Tang Ri Shan
The Water Dragon
CH 5: The League of Moles
I took a deep breath and focused, my hands gripping the hilts of my new Dao Swords tightly. I felt my muscles tighten, my body tensing like a pigmy puma ready to pounce on an elephant rat. Then, I whirled, swinging my arms in a series of rapid, yet fluid, motions. My sword blades whistled as they sliced through the air, but I could barely feel my grip upon them. It was almost like they had no weight.
I felt a smile cross my face as I imagined my blades cutting through some invisible opponent. I had started training with swords at about the same time I had begun learning Waterbending. While I had used other weapons in the past, the Dao swords had quicky become my favorite. Like water, the fighting style the Dao swords utilized was fluid, adaptable, and, if I was being modest, graceful. Water could flow like a trickling stream, or crash like a mighty wave, so I liked using a sword style that allowed me to shift directions and tactics in an instant, just like my element.
My adoptive brother Zheng once told me that he felt my sword style more resembled Airbending rather than Waterbending. I didn't know as much about Airbending as he did, so I couldn't say for certain if he was right, but from what I had read, Airbending was all about constant motion, like water. However, Airbending was primarily defensive in movement and in nature, and I considered my swordplay to be more offensive, like Firebending.
Zheng. I felt my smile flicker as I thought back to the letter I had received from Zheng a week ago. He had not contacted me since, and I had not made any effort to contact him either, partially because I had nothing new to report, and partially because I was starting to suspect that letter was not from Zheng. There had been no secret symbol, which not only indicated a hidden message, but also that the letter really was from him.
But who would want to send me a letter pretending to be Zheng? That was what I couldn't figure out. Whoever it was had managed to duplicate his writing style perfectly, so they must have studied his handwriting carefully. The fact they had the time and resources to do this was, in honesty, a little frightening, and made me wonder what else they were capable of. So, I had decided to heed the letter's suggestion and not contact Zheng again until I had a better sense of what was going on.
As I was mulling over my thoughts, the sound of a throat being cleared behind me made me jump a little. I spun around to see a young man looking at me with amusement. I immediately knew who it was by the three slash-like scars that ran across his face: Raikuro, one of the Firebenders in Prince Zuko's crew.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. I could have slashed you." I scolded as I sheathed my swords.
Raikuro raised an eyebrow. "I called your name, twice. I wouldn't call that sneaking up on someone."
I felt myself blush and turned away so he wouldn't notice. "Sorry, I guess I've…had a lot on my mind lately." I admitted.
"Is that why you keep coming out here to train?" Raikuro asked. When I looked back at him in surprise, he raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, I notice things, especially when those things appear to be a routine."
I felt a small grin appear at his words. I'd forgotten how observant Raikuro could be. Ever since our trip to the prison rig, we had gotten to be pretty good friends, though I still tried to keep him at a distance. I couldn't afford to get attached, I was here on a mission, after all. Getting attached to a member of Zuko's crew would only make things harder in the long run. Plus, there was something about Raikuro that made me instantly on alert. He reminded me of a big cat sometimes: quiet, hard to notice, and he seemed to appear out of nowhere. As an infiltrator, I couldn't help but be impressed by his stealth skills, but it made me wonder sometimes if he might also be an infiltrator.
And yet…
Part of me was starting to think that maybe I should get closer to Raikuro. He had made it clear that he enjoyed my company, and to be honest, I enjoyed his. Plus, Raikuro was well liked by Lieutenant Jee and the rest of Zuko's crew. If I was going to eventually mutiny against Prince Zuko and General Iroh, Raikuro would be an ideal person to have on my side. He was certainly smarter than Zuko. Maybe I could…
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask, are those swords new?" Raikuro's voice cut through my musings. I saw him motioning to the swords sticking out of their sheathes strapped to my back. "I don't remember you having those when you joined us."
I nodded before explaining, "I lost my original Dao swords in Omashu. But then these appeared on my bed a few days later."
"Interesting, any idea who put them there?" Raikuro asked.
I shrugged. "I have no idea. I wish I did though, I'd like to thank them."
"Well, I'm sure you'll find them eventually." Raikuro said, turning away to lean against the ship's railing.
"Oh? What makes you say that?" I asked teasingly as I moved to join him at the rail.
"I just…have a feeling. Don't you ever have feelings like that?" Raikuro turned to look at me. "When you get this overwhelming resolution about something, no matter how ridiculous it may sound or feel?"
Now that he mentioned it, the moment I touched the rail, and our eyes met, I felt a sudden sense of longing well up inside me. I felt like I had to do something, say something to Raikuro, though I had no idea why, or what. I felt myself turning to him, felt my mouth start to open…
TOOOOOOOT!
I jumped as a loud horn sounded, and the feelings disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Startled, I looked up, and my eyes widened in surprise. Another Fire Nation ship had appeared out of the haze. This one was a little larger than ours, with two smokestacks instead of one, and it was heading straight for us.
"Huh, didn't know there were any other Fire Nation ships in these waters." Raikoru commented.
"Neither did I." I agreed.
The other ship's horn sounded again, and I felt a rumble beneath my feet as someone cut the engines of our ship. It looked like Zuko or Iroh shared our curiosity as to why this ship was here.
The ship pulled alongside us and dropped anchor. A metal ramp was extended, and an officer appeared, escorted by two soldiers. One of them had a helmet that covered part of his face, indicating he was probably a Firebender. The other soldier, as well as the officer, wore helmets that showed their faces. Neither of them were faces I recognized, but I hadn't met everyone in the Fire Nation army, so that didn't bother me too much.
As the officer stepped on the deck, I moved to meet him, Raikuro next to me. We bowed respectively, then shifted into a relaxed attentive stance.
"Can we help you, sir?" I asked, giving the officer a small smile.
The officer didn't answer right away. Instead, he slowly looked around our ship, an expression of disgust gradually appearing on his face. His gaze finally landed on me. "Yes, you can go find your commanding officer," he said in a dismissive tone. "I need to speak with him at once."
I felt myself bristle a little bit at the man's tone but fought it down. "He's on his way now sir. He'll be here in a minute." I replied, my face unchanging as I subtly looked the officer up and down. Something about his appearance seemed off.
The officer's face darkened even more at my response. "Go and get him NOW!" He barked. "What kind of commanding officer doesn't greet guests who board his ship?"
"The prince is coming, sir!" Raikuro growled. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who wasn't happy with the officer. "We weren't expecting to meet any other fire Nation vessels in this area."
At the mention of 'prince', the officer raised an eyebrow and the soldiers flanking him exchanged a look. I could see surprise on the face of the non Firebending soldier, but there was something like excitement as well.
As Raikuro continued speaking, I tilted my head as I subtly looked over each of the three visitors. Something about these people wasn't sitting right with me, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
"What is the meaning of this?" I turned to see Zuko approaching, an angry expression on his face. General Iroh was right behind him.
Upon seeing the general, the officer's eyes widened in shock. "G-General Iroh!" He exclaimed before quickly bowing.
"Hello, I'm here too!" Zuko said, looking even more annoyed, while I fought the urge to chuckle. Poor Prince Zuko was not used to being overlooked.
"And Prince Zuko, of course." The officer quickly corrected, bowing to the prince.
"It appears you have us at a disadvantage." General Iroh said. "You know who we are, but we cannot say the same about you."
The officer bowed again as he spoke. "My apologies, General Iroh. I am Captain Han Twe from the Eastern Fleet. We were given orders to intercept any ships that were passing through this area."
"Well, nice of Admiral Choy to inform us he was sending one of his ships our way." Zuko snorted, crossing his arms.
I felt the corner of my mouth curl up in a smile. I knew Admiral Choy, he had retired from the Navy last year. I waited for the captain to call Zuko out on the mistake. It would be yet another blade in the arsenal I was building to undermine Prince Zuko. Despite how cordial Zuko and I had become to each other, my brother's last letter had rekindled a desire to humble the Prince whenever I could.
