Post by Teяa253 on Apr 8, 2009 5:18:49 GMT 1
another slightly misleading title, but oh wellz. it's decent.
a lot about Katara and the pirates go on in this chapter, as well as a bit about Tenoko, Ayumi, and Orzon. I was on a block, which is why this took so long, and it might be subpar, but hey, I try.
and finally, after long absence, we get a reference to the coolest canon character ever--Toph. nicknames FTW.
so anyhoot, chapter 75. the ending is approaching. enjoy.
CHAPTER 75: XIN SHING'S TOWER GUARD
Katara came around in the room of a ship, which was obviously Tenoko’s. She groggily looked around and tried to remember what happened. Then she remembered. Tenoko had turned against her; but why?
She decided to find out. She recognized the ship at once, for she had been shanghaied onto it before, by a pirate named Lucy. As a result, she knew where to find the captain’s quarters, and so she stormed into Tenoko’s quarters. She was asleep on a hammock, which when Katara kicked the door open, made enough noise to startle her and have her hit the ground with a loud thump.
“Crikey,” she exclaimed, massaging her head, “what was that for?”
“Why did you bring me back here,” Katara demanded, “what did I do to deserve this fate?”
“Chill, kid,” Tenoko shrugged, “remember; you were the one who challenged me. You wanted to try your luck, and so I had to bring you with me. It’s part of a scheme to trick The Order. Ayumi and Orzon’s presence here only makes it all the better.”
“Orzon and Ayumi are here,” Katara exclaimed, “what side are you on?”
“I did not switch sides, Toph,” Tenoko remarked, using the nickname her and her crew had given Katara; Katara was nicknamed “Toph” because of a young girl over 1000 years ago who had borne that name. She was very strong, a very powerful bender, and never lost a fight. Katara was the same way, which was why the pirates had taken her in the first place.
“Really then,” said Katara, “then why did you just desert the rest of The Avatar Guard, come join a ship full of pirates, and recruit Fire Lord Orzon and Fire Lady Ayumi?”
“You really are a smart child, Toph” Tenoko remarked, “You ask questions that I asked myself before leaving. I alerted my fellow Secret Service members Iresu and Zeruda where I was going. The Order knows that I am associated with a notorious bounty hunter and Zuroc Sensei named Azula Caroso. You might remember her as Lucy.”
“LUCY,” Katara roared, “she was the woman who kidnapped me the first time; I was only 13 years old... get me out of here.”
She stormed out of Tenoko’s quarters, but unfortunately, they were already deep at sea, and Katara couldn’t swim at all. She should see them getting more distant from the Fire Nation mainland, which meant they were still in the large bay area inside the gates of Azulon.
“We have a reason for everything, Katara Altina II,” said a low voice, belonging to Azula, who put her hand on Katara’s shoulder;
“Get away from me,” Katara growled, “I don’t want anything to do with you; you were the one who kidnapped me the first time.”
“I can see why Lynn told Captain Dragmire to call you Toph,” said Azula, chuckling, “you’re as stubborn as the earthbending legend herself. Look, Toph; we had a reason for taking you;”
“That’s what everyone says,” Katara snapped, “everyone claims to have a reason to try to draft me into their forces and help them with their schemes. I don’t want any part of it. I just want to be left alone; I want to live my own life—away from this war. I’m only 15.”
“Now you’re speaking our language,” said Tenoko, who had stepped out next to Azula and Katara. “There’s some younglings on this ship, you know, but that’s not the point, so don’t snap at me for that.”
“I’ll do what I want,” Katara growled, her arms crossed on the railing of the ship, her face buried in them, her eyes looking out to sea;
“Katara, chill,” said Tenoko, “hear me out or spirits help me I’ll throw you overboard. That’s another reason you worked well with the name Toph. You can’t swim either.”
Katara just grumbled.
“Toph,” said another voice, this one belonging to a boy of about 16; this was ‘Lynn’ as they called him, “hear them out. I was thinking the same thing when they took you. I thought “why would they want to shanghai a young teenaged girl?”
“How would I know that,” said Katara, “I—”
“But then I met you,” Lynn continued, “I understood why they tried to keep you hidden; Toph, everyone I knew from The Order is after you; and yet—” he paused to take a deep breath,
“I’ve been keeping this from you too long, Katara,” he said,
“When did you start using my real name,” she exclaimed,”
“Since I learned it,” Lynn replied, “that boy you met 3 years ago that disappeared into the war—was me, Katara; Rafai Lynn—that novice earthbender who wanted to join the Zuroc Sensei.”
