A/N
So yeah, I think splitting the massive events of the Eastern Air Temple escape in two chapters was a great idea. And It also gave me the opportunity to add in the introduction of Zaheer and his followers in Telei's plans.
And don't mind the little snag where there is the absence of a boat ramp on Gazan's prison. I oopsed.
Please criticize and please review.
火
Eastern Air Temple.
The full moon bathed the mountainside pale, hanging low in the dark sky among a field of crystal clear stars, shining their brightest.
Crouched behind a cracked boulder, Tai tracked the pair, just visible within the thick cloud of vapor and mist covering the front of the waterfall's main flow, looking like tiny shadows against the sheer white curtain of roaring water.
He brushed a hand down his cheek to wipe away the little droplets continuously leaving a damp sensation on his skin, watching as the pair of Dai Li moved across the flat rocks allowing passage over the rushing whitewaters, disappearing down a dirt track going to the bottom reaches of the temple's mountain.
With a sigh he shuffled backwards into the center of the small outcrop, grimacing as he rubbed his shoulders for warmth. The constant roar of the falls just a few meters away, separated only by a thin wall of rock.
A small gust of wind made him look upwards as Talisa slowed her fall with airbending, landing among the rocks nearby. She straightened, patting off her robes before coming over to him.
"Okay. The area's clear for now." She jerked her thumb at the Dai Li agent slumped against one of the nearby rocks. "Let's get him to the others."
He gave a hesitant nod, not voicing his doubts as he came over. Talisa grunted as she bent down, wrapping her arms around his chest and dragging him to his feet. Tai moved around her, grabbing his legs.
She jerked her chin. "Let's go."
He walked backwards, taking it slowly as the roar of the waterfall overwhelmed his ears, careful to keep his footing on the narrow path, a sheer cliff of rock on one side and a thick mat of overgrown vines reaching down from above, tangled around one another.
Once the path widened out onto a rocky ledge he picked up the pace, leading the way into a dark and small opening in the rock. Soft voices came from inside as they headed in, following a hump of rock overlooking a promontory lying in the center of a massive cavern, surrounded by constant waterflows leading to the mouth of the cave.
Several small fires had been lit around which a handful of the Air Disciples huddled, while the rest tended to unconscious Dai Li men and women, lying on a line of bamboo mats near the biggest of the fires.
A short girl noticed them and stood up. "Right this way. We still have a few more mats."
Talisa gave her a nod as they followed the Air Disciple over to a bamboo mat, bending down to place the agent on the mat, keeping him on his back.
Tai knelt down, watching as the Air Disciple grabbed a bowl full of water, dunking a handcloth in it and squeezing out the excess water before laying it over the man's forehead.
"It doesn't feel right taking care of these guys."
The girl glanced at him, before giving a shrug. She smiled. "I heard about what they did to you. It must have been terrifying."
Slowly he nodded. "Yeah. I don't like thinking about it."
"Was he the person who caused it?"
Tai arched a eyebrow. "No..."
"Then you should still do all you can to help him. He's just doing what he's told." She chuckled. "Plus you'd be a terrible Air Disciple if you didn't show some level of hospitality."
"You are very strange."
She beamed and nodded. "So people tell me."
"...The Dai Li are here to find us, Abbot Zhung. You and the others should be safe in this cavern."
"But, you two are the only warriors we have-"
"Which is why we're going to the temple to clear them out."
Tai glanced over his shoulder, absently moving the agent's arm to make him more comfortable. Over on the other side of the promontory his mother was almost pinching her nose in frustration as a short bald monk shook his hand at her.
"If we stay, that just gives them a reason to go into this cave. I'm not risking you and the other Air Disciples by staying here any longer than we need to. And we can't stay here forever." Her slightly forced calm words echoed.
Tai turned back to the Air Disciple. "Looks like I'm leaving."
