Chapter 1: Standing Here, I Realize

The train moved with the rhythm of the tracks, soothing in its tempo for Kuvira as she sat, manacled but given a generous portion of slack in her chain. The seat was comfier than she thought she'd get, being a prisoner and all. But perhaps serving out 5 years of her sentence as faithfully as she could granted her the occasional perk. Of course, like all perks gained while incarcerated, this small comfort came with a string attached.

Kuvira didn't know what Baatar would say to being referred to as a 'string'. Even after his own 5 years of his sentence he had kept the buffer body shape he had developed in the army, so the description didn't apply in a physical sense as it once had in Zaofu. He was also shackled to his seat. And he was also looking right back at her.

This wasn't the first time they'd been left alone together. That had not been a pleasant experience for either party (and especially not for the guards who had had to wait and keep watch over them), but each time they met things seemed to get back to a semblance of what they'd been.

"You seemed surprised about something when we were shoring up the mines, Baatar," Kuvira said. "I was worried there might've been a gas pocket." That...hadn't been what she'd meant to start off with. She hoped if she kept her face neutral he wouldn't notice she felt like she had a bad taste in her mouth because of it.

Baatar's expression told her plainly that he knew better, but decided to humor her and answered anyway. "We discovered some ancient ruins, almost 10,000 years old at our current estimation." He laughed at Kuvira's stunned expression that she couldn't stifle. "Yeah, that's what I thought too when the first estimations were spread around, but it seems it really is from the time of the first Avatar."

"You say 'it' is from the time, what do you mean?"

Baatar nodded in the direction of a shrouded casket that shared the train car with the two of them. "I mean the platinum sword that the Khan is sending back with the two of us as a gesture of goodwill to the United Republic."

"I should be surprised that the Khan was left in charge of her district instead of being supplanted by a 'Raiko" of her own," Kuvira stated as she popped her neck, "but then again even if they had done their own elections, her people would've just put her right back in power."

A sudden tremor shook the train, startling the two prisoners. Kuvira quickly gave Baatar a once-over with her eyes, making sure he was all right, before saying out loud what they both were thinking, "What was that? Did we run over something?" Turning her head to the left, she raised her voice so that she would be heard by the guard. "Huiqing, are you all all right up there?"

"What? Oh, you meant that weird jump," the female guard replied, "Yeah, we're all good." She shook her head mournfully, "Why couldn't all prisoners be as model as you lot? Make my job a lot easier, that it would."

"I would say it's because we're pretty," Kuvira began, before scrunching her nose in a sign of distaste, "but I was in a cell across from Daiyu for 4 months so I definitely know better."

The sound of glass shattering broke through their conversation, followed by the sounds of muffled fighting and yelling. Huiqing moved quickly to the intercom device next to her guard station, where the two cars (the prisoners/cargo car and the guards' dining car) met. "Can anyone hear me? What was that noise?"

"Guard Huiqing," a taciturn male voice responded, "we are being attacked by strange creatures. Seal yourself into with the prisoners. If anything tries to break through that door you put them down hard, do you understand me?"

"Sir!" she responded swiftly, "Yes sir!"

Kuvira immediately felt agitated. They were being attacked, most likely by spirits if the talk of 'creatures' was anything to go by. But this didn't make any sense. This rail line was well established at this point, so it's not like their presence was angering them. The only two prisoners on the train were Baatar and herself, and the cargo was nothing but supplies that had been purchased from the locals that was to be shipped back alongside them to Republic City. Wait...

Cargo! They were carrying the sword back with them as well! "It must be the sword!" Kuvira said loudly so that the other two occupants of the car could hear her. "If they're spirits they must be trying to get back that sword."

"Oh, but we're not here for a sword," a snarky voice said from the train's roof. A rending, screeching noise forced the three occupants to cringe slightly where they were as the ceiling was ripped away. A man stood at the edge of the new exit to the sky, his eyes a pure, shining red as he stared down as if in contempt. "We're here for the Beifong." He made a motion with his hand, "Kill the women, but bring the man with us."

