Again, sorry for the delay.
Day Twenty-Seven, Ruins of Taku
“This place looks familiar,” Zuko said, his perpetual frown
deepening.
“Maybe you've been here before?” I ask in a teasing tone. Zuko
frowns at me. The entire trip here I've been needling him about his
obvious secrets. I've not really been serious about making him come
clean, but Zuko's reactions to questions he doesn't want to answer
are almost as amusing as Ed's. I've got a running bet with the old
man going as to which one of them scowls or frowns more often in a
day. So far, Zuko is winning.
“Where is this doctor?” Zuko asks.
“Up there,” I point to the top of a hill into which stone steps
have been carved. “And she's an herbalist. But its the closest
thing to a good doctor I've seen.” I walked back towards the small
wagon we'd purchased back at the trading port. “Come on, help me
get your uncle onto the stretcher.”
“Wait... you want us to carry Uncle up all those stairs?”
“The ostrich-horses can't exactly hold the stretcher steady and
dragging the wagon up those steps is not a good idea, so that leaves
old fashioned muscle power.”
Zuko scowled and crossed his arms. “Why don't you just earthbend
him up to the top?”
“Tell you what, I'll do that if you tell me why they were trying
to kill him. No? Didn't think so.” I grinned. “Come on, think of
it as exercise.”
“There's exercise and then there's...” Zuko muttered as he
walked towards the wagon.
“I heard that, Zuko.” Uncle called cheerfully.
“I... that is, I didn't mean...” Zuko babbled a bit.
Ed chuckled at this and just put together the stretcher we had
built.
Zuko sighed and helped me manhandle the old man unto the canvas so
that it supported his weight. Uncle seemed more than happy to let us
do all the heavy lifting. He even melodramatically waved his arms
around and groaned about 'the pain' and 'the agony' while we worked.
His voice was so full of playfully exaggerated mock agony that it was
easy to forget exactly how serious his condition was. Zuko's face
softened as his Uncle played around and I just shook my head.
Getting Uncle up the mountain was a long and arduous task. Two of us
would lift the stretcher up the stairs, being careful not to rock him
too much or jar him and aggravate his injuries. When one of us grew
tired the third would sub in to give them a chance to rest, and then
rotate like that up all the steps.
There were a lot of steps.
Finally we made it through the circular arch at the top of the
stairs and staggered to a halt, placing Uncle down in the middle of
the courtyard. Zuko slumped against a wall, drawing deep breaths and
wiping sweat from his forehead. Ed groaned and started rubbing his
leg right above the artificial joint. I took a deep breath and told
them to wait here while I went to get the old woman.
When I came out of the building a few minutes later with the old
woman at my heel I saw that Zuko had recovered quite a bit. However,
he was looking even more pale. His good eye widened on seeing the old
woman and he backed up a step, swallowing.
“...third degree burns all along his chest?” the old woman was
saying.
I nodded absently. “Yeah, he's right here. Do you have any way to
treat that?”
“Ah. Unfortunately since the War began we've had to learn how to
treat many types of burns.” She paused in the middle of the
courtyard and looked at the old man. She tilted her head to the side,
her wrinkled eyes narrowing. “Do I know you?”
“I would never forget such beauty,” Uncle said with a hearty
chuckle. “But I can't say how you would react to me,” he added.
The woman cracked a toothy grin. Then she looked over at Zuko, and
her eyes widened.
“Ah, yes. I remember you, the young officer looking for the
Avatar!” she crowed. “Hmm. What happened to that young lady and
her giant rat? My Miyuki still hasn't gotten over the fright.”
“I... uh...” Zuko was sweating again, and this time not from
exhaustion. I crossed my arms and tried not to smirk at him.
“My dear lady,” Uncle said. “Perhaps a little later I can make
up for disturbing you early over a nice game of Pai Sho.”
The woman glanced at him. “Perhaps. Though it has been a while
since I have had a proper challenge at Pai Sho.”
“I assure you, I can make the game very interesting. I favour the
White Lotus Gambit myself. How about you?”
“It's certainly a useful strategy, turning up in unexpected
places.”
“But not harmful ones.”
“That's true.” She coughed into her hand. “Well, you are all
young strong men. Get him inside while I start working on some
poutices for those burns.”
