I don't own Avatar: The last airbender
Chapter 29
Azula returned home after her visit to the latest orphanage. Next to her were her two friends Mai and Tai Ly.
"Did you see how cute were the little kids? Just adorable! Shame what happened to their parents though."
Tai Ly said.
"Yes, yes. I'm sure that they look good enough for orphan peasants."
"Come on Zula, don't be like that. It was your idea in the first place."
Oh, if she had a choice, she wouldn't even step a foot in that disgusting place. Unfortunately, with Zuko gaining more and more influence and with Loban ignoring her summons, she had to build a new power base loyal to her.
She needed a personal army loyal first and foremost to her. Her answer came in the shape of the war turn families of the fire nation.
A parent who went to war left behind their family vulnerable, and if said parent died in the line of duty… let's just say that there are many impressionable future soldiers for her to collect.
This was the reason for her "goodwill" donations and personal attendance to various orphanages and welfare establishments. The more active she is, the more soldiers she will have under her command when Zuko will challenge her for the throne.
"I still think that it was nice of you to pay a personal visit."
It's not like she had a choice, with Zuzu's ever-growing reputation and all those damned medicines he made sure had his name on them, she had to personally come to make sure that she was the one those puppets were loyal to.
Eager to change the subject, Azula asked about the new developments of her silent friend.
"Mai, tell us about your father's new position. Is it already decided?"
Azula of course was talking about the position of Omashu's governor. She already knew that Mai's father had been chosen and accepted the position through the court and her father, but it was a good way to change the subject.
"He was chosen to be the new governor of Omashu, he already went there, and the rest of the family will follow in two months or so."
"Oh! Just after our graduation from the academy!"
Mai nodded at her eccentric friend's words.
"Yes, mother, Tom-Tom and I will join him once I finish the academy. Tom-Tom should be old enough to make the journey without any trouble."
"Wait, does that means that you will leave us?"
Ty Lie asked mournfully, taking hard the idea of the trio falling apart.
"I… I will write letters."
The chi blocker still pouted.
"Please relax, Ty Lie, we will visit Mai obviously."
Azula said, which did cheer the acrobat somewhat.
Of course Azula had to visit, she wouldn't have Mai becoming like Zuzu. Not in the way that she will become a threat, the silent girl was far to weak for that, but in the way that she will become disobedient like her brother is to father.
"Does that mean that you have met Thrown by the way?"
Ty Lie asked Mai.
"He was the one who conquered Omashu after all. Are his eyes as red as people say? Can he read your mind? Is he cute?"
"Amm… I didn't meet him, no. Father did have a few meetings with him concerning updates on the state of Omashu, but never around us."
"Oh…"
Ty Lie said disappointedly.
The name did sound familiar. As the next in line, Azula needs to know all the important figures and how to use them, especially those close to her age. Needless to say, the young officer with the meteoric rise was certainly in that list.
Hm, Now Azula wondered if he could be of use to counter her brother. Trown will certainly be a good military counter against her brother's supposed achievements on the field.
Unfortunately, the new commander was too preoccupied with decimating the supply lines in the northern part of the continent. With her father's crystal-clear warning to not mess again with the war, Azula wasn't too keen on summoning the commander for a private meeting.
Azula unconsciously frowned at the reminder of her father's test. She felt the metaphorical clock ticking each second and if she doesn't beat her brother in the next two months, she knows exactly what father had in mind.
Oh, he wouldn't scar her, she really hoped he didn't. Beauty and appearance are far more critical for a woman than a male, and father was wise enough to understand that. No, scaring her will result nothing but maiming the royal family.
Banishment, however? Banishment was a fair game. He wouldn't even have to banish her, he could just say that she is taking a tour around the colonies as part of her duties as the princess.
Like Zuko, she will have to surround herself and rely on strangers and have a meager monthly payment for her banishment's expenses. All her work of gaining influence in the court and the fire nation will be erased with a heartbeat.
In the last month, Azula felt her brother's shadow everywhere. And it only grew with time, she could see his mark in every corner. just now she saw a woman wearing a dress from the fashion line of Zuko's dirty girl toy, another servant he stole from her and another enemy she needs to watch out for.
