Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned here.
This story was made only with entertaining purposes and is not intended to be taken seriously in any social, political or religious context under any circumstances.
"Avatar" and its characters belong to "Nickelodeon".
"Spawn" and its characters belong to "Image Comics"/Todd McFarlane.
Greetings, true believers!
No, you aren't being deceived, I'm actually back after what could be considered, with valid reasons, an eternity.
But today we rejoice, for I present to you the next installment of Spawn's tale in Ba Sing Se. My original intent was to upload this months ago, but as of late there are many difficulties plaguing my life, particularly concerning work and the accursed pandemic that has turned our world upside down.
Still, allow me to apologize through this chapter that me and my editor monkeys worked so hard on during the last few weeks. I truly hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Before taking my leave, I want to wish you all a merry Christmas, as well as a happy new year 2021 free off ailments, filled with success and always alongside those dear to you.
Thank you again for your patience and unwavering support, it really means a lot.
Until we meet again…
Book Two: Earth
Fateful (K)nights
V
The Night of the Hunt
It was the fourth night since the shroud's arrival.
Zuko glanced upwards while he quietly journeyed into the heart of darkness.
A cold, white light bathed Ba Sing Se under nefarious omens. The firmament had become an empyreal sea of ink, save for the aberrantly-bright crescent moon floating alone amidst the void, silently watching his moves.
Neither clouds nor stars accompanied him, unlike the overcast, stellated heavens from yesterday. No trifle thieves or undesirable Dai Li crossed his path. Not even a mild breeze to be a reminder that he remained among the living.
Just him, and his own, personal demon…
Along his voyage, the scene continued haunting him without a rest, replaying beneath his eyelids time and time again…
A heavy sigh escaped his lips.
He stared blankly at the clothes-lines dangling outside the window, imagining the unseen horrors besieging the apartment imprisoning him.
Then, Zuko looked down.
In one hand, he held his trusted mask.
In the other, a leaflet…
An unflattering collection of misdeeds vested on his disguise by the Dai Li, who needed a scapegoat to conceal the real threat.
'A proclamation,' was written atop the paper, right above a drawing depicting his alter-ego, followed with another text.
Wanted: The Blue Spirit.
The Dai Li offer a reward for delivering this suspect to justice. Found guilty of the crimes of assaulting law-enforcement officers, murder in cold blood, disturbance of peace and resisting arrest.
The suspect wears a blue opera mask and fights with dual swords. He was last seen near the firelight fountain in the lower ring.
Any information of his whereabouts will be highly appreciated and is encouraged to be shared with the immediate authorities.
The national emblem of the Earth Kingdom closed the statement.
Zuko clenched his fist around the paper, causing it to wrinkle loudly.
The nerve of these clowns…
"If you're going on another date with Jin," he froze, his heart skipping a beat before he could recognize his uncle's voice. "May I suggest a change of attire? Not many girls are fond of all-black costumes."
"What are you doing, uncle?" Zuko turned, placing his second face and the leaflet behind his back.
"Stopping you before you do something foolish," Iroh replied while he entered the obscure room. "What do you expect to achieve by stirring up trouble where there's none?"
"I need to do this."
"What you want and what you need are two completely different things. Your intentions are pure, but this is no longer your battle to fight. You have nothing to prove to anybody."
"This is about me! It's about my destiny."
"Then please think about what you're doing," his uncle stepped forward, softening his expression. "This was supposed to be our fresh start, you must let the old wounds heal."
"I… I have to go…." Zuko spun again.
"But where will you go, Zuko? And which path in life will you take to get there?"
For a brief moment, he stood wholly immobile, allowing silence to respond in his stead.
He vividly perceived Iroh's displeasure through his words, but the hunt, his destiny, called desperately.
Thus, he climbed up the window frame, and jumped into the streets, disappearing amongst the dark.
The discussion, despite being so freshly carved in his mind, felt like a distant memory.
A convenient distraction to suppress the gnawing uncertainty consuming his nerves.
Zuko warily walked beside the tranquil fountain. Its water clear, undisturbed.
The sudden shift between lunar phases, the turning of the usually-crowded lower ring into a ghost town.
It all began here…
The shadows around him kept warping bizarrely until no longer mirroring the structures they supposedly replicated, for he clearly saw pole lanterns casting humanoid silhouettes upon the soil.
'No, that's ridiculous!'
He went forth, drowning out the questions.
