So the adventure continues~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I- I don't remember."

Yoongi felt his heart drop into the furthest depths of his emotions. Grim reality had set in. Jimin wasn't conscious during his confession.

"What events do you recall?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I remember being in the room then waking up here with Yoongi."

"You- you don't remember anything between that?" Yoongi eagerly asked with slight hesitation.

Jimin shook his head,"no. Was I supposed to?"

Yoongi visibly deflated,"no, no, I was just wondering."

"So Jimin, aren't you upset that your busty vixen is gone? The solstice is over so we won't be seeing her anymore," Taehyung interrupted, noticing the older's upset expression.

"Not at all. Good riddance to her!"

"Won't you be lonely? You don't have eye candy to chase after anymore."

"It's fine. I've got my pale, pink haired beautiful Yoongi after all," Jimin chuckled, pulling the older closer to him jokingly.

The other's faces were almost comedic as piece after piece was put together and the light bulbs lit up almost simultaneously. Pink hair, pale skin? Was it merely a coincidence? Not at all. Yoongi wished he could wipe what he knew were eating grins off the others' faces, as he was smothered by the one person who managed to always make his emotions run wild. 
Jimin, on the other hand, just glanced up and looked at them with a curious expression,"what?"

"Oh nothing. We're just thinking about an interesting future is all."
Yoongi swore they sounded like a gossiping house of school girls with the giggling that followed.

"Speaking of the future," Seokjin cut in, pulling out the scrolls,"I think I'm figuring out what the importance of these scrolls are. Each scroll somehow connects to the shadows, what they want, where they appear, and their objective. I just need time to know one hundred percent what they represent. First is TCOTL, it should stand for something."

"I know!" Taehyung shouted,"The Cult Of The Lemons! Explains why bad guys are always so sour."

Seokjin face palmed before glancing up at the younger,"hey Tae, how about you go buy food for our journey? I'll let you pick whatever you want."

Taehyung's eyes lit up as he snatched the money and ran toward the market without so much as a word.

"As I was saying, the second is the scroll with the Boiling Rock. Somehow that facility has something to do with the Shadows."

"Do you think it could be where they were created?" Hoseok curiously asked.

"It could be... but I think there's something else to it."

The group continued dwelling on it when Jimin spotted Taehyung running toward them.

"Tae? Didn't you just leave to the markets?"

"Clouds! Grey! Storm!" Taehyung frantically shouted through deep breaths. As if on cue a loud rumble echoed in the air.

"I don't get it," Yoongi frowned,"what the hell do clouds have to do with anything?"

"They're here," Jungkook answered.

"Who?"

"The shadows."

~

"We need to get people back to their houses," Jungkook instructed.

"They should be okay. I heard some kids singing the rhyme earlier. For now we need to protect the tribe," Namjoon proclaimed.

"My father," Seokjin mumbled, remembering where the man had gone,"they should be on the slopes!"

"Then he'll be fine. The sounds are rolling in from the South, the slopes are North," Yoongi assured,"we need to go deal with the things you guys keep going on about. I want to know what's so great about them."

"Don't get too excited. You shouldn't take them lightly. They're a bigger handful than you're probably thinking."

Yoongi smirked,"guess we'll see about that."

~

The group followed the gloomy skies to an abandoned town just off the side of the mountains.

"Are you sure you guys brought us to the right place? I can't sense a single living thing out here."

"It would be a true talent if we had managed to fail at following the only dark clouds in the sky."

"Maybe they were just normal storm clouds this time around," Jimin offered.

"Or maybe it's a trap. Don't let your guard down, these things have proven how smart they actually are."

"Hey Jin," Jungkook spoke up, making the oldest lift an eyebrow,"the shadows are like some wolf hybrid right?"

"Something like that. Why?"

"If they have any sort of wolf instinct then they'd probably target our weakest pack member. And while it's not true skill wise, in the wild wouldn't that be the member robbed of sight?"

Just as Jungkook finished his last sentence, there was a loud explosion to their left.

"Yoongi," Jimin yelled, running over to the older, who had his fists raised.

"The damn thing snuck up on me. Thanks to our resident brat, I was expecting it, but that was way too close," he exhaled.

"Nice deduction JK. Only, try to figure it out a little sooner next time please?"

"At least we know they're not just storm clouds... Form up," Namjoon commanded. 
The group gathered in the center courtyard, waiting, until they saw glowing red eyes from within the broken windows of the abandoned buildings. 

"Nobody leave the courtyard, and keep a level head," Namjoon instructed before covering his fists in rock, and charging at one of the shadows.

"Just great, it's like trying to battle twinkle toes over there! These things have light steps," Yoongi complained as he blasted one with a fireball.

"Don't compare me to a beast," Jimin pouted, punching a shadow into the side of one of the buildings.

"The resemblance is there," Namjoon popped up, saving Jimin from a surprise attack with a blast of wind,"just look at your reflection sometime"

"So mean."

"Ow," Jungkook suddenly yelled,"watch where you're throwing those things!"

"Sorry," Namjoon sheepishly replied.

Jungkook rubbed the back of his head while mumbling under his breath. A second later and there was yet another  incoming shadow, making him dodge left to punch it across the courtyard. He managed to hit a number of them until a loud crash interrupted his concentration. He looked over his shoulder at Taehyung, who had all but destroyed one of the buildings. It was a miracle the poor structure was still standing.

