Chapter 21
What a Strange Journey.
To say the last week had been bad would have been an understatement, the last month had been awful. Between getting hit by a Satomobile and being targeted by assassins things were just getting worse, now they were hiding in Xinzang's basement... for reasons completely outside of their control.
Shesh, Skoochy, Xinzang, Qishi, Tahno and even Pet Show all were sitting around a table, nothing was too different. Except the fact that it was almost pitch black other than the lantern in the middle of the room. Allowing them to see every piece of dust that flowed down from the ceiling and the onto where they ate for the past three days.
"Shit, this is stupid..." Shesh grumbled as she crossed her arms, turning up the radio, reinforcements were supposed to be arriving latter that day. After all, the equalist had taken over the entire city for three day. Though one has to wonder, how what amounted to a private military group was capable of over throwing the entire Republic City police force...then again outside the chief and a few select members most of the force was completely useless.
Though that really wasn't Shesh's main thoughts as she tapped her lip and closed her eyes, "I didn't actually expect it to get this bad, I thought Korra was on top of this, oh well...she was always the lucky one. Whatever happens it will probably turn out good for her in the end," Shesh hated to admitted, but Korra was a great bender and probably ultimately did deserve her parents affection over Shesh.
Shesh currently had more important things to worry about.
"Why are we hiding here?" It seemed Skoochy brought it up first as Qishi smiled, lifting herself from her dusty seat, avoiding the many cobwebs that threatened to get tangled in her hair.
"Simple, my street urchin of a friend, what happens if we get captured by equalist? What happens if they try to remove our bending making us as harmless as a hamster? I require my bending to kill those who would get in the way of my goals...Speaking of which, we are going to locate Changgi's bunker and eliminate her," of course that actually didn't really answer the question why they were hiding. After all, even though the equalist took over the city, they didn't have the power to patrol the entire thing. Chances are, they were probably mostly in midtown and the islands.
However there was a more pressing comment that deserved attention.
"Wait a moment, you want us to attack Changgi...today?" Xinzang was honestly surprised, it honestly seemed like the very worst day to attack anything let alone someone as dangerous as the groovy wind.
Of course, Qishi simply smiled as she adjusted her glasses ever so slightly, "well, yes, to the average person this would seem like the worst possible time frame to launch an attack. However, this is far easier than trying to attack cabbage corp, after all we know for a fact that Changgi is most likely in her bunker until everything is settled. This is the perfect time to strike, I am sure there are little to no members left in the triple threat tirade, and even fewer that were told where the bunker was. We know there is most likely an entrance at her vacation home. We shall sneak into uptown, enter the bunker, eliminate Changgi and leave before anyone has noticed," the plan was dangerous stupid and overall half-assed, but at the same time...
They really couldn't let the opportunity slip past them. If Changgi wasn't stopped then she could easily simply continue to hire and send assassins after them, they after all wouldn't have any recourse for the entire thing. They couldn't simply barrage into Cabbage Corp and after this point, Changgi would most likely be constantly surrounded by protection.
"Bah, it's not like I can say no, all this weird stuff started happening to me since I got to this city, of course I'm going to see this shit to the end!" Shesh smiled to her friend, as she lifted herself from her seat, she then stared at her teacher.
"...Oh my, this is something else, if you told me about a month ago I would be doing something like this, I'd probably call you a liar...oh well. As a teacher I should at least follow my student this far," despite not lifting herself from her seat, it seemed that Xinzang agreed to go.
That left two, after all, Pet Show was coming no matter what, because he was a bird, and even fire bending birds get no say in the matter.
Skoochy shifted his hat ever so slightly. It was as if he was honestly thinking about it, to say the experience he had with the people around him was unique probably would have been an insult to everything that had happened. "Fine, I get the feeling if I don't help out, I'm probably not going to get paid...yeah I've haven't forgotten that," Skoochy let out a sly smile as he adjusted his hat.
That only left one person, one person that was formerly the pro-bending champion. Who was sitting there with his stupid hair, it seemed that Shesh was prepared to ignore him as Skoochy gave him a smirk. Despite his overall harsh tone, it seemed that Skoochy was one of the few people there that actually respected Tahno.
"Come on now, you're not going to let a 13 kid show you up...are you?" It was a mock that Skoochy gave, as Tahno eye twitched, he really couldn't refuse then. Even if he was probably going to die a pitiful death. After all, he still owed them, no matter what, he still owed them something even if it was his time.
"I-I wasn't going to say no anyway! Of course I was going, you guys would probably be lost without me," it was a statement to cover his own ego as Shesh glared at him for a moment, no doubt she was going to say something rather cruel.
"Good, nice to have you mister wolf-bat," it was odd, there wasn't a hint of hatred or snark in the comment. Perhaps Shesh was just lulling him into a false sense of security so she could drop a boulder known as insults on his head. Tahno waited for that moment, not replying to Shesh's complement, as the others simply started another conversation about a plan.
No...Shesh really wasn't going to insult him.
Out of all the things that Tahno had encountered on his adventures with them. This had to be the strangest, honestly he thought that Shesh despised him more than anything else in the world. His thoughts on the entire situation could wait until later as Shesh crossed her arms and tapped her foot.
