Shí couldn’t sleep.

Every time she tried, all she could see were the female acrobat and the male soldier utterly decimating her squad, then intentionally leaving her alive as a warning to any others who would band together against the Avatar.  Fear and fury kept sleep at bay, and eventually she gave up and rose, walking to the remains of the fire Yí Xīn had provided, intending to poke it up.

It was already up when she got there. And she wasn’t alone in her insomnia, it seemed. That crazy waterbender - Kody, they said his name was? - was already there. He had stoked the flame a bit, and was now staring into it.

The soldier considered running back to where Yĭng and Kimiko slept rather than deal with a  bender.

“Can’t sleep, soldier-girl?” said the bender, his expression unchanging.

A moment of silence, then Shí said, “No.”  She settled down across from him and stared at the fire.

“Stop looking so twitchy,” he said. “Afraid you’ll catch bender? I don’t bite.”

She glared at him across the fire.  “I’m not scared.”

“Whatever.”

“You’re certainly social.”

“You’re certainly nosy.”

“Fuck off.  I didn’t ask for company.”

“You think I did? And I was here first.”

Shí considered storming off, but it was cold and the fire was warm.  “So leave me alone,” she snapped.

“Fine by me.”

The only sounds for the next several minutes were the crackles and pops of the fire.

“You don’t have to like me,” said Kody, breaking the silence, “and believe me, the feeling is mutual. But it seems we’re stuck together for this all-mighty quest for destiny. It would be nice to be able to be in the same area and not have a row.”

“Then maybe you ought to talk to the other bender.”  Shí mentally cursed her voice for shaking slightly on the last word.

“You think he likes me any more than you do?” He poked the fire a bit with a big stick as he spoke.

“I think he likes you a lot less.”

“There you go then. Just because we happen to share a birth defect doesn’t make us all buddy-buddy.” The stick was snapped and thrown into the fire. “And anyway, nobody’s making you talk to me.”

“You’re the one who started talking,” she pointed out.

“You’re the one who continues talking,” he retorted smoothly.

To prove him wrong, Shí crossed her arms over her chest and said nothing.

Several more moments passed in silence. Then, for the first time since the “conversation” started, Kody looked up at her. She flinched a bit as his gaze met hers. “Admittedly,” he said, “I’ve not the most inviting personality in the world, but I’m not what I’d call scary, as such. So what’s up your ass?”

“Nothing,” she snapped at him.  “Nothing is up my ass.  I’m not afraid of you.”

So quickly she could barely see the motion, Kody thrust his arm out. A small mass of water flew out toward Shí’s face.  The soldier gasped and thrust herself backwards a split second before the water veered away at a right angle.  “What the hell!?” she demanded quietly, mindful of the sleeping teenagers.

“You’re terrified,” said Kody calmly.

She was; her body was trembling as she glared up at him.  “S-so what?”

“So why?”

Shí picked herself up and brushed off her pants.  “It’s not your concern, nor is it your business.”

“Not in the vaguest bit,” said Kody, looking back down into the fire. “Words cannot express how little your problems mean to me. But it’s obviously going to affect your performance in the future, and that is going to get somebody hurt.”

“If I let any fear that I might or might not have stop me, I wouldn’t have been accepted into my unit,” she snapped.

“Perhaps.”

Another pause.

“The Avatar has people whose only job is to travel the world and bring him news of potentially talented benders. Did you know that?”

“No,” she said after a moment.

“The very best get offers of recruitment and a place in the new world order,” he continued. “Most who get the offer join him gladly. Which means that if we ever get at him - and may I stress the fact that this is a pretty big if - he’ll have a lot of benders on his side.”

“Do you think I didn’t realise that?” she demanded.  “The man’s a Pied Piper for the benders!  He’s their hero, their saviour, their god.”

“Not everyone thinks so,” said Kody. “You don’t hear about what happens to them. And neither does anybody else. Ever again.”  There was a mote of bitterness in his tone.

“I’m prepared to deal with benders.”  She glanced at him.  “Shouldn’t you be as well?”

“I know I am,” said Kody. His tone was not that of a braggart, but of a man stating a fact as clear as the colour of the sky.

“How did you hide the body?”

Kody didn’t even flinch. “Call the cops and claimed self-defense,” he said. “But only after I extracted the water from its lungs and gave it a good thump on the head. Shit like that happens all the time where I live. Nobody took a second glance.  What’s one more dead drifter?”

She nodded, resuming her seat.  “So he doesn’t know about you.”