Zuko and I exchanged a confused look at the exchange but shrugged.
“Hey,” Ed said. “What were they talk-CAT!”
Ed screamed as a white cat pounced from the wall onto his face,
purring and clinging to his hair. He ran in circles, waving his arms
in circles and trying to swat the animal off with little success.
“Ah, I see Miyuki still likes you.” The herbalist turned to me
and Zuko. “I guess it's you two, then.”
*
Ed's metal foot slid across the stone surface as he circled to my
left. I shifted my own footing, keeping him in front of me. My feet
moved slightly but carefully. The slightest misstep and Ed would rush
in to punish me while I was off balance for a fraction of a second.
No matter how I moved, I had to retain balance. Balance and
breathing, those were the foundations of martial arts.
The slightest twitch of his eyes was all the warning I got before Ed
was sprinting in, trying to get under my guard. My arm snapped down,
blocking his progress. He slipped sideways, transfering his momentum
into a kick. I was forced to block, only realizing it was his metal
leg behind the blow when it smashed into my unprotected arm. I cried
out and staggered back, nursing the arm.
“You okay?” Ed asked, carefully regaining his balance. While
kicks with that leg were devastating, the metal was still dead weight
which left him unbalanced after using it.
I hissed and cursed under my breath as I rolled up my sleeve. Yeah,
that was going to purple up nicely. “I don't think its broken,” I
admitted, jabbing at it with my remaining hand gingerly.
Ed shook his head and walked towards a pile of towels. “What have
I told you about paying attention? If that had been a sword or spear,
you'd be bleeding to death now.” He threw one of the towels at me
which I caught in my uninjured hand. “Next time, use your alchemy
to shield yourself.”
“It's hard,” I said. I held up the blocking arm and
concentrated. In a flash of blue light the glove reshaped itself,
extending a hard metal brace against the back of my arm. I relaxed my
grip and the alchemy reversed itself. “Doing alchemy while trying
to fight at the same time just takes too much concentration.”
“You were able to do it during the fight on the pier,” Ed
pointed out.
“That was...” I sighed. “Yes, yes. I need to be able to do it
at will. Not just in an emergency.”
“You can do it.” Ed walked up and jabbed a finger in
front of my face. “The only reason you can't is up there.” He
tapped my forehead before retracting his finger and crossing his arms
with a scowl. “You rely too much on instinct and improvisation. You
hold yourself back until you're in a crisis, and then just hope you
can play it by ear to get out of trouble.”
“So... how do I overcome that?” I asked.
“Pain.” Ed grabbed my injured arm, making me whimper. “Blood,
sweat and tears. I want you to practise mixing your alchemy with your
fighting moves more. No more of this splitting lessons between the
two. I'm going to keep pounding on you until you can do both without
a thought.”
I groaned. I was good at alchemy. Martial arts, not so much. “Yes,
master.”
“I'm going to grab you some herbs,” Ed said. “I want you to
practise forms up here until I get back.”
I nodded reluctantly as Ed walked over to the stairs. I drew in a
deep breath and moved to the edge of the roof. The circular stone
platform we had been practising on was at the top of the old
herbalist's complex, offering a breathtaking view of the surrounding
countryside for miles. Four pillars rose at the cardinal directions,
supporting a tiled roof.
Shaking my head I walked to the centre of the platform and began to
ran through the forms Ed had taught me. I winced and hissed as I
snapped my right arm around, but tried to ignore the pain. Ed was
right, I needed to work on my hand-to-hand skills quite a bit.
“That isn't like any earthbending style I've ever seen.”
I paused in mid-punch and turned to face Zuko. He was standing at
the top of the stair, the hilts of the swords I had made for him
poking over his shoulders. He was scowling at me.
“Old lady kicked you out of the room?” I asked.
“...I needed some fresh air,” he said after a pause.
“So, yes.” I went back to my forms. “How is your uncle doing?”
He sighed and rubbed his face, careful to stay away from his scars.
“She thinks he'll recover. But he'll need to be off his feet for a
few weeks.”
“Just weeks?” I asked, surprised. “It should take months to
recover from those wounds, especially without a hyperbaric chamber.”
“Hi-per...” Zuko trailed off.
