Day Twenty-Five, River Dock Earth Kingdom Trading Town
“Sorry, Ed,” I whispered to myself and slipped around the
corner. There were five men in total, forming a half-circle around
the old man and the boy. The one closest to me was huge beefy man
with a beard carrying a crescent-bladed spear, the next one was the
only one in armour with a strange red face-concealing plate unlike
the normal ghost-face that Fire Nation soldiers wore, then the leader
who was a mean looking guy with a short top-knot and a nose ring,
then an archer with face paint and finally a mostly bald guy swinging
a chain over his head so fast it whirred. The one in the centre
snapped his arms back and fire formed across his knuckles.
He just became target number one.
“Kill them both!” the leader shouted, and snapped his hands
forward. Zuko settled into a martial arts stance, looking like he was
going to try and deflect the incoming fire with his barehands. Brave
of him. Stupid, but brave. I dashed out into the dockyard, keeping my
body low and slammed my right hand against the paving stones.
Blue lightning erupted from my palm and raced across the ground,
constructing a wall of stone in its wake. The blast of fire splashed
harmlessly against the rock even as a flaming arrow did the same.
Zuko blinked and glanced in my direction. I was already moving,
running across the top of the wall towards the centre of the enemy
formation.
“Earthbender!” Spear cried.
The firebender had enough time to see me coming and snapped a quick
punch in my direction, directing another jet of flame. Again my hand
touched the top of the wall and transmuted a rod of stone from the
side that deflected the stream away from me. Then I was running
across that same rod, straight toward him.
I hopped the slight gap, tucking my legs up to avoid another blast
of fire which warmed my soles. Then one foot came down on the side of
his rhino's horn, then I was driving a knee into his chin with all my
momentum.
His harness kept my blow from driving him out of his saddle, but
only just. His head rocked back, his eyes dazed but not out. I
grabbed his shoulder and used it as a pivot to swing around his side,
using his bulk as a shield from Archer and Chain. Even so a pair of
flaming arrows sped past his head on either side, almost skewering
me.
There was a cry from that direction and I risked a glance. Zuko had
vaulted my protective wall and leaped into Archer, kicking his bow
from his hands. I appreciated the help but. “You idiot! Get your
uncle and run!”
“Worry about yourself!” Firebender snarled at me. He snarled and
drove an elbow toward me. I released his shoulder and dropped to the
ground, a spike of flame burning a few dyed hairs off my head.
“I didn't ask for your help,” the boy snarled. He drove the ball
of his thumb into Archer's forehead, knocking the man senseless, but
then was forced to jump away when Chain swung his weapon through the
space his head had occupied.
There was a hiss over my shoulder and I saw a small round object fly
towards my wall. I had just enough time to wonder what it was before
it exploded in a cloud of smoke and noise that knocked me off my feet
with the shockwave. With a loud shout Spear charged through the whole
now blasted in my wall.
“Damn,” I said. “Stand still,” I ordered the boy, who gave
me a look. Then I slapped my right hand against the ground again.
Transmuted rods, each as thick around as my fist, sprang from the
ground in all directions around me like a porcupine. All of them were
angled low to the ground, their heavy rock forms lacing between the
legs of the shifting reptiles. Spear's forward momentum abruptly
ended as his rhino went down, its bulk snapping a few of the stone
rods. His harness saved him from being sent flying ass over teakettle
into the air.
“Protect the old man,” I ordered even as I threw myself sideways
to avoid another blast from Firebender. I didn't get to see what the
boy did next, as I was too busy avoiding jets and balls of flame. I
ran across the tops of my transmuted rods. Another his was all the
warning I received before a small black object fell between the rods
in front of me.
This time the explosion sent me tumbling backward. I landed inside
my rods, painfully cracking my hip and back against them. 'They have
grenades?' I remember thinking. Acting on instinct I slapped my hand
down and transmuted a rock dome over myself, thicker than normal. The
dome shuddered as another explosion rocked it and I could feel heat
washing over it.
