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[The New York City Sanctum, New York, New York, United States, Terra, The Solar System, Orion-Cygnus Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, Universe 2628ER2SU-N…]
"Amaterasu, I implore you not to torment the Tesseract. We've reached thirty days without an incident, and I would like to keep that new record," the Ancient One said. Well, begged, but not in a tone that would indicate begging. More of an exasperated 'why me' sort of way than anything. As one does when dealing with potentially one of the most powerful creatures in the world, and also the biggest gremlin in the universe.
"Awoo-"
"No, she's right," Stephen Strange interrupted. Amaterasu's jaw clicked shut and she narrowed her eyes at the sorcerer. "Don't even look at it. You make it angry by just existing. I've examined it many times-" with that he glanced at his teacher, and added, "-with permission and supervision. The Tesseract is simultaneously alive and inanimate until you are near—like a quantum state of spite."
The Goddess of the Sun sat there for a moment, looking between the Sorcerer Supreme and Doctor Strange, her mind racing. Could she reach the Spicy Blue Cube before they stopped her? Leaving the object alone wasn't an option—it'd won their last seventeen encounters and she wasn't going to stop until she finally came out on top.
… It's not like the Cube was a worthy nemesis or anything. It was just inconvenient. That's all. It had nothing to do with her wounded pride—she was above such petty things. Why would a Goddess be offended by the existence of a… a… three-dimensional square!? No, it was purely for the safety of everyone else in the world that she deal with this devious creation of pure evil.
And if anyone asks, she'll tell them she felt demonic energy coming off of it. Yes! The perfect excuse. After all, it's not like anyone nearby would be an expert on demonic activity and energies. Well… except for the two sorcerers standing right next to her. They had a little bit of experience with that.
Her eyes slowly, agonizingly, shifted to lock onto the cube, and-
"I can see your tail wagging," the Ancient One warned. She kept her palms at her side, though her fingers twitched into a bizarre contortion, energy crackling over the tips of her digits.
"Don't even try it," Strange added. He clasped his hands together—in a way that really reminded Ammy of children playing Rock, Paper, Scissors—and narrowed his eyes at her.
Clearly, they were under the Tesseract's spell. Yes, that explained everything! She needed to get the cube now, to free her friend—and the other one—from the Spicy Cube's wrath! Amaterasu looked at the villainous blue box through the glass in the ornate display case, feeling out the thirty-seven layers of magic barriers meant to stop her from getting at it.
… Yeah, she could take it. She might come out of it completely shaved and with an additional tail, but that was a risk she was willing to take.
… Could she fly with two tails if she spun them around fast enough?
She didn't have long to ponder the idea. One moment everything was calm and relaxed—two tense and extremely powerful sorcerers didn't mean the situation couldn't be relaxed—and the next, all hell broke loose.
And this time it wasn't her fault! Hooray! That meant she hadn't caused Tesseract issues three of the now eighteen times something happened.
The glass enclosure and enchantments were meant to keep people and things from breaking in to get the cube. Nothing was stopping it from breaking out on its own. The ornate display case exploded outward, glass shards turning to sand with a twitch of the Sorcerer Supreme's wrist. Doctor Strange did his best to hold back the massive surge of energy rolling outward, keeping everything contained in a sphere around the Tesseract.
It worked for half a second.
The rippling blue energy held at bay exploded outwards, washing over everything in sight. At the last moment, the Ancient One threw up her hands, a bubble of magic springing into existence around them. Various runes glittered and sparked dangerously as the power of the Tesseract pummeled at the shield. Doctor Strange articulated his hands in strange—pun intended—ways, reinforcing the shield against the might of an infinity stone.
And Ammy just sat there, happy as could be. She was innocent! Hadn't even done a single thing, and was content to prove it to the duo. She told them it was evil. 'No, the Tesseract is not going to hunt you down' they said. 'No, the "spicy cube" will not break out of the shielding,' they decreed. 'Stop bathing your nethers in front of the Space Stone, it is impolite,' they said.
But Amaterasu had told them it was up to no good. Now look where it got them—trapped in a slowly crumbling bubble of magic while an aspect of the universe crashed down over them, folding inward time and time and time again, intent on both crushing them and rapidly vacating their organs into unpressurized space through their nostrils.
