I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender
Chapter 15
"Shoot!"
"Pull!"
"Dart!"
Zuko was with his men training with the new equipment. For the few days they were on sea, Sai insisted that the crew must master the dart shooters and the graphing hook before their journey to the south pole.
Because of that, every day he and the crew wasted an hour training against dummies. Mi-Dved himself wasn't spared as he stood in line with the man, the only two who weren't included were Jasmine and his uncle.
The former was not included for obvious reasons, Jasmine wasn't a warrior and nor did she want to be one. She was having fun right now watching all the others suffer if the smile on her face was anything to go buy. It wasn't the sadistic smile Azula had, but a mischievous one that didn't really want anyone to get hurt. She was holding Xing in her hands, who didn't seem to mind the attention at all.
His uncle on the other hand claimed that his back didn't agree with the new toys of the young, "Old eel hounds can't learn new tricks." Were his words. To Zuko it sounded that his uncle was just lazy.
Their main strategies were to use overwhelming numbers against a single fast or heavy armored target. Teamwork was integral for the successful subjugation of mighty targets that no one man can hope to hold against, mainly the Avatar.
That is not to be said that there weren't one on one spars, Zuko (and Sai) made it a point that no one of the men under his command will ever find himself at loss again a single opponent.
For that, Zuko used Mi-Dved as practice for the troopers to simulate a battle against an earth bender. Mi-Dved used sand and the crew members used balls of ink as darts and low temperature fire bending, so everything was as safe as can be.
In the end, Mi-Dved was painted all over his body. Actually, there was more paint than skin. The crew also had sand stack in very annoying and hard to reach places. Zuko decided that everyone deserves an extra dessert after that training, Mi-Dved had double.
In the end, they reach the navy base after another two days. Zuko noticed that the base was upgraded, it had four high towers, each had an Eye of Cheng tied to it. If he had to guess, they had some kind of machination that pulled back the Eyes for quick deployment.
Once they arrived there, they were greeted with the happily familiar face of lieutenant Shen. The old man organized his crew comfortable places to stay and rest. Meanwhile, he invited Zuko to his study.
"Your highness, it's a pleasure to see you again."
"Likewise, Shen. How is life treating you so far?"
The old lieutenant waved his head dismissively.
"Oh you know, the usual. Commanding this mission, ordering that operation, breathing down my daughter's neck about getting a boyfriend. Nothing out of the ordinary. Although the added paperwork is a bother."
"Sorry to hear. By the way, how are you in command of a navy base while being a lieutenant, if you don't mind asking?"
Shen chuckled at that a little.
"Well, the port needed a captain and none are available at the moment. It appears that our little adventure caught the higher ups by surprise. So as the one who led the assault, Zhao had the freedom to choose a temporary captain until a proper replacement will arrive."
"Although between you and me, your highness, I suspect Zhao only jump on the excuse to get rid of me. If Zhao has his way, there may pass some time until a proper replacement arrives, especially if my work is done well."
"That does sounds like Zhao, yes."
"But forgot about the boring tales of an old man, I heard you had quite a trip after we last met. Swamp monsters, Kyoshi warriors, some even say that you battled the Unagi toe to toe. They are asking if you are preparing for a second round of the last one, by the way."
"Are they crazy?! Have they seen the size of that thing?!"
This caused the lieutenant to raise an eyebrow.
"So you did meet the Unagi."
"Meet is a generous word, it was more like jetting my boat for dear life until we reach the shore. There where too many close calls, I think Mi-Dved is traumatized for life."
"Yes, he does seem to have some bad luck with boats… Nevertheless, there aren't many men who could claim to survive the Unagi's wreath, even fewer are those that can claim to not lose companions at such exchange."
And so, the two continued to talk about Zuko's adventures.
Zuko decided to spill the beans about the swamp water benders. He held no love nor commitment for the tribe of the one who attacked him, and the soldiers needed to know about the possibility of a water tribe raid.
