Separation of Benders.
Me: Hey guys…how long has it been?
Yami: Too long!
Me: *jumps* I'm sorry. Blame school! But I guess that's what I get for taking advanced courses. Work has piled up and I barely had time for anything. And I know it's been so long but I'm honestly trying guys. I lost inspiration for this and I just…I really fucked up in updating and I just needed to get this out. I know I keep saying that updates are slow, and they probably will be for a good while. I'll explain more at the bottom.
Yugi: Yami, can you please forgive her? *puppy-dog eyes and pout*
Yami: *groans* I guess I can. You can't really be faulted for school. Procrastination however, I will not forgive you for.
Me: It was mainly school. And life, but I'll leave my personal problems out of my writing. Last chapter, Seto and Mokuba talked everything out, and Mokuba got his voice back. Hooray!
Mokuba: Hooray!
Seto: …yay.
Me: *pouts* Y'know, I could have made him eternally pissed at you, but I didn't out of the kindness of my heart.
Seto: Uh-huh. And what your readers would have done to you if you had done that totally had nothing to do with it.
Me: …so, this chapter, the gang gets on the road, where Yugi and Duke will have a heart to heart-
Yami: Grrrr….
Me: It'll be more about Duke's past. He'll be talking about his mother and father, and then his new stepmother and stepbrother. And he'll be teaching Yugi metal-bending.
Yugi: Yay!
Me: So, since I know everyone's been waiting for since ever, I'll get started.
Chapter 7: What's Inside Counts
It had been a week since Seto and Mokuba talked, and Seto had been following Mokuba around (subtlety) in order to catch up on what he missed with Mokuba, including a small interrogation of Noah. Mokuba was only slightly annoyed at this fact, but he knew it was because his brother was truly sorry about what he did and wanted to spend all the time he could making up for it. Noah was slightly scared of Seto; the height and sometimes unexpressive face along with the piercing blue eyes really got him deep in his core and frightened him. He loved Mokuba, and he knew that Seto did too, so he could understand why Seto was like this…Noah just didn't want to feel like cowering in fear every time he put his arm around Mokuba or sat close to him.
Yugi had quickly recovered thanks to some of the healing practices known by the Tribe, and had also learned new techniques that he didn't know himself. Amara had continued to apologize to him every time they had one of their healing sessions. Yugi had forgiven her every time and tried to put her mind at rest, and it was only this morning when Amara had finally accepted his forgiveness. They two had constantly talked and gotten to know each other a little better since it had been nearly ten years since Amara had last seen Yugi; she had always wanted her son to marry Yugi and had always wanted them together. The loss of her husband and the pain in Yami's eyes was the only thing that spurned on more anger than reasoning whenever she thought of him or his family.
Joey was a little miserable; he hated the cold and there was no earth for him to bend with. He hated getting wet, there were too many polar animals, the polar bear-dogs that wouldn't seem to stop following him around, and the otter-penguins were annoying! Every time he turned around, one of them was following him, squawking for food! And it didn't help that those annoying arctic-gulls were cawing at him too! And to make things worse, the polar bear-dogs were trying to eat the other animals, so he had to coral them, and many of them grew attached to him. Also, Mokuba's brother kept calling him names! That rich spoiled brunette was gonna get it he called Joey 'mutt' one more time!
Tristan wasn't really affected by the cold. He actually enjoyed it, since anytime he complained about being cold, Duke would warm him up in very pleasant ways. At first, Tristan wasn't sure if Duke was being genuine or just playing with him, but his mind was soon put at ease after he first thought that. Now, he and Duke were almost inseparable, and Tristan wouldn't want it any other way. Duke, under that flirtatious exterior, was an honest one-man guy who was actually very intelligent. He explained that his father had always been a business man, so when he wasn't doing his Earth-bending training with his mother before she passed, he was often in the office with his father. He also explained that after his mother passed and his father remarried, he covertly worked in business dealings himself so that he could make enough money to help himself live independently, when all he really wanted to do was travel the world if he ever got the chance.
Duke was happy, happier than he had been lately. His mother's passing had always put a damper on his mood, and everything his father did had really sealed off his emotions for the longest. When he met Yugi and the gang, mostly Tristan, he realized that he had opened up more to them than he did to anyone ever since his mother had died. When he spoke to Tristan that night, he realized that he could escape and become a better person than what his father had told him he couldn't be. He could actually help save the world and become a better earth-bender when doing it. He could already bend metal and some of the purer elements, and after the rumored lava-bending he had heard of, he was eager to try and learn it. Tristan had also told him that Yugi was having some problems in his own earth-bending, and Duke was more than happy to try and teach the Avatar.
Ryou loved snow. He always had. Most morning, the others would find him out in the snow, making snow angels, engaging in snowball fights, making snow men and women, and just playing like a child. Ayame was happily rolling around in the snow, making it difficult for everyone who got close because he'd often shake vigorously to dislodge the snow. Ryou was the same, shaking out his hair when someone pointed out that he had snow in it. Nothing could put a damper on his mood now that they were in the snow.
