Chapter 6: City of Scars
Hanjo sometimes found it difficult to navigate the maze of crowded streets that seemed endemic to the cities of the Republic. The town they were in wasn't even that big, but it still suffered from narrow, winding streets. The cramped roads were only made worse by the fact that they were crowded with Coalition soldiers.
The United Coalition had finally found itself a host city. Nestled in the foothills of the southeastern Republic, the town of Xian made a good base of operations for their current operations throughout the United Republic. With its proximity to mountain passes, and to the all-important train route of the Zaofu Mainline, it might one day make a good starting point for their movement into the Earth Kingdom. The Zu-Shin tunnel might have circumvented the need to travel through Zaofu, but that dream had collapsed along with the mountain.
The crowded city streets eventually lead Hanjo to the town hall where Sen was waiting. The home of Xian's government had been temporarily repurposed into the seat of Sen's leadership.
The Avatar-General himself was overseeing the complex task of setting up the Coalitions infrastructure in their new base. Having a solid location for his troops to rally at was important to the war effort, but he also meant to make this easy on the town of Xian. He had to set up his troops without causing too much trouble for the residents of Xian.
The residents and the local government were being very accommodating. They had volunteered their town for a reason, after all. Xian had been struggling economically for a long time, and the Coalitions presence would create jobs and drive business into their stores. Sen hoped that the military and civilian populations could live together without incident.
The setup in Xian did not bring the war to a complete halt, however. Sen was glad to put his paperwork down when Hanjo showed up. There were still concerns that needed to be addressed. Hanjo looked to his left and noticed Ada's black hair and short stature. Apparently they'd be getting partnered up for a mission.
"Good to see you, Hanjo," he said. "What do you think of Xian?"
"I think I'll like it better in a week when everything makes sense again," Hanjo said. He did not like the disorganization and chaos. "What've you got for me, buddy?"
"Something important, but I'd rather save time and wait for- Oh, Ada, you're here, good."
Hanjo looked over his shoulder and saw Ada enter the room. Confused, Hanjo quickly turned to the figure he had assumed was Ada. The stranger turned their head to examine Ada as well, and as their face came into view it was startlingly similar to Ada's- barring a large scar crossing her eye, the eye itself covered by a black eye patch. Hanjo jumped slightly.
"Well hello," Ada said awkwardly, looking at her scarred doppelganger.
"Huh, you were right, Avatar," The Ada Look-Alike said. Her voice was significantly deeper and harsher than Ada's light tone. "She does look a lot like me."
The doppelganger held her hand out.
"Names Tomoe," She said. "Good to meet you."
"Same," Ada mumbled. She was still a bit hung up on the odd resemblance. If not for the scar and eye patch the two might be mirror images.
"You two should get along fine," Sen said. "Tomoe has an interest in swordplay too."
"Favor two handed blades myself," Tomoe said. "But I can respect the Dao. Lot of history with those swords."
"Oh, of course," Ada said. She was significantly more at ease now that they were talking about swords. "I'm more concerned with modern applications, of course. The dull reverse is a good place for an electrical addition, gives a good non-lethal option."
"Yeah, I've heard about your shock-swords," Tomoe said. "Couldn't get away with that kind of stuff on a narrow blade like a katana or-"
"If you don't mind, Tomoe," Sen interrupted. "You did come here for a reason."
"Oh, right, yes," Tomoe said, catching herself. "You want to explain it or should I?"
"If you don't mind," Sen said, rubbing his chin. "I have a lot of paperwork to do. If you could get them caught up, and then I'll explain what I need them to do."
Tomoe nodded, and Sen returned to his desk to try and carve out a little bit more of the paperwork. Tomoe stuck her hands on her belts and began to pace in front of Hanjo and Ada.
"I'm here on behalf of Takuga, better known as The Bear," Tomoe said.
Ada and Hanjo waited with rapt attention while Tomoe paused slightly.
"No, you're not supposed to know who I'm talking about," Tomoe said. They both sighed and relaxed slightly.
"Okay, who is Takuga?"
"Well, to get to that question I got to explain some stuff to you," Tomoe said. "Hanjo, you remember growing up in an orphanage and all that? Because your parents abandoned you?"
"I'm a real orphan actually," Hanjo said. "No abandonment."
"Ah, well, that's, ehh- Well, you remember that kind of thing happened, yeah?"
"Of course."
"Well it didn't just happen in the Earth Kingdom is where I'm going with this," Tomoe continued. "There were plenty of kids getting abandoned in the United Republic too, especially in the poorer cities."
Hanjo nodded. Ada didn't react quite so much. Orphans had never been much of a problem in Zaofu. She had very little experience with this particular problem.
"I'm one of them kids, for full disclosure," Tomoe said bitterly. "And when this was happening we were all three, maybe four years old. We couldn't take care of ourselves. We were all doomed."
"I take it this is where Takuga comes into the story," Ada said.
"I was getting to that," Tomoe said. "But yeah, this is where The Bear comes in. She was a street kid, abandoned like us, but years earlier. She'd been on the streets a few years, she knew how to survive. She started taking care of some of the abandoned kids, making sure they got food, fighting anybody who tried to hurt 'em, that kind of thing. Word started to spread, soon kids from all over were coming to beg her for help."
"How'd she handle that many kids?"
"We started growing up, and she started organizing us," Tomoe explained. "Older we got, better we got at taking care of ourselves, and each other. Better we got at taking care of ourselves, more kids came to join The Bear's little group."
Tomoe stopped pacing and leaned on the wall.
"I don't do the mathematics much, but if I had to guess, I'd say The Bear's in charge of three thousand orphans, all about our age."
"Three thousand?"
"The Bear is very good at what she does," Tomoe said. "She looks after her own. You join her, you don't go hungry often. You can see how that appeals to a lot of people."
Hanjo crossed his arms.
"Okay, so now that we've had our history lesson," He said. "What does 'The Bear' want?"
Tomoe stopped leaning against the wall and crossed her arms behind her back tensely.
"A thing you must know –it's been bad for a lot of these people. They've been hungry, people hurt them, never give them a chance-"
"I know that," Hanjo said. Though he was not quite in the same boat as most of his generation, he had still suffered through the same abuses in Beaker Hall. There was never enough food, and if some wandering bandit decided to hit them with a club for kicks –well, no one was going to stop them.
"These guys are angry," Tomoe said, and there was almost fear in her voice. "Thousands of kids, all with violent pasts and a lot of anger, all of it aimed at just about anyone older than them."
Ada bit her lip. There was no way that was going to end well. The Bear's gang was an explosion of violence just waiting to happen.
"With the war on, violence is on everyone's minds," Tomoe said. "It's only a matter of time before something sets these guys off, and there's going to be chaos when that happens."
"Alright. What can we do about it?"
"Violence is inevitable, but The Bear thinks we can focus it," Tomoe explained. "We need to teach these guys that the Energybender is the real problem, and get them fighting him. We need to get 'em to join the Coalition."
Hanjo looked up at Sen. He nodded briefly and set his paperwork aside. This was the part where he got involved.
"So far I agree with Takuga, ah, 'The Bear'," He said. "Left unchecked, a lot of these young men and women are going to direct their anger indiscriminately."
"And do you really think they're going to integrate easily?" Ada asked. "A lot of the Coalition is made up of the very same people they're so angry at."
