So this chapter has the completed Linzin Family from Lives Forgotten. Since the family is so big, I am just going to use script format for the first scene because so many people are talking.
Six children from Lin and Tenzin
[Earth Benders: Hunjian(M24), Huifan(F23), Jinkun(M21), [Air benders: Jiexue(F18), Xiaoyu(F16), Kang (M15)]
Four children from Pema and Tenzin
Jinora(14), Ikki(11), Meelo(9), Rohan(4)
Setting: The kitchen/dining room of the Beifong Residence on Air Temple Island. Tenzin sits at the head of the rectangular table. Along the side near his right hand sit Rohan, Meelo, Hungjian, Huifan, and Jinkun. To his left, Jinora, Kang, Ikki, Jiexue, and Xiaoyu. Lin's chair is empty as she is doing the dishes after making breakfast for everybody.
Tenzin: So we have gathered today because our family has grown significantly and a lot has changed. Now after much deliberation, your mother and I think it would be best if we left Republic City
Hungjian: What?
Jinora: Where would we go?!
Tenzin: I'm getting there. We've decided to first go on a trip all around the world to... see where we would like to live-
HuiFan: That doesn't make any sense.
Lin: We were both born in Republic City and have only left it three maybe four times in our lives.
Tenzin: And not on the best of circumstances. We thought it was time for a change of scenery.
Jiexue: So we're moving?
Lin: Only if you want to
HuiFan: What does that mean? You're abandoning us?
Lin: It means you're nearly full grown adults and can decide for yourself who you want to be and where you want to go. I don't want you to think you have to follow us, in our footsteps or in our shadows. You're all so different and so special and we don't want you to feel the pressure the city will put on you. Reporters won't leave you alone, I already know that-
Jiexue: So you're running away from a bunch of bored non-benders with a printing press because you're afraid of what they will say about us?
Lin: No, just—
Tenzin: We're thinking of making our own home somewhere, starting from the ground up, yet still in the air. We are airbenders, yes, but we are no air nomads. We are not traditional no matter how hard I tried to be for the longest time. And we want to scout places all over the world to build. Suyin has told us we're welcome anywhere in the Earth Kingdom and Izumi has offered us any island in the Fire nation, so we thought we would go exploring.
Ikki: Make a new home like Zaofu?
Kang: or Omashu?!
Tenzin: Nothing is set in stone yet. But Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan are for sure coming and the rest of you are free to come or stay or go your own way. You don't have to decide now, you can come with us to explore different places and choose after or whatever. We want to support you no matter what, in every way we can.
[Silence.]
Xiaoyu: I'm going with mom!
Jinora: I want to stay with you ALL of you! I feel like this is too soon. We only just became a family and now we're already talking about being separated again?
HuiFan: [reaches across the table to touch Jinora's hand: Then we will stay together as long as we can. [Turns to Hungjian and JinKun who both nod in agreement.]
Jiexue: We stay together!
Kang: All in favor?
[Lin glances sideways at Tenzin at the sudden formality coming from their second silliest son.]
All of the Children: AYE!
Kang: Any opposed?
[Silence]
Kang: We stay together! [slams fist on the table like an imaginary gavel]
[Lin glanced at Tenzin and laughs]
Lin: Of all the children to become a politician, Kang would be the least expected.
Tenzin: Or Ikki.
Huifan: But before we leave the city, we would like... one week. One week exactly.
Jiexue: At least.
HUnjian: To discover the city that you both grew up in.
Kang: Oh and for a wedding!
[Ikki, Meelo, Jiexue nod furiously in agreement. Huifan and Hungjian fold their arms, lean back and smirk. Jinora and Xiaoyu clasp their hands together hopefully.]
[Lin crushes the cast iron pan in her hand]
Kang: Is something wrong? Aren't you guys going to do the thing officially?
Tenzin: We are legally married. We filed the papers yesterday. Your mom... just doesn't fancy the idea of a ceremony-
Lin: Well we're old and- and-
Jiexue: But We're not!
HuiFan: -and it would give reason for Aunt Zumi to bring Ursa to Republic City!
Kang: And we'd get to see our cousins from Zaofu!
Jinora: And Uncle Saru!
Tenzin: I still can't believe he is going to marry Izumi. And I thought he was hitting on you, Lin when he first came to Republic City.
Huifan: And Aunt Su was going to teach me the Metal Dance!
Lin: [yells over everyone] ENOUGH! FINE! We will put a possible wedding ceremony back on the table, but that doesn't mean it is still going to make it into the to-do list!
All of the Children: YAY!
After breakfast, Tenzin took charge of Rohan while Lin had to go into work at the Earthen Fire Headquarters in the city. Hungjian, Huifan, Jinkun, and Jiexue accompanied her on the ferry ride while Xiaoyu and Kang stayed back for Master Class with Tenzin, Jinora, and the other airbenders on the island.
Lin walked over to her old driver Luong who lived with them at the Beifong Estate in the hills.
"Bye Mom!" Huifan said hugging her.
"You're sure you don't me to come with you guys?" Lin asked.
"Ee'll be fine. Besides, I think you're the most recognizable of all of us if we want to avoid people's attention," Huifan replied.
"You're probably right. Well, be safe! Stick together! Oh wait!" Lin stopped them. She looked around.
"If you end up using the train system, be careful. It can be kind of confusing which lines remain in the city and which ones leave, so if you do end up accidentally riding into the Earth Kingdom, take these so you can get back to the United Republic," Lin said fumbling through a rather large handbag pulling out a bunch of passports.
