fic: Solar Winds (55/?), Part 1/6
Media: Fic
Title: Solar Winds (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fusion, 55/?)
Rating: PG-13 for innuendo, swearing, violence.
Spoilers: None for either series that I am aware of.
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 28,000
Summary: When a usurper sets eyes on the Fire Nation throne, Avatar Kurt and friends find themselves on the run with the deposed Prince Blaine in a country gone mad. Can they escape Lady Sylvester’s wrath? Or will her minions snuff them out for good? Fusion fic!
Author’s Note: Holy crap, massive chapter! O_o;; Those Warblers demanded backstory, and I had no choice but to deliver. Don’t worry though-I’ve worked extra hard to try and make this chapter awesome due to focusing on side characters, and it’s the last backstory chapter before we return to our regularly scheduled Klaine. ;) Until then, enjoy this brief spotlight on the AU!Warblers, and how they came to be. ^_^
Master Post
~~~
CHAPTER 55 - Dragon Hawks, Part 2
The Tale of the Hawks
“So… wait,” Wes says, gesturing to Kurt. “This is awful monster who broke in while you were in prison?”
“The very beast himself,” Thad says haughtily.
David tilts his head at the Avatar. “…you told us he was ten feet tall.”
“A trick of the light,” Thad says.
“And that he had horns like a gorilla goat,” Wes adds.
“His hair was messy.”
“And that he was covered in blood,” David adds.
“…so he washed it off!” Thad says.
“You said he flew away on enormous wings of midnight black,” Wes says flatly. “I see no wings.”
Thad still refuses to budge. “Perhaps they only come out at night. I’ve heard stories of people who transform into monsters during the full moon.”
Kurt gives him the stink-eye. “The only thing that happens to me during the full moon is a boost to my waterbending and occasional insomnia. Where did you get all of that stuff?”
Thad crosses his arms. “I… might have exaggerated select details, but my story captures the spirit of the encounter. Is that not more important than minute factual details?”
“Not really,” Wes says.
“He left me in there!” Thad cries, outraged. “He knew for a fact that I was wrongfully imprisoned, and flatly refused to aid me. Not only that; he had the nerve to mock my situation! Such behavior is bestial by anyone’s standards.”
“Well, then, maybe you should flee the scary monster boy and do something else,” David says diplomatically. “Why don’t you go help pack everything up? We need to leave soon.”
Thad glares at David and Kurt in turn. “…fine,” he seethes, turning and stomping indignantly over to the others, who are tittering around between various ostrich horses, packing under the apparent guidance of Mercedes, who is directing traffic. Finn, his shoulder now bandaged, sits in a nearby chair-shaped rock that Artie bent up as Rachel hovers around him, chattering away, not noticing that he has fallen asleep.
“Well, that was suitably awkward,” Blaine says. “I can’t believe someone would make up a story like that just to discredit you.”
“Well…” Kurt says. “There might be just a smidgen of truth to it. I mean, I did meet him in a prison and… sort of… declined to rescue him.”
Blaine is somewhere between surprised and disappointed. “Wait, really? Why?”
“I thought you had been captured!” Kurt says sourly, crossing his arms. “I only had room for one rescue that day, and he was not it.”
Wes snorts in ill-contained laughter.
“And what, praytell, is so funny?” Kurt asks.
“We once made a similar mistake,” Wes says with a smile as David rejoins them. “Not exactly the same, but close.”
“Oh?” Kurt says. “Do tell.”
“Yes, please,” Blaine says happily. “I want to hear the rest of the story.”
“Alright,” Wes says. “But no more interruptions! We have a lot of ground to cover before we go. Now… I believe we left off in Fenghuang…”
~~~
“…we’re not alone!” Wes says, cracking a smile. “David! Why are we doing this by ourselves? Surely we’re not the only ones who will take up this cause,” Wes says. “We could get our friends to help us!”
“Marvelous idea!” David says. “One problem-we don’t have any other friends.”
“That’s not true! There’s… well… there were those people back at the Palace, but heaven only knows what happened to them. Other than that, we have… well… there’s our families, but I don’t think I want mine involved in this if I can spare them,” Wes says thoughtfully.
“And I feel the same,” David says. “Which leaves a grand total of no one.”
Wes looks thoughtful for a few moments. “Well…” he says casually. “There’s always Thad.”
David stares at him flatly. “You can’t be serious.”
“What’s wrong with Thad?” Wes asks.
“Thad is a pompous, overbearing, self-absorbed nitwit!”
“Who happens to be my friend, and I’ll thank you not to insult him in my presence,” Wes warns.
“Oh, please. You agree with me and you know it,” David scoffs.
“That is entirely beside the point,” Wes says, not budging from his position. “Think about it! Thad would be an excellent ally. He is very traditionally-minded, and well-connected to boot. Plus, he could feasibly walk right up to the assassins and have a casual chat with them.”
“You could say the same thing for a charismatic street urchin,” David says, still not convinced.
Wes rolls his eyes. Truth be told, he has been friends with Thad longer than he has with David. David, he met at Dalton. Thad, he’s known since he was barely old enough to string words together. They formed a bit of a trio during their time at Dalton, but it was largely centered on Wes. David and Thad were not buddies by any stretch of the imagination. And Wes can’t exactly deny David’s assessment of some of the more… challenging aspect of Thad’s personality.
But Thad does have one major trump card…
“Not many street urchins could offer the wealth or clout that comes with the Harwood name,” Wes adds. “Lest we forget, the Harwoods are outlandishly rich.”
David raises his brows in thought, tumbling the thought in his mind. “So, how is dear old Thad?” he asks with a grin. “We should in touch with him again. How I’ve missed his self-aggrandizing ways!”
“I knew you’d see the light eventually,” Wes grins.
The next morning…
Wes and David set out bright and early to the local Hawk Office, to send Thad a letter. On their way, however, they are briefly distracted by a huge explosion. Wes puts a temporary mulligan on the no-staring rule, and the two head over to the site of the blast, which has torn a sizeable chunk out of the upper floor of one of the nicer inns in town. Voices burst from the smoking building…
“…HANDS OFF OF ME, OR SO HELP ME AGNI, I WILL GRILL THAT SAUSAGE WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS!”
