Point Taken Blue tiger...Maybe I should...NO no you will just have to wait and see. LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER WRITTEN, without breaking it into shorter chapters.
Warnings: NOT FOR THE WEAK OF HEART. OOC-ness all around!
Kilani curved his way around the twisted corridors. The door that he had been pulled through before the fight began was sealed shut. He mental grumbled to himself. If only he was large and bulky, instead of trim he could have picked up the hammer. It might have been a more evenly matched fight. He was so lost in his own mental mutterings that he didn't even realize he was turning a corner. He slammed face first into somebody. Himself and the person he ran into stumbled backwards. He frowned and looked over at Vitani, who just like himself was covered in drying blood. Kilani turned and looked at the little blind girl. Her pants were tore just above the knees and she was also covered in the red sticky. Kilani frowned and looked back to his brother.
"Have you found a way back to the main room yet?" Vitani shook his head.
"We've been wandering around this fucking maze for about ten minutes!" He growled as Toph kicked him. Kilani arched eyebrow, but before he could say anything Toph answered his question.
"I told him to quit cussing around me." Kilani held back a laugh. He looked at his brother with a smile and shook his head.
"Her little ears don't need to hear such language." He couldn't help but laugh at the face his brother made. They turned and looked around, finding a small off branching hall. Kilani glanced down at his brother's arms and frowned. He glanced at his brother's back as well, noting that there were no swords there.
"Your swords?" Vitani shrugged.
"Broken."
"Ah." Kilani nodded and pulled the straps holding his swords to his back. He handed them over to his brother. He pulled the pronged weapon from his belt and picked up Toph's hand, placing the handle in it.
"I don't need a weapon." Kilani smiled.
"I know that. But what if you can't rely on your bending?" She frowned .
"How the hell am I supposed to use this? I'm blind you dolt!" Kilani laughed and that made her frown deeper. Vitani grabbed her other hand and placed it on the flat part of the blade.
"Familiarize yourself with the weapon. You being blind is only a hindrance if you let it be." She let her frown disappear as she ran her hands gently over the entire length of each blade. Kilani smiled.
"And because you have that ability to sense a person through the earth, you will be able to 'see' them just as well." Toph didn't respond. She wrapped her hands around the handle and looped her belt around the weapon.
"Okay, but when we get out of here, you two will have to show me how to use it." Kilani looked over at Vitani and they nodded at each other.
"It's a deal." Toph smiled.
"Good, now let's go." As they started running, Toph running between them, Vitani looked over at Kilani.
"Were you able to complete?" Kilani nodded and ask the same question.
"Yes." Toph stopped. The two stopped and turned to look at her.
"I'm not sure If I correctly followed your conversation but were you two just asking if the people we were fighting were killed?" Kilani nodded and quickly spoke up.
"That's right." Toph smiled nervously.
"Well you see the thing is.." Vitani smiled and shook his head.
"We wouldn't expect you to kill." Kilani smiled at his brother. This girl was having quiet a sisterly effect on Vitani. They might just have to keep her around a while. He turned and looked at Toph.
"Yes, you are far too young to have your hand's painted red. If the last one shows up, we'll deal with her." Toph nodded.
"Good as long as I don't have to watch." Vitani and Kilani frowned for a moment then started laughing. Toph laughed at her self and started running again the others right in beside her.
Haru frowned as thoughts raced through his mind. He helped Sokka sit up as the boy started to come too. Only to have Denivian throw his head back in laughter.
"You survive through all the tortures my brother had for you, then just at the slightest hint of something considered taboo, you fall out! You crack me up!" Zuko frowned and attempted to cross his arms, but his tethering chains keeping him from achieving his menacing glare.
"So you don't consider you brother's 'practices' to be taboo?" Denivian became stone faced as he thought. He shook his head and looked square at the prince.
"As horrible as his studies maybe, there is still too much good in that man to consider him taboo, bad maybe, but not taboo." Zuko frowned.
"Example?" Denivian thought for a moment.
"His closet. He keeps things in there." Haru nodded.
"Yes. Piece and parts of his old patients. Souvenirs." Sokka and Zuko both turned to look at Haru with questioning faces.
"You've seen it? Or did he tell you about it?" Sokka ask not sure he wanted to know the answer. Haru looked down to the ground, ashamed but not truly knowing what he was ashamed of. He looked up at them shaking the guilty feeling out of his stomach.
"He showed me after he decided..well regardless... he showed me the dead bolted closet." Denivian frowned.
