Paradise of Infinity

Chapter 258: Ty-Plosion (2)

Chapter 258: Ty-Plosion (2)

"Is this some rite of passage?" Nik thins his lips with a humored smile. He purposely deepens his voice and adopts a wise old man's expression, "You must pass this test to earn the right to enter the dungeon of the sisters— Or something like that?"

The Ty Sisters welcome and block the passage of their guests with calm and deceptively collected looks. Long and thin white gowns cover their outfits and exude a noble aura. Their hairstyle, to the last strand, is chillingly the same.

None could differentiate between the seven sisters after their demand from the group to differentiate them.

But really, it was more of a challenge thrown at the Hero's path who pointed them out accurately earlier. Perhaps other girls may find this challenge an entertaining way to see Nik face a setback, but Zuko is the only one whose eyebrows sink slightly. A complicated look flashes across the prince's face as he recalls Nik's earlier account in the bath.

His smile has a price that none can imagine, but Zuko could certainly empathize with what little he knew of Nik's past.

But one's past is just that— In the Past.

"Something like that," The sibling in the center replies with an aloof look. "Consider this a good show for us. But it's not mandatory in any manner. If you cannot identify us—"

"That's a lot of nonsense without a single insult, Ty Woo," Nik chuckles, "Consider me impressed."

Her lips part open.

"How the fuck did you know?"

"The spirits of fertility and identical siblings bless me, I guess. But that wouldn't interest you, right, Ty Liu?" He looks at the Ty Sibling to Woo's left.

Leaving her lips gaping in surprise, Nik identifies the sibling to Woo's right.

"Are we doing more physically active sisters first? First the swimmer, and now you, the dancer, Ty Lum."

"I should respect age and point you out next, Ty Lin," Nik grins at the girl adjacent to Ty Lum on Woo's right.

"I'm not old!" The eldest snaps with a scoff.

"Of course not," Nik shrugs, but such a non-commital response does not make her feel better.

Nik then glances at the girl adjacent to Ty Liu on Woo's left.

"And there's no way I am forgetting Ty Lat. I would love to see someone play nice songs on a harp!"

Only two remain. Even the guards look at Nik with respect. The girls behind him, however, look thoroughly surprised.

They are aware of most of the things Nik is capable of achieving, so all this being some spiritual shenanigan is less than likely.

Then how?

As Nik's grin widens, the greater Zuko's mood sinks. The prince knows he owes Nik his life. Not that the youth would ever lord it on others, but it is the cold truth. He could only sigh to himself for the moment.

If Nik opened up to him after so many interactions— most of them being confrontational— then Zuko feels he must keep it to himself. He is well aware of how just a friend to unwind with is what others usually need and appreciate— Not someone who actively tries to interject with someone's life to help every living moment of their life.

Nik quietly looks at the girl next to Ty Lin. A flicker of hope and expectation betrays her aloof look as he looks in her direction. But he soon looks away from her to look at the sister on the far end of Ty Woo's left.

"And you... I spent a few weeks with you already. We trained, we drank, and I even had June practice her brutish pick-up lines on you."

Her lips quake and guilt seeps into her gaze. Meanwhile, the girl next to Ty Lin shudders. Her eyes turn glazed and watery— something that everyone from Nik's group notices, but before they hint at him, he drones on.

"Not to mention, you may have run out on me last night, but it was special."

He rubs his jaw with his finger in a ponderous manner, "I also remember our first performance with Aang— ah, no, The Great Pippinpaddleopsicopolis!"

"So, mistaking you for your sisters is simply unthinkable after my vivid performance. So that's why I saved you for the last. Oh, by the way, you're Ty Lao. I'd like to see what you can do with paper one of these days. Ty Lee told me you once made a miniature dragon from origami."

"Huh?"

All the sisters still for a moment of brief silence. Standing beside Ty Lin, on the verge of tearing up, Ty Lee's watery eyes widen, and Ty Woo mutters, "This prick!"

"You did say it's a performance, no?" Nik glances at Ty Woo with a smug grin and sniffs haughtily for a moment, "Entertained?"

"You are terrible for our little sister," Ty Lin eyes Nik as if facing the worst tribulation for the family and drags Ty Lee away by her hand lest the girl gives away the game so quickly. She throws her guards a look.

"Lead them to their seats in the tent."

Other sisters quickly follow Ty Lin's steps and leave after throwing Nik glances filled with various emotions.

"That was... mean," Yue thins her lips and gazes at Nik disapprovingly.

