And, here is the beginning of Chapter 2.
Basically, whenever a member(s) meets the team for the first time, I'm going to give a backstory on their life beforehand. It will give some insight into the character themselves, which is what I'm trying to focus my story around before I get into the main plot.
...no one even gave a guess at the woman in white... I'm deeply disappointed in you, readers!
Story and character ideas are credited to MADJesters1.
Book 1: Pain
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Chapter 2: The Doctor and the Student
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...
Friedrich was never an ordinary child. Everyone could tell that, especially with his... eccentric... mother.
Honestly, the woman had a screw loose, but, with her being the most powerful water-bender in the tribe, no one dared say it aloud. Friedrich, unfortunately, had the mind of his mother, and no one was overjoyed by it...
...least of all, his father.
Friedrich never went outside to play, instead choosing to stay in his room and read books. Not very unusual in itself, except he would read books on... interesting topics.
The Human Body
Theories on the Branches of Bending (1)
Medieval Torture
Blood, and All Its Wonderful Qualities
The list would go on and on, each subject becoming less childish and more sadistic. Not that his mother had any problems with it; she encouraged it. So, when Friedrich turned seven, prompting his mother to begin his water-bending training, most of the fellow tribesmen started the habit of locking their doors at night. It wouldn't do much against her...
...but a small amount of comfort can go a long way in trying to get a good night's sleep
...
...
"Mommy?" Friedrich asked hesitantly. "What are you doing to that penguin-otter?" Remira gasped in shock, and, acting on a reflex, locked up her son's limbs so that he could not escape. Once she realized who it was, she gasped.
"Fried! Oh, I never meant to do that to you!" She quickly released her hold on him, and he collapsed to the ground. She rushed over and began to check on him.
"Mommy! What was that?" She hesitated in telling him; not because she thought he would fear her, but that he would tell someone her secret. That would not do.
"Can you keep a secret?" she asked in a mock-conspiratory tone. He nodded excitedly, a curious gleam in his eyes. "Do you remember the forbidden water-bending art you read about in your books?" He thought for a moment before his eyes widened in realization.
"Blood-ben-" Remira quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, due to him shouting the answer out loud.
"Yes; blood-bending," she assured him. She removed her hand after making sure he wouldn't start yelling again; it wouldn't do to have the tribesmen finding her here like this. "That's what mommy can do; mommy is a blood-bender."
"Can I blood-bend?" he asked innocently. She seemed shocked at his bluntness, but overjoyed he wished to follow in her footsteps.
"I will train you, Fried. If, you promise to never tell anyone about what mommy can do."
"I can't tell anyone?"
"No."
"Not even Papa?" She paused.
"Papa... Papa knows, but he doesn't like me doing it..."
"Why not?! It seems really interesting to know how to blood-bend! And, there are many different life-saving techniques that can be-" Remira silenced him, once again, when his voice started getting louder.
"I know it can save lives, sweetie. But, other people fear the power blood-bending gives me. I could freeze up the joints of all of our friends and family with a twitch of my finger; I could cause an army to fall upon each other's swords with a wave of my hand; I could make a person's heart stop in the blink of an eye." With each example, Friedrich's eyes grew wider and wider as he realized the implications of her power.
"So, people fear you because they can't control you..." he summarized. She nodded, slightly impressed by his intelligence from this young age.
"Papa also fears me, but he loves me more. That's why he hasn't given me up to the authorities yet..."
"You say 'Yet'. Why 'Yet'?" Again, he shocks her with his knowledge.
"Because..." she swallowed. She finished in a whisper, "...I promised him I would never teach you." Friedrich's eyes narrowed.
"And yet, you are willing to break that promise," he accused. She straightened up, and narrowed her eyes right back at him.
"I believe that it should be the student's decision, not the teacher's. Do you not want to blood-bend anymore?" she asked, tauntingly.
"Of course I still want to learn, but-"
"No 'buts'! You want to learn, then you will listen and obey me, do you understand?" He slumped in defeat.
"Yes, mother. I understand."
(Two years later... Friedrich: 9)
"We have reason to believe..."
"Mommy! No, please! Let her go!"
"...that Remira of the Southern Water Tribe..."
"She's done nothing wrong! Why are you doing this?!"
"...is a practitioner of one of the darkest kinds of bending: blood-bending."
"No! You're wrong! Let her go!"
"Friedrich! Come away from here; you don't want to watch this..."
"And, as follows with the laws set by each of the nations, Remira will be jailed for the rest of her existence."
"Papa! Please, we have to save Mommy!"
"...There's nothing we can do."
"May the Spirits protect us."
