Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Avatar: New Century's Dawning ❯ Chapter 2: Encounter of the Nightbender ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The ninja slowly turned around to face the guards, “Hey don’t move!” The guard had commanded, looking at the ninja in his stiff earthbending stance standing about 20 feet apart from each other. The ninja gave a light flinch at the guard’s words to confirm cooperation. A second later another guard emerged from the junction on the first guard’s left. The second guard, who was called Pao, unsheathed his katana at sight of the ninja, standing beside the earthbender. The temptation of battle chilled through the ninja’s spine. But the ninja kept the reminder nailed to his mind; he was being paid to be sneaky…and for good reason. So sneaky it is…

Before the earthbender could give any orders the ninja suddenly waved his hands in desperation and pleaded, “Oh please don’t kill me! I beg of you! I just paid to do this and really need the money. I have a wife and kids! I’ll comply! Just don’t kill me!”

“Shut up!” The earthbender ordered irately.

Ooo…what a temper there, the ninja thought.

The second guard took one hand to reach in a small pouch to retrieve a bit of binding rope. But before he grabbed it out completely the earthbender, without losing eye contact on the ninja, ordered, “Pao! Go set off the signal.”

Pao looked at the earthbender, “The signal?”

The ninja augmented Pao’s question, “What signal? There’s no need to put out any sig-”

“Silence, you!” The earthbender retorted fiercely, “Pao, there’s most likely other intruders, set off the signal to warn the others!”

Pao again hesitated, “But I can’t just leave here alone.”

The ninja then declared rather nonchalantly, “Yeah, there’s no need for that. There are no others, I’m the only-”

The earthbender roared, “I said! Shut! Up!” He took his gape off the ninja and shifted his piercing gaze at his comrade, “Pao! I can deal with this guy myself! Go! Now!”

Now’s my chance! Before the earthbending guard returned his sight on the intruder, the ninja swiftly slid his left foot backwards across the floor. At that moment all the earthbender could do was gasp as his feet swept forward off the ground, causing him to fall backwards. With incredible speed the ninja propelled his left leg forward, initiating a back flip. The instant he performed the stunt, the falling earthbender was then launched straight up in the air before even hitting the ground. The airborne guard collided into the ceiling 20ft in the air, before falling back down, crash-landing onto the floor. Pao stood almost paralyzed at the sight of what just happened, mainly because he couldn’t register at all what had just happened. But before he could recollect his senses Pao felt a strong force pushing his body from behind him. He realized his body was being thrust forward across the ground. He cried out as his body was flying straight toward the ninja. But suddenly, Pao stopped; his momentum came to a halt as his stomach had rammed straight into the ninja’s fist. The ninja stepped back from Pao as the young guard gasped and choked, putting his arms to his stomach before falling to the ground.

“Quick and…painful. Be happy I’m being nice,” the ninja murmured down at the convulsing body. He then scanned toward the body of the earthbender completely unconscious on the ground. Better move fast, that loud mouth of his should’ve been signal enough. The ninja pulled that shirt, which was tucked, out from his belt and opened it, holding the ends of his shirt out like an attached cape, exposing his bare dark vest. Looking up at the earthbended wall he crouched his knees. A upward draft caught from under his open shirt as he then jumped high over the wall, which was plenty low enough from the ceiling to jump over. Making a prompt yet soft landing on the other side the black bandit scurried off, retracing his steps out of the palace.

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“What do you mean there was no one at post of the Archive entrance?!” The chief erupted at Hanara.

“Sir, I…I mean what I said.” Hanara replied but thinking, You just repeated what I said as a question!

“Hanara, rhetorical question!…I swear if that big lug, Vlon, is off slacking, I’ll make see to it he is dismissed from the legion, personally.”

Hanara rolled her eyes under her conical hat as she continued, “Uh, sir, what actually had me most concern was that the door was locked and I just wanted to know if there is anyone was granted permission of private use and-”

“Locked? It shouldn’t be locked! I would be the first to know if someone was granted permission to use any of the classified rooms. Are you sure it was locked? I’m the only one up this time of night with the key. That would mean that there’s someone in the room.”

So there ‘was’ someone in the room! Hanara ruminated to herself, then responded, “Sir, I assure you, I couldn’t open the door, which I did out of intention in case Vlon, was inside…should I- sir?”

