Post by Teяa253 on Apr 8, 2009 6:00:13 GMT 1
the 94th installment of my series.
it would have been up this morning, but complications known as stupid parental rules came into play at just the wrong time.
anyhoot, here it is. enjoy.
CHAPTER 94: THE WAR OF THE MASTERMINDS
The weary but anxious Avatar Guard, along with the newcomers to the group, namely Zuko Altina, Katara Altina II, Azula Caroso, Orzon Zhaoka, Ayumi Zhaoka, Kai Serenes XLIII, and the returning Tenoko Dragmire, all advanced cautiously to the next floor in case Zhin and Tu-Sung had planned anything. There were very few of Zakura’s Elite’s numbers that were in good fighting condition by this time.
Many of them, such as Sanaki, Alzar, Shinon, Azula, Katara II, Taki, Lehran, [Altina], Meili, Malak, Vigo, Michiko, and Tenoko, were badly injured, and were no longer in any condition to fight. The ones that were left in good fighting condition were Katara I, Sokka, Zuki, Zakura, Kai, Reyson, Mulan, Orzon, Ayumi, and Royota. Iresu, Zeruda, Maric, Koara, Kimiko, Zuko, Fukuda, Zinjamyn, and Aiku were all in alright condition, though too much more fighting on their part would do them in.
“How hard could they possibly be,” Sokka asked, “there are only two of them. We have 10 among us that are in excellent fighting condition.”
“And we have 13 who are dangerously low on stamina,” Zakura replied, “they are in no condition to fight. Who knows about these two?”
“We do, of course,” Fukuda replied, “and let me tell you right now. They are dangerous—very dangerous. They actually seem to be working for themselves as well, but they serve a higher cause. They wish to betray us all at the last moment for their own personal benefit. If Michiko and I hadn’t been so aloof, Xin Shing would have believed our story.”
“Zhin is funny,” said a voice, and everyone spun around. It was Zuki who had spoken. No one was sure what to make of it.
“What does Zuki mean?” Tenoko asked, for she and Zuki had known each other for over 25 years, and so she knew how to talk with her by using terms that Zuki understood.
“Zuki knows Zhin,” Zuki continued, smiling widely, “Zhin is funny.”
“Aye,” said Zakura, “we already established that,”
“Patience, Zakura,” said Tenoko, “Zuki Meisha is a unique subject. You can get a lot out of her though if you know how to talk with her and all that jazz. You just wait and watch me handle this.”
She turned again to Zuki, determined to decode what was in Zuki’s mind.
“Zhin says lots of things,” Zuki continued, “Tu-Sung says lots of things too. Zuki gets so, so, confused.”
Zuki whimpered, clutched her head with her hands, and shook it as if she was answering negatively to a question;
“It means they’re intricate,” Tenoko remarked, “They use fancy and persuasive words. It seems logical. Carry on, Zuki.”
“Zuki is scared of them,” Zuki replied, shuddering, “Zhin and Tu-Sung are very fast. They use scary moves on Zuki and make Zuki get scared. Zuki doesn’t like to get scared. Zuki hurts herself when Zuki gets scared.”
“It’ll be alright, Zuki,” Tenoko replied, gently running her fingers over Zuki’s left cheek, which, like much of that side of her face, was covered with that huge elaborate birthmark she had. “What does Zuki do when Zuki gets scared? Does Zuki remember that?”
“Zuki looks around,” Zuki replied, incidentally, also looking around at the moment, “Zuki sometimes hurts Zuki’s self with big rocks—really, really big rocks. Zuki uses lots of power—more power than Zuki can control. It makes Zuki very scared; more scared than Zhin.”
“She’s Chi-dominant,” Sokka exclaimed, “those are the exact symptoms. I myself am one as well, though neither I nor Zuki are nearly as extreme as Katara. What I think Zuki is saying is that when she gets scared, she attacks out of fear.”
“Well,” said Alzar, who was one of Zakura’s Elite that was heavily affected by Zuki’s last accidental surprise attack, “we certainly don’t want Zuki getting scared again. Aye, it may have proven useful against our enemies, but it wounded several of our own allies as well.”
“Zhin and Tu-Sung do whatever it takes to win,” Michiko warned, “they got me in a rather nasty bind several years ago. However, I know their weakness, but it is very difficult to exploit.”
