Earth Bender for the Rabaroos
Words: 1892.
Prompts: Unlikely category (Horror/Suspense), bar, Combustion man (named Kanetsu in this story), Si Wong Desert
"You look pale," was all that his comrade said, as he sat down in the candlelit cave, bloodied and exhausted. He sauntered past the atrocity that Jun called a "pet" and sat down on the cold floor at a makeshift tea table, high enough to not require chairs. His heavy breathing scratched at his throat, as he looked up at her, reaching for the glass of firewhiskey she had already poured. Kanetsu looked down at his own body: trails of dried rust colored streaks danced down his torso along the lines of his muscles, bruises of varying degrees and colors lined his rib-cage, and his prosthetic hand dangled by a thread - it was mangled beyond recognition.
"You don't look much better." He downed his shot of firewhiskey and motioned for another. Jun sighed, looking down at her own torn up clothes as she reached for the bottle she had bought with the money she had received from her last bounty. Sure, she had cleaned up a bit, but she still looked like a wreck compared to her normally pristine self. Her poor mongoose lizard sat outside watching guard, even though a giant gash marred his sleek body.
"That boy is more trouble than he's worth," She looked up at Kanetsu, studying the tribal eye that helped him focus his chi, "Where was he headed last time you were able to track him?"
"Si Wong. He was just about to enter the desert planes, Spirits only know why." He fiddled with his prosthetic hand, electing to detach it completely, it was no use in its current state. Jun looked at his missing hand, even though she had known him for years now, she hasn't fully registered that he was, in fact, missing his entire hand and forearm.
Kanetsu started to search through his satchel, looking for a hammer to forge the broken hand back into shape.
"Maybe you should just take the bounty and run… We could go to a bar and drink away our feelings and fuck until we forget why we were drinking in the first place." For the first time for as long as he had known the other bounty hunter, she seemed actually concerned for his well-being.
He scoffed at the very idea, finally finding what he wanted, "What would that do to my reputation?"
"The Si Wong Desert though… That's a rough area to be chasing after an airbender and his liege of bending tramps." The aptly nicknamed Combustion Man started to bend heat from his forehead onto the disassembled parts.
It was true, the Si Wong Desert was known for its rogue sandbenders, induced hallucinations, and supernatural occurrences. It was a dangerous place, even for him. He thought about the pros and cons as he repaired his arm, hammering and forging the metal back to its original state, but really his decision had been made long ago - he would find the Avatar and he would destroy him, not because it was his mission, but because he lusted after his blood. Kanetsu allowed his mind to drift as he worked, and finally got to a point where he could marvel at his own handiwork, thinking that it would have to do, for now.
Reattaching his arm, he looked back at his friend, if he could call her that. She had worn so many hats over the years for him, ranging from enemy, direct competitor, acquaintance, fuck buddy, to whatever she was considered now.
"I need to catch him," he turned to face her directly, "there is nothing more to say."
Jun knew there was no sense in arguing with him. He was a man of few words, and once he had made a decision, there was no changing it. "I thought you'd say that. Just don't get yourself killed."
The sand shifted as he walked, making his footsteps seem heavier and more labored. He had made it to the edge of the desert near dusk, and decided to continue moving throughout the night in order to avoid pesky sandbenders. Kanetsu needed to save his energy and endurance for the real treasure: the Avatar.
He had heard the rumors, even as a small child in the Fire Nation Colonies. The souls of the damned roamed the deserts for eternity, drawing their power from unsuspecting wanderers just passing through. But he wasn't scared. He was an assassin and a rare combustion bender. No one knew how to fight such an incredible bender, even the spirits had always marveled at his uniqueness. And if they didn't fear his bending, his burliness alone would send the stragglers running away from him.
The sun beat down on his back, invigorating him as it burned through his skin. Firebenders always preferred the burning hot sun, it provided clarity and energy for which to draw strength and wisdom. Many avoided the deserts though, where the nights in the desert were polar opposites of the days, making the blistering sun a distant memory replaced by a cold that started to affect his thinking, creeping over him until it sunk down deep and chilled his bones.
