[Let's Write!] An Avatar/X-Over Adventure!

[Vincent Ursus]

[x]Help him, but only if he tells you the whole truth.

There are limits to altruism.

[Epsilon]

The update will be delayed today due to the author needing to get up early for an appointment. I'll start writing when I get back, which will probably change the update time for the rest of the week accordingly.
Sorry for the wait.
------------
Epsilon

[paladindythe]

It's no problem. Thanks for letting us know.

[Epsilon]

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

[paladindythe]

[X]”Storming a Fire Nation fortress without help is suicide. If Zuko can lead us to the Avatar, let him.”

It may seem the sensibile choice, but the overall goal of getting allies hasn't changed.

[robkelk]

There's only one choice that doesn't blatantly contradict what's already been written at the end of this installment:

[x]”Storming a Fire Nation fortress without help is suicide. If Zuko can lead us to the Avatar, let him.”
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

I have to agree.

[x]”Storming a Fire Nation fortress without help is suicide. If Zuko can lead us to the Avatar, let him.”
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Shader]

[x]”Storming a Fire Nation fortress without help is suicide. If Zuko can lead us to the Avatar, let him.”

[Epsilon]

Not much "progress" in this segment but I need to know how to proceed with Zuko's character before I go any further.

Day Twenty-Eight, Herbalist's Institute in the Ruins of Taku

I shook my head at Ed. ”Storming a Fire Nation fortress without
help is suicide. If Zuko can lead us to the Avatar, I say we let
him.” Ed scowled and considered my words for a few seconds before
sighing and nodding in agreement. I turned back to Zuko, who had a
little smirk of triumph on his face.

“Okay, so we're going to let you come along while we search for
the Avatar. What's your secret to finding him.”

“The Avatar wants to master all four of the Bending Arts as
quickly as possible,” Zuko said, his voice quiet and serious as he
took up an almost lecturing pose. “He's already mastered
airbending, and he went North to master waterbending. With that
mastered he's going to move onto the next Bending Art in the cycle,
earth.”

“Why earth? Why not fire?”

“I... actually have no idea. Uncle once explained the whole
bending cycle to me but I wasn't paying much attention.”

“Okay, we'll take your word for it he will want to master
earthbending next. How does that help us?”

“He'll be looking for an earthbending master to teach him.” Zuko
looked around. “Do you have a map?”

I pulled out a scroll from my saddle-bag and stretched it out on the
flagstones. Ed ambled over and leaned over my shoulder while Zuko
knelt across from me. Zuko circled the area in the North-west of the
continent with his finger. “Almost this entire region has been
conquered by the Fire Nation, aside from a handful of towns and ports
too small to put up any resistance. Most of the earthbenders have
either been captured or driven out of the land.” He trailed his
finger to the large jutting landmass in the south of the continent.
“Almost half of this is desert, the entire central region is too
arid to support much in the way of settlements. He travels on a
flying bison, but even he has to put down for supplies and rest every
couple of hundred miles and won't want to cross the desert unless he
absolutely has too.”

“Right...” I tapped the map myself. “I guess he'll want some
place with a lot of earthbenders, and some place where he can train
in peace without worrying about the Fire Nation attacking him.”

“Yes. Which leaves him three choices. Omashu, the extreme South or
Ba Sing Se.” Zuko tapped the western coast, the southern coast and
the north-eastern coast in turn.

“Omashu is out,” I said, making an X over the symbol for the
city on the map with my finger. “It fell to the Fire Nation almost
a month ago.”

“It did?” Zuko blinked and then frowned.

“Yeah, apparently they didn't put up much of a fight either.” I
traced my finger across to the large splotch with represented Ba Sing
Se. “What about this place?”

“It's definitely the safest place on the continent for the
Avatar.” Zuko leaned back and crossed his arms. “Not even Uncle
could...” He coughed. “I mean, my Uncle... visited there once.
The entire city is protected by a huge wall, thousands of li long,
hundreds of ba high and dozens of ba thick. It's also the capital
city of the Earth Kingdom. If there are master earthbenders anywhere,
its there.”

“No like.” Ed said, startling me. I turned to him. “That
place, capital of kingdom?” He asked. I nodded. “Homonculi want
be near heart of power.” He tapped the cities symbol. “We go
there, we find homonculi. Or homonculi find us. Too dangerous. Much
training you need before you ready.”

“That just leaves the Southern Coast,” I said with a groan. All
those weeks of hard riding to the North, wasted. “Okay, how do we
get there?”