"If anything, that was impressive. If it were me, I would have called them Ty 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7 before saying I numbered each of them just like that," Sokka shrugs. His shoulders feel quite burdened by the size of the brain he carries.

"I... damn, that would have been even better!" Nik rubs his forehead, "And if they asked me to name them, I would have done that, too!"

"Exactly!" Sokka scoffs and crosses his arms, "And you would have achieved all seven—" He pauses and looks around to shrink under the glares of others, including Ursa, who narrows her eyes.

"Son," she smiles with a resounding lack of warmth in her gaze. "Continue with your idea. All seven siblings, is that it? Now, why would I or anyone think that is the last thing Nik should do considering the Ty Sister's past?"

Sokka looks at Kya and then at Ursa before rubbing the back of his head.

"Are we still doing this?"

"Doing what? Azula, dear, is there something wrong with Kya or me?" Kya speaks to Azula, who shakes her head with a bright grin.

"Not that I know of, mother~!" Azula hugs Kya's arm while tossing Katara and Sokka teasing glances. Knowing how dangerous the princess is, the siblings feel slightly anxious. Kya and Nik, as likely as it may be, is something they were taking time to accept.

But Azula and Kya?

That's...

The two glare at the princess when Ursa voices out sternly.

"Now, don't be rude to Ursa's daughter!"

'This is kind of fun!' Ursa smiles at Kya, who does the same.

"Anyway, we're here to enjoy, right? Let's enjoy ourselves. Seeing seven of them doing tricks on a pole is something worth hurrying for."

By now, the group understands he is just being playful, and his vague words only confirm this doubt.

If anything, Nik's evolution may have made him more frivolous in the most inappropriate times.

— — —

"How did that son of a bitch get us all correctly?!" Ty Woo curses her heart out with a furious blush the moment the seven of them step backstage.

The other six sport equally unnerved expressions. They are used to men getting their identities wrong by mistake or on purpose, so someone tossing out their entire playbook for these circumstances left them blank. Ty Lin could only drag Ty Lee away, who she felt would almost burst out— out of happiness or tears!

"I don't know," Ty Lao mutters with a complicated look. "He almost made me worry for a moment... laying in on Lee so thickly while," she chews her lips with anticipation betraying her expression, "Ravishing me with such intense gaze!"

"Hey!" Ty Lee glares at her third eldest.

"What? He could get all of us right! All of us!" Ty Lao emphasizes. "And we practically made the game hellish! Look at us! Even Babu would have fumbled!"

The mention of their father leaves a moment of silence before Ty Liu squirms, "It was... hot."

"Then go dip in cold water again, bitch!" Ty Woo barks and then glares at Lee, "How'd you manage to find him? You never told us he could do that!"

"How was I supposed to know?" Ty Lee squeaks, "I wasn't here?"

"And who the hell ran away?" Ty Woo scoffs before closing her mouth shut.

Ty Lin and others look at Ty Lee in worry as the girl clenches her fist before taking a deep breath. With ice lacing her voice, Ty Lee glares at Ty Woo. No.

She glares at all of them.

"Let's just perform that routine and be done with this farce," She seethes. "After all those promises... you all could not even leave that routine alone."

Ty Woo opens her mouth to say something, but Ty Lin cuts her off and nods, "We promised to talk after the routine... let's reserve all of it for that moment."

The other four look at each other while chewing their lips with similar helplessness in their gazes.

There are many, many things they want to talk about.

Many curses they want to unleash.

They want to apologize to one another for many things, and all the parties are self-aware of these faults. They know that they all are aware of it.

"Let's practice it," Ty Lin claps her hands softly. "Others will start with the usual show and try the things we plan to perform the next show."

Ty Lee quietly enters her position as the show begins for Nik and others. His words continue to resurface in her mind. They act like an anchor to her emotions before they spiral out of control. She recalls his vast and dependable aura.

'So, mistaking you for your sisters is unthinkable...' He said.

It's only been a few hours at best since the knot in her stomach about the thought of being one of the many faceless women in Nik's life, but she feels it unraveling.

As Ty Liu said—

It was hot.

To stand out, it felt good. To have a different identity under his gaze felt thrilling. Ty Lee can still beat her heart beating with excitement.

And as she practices with her sisters, Ty Lee recognizes a disheartening truth.

They are similar.

And it was no less impactful for them than it had been for her.

Her sister's colleagues quickly step on the stage and perform for their guests. It could have been under happier circumstances...

But Ty Lee dismisses the thought quickly.

It could not have been under happier circumstances. Not since the day their Babu died, and Ty Lee witnessed that.