This was not going well.
Time to start cheating more.
The dome around me dissolved and I raced out from under it.
Thankfully none of the enemies had freed their rhino-lizards yet. It
appeared while those bombs could blast through rock, they were too
indiscriminate to use next to their mounts. So, stay close to them. I
ran, a stream of fire tracking just behind my feet as I bounced and
skipped across and between the unbroken rods.
Mask was my target, and now that I was closing on him I could see a
harness on his hip with more of those grenades. He had one in his
hand, which he tried to flip at me before I could get in. A quick
slap and the rod I was running on reformed straight towards it,
striking it dead centre and sending it flying backwards. Just as I
thought, fuses not impact triggered.
Mask ducked as the bomb flew over his head before exploding. The
blast pushed him against his harness. It took him a few seconds to
recover, seconds he did not have. In three steps I went from the top
of a rod, to the shoulder of his rhino-lizard, to the head of the
creature. It tried to throw me off but I had too stable a footing.
Mask stared at from behind his face plate. His metal face plate.
My left hand slapped into the mask. Blue lightning hissed. Mask
jerked back, trying to scream but unable to with the seamless metal
now conforming to his face. I grabbed the back of his head and jumped
over him, then used all my weight to drive his face into the back of
his mount. He went limp.
I kept my hand on the back of his head just long enough to transmute
an airhole into his mask, even as my other hand grabbed the harness
from his side.
“Damn you!” Firebender roared. He had given up trying to get his
rhino-lizard free. The creatures bulk would have smashed through my
rods at speed, but with their legs locked in the maze there was
simply no way to get the momentum needed. He pulled himself free of
his harness and jumped down to the ground and began to race towards
me, firing tiny jets of flame to force me to duck.
I rolled behind Mask's rhino-lizard and considered my neck move. I
could see Zuko now. He had just put down Spear with a flying knee to
the back of the head. An arrow snapped across his face as he jerked
back, not fast enough to avoid it drawing a red line across his nose.
Finally he backflipped as the weighted chain swung through the air
his legs had been.
I snapped one of the grenades free of the harness, but had no idea
how to light them. Then I smirked as I remembered I didn't have to. I
dashed towards Zuko. Firebender gave a shout as I moved back into his
line of fire. He hopped forward, landed steady on his feet and fired
a wide stream of fire at me I had no hope of dodging. I didn't even
try.
The grenade whizzed through the air as I pitched it sidehand,
leaving my hand even before I was fully out from behind the beast.
The result was that it crossed the distance between us a lot faster
than the Firebender's attack. He didn't even see the cause of the
explosion as it lifted him off his feet and sent him tumbling head
first into the unyielding stone rods scattered about. He didn't get
up.
When I reached Zuko I transmuted another wall between us and Archer
and Chain, giving us some breathing room.
“You're a stubborn one,” I pointed out.
He made a dismissive sound. “We didn't need your help.”
“You sure, five against one seemed bad odds.”
“I could have handled it if I just...” He looked at his hands
and lowered them. “If I just had a weapon. Even a sword.”
“Is that all?” I grinned. “Follow me, then.”
He gave me an incredulous look as I dashed around the corner of the
wall, my right hand trailing against it. Archer was fast, he had
three arrows in the air before I had even turned the corner. Alchemy
worked at light speed, and another wall formed before they could
reach me. I kept my hand on that wall as I ran towards Chain. Blue
lightning constantly rippled across it as the back deconstructed and
the front reconstructed, forming a mobile shield. I could hear Zuko
following me.
“You can't block us both!” Chain shouted. He had dismounted his
rhino-lizard and was dashing sideways so that he was beyond my
shield-wall. His weapon whirled above his head and then came at me in
a grey blur.
