Chap. 13

Gathering of Earth Part 2

The rains fell hard around the mountains, as if the gods above had decided to unleash another flood upon the world. For those who could see, it appeared only a matter of time before the great earth kingdom once known as Omashu would be washed away. But the kingdom had survived much lately; it's conquering by the Fire Nation, the loss of it's King, and even the loss of its name. It would take more then rain to destroy it after that. So no one inside the city was all that concerned. Not even the foreign invaders from the Fire Nation; indeed, one guard even whistled as he moved to switch posts, expecting an eventful few hours and then bed.

But the guard did not have the gift of foresight, else he would have expected anything but a quiet, peaceful night. As he stood, lost in memories of the girl he had left back hone in the Fire Nation, two long, sinuous chains began to lower down from on high. Lost in his thoughts and hearing nothing but the sound of the rain, the guard did not hear the clanks as the chains came towards him. He did not hear the noise as the chains finally touched ground. He did not even feel it when they rose up of their own accord, and slowly began to wrap themselves around his ankles.

Once they were secure, the chains suddenly tightened - which the guard did feel- and before he could react to his new imprisonment, the chains were suddenly pulled back up with exceptional force. The guard screamed in terror and surprise as he was flipped upside down and hoisted through the air, the ground rushing away from him at an unbelievable rate. Finally, the chains began to slow, then eventually stop, leaving the guard suspended in the air. Still terrified, the guard covered his eyes as he slowly spun in the air. But then something reached out and grabbed him, halting his spin.

"Look at me." A strange, musty voice hissed suddenly.

Surprised, the guard pulled away his hands, only to gape in utter horror. Standing before him was a man dressed in tattered gray clothes, made dark gray by the rain that still spilled down from the sky. His face was also covered in gray wrappings, masking all but his large eyes. A long cloak was wrapped around his body, covering all but his arms. But what was stranger then all of that was that this man was standing upside down, his feet somehow sticking to the large stone awning above him. As the guard continued to stare, he saw that the chains that held were somehow attached to the man' hands. But before he could take a close r look, the gray man pulled his hands back, drawing the guard in close.

"I don't have a lot of patience for stupidity." The gray man said, in his dust-filled, musty voice. "So, I'm going to paint as clear a picture as I can for you. I have a question. You will answer it. If you don't, you will feel punishment beyond anything you have experienced before."

"W-What do you want to know?" the guard sputtered.

"I'm looking for someone. And I think you know where he is. Where is the governor keeping King Bumi?"

"I-I don't know. No one was told where Bumi was before. I don't even know if they did move him."

The gray man looked at the guard a moment, then suddenly, the tension on the chains vanished, and the guard began to fall. He screamed as the ground came towards him faster and faster, without mercy. Then, just as he was about to hit, the tension came back into the chains, and he shot back up to where the gray man stood.

"You don't want to lie to me." The man said as the guard shook in fear. "You see, I don't care about you personally, so I don't really care if you live or die. But there's a part of me that's hoping you aren't going to cooperate."

"You see, I'm on what you'd call a liquid diet." The gray man continued, as to the guard's horror, two more sets of hands emerged from the folds of the gray man's cloak and began to undo the wrappings on his face. As the wrappings came away, the gray man finished his speech.

"And I'm very hungry."

The guard had been wrong. This being was not a man at all. It was a demon, sent from the deepest corner of Hell, come in the guise of that horrible thing he feared above all else. As the last of the wrappings came away, and the face of the spider was fully revealed to him, it laughed its strange musty laugh, and leaned in closer.

"Now, I can feed either with you alive or dead."¨ It said, its mandibles running over the guard's face as he wept in fear. "But it's easier for me to do it when you're dead and the juices are flowing out of the body. And it is a long way down. However, I could be persuaded to find my food elsewhere. Now, if you'd be so kind…"

"The palace!" the guard cried out. "He's keeping Bumi somewhere in the palace. The governor was afraid of losing him again so he keeps him close. But no one has any idea where. That's all I know, I swear!"

The spider was silent a moment, then the guard felt the chains loose tension again. He felt the wind shoot by his face as he fell, praying for a swift death. But instead, he stopped about a foot off the ground, then the chains around his feet unwrapped themselves and he fell the rest of the safe distance. Scrambling back to his feet, he watched as the chains rose back into the shadows of the buildings.