They all waited to hear it, even Zhang and Zao Lin, but they could do nothing to stop her, as the only skills they had intact at the moment were their motor skills and thought processes. They could not speak either at this point.
“They are mercilessly swift,” Michiko continued, “I think that little blind firebender girl though could have given them a run for their money. Their weakness lies with their stamina—or rather, their lack of it. If they did not have their bending at their disposal, I’m pretty sure the avatar could knock them out with one strong enough hit.”
“Or better yet,” Zakura replied, smirking, “we could outwit them.”
“Outwit Zhin and Tu-Sung Lyautey,” Ayumi exclaimed, “that’s not possible. Not even I am able to oust them.”
“That is not entirely true;” Zakura replied again, “for your logic puzzled them when they took some of us to Lake Laogai back when your group had defeated us on the walls. I heard it come from their own mouths. I was there, Ayumi. You are the one for the job.”
“I refuse to go alone,” Ayumi replied,
“then I’m the one you want,” said Katara II, climbing out of her father’s arms and standing shakily on her feet. Zuko clutched her shoulders to make sure she did not fall.
“Are you sure though,” she said, “that you are up for the task, Katara? You can’t even stand up by yourself again yet. I don’t want you to die any more than your family does.”
“Ayumi holds a point, Katara,” said Orzon, stepping forward, “you are almost like a grandchild to us. We don’t want you dead any less than your family does.”
“I’ll be fine,” Katara replied confidently, “if I can survive this comet, I can survive anything. There is a good chance though, that if they do let us past, that they will turn on us on the way back, so keep that in mind. Oh, and Michiko, I have one other thing to ask you.”
“Ask away,” Michiko replied. Katara’s logic was surprising, but the more the group thought of it, the more they realized that Katara simply had a lot of common sense with a little logic, which was how she solved her problems with such ease.
“when did Zhin and Tu-Sung get you in that bind,” she asked, “surely if it was more than 15 years ago, they were young adults; but 15 years ago or so was when you two usurped the throne of the Water Tribes from Tenoko Dragmire. Too much longer before that, and they would have been little kids. Surely you were not done in by children like the Fire Nation was during that 100-year war.”
“How did you know about that war,” Orzon, Ayumi, and Zeruda all asked her, curious to know how a girl who could not read knew that aspect of history the way she did.
“I just asked one of the Fire Sages at the temple,” Katara replied, “they would tell me everything I wanted to know. That’s not the point though. I need for Michiko to answer me.”
“It was 4 years into our reign actually,” Michiko replied, “Zhin and Tu-Sung seem to serve no higher authority, and if they do, this person’s identity is unknown. They seem independent.”
“They likely went with the highest bidder,” Azula remarked, “or something to that extent. That is what my group and I all did. Although if they are as rich as they are said to be, I would assume they had different reasoning than what I have just stated.”
“Perhaps it is the side that they thought would win,” Orzon remarked, “for I was the same way. I believe many of us who were part of The Order of the Avatar Slayer at one time or another thought this very same way at one point to say the least.”
“Well they seem to be wrong now,” Katara remarked, “if anyone recalls, out on the battlefield I said that the side that was not fighting for a good cause would eventually be reduced to a very small list of allies. With the wise dissention of Orzon and Ayumi, and the apologies of Fukuda and Michiko, added with Zhin and Tu-Sung’s independence, and the downfall of Zhang and Zao Lin, it appears that Xin Shing’s list of allies is growing very thin. Let us finish this, get Yang out of the way, and let Zakura and Xin Shing fight to the death.”
“Aye,” Zakura replied, “I for one am in for that idea.”
“Then we are in for it,” Zinjamyn replied, “for you, Avatar Zakura, are the cause which this group is fighting for.”
“And I thank you all for it once again,” Zakura replied, “and we have come this far together. We are so close to finally finishing this task. Let us end this war once and for all.”
“So there are a few more wars to be fought,” Katara remarked as her father hoisted her up and they all began advancing towards Zhin and Tu-Sung’s chamber. They were all a bit anxious, but that was to be expected when pitted against an enemy whose tactics were almost impossible to predict;
“Aye,” Orzon replied, walking next to her, “the war between Xin Shing the Warlord and Zakura the Avatar; the war between us and his wife, and the war between yourself and Fire Lady Ayumi pitted against the Lyautey couple, Zhin and Tu-Sung—that is The War of the Masterminds.