“High oxygen pressure chamber. It helps prevent necrosis in the
skin and increases blood oxygen to speed up healing in some cases.”
He obviously didn't understand a word I had said but nodded as if he
did. “Still, it means he will have to stay here under the old
woman's care the entire time.”
“You.”
“Excuse me?”
“It means you will have to stay here.” I said.
He uncrossed his arms and walked into the circle. “Do you need a
sparing partner?”
“Couldn't hurt.” I shrugged and fell out of my forms and assumed
a stance facing him. “Though I'm just a beginner, so go easy on me
and keep the swords out of it, okay?”
He nodded and shrugged off the swords, balancing them the north
pillar. He assumed a stance which was familiar but I couldn't
immediately place it. I slid my eyes up his body. He was fit, in a
tall and lean way. He might have even been attractive if not for his
scar and the perpetual scowl on his face. Not to mention the tension
he carried himself with. He looked like he was vibrating inside,
trying to keep himself from exploding.
I gestured for him to make the first move. Ed hadn't taught me many
offensive techniques yet. Zuko came in like a meteor, racing across
the ground so fast I blinked and missed most of it. My head rocked to
the side, just barely avoiding a punch. Then my arm came up, cracking
against his wrist as he followed up with the other hand.
Punches flashed between us. I was taking the worst of it. Zuko was
good. Zuko was probably better than Ed. My injured arm didn't help. I
bit back yells of pain as I blocked and parried. The boy didn't let
up for an instant. His yellow eyes flashed in anger. Suddenly my
guard was open. His knee crashed into my chest. Then his fist against
my chin.
When I regained my sense he was rubbing his hand and staring down at
me. I coughed and pushed myself into a sitting position with my good
arm. “That's taking it easy,” I said.
“You didn't earthbend,” he accused.
“I can't earthbend,” I corrected him.
His nostrils flared and his eyes flashed. “I'm not that stupid. I
saw you earthbend on the docks.”
“Not earthbending,” I corrected him again.
“Then what?” he snapped.
I considered his question. Really, I had no reason to trust him and
every reason not to. I tended to miss things unless they were
obvious, but even to me the fact there was something sinister in
Zuko's past was clear. Still, curiosity killed the cat. But
satisfaction brought it back. I shifted to a more comfortable
position.
“Tell you what. We'll play a game. I answer one question of yours,
and you answer one question of mine. Deal?”
Zuko considered this for a few seconds. Then he nodded sharply.
“Fine. But there are something I'm not telling you.”
“So, when we hit those the game is over. Me first.” He looked
about to protest but I pushed ahead before he could open his mouth.
“The old lady said you were after the Avatar. Is that true?”
He opened his mouth, rethought what he was going to say and then
nodded. “Yes, I'm looking for the Avatar. My turn. What was that
you used, if not earthbending.”
“Alchemy.” He looked puzzled by the word. “The science of
transmuting matter.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ah!” I held up a finger. “My turn, Zuko. Why are you after
the Avatar?” I figured that was a question less likely to get him
to clam up then asking about who was after his uncle.
“That's... a matter of family honour.” I raised my eyebrow but
he seemed uninclined to continue. “Now answer my question.”
“Alchemy isn't like bending. It analyzes matter, deconstructs it
into its components and reconstructs it into a new form.” I placed
a palm against the ground. A flash of light later the words 'this is
an example' were carved into the ground. “Bending seems to be some
sort of martial discipline. But alchemy doesn't require any movements
at all. Just an array to control the transmutation.” Maybe if I
offered more information he'd volunteer the same. “Do you still
plan to seek out the Avatar?” I asked.
He knelt and ran his fingers over the carved words. “I...” He
paused. “I don't know.” He looked up at me. “I... my father...”
He clenched his hands into fists. “The whole reason I was looking
for the Avatar is now...”
“I'm looking for the Avatar, as well.”
“You are? Why?”
“I need his help.” I stood up. “At the least, I need to warn
him. There are some dangerous people in the world.” I paused. “No,
not people. Monsters.”
“Monsters?” Zuko stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Homonculi,” I said. I considered how to explain the concept to
him in a way that he would understand. “They look like humans, but
they're monsters. They have bizarre powers and will recover almost
instantly from any wound.”
