Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three
Before we headed back to Avatar, I dug into the documents on my phone, as Mina pointed out I'd snapped back from my panic attack fast.
And, while she wouldn't say it, I knew she meant too fast.
Which she'd roll with, don't' get her wrong, but, but I needed to know why, and I think I found out what it was.
Mind Defense.
As, in addition to no-selling mind-control, there was another other main sentence of its description that I'd overlooked, then dissected, and finally realized had… nuance to it.
It read 'You can act calmly under pressure and are immune to all degenerative mental effects,' and, while, no, at first that seemed like utter bullshit, thinking about it more deeply, I realized that I was reading 'calmly' as 'dispassionately.' That was the dictionary definition after all, 'not feeling nervousness, anger, or other strong emotions', except, really thinking about that, if I'd really gotten that, I'd never feel strong emotion ever again.
But, going through different dictionaries, if it was used not in a literal sense, but as the adjective version of the noun, that shifted things to mean 'doing so in a state of tranquility', which wasn't quite the same, and then, facepalming, I realized that it wasn't the definitions that were the problem.
It was the degree.
To describe something as 'cold' went all the way from over a hundred-degrees Fahrenheit, like a campfire that had 'gone cold', to zero degrees Kelvin, also known as absolute zero.
Therefore, I was reading it as 'act perfectly calmly under pressure', but, well, I remembered the FAQ's I'd gotten in that first message from my 'employers', where the definition of 'agreed' included things like being mind-controlled into signing the Devil's Contract, so, with that kind of mindset as my go to lens, 'calmly' could just mean not completely losing my shit.
Which… I hadn't.
Because…
Despite everything that'd happened to me?
Despite everything that was still happening to me, like when I'd tried to talk to Toshinori?
I'd never frozen since I'd gotten it.
Which, while I'd like to believe I wouldn't've, if we were being honest, yes, I absolutely would've.
Not permanently, and, well, if I was the type to give up I would've done so long before I'd become Denki, but facing Nomu, I'd balked. I'd frozen, and only Mina being there had broken me out of it as fast as I had, leading to my easily arguably suicidal move of taking on a bioweapon made to kill fucking All Might to try and save Aizawa, as, due to my own actions, Mini-Might wasn't there to back him up.
But that night I'd gotten Mind Defense, and I hadn't truly frozen up since, not when fighting Midoriya in the Sports Festival and being punched so hard I'd flown out of the stadium, not facing down the fucking Dirt Leviathan, and, of course, not during The Attack on Camp. And I could very easily see myself freezing up then too, indecision warring internally, my fear of doing the wrong thing putting me in a kind of analysis paralysis, when, ultimately, doing nothing was often worse than doing the 'wrong' thing, but that wasn't how I was raised, and, while I was getting better before I'd come here, I was still a long way from where I'd like to be.
So, I wasn't immune to pressure, but, because of that purchase, I would never be crushed by it, which… worked.
And then there was the second line 'immune to all degenerative mental effects'.
Which meant it had likely cured my depression.
Because I had been depressed, not due to fucked-up biochemistry, but due to a fucked-up life and the toxic philosophy that I'd been raised to believe in, but also which I'd not fully taken in, rejected to an increasing degree, though dealing with such things could still taint you, especially as a child, without a firm foundation of your own to keep you grounded.
And, again, while I did not know how I knew it, but I was willing to just accept it this time, one's emotional state, if caused by all those funky brain-juices, could shape the mind itself to strengthen and weaken those emotions over time. The Primacy of Sapience meant that one could overcome such things on one's own through nothing but one's willpower, but they still exerted pressure, which was why indulging in your negative emotions, be it Rage, Despair, or Fear, strengthened them, the 'relieve some pressure' excuse for giving in so much bullshit, the performance of those acts akin to emotional junk-food instead of true sustenance, good in the moment, and in moderation they could be managed, but over-indulging sickened you.
