Welcome back, people! Here comes another tale of Avatar Niella, with a few more twists and turns and brand-new characters.
Recap: Niella learned that she was the Avatar, and travelled to Ba Sing Se to learn earthbending from Toph. However, her training was cut short when she overheard a conspiracy plan to abduct the Earth King's daughter Tae Xing. The night of the kidnapping attempt, Niella and Tae Xing were escorted by Mai's brother Tom-Tom (remember the little baby in the episode 'Return to Omashu'? That's him!) to Sokka's ship. Hahn showed up and ordered Sokka to let him transfer the girls to Kyoshi Island instead. Sokka refuses, but Niella agrees, because she is still angry at him - and Katara, Suki, and Ty Lee - for not telling her she was the Avatar.
I had a bit of a writer's block here and there, but Chapter 4 and the first bit of Chapter 5 just flowed, because I got this brilliant idea and everything just clicked. Until then, enjoy this almost-as-interesting chapter.
DISCLAIMER: Actually, I do own Avatar. Yeah, right! If I did, then you would have a Book 4!
WORD COUNT: 1695
Thunder boomed and harsh forked lightning flashed. Rain beat down on a small tent set up in the southeastern corner of the Fire Nation. Its two occupants, a man and a woman, were soaked to the bone, but they didn't care. They had much more important issues at hand. "Long Feng's plan has failed," the woman stated, "Failure cannot be tolerated." A crack of lightning revealed a malicious glint in her amber eyes.
"P-perhaps Long Feng should receive a s-second chance," her companion stuttered.
She whipped around to face him. "You would defend a failure? That makes you a traitor."
The man backed away, his face contorted in pure terror. "A t-traitor? N-no, please, mi-milady. Have m-mercy!" He bent down and knelt at her feet, begging for his life.
"Mercy…" A flicker of blue flame appeared between her fingers. "Mercy is for the weak!" From outside, anyone could hear the man's cry of agony, even over the tumult of the storm. The woman walked calmly out of the tent as it burst into flames, despite the heavy downpour. "Soon, I will have my revenge, and no one, not a traitor or this new Avatar, will be able to stop what is meant to be." She began cackling manically, as the lightning struck the tent behind her, fully ensuring that the man would not survive.
Elsewhere, the storm was also taking effect. A long wooden ship with deep blue sails was being tossed about by the waves like a toy. The Waterbenders on board were working tirelessly to keep the vessel above the surface. The only female in the group, a mere teenager, was the main reason for their continued survival. She never stopped moving, pushing away the biggest of the waves one after the other. Most of the men, when they had a spare second to think about it, were offended that a girl had outdone them, but then again, she was the Avatar.
Niella felt a stabbing pain in her lungs each time she took a breath. But she couldn't stop. Everyone would be lost if she rested, even for a second.
"Land!" the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Hahn, shouted, pointing to a small island nearby, "Head for the land!"
Working in unison, Niella and the other Waterbenders summoned up their own wave, carrying the boat all the way to the wet, sandy beach. The ship was then immediately frozen in place. They were safe for now.
Niella dropped to her hands and knees, too tired to stay standing. Her heavy cloak, blue nightdress, and long black hair were plastered to her thin frame by the torrential downpour. Everyone was soaked.
"Everybody all right?" Captain Sangok called. Of course he would be the one to ask. He was always putting the crew's safety before his own, while Hahn only cared about his reputation – dismal as it was. It was a wonder he'd ever been made chief of the Northern Water Tribe. Mumbles – all though they could not be heard at all – and nods came from the Waterbenders, who were slowly getting to their feet. Niella pulled her sopping wet hair out of her eyes, only to have it fall back a second later.
"Alright, everyone below deck!" Hahn ordered. Everybody stood up wearily and descended to their quarters. Niella flopped down on her hammock, still dripping wet. She didn't bother trying to sleep, exhausted as she was; it was no use with the pounding rain overhead. They were way off course, and she knew it. Kyoshi Island was so far away, especially with Hahn in charge, but now they might never get there, thanks to this storm.
Tae Xing lay silently in the hammock on the other side of the cabin. Her hair, long and black, just like Niella's, was still up in its ponytail. It hadn't been combed in a while; there were no servants on board for the task, and surprisingly, she hadn't ordered Niella or one of the men to do it. She shivered in her thin, olive green, silk nightdress, a fur-lined blanket wrapped around her body. Niella never cared much for her normally superior attitude, but now she pitied the princess. Tae Xing's personality seemed to have changed the night they'd left the Earth Kingdom. She barely ever complained, or fussed, or ordered people around, because she barely ever spoke at all. The only time she would ever say anything was whenever she needed to know something, and she would only ask either Niella or Sangok. Her drastic behavioural change, Niella assumed, was probably caused by shock. After all, she'd been evacuated from her home in the middle of the night, all because of some Black Phoenix Society that Niella barely knew about. No one had really told the young Avatar about these people; she'd only overheard an argument about them.