"My name's Pia, by the way. When you're not stuck training or meditating with Tenzin we should hang out." She shrugged. "Or something." At the last moment she cupped a hand to her mouth. "Bring Korra too." she hissed in a whisper.
Getting to his feet, he blinked twice, noticing a slight flush on Pia's cheeks. He shrugged. "I'll... try?"
Leaving the cheerfully eccentric girl behind he moved among the fires, stopping every so often to rekindle a sputtering flame. Abbot Zhung looked at him as he approached. The bald man frowned and turned back to Talisa. "This is a huge risk!"
"I've already decided, Abbott. Stay here until we come back." Talisa gave him one last look, staring at him until the little man deflated and walked away back to the campfires. She turned to Tai.
"Come on."
They moved out of the meager lights of the Air Disciple camp, moving around the small rocky ledge, stopping every so often to scan the slick and dark walls of the cavern around them before leading the way to a narrow opening out of the cave along a narrow spline of rock. He heard the rush of water behind them, mingling into the oppressive echoing din made by the waterfall at the cavern's entrance.
She stopped just in front of the narrow entrance. Her eyebrows furrowed. "You should have gone with them."
Rather than showing any shock or confusion his features hardened. He looked to the side at the rushing water. "It doesn't matter now."
Talisa stopped and turned to him. "I wanted you safe and-"
He folded his arms. "It doesn't matter because I'm not leaving you here. Not on your own." His eyes narrowed as he loosed a controlled breath. "We've been separated long enough."
Setting his eyes on the rocky passage he moved past her, lighting a tiny flame in his hand to see by. His thoughts churned, one side of him wanting to just stop and talk to her, while another wanted to do nothing but focus on the task at hand.
With a reluctant sigh, he chose the latter. The roar of the waterfall died away a little as he came to the end of the tunnel, stepping outside onto a overgrown ledge. He came to a line of bushes choked through with vines, overlooking the open grassy field covering much of the lower parts of the mountain along with a single large hill in the center. Behind the hill was the beginnings of the temple itself, darkened and looming with a foreboding presence.
Hovering silently over the hill was the bulging specter of one of the Dai Li's airships. He heard Talisa's footsteps coming closer. She came into view, crouching down next to him. Switching on his neutral face he glanced at her. "Their airship is anchored over the hill. But I can't see the Dai Li anywhere."
She looked over the airship's flank at the smashed in windows on the darkened gondola and one of the harpoon launchers, now twisted into a compete wreck. "They still haven't repaired the damage." She then noticed a intact propeller lying on the hill directly underneath the airship's underbelly. "But it looks like that's going to change."
After a few moments of searching the pitch blackness Tai realized it had gone completely silent between them. He grimaced, thinking nothing of it until noticing the strained look on his mother. After a few moments, somehow, he managed to say something.
"I managed to take down two airships."
"That's my boy."
She gave a quick grin despite the look of unsureness on Tai before turning to nod at the airship and the anchors embedded on the hill's flank and in the cliffs lying underneath the temple's ground level terrace. "It looks like they're going to start repairing this one. Wait-"
They both watched as a rope dropped out of the belly of the airship. A black clothed figure with a pair of daos on his back slid down it, disappearing into the square cut hole at the top of the hill below.
Waiting, they both searched for any signs of Dai Li following him. Even so, Talisa made the decision. "This is our chance."
"We're going straight for him?"
"Ling brought them here. If we can make him forget that he'll send them away. Hopefully it'll also break him free of the Dai Li's mental conditioning."
"So what? We're going to knock him on the head?"
"That... probably won't do it." Talisa grimaced. "I was going to use soundbending."
She turned away from him, setting her sights on the distant hill rather than the look she expected to see on her son. Quickly gaining her focus she prepared a curl of wind. "Follow my lead."
Tai watched as she vanished into the night air, shifting into a shadowy blur that he could barely see. He whipped up a current of air and leapt off the ledge, plunging for a heartwrenching moment before a well-timed pulse of air sped him along. Hurtling towards the hill he felt cold bites on his cheeks just before nearing the ground. He shot a slowing stream of wind, rolling to absorb the impact as he came to a stop on the grassy field.
