CHAPTER NINE
When I get to Air Temple Island, the first thing I notice is that it's quiet — too quiet, considering there are Equalists here.
"Where are the White Lotus sentries?" I wonder. I tie the small boat I stole to the dock, alongside three other skiffs, then jump off it and race up the path leading from the shore to the plaza.
It doesn't take me long to spot Han-Yi, a firebending sentry with whom I get along well because he remembers what it's like to be young, unlike the other stick-in-the-mud sentries, who just tattle on me whenever I come home past curfew or something. "Are you okay?" I ask. "What happened?"
"We were attacked by Equalists," Han-Yi informs me. "It… was a… a sneak attack." He grimaces and tightens his grip on his shoulder. "We fought them, but… before we… knew it, we could barely move, much less bend."
I glance past Han-Yi and see the silhouettes of a couple other people sprawled out on the ground, each figure exhibiting a different degree of consciousness. "Did they get all twelve of you?" I ask.
"I… don't know… but they got… at least nine of us," Han-Yi responds, again wincing in pain. "Jin-Hua ran to the girls' dormitory to get Kya, and Qiu went to the boys' dormitory to get Tenzin. I… don't know if they were chi blocked, too." He bites his lip, then continues. "The Equalists… destroyed our telegraph when they… ambushed us, so Gao… went to the city to find your father and Chief Beifong and… ask them to come here."
"Okay. I'm going inside to see what's up," I announce, turning to walk towards the main house.
"No!" Han-Yi cries. "It's too dangerous in there, Bumi. You'll get hurt."
"My family might already be hurt!" I growl, turning back around to glare at Han-Yi.
"I know. I just—."
"It's not like the Equalists can take my bending away, Han-Yi," I add, softening my expression. "I'll be alright."
He opens his mouth to respond, but instead of waiting to hear what he has to say, I sprint towards the house. When I reach it, the first thing I hear is Kya crying.
If they touched Kya… I think, anger bubbling within me as I race towards the noise.
I follow the sound of Kya's sobs into the living room, and the scene that I come face-to-face with infuriates me. Jin-Hua and Qiu are sprawled out on the floor, unconscious, and Mom, Kya, and Tenzin are huddled against the wall nearest the kitchen. They're all in pajamas, and Kya and Tenzin are both crying — Kya loudly, Tenzin quietly.
"Bumi," Mom breathes.
"What are you waiting for, you imbeciles?! Get 'im!"
I turn in the direction of Da Zan's voice, but before I can catch sight of him, another Equalist lunges at me. I sidestep him easily, then, twisting his arms behind his back, send him crashing into a table on the other side of the room. He whistles just before he falls unconscious, and all of a sudden, another man is right behind me, attempting to chi block me. I dodge his jabs, then attack his pressure points. He drops to his knees, unable to stand, much less fight.
I turn towards Mom. "I'm guessing they got you, too?" I say.
"Yes," she sighs.
"What about them?" I ask, gesturing to Kya and Tenzin.
"They said as long as they behave themselves and don't bend, they won't touch them."
I kneel down in front of Kya, then pull her into a hug. "I won't let them hurt you," I say. "I promise."
She responds with a small but genuine smile.
I wipe the tears off her face, then turn towards Tenzin. "I won't let them hurt you, either, cue ball," I add.
"Thank you," he sniffs. He wipes the tears off his own face, then adds, "I'm… I'm sorry I airbent at you before, Bumi."
"It's okay."
"You're so… magnanimous, Bumi. Who would've thought that someone would want to protect their oppressors?"
I turn around to see Da Zan. He's surrounded by a woman and two men, one of whom bears a striking resemblance to Gun.
"What do you want, Da Zan?" I demand. "Why do you want to hurt my family?"
"I don't want to hurt your entire family," Da Zan smirks. "I don't give a spider-rat's ass about your siblings, for instance. I just care about your parents."
"Why, though? Why do you want to hurt my parents?"
"Well, if the Equalists can bring down the Avatar and the world's greatest waterbender, the world will see that we mean business and will have no choice but to acknowledge that we pose a serious threat to the bending establishment," he explains.
"You shouldn't want to be considered a 'serious threat,'" I respond. "You can't go around kidnapping and hurting people if you want the Equalist movement to gain momentum." I cross my arms over my chest and glower at him. "You're not an Equalist, though. You don't care about giving the nonbending community a voice. You just care about taking the benders' voice away. You don't want equality, Da Zan. You want revenge."
