Chapter 21
The party atmosphere everyone had been enjoying was effectively ended with Daniel's departure and in the darkness, the valley suddenly seemed a very empty and cold place. Mostly silence reined as Katara worked at healing Aang's burned neck. Afterward, when he told them of what he had done and seen, there were many mixed feelings amongst the group. Long after Chong and his family had gone to bed, Boulder following soon after, the Gaang remained sitting and talking by the rebuilt fire late into the night.
Early the next morning as Zuko sat up in their makeshift bed, Toph rose at the same moment, her hair sticking out in a dark halo about her head and her pale eyes bloodshot.
"Didn't sleep much either, hey?" Zuko whispered to her so as not to disturb the still sleeping Mai.
Toph only grunted and shook her head, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair and smooth it down before she groped on the floor beside her for her headband. As she did every morning since receiving the jade and jewel encrusted piece, Toph held the shining headband in her hands, running her fingers over and around it's obsidian centre piece, her fingertips lingering on the two rubies and emerald embedded there. After fitting the headband to her hair, Toph and Zuko tucked their blanket around the sleeping Mai and slipped quietly from their room built into the cliffs.
The valley was mostly still immersed in darkness but high above them the snow covered mountain peaks glowed brightly with the rising sun. Looking around, Zuko and Toph both noticed that once again, even after the events from the night before, Daniel had left them a table laden with bowls and dishes of food and a fresh pile of wood for the fire. They also noticed Aang, sitting and meditating by the fire and they headed over to him.
"Mornin, Twinkletoes." Toph said, nudging him with her toe, "Couldn't sleep either?"
Zuko grinned at his fiancée as he moved over to lift a large pot of water onto the fire.
"You know, it's kind of rude to interrupt someone when they're meditating." Aang said quietly, but he opened his eyes and sighed, nodding toward the lake, "But, no. Neither of us slept very well."
Zuko turned to look while Toph focused with her senses and both could see Katara down by the lake's edge, the water there rising up in great sheets and whorls that spun about her as she moved through a series of complex exercises.
"I'm surprised you're not down there with her." Zuko commented, "Or are you working just as hard up here?"
"Actually, I was thinking of going up there and apologizing." Aang said, pointing up at the cliffs opposite them on the other side of the valley.
Hundreds of feet up the sheer walls, they spied a tiny dark figure sitting on a narrow ledge. Both Toph and Zuko had a little trouble finding him at first as Daniel was sitting perfectly still and quiet, even his heartbeat seemed soft and quieted in Toph's senses. After spotting the man though, Toph frowned and turned back to Aang.
"What have you got to say sorry for, Twinkletoes?" Toph said, raising an eyebrow at him, "You're the one he jumped on and tried to strangle."
"No. What I did was wrong, Toph. I'm not surprised by his reaction." Aang said quietly, his shoulders slumped and he dropped his eyes sadly, "It was so easy at first, at least while his guard was down. But invading Daniel's mind and his memories like I did, it just…It was a violation. And his mind, I really don't know how he's holding it together. It's just like when I took your sister's Bending at the asylum, Zuko. The same twisted mess inside. I just wish there was something I could do for him like we did for Azula."
Zuko knelt beside his friend with a compassionate look and rested a comforting hand on Aang's shoulder but Toph suddenly gave a derisive snort and blew at her long fringe with a frustrated look.
"Well, now I know where he gets his drama queen side from." Toph said with a smirk, she turned and marched over to one of the wider stone seats around the fire and kicked at it, causing it to split in half horizontally and she jumped up onto the shortened, improvised stone board, "Once again, Toph has to go deal with things. Why don't you just wait here and braid your wife's hair when she's finished splashing in the lake?" Toph grinned and blew a kiss to Zuko, "I'll be back in a minute with Chuckles for a cup of tea, my sexy Sparky."
"Uh, Toph," Aang began hesitantly.
But, Still grinning at them, Toph's board lifted her and she was carried up and away, rapidly rising toward the distant cliffs. Zuko patted Aang on the shoulder in a friendly fashion and gave him a wry smile.
"Don't worry, Aang. She'll be fine. I see the way Daniel still looks at her, he wouldn't hurt Toph." Zuko said as he rose to check the boiling pot on the fire, "Besides, she might just get through to him."
Daniel sat high above the valley floor on his narrow ledge, still wearing only a loincloth in the cold, occasionally whipping winds. He sat still and unmoving, meditating with his eyes closed and his face uncharacteristically slack and relaxed. Toph rose from below with a small smile on her face and her arms folded before her, her small stone board lifting her up until there were face to face.
"Morning, Chuckles." Toph said jovially, "Do you like that one? Chuckles. I thought that nickname just suits you so well."
Daniel only continued to sit still and unmoving, breathing slowly with his hands resting atop one another in his lap. Toph frowned at the lack of reaction but she slid her board closer, slipping from it and joining Daniel on his narrow ledge with her legs dangling below her. The moment she let go control of the stone board it tumbled away down the side of the cliff, although this didn't concern Toph, she was sitting on and had her back to more stone then she would need for a new board.
"You know, Aang wants to come up and apologize. He thinks he violated you." Toph said in a sarcastic tone, waving a hand dismissively, "I told him to grow a backbone."
"He should apologize." Daniel growled softly without moving or opening his eyes, "Preying on another's fears and guilt's are a demon's tactics. He is lucky my guard was down or I would have killed him outright." His eyes did open now and he looked down into the valley as a small knot formed between his brows, "But I am…sorry, for my reaction."
"So, the mountain man awakes." Toph said with a grin and thumped her fist into Daniel's shoulder, "Don't worry about Twinkletoes. He'll get over it and he's sorry for messing around in your head. He just cares and he wants to know how he can help, you know what I mean?" Daniel nodded slowly at this and Toph turned her face into the valley and sighed, "But June was a little put out when you took off. I think she really likes you."
Toph knew she had spoken a half truth, through her Earthbending she'd felt June tossing and turning in her room the night before and had felt it too when the woman had cried before falling asleep.