Above the airship still hanged, and still unmoving. He watched it cautiously for a few moments before spotting Talisa by the stone passage that tunneled into the heart of the hill.
Following her in, he kept his hand by his side, refraining from lighting a flame in the darkened hall, instead moving forwards with just the sound of their breathing and footsteps for company.
Soon he felt rather than saw that the area had widened, looking up and noticing the vaguely there profile of Yangchen's statue, sitting silently and watching over them.
There was not a sound. Anywhere. The silence was only broken by their breathing, even then only briefly. Tai glanced at his mother, who turned to him.
"Keep your guard up-"
A gigantic thud shook the room as a stone slab dropped down from a slot in the ceiling and slammed into the floor, plunging them into complete darkness as it blocked off the entire hallway leading out of the hill. Talisa pulled a uncomfortable expression unseen to Tai. ""Uh... damn."
"They're earthbenders, remember!?"
In the instant he lit his flame and drew his blade, dark shapes flitted in and among the passages honeycombing the walls of the hall around them, dancing in the firelight.
Soon rockfists and earth blocks shot from the surrounding causeways peppering the walls of the giant hall, rushing at them with blinding speed. The hall shook with each impact on its walls and floors as they weaved and twisted, unconsciously dancing around each other and pulling each other out of harm's way.
Breathing heavily the two of them waited a moment as the hall's shadowy openings and entrances came alive with movement. Several pairs of agents dropped down from the tunnel passages honeycombing the walls, raising several sections of the floor to hem them in.
Tai launched a few wildly aimed gouts of flame at them, forcing them back while he darted to the side. Using the wind to speed up he vaulted over a uplifted section of floor, ducking into a slide as he came to a halt and swept his hands forwards, pushing a great mass of air that scooped up the two agents and slammed them into the nearby columns with twin yelps.
On the other side Talisa's glider staff was a flurry of movement, constantly using small gusts and breezes to keep the agents around her off-balance. Leaning backwards she extended the staff out, sweeping a great mass of wind around her that punched some off their feet and to the floor. The quicker ones encased their feet in stone, rooting themselves to the floor as they raised small bricks of the floor under Talisa's feet.
She stumbled among them, grunting as a rock fist came spinning out of the shadows and caught her in the chest. It began retract when she gritted her teeth, manging to shift her foot slightly, enough to gather up the air underfoot and expand it outwards in a giant fanning motion.
The agents around her were tripped up, allowing her an opening to sweep them into a wall or clock them on the head with her staff.
As they collapsed to the ground with a sigh she glanced around to see a lone agent rushing away from them to the center of the hall.
He moved backwards, stopping at the base of Yangchen's statue as he pulled something out of his pocket. They both stopped, staring at the strange object he held, pointing its wide barrel upwards and squeezing the trigger.
A flash of fire spurted out of it as a ball of fire shot out of it, lighting up the hall.
Just as the brilliant red bolt spiralled upwards, guttering sparks and smoke, Tai rushed forwards, sweeping the agent's legs out from under him. The crude iron tube he held clattered to the ground, cracking in several places. Tai stood over him for a moment to check he was out could, before stepping back and glancing upwards. "That was a flare!"
"I'll go back up and check for the other airships. You'll be fine here?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me." He sighed and gave her a quick smile. "I'll be fine, they're knocked out. No need to baby me."
Approaching the statue of Yangchen, he watched as his mother bounded up it's arm and shoulders, briefly alighting on its head before gathering a column of wind under her body and spearing up and out of the square opening in the top of the room, silhouetted against the backdrop of stars above before slipping out of sight.
His footsteps echoed in the now silent chamber.
He stepped among the fallen Dai Li members, each step he took ringing loudly. After a few moments he frowned at the scrape of a stone coming from above.
