Renegaded Spirits

The puppet master

That night Zuko walked through the town as the doors where shut and Windows where dark as everyone was ready for the full moon. He saw an old man outside his home as he had wooden planks around him and was focusing on nailing them against the windows of his home.

"Old man ding?" Zuko asked as the man was ready to hit the nail but was caught off guard and accidentally hit his hand with the hammer as he shouted a cuss.

"What?! Can't you see I'm busy? Got a full moon rising," the old man held his hand in pain as Zuko raised an eye brow.

"I actually wanted-" "and why does everyone call me that?" The man cut him off looking at Zuko.

"Well-" "I'm not that old," old man ding cut him off again and went down to pick up the board on the ground but grunted as he couldn't lift it. Zuko waited a minute to speak before he could be cut off again.

"Well I'm young at heart anyways," he grumbled and zuko rolled his eyes kneeling down to help the old man.

"Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster yet at least," he scoffed as Zuko used his foot to scoot the hammer over and grabbed it to help hammer the nails against his home.

"I actually wanted to ask you about that," Zuko finally said before the man could speak again.

"Do you know what the spirit looked like that took you?" Zuko asked as he nailed up the board while old man ding held it up.

"Didn't see no spirit, just felt something come over me, like I was possessed... Forced me to start walking toward the mountain," he pointed up at the mountain that was part of the forest.

"I tried to fight it but I couldn't control my own limbs, it just about had me into a cave up there.. I looked up at the moon for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light, but then the sun started to rise and I got control of myself again!" He smiled in pride of his escape from the thing in those woods.

"I just hightailed it away from that mountain as quick as I could," ding nodded with his hands on his hips but saw Zuko with a flat face and arms crossed.

"Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?" Zuko asked calmly.

"There was no spirit... I heard screams and cries from that cave, it's something much darker in those woods," ding said looking down and Zukos eyes widen.

"The villagers must still be there," he breathed.

"Go, you have strength in ya boy, save those people, I would but I'm to old to do anything," ding sighed and zuko nodded.

"Durk come on," Zuko snapped his fingers and the dragon flew off of him and ran off to the mountain as Zuko chased after him to the forest.

"Was that a damn dragon?"

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Zuko panted as Durk snarled flying a couple feet and went back to racing on the ground flapping his wings up the mountain as Zuko followed his college who hunted for the cave.

Durk made a roaring squeal as he found a tunnel going under ground. Zuko pulled his mask of the blue spirit over his face and grabbed his swords with one hand as he kept it as one while his free hand made fire so he could see.

"Let's go," he nodded at his dragon and they both skidded down the pitch black tunnel.

Zuko grunted getting to his feet and saw a metal door. He set a torch on fire next to it and made his dao swords into two as he slashed the lock of the door and kicked it open. He grabbed the torch and peered into the entrance of the cave only to feel sick to his stomach.