ATLA, In A Darker World

Haican ….

Southern Earth Kingdom….

'Finally, a clean opening'.

Squelch!

The sickening sound of cutting flesh resounded in the tunnel as the Captain's head fell to the floor.

The body stiffened under Luca's gaze. The hands twitching slightly before it fell to the floor.

Thud.

'Alright then …. That's one'. Luca thought inwardly while looking at the Captain's corpse.

The following events after he heard the tunnel door opening was honestly beyond his expectations.

His initial worries had been that this was a scout team tasked with finding out why the soldiers he killed hadn't returned yet.

For that possible scenario, he had been wondering whether to stealthily kill off the entire group or escape before they returned with the news that something was wrong.

The result ..... Left him stunned.

A bunch of kids?

Standing on the tunnel ceiling, Luca watched the teenagers only a few years younger than his current self with puzzlement.

Yep, you heard that right. Standing on the ceiling.

The moment he blew the torch out, Luca had walked up the walls and hung upside down from the ceiling.

How did he accomplish this?

By attaching Chi to the soles of his shoes.

Another thing he picked up when learning to infuse Chi into his weapons.

Attaching Chi to objects could allow him to temporarily alter the objects surface tension.

In this case, by surrounding his footwear with chi and distributing it, Luca could generate traction allowing him to achieve an effect similar to Spider-Man's wall crawling.

Compared to his usage of Chi for other purposes, the minimal costs for this was minimal. He didn't need to utilize spirit Chi to do it.

This meant that potentially all humans had the chance to learn this. If their ability to control Chi was up to par.

'This would be the perfect skill set for assassins in large cities'. The thought crossed through his mind.

Hence, he had swiftly moved deeper into the tunnel, climbed up to observe the following developments and decided to act on the circumstances as he saw fit.

Three minutes later, Luca felt like he was watching a rich plot scenario.

Forget everything else. Just the people who consisted this group could be described as special.

An Earthbender, Waterbender, an explosion specialist, a regular human ..... The last one caught his attention more than the others.

A Kyoshi Warrior.

Here? How?

The Kyoshi warriors were special supporting characters in the Avatar series. Or it was better to say that Suki, the only named one in the series was the main supporting character.

She was the one who had the most screen time, character development as well as the only one who was seen with her makeup and uniform off.

The others weren't even given proper names.

Were rarely mentioned and only had two appearances before Azula captured them alongside Suki.

Even then, the treatment they received was different. The rest of the Kyoshi warriors were carried off to Capital Prison on the Fire Islands, the same place he broke out from while Suki as their leader was given the special privilege of being taken to the most secure facility, The Boiling Rock.

Her imprisonment only lasted a few short months before she was saved by Sokka who came to find his father while her sisters had to wait till the war ended before being saved.

If this wasn't the highest treatment for supporting characters, Luca wasn't sure what was.

But that wasn't the point.

Why and how was one here? According to the timeline, the Kyoshi warriors should either be preparing to leave the island or had barely left.

But this place was far from that area. Hell, it was easier to get to Omashu from Kyoshi Island than from his current location.

The thought process was brought to an end with the reveal of the Captain.

Unfortunately, the time and situation wasn't convenient. If not, as a Fanfiction author, Luca felt the urge to write all this down and use it to document a novel of his own.

'Perhaps …. I just might'.

He already had an idea for the title.

(Darkest Nights …

An insight into the lives of the Allies Of The Avatar During The Hundred-Year War)

The synopsis would go as such ….

...

— After a Hundred Years, The Last Airbender returned. Travelling the world with his team to master the elements. Meanwhile, a group of teenagers decided not to wait .....—

...

Unlikely his fanfictions back on earth, this should rack up a considerable amount of fame and fortune.

He might be able to ascend onto the platform of legendary writers after the end of the hundred-year war.

But that was future speculation.

Standing on the ceiling, Luca's gaze narrowed as the situation grew more complicated with each passing second.

Up until the confrontation heated up with the Waterbender taking the first strike and the subsequent retreat.

"Capture them, Alive".

The figures of the Earthbenders rushing in the mist was visible.

In a split second, Luca made a choice.

Falling from the ceiling, he appeared behind the Captain's back and slashed with the poison daggers across his neck.

Blood stained the poison knives and Luca who made the kill with it.

The Captain had his head separated, probably unaware of what killed him even at the time of death.

A bloody smell wafted into the air.

With the Captain dead, Luca turned his gaze to the only other living person around him.

Fenfang stood frozen in shock at the sight before her. Blood splashed on her face, some entering her slightly open mouth.

Seeing Luca's gaze, her mind snapped back to reality as she hurriedly backed away in fear.

Seeing this, Luca frowned.

What was he going to do with this one?

"You ...". The small girl trembled, fear clearly displayed in her pupils.

".... You ..... Who are you? …".

The sight of stained blades and the dead body of the Captain she once feared was more than enough to frighten her.

"Don't …. Don't come over here. I'll scream …".

She uttered warily while opening up the distance. Only to find that Luca paid her no heed.

Currently, his mind was elsewhere as he knelt down and placed his hand on the Captain's corpse.

A white light enveloped his hand, staying that way for several seconds before dissipating.

"Almost Two Hundred, huh?"

He uttered in a calm voice before standing up again.

Luca raised an eyebrow.

His gaze shifted to the female once again, taking a good look at Fenfang, before turning and walking into the tunnel.

The frightened blonde watched as he walked away.

Farther and farther.

Until

"Word of advice…". Luca's footsteps paused. Turning his face to show his side profile.