The airbender glanced upwards as the statue of Yangchen. He frowned, digging his hands out of his pockets just as he registered a flash of movement. A pair of bolas shot out of the black, binding his arms together as he gave a surprised grunt, his sword falling to the floor with a clatter.
He struggled to break free as a familiar shadow landed on the floor, straightening and staring at him with blank brown eyes. Tai gritted his teeth as Ling drew his daos, already beginning to approach.
The cabling chafed at his bare arms as his thoughts desperately flailed around for a solution, slamming into each other and vying for attention until he opened his mouth. He stared at the cabling of for a second before holding his breath, gathering as much air as he could before releasing a fierce stream of flames. His forearms burned as the cabling snapped free and he closed his jaws, quickly bending down to pick up his sword despite the aching burns now present.
Ling lunged.
Tai shouted in alarm as Ling's hand whipped down and closed around the end of his orange scarf. Wrenching Tai closer, Ling sidestepped to the side with a blank look before lashing his leg diagonally, missing Tai's back by a glance. Tai stumbled forwards, about to regain his footing when a spearing column of rock slammed into his back. Stars exploded in his vision as he was slammed forwards onto the floor with a grunt.
Gritting his teeth Tai rolled over, forcing himself to face upwards and spotting Ling's daos flashing through the air towards him. Tai managed to sweep his sword across, deflecting the thin blades as he shakily got to his feet, summoning a air sphere in his free hand and rushing at the earthbender with a snarl. "Snap out of it!"
Ling sidestepped to the side but this time Tai was ready for it. Putting all of his weight on his leading foot he came to a sudden stop and dropped to the floor, sweeping a crescent wave of air that managed to catch Ling unawares and send him rolling back with a look of surprise.
As the earthbender got to his feet he shook his head with a groan, echoing in the chamber.
Tai narrowed his eyes, before lowering his sword. "Ling, you're in there somewhere, I know it!"
A wordless shout tore from Ling as the hall shook. Great tendrils of earth grew out of the floor and shot at Tai, wrapping around his legs and chest and carrying him off his feet. Before long stars exploded in his vision as his back slammed into the huge slab covering the hallway. With a gasp Tai fell to the floor, eyes wide as Ling stared straight at him.
Somehow he managed to get to his feet, dismissing his body's protests as a growl flicked across his features.
"You asked for it!"
A spinning rectangle of earth scraped past his cheek as he weaved to the side, laying a hand on it just as the column was retracted towards Ling. Being pulled along at blinding speed he waited until the last moment, just as the earth shook and bayed as if trying to buck him off that he released, sailing through the air towards Ling with his fist extended.
Ling's eyes flashed at the same time as his daos, slicing down towards Tai just as his knuckles made thunderous contact with the earthbender's temple. He felt the skin break under his knuckles, feeling it on his fingers, but Tai didn't falter, even as the look in Ling's eyes shifted from dull to bright to frightened to dazed in a instant's notice.
The earthbender stumbled backwards, crashing to the floor with a grunt as Tai landed, still for a few seconds as a incredulous feeling washed through him.
"Spirits..." he muttered, staring at his blood-drenched hand and then at Ling. Exhaustion slammed into him with the force of a Republic City freight train in that moment as his thoughts whirled. He gave blank look to the area around him before glancing upwards as Talisa dropped back down into the hall.
Talisa took a giant breath that echoed loud in the huge chamber. A incredulous smile crept up on her as she surveyed the softly moaning Dai Li lying unconscious or on the verge of consciousness across the floor. "Well. A knock on the head did the trick after all." She stared down at Ling where he had fallen flat on the ground, before jerking her thumb at the hallways leading out the meditation hall. "Wanna help me drag them to the Air Disciples?"
Tai loosed a sigh as he dropped to his knees, swaying for a moment before letting himself slide forwards onto the floor. "Just let me rest for a bit..." He mumbled.