"Don't try this at home readers," Taehyung smirked, throwing another shadow into the side of the building, breaking it further in the process.

Jungkook came running up, smacking the older on the back of the head and rolling his eyes,"seriously? You've already destroyed three sides, stop breaking the fourth wall. We need it to keep the two sides of the story dynamic separated," he too, took a moment to smirk.

"Will you guys be normal for two seconds while we battle?" Seokjin scolded, but stopped when he glanced around and noticed the shadows had all but disappeared.
As fast as they had came, they were gone.

"A- Are they gone?" Hoseok quietly called out from behind a pile of rubble.

"Where did they go?" Yoongi asked incredulously,"they just... vanished."

"They must've retreated, but that's the first time they have," Namjoon frowned,"it doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe they were only here to attack the town? Maybe they failed so they retreated?"

"But they usually fight until the end."

"I get it now!" Seokjin shouted, immediately noticing the weird looks and struggling to quickly explain,"the shadows follow us. Ever since we started meeting each other there have been less shadow sightings in the middle of nowhere and more where we've passed through."

"Are you pointing out the obvious fact that they've been stalking us?"

Jin quickly shook his head, pulling out one of the scrolls,"the Boiling Rock's motto. It says 'We'll follow you to the depths of hell.' They claim it's a punishment far worse than death."

"I've heard of that prison from the island," Jimin revealed,"it's the sort of thing parents tell their kids so they'll be good. No one has ever managed to leave, let alone escape."

"Is there a point aside from a lesson on prisons to this?" Yoongi questioned impatiently.

"Aside from the new knowledge this provides, it means they're following us, so wherever we go, they go. We just need to leave and the tribe will stay safe. It also means we've found one of the connections to the scrolls. If the motto was what connected the Boiling Rock to our journey then maybe we should visit the only town listed within the scrolls."

"You mean the one with the disappearances?"

"Exactly."

"Does that mean we have our next destination?"

"It means it's time to see our friends the spirits again. I also think we should pick up the pace because from the looks of it, new clouds are starting to form."

"We won't be able to outrun them though, we're not fast enough," Hoseok speculated.

"We're on the top of a hill. We don't have to be fast, we just need to use our surroundings," Seokjin smirked, pointing in the opposite direction.

 •+•

"I can't believe you strapped me to the back of penguins! You know what? No. at this point I believe it. I completely believe it."

"Shut up, and stay still or we'll all fall off," Yoongi chastised,"besides, we needed something to hold them together."

"Then why didn't you use the rope you used to trap me?!"

"Because this is more fun, now stop talking so we can go."

"I will not be silen-," Hoseok's started but it soon turned to muffling when Yoongi quite literally put a sock in it,"everyone ready?"

"Hold on, Jin isn't on yet," Taehyung frowned, looking over to the eldest who was facing in the direction of the tribe.

"I guess this means we don't have time for goodbyes," Seokjin solemnly mentioned when the others looked over at him.

"I'm sure your father will understand," Namjoon offered, putting a comforting hand on the other's shoulder,"just make sure to send a messenger hawk when you get a chance."

Seokjin nodded in agreement, glancing one more time to the mountains in the North before jogging back to push the makeshift sled down the hill. They watched as the clouds moved further and further away as they headed onward. 

"When we reach the bottom, head toward the docks," Namjoon yelled over the rushing wind,"Jungkook get Hoseok, and Jimin get-"

"I know, I know. I was going to anyway," Jimin smiled, tongue out as the wind blew against his face.

While the group knew the sled would get them away fast, they weren't expecting it to carry them quite as far as it did. When they reached the bottom of the hill, instead of stopping, the sled flew upward over two piles of snow. The groups wails echoed throughout the tundra as the high speed ride only picked up more speed. Their screams were only interrupted when a loud thunder resonated within their ears.

"Uh, what was that?" Yoongi hesitantly asked.

"Well I can tell you what it's not," Seokjin nervously chuckled,"it's not the shadows."

"Then what is it?!"

Jimin turned around, letting out a gasp as he whipped back,"um, you guys wouldn't happen to know any avalanche evasive maneuvers would you?!"

"A-avalanche?!" The group yelled, screams starting up again as they tried to dodge sections of falling snow. Hoseok swore the penguins' eyes widened to saucers at the mention of an avalanche.

"We're almost at the sea. If we can just dodge the snow for a little longer," Namjoon gritted, body leaning forward in hopes the sled would go faster. He eyed the waters in search of transportation, managing to spot a lone boat. 
He focused on a small snow ramp in hopes they'd land in the boat. As they inched closer, his confidence slowly depleted and as they neared the water, he second guessed his plan, but it was too late. They flew through the sky, faces askew with frightful terror. There was a series of loud bangs as one by one they fell onto the boat, with the exception of Hoseok who hit an iceberg nearby, penguins still attached to his back.
"Looks like we all made it," Namjoon cheered then stopped,"more or less."

•¥•

"And you guys wonder why I complain so much. I'm going to be smelling like fish for the next month," Hoseok groaned.

"Are you still on about that?" Yoongi grunted,"we've been sailing for so long, we're close to land, and yet you're still complaining."

"Being used as a getaway vehicle definitely permits me the right to complain as mych as I want," Hoseok argued,"it's a right of passage. 