She also came to a groundbreaking realization. She was afraid, and of her disappointment of a brother of all things. It disgusted her, but she couldn't hide from the truth. She was scared of her brother, scared of the way he gained influence on the entire nation, scared of how easily he took from her control, scared of him taking father from her like he did with mother, scared to face him…
The last thing she heard about her brother was that he went to the south pole to search the avatar, she prayed with all her heart that that he will get lost in the cold snow and die a miserable death. Unfortunately, she knew that praying was for the fools, so she is preparing a surprise for him. One last gambit that will make or break everything.
"You know, when you said you had something to ask from me, babysitting didn't come in mind."
Suki said with crossed arms as Zuko visited her, with Sokka and Katara of course.
"I'm sorry for dropping off unexpectedly, I'm leaving very soon and thought that the two of them can learn many things from you and the Kyoshi warriors. I promise to make it worth your while."
Zuko smiled as he wore his armor and had his helmet in "crown" mode.
He heard Suki, in her full Kyoshi regalia, grumbling something about "unfair", "can't refuse you like that ". In the end she sighed in defeat.
"Fine, I'll take care of your trouble kids for today. But you owe me dinner afterwards, I'm choosing the place."
Suki said as she pointed her fan at his armored chest.
"Duly noted."
He nodded at her.
"Now let's see what I have to work with."
Suki said as she told one of her girls to prepare the training field for a spar.
"Sokka is under my tutor for a week, before that he basically had no combat training. So mind that but don't go easy on him, I kinda promised him a week off if he manages to get you."
"Noted."
Suki nodded in understanding.
"And the girl?"
"Katara has different talents. Give her the basic training so she doesn't collapse, she's not the run in the mill maiden but she's also far from your physical level. Give her the medical and survival courses though."
"Very well."
Soon after, Zuko was watching the dual between Suki and Sokka. Katara was sitting by his side and the other Kyoshi warriors surrounded them.
He could see that Sokka was cautious as he and Suki circled each other. Good, it means that he takes this fight seriously. Zuko was sure that a week ago Sokka would have scuffed at the idea a girl could fight and mindlessly charged.
It was good thing to see him mature, wither it was because of Zuko's warning or a genuine change mattered little. In a way, this little, almost insignificant, thing showed Zuko's first influence on the mindset of the water tribe.
"Is he going to be alright?"
Katara asked in concern.
"Don't worry, I talked to Suki. She knows about status of your brother so she will hold herself back."
Katara sighed in relief.
Down in the arena, Sokka finally made his move. He charged at the Kyoshi warrior, much better than what he did a week ago. Not that it helped as Suki intercepted him mid-charge and with agility, flexibility and deceptive to her size strength, she threw Sokka off the arena. Therefore, winning the match with one move.
"Wow."
Was all Katara could say as the Kyoshi warriors around her assured her of her brother's safety.
"Don't worry, your brother is fine."
"Yeah, Suki aimed for the strews."
And indeed, Sokka pulled his head from a bunch of strews. The only thing that was seemingly hurt was his pride.
It continued like that for the next battles. One of them will charge and after two or three blows Suki would either have Sokka out of the arena, in a chokehold, or stunned on the floor.
A look at his side showed him that the water bender was turn between worrying about her brother, being amazed at the skills of the Kyoshi warriors, and being satisfied that her chauvinistic brother was getting his just dessert.
After having been beaten five times in five battles, all of which took at most half a minute, Zuko decided to take pity on the boy.
"Ok, I think we had enough."
The two immediately stopped and returned to their positions. One was winded and the other didn't even sweat.
Zuko jumped off the platform and landed between them and faced Sokka.
"As you can see, Suki is an exceptional warrior. Her style is also very different from my own, or from most enemies you'll face. For today you will be under her guidance and learn from her."
"It's important for you to be prepared for the unconventional and act accordingly, as well as know different ways of fighting."
Zuko saw the downcast face of the male water tribe sibling.
"You have advanced very far in the week we had together, I saw it. Don't be too bothered with losing to Suki, I saw her fell men thrice our size. You did above what I expected."
Sokka seemed to lighten up a little after that.
"I have to leave now, I'll pick you up in the evening."
Zuko then left for the factory. He had a few things to do there, and he had very little time.
Sokka felt a mirage of emotions as he had a break from training, frustration, shame and overall uncomfortableness were chief among them.
Sokka, after his humiliating defeat against a girl two thirds his weight, was forced to dress like a Kyoshi warrior. Meaning, he had to wear their dress and have his face painted. It was humiliating to say at least.