"You each have two. One for the United Republic from your father, and the Earth Kingdom from me," Lin explained.
The Earth Kingdom passport was green with a gold, shimmery border and the seal of the flying boar at the top with the words "FIRST CLASS PASSPORT" across the top. The one's for the United Republic were just standard issue citizen passports.
"What differs first class from the other classes of the Earth Kingdom?" Jiexue asked.
"You get automatically placed in the first two cars of every earth kingdom train, you don't need a visa to get into Ba Sing Se or the Upper Ring, and that is about all I can think of at the moment. And take some cash, for emergencies ONLY!" Lin said handing them each a bound stack of yuans fresh from the bank.
"Damn, Mom you're loaded!" Hungjian joked quickly slipping his bundle in his robes.
"And you're not, so use it wisely. That's all you get for the week!" Lin said firmly. "Any questions? Would you like any lunch recommendations? Directions?"
"No thanks, Ma. You're needed at work." Huifan answered.
"But you're more important than anything!" Lin replied hugging them all.
"Are you REALLY crying?" Huifan asked accusingly.
"No! I am just remembering the days when you all were small enough to fit in the same bed as me and I could keep you safe. And now you're going out into the world and... and..."
"There, there, Ma. Don't forget to breathe. Now go with Luong before Jiexue has to become your respirator with her bending!" Huifan said patting her mother on the back. Lin laughed and nodded. She climbed into her car with her Chauffeur, Luong behind the wheel.
"Welcome back to the mainland, my lady," Luong said opening the door to the back seat for her.
"Thank you, Luong," Lin replied climbing into the car with blackened windows. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"I have known those kids since you first brought them to the Estate, My Lady. They will be fine for a day," Luong said reassuringly as he started the car again.
"I know, but I still worry." Lin replied.
"So where do you suppose we begin?" Huifan asked turning to her brothers. They shrugged. They waited then crossed the street and walked.
"There's a train station. It should have a map." Jinkun said pointing off down the street and across a large open square.
Huifan glanced to Hunjian who nodded and they both deployed their cables onto support beams on buildings on either side of the street throwing themselves into the air to get to the train station faster.
"Guys! Why are you running?!" Jinkun yelled launching himself into the air with a push from the earth, not as comfortable with metal as his siblings.
"HALT YOU TWO!" A man yelled. A police officer blew a whistle and flung cables towards Huifan and Hungjian who were almost at the square already. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He asked with his arms folded.
"Yeah? Why the hurry?" Jinkun asked standing next to the police officer, trying to catch his breath after running.
"You know them?"
"Regretfully, yes. They're my brother and sister."
"Is there a law against cabling across the street?" Huifan asked.
"We didn't cause any damage!" Hunjian said getting increasingly impatient.
"Or civil unrest," Huifan pointed out.
"It is just our preferred method of transportation."
"Those are police-issue cables!" the officer said.
"That were made obsolete twenty years ago. I believe Lin Beifong declared back mounted cables the new 'thing' for the police," Huifan replied.
"Are you giving me lip, young lady?" the police officer asked.
"Forgive my brother and sister, Officer. They're both IDIOTS!" Jinkun said turning back at them. "We only have a week guaranteed in this city and wanted to see all that is worth seeing, so we were going to go to the train station to find a map so that we waste less time getting lost and spend more time exploring." '
"Oh, well why didn't you say that in the first place? Once you get the map, I'd suggest you find Harmony Tower, greatest view in the city. Then there's a new museum in the Police Station and then Avatar Korra Park is pretty nice during the day time with some great meat carts and if you like shopping, then Little Ba Sing Se would be nice, and then if you're interested in fine weaponry, there's Iron Way over on the East side of the city"
"Wow! Thanks!" Hunjian said.
"Have a good day!" Huifan said bowing then turning quickly.
"You too! But be careful with those cables! You could seriously injure someone!"
"We know!" the three took off to the train station, taking a minute to absorb the sight of the architecture and stained glass work. The station was bustling with activity. "Huifan, Jian, I found the directory!" Jinkun said standing in front of a giant map of the city behind glass. He reached into one of the trays mounted on the frame below and took out a folded map. "We are here, at Port Terminal. There are four lines that come in and out of this station. See? They're colored. D Line terminates in the Downtown area, A terminates near Little Ba Sing Se and F goes to the east side."
"And G goes to Dragon flats Borough..." Hungjian said following the colored line.
"What's that?" Huifan asked
"A neighborhood, I am guessing," Hunjian shrugged.
"So where to first?" Jinkun asked.
The three looked at each other pensively for a moment before Huifan decided. "Police Headquarters!"
"Why?" Hunjian asked.
"I want to put up a statue of Mom!" Huifan replied.
"We'll get arrested!" Jinkun yelled
"Not if we aren't caught!" Huifan replied.
"How are we not going to get caught by police AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS?"
"Easy! We build the statue underground and then shove it through the floor of the plaza!"
"Okay but we have to do it fast because I still want to see the weapons district and Little Ba Sing Se!"
"And I want to get a kabob from a meat cart in Avatar Korra Park!" Jinkun said.
"Relax!" We have a week, not a day!" Huifan said. "Let's get train tickets. It will be faster than cabling across the city. Cover me!" Hunjian and Jinkun stepped closer to cover while Huifan pulled out the stack of cash her mother gave her from the pocket in the back of her spool of cable. "How much are tickets?" she asked counting the notes.
