Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 28. The Search – part 2
Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City, Zoryu Park, Aviary.
Huo's eyes widened after hearing Sunlin's words. While a part of him was obviously overjoyed, he was suspicious and distrustful. "How do you know Eilu?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes behind the mask. "And how do you know that I'm looking for her?"
"I was at the harbor when you arrived with that old man, who brought decorations for the festival," Sunlin replied. "I watched you for a while and saw you leaving with Shun, the shop owner. I didn't plan on giving you much attention, but you were walking around the whole city asking the guards about Eilu. Even with your face covered with that mask, I recognized your attire."
"Hmmm... okay, that makes sense," Huo nodded.
"We know a lot of guards since we deal with them on daily basis," Sunlin continued as Rini approached them, staring daggers at Huo. "Eilu was kind enough to look the other way when we stole from snobbish nobles. She even gave us something to eat from time to time and even proposed to find good families for us."
"So you guys are homeless thieves?" Huo asked.
"We do everything we need to survive," Rini stated with a frown. "We live off petty crimes such as pickpocketing. We don't hurt people or break into their homes and steal their stuff. Everyone you see here has no home and parents. Fire Finches provide their members with food and a place to sleep. We teach them how to survive in this cruel world."
Huo looked at the children, who were wiping off their tears and calming down. "There are no adults here?" he asked.
"No," Sunlin answered. "A Fire Finch who becomes an adult needs to leave our gang forever. I'm fifteen and Rini here is twelve. We're currently the oldest Fire Finches."
"So you lead this gang," Huo guessed.
"Yes," Sunlin confirmed. "By the way, I never learned your name."
"Oh, right," Huo grabbed his red-colored dragon mask and took it off, revealing his face. When the children noticed the tattoo on his forehead, some began whispering. "He's like that big, scary man with metal arm and leg. The one that makes things go boom."
"I'm Huo," the boy introduced himself, bowing his head with a Fire Nation hand gesture while he held the mask in his hand. "And I'm ten-years-old, if that's important."
"Tsk, that's great," Rini shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. Sunlin noticed that and chuckled. "Don't mind her, she's just grumpy because she was beaten by a boy two years younger than her," she said.
"Only because I've slipped on a doll!" Rini immediately snapped and frowned. "If it weren't for that, I would've won!"
"I'm sorry, Rini," a small girl with tears in her eyes approached them, holding the same porcelain doll in her hands. Rini looked at her, and her expression quickly softened with a sigh. She crouched before the girl and placed a hand on her head. "It's okay, Yumi," she reassured. "I'm not angry at you. I wasn't paying attention and I can only blame myself."
Huo smiled, seeing how the girls were kind to the rest of their gang. "So Eilu didn't try to capture you when stole from rich people," he said, returning to the topic.
"Yes," Sunlin confirmed. "She was okay and wanted to do good for the people. She wanted to fight and get rid of the corruption in the Fire Nation."
"Yeah, and we all know how she ended up because of that," Rini remarked and stood up, turning back to face Huo and Sunlin. "She messed with the wrong people and got herself into some serious trouble. She and that large guy, who looked for her."
"Shaku," Huo stated.
Sunlin nodded confirmingly. "Like my friend said, Eilu got herself into trouble and was taken to-"
"Don't tell him!" Rini exclaimed, interrupting Sunlin. "We don't know him! And besides, we need to focus on our survival! I told you many times that we're not some kind of children police force, who fights for justice!"
"Calm down, Rini," Sunlin turned to face her friend. "He's like us, we should help him."
"As if!" Rini replied. "He's nothing like us!"
Sunlin looked at Huo. "Where are your parents?" she asked.
Huo took a deep breath and sighed. "My mother killed my dad when I was six years old," he said. "She left, and I didn't see her since then. I've spent four years living in a cave, eating only fruits and drinking water."
An awkward silence filled the room. Sunlin turned her to look at Rini, who was looking wordlessly at Huo. However, after a few moments, Rini frowned. "You're lying!" she accused. "Your clothes are too clean!"
"Sometimes I help some people for money, and I can buy stuff," Huo explained. "That's why I was helping the elderly man at the harbor. He gave me a ride and money in exchange for helping him with the packages." Even though he was aware of how unconvincing his story sounded, Huo couldn't tell the whole truth.
Rini grabbed Sunlin by the arm and pulled her to the side so they could talk privately. "Don't tell me you're buying his story?" she asked, giving Huo a suspicious glance. "He lived in a cave, and suddenly he looks for his friends? What, a spirit told him that his friends were in danger? That's a load of rubbish!"
Sunlin thought carefully about it. "Maybe he has a solid reason to lie or at least not to tell us the whole truth," she assumed. "We stole his money. He has no reason to trust us."