All in all, the group was doing well now that more piece had been made.
~Departure Day~
Yami grunted as he hefted another bag onto Ayame's saddle, tying it securely with the rest of the bags. He was very happy that his little love had been excited of the idea of them traveling together, and even more so that Yami would teach him water-bending. Yami was also glad that his mother and Yugi had been getting along better after the accident. Seto had been looking happier too, and Yami suspected that it had something to do with the fact that he and Mokuba had finally talked things out. He and Seto were also going to be flying out with everyone, Yami so that he could teach Yugi Water-bending as planned, and Seto because Seto knew the healing arts of water, and how to pull it from other sources when none was available, something Yami was only slightly good with it; he was nowhere near Seto's skill. The two of them together were going to help Yugi become the best at water-bending.
"Yami," Seto called, setting another bag now. "Is that everything?"
Yami picked up the last bag, setting it on the saddle. "I think so. That was everything Joey and Duke gave me, so I guess we'll be leaving soon."
Seto grunted, crossing his arms. "About time."
"Hey!" Yami protested. "No one helped me saddle Ayame up! I had to do it all by myself!"
"Only because you wanted to impress Yugi," Seto muttered.
Yami turned red, looking away. "T-That wasn't the reason at all."
"Sure." Seto rolled his eyes. "Who are you trying to convince?"
"Big Brother!" Mokuba shouted, running up to him. "Are we gonna leave soon? Noah's freezing and the otter-penguins are bothering Joey again." He grinned, hands behind his head. His carefree attitude was back, but probably more in part due to the fact that he was in his element, surrounded by water and his brother.
"We'll be leaving soon. Hopefully," Seto said, ruffling Mokuba's hair. "If Yami can get everything settled in on time."
"Hey!"
~Amara's House~
Yugi sat at the kitchen table, cup of tea slowly warming his cold hands. Amara sat across from him, packing food into boxes. "It might not exactly be a home-cooked meal," she said, putting some jerky into an air-tight bag. "But it'll be close enough. I just hope this helps remind everyone that they have a home to come to if you guys ever want to stop for a rest." She smiled fondly. "Please promise me that you and Atemu won't work yourselves too hard out there. Even Avatar's need to rest sometimes. Learning all the elements probably takes time."
"I know," Yugi agreed. "And I promise to make sure that we all rest when we need to get."
Amara slid over the bento boxes and sealed bags. "That's all I ask."
Yugi smiled, taking a small sip of the tea. Jasmine tea with five scoops of sugar (Yugi had a bit of a sweet tooth) and a slice of lemon. Amara had made it for him that morning, since they were setting out at mid-day. She had missed the time she used to spend with Yugi. He was an adorable little boy with a very active imagination, almost a total opposite to her own son. Yami was sometimes too serious as a child and didn't let himself have too much fun. It was only when he and Yugi started to play more often did Yami break out of that. After the big move, he had receding back into that shell, often snapping at little things and throwing temper tantrums. He would also often cry himself to sleep. He was depressed for the longest time and hated to interact with anyone his own age, only hanging out with Seto for the longest time. Now that Yugi was back, Yami had visibly changed, being much happier and much more social. She could only hope he would keep this change the whole way through.
"I think that's everything Yugi," Amara said as she stood. "Maybe we should go ahead and get this to the bison."
Yugi took one last gulp of his tea before standing as well. "Alright. Let me just go grab my bag."
Amara nodded, and Yugi quickly headed upstairs to the room he was given and grabbed his bag off the bed. With one last look around the room, Yugi shut the door and walked downstairs. "I'm ready now," he said, pulling it onto his back. "I think I have everything."
The two walked out into the snow, easily finding their way to the cream colored bison lounging in the snow. Joey nearly pounced seeing all the food, but Tristan grabbed him by his collar and held him in place. "Down boy!" he joked, hauling Joey back.
"But I'm hungry!" Joey whined, trying in vain to reach for the food.
"You just had breakfast 20 minutes ago. How could you be hungry again?" Duke asked, leaning against Ayame.
"I'm a growing boy!" Joey protested. "Growing boys need to eat!"
Amara laughed, handing Joey a bento. "Alright Joey. I guess having one won't hurt," she conceded.
Joey whooped and tore off the top, digging in immediately. Tristan rolled his eyes, letting go of the blonde's collar, and Duke just shook his head, sighing. "I guess we know where our leftovers have been disappearing to," he mumbled.
Joey glared. "Why waste perfectly good food? There are starving people who would appreciate it!"
"But you always finished everything," Tristan said, rolling his eyes. "So we don't waste anything."
Joey grumbled, stuffing some more food into his mouth. "When are we setting out?" He asked, ignoring Tristan's last statement.