"May the Spirits protect us..." the crowd echoed. Remira was carted away, who made no sound whatsoever even as her son chased after the wagon until his little legs stumbled and he fell. As he lay face-down in the snow, he began to sob, knowing his mother was gone forever.
"Friedrich..." He sniffled, and slowly raised his head up to look at his father. "...I need you to tell me the truth; did your mother ever train you in the art of blood-bending?" He stared into his father's face, seeing the fear in the elder's eyes. He glared at his father, wishing him nothing but death.
"She kept her promise, father. You have nothing to fear from me," he spat in fury. He picked himself off the ground, and stormed off.
(Five years later... Friedrich: 14)
"Son... what have you done?!" His body suddenly seized up, his joints moving and out of his control. His body slowly rose into the air, and floated over to his son.
"Oh, father... I'm simply teaching the Southern Water Tribe a lesson. A lesson they won't soon forget..." He began to giggle maniacally. The rush of power he felt whenever he was blood-bending...
...it was addictive.
"But why would you do this?! These are innocent people!" Friedrich turned to his father with a glare of pure hatred.
"MY MOTHER WAS INNOCENT! And they saw no problem in locking her up for the rest of her life!"
The elder would later swear to have seen Friedrich's irises turn scarlet for a split second.
"...she would never have wanted this."
"And what would you know about what Mother would have wanted?! You never loved her, you feared her! And you are afraid of me as well!"
"Son... I'm not afraid of you; I'm afraid for you! If you had told me the truth that day, they would have killed you and your mother instantly... and I would have lost the last important thing in my life..." Friedrich froze, shocked at his father. He released his hold, and his father collapsed to the ground.
"Oh, god no..."
And with that, the ecstasy he felt was gone.
"You need to leave the village." He looked up at his father, stunned at the statement. "They will do everything they can to end you, now that you've gone and done this. Nothing will stop them, and I can't lose my son as well." Friedrich's eyes teared up.
"Father...
"Take these..." He filled a bag with some food and money. "...and go to the dock and take our canoe. If you use your water-bending instead of oars, you can reach the southernmost point of the Earth Kingdom by noon tomorrow. Lay low for a year before you can go back into crowded cities, but don't ever go into Republic City; the police there will jail you the moment they see your 'Wanted' poster." Friedrich nodded, committing all the information to memory. He took the bag from his father, and slowly walked to the doorway. Once there, he stopped and looked back at his father.
"I'm sorry... for what I did tonight... I just hope that, one day, you will think better of me..." He quickly walked out the door, and ran to the docks to escape.
His father stood at the doorway and watched him.
'I'm just sorry that you had to go through this at such a young age, Friedrich..." He walked back into his house, and waited for the screams of his neighbors and friends to cease(2).
(Eight months later...)
'Okay... I've managed to alter my facial bones enough, so that I am similar, but different, to the face I had that night... and, with the plan I've set up on my way here, I should be able to make it inside the city without suspicion. Now, I just need Cobal's help...'
Friedrich turned to the polar bear-dog sitting next to him.
"Alright Cobal, you remember what we practiced, yes?"
Cobal whined softly, and nuzzled Friedrich's hand.
"I know, I know... you are afraid of hurting me. But, we've practiced, remember? You'll know when enough is enough."
Cobal snorted, and turned his head away.
"Cobal... we don't have time for this! The patrol is going to be here in five minutes, and you need to have me looking the part long before then if this is going to work!"
Cobal barked back at him.
"Agh! Don't bring that up! We swore to never speak of it again! Ever!"
Cobal sighed.
"Look, I once told you, 'Help!' would be the safe-word, remember? That will be your cue to stop and run, okay?"
Cobal stared at Friedrich for a moment, before dipping his head down and bringing it back up.
"Good! We are ready!" He turned somber for a moment. "...I am going to miss you, my friend..."
Cobal nuzzled him in the side.
"Well, maybe I can come out to see you every once in a while... on the sly, of course."
Cobal sneezed at him. Friedrich usually took that to mean, "Of course!"(3).
"Alright, the patrol will be here in two and a half minutes, and we'll start at two. Are you ready?"
Cobal sneezed again.
"Good." A thought occurred to him a moment later. "Ah yes!" He turned to his large companion.
"Don't forget to give me a good wallop on the head; for the plan of course!"
...
...
Later, when Friedrich was being flung throughout the icy landscape, teeth and claws cutting open his flesh, he would question the thought process that led him into this situation.
'Oh, Cobal will know to be gentle!... enough...'
'Cobal's teeth aren't that sharp, I won't be in any danger!'
'Hmmm, how could I get into the Northern Water Tribe without suspicion?'
Really, what had been going through his mind?
Nothing sane, obviously...
