Drunk, was the best way to describe it as he opened his eyes to see a fire and a forest he remembered it was the afternoon when he left school, he sat up as the heat was suffocating he smiled seeing His sister sleeping on the ground laying her head on one of ceces front legs. Tengwan smiled seeing that she was safe and alive. Just then he felt a hand on his shoulder, the avatar span around to see a man twice his age wearing a goggly eyed mask and snorted. "Shh the girls need the rest plus I don't want her asking questions." Tenwang nodded.
He sat next to him "I'm ichtaca the guy who saved your butts!" He said handing him a shish kebab.
Tengwan took it. "So are you a draft dodger?" He bit into it as ichtaca nodded. "Why did you save me and shibing anyway? No one would have cared if we had been taken away." Tengwan shock his head.
He looked into tenwangs eyes even if the darkness of the moonless night made it hard for the earth bender to actually see the other mans eyes. "How dumb are you? You're the avatar!" his eyes widened.
Tenwang stared at the masked man and struggled to understand. "But I thought the avatar was taking care of rebels in the eastern parts of iron empire, I'm was at my learning how the hundred year war ended." Acala hummed amused. "I'm not the avatar! I Just want to go back home and.." His speach slowed down remebering his house being destroyed and his sister almost being crushed to death.
Ichtaca stood up. "Listen here, I saw you wield air and water. I know you're an earth bender and I need you to understand that I need you to stop being a child and become an adult. Got it?" Tenwang gulped nodded blinking trying to work this all through his head. "We will head to the eastern air temple there should the fire lady to teach you fire bending and a nun or monk to teach you air bending."
A thought went through him. "Wouldn't it be faster if we went to western or the northern air temple? I'm sure more fire benders would have fled their right?" Tangwan looked at him like a disappointed parent.
ichtaca nodded. "First, the northern air temple was destroyed by the red lotus before I was even born and the western air was surrounded by mecha suits when they first attacked the fire nation. I was there when it happened." Tengwans eyes widened.
He got closer. "You were there?! Are you a firebender?" ichtaca shacked his head laughing. "So you are just a jerk with three swords and a creepy mask telling me what to do?" The masked man nodded pulling one of his dai sword out showing in was covered ceces spit.
Tenwang gulped he might have mastered his earth bending in secret, but a man with a sword can take care of any bender with one swing.
In ba sing se ten generals and five heads of the red lotus.
The youngest woman mostly in her early twenties, stood up. She was built tough making her seem far older then most Would admit. "The false avatar will try to make it's way to the southern or eastern air temples. We should suround the southern shores with armored trains, we don't know if they has already mastered fire yet." They nodded agreeing with her.
"While most of you have been informed I will repeat what I told my fellow red lotus members to The generals. The person who both stopped the avatar and took them is a masked man know as ichtaca we have no records of such man." Another member of the red lotus stood up.
he pressed a putten in the table turned on a projector showing brown and white picture of ichtaca with multiple iron empire soldiers paralyzed. "For the past 16 years he has been destroying rail ways to free captured rebels, hunting down commanders and caring out messages between rebel cells. He has a bounty of 500,000 yuan but the problem is his skill, mastery of the sword and his blasted shirshu ! all our best soldiers have fallen prey to it thinking their armor would be enough, yet the eyeless monster keeps finding flaws in our armor." they all murmured between each other.
"What about the mecha suits? The devision should be able defeat that beast!" The general of the army spoke up.
"You're right but here comes the mans sword mastery." The red lotus master pressed a button on the round table, The projector image changes to one of a mecha suit cut and slashed into with it's legs and one arm completely separated. "The mans more dangerous then any bender rebel Leader! I should also add he is talented player of the horse." The rest staff looked at the man with graying hair. "Never underestimate a musician." He said looking at the picture.
One man stood up his eyes burning causing all to silencing all of them, once he nodded those in the room stood up.
Most of the generals and red lotus masters left the the room only one stayed in the room staring at the picture of the destroyed suit. "Sir may I lead the search?" The only other person there nodded passing her metal place with words engraved into it.
Shibing opened her eyes once she heard a long shink sound when she saw where it came from she saw the leather jacket wearing weirdo from yesterday. "Why couldn't you sharped those swords a little Into the evening or afternoon?" The masked man gave her one Look and he continued.
Tenwang dug through the bags to find nothing but pickled fruits and vegetables. "Why do you have so much pickled stuff? Pickled moon peaches, melons, banana? What are you a pirate?"
Ichtaca looked. "I travel a lot and keeping fruits isn't easy." he looked at shibing eating his pickled plum. "How about I get us a little money and we go out to eat before start our way?" The girl of the group grinned and frowned once he saw the man with three swords sitting on the street holding a cup begging for money.
tenwang looked at him ashamed a bit that he is following a mad man. "You own a shirshu! couldn't you, I don't know rob a transport cart or hunt for bounties." He saw a few red gaurd walking toward them and the avatar and his sister hid behind the building while ichtaca sat there not moving an inch.
The red gaurd looked at the man standing over him looking down. "Sir! Begging is illegal!" He said taking stance ready to tie the begger up.
Tengwan was about launch boulder at the red guard but pulled by his sister. "I am not a begger sir, I am a musician. May I play you a piece my mother used to sing me?" The men in red calmed as they watch the masked man take his horse fiddle after playing a few notes he started to deepening his voice as he sang.
