Four response? Either this story is getting terrible or my choices are boring. If the latter, feel free to supply write-in candidates!
Day Forty-Three, Ruins of Omashu
I stared at him for a second. “If you want to run after the Avatar
yourself, go ahead. I'm heading down there to look for Ed. He's the
one who knows how to stop the homonculi and more importantly he's my
friend.” I clucked my tongue and guided my mount to the edge.
“Though at the speed that he's moving away it will be days before
you catch up to him, so what difference does one day searching mean?”
Zuko glared at me, but yanked on his mount's reins and followed me
as I led the ostrich-horse over the side of the cliff. The
ostrich-horse is an amazing creature, born and bred to deal with the
mountainous terrain of the Earth Kingdom, it has no trouble
maintaining its balance on even the most uneven paths. A big reason
it was possible to move so fast on the creatures wasn't just that
they were faster than a horse, but that they could also negotiate
broken terrain like no horse could. For example, the two mounts had
no problem sliding down the nearly sheer drop, bouncing from perch to
perch and sliding along the more acute inclines.
I tried to focus on helping the animal negotiate the drop, it kept
me from worrying too much about Ed. I told myself that he was smart,
that he wouldn't run into the middle of an enemy army without some
sort of plan to get out again. Then again, whatever he had seen out
there had made him run off without either Zuko or me. A part of me
wanted to run straight up to the soldiers and start demanding
explanations, but a larger part of me knew discretion was better at
this point.
Fighting the vertigo inducing cliffs Zuko and I descended below the
ridge where most of the Fire Nation troops were. Eventually we came
to a small plateau, just large enough for both our mounts to wait out
of sight of the soldiers.
“We're going on foot from here,” I told Zuko.
“Going where?” he asked, a little annoyed.
“The city.” I pointed across the chasm to the lone peak.
“How do you plan to get there, its a long drop across that pit.”
“The bridges,” I replied, pointing at the metal spans.
“The bridges guarded by hostile troops?” Zuko did not look
impressed.
“Trust me, and I hope your arms are strong.” I pulled out a rope
and tied it around my waist. “Here, take this and attach it to
yourself. That way, if one of us falls the other can save them.”
Zuko only narrowed his good eye at me as I started climbing sideways
along the cliff towards the nearest bridge. Zuko paused for a few
seconds then wrapped the line around his waist with a sigh before he
began to follow me. The wind down here was strong and came in sharp
gusts that threatened to knock us off. The cliffs were relatively
sheer, with solid handholds few and far between. Minutes ticked by as
we slowly made our way across the cliff until we were under one of
the bridges, than we started to ascend.
The bridge worked as I'd hoped, keeping us from being noticed by any
soldiers on the clifftop. As we made our way up their voices began to
drift in and out of hearing, mostly drowned out by the gusts of wind.
I came to a halt just under the metal bridge and reached up with my
right hand.
I listened, waiting for the din of the conversation above me to pick
up before I let my transmutation loose. Blue lightning raced across
the underside of the bridge, leaving a series of monkey-bars in its
wake. I grinned down at Zuko, who was trying his best not to look
impressed. It probably helped that he'd seen me 'metalbend' multiple
times by this point, sometimes in fights with him.
Raising my finger to my lips I gestured across the abyss. He gave me
a disbelieving look and gestured with one hand at the drop off. It
was a long way down, and a long way across. I shrugged as best I
could and tugged on the rope then set one hand on the first bar.
The bars were just far enough from each other to be in easy reach,
and I swung from bar to bar with ease. Behind me I heard the subtle
creak as Zuko followed me. What looked like a long climb turned out
to be even longer. The wind here, away from the cliff, was even more
dangerous. It came in a steady drag that could gust without warning.
The wind and cold metal leeched the heat and feeling from my hands,
even as sweat streamed down my forehead into my eyes.
