Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar or Korra characters created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and owned by Nickelodeon. All OCs, however, are all mine.
Chapter IV
"What do you see, Sokka?" Aang shouted back towards Appa's saddle where everyone else was, prepping for whatever they would find, as he steered the bison towards the smoke.
Sokka whipped out his binoculars from his pack and zeroed in on where the tower of smoke was coming from. Once he was able to get a clear view, he saw the smoke was coming from a small town with a few docks, and two or three boats left but ruined. Sokka relayed what he saw, "It's a small water-side town."
"Any survivors?" Katara questioned urgently.
"No, doesn't look like it," Sokka could see a few bodies lying here and there, but he couldn't tell if there was anyone still alive.
"Perhaps we'll be better able to find some answers once we touch down and see for ourselves," Leo added, checking his pistol, magazines, and his butterfly sword.
Sokka narrowed his gaze as he pointed at Leo as he barked at the alien, "Like hell you are. You're stayin' put. This is our business."
"Sokka!" Katara protested from the front of Appa's saddle.
"No, Katara. No!" Sokka argued with his sister, "We don't even know if we can trust this guy. He shows up last night, out of nowhere, and all of a sudden something actually happens on our assignment. For all we know, it could be this guy, or his people," the Water Tribesman motioned to Leo, "Besides, we already got a blind member of the group and she's plenty useful, and then some."
"Thank you," Toph replied as she smirked, bumping fists with Sokka.
"Toph!" Katara then scolded her.
Just as Aang was about to help Katara keep the two smartasses in check, a small roar erupted from Leo's throat, startling all four humans into silence, all taken aback as he showed his teeth in a low growl, like some animal before he challenged, "Look pal, I don't care if you don't trust me, or like me, but let me tell you this: I don't take orders from you," he then pointed towards the smoke, "and I have nothing to do with that little shit-show down there. So shut your ass up and sit the fuck down."
Eyes wide open, Sokka leaned back against the edge of the saddle, Toph doing the same. Aang and Katara could tell that Leo was done being polite, and they honestly didn't blame him. They both exchanged glances before Aang went back to flying Appa.
Aang landed Appa in the middle of what was left of the town, mostly a bunch of small buildings along one central road leading to a small town square by the docks. Half the town was on stilts in the water. To make sure no harm came to him, Aang had Appa fly off and remain close by. He made sure he had his bison whistle handy.
Surveying the damaged structures and the bodies littered everywhere, they all felt like puking. Looking down the main street through town, they saw a pile of headless corpses, their heads attached to strings, dangling from where the night lanterns used to be. They all gasped at the sight. Sokka and Katara had suffered many indignities at the hands of the Northerners during the civil war, but nothing as brutal and savage as this. Aang had seen a lot of bad stuff in the Triad, but this was a whole new level of shit. Toph, unlike the others, had never witnessed anything like this, growing up in a privileged and sheltered life.
At the stench, Toph immediately heaved over and emptied her stomach right there. Sokka rubbed her back, comforting her as she sensed the carnage in their midst. Katara couldn't look away no matter how much she wanted to. Aang just stared at it all blankly for a moment, then walked towards the docks, staring at all the wrecked houses, pieces of wood, bodies, and body parts in the water. Much of the water was blood red. There was this burning stench in the air, not just from the bodies, but something like black powder from the Fire Nation, only different… hotter, worse. It brought up memories of all the things he's seen, and done, in the Triad. There were reasons a lot of what they did what kept secret.
Leo just stood there taking it all in. He could sense where everything was, smell the blood, and hear the flies buzzing. It was sickening, but unfortunately familiar. He'd witnessed butchery like this when his home city, San Francisco, was invaded by the Ottoman League, right after the Blackout. But the League never pulled off anything like this. Most executions, they'd just put a bullet in one's head. Simple. But his was different, it was... creative.
Toph finally finished emptying her stomach of her breakfast, then gave everyone a thumbs-up as she spat, "I'm okay. I'm fine," she then whispered under her breath, "Holy fucking shit."