“Any wound?” Zuko stood up as well. His gaze was intense. “So
even if you burned one to death, it would still stand up?”
That was, oddly specific. “Yes.” I ran my tongue over my teeth.
“If I don't warn the Avatar, they're going to do something
terrible, to all the nations of the world, including the Fire
Nation.”
“...sister...” Zuko whispered under his breath. I think there
was more, but I never caught it. “...telling the truth?”
“Was that a question for me?” I asked.
“No.” He turned away from me. “I have to... go talk to Uncle.
Now.”
He sprinted from the roof, almost knocking Ed over as he walked up
the stairs. Ed cast a look down after him, scowling furiously. “What
the hell is his problem?”
I shrugged.
*
“Wait!”
Ed and I looked up from the ostrich-horses. Well, I looked up form
the ostrich-horse. Ed was busy backing a few saddle-bags as far from
Hemmy as the courtyard would allow. Zuko came to a skidding halt in
the centre of the courtyard.
“What is it?”
Zuko paused and took a deep breath. “You two are leaving?”
I looked towards the rising sun. “We've wasted a whole three days
with this side trip,” I explained as pleasantly as I could. “We
really have to start going North again.”
Zuko frowned. “Are you still looking for the Avatar?”
“That's one of our goals,” I admitted. I gestured to Ed. “He
has someplace else he'd rather be.”
“Someplace else?” Zuko asked.
“Fire Nation fortress,” Ed said in his halting dialect. “North
and east of here. Looking for missing brother.”
“We've been debating the entire trip if we should go after the
Avatar or the fortress first,” I said, “without much success.”
Zuko glared at Ed then turned back to me. “What about that thing
you have to warn the Avatar about? The monsters?”
“Finding Ed's brother is also a big deal.” I shrugged. “Besides,
Ed doesn't like the idea of working with the Avatar anyway.”
“Why not?” Zuko sounded suspicious.
“Avatar sink entire fleet!” Ed snapped out. “Man who murder so
many, so casual, he maybe not best friend to have. Too violent.”
“The Avatar? Too violent?” Was that? Was that Zuko laughing? And
not just a chuckle. He was actually clutching his sides. “You
think... the Avatar is...” His words dissolved into laughter again.
I looked at Ed, who made a 'screwhead' gesture.
I shrugged and grabbed the bags Ed threw me, balancing them on Hemmy
for the trip.
“Wait, wait!” Zuko stood up, forcing back his laughter. “I
want to come with you.”
“Come with us?” I asked. “What about your uncle?”
“He's stuck here for a week, and I don't have time to wait. My
father...” He clenched his fists again. “I need to find out if
what you told me about those monsters is true, if they actually
exist.”
“Will he be safe here?” I asked.
“Nobody knows he's here,” Zuko waved my concern aside.
“You can't know that. Four people and a wagon leaving town isn't
exactly invisible. Anyone could have seen which direction we left. If
they know anything about your uncle's condition and this part of the
Earth Kingdom it isn't hard to guess where we took him.”
Zuko looked stricken, as if he had never considered that. “Even
so, I need to know more about these monsters. And if you're looking
for the Avatar, I can help you find him.”
“How you help?” Ed asked.
“He isn't north, for one thing.” Zuko crossed his arms. “Not
anymore. He would have gotten what he wanted there. He's somewhere in
the Earth Kingdom now.”
“The Earth Kingdom is a continent,” I pointed out. “That
doesn't narrow it down.”
“You want my help, you have to take me with you. I have... some
experience tracking the Avatar down.” He looked me in the eye.
“Even if you don't agree, I'm going to go after him.”
“We no need Avatar. Go get brother Al.” Ed nodded at me.
“Right?”
[ ]”Maybe we should wait here until his Uncle is recovered. I don't
like leaving the old man unprotected.”
[ ]”We don't need your help Zuko, we can find the Avatar on our
own. Head north like planned.”
[ ]”Storming a Fire Nation fortress without help is suicide. If
Zuko can lead us to the Avatar, let him.”
[ ]”We don't need Zuko or the Avatar, to Point Mako!”
Voting this week will be until 1PM EST, expect the segments out in the afternoon.