Shen promised to take precautions, as well as having patrols around the swamp once they gain enough foothold in the area. They both decided that leading an assault on the swamp isn't an option, the environment will make their advantages null and their soldiers an easy pray. That was without the possibility of the men bringing back with them a plague.
That, however, led Shen to explain about the state of the war theatre so far.
"Our forces are on the move for the deeper parts of the earth kingdom as we speak, our control over the navy base and the sea strip gave us the logistic foundation we needed for a foothold in the area."
"The supply is cut off from Gaoling, its conquest is a question of time in this point. Although it seems that the Beifong patriarch is concerned with other matters and left the war business as a second concern."
That surprised Zuko.
"Really? I thought that he was supposed to be a cunning businessman, has he gone senile?"
"The key word is businessman, not general, but I agree with you. There are rumors that his daughter was kidnapped a few weeks ago and that he offered half of his wealth to anyone who will return his daughter to him with the head of the one responsible."
"That's rough…"
"Indeed. What are your plans now, if you don't mind me asking? Nothing classified, of course."
"Well, I planned a trip to the Si Wong desert. There are some things that I need to do there, spirit stuff."
"I see… Although I can't help you with spirits, I can give you some advice. I wouldn't dare to tell you what to do, but I humbly suggest avoiding the desert. There are vicious bandit tribes there that perfected their art of raiding, you have the attention of one as well."
Zuko remembered all his conversations with Mi-Dved and Jasmine about the desert and Amora, there was one name that came to mind.
"Mi-Sha, if I'm not mistaken."
That seemed to surprise the lieutenant a little.
"Why, yes. I didn't think you would know the name, I myself only knew it because of my long service at the front."
"He was mentioned once or twice by Mi-Dved and Jasmine."
"It makes sense, yes."
Shen patted his beard.
"But I must advise caution, your highness. You already made an enemy out of him, enough for him to try to have you killed or worse. Heading to his home turf is hardly the wisest decision, even for one as powerful as you."
"I appreciate your concern, but I am well aware of him and his minions. I already scared one away, and I promise you that my men and I are much stronger than we were. Besides, it will be in and out, shouldn't take more than two days."
The old man sighed.
"I hope you're right. But please be careful, this man is considered the greatest outlaw since the pirate queen Tagaka."
"She was a rather successful pirate from Kyoshi's time, wasn't she? She made a 'fifth nation' formed from outlaws if I'm correct. Sounds like a charming woman, Sadara Would approve."
It was strange, Zuko would have usually blown off the guy for daring to say he was weak, but the had a scuffle with only one enforcer last month showed. He saw how dangerous they can be, he himself may have died if he didn't have backup.
Needless to say, it made him much more cautious with his approach to the bandit lord.
"I have my crew as guards, if push comes to shove, we'll fall back. Xing, that's my pet by the way, will smell danger well before it can reach us."
"That's all I'm asking. By the way, I didn't see your new earth base companions, are they well?"
"Mi-Dved and Jasmine? Yeah, they fine. Mi-Dved needed an extra bath from the ink and Jasmine is preparing something in her room after meeting your daughter and Ling. Something about not being outdone by some cow, I didn't really understand."
Sis, is everything ok with you?"
The earth bender watched his sister as she practiced her dancing moves. She also had a plate of treats and buns on the table next to her.
"Sorry brother, need to concentrate."
She said as she moved at a fast pace.
"Why are you training so long anyway?"
"Need to lose weight."
"You could start by eating less sweets, you know."
"Need to grow bigger."
"You're not making any sense, sister."
"Women are mysterious. In all my years, and for all my experience, I have yet to scratch the surface. Such are the woes of men everywhere."
The rest of the evening went on as the two of them happily talked about various things. Zuko had to admit that it was nice.
In the next morning, Zuko and his squad were preparing to embark. They were soon joined by his uncle and the siblings.
