So… who is upset that after three months of no updates the first update is me basically telling you that I've rewritten pretty much nothing in the previous chapters, roughly adding only 3,000 more words, and instead spent the time coming up with a Side Story to include with this note? Why did I spend the past three months rewriting? Because I realized a few things about my fic that needed to be changed or added and my schedule became really packed around the holidays. Do not take this the wrong way, NOTHING HAS BEEN RETCONNED! OK almost nothing, one detail was changed but it was mostly inconsequential. All the information and events you read in the previous chapters are still there, they happened almost exactly the same way but may carry different weight with the new information.

So what's new? Well…

Chapter 1: I altered this chapter the most during the revision, rewriting the introductory scene where Korra is taken away from her family by the White Lotus and Anguta's conversation with Li about the heist on the Unagi.

1. The first was altered to where it was clear that Korra's leaving was more… traumatic than it was before. Like Anguta tried to stop the White Lotus from taking Korra and their response was to throw a fireball at him traumatic. Side note, after I realized that C.C. and Hotaru's appearances perfectly match their Code Geass comparisons while Anguta barely matched Lelouch physically, and a reviewer mentioned it, I remembered that recessive genes were a thing so rewrote that Anguta had violet eyes that he shared with a grandfather several generations ago and near black ebony hair. So Anguta has purple eyes now, not that his eye color was mentioned much to begin with but there it is.

2. The scene with Anguta and Li was also used to world build a little bit, as I've decided that I didn't really see anything overtly oppressive about the U.R.N. in the show outside of Tarrlok's actions (which, while criminal, we have no hard evidence that things were anywhere near as bad for nonbenders before his rise). So in an effort to give more credit to both The Black Knights and The Equalists efforts for the destruction of the United Republic of Nations, at least as it currently stands, I added a few more public policies that the U.R.N. is enforcing. I am proud to say that from now on the U.R.N. is a proudly practicing Eugenics (and Negative Eugenics at that) along with their own brand of Imperialism! I will explain this more after the other Chapter's overviews.

Chapter 2: I adjusted some of the dialog between characters and also used Anguta and Li to world build again, this time revealing that Republic City has an "unofficial" segregation between Benders and Nonbenders with separate neighborhoods for the two. It's unofficial because while there are no laws allowing it there are also none forbidding it, which allows the police to create nice little designated areas for the two groups to be in. It also explains why Anguta, who makes thousands of Yuan's per Pai Sho game and has several a week, is severely late at paying his rent on his small apartment. He's a nonbender living in a bender neighborhood, most of his winnings go to paying protection towards not only local gangs but to numerous police officers to turn a blind eye to his living there, otherwise they'll throw him out back to The Poles, the borough where Water Tribe immigrants are segregated to. It is not a pleasant place.

Chapter 3: This chapter was more or less completely the same, minus some wording and grammar corrections. I did explicitly say what Anguta's goal was, instead of just refer to it as "what he was planning" which in retrospect was a little stupid. He wants to destroy the United Republic of Nations because Korra would be expected if not "forced" to do its bidding. Korra's spent her entire life listening to the White Lotus and looking at snow she has no idea how the world works and would look to her predecessors legacy for the answers. Anguta tried to stop this but he was limited to once a month visits and Korra doesn't believe her kind older brother would legitimately know anything about proper governance. In short her "duties" as the Avatar can be easily manipulated to serve their purposes, Korra becoming nothing more than a tile on their Pai Sho.

