Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OCs) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 41. The Grand Debut.
Fire Nation Capital, Hari Bulkan, Weng's Residence.
Once Huo returned to the residence, he left the palanquin even before the bearers placed it on the ground. He wanted answers. With a frown on his face and Nurei on his head, the boy reached the front door and opened it. Entering the foyer, he immediately spotted a male servant who was in the middle of sweeping the floor.
"Where's my dad?" the boy asked immediately, gaining the servant's attention.
"He's in his study," the man replied, and Huo began to walk upstairs. Remembering his stuff, he stooped halfway and turned his head to look at the servant. "I bought a few things and left them in the palanquin, can you bring them to my room?" he asked.
"Of course, young master," the servant bowed his head.
"Thank you," Huo nodded and continued to walk up the stairs. When he reached the top, he approached the door to the study and opened it.
Weng sat at the desk and read a book. Hearing the door opening, he turned his head toward Huo and smiled. "Oh, you're back," he said, but his smile faded when he noticed the boy's unhappy expression. "What's wrong?"
Huo closed the door behind him and approached the nobleman. "I learned from a shop owner that mister Shun was killed some time ago," the boy said, crossing his arms and narrowing his orange-colored eyes. "Not counting the children, he was the only one who saw my face when I arrived in the capital. Did you have anything to do with it?"
Not having a reason to lie, Weng inhaled and exhaled deeply through his nose. He closed the book and stood up from his desk. "I discovered that Shun's business was flourishing," he said, approaching the shelf and placing the book on its spot. "He earned so much money that he wanted to buy a house in Hari Bulkan. If he'd move here with his family, sooner or later, you'd run into each other. It would create many troublesome questions and that was something I couldn't risk. It had to be done."
Huo's eyes widened. He lowered his arms and clenched his fists. "So you killed an innocent man just because there was a risk of him ruining your plan?!" he asked with a deep frown.
"Yes," Weng answered straight up, turning to face Huo. "There was no other way to deal with it. I couldn't bribe or convince him to change his mind without raising suspicions. I told you that sometimes good people have no choice but to do bad things for the greater good. This was one of such situations."
"And what proof I have that Shaku and Eilu are still alive as we speak?!" Huo asked, raising his voice. "You just proved to me that you are willing to kill an innocent man just because your plan was at risk! You could order them to be killed just to make sure they'll never return to the capital!"
"True, but them being alive allows me to control you," Weng pointed out. "If I'd tell my men to kill them and you'd learn about it, it would be over. I would have no means of blackmailing you and everything I did would mean nothing. So not only I told my men not to hurt them, their job is to protect Eilu and Shaku."
Huo didn't reply, but the nobleman made a fair point. As long as Eilu and Shaku were safe and sound, Weng could continue his scheme and use him as his pawn. "Rest assured I don't plan on killing anymore people aside from the members of the royal family," Weng said. "And if it makes you feel any better, I offered my condolences and helped Shun's family get one of the best houses in Hari Bulkan."
"How generous of you," Huo spat out, staring daggers at the man. The boy felt his lips twitching and didn't want to talk with the nobleman anymore. He turned around and stormed out of the study while Weng silently watched him.
Huo entered his room and loudly closed the door. As he leaned against the door and closed his eyes, he began to chuckle, and he didn't know if he was angry at Weng or at himself. Mister Shun wasn't his close friend or anything like that, but he died because of him. Huo told the nobleman about their encounter. If he'd lied, the man would still be alive.
When he opened his eyes, Huo noticed that the stuff he bought from the shops were placed on the table by the servant. Shaking his head, the boy took a deep breath and exhaled. He needed to focus on his own plan and prepare his costume as well as his gift for Azula.
A few hours later – Fire Nation Capital, Hari Bulkan, Weng's Residence, Huo's Room.
When Weng entered Huo's room, he spotted the boy sitting at his desk and painting something. "I never had the chance to ask earlier," the nobleman said, approaching the boy. "What did you buy for the princess?"
"Your lackeys didn't tell you?" Huo asked dryly, not looking at the nobleman.
"They did tell me you visited almost every shop in Hari Bulkan," Weng replied, noticing many brushes, some metal pieces, and cloths placed on the desk. "But they weren't able to specify what did you bought."
"I decided to buy some stuff and make a gift for Azula," Huo explained, finally turning on his seat to show Weng what he was doing. "Something fancy, cool, and usefull for her training."
The nobleman arched his eyebrows, realizing that Huo held what seemed to be a half-meter side-blown flute. Weng took the flute and began to examine it. "It's not finished yet though," the boy stated. "I still need to paint it and add some things."
