manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Jul 3, 2008 23:29:41 GMT -5
Hi everyone. I haven't really posted in a long time because I've been busy working on this. It's a multichapter all-OC fic. I got the idea from when Mike & Bryan said they "weren't done with that world" or something, so i wanted to make a story like what a series with all new characters but the same setting would be. I think if you liked my last story (Enemies & Traitors--I'm going to pretend I'm talented enough that people remember my work. Just let me have this.)--you will probably like this. I tried to set it up as much like a TV show as possible without putting it into script form. I even gave it a two-episode premiere "movie" (that everyone knows is not really a movie). I wanted to have the chapters take about 30 minutes to read. As it turns out, they take a little longer (sorry. You should probably read the chapters in increments.) I would really like reviews and comments, but mostly I just want to share this with other Avatar fans. Anyway, there's a better introduction on fanfiction.net. The opening italic part is supposed to be like the TV show introduction, but it also serves as a brief explanation of the premise so you can know what you're getting into before you start reading. So if anyone is still interested after all that, please read, review, and enjoy Avatar: The Heir of Ban. www.fanfiction.net/s/4364182/1/Avatar_The_Heir_of_BanEdit: 11/09/08 I've decided I need a beta reader more than I thought, so if anyone is interested in beta-ing upcoming chapters please let me know. You'll get to see chapters ahead of time...if that's enticing at all. I'm willing to review/beta your stuff in exchange, though I don't know how good I'll be.
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manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Sept 15, 2008 23:04:01 GMT -5
Okay, I think authors are allowed to double-post to update a story, and that's technically what this post is. I haven't gotten any readers here yet, so I've altered the format, and I'm going to start posting the actual content on this site. It was originally in a few large chapters, but now I've divided each chapter into smaller, more digestible parts. Hopefully the changes will make it easier to read. If anyone would like to read the later updates for whatever reason, they're under the fanfiction.net link. So here it is. -------------------------------- Avatar: The Heir of Ban Water. Fire. Air. Earth. For thousands of years, the Avatar has been a paragon of righteousness and order to all nations. But must this always be the case? Does the universe choose righteous individuals, or has the world just been lucky so far? 1200 years before Sozin’s War, an Avatar was born into the Hei Chaoliu, organized gangs that all but held Ba Sing Se in thrall. His name was Zhengyi.
Five hundred years earlier, a new dynasty of kings had come to power in Ba Sing Se through a coup, and revolutionary societies, which intended to restore the old dynasty, sprang up. These went underground to avoid prosecution, and because they trafficked information and ideas secretly, they became known as the Chaoliu. They were unsuccessful in their goal, but over time they resorted increasingly to illegal activities to fund their rebellion. After many unsuccessful uprisings, the Chaoliu gradually abandoned their noble goals and became fully criminal organizations, though not without a modicum of honor and morality, emphasized to various extents by various bosses. The Chaoliu then became known as the Hei Chaoliu. The Hei Chaoliu was by no means a unified organization though. The five original groups grew into dozens and dozens of clan-based gangs, competing for illegal commodities and territory. By the time Avatar Zhengyi was born, one clan had risen above the rest as the clearly most powerful: the Ban.
Also by this time, a very strict and self-righteous Earth King had come to power. He encouraged the breakdown in relations between Ba Sing Se and Omashu over which great city deserved to lead the Earth Kingdom. By the time of Zhengyi’s birth, this tension was on its way to civil war.
As is so often the case, only the Avatar can stop the war, depose the king, and return balance to the world. But the circumstances of Avatar Zhengyi’s birth have lead him to forsake the Avatar’s duties for a selfish life dedicated to what he calls “justice” and most call “revenge.” The world waits as he struggles to choose between his two roles: the Avatar, and…The Heir of Ban.*** Avatar: The Heir of Ban Chapter 1: The Son Part 1
Ban Ti Xi’s foot stamped the ground, ejecting a rock from its resting place. He shot his fist out from his hip, sending the rock at one of his sparring partners. The other man quickly erected a wedge of earth and the rock shattered on its edge. The wedge sped toward Ti Xi, but he strongly thrust both his forearms at it, raising a rock wall. His open pao fluttered from the sharpness of his movements. Two other sparring partners swung their fists upward like weights on a chain, lifting a massive boulder into the air and positioning it above Ti Xi’s head. With a crane’s beak hand technique, Ti Xi broke a core out of the rock for his body to occupy. Alone for a moment in the core of the boulder, he smiled at how staunchly his retainers obeyed his order to not hold back in practice. With barely enough room to move his muscular arms at the elbows, he struck the rock’s interior in several places, producing radial hairline fractures. He sent a barrage of rock sections at his sparring partners. This unexpected move neutralized nearly all of them. Ti Xi exhaled with a bridge hand. Only one of his retainers could still present any real challenge to him, and he wanted a challenge today. Ti Xi called out to this man, who was leaning against a tree at the edge of Ban Ti Xi’s training courtyard, mostly hidden by the tree’s shadow, and audibly crunching on an apple. “Hey, Wu! You wanna fight? I need to practice against someone who’s not a pushover!” Though other bosses in the Hei Chaoliu, the Black Current of the Earth Kingdom, might have called their men such names with malice, Ti Xi did it jokingly, with good humor and respect for the men who were both underlings and his friends. No one ever took offense to Ti Xi’s ribbing. He ensured the loyalty and admiration of all his retainers by treating them generously and kindly. Besides, Ti Xi was their leader, and if he could earthbend well, then so much the better for them. Er Shi Wu’s only acknowledgement of his boss’s request was to step out from the shadow of the tree and toss his apple to the ground. The shadow seemed to lift off him like a curtain, exposing his green shirt on his wiry frame, his bright green left eye, and an eye-patch covering the right one. The patch bore the pygmy puma that was Ti Xi’s clan insignia, and it had also prompted Er Shi Wu’s nickname: “One-Eyed Wu.” Wu casually strode on to the training ground. “You always win, Ti Xi,” he smiled. “Not true,” Ti Xi acknowledged the abilities of this man, one of his top three lieutenants. “Up until a few years ago you used to beat me all the time, remember?” Wu nodded in assent, taking a horse stance. Ti Xi nodded in kind. Wu whipped his fists diagonally across his body, flinging stones at Ti Xi. Ti Xi pecked them all out of the air with his crane’s beak hand. They both knew this was just a warm-up. Ti Xi then dropped to a lower stance, and a wave of earth shot from his foot straight at Wu. Wu anticipated this. He lifted a large chunk of earth out of the ground. As Ti Xi’s wave came at him, Wu spun to the side and took a drop stance. His chunk of earth spun with him and he fired it at Ti Xi. Ti Xi sprang backwards and rolled as the chunk flew over his head and shattered on the courtyard wall behind him. He got back to his feet and swung his hand in a circle behind him, raising an arc of earth aimed for Wu. Wu had already created a similar structure and was sending it toward Ti Xi. “Mountain Master! Mountain Master!” came the winded voice of another of Ti Xi’s top men, Sin Cao. He was waving a parchment clasped in the three digits of his right hand. A rival clan had cut off his right pinky and ring finger many years ago when they once captured him. They had hoped to disgrace him, as amputated fingers were the mark of a traitor among the Hei Chaoliu clans. Ti Xi had too much trust in Cao for the tactic to work, but that was how he had earned his nickname, “Cao the Claw.” However, the name hardly fit Cao’s avuncular appearance, with his long white beard, deep brown eyes, bald head and big gut. Wu and Ti Xi broke off the match, allowing their earthen projectiles to melt back into the ground. “Cao, how many years have we known each other?” Ti Xi asked rhetorically. “You can call me by my name,” he told the man. Cao had originally worked for Ti Xi’s father, and Ti Xi always felt strange being addressed so respectfully by an older man. “Apologies, Sha—Ti Xi. But urgent news just arrived from Bian Se Long.” “Bian Se Long?” Ti Xi replied. Wu, from his long years as a gangster, immediately knew Cao and Ti Xi were using some kind of code to discuss something he and the others were apparently not meant to know. “Yes. I need to speak with you privately,” Cao said, still sounding urgent. Wu watched the two move off together into the main house of the Ban compound as he helped the other sparring partners up. The afternoon sun blazed over the Agrarian District of Ba Sing Se and the Ban family compound, and Wu felt it despite the meager shade provided by some of the trees at the edge of the training courtyard. Several of the pygmy pumas which were kept around the compound as pets, as well as mascots of sorts for the clan, skittered out of the way as Cao and Ti Xi slid open the shoji and entered the house. Ti Xi nervously ran a hand over his shaven head. “What’s the news from Bian Se Long?” he asked, worried. They would not drop the code, even in private. Cao smiled. “Relax, Mountain Master. It’s good news.” Ti Xi looked a little pale at first. “Good news?...” he mumbled. Then he became very excited, overjoyed even. He laughed merrily and bear-hugged Cao. “Good news!” he said, smiling at the plump, middle-aged man. “Yes, good news,” Cao smiled back. “This is great! Cao, I want you to go there right away in my place. Make sure everything goes smoothly,” Ti Xi said in an exited fluster. Then he remembered Cao’s young daughter, only eighteen months old. He spoke more seriously for a moment. “Will Fung be all right without you?” “Of course. Her aunt at the Bixia Abbey can look after her,” Cao smiled at his friend. “Don’t worry. This is important; I want to go.” Ti Xi placed his hand on Cao’s shoulder. “You’re my top man. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with something this important.” Cao walked up the imposing staircase toward his suite in the massive main house of the Ban clan’s compound. In order to motivate his men, Ti Xi allowed several dozens of his most senior lieutenants to live in his rather posh compound. The compound was officially a farm in the Agrarian District, but Ti Xi ran it more like a hotel or an army camp. Its several houses, especially the palatial main house, were generally much nicer than anything your average poor Hei Chaoliu gang member had ever seen. Ti Xi even allowed members to keep spouses and children with them at the compound. The younger members heard stories of it, although they were not allowed to know its location, and the prospect of such a nice living arrangement encouraged them to work up to a rank when they might finally be invited to live there. Cao went on his way to pack for a journey to Bian Se Long, which was in fact a small town near Chameleon Bay. “I’ll be back in a week…with you-know-who,” he called nonchalantly to a proud Ti Xi. Ti Xi stood alone in the foyer, grinning to himself for a moment. “Sir?...” came Wu’s voice, snapping Ti Xi back to the present. “About the raid on the Du clan’s slum tonight: the briefing will be held in the grand dining room in a few minutes.” “Thank you. I’m prepared,” Ti Xi said. “Did you make the maps I asked for?” “They’re ready, aniki. But I don’t understand why we need to go to battle over such an insignificant piece of turf. I don’t think the men will like it, Ti Xi…We’re going to lose people we don’t need to waste on something like this.” “I’ve seen that place for myself,” Ti Xi said, gravely. “The people living there are poorest of the poor, and the Du clan still gouges their rents and charges them protection. Exploiting civilians—poor civilians—like that, it dishonors the Hei Chaoliu. I can’t let something like that go on. That’s how I’ve always run this gang.” Wu rolled his eye. Ti Xi closed his eyes and began stroking his doorknocker beard. “It’s just