The Blue Spirit
And The Freedom Fighters Of Ba Sing Se
(Book I Of The Blue Spirit Trilogy)
PROLOGUE
The Fireplace
The lone ship made a strange sight as it rocked gently in the calm waters of the Northern Sea, weighed firmly down by its three anchors while repairs were made. Members of the crew could be seen dangled over the sides of the deck on platforms, inspecting the hull of the vessel, which was severely damaged. There were several holes and tears in the metal, some of which were gaping wide open: scars of the battle they had just survived. Flashes of red flared occasionally as firebenders used their powers to patch up the breaches; and under the dim light of the stars – there was almost no moon that night – the bright red glow of their fire glinted and danced, reflecting eerily in the water.
Above the cabins, the ship proudly wore the insignia of the Fire Nation Navy.
Captain Bei Ling stood at the foredeck supervising the repairs, hands tied behind his back as he stared out to the sea ahead of them, as though he were expecting something to appear from the dark horizon. He was a tall, thin man with a clear, clean shaven face that wore a grim, emotionless expression. At first sight, most would find him a dangerous, frightening man, and they would not be mistaken.
"Captain," said a voice, and an armour-clad soldier kneeled to his right. Even through the muffling of the helmet, the soldier's voice was trembling slightly.
"Captain," He repeated, "I – it – the, the thing in the cabin – "
"You will address him as Officer or Admiral," Bei Ling growled. "Or does a Fire Nation soldier require lessons in discipline to respect his superiors?"
The voice almost cracked. Even in the biting cold of the Northern Sea, the soldier was sweating inside his armour. "No, sir." he said hurriedly, "Th – the Admiral, he – he is asking for you, Captain."
Without another word, Bei Ling turned on the spot, moving with no haste whatsoever, walking past the solider coldly as he headed towards the Captain's cabin. It was the biggest and most comfortable one on the ship, usually occupied by himself. At the moment, however, their special guest had taken up residence there, and it was off-limits to all save for Bei Ling himself and a few others.
As he knocked on the door, the guards standing on either side of him flinched; the men were uneasy. Ling himself could not understand why: Was not this everything they had hoped for, everything they were fighting for? This was the opportunity he had seized, which would help raise the Fire Nation to heights of greatness undreamed of even by Sozen himself.
The metal of the door was hot to the touch, and as he lowered his hand after knocking, it creaked open by itself. A red, powerful glow emanated through the doorway, illuminating his face in a grotesque manner; the guards, now clearly afraid, turned their heads away from the door. Bei Ling, however, did not move a muscle, and neither did his expression change.
"Enter." A voice said. It was as hoarse as a whisper and at the same time as clear as a thunderclap from a blue sky. Ling walked in, his face impassive.
Inside, the metal cabin was completely bare. Everything that had once been in it – the chairs, the table, the bed and the Fire Nation's Flags, were now gone. The only thing remaining now was the enormous fireplace that stood against the far wall, and inside was a sight even stranger than their lonely, damaged ship out here in the sea.
There, inside the furnace, a fire burned, a fire so strong and so hot it could put even the most powerful bender to shame; and it burned in midair of the furnace, without wood or charcoal. Its flames weaved in and out of the furnace's walls, as though it were a monster rearing to get free of its chains, ready to jump out and burn the world itself down. In the middle of this fire sat the silhouette of a man, not solid, and yet not completely ghost-like, but somewhere in the middle of both. It was clear that this person had no body, but was living inside the flame itself. And around him the fire danced, alive, free, and sentient. If the sight had not been too bright for naked eyes, Bei Ling would have seen the monstrous face that formed in the fire next to the man, whispering to him gently as if to a lover.
"Admiral." Bei Ling spoke, still kneeling with his eyes on the ground. "You sent for me?"
The silhouette in the fire did not move, but his voice spoke.
"Why have we stopped?"
"The damage to the ship was too severe, sir. We had to stop to make repairs. I assure you that it will not take long; we shall be back on course and on schedule right away."
"See that we are, Bei Ling….." The voice trailed off, only half interested. "It is important that I reach Ba Sing Se before the Black Sun rises."
Bei Ling twitched, started to say something, and stopped, evidently having thought the better of it. This simple movement, however, did not go unnoticed by the thing in the fireplace.
"You disapprove, Bei Ling?" the voice said. "You think you know better than I, perhaps?"
"No, Admiral." The reply came hurriedly, "But with The Avatar dead – "
"Avatar Aang is not dead." The voice said matter-of-factly. "He lives, and at his hands Ozai will be defeated, eventually. It is inevitable."
"Th-the Avatar lives? We must send word to – "
"No."
"But we could stop it – "
"I have no interest in serving Firelord Ozai, Bei Ling. His time as ruler of the Fire Nation draws to a close; a new era is in the making even as we speak. The Avatar may have been struck down by Princess Azula in Ba Sing Se, but he will return, and he will triumph in winning the war – for now."
