Sorry this update took awhile. Guess I'm still not at the top of my game eheh. Shoutouts: Logrus Mage, Rexic and Soulia, Talon88.1, superkawaiifoxy, sev7n, GroggyRae, badculture, Lady Flick, and Luiz4200. This chapter is basically gathering all the major players in my next story arch and trying a few loose ends from some previous chapters, I think most FF and Suki fans will be pleased. Read and enjoy!
The Search for Shang-wēifēng
Chapter Thirteen:
The Time to Act
The stench of salt water and overheated humanity clung offensively to her nostrils and Smellerbee winced as the ship lurched, sending a sharp pain rippling through her still-tender ribs. The captain - a tall man with a matted brown beard, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a scarlet great coat, and an altogether villainous continence - paced back and forth, barking an order here or shouting a string colorful obscenities at his crew there, punctuated by the screech of the iguana-hawk at his shoulder. He pointedly ignored the human cargo he had smuggled down the river from the Serpent's Pass' north western lake - now six days behind them - to the Western Sea.
"The captain's been working jointly with the Freedom Fighters for a few months now," Blockhead had explained when Suki, upon reuniting with Song and the other Kyoshi Warriors at the Pass, inquired about the suspicious crew waiting with them there, appraising their captain uncertainly. "It's no pleasure cruise, I'll tell ya that, but he knows the best routs to avoid any of the flame heads' blockades."
"So he's been smuggling refugees out of Ba Sing Se out of the goodness of his heart?" asked Yukari suspiciously.
"He's not exactly the charitable type," smiled Song. "He demands a pretty hefty price for safe passage."
"How do you pay for it?" asked Myo.
"C-co-college t-t-t-trust fu-und," sighed Twitch forlornly.
Smellerbee leaned against the wooden railing of the ship's starboard side, reflecting on the fight against the Dai Li some nights past, as the vessel made its southbound journey along the continent's west coast...
- - -
"GO!" cried Smellerbee as she led the charge against the surprised Dai Li. Everything after that was a frenzy of spinning blades and flying stones.
With a liquid grace, Suki wove her way to the Dai Li agent, dodging the projectiles he sent at her as she went, and slashed at the earthbender's chest, sending him staggering backwards, clutching his bleeding wound.
She was immediately attacked by one of his companions, lunging at her with an animalistic howl. Instinctively drawing on her training, she grabbed him by the wrist and, using her opponent's own weight and momentum against him, flung him over her shoulder and threw him into one of the nearby canals.
Yukari meanwhile attacked her opponents like an enraged leopard-tigress, dodging and stabbing at anything that came near with a ferocity that had the Dai Li taken aback. With a snarl she slashed at one of their faces, leaving the man howling and clutching the place his eye used to be.
Blockhead hung back so that he could hurl chunks of rock and dirt at the enemy and provide his companions with cover, though eventually two Dai Li glided toward him like green-garbed messengers of death to confront him directly. Most would consider the prospect of dueling a pair of elite earthbenders unthinkable, but the young street brawler only smirked arrogantly and rushed to meet them head on.
The Dai Li's strange stone gloves flew from their hands at Blockhead, who raised a wall from the ground with a swift motion and with a jab sent that same wall slamming into one of the agents, sending him sliding away to join his fellow in the canal. Then he locked hands with the second and each attempted to push the other away so that they could attack anew. Just when it seemed that the Dai Li had the better of him the street fighter thrust his head forward, shattering the conical hat and colliding with his antagonist's forehead. The older man staggered and fell unconscious. Blockhead threw his head side to side, loosening his neck muscles with audible snaps and smiled, "That all ya got?"
Meanwhile, Smellerbee stepped in to help Suki and Yukari against the remaining Dai Li. Suki was the incarnation of coolheadedness and calm in the face of battle, but Yukari was just the opposite. Livid with rage and loathing towards the two men, with a wild glint in her eye that made her seem ready to tear their throats out with her bare hands. The Freedom Fighters stood poised for attack, but the two agents made no move, simply folder their arms within their billowing sleeves and looked at their opponents levelly.
At one it occurred to Smellerbee. What are they waiting for?
Suddenly several more Dai Li sprouted from the ground before them and rushed them.
Stupid! Smellerbee remembered berating herself as she parried the attack with her daggers. I should have known those six were just decoys!
Smellerbee counted twenty but there were likely more. Blockhead, who was on his way to help, now had to contend with five agents where there were two, firing a volley of stones and creating protective barriers to fend off the relentless assault.