"I'll have to ask Avatar Aang how he managed to brainwash you," Da Zan laughs.
"Oh, shut up," I growl. "You brainwashed me! You convinced me that you just wanted to improve things for nonbenders, but you lied, Da Zan! You're a liar, and your despicable actions are causing the Police Department to view every nonbender in the city as a criminal!" I glance down at a still-whimpering Kya, then return my attention to Da Zan. "Can you just… go away?" I ask. "We don't have to do this, Da Zan. We don't have to fight."
"Yes, we do," he replies. "You have to pay for turning your back on the Equalists!" He snaps his fingers, and his three cronies lunge at me.
I easily dodge the woman's punch, then grab her in a headlock, fling her towards Da Zan, and shift my attention towards the Equalist who resembles Gun. He relies on raw strength more than agility, I observe as I weave in between his attacks, so… let's dance, buddy!
I dance around him — partly to keep him from being able to hit me and partly to use him as a shield against the other man's attacks — for a couple of minutes, then roughly jab two of his pressure points, which causes his arms to fall limply to his sides. I don't have time to revel in the small victory, though, because the woman — who, upon closer inspection, I recognize as Hikari, a woman I'd met at Da Zan's table in the speaker's corner of the park one afternoon a couple weeks ago — sprints towards me again just as the other man tries to hook me in the cheek.
I jump up to avoid the man's hook and, lifting my leg in a spinning kick, slam my foot into Hikari's face; and as I bring my leg down, I swing it against the back of Gun's doppelgänger's knees.
Yes! The bigger they are, the harder they fall, I silently cheer as Gun's doppelgänger's legs give out and he collapses. I jab the pressure points near his legs and grin as he lets out a surprised — and pained — gasp, but don't spare him a second glance before I leap onto the couch to avoid the other man and Hikari, who's just getting to her feet again.
Okay, it's time to settle this once and for all, I think, reaching under my tunic and pulling out a knife.
"You're playing with toys now, eh?" the male Equalist sneers.
"You want to see just how painful my toys can be?" I retort.
He lunges at me, fists raised. I jump off the couch, somersaulting as I approach the floor; and as I roll, I aim the knife so that… yes! He gets pinned to the wall behind the couch by his left earlobe, and I laugh as he shrieks; then, before he can yank the blade out of his skin, I pin both of his arms to the wall. He wriggles in an attempt to get free, then accepts that the knives are lodged too deeply into the wall and settles down.
"You should invest in some earrings," I suggest, smirking at him before turning around and grabbing Hikari's wrist just before she can jab one of my pressure points.
"You're a good fighter, Hikari, but not good enough to sneak up on me," I laugh, shoving her backwards with considerable force.
She somersaults in mid-air and lands gracefully on her feet.
"You're agile," I comment.
"Yes, I am," she agrees, her voice impassive. "You're a good fighter, too," she adds.
"Do you think I'm better than you?" I ask.
She snorts derisively. "You can't handle me, kid," she answers.
"You wanna bet?"
She narrows her eyes and raises her fists to chest level, but she doesn't move to attack.
"You don't have to be so wary," I tell her. "I'm not going to attack you unless you attack me first. I'm still in favor of resolving this peacefully."
She glances at Da Zan out of the corner of her eye, then returns her attention to me. She brings her fingers towards my shoulder blade, but I move just enough to thwart her attempt to hit the pressure point there — but only just enough.
I can't let her get away with that!
It takes a couple of minutes, but eventually I overpower Hikari, too.
"You still think I can't handle myself?" I ask, smirking as I look at all the Equalists I've singlehandedly taken down.
"Who are you asking, Bumi? Me? Hikari? Or your mother?" Da Zan queries.
The Dragon Flats borough is controlled almost entirely by the Agni Kai Triad, and you have no means of protecting yourself from them.
I shift my gaze to Mom. She's got one hand buried in Kya's hair and another resting on Tenzin's shoulder, but her attention isn't on them; it's on me. She's staring at me, her expression desperate, scared.
"You don't have to be afraid, Mom," I say. "I'll protect you."
"You shouldn't have to," she whispers. A sad smile tugs the corners of her lips upwards, and the tears that were welling in her eyes when I first walked into the living room start to fall. "You shouldn't have to."