Oh, look, here comes the Border Patrol, right on schedule. Luckily, Cobal had already smelled them and took off running before they could catch him. As Friedrich lay, bleeding on the ground, members of the Border Patrol surrounded him and quickly began assessing his injuries.
"He's losing a lot of blood..."
"His head has been split right open!"
"Do arms bend that far?"
Okay... maybe Cobal had taken it a little too far...
"We need to get this kid to the hospital, quick!"
...see? Plan was working perfectly.
With his wounds finally taking their toll on him, Friedrich sank into unconsciousness.
...
...
"Ah, it's good to see you are back in the waking world!" Friedrich's eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the white walls and bright lights. "You gave us quite a scare when the Border Patrol brought you in half-dead from a polar bear-dog attack..."
"Wh-where am I?" he asked, like he didn't already know the answer. The doctor smiled at him.
"Why, you are in the hospital..."
'Perfect...' Friedrich thought to himself.
"...at the highest security prison in the world."
"W-what?!" Friedrich yelled as he sat straight up. He winced in pain at his sudden movements. He glanced around, trying to see any escape routes, when he heard...
...laughter?
The doctor had started laughing at him.
"Ahhhahahahaha! I'm sorry, but that joke gets priceless! Bwahahaha!" Friedrich stared at the doctor in bewilderment, before he began to join in as well.
"Yeah, I can see the comedy gold! It must get boring working in the hospital all day long!" After the two had calmed down, the doctor cleared his throat to compose himself.
"Now, you are in the hospital, but you are in the Northern Water Tribe, instead of prison." Friedrich breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, glad to know I'm not in prison for... huh." (This is where the acting starts)
"What? What is it?"
"Um, this is going to sound strange, but... do you recognize me?"
"I'm sorry, no. You are a new face to those of us who live here..."
"Damn..."
"Why? What is the problem?"
"I-I... I don't know how I got here..."
"I see... is there anything else that you... can't recall?"
"I don't know what day it is... I don't know where I'm from... I don't know who my parents are! I don't even know my own name!" Here, Friedrich burst into (fake)tears, covering his face with his hands so that the doctor wouldn't see him water-bending some tears out.
"My word... The medical chart said you had suffered head trauma, but... no one expected this would happen to you!" Fried continued to (fake)sob loudly, even though he was hiding a victorious grin.
The plan was simple;
-Alter his face so no one can match his face to his 'Wanted' poster
-Have Cobal ''attack'' him and make a scene for the guards
-Pretend to have amnesia as a result of the attack
-Make it into the Northern Water Tribe with no one the wiser
And, so far, the plan was a success.
...
...
The doctor quietly closed the door behind him. After a long talk with his patient, the man had fallen asleep due to the pain-killers given to him. And now, he had to report to his superior.
"Well? Is he the one?" The doctor whirled around to see a figure in the darkness, their features hidden in shadow.
"I-I believe so. My 'joke' gave the intended reaction for all patients with amnesia, but I noticed him searching for an escape route almost instantly. Along with that, the bones in his face seem to be disturbed. I'm not quite sure whether it was from the polar bear-dog attack, or..."
"Or if he did it to himself."
"Correct."
"...Is it possible for a-"
"It has never been tested before; it may very well be, but, again, he might not have done it to himself..."
"I see... I will report this to her, and we will see what she wants to do with the boy, if he is who we want..."
"I understand. I will return to my rounds now." The doctor began to walk away.
"One more thing..." He turned around to see that the figure had disappeared. "...don't interrupt me again, mi amigo(4)."
He was trembling for the rest of the night.
(Five years later... Friedrich: 20, Ms. Pauling: 7)
...
...
Friedrich had been quite successful since his arrival in the Northern Water Tribe. With the 'discovery' of his water-bending abilities, Friedrich had 'trained' himself until he reached his actual level, then trained some more. He has proven himself as a skilled fighter,gaining him the attention of the chief and council(5). On top of that, he had risen through the ranks as one of the greatest healers since the Hundred-Years War. They called him 'The Medic', which seemed to have become his official name in the tribe. His life had been running smoothly since that night, and he couldn't be happier.
"Ugh... it's that child again..."
"Her father was a monster, I heard..."
"And she's an orphan too, so what happened to her mother?"
"Lost her mind, they say."
"Really? And the child is sane herself?"
Friedrich noticed the whispers and murmurs , and followed the line of sight of the gossipers to see a young girl, no older than seven. She was walking through the crowds, head bowed and trying to stay unnoticeable. Of course, those that saw her would glare at her or shy away in fear.
Friedrich, though, just couldn't help but see himself walking through the crowds. Ever since the day his mother was taken away, those were the same looks he had been given.
He hated it. And he hated what they were doing to this child.
...
...
