Aaron and Igi waited in silence for a while before the signal came.

A Fire Nation soldier stumbled out of his tent, neck fountaining with blood as he gurgled and gripped his throat, and a soldier sitting by the centre campfire saw him.

"Intruders!" he yelled, but Fire Nation soldiers did not come pouring out of their tents. Only six answered the call. The resistance fighters had been thorough in their attack, and now, their groups were almost evenly matched.

Aaron zipped to the Rhinos' pen with airbending and started cutting their bonds, and the 'Spirit' went after the saddles, cutting up the straps.

In less than a minute, their job was done, and Aaron raced to the battlefield with the boy behind him.

"Stay at the edge of the fight," he said, "only strike when I tell you to." Aaron drew his blades and jammed them into the kidney of an unsuspecting soldier. The Fire Nation was already down to four soldiers, and one was so green and terrified he hadn't even drawn his sword yet.

The man Aaron stabbed let out a bloody scream and swiped at him, but Aaron wove under the blow, twisted his blade, and drew a vicious spray of blood stretching from his abdomen to his shoulder. The soldier keeled over, and Aaron's blade bit into the soldier's neck, nearly taking it off, and then moved on to the spearman.

The spearman desperately stabbed forward when he saw Aaron approach. Aaron was about to parry the thrust when a stream of fire tore through the camp dividing it into two. The spearman tumbled onto the floor, screaming and flopping like a fish, and two figures emerged from the command tent.

One was covered in blood but still armoured, and Aaron pegged him as the elite guard. The second was shirtless and was breathing so hard that the very air seemed to burn. It was the young Captain, and he looked about ready to murder them all.

"Wipe out the intruders," he roared to the Elite guard, and the man sprang forward with a powerful kick. It sent a streak of fire at the largest man of their group. Quick on his feet, he managed to dodge most of the flame, but he still caught the tail-end of the attack. It almost set his trousers alight, but the fire didn't catch, yet it gave the Spearman the chance he needed to run him through with his spear.

"Ashin, kill that bender," the old man roared, and Ashin, the merchant turned freedom fighter, nodded.

"Is that you, old man?" Shen demanded, but the Village elder answered with action, charging him.

Fire shot off Shen's feet as he gladly met the older man, showering him with a powerful stream of fire. The old man narrowly glided under it, but not before he scored a slash on Shen's thigh that sent him stumbling to the ground.

Never one to miss a chance at easy victory, Aaron roared at the 'Spirit' who lurked somewhere the shadows.

"Attack Shen now!"

Aaron also joined in the assault and whipped a throwing blade at Shen. The man somehow managed to spin to his feet in time, generating a small wave of fire as he came up. It beat back Aaron's knife and Shen smirked at him.

"Do you think a knife-"

A chunk of rock no larger than Aaron's fist shot out of the dark behind Shen and clipped his shoulder hard, saving Aaron from the dreadful monologue. The impact was so loud Aaron heard a crunch and Shen shrieked.

Aaron couldn't keep the grin off his face as he moved to end the boy captain with a cut to the throat, but the Old man was already on the move. He struck out with a stab at Shen's scrunched face looking to end him when the armoured Firebender blocked his path with a fiery wall he'd generated with an Axe kick.

Behind Aaron, he noticed that the spearman had fallen to the lithe fighter in their group, claiming revenge for his fallen friend, and the last Fire Nation soldiers had withdrawn from the fight and corraled around their captain.

"Don't let them through," Shen yelled as he cradled his shoulder. "And keep an eye out for that Earthbender."

"Ashin, stop wasting time and cut down that elite guard," the Old man barked out, and Ashin, who'd been laid out at some point, climbed back to his feet, wiping some blood off his mask. A bit of his fire-resistant clothing was scorched, but otherwise, he was fine.

The Old man snapped to Aaron, "Join him, Fox, and take your Young Wolf with you. Leave the coward Captain to me."

Immediately, Aaron spun on his heel and charged the Firebender. Aaron had taken the Fox Mask earlier at the shop, and the boy had decided on the wolf.

Ashin was barely holding on when Aaron joined the fight. The Firebender kept him at bay with fiery jabs and kicks and struck out when he saw an opening. The Elite Firebender was charging an overpowered fire punch when Aaron vaulted over the flame wall he'd set up and dropped with an axe kick that snapped his forearm, eliciting a grunt from the man.

Aaron flashed forward with a thrust to the throat, looking to end the fight while his opponent was unbalanced, but somehow, the Firebender flipped back to safety, sending forward a fiery crescent to conceal his escape. It heated through Aaron's armour, setting one of his sleeves on fire, and he had to pat it down while Ashin covered him.

Despite their opponent's elite status, Ashin kept the pressure on, ducking and weaving through hasty punches and checking kicks before they became full-powered flame attacks. Aaron sheathed one of his blades and joined the fray when he saw an opportunity, putting even more pressure on the expert Firebender. He bobbed and struck in wild movements, utilizing the agility of the feather fist style to blend in punches and kicks that generated momentum. Overwhelmed, it was only a matter of time before the Firebender slipped up, and an attack got through his guard. A deep cut on his calf marked the beginning of the end for the Firebender.