"Hello uncle, glad you could make it."
And he meant it too, he may be a bit miffed with his eldest living family member, but he still liked his uncle.
Besides, having the dragon of the west raises his strength by some.
"My prince, it seems I have a problem. The Komodo-rhinos are disagreeing with me."
The beast next to her was reluctant to let the girl touch her, let alone ride her.
"Maybe it's sensing your personality, sis?"
"Shut it, bird brain."
"That may be your perfume, my lady. It's their mating time at this time of the year, while the males fight for dominance, the females are basking themselves in jasmine flowers. The stronger the scent, the more food the female has and therefore more fitting to have a child."
The local beast master of the base explained.
"Your perfume must have made the females see you as a competition, hence the cold shoulder."
By the end of the explanation, Mi-Dved was laughing himself to tears.
Zuko, however, saw the problem.
"So you're telling me she can't ride Komodo-rhinos, not females and nor males?"
"Basically yes, your highness. May I offer an ostrich-horse instead?"
Zuko didn't even need to think.
"Do it. Jasmine, you will be in the middle with my uncle. Mi-Dved, you're on the front with me."
"Yes, my prince."
"Yes, sir."
A few minutes later they started their track to the library.
"What do you have, girl?"
The bounty hunter known as June patted the head of her mount and companion, the Shirshu Nyla. The two of them were on the hunt for a juicy bounty, it seems like the fire prince Zuko made enemies with the wrong man.
They used Nyla's special talent as a Shirshu to track their target. As the rest of her kind, Nyla could track something by smell all the way to the other side of the world. A trick that made them one of the best names in the profession.
After they lost blowy man, a fellow bounty hunter and a rival, Nyla led them to the beach. June knew then and there that the prince was off continuant and decided to wait for him to come back at sea with daddy's boat toys there was no risk of someone claiming her price.
And so, they waited for the target to come to them. After a few days of camping, Nyla jerked her head and sniffed. It seems like their target was getting closer. Unsurprisingly, the prince went to the newly conquered navy base.
A damn shame really. From experience, fire nation army camps were more secure than their earth kingdom counterparts. Still easy enough to get in and out for someone with her skills and experience, but not something she would make a regular occurrence if she could avoid it.
What's more, that wasn't a simple camp, but a full-blown port. She didn't want to try her luck with so many soldiers, she also didn't want to put Nyla in front of so many Komodo-rhinos.
So they decided to stay put and wait for the spoiled prince to come out of his little comfortable base, she just hoped he wasn't going to set sail again. It would be rather annoying to tail him across the entire beaches of the continent.
Luck seemed to be on her side this time, as Nyla once again sniffed the air and confirmed that the prince was on the move. Why he was kind enough to venture deep inside the continent and away from the safety of the fire army. He was basically gift wrapping himself for her, what a person she will be if she refuses such a generous offer.
As they got close enough, she could see the prince and his party. There were ten Komodo-rhinos and one ostrich-horse in total, two Komodo-rhinos at the front, two at the back, two on each side and two in the middle protecting the girl on the ostrich-horse.
The Komodo-rhinos in the front and at the center had one person each, she spied an old man and a lieutenant at the middle and a rather big boy that looked like an earth bender and another armored man at the front. According to Nyla, the black armored man with the rather stylish helmet was their target.
"Well, well, well, it seems like we're right on target boy. Let's wait for them to prepare camp and once we get the prize, I'll treat you with every treat there is, what do you say, boy?"
The blind beast growled in agreement.
"Good boy ~"
The two of them just needed to attack while most of the guards were distracted and before the group reached the desert. Hot sun and sand did not agree with a fluffy thing like her girl.
The Shirshu sniffed her nose once again and growled a different growl to the east.
"What, again with that blow boy? Argh, he doesn't know when to quiet, does he? At least this is going to be interesting…"
Zuko and his men (and Jasmine) were preparing camp, and each and every one of them was preparing for an attack. Xing growled at the same direction ever since they left the port, if that wasn't a sign that they were followed, then nothing was.