Katara stopped. “So you...” she exclaimed, “You didn’t die...”
“Nope,” he said, smirking, “I’m still alive. And while you were down and out some of the guys and I had a word with those firebenders. They wanted to talk to you about some things. Oh, and I loved that dress you used to wear. You’ll have to wear it again sometime...”
Katara smiled. The fact that this was the boy whom Katara had loved a year or two ago before he had mysteriously vanished was the only thing that motivated Katara to go talk to Orzon and Ayumi at this time. She still figured that they had something to do with this, and that they had not entirely converted over from The Order.
“What do you want,” she snapped upon entering,
“Sit down,” Ayumi said calmly, “we just want to talk.”
Katara sighed. “What do you want from me,” she asked.
“Your allegiance,” Ayumi replied, “think—Tenoko is as stubborn as an Earth Kingdom soldier. She didn’t switch sides—we did. We gave up everything—even our titles as Fire Lord and Lady. After doing that, we had a brief glimpse of what Zakura felt—except she had no friends. We had to give ours all up.”
“You are not the only one who has no one now, Katara,” said Orzon, “but like you, we want this war to be over.”
“I’m not doing any more fighting,” Katara said resolutely,
“We did not ask you to,” said Orzon, “we merely asked if you would accept us that we’re no longer your enemies.”
“I...” Katara started, “this quickly? I... I think I need a little bit more time to mull this over. I’m still mad at Tenoko for taking me again—this time away from my family too. No one knows I left.”
“You miss your family again, don’t you,” said Orzon gently, bringing Katara closer to him. She paused for a moment and then suddenly broke down in Orzon’s arms.
“I do,” she whimpered, “I felt so much happier when I was with them”
“I was aware of that,” said Ayumi, “and you had a lot of impact on my decision, young Katara. And think: helping us will end up helping you. Help us end this war. We have everything on the line for it to end. If our scheme against Xin Shing fails, then we will all be killed. This is a life and death situation, Katara. We need you.”
“But are the others going to accept you two,” she said, “particularly you, Ayumi. Do you think that they’re going to automatically let everything go and accept you into their group?”
“Not at all,” Ayumi replied, “but getting through to their leader is all we need to do. The story I can share relates to Avatar Zakura’s. She lost everything, and so did we. The world was against her; the world is against us now. I believe I could probably convince her. Tenoko has already sided with me, and although she follows the lead of Iresu and Zeruda, they listen to her when she talks.”
“What about Azula’s gang,” Katara asked,
“They work for the highest bidder,” Ayumi replied, “but certain people they will not hunt down; they refused to hunt down the avatar or anyone related to or friends with Iresu, Zeruda, or Tenoko. They’re quick-witted, Katara. You fit right in.”
“And you supposed that you two don’t,” said a voice; Tenoko and Azula had come in.
“There was a reason I was quick to accept you, Ayumi” said Tenoko, “because I know when you’re playing a game; I didn’t see it that time. Besides, with you on our side, we can end this war much sooner than expected. You two are prominent figures.”
“I know,” Orzon replied, “and after Ayumi’s remarks to me about her feelings on all of this, we realized that we were in fact on the wrong side. We owe The Avatar guard an apology of two.”
“Then it is decided,” said Azula, “We are going to end this war or die trying. We are almost to the mouth of the river, Tenoko. From there we will be able to approach Xin Shing’s lair—The Tower of Order.”
Katara suddenly looked up.
“I met Xin Shing once,” she said, “he gave me the usual spiel about power, but I suddenly figured how I could use it against him. He works with treachery and betrayal. All it would take would be a rehash of the Dark Warrior scheme again, and I could fit right in to his Tower Guard.”
“Tower Guard,” Azula, Ayumi, Orzon, and Tenoko all exclaimed, and Katara looked at them all with a confused expression on her face.
“He never told any of you,” she exclaimed, “not even you Orzon; Ayumi?”
They all shook their heads.
“This could be harder than I thought then,” said Katara, looking slightly nervous, “before we can reach him and end this war, we need to meet with The Avatar Guard. We need to plan how to get past Xin Shing’s Tower Guard.”