"So...how are we going to get back to uptown without drawing attention to ourselves?" It was a good question, though the amount of resistance they would face ultimately depended on what kind of route they would take. Of course, in response to such a question, Xinzang put he hands together and simply smiled, it was a warm smile, one that she often wore.
"Oh, do not worry about that dear...
Another bump was hit as the back of the truck elevated slightly before violently slamming to the ground. The tarp covering the hull ruffled ever so slightly. Xinzang went down the street of uptown, no one was out obviously. Not when there was a chance that that bombs could be dropped on their head. Thinking about it, the fact that no one was out meant that none of the equalist was patrolling.
The sun was still high in the sky, as Xinzang stopped her truck. The only one in the passenger seat was a cage holding the creature know as Pet Show. The woman excited her Cabbage Car as she removed the brown tarp from over the back, being greeted the the groans and grumbles of those under it. It wasn't very often she got to see the pain of her companions, as Xinzang chuckled.
"Are you guys okay?" It was a question that had to be asked as Shesh, Qishi, Skoochy and Tahno all bit their lips, slowly getting up and jumping from off the back of the vehicle. "This is the right street. correct?" After all, Xinzang actually never went with them to find Golden Bar Street, though by the shape of the buildings they were at the right street.
"Yeah, it should," Shesh stated as she looked around, recalling the street and the sign that she walked carelessly into. It was still strange, whenever they were out, there was rarely a large sum of people around. Though that means they simply had to be quick about everything, as the five of them, plus Pet Show started a brisk walk towards the location of the vacation home.
After what seemed like a large walk, they finally made it to Changgi's vacation home. It was exactly the same as it was before, as Shesh removed the key from her pocket. Skoochy mentioned a strange lock in the home before, Shesh just assumed that it lead to the bunker. In truth if it didn't then they were completely screwed.
Of course the front door was still locked as the traveled to the side, as Skoochy casually lifted the lock as Qishi opened Pet Show's cage.
"W-what are you doing?" Tahno stuttered, despite the bird saving their lives earlier. The waterbender still didn't trust the strange bird as Qishi rolled her eyes before fixing her glasses.
"Oh, stop, Pet Show has shown quite a bit of valor, the smallest respect we can show him is allowing him out of his cage. I doubt that he will pluck our eyes out of our heads," of course Qishi stated that in the worst possible way as Pet Show flew out before landing on Qishi's shoulder, it then looked at Tahno...or more importantly, it looked at Tahno's hair.
"Hey, the lock is open again..." Skoochy said, as he fixed his hat, he climbed through the window as Xinzang chuckled.
"Oh my, I haven't done this in quite awhile...not that I'm old or anything," she made a slight correction to her statement before Shesh and Qishi could act on it as the rest of them crawled through the window.
There wasn't much difference between the previous time they had visited and before. Certain clothes were scattered about, as if someone was looking for something. The pictures that Shesh saw before were missing as well. None of that was the reason they were their however as Skoochy looked towards a familiar dresser as he slid it out of the way reveling a metal hatched that was locked.
Shesh took out the key and inserted it, and with a casual turn. The lock fell off, Shesh then opened the two large hatches as a pair of wooden and stone stairs were reviled, there was simply an empty void of darkness from that point.
"Shit, this looks like it goes pretty far down," Shesh comment was replied to with useless information.
"Well, I assume they are using the tunnels some Earthbenders created when this was still a colony. Some of them would dig under the ground and use it to escape unnoticed. They were most likely never actually filled in, I wouldn't be surprised if the tunnels went from uptown to downtown and everything in between." Qishi pointed out as she adjusted her glasses once again, causing Tahno to groan.
"That means we probably have to do a lot of walking..." Tahno could already feel his feet falling off as Xinzang simply shook her head.
"I don't think so, if the tunnels really do extended throughout most of the city, then chances are that they probably go directly under Cabbage Corp. If we are after Changgi, then at most we simply have to find where Cabbage Corp is in relation to the underground tunnels," it made sense. After all, Changgi probably had access to far more hidden tunnel entrances. Having one in the place where she spent most of her time was only natural.
"Still, it's going to be annoying, unless the tunnels are one to one to the streets it's still going to take a bit of time. If the tunnels really to spread across the entire city, taking one wrong turn will completely ruin us. Not to mention if we get lost, even if we do have a light, we really don't have much in terms of string to allow us to get back." Shesh made all good points, as Qishi adjusted her glasses, despite their better judgement they had to ignore such dangers.
"I suppose we will simply create the plan as we go, it is pointless to make assumptions about what will happen. We shall take new information as it comes, and adjusted our strategy from there," without another word Qishi snapped her finger as she was the first one to descend the stairs. Her black hair swaying ever so slightly.
The others didn't falter, after all they wouldn't have been there if they had doubts. Each one descended the staircase following the soft glow that Qishi's light gave off.
As they went further down the natural light of the sun slowly faded. The sound of wood slowly faded as the glow of Qishi's fire bending showed nothing but brown and gray stone walls. They were underground no doubt. After about twenty minutes of walking, their decent had stopped, and the footing turned flat. It seemed they reached the majority height of the cave.
I do hope not too much dirt enters my hair," Qishi frowned as she touched the walls of the cave. The Firebending bird known as Pet Show still on her shoulders.
