Chapter 34: The plan
Normal POV
"Lord Zuko." Aleia whispered as she looked at the former Firelord with widen eyes as Atterita hid her face in her chest.
"And who might you be?" Lord Zuko asked as he looked at Aleia with a raised eyebrow.
"This is Aleia, she's a friend of the so called 'Monster'." Femke explained, making quote signs with her fingers as she said the last thing.
"She really isn't." Aleia smiled, moving her arms to the sides a little so Zuko could see a frail, scared and scarred young woman, trembling with fear at the sight of the Fire Lord, who just smiled at her.
"Greetings." Lord Zuko smiled as he sat down, causing Atterita to flinch away. "Don't worry; I mean you no harm."
"She'll come around." Aleia smiled as she looked at the former Fire Lord. "She just needs time."
"Back to the task at hand; won't it get noticed if we go and make a giant tunnel in the garden?" Ming Hua said.
"Unless we use the cover of dark to tunnel and cover it up when we're not bussy." Femke smirked, which made everyone look at her.
"You're getting good with these kind of things." Ilena complemented with a smile.
"I learned from the best." Femke smiled, blushing because both Zuko and Zaheer looked at her.
"Which used to concern me." Zuko smiled.
"Hey!" Femke replied as she gave zuko a small shove, which made him chuckle. "I also meant you."
"Still the bold one." He smirked.
"I should head home." Atterita stammered, surprising everyone, looking around with unease as she got up. "I will be missed if any guards show up."
"Will you be okay?" Aleia asked with a worried look as she got up as well and placed a hand on her cheek, pulling her in a hug.
"I've had some rest and food. I'll be okay." Atterita assured her friend with a smile. "We can't have anyone learning about the hatch."
"Don't worry, it won't be for long." Femke assured her, looking at Atterita with determination. "We're going to get you out of there no matter what." Atterita nodded, smiling a little before she walked over to Femke for a hug before she quickly ran up the stairs, through the hatch and to her home.
"Why can't Zuko just tell the mayor to treat Atterita better?" Ghazan brought up. "He's royalty. His word goes."
"I already tried that. He wouldn't listen to me." Zuko said.
"Your the Fire Lord."
"I tried to overrule him, but he threatened force and I don't want to turn this into a riot." Zuko said, crossing his arms.
"So how many of us are going to dig?" Ghazan asked, cracking his knuckles, ready for the task at hand.
"We should dig three on three." Femke replied after thinking for a moment. "Three of us go to sleep and three of us get to work. We each dig for five hours then the other group takes over until dawn."
"What if people see us?" Zaheer asked, which made Femke smile at him.
"We just say we're doing construction work, nothing too colorful. Just make sure everyone's on the same page when they ask and we should be fine." Femke said with a thoughtful look, at which everyone nodded. "And if all else fails, we just say we're doing it because Lord Zuko told us to."
"Who is going to start with me?" Ilene asked as she raised her hand.
"I'll go along." Dizanna said as she raised her hand, Selvia raised her hand after that, just nodding.
"In five hours Ghazan, Tarrlok and I will take over until dawn" Femke nodded firmly.
"What can we do in the meantime" Xai Bau asked after Femke was done.
"Make sure Atterita isn't getting hurt." Femke replied with a stern look.
"That can be very easily settled." Lord Zuko replied with a smirk on his face. "I just have the White Lotus guard it."
"Won't that just make things more suspicious and dangerous for her?" Ming Hua asked with a stern look.
"I doubt they will treat her even worse." Lord Zuko said.
"I really wish we could just tell them to stop being awful to her." Ming Hua sharply said.
"We could just show her to the people and hope they realize she's human like them." Femke said as she placed a hand on her chin in a pondering way.
"But…?" Noatak started, looking at Femke, knowing there was a 'but' there.
"But they might just not care." Femke said, after which she shook her head. "We best just get her out and safe before working on her reputation."
"In the meantime I'll see if I can talk with the mayor again." Zuko said. "The tunnel should be our emergency exit. Not our first plan."
"Good, I think we covered everything." Ilene said as she got up together with Dizanna and Selvia. "We better get to work."
"The rest of us should sleep." Femke said.
"I'll set up a guest room." Aleia smiled before she headed upstairs. Meanwhile, the Red Lotus team acted like they were just looking around in the garden as they looked for a good spot to start their tunnel.
"We need a spot that is out of view. Even with our alibi, it's better to do it in secret." Femke whispered as she pretended to look at some Fire Lilies that grew in the backyard.
"We also need to make sure the soil isn't too soft. We can't have it collapse." Zaheer whispered as he sat down next to me and looked at the Lillies as well. "A Fire Lily. Those mostly grow in Fire Nation colonies."
"Hama once taught Katara plants could be used to extract water by using these Lillies as an example." Femke smirked as she remembered Katara told her how hama had taught her this while she and her daughter had been with Aang trying to figure out who had attacked those villagers.
"Clever." Zaheer smirked as he got a little closer to smell them, picking one and putting it in her hair.
"Heer." Femke whispered as she got a little red in the face.