Another cause of humiliation was the fact that he was by far the least fit, which was insulting when everyone else was a girl. His only relief was that Katara, who was dressed as a Kyoshi warrior as well, was painting harder than him.
He didn't feel so humiliated even after his spars with Zuko, there at least he could say that he was being trashed around by the prince of the fire nation. Arguably the strongest person in the world after his father.
"Here, take a sip."
Sokka looked up and saw the girl, Suki if he remembered correctly, offering him some water. An offer he greedily took.
Once he took a few sips, training with Zuko taught him that drinking more will only cause pains in the stomach, Sokka had to ask her a question.
"How… How are you so fit?"
He said between breathes of air.
"Good diet, exercise, you know the drill. All of us were trained to be warriors from young age, you really shouldn't feel ashamed or something."
"Right…"
"No, really. I expect you to be far worse for someone who has only a week of semi-proper training, it's impressive actually."
"Oh…"
That did make him feel better actually, although his renewed yet fragile confidence was far from enough to flirt with the girl as he would have usually done.
"So what do you usually do as Kyoshi warriors?"
The question seemed to surprise the girl.
"Oh right, forgot that you're not from around here. We uphold the legacy of avatar Kyoshi, the avatar before Roku the last. It involves keeping the culture as well as protecting the island of Kyoshi from harm, actually not too long ago we took care of a major piracy problem."
"So you're fighting pirates?"
Suddenly Sokka understood why those girls were so tuff.
"Yes, although we act as the police force of the island as well."
"Huh… And how come you know Zuko? He came to you in his search for the avatar as well?"
"What? No, he actually came to help us with the same problem I mentioned earlier. He came with Mi-Dved and Xing, although Xing was much smaller at the time."
"Really? How small do we talk about?"
Suki held her hand a foot or so from the ground.
"He was the cutest tiniest thing~"
Sokka had a hard time imagining the pitch black, fire birthing, salivating terror he saw as anything remotely cute. Then again, what did he knew about women?
"Right… Anyway, what did Zuko do?"
Sokka was rather curious about how Zuko managed to be in such a good relationship with those strong-willed warriors (and yes, Sokka recognized them as warriors). If he played his cards right maybe he will be able to do something similar, if not with this group, then maybe another.
"Oh, he pointed us to a traitor on our island and showed enough proof to condemn him. He also helped us take down the pirate strongholds."
"That… Actually sounds like him."
Sokka could clearly see Zuko do it, although Sokka privately thought that the fire prince had ulterior motives. While Zuko did uphold his title as "paragon of justice" the fire nation held him on, to Sokka it seemed like another silent invasion. Not unlike what he did in the south pole.
Come to think of it, that scared him. With the raids before, it was clear to see who's right and who's wrong. Even after all those raids, people still fought. But with Zuko's silent invasion? It was a different story entirely.
How do you fight getting gifts in your hour of need? Only said help came with hooks attached. He saw how some of the equipment of the Kyoshi warriors before him resembled the equipment of Zuko's men. He was sure that with enough time, those guardians of culture would have their culture overshadowed by the fire nation.
And what of his own tribe? He could clearly see the women taking in the new changes the greenhouse brought with a stride, constant food was hard to fight against. How much time will it take for them to wear red instead of blue? How much time it will take for them to join the fire nation if asked?
Zuko was like any fire nation warlord, only worse. He was smarter, more cunning, and if Sokka was honest, the only one who could actually conquer the south pole.
Some may argue that the fire nation already did it, but it wasn't true. They raided the south, yes, but they didn't have any foothold or sovereignty there, and had no influence on the people of the south. Or at least they didn't have it until Zuko came in.
Pushing away the somber thoughts of his tired and fatigued mind, Sokka prepared for the next set of exercises. On his right he saw his sister barely standing up and felt less weight on his shoulders. No matter what, the two of them will stay together.
"Father!"
A young man in his teens had entered a grand office as the sole occupant of said office sighed. The young man had a tan skin and handsome face, as well as a slender and well defines figure. He also would usually have a sword and a whip on his belt, had the security not disarmed him before entrance.
"Yes son, what do I owe the pleasure?"
The man in the chair, in contrast to his son, was on the heavier side of the spectrum. The years of office long since caught up to him. Unlike his son's black hair, the older man was nearly bald and had a very tired look on his eyes.
"I heard that you managed to find my precious flower, why hadn't she returned to me by now?!"