"Man, I didn't think it would take this long," Tahno already started to complain as he took a looked towards Skoochy. He was then reminded of something, "Hey, don't earthbenders have that, seismic feel or something? Can't you see everything down here?"
Skoochy simply shook his head before letting out a small scoff, "sorry, if you haven't noticed I'm actually not that great at earthbending. If you need me to move sand, then I'm your guy. Until then I'm probably only slightly better at moving rocks than you," Skoochy was at least honest with his limitations as they continued onward.
It seemed that they underestimated the sheer length and size of the caverns. They continued walking, the scenery slowly starting to meld together. Despite the twist and turns it was still luckily a single path. They could head back at anytime with little to no confusion. Well at least that is what they told themselves, but it seemed that they unluckily reached a branching path.
"Now this might present a problem," Xinzang said as she closed one of her eyes. They had been down there at least for an hour, and it seemed just now they were actually getting to the interesting portion of their expedition.
Qishi pulled her hair slightly as she sighed. "We could stay in one group and travel down both paths, but it is impossible to tell how long that will take. Of course the other option is too split up, but that means we would need to take at least one Fire Bender on each team. Not only that, the other team wouldn't be able to help the other if something happened."
That meant that Pet Show had to be split up, and then there was the entire thing about balance. It would be best to split it up evenly, that meant that Tahno couldn't go with Shesh or Xinzang. Honestly most of them already figured out what group is going where and why. Shesh gave a small cough, it seemed she was going to be the one to speak. "Alright, time for teams!"
Tahno heart dropped, honestly he had zero confidence that anything was going to end well for him. The less of a group they were, the more work he was required to do. Something he really wasn't comfortable with, but before he could voice his complaints it seemed the teams were already picked.
"Me, Qishi and Xinzang will go left. Tahno, Pet Show and Skoochy will go right," Shesh smiled, as if she was confident with her pick as Tahno bit his lip.
"H-hey, do you really think it's fair to pair us up with a bird?" Tahno didn't mind Skoochy so much, after all the kid was rather smart. Pet Show on the other hand obviously hated him, he could tell just by the glare. The same glare that the bird was giving him at that very moment.
"Oh, don't be like that Tahno. Pet Show is a fantastic bender, plus you need a Fire Bender on your side. Shesh and Qishi work just like you and Skoochy do, so separating the teams like that wouldn't be helpful for our end goals," it was a shame that Xinzang made so much sense. It seemed that Pet Show got the message and flew from Qishi's shoulder before perching himself on Tahno's head. Peeking at his rather horrid hair.
"If you reach a dead end, or are injured please return here and wait. If the other team is not back within the hour, then head back up," Qishi gave a simple demand as Tahno grumbled. Each team went their separate ways as Pet Show body gained a soft glowing light, it seemed the day was just going to get longer and longer.
Tahno sighed as he and Skoochy walked down the rather dry tunnels. His head was hot, likely due to Pet Show making himself comfortable on Tahno's head. He was also getting rather tired, his stomach was starting to rumble and he doubted the darkness was good for his already pale complexion. Though, despite all of this, Tahno didn't complain. Mostly due to the fact that Skoochy wasn't complaining, as an adult he had to hold his tongue.
"Geez, this is taking way longer than expected..." Skoochy kicked a rock as Tahno scoffed, throwing up both of his arms.
"Really, I haven't even noticed," Tahno smiled, it was a false smile a faker wore to hide his fatigue as the duo continued walking.
"Weird...however thing turned out," Skoochy simply made an off hand comment. Tahno sighed as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Yeah, it's pretty irritating, but man this could have been a lot worse," despite the endless threat of death, Tahno did manage to get his bending back. Plus if everything went perfectly, he probably won't be in debt to Qishi and Shesh anymore. Though the Waterbender doubted they actually did any calculations on such matters.
"Hopefully, I get paid decently by those two," Skoochy let out a whistle as the two continued down the tunnel. For some reason, the entire area was getting lighter and lighter. It wasn't pet show increasing his heat as there was a small light at the end. It was jarring to say the least considering the fact they hadn't gone up at all.
It couldn't have been an exit, so it had to be a well lit room as Skoochy and Tahno looked at one another. Well, there had to be a room with lights, unless something else had happened as Tahno cursed himself.
"Shit, I didn't think we would actually find something..." He was tempted to just turn around and say they reached a dead end. That would have been acceptable if Pet Show wasn't constantly pulling on his hair.
"Stupid bird..." Tahno grumbled, it was obvious that the creature wasn't just going to let the two walk away. Plus what was the worst thing that could happen?
Without putting too much though into it, Tahno and Skoochy walked towards the well lit room, entering it was rather strange. The light wasn't natural, but rather hanging lights from the cave ceiling. The room was rather large, it contained nearly two dozen crates scattered about. If one looked in the gaps between each piece of wood they would see equalist weapons and items.
At first the honestly thought they had stumbled into some secret equalist bunker...but that was simply flat out impossible. There was absolutely no denying it, the caves were owned by Changgi...so why would equalist weapons be there? The gave had to have been worked on recently, the lights were closer to lamps than anything that used electricity. The entire room looked like it was carved out somewhat as Tahno swallowed harshly.
The cave continued a little past them, though a sudden chill went down their spines. On the other end of the room was a man with rather long hair. Someone that Tahno recognized from his horrible experience at a restaurant not too long ago. Of course he never actually knew the name of the man as his eyes narrowed. The tall man tapped one of the crates as he smiled.