"Why? Do you think that, just because he can't bend, he can't — and therefore shouldn't try — to protect you?" Da Zan demands.
"This has nothing to do with his not being able to bend!" Mom yells, her face contorting in anger. "This is about my son being my son," she adds, glaring at Da Zan, her sapphire eyes ablaze with all the ferocity of Azula's fire. "He can protect us. He just shouldn't have to! I ought to be protecting him! I am his mother, for Agni's sake!"
Does she really think I can protect them? I wonder.
"I'm his mother… and I've failed him," she continues, her tears falling harder now. She turns her head to look at me, and the guilt-ridden expression on her face tugs at my heart. "I'm so sorry, Bumi," she says. "I'm so, so sorry for everything I've said and everything I've done that's hurt you — that's made you feel like you aren't capable or strong or worthy of being my son." She wipes the tears from her face, then continues. "I've ignored you just like I've ignored the complaints of those living in the Dragon Flats borough, and I am so, so sorry. I was convinced that you were vulnerable, and your attempts to prove me wrong just… fell on deaf ears, I guess." She blinks back some more tears, then smiles sadly at me. "You were right, though. You're not vulnerable — not any more vulnerable than anyone else, at least. You can hold your own against anyone foolish enough to challenge you, and I am so sorry for ever suggesting otherwise — and for being too obstinate to admit that my overprotectiveness was only hurting your pride. You are my son — my beautiful, brave, competent, hilarious, ingenious warrior of a son — and I love you so, so much. I am so, so sorry…"
I suppress the smile threatening to compromise the menacing expression I'd adopted to scare the Equalists and swallow the happiness bubbling within me at the thought that Mom finally understands. "It's okay, Mom," I say as I wipe tears of joy from my eyes. "I forgive you — and I love you, too."
She shoots me a small, grateful smile, and I start to walk over to her so I can give her a hug — but then I remember what's happened and what's happening and turn back towards Da Zan. I have to deal with him before I can deal with Mom.
"You're outmatched, Da Zan," I declare, raising my fists in a defensive position. "I've laid waste to all your cronies, and unless you get the hell off our island, I'll take you out, too."
"C'mon, Bumi, wouldn't you rather talk first?" he responds, a self-righteous smirk on his stupid face.
"You're a terrible person, Da Zan," I growl. "I've got nothing to say to you."
"Oh, don't be like that, Bumi." He smiles at me — a phony smile if ever I've seen one — then shoots me a look, one eyebrow raised. "Do you recall me telling you that the only people who truly believe in a cause are those who are willing to die for the cause?" he asks.
I don't answer him, but the expression on my face must make it clear that I remember what he's talking about because he continues.
"When we first met, I was sure that you had the potential to become a true revolutionary. I mean, in the few short months we've known each other, Bumi, you've lied to those close to you, gotten yourself arrested, and risked your life several times — all in the name of our cause," he says. "I was convinced that you would lay down your life for our cause — but you won't."
"Yes, I would. I'm willing to die fighting for equality — but like I said before, Da Zan, you don't want equality. You want revenge," I argue. "You don't spread justice; you spread hate. And I refuse to die dishing out vigilante justice against perceived enemies."
"You're wrong about me, Bumi," Da Zan retorts, "but that's alright… because I was wrong about you. The Equalists had your back, and I thought you had ours… but it appears that your loyalty is not to the Equalist movement, but to your bending family." He takes a step closer to me and smiles wickedly. "You won't die for us — but will you die for your family?"
I don't hesitate for even a second. "Of course."
"Well, then," he grins, "any last words?"
I turn to look at Mom again. "How long has it been since they chi blocked you?" I ask.
"What?"
"Answer the question, Mom!"
"Well… uh, a little over half an hour, I think? Forty-five minutes, maybe? I don't know."
"Okay." I breathe a sigh of relief. "Go down to the shore. You should get your bending back soon."
"But—."
"Go. You can't help me right now, and I don't want to risk any of you getting caught in the crossfire." I turn back towards Da Zan and narrow my eyes. "I can handle Da Zan. Just bring Kya and Tenzin down to the dock. If we're lucky, Dad and Aunt Toph will be here soon."
She opens her mouth to argue, then closes it, nods, and ushers Kya and Tenzin out of the living room and, eventually, out of the house.
