Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Wow, as of the posting of this, it's been one year since Ageless was released. This chapter is kinda short cause it's kind of a filler. But hey, something is better then nothing right? Onward!
The sight of the Republic City skyline is something I never think I'll miss every time I leave the city, yet every time I come back it's always a sight to behold. That being said, I don't like seeing the buildings up close, and by that, I mean being slammed into them repeatedly by a bucking dragon.
"Ow, ow, ow, Fucking OW, quit that!" I yelled as I clung to Ashe's neck as she repeatedly slammed me into a window of a skyscraper. The black dragon let out a bellow before diving toward the street below. Despite my back screaming in protest, I refused to let go, mainly because of if I did I would fall several stories to my death.
Now I'm sure you might be wondering, how is it that I found myself in this position? Well to tell you that, I suppose I better back up a bit.
One Hour Earlier...
Our welcome back into the city went about as well as you could expect.
"Where. Have. You. Two. Been?!" Tenzin roared, his face beat red with more then a few veins bulging outward. It wasn't just the airbending master who greeted us. Korra's father, Tonraq was there as well. Now before you go making assumptions, I did actually have Korra send updates to her parents, usually in the form of a telegraph just as we were leaving a town, if anything to keep a slight edge on those who might have been trying to track us down.
To be clear, I didn't have to do that and neither did she. Water Tribe custom dictated that a child came of age at sixteen. Even the marriage laws reflected that. Korra was a legal adult and had been for some time. By that notion she could go where she wanted, when she wanted. The main reason I had her do it was because I knew she was an only child, and I knew the worry that came from not knowing what your child was up to.
Still, walking up to Air Temple Island like we owned the place after being gone for so long probably wasn't the best idea. When they saw us, Tonraq made a bee line for Korra. The man was big and broad, so he easily swept her up in a spine crushing hug. I didn't doubt for a second that he was a warrior of some kind either in the past or present.
"Your mother and I were so worried about you," he said when he finally sat her back down.
"I'm alright, dad," she reassured. Satisfied that his daughter was safe, Tonraq turned his gaze to me. His look said it all. I was a dead man, and that's all there is to it.
"You tried to kidnap my daughter," he said, starting toward me. I took a half step back, assuming a fighting stance and resting my hand on my hilt. An accusation like that was a very serious one, and it told me just how far he was willing to go when it came to pummeling me. But Korra placed her hand in the middle of her father's chest, holding him back.
"Dad, stop. I went with him, willingly."
"Korra, you've been gone for months..."
"And we've gotten results!" she interrupted, igniting a flame in the palm of her hand to prove a point. Tonraq visibly softened at that. I'm not sure what exactly was going through his mind earlier, but it was clear to him now that I wasn't traveling with Korra for my own selfish reasons, but rather to help her. He eased out of his aggressive stance, and I slowly followed suit. There was still the chance that he might attack me.
"I don't really approve of it, but it is getting results," Tenzin reluctantly admitted. Bald hypocrite. With four kids running around underfoot, he was the last person to give a lecture about spending too much time alone with someone of the opposite sex.
The sound of trees falling and wood cracking came from a tree line off to our right. Several different kinds of birds and flying lemurs took to the sky. Bumi, Tenzin's older brother, emerged from the trees. Although he was wearing a United Forces uniform, it was clear that retirement had fully settled in. The jacket was undone, and a bit of a belly was forming around his mid section.
Still, this didn't hinder him as he ran toward us at full tilt. He was screaming in terror with his hands held in the air. From the trees behind him came a large, black serpentine form. The dragon uncoiled from the trees and rose up high into the air as it regarded us with it's golden eyes.
"Hi, Uncle Ryou, so glad you could stop by, gotta go, bye!" Bumi babbled as he ran past us without even the slightest hint at slowing down. None of us dared to take our eyes off of the dragon as he went. We did take a few steps backwards as Ashe unfolded her wings and roared down at us. I was impressed by how large she had gotten. She would be able to carry Korra and I without a single problem.
"This thing has been scaring the sky bison for a solid month," Tenzin complained.
"Because she's at the awkward age for dragons," I replied as I stepped toward the dragon, "it's like puberty, only with fire, fangs, and claws," I said.
"Then how do you stop her?" Korra asked. I flashed a grin back at her.
