Disclaimer: Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan, and Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon.
"Thoughts"
"Speaking"
This fanfic is an Alternate Universe (AU)
Explanations will appear as the chapters progress.
Percy's Point of View
After the victory against the beast, we stared for a moment at the slyzard's lifeless corpse, with the smoke covering some of his limbs in that lonely chamber beneath the city, with my sword gleaming, now stained with the poisonous essence of that beast. And only a few moments later, we decided to leave the subterranean depths immediately, but Haru and I did not stop even once to eat or drink water, we simply concentrated on getting out of that macabre place as soon as possible.
After several hours in the distance we observed a faint light, being close to the exit we could feel the heat emanating from the the first lights of the day emanated, as we advanced we met the guard who patrolled the periphery of the entrance to the tunnels. Under his eyes, two crumpled black bags showed the tiredness of a person from spending the whole night without sleep.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon, I thought your boss didn't want this to be known" Haru told the guard
"Sir, I'm glad to see you alive, sir!" said the guard, assuming the same classic army stance "Was the exploration a success?"
"Of course it was," Haru replied, showing the slyzard's cut tail proudly "this damn thing couldn't survive against us.
Immediately, upon observing the tail full of poisonous quills, the officer recognized that they belonged to the slyzard.
"Did you stay up all night?" I asked somewhat surprised, even though I knew the obviousness of the answer from the guard's appearance
"That's right, sir!"
"Why did you do it?" I asked again
"I couldn't leave them alone, sir," the officer replied, confused, as if the answer were more than obvious, "if an emergency had arisen and I hadn't been here to help you, what kind of member of the navy would I become?"
I didn't know what to say, his answer had me astonished and considering that he owes Haru a fortune I wouldn't have blamed him if he tried to murder us.
"What's your name?" I asked, as Haru didn´t knew his name
"My name is Lee, sir."
"Very well officer Lee, it's time to go back to our homes." said Haru
As we left the mystery of the deep underground behind, I thought that if anyone ever found out what we did in the tunnels, maybe it would become an urban legend, although I may never know.
But that doesn't matter, not with what we had to do...
As we walked with the remains of Haru's deceased friend and the young boy who died at the hands of that creature, Officer Lee asked:
"Why did they leave the other spikes down there, sir? They're sold at a good price among the mercenaries or an apothecary could buy them."
"What are you talking about?" Haru asked, "Here's the tail."
"Yes, but I'm talking about the others," replied Officer Lee. "Were they rendered useless by the battle?"
"What are you talking about? There was only a slyzard down there," I exclaimed
"Really? " said the officer, confused, "I had understood that slyzards live in small groups during their brief childhood... And based on the size and color of that tail, they don't correspond to an adult slyzard"
"Is that true, Percy?" Haru asked me, "I didn't see another creature like that in that pit of dead"
"Pit of dead?" Officer Lee asked, stopping
"That's right, we saw a huge pit with countless human skeletons, as if that beast had been devouring people for a long time." Haru replied, "I'm surprised that we didn't know about the problem sooner, or that the number of missing people was higher..."
I stopped paying attention to Haru since I was thinking about what Lee said.
To be honest the officer is right, normally slyzards live in small groups of four or five of them and have a lair or in this case 'a scary cave' where they live,
I remember that some time ago I traveled with my father to a distant island belonging to the Fire Nation, that according to what I remember of the history of that place... In the middle of the crystal clear waters of the ocean, an island was born from the explosion of a marine volcano. An island that over time became exclusive tourist destination, specially designed for those with a high position in the Fire Nation hierarchy or who had the money. The island, known as Ignea, was a paradise that combined natural exuberance with luxurious facilities.
From the air, Ignea looked like a green Eden surrounded by blue waters, with the now-extinct volcano silently witnessing the island's creation. White sandy beaches lined the shores caressed by soft beaches that invited visitors to enjoy their serenity.
However, with the passage of time a section of the island was destined as a maritime center for merchants and fishermen, which created a new and powerful economic point that helped with the export of maritime products, besides functioned as a fortress and strategic point in the event of any conflict. But this maritime hub became the most accessible place on the island for people with an average economy, while the highest and most beautiful section of the island as it always belonged to the rich idiots.
I remember a time when Ozai tried to expropriate the land on that island for the exclusive use of a personal palace, the idea was rejected in its entirety by Ijichi. But digress, the most fascinating feature of Ignea was a network of natural tunnels generated by the volcanic explosion. These subterranean passages, illuminated by the dim light of natural light-emitting stones and strategically placed lamps, intertwine like veins beneath the island... Come to think of it, it bears a strong similarity to the current situation... Anyway, each tunnel was an architectural wonder of nature, like unique rock formations that seemed to be sculpted by the very hands of the earth.
Everyone knows that some tunnels were connected to each other, so these secret paths, decorated with gleaming stalactites and murmurs of underground water, became the main attraction for adventurous tourists, but these had a tendency to get easily lost... But the accommodations in Ignea were luxurious and sustainable, blending seamlessly with the surroundings. Private villas with ocean views offered visitors the chance to wake up to the unparalleled beauty of the island.
At least until a few years ago when iron and gold were discovered, as well as some precious stones present in the tunnels, which led to great works in the mining industry. And something tells me that Ozai already knew about it and that's why he wanted to expropriate it for his benefit, thank heaven Ijichi didn't allow it...
But on one occasion, the mining work was interrupted by a small collapse in the cave walls, giving birth to even deeper secret underground chambers and to the bad luck of the workers, it was home to some monsters.