"Eh? Now I didn't expect someone like you to get here. A mediocre bender, a child and a bird...I am not sure if I should feel insulted or not," It was a casual insult as Tahno eye twitched. For some reason, even if they turned and ran. He had a feeling that they weren't going to be allowed to run.
"You know, you and your friends made it quite difficult for us to get our hands on these. We had to fish them out from the bottom of the ocean, but I guess once we get the chance to sell them in the Fire Nation, everything will be worth it..." The man known as Jīnshǔ arm started to twist as a blade made of bone came shooting out, "of course, I have more own goals."
Tahno laughed nervously. There probably wasn't a way to get out of the situation without violence as the waterbender looked at Skoochy. The boy was most likely shocked at what he was seeing. Someone bending their own bones was strange, though once again, he had seen stranger things.
Pet Show lowered himself, preparing to launch out of Tahno's hair. Despite that, he doubted all three of them would be able to beat him. Though it wasn't like they could just run away either. "F-fine, I guess I really don't have much of a choice in the matter,"
"I hope the guys are alright..." Qishi showed a small hint of concern as Shesh gave a small scoff.
"They will probably be fine, despite all the shit I give them, they are pretty competent when all else fails." Shesh could at least give Tahno that much. Though she would never say it to his face, he trusted everyone there with her life. Including the former wolf-bat, however that wasn't the main concern or situation.
A small light appeared in their vision, it was like the end of a tunnel. Shesh crossed her arms, they hadn't been going up, so someone had to have lit a room up. It made sense, though, it was doubtful the entire area was just caves and tunnels. There were most likely a large amount of rooms that were made for rest and work. Despite this fact, Shesh couldn't help but wonder something.
"What could they be working on down here?" she doubted the Triple Threat was too deep into such things. Plus Changgi was a rather selfish person, she wouldn't want to split a lot of the profit with too many people.
"Do you think her personal bunker is up ahead?" Xinzang eyes narrowed as Qishi tapped her lips.
"I have no idea, we certainly have been walking long enough to cover the distance between where we started and Cabbage Corp. However that is not taking into account the Future Industries building, and the other path as well," there was quite a bit to think about as Qishi adjusted her glasses once more before smiling. "Though, we shall throw caution to the wind in this instance. We have been under here for too long, the invasion could end at any moment and Changgi could escape." If such a thing happened, all of their efforts that day would have been meaningless.
So they casually walked towards the light, Qishi putting out the flame in her hand, what they were greeted with was strange to say the least. A large amount of crates stacked about. Each one containing different equalist devices as lamps hung from the ceiling. It was a makeshift warehouse of some sort, and it couldn't have belonged to the equalist. That was an unchangeable fact, but that brought up a rather important question.
What could Changgi need with such things, though it seemed that the answer to that question would ave to wait. There was a soft amount of footsteps as a familiar out of place hat entered their vision. Shesh simply glared at the man, "The Spinner," she only known him by his title. After all, knowing his actual name wouldn't have mattered.
"Weitiao..." Qishi glared at the spinner coughed slightly before chuckling.
"Yep, that's me alright, honestly. I don't know why you had to say it, everyone knows," to say the person in front of them was annoying would have been an understatement. Xinzang brushed her short hair aside as she took a step forward, the spinner lowering his hand to the stones strapped around his belt, this wasn't going to be a peaceful conclusion.
"...Tell us where Changgi is, we don't have time for someone like you," the waterbender glared at her opponent as Weitaio's eyes widened slightly before he burst out laughing.
"Wow, you ladies sure are scary," Weitiao straightened himself for a moment before tipping his hat. "Changgi is right past this door, not a big deal, just a hallway and you're at her. It's the same for the other direction as well, I mean there was a split in the path," Weitaio was correct, there was a split in the path. That means all paths lead to Changgi's bunker.
"Hehe, that's a relief, it looks like we don't have to worry about the other group." Shesh smirked as she glared at the stone spinner, though they all were doing a lot of glaring.
"Oh...I should mention to you ladies. If we were to fight here, Changgi would probably hear. Even though I doubt I can beat all of you, I'm pretty sure I can stall you until the boss lady gets away." Weitiao chuckled at his own comment as he prepared to pull his weapons. "Actually there is a pretty good chance that she is already packing up, she might be gone by now..." With those simple words, their plan sped up in a breath. After all if what the man was saying was true, then they really couldn't waste time on him.
Qishi frowned slightly as she examined each of their positions as well as their abilities. She cut her eyes towards Shesh and Xinzang as she twitched her pinky, slowly pointing to the exit that. It seemed she was motioning the two to make a break for the entrance. There was a lot of questions that the two waterbenders wanted to ask, but they couldn't be answered at the moment.
The student and teacher both took deep breaths.
"...!" One could easily missed Qishi's hand movements if they blinked, four caps were fired towards the spinner as a stone was ejected from his belt. Both colliding as the caps bounced off of the stone, Qishi barely dodging the high speed stone. Her attack was completely ineffective, but the point of the attacks wasn't to kill Weitaio, not yet anyway.
