Chapter 32

He was being followed.

Hurrying as fast as his old bones could manage, Jeong Jeong pushed his way through the undergrowth.

He could feel a phantom heat on the back of his neck, and hear the crackle of burning trees not too far behind him. Nobody could accuse ex-admiral Jeong of being lazy: he worked hard every day to keep his body in peak physical condition.

Yet the sad truth was that age had long since begun to rob him of the ferocious stamina that had made him a great warrior in his youth. Already he was tiring, while his pursuer was not.

"I cannot outrun them." He thought sadly. Although the Fire Nation had fallen from grace he knew better than most that many of the soldiers did not truly desire war, and he had not wished to harm anyone if it could be avoided. Yet if his pursuer was determined to chase him down it appeared he was left with little choice.

Taking a left turn, Jeong Jeong ducked his way through a bramble bush and emerged into a clearing. Casually he walked to the centre of the glade, listening to the calming sounds of nature around him.

He could hear the twittering of birds, the chirping of insects, the rustling of the leaves as a calm breeze blew through them; all the sounds of the world in balance. A relaxed sigh escaped his lips as he breathed deeply, savouring the presence of nature and all the life within it around him.

How beautiful the world was when in harmony. And now misguided his countrymen were, that they were unable to see it.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

FWOOSH!

Behind him the bramble bush erupted into fire, and all at once the birds and insects flew away in panic, leaving the glade silent but for the hollow crackling of the flames. Jeong Jeong could not help the disappointed frown that crossed his face. Fire really did nothing but destroy the harmony of the world.

As the flames consumed it the bramble bush collapsed under its own weight, and his pursuer stepped out over it into the glade. Jeong Jeong noted her sunlight-gold hair with curiosity, then the trail of burning foliage left in her wake with disapproval.

This was Zhao's apprentice then? The fearsome devil-child? She did not appear to be strong, but the fact that she had apparently flown through the forest after him using the jet propulsion spoke of immense skill. It could not have been easy to hone reactions quick enough to fly through trees.

"I was hoping we'd meet one day, student of my student." He began conversationally. "Though I admit, I had hoped for better circumstances. Tanya, isn't it?"

"It is." The girl replied in a sharp tone. "But I'm not Zhao's student."

"Oh? But you are The Sun Fairy, are you not?"

The girl's face warped into a nasty scowl. "I prefer The Devil of the South Sea."

How sad it was that a girl so young believed it better to be a devil than a fairy. "Then perhaps we should just stick to names. Please, call me Jeong."

"I think I'd rather call you traitor." Tanya hissed.

Jeong Jeong cocked his head to the side. "Are you sure you aren't Zhao's student? Those sound awfully like his words coming out of your mouth."

Tanya scowl deepened into a rictus of fury, and with a yell she hurled a quick fireball at him. Seems he'd struck a rather raw nerve there. With one hand Jeong Jeong slapped the fireball away, making sure to angle it up so that it wouldn't hit the forest, and tutted. "You lack control, just like he does."

"I have control!" Tanya spat.

"No, you have precision!" Jeong Jeong shot back. "You hone your fire into a sharp blade, but still you swing it only for the purpose of destruction! That is not control! Control lies is restraint: in knowing when to sheath your blade."

Tanya scoffed loudly. "What is this? A lecture from a tree-hugging hippie? What do you know about control? Firelord Ozai controls the Fire Nation, soon the entire world, yet I don't see him lounging around these woods smoking pond weed. In fact, ever since you deserted I'd say you don't have control of anything."

Jeong Jeong shook his head. "I speak of self-control, not using manipulation to control others."

"Well then shut up, because nobody wants to hear you."

Kids these days. When did they get so rude? Having said that, she hadn't attacked him yet, despite her world to the contrary. Perhaps it still wasn't too late to resolve this peacefully. "Tell me this then: do you feel in control?"

That seemed to make the young girl pause, staring at him for a moment as if she suspected she'd misheard him. "What?"

"It's a simple question. Do you feel like you are in control?"

The golden haired girl scowled. "Of what?"

"Of your life. Of your destiny. Of yourself."

Tanya shifted uncomfortably. It seemed he'd struck another nerve. "Of course I do!" She snapped unconvincingly.