"I've never experienced someone liking me so…directly before." he said quietly and then frowned, turning his face away, "But she deserves better."
"See? There you go with the drama again. I still can't believe that somewhere another Toph married someone like Twinkletoes and had you." Toph said grinning. Her smile faltered a moment later when she felt Daniel tense and his heart skip and she quickly changed the subject, "So what are you doing up here this morning anyway?"
Daniel turned his frown back toward Toph and he stared at her for a moment before answering.
"I have sent my mind exploring Ba Sing Se and beyond, searching for those Dai Li who took Boulder but they are no longer anywhere inside the walls." He growled, "Outside the city I have searched far and wide but I cannot sense any of them. That can only mean the Dai Li have allied themselves with demonic forces and are being hidden from my sight. It also means they will be aware of what I am here to do and will soon enough become a threat to us."
"Wow, you get all that from something that isn't there?" Toph said sarcastically, "And here I though Snoozels was the sleuthy one."
"I'll admit I'm an idiot when it comes to the little thing's like simple social interaction, Toph. But I can in all honesty say that I'm very good when it comes to seeing the big picture." Daniel said, giving her a small grin, "And I know when it is prudent to ask for another's help. Can't you feel her, Toph? She's coming now."
"Who?" Toph started but when she focused her senses on the mountain on which they sat she saw the answer for herself. Something big was tunneling it's way toward them from deep beneath the mountain, "Is that? That's one of the big mountain moles, isn't it?"
Daniel only grinned in response and a few moments later he held an arm out across Toph as the ledge they were sitting on and the mountain side behind them began to shudder. Toph tracked the enormous creature coming up from below them easily with her senses and soon a section of cliff beside Daniel suddenly fell away revealing a large, round hole. A huge tan, furry head poked out into the open air. It had two stripes of darker, brown fur that ran up over it's head as well as white fur around it's pale, blind eyes that met at it's pointed nose and ran up over the center of it's forehead. The huge Badger-mole turned, sniffing at Daniel and Toph before he raised a hand and rested it on the animal's pointed nose.
"Greetings, Grandmother Mole." Daniel said with a smile, "Any luck finding those I asked about?"
Daniel closed his eyes as the giant Badger-mole held herself still, his hand still resting against her nose.
"So close?" Daniel breathed, apparently answering whatever the Badger-mole was showing him, "And they're not even hiding from me. But no surprise I missed them. I've been searching far and wide, I did not expect to find them so near to home."
"What are you going on about, Chuckles?" Toph asked, bemused and slightly annoyed with the one sided conversation.
"Grandmother Mole has found a large group of humans living underground little more than a hundred miles southeast of us. Not far between us and the walls of Ba Sing Se. I see them now." As Daniel spoke his eyes slipped shut and as he finished he frowned darkly, "But it is curious that they are not hidden from my sight. I have a feeling that this is an attempt to draw me out. Either that or they're just stupid." Daniel opened his eyes again and smiled again at the great Badger-mole, dropping his hand from her snout, "Thank you, Grandmother. If you ever have need, you know how to find me."
The Badger-mole leaned further out of the hole she had created in the side of the cliff face and sniffed deeply at Daniel and Toph before grunting loudly. Daniel chuckled and turned to look at Toph.
"Yes, you are right. She is an exceptional Earth Child. This one was first taught by your cousins far to the south." Daniel said with a smirk to Toph before he turned back to the Badger-mole, "But not to worry. One day she may still be good enough to come back here and learn from you."
As Daniel chuckled again the Badger-mole backed away into her tunnel with a deep, rumbling hum that to Toph sounded suspiciously like laughter.
"Hey." Toph cried angrily, rightly guessing she'd just been insulted. But the Badger-mole had already gone and something about Daniel's one sided conversation had piqued her curiosity, "Why do you call her Grandmother?"
"The oldest females are the decision makers amongst the Badger-mole clans." Daniel answered distractedly, he was frowning hard again and staring into the distance, "The mothers and Grandmothers are the queens of the clans."
"Ah, so pretty much the same as us humans then. Except we just let you boys think you're in charge." Toph said with a grin but Daniel only continued to stare pensively, "So, what are we going to do about these Dai Li then?"
"'We' are going to do nothing. This stinks of a trap to me. I will go myself and," Daniel paused, jumping slightly when Toph suddenly leaned over and wrapped her arms about his chest tightly. He frowned at her with a confused expression, "Err, what are you doing?"
"We all talked about this last night after you left." Toph said, holding on tight and grinning up at him, "You're not going anywhere on your own anymore. You're worried about loosing control and, frankly after last night, so are we. So wherever you go, we go. Someone's got to slap you around to keep you in line."
"If these Dai Li are laying a trap, it could be too dangerous for you. All of you." Daniel growled, glaring at her, "Now let me go or otherwise I will fly out and drop you in the lake."
"Yeah, right." Toph said, still grinning, "You're going to drop a blind girl who can barely paddle into a deep lake?"
But next moment the grin dropped from Toph's face as Daniel lifted into the air and drifted away from the cliffs. With a startled, fearful moan she wrapped her legs about his waist and gripped his chest with her arms even tighter as her earthsight showed her the cliffs moving further away.
"Just because I cannot sense a demon amongst these Dai Li, does not mean one or more aren't laying in wait nearby. I will not risk you again and I will certainly not put Katara and Mai at risk." Daniel growled as they drifted through the sky. Still he did not put his arms around her and she gripped him tighter again as they passed beyond the range of her earthsight and she could sense nothing around them, "Now stop this nonsense, Toph. I'll take you back to camp and I'll deal with these Dai Li. Alone."
Fine then. If that's the way he wants to play it. Toph thought to herself as the fear and adrenaline wore off. She was starting to get annoyed, Time to roll out the big rocks.