"I'm sure Admral Choy meant no disrespect, your majesty. He probably was not aware you were in the area." Han Twe replied respectfully.
Wait, what? I blinked in surprise. The captain didn't correct Prince Zuko on the change of leadership? How could that be? He said he was from the Eastern Fleet, he must know about Admiral Choy's retirement!
Unless… I paused as that uneasy feeling crawled back up from the depths of my mind as more soldiers began to cross over from the other ship, and it only grew stronger as a horrible thought surfaced. Unless these people aren't who they say they are!
Narrowing my eyes, I began subtly scanning each of our visitors again. This time, I didn't focus on their faces, I focused on other things; their stances, their armor, how they moved, how they spoke. Sure, the Fire Nation military was one big organization, but each leader liked to run things a little differently. If you looked closely enough, and you knew what to look for, you could identify what unit people were with just by their appearance.
After a few moments, I started to notice a few things that weren't right. Most units wore armor that was unique to their fleet. But most of these people were wearing mismatched armor. I could see symbols from at least two different units on one person alone. I had never seen that before.
Before I could say anything, Prince Zuko, General, Iroh, and Captain Han Twe turned and headed off, presumably to the bridge to talk farther. I saw several people who had boarded the ship start to wander off as well, and my frown deepened. Something was definitely not right here.
I was so focused on observing our visitors that I jumped a little when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.
"What's wrong?" I felt myself relax. It was only Raikoru.
"Something's not right." I whispered to him. "Those people say they're acting under Admiral Choy's orders, but he retired last year."
"What? Are you sure?" Raikuro looked surprised as he removed his hand.
I nodded. "Commander Zhao always kept me and Zheng up to date on the chain of command in the Fire Nation Military. Admiral Choy was one of Zhao's biggest rivals, but he stepped down after he was injured in battle. It was pretty big news in the army. I'm surprised these soldiers don't know that."
"I didn't know that!" Raikoru argued.
"Yeah well, you've been sailing around the world for the last two years, so I can see why you and the others on this ship might be a little out of touch with what's been going on. But these people should have known… that." I frowned as a sudden thought crossed my mind.
"What is it?" Raikuro must have sensed my uneasiness.
I leaned closer to Raikuro and spoke in a whisper. "Shortly before I left Zhao, I heard rumors about an Earth Kingdom battalion called the League of Moles. They're supposed to be masters of subterfuge, disguising themselves as civilians or in stolen armor to spy on Fire Nation movements, commit sabotage inside our strongholds, or get close enough to a target to assassinate them."
"And you think these people are them?" Raikoru whispered back, a tone of fear creeping into his voice.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." I said, looking back as I saw even more people start cross over from the other ship to ours. "Besides their lack of information about Admiral Choy, their mismatched armor gives them away. That man in the front, for example, he's wearing Firebender armor, but his helmet is from the Southern Raiders, who have no connection with the Western Fleet." I motioned to one of the soldiers crossing over.
"But why?" Raikuro looked confused.
"Because Admiral Choy has hated the Southern Raiders ever since one of them made a pass at his niece three years ago." I replied. "He never found out who, but because of that, Admiral Choy would never allow a soldier in his fleet to wear Southern Raider armor. However, that wouldn't be of interest to someone who wasn't in the Fire Nation Military."
"Yeah, you're right." Raikuro murmured, subtly glancing at the visitors. "I'm starting to see it now too. You think they're here to sabotage us?"
"That or they're after the prince, or the general. Maybe even both." I replied.
"Okay, how are we gonna stop them?" Raikuro asked.
For a moment, I hesitated. Did I want to stop them? If the League of Moles was here to kill Prince Zuko or General Iroh, why not let them do it? With them dead, it wouldn't be long before Zuko's crew was disbanded, and they could go home. I would probably get reassigned back to Zhao's forces, and he would never question my loyalty again! I would get to see Zheng again!
"Zorra?" I felt Raikuro's hand on my shoulder again. "What should we do?" He asked, looking at me intently.
At Raikuro's words, my hesitation faded and I shook my head to clear it. No, until I'm told otherwise by higher powers, I am Prince Zuko's bodyguard. I need to protect him! I said to myself.
"I'm gonna go to the bridge and protect the prince." I instructed Raikuro. "Gather a handful of soldiers, Firebenders if you can get them, and have them come up on deck. Tell them what's going on, but tell them to be discreet. We need to be absolutely certain before we make a move. Once I'm sure who these people are, I'll come out onto the balcony and give you a signal. Do not act until you see it."
"What kind of signal?" Raikoru asked.
"If you see me wave at you, it means they're impostors and you should chase them off the ship. If I don't wave, they're soldiers and you can tell the men to go back to whatever it was they were doing." I said after a moment's thought.
Raikuro nodded, then turned and casually strolled towards the staircase that led belowdecks.
Keeping my face expressionless, I made my way inside the conning tower and began to climb up towards the bridge, then I suddenly paused on the stairs as an idea came to me. Why not beat these impostors at their own game?
Smiling, I changed course for the room where the messenger hawks were kept. However, when I arrived, I found a solider in Firebender armor standing in front of the door. When he saw me, he moved to block my path.
"Sorry, no can go in here." He said gruffly. His voice was a little muffled and was not one I recognized.
"Why not?" I asked, playing along.
"General Iroh's direct orders. No one is allowed into this room for any reason." The soldier replied.
Yeah, right. I thought as I gave the man an annoyed look. "Then why is he going in?" I complained, motioning behind him with my chin.
"Huh?" The man whirled around, and as he did, I pounced. Tackling the man, I clapped one hand over his mouth so he wouldn't scream and twisted my body, throwing him to the floor, knocking his faceplate off. As he turned, wide-eyed, to look up at me, I punched him in the jaw. To my surprise, he immediately passed out.
"If you really are a friend, I'm sorry about this." I muttered as I dragged the man to a nearby cabin and locked him inside, barring the door with the man's own Jian blade.
Then I made my way into the hawk room. One of the hawks screeched a welcome when it saw me, and I smiled at the birds before making my way to the counter.
Grabbing a roll of paper, an inkwell and a pen, I wrote a quick message;
These men are wearing armor from different fleets. I think they are impostors. If they are, I have a plan to get rid of them, but I need your permission to proceed.
I blew on the paper until I was sure the ink was dry, then rolled it up and placed it in a capsule, securing the lid with a black ribbon.
A chirp next to me saw that one of the messenger hawks, probably the same one that had greeted me, had hopped over from its perch and was now standing next to me, no doubt expecting me to ty the capsule to its harness.
I chuckled before tickling the hawk under the chin. "I appreciate the offer, my friend, but that won't be necessary. This message is for someone who is here on the ship." I explained.
The hawk tilted its head, as if trying to understand what I was saying, as I quickly turned and left the hawk room.
Tucking the message into my belt, I quickly climbed back to the bridge. I found two guards standing outside the door to the bridge. They nodded respectfully when they saw me, but when I tried to pass them, they blocked my path.
"No one is allowed inside." The guard on the right said.
"I must speak with General Iroh immediately." I said, trying to push my way past. To my surprise, I felt the soldier on the left place his hand on my shoulder and shove me backwards.
I stumbled back, flailing for a moment before regaining my balance. I glared at the soldier on the left of the door, recognizing him as one of the people who had escorted Captain Han Twe onto the ship. "What was that for?!" I demanded.
"You were told that no one was allowed inside." The soldier replied. "We were given strict orders by Prince Zuko himself to ensure this. Now off with you."
I felt my eyes narrow but kept my cool. I was used to such rough treatment, but I couldn't think of any reason why these soldiers would show it...Unless my suspicions about them were right.
Frowning, I reached into my belt and pulled out the scroll. "An urgent message has arrived for General Iroh. I must see that he gets it immediately." I held it up for them to see, making sure that the black ribbon was visible.
The soldier on the right's eyes widened and both soldiers exchanged a glance. A moment later, the soldier on the left stepped forward. "Give it to me. I will give it to him." He said, holding his hand out.