"The best way is to do that is to tame her. And the quickest way to do that is to ride her," I answered.
"You're going to ride that thing?" Korra asked in disbelief. Even Ashe let out a snort as I took a few steps toward her.
"Are you seriously asking?" I replied. Korra face palmed.
"He's dead. That's just great. Now how am I gonna get my bending back?" I ignored her as I looked the dragon square in the eye. She must have seen something threatening in me, because she lowered her neck and bared her fangs. Smoke trailed upward from her nostrils, and a deep rumble came from her throat as a warning.
In a flash, I jumped into the air, flipping my form so that I landed squarely on her neck. Ashe reared up and let out a bellow. She thrashed about, trying to dislodge me and uprooting a bamboo tree in the process. I tightened my legs around her neck and gripped her horns with my hands, refusing to be knocked loose.
Realizing that I wasn't letting go, Ashe unfurled her wings and took to the sky with a powerful downward thrust. My stomach summer salted as she changed directions on a dime, first going skyward, and then diving toward the bay. I clung to her for dear life, lowering my frame so both my arms and legs were wrapped firmly around her neck. Realizing that this initial burst had failed as well, Ashe changed directions again, this time headed straight for the skyscrapers that dominated the downtown district.
Which brings us back to our current situation.
"This is not how I saw this day panning out!" I yelled over the wind as Ashe dove toward the street. At the last second she pulled up, flying just high enough that she cleared the rooftops of the cars passing by. It must have been quite the sight, because several drivers were slamming on the breaks as we went past.
Suddenly, the dragon put an extra beat into her wings and raced skyward again. We zipped past a police airship, close enough that I could see the jaws of the crew members on board practically fall off. Once we had cleared a certain altitude, Ashe rolled over onto her back, doing a couple of mid air flips. My grip was like iron, although both my head and stomach spun from getting dizzy.
"Just give it up! I've got you, it's over!" I yelled. Ashe's response was to dive toward the airship again. This time she latched onto the hull and peered into the craft like a curious cat. Considering she was about as big as the airship was, I wasn't surprised when it started to list under her weight. Or when the metalbenders on board screamed in terror and jumped for their lives.
Not everyone left though, as Ashe bared her fangs and growled at the helmsman, who was shaking like he was having a seizure and standing in his own puddle of piss. Despite the awkward angle of clinging to her neck while technically laying on my side, I managed to reach up and slap the side of the dragon's face a few times.
"Hey, hey! No! Bad! No making the cops piss themselves!" I yelled. Ashe responded by snapping her jaws at my hand, which I just barely managed to avoid. I slapped her again.
"No biting! Bad Ashe!" The dragon let out another below before it dislodged from the airship and began to glide back out over the harbor. We buzzed Aang's statue, the tip of her wing just barely grazing his ear as we went past. I dug my heels into her side and leaned, using my body to steer her back toward Air Temple Island.
We crash landed on the Yin and Yang symbol, or rather Ashe touched down harshly, which forced me to lose my grip and sent my flying over her head and landing in a heap. With a groan, I pushed myself back to my feet and faced her down head on. For a moment, Ashe bared her fangs and stared me down with steam billowing upwards. She looked like she was about to roast me alive with her fire breath, and I was prepared to react as quickly as I could.
Rather than incinerate me on the spot, Ashe lowered her head in a bow. She was admitting defeat. I almost collapsed on the spot from relief. Partly because I was bruised, battered, and probably had a broken bone or two, but mostly relief. Thank the Spirits that was over. Korra and the others came running over.
"Did it work?" she asked.
"That was a lot harder then I remember," I panted in reply. Upon hearing Korra's voice, Ashe perked up. At first, she was slipping back into defensive mode. But when she actually saw who was talking, the dragon bounded forward, causing Korra to stumble backwards and fall from surprise. Ashe stood over her, licking her face like an excited dog seeing their master again.
"Ow, Ah! What's she doing?!"
"She recognizes you," I answered. As if to prove my point, the black dragon rubbed her head against Korra affectionately.
"But I only saw her for a few weeks. And besides she was willing to attack you."
"You were the first human she saw, and a female to boot. She probably thinks of you as an adopted mother or something," I explained. Korra looked back down at Ashe and hesitantly patted the top of her head. A pleasant ruble came from the dragon's throat in response.