“A boat would be fastest,” Zuko said.

“The Fire Nation controls the oceans,” I reminded him.

He blinked, as if just realizing that. “Oh right.” He scowled at
the map. “This must be so easy for the Avatar, he can just fly
everywhere.”

“We can't cross the desert,” I point out. “We'll have to skirt
along the edge of it. That will bring us pretty close to Omashu, but
three riders should be able to evade any Fire Nation patrols. This
swamp here will be the biggest obstacle we have to bypass,
hopefully.”

I stood up. “We'll narrow down where to look for the Avatar once
we're there.”

Ed and Zuko nodded, both scowling for their own reasons.

“Ah, are you three leaving?”

I turned to the doorway once more, this time the old herbalist
herself was standing in the doorway. “I thought as much.” She
grins. “I have a spare ostrich-horse I can sell you, for your third
rider.” Zuko looked like he was going to protest, then bit back his
reply.

I bowed. “That's most generous of you.”

She cackled. “Thank not me, young man.” I winced a little.
“Thank that charming old man. Speaking off, he'd like to say his
goodbyes. I refused to let him out of his bed, of course, so you will
have to go see him. In the meantime, the third mount will be
prepared.”

“You don't have to do that,” I told her.

“Who said I was doing it?” She pointed a curled finger at Ed.
“You, the dumb one, come with me.” Ed pointed at himself with a
'who me?' expression on his face. “Yes, you. I'm too old to handle
cranky ostrich-horses.”

“Ed isn't good with animals...” I tried to explain, but she
waved me away with a cackle.

“Oh, animals love him. He has a huge heart and they just want to
be his friend.” Her grin gained a nasty edge. “He brings his luck
on himself.” She waved for Ed to follow as she toddled across the
courtyard. “Now come, dumb one.”

Ed gave me a despairing look before following in her wake. I
shrugged and gestured for Zuko to head inside first.

*

I sat in the hall while Zuko and his nephew gave their goodbyes. It
was obvious they still had secrets they wanted to keep from me, and I
didn't want to pry. It wasn't like I wasn't concealing secrets from
them, after all. Resisting the urge to eavesdrop was difficult,
however. I was halfway to my feet and about to sneak to the door when
it opened and Zuko strode out. His perpetual scowl had been replaced
by an ambivalent expression.

He looked at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. “He wants to talk to
you.”

I nodded and stepped into the room. The old man was lying in a short
bed, his chest entirely swathed in fresh bandages. A pungent aroma
rose from him, the only outward sign that the salves and ointments of
the herbalist were at work.

“Ah, my saviour.” He grinned pleasantly and gestured to a stool
near the bed. “Please, have a seat. I will not be taking up much of
your time.”

“Thank you,” I said, sitting. “I'm surprised you wanted to
talk to me.”

“You saved my life, should I not offer gratitude and wishes for a
safe journey?”

I squirmed a little uncomfortably. “Is that all?” I asked.

He gave me a long, appraising look. “I also wanted to thank you
for looking after my nephew. Zuko has had a hard life, filled with
many disappointments. This has left his heart troubled and he is slow
to trust others for fear of being hurt.” He sighed. “I feel in
some ways as if I have failed him.”

“I'll try not to antagonize him,” I promised, uncomfortable with
where this conversation was going.

“However, I feel I can trust you to help him.” He reached out
and grabbed my forearm, his eyes sad. “For one full of so many
voices, it is remarkable that most of them are kind.”

I pulled my arm away as if burned and stood up, the stool clattering
to the floor. “I... what are you talking about?” I tried to deny
what he had just said.

“This world, is full of many wonders and mysteries. But for one
who listens to the voice of the world, it is possible to feel things
which others may not.” He looked into my eyes. “I do not know why
you carry so much chi around with you, from so many people, but I do
not sense malice in you. Just be aware that I am not the only one who
may have learned to listen in such a manner, and others may not react
so kindly to you.”

“Do you... know what I am?” I asked.

He smiled. “All I see before me is a young woman struggling to
find her place in the world.” He winked. “How does that make you
different than anyone else?”

“You even know about...” I gulped and gestured at myself.

He chuckled. “I have had several days to watch you move and feel
your impressive chi in action. One can not mistake a man for a woman
if one knows what to look for.” He looked straight in my eyes, and
his voice grew suddenly somber. “Do not feel the need to hide who
you are. It will only bring you pain.”

