Title: "Strange Bedfellows"
Author: ayziks
Rating: T – Mongke/June violence and romantic scenes. Adult themes.
Word Count: 8300
Summary: This fill-in-the blanks story explores the post-war fate of the no-nonsense loner June, the Avatar world's best bounty hunter. Another loner and tough free spirit was Colonel Mongke, the outlaw leader of the Rough Rhinos, who becomes a fugitive. Seemingly tough to the core, they have weaknesses in their past that thrusts them together. All characters property of Nickelodeon.
Author's Notes: One of my favorite story writing formats is to answer the question: "What happened to 'so-and so character'" in the Avatar series to expand the fandom universe. I just got done with the after-story of Kanna and Pakku meeting again and getting married. This time I wanted to see what happened to June, the Bounty Hunter encountered three times in the series. She was a beautiful but intimidating loner, and never took any nonsense from anyone. Colonel Mongke was the leader of the Rough Rhinos mercernaries, and out of a job after the war. I speculated about who she might be drawn to and how they might be paired, and even if a pairing was possible. I hope you find this chapter arc.
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Chapter 1: Big Talker
Zuko had to clean up the mess that three generations of ancestors left before him, in order to show his commitment to peaceful coexistence with the rest of the world. The transgressions of the Fire Nation against the world were nearly endless, accumulated over a century. Fortunately, many members of the evil regime his father and fathers before him created had come to justice one way or another.
The issue of the Fire Nation colonies in Earth Kingdom territory would be the hardest to resolve, but he could do small things quickly. The political appointees remaining loyal to his father he could force to resign, and war criminals he could arrest to make an impact on world opinion. While he wanted to minimize violent confrontations with leaders of the old regime, sometimes it could not be avoided. Officially removing Mai's father as the head of New Ozai City and returning it to local rule as Omashu, even though Bumi had already liberated the city, was unsettling, but she stood by him every step of the way. The other firings were no less easy. In some cases it took armed troops to remove the appointees. Some appointees were removed in a casket. The ones that made him feel best were the ones that simply swore their allegiance to him. Fortunately there were more of those than any other situation. Most people served the Fire Lord no matter what their agenda, because whoever sat in the throne was due respect and allegiance.
Zuko had successfully apprehended the Yu Yan archers and other renegade Army loyalists, and imprisoned those who failed to lay down their arms. Several preferred to die than give up, so he obliged their requests.
His friend King Kuei had similar post-war issues, and was rounding up the seemingly infinite number of Dai Li agents that betrayed the Earth Kingdom at the time of the Drill and caused the fall of Ba Sing Se. Showing his resolve to become a real king to his people, Kuei had no remorse in executing the ones who had enslaved and controlled his subjects. He asked Toph to demolish Lake Laogai and especially the brainwashing room once it was discovered, and she did so with great enthusiasm. Not one stone was recognizable after her efforts, and thousands cheered in this very public spectacle – especially the many cured 'Joo Dee's' who got their real lives back as a result. It took months for the murky water to clear - so complete was the destruction of the Lake's hidden nightmares. For some Dai Li who refused to yield to Kuei's rule, it became their permanent tomb. The people rejoiced.
There were other fringe groups that often collaborated reluctantly with the Fire Nation, though they were mostly outlaws themselves. Having had a personal run in with the notorious Rough Rhinos, Zuko issued a warrant for their arrest, with a huge reward. That was intentional - to incentivize a certain bounty hunter he knew to help find them for him.
But he needed a faster solution than June would likely provide. Before he hired the Kyoshi Warriors to be his house guards to replace the inept sentries who let him nearly be assassinated five times, Zuko sent Suki and her elite combatants on a mission to round up the Rough Rhinos. The Rhinos, through their sources, found out they were being targeted.
Suki and her friends tracked the fugitives throughout the southern reaches of the Earth Kingdom from their last known location at the town of Chin. The Kyoshi Warriors paid the people hurt or wronged by the Rhinos handsomely for tips and hints to find them. The noose was tightening. Joint Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom forces flanked their escape, and squeezed them into the deep woods. Word was given that they had been located, and the Kyoshi Warriors stealthily positioned themselves in the woods. For the first time, they wore mottled green and brown camouflage ninja outfits with matching face paint Suki had created. They were practically invisible against any foliage. This was no time for flamboyant traditional Kyoshi Warrior uniforms. They had a job to do. She set a new standard in clandestine warfare, which the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom military leadership took note of.
One day, in a foggy pre-dawn raid, Suki's brave women warriors poised to strike the sleeping mercenaries. Rising silently and unseen from their hiding places, they threw their battle fans at the Rough Rhinos, with binding ropes attached. The ropes ensnared the Rhinos, and the Warriors descended on them, incapacitating them with chi blocking as Ty Lee had taught them.
"We have you. Surrender!" ordered Suki.
