Show No Fear
Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Wirbender belongs to Bryan, Mike and Nickelodeon
"Pirates," Ayame gasped, looking out at the ships. They were maybe twenty minutes from reaching the shore, but even from this distance, the warrior could tell that they were no scout boats. These ships were massive, with the biggest of them all hanging out at the back of the fleet. The flagship.
Ayame fell to her knees at the edge of the cliff. This was... insane. She had never seen such a threat to Kyoshi. She had never even heard of such a possibility. What had instigated such an attack? In all her knowledge of Kyoshi lore, the island had never been in that much danger. Had that made Kyoshi weak? Was she vulnerable?
Ayame let a sob leave her mouth before clamping it tight shut. Not now, she thought. Warriors did not cry like little girls. She wasn t weak. She was the last warrior. Her sisters before her wouldn't have hesitated to protect the village, even at the incredibly horrible odds. Takeshi would have laughed at her hesitation. She would have smacked Ayame upside the head and reminded her that the warrior's first duty was to protect Kyoshi from her enemies. Ayame knew that. Was that her fate? To die protecting her village?
Ayame picked herself up off the ground and started walking towards the dojo. The snow fall was picking up, flurries of snow flying into her eyes, the wind blowing her hair all about as she walked through the town square. This was her home, dammit. This was her job.
She started to run. If her fate was about to come get her, it had better be ready to take her kicking and screaming. This was her island and she wouldn't forget that.
Suki sat on the floor of the dojo with the rest of the warriors. They had been sent up there after their little snow fight to receive a lecture from Ayame. But their leader wasn't here and Suki was growing impatient. She shifted nervously in her seat, her bottom damp from the snow. The egg yolks from the snow battle had drenched her hair and clothes. Some had even pooled up in her boots, making her feet squelch when she wiggled her toes.
The door to the dojo opened with a gust of wind and a flurry of snow. It slammed shut and Ayame made her away across the dojo floor and into a sideroom where the girls changed into and stored their armor. That door slammed shut too.
Suki looked at Yoko. That was not a good sign.
Suki stood up and knocked at the side door.
A muffled reply of "go home," was returned.
Suki opened the door quietly and slipped into the low-lit room. Ayame was on a bench situated between the lockers holding a set of warrior's armor, her back to Suki.
"I told you to go home. Get your family and go for the port." She didn't turn around.
"What?" Suki stopped, still in the doorway.
"A fleet of pirate ships. They are headed towards the village," she sighed. "Get the other girls, tell them to take their families and go towards the port." Ayame said.
"No."
Ayame turned around, irritated. "Why are you stealing my lines from me, kiddo? I'm the one that always says "no"."
Suki closed the door and walked towards her leader. "Because it's suicide," the younger girl answered.
"Who said I was gonna fight?"
Suki bit her lip, her eyes narrowing. Ayame never got subtle hints. "Oh, I'm sorry," Suki said, trying her best to imitate Ayame's brash manner, trying to direct her leader, "so you're setting out warrior's armor for the spider-flies are you? That makes perfect sense."
"You all are too young to fight," their leader replied, her tone resigned. There was no sign of her usual snarky reply.
"That's what you said when I was eight."
"It's still true. If I can't save Kyoshi, you all can at least save her people."
"You're a hypocrite."
"What are you talking about?"
"This," Suki said, walking up to Ayame's uniform, picking it up and pointing. "You said that the silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. You told us the gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart. We are warriors. Let us fight."
"But-"
Suki sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Are you really gonna argue with pirates minutes away from our shore?"
Ayame stopped. "You're getting too smart for your own good, kiddo."
"And I intend to stay that way. I've got an idea," Suki opened her locker and pulled out a tin of dark facepaint. "I need the key to the shrine of Kyoshi."
"Listen up, girls," Ayame said, walking out of the sideroom and standing in the front of the dojo, "Pirates are coming for Kyoshi." There was a collective gasp in the room.