Halfway across disaster almost struck. Zuko gave a startled cry as
one of his hands slipped. Acting quickly I kicked my legs forwards
and wrapped my feet around the next bar, grabbed the rope at my waist
and braced. Zuko seemed to float for a moment as his one hand held
onto the bar above his head. His expression was caught between panic
and determination.
“Hold on,” I told him needlessly. Thankfully my right hand was
gripping the bar above me. I concentrated and blue lightning flashed
across the space between us and the bar Zuko was gripping reshaped
itself, turning into a metal loop firmly around his wrist. Zuko
sighed and relaxed. “Can you climb up?” I asked.
He nodded. “Need to rest my arms,” he said as he slowly pulled
himself back up to the bridge.
A few seconds later a short shelf formed from the metal, just large
enough for us both to lie on, even as his hand was freed. We both
climbed onto it and slumped down.
“This was a stupid idea,” Zuko said.
“We're not dead yet,” I pointed out.
He grunted. Minutes passed.
“Okay, I'm ready,” he said.
I nodded and we began the rest of our trek. Finally the end of the
bridge came up on us. Up close the damage to the bridge was even more
evident. The metal had been melted and twisted by some great force.
Only the fact that the rock had also been melted and the two had
partially fused together kept the whole thing from collapsing.
“What could have done this?” I asked.
“I don't know...” Zuko shook his head. “This much heat... it's
beyond the ability of any single firebender. It takes dozens of
benders, working with specially constructed furnaces, to work this
much steel.” He gazed at the sheer wall in front of us. Unlike the
wall across the gorge this one was smooth as glass except where the
heat had made it run like wax. It was the kind of sheer drop that
only earthbending or alchemy could create. More importantly, it
offered no handholds.
“How do you plan on getting up into the city?” he asked. “If
we climb over the top the soldiers across the bridge will see us.”
“We were never going up into the city.” I swung forward and
braced myself with my legs again so that I could free my left hand.
“The chances of anybody being alive up in that city, from what I
saw, are slim. But earthbenders like to build underground. There
should be caverns and such under here, where we might find and
survivors.”
“I thought we were looking for your friend?” Zuko asked.
I waited for the crackle-hiss of my transmutation to die down before
responding. “Ed would be looking for survivors, the same as us.”
I gestured into the tunnel I had carved. “Unless he's been caught,
but we'll deal with that bridge when we come to it.”
*
The undercity of Omashu was almost haunting. For the most part the
caves seemed naturally formed, with veins of multicoloured quartz and
other crystals growing here and there. The only sign of earthbender
interference was the fact the floors were much more level and smooth
than natural formations could account for. It was dark as pitch, but
I was able to whip out a lamp from my pack before we continued in.
It was also silent as a tomb.
Our footfalls echoed disturbingly in the quiet. Several times I
thought we were being followed or coming up to a group of people,
only for us to stop and hear the echoes dying out and realize we were
alone. It made my skin crawl.
Here and there we came across signs of people. I knelt down next to
a tunic and pants that had dropped to the ground. It looked for all
the world like the clothes had just floated to the ground. They were
also dyed red. I glanced at Zuko.
“Fire Nation,” he confirmed. “Civilian, from the looks of it.”
I didn't say anything. A few minutes later we came across a series
of metal cages. Inside the cages were the signs of habitation, but
not actual people. Lumps of clothing and overturned bowls, some of
them still partially full of food, were haphazardly strewn about. An
eerie sense of deja vu crept up my back.
“Earthbender prisoners?” Zuko said, trying one of the cages. It
rattled. “Still locked. Where did they all go?”
“Just like the derrick,” I breathed.
“What was that?”
“I realized where I saw this before.” I reached out to the cage,
my hand shaking but couldn't bring myself to touch it. “Oh God...
where did they all go?” I demanded.
“We should keep moving,” Zuko said. “The troops outside will
eventually come in looking for survivors as well.” He swallowed,
but his voice remained firm. “There are a lot of missing Fire
Nation people in here as well.”