Eastern Air Temple, Jīn Fēng Mountains.
Tai's anguished screams echoed throughout the darkened courtyard. He seethed, batting away his mother's hands as next to him Ling stifled a chuckle behind the heel of his hand. The three of them were seated in front of a cheerily blazing fire, throwing flickering lights on the dark stones and cracks of the old courtyard, sending wisps of smoke up into the open night sky above their heads.
Talisa rolled her eyes. "You're how old?" she muttered as she clamped a hand on his shoulder, pinning his arm to his body. "Hold still!"
"No! You don't know the first thing about first aid. You're a monster!-" She leveled a glare at him as she knelt in front of him, sitting still long enough to make him lean back a bit in apprehension when, quick as a snake, she started winding the bandage again, not stopping until she reached his wrist, all the while he grunted and yelped and carried on.
"At least you don't scrape your knees anymore." Talisa muttered.
"It's rude to call your mother a monster, Tai." Ling whispered from the side with a smirk. He had his hands on his knees, legs crossed as he set down another devoured bowl to join the growing pile near his side. With a sigh of bliss he patted his stomach while Tai hissed in his direction.
"You're next."
Ling blinked. "Hey, now-" His words devolved into a series of yelps and pleas as Talisa's iron hands clamped down on his bare shoulder onto the mottled purple and black bruising running down his arm like a patchwork. "This is not airbending hospitality! This is torture!"
"Stop it! Now, now, now!"
"Feel my pain, Prince Dirt-Digger!"
Talisa lifted her other hand, not even sparing a glance in her unruly son's direction as she sent a blast of wind in his face, making him fall backwards with a surprised curse. "Babies. The two of you are young men, and you're acting like babies."
Finally Talisa leaned back, holding up her hands as Ling flinched. He rubbed the bandages on his arm with a pout while Tai sat back up with a groan.
"I'm not a waterbender, so you're gonna have to sit around and wait for them to heal like everyone else."
Talisa straightened, getting to her feet and moving away from the fire towards one of the temple corridors.
Tai narrowed his eyes as he twisted around too quickly and the bruises on his stomach protested along with his aching muscles. "Where are you going?" His voice echoed among the moss-ridden stones, drowning out the quietly gurgling fountain nearby.
"Grabbing more bandages and some supplies."
He went to ask another question, only to shake his head and think better of it. A brief grimace flashed across his face before he glanced at Ling with suspicion.
"So are you still brainwashed and crazy?"
For a moment the dull look in Ling's eyes came back, and Tai briefly felt the urge to double back before Ling shook his head with a somber look. "That whack on the head you gave me seemed to do the trick."
Tai was silent for a few seconds, before shrugging. His eyes moved to the side as he remember all of those idle days spent watching Asami working in her workshop, bashing a mecha tank into rotating its chassis spindle or firing its gas powered claw, or just whacking her head against the wall in frustration until enough repeated impacts gave her a solution. "Percussion maintenance always works."
Ling winced as he rubbed his head then folded his arms. "Maybe, but you should give my acting ability some credit, Tai."
Despite himself, Tai felt a surge of anger. He scowled and turned to Ling. "Why, was coming at me with your weapon and siccing those agents on Tenzin, Korra and the others just a act?"
"Those men were firmly under my control. They were only following orders. I've found out that not everyone in the Dai Li is... agreeing with what Kao is planning for Republic City. Besides, I wouldn't be 'brainwashed and crazy' if you had stuck around to give me some backup in the sewers."
At the accusing look from Ling Tai held up his hands.
"Fine, geez. Sorry." Tai blew a sigh. "I wasn't exactly myself then... or maybe I was." He blinked twice, shaking those dark thoughts free. "How much... control, did you have over yourself?"
Ling folded his arms. "Enough to have a general idea of what I was doing. Any more and Kao would have noticed that his mental conditioning wasn't working." He looked into the blazing heart of the fire. "He and his agents will be at that summit with my father, acting as 'representatives' for the Earth Queen."
