1.02: Working Vacation
It was evening when Shi arrived on Shengyinxing, the Sun low on the horizon and casting an orange glow on the vibrant red world. He yawned; it was morning for him and he'd not gotten a lot of sleep the night before. Out the windows that comprised the far wall he could see the gleaming skyscrapers of Wucheng City, a major metropolis. The Sun slowly sunk behind the towers, while nearby in the darkening sky he could see the twin bright stars that were Homeworld and the Moon.
"Hey, do you mind?"
Shi's train of thought was railroaded off a cliff by an irritated bush spirit. The green marshmallow-like creature sat on the top of the decorative plant behind Shi, directly in his shadow. Her irritated glare was plane even behind the sunglasses as she pulled out her earbuds that were clearly blaring some kind of heavy metal, "Some of us are trying to sunbathe here".
"Oh, sorry!" Shi apologized, sheepishly stepping out of her way, "Say uh, did you see the Avatar come this way a few hours ago? Black hair, ponytail-"
"I know what the Avatar looks like" the spirit said, her eyebrow raised as she looked at the idiot who wouldn't leave her alone, "And no, I didn't see her. I'm not her keeper".
Shi frowned at the spirit's lack of basic respect, but her sister on the bush next to hers spoke up, "Don't mind her, she's just kind of cranky. But yeah sorry, we haven't seen her".
"That's what I just said" the first spirit said, irritated as she laid back down and let the sun do its work.
The second spirit looked at her, suddenly cross, "...Are those my earbuds?"
"No".
"...They totally are! I told you to stop stealing my stuff!"
"I didn't steal it, you weren't using it!"
"I'm telling the groundskeeper!"
"Uh..." Shi backed away with a polite cough, in no way interested in getting involved in whatever that was. Shaking his head, he walked down the hall towards the nearest arrival and departure screen—not that it would do him much, as Azi had been through here a solid six hours earlier.
...He had his work cut out for him. But he couldn't let that dissuade him! Zhuang and the White Lotus were counting on him, and Azi needed his help.
"…I wonder what she's up to right now" he asked Tenku, currently perched atop a sign, "I hope she's not in any trouble".
Azi's brow furrowed in concentration. This had to be perfect; one slip up and this entire situation could go downhill really freaking quick. There was no room for error, no room for doubt. She'd never really had the chance to do this herself before, but right now she didn't have the luxury of help or advice.
There!
Azi pulled the burning marshmallow from the makeshift fire with her stick (thank the spirits for firebending). It was black and charred, but not too much, nor had it melted off like too many of the earlier attempts. After taking a moment to cool it down she jabbed the entire thing into her mouth. The smile lingered on her face.
...This had been a good idea.
Sure, she was still struggling with that bottomless maw of dread and stress of what was waiting for her back home and oh spirits Zhuang was going to be pissed but this had been a good idea. She was enjoying this.
It was fine.
The Avatar sat on the edge of a trail in the outer suburbs of the colonial capital, Wuchang City, the city's towers gleaming in the distance to the left of the forested hillside she found herself on while numerous houses dotted the forest behind her. In front of her lay an expanse of vibrant and banded red rock formations in a shallow canyon, a bit like the rockier parts of the Si Wong desert back on Homeworld, but...different. Some where narrow finger-like pillars jutting out of rock walls in tight rows, others had holes in them or had been carved by the wind in funny ways. It looked weirdly alien, and she'd spent a few hours happily sketching the scenery out.
...Hmm. Her landscapes needed work. Ugh, why couldn't she just put down what she thought or saw?
But that wasn't all, because the wind interacted with the formations in odd ways. The result? The result was...well, the only way anyone could ever describe it was music. It was music. Not just like wind chimes or anything, but actual music carried by the wind, just tunes no one had ever heard before, all of it relaxing and soothing as long as the weather remained good. Azi had read about it before but hadn't really believed it, but here it was and she was mesmerized despite how absolutely exhausted she was from lack of sleep.
And the planet was absolutely full of stuff like this (she'd caught herself humming more than once on the way here)? 'Shengyinxing' was well-named indeed. Even the pine trees seemed to whistle softly, perfectly harmonizing with the stone formations.
A soft, cool breeze brushed past her. Now that the day was ending, the temperature was starting to cool a bit. Azi yawned; it had been a long, long day. She'd originally intended to find a hotel but uh...it was really nice out here.
She'd always wanted to go camping growing up, but it had always been a security hazard. Sure, there was no tent or sleeping bag, but it was actually rather nice out, she was bundled up enough, and she had her bag with her to function as a pillow. With a bit of a giddy (if not uncharacteristic) sense of rebellion, Azi decided -as the sun hovered on the horizon- that she was going to stay out here for the night and watch the stars.
So she did.
They were gorgeous. The wide arm of the silver river stretched across the outer firmament of the universe, far beyond where humans had traveled (or terrestrial spirits, for that matter). Stars were spirits, it was said, though no one knew what really lay out there on the outer rim. Maybe there were more worlds like the seven planets in Homeworld's night sky. Maybe each star was like the Moon or Sun; personal realms of attendant spirits. Maybe it was even weirder than that, considering how unstable things got the further out one traveled. Maybe she couldn't even comprehend what it was like.
Laying down and looking up at the night sky gave her full view of the expanse before her and made her feel so unimaginably small. She could almost...feel the distance, experience the vastness between her and the subject of her study in a way she could almost comprehend, as if she was standing on the edge of a cliff over the canyon and basking in the open space beneath her.
And then suddenly there was no ground beneath her. She was not gazing up at the stars, she was hurdling through the endless night, experiencing infinity in all its unending terribleness. So much, too much. The human mind could not grasp this, she couldn't…
She couldn't even scream.
But still the void pulled at her, brought whispers into her ear. Whispers she could only almost here, but were as alluring and irresistible as they were terrifying and overwhelming.
She was drowning, deep into the void as the whispers grew into a madding chorus and something grabbed hold of her and pulled into the yawning maw-
Azi awoke with a start, drenched in sweat despite the cold air of what was now the early morning, the sky turning slightly purplish behind the two bright lights now baring down on her.
"Found another one".
"...Wha?" Azi managed to grunt out as she squinted her eyes shut at the bright lights and put her hand up to block it, the terror of her nightmare quickly receding into nonexistence.
"Ma'am, you can't sleep on the trails. There are designated camping grounds".
"...O-oh, sorry…?" Azi sat up, realizing now she was dealing with a pair of cops. Dread welled up within her.
"...Ma'am, may we see your camping permit?"
"My what?" Azi felt that pit in her stomach returning. Crap. Crap crap crap crap. Was she seriously being arrested?! What were they going to do with her?
"The permit you need to purchase before you can camp in the park". A sigh; one officer turned to the other, "Go call it in; looks like we got another drifter" he turned back to Azi as his partner wandered off, "Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to come with us".
"...Drifter?" Azi asked reluctantly as she stood up, though she already had a sinking suspicion.
"Yeah, you're homeless, right? Don't know why you came here; there's plenty of other places that don't keep their streets as clean as we do".
"Wait!" Azi panicked as the officer metalbent handcuffs onto her, "I'm not homeless!"
"And where is your place of residence?"
"Uh..." Well shit. Azi decided to take a gamble and put on her most authoritative voice (it wasn't much), "...If you must know, I'm the Avatar".
The cop looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before leading her on, "Sure you are. Let's go to the station, 'Avatar', and get you processed".
