Book 4 of Legend of Korra has been amazing. The series has truly bounced back from its slump in Book 2 to deliver a thrilling performance, and we're now building up to a massive finale that could easily rival that of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

In the fandom, there's probably one character in the recent season that's never been taken seriously: Prince Wu. Spoilt, bratty, timid and always full of himself, he's either the comic relief or the Woobie that needs saving. While he's redeemed himself and undergone some serious character development in recent episodes, the fact remains that he's a side character; nothing more than a sometimes-welcome distraction from the blockbuster Team Avatar and their adventures.

So here's a different path that Prince Wu could have gone down. Here's something completely different.

This takes place between Book 4's Episode 9: Beyond the Wilds, and Episode 10: Operation Beifong.

Chapter 1: Someone Else

Things are heating up in Republic City! United Forces troops have arrived in Republic City under the command of General Iroh, ready to defend it from a possible attack. President Raiko has pledged to protect Republic City from Kuvira at all costs! But with Fire Lord Izumi unwilling to commit her troops to a pre-emptive strike, things are still looking bleak for Zhao Fu and its inhabitants!

Meanwhile, Avatar Korra has regained her mojo! With the dry spell of the past three years seemingly behind her, our beloved avatar says she is ready to kick butt and take names once more! Republic City can only hope that she proves a match for Kuvira and her aggression.

And on a final note, the ladies can finally rest easy knowing that the Earth Kingdom's deposed monarch Prince Wu is up and about once more! Our listeners may remember that two weeks ago our young prince went missing, prompting a city-wide search for this wandering womaniser! Thanks to the efforts of Avatar Korra and the Air Nomads, he is back home and as safe as can be. The nightlife of Republic City will be even livelier with him back in action!

This is Shiro Shinobi, signing off!

"Korra! Over here!"

The building was falling apart. Vines as thick as pillars snaked through the windows and around doorways, choking the abandoned building like tentacles.

Asami waved from the furthest door down the corridor. "I found him!"

Korra leapt nimbly over an upturned desk and dashed towards the doorway. Her light blue blouse was drenched in sweat—the vines had sealed off almost all the windows, making the whole place like a big oven.

She had traced Prince Wu's energy signature to this very building only six hours ago. For a whole ten days since he had disappeared, Korra never stopped trying. Nobody knows how or why he got lost in the first place. One moment he was simply talking a walk outside the Sato residence, stretching his legs—then he disappeared.

She knew how important it was to make sure the young prince was safe—no matter how boneheaded or clueless he was, Prince Wu was the legitimate ruler of the Earth Kingdom, and hence high on the list of Kuvira's targets. It was important enough that Tenzin dispatched half the Air Nomad trainees to search Republic City for the prince.

But Korra could not find him by searching through her connection with the spirit vines. Jinora tried—she failed too. It was as if he had vanished from not only the physical world, but the spirit world as well. That's impossible! She had protested. We could find everyone else through the spirit vines when they were captured. Why couldn't we find Prince Wu? Jinora had no answer.

But the fact remained that the spirit vines were of no help. Mako had been recalled to the Police Headquarters to supervise Republic City's newly-declared state of emergency. Bolin and Chief Lin were missing. So Korra and Asami searched for Prince Wu the old-fashioned way: building by building, district by district.

Avatar Korra examined the spirit pod. Inside, the prince lay suspended like a statue; sitting, almost like he was relaxing after another kelp bath and massage. Around the pod, a massive network of vines extended, entangling the brickwork of the walls behind.

"Think you can get him out?" Asami glanced around the room.

Korra cracked her knuckles. "I'll try."

She placed a hand on the nearest vine, and felt the pulse of energy answer her touch. "He's alright, I think. I'll need to meditate, try to find him in the spirit world. Then I'll be able to free him."

Asami nodded, sweeping aside a curl of soft black hair. "I'll keep an eye out."

Korra had just taken her seat on the rugged, splintered floor when—

Crack

She looked up.

The pod was cracking. Thick, viscous fluid was leaking onto the floor. And the vines were moving. Retracting.

And the walls were shaking too.

From inside the cracking pod, she could see Prince Wu's body tumble forwards, ever so slightly, his cheek pressing against the thin membrane.

"Korra, you have to get him out of there before this place comes down on our heads!" Asami yelled, dashing forward.

