AVATAR: A NEW ERA
Based on the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER
All characters and events from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are not mine and they belong to Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino. However, all original characters and events in this story are mine but are not to be considered canon.
Prologue
Earth. Fire. Air. Water.
Things haven't been easy these last two years. After I defeated Kuvira and the spirit portal was opened in Republic City, the world order has begun to collapse. With President Raiko, now resigned, the different parties of the Earth Republic fighting over power, and Fire Lord Izumi falling critically ill from some unknown condition, which many believe to be the result of an attempt on her life by the Water Tribes, international tensions are only increasing. One person may not be enough to restore balance this time. It will take a special team to restore peace and balance to a crumbling world. A new era is at hand.
CHAPTER 1: Second Chances
Kuvira had been in prison for two years. After apologizing for all the horrible things she had done, Kuvira willingly turned herself in. However, being imprisoned was nothing compared to the guilt and sorrow she felt because of what she had done. Disappointing her adopted mother, Suyin Beifong, and inadvertently tearing her family apart felt even worse than when her biological parents abandoned her. Once again, she felt the overwhelming pain of aloneness. As she sat on her bed in the darkness of her platinum cell, all she could think about was what Su must think of her. She closed her eyes and a single tear ran down her cheek.
"How could I be so selfish?" she whispered. She had probably asked herself that question a thousand times.
Kuvira heard someone moving around outside of her cell and looked up. She heard keys jangling outside and then slid into the lock of her cell door. She was confused. It wasn't a guard checking on her because they had just come by ten minutes ago, and it wasn't food or water being delivered because breakfast was only three hours ago. This was a visitor. But who?
The door opened and there was a figure standing in the doorway. The sudden rush of light into the cell made it impossible to tell who it was.
A guard walked in from around the corner.
"It's your lucky day Kuvira," he said, "someone ordered your release."
Kuvira stood up and looked at the guard puzzled.
"Who is that?" she asked pointing at the silhouette in the doorway.
"This man is An'rak," the guard replied, "he has been sent to bring you to Republic City."
"Why?"
"He didn't say. But his orders were from Suyin Beifong."
Kuvira felt a rush of mixed emotions hit her when she heard the news. The last time she had seen Su was when Su gave her to the police. And now for whatever reason, Su had sent for her. Why? Obviously something big must be happening or else Su wouldn't risk releasing someone who had almost destroyed the United Republic and her own fiancé.
Kuvira walked up to An'rak. Judging by the colors and style of his clothing he was clearly from a wealthy fire-nation family.
"Alright, let's go," she said.
Kuvira and An'rak made their way to the checkout desk. An'rak signed the form for releasing Kuvira and the man behind the desk went into the back room to grab Kuvira's things. After he handed Kuvira her clothes and personal belongings, she went into the restroom to change. She slipped out of her prison clothes, put on her Metal Clan military pants, and slid her boots onto her feet. She walked over to the sink and splashed some cold water onto her face. She grabbed a towel, dried off and then looked in the mirror.
'Time for a new start,' she thought to herself.
She looked down and saw a pair of scissors lying on the sink. She picked them up and removed their cover. After looking at them for a brief moment, she grabbed her hair and cut it just below the shoulders. She threw the hair into the trash can, slipped on a green long-sleeve shirt over her white sleeveless shirt and walked out the door.
"Ready?" An'rak asked.
Kuvira nodded.
"Alright, next stop, the town of Sai Shao."
An'rak and Kuvira walked out the door. Kuvira felt a comforting breeze. It was the first time in two years that she had felt the wind against her, the first time in two years that she had felt the warmth of the sun on her face. She closed her eyes and smiled.
'Time for a new start.'
Kuvira and An'rak were walking along the dusty path on the way to their first stop. Kuvira looked over at An'rak. He stood up straight with his shoulders back, chest out and his chin held high, and he walked with long, confident strides, he was obviously military.
"So why did Su send you to come get me?"
"She didn't say," An'rak replied, "but something tells me it's really important."
"I thought she hated me," Kuvira said "after all I had done to her and her family. How can anyone forgive me for what I've done? And now I'm being called to Republic City, a place I almost decimated."
"Oh don't worry, a lot has changed over the last two years."
"What do you mean?" Kuvira asked.
"Well for starters, President Raiko has resigned."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he didn't think he was fit to be president. I guess he just didn't feel like he accomplished anything. So he called the press to city hall and made the announcement. Then out of nowhere, Korra and Suyin stepped up and spoke on your behalf. They talked about your childhood, how your parents abandoned you at a young age and how Su took you in. How you were like a daughter to her and that you quickly rose through the ranks to become a captain of Zaofu's military, and how you thought what you were doing was righteous. A few people questioned your motives. Then Korra explained how you thought everyone was turning their back on the Earth Kingdom and how you felt it was your duty to step up and bring order, since she was gone. You also felt the world was abandoning the Earth Kingdom, just as your parents abandoned you. Granted, there were still a few skeptics, but for the most part a lot of the people understood your reasoning and learned to forgive you, even Suyin."
Kuvira was touched by these words. All this time she had thought Su would never forgive her.
"Did she really say those things about me?"
"She did. As you know, Su is a family person, and she considers you family."
"Why didn't she ever visit me then?"
"She was busy helping with reconstruction in Republic City and getting Zaofu back on its feet. She even took your advice and decided it was time for the metal clan to share its technology. As I said, a lot has changed these last two years."
Kuvira looked down at the ground.
"I'm just glad to be out of that cell."
An'rak patted Kuvira on the shoulder.
"I know what you mean," he said.
"You've been in prison before too?" Kuvira asked.