“I... thank you?” I wasn't certain what to think about this old
man, or his cryptic and meandering advice.

“No obligations, only gratitude,” he said.

Slowly I backed out of the room and closed the door behind me.

Day Thirty One, Earth Kingdom Forests

The moment Ed signalled a halt I collapsed to my hands and knees,
resisting the urge to empty my stomach. Zuko towered over me for a
few moments longer. I was pleased at least that he was breathing
heavily and sweating, his shirt torn where I had managed to grapple
with him for a few seconds.

Ed threw me a waterskin, which I allowed to flop on the ground while
I gathered my breath. Zuko wandered over to his mount and retrieved
his own, taking several gulps and letting the water cascade over his
face and chest. The sight would have been very interesting, but I was
too busy being in pain to really appreciate it.

“You're getting better,” Ed said, kneeling beside me. “You
still hesitate when you shift between alchemy and fighting. There
shouldn't be any switching at all. One should flow into the other,
like the drop into the ocean.”

I nodded, unable to speak. Ed patted me on the back and walked
towards Zuko. “Thank you for help,” Ed said to him.

“I need to keep myself sharp,” Zuko replied. Ed nodded at that.
“But I would like to know more about these... homonculi monsters.”

“Why you so curious?” Ed asked.

“...I think one of them may have murdered my father,” Zuko
finally said.

“Your father?” I asked, having finally caught my breath. I
shifted to a sitting position and took a long drink.

“I can't be sure,” He said.

“Why not?”

“Father and I haven't... spoken for a long time. I just heard
about his death a few days ago.”

“This having anything to do with why the Fire Nation wants your
Uncle dead?” I asked. That was the wrong thing to say. He pulled
his saddle-bags off his mount and threw them over his shoulder.

“I'm going to train by myself for a while.” He glared at both
of Ed and I in turn. “I don't want to be disturbed.”

Ed and I exchanged glances as he walked out of the camp and into the
woods.

“We're going to need to decide how much to tell him,” I said in
Amestrian.

“We?” Ed snorted. “He's along because you want him here. I'd
prefer to be trying to find Al.”

I gave Ed a long look. “You know this is the right thing to do.
The sensible thing to do.”

“I know.” He kicked a rock with his metal foot, sending it
flying into the undergrowth. “That doesn't mean I have to like it.
I've run into places without being prepared before and almost gotten
myself killed. We need a plan first. But every minute I leave Al in
the clutches of the homonculi...” His eyes narrowed. “I just hope
this Avatar is worth looking for.”

“Me too.”

So, how do you deal with Zuko?

[ ]Tell him everything, and I mean everything.
[ ]Tell him about the seven homonculi, but not about yourself or any
alchemy secrets.

[ ]Quid pro quo, exchange information for an equivalent amount from
him.
[ ]Don't tell him anything, in fact, spy on him and learn his
secrets.

--------------
Epsilon

[paladindythe]

[X]Quid pro quo, exchange information for an equivalent amount from him.

Just spilling out information leads to asking why. This is more cautious, and easier to deal with.

[robkelk]

Start with
[x]Tell him about the seven homonculi, but not about yourself or any alchemy secrets.

Then, if he's willing to open up about himself and his uncle,
[x]Quid pro quo, exchange information for an equivalent amount from him.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Vincent Ursus]

[x]Tell him about the seven homonculi, but not about yourself or any alchemy secrets.
[x]Quid pro quo, exchange information for an equivalent amount from him.

Somewhere in between these two. Exchange of information is best, but it's okay to be the first to give information.

[rmthorn]

"Much training you need before you ready"

Great, so now Ed is starting to sound like Yoda in my head.  

[X]Tell him about the seven homonculi, but not about yourself or any alchemy secrets.

[Black Aeronaut]

Yeah, these two:
[x]Tell him about the seven homonculi, but not about yourself or any alchemy secrets.
[x]Quid pro quo, exchange information for an equivalent amount from him.

[Bob Schroeck]

Agreed.

[x]Tell him about the seven homonculi, but not about yourself or any alchemy secrets.
[x]Quid pro quo, exchange information for an equivalent amount from him.

Noting, of course, that quid pro quo is about the only way to get anywhere with Zuko at this point in the story. That, and playing on his sense of honor.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[robkelk]

Noting, of course, that quid pro quo is about the only way to get anywhere with Zuko at this point in the story. That, and playing on his sense of honor.