They started a campfire and fed the beasts their ration, Zuko was also checking the final details of the umbrellas they prepared for the desert. This was an idea of Sai to protect the beasts, and themselves, from the harsh sun. It wasn't fashionable by any means, but it would greatly help them on the journey.
Xing was still growing at some spot in the hills, most likely where their stalker was hiding in ambush. The hellhound was seething smoke as if to prepare a fire blast, which it still wasn't able to but was very close according to Sai.
"So what's the plan, your highness?"
Lieutenant Jee asked as he, uncle, Zuko himself and for some reason Jasmine, were looking at Xing across the table.
"Hmm… They are most likely planning an attack at night, but who are they? And why targeting especially us? This was going since we left the port. What are your thoughts uncle?"
His uncle hummed and patted his beard.
"There is always the chance that they are a special task force from the earth kingdom that somehow gained information about you, but I find it unlikely."
"And why is that, uncle?"
"Well, for one, no one knew about your plans to go to the desert and could act fast enough for such an ambush. There is no reason to target our party specifically, not when other more threatening raiding parties left the port before and after us."
"Besides , I believe we are dealing with one person, or at least one mount."
That caused confusion to the present human at the table.
"What do you mean, uncle?"
It was surprisingly Jasmine who answered.
"Oh! Is it because Xing growled at the same spot all the time? If he felt more than one enemy, he would growl at all of their directions."
"That's… was on the spot, yes. How did you know that?"
It seems that uncle was caught by surprise as were the rest of them from the unexpected answer of someone none of them considered a tactical thinking person.
"Thank you, I have seen my fare share of strays fighting in the streets."
"So back to our topic, how do you suggest we deal with our stalker?"
Zuko asked the table.
"I would suggest just mauling them with our Komodo-rhinos, we can even use Xing's sense of smell to track them. But there is no geranti that our mounts can catch up to their mount, neither can we be sure that they wouldn't lead us to an ambush."
Lieutenant Jee added his thoughts.
"Well then, how about we invite them to a cup of tea then, nephew? Ask them about their business with us, what do you say?"
His uncle innocently asked.
"Uncle, please be serious."
"Oh, but I am. With the two of us there is hardly a person, even mounted, that can stand up to us. We can meet them on our terms and find them easily with our little four-legged friend here, showing that a surprise attack is most likely to fail and discouraged our guest from such an action."
Zuko stared at the old man again. He was once again reminded that this tea loving lazy fat old man was one of the most successful military minds in the history of the fire nation.
"Your thoughts?"
Zuko asked the rest of the table, to which both Jee and Jasmine shrugged.
"I suppose it beats waiting for an ambush every night. Fine, let's meet them. Jee, prepare a cavalry of three Komodo-rhinos at the blind spot behind the tents and wait for a sound of fire bending for when things will go south."
Zuko concluded as the lieutenant gave a salute.
"Just so you know, I still think it's stupid, uncle."
Zuko told his honest thoughts to the oldest man in their group. All the while he was holding Xing with his both hands. The hound sniffed the air in disdain and pointed them to their would-be pursuer.
"Oh don't worry, nephew, everything will be fine."
"And you just had to jinx it…"
When they got far enough from the camp Xing began to growl, it was clear that the adversary was near. In the same time Sai notified him about the exact position of the enemy behind the dune, Zuko could see with his helmet the outlines of a huge beast through the dune.
"Careful, your highness. We're dealing with a Shirshu, a big subterranean predator that can stun a grown man with a touch of its whip like tong. Its clows are strong enough to tear through low grade steel and its most impressive trait is a mole like nose that can smell a rat from the other side of the continent."
Zuko put Xing down.
"Stay."
He told the small hellhound. The animal continued to growl, but thankfully stayed in place.