Chapter 4: I introduced the existence of different languages in this chapter; South Sea is the language of the Southern Water Tribe (with North Sea of course spoken by the Northern Water Tribe) and Earthbound Dragon the language of the United Republic of Nations and Fire Nation. These languages won't play much part except to help add to the Avatar world using the excuse that everyone spoke the same language in Avatar: The Last Airbender was that they were speaking Earthbound Dragon, it having been so widespread by the Hundred Year War. I also fixed an error I found that made it seem like Tenzin's trip to the South Pole and Korra's stowaway to Republic City was a one day trip. Just to be clear that meant that they somehow crossed the entire southern hemisphere and got half way into the other in one day. That means the Avatar world would have to be unbelievably small so I upped the trip times to a week, which is still pushing it. Of course this means that Anguta spent two weeks traveling with Tenzin and his family and actually knows them better than Korra does and that by Chapter 6 it has been three and half weeks since the Port Yue Incident (which raises the question of where the hell is C.C.?).

Chapters 5 & 6: Changed practically nothing except the scene where Hotaru and Anguta have a Pai Sho match (tried making it less boring by describing their moves) and the Harmony Tower meeting (fixed an oversight where Anguta, Hasook, and Hotaru left without any of the weapons or equipment brought by the other gang members, which Anguta specifically requested they bring along with some other little touches).

So now onto the big changes, the ones that will be a major part of the storyline. To those who don't know Eugenics is the applied science of trying to improve the genetic composition of a species, in this case Humanity. It's split between two categories, Positive and Negative. The first actively encourages the spreading of "good" genes by basically offering incentives of the healthy, intelligent, or wealthy to reproduce. The other, what the U.R.N. is practicing, is the active sterilization or segregation of those with "bad" genes to stop them from spreading. So in short the U.R.N. is sterilizing the nonbender population slowly but surely because, as reviewers have noted, having the ability to command the elements kinda shows who has the superior genetic makeup. It should be noted that nowadays Eugenics is considered an act of Genocide when performed on humans.

Don't get the wrong idea, they aren't openly grabbing nonbenders off the streets and hauling them off to get fixed, but instead sterilize nonbender criminals who have had been arrested and sentenced to jail time as they believe that criminal tendencies are an inheritable trait. Of course since many nonbenders have to turn to crime to get by in Republic City and the courts are far from fair to nonbenders any arrest is almost guaranteed some jail time, no matter how short, and by extension being sterilized. Now you would think that simply staying out of trouble would mean that you'd be safe right? Wrong, because some of the doctors of Republic City have taken it upon themselves to help speed up the process whenever they can by taking advantage of their patients being unconscious during their surgeries to perform a few other procedures. So now nonbenders have a more legitimate reason to openly fear the police, instead of them deciding to ignore all the training they have in nonlethal bending and just kill them during a riot like in Port Yue, and avoid seeking medical help causing a terrible breakdown in health made worse by the unofficial segregation forcing them into the terrible neighborhoods unless they buy their way out.

So that's one of the changes, the other is that the United Republic of Nations has been spreading their borders a little bit through the use of what I call the Trust Territories. You see I wondered why should the U.R.N. be the only country, or whatever the United Republic of Nations is, to have a bit of a social revolution? So I've decided that the Earth Kingdom citizens are maybe getting a little tired with being ruled by a Confederate Monarchy under the Earth King and one by one the provinces are falling into revolt at having to live under the Earth King's rule. And the U.R.N., in the name of helping maintain balance in the world in the Avatar's absence, have stepped in to help settle down these revolting territories by taking control of the provinces and establishing them as a Trust Territory. This means that the land and the people will be held in trust to the U.R.N., similar to how the Air Temples are held in trust for the Air Nomads, until the local governments and people reach a satisfactory stability and then be returned to the Earth Kingdom. Now how much territory has the U.R.N. managed to claim using this policy?

About a third of the Earth Kingdom.

As more and more provinces revolt against their Kings the U.R.N. keeps stepping in and taking control, but they haven't really been letting the territory go after its been stabilized. The oldest Trust Territory, besides the Air Temples of course, has been held for roughly ten years and has been stable for much of that them. So what land have they claimed around their Home Territory? I couldn't find a map displaying all of the U.R.N.'s land so I'm guessing at this but I put their actual territory as roughly the lower half of the Northwestern part of the Earth Kingdom. They've claimed the upper half as two separate Trust Territory's, to the East all of the Northern Earth Kingdom has been more or less annexed as five separate territories and the closest is barely a hair away from Ba Sing Se, and to the South they've taken from The Serpent's Pass to the Mo Ce Sea to only a mountain range away from Omashu as a single gigantic territory.