A stone careened seemingly from out of nowhere and hit Smellerbee square in the chest. She heard a distinct popping noise and a sharp, burning pain reverberated through her small body, signaling that her ribs were broken.
As she went down, in too much pain to keep her balance, she watched as the Dai Li formed their stone gloves into shackles and contracted them around the Kyoshi girls' wrists. They struggled valiantly against their captors, resolved not ti be recaptured without a fight. Yukari, shrieked and kicked and bit for all she was worth. Blockhead, though he battled ferociously, was rapidly losing ground and he was woefully outclassed by the better-trained and more numerous Dai Li. An agent stood over her triumphantly, and for a moment all Smellerbee knew was an overwhelming sense of helplessness and failure.
Then it happened.
A roar tore through the night air and a lumbering black shape came crashing through the fields, sending the Dai Li surrounding Blockhead scattering. A big brown bear, bared its fangs and it's rider, a tall wiry man with a lean face and a pair of spectacles reflecting the moonlight. Despite is unassuming and unremarkable appearance the man's brown eyes held a commanding quality that was difficult to explain.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked pleasantly, behaving as though he were at a picnic rather than a battlefield.
"Better," huffed Blockhead beside him. "Now that I"ve got some breathing room. Thanks Grizz."
"Thank Bosco," smiled the man, giving his mount an affectionate pat on its flank. The bear just continued to growl balefully at the regrouping Dai Li.
"I-I-I-" stammered Twitch who emerged awkwardly from the field followed by the stoic Longshot. "I-I th-th-think we-we sh-sh-sho-uld ret-t-t-t-t-treat."
"I'm beginning to get an inkling why you've never scored with a chick Twitch," sighed Blockhead. Then he punched his open palm and smirked, "I say we bust heads and kick ass! Who's with me?"
Longshot knocked an arrow into his bow and Bosco snarled his assent. Grizzly nodded and Twitch shrank back. The Dai Li fell into formation.
"Alright!" said Blockhead going into a crouch. "LET'S GO!"
The two sides charged. Blockhead, leapt into the air and slammed his fists onto the ground, sending an undulating wave of earth at the approaching enemy. Some were pulled under but most had the foresight to leap over the crashing wall of earth. Then the street brawler parried away oncoming projectiles of earth and sent off a few of his own.
Hanging back by the cringing Twitch, Longshot let fly arrow after arrow, each one finding its mark in a Dai Li's neck, shoulder, or chest. He never missed. He was always straight and true. As the enemy earthbenders fell into pools of their own blood, the archer had already moved on to his next target.
Bosco lunged at the agents, batting them aside with his big paws and snarling and coughing ferociously. The Dai Li were not intimidated, the surprise of the bear's initial appearance having faded. They've handled a bear before and the peasant man-boy riding the animal was of little consequence.
The aforementioned peasant man-boy leapt off of Bosco's back and went to the aid of Smellerbee and the two Kyoshi warriors.
"Are you alright?" he inquired of Smellerbee.
"Terrific," wheezed the plain-faced girl dryly. "Just... cracked some ribs... is all."
"We'd better get you to Song," he said resolutely.
"She's... waiting for us... at Serpent's Pass," she gritted. "But we'd better... get out of here... first. What... kept you?"
"I don't know how it happened," said Grizzly guiltily. "I think one of the neighbors' farmhands may have spotted Bosco while he was...er...indisposed. Next thing I know, the Dai Li came knocking on the door and tied me and Bosco up in the cellar before Longshot and Twitch came to our rescue."
"You mean... they caught...your bear... taking a... crap?" inquired Smellerbee wryly.
"I keep telling you," said the man flushing an indignant red. "Such language is unbecoming of a young lady."
"Just... help the... others...Grizzly," commanded the Freedom Fighter leader.
Grizzly scrambled to obey and tried to pry the stone manacles from around the Kyoshi girl's wrists.
"You're Grizzly?" asked Suki in disbelief.
"That's what they call me," smiled the lean man pleasantly. "Though my real name is Kuei. And that's Bosco over there," he gestured indicating the bear that was swiping its huge claws at the Dai Li. "I'd love to get better acquainted but right now we need to get out of here." He looked back at the battle. Though the Freedom Fighters were gaining ground, they were still outnumbered and more and more Dai Li seemed to sprout out from the ground every instant. "Though I have no idea how we're going to manage that," he whispered fearfully.
All at once a great bellow sounded throughout the farmlands and a huge lumbering thing with floppy ears came charging into the midst of the battle. The panicked Dai Li scattered and retreated. An angry bear was one thing, but a mad goat-gorilla was quite another.
The beast roared and snorted at the fleeing enemy.
