With the armor matter settled, I was finally able to focus on inspecting the newly arrived ships and getting acquainted with their crews. It was unquestionably necessary work, but it consumed an enormous amount of time. At least the crews themselves were already battle-tested, even if they still had a long road ahead before anyone could call them veterans.
In any case, three days later, we put to sea.
The week-long voyage—slightly longer, actually, since we honored our promise and escorted the galleon all the way to port—I spent trying to get Suki back to her old self and purge all the nonsense the admiral had stuffed into her head.
But no matter how often I told her that I couldn't care less about things like lineage, status, wealth, and all the rest of that meaningless rubbish, she...
No, she agreed with me. At least verbally.
And yet I couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed. There was a distance between us now, a wall she was building herself. And no amount of conversations, reassurances, or passionate nights together could break it down.
What to do about it, I simply didn't know.
No, she had promised she wouldn't leave me. She had promised we would stay together. But...
How could I put it?
Before, we had been equals. We argued. We fought. Hell, she used to growl at the smallest things. Even something as trivial as Ju offering me another one of her culinary masterpieces was enough to bring out Suki's possessive instincts. Now those instincts seemed to have vanished entirely, and the absence was unsettling. If I was being honest, I didn't like it much.
I liked her jealousy. I liked her spirit. I liked the way she kept trying to prove who was really in charge of the family. Fighting her on those points had been fun.
Now, though, I didn't know how to react to any of it or what I was supposed to do.
What I needed was time to think, and the trip to the North Pole was about as good an opportunity as I could hope for.
Lost in those thoughts, I barely noticed when we finally arrived at our destination.
***
Yu Dao's harbor had become almost like home to me. The familiar smells, the familiar sights, the famili—
Uh...
What the hell is that?
"What is that?" Suki voiced the very same question that had just crossed my mind.
"Ahem... Well... Probably... a drill?" There wasn't much confidence in my answer.
I vaguely remembered seeing photographs in my first life of machines used to dig subway tunnels. Giant mechanical worms, one and a half to two stories tall and perhaps ten meters long. The thing before us bore a distant resemblance to one of those... A very distant resemblance. The diameter was roughly comparable, but the length—already rivaling an entire train despite being only a collection of unfinished segments—was enough to inspire respect. Even incomplete, the overall scale of the "worm" was beginning to emerge.
"A drill? And what exactly can you drill with something that size?" Captain Lee asked (yes, another Lee. The name was really starting to get on my nerves!)
"Hm... Either they've decided to bore a tunnel straight through the mountain at Omashu, or..." I suddenly remembered a similar scene from the cartoon. Up until this moment, I'd always assumed it was just another bit of animated nonsense. "...through the walls of Ba Sing Se."
"Isn't it a little far from the Earth Kingdom capital to be assembling that monster here?" the officer pointed out reasonably.
"Not really. We don't have industrial facilities of that scale any closer. Unless you wanted to ship the thing across the sea after building it in the Archipelago."
"Hey, what's going on over there?" Toph demanded as her curiosity finally got the better of her.
While the steel ship was exceptionally comfortable for her—the metal transmitted vibrations perfectly, and the subtle tremor from the engines allowed her to "see" the entire vessel with unprecedented clarity—everything happening beyond the hull remained a mystery to the Beifong heiress.
"Have you ever seen a caterpillar?" Suki asked, deciding to educate her.
"Technically, no," the girl who had been blind since birth replied with a snort. "But I have a pretty good idea what one looks like."
"Now imagine it scaled up to the size of a cruiser. Then make it three cruisers long and line them up nose to tail. Add a drill bit of matching proportions to the front. That's roughly what it looks like... or what it'll look like once they finish assembling it."
"Oh!" The earthbender sounded genuinely impressed. "That's a huge damn thing!"
"Yep..."
There was room for our delegation at the harbor, and more than that, Tandao and the Mechanist himself were already waiting for me at the pier. Beside the inventor stood two slightly disheveled young men carrying some sort of tablets. Various scroll tubes were slung across their backs, while quills, pencils, and spirits knew what else protruded from their shoulder bags. Standing behind them was Lao Beifong, who, incidentally, looked rather out of breath himself.
"Toph, your father is here," I informed the girl while we were still approaching the dock.
"Oops."
"Everything will be fine. Stick to the plan," I issued my final instructions.
"What exactly are you two plotting?" Suki gave us a suspicious look.
"You didn't tell her?"
"Nope. That would've been boring. And way too easy..." I grinned. "For you."
Might as well let them keep each other occupied.
"Hmph." The little menace lifted her chin. "You really think your girlfriend and her friends can handle the Great Blind Bandit?"
"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" I chuckled.
"For some reason, I suddenly have an overwhelming urge to hit both of you," the commander of the Kyoshi Warriors informed us with a scowl.
"Consider it my punishment for that untimely opening of the scroll. You're about to get beaten up by a small blind girl. Though, to be fair, you're allowed to fight back. Heh-heh..."
Under my gaze, the warriors suddenly looked distinctly uncomfortable.
Fortunately for them, our ship finally docked, sparing the beauties any further psychological pressure.
(End of Chapter)
Even the smallest flame needs fuel to endure.
If you wish to see this story burn brighter, consider leaving a review, a comment, or offering your Power Stones.
🔥 Bonus chapter at 500 power stones.