Chapter 6: Metal Serpents

Sen had always wanted to ride a train. There was something about watching the terrain sail by so quickly that took his mind off everything about being an Avatar. For once he could just be a teenager who was finally getting to explore the world.

Getting Gun onto the train had been a chore, but they'd found him a comfy spot in a cargo section and he'd finally relaxed. Sen and Hanjo had boarded separately, to avoid suspicion, but they'd quickly reunited on board. Their train car was very lightly populated, so they could talk fairly openly about their plans.

"I talked with the station master, this will take us right to Zaofu," Hanjo said. "I wonder if Wing and Wei still live there? I've always idolized those two. That's why I chose your alias, you know. Wei. I was going to call myself Wing but I thought that would be too suspicious."

"So I get to be your idol," Sen said, amused.

"Of course, Sen," Hanjo said. "You're the Avatar. You're the idol."

"Doesn't feel like it," Sen said.

"That's just because of the Energybender, though," Hanjo explained. "When we take care of him, Sen, I'm telling you, it'll be smooth sailing. Shaking hands with world leaders, red carpet premieres of any mover you want."

"Isn't there supposed to be something about the balance of the world in there too?"

"You can fit it between the movers and the world leaders, if you want," Hanjo chuckled. "You know what I mean."

"I've got to actually do the saving the world thing at least once before I get any of that stuff," Sen explained. "Let's focus on that first, all right?"

"Deal."

Hanjo picked up some brochure that had been lying around, either left there by the train company or by a recent passenger. It was a Varrick Industries advertisement, which somehow managed to be aggressive and loud despite being made of paper. Despite all the excitement and innovation it promised, a shadow seemed to hang over every word, and Hanjo found himself re-reading the same sentences over and over again, having forgotten what he had just read. Confused, Hanjo tried to pass the pamphlet off to Sen, but he refused it.

Sen was too busy looking out the window to care about any technology. You couldn't reinvent the mountains, and they were his focus right now. It was silly of him to anthropomorphize geology, but he really admired how immovable mountains were. The same snow-covered peaks had been here as long as anyone could remember, living through every war and thousands of Avatars. It was fun to stare at them, as blurry as they were in the distance.

Something interrupted his view for a second. It looked like another train car, but that was impossible. There was only one rail here. It vanished as soon as it appeared.

Several minutes later, a group of railway employees barged into the room, looking scared. Sen rolled his eyes. Of course there was a problem.

"We ask that you all remain calm," One employee said. People immediately began not being calm. "Please move forward into the train in a slow and orderly fashion."

The party of employees slowly moved through the train car to escort people forward. They got to Sen and Hanjo soon enough.

"Can we help in any way," Sen asked. "We're both Earthbenders."

"The best thing you kids can do is move forward and help maintain order in the upper cars, if you're so willing to help. We can handle anything that happens."

An employee broke off from the pack and started leading them forward. Hanjo let his curiosity get the better of him.

"So what exactly is going on?"

"Rail Tracers," the escort said. "They use metalbending to create an artificial railing alongside ours, and rob trains without having to stop them. They generally focus on cargo containers, so I assure you you're in no personal danger."

"Aww no, Gun," Sen said.

"Gun?"

"Did any of your buddies talk about two kids trying to get a stubborn badgermole on the train?"

"That was you?"

Sen nodded. Their escort groaned.

"Have they ever abducted live cargo before?"

"Yes," the escort said. "Exotic animals like Badgermoles are especially common targets."

Sen and Hanjo immediately turned around and started walking the other way. There was no way they were going to abandon Gun after he'd gotten them out of Zang safely. He was a mess of an animal, but he was their animal. To their surprise, the escort started walking with them without question.

"You aren't going to try and stop us," Hanjo asked.

"I had a lemur when I was a kid. I know how important pets are, pal," he replied. "My name's Tserang, by the way."

"I'm Kon, and this is Wei," Hanjo said. Tserang nodded and kept moving. He even covered for the kids when they passed another employee. Sen was starting to like this guy.

"So, you seem to be familiar with the Rail Tracers," Hanjo said. "Any clues on their usual routine."

"Just one. Other metalbenders can detach their cars pretty easily. Any chance either of you are…"

"No such luck," Hanjo said. "We aren't even very good earthbenders, honestly."

"I'm not even a bender," Tserang said with a shrug.

