Authors Note: This chapter's going to focus on Arlo more. And on another note, I'm just going with the assumption that the Dai Li can't seismic sense the mountain to find the base's. Because it would be a large task and a lot of the Dai Li don't know how.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avatar world, that is all owned by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

Chapter 19

The Workshop

The Resistance clawed a victory out of the depths of despair. Avatar Wikilow played a critical part in that fragile win. Mowing down row after row of Dai Li agents. His movements were precise, yet lacked motivation. Wikilow somehow felt more hollow than his usual indifferent self. But as the fighting went on, and with his friends he seemed to find himself again. He was feeling more confident about his choice.

In the fight's aftermath, the Resistance hightailed it back to their base. Gathering all they could and transporting it to a different cave system in a new mountain. Everything that was absolutely necessary was taken. Everything that could be taken, was taken.

Many of the rebels distrusted Wikilow. But most were swayed by his actions against the Dai Li. Especially by the fact, that it made no logical sense to spare the Resistance when they were about to be wiped out. They were extremely reluctant to interact with Wikilow at first. However, warmed up to the Avatar as the days passed. Still, Wikilow had his peace and alone time.

Elsi and Arlo were adjusting quite well in the Resistance group. Though, in the end the trio stayed together. So Wikilow wasn't completely alone.

Arlo helped install lights into a wooden frame. Giving it a small tap before starting on the next. After fixing a few more lights he went on a break, exploring the new base. The fire bender decided to find his friends. And so tried to navigate the tunnels to the main cave. He found the two conversing with a frustrated Yulan, who appeared to be ranting about something.

"Hey guys, what's goggle girl going on about?" Arlo inquired.

"Shut your air hole!" Yulan exclaimed, before returning to her rant.

"The engineering department has been having issues reinstalling their previous equipment." Wikilow explained as his cousin continued their tirade.

"She kind of reminds me of Rin." Elsi noted sadly at their old comrade's mention. Arlo had been told of the ex water bender and Wikilow's former partner. But she wasn't mentioned that much in the group. More like an invisible presence between Elsi and Wikilow. One which Arlo decided not to pry on.

"Really?" Arlo replied. "So, what problems are they having?" The fire bender asked.

"They can't figure out how it works-" Elsi started before Yulan raised her voice.

"-We can't figure out how the tech works because HARK was the one who made it in the first place! So HARK was the one who took care of it!" Yulan continued, kicking the wall in irritation.

"I'm going to assume that you already asked Hark then." Arlo went.

"Obviously we interrogated the lousy traitor! Hasn't been any help at all!…" Yulan darkly muttered, crossing her arms. "We're going to try again in a bit… dad's been reluctant to use the…the uh… the usual methods on him…" She informed, voice softening before she walked away.

"…Wikilow, you going to be there?" Arlo asked, concerned.

"Correct." The Avatar confirmed.

"Maybe it would be better if someone else interrogated Hark. This is really hurting them." Elsi suggested.

"Yeah…" The fire bender trailed off, watching the Beifong girl's retreating figure.

Later, Arlo leaned against the cave's wall outside the holding area. Where Hark and a few other Dai Li agents were being imprisoned. Inside, the sound of yelling, the occasional wall punch, and Wikilow's monotonic voice could be heard. Arlo pulled at his white streak while waiting for them to finish. The tunnel was completely empty except for him. The guards having went inside with the others.

"I can't believe this, Hark! We trusted you!" Bara's booming voice yelled. The light on the ceiling swayed at his volume.

"How could you do this to us?!" Yulan screeched.

"Assistance would be your most logical course of action." Wikilow droned.

"I thought we were friends!" Yulan yelled. Hark said something back which Arlo couldn't discern. But it seemed to silence the room. Then Yulan took a deep shaky breath. "How… how could…you're despicable… absolutely despicable!" She screamed, the sound of a slab reverberating into the tunnels. Yulan then stormed out of the room, tears streaming down her face as she left the tunnel. Not even acknowledging Arlo's presence.

Bara and Wikilow then exited the room. The guards retaking their positions after them. Arlo silently motioned with his head towards Yulan's direction. Which Bara immediately chased after. Wikilow stayed with Arlo.

"Didn't go well, huh?" The ex cirque noted, shifting his posture.

"Hark continued to refuse assisting the Resistance." Wikilow informed. "It is unlikely he will give in. If he worked for the Dai Li, then he would have received interrogation training." The Avatar further elaborated.

"Isn't he trying to make some sort of deal? I mean, he has a bunch of leverage on his side after all." Arlo questioned.

"Agents are instructed to remain silent during interrogation. Deals are strictly prohibited." Wikilow stated.

"Err…" The fire bender went, scratching the back of his head. Wikilow observed this reaction, tilting his head before realizing Arlo's meaning.

"…I assume that my understanding is incorrect. That deals are often struck by the Dai Li agents in reality and that I was purposefully misinformed." Wikilow concluded, looking down at the floor.

"I mean, I've never seen a Dai Li interrogation…but it's kind of a well known fact that's what they do." Arlo awkwardly explained, thinking back to his lessons of the Hundred Year War.

"I see." Wikilow stated, a flicker of disappointment and guilt in his eyes.

"So! You're saying it's pointless talking to Hark!" Arlo quickly asked, changing the subject.

"Unless different methods are implemented. Correct." Wikilow answered, before they both left the tunnel.

Arlo was tinkering with some spare parts he found lying around the base. The fire bender was attempting to create a small device to get his mind off recent events. However, he found that he was missing some of the required components and so searched the base for them. Arlo ran into Yulan along the way.

"Oh, hey!" Arlo greeted with a wave as they passed each other.

"Weird hair." Yulan said in turn, still put off by the interrogation. "Where you heading?" She asked him, hand on her hip.

