Disclaimer: We don't own Avatar. We're not making any money from writing this.
Ah, the joys of finding out one must do more work than one prepared for… Actually, it's a pain.
Would you believe I'm the one that identifies with Mai?
-x-x-x-x-x-
Chapter 29: Fury of the Suppressed
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Some of these guards are acting strange." Lin whispered to Sura as they wandered through the halls, waiting for all the arrangements to leave to be made. "They keep… watching me."
"They're guards," Sura said with a laugh, "that's their job." No matter what Sura was saying, she was nervous.
Lin shook her head. "Normal guards watch like that right now. Look!"
Sura looked at the guards' blank faces. They regarded her as if she were a common sort of bird flying past a window for the thousandth time. "They don't care who we are…" Sura guessed at Lin's point.
"We're just moving bodies," Lin confirmed. "But I get the feeling that some of these men are watching me as if they want to eat me… like there's… a price on my head."
Sura shivered. She hoped Lin wouldn't learn how accurate that statement could be. Not before she could get this information to Zuko, at least. What if there were a reward out for Lin—or more accurately, for Lady Mai? What if one were out for Sura herself? She was an escapee of the Order, too, after all, and she knew their secrets… Lin's hunches, whenever she had them, were usually right, too… Suddenly she needed comforting, and gripped Lin's hand. "We need to find the Fire Lord."
Lin ripped her hand away. "You can. I'll find something to do on my own." There was a stubborn set in her jaw.
"Fire Lord Zuko will guard you with his life," Sura said.
"He can keep it," Lin said, turning on her heel.
Sura frowned at Lin's retreating back. She had to keep her from getting away! "Wait, Lin!" she called.
"Leave me alone!" Lin called back.
Sura pulled up short. This wasn't a good thing, but on the bright side, Lin was developing a backbone. She shouldn't nip that in the bud. She sighed. At least guards would be watching Lin, whether or not it made her uncomfortable.
Lin stopped in a doorway and looked back at Sura. She bit her lip. Maybe, if abandonment was going to be so much of a problem, she should stop asking to be left alone…
"Are you Lin Qiang?"
Lin looked up to see three guards standing over her. Backing away from them, she nodded.
"We were sent to find you, " said the same guard who'd spoken before, "by Fire Lady Mai."
Lin gasped and fell to her knees. "I am my lady's servant," she said. "The Fire Lord will be pleased that she has arrived."
The guards laughed maliciously at Lin's bowed head.
"Come on, then, Blue Jade."
More guards arrived from nowhere.
Lin was not alarmed.
"The Fire Lady will speak with you now."
Lin sensed that the man was on the brink of laughter. Why shouldn't he be? This was a happy day.
"Fire—Zuko!" Sura called. Why should she bother with his title if they were supposed to be friends? She still hadn't found him! How annoying!
"Sura! Why do you need Zuko?" Suki and Toph asked, from where Suki had been doing Toph's hair.
Sura noticed that Toph must have taken her turn on Suki's head, but didn't say anything about it, because she would have ended up laughing, and this wasn't the time. "Lin has been noticing a problem with some of the guards around here. I think Zuko should look into it."
"He's with Twinkle Toes and the Body Guard in Waiting. They're Fire Bending."
"A beg your—Twinkle Toes?" Sura asked in confusion.
"She means Aang," Suki explained.
"Thanks—bye!"
"Aang, if you're going to hold back, stop getting in the way!" Zuko said.
"You want me to unleash full Avatar power on you?" Aang cringed. "I don't want to do that."
"Zuko, just let him hold back," Topekaia sighed with a roll of her eyes.
"He just wants a tougher distraction," said Aang.
"Zuko!" Sura called again, finally reaching ear shot.
Zuko quit deflating and looked up at Sura. "What's wrong?" Lin wasn't with her!
"Lin says some of the guards are looking at her strangely."
Fire collected around Zuko's fists. "Is she interested?" he asked dangerously.