'So … So … Young'. Fenfang thought at the sight of his features. Luca looked older than her and her group, but he was young nonetheless.

Only noticing it after the initial fright had passed.

"... Don't run. Because I'll find and kill you if you do".

His plain voice fell into her ears, causing her pupils to constrict and her body to shudder slightly.

However …. "Of course you can still try".

His words fell as he resumed his walking.

"But anyone else you run into after that might end your life before I do".

Those were his last words as his steps quickened, and he began to pick up pace.

Chi surged through his veins. Following which, he dashed into the dark tunnel and disappeared under her gaze.

The sound of rapid footsteps resounded as a figure made his way through the darkness.

Luca ran forward with an impassive expression on his face but hidden underneath was a heavy frown.

Before leaving, his last words weren't a lie.

Leaving Fenfang alive could lead to potential trouble.

Currently, his mood was greatly unsettled. But not because of the possible complications that may take place but due to the first thought that came to his mind when he thought of it.

'Kill her'.

At that moment, he had felt it.

It wasn't a voice in his head.

No ….

The instinctive reaction to raise his blade and slash at the young girl's throat at that moment had caused his hand to twitch.

Thankfully, he stopped himself in time to realize what he was about to do.

'I nearly killed a young defenseless girl'. His brows furrowed deeply.

'Just because of a possible inconvenience'.

Once this thought settled in, it unsettled him greatly.

He had felt nothing strange before when he killed someone without feeling remorse.

After all, he had inherited the memories of a seasoned killer.

Back in the Fire Nation military academy, he had been taught several dozen ways to end a man's life.

How to do it under different circumstances and under the worst inconveniences.

Those thoughts reappeared in his mind, fresh as if classes were just yesterday.

Coupled with the fact that the Fire Nation were now enemies, he never worried that this would become a problem.

Until today.

The girl Fenfang wasn't an enemy. She had no skill, no strength, no bending, nor was she a threat.

She hadn't done anything that required her permanent silencing.

Just another refugee in this dark world, trying to survive.

This was his evaluation.

Yet despite knowing all that ..... The initial reaction his body and mind had was immediate readiness to end her life simply because she might inconvenience him.

'Something's wrong with me'.

He thought with narrowed eyes.

This was a concern.

One he had to fix no matter what.

This was why he warned her.

If the girl was sensible, then she would stay put. If not, then he wouldn't mind sending …

'Hold on ….'. While he was running, his eyes couldn't help but widen at something he had overlooked.

'Why didn't I just knock her out?'

Rumble!

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rumbling earth.

His pace reduced as he slowed down his running steps.

The extra thoughts in his mind were filtered out as he focused on his next course of action.

The tunnel was brightened up with lanterns as the scene of Mingxia, Dandan, Meilin and Peng making a defensive stance against the Earthbenders.

The path further down the tunnel had been sealed off.

Probably by the Earthbenders themselves to prevent them from escaping further.

- Spirit Chi: -10 -

Stirring his Spirit Chi, he made a quick assessment of their positions before speeding up again without any intention of concealing his movements.

The tunnel was narrow and lit by lanterns. Attempting stealthy attacks was simply a waste of time.

— Dexterity 9(16), Strength 10 (16)

With the blessing of speed and strength increase, he rushed behind the unsuspecting soldiers at rapid speed.

There were four of them in total.

The standing side by side at the back. Luca ran up from their blind spots. His instant acceleration pushing him forward as he made a high leap, both weapons in hand hacking down in harmony.

The two Earthbenders had barely heard the sound from behind them when their skulls were cracked open.

Blood splattered on the floor as two more corpses were added to tonight's body count.

"What the ….".

"... Who …". The noise drew the attention of the other two soldiers.

What just happened?

Unfortunately, no one was giving them time to think.

Killing the first two, his actions didn't pause as he dashed for the next target without stopping.

Unlike the others, these two were far apart so he could only deal with them one at a time.

The first one saw Luca heading towards him and was immediately startled.

Rumble!

His Chi stirred as the earth underneath his feet erupted, sending a large rock in the enemy's direction.

For such a hasty, predictable attack, Luca didn't even bother to phase through it.

Tilting his body to the side, he narrowly dodged the rock by a hairs breadth and pushed forward, slashing his daggers in an X cutting motion.

A shriek could be heard as the Earth bender yelled in pain before falling backwards.

Blood poured out of his slashed chest profusely.

At that moment, Luca turned his gaze only to see a large spike sticking out of the earth in an attempt to impale him in one go.

His body was turning around currently, so dodging unscathed was practically impossible.

The Earthbender was smart enough to use his companion's death to his advantage.

In his current stance and position, only those with high flexibility could twist their way out of this one. Even then, an injury was highly likely.

Other than that, anyone else apart from a powerful bender would probably die here.

The attack connected ..... Or did it?

Luca's movements still didn't stop. His body completing the turn and rushing towards the last one while ignoring the attack as if it never existed.

The scene stunned the Earthbender so much that he didn't react in time to avoid the poison daggers hurled at his skull.

Bang!

Squelch!

The soldier was pinned to the wall loudly with a knife inserted into his face.

His hands twitched before his whole body went limp.

Seeing the last soldier dead, Luca's offensive rhythm came to an end. He walked towards the corpse and drew the dagger out while muttering softly.

"Don't tell me I'm developing a knack for killing people with a blade to the face".

Flicking his wrist, blood spilled on the floor from the blade.

Following which, he raised his gaze to the frozen four who hadn't moved a muscle since his appearance.

Their faces wide with fear, caution, and disbelief.

....

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