Avatar: The Fifth Element

26. Bad News

"You lost?!"

"She-she's strong!"

"Well now we don't know where they are!"

"I overheard they're going to the Eastern Air Temple, but we can't get there. Only sky bisons can."

"Well then, we'll get her to come to us."

***

Rumi was having a blast as she dodged Aang's attacks. She tuck and rolled away from a whip of water, quickly landing back on her feet. Rumi planted herself to the ground as Aang flew up to avoid her firebending attack. Quickly, Rumi sent a spiral of ether towards Aang and wrapped it around his ankle, dragging him to the ground. She attempted to earthbend some rocks around him to keep him still, but Aang used a rush of air to blow her back.

"You can't keep me down!" he yelled as he took off into the sky.

Rumi would follow, but her weakest element was air. Instead, she conjured up a wave and sent it crashing into Aang.

As they kept practicing their bending, the others eventually joined. They took turns duelling each other to get a feel for the different elements.

Now, Rumi was practicing her knife skills against Zuko, who fought with his dual swords. Rumi was quick, dodging almost all of his attacks. As he swung towards her, Rumi tumbled between his legs. Behind him, she spun around on the ground and swung her leg into Zuko's ankle, knocking him off his feet. This wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Damnit!" he yelled. "Why do I suck?!"

Rumi kneeled beside him, "You don't suck, you're just not used to fighting someone like me. And you're not used to being stronger and heavier now."

"Well if I'm stronger shouldn't it be harder for you to knock me down?" Zuko stressfully tugged a hand through his hair.

"You're just not balancing your weight right," Rumi got up and offered Zuko a hand. "Here, I'll show you."

Zuko stood up and got in his usual combat position.

"See, you're nearly on your toes as if you're gonna be moving super quickly and dodging every attack, that's what makes it easy for me to knock you down." Rumi demonstrated by grabbing onto Zuko's side, pushing him one way while she kicked his ankle the other way, making Zuko struggle to keep balance. Before he fell, Rumi steadied him.

"Thanks," Zuko blushed and smiled nervously.

"No problem. Now get back into your stance." Zuko complied, and Rumi went on. "You need to widen your stance a bit, stop standing on your toes and plant your feet on the ground. Instead of being ready to constantly dodge attacks, you should be ready to block them. You're tough enough to do that."

Zuko smiled at the compliment and followed Rumi's instructions, immediately feeling more confident in his abilities.

"Okay, I'm gonna come at you again. Ready?" Rumi asked.

"Yeah."

Rumi ran at him with the same technique she used to knock him down before, only this time her hit didn't make Zuko budge at all. Rumi moved to attack again, but Zuko blocked her with his arm and swiftly grabbed her, causing Rumi to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

Once she fell, Zuko pinned Rumi to the ground and held her wrists over her head.

She smiled in approval, "See? That's how you use your strengths."

Above her, Zuko smiled confidently. Rumi was awestruck by the sight. Seeing Zuko confident and proud of himself made her feel happier than she had been in a long time.

However, that happiness was cut short when Sokka came running to them with a worried expression on his face. In his hand he held a note.

"A messenger hawk came, the note's addressed to you, Rumi. I don't think it's good."

Rumi waited till the others were gathered around to read the note, but when she did, a very grim mood settled in.

"What is it?" Zuko asked worriedly.

"It's Kaito. He-he's holding my parents hostage in Ba Sing Se... he left an address," Rumi said, her voice low and concerned. Her grip tightened around the paper, crinkling it's edges.

The others stared at her, their eyes widening as Rumi stood in shock, seemingly unable to move.

"What are you guys doing?!" Toph shouted. "We need to go! Now!"

"Wait, Toph, this is obviously a trap," Katara said, trying to hold back her anxiety.

Rumi pinched the bridge of her nose and furrowed her eyebrows, "Even if it is a trap, I need to go. I've wronged a lot of people, and even though they didn't deal with me well, they're still my parents. I have to help them."

"I agree with Rumi," Aang said, obviously. "Family is family, we need to get moving."

"Alright!" Sokka demanded everyone's attention. "Everyone, pack up your stuff as quick as possible and meet back here. I'll find the fastest way to get back, it shouldn't be more than a couple days."

Everyone agreed and hurriedly packed their stuff. Rumi got ready in a rushed shaky fashion, earning Zuko's concern.

"It'll be okay," he tried to reassure her.

"Only if I can control myself..." she looked at Zuko with sad eyes. "What if I can't?"

Zuko gave her a weak smile and pulled Rumi into a hug, "You can, I know you can."

***

"Where-where are you taking us!" the voice of Gopan, Rumi's father, echoed through the dark abyss. The blindfold enabling him from seeing anything.

"Shut your mouth and I won't hurt you, old man."

Gopan writhed around, but he was restrained by multiple sets of hands.

"My wife, where's my wife?!" he wailed.

"I'm here, dear! I'm okay, just, stop fighting!" his wife pleaded.

One thing Gopan never did was go against his wife, she was too important to him. The two stayed silent until their blindfolds were finally removed as they were sat on a cold floor. Their arms were bound behind their backs, and their legs were tied as well. The room was dark and musky; an old basement. It was obvious no one had lived there for a while.

The couple looked up at their kidnappers. It was a group of mixed benders. Some fire, some water, some earth. Their leader, who was a waterbender, walked up to them and knelt down.

"Don't worry, once I get what I need I'll let you go. She should be here in a couple days."

-

A/N ~ ohmygosh! i didn't even realize it's saturday!! my days have been so screwed up lately, but thank god i didn't forget! it's less than an hour before midnight so i'm still on time :)
by the way, i hope y'all are liking the direction this is taking!
remember to vote/comment/share, and enjoy!
—Blaise⚡️