Maybe they won't question her divine judgement next time.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
[The Jasmine Dragon, Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom]
Iroh closed the entrance to his tea shop with a soft thud, the heavy wooden doors securing his beloved property. It had only been several days, but the Jasmine Dragon already felt like home to him.
… He realized that might be more accurate than he first thought. Iroh had spent more time in this building than he had in his new apartment. It certainly didn't feel like he was working much, in any case. This job, this work, it was soothing in a way that was hard to describe. He likened it to a cup of warm tea—and wasn't that ironic. The people were polite and calm, the conversation fulfilling and insightful, and the pay wasn't half-bad either.
Despite technically living as a refugee fugitive under a fake name with his banished nephew, Iroh felt happy and fulfilled.
… Though he still wasn't sure how no one recognized his nephew with the rather prominent burn mark. It was a wonder Ba Sing Se stood against his assault all those years ago if the people living here were that oblivious. Maybe he should have just walked in through the front gates claiming they were an army of humble tea makers, or done that thing with the wooden horse.
Now wouldn't that be a sight? An army of firebenders exploding out of a wooden horse. His mind conjured up an image of a torrent of fire spewing from the horse's mouth, while a team of firebenders sat at the rear, blasting fire outward in a way that reminded Iroh of an evening after eating his nephew's cooking.
Iroh chuckled to himself as he slipped into the back of the shop. He might as well get started on the morning preparations while waiting for Zuko to return from his errands. After all, doing this early meant he could sleep in just a little more.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't get more than a couple of minutes into his prep.
A thunderous explosion of blue light seeped around the small gaps in the doorframe, and the entire building rattled, throwing Iroh off balance. He staggered for a moment, before planting his feet, mind racing.
Explosions? Blue light?
Azula.
He needed to find Zuko, and he needed to slow Azula and her troops down enough to get out of the city.
Iroh raced for the door separating the back of the shop from the rest of the building and kicked it in. Though it pained him, it was just a door. He could always get a new one. What was important was-
Iroh froze, and his jaw dropped, eyes boggling out. He looked at the two strangers—and dog—standing in the middle of a crater.
Right in the middle of his tea shop!
Tables were overturned, cups and plates shattered, and a chair had somehow embedded itself into the stone wall and stood straight out as if gravity suddenly decided to go left. The gorgeous green and gold tile had all but been obliterated, with only the smallest remnants of the pattern left sizzling with blue energy at the edge of the crater.
"I… You…" Iroh was lost for words. He sank to his knees, hands gripping his hair. It took several seconds for him to properly form the words, his peaceful demeanour replaced by equal parts shock, despair, and a deep feeling of loss. He took a deep breath and-
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
"Arf!" Amaterasu interrupted what had to be a cry of utter despair.
The man blinked, and his eyes shifted to focus on the wolf. He blinked again, narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth, then closed it again. There was a light shuffle as Stephen and the Sorcerer Supreme exchanged a glance. The old man kept his eyes on the trio as he clambered to his feet, using an overturned table as support.
The Ancient One was the first to interrupt the silence, taking a step forward and bowing her head in a little dip toward the man. "Our apologies, it seems we displaced part of your floor." She glanced around and let out a curious hum, pursing her lips. "And remodelled the interior thoroughly. The chair is certainly interesting." The Ancient One turned to Amaterasu and narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't your doing, was it?"
Ammy shook her head. She was innocent! This entire situation was—finally—not her fault. Though embedding a chair in the wall with all four legs parallel to the floor was rather hilarious. She was going to do that to all of Stark's chairs when they made it back home.
"Don't believe her, she's using that face," Stephen Strange spoke up. He rapped her on the head with a knuckle and stepped out of range of Ammy's retaliatory tail smack.
What face!? She only had the one! And, it was a fine face, thank you very much. A cute face, even. Very godly and wolfish, with just enough cuteness to be adored while not infantilized by the adorable nature of floofy doggy cheeks.
Doctor Strange continued, clambering out of the hole in the floor. "We apologize for the mess, mister…"
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Mushi," the man answered after a slight pause. He stepped closer to the group, his body falling into a more relaxed stance.