"Yeah, his eyes flashed before his life. Right Hobi?"

"Exact- No! It's my life flashed before my eyes. I swear this whole group is full of idiots," Hoseok whined, shaking his head and disappearing into one of the rooms.

Taehyung shrugged his shoulders,"I was close."

"Yes you were Tae, yes you were," Yoongi assured. The older let out a bored sigh, walking to the edge of the boat.

"Oh look! I see land!" Yoongi called out in excitement.
He listened to the loud patter of footsteps with a low smirk, and was about to make a joke when Namjoon spoke first.

"He's right! That must be the island with the village in the center. Good eye Yoongs," he chuckled.

Yoongi was left in surprise, but let out another sigh along with a deep frown. It was no fun if it was actually true, so he just sat down, putting his elbow on his knee and hand on his chin before blowing a stray piece of hair out of his face.

~~~~~~

After docking the boat, the group had started making their way inland. Following what they believed to be the path to the village, but the more Yoongi thought about it, the more he doubted the plan.

"Remind me why we're going to this town again. Shouldn't we be heading toward the locations we know more about? We're not even sure if this town is linked to our prophecy. It could've been one of the stray scrolls from another section."

"Aside from it being nearby, and even if it's not a part of our journey, we're avatars, right?" Seokjin asked, getting a nod in response,"then we have an obligation to protect the people in this world. We can't abandon them. How can we Idly stand by and not protect the people we've set out to protect? It'd be mighty hypocritical. The scroll said theres something wrong with the town's people. You don't think there might be answers there?" 

"There might and there might not be. I feel like this is a waste of time."

"Saving people is never a waste of time."

"Sounds like you've been watching too many fairytale plays and hearing too many stories. It says the place is haunted by some spirit, I've had enough of the spirits for a lifetime."

"Don't project your pessimism on others Yoongs. We need to help these people."

"What if it's ghosts," Taehyung suggested,"and I don't mean the spirits. I mean the demons. The ones who prey on your soul."

"Then it's a good thing we have Yoongi. They'll leave starving since there'd be nothing to eat," Hoseok laughed. 
The older, irritated, earthbended a small piece of ground up, causing the younger to trip.

"How much longer?! My feet are killing me, and I need them to see."

"I'm sure it's not that far. Hey Tae can you see anything from over there," Namjoon called out to the boy, who was at the top of the hill, balancing on a fallen tree to get a better view.

"I can hear the town from here! Look at the lights in the distance," Taehyung pointed in amusement, waving to the others to hurry. 

"Tae be careful! The sun is going down, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Relax Jin! I'm perfectly capable of balancing."

"Which is why you were thrown off the sailer, right?"Yoongi smirked.

Taehyung sent a glare his way, only to realize there was no point. He sighed and hopped off the fallen tree he was standing on. 
They continued walking down the hill to the forest below until the sun was no more; and nightfall hit.

"Hey guys, do you hear that?" Namjoon asked with a hand up to his ear.

"Hear what?"

" I don't hear anything."

"Exactly," he frowned," Tae just said less than an hour ago that he could hear the town from back there, but now it's silent."

"It's because of the mysterious disappearances."

"Disappearances?" Namjoon questioned, only to realize he didn't recognize the owner of the voice.

"The village disappearances are notorious. People go out and don't come back." A raspy voice responded.

They all jumped back, fire in hand to reveal an older gentleman. He wore beaten up rags for clothes, and his hair was a complete mess. He sported a huge smile on his face that showed he was satisfied with his scare tactics.

"The name is Han. I've been following you for the past half an hour. You should really be careful, what with the creeps coming out at night and who-knows-what taking people. You also might want to put that flame out, the townsfolk don't care too much for benders."

"Han? Are you one of the people who live in the village?"

The man nodded, lifting a crooked finger to point at an old, abandoned inn at the edge of town,"I live there."

"But it looks... worn down,"Taehyung frowned.

"It sort of is. The people kicked me out for spewing what they believed was nonsense. They figured I was better off separated. It's quieter so I don't mind it. Besides... Normal people scare me. Now, if you folks don't have anywhere to stay tonight, you're welcome at my inn. Best not to get stuck outside at night," he informed, making his way toward the building,"free of charge."

Yoongi's ears lit up at the man's last statement, eyes turning to money signs,"Sure," he happily followed.

"Yoongi!" Hoseok sharply called.

"What? I heard the word free, come on! It's better than nothing," he shrugged, continuing forward.

One by one they followed, leaving Hoseok to roll his eyes as he trudged along,"a strange man in the woods offers a place at his creepy abandoned inn while people are disappearing... and we're going for it! Ridiculous."

~~~~~~~~~

As expected, the building was no better than the run down exterior. However, a place to sleep was a place to sleep and they were grateful, or so they tried to convince themselves it was better than the cold, dirt floor of the forest.

"The beds are huge," Taehyung exclaimed while diving onto one.

"I guess this beats sleeping in trees," Jungkook offered, watching a cloud of dust emerge from the bed Taehyung jumped on.

"What matters is that it's free," Yoongi reminded, making his way passed their room to an empty one.

"If you say so," the youngest grumbled.

"Pardon my Intrusion,"the man interrupted," but there's currently 4 rooms available. 3 have two beds in them, and the last is a single. I apologize, but I haven't had customers in so long I just started using most of the rooms as storage."

