The ship's bow lowered onto the beach, bathing the cargo hold in the bright morning sun. I urged my mount forward, and the large, imposing Komodo Rhino started moving, followed by half a dozen others.
Once our Rhinos stepped onto the sand, the Cruiser's bow was raised. The twins and their mounts followed close behind me, along with four armoured Firebending soldiers.
While my ship carried several hundred soldiers, I preferred to move with a smaller party. That way, we would be able to move more quickly and more quietly through the land. Maintaining stealth was key, as we were now in Earth Kingdom territory; the King of Omashu would likely take umbrage at my presence in his lands.
After moving through the landscape for some time, we eventually came to a modest-sized cave that looked like it could hold our Rhinos and equipment.
"We'll make camp here" I told the four soldiers, who started to bring the Rhinos into the cave. As they did so, the twins and I retrieved regular Earth Kingdom clothes that we had acquired from the last village my father and I had conquered.
Once our disguises were on, the twins let their hair fall loosely on their heads, while I removed the metal ring leaving my top-knot in place. To complete our looks, we put on pointed, wide-brimmed hats.
Turning to the four soldiers, I said "Stay here and await our return. Ensure that you're not discovered".
They all nodded, and the twins and I were on our way, leaving the cave behind us. We managed to make our way through natural paths most of the time, but any obstructions or possibly fatal changes were quickly rectified by the twins' Earthbending.
Eventually, we came to the foot of a steep cliff, one that looked almost as high as my Cruiser was long. "Well", I said, crossing my arms, "there's no way we can possibly ascend this steep cliff".
I glanced at both of the twins, breaking my usual stoic expression and smirking at them as they smiled.
I then cracked my knuckles before nodding to them. Jin made a pulling motion with his hands, and a rocky column extended outwards from the almost sheer rock face. With a running start, I pushed off the ground and onto the column before pushing off of it as well.
Another column then extended in my path, giving me another foothold to leap off of. This happened at least ten more times, until finally I grabbed hold of the cliff itself.
As I pulled myself up, the twins reached the cliff on stone platforms, easily beating the time it had just taken me.
Wiping the dust off my hands, I looked off in the distance, and beheld the great Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. I had to admit: it was a sight to behold. The entire city was built on the peak of a mountain, and the only way into it was via a single earthen walkway that led to a thick gate that could only be opened by Earthbenders.
Fortunately, that wasn't the only way into the city.
After sliding down to the bottom of the gorge via an earthen platform, the twins and I climbed up to a large sewer grate that I had learned about while reading about the city itself.
I gripped the top edge with both hands, using all of my strength to pry it open. The black, foul-smelling contents started oozing out into the gorge, and I had to plug my nose in order to avoid adding my last meal to the mix.
Looking over at the twins, I saw that they were in a similar state. Taking a deep breath, I sealed the grate back in place. Together, we then slogged through what must have been several hundred feet of sewage before we finally reached a hole that opened into a street.
A cursory look around showed that we were alone, and I got out before helping the twins up. Just as I helped Li onto the street, I heard footsteps, and the three of us quickly moved in between two nearby buildings. Li used his Bending to put the slab of rock back in the hole moments before a group of soldiers came walking down the street. Once they were gone, I wiped as much of the grime and sewage off of myself before I did the same for the twins, slapping their hands away when they tried to do it themselves.
Once they were mostly clean, I made the discovery that small, purple creatures had attached themselves to Jin and Li's faces.
The twins glanced at each other before gently rubbing the creatures' heads, which resulted in them releasing their grip. With that taken care of, I started walking through the streets, the twins following close behind, as we began our search for the Avatar.
"Now, be mindful" I told them. "Omashu is a very large city, so he could be just about anywhere. We have to be alert and keep our eyes open".
