So, I was re-watching Avatar the Last Airbender, plus reading fanfiction, and got inspired to write another story. (I have a few other stories I have neglected… whoops. But they're old and will be deleted soon.) I may be a little rusty at this, so bear with me. I may update/correct the chapters as I continue with the story so be aware. Enjoy! *THIS HAS BEEN EDITED 12-7*
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"Is this all of them? Seems the pickings are getting a little sparse, Kaito."
"W-well, we've kidnapped so many girls already that the people have become suspicious; they're locking their young daughters up at night! If we start breaking down doors, the Earth kingdom will send the entire army to find us!"
A loud bang resounded through the room, silencing the nervous voice. It was quiet for a tense moment, the air almost palpable. A strained sigh broke the tension.
"We'll have to do with what we have then. I suppose our most recent catch we got will make up for the lack of women. I hear she put up quite the fight,"
"Y-yes, she took out most of my men before we managed to subdue her. It seems she is a waterbender, a powerful one at that." A low whistle was let out as footsteps padded across the floor, the loose dirt shifting as they moved. "She lives up to her title, definitely a priceless item. Should fetch a high price, Zanui."
The man named Zanui merely let out a low chuckle. He walked towards a slumped woman against the wall, conjuring flames to illuminate the area. A blindfold was secured snugly around their head, blocking their surroundings, while their wrists were bound above their head by heavy metal chains attached to the wall. More chains were secured around their ankles, preventing any easy escape and limiting movement. Hay made a makeshift, albeit, uncomfortable cushion against the hard rock floor where the person currently sat. The outfit she was wearing had been switched out for a plain sleeveless dress, the color matching the dirt covered floors, and tied around the waist with thick coarse rope. The hairstyle had been altered as well; the rich brown locks that were tied in an elaborate traditional style now flowed in waves down her back, kept in place with a loose piece of ribbon at the base of her neck.
Crouching down, Zanui grasped the woman by a large handful of hair and jerked up to force her to look towards him. "She'll indeed fetch a good price; such an exquisite beauty from such a savage and primitive tribe. Dark skin, crystal clear blue eyes with such a fire in them. Strong body as well; perhaps, I may keep her to myself," He moved his thumb towards her mouth, pressing down on her bottom lip. Teeth suddenly clamped down on the appendage, causing the man to scream in surprise and jerk his hand backwards.
"I'll defeat you all before you have the chance to make any profit off of me," The woman growled lowly, spitting towards the man before lunging forward, the chains clanking loudly as they were pulled taut. "You won't get away with this!" Zanui examined his finger briefly before flicking it, blood splattering against the dirty hay. With a deep breath, his hand shot forward and latched around the woman's throat, lifting her into the air easily. A strangled gasp escaped before the fingers tightened around her neck, completely blocking her windpipe.
"Such a strong will, eh? Well, we'll break that soon enough, so I suggest you behave!" With flick of his wrist, he forcefully flung her back against the wall, a pained wheeze pushed from her lungs. The chains rattled loudly as she collapsed against the floor, coughing and gasping as much needed air filled her lungs.
"Z-Zanui, w-we shouldn't leave any m-marks on her, it would depreciate her value amongst the buyers…" Kaito stuttered as he looked back at the girl, averting his eyes from the towering man walking past him. Heat suddenly exploded near his hand and he screamed in horror as the entirety of his hand burst into flames, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving behind deeply burnt skin that oozed blood.
"I suggest next time you hold your tongue unless you want that burned as well," Zanui snarled, his lip curling upwards.
He didn't have time to waste with this idiot, he had a whole shipload of women to sell off to private sellers in the Fire Nation. It had taken weeks, even months, to achieve such a large stock of beautiful women. His men had scoured even the most remote parts of the Earth Kingdom in search of inventory. Of course, the families had tried to fight back against the kidnappers, and very few had succeeded, until a fire 'accidentally' burned them to death. There was no remorse, of course. Zanui was a business man and ultimately, in order to get what he needed, drastic measures had to be taken to get it.