Soon, it is their turn to bring it in with the finale. Ty Sisters step on the stage with their practiced stage smiles despite their internal turmoil. The seven sisters stare at Nik at once as if vying for his attention for themselves, but they quickly notice something. Unlike their original seating plan, Nik is not sitting with the rest of the group.

The girls are sitting ahead of the three men.

Sporting lopsided and dopey grins, the three men sit two columns behind the cheerful girls who demonstrate cheery and roused looks of excitement after the performance.

If this isn't strange enough, Ty Lee and others notice Sokka's and Zuko's aura being all fuzzy as Nik's aura continues to remain steadfast if one ignores the purplish tint of impishness.

"Whoooooooooo!" Sokka suddenly cheers loudly, "Go Ty 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7!"

'He is asking for all his chi points to get blocked!' All seven of them deadpan at Sokka's words making Zuko guffaw suddenly.

"You guys got this!" Nik claps loudly, too, "And don't worry! I know who Ty 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7 are!"

And now the sisters wanted to know what numbers are assigned to them!

"He does! Son of a bitch really does!" Sokka bursts out laughing.

'Holy shit... they are drunk. They could have invited me, too!' Azula curses them as Zuko only grins like a shy maiden when drunk like one!

With the two of them raising a proper ruckus that would accompany their arrival on the stage and a grinning Zuko appreciating life's simplest blessing from behind the drunken tint of his gaze, the seven sisters get started.

The seven of them bounce forth at once. As two of them climb the poles with tightropes connecting them, the other five begin climbing over each other to form a human pillar of the Ty in a few breaths.

Meanwhile, Ty Liu and Ty Lum each at the peak of the pole and grin widely. Their bodies move reflexively as they jump on the tightrope!

"Woah!" Zuko gasps, making the rest of the girls twitch a bit.

Displaying remarkable balance as they strike a pose on the tightrope, Ty Liu and Lum nod at one another before sprinting on the rope and reaching the center of the rope where Ty Lee is waiting on top of her sister.

The two cause a bit of alarm as they drop down the rope with a flip in their jump, but they catch the rope with an arm each. The rope bends and curves promptly as the two sisters reach down with their other hand. Looking at Ty Lee, both of them reveal sincere grins.

This is how they want to let her know the truth!

""Grab on!""

Ty Lee extends her hands and grabs her elder sister's hand before the rope pulls them only for the duo to grit their teeth and throw Ty Lee in the air.

Without an ounce of fear, Ty Lee spirals in the air gracefully, and as she begins to descend, for a moment, her brown ponytail seems to be forming a halo over her head.

If they were just hyping the group out of being drunk, the trio now watches quietly with sheer appreciation and wonder.

It's beautiful: They all think at once as the Ty Sisters begin to present themselves in one of the best performances.

'I could do all these two years into my training,' Ty Lee performs with a huge smile, but her thoughts cannot be far from happiness.

'How long did it take you all?' She wonders.

'I could do it all alone.'

Ty Lee's heart aches in genuine sadness as she wonders—

'You six always had each other's back. It must have taken less than 2 years to achieve all this. I bet..'

The corner of her lips quiver, but she will not let her smile fade. No matter how stale her aura grows, she refuses to stop smiling.

'I'm sure... you six continued to support each other even after Babu's death. Even when you faced all those problems while I was away. Not that my existence ever mattered to you all.'

As she sinks from the sky, she stretches her hands out as her sisters catch her again.

'If only my life could be like this performance. If only I could count on you all to have my back like this when it mattered the most.'

As if seeing through her smile, each of Ty Lee's sisters would hold her hand tighter. They all would be reluctant to let go. Not this time. Not again.

But even if they can only hope to convey their emotions as they can always sense each other, they fail to connect with Ty Lee. Despite Ty Lee's huge smile, her eyes are blank, and her body is only going through emotions.

Ty Lin, Lat, Lao, Liu, Lum, and Woo all think the same thing while barely holding their hearts from breaking collectively.

'She is amazing. We have to give it our all, but she can do it without a thought.'

'I'm sorry! Truly!' Ty Lin catches Lee again, but even if they look at each other, Ty Lee merely looks past her eldest sister with a note of indifference.

And it hurts so much.

'I really wish we could have explained it all... that day especially,' Ty Lin begs internally and her smile quivers. Her eyes water unconsciously.

'Does it matter?' Ty Lee brightens. 'I heard that hint loud and clear. Besides, it has always been like that. I was just fooling myself that I was only pissed at others getting our names wrong. None of that would have mattered if only you all... were there.'