"Alright Sparkles!" cried Kuei.
"General...Bruiser..." corrected Smellerbee half-heartedly.
- - -
"You're so cute! You're so cute! Yer shoooo cyuuuuute!" squealed Myo as she hugged Bosco, snapping the Freedom Fighter leader out of her reverie.
"Hey what's wrong?" cried Myo, crestfallen as the bear pulled away from her embrace, and lay upon its back on the deck of the ship.
"He wants you to rub his tummy," smiled Kuei as he watched the spectacle next to a disinterested Blockhead. The youngest Kyoshi Warrior gasped with delight as she eagerly scratched the strange creature's belly. Bosco, all the previous ferocity he had exhibited during the fight with the Dai Li forgotten, sighed contentedly.
"When you're done with him," smirked Blockhead, waggling his eyebrow. "I want a turn."
"Pervert!" shouted Yukari angrily from across the galley. Among the crewmen trying their best to ignore their passengers, two twitched nervously at the sound of her voice. A skinny fellow with full lips and a stringy moustache, and a rotund man with a scraggly beard. Both had several livid bruises all over their faces and teeth missing from their grimaces.
Though Smellerbee was too polite to ask, she had a suspicion that, despite their captain's orders to steer clear of their passengers, the two pirates' longing for female flesh after so long at sea got the better of them and they had tried to consummate their lusts with the Kyoshi girl. A mistake they won't soon make again, judging by the wide berth they now gave the brunette female warrior.
"What?" protested the street fighter. "It's a compliment!"
"She's right, Blockhead," said Kuei, the odd, bespectacled young man frowning in disapproval. "That's no way to speak to a young lady."
"Please forgive me," said Blockhead in mock remorse. "We not all lady killers like you, Grizz."
Kuei flushed a bright red. "Wh-what do you mean?" he stammered.
"C'mon," prompted the uni-browed brawler mischievously, jabbing Grizzly's ribs with an elbow. "Everyone knows you've got the hots for that Ursa chick!"
"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about!" said Kuei not-too- firmly.
"Do I detect a waver in you're voice?" smirked Blockhead wickedly, before continuing in a sing-song tone, "Kuei an' Ursa sittin' in a tree..."
"Please stop!" cried the flustered young man, before the surrounding pirates joined in, "F-U-C-"
"STOW IT!" barked the captain, cutting off the obscene rhyme. "THE WHOLE LOT O' YE MANGY INBRED GERBIL-DOGS 'AFORE I KEELHAULS YE! THAT'S AN ORDER!"
The whole ship fell silent at. "That's more like it," smiled the captain. "Now back ter work!"
"So," Megumi, her health improving significantly in the sea air, smirked at Kuei. "You've got a girlfriend at home?"
"Not a girlfriend exactly," said Grizzly with a rueful smile. "And not at home either. You see, after losing my...er...inheritance... Bosco and I had decided to travel through the Earth Kingdom. You know, see the sights, find out how the other half lived, a whole journey of self-discovery outside the walls of the...ah...family estate.
"Unfortunately, not only did Bosco not know the first thing about being a bear, I didn't know the first thing about travel. I quickly found out that journeys required provisions, and neither Bosco nor I were adept hunters. I also found that a map to tell you where you were going was also helpful, but alas, I had no such thing in my possession.
"After days of wandering aimlessly though the countryside we collapsed from hunger, as luck would have it, in front of a decrepit Herbalist Institute, where a kindly old woman took me in and had her assistant nurse me and Bosco back to health."
"This Ursa lady right?" asked Tsui.
"What's she like?" quizzed Ami.
"I've worked closely with her when I was staying with Madam Orchid after the Fire Nation drove me and my mother out of our village," said Song smiling fondly at Grizzly. "She's really nice."
"Indeed she is," agreed Kuei, a dreamy look crossing his features. "She's smart, kind, funny, and...and..."
"Pretty?" ventured Yukari.
"Beautiful!" exclaimed the bespectacled man. "She has this luscious black hair like polished onyx, and these eyes like sparkling gold, and her smile..." he sighed amorously.
"Kuei an' Ursa sittin' in a tree..." sang Blockhead.
"Chun!" scolded Song but she was too late. The raucous crew had already joined in, "F-U-C-"
"WHAT DID I TELL YE?!" exploded the captain, and they all fell silent for a time.
"Ursa's a cutie alright," said Blockhead. "But a little old for my tastes. There was this one girl we smuggled out of the city named Jin. Mmm-mmm! She had a fine pair of casabas!"
"Perv!" the Kyoshi girls and Song shouted in unison.