So how do the United Republic Military and the political official's assigned treat these territories? Well, you'll just have to wait and see as these territories will become very important later on; otherwise this story would be set entirely in Republic City which would get boring and frankly unbelievable after a while.

Now onto the Side Story! Because I couldn't bear to just give an author's note chapter after a three month wait.


Note: This Side Story it is in fact canon to the rest of the story and happens roughly the same time as Anguta's debut as Zero on the top of Harmony Tower at the end of Chapter 6.

"Hey Gommu you should see this." The dirty and bearded bum turned away from his makeshift desk, the wood splitting and two of the legs short enough to warrant a wad of paper to fill the gap between it and the floor, and looked at the equally dirty and haggard female bum. He had never seen what Hui looked like under all that dirt and grime, but he knew she had brown hair, now closer to black without regular washing, with brown eyes and a nose and cheekbones that were by United Republic standards of beauty were just too sharp.

"What is it Hui? Is Wei causing trouble again?" Gommu asked as he walked out of his small makeshift hut and into the large dimly lit chamber that boasted a growing number of makeshift huts and tents. He had decided to make the move from his home above ground to the tunnels early this year, not wanting to deal with any of the freezing mornings in the scant days before winter and having to watch his beautiful bush wither in the growing cold, and had managed to grab a prime spot, under one of the few spots where the pipes were not leaking sewage.

"No this is something… else." Hui responded. She gestured for Gommu to follow her and started walking across the large chamber to one of the more commonly used tunnels. It led to under Dragon Flats Borough where it was far easier to enter and exit the sewers unnoticed but was slim on scavenging and begging, you had to go into the bender neighborhoods if you wanted to find the good stuff. Of course then you ran into the possibility of getting picked up by the police for vagrancy which, while not so bad if you were one of the few bending vagrants, was enough to scare off nonbending individuals who still hoped for a family someday.

"Well that's rather mysterious of you Hui. Am I to guess at what this mystery is? Did you find a bounty of thrown out Flamey-Os Instant Noodles and wished to have a moonlit dinner?" He joked and she snorted in reply. Ah it seemed that his charms were working on her as well as usual did so it couldn't be too serious or upsetting.

Not that he wouldn't have minded if his charms worked on Hui. It wouldn't be too difficult to push their two huts together and while the sewers were far warmer than the park during the winter it still got rather cold at night. It would be nice to have a partner to help scavenge and look out for you when you couldn't while you did the same. But, alas, Hui seemed intent on staying on her own until she got back on her feet. Gommu hadn't seen a lot of gray haired bums who managed to stay on their own and even fewer who ever made it back onto their feet.

"You got to see this; some crazy old lady is yapping her mouth and won't shut up. Some of the others are thinking of beating the shit out of her and dumping her in the run off." Hui explained as they entered the tunnel and the dim light from the scarce lanterns in the main chamber died. Gommu placed his hand along the wall, calling on his memory of the sewer system to help guide him in the darkness so he wouldn't accidentally fall into the sewage, and he was sure Hui did the same. They walked quietly for a few minutes with nothing but the sound of the flowing sewage and their footsteps to break the silence until the murmur of human speech became louder and louder. They rounded a corner and a small bright light came into being down another tunnel, the shapes of a small crowd visible against the encroaching darkness.

"Listen to me vagrants of Republic City!" An aged woman spoke, her hair gray and long and eyes milky with cataracts; she stood in a small alcove with a lantern at her feet casting shadows behind her. She swung her arms wide open and the dirty white robe she was wearing flew with them, the stained clothing much too large for her. "You live in the very depths of filth!" She indicated to the sewer around them wildly. "Scrounging to survive off of the crumbs of this Nation's fat and wealthy!"