Yeah, right. I thought. There was no way I was giving this soldier the scroll, not after the way he treated me.
"I think not." I said, tucking the scroll back into my belt. "I will give it to him myself. Now stand aside so that I may deliver it."
The soldier's eyes narrowed at me. "We already told you that the General is not to be…"
"You said that Prince Zuko was not to be disturbed." I said, capitalizing on the guard's words. "This is for General Iroh, and I believe it contains information he has been seeking for a long while. If you will not let me pass, then call the General out here."
Neither guard moved, and I sighed. I did not have time for this. The prince and the general had been alone with this potential impostor captain for a long time already. It was time to get tough.
I took a step forward, my hand slowly lifting from my side to grasp the handle of my sword. Both soldiers followed the movement of my hand, and I saw them both tense.
"Listen to me very carefully, soldiers." I said, keeping my voice firm. "I am Prince Zuko's aide and bodyguard. I was trained in the art of the sword by Master Piandao, the greatest swordsman in the Fire Nation, the same man who once defeated an entire legion of Firebenders on his own. It is my mission to protect the prince from harm, and right now I am beginning to suspect that the two of you intend this by blocking this news from reaching the General."
"Now wait just a…" The soldier on the right started to say, but I cut him off.
"If you continue to interfere, then I will have no choice but to deem you as threats to the prince's safety, and I will not hesitate to cut the two of you down were you stand!" I partially drew my swords from its sheath to emphasize my point. "Do I make myself clear?" I narrowed my eyes, challenging them to call my bluff.
The two soldiers looked at me, then at each other. Finally, the soldier on the left sighed and stepped backwards. "Go on in." He said.
"What?" The other soldier looked at him like he was crazy.
"If she talks any louder, the General or the prince will hear her and come out to investigate. That would be considered 'interrupting', wouldn't you agree?" The first soldier asked, giving his colleague a look.
The two soldier exchanged a long look, before the one on the right finally relented. "Fine, go on in, but make it fast!" He barked as he stood aside.
"Thank you, soldier." I said, sheathing my sword again. As I walked past the two soldiers, I felt my body tense, preparing for some kind of a surprise attack, or another attempt to stop me, but none came.
I opened the door, stepped into the room, and closed it behind me. Facing the closed door, I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
"What is the meaning of this? I said I didn't want to be disturbed!" Prince Zuko exclaimed from behind me.
I bit my lip to keep from retorting. As bratty as the prince was being, snapping back would not help matters right now. I took a breath to collect myself, then, schooling my face into a concerned expression, I turned around.
As I suspected, Zuko and Iroh were there, along with Captain Han Twe, but no one else, not even the helmsman or Lieutenant Jee. This was another entry on the list of things that wasn't right, but I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. If these people really were impostors, we'd know soon enough.
"My apologies, Prince Zuko, but this just arrived for General Iroh." I said, holding up the scroll capsule, making sure the black ribbon was visible.
Both Zuko and Iroh's eyes widened when they saw it. "A black ribbon? This must be important news indeed." Iroh said, before getting to his feet.
I crossed the room, feeling Han Twe's gaze on me. I could tell he was interested in the scroll, but he didn't say anything. Maybe he figured he'd find out what it said from the General.
Oh, you'll find out what it says soon enough I thought as I handed the scroll to Iroh and stepped back into a relaxed attentive position, hands neatly clasped behind my back.
I watched Iroh open the scroll. There was a flicker of surprise on the general's face as he read my message, but it was gone in an instant. "Hmmm, interesting." He said quietly.
"What does it say, Uncle?" Zuko asked, approaching us. Behind him, I could see the 'captain' take a few steps forward too.
Iroh rolled up the scroll before Zuko could see it. "It's from Admiral Chang of the Western Fleet. He says one of his ships was attacked by the Avatar and his friends near the White Cliffs of Dong Va, and he is requesting immediate assistance."
"The Avatar?!" Zuko exclaimed, and I saw Han Twe's eyes widened in surprise behind him.
"Dong Va? That's not too far from here, isn't it?" I asked, pretending to also look surprised.
General Iroh nodded. "Indeed. Admiral Chang says the crew of the ship were able to fight off the Avatar, but the ship was badly damaged and is unable to move. It is transporting cargo that is vital for an upcoming military operation. If that cargo is lost, it could set the Fire Lord's plans back months. We must be the closest ship to his location, that is why they sent this hawk to us. We must provide the admiral with the assistance he requests."
"Agreed." Captain Han Twe spoke up. "If the Fire Lord trusts Admiral Chang that much, then we must do everything we can to help him. My ship and crew are at your disposal, Prince Zuko." He said with a bow.
I fought to keep my stoic mask from slipping. The Western Fleet was led by Admiral Chen, not Chang! A real Fire Nation soldier would surely have known that! Now I was certain these people were impostors!
I glanced at General Iroh and saw him looking up at me. When he caught my eye, his own narrowed, and I gave him a tiny nod. He had just given his permission.
Fighting the urge to run, I walked slowly out of the wheelhouse and onto the balcony. I heard General Iroh join the conversation behind me, and knew he was distracting the 'Captain'
Looking down from the balcony, I saw that Raikuro had succeeded in his task. About a dozen soldiers, over half of them Firebenders, were milling around on deck, some were talking with the soldiers that had come over, but most of the impostors remained by the ramp. I could tell from their body language that some of them were starting to suspect something.
It was time to make my move.
I saw Raikuro pause in the middle of a conversation with one of the Firebenders. Both of them looked up at me. Several other people did too, including some of the impostors.
Not wanting to give anything away yet, I leaned casually against the railing, looked Raikuro dead in the eye, gave him a sweet smile, and slowly waved my hand, like I was waving to a friend.
Raikuro smiled and waved back, but his grin looked just as fake as mine felt.
Trusting that Raikuro could take things from here, I turned back and quickly made my way back inside the bridge.
When Prince Zuko saw me come back in, he turned to me. "Zorra, alert the crew. When we reach Dong Va, I want every soldier armored and ready." He ordered.
"I'm afraid the crew are a little busy right now, Prince Zuko." I said sweetly.
"Busy?" The Prince blinked in surprise. "Busy doing what?"
"YAAAAAAHH!" A battle cry suddenly sounded from behind me, followed by the sounds of yelling, the whooshing of fire, and the clang of metal.
"Wha-? What's going on out there?!" Zuko demanded.
But I could see, from the look on Han Twe's face, that he knew what was happening. He lunged towards Zuko's unprotected back, a dagger suddenly appearing in his hand.
I darted forward, opening my mouth to scream a warning to the prince, when…
FWOOOOOOSHHHHH! I froze, then jumped back, raising my hands to protect my face, as a raging inferno appeared in the bridge, seemingly out of nowhere, and rushed towards the 'Captain', who cried out in pain as the flames engulfed him.
Zuko whirled around, his eyes widening with surprise. Braving the searing heat, I darted forward, grabbed Zuko by the arm, and pulled him out of the way onto the balcony. I knew Zuko could take the heat, but who knew if the impostor had another weapon?
"What's happening?" Zuko demanded, turning to face me as the sounds of fighting continued from the deck below.
"That other ship is full of impostors and their captain just tried to kill you." I quickly explained.
"WHAT?!" Zuko exclaimed.
"Just stay behind me!" I growled as the fire inside the bridge died down.
Cautiously, I drew my swords and made my way back inside. I was fearing that I'd see General Iroh injured, and the impostor captain charging towards us, blade in hand. Even though General Iroh had separated me from my brother, and he kept trying to get me and Zuko together, I had to admit that a part of me had grown to like the old Firebender. I didn't really want to see anything bad happen to him.
Turns out, I needn't have bothered worrying. The first thing I saw when I stepped inside was the fake captain, lying against the far wall, holding his arm and groaning in pain.