Without a word, the two women leapt towards the pod, just in time to catch Prince Wu's limp body as it fell from the remains of the spirit pod.

Korra grunted under the prince's weight. He looked like he had just dozed off—the stupid curl on his forehead was still intact, and he didn't look injured. In fact, he looked like he had been having the time of his life. Korra found it hard to suppress her resentment.

Ten days wasted trying to find this guy, and he looks like he'd just been taking a long nap.

"Alright, time to get us out of here."

And with a stomp of her feet and a firm thrust of her fist, Korra earthbended the nearest wall, crumbling it away and letting light and air into the building for the first time in three years.

"Oh, my dear prince…" The old woman mumbled sadly, sponging the young prince's face with a silk cloth with all the reverence of someone polishing a sacred relic.

"Auntie Yin, he's fine. He'll probably just need a while before he wakes up." Very gently, Korra pried the wet cloth from Yin's trembling hands. "And you've been wiping his face for the past forty-five minutes."

"Beauty deserves appreciation!" The elderly grandmother huffed.

Korra sighed. Prince Wu was still asleep, an expression of utter peace on his face, his ruined clothing replaced with a spare change of clothes from one of Mako's many relatives. He hadn't so much as twitched.

She turned away. I'll get back to Wu later. Right now, I need to find out where—

"Gah!"

Korra whirled around just in time to hear the tinkling sound of a bowl breaking on the floor.

Prince Wu sat bolt upright in his bed, breathing heavily. His face was pale, his eyes wide open and darting from side to side like a feral beast. Mako's grandmother was massaging his shoulder lovingly, muttering sweet nothings into his ear.

"Wu! You're awake!" Korra exclaimed.

His wild eyes settled on hers.

"Avatar Korra." Flat. Matter-of-fact.

Ten days in the spirit wilds. A mere few hours had almost been more than Korra could handle, and that was with the benefit of years of training and mental preparation. Prince Wu had spent more time in the other world than Korra would ever dream of enduring.

Prince Wu would have been screaming and wailing about the terrors of the spirit world. Possibly falling to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably, or crumbling into the embrace of the closest person next to him. A gibbering, incoherent wreck.

Instead, he was calm. His breathing had slowed, his eyes focused on Korra's surprised expression with an intensity that she found uncomfortable.

What happened to him inside there?

"Prince Wu?" Korra ventured. "Are—are you okay? Do you know where you are?"

He exhaled, then looked around, stretching his neck gingerly.

"Mako's house," he answered.

"Do you remember anything at all?"

He seemed to hesitate.

"Oh, you have no idea."

What's he talking about?

"Korra, I need to know." Swinging his legs off the side of the bed, he rose to a full sitting position.

"Know what?" Korra asked, thrown off-guard.

"What is today's date?"

Time doesn't pass the same in the spirit world, Korra recalled from one of Tenzin's lessons. Time is only a human construct to help us make sense of the world around us. In the spirit world, there is no sun or moon to mark the passing of the seasons. You can spend ten minutes in there and age a hundred years. You can walk the spirit wilds for endless lifetimes and return to find that you were gone for an hour.

So which was it for Prince Wu?

"It is," Korra answered, "the fifteenth day of the Sixth Month, in the Year of the Dog."

Wu's eyes widened. Surprise was reflected in them, then—sadness?

"Ten days. Only ten days."

Korra nodded. "After you went missing, we spent a lot of time hunting for you. Asami and I found you in one of the ruined buildings downtown. You were inside one of those spirit pods. We couldn't sense your energy anywhere, that's why I couldn't find you earlier."

She pressed him. "What happened, Wu? How did you get there in the first place? Do you remember anything at all?"

Prince Wu bowed his head, thoughtful.

"Avatar Korra," he began, and Korra stiffened. This isn't like Wu at all, all formal and reserved. This doesn't sound like that boneheaded prince full of himself like a hot-air balloon.

"Avatar Korra, thank you for rescuing me. I am truly in your debt." He smiled. "Perhaps I'll talk about what happened to me later—after I've properly rested, and—caught up—on things."

"Um, sure. Okay." Korra pursed her lips. "I've phoned up Republic City's best doctor. He'll be here shortly to attend to you—"

"I appreciate it, Korra, thank you." Prince Wu rose to his feet, spurring a round of clucking and fussing from Mako's grandmother about how he had to take it easy and conserve his strength.