We know that, but Nin and Ed don't...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Epsilon]

Sorry this is both late and rushed.

Day Thirty Three, Earth Continent Wilderness

“Before you wander off again, there are some things you need to
know.”

Zuko stared over his shoulder at me. I was sitting in front of a
circle of earth that Ed and I had cleared out for practice when we
had stopped for the night. Zuko had been more than willing to sit
back and stare at our practice, as if watching intently enough would
reveal the secrets of alchemy to him. When I passed that little
thought on to Ed he almost fell out of his saddle laughing.

But after two days of careful reflection it was time to offer the
first olive branch. Zuko hadn't even slept at the same camp as us
since we had set out, prefering to wander off and practice out of our
line of sight at night and then presumably sleep out there as well.
“Well, do you want to sit down?”

“What is this about?”

“The monsters that may have killed your father.”

Zuko considered this for a moment and then dropped his bags. “Okay.”
He sat on the other side of the practice circle.

“Hmmm. First off, I have to tell you that I can't tell you
everything about them.” I gestured to Ed. “Ed is the one who ran
into them before, so he knows the most. However when we encountered
one of the homonculi on this continent she apparently didn't look the
same.”

“So, these monster are from the same place you are?” Zuko asked.

I paused and then nodded. “That's a simple version, but
essentially correct.” I placed my hand on the ground and seven
symbols appeared, etched into the earth with blue light. “Ed
encountered seven homonculi.” I pointed at each symbol in turn.
“Wrath. Sloth. Pride. Envy. Gluttony. Greed. Lust.” I continued
holding my hand over Lust's symbol. “Some of them look like normal
humans and could pass as one.” I pointed at the symbols for Sloth
and Gluttony. “Others could barely pass as human at all.” I
pointed at the symbol for Envy. “At least one could look like
anything he wanted.”

“Anything?” Zuko's good eye narrowed.

“Ed said that the Envy homonculi could change shape at will. It's
true form is a massive grotesque monster, but it can look like a
child if it wants to.”

“Shapeshifting...” Zuko's scowl deepened.

“The other seven homonculi have different powers.” I gestured to
them in turn again. “Lust has the ability to form her fingers into
ba long claws that can cut through metal as easily as air. Gluttony
could eat anything. Greed could change his skin into impenetrable
armour. Sloth had super-speed and endurance. Wrath could see
everything with his Ultimate Eye, even through other objects and
maybe a bit into a future as well. Pride could animate his shadow,
think of it as shadowbending, where he can use the shadows to strike
anything in his range.”

“But none of them could bend the regular elements?” Zuko asked.

“No, not as far as I know.” I shrugged. “None of them could
use traditional alchemy either. But don't underestimate them.” I
waved my hand over the whole circle. “Unlike humans, they don't die
when they are killed.” Zuko raised his good eyebrow at that. “I
mean, even fatal wounds aren't enough to stop them. One of them came
back from being burned to ash.” I paused, wondering if I should
reveal this next bit but pushed ahead anyway, “The reason is that
each homonculi literally has dozens, maybe hundreds of lives inside
of them. They are created when many human souls are forged into a
homonculus. To kill them you have to work through all those souls.”
I sighed. “And you have to do it all at once. If they escape they
can... they can eat more people to regain their lost powers.”

Zuko's face went pale. “You're joking,” he pleaded.

I looked at Ed and Ed nodded solemnly. “I see it,” he said.
“Homonculi eat people. Eat each other, even, if desperate. Very
bad.”

Zuko shook himself out of his shock and turned to me. “So that's
it. You just kill them enough and they're done?”

Except Lust was still alive, even after she had been destroyed in
Amestris. But I didn't point that out. “There is a bit more, but
yeah, that's basically it.”

Zuko looked down at his fists. “I can do that.” He looked back
up at me. “How do you know so much about these things anyway?”

“Like I said, Ed knows more than me. He fought them once.” I
stood up. “Understand that these homonculi are dangerous beyond
belief. Back on Ed's continent they destroyed an entire nation,
hundreds of thousands of people, for the sake of power and would have
done the same to Ed's homeland.”

“What stopped them?” Zuko asked.

“I did,” Ed said, his voice cold. “And I will do it again.”

Zuko seemed happy with that announcement. “Okay, so... how do we
fight them?”