The young man said in an arrogant and demanding tone, like some spoiled brat who had never heard the word 'no'.
"Flower? Oh… you mean that orphaned street rat from one of the girls that worked for your mother? The one with that brute of a brother?"
"Yes! Jasmine! I heard that your man had found her, why didn't they bring her back to me?!"
The father sighed before answering, preparing for the headache to come.
"Listen Amir, while I understand your… impatience, I simply have more important thing to do for now than wasting money to find your lost toys. If it's company that you seek, maybe try Delila or Zia. Or maybe go to your mother and ask her for some of her girls."
"But I want Jasmine!"
Amir yelled.
"It's not as funny with Zia now that that brute isn't here to see us, and all the other girls at mom's are plain and boring, or old hags. I want Jasmine and I want her now! I want to teach her that I always get what I want! I want her brother to be beaten inches from death! I want him to see his sister back in her rightful place by my side, and I want to look at his face as I take everything from him again!"
The older man sighed, at this point he wasn't sure who his son was more obsessed with, the brother or the sister.
"Look, I understand you. Really, I do. But right now I have to make preparations for the tournament, the coliseum must be perfect for all the events. This tournament must be the best one yet, Mi-Sha wouldn't except anything less."
"But can't you spare some of the thugs at the arena? I'm sure Shank is already at excellent shape for the tournament, he's always happy to shed blood."
"Funny that you mentioned him."
"Why?"
Amir looked at his father in confusion.
"It's quite a tale, but it concerns Jasmine so be quiet and listen up."
At the mention of Jasmine Amir became quiet.
"As you may know, things are getting hot with the fire nation. Apparently, their prince had some problems with Mi-Sha and is now ruining everything."
"So? It's not the first time some weakling noble was delusional, I'm sure Mi-Sha already taught him his lesson. And where does my Jasmine come in this?"
"Patience. And no, prince Zuko still defies the lord."
It seems that the words shock the son a little.
"What?! How didn't Mi-Sha crush that soft bellied outsider? A hit squad should have been taken care of it long ago. Spirits, he could have used this dastardly gnome who trashed your arena."
The master of the Coliseum understood his son. Mi-Sha was the apex of all the people of the desert, what every man of power strived to be, the kind of man who always get what he wants without anyone standing in his way.
The idea that someone can fend off Mi-Sha put a crack in the image of invincibility of the lords of the dessert. It meant that they weren't as all powerful as they seemed, something that was hard to grasp for the young generation.
"He did."
The father answered as he pulled a metal fragment out of his drawer.
"This is the only thing that prince Zuko left from them."
He took a few seconds for the message to sink in before continuing.
"He also ordered a manhunt on the prince the that so far had same results."
"Why are you telling me this! And why does this concern Jasmine?!"
Another sigh escaped the older man.
"First, you need to know what's going on. Second, your misbehaving pet always wormed her way to the most powerful young man around, who do you think she hides behind now?"
Realization struck Amir. Seriously, he expected his son to figure it out the moment he mentioned the fire prince, or at least have a suspicion. As always, his son never fails to disappoint when it came to thinking.
"No… She can't…"
The older man nodded.
"Want it or not, both siblings are under the personal aegis of prince Zuko, with Jasmine seen extremely close to the prince frequently."
Abdul the Arena master would lie if he said he didn't enjoy the look on his brat of a son. He expected a tantrum in three… two… one…
"NOOOO!"
"I refuse to believe it! She's mine! Mine! Mine! Give me men, I will bring her back myself!"
Abdul let his son rage for a few minutes until the brat calmed down.
"Are you quite finished?"
"Don't give me that, you old man. How can I be calm when some nobody is taking her away from me! I will get her myself, just give me the men and point me to her direction."
Abdul had to keep his eyes from rolling because of his son's antics.
"Yes, because you can do better than Mi-Sha's best."
"I'm undefeated among my peers!"
Now Abdul did roll his eyes.
"Those 'battles' you're so proud of are mock battles at best and you know it. When was the last time you faced somebody who could actually fight back?"
"I chose the best environment for my fights."
Abdul decided not to comment.
"When Zuko kills you, and he will, your mother will become unbearable. So for my own sanity, no. You aren't going to some suicide mission, you aren't asking for men and you're not wasting my money because you lost your favorite toy."
Abdul made sure his message reaches his son.