The island's navy quickly took care of them and my father hastened their arrival on the island and I went with him, although the situation became complicated.
My father explained to me that the earth kingdom tried to get its hands on that island a few times, so having internal and external problems at the same time was the worst thing that could happen. I went into the mining tunnels with him and we took care of a couple of monsters, that was when I met the slyzards and I will never forget that day, since I was poisoned by one of them so I know how strong the pain of that poison is. The important thing is that there were not only one or two of them, that time six of them were present, the largest being the leader of the pack and the mother of the smaller beasts.
"Well," I began to say, remembering those details and interrupting their conversation, "the truth is that they are always together in small groups, and that would explain the presence of so many skeletons."
"Then we didn't solve the problem!" Haru said angrily, "we can't leave it at that"
"But also think about the number of missing people, they only correspond to one and it's impossible that we wouldn't have seen the others, having so much food they wouldn't come out of their lair, the others would have been there, besides the babies don't separate from their mother."
"Then what happened to that skinky mother?" Officer Lee asked
"I have no idea, I can't deny that this is pretty weird, but I can't find an explanation."
I replied honestly, as I'm worried about the fact that I've left a few slyzards free down there, but in this case I don't know what to think, I hope that little slyzard has eaten his mother and siblings.
"For now, we can't do anything else," I continued speaking to remind Haru of the bodies we were carrying, "we have to take the bodies to their families so that they can say goodbye to them properly
"But if there's more of that stuff," Haru said as he expected, "they'll kill more people."
"Then we'll go back and kill them, my friend, and Officer Lee will help us," said Percy, "until then he'll keep an eye on the entrance to the tunnels, if he discovers anything he'll tell us
"Sure, sir, I'll keep an eye on the entrance, and wait for you"
Haru accepted my proposal, but his face showed that he didn't like the idea since he had lost his friend and didn't want to find or hear from any more victims, without waiting long we resumed our journey.
"Lee, look for the family of one of the victims," Haru said, "a missing boy about eight years old.
"Sure, sir, it was the most recent disappearance."
"Inform them that we found their son... Well, I mean..."
"Of course sir, I understand what you mean, leave it to me."
"Thank you"
We briefly parted ways with Officer Lee and headed to the meeting point, Mr. Chen's house. I noticed that Haru's eyes burned with determination as we made our way to Mr. Chen's house. But our the path was marked by the shadow of the tragedy that lurked in the tunnels.
When we arrived, the atmosphere of the house was heavier than we could imagine, so it took us a while to knock on the door, Haru being the one who did it. After a few moments a few steps behind the entrance quickly approached, it was the victim's younger sister opened with eyes full of hope, but upon seeing the grim expression on Haru's face and the bodies we were carrying, her hope faded in a sigh.
"No!"
"Lian... I'm sorry... we couldn't do anything"
"No!, You promised to bring my brother back!"
She was filled of anguish and heart-wrenching pain when Haru approached. He sighed and took her hand and gave her the devastating news about the loss of her brother. The little girl's eyes filled with tears as she absorbed the cruel reality unfolding in front of her.
Without saying a word, Lian ran to her room and slammed the door shut. We just stand there, listening while we wait for his father,
Mr. Chen took a few moments to arrive. But the worry marked his face even before Haru broke the news. The man looked at us, waiting for an answer he could hear.
Haru told her what had happened, explaining about the beast that inhabited the underground of the city and the tragedy that had happened. The father's face contorted in a mixture of disbelief and pain, trying to assimilate the sad reality. The words about his son's death hurt his as daggers stuck in his chest. Fighting her emotions, she thanked us for taking down the creature that murdered his son and the house was filled with a heavy and heartbreaking silence by Lian's sobbing and wailing.
My gaze met Haru's, sharing a gesture of regret before we left.
"I'm sorry about your son, Mr. Chen," said Haru, "I couldn't bring him with me
"It's not your fault..." but you are mistaken," said Mr. Chen, "you gave me back my son, me, and his sister as you promised, I thank you."
Leaving behind a home scarred by loss and a family torn apart by grief, We left the house sad as the afternoon unfolded with a sky tinted with warm tones as we headed to the place where the boy's family could claim his body, before going to where Haru hid our air travel.
When we arrived, we got the balloon ready as it filled with air, a shared silence separated us somehow. As evening light filtered across the horizon, Haru and I paused for a moment allowing the last light of day to envelop us as the balloon filled with warm air. And when the balloon was at its normal size, ready to receive its passengers and set off on the journey, we climbed in, but as we ascended Haru looked back, catching one last glimpse in the direction of Mr. Chen's house that had enveloped him in a mixture of regret.
As we gained altitude, the city faded into the distance, I felt the tragedy and loss being left behind, but the memory of the battle in the tunnels and the news we shared weighed heavily.
"Ready for your tournament?" my friend said, breaking the silence, "It won't be long until it starts and you still don't have a strategy"
"Beat them all, that's my strategy," I answered, but without my usual joy "... I just hope I don't fight Zuko so soon"
"... We've still got two hours to drive, you should sleep"
"You have to too," I said, since we knew we were just as exhausted
"You're right, but I'm not going to participate in the tournament so just do it, I'll take care of everything and I'll wake you up when we get there."
I had gone a whole day without sleep so I decided to take my friend's advice, without waiting long I set out to sleep at the bottom of our transport, although I am a little worried about leaving him in charge of the balloon, but it is not like I can do much in an emergency...
"Just don't kill us " I remember telling him before falling asleep.
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