"Well, I'm very confident in our odds," Hanjo said. Sen couldn't tell if he actually meant that.

The first cargo car was uneventful, having been left untouched, at least so far. Same with the second. The third one showed signs that it had been broken into, but no Rail Tracers.

"That's bad," Tserang said. "If there was no trouble down the line then there'd be agents here assessing the damage."

"So we're heading for trouble. Good to know."

Sen reached to the bottom of the car. Clods of dirt and small pebbles had stuck to the bottom of some crates that had been resting on the ground, and earth was in short supply on a speeding train. He'd need the ammunition. He moved forward, holding the loose stones in the palm of his hand.

The fifth car had been absolutely ransacked. Crates had been torn to bits everywhere and luggage was scattered across the area, but still no Rail Tracers. Gun was in the seventh car, which meant they were almost guaranteed to encounter trouble in the sixth. Tserang led the way.

The moment they opened the door a scream rang out. They rushed in to see a massive hole torn in the side of the train car, with train employees forming a barrier between it and any of the luggage. The Rail Tracers were finally in sight, standing just in front of the hole.

"Tserang! Why'd you bring kids here?"

"They wanted to help, and they've got something important back here."

"Well they better be metalbenders, because our last one just got thrown overboard."

Tserang shook his head. The questioning employee sighed.

"We can all end this peacefully if you just hand over a reasonable amount of valuables," one of the Rail Tracers said. "Especially whatever important thing your babysitter's talking about. Once it's worth our while, we'll leave. Deal?"

"It's a deal," Hanjo said, catching everyone off guard. All the employees looked at him like he was an idiot, but Sen just shook his head. He could see what was coming.

"I'll hand over my stuff first," Hanjo said. "And I think you'll find it more than enough. I just have to go to the next train car to get it, okay?"

"This kid's going to go far in life, see," the lead Rail Tracer said. "Alright, head on over and get your stuff. We'll see if it meets our standards."

Hanjo couldn't believe something this dumb was actually going to work. Tserang seemed to have caught on as well, because he put his hand in front of his mouth to hide a grin. The rest of the employees were out of the loop, and just kept looking back and forth in confusion.

Tserang burst out laughing as the young badgermole dove through the door and started attacking the Rail Tracers. As the bandits scrambled back to their makeshift train car, the rest of the employees finally got the joke and joined in the laughter. Gun bit one of the bandits on the rear, sending him hobbling across the cargo container, and they started laughing even harder.

When the last of the Tracers was on board their car and the whole crew faded into the distance, Gun stopped his rampage and nuzzled Sen expectantly, looking for a treat. Sen didn't have any food on him, but he did give Gun a very affectionate pat on the head, which barely managed to satisfy his ego.

The other employees started shuffling back towards the passenger cars to tell the passengers to relax. Tserang stayed behind to watch over the teenagers and their badgermole.

"Hey, what about that guy who got thrown overboard? Is he going to be okay?"

"Oh, most likely," Tserang said. "We all get taught how to fall off speeding trains. It's an occupational hazard."

"How do you keep getting employees?"

"We have really good insurance."

The three of them managed to calm the ornery badgermole and get Gun back into his resting spot in the seventh cargo car. Tserang wiped badgermole fur off of his uniform and shook hands with the kids.

"Thanks a lot, you guys," He said. "This could have gone much worse without you two and your badgermole."

"We're just glad we could help," Sen said. He really meant it. It was nice to do something right and not have to face some kind of consequences for once. Nobody but the bad guys got hurt this time. Not to mention they hadn't blown their cover at all.

"I'll put in a good word for you in the kitchen car," Tserang said. "Train food isn't very good, but free food is the best kind, right?"

"Sounds right to me," Hanjo said.

"You two should get back to your seats ASAP," Tserang advised. "We're about to come up on the Zaofu mainline, where six rail lines run side by side. It's awesome watching the cars race past, or alongside you."

Sen and Hanjo took their seats and looked out the window expectantly. Sure enough, winding metal tracks came into view, and before long a second train had pulled up alongside them. Sen pressed his face against the glass. Once the rails got closer they'd probably be able to see right through the windows of the other train car.

As they pulled up alongside the other train, Sen groaned. Some of the windows were broken. He couldn't see anyone inside.

