Cadence stared askance at the barely there 'ice fountain' in the middle of the oasis town Iroh had guided the group to. It was a far cry from what records had described it as ages ago, and Cadence couldn't help but feel sorrowful as she saw what was left of what had once been a natural wonder of the world. Is this, too, a scar of the war? she found herself thinking.
As she stared, she overheard two men - one looking youngish and strong, the other older and business like, both dressed in well-to-do Earth Kingdom colors - speaking with a local. "Yeah," the local was saying. "A little barefoot blind girl and her friends passed through here a few days ago."
Toph? Cadence thought in shock. Toph was here? Why in the world would she and her group be here? It's not exactly a vacation spot... She glanced towards the ice spring. Not in its current condition.
"They were asking around about new maps or something," the local continued.
Of course, Cadence thought silently, doing her best not to laugh. Aang's map is so out of date.
The older Earth Kingdom gentleman - the one with a long goatee and mustache - spoke up. "Did they give you any indication of where they were headed?"
The local glanced slyly at them. "Maybe you could give me a little...incentive?" he asked, holding out his hand and rubbing his fingers together, an obvious request for a bribe.
"You suggesting I break your fingers?" the muscle bound fellow beside him demanded.
"They went into the desert," the local replied quickly. "Too bad there's almost no chance they survived."
At first Cadence froze in fear, but then shook herself off. They have Appa, she told herself. They'll be fine. But...maybe I should try and contact Wan Shi Tong to keep an eye out for them...if only to be sure Toph survives.
"That's okay," the muscle-bound man replied, crossing his arms. "She's wanted dead or alive."
Cadence's eyes narrowed to slits. We'll just see about that...
"No she's not!" the gentleman countered. "I'm certain her father wants her alive!"
Cadence grit her teeth. Toph had complained a great deal about her father during their short talk over tea a few days back. There was no way Cadence was going to let him drag her back because of these idiots. She could at least sow a little misdirection via Iroh's contact here. Turning, she followed Iroh and Zuko into the tavern while Jong and Zhin began patrolling, pretending to wander around town.
Once inside, Cadence watched, unsurprised, as Iroh moved to play Pai Sho with an old man sitting alone at a table. She saw Zuko watching carefully as Iroh performed the ritualistic greeting, shaping the lotus pattern on the table. "Welcome brother," the stranger old man greeted as the 'game' ended. "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."
As they were preparing to follow the old man out, the two strangers from before tried to apprehend them...only for the old man to make the entire tavern aware of the 'gold' value of the bounty, leading to a total free for all. Cadence chuckled as they slipped out in the confusion.
Jong and Zhin seemed almost to materialize out of the night as the group left the tavern. "Earthbenders trying to collect the bounty on us," Zuko told them softly.
"I'm prepared," Zhin replied, shifting his quiver so certain arrows were in easy reach. These were fletched to spin rapidly in flight, and the arrowhead was replaced with a small metal drill. While not very accurate at long range, at close range it would drill right through a wall of earth to hit the one behind it. Zhin had designed these arrows specifically to deal with Earthbenders, who would think a thin wall of earth could deflect arrows.
"Do you have arrows for everything?" Zuko asked, impressed.
"Yup," Zhin replied. "Even ones for non-lethal takedowns."(1)
Zuko shook his head in amazement. "Remind me not to cross you..."
The White Lotus member led the trio into the back room of a flower shop, once he was informed that Zuko was a new initiate. Jong and Zhin stayed outside of the back room, keeping watch. There were several other members of the White Lotus in the back room, and it was quite an intense meeting. One thing that surprised both Cadence and Zuko was one particular member, an old man who kept himself almost completely concealed in ropes and wrappings, and spoke only by whispering to a young companion who shared what his 'Master' had to say. While that was strange enough to Cadence and Zuko, what was even stranger was how everyone - even Iroh - paid great deference to the old man, even more than the Generals did before the Fire Lord.
Cadence came to the conclusion that he was either the head of the Order, or someone of great importance. He asked several questions about the Avatar, but otherwise said little, only occasionally nodding or shaking his head.
Eventually, the decision was reached to arrange for clean Earth Kingdom passports for the party. Cadence spoke up that they only needed to arrange it for Zuko, Jong, and Zhin, as she still had the ones Bumi had provided herself and Iroh back during their journey years back. Bringing them out, it was confirmed they were still valid.
At Cadence's request, anyone asking about 'a barefooted blind girl and her friends' in town would be informed that they were seen heading due south. With luck, this would throw those after Toph off her trail.
As everyone left and the flower seller made preparation to sneak them all out of town, Iroh turned to Zuko and Cadence. "Do you have any questions?" he asked.
"Who...who is he?" Zuko asked, glancing towards the old man as he left.
Iroh quickly pulled Zuko's head back. "Do not watch him, Zuko. If possible, forget you saw him. He and his...are the greatest secret the Order has kept for over a century, and neither of you are advanced enough in the Order to know why. If you can, forget you saw him."
Cadence's eyes widened as she saw something that made her realize just what was so important about the secret. The old man had rested his hand on his young companion's shoulders, and the wrappings on his hand had briefly become unwrapped.
