Chapter 9: 8.Into the Fire

Aaron and Igi waited in silence for a long while before the signal came.

A Fire Nation soldier stumbled out of his tent, neck fountaining with blood as he gurgled and gripped his throat, and a soldier sitting by the center campfire saw him. He raised the alarm, but soldiers didn't come flocking out of their tents. Only six more came stumbling. The resistance fighters had been thorough, and now, their groups were almost evenly matched.

Aaron zipped with airbending to the Rhinos pen and started cutting their bonds, and the spirit went after the saddles, cutting up the straps.

In less than a minute, their job was done, and Aaron raced to the battlefield with the boy behind him.

"Stay at the edge of the fight," he said, "only strike when I tell you to," Aaron commanded as he drew his blades and stabbed into the kidney of an unsuspecting soldier. The fire nation was down to four soldiers, and one was so green and terrified he hadn't even drawn his sword yet.

The man Aaron stabbed let out a bloody scream and swiped at him, but he wove under the blow, twisted his blade, and drew a vicious spray of blood stretching from his abdomen to his shoulder. The soldier keeled over, and Aaron's blade bit into his neck, nearly taking it off before he moved on to the next man.

He was a spearman who desperately stabbed forward. Aaron was about to parry him when a stream of fire tore through the camp dividing it into two. The spearman tumbled onto the floor, screaming and flopping like a fish, and two figures emerged from the command tent. One was covered in blood but still armored, and Aaron pegged him as the elite guard, and the second was shirtless, breathing so hard that the very air seemed to burn. It was the young captain, and he looked about ready to murder them all.

"Wipe out the intruders," he roared, and the second Firebender leapt forward with a powerful kick, sending a streak at the largest man of their group. He rolled to the side but wasn't fast enough to fully avoid the strike. It set his trouser alight, but the fire didn't catch, yet it gave a brave soldier a chance he needed to run him through with a spear.

"Ashin, kill that bender," the old man roared, and Ashin, the merchant turned freedom fighter's, face lit up.

"Is that you, Old man?"

The Village elder answered with action instead, charging Shen. Fire shot off Shen's feet as he gladly met the older man, showering him with a powerful stream of flame. The Old man narrowly glided under it, but not before he scored a slash on Shen's thigh that sent him stumbling to the ground.

"Attack Shen now!" Aaron roared at the boy as he ripped a throwing blade from his vest and whipped it towards Shen, who somehow spun around in time, generating a small wave of fire that beat back his knife, and with a flourish, he was on his feet again, smirking.

"Do you think a knife-"

A chunk of rock no larger than Aaron's fist rocketed out from somewhere behind him and clipped his shoulder hard. Aaron heard a crunch, and Shen shrieked.

Aaron couldn't keep the grin off his face as he moved to end the boy with a cut to the throat, but the Old man was already on the move. He struck out with a stab at Shen's scrunched face looking to end him when the armored firebender blocked his path with a fiery wall he'd generated with an Axe kick.

Behind Aaron, he noticed that the spearman had fallen to the Lithe fighter, claiming revenge for his friend, and the last two fighters cornering him corralled back to their captain.

"Don't let them through," Shen yelled as he cradled his shoulder. "And keep an eye out for that Rarthbender."

"Ashin stop messing around and cut down that elite guard," the Old man barked out, and Ashin, who'd been laid out at some point, climbed back to his feet, wiping some blood off his mask. A bit of his fire-resistant clothing had been burned off, but he looked healthy enough. The Old man snapped to Aaron, "Join him, Fox, and take your Young Wolf with you. Leave the coward Captain to me."

Immediately, Aaron spun on his heel and charged the Firebender. Aaron had fancied a Fox Mask earlier that day and, the boy, a wolf. And it'd been their name for the length of their mission.

Ashin was barely holding on when he joined the fight. The Firebender kept him at bay with jabs and kicks that breathed fire and struck when he saw an opening. He was charging an overpowered fire punch when Aaron vaulted over the flame wall he'd set up and dropped with an axe kick that snapped his forearm, eliciting a grunt from the man.

Aaron flashed forward with a thrust, looking to end the fight while his opponent was unbalanced, but somehow, he flipped back to safety, sending forward a crescent to conceal his escape. It heated through Aaron's armor, setting one of hands on fire, and he had to pat it down while Ashin covered him.

In spite of their opponent's elite status, Ashin kept the pressure on, ducking and weaving through hasty punches and checking kicks before they became full-powered flame attacks. Aaron sheathed one of his blades and joined the fray when he saw an opportunity, putting even more pressure on the expert firebender. He bobbed and struck in wild movements, utilizing the agility of the feather fist style to blend in punches and kicks that generated momentum. Overwhelmed, it was only a matter of time before the firebender slipped, and an attack got through. A deep cut that marked his calf was the beginning of the need for him.

He started to fight more defensively, and he'd been entirely unprepared when Ashin wove into his guard and took his leading fist with a nasty cut from his short blade, and Aaron nearly disemboweled him a breath later.

