Chapter 7: A Day With The Triad
A/N: DaughterOfStars, I can't thank you enough for your review. It has given me the confidence and willingness to update. I had some writers block and this would've been updated three weeks ago but internet let me down...sorry. I re-wrote this chapter nearly 4 times, but I hope you guys will enjoy it. I do not own The Legend Of Korra or Avatar: The Last Airbender. A song that I really think fits with the story is Legacy by Eminem or Savin' Me by Nickelback.
"I don't see bones breaking!" Yakone snarled at the little earthbender before him.
Her green eyes were fixed on a pile of bones before her. After more than three hours ,not one snapped and it left her frustrated. Whether bonebending was in fact possible or not, she had to get this right. Failure was not an option. Yakone, the Triple Threat Triad leader.
What made it even harder was that her teacher wasn't even an earthbender, much less bone. He was a waterbender and a bloodbender of rare skill! She shivered but not out of fear or cold. Exhaustion. The girl needed water but a break was out of the question.
'No!' She shouted in her head. 'I don't need water. I need...to get this right.'
Yakone shook his head and tsk tsked. He was disappointed and she knew what happens then...
The boss called three men at his side. The girl new them. One was her new earthbending teacher, a waterbender she didn't know and the other firebender was Yakone's second in command.
"I think you boys want to remind her on how we break things." He said with a devilish grin.
Her attention snapped back to the men who were slowly walking towards her. Like a predator stalking prey. The eight year old gulped. One hit on the wrong place could easily break her fragile, but healed bones.
The firebender named Zhao lunged at her with a flaming fist, but the earthbender was faster and stepped out of the way and formed a shield between them. The waterbender attacked by using a wave of water to slam her into a nearby wall. Although her ribs were still fine, her head throbbed in pain.
Her breathing was ragged and she was shaking all over. A green gaze met light blue. Yakone was watching her and if she didn't get up...
The girl shook the thought away. She had to get up!
'One...two.' The earthbender counted. "Three." She said in a barely audible voice. Once the girl stood up she saw Zhao coming at her again. He was about to punch ,but the eight year old ducked and his attack missed.
She was now behind him and hit him with one rock against his head, it stunned him and drew blood that slowly trickled down his forehead. The girl let herself have one small smile in triumph but it soon turned into a look of disappointment.
The Triple Threat Triad leader lifted his hand, signalling a stop to the fight. He shook his head disapprovingly.
Even after nearly a month of torturous training she still wasn't good enough. The young earthbender couldn't recall a time when Yakone was truly satisfied. Except when he found her at the pare- their house.
The eight year old looked down, feeling ashamed. She didn't need to hear or see the bloodbender to know what he was thinking.
"I've seen better."
'You will only see how useless she is!'
C'mon boss she's pathetic.'
Not good enough...
Lin awoke with a start, feeling cold. Even when sleeping in a room that let no sunlight enter, it wasn't a usual thing anymore. Although over the years of her life, the earthbender had gotten used to the cold. But no one could get used to bad dreams, caused by torturous training. But she doesn't look back and regret the decision she made. No matter how hard it might get, she was determined to fit in with the triad.
Lin had gotten rather used to things with the Triple Threats. She would get up in the morning, get some breakfast and do either more training or finish some delivery jobs.
As the earthbender got off her bed and she noticed the blanket lying on the floor.
"Stupid dreams." She grumbled and went over to her small closet, that held what little she had. A few new tunics, other clothes, a bed and food. What else did she need?
Lin was nearly finished getting ready until she noticed the red stain that on a newly dressed wound. Caused by an earthbending attack that scraped her arm, leaving a gash in its place. No one in the whole Triad was mercy- or rather weak enough to let an opponent escape a fight unharmed. At least her earthbending teacher Shen, was nice enough to give her something to tend to ever growing wounds and battle scars.
Lin exited her small room only to be face by metal halls and doors to more small bedrooms. The Triad's HQ was situated in underground tunnels and sewers. With secret doors and passageways it was nearly impossible to be discovered. The girl strode through the tunnels, not different from a maze until she found what could be almost described as a dining hall.
It was more like a large ,overcrowded room where food was passed around for those, brave enough to eat. Until she actually earned both respect and money, this was her only option. Lin sat down in the corner of the large and crowded room with a bowl of rice.
An all too familiar shadow loomed over her.
"Don't tell me you weren't planning on sharing?" A gravelly voice said.