Azi whined quietly to herself; less than twenty-four hours she'd already managed to get herself arrested. She thought about maybe bending to prove her identity, but then decided that no, trying to bend fire or something with already-twitchy cops was probably one bad idea too many.
Were they going to put her in jail? Was there going to be a fine? How was Zhuang going to deal with this? Shit, she was going to have to ask the White Lotus to get her out of this, wasn't she?
Shit.
The trip to the police station was spent in silence, with Azi handcuffed in the backseat of the skycar and inwardly panicking, contenting herself with watching out the window as the highly advanced city flew by in the brilliance of dawn. Republic City, Caldera, the Northern Capital, she'd seen a lot of wealthy, advanced cities. But Wuchang seemingly lived it. Tall towers of white and glass. Holographic displays and high-speed rail everywhere she looked. Everything conformed to a certain curved 'cool' aesthetic, as if the city had been preplanned from the start.
...Not that this was entirely surprising as Shengyinxing had become something of a private playground for the system's big tech megacorps, but it was still a sight to behold.
She didn't get too much time to dwell on it however, as the skycar soon landed at the police station and Azi was quickly led out of the car and into the building. The rest of that trip was a blur: she was rushed down the hall, past various offices and desks before being led to a holding cell where she'd been subjected to a number of tests, including urine, blood, and facial recognition. Even then though, she was only there afterward for about ten minutes before without warning or reason she'd been led to an empty office, uncuffed, and left to her own devices.
Oh shit oh shit oh shit it was just like one of those interrogation rooms like in those police serials Shi liked! Alone and left to her own thoughts, Azi swallowed and began to sweat, fidgeting with her fingers idly. She'd almost worked herself up into a frenzy by the time the bald, middle-aged police chief walked in, closed the door, and calmly sat down in the desk across from her seat. His tired eyes darted back and forth between the report in his hand and Azi, almost perplexed at what he was seeing before taking a sip of his tea.
"...Huh, I'll be tiger-monkey's uncle. You are the Avatar. I didn't believe it when my boys told me who you claimed to be. You look taller on camera. Police chief Yazan" he said, introducing himself.
And just like that relief flooded in and Azi's mind just kind of short-circuited for a minute at the sudden anticlimax, "Uh..."
"What in blazes are you doing in Wucheng? Better yet, what was the Avatar doing sleeping out in the woods of all places?"
"Uh...it's..." Azi's face turned crimson, "It's kind of...complicated".
Yazan scoffed incredulously, "What, were you on some sort of secret mission or something?"
Azi blinked hesitantly, "…Yes".
Yazan didn't buy it for a second and Azi knew that, letting her shoulders deflate at the glare she got. He replied, "Without your guard detail? After what happened yesterday?" Azi looked down in shame and Yazan sighed, changing subjects, "...Are you hungry?"
"What? No, I'm-" Azi's stomach, whose last meal had only been a metric shit-ton of marshmallows because self-control what was that, growled in rebellion. She coughed in embarrassment, "...Yes".
"Thought so" he opened a holo-link from his desk to one of his desk workers outside the dor, "Kano, get our guest some breakfast, would you?" The woman, middle-aged and water tribe, nodded and the link went dead. The chief turned his attention back to Azi, "...I have to admit, you put me in a bit of a position, Avatar".
"...I have?"
The chief took another sip of his drink, "Yes. Normally I'd charge you with trespassing, loitering, and improper use of facilities, but I have a sinking suspicion the White Lotus would throw a fit and my whole department would be underwater faster than you could say 'misdemeanor', so I'd like to instead propose a deal".
"...A deal?" Azi asked hesitantly. If there was a way to get out unscathed she was all for it—but what was the catch?
He nodded, "We've got a bit of a problem, not just in Wucheng though it seems to be strongest here, but increasingly planet-wide. We've petitioned both the White Lotus and the Air Temples several times, but they seem to be spread thin elsewhere and haven't been able to respond. In the meantime however, the situation's getting worse".
The water tribe woman entered the room with a knock, delivering a variety of pastries on a tray from the break room. She nodded at the police chief silently with a smile and left the room. The chief took one for himself and then motioned to Azi who, after some hesitation, took one and ungracefully stuffed it in her mouth.
...Oh shit, jam-filled! Score!
Yazan activated a holographic map of the city above his desk. Numerous dots began to appear, "It started two months ago with the disappearances. It was slow at first; just a handful, but quickly grew. There weren't anything connecting them at first glance, people from all walks of society were seemingly vanishing. The only thing they had in common were the dreams".
"Mrph?" Azi asked through her filled mouth. She swallowed, "...Dreams?" she repeated, suddenly worried again. Last night rushed back to her.
The police chief nodded at the look in her eyes, "...You've had them too, haven't you? I can see it. Almost everyone has the dreams now, and they're relentless. It starts with the nightmares, then some people just...can't deal with it, I suppose. They go crazy. Paranoia sets in, they start talking gibberish, and then...they vanish, no trace of where they went. It's turning into a pandemic. Hundreds have vanished from Wucheng alone, and now it's begun to spread to other cities".
Azi swallowed, "...And what do you want me to do?"
"You're the Avatar. Our best guess right now is that this is spirit related, meaning that you or the White Lotus are our best bet. I want...no, I need you to investigate. We'll get you all the data we have on the situation and whatever resources you need".
Azi grimaced; after yesterday? No, no, no. This wasn't going to work. She was just going to mess things up worse. Hadn't she come out here exactly to get away from this? "I...look, you saw what happened yesterday, right? I'm not the person to ask about this stuff. I'm sorry".
"You're not ideal, no" Yazan said gruffly (Azi ignored the stab to her nonexistent pride), "But you are still the Avatar and, frankly, we are out of options here. The problem is spreading exponentially. If we wait for the White Lotus or Air Temple waiting lists, it could be too late. I might as well throw you at the problem; it can't hurt". When Azi didn't respond, instead looking down at her feet, Yazan decided to use the stick approach, "The alternative is that I give the White Lotus a call and find as many misdemeanors that I can possibly charge you with as leverage. If I'm right, you aren't exactly keen on dealing with them right now, are you?"
Her eyes widened as she gasped, Azi looked up at Yazan in shock. He'd seen right through her. And now he was...this was… "...You're blackmailing me".
He took another sip, "If that's what it takes" he put the cup down, "Here is my deal, Avatar: you do all you can to help me with this investigation, and in return I don't turn you in. You continue on your merry way and I forget I ever saw you".
"...I don't have a choice, do I?" Azi grumbled.
"We always have a choice, I just hope you pick the right one".
With a cornered sigh, Azi very reluctantly nodded. Yazan nodded approvingly, "Excellent!" he turned off the display and stood up, gesturing her to follow him, "If you'll come with me we'll get you set up".
Azi took a moment to grab a couple more pastries...then on a second thought (while Yazan was distracted with opening the door) secretly slid a bunch into her bag for later—only realizing after with embarrassment that he was watching her with a bemused look. She then followed the police chief out (after grabbing one more and shoving it in her mouth). A nagging thought came to her, "...What would you have done if I had just been a homeless person?"
Yazan eyed her, "...Sent you to a detainment center until the colonial governor had the time and resources to process you and port you offworld to somewhere else where it's not our problem. Probably to the Belt in one of the 'Work Advocacy' programs, if I had to guess".