A heavy thud came from the roof above, and with a great grinding shriek, the roof of the train car tore open. Their fellow passengers panicked and clung tightly to their seats as surges of air rushed through the vehicle. A muscular figure dropped from the ceiling, landing in the middle of the car. He started shouting over the sound of rushing wind. He struck a dramatic pose as he introduced himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Shai Dan," he began.

"The most dangerous Rail Tracer ever!" another passenger screamed.

"Thank you, ma'am, for continuing my introduction," Shai Dan said. "Now shut up. Please hand over your valuables. Jewelry preferred."

He pulled out a metal tin and started holding it out like a miser begging for coin. He went up and down the line of seats, stopping at every passenger, taking their jewelry before stashing it in a pouch on his belt. He even thanked them for their 'donations'. Sen didn't much like his sense of humor. When he got to Sen, he had a joke of his own prepared.

"Sorry, sir," He said meekly. "But I'm dirt broke."

Sen held up his palm, which was still covered in dirt from earlier, and displayed it to Shai Dan. The highwayman actually seemed amused.

"Oh, dirt broke, that's a good one," Shai Dan said with a chuckle. "I'll have to remember that-"

The cloud of dirt flew out of Sen's palm, striking Shai Dan in his right eye. Sen had meant to get him in both eyes, but his aim wasn't very good. Shai Dan dropped his collection tray to claw at his eyes, and Sen caught it as it fell. With a heavy swing, he slammed the metal tray into Shai Dan's chin.

Shai Dan pushed Sen away and took a few steps back to clear his eyes. When he finally regained his sight, he was no longer so amused.

"I try to play the gentleman bandit routine, I try to be charming about it," He muttered angrily. "But there's always got to be a guy like you who confuses my natural charisma for softness."

He pulled the metal tray out of Sen's hand with his bending and split it into six bladed pieces. Sen was now out of ammo and ideas.

"Now I'm going to show you all why I'm the best Rail Tracer there ever was!"

He sent a piece of metal flying at Sen. He dove behind his chair and let the bladed shard embed itself in the seat cushions. Shai Dan kept an eye on his hiding spot, waiting for him to show himself.

"Who else could pull off robbing the entire Zaofu mainline at once? No one, that's who! I'm the best there ever was, or ever will be! Give up now and I'll only toss you off the train."

"You make it sound so appealing," Sen shouted back.

"Your other option is that I tie you to the back and let the train drag you all the way to Zaofu!"

That actually did make the first option sound appealing. Sen looked for something he could use. Dirt that had gotten stuck to the bottom of someone's shoes, an errant pebble that hadn't gotten swept away, anything.

Shai Dan let another blade fly into the chair, just to prove he was still a threat. Sen ducked as he felt the blade sink deep into the cushion. Shai Dan started chuckling again, but it was a much more sinister chuckle.

Hanjo, meanwhile, was trying to play himself off as an innocent bystander. He wouldn't do Sen any good getting himself stabbed by a bandit. Better to wait for the perfect opportunity and strike then. As he observed the length of the train car, he saw his opportunity.

"Wei, now!"

Sen had absolutely nothing to do and no idea what Hanjo could possibly want him to do, so he stayed behind his chair. Shai Dan shifted his focus to Hanjo, though, and thus he ignored the train car door opening behind him. The sound of rushing air from the open ceiling disguised the sound it made as it opened, and the footsteps as a new arrival entered.

Tserang dropped a small boulder on the bandit's head, stunning him for just a second.

"Kon, Wei, I got rocks!"

Hanjo jumped out of his seat and pulled Tserang's rocks towards himself. He didn't waste any time launching them right back at Shai Dan. The new barrage managed to keep him off his feet long enough for Sen to join in the attack as well. Shai Dan made the mistake of ignoring Tserang's presence once again, and as he tried to retaliate against the teenagers, Tserang clubbed him on the head with a wrench. He fell forward and hit the ground hard.

Slamming his hands down fiercely, Shai Dan made the floor of the train car ripple, sending his attackers off balance. He pulled a fragment of the torn roof downwards, grabbing onto it with one hand and collecting his scattered loot with the other. He bent the material of the roof until he was on top of the car. Sen sent some stones flying after him, but they all flew wide of their target and went soaring into the air.

"I've still got the loot," Shai Dan bragged. He leaped to the roof of the adjacent train car and laughed at his opponents.