"All of us are a part of this fight and just hanging around you is a risk in itself." Toph said angrily, she turned a frown up to Daniel's face, "But answer me this, Chuckles. What would your parents think of your behavior since you got here? Hmm?" Daniel suddenly tensed and she tightened her grip again. Even as the man trembled with anger Toph continued, her voice rising, "What would your mother think of you dropping her into a lake just to get your own way? Stop acting like such a petulant child and just accept that you are a part of this family now. Quit pushing us away and start working with us or I swear I will do like your mother should have done and put you over my knee and belt your sorry ass."
"You dare. You, you," Daniel was trembling hard with rage and Toph could feel the heat radiating from him but she kept up her own glare even as he finished, "Little…bitch."
"Childish bastard." Toph snapped back but then she moaned in fear again as her arms slipped down another inch.
But next moment she felt Daniel's arms slip under her own and he pulled her up against his side, his arms then slipping around her and holding her securely. Daniel bowed his head and a long sigh rose from him.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Toph." Daniel said quietly, "I know you're not her but for a moment there you sounded just like my mother. And of course, you were right."
Toph was silently and extremely relieved at this, she had fully expected to find herself falling into a very cold and wet lake as he'd threatened but now she turned her head and grinned at Daniel.
"Of course I was right. I'm Toph, I'm always right. Especially that bit about you being a bastard." Toph said, her grin widening as she sensed Daniel frown, "Now lets hurry up and get back to the others and we can plan how we're going to bring down these Dai Li."
Toph's grin faltered though when she sensed a wide grin forming on Daniel's face.
"Sure thing." He growled, "Let's hurry."
Zuko and Aang had both watched apprehensively as Toph had flown away and up the side of the distant cliffs to where Daniel sat. They had both jumped with surprise when a part of the cliff had fallen away and a huge Badger-mole's head had poked out, it's head larger than Daniel himself. When Katara had returned to the fire from the lake all three had tensed when the distant figures had detached from the cliff and drifted over to the wide lake. But next moment Zuko leapt to his feet as the figures swooped down toward the lake and then raced over the ground toward the camp site with blinding speed. In only heartbeats, Daniel dropped down next to the fire with Toph held in his arms, although her arms and legs were still wrapped tightly around him. Trembling and with her usually pale skin as white as snow, Toph put her feet down on solid ground and stepped away from Daniel, glaring at him the whole time.
"Bastard." she said quietly, swaying slightly on her feet until Zuko stepped over and slipped an arm about her shoulders.
"Yes. You already said that." Daniel said distractedly. His eyes though were locked onto Aang and he stepped over to stand before the young Monk and hung his head, "Listen, Aang. I'm,"
"No, it's alright Daniel." Aang interrupted hastily, "I'm the one who should be sorry. I realize now that what I did was wrong and,"
Daniel raised a hand to stall Aang and gave him a small smile.
"It's fine. In fact, I'm impressed your skills have progressed so far." Daniel said and his smile faded as he hung his head again, "And I'm not surprised by what you tried to do. You were right. I do need to address the mistakes of my past. It's just I," He paused and sighed heavily, "Listen, with some help I've discovered a nest of Dai Li an hour or so from here. Go and wake the other warriors and I'll show you all some things that will help us take them down. There's…something I need to do first."
Daniel turned and walked away and the others watched as he paused before the moss curtain hanging in June's doorway before he sighed heavily again and stepped through. Toph, feeling a little better after her terrifying flight across the valley, folded her arms across her chest and first grinned up at Zuko beside her before turning her grinning face to where Aang and Katara stood.
"See, Aang? What did I tell you?" Toph said, "I can deal with anything and I'm always right."
June awoke with a start and when she felt someone gently brushing the hair from her face and jerked away when she saw Daniel kneeling beside her. He shifted away and sat back against the stone wall of the room with a sigh as June stared at him in wide eyed silence.
"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised." Daniel said quietly, unable to raise his eyes to June's, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry...if I hurt you last night."
"I'm fine. I just got a little burn from one of the coals from the fire when you…did whatever you did." June said. She sat on her grass mat bed and stared over at Daniel with her blanket pulled up around her. The comfortable temperature inside the stone room built into the cliff had prompted her to strip down to her under wrappings the night before and she slid a bare leg out from beneath the blanket, "It's nothing. I didn't even bother getting Katara to look at it."
Daniel frowned and crawled forward to inspect the offered leg and saw a rounded, open sore about the size of a thumbprint on June's upper thigh, the skin around it red and inflamed. The blister she'd received had burst through the night and it had in fact given June an uncomfortable night's sleep.
"Here, let me help." Daniel said softly.
He sat down next to June, lifting her leg over his own and she was forced to sit at his side, with one leg draped over his lap and her other curled around behind him. June chewed at her bottom lip, a little color coming to her face from their provocative position but Daniel's eyes were glued to the small burn on her leg. He raised a hand to his mouth and drew the side of his thumb quickly across his teeth, cutting it slightly and he reached down to massage her leg, spreading the blood from his thumb around and over the burn. June cringed from the sight at first but a moment later she sighed with relief as the skin of her leg knitted quickly back together and soon all that remained of the small injury was a pale, pink patch of skin. He then reached over and used a corner of her blanket to wipe away the smear of blood from her leg and June noticed that Daniel's thumb had already healed.
"That's quite a neat trick." June said quietly as she slowly drew herself closer still to Daniel.
"It's something I'll teach you too in time." Daniel said, turning his head and smiling softly at her, "You have to infuse the blood with your body's own natural,"
June suddenly lunged forward, slipping around to sit in Daniel's lap and grabbing his face in both her hands and pulling him toward her to kiss him passionately. Daniel tensed and sat stiffly as June devoured his lips with her own but a moment later she felt him relax and slowly, he began to return her kiss. One of his hands slid up her back and the other tangled itself in her long hair, holding her close as they kissed but as a low moan began to build in the back of the man's throat he suddenly pulled away, staring at her with wide eyes and panting heavily.
"No. I." Daniel moaned, dropping his head, "I can't."
"Daniel? What?" June asked, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice as Daniel pulled further away from her.