"What? No!" protested Chun. "I mean she was carrying a pair of casabas! You know, honeydews."
"Sure," said Myo dryly as the other girls fixed the brawler with cool glances.
"The girls seemed to have taken a liking to Grizzly," smiled Suki as she joined Smellerbee by the railing.
"Yeah," agreed the Freedom Fighter, her plain face grim. The Kyoshi Warrior cocked her head to the side questioningly, until she finally ventured, "Are you alright?"
"It's fine," she said curtly.
"Are you worried about Longshot?"
The captain had refused to allow General Bruiser/Sparkles aboard his vessel, stating that a bear eating all his provisions was bad enough, so the silent archer had volunteered to escort the beast to the Resistance hideout near Omashu.
"He can take care of himself," muttered Smellerbee. "It's just that, something doesn't add up about that attack on the safe house."
"But," said Suki. "Kuei said that the neighbors spotted Bosco and reported him to the Dai Li."
"Maybe it did happen that way," agreed the Freedom Fighter leader. "Grizzly is a bit...odd...at times, and maybe too friendly and trusting for his own good, but he's always careful. Up until then he had always managed to keep Bosco hidden."
"Are you suggesting...?" asked the Kyoshi Warrior hesitantly.
"Yes," answered Smellerbee. "We were set up. Only question is..."
"By who?" finished Suki gravely.
Smellerbee nodded. Eliminating the Kyoshi girls and Longshot as suspects, the list was narrowed down to four: "Grizzly" Kuei, Song, "Blockhead" Chun, and Twitch. She scrutinized each one from her place on the starboard rail.
Kuei was a possibility, as he was the one who spent the most time alone as caretaker of their safe house. His past was a closely guarded secret, of which he never spoke freely. Of course, if he was only acting like a doofus, he was a very adept thespian.
Song might be able to slip away during one of her foraging expeditions to feed information to the Fire Nation, but in light of the burns she had suffered as a small child during one of their raids, Smellerbee quickly dismissed her.
Chun was another possibility with his unsavory history, but his hatred for the Dai Li - and by extension the Fire Nation - ran deep as a result of his imprisonment and the execution of his old gang. Although it was possible for the Fire Nation to have planted him in that cell she and Longshot rescued him from and the story about his friends was a mere fabrication.
That left Twitch...
Currently the rodent-faced boy was bent over the port-side railing of the ship seemingly losing every meal he had ever eaten and murmuring pathetically about how miserable the sea was and how disgusting fish was. The guy was afraid of his own shadow, the prospect of him being a traitor seemed unthinkable to Smellerbee.
Though she wouldn't admit it to Suki, Smellerbee did wish Longshot were with them. He rarely spoke, but he always made his thoughts known, and his steady presence and fortitude had been a guiding light to the plain faced girl through many difficulties, not the least of which was the death of Jet.
After fighting their way out of the Lake Laogai facility, she and Longshot had taken their leader's corpse to the outskirts of Ba Sing Se and gave him a decent burial. After mourning their fallen leader they left Ba Sing Se and wandered into the ruins of Takku where they met the crazy herbalist lady, Ursa, Song, and Kuei, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Smellerbee sighed. She wished Jet were here now. He'd know what to do.
"LAND HO!" cried the lookout on the crow's nest. "New Ozai dead ahead!"
All eyes aboard turned toward the majestic city that appeared to have been carved from the very stone of the mountain upon which it was built - which of course it had been - and cries of alarm sounded when twin towers of flame erupted near the palace.
"Arg!" snorted the captain. "She be under attack! Mr. Myung, turn this tub around!"
"Belay that!" commanded Suki.
"Arrgh!" growled the pirate leaning toward the Kyoshi Warrior. "And who be ye to second guess me orders, lass? I be cap'n o' this ship."
"And we're you're passengers," shot Smellerbee. "Who paid you good money to give us safe passage to Omashu."
"Ye'll have to pay a great deal more than that to get us to go any closer te New Ozai in the middle of an invasion, missy," spat the captain.
"Fine we'll double it," said Smellerbee.
"What?!" cried Twitch straightening upright for a moment before giving way to more vomiting.
"Hmmm," grunted the pirate stroking his bead speculatively.
"Triple it," said Suki.
"Deal!" grinned the captain, clasping the Kyoshi Warrior's hand. He felt greasy and clammy.
"Mr. Myung!" barked the sea-dog as Suki wiped her hand on her robes. "Set course for New Ozai."
"Spirits be with us," muttered Mr. Myung, making a sign against evil.
From his place on the port side railing, Twitch moaned and mumbled something about his learning and enrichment.