"You just...deport people?" Azi asked, aghast.
Yazan shrugged, "Look kid, I don't make the rules. Shengyinxing is the tech mogul's world. You need to be in the system and have an established place of residence. The CEOs like having clean streets and their pretense of high-tech utopia, and they have enough money to make the world how they want it" a shrug, "Or at least to the point that they can pretend".
She didn't press the issue further, not wanting to get into an argument she didn't know enough about with a man who could turn her over to the White Lotus at any time. The conversation fell silent until they reached their destination.
"...She could be anywhere" Shi sighed in frustration, holding his chin in his hand as he lazily searched tourist spots that Azi might be at via public terminal at a tea shop. His other hand tapped the wooden table with rhythmic certainty of an unknown tune for the third time since he'd sat down before he caught that he was doing it again—this damned planet. Idly he wondered how often song and dance numbers just spontaneously happened here like in a musical. The thought amused him.
He swiped away one tab on the hard light display and replace it with a minimized one—one focused on local news which he refreshed. A number of article links scrolled by: one about the continued rash of disappearances on this planet (that was a cause for concern), one about another Oni raid out on the frontier, one about strikes out in the Belt increasing prices on goods, one about increased sanctions from the United Republic against Huoxing as the colonies there continued to ignore colonial regulations, Mecha Wars 3 was topping the mover box office this week...
Still no sign of Azi; wherever she was, she was keeping a low profile.
Unless something had happened to her, that is. Shi tried his best to keep those kind of thoughts at bay, but the fact that he couldn't contact her, that no one had seen here, was beginning to wear at him. What if something had happened to her? What if she needed help, what if she was in danger, and he was here sitting at an upscale tea shop checking his emails? He groaned, turning his attention to the busy street outside the full-wall windows; the sun was rising now over the downtown as people and spirits alike went about their day. Above skycars zipped to and fro, treating the maze of tall windowed skyscrapers as their personal jungle and avoiding the mess of the high-speed rail lines below.
If only he had a lead.
A loud, pissed-off squawk pulled Shi from his thoughts. A child, no older than five, had attempted to pet Tenku, but the old, grumpy hawk nearly clawed off the young girl's hand, his wings fluttering in irritation. The girl stumbled back in fear with a cry. Immediately her parents were there to get her away from the angry bird.
"Hey!" Shi warned him, but the bird gave no interest to him. It was too late anyway; the barista called out to him, walking from her counter over to the incident.
"Excuse me, wild animals aren't allowed in here! I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave".
"Oh, no, he's not wild, he's trained!" Shi said, standing up from his kiosk, "It's fine, he's the Avatar's pet".
The barista gave him an unimpressed stare, "...And what, you're supposed to be her boyfriend or something?" she snorted.
"No, no! Nothing like that, we grew up together" Shi said, waving that thought off awkwardly, "We're more siblings, almost".
The barista folded her arms, her expression not shifting, "Uh-huh. Sure. Look, I don't care if you think you're the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, you can't bring animals in here! It's not sanitary and he's clearly not trained well enough!" The parents of the frightened child glared at Shi and he felt himself beginning to sweat.
"Look, we'll be out of your hair in a minute. I just need to use-" Shi was cut off by Tenku very deliberately knocking Shi's tea onto the ground, spilling it everywhere. Shi gave the bird a look of shock and betrayal.
"Security!" the barista called, walking away as a rather imposing security officer shifted his weight off the far wall which he'd been leaning on and began marching towards them. Shi got the hint and grabbed Tenku. He knew when a battle was lost.
"Fine, fine, I'm going!"
Shi stepped outside onto the street with a huff, barely avoiding the arms of the security officer who shooed him away before heading back inside. Shi turned to Tenku with a pissed-off look, "What was that all about?!" The bird looked away, uninterested—and for Shi that was the last straw. It was almost like the damn bird was...oh. He eyed Tenku, "...You're trying to keep me from finding her, aren't you?" he said in realization. A smug look took hold, "Joke's on you" Shi unhooked the leash on the bird's leg, "I'm going to use you to find her whether you like it or not" he shoved his arm, forcing the recalcitrant bird to take flight, "We'll take this methodically. Circle around the block; I'll follow you".
Tenku gave him an irritated look, then flew off into the sky, kept flying and then...uh…
Oh.
Oh.
"...Ah, shit". Shi's defiant stance with his hands on his hips imploded right along with his confidence before he broke into a sprint after him.
Azi absentmindedly adjusted the tracking device on her wrist, which was starting to chafe a bit.
...Ugh. This had been a really bad idea.
"...All I wanted to do was camp out and eat marshmallows" she grumbled to herself, "But nooo, can't have that. Gotta go fight some angry spirit that eats people and poops out nightmares or something". It was like the universe had it out for her or something. Honestly, if it hadn't been the ever-present threat of the police issuing a warrant for her arrest and the subsequent shitstorm that would arise from that, she'd have happily skipped offworld the second the police had set her loose on the city. She'd had the nightmares herself—did that mean if she stuck around that she was going to go crazy and disappear too? The thought sent shivers down her spine. Right now there were several police officers stationed within walking distance of her 'just in case' yet not so close as to tip anyone off, and yet she didn't feel anysafer...but then again considering that her whole job here was to be a fancy dowsing rod maybe she was justified in feeling that?
Right now she was on the outskirts of the city's industrial distinct, walking down the street near where several of the more recent disappearances had happened and feeling a bit silly. Ostensibly she was looking for clues (as if the police hadn't already done a thorough sweep?) and generally keeping an eye out for spirit activity (as if the city wasn't filled with spirits just going about their day), though in reality she was bait.
Yay. Bait.
Azi looked up at the clear, sunny sky. Did it feel a bit dimmer than earlier? Then again, this was the industrial district. It was a huge contrast compared to the 'bright, aspirational future' vibe the rest of the city gave, being a run-down dump in comparison. Maybe that was why everything felt a bit more mute and muffled, she was just getting a bit of tonal whiplash. No people either, or even birds. The air was a bit heavier too; not cold exactly, but there was an uneasiness to it.
Eugh, creepy. Increasingly tense, Azi was about to find somewhere nicer to look around aimlessly when she heard a noise from the alleyway near her. Something had crashed into something else and fallen to the ground. "...Hello?" she asked, her feet firmly glued to the ground.
No answer.
For a moment Azi considered simply running. No harm, no foul, right? But then she'd just be back to square one, and no closer to being free. Besides, she was just...she was just scaring herself silly. There was nothing wrong, right? The sun was shining, it was broad daylight, she was just having a freakout over nothing.
"...Getting eaten by eldritch monsters it is" she whined to herself, then more quietly added "...Please don't eat me" as she hesitantly stepped forward, a bit of flame appearing in her palm partly so she could have some extra lighting, and partly so she had ammunition in-hand for if things got crazy.
With extreme reluctance and hesitation Azi entered the alleyway and called again, "...Is someone here? I just...I want to talk. Please?"
No answer. She came to the back of the alley, where a wall prevented further exploration. There was no one here, and Azi felt a bit silly talking to herself and psyching herself out. She needed to get a grip.
With a sigh of relief she turned to get out of the creepy and trash-ridden lot, only to jump in fear when she saw someone suddenly standing at the entrance. "OH S-" She gasped, instantly putting up a combat position until she realized the figure—a man in his early forties from the Earth realms—wasn't doing anything threatening. He was just...well, standing there, slightly hunched over. Azi felt herself relax a bit (though not too much), tending to her beating heart as she steadied her breath, "You scared the crap out of me!" No response. Azi's expression of relief tensed again and she stood straight, "...Can I help you?"