Which, once again, historically, I… had wallowed in, as a child and teen, alone, frustrated, and desperate to do something but every single attempt ended in failure, and I couldn't figure out why.
The answer was because I trusted people that I, as a child, could not admit, to myself, did NOT have my best interests in mind, only their own self-satisfaction.
But, even for that, a topic that, were I to give into, would pull me in like a whirlpool of defeated desperate dejection, I still felt annoyed about it, but the emotions that dwelling on that history normally evoked were… muted. Now, part of that was absolutely the fact that I had a woman I loved, a place in the world, power, fuck, even a house, but even then, it took a bit of effort to dwell on it, instead of slipping into it like a well-worn pair of shit-covered boots, which were nice and warm and which I'd long ago gone mentally nose-blind to, which was almost certainly the 'degenerative mental effects' aspect of it.
So, I'd panicked in U.A., but I hadn't frozen, nor had I lashed out, like some part of me had wanted to, I'd ran, but, even then, once I was out of range of whatever was pressing down on me, likely some kind of scanning Quirk like Ragdoll's, the kind of thing I'd felt before at UA, it was just that now, having faced how bad MHA actually was, under its shonen surface, even those probing uses took on sinister new meaning, and, maybe it was my own weakness, but they'd never felt as… pointed, but even then…
Even then, despite it all, I'd bounced back extraordinarily quickly, which, yes, I was safe in my Home, and getting to that point naturally, after likely a day or two I'd be about that relaxed, just… not that quickly, but Mind Defense had let me shrug off that lingering feelings of fear as if they were new occurrences, and not the deep-seated mental wounds I was pretty sure they actually were.
And then there was the fact that I'd dropped that Defense, which had saved All Might, but any and all damage that facing down the fucking Symbol of Evil had done to me at that point likely had bypassed those protections, not that it came with a manual, and so the trauma ripped into me, just as One-For-All had carved out a chunk of my fucking Soul to give to Toshinori, grafting that piece of me, possibly containing the Defenses that I had acquired, onto him, allowing All Might to go from running on fumes to giving 'what for' in one last apocalyptic battle, one worthy of his power, there at the end of his career.
And now… Now I was dealing with the aftereffects of that clash of the super-titans every time I went back to MHA.
But, compared to what would've happened to me had All-for-One not been, let's be serious, temporarily stopped?
Still worth it.
Sighing, and heading out of my office, I waved to Mina who was laying out on the couch reading the next Burning Sword of Dawn novel, and summarized my findings as "Mind Defense helps with lingering negative emotions, and keeps you from freezing up, though if you're already traumatized, or are fucked up when it's lowered, it doesn't undo the damage completely, it just keeps you battle-capable."
Blinking her black and gold eyes, my lover smiled. "Oh, that's cool! Did that really take three hours?"
"Yep," I nodded. "Because the first two hours were spent digging through all the paperwork I had on anything related to this place only to find absolutely fuck all about it."
Giving me a teasing half-lidded look as she got up, Mina noted, "But you're fine with wastin' the time 'cause you have it?"
I laughed, "No, it's still fucking annoying, I'm just not going to get moody about it when I have such good company."
That got a grin out of her, though her expression turned thoughtful. "So, without it, Sparky, you would've…?"
"… Possibly?" I offered, honestly unsure, both at her question and, if I guessed right, if I would've been moody over my lack of progress. "I've never had anyone like you in my life, so the effects upon myself are unknown, and I'm used to being alone, one way or another, which… didn't help. I think I would've been fine, but only because I would've made myself be fine, instead of just… effortlessly being so, as I am when I'm here with you. Does, does that make sense?" I put forward.
Powers? I got.
Science? Up to a point that old me would've thought was borderline magic.
But Emotions? Fucking guesswork.
Then again, that'd kind of been my problem since I was old enough to remember.
"It does, Sparky" Mina smiled, giving me a quick hug. "So, Avatar?"