"Oh, there's no need to apologize. We're in no position to complain," Seokjin assured,"we appreciate the nice gesture. We'll figure out the room situation on our own, and don't worry about dinner, we've already eaten."

"Okay, well if there's anything you need, just let me know," he smiled before limping off with his small cane, the oldest hadn't noticed before.

"I call dibs on the single room," the three youngest quickly called out, almost in sync. There was a quick silence before an argument erupted.

"I want it."

"No I do."

"I'm the older of us three, I should get it."

"We're only 2 months apart."

Seokjin watched amusedly before breaking the three up,"quiet down little ones. There's only one way to decide who gets the room, and that's... to draw straws! Or rather sticks."

"What?! That's so dumb."

"Either you draw damn straws or you three are just going to share a room."

"Fine," they grumbled, going out to grab sticks. When they brought them back, the seven gathered in a circle where they each grabbed a stick.

"So in this version the shortest stick would be the winner."

"The shortest?! I thought it'd be the tallest," Taehyung frowned, glaring at the huge stick in his hand.

"I had a feeling you three would try to cheat so I'm changing it. Either way, I seem to have lost."

"I also failed," Namjoon shrugged,"hey Hoseok, wanna room together?"

"Sure," Hoseok replied, dropping the large stick in his hand.

"Mine is a flop too," Jungkook pouted,"come on Tae, we'll just room together."

"So it's between Jimin and Yoongi then."

"Yeah, which by the way is no help in telling me who won," Yoongi spat,"can someone please tell me whose stick is smaller?! I could really care less who gets the room."

"Well that's a relief because it looks like Jimin won."

"Yes," Jimin fist bumped the air,"a room all to myself."

"Now can we go to sleep? I'm dead tired. I'm so tired I'm starting to see black... oh wait," Yoongi chuckled to himself, ignoring the irritated groans as he walked out of the room.

:) 

Yoongi had been tossing and turning all night trying to get the weird feeling in his gut to stop. He decided a glass of water would do him good and stood to leave, but he froze when he noticed something peculiar. Curious, he crawled onto the floor with his ear to the hardwood. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Thinking it to have been nothing, he slowly started getting up until a small vibration followed by a faint sound caught his attention. There was movement below them, only it seemed to be at a distance. He tuned in even closer to see what he could learn. A few minutes went by until a faint "help" was heard.
Yoongi was officially scared.
"Hey Seokjin," Yoongi quietly called out, half expecting the boy to respond with a low snore.

"Yeah?" He drowsily asked, throwing Yoongi off guard.

"I hear people."

"It's probably just the townspeople boycotting benders or something, go back to sleep."

"No," Yoongi insisted,"I hear voices coming from the mountains. They're calling for help... it's actually creeping me out."

"Oh clover, Taehyung's stupid words have gotten to you too? Go to sleep Yoongs," he grumbled, throwing a pillow over his head.

Yoongi frowned, moving to get up while grumbling about how useless Jin was. 
He slowly made his way to the hall, wincing as the creak of the floorboards echoed into the empty corridor. He inched closer to the end of the hall to the room he knew was occupied by one other person.

He slowly opened the door and called out in the dark," Jimin?" There was no reply,"Jimin, are you there?"

There was loud rustling followed by a huge thump before a groggy Jimin replied with a low mumbled,"Yoongs? Is that you?"

Yoongi shuffled across the room toward the sound,"yeah, it's me. Can I sleep here tonight?"

"What? Why? Did you fight with Seokjin?"

"Not exactly... I'm kinda, sorta, scared."

"Of what?" Jimin slowly asked, still half asleep.

"I keep hearing voices in the mountains. I can sense people in them."

"Are you trying to scare me? I'm not a kid Yoongi."

"I'm telling you the truth."

"Sure you are. It's not going to work."

"Can't you just believe me?"

"Look Yoongi, its been a really long day. Can we not play games tonight? Please stop lying.

"I'm not," Yoongi insisted, getting irritated,"I wanted to talk about it with you because I thought you'd trust me, but I guess I was wrong."

Before Jimin could respond, he left the room. He expected Jimin of all people to believe him, or at least tell him everything was going to be okay. Maybe Taehyung was right, maybe there's ghosts in the town. Either way, he needed some air.
He made his way through the inn as best as he could, managing to stumble a few times and trip over a few loose floorboards, and felt the cool air of relief was over him when he made it outside. There was the faint sound of the door creaking making Yoongi roll his eyes.

"Go away Jimin. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Oh? Lovers quarrel," the voice of the innkeeper asked, a hint of a chuckle with it,"youth nowadays resort to walking away instead of talking it out. In my day we'd fight all night only to find a compromise at the end. Communication is key young one."

"I thought you were Jimin,"Yoongi revealed, before quickly denying the other's claims,"And no it's not a lover's quarrel. There'd have to be two people in love for it to be that," he explained dejectedly.

"You say that but I sense love in the air. It's not hard to tell by the way you two act. It's quite obvious, even for an old fart like myself."

"Are you sure you weren't just seeing my one sided love?"

"I'm more than sure," he smiled,"now what seems to be the problem then?"

"It's just that I told him that I was worried about something but he didn't believe me."

"Worried? Over what?"