"You're too loud" the slouching man said finally, his voice oddly monotone.
Azi's face bunched up, perplexed, "I'm...sorry?" Why was it so dark back here? Had it always been so dim out?
"You need to be silent". No irritation, no anger, no demanding. Just unsettling monotone. Why did everything suddenly feel off-key?
Azi stepped back, "...Oh uh, sorry?" she began to whisper, "Is this better?"
"There's too much" another voice sounded behind her. Azi spun around, now finding a Fire Nation female in her late twenties standing at the end of the alleyway where there hadn't been anyone before. She was just as slouched as the man, her head hung.
"How did you-"
"There's too much" the woman repeated, "You're too loud".
"You're too loud" the man agreed as he stepped forward, almost speaking over the woman.
Azi swallowed, suddenly very aware of the danger, "I...should go. I'll just get out of your hair, okay?" she forced an uncomfortable laugh, "Okay. Bye!"
"You need to be silent".
"Be silent".
"Be. Silent". There was a third man now, Water Tribe, about her age and wearing a pair of glasses.
...Oh shit.
And that's when the three attacked. To Azi's credit she rolled out of the way, pulling herself into a couched but fighting position as her training kicked in even as panicked as she was. She let loose a wild lash of fire...or well, she'd meant to. It was more of a sputtering cloud of smoke and sparks thanks in part to her sudden loss of composure and allowed the others to close in. She attempted to block each in turn as they clawed at her, but their movements were...off, unpredictable. Wrong, somehow. Discordant.
Wide-eyed and in pure fight-or-flight mode, Azi ripped up a chunk of asphalt from the ground. It was messy; instead of the large chunk she'd intended she got several smaller pieces, and only a few actually made it towards their targets. It was enough though, and it gave Azi enough room to move. Summoning up as much air as she could, Azi squatted and then vaulted herself up into the air, directing her body to the nearest rooftop. She hit the roof with a thud and rolled to her feet, stumbling with unsteadiness as she broke into a sprint.
NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE.
NOPE!
She crossed to the other side of the building and dropped back down to the street, only to be blindsided by a man in an Air Temple uniform who threw himself at her from the side and tackled her to the ground. His face in hers, the terror and panic she was feeling escalated tenfold as she saw he wasn't even remotely okay: the man in question was less a person and more one of those calcified sandbender mummies they sometimes dug up in the wastes of the Si Wong desert: his skin was desiccated, his eyes lifeless and empty, his build bony and fleshless, and he smelled like death. His breath blew in her face and she wanted to vomit.
Where were the police!?
"You're too loud". His raspy, inhuman voice was just as monotone and dull as the others, even as he grappled with her with all his strength—a fight he –it– was swiftly winning as the other entranced people closed in. Despite it being bright and sunny everything felt dim and colorless. The air was heavy and suffocating. Sounds were muffled and dead. Even the ambient melodic nature of Shengyinxing felt missing. Azi's head was spinning as she slammed a chunk of asphalt into the man's head and scrambled away...just as the mob of four surrounded her. She issued a fire punch that knocked them back momentarily, and then in a moment of brilliance took advantage of the situation and thrust another fist into the air, channeling all the power she could muster into a signal flare. It wasn't powerful or anything befitting a worthy Avatar's strength, but it was enough to be seen.
The move cost her though, and Azi was dogpiled by the small mob, her attempts at martial art self-defense just as out-of-synch as before thanks to the odd, unnatural movements of the zombies. They clawed at her, whispering as they reached for her neck.
"You need to be silent!"
Azi's world was spinning. She wasn't sure if it was because they were suffocating her, or from the increasingly emptiness of everything around her or...she could have sworn she heard voices, whispers in the back of her mind she couldn't quite place that were overwhelming her psyche. She could feel the void, the emptiness of her dream. Everything was just too lou-
The next thing Azi knew, she felt the weight on her evaporate and air rushing into her lungs as she coughed violently. She opened her eyes and realized very quickly—in bright, broad daylight once more no less—what had happened: the officers assigned to her had arrived. One, a metalbender, had knocked the crowd aside and was now in the process of tying one of them up. Another had let loose a stream of water that froze one of the mob and then turned his ire on a second. The third officer wasn't a bender, but he didn't need to be; with a pair of electrified batons he quickly subdued the last of the entranced people.
Azi, sitting up, rubbed her sore throat in a bit of a daze. It wasn't dim out anymore, or suffocating, or anything. It had almost felt like a dream. Had...how much of that had been real? If it wasn't for the people being arrested now…
"Avatar, are you alright?"
Azi looked up at the officer who had asked her the question, still a bit out of it. If she'd been a bit more together she might have muttered about how after blackmailing her into being bait it was a bit late to be worrying about her well-being. "I...yeah".
Well...they'd wanted her to find the spirit responsible for the disappearances, and she had. Sorta. Kinda.
"All I remember is...darkness".
Azi listened to the middle-aged man as he was questioned from behind the large window as a healer tended to her neck. It hadn't taken long for the attackers to 'wake up', as it were, and the three who were still alive seemed very disoriented and confused. As it turned out, all four of them had been among the missing people, and none of them could recall anything from that time. For the man being questioned right now, that was extremely jarring as he'd been missing for almost two weeks by now and from his point of view time had just skipped. Beyond that though, he seemed perfectly fine beyond jitters and being extremely lethargic He'd apparently suffered from nutrient depletion, but a shift in diet could fix that. The two who had only been gone a day or two had even recovered almost instantly.
...And then there was the fourth man, the Air Temple monk. He was a desiccated corpse who had had no chance of survival, and seemed to have been dead from the moment he had been knocked out. Which made no sense; he shouldn't have been alive even that long in the first place. He'd been gone by far the longest, almost two months. The implications there were lost on no one: whatever this was, the longer you were trapped the bigger chance you had of being turned into...well, that. Azi didn't want to think about it, even as she almost couldn't do anything but: he'd been on top of her, her mind fading as his breath-
No. None of that.
All four people had been ID'd, and none of them had anything in common. They had all lived in different places, come from different walks of life and had different jobs, had different ethnicities. Azi could tell Yazan was irritated; the first big break in the case and it still told him absolutely nothing of why any of this was happening.
...What would life be like for the guy they were talking to? Everyone he knew, his job, his family, they'd likely all thought him dead, yet now here he was. Inwardly Azi felt guilt; she hadn't turned on her phone once since leaving the Moon, and almost a day later now her parents were likely worrying. She'd thought about risking turning her phone on for a moment to give them a text, but knew that Zhuang and the White Lotus would likely have triangulated her position fairly quickly after that (she was rather glad she'd had the mind back on the Moon to give a quick update to her channel so the handful of viewers she had knew not to expect any streams for a while). If she was free she'd be able to simply leave town before anyone found her, but as long as she was being blackmailed into staying on this case…
Ugh.
"Just a few hours on the case and you've already gone further than the entire department has in months" the police chief said, sitting down next to her and handing her a cup of tea. The healer nodded and finished her work, leaving the two to talk.
"...Guess I'm just really good at being bait" Azi mused grumpily before taking a drink. A few more seconds and...no don't think about it.