I heard a chuckle and turned to see General Iroh was still standing by the table, a cup of steaming tea in his hand. Strangely, there also appeared to be steam coming from his mouth. My eyes widened as I put two and two together.
General Iroh smirked as he saw me looking. "In case you were wondering how I came to be known as the "Dragon of the West"," General Iroh said as he calmly got to his feet. "Now you know."
I felt a smile cross my face. Just when I thought I had the old general figured out, he always seemed to have one more surprise for me.
Just then, the door to the bridge burst open, and the two guards from before burst in, swords at the ready. They hesitated only for a moment, seeing Han Twe on the floor. Then they both lunged at Prince Zuko and me.
I felt Prince Zuko start to move behind me, so I motioned him back with one of my blades. "Leave this to me, I insist." I said to him, giving him a firm look so he knew I was being serious.
For a moment, Prince Zuko looked like he might argue, but then he nodded and stepped back.
I nodded back at him before turning to face the two approaching 'soldiers'.
The one who had shoved me was the first to take a swing at me. I blocked his blade easily, before slipping to one side, pushing his sword aside while slicing sideways at him with my other sword. The 'soldier' darted backwards, the curve of my sword just missing his chest.
As he glanced down in surprise, I shifted my attention to the other 'soldier, who was just about to pass me. I stuck my foot out, causing the soldier to trip. As he fell, I spun on my feet, whirling my swords in a vortex of black metal, until I felt one of them cut into something.
"AAAARGH!" The 'soldier' cried out in pain, dropping his sword as he fell to the floor, blood trickling down his leg. I hadn't cut him deeply, but I had cut through a section of his leg that held a major artery. He wouldn't be walking again for a while.
With that in mind, I turned to the other 'soldier' who was gaping at his partner in surprise. Then he looked at me, and his surprised expression gave way to fury. I just smirked at him.
Growling, he lunged at me, swinging his blade for my face. Almost without thinking, I raised one sword to block his blade, while copying his motion with my other sword, forcing him to back away. As he did, I pivoted the swords so that the blades were facing each other and sliced them together like a giant pair of scissors toward his throat.
As he ducked to avoid this attack, I brought my knee up, straight into his face. I heard a loud CRACK, and the man yelled in pain. He darted backwards, one hand holding his nose. I could see blood starting to drip through his fingers.
"That was for shoving me earlier." I said as continued to press my attack. I swung both my blades in a repeated pattern of strikes, forcing the 'soldier' to remain on the defensive as he backed away from me, until he finally found himself against the wall of the bridge. Seeing he was cornered, the 'soldier' raised is sword in both hands, blood flowing down his face.
"FOR THE EARTH KINGDOM!" He yelled before suddenly charging at me.
I narrowed my eyes, wondering what he was up to. Then I remembered something a soldier had once mentioned about the League of Moles, how they were so dedicated that they were willing to die for their cause. Suddenly, I understood. This man was prepared to kill himself if it meant he could take me down with him.
But I was in no mood to die, so I simply shifted to the side, rolling to the right in order to dodge the swipe of his sword. Then I raised one of my hands and, as he moved past me, struck him on the back of his neck with the hilt of my sword. This impact, combined with the momentum of the 'soldier's charge, caused him to lose his footing, and he fell to the floor. Seeing that the man's sword had fallen from his grasp, I rushed over and kicked the blade away.
As the man rolled over, I moved to stand over him, one of my swords pointed at his face. Seeing that he had been disarmed and was at my mercy, he glared at me. "You coward!" he spat.
Rather than rise to his bait, I simply smiled at him. "I'm not the one who was hiding." I taunted and was rewarded when I saw the man's eyes widen, then narrow even farther. He tried to get up, but I jabbed my sword forward until the blade tapped the man's nose, causing him to yelp in pain and pause. Then I spun the sword in my other hand and stuck him in the forehead with the hilt, knocking him out.
In the back of my mind, I wondered why I didn't just kill him. That would have been easier, and probably safer in the long run. However, this man had proven that he was willing to die and, for some reason, I wanted to keep him alive, if for no other reason than to deny him what he wanted.
"Excellent work, Zorra." General Iroh's voice snapped me out of my musings. I tuned to see that he and Zuko had gathered the other 'soldier' and had tied up both him and his 'captain'. Where the General had gotten rope from, I had no idea, but I didn't feel like questioning it.
"Thank you, General Iroh." I said, as I dragged my unconscious opponent over to them, then moved to stand between them and the door, just in case any of them tried to bolt, or any more impostors showed up.
I glanced towards the opening that led to the balcony. We could still hear sounds of fighting from outside, but it wasn't as loud as before. For a moment, I thought about Raikuro and the others, and part of me wanted to go help them, but I was the Prince's bodyguard, and I was needed here. So, I ignored those feelings and turned back to the captives as General Iroh started speaking.
"I must applaud you, my friends, on a very convincing performance." He said as he came to stand in front of them. "But then, I would expect nothing less from the legendary League of Moles."
The impostors said nothing. They just glared at Iroh.
"League of Moles?" Zuko looked confused. "What's that?"
"An elite squad of Earth Kingdom warriors." I explained, not taking my eyes off the impostors. "They're masters of disguise and specialize in infiltrating enemy strongholds."
"What?" Zuko exclaimed. "But…but why are they here?"
"My guess, they probably wanted to capture or kill either you or your uncle." I answered.
"Yes, that would be my assumption as well." General Iroh nodded towards me before turning back to the Moles. "And to your credit, my friends, you very nearly succeeded. If Zorra here had not realized that your men were wearing armor from different fleets, something no true Fire Nation officer would have permitted, it is possible the both of us would be dead by now."
I felt my cheeks heat at the general's praise. True, he may have been overplaying my role, but it felt worth it, especially when I saw Zuko look at me with unmistakable awe.
Turning away from him, I saw Han Twe looking at me with undisguised fury, and I smiled at him. "Don't blame me, friend. It's not my fault your knowledge of the Fire Nation Military is out of date." I said.
"Zorra, ready a messenger hawk! We still have to provide assistance to Admiral Chang!" Zuko ordered.
Trying to hide my smile, I turned to Zuko pretending to look confused. "To who?" I asked.
"What do you mean 'to who'? Admiral Chang, the leader of the…" Prince Zuko suddenly stopped talking and frowned, as if thinking hard. A few moments later, his eyes widened and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
"Admiral Chang doesn't command the Western Fleet, does he?" Zuko growled, turning to give me a look that was half annoyance, half embarrassment.
Unable to keep the smile off my face, I shook my head. "No, Prince Zuko. The Western Fleet is led by Admiral Chen. As far as I know, there is no Admiral Chang in the Fire Nation Military." I said.
I heard a faint gasp from the 'soldiers' but I didn't look at them. I kept my gaze firmly on the prince's embarrassed expression, trying to commit it to memory. Just wait until the other members of the crew heard about this! Embarrassing the prince like this would speed my plans along even more.
"Forgive our deception, my nephew." General Iroh spoke up, no longer smiling. "When Zorra alerted me that our visitors might be impostors, we concocted this little test to see if she was correct, and it appears she was."
He then turned to me. "It appears that we are, once again, in your debt, Water Dragon." He said, bowing to me.
I bowed back. "My pleasure, General Iroh."
This brought another gasp, louder this time, from the impostors, and this time I did turn to look at them. Both men were gazing at me with wide eyes. "Something wrong?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at them.
"Y-you're the Water Dragon?" The 'soldier' that I had injured in the leg stammered, a tone of fear in his voice. "B-but I thought you were in the Northern Earth Kingdom!"
The Northern Earth Kingdom, that was where Zheng had mentioned he was going in his letter! Despite the feeling of homesickness that rose up in my gut at his words, I let out a chuckle. "My, you really are ill-informed, aren't you?" I said tauntingly.
Just then, a loud Fwoosh of fire was heard from outside, followed by a cry of pain and the unmistakable rumbling of a ship's engines.
"What's happening out there?!" Zuko exclaimed, before turning to me. "Go take a look!" He ordered.