“And I’m going to keep it that way. If there was a way to surgically extract it, I’d have done so long ago. But there isn’t. So I buried it.”

“Yet you use it.”

“When it keeps me alive.”

“Or when you’re trying to make a point?”

He smirked a bit at this. “Some points are better man when they’re a bit more pointy.”

She flipped him the bird.  “I can work with benders.  I was trained to accept my fears, and work with them.  There won’t be problems.”

“And if that was not the case before,” said Kody slyly, leaning back, “I’m sure it will be henceforth, if only to prove me wrong.”

“Fuck you,” she replied, reaching into a side pocket and pulling out an energy bar.

“Not if we had to repopulate the world.”

“At least we agree on one thing.”

 

*                       *                       *

 

The sun rose near the Northern Air Temple, and absolutely nobody saw it happen. Very few of them were early risers by nature, and after a day like they just had, nobody could blame them for sleeping in a little.  It was well past noon when Kimiko rose, and she took it upon herself to gently nudge her companions awake, with the exception of Kody, whom she was a little afraid to get close to.

Shí, however, held no such fears (given that he was sleeping and not bending), so she gathered some acorns and sticks and began throwing them into the air and letting them land on Kody’s sleeping body.  Her aim was quite good.

Kimiko, for her part, had found a (very) empty space and was trying to figure out her swords.

The water tribesman first mumbled, then swore, then hurled a wave of icy water into the soldier's face as he rose, muttering and rubbing his eyes.

Only combat-honed reflexes and anticipation of such a reaction kept Shí high and dry; she swore right back at Kody.

"Ow! Dammit!" Kimiko had dropped one of her swords on her foot.

“Xīn!” barked the soldier.  “Go see to your charge.”

There was no reply from the firebender.

"I don't think he's awake yet," Yĭng said, sleepily. "Do you know where the showers are?"

“Pick a room,” replied Shí dryly.

"'Kay," the budding historian said, and wandered off to find a shower.

Kody yawned a few times more, staring at nothing. He checked his flasks, but it seemed he had exhausted his supplies drying to drench Shí.  Shrugging, he reached toward a clump of grass and flexed his fingers. A circle of plants turned brown and withered and a glob of moisture formed in the hand, which he promptly threw into his face.

Kimiko, undaunted, had picked up the sword and resumed her practice. Once again, she dropped it, and swore, much more creatively than the first time.

“Interesting move,” Shí told Kody — or Kimiko.  Given the underlying tension to her voice, it was probably Kody.  “Xīn!  Get up!”

Kody shrugged. "It's just a thing. Water is water no matter what it's in."  He seemed much more alert after his impromptu bath.

Ignoring the byplay behind her, Kimiko picked up her sword again and resumed her laughable attempt at figuring out how to use it.

Shí sighed.  “Kimiko!  Put those down before you hurt yourself, and go wake up your boyfriend!”

"Ow!" she'd dropped one again. "He's not my boyfriend! And how else am I supposed to figure these out?"

“We can discuss it later,” the soldier replied.  She sounded somewhat cranky.

Muttering to herself, Kimiko picked up her sword and wandered over to Yí Xīn. "Time to get up."

The firebender’s bedroll was empty and had, in fact, been rolled up some hours before.

"...He's not here!"

Kody looked up from shaking his hair dry at this. Then he shrugged. "Screw him," he said. "He's probably off rubbing sticks together or some shit."

Shí rolled her eyes.  “You’re cheerful.”  She wandered over to the younger girl and felt the ground where Yí Xīn had slept the night before.  “Cold.  He’s been gone a long time.”

"Where d'you think he went?" Kimiko asked, staring at the empty sleeping bag.

The waterbender's head perked up again, and he looked around. "Any of you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" Kimiko asked, puzzled.

“That’s a negative,” said Shí.  “I don’t hear anything.”

"Engine of some sort," he said, pointing. "Coming from that direction."

"Getting closer," muttered Kody, apparently ignoring her.

Kimiko ran over in the direction Kody was pointing. "It's an SUV!"

“It’s a what on the how now?”  Shí followed Kimiko and shaded her eyes.  “I don’t see a damn thing.  Kimiko, are you sure…?”

The younger girl nodded emphatically. "Definitely an SUV. It's blue. Or maybe black. Or green. Can't tell."

“Hopefully that’s our missing mechanic,” said Shí.  “If not… Kody?”

"I can do some fun things with a gas tank," he said, smirking slightly.

