Before you start reading...
I'm not really sure what the process for becoming a Dai Li agent is. So I made some assumptions in this chapter. I assumed that it's something that you choose to do and that you don't have to be trained since you're a child. I also decided that women can be a part of the Dai Li, which I'm not sure is true. So just roll with it... :)
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Tenzin knew Lin was in good shape, but he had no idea how fast she could run, until he tried to catch up to her. The both of them were running through the halls trying to find the stables and it seemed kind of petty to use his bending to get the lead. When they finally arrived they were met with the angry stare of their new team leader.
"The sun is up." Azula said, annoyed. When she told them to be there at dawn, she meant exactly at dawn.
"We know. We're sorry." Tenzin said. At that moment Su came running through the door.
"You could have waited for me!" she wined.
"Why are you even here?" Lin snapped at her. Then Kya showed up at the door too.
"Good." Tenzin said, "It's her fault, anyway."
"What did I do?" Kya asked, "I helped you all get ready."
"You slowed us down!" Lin said.
Azula just watched as they all bickered, until she finally said: "Enough."
She didn't yell it, but it quieted the room fairly quickly.
"One at a time." she continued, "The little one. Suyin. Explain."
"Kya remembered all the Dai Li have braids, so we wanted to make Lin one so she's fit in. And she can't even say thank you!"
"We are late because the two of them insisted I wash my hair before. They made a big deal out of it instead of just tying my hair." Lin explained, "Tenzin didn't do anything, he just waited for me. Don't be mad at him."
"I'm not going to be mad at anyone," Azula said, "Just try to be punctual and follow the orders I give you. If you can't we might get captured, or worse..."
Tenzin really didn't want to think about the or worse part of that sentence. He nodded and walked to Oogi to prepare him for the journey. He already said goodbye to Bumi, so all that was left was giving Kya a going-away hug and he was ready to go.
"Don't get lost and don't wonder around on your own. Don't take anything that isn't yours. Don't touch anything that isn't yours..." Lin talked like she was reading from an imaginary list in her mind.
"I won't." A list called Everything fun there is to do around here...
"... Don't skip your lunch. Candy isn't lunch. And don't –"
"I'll be good. I'll be with Bumi to whole day!" Su interrupted her.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Lin stood there, quietly now, wondering if she should hug her sister goodbye. Their mom damn sure never did that. And Su probably wouldn't even let her hug her after the fight they had this morning.
"Bye, kid." she finally said and lifted herself up to the saddle.
The ride to Ba Sing Se wasn't that long, but it was beyond awkward. Tenzin and Lin were still adjusting to even sitting in their Dai Li uniforms. Tenzin was constantly trying not to lose his hat, so he steered Oogi with only one hand, all the while Lin was trying to make casual conversation with Azula. It didn't take them long to go over Azula's plan, even though she still didn't tell them what exactly they were retrieving. They spent most of the trip in silence.
Azula instructed Tenzin to set them down just outside the King's palace. From there they went their separate ways. Azula was retrieving the package and the two of them had to blend in with the Dai Li.
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They both figured they had enough time so, while sneaking into the elite police's tunnels, they took a little detour.
"When you asked if we could stop for a while I had no idea you had a make-out session in mind." Lin chuckled, feeling her back hit the wall behind her.
"Well, we haven't been alone practically since this trip started." he whispered since he was so close to her now, pinning her to the wall. He continued kissing her before she pulled away for a breath.
"Is it the braid? The uniform? What's got you acting like this?" Lin teased, "Not that I'm complaining or anything..."
"Just you. Although, green is your color."
"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" Lin just couldn't stop smiling.
"Do you think if we were really Dai Li agents, this would be forbidden?"
"I don't know. Our police seems fine with it..."
"What?"
"Never mind." Lin kissed him, "Where were we?"
What they were doing was a bit risky and maybe even more irresponsible, but neither of them wanted to think about that. Besides, no one would doubt the two reckless teens smooching in the corner are helping rob the palace.
After a few minutes, some might say inevitably, another Dai Li agent came walking by and saw the two of them.
"Are you the new recruits that came in last week?" he asked, only after they noticed him.
"Yeah. I'm Lin and this is... Bumi."