"If you want, you can help with the preparation for the tournament. The better it is the more money we'll get, and the more money we'll get the more mem we could hire to take care of our problems. Otherwise, you're interfering with Mi-Sha's business, and then even your mother and I together can't help you."
The mention of facing Mi-Sha's direct wrath seemed to finally put the boy in place.
"No get out and kick some orphans, or whatever you do when you're not annoying me."
His son silently left, thank the spirits. Unfortunately, Abdul knew it was always temporary with the boy. It was only a matter of time before this stupid brat would do something rush only for him to clean up his son's mess.
With a sigh, he continued his work.
It was a first one for Zuko, being underwater. He was in a container, a bell of sorts, that kept air inside it for breathing. Together with Loban and some engineers, Zuko inspected the progress of his latest project.
'It's huge!'
"It's fine, I guess. A little bit rushed, but it's expected."
Sai said in his head, finally in the form of the dark helm again.
'It's nearly the size of an emperor class warship!'
"Barely big enough."
'It has cannons every fifteen feet!'
"It's actually a hybrid between cannon and torpedo. Usually, I would have put sensors to ensure that it will fire the right ammunition above and beneath the water, but we'll have to make duo with manual use."
Zuko just had the realization of how seriously Sai took its values of advancement and perfection. Before them was by far the most advanced piece of technology in history (baring overlords, of course), and it was barely passable for Sai.
On second thought, seeing what was inside the workshop, Zuko really shouldn't be so surprised. Any advancement of the novice will always be a bore for the master.
Outwardly, Zuko spoke with the engineers.
"Are all the hydraulic and electric systems set? Did you face any complications?"
"Yes my lord, all the systems are set. Even the audio. Although we still don't completely understand how to recreate it, the idea itself is simple enough though."
Another gift from the workshop, Sai had given instructions for building a device to move sound from one place to another via electric cables. Sai explained how it worked and Zuko in turn explained it to the engineers.
"I see, and when do you think you will figure it out?"
The group looked at each other before one of them answered.
"Give us two months, your highness. We promise you a prototype by then."
"Very well, you have your two months. I will follow your progress with great interest."
He waited a minute for the massage to sink in.
"And the vehicles?"
He finally asked about the four wheeled constructions he salvaged from the workshop.
"Those are a state of the art machines, we have never seen such quality before. They work in a similar enough way to the tanks that we construct, even of more advanced."
"We'll have a prototype by the end of the month, but I warn in advance, it will be a far cry from the original."
Zuko nodded at the engineer's words, expecting them.
"Fair enough, I can't expect anyone to reach that level yet. As long as you can build something that is faster than an ostrich horse and can carry a ton of supply, you will revolutionize travel forever."
All the engineers nodded, honored to be part of history. Zuko, however, had one more thing to ask.
"What about the prototype?"
This time another engineer answered.
"This ship is still far from ready, your highness, we just don't have enough materials and manpower to work on both it and the SADARA. My deepest apologies, your highness."
"Non needed."
Zuko assured him.
"You're all overworked as is, it would be absurd of me to expect you to manage all of my vanity projects. You also have to fill the orders of the military as well, how does the eye carrier class warship is by the way?"
"Oh, it's doing great, your highness."
Loban answered.
"We'll have two of them completed and sent to the navy by week's end. They should be sent right away to the eastern ocean and attack Ba Sing Se directly, bypassing miles of hard terrain and of course the famous walls."
Loban said with a hint of excitement. It was understandable, if this succeeds, then it would be Loban's machines who brought Ba Sing Se to her knees and ended the war. Loban will forever be written in history not only as a successful patriotic businessman, but as one of the people who brought victory to the nation after all this time.
Although knowing the man, he was probably thinking on all the business deals and money he will make of it.
"Glad to hear, now let's continue"
The bell moved into some hole, and they were swallowed by the colossal, submerged construction that looked suspiciously similar to the tip of a claw.
Xing got on land and shook himself. It remembered how it got here.
After the master called its name (and Xing was already smart enough to know it was Xing), Xing went straight to the hunt. It could smell the target, somewhere in the direction the light that ended the dark emerges. Sun, he remembered the master calling it.
On the way it got a challenge, the ground ended, and the sea began. It remembered the last time it was at sea without the big things that travelled it and wasn't very interested in facing another big predator. Especially without the master.