unfortunate we have to do this without Ying Su here. I’m a little worried. I’ll never have another lieutenant with the tactical skill she has. She could have been in the army, you know… That’s what she should be, not a crime lord’s lieutenant.” He sighed. “Well, you were the one who sent her to Omashu to look for ways to expand the clan. I think you’re overestimating her,” Wu replied. “I mean, Su is good—probably the best—but you and I don’t need her just to take back some turf from trash like the Du.” Ti Xi laughed. “Ha-ha! True! Go set up and make sure the men are in there.” Wu went off and Ti Xi took a few minutes to collect himself and chew a betel nut before entering his dining room with his men. The betel nuts helped keep him calm. Ying Su said he chewed them too often, but it wasn't as though they were doing any damage. *** The briefing went well, and the men retired for a few hours sleep. Just before dawn the Ban clan assembled and carried out the plan. Ti Xi left his compound in the Agrarian District early to meet his men and march at their head. Ti Xi was, in all things, a leader. He, Wu, and his other officers bent their way through the inner wall and met his men. They struck out from their own territory in the dim light of the half moon and the odd candle or street lamp. Knowing of the plan in advance, Ban members of all ranks appeared out of allies and side streets, forming up behind Ti Xi and Wu. Almost like an army, the Ban members of every rank strode down the streets of Ba Sing Se’s poor Lower Ring. Hei Chaoliu clans fought over sections of the city like generals in war. The Hei Chaoliu was the Black Current of Ba Sing Se, the city’s criminal underworld. All illegal dealings in the city went through at least one Hei Chaoliu clan, and usually several dozen clans. However, a clan could only conduct its illegal dealings in areas of the city that it kept the other clans out of. Therefore, the clans were constantly locked in brutal gang warfare. Any Hei Chaoliu member could be murdered at any time, but still their numbers swelled, especially in this era. Violent as their lifestyle was, the citizens of the Lower Ring were so desperately poor that illegal dealings were virtually the only way for them to make a half-decent living. Ti Xi would cross though his own clan’s territory, but when they entered the streets controlled by the Du clan it would be like invading a hostile nation in wartime. Anyone Ti Xi’s men ran into might kill them. Gang members wore no uniforms or colors to distinguish them from “civilians,” (as Hei Chaoliu members called non-members), although different gangs did often have preferred weapons, unique tattoos, or kept certain animals as mascots. As Ti Xi marched his men through the streets of his turf, the few civilians awake and about at that time waved or saluted somehow. Some even bowed. Unlike the Du clan and most other Hei Chaoliu clans, Ti Xi cared about the people living in his territory. He did not bully them, charge them protection money, or offer them unreasonable rates for loans. The people in a clan’s territory were the people with whom the clan did business, and as they say, you catch more beetle-flies with honey than with vinegar. Ti Xi made sure his customers trusted him with their business, and this policy had allowed him to make his clan the most profitable in the city, though that was a position for which he constantly struggled. He was always fighting other clans as he was tonight. Ti Xi and his men crossed a single city street and were suddenly in hostile territory. They hit the Du hard, and the raid went mostly according to plan. The Ban had the advantage of numbers. They kept the fights short and quiet. It was brutal fighting, but nothing new to these men. That was how the Hei Chaoliu had been for two hundred years. Ti Xi and his men made it to the Du clan’s main office in that area, the bar of an inn. The door busted in as Ti Xi bent a rock into it. He confidently strode into the room. Two of the Du fighters in the room rushed him with their kris knives. Ti Xi quickly dispatched them with nothing but his hands and announced himself to the others. “Bring me to the officer in charge here. I have a deal for him.” Ti Xi’s men flooded the room and One-Eyed Wu took a protective stance at his boss’s right hand. Tense moments passed as Ban members and Du members eyed each other with drawn knives. Finally the Du boss—the head Du boss—emerged from a back room. “Du Jungshi,” Ti Xi acknowledged. “Ban Ti Xi. You’ll excuse me if I don’t offer you any tea,” the slimy Du leader quipped. “I didn’t come here for your rapier wit,” Ti Xi said sarcastically. “I have an offer for you. If you agree, I can make you rich. I don’t like the way the Du clan does business. I will let you and your clan survive if you agree to do things my way from now on. No more protection fees for merchants. You will set the rents and loan rates I give you. You can run the operations and keep the money, but everything gets my approval first,” Ti Xi told Jungshi. Jungshi stood up and began to pace the floor quite calmly. Ti Xi reached behind his back to grasp the kukri knife that rested in the sash at his waist, but he did not remove it. Jungshi’s sleeves hung down past his hands, and he folded his arms into them. “Well…I will have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of your offer.” He was speaking slowly, belaboring words unnecessarily. “Although it is said to be dishonorable for a clan to keep its name if ruled by another family… it is also said that profit is the true goal of every clan.” Very gradually, he was getting closer to Ti Xi. “My men would not like it…but then, as a leader, it is up to me to make the decisions and keep them in line.” He paused. Ti Xi wondered why Jungshi was being so verbose. And for that matter, why was the boss of the entire Du clan in an insignificant border district like this? Jungshi removed is hands from their opposite sleeves, but the long garment still concealed them. “You know what? Your offer doesn’t matter anyway," Jungshi smiled devilishly. "It’s about to expire."
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manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Sept 21, 2008 20:35:42 GMT -5
New update! It continues "in media res." ---------------------------------------------
...And then Wu put a blade in his neck.
“He’s got a knife!” Wu yelled, referring to the already lifeless body from which he was removing his kukri. He had apparently just leapt across the room and drawn his weapon before Ti Xi even realized he had done it. The room exploded in shouting and fighting between the two gangs. Wu lunged at another attacking Du member. Ti Xi was stunned for just an instant, but momentarily he cut down an attacker, kicked another coming at him from behind, and threw his knife into a third. He began earthbending, and between him, Wu, and the rest of his men, all the Du members had been killed or fled within a few minutes.
Ti Xi counted his casualties. “Seventeen,” he panted, and then he swore at himself. Although he recognized the necessity of it in his line of work, Ti Xi never liked losing men. Seventeen was pretty far above the normal losses for this sort of raid. “That’s too many,” Ti Xi said. He swore again and clenched his fists, creating small fissures in the ground at his feet. “Why did you do that?!” he yelled at Wu. “I was trying to cut a deal!”
Wu glared at Ti Xi but said nothing. He walked a few paces over to Jungshi’s corpse and knelt next to it. He pulled back the body’s sleeve, revealing some sort of strange gauntlet with a knife extending from it. The Du boss had been stalling, trying to get Ti Xi off-guard so he could stab him. And the Du always poisoned their blades, so even a scratch would have killed Ti Xi. “I saved your life,” Wu told him.
Ti Xi was slightly taken aback, but at the moment he had more important things to think about. “Forget it. We’ll discuss this later,” Ti Xi told Wu. “Everybody outta here!” he called out to the men. He knew the rest of the Du would be out for blood when they found out their boss was dead. “Back to home turf!” he ordered.
This time Ti Xi and his men ran back to their territory. He, Wu, and his other earthbending lieutenants made it back to the inner wall just as dawn broke. They earthbent a door in it and soon they were running through the gates of the Ban compound. When they were safely back on his property, Ti Xi finally stopped running and leaned on his knees, panting. Wu did the same.
“You shouldn’t…have killed him,” Ti Xi panted at Wu. “Not…like that.”
“What should I…have done?” Wu replied. “He was going… to kill you.”
“When you attacked our men were caught off guard! It’s your fault we lost so many!”
“No!” the one-eyed man shot back. “I said it looked like a trap, but you went in anyway. What did you think would happen?” Wu did his best to reign in his anger, out of respect for his boss, but he was not very successful. They continued their argument as they walked through the dewy garden up towards the main house. “You have to stop thinking you can fix this city, Ti Xi. It’s nothing but a worthless sewage pit. It was a pit before you were born and it’ll be a pit after you’re dead.”
“The point is, you disobeyed your Mountain Master. You knew the plan was to avoid a fight and you outright assaulted the Du boss. That’s a violation of your oath,” Ti Xi said, sliding open the shoji for Wu. He paused, wearing a cold, stern look on his broad face. “I would be within my rights if I chose to kill you right now.”
Wu looked at his boss with his one green eye for a moment. “Forget it,” Wu said. “What’s done is done.” He stepped inside, and Ti Xi followed him. Without saying anything else, Wu stalked upstairs to his quarters. Lucky Cho, the clan’s bookish accountant, followed at Wu’s heels, yapping inquiries about the details of the raid.
Ti Xi, too tired to walk up to the master bedroom, sank onto a couch in the foyer and soon fell asleep. Ti Xi liked his sleep, and it was a joke among his men that he could sleep anywhere. Once, while staking out a Du warehouse, Ti Xi had fallen asleep in a tree. Luckily Cao had been there to wake him up. --XXX--
Ban Ti Xi laid low for the next four weeks. He did not leave his compound and did not mobilize his men, for fear of reprisals by the Du clan. Most of the rest of the world had currently become distracted by the news that Avatar Maiara of the Southern Water Tribe had just passed away, and a new Avatar would soon be born into the Earth Kingdom, but the Hei Chaoliu clans did not care about such things. The Du would certainly still be planning their revenge. Ti Xi spent most of the time sparring with his men in the courtyard, while One-Eyed Wu looked over the clan’s financial records. He came to Ti Xi with unnerving news he had discovered.
“Look at this!” he said, bursting out of the back door to the main house with a scroll in his hand. Ti Xi quickly knocked down his last two opponents in order to turn his attention to his retainer. Wu did not even pause. He threw open the scroll. “Here, look at these numbers. Look how much money we spent preparing the raid last week! And we didn’t even capture the territory! Aniki, you can’t keep running the clan like this.”
Ti Xi just looked at the scroll and shook his head at his cycloptic colleague. “Wu, we have to make the public view us as a good influence on the community.” He walked over to the bowl on the table and popped a betel nut in his mouth. “If we had captured that neighborhood all those people would be doing their business exclusively with us. As long as we treat the public well, they’ll continue to do business exclusively with the Ban clan.”
“We’re a crime syndicate, not charity,” Wu admonished him. “You can’t be a Mountain Master and a philanthropist, Ti Xi.”
Ti Xi only sighed. This argument had been coming up a lot between them recently. Another Chaoliu boss might have killed such an insubordinate underling, but Ti Xi and Wu were friends, and had known each other for years. Ti Xi trusted him and valued his input.
He was about to speak, but at that moment he heard a knock at the compound’s main door. Ti Xi nodded to a low-ranking retainer, who moved to open the door. It swung open and standing there was Sin Cao, finally returned from Bian Se Long. He was holding something wrapped in a yellow blanket.
“Cao?” Ti Xi asked, turning toward the doorway.
Cao entered the courtyard. “Say hello to your son,” Cao smiled, handing Ti Xi a sleeping baby boy.
Ti Xi took the baby, beaming like he never had in his life.
Cao and the other retainers standing in the courtyard smiled at Ti Xi and the baby, and even the hard-hearted Wu couldn’t help but think the scene was cute. It was quite the pleasant surprise, since none but Cao had even known Ti Xi was expecting.