"Just looking for some screws and stuff." He truthfully answered,

"What for?" Yulan questioned, suspicious.

"Oh, uh… just working on a gadget to pass the time." Arlo explained, handing his work to the Beifong. She turned it over in her hands with a scoff. However, her eyes lit up with an idea.

"Follow me, I'll show you the workshop." Yulan instructed, handing it back to him. Arlo did, and the Beifong led him to another section of the cave where the Resistance's technical experts were madly working on machines. "You can grab stuff from over there." She informed, pointing as a bunch of boxes in the corner containing screws, nuts, wires and tools.

"Cool, thanks!" Arlo happily said in turn. Grabbing what he needed and finishing up his gadget. Yulan focused on her own device, one of Hark's that she was attempting to break down. To little success.

"…You think you could understand this?" She asked Arlo, pulling her goggles over her eyes.

"Err… I don't know. I'll give it a shot though if you want." Arlo answered, walking over to the device. Yulan handed him some goggles, but he just chuckled and handed them back. "No goggles for me, thank you!" He cheekily turned down, inspecting the machine. After a few minutes, he put some gloves on and tried a few things out. The machine started beeping, and after more time passed seemed to start. "That good?" Arlo asked, to which Yulan excitedly nodded. The other engineers sped toward them at the news he got one of the machines to work.

"Well! If that's all that needed doing! I'll be off-" Arlo tried to say but was cut off by Yulan.

"Could you check out the other machines too?" She eagerly asked.

"Err…" The fire bender went as the other engineers and mechanics joined in. "I'll think about it!" He eventually said, running out of the room as quickly as he could.

Hark was alone in his cell, cased behind thick rock pillars. His scarf was torn and his goggles were off, revealing narrow dark eyes. The engineer sighed, throwing a pebble against the wall to ease his relentless boredom. It wasn't all bad though. His fellow Dai Li captives were completely bound in ropes from head to toe in tight constricting cells. And usually unconscious in that aspect. At least he could move around, even while being handcuffed to a stalagmite. But that was the extent of the luxuries afforded by his prior relationships.

Footsteps approached his cell, making the engineer believe that the Beifongs were back for more interrogations. However, the clank of metal drew his attention to the bars. Where a small pile of mechanical materials sat. Looking up, Hark saw Arlo.

"You won't be able to make a radio or something. I already made sure of that." The cirque informed before sitting against the opposite wall, pulling out a smaller device.

"Is this your idea of a bribe?" Hark scoffed, not moving from his previous position on the ground. "Because, I'm gaining a lot more from letting you fools scramble without my tech." He mocked, face dark.

"Making sure you don't go crazy from boredom." Arlo said instead, turning his device on with a click. "…Not like we need to bribe you. I got one of your machines to work." The cirque explained with a sigh.

"Seriously? I overcomplicated them as much as I could!" Hark exclaimed.

"You could've lowered their efficiency with no one none the wiser with how much you encoded. Or at least a failsafe to blow it or something." Arlo noted, eyes bouncing back and forth from his device's screen.

"It was necessary to at least make it realistic. There's only so far I can push my pride as an engineer." Hark scoffed, rolling his eyes. However, he saw Arlo slightly tuned out of the conversation. "What even is that?" The engineer questioned. The cirque turned his device around, showing some sort of game being played on the screen. "…Of course the clown wastes their time and stuff making a game." Hark mocked. Arlo's hands clenched around the device.

"Am I the only one who wants to have fun these days?" He asked, exasperated.

"Fun? Really?" Hark went.

"Yeah, fun! Fun is why technology's awesome." Arlo muttered.

"You got to be kidding me… you do realize this is the Resistance, right?" Hark rebutted.

"…Weapons aren't and never will be fun. I'd rather not be working on them…" Arlo quietly said back, eyes glued to his screen.

"Mph… guess that means nothing'll get done after all." Hark smirked.

"…No… more people'll get hurt by the Dai Li than weapons. Who am I to complain if it makes people happy?" Arlo stated, standing up to leave the holding area.

"Why'd you come here?" Hark demanded to know. Arlo took a breath, plastering a small smile on his face.

"Like I said, making sure you don't get bored. See ya man…" The cirque ended with as he left. Leaving Hark alone once more. A few long, silent minutes ticked by. The sound of Arlo's footsteps faded away. The engineer looked at the pile of scrap, untouched. He contemplated it, before scoffing and turning away.

Arlo walked back to the workshop with that same smile on. Entering the workshop he greeted Yulan and the other engineers.

"Hey!" He causally greeted, grinning.

"Weird hair!" Yulan cheerfully said back.

"You guys still need help with the machines?" The fire bender asked, shifting his gaze to the various devices around the cave. A chorus of yes's answered him and he nodded. "Got it, can I just start or?" Arlo went, receiving approval. Wandering to a random machine, which was most definitely some sort of weapon that just needed to be reassembled, his eyes slightly clouded over.

"I'll simplify it… make it easier to use for the others…" Arlo thought as he started working. "Come on…" He pushed himself at his slow progress. "This can work… this can be fun… make it fun…" Arlo forced himself to think. He took a breath, feeling the edge of the game he had made. His eyes cleared, enthusiasm back in place.

"I'm making more of those later." Arlo happily muttered, thinking of the possible games he could create.

Arlo smiled, the pieces clicking into place.

Authors Note: How did this chapter get so depressing? My original plan for this was "Hesitant about workshop due to personal feelings about fun and technology. But eventually decides to help. Maybe hint at negative side ect." And then the conversation just wrote itself into this! I had to spend a good amount of time making sure his personality still made sense. At least I think it does. Anyways, I'm planning to come back to this in a later chapter, and in that chapter I'll explain this and hope it makes sense.

Oh, but the pile was a bribe.