"The Voices. I keep hearing cries from the mountain."

Yoongi felt the man falter for a moment before he responded,"oh my poor boy. You must've had a long day. It's legend here that if you've overexerted yourself, you'll start to hear your own body crying out for help. Head on to bed now."

Yoongi gave the man a confused look, curious as to the sudden change of attitude. The man ushered Yoongi inside, practically pushing him into his room.

"Now have a good night," he bowed before closing the door and leaving.

Wanting nothing more to do with the day, Yoongi exhaled a breath of air and made his way to the old creaky bed. He laid down, staring at the wall. Maybe he was just tired, he figured. He closed his eyes in holes of falling asleep but instead the sound of the voices played in the back of his mind, haunting his dreams.
Frustrated, he opened his eyes but was surprised to hear the sound of the others shuffling about.

"Oh good! You're awake. Breakfast is in 5," Jin advised, buttoning up his shirt as he headed to the youngests' room.

Yoongi stood up, changed his clothes, and headed downstairs.
"Oh Lover Boy. Good morning," Han greeted,"i'm sorry about yesterday. To make up for it, allow me to teach you a few things about bending. I'm sure your Northern water tribe friend would be happy to join."

Yoongi nodded his head, getting lost in thought.

"Oh good. As soon as breakfast is over, we can get to it."
Yoongi politely smiled as he sat down in the chair closest to him. The others joining soon after, turning the once peaceful dining room into a madhouse.

"Those were my sandcakes,"Taehyung hollered, trying to grab them off Jungkook's plate, who had one hand holding his plate up and the other on Taehyung's face to hold him back.

"I got these fair and square," Jungkook insisted, unaware of Jimin stealing them from behind.

"Will you two knock it off?! We are guests and as guests you need to stop being so loud," Seokjin yelled, adding to the chaos himself.

"Aren't you also being too loud?" Hoseok questioned.

Namjoon, on the other hand, noticed Yoongi to the side staying rather quiet for their resident sass master,"are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Yoongi casually replied, his eyebrows knitted together as he tried to remember a time that they mentioned Jin was from the water tribe, but he was sure they hadn't. Sometihing was off about that man. 
From the Inn to the voices to Han, Yoongi was sure something was wrong. He felt uneasy about the island yet he couldn't put the pieces together.

 ~~~~~

"Water is a fundamental block to all living organisms. You can find water in the strangest of places. From the flowers," Han explained, twirling around to gather the water from the surrounding plants," to the sweat that rolls down our bodies."
"Even the air around us," he smiled, while collecting what looked like nothing until gathered together,"by learning this then you'll never be at a disadvantage."

Seokjin watched in aw at the man's lesson, while Yoongi only listened.

"I hope my descriptions are enough for you to go by Lover's Quarrel. I can sense potential from you."

"Stop calling me those things, but yes I think I get the jist of it."

"Then give it a go."

Yoongi took a moment to feel the air around him, concentrating on taking only the moisture from within the area. His first attempt was a dud, but focusing more, he managed to succeed.

"Very well done," the man praised,"now before we continue on our training, I have something to ask you two."
He glanced around, as to make sure nobody was listening before continuing,"have you two heard about blood bending?"

"Blood bending," Seokjin questioned.

"It's an ancient technique, in which only the strongest of benders can perform. You use the water found in blood."

"To what," Yoongi cautiously asked, not sure if he wanted to find out.

"To control people. Make them your puppets. What would you say about it?"

"I'd say that it sounds terrifying," Seokjin frowned,"unnatural."

"And you?" 

Yoongi paused, figuring the man was referring to him,"it sounds wrong. As if you're going against nature and the laws of balance in itself."

"I don't know. I feel as though there are some people who deserve it."

"What are you guys talking about," Taehyung luckily interrupted, emerging from the inn followed by the others.

"Oh nothing, I was just mentioning an old legend," the man feigned innocence,"on another note, I have something to give you nice kids."

Curious, the group followed into the inn of the basement, but not before Seokjin grabbed Yoongi's hand in a sort of way that made him feel as though they were thinking the same thing. Apparently Yoongi wasn't the only one freaked out by Han's so called legend.

~

"Look Jungkook! I'm an archer," Taehyung happily boasted, lifting the bow and arrow.

"That nothing Tae. I'm Zoro the legendary swordsman," Jungkook bragged, sword held in the air.

"Will you two cut it out," Seokjin scolded, hitting the two with his staff.

"Wow, these are so cool."

"They're also pieces of history. They're from the war many years ago. Brings back memories."

"The war... you mean against the nonbenders. The one the fire nation provoked?" Namjoon asked.

"That's it. The one that resulted in so many pointless casualties."

"Why are you showing us these?"

"Oh that's right. Pardon my unnecessary rambling. It's just so nostalgic seeing these. I brought you here because I want you guys to have them."

"What? Seriously?"

He nodded,"a fine group of men off to save the world should have some kind of weaponry. Take it as a sort of gift for your journey."

Yoongi placed the dagger he had been holding back down. 
Feeling uneasy about the situation Yoongi dismissed himself with the excuse of going to practice.
~~~
Yoongi played with the water he gathered from a nearby tree, morphing it into what he hoped were animal shapes.
He was lost in thought. They never told Han about their journey. The more the man spoke the more Yoongi questioned his motives. Before he could dwell more on the situation, a small voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yoongi, can we talk?" 