"In a few minutes Joey," Yugi answered. "We're just doing one last run-through before we set out for Metal Valley."
"Metal Valley? Why are we going there?" Joey asked, standing and brushing his clothes off. It surprised no one that he finished his food so quickly.
"Because I don't know how to metal-bend yet. I know it isn't necessary, but you never know who you might face. I want to be prepared in case we find someone against us who might bend differently from us. Each Avatar had their own share of hardships, and I want to be able to face mine," Yugi explained.
"But, who are you going to get to teach you?" Tristan asked. "Joey and I can't metal-bend all that well."
"Duke will," Yugi answered, gesturing to the green-eyed male. "He can even bend some of the purer elements, like platinum and silver. Right now, he's one of the best in the world."
"Well, he is a direct descendant of Toph Beifong, and everyone knows her family has a history of discovering ways to improve their earth-bending," Mokuba reminded. "I doubt there's anyone better than him out there."
"…My mother was," Duke answered quietly. "She was even closer in roots to Toph. She gave up her name of Beifong to be with my father."
"So, your real name would actually be Duke Beifong, y'know, if your mom hadn't married?" Tristan asked.
Duke nodded. "I like going by Beifong more than I do my father's name. Devlin…there isn't the best of history behind that name, so I don't really like it when people refer to me as such. When people do, I know what they think…It isn't very nice."
If Duke was going to further elaborate, the look in his eyes made it clear that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. And they knew better than to push. Everyone had their share of secrets, some they didn't want to share, and that was fine. There was still some stuff that wasn't spoken about in their group, not because they didn't trust one another, but because they respected each other enough that they didn't feel the need to push someone to tell something about their past.
After some final good-byes and promising to take care of themselves, Mokuba, Noah, Joey and Seto boarded Noah's polar-bear dog, while Yugi, Yami, Tristan, Duke, and Ryou boarded Ayame. With a quick snap of the reins, Ayame took to the sky (at a low enough level to where Noah's animal could still see her) and Noah's dog jumped into the water, speeding off towards Metal Valley.
~Metal Valley~
Metal Valley was a man-made formation of rocks, which didn't make it very appealing to the eyes due to distinctly rough edges, craters, and holes where people have mined for resources. However, below the surface was a network of hollowed out tunnels made up of pure substances. Often, many nations came to this large valley in order to mine for the natural resources here, like coal, precious metals, and iron ore, but after the war, the nations claimed certain spots of the valley for themselves to keep others from mining the resources found in certain areas. It had almost become a war-zone, but the nations realized they would damage such a rich environment and lose the resources, so fighting was minimal at best.
Duke, having been trained here by his mother, directed Ryou and Noah on the best places to land in order to train Yugi in. These places were unexplored as of yet, so no one would think anything of them landing here and spending some time here. There was also a large lake at the bottom of a waterfall that looked like it had once been a natural formed water source, but man came in and expanded on it, creating a larger scale water source that had underwater caves that lead to deeper passages underground.
It was behind the waterfall that Duke was going to take Yugi, so he directed Noah and Ryou to land at the edge of the lake, where the animals gladly collapsed. After a four day trip, they were bound to be a bit more than winded. Yes, they had made some stops on the way here, but a flight that long was bound to be exhausting no matter how many stops were made.
The group jumped off the animals, all stretching limbs and popping backs. "Alright Yugi," Duke said, walking over to the Avatar. "We can either start training now, or we can rest for a bit a get to training a little later on. It's entirely up to you how we do this."
"I wanna start now," Yugi answered immediately. Blushing, he realized how blunt he must have sounded and was quick to correct himself. "I-I mean, I want to have a head start on everything. The sooner we get started, the more I can learn before we have to set out again, and I would really like to learn everything I can."
Duke chuckled. "Alright then. Follow me. I'll take you to the same spot my mother taught me in. It's just behind the waterfall." He pointed to the large falling water. "C'mon. I'll show you the way."
Yami growled as Duke put a hand on Yugi's shoulder, leading him away from everyone. He didn't like the idea of someone else touching his young lover. Especially with that flirt of an earth-bender!
Unfortunately, Yami must not have been as quiet as he thought because Joey and Tristan started laughing. "Relax Yams," Joey said through his chuckles, referring to Yami by the nickname Joey decided to appoint him with. "Duke isn't gonna do anything to Yugi but train him. Their relationship isn't like that."
"Yeah, and Duke's personality comes off as flirtatious, but he doesn't mean anything by it," Tristan added. "That's just how he is."
Yami crossed his arms, trying to keep a pout off his face. "I just got Yugi back and I want to spend as much time with him as I can, so excuse me if the idea of another person touching my Yugi doesn't sit well with me."
"Yami, Yugi is the Avatar," Seto reminded. "Of courses he's going to be with other people. With all the negotiations he'd have to work out with people and the different people he might need to train him, it shouldn't be a surprise that he has to go off without you sometimes."