A massive rift had formed between generations. The children that had been abandoned were now in their early twenties, and with some rare exceptions, they had formed insular communities, wary of and angry at any outsiders –especially the "adults" who had been abusing and neglecting them all their lives.
"We haven't reached a boiling point just yet," Sen said. "We can still make this work, especially if we can convince them to redirect their anger at the Energybender."
"The Bear commands a lot of respect, and a lot of people," Tomoe said. "If our gang joins up, it should sway most of the rest of our generation."
"Okay, Sen, we get the picture," Hanjo said. "Now what are we going to do?"
Sen sighed and shook his head.
"Not only am I swamped trying to set up in Xian, I've gotten word that the South re-elected their Council and might be interested in joining us," Sen said. "I'm barely balancing the two of those. I have a plan, but I need a few days to get everything done. In the meantime, I'd like the two of you to go meet with Takuga and her gang. Let her know that I'll be coming, and start to smooth things over with the members of her group."
"Makes sense," Ada said. "We're part of the same generation, both from the Earth Kingdom. They'll sympathize with us."
"Hah, don't flatter yourself, lady," Tomoe mocked. "Hanjo they might like, but you? You got your parents, you got a house, you never went to bed wondering if you'd make it through tomorrow. They'd hate you just a little less than they hate any adult."
Ada crossed her arms stubbornly. Tomoe didn't back down. It was a bit tacky, but some of their generation called Ada's kind a "keeper" – a member of their generation who had never been abandoned or abused. They found no welcome among the children who'd been left to rot on the city streets.
"Hopefully Ada can be a bit of middle ground," Sen said. "They'll have to deal with those adults they hate so much eventually. They might as well get used to it."
"Hey, I feel the same way," Tomoe said. "I just don't want Ada getting the wrong idea. You have to approach this carefully."
"Understood," Ada said stubbornly.
Sen nodded and dismissed them all. Tomoe led them out of the city hall, stopping by the door guard on her way out. Her weapons had been confiscated earlier: they couldn't let just any armed stranger talk to the Avatar, after all. She retrieved two blades and began to strap them to her belt.
"Nice katana," Hanjo said. Ada and Tomoe both gave him a dirty look.
"This a tachi," Tomoe said indignantly.
"The blade's more curved, and is generally lighter than a katana," Ada explained. She turned to Tomoe. "I'm sorry, he doesn't know these things."
Tomoe held up a small, straight-bladed knife and waved it in front of Hanjo's face.
"Maybe next you want to call this a butter knife, eh?"
She sheathed the short blade and began to lead them again. While they walked, Ada leaned close to Hanjo.
"That was a tanto," She whispered. Hanjo grunted in response. He'd just keep his mouth shut about blades from now on.
The packed streets of Xian eventually gave way to more spacious avenues as they reached the edge of the city. Tomoe had apparently come here under her own power, and she had not exactly arrived in style. Hanjo at first assumed the rusted wreck to be an abandoned ruin at the edge of town, but Tomoe managed to crack open the warped metal door and hopped onto the moldy driver's seat. She waved impatiently at the other two to get in.
After a great deal of struggling, Ada managed to pry open the rusted door. Her lips curled slightly in disgust at the sight of the cars interior.
"Hey, look on the bright side," Hanjo said drearily. "How often do you get to drive a satomobile that was built by Hiroshi Sato himself?"
"What, we all grew up on the streets of a bad town, were you expecting a limousine? We're lucky I had a satomobile at all."
Quite reluctantly, the two of them climbed into the junker. They sat down, and for a moment the satomobile began to shake violently. They were briefly worried that the ancient satomobile was collapsing, but then they realized that the shaking was due to the sudden entrance of a third rider.
"Whistler?"
The renegade airbender had rather gracefully leaped into the passenger seat, with her staff in one hand and a sandwich in the other.
"Yeah, hey," she said.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well gee, why might Whistler be useful in dealing with a street gang from the United Republic?"
She had, for a while, been rather offended that she hadn't been invited in the first place, but then she'd remembered that Sen had a very hard time finding her. She had then decided to invite herself. Tomoe seemed curious about the new arrival.
"You the same Whistler who caused trouble in the Copper Slums?"
Many of the members of The Bears gang had come from far and wide, even as far as Republic City, and they brought stories of the local color with them. Whistler was a particularly popular subject with the Republic City crowd.
"The very same," Whistler said proudly. She took a bite of her sandwich.
"Thought you were a man," Tomoe said, confused.
"Cross-dressing," Whistler said. "Really easy to lose the cops when you can change from a dude to chick real fast."
"Huh," Tomoe said. "You're going to be real popular back home."
"I'm counting on it," Whistler said. With a smile and a chuckle, and a great deal of effort to get the ancient satomobile moving, Tomoe set them on course for the home of The Bear.
The rusted city of Bac Ria came into view as they rounded a curved mountain path. It looked in some ways like a small version of Republic City; it possessed the same varied architecture, and a few skyscrapers dotted its streets, but few would compare the two cities. Whereas Republic City was a shining beacon of industry and culture, Bac Ria was the rotting corpse of civilization.
A long time ago, when the Republic had been young and trade with the Earth Kingdom had been done through the northern seaways, Bac Ria had been one of the young Republic's most important port cities. For years it had prospered and flourished, coming close to rivaling the world's finest cities. Over time, though, as the Republic secured trade routes with the Fire Nation and Water Tribes, and as the Earth Kingdom's economic power shifted south towards Zaofu, Bac Ria had found itself less and less profitable. Its golden age was now decades past, and Bac Ria was little more than a citywide slum, its factories, warehouses, and skyscrapers used as homes for vagrants.
The rusted satomobile they drove pulled into the city streets, and Ada realized that what they were driving in was likely the fanciest ride in town. There were many satomobiles on the streets, but none of them were in driving condition. Most had been stripped to their metallic bones, with anything useful or valuable having been torn away long ago. The sight of a moving satomobile, in fact, was enough to draw dozens of people to line the sidewalks, just to watch it pass. Hanjo took a quick look around at the vagrants watching them. Most of them seemed like exactly the kind of people you didn't want to meet in a dark alley –and there were a lot of dark alleys around.
"Don't worry so much," Tomoe said. "They know I'm with the Bear. They won't try anything."
"Does Takuga really have that much influence?"
Most of these people did not seem as if they were a members of Takuga's crew. Most were far too old to be part of a group of mainly orphans.
"She does," Tomoe said. "Whether they like her or not, that varies. But they all know she can kick their butts."
Tomoe tapped her fingers against the steering wheel of the satomobile for a while as they made their crawl towards Takuga's home. She remembered a warning as they got closer.
"Oh yeah, and don't call her Takuga when you're talking to her," Tomoe advised. "That's for friends and close advisors. You guys call her the Bear, or just Bear when you're talking to her."
Ada nodded, but she had a follow-up question.
"You mentioned close advisors?"
"Yeah, Bear keeps a few of the smarter guys around to help her manage things. Hard to manage three thousand kids otherwise," Tomoe said. "Most of them just feed her information and keep things in line, but there's a few she takes very seriously. Jeong, The Dune, Lumpus-"
"Lumpus?"
"A lot of us didn't know our own names when our parents abandoned us," Tomoe said. "We had to give each other names, or choose our own. Some of us got good names. Lumpus got Lumpus."
Whistler nodded. She knew what it was like getting saddled with a lousy name. Luckily she'd picked up Whistler along the way.