~Azula~
it would have been up this morning, but complications known as stupid parental rules came into play at just the wrong time.
anyhoot, here it is. enjoy.
CHAPTER 94: THE WAR OF THE MASTERMINDS
The weary but anxious Avatar Guard, along with the newcomers to the group, namely Zuko Altina, Katara Altina II, Azula Caroso, Orzon Zhaoka, Ayumi Zhaoka, Kai Serenes XLIII, and the returning Tenoko Dragmire, all advanced cautiously to the next floor in case Zhin and Tu-Sung had planned anything. There were very few of Zakura’s Elite’s numbers that were in good fighting condition by this time.
Many of them, such as Sanaki, Alzar, Shinon, Azula, Katara II, Taki, Lehran, [Altina], Meili, Malak, Vigo, Michiko, and Tenoko, were badly injured, and were no longer in any condition to fight. The ones that were left in good fighting condition were Katara I, Sokka, Zuki, Zakura, Kai, Reyson, Mulan, Orzon, Ayumi, and Royota. Iresu, Zeruda, Maric, Koara, Kimiko, Zuko, Fukuda, Zinjamyn, and Aiku were all in alright condition, though too much more fighting on their part would do them in.
“How hard could they possibly be,” Sokka asked, “there are only two of them. We have 10 among us that are in excellent fighting condition.”
“And we have 13 who are dangerously low on stamina,” Zakura replied, “they are in no condition to fight. Who knows about these two?”
“We do, of course,” Fukuda replied, “and let me tell you right now. They are dangerous—very dangerous. They actually seem to be working for themselves as well, but they serve a higher cause. They wish to betray us all at the last moment for their own personal benefit. If Michiko and I hadn’t been so aloof, Xin Shing would have believed our story.”
“Zhin is funny,” said a voice, and everyone spun around. It was Zuki who had spoken. No one was sure what to make of it.
“What does Zuki mean?” Tenoko asked, for she and Zuki had known each other for over 25 years, and so she knew how to talk with her by using terms that Zuki understood.
“Zuki knows Zhin,” Zuki continued, smiling widely, “Zhin is funny.”
“Aye,” said Zakura, “we already established that,”
“Patience, Zakura,” said Tenoko, “Zuki Meisha is a unique subject. You can get a lot out of her though if you know how to talk with her and all that jazz. You just wait and watch me handle this.”
She turned again to Zuki, determined to decode what was in Zuki’s mind.
“Zhin says lots of things,” Zuki continued, “Tu-Sung says lots of things too. Zuki gets so, so, confused.”
Zuki whimpered, clutched her head with her hands, and shook it as if she was answering negatively to a question;
“It means they’re intricate,” Tenoko remarked, “They use fancy and persuasive words. It seems logical. Carry on, Zuki.”
“Zuki is scared of them,” Zuki replied, shuddering, “Zhin and Tu-Sung are very fast. They use scary moves on Zuki and make Zuki get scared. Zuki doesn’t like to get scared. Zuki hurts herself when Zuki gets scared.”
“It’ll be alright, Zuki,” Tenoko replied, gently running her fingers over Zuki’s left cheek, which, like much of that side of her face, was covered with that huge elaborate birthmark she had. “What does Zuki do when Zuki gets scared? Does Zuki remember that?”
“Zuki looks around,” Zuki replied, incidentally, also looking around at the moment, “Zuki sometimes hurts Zuki’s self with big rocks—really, really big rocks. Zuki uses lots of power—more power than Zuki can control. It makes Zuki very scared; more scared than Zhin.”
“She’s Chi-dominant,” Sokka exclaimed, “those are the exact symptoms. I myself am one as well, though neither I nor Zuki are nearly as extreme as Katara. What I think Zuki is saying is that when she gets scared, she attacks out of fear.”
“Well,” said Alzar, who was one of Zakura’s Elite that was heavily affected by Zuki’s last accidental surprise attack, “we certainly don’t want Zuki getting scared again. Aye, it may have proven useful against our enemies, but it wounded several of our own allies as well.”
“Zhin and Tu-Sung do whatever it takes to win,” Michiko warned, “they got me in a rather nasty bind several years ago. However, I know their weakness, but it is very difficult to exploit.”