"It's a flute," Weng noted. "You want to give her an musical instrument?"
"Well, it originally was a flute," Huo explained. "After I bought it, I immediately visited a blacksmith. I got some small metal parts from him and with firebending I use them to cover the finger holes, leaving only one. I also made a second hole on the other side."
"Okay, but what for?" Weng asked, genuinely curious.
"It's going to be a training weapon," Huo clarified. "It will help Azula with her firebending and she will be able to use it to defend herself. Plus, it will look cool once I'm done."
"Hmmm... I gotta say, it definitely is authentic," the nobleman stroked his chin and placed the flute on the desk. "Are you sure that's the right gift for a princess?"
"She'll like it far more than any doll, flowers, or jewelry, I could buy," Huo replied. "And Prince Ozai will also be pleased that I gave Azula something which will help her with her firebending, which I think is the most important for him."
"A fair point," Weng admitted. "Alright, continue. I'll look forward to see how it will look when it's finished."
With that, the nobleman left Huo's room. The boy sighed and stood up. Since Weng thought he bought everything to make a gift for Azula, Huo could make his costume without raising any suspicions. The boy approached his bed and pulled out a mask from underneath it. The former green bird-like beak mask, which he bought from the shop, was now dark violet. That part of the costume was ready, and he only needed to make some adjustments to the rest.
He placed the mask on the bed and reached underneath one more time. This time, he pulled out a long dark coat with a hood. He planned to add feathers to it, and luckily, he didn't need to pluck them from a living bird since the residence had many feather dusters. He only needed to paint them violet, glue them to the coat, and everything would be ready.
"When I'm done with the costume, the violet phoenix is going to make his grand debut," Huo stated and heard a squawk. Nurei, who was sitting on the top of her birdhouse, spread her wings and flew over to Huo, landing on the mask.
"Yes, you'll come too," the boy assured with a smile. "You're vital to my plan. Still, we need to be careful since we're not immune to fire."
The vulture drake squawked and flew over to the desk. Huo watched as Nurei leaned her head back and sucked in her stomach. Without a warning, she vomited a transparent liquid on the cloth.
"Nurei, are you okay, girl?" Huo asked worriedly. He never saw her doing that, but the vulture drake leaned her head back again. This time, however, she conjured a stream of fire from her beak straight at the wet cloth.
"Hey! What are yo- huh?" Huo squinted his eyes. The cloth wasn't catching fire. The boy grabbed the cloth and conjured a blue flame in his hand, trying to burn the material. However, nothing happened. The fabric wasn't even warm.
"You can make things immune to fire with your... puke?" Huo asked in disbelief, and Nurei squawked in response. There were many things he didn't know about the vultures drakes yet. They were warriors who could breathe fire, so it would make sense that they had the ability to prevent them from burning each other.
"Cool," the boy smiled. "Now is there a limit to this?"
Huo intensified the blue flame in his hand and kept trying to burn the cloth. After about half a minute, he noticed small chunks falling from his hand. He guessed that Nurei's puke had begun to harden from the heat. Without it, the cloth lost its immunity to fire and began to burn.
The boy closed his fist, putting out the flame, and placed the burned cloth on the desk. "Half a minute under intense flames," he noted, smirking excitedly. He could really use such a thing to make things a lot easier. Now he only needed to finish his costume and wait till nightfall.
After he ate his supper and took a bath, Huo slept soundly in his bed, or at least everyone in the residence thought that. While Weng and the staff members were asleep, the boy put on his costume and moved behind the folding screen, wanting to see himself in the full-length mirror.
The dark violet mask and the dark hood covered Huo's face perfectly, which was the most important thing. True, he couldn't use his combustionbending without hurting himself, but people could recognize the tattoo and ask questions.
The feathers were glued around the neck, and it looked like the coat had a violet-colored feather shawl collar. Black gloves covered the hands, and the tall boots Huo bought gave him a few inches, so he appeared as tall as an adult from afar.
The costume wasn't designed for intense fights or acrobatics, but Huo planned on letting his firelings do most of the fighting. He would talk and instill fear with his appearance.
"Okay, you're ready, Nurei?" Huo asked, and the vulture drake squawked from underneath the hood.
"Alright," the boy exhaled and rolled his shoulders. He came out from behind the folding screen, conjured a blue-colored flame in his right hand, and squinted his orange-colored eyes, changing its color to violet. "Let's get his show on the road."
Huo couldn't simply open the window and leave for a stroll through the streets. If a guard or anyone else saw him leaving or entering the residence, all the planning and preparations would be for nothing. Instead, the boy used the same technique he used when he talked with Eilu's mom. He sat down in front of his fireplace and focused, trying to find another fire outside of Hari Bulkan by searching for its breath.
