Hello again, faithful readers! Man, this was a much easier chapter to write than the last one, although there were some trouble spots that took a ridiculous amount of time to push through. At any rate, here is the newest installment in my wonderful tale Walking a Wire and thanks to all of you who have read and enjoyed it so far. 1200 people can't be wrong (I hope).
Enjoy! --NullChronicler--
Chapter XVII: Losing Balance
The towering slope of the volcano marked their approaching destination as the ferry pushed back towards the capital. This time, Akira, Ty Lee, and Aidyn were joined by a young couple who couldn't have been far from Akira's own age. Luckily, the two seemed far more interested in each other than their surroundings, although Akira was becoming annoyed by the pulsing heat signature in the corner of his "sight." Aidyn was proving extremely therapeutic--just scratching her fur worked as a kind of stress reliever, and her purring calmed his nerves. Just how I started this, isn't it? Nervous and sure something was going to go wrong. According to the island staff, something had, and it took almost all the money they had to repair his badly scorched room. He closed his eyes as he continued stroking the cat, and recalled effortlessly the two images that dominated his nightmares: drowning, unable to release his grip on the bodies dragging him down, and a bald old man with a ragged beard, lecturing him about something important that faded as he woke.
"So," Ty Lee gracefully dropped to the bench beside him, "What are we gonna do once we get back?" The exchange over Azula had been all but forgotten the next morning, but Akira felt that something wasn't the same. It's nothing major, but it feels...stiff, I guess. Like we're being nice because we have to.
"Well, I'm not sure about you, but I'm sure I'll go back to work somewhere, maybe back to guarding the Palace. It's a spell in a stone frigate, yeah, but without someone doing the boring jobs, the rest wouldn't be able to function either." He leaned onto the deck railing, "I just hope they send us somewhere nice in the Earth Kingdom."
"What? Why?"
"Well, I mean--Look, we're happiest on the battlefield. It's comfortable there, everything makes sense, you don't have to worry about anything but your unit and your objective."
"So--so, you weren't having fun back there?" Her thumb hooked back toward the receding island.
"No, no! I mean, yes I had fun! But..." He shrugged.
"But what?" The acrobat's voice had an unsettling edge to it.
"But it was wrong. I'm supposed to be out there helping my brothers while I'm stuck there on that island. I--Sorry, this is all coming out wrong, but--"
"Yeah, apparently! So, let me get this straight, you'd rather face the possibility of death than hang out with me?" The couple on the side of the deck had finally broken apart to look over, and suddenly Akira fervently wished they would go back to what they had been doing. Meanwhile Ty Lee was pinning him to the deck with her eyes while he tried to think of anything that could possibly diffuse the situation.
"Look, you have to look at this from my point of view. I'm a soldier, and that means--"
"Means what? Means that you can't just act normal and have fun for a week with a friend? You know, there is a world outside your little squad, Akira! Why can't you just--"
"My duty is to the Wolves and my nation first, Ty Lee. Everything else is second, and I won't forsake my brothers for a second unless directly ordered by a superior."
"Oh, so that's why you went to Ember Island! Just because you got ordered to take a vacation, and you thought you might as well bring me along? Was that all I was, a--a--sparring partner? Someone you could just use to make yourself feel like it wasn't a total week wasted?"
"Listen! Just listen to me for a second!" You're not understanding, I"m not--"
"Apparently I don't understand! But then, of course I wouldn't, right? It's not like I've ever had to--to do all that stuff like y-you do. Of course in m-my perfect life I've never had to d-do horrible stuff like, like k-kill someone! Of course I don't understand!" Snatching the cat from Akira with a frightened meow, she stormed off to the far end of the deck, leaving Akira alone with the couple still staring couple.
"Why are you still staring at me?" Hurriedly the two turned away to watch the harbor slide from behind the edge of the capital island, as a dead silence reigned on the deck.
"Princess, Captain Hideyoshi has returned from Ember Island. The rest of White Unit are meeting him in the harbor now."
"And the naval unit?"
"They shall be arriving shortly as well, a few hours at most until they get here."
"Good. And the archer that I spoke to you about earlier?"
"Nothing concrete so far, although there was a suspicious disappearance last night."
"Tell me. Now."
"Y-yes, milady. Apparently, late last night the archer, whose name is Mina Sakomo, left the barracks and went...well, we're not sure. Our agents were only able to follow as far as the neighborhood to the east of Sozen's Arch. After that, she eluded us."
"Very well. When did she return?"
"Just before the garrison woke this morning. By the observation of our agents, she seems to have done this often. Milady, if I may..."
"Out with it, I'm in something of a rush this morning."