"I know," Yami protested, sighing. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."
~Yugi and Duke~
Flashback
"Remember Duke, it isn't about what's on the surface. It's about what you can feel on the inside," Lancia Beifong explained to her son. "When it comes to pure elements, you won't be able to sense any of the earth inside of them just by surface looks. You must sense for what's on the inside." She placed her hand on the wall of rock, and with a small flick of her wrist, was able to pull out an egg-sized lump of platinum, molding it into a small ring, which she placed on Duke's pointer finger. Duke stared at the tiny ring in fascination. "Whoa," he breathed in awe.
Lancia smiled. "Try it for yourself." Gently, she took Duke's tinier hand in her own and placed it against the wall. Duke was nervous, fearing his mother would be upset if he didn't do it right, but an encouraging smile from his mom had him smiling back, spreading his tiny fingers. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the wall in front of him, trying to feel the earth. At first, he got frustrated as he only felt a solid force that was pushing him away, stopping him from bending it. However, he felt a little twitch, a very tiny one, deep in the rock. It moved, just a tiny fragment, and Duke pushed harder, willing it to come out of the rock. The rock began to crack, some particles crumbling, until the section of the rock wall came out completely, and he saw his find.
It was small, smaller than what his mother was able to find, but it was his first time, so he appreciated it all the more. It shone dimly in the reflective light of the cave, the green of the metal shining in the darkness of the cave, but Duke was fascinated with the colors.
"Mommy," he breathed, still staring at his find. "What is it?"
"This is what we call emerald. It's very rare, and I think that it's beautiful Duke. Amazing for your first time," she answered.
"Can I keep it?"
"Of course," she laughed. "You found it, so you do whatever you want with it."
Duke smiled, willing his little emerald to mold. It took some time, but eventually, he made the emerald into a teardrop, and held it between his hands.
"Look Mommy! It's like yours!"
Lancia smiled, touching the pendent she wore around her own neck that had a teardrop shaped gem on it. "Yes Duke. Just like mine." She picked him up and nuzzled his nose, making him giggle. "Remember that Mommy will always love you Duke, because you are very special to me."
"I love you too Mommy. Forever and ever!"
"Yes. Forever and ever."
~Flashback End~
"So, you're really a Beifong?" Yugi asked in awe.
Duke nodded. "When my father and mother got married, she took his martial last name of Devlin, but I liked being a Beifong. That name described and defined me better than the name Devlin ever did. Devlin, I don't like the history behind that name, so when I'm with my father, I have to go by Devlin. Alone, I'm Duke Beifong, and I'm proud of it. I was always more my mother than my father, so I always felt…different when I was with my father. He and I were never on the same page, and I think he had a thing against my being a Beifong.."
"Wow," Yugi breathed, marveling the beauty of the cave and of Duke's bloodline. "That means you're a direct descendant of Toph, right?"
"She's my great-great-grandmother," he answered. "I was proud to be part of her family name when I found out, but I had to go by Devlin for so long I almost forgot who I truly was. Calem and Miho aren't Earth-benders, and neither is my dad, so I couldn't Earth-bend too much when I was around them since it was foreign to them, and 'sickening'. Only time I could was when I snuck away to be alone. And when I was alone, I'd imagine that my mother was right beside me, going through techniques and skills with me."
Yugi looked down at his hands. "Wow…I never knew that. We were always told the last of the Beifongs were scattered, and that there were only ten left in the world."
"Yeah," Duke agreed. "There aren't many of us left, but I want to help that population grow. So I don't care who I marry; man or woman, I'm using my Beifong name."
"Wait, man or woman…Duke, can you give birth?" Yugi asked.
Duke nodded, taking a breath. "I don't like telling people about it, but I can. It's part of the reason that my father was embarrassed of me. He hated the fact that in a relationship with another male, I'd be considered 'the female' so he'd always make me put on this show that would make me seem like man of the house. I was already against being with a female and he knew that, so he made me out to be masculine so that even if I was with a male, I'd still be the 'man' in the relationship. He already planned for the eventuality that I'd find a male I liked enough, but he'd always try to set me up with a man that was much more feminine than I was."
"He was homophobic?"
"No. He just didn't want anyone to ruin the Devlin name. If a man got me pregnant, I'd have to take his name if we got married, and that would halt the Devlin line at me, since my dad is getting old and sterile now; he's been trying to have a baby with Miho, but he can't in the next three years, they're done. But me…he doesn't want me to end our family line by getting pregnant. So he doesn't tell anyone. He kept pushing me to find a girl at one point so that she could have my child, but he was so pissed at me for being gay that he stopped pushing and just tried to force me into a marriage I wouldn't be happy in. He was scared I'd go off and get pregnant jus to spite him, but I wouldn't trick someone into being with me that way."
Yugi shook his head. He didn't think there were people that…controlling in the world. "What would have happened if you did fall in love with a male? What if you did get pregnant by him?"