Missing. Yeah, that was an easy way, a safe way of
thinking about this.
We moved further into the complex of tunnels. It was hard to tell
which direction we were moving, if the floor was sloping up or down I
certainly couldn't tell. I fell back, mainly allowing Zuko to take
the lead. His face grew more and more grim with each set of discarded
clothes, with every sign of life that just seemed to have been
abandoned in mid-effort. My mind raced back to stories I had heard of
ships found adrift at sea, entire crews missing and no sign of any
reason. Food served but uneaten. Tools dropped in the middle of jobs.
“Wait, I hear voices,” Zuko whispered harshly, holding up his
hand.
“Which direction?” I couldn't hear a thing, but I trusted his
hearing more than mine.
“Hard to tell,” he said. He looked around. “This way?” he
gestured to a doorway and I followed him. We moved like cats, our
footfalls making no noise. Eventually I started to hear the voices as
well. They sounded like women, young women at that.
Zuko suddenly stiffened as we neared another doorway. I glanced at
him and stepped past, quiet as a mouse, and listened at the doorway.
The voices were still distant, a little hard to udnerstand but I
could make out enough to piece together a conversation.
“...out getting the soldiers organized.” That voice was laconic,
but with and edge to it.
“For what?” The second voice was imperious and smooth, the voice
of someone who expected to be obeyed without question.
“To look for survivors,” the first voice replied.
“Oh, there are no survivors.” The second voice laughed, a cruel
laugh.
“My parents were in here. My younger brother...” The first voice
was cold, but there was a rising edge of anger simmering just under
the surface.
“Oh, yes.” There was a pause as the second voice considered
that. “I guess that makes you an orphan then. Oh well, its not too
bad. We have something in common now!” The cheerfulness the second
voice delivered that line with sent chills down my spine.
“Guys, I don't like this place. It's aura is all... black and
angry.” The third voice, timid and soft, barely audible at this
distance.
“It's not far now,” the second voice said. “Once you see for
yourself, you'll both understand why I brought you here. It's
amazing.”
Then the voices drifted out of audible range. I relaxed against the
stone. My hand rose up, shaking, to wipe at my face. My heart was
racing. Why did I feel like I was a mouse, watching a lion pass by
through the tall grass?
“Azula...” Zuko snarled. “What is she doing here?”
“You know here?” I asked.
“We...” He trailed off. “It's complicated.”
“Is anything with you simple?” I tried to joke. From his
expression, it didn't work very well. I pushed myself off the wall.
“Should we follow them?” I asked.
His hands clenched into fists, but he shook his head. “I'm not
ready yet. After how she handled Uncle...” He grit his teeth. “We
have to run. Get out of here.”
“We still need to find Ed.”
“He's not here,” Zuko insisted. “Nobody is. Everybody is
gone.”
“I'm not leaving without him.” I paused and looked down at my
feet. “He would have come here. He would need to know what
happened.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do, okay.”
Zuko stared at me. “Fine. But we stay away from those three.
They're more dangerous than all the soldiers outside put together.”
“Agreed, for now.”
*
We made our way further up into the undercity, occasionally finding
our way into the city proper. Up close the devastation wasn't as
complete as it had appeared at a distance. Some tremendous force had
basically scoured most of the surface of the city clean, ripping the
buildings down or melting them with intense heat.
“This doesn't make sense,” Zuko said as we dashed inside a
partially collapsed doorway after rushing across the open ground.
I held up my hand. A patrol of five Fire Nation soldiers was walking
past outside. None of them seemed interested in approaching the
doorways, however. All of them looked nervous and kept glancing at
the sky.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“Why is the outside of the city so destroyed, but the inside so
pristine?” Zuko asked.
I shrugged, not able to answer that.
“Where would Ed have gone?” Zuko finally asked.
“Up. To the top. He would have wanted to see the centre of all
this, to try and make sense of it.”
“Then we go up,” Zuko finally said. I could only nod.