----------------
Epsilon
Day Twenty-Seven, Ruins of Taku
“This place looks familiar,” Zuko said, his perpetual frown
deepening.
“Maybe you've been here before?” I ask in a teasing tone. Zuko
frowns at me. The entire trip here I've been needling him about his
obvious secrets. I've not really been serious about making him come
clean, but Zuko's reactions to questions he doesn't want to answer
are almost as amusing as Ed's. I've got a running bet with the old
man going as to which one of them scowls or frowns more often in a
day. So far, Zuko is winning.
“Where is this doctor?” Zuko asks.
“Up there,” I point to the top of a hill into which stone steps
have been carved. “And she's an herbalist. But its the closest
thing to a good doctor I've seen.” I walked back towards the small
wagon we'd purchased back at the trading port. “Come on, help me
get your uncle onto the stretcher.”
“Wait... you want us to carry Uncle up all those stairs?”
“The ostrich-horses can't exactly hold the stretcher steady and
dragging the wagon up those steps is not a good idea, so that leaves
old fashioned muscle power.”
Zuko scowled and crossed his arms. “Why don't you just earthbend
him up to the top?”
“Tell you what, I'll do that if you tell me why they were trying
to kill him. No? Didn't think so.” I grinned. “Come on, think of
it as exercise.”
“There's exercise and then there's...” Zuko muttered as he
walked towards the wagon.
“I heard that, Zuko.” Uncle called cheerfully.
“I... that is, I didn't mean...” Zuko babbled a bit.
Ed chuckled at this and just put together the stretcher we had
built.
Zuko sighed and helped me manhandle the old man unto the canvas so
that it supported his weight. Uncle seemed more than happy to let us
do all the heavy lifting. He even melodramatically waved his arms
around and groaned about 'the pain' and 'the agony' while we worked.
His voice was so full of playfully exaggerated mock agony that it was
easy to forget exactly how serious his condition was. Zuko's face
softened as his Uncle played around and I just shook my head.
Getting Uncle up the mountain was a long and arduous task. Two of us
would lift the stretcher up the stairs, being careful not to rock him
too much or jar him and aggravate his injuries. When one of us grew
tired the third would sub in to give them a chance to rest, and then
rotate like that up all the steps.
There were a lot of steps.
Finally we made it through the circular arch at the top of the
stairs and staggered to a halt, placing Uncle down in the middle of
the courtyard. Zuko slumped against a wall, drawing deep breaths and
wiping sweat from his forehead. Ed groaned and started rubbing his
leg right above the artificial joint. I took a deep breath and told
them to wait here while I went to get the old woman.
When I came out of the building a few minutes later with the old
woman at my heel I saw that Zuko had recovered quite a bit. However,
he was looking even more pale. His good eye widened on seeing the old
woman and he backed up a step, swallowing.
“...third degree burns all along his chest?” the old woman was
saying.
I nodded absently. “Yeah, he's right here. Do you have any way to
treat that?”
“Ah. Unfortunately since the War began we've had to learn how to
treat many types of burns.” She paused in the middle of the
courtyard and looked at the old man. She tilted her head to the side,
her wrinkled eyes narrowing. “Do I know you?”
“I would never forget such beauty,” Uncle said with a hearty
chuckle. “But I can't say how you would react to me,” he added.
The woman cracked a toothy grin. Then she looked over at Zuko, and
her eyes widened.
“Ah, yes. I remember you, the young officer looking for the
Avatar!” she crowed. “Hmm. What happened to that young lady and
her giant rat? My Miyuki still hasn't gotten over the fright.”
“I... uh...” Zuko was sweating again, and this time not from
exhaustion. I crossed my arms and tried not to smirk at him.
“My dear lady,” Uncle said. “Perhaps a little later I can make
up for disturbing you early over a nice game of Pai Sho.”
The woman glanced at him. “Perhaps. Though it has been a while
since I have had a proper challenge at Pai Sho.”
“I assure you, I can make the game very interesting. I favour the
White Lotus Gambit myself. How about you?”
“It's certainly a useful strategy, turning up in unexpected
places.”
“But not harmful ones.”
“That's true.” She coughed into her hand. “Well, you are all
young strong men. Get him inside while I start working on some
poutices for those burns.”