"Dad…" Duke sighed. "Even though he knew I'd rather be with a male, he would have made me get an abortion and force me into a marriage with some girl he would pick for me. I'd have no say in the matter, I'd have to give up Earth-bending forever, and then take over the family business. He'd have no regard for the man I was with, nor the woman he'd force me to marry."
Yugi gasped. "What?! That's…That's horrible! He can't force you to live your life his way! You should be free to do what you want!"
"I know," Duke said, putting his hand on a rock wall. "But now, I'm free to make my own choices. I know Dad is probably sending people to find me so he can drag me back and force me to go into business. I mean, I like different fields of it, but not the one he wants me in. And I want to open an Earth-bending school. He doesn't approve, but I want to help underprivileged children learn to hone the skills they have. I owe it to them. There are some Benders out there afraid of their gift when they shouldn't be. They should embrace it and learn how to use it."
"You have a lot more depth of character than most people give you credit for," Yugi said. "In fact, you've got to be the most interesting person we have in our gang."
"Compared to having the Avatar in the gang?" Duke teased.
Yugi laughed. "True, but in the grand scheme of things, I'm actually very normal. My childhood wasn't exactly sheltered, but it wasn't the most outgoing. At least, it was normal until the declaration that I was the Avatar. Then it became all about my training and learning the elements." He shrugged. "It might have been too much for other people to handle, but I was just fine with it. I mean, it was out of my power. The only thing I was able to do was endure it."
"Yeah but…well, learning the elements must have been a struggle, right?"
"Well, yeah. It was really difficult. Especially Air and Water. Learning Air was a struggle all in its own, and for some reason, I couldn't really unlock my full potential until about three months ago, and I've been training for years. And if it isn't bad enough that I have to master the element completely opposite to my family born one, but I still need to master the Avatar State, if that's even still possible."
Duke gave him a confused look. "What's the Avatar State?"
"It's the most powerful form an Avatar could have. It's uncontrollable as well, and if I die in that State, the line of the Avatar will cease to exist forever. It's too dangerous for any Avatar, and if I lose myself in that state, I could hurt someone." He lowered his gaze. "At the Water Tribe, I remember I went into the Avatar State. People were deathly afraid of me, thought I would kill someone, and I hated the feeling of being detached from my body. So unless it's absolutely necessary, I'm not using it if I can prevent it."
Duke cracked his knuckles, brushing off his pants. "Being Avatar must be harder than anyone thought. If I can help it, I want to make it easier, so I'll help you with your Earth and Metal bending. Are you ready?"
Yugi did the same himself, stretching a little bit before they got started. "I'm ready."
~Nightfall~
Yami looked around worriedly, searching for Yugi. It was getting darker out and there were rumors about dangerous animals out here, and though he was the Avatar, even someone like Yugi could be hurt. He had just gotten Yugi back, he didn't want to lose him again.
"Yams, relax," Joey called sleepily. "Yug'll be fine! I know Pretty Boy is gonna try and keep him safe. And Yugi's the Avatar. I doubt anything can hurt him. Just trust that he'll be fine."
"I know I shouldn't worry but I can't help it. I've worried about him for all these years. And being away from him now…" Yami sighed. "I know he can take care of himself, but still."
"You're too sappy." Mokuba made a face.
Noah laughed. "And here I thought you liked romance," he teased.
"I do!" Mokuba protested. "But there's no need for any worry. Yugi has mastered almost all the elements and Duke is the best Earthbender here."
"Hey!" Joey and Tristan protested.
"Well he is," Mokuba shrugged. "Yugi has survived all these years by himself. Now shouldn't make a difference."
"…Thank you for making me feel bad," Yami muttered as he hung his head.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Mokuba protested. "I just meant that Yugi is more than capable of taking care of himself. I mean, he had to train with his masters without his family until he was sixteen so I don't see why anyone would be concerned."
"He has a point," Tristan agreed. "Calm down. Yugi alone is a force to reckon with, and with a bender as good as Duke, we'll have nothing to worry about."
Yami bit his lip. Damn it. He was being too clingy wasn't he? Worry was one thing, but there was barely an explanation for what he was doing. But then again, it had been years. He had always thought of Yugi, even in the moments when he thought he hated the other. But he didn't. The whole time, he had been in love with Yugi, he just didn't have a way of telling him, not with him being so far away.
"We know you love him," Joey began, startling him out of his thoughts. "We respect that. And we know you just want to protect him, but smothering him will do nothing but make him upset. And worrying about him will only make it seem like you don't trust him when he's not around you."
"That's not what I intended at all!" Yami protested.
"We know, but we need you to get that Yugi can handle himself," Tristan said. "We've all learned that…the hard way." Tristan chuckled nervously. "Long story short, Yugi kicked both mine and Joey's asses. Just to avoid you learning that way, just know that Yugi is capable of taking care of himself."