"So, you coming back to Republic City with us?"
Without a doubt, Ling shook his head.
"My agents are waiting for me at a meeting place on the Earth Kingdom coast near here." He smirked and gave Tai a grateful nod. "Thanks for not knocking them out and leaving them lying there, I appreciate it." Ling said, before continuing on. "I've still got Kao convinced that I'm under his flawless mental conditioning. I'm using that free ticket for as long as I can. Besides, there's someone- some people, I need to update on the status of my wellbeing. And I need to do some digging about my uncle. I haven't heard much about where he's being held." Ling looked away for a moment before grinning and shrugging his shoulders. "But there's always hope."
Ling got to his feet, rubbing his bandaged arm as he gingerly stretched. "I'll stick around for a few hours, but I'll probably be gone in the morning."
Tai nodded as he stood up, giving a nod. "Alright." He glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck as Ling moved away from the campfire in the direction of the sleeping bags. "Listen."
The earthbender stopped, raising a eyebrow.
"Sorry for leaving you alone in the sewers." A rain-filled memory filled Tai's thoughts as he bowed his head. "And I'm sorry I messed everything up on the plateau."
Silence answered him. Ling hadn't turned around, instead still standing completely still. Finally he glanced over his shoulder with a grim nod. "... Chances were that it wasn't going to end well anyway, Tai." He spoke his words with a quiet murmur and a roughly hard edge, before moving at quick pace towards the darkened outer wall of the courtyard, slipping past a broken column and ducking down behind it.
With a pale face Tai sat back down, staring into the fire.
"Where's Ling?"
Talisa came into view, moving past him and sitting down on the other side of the fire, drawing her knees up against her chest.
He blinked twice at his mother before tilting his head in the direction where Ling went. "Asleep. He'll be gone in the morning." Tai's eyes slid to the side as the dark thoughts came back, making him shake his head as he voiced any question he had. "Where'd you meet him?"
"Yem and I met with him and other Earth Kingdom militia on a mission from the White Lotus. I was... also using the opportunity to look for whereabouts on Telei. Than of course, Noatok started a full-blown rebellion in Republic City, Yem was tasked to investigate his Equalists, and... Tenzin told me about you."
"I was... surprised to find out Yem was in the White Lotus. Even moreso to find out you were her master."
"She hasn't needed me for a long time." Talisa said with a note of pride, before she glanced at Tai and just as quickly fell silent.
Tai furrowed his eyebrows, his gaze hardening as a question formed. "You were born in Republic City."
If Talisa wasn't expecting the question she didn't let it show as she nodded.
"I think so. I grew up in a orphanage until Tenzin and Aang... found me."
"That kind of explains why I've never said anything about your grandparents." Tai was lost for words as his mother shrugged. "I still don't know who my mother was."
"What about your dad? My grandfather?"
Talisa looked away again, her face hardened. "... Don't know him either."
He slowly nodded, aware of how uncomfortable she was.
His mother looked back to him, absently blowing a puff of air into the flames and watching them spurt upwards with a hiss. "After that, I trained under Tenzin and Aang..." She trailed off with a frown, before loosing a sigh. "And Telei as well."
"Wait, Telei?!"
His mother nodded. "He lived on the island for a while when I was your age. Of course, then a lot of crazy stuff happened, and now he's... like he is now. I think he's always been like that, though."
Tai's jaw nearly reached the ground before he managed to recover.
Talisa continued on. "So, among the Air Disciples I was pretty much the only airbender around, until your dad and I found out you could bend fire and air."
She took a deep breath and hugged herself, watching him carefully over the licking curls of the fire he made as she finished.
"You were going to send me to Tenzin for training." He kept his words quiet. He wasn't sure why.