Zuko and I exchanged a confused look at the exchange but shrugged.
“Hey,” Ed said. “What were they talk-CAT!”
Ed screamed as a white cat pounced from the wall onto his face,
purring and clinging to his hair. He ran in circles, waving his arms
in circles and trying to swat the animal off with little success.
“Ah, I see Miyuki still likes you.” The herbalist turned to me
and Zuko. “I guess it's you two, then.”
*
Ed's metal foot slid across the stone surface as he circled to my
left. I shifted my own footing, keeping him in front of me. My feet
moved slightly but carefully. The slightest misstep and Ed would rush
in to punish me while I was off balance for a fraction of a second.
No matter how I moved, I had to retain balance. Balance and
breathing, those were the foundations of martial arts.
The slightest twitch of his eyes was all the warning I got before Ed
was sprinting in, trying to get under my guard. My arm snapped down,
blocking his progress. He slipped sideways, transfering his momentum
into a kick. I was forced to block, only realizing it was his metal
leg behind the blow when it smashed into my unprotected arm. I cried
out and staggered back, nursing the arm.
“You okay?” Ed asked, carefully regaining his balance. While
kicks with that leg were devastating, the metal was still dead weight
which left him unbalanced after using it.
I hissed and cursed under my breath as I rolled up my sleeve. Yeah,
that was going to purple up nicely. “I don't think its broken,” I
admitted, jabbing at it with my remaining hand gingerly.
Ed shook his head and walked towards a pile of towels. “What have
I told you about paying attention? If that had been a sword or spear,
you'd be bleeding to death now.” He threw one of the towels at me
which I caught in my uninjured hand. “Next time, use your alchemy
to shield yourself.”
“It's hard,” I said. I held up the blocking arm and
concentrated. In a flash of blue light the glove reshaped itself,
extending a hard metal brace against the back of my arm. I relaxed my
grip and the alchemy reversed itself. “Doing alchemy while trying
to fight at the same time just takes too much concentration.”
“You were able to do it during the fight on the pier,” Ed
pointed out.
“That was...” I sighed. “Yes, yes. I need to be able to do it
at will. Not just in an emergency.”
“You can do it.” Ed walked up and jabbed a finger in
front of my face. “The only reason you can't is up there.” He
tapped my forehead before retracting his finger and crossing his arms
with a scowl. “You rely too much on instinct and improvisation. You
hold yourself back until you're in a crisis, and then just hope you
can play it by ear to get out of trouble.”
“So... how do I overcome that?” I asked.
“Pain.” Ed grabbed my injured arm, making me whimper. “Blood,
sweat and tears. I want you to practise mixing your alchemy with your
fighting moves more. No more of this splitting lessons between the
two. I'm going to keep pounding on you until you can do both without
a thought.”
I groaned. I was good at alchemy. Martial arts, not so much. “Yes,
master.”
“I'm going to grab you some herbs,” Ed said. “I want you to
practise forms up here until I get back.”
I nodded reluctantly as Ed walked over to the stairs. I drew in a
deep breath and moved to the edge of the roof. The circular stone
platform we had been practising on was at the top of the old
herbalist's complex, offering a breathtaking view of the surrounding
countryside for miles. Four pillars rose at the cardinal directions,
supporting a tiled roof.
Shaking my head I walked to the centre of the platform and began to
ran through the forms Ed had taught me. I winced and hissed as I
snapped my right arm around, but tried to ignore the pain. Ed was
right, I needed to work on my hand-to-hand skills quite a bit.
“That isn't like any earthbending style I've ever seen.”
I paused in mid-punch and turned to face Zuko. He was standing at
the top of the stair, the hilts of the swords I had made for him
poking over his shoulders. He was scowling at me.
“Old lady kicked you out of the room?” I asked.
“...I needed some fresh air,” he said after a pause.
“So, yes.” I went back to my forms. “How is your uncle doing?”
He sighed and rubbed his face, careful to stay away from his scars.
“She thinks he'll recover. But he'll need to be off his feet for a
few weeks.”
“Just weeks?” I asked, surprised. “It should take months to
recover from those wounds, especially without a hyperbaric chamber.”
“Hi-per...” Zuko trailed off.