“Hello,” Ti Xi whispered, taking the baby from his friend. The little round-faced baby yawned peacefully. Ti Xi bounced him lightly in his arms.
“What will you name him?” Cao asked.
Ti Xi looked at his friend, then back at his son. He thought about it. “Zhengyi,” he said finally. “Ban Zhengyi…my heir.”
“So, who’s the mother?” Wu grinned mischievously craning his neck to get a look at the kid.
Ti Xi laughed. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
Wu understood the practice of clan heads keeping the identities of their wives, mistresses, or offspring secret from other clans. Anyone close to a clan head became possible targets for rival clans. In addition, Hei Chaoliu families were like royal families in many respects, one of which was the ability to use intermarriage for diplomacy. Whether or not he actually loved her, Ti Xi could not marry his child’s mother to keep open the possibility of a political marriage with another clan. But Wu still wondered why Ti Xi couldn’t let his own second-highest lieutenant at least know who she was. But if Ti Xi hadn’t told him by now, he wasn’t going to.
“There is, uh, something else you should know, Mountain Master,” Cao said. “I believe your son was born within moments of Avatar Maiara’s death.” If anyone in Ti Xi’s employ cared to keep track of when the previous Avatar had died, it was Cao. Although he had been born poor and was forced to become a gangster out of necessity, he was a very spiritual person and tried to help Ti Xi enforce a code of honor in his clan. He was a devotee of one of the main Earth spirits, Jian Lao, and his sister was a nun at a nearby abbey dedicated to that spirit. “As you know, there are hundreds of candidates every time a new Avatar is born…but it is possible that this child is the next Avatar. I’ve already started trying to get a spiritualist to investigate.”
“Incredible!” Wu said.
“Ah, don’t get excited,” Ti Xi said. “I’m just glad he’s healthy. I don’t think the universe would allow the Avatar to be born the son of a crime lord anyway.”
Ti Xi spent the rest of the day playing with his new baby. Cao had to teach Ti Xi how to feed, burp, and change the baby, but the Ban boss was enthusiastic. It seemed he really enjoyed being a father. That night he put Zhengyi down to bed in the room which had been newly remodeled as a common nursery with several cradles, for everyone at the compound who had babies. Ti Xi, wanting to be with his son, fell asleep with his back to the wall next to the crib. --XXX--
The next day Ti Xi left Zhengyi in the care of a hired nursemaid so that he could go back to business as usual. Every day or two Ti Xi usually had an audience with his liaison officer, whose job was to bring the boss messages from his customers or other clans in the city. This was held in the massive main dining room, sometimes called the “throne room” by the men, because of the ornate chair the boss sat in whenever he held these audiences. Ti Xi used this room for many functions, including promotion ceremonies and planning attacks on other clans.
Things went on that way for the next five months, but one day everything changed. it began like all the other days, with Ti Xi hearing news and requests from the people who lived in his territory. Cao stood at the right side of the chair petting a pygmy puma. Wu crunched on an apple at the boss’s left as the liaison officer blandly read the requests. “From one Mr. Sheng Bing Nu, of the Lower Ring:” the officer read, his eyes glued to the paper. “He took out a loan last month...da, da, da”—the officer skipped the less important information—“daughter’s fallen ill… herbalists charge so much…da, da, da… ah! He says he doesn’t need any more money, but he can’t pay on time. He wants a two month extension.” He looked up at Ti Xi, waiting for a decision.
“He had plenty of time to pay,” Wu sneered.
Ti Xi raised his left hand to silence Wu. “I’ll give Mr. Sheng a two month extension. But no longer,” Ti Xi said. Wu rolled his eye and took a large bite out of his apple. Suddenly, one of Ti Xi’s younger lieutenants rushed into the room.
“Aniki, Ying Su is back! She’s back from Omashu!” he announced excitedly. Momentarily, a woman walked past him. She was beautiful, with flowing black hair, a bright, round face, and sharp eyes of brown. Her black dress swayed at her heels as she strode toward the throne. Ti Xi jumped up and ran over to her, giving her a tight hug.
“How are you?” Ti Xi asked. “How was your trip?”
“Oh...it was fine,” the Ban consigliore replied. Ying Su was another good friend and retainer of Ti Xi. The Mountain Master had given her an advisory position because of her preternatural skill for combat strategy. Although she was a beautiful and elegant woman, Ying Su had a general’s mind.
“Really?” Wu interrupted skeptically, swallowing a bite of apple. “Because I thought you had gone to Omashu. And as I hear, the people in Omashu don’t really care for people from Ba Sing Se these days.”
Wu and Ying Su had been rivals for position in the gang ever since she had joined a few years ago. Wu never liked her, since she had become an officer almost as soon as she joined, whereas it had taken him years of service to gain the same position. Other than Cao and Ti Xi himself, Su and Wu were both at the highest rank in the clan.
“I heard they were thinking of replacing the Earth King with their king. We might even be going to war soon. But it was really still fine?” Wu asked sardonically.
Wu hoped to draw her out and make her look foolish, as the many gang officers in the room were now watching their exchange. “I used an assumed identity, obviously,” Ying Su told him.
“We need you back, Su,” Ti Xi told her. “We tried to take some Du territory two weeks ago and we completely failed.”
“Well, I’m back now. If my Mountain Master wishes, I’ll start drawing up battle plans tomorrow. This year we’ll wipe them out and make the Ban THE clan in this city!” she said, more to the assembled clan members than to Ti Xi.
Ti Xi smiled at her. “Oh!’ he remembered. “Su, I’ve had a son! Come with me, I want you to meet him!”
“Oh…How wonderful!” Ying Su exclaimed. Ti Xi took her hand and escorted her out of the room.
As Cao put his puma down and took Ti Xi’s place on the throne to see to the remaining customers, Wu took another bite of his apple.
A few customers later, the retainer who had announced Ying Su’s arrival came to Cao with another announcement: “Announcing Spiritualist Kei Guan!” Dressed in formal green and white robes, and carrying a large sack, the spiritualist approached Cao on the throne.
“Kei Guan, old friend!” Cao said, rising from the chair with some effort.
“Sin Cao, how are you?” the spiritualist asked, hefting his sack.
Cao approached him. “Old,” he joked. They laughed.
“You must show me to this child. I have brought the Avatar relics all the way from Taku. I just tested a newborn there. You know, other spiritualists are going to be quite…er, surprised…if this crime lord’s son turned out to be the Avatar. If I did not know you, Cao, I would have to agree that a future Avatar should not be left to grow up in this environment.”
“I’ll look out for him. Don’t worry, Zhengyi probably isn’t even the Avatar,” Cao said. “He will be tested this evening. Make yourself at home for now.” He motioned to another retainer, “Lucky Cho, show Kei Guan to his room.” --XXX--
That evening, Ti Xi and a few of his friends were assembled in the courtyard, under the setting sun, standing on the bare earth. He had dismissed most of his men, other than Ying Su, Cao and his daughter Fung, Wu (and one of his apples), a few pygmy pumas, and of course Kei Guan and Zhengyi. Ti Xi bounced Zhengyi in his arms as he spoke to Ying Su, but momentarily Kei Guan emerged from the house with his satchel, and everyone fell silent. Kei Guan walked out into the courtyard ceremoniously. He opened his sack and placed almost a hundred toys on the ground. The inside of the sack was in fact an embroidered blanket, and this he placed before the toys. He took Zhengyi from Ti Xi and placed him on the blanket.
Everyone waited expectantly for the baby to do something. First, he spent a few minutes trying to suck his toes. Eventually he noticed the toys and crawled over. He picked up a toy wooden hog-monkey. Then a tiny drum on a handle. Then a toy turtle, and finally a whirlybird toy that flew with a string.
As Zhengyi sat among his chosen toys sucking on the turtle, Kei Guan looked to Ti Xi with wide eyes. “Your son…is the Avatar,” he whispered, sinking to his knees to bow to the baby.
Everyone there stared at the child. “Ai-yah…” Su breathed. Wu’s apple dropped right out of his hand.
