ATLA, In A Darker World

New week, New chapter.

.....

"... And that's how we got here".

The events after Haican for Mingxia and her group were retold in less than two minutes.

"I see". Luca responded, his face carrying a slight frown. "But if you guys were imprisoned, how did I get here with you?"

"I was coming out of interrogation during the time you were being carried in. Luckily, I recognized you".

"You would probably be in a different cell and experiencing different circumstances otherwise".

Luca's frown deepened. "What about the rest of your group?"

If he remembered clearly, there should be five of them. But here there was only three.

'Did the other two not make it?' His wondering was answered.

"They're ..... in a wooden cell. Despite not being the best, Peng is an Earth bender after all. I guess they thought it best if we were separated to make sure we can't escape".

Dandan, Fenfang and Mingxia were here, while Peng, Meilin and Fenfang's mother were in the other.

"Alright …". The life and death of their companions had little value other than satisfying his curiosity.

From the discussion, Luca had a rough layout description for his current location.

Technically speaking, this could also be considered an Earth Kingdom outpost. But when compared to Haican, it looked more like …. Well, a camp.

This place was meant for soldiers to rest in between travels to and from the front lines.

In terms of strategical significance, it was severely lacking and had almost no value in defending if it was attacked by enemy forces.

To avoid possible ambushes from Fire Nation, supplies such as food, medicine, weapons and war resources weren't stored here.

The area had no high walls for defense, nor did it have large troops of soldiers and patrols.

As for the prisons …. Luca deduced that they were the first residents of this place in months. After all, the Fire Nation hadn't broken this far deep.

Basically, an ordinary military camp. And unlike Haican, this one wasn't heavily guarded.

Luca fell into deep thought while analyzing his situation.

Of course, his information was too little.

He didn't know how many soldiers they had, nor how many were actually keeping guard. Most importantly ….

'My sword is gone'. This was a major problem.

His primary weapon had been taken away, alongside his bag containing all his rations, herbs, and the map.

The herbs could be discarded, but Luca really needed that map.

Similarly, his fighting prowess would drop drastically without a weapon.

And rations …. These things were essential, but currently, he wasn't in any danger.

Due to Mingxia, he wasn't being identified as a Fire Nation spy but was placed as an accomplice alongside Mingxia and her group for the Haican incident.

Bearing the label of an Earth Kingdom Refugee fighting against corruption. Or, something alongside those lines.

This had explained why he had the Earth Kingdom uniform in his possession.

Unlike spies and rebels, this label brought about some level of tolerance, proven by how Mingxia and the others weren't simply executed.

They were lucky to be alive.

The atmosphere was silent.

"Honestly, I never thought we would cross paths again so soon".

Mingxia spoke again.

".... Well, neither did I". He replied. 'I never thought I'd meet you ever again'.

The last part was an addition.

Silence returned, and the atmosphere grew awkward. Luca didn't speak, and none of the three had anything to say.

Until …. "Thank you". Luca spoke up.

"Huh?" The brown haired girl was confused.

"Like you said, if you hadn't seen me and spoke up, my situation would be quite different from what it is now".

He looked at her, eyes serious.

"And not in a good way. Regardless if it was accidental, I owe you a debt".

The trio was surprised. Mingxia especially to which she shook her head.

"No need to thank me. You saved our lives once. I was just repaying the favor".

Luca nodded, deciding to put an end to this topic. His eyes darted in all directions as he examined his surroundings.

".... So what happens now?" He asked.

She took in a deep breath.

"I'm not sure. From what they said, we'll be taken to Omashu to stand trial. Our fates rest in the decision of the King".

'Bumi?'

Luca resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. The king of Omashu, best friend of Avatar Aang and the most Powerful Earthbender of his time.

Going by the cartoon, there should be no worries in getting their names cleared if it was explained and the mad king investigated deep enough.

But reality and a cartoon were two different things. At least, judging from what he had experienced so far, Luca wasn't going to blindly leave his fate for others to decide.

That meant it was highly unlikely that he would be going to Omashu as a prisoner.

"And have you considered what happens if that fate isn't in your best interests?"

"Huh?"

His words stunned the former Kyoshi Warrior. She wasn't alone.

".... What are you?…" Dandan and Fenfang were equally confused.

"You stumbled upon an Earth Kingdom Fortress trafficking skilled refugees. In which, the head officer in charge of the base was the leading operative".

At his point, he paused for a moment before continuing.

"You don't think he's the only one, do you?"

His words fell, and all three stiffened.

Mingxia frowned heavily. "What are you saying?"

"Skilled Earth Kingdom refugees were sold to the Fire Nation while their families were transported to Omashu. Although I don't know how long this has happened, it definitely isn't recent. Meaning a minimum of hundreds of people have been taken away from their families. Logically, those people should have realized and asked, And yet it still went on. How is that possible?"

"... Its …". The girl froze, unable to answer.

Simply because she couldn't.

The loophole laid in the fact that the transferred family members knew that their people had been 'Transferred' first to Omashu, but wouldn't meet them once they themselves got there.

It was impossible to make them forget.

Unless of course, there was a brainwashing operation similar to the employed by the Dai Li in Ba Sing Se.

Such brainwashing techniques … … Employed by the Fire Nation.

Luca felt his spine tinge at the thought. Back when watching the series, the Dai Li's brainwashing at Lake Laogai was the second-creepiest thing in the Avatar series.