Instantly Lin looked up and tensed, but quickly relaxed once again when she saw who it was. "Nice try Shen." The eight year old smiled faintly and got up to greet one of the few people that didn't think of her as pathetic or useless.
The man chuckled. "If Yakone isn't going to give up on his ambitions, you'd better get your strength up." He said and handed her another bowl of food. She guessed it was his since it was nearly empty.
Lin shook her head. "I don't need it." She said, looking into yellow greenish eyes.
"Suit yourself." He said finishing his meal.
The young girl bit her lip, "H-he's not still mad at me?"
"Yakone? He's never happy so it sounds like a stupid question if you ask me." Shen remarked not looking up.
The earthbender glared at him intensely and the older man did likewise.
The stare was too intense for a girl her age, it unsettled him. He may have been with the Triple Threats for nearly fifteen years but he wasn't like the others. Shen never wanted to rob or kill. The Triad found him, took him in when he had nowhere to go.
If there was one thing that he leaned it was that once you're in...there is no way getting out.
The thirty-one year old shook the thought away, he saw Lin looking at him. Curious.
"I think you need a break from the boss, up for a job?"
Her green eyes lit up in excitement.
"Hey! Get back here!" The old man yelled, watching the two figures disappear into the shadows of the alleyways.
"That was somethin' funny!" An amber eyed boy exclaimed, casually leaning against a wall. Green eyes only looked back in silence and nodded.
"Dont'cha ever talk?" He asked half irritated ,but didn't wait for a reply not like he was going to get one anyway. Instead the firebender shook his head and walked onward. "Now c'mon, we still got this package we gotta deliver. I think it's money but ya never know."
Confidently the young boy made his way through the dark alleyways. With most of the City's map imprinted in his mind, trips like these were easy. The young dark haired teen stole a few glances his partner's way. From what he heard Yakone found her a few months ago, beating up her parents. This was hard to believe since she came here beaten herself. He says she has some talent but to Quing she doesn't look like much.
Not that he judged people like that. Ok, he did...sometimes. It was hard not to do since he wasn't far from being a prodigy himself, he made sure the whole triad knew it! Although his ego let him down and his pride got bruised on multiple occasions. One time was when he sparred with Yakone's new so-called prodigy. It was not a day he'd like to repeat anytime soon...
Quing and his opponent stood on a platform under Republic City-or rather in the tunnels beneath it, surrounded by murky sewage water. It was dimly lit space since people don't put much effort in giving underground tunnels and sewers good lightning. Who would want to be here long anyway?
The Triple Threats did! Although not easy on the eye or pleasant smelling, it kept the Police away. That was what mattered most in a Triad...next to the money of course.
"So you're the newbie around here?" He said, observing the green eyed girl in front of him.
She didn't reply.
"I heard Yakone himself brought you 'ere after you took down some of his guys. Heard they came back more beaten than you."
The young girl smiled faintly, taking it as a complement.
"Don't get too smiley 'bout it." He warned. "You gotta lot to do before you earn your place here. Let's just see if you can survive first."
Electricity surged through the air around him as he drew lightning from his finger tips. The earthbender didn't know whether to be afraid or not, but when Lin saw the blow pointed at her, she knew that she had to get out of the way.
The crack of lightning echoed through the underground tunnels, rocks and dust shot up from the ground as it made contact with the ground.
Old pains were slowly coming back to her but with a racing heartbeat and adrenaline, she didn't notice.
Quing quickly recovered from this last attack and got ready to attack again. Just as he was going to shoot another lightning bolt at the earthbender, Lin jumped out of the way once again and sent a boulder attack at him. In the middle of drawing his attack, he barely managed to just crush the boulder with coldblooded firebendending.
The green eyed girl was quick to advance, but Ligning Bolt Zolt was ready for her. He surrounded himself in a circle of flames ,sending it straight to his opponent.
This was where new earthbending moves came in handy. The eight year old disappeared into the ground, leaving no trace of her location behind. For a few moments the firebender was confused. "Where'd you go?" He asked scanning the area.
His answer soon came when an earth pillar sprung up from under his feet. Quing landed with a splash in Republic City's sewage water. It wasn't long before the boy shot out of the water, coughing and spluttering whereas Lin was smiling proudly.
"Aww come on, that ain't fair!" He protested and tried to get out of the dirty water, muttering things like: 'yuck' and 'gross'. When he got onto the platform again, he did not look amused. "That was some foul play newbie...literally! No more mister nice guy. You'll be tasting sewage water next!" He declared loudly, eyes lighting up with determination.