"Well, yes. I don't think she'd have told me if she—"
A potted plant burst into flame. "How dare they?" Zuko roared.
"Oh, sorry!" Sura shook her head at the seething Zuko. "You've got it all wrong! She thinks they're dangerous."
The fires Zuko had set died down. "Somehow, danger is better." Nonetheless, Zuko was blushing.
Lin calmly walked flanked by the guards. She was almost excited to meet the now-famed Fire Lady… who was apparently her twin… No, Lin put that thought out of her mind. She probably only looked a bit like the most likely gorgeous Fire Lady. Lin imagined herself kneeling before the regal lady, who would be so very royal it might be physically impossible to bow low enough… "Is the Fire Lady well?" she asked the nearest guard. She didn't know why she asked. Maybe it was so she could be sure in her mind that the Fire Lord would be happy. Somehow that was important to her.
The guard rolled his eyes at her. "No. She is in grave danger." The man joined his friends in laughter.
Lin gasped. "What's wrong with her?"
"A lot of people want her dead." More laughter.
Lin stopped walking. "Why are you with me instead of guarding the Fire Lady? She needs to be finding her husband!" Lin choked slightly. "He'd give his life for her. She'd be safe…" Was she jealous? Suddenly she wanted to be Fire Lady herself. The phantom lady in her mind got blurry around the edges… was that… herself on the throne? Oh, if she could just see the Fire Lord!
The guards burst into laughter once more. "I'll bet he would!" said one.
"Let him die for her. Once he's gone, she won't be important any more, anyway!" said another.
Lin's jaw dropped open. What was this? "What?" she asked in sudden anger. How dare they? She was ignored.
"The Traitor Prince hasn't changed a bit. The Fire Nation was great once. Now that ugly child is leading them into—"
"Ugly!" Lin screeched. "Child?" she tackled the man who'd uttered those words. "You aren't getting away with that!"
The startled guards watched four of their fellows pegged to the floor and columns before ever moving.
Four of them were too slow.
The remaining two shook in terror and ran off.
"Cowards! She's just a puppet!" the speaker of these words was promptly slapped across the face by a hand with long, sharp finger nails.
"She's crazy!" someone shouted.
"Why aren't we earthbending at her?" another asked.
"Because it would do you no good," Lin said. Her voice was low, raspy and smooth. She regarded the men through narrow, angry eyes.
Nobody noticed when a door opened.
"Why did you have to do this to us?" asked a whiner.
"Why did you have to disrespect the Fire Lord?" Lin shot back.
"Who would respect such a—"
"My knives miss your vital organs on purpose, you know."
There was a collective cringe and intake of breath.
"We should be breaking out of here! We were sent to capture her, weren't we? We outnumber her, don't we?"
"You were sent to capture me? Why me?"
The guards groaned and rolled their eyes.
"Remember how easy it was to convince her that the Fire Lady wanted to talk to her! Of course she doesn't know."
"What are you talking about?" Lin asked in exasperation.
A few of them exchanged glances and grinned.
"About how involved you are in the plot to kill the Fire Lady."
This statement inspired more laughter.
Lin was white as a cloud. "I would never!" she protested.
"No, she wouldn't," came the tense, angered voice of none other than the Fire Lord himself. He appeared flanked by Avatar Aang, Sura and Topekaia. "Good job, M-Lin," he said more gently.
Lin smiled and blushed, hurrying over to him. "Two got away, my lord," she said. Her smile faltered for a moment, then she threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. "It's nice to see you," she said.
Zuko blinked. "Wow," he said. His arms went around Lin as he looked at the guards over her head. "What's this I hear about my Fire Lady?"
Everyone was silent.
"Get behind me, Lin," Zuko whispered.
Lin nodded. "Right away, sir," she whispered back.
Zuko shot a glance back at her. "My name is not sir…" he grumbled, but turned back to the guards. "You are in the palace of King Bumi, and it is his privilege to put you in jail, not mine. That's really disappointing." He turned back to Lin. "Which one is in charge?" all the menace disappeared from his voice, instantly replaced by gentleness.