And soon, a frightening sight welcomed him once he reached the now-familiar alley.
Sharp fissures sprawled across the ground, resembling a plague taking over the passage. Wide vermillion stains drenched the fractured walls. Amidst them rose a shattered obelisk projected towards the sky, probably the remnant from a confrontation against the shroud, the last bastion of a poor soul unfortunate enough to cross paths with it.
Suddenly, Zuko frowned.
Unconsciously, his hand moved to block the powerful stench mercilessly permeating the air he inhaled, but his fingertips pointlessly slid across his mask rather than covering his nose.
It bothered him beyond the obvious discomfort.
This… unnatural fetor possessed a smell for which only one name existed.
Sinister…
Merely standing here evoked harrowing images from their previous encounter.
The effortless brutalization of the Dai Li. The raw, absolute power it displayed, far superior to anything he's ever witnessed up till that fateful night.
Every fiber of his being warned him, screamed in terror.
'Maybe this is not a good idea. It's not too late to stop this… No!'
Zuko shook his head, dismissing those betraying ideas.
He wasn't some petty criminal, much less a worthless earthbender.
Banished or not, he's a prince, he's a firebender! And this monster will submit, whatever the cost.
Pushing aside his instincts, he breathed in, held it for a few seconds, and shouted to the top of his lungs at the endless obscurity.
"I know you're in there. Show yourself!"
The wind carried the echo of his demand, yet the somber serenity persisted.
'Nothing…'
As if nothing had ever lived in this accursed track of land.
The deafening noiselessness heightened his senses, making him feel like a prey, even though the predator couldn't be detected.
The world resembled a painting due to the chilling inactivity, two-dimensional and static.
'Still nothing?'
Zuko huffed, loosening the stiffness of his posture.
Anxiousness gave way for disappointment after he acknowledged the futility of this crusade. What was he thinking?
Eventually, the prince spun anew, returning empty-handed from where he came.
'Such a waste of time, maybe uncle was right for a cha-''
"Yeah, keep walking. This is your one chance to get out of my sight, punk…"
Zuko stopped, his eyes widening, but there wasn't another soul in the vicinity.
Darkness was his only companion.
'Could it be? … Is it really-'
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the incorporeal entity spoke again, its guttural speech shaking him to the core.
With shivering palms, Zuko unsheathed his broadswords, entering a fighting position.
"The Dai Li think I'm responsible for your crimes," he retorted. "I came here to clean my name."
"Is that so?" emerged the low, growly answer from the shadows. "And how exactly you pretend to do that, tough guy?"
"That's what these are for…" he mumbled, struggling to articulate a proper sentence.
"You don't want this fight, trust me… Go away before I change my mind!"
"Not until I bring you to justice!"
Zuko lamented the dare once it left his lips, a premonitory chill traced its icy way through his backbone.
A horrid quietude shrouded the environment, interlaced with the essence of death.
No shapeshifting shade announced itself, no grim whispers or frightful sounds rejected his presence, and no transgression was committed on his person.
But then, it happened…
A long, billowing cloak gushing down like a bloody cascade. The small hairs on his nape bristled.
However, what caused the truest fear to manifest in his liver, was the shadowy figure revealing itself before him.
A tall, wide silhouette that nearly doubled his height, black as dusk, surrounded by an infinite stream of chains circling its flowing robe.
A living, breathing nightmare approaching at a snail's pace…
Dreadfulness enveloped Zuko, akin to an hippo cow taken towards the slaughter-house.
Except that the creature doesn't know where it's going, but he did…
Unexpectedly, the spirit ceased all advance, and unhurriedly extended its muscular, yet seemingly-human arms possessing scarlet-gloved claws.
"Bring it on, fucker…"
The prince gripped the handles of his blades tightly. Any restraint he still had was forgotten in that instant.
Decided to confront the shroud, Zuko released a thunderous battle-cry, and swiftly launched himself against the monster.
Standing in front of the spirit, he thrusted his swords forth.
Cutting through wind, the honed steel whistled loudly, narrowly missing the target when the entity backstepped out of reach.
He wasn't done, though…
Digging his feet into the soil, he halted his sprint and recovered his foothold. Then the prince swung his right arm to the side, immediately followed with the left one, his blades chasing the spirit wherever it moved.
Alas, the entity avoided his strikes afresh, its voluminous cape waving around his weapons as if eternally repelled by them.
Zuko gritted his teeth. 'How can something that big move so fast?'