My left hand snapped up. The chain slammed into my metal glove...
and deconstructed down its length in a hiss-crackle of light. Chain
yelped in panic and dropped his weapon even as the last of it
disintegrated. At the same time the lighting traced a new image in
the air, two actually, since there was more steel than one would
take. In less time than an eyeblink I was holding the handle of two
curved dueling swords.
“Will these do?” I asked, holding them back towards Zuko.
His good eye was so wide I could see the red around it. “What?
How? That's impossible!”
“Don't look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth. Take it.” He
grabbed the twin blades, quickly testing their balance and apparently
pleased by them. His eyes had narrowed and I knew there would be
questions, but that was later. “Okay, I'm defence and you're
offence, got it?”
“...got it,” he said shortly.
With his nod I split my shield and gave Zuko a chance to start
running towards Archer. Again, Archer was good, sending out missile
after missile. But I was one step behind Zuko and still carrying half
my shield-wall alongside me. I gestured and transmuted, forming the
rock into shells and curves that protected Zuko from the incoming
arrows. Zuko and I didn't have the same natural teamwork as Ed, so he
was forced to skid to a halt more than a few times to keep from
crashing into a hastily erected wall. At one point the Archer almost
got him when the man fired an arrow upward, then used a second arrow
to knock it out of the sky so it fell point down at Zuko's head. Only
a hasty grab of his collar and pulling him backward kept him from
being skewered.
But it was only a matter of time before we closed the distance. Once
he was close, Zuko made short work of him. His swords bisected the
bow in one motion, and then came in pummel first on the sides of the
man's head in the reverse. Archer dropped like a stone.
I pulled my hand off the wall and stepped away, shaking it. It was
uncomfortably warm from all the transmuting. I glanced at Chain, who
was staring at the two of us in terror. His hands snapped up into the
air.
“I surrender!” He shouted.
“Hands on the ground,” I told him. He complied and a second
later his arms were sealed into the paving stones at his feet. I
turned when I heard a series of rushing feet. A dozen men armed with
spears and dressed in green armour had appeared at the head of the
docks. “Of course, they show up after the battle is already over.”
I waved them over.
The tallest one walked up to me. “What happened here?”
“Fire Nation raiders attacking some refugees,” I said. I nodded
my head towards the various unconscious or trapped rhino-riders. “I
helped out. What were you guys so busy with?”
“We had to gather our men...” The leader said, looking nervous.
“But, our most profuse thanks Master Earthbender for stepping in
when we could not.”
I waved his thanks away. “Just figure out something to do with
them. I'm leaving the town soon.”
“Ah? Are you certain? The town could use strong men like yourself
to-”
“No!” I dialled back the anger a bit before continuing. “Thank
you. Now if you'll excuse me.”
After a brief detour to pick up the pack of explosives I'd dropped
earlier in the fight I found Zuko and his uncle without much trouble.
The young boy was trying to lead the old man through a dark alley.
One might almost think he was trying to slink away without being
caught.
“What, no thank you?” I asked as I jogged up to him.
Zuko stared at me, his scarred eye giving his look even more malice
than his expression alone could convey. “I told you I didn't ask
for your help.”
“And yet those are my swords on your back.” I pointed to the
blades. He grunted. “And if you keep carrying the old man like that
you'll aggravate his injuries.”
This made Zuko pause. He looked at the old man he was trying to keep
balanced with one arm. His uncle did not look in good shape. He was
sweating and breathing hard, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.
Strangely despite his dishevelled clothes his beard was almost
immaculately trimmed and styled, only a few stray hairs out of place.
“Put him down,” I instructed while pointing at the wall.
“I'm not going to listen to-”
“Zuko!” The old man gasped. “It is not a weakness to accept
when help is offered.”
“...fine.” I helped Zuko place Uncle against the wall.
“I need to look at your wound,” I told him as I knelt next to
him. He nodded in resignation and I gingerly moved his kimono out of
the way. I drew in a sharp breath at what I saw. “My God, how can
you stand it.” I hovered my hands over the extensive burns which
covered most of his chest. “This has got to be third degree burns.”
