[color=bfbfbf][sub][table= //////= POST DESIGN v1=\\\\\\][row][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]https://i.imgur.com/pcFJnbt.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/eeO0nH6.png[/img][/sup]

[color=2e2c2c]_______________________________[sub]........[/sub][/color]
[/cell][cell][color=white][center][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]https://i.imgur.com/DHKvx27.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][center][color=2e2c2c]Desert Outpost   ·   [/color]Desert Outpost   ·   [/center][/sub][/center][/color][quote][color=2e2c2c]____________________________________________________________________________.[/color]
[color=9f9f9f]Chae-Won lay on the hot desert sand. Honestly, this was a little too familiar. Why did shit keep exploding around her!? She lifted her head, her adrenaline spiking higher and higher as she took in the horrendous sights and sounds. She quickly rolled over, trying to fight off the feeling of weakness in her concussed body. 

[color=white]"Kid! Come on, we gotta move!"[/color] she shouted at Weiyuan who was in a similar position. While Chae-Won was surged with adrenaline, but focusing on what needed to be done, Weiyuan was just absolutely flooded and hyperventilating. He knew, deep down, that he only existed to deal with stressful situations, but this was just too much.

He was almost afraid he'd fracture into yet further pieces if he didn't get a break soon.

[color=white]"Kid! Get up!"[/color] Chae-Won repeated louder, grabbing his shoulder and hauling him up. [color=white]"O-OK, we gotta buy time! Follow my lead, OK?"[/color]

Weiyuan just stared back into her eyes, his whole body shaking. She grabbed him, meeting his gaze.

[color=white]"Hey, I'm here? I'm right here! Just focus! You know how to do this!"[/color]

Weiyuan swallowed, his throat dry and not just because of the arid, desert air. He nodded. It would be fine. As long as he followed Chae-Won it would be fine. His job was to survive. Now he just had to do it.

They could see the rest of the group trying to get their driver on his feet and behind the wheel, so all they had to do was buy time until everyone was ready to go. Hopefully it wouldn't need to be a [i]lot[/i] of time.

Chae-Won led him to the side of a vehicle, but not the Kyoshi. Instead, it was the other vehicle just to the left of it. The one whose driver had just eaten a briefcase and wasn't likely to go anywhere, even if its tire hadn't just been blown off. The two knelt down and compressed the sand beneath them, more and more until it almost appeared to solidify into solid stone. They then pulled it all back up, flinging huge chunks up compressed sand into the air. Then, they all burst, throwing massive clouds of sand into the air all at once.

Normally, the sand would have just fallen back to the ground within a few seconds, but it didn't. It seemed to hang unnaturally in the air, and then began to swirl. Faster and faster, higher and higher, around and around until there was a wall of swirling sand spinning around, until it encircled the disabled car [i]and[/i] the Kyoshi.

That was part one of Chae-Won's plan done. Now, none of their attackers could see them. The question was would they go for easier to see targets, or hone in one the ones who'd just put on a big show for them?

However, there was a reason she'd centered the sand screen around the [i]other[/i] car and not the Kyoshi. If they started firing blindly, they'd be less likely to aim for their escape vehicle. Also...

[color=white]"OK! Keep it going!"[/color] Chae-Won shouted at Weiyuan. There was a brief moment of dumbstruck shock before she suddenly stopped helping him hold up the swirling sands. Immediately the sand slowed, some of it just dumping to the ground, but sheer desperation allowed him to kick it back into gear again, though it was far from perfect. Every few seconds the sand would slow before he could give it another push. Each time, it never quite fully recovered to full strength.

It was clear he could keep it up for only so long all alone.

Chae-Won knew this, which is why she had to put part two of her plan into motion fast. Honestly, there hadn't been a part two at first, but she [i]really[/i] needed them to not shoot the Kyoshi. Or worse, there was nothing stopping them from just walking right through the wall of sand to come get them.

Not unless she deterred them a little more.

She threw her arms at the disabled vehicle and the whole thing rocked. It... surprised her. She hadn't expected that much of a reaction to her bending from it. She couldn't worry about that now, though. She just needed one thing from it: the glass. That [i]did[/i] react how she expected. The windshield and windows, even the instrument panel gauges, all cracked and shattered. She then pulled back, drawing all the glass to her.

[color=white]"Alright. Let's see if they're ready for this one,"[/color] she muttered to herself. She returned to Weiyuan's side, returning her support to the wall, the swirling sands immediately picking up speed again and rising higher. At the same time, the shards of glass flew into the wall, swirling around them and rapidly picking up speed. [color=white]"OK! Get to the car! I got this!"[/color]

Again, he looked at her with worry.

[color=white]"I'll be right behind you! Now GO!"[/color] she urged less gently. He nodded reluctantly, and with a few hesitant steps, dropped his arms and ran to the vehicle, climbing in as soon as he could. The wall of sand didn't slow in the slightest without his help. [color=white]"OK, motherfuckers..."[/color]

Chae-Won furrowed her brow. She knew which direction she'd seen the ones on the ground coming from, even if she couldn't currently see them, nor risk putting a hole in the wall to check. She'd just have to hope for the best.

She changed the movements of her arms, and one by one the shards of glass rocketed out of the wall of sand. Faster and faster like a machinegun, just peppering the area she'd seen the RSF coming from with shards of glass.

Once the wall was emptied of glass, there was naught left to do but join Weiyuan in the vehicle... but she hesitated. The vehicle she'd torn the glass from had been damaged. Shot. The ones on the ground hadn't done it, they hadn't been there yet. The shot had come from the tower. 

She glanced at the Kyoshi. Could it take a shot like that? It certainly [i]looked[/i] tougher, but did that matter? If it lost a tire, they'd be screwed. They'd never make it through the loose sands a wheel down. Not fast enough at any rate.

But... what could she do about that? Try to keep the wall up from inside the vehicle? She doubted her control was that good. No. Somehow she had to deal with the marksman.

Once she saw the last person climb in, she walked as fast as she could to the vehicle without dropping the wall, shouting in through the nearest open door, [color=white]"Go on! I'll catch up later!"[/color]

Immediately Weiyuan's head snapped around to stare at her in horror. What? Catch up? How was she supposed to catch up to a car!? He immediately scrambled for the door, intending to drag her in if he had to, but she just gave him a sad look. [color=white]"Just trust me, kid. Have I ever let you down?"[/color]

She then kicked the door shut in his face, signaling for them it was time to go.

She also knew that [i]she[/i] had to hurry. If they weren't mad at them before, they no doubt were now after she'd just thrown dozens upon dozens of razor sharp shards of glass at them. Accordingly, and in order to drive home that they really needed to leave, she cut the wall in half.

In doing so, she flung half of it in the same direction she'd fired the glass. She was no airbender, so the swirling sands wouldn't last long outside of her direct control, but it had been launched with enough force to at least momentarily buffet their attackers and hopefully slow them down for a moment. After that, she took the remaining sand and spun it as fast as possible, sacrificing width for height.

She then launched that one too, sending the towering, tornado of sand surging toward the tower. She knew she couldn't just walk it there, it would become painfully obvious that someone was standing in the middle of it. She then broke into a sprint, trying to remain as much inside the rushing sand as she could. However, she couldn't keep up with it the whole way, so as it began to outpace her she dropped into a slide, using her bending to propel her through the sand, hoping it would take her the rest of the way.

She had a plan in mind for the tower and the gunman within it...
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