Chapter Three: A Fortunes Worth of Hell
DISCLAIMER: I claim NONE of the characters shown in this story! I only own Neo, all the other characters belong to their respective creators/owners.
The strange being hopped from one building to the next, until he finally reached the top of the one the gang were staying at.
"How do I return back to normal?" he asked, in a furious tone.
"Try pressing the button again.'' she answered.
Neo glared at the glowing gold button, with much regret he pressed it. A glow surrounded him once again, then as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, revealing Neo as a human again.
"Wow. It worked!'' he exclaimed with a smile, holding his hands in front of his face and clenching them.
From above, the mysterious figure watched them. "That device…it must have answers. This damn crystal keeps…augh…hurting me when I get near it.'' he said in a muffled tone, while the light continued to burn.
His right hand came out of his hung open sleeve, revealing he had four black slightly slender fingers. A dark purple energy ball formed in his palm. He then noticed Katara. His head leaned back a bit. The energy ball in his palm vanished on purpose.
"No…only he…will be dealt with. No one else should be involved.'' he said to himself, flying up into the sky, flying into the light that glistened from the moon.
The next morning, a drowsy Sokka walked outside. He slipped on his parka, yawning afterwards. Suddenly, a blur passed right by him, a wall of snow plowing on top of him. He stood there, entirely covered with the snow. He sighed, shaking the snow off him.
His eyes twitched, "Wait a minute!'' he shouted.
Aang stopped in front of him. "Did you see that?" asked the Avatar.
"I felt it.'' Sokka said, wiping the rest of the snow off his shoulders.
Katara came outside, wearing her parka as well. "Hey guys!'' said Neo, stopping in front of them.
Aang and Sokka stared in shock and confusion. Neo was in his hedgehog form, his arms crossed and a smile on his face. Sokka slowly turned his head to his innocent looking sister.
"What did you do?" he asked with his teeth gritted.
"She gave him the transformation device. Look!'' Aang said, pointing at Neo's wrist.
Sokka took a glance at it, easily recognizing it. "It's called the Transformator.'' Neo corrected.
"Well good for you then! How could you do this Katara?" Sokka first exclaimed at Neo, then his sister.
"I'm not giving up Sokka.'' she simply noted.
Sokka groaned, slapping his forehead in the process. "I know you want to prove it's him, but you don't know that!'' Sokka protested.
"Maybe if we just jog his memory!'' she defended.
"Okay, fine! But remember, this is your plan!'' Sokka said, walking back inside.
"I guess we're leaving again?" said Aang.
"Yes. We are.'' replied the Waterbender.
The gang left the Southern Water Tribe as soon as the could. Katara gave herself a long ponytail that went down her back. She wore an outfit similar to the one she wore during the Day of Black Sun invasion, but the dress part went down to her ankles instead, the color of the outfit was sky blue. Sokka wore a similar outfit to his journeying one, except it was dark blue, the sheath for his sword and boomerang were also attached to his back. Aang remained wearing the outfit he was wearing at the Southern Water Tribe.
"So…where are we headed again?" asked Neo. "You'll see, don't worry.'' Katara assured him.
Neo laid back, crossing his arms with disappointment. Katara crawled up next to Aang.
"I hope you know what you're doing.'' Aang whispered.
"Just trust me.'' she said, leaning against him.
Perhaps what was worrying Aang and Katara the most, that they decided to bring Sonya with them. She was sleeping in the middle of the saddle, cuddled up with a blanket over herself.
"You know…the Transformator is a cool device, but it got me wondering.'' he began.
Aang, Katara, and Sokka turned their heads to him. "I don't think I deserve it. It's beginning to feel like something bad is going to happen.'' he continued.
"You can't mean that.'' Katara noted.
"I do. There has to be a way to get this thing off.'' Neo said, observing it more.
"Well how exactly are you going to get it off your wrist?" asked Sokka. "I don't know. Do you know anyone that could help?" Neo replied. The gang exchanged looks. Neo knew the answer.
A half hour later, the gang saw the village of Aunt Wu up ahead. "Land there Aang. We could get some rest.'' Katara pointed out.
"Neo, you may want to go back to your human form.'' Sokka stated, standing up as Appa began to descent. Neo pressed the button, a light surrounding him, then vanished to reveal him in his human form. Appa landed in the forest close to the village. The group headed towards the village's market.
The group walked inside, seeing the manager taking supply and food off the shelves. "May I help you kids?" he asked.
"We've come…to get some supplies.'' Sokka stepped forward.
"Sorry to disappoint you kids, but these are all being kept back in storage.'' he said, going around the front desk and placing them in a closet.
"Why? Has something happened?" asked Katara.
"You could say that. Someone's been stealing from our town, also causing some uncertain problems for some of the villagers.'' he said, walking back to another shelve, grabbing more foods. The group exchanged worried looks.
"Rumors say he lives up in a cave in the mountain. Which I must say thank you to the Avatar for saving it that one day.'' he said, walking back to the storage.
"Thanks. Can you tell us more about this thief?" asked the Avatar.
"No one mentions his name. People in this town think it's an omen. The way he's dressed, we call him the Cloakmaster.'' he told them.
"That's one amazing nickname.'' Sokka added.
"I don't recommend having a meeting with him. Our last victim had his arm dislocated and now he's suffering from nightmares.'' said the manager, coming back for more food, then going back into the storage. The gang never heard of such a thing, but it did spark their curiosity.