"But I'd like to spend a few moments alone. Just—to heal on my own time." He nodded resolutely, first towards Korra, then towards the elderly woman. She bowed and retreated meekly, seemingly miffed that her contact with royalty was ending so soon.

Korra raised an eyebrow, nonplussed. "Alright, I—guess." Shrugging, she retreated out of the door. Mako's grandma followed closely after, turning back briefly to give Wu the biggest, warmest smile she could.

Prince Wu walked to the window. Outside, the birds were chirping in the warm sunlight, riding on the gentle breeze that caressed Asami's hilltop villa. He looked up at the clear blue sky, and breathed in deeply.

I used to look up and see a purple sky. And the birds were six feet long, had three claws, and all wanted to kill me.

This was going to take some getting used to.

I've been gone for so long. I've aged in there; probably grew older by—how much? Years, decades? I've seen things, felt things I never thought possible.

He looked at his hands. Smooth, without blemish, full and pristine with the silky texture that came from regular massages with spinach oil and peach blossom. The hands of a prince raised in opulence and comfort.

He blinked twice, half expecting the vision to change. To see the familiar hands he had come to know; blistered, scarred, rough and strong. Battle-hardened weapons, forged from his experience in the deepest and most terrifying depths of the Spirit World. The hands of a warrior.

Another life.

There's a reason I came back.

Kuvira. The Great Uniter, who forged an empire from scattered cities and towns—over thousands of demolished homes, and tens of thousands of prisoners. The woman who now stood at the head of a massive army that drew ever closer to the borders of Republic City with each passing day.

And he was—who?

Prince Wu. The deposed, humiliated monarch. The squeamish playboy who couldn't be trusted to take care of himself, let alone a kingdom. A man so useless that three months ago, Kuvira's ascension was seen to be a good thing by at least half the Earth Kingdom.

At least, that's who he used to be.

The Spirit Wilds—they change you. He glanced sideways at his reflection in the old scratched mirror on the dressing table. You never leave the same person as you were when you entered.

And the Wilds had made him someone else. Something else.

Prince Wu knew what had to be done. Kuvira needs to be stopped. Every day she stays in power is one more day that innocent people languish in her prison camps, and one more day that the world lives in fear.

But I can't do that as Prince Wu.

The young prince looked at himself in the mirror. How strange, how alien his body looked now—as if nothing had changed, as if the past ten years of hardship had never happened. In a way, they never did—his physical body remained unchanged. But his spirit had been transformed beyond repair by his journey in the Spirit World.

I can be something else for the Earth Kingdom. He tightened his fist resolutely. Prince Wu may not inspire the people. But I don't have to be Prince Wu.

There was an old story, a favourite bedtime tale that Wu's babysitter read to him in childhood. A young king ruled over a city that was full of crime and hardship. Heartbroken, he sought to change things by passing new laws and sending out more guards, but the people only grew sadder. And so he decided to go into the city himself. Donning a mask, he went out into the streets at night, apprehending criminals and tying them up for the city guards to find. Slowly, the city became safer as the people whispered in awe of this new hero, and criminals learned to fear his mask. The citizens spoke greatly of this masked stranger, who gave them hope of a better future, and sighed in regret that the king who now ruled over them was not able to inspire that same hope. Only the king himself knew—they were one and the same.

I can be a symbol. I can inspire people to resist Kuvira, to show them that all is not lost. I can fight for those who cannot fight against her.

But there was one problem.

Wu tightened his fist. He wasn't soft anymore, at least not on the inside. The years—at least, in that other world; in truth he was gone for only days, and the thought irked him—had toughened him up. Honed him, made him stronger and deadlier. But there was one obstacle that could never be overcome. He was a non-bender. And his enemies were led by possibly the most powerful Earthbender in the world.

It was a simple equation. Bending versus no bending. And bending would always win.

Unless.

Once in recent history, it wasn't so. Four years ago, a group of non-benders had managed to go up against the best benders in Republic City, and almost won. Substituting bending power with speed, agility, and technology, they had managed to bring the city almost to its knees, defeating the metal-bending police force that was trained by none other than Toph Bei Fong herself.

I need to find the Equalists. Or what's left of them.

But the movement had collapsed with the demise of their leader, Amon. With non-benders accepting the newly elected President Raiko as their common representative, the paramilitary nature of the Equalist movement was no longer acceptable. Now, they existed as nothing more than a memory of a turbulent past, and a warning for the future.