I had just finished saying the words when a stone delivery cart, used by the city's famed delivery system, came crashing down a few feet in front of us and destroying a cabbage cart. The cart's owner cried "My cabbages!" before the delivery cart slid across the street and shot off the edge. The cart itself didn't surprise me; what did was the fact that an old man in richly-coloured robes and a young boy with blue arrow tattoos were in it.
The Avatar.
I blinked a number of times, not quite believing my luck. "Right" I deadpanned, not having any difficulty in maintaining a serious expression.
"There they are!" a familiar female voice called from behind. Turning around, I saw none other than Takara standing at the other end of the street, pointing an accusatory finger at me as several guards came rushing behind her.
Shan We left with his twin Earthbenders and some soldiers, leaving me on the ship. Ever since we'd left Kyoshi Island days ago, we'd had three 'conversations' in his quarters over tea.
We talked about several things, ranging from general topics of interest to just about anything. It was rather strange, having civilized dialogue with a Fire Nation Captain. While he didn't seem as barbaric as that teenager that had attacked our village when the Avatar had been there, I knew that Shan We would do anything to capture the world's last chance for peace.
Knowing that I had to find the Avatar and warn him, I decided that my next course of action was to get to Omashu and hopefully, spirits willing, get there before the Firebender.
Ever since we had started our conversations, Shan We had given me free reign of the ship, in an effort to make me feel more comfortable. Despite everything, a small part of me felt guilty that I was effectively betraying his trust.
Walking through the metal corridors, I made my way to some kind of storage room. It seemed the most likely place where he would keep my weapons, and as I rounded a corner, I saw two soldiers armed with polearms, which meant that they weren't Firebenders.
I calmly walked over to them, feeling a trickle of sweat running down my painted face as I did so. Be strong, I thought to myself, trying my best to keep my nervousness at bay.
As I approached, the soldiers tensed, probably expecting some kind of trick.
Taking a deep breath, I remembered the endless training Suki had put us through. Though I was the oldest of all the Kyoshi Warriors in my village, I was the clumsiest and weakest of them all.
Not today.
Before the soldiers could react, I ran towards them and leaped into the air, striking the one on my left in the head with my foot. As he collapsed onto the floor, the other one tried to run me through with his halberd, but I managed to pry it from his hands and strike him across the back of the head with it, knocking his head against the metal wall and knocking him unconscious.
Dropping the halberd onto the floor, I stepped through the door and into some kind of armoury, where every conceivable type of weapon was available.
There! At the far end of the room, resting on a table, were my fans and katana. I quickly walked over to them, welcoming the familiar feel of the weapons I had trained for so long with. I also decided to grab two other swords, slinging their sheaths across my back.
I then ran out of the armoury and through the halls of the ship, having previously memorized the layout so as to effect a quick exit from the ship. Emerging onto the deck, I looked off in the distance, at the mountain range where Omashu was located, just as a fireball shot past my face.
Turning to my left, I saw a Firebender running towards me, along with several others. Running to the ship's bow, I gripped the edge as I vaulted myself over it, falling down several dozen feet and onto the shore.
Rolling as I landed so as to negate any possible injuries I might sustain from such a fall, I sprinted across the beach, forcing my legs to run as fast as they possibly could.
Eventually, I hid in a small group of bushes along the side of a dirt road, lying prone on the ground. Sure enough, the ground rumbled lightly as several soldiers from the ship came down the road, mounted on imposing Komodo Rhinos.
"Come on, she couldn't have gotten far!" one of them said as their mounts charged forward.
After a short time passed, the rumbling stopped, and I stood back up, dusting off the front of my kimono. At this point, it was looking rather worn, with burnt edges and dirt encrusted into it; still, I wanted to maintain at least some amount of pride.
Now that I was in the clear, I started to make my way towards Omashu. I'd gotten a pretty good look at its position on a map when Shan We had first brought me aboard, so I had a general idea as to where it was.
The only trouble would be getting through a mountain range to the city, where I would have to properly explain myself to the authorities there.