The next hour was spent evading Fire Nation patrols and navigating
either depressingly empty corridors or ruined exterior courtyards and
roads. Finally we came to the peak of the mountain.
It was a blasted circle, like someone had scooped out the top of the
mountain with an ice cream baller. The rock was scoured and cracked.
“A fight happened here,” I pointed out needlessly.
“Yeah, but with who?” Zuko walked around the exterior of the
circle. “There are no bodies so...” He trailed off. “Nin.
You'll want to see this.”
I walked after him and then slowed to a stop. There, wedged between
two cracks in the wall, was the remains of what could only be Ed's
leg. I reached out to it mechanically and ran my hands over it. The
metal was hot to the touch, but not uncomfortably so. It looked like
it had been melted off just below the knee.
“I'm sorry,” Zuko said.
“No blood,” I pointed out and looked around. “No body either.
He walked, or maybe crawled, away from this.”
Zuko didn't look convinced. “It looks like he fought a firebender,
and a strong one at that. If he won, there would be more signs of it.
If he lost, he's likely captured.”
I yanked the leg free and concentrated, repairing it with alchemy.
“He's fine,” I insisted. Zuko nodded along.
“We should get out of here,” he said. I was about to agree with
him when the pain hit. I collapsed to my knees and clutched my
stomach, Ed's leg clattering to the ground beside me.
“What happened?” Zuko hovered over me.
“I... that feeling,” I said. “Like on the trail earlier, but
not as strong.” I could still feel it, building up inside me. It
was building faster, but not as strongly. “Something is happening.”
I looked down. “Below us.”
“...can you track it down?” Zuko asked.
“Probably.”
“I don't like this,” Zuko growled.
[ ]Follow that feeling, maybe prevent something horrible from
happening.
[ ]Press Zuko about what he knows, who is this 'Azula' and what is
she doing here?
[ ]Time to get out of dodge before something else horrible happens,especially to
us.
[ ]Ambush some Fire Nation soldiers, find out what they know.
---------------
Epsilon
Day Forty-Three, Ruins of Omashu
I stared at him for a second. “If you want to run after the Avatar
yourself, go ahead. I'm heading down there to look for Ed. He's the
one who knows how to stop the homonculi and more importantly he's my
friend.” I clucked my tongue and guided my mount to the edge.
“Though at the speed that he's moving away it will be days before
you catch up to him, so what difference does one day searching mean?”
Zuko glared at me, but yanked on his mount's reins and followed me
as I led the ostrich-horse over the side of the cliff. The
ostrich-horse is an amazing creature, born and bred to deal with the
mountainous terrain of the Earth Kingdom, it has no trouble
maintaining its balance on even the most uneven paths. A big reason
it was possible to move so fast on the creatures wasn't just that
they were faster than a horse, but that they could also negotiate
broken terrain like no horse could. For example, the two mounts had
no problem sliding down the nearly sheer drop, bouncing from perch to
perch and sliding along the more acute inclines.
I tried to focus on helping the animal negotiate the drop, it kept
me from worrying too much about Ed. I told myself that he was smart,
that he wouldn't run into the middle of an enemy army without some
sort of plan to get out again. Then again, whatever he had seen out
there had made him run off without either Zuko or me. A part of me
wanted to run straight up to the soldiers and start demanding
explanations, but a larger part of me knew discretion was better at
this point.
Fighting the vertigo inducing cliffs Zuko and I descended below the
ridge where most of the Fire Nation troops were. Eventually we came
to a small plateau, just large enough for both our mounts to wait out
of sight of the soldiers.
“We're going on foot from here,” I told Zuko.
“Going where?” he asked, a little annoyed.
“The city.” I pointed across the chasm to the lone peak.
“How do you plan to get there, its a long drop across that pit.”
“The bridges,” I replied, pointing at the metal spans.
“The bridges guarded by hostile troops?” Zuko did not look
impressed.