- - -
Sergeant Aizo paced the battlements in a panicked frenzy, the result of the twin pillars of flame that erupted near King Bumi's former palace. The Govenor's Manor was under attack! Just the latest in a series of disasters that had transpired while the garrison was under his command. He had been demoted twice already, after this he was likely to be sent home in disgrace. How was he going to propose to Lei-Zu, his childhood love, now?
Could this day get any worse?
The question was unexpectedly and abruptly answered when a large shadow passed over him and something, or rather someone, dropped on his head and knocked him to the ground. He blearily peered up at a staff-wielding kid with a shaven head, an arrow tattoo on his forehead, and a lemur perched on his shoulder.
"Oh," said the kid when he saw Aizo. "Sorry!"
"I still think we should meet up with Sokka before we storm any palaces," said a dark-skinned girl atop a giant bison hovering in the air. Aizo must have hit his head harder than he thought. He fought to stay conscious as he listened to a new addition to the conversation, a scar-faced young man with a raspy voice.
"That has to be my uncle down there," he said. "If he's there I have to go."
"He might need out help Katara," agreed the bald kid earnestly.
The girl named Katara, sighed then alighted off the bison. "Alright then," she smirked confidently. "We'll all go!"
Aizo's vision blurred and he lost consciousness, his last coherent thoughts were: Who are these kids? Was that bison really flying? and I wonder what Lei-Zu's wearing right now.
- - -
Jeong Jeong dashed through the cavernous halls of the dungeons, Iroh following close behind, shooting flames to dissuade their pursuit. They had entered Omashu disguised as beggars and made their way to the Governor's Manor where they revealed themselves. They then created a pillars of flame as a diversionary tactic and stormed the keep.
True they were outnumbered one hundred to one, but they were men who bore the title of Dragon so they were hardly outclassed. Plus they had the element of surprise on their side. Jeong Jeong, keeping to his vow to never again use his bending art to harm another living thing, fought purely defensively. Iroh had made no such vow, but kept casualties to a minimum.
The manor guards took them for rebels trying to liberate Omashu, but really this was a search and rescue.
Finally they reached a huge iron bound door with a sliding slot at the bottome to deliver food and drink to the prisoner within. It was warded by two guards whom Jeong Jeong dispatched easily. Then he bent down, opened the slot and peered inside while Iroh kept watch.
"Hhnnnh?" croaked a reedy voice from inside. "Lunch time already? I do hope you brought some of that creeping crystal."
"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Iroh.
"'Course it's dangerous!" cackled the voice. "It rots your teeth on contact, but I just can't help myself."
"We don't have time for this Bumi!" growled Jeong Jeong irritably.
"Is that you Jeong Jeong?" cackled the once King of Omashu. "I've been hoping for a visit."
"This isn't a visit you senile old scarecrow!" roared Jeong Jeong. "This is a search and rescue!"
"You were always a damp match!" pouted the voice behind the door. "Even when you were a boy."
Jeong Jeong was about to retort when Iroh placed a hand on his former master's shoulder and gently nudged him out of the way.
"Hello Bumi," said the Fire prince pleasantly.
"Iroh you old war ostrich-horse, how've you been?" A pale green eye sparkled in the darkness and peered at him. "Have you lost weight?"
"As a matter of fact yes," smiled Iroh. "Very kind of you to notice."
"Need I remind you that we have the city garrison on our heels!" squawked Jeong Jeong. "Deliver the bloody message already!"
"No need to get snippy," scolded Iroh. Then he cleared his throat and whispered, "Bumi, 'The Eternal Mother beckons to her children'."
What followed was a lengthy silence that left Iroh wondering if perhaps he should repeat himself when a loud clang echoed throughout the dungeon and a large dent appeared in the iron bound door. Then another followed. After the third one the door quivered and fell, revealing a stocky well-build old man with wild white hair, a scraggly beard and a lazy eye that seemed to make its bulging fellow gleam all the more madly.
King Bumi of Omashu punched a fist into his open palm and grinned maniacally, "It's clobberin' time!"
I know! I know! I couldn't help myself! Wow, the Earth King's got a crush on Ursa. Not sure where that came from but the pairing occurred to me one night at work when I was cleaning up and I found that I actually liked the idea. Of course, I'm much more interested in what you guys think via reviews. Also, for those of you who were disappointed by the absence of Sokka's group and the Shang-wēifēng guardians trailing them, fear not for they shall appear in the next chap, not to mention the triumphant return of Yuan as her assassin's quest takes an unexpected turn. 'Til next time! Shibui out!