After what seemed like an eternity, I eventually found the entrance to a cave, one that seemed empty. Tentatively, I entered, doing my best to see as it rapidly became pitch-black.
Once I essentially lost the ability to see, I extended my arms forward, feeling my way through as I slowly walked along.
"Oh this is ridiculous!" I said, not caring that I was talking to myself in the dark. "How am I ever going to get through this cave without some kind of a torch?"
Just then, I tripped on some kind of a rock or other hard object, letting out a yelp as I fell forward. I must have reached some kind of inclined bit of tunnel, because I rolled downwards for a few moments before roughly landing on flat ground once more.
Groaning, I moved so that I was leaning against a wall, holding my aching side.
Finally deciding to give in to my despair, I started crying, feeling the tears run down my face as the hopelessness of my situation finally got to me.
"What am I even doing here?" I croaked, staring into blackness. I wasn't even sure if my eyes were open or not. "Why did I ever have to speak up?"
To save your home my inner conscience said, reminding me of what I already knew.
The thought of home brought back a torrent of happy memories, memories of my parents, of Suki and the other warriors, and everyone else in my village who truly made it feel like home.
I also remembered my mother. I saw her beautiful face looking down at me as she held me in her arms, singing songs in her enchanting voice. One of the main things I inherited from her was her singing voice, and she had even told me once, before she died, that 'the sound of my voice could enchant anything that had ears'.
A song came to mind, and with nothing to lose, I started singing, and remembering how it went as the words passed my lips. I heard the sound echoing through the pitch-black cave, and wondered if I would be able to sing for anyone ever again.
Suddenly, some kind of explosion sounded nearby, and I could hear the sounds of rocks and dust spreading through the tunnel. I pressed my knees against my chest, gently rocking as… something came to me.
Whatever it was, it was massive, and I soon felt it examining me closely, sniffing me with its nose. As my fear threatened to overtake me, I suddenly had a thought: did it come because of my song?
Turning my head to look at whatever it was, I started singing the same song, letting the words flow like a gentle stream.
The creature stopped sniffing me, and I felt, more than heard, it turning away from me. It didn't move any more, and I thought to myself Does it want me to climb onto it?
Deciding to take my chances, I stood up, trying to feel around for it. My hands suddenly felt soft fur, and I proceeded to climb my way onto its back. Once I was secure, I started singing again, and it started moving, somehow tunneling its way through the rock.
The creature traveled for several minutes, and finally, almost too good to be true, broke through a wall into open air.
I cried tears of joy as I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin. The light was almost blinding, but I didn't care. Sliding down off of the creature's back, I took a few steps back and saw that what I had just ridden was a giant Badgermole. The brown-furred creature turned its head towards me, regarding me for a moment before lumbering its large body back into the tunnel.
Taking a deep breath, I turned around and beheld the great city of Omashu. There appeared to be only one walkway leading to the main gate, so I wasted no time and ran across it.
I eventually came to the main gate, where a number of Earthbenders stood guard. "Halt!" one of them cried, bending a sizeable boulder from the ground and pointing it at me. "What business do you have in Omashu?"
"Please, you have to let me in!" I said, keeping a wary eye on the boulder. "There are Firebenders in the city, and they're after the Avatar!"
The guard bending the boulder glanced at his companions, obviously wondering about my sanity.
"Oh, I see" he said at last. "Been hitting the cactus juice, have we?" The other guards laughed derisively, and he said "Clear off with you; we don't need any insane people into the city".
"But please, you have to listen to me!" I begged.
"I said clear off!" he repeated, his tone leaving no room for interpretation.
With no other choice, I turned around and started walking back across the walkway. After all that effort, after nearly being lost in an underground tunnel, I'd failed. I'd failed to protect the Avatar, and I'd failed to protect the world.
Suddenly, I remembered the two extra swords on my back, and I had an idea. Seized by inspiration, I drew both blades before turning around and running towards the gate. The guards readied themselves for a fight, but I wasn't focused on them. I threw the two swords up, towards the wall, and I inwardly cheered as they both imbedded themselves into the stone.