It thought of getting on one of the constructions that they have on this land but decided against it, those imitations of his master had a smell similar to the smells he could sense from the opposite direction of his target, so while they may get it on the same land as the target, it will take too long for Xing to reach it.
It then thought about the smaller constructions that were mainly used to hunt the creatures of the sea, they hunt near the land the imitations live on. If Xing can get on one of those things that hunt near the big land, it will get to its target much faster.
A few sniffs and he found the smell of a few imitations in the sea that smelled from the big land, as well as the smell of dead sea creatures.
It decided to get to that construction, ship, he remembered now the master calling it, no matter what. There was only one problem, while it was confident in its ability to reach the ship, it would be defenseless against and predator while it swam.
Looking from side to side, he noticed a dead tree. It was proximately Xing's width and twice Xing's length, it could use the dead tree as a ship and have a place to fight predators if needed. It was far from ideal, but it's the best option available.
It took time, but before the sun rose it reached the ship. It was made of wood, and seemed to house ten imitations who didn't smell like fire, earth or water. Confident in its chances to overpower the imitations if needed, it began its climb.
The claws sank into the hard wood, giving it the leverage it needed, and before long Xing found itself on the ship. After shaking itself, it noticed the large pile of dead sea creatures.
It was suddenly very hungry, but it held itself. The master said many times to do to others as they do to you, and to not wrong those who serve you. By all accounts, those imitations of the master are serving the master's will right now, so it would be wrong if Xing takes their food.
Therefore, it stayed in the head of the ship.
As the imitations woke up, one of them noticed Xing and fearfully ran back to call the others. They tried to fight, but one blast of fire and pinning one imitation on the floor ceased their attack.
By the master's will, they imitations have seen sense and decided to go right to the big land and as the sun was already past its peak, Xing had seen the land. Deciding the ship is no longer needed and would only slow it down, Xing released the imitation it pinned and jumped to the water.
From there, it began swimming until it reached land, wet, hungry and tired.
Shaking the memories out of its head, Xing sniffed again, happily noticing it was on the big land. Without delay, it ran forward to its target.
When the sun was near the ground again, Xing noticed on his way something interesting. It smelled a group of imitations with as many tasty carriers, ostrich horses, if it wasn't mistaken. However it wasn't the interesting thing.
The imitation in charge smelled like earth, and all the imitations had similar smell to the smell of the green man that sometimes fought against the master. Worth, they had the smell of dying fire that mainly came from their weapons.
Those imitations killed pack mates of the master, it couldn't allow them to go unpunished. On the other hand, it had a direct order from the master and a mission to fulfill, it couldn't turn away from that.
Finally, it reached a decision.
Quequ felt like he was being watched. He was in the middle of a cavalry patrol before dark with his four squad members, all of them had ostrich horses like him.
Some minutes ago, his mount began to act strange, as if it was spooked. The other animals didn't fare any better. Their squad leader ordered them to halt and make a defensive circle.
"Stay sharp boys, we have a wild predator nearby. Make noise and point if you see something."
They did as they were told and used their voices and weapons to make as much noise as possible, their leader even used his earth bending. Yet no matter how load they were, the ostrich horses still sensed danger. Actually, even he was starting to feel something, an uneasy feeling on the back of his neck that only grew stronger each second.
"Sir, I don't think it's getting away…"
"Stay focused soldier, as long as-"
Without any warning, a black shape jumped on their leader from somewhere and dragged him down from the ostrich horse. It happened so fast that none of them had any time to react, all he could do was look how the shape connected to the man's neck and fell him to the ground with a trail of crimson.
The rider less mount, however, knew exactly what to do as instincts kicked in and ran away as fast as it could. Not that it helped the animal very much, as the black shape shot an honest to spirits fire blast at it.
The results were a dent in the ground where the runaway mount was about to step, a cloud of dust and the panicked cry of the bird as it fell to the ground.
The thing didn't waste any time as it sprinted and mauled the poor bird. After a second of agonizing screams, there was a deathly silence. All the men knew that they were going to be next and prepared their spears for assault as their leader was the only earth bender in the squad.
A blood chilling growl was heard as blood rad eyes shown from the dust cloud. A ball of fire surged towards them, and they were forced to disengage, breaking their defensive circle.
The thing wasted no time as he rushed forward, using their moment of distraction better than most veteran soldiers would, and with zigzag pattern confused them and fell them one by one.