Quing was pulled out of his past memory when he became aware of someone tugging at his sleeve.
"What?" He asked, annoyed.
Lin stayed mute and pointed to a street that lead to the shopping district.
"Well what'aya know!" He grinned. "The newbie did learn something." He said mockingly and ruffled her slightly curled hair.
The earthbender swatted his hand away and landed a punch on his arm.
"Oh I see how it is. C'mon newbie, let' see if you're really that good, try to keep up." The amber eyed boy challenged and run off. The dark haired girl huffed and took off after him. There was a large number of people out on the streets, standing in rows at shops and food vendors. It was just too easy to get lost here...or to out run another.
Her green eyes surveyed the area, then she saw Quing trying to hide in plain sight. Although it was rather clever he would have to better than that. Once he realized he had been spotted, Zolt bolted. With great difficulty she weaved through the crowd but the earthbender stayed behind didn't lose sight of the firebender.
The thirteen year old the disappeared behind a building and at last she caught up with him.
"Took you long enough." He said and knocked on the back door of the house, shop?
The door opened with a creak and a burly man stood in the doorway. "Yes?" He said in a deep voice.
"Well you aren't lookin' very happy for someone who isn't gonna get a beat down from the Triple Threats...this time." The boy said smugly, whereas his partner kept her comments to herself. She wondered how he could taunt in the face of such an intimidating figure.
"You the Triple Threats?" He snorted. "Looks like Yakone is losing his strength."
The boys amber gaze narrowed. "Looks like you're gravely mistaken, An' I won't go talking like that or you better watch your back."
He might not be a fan of the bloodbender himself but the boy wasn't going to let someone insult his triad.
As soon as the man got what was owned of him, he closed the door with a loud slam!
Zolt crossed his arms. "Wimp." He muttered.
"We better go."
For a few moments he was caught off guard. "Now don't tell me he scared you into talking." He smiled at her when she didn't reply. "You were scared, weren't you?"
Her worried expression turned into annoyance, she crossed her arms. "Was not."
"Oh really?" He teased while walking back to their head quarters. "Then why-oh" He stopped mid- sentence when he caught the sight of an officer nearby. Usually the triads would try and fit in and stay low in the public. But Lightning Bolt Zolt's actions had gotten him unwanted attention, especially here.
"Hey you, halt!" He commanded.
"Well good morning officer." Quing said much too cheerfully.
The officer glared at him. "You're coming with me."
"What makes you think I should?" He challenged, his amber gaze narrowing.
The young waterbender only glanced between them.
"I think your name says enough, Lightning Bolt Zolt." He held out a wanted poster which resembled the young firebender. Before the man could do anything, the girl shot him tumbling away with the help of an earth pillar.
"I'll take that." He then took the poster in hand and looked up, only to see a squad of metalbenders their way.
The two of them quickly ran and tried to disappear into the crowd. Four Metalbenders stayed on their track. Lin jumped into the air and landed solidly back on the ground, two earth pillars erupted from behind her hit two officers square in the chest.
Quing and Lin both ran down a few streets, trying to lose the officers behind them. "This way." The boy yelled and turned into another street and entered a dark, abandoned building.
For a few minutes the silence between the two was filled by heavy breaths. "That...was a close one."
Lin only nodded in reply, not the boy could see it. "Where...where are we?" She finally asked.
"Just a little hideout I found in case in an emergency. It's...pretty hard to find and the view from the top ain't bad. C'mon." He said and made his way up a staircase nearby. Lin guessed he came here a lot since he didn't bump into the railing or nearly tripped over a step.
When the firebender made it to the top, he opened the first door and Lin had to close her eyes at the sudden bright light. The two of them were standing at the top of a two story building that over looked a part of the City. They could even catch a glimpse of the ocean and the distance.
After a while, Zolt spoke up. "Thanks for the warning back there, for a newbie you ain't bad."
Lin smiled a little bit, she was happy to help him, he saved her a couple times after all. "No problem Quing."
"Really? The name is Zolt, Lightning Bolt Zolt. See this poster." He pointed at the piece of paper. "That's what is says."
"That's a funny name." Lin interrupted.
"Hey! That's the name of one of the best Triple Threat Triad members an-"
"Nice place you got here."
The two kids gasped and turned around. It was Shen. Both of them sighed in relief.
