--Solution--
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Chapter 1
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Chapter 15
“Steve!” Chris yelled. “Steve, what happened? Are you okay?”
Gran rushed down the stairs and joined Chris and Jean in raising Steve up as he struggled to get over his brief disorientation. The vision had been so intense!
He gripped Chris’ arm. “We need to get to China!”
Chris met his eyes and in a flash, the realisation of what had happened dawned on him. His eyes widened. “You had a vision,” he gasped. “What did you see? Was it the location?”
Steve shook his head. “No – not for the totem. A way to connect fully with the previous avatars... my past lives.” He finally regained his footing. “But we have to leave at once!”
“Of course,” Chris breathed. “The council will want to talk to you on this as soon as possible.” He let go of Steve and started towards the car, adding, “If only our driver would show up...!”
But Jean was looking at Steve strangely. “He doesn’t mean to New York,” she said slowly. “Do you, Steve?”
Chris turned around. “Not New York? But where?”
“China,” Steve repeated. “The temple in China.”
Chris stared at him as though he had lost his mind. “Steve, we can’t just take the plane and head to China – that’s not how it works. And we have to get the totem to the colony first, and tell them anything we want to do next. They have to approve–“
“There’s no time!” Steve interrupted. “You don’t understand – the inner sanctuary of the temple opens to the Avatar only once in a year, on the Summer Solstice. That’s tomorrow! If we aren’t there in 24 hours, we’ll miss it!”
Chris glanced at Jean for help, but she was looking from him to Steve and back, clearly at a loss for what to do. He turned back to Steve. “Listen, man. You don’t understand. It can’t be done. This is China we’re talking about, not Hawaii or Mexico. There are regulations. We won’t even be allowed to land, or will be arrested once we do. We have to file a flight plan, get clearance from the FAA and customs, both here and over there. And you haven’t got a passport. Neither does Jean.” He shook his head. “It can’t be done.”
“Call Director Strongman. The council can make it happen.”
“No – they don’t have that kind of power.”
“Then call your father! He’s one of the richest men on the planet – he’s a tech mogul for crying out loud! He can get us through all regulations into China.”
Chris opened his mouth to argue, but he didn’t know what else to say. He glanced at Jean for help again, frustrated.
This time, she spoke. “Steve,” she said reasonably. She was still holding on to his arm. “We don’t even know where in China the temple is... or do you? It could be in Hong Kong or Beijing or Shanghai, or a remote village no one has heard about. I understand this means a lot to you, but we just can’t do it.”
Gran watched, silent.
Steve pulled away from Jean. “I don't understand,” he said. “Isn’t this the reason the Alliance searched for the Av… the Incarnate for 16 years? The reason you rescued me from the Solution – so I could connect with my past lives and learn how to use the totem? Isn’t this what we were hoping for when we set out for Albany today, that I see a vision we could work with?” He turned to Jean. “No, I don’t know where the temple is, but we can figure that out on the way – it had some symbols we can work with, and we have my father's journal. Worst case, we get to China without figuring it out, turn around and head back home. Chris,” he turned to him and spread open his hands, pleading. “You know your father can help us get past the regulations, or at least speed them up. And he's the second Director of the Alliance -- he'll weigh in on the situation just as the council would. He might even consult with Director Strongman! If they say we don’t go, we get on the plane and return to New York, no harm done. But if we don’t tell them and we miss this chance, there’s no getting it back.”
Chris and Jean glanced at themselves, but neither moved or said anything.
Steve shook his head. “Come on, guys. You know I'm right.”
There was another beat of silence. Then finally, Chris sighed.
“Alright, fine,” he said. “I’ll call my dad, but in the car on the way to the airport, okay?”
Steve breathed in relief. “Okay. We do have to get going.” He turned and gave Grandma Lily another hug. “Thanks, Gran,” he said. “Sorry about that.”
She chuckled. “You kids do get a lot of excitement, don’t you? Never a dull moment.”
Steve laughed too. “Yeah… tell me about it.” He turned towards the car and found Chris standing beside it, once again looking around in puzzlement. “Chris? What's it?”
“It’s the driver,” Chris replied. “He’s gone.”
“Gone?” Jean asked, moving forward. “That’s strange. Wasn't he supposed to remain in the car until we came out of the house?”
“Exactly. It's as though he just vanished.” He turned and met Jean's eyes.
Suddenly, she knew.
“Everyone, duck!” She shrieked.
Steve and Chris fell to the ground immediately, just as a barrage of pointed rocks came hurtling towards them from the side of the house. Gran, however, wasn’t fast enough. Jean jumped in front of her and in a series of quick moves, drew water from two pouches that hung at her waist, hidden in the folds of her ninja clothes and blocked three rocks that would’ve hit the old woman. The others smashed into the cars on the driveway -- Gran's red pickup and theirs, denting the doors and shattering the windows. The totem’s case fell from Steve's hand and shattered.
Jean whirled on Grandma. “Get inside the house, now!”
Grandma didn’t hesitate. She hurried up the stairs and through the door, slamming it shut behind her. Steve heard a lock click. He stretched out his hand and scooped up the totem, no longer protected by its glass case. When he stood, there were five figures facing them from the grassy lawn, all in the darker ninja garb of the Solution. The one in the center reached up and pulled off his mask, revealing a lean but young face with red hair and determined brown eyes.
“Give us the totem, Avatar,” he said in an Asian accent. “And we might just spare your life.”
Chris and Jean stepped in front of Steve. Jean had her arms raised, water covering both like a pair of elbow-length gloves. Chris, however, had both hands by his sides. In fact, he seemed quite relaxed.
“Is that such a good idea?” He called. “Letting us see your face?”
The redhead sneered. “I am Ichiro! Leader of the Solution’s army of elite fighters. Keeping my identity from you is not a worry.”
“Tut-tut!” Chris taunted. “Bad tactics, ‘Itchy'. And you’re the leader? Gosh, you guys must be really pathetic!”
Ichiro's eyes narrowed. “Hand over the totem, baka. I won’t ask again.”
Chris acted like he hadn’t spoken. “Say, where's our driver, Itchy? We can’t seem to find him and we've got someplace to be soon. Have you seen him?”
Ichiro smiled, his eyes crinkling wickedly. He stamped his foot once and a few feet in front of him, a large block of rock rose, big enough to contain a man. Jean tensed, ready to fight. Chris' eyes narrowed. But then the rock crumbled and they saw that that it actually did contain a man –their driver. He fell to his hands and knees, swallowing great gulps of air.
Ichiro reached forward and grabbed his hair, yanking him upright to his knees. “He saw us and tried to come warn you,” he leered. “But what’s one lousy airbender against five master earthbenders? It was way too easy.”
The driver was an airbender? Steve was surprised, but he was much too tense to really care at the moment.
“You might be master earthbenders,” Chris said. “But believe me, you’re outclassed here. Let him go, now.”
“Hand over the totem and the Avatar, and perhaps – perhaps – we will.”
“Let him go, or we're going to have to take him from you.”
Ichiro grinned.
Chris shrugged. “Alright, then. Option two it is.”
And in a sudden movement, so fast that Steve could barely see it, he swung his arms and sent a great ball of fire roaring into their midst.
Watch Here for the Next Chapter: 'The Beginning'!
The Lost Legend series is fan fiction based off Nickelodeon's Avatar franchise.
Find more of my original works as Peter M. Ogwara on Amazon!