But one Equalist remained.

I need to find out how to beat Kuvira. I need the Equalists' methods, tactics, and weapons.

To do that—

—I need Hiroshi Sato.

"Prince Wu?" Mako's grandma opened the door slowly. The room had been quiet for the past few hours.

"Prince Wu? Are you resting? I made you some—" Her mouth fell open, and she almost lost her grip on the bowl of lotus-and-red-bean-soup.

The bed was empty and made, with the sheets neatly folded and the pillows properly fluffed up. Prince Wu's clothes were gone. And there was a note on the table.

Gone into the city to meet some girlfriends. Don't worry about me. Love, Wu.

"Oh, that prince. Always going off and having exciting adventures," she huffed. "Though he really should take it easy—he hasn't even had tea yet!"

Shaking her head, she set about rearranging the room. Midway, she paused as she realised something was missing.

"Now where did I put that red scarf?"

Republic City Prison

Block D, Maximum Security Wing

"Alright, playtime's over, back to your cells!" The harsh, barking command of the warden bellowed from the public announcement system.

Hiroshi Sato sighed sadly, putting the newspaper back on its stand in the library. Despondently, he shuffled back through the corridor, trying his best to avoid eye contact with any of the rougher sort of prisoners that inhabited the block.

The dark, cramped interior of his cell beckoned. He had just stepped over the threshold when the buzzer sounded and the metal grille slammed shut behind him.

Sato sat down slowly, his joints popping painfully as he slumped onto the hard bed. Another night in prison. Another day in a long, long prison sentence.

Wherever you are, Asami, and whatever path you choose for yourself…

He blinked away a single tear from his eye.

…I hope you know that even in the depths of this prison, I still love you.

"You don't seem too happy with your stay here."

Sato sat bolt upright, glancing around frantically.

"Who—who's there?" He fiddled with his glasses, his hands trembling.

His eyes widened in terror as a lean, catlike figure slinked noiselessly from the ceiling, his feet touching the stone floor with barely a squeak.

"Be calm. I'm not here to hurt you." The intruder's voice was muffled. He was clad in a dark coat, his face wrapped in a red scarf that revealed only his eyes. In the near-darkness, they gleamed like the eyes of a night creature.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Slowly, Sato began to back away.

"Someone who needs your help. And someone who can give you your freedom."

Sato faltered. "My freedom?"

"I can break you out of here. But in return…"

The figure took a step closer, and his eyes narrowed.

"I need to know the location of the last remaining stash of Equalist weaponry."

"No, no." Sato shook his head. "They've all been destroyed. There aren't any Equalists anymore."

"Don't lie to me, Hiroshi." The man's voice dipped low into a grumble. "You know as well as I do that the Republic City police didn't clean up all of your work. I checked the registers and police records, and some things don't tally. Your old equipment is still hanging around somewhere in the city."

The intruder pointed at Sato. "I need it."

Sato shook his head, firmer this time. "No, no. I've left that life behind. And even if you could take me out of here…"

He lowered his gaze, his shoulders slumping. "Asami would never forgive me. For going back to my old life. I promised her—promised on the memory of her mother. Don't you understand?"

He sat back down on the bed. "I deserve to be in prison. I deserve all of this for what I did."

"I know." The masked man nodded, sitting next to Sato. "You have hurt many people. Destroyed many lives. Your inventions gave power to a madman and almost tore Republic City apart, and your lust for revenge overrode your love for your daughter. No one deserves to be in prison more than you."

Suddenly, his hand reached out and landed on Sato's shoulder, causing the older man to wince. "But you must know why I'm doing this."

The grip tightened. "I need to take down Kuvira. I need to fight the oppression of the people in the Earth Kingdom. And to do that, I need your weapons—and your expertise."

The man stood back up. "Asami is working hard and giving everything she has in order to make sure Kuvira doesn't succeed. If you truly want to honour your daughter, to be worthy of her—fight for the cause that she is now fighting for. Help me stop Kuvira."

Sato jerked as his cell door suddenly swung open with a metallic clang. Then the same sound was repeated again and again, down the corridor. And then the entire block.

All the cell doors in Republic City Prison had just been unlocked.

"What—"

"That," the man said calmly, "is our exit strategy."

The lights went out.

At the same time, a roar filled the prison. A howling, disordered noise, the cries of hundreds of prisoners out of their cells; some looking to escape, others to cause as much chaos as possible.