“Trust me, and I hope your arms are strong.” I pulled out a rope
and tied it around my waist. “Here, take this and attach it to
yourself. That way, if one of us falls the other can save them.”
Zuko only narrowed his good eye at me as I started climbing sideways
along the cliff towards the nearest bridge. Zuko paused for a few
seconds then wrapped the line around his waist with a sigh before he
began to follow me. The wind down here was strong and came in sharp
gusts that threatened to knock us off. The cliffs were relatively
sheer, with solid handholds few and far between. Minutes ticked by as
we slowly made our way across the cliff until we were under one of
the bridges, than we started to ascend.
The bridge worked as I'd hoped, keeping us from being noticed by any
soldiers on the clifftop. As we made our way up their voices began to
drift in and out of hearing, mostly drowned out by the gusts of wind.
I came to a halt just under the metal bridge and reached up with my
right hand.
I listened, waiting for the din of the conversation above me to pick
up before I let my transmutation loose. Blue lightning raced across
the underside of the bridge, leaving a series of monkey-bars in its
wake. I grinned down at Zuko, who was trying his best not to look
impressed. It probably helped that he'd seen me 'metalbend' multiple
times by this point, sometimes in fights with him.
Raising my finger to my lips I gestured across the abyss. He gave me
a disbelieving look and gestured with one hand at the drop off. It
was a long way down, and a long way across. I shrugged as best I
could and tugged on the rope then set one hand on the first bar.
The bars were just far enough from each other to be in easy reach,
and I swung from bar to bar with ease. Behind me I heard the subtle
creak as Zuko followed me. What looked like a long climb turned out
to be even longer. The wind here, away from the cliff, was even more
dangerous. It came in a steady drag that could gust without warning.
The wind and cold metal leeched the heat and feeling from my hands,
even as sweat streamed down my forehead into my eyes.
Halfway across disaster almost struck. Zuko gave a startled cry as
one of his hands slipped. Acting quickly I kicked my legs forwards
and wrapped my feet around the next bar, grabbed the rope at my waist
and braced. Zuko seemed to float for a moment as his one hand held
onto the bar above his head. His expression was caught between panic
and determination.
“Hold on,” I told him needlessly. Thankfully my right hand was
gripping the bar above me. I concentrated and blue lightning flashed
across the space between us and the bar Zuko was gripping reshaped
itself, turning into a metal loop firmly around his wrist. Zuko
sighed and relaxed. “Can you climb up?” I asked.
He nodded. “Need to rest my arms,” he said as he slowly pulled
himself back up to the bridge.
A few seconds later a short shelf formed from the metal, just large
enough for us both to lie on, even as his hand was freed. We both
climbed onto it and slumped down.
“This was a stupid idea,” Zuko said.
“We're not dead yet,” I pointed out.
He grunted. Minutes passed.
“Okay, I'm ready,” he said.
I nodded and we began the rest of our trek. Finally the end of the
bridge came up on us. Up close the damage to the bridge was even more
evident. The metal had been melted and twisted by some great force.
Only the fact that the rock had also been melted and the two had
partially fused together kept the whole thing from collapsing.
“What could have done this?” I asked.
“I don't know...” Zuko shook his head. “This much heat... it's
beyond the ability of any single firebender. It takes dozens of
benders, working with specially constructed furnaces, to work this
much steel.” He gazed at the sheer wall in front of us. Unlike the
wall across the gorge this one was smooth as glass except where the
heat had made it run like wax. It was the kind of sheer drop that
only earthbending or alchemy could create. More importantly, it
offered no handholds.
“How do you plan on getting up into the city?” he asked. “If
we climb over the top the soldiers across the bridge will see us.”
“We were never going up into the city.” I swung forward and
braced myself with my legs again so that I could free my left hand.
“The chances of anybody being alive up in that city, from what I
saw, are slim. But earthbenders like to build underground. There
should be caverns and such under here, where we might find and
survivors.”