Sometimes, when it was quiet, his mind wandered to a time before all that anger and power manifested itself into this cold-hearted blood-thirsty killer. Although, when he was being honest with himself, he knew that that part of him always dwelled within. As he continued to tread through the thick sand, his thoughts drifted like the sands to his mother, her once smiling face mangled as her form lay cold and lifeless beneath him. Even though the woman had treated him with only kindness, the way he chose to repay that was by ending her life… At that time, it was an accident, and fear and panic overtook his subsequent reactions. But he couldn't deny the rush that he felt when her blood finally made contact with his fingers, as he cradled the dying woman: the only woman who had cared about him before Jun.
The silence was deafening, and slowly it started to creep into his psyche. He could feel invisible insects that festered and burrowed into his skin, trying to invade his mind. He looked around and saw nothing, but he felt and heard their cries. They spoke in sputtering shrieks, crawling towards his cranium desperately working towards taking over control of his gift.
The wind howled, speaking to him in ancient tongues he had never heard spoken. It surrounded him, finally encapsulating his body within its grasp before speaking in a language he understood perfectly clear. It whispered, "Do you feel that?"
He bent the chi within his gut and focused it on his mind, before firing at nothing. He spun frantically, trying to find the voice that had spoken moments prior.
As he regained his composure, he controlled his breathing and centered his chi. He continued to trudge through the sand dunes, following the stars as a compass and tracking the intermittent footsteps closer to his prey. He was going to get him, he was going to capture the Avatar and marvel in the glory that would be bestowed upon him. He would feel his blood mix with his own as he carried his lifeless body back to the Prince of the Fire Nation, scraped and bruised but undefeated. Kanetsu had no doubts he would have a few injuries from the Avatar, and he would draw strength from it.
A voice broke his silent reverie once more.
"Kanetsu."
He turned and before him stood a familiar face. It was his mother, dressed in the same clothes she always wore. Except it couldn't be his mother. His mother had died over twenty years prior in his arms.
"Kanetsu, it's been a long time, come to mommy." She had the same welcoming smile, and she drew nearer to him, opening her arms to hold him in a hug. He began to stare at her, unmoving, and she stared back at him, her smile now plastered onto her face like a picture. As he studied her, her eyes started to deceive her intent as the sides of her lips pulled unnaturally upwards and her teeth began to grow. Her eyes grew dark before becoming completely black and melding into her warped body.
He drew back as she began to grow to double his size, his heart was now thoroughly pounding inside his chest, hammering in overdrive as he tried to again bend fire from his mind. He was too unsteady though, and resorted to traditional firebending to attempt to fight her off. He stood proudly, following the forms he had known as a young boy until a massive fire blast was produced. Before he knew what was happening, she lunged at him, covering him in a dark shroud of night that pressed heavily on his body, rendering him helpless. He struggled against the darkness, feeling it push harder and harder. His breathing became labored and quickened as he realized that he could very well die at this moment by the hands of his mother.
The spirit's deformed face drew nearer and started to engulf him in her darkness. The sand started to shift and pull him deeper and deeper as the spirit continued to grow in size until she towered over his form. He wasn't a small man by any stretch of the imagination, but in that moment, he felt small as he was dragged to the depths of the Si Wong Desert.
He struggled, he struggled for what felt like years, pulling upon the chains of sand and black that seemed unmovable. They created invisible shackles upon him that only presented themselves in his mind's eye. Kanetsu tried desperately to bend again from his forehead, only to feel the nagging coldness overcome him.
A small form emerged from the large figure, again representing his mother. She bent over him, studying his features as hers started to reflect the bloody and marred injuries given by him in a bending accident. She leaned down, cradling his face and lightly kissed his cheek. She put her mouth up against his ear, breathing unnaturally hot breath into his lobe. She said but one thing, "Are you scared?"
He awoke with a gasp.
A figure perched upon a dark animal made their way to him inhumanly fast.
She stood tall above him, shading him temporarily from the son. The figure then threw down a canteen of water, smiling.
"Jun?" He started to recognize her, her hair flowing down her shoulders and her signature tunic draping over her lithe body. He began to rise, feeling the sweat that stuck to his skin, making the sand itch and scratch against him longer than he would have liked.
"Get up, you dumbass, we have an Avatar to catch." She smiled, and he looked at her fondly.
He didn't know if what had happened was a dream, but the coldness that pained his heart every time he thought of the experience confirmed that it had been real.
Kanetsu just hoped it would never happen again.
As he looked over, he also wished that that slight tinge of hatred that he sensed from her uncharacteristically bright smile was just his imagination. The likeness to the Spirit's sinister gaze caught him off kilter.
He could only hope.
But that would be too easy.