Her vision had been fading as everything darkened, and yet the image of the Air Temple man's unnatural face barreling down on hers as he gripped her neck was plastered in her mind. As her mind brushed against the never-ending void, filled with the maddening voices and-
NO, don't think about it. Focus.
"Classifying it as 'bait' undersells yourself. You're the Avatar; you are more attuned to these sorts of things, and spirits are more attuned to you. This is your job, it's why you exist" the chief said. Azi looked down at her cup and frowned, feeling once again a bit like a tool that was being exploited, but said nothing. "Speaking of, one of our other guests wishes to speak with us. He says he might have a lead".
Azi looked up, mildly curious but also very suspicious, "What kind of lead?"
"...Holy shit, it's really you" the Water Tribe boy about her age gawked in amazement as the group of three stood in the wide-open chamber that was the entrance of the police station. Columns, full-wall slanted glass windows, glass elevators, and elegant curved stairs leading up to balcony floors above made it look even more spacious than it was. Hard-light displays and consoles popped out of the floor, most of them kiosks for civilians, but some were for use only by the department.
Considering that the last time Azi had seen this boy he'd been ranting and trying to kill her, Azi felt just a bit of uneasiness at the complete one-eighty in personality. She rubbed her neck absentmindedly. The boy realized he was staring and blushed before throwing his hand out, "Oh, apologies, name's Yuka. I work at the Library Archives here in town. Well, intern actually" he coughed awkwardly, "But I'm going to be full-time on one of the research teams soon enough".
Azi shook his hand, only for him to be rather...enthusiastic about it and accidentally crushing her hand while waving her arm about like a wet noodle. After he let go she rubbed her hand as he continued on, unaware of the faux pas, "I didn't think I'd really get to meet you. I mean, you're the Avatar, it's a huge honor".
"Uh..."Azi stared at him blankly, increasingly uncomfortable about this, "I mean, I haven't actually done much of anything..."
"Well yeah, but you're still famous. Like royalty almost. I mean the Firelord doesn't do anything either, the Diet runs the Fire Nation, but that doesn't mean he's not important. Besides, if it wasn't for you I'd still be a zombie" his demeanor shifted, becoming a bit more hesitant, "...or a corpse, I guess".
"Uh, thanks. I...think" Azi said awkwardly, uncertain of how to take that comparison.
"You're welcome!" Yuka said helpfully. Azi noticed something about him—not something she could see or feel, but...she didn't know. It wasn't different in a bad way, but it definitely lingered.
"Ahem" Yazan coughed, turning the attention to him, "This is charming and all, but I'd prefer we got down to business. You said you had a lead, Mr. Yuka?"
Yuka cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up as he went into full business mode, "Right, yes! So tell me, what do you know about...Oni?" The words were delivered with an over the top dramatic flair, but one that was absolutely sincere.
"...Oni?" Azi asked, tilting her head. The big troll things, right? She'd remembered reading about them in class once. Oh, and they were an enemy class in that Red Desert game she'd played a few months back! She'd dropped it when they had overhauled the stats and ruined her build.
"The indigenous people of this planet. They live out in the wilderness in clans and tribes. Usually keep to themselves, raiding bands on unprotected border towns aside" Yazan said before turning to Yuka, "...What would the Oni have to do with kidnapping and brainwashing people?"
"What don't they have to do with it?" Yuka grinned knowingly, "A race of magical beings who understand the tonal secrets of this world much more fluently than we ever could? This whole world is one big orchestra, and they are the players! Is it really so hard to believe they could ensnare a person by knowing which strings to pluck?"
Yazan frowned, "...I don't believe the Oni have ever demonstrated such far-reaching powers before".
"Ah, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence!" the young scholar refuted with confidence, "I have evidence, but it's all back at my office. Closet. Closet-office" he corrected himself, suddenly slightly embarrassed.
"...And your superiors. Do they believe this as well?" Yazan asked, more disbelieving by the moment.
"Uh...they're...coming around to it" Yuka said. Something in his tone was unconvincing and there was a brief pregnant silence.
Yazan, unimpressed but willing to see this through by virtue of having no other leads, was the first to reply as the police cruiser he'd requested landed outside, "Hmm. Shall we, then?
The police skycar shot through the air, flying between buildings as Azi absentmindedly watched them pass her by. She caught herself silently humming the quasi-music created by the car's thrusters, again surprised by how omnipresent the planet's melodic nature was. It wasn't unpleasant per-say, but it was really weird.
"...So what's it like being the Avatar?"
Azi pulled herself from the window and considered how to best answer the question, "It's...busy. Lots of training. And public stuff".
"I bet it's really neat, right? Get to go lots of places, see lots of things". Yuka looked at her excitedly,
Azi meanwhile did not want to have this conversation and knew it would be an absolute press disaster if she spoke candidly (she had almost initiated a war between Yue and the White Lotus over a joke about twenty-four hours earlier, after all), and almost any real answer would almost certainly bring up more questions. "...Sure, yeah". Unconvincing to anyone except Yuka who was only half-paying attention as whole train caravans of thoughts went through his head. Azi decided to change the subject, "...So, you...work at a library?"
"Not just any library!" Yuka said proudly, adjusting his glasses, "The Wucheng Xenopological Database, the premier research and archiving center for nonhuman cultures across the system!"
"Wait, how long were you gone? Do you know if you actually still work there?" Azi asked, suddenly concerned they wouldn't get in.
Yuka waved aside her concerns, "I was only brainwashed for two days, and I'm on uh..." he paused to consider his words, "Vacation. Besides, they'd never fire me".
"...I thought you said you were an intern" Azi said.
"Well, sorta, kinda" Yuka scratched his head with sudden embarrassment, "It'll be permanent soon".
"Oh" Azi said, before silence fell for a moment. Wow, she was really bad at small talk, "...Do you like it there?"
Yuka's confident in-your-face persona faded slightly, "...Sure, yeah".
Something about Yuka was still nagging Azi; she could sense something about him, but damned if she could put her finger on it. Oh well, whatever it was she was certain he wasn't up to anything sinister. That said, she was still curious about a few other things; he'd been a zombie just a few hours earlier and now he was acting like it had never happened.
"...So what was it like?" she asked him, "Being enthralled. I mean, only if you want to answer".
Yuka shrugged, "Honestly? I don't remember much of anything. The last few days before it happened are kind of a haze now. Had some weird dreams, had some weird thoughts after that..."
"Like what?"
He shook his head, "...I don't remember. Think I said some weird shit to my roommate. Things just get fuzzier and more disjointed until the memories just stop. I remember...nothing. Darkness. Then I woke up with police cuffs on and you can imagine how confused I was".
"Nothing at all?"
Yuka seemed distant for a moment, "...Nothing" he thought for a moment, "...I felt...it felt like everything was emptier. Like there was this buzzing that sucked everything out of everything else. Light, sound, everything. It was so loud and I couldn't think and then...nothing. It felt almost..."
"...Suffocating" Azi knowingly finished for him when he trailed off.
He nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, that's it exactly".
"It's strange" Yazan spoke up from his position in the passenger front seat, "All three victims couldn't remember anything about their time. At least, nothing except darkness, emptiness, and stuff about the void...and that's to say nothing of our fourth victim".
Azi frowned, "...The corpse. It's almost like the life was just sucked out of him".
Yuka folded his arms, nervous, "...That's...that's not going to happen to me, right?"
