Avatar : Chapter 40

As I lie on the ground, my eyes seek out the prone form of the Circus Girl. She has curled in on herself, around her broken ribs, and is hacking out blood, which can't be helping. Damn. What a mess.

And we're not halfway done.

...

This is proven by Azula's foot about to make its violent acquaintance with my face. I manage to roll out of her way just so, straining my remaining functional arm far too much, so I don't squish my precious cargo.

A slashing motion with my left hand sends another swipe of water her way and she blasts it. She has me on the defence and she knows it. "Time for payback!", she declares gleefully, as I am forced to retreat, step by step, only dodging or nullifying her attacks to protect the baby.

I'm only glad that she's temporarily forgotten Aang as he violently takes out every single one of Katara's captors. I wonder if he can actually remember what he's doing once he's back to himself. It seems kind of like a berserker-state. He does dream about it, so I suppose at the very least his subconscious remembers somewhat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch O-Ting deal with two benders at once, and Bumi catches a slumping Aang. I see Sokka blow Appa's whistle. Good thinking. With Aang down and Katara's condition unknown, we should beat a hasty retreat. Not to mention my limp and burnt arm.

My back hits a wall. Fuck.

I search for a means of escape. I only need to hold out until Appa appears. The crates! The crates I prepared are to my left. Thank my penchant for preparedness!

Azula's eyes scream triumph as she makes a motion to blast me with fire.

She catches the movement of my left arm and widens her eyes in surprise. But her foot his halfway to my face already, flames about to burn my skin. The violent burst of water that slams her to the side takes her down hard. I think I see her head ricochet off of the ground.

Something sharp and steely almost buries itself in my neck. I manage to throw myself to the side just in time. Nasty. I put a comforting hand on the back of the baby strapped to my chest.

With relief, I see O-Ting engage Mai in a game of dodging. A closer look at Azula shows that either she's very good at pretending to be unconscious, or she is out for the count.

Appa announces himself and slaps down his tail with a gust of wind that blasts all remaining soldiers to the ground. Quickly, we all pile on. Aang is a limp noodle where Bumi's deposited him, Katara's bleeding from a wound on the back of her head, Sokka looks like Mai made him tapdance and he's the worst dancer in existence. Bumi and O-Ting appear relatively unscathed. Sokka takes Appa's reins.

So, Katara's headwound needs fixing first, then my arm as she looks Aang over. There is enough moisture in the air for me to heal the worst of it.

Once she's fussing over Aang, I concentrate on unblocking the chi in my right arm.

It's trickier than I remember when I learned it from Yugoda, but I do manage. I even tend to my burn enough that it's only the outer most layers of skin that are damaged.

Again, I am ready to fight just in time.

Hot airballoons with the Fire Nation flag appear out of the mist. They must have been lying in wait ever since the failed hostage exchange. That they would use our own cover against us…

I'm quick to slice open balloon after balloon. But I'm unable to deflect all of the chains they shoot to wrap around Appa. The combined weight of two of them pull Appa to the ground and us with him.

We're just above the canyon where the resistance is still hiding. I hope they have a look-out for the sky. There could be dozens of people about to be crushed beneath burning hot metal and wood.

"Bumi, will you protect Aang?", I ask, already thinking about how much time we've got to free Appa.

"Sure thing!", the man grins madly, just as we impact the ground. Appa has managed to cushion the fall with a heavy swat of his tail. He's a smart one.

"Katara, we need to free Appa as quickly as we can! You need to inform the Commander of what's happened and help defend the resistance. Sokka, you need to bring O-Ting to the other end of the canyon and raise a wall to delay the Fire Nation troops stationed there. I will negotiate with the governor and see how far the princess has recovered", with the plan put into words, the horrified looks on Sokka and Katara's faces ease into determination. O-Ting appears as a man ready to do his worst. The baby strapped to my chest seems ready to cry his eyes out, but a soothing hand on his back has him stifle his tears with a sniffle.

I don't think this is normal behaviour for a baby. In fact, most of his behaviour up until now is suspicious…

Katara and I freeze the chains and Bumi fissures them easily. Katara and Bumi leave to speak with the Commander with an unconscious Avatar in tow. Sokka makes a reluctant Appa take off in the direction of the Fire Nation troops. I tend to the worst of his cuts.

Once we reach the slimmest part of the canyon, O-Ting and Sokka get off of the flying bison. I waste no time returning to the city. Once again, I enter through the sewers. A thought occurs to me. I unstrap the baby from my chest while we're still in the tunnel, take off is diaper and have him do his business where it belongs. He'll be fed as soon as he's with his family or I find some baby-safe food. I don't re-strap him to my chest.

...

The governor is in Bumi's palace with his wife and daughter. While I hesitate to approach while Mai is present, I have no time to lose. Stepping from the shadows, I have the pleasure of seeing Mai's eyes widen in surprise. I'm sure very few have managed that.

"Tom-Tom!", the governor's wife exclaims and the baby turns his head to look at his mother. He makes grabby motions at her.

I smooth a hand over the back of his head. He's been exceptionally brave these past few hours. "Good afternoon", I say, enjoying the apprehensive way they look at me maybe a little too much.

"He-Hello", the governor greets, exchanging a worried glance with his wife.

"I've come for re-negotiations", I say and cast a wry look at Mai. Her lips thin. "How is the princess, by the way? I hope I didn't give her a concussion."

The governor stiffens and Mai's face twists into something I'd be more afraid of, if I hadn't met Yue. Or Azula. "She is recovering just fine."

"Lovely to hear", I lie. I make a show of moving on, "I will just lay out our demands, shall I?"

She makes a get-on-with-it gesture. So impatient. Well, that does suit me rather well today.

"In exchange for…", I look down at the baby, "The brat", he puffs out his cheeks and tries to dislodge the mask I have over my face. I catch his grabby little fingers in my hand gently. "We would like you to remove all Fire Nation troops from the area surrounding Omashu."

"What", it is a flat statement instead of a question.

I grin at her as I distract her brother with my fingers, even if she can't see it with my mask on. "I don't think I stuttered."

"Unacceptable."

I raise a brow. "I'll just go then, shall I?"

She pulls knives from her sleeves. "Without my brother."

Hilarious. I raise my hand from little Tom-Tom's grasp and clench it into a fist. Mai's mother begins to choke on her own spit. The baby makes a distressed noise. I don't like it, but I'd rather threaten his mother than the brat himself. That, and I've already got him in my arms. The threat to him is obvious. But a threat to me personally means I need to make a direct one as well. That's how negotiations work today. Mai looks even more murderous. Nice to know she cares.

"Are we ready to reconsider yet?", I ask gently and with deliberate motions she tucks her knives away. I open my palm. The woman coughs roughly and sucks in desperate breaths.

"I can't remove all troops from the canyons", Mai says flatly.

"Too afraid of what the princess might say?", I mock and her fingers clench into fists, "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Well, thankfully, we aren't too greedy today. In exchange for little Tom-Tom here, you will guarantee us safe passage through the mountains of Omashu."

She hesitates, like she wants to say 'no, fuck you very much', but a glance at her still wheezing mother has her give a nod.

"Lovely", I say and move to the balcony, drawing mist about myself. "You'll get him back once the troops have laid off on their assault and the resistance is safely out of reach."

...

Alright folks, I'm thinking of changing the story title because, let's be honest, the current one might be a crime against creativity. Got any better ideas? Impress me.

...

If you want to read ahead of the public release, or just want to support me.

you can join my p atreon :

p@treon.com/Numera