"…Oh, my head. Where am I?"
"Welcome to our secret lair, Avatar."
Aang got up and tried to move, but he realized the hard way that his arms and legs were chained to the floor. He was able to stand upright, but he was unable to throw a punch or a kick. If the room was made of earth, the Avatar would have them all in the palm of his hand. However, the entire area was made of pure metal. Not even the greatest earth-bending master can bend metal, or so they say. Blackburn sat comfortably on his throne and observed the Avatar 15 feet away and 10 feet below him. Cail and Nightingale knelt by their master's side, looking more like his obedient dogs than his lieutenants.
"So this is the Avatar Fire Lord Ozai wants destroyed. How peculiar. Why would our Lord fear this little boy so much?" Blackburn asked as he rubbed his chin.
"Remove my shackles so you can find out the hard way," Aang spat out. Many of the ninjas in the chamber let out a wicked laugh. Cail tried to hold his laughter in. Nightingale shot him a mean glare, telling him silently to shut his trap or else. Her glare made him regain his composure.
Silence didn't show a hint of emotion at all. Unlike the rest of the vermin ninjas, Silence stood at attention like a true ninja, not daring to treat the way of the ninja like a game for children. Aang noticed how Silence stood out of the rest.
That made Aang realize the quiet one with pale eyes was the most dangerous of all.
"You must be wondering why we captured you and kept you here for the past three days," Blackburn said. Aang's eyes widen in shock.
"What? I've been here for THREE DAYS? That guy hit me pretty hard, but not that hard!" Aang shouted.
"Oh, that. You see, the beautiful lady next to me gave you a fragrance to keep you out cold. That way, you wouldn't put up any resistance of whatsoever." Blackburn's words put a mean grin on Cail's face, feeling that Nightingale's secret fragrance made his job even easier. Nightingale looked away from the Avatar's eyes, looking guilt-ridden. Aang gave a very deadly glare to Blackburn, wishing he could bend the chains. Seeming like he didn't have a care in the world, Blackburn combed his hand through his long white hair, wondering if keeping the Avatar alive was worth it.
"Who are you and why am I here?" Aang shouted.
"My my. I thought you air-benders would have a more cheerful attitude than that. Well, I can't blame you for that outburst, being chained to the floor and surrounded by elite ninja warriors, ready to slice and dice you down on my command.
"Please forgive me for my lack of hospitality. My name is Lord Blackburn, warlord of the greatest ninja clan in all of Fire Nation. I'm the one responsible for pulling the name of the Dark Infernos out of the mud and making it the most feared clan in all of ninjutsu.
"Now here's the answer concerning your predicament. You see, I have something very special in store for you, Avatar Aang. I'm not going to kill you. Not yet, at least."
"Lord Blackburn! You said that the Avatar won't be killed. You promised me that the Avatar will be mine! You said-"
"Be silent, woman! One more word out of you, and I will rip your tongue right out of your mouth." Blackburn hissed. Nightingale trembled and looked down to the ground. She wasn't sure what's worse: Aang's death or feeling Blackburn's wrath. Blackburn turned his attention back to the Avatar.
"We're going to take you to Fire Lord Ozai's Royal Palace. In the Fire Lord's very throne room, it will be you… and me."
Aang's eyes widen. Cail frowned and felt his eye twitch.
"I challenge you to an Agni Kai. My fire-bending against your own, Avatar. When I kill you before the Fire Lord, the Dark Infernos' reputation shall rise like never before, and we shall truly be in favor the Fire Nation for generations to come!"
"Hey, wait a minute! I'm no fire-bender."
"Oh I have to disagree. You see, when you were fighting Chameleon back in the Head Bangers Arena, your fury bent fire with sheer ferocity, seeming as though you were about to burn down the entire arena! That makes you more than qualified."
"I won't do it. Even if I can fully bend fire, I'd never waste my time dueling with YOU!" Aang's words of defiance cut Blackburn like a knife. Blackburn leapt off his hideous throne and landed nimbly right in front of the Avatar. With very cold eyes, Blackburn unleashed a burst of fire out of his very hands in front of the Avatar's face.