Controlling the flame on his hand, the man began making his way down the dark and abandoned mine shaft, taking specially marked pathways that led to the main prisoner hold a little deeper within the abandoned mine. Any man he passed abruptly stopped what they were doing to clasp their hands and bow, fearful of their powerful leader as he walked by. It had only taken one crew member to screw up to prove how ruthless Zanui was; the man was carrying supplies that were stacked way too high, and as he turned a corner, ran straight into the gang's leader. As soon as he looked up from his spot on the ground to see who he had hit, the blood rushed from his face, and he began slamming his head into the ground, begging for forgiveness. With a snap of his fingers, Zanui set the man ablaze, forcing every other man to watch as the man writhed in agony before ultimately curling up and dying a painful death.
Zanui smiled as the memory came to mind. After that day, no crew member dared to disrespect him or his direct commands. The feeling of power could sometimes be overwhelming, the firebender admitted, though seeing the fear in people's faces is what he lived for, what he craved so deeply. The pathway suddenly widened as he entered a large cavern carved within the center of the mine. Decades ago, the mines had been abandoned due to multiple casualties as parts of the paths had collapsed, scaring the miners away. Now, it held all 49 of his female prisoners, some taken as far away as the Western Earth Kingdom, an isolated part of the country some thought perished long ago during the 100 Years War. Though the War ended barely two years ago, thanks to the Avatar. The smile slipped from his face and settled as a scowl at the thought of how the young Avatar had single-handedly ended the war by just removing Fire Lord Ozai's (or rather, he called himself the Phoenix King) bending permanently. Since then, the Avatar had collaborated with Fire Lord Zuko to restore balance to the four nations and begin a new state known as the Republic.
"Boss Zanui, we've secured all of the women for transport. It'll take us about a day or so to load them up and get enough supplies to last us the trip back to the Fire Nation. Then it should take about two weeks, weather permitting. We've scheduled a stop just a few days from the drop off location to refuel and restock on supplies." A large, burly man turned and bowed at Zanui as he spoke, a clipboard in his hand. Behind him men scurried about, hurrying to finish preparations for the long trip. Zanui nodded and waved the man away to finish his work. Standing in the center of the room, he slowly eyed his prizes, sweeping over their faces and bodies, calculating a price for each head. As the numbers added up, the grin on his face grew with the total price. Of course, he couldn't calculate for the waterbender, but she was sure to fetch a price worth at least the value of 10 normal women. He would live well after this auction, to say the least.
Throwing his arms wide, he began to laugh; gradually the other men caught on and joined in, the room suddenly roaring with malicious laughter. "Men! After this auction, we'll be living like KINGS! No more squalling in alleys, no more searching through rubbish bins! Forget those flimsy hay beds on the cold, hard ground! Once we sell off these 'assets', we will rule the black market of the Earth Kingdom!"
As the men cheered and celebrated, Zanui had already devised a plan for the fate of his 'special' possession. He would make her his own, no matter how ruthless the manner he used to do it.
*4 Days Earlier*
Appa grunted as he veered to the right, preparing to land in a spot he knew all too well in the city of Ba Sing Se. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph had reunited for a very special occasion happening at the Jasmine Dragon tea shop. Though they had separated to move on with their own lives and pursue their dreams, they soon found themselves reunited once more. Toph had been out creating a Metalbending school after Ozai had been defeated and things had calmed down for a while and currently had a small cluster of students she was commanding over. Rather, "Lily-livers" is what she preferred to call them. Sokka had left to meet up with his father and learn more of the Southern Water Tribe battle tactics and to help out with the village back home. Meanwhile, Katara and Aang continued to travel across the nations, heeding to peoples calls of help from every direction while also meeting frequently with Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei to help establish and build a new nation called the Republic. While Aang took care of the major meetings with Zuko, Katara had become the unofficial ambassador of the Air Nation and met with smaller nations and councils to fill in for Aang's absence.
While Toph had chosen to Earthbend her way to the city, Sokka had eagerly joined Aang and Katara as they flew past his rendezvous point, just a day's worth of travel from Ba Sing Se. Though he quickly realized he would have to put up with Aang and Katara's sickening affection for one another, even going so far as to say it gave him the 'oogies'.