Rini rubbed her temple. "No matter the reason, we can't help him," she said stubbornly. "When they catch him and make him reveal that we were the ones who gave him directions, Weng won't leave us alone this time. Fire Finches don't risk their safety just to do a good deed."
"In that case maybe a trade will satisfy you," Sunlin suggested. "We get to keep his money, but I'll show him where's Eilu and Shaku."
"And why would we want to trade something that's already ours?" Rini asked, crossing her over her chest. "We don't give back the money we stole from others."
"Well, he'll surely want it back so you'll have to fight him," Sunlin stated. "And we both how that would end, don't we? You know what damage can a person with that tattoo do. Survival also means to know when to let go."
Rini turned her to the side and let out an irritated groan. "Fine," she agreed. "Just don't say I didn't warn you when things will come back to haunt us."
Sunlin smiled, and the two girls returned to Huo. "Please, I need to know where they are," the boy asked. "Eilu and Shaku are my only friends. I need to help them."
"Listen," Sunlin began. "I'll take you to your friends if you let us keep the money we stole from you. That's a fair trade, considering the risk. If he finds out we're meddling in his affairs, the Fire Finches would be in danger."
"He?" Huo asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Weng," Sunlin answered. "A power-hungry, nonmoral, and influential nobleman, who always gets what he wants. He's not a person you want to mess with. I hope they don't, but if his men catch you, please don't reveal that the Fire Finches were the ones who helped you."
Huo thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. As for the coins, if he finds his friends and brings them to safety, he won't need money since Wei'Rai will take him back to the Spirit World. "Okay then," he agreed, putting on his red-colored dragon mask. "Lead the way."
Sometime later – Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City Outskirts.
Huo followed Sunlin through the ancient underground tunnels under the city, which the Fire Finches used to move around unseen. The tunnels were covered in cobwebs and were supported by old wooden beams. The boy was impressed that the girl could navigate through the tunnels without getting lost.
A few times, Huo heard voices echoing n the distance, and Sunlin quickly chose a different path, explaining that other bandits and smugglers used the tunnels as well. Fire Finches needed to constantly compete with them.
After some time of wandering, she stooped near a wall with a large crack. "Okay, we're almost there," she announced and started to squeeze through. Huo followed suit, realizing that a child could barely fit through it. An adult would have no chance at all.
The boy followed Sunlin into an old room with empty crates and pieces of scrap metal. He brushed the dirt off his clothes while Sunlin approached a ladder. "Now, we go up," she said and started climbing. When she reached the top and opened the hatch, Huo spotted the blue sky, realizing they were going to leave the underground.
Sunlin stuck her head out, checking if the coast was clear, climbed out, and gave Huo a hand. The boy noticed that they were in an alleyway. "This a dangerous part of the city and you'll find no guards here," Sunlin warned, moving towards the alleyway's exit while Huo immediately followed her. "You have to be careful since no one will help you if you get into trouble."
When she peeked around the corner, she pointed at a large old building at the end of the street. "That's an abandoned factory where they once smelt the ore," Sunlin informed. "Eilu and Shaku are held captive in the storage section located down below. To get to them, you need to use the back entrance and find a large hatch, which is covered in white paint, and descend the ladder. From that point, you'll have to be careful because you can encounter many of Weng's men."
"If you know that, why didn't you help them or at least tell someone that they're in trouble?" Huo asked.
"Because no one would believe us," Sunlin replied. "We're orphans and thieves so the guards would try to put us in prison. Even if the guards would believe us, no officer will risk losing a few members of the Domestic Force to save one common guard and a civilian. That's the grim reality of our nation. And like my friend said, we're not a police force, we're survivors despite me wanting us to be something more than that."
Huo nodded. He didn't like it, but he understood. "Okay then, thank you for everything," he said.
"Good luck, you'll need it," Sunlin replied and smiled. "If you manage to save your friends and you'll have no place to stay, the Fire Finches would welcome you with open arms."
"I'll keep that in mind," Huo replied, smiling under the mask.
Sunlin turned around and went batch to the hatch, descending back into the underground tunnels. Huo looked back at the facility in the distance and sighed. "Alright, let's do this," he said.
Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City Outskirts, Abandoned Smelting Factory.
Before Huo reached the factory, he spotted many shady-looking people who gave him glances. The place was crawling with all sorts of nasty people, so it wasn't a surprise that the guards didn't want to be here.
A few men began to follow Huo but gave up when they realized the boy was headed toward the factory. That only made Huo realize the seriousness of the situation. That Weng guy really needed to be nasty if even thugs and murderers were afraid to go near the places of his influence.
Just like Sunlin said, Huo headed to the back of the factory and found the entrance, which was nothing more than a hole in the wall covered by a wooden plank. Pushing it aside, Huo carefully entered the factory.