— — —

It has always been like this ever since she can remember.

Seven sisters.

Three pairs of two and...

One odd one out.

"Lin! Let's play! I'll be the catch! All of you can hide!" She would ask... no. She would beg, "Please~ I want to play with you guys, too!"

"Sorry, Lee! Lat and I are going to climb trees!"

"Can I come?"

"Uh! How about next time? We have a score between us who can climb trees quicker."

—

"Lao, Liu! Let's train that 'fist' things Babu teaches us!" She would find someone else. She has six sisters for spirit's sake. She can persuade one of them to play with her, right?

"Nope~ We have to spar with each other!"

"Yeah! Only two can spar. You're the odd one out!"

—

"Lum, Woo! Come on, acrobatics and dancing are not that different! Let's just try something together while doing our things while, Woo, you can learn insults while watching us!"

"No can do, bitch! Lum is my practice dummy! Find your own bitch!"

"Sorry, Lee, I'm preparing a special dance performance like your acrobatics for Babu to see~ Woo is my critique. No one else can see it right now."

—

Eventually, she stopped asking altogether. The feeling of disconnect continued in her family, but things weren't that bad. They would still talk all the time. Even if Azula disappeared, she still had Mai.

But things came crashing down when their Babu gave in to his heart condition and died one night. He went away peacefully in his sleep. The funeral had been tiring but serene, even if marred by their tears.

However, for Ty Lee, sadness only piled on when they returned home.

Mai had left with her family for the Earth Kingdom.

And as Ty Lee looked around to find comfort with her sisters... she saw the same sight.

Seven sisters.

Three pairs of two and...

One odd one out.

She left that night. She had no plans, but she could not stay in that house. She wanted to clear her head. She wanted to be away from them. A part of her wanted to be found within days. That's why she hadn't left the capital but took her time to join the circus.

But nothing happened.

So, the other uglier part of her won.

'Maybe they forgot about me. Not that I mattered to their precious pairs.'

So, when the opportunity to leave the capital arrived, she latched onto it.

— — —

'They could not even leave my first routine alone,' Ty Lee winces internally as Ty Lum holds her and spins her around in a dance move that she said she found in their family's secret storage.

She finds herself against Lao and Liu, who take mock stances before performing fake chi-blocking strikes that Ty Lee dodges promptly and performs a similar counterattack.

'This is my first performance for Babu. But.. it also has their first performance.'

Well, aside from Ty Woo, who was grounded for insulting a servant to his nine generations as her performance, the rest are all incorporated.

Every time her sisters hold her with genuine affection, a part of Ty Lee broke down further.

Why could they not do something so simple before?

Why did she have to be the odd one out?

Who even decided on the pairs?

Why did no one ask her about it?

Why couldn't just one pair invite her in?

Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY?

The thoughts and emotions which she has kept suppressed for years burst out.

The spectators have long gone silent.

It's not just the sight of the angels in white performing their hearts out that have caused them to spectate the breathtaking scene in silence but...

They notice something. Something pure.

Something even a menace like Azula does not have the heart to defile.

It's similar to a crystal dew in the dawn's first glow. It conveys emotions in several manners. The sight of it resonates a similar emotion among those who are close to each other and seeing Ty Lee like that, Kya is the first one to get affected. Others follow soon. Not Azula. She empathizes but she is not that sappy.

Even Sokka cannot control it. Even Zuko is infected by it.

Nik just watches in amazement.

'Why did it ever fucking matter if I sleep with her or not? When did I even come up with that dead-brain rule? I want her to know it. All.' His thoughts clear up in an instant. Things are only complicated when he makes them one.

The seven of them come to a stop.

And as they spread their hands out to take the final bow with Ty Lee in the center...

As the rush of excitement fades.

As they notice tears in the eyes of the spectators.

They realize—

Their smiles are long gone. Somehow, their sight has long been cloudy, but it failed to stop their performance today as... Sisters.

And like their spectators, tears stream down their cheeks without any intention of stopping.

The Ty Family welcomes their guests to the angelic mess they have always been.

***

Alternate Title: Frivolously Dangerous; Sokka's Big Brian Moment; The Parent Exchange is Finalized— Consent is Provided; Azula's New Mommy; The Halo; Performing Their Hearts Out; Conveyed Feelings; The Odd One Out; Absence of Babu; Resounding Tears; The Drunken Bros; Numbered Ty; Knowing Correct Identity is... Hot; The Sisters' Target; Septuplet Rizz

***

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