A blue arrow was tattooed on the wizened flesh.
(1) I didn't mean to do this to Zhin, but I feel compelled to say here...no, his non-lethal takedown arrows aren't boxing glove tipped.
Were it not for Green Arrow v.s. Hawkeye, I would not have understood that reference.
Got to the part of about non-lethal take downs and thought boxing gloves, then came the footnote.
WASHAPAAAA????!!!!!!
BLUE ARROW TATTOO!!!!
So an air bender survived the genocide. Interesting.
snrk... boxing glove tips...
Aww
Holy shit, The White Lotus has an Air Nomad in their ranks!
Not in it's current condition
1. Its.
Hopefully those gold diggers won't be... Blinded by the false lead lest things go south.
I think Cadence saw... The point of the wise old(er) man there.
Wow, Shin has quite a arsenal there. I'm positively... Quivering in my boots.
So there goes the theory that Shin is Green Arrow
/shrug
My first thoughts went to blunts: arrowheads designed for target practice and stunning (not penetrating) small game.
HRK!
derpicdn.net/img/2012/12/29/196225/medium.gif
SAY WHAT AGAIN?
6755152
Avatar went missing a century ago.
He's the secret the order has been keeping for a century.
Last avatar was an airbender...
Illuminati confirmed
OH, COME ON!!!
I had just imagined him with the green hat and everything! Stop crushing my dreams!
6755281 the Avatar before Angg was Avatar Roku, a Firebender. each Avatar is born in a sequence of the elements. Water, Earth, Fire, Wind...its y the next Avatar was born to the Water Tribes
6755321
Ah, coolio.
Illuminati busted
I wonder who the survivor is? It can't be Monk Kiatsu due to the fact that the avatar found his corpse at the southern air temple, and it can't be Aang due to the fact that he is an old man.
Dang.
I'm so glad you didn't. It's one thing to hint and pay homage to the idea, but any more than that and it becomes tacky.
Makes me wonder what the arrows are truly. Burned-tip?
was not expecting another Airbender
6755137 It's obvious that the boxing glove arrows are for something else.
drmcninja.com/wp-content/uploads/aplusx86.jpg
Definitely non-non-lethal.
6755199
I think you've spent too long staring into the typo abyss, friend.
I believe you meant 'an arsenal', not 'a arsenal'.
The puns were fairly on point, though. Nothing earth shattering, but still some pretty hot ones.
Is that canon? The airbender I mean, not the arrow stuff.
6755199
your puns are surely on point in fact you could say you hit a bullseye....
I am a bad cat hybrid
6755592
Depends on how you define canon.
Is an Air Bender ever shown to be among the Order of the White Lotus in the show? No.
However, surviving sky bison are found post the war, so it's not unreasonable to believe that some Air Benders could have as well.
6755349 fake corpse?
6755610
A hundred years later though? Wouldn't they just forgo the tattoos in order to keep the secret better? And by that I mean that any surviving air benders would be dead by this time, and I'm commenting on their students forgoing the tattoos.
6755639
Bumi was around 100 years ago, Aang's age. He's still around.
The implication is that this is a surviving Air Bender Aang's age...or, was Aang's age 100 years ago. In other words, Bumi's age.
Yeah, I can believe that. The airbenders were supposedly nomadic, so it makes sense that at least some of them would have been away from the temples when the attacks hit. Then, as soon as the hear what's happening, they scatter like the wind and look for cracks to slip through... or a conveniently open door into the back room of a flower shop.
6755651
Oh yeah. I forgot about him.
6755614 Then why would the fake corpse have this on it? enthusiacs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/water3-551.jpg
Before you tell me that he threw Aang's gift in with the fake corpse, I would like to point out that the air bender from the chapter had the arrow markings. The same markings that would quickly show if someone is an air bender. (I mean, it didn't take long for the southern Water tribe that long to connect Aang's tattoos to the fact that he is an air bender, and they live in the south pole.) Thus, taking or leaving the necklace would not affect his disguise in any way. There is also the simple fact that he would not be able to live that long. In Avatar Roku's flashback, it is shown that Monk Kiatsu is about Roku's age, give or take a few years. He is also shown to be an old man in Aang's flashback. At the time, Bumi was also Aang's age. Now, Bumi is now a very old man. There are now only two ways that Kiatsu could still be alive. Either Monk Kiatsu somehow froze himself, or he manage to out live the lifespan of two Avatars. The most logical conclusion to this confusing caper is that he was either killed by the fire nation, or he died of old age. Either way, this air nomad can't be Kiatsu.
6755875 I see you points.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
6755930 Well, yeah, that bit's pretty obvious. I mean, between Ember Island and a majority of The Search, it's clear that Azula wants some love... oh, are you talking about your version? Well, if that's the case... why not create a setup where Azula learns? Why not have a story where, instead of a set hero and a set villain, there are merely people reaching a set destination? Why is it that Azula happens to be the one person who has not received Cadence's guidance? Heck, you had Wan Shi Tong, freaking Wan Shi Tong, learn a lesson about caring about things! What's next, are you going to have Koh reconcile with his mo-... oh wait, you never read The Search, so you wouldn't know what I'm talking about...