"Hello! Would you like a cup of tea?"
His uncle called.
Zuko, meanwhile, prepared for an attack. He held an explosion at bay and his gauntlets were ready to release clows at any second.
He was of course proven correct for his vigilance when the Shirshu tried to tag him with its tongue. Zuko managed to block the paralyzing tongue with his metal graves.
He released a blast that caught the Shirshu head on. The beast staggered a feat or so back, clearly in pain. Its owner, a dark haired pale skinned woman, yelled in indignation a few things that would make even a sailor blush.
Zuko decided to address the root of the problem.
"Who are you, lady? Why are you following us?"
"I own you nothing, you little squirt!"
She followed by a whip strike that his uncle easily avoided, a complete contrast to his stocky build.
The beast then jumped at Zuko with its claws ready to tear him to shreds, it missed by inches as Zuko jetted himself to the side. Zuko released a quick but relatively weak explosion to the back of the beast, which forced the rider to fall to the ground.
She, however, fell on her feet with a feline's grace, not unlike Tai Ly would have, and quickly began her assault on the prince.
She was a combination of both Tai Ly and Mai, Zuko concluded, only more experienced and without any holdbacks about killing. The would-be assassin had rained Zuko with her darts, throwing knives and all kind of medium range weapons that where kept Agni knows here. He also heavily suspected that a large portion of them were covered in Shirshu spit, something that Sai confirmed.
She, likewise, was very agile and danced around his attacks. She however kept a little distance, it seemed that the various spikes on his armor weren't for her liking.
At his uncle's side, from what Zuko dared to look, it was a stalemate as well. Every time the beast would advance, uncle would have either roll away or send a blast to discourage the beast. Every time the animal would try to help its master, he would stand in its way.
It was impressive really, but Zuko had a gut feeling that his uncle was holding back.
"I will ask again, why were you following us? What do you want?"
Zuko said as he sent a fire ball towards the woman and evaded a whip to the unarmored parts of his neck.
"You know I can't say that, it's unprofessional. Besides, invite me to a dinner first."
The woman replied as she jumped above the fire ball and threw three, more than likely poisoned, darts at him.
"Sorry, not into old hags."
Zuko blocked the darts with his armored arm and sent another fire ball at his attacker.
"Hey! Take that back you brat!"
The comment seemed to enrage the woman as she snapped her whip and dissolved the fire ball. She then sent her whip another time at Zuko, which he caught with his gauntlet.
"Got you!"
The two of them proclaimed as they pulled their respective and of the rope. What followed was a contest of strength between the two opponents, neither giving ground to the other.
"Give it up… kid… I beat up… guys twice your size…. When I was your age…"
The woman said with greeted teeth as she struggled to overpower the surprisingly strong kid.
"Then you sure… let yourself down… lady…"
Zuko was struggling as well against the deceptively strong woman. A part of him that held his ego took a little blow seeing himself not stronger than the woman.
"You are seven times physically stronger then you were when I first spoke to you, don't ever feel yourself weak."
'Then how… is she… so strong?!'
"We can ask her once we bit her. Although I do wonder, why aren't you electrocuting her?"
'Oh…'
In the desire to prove himself stronger he completely forgot the most obvious solution, something he fixed as he sent a high voltage of electricity through the whip to the woman.
"AHH!"
The beast rider screamed as she lost grip on her whip and fell to the floor. Lucky for her, the whip wasn't a great conductor and most of the electricity didn't even reach her.
She stood shakily on her feet, a little jolt was seen here and there. She also held the arm that used to hold the whip, her arm clearly in pain.
"Now that… was cheating…"
"There are now rules to cheat on, now why are you here?"
The woman was about to say another snarky remark, but the sound of stomping was heard. It seems that the cavalry had finally arrived.
"Sorry, brat. It seems like we'll have to continue our date another time. There are only so many men I'm ready to entertain."