"After your little sparring accident I don't think you should be bragging around like that." He warned slightly, looking around him.
"Whatever." The thirteen year old shrugged his comment off. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Just keeping an eye out for you two and by the looks of it, you should be lucky I had your back."
"We were fine." Lightning Bolt Zolt insisted.
"Oh sure, sure." The thirty-one year old replied sarcastically, walking around. "Lin." The two earthbender's gazes met. "Yakone is having a meeting tonight, I think you should go along. The boss-"
"Meeting?" The firebender interrupted. "What meeting an' why aren't I invited along?" He asked, feeling slightly jealous.
The dark haired man only shrugged and waited for his pupil's reply.
"Do you really think I should go?" Lin asked, feeling a tad nervous.
"As long as you don't interfere or speak out of place you should be fine." He said, ignoring the firebender's glare. "This could be your chance to earn some name here." He added, hoping to persuade the girl.
Lin looked at Quing, then back at the older man and nodded.
"No hold up." The thirteen year old said, turning to his partner. "I don't like you going instead of me, but enlighten me when you get back ,ok?"
She didn't really know what the meant but she agreed anyways.
Shen smiled to himself.
Yakone confidently made his way to the back of the restaurant, with his second in command and two body guards at his side. Lin was trailing from behind feeling out of place. Why wasn't Shen with them? He had gotten her to come along in the first place, but why? What made her so special?
To be honest, the earthbender thought of herself as a lot of things but special. At the thought, she resorted to old habits by trying to hide her face behind her red scarf. Lin hadn't seen Bumi at all these last few months but that doesn't mean she had forgotten about him.
In a way Quing reminds her of the non-bender, but she couldn't think about that right now.
The restaurant's metal back door swung open and the five of them entered. They passed the kitchen and went into a room that resembled an office of some sort. Lin wondered if this was another triad's headquarters, or a secret meeting place. Despite the cold temperatures outside the office itself was warm ,even if the other people shot icy glares at her.
Lin frowned. 'What's their problem?'
The bloodbender took a seat at a table with two other men, all of which had a number of people standing behind them. Bodyguards?
'Are these the other triad guys?' She asked herself, looking at them.
'The Agni Kais are probably the biggest triad out there, but not nearly as good so don't worry about 'em.' Lin recalled Zolt's words. She met gazes with the Red Monsoon's leader. 'If you're looking for trouble you found 'em. They're more two faced than a two headed rat-viper.'
"What did you bring us here for Yakone?" The Red Monsoon's leader asked in a husky voice. "Usually Triads don't have get-togethers like this."
The waterbender looked at the two men in front of him, and said in a voice that made the little earthbender shiver: "I suppose you are all familiar with Beifong and her so-called Police Force. I think it is time we exterminate them, along with that coward of an Avatar."
The brown haired Agni Kai boss leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face. "So the mighty Yakone came crawling for help. I-"
The bloodbender's chuckle rang through the room. No one seemed phased by this except for Lin who looked around nervously.
"You think I'd be found in a place like this asking you yahoos for help? This meeting serves as a warning for those who won't fall under my command, they will perish as well."
The younger of the three bosses, couldn't help but to laugh at the bender's statement. "I'm sure we will all go down under the rule of a little girl. Finally brought your daughter along?"
Lin's eyes widened and she grew cold, whereas Yakone didn't say anything at all.
"You got a lot of nerve Yakone." Muttered the Red Monsoon triad boss. "But you are a fool for thinking that I'll let a cowar-" The old man stopped mid sentence, shaking as he tried to choke out the rest of his sentence.
"You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance." He scolded slightly with s grin on his face.
"I will rule Republic City!" He nearly yelled.
The young earthbender didn't know what to, she stood still in shock. 'Don't do anything. Don't say anything.'
"If you don't want to join my revolution, you will be killed by it."
Suddenly a crash tore through the room and at least ten Officers entered the room. The bloodbender released his grip on the older leader and turned to the metalbenders.
"I don't think you Officers have any business here." He growled.
Lin looked frantically around, for a hiding place or escape. 'No! The Police can't be here! They'll-'
She stopped thinking when one of the metal clad benders headed over to her. He quickly observed the way she looked, then turned to the waterbender. "Yakone, you are under arrest for abuse, kidnapping and illegal bending." He declared. "Arrest the other Triad members as-" Before he could finish the Crime Bosses along with their body guards attacked.