Day Forty-Three, East of Omashu

Hemmy reared again, his head bucking back and forth. Ed gave a
squack of surprise and clung to the saddle for dear life. The
mountain trails around here had some steep dropoffs. I clucked my
tongue and moved Rappy forward, taking the reins and quieting the
beast with some soothing pats to its neck.

“Ugh. That's the third time today,” Ed growled. “What is with
this worthless chimera?”

“Maybe he's tired of you calling him a chimera,” I said, then
winced and clutched my stomach.

Ed looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I've just been...” I trailed off. “I've kind of felt
bad all day.” I smiled reassuringly. “Since last night some time
actually. Didn't get much sleep.”

Ed leaned forward. “Maybe you should get some rest today?”

“I'll be fine.” I moved away from him and towards Zuko, who was
leading out little procession.

He, too, was struggling with his as-yet-unnamed ostrich-horse,
though he was handling it better than Ed. “What's going on back
there?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I winced and clutched my stomach again. “Damnit...”
I groaned.

“You look pale.”

“It's just cramps,” I said.

“Cramps?” he asked.

“You know when...” My mouth stopped working. Wait. Cramps? But
the one benefit of this body was a lack of such things. “Actually,
maybe it is something.” I looked around. “How long to the nearest
town?”

“The nearest town is Omashu,” Zuko said. He pointed through a
nearby pass. “About thirty minutes hard ride in that direction. But
its probably crawling with Fire Nation troops.” He looked up and
down the trail. “Frankly, I'm surprised that we haven't encountered
any since we moved up into the mountains.”

“Well, it was either this or be caught by the patrols on the
plains,” I said. “I swear, they were swarming like-” I cut off.
“Hey, did you two hear that?”

“Hear what?” Zuko asked, tilting his head and looking around for
trouble once again.

“It's like...” I couldn't answer what it was like. But it was
strangely familiar. Not in a comforting way either. In fact, my skin
was breaking out in goosebumps and the hairs on the back of my neck
were standing up. “You... you seriously can't hear it?” I asked.

Ed rode up, frowning. “I can not hear anything,” he said, his
dialect much improved from his nightly talks with Zuko where they
strategized ways of taking down the various homonculi Ed was familiar
with. Too bad Zuko seemed unwilling to reveal anything else about his
past or his motives.

“How can you not hear it?” I asked, my voice growing shrill.
“That sound, it's...” I turned in the direction of Omashu.
“It's... voices... so many voices and they're all screaming.”

Then, as if to punctuate my sentence a pillar of light erupted from
the other side of the mountains. The screams rose to a crescendo and
it took me a few seconds to realize that I was screaming with them. I
lost all control of my body, toppling from the suddenly wild and
bucking mount.

Instead of colliding with the ground I felt strong arms snatch me
out of the air. Zuko peered into my line of sight. He was trying to
talk but I couldn't hear him over the screaming, my screaming. I
clutching onto his tunic and pulled him closer. He forced my mouth
closed with one hand. “Nin! What's wrong with you?” He turned his
face up to Ed. “What is wrong with him?” he demanded.

Except Ed wasn't looking at me. He was looking across the mountains.
His face had drained of all colour, leaving only his gold eyes
shining in a sea of milk. His hands clutching the reins of his mount
so tightly it wasn't moving, despite it obviously wanting to. “No...
oh no... it can't be!”

“What's going on?” Zuko roared.

“Stay here!” Ed shouted, “YA!” He snapped his reins and his
mount burst forward so fast it left a trail of dust in its wake. Ed
leaned over its neck, urging it on until it vanished from sight.

Zuko cursed under his breath and was about to rise in pursuit but I
clutched on to him tighter. “Puh-puh-please! Don't!” I pleaded,
unable to stand. “Oh God, the screaming!” I stared into his eyes.
“Can't you hear the screaming!”

He shook his head slowly back and forth, then looked up the trail
where Ed had vanished. Mercifully, at this point I think I passed
out.

*

When I regained consciousness I was drapped across the front of
Zuko's ostrich-horse as he rode hard down the path. Rappy followed
him shortly. “Wha-what's happening?” I moaned out.

“Are you better now?” Zuko asked, his voice just a tad bitter.

“I...” I took a quick mental stock. There was no more screaming
noise, and my body didn't feel like someone had just turned all the
systems to 'overload'. “I think I'm better.” I glanced around.
“Where are we?”

“Heading towards Omashu, after Ed.” He stared down at me. “I
don't want to slow down, we already lost enough time with me getting
you up into he saddle.