"Avatar," I agreed, walking with her to the gate room, both of us grabbing coats, though, ultimately, we had no idea where we'd end up, as Kyoshi Island had been rather nice, as opposed to the arctic air of snow-capped mountains, as well as, well, the literal arctic.
The portal out had timed out, though our connection to that dimension was still intact, and so was re-dialed, the swirling prismatic energy leading to another world once more swirling, though we wouldn't know where in the world until we stepped through. Looking to Mina, pushing down that feeling of nervousness that started to rise, any fangs that would've sunk into my psyche and resonating with prior traumas that would've made me want to stay were unable to truly find purchase, making this act simple, as I stepped through, finding myself…
In the middle of a Fire Nation camp, inside a very large tent.
A large number of soldiers were outside, with a half dozen within, while Zuko and Iroh were standing a few feet away, the latter, subtly, shifting the second I entered this world, something about the motion prickling one of my Talents, likely Martial, the former queueing off of him and shifting as well. The forest I could glimpse in the distance through the tent's entrance was temperate, the air refreshing, so I tossed my jacket behind myself, Mina coming in after me and doing the same with her puffy white coat, just in time for the other Fire Nation soldiers present to follow Iroh's fond and Zuko's annoyed looks, and see the two foreigners who'd somehow entered their camp without their knowing.
Thankfully, the absurdity of the situation worked in our favor, the men shifting to full combat stances, but unsure what else to do, as I strode forward, grinning, "Iroh, Zuko, how are you two?"
"We are as well as can be. And you? To be honest, I did not expect to see the pair of you here of all places," the older man replied, his familiarity with us putting the locals at ease.
Mina shrugged, "Didn't know ya were busy till we got here."
"Speaking of which," I said, looking down at the table… and while they might be speaking English, the writing sure as fuck wasn't, though it wasn't the Asiatic characters I remembered from the show. That… well, based on the fact that I recognized the characters when I'd found it in our library, though not how they were used, meant the local writing, if it was the same, was likely some kind of Chinese, the symbols too curving to be Korean, but this?
The characters were very curvy, almost seeming like Arabic, but all the letters in each word were connected at the top in an unbroken, flat ceiling, like a reverse underline.
And I had no idea what they said.
The vague formation, though, given the red and green markings…
"How's the war effort going?" I inquired. "Academic interest only, of course."
Iroh mulled that over, glancing at an older man in fancier armor than the others, though the two royals' were even grander, if subtly so. "While I am retired, I see no obvious flaws with how General Nezain is managing his army as they march on Omashu. What the situation is when they arrive, and what they choose to do, is a bridge that has not yet been crossed. Or burned."
"Thank you, General," the commander nodded respectfully. "If I might be so bold, who are your… guests?"
"Wandering Spirits, who are accompanying Prince Zuko on his quest," Iroh stated. "Denki has also been Blessed by Agni, and has been receiving instruction from my nephew in our sacred art, which is helping him master the fundamentals!"
The statement obviously had layers to it, from the way the other man glanced at me, before asking, "And she?"
"Hello!" Mina grinned, waving, and wrapping her other arm around mine. "I'm Sparky's partner!"
"Mrs. Ashido brings a unique perspective of her own," Iroh stated with a confidence that deterred any other questions.
"Mrs.?" the other General questioned, looking to me, before coming to some sort of conclusion, and nodding. "Ah. Yes. Of course. Perhaps we should conclude this talk?"
Nodding Sagely, Iroh stated, "That might be for the best. Thank you for your assistance, and I am sure we shall look into what you have shared with us. Won't we, Prince Zuko."
Mulling over something, the exile glanced my way, demanding, "Will the Avatar go to Omashu?"
"This is your quest," I reminded him, gently. "To be done by you. I can't give you such direct help. That said, have you studied Aang?"
"Information on the Avatar is… sparse," Iroh noted.
"He was twelve when he disappeared," I agreed. "But anyone in his circumstance would likely seek out… old friends, though, catching the tail end of your Kyoshi Island misadventure, he's not exactly making a bee-line anywhere."