They all waited to hear it, even Zhang and Zao Lin, but they could do nothing to stop her, as the only skills they had intact at the moment were their motor skills and thought processes. They could not speak either at this point.
“They are mercilessly swift,” Michiko continued, “I think that little blind firebender girl though could have given them a run for their money. Their weakness lies with their stamina—or rather, their lack of it. If they did not have their bending at their disposal, I’m pretty sure the avatar could knock them out with one strong enough hit.”
“Or better yet,” Zakura replied, smirking, “we could outwit them.”
“Outwit Zhin and Tu-Sung Lyautey,” Ayumi exclaimed, “that’s not possible. Not even I am able to oust them.”
“That is not entirely true;” Zakura replied again, “for your logic puzzled them when they took some of us to Lake Laogai back when your group had defeated us on the walls. I heard it come from their own mouths. I was there, Ayumi. You are the one for the job.”
“I refuse to go alone,” Ayumi replied,
“then I’m the one you want,” said Katara II, climbing out of her father’s arms and standing shakily on her feet. Zuko clutched her shoulders to make sure she did not fall.
“Are you sure though,” she said, “that you are up for the task, Katara? You can’t even stand up by yourself again yet. I don’t want you to die any more than your family does.”
“Ayumi holds a point, Katara,” said Orzon, stepping forward, “you are almost like a grandchild to us. We don’t want you dead any less than your family does.”
“I’ll be fine,” Katara replied confidently, “if I can survive this comet, I can survive anything. There is a good chance though, that if they do let us past, that they will turn on us on the way back, so keep that in mind. Oh, and Michiko, I have one other thing to ask you.”
“Ask away,” Michiko replied. Katara’s logic was surprising, but the more the group thought of it, the more they realized that Katara simply had a lot of common sense with a little logic, which was how she solved her problems with such ease.
“when did Zhin and Tu-Sung get you in that bind,” she asked, “surely if it was more than 15 years ago, they were young adults; but 15 years ago or so was when you two usurped the throne of the Water Tribes from Tenoko Dragmire. Too much longer before that, and they would have been little kids. Surely you were not done in by children like the Fire Nation was during that 100-year war.”
“How did you know about that war,” Orzon, Ayumi, and Zeruda all asked her, curious to know how a girl who could not read knew that aspect of history the way she did.
“I just asked one of the Fire Sages at the temple,” Katara replied, “they would tell me everything I wanted to know. That’s not the point though. I need for Michiko to answer me.”
“It was 4 years into our reign actually,” Michiko replied, “Zhin and Tu-Sung seem to serve no higher authority, and if they do, this person’s identity is unknown. They seem independent.”
“They likely went with the highest bidder,” Azula remarked, “or something to that extent. That is what my group and I all did. Although if they are as rich as they are said to be, I would assume they had different reasoning than what I have just stated.”
“Perhaps it is the side that they thought would win,” Orzon remarked, “for I was the same way. I believe many of us who were part of The Order of the Avatar Slayer at one time or another thought this very same way at one point to say the least.”
“Well they seem to be wrong now,” Katara remarked, “if anyone recalls, out on the battlefield I said that the side that was not fighting for a good cause would eventually be reduced to a very small list of allies. With the wise dissention of Orzon and Ayumi, and the apologies of Fukuda and Michiko, added with Zhin and Tu-Sung’s independence, and the downfall of Zhang and Zao Lin, it appears that Xin Shing’s list of allies is growing very thin. Let us finish this, get Yang out of the way, and let Zakura and Xin Shing fight to the death.”
“Aye,” Zakura replied, “I for one am in for that idea.”
“Then we are in for it,” Zinjamyn replied, “for you, Avatar Zakura, are the cause which this group is fighting for.”
“And I thank you all for it once again,” Zakura replied, “and we have come this far together. We are so close to finally finishing this task. Let us end this war once and for all.”
“So there are a few more wars to be fought,” Katara remarked as her father hoisted her up and they all began advancing towards Zhin and Tu-Sung’s chamber. They were all a bit anxious, but that was to be expected when pitted against an enemy whose tactics were almost impossible to predict;
“Aye,” Orzon replied, walking next to her, “the war between Xin Shing the Warlord and Zakura the Avatar; the war between us and his wife, and the war between yourself and Fire Lady Ayumi pitted against the Lyautey couple, Zhin and Tu-Sung—that is The War of the Masterminds.
~Azula~