When I hear the front door close, I turn back to Da Zan. "If… if your goal is to kill my parents, why didn't you just take out my mother as soon as you chi blocked her? Why did you wait until after I arrived to threaten her life?" I ask.
"I wanted you to come — and you'd have had no reason to come here if she was already dead," he explains, shooting me yet another devious smile. "You'd escape our little prison — I figured that. I also figured that since your dad was following you, he'd eventually track you back here — and when he does, we'll be able to get him, too."
"You told Gun to tip me off, then?"
"Do you think I'd have a right-hand man so incompetent he would reveal our plans accidentally?" he asks. "Yes, I told Gun to tip you off! I also told him not to chi block you when he captured you so that you'd be able to escape your little prison." He shoots me a curious look. "I figured you'd find a way to escape… although you figured it out quicker than I thought you would," he admits. "It doesn't matter, though. We were still able to lay waste to the White Lotus sentries and chi block your mother before you arrived."
"Did you plan this all along, Da Zan — to use me to get to my parents?" I demand, anger bubbling up within me, threatening to burst out in an explosive, violent way.
"No. This was not at all what I had planned, Bumi," he answers. "I had planned to recruit you, but only because you had the potential to be a valuable member of the movement. When you sided with your father over us, however, I realized that your loyalty was not to the Equalists; so I decided to use you another way. This way."
"You're a terrible person," I repeat, my voice low as I spit out the words.
"You're entitled to your opinion," Da Zan replies, shrugging. "You can't deny that I opened your eyes, though," he adds. "You can't deny that my points were valid."
He's got a point…
The fact that he's right infuriates me.
I lunge at him, but he sidesteps me and I fall on my face. I scramble to my feet before he can chi block me, then bring my arms up in a basic boxing stance. The movement causes an intense pain to shoot through my probably-dislocated shoulder, but I ignore it. I'll deal with pain if doing so will enable me to land even one nice, powerful punch on Da Zan's stupid face.
I dance around Da Zan, dodging his attacks while initiating some of my own. He's also quick on his feet, though, and does the same; and as we circle each other, I notice something: he's got a wide stance.
He goes to attack me again, but as soon as Da Zan draws his fist back I throw myself to the floor and slide underneath him, between his legs. When I come up on his backside and move to chi block his stronger arm, he turns to face me. I adjust quickly, though, and deliver to him an uppercut that strikes him underneath his chin and sends him stumbling backwards. He falls to the floor after I overhand him while he's off balance, and I waste no time in climbing on top of him. The moment he lifts his head, I hook him in the chin.
I smirk, but when Da Zan pulls a knife out of his boot, I stop. He jams the blade into my thigh before I can scramble off of him, and an agonized cry escapes my lips before I even begin to consider stifling it.
I scramble off Da Zan and onto my feet, then glance down at the wound and see that I've already bled through the fabric covering my right thigh. Whoa… that's not good, I think.
I yank the knife out, sure I can't spare the time it would take to ease it out, then use it to pin Da Zan's right sleeve to the wall on the far side of the room. "You're not the only one who enjoys playing with knives," I growl as I limp out of the living room and in the direction of the boys' dormitory.
When, after what seems like forever, I reach my room, I spot my sword laying flat on my bed. I slide it out of its scabbard, then return to the corridor to confront Da Zan. "Stop!" I cry. "I won't hurt you if you surrender."
"I'll never surrender," he responds.
"You leave me no choice, then," I growl, thrusting my sword in his direction. He ducks to avoid getting hurt, and as he ducks I run past him, back into the living room.
I jump onto the table I flung the first Equalist to attack me into, then resume attacking Da Zan. He dodges my attacks, then swings his leg against the legs of the table, knocking it — and me — over. I almost scream out in pain as I fall to the floor, but I stifle it. I don't have time to cry.
I shift just enough so that Da Zan misses the pressure point that would paralyze my good leg, then swing my sword around. He grabs it before it can behead him, and blood starts trickling down the blade. He winces as the blade cuts into his palm, but doesn't retreat.
I draw the jian back, then, before he can adjust, thrust it forwards, at his abdomen. He steps to the side to dodge the blade, but trips over an unconscious Equalist. While he's down, I scramble to my feet… and then start for the woods, figuring that if I can lead him deep enough into the bamboo forest on the far side of the island, he'll get lost.