"For ages 16-50, it is one yuan per stop or 8 yuans to go the distance of the line," Jinkun said reading off a list on the wall by the ticket booth.
"Are day passes an option?" Huifan asked looking up at her younger brother.
"Yeah, for 25 yuans."
"K," Huifan pulled one note out of the stack and stowed the rest away.
"We only need one?" Hungjian asked.
"Mom gave us each a bank stack of hundreds!" Huifan whispered.
"For a week?!" Hunjian asked shocked.
"Apparently," Huifan shrugged striding off towards the ticketbooth.
Lin sat behind a new desk in a new office in the top floor of the second highest high rise in the city. The office was spacious with three sitting areas, a private, more homey area behind a set of folding bamboo room dividers. There were book shelves with logs and notes on major expenditures, investments, earnings, and other ventures Earthen Fire Refinery engaged in. There was a portrait of her grandfather and his partner on her wall since they were the founders of the company and portraits of her mother and Satoru.
Satoru, her father.
Satoru was an engineer at the original Earthen Fire Refinery. He was born into Fire Nation nobility but ran away after the 100 year was when his parents joined the New Ozai Society. He lived on the streets of Ba Sing Se when his uncle Loban found him and gave a job. He was a fast learner, and an inventor and created machines to automate processes that previously took three different types of benders to complete. And he was almost as big a fan of Toph as the original Air Acolytes were of Aang.
Lin remembered Aang telling her the stories of the Inventor with vigor. He must have known Satoru was her father. But why didn't he ever tell her? Why did Toph refuse to ever mention his name in their house. Masaru said their father died in a tragic accident involving one of his inventions but that was just a fact. They say time heals all wounds, yet Toph still wouldn't tell her.
"Hello Lady Beifong! Forgive me for my tardiness! It shall never happen again, I assure you!" a secretary said hurrying in with a pile of papers.
"No need to apologize. Life happens. What is your name?" Lin asked the young secretary.
"Eunji, ma'am " the secretary said with a bow.
"Eunji, did you know the engineer Satoru?"
"No ma'am he was- here long before I joined the company."
"Right. Forgive me. I forgot you're just a babe," Lin smiled. "Well, do you know of him?"
The secretary, obviously eager to please her new boss scoured her brain for information she was given during her orientation a few years ago.
"He-"
"Do you know how he died?" Lin asked wanting to know why her mother was too traumatized to speak.
"I don't know the specifics, Lady Beifong but I am sure Penga does. She has known him since the beginnings of the company. She's ancient! Just don't tell her I said that. She was one of the FIRST metalbending students of The Master, Toph Beifong,"
"Really? My mother never told me about her either," Lin commented still staring at the photo of Satoru hung on the wall of her new office.
"I can ask her for you if you're busy,"
"Busy? To be honest with you, Eunji, I have no idea what I'm doing here. The company has run itself with remarkably few hiccups for the last forty years without me, but since my retirement from the force, I thought it would be good to come see how things are doing. I just don't know where to start," Lin said slashing her fingers together leaning forward to rest her elbows on her desk. "Can you tell me how I can help?"
Eunji smiled.
"I'd be glad to, My Lady. Would it be appropriate to say that your kindness was rather relieving?"
"My kindness?" Lin laughed. "Never heard that before!"
"I'm sure. The other secretaries told me so many stories of how stern and ruthless you were as Police Chief,"
"Well what other options are there when you deal with murderers and thieves?" Lin asked shrugging.
Eunji decided to give their now-present owner of the company a tour of the entire building and every floor and told Lin about its operations and brought her to rooms even she didn't have clearance for. Lin opened the secure doors and interviewed workers and learned what everyone did taking notes.
They got through the first five of seventy eight floors by lunch time.
"Let me treat you," Lin said inviting Eunji to a nearby restaurant.
"Is everything okay, Lady Beifong?"
"First, can you just call me Lin, and second, I was wondering if you could please stop telling people how nice I am? I have a reputation to uphold, and I can't have all 76,000 Earth Kingdom and United Republic employees knowing just how 'not scary' I am,"
"Oh, sorry, La-Lin. Forgive me."
"You are forgiven. Now, what are you getting, Eunji?"
"I... don't know. Let me think, I've never been to a place of this... tier ever before,"
"Well get used to it. Now that you're my secretary, I am sure we will be having a lot to discuss,"
"There it is! Do you remember seeing it the night of Mom's Retirement party?" Huifan asked pointing at the Police Headquarter building.
"Yeah. And didn't you come here to bully the new chief into letting you help with the security sweep for the Festival?"
"I didn't bully him. He needed the help," Huifan shrugged. She spread her legs and moved her hands in a circle. "Into the hole, brothers!" She ordered jumping in after Jinkun and Hungjian were down. "Jian, close the tunnel behind me. We have to be careful. There's a car and truck garage not far from here." Huifan ordered her brothers.
"Ooooo and the maximum security ward is below us a few meters!" Jinkun added as they walked in complete darkness under the square.
"Okay we're below the square now," Huifan said checking their surroundings with her extremely accurate seismic sense.
"Perfectly centered, too," Hungjian added checking. Huifan beamed in the darkness.
"Since we can't build the whole thing because of the prison below, we'll have to push it up and out in layers," Huifan informed them.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hungjian asked.
"Yes." Huifan replied.