"...Shit," the man dared not turn his back at the Fire Bender as he felt two people run pass him. He couldn't aim, the moment he turned his head was the moment he would get riddle with caps. So he simply had to let Xinzang and Shesh pass, knowing no doubt he was going to be yelled at later.
"Man, the boss lady is going to be pissed, oh well. I was paid to help her, this is only extra," the spinner held his belt as Qishi laughed to herself putting her hand in her pocket and pulling out a large sum of caps.
"I never did get to pay you back for ruining my lunch that day..." Qishi adjusted her glasses, her smile slowly turning into a frown as she twirled her hair ever so slightly. "The punishment for such a thing is death, you are not going to leave here alive I am afraid," Qishi the fired a few caps, knowing she didn't have time to waste on such a meaningless battle.
Shesh looked back at the room, knowing full well that she was leaving her friend in a life or death situation. Then again, that was why she and Xinzang were running. The faster they reached and defeated Changgi the faster they could go back and help Qishi if she needed it...but still.
"Do not worry Shesh, Qishi wouldn't have made it this far if she didn't have a plan. We should focus on efforts and mind on the goal ahead," Xinzang was blunt, her eyes never moving. She was looking straight ahead as the two continued running. It seemed that Shesh picked the right woman to be her teacher, she honestly couldn't think of learning from anyone else.
"Yeah, plus we are the type of people that work best under pressure," Shesh smiled, a large light was at the end of the tunnel. This would be their last stop on this trip as they entered the final room.
It was large, far larger than anything they had seen before, once again lights were hanging from the ceiling. However what should be taken note was the sheer amount of entrances and exits to the room. It was almost like a hub of some sorts, every entrance led to there and every exit lead out. There was a small stack of paper, and some bagged food lying about. Some books and some personal items as well, some extra pair of clothing.
All these were fine in a single room, after all the size of it was about five living rooms smashed together. However their goal was right in front of them, placing items in a bag. A familiar hooded witch and a rather groovy lady as well, it took a moment for her to realize there were other people in the room. The hooded woman turned around, her legs crossed as she gave a light shrug.
"So the equali-" Changgi was about to make a mistake as her eyes widen. Honestly, she expected she would be killing equalist that day, but what she had before her was honestly far more interesting.
"Oh...if it isn't the groovy little lass," despite the many attempts on their lives, Changgi spoke so casually as Shesh dug in her pocket reveling a large necklace. This of coursed cause the first change in Changgi's expression, probably the first time the woman wasn't smiling or smirking.
"This is yours...right?" The item was no longer needed as Shesh tossed it back to its rightful owner.
"So you're the ones that stole it, though it's so old I doubt you were actually able to use it effectively to find me," Changgi pulled down her hood showing her brown hair as put the necklace on. She once again covered her head with her hood as she gently tapped the wooden sections, "I guess you don't really care about my life right? After all, you groovy ladies are here to take it,"
Changgi was correct, they didn't care who she really was or where she came from as Xinzang took a step forward. She removed her cap on the large canteen as she spoke. "It is nice to finally get to meet you, I never met an Airbender in person. It's a shame that it was under such horrid circumstances however," Xinzang seemed to have kept her politeness as Changgi clapped her hands before stepping forward.
"You both should feel honored, you're about to be killed by one of the few remaining Airbenders in this world...please savor it!"
Tahno had a lot of bad days, most of them have been rather recent. Though this was easily the worst one as he continued to run around the rather cramp room, avoiding stones among other things. Wooden crates being broken apart as equalist gloves and other equipment were flung about. The man known as Jīnshǔ focused all his attention on killing Tahno first. Easily ignoring all the burst of flames Pet Show was throwing at him.
The man really was like a metal statue, he even ignore fire, trying to close the distance between him and Tahno as the former Wolf-Bat heart skipped a beat.
Tahno moved his fingers as he sent shards of ice from his canteen towards Jinshu's head. The man had to at least dodge out of the way, it was as simple as that, at least that is what Tahno assumed. The long haired man simply headbutted the shards, causing them to shatter as if they had hit a metal wall.
It was at that point where it was obvious that they were simply gnawing at him. Whatever type of bending he had learned, it was obviously they weren't going to break it without something far more blunt.
Tahno looked around the cave quickly, trying to find something to their advantage...and luckily there was something. There was a section of the wall that obviously looked weak, even someone like Tahno could tell that much. It seemed with a harsh knock it would collapse, crushing anyone that was under it. It wasn't the brightest plan he had, but it was one that he was willing to use.
Of course this also meant that he would have to allow. Of course, during all of this, Tahno had to wonder what Skoochy was doing, but quickly pushed the thought to the back of his head as he made one last dash towards the wall.
Tahno held his breath, it seemed that he was going to make it, at least that is what he assumed. For some reason he tripped, or rather the earthbender that was trying to end his life tripped him. Before Tahno could catch his breath, he felt was was an equivalent to a foot slamming into his stomach as he coughed. He slid against the dirt floor, he ended up right in front of the wall that he needed. Though unfortunately, Jinshu was standing right above him.
"Eh...it's to be expected from a worthless cheater who's most notable achievement is how foolish his hair was..." Tahno really couldn't argue the fact as Jinshu lifted his arm, his sharp bone sticking out of it. He was prepared to cut Tahno to ribbons...at least that is what he was going to do before a familiar bird snatched his hair.