'I know where this is going.' Gommu thought to himself, he and Hui reaching the crowd and beginning to push through ignoring the complaints of their fellow vagrants.

"And you deserve it!" The woman yelled and a roar went up in the crowd. "Not because you did not try hard enough or because life was not unfair to you. But because you placed your faith in beings that have no regard for your safety and are more akin to parasites than guardians." Gommu and Hui reached the front of the crowd, which was seething with anger and ready to descend upon the woman, and he put his hands up to try and sooth the woman.

"Um excuse me Miss…?" He asked and the woman's head shot to look at the general direction he was in, her milky eyes not quite looking at him.

"It is not Miss." The woman said sharply. "I am not a young girl, I am Mother Chiyo."

"Well Mother Chiyo it is a pleasure to meet you." Gommu said with a slight bow in an attempt to be pleasant. The sooner this lady was gone or he defused the situation the sooner things got back to normal. "My name is Gommu and this is my good friend Hui." He gestured to her and threw a smile to Hui but she remained expressionless and just continued glaring at the robed woman.

"Tell me Mr. Gommu what do you think of the spirits?" Mother Chiyo asked, crossing her arms over her chest and studying him with her blank milky eyes.

"Uh," He replied, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around at the gathered crowd for assistance. "I think that they are good? Guarding and guiding the world and all that jazz."

"Then you are as much a fool as the rest of these gathered imbeciles." She said simply, pointing a finger at the crowd of homeless men and women. "They too said that those monstrosities are here to guide us, to protect us. Bah!" A bristle ran through the crowd and angry shouting started up again.

"Well that's your beliefs but these fine people believe differently and you were the one to come into our home and start causing trouble so I'm partial to siding with them." Gommu reasoned. "Now I'm going to have to ask you to try and keep your voice down if you wish to stay with us. We've found that coexistence is much easier when people are not screaming at each other over the little things." He finished with a smile.

"And who are you to command me?" She asked with a raised wrinkled brow. "Are you the one who has been chosen to lead Mr. Gommu? Do you represent this mob of dirty vagrants and vagabonds?"

"You're not so clean yourself." Hui said with a cold edge to her voice. Gommu guessed by her tone that she was firmly planted in the "chuck her in the run off" side so he was alone now.

"There is more to life than the cleanliness of the body. Such as the freeing of the mind from idiocy." And another roar of anger from the crowd, this was going great.

"Mother Chiyo, what is it that you came here for?" Gommu asked, hoping he could just give this woman something so she could leave.

"Originally I came for two reasons." The woman said and walked forward to stand in front of Gommu who put on his best smile and tried to not look into her eyes. "The first, to spread the truth, has failed miserably. But the second is well within my grasp."

"And what would that be?" Hui asked displeasure evident in her voice. Gommu hoped it was for some kind of protectiveness over their group and not just anger at Mother Chiyo.

"To find someone to pass along a message." She walked to stand in front of him and leaned forward, standing on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. "When you see Avatar Korra again, tell her that only by working with the Man in the Mask can she ever hope to succeed and that her choices as Avatar will have more of an impact than any before her. The world stands on a precipice, between darkness and freedom, and when the time comes she must have her eyes opened to the world, no matter her choice." Gommu took a step back in shock and gaped at the woman.

"How, how do you know that I met her?" He stuttered out. He hadn't told anyone he had a meal with the Avatar, the sweet girl who had freely given him a deliciously cooked fish and awkwardly asked what life was like in Republic City. While the others in the crowd eyed him questioningly Mother Chiyo bellowed laughter.

"I have given up more power than you can ever imagine Mr. Gommu; it was a small feat to see into your past nary a month ago." The smile previously lifting up her wrinkles turned to a frown. "You have the message but I will not have a fool deliver it. You will see the truth." Her hand shot out and planted itself on his forehead and for a moment nothing happened.