Yazan shook his head, "The tests the healers ran on you didn't indicate anything, so I wouldn't worry, though we'll be sure to keep an eye on your progress. If you'd continued to be enthralled however..." he trailed off, his meaning explicit enough as it was.
Yuka looked down in distress at both the implications of his close call, and at the feelings of darkness and emptiness he'd felt, before looking up at Azi with an earnest seriousness, "...Thank you".
"I..." Azi ran her fingers through her hair awkwardly, "It's nothing. I was just reacting".
"I'm not a lifeless zombie today because of you. That's not nothing" Yuka insisted, "So thank you".
Blushing at the unexpected praise, Azi decided it was well past time to change the subject, and she was curious about other things anyway, "So uh...what can you tell me about Oni?"
The excited twinkle returned in Yuka's eyes, but be held off, "...We're here. I'll explain when we get inside".
Indeed, the skycar turned as it floated down to a parking lot in the high city, hanging over the buildings below. It was attached to the upper levels of the library; a grand complex that despite being a very modern building had chosen to endow itself with a modern twist on classical Earth Kingdom architecture, as if it had been plucked out of Ba Sing Se a few centuries ago.
Azi and Yuka left the car, and Yuka waved the Avatar and Yazan forward as he headed towards the entrance, "This way!"
The trio entered the building, and Azi's first thought was that it looked less like a library and more like a museum. Above them lay a large holographic map of the universe, taking advantage of the open space. Homeworld was at the center of the system, followed by the Sun and Moon in orbit around it, and then the seven planets, and finally the outer Firmament of stars encircling creation. And around her? Exhibits, displays, and dioramas in all directions. A mockup of a large and angry humanoid bird creature in one direction, a snake-like figure with the torso of a man and extra heads instead of arms in another, and a horse-like thing with antlers and shining scales in yet another, among many others. But there in front stood the object of the duo's study: a large muscular humanoid almost eight feet tall with thick, red skin and horns and wielding a massive club while dressed only in furs.
What was really interesting though, was the creature next to him, far larger with a head like a camelephant with the tusks and trunk, but far shaggier and with a large dome of armor covering its backside which carried the Oni's supplies.
"Glyptomammoth" Yuka said, noticing where her attention was at, "The preferred beast of burden for the Oni, not counting those giant spiders they like to ride into battle. Whole families keep all of their belongings on the creature's back".
"While interesting, not why we're here" Yazan reminded them.
"Right, over this way" Yuka guided them to the front desk. There a graying woman in her sixties sighted them and fixed a glare at Yuka in particular.
"...Mr. Yuka. Aren't you supposed to be on extended leave?" she drawled in irritation.
"Uh, heh" Yuka scratched his dead, "Change of plans. Could you let us in? It's sort of important".
The woman sighed and pressed the buzzer on her counter, "Sir, he's back".
"...Who?" came the response.
"Who do you think?"
A sigh, "...I'll be right down".
Yazan, now suspicious over the less-than-gracious reception, gave Yuka a look, to which the man looked away in awkward irritation.
The three waited until a middle-aged man with thick, gray hair and glasses entered the lobby with an exasperated look on his face, "...Aren't you supposed to be on leave?"
"That's what I said" the woman at the desk mumbled as she returned to her work.
"Don't worry, I just need to pick some things up and I'll be out of your hair" Yuka said, his demeanor towards the newcomer somewhat cool.
"Chief Lee Yazan" the police chief stepped in, showing his badge, "I'm here with the Avatar. We're investigating the recent rash of disappearances, and we have reason to believe Yuka here has a lead".
The man was taken aback, suddenly recognizing the Avatar before looking back at Yazan and offering a handshake which the other man took, "Apologies, I'm just a bit blindsided. I'm Director Zhi, part of the oversight council, though I fail to see how our cultural research could help".
"Yuka has reason to believe the Oni are involved?" Yazan replied, gauging the director's response.
A sad, reluctant smile appeared on Zhi's face as he nodded in understanding. He took his glasses and wiped them off with his shirt, "...Ah, I see. I'm afraid, Chief Yazan, that you may have been misled. Yuka is an intern here in our archive department, not a full researcher or field agent. His unsolicited theories tend to be fanciful and unreviewed".
"Unreviewed because they're never given the time of day" Yuka replied with irritation, "Funny thing, that".
Zhi retorted, "They're unreviewed because they're made of shoestring and none of the experts in the field feel any need to entertain them. You imagine wild ideas that you become attached to and then cherry-pick evidence to sustain them, and that's not how academia works" he sighed, letting his anger go, "Look. You're a bright kid, but there are methods and standards in academics that you don't seem to think apply to you. You want to join the discourse? Get your doctorate and then publish some actual papers. Until then you're an assistant archivist, and I'd like to see you put some actual effort into your actual job".
"...If it's all the same, I'd still like to see the evidence" Yazan politely interrupted, something for which an extremely uncomfortable Azi was relieved to have happen, "I'll be honest, my list of leads right now is nearly non-existent, so I'll take reading oracle bones and tea leaves if I think it'll get me somewhere".
Zhi nodded, stepping back. This wasn't the time to have this fight, and he tried not to make eye contact with a now furious Yuka who was nursing his ego, "Of course. You can go up. Yuka can show you the complex. Oh, and uh, mind the displaced shelves if you would; the east wing is under renovation right now".
"Appreciated" Yazan nodded in turn and motioned for a fuming Yuka to lead them. Yuka gave his superior one more stink eye as if to say this wasn't over, and then proceeded to the elevators.
"...'You're a bright kid'" Yuka muttered mockingly, "They don't actually care, they just want to stifle any new voices and want to make them jump through all the hoops they've designed for their personal club".
"...Are you alright?" Azi asked him.
Yuka continued, "Don't let them fool you; they all have their pet theories that they guard. That's what it's all about. Most of them have been here for half a lifetime so they shut out anything new. Director Lin even thinks the qalupalik don't have civilization just because they don't fit into our neat little three-age-system, even though their societal structure implies they might even have cities on the sea floor we just haven't found yet. Can you even believe that?"
"Uh...er, yeah" Azi replied, completely lost as they exited the elevator and Yuka pushed them onwards.
"How about we just deal with the Oni for now and worry about your academic standing later?" Yazan asked impatiently.
"Fine, sure. Right over here" Yuka said with extreme annoyance as the trio passed by numerous bookshelves loitering in the hall housing physical backups and primary sources. At the end of the hall they reached a door which Yuka unlocked and opened…
...Into a closet.
"...Huh, it's a literal closet" Azi muttered to herself. It was actually a fairly large one, big enough to walk into, but still very clearly a closet if the cleaning supplies and the drain in the corner were any indication. Still, Yuka had made it his own; a bookshelf in the corner, a computer terminal on the wall, and numerous odds and ends scattered about in piles.
"Over here" Yuka motioned them over behind the pile of reading material and notes in the center of the room to where his computer terminal was. Despite his ruffled feathers, Azi could already see the joy returning to his face as he began to explain things, "So what do you know about the Oni?"
Azi rubbed her arm awkwardly. She really should have paid more attention in history class…
"Primitives, mostly" Yazan answered, "They live out in the wilderness and raid outlaying settlements. Not much more to say, really".