Daniel sat in front of her, drawing his legs up before himself and wrapping his arms about them. He was still breathing hard and his eyes kept darting away from direct contact with June's.
"I won't hurt you, June." Daniel groaned quietly.
She let her blanket drop away and crawled forward, slipping her legs around him again and resting her arms across his upraised knees. She lowered her face and rested her chin on her forearms so their faces were only inches apart.
"You won't hurt me, Daniel." June purred quietly but Daniel suddenly turned his face away.
"You don't understand. I'm always at war with my emotions. I lost control of them when I was still a kid and made a terrible, awful mistake." Daniel said quietly, when he turned back to look at her she saw only sadness in his eyes, "I lost my sanity for what I did and for the last two thousand years my mind…belonged to something else. I thought coming back to this valley would help but it's just brought back all the memories with it." Daniel slipped a hand from around his knees and reached up to brush his fingers through June's hair, "I really wasn't kidding about those temptations, June. But what happened last night, it would just happen again. I won't hurt you."
June sighed, her face almost as sad as Daniel's but she leaned forward again and, even though he turned his face away, she pressed her lips lightly against the man's cheek. With impeccable timing, Sokka chose that moment to pull the moss curtain aside and poke his head inside. He took in the sight of a semi-naked June sitting with her legs wrapped around the permanently near-naked Daniel on the floor and Sokka grinned at them.
"We were wondering what was taking you two so long." Sokka said and winked at them, "But, if you guys need a little more alone time, I can come back later."
June scowled angrily as she groped behind herself for her blanket, pulling it up to cover herself as Daniel glared darkly at Sokka.
"You just volunteered, Sokka. Wait outside and I will come tell you what for in a moment." Daniel growled menacingly and Sokka hastily retreated. Daniel took a slow breath and released it as a long sigh before rising to his feet and helping June to hers, "We're going to go deal with some Dai Li today. Get dressed and get your weapons ready. If it's alright I'd like Nyla to remain here as a guardian for Oma and her family. Oh, and Boulder too I suppose."
"Alright, but I'm not much for flying." June said as she hurriedly snatched up her clothes from where she'd dumped them the night before, when she stood up again she gave Daniel a sly smile, "But flying with you would be more fun than on that hairy bison."
Daniel rolled his eyes and returned a small smile but it faded quickly as he turned and left the room.
"Alright, gather around everyone." Daniel said sternly, "We have a lot of preparation to do but I want us to deal with these Dai Li before the day is out."
Sitting around the fire, Chong, Lily, Oma, Maku and the Boulder watched Daniel a little apprehensively as the Gaang stood in a semicircle around him on a patch of open ground nearby. The Gaang themselves were still a little cautious as they watched the man but Daniel seemed as calm and relaxed as he had the morning before.
"One thing you all have to be aware of is that most of the members of the Dai Li are under some form of hypnotic control. Only a select few are in control of themselves and the others. Nevertheless, even if you should find yourselves facing someone you know, if they behave in a threatening manner, then they are a threat and should be treated as such." Daniel seemed to be in military mode again as he paced back and forth before the others, "However, thanks to a certain…bouncy, Kyoshi Warrior, my family developed a technique for reversing the Dai Li's brainwashing tricks. Volunteer, step forward."
This last thing, Daniel said to Sokka who hesitated with a worried expression. June, who stood next to the large warrior, roughly shoved Sokka in the back and he stumbled forward several paces as she only grinned at the other's questioning looks. Daniel grabbed Sokka by the shoulders and spun him around to face the rest of the Gaang.
"There are ways of using Ty Lee's chi blocking that have the opposite effect. A way of invigorating and enhancing the chi flow that has the added bonus of releasing the mind from any form of suggestive control." Daniel told the others. Then he took one hand, with the index and smallest fingers extended and placed their tips just below Sokka's collarbones, he then pressed the heel of his other hand against Sokka's stomach just below his navel, "Here and here. The lower hand makes a double strike. Once with the heel of the palm and again with the fingertips. The initial strikes must be done fast and simultaneously."
While Sokka stood looking extremely nervous, Daniel's hands drew back and then shot forward again, rapidly striking the places he'd indicated. Sokka instantly fell limply to the group and the Gaang, especially Suki, gasped with concerned expressions but Sokka raised his head straight away with a goofy grin on his face.
"Wow." Sokka said, blinking up at Daniel in surprise, "That actually felt…good."
"That's what you showed us the other day, isn't it?" Katara asked curiously, "When you err, unparalyzed everyone."
Daniel nodded to her as he reached down and helped Sokka back to his feet.
"Like I said, it energizes and reinvigorates the chi flow and therefore the body and mind as well. But of course, it can be difficult to tell if the one you are fighting is under hypnotic control or not so once you've made the first strike it's best to follow through with a paralyzing strike just in case they are still a threat." Daniel spun Sokka by the shoulder again and stood before him. He slowly placed two fingers from each hand either side of Sokka's neck with exaggerated care so the other's could see and then swung his hands lower to chop with the edges of his palms at Sokka waist. Then Daniel stood again and faced the rest of the Gaang, "Those two points and again, it must be done as fast as possible. It is not however, necessary to hit both sides of the body at the same time but your opponent will go down faster and for longer if you do."
Daniel suddenly spun back around, his hands flashing out and striking Sokka's neck and waist as he had shown. The big warrior suddenly went stiff and toppled over backward like a felled tree and this time there were a few small laughs from the others.
"Ok, Suki, come forward and have a go at releasing him and as soon as he's upright, everyone else take a turn at practicing with him." Daniel told them with a grin. Behind him on the ground, Sokka moaned and his eyes darted from side to side but otherwise he remained stiff and immobile.
"Oh, oh." Chong jumped up from beside the fire, his friend Moku jumping up with him, "That looks like heaps of fun. Can we have a go at what Sokka's doing? Come on, please?"
Daniel looked over at them with a frown and raised an eyebrow while the rest of the Gaang stared open mouthed at the two obviously excited musicians. Then Daniel shrugged and waved them over as Oma and her mother grinned.