"Cursed bird..." Jinshu glared at the creature, as he moved his free arm and casually punched the creature away. It must have been the equivalent of being hit by a metal bat ad Pet Show was sent flying into a nearby wall, struggling to even stand after the blow.
"Now...where was I-" Once again, Jinshu was interuppted as he felt something grab his leg, then his shoulder and then the rest of his body. Like small firm hands, as his eye twitched.
They were equalist gloves...this wouldn't be out of the ordinary, if it wasn't for the fact that there wasn't anyone one holding them. They were simply floating hands that held on to him, it was an amazing situation as Tahno eyes went wide. Either the universe really liked him that day, or Skoochy did something as Jinshu eye twitched.
"Wha-" he couldn't finish his statement as the gloves twitched, sending multiple shocks through his body. Tahno eyes narrowed, he couldn't miss this chance as Tahno rolled to the back of Jinshu, positioning himself perfectly to slam Jinshu into the wall...however Tahno couldn't just do that without saying a word.
"So...tell me, how's my bending now!" Tahno smirked as he sent a large chuck of ice into Jinshu flinging the man harshly into the wall. The structure started to shake as a large amount of stone and boulders fell on him. The dust nearly blinded Tahno for a few seconds before it slowly cleared. There was just a pile of rocks as the Wolf-Bat let out a sigh nearly collapsing on himself.
"Wow...that was pretty close," A casually voice as Skoochy slowly went out of his hiding spot, Tahno wanted to scream at the boy, but decided something else was important.
"Skoochy...how did you do that?" It wasn't metal bending, most of the time metal bending required people to at least be touching the metal. Even then, he doubted it would have been able to let him do what he did as Skoochy gave a light shrug before adjusting his hat.
"Well...I just filled the gloves with sand, from there it was just like bending normally. It was pretty hard to figure out how to get it to turn on, but after that I just did it," Skoochy didn't make a big deal out of it as Tahno simply blinked for a moment, honestly surprised at the achievement. Up to that point, Tahno simply thought he was clever, but after that...
"Shit, this kid is a genius," Tahno praise would have to wait as they both turned to a lying Pet Show, the creature was obviously breathing as the two of them walking up to wing was slightly crooked, it was obviously broken, Pet Show slowly got up, before giving a rather harsh glare at the two. Was it out of irritation or anger...perhaps both as Tahno sighed.
He hated to admit it, but the bird in front of him did save his life...and he knew he was going to regret what he was about to do next as he leaned over holding out his hand. Skoochy simply watched the display, trying hard not to smirk as Pet Show glared at Tahno for a moment before jumping on his hand and slowly making his way to Tahno's head.
"Well, what should we do now, it would be a waste of time if we just went back..." Skoochy pointed out, as Tahno bit his lip. He really wanted to go back, but if they did then the battle they just fought would have been for nothing.
"Lets go a little further..."
It seemed that Qishi was getting better at dodging the stones, but not even she was perfect. The cuts and scraps she had gathered showed that, as the current leader of the Agni Kai held her breath. Every time she tried to aim at the spinner a stone would launch. Actually it seemed the only thing the spinner needed to launch the stones was to see the threat coming and move his fingers an inch.
"Eh...lass are you alright?" The spinner snorted as he laughed, Qishi glaring at him, the sheer amount of caps that were embedded into the wall due to them being bounced around.
The entire situation was annoying to say the least, every time her caps collided with the spinning stone they would ricochet off of it. It would always happen, her caps would always lose and she was left dodging attacks because of it, though despite this, something clicked in Qishi's head, something she realized.
"Wait...they will always bounce, my caps are never destroyed," that was a fact since the battle started as Qishi looked around for a moment as if scanning the room it self as well as Weitiao's position...she then smiled.
The spinner frowned the moment Qishi gained a smirk. "What's so funny, bah. Even I'm getting a little bit irritated by this, so I'll finish you right quick," The man unhooked one of his many stones as he slowly started to spin it, Qishi pivoted her foot. She was going to run for it, but where was the answer as she made a quick dash to the side the moment Weitiao threw his stone.
The stone slowly followed Qishi, turning in an arc. Qishi took out five caps, but instead of aiming for Weitiao she specifically aimed for the spinning stone that was chasing after her. Without a moments hesitation, she shot it five times, and without so much of a word. The stone dropped to the ground. Not because it was damaged by the shots, but because the one controlling the stone was shot five times.
"Eh...how?" It was confusing, as the spinner twitched, he slowly sinking to his knees as Qishi adjusted her glassed once again, it seemed it was time to show her superior mind at work.
"Do not be surprised! It was just some basic math at work, examining the room, the speed of which the stone was spinning and where my caps flew it was easier to set up a situation where my caps would be flung right into you," Qishi flipped her hair, despite her cuts she didn't lose a sliver of elegance. The spinner sunk to the ground holding his wounds.
"Well...you seem rather busy, so I will leave you to bleed out...I have important matters to attend to!" Without so much of a glance, Qishi casually strolled past the bleeding Weitiao and down the tunnel.
Changgi wasn't just an unshakable wall, but a serpent as well. She once again slid between both of the waterbenders attack, before pushing herself off the ground. Her limbs out stretched, as she shot a wave of air towards both Shesh and Xinzang. Shesh used the whips on her finger tips and pulled herself away as Xinzang made a small path of ice on the ground, sliding away from it.
