Epilogue
Kensei remained in his prostrated position. He was not allowed to lay eyes upon the Earth King, even as he read a mission report done by his own hand from the other side of a veil. And a sliding fusama door.
Redundant protocol is a staple of life. And one Kensei rather liked. It keeps order.
Kensei liked order. Order was predictable. Order was constant.
Order was the opposite of what his life had been over the last few months. Being back in the security of the Grand Palace, it soothed him greatly.
Capable an earthbender though he was, Kensei always felt he was meant to work in confines such as this. His place was here, writing intelligence reports and delivering missives. Not playing at being a secret agent, battling giant insects, and being so fundamentally in over his head.
Kensei heard the rustlings of papers, which was a harbinger to being dismissed.
"Am I allowed to take my leave of His Majesty's presence?"
"I should say not," the Earth King said after a moment, his voice taken aback.
Kensei was afraid of this. He slowly drew a deep breath. "What troubles His Majesty?"
"Quite frankly, the entirety of this. This reads of more spectacular fare than I would expect in an Avatar Hoshiro tome. I'd believe this to be a total fabrication, if this report were delivered in the hand of anyone but you."
"This humble servant recounted the events to the best of my ability, Your Majesty."
"Indeed. But there is something else that troubles me. You absolutely do not recall how you came to be taken out of this underground village back to the mining town?"
"That is correct, Your Majesty. This humble servant included a list of possible candidates, ranked in order of capability and probability. But, as this humble servant's duty deals in uncovering facts, there can be no certainty in that which cannot be proven."
Footsteps approached from the other side of the Earth King's chamber. "Pardon, Your Majesty, an urgent report has just arrived regarding follow up investigation at the scene of the incident."
What fortunate timing, Kensei thought. He'd hoped he'd be around when the report came. This would fully confirm the events and allow the Earth King to take the necessary steps to fully combat the anarchist threat.
More papers rustled as the Earth King read the report. Out loud. Kensei swallowed through a dry throat. He only read out loud when the report was short. And there was no way a report of what he found could be short. His own report was nearly 30 pages in length.
It would've been more so had he included absolutely everything that occurred.
The Earth King read, "On the advisement of Earth Kingdom Intelligence Officer Kensei, a platoon of 50 Earth Kingdom army soldiers and 20 Dai Li agents entered the mine, following etched markings to the chamber. Investigations reported no unusual findings. Except for a single, significantly large cave with an abnormally level floor. No evidence of any human or animal activity to be reported. Signed, General Shen Tsu-Yan."
There was a long silence. The Earth King's voice came tight and hard. "How do you account for this, Officer Kensei?"
What could Kensei say? What was there to say? He couldn't accuse the General Shen Tsu-Yan of being wrong. That man would assuredly be thorough. If a message from him said there was nothing there, that meant there was nothing there. "In light of new evidence, this humble servant hereby wishes for all mentions of an army of insects and an anarchist a plot to tunnel under Ba Sing Se and overrun the city with said beetles to be disregarded. It is entirely possible that delirium caused by prolonged exposure to coal dust caused hallucinations. Indeed, now, this humble one realizes his errors in recollection. Any punishment for misappropriating Earth Kingdom resources will be gladly accepted by this humble servant."
The Earth King was silent again. Then he started to laugh. "No. You're too reliable to be so disciplined for your one and only, albeit serious, mistake. Perhaps this is just more evidence that you aren't suited to field work. After all, imaging you battling a giant beetle yourself? It was too farfetched." He sighed. "It's fortunate too. I would have had to learned everything imaginable about these mysterious insects, how such an undertaking could've gone unnoticed, among a dozen other questions had this been true. Very well. Take several days to recompose yourself, reassess the events, and have a more believable report in my hands by next week, officer. Dismissed."
"So it shall be, Your Majesty."
Kensei rose and left the chamber, walking briskly. Troubling thoughts flashing through his mind. He had thought leaving out the existence of the second little girl named Lyra, combing Lin and Siyo into a single person, the part where Mal Kha merged with his beetle, and making Kensei himself into the actual hero of events was the most stressful part. He'd been ready to lie about all of that. But this was different entirely.
Just what kind of people could possibly cover up all those dead animals, that dead queen. Cover up the tunnel. Remove the smell. The dead beetles All in less than one week?
Just what sort of things were really in play all at once? One thing Kensei knew for certain was that the reverberations of the events down there will not go away.
And even more so, how could it be possible that one man could derail them without intending to do so?
It was why he made sure to leave out all mention of him. No one would've believed the heroics of that man. Kensei would dare say that scariest thing he came across during this mission wasn't giant insects, psychotic teenagers, or mysterious little girls.
It was a man and his spear.
She looked down at the girl, completing through her test trials. It had been a number of weeks, but the girl had not regressed. In fact, the girl had gotten more precise. She was preemptive now. No longer waiting. No longer making the same errors of hesitation that had earned her many scars and wounds.
It was enough to make the deviation somewhat worthwhile.
Everyone played their part in rendering the scene of the incident non-existent very well. They had utilized their training well. And full capabilities of the stones were understood and deemed inadequate.
Total indoctrination was impossible in living organisms. The wills of living organisms were constantly in flux. It required a strength of will to be unbendable itself. And such a will was too rare to make use of. In addition, the unforeseen application, merging of human and beast, was also inadequate. The subjects experience changes in behavior, lack of rational thought. These things would not be used in the future, thus the stones capable of this were disposed of.