Yakone had no problem killing at least half of the men with his feared bending technique. The Agni Kais and Red Monsoons didn't have much trouble either, but it was clear that the Triple Threats were both stronger and faster.
It wasn't long before the fight was done. The Officers may not be out numbered, but they weren't nearly as skilled. The young earthbender look in the sight of the room. The walls were scorched, rocks and dust were littered here and there, along with the either unconscious or dead bodies of officers.
There was a short moment of silence.
"Some daughter you got Yakone." The young Agni Kai leader mocked before he and his body guards exited the room.
The Red Monsoon leader didn't say anything, he and his men left before giving both Lin and Yakone a degrading look. As if saying: 'What a disappointment she must have been to you.'
He was right of course, the waterbender never felt so humiliated like that. While the other Traids were fighting non-stop till every officer was down, his earthbender did nothing.
Lin looked at the Crime Boss before her. He was slowly pacing around the room, unfazed by the most likely dead bodies of officers around him. Her fear was growning by the minute.
'How did they know who I am? How did the Police found me. Did the Police Chief told them, does...does she want me locked up?' The thought was too painful to bear. Lin couldn't think that she would want to have her locked up. She seemed so nice. The earthbender then thought of Yakone.
'Were they here for him? Does he think I told the Police?'
He doesn't think it was her fault, right?
The thought brought panic to the young bender. Instantly she resorts to a defensive tactic
'It...It wasn't m-me. I d-din't tell-" Her sentence was cut short when a back hand made contact with her left cheek. Pain instantly shot through her body and her head turned with the impact. The skin was broken no doubt.
Yakone chuckled to himself but Lin was to focussed on the pain to feel confused.
"I couldn't care less if the Avatar knew what I am planning. If he or that fucking Beifong shows up I want you to end them. You couldn't even kill a few officers. Instead you hid like a weakling!"
Lin met his gaze for a short while but her shame drove her to look down again.
"Weakling don't deserve to life in this world and they won't survive in my triad. They get locked up by the Police...if you're lucky." Lin suddenly lost control of her own actions. She yelped in surprise when unbelievable pain shot through her body as she was brought face to face with the waterbender who was in fact bloodbending her!
He tsk tsked while shaking his head. "In the Triad it is either kill or be killed and it seems like your luck is running out."
The grip he had on the earthbender subdued and she fell back to the ground.
"Id' suggest you chose wisely on which side you are on."
Lin looked up at him and nodded, scrambled to her feet and ran. Ran to the Triads Head Quarters past Quing, who was impatiently waiting for her return and straight to her room.
When she made it to her small room, Lin didn't know what to do. She gritted her teeth and tears streamed down her face. She was so confused. Lin didn't know what was right and what was wrong. The line between the two was now unclear. More than anything she was mad...mad at herself. Who else was there to blame?
Yakone was just trying to make her the best bender there ever was, it her fault she was too weak to fight. She didn't help defeat the officers.
That was wrong.
She showed weakness and humiliated her leader.
'That is bad.' She thought by herself. 'A- and weak guys don't deserve to live.' She repeated the waterbenders words. Slowly her mind became a little clearer, things made more sense.
'And I don't want to be like them.'
She wanted to be accepted, that's all she ever wanted. It wasn't going to be easy, that she knew. It was one of the things that she was constantly reminded of.
'I don't want things to be easy.' She thought pacing around. 'I don't need it. But I need to train harder. I need to be better' With that thought the young earthbender left her small room.
Her footsteps made it soundlessly through the many tunnels and halls that she had come to grow familiar with. She was barefooted, but the cold floors didn't seem to bother her. Coldness and being uncomfortable, she was used to it.
Soon she found herself in the always dimly lit room with an all too familiar pile of bones in the middle...still unbroken. With a deep breath Lin brought up a boulder out of the ground and sent it smashing against a wall with a kick, calming her frustrations in the process.
No matter where she may be, the touch of the earth would always comfort her. Somehow it reminded her of the Police Chief, before Bumi the earth was her only friend. But was the Police Chief still her friend? Or did she wanted her locked up?
Lin shook her head. No, she needed to forget about her and start making new friends. Something bendable. Lin wanted bone to be her friend. Lin wanted friends she could break!
A/N: Yakone what are you doing!? You're killing her! Toph get Lin out of there now!
Oh hey guys, well... how was that? 4607 words, that's got to a personal record. Study for exams? Nah I'd rather write :)
Reviews would make my day.