In one swift motion, both resumed their attacks, Shesh's finger whips breaking off and turning into ice shards as Xinzang sent a sharp wave of water towards their foe.
Changgi smiled, as she twisted her body in the air, making a small hurricane redirecting all attacks sent her way before landing on the ground. She then slowly spun both of her index fingers in a circle, her left foot following as two small twisters both capable of drilling right through stone. It kicked up dirt as both Shesh and Xinzang slid away from the attack, both blinded by the dust in the air.
It was a bad situation as both Shesh and Xinzang were on edge, chances are Changgi probably couldn't see them that well either as both of them prepared to dodge an incoming attack. It seemed their preparation paid off...at least mostly. Two tiny twisters came from an unknown direction as Xinzang quickly avoided the attack. Shesh however simply moved a moment too late, as the attack went right through her left leg causing her eye to twitch.
"Fuck!" She had to swear as she immediately collapsed, trying her hardest not to scream. Blood slowly poured out of the wound as Xinzang heart skipped a beat.
"Shesh!" That was all the teacher could do for her student, she dared not take her sights off of Changgi who simply smiled at the image.
"Well, that took quite a bit of work, now my victory is all but assured...I'll blow you both away!" Changgi grinned as Xinzang closed on of her eyes, the waterbender shoved her thumb into her arm, forcing blood out as she completely empty her canteen. "Eh... listen, it really doesn't matter now, whatever you throw at me, it will just be blown away!"
A bead of sweat went down Shesh's cheek, Changgi had a point. There really wasn't anything up to that point that could get past Changgi's defense. Even boulders probably would have been blown away once she got going. However, Xinzang simply ignored Changgi's comment as she slowly twisted the her blood and the water from her canteen toghther.
"Shesh...let me show you the importance of that technique taught you..." Xinzang was completely calm as the winds in the cave started to pick up, the last hint of Changgi smiled faded in the storm of dust as Xinzang eye twitched. At that moment a drill of water was sent straight at Changgi who simply chuckled, not doubt it would be blown away.
Yes...it should have been blown away, but it wasn't.
"W-what?!" Changgi felt fear, as the tip of the drill pierced her tornado...it was going to go through no matter what as Changgi attempted to shift her body, but it was far too late. The drill snatched her arm ripping her out of her stance and repeatedly slamming her against the floor at alarming speed. The sound of arm breaking as she was pushed into the ground was easily heard. After what seemed like an eternity, Changgi was released, her body still spinning into the ground. Her arm was bent the wrong way, her hood was completely torn off.
Xinzang took a deep breath as she walked towards her student, Shesh was honestly amazed at what she just saw.
"Shesh, are you alright?" It was an honest question as Xinzang got on her knees and examined Shesh's wound. Shesh simply smiled at her teacher, holding back her pain.
"Eh? This...nah, this is nothing, though I don't think I'll be walking out of here," Shesh gave a small laugh as Xinzang smiled.
"Well, just let m-" Xinzang didn't finish her statement as she felt a force drill into her side, as she was sent flying forward, a small hole through her body. Shesh simply froze as her teacher was casually tossed aside. Xinzang coughed as she held her wound, holding back a scream as Shesh turned to face the only direction the attack could have came from.
There was Changgi, standing casually. Her clothing was torn, her left arm was rendered unusable and bruises riddled her body. It was amazing that she was still alive let alone able to move and bend. It seemed that even she realized how amazing it was as she staggered forward slightly and lifted her useable arm. "Ta-dah!" Despite all the damage she took, she was still the groovy wind as Shesh bit her lower lip.
Shesh quickly looked at her leg, if it was a simple torn muscle then she would have been walking by now. Her bending allowed her to heal almost any internal injury, due to her ability to bend her own blood...however she could not repair a broken bone. She was not a normal healer either, she could only heal via blood. Shesh had to finish the battle without walking...but at the same time.
"She doesn't look that great either, I have to think of something..." Shesh could only use bending that required only her arms, and from a low point of view. She still had most of the water from her canteen as she noticed the trail of blood leading to Xinzang who was still groaning in pain. Shesh then examined her her leg, of course there was a large sum of blood around it. So Shesh started to gather her teachers blood as well as her own.
Shesh also took note that she was laying on her canteen as Changgi took a deep breath.
The groovy wind slowly started to spin her leg and her single working arm. "Even with one arm this should be enough to kill you, plus you're far too low to the ground to do anything of worth,"
Shesh simply smiled at the comment. Her arms were covered up to the elbow with blood. It wasn't a lot, but it would be enough as she had one final thought. "Yeah, it really have been a strange journey, I know you can't hear me inside my head...but thanks for teaching this to me...Xinzang, I still don't know what else to say..."
The wind around Changgi started to pick up again, as the woman eye twitched as she noticed Shesh punting her arms together. "No, that's not right, she doesn't have enough height to use it, it will fail," It was an absolute fact, if Shesh tried to use the water drill from where she was from it would simply skid across the ground harmlessly.
So, the Airbender was calm, that was until a large splash forced Shesh a few feet into the air.
"How?" Changgi looked at the girls side, her canteen was completely busted. It seemed that she used the force of some of her blood and canteen to elevate her for a few moments. Those few moments was all that Shesh needed as a red drill was sent straight towards Changgi. There was no way to dodge it, and her wind was completely ignored.