After a few moments of staring into the violet flames and hearing many breaths, Huo picked one and began to breathe in tandem with it as he kept his eyes on the fireplace. Shortly after, he could see a street and buildings. He guessed he was looking through the fire of a torch attached to a random Harbor City building and decided to start there.
Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City, Zoryu Park.
Even though he sat in a residence in another district, Huo could shape the flames of the torch into a phoenix. Controlled by the young prodigy, the phoenix-shaped flame began to fly over Harbor City. The boy was able to see in all directions at the same time. Luckily, he was already used to that.
He needed to find someone in trouble so he could help and prove that he was a good spirit. Many people were already asleep, but some civilians and guards were on the streets, noticing a violet flame in the sky. As the phoenix kept flying over the district, the boy saw a hedge maze and realized his flame reached Zoryu Park. He even spotted the old aviary, but a sudden flash of orange light from inside caught his attention.
Huo turned the phoenix around and landed on the edge of the aviary's rooftop. He noticed a komodo rhino harnessed to a large four-wheeled covered carriage and a small group of people standing beside it. As a light source, the violet phoenix-shaped flame was quickly spotted by the people, who began to point at it.
At first, Huo thought the Fire Finches stole from someone important, and now the Domestic Forces were trying to arrest them, but none of the men looked like guards. In fact, they were all clad in dark robes, had knives and clubs, and looked more like bandits. However, Huo managed to notice two figures talking in the distance, and one of them wore a guard uniform.
The boy wanted to learn more, but he realized that the color of his flames would make eavesdropping and spying hard. Especially once shady people would realize that the violet phoenix isn't their ally. If Huo had orange-colored flames, it would be much easier. He needed to think of something later, but right now, he needed to improvise.
Since the figures stood near the open-air market, Huo made the phoenix take off in the opposite direction. While the group assumed the violet phoenix left, the flame lowered its flight and circled around. It flew into the market and landed on the paved street behind one of the wooden stands. Huo hoped the two figures didn't notice the light. Luckily, they were too focused on their conversation.
"Here, captain," said a woman, giving the officer a small pouch. "Just as we agreed. However, I think you ask too much considering we're making your job easier by getting rid off those little thieves."
"That may be so, but kidnapping kids in order to sell them to pirates will earn you at least ten times as much as you're giving me," the captain replied, attaching the pouch to his belt. "So don't try to haggle with me, you're not Fai Lan."
"Lucky for you, just make sure that no patrol will stop the carriage till we reach the south gate and leave Harbor City," the woman replied.
Huo learned from Weng that many members of the Domestic Forces did their job dutifully and had a generally good reputation for their effectiveness. They served as the Fire Nation's law enforcement agency and national guard. Their primary purposes were to maintain law and order in the Fire Nation, defend the nation from foreign invasions, and train the troops of other Fire Nation military branches. However, part of the force, especially officers, were engaged in illegal activities and regularly bribed by the Burning Ember Gang. Still, the boy didn't expect that one of the officers would allow bandits to kidnap children. He needed to stop this.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you, captain," the woman said and walked away, heading toward the group near the old aviary. She noticed that two men walked out of the building and carried small kids under their armpits, four in total. The kids cried in fear and squirmed. The third man came out of the aviary a few moments later and carried a tall girl with black hair on his shoulder. "Let me go!" the girl screamed angrily, trying to free herself from the man's grip.
"She's a feisty one," the man noted. "Had to block her bending. The rest escaped through the tunnels though."
"We'll get them later, knock these ones out, tie them all up, and put them in the carriage," the woman ordered. She noticed a violet light in the corner of her eye and turned her head, noticing a phoenix flying towards them.
Huo recognized the tall girl. Her name was Rini, and she was the Fire Finch, who briefly fought him in their hideout. He needed to help the kids and deal with the bandits. He counted five men and one woman.
"What the?" the woman squinted her eyes. "Is that a phoenix made out of violet flames?"
The men turned their heads and also spotted the phoenix, which began to hover above the carriage. "It landed on the aviary's roof a few moments ago and flew away," informed one of the bandits. "Is that a firebending techn-"
"Have you humans sunk so low that you decided to kidnap children in order to gain wealth?" the phoenix asked, and everyone recoiled in shock. Some men took fighting stances while some placed their hands on their weapons. Even the Fire Finches watched the phoenix in silence.
"It talks!" stated one of the bandits.
The woman frowned and moved forward. "Who or what are you?" she asked.
"I'm the violet phoenix," the flame answered. "A spirit and a just protector of the Fire Nation and its people. Leave the children alone and return home."