"What if Mom doesn't let us return to the city?"
"Just this morning didn't we all have this long conversation about how we're free to to follow our own path and do what we want to?" Huifan asked.
"I don't think that includes being free to erect unsanctioned statues in front of the police building." Jinkun responded warily.
"Oh well, are you going to help or not?" H uifan asked impatiently
"Fine, we'll help," Hungjian sighed.
"How tall do you want this thing?" Jinkun asked already making a scale model of his mother in her police uniform from memory in the ground at their feet.
"Twenty five meters?" Huifan asked.
"Easy enough. We can do it in five five meter sections," Jinkun said finishing the model then chopping it into five horizontal pieces spreading them across the ground. They all studied the five slices with their seismic sense then spread out in the ground under the cavern and made a large room.
"Head coming up!" Hungjian said.
"Wait!" There are crowds of people above us!" Jinkun said.
"I'll move them." Huifan said she bent her knees into a horse stance and shifted the cobblestone above their heads and slid the crowd aside.
The crowd all looked down and around at their feet which seemed to jump about twenty meters from where they were previously standing and a smoothed lump of grey stone emerged from the ground.
"Great. Next section!" Hunjian yelled slicing his third of the outline. Together, the three pushed the next layer up.
"This thing is going to get heavier and heavier, isn't it?" Jinkun asked miserably.
"Yep!" Huifan said hoisting the second layer up through the ground as people, police, and reporters gathered above ground at the growing statue.
"The police is digging in!" Jinkun yelled.
"Three more slices! Come on!" Huifan yelled. They pushed up and their mother from the waist up was already above the ground.
"They're only six meters from us!"
Jinkun yelled.
"I can feel them too, just keep going!" Huifan yelled.
"Okay! Last layer is up, do we surface or dig?" Hungjian asked.
"Dig!" Huifan said putting her hands above her head, making herself as narrow as possible and dropping through the earth.
"Who's there?!" a prisoner yelled as Huifan dropped into the hallway.
"Oh shit!" Hungjian exclaimed from behind the door of one of the cells.
"Hey Bub, You think you can get me out of here?" the inmate yelled locking his finger's around HUngjian's throat.
Jinkun appeared through the ceiling landing in the hallway only a second later.
"Jin, grab a few strips. When I open the platinum lock, you knock out the prisoner, DON'T KILL HIM!" Huifan ordered. Jinkun bent a few strips off Huifan's arm. She threw the door open and Jinkun sent two strips to srike the prisoner on either side of the head. He fell to the floor unconscious and Hungjian walked out.t
"Well that was eventful," Huifan said with a sigh of relief.
"HEY! What's going on in there?" a guard asked.
"Get in!" Huifan shoved her brothers into the cell with the unconscious maximum security prisoner and waited.
They held their breaths.
"Stand against the far wall with your hands up!" the officer ordered peering through the peep hole. "I said stand up!"
"He got knocked out by a couple o' kids!" another prisoner yelled.
"How do you know? You wouldn't be able to see them through the door, and you're a firebender! You couldn't feel them through the floor."
"No, but I could hear them!" I think a boy got caught inside, then another boy and a girl in the hallway knocked out my old buddy jing to get their friend out." the inmate across the hall said.
"Impossible! The locks are platinum!" the officer said.
"Hongbo! We need back up at the surface!" a messenger called the guard in the maximum security ward.
"What happened?!"
"Someone erected a statue of the Chief Beifong in the square! All the witnesses say it just pushed itself out of the ground! We have tunnelers searching the vicinity, but they've turned up nothing!"
Huifan and Hungjian nearly choked trying to stifle their laughter. Did none of these officer's have seismic sense?"
"Tunnelers? They think the culprits fled underground."
"Where else could they have come from?"
"Now I am certain they are down here. And I think I know where." The guard said pulling a key out.
Huifan raised a pair of metal strips, and closed her eyes relying only on her seismic sense. As he turned the lock and pulled the door open, Huifan threw the blindfold over his face with enough force to knock him into the door across the hall and then she did the same with the messenger with a curved strip so neither members of the Police force saw them as they fled t he scene. She locked the door again with her platinum bending and replaced the key in his hand leaving every inmate perfectly secure.
"How do we get out now? You're the only one who has been here before!" Jinkun said in a panic as they reached the ground floor.
Huifan slammed her foot into the ground.
"There's a relatively empty couple of hallways that lead to a back door. Follow me!" She said running through the dark grey halls of the police headquarters.
They metalbent their way out and ran into an alleyway laughing.
"I can't believe we got away!" Hungjian gasped.
"You two are CRAZY! We're going to Little Ba Sing Se next! NO DETOURS!" Jinkun declared pulling out the map.
"Alright Little bro! Thanks for helping with the dimensions of the statue of Ma!"
"I wonder how long it will take the news to reach her," Huifan gasped clutching her diaphragm.
"I suspect a minute, probably," Hungjian said.
Lin had just gotten back from lunch and hung up her coat on the coat rack just inside her office door when her direct line rang. "Lin Beifong, Earthen Fire Headquarters," Lin said picking it up.
"Hi Chief, er... Lin." Mako said nervously on the other end of the line.
"Hey Chief, what has you freaking out this time?" Lin asked.
"Um... we need your help with a case," Mako said.
"Forgive me Chief, but I no longer have the clearance to help with cases. You can ask for me for advice, but you can't tell me details,"
"This particular case is already public," Mako sighed.