~Azula~
a lot about Katara and the pirates go on in this chapter, as well as a bit about Tenoko, Ayumi, and Orzon. I was on a block, which is why this took so long, and it might be subpar, but hey, I try.
and finally, after long absence, we get a reference to the coolest canon character ever--Toph. nicknames FTW.
so anyhoot, chapter 75. the ending is approaching. enjoy.
CHAPTER 75: XIN SHING'S TOWER GUARD
Katara came around in the room of a ship, which was obviously Tenoko’s. She groggily looked around and tried to remember what happened. Then she remembered. Tenoko had turned against her; but why?
She decided to find out. She recognized the ship at once, for she had been shanghaied onto it before, by a pirate named Lucy. As a result, she knew where to find the captain’s quarters, and so she stormed into Tenoko’s quarters. She was asleep on a hammock, which when Katara kicked the door open, made enough noise to startle her and have her hit the ground with a loud thump.
“Crikey,” she exclaimed, massaging her head, “what was that for?”
“Why did you bring me back here,” Katara demanded, “what did I do to deserve this fate?”
“Chill, kid,” Tenoko shrugged, “remember; you were the one who challenged me. You wanted to try your luck, and so I had to bring you with me. It’s part of a scheme to trick The Order. Ayumi and Orzon’s presence here only makes it all the better.”
“Orzon and Ayumi are here,” Katara exclaimed, “what side are you on?”
“I did not switch sides, Toph,” Tenoko remarked, using the nickname her and her crew had given Katara; Katara was nicknamed “Toph” because of a young girl over 1000 years ago who had borne that name. She was very strong, a very powerful bender, and never lost a fight. Katara was the same way, which was why the pirates had taken her in the first place.
“Really then,” said Katara, “then why did you just desert the rest of The Avatar Guard, come join a ship full of pirates, and recruit Fire Lord Orzon and Fire Lady Ayumi?”
“You really are a smart child, Toph” Tenoko remarked, “You ask questions that I asked myself before leaving. I alerted my fellow Secret Service members Iresu and Zeruda where I was going. The Order knows that I am associated with a notorious bounty hunter and Zuroc Sensei named Azula Caroso. You might remember her as Lucy.”
“LUCY,” Katara roared, “she was the woman who kidnapped me the first time; I was only 13 years old... get me out of here.”
She stormed out of Tenoko’s quarters, but unfortunately, they were already deep at sea, and Katara couldn’t swim at all. She should see them getting more distant from the Fire Nation mainland, which meant they were still in the large bay area inside the gates of Azulon.
“We have a reason for everything, Katara Altina II,” said a low voice, belonging to Azula, who put her hand on Katara’s shoulder;
“Get away from me,” Katara growled, “I don’t want anything to do with you; you were the one who kidnapped me the first time.”
“I can see why Lynn told Captain Dragmire to call you Toph,” said Azula, chuckling, “you’re as stubborn as the earthbending legend herself. Look, Toph; we had a reason for taking you;”
“That’s what everyone says,” Katara snapped, “everyone claims to have a reason to try to draft me into their forces and help them with their schemes. I don’t want any part of it. I just want to be left alone; I want to live my own life—away from this war. I’m only 15.”
“Now you’re speaking our language,” said Tenoko, who had stepped out next to Azula and Katara. “There’s some younglings on this ship, you know, but that’s not the point, so don’t snap at me for that.”
“I’ll do what I want,” Katara growled, her arms crossed on the railing of the ship, her face buried in them, her eyes looking out to sea;
“Katara, chill,” said Tenoko, “hear me out or spirits help me I’ll throw you overboard. That’s another reason you worked well with the name Toph. You can’t swim either.”
Katara just grumbled.
“Toph,” said another voice, this one belonging to a boy of about 16; this was ‘Lynn’ as they called him, “hear them out. I was thinking the same thing when they took you. I thought “why would they want to shanghai a young teenaged girl?”
“How would I know that,” said Katara, “I—”
“But then I met you,” Lynn continued, “I understood why they tried to keep you hidden; Toph, everyone I knew from The Order is after you; and yet—” he paused to take a deep breath,
“I’ve been keeping this from you too long, Katara,” he said,
“When did you start using my real name,” she exclaimed,”
“Since I learned it,” Lynn replied, “that boy you met 3 years ago that disappeared into the war—was me, Katara; Rafai Lynn—that novice earthbender who wanted to join the Zuroc Sensei.”