"Well, you shouldn't be here. Boss wants to see all of us in the common room." the man frowned.
"Ah... The boss..." Tenzin tried to seem natural but that was not how it sounded.
"After you." Lin cut in, because the man seemed like he was about to ask more questions.
The tunnels seemed less confusing while they were following someone. No one asked them any questions in the common room. A man, presumably the Head of the Dai Li, gave a speech. He talked about the Red Lotus and the immediate danger it may face to their king. The two of them already knew most of the things that were said, except that the King has somehow not been attacked yet.
Just as Lin was about to grab Tenzin's arm and drag him away from that assembly, she noticed a metal beam falling from the ceiling. She jumped in front of it before even thinking and stopped it in the air. Her metalbending being as it was, she couldn't move it up or down so she just stood there, struggling. Tenzin immediately thought to help, but couldn't without blowing their cover.
Then, when she thought she was close to dropping the big metal beam, the thing begun moving away from her and dropping safely. She thought she felt someone helping, but she wasn't sure until she turned around and saw a man had run out of the crowd to help her. Guess, there were metalbenders in the Dai Li. Who knew?
"You OK, kid?" the man asked, handing Lin the hat she lost jumping after the beam. The both of them were met with a clap from the other agents.
"Yeah... Yes, thank you." she took the hat from him. This man didn't seem to have even broken a sweat helping her and she felt like she was going to pass out.
"You're very good."
"If I was very good I would have set it down myself."
"You're too hard on yourself. Is that a Toph stance I saw there? Did she train you?"
Oh, no. So much for staying invisible...
"Yes. I had the privilege to learn from her. Briefly." Lin wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, but that man was being so nice.
"She taught me too. A long time ago."
"Small world." Lin smiled politely.
"Well, if you ever need something, kid, you can come to me. We metalbenders gotta stick together."
Lin was about to thank him when they were interrupted by a few other agents calling for the man.
"Come on, we're already late!"
"Get a move on!"
"Come on, Kanto!"
Lin froze after that last word.
Kanto? Kanto. In Ba Sing Se. A metalbender trained by her mother. Could he? Is he?
"Your name's Kanto?" she had to be sure.
"Yes. Just ask anyone if you need to find me. Later." he disappeared from the common room before Lin could even open her mouth.
That was him. Her father. A surprisingly friendly Dai Li agent...
She pulled Tenzin by his sleeve and into one of the corridors.
"Listen." she started when they were alone, "I talked to Sokka. He told me about my dad. How he left my mother, how he left for Ba Sing Se and how his name is Kanto."
"Wait a second. You're saying that guy in there..."
"Is my dad!" Lin was almost hysterically happy at that point. She didn't even know why exactly. They exchanged a few words. It was nothing. But somehow it was so exciting.
"You can't just assume..." Tenzin was trying to keep his voice down and wished Lin would do the same.
"It's too much to be a coincidence. He's the right age. My mom trained him..."
"She trained a lot of people in her life."
"Tenzin. I just know, OK?"
"Then I'm happy for you. But you can't tell him who you are."
"Oh, I know." Lin's smile faded for just a second, "But I have to go talk to him some more!"
"I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Because of the mission." Tenzin added after getting a look.
"You just don't understand... Your father meeting your mother was the most important thing to happen in the world in the last hundred years. Their story is legend. And he spends every moment he's not saving the world on cool trips with you. I just want ten minutes of that."
"And what about him leaving?"
"We don't know exactly what happened. Maybe he had a good reason. My mother can be difficult."
"I just don't want you to be disappointed. But we should be blending in, so let's go find him." Tenzin started walking towards the common room again.
"Wait. I think this is something I have to do alone." Lin pulled him back.
"But we shouldn't separate."
"I know... It's just... I don't have a lot of time for a whole lot of questions and I don't need you blowing my cover..."
"Why would -"
"You have to face it that you're not a very good liar, Tez. It's not a bad thing, I like that about you."
"I can lie, Lin."
"It's cute that you think that. But you have a bunch of different tells. Eyes darting all over the place..."
"Not true." he said and stared right into her eyes to prove his point only to realize his stare involuntarily drifted to the left. She giggled in response to his failure to remain eye contact.