When I came close enough, I pushed off the ground, landing on a guard's hat before pushing off of it and landing on one of the swords I had thrown. Using my agility and light weight, I leaped off of it and the other one, landing on top of the wall a moment later.
Triumphantly, I started running, leaping down off the wall and onto the street, rolling as I landed. I kept on running, even as I heard the gate sliding down and the guards pursuing me.
"Guards! Stop her!" one of them cried to another group of armoured men standing a few buildings away. They immediately started running towards me, and I turned into an alley, never breaking my stride.
Suddenly, a rock wall shot up at the other end of the alley, cutting off my route. Not one to be deterred, I leaped onto the wall of one of the buildings and then onto the other, allowing me to get over the wall.
Turning to my left, I thanked the spirits as I found who I was looking for. While they were in common clothes and covered in some kind of grime, I recognized the twin boys and Shan We's amber eyes.
"There they are!" I cried as the wall behind me lowered and the Earthbending guards came rushing towards me. "That man is a Firebender!"
I ran over to Shan We and the twins, who looked very surprised to see me, and very tense.
"Firebender?" a voice asked from nearby.
I looked to my left, and saw the young boy with Airbending tattoos on his bald head and hands standing on a rooftop.
"The Avatar" I said quietly. Looking back at the Earthbending guards that were running towards us, I realized that the element of surprise had been lost.
Deciding to cut my losses, I thrust my fist at the Avatar, sending a stream of blue flames towards him. The Airbender proved to be very nimble, easily dodging my attack and leaping impossibly high into the air, onto another building.
At the same time, the twins struck their feet against the ground, sending two streams of broken earth at two of the Earthbending guards. Once the streams reached their targets, large rocks suddenly emerged from the ground, launching the Earthbenders into the air. They then struck their other feet on the ground, summoning man-sized boulders which they punched forward.
With that distraction, I lifted Takara in my arms, and as she started to protest, the twins thrust their arms upwards, causing rocky columns to emerge and launch us into the air. Takara shrieked as we came to land on top of the wall, and she continued as the twins brought an angled rocky platform that carried us as it sped towards the walkway.
We arrived in short order, and we leaped down from atop the wall. I put Takara back on her feet, proceeding to grab her hand before we ran away from the city. We kept running for some time, not looking back, until we reached the cave where I had left the four Firebending soldiers.
Panting, I handed the Kyoshi Warrior over to one of the soldiers, saying "Take her. Pack up all the gear and get on your Rhinos; Earthbenders are after us!"
The soldiers immediately complied, rushing to pack up their camp and load everything onto the Rhinos' saddlebags. Turning to Takara, I asked "What were you thinking?" I let some of my anger through my stoic demeanor, which hopefully carried across how furious I was at her actions. "I treat you with respect and give you free reign on my ship, and this is how you repay me?"
The painted warrior stared defiantly with those damnable, alluring green and blue eyes of hers. "Oh, I'm sorry", she said sarcastically, "was I supposed to just stand by while you hunt down the world's only chance of ending this war? Please forgive me, oh Captain, my Captain".
I stared into her eyes, my expression still serious despite my inner rage. "Capturing the Avatar will end this war" I said as I took a measured breath. "He is an enemy of the Fire Nation; so long as he is out there, he will do nothing but sow more chaos and fruitless conflict. The only way this war can end is if we capture him. The Earth Kingdom will fall in time, and then the fighting will stop".
She snorted, looking off in the distance.
Suddenly, a voice called from behind me "Halt, in the name of King Bumi!"
I turned around and beheld around a dozen soldiers from Omashu, at least half of which appeared to be Earthbenders. The twins and the four Firebending soldiers moved beside me as I clasped my hands behind my back. "It would be foolish for you to fight me" I said evenly, looking at each of the men standing before me. "Leave now, and I promise that none of you will be harmed".