“Kimiko, get behind Kody,” ordered the soldier.

"...Okay, now I'm picturing flames and death and it hurts," the girl muttered, but obeyed.

Not long after, the SUV came into sight.  Sure enough, it was Yí Xīn behind the wheel.

Kody blinked for a few moments, then began to approach the vehicle. By the time it slowed to a halt, he was standing next to the driver's side window. "Nice ride you got here, hothead," he said.

"I liked the convertible better," Kimiko said. "I call shotgun."

Yí Xīn smirked at Kody.  “I found it,” he said easily.  “It should comfortably carry all five of us and whatever supplies we need.  Dunno about you, but I’d rather not stay in hotels if we don’t have to.”

"You 'found' it, eh?" said Kody, grinning widely. "I'll give you this, sparky, you've got brass ones."

Yí Xīn leaned in close to the waterbender.  “This?” he said softly, so Kimiko couldn’t here.  “Nothing.  You should’ve seen the chopper.”

"...you and me are going to have some Words later," muttered Kody, hopping into the backseat.

"I'll go find Yĭng so we can get everything together and start heading for the North Pole," Kimiko said, oblivious, and dropped her sword again. "Ow!"

“Damn it, girl, put the pig-stickers in the car,” said Shí.

Sulkily, Kimiko put the swords back in their sheath and stuck them on the floor in the front seat. "I'll go get Yĭng."

Ignoring the boys, Shí loaded the SUV and her guns, ready for a long day.  She also ignored the throbbing in her body; painkillers were a luxury item she did not have just now.

Kimiko returned about five minutes later, leading the older girl, whose hair was wet.

Yĭng stopped and stared at the SUV. "...I hope we didn't steal this."

“Of course not,” said Yí Xīn  and Kody in unison. 

"What kind of barbarians do you take us for?" added Kody in a mock-hurt tone.

“I’m hurt you’d even consider such a thing of me,” added the firebender.  “Both of you, in.  We’ve got a long drive.”

The younger girl grinned and slid into the front seat. Ying sighed and climbed into the back; Shí elected to sit in the middle with the supplies.  “Buckle up for safety,” Yí Xīn said, throwing the vehicle into gear.

"'Kay," Kimiko said, pulling her seatbelt on. "Hey, will you teach me how to drive?"

“Not until you’re fourteen, little girl.  You’ve got enough to learn as it is.”

"Are we there yet?" chimed Kody.

She sighed. "I know. Oh, I need to get a pistol, too. I left mine at home."

“Fuck you,” said Yí Xīn to Kody, then to Kimiko, “Don’t look to me for a gun.  I’m not allowed to buy guns.”

"Well, no one's gonna sell me one, I'm only thirteen," she pointed out.

“I’ll get you checked out at a shooting range,” Shí offered.  “If you meet my standards, I’ll buy you one.”

"Okay," Kimiko said, accepting that. She wasn't afraid of not passing--her mom had made sure she knew how to fire a pistol, just in case. She curled up and rested her head on the window frame, not wanting to think about losing her.

 

*                       *                       *

 

Jiān Miè parked the car out of sight from the road, checked all the mirrors to make sure no one had followed, then turned it off. "Go inside, call Tetsu. I'll wait out here and make sure no one bothers you."

Yù Lóng nodded, sliding out of the car silently and slipping into the hidden meeting place Píng had created for them two years before.

From the outside, the building looked abandoned, and on the inside, it would have looked like it too if not for the man sitting on a dusty desk, apparently meditating.  The man was the epitome of average. Average height and weight, slightly muscular build, clad in a pair of tan slacks and a forest green muscle shirt with, interestingly, no shoes.  If not for the black silk blindfold that was a permanent fixture on the man's face, he would have been completely unremarkable.

"What took you so long?" he said smoothly, his neutral expression quickly spreading into a sly grin. "I expected you upwards of two hours ago. Really quite unprofessional."

“Hello, Tetsu,” replied Yù Lóng evenly.  “Something came up after we crushed that little packet of resistance.”

"Something always seems to come up with you, Lóng," said Tetsu, springing up gracefully. "I do hope you let Miè drive this time."

To look at the man, one would never guess that he was quite possibly the strongest earthbender alive who wasn't the Avatar. But there were crypts full of people who had underestimated the strange, eccentric little man who had been hand-picked to serve at the side of Avatar Píng.

“One little accident, and you hear about it for the rest of your life!” complained the pretty acrobat.  “And I think you’ll like this one.  There might or might not be an actual challenge involved.”

