ATLA, In A Darker World

New week, New Chapter.

.....

Mingxia's POV

A putrid smell wafted into the damp air of the underground tunnel. With two lanterns fallen on the floor, the dim light they emitted enabled me and everyone else to see the face of the person standing before us.

Drip, Drip, Drip,

The sound of dripping liquid resounded, clearly coming from his blood stained blade after pulling it out of the soldier's corpse.

The squelching sound made my skin crawl. And honestly, I was sure I wasn't the only one.

A tightening grip on my left had only further assured me of this fact.

'Don't worry Mei. We're gonna be ok'.

The only person who dared to hold me like that was Meilin. She usually played the part of the bravest, talkative, most daring one among us.

But right now, even she was frightened to her core.

She couldn't hear my thoughts, but my slight squeeze back was my attempt to convey them as best as I could.

Though, I didn't know if that was to assure her or to reassure myself.

Standing at the forefront, I could practically feel the tension as Peng and Dandan stood at my sides, a few inches behind me.

With the three of us guarding Meilin at the back, the only one with no combat ability or bending to defend herself in a serious situation.

Ever since we all met, we had always been like this. Protective, supportive, working together and fighting side by side to overcome all difficulties.

Together. It had brought us this far. But ...

Gulp!

That was Peng gulping. In such a quiet standoff, it was practically as loud as thunder.

I couldn't blame him. None of us would. Not even the usually snarky and sarcastic Meilin. The bloody sight that just took place before our eyes was seriously visual.

Those ..... Those were four Earthbenders. A group of soldiers with training and bending, who almost captured them.

But now …. All that was left of them were four corpses. How long had it taken? Nine? Ten seconds? Perhaps less.

"Alright then ….". He uttered while examining us with a curious expression. "... Now to you …".

Hearing this, my pupils shrank. The ice-cold feeling of my heart falling to the bottom of a pit spread throughout my body.

The worst possible scenario had come true.

"As one".

I yelled out loud as I drew my weapons. A katana in one hand and a gold colored war fan in the other. Both held together in the classic Avatar Kyoshi Fighting stance.

Although I had left Kyoshi Island years ago, my regalia and weapons were always carried with me. The regalia and makeup were rarely used after I left, but my weapons had always been by my side.

Dandan took out a stream of water, circling it around the four of us as the first layer of defense.

My eyes remained fixed on the enemy before us. Eyes wide to make sure I caught his slightest movements.

At that moment, I saw his expression shift. An eyebrow raising in what I could only assume to be surprise.

"You want to attack me?"

My eyes narrowed at his words. Replying in a tone without emotion.

"If you think we will just stand and wait for death, then you're out of luck".

I tried my best to sound as imposing as possible. Clamping, the nervousness and fear that threatened to rear its head and reveal itself to the adversary.

All while having my brain spin furiously for a solution out of this. None came out.

Currently, our roads were sealed.

The dead soldiers had used their bending to lock down the tunnel behind us while they were still alive.

As for the only other option ... Standing in our path was an unknown enemy more dangerous than the Earth benders sent to capture us.

We couldn't go back, and trying to break through forward harbored great uncertainty.

As a Kyoshi warrior myself, I had formal training in combat styles passed down from predecessors in the village. I was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, the use of a katana and Tessenjutsu.

A fighting form created for the usage of War fans by Avatar Kyoshi.

Back on the island, my spars with Suki usually ended in stalemates. So while Dandan was considered the strongest in our small group, I had the highest combat capability and experience.

It was precisely due to this that I knew how difficult it was to accomplish what this boy just did.

Even if he caught the first two by surprise, the followup was something I couldn't accomplish. Well ..... At least not so fast.

His movements were quick, agile, and ruthless. Everything was done efficiently in the shortest time possible.

I couldn't even tell how he dodged that last attack. Before and after leaving Kyoshi Island, this was the first time I had seen someone move this quickly and kill a living person so effectively.