"But there is no need to worry. After tonight, as far as I'm concerned, you guys are fully fledged warriors," she paused. "It's gonna be hard tonight. The enemy will be ruthless but I believe that you can handle them. You are daughters of Kyoshi, after all." She started pacing up and down.
"So, what do I want you to do tonight? I want you to fight with everything you have. I want you to show no fear. A warrior is strong. A warrior is brave. But a warrior is also smart. You'll need your sisters tonight. I don't want any of you to lose your sisters to the Spirit World. Please, have each other's back out there."
Ayame pulled out some incense and put it to a candle, igniting the tips. The musky smell started to diffuse around the room. "Let's bow our heads and ask Avatar Kyoshi for our help and guidance."
As one, the girls bowed silently.
"Lady Kyoshi. There is a danger to your island and we need to stop it. Please, Lady Kyoshi, watch over your daughters tonight as they become true warriors. Please give us strength when we are weakening and please give us inspiration for when we are hopeless. We are here to serve and protect our village. Please, Lady Kyoshi, come to our aid."
The sky was darkening and the wind called out to them from inside the dojo.
"It's time," Ayame said to her sisters. "Suit up."
The sun was setting to the back of the Kyoshi warriors as they hid in the bushes and trees surrounding the beach. Or, at least, they knew it would be if it wasn't cloudy and flurrying. Visibility was down, which was a good thing for the warriors. They watched the approaching ships head for the beach, bisecting the two cliffs that surrounded it. From where the ships would land, the cliffs were too far away for the pirates to crash into.
The rising tide rushed in and out as the anticipation rose. There was one giant wake, and then the sound of ships scraping against the sand. A slight thump from the ships hitting the shore was all the signal the warriors needed.
Out of one of the bushes came a bird cry. The signal meant to ready their fans. Ropes flew off the sides of the boats and the gang plank thunked to the sandy floor. With a roar, the invaders slid down the ropes and sprinted off the gang plank, brandishing swords and gripping torches.
Then there was a flash of gold and a loud, squelching thunk as a warrior's fan hit one of the pirates square in the forehead. The victim collapsed into the crowd of advancing pirates, unseen and ignored by his fellows. And, as with the first fan, a volley of them came flying out of the bushes.
The pirates were starting to catch on and they rushed towards the bushes. If the unknown attacker was throwing fans at a distance, they couldn't be much use in close range, could they?
Ayame watched from the shrubbery. There were only a few girls close by to where she was. Ayame gripped her katana, ready for the onslaught of pirates that were headed towards her.
And they came. Crashing through the small barrier of trees, the pirates entered. Ayame drew her sword and stood there with her students side to side, waiting and listening for the berserkers' movement.
The pirates that entered the clearing paused for a moment obviously confused at the sight of the warriors.
"Never give up without a fight," Ayame whispered to her girls. Then, the pirates charged. Great plan, Ayame tsked, catching a hog-monkey-faced pirate's arm as he tried to swipe at her face, just go straight through, I bet that'll work. She twisted the pirate's arm behind his back and kicked him, sending him toppling into a group of the men, knocking them over.
As soon as the disabled invader's position was emptied, however, another pirate came to fill in the gap. This one was quickly disabled with a quick smack against his head with the butt of her katana.
But there were so many of them and another took his place.
This isn't looking good, Ayame thought as she swiped at the new pirate with her sword. How many of them were there? Ayame looked around to see her girls tiring. They were performing so well! If I do say so myself, she smirked. Then with a yelp, she ducked, narrowly missing a mace that had been swung at her head. Quickly taking advantage of his exposed side, Ayame slashed with her sword, making sure that his arm wouldn't be able to be used properly.
Then there was a high pitched scream to Ayame's left and she dared a glance. Noa was still fighting, so were Misa and Sakura... then who... Ayame saw Karin fiercely fighting with one arm. The other was swinging limply, an arrow pinning it to her side. Her face was pale and her uniform was stained a dark color.