I hesitated, not wanting to leave the door, but eventually I nodded and quickly made my way out onto the balcony. Leaning over the railing, I saw the League of Mole's ship pull away from alongside ours and steam off as several of our Firebenders sent futile fire blasts after it. Several people were lying on the deck, motionless, and a few more had been tied up.
I frowned as I quickly realized someone was missing. Where was Raikuro? I leaned farther, scanning the deck, searching for him. Suddenly, I spotted him standing motionless in the middle of the deck, watching the retreating Mole's ship, and I raised an eyebrow. What was he doing?
Just after I had thought that, Raikuro started to move. He legs shifted into a battle stance, and he began to slowly move his arms in a circular motion. Something blueish-white began to trail from his fingers and the air was suddenly filled with a crackling sound.
Seeing that motion clicked something in my memory, and I suddenly recalled reading about something a technique involving a motion very similar to what I was seeing. No, it couldn't be! I thought, my eyes widening in disbelief.
"EVERYBODY DOWN!" I heard Raikuro call out seconds before he stepped forward and extended his right hand towards the fleeing ship. I saw everyone turn to look at him, and the eyes of several members of our crew widened. These people dove for cover, pulling other people down with them.
ZZAAAPPP! A massive bolt of electricity leapt from Raikuro's fingers and shot across the deck. It flew across the water and slammed into the back of the Mole's ship, causing an explosion. Flames shot up into the sky, and pieces of debris rained down into the water as the Mole's ship disappeared in a cloud of smoke. We could still hear its engine, but it sounded like it had been damaged and probably wouldn't go very far now.
I felt my jaw drop. Lightning! Raikuro could generate lightning! My mind whirled at this revelation. The power to generate lightning was a very rare Firebending ability. Even Master Jeong Jeong had been unable to manage it. How had Raikuro learned to do it?
For a few seconds, no one on the deck of our ship moved, then everyone looked towards Raikuro, who casually shook the smoke rising from his hands. He nodded towards Lieutenant Jee, who was frozen in the middle of a battle with a man holding a San Gu Cha dagger. The lieutenant nodded back before tackling the man to the ground. Just like that, the fighting on the deck resumed, but it was over in moments. Clearly Raikuro's lighting display had taken the fight out of the Moles, because they offered no further resistance as they were disarmed by members of Zuko's crew.
Raikuro stayed where he was, watching as the Moles were herded to the middle of the deck. Then, as if sensing my gaze, he suddenly looked up, and his eyes met mine. He smiled and waved at me, and in spite of the seriousness of the moment, I felt my cheeks heat up. To distract from this, I waved back at him before quickly turning and heading back inside the bridge.
"Zorra, what happened? What was that explosion?" Zuko demanded.
I didn't answer him. Instead, I turned to General Iroh. "General, did you know that Raikuro can generate lightning?" I asked.
General Iroh's eyes widened in unmistakable surprise. "I did not." He said slowly. "I assume that was the cause of the explosion we heard?"
I nodded. "He used it on the Mole's ship. I'm not sure how badly damaged it is, but it's clearly in no shape to travel very far."
The two conscious Moles looked at each other in surprise as Zuko nodded at me. "Good, with the League's transport crippled, they will be less likely to come after us in the near future." He then turned to the captives. "Now we just need to decide what to do with the Moles that we still have." He said, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.
"Ha, you think we'd tell you anything?" Han Twe scoffed. "We'd sooner choke on your bones! We Moles are more than willing to give up our lives for our cause. And once the Earth Kingdom finds out about you, Water Dragon, they'll send a far stronger group to deal with you!" He added, glancing at me.
"Is that so?" I said, walking forward to stand over the man, my smile widening as I once again held the blade under his throat. "Well, if they're anything like the three of you, I'm not too worried." I added, giving him a taunting smirk before pulling my blade away and sheathing it.
The man scowled at me, then looked away.
"By the way, where did you get those swords?" General Iroh asked, turning to me. "I've never seen them before."
"They're new." I replied after a moment. "I found them on my bunk after we returned from interrogating Haru and the other Earthbenders that had escaped the prison rig. I had thought…maybe one of you had left them there for me." I looked from Iroh to Zuko.
The two Firebenders looked at each other, surprise evident on both their faces.
"I didn't order any swords made for you." Zuko said after a moment.
"Neither did I. Although I wish I had. They are a very good look for you." Iroh commented.
"Thank you, General." I said with a bow, trying to ignore the confused thoughts in my head. Either Zuko and Iroh were better actors than I thought, or they really had no idea where my new swords had come from. But if Zuko or Iroh didn't have these blades made for me, who had?
I shook my head to clear it. I had more important things to worry about right now. "We had better search the ship. As I mentioned, the Moles are experts in infiltration. Not all of them may have fled back to their ship." I said to General Iroh.
"Agreed. Any Moles hiding on the ship can still cause problems for us." Iroh nodded at me. "Take care of it."
I nodded before turning to Zuko. Technically, I was his bodyguard, so I felt I should get his permission.
Zuko, still looking annoyed that he had fallen for our ruse, saw my look and nodded at me.
I bowed to the two royals and left the cabin. Quickly making my way back to the deck, I spotted Raikuro talking to some Firebenders and walked over towards him. As I moved, I felt a small smile cross my face as memories of Raikuro shooting lightning flashed before my eyes. As an infiltrator, I prided myself on being able to uncover hidden aspects of other people. However, as annoyed as I was that Raikuro had kept his lightning-generating powers hidden for this long, I couldn't help but be impressed. This was an ability equivalent to me boiling water or Zheng bending lava.
Seeing my approach, Raikuro turned to face me. "Looks you were right about the Moles. As soon as I confronted one of them, they all tried to attack us." He said, then he paused when he saw my smile. "What?" He asked.
"Lightning?" I asked, tilting my head in a teasing way as I crossed my arms. "How long have you been hiding that? General Iroh didn't even know about it, and he knows practically everything about everyone on this ship!"
To my surprise, Raikuro didn't try to defend himself, he just smiled back at me. "A man is entitled to keep some secrets." He said simply before giving me a wink. "Makes life more interesting that way."
I raised an eyebrow, but felt my smile widen. "Well, an ability like that is certainly interesting." I commented.
"No more interesting than you being able to recognize a group of Earth Kingdom saboteurs when no one else was able to." Raikuro returned the comment.
Hearing those words reminded me of the reason why I had come to him in the first place, and my smile slipped off my face. "Did you count how many Moles ran back onto the other ship?" I asked.
"No, why?" Raikuro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Like I told you earlier, the Moles are experts at infiltration. If any got left behind, they can still cause problems by sabotaging the ship or quietly murdering key members of the crew." I explained. "We need to search the ship and make sure there aren't any impostors still on board."
Raikoru's expression hardened. "I see." He nodded, before turning to the other crew members nearby. "Hey, listen up! The Water Dragon has an announcement!" He called.
I blinked in surprise as everyone turned to me, I hadn't expected Raikuro to use my battle name. But I quickly got over it. "Did Raikuro tell you who those people were that you chased off the ship?" I asked the assembled soldiers.
"No, only that they were impostors." One of the non-bending soldiers replied.
I nodded at him. "They're called the League of Moles. They're an Earth Kingdom battalion that specializes in infiltration." As I spoke, I thought I saw one of the Firebenders stiffen at my words, and a sudden thought sprang to mind as I continued to talk. "Even though we uncovered their deception and chased them off, it's possible that not all the Moles left. We need to search the ship and make certain that there aren't any still hiding anywhere aboard."
"But why would the Moles stick around?" A Firebender asked, the same one that tensed earlier. I felt a frown cross my face but I tried not to show it.
"Because the Moles also specialize in sabotage, and if they sabotage our ship, we'll be easy pickings for any other Earth Kingdom ship that comes across us." I said, recalling what the 'Captain' had said to me. "It would be better if we search the ship, and not take that chance."