After traveling the mainland, I had learned to listen to my gut. It was what brought us here. It was what told me that something was wrong with this stronghold.

And currently, it was informing me that trying to break past this guy would mostly likely get us all killed.

My grip on the weapons tightened with my uneasiness.

'Fighting is not an option. I'm not sure how good our chances are. But …. We don't necessarily have to win'.

My eyes darted as a plan formed in my mind.

The only option was to unseal the wall using Earthbending and escape from there. Here lay the problem. Compared to Dandan, Peng's bending ability was lackluster.

Although he could earthbend, he wasn't proficient in it and could only make small moves. Removing the earth over the tunnel hole earlier was about the best he could do.

But this earth wall wasn't as shallow as that one. From what I knew of his Earthbending, he would need time.

'Dandan and I will need to hold out long enough for Peng to open the wall, then stop him long enough to seal it back with us on the other side'.

Time Dandan and I would have to buy for him at all costs.

It was doable. I thought to myself at that moment. I was Confident in my ability to stall whoever this guy was with Dandan's help.

This wasn't going to be easy, though. The corpses by his feet said it all. But I wouldn't give up, not the slightest bit, while I still had the ….

"Alright". He uttered with a raised eyebrow, before turning around and walking to the side.

"... But, I'm not here for you".

"..". A sudden silence enveloped the cave.

"Wait. What?" I uttered slightly dumbfounded.

"I was in this tunnel when you and your friends happened to stumble in, bringing the enemy soldiers with you and almost blowing my cover".

He spoke while wiping his blade on the uniform of an Earthbender corpse.

"After you drew them away, I saw my chance, took action and killed the Captain".

My eyes narrowed at his words.

"Then why are you here?"

"If you were captured then the soldiers would return and discover that their leader had been killed. Then the whole base would be put on lockdown, making it harder for me to escape. I couldn't have that, so I followed here to finish the job".

His eyes shifted towards us.

"..... From the looks of it, I made the right call".

The serious look on my face faltered slightly.

Swish!

Dandan's water defense was put down.

"So you aren't going to kill us?" Peng asked with slight astonishment.

"Why will I try to kill other refugees?" He responded apathetically.

Everyone's expressions looked ..... Relieved.

I on the other hand, picked something out from that sentence.

"You're a refugee?" My face was etched with a frown as I questioned.

His gaze turned towards me. Making my nerves tense and lingered for a bit before turning away.

"Yep". He replied.

"Impossible". My refute was immediate. What does this guy take me for? A fool?

"Oh?"

"You just killed four Earthbenders.....".

I didn't know where the courage to question came from. Perhaps because he wasn't as scary as he initially seemed. Or so I thought.

"No regular refugee can do that". He was trained, he was armed, and he was dangerous. A regular refugee? I wouldn't believe it even if I was served to the unagi on a large metal plate.

"Hehehehe….". A chuckle escaped from his lips.

"You broke into a Collaborator base, stole four barrels of blasting jelly and planned to blow up their tunnel operations, yet still talk to me about what a regular refugee can and can't do?"

"I ….". Speechlessness gripped me for the first time, not expecting to receive such a refute.

Refugees were homeless, helpless people running away from the war. Yet, their actions didn't exactly fit the image of regular refugees now, did it?

This .....

"He has a point ….". A low whisper came from my side. I turned towards Peng and glared, causing the boy to shrink in fear.

Thud, Thud, Thud,

"Huh?"

The sound of steady footsteps drew back my attention as the sight of him leaving fell into my eyes once again.

My glaring eyes widened slightly.

He's leaving? No sudden attack or anything?

"Hey! Where are you going?" I asked.

"Where else? Escaping". The dark-haired boy replied without turning around.

"Their soldiers almost sold me to the Fire Nation a while ago, so I killed them.  Now these guys appeared, and I killed them as well. Their deaths won't go unnoticed for long. I'd rather not be here when they begin searching".

I realized what he meant at that moment.

"You're one of the sold refugees".

I said while seeing him squat near a corpse.