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of practice?" Yoongi frowned, moving to face away from Jimin.

"Yeah, but it doesn't feel right leaving things as is. When you came to my room last night... what did you mean to tell me?"

"I already told you. Even if I tell you again, you won't believe me right? It's just a joke?"

"I was half asleep, I don't even remember half of that conversation, but if it's serious- I promise I'll believe you. I'm sorry for not taking you seriously."

Yoongi stopped moving the water around, putting his arms down to face Jimin.

He breathed out,"alright fine. I don't trust Han. I went to your room to tell you that I heard voices in the mountains. I thought I was just hearing things but they called out again. It sounded like people crying out for help. When I brought it up to Han, he wrote it off as fatigue, claiming I was tired. It was very subtle, but he faltered, his breathing or something changed for a split second. You might not believe me but I know what I felt. Then this morning he mentioned Jin was from the Northern water tribe, something none of us mentioned before. The only thing I can think of is that bracelet Jin wears, but the only people who know it's meaning are water tribe members. Then he goes and asks Jin and me about some technique called blood bending. And he just up and gives us weapons? Something is really fishy here. He also mentioned our journey, maybe one of the others brought it up but I haven't heard anyone say anything about it."

"Woah, woah. Calm down Yoongs. That's a lot to take in at once. So you're thinking Han might play some factor in the disappearances?"

Yoongi nodded, knowing full well he sounded crazy.

"Are you suggesting that it's not something taking them but someone? If that's the case, then the voices-"

"Are probably the missing people," Yoongi finished in realization, face surprised.

"I think we just solved the case."

"But it still doesn't explain why Han knows so much."

"That's true. Either way it makes sense, but we'll never know unless we figure out where the people are. And we need more proof to suspect Han of being a part of any of this."

Yoongi nodded, looking up at Jimin and giving him a hug on instinct,"it's so much better talking to someone about this. Thank you."

Jimin hesitantly returned the hug, before separating,"should we tell the others?"

"Maybe when we have more proof."

~~~

Seokjin waved at a group of children walking by, making his way to the local bar. He couldn't shake Han's words off. Bloodbending? He'd never heard of it and quite frankly wanted nothing to do with it if it was real. Another thing eating at him was what Yoongi told him the night before. Voices in the mountain wouldn't be something Yoongi would lie about. Either way, he needed to figure out what was going on with the town, he needed answers, and the bar was a perfect place to start.

"What can I get'cha?" The bartender asked.

"I'll have a Gin and Tonic." (Heh... see what I did there?) 

"I don't think I've seen you around town, you new?"

"Yeah. My friends and I are just passing through."

"Well best be careful. Tonight is a full moon and if you've heard the news lately then you'd know strange things happen under the dark skies here."

"I've come across the information. Have anything to add to it?"

"I'll tell you, it's those damn benders, Satan's work those ones. Everything was fine until that no good bender arrived with his demonic inn," an older lady spat from nearby.

"The town doesn't like benders?" Jin asked, knowing full well the answer, but deciding to play along.

"Don't like them? We despise them. Nothing good has ever happened from a bender stepping foot in this town. Those disappearances only started when the old cuck moved in. Only thing is, nobody has the guts to tell him to leave."

"So the disappearances only began when Han arrived? That's peculiar."

"Are you referring to the disappearances?" A strange man questioned from the side, clearly on edge by the way he glanced around every few seconds.

"Yeah, do you know anything?"

"The last full moon... I had been unfortunate enough to get stuck outside when the sun set. I was walking home when my body just stopped listening to me. Without wanting to, I was suddenly heading toward the mountains. I managed to walk more than halfway there before the sun arose."

"The mountains?" Seokjin's eyes widened, thanking the man and stepping away," Yoongi was right then! I thought he was crazy but maybe he's not after all. The voices from inside the mountain must be the townspeople."

~~~~~~~~~~

"So then we were right," Jimin looked at Yoongi,"everything goes with our theory."

"So you two knew and didn't tell us?"

"It's not like the one person I did tell believed me. Who was to say the rest of you would?"

"We can argue about who told who what later. Right now we need to think up a plan  before Han figures out what we're up to," Seokjin asserted,"tonight's the full moon which means Han will no doubt be trying to take another victim."

"Then we need to stop him before he does," Hoseok emphasized.

"We need to split up," Namjoon informed,"Jin and Yoongi need to find out where the townspeople are while the rest of us confront Han."

"Why only them?" Jimin questioned.

"Because Jin has the bar information, Yoongi can sense them, and we have no idea how strong Han really is. We might actually be at a disadvantage, even with our numbers.

"I agree," Jungkook added.

"Then we have our plan. We'll stop Han by trying to cut him off through the woods. When you guys are done meet back up with us between here and the town," Namjoon explained, waiting for the two to confirm before setting off with his group.

"You don't actually think it'll take all five of us to take down the geezer, do you?" Hoseok jokingly asked not expecting a serious response from Namjoon.