My face started burning as I recognized that I was spread partially
across his lap. Composing myself as much as possible I gave a sharp
whistle and Rappy ran up next to him. I reached out with one hand,
grabbed the reins and pulled myself off Zuko's mount with a sharp
tug. Zuko made a noise of shock. My feet hit the ground, bounced and
then i vaulted easily into the saddle.

“How did you do that?”

“Momentum,” I said with a shrug. “I wasn't really certain
either.”

A few seconds later we came around the final turn in the trail and
onto a plateau overlooking the city of Omashu. Or at least, what was
left of it.

“There... there was a city here,” Zuko said, his voice
breathless.

“It's gone now,” I replied.

In fact, it looked hardly as if a city had ever been there. I had
heard tales of Omashu from various natives, a city built on the top
of a mountain with the only access being stone bridges that stretched
over steep valleys, giving the earthbenders besieged inside complete
control over access to the city. Now there was no hint of much
construction except the massive metal bridges that had been laid
across the gorges on all sides to allow the Fire Nation access. Even
those bridges looked twisted and partially melted where they pressed
against the inner peak.

Looking closer I could see bits and pieces of what looked like they
had once buildings. The entire peak of the mountain was scoured
clean, like someone had taken a knife and shaved off the sides of it.
Strange swirling marks spiralled all the way up the sides to the
peak, which looked like it had been chopped clean off.

“How many... how many people lived in Omashu?” I forced out.

“Thousands,” Zuko answered hollowly. “Where are the Fire
Nation troops?”

I blinked and looked down again. “Is that them?” I pointed at
distant figures moving about on the far sides of the various bridges.

“That can't possibly be all of them?” Zuko more asked than
insisted. “It would take hundreds of firebenders, an entire
division of normal troops to control a city that size. Not to mention
governers and magistrates and support staff...” As he spoke his
voice grew more and more quiet until he finally trailed off. “What
did this?” he finally repeated.

“I don't know.” I glanced around. “Do you see Ed?” I asked.

He looked around himself. “No but... wait.” He peered to the
horizon. “The Avatar!” He shouted, pointing in excitement.

“What?” I followed his finger, but all I saw was a small cloud
moving away from us. “Where?”

“There, on the flying bison.”

I gave him a long look. This wasn't the first time he'd referred to
the Avatar's magical flying bison, after all. Ed openly scoffed at
the idea. Given everything I had seen, I was sceptical but not
dismissive. “How can you tell?”

“It's moving against the wind,” he said. He meet my eyes. “Trust
me, I'm familiar enough with that thing to know what it looks like
when its running away from m- er, when its running away.”

“Do you think he could have done this?” I asked. “After what
happened at the North Pole?”

“I... no... why would he?” Zuko looked caught. “I mean, maybe
he would have to the Fire Nation, but all the people captured
inside?” His face firmed up. “Either way, he has to know what
happened here.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He always has a way of turning up when trouble is happening. Come
on, we have to get after him before he gets out of sight.”

“Wait, what about Ed? What about figuring out what happened here?”

“We don't have time, if we let him go now, we may never see him
again.”

“What, through the soldiers?” I asked, not certain if he was
serious. “They're between us and his trail.”

“If needs be,” he said.

[ ]”No, we have to go down there and look for Ed, and render
assistance to any survivors.”
[ ]”You're right. Ed can catch up to us. After that Avatar!”
[ ]”There are too many Fire Nation soldiers down there, and more
coming with the size of that lightshow. Hide and wait, learn more
before acting.”
[ ]”Those soldiers look disorganized. If we attack them now we
could beat them, and question them about what happened.”

--------------
Epsilon

[paladindythe]

[X]”No, we have to go down there and look for Ed, and render assistance to any survivors.”
This ones a toughie, but I think that Nin would prioritize Ed. Besides, they can run into the Avatar later.

[robkelk]

[x]”There are too many Fire Nation soldiers down there, and more coming with the size of that lightshow. Hide and wait, learn more before acting.”
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

[x]”No, we have to go down there and look for Ed, and render assistance to any survivors.”
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[rmthorn]

[X]”No, we have to go down there and look for Ed, and render assistance to any survivors.”

[Epsilon]

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

[paladindythe]

[X]Follow that feeling, maybe prevent something horrible from happening.

[Jorlem]

[X]Follow that feeling, maybe prevent something horrible from happening.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[robkelk]

[x]Time to get out of dodge before something else horrible happens,especially to us.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012