"I agree." I turned to see Lieutenant Jee appear at my side. "I've also heard about the League of Moles, and the kind of damage they can cause if left unchecked. We need to make sure that none of them are still here."
"Before we get to that, however, there's something else that needs to happen first." I said, my eyes sweeping over the assembled crew. "Anyone who is covering their face, show it right now."
"What? Why?" The same masked Firebender from before asked.
"To make certain there aren't any Moles hiding in our midst right now." I said, giving this Firebender a firm look. "And since everyone on this ship has been here for two years, it's safe to say that everyone knows each other's faces by now, correct?"
I glanced around to see the rest of the crew nodding at each other, all except for the masked Firebender, who shifted uneasily.
"Well…?" I intoned, giving him another firm look.
The man noticed me staring and took a step back. "What?" He asked.
"Why don't you go first?" I urged, motioning for him to take off his helmet.
"Wh-wh-why me?" The man stammered, taking another step back.
"Because you seem to be the only person here who has a problem with this plan." I said, taking a step forward. "The way you're acting right now makes me think you have something to hide."
"I-I…" The man glanced around, but if he was looking for assistance, he found none. Everyone was looking at him suspiciously.
"Well…? Do you have something to hide?" I asked, giving him a dark look. Secretly however, I was enjoying this.
"Th-this is ridiculous!" The man exclaimed. "I don't answer to you!"
"Maybe not," Lieutenant Jee stepped forward. "But you do answer to me, soldier, and I am now ordering you to remove your helmet!" He commanded.
"Allow me" Raikuro spoke up, and I was surprised to see that he was now behind the suspicious Firebender. He must have snuck back there while I had been talking.
As the Firebender turned, Raikuro lunged. He wrapped his arms around the man's neck and pulled up, throwing the man over his body.
The Firebender hit the deck with a thud, but quickly got to his feet and spun around. "Hey! What was that for?" He demanded as he spun to face us.
A series of gasps rang out. The Firebender's faceplate was gone, revealing a face I had never seen before. By the look on the rest of the crew's faces, none of them knew who this man was either.
"Looks like I was right about you having something to hide, impostor!" I smirked as whispers broke our around us.
Realizing he was busted, the unmasked Mole suddenly lunged towards me, a blade appearing in his hand. But I whirled and unleashed a devastating kick that knocked him backwards.
"Grab him!" Lieutenant Jee exclaimed, and the impostor was quickly seized by two of the realFirebenders. As they pinned him down, Jee and Raikuro turned to me.
"Are you alright?" Raikuro asked.
"I'm fine, but do you now see how dangerous the Moles can be?" I said to him.
Raikuro nodded, a serious expression on his face, while Lieutenant Jee turned to the assembled soldiers. "Spread out and search in pairs. Keep in eye contact with each other and keep your faces uncovered." He ordered. "If you see anyone whose face is hidden, have them show it, if they refuse, bring them here, by force if you need to."
"Right!" The soldiers paired up and headed out. Jee then turned to the two that were holding the captive impostor.
"Watch him you two, and if he gives you any trouble, you know what to do." He said, his voice cold.
The two men nodded and forced their captive to his knees. Neither of them relaxed their grip on him for a second.
I smirked as a sudden idea came to me. "Step away, gentlemen. I have a better idea." I said, moving forward to stand in front of them. The two men looked at each other, a little confused, but did as instructed. The Mole member looked up at me, and then bolted towards the hatch leading below decks. Drawing water from the ocean, I gathered it up into a mass and focused, causing the liquid water to harden slightly into the same gel-like substance that I had used to jam the propeller on the boat Haru and his fellow Earthbenders used to escape the prison rig. When I had enough, I launched the gel at the fleeing Mole member. It struck him square in the back, knocking him down onto the deck.
The assembled crew members burst out laughing and I smirked as we watched the impostor try to get up, but I raised my hand and increased the temperature of the gel a little, causing it to harden all around the impostor, restricting this movements. "Wh-what is this stuff?" He exclaimed in disgust.
"A Waterbending trick I've been working on." I said smugly. "You won't be getting out of that in a hurry." I turned to the two crew members who had been assigned to watch him. "He should be easier to watch now." I said to them before motioning for Raikuro to follow me.
"You've really been practicing, haven't you?" Raikuro asked with a chuckle as we made our way below deck.
"Of course. The only limits you have to bending are the ones that exist in your mind." I replied with a smile, quoting one of my favorite bending instructors.
Raikuro frowned thoughtfully. "Where have I heard…?" He suddenly paused on the steps, his eyes widening in surprise.
Noticing this, I also stopped. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Do you know Jeong Jeong, by any chance?" Raikuro asked, his eyes narrowing a little.
I blinked in surprise, not quite sure where Raikuro was going with this, but I decided to humor him. "Yes, I know him. He's known as the Deserter because he abandoned his position in the Fire Nation Army."
"No, no! Before that!" Raikuro shook his head. "You see, he was my Firebending teacher a long time ago, and what you said just now reminded me of one of him." He explained.
"Oh, yeah. Same with me." I replied as we started to walk again. Seeing Raikuro's eyes widen, I chuckled as we left the stairs and started moving down a corridor. "No, he didn't teach me Firebending, but Jeong Jeong did teach me about the discipline involved with Bending." I smiled as a memory flashed behind my eyes.
I was standing in the middle of a courtyard, trying my best to keep as still as possible. My legs were bent in a squat, my muscles tense, my eyes closed. I had been like this for what felt like an hour.
I kept my breathing slow and steady, but then I felt a slight itch in my left leg. I tried to ignore it, but I soon felt another itch in my arm, then another in my neck, then back in my leg.
I grit my teeth behind my lips, trying my best to ignore the feelings that were slowly spreading across my body, but finally I couldn't take it anymore, and I twitched my arm in an effort to dispel the itching.
"Zorra! That is not staying still!" A stern voice barked, and I opened my eyes to see an elderly man with a stern face frowning at me. Two thin scars ran down the right side of his face, one of them almost running through his eye. To many, these were marks of honor. To me, they just serve to make him look more intimidating.
"I'm sorry, Master Jeong Jeong. I'm trying my best, but I just can't stay still!" I said, lowering my head. "Sometimes I wish I was more like Zheng. He's the quiet one, he could stand motionless for hours! But me, I just can't stop moving. Is there another kind of exercise I can try that would help me stay still better?"
"No!" Jeong Jeong snapped at me. "Try again!"
"Yes, Master." I said, reluctantly getting back into me stance. 'This isn't going to work!' I thought to myself, 'I'm just too fidgety! If only I were more like Zheng!'
I blinked as a sudden thought came to me. "Hey, maybe if I think more like Zheng, I can stay still longer," It was worth a try, so I closed my eyes and began breathing slowly and deeply, thinking about Zheng, and about Earthbending. Memories of our sparring sessions flashed behind my eyes, about how strong his stances were, how his feet seemed deeply rooted to the ground when he bended.
My memory then shifted to Earthbenders I had faced in combat, how they also tended to favor strong stances, low steps, and powerful steps, almost like they were trying to be more solid than the Earth they were bending. I felt a smile come to my face at that and decided to focus on being more like earth. Jeong Jeong always said that Earth was stale and steady, so I imagined myself as a rock. Strong. Unmoving. Unyielding.
"Good." Jeong Jeong's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I cracked open an eye and looked up at him. To my surprise, there was a smile on his face. "You have managed to stay completely still for some time now."
My eyed widened at this. "Really?" I glanced around, and saw that the shadows on the ground caused by the sun were significantly longer than they had been earlier. I wasn't sure how long had passed, but apparently some time had passed.
"Indeed. Tell me, how did you manage to accomplish this?" Jeong Jeong asked.
Sheepishly, I told Jeong Jeong how I had tried to imagine myself like Earth. I half expected to him to laugh, but he just nodded his head.