Evelyn kept moving, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Ever since her father had been executed, she had been put in the orphanage and was being tormented by her fellow orphans. This lead her to stay out as much as possible, and she would head to the library to read, and read, and read. The librarian was kind to her, always saying hello and allowing her to bring the books back to the orphanage (provided she takes excellent care of them).
No one else had the same common courtesy.
She was talked about as she walked through the streets, and she had been on the receiving end of too many glares for a young child to bear. They never even tried to get to know her, and condemned her for her father's actions and her mother's infamy. She lived her life alone, and she had no chance to change it.
"Hello there." She froze, as an older man (at least, the person was wearing a man's shoe) had just walked in front of her and greeted her.
This had never happened before.
She looked up slowly, and saw the famous 'Medic' standing in front of her.
"H-h-hello, sir..." she replied. Around them, the crowds had frozen in shock at the exchange. He looked down at the books she was bringing back to the library, and grinned.
"Ah, I see you are interested in medicine and the human body?" He left the statement as a question, obviously wanting her to answer.
"Y-yes sir; I w-want t-to learn h-how to heal people, like you do." She felt a little more at ease the more she talked with him.
"Like me? I'm not that big of a deal, am I?"
"Of course you are! Everyone says you are the greatest healer since Master Katara(6) herself!"
"Oh really? And you want to be like that, do you?"
"Yes I do! I want to be a respected healer of the Northern Water Tribe!" She felt the color drain from her face. How did he get her to reveal her greatest dream within two minutes of conversation?
She looked over his shoulder, and flinched when she saw one of the shopkeepers striding towards her with a broom. This specific man would never allow her in his store, and would bring his broom out on occasion just to threaten her with it.
...
...
Friedrich was happy he stopped to talk with this girl; she wanted to be like him someday, if not greater. Honestly, there's nothing more fulfilling knowing you've set the bar for other people to work towards.
She suddenly looked over his shoulder and flinched, as he heard footsteps marching towards him. Deciding to let this play out, he let whoever was walking push past him and go towards the girl.
"Go on and scram! You have no right talking to Mr. Medic like that!" As he raised the broom he held in his hand, Friedrich finally acted; he bended the snow covering the ground below them into rising up and freezing around the man's falling hand. The girl flinched in fear, and remained that way until she realized that the expected blow never came. As she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see the broom was frozen in place only inches from her head. The man was struggling to free his arm, and began to yell at her.
"What did you do, you little freak?! Are you a water-bender, or are you more like your father?!"
"That would be my fault, I'm afraid." Eyes turned to Friedrich, who felt it was time to end this stupidity.
"Mr. Medic! I'm terribly sorry this... child disturbed you! Please, accept our apologies!" Friedrich raised an eyebrow, and pulled a face.
"I... see... may I ask what is wrong with the girl? She seems perfectly normal to me in every conceivable way." The shopkeeper seemed surprised.
"You mean you don't know? Well, I understand you wouldn't know about her mother, but her father... Did you hear about the recent massacres in the northern-most Earth villages?" Medic nodded. "Her father did that, with blood-bending." He began to nod sagely, almost like he was imparting great knowledge upon Friedrich. Friedrich walked up to the man.
"I understand." A large icicle formed in his hand, which was stabbed into the man's foot, eliciting shocked responses from the surrounding crowd and a cry of pain from the man himself. "I understand completely."
Turning to the crowd around him, he started to speak, "You all seem to think that the knowledge of blood-bending can be imparted upon a child simply because it's her father! Well, let me tell you something: blood-bending is taught, not known from birth! She is too young to have any training in any forms of water-bending! You are mistreating her in your pathetic ignorance!" As the man continued to sob in pain, Friedrich crouched down and began to whisper in his ear. "And if I ever see you try to hit a child with anything ever again, that icicle is going to gohigher up, and you will remain childless for the rest of your life."
The shopkeeper could only nod amid his tears, and Friedrich yanked the icicle out of his foot unkindly.
"Go find yourself a doctor who gives enough of a shit to heal you."
(11 years later... Medic: 31, Evelyn: 18)
...
...
Evelyn had been living with him ever since as an apprentice and a daughter (not legally, but their relationship had long since passed 'student-teacher'). She had excelled in her water-bending, capable of beating him every few rounds or so. Unfortunately, her healing training hadn't gone as smoothly. She had the skill, and she knew what to do, she just... couldn't. The only hope was that, eventually, her training in control would unlock the talent and allow her to heal wounds.
Until then, she would continue to accidentally freeze the offending injury(7).
Alongside training Evelyn, he had been elected as the head of the Medical Branch in the tribe; a great honor, reserved for the healer to have the most skill and knowledge.