"I – I do not understand. With you among us, we have the power to stop this – "
"Ozai's downfall has been written, and so it shall be. It matters not; what matters is what happens next."
"I…. do not understand."
"On the day of Sozen's comet, Bei Ling, the Firelord will fall, and the Avatar will stand victorious. By the time that happens, My own plans must be completed. There is another, and he must be found."
"Another?"
"One who wields power, power which, when combined with mine – "
There was a sudden pause as the flames seemed to roar in intensity; the incorporeal face that was in the fire spoke something to the semi-solid man; and he cowered like a scolded child. When he resumed speaking, however, there was no change in his voice. "Ours. When that power is combined with ours, we shall be stronger, stronger than the Avatar himself. And with Firelord Ozai dead, the throne shall be ripe for the taking."
"W – we, Admiral?"
There was no response. Bei Ling did not understand all of this completely: the conversation had left him with more questions than answers. He couldn't, however, think of anything immediate to say, so he waited.
"You may go." The voice said eventually.
The furnace kept burning as the Captain bowed, and left with the same calm, unhurried walk; silence reigned for a while after he had closed the door, then a second, new voice spoke.
"Ashamed of me, are you, Admiral?"
"N-no, I was just – "
And laughter sounded in the air; laughter which was as wild, as uncanny as the fire itself. The fire burned even brighter; and now the scene inside the furnace became even clearer: The human silhouette sat in the middle, and around him danced a spirit which was made of fire; it's face changing in the flames as it cackled in laughter. The man had no body, but somehow his essence, his soul was living in the flames of this spirit; and his ghost-like frame flinched.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"Sorry? Sorry?" The flames coiled around him like a snake, and Admiral Zhao of the Fire Nation flinched once again, as if the fire could squeeze the life out of him, even though he had no physical body to kill. "I saved your life, Zhao, and I can take it away, just as easy. You live to do my bidding, and I care not if your soldiers think you delusional. Am I clear?"
"Y – Yes," He said. "Yes, my lord."
And outside, the repairs continued slowly, while in his cabin Captain Bei Ling pored over several maps, charting the shortest course to the city of Ba Sing Se.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: That was the prologue to the story; as you can guess, Admiral Zhao has been rescued from his Death by a Fire Spirit; to what point and purpose will be revealed later. In the next chapter, we join Jet and the rest of the Freedom Fighters (Longshot, Smellerbee and Sneers) in their Resistance against the Fire Nation's rule in Ba Sing Se. Before we go into that, I'd like to say a few things about the story I've got planned:
Canon Issues: I'm not messing with any in-canon issues or storylines of Avatar. The only two differences from the series is that Zhao and Jet are both back from the dead; other than that, everything will tie together to the third season. I'm taking a leaf out of ThanFiction's book here, I really love what he did with DA and The Year Of Darkness - taking all the amazing minor characters of the series and creating a complex, interwoven story around them parallel to the canon book. I'm attempting to do something similar here.
Characters: Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee and Sneers take center stage. There will be an appearance by June The Bounty Hunter, for the sole reason that I really love that character. Minor characters from the series will play the supporting cast: Than and Ying, (the Ba Sing Se refugees) and the baby they had in "The Serpent's Pass", the perfume-merchant nuns at the Abbey from "Bato Of The Water Tribe", and so on. After the first half we'll be joined by every single character who wasn't part of the series' finale - Hakoda, Bato, Chit-sang, The Hippo and The Boulder, Pipsqueak & The Duke, The Swamp Benders, Teo, Haru, his father, the Mechanist and the rest of the soldiers who were captured at the end of "The Day Of the Black Sun, Part 2", and finally, Ty Lee, Mai and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors. No OCs, period. The main antagonist is Zhao and the evil Fire Spirit, obviously. Bei Ling plays a good part, and so do Colonel Mongke and the rest of the Rough Rhinos. Remember they're the one's who killed Jet's parents, so it's relevant here. I always thought this was a perfectly good plot which, alas, was never picked up in the series.
Shipping: Since I'm trying to keep things as in-canon as possible, there is no shipping here. However, there are some hints of Jet / Ty Lee, who meet halfway through the story.
Genre: Standard Action/Adventure Drama, with a good helping of Angst.
Synopsis: The story will follow Jet leading the Freedom Fighters as they seek a path of redemption, as part of the Earth Kingdom Resistance. Jet, now having found the Blue Spirit mask that Zuko threw into Lake Laogai, struggles to find his place, and the new, covert identity of The Blue Spirit helps. We see him and his gang join the Resistance's militia, go through training, the Day Of the Black Sun, a journey to Omashu, then play a crucial part in helping the Order Of The White Lotus launch their final attack. Zhao and his Fire Spirit's plans are the major part of the story, and I'll only reveal them as we move along 'cause I don't want to spoil it.
Feedback: R & R, please! This is my first time writing fanfic, and I would appreciate any constructive criticism. Will upload Chapter 2 ASAP.