"How? Protocol says-"
"Someone erected a twenty five meter statue of you outside of headquarters and, we can't find any of those responsible nor can we find any metalbending officers willing to take it down. I don't know what to do!" Mako explained hopelessly.
Lin ran to the window of her office and saw in the distance, her own face in grey stone staring back at her over all of the other buildings.
Lin couldn't help stifle her laugh as she picked up the phone again. "Call off the search. I know exactly who did it. I can recognize my son's handiwork anywhere. I'll talk to him at dinner. What is the cost of the damages?"
"Uh... I don't know yet. The cobblestone surrounding your feet is completely undisturbed, nobody was hurt, no damage has been made to the building. It does obstruct the view of about a hundred offices, but a couple of officers have expressed an odd feeling of content at the prospect of gazing at your ass all day, and- I am sorry! I should have been more sensitive-"
"Mako, you're a man. You know how stupid you can be. Don't listen to them. They've been making that joke for decades. It is annoying but not a crime, unfortunately. Now get back to work and send me an invoice for whatever comes up. Don't worry. My children will pay for their little exhibition today."
"Don't punish them too badly, please."
"Hey, they've survived into their twenties under my care. Don't worry!" Lin said. "Now get back to work, Chief, and that's an order!"
"Yes Chie- I mean Lin! Yes Lin!" Mako stuttered.
Lin sighed and smiled. She remembered something she brought from home and went to dig it out of the pocket of her coat. The photograph of her family. She stood up the frame on her desk and stared at it until Eunji came to take her on a tour of several more floors. "My children," she whispered studying the picture fondly.
The shops on the outermost ring were all relatively cheesy with t-shirts bearing the face of the Avatar, the Earth Queen, the President, the Chieftains of the Water Tribes, and the Fire Lord in cartoon form looking all looking uncharacteristically cute and cheerful.
There were bobble heads, wands with plastic flames, water spouts, tornadoes, and rocks on springs, and other useless nicknacks that children beg their parents for when touring the city.
"Let's move onto the middle ring." Huifan suggested.
"Yes, let's," Jinkun said following her lead.
The middle ring had some nicer clothes. There was casual wear and semi-formal robes in the style of all four nations and shoe stores. Some low-medium end jewelry shops, a couple tailors and dress makers, and craftsmen that made tables, chairs, furniture, and low to medium grade weaponry.
"Why don't we look in here," Huifan said drawn to an Earth Kingdom store called, 'La Mode du Clan Métal'. There were robes in blacks, greys and greens with geometric layering designs with matching metal cuffs and necklaces on mannequins in the window.
The three young metalbending Beifongs walked in.
"Welcome! Do you need help finding anything?"
"We're just browsing, thank you," Huifan said with a police smile.
Jinkun lifted a necklace with his bending feeling out the minerals inside of it.
"Hey! This is aluminum!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry?" the shop owner asked.
"The jewelry in Zaofu is made of steel, platinum, or titanium depending on the wealth of the wearer and the strength of their metalbending ability," Jinkun said slightly offended that the shop keeper was falsely advertising clothes and jewelry as being from his aunt's city.
"Have you even been to Zaofu?" Huifan asked.
"No! But I did watch its citizens ride the trains from dome to dome back when I lived with my parents in the farms below," the shop owner said.
"Well no wonder then," Huifan shrugged.
"Are you from Zaofu?" the shopkeeper asked.
"No but we have family there," Huifan replied absentmindedly.
They touched the fabric of nearly every shop in the middle ring.
"Where does mom get our clothes?" They asked as they entered the boutiques in the upper ring of Little Ba Sing Se.
There were shops with designer names above them. They walked in the circle before spotting a shop front that was literally the width of the door.
"Gaoling Fabric Emporium," the fabrics available for sale were still not as sturdy or thick as what they wore.
"Excuse me, we were wondering where we might find clothes like the ones we're wearing?" Huifan asked offering the corner of her tunic to the shopkeeper.
"You don't know who made your own clothes? These were developed by Earthen Fire Companies, would you believe it? Only came out in the past few weeks. It is supposed to be flame proof and tear proof," the shopkeeper said.
"Really?" Huifan bent a strip off her arm and into a blade and tried to cut the hem of the fabric but it wouldn't go through.
"My old clothes tore like paper," Huifan briefly remembering what Raiko and his brother tried to do to her on the top floor of the Cabbage Corp building that fateful day.
"Maybe that is why Ma had it developed," Hungjian whispered.
She nodded.
She took the strip she was still bending and cut right through the corner of Hungjian's tunic.
"Nope! You're the lucky one!" Hungjian said.
"Do you recognize the fabric of their clothes?" Huifan asked motioning to her brothers?"
"Ahhhh Yes! Cotton from the fields around Gaoling! Lightweight, flexible, durable, good for fighting yet woven with enough gaps between to let air flow and keep cool. We have it here dyed in twenty shades of green, four shades of red, thirty shades between beige and brown,"
"Thank you,"
"How much does it cost per square meter?" Hungjian asked.
"40 yuans."
"Okay, thank you," they left.
"So we can't buy ready-made clothes with quality fabric," Huifan said.
"I wonder when Ma switched out all of your clothes," Hungjian commented.
"Probably when I was sleeping for three weeks. So where to next?" Huifan asked.
"Mmmmm the meat carts in Avatar Korra Park?" Jinkun suggested. "For a late afternoon snack?"