I traced an eye down them. “And they're days old, untreated to
boot. I think I see signs of infection creeping in.” I turned to
Zuko. “He needs serious medical attention, and I mean now.”
“It's... that bad?” Zuko looked aghast, though his scar gave
even that a tinge of anger so it was hard to tell.
“It's probably worse. If we don't get him to someone who can deal
with this soon he may die.”
“Die?” Zuko choked out. “He can't die!”
“I'm not going anywhere, Zuko,” Uncle said, managing to keep his
voice level. I have no idea how he did it. People with those degree
of burns were kept unconscious because the pain was simply
excruciating. The degree of self-control this old man had was frankly
inhuman.
Which meant neither of them was who they appeared to be.
“Give me your shirt,” I said to Zuko, holding out my hand.
“What?”
“These burns need to be properly bandaged, now. I need your
shirt.” I looked at the old man. “I need your kimono top, too.”
He nodded. Zuko seemed likely to argue but one steady look from the
odl man silenced him. I collected the fabric and placed it on the
ground and then placed my hand next to it.
I closed my eyes. This would be a complex transmutation. It took me
a few seconds to determine what the array would look like in my head.
Then I evoked the Array Cutting Technique. Another transmutation and
I was left with clean bandages, the accumulated dirt and sweat of
their journey having been discarded in a nearby pile.
“This is going to hurt,” I told Uncle. He nodded, but his eyes
were dancing with intelligence and wonder as he looked at me. I tried
to wrap the burns as gently as possible, but it was simple impossible
to do this nice without anaesthesia. Several times the old man almost
passed out. I almost wished he had, then he wouldn't be screaming in
pain. Zuko seemed caught the entire time between wanting to help and
wanting to punch me for hurting his Uncle. Finally I was finished.
“You're just like Al, always collecting strays.”
I started as Ed walked into the alleyway. He had a large frown on
his face. Zuko immediately stepped between his uncle and the new boy,
matching Ed frown for frown. Oh great, now there were two of them.
“Hold up, he's a friend,” I told Zuko.
Zuko glanced at me, Uncle and Ed in turn then forced himself to
relax.
“I should have known telling you to keep out of trouble was
hopeless.” Ed grinned. “You have Elric blood in you alright.”
He gestured at the two 'refugees'. “What's the story? I just
followed the trail of destruction, and then the screams to find you.”
“I saved them from the Fire Nation,” I said. I glanced at Zuko,
who was looking between the two of us with an angry scowl on his
face. He probably did not like the fact that he couldn't follow our
conversation on bit. “I haven't pushed because the boy is way too
suspicious for his own good. But the old man is seriously hurt, and
needs medical attention.”
Ed crossed his arms and shook his head. “What do you propose we do
about it? Neither of us knows enough medicine to help them.”
“We could take them back to the herbalists,” I said.
Ed considered that, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Finally he turned
to Zuko. “Why Fire Nation hunt you?” he asked in his stilted
dialect.
Zuko growled and crossed his arms. “None of your business.”
Ed probably didn't get all the words, but he got the gist of it. “We
maybe can help.”
Zuko glanced at me, then at Ed again.
“Zuko...” Uncle breathed.
Zuko relented. A little. “They're not after me. Not really. They
want Uncle.”
“Why?” I asked.
“...it's complicated.” He narrowed his eyes. “It doesn't
concern outsiders.”
“Right...” I groaned.
[ ]Help them regardless, let them have their secrets.
[ ]He obviously doesn't want our help, leave him.
[ ]Help him, but only if he tells you the whole truth.
[ ]Forget helping him, just wring the story out of him. I don't trust
him one bit.
No title suggestions at all? Maybe use the weekend break to knock around ideas and comment on the story so far (hinthint).
As for Nin not being curious about the Fifth Transmutation, well she is a bit, but you people only gave her a one in Perceptive...