The man in the centre scoffed, replying "We won't be intimidated by Firebenders!"
I sighed, looking down at the ground as I shook my head in disappointment. "As you wish" I said a heartbeat before I took a deep breath, expelling it as brilliant blue flame.
The twins and the other Firebenders attacked as I did, and a vicious brawl soon erupted. I leaped over a boulder before it could hit me, proceeding to thrust my arms forward and sending a stream of flame forward.
From the corners of my eyes, I could see the twins engaged in a fierce duel with two other Earthbenders, trading every boulder with a potent strike of their own.
Noticing movement to my left, I turned to face two men holding halberds. Just as I prepared a strike, I suddenly sunk down all the way to my chest in some kind of quicksand. The two soldiers, capitalizing on my new impediment, started to charge me, but I responded by breathing blue flames at them.
As they were knocked to their feet, a shadow was cast over me. Looking up, I saw a large boulder hovering above the ground.
In that moment, I knew that I only had one course of action. Taking deep, controlled breaths, I separated the positive and negative energies around me, causing my fingers to crackle with electricity. After my heart had thundered in my chest several times, the energies came crashing back together, and I extended my arms upwards, toward the large boulder.
A brilliant bolt of white lightning arced from my fingers, casting bright light about the area as it struck the boulder and shattered it into oblivion.
The brawl between us and the soldiers from Omashu stopped immediately as a large cloud of dust blew around us.
The twins took advantage of the distraction; Jin struck his foot against the ground, causing me to raise from the quicksand, while Li pulled two large chunks of rock from the top of the cave and used them to strike two of the non-Earthbending soldiers.
I moved to attack two men, hammering them with a barrage of blue fireballs, until I belatedly heard Takara shouting "Watch out!"
She then slammed into me, tackling me to the ground just as a spiked piece of rock flew through where I previously stood. I landed on my back with a grunt. I then noticed that Takara's body was on top of mine, and her face was very close to mine. We were so close that we almost touched, and I felt her breath tickling my skin.
Everything around us seemed to slow to a crawl, and we stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. My heart thundered in my chest, and I could also feel her heart beating just as fast against my chest.
Suddenly, I looked to my left and saw an Earthbender leaping into the air, bringing a boulder down towards us as he did so.
Gripping Takara's waist, I rolled us to the right, barely moving us out of the path of the other man's boulder. I stood up, blasting him with a stream of blue flames before he could manage another attack.
I turned around to see Takara standing up, the front of her green kimono covered in dirt. "Get down!" I cried as an Earthbender tried to attack her.
As she ducked, I made a horizontal slicing motion with my arm, sending an arc of flames at the Earthbender and knocking him to the ground.
With that, the soldiers from Omashu were defeated. I walked over to the twins, checking them for any injuries. Once I was certain that they were unharmed, I checked on the four Firebending soldiers. Only two were still standing; the other two were unconscious, with serious injuries from hard impacts.
Inside of an hour, we were back on the ship. "See that those men are taken care of" I said, motioning to the two injured Firebenders as the other two took them below.
"Sir!" one of the soldiers said, pointing to the sky. Off in the distance, I could see a small, white shape moving across the blue sky.
"The Avatar" I said. "Take us out! Follow that Bison!"
The Cruiser's sharpened bow was then raised, and as it backed away from the shore, I turned to Takara, whose expression was unreadable.
Calling a soldier over, I said "Escort her to her room". Before she started to turn, I said "Thank you, for saving my life".
She looked at me with those alluring green and blue eyes of hers, and I was suddenly reminded of our closeness during the skirmish at the cave. "And thank you for saving mine". The Kyoshi Warrior was then escorted below, and I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, trying to clear my head of those eyes.
Ooh la la!
So, we have the first instance of Lightning from our dear Shan We. Lightning has always been one of the coolest parts of Firebending for me, so I just had to have my Firebending Master be able to do it.
Please review and favourite! Your feedback is what keeps me going!