stance. Ahead of them, figure wearing green armor steps into view.

"You don't have to be so worried," the figure says. "I'm Amelie, resistance general of the fortress under the mountain." Dark brown hair flows from beneath a flat round helmet. Her light brown eyes fix on the three warriors as she chuckles.