"Who could do something like this?" Katara rhetorically uttered in shock of the sight.
"Obviously some sick bastards. I mean this… is just… pure evil," was all Sokka to say.
"Yeah," Toph managed, trying to spit the taste of vomit from her mouth as she groaned, "this is some real fucked up shit."
Aang came out of his daze as he regained his focus, turning back to the others, Aang suggested, "As messed up as all this is, we still need to see if there are any survivors. Sense any, Toph?"
Toph tried to sense for any signs of life amid the fresh ruins, but gave a heavy sigh as she found nothing, "No. There's literally no one here but us."
"Dammit," Sokka cursed under his breath.
"Whoever did this, they must've been thorough," Katara sadly observed.
"This was an intentional massacre, fueled by either prejudice against these people, or devotion to some deity worshipped by the attackers," Leo concluded from his experiences in war.
"Really now?" Sokka sarcastically articulated, "And how'd you come up with that theory?"
Katara, Aang and Toph all narrowed their eyes at Sokka. Toph gave him a quick jab to the shoulder and urgently chastised, "Will you shut it, Meathead!? Shouldn't you know by now that getting' on his bad side isn't exactly good for your health?"
"Seriously, Sokka. Just leave him alone," Aang implored, then directed to everyone, "Let's split up and see what we can find. Search the buildings and dig through the rubble if you have to. Maybe we can find some clues as to who's behind this."
Katara went with Aang along the docks, Sokka went with Toph through the marketplace, and Leo stayed in the main street with the decapitated bodies and the dangling heads. He'd witnessed this kind of carnage before, but he couldn't remember the perpetrators. There was something familiar about that burning odor. Closer to the bodies, he could better identify the stench. He grabbed one corpse by the arm and turned it over on its back. He felt the torso and found it was filled with several holes. The smell was worse up close, but now Leo knew why it was so familiar. It didn't just smell like gunpowder, but poison. It was acidic. These people were shot with acidic plasma rounds, and he knew exactly who used that type of ammunition.
Leo's eyes grew wide under his hood, his heart raced as he felt like he was being watched. He climbed on top of a roof, that was miraculously still standing, and sniffed the air. He gave a sigh of dread as his fears were confirmed: they were there, in the trees, hiding.
Leo rushed to the town square and urgently called to the others, "Guys, where are you? Get back here. We need to go. Now!"
Aang and Katara returned from the dock, both confused at Leo's sudden display of fear. Sokka and Toph came from around the corner, annoyed expressions on their faces.
"What is it, now?" Sokka groaned in frustration.
"We have to get out of here, right now!" Leo urged.
"Leo, what's going on?" Katara asked, growing fearful herself.
Leo turned to her, "There's no time to explain," he then turned to the airbender, "Aang, call your bison so we can get the hell out of here."
"Leo, relax!" Aang slowly, but firmly, tried to calm him and get some answers, "Just tell us what has you spooked all of a sudden."
Leo released a breath of fear when he finally felt their presence become too close for escape. He simply raised his arm and pointed his clawed finger to his right, and uttered, "Them."
There at the end of the street, underneath the gate to the town, stood two tall figures wearing heavy, hooded black cloaks; heavier than Leo's. Aang, Katara and Sokka could see armor underneath their cloaks. They stood there with their hands dangling, as if ready to draw the blades at their waists. Only the bottom halves of their faces were visible, the rest concealed in shadow cast by their hoods. One had a Fu Manchu beard and a wicked grin. His chin was quite odd, though; it had two sharp corners that dove down, as if to give his jaw a set of horns. And their tails… they had tails, like… Leo. And their feet were clawed as well. But these guys were taller, much taller. Toph could feel their presence, too, and from what she sensed from their heartbeats, they were excited.
Suddenly, Toph sensed two more in the opposite direction, pointing as she alerted the others, "There, too."