Indeed, it was very wise to choose the sandbender tribe and its ambitious leader for the experiment. But to think that the son would usurp the power for himself and be the one to fully explore the power she had gifted them. Though it was not without complications.
It was thanks to that boy that her plans on sneaking into the Homeland Security Northern Branch for the missing final piece was thwarted by the unexpected invasion from an outside party and that the very person whose identity she would take being a mole.
Indeed. Youths can be so unpredictable.
This should be considered unintentional progress. Despite the brief hindrance, The Path was still attainable. Even without the final piece that had eluded her, The Project would finish on schedule as well. But the unintentional aspect caused concern.
It was nearing the twelfth year. And it was easily ahead of schedule. Indeed, the manner in which the girl blocked her attack that time was superb. Waterbending was not meant for brute force, rather redirection of force. And yet, the girl stymied her attacks in midair. It would've been astounding had circumstances been different.
In four years, they must all be ready to walk The Path. To initiate The Project. The world is eagerly awaiting The Return. Yes. They would be ready. She would ensure it. She would not let variations in the plan delay them. The unaccounted for must also be compensated as well. But that continued to cause caution.
Indeed. For the second time she ever feared The Path would be blocked by an obstacle that could not be eroded away. It came in the form of that man. He was dead. She was sure of it. Even as that foolish woman carried both into the whirlpool that was so swift and powerful, not even she could stem the flow to recover the dead body. She knew nothing could survive such a thing.
She couldn't afford to allow memories of him to linger, so the girls memories of him were erased entirely. It was as he never existed. It was the only way to get her to stop shedding tears.
Shedding tears. She shed tears for him. Cried out his name. In all the wounds she gained from her own mistakes she had never cried. As was intended. How did that man affect her so to the point where she shed tears for him? In less than two weeks time he all but undid the efforts of nearly twelve years. His removal from The Path was indeed necessary. Perhaps more so than any that will come in the future.
A disquieting fact.
The Path could be blocked by a practical obstacle that requires a change in tactics. Like the loss of a vital piece. She sought that piece constantly, but it had eluded her. But this was a practical problem. The overcoming of this obstacle would make The Path much, much smoother. The Path would continue without it nonetheless with proper adjustments, despite the fact that it was no certainty.
However, a fundamental obstacle at this juncture could destroy The Path entirely.
So this will bear further investigation. To see how much of a threat this could be of happening again.
Unpredictability and youth. It came again and again. She knew those were the risks. This was never going to be a simple task. But she would endure it and adapt.
In any rate, she was assuredly glad to be rid such a threat.
She turned from the observation window and looked at the only evidence the man existed hanging on the wall.
An ornate spear.
Plum blossoms.
Siyo smelled plum blossoms.
She liked that smell.
She felt something soft tickle her face. Then she felt another. And there was a gentle coolness about her back, as something tickled past her. As well as a strong warmth at her side.
Her eyelids slid open. And she saw a rain of plum blossom petals. It was a wondrous sight to awaken too. Like a dream.
Siyo tried to tilt her head to the source of warmth to her right
More petals about his face, she saw a man. A man whom she found that she cared for dearly even thought she didn't remember his name at this exact moment. Her eyes traced down from the bandaged eye, to his strong cheek bones, to the slope of his jaw, to his sinuously muscled torso, to his lower abdomen. She glanced past their feet and saw water seemingly trickling out of the ground. Her eyes tracked back up his body and she saw that a great deal of petals had covered up a single spot. With more falling there and only there. She could see that some of the petals were stained red. And her heart leapt.
Siyo knew he had a grievous wound underneath it.
She wanted to help him somehow. Needed to help.
She knew that she already had. She could remember throwing herself to him, taking him into a spiral pool of water and disappearing into darkness. She knew that he would've died already hadn't she acted. But it wouldn't be enough on its own. She had to help him again. But…she couldn't find any strength.
She could do nothing but lay in the cascade of plum blossoms. Even as she felt his breath coming out steadily, she knew that if something didn't happen soon, he would die. She closed her eyes, and felt tears stream down her cheeks.
And she didn't want that. More than anything she didn't want that.
She loved this man.
Siyo loved Van.
That was his name.
"Van," her voice came out, a frail whisper.
"Whoa! They're alive, Uncle!" came a jovial, excited voice. Siyo blinked open her eyes. "Here! Over here!
A curly brown haired, gray eyed girl, perhaps twelve years of age was waving at someone, peering down at Siyo.
"Well, I'll be a hog-monkey's uncle," breathed a strong male voice. On the other side of her vision came a tall man with a sword strapped to his back with calm discerning blue eyes. His brown hair tied in a ponytail with and prominent beard. His body wrapped in animal skins and an sharply bent piece of metal dangling at his side. He knelt down. And gently blew the petals off. He frowned slightly.
"Please…s-save…"
The man shushed her and placed a hand on her forehead. "Calm, now. It's okay. I've got you both, I can treat your wounds. Don't worry. You'll be fine. Conserve your strength."
Siyo couldn't stop the tears from flowing as she felt herself drifting back into a slumber. She thanked the mysterious man over and over again. And somehow, she knew this man was going to help them.
"Aria," she heard the man say. "Go fetch the pack off Foo-Foo. And hurry."
The last thing Siyo heard was the girl's voice faded away as ran to obey. "Yes, Uncle Sokka…"
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. Please, feel free to review. Tell me what I did well and what I didn't. All of it will help make me into a better writer. And be on the lookout for the next story in this universe, coming sometime in the next three months.
It's an old story you might be familiar with already. And it's getting picked back up again.
Again. Thanks for reading!