Today, in fact, was the monthly meeting, where the heads of the different branches would give a report on the successes and difficulties within the branches. He was currently walking up the many stairs of ice to the meeting hall, something that was always a cause of annoyance.
He made it to the top, and was about to enter, when two spears crossed in front of his path.
"I'm sorry, sir, but the other council members have requested that you stay out for the moment; you will be allowed in later." Friedrich's eyes narrowed.
"I... see. If you don't mind, I'll take a walk while I wait." The guards nodded, not seeing anything suspicious, and Friedrich headed down a lone corridor. As he approached a wall, he checked to make sure no one was watching before silently making a path through the ice. As he walked forward, the ice closed up behind him, leaving no evidence he had been there.
He kept walking through, making sure no one heard him, until the ice slowly lightened to show acting like a window, the council chamber he was forbidden to enter.
Once he figured the ice was thick enough to listen in, while not giving away his position, he molded a cup out of the ice at his feet, and placed it on the ice, allowing him to listen as though he was in the room(8).
"...you sure it's him?" Chief Malakai said.
"I'm positive, sir. The pictures of what he would look like today, compared to his face now, are uncannily alike. It's either the same person, or a twin; either way, he must be brought in for questioning."
That damn shopkeeper from when he first met Evelyn had also been elected onto the council, representing the mercantile district. In the meetings, he would do everything he could to try and discredit Friedrich in some way. Outside of meetings, though, he'd spend all his time at least a mile radius away from Friedrich; first one in, first one out.
"I see... but, Friedrich says he has no memory of his past life..." Malakai asserted.
"Well, the doctor who took care of Medic made notes explaining that the reactions he had were not expected from an amnesia patient. He may very well have lied about having amnesia." Friedrich barely kept himself from snarling aloud. That damn shopkeeper was going to ruin everything!
"...*sigh* very well. I will not pass judgement on him yet, but he will be brought in for questioning. If he is the one who had massacred the village in the Southern Tribe, he will have to be-" Friedrich couldn't listen anymore. Pulling the cup away, he quickly made a tunnel of ice that led underground straight to his house.
Hopefully, he'd get there before they did.
...
...
"EVELYN!" Evelyn yelped as the yell broke her concentration; the small amount of water she was practicing control with splashed onto the ground.
"Medic? What's wrong?"
"I-I have decided!" he said hesitantly. She raised an eyebrow.
"Decided... what?"
"You and I are going on a trip around the world!"
"...why would we do that?"
"Oh, there are many different things you can learn in other cultures!" he explained as he began packing up all his equipment. "Who knows? You may come upon a breakthrough while we travel!" She nodded slowly, still not seeing any logic in this.
"And... when would we return?"
"Oh just until the council rescinds their judgement on m- I mean! I don't know, but we're leaving for a while! Pack up everything you think you would need, and personal belongings!"
She sighed as she complied with his orders.
"...We're lost."
"No we are not!"
"Face it Medic, we're going around in circles."
"How would you know? You aren't even looking at the map!" In response, Evelyn pointed at a tree that had a star shape cut into it.
"I made that about the fifth time we came through here, and added one more for each time we circled through again."
"There's only one on it though..." Evelyn led him around to the other side of the tree, to reveal nine more star shapes cut into it. "...oh."
"Yes, 'Oh... I seem to have gotten us lost!'"
"Well, we can go that way...?"
"No; we've been that way at least three separate times."
"Maybe follow the river?"
"No, that led to a waterfall."
"Or, maybe try to climb up the trees to get a vantage point?"
"N-... that is the first good idea I've heard you say since we walked into this god-forsaken forest."
"You hurt me with your words!" Friedrich(9) sniffed.
"Don't care, now get climbing."
"B- I'm the one who came up with the idea!"
"Which means you should have the right to implement it. Go." Friedrich grumbled loudly, and started up a very tall tree. Evelyn, exhausted from all the walking, chose a smaller tree with some nice shade, and sat against it. She impassively watched as Friedrich tried and tried to get more than a few feet off the ground, failing miserably each time. She scoffed.
"He's not going to get very far up the tree..."
"Seems that way to me!"
"You think he would try and use his water-bending to, I don't know, make icicles to help him get a grip!"
"Or maybe just make stairs all the way to the top using ice pedestals..."
"That could work..."
Evelyn froze. She turned her head to see a teenage boy, clad in orange and yellow, just sitting there... right next to her.
Her warrior training kicking in, she quickly stood up and, using water from the pouch every water-bender carries, quickly froze the boy's torso to the tree behind him.
"HEY! What was that for?!" the boy yelled.
"Medic! Get over here!" Friedrich fell, once again, from the tree, startled by her sudden yell.
"What is it?! Can't you see that I'm-" he stopped talking as soon as he saw her captive. "Evelyn... who is this?"