The Fire Nation General frowned. "I heard Kyoshi Island was neutral. Or as neutral as anyone can be."
"When the reincarnation of their founder arrived, should they have turned him away?" Iroh questioned, again, with an odd layering to his tone. "They opened themselves to our conflict, it arrived, and with the Avatar leaving, he took such concerns with him."
It was a pronouncement, almost an order, and it was obvious that, despite being retired, the man held a great deal of sway.
"However," the old dragon stated, "I believe we should continue upon our mission from my brother. Denki, Mrs. Ashido, your appearance may cause some…. concern amongst the rank and file."
I got what he meant, while, at the same time, not directly telling me to do anything, or even asking, so I checked, "Fifteen minutes to get out of here?"
"Half an hour would be more than sufficient," he replied, and, glancing at Mina, I could tell she had questions, but she also realized that now was not the time to ask, so I nodded.
"Seeya then!" I agreed, turning around and heading out the Gate, closing it behind Mina, who'd followed me through.
Turning on me, she commented, "You were surprised, Sparky."
Not the statement I expected, I slowly nodded. "Show mostly covered Aang, Zuko was the antagonist, though very quickly he became a secondary one. That said, he was likely doing something offscreen while the Gaang were up to their kooky hijinks."
Nodding at that, Mina smiled. "So, half an hour. Wanna quickie?"
"… Yes," I agreed, quickly adding, "but you know we'll both lose track of time if we do, so, once we're done today, absolutely, but for now let's just grab a coffee, because neither of us are quick when it comes to that."
Pouting, my lover was very cute, before, with a flirty smile, she turned away, walking back to the stairs up, putting an extra swing in her step to shake her ass. "I am distracting, aren't I?"
"Very," I agreed, stepping up to her, and, with a swift motion, slapping her wiggling behind, getting a surprised, but pleased, yelp from my woman. I was tempted, but, no, it'd be an hour or more before we were done, if we rushed it, which… I didn't want to. While very fun, and good… endurance training, Mind Defense or no, I wouldn't want to head out again if we did that today, which, as far as problems went, wasn't too bad.
After the time had passed, the portal was still open, and, experimentally, I poked a head through, and, yeah, same command tent. No one saw me, though, so, closing and re-opening the portal, trying again, it now led to a forest glade, in which Zuko, Iroh, and a small squad of soldiers stood, clearly waiting, the same lizard-things they'd been riding at Kyoshi behind them.
Waving Mina after me, we headed back out, Iroh smiling as opened his arms, "Ah, good of you to join us. It feels like we saw you only yesterday."
"We saw them half an hour ago!" his nephew snapped, annoyed.
"Ah, when you get to be my age, time becomes a strange thing indeed," the old troll nodded sagely. "Either way, I'm sure we both appreciated your discretion, Denki, Mina, don't we, Prince Zuko?"
"What happened on Kyoshi?" the young royal questioned instead. At my inquisitive look, he explained tersely, "My men reported that you told them that the Avatar had left, and he should leave."
"Yep. That was me," I agreed. "But, why do you care? They're not Fire Nation. Hell, they were harboring an enemy of your father."
For a moment, anger flit across the prince's scarred features, but, as he gave me a narrow eyed, stare, whatever he was looking for, he clearly didn't find it. "It's as Uncle said, they couldn't say no. Especially to Kyoshi's successor."
"Uh," Mina replied, "You're sayin' that like it means something. I mean, it prolly does, but, uh, like, what's the what?"
"From what I've heard Kyoshi was… violent when stymied," I stated, translating, as Zuko just looked confused. I was expanding based on the secondary material, mostly, however from canon someone who, rather than deal with an issue, cuts off an entire peninsula and goes 'Fuck it, I'm making this an island hundreds of miles away! Screw anything underwater in my way!' was not someone who was careful and considerate when it came to nature, at least. "Though details are sparse," I added, hedging my bets, as, well, AU. "Is it true that she spent her childhood with a bandit clan whose cover was a travelling circus?"