"Mostly right. But the jars aren't used for souvenirs. He keeps them and researches the contents, or if needed he gives the parts to someone who needs it." The three boys frowned as their eyes swung around to stare at the boy.
"What!?" Denivian shrugged his shoulders and toyed with a coin in his hand. He flipped the coin in the air and let it drop onto the table.
"Just about a month ago, when I first arrived here, there was a little girl. She was about thirteen. She had been born with a hole in her heart..." Denivian frowned and closed his eyes as if he was trying to remember details. " She had survived all this time, but the hole had gotten too big.. Her parents came to Dexia, begging him to save their daughter." He opened his eyes and looked past the guys, staring at the wall behind them. "He took a heart from one of his recently deceased patients...I believe that Brutus had killed him because he got out of line, but that's beside the point. He replaced the girl's heart with patients. " Denivian shook his head, his face not a happy one. " He refused payment for the procedure. You see the entire town has come to him at one point or another with things that needed fixing."
"The villagers don't know where he gets the parts. If they did, they would never have let him stay." Sokka growled, but his comment only brought laughter from Denivian. He stood up and shook his head.
"Do you honestly think one man could run such an elaborate place, without anyone being the wiser? Come one. Think logically. The entire village knows what he does. Hell, they help him capture over half of his patients." The guys' eyes grew wide as they stared at the raven haired man.
"How...?" Zuko frowned. Denivian smiled. He didn't care that he was giving a lot of background on his brother. In truth he preferred this to the quiet, plus he liked to here himself talk.
"I'm sure you saw the large farms just outside the village?" They guys nodded. "What you didn't see was the hives where he farms his pets. The farmers will spot potential men and open the cage that holds them, and voila! Instant body parts. And the woman that runs the hospital? She jars blood that some of her patients come in loosing, and hands it over to Dex. She also helps him in his more difficult procedures. The undertaker is an earth bender, who helps bury the dead, and his wife is a talented gardener. She keeps the gardens up and beautiful. The merchants refer passer-bys and wandering hermits to the inn, if they believe they are his type." Haru frowned.
"His type?...that's disgusting!" Denivian shook his head.
"Not necessarily. Haven't you wondered why you were kidnapped and not the avatar along with you? Look at you. You're organs are completely developed. Between fifteen and thirty is usually who he picks. And why would that be...?" Sokka frowned.
"Because younger then fifteen the body is still developing...and over thirty there is a chance that the organs have been damaged..."
"Ding ding! We have a winner." Denivian said pacing the floor. He walked over to the cage and looked at Haru.
"You I don't get, though. Hiiu was thinner than you, more submissive. He was smaller, and more into the sadomasochism than you appear to be. He surrendered his body willingly over to Dexia, yet you refuse him? Is it that he yearns after your strength, your will power, or is it that age old desire to have that in which is hard to get?" Haru frowned at the man. Before he could say anything in retaliation the sound of running steps filled the room. Denivian whirled around to face the three doors. A cloud of dust sprang up where the twins and Toph came to a skidding stop in one of the door ways. Vitani had the swords in his hands in the blink of an eye and the other two were down in their ready positions. Just as the dust settled around them, Aang slid to stop in the door opposite of them.
"Let our friends go! Or you'll regret it!" Aang demanded in the most threatening voice he could squeak out. What a time for my voice to crack! Denivian blinked at him and looked up to his already raised hands. Aang dropped from his stance and let a very confused look cross over his face.
"You surrender? That easy?" Denivan shrugged his shoulders and stared at the young boy.
"I have no use for them." Kilani looked at his brother as they relaxed. Sokka's eyes were set on Toph though.
"Toph?" She shrugged as she straightened up.
"Sounds good to me." Denivian nodded and looked at the twins.
"Can I put my arms down now?" Vitani shook his head.
"Nope. You can stand there just like that all fucking year." Vitani snarled as Toph kicked him hard in the shin. He shot her a glare and turned to look back at the black haired boy. Aang blinked and looked around.
"Now what?"
"GET US OUT!" Sokka, Zuko and Haru screamed in unison. Before Aang could move, a third cloud of dust puffed up from the center door. As the dust settled, the albino blinked his pink eyes at the room.
"Dis de wrong damn door."
"YOU!?" The twins yelled and found themselves again in fighting stances.
"ME!" Shemiya turned to look at who had screamed at him. He cocked an eyebrow and let out a deep breath. "Dis just ain't my day." Aang frowned.