Hierro watched the guard scamper off into the night, and smiled as he re-wrapped his face. Who says reading Batman is useless? The spider thought to himself, as he walked over to the wall, and began to climb down. The spider was a longtime fan of the Dark Knight, perhaps because he understood the effectiveness of fear, even more then Oscuridad did. While many of the Knights disliked the inconveniences that came from being non-human, Hierro reveled in them. He loved being able to frighten his enemies and gain a feeling of power from doing so.

This was likely due to the fact that Hierro was the most alien of all his brethren, but he had decided long ago that it was better to use those differences then be ruled by them. Of course, he was smart enough to know when to conceal himself, but when he could act out, he loved it. The fear on the guard's face had been the perfect solvent to unseal his lips. Now the spider knew just enough to make his search successful. It would've taken him days to search Omashu, but now, he had a far more localized plan of attack.

Not that this new information made it any easier. Freeing Bumi would've been hard from anywhere in New Ozai, but the Royal Palace would have the heaviest protection of all. After all, the Fire Nation governor seemed to care about his family a great deal. He had been willing to trade his greatest prisoner for his son. Regardless of his affiliation, Hierro had to admire the man's dedication to his family.

"Even so, it doesn't make my job any easier." The spider grumbled, as he turned to face the next building. Tensing his muscles, Hierro quickly leapt from his location and clung to the wall of the next building, his hands and feet clinging as he did so. Climbing with all the animal grace given to him, the spider moved up to the roof and flipped to his feet. Looking out, he saw the huge structure of the Royal Palace stand before him, it's towers seeming to cut through the pouring rain. But despite the rain, the banners of the Fire Nation still hung from them.

"Well, that rules out the front door." Hierro said, as he looked over the palace, trying to see anything he could use to get inside. But nothing was apparent, and he silently cursed the builders of the palace for using stone as building material. If there had been metal in the palace, he could have used it to sneak inside. But the whole of the building was stone and wood, nothing that he could use to his advantage. At that moment, Hierro wished that Aire was still with him. He and the falcon had parted ways a day after separating from the Army, since the bird had his own mission to accomplish. Though it was a vital mission, Hierro still wished his brother was here. Aire could've turned them into air itself and gotten them in that way. But he was gone, and that meant that Hierro was going to have to figure this out himself.

The spider began to consider climbing up the front wall and perhaps climbing in through a window. With the rain, it was unlikely that anyone would see him and if he was careful, he could sneak in without being noticed.

Yeah right. If this guy is as protective as I think, he's probably got some sort of alarm at every window. He'll know in five minutes. Then again, what else can I do? There's no other way besides the front door.

Sighing, Hierro prepared to make his way to the next building, where he could make his leap to the palace wall. But then he heard something that caught his attention, looking down at the streets, Hierro saw a horse-drawn cart speed through the streets, it's cargo wrapped in canvas, heading towards the palace. Hierro wondered who would be making a delivery at this time, but then the canvas pulled open a moment, giving the spider a glimpse of what was inside. Seeing it, the spider smiled and mentally thanked his Architect for this stroke of luck.

The cart sped along the streets, finally reaching the Royal Palace. Bringing his horse to a halt, the driver leapt from his seat and began to pound on the doors.

"Open up! In the name of Darya open up, you dogs! I'm getting soaked out here!" the driver cursed. After a moment, there was a creak, and the large doors of the palace began to swing open. The driver stepped back, then grabbed the reins of his horse and led the animal and the cart inside.

"Gods, what a night!" he swore, as the doors shut behind him. Shaking himself to dry off, the driver said, "All this for such a worthless piece of cargo?"
"It's far from worthless my friend." Said a voice from the side. The driver turned around as the Fire Nation Governor approached, flanked by two guardsmen.

"And why's that? It's just a chunk of iron." The driver sneered.

"Yes, but it is a very important chunk of iron." The governor said, as he reached over and pulled back the canvas, revealing the large gray black within the cart. As he looked it over, he said "This is the final piece needed to complete the statue of Fire Lord Ozai."

"Really? I saw that by the front gates when I came in." the driver said. "Seems like a bit of a waste though, considering all the problems you're having with the rebels. I would've sent more men."

Sighing, the Governor said, "True. But the Fire Lord says all troops are needed for the war effort, so I must deal with the troops I have. But I may finally have found a way to eliminate the rebel problem once and for all."

"That so? Good for you." The driver replied. "Well then, I'll just take my payment and be on my way."