Amaterasu wasn't fooled. She recognized the calculating eyes, the careful answer, and the half-curled fingers. There was an odd heat and warmth she could feel from the man that wasn't entirely his personality and demeanour.
"Mister Mushi," Stephen continued with a nod. "We'll restore your shop to its previous condition. You have my word."
A flash of emotions crossed the man's face, before finally settling on a concerned smile. "Ah, that is very kind of you. Taking responsibility for one's actions is admirable. However…" Mushi came to a stop a few steps from the group. "Maybe this is best left to the professionals-"
"Do I smell Jasmine tea?" the Ancient One asked.
'Mushi' stopped in his tracks, his gaze flicking toward the bald woman, his lips quirking up in a slight smile. "You have a good nose, it was the last one I made for the day. At least, the last one in the store." He chuckled and flashed her a smile.
"Oh god, now there's two of them," Stephen whispered in mock horror.
Amaterasu climbed out of the hole in the ground as well, scrambling a little at the edge to haul herself up. Her companions were refusing to use their magic and she figured it would be best to avoid doing so as well. At least for the moment.
She lost any and all interest in the conversation between the Ancient one and 'Mushi' when they started talking about different blends of tea. The building was far more interesting, what with all the fancy—shattered—decorations, and the unique scents through the interior. There were many strange things that weren't quite close enough to ancient Nippon like she remembered, but there were some similarities that piqued her interest.
That and she wanted to look busy, or at least somewhat inconspicuous, while the Sorcerer Supreme was led to the back of the store by a rather excited tea maker.
Humans were weird.
While the two tea fanatics wandered to the back of the store—much to Strange's relief—Amaterasu set about exploring. After all, new place, new things to smell and taste and steal off people's plates. With consent. After she stole it. Puppy eyes usually helped with that.
"We told you not to go near the Tesseract," Stephen groused. He glanced up at the door to the back of the store, then gestured with his hand, flipping every single table back onto its feet with magic. "You just had to go and challenge the physical aspect of space in the universe, didn't you?"
"Boof," Amaterasu defended, tossing her head back with a huff. She flicked her tail at Strange, spattering his robes with a healthy amount of ink, just for added insult. She couldn't believe he'd accuse her of such a thing.
"I've watched you do it!" Stephen exclaimed.
Amaterasu merely rolled her eyes, and used her abilities to Restore the huge half-sphere of floor that was missing, returning the lovely green and gold pattern to life. As a little afterthought, she swished her tail over the floor in a broad area, returning it to a polished and pristine state, as if everything was newly installed.
"So how are we going to explain the new floor?"
"Wurf?"
"I don't think 'I found it' is going to be a good enough reason." Stephen laughed, and tugged the chair from the wall, allowing Amaterasu to fill in the holes in the stone.
"… Grrrruff."
"No, don't just break the floor again!" Stephen protested.
Amaterasu rolled her eyes. Did they want the floor fixed or not? Again, humans were weird. They couldn't make up their minds. Did they want miracles performed by a goddess or did they want holes in a stranger's floor? The answer seemed pretty simple.
Numerous shards of ceramic and glass lifted from the floor and swirled around in the air in a dangerous tornado of sharp edges. Amaterasu froze reality with a thought, and swished her tail in the general direction of the shards, painting over them all with a single swipe.
Perspective-based magic was bullshit, and she was all for it.
The various parts of the broken cups, plates, and pottery all shot toward one another, finding their matching pieces, gluing one another together-
"I'm back from the market, Uncle!" The doors behind the two opened, causing Amaterasu and Stephen Strange to freeze in the act. "I managed to-"
Amaterasu and Stephen looked over their shoulders at the newcomer. Then, they glanced at each other, blinked, and turned to the scarred young man again. Wide, sheepish grins split their faces as the various cups, plates, and pots zipped around the room and returned to their proper place.
"… What?" the young man asked. Narrowing his eyes at the newcomers to the shop.
Of course, that was the moment the Ancient One and 'Mushi' stepped through the doors again.
A long, pregnant silence filled the room, everyone standing still, watching one another with confused, curious, or concerned looks.
…
"I think I'm going to make us all some tea."