"When was the last time that you made a decision for yourself?" Jeong pressed. "Did you want to join the military, or was it forced upon you? Do you fight because you want to, or because you are ordered to? Are you in control of your life, or is Zhao!"

"Shut up!" Tanya yelled, settling into a proper fighting stance. "I'll be free of Zhao soon enough!"

Jeong Jeong shook his head. "No child, you will not. You may free yourself of this Zhao, but you will always find someone else standing above you: trying to make you obey them, serve them, even worship them. As long as you lack control there will always be another Zhao."

It was impossible not to notice the way the girl visibly flinched at the word worship, and Jeong Jeong idly wondered what his old apprentice must have done to her to warrant such a reaction.

"I understand what you feel, Tanya. You have been thrown into a war not of your own making, and others have turned your trust, fear and anger against you to make you into their puppet.

But there is more to life than just fighting to survive! There is a greater purpose than giving your life to a cause that is not your own!" He took a step towards her, noting that she did not back away from him.

"Let me show you. I can teach you how to control your inner fire, and in doing so control yourself. Nobody else will ever be able to manipulate you again. You will be free."

Tanya didn't reply, her expression wrestling between confusion and doubt. Jeong took another step forward, then another, until he was right in front of her. He placed one wizened hand on her shoulder…

And gasped in surprise as a flaming fist struck him square in the stomach.

Jeong Jeong darted backwards, just in time to avoid the follow-up kick that sent a blast of fire towards his head. Yet even that much movement caused a bolt of pure agony through his body. The burn was deep and raw, probably meant to kill.

"I can't believe you fell for that. You must think I'm some naive child, don't you?"

A grin had spread across Tanya's lips: wide and sharp, like a wolf that had smelled blood. It was such an unnaturally malicious expression to see on a young girl's face that Jeong Jeong took another step back in alarm.

"You think you can wave pretty words like freedom around and expect me to give up a lifetime of accomplishments? Ha! Get real!" Tanya continued, golden eyes burning like molten amber.

Was it just his imagination, or was she starting to laugh? "Sure, there's always going to be someone above me telling me what to do, and some of those people are going to be tyrannical assholes like Zhao. But so what? Every good organisation needs rules."

She punctuated her point by bringing her hands together and unleashing a huge blast of flames that roared towards him like a giant serpent. Jeong sliced downwards, separating the fire blast in two around him, and winced at the pain it caused his fresh injury.

To his horror the flames continued onwards even after being split, spilling out into the surrounding trees and setting a couple of the trees alight.

"I've met people like you before you know. People who whine and complain about the work their boss makes them do. People who moan about how unfairly the rules are, or how badly they believe they're treated." Tanya was striding forwards now, fireballs growing in both hands, and oh yes she was definitely laughing.

"What they fail to comprehend is that if they truly want to make change, griping about it or quitting ain't gonna change shit!" She threw one fireball, which Jeong deflected with one hand with considerably more effort than he was comfortable with.

"If you want to make a difference, you gotta earn the right to! You gotta claw and kick and fight your way up the greasy ladder of power until you're the one with the authority to do something about it!"

She threw her second fireball, and this time as Jeong Jeong made to deflect it he pulled on his wound badly, breaking his form as pain lanced through his side. The fireball struck him and knocked the old man to the ground.

"And believe me, I'm gonna do something about it!" Tanya declared, the light of the forest fire growing around them highlighting the madness in her features.

"You think I'm going to just roll over and submit, to you, Zhao or anyone else? Fuck that! I'm heading straight to the top of the military, and I'll remove anyone who gets in my way! I'll help bring an end to this war in whatever way I deem appropriate! I'll be the one making the rules!"

She laughed: a high-pitched, childish sound drunk upon insanity, and at that moment Jeong Jeong finally realised his mistake. This was no misguided child he was dealing with; no impressionable youth being led astray down the wrong path.

This girl truly was a devil in human skin.

"You are ruled by your own pride." He spat, pushing himself to his feet and trying to ignore the way his knees wobbled with exertion. "You are spinning out of control. It will be your undoing."

"Well see about that." Tanya shot back.

...

if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :

p atreon.com/Rimanovi