"Back on topic, most of these advisor guys aren't worth the rags they're wearing for your guys' purpose. If you want to get to The Bear by her advisors, there's only one person you need to talk to: Cia."
"Alright, why is Cia so useful?" Ada asked. She wanted to have every advantage going in.
"The Bear takes her very seriously, and she's smarter than most of us. Kind of the brains of the operation," Tomoe admitted. "You'll know Cia when you see her. Got real big burn scars all up her arms, some on her face."
Hanjo winced. Scars like that always came with a lot of pain.
"Her hair's really nice too," Tomoe said, as an afterthought. Always better to end on a pleasant note.
The advice Tomoe was giving came to a sudden halt as they reached home. Takuga ran a large operation, and that required a large headquarters. A long-abandoned skyscraper had been repurposed as her base of operations. Torn banners and flags hung from broken windows and rusted beams, bearing the marks of a few dozen other gangs that had claimed this skyscraper as their base. All those banners were now long faded, and the crudely-designed bear paw emblem of Takuga hung dominant across the skyscraper.
A working Satomobile was too valuable to be parked in the streets, so Tomoe veered sharply to the side, driving the satomobile over the sidewalk with a heavy bump. The skyscrapers wall had collapsed in some small places, and one such hole made an impromptu garage. The wall was closed up behind them as the satomobile came to a halt.
Somehow this skyscraper possessed working electricity, so Ada had a good view of its residents. The orphans of Takuga's gang were a curiously mixed group, of many origins and body types. There were very few common threads among them, but Ada picked up on two things; a subtle look of anger, and the scars.
The scars themselves were varied, but they were always there. Some of them were on faces, some were on hands and arms, always plainly visible to the casual observer. Though some of them had the jagged, uneven look of a scar that had been earned by violence, many of the scars had odd patterns or symmetry to them, as if the wounds were self-inflicted. Ada saw one orphan at the back of the room with a pattern of scars that was too perfect to possibly be an accident, and she knew then that these people had been scarring themselves on purpose.
There was a noticeable drop in tension in the room as Tomoe stepped out of the satomobile. The scarred crowd knew her, and they trusted her. Their tension turned to confusion as they looked over their new guests.
"None of them are the Avatar," one voice said.
Hanjo frowned. There had been a time he and Sen had looked enough alike to confuse even Sarin. It seemed that resemblance was a thing of the past. They couldn't even fool a bunch of orphans anymore.
"That's The Bear's concern, not yours," Tomoe said, and no further objections were raised. The crowd parted ways as Tomoe led her three guests towards the center of the room.
This chamber had once been a rather opulent lobby for some profitable business, but it had been gutted by the skyscrapers new occupants. Decorations had been stripped bare and walls had been torn down to completely alter the nature of the room. Lobbies, as a rule, were designed to be open, welcoming spaces, and this was anything but. The entire area had been fortified, filled with walls, barricades, and guards. The Bears gang took their safety very seriously.
Ironically, it was the least guarded point in the room that concerned Ada the most. Tomoe was leading them towards an elevator.
"There is no way that this is up to code," She said, quietly.
"You're welcome to take all ninety-eight flights of stairs," Tomoe said. "Most of which are collapsed or crumbling."
Tomoe pressed the elevator button and shook her head.
"Easier to keep one elevator fixed up than one-hundred stair cases," Tomoe said.
The doors slid open, and Tomoe stepped inside, followed quite reluctantly by the rest of her troupe. As the elevator began to ascend, Ada heard a quiet creaking noise and decided to drown it out with conversation.
"Why does everyone here have a scar?"
"Hanjo, you remember those thugs used to run around whacking anyone around our age, right?"
"Of course," Hanjo said. This entire journey had been started by one such gang. "They were checking whether or not we'd go into the Avatar State when we got hurt."
"That's why," Tomoe said, turning back towards Ada. "You got a scar, proved you'd already been hurt, didn't need to get hit again. People stop beating on you so much. Once people caught on to that, they started, well -some kids would do anything for a little peace and quiet."
Ad nodded uncomfortably. She had not been expecting any pleasant answer, but that was particularly unpleasant.
"Me and Cia were the ones what came up with it," Tomoe continued. "On account of my eye and her burns."
"How'd you lose your eye anyway?" Whistler asked. Context was important on these kinds of things.
"Long story, not really important," Tomoe said dismissively. It sounded like it wasn't a particularly interesting story anyway. "We've got enough to deal with right now without wasting time blabbing about my eye."
To emphasize her point, the elevator began to grind, quite literally, to a halt. Ada was more than ready to leave the rickety elevator, but Tomoe held her hand out to hold them back. They would be facing Takuga directly when they exited. Tomoe wanted to make sure they made a good impression. Tomoe led the way, and the others followed behind her in a procession.
What the saw next was not exactly a scene befitting a roughshod gang of orphans squatting in a skyscraper. The scene to be found here would not be out of place in a throne room or a temple.
Hordes of soldiers lined one long procession hall along the center of the room. Though they wore no uniform, all of them had the bear-claw emblem of Takuga emblazoned on their clothing. The line of guards led across the room and towards a pedestal, only slightly raised above the ground, on which sat an imposing throne, and on that throne sat an even more imposing figure.
Takuga had the appearance of a warrior more than a queen: she was tall, solidly built, and muscular. Ada noted a distinct resemblance to Korra, even. The Bear's likeness to the former Avatar was somewhat limited by four large, jagged scars along the left side of her face, marking her cheek and shredding a portion of her ear, though the cuts did not reach her face. The clothing she wore was the deep blue that often found its way into waterbender wardrobes, though her garb was accentuated by scavenged armor plates and lined with coarse brown fur.
The infamous Bear relaxed slightly upon seeing Tomoe arrive, though her position became somewhat more critical as her guests approached. Her blue eyes narrowed as she looked over the three new arrivals.
"I recall requesting the Avatar," Takuga said. Her voice was strong but heavy. Whistler recognized that tone very easily. Takuga labored under a burden she did not want to bear. That kind of endeavor created a noticeable burden on the soul. Whistler crossed her arms and evaluated The Bear further.
"The Avatar has an army to run," Tomoe said. "He promised to come meet you as soon as he can, and he sent some of his best friends in the meantime."
Unsure of what to do, Ada stayed standing still. She wasn't sure if this was a formal event, and she should bow, or if the orphans might be offended by that. Hanjo likewise stood frozen in uncertainty. Whistler waved casually at Takuga and then scratched an itch behind her ear as she looked around the room.
Takuga's lips pursed into a thin and harsh frown. For a moment it seemed like she was about to say something critical.
"Leadership is a burden," a gentle voice from the sidelines said. "You should understand that, Bear."
The crowd of guards lining the main procession parted for a moment, and a woman who could be none other than Cia stepped forward. As Tomoe had said, her arms and face were heavily scarred. The long robe she wore was sleeveless and had a low collar, to expose as much of her scarred skin as possible, but though the robe flaunted her red burns, her posture attempted to hide them. She kept her arms crossed and her chin low. Her long black hair, as Tomoe had boasted of, was well-taken care of and neatly groomed, a surprising quality amidst her somewhat unkempt fellows.
Cia stepped towards the throne where Takuga sat, though not too close, and Ada saw a subtle glimmer in her eyes. The Bear took a brief look at her scarred advisor, and her critical gaze softened visibly. Takuga let out a subtle sigh and turned back towards Ada.