"I'll be careful, I promise." Lin took his face into her hands and pulled him in to kiss him.
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"Have you seen Su?" Izumi peeked into the training room where Bumi has been since he woke up.
"Not really. She came by and said something about hating Lin... I don't even listen to it anymore. Sibling love..."
"She's probably with Zari somewhere." Izumi closed the door behind her, "What are you doing?"
"Some knife throwing. Comes in handy when you can't make lightning shoot out of your fingertips." he spun one of the blades in his hand.
"You heard?"
"Everyone's heard. Apparently you're a beast! May I ask for a demonstration?"
"Azula said only outside for now. How about you and those knives? Any chance you can show me what you got?"
"As you wish, Princess. A step back, please."
Izumi distanced herself and then watched as Bumi took a few practice swings and then threw the five knives in his hand at each of the five targets placed around the room. His aim was good, but not perfect.
"You're good." she said as he went to retrieve his blades, "May I have a go?"
"It's all in the wrist, you know..." he said, handing her the knives.
"I'll try and remember that." she said with a smirk. She took a deep breath and proceeded to throw the knives, one by one, each hitting the target exactly. Not an inch in the wrong.
One of the blades flew a bit close to Bumi's ear so he was a bit shocked.
"OK, who are you and what have you done with my friend?" he blurted out causing her to chuckle.
"You know who my mother is. We call this mother-daughter bonding time back home."
"But seriously wow, Izumi... Where's the sweet, daddy's girl we all know?"
"She's here. She's just cutting loose a bit."
"Well, you know I live for girls gone wild." he smirked at her and to his surprise she smirked right back.
"What are you guys doing?" Kya entered without so much as a knock. It bothered Bumi for some reason.
"Izumi's just bragging." he answered.
"She should. Wait till you see all the joined moves Azula showed the two of us. The Red Lotus won't know what hit them..." Kya said.
"And then we are all getting thoroughly grounded..." Izumi added.
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"Kanto!" Lin didn't need much time to find him again.
"Oh, it's you. The metalbender." he stopped in the middle of a hallway allowing her to catch up. It was a miracle she managed to find him alone since Dai Li usually traveled in pairs.
"Lin." she said trying not to look overly excited, "My partner got reassigned so I was wondering if I could go on patrol with you..."
"Sure. Why not. We can badmouth Toph while we're at it." he continued walking and she followed, "So how are you finding your way around the palace? It can be confusing..."
"It's alright." Lin couldn't believe how nervous she was, "It's not as confusing as say... Republic City."
"Agreed. That place was always changing. But I saw more action working there than anywhere else."
"Oh, you were a policeman there too?" Lin tried to sound like this was new information to her.
"Yeah, I worked for Chief Beifong."
That fit too. Lin was right. And to think she never would have met him if not for the damn Red Lotus...
"You OK?" Kanto realized Lin was completely lost in thought, "Am I boring you?"
"No! No..." Lin snapped back, "I just want to hear how it was, working for Chief Beifong. If it's OK."
"Well, I think it's best described with a story. Do you know how the statue in front of the station got built?"
Lin shook her head no.
"Oh, you have to hear this..."
So they circled their perimeter and Kanto told her his story. He was funny and nice even though he thought she was just a stranger. And the more she listened, about how him and Toph worked together, the more she realized she was kind of like her father. Why? Why would her mother not tell her all of this?
And why would he leave?
Maybe he was sorry. Maybe he wasn't like that anymore. Maybe he would like to have a relationship with her if he knew now.
Kanto's story was cut short when he saw a carriage parked nearby. He ran to the men unloading bags from it and Lin followed close after him.
"What is this?!" he was suddenly completely serious.
"Delivery for the royal kitchens." one of the men stepped forward.
"You are aware this is a restricted area? You need to leave."
"Relax, man. We're almost done unloading..." the man didn't seem at all bothered.
"Listen, man. I am done with you people who think you're above the rules. You've been warned a thousand times. Now leave or else..."
Lin's dad was cool. He wasn't worldly known like her mother, but he could be terrifying if he wanted to. And he didn't let people get away with things. He cared about justice, he cared about rules. He was like her. Just like she could never walk away from a bully at school, he couldn't let this douche keep doing whatever he wanted.