"So what happens now?" she asked.
"Now we do what you want to do," I said. Korra looked between me and Ashe, and a smirk formed on her face.
"I know just the thing."
The Sato Estate may be something to behold from the ground, but that view doesn't hold a candle compared to what it looks like from the air. We rode Ashe there from Air Temple Island and circled the place once in order to try and figure out where everyone was. Korra rode directly behind me, her arms wrapped around my midsection while she rested her head on my back.
Riding a dragon is like...well it's not really fair for me to compare it to riding a bike, but that's the closest I can come to. Point is, once you figure it out you never really forget. Even after hundreds of years, I still had the skill to ride. Ashe didn't seem to mind the two of us riding her. If anything, she seemed to relish in the fact that she could spread her wings, literally.
We touched down in the middle of the race track, where a pair of satomobiles were being tested. Both of the cars came to a screeching halt, and Ashe reared up her head and roared. Immediately the passenger door flew open, and a single person came tumbling out and running in the opposite direction.
"DRAGON!" It was Bolin. Of course it was Bolin. Why should I have expected anything else? The driver side doors on both cars opened, and out stepped Mako and Asami respectively. Unlike Bolin, these two looked up at us with a sense of hesitent wonder.
"Korra, Ryou?" Asami asked, placing her hand against her forehead to block the sun from her eyes.
"Hey, guys," Korra greeted with a half wave.
"Where have you been? It's been months!" Mako said as Korra swung her leg over Ashe's side and slid down her flank.
"We've been getting my bending back, we just got back into the city," Korra explained as she gave her two friends quick hugs. Realizing that these two weren't a threat, Ashe relaxed beneath me. I patted her side in a reassuring manner, which caused her to relax more. While Korra talked excitedly amongst her friends, I sat and waited, turning my thoughts elsewhere.
Tenzin, after finally calming down to the point where his blood pressure was no longer a major health concern, had relayed to me what had been happening in the city over the past few months. Tensions in the city were still high between benders and non benders, although they had come down some as time past. It use to be there was violence in the streets and martial law had been temporarily declared. Now it was just protests and mean words thrown at each other.
The Council, which had been the main governing body, had been dissolved. In it's place, a presidency was being set up. However, elections had yet to take place, so the Republic was effectively leaderless for the moment. The current polls showed that some guy named Raiko was set to be the President, although the actual elections were still a month away, so there was no way to know for sure.
I actually liked the direction the Republic was heading. The leader of a nation, elected by the people, nothing had been done like it before in an actual governing body. Sure small tribal bands, rebel factions during the war, and pirate enclaves all were democratic, but the actual recognized nations had monarchies or chieftains. Except the Air Nomads, they didn't really have a government at all.
Once again, the world around me was changing again, and yet I remained and went on. I found myself watching Korra as she talked excitedly, updating Mako and Asami on our adventures. In a way, my relationship with her was a rather strange one. I'd been unofficially married to one of her past lives, and good friends with two others, and now I was involved romantically with her.
Part of me had wondered if it was the Avatar Spirit I shared a bond with, and not the actual Avatar themselves. I dismissed this thought after a good deal of debate. Did I have a bond with the Spirit? Possibly, although I had never actually spoken to it. But Avatars and the Avatar Spirit are two totally different things. Each Avatar is a completely different person compared to the last, and the Spirit has nothing to do with it. I'd made friends with Roku and Aang of my own accord, just like how I had fallen for Kyoshi and Korra.
The hair standing on the back of my neck brought me out of my thoughts. I looked all around us, my sense of danger having been tripped. We were being watched. I drew my sword hilt and continued to scan the area around us. Sinking my top row of teeth into my bottom lip, I blew, resulting in a high pitched whistle.
"What is it?" Korra asked, stopping mid sentence as her hand flew to her sword.
"I don't know," I answered as I continued to look around. A suddenly flurry of movement appeared in the corner of my eye, and I ducked out of instinct. Good thing, too, because an arrow streaked through the space where my head had been sitting a millisecond before. I slid down Ashe's flank, extending my blade as I went and deflecting another arrow when I landed. A third arrow narrowly missed me, flying past my face close enough I could feel the breeze it left behind.