The drill slammed itself into her stomach as it arced upward towards the ceiling with Changgi still attached to it. With a satisfying slam, Changgi hit the ceiling before falling onto the ground below. Even if the groovy wind wasn't dead, she wouldn't be getting up from that kind of attack.
Shesh smiled before she turned her attention back to her teacher, who was finally recovering from Changgi's sneak attack. It made sense, Shesh doubted that Changgi hit any of Xinzang's bones, and the one that taught her how to heal herself using her own blood would easily be able to recover from an attack like that.
"S-Shesh are you alright!" This time Xinzang ran towards her student, but before she could reach her Shesh spoke.
"Don't worry about me! Just finish off Changgi!" That after all was what they came there to do as Xinzang stopped in her tracks before turning her attention to Changgi. The Airbender was face first in the ground, the only sign of life was the small breathes she took as Xinzang eyes nearly glazed over. She walked over to her enemy prepared to stab her in the back, but before she could do that something strange happened.
Changgi started to sink into the ground, before Xinzang could even register what happened she was gone. It seemed that an earthbender helped her escape as Xinzang bit her lip.
Shesh simply sighed however, she doubted Changgi was going bother them ever again. It really wasn't even worth killing her at that point, they had completely ruined her plans. Honestly, Shesh simply just wanted to take a nap or relax, but it seemed that she wasn't going to get her wish as three idiots and a bird came rushing into the room.
"Shesh! Xinzang are you alright?" Qishi came rushing to Shesh's side, which made sense. They were friends after all as Tahno looked at the scene.
"Shit, what happened to you?" Tahno said as Skoochy obviously had the same question, but more importantly.
"Where is Changgi? has she been eliminated?" Of course that was Qishi's secondary main concern as Xinzang simply sighed, it seemed that it was going to require a lot of explaining.
What happened next wasn't too special, they left the tunnels...though by the time they got out, the invasion and the liberation of the city had long since finished. It seemed that Shesh and her friends completely missed such important events. Thought that happened to them quite often, Pet Show wasn't' capable of flying for a week and due to a broken leg Shesh was stuck in the hospital for two.
The assassin attacks slowly stopped and the equalist appeared to have disbanded for the most part. Everyone praised Avatar Korra as a hero, not like such a thing mattered to Shesh considering she was happy she wasn't involved in anything complicated. Though Korra had to go to the South-Pole for some reason.
As Shesh lied in her nice comfy hospital bed she couldn't help but smile. It would be the last day she was staying and she was making the most of bothering the nurses on duty as she let out a yawn, preparing to close her blue eyes. However before that, there was a knock on her door as a blue dressed nurse came in.
"E-excuse me, you have a visitor..." the nurses was obvious nervous as Shesh cocked her brow. It was strange, Shesh knew for a fact that everyone else already visited earlier that day. She couldn't possible have any other visitors outside of them, but still Shesh was interested.
"Okay, let them in," Shesh said such a thing casually as the nurse vanished, though who she was replaced with was someone Shesh never expected to see. To say she was familiar would have been an understatement as both of their blue eyes met as Shesh gave a harsh glare. She was instantly regretting allowing the person in front of her in.
"What the fuck do you want Korra?" It was a blunt response as Korra simply rolled her eyes at the harsh comment.
"Nice to see you too," Korra paused for a moment as she scanned her sister, she didn't look too bad outside the cast around her leg. Though still, the Avatar had a few questions for her sister. "Umm...so what happened anyway?"
"I was hit by a Satomobile," it was an obvious lie as Korra glared at Shesh. Even she knew it was a lie, but at the same time, Korra knew not to press the matter any further. This time however, Shesh had her own question for her younger sister.
"How did you find me anyway?" Shesh was positive that she covered all her tracks, and she doubted Korra was savvy enough to find out by herself.
"Well...one of your friends went to the island and told me you were here, don't blame me..." Korra said bluntly as Shesh eye twitched. The person was obviously Qishi as Shesh cursed under her breath.
"Okay, you've seen me, you can go..." Shesh was trying too be a short, she really wanted the whole situation to end. Korra remained silent for a moment, wondering what to say next. Thinking about it, the Avatar really didn't have a plan for what she was going to say to her. Korra just wanted to check up on her and there really wasn't much else to it.
"Since you're not dying or anything, I'll just go...I've got Avatar stuff I need to take care of..." Korra started to head out the room, as Shesh winced, once again she knew she was going to regret saying what she was going to say next. Still, she wanted to say it, for some odd reason.
"Hey...Korra, I mean, don't take this as a complement or anything. It's not like I care about what you do, but...from what I heard you were pretty impressive on how you handled that craziness. I'm not saying you did a good job or anything, I'm just saying you weren't completely awful..." It was the best complement that Shesh was going to give, any other would have made her seem like she actually cared...which she didn't.
"Well, I'll take that as a complement," Korra left the room causing Shesh to sigh once again.
Things really were strange.
Author note
It's finished, this arc is finished. I might go back and edit the hell out of this, but I'm excited for the next one. The next arc is going to take place between Season 1 and Season 2. Korra wasn't able to show up much in this one due to it being rather strict with canon and what not, But I'll have a lot more space for everything.