"You can never be too sure of anything. There has to be a reason as to why he's managed to get away with it for so long. I just hope it won't end as bad as I'm thinking it will."

~~~~~~~~~

 Seokjin and Yoongi followed the path that led to one of the many mountains surrounding the town, until coming across a sort of entrance.

"What does it look like?"

"Well at first glance it seems like an ordinary rock wall, but it seems to be tampered with. Check to see if you sense anything."

Yoongi nodded, moving toward it and putting his hand against it. He closed his eyes in concentration, trying to sense any form of human life.

When he opened his eyes he turned back to Jin,"this is it. It's faint but they're here. Move back."

The older obeyed, watching as Yoongi pulled the rock entrance out, revealing a sort of pathway. Seokjin moved forward, firebending a light source to see in the darkness. 
"Hello," he hesitantly called out. He was met with silence until a voice replied with a  small "in here! Help!"

The two quickly ran further into the cave, coming across a room full of villagers.

"How-how did this happen?! Are you the missing people?"

"Han. Han brought us here."

"How?" Seokjin inquired, trying to free them.

"One minute I was fine and the next I couldn't move. It was like I was being controlled."

The other prisoners agreed, voicing their similar experiences.

"It can't be..." Seokjin trailed off,"Yoongi, I got this. Hurry to the others. I'm starting to worry. They might need your help."

Without hesitation Yoongi followed Jin's command, running off to meet with the group. If what they said was true then- Yoongi shook his head, no it was impossible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoongi ran as fast as he could, only stopping when he heard a loud crash from within the woods. 
He quickly switched paths and was surprised when he sensed no movements. They were all here, but not a single one moved.

"What's going on here?" Yoongi asked, flabbergasted by the spectacle in front of him.

"Oh, Yoongi! So nice of you to join us! Your friends put up a noble fight, but I must say I was beginning to get bored."

"I don't get it," Jimin panicked,"we're avatars how is he stronger than us?"

"I can't move anything, not even a finger," Taehyung mentioned.

"I can't either."

"None of us can."

"Blood bending," Yoongi whispered.

"Ding ding, you'd be correct," the man smiled.

"Let them go," Yoongi demanded. 

The man glanced over,"let me think... no. If you want them back, you'll just have to battle me." He quickly sent the other five flying, pinning them against the trees with ice.

"So be it." Yoongi stood in front of the male, arms raised and eyes closed.

"I'm insulted," the man faked pain,"am I really that easy to beat, that you even close your eyes?"

Yoongi shook his head and when he opened them, his eyes were a beautiful dark brown.
The man stared in amazement,"your eyes, they changed color."

"That's right. Now that I can see again, I can take you on fairly."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but alright, let's go."

They both positioned themselves arms held in front of their bodies. It was the older man who made the first move. He quickly skipped forward taking the water from the living organisms nearby and freezing it for daggers before throwing them. Yoongi easily dodged the shards and made a quick circle around the grass, lifting water as he went. He then proceeded to speed it around him before launching it at the man. The man effortlessly moved it along and spun it back around sending it flying once again in the opposite direction. Yoongi repeated his motions and carried it back around, but this time sending it to the other's feet. When it made contact, he immediately froze the water. The man, surprised by the other's wits, hurriedly melted it off, but when he looked up Yoongi was already in front of him, leg making its way around in full force. The man knew it was too late to dodge so he lifted his head slightly back and took on a weaker blow. The kick sent the man flying to the side, knocking him into a nearby tree. 
Yoongi rolled his eyes at the other five cheering from where they were chained to the trees.
The cheering quickly ended when a shadow emerged from the cloud of dirt, Han rising once again.

"I must admit, you're a good bender Yoongi, but you're missing the key to taking me down," he smirked,"blood bending."

Before Yoongi could move, his entire body tensed up. He could hear the way his body crunched and crackled under the pressure. He was disgusted, he had no function over his body and it was the worst feeling in the world, he'd lost control.  

"Why," Yoongi cried out,"why are you doing this?!"

"Why?" The man cackled,"the real question is why not?"

"This entire town deserves it! They spit on benders, treat us like trash. All of them! They killed everyone I knew, everyone I loved. I was drafted into the war and when I came back, my town was gone, my family and friends all killed, replaced by these bastards! They took my loved ones so I'm taking theirs."

"But you're only proving their dumb ideals right! By caving into their shameful ways of thinking, you're only making things worse. There are better ways to convince people to change than to terrorize them."

"Shut up," the man growled,"you wouldn't understand!

"You're right. I don't. I don't know what it's like to lose everything, but I know what it's like to find a new life. The past is in the past, we can only change the future."

"What silly little words. Change the future," the man mocked,"no. I can only seek revenge. See this is your problem, all of your problems-"

Yoongi shook his head, trying once again to break free.

"-You're too soft and it's going to be your demise. I tried to teach you; I wanted you to continue my legacy, but you couldn't be a good little boy. I acknowledge that I can't beat you with normal bending, you're too good, but it's okay, I'll take you down with the one thing you couldn't do."

Yoongi could only watch as the man's hand moved in different directions causing him to follow suit. Limb by limb he made his way to the nearby tree containing an arrow shot from earlier. 

"Oh dear boy, be mindful of the arrows! You don't want to hurt yourself now," the man cackled as with his teeth gritted, Yoongi picked up the arrow,"life is precious! Don't do it! There's so much to live for."