“You said you were good to go!”
“I WAS HIGH, YOU JACKWEASEL!”
“Then why’d you say you weren’t?”
“HOW THE FUCK WOULD I KNOW? I WAS HIGH!”
David tilts his head as a small crowd gathers around. “Is it just me, or does one of those voices sound familiar?” he asks.
Wes takes a look at those evacuating the inn. Among the standard crowd of vacationing families (with parents doing their best to shield their childrens’ ears from the coarse language billowing out with the smoke), there are several lady soldiers, and two very familiar ladies.
“Shit!” Wes whispers. He starts to grab David and pull him away, but then he takes a closer look. Santana and Brittany seem to have eyes only for each other and the disaster unfolding on the upper floor. Brittany lays her head on Santana’s shoulder, looking forlorn, and Santana whispers something that makes her giggle. They haven’t noticed Wes or David, and don’t seem likely to.
“DON’T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!”
Another explosion rocks the inn. Down below, the innkeeper despairs as his life’s work slowly becomes kindling.
At this point, Wes decides that he’d rather not chance it, and pulls David aside so they can watch from a street corner.
“Wesley, what are you-”
“Look,” Wes says, pointing to the ladies.
“…what are they doing here?” David asks.
“I don’t know!” Wes answers. “Perhaps if we shut up and listen, we’ll find out.”
Unfortunately, they aren’t able to catch much. A final explosion precedes Puck taking a flying leap from the upper floor onto the street and dashing off like a man with a starving tigerdillo on his tail. Quinn emerges from the flaming wreckage shortly thereafter, her Chi-Ryus there to assuage her rage. Slowly but surely, the crowds start to disperse.
“Damn it,” David says. “The show’s over.”
“Let’s get out of here before they spot us,” Wes says.
“I second that motion,” David says. They return to their original task of heading to the Hawk Office, passing the local stables on the way. There, they notice something odd-there is now a komodo rhino roosting beside Speedy (their newly-chosen name for the mongoose lizard), along with several dragon moose.
Outside the stables, a group of soldiers is conversing with a couple of Chi-Ryus. Since they don’t have to worry about being identified by any of them, Wes and David decide to listen in on the conversation, under the guise of retrieving Speedy.
“…pect us to ride fucking dragon moose!” a dark-haired Chi-Ryus says.
“I’m sorry!” a soldier replies. “That’s all we could bring on such short notice. There’s a fort east of here with some rhinos you can use. The moose are just temporary.”
“Look, the Captain is not in a good mood, okay? We may have only hours left before she full-on explodes,” a sandy-blonde Chi-Ryu adds. “Like, literally. Complete with a mushroom cloud. Did you bring anything useful? Do you at least have some good news?”
“Well, I can’t say there’s much news to report from the Capital,” the soldier continues as Wes starts climbing the saddle. “I hear the Fire Lord found some curly-headed punk she was lookin’ for, got him locked up at the Palace…”
It’s unfortunate that Wes hears this as he is climbing onboard Speedy, as his hands properly forget how to function, and he falls on his ass.
“What was that?” the dark-haired Chi-Ryu asks.
“Nothing!” David says lightly, sticking his head out “My friend here is a little new to the concept of saddles.”
“Is he alright?” the sandy blonde asks.
“Fine!” Wes grunts, picking himself up. “When you fall off the lizard, you just have to get back on!” he says cheerily.
“That’s the spirit, kid!” the soldier says. “You just gotta take what life gives ya sometimes, ya know? You girls should tell that to your boss.”
“Why don’t you tell her?” the dark-haired girl says.
“…ahhh… no thanks. I’ve got a thing… at a place, y’know?”
“Thought so,” the dark-haired girl says. “Thanks for nothing.”
And they all part ways, leaving the stables empty of other humans for the time being.
What was that?” David asks, glaring at Wes.
“I was shocked!” Wes says. “Did you hear what they were saying?”
“Yes,” David says. “The Fire Lord has ‘some curly kid.’”
“Exactly!” Wes says. “And what curly kid would the Fire Lord possibly be looking for?”
“…good point,” David says thoughtfully. “Do you think we should investigate?”
“Oh, I think we should do more than that,” Wes says. “I have an idea…”
~~~
Once we finally got to the Hawk Office, we sent a letter to Thad warning him of our impending arrival-we intended to visit Dalton that very day, so we instructed him to gather up his friends to help us on a little ‘project’ we were working on. A short while and a brief detour later, and we returned to the old school at last.
~~~
The proud buildings of the Dalton Firebending Academy gleam in the afternoon sunlight as Wes and David pull into the courtyard on their lizard, which is slightly weighed down by a rather large cart attached to its tail. The sight that greets them is nothing less than appalling.
On the left side of the courtyard, a member of the custodial staff is chasing down several boys who were, just moments before, burning the outline of a large penis into the grass. In the middle, two boys are riding on the statue of the Dragon-and-Phoenix, two figures constantly circling each other and breathing flames. Male and female teachers desperately implore them to get down as they try to figure out how to turn the statues off. On the right side of the courtyard, several boys in a tree have turned the branches into a makeshift catapult and are laying mock-siege to the Windsor dormitories, who counter with flaming rolls of toilet paper.
“Is it just me,” David asks, “or have the disciplinary standards… slipped just a bit?”
Wes hops off of speedy. “Something has slipped, alright,” he says. “Stay here and make sure none of these hooligans gets to our cargo.”
“Why do I have to stand watch?” David says.
“Because I have to go find Thad,” Wes says. “Unless you want to chat up the old boy.”
David crosses his arms. “Fine. I’ll protect the contraband-”
“Not so loud!”
“-just try to make it quick.”
Wes nods his assent and heads towards the lobby, ducking underneath a paper crane and stepping over a burning bag that smells very suspicious. As he enters into the lobby, he is spotted almost immediately.