“There’s something dubious going on, not to mention a sudden vibration I felt just a moment ago. Come down with me. We’re getting to the bottom of this. And once I-” The chief paused as the low booming chime echoed through the halls.

That’s the signal, Hanara awed in thought, that means there’s…

“We’ve had a break-in!” The chief swung his gaze at Hanara, “You cover back on the east halls on this floor,” and with that said he took off down the hall, while Hanara sped off the other direction, looking for the other local guards and group up with. Hanara knew the procedure for such a situation, but she never really thought there would ever be a break in in the palace. Is this seriously happening? Has someone really broken into the Earth King’s palace. Wait, could this have to do with the missing guard, Vlon, at the archives entrance? Right before reaching the nearest junction, a black mass had darted through the intersection into the right. What the?! What was that?! She cogitated as she turned right at the junction to follow it. Up ahead she saw the figure of a man, with a small backpack running frantically, defeating not one the fellow guards.

Katana at hand she called out, “Hey you, stop right there,” but to no avail. The man continued on. Hanara had to comment on the suspects speed because she was a quick one herself, barely staying on his tail, but what surprised her even more was that her target seemed to no where he was going in this confounded maze of a palace. She continued to ordering aloud “Stop! Intruder!” in hopes that someone nearby would hear her and join in, but it seemed couldn’t count on it. Finally the intruder turned into a room where Hanara quickly followed. She halted herself in the room as the sound of shattering glass cracked through the air. “No, he didn’t!” she was hesitant to believe that the man had jumped out the window…almost 40-50 feet high. Running to the window she peered her head out to look down to the ground. She could barely see in the darkness of the night but she was able to notice the slightly dingy color of the man’s backpack from the ground below, and based on the movement of the pack, it didn’t seem the fall deterred the man one bit, let alone kill him!

No way! Hanara gave no scruple as she ran out of the room, her feet doing the thinking for her. She was still trying to register everything that had just happened; it was all happening way too fast.

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Heading down the stairs onto the first floor Hanara flitted straight to a side entry of the palace. Someone stood watch near the door but it wasn’t one of the palace guards; he was wearing a dark robe. It was a Dai Li agent. The agent called out, recognizing her, “Hanara? What are you doing, you should be keeping an eye out for trespasser.” Noticing his distinguishable slender goatee, she knew it had to be Seyro, a novice agent but also a dear friend of Hanara’s.

She replied sternly “Seyro! Seyro?! Of all people to run into-” She didn’t know whether to be relieved or to confused herself even more, by question herself more questions. “Anyway, the intruder, isn’t in the building! I chased into a room, and he jumped out the window!”

“A window? But the lowest window is up on the fourth floor?!”

“I know! I saw him jump it. And he survived the fall. He’s in the front palace square as we speak. You have to come with me!” Without a word the two had headed out the door out in east corner of the wide palace square.

The palace was surrounded by a outer wall about 30 feet high with several hung torches providing small beacons of light. There only one entrance to the southwest. “I don’t see any of the other agents here, they must have spotted and chased him down,” Seyro suggested to Hanara.

“Other agents?”

“Yeah once we hear the signal, The Dai Li quickly managed to surround the palace walls, inside and out, and…do you hear that?”

As the two dashed around the place toward the southwestern gate, they quicken their pace as they heard assortment of bellows up ahead. Hanara wanted to slap herself in the face, Come on Hana. Keep it together. You have to stay sharp at all costs…Stay sharp? Oh brother. The chief’s words really ‘did’ sink in. Jeez…oh my word! What happened?!

Hanara and Seyro stopped as they laid their eyes on a baffling sight. A group of about 15 Dai Li agents were either on their knees or on the ground, crying out in pain. Most of them had their ears clasped while few were on the ground gagging and vomiting. Only one agent stood at the center trying to assist one of his fallen comrades. Seyro ran to the standing agent, “What happened here?!” he demanded to know. The other agent looked at Seyro, “I got here just a moment before you did. I’m not sure what happened all of them. They seemed to have had the intruder surrounded but some of them were yelling out something about a hearing a piercing sound. The second I caught sight of the spot,” The agent pointed to the gate, “I saw the outline of a man. I saw as he approached the door and then chopped into pieces with no weapon. It was as if he hacked through it with the air.”