"In this weather? I think not." The Governor answered. "Guards, tell the servants to prepare a room for our guest. He will stay here as my guest."

"Well, that's might generous of you." The driver replied. "Most royal type folk I deliver to are utter snobs."

"I remember what it is like to be on the other side, my friend." The Governor said. "Now then, how about something warm to eat?"

The driver nodded, and he and the Governor left the room, leaving the cart with the guards. Moving over to it, they took the horse's reins and began to direct it to the storage area, where the metal would be melted down and molded in the morning. But as they moved it, the cart suddenly bucked. Both horse and guard were startled, but after a moment, both dismissed it and continued walking. But within seconds, the cart bucked again, this time snapping the reins as it reared up of it's own accord, then fell back down, the iron sliding out of the cart as it did so. The horse was considerably spooked, thrashing around in fear. It took two guards to calm it down, as the others approached the large block.

The guards looked at the block with much curiosity. For all intents and purposes, it seemed a regular piece of iron.

"Do you think something was hiding under it?" one guard asked.

"What are you, stupid? How could anyone hide under that thing? It must weigh more then a hundred pounds!" another guard snapped, as he reached out to touch it. But as he did, the metal shivered, and then stretched forth and slammed into his chin, knocking him back. Before any of the other guards could react, the metal stretched out in other places and knocked each one of them out. Then, when the last guard was laid out on the floor, the metal shivered one last time, and then a large, man-like shape began to grow out of it. Within seconds, it had resumed its normal form, and changed back to flesh. Hierro looked over his handiwork and smiled.

"Works every time." The spider said, as he leapt off the block and headed for the main door.

"So how's somebody like you end up as governor of this city?" the driver asked, as he sat at the governor's table.

"Hard work, mostly." The governor replied, as his wife poured his tea. "I spent ten years working in the Fire Lord's court, handling the affairs on the westernmost isle. Then, when Omashu fell, he named me governor as a reward."

"Must be nice." The driver said. "After all, you're like royalty here, ain't cha'?"

"Somewhat. Royalty is at least respected." The Governor replied. "The people in Omahsu are not quite happy with me. I do my best to keep the city operating and to be fair to the people, but it is not easy."

"I can imagine. Can't you ask for help? Ask the Fire Lord what he would do or something?"

"Actually, I have an arrangement very much like that."

The palace hallways were deserted, save for two guards at either exit. But that made no difference to Hierro. He skittered along on the ceiling, not making a sound as he traversed the palace. When he came to an entryway, he merely found a crack, transformed his body into liquid metal, and then slid through. But all of it was meaningless. He had no idea where to go. The palace was vast and he needed to find Bumi and get him out before one of the guards looked up at an inopportune moment.

Think, think. If the Governor is smart, he's keeping Bumi in that metal case thing. But he know Bumi can still Earthbend. So he must've put him in a place where there is no earth. So where would I find something like that in a Royal Earthbender Palace?

Suddenly, it came to him. Bumi would've needed to imprison renegade Earthbenders as well. And since he didn't have the ability to stop their powers, he would've also needed to place them somewhere that they couldn't bend. Someplace that contained no earth. Someplace….. metal. Yes, of course! A prison cell covered in metal! That was the only way to imprison an Earthbender and be sure to keep him there.

And if that's the case, then there is metal somewhere in this palace. Metal I can sense!

Hierro paused on the ceiling, calming his mind and reaching out for anything that could lead him to his goal. For a long while, he could feel nothing of his element, nothing that could lead him to his goal. All he could sense was the earth and stone of the palace. But then, he felt a twinge, a tug of that familiar element. Turning in its direction, the spider began to crawl towards it.

"So what about your lady here?" the driver asked. "I can't imagine she was thrilled to just pack up and leave home."

"It was difficult at first." The Governor's wife agreed, sitting down next to her husband. "But the city has its charms as well as its difficulties."

"The most difficult incident occurred a few months ago." The Governor explained. "The rebels tricked us into letting them out of the city, and kidnapped my son. Plus, Princess Azula arrived."

"Azula? I've heard of her. I can't imagine it went over well."

"It didn't. She organized the negotiations to get my son back, but they nearly fell through. After that, she left with my daughter to find the Avatar, after renaming the city."

"Well, at least she didn't fry you." The driver said.

"Indeed." The Governor replied. He paused a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, I've just remembered a pressing engagement. I will be back shortly, but feel free to ask for anything you need."

"Thanks." The driver said, as the Governor got up and left.