-------------
Epsilon
“Sorry, Ed,” I whispered to myself and slipped around the
corner. There were five men in total, forming a half-circle around
the old man and the boy. The one closest to me was huge beefy man
with a beard carrying a crescent-bladed spear, the next one was the
only one in armour with a strange red face-concealing plate unlike
the normal ghost-face that Fire Nation soldiers wore, then the leader
who was a mean looking guy with a short top-knot and a nose ring,
then an archer with face paint and finally a mostly bald guy swinging
a chain over his head so fast it whirred. The one in the centre
snapped his arms back and fire formed across his knuckles.
He just became target number one.
“Kill them both!” the leader shouted, and snapped his hands
forward. Zuko settled into a martial arts stance, looking like he was
going to try and deflect the incoming fire with his barehands. Brave
of him. Stupid, but brave. I dashed out into the dockyard, keeping my
body low and slammed my right hand against the paving stones.
Blue lightning erupted from my palm and raced across the ground,
constructing a wall of stone in its wake. The blast of fire splashed
harmlessly against the rock even as a flaming arrow did the same.
Zuko blinked and glanced in my direction. I was already moving,
running across the top of the wall towards the centre of the enemy
formation.
“Earthbender!” Spear cried.
The firebender had enough time to see me coming and snapped a quick
punch in my direction, directing another jet of flame. Again my hand
touched the top of the wall and transmuted a rod of stone from the
side that deflected the stream away from me. Then I was running
across that same rod, straight toward him.
I hopped the slight gap, tucking my legs up to avoid another blast
of fire which warmed my soles. Then one foot came down on the side of
his rhino's horn, then I was driving a knee into his chin with all my
momentum.
His harness kept my blow from driving him out of his saddle, but
only just. His head rocked back, his eyes dazed but not out. I
grabbed his shoulder and used it as a pivot to swing around his side,
using his bulk as a shield from Archer and Chain. Even so a pair of
flaming arrows sped past his head on either side, almost skewering
me.
There was a cry from that direction and I risked a glance. Zuko had
vaulted my protective wall and leaped into Archer, kicking his bow
from his hands. I appreciated the help but. “You idiot! Get your
uncle and run!”
“Worry about yourself!” Firebender snarled at me. He snarled and
drove an elbow toward me. I released his shoulder and dropped to the
ground, a spike of flame burning a few dyed hairs off my head.
“I didn't ask for your help,” the boy snarled. He drove the ball
of his thumb into Archer's forehead, knocking the man senseless, but
then was forced to jump away when Chain swung his weapon through the
space his head had occupied.
There was a hiss over my shoulder and I saw a small round object fly
towards my wall. I had just enough time to wonder what it was before
it exploded in a cloud of smoke and noise that knocked me off my feet
with the shockwave. With a loud shout Spear charged through the whole
now blasted in my wall.
“Damn,” I said. “Stand still,” I ordered the boy, who gave
me a look. Then I slapped my right hand against the ground again.
Transmuted rods, each as thick around as my fist, sprang from the
ground in all directions around me like a porcupine. All of them were
angled low to the ground, their heavy rock forms lacing between the
legs of the shifting reptiles. Spear's forward momentum abruptly
ended as his rhino went down, its bulk snapping a few of the stone
rods. His harness saved him from being sent flying ass over teakettle
into the air.
“Protect the old man,” I ordered even as I threw myself sideways
to avoid another blast from Firebender. I didn't get to see what the
boy did next, as I was too busy avoiding jets and balls of flame. I
ran across the tops of my transmuted rods. Another his was all the
warning I received before a small black object fell between the rods
in front of me.
This time the explosion sent me tumbling backward. I landed inside
my rods, painfully cracking my hip and back against them. 'They have
grenades?' I remember thinking. Acting on instinct I slapped my hand
down and transmuted a rock dome over myself, thicker than normal. The
dome shuddered as another explosion rocked it and I could feel heat
washing over it.