They all turned and farther down the street were two more hooded figures, one carrying a large bearded axe with a long shaft, the other cradling a flanged mace over his shoulder. The appearance of these strangers was unsettling, and Aang felt uneasy not just from that, but it was their posture, like predators ready to pounce. Katara felt like they were being cornered, as if they were some meal to these people, as the four black cloaks began to draw-in closer. Toph usually wasn't stirred by much, but this for sure had her heart racing. Sokka had thought he'd seen it all when the dark spirits overwhelmed the Southern Tribe in the civil war, but it seemed the universe had proven him wrong as he reached for his sword, "What do we do?"
The five in the square, surrounded, stood back-to-back; Aang and Katara faced the two at the gate, Sokka and Toph the two with the axe and mace, and Leo kept switching between them, back and forth. He drew his butterfly sword and got into his wing chun stance. The others followed him, getting into their stances and drawing their weapons: Sokka his sword, Katara the water from her pouch, Toph the ground beneath her feet, and Aang the wind in the air around them.
"You guys decent in a fight?" Leo inquired, hoping he wouldn't have to carry everyone else's weight in this confrontation, "Seems these fine fellows are lookin' for some fun; that means no guns, all melee weapons."
"We all know our way around a punch or two," Aang answered humbly.
"Good, 'cause these guys are gonna do a whole lot more than punch," Leo replied, "We need to get them all together on one side, unless…"
The two cloaks at the gate drew their blades; one had a curved saber, the other a pair of long straight daggers.
"Unless what, genius?" Sokka impatiently inquired.
Just as Leo sensed they were about to pounce, he drew his glock, aimed for the two with the sword and daggers, and emptied his magazine into both of them. The humans jumped at the loudness of the weapon, covering their ears. Toph shouted, "What the hell is that!?"
The cloaks with the axe and mace frowned that their opponent would cheat and use a firearm. They grit their teeth, unleashed blood curdling roars, and charged with their weapons held back ready to swing.
All five in the square stood facing their attackers. Leo quickly instructed them, "Move around them, and fast. And in the meantime, hit 'em where it counts!"
Leo then sped off straight towards their opponents. Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph all followed suit. Leo clashed with the giant with the axe. As he brought the axe down on him, Leo spun to the side and flipped over him, catching his hood and lifting it off his head. He had a long braid and his hair was shaved in the sides, his long beard braided as well. He looked like a Viking.
Every time the Viking swung his axe, Leo just pivoted to the side and sliced here and there at his arms, chest, and abdomen. Leo dropped his butterfly sword and caught it with his tail. As the Viking brought his axe up in a diagonal motion, Leo twirled to the side and slashed at his thigh.
The one with the mace swung at Aang, but he slid under and spun back to his feet behind him. Toph threw a barrage of rocks at the man, but he either dodged them or smashed them with his mace. He then aimed for Katara, but she rolled to the side and water whipped him in the face. She then used the water right next to them to form tentacles and grab his right arm. Sokka used this opportunity to try to disarm him… literally. Shouting a loud battle cry, Sokka charged with his sword above his head. But before he could bring the blade down on the giant's arm, Sokka was caught by a tail wrapped around his throat.
"Sokka!" Katara called, scared for her brother. Toph threw a boulder at his chest, but he barely seemed phased. She threw another one, only this time he caught it with his bare hand, then smashed it against his head. He grinned a sinister grin as he growled and laughed at Toph. To her at that moment, he seemed crazy. Maybe he was; maybe they both were.
The Viking swung at Leo again, and again Leo dodged, but this time he grabbed Leo by the wrist, head butted him, gripped his neck and slammed him down onto the ground. He then looked to see his comrade in the waterbender's grasp, so he threw Leo like a ragdoll and he crashed into Aang. The Viking then severed Katara's water tentacle, releasing his friend.