Only Ti Xi kept his head. “Then he’ll need his sleep. I’ll just have to raise him as best I can, and I’ll be relying on all of you to help,” Ti Xi told his friends. “My baby’s had enough excitement for one night. Wu, would you put him to bed? I don’t want everybody hovering around him and exciting him when the word gets out.” Wu walked over and lifted the young Avatar under the armpits. He looked at the little baby as he climbed the ornate main staircase up to the nursery room. The sun was just about to disappear and it bathed the room in orange light as Wu entered. “Little Avatar,” he said, grinning, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
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manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Oct 3, 2008 17:10:59 GMT -5
On one note, can anyone tell me how I can get more readers. I put in a poll because I heard that works, but I think I need some pointers. Also, from now on I'm going to try and space out the updates more, so that they can come steadily as I work on new chapters. I think it'll be one a week. Here is the next update. Chapter 1: The Son Part 3 Ti Xi tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. By this time it was well into the night, and even the rowdy gangsters of the Ban Clan had mostly gone to bed. But Ti Xi couldn’t. Even though he sometimes would sleep wherever he laid down, tonight something was bothering him. He left his room and wandered down the hall, hoping to see his son. He couldn’t even find any pygmy pumas wandering down the halls like he usually could. He did see one cub. Ti Xi picked up the cub and petted him as he entered the nursery. Moonlight streamed through the window and lit the room well enough to see. Ti Xi held the puma cub in one hand and placed the other on the edge of the bassinet as he watched his sleeping child. How different his life was from just a few days ago. And now his son was the Avatar! How was he going to raise the protector of the world in a criminal organization? How could he make sure Zhengyi didn’t turn out to be a heartless thug, like so many other Hei Chaoliu members? He would have to do something. All of a sudden he heard yelling. Then came the ringing of a large iron bell that stood near the front gate, an alarm signal for the compound. Ti Xi put the puma kitten on the ground and ran into the hallway. “—the compound! The Du found us! They’re attacking! Defend the compound!” One-Eyed Wu yelled, running into the foyer below the stairs. Ti Xi ran into his room, threw on a shirt and sash, and grabbed his kukri. He raced down the stairs and straight out the front door, flanked by some of his men. The Ban compound covered several acres of farmland, but it was all walled-in to preserve the clan’s privacy in their illegal dealings. Still, anyone who was set on getting in and had the right equipment could get past the perimeter. The main defense of the compound was its location. It was hard to locate because it was outside Ba Sing Se proper, and Ti Xi made sure its location was carefully guarded. Even the lower-ranking members of his own clan did not know precisely where it was. But at that moment there was no point in wondering how the information had gotten out. The Du clan was working its way through the fields surrounding the houses and barns at that very instant. Ti Xi sprinted through the lawn and garden just outside the house, and entered the forest of high wheat stalks. In the crush of scrambling clan retainers, Ying Su saw him and ran to catch up. “Ti Xi!” she called over the yelling. “Su? Are you all right?” Ti Xi asked, grabbing her arms. “Yes, I—” “I need you to protect Zhengyi. Get to the nursery.” “You need me at your side!” “I am the boss of this clan, and I’m giving you a direct order! Protect him!” Ti Xi bent a wave of earth under her, gently carrying her toward the house. “Go!” Ying Su reluctantly obeyed, slowly turning from Ti Xi and running into the house. Ti Xi entered the wheat field just outside the house and moved furtively through the stalks, hoping to disguise his position. He noticed movement, two men to his left. He bent a three-fingered gauntlet of rock around his forearm, slowly approaching the men. As soon as he saw them and confirmed that they were not with the Ban clan he attacked, firing his rock gauntlet into their chests before they could even react. He took Du fighters out one by one as they tried to approach his house. He surprised them from behind, leaping out of the tall stalks and taking them out. He feared for his son and fought much harder than he normally did. He was like a man possessed. --XXX-- Cao had barely had time to drop his daughter in the nursery before rushing outside to fight the Du. While most Ban members fought with kukri knives, Cao could no longer hold one because of his missing digits. He was also a non-bender, and consequently he fought with a pata, a gauntlet that strapped over the forearm and had a blade built into it. He put this weapon on his bad hand and tightened the leather strap with his teeth as he rushed into the courtyard. Some of the Du were already climbing over the wall. They dropped to the ground and drew their poisoned kris knives. They rushed at Cao, but he only walked toward them, calmly, probably just to move the fight a little further from the house. “Jian Lao forgive me this,” Cao breathed. The first man brought his knife down in an overhead strike, but Cao blocked and knocked his weapon away. Cao cut him across the chest. More Ban members rushed into the courtyard to match the rabble of Du fighters rushing over the wall. There was a ruckus of kukris meeting kris knives as Cao turned to face another attacker. --XXX-- Ying Su passed dozens of Ban fighters rushing out of the compound. Some were cursing in anger, some were exited for a real fight. All she knew was that she had to protect Zhengyi. She hated to leave Ti Xi like that, but he was right: Zhengyi was more important. Like the Earth King’s dynasty, the Ban family needed an heir or the clan would disintegrate. Besides, Su was perhaps Ti Xi’s most loyal follower. Nothing could make her disobey him. She flew through the crush of people and sprinted up the stairs two at a time to get to the nursery. The moonlight was bright, and as she entered she could see Zhengyi in his crib and hear him crying. She sighed in relief. The Du hadn’t made it into the house yet. She wondered why this attack had happened. There was no way the Du could have learned of the location of Ti Xi’s compound. All official records listed it as a farm, and no outsiders knew its location. It was filled with Ban retainers, but they were all high-ranking officers who had proven their loyalty. The rank-and-file members all lived within the inner wall, in their own homes in Ba Sing Se proper. Anyone stupid enough to give it away didn’t know where it was. Su’s analytic, tactical mind started to kick in. Only the nuns of the Bixia Abbey, which was just down the road, and Ban retainers knew the location of this headquarters. It was highly unlikely that the nuns had anything to gain by divulging the location. But it was not uncommon for Chaoliu clans to use spies. One of the Ban retainers must have been the Du’s inside informant. But who? Su heard another baby in one of the cribs, and saw that it was Cao’s daughter, Fung. Su picked up Zhengyi and rocked him to try and calm him down. She could hardly blame him for crying though. Standing there in the dark, surrounded by the screams of dying men and the sound of flesh being cut, she felt very much like crying herself. --XXX-- One-Eyed Wu rushed out the front door of the compound to where the crop fields began a few yards away. The Du were starting to emerge from the tall stalks. This was the bulk of their force, and many Ban retainers took up positions in the same area to meet this force and support Wu. Wu himself wasted no time in breaking out his fiercest earthbending techniques. With the possible exception of Ti Xi, he was the best fighters the Ban had. He dispatched Du fighters left and right, as only the finest coating of sweat began to form on his brow. --XXX-- The next armed attacker approached Cao, making short, quick swipes of his kris as though he were in a knife fight on the street. He lunged with his right hand. Cao took a single step to the left to avoid it. Middle-aged as he was, Cao practiced a very efficient style of fighting so as not to waste any energy. With one thrust, he impaled the attacker’s knife hand on his pata. The young man howled. Kicking him in the chest, Cao dislodged his blade. Suddenly the ground below him exploded, launching him a few yards away. One of these Du was an earthbender. Cao hit the ground and rolled a few times. People were yelling all around him. Dazed but still thinking quickly, he picked himself up just in time to dodge a column of earth zooming across the courtyard at him. He locked eyes with the well-muscled Du earthbender. The earthbender steeled himself. He fired punch after punch, each issuing a chunk of earth. Sin Cao moved no faster than a walk, but he sidestepped each projectile with lighting quickness. He was not shaken as the columns passed within inches of his face. He came perilously close to the earthbender. The bender made a more elaborate motion. Three 4-foot chunks of earth rose up, partially surrounding Cao. They raced towards him. Cao stood motionless, waiting. The rocks were about to crush him. Then he jumped. He went straight up, higher than a man his age should have been able to jump. As soon as the rocks collided together, he landed on top of them. The moonlight glinted on his pata. “Jian Lao forgive me,” Cao the Claw breathed again. He launched himself toward the earthbender. Cao somersaulted on the ground just in front of him, uncurling as his blade found its mark. --XXX-- Ti Xi threw himself from one Du fighter to the next, taking on every comer with a righteous, protective fury. Ti Xi used his gauntlet of rock to extend the force and reach of his punch, firing it off his arm and drawing it back like a piston. This was a technique particularly associated with the Hei Chaoliu, and not unknown to the Du. One Du bender came at Ti Xi with that tactic. As he fired his punch, Ti Xi bent the stone off of his arm. Ti Xi fused it to the ground. The attacker was pulled off balance. Ti Xi kicked his knee. The bender’s leg buckled under him. Ti Xi grabbed his face and smashed the back of his head into the ground. As Ti Xi stood up, he noticed the flow of Du fighters seemed to have ebbed. No more men with knives were rushing at him. He looked into the night, and a cold wind howled out of the darkness. It chilled him. He did not want to let himself shiver. But he had to. He heard moans and yells all around him, mainly from the direction of the compound. He rushed back to find Ying Su and his son. -----------------------------------------
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manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Oct 27, 2008 13:43:14 GMT -5
Before this part begins, you should know that it is more violent and has character death. I think it's suitable for a PG-13 movie, and you're supposed to be 13 to be on this site anyway. But if you're a tech-savvy young kid who lied on your forum registry, stay away!!! XD ...No, I'm kidding, it's really not too bad. I'm just covering my butt 'cuz I don't want complaints. ------------------------------------ Chapter 1: The Son Part 4 A last line of four Du members charged at One-Eyed Wu, rattling their poisoned knives. Wu bent tendrils of earth around one of the attackers, pulling him to the ground. Wu moved his foot subtly, and the Du, unable to move, slid into the field of crops. He was concealed by the tall stalks. No one, Du or Ban, seemed to notice that Wu had left him alive. Noting all the rest were also non-benders, Wu decided he would not bother to make the effort of putting up a fair fight. He bent earth around their feet and locked their legs to the ground simultaneously. He lifted his fist, restraining the Du fighters further with collars of rock extending out of the ground. The two men and one woman struggled in vain. Wu watched them squirm. He drew his fist back toward his body. A column of rock burst out of the ground and struck the first man square in the back. It broke his spine, killing him. Wu moved to the next Du in line, the woman. He killed her and the fourth man in the same way. He surveyed the scene, making sure there were no Du fighters remaining. Many of the Ban fighters around him were injured. A few were dead. Wu looked knowingly at one Ban member in particular, his flunky, Lucky Cho. Lucky Cho nodded at him. --XXX-- Ying Su paced the nursery, rocking the crying Ban Zhengyi in her arms. Ti Xi burst into the room. "Su, are you all right? Is Zhengyi all right?" he panted. "We're fine," she said, as Ti Xi placed his hands on Su's shoulder and his son's head. He stayed there for just a moment. He sighed. "I have to check on the men. Take care of him while I'm gone." Ti Xi left the nursery and went downstairs, popping a betel nut in his mouth to try and calm himself a bit. The Ban compound was a war zone, but it seemed they had won the battle. Ti Xi spent hours walking amongst the men, making sure the few who had a modicum of medical knowledge treated those most in need. He helped whomever he could himself, and organized men to collect the dead bodies for a burial as soon as possible. Some of the lieutenants were calling for immediate retaliation, but the Du seemed to be effectively wiped out. There was no one to attack. Besides, Ti Xi was tired. And his men were tired. They needed time to regroup, assess their losses. Ti Xi told them all to take the rest of the night and next day to rest and recover. Cao agreed with him, and retired to his room. Everyone was exhausted, and soon they had almost all gone back to sleep. For the moment, Ti Xi could do nothing but collapse on a couch in the foyer and doze