This was not going well.
Time to start cheating more.
The dome around me dissolved and I raced out from under it.
Thankfully none of the enemies had freed their rhino-lizards yet. It
appeared while those bombs could blast through rock, they were too
indiscriminate to use next to their mounts. So, stay close to them. I
ran, a stream of fire tracking just behind my feet as I bounced and
skipped across and between the unbroken rods.
Mask was my target, and now that I was closing on him I could see a
harness on his hip with more of those grenades. He had one in his
hand, which he tried to flip at me before I could get in. A quick
slap and the rod I was running on reformed straight towards it,
striking it dead centre and sending it flying backwards. Just as I
thought, fuses not impact triggered.
Mask ducked as the bomb flew over his head before exploding. The
blast pushed him against his harness. It took him a few seconds to
recover, seconds he did not have. In three steps I went from the top
of a rod, to the shoulder of his rhino-lizard, to the head of the
creature. It tried to throw me off but I had too stable a footing.
Mask stared at from behind his face plate. His metal face plate.
My left hand slapped into the mask. Blue lightning hissed. Mask
jerked back, trying to scream but unable to with the seamless metal
now conforming to his face. I grabbed the back of his head and jumped
over him, then used all my weight to drive his face into the back of
his mount. He went limp.
I kept my hand on the back of his head just long enough to transmute
an airhole into his mask, even as my other hand grabbed the harness
from his side.
“Damn you!” Firebender roared. He had given up trying to get his
rhino-lizard free. The creatures bulk would have smashed through my
rods at speed, but with their legs locked in the maze there was
simply no way to get the momentum needed. He pulled himself free of
his harness and jumped down to the ground and began to race towards
me, firing tiny jets of flame to force me to duck.
I rolled behind Mask's rhino-lizard and considered my neck move. I
could see Zuko now. He had just put down Spear with a flying knee to
the back of the head. An arrow snapped across his face as he jerked
back, not fast enough to avoid it drawing a red line across his nose.
Finally he backflipped as the weighted chain swung through the air
his legs had been.
I snapped one of the grenades free of the harness, but had no idea
how to light them. Then I smirked as I remembered I didn't have to. I
dashed towards Zuko. Firebender gave a shout as I moved back into his
line of fire. He hopped forward, landed steady on his feet and fired
a wide stream of fire at me I had no hope of dodging. I didn't even
try.
The grenade whizzed through the air as I pitched it sidehand,
leaving my hand even before I was fully out from behind the beast.
The result was that it crossed the distance between us a lot faster
than the Firebender's attack. He didn't even see the cause of the
explosion as it lifted him off his feet and sent him tumbling head
first into the unyielding stone rods scattered about. He didn't get
up.
When I reached Zuko I transmuted another wall between us and Archer
and Chain, giving us some breathing room.
“You're a stubborn one,” I pointed out.
He made a dismissive sound. “We didn't need your help.”
“You sure, five against one seemed bad odds.”
“I could have handled it if I just...” He looked at his hands
and lowered them. “If I just had a weapon. Even a sword.”
“Is that all?” I grinned. “Follow me, then.”
He gave me an incredulous look as I dashed around the corner of the
wall, my right hand trailing against it. Archer was fast, he had
three arrows in the air before I had even turned the corner. Alchemy
worked at light speed, and another wall formed before they could
reach me. I kept my hand on that wall as I ran towards Chain. Blue
lightning constantly rippled across it as the back deconstructed and
the front reconstructed, forming a mobile shield. I could hear Zuko
following me.
“You can't block us both!” Chain shouted. He had dismounted his
rhino-lizard and was dashing sideways so that he was beyond my
shield-wall. His weapon whirled above his head and then came at me in
a grey blur.