His hand freed, he switched hands with his mace, and his tail with his hand around Sokka's throat. Sokka tried to breath despite the grip on his neck. The man slammed Sokka on the ground and raised his mace. The Viking charged Katara, but she summoned a deluge from around the docks and created her own personal wave to swerve around him and over the one on her brother. She then used the wave to grab his left arm and entirely engulf him. Katara slammed him down a good distance away. Sokka gasped and coughed for air as his sister helped him up. The warrior bashed by the two siblings lifted his hood to see better. He had a small patch of hair in the front of his scalp, long braided hair on the sides that formed two loops, with nothing on top, like one of those barbaric, nomadic tribes on the grassy plains of the Earth Kingdom. A person from the planet Terra would think he looked like a Mongol warrior.
Leo and Aang both got up from their impact. Just as they were about to rejoin the skirmish, Leo's ear twitched as he heard the sound of blades being drawn in the distance and a whistling in the air. He swiftly picked up a piece of wood and waved it in front of his face then Aang's. He held it up to reveal two large throwing knives caught in the wood. Leo pushed Aang out of the way as the Viking brought his axe down between them. Aang sent him back with a strong continuous blast of wind against a large boulder Toph swung like a club. The Viking growled as he got back on his feet.
Leo took one of the knives from the wood and threw the lumber away as he sensed another cloaked figure emerge from the shadows of the trees. Walking on the rooftops, he drew a ninjato from his scabbard. Reaching the edge of the rooftops, he flipped off and landed in the street. He wore a cloak as well, but his was less of cape and more of a robe. His armor was the same, and a hood concealed most of his face, like the others. But this one was smaller in size, only taller than Leo by a few inches. Their blades drawn, they charged each other, metal meeting metal in the middle. He reminded Leo of a ninja.
Leo thought with his bigger weapon, the ninja would rely more on his blade's farther reach, so he tried to get around him with a few quick slashes here and there, just like with the Viking. But this guy was quick, as well. So Leo took his time, dodging and blocking as he studied his opponent's strategy and tendencies.
Katara sent ice daggers flying at the Mongol as Sokka grabbed a handful of dirt and he ran up behind him. He looked to the blind earthbender as she and Aang fought the Viking, calling out, "Toph! Give me a lift!?"
Toph shot him over the Mongol, and as he flew over the giant, he threw the sand in his eyes. Sokka landed and rolled to a sound stop. The Mongol roared in pain at the particles in his eyes, shedding a few tears trying to rub them out. He tried to clear his vision, but to no avail. Katara sent more ice daggers flying, and this time they hit. One was stuck in his left shoulder, one in his right leg.
Toph bent a pillar up to block a side attack. The Viking smashed it. She shifted the earth beneath him and he fell off balance. She then shot him into the air with another earth pillar. Aang then leapt some twenty feet, flipped over him, gaining momentum as he did, and came hurdling at him with a great force. With a hard thud, he hit the ground like a hammer on an anvil. Aang land on top of him on his back.
Leo had just knocked the sword from the ninja's hand. Leo had learned his tendencies and style… and his mistakes. While his work with the ninjato was indeed masterful, there was hardly any fluidity or adaptation to his movements; just rigid muscle memory, like a robot. Leo thrust his butterfly sword straight at the ninja's chest in a stabbing motion, but his strike was parried. The ninja cocked his fist to strike Leo's chest with a death punch to the heart; but Leo anticipated this. Leo dropped his sword and caught it with his tail, pivoted to the side and blocked the attach with a bong sau technique and gripped his opponent's wrist. Leo rotated his knife hand over the other and brought the knife against his throat. He had him in a grapple now, and he was Leo's to control. Not taking any chances, Leo swiftly dragged the sharp edge across his throat. Blood gushed like a fountain as he fell back, gasping for breath and holding his hand to his sliced jugular. As if that would do any good. Leo simply walked past him as he sheathed his sword and grasped the ninjato with his tail, then his hand.