off. --XXX-- Ying Su wanted very much to get some sleep herself, but Zhengyi was still crying. He was probably making the only noise in the whole compound at this point. Having worked for the past several years as a crimelord's consigliore, Ying Su did not have a strong knowledge of lullabies, but she thought one might be appropriate now. She could still remember one her father used to sing to her. She looked at the child in her arms. She began: "Yao yah yao Rock-a-byeYao yah yao" Rock-a-bye --XXX-- In the black stillness, a door creaked. The darkness concealed the figure of a man leaving his room quietly. A few other Ban retainers followed him out of the room. "This is it. You know what to do," the man whispered. His followers fanned out. --XXX-- Zhengyi's crying began to stop. His eyelids fluttered. "Bao bao huai jung shuay" Sleep, you're safe with me --XXX-- One of the creeping men slipped into Cao the Claw's bedroom. Moonlight streamed through the window, and as the man approached Cao's bed the edge of the kukri knife he held glinted in the glow. --XXX-- Zhengyi's crying lessened, and finally gave out. "Yao ni jang da" Rock you 'til you're big --XXX-- The small cadre of men worked their way through the compound, assassinating only four Ban lieutenants, those most loyal to Ti Xi. Their throats were slit in their sleep. No one woke up. Even Kei Guan the spiritualist, who had not left the compound yet, was found and killed. --XXX-- Zhengyi finally fell asleep, but Su continued to sing. "Yo liao sheewang" Rock you 'til you're strong --XXX-- The leader of the men silently entered the foyer. He approached the couch where Ti Xi slept and drew his kukri. "Sorry, aniki," he whispered, though the grin he wore seemed to indicate he had no genuine regret. Ti Xi shifted in bed and snorted a bit. --XXX-- "Bao bao kuai jang da" Baby grow up soon --XXX-- And then Wu put a blade in Ti Xi's neck. --XXX-- "Bao bao kuai jang da" Baby grow up soon... --XXX-- "I've found him! Here's the one!" Wu announced to the Ban retainers the next morning. They were reeling from the death of their leader, and still grieving and enraged over the Du attack. Unless someone took charge and organized the clan quickly, it would not survive. The retainers were all looking for the culprit. They didn't know who could have killed their powerful leader, but many of them had suspected treachery. Now, however, it seemed Wu had found the assassin. The men all gathered just outside the main door, where Wu's voice was coming from. He was dragging a Du member--the man he had spared and hidden in the field the night before--through that same field. "I caught him trying to escape through the crops," Wu told them, dumping the Du to the ground between the assembled Ban retainers and where the stalks began. "No, listen, he--" the Du stammered at them. "Shut up!" Wu said, socking him in the mouth. "Don't try to lie to us, you filthy Du! We know you assassinated our Mountain Master!" Wu drew his knife and seized the man by the chin. He couldn't have killed Ti Xi. Look at him, Ying Su thought. She was weeping for her lost boss, but unlike many of the surviving clan members, she wanted to discover the real assassin, not just the most convenient scapegoat. She could not shut down her tactical mind. It seemed to her that, in addition to Ti Xi, all the most intelligent and most loyal retainers--beside herself--had been assassinated too. Wu moved in front of the man, obscuring whatever he was doing to the man from Su's sight. The Du retainer howled horribly though, and the Ban members cheered. Ying Su began sorting out the facts in her mind. The Du was weak and scrawny, and understandably scared out of his mind by this confrontation. There's no way someone like him has the guts to kill a clan head. Besides, Su reasoned, the Du couldn't have known the location of the compound in the first place. If they had an assassination planned they wouldn't have attacked the place head-on. Wu continued grandstanding for the men. "Let every clan in the city know the fate of those who harm--who think they can harm--our clan!" Wu kicked the man in the stomach. "Because we will move on from this tragedy. The Ban clan lives on! ...Unlike this pathetic Du!" One-Eyed Wu stepped back from the prone man. He got into a deep stance, beginning to earthbend. Ying Su couldn't watch anymore. She knew that man was innocent. She turned to go back into the house, crying and covering her mouth. She had to check on Zhengyi. She didn't know what she would do without Ti Xi, but it probably was better if she got herself and Zhengyi out of there. As she entered the house, she heard the Ban retainers cheer. It drowned out the dying screams of that Du member. And she heard Wu going on: "As the ranking officer, I humbly take on the mantle of Mountain Master of the Ban clan. Fortunately, the Ban family line has not been broken. I will only be acting as a caretaker of this position, until our late boss's son is old enough to lead his clan." Su froze. She knew who had killed Ti Xi. The group of Ban lieutenants parted for Er Shi Wu as he left the corpse on the ground and strode into the house, brushing right past Su's shoulder. A few men disposed of the corpse while the others walked past the stock-still Ying Su to go about their business in the house. Wu picked up an apple from a bowl on a table and took a loud bite, staring at Su. The two of them were soon left alone in the foyer. "I know you killed Ti Xi, Wu," Ying Su said in a hushed voiced, marching over to him. Wu could feel the venom in her voice, but he just calmly took another bite of his apple. "I know you revealed the location of the compound to the Du. You used them as a scapegoat while you killed Ti Xi so you could take over the clan and raise Zhengyi. You killed Ti Xi because his son is the Avatar, and you want to exploit his power for yourself," she said, adding confidently, "I figured it all out, Wu." Wu applauded softly on the heel of his hand, still holding his apple, mocking her. He smiled wickedly. "Good. I know you figured it all out. I expected it. That's why I didn't kill you last night. See, you're a good strategist. I need you to keep winning battles with the other clans. That's why you're going to continue to advise me." "I'll never help you! I'm going to expose you to the men right now," Su spat. "Do you think they'll believe you? I worked for this clan for fifteen years, you've worked here for two-and-a-half. And you've been gone for the past seven months. Who do you think they're more loyal to?" Ying Su dropped her eyes, realizing that he was right. Wu triumphantly took another bite out of his apple. Juice dribbled from his lips. "I know you loved the boss. You looked at him as a father, like a good little Hei Chaoliu underling should. Now all that's left of him is his son." He flicked the juice from his chin. "So, if you expose me to the men, or sabotage me with bad advice, I'll lose my position, and then I won't need you or the Avatar anymore." He grabbed Ying Su's chin, forcing her to look at him. "If that happens, I'll kill you, and I'll throw that brat off the Outer Wall." Wu paused, just staring the woman down. "From this moment on, you will do as I command. Am I understood?" Su fought back tears and looked at the ground. After a moment, with no other choice, she nodded. Wu took another crunching bite out of his apple, and it seemed so loud to Ying Su that she had to wince at it. "Go clean up the blood around here," Wu ordered her. Just then, Zhengyi began to cry upstairs. "--But shut that brat up first." Wu walked off, eating his apple, and Su somberly trudged upstairs and into the nursery. She picked up the little boy and rocked him gently in her arms. She saw one pygmy puma cub napping in the corner, and Cao's baby girl still asleep in the next cradle. Su would have to leave her with her aunt at the abbey as soon as she could. She looked back at Zhengyi. He was her only reason to keep living now. Tears started to roll down her cheeks, but she was strangely happy, in a way, because he was there. It was then that she realized that she could prevent Zhengyi from becoming Wu's puppet if she helped raise him. "One day when you're old enough, I'll tell you what really happened to your father," she told the child and herself. "But until it's safe for you to know, I'll take care of you. I'll make sure Wu can't control you completely. I'll make sure you learn right and wrong." She remembered Ti Xi's last orders, which honor and something more bound her to carry out: "Take care of him while I'm gone." "Zhengyi...You will be your father's justice." ------------------------------------------------------- End of Chapter 1. The song Ying Su sings is an actual traditional Chinese lullaby. I can post a link to it if anyone wants to hear how it sounds when it is actually sung.
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manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Nov 7, 2008 14:17:02 GMT -5
Water. Fire. Air. Earth. For thousands of years, the Avatar has been a paragon of righteousness and order to all nations. But must this always be the case? Does the universe choose righteous individuals, or has the world just been lucky so far?
1200 years before Sozin's War, an Avatar was born into the Hei Chaoliu, organized gangs that all but held Ba Sing Se in thrall. Since then, civil war has erupted between Ba Sing Se and Omashu over which great city deserves to lead the Earth Kingdom, and the gangs have not abated. Only the Avatar can stop the war, depose the corrupt Earth King, and return balance to the world. But the circumstances of Avatar Zhengyi's birth have lead him to forsake the Avatar's duties for a selfish life dedicated to what he calls "justice" and most call "revenge." The world waits as he struggles to choose between his two roles: the Avatar, and...The Heir of Ban.Avatar: The Heir of Ban Chapter 2: The Godfather Part 1 In the fifteen years since Er Shi Wu took over as Mountain Master of the Ban clan he had become one of the most well-known people in Ba Sing Se, although it was mainly by his handle, "One-Eyed Wu". Other than the Earth King and the nobles, he was the richest man in the city, maybe the whole Earth Kingdom. Rumors of criminal activity always swirled around him, but they were never proven. Publicly, he was a successful merchant, but anyone in the Hei Chaoliu knew—or almost knew—who One-Eyed Wu really was. They knew a man who had taken over the largest clan in the city when the previous boss was killed by the Du clan. Within days, Wu had wiped out the remnants of the Du clan and proceeded to use violence to take funds and territory from nearly all the other clans. From almost 50 clans 15 years ago, there were now five left. Under Wu, the Ban had absorbed or wiped out all the rest. Wu was known for his fierce, incredibly skillful earthbending abilities and his willingness to use violence as an intimidation tactic. He had become a local celebrity in Ba Sing Se, and like all larger-than-life figures, rumors and urban legends about him had begun to crop up. One told by members of rival clans, and which Wu himself particularly liked, went this way: Yanluo, Lord of the Underworld, had appeared to Wu and offered to give him the power of a demon in exchange for his soul. However, Wu was so threatening that Yanluo became frightened and decided to charge him only his right eye for that power. --XXX-- Zhengyi's foot stamped the ground, ejecting a rock from its resting place. He shot his fist out from his hip, sending the rock at his earthbending tutor. The other man quickly erected a wedge of earth and the rock shattered on its edge. The wedge sped toward Zhengyi. He thrust both his forearms at it and a rock wall rose up to block it. "Don't bore me with this kid stuff, Shi Hua," he teased, a grin spanning his broad face. Shi Hua made some uppercuts, each lifting a rock out of the ground. He kicked each one at Zhengyi. The young Avatar's green vest fluttered as he dodged each one, exposing his bare chest and the tattoo of a growling pygmy puma on his right pectoral muscle. He smashed the last two projectiles on diagonal columns of rock he erected. "So it's just the same old rock-throwing?" Zhengyi mocked. With a flip of his well-formed arms, he twined the two columns together and sent them careening toward his tutor. "What do you think I am, a kid?" The sunlight glinted on the metal studs in his black leather wrist bracers. Shi Hua saw the rock formation arcing overhead. He bent a curved trench out of the ground and rode a wave of earth through it, closing the distance between himself and his student. "I know a thing or two," he shot back at Zhengyi. He angled two rock formations in an arc above the boy's head. Shi Hua thrust his fists downward. The rocks were about fall on Zhengyi's head. The boy erected twin columns of rock, stopping the falling crags only a foot above his head. Zhengyi grabbed onto the crags and flipped over his tutor's head. He unleashed an arc of flame from his foot, and Shi Hua stumbled forward. Er Shi Wu wanted to make Zhengyi as powerful a bender as he could, so he never concealed from the boy the fact that he was the Avatar, although he made sure the boy did not know about the Avatar State and that he thought the traditional Avatar's role of protecting the world was not an attractive lifestyle. Traditionally, Zhengyi shouldn't have found out until he was a year older than he presently was, but Wu wanted to get him training with all four elements as soon as possible. As it was, Wu had started Zhengyi training as soon as he was old enough to walk. He did start on earthbending, but moved on to water and fire after just a few years. Ba Sing Se was the biggest city in the world, and people from all over the world flocked there for various reasons. There were many waterbenders and firebenders in the city, and because emigres were often discriminated against and forced to take lower-paying jobs, quite a few of them ended up