Much to his immense surprise, the spirit ostensibly lost its momentum, being that it wavered significantly after the last dodge.
This was his chance…
He rotated in the opposite direction.
Raw adrenaline fueled his every motion, convoking his greater strength for a fatal blow. He fiercely bellowed a second time, raising his swords, and brought them down upon his eldritch foe.
A hollow plunk echoed throughout the alley.
The prince gasped quietly under his mask, dumbfounded at his attack coming to a sudden standstill…
Because the spirit stopped both of his swords in mid-air with its bare hands.
His whole body grew numb, trepidation paralyzing his tongue as the entity forced him to lower his weapons. He resisted, tensing his muscles, devoting his utmost energies into withstanding the shroud's will.
But he couldn't match the might of this… cryptic wraith…
'H-How…?'
One does not just hold a sharpened blade unprotected. This is why the Dai Li couldn't stop it, he had underestimated his ene-
Something cracked stridently…
Zuko's mind went blank when the spirit gave him a powerful headbutt without letting his swords go.
Overwhelming pain engulfed the prince shortly later. The impact tore him off the ground, sending him to fly backwards several meters away from his anterior stance.
A little moment passed, and gravity reconnected him with firm land once more.
Wearily, he lifted his torso, sitting on the cold floor beneath him. He rubbed his temple, then wiped a wet imprint trailing his chin, his mouth soaked in the rancid flavor of blood.
"Had enough?" the phantom said, casually tossing his broadsword far to the distance. "Hmm… That explains the ugly mask."
Clenching his right palm, he felt the secure grip of his blade. Fortunately he still had it, the other must've escaped him during his ephemeral flight.
A gelid zephyr bit his skin, making him shiver, and also realize…
'Where is it!?'
He hastily glanced at his surroundings while crawling on all fours.
Soon enough, he found it…
His mask lying beside him, shattered in a thousand pieces. Instinct drove him to cover his scar.
"Not sure why bother to hide it, though. Are you really ashamed of a little sunburn?"
The prince whipped around so quickly that his neck slightly creaked, meeting the towering entity getting closer.
"S-Shut up!"
Anger puppeteered Zuko into swiveling and rising impulsively, lashing out toward the spirit, unleashing a diagonal slash.
That tasted nothingness…
Owing to the entity reading his intent as if he was an open book, escaping his range by jumping aloft, merging anew with the obscurity looming over the streets.
"Coward!" the prince spat, looking at the unlit nightsky above him. "Leave the shadows and face me!"
"Says the idiot who brought knives to a fist fight," a disembodied voice replied, reverberating across the atmosphere. "But I didn't expect any less from a child. What happened? Nobody asked you to prom and now you dress like a clown to spook people?"
"You know nothing about me!"
"Just by looking at you I can tell! Your attitude, your costume. It all screams of anger, despair, not knowing your fucking place!"
Zuko snarled like a wild animal.
"What was it? The thugs were friends of yours? Or there was a bounty in their heads and I just beat you to it? Or perhaps… Is it about the girl?"
"That's none of your business!"
"Yeah, seems like I struck a nerve there… Don't worry, I'll make it quick…"
Silence seized the scene when that sentence concluded.
He waited a bit more, his vigilant gaze repeatedly surveying the ominous alleys without blinking, eagerly expecting the tiniest disruption.
And so, a faint clinking sharply sounded behind him.
The prince rapidly pivoted, encountering the entity's silhouette, aside a crimson blur drawing nearer.
Nonetheless, he anticipated this.
He ducked underneath the hazy shape that resulted to be a fibrous arm aiming for his head.
Dodging the punch, he then leaped rearwards, effectively creating distance between them.
"What happens now, prince charming?" the spirit questioned. "You really want this to get bloody?"
Blood…
Zuko stayed quiet.
His attention went to the stream of green, glowing liquid leaking from a minor cut in the entity's claw.
It dawned on him instantly, his eyes snapped open.
The shroud can bleed.
Which means it can be defeated.
"Yes, I challenge you! To the death!"
Fear wouldn't dominate him anymore.
He let out a third war-cry, and started another race across the alleyway, his blade leading the charge.
Although the spirit did not react accordingly, since it made no attempt to fight or flee.
It simply waited for him, not moving an inch.
Neither flinching nor doubting, the prince continued his frenzied sprint, leveling his weapon in a straight riposte.
He was determined to finish this once and for all.
Zuko lunged forward.