She whistled and the Shirshu smacked its tail on the sand, wiping a blinding wave of sand towards uncle, and jumped high above the old man. It reached its master as she held her, now only working, hand to catch some gripping point on the saddle.
Then, in a move that must have taken at least some good months to practice, she did some acrobatics with the beast's help and was in a second on top of the mount.
She went away just in time as the komodo-rhino cavalry arrived with lieutenant Jee and Mi-Dved at the front.
"Rain her! Hook and crook!"
Zuko ordered as he pointed at the quickly disappearing duo.
The men did as he commanded and began executing the order. Half of them shot their newly acquired hook gauntlets to keep the target in place, while the other half should projectiles.
One hook was able to catch the agile beast, which in turn gave the other four enough opening to have their pound of flash. The projectiles mostly either missed the beast or fell off its thick fur.
Some darts, however, managed to pierce through. A spear with some stone around the meeting point of the head and the wooded base found its way into the right lower limb of the beast, courtesy of Mi-Dved's earth bending.
It was short lived, however, as the mighty claws of the Shirshu tore through the cables of the graphing hooks like a hot knife through butter, releasing it. Fueled by survival instinct, the animal sprinted as fast as it could go, well beyond the reach of the party.
"Go after it, sir?"
Lieutenant Jee asked atop his ride, it was his hook that caught the Shirshu.
"I suggest again it nephew, we don't know were she may take us. Besides, the two of them are clearly in no situation to bother us farther."
Zuko looked at the disappearing point of their attacker, as well as the inhuman blood stains across the land.
"Very well, let's go to camp. We had enough excitement for one day."
Zuko was at the "planning" table of the camp, discussing the last happening with the man (and Jasmine).
"I think I maybe know who that was."
Proclaimed Lung, one of the two fire benders that were with Zuko when he claimed the helmet.
"Really?"
"Yes, I think she was June the bounty hunter. Pale black-haired beauty with a whip riding on a Shirshu, there can't be many like that."
"Let's hope so…"
Zuko grumbled under his breath. He, however, continued with the conversation.
"But how do you know about her? Don't take it personally, but you don't exactly look as the type to be interested in bounty hunters."
"He is when it's a hot chick!"
The soldier next to Lung said, much to the amusement of most present (and Lung's dismay). After the chuckles ended, however, Zuko turned to Lung.
"Can you tell us more about her? Let's be serious now guys."
Zuko said the last part as he noticed the others starting to get mischievous looks.
The poor fire bender, seemingly much more relaxed after knowing Zuko was on his side, told what he knew about June.
"Well, she has this beast we saw, a thing that's called a Shirshu. It's completely blind but can apparently see through its nose. It has the strongest sense of smell, point. It can smell a rat on the other side of the continent, that's how strong it is."
"So you're saying this thing can track us wherever we go?"
Mi-Dved asked. His face said nothing, but Zuko saw in his eyes that the thought weighed heavily on him. The earth bander was just glad that their pursuers didn't have a thing like that when the siblings made their escape.
"Well… technically yes. It can also paralyze you with a whip from his tongue."
"Great, now you will tell us it can also slash through metal!"
Another soldier said while waving his hands up.
"..."
Lung's silence only dampened the mood.
"Come on!"
The same soldier yelled.
At least uncle held his cool.
"Gentlemen, please, you all are forgetting the most important thing! The thing is deeply wounded, I hardly think it will follow us any time soon."
"But what if there are others like that?! What do we do then?!"
Zuko finally had enough.
"We do what we did now. We beat this thing today, and we can do it again. I'm more concerned about something else. Lung, you said she was a bounty hunter, right?"
"Ahm… yes."
"So she came here for a bounty, on whom? Mi-Dved, Jasmine, do you know someone that may be her employer?"
"There are many people, yes."
The earth bender said.
Uncle, however, had other ideas.
