Avatar: The Birth of a New World

Haru

Haru was about to reply, but a guard burst in at that moment. The man quickly bowed to his Lord before quickly going on.

"Lord Haru, Lu's Patrol squad has found something. You need to come right away. It...it might just be the Avatar, milord."

((Will edit this post a bit more after school.))

Haru

Haru's face hardened at this news. He ignored Meng for the moment and turned his full attention onto the guard.

"Very well. Have the prisoners brought to the dungeon. But do not harm them. I wish to interrogate them myself."

The man gave a quick bow and then left the room to carry out the orders.

Meng's joy faded away at the news and she awkwardly stood to the side as Haru issued out the orders. Was the Avatar really here? After all of this time? It seemed unlikely, that the Avatar would end up here, out of all of the places in all of the world, but maybe that was why they had stayed here. Aunt Wu was good at predicting that kind of stuff, after all.

As if her thoughts had summoned the older woman, Aunt Wu entered the room then, the missing scroll in her hands.

"It is the Avatar," she proclaimed. "A most powerful bender, though she does not possess the full knowledge of the art."

(Um, just thought I should put it out there, but going through the previous pages, you never said if June was accepted or not...sorry for the inconvenience.)

((Oh? Sorry. Yes, June is accepted.))

Haru

"Is there anything you can tell me about the Avatar?" Haru turned his attention over to Aunt Wu, and barely took notice of the missing scroll in her hands. His entire body started to tense up at the prospect of having the Avatar in his clutches, after all these years. Finally! After waiting all this time, he was one step closer to avenging his parent's deaths...

Meng took an awkward step closer to Haru and moved to place her hand around his arm, to give him some comfort, but instead she only let her arm drop back down. She hated whenever the subject of the Avatar came up. He always responded like this, and then had no time for her.

"She's not alone," Aunt Wu responded. "The clouds tell me that she has only just gained new companions."

Katara stirred and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. She could see she was in some kind of cell, and she was alone. That would mean that the other three people were probably somewhere nearby, but she had no idea where Nanuk could be. She sat up felt around for anything, but realized that she'd only had her clothes when captured, so there was no reason to suspect she'd have her water skin, even if they hadn't searched her. Whoever 'they' were.

Longshot groaned as he woke up, frowning as he took in his surroundings. He was in a metal cell along with Toph and the Fire Nation girl. He grimaced and slowly shook the small earthbender so she'd awaken. They needed to find a way out.

Haru

"They hardly matter. After I've confirmed her identity, they can be let go or sold into slavery, for all I care. All that matters is that the Avatar is secured and bound, and in good enough condition to I can deliver her to Bumi the Tyrant."

Mai

Mai slowly became conscious herself as the sedative's effects started to wear off. She blinked a few times and took careful note of her surroundings. Ah. So she was captured and was now in some smelly and decaying old dungeon. That seemed rather familiar, Mai noted to herself dryly. Well, at least this time her captors hadn't been so thorough in stripping her of weapons. Mai had a three daggers hidden within her undergarments that whoever had searched them failed to find, it seemed. Though in her current state she could hardly reach them.

Meng fought hard to bite back her disappointment. Nobody ever mattered, except for the Avatar. And she hated it. But maybe, someday, somebody else would matter to Haru, and that somebody would be her.

"If Aunt Wu says it's her, then it's her," Meng said. "Aunt Wu is always right."

------------

Toph's left hand moved in response to the shaking, the fingers stretching out before suddenly latching onto the metal floor beneath her. Her other hand repeated the movements and then the young earthbender bolted upright, a cry of alarm escaping from her lips before she could stop it.

She couldn't see!

Blindly she reached out and found Longshot's arm not far from where she sat. The panic started to die down. As long as she had Longshot, she was okay. He could be her eyes.

"Where are we?"

Longshot's eyes widened at Toph's cry. Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around her, realizing what was wrong. Of course. Metal interfered with her sight.

"I don't know," he admitted quietly, glancing at the three metallic walls and the bars of their cell, "We were captured by someone. We're in a cell."

Who captured them though Was it slavers? A local warlord? Or maybe. He suppressed a gulp, his grandfather's men? No. the old man didn't know where Longshot was and that was the way he liked it.

Haru

"That's debateable. But yes, I do believe her. Very well. Any last advice you want to offer, Aunt Wu, before I interrogate the Avatar?" Haru gave a questioning glance at the old woman as he headed toward the exit of the storage room.

Mai

Mai looked over to the blind girl and her companion as she did her best to judge the distance between them all. Not too far, but yet not close enough for her plan to work. Still, she did have to try. Mai had no intention of staying in this place, after what happened in her previous time in a dungeon.

"Can either of you reach over to me? I have two knives and a lock pick hidden in my chest bindings. I might be able to get us out of here with that."

Ah. So they were in a cell. A freakin' metal cell. Great, just great. Toph shoved Longshot's arm away, even though that was the last thing that she wanted to do. It was nice, knowing that there was somebody else out there, and it was even more nice just because it was Longshot, but she didn't want everyone to think that she was some wuss--not that her scream had helped with that...