“Wesley!” someone whispers. “Psst! Over here!”
Wes walks towards the sound of the voice, but the only thing he finds is one of the many ceremonial suits of samurai armor that stand watch over the school. “Hello?” he asks.
Thad sticks his head out from behind the armor. “Shhh!” he says. “Don’t draw so much attention to yourself.”
“What are you doing there?” Wes asks. “What happened here?”
“The Fire Lord has called a temporary halt to all educational activity in order to review and revise the current curriculum. Class is canceled for the foreseeable future, but the school is contractually obligated to continue to board us. Now the school is little more than a playground for bored adolescent firebenders. The structure has collapsed. Anarchy reigns supreme!” Thad whispers urgently.
Wes shakes his head. “Amazing how much can change in such a short time,” he says softly.
“What is wrong with the Fire Lord?” Thad asks. “You work at the Palace, you should know. Has he gone mad?”
Wes looks up at his friend, disbelieving eyes scanning for any sign of disingenuousness. “…do you not know?”
“Know what?” Thad asks, looking around. He steps out from behind the armor. “Come, this way. We’ll speak in private.”
Thad leads them into a small, unused (of course) classroom, closing and locking the door behind them.
“Thad,” Wes says carefully. “Something incredibly profound happened last week. Do you honestly not have any idea what?”
“You mean those strange sky-lights?” Thad asks. “Because I distinctly remember those. Everyone seemed either afraid of them or outraged by them. The racket made it very difficult to properly center myself.”
“So you have no idea what else happened on the night of the lights?” Wes asks.
Thad shakes his head, looking at his old friend oddly. “No. The staff has seemed a bit on-edge lately, but no one has told us anything. Why? Is there something I should know?”
Wes can hardly believe it. Dalton is fairly secluded, even by Fire Nation standards-it was apparently converted from a monastery, so its out-of-the-way nature makes sense. Still, he can’t fathom the staff keeping something of this magnitude a secret. At least… not willingly. “Thad… the Fire Lord was killed that night. There was a riot in the capital, followed shortly by a coup.”
Thad’s countenance goes from confusion to disbelief. “You’re joking. That’s… insane.”
“I was there, Thad,” Wes insists. “I saw it with my own two eyes. The Fire Lord is dead, and the Prince is missing, breaking the line of succession. An emergency Fire Lord was elected by the council. She is the one who issued the edict.”
“But…” Thad says, shaking his head. “You and David… you protected the Prince, did you not? If… if there was a coup… good gods, man, are you alright?” he asks. “Where’s Thompson? Is he… surely he’s still…”
“David is alive,” Wes says. “We’re both fine. We narrowly made it out with our lives intact, and we’re looking for the missing Prince right now. That’s what this ‘project’ is about. The New Fire Lord got her position via sabotage, subterfuge, and assassination. The Fire Lord is dead, but if we can find the Prince, we stand a chance of invalidating her rule.”
Thad blinks in complete shock, having to sit down and compose himself. “That is what your letter referred to? That’s… it’s… is this dangerous?”
“No,” Wes says firmly. “David and I will be doing all the dangerous parts ourselves. All we need are a few good firebenders who can follow instructions.”
“So it is dangerous,” Thad says. “Just… not to the other students. Well, that’s good. I did manage to wrangle up a few of my classmates, but… good gods. I can’t believe it. I’m in shock.”
“I haven’t completely recovered, myself,” Wes says. “But you don’t have to worry. You will not be risking your life on our behalf, I assure you-”
“I most certainly will!” Thad says, offended. “How dare you insinuate that I would let my friends charge headlong into danger while I sit and sip tea!”
“Thad,” Wes says, shocked. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious,” Thad scoffs. “The Harwoods have a proud legacy of service to the Fire Nation. What kind of shame and dishonor would I bring my family if I shirked that duty?”
Wes shakes his head. “Thad, this is about much more than your family’s honor. Can you even fight?”
This just causes even more outrage. “Can I fight? You may recall that during your time here, I was ranked Third Flame, behind only David and yourself, and I certainly haven’t faltered since then. And did you forget about my swordsmanship?”
“Oh?” Wes says. “I remember your ‘swordsmanship’ from before I moved. I presume you’ve graduated from sticks?”
“Of course!” Thad scoffs. “I’ve been training with real weapons for nearly a decade. The Harwoods have been renowned for their bladework for generations! My father won countless exhibitions and competitions in his youth, and my grandfather and namesake so impressed the Fire Lord during the War of the Silver Flame-”
“-that he was given the honorary title of ‘Dragonclaw.’ You’ve mentioned it before,” Wes says, rolling his eyes. “Once or twice.”
“I see nothing wrong with taking a little pride in my heritage,” Thad says, crossing his arms. “I do not take upholding the Harwood name lightly. Now, do you want my help, or not?”
Wes smiles, shocked but pleased. “Thad, of course I want your help. I just didn’t expect you to jump into it quite so… enthusiastically.”
Thad shakes his head in disappointment. “You have come to me in friendship, yet you expect me to refuse? To haggle price? You wound me, Wesley.” He walks over to a fireplace, pulling out a poker and holding it up to the heavens. “By the life-giving light of Agni, so long as I draw breath, I pledge my sword to your cause.” A short pause. “…I know this isn’t actually a sword, but I think you understand the notion. You are my friend. I will not suffer you to face this alone.”
“I apologize,” Wes says with a soft smile. “I meant no offense. Thank you, Thad. There is just… one more thing I need to ask of you.”
“Yes?” Thad asks, putting the poker back in its place.
“We… erm… weneedmoney,” he coughs.
Thad blinks at him. “What was that?”
Wes sighs. “We need money. David and I are penniless at the moment, and we can’t get money without going to our families, who I am fairly certain will tackle us and lock us in a basement at first sight; a rather ignominious end to our journey.”
The young patrician regards his friend carefully. “That…” he says, trailing off thoughtfully, “…should not be a problem. I can give you a little to start with, and a short trip to my house will secure anything else we need.”