“The air?!” Hanara was standing beside Seyro listening in, “Are you telling me this guy’s an airbender?”

He shook his head, “I haven’t a clue, but whoever he is, he managed to hindered over dozen men in a few seconds. Hey! Where you going?!” The agent yelled out to Seyro who sprinted to the gate.

Hanara also called out, “Seyro wait up?!” she was about to follow him when she heard.

“Wait!” The agent tried sit up a comrade down, “Hold up, you.” he directed to Hanara.

Hanara retorted, “I can’t leave Seyro go alone.”

“I know! That’s why I’ll go with you. We can’t split up individually. If the enemy could take down a whole team of agents, we’re wasting our time if we try to go at him alone. But once we pass the gate we need to rally more reinforcements along the way.”

“We don’t have time for that!”

The agent raised his voice, “We’re not dealing with anyone run-of-the-mill trespasser. He just snuck in and out of the Earth King’s palace. This guy ‘has’ to be the nightbender!”

“The nightbender?” Hanara whispered under her breath.

“Come!” The agent ordered her as he lead the way, “Don’t worry about these men. None seemed to suffered anything lethal. And they’ll be attended to shortly.”

Following the agent, she glanced back to the men slowly still recovering from whatever strike had hit them. She gulped in her mind, thinking of what they were up against. She had heard rumors about the nightbender, but she’s heard rumors about many exaggerated crooks and heroes. Supposedly within the past few months there had been man missing articles files of all kinds missing from towns and cities throughout the continent. Of those many cases there were only few that included a eyewitness of a unknown burglar.

Seyro you idiot, you better watch yourself.

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About 20 minutes had passed and there was still no sign of the intruder…or Seyro. Six other Dai Li agents had joined Hanara and the agent she accompanied, who happened to be a Dai Li commanding officer. The group had searched thoroughly through the streets of upper-class residency. If the ninja had managed to escape to outside this ring, the odds would be drastically against them in finding him. But it would be highly unlikely. Every Dai Li in the great city should have already surrounded this sector, top to bottom, from the walled gates to the tops of the walls themselves.

As the group moved through one of the main streets, another Dai Li agent emerged from a darkness of a side alley and halted the group. He was bit out of breath but managed to share the news. Pointing at the direction he came he informed, “Everyone, the thief has just been caught. Two men are group holding him down, but just barely! It’s just two blocks south from here We need to hurry!”

Without a moment to waste, the commanding officer gestured to the group to head that direction to follow his lead, this time, jumping on the stack of barrels and crates on the side of houses to dash through the roof tops. Hopping roof to roof the officers finally descended to street ahead, with Hanara and the other agents following behind. Barely in view in range of the street’s torchlight Hanara and the group witnessed two Dai Li pinning down the ninja on the ground, twisting his arms behind his back and binding them with there stone gloves. The ninja mumbled and groaned in pain groggily as the group circled the scene.

“Excellent work, you two!” The commanding officer approached the two agents. Looking up one replied, “This guy wasn’t so tough. It was the other colleague, who did all the work. When we both arrived he had already single-handedly took this guy down. When we took over he went off to find any officers.

“Well he found me. But wait, single-handedly?! My my! Where are you lad?” The officer looked around to the group to pick out the one who informed the group. “Which one of you was it? Wait, we’re missing one?” There were only six other agents as before…the first six.

The two agents holding down the ninja struggled as one of them said, “This guy’s resisting the binding. How the? Is he and earthbender?”

“Sir!” Hanara spoke out as she walked up to the ninja, “Something’s not right. You two?” she asked the two arresting the ninja, “Where’s his backpack? He had a backpack.”

“Backpack?!” One of them responded, “He didn’t have any backpack when we arrived?”

The commanding officer walked up to the ninja and knelt down by his face, “You know you’re right. I did see him carrying a bag. Either he must’ve hid the bag, relayed it to another spy or…” Quickly the commanding officer grasped the ninja’s and pulled it off. Revealing a slender goatee, with a thick cloth wrapped over his mouth, only half conscious.

“Damn it!” The Dai Li officer stood up and looked around furiously, “He slipped passed right under our noses!”

Hanara bent down aside the captive, telling the two agents to back off, “It’s not him! He’s not the trespasser.” Hanara took the rag off her friend’s mouth, “Seyro, are you okay, what happened?!”