"What's that?" Sato asked, confused.

"A prison riot."

"You started a prison riot?"

"I planted a bomb half an hour ago to disable the power lines. All the cell doors in Republic City Prison are now open."

Then the shouts of alarmed guards, rushing out from the corridors, and the alarm being rung. Then, from the nearby hallway, the sound of fighting—of metal and rock and fire and water being bent and hurled as the prison descended into a chaotic melee.

"In two minutes, another bomb will disable the locking system on the main gate and cause it to open. In five minutes, backup generators will come back online and reinforcements will arrive from the city centre. The riot will be put down. The inmates will be put back in their cells."

The intruder stepped towards the open door. "You can come with me. Or you can stay here. Make your choice."

He checked his watch. "Take your time. You've got fifteen seconds."

Sato made his decision.

Republic City Prison

Half an hour later

Republic City police moved quickly. In half an hour, the riot was quelled, with Acting Chief of Police Mako personally taking the lead in bringing down the city's most hardened criminals. Within an hour, the situation was under control. More than a dozen inmates were also in the infirmary…with burn injuries sustained from their tussle with Mako.

Mako sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, as he surveyed the damage from the upper floor corridor. "How did this happen?"

"We found traces of explosives near the power mains." An officer flipped through his clipboard. "Looks like someone disabled the power to the prison, causing every cell door to spring open—and causing this mess."

"Bring in some technicians to get it fixed. I want this vulnerability patched up so this doesn't happen again." Mako tried to stem his growing headache. "And get forensic down here to look at the scene. Figure out who did this."

The officer saluted. "Sir, there's one more thing. All prisoners are accounted for, except one."

"Who?"

"Hiroshi Sato."

Mako's blood froze.

Asami needs to hear about this.

1900 hours

Republic City Bay

Wrenching the gear stick, the stranger killed the engine. The speedboat was now stranded in the middle of the bay, with open water on all sides and no way off.

He turned to Sato, who was shifting nervously in the back seat.

"Now, let's get to business. I need the location of your remaining Equalist equipment."

Sato shivered, his unkempt white hair trembling in the wind. "Before I got captured, I managed to hide backups of some of my old equipment and designs, as well as some new equipment that never made it to production. They're in an underground safehouse."

"Where is it?" The man's eyes narrowed from under his scarf.

"City Square, underneath Little Ba Sing Se Fashion Mall."

The stranger's eyes now widened in surprise. "Of all the places to be—"

"In my defence, the mall wasn't there three years ago." Sato scowled. "I wanted a nice, quiet, low-profile hideout. I didn't count on having a shopping mall built on top of it."

The inventor shivered again, drawing his arms inward.

"You doing alright?" The stranger asked, putting his hand back on the gear stick.

The aging inventor gulped. "Not quite. I happen to notice that there's no way for me to escape from this speedboat. It's too far in any direction to swim, even if I wasn't so old. And we're miles from any patrols."

"So?"

"So now that you have what you need," Sato quavered, "what's stopping you from chucking me overboard to cover your tracks?"

The man's hand froze on the gear stick. Slowly, he turned back to Sato, who glared back at him.

"Do you think I'm that sort of man?" the stranger asked plainly.

"I wouldn't know." Sato's lip twitched. "But a man who hides his face from others doesn't inspire a whole lot of trust."

Under the scarf, Sato saw the stranger's brow wrinkle in a smile.

"That's rich, considering that your leader was a masked man who lied to six thousand followers about who he really was."

Sato winced, and grimaced. But he looked away all the same. "Amon was a liar and a lunatic. He hijacked the cause of equality between benders and non-benders in order to satisfy his own desire for power. He played us all for fools, and throwing my lot in with him is one of my biggest regrets next to betraying Asami. I'm not about to be played again. So forgive me," he said as he pointed accusingly at his rescuer (kidnapper?), "if I don't exactly find you trustworthy."

The stranger sighed, lowering his head. "Trust is earned, I guess. Very well. You are a hunted man now, and I am a man who technically shouldn't exist. I suppose we should get to know each other."

Slowly, he began to unwind the red scarf. A tuft of brown hair was released as he unravelled the first loop.

"For the record," the stranger said, looking straight as Sato, "I hide my face for a reason."

"Why?" Sato inquired. Does he have some sort of deformity? "Because you think I will be afraid?"