"Sure. Though I must say I prefer the name Republic City Central Park better," Huifan commented.
"You just don't like Korra." Jinkun replied.
"She is useless. No, she's detrimental to the balance of the world," Huifan replied.
"You believe what you want to," Jinkun shrugged.
When Lin got ready to leave the building, she was warned by Eunji that press had all gathered outside the main entrance.
"I could call your driver Luong and have him come around the back,"
"No, I am actually curious to hear their questions even though I won't respond to an of them," Lin replied pulling on her black double breasted coat with golden rimmed epaulets and cuffs.
"Very well, would you like me to call security to escort you out?" Eunji asked.
"No thanks. I am perfectly capable of controlling abcrowd on my own," Lin smiled and headed for the front door.
"Miss Beifong! Did you commission that statue of yourself in front of The Police Headquarters Building?"
"Miss Beifong, are you trying to make a statement about the current leadership of Republic City's Police Department?"
"Miss Beifong, are you concidering rejoining the metalbending force of Republic City?"
"Miss Beifong, is it true you've officially married the former councilman, Master Airbender and Son of Avatar Aang, Tenzin?"
"Miss Beifong, have any of your children expressed interest in joining the police?"
"Miss Beifong, is it true you have reconciled with a long lost brother in the Fire Nation?"
"Miss Beifong, is it true that you will be the Sister-In-Law of the Fire Lord Izumi?"
"Miss Beifong,..."
"Miss Beifong..."
"Miss. Beifong...!"
Slam!
"Glad to be out of that mess, My Lady?" Luong asked climbing into the driver's seat of Lin's sleek latest model of the Satomobile.
"Yep," Lin replied.
"How was your first day truly heading Earthen Fire Companies?"
"Good. I met a bunch of new people and took notes on them and their respective departments. I was not aware the drastic increase in revenue was a result of investing and branching out into industries beyond raw material harvesting."
"Such as?"
"Clothing, armor, architecture. It seems in the last month, Baatar's jumped on the team, there's a new base of operations in Zaofu, and Omashu, and we have paid for the construction of a maglev rail line that runs in a circle connecting Republic City to the three greatest strongholds in the Earth Kingdom!"
"Yes, well, Masaru has been quite the businessman for both halves of the company lately,"
"I'll have to thank him next time I see him," Lin said opening her notebook again scribbling some stuff down on her to do list.
"That shouldn't be too far off," Luong replied laughing.
"What do you know?" Lin asked suspiciously.
"It would appear someone has arrived in the city a week earlier than originally expected," Luong replied.
"Great," Lin grumbled.
Iron Way was a street overrun with smiths. They all used rather shoddy metals from what the three metalbending children of Lin Beifong could sense with their bending. They walked rather unimpressed until they came to the end of the street.
"Do you feel what I feel?" Huifan asked turning to her brothers.
Jinkun turned to Hungjian who looked ready to shit in his pants with excitement. Behind the tiny door was a hallway, and beyond that, as they could see with their seismuc sense, was the greatest and most diverse collection of traditional weaponry they had ever seen.
Huifan turned the door handle and they walked down the completely dark hallway, completely at ease since the ground was stone as far as they could feel.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Huifan called.
"Woah! Hungjian, check out these hammers!" Jinkun exclaimed.
"The engravings look so cool on the head and the handle!" Hungjian exclaimed.
Huifan found a bell on the counter and rang. There was a low grumble and the lights turned on in the shop revealing chains and spiky weapons and cages also hanging from the ceiling. Nothing they couldn't bend, fortunately.
"What are you doing in my shop?!" a low voice demanded as a man weighing probably four times the three of them combined stood up behind the counter and looked down at Huifan's rather waif-like body. He had a large deep scar across his face and several piercings that made it look like he wore permanent gold staples off the thing. One earlobe was stretched with a giant ring in it and the other ear nearly cut into three sections and fanned out with more metal. His neck and arms and probably rest of his body was covered in tattoos of dancing dragons of all species, colors, and lengths twisting around his limbs.
"Uh..." Huifan backed away.
"I'm just messing with ya! Jeez! The kids in this city have forgotten how to live, it seems," the man laughed clapping her on the back from behind the counter.
"I'm not a kid!" Huifan grumbled walking towards her brothers who both extended their arms over her to protectively.
"No, don't go! I just don't get a lot of visitors! When I first decided to settle in the city, all the store fronts were already full, so I made my shop in the bottom floor of my house and convinced the guy up front to let me buy a few square feet and make myself a hallway to connect me to Iron way! But I haven't got around to stringing up some lights or making a sign. Most folks get 'fraid when they see the darkness beyond the grate," the shop keeper said rather humbly. "What made you guys brave the shop of the great mariner Barge?"
Huifan turned to Hungjian who answered, "The metal."
"Dark didn't scare you?" the former pirate asked.
Huifan lifted her foot behind her and bent off the metal sole.
"You're metalbenders! Not just- You're Beifongs!" the pirate gasped clasping his hands together jumping up and down.
"How can you tell?"
"I once knew a gal way back in my travels. She was one of only three metalbenders I had ever encountered before coming to this city. But of all the metalbenders I knew, she was the only one with retractable shoes. She explained to me how her mother taught her how to see with her feet. Her mother never taught anyone else the technique and told her not to teach anyone either. Said that she had to be the greatest earthbender in the world. But the gal said that her sister had already claimed that title so she ran off with our crew and helped us sort out the knockoffs from the legit stuff after every raid. Spirits, what a lady!" the man said fondly leaning on the counter with his chin perched on his hand and his elbow on the display case.