'What's he doing?' I thought in puzzlement. 'Is he searching through their bodies? What for .....'.

Under our gazes, we saw him place his hand on one for a moment.

The next, our eyes widened.

A small, white glow emerged, briefly illuminating the cave for several seconds.

"His …. His hands …." Meilin who stood behind us had come from our backs at the moment, her eyes shining with amazement.

"What's he doing?" Peng was similarly dumbfounded.

"I … don't…".

Dandan observed the process with intrigue.

'It can't be ….'.

This light ..... It looked just like the water healing process all the way back home. The use of water bending to heal injuries through energy redirection on the Chi pathways.

He still remembered that time he was caught spying on one of Aunt Yagoda's healing sessions out of curiosity years ago at Agna Qel'a.

Of course, it was mere curiosity at the time, and that was three years ago.

But Healing was a skill exclusive to waterbenders. Was this boy a waterbender as well?

But, why was he performing healing on a corpse?

"It can't be ….". Dandan uttered, drawing their attention. "Can't be what?"

I asked.

"It's ..... I've seen this back home. It looks so similar to the healing technique I once saw my aunt perform. The white light .....".

Everyone's expressions changed.

"Healing technique?"

"I've heard of water tribe healing back on my island. But isn't that only for waterbenders?"

"Does that mean he's .....".

".... But why is he .....".

The white light disappeared.

"I escaped before they could sell me to the Fire Nation. So technically, I was never sold".

He uttered while moving to the next corpse and repeating the same process. Much to our confusion.

"Um …. Hello …".

We saw Dandan take several steps towards him.

"Are you ….".

"No". His cut Dandan short before he could finish.

"I'm not a waterbender. Nor am I from the Water Tribe".

Seeing him moving again after the process was done, I could see Dandan's frown.

"Then what are you doing?"

He once again squatted beside another corpse.

"Purifying their spirits".

"..". I wasn't the only one who was stunned.

"What?"

"Purifying their spirits so they can peacefully pass onto the afterlife". His tone was bland and apathetic.

"Evil souls in this life will receive great punishment for their actions when passing on to the next one. This lightens their burden and lessens the possible torture they will experience. No matter what they've done in this world, eternal damnation is too harsh a punishment for people whose lives have been affected by this cruel war".

If had lost count of how many times we had been collectively stunned today.

Where was this coming from?

"That ..... Is …. Deep". Peng uttered once again.

From the look on his face, I could tell he was deeply confused at what he just heard. A pondering look surfaced, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask more questions.

Not on my watch.

I stretched my arm to block him while throwing him another glare.

Before turning my head to the new guy.

Evil souls?

Punishment?

Eternal Damnation?

Why did this feel like something those seemingly wizened old men by the side of the streets say when trying to scam people off their money?

These separate words added together in such a way in that sentence was something I had never heard before. And coming from someone whose ancestor was the literal Avatar Kyoshi, the Avatar who was once the bridge between the physical world and the spiritual world, and coming from a village with rich cultural history, that was saying something.

For normal people, the afterlife was a vague concept.

This was the first time that I had ever heard someone use it in this way.

Who was this kid? A sage?

His young age clearly said otherwise. What kind of fools did he take us for?

He was clearly trying to deceive us.

Well ..... Peng wasn't completely mature in thinking so he was excluded.

Anyway, something smelt fishy here.

I didn't know what was wrong, but my gut instinct told me that something wasn't right here. So far, it had never led me astray. Especially with him. He was strangely off, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"That's quite some philosophical words ..... Coming from someone who takes lives so easily".

I uttered with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know who you are, but you certainly don't strike me as a refugee or a relative to some kind of Earth sage".

"My master was a Guru".

Thud!

Standing up, he replied while turning to face us again.

"And we all have something special about our pasts. Wouldn't you agree, Kyoshi Warrior?"

"Hmph". I snorted but didn't reply.

I could see the flash of amusement in his eyes.