"No." The man unwrapped the final loop. "Because I'm afraid you'd lose confidence."

The scarf fell from his neck.

Sato's eyes grew big. He leaned back into the upholstery of the back seat, even as the full shock of the revelation sent him reeling with a thousand questions that made no sense.

"Prince Wu?"

Ten days ago

Republic City, near the Spirit Vine Reserve

The last thing Prince Wu remembered was the wind in his face and the roar of 300-horsepower thundering under his seat as he raced down the boulevard.

Can't believe I managed to sneak past everyone just like that, he thought, grinning. Glad to be out of house arrest.

He never saw the vine coming, whipping out from the window of a nearby abandoned building with the force of a striking snake.

Crash.

He remembered flying through the air, his goggles dangling off his face as he let out a scream. As if in slow-motion, he watched as ten feet under him, the car smashed full-speed into half-collapsed wall and crumbled to pieces. Then he was yanked sideways.

"Ow!"

Prince Wu was terrified. Raw, bitter terror filled his mind as the vine dragged him through the air, tossing him around like a ragdoll. Then, suddenly, there was darkness.

Wu held his breath, not daring to move.

Then he felt something wet at his feet.

He looked down. Bright, green liquid was pouring down from somewhere, and he was already knee deep in it. Panicking, he thrashed around, only to have his arms bump against something soft and jelly-like.

Pressing his hands against the dark, Prince Wu felt only the rubbery surface of a newly-forming spirit pod, encasing him in a prison that was slowly filling up with slime.

It's the lair of some creepy monster! He thought wildly. And it's going to dissolve me into juice and suck me up with a straw!

"Help!" He screamed. "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!"

His voice was choked out as the spirit fluid filled the entirety of the pod.

Prince Wu left this world.

And he opened his eyes.

He blinked. And looked around.

Where am I?

He saw trees, stretching overhead and around him. Then he looked up. The sky was a deep shade of purple, blazing with some strange energy that seemed to fill the air with a deep, sonorous pulse. Wu could hear it somehow, could feel it echoing in his bones. He didn't like it one bit.

He stumbled forward. His legs were shaky. He was still dressed in his driving clothes, and he was pretty sure that he was dreaming. But something was off. Something was wrong.

He heard a growl.

Wu turned his head. Slowly. Not daring to look, but seeing it anyway.

About ten feet away was a wolf. Only it wasn't like any wolf Wu could think of. Shiny, serrated scales covered its lean body rather than fur, and its powerful legs were muscular and clawed. On its face was a mask. Strange and contorted, like a wooden sculpture, with two slits for eyes and a gash where its mouth would have been.

He stared back.

Then the slits narrowed and the gash curved upside down.

The mask is its face.

"Gah!"

Wu started running almost before he realised he was running. Flailing, stumbling over rocks, he fled. Behind, he heard the heavy breathing of the creature. The paws hit the ground like thunder, drumming away as it closed in on him. Wu already knew he was going to lose the race.

I'm going to get eaten!

But how was it going to eat through a slit in a wooden mask?

Then out of the corner of his eye, Prince Wu saw a blur move in. So fast, he barely noticed it closing the distance between him and the beast.

Wu whirled around.

It was a man. And he was fighting off the monster.

The wolf-thing snarled, then lunged. The man sidestepped the attack quickly, his brown robes whirling in the air, never breaking his serene posture. Calmly, precisely, he aimed a powerful kick at the creature's leg—thud.

The wolf-creature buckled to the ground with a screech. Dodging the frantic scrabbling of its paws, the man took three unhurried steps towards the monster, without the slightest hint of fear. With the index finger of his right hand, he traced something on the creature's face, even as its body coiled and undulated.

Quick strokes, elegant and striking, like a dance. Then the strokes gleamed together as one, and Wu saw the character traced into the creature's mask.

Ping. Balance. Equality. Calm.

Instantly, the creature changed, its flesh transforming like liquid light even as Prince Wu stood idly, open-mouthed. The claws were gone. The scales peeled away, giving way to smooth, pale fur. And the creature's mask now showed a smile, carved into the wood. Rising to its feet, it shook from side to side like a shaggy dog, and gave the strange man a little bow.

The man bowed in return, his palms clasped together. "Go in peace."

The wolf-creature ambled off, thudding into the forest and out of sight.