It didn't try to jump and bite their head off like it did with their squad leader, instead it hurt their ostrich horses. It made deep cuts and burns in their feet, forcing them to fall and to fell their riders with them.
It didn't take long for the thing to kill the men as they were down, it quickly and decisively tore through their armor like it was another piece of cloth. To add insult to injury, it was far too agile for them to hit and evaded their strikes with extreme ease.
Lucky, the thing was busy with his squad members, so Quequ had enough time to get into a throwing distance and aim his spear. He threw it with all his force as the thing ripped apart his last squad member and his aim was true, he struck right where the heart of the beast should be!
Only for the beast to turn aside and smack his spear mid-flight with its paws like in was a fly…
Alone and weaponless, fear took him as he ordered his ostrich horse to run as fast as it could away from the nightmare, an order the animal didn't protest in the slightest.
Having a last look, he saw that the thing was shaped like a canine. It was black as death, with the light of the crimson dying sun painting the massacre in even more rad than already was. It was a scene from a nightmare, the twilight in which the sun of their lives dies.
Turning away and forcing his ostrich horse to run even faster, Quequ abandoned any pride he had and screamed for help.
"HELP! HELP! HEL-"
As he yelled, he felt pressure on the back of his neck. After that he didn't feel anything ever again.
Xing looked at its work all. The imitations were dead, along with the ostrich horses. None escaped justice.
Its stomach grumbled again, demanding substance. It seems that the enemies of his master have yet another chance to redeem at least a friction of their wrongs for their defiance. With great vigor, Xing began feasting on the dead. First were the ostrich horses, of whom he burned the feathers and munched on the meat and bones. Then came the imitations themselves.
It had never tasted the flesh of an imitation before, never have gotten the chance to savor the taste, but now it will state it's curiosity. It wasn't disappointing, the flesh was great, fitting for the ones who dream of imitating the master. The master was the best after all.
It ate to its heart's content and decided to continue its track. The target was still far and the mission far from complete, it will continue through the night and find a place to sleep during the height of the sun.
And so, the hellhound continued its hunt, once again leaving a bloody trail for all to see.
Zuko once again waved goodbye as he went on his ship, after a long day at the factory and a warm meeting with the Beifongs Zuko was ready to head back. Originally Toph wanted to come with him once he told them that he was going to Gaoling, but her mom held her foot down and stated that a warship was no place for a young lady.
Of course there was also the logistics involved, which personal will accompany Toph and all. Quite frankly, Zuko just didn't have the space in his ship for more people. When he said that Toph reluctantly fell back, but not before getting from him a promise to spend time with her home.
With a sigh, he turned his back. He's really going to miss the place. As he went to his office where there were two people waiting for him there, he had one last meeting before finally deciding to go to bed. He sat on his chair as he addressed the duo.
"So Mi-Sha, Jasmine, explain to me more about this tournament."
AN
And here ands chapter 30, as well as Zuko's short lived "vacation".
In other news, I managed to solve most of the problems IRL, so I'll have more time to focus on the story. I can't promise weekly updates like before, but I'll do my best to have a more repetitive schedule.
continuing with the story, it will now be more focused on solving the Mi-Sha problem. It will gradually take us to unknown territories as the story goes deeper into the original background of the city of Amora, as well as the stories of the OC's such as the Mi-Dved, Jasmine and even Mi-sha. There will be a few OC's along the way, I can only hope that it wouldn't ruin the story too much.
now to the reviews:
Engineer1869:
Glad to clear things out.
About Hakoda and his reaction to the news... let's say I have the entire thing planned out.
your hunch about Mai may or may not be true ;)
I'm happy you appreciated the politics involved around new technology.
and as for the war meeting... things will be interesting.
02cjdgmail:
Thank you!
I have thought to give Zuko access to more then one element, but then he may outclass Aang too much. I decided that if he does gains access to other elements, it would be by overlord technology or as a by product of his fire bending, and will be inferior to a bending of a master to even the scores a little. a too much OP protagonist can be very boring.
as for ships, I'll stay silent for now.
He will grow higher then in cannon, but I'm not sure how high.
deniswanheda:
Happy you liked it ;) Sai will try it's best, but even that has limits.
the innkeeper just has experience with many young couples and how it usually ends.
hope you liked Sokka's and Suki's fight and interaction.
in the matters of Jet, I have something in mind planned for him in the future.
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.