"Please," said Tetsu, sounding bored, as he usually did when he spoke to - from his perspective, anyway - normal people. "Still, our master says 'jump' and we say 'what color?' so I suppose we had best be off."

“Actually, Lord Píng has said nothing on this just yet,” replied Yù Lóng.  “This is an ‘own initiative’ thing.”

Tetsu's eyebrows went up. Or at least, his brow wrinkled as if they did. It was hard to tell under the blindfold. "Really now? Good of you, good of you. Well, let us get going, mustn’t dally."

Without awaiting a reply, Tetsu pushed past Yù Lóng and went out the door.

The acrobat shook his head and followed Tetsu out.  The man was utterly unpredictable sometimes.

By the time the two reached the car, Jiān Miè had started it. "Did Yù Lóng fill you in?" he asked Tetsu.

"And I in turn him. Isn't it great how we all help each other?" The earthbender quickly crawled into the backseat and lay down on it, quickly drifting off into his own little word.

Jiān Miè rolled his eyes, pulled back onto the highway, and started heading north.

“He didn’t exactly wait for details,” Yù Lóng said to the older man.  “Like the fact that those kids have been charged with killing the boss.”

That snapped Tetsu out of his usual manner, which caused the others to jump a bit. "They what?!" he cried as he sprang up.

"Sit down, dammit," Jiān Miè snapped. "Yù Lóng, why don't you tell our… companion exactly what you overheard?"

Almost word-for-word, the acrobat did as requested, including the White Princess’ explosion at Avatar Aang and the waterbender’s reluctance to join in.

Tetsu stroked his chin thoughtfully as Yu Long spoke. "I can't imagine anyone would actually expect these… children to be able to achieve anything, least of all themselves, it would seem."  After a moment's consideration, he added, "But why take the chance? We'll end them quickly and be done with it.  Which is why we're heading to the North Pole."

“Bingo,” said Yù Lóng. “Though it’d probably be best to capture the White Princess.  The boss is still interested in forging an alliance with her — willing or not.”

"That obviously went without saying," said Tetsu, as if explaining something to a particularly slow person.

“Who can tell, with you?” replied the acrobat.

"According to our source, the Shirokora are already in a panic that they've lost her. By the time we get to them at the North Pole, they'll be willing to give anything to secure their royal line," Jiān Miè said softly.

Tetsu paid no heed, lying back down upon the seat. "I think the left-front tire is a little low," he muttered dreamily.

"We'll stop and change it at the next rest stop," the driver said.

“We should have had maniacal laughter in there at some point, shouldn’t we have?” mused Yù Lóng some minutes later.

"You are a strange little man," said Tetsu, not getting up.

Jiān Miè pulled into the next rest stop. "One of you two stock up on supplies while I take care of this," he suggested, getting the spare tire out of the trunk.

Tetsu was either out like a light or in deep meditation; not that people could tell on a good day.

“I don’t trust him to get me the right munchies anyway,” Yù Lóng murmured as he slipped out of the passenger seat and walked into the convenience store.  Jiān Miè finished his task first, and slid back into the car to wait.

"There's something on your mind," said Tetsu, startling Jiān Miè more than he'd like to have admitted. Tetsu had that effect on people.

The other man shrugged. "Just thinking we might want to keep the Senator's brat alive, same reasons as the Princess."

"If you say so."

It was another five minutes before Yù Lóng returned, smiling and flirting heavily with another customer who was carrying his bags for him.  Jiān Miè rolled his eyes, and got out of the car. "Oy! Get away from my girlfriend!"

Yù Lóng pouted at him as his latest conquest’s mouth worked soundlessly.  “You’re so mean, Miè!” he said, effortlessly taking his bags back.  “He was only trying to be nice!”  He kissed the other man on the cheek, loaded the car, waved to his hapless victim, and strapped himself in.

Tetsu chortled a bit as they drove off. "He was really looking forward to getting into your pants, too."

"Do you have to do that every time?" Jiān Miè asked Yu Long, exasperated.

“If he wasn’t, I’ve lost my touch,” Yù Lóng replied easily.  To the former soldier, he added, “And yes, since that nice young man purchased everything for us.”  He smirked.

"I would just really rather not deal with any more angry pregnant women convinced you're stealing their husbands."

“That only happened once!”

"Yes, and once was more than enough."

Yù Lóng pouted again.  “Nobody appreciates my efforts.”