"Another one?" Jhee asked in disbelief, as he looked up at the empty guard post.
"I'm afraid so sir." The young lieutenant replied. "That makes three in the last three weeks."
"Madness." Jhee swore. This was at least three times too many for him to have to come out here and try to solve this. But he knew had no choice. If Fire Lord Zuko was to succeed in returning the Fire Nation to it's long lost honor, then he needed to watch for those that would try to depose him. And right now, that meant leaving no post unguarded, especially one as vital as the ports.
But at the rates things were going, it wouldn't matter what was needed, for no one would want to guard this place. Jhee knew it had to be some kind of abduction; the idea that so many guards could be traitors made no sense, since they had seen no attack from Ozai. And all the soliders taken had been people Jhee had checked himself, people who had been screwed over by Ozai (the majority of people in the Fire Nation) and eager to serve the new Fire Lord. And though none of them had been happy about such a small job, they nonetheless took it seriously.
"So why are they vanishing?" Jhee asked himself, as he looked around the base of the tower, for any kind of clue that could lead them to an answer. But all he found was wood and sand. Still, Jhee did not quit, until a hand clapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see a blue-clad figure, who asked through his whiskers, "Anything?"
"Not that I can see." Jhee replied. "Have you had better luck?"
"Not a bit." Replied Agua, the Cat- Elemental of Water. He and the rest of the Elementals Knights had been scattered across the world helping to restore order to the world, but when the disappearances began, Zuko commanded Fuego, the Elemental of Fire, to summon his brother to aid them, since the crimes were occurring on water.
"I can't believe that this is treason, Agua. I simply can't." Jhee said. "These were people we could trust. I chose two of them myslef."
"I agree." The cat replied. "But then we gotta figur out what is goin' on. And we gotta do it fast. The lieutenant told me that anuhter solider was taken too, a woman."
"Two instead of one. This gets better all the time." Jhee said. "And we still don't have a single clue to..."
"Sir!" came a yell from the beach. Both men turned to see a young solider running towards them, carrying something in his hands.
"What is it boy? What did you find?" Jhee asked.
"I was checking along the rocks, when I came across this." The solider said, as he held out his trophy- a Fire Nation helemt.
"He wouldn't have left that behind willingly." Jhee said. "This may have been abduction after all. Let me see that."
The solider nodded and quickly passed the helemt. Jhee and Agua took a look, only to wrinkle their foreheads in confusion. The helmet, though devoid of a head, was still full. Curiously, Jhee reached his hand inside, and with an effort, removed some of the barnacles growing inside.
"What...this only happened last night. There is no way they could've grown this fast." The Fire Captain said.
"Not normally." Agua said, stroking his chin.
"This means something to you, doesn't it?" Jhee asked.
"I don't wanna say fer sure." The cat replied. "But I think we should see the top a' that towah."
Jhee nodded, and the two of them quickly marched towards the guard tower. The guards at the ladder quickly stepped aside, as Jhee prepared to climb. But a touch of Agua's hand halted him.
"What's wrong? You wanted to see the top." Jhee said.
"It looks like I don't need ta get that close." Agua said, as he pointed up. Jhee followed the cat's finger, then gasped as he saw a long trail of barnacles, high on the tower wall.
"What is this? You know something, tell me." Jhee demanded, turning towards the cat.
But Agua just shook his head. "That's the problem. I know too much."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means there arh a lotta monster that come outta tha watah. Lots of 'em take people and lots of 'em leave barnacles behind. I'm gonna need moah time ta figure out which one this is, and how it got heah."
"Do you at least have an idea?" Jhee asked.
"Like I said, too many possibilities. Let's keep this undah wraps fer now."
"All right. But you know the Fire Lord will want to know about this." Jhee said.
"And I'll tell him what I can. Hopefully, I can tell him more soon."
The waters shifted gently, as the ocean calmly moved. But that ended quickly, as with a burst of seawater, the small boat popped out from under the waves, and crashed back down onto the water. The man inside took a huge gulp of air and then clung to his tiny ship, thanking heaven that he had once again escaped death. He was so thankful that it took him almost thirty seconds to remember his maps. Panic-stricken, he moved over to where they were and quickly pulled them out. The maps were soaked, but luckily, they had endured. Once they had dried, he could use them to find.....
He paused a minute then, as something caught his eye over the horizon. Gingerly standing in the boat, he looked out and saw a port. But it was a place he had never encountered, in all his travels around the world. But then again, he reasoned, they would not know him there. And that would make things go quite well for him. Sticking his arms out into the water, he began to paddle his ship towards land.