The others called and yelled, trying to break out of their restraints as the arrow grew closer and closer. It was mere inches from Yoongi's eye when-

"Stop!" A voice yelled from the side, somehow freeing Yoongi from the man's hold. He looked at himself up and down before breaking then throwing the arrow and looking toward the man. 

"Don't you dare hurt my friend!" 

"Well if it isn't my other apprentice, Seokjin. What a surprise. It's good to see you progressing. You've seemed to have learned the fundamental concept of blood bending," man casually noted, body frozen in place,"why the change of heart? When I mentioned the idea in training you both rejected it with every fiber of your being."

"I've done far worse," Seokjin admitted solemnly,"I'll learn blood bending if it means protecting my loved ones." 

"I wouldn't go as far to say you've learned it. You may have broken my hold, but it doesn't seem like you can fully utilize it," he explained, breaking free of the other's hold,"Your mind is in the right place but your heart is far from it, nevertheless, it looks like I'll have to take care of you first."

He quickly ran over and released a wave of water. Seokjin hurriedly moved behind one of the many trees. Creating daggers on his fingernails, he threw them. The man laughed, easily breaking them but turned around when he noticed Jin from the side. He evaded Seokjin's swing with his staff and grabbed his arm to throw him down. 

"You're mine," Han cackled, letting Jin stand up. The boy jumped away, but soon stopped moving.
Seokjin's movements changed and suddenly he came rushing at Yoongi. The younger quickly cartwheeled to the side, dodging as the staff smashed into the ground, sending dirt flying. 

"Jin! What are you doing?!" Jungkook yelled from the side.

Yoongi shook his head,"Jin's not in control."

He dodged another attack, ducking to avoid a kick to the side, and pushing up to knock the eldest down. Unfortunately, he just kicked off the younger and landed nearby, running again to elbow him. Yoongi tried to dodge but the ground was unstable from Jin's earlier attack, causing him to slightly slip. Unable to move in time he put his arms up in defense, and was hit up into the air by the staff then back down into the ground.

"Ha ha! This is wonderful! Are you going to kill your friend or is he going to kill you? What a marvelous show."

"No," Yoongi gritted, shakily getting back up. 

"You can't dodge forever," he growled.

"Watch me," Yoongi replied, earthbending a wall to block another attack. The wall however crumbled when the eldest punched through it, catching the younger off guard and knocking him back.
Less than a second later the eldest was in front of him again, sending a punch directly to his cheek, throwing him into a nearby tree.

"Yoongi!" The others called out.

"There's only one way to stop this Yoongi," the man maniacally laughed.

"No," Yoongi yelled, wiping the blood from his mouth,"I refuse to do it."

The man shrugged,"so be it. If you won't fight your friends..."

The dust quickly dispersed, all six of them on separate sides surrounding the man.

"Then we'll make them fight each other!"
Six of the seven stood up straight, limbs cringing and cracking on their own. 

"Yoongi, I can't fight it," Jungkook stared at him in fear.

Yoongi watched as they all tried to fight being controlled, movements unnatural and robotic. Suddenly they all moved forward, weapons and arms up.

"Time is ticking Yoongi, what will you do?"
Yoongi closed his eyes, and tried thinking, thinking of a way out. He ran a series of scenarios in his head, but no matter what he thought up, it was useless.

"Times up," the man smirked.

Suddenly all six of the men went flying toward each other, weapons raised. 

"No," Yoongi screamed.

Right before impact the group suddenly stopped, dropping to the floor. They stared at their bodies as they gained control again. Then they looked up to see the man, muscles tightened.

"I'm sorry," Yoongi whispered as he brought the man down to his knees then to the floor for the villagers to tie him up.

"Congratulations Yoongi, you're a full fledged bloodbender. Just like me," the man laughed, almost close to insanity,"my legacy lives on through you."

Before any of them had the chance to register what had happened, the villagers had quickly them, all having witnessed the spectacle. The boys tried to regroup, but the villagers started throwing rocks at them, blocking the paths and yelling pointless things.

"They're water benders," one of the villagers spat,"and one of them can blood bend!"

"They're one of them!"

"They're monsters!"

"We should do something."

"Arrest them!" Another demanded.

Yoongi, on the other hand, stayed sitting on the floor, face in his hands as he tried to calm his breathing.

"Everyone regroup at the campsite on the hill!" Namjoon hurriedly instructed as he disappeared into the shrubbery, followed by Taehyung.

Jimin was quickly grabbed by a nearby Seokjin and yanked in another direction.

Yoongi on the other hand didn't move, his strength and will to get up failing him.

The last thing he saw was Jimin's worried face as he was thrown onto the ground by two guards, followed by Jungkook and Hoseok. Then there was a loud crack and everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N cliffhangers!! I knooooowww, I'm so evil!!>:) hope you enjoyed this chapter that I actually put effort into. I know the chapters before have been shaky but that's cause I had absolutely no ideas for them! Thank you for sticking around through those terrible thangs, (especially the one before this one, so terrible~ it's completely the reason why I duel chaptered this time around*sigh*) I kinda winged them, but I had been planning this one for a long time so I was excited to write it since it's heavily inspired by my favorite episode of the series. 
Oh & I'm sure some may wonder why Yoongi didn't bring up some crazy earthbending skills and take that crazy old man down with ease. Well I take Yoongi as a pretty prideful kinda guy, so in that sense I feel like he'd want to beat Han at his own game, his specialty, which was water bending. Therefore he'd prefer to fight fairly with one element rather than go avatar on his arse.