"I don't know; I was just sitting here, and he came out of nowhere!"
"Actually, I was in the tree above you. You sat down, so I decided to say hi."
"Why?"
"I dunno... I'm just outgoing like that!" Friedrich's eyes narrowed.
"You're lying." The boy glared at him.
"No I'm not! I wanted to say hi, so I did!"
"That part, you are telling the truth; the rest is a lie. Why did you approach us?"
"I told you already: I was just sitting in the tree-"
"Lie."
"-I saw you two come through this little area for the first time-"
"Lie."
"-and I wanted to say hi and maybe show you the way out!"
"...okay, that last bit was true. But how would you get us out of here?!"
"Duh. There's a town literally five minutes south of here."
...
Friedrich swallowed nervously, as Evelyn started glaring at him.
"This town..." she started. "...it wouldn't happen to be Oshibana Town, would it?"
"Um, I think it is... can't remember..."
*BAM!*
"YOU IDIOT!" Evelyn cried, as she punched Friedrich in the head. "WE'VE BEEN FIVE MINUTES AWAY FROM OUR DESTINATION THIS ENTIRE TIME?!"
"I had the map! It never said anything about-"
"SCREW YOUR DAMN MAP!" she yelled, as she took said map and ripped it into tiny shreds. Her captive just sat there, watching, and a blush started to grow on his face as he stared at her.
'Wow... I think I'm in love...'(10)
...
...
(Five minutes later... Friedrich: Five minutes older, Evelyn: Ditto, Scout: Ditto 2x)
"Well, now that we made it out of that godforsaken forest, thank you for your help by the way..." "No problem!" "...we'll be going now. Goodbye." Evelyn started walking into the town, searching for a hotel to stay the night. Friedrich, still standing next to Scout, nodded politely to the boy, and started after her.
"Um... quick question!" Friedrich turned back, and saw the boy wringing his hands nervously as his eyes darted around. "Are you, by any chance, affiliated with those guys in the grey armor?" he asked, pointing behind Friedrich. Friedrich followed his finger, and saw a group of soldiers (dressed in grey armor, obviously) walking around and glaring at the normal village-folk.
"I have never seen anyone wearing that armor in my life." Scout breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, good. Listen, can I talk to you later? In private?" Friedrich's eyebrow went up.
"Why?"
"I need your help."
...
...
"Okay, let me get this straight..." Evelyn started, as she paced the hotel room. Friedrich had located her only a few minutes after the boy (who they discovered was named Scout)'s request, and, unable to think of a better alternative, invited him in for their 'talk'.
"...you're the Avatar."
"Yes."
"And, you need our help in water-bending."
"Yes."
"But those guys in the grey are after you, for some reason."
"Yes."
"So... why should we?" Scout's jaw dropped.
"Are you kidding?! You'd pass up the opportunity to train The Avatar?! You could be as famous as Toph, or Katara, or anybody who's ever helped my past lives!" Evelyn quirked an eyebrow.
"Seriously? You think we're shallow enough to do want fame?" Scout grimaced.
"Well... I hoped it would help..."
"How do we know you're really the Avatar? You could be lying."
"He isn't lying." Both teenagers turned to Friedrich. "This entire time, he's been telling the truth; every single bit of it." Scout breathed a sigh of relief.
"See? You believe me."
"So... these guys in the grey armor are after the Avatar..."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. All three heads swiveled to stare at it cautiously.
"Who's there?" Friedrich called out.
"Room Service," came a muffled reply. Friedrich's eyes narrowed, and he quickly pulled out his water pouch. Evelyn followed suit, and Scout armed himself with his Bo Staff(11). There was silence for a few seconds, before the door was knocked down by a well-placed kick. Four men in armor walked inside and scanned the room, eyes focusing on Scout when they saw him.
"You will come with us, Avatar. Will it be quietly? Or will we have to use force?" the apparent leader demanded. In response, Scout quickly slashed his staff horizontally, sending out a gust of air which knocked the four men out into the hall. Friedrich sent a blast of water into the window of the room, giving them a route outside.
"Out the window! Now!" Friedrich yelled. Scout went first, jumping out before cushioning his fall with his air-bending. He looked back up to see Evelyn reconsidering her actions.
"Don't worry! I'll soften the fall!" Scout called to her. She nodded, before taking a running start and leaping out. True to his word, Scout used air currents to lower her to the ground safely. Scout was about to give Friedrich the same courtesy, but two enemies appeared out of a dark alley-way. One pulled out a baton, which began to spark wildly, while the other got into a stance very familiar to Evelyn.