"Ah, yes, Avatar Kyoshi's exploits in the 'Flying Opera Company' is a story that, I'm told, is still a matter of some sensation in Earth Kingdom circles," the retired general agreed with the air of one sharing juicy gossip, though his self-satisfied expression faded into odd solemnity. "It very much seems that she started as she meant to go on. And, while, from what we have heard, this Avatar is not Kyoshi, most are not aware of this truth."
Zuko waved a dismissive hand. "They got involved, paid for it, and now they're not again. It'd be foolish to continue to meddle in things beyond them, seeing what it got them. Were there any injuries?"
Will I have anyone coming after me, I had to guess was the question not being asked. "Nothing bad," I reassured him, and, though he was holding himself upright, I could barely see the royal relax a little. "Mina and I took care of some of the flames, before Aang repurposed their sea-serpent into a firehose, and your men were clearly going for intimidation over decimation."
"They are proper soldiers of the Fire Nation, and those were civilians!" the prince declared, as if I was almost insulting him by having to say as much as I did.
Iroh, spoke up, "Though, given what some of those in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes think of us, was likely still noteworthy for them. I always made sure that my men kept to proper decorum, and some, like General Nezain, have followed my example. Others, like Admiral Zhao, have chosen a different path, if the rumors are to be believed."
"Told you he was a dick," I offered, a few of the soldiers around us shifting uncomfortably at that. "So, what are we doing this time? I was kinda surprised we weren't on the boat."
"The Wani, while a vessel of excellent range and speed, has its limits," the Dragon of the West noted. "Prince Zuko's quarry does not."
"Shouldn't be surprised that an Air Nomad can fly," the scarred teen grumbled. "But while the beast can go for days, it needs to rest, while our boilers only need refueling. And word carries."
Connecting the dots, right, "So you were asking for sightings. Makes sense."
Mina frowned, looking to the younger royal, "But, uh, aren't ya, you know, exiled?"
Gritting his teeth, Zuko stated, "I'm aware. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Um, if you were exiled, then, uh, why were they talkin' to you?" she questioned.
"Ah," Iroh nodded, as the prince started to glare at the girl, and my own hackles started to raise in turn, because she didn't deserve that. "Nephew, I do not believe she meant offense."
"Of course she didn't!" I stated, confused.
"Oh, uh, sorry?" the pink-haired young woman offered. "I just, like, totes don't know what's goin' on."
That took the wind out of Zuko's sails, as he blinked, suddenly unsure, "I, what?"
"In the Water Tribes, an exile is to be avoided, or worse," his uncle explained to the teen, turning to look our way. "Even their name is removed from their people's memory. Ms. Ashido, to us of the Fire Nation, one can still be an exile and retain a degree of honor. If Prince Zuko returns to our homeland, he will be punished most severely, but, even in exile, he is still a prince of the Fire Nation, on a mission from the Fire Lord, and is to be aided where possible."
She blinked. "Oh, okay! So, what're we doin'? Tryin' to find Aang? Would he go for the army, or avoid it? What're ya gonna do if ya find him, since he can just fly away?"
"All good questions," Iroh nodded. "But let us continue."
"Oh, yeah," I agreed, walking towards them, and the lizards that were clearly mounts, a bit larger than a horse and with a horn on their snout that looked like it could do some serious damage. Shifting my legs from the knees down to lightning, extending each step unnaturally, I gestured to them, stating, "Let's get going, we'll be able to keep up."
Zuko hesitated, then nodded, hauling himself up into the saddle of one, Iroh doing so with more smoothness but still an impressive degree of strength for a normal old man, but, then again, nothing about Iroh was normal.
While the lizards were a little leery of me, they were well trained, and, at Zuko's urging, started to move forward, the other soldiers coming up behind us, as I easily loped along, and Mina slid forward on a streak of weak Acid fast enough that she was able to keep up, holding most of it to her feet and only leaving the slightest of trails behind her.