Aang gasped at the scene before him, repulsed. Leo had come off as so warm and friendly; he couldn't imagine he'd be capable of such violence. Aang looked down at the Viking and knelt down to check his pulse. He gave a sigh of relief as he detected one. He was still alive. He picked his head up to jump back into the action, with Katara, Sokka and Toph surrounding the only attacker still standing, the Mongol swinging his mace around blindly. Katara and Toph managed to knock him around a bit, but he just got back up and kept swinging mad. Sokka was able to deliver a cut or two. But Aang's leg was caught as the Viking sprang back to consciousness. He tried to drag Aang to him, bloodlust in his eyes, but Leo sliced his arm off. He cried out in agony as he held the fresh stump. Aang kicked the severed limb away in shock. Leo took the throwing knife he still had and buried it in the Viking's skull, silencing him.
That was two; two lives Aang had just witnessed being snuffed out before him. It brought back more flashes of his past in the Triad. He snapped back to the present as Leo stood over him and offered his hand to help him up. Aang took it and was jerked to his feet.
They joined in surrounding the Mongol. He turned to Leo and swung at his head. Leo dodged and drove his sword through his forearm. He roared in pain and dropped the mace. Leo backed up, then charged him and flipped into the air, landing a powerful flying kick to the chest, knocking him back hard.
Toph formed earth shackles around the Mongol's arms, legs, and tail. Katara made doubly sure he was secure, bending water onto the shackles and freezing them. The Mongol groaned in defeat. Katara bended some water around his eyes, washing out the rest of the sand. Able to see again, he observed his victors standing over him and narrowed his eyes at them.
"Damned humans!" the Mongol spat in a strange outlandish, grunting accent, "You and your fucking magic!"
"It's not magic, it's bending, a perfectly natural ability," Katara corrected. He instantly hissed at her. His tongue was long and forked, like a snake. Leo approached and took off his hood. Instantly, the Mongol's eyes grew wide with shock and terror. Leo sensed his heartbeat begin to race, this time with fear.
"You know who I am, yes?" Leo firmly inquired.
The man nodded, shuddering as he croaked, "Y-you're Soradonian. But… how? Your kind died out long ago."
"Correction: we didn't die, just disappeared. Seems like word of our return hasn't yet reached this far across the galaxy. Now tell me, why the hell are there Tyravians on this planet?" Leo commanded as he questioned him, grabbing him by the collar. The Mongol didn't answer, just quaked in fear.
"Tell me now or I'll shave your ears from your head!" Leo ordered as he drew his sword and held it against his left earlobe.
The threat, however, only seemed to restore the man's resolve in the face of his enemy, narrowing his eyes at Leo, "There's nothing you can do. The infiltration has already begun, and the invasion is soon to follow."
The Mongol then moved his tongue and bit down on something in his mouth, "Vlorias dya Tyravia!" he choked out as foam spewed from between his lips, the last of his breath gone. Katara covered her mouth as all four gasped when they realized he'd just bit down on a poison capsule implanted among his teeth.
Leo sighed, sheathing his sword again as he stood back, pinching the bridge of his nose before he instructed, "Aang, call your bison. We gotta get outta here, and fast. If these guys are here, there's bound to be more."
Aang whipped out his bison whistle and blew, calling Appa. In no time, the bison came into view and landed right in the town square. Aang carried Katara bridal style and leapt onto Appa's head while Sokka, Toph and Leo climbed up his tail and into the saddle. Aang gripped the reigns and called, "Yip yip!"
At the sound of the command, Appa slapped his tail onto the ground and rose into the air. As they left the town behind, a pair of eyes watched from among the trees. He held a finger to the device in his ear and uttered, "Agent Vladimirran-1 to Obrachan Command."
"This is Obrachan Command, what is it?" replied a voice in his ear.
"Tell my father and uncle that I've found the Grandmaster of the Order of the Dragon. Leo the Han is on Rhanjastah, getting help from some of the locals. They've encountered some of our brothers and know of our presence."
"Isolate them, then make them silent."