"That's why I had to leave for Republic City that day. I was going to ask if he would accept you as a student." She loosed a sharp heaving breath, her eyes starting to glisten in the firelight as she frowned. "Than I heard about that damn fire- and you and Tarrin- you were both gone and- I wasn't there to protect you or your father."
Tai's face fell as she hung her head, looking smaller and smaller by the second. Flashes of her grin as she played with him through the orchards or hanged upside down from a glider making silly faces at him washed over the boy, keeping him silent and wistful.
"The Agni Kais had burnt everything down long before I got back. Just... black and ash and grey... everywhere I looked." She looked up with a sharp breath, putting a frown on him. "It took my nerve and guilt a few years, but I eventually found you both."
He shifted in discomfort and averted his gaze, staring into the darkness beyond the glow of the fire. "I haven't exactly made it easy for you."
Talisa offered a shrug, looking up from the fire for a brief moment and wiping her cheeks. "And I don't want you to."
The urge to get to his feet overtook him. He frowned at the look of surprise on his mother's face as he stopped next to the fire, standing still for a few seconds before managing to make himself sit down next to her.
That small gesture made the barest vestiges of a smile grow on her.
He didn't look at her, instead looking into the flames once more, concentrating on them more than anything else. "Are we leaving in the morning?" He quietly asked.
"Actually... we're not going just yet. Got a few days to kill before we can go back to Republic City."
With a flash of surprise and confused he glanced at her. "Aw what-"
"And I noticed that you've gotten very sloppy with my sword. And your airbending absolutely sucks."
"It doesn't suck." Tai murmured with a scowl, folding his arms, now wondering if he had made a mistake sitting on this side of the fire.
"You need training."
"I've done enough of that under Tenzin, haven't you been watching me the past couple of days?"
"Yep. And you suck real bad."
"I swear, you are the worst mother ever."
"Oh, and I'll be practicing my first aid on you a lot. Just a warning." She got to her feet, giving him a wink before turning to move away from the fire. "Got something for you."
"Huh? What?" Tai asked, getting no answer from. He frowned as she move to where Heimeng was laying on the edge of the courtyard, scratching the Sky Bison's ear before bending down and rummaging through one of the rucksacks hanging from the saddle. After a few moments she stood back up, coming back over with a dark bundle in her hands.
She held the coat out to him. "Been holding onto it for a while."
Tai didn't speak for a few seconds, his thoughts freezing as he stared at the twisted bundle. He reached his hand out to it, feeling the smoothness on his fingers as they closed around the coat. Rain-washed thoughts drifted through his head, almost making him shirk back. But he didn't.
The dull ache had been replaced by a calm as he took the coat from her. "Thank you."
Chameleon Bay, Earth Kingdom.
His powerfully built arms rose up and down as he lifted his entire bulk, his nose almost touching against the ceiling of his little cell. His grip was as solid as the earth, the crossbeams flexing slightly with each successive pull up.
All across the huge man's powerfully built body, blue lines of paint flowed, tracing the upper muscles of his back, while on his arms arranged themselves in a thick series of bands. On the front of his shoulders was a blue gear, the constant movement of his upper body making it as if the gear's turned by themselves.
The constant creak of the prison barge's wooden hull had become a daily noise for him to count his excercises.
One of his captors scanned the endless ocean around the barge, stretching in all directions and dwarfing the massive wooden vessel by several magnitudes. From the corner tower he manned, he glanced to the side at the tower opposite his, giving a nod to the other White Lotus guard.
The towers they both scanned the sea and the empty horizon from were connected by a thick rectangular walkway making up a wall sheltering the prison barge's open air deck. The wooden wall encircled the entirety of the barge, with staircases leading from the middle of each section to a small docking point.
From the time the prison barge was built and anchored in the middle of the bay, the only boats that visited just carried the next guard shift.
Standing at the top of the stairs leading down to the docking point between the two guard towers, two more guards watched the water with a pair of binoculars.
When the constant creaking and rush of the sea breeze was sliced through by a loud echoing speedboat engine, all four guards frowned.