"So," I asked, after a couple minutes of travelling through forest, not having any idea where we were going, though Zuko clearly did, "what's the lead? A sighting of Appa?"
"Indeed, though where, exactly, the Avatar was going was unclear," Iroh nodded. "Zuko, would you like to share what we learned?"
The scarred teen glanced over, and only now did I realize he'd kept to my left, keeping his injured side away from me. "It's the same leads we've been chasing after for years. Rumors of odd noises. Strange patterns of destruction. Things like that. The Avatar is a Master Bender, and when they train, it leaves signs. At least, according to the histories. Not that we would've found him, as he'd been in an iceberg, which wasn't in any of them. The General's scouts have been seeing those signs, and, from what they can tell, they're new."
"At least, according to what the locals say," Iroh noted, jovial, but, as we continued, he seemed to simultaneously be growing tenser and more relaxed.
No, I thought, he seems ready.
But ready for what?
The ground started to get steeper, as we were now well into mountains, though, given I had no idea how the landscape was laid out past the most basic of map formations, that didn't really tell me anything, and I was glad that I could open a door Home wherever, because I would likely get so lost otherwise.
In front of us, Zuko held up a hand, slowing his lizard down, the rest of us coming up behind him. "Wha-" both Iroh and I started to ask at the same time, both of us stopping, the older man gesturing me forward.
"What do you see?" I questioned quietly, as, looking where he was, it was just… forest.
Casting a disbelieving look my way, he pointed at a few fallen trees. "Those."
Extending my transformation to lift myself up to his level, they… just seemed like regular fallen trees. "What about them?"
Another annoyed glance, and the prince stated, with a bit of force, "They were knocked down."
Mentally, I went, 'no shit, that's how trees fall', but, holding my tongue, I looked at them closely, and…
Oh.
The bottoms weren't cracked, the tree unable to, for whatever reason, hold itself up, but the place where they'd broken looked burst, like a great force had slammed into them, and what remained of the stumps looked fresh.
"You think it's the Avatar's sky-bison? It's surprisingly delicate if it's not in a hurry," I observed. While I hadn't shown Mina the show, I had shown her stills from it, to get her familiar with the characters, my lover getting a kick out of seeing the cartoon versions of the, to her, very real people she'd met earlier.
"Possibly. Possibly training his Bending. Earthbending. Possibly Airbending. I know first-hand how strong the Avatar's air-blasts can be," Zuko mused, urging his mount closer to one of the fallen logs, and, at his direction, the creature butted its snout against it, rolling the fallen tree over to reveal a section, fifteen feet up on it, had been ground down, bark and timber both stripped away. "Definitely Earthbending," the scarred teen stated, sliding off his mount to look at it closely, reaching into the mass of twisted splinters and pulling out fragments of grey rock.
Except… Aang didn't know how to Earthbend. Instinctually, maybe, but until he met Toph, he focused only on Air and Water, never attempting a new element until after he'd received instruction in it from someone else.
Or, like the Kyoshi Island Waterbenders, was this another difference?
"Sparky?" Mina questioned, able to read me, because of course she could.
"Mr. Kaminari? Would you like to offer your expertise?" Iroh questioned.
"The Avatar, from what I understand, learns his Bending from Humans, not the elements themselves," I slowly stated, trying to back-excuse the pattern I'd seen in the show. "It's probably part of the entire 'World Spirit Born Amongst Humans' shtick it's got. This… might be another Earthbender."
Frowning, the younger royal disagreed. "But if they're this strong, what would they be doing out here? Practicing? They wouldn't need it."
"Now, now, Prince Zuko," Iroh countered, amusedly. "Even for someone of my august years, one must always make sure to keep one's skills sharp, in case they are needed. And this is the Earth Kingdom, at least for now. Perhaps your quarry has already found an instructor. He wasted no time finding one to teach him Water, after all."