working for the Hei Chaoliu. Most clans had at least one waterbender or firebender, and a clan the size of Wu's had several of each. Wu had hired or assigned these to teach Zhengyi their bending styles. The only bending style Zhengyi had never learned was air, since no Air Nomad in the world would ever stoop to working with criminals. But by now Zhengyi was very proficient with the other three styles. Zhengyi spun around and pumped one fireball after another at Shi Hua. The earthbending teacher erected a wall of earth and the flames dissipated on its surface. Zhengyi bent water out of the koi pond in the courtyard and sliced off the top three-quarters of the wall. He followed this by erecting a spire of rock out of the ground straight for Shi Hua's neck. The spire's point was inches from the man's neck. "Well, your control is good," Shi Hua commented sarcastically, relinquishing the fight and walking around the rock formation. "You can transition between bending styles nicely, as far as I can tell. But then, I'm just an earthbender. To be honest, I don't know what else I could teach you." "I don't know why Wu keeps making me take lessons," Zhengyi said, relaxing his body. "I can already beat anybody in the city. I must've beat Wu himself a hundred times." "Yeah, we're really at the level of repetition and reinforcement. But as long as he keeps paying me I'll keep drilling you. And hey, the stronger you are, the richer this clan'll be when you inherit it." "Yeah, but it gets boring if there's nothing new to learn. Maybe the next stage in my training could be how to use bending to impress girls. At least that would have a point," he grinned. Shi Hua chuckled as Zhengyi picked up his pet pygmy puma, Fu Shan, who was trying to fish in the koi pond. The boy held his pet under its forearms as he nuzzled it and talked baby-talk to it. Although Zhengyi fancied himself a tough guy, and he was indeed a powerful fighter, he had a soft spot for his fuzzy animal guide. --XXX-- Ying Su, heavier and more wrinkled than she had been fifteen years ago, was sweeping dirt off the front walkway to the house. Her hair was done up with a comb, and the long skirt of her green and yellow ruqun brushed back and forth as she swept. Out of nowhere, she heard a voice. "The Tong clan has a warehouse in the Eastern Quarter of the Lower Ring. I want to take it," Er Shi Wu said, tossing her a map of the building and surrounding streets. Su laid the broom aside and dusted her light yellow waist skirt. She took the map and examined it thoroughly. "Will you take Zhengyi with you again?" she asked, hoping against hope that Wu might say "no" this time. "Of course," he replied snidely. "If I don't take Zhengyi, how do I know you won't steer me right into a trap?" Su just looked sad and distant. "Take as few men as you need besides him," she said morosely. "Let the Tong think you've brought a weak force. The entrances will be guarded, so set him up outside this window in the middle. He can use just a single spark to ignite the dai zhiwu--" "What?!" Wu bellowed. "Dai zhiwu is just dried leaves! It'll go up like that!" He snapped his fingers. "And one liang of it is worth a thousand gold pieces!" "Exactly. The Tongs will be too busy worrying about the fire to put up a fight. Zhengyi can control the fire to herd them into a confined area. Then you can take them out with two or three people, while theycut your losses by keeping the fire down. Zhengyi can control water and fire. Between all that, I wouldn't guess you'll lose more than 3 of the total inventory, and you're guaranteed not to lose a single man." Wu thought about it. "The death stipend for a clan member is well over a few thousand gold pieces...All right. But it had better work," he threatened her. "You know I can't mislead you, Wu," she whispered to his back as he walked away. --XXX-- As Zhengyi tickled Fu Shan's belly, One-Eyed Wu emerged from the house. Shi Hua promptly bowed to him. Far from the dirty linen shirt and ku he had worn before his rise to power, Wu now sported a silvery-gray silk zhaoshan with mountains and clouds embroidered across the back in gold thread. He also wore a white and yellow guan hat with an Earth Kingdom symbol in the center, perhaps to conceal his receding hair. "Zhengyi, I need your help today," he said. "The Tong clan has been trying to run dai zhiwu dens in Ban territory. The men found the location of a warehouse where they hoard the stuff, so we're going to retaliate by seizing it." "Again?" Zhengyi complained, stroking Fu Shan. "Kid, that dai zhiwu is worth hundreds of thousands of gold pieces. You better not be telling me the heir of the most powerful criminal organization in the Earth Kingdom would rather play with pets than fight," Wu said playfully, although he knew it would get under Zhengyi's skin. "Pfft, no..." the boy said defensively. "But I've been fighting Tongs every day this week. It's annoying, especially because you won't let me go up and fight them directly, like a normal person." Because Zhengyi was the Avatar, Wu could not let just anyone see Zhengyi bending fire or water. The Avatar was the protector of all four nations, and Wu was using him for supremely selfish reasons. If the public discovered that their Avatar was essentially being raised as a thrall to a crime lord, Zhengyi would most certainly be taken away from Wu. Or Wu would have to kill him before he could be taken away. Wu did not teach Zhengyi anything about what being the Avatar traditionally meant, and made sure he was loyal to Wu and the clan over everything else. The way Wu explained the situation to Zhengyi, if people discovered he was the Avatar he wouldn't be allowed to succeed his father and run the clan when he grew up, which was his greatest ambition. Consequently, Zhengyi usually had to hide on far-off rooftops or around corners, somewhere where he could get a vantage on the fighting, but could not be seen himself. It was not beyond his abilities, but was pretty annoying and a good bit harder than a straight fight. "This is important, Zhengyi," Wu urged. "Do I need to explain again how important dai zhiwu is to the Hei Chaoliu? It's more powerful than betel nuts or alcohol," the one-eyed man counted out on his fingers. "It's addictive, which means repeat business. It's illegal, which means if someone wants it they can only come to the clans. And the more this war with Omashu drains the economy, the more people buy dai zhiwu to forget their troubles. Dai Zhiwu is the future of organized crime in the Earth Kingdom." Wu was probably right. Dai zhiwu was a recently discovered hybrid plant that could be ground up and smoked to produce a powerful narcotic. It had originally been grown in the western Earth Kingdom. Because the strict and self-righteous current Earth King, Jin Ling, had outlawed alcohol, betel nuts, gambling, and other things he felt "impeded the mind," the soldiers fighting against Omashu in the Earth Kingdom Civil War had no substance they could use as a pain killer for the first few years of the war. When dai zhiwu was discovered, it was so new it had not been officially outlawed. It was used in army hospitals, but because it was addictive the soldiers brought it with them when they returned to Ba Sing Se. Dai zhiwu made users tired and listless, causing them to neglect work and family. Taking too much could cause death, although the medical knowledge as to why this happened was lacking. Soon it was propagating in the city and eventually Jin Ling declared it illegal as well. But it was so potent that people couldn't stay away from it. Since it was illegal the Hei Chaoliu controlled its trade, and the remaining clans were making a killing off of it. "You want the clan to prosper, don't you?" Wu concluded, removing his hat and running his fingers through his slicked-back hair. His hair was receding more prominently from the sides than the front. His hairline made a U-shape on the top of his head. "I know, I know," Zhengyi relented, placing his puma on the ground. "Let's go." "Lucky Cho and the others are staking the place out. We'll meet them there." --------------------------------
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manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Nov 21, 2008 1:26:11 GMT -5
So, this is one of the more violent parts. It's not too bad, but I guess I better warn people in the interest of full disclosure. But this is also one of the parts that really focuses on One-Eyed Wu and does some characterization of him. So if you like the Wu character, like I do , it's a good chapter. By the way, I've decided on bi-weekly updates. -----------------------------------------
Wu strolled very casually through the streets of the lower ring. He crunched on an apple and still wore his fancy zhaoshan, drawing quite a bit of attention to himself in that poor area. He seemed to relish the stares he got from those people so much poorer than he.
Zhengyi marched along next to him, apparently bored, even though they were off to what would have been a life-and-death battle for someone other than the Avatar. Wu decided to try and engage him about the mechanics of running a clan, as he sometimes did. “So Zhengyi, let me ask you something.”
The boy regarded him.
“Say I have two suppliers who want me to distribute their dai zhiwu. One guy says if I pay him an extra five percent now, he’ll sell to me first a year from now. No matter what happens to the market, he’ll sell to me first. The other guy says he’ll give me a ten percent discount now if I agree to buy from him first a year from now. Who should I buy from?”
“Second guy,” Zhengyi said assuredly. “Always take the sure thing. A dai zhiwu supplier could be dead or in jail a year from now.”
“Exactly,” Wu smiled. “You’re shaping up to be a pretty good Mountain Master, kid.” He took a bite from his apple.
They turned into an alley, on approach to the warehouse. Suddenly Wu felt something sharp poking into his back. “Hand over all your money, and that fancy vest,” the mugger demanded.
Wu began to laugh uncontrollably. “What’s wrong with you?!” the mugger cried. “I said gimme your money!”
“Sorry,” Wu said, stifling his laughter. “It’s just ironic. You couldn’t have possibly picked a worse person to rob.” With that, Wu raised some rock to trap the hand in which the mugger held his knife. Turning to face him, Wu drew the rock back into the ground, pulling the mugger with it. He bound the mugger’s other arm and feet to the ground with more rings of earth, then levitated a large rock. Wu let it hover over the frightened mugger’s knife-hand. He let it drop. The mugger howled as his hand was crushed. Wu released the man, then shifted his foot to drag the mugger away on a carpet of earth. Zhengyi chuckled at the ease with which Wu had beaten up the attacker. “You really messed that guy up,” he laughed.
“Don't let anyone take what's yours, Zhengyi,” Wu told his ward, dusting himself off. “If you want to lead, you can’t ever let that happen. Now come with me. I have a debt to collect around here before we meet the others.”
Wu lead Zhengyi down the street and entered a dai zhiwu den. The floor was littered with the living corpses of addicts, and the air stank of the acrid smoke fumes. Zhengyi snorted, trying to force the smell from his nostrils. Wu crunched angrily on his apple, unhappy at having to expose himself to dai zhiwu fumes. He hated the stuff, even though he sold it so readily.
The owner was leaning on the bar, serving drinks and dai zhiwu, when he saw Wu enter. His eyes widened and he started shaking. “W-w-One-Eyed Wu,” he stammered. “Mr. Kun,” Wu regarded him with mock-cheer. He took a bite from his apple. “I-I’m sorry about money. Please,” the owner pleaded. Zhengyi leaned against the doorjamb. Wu removed a small paring knife from his sleeve and nonchalantly cut slices out of his apple as he listened to Kun’s story. “I can get the money, I just need a little more time. Business just hasn’t been as brisk as I thought. I, I couldn’t have known profits wouldn’t pick up. J-just a little time, please. That’s all.” Wu took time to chew an apple slice while the den owner quaked with fear. He swallowed and said, “Let me explain something to you: Your payment for the stuff was due yesterday. Now, I know you would never intentionally disrespect the Ban clan by trying to stiff us.” His tone was mockingly sympathetic. “So the problem must be that you’re just not good at remembering dates, right? Then I’ll help you.” Wu moved closer to the man. “My policy is to give everyone a ten-day grace period to repay overdue loans. Your payment was due yesterday, which was this many,” Wu said, holding up his fingers as though he were talking to a child. “As of today, you have nine days left.” He seized the owner by the wrist in one hand, and grabbed his pinky finger in the other. “That’s this many!”
Wu snapped the man’s finger. Kun screamed and cradled his broken hand in the other. Wu grabbed him by the hair and stared into his eyes. Zhengyi looked on. “My boys are going to come by here and give you another math lesson every day until I get my money! Understand?” Wu tugged a little harder on his hair to emphasize the point.
As Wu turned to leave, he noticed how frightened the owner looked. He smiled at his power to inflict fear. “Don’t look so scared,” Wu chuckled. “Here. Have an apple,” he offered, plunging his paring knife into the fruit and placing it on the table. Suddenly he sounded very menacing. “They’re good for your health.”
Wu swept out of the den, followed promptly by Zhengyi. “Jeez, Wu, did you really have to break his finger?” Zhengyi asked. “I did. See, it doesn’t matter how much business he does between then and now. He’s afraid of what’ll happen if he doesn’t pay,” Wu assured the boy, “so he’s going to get the money somewhere. And everyone who sees his broken finger is going to know what happens when you don’t pay One-Eyed Wu on time. I made an example of him. Get it?” “Oh,” the Avatar said. “I guess that makes sense.”