"You can't do this, Hahn!" Sokka argued, "The Black Phoenix Society is about to start a full-scale war, and at this point, the people of Kyoshi will not allow any ship but mine into their bay. You'll only make things worse!"
"They will let me in. I am also a chief of the Water Tribes. And besides, I don't see any problem with these Black Phoenix people, or whatever they're called. They've been quiet for the full fifteen years they've been together."
"Long Feng is one of them, you know that, and he's the one pulling the strings on this whole conspiracy!" Sokka sounded like he was getting dangerously close to losing his temper. "If that isn't a sign that they're on the move, then I don't know what is! You're putting the Earth Kingdom Princess and the Avatar in danger!"
Niella had tried to ask Hahn about the Black Phoenix Society, but he'd frowned at her and told her to mind her own business. Now she knew why Sokka hated him so much. He talked down to his men, he treated her like a tagalong child, and only showed respect to Tae Xing because she was royalty.
Two weeks had passed since Tae Xing and Niella had switched from Sokka's ship to Hahn's. They'd had to travel through the Ba Sing Se Canal, across the bay, and around the Serpent's Pass. Hahn had almost gone right through Serpent's Pass, but Tae Xing, knowing even more stories about the monster than Niella, had persuaded him to take a detour. Then they'd hit the open ocean at the eastern tip of the Earth Kingdom, and began sailing north around the whole continent to Kyoshi Island. If Hahn hadn't been so stubborn, they would've headed southeast, around the southern tip of the Fire Nation. But to him, that would mean sailing off the edge of his seriously out-of-date map. So it really was no surprise that they hadn't arrived yet.
"Avatar Niella?" Tae Xing's voice startled the young Avatar out of her thoughts. "Are we ever going to get there?"
Niella sat up and looked over. The princess was staring at the ceiling. "Of course," she replied, "It just might take a little longer than we thought."
"Chief Hahn really has no idea what he's doing, does he?"
"He never knows what he's doing. He just thinks he does."
"You seem to know him pretty well."
"Not that much, just enough to know that going with him wasn't my best idea ever."
"Then why did we do it?"
"I overheard Hahn mentioning that Sokka accidentally let Hahn's fiancée die during the war, or something. I didn't get the full story. So I thought we'd be safer here. Something tells me I messed up there."
It was a week later when the shores of Kyoshi Island finally came into view. Tae Xing obviously liked the prospect of leaving the ship, but Niella felt torn. On the boat, she had to deal with Hahn, and on the island, Suki and Ty Lee were probably waiting. She was still angry with them for lying to her.
When they docked, they were met by an entire army of Kyoshi Warriors. Sure enough, Ty Lee was at the front, glaring at Hahn as he walked down the gangplank. "You're so lucky we saw the Avatar on board," she warned him, "We would've sunk your ship right out from under you otherwise. Sokka was supposed to bring the girls, not you. Dark times are coming, and showing up unannounced is a pretty foolish move, now. Even for you, Hahn. What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?" Considering that Ty Lee was never angry, it added more impact to her words.
Hahn returned her look. "You should hold your tongue when speaking to a Chief. Sokka could not be trusted with the job. I simply did what I could to prevent a disaster."
"How dare you?" Ty Lee bristled, "If you're suggesting that Sokka might betray us, then…"
"I never said that. Besides, who would he turn to? The Black Phoenix people everyone's so worked up about? They're not a real threat. They're nothing but a bunch of cowards who are just trying to scare people with empty threats. I'm surprised they're even brave enough to let the world know they exist."
"You're wrong. Their leader may be crazy, but she is no coward. She's in hiding to fool people like you! Don't forget, I knew her better than most people."
"Oh, that's right. You were one of her best friends. It's strange how much people seem to think you can be trusted." He took a threatening step forward, but Captain Sangok reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sir?" he asked, "Shouldn't we be escorting the Avatar and the princess to the village?" Hahn whipped around and glared at him, but nodded.
Azula's back! And crazy as ever! Actually, she has regained SOME of her sanity, but she's still quite a bit off, and desires revenge. So we see now that Niella is clearly regretting her decision to go with Hahn, no duh. And we've seen a darker side to Ty Lee, but remember that she is unhappy, she's over 20 years older, and these are even more serious times.
Now, the Black Phoenix Society is named in reference to the Phoenix King and the Order of the White Lotus, or the White Lotus Society (or is it a combo of both?). Of course, they would use black instead of white. It's a rebellion we now know was started by Azula. It consists of people from all 3 nations (since Aang is gone, the Air Nomads no longer exist). Most of Azula's followers are only working for her because she is using their loved ones as bartering chips. But there are a few like Long Feng, who is only working with her to achieve his own goals.