In his cell, the man stopped his exercises, dropping to the deck boards with a grunt and rubbing his hands together.
The guards looked among each other with relieved looks at the prospect of their boredom being stopped, before one of them spoke up. "Finally. Our shift change is here."
The two on the deck settled their sights on a blue and white speedboat, easily carving through the water with its pointed bow with two occupants on board. As it speed closer into sight, the guards saw that the driver was wearing a uniform.
Seated behind him in the passenger section was a hooded figure.
He noticed the frown on the guard next to him. "Probably one of the higher-ups."
The roar of the speedboat's engine died away to a faded rumble as the driver expertly guided the drifting vessel towards the docking pier, gradually turning it to the side and lining up the hull with the platform's edge.
The white lotus guard narrowed his eyes when he noticed it was only the driver and his mysterious passenger. No other guards.
"Hey! Where are the other guards? And who are you escorting? We didn't receive word of any visitors-"
The driver looked up at him, his canny green eyes vivid underneath the conical helmet as he smiled knowingly.
"Zaheer?"
At that point the hooded man flipped back his hood, revealing a mess of grey hair as he drew a sharp blade from within his robes, grey eyes piercing into the guards with the same air as someone studying insects.
"And- Telei? It's Telei! Alert the-" The air flickered around Telei as he disappeared, while Zaheer lunged, landing on the deck in front of the first two guards and sweeping their legs out from under them before they could even use their flames.
Flames slammed into the deck boards around him from all sides thrown by the guards manning the two nearest corner towers, while more guards ran to surround the squat wooden cage in the center of the barge.
Zaheer twisted and swerved, before getting in range of them and diving through their ranks, skidding to a stop just before he hit the wooden bars. He rushed up them as the guards ran after him, only to be stopped when Telei shimmered into existence in their midst.
The nearest guard yelped in terror as the cold airbender launched him into the air and out over the side of the barge with a tightly controlled burst of wind, before twisting around to avoid the mace of another guard. He wrenched it out of his hands, ducking under the guard as he stumbled forwards before slamming the mace upwards into his gut. The man's eyes widened as he sighed and crumpled.
The four remaining guards left their posts at the corner towers, converging on them as Zaheer slid across the flat roof of the cell and dropped down to the other side, flicking a handful of rocks near the amused man's feet.
He smirked as he unfolded his arms, lifting the little rocks to chest level. He grinned, feeling the sensation of power swell as he brought his hands together, flattening the rocks into each other with such force that they began to glow a cherry red, a instant before he formed a molten shuriken out of them.
Taking a step backwards he swept his arms up, sending the shuriken slicing through the thick bars of wood, leaving a molten line in its wake. He gestured downwards and swept his arms to the side, moving the shuriken downwards before going back up in the opposite direciton.
The wood loosed a final groan before he slammed his foot through, easily shattering it to pieces and stepping outside under the clear blue sky. He took a deep breath of satisfaction, before turning his attention the the last two white lotus guards.
Before they even took two steps he slammed the shuriken into them both, downing them for the count with a easy smile.
The man grinned as he gazed at the molten shuriken spinning lazily in front of him, before letting the rocks fall apart back into their natural shapes.
Zaheer walked up to the long-haired earthbender. He smiled as he clasped his hand in a firm grip. "It's nice to see you again Ghazan."
Gazan grinned and folded his heavily muscled arms. "Thanks for busting me out. Good to see you've still got the skills." Gazan heard a rush of wind behind him and turned around, narrowing his eyes at the sight of Telei standing on top of his former cell, looking down at him. "If it isn't your crazy teacher."
"A little respect is in order, criminal."
"Still the same old stick in the earth."
Zaheer sighed as Gazan looked back to him and winked, before turning around and folding his arms, looking up at him. "So I take it you're the one who's got the plan?"
Telei nodded. "In due time. First we gather Ming-Hua and P'Li."
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