"Flowers blooming on top of the arched tree
As she sings softly my soul retrains
My wife, an honorable lady
Compassionate and delicate
Bisons springs and flies on the mountain"
He paused playing a few notes as one of the red rubbed their hiding their tears. A few of their memories must have been connecting to the lyrics.
"Her fondness melts me languidly
My wife, an honorable lady
Compassionate and lovely
The birds sing and tweet in the eternal blue sky
They are happy and joyful in their souls
My wife, an honorable lady Compassionate and mesmerizing"
A few people stop to listen Masked singer. The sound of instrument was unique and and the speed, grace he moved amazed other causing to watch just because that.
"Flowers blooming on top of the arched tree
As she sings softly my soul retrains
Argali springs and flies on the mountain
Her fondness melts me languidly The birds sing and tweet in the eternal blue sky
They are happy and joyful in their souls"
The red guard members looked around seeing the crowd growing, some enjoying the song while others were tearing up.
"With the precious words of our forefathers
With the milk blessed road by our mothers, the true path
With the power of love for your motherhood
Have a fighter spirit in our heart, be steady
As if you were a sword with a sharp blade
As if you were an arrow ready to shoot, fly, ride and rise"
He stopped, the crowd cheered and few started throwing coin to the mans cup and Red looked at the man. "We apologize for the inconvenience." They walked away after one placed a roll of yuan into the bowl.
Tenwang looked surprised to see the money shibing grabbed the roll of money. "Why take money? When people can enjoy music and repay you." Tenwang nodded understandings what he meant but shibing just counted the money.
They went into a restaurant and ate which lead to everyone staring at ichtaca because he just didn't take his mask off when he just slid it under his mask. "Why don't you take that off? I mean it would be easier to eat." ichtaca shock his head and continued eating spilling a bits of rise to the floor.
Tenwang rolled his eyes. "Shibing don't annoy the person paying for our meal. Plus i think he lost some of his marbles." Ichtaca took offense to that and presented a bag of marbles. The avatar gave him look of surprise which turned to sarcasm. "Ok you proved me wrong." Shibing just looked questioning why a grown man had a bag of marbles.
They continued to move to the next city with shibing looking at the map. "Why aren't we just going straight? Also why are we making so many stops?" Ichtaca wracked the reigns causing the shirshu to run and even though it has carrying three people at once. Yet it wasn't because shibing was being annoying, it was because a metal launched a swords at them.
The Avatar stared for a moment and jumped off and created a wall in front of the ostrich horse, the bender wearing a face covering and armor jumped off the ostrich horse and pulled out multiple thing snap off blades from the ostrich horses bag. Ichtaca stared at the man frozen when the blades rushed at him and Tenwang pushed him out of the way. The avatar made a sphere of earth around them and the three as the metal bender tried to break through earth with each attack a piece of his blade breaking off. "What are we going to do?" He asked cece was shacking and whimpering in fear.
Shibing rubbed cece nose it calmed them both and ichtace rubbed the eyeless beast fur. "Concentrate on the sun, breath it energy from the air, turn it in your fuel, from your stomach and to your arms, wield its power." Tenwang looked at the mad man.
"Ok I don't what is with you, but how is air bending going to help us?!" Shibing eyes widened and slapped her face.
He stared at at her brother. "Think about the circle! air, water, earth-" Tenwang realized at that moment.
"Fire! That's it but what are we going we going to do about mister knives?" Ichtaca looked presenting a knife. "Not you! The guy outside!" He yelled frustrated at ichtaca.
Shibing spoke up." Fire melt metal and if I'm sure his using aluminum blade which has melting 660 Celsius." Tenwang but still had problem.
"Even if i bend fire how am I going to fight?" He asked then Ichtaca stood up showing rapid boxing movements. "Ok Mr mime, I hope that's how fire bending works like!" He took a breath and concentrated he remembered what the mad man with the mask. he took one punch which lead to hot poof.
the man burst out laughing. "You're so bad! Did I actually find a avatar or Just a weird earth bender?!" The avatar sneered at the man. "Korra could bend three elements at the the age of three!" Tenwang growled. "Oh I guess i should've looked in ba sing se instead of a no name town like- Oh look I forgot." He growled at the man and swing his fist at tenwang before the masked just as he ducked down from the fire. "Oh I guese you're the avatar." He said with shibing giving him a look that said. 'I know what you did there'.
The avatar looked at the wall. "Ok I just need block and attack!" he said taking one breath before launching the wall at the metal caught the wall but didn't except the avatar jumping across the wall, he launched his knives at the young man before the knives molten away with bursts of fire. "I'm the avatar, the real avatar!" he said firing a large burst of flame at the him causing the metal bender to fall to the ground and spinning to stop the fire burning his clothes. The Shirshu walked toward metal growling at the metal bender before the man was able stand up cece Slashed her tongue at the metal bender causing to stop moving.
the masked looked at them. "Well we should keep going, I don't want to camp in the forest." Tenwang nodded and followed but shibing did one thing which was taking the man wallet before sitting on cece. "We shouldn't be surprised if other earth benders go after us."
The metal bender growled. "You will fall! The grand commander will de-" Shibing stuffed the empty wallet in his mouth.
Ichtaca burst out laughing and when shibing took her seat they all roll rode out to their next Location.
authors note: any ideas, Wishes to improve? Please review.