"I'd rather the Avatar had simply sent word that he'd come later," Takuga said. Some of her harshness had quickly returned. "I have nothing to discuss with the three of you."
"We are ranking officers in the Coalition," Ada said. "I can fill you in on the details, lay out some preliminary-"
"You can discuss it with Tomoe," Takuga declared firmly. "I will negotiate with the Avatar and no one else."
She rose quickly, leaving her throne behind. She didn't like to sit in a throne anyway, but it was occasionally necessary to make the right impression. She had no business here, though, so it was no longer necessary.
"These three are my guests," she said, gesturing to Ada and the others. "Take care of them as if they were one of us."
With that final command, Takuga left the room. The strict order of the room began to decay as she left. Ordered rows of guards dispersed into a jumbled crowd as people resumed their business. Ada was a bit disappointed that they hadn't accomplished anything with Takuga, but Tomoe knew it was too easy to write it off yet. She led the three visitors forward through the crowd.
As Tomoe had expected, Cia was waiting. She seemed the most excited of any of Takuga's gang to see their new guests. She stepped forward and greeted them warmly. Ada noticed that she wore makeshift jewelry: though it was not actual gold or jewels, the polished metal and glass was the closest thing to valuables one might find in a slum.
"It's wonderful to see you all," Cia said happily. "I've heard so many stories."
Most of the members of Bear's gang were insular and narrow-minded, concerned with little to nothing beyond their own well-being, but Cia was much more open minded. She made an effort to hear about everything that was happening in the world, the Avatar especially.
"All the good stories, I hope," Hanjo said. "Some of them are a bit of a mess."
While they'd had a good run, some of their escapades had been messier than others. Hanjo would never be particularly proud of their encounter with the sleep spirit Natae.
"I'm very impressed with them all, actually," Cia said. "Though, it's very hard to get details about what happened when you were in the Spirit World. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to, sometime-"
"Hanjo can fill you in on that," Whistler said. She didn't particularly want to talk about some of the things she'd done in the Spirit World.
"I'd be happy to," Hanjo said. "Though I'm not a good storyteller."
"That's quite alright," Cia said. She looked around for a bit, heard a click, and tensed up slightly. "You can take some time to think it through, find the right words. I have something I must attend to at the moment."
Cia excused herself with a shallow bow and departed quickly. Tomoe turned to Hanjo and nodded.
"Story time's good. Gives you some time to talk to Cia, then Cia talks to the Bear. Works in our favor."
"I don't know if I'm comfortable with using her like that," Ada said. The rest gave her a curious look. Convincing Takuga was the entire reason they were here.
"You get cold feet all of a sudden?"
"I just feel like I'd be exploiting their relationship," Ada said quietly.
"Relationship? They're queen and advisor, lady, this is what they do," Tomoe said firmly.
"I mean their relationship relationship, Tomoe," Ada said. "They're in love."
Tomoe seemed initially confused, and then she scoffed at the idea.
"You been here for fifteen minutes, buddy, I think you need to cool down," Tomoe said. "I've been working with those two for near fifteen years now. If they were doing anything behind the scenes I'd know about it."
"I know love, and I know what I saw," Ada said indignantly.
"I think maybe you're making some bold assumptions," Hanjo said. Ada crossed her arms.
"When you're in love you learn to notice these things," She said stubbornly. Of course nobody else saw it. None of them loved someone else the way she loved Canto.
"Yeah, you think what you want to think," Tomoe said with a chuckle. "I think I would know if those two were an item."
Cia rested her head on Takuga's chest while Takuga ran her fingers through Cia's shimmering hair, curling the ends around her fingers in small circles.
"Don't pull so much," Cia objected, shifting her head slightly. "You're going to give me split ends."
Takuga immediately stopped and wrapped her arms around Cia, leaning down to press her scarred cheek against Cia's hair.
It was difficult for the two of them to be alone together, but they found a way. The skyscraper they called home was in a state of disrepair. A few loose wall panels, a bit of rubble to disguises the entrance, a little bit of purposeful disorganization to make sure the area seemed uninhabited, and they managed to construct a private sanctum for themselves. It certainly helped that Takuga could order everyone to avoid this part of the building.
She had never for a minute intended to build a following like this, but it had happened regardless. She had never been able to rein in her conscience. Orphan after orphan was abandoned on the streets of Bac Ria, and one by one Takuga had found them and made them into a twisted kind of family. She did not regret her path, not once, but sometimes she wished it was not so much of a burden. It was hard for her to find time for the things she actually wanted to do –and the people she wanted to be with. She held Cia just a little tighter.
Cia seemed further away today than usual. She was usually the one who wanted to make the most of their brief time together. She was an exceptionally private individual. Though she was not afraid of people by any means, there was a core to her character that almost no one ever saw. Besides Takuga, of course. It was at Cia's insistence that their relationship was entirely private.
"Why wouldn't you talk to them?"
Takuga nodded her head. She did not like to discuss business in private, but she had promised to always be open and honest with Cia.
"It wouldn't have accomplished anything," She said. "All they can offer is probably's and maybe's. Only the Avatar can actually make a deal."
"There's something else," Cia said. She could read Takuga like a book. Takuga bit her lip slightly.
"I wanted to ask the Avatar about something," She said. "I wanted to ask him about a favor I might want, depending on if it is possible."
"What kind of favor?"
Takuga locked her fingers together nervously, gripping Cia tightly. She was worried about how Cia might react. She had been hoping to avoid this topic in conversation until she had spoken with the Avatar.
"He can heal. He has access to so much, even Spirit Water. I wanted to ask him, to find out, if it is possible or not…to heal burn scars."
Takuga could feel Cia shrink in her grasp, retreating in on herself. Takuga gripped her ever tighter.
Though she tried to hide it, and made a good show of it, Cia's scars weighed heavily on her. Even as she wore sleeveless robes as if to flaunt them, she wore jewelry to distract from the burns, and she focused obsessively on her hair, the one part of her that the fire had not damaged. Her self-esteem was a delicate thing, and Takuga had to tread carefully around it.
"You know it's not like that," Takuga said quietly. "You are beautiful, Cia. I just want you to look at yourself and not have to remember what he did to you."
Unlike many of her fellows, Cia had not been abandoned by her parents. Her firebender father and earthbender mother had been more than willing to keep her home – after severely burning her to see whether or not she was the Avatar. Cia had run from home on her own accord, and had eventually come to Takuga's doorstep. The Bear was the only one who knew the story behind her scars.
Her self-pity came to an end as Cia felt Takuga's hands slowly release their tight grip and wander along her arms, eventually taking hold of her hands. Cia looked up to see Takuga's face. What she saw, as she always did, was nothing but love. Cia lifted her head to kiss her lover. For a moment Takuga felt like everything was perfect, but even as they kissed, Cia pulled her scarred hand away from Takuga's grasp. She had never liked to have her scars touched.
Tomoe and Ada quickly found themselves a distraction. Tomoe had been boasting about her armory, and Ada had demanded to see it at once. Apparently Tomoe was quite the avid collector of swords.
Ada had been expecting a meager collection: impressive, perhaps, to someone as down on their luck as Tomoe, but nothing special overall. She got significantly more than she was expecting.
The skyscraper that Takuga had claimed had plenty of room to spare, and so Tomoe had claimed an entire floor as her personal armory and training ground. She made use of every inch of that space. The walls were so thick with blades that you might think it was simply patterned wallpaper. After Ada had collected her jaw from the floor, she began to examine the swords more carefully.