"It'll probably be better if I do it," Toph said as she glanced in Mai's direction. "Being the girl and all." Except for, how exactly was she supposed to find what she was looking for, without making things too awkward? Ah, well. Touch and sound were what had guided her before. She would just have to try her best.

-------------

"A person tells you more when they think you are their friend, instead of an enemy," Aunt Wu said. "Though by locking them up, you have already gained their mistrust."

Meng chewed on her lip as she watched the retreating form of Haru. She wanted to go with him, but the last thing she wanted to do was get in his way.

Mai

"Ok. Sounds fine to me." Mai didn't particularly care which of those two kids tried to fish her knives and her lock pick out of her chest bindings. So long as one of them was actually able to reach her and do so, Mai didn't care at all which one of them did the deed. Though hopefully she'd be able to use those tools to break her chains and succeed at it.

((I'll post again with Haru beginning the interrogation of Katara after school when I have a lot more time.))

Haru

Haru gave a very brief nod at Aunt Wu before leaving the room. He paused, though, before he left the sight of the doorway.

"If the Avatar escapes, keep Meng safe, Aunt Wu. And watch yourself, as well. I've read stories about the Avatar, and what they can do when threatened. It isn't pretty."

Before either could respond Haru then disappeared from view.

-----------------

A few short minutes later Haru strode down the dungeon corridors, walking straight past the cell holding the Avatar's companions. Once he arrived at the cell containing Katara the guard keeping watch over her opened the door, and he stepped in.

"Well well, if it isn't the Avatar. You're younger than I expected." Haru stated as she stood before Katara.

Katara glared at him, before retorting, "you're a little young to be chaining girls up in your basement." She thought she had heard the others, but couldn't be sure, especially now that this guy had showed up. It looked like rescuing Sokka would be delayed, and they really couldn't afford that. "Seriously, who's the real person in command here?"

Meng bit her lip as Haru left, his words clearly a dismissal. Couldn't he see that she wanted to go with him? No, if he could see that, then he could also see that she sort of, kind of, maybe, perhaps... liked him... a lot.

As if sensing her sunken mood, Aunt Wu was at her side in an instant, putting an arm around the awkward girl. "Let's go make some tea, Meng."

"...Yes, Aunt Wu."

The two of them turned to leave the room.

"He'll come around," the fortuneteller told her. "Just have patience."

---------------

Toph cocked her head to the side as she heard voices, but then gave a slight shake of her head and reached forward, padding the ground a couple of times before coming across Mai. She fumbled for a moment, until she found what she was looking for. Carefully, but quickly, she pulled out the two knives and the lock pick and then (after a moment of searching) shoved them into the girl's hands.

"Got them," she said as she leaned back.

Longshot frowned as he heard voices. It sounded like their captor had finally decided to show their face, at least to Katara, anyway. He supposed he, Toph, and Mai weren't important enough to warrant any attention, which was fine by him. Less attention meant they could work on escaping easier. He smiled slightly when he saw Toph hand Mai her knives.

Haru

Haru snarled at the Avatar and slapped her hard across the face. "Silence! You will show respect to your superior! I am a Lord Regent under the command of Emperor Bumi. You will not dare speak to me in such a way!"

Mai

Mai nodded wordlessly and set to work trying to free herself from her bonds. After a few minutes she managed to undo one of her shackles and set to work on the other arm chain. Within a few seconds of trying to undo the other one, however, the lockpick Mai was using snapped in two, leaving her only with the two small knives.

"...."

Katara's eyes welled up with tears from the slap, but her gaze was full of anger and defiance. "Superior? I am the Avatar. If you want respect from me, you should show a little yourself." So this guy was under the command of an Emperor, or something like that. This was not going to be easy to get out of.

Longshot felt his eyes widen. Bumi? No, they weren't anywhere near the old man's territory. They were miles away from his borders! They couldn't be in one of his Regents' dungeons.

"Crap," Toph muttered as she reached a hand back, to grasp onto Longshot's arm before settling herself back down. Had she really been leading her and Longshot into trouble, instead of away from it? And had they really covered that much distance since she had been in charge of their course?

Well, there was no use worrying about it now. What mattered was getting out of here.

Longshot grabbed Toph's arm instinctively before allowing it to slacken. It was no matter. Bumi didn't know he was here and if he was lucky, he'd never know. They just had to get out.

Haru

"Silence!" Haru raised a hand to strike her again, but he paused. He slowly let it fall while he gave the Avatar a smoldering glare. Haru smirked a moment later, though.

"I must say, it's rather lucky of me to have caught you before you could learn the other elements. Emperor Bumi will be rather pleased with me when I deliver you to him."

"How do you know I don't already know the other elements," Katara asked, trying to bluff. "And what does your Emperor want with me?" The Avatar had to keep the world in balance, or something like that, but that didn't explain why an Emperor would have one of his subordinates kidnap her like this. Something strange was going on here, and she knew being brought to this emperor would not be a good thing.