"Benders, you practice on Chong. Suki? When your husband's able, you and our other two warriors here use Moku." Daniel said to them.
For the next hour as Chong and Moku were repeatedly knocked down and got up laughing, Daniel walked around the group offering advice and examples where it was needed. When Daniel was satisfied that they mostly understood the exercise he called a halt, gathering everyone to him again. Chong and Moku walked unsteadily back to the firepit, looking disappointed and complaining that their fun had not lasted longer.
"Alright, lets go through our plan of attack and we'll get this show on the road." Daniel said kneeling down and the others followed suit, facing him. He held his hand out over the ground and the earth there humped upward, forming into a miniature range of hills. One rounded hill on the range's edge lifted from the ground, revealing several angled root like growths underneath, "Here is what Grandmother Mole showed me. This hill is a hollowed out fake and these tunnels below lead to several chambers. The smaller rooms lining these upper tunnels here are most likely holding cells for their prisoners but you won't worry about those until the Dai Li are subdued. Zuko, Katara, Mai and Sokka will be our first line of defense topside. You four stay above ground and tackle any that try to flee that way. Also we may have casualties so I want Zuko and Katara up top to handle any healing that's needed. Toph and Aang, your job will be the same as Suki and June's in the tunnels but as our Earthbenders it will also be up to you to make sure that our warriors aren't buried or the Dai Li escape underground. All together, I've sensed around seventy people under this hill. How many of them are enemies and how many are under the control of the enemy, I don't know. Just remember what I have shown you and keep your senses focused at all times. Everyone got that or have anything to add?"
There were silent nods from the others as they continued staring at the earthen model but Toph's face screwed up thoughtfully and she turned to Daniel.
"So, what are you going to be doing?" She asked.
Daniel turned away with a brooding frown and sighed before he looked around at the others.
"To be honest with you, I think it best I stay out of the actual fighting unless it becomes absolutely necessary." Daniel said quietly and the others were surprised at this, "The Dai Li hurt my family many times, but if you remember what you have learned, this family need never go through those same things. I will be there if you need me but otherwise this is your fight."
"What did they," Aang started to ask but Daniel rose hastily to his feet.
"Alright, everyone armed and armored?" Daniel asked loudly, interrupting Aang, "Then lets get going."
As Appa was brought out, saddled and ready, the others climbed aboard but June waited expectantly beside Daniel. He glanced at her with a touch of confusion once everyone else was aboard and frowned.
"Why aren't you? Oh." Daniel suddenly grinned and a touch of color came to his face, "Fine then, but only for Appa's sake. I suppose he's got enough people to carry."
Most of the Gaang were quite amused as they flew along on Appa at the sight of June ginning broadly as she sat on Daniel's back, her hair streaming out behind her as she gripped the straps of his silver backpack. The man flew parallel to Appa and while his passenger seemed to be having the time of her life, Daniel constantly frowned. And while most of the Gaang thought June's position amusing, both Aang and Toph frowned themselves as they sent furtive glances toward Daniel. He was once again suppressing the connection he had with the two who shared his parents souls but it seemed to be sporadic now and both Toph and Aang could still feel the tension and simmering anger building within him. As they flew over plains and patches of forest, the distant line on the horizon, the great wall of Ba Sing Se had grown noticeably by the time they sighted a small group of hills that resembled the model Daniel had created earlier. Aang suddenly pulled back on Appa's reins and brought the bison to a hovering halt high in the air. Daniel glanced back with a frown when he overshot them and June gave a startled cry when he suddenly twisted around, catching her in his arms and drifting back to face Aang.
"What is it?" Daniel growled, his eyes search all around them, "Do you sense something?"
"Yes, Daniel. I sense you." Aang said softly though he stared hard at Daniel, "I can feel you getting worked up. What is it?"
The others turned surprised looks to Aang but already they were coming to understand the connection between the two men and they looked with open suspicion at Daniel.
"I think he's serious, Chuckles." Toph said with a face as serious as Aang's, "I can feel it too. What's crawling up your date?"
Daniel's frown remained under the multitude of staring eyes but he looked down at the woman he held and his gaze softened before he looked back up at the others.
"The Dai Li did terrible things in my world." Daniel said as his usual glare settled onto his face, "And that is why today it is up to all of you to make sure it doesn't happen in this world. Now let's just get down to the ground before we're spotted."
With that Daniel began to drop vertically from the sky and Aang quickly had Appa follow suit, turning and exchanging a worried glance with the others in the saddle as he did so. Appa was soon stashed in a thick stand of trees about a mile from their target and the Gaang set out on foot.
"Warriors." Daniel growled low as they moved quietly through the trees that boarded the hills, "Go hunting. Take out whatever sentries you find."
Sokka and Suki exchanged a grin together and melted into the undergrowth around the trees, June and Mai quickly following suit. Even Toph was impressed, so silently did the four move on ahead of the others that even her uniquely acute senses could barely detect them.
"Benders. Get a fix on our enemy position." Daniel next growled softly.
They did as he said, each focusing with their Bending senses on the landscape ahead of them. The only one of them who could rightly claim to have better senses than Toph was Aang, at least over greater distances. But the minds of those ahead of them shone out like glowing beacons in Aang's senses and he marked the position of each one. There were at least twenty individuals just under the hollowed out dome of the hill and another fifty or more scattered in the tunnels below. He could also sense Sokka and Suki around one side of the hill, moving around slowly to flank another mind Aang sensed hidden there. On the other side of the hill he saw June's whip fly out silently and wrap itself about the throat of another sentry and with a sudden yank, she pulled the man down into Mai's waiting arms.
"Cool." Aang commented and then ducked his head with a blush as the others shushed him.
Soon enough they came to a point where the trees ended a couple dozen yards before the hill that was their target. They crouched down, peering from the bushes at the bare, rounded hill when they jumped as Suki, quickly followed by Sokka carrying a prone form over his shoulder, appeared silently from the undergrowth beside them. A moment later Mai and June appeared from the other side, the bounty hunter also carrying a burden.