"They're probably mostly junk," Tomoe said, dripping with humility. "But I figure there's got to be one or two decent ones hiding in here."
There were a handful of swords she knew to be of high quality, and these were the ones she wore on her belt. As Ada examined the bulk of her collection, Tomoe placed her curved tachi on a table along with a few other blades.
"Where did you get all these swords?"
Ada poked through the blades one by one. As Tomoe had said, they were mostly junk blades, made of cheap iron. There were a few examples of moderate quality, but not anything Ada would want to take into a fight.
"Steal them from people, mostly," Tomoe said. "I mean, is steal the right word? I beat them in a fight and then I take their sword."
Ada put one of the blades back on the wall and continued her examination.
"You know, lady, speaking of which…"
Ada looked away from the blades with one eyebrow raised. Tomoe was standing within arm's length, holding a blade ready in her hands.
"Is this a challenge?"
"Obviously I'm not going to try and take your sword from you, but I think it could be fun," Tomoe said. "You and I are both swordswomen, why not have a sparring match?"
"No offense, Tomoe, but you're not on my level," Ada boasted. "I've been trained by some of the best artists in the world –and the Spirit World."
"Hey, I've got a lot of experience, I could put up a-"
Tomoe paused suddenly when she felt the flat edge of a blade press against her neck. Her sword was still resting casually in place.
"I didn't even see you do that," Tomoe said, shocked by Ada's speed.
"Like I said," Ada bragged. "Not the same class."
She sheathed her sword. Tomoe hesitantly grabbed at the air where it had once been. She put her sword and down and held a hand out.
"Could I try that out?"
Ada drew her blade once again and handed it over. Tomoe held the blade gingerly at first, and then more firmly. She turned it in her hands. She'd never owned a sword that she could see her reflection in. Even her best sword might as well have been scrap metal compared to Ada's.
Tomoe spread her feet into a fighting stance and tried out the swords reach. Ada and Tomoe were nearly identical in height and weight, so the sword was perfectly balanced for her. She tried thrusts, slashed, and parries, and Ada saw a subtle smile flash on Tomoe's face. After her mock combat had ended, Tomoe looked the sword over once again, gently running her fingers against the shining flat of the blade.
Snapping quickly out of reverent state, Tomoe handed the sword back and crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Still like two-handed blades better," She said firmly. Ada chuckled to herself. From the look in Tomoe's eyes, she'd been just a few seconds short of refusing to give the sword back. Clearly she wanted one of her own.
"Just a second," Ada said. She had spotted something curious earlier, but had been waiting to examine it more closely. She proceeded towards the far wall of the chamber, to another sword. She grabbed one resting in a black leather scabbard and thoroughly examined it. She found exactly what she had expected to find.
"Just what I thought," She said confidently. She walked back to Tomoe and held out the sword and its sheath. "You had one of Sokka's blades sitting under your nose."
Before he had retrieved his famous Space Sword, Sokka had tried his hand at forging a few replacement blades. Though he had eventually outmatched Master Piandao in swordplay, he had never been quite as good at sword-smithing, and so his blades were slightly less prized, explaining how one had fallen into Tomoe's possession.
"How can you tell Sokka made it?"
"It's got his face on it."
Ada flipped the metal blade over and revealed a crude doodle of a human head.
"I thought that was a Hog-Monkey," Tomoe said.
"Not the point," Ada said, sheathing the blade and hiding the crude carving. "The blade's not in the best condition. Person who owned it before you probably didn't know how to take care of a sword…"
"Okay, so that clearly isn't going to be my cool sword," Tomoe said. "Where are you going with this?"
"My old master, Yakkul, is a big fan of Sokka," Ada said. "He's also the smith that made this sword to replace my old ones."
Ada handed over Sokka's old blade to Tomoe. She eyed it jealously.
"If I give him this, he'd probably be grateful enough to make me a sword like that."
"Exactly," Ada said. "Might give you some lessons, too."
Tomoe turned Sokka's blade over in her hands. She'd been living her whole life on scavenged blades, training herself by fighting thugs and bandits. It would be a dream come true to actually have a decent blade, to train with a real master. Tomoe was not in the habit of expressing gratitude, though. Thank you's were always awkward. She decided to change the subject instead.
"Why'd Yakkul have to replace your swords? Things made like that shouldn't ever break down," Tomoe said.
"Oh, there was-" Ada hesitated almost immediately. Very few people knew about the impurity in her old blades. She had been trying to keep it a secret as much as possible. She didn't want to risk Ko Rin getting word of her suspicions. But Tomoe was a non-factor in that, and she could use to talk about it.
"In my old swords, the ones my master got for me, there was a…flaw. One he put there on purpose," Ada explained. "The blades had a raw iron core."
"Blades made of mixed materials don't hold together very well," Tomoe said.
"Exactly," Ada said. "I can't help but wonder why? What could he possibly have to gain by giving me defective swords?"
"I can't say why exactly, but I know that this guy is bad news," Tomoe said without hesitation. "When you're in a knock-down drag out brawl, your sword can be the difference between living and dying. This guy gives you a lousy sword, he's saying he doesn't care about your life."
Ada wrung her hands together nervously. She'd been following Ko Rin's orders her whole life. He had been training her and teaching her since she was a little girl. The swords had seemed like a thoughtful gift at the time –but now all those years of cooperation had been poisoned by suspicion and deceit. Ada toyed with the pommel of her sword. Something had to be done.
Hanjo had taken the most proactive approach in getting to know the people they might soon be working with. Though he wasn't quite in the same situation, Hanjo's life had been quite similar to most of these orphans. They could sympathize with him, and he could sympathize with them.
Hanjo had begun this conversation by talking about orphanages and the experiences they'd shared, but the conversation had drifted away from that and towards the Avatar's journey. A crowd had gathered around him expecting stories of their adventures. The crowd seemed overwhelmingly interested in Miyani and Sen. They were the flashiest, after all. The only person who ever asked more in-depth questions was Cia.
"Why didn't Miyani break you out of prison instead of wandering around randomly?"
"Couldn't find me," Hanjo said. That was the first question about himself he had answered so far. Hanjo was bombarded with questions about Sen and Miyani, Suda, Ada, Whistler, Ariak, even Gun, but he noticed very few questions about his own adventures. He hadn't had many, maybe, but there were still some good stories to be told.
"Could Miyani beat the Avatar in a fight?"
"I don't think so? I don't imagine they'd ever get in a fight anyway," Hanjo said.
"Why don't all seven of you travel together?" Cia asked. She had been hoping to see all seven of the great heroes together.
"It's just more efficient to spread us out."
"I have a question," Another voice cried out. This voice seemed more hostile than curious. The crowd parted slightly to let someone pass. Jeong, one of The Bear's men, stepped forward, with a sidekick in tow. Hanjo recognized the sidekick, somehow. Cia saw Jeong's face and immediately retreated a few steps. She wanted to avoid conflict.
"How dare you show your face here, act like you're one of us?" Jeong said. He was a large man, muscular, but with a large round belly. His jaw was square and scowling.
"It might be because I am," Hanjo said. "I grew up in an orphanage and got clubbed by wandering thugs like the rest of you."