"I hardly think she was here because either of you. June attacked Zuko and I. If she was after you two, she would have come right at you and wouldn't have wasted her time with us. No, her target was either I or Zuko, or even both."
That confused the soldiers, and Zuko as well.
"What do you mean, sir? Who is dumb enough to send an assassin after you and the prince?"
"Maybe it was the earth kingdom? Some general grew restless?"
"Or the earth king is finally getting his hands dirty?"
His uncle disagreed with the theories, however.
"The generals of the earth kingdom had enough time to target the two of us for over more than a year, they would also most likely have their soldiers after us to claim the glory. The same with the earth king."
"No, I think that the one who put the bounty is someone we crossed recently, but what did we recently do to receive such attention I wonder."
Uncle said it in a tone that said he knew exactly what this was all about but expected the rest to figure it out.
'You have something, Sai?'
"Yes, but I agree with your uncle this time. You are smart enough to figure it yourself."
'Prick.'
Zuko thought about what he did in the last mouth, but all he got was his skirmish at Hǎibiān, the conquest of the Gaoling strip and the two raids he had on the pirates. But except the conquest, those deeds would mean nothing to anyone besides… oh.
"You're saying Mi-Sha is behind this."
Zuko said to, not asked, his uncle.
"My conclusion as well."
"Yes, the evidence points that way. Now tell me Zuko, what will we do now? We are going deep into enemy territory and the ruling force actively wants us dead, is the risk really worth it, nephew? I will follow you either way you go."
Zuko looked at the men, they were uncertain and some of them began liking the idea to go home.
"Look how he undermines your authority. His intentions may be pure, but he stands in your way to your destiny. You must raise morale now or this entire expedition is doomed!"
"No, we are going, the reward is worth the risk. Look how easily we beat the bounty hunter! Lung, how high does she rank in the bounty hunting leaderboard?"
"Well, one of the best. Both in success rate and lethality."
"See, there is nothing we can't do when we are together! With this helmet, we can reach the great library of Wan Shi Tong and liberate knowledge that will push the fire nation decades ahead. Things like this will become common."
Zuko showed them the holographic projection of the way to the library. It was a risk, he knew, but even with some of the abilities of Sai unveiled, the risk of someone figuring the truth out is still low. Especially with the right words.
"This helmet holds many secrets, secrets that I am only beginning to scratch. With the help of the spirit of knowledge, I can use it to better the life of all the people of our great nation. No more famine, no more death at childbirth, no more incurable diseases! Are we really going to fall back empty handed because a thug from a send pit has problems with us?!"
"NO!"
"So are you with me, men?"
"YEAH!"
"So prepare for tomorrow, we have much work before us."
'Did I do the right thing, showing them your abilities like that?'
Zuko asked Sai as he was at his sleeping bag, Xing found a place to sleep on his chest.
"You did what you thought was right at the time. Don't regret it, regret is a sin. One that even the overlords can't bear. Besides, the truth would have to come out eventually, you did it while shedding on us as much favorable light as possible."
Zuko looked to his right and saw that the siblings were still a little shaken, even in their sleep. They were holding each other for comfort in a platonic way only blood-related close family members could.
"You need to talk to them."
'I know, but how can I do it without stepping on their trauma?'
"Talk to their heart. But for now, have a rest. You will have a long day tomorrow."
Toph, can you come here for a moment please?
"Sure Kia, how can I help you?"
The woman and the girl were in the "lobby" of his office as they usually were in whatever spare time they had together.
To be frank, Toph really liked Kia. Kia was different from her mother, while both had their motherly instincts, her mother was always distant and to "ladylike" to show affection. Oh, she gave her a lot of gifts and everything, but it was mostly a pity.
Kia was more affectionate; she had no trouble hugging and messing Toph's hair nor did she have a big problem with how toph behaved. True, Kia pitied her as well, but for different reasons. Kia's pity came from the kidnaping, something the two of them had in common and bounded with.