The Rhinos groaned at being caught and their snared Komodo Rhino steeds roared at being hog-tied.
Colonel Mongke yelled, "You don't have me yet. I spit at Zuko for sending mere women to subdue me."
He burned through the restraining ropes, and smashed Ty Lee to the ground before she could chi block him. She narrowly escaped being flamed as he disappeared into the forest astride his mount. Suki knew he was gone and untraceable for now, and she rushed to Ty Lee to help her.
"Are you OK?" she asked Ty Lee.
Wiping a bloody nose and a black eye, she shrugged, "The only thing hurt is my pride, Suki. I had him…"
"That's all right. We'll get another chance."
But that chance ended when Zuko recalled the Kyoshi Warriors to protect him at the palace after another assassination attempt.
Mongke lurked for weeks in the forest, feeling their hot pursuit, but always stayed a step ahead of them. He let his hair and beard grow to the extent that he was nearly unrecognizable as the Colonel, but his Fire Nation Special Forces uniform gave him away. He gained a grudging respect for the female warriors he had snidely belittled. But it became quiet, and it seemed they had given up the chase. He dared to believe he could come out of hiding. He really needed a taste of civilization – a hard drink and an easy woman. He knew of a famous bar in the area, the favorite 'watering hole' of the hard-tack locals, including a woman bounty hunter. He wanted to hunt her. Or at least he told himself that.
Still moving cautiously in the night shadow, he saw the lights of the bar and inn ahead. He concealed his komodo rhino in the woods to graze, but kept it near enough to beat a hasty retreat. He opened the door, and stepped inside. The place smelled of alcohol and sweaty, gritty bodies. The music was loud and slightly off-key. The noise of the music and chatter subsided as the hulk of Colonel Mongke entered. Everyone noticed the modified Fire Nation Army Special Forces uniform. Some folks cleared out of the way.
"Are you still open, barkeep?" he asked nonchalantly, trying to be inconspicuous. For a man who towered over everyone else in the room.
"I am," the owner gulped. "For you sir, I am open as long as you are thirsty."
He saw a young, beautiful, brown and black-clad woman, sporting twin arm tattoos with shiny, ebony, straight hair in the back of the bar sitting at a table by herself, nursing a full glass of some dark liquid. He walked over confidently, but not threateningly. He had heard the woman was a violent fighter if provoked. She was as beautiful as the rumors had indicated.
"Are you June?" he asked.
She slurped her drink and made him wait for an answer while she assessed his capabilities and her next move, "I am. Who wants to know?"
"Mongke."
"I never knew a Mongke. You're a Fire Nation warrior out of place. Didn't you hear? The war is over."
"So I've heard. I'm out of a job. The wrong side won. And I wasn't exactly a regular warrior in good standing with Fire Lord Ozai, much less his son."
"I can see that. Your uniform isn't regulation," she particularly noticed his ridged battle gauntlet. She tried to dismiss the thought that, although scruffy, he was handsome and very well-built. She noted that it was going to be a shame to humiliate him. Men always left her after being defeated, but that is what she wanted.
She took another sip of her drink, "I'm not on any side."
Mongke scoffed and gave her an evil smile, "Sounds like a better deal than I've got. I don't even have a change of clothes. But I like what you're wearing."
She sat back in her chair, preparing for a fight, "Thanks, but flattery won't get you anywhere with me, and there is nothing you can do to get me out of mine. If that's what you're figuring."
There were smirks and snickering from people listening to their conversation.
Mongke responded, "The night is still young. You might change your mind about that when you get to know me better."
She stiffened, "I doubt that. What's your business with me?"
"Here to drink you under the table and see what happens from there."
"Do you really think you can do that? A lot of people have claimed that and failed, Mister," June sneered.
"Colonel," he corrected.
"What-ever," she rolled her eyes.
The bar crowd started chortling.
"Maybe it is time to take sides," he goaded the crowd around him, "My challenge to June stands. Who wants to get rich by my hand tonight?"
It was suddenly dead silent in the bar, and then it exploded in conversations as bets were made. Thousands of yuans started to be laid on the tables.
He turned his attention back to June, "What's you're favorite 'poison'?"
"Awamori. Straight up," she said to him stiffly, not liking this competition and his bravado.
"Powerful stuff. You're in luck Missy. That's my favorite too."
She gave him a nervous laugh and insulted him, "Don't call me 'Missy', Corporal," saying his rank deliberately wrong to rankle him.
"'Colonel'. I'll stop callin' you 'Missy'… Missy, if you beat me drinking."
"Deal. I'm gonna enjloy making you eat your words and shirshu dung," she threatened as she got up from the table and went to the bar to meet Mongke's challenge.