They dumped their paralyzed victims on the ground and the Gaang inspected them. Both men were wearing green and brown camouflaged robes and one of the men had red paint around his eyes.
"Our guy was carrying these." Suki said quietly, dumping a bow and a quiver of black fletched arrows onto the ground.
"Yu Yan." Zuko whispered, pointing to a red symbol painted onto the side of the quiver that matched the one painted around the man's eyes.
"Something's still not right here but at least I still can't sense anything demonic." Daniel growled and he turned to look at the hill, "Once the door is open, go in hard, work fast and we'll be back in time for supper."
"Err, which door?" Aang asked, looking over Daniel's shoulder at the hill, "There's about five entrances I can sense around the hill."
Daniel only turned back with a wide grin.
"Toph?" He growled, "Make us a door."
"Time for the Toph to play." She said grinning back at Daniel and then stood up.
Toph took a few steps out of the bushes and into the open, pausing and dropping into her Bending stance. Between sensing the vibrations around her and her growing earthsight, Toph was aware of every boulder, every stone and each grain of sand that made up the hill. She stood with her hands held out, palm down and with her Bending, reached out and took hold of what she sensed before her. Then, the muscles of her legs and arms standing out starkly, Toph flipped her hands about and thrust her arms high.
"Yeah." cried Toph as the ground before her exploded away in a wide, straight line, reaching the hill less than a heartbeat later which split apart like a dropped egg with a crackling, booming retort. Another heartbeat and the pieces of broken earth and stone, the entire hill, lifted up and flew away, smashing down beyond it's original position and making the earth shake as the massive pieces crashed back to the ground.
Toph straightened up and dusted her hands.
"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it is done." She said, grinning back at the others.
"Go." Daniel barked.
As one, the group burst from their hiding place and, spreading out a little as they ran, prepared themselves for a fight. Standing around, apparently still in shock from their concealing hill being suddenly ripped away, were a group of people in a mix of green, red or brown robes. They drew together when they spotted the Gaang rushing over the broken stone that had marked the edge of their concealing hill and running silently toward them. Aang noticed first that the group of twenty or so men and women seemed more fearful of them than he would have expected but next moment three men jumped forward before the group and launched attacks. Two of the men whipped out bows and fired two shots each in rapid succession and the third man in the middle punched out with his fists at the same time, sending two stone fists from his hands. The missiles never even got close as Zuko raised his hand and beside him, Toph did the same and the arrows and stones halted in mid-flight, dropping to the ground a moment later. There were cries of fear from the group as Sokka, Suki and June streaked toward them in a blur but the three warriors halted when every person before them was suddenly encased in stone up to the waist. The three turned back with questioning looks to see Aang, hand outstretched and a deep frown on his face, standing before the rest of the Gaang. Behind them and slightly to the side, Daniel glared angrily at Aang.
"It's the Avatar." This and other whispers broke out amongst those trapped in stone before the Gaang.
But of the three men who had leapt before their group and attacked the Gaang, the Earthbender snarled angrily and swung an arm behind himself before lashing out with a fist. The ground before him erupted in a line and Sokka was forced to leap to the side as a short, angled pillar of stone erupted where he had been standing. Immediately after though, a pulse of force, like a wave of distortion in the air swept out from Daniel, passed between Suki and June and washed over the group of people. All of them slumped over unconscious, leaning at odd angles with their lower halves still encased in stone.
Daniel stood with one hand held to his temple and turned a furious glare at Aang.
"I told you, no hesitating. These monsters will use any trick, any deceit to bring you down." he growled and Aang saw a single trickle of blood flow from his nose as Daniel continued to rub at his temple.
"What is it, Daniel?" Aang asked him with concern, then looked over at the unconscious group nearby, "What did you do to them?"
"A little something of the Avatar of mind's powers. But not something that should be tried with an unbalanced mind." Daniel told him, wiping the blood from under his nose across his forearm. Then he turned his glare to the rest of the Gaang, "Surface team, secure these Dai Li. They're are only unconscious but there may be injuries coming up in a moment. Toph, pop the next cork."
With another grin, Toph moved away from the others and past the unconscious group to what appeared to be a bare patch of stone. She could easily see what was there though and with a kick of her heal against the ground a rounded plug of stone a half dozen feet across shot up into the air, then with a punch of her fist she sent the plug tumbling away, revealing a steeply angled tunnel where it had been.
"They know you're coming now. So no more hesitation." Daniel growled as he looked mainly to Aang, "Strike first, ask questions later. That way everyone get's to survive."
As Daniel turned away, Aang noticed that he still rubbed at his temple but the man only marched over to the hole Toph had revealed and jumped in, Suki and June following straight after. Toph jumped in behind them but Aang hesitated a moment to look back with a worried expression he saw he shared with Katara, Zuko and Mai. Sokka was glaring at the Earthbender who'd attacked him but Aang turned away and jumped into the hole before he got too far behind the others and dropped into chaos. A dozen feet he slid down the steep incline, dropping lightly to his feet into a wide stone corridor that stretched into the distance, sloping gradually downwards. Daniel was suddenly at his side, grabbing Aang roughly by the shirt and shoving him forward. He stopped beside Toph and saw her arms working furiously as she used her Bending to snatch missiles from the air and halt other Bending attacks. The corridor ahead of them was crowded with people in green and red robes, all of them cut in the Dai Li's style and in the thick of it, Suki and June were a pair of blurring streaks. Aang stretched out with his own Bending to help Toph but already the screaming and shouting in the tunnel was dying down as the two warrior women's hands flashed out again and again. They twisted and dived around the Dai Lee faster than the men and women they were facing could even move, striking out at the points Daniel had shown them. Aang and Toph were in complete control of the earth and other elements around them as they thwarted every stone missile, every arrow and Bending attempt an instant after the Dai Li attempted an attack. In less then half a hundred heartbeats, over thirty robed figures lay still and unmoving on the floor of the tunnel, leaving only Suki and June on their feet. Back at the entrance of the corridor, Daniel pushed past Aang and Toph and marched down the tunnel, growling low in the back of his throat. As Aang and Toph followed and now that the chaos was over, they saw that the tunnel was lined with solid timber doors with small barred windows set into them.