“Listen. You’re like my apprentice, Zhengyi. You have to take all this in. I was your father’s best friend, you know. He made me your godfather, and when he was killed by a rival gang he made me swear—”
“—Swear to raise me as your own and teach me how to run the clan so I could one day fulfill my destiny,” Zhengyi blandly recited the speech Wu had told him about a million times all throughout his childhood. “I know. I’m doing my best, all right.”
“I’m just trying to honor your father,” Wu told him earnestly. The two walked on and entered a noodle house a block away from the Tong warehouse. Wu’s men were seated at a couple tables in the back, enjoying some noodles and illegal sake. They all rose and bowed as Zhengyi and Wu walked over. A tall, lanky waterbender approached them. Animal bone piercings decorated his ears, septum, eyebrows, and lips. His hair was tied into several very small knots, forming a semispherical grid pattern all over his head, giving the impression of spikes from far away. A chunk was missing from the top of his left ear. “Thirty men, aniki,” he told Wu. This was Aguta, a sociopathic waterbender whom Wu had promoted to the second-highest position in the clan because of his enthusiasm for killing. He was also Zhengyi’s waterbending teacher. “They’ve been guarding that place since yesterday. They should be pretty tired by now. A good time to strike,” Aguta said, grinning.
Aguta, Lucky Cho—as scrawny, squirrelly, and sycophantic as he had been fifteen years ago—plus the three other men Wu had assigned to this appeared to be in good spirits. Wu looked to Zhengyi. “How do you feel?” he asked.
“Thirty on six, plus the Avatar? That’s cool,” he said. “I’m always ready for a fight.”
Aguta laughed. “This kid’s an animal!” he said, giving Zhengyi a friendly punch in the shoulder.
Wu briefed everyone on the plan Ying Su had provided for him, and they broke off to execute it. As Zhengyi positioned himself at a window midway down the length of the building, Wu and his men casually waited nearby. Soon cries of “Fire!” erupted from inside. Aguta rushed headlong into the building, followed closely by the other fighters. Wu and Lucky Cho stayed towards the rear. Zhengyi hefted himself onto some boxes from a nearby store that were stacked outside the window, so he could see what he was doing. The place was absolutely packed with bundles of dried white leaves. The collection of about fifty packages beneath him was on fire, and Tong retainers were desperately trying to snuff it out with clothing, blankets, and water from a nearby well. Carefully, without being seen, Zhengyi radiated the fire farther and farther. It left the dai zhiwu and moved to the dirt floor, pressing the Tongs back toward the exit.
They never even saw Wu’s men coming. For a thirty on six fight, the six won pretty quickly. A few of the Tongs tried to put up a fight, but Zhengyi used earthbending to offset their balance, making them easy pickings for the Ban.
Seeing no more live Tongs about, Zhengyi bent some water out of the well nearby and doused the fire with it. But just as he did so, a fleeing Tong member decided to take refuge from the Ban behind the stack of boxes Zhengyi was standing on. He saw Zhengyi bend the water. Before Zhengyi even noticed he was there, the Avatar began bending earth to snuff the remaining flames. This Tong, not the sharpest man around, watched for a moment and finally realized.
“Th-the Avatar!” he cried, pointing. Zhengyi looked at him, more embarrassed at being caught than anything. He swore at himself. His true identity was not supposed to be known.
Just then, Wu turned the corner, on his way to collect Zhengyi. He saw the Tong who had escaped and instantly seized him, trapping him in a rock formation. He drew a dagger from inside his zhaoshan. “Avatar, help me! He’s going to kill me!” the Tong pleaded.
Wu locked a ring of earth around the Tong’s mouth, silencing him. “He knows you’re the Avatar?!” Wu bellowed. “I’m sorry! He snuck up on me!” Zhengyi said.
Wu looked back and forth between them for a minute. “You have to kill him,” Wu told the boy, offering him the dagger.
Zhengyi stammered noises for a moment. “I…I…I c-can’t,” he admitted. “Look, I’m…I’m not gonna do it.” Zhengyi forced himself to say it. He hated to disappoint Wu, but it was true. He couldn’t bring himself to just stab a man in cold blood like that. “Sorry, all right? I just can’t do it! You always say you won’t make me have to kill anyone!”
“I won’t force you to do anything. But if you want to lead this clan someday you better learn. This is our lifestyle, Zhengyi. We’re the Hei Chaoliu! We’re outlaws! It’s a dirty business, but we have to do it if we want to survive! He wouldn’t have caught you if you hadn’t been careless. If people find out that you’re the Avatar, they’re going to take you away. There going to send you all over the world, put you through agonizing training and force you to basically kill yourself rescuing people you don’t even care about! And you will never get to lead your clan. Ban name will be permanently dishonored and the clan will dissolve!”
Everything was still for a moment. The man and the boy stared at each other. “It’s on you now, Zhengyi. You need to prove yourself,” Wu told him, offering him the dagger more urgently.
Zhengyi knew he should kill the Tong. But Ying Su always told him that the moment he actually killed someone it would change him, make him a person he wouldn't want to be. As he got older, Zhengyi had started to believe her less and less, but still...to actually kill someone...he was afraid. He didn't know why, but he was afraid. There was no other word for it. “I…I just can’t! I’m sorry! I just can’t!” Zhengyi announced, sounding infuriated with himself. Wu glared at the Avatar with his one green eye for a moment. “Pathetic,” he whispered finally. “You better grow up quick, boy.” Zhengyi just looked at his feet and clenched his fists, angry with himself.
Wu stuck his head into the warehouse through the window. “Aguta, get out here!” he called.
“Yeah, boss?” Aguta asked, climbing out the window.
“Take care of this,” Wu barked, pointing a thumb at the captive.
Aguta grinned from ear to ear, and started chuckling as he encased the man in ice and dragged him off.
“Get inside while we wait for the cart!” Wu yelled at Zhengyi, already walking inside himself. They would have to wait for some other Ban retainers to show up with covered carts so they could move the dai zhiwu to one of their storage houses. Zhengyi let Wu get some distance on him before following. At least we actually didn’t lose very much plant, Zhengyi thought, trying to be optimistic. He knew Wu would still be mad though.
“Great score, aniki,” Lucky Cho congratulated Wu.
“We’re all gonna be even richer!” a retainer exclaimed. Other men came up and offered their leader congratulations for the brilliant plan and the great haul. After what had just happened, Zhengyi felt even worse. He doubted he could ever be as strong a leader as Wu.
Amid the congratulations, Wu started sniffing the air. He saw some smoke wafting up from farther back in the warehouse and quickly followed it, thinking some of the product might still be on fire. But when he came to the source he saw it was just a pipe that a young Ban retainer was smoking. “What do you think you’re doing?! Get that out of your mouth!” Wu barked, ripping the pipe out of the man’s teeth. “Did you steal this from me?” Wu threatened, referring to the dai zhiwu in the pipe.
“No, it’s mine! I paid for it, I swear!” the man pleaded.
Wu thrust his fingers into the man’s mouth and clutched his lower mandible. “I don’t care if you paid for it,” he growled. “I have made it clear—several times—that I do not approve of my men smoking dai zhiwu! Dai zhiwu is for worthless, stupid junkies. It messes with your head, and I don’t want any stupid people working for me! I had better never see you with a pipe again! I don’t care if you’re blowing bubbles, the next time I see a pipe in your teeth I will break your jaw—” he stared right into the man’s eyes “—OFF!” Wu hollered, releasing the hapless smoker’s jaw but giving him a good punch in the gut. He keeled over and Wu stalked away, waiting for the carts to show up. --XXX--
Soon some more Ban retainers showed up with emu-horsedrawn carts. Wu and Zhengyi used their earthbending to levitate the ground under the huge stacks of dai zhiwu, using them like dollies to load the drugs onto the carts. Just as the first cart had been filled and Wu had sent off the driver, a cadre of city guard officers appeared, marching down the street.
“Oh no, the cops!” Lucky Cho called.
“Relax, stupid,” Wu replied. “I can handle cops.”
The other men stopped working, and stared at the officers in a way that the criminals apparently didn’t realize was very suspicious. Zhengyi shrank back toward the warehouse door and tried to look casual, but only Wu truly kept his cool.
“What’s going on here?” the security captain asked.
“Afternoon, officers,” Wu greeted them pleasantly. “Oh, Captain Chan, it’s you.”
“Mr. Er! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. Staying out of trouble, I hope,” the officer joked.
Wu realized that the captain knew he was doing something illegal, but Wu went right along with the act. Chan was one of the most corrupt guard officers there was, and that was saying something, since almost every high-ranked cop in the city was in Wu’s pocket. “Nope. Not today, at least,” Wu laughed. They had to keep up the act for the sake of the other officers.
“So, what kind of goods are you moving here?” Chan asked pleasantly.
“Flour,” Wu said, without the slightest hesitation. It was the standard cover-up. “Are there any fees associated with the transportation of flour in this part of the city that I’m not aware of?” Wu said, subtly offering the captain a bribe.
Chan pushed out a sigh, but he could barely contain his glee, being the poor actor that he was. “I’m afraid so.”
“Let’s discuss it over here,” Wu motioned, walking the captain down the street a little way.
Away from the other cops, Wu and Chan huddled together. “Ten thousand,” Chan said flatly. He knew the routine. Wu gave Chan a certificate for the money, a special form of IOU that the Hei Chaoliu clans had used for many years, since they so often dealt in large sums of money. “I’m not in the Black Current, Wu,” the captain whispered angrily. “This is no good to me, I want cash.”
“I’ll send men to your house with the money tomorrow at midnight. You can redeem that for gold pieces.”
Chan looked at the paper coldly for a minute. “Only because I know you’re good for it,” he finally said.
Wu shot him a grin, their business concluded. They walked back to their respective groups. “All right, let’s move along, men,” Captain Chan barked. Obediently, the rest of the officers marched down the street.
The Ban members watched them go for a moment. I thought we were gonna get arrested for sure, but Wu handled that so easily, Zhengyi thought.
Then Wu smacked one of his teamsters upside the head. “Load the stuff! I’m not paying you to stand around!” -------------------------------------------
Hope you liked it. By the way, can anyone give me advice on how to get more readers? I really appreciate the people who are reading it now, but it's on 4 sites and I have literally 3 people leaving reviews. Not to make puppy-dog eyes here or anything, but I really just want to share it with other fans, and no one's looking at it.
Oh, here's another thing: Would anyone like me to do like a "Fun facts"-type author notes segment, where I explain what inspired certain things in the story or characters' names and stuff? For example, Mr. Kun is named after a bit-character who is killed in the Hong Kong gangster film Triad Election, also called Election 2. Captain Chan's name is the Mandarin word for "greedy." Do you think that would be interesting?
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manzai
Toph
Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Fire tonight!