“I thought we were looking for your friend?” Zuko asked.
I waited for the crackle-hiss of my transmutation to die down before
responding. “Ed would be looking for survivors, the same as us.”
I gestured into the tunnel I had carved. “Unless he's been caught,
but we'll deal with that bridge when we come to it.”
*
The undercity of Omashu was almost haunting. For the most part the
caves seemed naturally formed, with veins of multicoloured quartz and
other crystals growing here and there. The only sign of earthbender
interference was the fact the floors were much more level and smooth
than natural formations could account for. It was dark as pitch, but
I was able to whip out a lamp from my pack before we continued in.
It was also silent as a tomb.
Our footfalls echoed disturbingly in the quiet. Several times I
thought we were being followed or coming up to a group of people,
only for us to stop and hear the echoes dying out and realize we were
alone. It made my skin crawl.
Here and there we came across signs of people. I knelt down next to
a tunic and pants that had dropped to the ground. It looked for all
the world like the clothes had just floated to the ground. They were
also dyed red. I glanced at Zuko.
“Fire Nation,” he confirmed. “Civilian, from the looks of it.”
I didn't say anything. A few minutes later we came across a series
of metal cages. Inside the cages were the signs of habitation, but
not actual people. Lumps of clothing and overturned bowls, some of
them still partially full of food, were haphazardly strewn about. An
eerie sense of deja vu crept up my back.
“Earthbender prisoners?” Zuko said, trying one of the cages. It
rattled. “Still locked. Where did they all go?”
“Just like the derrick,” I breathed.
“What was that?”
“I realized where I saw this before.” I reached out to the cage,
my hand shaking but couldn't bring myself to touch it. “Oh God...
where did they all go?” I demanded.
“We should keep moving,” Zuko said. “The troops outside will
eventually come in looking for survivors as well.” He swallowed,
but his voice remained firm. “There are a lot of missing Fire
Nation people in here as well.”
Missing. Yeah, that was an easy way, a safe way of
thinking about this.
We moved further into the complex of tunnels. It was hard to tell
which direction we were moving, if the floor was sloping up or down I
certainly couldn't tell. I fell back, mainly allowing Zuko to take
the lead. His face grew more and more grim with each set of discarded
clothes, with every sign of life that just seemed to have been
abandoned in mid-effort. My mind raced back to stories I had heard of
ships found adrift at sea, entire crews missing and no sign of any
reason. Food served but uneaten. Tools dropped in the middle of jobs.
“Wait, I hear voices,” Zuko whispered harshly, holding up his
hand.
“Which direction?” I couldn't hear a thing, but I trusted his
hearing more than mine.
“Hard to tell,” he said. He looked around. “This way?” he
gestured to a doorway and I followed him. We moved like cats, our
footfalls making no noise. Eventually I started to hear the voices as
well. They sounded like women, young women at that.
Zuko suddenly stiffened as we neared another doorway. I glanced at
him and stepped past, quiet as a mouse, and listened at the doorway.
The voices were still distant, a little hard to udnerstand but I
could make out enough to piece together a conversation.
“...out getting the soldiers organized.” That voice was laconic,
but with and edge to it.
“For what?” The second voice was imperious and smooth, the voice
of someone who expected to be obeyed without question.
“To look for survivors,” the first voice replied.
“Oh, there are no survivors.” The second voice laughed, a cruel
laugh.
“My parents were in here. My younger brother...” The first voice
was cold, but there was a rising edge of anger simmering just under
the surface.
“Oh, yes.” There was a pause as the second voice considered
that. “I guess that makes you an orphan then. Oh well, its not too
bad. We have something in common now!” The cheerfulness the second
voice delivered that line with sent chills down my spine.
“Guys, I don't like this place. It's aura is all... black and
angry.” The third voice, timid and soft, barely audible at this
distance.
“It's not far now,” the second voice said. “Once you see for
yourself, you'll both understand why I brought you here. It's
amazing.”