"Something isn't right about this." Daniel growled as he marched past Suki and June who were inspecting the doors, "And there is something," he paused, sniffing deeply at the air, "Something familiar."
"Hey, there are kids in these rooms." Suki cried out as she peered through the bars in another door. She pushed at the door and then frowned with confusion, "There's no locks on these doors. They're bolted from the inside. Daniel?"
But the scarred man didn't seem to hear Suki as he continued down the corridor, sniffing at the air as he marched to the tunnel's end and another vertical shaft leading to the lower level. June and Suki both hurried to catch up but when Aang went to follow, Toph grabbed his arm and ran alongside him.
"These Dai Li aren't the only thing that ain't right. Do you feel it, Twinkles?" Toph said in a low voice.
"Yeah, after last night and whatever he did before, he's struggling again." Aang answered as they approached the hole.
Daniel, closely follow by Suki and June jumped down the wide hole and Toph grabbed Aang's arm again, stopping him from following.
"Struggling? Aang, I like him but sometime's he's nuttier than Sparky's sister." Toph hissed at him, "Just be ready in case we gotta do something."
Aang wondered exactly what they actually could do as he and Toph leapt down the hole following the others. They dropped down another dozen feet, Aang supporting Toph with one hand as they landed in another tunnel. Suki and June both stood nearby with Daniel before them and the wide but short tunnel leading away from them was lined with another two dozen Dai Li in green or red robes. There were even a couple of men in dark blue robes mixed in with the others and they were all staring apprehensively at the invaders who had just dropped into their midst. Daniel stood, leaning slightly forward with his teeth bared and growling at the robed figures lining the corridor.
Calm, boy. Aang faintly heard the Wolf speaking to Daniel, Not the same man.
Daniel's focus seemed to be on the end of the tunnel and the Gaang members behind him could see an older man there in green robes, standing in the doorway of a large, well lit chamber. One of the other green robed Dai Li in the corridor stepped forward and though his eyes still flitted apprehensively to Daniel he looked to Aang.
"Avatar? Please, we seek asylum." the man stammered, he and the other Dai Li behind him taking a step back as Daniel's growls increased in volume, "We are exile's. We seek only to,"
"LIAR." Daniel suddenly roared, behind him Aang, Toph, Suki and June all stepped back from him even as the two dozen Dai Li before him did the same again. Daniel raised an arm and pointed down the tunnel to the man standing at it's end, "I just want him. Give me Long Feng's second. Give him to me so that I might kill him again."
The man in green robes that Daniel had indicated suddenly ducked backward into the chamber behind him.
"Protect the home." The man cried out fearfully, "Don't let them near the sacred text."
As the man gestured, a thick rounded slab of stone slid over from the side and sealed him inside the chamber. As the other Dai Li turned with determined faces they dropped into Bending stances or drew forth bows, ready to fight.
Easy, my boy. the Wolf's thoughts seemed fainter to Aang, pleading, Concentrate. This not the way.
But as Daniel only continued to growl, his green eye suddenly flashed brightly with an inner fire and, as he had done before aboveground, a pulse raced from him, a shadowy distortion in the air that raced down the tunnel. As it passed the staring Dai Li, they collapsed to the ground and over each other's unconscious bodies.
"Daniel, no." Aang breathed.
But, still growling, Daniel ignored Aang and began to walk stiffly away down the corridor toward the sealed chamber at it's end. The others hurried to catch up to him, trying not to stand on the unconscious forms that littered the floor. June hurried to the man's side and though she felt concerned, the sight of blood pouring from the man's nose and the veins bulging from his temples sent a thrill of fear through her.
"Daniel? Aren't we supposed to be," June began, looking down at the unmoving Dai Li, "Well, doing this ourselves?"
But if June had been hoping to get through to him she was disappointed as Daniel only ignored her and all else around him. He walked up to the thick stone door at the end of the corridor and suddenly slammed his fist into it with a boom that echoed down through the tunnel and through the earth around them. Instantly the door cracked and the tunnel shuddered again as the door transformed from solid stone to gravel and dust, causing Aang and the other three to jump back as it rattled to the floor. Daniel only pushed his way through the mound of debris and entered the chamber.
It was a large rounded chamber, fifty feet across and as Suki entered with the others she gasped in surprise at the sight of hanging tapestries depicting Avatar Kyoshi training various groups of men. At the chambers far end near an alter, the man who had hidden in the room was dressed in dark green robes with the rounded earthen symbol on his chest like the other Dai Li. He stood trembling slightly as he dropped into a stance that mirrored many of those depicted on the walls.
"Please, Avatar." the man said in a wavering voice, "Call off this demon. We mean no harm."
"Lair." Daniel growled again as his body tensed to spring, "Give me Long Feng or you die by my hands for the second time."
But as Suki moved around the walls to one side and June the other, Aang and Toph both moved quickly around to stand before Daniel.
"Enough, Chuckles." Toph said sternly, "Listen to Fluffy. Concentrate, keep yourself calm."
"Daniel, what is it?" Aang pleaded with him as Daniel's hate filled eyes remained locked onto the man at the end of the room, "What is it you think this man has done?"
The turbulent, swirling energies and emotions that Aang usually sensed in Daniel had become a raging inferno and from within this an image rose that Aang saw clearly. It was Mai, although at first Aang wasn't sure, her bloody and battered body almost unrecognizable. What convinced him was the young boy who sat on the ground supporting the woman's body, his elfin features and golden eyes, distraught though they were, were a perfect mix of Zuko and Mai. The boy, Kuzon appeared to be only eight or nine and he sobbed uncontrollably as he held his mother's body to his chest.