Somehow, with a quick martial step, he put some distance between himself and his opponents while cauterizing his wound. Aaron and Aashin slowly advanced. Trapped, the firebender could only let out a fierce roar as he corralled his remaining strength. Aaron half-expected him to fight for another half-hour until a chunk of earth crunched hard into the side of his head, braining him.

It took Ashin and Aaron more than a second to realize he was dead. The Spirit had come through in the last moment.

Aaron wiped his brow, turning his attention to the former battlefield to find only dead bodies and the bleeding remains of Shen. the Old man had claimed the rest of his leg and had a blade to his throat.

"Mercy," he pleaded, but the Old man snorted in response.

"You hold my village hostage, humiliate me, steal from my people and visitors, and you dear plead for mercy? At least die like the 'proud' Fire Nation Captain you claim to be."

"Wait-" Shen shrieked, but he was cut off by a fierce stab to the neck.

He gurgled blood and clawed at his throat as life slowly drained out of him. Aaron found himself, gripping his blade even tighter as things wound down, and the spirit somehow had the presence of mind to send him a nod of solidarity from the dark.

The Old man's eyes lingered on the dead body for a moment too long before turning to them again with an easy smile, which sent a chill down Aaron's spine.

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"Now that that bit of nasty business is done. I say we get what we came here for."

He headed towards the command tent, and everyone followed. Aaron signaled to the boy to join him. He was two shades whiter when he stepped into the light. A small part of Aaron had the urge to tease him, but he understood this was neither the time nor place.

The tent was opulent with low burning lanterns, luxurious animal skin rugs, a portrait of the Firelord for some reason, which the spirit paused at, and a large box sitting behind a table covered with scrolls.

"Looks like we found our tax money," the Old man said, approaching it. Using the hilt of his blade as a hammer, he removed the lock protecting the strong box. Aaron's eyes and mouth hung open at the gold and silver it held.

"Nearly a year of labor, about to be carted off to undeserving swine," the man spat, before passing Aaron a look, his eyes dropping to his blade. "Here," he said, chucking three small bags of Silver to him.

It was his seized pouches and a slightly lighter pouch of Silver.

"A deal is a deal," he said as he shut the crate. With a snap of his finger, Ashin and the smaller man hefted the crate and hustled it out of the tent, leaving Aaron, Igi, and the village elder.

"I never quite got your name," Aaron said carefully. "I always just called you Old man in my head."

The Older man chuckled. "That is a good enough name. It's what most of the Villagers call me. Before I was head of the village, I was Mu, a proud commander of the Earth Nation, who retired to the fringes of the Kingdom, far away enough that the war wouldn't find me again," he said with a bitter smile. "It's tragic how wrong I was."

His face suddenly brightened again. "Thank you for your bravery, both of you. Ashin told me of your intention, and we've secured you two seats on a Merchant ship leaving tonight. The South pole is at the very end of its route. It will be the first boat to reach that icy waste in months. If you leave now, you might catch it. It departs by midnight."

"Midnight?" the boy's face knit in confusion. "I don't know much about travel, but shouldn't we wait till morning?"

"You're welcome to stay," the Old man said. "But my morning, nothing will be left of this town. We just cleared out a Fire Nation camp and collected One year of tax money. Remaining in the village will mean certain death."

Aaron saw the wisdom in the move. The whole town might be summarily executed if a commander or someone important investigated. "Where will you go?"

"Omashu," the man said, stroking his beard. "Then to Ba Sin Se. It's the safest place in the Earth Kingdom."

"Good choice," Aaron nodded. "I might settle down there once everything is over." It had tall walls, beautiful sights, and might have some people from the Air Nation who never received the gift like he did. It was something he looked forward to after the war.

Mu stepped up forward, offering his hand. "I look forward to seeing you again, Airbender."

Aaron froze, but only for a moment before he spoke, "Me too." He'd taken great care not to use Airbending when throughout their entire encounter. How did the man know?

"His father came looking for him," Mu said, looking at Igi. "I said you were headed for Ba Sing se."

"Why?" Aaron asked, and Mu smiled.

"The child seemed to be in no danger, and we had an agreement. Besides, I know better than to cross a ghost."

Aaron cocked his head to the side as he pondered his answer, and he noticed the various looks the surviving fighters gave him. Anyone who was anyone knew of Falcon and his ghosts.

They moved without sound and could kill a man before he screamed. To some, they were the unsung war heroes, cutting down important firebending figureheads and delaying the machinery of war; to others, they were unhinged monsters who didn't know where to draw the line and the last people you wanted to piss off.

"I suppose you have a point." Aaron finally said.

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Authors note:

1 of 1 Chappies.

ARC one is officially over. Mark got his first adventure, Aaron was dragged along regardless. They killed a firebender captain, and the people of the world are better off for it...maybe.

What do you think?

Now might be the time for a review *nudge nudge, wink wink*

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