"It's been a while since we've been to the city, I'm sure it's changed a lot." Katara commented as Appa landed, gratefully taking Aang's hand as he airbended them gently to the ground. Just two years ago, the young, goofy kid Katara and Sokka had found in the iceberg had gone from being a 12-year-old Avatar-in-training, to a full-fledged Avatar, master of all four elements. Of course, in the span of 2 years, all of them had grown in more than one way. Aang and Katara had finally gotten together and had been nearly inseparable since that night in Ba Sing Se after the war was ended and Zuko was appointed Fire Lord. Aang had even grown taller, now slightly taller than Sokka and with a more adult frame to match. Sokka had become the strategical planner for the Southern Water Tribe army, constantly departing from the team to help rebuild cities and towns that had been affected by the war. Toph, of course, had her Metalbending school and was busy training her students the art of Metalbending. Though, after hearing some stories, they weren't as good as she had hoped.
"Thank the Spirit's we're here! I can't handle any more of your oogies!" Sokka grumbled as he slid from Appa's saddle, landing painfully on his rear. Aang offered him a hand up and pulled him to his feet.
"Oh, come on, it's no different when you're with Suki!" Katara shot back as she helped unload the rest of the supplies. With the help of Aang, the two lowered the heavy bison saddle to the ground, Appa shaking his fur out in relief.
"I'm your older brother, I'm allowed to do stuff like that! Besides, I have to keep you two in line! I'm watching you, Aang!" Sokka motioned with two fingers from his eyes to Aang, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline for emphasis.
"Relax, Sokka, I will stay respectful of Katara's boundaries and would never force her to do anything she didn't clarify. Monks honor," The Avatar closed one fist and placed his open palm facing sideways on top before bowing slightly, honoring his traditions and teachings. Katara just rolled her eyes at her brother before grabbing Aang and kissing him hard, just to annoy her brother.
"KATARA! Seriously, you guys give me serious OOGIES!" Boomerang man screamed before storming off, throwing his hands in the air. Both Katara and Aang snickered, wrapping their arms around each other lovingly.
"He does know we've been dating for two years, right?"
"It'd be interesting to see how long he can keep this up, but knowing him, it will take probably half of his life to get over it." The couple giggled again before sharing a much softer kiss. The moment was short lived though when the ground began to shake, gradually at first until both benders jerked apart, the ground beginning to split beneath them. With a loud boom, the rock burst open, debris raining down over them.
"Aang, what's going on?!" Katara cough as she tried to fan away the cloud of dust blocking her vision.
"It seems an old friend decided to pop up," The dust was dissipated as a strong blast of air forced it away, revealing a rounded pedestal with a smirking earthbender standing proudly on top.
"You're the old one, Twinkletoes, last I checked I wasn't 115 years old."
The two friends embraced, not having seen each other for months. Katara grabbed Toph afterwards, nearly squeezing the life out of the prestigious bender.
"Easy, Sugar Queen, or you'll squish me to death." Toph groaned as she tried to push the waterbender back. The two girls quickly began to talk about their experiences over the past few months, sharing stories, or in Toph's case, complaining about her students.
"I'll catch up to you guys in a few minutes, I'm just going to get Appa settled for the night." Aang called out, waving them off while he airbended the large saddle towards the designated barn specially designed for the massive bison. Appa grunted as he followed his master, searching for hay to devour. Once he was settle and munching on a large pile of hay, Aang gave him a goodnight scratch, the Avatar headed towards the Jasmine Dragon. They had all been sent invitations to Iroh's birthday celebration, something they were unable to attend last year due to unrest throughout the state.
Aang walked through the massive jade green doors to the teahouse, the strong aroma of tea giving him a sense of peace and comfort. The room was filled to the brim with people, all talking excitedly and enjoying steaming cups of tea.