"These scum killed Aunt Mai. I wasn't strong enough to stop them then and I will not let it happen here. I will end Long Feng before he can." Daniel snarled over at the man standing by the alter. Aang blinked as reality flooded back, beside him a tear slipped from each of Toph's blind eyes and he knew she had seen the vision too. Daniel's anger though seemed to be abating as his eyes finally turned to Aang's and he looked at him almost desperately, pleading, "I have to make it right. I can't…I can never be forgiven if I don't make it right."
As Daniel's fury faded further and his eyes took on a hollow, haunted look, Suki edged over to the man by the alter. She half considered simply paralyzing the man but the sight of the alter stopped her. From the carved decorations on the alter itself, the small statuettes and even the incense holders, everything was dedicated to Kyoshi. The man turned his head in sudden surprise, staring in fear at Suki and she calmly reached up to the neck of her altered kimono, flipping it inside out and revealing a small bronze pin. It was cast to resemble two fans, joined at the base and with four small chopsticks radiating out from it's centre, a special pin only ever given to the captain's of the Kyoshi Warriors. At the sight of it the man's eyes went wide, he dropped suddenly to his knees, bowing his head and Suki was convinced.
"If you value your life and those you serve, in the name of Kyoshi, stay out of this." Suki commanded the man in a low tone and turned back to the others in the centre of the room. The man only nodded his head and still on his knees, turned to watch as well.
Toph and Aang had taken a cautious step toward Daniel as misery and anger warred for control of his face.
Boy, now is time. Time for truths. Everyone in the room heard the Wolf's command, the man by the alter looking around confused, Tell now before it consumes you. Consumes us both.
"No. I can't. I can't face that." Daniel moaned, falling to his knees and clutching at the sides of his head, "They'll look at me like the others did. They'll hate me."
"Daniel, please." Aang said softly, stepping forward and resting a hand on the man's shoulder, "This has been eating at you since you arrived in our world. Listen to Wolf. Tell us what happened."
Fear and concern fighting for control inside her, June stepped forward to Daniel's side and she reached out gingerly, snatching her hand back once before she rested it on the back of the man's head, stroking her fingers through his hair. But Daniel suddenly grabbed Aang's shirt, pulling him down and staring at him with a wide eyed, wild expression.
"You can send me back. Open a portal and I'll go away. Be the Nomad again. I. I can help you from the other side, maybe." Daniel voice was pleading, his eyes begging, "Nomad didn't care who hated him. The Nomad didn't have guilt. Please, Aang."
NO. Wolf will not be that again. the Wolf's voice was adamant, commanding, Nomad had no love, no compassion. Only single-mindedness. You are the one, boy. Save the world, earn your redemption. Start NOW.
"They'll hate me." Daniel whispered forlornly, dropping his hands from Aang's shirt, "This was my second chance and they'll hate me."
Aang felt a hand on his shoulder and he moved aside as Toph stepped up before Daniel. She reached down, cupping his chin in her hand and pulled his face up to hers.
"Danny? Sweetheart, look at me." Toph soft, compassionate voice brought a look of surprise to Aang's face but Daniel looked up into her pale, blind orbs with something like wonder, "I still don't understand this connection between us but I can feel you tearing yourself up inside right now. I know you don't want to talk about this honey, but." Toph sighed heavily. Her other hand rose up and suddenly flashed down, slapping the man hard across the face and she yelled into his face at the top of her voice, "For the love of the earth, suck it up and start acting like a man."
"Toph." Aang said reproachfully, although whether he was more shocked by her actions or afraid of what Daniel might do in response he didn't know.
Toph though, only hissed and stuck her stinging hand under her other arm. Daniel's face hadn't even moved when she'd slapped him, although his cheek was turning a flaming red. Still staring blankly up at Toph's face, Daniel sat back on his heels and his shoulders sagged as his arms hung loosely at his sides, his whole body slumping as though the life had been drained from him.
"I didn't mean it. I know how stupid that sounds but I really didn't mean to kill him. I loved them both so much, at least, I thought I did." Daniel spoke in a barely audiable whisper as he stared blankly up at Toph, "But like an idiot I was so mad when I thought they had chosen each other over me. I went looking for the Dai Li to…to vent my anger, I suppose. But Mom came to find me and while we were distracted Long Feng and his Dai Li ambushed us. Then Mom lay dying at my feet and I just…it was like everything drained out of me and I was empty, empty of everything except for anger, hate. I killed the Dai Li. All of them." Daniel paused, his head dropping down to his chest. June kneeled at his side and rested her cheek on his shoulder, but Daniel seemed unaware of her hot tears dripping down his arm as he continued, "Dad had been looking for me too with my friends. He found Mom and took her to safety while they tried to stop me. Reena almost succeeded but the angrier I got, the more powerful I became and I, I hurt her. Kuzon, he, he loved her more than I did, he attacked me." Daniel raised his head and Aang could see the tears flowing from the man's eyes. He, Toph and Suki all stared back horrified, they knew what was coming even as Daniel, panting as though he could not draw a proper breath, finished in a croaking voice, "I killed my best friend. That's why I can never forgive myself. That's why I have to make it right. I murdered Kuzon."
Daniel's eyes rolled up in his head and June lowered the man as gently as she could to the ground, even as Toph, Aang and Suki could only stare at the man's prone form aghast.
Yes, I keep saying it, but I'm still not happy with this chapter either. A friend on mine says that this is the sign of being an artist. If that's the case, being an artist sucks.
Anyway, I'm not sure whether to make the next chapter a more detailed description of Daniel's childhood mistakes and his descent into madness. Of course, said childhood mistake being the death of his best friend at his own hands as well as killing a number of Dai Li, which would make it quite a bloody chapter. I've sort of started on it, let me know what you readers think and if you like the idea I'll get it finished and posted soon. The next part of the story after this chapter involves some rather powerful spirits coming and kicking Daniel's ass around a bit, so either with the flashback or not there will be some more action coming anyway.
Once again I humbly beg you to review and let me know what you think of how it's going so far and any ideas or critisms you might have.