With a grin, Yuka wagged his finger, "Ah, and that's where you'd be wrong!" he pulled down a map that had been rolled up into a scroll above, showing the planet in its entirety. Azi could trace the various major colonies string all along the coast of the equatorial regions as well as a number of the islands of the northern hemisphere. To the south however was mostly unclaimed red desert until one hit the polar regions. Yuka had mapped out the ranges of various tribes and clans, creating a patchwork of territories.
Yuka explained, "First off, when we talk about 'Oni', we're really referring to multiple highly-divergent subgroups, both in terms of ethnicities and cultures, just like humans. First off we have the 'red' Oni" he pointed to the vast desert wilderness in the southern hemisphere, "They're the ones that usually raid outlaying towns. They're nomadic, kinda war-like, you know the drill. Blue Oni tend to live in villages in the marshy wetlands near the coast and the inland lakes of the south. White Oni are the most mysterious and live out in the polar regions. We don't really know anything about them though, beyond possibly living mostly solitary lives. There used to be Black and Green Oni, but they seem to have gone extinct-"
"While I'm sure this is fascinating, what exactly does this have to do with the disappearances?" Yazan asked, clearly bored and irritated this was taking so long.
"I'm getting to that" Yuka grumbled at being cut off mid-lecture. He turned back to the map, "Okay, look. Long story short, you're all aware of Shengyinxing's unique natural properties, right?"
"Uh…" Azi uttered.
"Something about the planet follows a particular rhythm or melody, almost like music. You've heard it in the wind, right? Or in the water? Sometimes crickets will chirp in-tune, or sometimes you almost feel like vibing with the rhythm?"
"...You know, I read about it, but I still wasn't prepared for it" Azi said with a bit of a laugh, "It's definitely something else". And somehow it still hadn't gotten irritating. Then again, it wasn't really like an ear worm, it was...different. Subtler.
"The novelty wears off after the first few months" Yazan grunted.
Yuka nodded, "Right. Well, Oni culture is built all around that. They know how to make the planet dance. Or sing in this case. They've spent millennia turning this planet into their own personal orchestra, using rocks like drums, trees like flutes, that sort of thing".
"Like...sound bending?" Azi asked.
"No, no. Nothing like that. Bending comes from the individual; there's a genetic and a spiritual aspect to it" he pulled some water out of the drain and swirled it around in midair, "I am a waterbender. That comes with my heritage. No matter how much I try however, I can never learn to firebend, and that's true for anyone. Er, you excluded of course. And...er, I guess hypothetically someone who got into apothi-tech might get lucky, but so far that hasn't happened. Anyway" Yuka shrugged off the errant thoughts, "No, in this case it's more like the planet itself is the instrument and the Oni know how to play it. Their culture has spent thousands of years perfecting it within their traditions".
"I still don't see what any of this has to do with the case" Yazan said.
Yuka sighed and rolled his eyes at Yazan's impatience, not to even mention his denseness. Sure he liked explaining this stuff and dropping knowledge, but he'd prefer it if people were smart enough to keep up and appreciate it, "Aren't you connecting the dots?" he pulled up files on his computer's holo-interface, "The Oni know how to operate the sound on the planet. What is sound? Vibrations in the air. Their abilities are well-documented" he pulled up another file, "They use chants and war drums to increase their fighting prowess in battle and unsteady their opponents; battles often less resemble pitched conflicts and more a really bloody Battle of the Bands. Blue Oni allegedly use music to increase crop yields. Stories from Blue and Red clans about the White Oni seem to imply their songs can hypnotize other Oni or create avalanches or blizzards. It's all in the vibrations".
"'Allegedly'" Yazan said with air quotes, unimpressed, "Sounds like myths and urban legends. How much has this been tested or investigated?"
Yuka rubbed his head, "Well...not as much as we'd like honestly. Oni are sort of isolationist, and the colonial government and the Database have strict regulations on cultural contamination. But..." he trailed off for a second, unsure, "Look, the evidence is there. The implications of the Oni being able to manipulate the planet on a far deeper level than previously established could change the field of xenopology in ways we can't even conceive of yet. It would force us to rethink everything we know about native alien cultures, and how they relate to us, to spirits, to everything".
Azi thought, "...The music. When I was attacked, everything went dim. Not just the colors or light, but the sounds and music too".
Yuka lit up, "See? We're close to something here, I just know it!"
Yazan meanwhile was not nearly as convinced, "...This is thin. Really thin. You want us to ignore colonial regulations on nothing more than a hunch. Up until now we've assumed the culprit was a malevolent spirit, and I haven't seen much here to convince me to change that".
"And how far have you gotten with that lead?" Yuka asked, to which Yazan simply shifted uncomfortably, "Look, I know this is a leap of faith, but how many more people are you going to risk disappearing if you're wrong?"
A sigh of reluctance and futility. Yuka had hit Yazan in just the right spot. Still, he wasn't convinced.
Yuka attempted one more push, "I was studying the disappearances before I got...er, well, disappeared. It started in this city and spread outwards, right? Then that doesn't imply a spirit who would just be defending its turf or be moving from place to place. It implies an organized attempt". Yazan couldn't quite disagree with that. Yuka pulled up one more file—a crude map of the disappearances in the city; or at least, the ones that had been reported. Where they'd started and where they'd gone, "The data would suggest the source was to the southwest of the city, somewhere in the direction of the Wucheng marshes, if not beyond. There's a number of Blue Oni villages out that way a few hours from the city by car, including one we have good relations with, and Red Oni tribes who frequent the redlands beyond" one final plea, "...I just need someone to give me permission. The Database won't give me access. But maybe the police can? Or the Avatar" he looked at Azi.
Another sigh as the police chief rubbed the bridge of his nose. The map, the motive…it almost made sense. It would explain why they hadn't found a spirit despite months of looking and consulting local experts. And the Oni had motive; the continued border skirmishes, the slow but steady expansion of colonial territory and the clan raids...what if they'd decided to launch their an ace in the hole?
But this was crazy, right? It had to be crazy. He looked at Azi, "What's your take on this?"
The Avatar was surprised, "...You're asking me?"
"You're the Avatar. You must have a sense for these kinds of things".
Not really. Azi counted herself lucky she could put the right shoe on the right foot some mornings. But at the same time…somewhere deep inside, Korra gave her a slight nudge. Azi shrugged, "I...guess it's better than walking around the city aimlessly waiting for me to get mobbed again".
Yazan couldn't believe he was agreeing to this. He was probably going to have to cash in a few favors (or a lot), something he wasn't super thrilled about...but he probably could get what he needed. He hadn't gotten to the police chief of the capital city without making connections in a few high places. "...Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this. Alright, fine. I'll head back to the station and get the authorization we need" he eyed Yuka, "But this better be worth it. I assume you have a plan beyond 'get lost in the swamp'?"
Yuka seemed to be resisting breaking down into a victory dance, but remained respectable. His mind raced and he pushed his glasses up as he considered the next step despite his excitement and disbelief that this was actually happening, "Oh yeah. Like I said, we have good relations with one of the villages out there, Kakusareta Tani. We can probably get the information we need from them" he paused, considering, "...We need to be quiet about this. The Database won't approve and would likely try to block us".
Azi grimaced at the thought of a squabble like that getting out to the press, "...The White Lotus sure wouldn't be happy about that". Yuka gave her an odd look.
"Then we'll need to be quiet about this" Yazan said to both of them, before turning to Yuka, "I'll need you to give me everything you have related to the case".
"Already done" Yuka smiled, pulling out a small thumb drive he'd been transferring files over to this whole time before handing it over.