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Having three strangers in his uncle's shop after closing wasn't that weird—his uncle was kind to a fault and was more than happy to make time for others (especially if they enjoyed food and tea). Seeing cups, plates, and various decorations flying around the place was a touch weirder, but not unheard of. Earthbenders could do that with fancy stone plates and whatnot. Sure, it took some time to get used to, but it was kind of entertaining after a while.
But this?
Zuko eyed the strange animal in front of him, who was watching him right back. Amber eyes met gold, unmoving, unable to break the impromptu staring contest. He couldn't quite pin what it was. It was a something-wolf, that was for sure. But what?
That could wait until after though. He didn't know how they wound up in a staring contest, but Zuko wasn't one to back down from a challenge, especially one such as this. It should be child's play.
…
Why wasn't it blinking!?
It seemed to sense his discomfort, because the creature leaned down, eyes still locked on his, and dunked its muzzle into the cup of tea. Instead of drinking it, however, it started blowing bubbles. His uncle made a distraught noise, and the two other strangers at the table sighed.
Zuko's eyes watered. He drank from his own cup, his eyelids twitching, begging for some relief from the dry air. The creature was unrelenting, focused in its mission to win, a deadly opponent of unbridled will and-
The wolf-thing crossed its eyes and pulled its muzzle out of the cup so fast it left a trail of tea arcing through the air. Its jaw dropped, and it looked to be struggling, inhaling air, trying its best to keep its eyes from closing, even as they slowly, agonizingly slipped lower. Its claws tensed on the table, and it took several deep breaths, looking as if it were about to-
A thunderous sneeze tore itself from the creature in front of him. The force of the explosion caused the animal to rocket backward, going from sitting upright on a chair to flat on its back in an instant. Zuko raised a palm on instinct as a torrent of fire slipped from the creature, the powerful stream shooting straight at him like a trained firebender's strike. Unthinking, he parted the flames harmlessly, allowing them to disperse into the air.
…
"Dragon-wolf!" Zuko exclaimed, pointing a finger over the table at the downed animal.
"Zuko, it is rude to point," Iroh said. He paused and brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Though it is arguably more rude to sneeze fire in someone's face…"
"Wait! You can't- I mean, um." Zuko coughed into a hand and rubbed the back of his head, flashing the group a grin. "Who's… Zuko? I've never heard that name before and oh would you look at the time uncle we need to go now."
…
Zuko's gaze flicked between the three sets of eyes on him, from the strange man in an odd cloak (apparently named Stephen), to the bald woman (who had danced around the topic of her name in ways that made Iroh's metaphors seem logical) in the painfully bright yellow robes that really had no business being worn. Iroh looked stuck between being disappointed, amused, and-
Four sets of eyes. The dragon-wolf peered up over the edge of the table, slowly sitting higher, revealing ears, eyes, and finally its nose. It didn't go any higher, just content peeking at him from across the table.
…
"I'm sorry, what did you call her? A dragon-wolf?" Stephen asked. "No, that's just Amaterasu. She's just a- Well… I wouldn't say just a wolf. She's more like-"
"A gremlin," the 'Ancient One' replied, a grin on her lips. "Truly the worst kind of creature. She'll steal your food and assault you with terrible breath."
Amaterasu reeled back as if struck, her jaw dropping, eyes wide. She stared at the woman for all of three seconds, before letting out a sharp huff from her nose, and turned away. Strange seemed to have paled at the comment, as if they'd all narrowly avoided a complete disaster.
"Your spirit friend is quite the character," Iroh said. "I must say I have never met one so full of life and warmth."
"Probably because she's a dragon-wolf," Zuko muttered under his breath. He sat back down in his seat and huffed into his teacup, taking a sip.
"I can assure you that she is just a wolf, nothing more." The woman reached over and pat the wolf on the head with a smack of her palm and the thunk of the wolf's jaw on the table.
"Just a wolf that can firebend," Iroh added with a nod. "I would recommend keeping that to yourselves. Ba Sing Se is wary of firebenders right now. Even ones as adorable and fluffy as your friend." Iroh flashed the wolf a smile, to which he received a large doggy-grin back, and her wagging tail thumped against the ground so hard Zuko could feel it through his chair.
"Why, is fire magic banned?" Strange asked. "What about water magic, or-"
"Arf!" Amaterasu interrupted.
"Or plant magic," Stephen translated. Ammy gave a firm nod.