As for the first … That was reserved for Jo Dee's smile when she uttered the words "I am Jo Dee, welcome to Ba Sing Se".

However, it was impossible to carry out such a massive operation, especially in Omashu.

While reality may differ, Luca believed that the characters wouldn't deviate much from their original personalities.

The Dai Li could use such means simply because they had unlimited authority due to the Earth King being nothing more than a controlled puppet.

Bumi was different.

No one could control him and Luca didn't think he would use such methods.

Since that wasn't the case, then Luca's thoughts were simple. Someone else was deliberately suppressing the news from reaching Bumi's ears.

To achieve such, his/her position needed to be at a rather high level, further confirming his suspicions that the Fire Nation had infiltrated Omashu.

'The date of the city's fall was never stated in the series. But from the looks of it, it's not far away'.

The only thing that stood between them and the capture of the city itself was Bumi.

"I'll answer for you. It isn't. Which means that he has accomplices. The chances of them being in Omashu are quite high. Let's forget about whether the city's ruler will believe what we say. Do you think the accomplices will give you the chance to reveal everything you know to King Bumi?"

Luca wasn't just explaining it to them, he was also analyzing it for himself.

Immediately, their faces paled at the realization of their circumstances.

Despite carrying a calm expression, Luca was just as unsettled as they were.

The more he spoke, the more furrowed his brows became. As hidden beneath his facade was an unsightly look.

This was called the pain of realizing you were right about the wrong thing.

Their existence automatically made them a thorn in the flesh of those who saw it that way.

To make sure that the King Of Omashu never found out, Luca deduced that someone would most likely attempt to silence them before they reached the city.

Making sure they never got the opportunity to appear before Bumi's presence.

"...". The atmosphere was tinged with a hint of uneasiness.

"It can't be".

A voice called out, causing Luca to shift his gaze. It wasn't Mingxia but. … Fenfang?

Luca didn't register much of this blonde girl.

If he remembered right, she was the one who had betrayed her companions before in exchange for her mother's life.

That was the only thing he remembered her for. Of course, their number of interactions could quite literally be counted on one hand.

Nevertheless, the overall impression she gave was that of a weak, blonde damsel with no opinions and lots of emotional weakness.

And despite being a little beauty, her sense of presence was quite low. Like that one class girl who wouldn't speak if she wasn't spoken to, didn't like to interact socially with others and was basically an introvert.

It was with this impression that made Luca surprised when he saw her especially firm gaze.

Like she had transformed from a meek lamb to a courageous lion.

"I'm sorry? What?" He asked with slight bewilderment.

The girl took a deep breath before uttering. "How sure are you of your words. What proof do you have other than your assumptions?"

"Fen … What are you?" Mingxia was stunned.

Fenfang immediately turned to her.

"This is impossible. Omashu is one of the last two great strongholds of the Earth Kingdom. If we were to go by his words, it should have already fallen months ago. His words are nothing but pure speculations …".

Both Dandan and Mingxia saw something wasn't right with their friend's current state.

"Fen, you can't just …".

"No! I can't believe it. I won't believe it".

Luca was surprised at the turn of events. However, it didn't take him long to understand what was happening.

Quite the show of the courageous Lion. In fact, after hearing Luca's speculations, Fenfang was already on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Understandable really.

Haican had been less than a week ago. Now, she was being told that that nightmare wasn't necessarily over yet.

Denial.

An instinctive reaction of human beings when they don't want to believe the possibility of an unfavorable outcome.

Luca didn't care.

He was currently contemplating his options .

What she said did have some truth to it, as his worries were nothing but speculations without concrete evidence.

However, in this dark world, he wasn't going to take any chances. The last thing he wanted was his carelessness to get him killed.

Luca wasn't invulnerable.

A well-timed sneak attack catching him off guard before he could activate density shifting would lead to his death.

'Unless I use Spirit Chi, my physical defense is the same as a normal person's. And without my sword, my combat prowess is …".

His thoughts paused. Then his eyes widened.

'Hold on … My Panel'.

Luca felt like slapping himself in the face.

Previously, he had lost all his abilities when trapped in that illusion. Worse, it didn't reflect on the stat panel.

He anxiously opened in his mind, expecting to see his panel appearing first and foremost. Instead, what popped up was ….

[You have unread messages] >>>>

…. Yep, something he hadn't seen in a long time.

'Unread messages?'

All his messy thoughts came to a halt.

'Open'.

— Congratulations. Your Mastered Skills List has been updated -

— Congratulations. You have attained spirituality -

— Congratulations. You have unlocked Fire Elemental Affinity -

- + Skill (Firebending) has been added to your mastered skills list -

— Congratulations. You have completed a nearly impossible task (From Non-bender - Firebender) -

- You have received 50 Achievement Points -

Name: Luca

Affiliation: Fire Nation ....

Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9 Constitution 11, Chi 2995, Perception 14, Spirit Chi: 912

Fatigue: 2/100

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186,

Mastered abilities: Stealth: 16, Blademanship: 16, Hand To Hand Combat: 13, Poison Mastery: 17, Disguise:16, Tool Creation: 15, Marksmanship: 16, Lock picking: 15, Earth Kingdom Culture: 16, Interrogation: 17, Battle Instinct: 14, Evasion and Escape: 16, Regeneration: 10, Firebending: 10

Assignable Achievement Points (AP): 50

Status: Otherworlder/ Rebel (spy)(Fugitive on the run)

….

'Wait …. What?'

...

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