Yami sighed. "Alright. I'll try to lighten up a bit."
"And that's all we ask," Joey said with a nod.
"Now that the semi-emotional bonding is over, can we talk about what the plan is from here on in?" Seto asked. "How exactly is Yugi supposed to unite the nations when everyone is against the Fire Nation like they were so many years ago? After what happened with Avatar Roku and Avatar Aang, the people have more than reason enough not to trust anyone in the Fire Nation considering it was because of Roku having failed that the Air Nomads were wiped out, and Avatar Aang didn't have an exactly easy time dealing with the Fire Nation. After the last war, no one will trust anyone in the Fire Nation, and especially not Yugi since he's the Avatar."
"Yugi had a plan for that," Mokuba pointed out. "It isn't exactly solid right now, but he does have a plan. It mostly involves the Earth nation since they're the ones who're getting over their anger, but Yugi knows what he's doing. The only reason we took such a detour was so he could get together a Team Avatar."
"We are not calling ourselves that," Seto growled. "No way."
"Aw, but every Avatar and his friends went by Team Avatar," Joey pointed out. "C'mon rich boy. We need a team name."
"We can pick anything, just not Team Avatar."
"You're no fun. Every Avatar has had a Team Avatar. We can't break tradition! Team Avatar! Team Avatar! Team Avatar!" Joey began to chant.
"Team Avatar! Team Avatar! Team Avatar!" Mokuba chanted with Joey, Noah joining in.
"Team Avatar! Team Avatar! Team Avatar!" Yami and Tristan eventually joined in, everyone chanting the same thing. Ryou was quietly chanting as well, a small apologetic smile on his face.
"What's going on here?"
The group stopped, staring at Yugi and Duke. The two looked scruffy and dirty, their clothes marked with dirt stains, but they noticed a new addition on Yugi's person. A small charm was attached to an old piece of wire that Yugi was wearing around his wrist.
Kuriboh jumped out of Ryou's arms and over to Yugi, sniffing him all over before sniffing at the chain.
"This?" Yugi questioned. "Oh. I managed to pry out a little gem from the rock bed and molded it into the Fire Nation insignia. I decided to make a cute little bracelet out of it."
"Wait." A grin spread across Tristan's face. "Does that mean-"
Yugi smiled. "It isn't complete yet, nor is it firm, but I have the basis of metal-bending."
Duke was smiling as well. "Yugi's got some talent, I must admit. It didn't even take so much for me to help unlock his potential. Whoever was his teacher, they did an excellent job." His gaze turned to Tristan. "A very excellent job."
Tristan turned his head away. Damn that green-eyed hunk!
Yugi took a seat close to Yami and held up his arm, showing everyone the bracelet better. The insignia was rough around the edges yes, but there was still a bit of craftsmanship to it. And it was obvious that a lot of work went into making it. It took him some time as well, but that didn't really matter. What mattered to him was the fact that his first time metal bending such a pure metal made him something so beautiful. "If we can, I'd like to stay here for a bit longer, just so I can get more practice. I wouldn't do anything with the precious metals in the rock bed like selling them or stealing them, but this is the only place I can get the most of my training."
"Strategically, you picked the best spot," Seto said. "This area is far enough away from all the patrol centers and sheltered from anyone seeing over since the rocks are crested up so high. The stream is a big plus as well."
"And the people of this region have no ill will against the Avatar," Noah added. "At least, from what I last heard they had nothing against you."
"We'll stick around here for a few days," Yugi decided. "And maybe we can think up a battle plan for later. We need to get the nations back into harmony like the Avatars of the past have. It's my duty to maintain that peace."
~The Next Day~
It was purely luck that Duke had found a hot spring deep within the cave. He made been showing Yugi how to unearth a pure metal from underneath almost a ton of rock when the rock he moved revealed a secret passage within. Investigation led to the passage getting hot until they found the opening within the cave that held the hot spring. Duke had decided the others would probably enjoy resting for a while, which led to a small little vacation from the Avatar stuff. For everyone except Yugi and Duke, who were practicing by the far wall. Kuriboh was hovering near them, sniffing out where a metal was hidden beneath the rock. Yugi would then try to unearth the metal by searching for miniscule pieces of rock hidden within a casing he couldn't bend. It was a process, but Yugi was steadily getting the hang of it.
"Okay. The hardest thing to bend is something like diamond," Duke explained. "An Earthbender can easily make a diamond from coal with enough skill. But then, bending that diamond if difficult if they can't find the pieces of coal they used in the original making. Because you compress the coal so much, it's often hard to find those tiny pieces in the diamond." He placed a hand on the wall. "This rock wall doesn't have diamond in it, but there's a deposit of gold very far back within it. Gold is often hard to bend, something that I even have trouble doing. But that's not the point of the lesson. Today, I simply want to see if you can find it and bring it to the surface. If you can do that, tomorrow we'll focus on trying to bend it."