“What about the others?” Wes asks. “You said you had gotten other students who would help us.”
“I don’t think it would be prudent to take them all to my house and back,” Thad says thoughtfully.
“That’s not what I meant, but you do have a point,” Wes says. “Perhaps you could take our lizard.
“…your what?” Thad says carefully.
A short walk later…
“…ye gods,” Thad breathes, staring up at the creature before him. “He’s magnificent. What is his name?”
“Speedy!” David announces.
Thad looks at him in thinly-veiled horror. “Speedy? Have you no respect for this creature? Mongoose Lizards are among the rarest and most beautiful of all mounts! They cannot be bred in captivity-their eggs will not hatch. They must be caught wild and carefully trained. Someone sacrificed years of sweat, tears and money to acquire this creature and you have the gall to call it Speedy?”
David glares at him. “He’s very fast. Thus, Speedy. The name fits.” He rolls his eyes. “He’s just a lizard.”
Thad’s jaw drops in horror. He reaches up to cover the lizard’s ears, only to quickly realize he doesn’t exactly know where they are. “Pay no attention to him, Cornelius.”
“Cornelius?” David barks. “That’s your name? How is that any better than Speedy? How?”
“It’s much more dignified,” Thad says haughtily.
“Both of you, just shut up,” Wes sighs. “Thad, be very careful with the lizard. It was incredibly expensive.”
“And bought with someone else’s money,” David adds.
“I shall treat it as my own,” Thad says proudly. “Now, as for the others… I didn’t know what time you would arrive, so I instructed them to meet in the training room around sunset. They should be very receptive to your instructions, whatever they may be.”
“Very well,” Wes says. “When you get whatever it is you need, come to the Capital. We’ll be looking for you at a restaurant called ‘Breadstix.’ Understood?”
“Perfectly,” Thad says. “Now, if you’ll excuse me… hi-ho, Cornelius! AWAY!”
~~~
With that, Thad rode off into the horizon, leaving David and I to find a place to hide from the chaos while we waited for the other students to show up. We sequestered ourselves in the practice room and awaited the arrival of Thad’s helpers, who arrived in ones and twos just before sunset, arriving at a final total of nine.
Nine students, willing to help us with a task they did not know about, whose names we didn’t even know…
~~~
The atmosphere is just a little awkward. The students appear to be waiting for orders or instructions-a side-effect of a Dalton education, Wes would venture to guess. The two leaders sit at a table, facing the other students, strewn across various bits of furniture. Wes decides to break the ice.
“Since we are going to be working together, if only briefly, I feel it is important that we get to know each other,” Wes says. “We will each state our names and something about ourselves.”
“Nick.”
“Jeff.”
“Wait, wait! Let’s keep this nice and orderly,” Wes says. “One at a time, as you are called upon. David and I will demonstrate.” He stands up and clears his throat. “My name is Wesley Montgomery, ‘Wes’ for short. I went to school here before being employed by the Fire Lord. My favorite subject is History.”
He sits down, and David stands up. “My name is David Thompson. I also went to school here, and I find history-and, consequently, Wesley-to be a bit dull.”
A few light titters of laughter. Wes is willing to forgive a joke at his expense if it eases the tension. “Now, it’s your turn. We’ll start from this side of the room. Since you two were the most eager, you can go first.”
A black-haired student stands up. “My name is Nick Duval. I’m here on scholarship, and my dream job is to become an adventuring archeologist.”
“That job isn’t as fun as all those serial scroll-stories make it sound,” a larger boy butts in.
“Hey!” Wes says. “Wait your turn. It’s rude to interrupt.”
“…sorry,” the boy says, shrinking down slightly. Wes feels a pinch of guilt from making him look so scolded, but maintaining order is important.
“I guess I’m next,” the blonde says, standing up and proudly clapping Nick on the shoulder. “Jeff Sterling. Nick here’s my best bud. My dad’s in the Navy, and I have four brothers and sisters.”
“Each?” David asks.
Jeff scoffs. “No. I mean… three brothers, one sister. I’m the oldest.”
“Still,” Wes says. “That’s a pretty busy household.” He moves along the room to the next participant, the larger boy who spoke up before. “Now it’s your turn.”
The boy stands up. “Thank you. My name is Trent Nixon, and my dad’s an archaeologist. Really, the job is pretty boring. You mostly go around looking for old stuff and then trying not to break it once you find it. There’s a lot of dusting involved.”
“I can dust,” Nick shrugs. “I’ll dust from dusk ‘til dawn!”
Jeff snorts a laugh.
“In that case, you’ll fit right in,” Trent says. “My mom is also a researcher. She studies volcanoes.” He starts to sit down. “Oh! And I have a twin, but he doesn’t go here.”
“Very good,” Wes says. “Next?”
The boy next to Trent stands up. And up. And up. He’s a tall one.
“Flint Wilson,” he says calmly. “I read.”
And he sits back down.
“A man of few words,” David says. “I like that.”
“’Words are the greatest form of bending. Benders bend the elements-words bend the benders,’” Flint quotes. “I speak carefully.”
“An admirable trait,” Wes says. He moves on to a shorter, mousy-looking boy. “And you?”
The boy seems somewhat hesitant to stand up. “My name is Nick. Also.”
“Hmmm…” Wes says. “That presents a problem.”
“You could call me Nichola-”
“He came first,” David jumps in, pointing to Duval. “You can be ‘Other Nick.’” He smiles, pleased with his problem-solving. “Go ahead, Other Nick!”
“Okay,” Other Nick says. “I’m Nick Hudson, and… I… I… don’t really know what to say. I’m kind of quiet. But not because I’m profound, like Flint. I just don’t like talking. Normally, that is. Sometimes I ramble. Mostly when I’m nervous. Like, right now is a good example. I’m rambling, because I don’t know what to say, and I just kind of keep going, because I can’t think of a good stopping point, because I didn’t really mean to start, and-”
“Okay!” Wes says, cutting him off. “I’ll make a note of that, thank you.”