The arrow stuck Ashe in the side, but due to the thickness of her scaly hide it just bounced off. Still, the dragon let out a bellow of discomfort before launching into the sky. From out of the stands she came, wearing her Equalist uniform and having a bow at the ready, Takeko, the Red Archer.
"Down, Kitty!" I yelled. Her face wrap was down, and I got a good look at her face. The redness in her hair had faded some, and some more lines had appeared on her face. Overall, she looked about ten or twenty years older then the last time I saw her.
"You doomed me!" she screeched as she shot another arrow my way. I deflected it away from my heart, and then dogged the next arrow that followed. She closed the distance between us, swinging her bow as a staff and forcing me to back peddle. This didn't last as Korra leapt into the fray, swinging her own sword.
The two women traded blows back and forth on an even foot, with neither managing to get the upper hand. Finally, Korra made a small kick upwards with her foot, blasting Takeko in the face with a gust of wind. She stumbled backwards, surprised and blinded from the strike. Before she could fully recover, Asami appeared behind her and placed an electrified glove on her shoulder. The redhead let out a scream as the electric current passed through her, and she collapsed.
When she came to, Takeko found herself surrounded. Both Korra and I had our blades leveled at her, Mako had one of his fists lit with fire, and Asami had her glove at the ready. I was ready to take her head. I'd warned her the last time we'd met that if we ever crossed blades again, I wouldn't show mercy. Korra and the others had managed to talk me out of it, for the moment. If she made a move, I wouldn't hesitate.
"Mind telling us what that was all about?" Korra asked. Takeko glared up at her.
"My buissness is not with the likes of you," she replied.
"You're right. It's with me, considering I'm the one you tried to make into a pin cushion. So, in light of the fact that I'm really low on patience right now; what the hell?" I asked. The redhead looked up at me with murder in her eyes.
"My Master cast me out because of my failure to deal with you."
"That sounds like a personal problem."
"He banished me from the spring! Now look, look what's happening to me!" she snapped. I didn't have to look, as I'd already guessed what was happening to her.
"What is she talking about?" Mako asked.
"The spring of Spirit Water that gave her longevity. Without refreshing herself in it, all of the years she's lived with begin to catch up with her," I explained.
"And it's all your fault!" she screamed.
"It's yours, actually. You are the one who failed, and now you are the one who must deal with the consequences," I replied in calm level tone. I raised my blade in a salute as I prepared to do what I had promised. Korra, however, moved herself between me and the archer.
"Ryou, wait."
"I warned her what would happen, Korra."
"I know that. But if she's alive, and we help her, she could help us," she argued. I hesitated at that. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. However, that all depended on it we could actually convince her to help us. It didn't seem to matter what I thought, apparently, as Korra had turned her attention to Takeko.
"If we help you, will you help us?" she asked. The redhead's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Why would you help me?"
"It's a trade. You want to stay alive, and we want information on the guy that betrayed you. Seems fair if you ask me," Korra said. Takeko let out a short laugh.
"My Master controls the monastery where the spring is located. You'll never be able to get me to those waters."
"The monastery is not the only place with water such as that," Korra replied. Now, Takeko looked confused, and curious.
"What other places are there?"
"A few. We're heading to one after we leave the city. You could come with us," Korra offered. I really didn't like where this was going.
"Just like that?"
"But, you'll have to tell us about your Master," Korra finished. For a while, Takeko remained silent. Finally she stood and slung her bow across her midsection.
"I'll give you the information in partials, that way you'll have to take me all the way," she said.
"Deal," Korra said as she sheathed her sword. I reluctantly allowed my blade to telescope back into the hilt.
"So when do we leave?"
"Not so fast," I said, "first you answer one question."
"Alright, what do you want to know?" Takeko asked, sounding annoyed.
"Your Master, what is his name?" For the longest time, the archer was silent, and I was starting to think that maybe she would forfet her end of the bargen and I wouldn't have to travel with her.
"Yusei. His name is Yusei," she finally answered. Well, shit. There goes that plan.
And cut. So Ryou has a not one, but two new traveling companions now. How will this turn out I wonder?
Now for a quick announcement: the prequel to Ageless will be coming out soon. I will announce it's release here in Ageless so that you'll all know when it drops, which will likely be sometime around the first of the coming month. Remember to read, review, ask questions and what not, and I'll see you all next time!