"Wait a minute! He was supposed to fight me, but he let me go!" Vitani's golden eyes shot daggers at the young avatar, but it was Kilani who spoke first.
"You don't know how long it took us to catch him."
"Pleasure seein ya agin boys, but I tink I be leavin now." He said and tried to turn around only to come face to face with a large slab of earth. Vitani smiled and patted Toph on the head.
"Thank you." She snarled and punched in on the shoulder. Denivian lowered his arms and backed up against the wall next to the cage. He crossed his arms over his chest and laughed. He shook his head and pulled the keys out of his shirt.
"This is getting to be too much." He pushed away from the wall tossing the keys over his shoulder into the cage. Sokka grabbed them and quickly unshackled himself and the others. Denivian started to walk to one of the doors, when Vitani jumped on the table in front of him.
"OH no no. You see, your brother used us as patients, now you are going to be used for leverage. Thank you." Denivian brought his eyebrows up and looked at the man.
"You are out of your fucking mind. What makes you think that I would be leverage?" Denivian frowned as he found himself side to side with the albino.
"I hate ta be tellin ya dis, bud, but I'm tinkin that we's in the same boat and it's sinkin fast." Sokka rubbed his wrist as he helped the others push the gate open. Haru shook his head.
"Have you all forgotten, that this man is in battle with Katara at the moment?" All movement stopped and turned to look at the Earth Bender. While the attention was diverted Shemiya and Denivian slipped quietly and quickly down the corridor and quickly out of sight. Vitani turned around to see the two gone. He jumped off of the table.
"Goddammit!" He growled as a rock hi him in the back of the head. He turned and glared at Toph. HE shook his head and turned his eyes back on Haru.
"That bastard was one of our first assignments! It took us two years to catch his albino ass!" Kilani shook his head. He walked over and looked at his brother.
"Hush. He's gone now." Vitani frowned and crossed his arms roughly over his chest. He lept a foot in the air and let out a yelp. He shook his hands as the green fabric wrapped around them started to turn brother.
"Mother fucking piece of shit!" He covered his mouth and ducked expecting the entire cave to fall down on him. He looked up when nothing hit him. He turned and looked at Toph, she was just shaking her head.
"You did it."
Katara flared her hands out and focused harder on the center of the man. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as she forced her threads to grow. His animalistc power was still coursing over her, but he could only keep up this amount of power for a little bit longer. She watched as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. But still his coy smiled remained.
"Ah, so much fun." She clamped her mouth tighter as she tried to hold her concentration. How was he talking!? She could barely grunt in acknowledgment, much less think of a witty come back. She felt tiny burst start to climb up her arms. She didn't move her eyes but she knew there were black spots forming on her arms. Something caught her eye, as it moved behind him. His brows furrowed as he caught her in distraction. He pulled back some of his concentration and looked over his shoulder. His eyes widened.
"Xiyan!" The small girl ran her hand over the jar containing her mother, her lost blue eyes turned and looked at Xia. Katara stared at Xia and intensified her grip on him. He jerked his head around to glare at her his eyes wide.
"Xiyan, please go home." He yelled at the girl. The girl looked at him with begging eyes.
"Daddy..." Katara's heart felt like it stopped. He concentration faltered just long enough for him to regain his control over her. His eyes were locked on hers as she stared at him with wide eyes.
"Is she your..No. She's the one you cut..." Xia nodded.
"She is my daughter. The most beautiful creature in the world. That is all you need to know." Katara shook her head forcefully and brought her threads back on him like whips, but something was wrong, he didn't respond. She looked at him and quickly pulled her threads away. His eyes were wide in shock and he was breathing heavily. Katara's eyes dropped down to look at the small girl. Her tiny hand was wrapped around the end of a large needle that was driven into Xia's side. The girl's eyes flew open as she realized what she had done. She jerked the needle out, thowing it as hard as she could across the room. She threw herself away from her father and fell down to the floor crying in loud sobs.
Xia fell to his knees his eyes distant, he coughed and the blood that sprinkled his lip was bright in contrast to his pale skin. His body jolted as the toxins worked their way into his system. Katara stared with wide eyes. She had tears in her eyes, for a reason she couldn't describe, when the others poured into the room. Haru frowned and ran over to Xia as his body shook. He looked up at Katara with horrified eyes.
"Katara?! You!?" She shook her head and looked over to the little girl. Haru turned and looked at the girl as she screamed and tried to claw her own eyes out. He turned and looked back to Katara.