But the next moment everything went white and Gommu screamed.


Gommu had never come close to dying before; the closest he came was when a radio exploded from a manufacturing error while he was in the Navy and shredded his arm with a blast of shrapnel. It took hours to remove all of the tiny metal pieces and his arm still ached when it rained.

The world was white all around him with nightmarish images dancing in front of his eyes no matter where he looked, unable to close his lids at the horror of it all. Decaying skulls opened their mouths and vomited more skulls who kept the parade going until it was nothing but death vomiting death all over itself. Ghosts of men walked through the endless expanse of white, their body's skeletal and naked flesh hanging off the bone with feet bleeding and pulverized by endless walking and faces stuck in eternal screams.

But the worst was the tamest of the images. It was just a woman hanging from a bent lamp post, the metal pole just bolted to the "ground" of the white expanse. She was not bleeding nor had a face eternally screaming, her body was not brutalized and her clothes were intact. The worst part was not that she was a fabricated image, but that she was a memory.

"Akna. My Love." Gommu whispered in few words of North Sea she had taught him, tears streaking down his dirty face. She was exactly as he had last saw her, right down to heavy blue furs she always wore not matter the weather and the clumsy betrothal necklace he had carved for her that had made her laugh. The noose was still tight around her neck, digging into the flesh he had kissed to make her giggle, and she still swayed in the breeze even though none existed in this hellish world. Her face was bloated and purple after so much time on the noose and he couldn't bear to look at it so he trailed his eyes down.

Right to the swollen stomach that had once bared their child. In the dying land Gommu somehow managed to find the strength to scream even louder.


"What the hell are you doing to him?!" Hui demanded grabbing the bitch's wrist and yanking it away. Gommu collapsed into a heaving mess on the floor after Mother Chiyo's hand left his forehead, barely able to get on his hands and knees.

"As I said," Mother Chiyo said yanking her wrist out of Hui's grasp with a surprising amount of strength, "I am showing him the truth."

"The fuck you are!" Hui cocked a fist back to strike the unafraid woman before Gommu stopped her.

"Hui! Stop, stop." He gasped for more air and Hui decided to abandon Mother Chiyo to help him to his feet, no one from the once angry crowd moving any closer to help him.

"Ah you still live, I knew I chose wisely. Not many people can die, visit the spirit world, make it to C's world, and come back again." Mother Chiyo moved over him and smiled down at him. "How was your trip? Did you see what I wished you to see? Did you see the truth?"

"I, I saw the spirits and what, what they were doing." Gommu wheezed out, clutching at Hui's arms in desperate support.

"Good, then you are worthy to pass along my message. Be sure to tell her what you saw when you deliver it, having a fool of an Avatar just won't do." Mother Chiyo said gathering up her lamp. "Now I must depart, I have places to be and …friends to meet."

"Now hold on a minute!" Hui yelled but Mother Chiyo kept walking down the tunnel, not heeding her. "Hey! Get back here!" She made to rise and go after her but a cry from Gommu stopped her.

"It's a lie." He whispered to the gathered crowd. "Reincarnation is a lie, only the Avatar…the rest…"

Originally this Side Story was nowhere near as dark and was simply going to be Mother Chiyo introducing the vagrants of Republic City to The Geass Cult, which was pretty much an evolved version of the religion that started up around C.C. when her Geass was at full strength and she gained her Code. It was originally going to be a little religious upheaval subplot as people who worship the spirits came into conflict with those who worship Geass and Geass users as exceptional individuals to aspire to be and Code Bearers as basically Gods. But I felt that this wasn't something that could be built up while in this story arc and wouldn't begin to happen till the much later stories.

Fun Fact: If my plans are correct The Element of Freedom is actually roughly a tenth done with Chapter 6 and under a third way through the first story arc.

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