It wasn't fair to her mother, Toph knew. Her mother did love her, very much so, but Toph couldn't remember when was the last time her mother hugged her without saying "poor girl".
When she was near the water tribeswoman, Kia held in her hands the collar she wore around her neck.
"Do you know what I'm holding in my hand, dear?"
"A collar? The one you always wear. Are you sure you're allowed to take it off?"
"What?! No! it's a betrothal neckless, one that the man gives the woman he wants to marry."
"So a collar of a different kind then."
"Well… it's one way to look at that- never mind."
The older woman sighed.
"I showed you this for a reason, Toph as you know, I have a daughter not much older than you. I miss her and try as I may, I see her in you. I know that you already have a mother that loves you, and I feel bad for doing this for the two of you, but I consider you as a part of my family."
"I- well- ahm… I hope you aren't planning to marry me off."
Toph knew that Kia was looking at her like a daughter, she wasn't blind (well, she was, but you know what she meant!), she also couldn't fault Kia for that. She couldn't imagine how in was like to be trapped here for six years! No wonder the woman needed companionship.
The sudden proclamation did catch her off guard.
The older women let a few chackles.
"Oh no, I wouldn't dare to, no. but let's be serious now."
She suddenly became serious.
"As harsh as it may be, I probably will never get out of this place."
"What! No-"
Kia held her hand up to stop Toph.
"No, listen. You, on the other hand, may still have a chance if you play your cards right. I hate to ask it of you, but I want you to take the neckless. When you are free from this hell hole, please go to the south pole to the settlement of 'Wolfe Cove'. Please give my daughter this neckless and tell her that she still has a mother that loves her, and that her mother is proud of her and her brother. Can you tell them this? Please?"
"I… Sure! Once I'm out of this stink hole I will find them! Then I'm gonna bring here an army to get you out! Mark my words!"
Kia chuckled once again. It was nice, she did it to not hurt other's feelings, not from some norm of politeness.
"As much as I would love to get out, I rather have you as far away as possible. And please, be truthful with your parents, I'm sure they will love you as you are."
"I-"
Toph suddenly went silent as she felt familiar steps. Kia, who was used to Toph's senses, followed suit.
The door opened and showed him in all his glory.
"Come with me, girl, I have a mission for you."
She suddenly had a very bad gut feeling as she hid the neckless between her clothes, without him noticing, and followed his lead.
AN
And this is the end of chapter 15
We see the crew with his upgrades and meet an old face who gave Zuko the state of things around.
Seems that Jasmine got her own medicine, maybe now she will be more understanding with the Kioshi Warriors.
Tagaka is a real character from the times of Avatar Kioshi.
We also have an explanation for Jasmine's mutual dislike with the fire nation mounts. to be fair I did it because I found if funny if each sibling had some dislike for each of the two most common beast of burden.
After a check in WIKI, I discovered that Nyla (June's Shirshu) is a male, so I changed his gender in this chapter accordingly and will change it in previous ones later.
Zuko once again led a war meeting, and Jasmine showed that she's not just a pretty face or a schemer.
I hope you liked the battle between Zuko and June and that I made both characters justice. And what do you know, the crew now can actually win against a named character now!
Zuko however will have much explaining to do, now that he showed his hand with the helmet. what consequences could there be I wonder.
The last paragraph with Toph is obviously not building to something ;)
Now for the reviews:
deniswanheda :
That she is, That Jasmine defiantly is. Only the future can tell.
Lets say that there will be a few surprises in Zuko's trip to the south pole.
Glad you liked Xing's POV and the misadventure.
It will be an interesting meeting with the owl, I promise.
Guest:
It's a very cool idea. as for your guess, my response is this:
watch?v=3DGlk_JAm8U&ab_channel=HowItShouldHaveEnded
3:19
Anyway, be sure to write what you think about the chapter and the story. Don't be afraid to share what you think could and should happen.