"You're prettier than any flower." He smiled, which made Femke smile before the two of them shared a small kiss.
"Once you two are done, we found a spot that looks promising." Ming Hua whispered as she gave the two of them a firm look, at which Femke nodded and got up, gently helping her boyfriend onto his feet again before they followed Ming to a dark corner in the garden were the shed and the fence made it impossible to see what was going on in the garden from both houses next to it.
"This place is perfect." Femke smirked as she and Ilene removed some of the trash that stood in a corner before Femke stomped her foot firmly on the ground. "Hard soil. No chances of collapse. We could be in the woods in a day or two."
"Faster if we would all pitch in." Ming Hua remarked.
"If we all get to work it might be noticed. Alibi or not, we don't want that." Femke remarked as she made an opening after which Ilena, Dizanna and Selvia headed in.
"Femke is right. We need to avoid suspicion." Xai Bau nodded, smiling as watched the girls disappear from sight.
"Which is going to be difficult." Noatak agreed while P'li just stared at the house Atterita was in right now. All alone and miserable. They had to take action and fast.
"We have to try. For hersake." P'li said firmly.
"We won't give up on her." Femke said firmly. "We have to keep up trying or she will be lost."
"Femke is right. We still need to be careful. We don't want to anger the mayor." Zuko said as he walked towards the group with Aleina behind him.
"From the little interaction I had with him I've gotten the impression he could be working with this Lord Darkar you told me about."
"Darkar." Femke whispered as she looked from Zuko to Zaheer with shock. "That can't be good."
"Darkar will do anything to stop us from gaining power. We've seen it in Shao Quon." Zaheer said.
"He failed there because we outsmarted him. But he will be more than eager to use whatever power he has to try and stop us." Zaheer nodded.
"Why do you think he works with Darkar?" Allerys asked.
"I shortly spoke with him when I arrived and he doesn't like taking orders from me." Zuko brought up with a pondering look. "He acted like he was above me."
"Disrespecting authority makes you evil?" Allerys asked a bit insulted.
"No, but I could feel he was hiding something. Something evil." Zuko remarked.
"Maybe he's working for Darkar." Femke realized with widened eyes.
"Femke is right." Zuko said as Aleia walked into the garden. "Atterita shouldn't be left on her own devices. That would be wrong, but this Darkar is dangerous."
"Can't you just order the mayor to let Atterita go?" Ghazan asked, leaning against the garden shed. "You are the Fire Lord after all."
"I tried but he won't listen to me." Zuko replied. "He even threatened to kick me out."
"So much for that idea." Ming Hua grumbled.
"Can he do that?" Xai Bau wondered aloud now.
"He's right. He should have obeyed you." Tziza commented.
"He should. But it looks like Darkar is interfering." Zuko replied, giving Femke a stern look as he said this.
"Darkar." Femke whispered as she looked down. "We're in more danger then we thought."
"Darkar will stop at nothing to get our powers." Zaheer said. "He already proved that at Fu-Jet."
"What happened?" Zuko asked.
"We faced Darkar along with a man named Mogui who… well… " Femke looked at P'li a little unsure.
"Were Mogui kept me as a slave for nine years until Zaheer freed me by killing him." P'li finished as Femke nodded in thanks.
"I figured murder was your first impulse." Zuko said as he shot Zaheer a firm glare.
"It was the only option we had." Zaheer said with a guilty look. "He would have never let P'li go otherwise."
"In any case." Femke interrupted with a cough. "We fought him in a sort off dream dimension, P'li got her enchantix powers, we managed to outsmart him and return home."
"That sounds like quite the adventure." Zuko nodded.
"It also proved how dangerous Darkar is with the right allies." Femke said as she looked Zuko straight in the eyes.
"We should find a way to free Atterita and get out of here as fast as we can." Zuko said, at which femke nodded and got her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.
"Femke, what are you… ?" Zaheer started, but stopped when Femke raised her hand.
"Toph, this is Femke, come to Songpan as quickly as you can. Bring the elves along as well." Femke said as soon as she noticed the phone had been picked up. "We might have to deal with Darkar."
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Toph's voice said from the other side before she hung up. A flash followed and all off a sudden Toph, along with the elves stood next to them in the garden.
"What's the dealio?" Floxy called while saluting, making Femke stifle a giggle.
"Zuko had a feeling Darkar might be involved in keeping this poor woman imprisoned." Femke said, looking sadly at the barricaded house from where she could see red eyes flash behind the window for a second. "I wanted everyone here in case we need to fight our way out."
"Hopefully we don't have to. My legs aren't fully healed." Zaheer replied.
"I hope we don't have to but we might have no choice." Femke said with a sad look, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend before bending in to give him a kiss. "Darkar will stop at nothing too get our powers."
"I still find it hard to believe what lengths he goes through." Zaheer growled as he balled his fist.
"I know it sounds hard to believe but." Femke's voice changed to a softer tone as her medallion started to glow. "Darkar does possess a heart."
"Feria?" Zaheer realised, quickly taking a step back when he saw his girlfriend's past life had taken over.
"But how? She is not the Avatar." Zuko whispered in disbelief.