The man, of course, didn't start leaving so Kanto handcuffed him with his glove. He gave Lin a little nod, after which she trapped all the man's helpers up to their knees in the ground.
"Look, man, I'm sorry. We'll leave!" now the man felt sorry.
"Confiscate the goods, Lin." Kanto ordered and she obeyed with one flick of her wrist, "Since you wouldn't move I have to assume you were sent to kidnap the King. An act of treason."
"No! No, we'll leave! We didn't mean anything bad!" the man was now screaming as Kanto waved his hand and made a nail from the carriage fly to him.
Lin wasn't really sure what he was going to do until he twitched his palm and the nail morphed into a sharp blade, like an arrow tip. Kanto slowly turned it towards the man.
"Are you with the Red Lotus?" he asked, ignoring the man's begging.
"No, Sir. I don't know what that is! Please, no! Please. Plea-" the man was cut off when Kanto made the piece of metal fly right through the man's neck.
Lin couldn't breathe. He killed him. Her father just killed that man. Over what? Over a few stupid bags of rice... He was nothing like her. She was nothing like him. Nothing like this.
The rest of the men were taken to a prison of sorts. Lin wasn't sure. She tried to keep acting the same, but she just couldn't. There had to be a reason. Maybe they were forced to reinforce the rules so strictly. Maybe it was just how the Dai Li worked. Then why did he seem so OK with what he was doing? Maybe they still practiced brainwashing like in the war? Yeah, right...
"You drift off a lot, kid." Kanto interrupted her thoughts.
"Sorry." she tried so hard not to show how freaked out she was, but she was afraid it was obvious. If only she let Tenzin come...
"Don't worry. I just can't imagine how you and Toph could get along at all. Presuming she stayed the miserable bitch she always was."
Did he just call her mother what she thinks he called her?
"Don't get me wrong," he continued, "she's the best earthbender in the world. No doubt about it. She just had a way of sucking people into a cycle of misery. She tried to suck me in too, but I got free of her."
Lin didn't think she could listen to this for much longer.
"If you ask me it's those so-called friends of hers. They made her soft towards the end."
Soft? She was pregnant, you moron!
"I don't even know why I'm telling you this..." he finally stopped.
She had to say something. She had to do something. He couldn't talk about her mother like that. Sure, the two of them didn't get along, but Lin would never call her... Any of that. Sokka was right. This guy deserved an ass whooping.
But she had to tell him who she was first. She wanted him to know.
"The reason Toph trained with me-"
"Kanto, fast! Hurry!" a Dai Li agent interrupted her, calling both of them to follow him. It was something about the King being kidnapped. It was probably the Red Lotus, and honestly, Lin was glad there was someone she could take her anger out on.
All the Dai Li agents gathered in the throne room, so Lin met up with Tenzin again, but neither of them were ready for what came next. The Earth King was sitting on his throne and behind him stood Azula, holding a fiery dagger at his neck.
A package? She said they were just extracting a package! And they believed her.
"Did we just help Azula retake Ba Sing Se?" Tenzin whispered.
Lin shrugged. She really wasn't sure what was happening anymore. Kanto tried to signal her with his eyes, probably wanting to execute some plan to surprise the Princess. But she couldn't even look at him anymore. Per Azula's request, the King ordered his men to stand down.
Then Lin and Tenzin were given a nod, meaning they were done hiding. Since they were standing among the agents no one was expecting them to attack. Tenzin managed to take down quite a few agents with a surprise airbending move, while Lin pulled a giant, fancy chandelier down from the ceiling. Then she used the metal parts of it to bind the rest of the Dai Li so they couldn't bend anymore. It seemed to be working on everyone except Kanto.
"I just can't believe you're Red Lotus." he said, looking at Lin like she betrayed him somehow. The irony...
"We're not! We can't explain, but we-" Tenzin was interrupted when Kanto used a metal part of the chandelier to tie him and pin him to a wall, "Lin!"
She flung a few metal shards at Kanto, but he successfully deflected them all.
"I know every move you know, just better. You don't want to do this, kid!" he prepared a few metal pieces for his own attack.