Time elapsed slowly as his sword pierced through the entity's blackened form. Verdant fluid filled his field of view, stained his clothes and drenched the soil below him.
He exhaled profoundly, victory rightfully belonged to him.
Or so he believed, because something wasn't right.
Timidly gazing heavenward, the prince gulped…
Sulfurous, acid orbs burning virescent stared down at him, unfazed, undaunted…
'Impossible… How…?'
"Think again!"
A vermillion fist caught Zuko off guard. The complete left side of his face numbed, the blow almost dislocated his jaw.
Unwittingly, he retraced a few steps.
His brain… it throbbed madly inside his skull, like a caged beast demanding freedom.
Suddenly, his gut received a strong hit, forceful enough to drain the breath from his lungs in a heartbeat.
"Nghah-!" before he could react, the entity violently grabbed him by the neck, effortlessly picking him up using a single arm.
Suspended in the air, the prince kicked his legs briskly, baring his gritted teeth anew.
"Say your prayers, asshole…"
With its free claw, the spirit took the broadsword stuck within its body, and brusquely extracted it, remaining undeterred while doing so.
Not only that, but the gaping wound in its toned midriff began shrinking, stitching itself together until it vanished, leaving the wraith unscathed.
'Such power… What have I got himself into?'
Zuko clamped his palms around the entity's forearm, vigorously digging his nails in its sinewy flesh.
Ultimately failing whatsoever…
The spirit wielded his own weapon against him. Mucous, dripping substance soaking the blade pointed to his chest.
The suffocating grip got tighter, he just had one last option…
Instinctually, the prince thrusted out his hand, muscle memory driving his actions.
A bright spark lightened the street.
The entity howled painfully, dropping the tainted blade.
Zuko coughed sonorously, stumbling backwards as soon as he was released.
Easing his erratic respiration, he sucked in a deep breath, rubbing his neck.
"Wha-… What the hell!? What the fuck did you do!?"
Perplexed, he looked at the fearsome, apparently-invincible spirit, now quivering under his fire.
'Am I dead? Is this a dream?…'
He actually accomplished the unthinkable… He can still win this!
"Huh… Rough, isn't it, buddy?" having his confidence renewed, the prince lifted his arms, inhaling calmly, allocating his low stamina into throwing a punch.
Following that, a small sun propelled towards the weakened shroud, setting it ablaze.
The spirit shrieked, shuddering spasmodically, being reduced to a vulnerable, broken man…
A tiny smile stretched Zuko's lips. He couldn't believe it, yet.
Part of him worried about someone discovering his true identity, but this situation surpassed any other.
Besides, what good could caution serve at this point?
The warmth, the adrenaline, the intoxicating, flaming energy materializing his will on the battlefield. He really missed it all throughout the skirmish.
Nevertheless, his limbs weren't responding properly…
For he greatly staggered forth upon counterattacking. Exhaustion threatening to subdue him early.
'No… Not now…' he must end it, or it'll be his end…
Therefore, while the entity endured stunned, the prince squatted lightly, then hopped, gathering his residual strength.
Amidst the brief jump, he swung his leg in a circular fashion, summoning a burning whip of swirling flames with a high roundhouse-kick.
Consequently, the long, star tail-like blaze mightily struck the unprepared spirit, making it recede and fall to the land, finally defeated.
Upon the strike, Zuko let himself crash onto the nearest wall, barely retrieving his footing.
Breathing hurt. A lot. 'Is it a broken rib?'
But he didn't care.
Utterly astonished, the prince watched the fire consuming the shroud, speechless. Flickering embers, alongside enormous clouds of obsidian smoke flooded the alley.
"It's… over…" he sighed relieved.
With nothing more, Zuko sluggishly spun, leaning against the cool concrete.
And he dragged his feet, pursuing the exit from the street, from this bad dream that he shall remember his entire life.
Wincing, he abruptly dropped to his knees after a mere couple of steps, drooling blood.
He hugged his abdomen, wishing it would quell the splitting ache ailing him.
"Zuko!"
Answering the call, the prince steadily raised his chin, spotting a smudgy, dumpy figure appearing around the corner of the passage.
"U-Un… cle?"
The voice kept calling him through muffled echoes. His eyes couldn't fathom anything outside the newcomer's saggy, discolored clothing as it approached him.
His sight fixated on his lap again, turning black…
Thusly, Zuko prematurely lost consciousness, oblivion became his new world, muting, allowing darkness to reign over him…