Sen and Tserang weren't about to lift themselves to the top of the train, but Hanjo was a little more daring. He stood on top of the largest stone Tserang had brought in and used it to propel himself to the top of the train.

Getting his footing on top of the vehicle was much more difficult than he had anticipated. The robbery had not slowed the train down at all. After toppling down a few times he finally managed to figure out his balance and chase after Shai Dan. He resisted the urge to launch rocks after his quarry. Up here he only had so much ammunition.

Shai Dan tore open the rooftops behind him, making it harder for Hanjo to give chase, but he managed. After a while, the bandit came to a dead halt and held his hands up.

"Look kid," He shouted over the roaring air. "I can respect this. You've given me a good fight, made this heist something to really brag about. But if you keep this up, I'm going to have to do something you'll regret. Turn around and I'll let you be the guy who survived Shai Dan. Keep this up-"

Shai Dan tore a piece of piping off the top of the train car and sharpened it into a spear with his bending. He flourished the makeshift spear at Hanjo.

"-and you're just another homicide charge."

Hanjo thought about all the precious stones Shai Dan would be making off with. The pouch on his belt had to have dozens of diamonds, rubies, and other gemstones in it. He shook his head.

"Alright, you can go," Hanjo said.

Shai Dan gave his worthy opponent a salute. He turned to face the makeshift train car that was his getaway, and leapt off the train.

Halfway through the jump, Shai Dan felt a tug on his waist, lost his balance completely, and nearly plummeted off the train. He managed to catch himself on the railing, but he should still be falling over. The only thing keeping him from plummeting to certain doom was his conspicuously hovering belt pouch.

"You like that," Hanjo shouted. He had his hand extended, focused on Shai Dan's belt. "I figured you'd appreciate it."

Shai Dan figured it out. He actually was impressed.

"You got me by the jewels," He said. Gemstones were just minerals, when you got down to it, and they could be bent like any other rock. Hanjo was holding him in place with his own loot.

"You can still escape if, you want," Hanjo shouted. "But you aren't going anywhere with the loot."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Shai Dan laughed. Hanjo laughed with him.

"Problem is," Shai Dan continued, suddenly taking a more sinister tone. "This is my legend, not yours. So I've got to win."

Shai Dan's spear, which he'd discarded earlier while making his escape, soared through the air at Hanjo.

Hanjo felt a heavy impact hit him from the right, spinning him around. He tugged unconsciously, and Shai Dan's belt pouch tore itself from his waist. The Rail Tracer had time to realize how stupid his whole plan was before he plummeted to the ground.

Hanjo got his bearings back. He was being pressed down by something oddly heavy. He was definitely not impaled, though, which was a good thing.

"You alright, Kon?"

Tserang was pressing Hanjo against the ground, having barely tackled him before the spear went sailing past. The odd weight wasn't coming from Tserang himself, but from a strange pair of gloves he was wearing. Tserang helped Hanjo to his feet and demonstrated his new equipment.

"Nice, huh," he said, flexing the fingers of his metal gloves. He had a matching pair of boots. "Magnetic accessories. Varrick invented them to film The Legend of Bolin 12: Revenge of the Colossus. Us railways guys got our hands on them later. Good for rooftop fights."

Tserang helped Hanjo back to their car. The trip was much easier with his magnetic shoes keeping them in place. Sen was relieved to see the two come back in one piece, and even more excited to see that Hanjo had recovered the stolen valuables. He handed them off to Tserang.

"I'll see these all get back to their rightful owners once we make station at Zaofu."

"Can you return mine first? It's the biggest, most expensive looking one," Hanjo joked.

"Hey, come on now," Tserang laughed. "Avatars don't steal."

Sen and Hanjo froze. Sen had really been hoping to avoid this.

"Two kids travelling with a badgermole, diving into danger just to help people? Who else could you be," He said with a smile. "Don't worry; I won't breathe a word of this to anyone."

Sen smiled back. He figured it was time for a real introduction.

"I'm Avatar Sen," He said. "This is Hanjo."

"Nice to finally meet you," Tserang said. "A lot of people have been waiting a long time for you to show up."

"They're going to have to wait a bit longer," Sen said. "I'm not even very good at Earthbending yet."

"You'll get there," Tserang assured him. "Until then, enjoy the ride."