Katara stopped. “So you...” she exclaimed, “You didn’t die...”
“Nope,” he said, smirking, “I’m still alive. And while you were down and out some of the guys and I had a word with those firebenders. They wanted to talk to you about some things. Oh, and I loved that dress you used to wear. You’ll have to wear it again sometime...”
Katara smiled. The fact that this was the boy whom Katara had loved a year or two ago before he had mysteriously vanished was the only thing that motivated Katara to go talk to Orzon and Ayumi at this time. She still figured that they had something to do with this, and that they had not entirely converted over from The Order.
“What do you want,” she snapped upon entering,
“Sit down,” Ayumi said calmly, “we just want to talk.”
Katara sighed. “What do you want from me,” she asked.
“Your allegiance,” Ayumi replied, “think—Tenoko is as stubborn as an Earth Kingdom soldier. She didn’t switch sides—we did. We gave up everything—even our titles as Fire Lord and Lady. After doing that, we had a brief glimpse of what Zakura felt—except she had no friends. We had to give ours all up.”
“You are not the only one who has no one now, Katara,” said Orzon, “but like you, we want this war to be over.”
“I’m not doing any more fighting,” Katara said resolutely,
“We did not ask you to,” said Orzon, “we merely asked if you would accept us that we’re no longer your enemies.”
“I...” Katara started, “this quickly? I... I think I need a little bit more time to mull this over. I’m still mad at Tenoko for taking me again—this time away from my family too. No one knows I left.”
“You miss your family again, don’t you,” said Orzon gently, bringing Katara closer to him. She paused for a moment and then suddenly broke down in Orzon’s arms.
“I do,” she whimpered, “I felt so much happier when I was with them”
“I was aware of that,” said Ayumi, “and you had a lot of impact on my decision, young Katara. And think: helping us will end up helping you. Help us end this war. We have everything on the line for it to end. If our scheme against Xin Shing fails, then we will all be killed. This is a life and death situation, Katara. We need you.”
“But are the others going to accept you two,” she said, “particularly you, Ayumi. Do you think that they’re going to automatically let everything go and accept you into their group?”
“Not at all,” Ayumi replied, “but getting through to their leader is all we need to do. The story I can share relates to Avatar Zakura’s. She lost everything, and so did we. The world was against her; the world is against us now. I believe I could probably convince her. Tenoko has already sided with me, and although she follows the lead of Iresu and Zeruda, they listen to her when she talks.”
“What about Azula’s gang,” Katara asked,
“They work for the highest bidder,” Ayumi replied, “but certain people they will not hunt down; they refused to hunt down the avatar or anyone related to or friends with Iresu, Zeruda, or Tenoko. They’re quick-witted, Katara. You fit right in.”
“And you supposed that you two don’t,” said a voice; Tenoko and Azula had come in.
“There was a reason I was quick to accept you, Ayumi” said Tenoko, “because I know when you’re playing a game; I didn’t see it that time. Besides, with you on our side, we can end this war much sooner than expected. You two are prominent figures.”
“I know,” Orzon replied, “and after Ayumi’s remarks to me about her feelings on all of this, we realized that we were in fact on the wrong side. We owe The Avatar guard an apology of two.”
“Then it is decided,” said Azula, “We are going to end this war or die trying. We are almost to the mouth of the river, Tenoko. From there we will be able to approach Xin Shing’s lair—The Tower of Order.”
Katara suddenly looked up.
“I met Xin Shing once,” she said, “he gave me the usual spiel about power, but I suddenly figured how I could use it against him. He works with treachery and betrayal. All it would take would be a rehash of the Dark Warrior scheme again, and I could fit right in to his Tower Guard.”
“Tower Guard,” Azula, Ayumi, Orzon, and Tenoko all exclaimed, and Katara looked at them all with a confused expression on her face.
“He never told any of you,” she exclaimed, “not even you Orzon; Ayumi?”
They all shook their heads.
“This could be harder than I thought then,” said Katara, looking slightly nervous, “before we can reach him and end this war, we need to meet with The Avatar Guard. We need to plan how to get past Xin Shing’s Tower Guard.”
~Azula~