~~~
To the Next Part...
Title: Solar Winds (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fusion, 55/?)
Rating: PG-13 for innuendo, swearing, violence.
Spoilers: None for either series that I am aware of.
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 28,000
Summary: When a usurper sets eyes on the Fire Nation throne, Avatar Kurt and friends find themselves on the run with the deposed Prince Blaine in a country gone mad. Can they escape Lady Sylvester’s wrath? Or will her minions snuff them out for good? Fusion fic!
Author’s Note: Holy crap, massive chapter! O_o;; Those Warblers demanded backstory, and I had no choice but to deliver. Don’t worry though-I’ve worked extra hard to try and make this chapter awesome due to focusing on side characters, and it’s the last backstory chapter before we return to our regularly scheduled Klaine. ;) Until then, enjoy this brief spotlight on the AU!Warblers, and how they came to be. ^_^
Master Post
~~~
CHAPTER 55 - Dragon Hawks, Part 2
The Tale of the Hawks
“So… wait,” Wes says, gesturing to Kurt. “This is awful monster who broke in while you were in prison?”
“The very beast himself,” Thad says haughtily.
David tilts his head at the Avatar. “…you told us he was ten feet tall.”
“A trick of the light,” Thad says.
“And that he had horns like a gorilla goat,” Wes adds.
“His hair was messy.”
“And that he was covered in blood,” David adds.
“…so he washed it off!” Thad says.
“You said he flew away on enormous wings of midnight black,” Wes says flatly. “I see no wings.”
Thad still refuses to budge. “Perhaps they only come out at night. I’ve heard stories of people who transform into monsters during the full moon.”
Kurt gives him the stink-eye. “The only thing that happens to me during the full moon is a boost to my waterbending and occasional insomnia. Where did you get all of that stuff?”
Thad crosses his arms. “I… might have exaggerated select details, but my story captures the spirit of the encounter. Is that not more important than minute factual details?”
“Not really,” Wes says.
“He left me in there!” Thad cries, outraged. “He knew for a fact that I was wrongfully imprisoned, and flatly refused to aid me. Not only that; he had the nerve to mock my situation! Such behavior is bestial by anyone’s standards.”
“Well, then, maybe you should flee the scary monster boy and do something else,” David says diplomatically. “Why don’t you go help pack everything up? We need to leave soon.”
Thad glares at David and Kurt in turn. “…fine,” he seethes, turning and stomping indignantly over to the others, who are tittering around between various ostrich horses, packing under the apparent guidance of Mercedes, who is directing traffic. Finn, his shoulder now bandaged, sits in a nearby chair-shaped rock that Artie bent up as Rachel hovers around him, chattering away, not noticing that he has fallen asleep.
“Well, that was suitably awkward,” Blaine says. “I can’t believe someone would make up a story like that just to discredit you.”
“Well…” Kurt says. “There might be just a smidgen of truth to it. I mean, I did meet him in a prison and… sort of… declined to rescue him.”
Blaine is somewhere between surprised and disappointed. “Wait, really? Why?”
“I thought you had been captured!” Kurt says sourly, crossing his arms. “I only had room for one rescue that day, and he was not it.”
Wes snorts in ill-contained laughter.
“And what, praytell, is so funny?” Kurt asks.
“We once made a similar mistake,” Wes says with a smile as David rejoins them. “Not exactly the same, but close.”
“Oh?” Kurt says. “Do tell.”
“Yes, please,” Blaine says happily. “I want to hear the rest of the story.”
“Alright,” Wes says. “But no more interruptions! We have a lot of ground to cover before we go. Now… I believe we left off in Fenghuang…”
~~~
“…we’re not alone!” Wes says, cracking a smile. “David! Why are we doing this by ourselves? Surely we’re not the only ones who will take up this cause,” Wes says. “We could get our friends to help us!”
“Marvelous idea!” David says. “One problem-we don’t have any other friends.”
“That’s not true! There’s… well… there were those people back at the Palace, but heaven only knows what happened to them. Other than that, we have… well… there’s our families, but I don’t think I want mine involved in this if I can spare them,” Wes says thoughtfully.
“And I feel the same,” David says. “Which leaves a grand total of no one.”
Wes looks thoughtful for a few moments. “Well…” he says casually. “There’s always Thad.”
David stares at him flatly. “You can’t be serious.”
“What’s wrong with Thad?” Wes asks.
“Thad is a pompous, overbearing, self-absorbed nitwit!”
“Who happens to be my friend, and I’ll thank you not to insult him in my presence,” Wes warns.
“Oh, please. You agree with me and you know it,” David scoffs.
“That is entirely beside the point,” Wes says, not budging from his position. “Think about it! Thad would be an excellent ally. He is very traditionally-minded, and well-connected to boot. Plus, he could feasibly walk right up to the assassins and have a casual chat with them.”
“You could say the same thing for a charismatic street urchin,” David says, still not convinced.
Wes rolls his eyes. Truth be told, he has been friends with Thad longer than he has with David. David, he met at Dalton. Thad, he’s known since he was barely old enough to string words together. They formed a bit of a trio during their time at Dalton, but it was largely centered on Wes. David and Thad were not buddies by any stretch of the imagination. And Wes can’t exactly deny David’s assessment of some of the more… challenging aspect of Thad’s personality.
But Thad does have one major trump card…
“Not many street urchins could offer the wealth or clout that comes with the Harwood name,” Wes adds. “Lest we forget, the Harwoods are outlandishly rich.”
David raises his brows in thought, tumbling the thought in his mind. “So, how is dear old Thad?” he asks with a grin. “We should in touch with him again. How I’ve missed his self-aggrandizing ways!”
“I knew you’d see the light eventually,” Wes grins.
The next morning…
Wes and David set out bright and early to the local Hawk Office, to send Thad a letter. On their way, however, they are briefly distracted by a huge explosion. Wes puts a temporary mulligan on the no-staring rule, and the two head over to the site of the blast, which has torn a sizeable chunk out of the upper floor of one of the nicer inns in town. Voices burst from the smoking building…
“…HANDS OFF OF ME, OR SO HELP ME AGNI, I WILL GRILL THAT SAUSAGE WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS!”