He started to fight more defensively, and he was unprepared when Ashin wove into his guard and took his leading fist with a nasty cut with his short blade. Aaron nearly disembowelled him with a sweeping cut a breath later.

The man spun, flipped, and suddenly he'd created enough distance to breathe and cauterize his wound. Aaron and Aashin still advanced on him.

Trapped, the Firebender let out a fierce roar as he corralled his remaining strength. Aaron half-expected him to fight for another half-hour until a chunk of earth crunched hard into the side of his head, killing him.

"Huh."

It took Ashin and Aaron more than a second to realize he was dead. The 'Spirit' had come through in the last moment.

Aaron wiped his brow, turning his attention to the former battlefield to find only dead bodies and the bleeding remains of Shen. The old man had claimed the rest of his leg and had a blade to Shen's throat.

"Mercy," he pleaded, but the Old man snorted in response.

"You hold my village hostage, humiliate me, steal from my people and visitors, and you dear plead for mercy? At least die like the 'proud' Fire Nation Captain you claim to be."

"Wait-" Shen shrieked, but he was cut off by a fierce stab to the neck.

He gurgled blood and clawed at his throat as life slowly drained out of him. Aaron found himself gripping his blade even tighter as the fight wound down, and the 'Spirit' somehow had the presence of mind to send him a nod of solidarity from the dark.

The old man's eyes lingered on the dead body for a moment too long before turning to them again with an easy smile that unsettled Aaron.

"Now that that bit of nasty business is done," he said. "I say we get what we came here for."

He led them towards the command tent, and Aaron signalled the 'Spirit' to join him. He was two shades whiter when he stepped into the light. A small part of Aaron had the urge to tease him, but he reminded himself that it was neither the appropriate time nor place.

The tent was opulent with low burning lanterns, luxurious animal skin rugs, and a portrait of the Firelord for some reason. The 'Spirit' paused at it as they passed, and the group came to a large box sitting behind a table covered in scrolls.

"Looks like we found our tax money," the Old man said, approaching the box. Using the hilt of his blade as a hammer, he removed the lock protecting the strong box. Aaron's eyes went wide when he looked at the Silver it held.

"Nearly a year of labour about to be carted off to undeserving swine," the man shook his head, before passing Aaron a look, his eyes dropping to his blade. "Here," he said, chucking three small bags of Silver to him.

It was Aaron's seized pouches and a slightly lighter pouch of Silver.

"A deal is a deal," The Old man said as he shut the crate. With a snap of his finger, Ashin and the smaller man hefted the crate and hustled it out of the tent, leaving Aaron, Igi, and the village elder.

"I never quite got your name," Aaron said carefully. "I always just called you old man in my head."

The older man chuckled. "That is a good enough name. It's what most of the Villagers call me. Before I was head of the village, I was Mu, a proud commander of the Earth Nation. I thought I moved far enough that the war wouldn't find me again," he said with a bitter smile. "It's crazy how wrong I was."

His face brightened somewhat. "Thank you for your bravery, both of you. Ashin told me of your intention, and we've secured you two seats on a Merchant ship leaving tonight. The South pole is at the very end of its route. It will be the first boat to reach that icy waste in months. If you leave now, you might catch it. It departs by midnight."

"Midnight?" the 'Spirit's' face knit in confusion. "I don't know much about travel, but shouldn't we wait till morning?"

"You're welcome to stay," the Old man said. "But my morning, nothing will be left of this town. We just cleared out a Fire Nation camp and collected one year of tax money. Remaining will mean certain death."

Aaron saw the wisdom in the move. The whole town might be summarily executed if a commander or someone important investigated. "Where will you go?"

"Omashu," the man said, stroking his beard. "Then to Ba Sin Se. It's the safest place in the Earth Kingdom."

"Good choice," Aaron nodded. "I might settle down there once everything is over." It had tall walls, beautiful sights, and might have some people from the Air Nation who never received the gift as he did. It was something he looked forward to doing after the war.

Mu stepped up forward, offering his hand. "I look forward to seeing you again, Airbender."

Aaron froze, but only for a moment before he spoke, "Me too." He'd taken great care not to use Airbending when throughout their entire encounter.

"How did you know?"

"His father came looking for him," Mu said, looking at the Spirit. "He told me what he knew about you, and I put the rest together, but I never gave you up. The boy's father thinks you're headed for Ba Sing Se."

"Why?" Aaron asked, and Mu smiled.

"The child seemed to be in no danger, and we had an agreement. Besides, I know better than to cross a ghost."

Aaron cocked his head to the side as he pondered his answer, and he noticed the various looks the surviving fighters gave him. Anyone who was anyone knew of Falcon and his ghosts.

They moved without sound and could kill a man before he screamed. To some, they were the unsung war heroes, cutting down important firebending figureheads and delaying the machinery of war. To others, they were unhinged monsters who didn't know where to draw the line and the last people you wanted to piss off.

"I suppose you have a point." Aaron finally said.

------------

Authors note:

1 of 1 Chappies.

ARC one is officially over. Igi got his first adventure, Aaron was dragged along regardless. They killed a firebender captain, and the people of the world are better off for it...maybe.

What do you think?

Now might be the time for a review *nudge nudge, wink wink*

 

Edited Dec 1 2022