"That sounds like-" Huifan began.
"What was her name?!" Hungjian asked.
"Sulin? Suvin? Suyin? SUYIN! Yep! That was her!"
"She's our Aunt!" Huifan blurted out.
"Ahhhhh! So you're kids of the other sister eh? The boring one?" The guy asked with a smirk.
"Mom's NOT boring!" Hunjian yelled.
THe massive man roared with laughter.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure the chief was real fun, wasn't she? Anyways. Is there anything in particular you were looking for or anything you'd like to try?"
"Do you have throwing knives?" Huifan asked.
"Daggers, stilettos, darts?" the man asked turning behind the counter.
"Everything!" Huifan exclaimed practically jumping behind the counter. He took out a box with a bunch standing up out of a block of wood.
"The daggers, the stilettos, and the darts." he said pulling out two more slabs of wood with projectiles sticking out of them.
"There's one of each kind I have in the shop.
"May I try them?" Huifan asked.
"I don't know, little girl. Are ya trained with these things?"
"Of course! Ma had us trained in everything. And if the throw is off, I could always metalbend it back to me!" Huifan replied.
"IF you could metalbend, why do you even need throwing knives?" the pirate asked.
"In case a chi-blocker attacks me," Huifan replied.
The man's face went wide with shock. "That is actually really smart. I should tell my ex to train our daughter with weaponry."
Hungjian and Jinkun giggled as Huifan yanked out all of the daggers with her bending then collected them in her hand.
"What can I stick with these?" Huifan asked.
"Right!" the pirate ran around the corner and squeezed through the rather tight isles lined with swords, spears, scythes, and other odd pointy things.
"There's some butcher block against that wall there," he said pointing through the dim light.
"Hey Jin, do you want to go stand there so I have something to hit- I mean miss?" Huifan asked.
"Not particularly," Jinkun replied.
"I will!" Hungjian exclaimed always in for a thrill.
Before he could even turn his back to the wall and face his sister, she had thrown five of the daggers pinning him to the wood by both sleeves.
"Hey!"
"Nice shot kiddo!" the man said clapping Huifan on the back nearly knocking her over.
"Can you please stop doing that?" Huifan asked.
"Oh, sorry," He looked down at her and reached a finger to poke the side of her head curiously.
"Hey! You're actually really small!" He exclaimed smiling. The three siblings looked at each other strangely. "Sorry, I got no depth perception. See I lost me left eye in a knife fight about a decade ago, and never really got used to it. I can still use swords and spears, but my knife throwing days are over... unless I am going in for the kill."
"That's good to know," Huifan said cautiously.
Hungjian stomped his foot metalbending the knives out of the block of wood and into his own hand before walking over.
"May I test the weight of the hammers?" Hunjian asked.
"Go for it!" the pirate exclaimed.
When Lin got to the island, she had butterflied in her stomach. Saru was back, and from the sound of it, he had spent the afternoon with Bumi wreaking havoc on the island. As the ferry approached the docks, Lin was relieved to see the buildings still standing, at least. The Air Acolytes were going about their usual evening routine, and her personal guard was making their rounds along the perimeter of the island, as they should be.
Lin bent her way up the stairs out of pure laziness and made her way towards the Beifong Residence on Air Temple Island. Usually, Huifan alerted her siblings of her arrival and everyone would clean up whatever mess they made, and give her the much needed peace and quiet that she needed at the end of the day, but by the sound of it, Huifan wasn't home. Lin looked over at the sunset. It was getting late.
"AGAIN AGAIN!" Lin heard Ikki, Meelo, and Kang yelling. Just then a blinding light emanated from the window and there were a few thuds followed by the sound of Bumi, Kya and Jiexue rolling around laughing.
Lin ran over to the door and threw it open to see scorch marks on the walls, all of the living room furniture stacked in the kitchen, and the airbending children sitting in a circle around Masaru with Bumi and Kya leaning against the far wall.
"Oh hey, Lin, you're home," Masaru said blushing, pulling his hands back from his firebending stance and rubbing his hair nervously.
Lin mustered all of the self restraint she had and took a deep breath.
"Where is Tenzin?" she asked immediately.
"He got called into the city. Daw needed his advice on something," Kya said quickly.
Lin slammed her fist into the charred wall. "You're lying,"
"Okay, we froze him to a tree on the south side of the island,"
"What? You told me you wouldn't hurt him!" Jinora cried turning to her aunt Kya.
Lin immediately wrapped Masaru and Kya in cables from their hands to their shoulders leaving their legs free to walk.
"Either you are going to thaw him, or you're going to free him!" Lin said dragging them outside. "BUMI! You're putting the furniture back. I KNOW the children would never do something this stupid! Firebending INSIDE? Really, Saru?! And Zumzu likes you?" Lin shreiked as Masaru and Kya laughed mirthlessly.
They spent the rest of the afternoon testing out the weapons and trying on armor from through the ages from all different countries listening to the man's stories of his pirating days and how he became trained with every weapon type he made and sold in his shop. They bent on and off costume armor and practical armor and sparred with each other for hours.
"Wait! What time is it?" Huifan asked running outside. "The sun has already set!" She exclaimed. She ran back inside.
"Sorry for taking all of your time,"
"You're leaving already?"