"No, I really, really do!" Lin screamed and pieces of metal of all sizes started violently flying across the room and toward him. Another chandelier was ripped from the ceiling, this time falling towards Kanto. No one could believe Lin was doing all that by herself, but she was so angry, she didn't even think about what she was doing.
Kanto barely made it out of the way before being crushed, while the rest of the Dai Li could just lie on the floor hoping not to get hit accidentally.
"I need you to blow out the candles." Lin freed Tenzin, "All of them."
He immediately obeyed, making a surge of wind through the remaining chandeliers. Even Azula extinguished the fire in her hand. In a few seconds the whole room was completely dark.
"Why do you think Toph didn't teach me that too?" Kanto asked, realizing Lin's was counting on her seismic sense to get her out of this.
"Because she told me none of her metalbenders could get it right." Lin dodged a metal shard that was going right for her head. Maybe he wasn't good at sensing her, but he could still hear her. Nevertheless, Lin had no chance against him in the light. This was the only way she could possibly win.
They continued throwing rocks and pieces of metal at one another, each landing a few hits. Lin was obviously better at sensing where he was, but he could redirect the projectiles way faster.
Lin was exhausted, scared and probably bleeding. She didn't think she could hold out much longer since her breathing had become so loud it could expose her location.
"Give up, Lin!" he mocked, moving to dodge any potential attacks, "If that even is your name..."
"Stop playing with your food, and finish him." Azula said, tired of waiting in the dark.
"Hey, Kanto!" Lin got an idea, "My name is Lin Beifong and I'm your daughter!"
"What-" was all he managed to say before being knocked unconscious by a rock. Sensing the distraction worked Lin collapsed onto her knees.
"We have to go before more show up." Azula created a fireball to light the way out of the room. She was pushing the King in front of her while Tenzin slowly followed after, helping Lin walk. She was so exhausted that everything was a haze to her until they were finally in Oogi's saddle again.
"This is the package?" Tenzin asked Azula as she was tying up the King.
"Would you have gone with me if I'd told you?" she asked.
"Probably not. No."
"It may look bad, but it's for the best. We had to kidnap him before the Red Lotus did. Those imbeciles weren't going to protect him. They couldn't even stop the three of us..." Azula looked over to Lin. She could have sworn she saw the girl wipe two large tears of her face.
"So we need him to save our parents?" Lin asked, while Tenzin got Oogi off the ground.
"Yes. He's out ticket into prison. We're going to get ourselves captured and then escape."
"You say it like it's easy." After Tenzin said that there was a bit of silence.
"That blockhead was your father?" Azula asked in an almost gentle fashion.
"Well, he ain't winning any awards, but yeah." Lin looked back at the palace as they were flying away from it.
"I would say I feel sorry for you, but you both know who my father was."
"Did he ever try to murder you?!" Lin snapped at her and then immediately regretted it. Azula was just trying to help. And talking about Ozai must have been so hard for her.
"No. He used me, tried to make me murder my brother, but he never attacked me. Although, I never displeased him. I'm just trying to say that having a father is overrated."
"Having a mother is overrated, too." Lin lied down since she was having a harder and harder time keeping her eyes open.
"And I already told Izumi this, but it applies to you too. Our organization is always looking for talented young people. Most of the members were at one point in their lives abandoned or persecuted, but we take them in just the same. So you children will always have a place open with us."
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I'm aware that this chapter is kind of a digression from the actual story, but I thought Lin and Tenzin deserved a side adventure. In the next chapter we're going to be following everyone again.
I know I let Lin progress quite a bit with her bending in this chapter, but I always thought that the teenage years are kind of unpredictable for bending since you have the power of an adult, but not the control yet. That's why she was able to advance in her metalbending, even for a short while, since she was so emotional about Kanto...
Also, the scene where Kanto kills a man for disobeying him... I made Lin blow up at people a lot in this story. I made her seem like she just can't control herself when she sees someone doing something she thinks is wrong. Kanto murdering that man was supposed to show her where that behavior leads in the end. That making your own justice isn't always a good idea. It's supposed to be a stepping stone to her becoming a cop.
As always, please, tell me what you think :)