Yugi nodded, placing a hand on the wall as well. Something like gold was sure to have miniscule pieces of rock in it, so tiny that Yugi might even overlook them. But he was the Avatar! The Avatars before him faced challenges they overcame with their bending, so Yugi could do it with his own.
He let out a calming breath and felt for the tiniest pieces of rock in the wall. In a casing though, compressed together. Trying to sort out every individual piece would be tedious, but finding a set of rock that was compressed into the same repeating pattern that one couldn't detect the whole casing usually meant that there was a precious metal. Yugi found many clumps like that, but his instincts were screaming that those weren't the right ones. Only when he had been searching for about ten minutes did he find something that made his palm tingle, and he knew this had to be important. 'This is it! The gold!' He pulled, willing the blood in his veins to move the gold closer and closer to him. It took digging, a lot of digging, but when it was close, he put his fists together, slammed them into the wall, and spread his fists apart, opening the wall and revealing a whole different passages that was coated in gold. Yugi had only been pulling a small section.
"What the heck is this?" Duke wondered. "I've never seen this much gold gathered into one place."
The passage was too small to squeeze into, but with Yugi and Duke both pushing, they managed to widen it.
"Whoa," Mokuba breathed, having come to investigate. "Let's go inside!"
"Mokuba, we have no idea what could be in there," Seto said, putting a hand on his excited brother's head. "For all we know, this was an animal's nest that we disturbed."
Duke put a hand on the ground of the passage and closed his eyes. "I don't feel anyone or anything moving within. It's safe."
"Let's go inside then!" Joey grinned. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"We die," Seto droned.
Mokuba pouted. "But Setooooooo! Please?" He tried a pout, lip quivering. Seto just blinked at him, returning the stare unflinchingly. When he realized that he wasn't getting anywhere, Mokuba crossed his arms rather childishly and plopped onto the floor.
Yugi giggled. "I want to explore this place as well."
"Yeah!" Joey pumped a fist into the air. "Me too!"
"I think I'll stay," Ryou said. "I don't like tight spaces."
"I think I'm with Ryou on this one," Tristan agreed.
"I'll hold your hand if you get scared," Duke winked at Tristan, who blushed. "I'm still not going," Tristan mumbled.
"I wanna go!" Mokuba said, jumping up and darting inside without waiting for an answer.
"Mokuba!" Noah called, running after him.
"Guys, wait up!" Joey yelled, running in as well. Yugi ran after his friend, making Seto sigh. "Did no one think of the consequences?"
Duke looked into the passage, examining the walls, and then the ceiling. "Still, I wonder how Yugi managed to pull out that one little piece out of all of this. You would think that…" he trailed off, looking along the walls and feeling them out.
Something wasn't sitting right. "Guys, do you feel that?" Tristan asked, running his hands over the wall. "I think something really is in there." He closed his eyes and concentrated on the ground. There was a small vibration that steadily got bigger. Tristan knew that could only mean one thing. "Duke, get out of there."
"Hmm?" Duke turned. "Why?"
"Is something wrong?" Ryou asked.
Then they all felt the rumbling. It started out pretty soft, but then it grew into a full blown quake. "LOOK OUT!" Tristan shouted, shoving them all back as the entrance to the passageway collapsed. They would have been crushed if they hadn't moved. Duke tried to dash out, but giant rocks and pieces of gold blocked the entryway. "Damn it!" Duke cursed. He could move the rocks blocking the entrance just fine, but how was he supposed to move the gold?
"Duke!" Tristan shouted. "Can you hear me?!"
"Tristan!" Duke's voice was muffled. "The cave was unstable! There's too much precious metal that I can't bend yet! We could run out of air!"
"We'll find a way to get you out!" Yami called. "Find Yugi and the others!"
~With Yugi~
Yugi stumbled as the light from the cave abruptly cut out, leaving them in the dark. He heard something that sounded like Joey tripping and falling, and heard Mokuba gasp and skid to a halt. Yugi lit a fireball in his palm and held it up. "Are you guys okay?"
"Oww…"Joey groaned. "I'm not."
"Mokuba!" Noah panicked. "Are you alright?"
"My leg!" Mokuba shouted in pain. "My leg is pinned."
Yugi gasped as he observed the scene. There must have been a loose piece of rubble that had fallen during the quake. Since Mokuba had been running, it was more than likely that he had run right into the path of the fallen rock. His leg was pinned under a large rock, and he looked to be in pain.
"Yugi, help!"
Yugi wished he could, but he couldn't use brute strength to move this. And because there was pure gold in it, Yugi couldn't bend it either. Duke was experienced in bending gold yet either and Joey only knew the basics of metal bending. There was no way they could get Mokuba out of this.
"Yug?" Joey said hesitantly. "Can't you move it?"