"And for the past months you've been living in luxury hotels, having your every need catered to," Jeong. He was speaking loudly, trying to put on a show. He had an agenda with this speech. "All because what? You were in the right place at the right time?"
"That's not-"
Jeong was quick to interrupt him. He pushed his sidekick forward, and Hanjo finally recognized him.
"You all recognize Suluk," Jeong said loudly. Suluk was glaring angrily at Hanjo. "He grew up in the very same orphanage as Hanjo!"
Hanjo looked over his former companion with curiosity and concern. He had never associated with the other orphans at Beaker Hall much, but he recognized Suluk's face. They had definitely grown up together, though they had not been friends or even acquaintances.
"How did you get all the way to the Republic?"
"After you and Sen got us all kicked out on the streets again," Suluk began. "We had to wander. I was lucky to make it this far."
"We were lucky to find Suluk, he was starving and exhausted when he came to us," Jeong shouted. "He came from the same place as you, Hanjo, why was he starving while you were getting famous and fat?"
Hanjo had had quite enough of this. He stood up and, in an odd, twist, removed his shirt. He turned his back to Jeong and Suluk, and they winced visibly.
"This look fat to you?"
Up and down Hanjo's back ran deep red scars, massive gouges in skin. An impressive collection of scars earned from his duel at Tunuk Bay, the day he'd nearly died fighting the Energybender. Hanjo turned again, displaying the red slashes to all. Cia twitched nervously as she saw the deep red scars.
"If you want to try and make me look like the bad guy here, Jeong, you're going to have to try a lot harder," Hanjo said. "I've suffered and struggled as much as any of you."
Hanjo turned towards Suluk. He had shrunk visibly since first confronting Hanjo.
"And as for you, Suluk," Hanjo said aggressively. "You want to know why I got to be the 'lucky' one? Why I'm with the Avatar?"
Hanjo stepped forward and pointed at Suluk calling him out in front of the entire crowd of orphans.
"When me and Sen were fighting those bandits, when we made a stand, where were you? What were you doing?"
Suluk took a step back, and Hanjo took a step forward in turn.
"What were you doing?" He repeated.
Suluk looked at the floor in shame. Hanjo decided to answer for him.
"Nothing," he spat. "I earned everything I have, because I fought for it. And you did nothing."
Suluk turned his back and vanished into the crowd of scarred orphans. Hanjo stared down Jeong for a second. In return he received hateful glare. This wasn't a personal vendetta on Jeong's part. He had a larger goal in mind, and a possibly dangerous one at that. Hanjo sighed and retrieved his shirt. That might be trouble.
Hanjo put his shirt back on and sat down. When he did so, the conversation resumed as it had before, but this time, people were asking many more questions about Hanjo.
Takuga's chamber echoed with sounds of mock violence. The world was a harsh place, and she made sure she could be just as harsh.
She slammed against her training target with quick jabs of water, then followed up with her own bare fists. Water could be hard to find in an urban setting, so she knew not to rely on her bending too heavily.
"You want a sparring partner?"
Takuga spun sharply, launching a bolt of water in a reflexive defense. She was not used to being snuck up on. Whistler tried to sidestep the attack, but found it flying too fast for even her reflexes. The bolt of water struck her shoulder and knocked her to the ground. She was slightly hurt, but mostly impressed. Few people were strong enough to hit her that easily.
"That was a reflex," Takuga said. "I am sorry."
Whistler shrugged off the blow easily enough, although her shoulder would likely be sore for hours. She stood up. Takuga stepped away from the training area while Whistler stepped into the center.
"A fight could do you good," Whistler said. "Probably haven't fought an airbender before. You could use the experience."
"I have fought an airbender before," Takuga said. Whistler found that hard to believe, but then she remembered that Takuga was, technically, a criminal. She stole to feed herself and her people, but it was stealing all the same. The Air Nation had close ties to the Republic, and had stepped in to try and lower the crime rates in Bac Ria.
"I take it you won?"
"Enough that they stopped sending airbenders against me," Takuga said. She had never been excited about fighting the airbenders; she respected their ideals, to an extent. The fact that they had tried to capture Takuga instead of help her showed that they were out of touch with the real problems that plagued Bac Ria.
Whistler kicked her foot awkwardly. She had been counting on that to lead her conversation.
"I take it you want something," Takuga said. She highly doubted that Whistler would seek her out simply for a sparring match.
"Wanted to let you know something," Whistler said. "Take it you're not the kind of person who likes people scheming behind her back."
"Are your friends planning something?"
"Not in so many words," Whistler said awkwardly. "Hanjo thinks Jeong might be trying to sabotage your talk with the Avatar."
Takuga placed a hand on her chin. Jeong had been disappearing for several days at a time recently, and he had taken a critical stance Takuga's proposed alliance with the Coalition. It was not an entirely unfounded theory.
"They were going to tell you soon, but they wanted to talk it over and plan for it on their own first," Whistler said. "I figured it's your men, it's your problem."
"If Jeong has taken any action that puts my plans at risk, he will be severely punished," Takuga said harshly. "And if he intends to put my people at risk, I will throw him out of my tower personally."
"You exile people often?"
"Occasionally. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Whistler," Takuga said. "I will deal with Jeong."
"We could deal with him too," Whistler said. "Ada and Hanjo are probably making a plan. If you want to let us handle it, we will."
"This is my concern, I will deal with it," Takuga said. She waved her hand sharply, trying to close the conversation. Whistler relented, waiting in silence for a moment. Takuga had her back turned, and she seemed to be expecting Whistler to leave.
"I know you didn't want to talk business with anyone but Sen, but can I ask a question?"
"You may," She said curtly.
"Why'd you decide to join up with the Coalition?"
"People are angry, and they need a focus for that anger," Takuga said dismissively.
"But why come to us? There are a lot of ways you could have handled-"
"I have seen the consequences from both sides, Whistler," Takuga said. "The children are not the only ones who were wounded by the abandonment."
Takuga clenched her first and looked out blankly for a moment, seeming contemplative.
"Years ago a grown man came through this city, looking for his son. Takaya, the boys name was. Never learned the father's name. He was so focused on finding his son…All he did was beg me for help, asking if I'd ever met anyone named Takaya."
"Had you?"
"No," Takuga said with a hint of guilt. "I pointed him to an old legend from the North, something about witches, and that was all I could do."
She paused for a moment and thought about the incident. She was not a storyteller, and she had failed to properly convey how desperate and miserable the man had seemed.
"This conflict hurts both sides, Whistler. I want it to end."
Whistler nodded. Takuga had seemed conflicted in a way, enough that Whistler was worried about her, but she seemed to be sincere in her desire to help end the tension between the generations. There was still something troubling about Takuga personally, but Whistler had already overstayed her welcome. It wouldn't do to pry.
Though Whistler had managed to sneak up on Takuga, her two companions were not so stealthy.
"Bear, there's something we need to-"
Ada paused when she saw Whistler.
"You already told her, didn't you?"
Whistler shrugged nonchalantly.
"Whistler, can you not play the renegade role just once?" Ada asked. "You need to work with us."
"Wild card, baby!" Whistler shouted, throwing her hands in the air recklessly. She exited the room immediately. Takuga shook her head and dismissed Ada and Hanjo.
Takuga had decided to take the matter of the investigation into her own hands. Whistler, Ada, and Hanjo were left sitting on the sidelines quite uselessly while The Bear scoured her tower for any signs of Jeong's iniquities. Several days had passed since then, and they were getting quite tired of waiting.