"You are a Waterbender, and it is not the nature of water to sit still for long." He explained. "This is because Water is the element of change. Even though each of the elements comes in many different forms, Water can move between these forms the easiest. Water exists as vapor in the air, as solid ice, or as a flowing liquid, and it can move from one form to another with ease. Just as water can do this, so must you be willing to change your way of thinking and moving to best deal with the obstacles in your path."
Jeong Jeong knelt down so we were eye to eye. "You may need to be solid as ice one moment, and as elusive as steam the next, and, like a flowing stream, you must be able to shift smoothly between these behaviors. Master this, and you will always have an advantage over your opponent, for they will not be able to predict what you are going to do next. Do you understand, Zorra?"
"Yes." I said slowly, nodding at the master. "I think I do."
"ZORRA!" Raikuro's shout snapped me back to reality, and I realized that, while I had been lost in thought, I had kept walking down the corridor. Sensing movement behind me. I whirled around, but it was too late. I saw a knife blade slice towards my head, moving too fast for me to block it.
"Urk!" The knife froze, the tip just touching into my forehead. The eyes of the 'soldier' holding it widened with surprise, then swiveled upwards as his body slumped. The knife fell from his hand as he tumbled to the floor, revealing Raikuro standing behind him, an angry expression on his face and a red-stained Jian sword in his hands.
"Raikuro, you…you saved me." I whispered, my eyes wide.
A small smile appeared on Raikuro's face. "Should I not have?" He asked jokingly, like he was trying to lighten the mood. But his expression had shifted from anger to concern and his eyes quickly ran over my body, as if checking to see whether or not I was hurt.
A snort of humor escaped me before I regained my composure. "I'll thank you later. Let's keep moving, there may be others." I said, drawing my swords and raising them in a defensive position. Raikuro's smile faded and he nodded as he moved to cover my back. We quickly searched this room, before moving onto the next.
Our search of the ship revealed at least five Moles that had stowed away in different parts of the ship. One by one, they were brought down or disarmed, tied up, and taken up onto deck. After we had captured the last one and brought them onto the deck, we found that Zuko and Iroh had joined the others, adding Han Twe and the others from the bridge to our group of captives.
"Set course for the nearest occupied port!" Zuko ordered. "We need to drop off the excess baggage before…"
TOOOOOTTTTTT! A horn cut him off, and we all looked up to see another Fire Nation ship approaching.
"What now?" Lieutenant Jee, while I felt my muscles tense.
"Ah, that must be the help I called for." General Iroh said, looking rather pleased with himself.
"When did you call for help, Uncle?" Zuko asked, turning to look at him.
"While the rest of you were searching the ship, I took the liberty to send a messenger hawk requesting assistance to the closest Fire Nation ship." General Iroh explained. "From the looks of it, this appears to be an important person."
I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as the new ship came alongside ours and was secured with ropes. A gangplank was extended and three soldiers walked over to our ship. Two of them were Firebending soldiers, the third wore a uniform of an officer from the Wester Fleet.
"I will inform him what needs to happen. Make certain these people do not go anywhere." Iroh instructed us, motioning towards the captive moles before moving forward to greet the officer.
I nodded at the General before turning to watch the captive Moles. Many of them stared at the deck, but a few of them caught my gaze and glared back at me. I felt their glares sweep over me, like burning rays of the sun, but I ignored them and kept my eyes moving, sweeping over each of the captives in turn. When one of them moved, my eyes darted to them before moving on after determining they were not a threat.
Soon, the officer appeared at my side, with several Firebending soldiers. "Are these the prisoners?" He asked.
I nodded. "Be careful, they are members of the League of Moles, and are not to be underestimated." I warned him.
The officer nodded. "General Iroh told me who they are. Take them!" He said, snapping his fingers. The Firebenders with him began pulling the captives to their feet and leading them towards the second ship.
As this was happening, the office turned to me. "General Iroh also told me you were the one who uncovered their deception. Most impressive."
I smiled and bowed to him. "Thank you, sir."
"Thank you, Water Dragon." The officer returned the bow. "The League of Moles have been harassing us for years. The Fire Lord will be very pleased when he hears about this blow you have struck against them."
I smiled and bowed again to the officer as the last of the Moles was taken away. He bowed back before turning to follow his soldiers back across the ramp separating the two ships.
"Well, that just happened" I grinned at Raikuro's words and turned to face him. Before he could say anything else, I leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. I felt him stiffen in surprise, and when I backed away, I saw his face had turned red and his eyes were wide.
"Wh-what was that?" He stammered, making me chuckle.
"For saving my life from that Mole. I told you I'd thank you later." I said with a chuckle, but it faded when I saw a frown appear on Raikuro's face. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.
"That shouldn't have happened." Raikuro said, turning away from me.
"Hey, it was my fault for not paying attention to what was happening around me." I said, then blinked in surprise. Why had I said that? Sure, it was true, but normally I'd never have admitted something like that.
"Maybe, but I still can't help thinking just how close we came to losing you." Raikuro said, then he paused, biting his lip. It looked like he was debating with himself about something. "It...it scares me." He admitted.
I raised an eyebrow. "Me getting attacked scares you?" I asked, trying to make sure I heard him correctly.
Raikuro nodded reluctantly. "If I'd been a second later, then you probably wouldn't be here. Even though you've only been with us for a short time, I...I'm not sure I can imagine life on the ship without you, and that scares me. There's only one other time in my life when I've been that scared." He said, leaning against the ship's railing.
Sensing there was a story behind Raikuro's words, I leaned next to him and waited.
Eventually, he sighed and looked at me. "Did I ever tell you how I got these?" He asked, pointing to the slash marks on his face.
I shook my head.
Raikoru sighed again, and turned to look back out at the ocean. "You know, five years ago, if you'd told me I'd one day be on an old Fire Nation ship serving a banished prince, I would have thought you were crazy." He said.
I didn't say anything, and just waited for him to continue.
"I had a pretty good life growing up. I was a Firebending prodigy, and my father was a prominent figure in the Fire Nation Military." He said after a moment.
"Oh? What was his name?" I asked.
"General Deejan." Raikuro said, and my eyes widened as my memory clicked. General Deejan had been one of the most influential generals in the Fire Lord's court a few years ago. I had met the man many times, as he and Commander Zhao had been friends, though I use the term lightly as Zhao didn't really befriend anyone. Still, I knew Zhao had a great deal of respect for Deejan, because he seemed genuinely saddened to hear of Deejan's death roughly three years ago.
I also now knew why Raikuro's name sounded familiar, because I had heard it mentioned between Deejan and Zhao multiple times. But why had it taken me so long to remember that?
"I take it from your expression that you knew of my father." Raikuro's words snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, I do know him. In fact, I've actually met him a few times." I said to him.
Now Raikuro's eyes widened. "Really?" He asked.
I nodded. "General Deejan and Commander Zhao were associates. They often met and I would often be the one to serve them." Seeing a confused look on Raikuro's face, I chuckled and explained how I used to paint my face and play the part of a serving girl for Zhao and his guests. This made Raikuro laugh and he asked if he could see me in my disguise one time.
"We'll see." I said, laughing myself. "But we're getting off topic. You were telling me about your life."
"Oh, right. Well, like I said, everything was pretty much perfect. Due to my father's influence, I received the best education, both as a leader and as a warrior. I had lots of friends, and I was admired and respected by everyone." Raikuro said, and I saw a smile cross his face as he reminisced.
"Admired, eh?" I said teasingly. "Does that mean you had some lady friends?"
Raikuro chuckled. "Oh, there were many girls that competed for my attention, but only one girl caught my eye. Her name was Heela, the daughter of a very powerful and influential merchant. We both attended the same school and seemed drawn to each other. She was rich, beautiful, and intelligent. We made the ideal couple and everyone assumed that we would end up marrying and living together."
He paused for a moment, and a dreamy look appeared on his face. For some reason, I felt my mouth curl down at that.
Raikuro soon started to speak again. "However, I wasn't the only boy vying for Heela's affection. There was one boy in particular who seemed determined to have her. His name was Wang Co, the son of another merchant. He wasn't a Firebender, but he still dominated over a lot of people in our hometown, because of his father's wealth and influence."