"Go comfort her!" He ordered the dumbstruck Katara. Xia fell to the ground. Haru frowned and rolled him over onto his back, the red stained dirt sticking to his mouth and nose where they were wet with blood. His body lurched as more blood spilled from his lips. His blue eyes focused and looked up at Haru. A weak smile crossed over his lips.
"Tr...Trinket..." His body jolted as the poison hit his heart. He closed his eyes and brought his hand up to touch Haru's face. "Never thought...see you're ...beautiful..face again..." Xia's hand fell away as rolled to his side, his body lurched spilling a large amount of blood from his mouth along with what looked like lung tissue. He tried to push himself up his arms shaking, but he fell face first back into the dirt. Haru grabbed him and rolled him back over. He turned and looked to Katara, who was holding the girl and staring at them.
"Can you help him!?"
"Haru! Are you out of your mind!?" Sokka yelled. "You can't possibly be wanting to save this bastard!" Zuko shook his head, his eyes just as shocked by the behavior as Sokka.
"After everything he put us through?!" Zuko growled his temper peaking out. Haru frowned and looked away from them and back to the man in his arms.
"He could have killed us. He could have kept me and raped me every night. He could have killed that child instead of keeping her. He could have done a lot of things, but he didn't. He killed that woman that cut you up, Sokka. Zuko, he could have easliy given you more sedative so that your sight didn't come back. "
"Who the fuck cares!?" Vitani growled. Kilani was the only one who watched without outrage. Haru shook his head as Xia started coughing. He looked down at Xia as he tried to talk.
"Take care ...Xiyan..please..." Haru turned and looked at the little girl. As if by cue the girl screamed out and tore from Katara's arms. She ran over and fell on Xia hugging him.
"Daddy! I'm sorry! Please be okay! Please! I'm sorry! I love you! DADDY!" She screamed into her father's chest as she hugged him. Xia's hand came up and stroked his daughter's hair, but his body lurched and his hand fell limply to the ground, his head rolling to the side. Xiyan sat back and looked at her father. The little girl was covered in her father's blood. Xia's chest rose and fell as his last breath left his body. Xiyan screamed and grabbed her father. Haru gently pushed the man out of his lap and pulled the little girl to him. He stood up his arms wrapped tight around her. He walked with her over and let Katara take her. As Katara stood up she caught Haru's eyes.
"You could have helped him." Katara shook her head.
"He d..deserve it." Haru shook his head.
"I guess this little girl deserve it, too." Katara frowned as tears streamed down her eyes.
"Don't make me the bad guy, Haru!" Haru frowned and looked down at the little girl who was crumbling to the floor. He shook his head and turned his back on her. He knew Xia was a bad person, but still there were always good qualities to someone. She could have helped him long enough for his child to say good bye, and for him to at least tell the little girl he loved her. She didn't have to save his life, but she could have prolonged it. She didn't even try. Haru cussed himself inwardly. He couldn't blame Katara. He shouldn't blame her. It wasn't right. He took a deep breath. He really didn't know what was right anymore. Zuko walked over to them, Sokka behind him, Aang the last. The twins and Toph stood back in the doorway and tried to understand what had just happened. Zuko put his hand on Haru's shoulder, and Sokka put his on the other. Katara felt her senses start coming back to her. She fell down and wrapped her arms around the girl. Xiyan's tears subsided a little and she pushed back from Katara. She walked over and wrapped her arms around Haru's legs. He ran his hand over her hair and watched her blue eyes turn to look up at him.
"Can we bury my daddy?" That was all Haru could stand. He fell down and wrapped the girl in his arms. He forced his tears back.
"Yes. We'll bury your father." Katara walked over and touched the little girl's shoulder. She didn't try to hide the tears rolling down her face.
"We'll all help." Xiyan tears started up again as she fell into Haru's arms. She wailed, trying to sink into his chest.
"I didn't mean to hurt him! I didn't! Daddy. I'm sorry!" Her screams rang through the halls. Echoing through the corridor. They all bowed their heads as she screamed. The wails found ears, that had yet to learn of the dark events that had transipred. Denivian stopped and turned his head. Rei looked up from where she sat against the wall. They listened to the cries. And with those mournful howls, they knew. Although they would never know the details of their brother's death, they both bowed their heads.
"From your body, our brother, life shall come again..."
THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! One more after this. The epilogue. Now all of my readers, I want to know what you felt, what you thought, and how this chapter left you feeling.