Thus started a long night. The first dozen shots or so went down easily for both, with the bartender reloading them each time. No matter who won, he got a lot of the 'take' for this challenge. It was good for business. By twentysomething shots each, things went slower. The 30th shot went down much harder for each, and both wavered in their bar stools, to the concern of the gamblers. Lots of yuan notes started to be shifted around. They could barely lift the 32nd round, but both got through it. To Mongke's surprise, June hoisted her 33rd, and downed it with a painful groan. She turned over the shot glass with the others. Hundreds of yuans shifted owners again.
She grinned and challenged Mongke, "Match that, warrior."
But then she turned green and her cheeks puffed out as she spewed the drinks and lost it all in front of the crowd. The stench of rancid alcohol was all over the floor, and the proprietor wiped his brow. She felt genuinely awful. Since Mongke consumed and kept down 32 drinks, he won. There was nervous applause for the Fire Nation stranger as he collected his share of the bets. With her head still reeling, she was feeling a bit better, having relieved herself of the heavy liquor, but she was still very drunk, and feeling very vulnerable.
"Colonel. Let's go outside."
"Oh? We're going to negotiate?"
"Fat chance, buster."
They got outside and she unloaded on him. She poked a finger into his massive chest and yelled, "You embarrassed me. This is my place. You'll pay for this even though I kinda like you. No one… and I mean no one… has ever bested me."
"I'm honored," Mongke acknowledged, and enjoyed the part where she said she liked him. The night might end better than he thought.
He bowed to her in genuine respect, but as he bowed, she threw a haymaker punch. He caught her fist with his massive hand, bent her hand backwards painfully, grabbed her other wrist, before she could pull out her whip, in a vise grip, and forced her to kneel facing his crotch. She kicked out at him with sharp-toed boots, and he blocked it. He stepped hard on her ankle, eliciting a scream. With the overpowering noise of the bar, no one could hear her struggle against him outside. He smiled, thinking he'd help himself to her.
She yelled, "Nyla!"
Mongke heard paws running through the darkness, followed by a swishing sound. He ducked and Nyla's neurotoxin-laden tongue caught June in the neck and shoulders, and she doubled over at the waist, mostly paralyzed. She was helpless to this nightmare of a man. Before Nyla could mount another attack on the Colonel, he whistled, and his Komodo Rhino faced the shirshu. Nyla cowered, with a razor sharp Komodo Rhino horn directed precisely at the shirshu's carotid arteries. The Rhino's scaly armored hide was impervious to any shirshu venom.
She was completely helpless in the dark. He could do whatever he wanted with her. She had utterly failed to protect herself. Another man had done so years ago, and she steeled herself for that same pain. Her face had the look of abject terror, and she shivered. That look staggered Mongke. He'd seen that look before, from 'her', and wondered if he really had reverted back to being the animal June must think he was.
Mongke backed away from June and actually spoke kindly, "Missy. I could go back to my old bad ways, but I had a good first date tonight, so we'll leave it at that."
"What makes you think I'd go out with you?" she seethed at him, but was pleasantly surprised.
That one man she had trusted long ago had taken every advantage of her. That is why she fought all the time now and she never lost her fights. She couldn't let the events of the past happen again ever. But this man didn't hurt anything but her pride, when he could have completely had his way with her. She decided to just let him talk to find out more.
"You just did. We went drinking," and threw his head back and guffawed.
She said nothing, and hung her head, still devastated. He felt very badly about what he had done, and helped her up. He ordered his Komodo Rhino to back down against the shirshu. Both animals were on guard but made no moves.
His tone softened further and called her by her real name, "Tell you what, June. You were a good sport tonight taking me on. Let's do this right tomorrow. I'll buy you dinner and drinks. Not necessarily in that order. We put on a great show tonight for the crowd."
She was going to spit in his face, but noted his sincere offer, so she surprised herself by saying, "OK. But I'm not a cheap date. Nyla likes steak too."
He laughed, "It's OK. Have you ever tried buying enough food to satisfy a Komodo Rhino? We'll make it a 'double date'."
"Uh… that's a deal, Colonel," she called him by his rank in acknowledgment, and continued to be surprised by this warrior's respect for her.
"Takashi. Takashi Mongke at your service, June."
He assisted her up the stairs to her austere flat above the bar. She expected him to walk in and ask to have his way with her for his kindness. She was still too drunk, numb from the paralysis, sick, and would not have resisted, but he stopped at her doorway, and refused to go in. She thought about giving a flip comment about her 'not being good enough' for a Fire Nation warrior, but dismissed the thought to see what happened next. Despite the power he had over her, and contemptuous behavior he exhibited, there was something… deeper… to this grizzled soldier. Perhaps there was some honor in this fallen warrior.
She continued to be civil as her head still spun, "It was a pleasure, Takashi. At least I think so."
Colonel Mongke smiled, "If you can tell yourself the same thing in the morning after the booze wears off, then you had a good time with me."