"'Dominated'?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I take it he was not a nice guy?"
"Hardly" Raikuro said with a scoff. "He was richer than most of the people in town, so he felt he could pretty much do and take whatever he wanted. To be denied something was rare to him. He didn't like being told no."
I let out a chuckle. 'I'll bet. So, how did he deal with Heela choosing you over him?"
"He did not take it well." A small smile flickered across Raikuro's face. "He confronted the two of us one day, in front of everyone in our town, and told me that if I really thought I was worthy, I should be willing to prove it. I asked him what he meant, and he proposed a contest for Heena's hand. I didn't want to seem like a coward, so I accepted."
"What was the contest?" I asked.
"Wang Co told me about a rare crystal that he had discovered in a series of caves in the dormant volcano near our town. He declared that the first to find it and bring it back would be the one that would get to court Heela." Raikuro explained.
"But that's not fair." I said with a frown. "If he already knew where the crystal was, he had an advantage over you."
"That's what I said." Raikuro nodded. "But Wang Co said that if I agreed, he'd give me a day's head start. He'd even draw me a map to show me the cave where he remembered the crystal was located."
I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. "That was…awfully generous of him." I said slowly.
"Yes, I should have known he was plotting something, but I saw an easy victory and I agreed to the terms." Raikuro said. "The following morning, Wang Co, Heela, and I met at the town gates. He gave me the map and pointed in the direction of the volcano. He said he would start out that evening, and that I would need every advantage I could get from him." A cheeky look crossed Raikuro's face. "I just gave him the map back after looking at it and told him I already had all the advantages I needed. I kissed Heela for luck and then I left right away." He paused again, smiling as the memory, viewable only to him, seemed to wash over him.
"So…what happened?" I asked, fully hooked on the story now. "It sounded like you had everything going for you."
Raikuro took a deep breath and looked at me. "What I didn't know was that the cave Wang Co had indicated was the home of a mother Tigerdillo."
I winced, sucking a breath in through gritted teeth. Tigerdillos were basically giant predatory cats with hard shell-like skin. Though they generally weren't aggressive, they did not tolerate anyone trespassing in their dens, especially if they had cubs. I'd heard of mother Tigerdillos attacking intruders on sight. Even worse for Raikuro, Tigerdillo shells were supposed to be fireproof, so Firebending wouldn't be very effective against them.
Seeing my expression, Raikuro sadly nodded. "Yeah, I found that out the hard way." He raised a hand to his face. "Luckily, my father found out about the bet and knew about the Tigerdillo. He went after me, but sadly, by the time he had caught up with me, I had already found the cave, and the Tigerdillo mother had found me."
"Aiee!" I winced again, but this time harder.
Raikuro nodded grimly. "I don't really remember much of the actual fight, but from what I understand, my father distracted the Tigerdillo while another soldier pulled me to safety. Unfortunately, as my father was batting the Tigerdillo, their actions led to a cave in. I was pulled out just in time, but the Tigerdillo, her cubs, and my father, were all buried."
My heart went out to him. "I'm sorry." I said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It took me over a week to recover, and even though I did, as you can see, I have a permanent reminder of what happened." Raikuro pointed to is face.
"And Heela?" I asked. "I take it she wasn't very pleased to see the scars."
Raikoru sighed sadly. "She didn't come to see me even once while I was recovering. When I healed, I went looking for her, only to find her kissing Wang Co. I confronted her, and she told me that she had only been interested in me because of my family's position, and my good looks. But with my father dead, and my face scarred, she wanted nothing to do with me now. She and Wang Co humiliated me in front of the whole town."
I bit my lip. I knew what it felt like to be targeted for humiliation. Growing up a Waterbender in the Fire Nation, I'd had my fair share of ridicule.
"I was pretty much an outcast after that. My mother always had a weak heart, and when she learned that my father had passed away, she collapsed. She never woke up." Raikuro's face darkened. "After she died, as if he had not done enough, Wang Co somehow managed to gain ownership of my family's house, and he had me thrown out onto the street after I had buried my mother. I found myself homeless and friendless. All I had was my Firebending. But I did get one good thing out of losing everything except my bending."
"And what was that?" I asked.
"Time." Raikuro turned to look at me. "I had a lot of time to practice my Firebending, and I've learned things about the art that very few people ever have."
I felt a smile cross my face. "Oh really? Like what?"
Raikuro returned my smile. "Well, I could tell you, but maybe I'd rather surprise you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge, Raikuro?"
"Maybe it is." Raikuro smirked and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Would you be interested in sparring with me tomorrow morning and find out?"
I felt my excitement start to build. Sure, men wanting to spend time with me wasn't anything new, but most of them were either fans who wanted to praise me, or lusty men hoping to claim me as a trophy. Raikuro however, seemed different. He didn't seem to care about my title, abilities, or my gender. He looked at me, the same way I had seen him look at his male crew members, with respect and friendship. Plus, I really wanted to see what else this guy was capable of.
"I'd like that." I said with a nod. "If your Firebending skills are as high as I'm suspecting they are, we may have to give you your own battle name."
Raikuro looked confused. "Battle name?" he repeated.
"It's like a title." I explained. "Something that celebrates what you are capable of and warns others not to underestimate you. The Water Dragon is my battle name, for obvious reasons. My brother Zheng has one too; the Lava Bear, because he can turn earth into lava and control it."
"I see." The corner of Raikuro's mouth curled up. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Not yet," I said, grinning myself. "But I'll probably have something by tomorrow. Truthfully, I could already think of several ideas, but I didn't want to appear too eager, so I decided to hold off on telling him then.
"Raikuro." A voice broke through my thoughts. We looked up to see one of the Firebenders approaching. "General Iroh wants to see you on the bridge right away." He said.
"Typical." Raikuro groaned, removing his hand. Then he turned to me. "So, meet right here tomorrow then? I may also have a few ideas by then about my new battle name."
"It's a date." I said happily, only truly realizing what I had said after the words had left my mouth. Seeing Raikuro's eyebrow rise, I felt my cheeks turn red. "Um...what I mean is..." I started to say.
"I get it. See you then." Raikuro cut me off, smiling and nodding at me before following the departing soldier.
As I watched Raikoru leave, his words from earlier floated up from my memory. "I just…have a feeling. Don't you ever have feelings like that? When you get this overwhelming resolution about something, no matter how ridiculous it may sound or feel?"
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. Ever since I had joined Zuko's service, in addition to befriending them, I had also tried painting Prince Zuko in a bad light to the members of Zuko's crew. Many of them missed their families, having been gone for two years already, and the prince himself was not the most polite person around, so there was already a healthy amount of dislike for Zuko. I added to that dislike by quietly complaining to them about Zuko's behavior whenever I was ordered to attend to him, as well as tell them stories, such as how General Iroh had tricked Commander Zhao into forcing me to join Zuko's crew, separating me from my brother. They ate it all up, and their sympathy only added to my popularity.
Now, I had a feeling that certain members of Zuko's crew were nearing a tipping point. A few more stories and they would be on the verge of mutiny, and once these crew members rebelled, I was certain the rest would follow. Maybe all I needed now, was someone to help me push them over the edge.
And Cut!
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to get another chapter of this story written! Turns out I suck at writing chapters that don't have much content from the original show in them. But I tried my best with this one, and liked how it turned out. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as well!
As always, thanks to Draconos13 for beta reading, and a special shout out to Jctherebel for commenting on the last chapter!
Not much to talk about this time, partially because I'm so eager to get this published, but I am giving hints in this chapter to a major plot twist that will be revealed in later chapters. Let's see if any of you can figure out what it is. Feel free to tell me what you think in a review.
Also, if anyone has a battle name for Raikuro that they're willing to share, please post it in a review! I already have an idea incorporating a tiger theme but I could be persuaded to pick another name if it sounds good enough!
Until Next Time!