"You keep saying magic." Zuko glanced at his uncle, and then back at the three across from them. "Not bending. Why?"
"Wurf?" Amaterasu spoke up. Iroh laughed, and the bald woman smirked.
"No, don't say it's a regional dialect, that's absurd," Stephen shook his head. Amaterasu's head fell further, chin hitting the table again with a thunk that rattled the cups on the surface. "We're, uh, not really from around here. I have a few guesses as to where we are, but-"
"Wait, how did you even get here? Can't you just follow the way you came?" Zuko asked.
"Not all paths are able to be retraced, Zuko. Besides, it is just as important to look ahead for new opportunities, instead of just retracing old steps." Iroh nodded sagely, with a look about him that just oozed a sense of wisdom and tone that decreed common sense.
"That doesn't mean anything," Zuko muttered and crossed his arms.
The bald woman took a sip of her tea and sighed. "Ah, wise words. Your uncle is quite gifted—great advice and even better tea." The Ancient One flashed Iroh a smile.
"Oh! Well…" Iroh laughed and his cheeks darkened. He rubbed at the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin to everyone present. "It is just as impressive to recognize the meaning behind the words, and the love behind the tea."
Aaaannndddd now they're flirting. Zuko really didn't want to be within several city blocks of this… display.
"Good tea can do wonders for the mind, body, and soul." The woman nodded and took another sip. "That, and making it well is a reward unto itself."
"I've tried to tell my nephew that, but he does not listen."
"Oh for-" Strange buried his face in his hands and looked through his fingers at the rest of the table. "Can we get back to the matter at hand? Where are we exactly?"
"You're in my shop. The Jasmine Dragon. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Iroh asked.
"About fifteen minutes ago we were in the floor," the Ancient One added. "Please try to keep up, Strange. My best student cannot be this slow."
"That reminds me," Iroh started. "How did you manage to fix the floor? You three left an impressive hole in it—not that I'm complaining about it being fixed."
…
"… Boof," Amaterasu 'spoke' to Iroh.
…
"What do you mean you 'found it'?" Iroh asked. "How do you just find-"
"I told you that was a stupid answer," Strange sighed, his voice muffled by his hands again. "I'm going to need some coffee for this mess."
"Oh please, you don't need your gritty bean water. Be thankful for the lovely tea our host has provided us." The Ancient One shot a glare at her student, and shook her head.
"Ha! Bean water!" Iroh laughed, leaning back in his chair.
"It's better than warm leaf juice," Stephen retorted.
Zuko winced as Iroh let out a rather offended series of grumbles and words that Zuko had no idea Iroh even knew of. Still, this Strange man wasn't wrong.
"That's what I said." Zuko turned toward Stephen, looking at him directly. "That's what tea is. He doesn't believe me."
"You two are terribly uncultured. It is not 'leaf juice' any more than Stephen here is a doctor," the Ancient one said.
"I am a doctor," Stephen grumbled.
"So you're saying tea is just leaf juice?" Zuko asked. "If he is a doctor, that is what you said."
"Zuko, a good tea is not just its ingredients," Iroh said. "She clearly said that something is not just what it is made of."
"But things are literally what they are made of. That's how recipes work! How magic works!" Stephen sounded exasperated, and Zuko had to agree. This was getting ridiculous.
"Exactly!" Zuko pointed to Stephen, and looked at his uncle. He didn't know about the whole magic thing, but it sounded like it made sense. That, and he really needed someone on his side for this argument. Maybe this time Zuko would win.
"Come now, Strange. You of all people should know that-"
"A person is not just the sum of their parts, nephew."
"With all due respect, you should know that magic is-"
"Just the recipe that you follow, uncle. It's a leaf in warm water."
"I can't believe my own nephew-"
"I can't believe my own student-"
"You can't just metaphor magic into-"
"You can't just metaphor tea into-"
And, amongst all the bickering, squabbling, arguing, and crying, there was something that Zuko realized far too late. It wasn't that one side of the argument was more correct than another, or that tea was indeed more than its ingredients. It wasn't that there was a hilarious parallel between himself and Strange, and the Ancient One and his Uncle.
No, what Zuko finally realized, after fifteen long minutes, was that the front door of the building was open.
And the dragon-wolf was gone.
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