"Femke is not but she and I are connected through the medallion she wears." Feria said with a small smile. "I have been with her ever since she got it and seen and guided all her actions."
"Even when she joined the Red Lotus and became an accomplice in murder?" Zuko asked.
"I never intended to make her into an accomplice but I did intend for her to join the Red Lotus." Feria smiled. "For her destiny was tied to theirs."
"Feria, we might have a problem on our hands. These people have a woman locked in that house and we think Darkar might be involved." Zaheer said, pointing to the house as Feria looked at it sadly.
"Another innocent soul fell victim to Darkar's lust for power." Feria replied before she looked down. "We have to stop him."
"How are we going to beat Darkar without getting killed ourselves?" Xai Bau asked.
"He seems to be one step ahead of us the entire time." P'li commented as she looked back at the house with a sad look.
"He is kind off a handful." Ghazan agreed, which made Ming Hua look at him firmly.
"And you made matters worse by angering her. Now she doesn't even believe we really want to help her." Ming Hua snapped, looking at Feria sadly as she said the last part.
"You will find a way to speak to her again. Her heart might be closed for now but it isn't locked." Feria said as she looked sternly at Ghazan. "But what you did was unneeded."
"How could I know she'd react like that?" Ghazan shrugged.
"You hurt her, that is not the Voortrix way." Feria reprimanded him with a stern look. "You need her, she still has a role to play."
"You mean freeing her won't be the end?" Xai Bau asked smiling.
"Who knows? Fate will reveal in due time, Master Xai Bau." Feria smiled.
"One last thing; if we manage to convince Atterita to come with us… The Mayor will probably hurt us if we tried to free her." Zaheer brought up.
"You need to gain a new power, drawn from the belief of others." Feria replied with a solemn voice. "Open your hearts, Voortrix. That will be the key to unlock the power hidden inside." Feria said right before vanished, causing femke to Faint. Zaheer moved in as fast as he could to grab her.
"Nice catch." Ghazan said while Lord Zuko looked at Zaheer with a raised eyebrow.
"How long have your legs been like that?" Zuko asked as he looked from zaheer to his legs on which Femke rested.
"A few months. I had an infection. Leftover of my jail time." Zaheer answered with a shrug while he started to rub Femke over her cheeck to make help her regain consciousness "And it's my own fault. I know that. I shouldn't have done what I have done."
"I know about the infection. Femke wrote me about it. How long has it been now?" Zuko asked as he looked at Femke worriedly.
"A few months. According to Najira the nurse my legs just need to recover by now." Zaheer answered, smiling when he saw Femke was regaining her consciousness a little.
"It doesn't seem to bother you." Zuko remarked calmly.
"I know now it is my own fault. Besides, nothing I can really do about it." Zaheer shrugged.
"That wasn't how you felt at the start." Ghazan smirked.
"After fifteen years of prison and even more after that, I can imagine how he feels that he can't walk properly." Xai Bau remarked, at which Tziza nodded.
"Sometimes life gives you lemons." Tziza commented dryly.
"Wasn't all bad. Ming had time to catch up with her mom she just found, we managed to go home and see out families again after a long time." Ghazan said. "Good stuff."
"I heard that was quite the adventure." Zuko nodded smiling when he saw Femke was groaning as a sign she was waking up and sitting up with a dazed look.
"What happened?" Femke asked, seeing everyone look at her with worry.
"Feria took over and told us we needed to gain a new power. Found by the belief of others." Zaheer repeated what Feria had just told him, which made Femke look down.
"Believix. But we don't have a Fairy Book. I know how to gain the form but I never managed to study it beyond that." Femke said.
"Can't we get one?" Ghazan asked.
"We don't have the time." Femke said, deep in thought. "We need to save Atterita now."
"Well, wouldn't new powers help?" Noatak wondered.
"We'd probably have a better shot at defeating Darkar." P'li agreed.
"Where could something like that be hidden?" Ghazan asked.
"Not anywhere… " Femke said, before her eyes widened. "I remember Daniel once told me there might be a one hidden in ruins of Voorfield."
"And where is that?" Ghazan asked.
"The Magix dimension." Ming Hua replied.
"Yeah but I feel uneasy about leaving the village behind." Femke remarked, looking back at the house of the locked woman sadly.
"I think she'll manage." Zuko nodded. "She has survived until now so she"ll be fine until you get back."
"We'll stay here to make sure nothing happens." Ilene said as she popped her head from out of the tunnel. "And we'll call if something comes up"
"We'll also keep up digging." Dizanna smiled as she popped her head out as well. "So it will be ready when we need to get out." She smirked, after which Selvia popped her head out briefly to nod before she popped back in to get back to work.
"Thanks girls, you're the best." Femke smiled before she turned to look at the rest of her friends. "Well gang, seems we're going to Voorfield next."
Femke smirked at which the group nodded, ready to do whatever it took to get the book and learn about a new Fairy Form they needed to save Atterita.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
And with that I declare this chapter DONE. I hope you all enjoyed it!
Don't forget to leave a review and thank Femke and Paranoidgirl for their hard work.