"Mum will be angry if we're not home soon," Huifan replied.
"Yeah, sure, she's definitely the fun sister," the pirate merchant scoffed.
Huifan frowned.
"Don't worry we'll be back!" Hungjian replied.
"Oh! And may I purchase all that you have of this knife, five of these daggers, and a hundred stilettos of this size?" Huifan asked pulling some of the throwing knives out of the wood.
"Sure!"
"Why so many?" Hungjian asked.
"In case Jinora or Ikki want to learn," Huifan explained. They practically ran to the train station and leapt through the closing doors as it began to race to the port of the city.
"Dammit!" Huifan cursed.
"What?" Hungjian asked.
"The last ferry leaves at eight pm on regular days." Huifan said looking at the giant clock on the train station.
9:00PM
"Great," Hungjian sighed sarcastically.
Huifan turned around scanning the skyline for ideas, then she spotted the terrace covered in trees, behind which their old house still stood occupied only by guards, and housekeeping. "We could go home and radio the island, or find Luong to get us a boat."
"Luong can captain boats?" Hungjian asked.
"He's mom's chauffeur," Huifan shrugged.
"Isn't that a driver of Satomobiles?" Jinkun asked.
"I thought it just meant driver," Huifan replied.
"It's worth a shot."
"They're still not back?!" Tenzin exclaimed.
"No, it appears so," Lin replied fuming as they walked back to the house. The sun had completely disappeared beyond the horizon and the moon was rising.
"Shouldn't we go after them? I can have Oogi saddled in five minutes and then-"
"Tenzin, I am not mad or worried about my badgermoles. I am mad and worried about the house and the airbender babies! AND YOU FOR GETTING YOURSELF FROZEN TO A TREE BY YOUR OWN SISTER!"
"SHE SNEAKED UP ON ME!" Tenzin replied defensively.
"That doesn't change ANYTHING! SARU CHARRED THE LIVING ROOM! He could have hurt somebody!"
"YOU DID WHAT?" Tenzin yelled.
"Relax! The house is made of rock anyways, dust it off," Masaru said calmly with the signature Beifong dismissive wave of the hand.
"And we moved all of the furniture and paintings to the kitchen so it would be safe from the demonstration," Kya replied with one hand on her hip.
Lin threw open the door to find everything neatly back in its place and Bumi standing on the low rising table in the living room telling the children one of his tall tales.
"What lies are you filling their heads with now?" Lin asked shifting her weight to one foot looking accusingly at Bumi.
"They're not lies! They're exaggerations! There is a difference you know! Lies only have some truth in them. Exaggerations have all truth with a little bit of added information!" Bumi replied punching the air.
Lin rolled her eyes and went to the kitchen to make some tea.
"Don't worry Ma, we don't take everything Uncle Bumi says at face value," Jiexue called.
"It's like watching one of Varrick's Movers!" Jinora exclaimed.
"Yeah! Like we all know Bolin isn't a waterbender!" Ikki said.
"When did you guys watch one of Varrick's Movers? I thought we forbade it!" Tenzin asked.
"Sorry about that too," Masaru said bashfully.
"Tenzin, how long did you leave them unattended with Masaru?" Lin asked accusingly.
"I didn't-"
Before Tenzin could finish his sentence, Lin froze, stomped her foot into the ground and turned on her heel to the front door. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" she yelled before it even opened to reveal the three young adult metalbenders.
"Uncle Saru!" they yelled running towards him with open arms. Lin slid the ground beneath her brother moving him to the side. Making her children trip over each other unexpectedly.
"Don't hug him! He's in trouble!" Lin said.
"What? Why?" Huifan asked bewildered.
"Go look at the living room," Lin replied returning to her tea pot to add in the blend of leaves she made as they spoke.
"WOAH!"
"Huifan, you missed it! Masaru showed us the Dancing Dragon!" Jiexue exclaimed.
"Inside?!"
The airbenders all nodded.
"And you're still alive?" Huifan said leaping into her uncle's arms.
Masaru chuckled and returned the embrace.
"Haha," Lin interjected grumpily pulling down fifteen tea cups from the cabinet and loading them onto a tray to carry tea out to everyone.
After winding down, getting all of the children to go bathe, and getting Bumi to cease his story telling, the big family of ten kids and five adults settled down into the three sofas, four reading chairs, and a giant stuffed badgermole and a giant stuffed sky bison bean bag chair and read for an hour before all heading off to bed.
"I'd hate to impose Lin, but-"
"You have three options, Masaru. You can sleep in the main house with Kya and Bumi, the bison stables, or six feet under in a grave,"
"I'll show myself out with Kya and Bumi," Masaru said with a nod.
"What a terrible host, Ma! He's your own brother!" Huifan said to her mother after their uncle left with Kya and Bumi and walked the hundred feet over to the main house.
"And he could afford to rent out the entire Four Elements hotel for a night and kick everybody out if he wanted, but I am letting him stay on the island after lighting my living room on fire with my children in it," Lin replied continuing up the stairs.
Huifan sighed and followed her mother up.
So... I know this was long, but I wanted to give the children an opportunity to explore the city (while it is not under seige) and Lin to be a glorious CEO of a company that she neglected for some 40 years (because she was young when she inherited it then became chief of police) and Masaru is back in the city and we may get to see PENGA! (remember Toph's student from the Promise and the Rift who was obsessed with shoes?)
I think in the time line, I would put this about a month after Lives Forgotten.