"Yes milady. Milady, why has the Red Naval Unit been recalled, instead of being directly sent to Kishima? They were only a few hours away where the messenger-hawk reached them."
"Why? I don't need to explain my actions to you, self-important as you are. Let's just say I've found clues to disturbing connections between treasonous parties and certain important members of our own nobility, connections which take precision and planning to sever properly. Deal with the archer quietly, I want to speak with her later. Dismissed."
Mina shuffled through the meager belongings in her bag, hunting for her bracelet. While she didn't mind wearing the thing loose, it had to be tightened if she was going to wear it in combat.
"Can't have my magic bracelet getting in the way of my arrows, now can I? Now where's Benkei?" She left her room in search of the fabled Yu-Yan repairman. Whether it was a busted boot sole or a crack on a priceless family heirloom, Benkei could make it look and feel like new, as well as make nearly any change you could ask for. She actually owed Benkei for fixing up an old pair of boots to fit her small feet, just as all her clothing had to be altered for her smaller frame.
Yes, being one of a mere handful of girls in the Yu-Yan certainly had its drawbacks, but there were some definite perks as well. The greatest--at the behest of the barracks supervisor himself, lovingly nicknamed "Mom"--was her own room. She didn't really mind missing out on all the "guy talk" among the others, to be honest, although her discovery of Ty Lee had been, in her opinion, the answer to a prayer.
"And today she's coming back! Wonder what crazy scheme Pink has up her sleeve this time?"
"Mina, a little help?" Senai's whiny voice brought her attention over to a large closet, which was resisting all of the young man's efforts to remove its contents. Sighing, she gently shoved him aside and bent over to examine the problem. "Oh, come on, Senai! You're never gonna get that thing out of there if--" She was cut off by a painful shove in the back, flipping her over onto a large bedroll. As she thrashed around to right herself, the door slammed shut with a jarring impact, and she could hear the small thunk as the lock slid into place.
"Senai! Senai, you illigitimate spawn of a rhino-cow's back warts! Get back over here and unlock this door or I swear I will shove your bow so far up your--"
"Ah, shut it Mina! Don't worry, someone from Palace Intelligence will be along in a few hours to take care of everything! In the mean time, why don't you just relax a bit!" Mina slammed her arm against the door as Senai walked away laughing.
"Do you understand your mission, Captain?"
"For the seventeenth time, yes, I understand perfectly! Now can we please get this over with quickly?" The small crowd approached the barracks where the last piece of their "army" was waiting. Akira led the way, followed by a shaking little man from the War Procurement Department. Granted, he may have been shaking at the feeling of being surrounded by the entirety of the Wolves also trailing the Captain.
"And you're sure you only need three?"
"Yes, you gold-hoarding lizard-rat. Three. Any less and they aren't worth bringing, any more and it's overkill." Akira was secretly enjoying the man's terrified expression, albeit with a little guilt. When returning to the Palace, he had been immediately given a hurried briefing on a situation in Kishima, as well as a packet with orders to not open until they reached Gaozhi Naval Yard, two islands away from their target, and not before. The Wolves, as a unit, had been ordered to go, and he was told they would meet the Red Pirates along the way.
The Yu-Yan, however, had been his idea.
"If you don't mind my asking, sir, ahh, why exactly are we asking for Yu-Yan archers?"
"Not archers, archer. There's only one I'm looking for, but as I said before they work best in groups of three or more. Well, here we are." Pushing open the door to the barracks, he came face-to-face with a middle-age officer who looked to be in the middle of a tirade against his men.
"Oh good! Lined up already, that'll make this easier!" He walked past the officer, who was soundlessly trying to turn his yelling on the arrivals, and surveyed the assembled archers. As he continued down the line, his fist began tightening in frustration. Finally, upon reaching the final archer, he turned to the officer.
"There's at least one missing. Where are the others?"
"Others? I, ah, I don't know what you're, ah, talking about." The officer smiled sweetly, backing away slowly from Akira.
"Sir! Sir, I really need to talk...to...you." Mina froze in the entryway, eyeing the armored Guardsman confronting the barracks supervisor. "Don't I know you guys?"
"There you are. I was beginning to worry." He turned to the supervisor, "I want her and two others. Which of them have the best urban combat scores?"
"Ah, sir--I think there's been some mistake. You see, Private Sakomo is unable to go on assignments at this time, due to...well, I'd rather not say."
"Well, then I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear that this isn't an assignment. It's called a "domestic force insertion." Thanks, Kojima. Even though now I wish I'd thought of that. He turned again to the supervisor, "Now about the scores?"