"Avatar Aang! Glad you could make it!" Iroh's booming voice called from the center of the room, drawing everyone's attention to the Avatar. "Come in, come in! I have the perfect tea for you to try!" The old man quickly met Aang halfway across the room, a steaming cup of tea in his hands. Bowing, the airbender graciously accepted the cup before bringing it to his lips. The aroma alone smelled intoxicating, yet when the tea met his tongue, it was like a completely different brew. A subtle hint of green tea with mixes of honey, jasmine, and … lemon?
"This is amazing, Iroh! I've never had such an amazing tea! You've really outdone yourself with this." Iroh blushed at the compliment before belting out a hearty laugh, patting Aang on the shoulder.
"You sure know how to make an old man blush! Why don't you go join your friends, I'll brew some more tea for you to taste." While he bustled back to the kitchen, Aang spotted the rest of his friends sitting at a large table near the corner. Making his way over to them, despite being stopped by most people on the way anxious to meet the Avatar, he took a seat next to Katara, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Toph was just explaining how she was training her students. It sounds grueling," His girlfriend filled him in quickly. The group soon fell into complete comfort, laughing and enjoying one another like old times. Zuko arrived a little later, looking tired but seeing his friends seemed to wipe it from his face. He and Aang chatted for a while, avoiding work sensitive information, and were planning the next meeting when the cake was brought out shortly after. Everyone wished Iroh luck for the next year with health and prosperity, singing a traditional celebration song.
The party began to wind down as most people left for the evening, leaving just Team Avatar, Zuko and Iroh to reminisce about the past. It had been just a few hours since they arrived, but it felt like they had been there merely minutes.
"How have things been going with being Fire Lord, Zuko? Have any colonies been giving you trouble?" Aang asked his former enemy. It had been more than a few months since he had been to the Fire Nation, what with being called to all over the Earth Kingdom and various parts of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes.
Zuko dragged a hand down his face, the exhaustion clear. "There have been some small uprisings, but nothing we couldn't handle. For the most part, everything has been smoothing itself out with very few issues." Aang nodded in agreement. He had gotten various updates from Zuko, but he hadn't heard anything for the past few months since he and Katara had visited the Southern Air Temple for a few weeks to try and rebuild it.
"Ah, that reminds me, Aang," Iroh cut in, his joyous expression replaced with a serious one. "There have been rumors that young women have been kidnapped from all over the Earth Kingdom, even some here in Ba Sing Se." Everyone fell quiet at the news. Women being kidnapped? Why hadn't the Earth King written a letter to the Avatar?
"Uncle, when did all of this start? I haven't heard anything about it."
"Rumor is, it's been going on for a few weeks, if not longer. The only reason it has become largely known is due to a few of the parents of the kidnapped girls surviving the raids. Though shortly afterwards, there was always a freak accident involving fire."
"There's no way that's an accident; those men were silencing any witnesses of their kidnapping." Toph ground out from her spot, unseeing eyes narrowing in disgust.
"Iroh, have there been any recent kidnappings around this area? Maybe we can try to find some information from the townspeople." Katara offered, a fire burning in her piercing blue eyes. Kidnapping people was disgusting to begin with, but burning their families because they had tried to defend their child? It burned a rage throughout her body, fingers itching to water whip those thugs across the face. Aang felt the rage radiating off of his girlfriend and felt his own swell. He rested a hand against her back, letting her know he felt the same way.
"Hmm, I haven't heard anything specific, but maybe you should ask the Earth King, I'm sure he would have some information for you." The old man thoughtfully brushed his beard, "But for now, I think it's time for us to get some rest. You have all travelled far and must be tired. I have some spare rooms you can use for the evening."
Everyone murmured agreements before saying their goodnights. Katara and Toph would share a room while Aang, Sokka, and Zuko shared another. Though they had all gone to their rooms and settled into bed, two minds raced from the information they received tonight. Sokka and Toph had passed out the second they hit the beds, but Katara and Aang were wide awake. Tomorrow they would head to the Palace and speak with King Kuei in hopes of solving this mystery. They only wished they had heard of the news sooner… before any more lives were lost.
~End Chapter 1~
I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm rusty at this so feedback would be appreciated! I'll get started on the next chapter in the next few days. Thanks! *THIS CHAPTER WAS EDITED 12-7*