“You said you were good to go!”
“I WAS HIGH, YOU JACKWEASEL!”
“Then why’d you say you weren’t?”
“HOW THE FUCK WOULD I KNOW? I WAS HIGH!”
David tilts his head as a small crowd gathers around. “Is it just me, or does one of those voices sound familiar?” he asks.
Wes takes a look at those evacuating the inn. Among the standard crowd of vacationing families (with parents doing their best to shield their childrens’ ears from the coarse language billowing out with the smoke), there are several lady soldiers, and two very familiar ladies.
“Shit!” Wes whispers. He starts to grab David and pull him away, but then he takes a closer look. Santana and Brittany seem to have eyes only for each other and the disaster unfolding on the upper floor. Brittany lays her head on Santana’s shoulder, looking forlorn, and Santana whispers something that makes her giggle. They haven’t noticed Wes or David, and don’t seem likely to.
“DON’T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!”
Another explosion rocks the inn. Down below, the innkeeper despairs as his life’s work slowly becomes kindling.
At this point, Wes decides that he’d rather not chance it, and pulls David aside so they can watch from a street corner.
“Wesley, what are you-”
“Look,” Wes says, pointing to the ladies.
“…what are they doing here?” David asks.
“I don’t know!” Wes answers. “Perhaps if we shut up and listen, we’ll find out.”
Unfortunately, they aren’t able to catch much. A final explosion precedes Puck taking a flying leap from the upper floor onto the street and dashing off like a man with a starving tigerdillo on his tail. Quinn emerges from the flaming wreckage shortly thereafter, her Chi-Ryus there to assuage her rage. Slowly but surely, the crowds start to disperse.
“Damn it,” David says. “The show’s over.”
“Let’s get out of here before they spot us,” Wes says.
“I second that motion,” David says. They return to their original task of heading to the Hawk Office, passing the local stables on the way. There, they notice something odd-there is now a komodo rhino roosting beside Speedy (their newly-chosen name for the mongoose lizard), along with several dragon moose.
Outside the stables, a group of soldiers is conversing with a couple of Chi-Ryus. Since they don’t have to worry about being identified by any of them, Wes and David decide to listen in on the conversation, under the guise of retrieving Speedy.
“…pect us to ride fucking dragon moose!” a dark-haired Chi-Ryus says.
“I’m sorry!” a soldier replies. “That’s all we could bring on such short notice. There’s a fort east of here with some rhinos you can use. The moose are just temporary.”
“Look, the Captain is not in a good mood, okay? We may have only hours left before she full-on explodes,” a sandy-blonde Chi-Ryu adds. “Like, literally. Complete with a mushroom cloud. Did you bring anything useful? Do you at least have some good news?”
“Well, I can’t say there’s much news to report from the Capital,” the soldier continues as Wes starts climbing the saddle. “I hear the Fire Lord found some curly-headed punk she was lookin’ for, got him locked up at the Palace…”
It’s unfortunate that Wes hears this as he is climbing onboard Speedy, as his hands properly forget how to function, and he falls on his ass.
“What was that?” the dark-haired Chi-Ryu asks.
“Nothing!” David says lightly, sticking his head out “My friend here is a little new to the concept of saddles.”
“Is he alright?” the sandy blonde asks.
“Fine!” Wes grunts, picking himself up. “When you fall off the lizard, you just have to get back on!” he says cheerily.
“That’s the spirit, kid!” the soldier says. “You just gotta take what life gives ya sometimes, ya know? You girls should tell that to your boss.”
“Why don’t you tell her?” the dark-haired girl says.
“…ahhh… no thanks. I’ve got a thing… at a place, y’know?”
“Thought so,” the dark-haired girl says. “Thanks for nothing.”
And they all part ways, leaving the stables empty of other humans for the time being.
What was that?” David asks, glaring at Wes.
“I was shocked!” Wes says. “Did you hear what they were saying?”
“Yes,” David says. “The Fire Lord has ‘some curly kid.’”
“Exactly!” Wes says. “And what curly kid would the Fire Lord possibly be looking for?”
“…good point,” David says thoughtfully. “Do you think we should investigate?”
“Oh, I think we should do more than that,” Wes says. “I have an idea…”
~~~
Once we finally got to the Hawk Office, we sent a letter to Thad warning him of our impending arrival-we intended to visit Dalton that very day, so we instructed him to gather up his friends to help us on a little ‘project’ we were working on. A short while and a brief detour later, and we returned to the old school at last.
~~~
The proud buildings of the Dalton Firebending Academy gleam in the afternoon sunlight as Wes and David pull into the courtyard on their lizard, which is slightly weighed down by a rather large cart attached to its tail. The sight that greets them is nothing less than appalling.
On the left side of the courtyard, a member of the custodial staff is chasing down several boys who were, just moments before, burning the outline of a large penis into the grass. In the middle, two boys are riding on the statue of the Dragon-and-Phoenix, two figures constantly circling each other and breathing flames. Male and female teachers desperately implore them to get down as they try to figure out how to turn the statues off. On the right side of the courtyard, several boys in a tree have turned the branches into a makeshift catapult and are laying mock-siege to the Windsor dormitories, who counter with flaming rolls of toilet paper.
“Is it just me,” David asks, “or have the disciplinary standards… slipped just a bit?”
Wes hops off of speedy. “Something has slipped, alright,” he says. “Stay here and make sure none of these hooligans gets to our cargo.”
“Why do I have to stand watch?” David says.
“Because I have to go find Thad,” Wes says. “Unless you want to chat up the old boy.”
David crosses his arms. “Fine. I’ll protect the contraband-”
“Not so loud!”
“-just try to make it quick.”
Wes nods his assent and heads towards the lobby, ducking underneath a paper crane and stepping over a burning bag that smells very suspicious. As he enters into the lobby, he is spotted almost immediately.