"… I have ways of persuading you, Avatar Aang. One way or another, you will accept my challenge…"
888
Out on the dark muggy night, two soldiers were patrolling the streets of the capital of Fire Nation. Their uniforms would send fear to their enemies, but behind their masked helmets were weary faces that yearn to go home and go to bed. Nevertheless, patrolling the streets was a true necessity due to the godforsaken war.
"Just be glad our shift is almost over. I know working late night is a pain, but the pay is quite better than the first shift," one soldier said.
"Yeah, I know. But I miss the first shift. It's Friday night, man. We're supposed to be out partying, not missing out on all the fun!" the other soldier said.
Two teenage girls shoved their way through the soldiers and ran off, laughing mischievously. Seeing the two girls wearing black, the soldiers could tell that they were up to no good. Besides, tonight was Mischief Night.
"Hey! It's way past curfew time! GET BACK HERE!" The soldiers started running after the two young ladies. The two men saw them take a sharp turn into a dark alley. Hoping they'd meet a dead end, the soldiers drew their swords and took that sharp right turn into the alley as well.
A masked warrior cloaked in black spin-kicked the first soldier and right-hooked the second, knocking them both to the ground. The first soldier tried to get up, but dark warrior leapt into the air and drove his heels right into his skull, sending him to dreamland. The other soldier got up and aimed his sword at their attacker, but the dark warrior quickly knocked the sword out of his hand with his own blade and drove his heel into the chest, knocking him real hard into a brick wall. As soon as his back hit the wall, Toph touched the wall and used it to shackle his arms and legs. The guard was about to call for help, but the warrior's sword pointed right at his throat.
"Make one sound and you die." The soldier's eyes showed terror for the masked warrior as he looked into the adversary's blue eyes. His speed and agility didn't seem human, and his fighting skills were like no other. What really caught his eyes was an insignia on the headband of the ninja warrior.
It was the insignia of the Southern Water Tribe.
Toph and Katara stood side-by-side with Sokka, setting their eyes on the trapped soldier. Like Sokka, the girls were cloaked in black, but neither of the girls bothered to wear masks over their mouths.
Toph shot a deadly glare at the soldier trapped inside the wall. With one stomp, the earth brought Toph to the soldier's eye-level. Toph grabbed him by breastplate and pulled his face to hers.
"Now tell us. Where is the Avatar? Where is Aang being held? TALK!"
888
Two fire-bending ninjas crack their fire-whips on Aang's back again. Aang shut his eyes and let out a scream as he felt the hot whips slowly melt their way into his back. Grinding his teeth and feeling a tear stream down his eye, Aang fell to one knee. Seeing the Avatar kneeling before their warlord made almost the entire clan cheer in victory, eager to watch the Avatar squirm and beg for mercy.
Blackburn knelt down to the beaten Avatar and grabbed Aang by the chin, forcing him to look straight into his eyes.
"You can't keep this up forever, Avatar. Just accept my challenge and all the pain will stop coming for you. What do you say, boy?" Blackburn asked kindly.
Aang answered by spitting right into his face. Fuming with anger, Blackburn wiped off the spit on his face and had his own hand burn with fury. Blackburn prepared to grab Aang's face and burn his eyes out.
Nightingale grabbed Blackburn's wrist before he could burn Aang's face beyond recognition.
"My lord. Enough with the torture; it's pointless! If you continue torturing him like this, he won't be at his best. And you'll never know if you can truly beat him.
"I'll convince him to challenge you. Leave it to me." Many of the ninjas let out a lot of howls and whistles, imagining Nightingale bringing the young Avatar to her bed and making love with him. Silence, however, remained at full attention. None of the ninjas were aware of Silence turning away from Aang's torture like Nightingale did. Blackburn powered down and lowered his hand.
"… Very well, Nightingale. Do what you must. By any means necessary…" As the howls and whistles continue to echo throughout Blackburn's throne room, Nightingale removed Aang's shackles and slung Aang's arm over her shoulder.
"Avatar, can you hear me? Can you walk?"
"….."
"SILENCE! HELP ME CARRY HIM!" In a flash, Silence quickly ran to Aang's side and slung the Avatar's other arm over his shoulder. Nightingale and Silence slowly and carefully carried the Avatar away from the ruckus, hoping the damage the ninjas inflicted on him weren't severe.
"Don't worry, my dear Avatar. I'll take good care of you…." Nightingale whispered.
Next stop: Nightingale's bedroom…