Yazan took the drive, "...We'll also need to find a ride. Preferably something discreet and can get there faster than a few hours. A skycar won't cut it, and anything with a 'police' label is liable to be shot at".
"...Ah! That I think I can help with" Yuka said proudly.
"Good. Then I'll leave that to you. Return to the police station when you're ready; I'll have our authorization" the police chief turned to leave but paused, his eyes baring right down into Yuka's soul, "This had better amount to something".
"It will, I assure you. Thank you for your trust" Yuka said, putting his hands together apologetically. Yazan turned and left, leaving just the two young adults. Yuka noticed Azi's troubled expression as she stared off into the middle distance, "...Are you alright?"
She nodded, breaking herself off from her musings and ran her fingers through her hair, "Yeah, I'm fine".
She didn't seem fine. Something was troubling her. Yuka decided to ask about what she'd mentioned earlier that confused him, "...You said the White Lotus wouldn't approve of this. What did you mean by that?" As far as he'd known, the Avatar and the White Lotus were effectively one and the same...which was why it was weird she seemed to be alone.
The Avatar looked conflicted as she idly fidgeted with her hands. "...It's...complicated. I'm...it's not...". When Yuka's expression of curiosity and confusion only deepened she frowned, deciding to take a bit of a leap of faith, "...Can you keep a secret?"
"Uh...sure?" Yuka said. He checked his phone, noting his files had been copied over from his computer and nodded to Azi that they could leave.
Azi's concern only grew as they walked and she debated on how to explain this, "...I'm not exactly supposed to be here".
Ahhhh. Pieces started falling into place, "...That's why there's no White Lotus with you. I thought that was kind of weird". The two stepped onto the elevator, "What happened?"
"...I flubbed a mission real hard yesterday and I just...didn't want to go back, I guess. Not yet anyway".
A small smile of amusement appeared on Yuka's face as they both stared out, the elevator entering the lobby and showing them the whole place as they descended, "...You ran away from home".
"I didn't run away from home!" Azi exclaimed with a pout. She wasn't petulant child, "I just needed to...ah shit" she leaned back with a disgusted grunt in realization as Yuka laughed at her expense, "...I ran away from home".
The elevator landed back in the lobby and the doors opened. Yuka shrugged as he led her forward, "...It's okay. Everybody's gotta get out of their parents house sometime, right?"
"I guess" they walked out and Azi put her hands in her pockets.
Yuka walked ahead of her, backwards as he watched her, "...So riddle me this then...if you came here to get away from it all, why are you working on a police case? Not that I'm not thankful, mind you" he hastily added.
Ah, shit, "...I wasn't supposed to. I just kind of...fell into it".
"'Fell into it'?"
"Uuuugh. I didn't know you needed a permit to camp out in the Singing Canyon".
Ah-hah. "...You got arrested". Suddenly the tracking device on her arm made sense
"Aaaand Yazan miiiiight be keeping things on the down low as long as I help him with his problem".
Everything clicked into place for Yuka, "...He's blackmailing you" he said, eyebrow arched. The amusement in his voice vanished.
"...Yeah, blackmail's probably a good word for it" Azi replied, hanging her head in shame. They'd stopped right in front of the doors to exit the building.
"That's gross".
Azi lifted her head in mild surprise.
Yuka opened the door for her, "I guess that's one more reason to help out here, huh?"
A ghost of a smile graced Azi's lips as she exited the building into the afternoon sun, "...You'd do that for me?"
"I mean you did save my life" Yuka said flippantly, but his serious demeanor returned, "But for real, you shouldn't have to put up with that".
"I'm the Avatar. I kind of have to". An edge of bitterness in Azi's voice leaked through, "It doesn't really matter what I want".
"Of course it matters what you want" Yuka scoffed, "You're the Avatar, sure. But you're a person too". Azi fell into contemplation; that wasn't what she'd been expecting and wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't even notice Yuka appearing close beside her, his eyes hidden behind the sun-glare on his glasses.
"Ah!"
"So what do you want?" Yuka asked, leaning in as Azi stepped away. There it was again; that essence within him. She still couldn't place it, but it definitely didn't seem malicious. Quite the opposite in fact.
"I mean, I was kind of on vacation before this. Kinda want to go back to that".
"Yeah but like, you were on 'vacation' because you didn't want to deal with things back home, right? That means you're looking for something, so what is it?"
What did she want? That was one heck of a question. "I...don't know" she admitted sheepishly, rubbing her neck, "I've never really thought about it, I guess".
"Never too late to start".
Azi didn't seem very convinced at that. She looked at him, "So what do you want?"
Yuka looked back at the Database thoughtfully, "...I left home too" a smirk, "Not ran away like you of course" Azi folded her arms in a pout, "Mom was big on me being a doctor. Or a lawyer. Or a scientist…Or a doctor-lawyer-scientist".
"I...don't think that's a thing".
"Tell that to my mom" Yuka chuckled, "But I liked studying cultures. I liked history. So instead of going to the university she'd picked out for me I decided go with the Humanities. Mom still hasn't forgiven me".
"What was home like?"
Yuka shrugged, "Rich. Boring. Suffocating. Took care of my siblings while parents were busy with stuff. The point I'm trying to make is...this is what I want. This building, right here".
"The building?"
"I might just be slumming it as an intern right now, but one day I'm going to be running this dump. I'm going to change the field".
"You certainly don't lack for confidence" Azi laughed slightly.
"Well, I am pretty smart" Yuka said, "But more than that? It's just determination: work hard enough and you'll get what you want eventually. Don't take no for an answer, don't give up, and if life throws a wall in your way, find a way to climb over it or straight up break it down".
"...Huh. I can admire that" Azi admitted, staring at the Database complex. And she really could; she wished she had that kind of fortitude.
The sound of a skycar landing behind them tipped them off to the fact that their ride was here. Yuka waved her towards the taxi, "Come on".
"Where are we going anyway?" Azi asked.
"Just the junkyard".
Azi gave him a puzzled look, "...The what now?"
But Yuka had a knowing grin on his face as they got in, "I know a girl. You're gonna love her".
So, funny thing as Shi had discovered the hard way: you can't outrun birds. He'd tried of course—he'd even thought about earthbending after him but decided against it since, y'know, property damage.
Shi had made it about two blocks before his sprint gave out, by which point Tenku had been little more than a dot in the sky anyway.
Damn it.
Thankfully however, the damned bird was chipped, as he'd remembered after several minutes of self-pity. Tenku was smart—annoyingly so—but he was still only an animal, and now Shi was watching on his phone's GPS as the messenger hawk in question lazily circled the city presumably looking for his owner. Or maybe dinner. Or something to poop on.
Wait.
Tenku's signal had just made a sudden intentional shift in direction. He had been flying close to...let's see...the Wucheng Xenopological Database? Before the bird's path had been lazy and in a searching formation—now it was making a bee-line for...well at first Shi thought Tenku had just found something to eat, but the change in direction was sustained: he was tracking something.
Okay there was a bunch of things in the way: the medical district, a dining strip, Verrickland Wucheng Theme Park (he'd always wanted to go there) on the other side of the city, a salvage yard...nothing that immediately leaped out to Shi, but the change in Tenku's flight patterns was unmistakable.
"...Azi".
He was going to find her. Shi stood up from the bench he'd parked himself on and quickly went to call a taxi.