"Fair enough," I shrugged, looking over the damage done, trying to figure out how it'd been done, the lumber seemingly ravaged with a level of brutality that I didn't remember from the show, but, then again, it'd been a cartoon, so some discoloring and jagged lines could've actually been this and I wouldn't've noticed. Snapping my legs back to normal, I transformed a hand, running electric claws over the bark, scoring it slightly.
For Earthbending to do this… right, I was thinking in solid objects, not streams, while Aang, with his primary focus on Airbending, would be more inclined to that sort of methodology, which was likely why he struggled so much with Earthbending. In that case, as a sort of flying landslide of rock-shards, the damage pattern did make a certain sort of sense.
Though the boy would likely balk against using it against people.
Zuko got back on his lizard, and we pressed on further, the terrain getting rockier as we climbed, trees and vines that held on to the mountainside the dominant foliage.
And then the mist rolled in.
Or we rolled into the mist.
Either way, visibility started getting worse, the sun obscured, and a feeling started to fill the air, one I… didn't like. Neither did, the soldiers coming with us, the men murmuring to each other, quieting with a glare from their commanding officer, but it clearly wasn't just me, as we were led further and further in, the prince able to spot something as he'd occasionally turn and redirect us, before we came to a stop.
And looked up.
Forty feet above our heads, a tree had the bark stripped from it in long, jagged lines, reminiscent of nothing so much as a bear sharpening its claws.
"We see a giant pile of animal dung, we're leaving," I remarked, wondering what the actual fuck.
"Prince Zuko, perhaps we should turn back," Iroh suggested. "I do not believe what you have been tracking is that which you seek."
"What else could it be?" the younger royal questioned, staring as well.
"Badger-mole?" I suggested. At Mina's look, I explained, "They're the first Earthbenders, and the size of elephants."
"Elephant-what?" Iroh inquired.
I paused, remembering the combined-nature of this place's Faunus. Then again, the Earth King did just have a normal bear, so I went with, "Just straight up elephants."
The scarred teen riding in front of us slowly shook his head. "No, Badgermoles live underneath mountains, not on top of them! No, this has to be a Bender, and one that doesn't care about heights. It's The Avatar. It has to be!"
"Does it?" Mina questioned softly, the prince turning on her with a snarl, but she just looked at him, concerned.
He looked away, taking a deep breath, his Uncle slowly offering, "Perhaps we should continue on our own, and leave the men as a rear-guard, to call upon if needed?"
Considering that, looking over his very nervous looking soldiers, Zuko slowly nodded. "That's… fine. I need to be the one to do this, anyways. I assume you two won't interfere?" he questioned glancing my way.
"Observers only, if it's Aang. If it looks like you'll kill him, I'll step in, but that's not your task anyways. And do you really want a Water Tribe Avatar?" I questioned.
"We'd have a decade to find her," the prince argued, but seemingly just for the sake of arguing, and nodded. "Alright. Men! Stay here. I'll capture The Avatar!"
Flicking his reins, he continued on, and on, following the trail of occasionally disturbed dirt here, scraped trees there, but not a shred of white fur in sight, the mist getting thicker, visibility dropping, until he stopped once again.
And stared.
Spoiler: Music
As there was a single footprint in the dirt.
A large, wide, narrow-toed, clawed footprint.
Gathering around it, we were silent for a long moment.
"Uh, PZ?" Mina said, still staring at the mark. "I… Don't think we're goin' after Aang."
~No. You Are Not.~
The voice was low, growling, like a sentient landslide, as we turned around, and found that the hunters had become the hunted.
Iroh spoke first, smiling a touch nervously, "Ah, greetings, honored Spirit! I apologize for the confusion. With your permission, we shall leave immediately, and not bother you any further!"
The creature, an actual Spirit, seemed to smile in turn, though its literally stony expression was full of malice.
~No, Intruders. I Do Not Believe You Shall.~
Music
Stared – Kuruk - AvatarSoundtrack
AN: Welcome to the AU everybody! As usual, the next four chapters are up on and Subscribestar! Also, thanks to Plasma Regulators for the art!