Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legend

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***

Grimacing at the searing pain in his arm as the medic applied the poultice, Tse let out a long hissing whistle. Accidentally jerking sharply, he had bothered the rib he had broken in the recent battle. Looking around, the lieutenant had to admit that this was a complete failure.

Traces of the battle were visible all over the car park, the grass was still smouldering in some places, and the boulders scattered everywhere were towering reminders of arrogance and stupidity. If a simple patrol had been in their place, they would have all been slaughtered. It was only because of the skills of his fellow soldiers that they had managed to snatch victory in this battle.

When the first shells flew from all sides, the teenagers who had been intimidated by Huang Gai reacted instantly. With their bare hands or weapons, they shot down the arrows and stones that the attackers sent at them. For the first couple of minutes of the battle, Ce's squad fought in deep defence, losing more and more defenders. Not all the common soldiers had managed to hide behind the backs of the conquerors and sword masters. Now the bodies of these unfortunates lay in two even rows, covered by their own marching cloaks. Remembering the disfigured bodies of the poor wretches that had been hit by the largest of the cobblestones, Tse struggled to hold back a sickening urge.

Walking over to the squad leader, Jun hummed understandingly and sat down beside him. Unbuttoning the top clasp of his tunic, the young man leaned back, resting his hands on the wide trunk of a log.

-They've done a good job on us....

-Report.

-Yes, sir,' sensing that his superior was not in the best of moods, Jun dropped his tone, 'of the eighty men, nineteen were irrecoverably lost. Six more are badly wounded, and if they are not treated soon, they will die. Eleven are lightly wounded and will recover in the next couple of weeks. Almost all of the survivors have minor wounds and bruises.

-Almost half are out of action. Our first mission and such casualties.

Thoughtlessly staring at the ground, Tse sank into the depths of self-defeat until Jun's next comment brought him back to reality.

-There's also a missing person. Yui's body was never found.

-Shit... How did he manage that?

-If I'd known. All the sentries guarding the camp died first, so there's no one to ask.

-Okay, I don't have time to think about it now. -No. We need to take care of the wounded and start building fortifications and traps around the camp. Send a couple of Yuyangs to the city to bring reinforcements and doctors, and we'll anchor ourselves here for now.

Nodding in agreement, the deputy hurriedly left to give out orders. The latest news made his commander clench his fists and flash his eyes with such force that further questions could wait.

The first thing Yu felt upon waking up was the pleasant smell of meat. Creeping into his nose, it teased the teenager with its incredible aroma, suggesting that the boy should wake up soon. Cracking his eyes open, he gazed excitedly behind the piece jiggling in front of his face. Fat and juicy, it glistened in the sun, making him swallow the drool that flooded his mouth.

-Wake up, finally,' the meat disappeared and old Ram squatted in front of Yuu, 'I always said a good piece of komodo would wake anyone up.

Straightening up, Rem took a couple of steps back, opening up a view for Yui. Eyes widening in surprise, the orphan began to quickly assess the situation. They were in some sort of large cave, high up there was a small gap that let in sunlight. The few campfires were surrounded by all sorts of people, whose neighbourhood was hard to even imagine.

The whole cave was mottled with different colours. Red and green intertwined, forming a new colour scheme so unfamiliar to the eye. The elemental colours of the two countries were very different, but now they were coming together to form something incredible. Here was a deserter from the Fire Country clapping on the shoulder of a savage from the Baru Forest. A couple of peasants in green robes listening to some bandit in rags. The people were talking quietly and peacefully, completely ignoring each other's nationality.

-Have you seen enough?

Rem's rough voice snapped Yui out of her stupor. Looking at the old man in a new way, the orphan wanted to bombard him with a thousand questions, but all he could do was open his mouth stupidly. Finally the young man was able to utter the first question.

-Why do you want me?

-I don't know, honestly. You reminded me of someone, so I didn't kill you. I can't let you go. So you're gonna sit here now.

The transformation from a killer to a grandfather was too easy and unnoticeable. At first Yuu even fell for the charisma and kind tone, but then he remembered the real face of the man in front of him.

Seeing something in the captive's eyes, the old man squatted down so that their eyes were on the same level.

-It's right that you fear me and don't trust me. That's something I never learnt until the very end. Trust is the one thing you'll always strive for. That's a conversation for another time...

Pulling out Yuu's flask, the old man gave him a drink of water, just as the orphan himself had drunk the previous night.

-I'll come and see you later, but for now just sit quietly and don't disturb anyone.