My left hand snapped up. The chain slammed into my metal glove...
and deconstructed down its length in a hiss-crackle of light. Chain
yelped in panic and dropped his weapon even as the last of it
disintegrated. At the same time the lighting traced a new image in
the air, two actually, since there was more steel than one would
take. In less time than an eyeblink I was holding the handle of two
curved dueling swords.
“Will these do?” I asked, holding them back towards Zuko.
His good eye was so wide I could see the red around it. “What?
How? That's impossible!”
“Don't look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth. Take it.” He
grabbed the twin blades, quickly testing their balance and apparently
pleased by them. His eyes had narrowed and I knew there would be
questions, but that was later. “Okay, I'm defence and you're
offence, got it?”
“...got it,” he said shortly.
With his nod I split my shield and gave Zuko a chance to start
running towards Archer. Again, Archer was good, sending out missile
after missile. But I was one step behind Zuko and still carrying half
my shield-wall alongside me. I gestured and transmuted, forming the
rock into shells and curves that protected Zuko from the incoming
arrows. Zuko and I didn't have the same natural teamwork as Ed, so he
was forced to skid to a halt more than a few times to keep from
crashing into a hastily erected wall. At one point the Archer almost
got him when the man fired an arrow upward, then used a second arrow
to knock it out of the sky so it fell point down at Zuko's head. Only
a hasty grab of his collar and pulling him backward kept him from
being skewered.
But it was only a matter of time before we closed the distance. Once
he was close, Zuko made short work of him. His swords bisected the
bow in one motion, and then came in pummel first on the sides of the
man's head in the reverse. Archer dropped like a stone.
I pulled my hand off the wall and stepped away, shaking it. It was
uncomfortably warm from all the transmuting. I glanced at Chain, who
was staring at the two of us in terror. His hands snapped up into the
air.
“I surrender!” He shouted.
“Hands on the ground,” I told him. He complied and a second
later his arms were sealed into the paving stones at his feet. I
turned when I heard a series of rushing feet. A dozen men armed with
spears and dressed in green armour had appeared at the head of the
docks. “Of course, they show up after the battle is already over.”
I waved them over.
The tallest one walked up to me. “What happened here?”
“Fire Nation raiders attacking some refugees,” I said. I nodded
my head towards the various unconscious or trapped rhino-riders. “I
helped out. What were you guys so busy with?”
“We had to gather our men...” The leader said, looking nervous.
“But, our most profuse thanks Master Earthbender for stepping in
when we could not.”
I waved his thanks away. “Just figure out something to do with
them. I'm leaving the town soon.”
“Ah? Are you certain? The town could use strong men like yourself
to-”
“No!” I dialled back the anger a bit before continuing. “Thank
you. Now if you'll excuse me.”
After a brief detour to pick up the pack of explosives I'd dropped
earlier in the fight I found Zuko and his uncle without much trouble.
The young boy was trying to lead the old man through a dark alley.
One might almost think he was trying to slink away without being
caught.
“What, no thank you?” I asked as I jogged up to him.
Zuko stared at me, his scarred eye giving his look even more malice
than his expression alone could convey. “I told you I didn't ask
for your help.”
“And yet those are my swords on your back.” I pointed to the
blades. He grunted. “And if you keep carrying the old man like that
you'll aggravate his injuries.”
This made Zuko pause. He looked at the old man he was trying to keep
balanced with one arm. His uncle did not look in good shape. He was
sweating and breathing hard, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.
Strangely despite his dishevelled clothes his beard was almost
immaculately trimmed and styled, only a few stray hairs out of place.
“Put him down,” I instructed while pointing at the wall.
“I'm not going to listen to-”
“Zuko!” The old man gasped. “It is not a weakness to accept
when help is offered.”
“...fine.” I helped Zuko place Uncle against the wall.
“I need to look at your wound,” I told him as I knelt next to
him. He nodded in resignation and I gingerly moved his kimono out of
the way. I drew in a sharp breath at what I saw. “My God, how can
you stand it.” I hovered my hands over the extensive burns which
covered most of his chest. “This has got to be third degree burns.”