Anywho, it sucks that Azula's going to be the "The Fates" of this story, and that seems to be this story's one, true shortcoming: CONVENIENT WRITING! Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuun...
P.S. "The Storm" probably has less meaning now, but it isn't that much of a loss, I suppose.
{Aang...
Zuko:...
Aang:...
Zuko:...
Katara: Aang, what just happened?
Aang: We just had a staring contest, and Zuko lost.
Iroh: Zuko, should we capture the Avatar?
Zuko: No, we won't... because I just won a staring contest!
Cadence: *facehoof*}
Who knows, though, maybe there'll be something to it; it all depends on how things progress.
6756010
Well, as I've said before, this story isn't about tweaking the Avatar world (as far as A:TLA is concerned) into unrecognizability. It's about using Cadence to explore an alternate interpretation of characters within that continuity. The "how" might be pretty close to the original...but it's the "why" that's important, and that is going to change majorly.
6755531 Darn, guess I did. Guess I was shafted this time huh?
6756035 Well of course, it's just that when you take away the original why, some people forget to replace it with a greater than or equal to why... *sniff* I just don't want this story to have a lesser why!
Probably.
Toph? Why would she be here?
That would do it.
Dead or alive? Uh, who the hell wants her dead? Dead is pretty much the opposite of what her parents want her, it's WHY they're so overprotective.
I'm with ya.
Whoah, who do you think you are, Green Arrow?
Are they boxing gloves arrows?!
Dammit. Makes sense though, with how fast an arrow can go, a boxing glove arrow COULD potentially be letahl if fired fast enough.
Wait a tick tock, is he an Airbender?
6756050
Trust me, it won't be lesser. I have big plans for this story.
Though fair warning, I did not enjoy LoK, and never read the interquel comics, so don't necessarily expect to be able to rationalize them to how this story ends.
6756065 ... Is he asking for it?
(I think he's asking for it.)
What's he asking for, then?
{Probably to masterfully jape him in... japery, I guess}
Nah, that sounds stupid, let's just do what I normally do in situations like this.
*Ahem*... You think WHA-
*BEEEEEEEEEE...*
Sorry about that, but... you didn't like Korra? Like... not even marginally?I mean, I understand not going on Youtube and watching some comics, but not liking Korra... I'm sorry, but... I'm afraid that just doesn't compute. I mean, it had things to like about, didn't it? It had a plot and stuff, right? There were SOME funny jokes, right? I mean... the fight scenes were at least fairly spectacular, right?...
Eh, who am I kidding: EVERYONE seems to hate Korra for whatever reason for... whatever reason. You know, things like "I can't identify with Korra!", "Lots of these characters are ones I don't particularly care for!", "There's nothing funny at all despite some of the genuinely funny moments!", "The villains were ultimately disappointing!", and most noticably, "The lesbian ending came out of nowhere despite all the people making fun of it throughout season 3 onwards!"
I'll be honest, it's not perfect, and it wasn't as good as Avatar, but I still found enjoyment in it. Whether it was Korra understanding herself or the masterful fight scenes, the creators certainly "did the thing"... so, what are your thoughts on the matter?
6756095
Honestly, I couldn't stand the darker atmosphere it created.
I mean, A:TLA is at the tail end of a 100 year war that has reshaped - and nearly destroyed - the world...and yet it manages to still be lighthearted and hopeful. In Korra, when the world has grown to the point where the damage is being repaired? It's an overall darker, edgier atmosphere.
Not only that, it wasn't the world building or the epic fight scenes that got me hooked on Avatar. It was the characters. Whether the Gaang, Zuko and Iroh and company, or even the villains on occasion...they were fun to watch interact. And then Korra came along, claiming to be a sequel to A:TLA...and they're all gone. If not for the fact it took place in the same world, it might as well have been a new IP. Only two characters remained from the original (two of the best, I'll admit, love Toph and Iroh), but they barely appear.
That, and I've never been all that fond of steampunk.
6755875 just gonna point out that Bumi is bloody ANCIENT. Whats-his-face from the air temple could quite possibly have found... something/some way to keep on going.
6756110 Phew, I thought it was something stupid, but these are actual, legitimate concerns.
To be fair, though, TLA had some steam punk moments here and there, like with the tanks and stuff... unless it doesn't really count.
6756114
I don't mind the occasional steampunk element. The tanks and war balloons were freakin' awesome, and by then the show had me hooked for the characters.
It's when it's a steampunk setting that I start getting iffy going in.
Godamit! Y u no boxiglove arrow?!
6755321 And that is the slightly disappointing Legend of Korra series.
6756112
Bumi is as old as Aang. Occam's Razor says that the concealed Airbender is likewise. This does not mean that no Elder Airbender escaped. Most likely, some Airbenders from each category did in fact escape. Old age likely caught up to them as time wore on. Elders dying first, then each as they became the new elders.
6757186 Well sure, I gathered that from the context, I'm just curious why you changed the term.
6757189
Initially, because it was to imply Zuko's distaste for it because of the effect it had on his relationship with Mai. After that, because I'd already used the term and didn't want to change back.
6757194 Oh, OK.