I glance over my shoulder to check that Da Zan is following me and, seeing that he's gaining on me, quicken my pace. The ache in my thigh worsens, but what bothers me most is not the pain, but the heat. If I didn't know I'd been stabbed, I'd think I'd just stepped into the middle of a blazing fire, based on the intensity of the heat radiating up from my wound to my groin and down from my wound to my ankle.
It hurts to run, and the width of the trail of blood I'm leaving makes it obvious that I've got a serious injury, but I can't afford to stop — so I don't. I just lead Da Zan past the temple and the airbending training area and into the bamboo forest.
I duck into the first large thicket I see, then listen for Da Zan. It takes a couple of seconds for my heart to stop racing, but once it does I become able to hear the sound of grass and bamboo stalks crunching under Da Zan's boots.
I start walking deeper into the forest, swinging the jian into the bamboo stalks around me as I do so to make them collapse in front of Da Zan. He gets over the obstacle easily, though, and catches up to me. He jabs his fingers into a pressure point, causing my good arm to go limp, and I stand there, scared, for a second, until I regain my senses and jump out of the way of Da Zan's disabling fingers.
I can't help but feel horribly unstable as I stagger to my feet, what with a dislocated left shoulder, an aching and paralyzed right arm, and a lame right leg, and I don't have the energy to attempt to hide it — so I just turn around and sprint out of the forest. I dart past the airbending training area, half-dragging my injured leg past the fallen White Lotus sentries and towards the steps that, eventually, merge with the path that leads down to the dock. The stabbing pain that descending the stairs induces is agonizing, and when it spreads to my good leg, it's all I can do to not collapse on the spot.
Who the heck is that? I wonder as someone calls my name — or, rather, as someone pronounces the letter B and I assume it's my name. It's got to be either… oh, no…
I duck behind one of the bushes adorning the jagged cliffside and repeat to myself the words "I am not scared of Da Zan" — then, when he's close enough, I attack, sword at the ready. My dislocated shoulder can barely support the weight of my own arm, never mind the weight of my sword, but I've got enough strength behind my thrust to make Da Zan stumble — and, seeing my opening, I drop the jian and chi block Da Zan's left arm. He growls in pain, but ducks before I can regain enough strength to hit him again.
He grabs the hilt of my sword with his right hand, then aims it unsteadily at me. I take advantage of his ignorance about the weapon and knock him off balance again, and as he stumbles backwards I retrieve the one knife still in the sheath on my chest. I aim for the middle of his sleeve, but in the last couple of minutes my fingers have gone numb and my vision has started fading in and out… so I end up pinning the shoulder of his shirt to the cliffside.
Well… that's good enough, I think, retrieving my sword and holding the point level with Da Zan's neck. "Do you give up yet?" I ask.
"No." He swings his legs and knocks me off balance, and as I fall to the ground he wraps his legs around my neck.
I grab hold of the jian, then use it to shove Da Zan's legs off my neck — and as soon as he releases me from his suffocating grip, I point the sword at his throat again. I guide it closer and closer to him, until the tip makes contact with the skin of his neck. It'll pierce his jugular if he so much as gulps, and he knows that as well as I do.
He glares at me, silently daring me to do it — to claim victory by killing him. I guide the jian a bit closer, then stop, recalling Dad's mantra: all life is sacred.
I'm about to let him go when the remainder of my strength disappears and I collapse to the ground.
"You put up quite a fight, Bumi," Da Zan chuckles, picking up my sword and pointing it at me, "but—."
He's interrupted by three of the elements.
I glance in the direction of the elements and see what I expected to: that the White Lotus sentries have regained their bending abilities and are attacking Da Zan from above.
"Bumi!"
I glance in the direction of the voice, but before I register whose it is, Mom, Kya, and Tenzin reach me.
"Oh, spirits, Bumi, what hap— oh, never mind that! We need to get you to a hospital!"
"Mmnn…"
"I still can't bend, but don't worry, Bumi," Mom soothes. "Kya's going to start working on you, and Tenzin will get Appa… and we'll bring you to Kya Memorial Hospital." She shoots pointed looks at my siblings, then returns her attention to me. "Can you hear me, Bumi? Bumi?" She chokes back some tears. "Oh, please, please, Bumi, just hang in there…"
"Mmnn… Mom…" I mumble.
"Yes, son? What is it?"
I glance from her to Da Zan and back again, but I can't make out much more than blobs of color. "It… it hurts…"