"That guy's a chi-blocker! Don't let him hit you!" she cried, before the four went on the attack. Scout engaged the baton-wielder, his staff preventing a current from reaching him, while Evelyn, surprisingly, got into the same stance as the chi-blocker. The two began to match each other, blow for blow, not allowing one to land a solid hit on the other.
She went for a jab to his abdomen, which he smacked away before chopping at her neck with his other hand. Her head rolled to dodge the punch before, rather fluidly, transitioned into water-bending. Her arms followed the same path as her neck, making a circle in the air, water following behind, before sending it straight into the chest of her opponent. He flew back and hit the wall hard, sending him to the ground before Evelyn quickly chopped his neck and other specific areas. He became paralyzed, unable to move as she stared at him.
"H-how are you a water-bender as well as a chi-blocker? It doesn't make sense!"
"Funny story..." she began. "...when you're the apprentice of The Medic of the Northern Water Tribe, you pick up some interesting things about the human body; including chi and pressure points all over the body. Once I learned that, it was simple to incorporate chi-blocking into my normal water-bending style."
With that, she knocked him out with a quick blow to the temple.
...
...
Scout quickly knocked away the baton, before ducking another one aimed at his head. His staff whirled through the air as he waited for another opening to attack, He didn't have to wait long, as he blocked several quick strikes in succession to his torso. He thrusted at the man's skull, but overshot it and was left vulnerable. His opponent quickly capitalized on it and he soon fell to the ground, smoking from being electrocuted by a quick strike to his extended arm.
"S-shit..." Scout breathed, as he lay on the earth in pain.
"Now then, Avatar... Have a nice nap." A baton went sailing into Scout's face, and the world went black.
...
...
Friedrich had sped out of the room the moment he saw Evelyn and Scout engage their opponents. Of course, by the time he made it where they originally were, he saw that their fights had led them into different parts of the town.
"Evelyn! Scout! Where are you?!" he called.
"Medic! I'm over here!" He turned around to see Evelyn running towards him from the southern end of the town.
"Evelyn! Do you know where Scout's at?" he asked worriedly. She shook her head.
"I had started out with the chi-blocker, but then two more guys showed up, and they pushed me to the south. Scout was still here when I lost sight of him... I don't know where he is." Friedrich sighed.
"Alright... I think I've got a plan to find him, but I'll need a lot of water for it to work effectively." Evelyn nodded. Friedrich closed his eyes and concentrated. Water began rising up from the earth, the trees, and the grass, pooling into an orb above his head. Once he had enough, his eyes snapped open and, with a few quick hand movements, dispersed the water across town as a thick fog. Evelyn's eyes widened in realization (even though no one could actually see), and she began to help the dispersement. Eventually, Oshibana Town was completely covered in a fog, stretching from border to border of the town. Friedrich's head suddenly snapped up, and he turned to the east.
"There's a group of people coming in from the east border!" he alerted.
"I'll handle it! Make sure you locate Scout!" Evelyn yelled before she took off. Friedrich returned to his task as she left, sensing the water droplets in the air for any disturbances. There were multiple signatures coming from all over town, most likely villagers who were hurrying home in the fog. He kept searching, trying to find-
There!
Someone was running to the northern gates, with another person strapped to their back! And since there wasn't any signatures of any kind of battle...
Friedrich began running to the northern gate while filling up his pouch with excess water. In an effort to speed up his journey, he bent ice into slopes he could skate over houses and other obstacles he would otherwise run around.
Soon, he was able to spot his target, who was running over rooftops while carrying something on his back. Friedrich quickly set up a wall of ice to block his target's path, but he simply leaped over it like it was nothing. Friedrich, following the man's path, tried to blast him with tendrils of water, but every single one was dodged.
"Dammit!" Friedrich swore under his breath. If this kept up, Scout would be past saving in only a few minutes.
He leapt across a gap between buildings, his shadow made from the moonlight catching his eye as it flew across the street below.
'The moon...' he thought to himself. He spared a moment to glance up at the sky, trying to determine what stage it was in. 'It seems to be nearly full, but not perfectly... I can still use it!' Without a moment to spare, he quickly took command of the kidnapper. The man froze, utterly unable to move a single joint in his body. Friedrich slowed down, trying to catch his breath from the running, and casually walked over to the struggling man. As he got closer, he made the man put Scout on the ground and back away form the boy.
"Y-you! What are you-... what are you doing to me?!" the stranger yelled frantically. Friedrich glared at him.
"I spent my entire time in the Northern Water Tribe upholding the promise I made to myself; I would never do this again. You, on the other hand, just ruined all my work!" His hand clawed at his face. "Even now... the urges are coming back... telling me to subjugate the world..."
"B-blood-bender..." the man whispered in shock.