Ayame bit her lip and continued fighting. There was nothing she could do now. She had to just... keep fighting. She took a deep breath. Lunge forward, feign left, go right and kick that sucker in the ribcage. Good. Now slash left...
Ayame wondered how long it would take for this all to end.
Suki stood on the edge of the cliff, the wind whipping her hair, looking into the black ocean. How was she supposed to do this? She held Kyoshi's fans up and looked at them. Maybe there are instructions written on it, she thought. But of course there was nothing.
Sighing, she sat down on the edge of the cliff, her feet dangling off of the edge. How was her plan going to work if she couldn't figure out how to make it work? She had seen the ships land a few minutes ago and watched as they advanced into the trees and would probably work their was up the narrow slope to the village.
Her plan had been to somehow summon the spirit of Kyoshi to help them. She had heard legends about that happening when she was young; when the village had really needed help, Kyoshi had come from beyond the grave to help the village. Stupid legends, Suki thought, the legends were just stories.
Stories... Suki stood up. Maybe this would work? Holding the fans out, above the water, she dropped the original fans from Kyoshi herself. They toppled down, down, down, into the ocean. As they fell, Suki swore she saw the face of a woman reflected onto one of the fans. But when she looked again, she saw nothing. The fans landed in the water with a faint splash. And Suki waited for something to happen.
Ayame growled audibly as yet another pirate pushed her farther back towards her village. The girls had already been pushed back even further up the path towards the village. They were now fighting on a steep slope, and while the girls had the upper ground, they were still massively outnumbered. Some of the warriors from other positions from their initial ambush had joined Ayame and her group but the girls were tiring and every time one pirate disappeared, another one took his place. Where were the rest of the warriors?
The slope was at its steepest, with loose dirt sliding beneath everyone's feet. Ginning devilishly, Ayame easily pushed a pirate down the hill. He finally stopped after he landed on the shoreline. She stomped on one of her attacker's feet and then threw the other into the crowd of pirates. What she wouldn't give to have her fans on her. They helped more with group fighting than her sword did. She did not want to damage one of her teammates by mistake.
Then, one of her attackers still down, Ayame felt a sharp pain in her hand. She sucked in a breath and looked down. An arrow had grazed the palm of her hand, ripping her warrior's glove. Archer! It must the one that had shot Karin. Where was he?
Looking around while catching a kick from one of the pirates she saw a dark shadow in one of the trees. Bastard! Too cowardly to shoot someone outright, was he? He had to go down! Ayame growled again but knew that she couldn't break rank; the pirates would reach the village if she did.
There was a rumble from behind Ayame and the pirate's eyes widened.
"Rockslide!" One of them yelled. They started to run down the slope. Ayame frowned and turned around. True enough, she saw several boulders rolling down the hill, gaining speed every meter. They would be crushed!
It was times like these that Ayame wished that she was an earthbender...
Suki watched the fans hit the water, and then sink, only leaving ripples in the water. And soon enough, even the ripples disappeared.
Nothing happened.
Suki stood there. And, like when the four-hundred-year-old fans had disappeared into the water, Suki's composure did too. She bit her lip and her shoulders shook. Would Kyoshi neglect her people?
Sniffing and wiping her eyes, Suki stood up and turned around, ready to head towards the battle, ready to face whatever. If there's no more Kyoshi, Suki thought bitterly, at least I won't have to face Ayame's wrath for losing the fans.
She walked slowly away and then started jogging. She didn't need to drag this out.
Then, a rushing sound came from behind her followed swiftly by a resinous roar.
Suki whipped around and saw a large, dark form rising out of the water. Her eyes lit up as she saw the giant eel's body shoot skyward.
"Kyoshi's guard-dog."
AN: Sorry for the shorter chapter, the battle between the pirates was getting too long and I decided to split it in two. What did you all think? Next time: Will Ayame and the Warriors survive the rock slide? Will Suki ever get Kyoshi's fans back? What's the Unagi doing here? Find out next time! Till then.