I traced an eye down them. “And they're days old, untreated to
boot. I think I see signs of infection creeping in.” I turned to
Zuko. “He needs serious medical attention, and I mean now.”
“It's... that bad?” Zuko looked aghast, though his scar gave
even that a tinge of anger so it was hard to tell.
“It's probably worse. If we don't get him to someone who can deal
with this soon he may die.”
“Die?” Zuko choked out. “He can't die!”
“I'm not going anywhere, Zuko,” Uncle said, managing to keep his
voice level. I have no idea how he did it. People with those degree
of burns were kept unconscious because the pain was simply
excruciating. The degree of self-control this old man had was frankly
inhuman.
Which meant neither of them was who they appeared to be.
“Give me your shirt,” I said to Zuko, holding out my hand.
“What?”
“These burns need to be properly bandaged, now. I need your
shirt.” I looked at the old man. “I need your kimono top, too.”
He nodded. Zuko seemed likely to argue but one steady look from the
odl man silenced him. I collected the fabric and placed it on the
ground and then placed my hand next to it.
I closed my eyes. This would be a complex transmutation. It took me
a few seconds to determine what the array would look like in my head.
Then I evoked the Array Cutting Technique. Another transmutation and
I was left with clean bandages, the accumulated dirt and sweat of
their journey having been discarded in a nearby pile.
“This is going to hurt,” I told Uncle. He nodded, but his eyes
were dancing with intelligence and wonder as he looked at me. I tried
to wrap the burns as gently as possible, but it was simple impossible
to do this nice without anaesthesia. Several times the old man almost
passed out. I almost wished he had, then he wouldn't be screaming in
pain. Zuko seemed caught the entire time between wanting to help and
wanting to punch me for hurting his Uncle. Finally I was finished.
“You're just like Al, always collecting strays.”
I started as Ed walked into the alleyway. He had a large frown on
his face. Zuko immediately stepped between his uncle and the new boy,
matching Ed frown for frown. Oh great, now there were two of them.
“Hold up, he's a friend,” I told Zuko.
Zuko glanced at me, Uncle and Ed in turn then forced himself to
relax.
“I should have known telling you to keep out of trouble was
hopeless.” Ed grinned. “You have Elric blood in you alright.”
He gestured at the two 'refugees'. “What's the story? I just
followed the trail of destruction, and then the screams to find you.”
“I saved them from the Fire Nation,” I said. I glanced at Zuko,
who was looking between the two of us with an angry scowl on his
face. He probably did not like the fact that he couldn't follow our
conversation on bit. “I haven't pushed because the boy is way too
suspicious for his own good. But the old man is seriously hurt, and
needs medical attention.”
Ed crossed his arms and shook his head. “What do you propose we do
about it? Neither of us knows enough medicine to help them.”
“We could take them back to the herbalists,” I said.
Ed considered that, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Finally he turned
to Zuko. “Why Fire Nation hunt you?” he asked in his stilted
dialect.
Zuko growled and crossed his arms. “None of your business.”
Ed probably didn't get all the words, but he got the gist of it. “We
maybe can help.”
Zuko glanced at me, then at Ed again.
“Zuko...” Uncle breathed.
Zuko relented. A little. “They're not after me. Not really. They
want Uncle.”
“Why?” I asked.
“...it's complicated.” He narrowed his eyes. “It doesn't
concern outsiders.”
“Right...” I groaned.
[ ]Help them regardless, let them have their secrets.
[ ]He obviously doesn't want our help, leave him.
[ ]Help him, but only if he tells you the whole truth.
[ ]Forget helping him, just wring the story out of him. I don't trust
him one bit.
No title suggestions at all? Maybe use the weekend break to knock around ideas and comment on the story so far (hinthint).
As for Nin not being curious about the Fifth Transmutation, well she is a bit, but you people only gave her a one in Perceptive...
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Epsilon