Avatar: Lingering Tensions

Chapter 21: Ozai's Challenge Part 2

In the volcano base at Kecca, a man with black spikey hair and several piercings enters and walks down a hallway. He also has black tattoos throughout his arms, a dark red shirt, black shorts, dark yellow skin, hazel eyes, thin lips, long ears, and more tattoos that run down his legs. Katara sits in her cell as Ronin stands on the other side of it. Ronin: "You will now meet a special visitor, one of Ozai's favorite inquisitors. He specializes in torture."

Katara asks, "I'll never tell you anything!"

Ronin laughs, "Oh, he's not here to get any information from you. If he can, he will. But he's really just here to ensure your agony. Per Ozai's orders, he wanted to make sure that Aang could sense your terror."

The man steps beside Ronin, "This is Zendo."

The man leans against the cell and rubs his right fingers against it, "Ahhhhhhhhh..." He has a venomous voice. Zendo: "So, this is the girl. The one he loves."

Katara scowls at him, "You're only going to make it worse for the Remnant when Aang finds out."

Zendo: "I couldn't care my dear. You see, most people fear something like pain or retaliation. But I revel in conflict. If he wants to beat me, if he wants to harm me then I'll EMBRACE IT! Zendo peeps his eye through between the bars at her, "And I'll embrace my chance to get my hands on you. To feel that skin of the Avatar's prize, when I slash you piece by piece!"

Katara puts her right index finger on her cheek and generates water from her sweat. A second later, she extends it and hurls a knife of ice at him through the bar. Zendo swiftly draws a his own knife and slashes it.

Zendo: "You've got fight in you, good. Ronin, turn up the dehumidifier." A light grey metal device within the room suddenly turns red as it heats up causing Katara's body to heat in a way that isn't humid. Instead, it causes Katara's sweat to dry up.

Zendo explains, "You know Katara we must thank your friends from the 31st for destroying a base that belonged to the Disciples of Justice. We discovered something they left. A device that can be used to vaporize and drain water. Thus, stopping your ability to waterbend, but that's isn't all it does. I won't tell yet, I'll let you find out."

Zendo walks away and starts evilly laughing. Katara glares at him. Ronin looks back at her, "So you will be kept under great control. Now I must go."

Katara: "Why would you be stupid enough to announce your plans to me?"

Ronin: "Because I want everyone to know. I will take part in a great strike, where we will take the Fire Nation Capital from Zuko's control. It will be a great honor. And the invasion has already begun, you are too late to stop it. When step foot in that capital, it will be on a trail of blood."

Katara: "How can you be so evil? I thought you cared about your people about your nation. Now all Ozai has to do is snap your fingers and you want to slaughter members of your own country. The same people you pledged to defend!"

Ronin points at her, "SILENCE! You know nothing about what I've pledged! It is just as important to me that I deal with the traitors. Since I was a boy, I knew the price of loyalty. I knew that serving my country was something I prepared to DIE for! Do you, truly know what that's like?!"

Katara: "I know what that's like, that's war. The war is over."

Ronin shakes his head, "The war is never over." Suddenly Ronin has a flashback. He sees himself again at eight years old. He is sitting in his father's room. Ronin's father is tall with a long black beard, light yellow skin, and wavy hair. His name is Yurel and he is also heavyset.

Yurel stands over a Ronin's uncle who lays on the floor bleeding. They sit in a cabin with maple brown walls and a thick dark grey rub made of bear-wolf skin that is soaked in fresh blood. Ronin is crying intensely. Ronin asks, "Why did you do it father?"