The supervisor seemed to wilt as he called out for two of the archers to come forward. Akira immediately forgot their names--he'd ask either Mina or Dasi later, he was good with names--and signalled to the Wolves to start clearing out. As they began leaving, Mina walked over to one of the archers lined up near the door.
"Hi, Senai. Don't worry, no hard feelings?" She recieved a weak smile in return. Smiling broadly, she then grabbed the front of the boy's tunic, pushing his head back with the other hand on his chin and slamming him into the wall.
Everyone froze. The silence seemed to stretch out forever, but then the boy was released, to fall with a dull thump on the barracks floor.
"Next time, there'll be hard feelings, and it won't be in a nice area either. Well, see ya!" With that, she all but bounced over to the waiting Guardsmen. "Stuff's in my room, I'll be back fast as I can."
Once the archer had left, Yarin's voice carried across the Wolves, "This was the kid that you said that Ty girl was friends with?"
"Shut it, Yarin."
"Shutting it, Pack Leader."
The rush of energy roared past them, tugging on Aang's steadily lengthening hair as a wall nearby was reduced to powder. Chancing a glance around the corner, he hurriedly took refuge once more as Combustion Man tensed for another attack.
"Come on, how stubborn can one guy be! And he doesn't even care about bystanders! What can we do against a guy like that?" Toph grunted as the wall shuddered under the next blow, and Aang knew they would have to find a new hiding place. Spotting a small well across the street, he motioned to the others.
"Alright, on three! One--" The blast made the ground shake, and the wall began crumbling, "Three!" The three sprinted across the street as the wall finally fell apart under the onslaught. Reaching the well, Aang grabbed Katara and all but threw her into the hole, fervently hoping the well had water at the bottom. Toph came next, but as he reached out to grab her, she shoved his hand away.
"Nobody tosses me around like a bag of rice." Climbing up the side, she turned to Aang, "If Sugar Queen doesn't have some soft water to land on, I swear I will come back from the Spirit World and haunt her for the rest of her natural existance!" Disappearing down the hole, Aang suddenly found himself facing the advancing Combustion Man. I wish I hadn't sent Sokka to go get Appa. Either he'll never find us and assume the worst, or he will find us and get toasted!
"Uh, can't we talk this out like nice people?" A miniature explosion kicked up the ground at his feet. "Guess not. Well, see ya!" Turning and diving into the well, he felt the blast wave slam down on him, crushing him into the sides of the hole and turning his dive into a crashing plunge through darkness to hit something hopefully softer than dirt.
Suddenly, a wave of water crashed over him, and his fall began slowing. Blurrily opening his eyes, he could only see the darkness around him. Then the water around his head peeled back. letting in much-needed air. After what felt like an eternity, he felt ground under his feet and the last of the water subsided, leaving him staring into the darkness.
"Sorry if it took me a while to slow your fall, I had to make sure Toph got to shore okay." Katara's voice was reassuring amid the disorienting blackness. Aang began groping around for the others. Finding something that felt like cloth, he grabbed hold, only to recieve a massive blow to the side of his head.
"Twinkle Toes! What the heck do you think you're doing!" Toph's squeak helped him shake the stars from his eyes as he hurriedly tried to figure out just what he'd done wrong.
"Sorry, forgot you're blind down here. Reflexes. Next time, just wait for me to give you a hand, okay?"
"Sorry, Toph. Umm, what exactly did I--"
"You don't wanna know."
"I hate to say it, but I think we need to stay down here for a while. Whats-his-name up there probably won't give up on us that easily, and I don't know if there's another way out."
"There isn't. I just checked." Toph's voice was flat, and Aang could only stare at where he assumed his feet were as he failed to come up with any other way out of this.
"Look on the bright side, we've got all this water to bend, once we're convinced he's gone it'll be easy to just come back up the well and be off to the next town!"
"Yeah, of course! In the meantime, what are we going to do?"
"I dunno."
"I got nothing, Twinkle-Toes."
"Oh. Well..."
"What?"
"Wanna talk about our place in the universe?"
WHAM
So, how was it? If anyone wants to know, Aang's last comment was sort of ripped off from episode 313 (now helpfully airing on Youtube, gotta love technology). In other news, I'd like to take this time to thank Karen Traviss, who's Republic Commando series has turned out to be a real inspiration for Akira, the Wolf Pack, and Ling. And for those of you who know, yes Nei is meant to be an exaggerated Walon Vau. And yes, I know I credited Republic Commando before, but it's just that good.
Well, I've rambled on enough, so I better get back to writing. Coming up sometime soon: Team Avatar versus Akira--Round II! This time, the gloves are coming off...
--There's a good reason why it's called "God-given talent"--NullChronicler