"Gold is too precious of a metal," Yugi explained. "Duke only taught me a little about it, and even then, I can only move little pieces at a time. I could certainly try to move individual pieces, but we could run out of air before I finish or…" he trailed off, not sure if he should say more.
"Or?" Noah prodded.
"There's a chance that Mokuba could lose his leg permanently if I can't do this," Yugi said quietly. "I don't know how well this will work."
"What if you, me, and Duke try it together?" Joey asked hurriedly. "Could it work then?"
"Joey, you don't know metal-bending!"
"It's the only shot we have!" Joey protested. "Mokuba could be trapped here forever!"
Yugi fell silent.
~With Duke~
"It's not working!" Tristan called into the bedrock. "It just won't work!"
"Damn it!" Duke punched the bedrock. "This is hopeless! How are we going to drill through this?"
Yami suddenly had an idea. "Duke, what if we weakened the rock and other rubble with water?"
"Theoretically, the rock would easily move, but the gold would be a different story," Duke answered.
"Well, aren't we near a body of water? Maybe the pressure of the water against the rock could force it to open," Seto suggested.
"That could work…" Duke mulled it over for a few minutes. "Okay! While you do that, I'll try to move some of the rocks here!"
"Maybe I could try some air-bending as well to tunnel through," Ryou suggested.
"If we put our powers together, this may just work," Duke called. "Let's get ready!"
Seto and Yami stood beside one another, tapping into water they found underneath their feet. Tristan dug his fingers into the rock and pulled with all his might. Ryou summoned up his own air and condensed it into a thin, powerful stream and began drilling it into the gold. From his side, Duke pushed with all his might, while Seto and Yami began moving their arms back and forth, pushing and pulling the water beneath them. They summoned the water to the surface and pulled back, forcing the water to rise and push against the rock. The process was slow, especially since some if the rock was still embed in the wall, but they were determined to get their friends out of there, before something bad happened.
~Yugi~
"Three!"
Yugi and Joey pulled deep into the rock, trying to locate the bits they could bend and lift the gold. It was a long shot, but the only shot they had. Yugi used his new bending to try and move the unrefined gold, and pulled as well. But it was no use. It didn't budge a bit.
"Damn it!" Joey cursed. "There has to be something we can do! We can't just let him die down here!"
"Joey, neither have us ever tried bending pure metal before."
"Can't you use fire to melt it down?!"
Yugi blinked, and then cursed. "I'm an idiot." How could he have not thought to melt it?! "Joey, put up a rock barrier around you guys, and move back. Mokuba, I'm going to try and melt the gold with my Firebending, but it might be risky. I don't smell any gas and I doubt we would since no one had explored this area, but there's still a chance. But I have to try."
Joey obeyed, pulling Noah back and using whatever rock he could find to make a barrier around them, just as Yugi commanded. Noah's eyes went wide with panic for a minute before he calmed down a bit.
Yugi breathed in for a minute before curling his hand into a fist, leaving a space for a tiny hole. He breathed out, condensing the fire and blowing it through the hole, hitting the piece of gold in the center. There was no immediate difference, but the cavern began to heat up slightly. Yugi began to sweat, but he couldn't concern himself with that right now. There was still dealing with the possibility of Mokuba losing his leg.
"Yugi! Wait!" Noah called.
"Noah, he can't!"
"But Yugi, if any of that melted gold drips onto Mokuba, he could get seriously hurt!"
Yugi froze, fire dissipating. "I didn't think of that." He looked down at Mokuba, worried that he had in fact dripped molten gold onto Mokuba, but there was barely anything dripping and Mokuba looked otherwise okay. "But now what? Guys, there's no way we can move this."
Joey dropped the barrier he made and sighed. "Okay. Let's try and think here. How can we do this without hurting Mokuba?"
Yugi sighed as well. "I…I don't know…" He hardened his eyes. "But I'm the Avatar! I don't care, I'll try to metalbend!"
"But Yugi-"
Yugi ignored him and dug his fingers into the rock. He was going to get them out of there if it was the last thing he did.
A/N: Not the best stopping place, but it'll have to do. I don't exactly remember where I was taking it, but I will remember with time. I just know that Yugi and the others were going to be trapped. And I know I shouldn't leave it on a cliffhanger but I can't keep writing a story if I don't remember what was happening. I think I have it written somewhere, so I'll try to get back into a rhythm.
Anyways, on a more serious note: here's what's been going on. School kicked my ass. Seriously, I had a lot on my plate the last three years and I couldn't keep up. I tried getting back into the rhythm of writing, but I just could not sit down with this story and pick up where I left off. Then senior year happened and…
Anyways, we ended up moving back north (to NY actually) and our stuff isn't exactly here. I'm also going to college in the fall and I'm doing my best to get money for tuition and stuff. It hasn't been easy, but I'm trying to manage. And stressing over that and the stress from moving and I haven't sat down to write much. Things are so scattered right now…I'm really sorry. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter in significantly less time. I will see you guys next time.