Sen had recently radioed to let them know he was on his way, and his arrival would hopefully simplify the process. He had both the intelligence and the power to make sure that even the most complex scenarios came out for the best.
They had been granted a room of their own for privacies sake, but the privacy was a bit lacking. Their door did not have a lock, and Tomoe exploited that fact to walk right in.
"Hey, The Bear tracked Jeong's buddies down," Tomoe said. The three visitors immediately sprang into action, for reasons Tomoe vastly misinterpreted. Being in the Avatar's company had gotten Ada and the others used to being the only people around who were capable of doing anything useful. Tomoe knew very well that when Takuga was on the warpath, the only thing anyone else had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.
They tracked The Bear to the site of her rampage, and paused slightly when they saw the full extent of it. Several dozen of Jeong's co-conspirators were scattered around the room, in various states of injury. One of them had been forcibly pushed through a wall, leaving his legs dangling helplessly. The Bear herself did not have so much as a scrape or a bruise, in stark contrast to Jeong, whose skin now seemed to be entirely composed of pain.
"I meant only the best for us," He begged desperately. Takuga did not seem to hear him. She stepped forward swiftly as Jeong backed away, pressing himself against a large glass window while he pleaded.
"You can't really think the Avatar will-"
"Shut up," Takuga said. There was enough fire in her voice to make the largest inferno seem like a wet match. She stepped forward and grabbed Jeong forcibly by the shirt, dragging him upwards.
"You put my people in danger," Takuga roared. "For that, you are exiled from this tower."
There was a moment of brief relief on Takuga's bruised face, but it came to a swift and merciless end when he saw the hatred on Takuga's face, and felt the pressure of the cold glass against his back.
"Effective immediately."
Takuga lifted Jeong off the ground and forced him backwards, pushing him through the window violently. The sound of shattered glass falling to the floor almost muffled Jeong's scream as he made a rapid downward descent.
"Was that really necessary?"
"Yes," Takuga said grimly. "Jeong was working with the Energybender. He was going to supply them with information on our tower while they-"
There was a loud sound of breaking glass from below, followed shortly thereafter by screaming.
"Attacked my people," Takuga roared. The Energybender meant to prevent The Bear and the Avatar from joining forces, at any cost. Sarin's actions had already ruined the lives of almost everyone in this tower, and he was willing to do even worse if necessary.
"Ada, take your people and go to the ground floor," Takuga shouted. "Tomoe, with me."
"Shouldn't we all be going to the ground?" Tomoe asked. "That's where they'll be coming-"
Tomoe was interrupted by another crash of breaking glass, this time much closer. The nearest window exploded in a shower of razor shards as a masked airbender dove through. Before the gray-masked soldier had even hit the ground, Takuga struck him out of the air with a swift strike of water, knocking him backwards and right back out the window.
"They'll be coming from every angle," Takuga said. She had interrogated Jeong about this attack before 'exiling' him. The enemy had numerous airbenders ready to break in from above while the rest made a charge from below.
"You people take charge of the entrance," Takuga said, pointing at Ada, Whistler, and Hanjo. "Tomoe and I will start at the top and sweep downwards."
Takuga did not waste time further elaborating on any plan. Some leaders, like Sen, overcame problems with careful thought and deliberation, but Takuga was the kind of leader who solved her problems by annihilating them entirely.
As she made a single-minded charge upwards to the top floor, Takuga rarely paused for more than a second to deal with intruders to her home. Airbenders were crashing through windows and broken holes in the wall in droves. Takuga forced them back out, often violently, but she could not spare more than a moment for each. Tomoe gradually fell behind as Takuga made her way to the top floor. More and more enemy soldiers were pouring in every second. The airbenders gliding into the tower were starting to bring friends; soldiers wielding earth, fire, and water were also starting to arrive.
Exactly as Takuga had feared, the top floor was already overrun by the time she arrived. Most of the soldiers jumping over from neighboring skyscrapers had been looking for her. They meant to take Takuga out, thinking with her gone the Avatar could never unite the orphans of Bac Ria. As soon as they laid eyes on her, the horde in the penthouse converged.
The first to approach her learned the hard way that she would not be taken out easily. The chaotic penthouse was filled with the sound of cracking bone and cartilage as Takuga's fist slammed into his face. While he still reeled from the blow, Takuga grabbed him, hefted him off the ground, and threw the soldier bodily into the nearest opponent.
Water was a scarce resource here at the top of the tower, but Takuga scavenged what she could to create blades and prisons of ice. Where she could not use water she used her own fists, proving her fearsome reputation was well-deserved. The Bear was outnumbered, facing dozens as just one, but she never faltered for a second. Whenever she took a hit, she powered through the blow, and retaliated a hundred-fold what she had received.
"That's quite enough, 'Bear'," A mocking voice cried.
The futile onslaught stopped, and Takuga had a moment to breathe. She watched cautiously as the enemy backed away. The circle of soldiers that had surrounded her eventually broke open. Apparently they had something they wanted to show her.
One of the soldiers in red robes, a firebender, had shed his mask, all the better to mock Takuga with. He was standing in front of a regiment of captured orphans- hostages. Takuga scowled as she looked over the captives. Not all of the orphans in the tower knew how to fight. The Energybender had gone after noncombatants, an underhanded tactic that only served to anger Takuga further.
"Let them go now and no one gets thrown out a window," Takuga said matter-of-factly.
"You aren't in control here," The firebender shouted back. He was clearly frustrated that Takuga was no intimidated by his hostages. He looked at the circle of hostages he had rounded up and reached to grab a particular target.
Cia was dragged out of the crowd, letting out a slight shriek of fear as she was pulled forcibly to the front. Takuga grit her teeth. Of course it would be Cia. She was the smallest and most easily frightened, a perfect target for any bully looking to intimidate someone.
The maskless firebender pulled Cia close and ignited a small spark in his hands, holding the red flames close to Cia's face. She tried to pull away from the burning fire, fear apparent on her features, but the firebender forced her to stay close. He only had a grip on one of her arms, but Cia was not strong enough to escape all the same.
"Oh look, she's afraid of fire," the firebender said sadistically. He forced his flame ever closer to Cia's already burnt face, eliciting a fearful cry from the young woman. Takuga clenched her fists. She was going to make him pay for this.
"We never wanted to do anything like this," the firebender said, lying through his teeth. "But you forced our hand when you started dealing with the Avatar."
"I'm going to break every part of you that can be broken," Takuga said firmly. She would not be intimidated by anyone, much less this nameless firebending mook.
"You're going to surrender," The firebender shouted. "So this girl doesn't get burned even worse!"
He turned towards his captive and forced the flames ever closer. Cia wasn't looking at him. She was staring unflinchingly at Takuga, and the way she was standing firm in the face of any threat.
"Look at me," The firebender commanded. Cia complied. Her lip was still trembling in fear, but she was making a concerted effort to stop herself. "Wouldn't you like to get away from the fire?"
The red sparks danced in front of her eyes. Cia could feel the heat lick her skin, a burning reminder of her past. She bit her quivering lip to steady herself.
"Don't be afraid, Cia," Takuga said. She briefly dropped her threatening tone to reassure Cia. "I'll get you out of this. I promise."
Cia's eyes darted between the fire and the Bear. Fear was still evident on her features, but something in her panicked mind had steadied itself. Her darting eyes settled on the fire that burned just in front of her.