All day Yu sat tied up in a corner of the cave. Occasionally, the local fighters cast wary glances in his direction, but that was all he could do. Towards evening, when most stopped looking at him at every opportunity, the earth mage got down to business. With a simple movement of his fingers, a small sharp stake began to grow out of the ground behind his back. Fumbling for it with his hand, Yuu began to carefully cut through his restraints. The long minutes dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. Sweat dripped down his face and his breathing became heavy and intermittent.

The orphan shuddered at the unexpected scream and listened warily. Somewhere in the distance there were quiet cries and wailing. Ram's friends laughed and cheered until the screams became constant. Not even bothering to hypothesise what was happening, Yuu sped up, ignoring caution.

When the rope restraining his hands broke, an indignant voice came from the other end of the cave.

-What the hell are you doing spinning around in there?

The orphan slammed his hands on the ground, creating a new stake under the rope that held his legs. A loud crack and the ensuing slam drew the attention of the others resting in the cave. Turning to look at the prisoner, they were about to raise the alarm, but Yuu, who had realised the futility of further attempts to escape, was ahead of them.

Spinning on his arms, the orphan sent disc-shaped stones in the direction of the bandits. Screams of surprise and fear echoed in the cave as the first disc nailed the bandit's writhing body to the cave wall. The sharp disc shattered the bastard's chest, leaving him to die an agonising death.

The would-be dead man's comrade tried to dodge, but instead was left without an arm. Waving the bleeding stump around, he roared in pain and fear. Falling to his knees and holding onto his wound, the man crawled towards the exit, leaving a long trail of blood.

Unlike his comrades, the third appeared to be an earth mage. Standing in his trademark stance, he fended off a couple of projectiles with his bare hands and created a ground shield in front of him, where the remaining projectiles slammed into him.

At this time, Yuu was already rushing in an arc, wanting to get closer to the enemy. Jumping in the air and unfurling his arms, he landed on his knee and struck first his left and then his right palm on the ground.

Two identical waves less than a second apart travelled into the enemy. Leaving him to deal with the attack, the teen was forced to turn his attention to the other bandits that were closing in on him. Dodging the first one's lunge, Yuu swung his spear aside with his hand and knocked his opponent out with a fist strike to the chin. Unravelling the weapon and tsking at the abysmal quality compared to his guan dao, the young man snapped out of his seat, throwing himself into the crowd of enemies.

A sense of power spread throughout his body as the magic responded to its master's call. Copying the movements of the spear, the ground around Yui came into motion, forcing the bandits arriving in the cave to keep their distance.

Creating a veritable chaos of stone and earth around him, Yu moved from one bandit to the next. The successful battle had turned the boy's head, so when Rem jumped out from behind another nameless enemy, the orphan only had time to put his spear in front of his chest.

The kick was so strong that the shaft broke instantly, not even delaying the old man. Continuing his movement, the nimble grandfather shifted all his weight from his supporting leg and fell forward.

Just two blows to the chest and Yu felt the element leave him, closing in deep within his body. A couple more kicks to the legs and the boy was once again face down in the ground. Picking the boy up by his hair, Rem looked hatefully into the boy's rolling eyes. The kick had knocked the spirit out of him, so the little mage wouldn't be coming round for a while yet, but.... Looking around, the old man wanted to laugh and tear his hair out. Just one little shit had caused more destruction than dozens of Fire Nation patrols. His clenched fist was about to punch the arsehole in the throat and end it all, but Rem stopped. Watching the destruction, he thought about channelling it all in the right direction.

The conqueror's young face drew a simple and foolproof plan in his mind. Letting go of Yuu's hair, the old man lifted him by the arm and slung him over his shoulder. In response to his companions' silent questions, he scornfully fiddled in his mind, leaving a cold mask on his face.

-I have a couple of ideas, if it doesn't work out, I'll let it go to waste.

Knowing that there would be no more questions from his subordinates, Rem weighed the boy's body comfortably and walked deeper into the caves.

The short journey was accompanied by wary glances, but continued in complete silence. No one dared say a word to the old man, but Rem felt he would have to give people an outlet after what had happened. The young conqueror had destroyed their morale at the root with this one performance. It wasn't enough trouble after the fight with that troop in the forest, now this.

'What strong kids have gone.' Straightening his slumping body, Rem nodded to the guards standing at the branch and waited for the two mages to open the stone door. When it opened, the stench of feces and blood wafted out. Taking a torch from the wall, Rem went inside with the guards. Tortured and starved, the surviving soldiers from the patrols huddled against the walls. The mere sight of Rem made them shake in fear, knowing full well what this man was capable of.

Grinning disdainfully at the sight of these 'soldiers', the old man dropped Yui's body to the ground. With a couple of blows to the right spots, the old man awakened the scruffy man and froze in anticipation while the boy came to his senses.