"I wasn't able to tell," Lin said. "I'm sorry…"
Zuko gripped her shoulder for a moment. "It doesn't matter, Lin, I'll figure something out."
Lin let Sura and Topekaia each wrap an arm around her. It was an odd sensation, hot on one side and cold on the other, but she felt the two parts of her life together with both of them, her imprisonment and her freedom… and two friends. She put her arms around Sura and Topekaia in return.
Zuko looked at Aang. "Will you please be so kind as to speak with King Bumi about this incident and warn him that two more are at large?"
"Are you sure you want me to leave?" Aang asked.
"Someone has to, and it looks like Topekaia, Sura and… Lin, have formed a blob."
Aang nodded and hurried off.
"You girls can go, too. I want to question these men."
"I don't think we should," Lin said.
Zuko raised a brow at her. "Why not?"
"Well… They were mostly intimidated before… If they get desperate they might…"
"Hurt me?" Zuko cupped Lin's chin. "Don't you worry."
Lin blushed furiously. "Of course not, my lord."
"That's right, I am yours. I'll see you later." Zuko kissed her forehead quickly, and then looked to Topekaia, who nodded and pulled Lin away.
"You'll be all right with them, won't you?" Lin asked over her shoulder.
"We've handled much worse," Aang assured her.
"Have you handled a traitor in your ranks?"
"We have no traitors among us," Aang snapped.
"Are you sure? Lin Qiang!"
"No!" Zuko shouted, and ran to the man who was speaking, hands surrounded by flames, ready to plug up his mouth, only for every other one to begin the hypnotic phrase himself.
Aang and Topekaia rushed to silence them, but each could only stop the mouths of one.
Sura took the direct approach and covered Lin's ears.
"Lin Qiang, it's time to attack!" the free-mouthed earthbenders shrieked.
"That's not her command phrase!" Sura shouted at them as she rushed Lin out of the room.
"It isn't the normal one, at least," one of them muttered to Zuko.
"Well, now that she's out of earshot, I don't have to worry any more… but you do." Zuko drew one of his swords and plunged its blunt hilt into the man's gut, effectively silencing him for lack of air. "You will not make her fight me." He turned with bared teeth to the other earthbenders, who stared at him with unmasked apprehension. "None of you will. Understood?"
Aang laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "It's enough, Zuko. King Bumi will take care of this—"
"No. I'm not letting anyone take care of my problems anymore!" Zuko shouted, shaking Aang off. "I trusted the Earth Kingdom village to keep the firebenders who tried to kidnap Mai in the first place locked up. I trusted Sura to make Mai brave enough to speak to me again… that pretty much worked out, but the principal stands."
"Zuko, Mai was my friend, too—"
"Don't you dare use past tense!" Zuko yelled at Topekaia.
Topekaia narrowed her eyes. "Fire Lord or not, you will have to calm down and handle this rationally."
"That's right," one of the nameless earthbenders said mockingly, "listen to the servant girl, Fire Lord. It looks like you've wasted no time finding a replacement for the Fire Lady. She's already giving you orders!"
Both Zuko and Topekaia turned red in the face— though not with blushing.
"How dare you?" they both burst out in contempt, their hands spouting flames.
"Both of you need to stop letting them get to you!" Aang shouted, finally getting irritated rather than merely concerned. "Topekaia, go find Bumi. I'll be able to sense if any of these men so much as breathe out of line."
Topekaia sighed and marched out to find the king, muttering insults under her breath.
"Feel any better, Zuko?" Aang asked.
"I'll feel better when I know that Bumi has a deep, wooden dungeon where these men can rot," Zuko replied, fixing a glare on the nearest earthbender so full of rage he may as well have willed him to start rotting where he stood.
"Bumi is a mad genius, you know," Aang pointed out. "I'm sure he'll think of something."