"Like I said, I didn't come here for you. Nor do I have any need or desire to kill some nameless refugees seeking death. Your tension is pointless as if I wanted, you'd already be dead".

That struck a blow.

"Why you ….".

"Meilin. Enough". I cut her off before she said anything more.

A burning fury arose at my center and the anger in my eyes was apparent. Partly for those words he uttered, but mostly at her for forgetting the situation.

Had she forgotten so soon the stakes they were in? Or had she forgotten that she was trembling in fear a few moments ago.

Unbelievable, yet I wasn't surprised.

Even Dandan and Peng kept silent. I knew those words had struck a nerve, and I was angry myself. But it was the truth.

Perhaps this guy's seemingly easygoing character had made them change their initial impression of him, but I wasn't that swayed.

Now we were under an Earth kingdom fortress as hidden refugees. The collaborator Captain and his soldiers were dead. Who knows if there were anymore.

And in front of us was an unknown, very dangerous variable. Although he had practically saved their lives, but who knows whether he was friend or foe.

Antagonizing the enemy wasn't helping.

Seeing my eyes, her anger cooled off immediately as she kept silent.

"Am I wrong?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

His bland expression remaining unchanged.

"Because from my perspective, your collective strength and individual skill sets aren't enough to ensure you survive this endeavor in the possibility you were discovered".

He uttered, his eyebrows raised.

".... Which you were and almost got caught".

Everyone's fist tightened.

Mine especially. This was exactly what Meilin was worried about initially.

And like they say, they more you are worried about something bad happening, the more likely it is to happen.

If they had been caught, then their lives would have been worse than those who were dead.

"I'll take that as a no then". A slight trace of displeasure flashed through his eyes before returning to indifference.

"Either way, that's not my concern. Well, it hasn't been much of a pleasure meeting you, so I best be off".

He uttered before turning around and walking towards the other end of the tunnel.

"You're leaving?"

I asked with a frown.

Thud, Thud,

There was no reply.

My frown deepened even more. Turning to look at my companions, numerous thoughts flashed past my mind as I opened my mouth to speak.

"The base is crawling with soldiers. It's impossible to escape without alerting the entire base".

"I think I'll manage".

He answered curtly without stopping. Seemingly not wanting to give a chance for a lengthened conversation.

Seeing this, a look of struggle appeared on my face for a moment.

Following which ..... Just as he was about to disappear into the darkness.

"We know another way out".

Thud!

The footsteps paused.

Everyone else had their eyes widen.

"Mingxia what are you ….".

Unfortunately, I cut them short before they could continue.

"There's another way. A hidden sewer passage that can take us far away from the fortress".

"...". There was a moment of silence. Until ….

"Go on". Great, I had his attention.

"It's near the north wall. As long as you can get to it without being discovered, then it's a one-way route to freedom. But the entry point has frequent patrols. Without knowing the exact time shifts, it's impossible to sneak in without getting noticed". I uttered while giving them a reassuring glance.

"But I do. With my help, you can get there without being spotted and escape smoothly".

I continued, my voice lifting with confidence.

"I don't know how you plan to escape. But unless you can fly, it can't be easier than this".

Since our encounter, there was one thing he said that I couldn't let go of.

"Because from my perspective, your collective strength and individual skillsets aren't enough to ensure you survive this endeavor in the possibility you were discovered".

He was right.

Due to our constant success, I had blinded myself, thinking that we could accomplish anything easily like we always did.

But tonight, I knew what I had gotten us into.

If we couldn't escape this place, then we would be in trouble. Big trouble.

I thought that by memorizing the routes and shifts, we could easily bypass the guards and get to the exit point without any issues.

But now ..... The certainty wasn't so certain.

I couldn't and wouldn't bet the lives of my friends on the possibility. Not like this.

Step! Step!

He turned around. Revealing his features once again.

I could see that inquisitive look in his eyes.

"What do you want?"

This was what I was aiming for.

My eyes narrowed in solemnity.

"You take us with you".

....

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