"Or else what?" the woman smirked.
"Or else you will become food for my flames," the violet phoenix replied and flew inside the covered carriage. The cloth and every flammable material inside caught fire, and orange flames quickly spread.
"Snuff out the flames before we lose the carriage!" the woman ordered. The men, who could firebend, moved forward, but before they could start to use their bending, the orange flames turned violet, and a humanoid arm emerged from them.
The men stooped and looked at each other, unsure what to do. Before their eyes, a humanoid figure slowly emerged from the violet flames and jumped down from the burning carriage. It was clad in a dark coat with dark-violet feathers around the neck, and a violet bird-like beak mask covered its face. The men had never seen anything like this before and only stared in shock.
Without a word, the figure leaned its head back and began to take a deep breath. The violet flames burning the carriage began to move toward the figure and spiral in front of the mask. It appeared as if the spirit was eating the fire. In a matter of seconds, all the flames were gone, and all that remained was the burned carriage and the mysterious figure, looking at them in menacing silence.
"Kila?" one of the men looked unsurely at the woman. "What do we do?!"
The woman was lost for words, and everything was going in Huo's favor. Not giving the group a chance to regain their composure, he extended his arms towards them. Two violet flames emerged from his hands, immediately taking the detailed shape of a hunched monkey and a large horned snake.
"Feed and turn them to ashes!" the violet phoenix ordered, and the firelings rushed towards the group. The men who held the kids were forced to drop them in order to fight, and the Fire Finches used that opportunity to rush back inside the old aviary.
A bandit tried to cut the monkey fireling with his sword, but the sentient flame jumped on his right arm. When it gave him a wide, wicked smile, the man realized in horror that the monkey had a mouth full of sharp canine teeth.
"Aaaaah! Get it off me!" the man screamed in pain as the monkey fireling began to bite his shoulder, burning the cloth and skin.
Another bandit rushed toward him and tried to yank the violet monkey off, but he couldn't touch the intangible flame and only burned his hands. Since non-benders couldn't protect themselves from normal flames, they could not defend themselves from sentient firelings that moved and behaved like real living beings.
Firebenders could defend themselves since one of the members of the Burning Ember Gang managed to hit the snake fireling with a fist in the same way he would try to defuse an incoming flame and push it back. Still, the snake relentlessly kept attacking, trying to bite the firebender.
One brave gang member rushed towards the violet phoenix and was ready to attack. Before he could even reach him, the spirit conjured another violet flame from his hand, which took the shape of a fully armored man with a sword.
The fireling didn't even attack but reached and took off his helmet, revealing a cracked skeleton skull. The bandit went pale and immediately turned around. "I didn't sign for this!" he exclaimed, running away. "The money is not worth it!"
"Get back here, you coward!" Kila ordered and noticed in the corner of her eye that the violet phoenix was making a circular motion with his arm. When she heard a crackling sound and saw sparks, her eyes widened in shock. "Look out!"
The violet phoenix pointed with his middle and index finger at the group and shot a lightning bolt. A bright flash illuminated the area, followed by a loud thunder. The lightning hit the ground, creating a large explosion that knocked the men from their feet.
The sound of that attack woke the people who lived near the park and alerted nearby patrols, who rushed to the park. Kila noticed at least six guards running towards them and knew things looked bad for them. "Retreat!" she ordered, and the bandits didn't need to be told twice.
While the group quickly scattered, Kila stayed momentarily and glared at the spirit. "You haven't seen to the last of us, violet phoenix," she promised and left the park.
When the guards arrived, they looked at the mysterious figure and the detailed flames, which moved closer to their creator. "Who are you?!" asked a captain. Huo realized it was the same captain who took the bribe from the woman.
"I'm the violet phoenix, a just protector of the Fire Nation and its people," he replied as the monkey fireling climbed his frame and sat on his shoulder. "The spirits endured the corruption of this nation, but not anymore. People like you, who are guided by greed instead of honor, need to change or be cursed forever."
The captain frowned and pointed at the figure. "Grab him!" he ordered, but the guards remained hesitant. "I said get him!" the captain repeated and the guards warily moved toward the violet phoenix.
Since Huo ate the fire from the burning carriage, his firebending was temporarily stronger, and he could conjure bigger flames and make more firelings. With the remaining additional energy, he lifted his hands and created a wall of violet flame.
The guards squinted their eyes from bright light and noticed a shadow and a pair of massive wings behind the flame. Suddenly, everyone heard a loud roar and took a few steps back. Once the flame wall vanished, the violet phoenix and his firelings were gone, leaving everyone speechless.
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