“High oxygen pressure chamber. It helps prevent necrosis in the
skin and increases blood oxygen to speed up healing in some cases.”
He obviously didn't understand a word I had said but nodded as if he
did. “Still, it means he will have to stay here under the old
woman's care the entire time.”
“You.”
“Excuse me?”
“It means you will have to stay here.” I said.
He uncrossed his arms and walked into the circle. “Do you need a
sparing partner?”
“Couldn't hurt.” I shrugged and fell out of my forms and assumed
a stance facing him. “Though I'm just a beginner, so go easy on me
and keep the swords out of it, okay?”
He nodded and shrugged off the swords, balancing them the north
pillar. He assumed a stance which was familiar but I couldn't
immediately place it. I slid my eyes up his body. He was fit, in a
tall and lean way. He might have even been attractive if not for his
scar and the perpetual scowl on his face. Not to mention the tension
he carried himself with. He looked like he was vibrating inside,
trying to keep himself from exploding.
I gestured for him to make the first move. Ed hadn't taught me many
offensive techniques yet. Zuko came in like a meteor, racing across
the ground so fast I blinked and missed most of it. My head rocked to
the side, just barely avoiding a punch. Then my arm came up, cracking
against his wrist as he followed up with the other hand.
Punches flashed between us. I was taking the worst of it. Zuko was
good. Zuko was probably better than Ed. My injured arm didn't help. I
bit back yells of pain as I blocked and parried. The boy didn't let
up for an instant. His yellow eyes flashed in anger. Suddenly my
guard was open. His knee crashed into my chest. Then his fist against
my chin.
When I regained my sense he was rubbing his hand and staring down at
me. I coughed and pushed myself into a sitting position with my good
arm. “That's taking it easy,” I said.
“You didn't earthbend,” he accused.
“I can't earthbend,” I corrected him.
His nostrils flared and his eyes flashed. “I'm not that stupid. I
saw you earthbend on the docks.”
“Not earthbending,” I corrected him again.
“Then what?” he snapped.
I considered his question. Really, I had no reason to trust him and
every reason not to. I tended to miss things unless they were
obvious, but even to me the fact there was something sinister in
Zuko's past was clear. Still, curiosity killed the cat. But
satisfaction brought it back. I shifted to a more comfortable
position.
“Tell you what. We'll play a game. I answer one question of yours,
and you answer one question of mine. Deal?”
Zuko considered this for a few seconds. Then he nodded sharply.
“Fine. But there are something I'm not telling you.”
“So, when we hit those the game is over. Me first.” He looked
about to protest but I pushed ahead before he could open his mouth.
“The old lady said you were after the Avatar. Is that true?”
He opened his mouth, rethought what he was going to say and then
nodded. “Yes, I'm looking for the Avatar. My turn. What was that
you used, if not earthbending.”
“Alchemy.” He looked puzzled by the word. “The science of
transmuting matter.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ah!” I held up a finger. “My turn, Zuko. Why are you after
the Avatar?” I figured that was a question less likely to get him
to clam up then asking about who was after his uncle.
“That's... a matter of family honour.” I raised my eyebrow but
he seemed uninclined to continue. “Now answer my question.”
“Alchemy isn't like bending. It analyzes matter, deconstructs it
into its components and reconstructs it into a new form.” I placed
a palm against the ground. A flash of light later the words 'this is
an example' were carved into the ground. “Bending seems to be some
sort of martial discipline. But alchemy doesn't require any movements
at all. Just an array to control the transmutation.” Maybe if I
offered more information he'd volunteer the same. “Do you still
plan to seek out the Avatar?” I asked.
He knelt and ran his fingers over the carved words. “I...” He
paused. “I don't know.” He looked up at me. “I... my father...”
He clenched his hands into fists. “The whole reason I was looking
for the Avatar is now...”
“I'm looking for the Avatar, as well.”
“You are? Why?”
“I need his help.” I stood up. “At the least, I need to warn
him. There are some dangerous people in the world.” I paused. “No,
not people. Monsters.”
“Monsters?” Zuko stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Homonculi,” I said. I considered how to explain the concept to
him in a way that he would understand. “They look like humans, but
they're monsters. They have bizarre powers and will recover almost
instantly from any wound.”