"Well, it wasn't exactly a prison," An'rak looked at Kuvira, "it was more of a 'reeducation camp'."
Kuvira looked away.
"Sorry about that," she said.
"Ah, don't be. You were just trying to help your nation."
"But it was a horrible thing to do!" Kuvira exclaimed, "All of the families I tore apart because of my paranoia, all of the innocent people whose lives I stole."
"But think about all of the good you did," An'rak said in a comforting tone, "look, you got rid of the caste system, you united the states, you brought the Earth Kingdom into a new age of progress. The new government even adopted some of your ideals. Because of you, the former Prince Wu, dissolved the monarchy and reestablished the nation as the Earth Republic."
"You saw how terrible things were in those camps!" Kuvira exclaimed, "You saw what happened to people who resisted. How can you even speak to someone like me who was the reason you had to go through that?"
"Well, my father taught me to look for the best in people. So, while what you did was wrong, your heart was always in the right place and I forgive you. You had a noble cause and I have the highest respect for your pride and patriotism."
Kuvira felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped it away as discreetly as possible.
"Thank you," she said.
They continued walking down the dirt road when An'rak saw a sign that said 'Sai Shao: 2 miles'.
"Hey, only two more miles to go!" An'rak said cheerfully, "I don't know about you but I'm starving! I know of a great place to get something to eat called Uncle Iroh's Café and Tea Shop. What do you say we grab a bite to eat? I'm buying."
Kuvira Smiled.
"Sounds good."
When An'rak and Kuvira arrived in Sai Shao they immediately stopped by Uncle Iroh's. They walked inside and took a seat at one of the tables.
"Well," An'rak said, "I'm gonna go get us some tea. What do you want?"
"Jasmine is fine."
"Alright, be right back."
As An'rak got in line at the counter, Kuvira noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw Bataar Jr., her former fiancé, sitting at a table reading the paper. He looked up and Kuvira tried to hide her face but Bataar saw her and walked over to her.
"Well, well, if it isn't the 'Great Uniter'," he said.
He took a sip of his tea and set the ceramic cup on the table.
"Shouldn't you be in prison?" he continued, "Or did you manipulate one of the guards into letting you go before getting rid of him too?"
"Look Bataar," Kuvira said, "The reason I did what I did was because I didn't want you to be used as leverage. The Avatar broke our agreement with President Raiko and I thought that my actions were just. But now-"
"Just?" Bataar interjected, "you think firing that weapon at me, your fiancé, was just?"
"Hey! I admit it wasn't right and it's been haunting me every hour of every day for the last two years! I'm sorry, okay? I made a vow never to let my personal feelings drive me to extremes again."
"I know how well you keep vows, Kuvira. Like when you vowed to marry me and-"
"Hey, Kuvira!" An'rak interrupted, "Here's your tea."
An'rak looked at Bataar, who was glaring at him. An'rak turned to Kuvira.
"Who's your friend?"
"An'rak, this is Bataar Jr., my ex fiancé."
"Oh Bataar! Kuvira's told me so much about you."
"Has she now?"
"Oh yeah, she talks about you all the time. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
As he said this, he made a motion to shake hands with Bataar and accidentally spilled Bataar's tea all over him.
"Hey! Watch it, buddy!" Bataar yelled angrily.
"I am so sorry," An'rak said apologetically, "here, you can have mine."
He picked up the cup of tea and handed it to Bataar. Bataar snatched it and took a sip. The tea was scalding hot and Bataar coughed it out and dropped the cup onto the floor. It shattered sending tea and broken pieces everywhere.
"Hey, you!" yelled the man behind the counter at Bataar, "You better pay for that cup you just broke."
"Oh yeah? What if I don't?"
"Then I'm afraid you're gonna have to leave."
"Who's gonna make me? You?" Bataar sneered, "I'm two feet taller than you!"
Bataar felt a tap on his shoulder and when he turned around he saw a mass of muscle right behind him. He looked up and saw a towering figure looking down at him.
"No," the man said, "I am."
Bataar sighed.
The giant picked up Bataar by the front of his shirt, walked him over to the door and threw him into a cabbage cart, which exploded upon impact. The man selling cabbages grabbed his head and looked down at his destroyed cart in terror.
"No! My cabbages!" he cried out in sheer devastation.
The muscular figure brushed his hands and walked back inside. Kuvira was smiling at An'rak with amusement.
"What?" An'rak asked.
"Thanks," Kuvira said.
"For what?"
"Their tea is hot," she replied, "but it's not that hot."
An'rak smiled.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Right," Kuvira said sarcastically.
After finishing their tea, An'rak and Kuvira ordered some South Pole style noodles for lunch before continuing their journey east to Republic City. A few miles later, An'rak noticed a bright blue, glowing orb on the ground by the side of the road.
"What in Raava's name is that?" An'rak exclaimed running over to the object.
"I don't know," Kuvira said, "I've never seen anything like it."
An'rak examined the object for a moment and then picked it up. Suddenly, An'rak felt a large amount of stinging pain all over as the object illuminated and sent a shock through his body. An'rak yelled out in pain and collapsed onto his back. The object exploded into a cloud of dust and dissipated.
"An'rak!" Kuvira yelled running over to him.
She put her arm around him and helped him up.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
An'rak cringed as he got back on his feet.
"Yeah," he grunted, "that really hurt."
An'rak moved his hand up to his forehead and a slab of rock erected from the ground. An'rak slowly moved his hand away from his face as he stared at the slab in shock.
Kuvira couldn't believe her eyes.
"Did you…did you just Earthbend?" she said extremely confused.
An'rak turned around and looked at Kuvira with a puzzled look.
"H-how," he stammered, "how is that even possible?"
-To Be Continued-