Then the voices drifted out of audible range. I relaxed against the
stone. My hand rose up, shaking, to wipe at my face. My heart was
racing. Why did I feel like I was a mouse, watching a lion pass by
through the tall grass?
“Azula...” Zuko snarled. “What is she doing here?”
“You know here?” I asked.
“We...” He trailed off. “It's complicated.”
“Is anything with you simple?” I tried to joke. From his
expression, it didn't work very well. I pushed myself off the wall.
“Should we follow them?” I asked.
His hands clenched into fists, but he shook his head. “I'm not
ready yet. After how she handled Uncle...” He grit his teeth. “We
have to run. Get out of here.”
“We still need to find Ed.”
“He's not here,” Zuko insisted. “Nobody is. Everybody is
gone.”
“I'm not leaving without him.” I paused and looked down at my
feet. “He would have come here. He would need to know what
happened.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do, okay.”
Zuko stared at me. “Fine. But we stay away from those three.
They're more dangerous than all the soldiers outside put together.”
“Agreed, for now.”
*
We made our way further up into the undercity, occasionally finding
our way into the city proper. Up close the devastation wasn't as
complete as it had appeared at a distance. Some tremendous force had
basically scoured most of the surface of the city clean, ripping the
buildings down or melting them with intense heat.
“This doesn't make sense,” Zuko said as we dashed inside a
partially collapsed doorway after rushing across the open ground.
I held up my hand. A patrol of five Fire Nation soldiers was walking
past outside. None of them seemed interested in approaching the
doorways, however. All of them looked nervous and kept glancing at
the sky.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“Why is the outside of the city so destroyed, but the inside so
pristine?” Zuko asked.
I shrugged, not able to answer that.
“Where would Ed have gone?” Zuko finally asked.
“Up. To the top. He would have wanted to see the centre of all
this, to try and make sense of it.”
“Then we go up,” Zuko finally said. I could only nod.
The next hour was spent evading Fire Nation patrols and navigating
either depressingly empty corridors or ruined exterior courtyards and
roads. Finally we came to the peak of the mountain.
It was a blasted circle, like someone had scooped out the top of the
mountain with an ice cream baller. The rock was scoured and cracked.
“A fight happened here,” I pointed out needlessly.
“Yeah, but with who?” Zuko walked around the exterior of the
circle. “There are no bodies so...” He trailed off. “Nin.
You'll want to see this.”
I walked after him and then slowed to a stop. There, wedged between
two cracks in the wall, was the remains of what could only be Ed's
leg. I reached out to it mechanically and ran my hands over it. The
metal was hot to the touch, but not uncomfortably so. It looked like
it had been melted off just below the knee.
“I'm sorry,” Zuko said.
“No blood,” I pointed out and looked around. “No body either.
He walked, or maybe crawled, away from this.”
Zuko didn't look convinced. “It looks like he fought a firebender,
and a strong one at that. If he won, there would be more signs of it.
If he lost, he's likely captured.”
I yanked the leg free and concentrated, repairing it with alchemy.
“He's fine,” I insisted. Zuko nodded along.
“We should get out of here,” he said. I was about to agree with
him when the pain hit. I collapsed to my knees and clutched my
stomach, Ed's leg clattering to the ground beside me.
“What happened?” Zuko hovered over me.
“I... that feeling,” I said. “Like on the trail earlier, but
not as strong.” I could still feel it, building up inside me. It
was building faster, but not as strongly. “Something is happening.”
I looked down. “Below us.”
“...can you track it down?” Zuko asked.
“Probably.”
“I don't like this,” Zuko growled.
[ ]Follow that feeling, maybe prevent something horrible from
happening.
[ ]Press Zuko about what he knows, who is this 'Azula' and what is
she doing here?
[ ]Time to get out of dodge before something else horrible happens,especially to
us.
[ ]Ambush some Fire Nation soldiers, find out what they know.
---------------
Epsilon