Posts: 152
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Post by manzai on Dec 9, 2008 13:16:14 GMT -5
Hey guys. Here's ch.2 part 3. Pretty big plot point in this part. ----------------------------------------- “And then he just punched Xuan right in the gut!” Zhengyi recounted to Ying Su, as they sat in the kitchen back at the Ban compound and she turned their turkey-duck dinner on a spit. “Oh, and then the cops showed up! Everyone thought we were gonna get arrested. But Wu just bribes the cop and they walk away, like they never even showed up. We got away clean,” he said excitedly. “Oh, and you know how much Wu said he thought the score was worth?” Su didn’t look up, she just clenched her jaw and kept turning the spit. “ Four…hundred…million.” His eyes shone. “Four hundred million gold pieces for the Ban clan. That’s the kinda boss I wanna be.” “Oh, don’t say that,” Ying Su murmured, sounding a bit disgusted. She stopped turning the spit. Zhengyi knitted his brow, wondering what had angered her so suddenly. “I really think you idolize Wu way too much, Zhengyi. He’s not a very nice man,” Ying Su explained, a little more calmly. “He has a responsibility to make money for the clan, and he does. He takes care of his own business,” Zhengyi said. “That’s what a man does.” “Your father made plenty money for the clan too.” She looked back at Zhengyi, the venom in her voice increasing. “And he wasn’t a thug like Wu! He never stabbed anyone in the street!” “We’re the Hei Chaoliu! We’re outlaws!” he parroted Wu. “That’s our lifestyle! It’s a dirty business, but we have to do it if we want to survive!” “No, Ti Xi was an outlaw! He had honor! People respected him! Wu is nothing but a bully! He just takes what he feels like, and kills anyone in the way!” she cried. “He’s a Mountain Master! He has to do it for the clan!” Zhengyi shouted back. “The clan!” Su cried. “The clan is nothing! No one cares about brotherhood or honor anymore! It’s just a street gang! It’s a pack of murderers!” Zhengyi swore at her. Su was visibly taken aback, but Zhengyi went on. “My father was murdered as soon as I was born! And no one even knows who my mother was! Don’t act like you understand me!” He angrily jabbed two fingers at her. “I have no one but Wu and the clan! And I have a responsibility to lead them one day! Every one of those guys is my family!” Zhengyi thought of the Tong member he’d refused to kill earlier. It was his nanny Ying Su’s influence that had kept him from killing that man, and he still wondered if he was right not to do it. “They’d die for me, they’d kill for me, I’d die for them, I’d kill for them!” Zhengyi glared at Ying Su. His voice carried the very slightest hint of impending tears. “Don’t you ever tell me they don’t care about brotherhood,” Zhengyi whispered. “They treat me like a brother, and they’re the only family I’ll ever have.” Su was crying a little. She sighed. “…You really believe that, don’t you? Then I guess there’s nothing I can say to change your mind.” She sadly turned to go back to the spit, but Zhengyi just wheeled and stormed off to his room. “You have to have dinner!” Su called after him. “I’m not hungry!” he screamed. --XXX-- Zhengyi sat up very late that night, thinking things over, replaying the argument in his mind, and petting Fu Shan. He didn’t really feel sorry, although he thought his emotions might have gotten the better of him. Either way, he fell asleep eventually. Tonight, however, his dreams were strange. He saw a large man with no face, who sort of looked like pictures of Ti Xi that Zhengyi had seen. “…my heir…”He heard the sounds of fighting. “…Take care of him while I’m gone…”The man transformed into a pygmy puma. The sound of fighting melted into a strange song, one that seemed oddly familiar to Zhengyi in that dream-state. “…Yao yah yao…Yao yah yao…”The pygmy puma leapt over Zhengyi, but landed to his left. It curled up and transformed into sickly green light. “…Yao ni jang da…Yo liao sheewang…”The green light was blinding. Zhengyi tried to shield his eyes, but his corporeal body was half-nonexistent in the dream. “…Bao bao kuai jang da…”He heard a crunching sound, almost overpowering the song. “…Bao bao kuai jang da…”Just as he could barely stand the light any longer, the silhouette of a woman appeared, blocking Zhengyi’s view of it. Ying Su? No, Su was taller and didn’t have this woman’s thick braids. His mother? “Awaken…” Was the woman speaking? “Avatar Zhengyi…” Yes, he couldn’t see her face, but even through the shadows he knew her lips were moving. “It’s time you learned.”Zhengyi’s eyes burst open with a start, and he realized Fu Shan was sitting on his chest, licking him. Zhengyi panted, calming himself. Momentarily, he picked up Fu Shan and placed him on the floor. The cat immediately bolted to the door and scratched at it frantically. “What is it?” Zhengyi asked his pet, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I already let you out tonight.” Fu Shan kept scratching, and started mewing as though he were in pain. “Wow, you’re really serious, huh?” Zhengyi said. He got up and shambled out of bed, opening the door for his pet. But once in the hall, Fu Shan headed the opposite way Zhengyi expected him to head. He didn’t need to go to the bathroom, apparently. “Get back here!” Zhengyi whispered with annoyance, chasing after the pygmy puma. Sounds drifted up to Zhengyi: laughter first, then the clunk of sake bottles being set down. Soon, three voices became distinct. “All in, all in,” Aguta said, in his usual manic tone. Zhengyi heard gold pieces clinking. Aguta, Lucky Cho, and One-Eyed Wu were gambling in the dining room. “You always go all in, and then you always lose,” Lucky Cho chided him. “The point of the game is to bet strategically.” Zhengyi continued silently down the stairs, not wanting to make Wu any madder by allowing Fu Shan to jump up on the table in the middle of a card game with his top two lieutenants. Then again, if Wu was in a good mood, maybe he’d get in on the game… “I don’t care!” Aguta called out, a little too loudly because of the influence of the sake. “I’ll bet all I want! We made a million gold piecesh each today!” “That’s true,” Lucky Cho said, adding, “And it’s all thanks to the boss here! To One-Eyed Wu!” “You’re tha best, aniki!” Aguta chimed in. Zhengyi heard the alcohol slosh in the near-empty bottles as they lifted them. “Quit drinking that stuff!” Zhengyi heard Wu say, as Wu snatched the bottle from Aguta. “It’ll screw with your head.” “Shorry, boss,” Aguta replied. “ ’M jusht celebratin’.” “We’re enjoying the prosperity you’ve brought to our clan,” Lucky Cho added. Zhengyi peered around the doorjamb and paused for a moment, noticing their tattoos. As Hei Chaoliu men nearly always did, these three had removed their tops for the game of cards. It was an intimidation tactic, in that it allowed them to show off their elaborate tattoos to opponents. Aguta’s torso was a maze of tan skin and tribal symbols inked in indigo. He added tattoos as often as he could because he enjoyed the pain. Lucky Cho, on the other hand, had no tattoos except the standard pygmy puma on the left pectoral muscle, which nearly all Ban retainers had, even young Zhengyi. Wu probably had the best tattoos of the three. A fierce-looking badger-mole covered almost his entire back, it’s claws curving over his trapezius muscles. This tattoo let other Chaoliu members know that the bearer was a strong earthbender. A depiction of a gold piece decorated either of Wu’s shoulders, with a One-Horned Eagle-Lion twined through each. Eagle-lions were believed to bring wealth. Although Wu’s back was to him at the moment, Zhengyi also remembered that Wu had the standard pygmy puma tattoo on his pectoral, as well as an eye on his bicep. The eye tattoo ensured that anyone who didn’t know his face would still be able to identify him, because everyone in Ba Sing Se knew the name of One-Eyed Wu. “We’re doing much better than we ever did under Ti Xi,” Lucky Cho continued. Zhengyi was a little offended at Lucky Cho’s callousness. He turned into the room, following Fu Shan but also fully prepared to give Lucky Cho a piece of his mind if Wu didn’t first. He thought he knew what Wu was going to say, but what Wu did say would change this Avatar’s life forever. Wu chuckled and said, “Killing him was the smartest thing I ever did.” Zhengyi was paralyzed. He felt as though the force of that news had ripped away the world around him, and left a void in which the words echoed forever. His life, his reality, everything he thought he knew, was suddenly shattered forever. The loud profanity Lucky Cho exclaimed upon noticing him jarred the boy out of his daze. Wu and Aguta turned their attention to where Lucky Cho was looking, and they realized Zhengyi had overheard everything. Wu sighed and shook his head, getting up slowly and picking up an apple had been eating. “No…No, it’s not true,” Zhengyi muttered, as embers of rage began to glow in his eyes. “Oh, undone by my own hubris!” Wu said, with mock-theatricality. He paused, and locked eyes with Zhengyi. A smirk curled his face. “So, you finally found out.” “You…you killed my father?” Zhengyi asked, quaking, about to collapse under the news. Wu’s tone was absolutely matter-of-fact and emotionless. “I did.” “Wh—what?” Zhengyi stuttered. “I killed your father, Ban Ti Xi. I slit his throat in his sleep as soon as I found out you were the Avatar.” Wu saw how Zhengyi had curled his hands into fists, shaking with rage. Fu Shan was ready to pounce, flicking his tail at the boy’s feet. “I knew you’d find out eventually. But don’t misunderstand me, kid. Your father was my best friend in the world.” Wu had to keep talking, preventing Zhengyi’s mind from focusing on his anger. Wu had long ago researched the Avatar state, and although he had prevented Zhengyi from ever knowing about it, he knew what it took for an Avatar to enter it. He also knew he had no real mode of defense against it, should the situation ever arise. “Your father was a good guy, but he was too soft. No matter what anyone tells you, business comes first in the Hei Chaoliu. I knew I had to act when I found out you were the Avatar.” Wu casually tossed his apple to himself. “The greatest weapon in the world fell right into his lap, but I knew Ti Xi wouldn’t be willing to use your abilities to the fullest. As your father, he never would have allowed it. It wasn’t his fault, really, but he had to be taken out of the picture. So, I gave the Du clan the location of our headquarters and, knowing they would attack, I framed one of them for the murder. It wasn’t even hard.” Zhengyi snarled at him. “You piece of—” “What?” Wu mocked him. “You think I’m some kind villain now? You think you’re some righteous avenger? This is the Hei Chaoliu, kid! The Black Current! Organized crime!” Wu raised his arms in a sweeping gesture. “That kind of thing has been going on as long as the Chaoliu has existed! And you think your father was so perfect? He had a few more qualms than me, but he was still a crime boss. He still did all kinds of illegal things. The only difference between him and me is that he was naïve.” Wu moved closer to Zhengyi. He noted that his tactic was working, as Zhengyi had not taken the opportunity to attack. “You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at him!” Wu continued. “He was a hypocrite. He thought he could go out, smuggle, extort, knife rival clan members, run a criminal empire, then come home at the end of the day and play daddy dearest. He didn’t understand that this is the wrong business for families! He should never have had a kid!” Wu appeared to calm. He took on a bargainer’s tone, laying a deal out before Zhengyi. “Listen, boy: nothing has to change just because you found out I killed Ti Xi. You and I are both the same people we were this afternoon. What does it matter that he’s your father? I mean, think about it: you never even knew him, so why should you care if he’s dead? I want you to keep working for me. Hell, I’ll even let you take over the clan one day, just like I always said. We can keep everything the way it was.” Wu was closer to Zhengyi and he spoke very softly now, almost in a whisper. “Just turn around, and go back to bed.” They glared at each other. Zhengyi started to shake his head slowly. “No,” he said. -------------------------- The plot thickens....
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