Inside, he spotted many massive smelting kettles, furnaces, and other old equipment, which was no longer usable. Everything was covered in dust and rust. It didn't take Huo long to find the painted hatch since it wasn't actually hidden.
Once he opened it, he noticed a ladder. Rolling his shoulders, he began slowly descending it, not wanting to make any noise. When he finally reached the bottom, he found himself on a catwalk above a large square room, which was lighted by torches. Huo looked around, noticing at least three doors, and heard voices behind them.
The boy carefully leaned over the railing and looked down. While the room below was empty, he spotted many cells in the walls. He guessed that Eilu and Shaku had to be in one of those cells.
The staircase was the only way to get down there unless he wanted to jump down, but there was a problem. Since the room below was empty, aside from the cells in the walls, there was no way to hide if someone would leave from one of the rooms upstairs. A person would only need to approach the railing and would spot Huo unless he'd stood directly below the catwalk.
Despite the risk, Huo slowly and quietly went down the metal staircase. When he reached the bottom, he began to peek inside the cells, noticing that the metal bars were embedded in the concrete walls. It made no sense since factories normally didn't have cells for prisoners. Not to mention that there were no doors or locks.
"How in the world they open and lock these cells?" Huo asked.
A few cells were empty, but the rest was occupied. Huo spotted people shackled to the walls, dehydrated and starved. Some didn't even have the strength to speak and only followed Huo with their eyes. When he peeked into another cell, he spotted a large man with short brown hair sitting on the ground and leaning against a wall with his eyes closed. He was clad in dirty, dark-red pants, brown boots, and a raggedy shirt with elbow-length sleeves. When the boy looked at his face, he immediately recognized his friend despite not seeing him for so long.
"Shaku!" Huo whispered loudly.
Now a grown man, Shaku opened his brown-colored eyes and looked at the masked boy, surprised. "Who are you?" he asked. As a kid, Shaku's face was plumpy, but now, it was much slimmer. His whole body was different, he wasn't slim, but he definitely wasn't fat. He was buffed and tall. He looked like he could break a man in half with his bare hands.
Huo quickly took off his red-colored dragon mask, revealing his face. Shaku squinted his brown-colored eyes and rubbed them. "What the heck?!" he asked in disbelief. "Huo?!"
The boy smiled warmly and nodded. "It's been a while, Shaku," he said. "And look at you. You were a chubby boy and now you're a giant made of muscles."
"W-Where were you all this time?" Shaku asked, getting up and approaching the bars. "And why are you still a kid? How is that possible?"
"Long story, I'll explain later," Huo replied, putting back on his mask. "Right now, I need to get you out of here. Stand back, I'm going to melt the bars." Inhaling, the boy grabbed a metal bar and exhaled. In mere moments, the metal around his fingers turned red-hot, and shortly after, it became like jelly. Huo was glad that firebenders could heat materials contacting their skin without burning themselves, or else this would be a harrowing experience.
After melting the bar in two separate places, Huo simply yanked it off and placed it on the floor. He did the same with a second bar, thus creating a gap in the cell bars.
"Done," Huo stated after placing the second bar on the ground. He then immediately cooled down the red-hot ends by redirecting the heat. "You should be able to fit through."
Although with some difficulty, since he was a large man,Shaku managed to squeeze through the gap and leave his cell. "Where's Eilu?" Huo asked. "We need to free her as well."
"In there," Shaku pointed at another cell, and the two quickly approached it. Huo looked inside and spotted a woman clad in a guard uniform lying on the ground in a fetal position. "Eilu," Huo whispered with relief. The once little girl was now a beautiful, curvy adult woman with black hair tied into a thin top-knot.
Just like earlier, Huo melted the bars, creating a gap, which allowed Shaku to enter the cell. "Eilu!" Shaku crouched and gently shook the woman by the shoulder. "Come on, wake up!"
Eilu groaned and slowly opened her amber-brown colored eyes. "S-Shaku?" she asked weakly. "W-What's...?"
"We're getting out of here," Shaku replied and lifted her up bride style. Eilu leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes. It was apparent she was exhausted. Realizing they wouldn't be able to fit through like that, Huo immediately melted a few more bars, expanding the gap.
When Shaku managed to carry Eilu out of the cell, Huo exhaled. His friends were almost free. Now they only needed to go up the staircase, up the ladder, and leave the factory. From there, it was a simple walk to find the first patrol.
Huo's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a hissing sound. It only lasted for a split second, and then he heard Shaku's scream as an arrow pierced his shoulder. "Aaaghh!" the man gritted his teeth and stumbled forward with Eilu but managed to stay on his feet and hold the woman in his arms without dropping her.
"Shaku!" Huo cried out and quickly turned his head, noticing two men standing on the catwalk above them, next to the ladder. One had a dark red tattoo across his eyes and wielded a longbow. Huo had no idea it was the Yuyan archer from the tavern.