In answer, several dark red creatures jumped down into the train car. Three were quick to bite through Baatar's manacles, before seizing him by the shoulders and jumping back up to the roof. Another 4 made to attack Kuvira and Huiqing, but the guard was quick to use her metalbending to smack the lot of them with a bench while they were still in the air, sending them through the opposite window and into the valley below.

"Impressive," noted the man. His black leather armor seemed to radiate power in the light of the setting sun. He forestalled more of the creatures jumping down into the fight with a gesture. "No, you are not at her level yet, my friends. Return the man to Rong and inform her that I will be along shortly." With that said, he then jumped down into the train car and moved gracefully into a firebending stance. "Shall we?"

Before anyone could breathe the two benders were at each others throats, bending and weaving all across the insides of the train car. The man kicked out with his feet, sending a plume of fire at the guard. She leapt over it, a portion of a steadying pole in her hands. He pivoted on his foot and shot out another blast. Hiuqing metalbent the weapon she held in her hand, using it to adjust her trajectory before she used both feet to kick him in the back.

A sickening crunch, and the man lay still. Taking no chances, Hiuqing metalbent the man's arms and legs before going over to check his pulse. "Dead," she said as much to herself as she did to Kuvira.

"That's the problem with firebenders," a female voice with a hint of humor in it, "they get snuffed out so quickly when it comes time to play in the big leagues."

Hiuqing spun around to see the dark skinned woman standing in the busted open doorway, frost coating everything around her. The guard raised her arms up, ready to fight once more, but the intruder laughed at her. "Please, darling, know when you're outclassed." The waterbender shrugged, "But then again, I have no interest in fighting you. Daichi was the one who was so gun-ho about his so called 'scorched earthbenders' policy. I don't see the need to personally see with my own eyes that you've died; my little friends are more than enough for that."

"What have you done with Baatar?" demanded Kuvira. Her knuckles were white as she clenched her hands uselessly. She knew why she had had her chi blocked, but she sorely wished her bending was back at that moment.

The waterbender laughed as 40 more creatures gathered at the edges of the open roof while she walked away. "Darling, you have no need to know. Providence of the living and all that." She glanced back briefly with a smirk, her red eyes gleaming. "And it does seem like you won't be living all that much longer, now does it?"

Darkness.

The creatures were quick to swarm the two earthbenders, pinning them down as they clawed and bit at them.

Pain.

One of the creatures bit down and suddenly Kuvira no longer had a right hand attached to her body. She tried to scream but another creature was holding scratching at her throat.

Helplessness.

She could hear Hiuqing's muffled whimpers of pain and rage. The woman had fought off more than twenty of them, but in the end numbers had overwhelmed.

Rage.

She was being attacked, mauled to pieces. So was a woman whom she respected, a guard who did her job and treated prisoners with as much respect as she was shown. And Baatar had been taken by the masters of these creatures. This would not stand. She would kill all of them.

She.

Would.

Kill.

Them.

All.

"Finally," a voice said in her mind, "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever want to get back in the groove of things. So then, Forgemaster, shall we get started? It's been far too long since you've wielded me, after all."

An explosion of energy rocked the train several cars back from where two humans and several creatures stood. "Xue," said the paler of the two women, "you feel that, don't you?"

"Of course, Misae," replied the dark skinned waterbender. She smirked slightly as she cocked her head. "I think that sword that Daichi was so quick to dismiss might've been worth stealing after all."

"Hmm," was the non-committal response as Misae promptly sat down on the top of the train car. "It's dark out now, so I'll let you deal with things if she starts heading our way before we can split."

"One day Rong will explain to me how laziness of all the possible vices was the one Vaatu's remains strengthened within you. I'm also certain time will cease to function as well if that were to happen so I'm not so sure I should press my luck."

TBC