"You can't," Cia said mournfully. Those words hit Takuga harder than any of the blows that had ever struck her. Cia had always trusted her and relied on her. "You can't get me away from the fire."
The firebender chuckled viciously, his sadism finally satisfied. His fun came to an end as Cia turned sharply and held up her free hand to his face. She could not escape the fire, as she could not escape herself.
There was a brief crackling sound as a crude gout of flame burst forth from Cia's palm, scorching the face of her captor. He let out a brief howl of pain and released Cia as he clawed at his burnt eyes in pain. Cia herself stepped backwards, overcome with shock at what she had just done.
Without the firebender holding her lover captive, Takuga had no more reason to restrain herself. She made good on her promises; in the few short minutes of rampaging that ensued, there were many broken windows and even more broken bones. The former hostages cowered on the sidelines as The Bear clawed her way through the scattered ranks of the enemy.
As her rampage neared an end, Takuga zeroed in on a target of particular importance. The unmasked firebender who had dared to threaten Cia laid sprawled out on the floor, still clutching at his burnt face. Takuga grabbed him by the collar and dragged him towards a window.
"I told you," She growled. "I gave you every warning."
"You think this is over?"
He started to laugh. As the sounds of conflict had died down, Takuga now recognized the metallic grinding of gears that signaled the rise of the elevator. She paused to look towards the metal doors.
"We're just the vanguard," The firebender boasted. "You may have beaten us, but you'll never beat the Crusher."
The firebender continued laughing his raucous laughter. All eyes turned towards the gradually rising elevator. It was gradually getting closer. The Energybender troops that remained conscious began to chant his title. "Crusher" they repeated, over and over. Takuga released her grip on the firbender's collar and stepped towards the elevator.
The metal door slipped open, and the Crusher was revealed. He was a massive man, nearly six feet tall and covered in muscle, and his bare skin was coated in thick scars that showed off a lifetime of war.
The Crusher promptly fell forward onto his face, and Sen stepped over his unconscious body.
"Well," he said, surveying the room, and Takuga. "I see your reputation wasn't exaggerated."
The Avatar seemed impressed by the carnage that Takuga had wrought. The Bear herself was frozen slightly. She was used to being the strongest person in the room, but Sen carried an aura of power that hit her like a hammer and suddenly made her feel very small.
"Hey Bear," Tomoe said, stepping out behind Sen. "The Avatar showed up."
"I see that," Takuga said flatly.
"We dealt with everything else," Sen said. "Your tower is completely safe now."
Takuga nodded thankfully and finally relaxed. It was hard to come down from an adrenaline high so suddenly. Sen stepped forward, adjusting his gait slightly to step over someone that Takuga had knocked unconscious.
"I know you probably have a lot to deal with right now, but I did bring the Coalition along," Sen said. "Whenever you're ready to talk business-"
"I have something I need to do first," Takuga said absentmindedly. She looked over her shoulder. Cia was out of sight already. She excused herself quickly and went after Cia. Takuga knew very well where she would be.
They reunited the same place they always did, out of sight from anyone else, hidden between broken walls. Cia was on her knees, staring at her hand. The same scarred hand that had once been so viciously burned by fire years ago, and had just moments ago burned another. Takuga approached her cautiously and knelt by her side. She allowed Cia a moment of silence before she asked the question.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Cia did not respond immediately. Takuga gave her time to think.
"I wished I wasn't," Cia said mournfully. "Every day I hated myself for what I was. I wanted it to go away."
Bending was an aspect of the self that could not be forgotten. Even if bending was ignored, never expressed or refined, it shaped the way a person felt, the way they connected to the world around them. No matter how hard Cia tried to repress herself, she felt the connection to the very same fire she feared so much.
"I understand," Takuga said.
"No you don't," Cia said stubbornly. Takuga bit her tongue. She knew what it was like to be something you didn't want to be, but it might be hard for Cia to see that.
"Come with me," She said, grabbing Cia gingerly by the wrist. "And I'll show you."
Cia did not like being pulled around, but she relented. Takuga was wordless as they descended the tower and headed for the streets of Bac Ria. The rugged road was covered in vehicles and people as the Coalition forces and The Bear's orphans mingled for the first time.
"So, I see Suda didn't come with," Hanjo observed.
"Still recovering," Sen assured her. Suda was making nearly miraculous progress considering his injuries, but he was still out of the fight for now. Everyone else in Sen's inner circle was present, though. It was a bit intimidating to approach the crowd of heroes, but Takuga managed. Cia followed close behind, hiding behind Takuga like a shy child behind her parent.
"Bear, good to see you," Sen said.
"You can call me Takuga," She said, trying to sound casual. She scratched her arm nervously and continued. "You brought a lot of soldiers with you."
"They're not all soldiers," Sen said. "I brought medics, engineers, radio operators, even a few tailors and cooks. All the things you need to keep an army running."
Sen stepped to Takuga's side and observed the mass of troops and young adults. There was tension between them to be sure, but gradually, they were beginning to meet in the middle.
"I want to put as few of them as possible on the front lines," Sen said. "We'll take whoever's willing to learn and teach them how to heal, how to build machines, how to create something. That way when the war is over they'll have something they can make a career out of, something that will help them stay away from the streets."
The process was already beginning. Fighting was a way of life in Bac Ria, but they had picked up other talents as well. Somebody had to supply the food and clothing, keep the elevators running. The orphans who knew about machines were already acquainting themselves with the engineers, and many more were curious about the intricate machines of war.
"Of course, some of them will still want to fight," Sen said. He glanced at Tomoe. She was still talking about swords with Ada. That one would never be satisfied doing anything but fighting.
"I could use someone to lead them," Sen said. "And you're the obvious choice."
Takuga stepped forward. A look of despair crossed Cia's face as Takuga stepped away.
"Find someone else," She said.
That was a surprise to everyone, even Sen, who could usually see things coming. Tomoe broke off her conversation to gawk at her leader. Or rather, her former leader.
"I never wanted to lead anyone," Takuga said. "But someone had to take care of them. Up until now, it's been me. But with you here…"
She trailed off slightly, retreating to her own thoughts. She had been happy to watch over the orphans of Bac Ria for many years, but it had been a burden even so.
"I can trust you to take care of them," Takuga said. "I'm done. I'm going to do the things I want to do. Be with the people I want to be with."
Sen could feel a pounding heartbeat from behind Takuga. He glanced at Cia and then back to the famous Bear. He raised a single eyebrow. It was an interesting situation, to say the least.
"Well then," Sen said. "Good luck to both of you."
Ill-befitting her fearsome reputation, Takuga blushed slightly as she thanked Sen and returned to Cia. She kept a few steps away as they walked down the street together, but to Takuga's surprise, Cia was the one to close the gap and wrap her scarred fingers around Takuga's wrist, walking alongside her down the street of Bac Ria, away from the gathering army and towards their own future.
"Huh," Tomoe said, deliberately ignoring Ada's smug smile. "Guess that means I'm in charge now."
"Seems so," Sen said. He needed someone to look after the Bac Ria orphans, and Tomoe was as good a candidate as any. "What's your first order of business?"
"I'm going to need a truck to gather up all my swords," Tomoe said thoughtfully. "And then I'm going to use every single one of them to stab the bad guys."
"We're going to get along just fine," Sen said. He shook Tomoe's hand, sealing the deal.