“Wesley!” someone whispers. “Psst! Over here!”
Wes walks towards the sound of the voice, but the only thing he finds is one of the many ceremonial suits of samurai armor that stand watch over the school. “Hello?” he asks.
Thad sticks his head out from behind the armor. “Shhh!” he says. “Don’t draw so much attention to yourself.”
“What are you doing there?” Wes asks. “What happened here?”
“The Fire Lord has called a temporary halt to all educational activity in order to review and revise the current curriculum. Class is canceled for the foreseeable future, but the school is contractually obligated to continue to board us. Now the school is little more than a playground for bored adolescent firebenders. The structure has collapsed. Anarchy reigns supreme!” Thad whispers urgently.
Wes shakes his head. “Amazing how much can change in such a short time,” he says softly.
“What is wrong with the Fire Lord?” Thad asks. “You work at the Palace, you should know. Has he gone mad?”
Wes looks up at his friend, disbelieving eyes scanning for any sign of disingenuousness. “…do you not know?”
“Know what?” Thad asks, looking around. He steps out from behind the armor. “Come, this way. We’ll speak in private.”
Thad leads them into a small, unused (of course) classroom, closing and locking the door behind them.
“Thad,” Wes says carefully. “Something incredibly profound happened last week. Do you honestly not have any idea what?”
“You mean those strange sky-lights?” Thad asks. “Because I distinctly remember those. Everyone seemed either afraid of them or outraged by them. The racket made it very difficult to properly center myself.”
“So you have no idea what else happened on the night of the lights?” Wes asks.
Thad shakes his head, looking at his old friend oddly. “No. The staff has seemed a bit on-edge lately, but no one has told us anything. Why? Is there something I should know?”
Wes can hardly believe it. Dalton is fairly secluded, even by Fire Nation standards-it was apparently converted from a monastery, so its out-of-the-way nature makes sense. Still, he can’t fathom the staff keeping something of this magnitude a secret. At least… not willingly. “Thad… the Fire Lord was killed that night. There was a riot in the capital, followed shortly by a coup.”
Thad’s countenance goes from confusion to disbelief. “You’re joking. That’s… insane.”
“I was there, Thad,” Wes insists. “I saw it with my own two eyes. The Fire Lord is dead, and the Prince is missing, breaking the line of succession. An emergency Fire Lord was elected by the council. She is the one who issued the edict.”
“But…” Thad says, shaking his head. “You and David… you protected the Prince, did you not? If… if there was a coup… good gods, man, are you alright?” he asks. “Where’s Thompson? Is he… surely he’s still…”
“David is alive,” Wes says. “We’re both fine. We narrowly made it out with our lives intact, and we’re looking for the missing Prince right now. That’s what this ‘project’ is about. The New Fire Lord got her position via sabotage, subterfuge, and assassination. The Fire Lord is dead, but if we can find the Prince, we stand a chance of invalidating her rule.”
Thad blinks in complete shock, having to sit down and compose himself. “That is what your letter referred to? That’s… it’s… is this dangerous?”
“No,” Wes says firmly. “David and I will be doing all the dangerous parts ourselves. All we need are a few good firebenders who can follow instructions.”
“So it is dangerous,” Thad says. “Just… not to the other students. Well, that’s good. I did manage to wrangle up a few of my classmates, but… good gods. I can’t believe it. I’m in shock.”
“I haven’t completely recovered, myself,” Wes says. “But you don’t have to worry. You will not be risking your life on our behalf, I assure you-”
“I most certainly will!” Thad says, offended. “How dare you insinuate that I would let my friends charge headlong into danger while I sit and sip tea!”
“Thad,” Wes says, shocked. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious,” Thad scoffs. “The Harwoods have a proud legacy of service to the Fire Nation. What kind of shame and dishonor would I bring my family if I shirked that duty?”
Wes shakes his head. “Thad, this is about much more than your family’s honor. Can you even fight?”
This just causes even more outrage. “Can I fight? You may recall that during your time here, I was ranked Third Flame, behind only David and yourself, and I certainly haven’t faltered since then. And did you forget about my swordsmanship?”
“Oh?” Wes says. “I remember your ‘swordsmanship’ from before I moved. I presume you’ve graduated from sticks?”
“Of course!” Thad scoffs. “I’ve been training with real weapons for nearly a decade. The Harwoods have been renowned for their bladework for generations! My father won countless exhibitions and competitions in his youth, and my grandfather and namesake so impressed the Fire Lord during the War of the Silver Flame-”
“-that he was given the honorary title of ‘Dragonclaw.’ You’ve mentioned it before,” Wes says, rolling his eyes. “Once or twice.”
“I see nothing wrong with taking a little pride in my heritage,” Thad says, crossing his arms. “I do not take upholding the Harwood name lightly. Now, do you want my help, or not?”
Wes smiles, shocked but pleased. “Thad, of course I want your help. I just didn’t expect you to jump into it quite so… enthusiastically.”
Thad shakes his head in disappointment. “You have come to me in friendship, yet you expect me to refuse? To haggle price? You wound me, Wesley.” He walks over to a fireplace, pulling out a poker and holding it up to the heavens. “By the life-giving light of Agni, so long as I draw breath, I pledge my sword to your cause.” A short pause. “…I know this isn’t actually a sword, but I think you understand the notion. You are my friend. I will not suffer you to face this alone.”
“I apologize,” Wes says with a soft smile. “I meant no offense. Thank you, Thad. There is just… one more thing I need to ask of you.”
“Yes?” Thad asks, putting the poker back in its place.
“We… erm… weneedmoney,” he coughs.
Thad blinks at him. “What was that?”
Wes sighs. “We need money. David and I are penniless at the moment, and we can’t get money without going to our families, who I am fairly certain will tackle us and lock us in a basement at first sight; a rather ignominious end to our journey.”
The young patrician regards his friend carefully. “That…” he says, trailing off thoughtfully, “…should not be a problem. I can give you a little to start with, and a short trip to my house will secure anything else we need.”