Wu found his voice at last. "What—what was that?" he sputtered.

The man answered without turning around. "A Noh-Wolf, a spirit with two sides—a peaceful one, and a fierce one. Each one bears a fu on its mask that allows its peaceful side to flourish and its aggressive, savage side to remain silent. This one must have lost its fu, causing it to turn feral."

He turned around. "Like the world itself—the Noh-Wolf bears two faces, symbolising the balance between peace and strife. And, as now, oftentimes it takes the action of one to restore the balance between these two states."

Prince Wu only looked on, puzzled. Only now did he get a good look at the stranger. A ragged, grey beard framed his face, and long hair draped down his shoulders. His face was hard, cold. Wu thought that if an ancient master ever lived on top of a mountain like in the stories, his face would look something like this.

"Stranger." The bearded man stepped closer. "I sense that you are not of this world. The Spirit Wilds are dark and dangerous. What brings you here to this fearsome land?"

Wu scratched his head. "Um, I don't know. I think it was a—vine?"

"A spirit vine." The man seemed thoughtful. "Vines attacking humans and dragging them into the Spirit World—some great disturbance must be occurring at their Mother Tree."

"So, um," Wu stuttered, "can you get me back home?"

"I do not know, stranger. Much about the Spirit Wilds is unpredictable. One who meditates is free to travel to and from the Spirit World, but you are different. Your body is being held captive by the spirit vines—I do not know if you would be able to return to it, unless someone frees you from the outside."

"Oh no," Wu whimpered. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

"Peace." The man held up a hand. "Perhaps you may return to your body someday. Perhaps you will not. But it does not matter. The way you are—you won't survive a day in the Spirit Wilds, let alone live long enough to return to your physical self."

"So what do I do?" Prince Wu tore at his hair. "You saw that wolf-thing! I can't fight that! You're right, I won't last an hour in this place! And just who are you anyway?"

The bearded stranger smirked. "I am a traveller. Like you, my body is bound, in chains instead of vines. But my spirit travels free, and I roam the Spirit World, seeking new knowledge and challenges."

"Then take me with you! Let me come along!" Wu begged. "At least then I'll have a chance!"

"No, stranger." The man closed his eyes. "I cannot protect you always. I must return to the human world from time to time. My physical body needs nourishment—food, water, rest. And time passes differently here compared to the human world. I may return to the human world for only a day. But when I return—a year may have already passed for you."

Wu mewled in despair. "A year—a year! I'll be long dead by then!"

"Wait." The man scratched his chin. "Fear not, traveller. There may be hope yet."

Wu perked up. "Tell me. Tell me!" He clasped his hands together, pouting dramatically.

"I may not be able to protect you all the time. But I can make you capable of defending yourself in the Spirit Wilds." Wu felt the man's eyes scrutinise him up and down. "You are weak now, that is true. But in the Spirit World, one's spirit may grow to gain power and strength far beyond your normal limits."

"I can train you. I can teach you how to fight, and how to avoid a fight. I can teach you to master your senses and navigate the treacherous land of the Wilds. I can show you how to make your mind as potent a weapon as your body. With time—and time is something we have so much of here—we might make a warrior of you just yet. And maybe," he paused, "you might survive until I return."

"Train me? You mean like Mako's kickboxing lessons? I'm—I'm not sure I'm ready for that sort of—"

"Then you will meet your end here. Simple." The man turned away.

"No, no! I mean, thank you so much, master! Train me, show me how to do those fancy moves and kick butt and all that! I need to survive, or I'll be wolf-chow!" Wu spurted, falling to his knees.

"Very well then. We will begin now, as all times are contained in the present. First—what is your name, stranger?" The bearded man beckoned Wu to rise.

"Um, I'm Wu. People call me Prince Wu. But that doesn't matter. Yeah, forget that," Wu stammered as he got to his feet.

"Well met, Wu." The stranger bowed.

"My name is Zaheer."

This started out the way all my stories start out: as a writing exercise gone out of control. Truth be told, this fanfic is self-indulgent. I'm just going to say it; I took plenty of cues from both The Dark Knight movie trilogy and the TV series Arrow, and it shows. This is, clearly, completely, absolutely Alternate Universe, and while elements of later episodes will find their way into the tale, the core of it will still be based on the implausible premise that Prince Wu is now someone-something-else.

Reviews are very much welcome, please leave a note telling me what you think!