The other man was bald, had a bandage covering his right eye, and was missing his entire left arm. Clad in a dark-red kimono-style tunic, black gloves, and boots, he only stared at Huo and his friends silently without any specific interest.
"Hey! The prisoners are trying to escape!" the archer called out. In mere moments, the doors upstairs opened, and five young men appeared on the catwalk, glaring down at Huo and his friends. Two remained on the catwalk while the other three went down the staircase and stooped in the middle, blocking the only way to reach the ladder. "You imbeciles! They almost escaped from right under your noses!" the archer stated, pulling another arrow from his quiver. He placed the arrow on the bow but didn't aim.
Shaku took a knee and lay Eilu on the floor. He then reached towards his shoulder and grabbed the arrow, snapping it but leaving the arrowhead so he wouldn't bleed out. He rolled the shoulder and winced from the pain.
Huo knew the situation was dire. Shaku was injured, and it was obvious they couldn't leave without a fight. Scratch that; they couldn't take a single step without getting shot by that archer.
As if that wasn't bad enough, a hooded figure began to descend the ladder. The archer and the crippled man moved away a few steps, giving the person space. The five young men looked worriedly at the figure and said nothing. It felt like they all stooped breathing for a moment. From their reaction, Huo assumed it had to be someone important and dangerous.
The figure approached the railing and looked at Huo. "That's the kid?" he asked with a masculine voice.
"Yeah," the archer confirmed. "He was walking around the city and asking about Eilu."
"And it appears he found her somehow," the hooded man stated. "Grab the boy and interrogate him. I want to know how he found this place and who else knows about it. As for Eilu and her boyfriend, it looks like they need a painful reminder of what happens to the people who don't want to cooperate with me. Guhin, would you be so kind?"
The crippled man sighed and placed his hand on the railing. Jumping over it, he landed on the floor below and turned to face Shaku and Huo. The boy noticed he had no visible weapons, meaning he had to be a firebender.
"Huo, move away," Shaku said with a serious expression, staring at the crippled man, who began to walk towards them. Huo, however, took a few steps forward and took a fighting stance. "No! I'm going to fight!"
"Are you nuts?!" Shaku asked. "You're going to get hurt! Move away!"
The boy turned his head and looked over his shoulder at Shaku. "You can't fight him alo- aahh!" Huo was suddenly spun and pulled down into the solid ground up to his waist. "What the?!" the boy tried to pull himself out but was stuck. He looked at the crippled man, and since he was getting closer, he noticed that his one eye was green.
"Huo!" Shaku moved towards the boy, trying to help him, but the crippled man sharply thrust his arm diagonally upwards. A rock pillar came out of the ground, hitting Shaku in the chest so hard he was lifted off his feet and hurled backward. Shaku landed on his back, coughed, and clutched his chest in pain.
Huo realized the crippled man was an earthbender, which was shocking for him, to say the least. He never expected to see an earthbender in the Fire Nation capital, much less one who wasn't a prisoner.
Shaku tried to get back to his feet despite the pain in his chest and shoulder. When he managed to turn around on his stomach and get on all fours, the earthbender stomped the ground, propelling a large chunk of rock in front of himself.
"Leave him alone!" Huo cried out, knowing that his friend had no chance against an earthbender. "He's not a bender! Fight me instead!"
The crippled man didn't even pay attention to the boy and was ready to punch the rock, sending it flying toward Shaku. Even though Huo was stuck, his hands were free. The boy quickly began to move his arms in a circular motion, dragging lightning sparks with two fingers.
Without hesitation, Huo shot a lightning bolt toward the earthbender, who moved the rock chunk to block the attack at the last second. The rock was shattered into small pieces, and the crippled man covered his face with his arm. Shock and confusion appeared on his face for the first time since he got here. He wasn't the only one, though.
Everyone was now looking at Huo in bewilderment. "Did that kid just generate lightning?" the archer looked at the hooded man, who leaned forward and placed his hands on the railing. "Oh, yes, he did," he replied with evident awe. "Guhin! Free the kid!"
The earthbender complied and tapped the ground with his foot, pushing Huo out of the ground. The boy immediately ran up to Shaku and knelt beside him, placing his hand on his back. "Are you okay?!" he asked with concern.
Shaku only looked at Huo. "I've been better," he replied, coughing up a few drops of blood.
Huo's eyes widened under the mask, and he turned his head toward the earthbender.
The hooded man turned his head to the two young men who stood on the catwalk. "Get down there and fight him," he ordered. "I wanna see what he can do."
They both complied and jumped over the railing. The earthbender backed away, lifting himself with a rock pillar, and reached the catwalk. The two men moved toward Huo, who got up from his knees and turned to face them. He grabbed and took off his mask, tossing it away. "Bring it on!" he said with a frown.
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