“Any wound?” Zuko stood up as well. His gaze was intense. “So
even if you burned one to death, it would still stand up?”
That was, oddly specific. “Yes.” I ran my tongue over my teeth.
“If I don't warn the Avatar, they're going to do something
terrible, to all the nations of the world, including the Fire
Nation.”
“...sister...” Zuko whispered under his breath. I think there
was more, but I never caught it. “...telling the truth?”
“Was that a question for me?” I asked.
“No.” He turned away from me. “I have to... go talk to Uncle.
Now.”
He sprinted from the roof, almost knocking Ed over as he walked up
the stairs. Ed cast a look down after him, scowling furiously. “What
the hell is his problem?”
I shrugged.
*
“Wait!”
Ed and I looked up from the ostrich-horses. Well, I looked up form
the ostrich-horse. Ed was busy backing a few saddle-bags as far from
Hemmy as the courtyard would allow. Zuko came to a skidding halt in
the centre of the courtyard.
“What is it?”
Zuko paused and took a deep breath. “You two are leaving?”
I looked towards the rising sun. “We've wasted a whole three days
with this side trip,” I explained as pleasantly as I could. “We
really have to start going North again.”
Zuko frowned. “Are you still looking for the Avatar?”
“That's one of our goals,” I admitted. I gestured to Ed. “He
has someplace else he'd rather be.”
“Someplace else?” Zuko asked.
“Fire Nation fortress,” Ed said in his halting dialect. “North
and east of here. Looking for missing brother.”
“We've been debating the entire trip if we should go after the
Avatar or the fortress first,” I said, “without much success.”
Zuko glared at Ed then turned back to me. “What about that thing
you have to warn the Avatar about? The monsters?”
“Finding Ed's brother is also a big deal.” I shrugged. “Besides,
Ed doesn't like the idea of working with the Avatar anyway.”
“Why not?” Zuko sounded suspicious.
“Avatar sink entire fleet!” Ed snapped out. “Man who murder so
many, so casual, he maybe not best friend to have. Too violent.”
“The Avatar? Too violent?” Was that? Was that Zuko laughing? And
not just a chuckle. He was actually clutching his sides. “You
think... the Avatar is...” His words dissolved into laughter again.
I looked at Ed, who made a 'screwhead' gesture.
I shrugged and grabbed the bags Ed threw me, balancing them on Hemmy
for the trip.
“Wait, wait!” Zuko stood up, forcing back his laughter. “I
want to come with you.”
“Come with us?” I asked. “What about your uncle?”
“He's stuck here for a week, and I don't have time to wait. My
father...” He clenched his fists again. “I need to find out if
what you told me about those monsters is true, if they actually
exist.”
“Will he be safe here?” I asked.
“Nobody knows he's here,” Zuko waved my concern aside.
“You can't know that. Four people and a wagon leaving town isn't
exactly invisible. Anyone could have seen which direction we left. If
they know anything about your uncle's condition and this part of the
Earth Kingdom it isn't hard to guess where we took him.”
Zuko looked stricken, as if he had never considered that. “Even
so, I need to know more about these monsters. And if you're looking
for the Avatar, I can help you find him.”
“How you help?” Ed asked.
“He isn't north, for one thing.” Zuko crossed his arms. “Not
anymore. He would have gotten what he wanted there. He's somewhere in
the Earth Kingdom now.”
“The Earth Kingdom is a continent,” I pointed out. “That
doesn't narrow it down.”
“You want my help, you have to take me with you. I have... some
experience tracking the Avatar down.” He looked me in the eye.
“Even if you don't agree, I'm going to go after him.”
“We no need Avatar. Go get brother Al.” Ed nodded at me.
“Right?”
[ ]”Maybe we should wait here until his Uncle is recovered. I don't
like leaving the old man unprotected.”
[ ]”We don't need your help Zuko, we can find the Avatar on our
own. Head north like planned.”
[ ]”Storming a Fire Nation fortress without help is suicide. If
Zuko can lead us to the Avatar, let him.”
[ ]”We don't need Zuko or the Avatar, to Point Mako!”
Voting this week will be until 1PM EST, expect the segments out in the afternoon.
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Epsilon