“What about the others?” Wes asks. “You said you had gotten other students who would help us.”
“I don’t think it would be prudent to take them all to my house and back,” Thad says thoughtfully.
“That’s not what I meant, but you do have a point,” Wes says. “Perhaps you could take our lizard.
“…your what?” Thad says carefully.
A short walk later…
“…ye gods,” Thad breathes, staring up at the creature before him. “He’s magnificent. What is his name?”
“Speedy!” David announces.
Thad looks at him in thinly-veiled horror. “Speedy? Have you no respect for this creature? Mongoose Lizards are among the rarest and most beautiful of all mounts! They cannot be bred in captivity-their eggs will not hatch. They must be caught wild and carefully trained. Someone sacrificed years of sweat, tears and money to acquire this creature and you have the gall to call it Speedy?”
David glares at him. “He’s very fast. Thus, Speedy. The name fits.” He rolls his eyes. “He’s just a lizard.”
Thad’s jaw drops in horror. He reaches up to cover the lizard’s ears, only to quickly realize he doesn’t exactly know where they are. “Pay no attention to him, Cornelius.”
“Cornelius?” David barks. “That’s your name? How is that any better than Speedy? How?”
“It’s much more dignified,” Thad says haughtily.
“Both of you, just shut up,” Wes sighs. “Thad, be very careful with the lizard. It was incredibly expensive.”
“And bought with someone else’s money,” David adds.
“I shall treat it as my own,” Thad says proudly. “Now, as for the others… I didn’t know what time you would arrive, so I instructed them to meet in the training room around sunset. They should be very receptive to your instructions, whatever they may be.”
“Very well,” Wes says. “When you get whatever it is you need, come to the Capital. We’ll be looking for you at a restaurant called ‘Breadstix.’ Understood?”
“Perfectly,” Thad says. “Now, if you’ll excuse me… hi-ho, Cornelius! AWAY!”
~~~
With that, Thad rode off into the horizon, leaving David and I to find a place to hide from the chaos while we waited for the other students to show up. We sequestered ourselves in the practice room and awaited the arrival of Thad’s helpers, who arrived in ones and twos just before sunset, arriving at a final total of nine.
Nine students, willing to help us with a task they did not know about, whose names we didn’t even know…
~~~
The atmosphere is just a little awkward. The students appear to be waiting for orders or instructions-a side-effect of a Dalton education, Wes would venture to guess. The two leaders sit at a table, facing the other students, strewn across various bits of furniture. Wes decides to break the ice.
“Since we are going to be working together, if only briefly, I feel it is important that we get to know each other,” Wes says. “We will each state our names and something about ourselves.”
“Nick.”
“Jeff.”
“Wait, wait! Let’s keep this nice and orderly,” Wes says. “One at a time, as you are called upon. David and I will demonstrate.” He stands up and clears his throat. “My name is Wesley Montgomery, ‘Wes’ for short. I went to school here before being employed by the Fire Lord. My favorite subject is History.”
He sits down, and David stands up. “My name is David Thompson. I also went to school here, and I find history-and, consequently, Wesley-to be a bit dull.”
A few light titters of laughter. Wes is willing to forgive a joke at his expense if it eases the tension. “Now, it’s your turn. We’ll start from this side of the room. Since you two were the most eager, you can go first.”
A black-haired student stands up. “My name is Nick Duval. I’m here on scholarship, and my dream job is to become an adventuring archeologist.”
“That job isn’t as fun as all those serial scroll-stories make it sound,” a larger boy butts in.
“Hey!” Wes says. “Wait your turn. It’s rude to interrupt.”
“…sorry,” the boy says, shrinking down slightly. Wes feels a pinch of guilt from making him look so scolded, but maintaining order is important.
“I guess I’m next,” the blonde says, standing up and proudly clapping Nick on the shoulder. “Jeff Sterling. Nick here’s my best bud. My dad’s in the Navy, and I have four brothers and sisters.”
“Each?” David asks.
Jeff scoffs. “No. I mean… three brothers, one sister. I’m the oldest.”
“Still,” Wes says. “That’s a pretty busy household.” He moves along the room to the next participant, the larger boy who spoke up before. “Now it’s your turn.”
The boy stands up. “Thank you. My name is Trent Nixon, and my dad’s an archaeologist. Really, the job is pretty boring. You mostly go around looking for old stuff and then trying not to break it once you find it. There’s a lot of dusting involved.”
“I can dust,” Nick shrugs. “I’ll dust from dusk ‘til dawn!”
Jeff snorts a laugh.
“In that case, you’ll fit right in,” Trent says. “My mom is also a researcher. She studies volcanoes.” He starts to sit down. “Oh! And I have a twin, but he doesn’t go here.”
“Very good,” Wes says. “Next?”
The boy next to Trent stands up. And up. And up. He’s a tall one.
“Flint Wilson,” he says calmly. “I read.”
And he sits back down.
“A man of few words,” David says. “I like that.”
“’Words are the greatest form of bending. Benders bend the elements-words bend the benders,’” Flint quotes. “I speak carefully.”
“An admirable trait,” Wes says. He moves on to a shorter, mousy-looking boy. “And you?”
The boy seems somewhat hesitant to stand up. “My name is Nick. Also.”
“Hmmm…” Wes says. “That presents a problem.”
“You could call me Nichola-”
“He came first,” David jumps in, pointing to Duval. “You can be ‘Other Nick.’” He smiles, pleased with his problem-solving. “Go ahead, Other Nick!”
“Okay,” Other Nick says. “I’m Nick Hudson, and… I… I… don’t really know what to say. I’m kind of quiet. But not because I’m profound, like Flint. I just don’t like talking. Normally, that is. Sometimes I ramble. Mostly when I’m nervous. Like, right now is a good example. I’m rambling, because I don’t know what to say, and I just kind of keep going, because I can’t think of a good stopping point, because I didn’t really mean to start, and-”
“Okay!” Wes says, cutting him off. “I’ll make a note of that, thank you.”
~~~
To the Next Part...