"That's right~!" Friedrich said in a sing-song tone. "I'm a blood-bender~! And, as you now know my secret..." His hand clenched into a fist. The man made a choking sound as blood spurted out of his mouth. Friedrich released the body, and the man's corpse fell to the ground.
He took several breaths, trying to calm himself down.
All of his work... trying to destroy the urges... down the drain in seconds.
His only option was to start at square one.
...
...
Evelyn met up with Friedrich over at the south entrance to the village. He was carrying an unconscious Scout on his back, and looked a little worse for wear.
"The guy didn't give you that much of a problem, did he?"
"The guy made me chase him over rooftops for a long time, Evelyn. It was a problem, but nothing I couldn't solve." She nodded, satisfied with his answer. She glanced at Scout's form in the darkness.
"We're travelling with him from now on, aren't we?"
"Did you happen to leave any of the soldiers alive?"
"I didn't, but those four guys in the hotel were gone when I went back. Whoever controls them is going to learn of us, and he will try to kill us." Friedrich nodded.
"My thoughts exactly."
"So, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?"
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Evelyn." Friedrich complimented as he walked off into the forest. Evelyn followed suit, and the group of three had soon vanished from Oshibana Town.
"And you are certain it is the same one?"
"Positive, sir. He had the same physical characteristics of the boy that... Squadron 5... was sent to retrieve. And you remember what the village looked like after we sent in backup..."
"I do. Now, who are the other two that were travelling with him?"
"One of them has been identified as 'The Medic' of the Northern Water Tribe. The man is hailed as a water-bending prodigy; a second coming of Master Katara, as they say. The woman was his apprentice. She has skill in water-bending, but lacks in her healing abilities."
"I see... You may go." The soldier saluted before promptly marching out of the room.
"Daddy, when will I get to play?" a female voice asked, almost whining.
"Soon, Olivia. You still haven't defeated your master, have you?" A sigh escaped lips.
"No, Daddy... I haven't. But I will soon!
I will kill him, and then I will bring you the Avatar!"
End of Chapter
Oh my GOD this took forever! I want to make the chapters longer, because longer chapters means more reading. And who doesn't LOVE reading Fanfiction?! But, at the same time, I can't finish it on time! I make you wait and it's so annoying when you people ask me 'When's the next chapter coming out?', and I'm like, 'Hold your horses, shit-biscuits!', and then you're like-
Shit. Sorry, more rants.
A.N. Time!:
(1): That's what I think the 'special' bending is called: Branch Bending. Think of it like this; a fire-bender can bend fire (duh), but he can also bend lightning or combustion with the proper skill and/or training. However, only fire-benders can do this. It's not like a water-bender can suddenly shoot fire from their forehead. So, lightning bending could be called a branch off of the main path of Fire.
(2): Not gonna go into detail on what Friedrich did. Let's just remain blissfully oblivious to the horrors... Also, this entire section is supposed to be Friedrich's epiphany that he had a serious problem with the blood-bending. So he makes an important decision here to change himself, which is why he released his father, but continued to " " the villagers. After this night, he does his best to never blood-bend people. Of course... there are situations that require it...
(3): PLEASE tell me someone gets the reference!
(4): Major hint as to who the shadowy figure could be!
(5): I assumed that there is a council of some sort that rules over the tribe. If this is actually canon, then whoopdie-fucking-do.
(6): Katara became a Master of water-bending. It's practically canon.
(7): Credit to MADJesters1! You know what this is from... *wink-wink*
(8): The 'listen-in-on-a-private-conversation-by-holding-a-cup-against-a-wall-to-the-room-so-that-sound-travels-through-the-wall', shtick.
(9): I'm gonna refer to Friedrich as Medic when it's 3rd-person-limited from someone else's point of view. Remember, Friedrich remembers everything, but he has to act like he remembers nothing, not even his own name. 'The Medic' was originally a title given to him, but he adopted it as his 'name', since it looks and sounds relatively similar.
(10): I'm really against ScoutxPauling in this. That pairing just never really seemed to work for me... If you guys do want a pairing, let me know. I'm open to MF and MM, but not FF. This story just doesn't have enough main female roles for that to work properly...
(11): wp-content/uploads/wind-staff. jpg (no spaces). I'm giving Scout an actual Bo Staff, instead of his glider. Both act like a conduit for air-bending, but the Glider Staff allows him to glide (obviously), while the Bo Staff is used for physical attacks. I just felt that the Glider Staff would be to fragile to hit someone with, and (as we all know) Scout loves to hit people with his bat in TF2!
Please review, people! It's not very enjoyable when I look, and I look, and I look, but there's no one commenting on my story! Tell me what you thought about the battle scene! Tell me what you think about my characters! Tell me what you think about my writing!
TELL ME!
~Kage Musha