"Has he fallen asleep yet?" the guard moaned to his partner.

"If he had, we'd be hearing that snoring of his, wouldn't we?" his partner asked back. "He's probably watching that bug again."

In response, the prisoner inside the cell yelled, "C'mon Harold, you can do it! You can beat the dust!"

"He does realize the bug has been dead for three days?" the first guard muttered.

"How on Earth did he ever get to be king?" the second muttered.

"Don't take him lightly. From what I heard, he's pretty wily."

"Yeah? Is that why he surrendered without throwing a punch?"

Both guards laughed at that, but then their laughs turned to gasps, as something suddenly wrapped around their throats and pulled them up…..

"Ohh, that was a fine blow, Harold!" Bumi said gleefully, as the dung beetle that had died in his cell a week ago lay on the floor, next to the dustball. Bumi would've continued in his rant, but suddenly there was a creak of steel, and then the door was ripped off its hinges and thrown aside. Bumi turned to see a figure dressed in gray walk through the doorway.

"King Bumi, it's good to meet you." Hierro said.

"Oh, are you here to deliver my lunch?" Bumi asked. "You're late you know. I ordered this afternoon."

"Uh no, I'm a friend of Aang's and,…."

"Oh, how is Aang? Is he still thinking like a mad genius?"

"Sure, I guess. Um, anyway, I'm here to bust you out."

"Oh good, I can finally get my lunch then!"

"Right, right.' Hierro muttered, as he walked towards the King's cage. "He is as crazy as they say." The spider grumbled, as he moved to open the cage, a voice said, "Not another step. Put your hands up and turn around."

"And who are you?" the spider asked.

"Someone that has a lot of power here. Now do as I said."

"Oh ok then. You wanted my hands up right?" Hierro said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Slowly, the spider began to raise up his arms. His first set of arms, anyway. Then, as the man behind him watched, he raised up the second set, then the third, until they were all visible. Then, before he could react, Hierro twisted his hands around and shot out a length of chain, wrapping it around the man before he could even blink. Once Hierro heard the man fall, he turned, only to see the Fire Nation Governor wrapped up like a present.

"Well, isn't this special?" the spider said, as he pulled off his mask. The governor gasped at the sight of the spider's face. But before Hierro could do anything, Bumi said, "Oh, is it that time again Chi Tu?"

"I thought it was, Your Highness." The Governor said from his bonds.

"Wait a sec. You two know each other?" Hierro asked in confusion.

"For a while now." The Governor explained. "I came to see Bumi after the mess with the rebels and my son. I wanted to ask him what he knew about this city."

"Why? So you could keep it under your fist?" Hierro sneered.

"No, so I could learn to keep things under control until I could turn it back over to him." The Governor explained. "When my son was kidnapped, Azula nearly lost him because of her selfish pride. Then she took my daughter with her to track the Avatar. She cares nothing for me and my family, and neither does the Fire Lord. He hasn't sent aid since then. I no longer have any reason to be loyal. I don't care about the war, I just want to be safe and secure with my loved ones. But the Fire Lord doesn't care about that at all. I must keep up apperances for now, but I will help in anyway I can to brng him down."

"Your daughter….. your Mai's father?!" Hierro exclaimed.

"You've seen her? How?"

"I've been traveling with the Avatar. My name is Hierro, but most know me as Forger, Elemental Knight of Metal."

"By the Gods!"

"Exactly. We ran into your daughter and Azula a few times. Mai's proven herself to be an honorable opponent, and I was actually happy to work with her a while back."

"I am glad to hear that, great Knight." The Governor said. "But what brings you here?"

"The Avatar is forming an Army to bring down the Fire Lord." Hierro explained. "I was sent to recruit King Bumi."

"If that is the case, then I will be glad to release Bumi." The Governor said. "if you would be so kind to release me of course."

Hierro nodded, but first turned to Bumi, who nodded his head in agreement. Seeing that, Hierro released the chains from the Governor. The man quickly got to his feet, and reached into the pockets of his robes and handed the spider a key.

Hierro nodded, and then moved over to Bumi's box. Placing his hand on it, he said, "I'll release him when we get to our destination. Thank you for your help."

The Governor nodded, and with that, Hierro reached into his cloak and withdrew the stone that Trueno had given him. There was a blinding flash of light, then a crack of thunder, and when the Governor looked again, all he saw was a smoking spot where the Knight and Bumi had stood.