Age 14
Noatak heard the crackling of a fire in the darkness over the howling winds before he felt the warmth of the flames or opened his eyes to the blurred cave ceiling. 'Where am I?' He wondered distantly as his vision cleared and he looked at the thick blanket covering his body. He tried to move his arms and lift himself off the ground but found them unresponsive, getting nothing more than a twitch out of his fingers for his efforts.
"Ah, you're awake." An aged voice said from the direction of the fire and Noatak strained his vision to look to his side, neck unwilling to ease the task by turning, and saw an old woman sitting on the other side of a camp fire, the white robes she wore were dirty and far too large for her. Her eyes were a milky white with cataracts as she stared blindly at him. "You're very lucky you know. Not many friendly souls in the middle of a blizzard."
"What happened?" Noatak croaked, struggling to form the words with a half dead tongue. "How did I get here? Who are you?"
"I found you stumbling through storm, near death and practically out of your mind from the cold. I brought you here to warm you by the fire." She answered as he turned his head to look out the mouth of the cave, his neck finally moving at his command with great struggle, to see a near impenetrable wall of furious snow whipping past. The light from the fire barely did anything to illuminate the vast expanse of snow fields that must have lain out there, only allowing glimpses before the storm tore them away. "My name is Mother Chiyo." That was an odd title and Fire Nation sounding name he wondered as he turned his head back to look at her. She had the skin tone of someone from the Fire Nation but her hair had greyed and he couldn't determine her eye color so it was up in the air. Maybe she was from the United Republic like his Fath-.
Memories came flooding back to him so hard that he had to close his eyes. His Father making Tarrlok and him bloodbend each other to know what it felt like, so that they would "understand" the power behind it and what they inflicted on others. He remembered Tarrlok's refusal and his Fathers' angered declaration of weakness. He remembered coming to Tarrlok's aid and bloodbending Father, and Tarrlok's refusal to grow a spin and leave with him. Mother would be fine; Father had never done anything to harm her before so he didn't see why Tarrlok was so worried. Although given his current situation he probably shouldn't have bolted off into a raging blizzard.
"Are you from Kakivak Village?" Mother Chiyo asked and Noatak opened his eyes to look at her.
"Yeah, why?" He answered cautiously, again trying to sit up. This time he was able to move his arms and prop himself up, his spine cracking defiantly as he sat up and the blanket fell away. He was still in his clothes from earlier, no longer wet from melted snow, but the heavy parka was getting sweltering under the blanket.
"Just confirming where I'll be dropping you off when he storm passes." She replied as she poked the fire with a stick.
"Oh there's no need for that, I can find my way home on my own." Noatak assured as he tried to think of a way out of being sent home to his Father.
"I highly doubt that considering that I found you wandering in the middle of a blizzard late at night." Mother Chiyo countered as she raised a gray eyebrow. "What were you doing out here actually?"
"What are you doing out here?" He fired back childishly and immediately regretted it as she stopped poking the fire and set the stick aside, leaning forward to gaze at him with her blind eyes.
"Are you a runaway?" She guessed correctly and he felt his face twitch under her scrutiny although it wasn't like she could see him sweating. "Ah, so you are and… Ah! Very interesting." What?! How could he have given himself away to her?!
"It doesn't matter! I'm not going back and you can't make me!" Noatak cried as he stood up to face her, his legs still weak and nearly buckling and his vision swimming at the sudden movement.
"Oh? And how are you going to stop me?" She asked as she rose to meet him, a small smirk settling on her wrinkled face. His eyes narrowed at the smirk and he reached out with his bloodbending, searching for the beat of her blood through her aged veins, content with scaring her into letting him go or escorting him to The Holy City by forcing that smirk away or maybe a light arm twisting.
He found nothing.
Noatak eye's widened and he brought his arms up, perhaps thinking his near death experience had clouded his psychic bloodbending, and tried to seize control of the blood flowing through her body with some basic waterbending movements.
Still nothing.
As Mother Chiyo began to step around the fire towards him he tried to bring the snow up around him to make at least a water whip, only for the frozen water to remain right where it was and he fell back as she advanced. "Wh- What are you?! What did you do to my bending?!" He panicked, having nothing else to defend himself with as she merely kept approaching; taking a steady step for every panicked one he took back into the storm, smirk getting a little bigger as he panicked.
"You always say bloodbending is the most powerful thing in the world, but it isn't." She said and Noatak's heart stopped as he heard the repeated calling out he gave his Father. "The Avatar is. He took your bending away. What could be more powerful than that?" He tripped on his own feet and fell onto his ass as she came to a stop in front of him. "Would you like to learn it?" She asked as she offered him a hand up.
"Wh- What?" He stuttered at the question as he looked at the offered help up. He carefully took the aid and was lifted off the ground where he nervously patted the snow off his body and tried to keep eye contact with her, seeing if her milky eyes betrayed any information.
"I asked if you would like to learn Energybending." Mother Chiyo answered as she turned and made her way back to the warmth of the fire, Noatak following her. "It has been sometime since I had an Apprentice after all."
"Is that how you took my bending away? Through Energybending?" He asked numbly as he sat down by the fire and she took her former position opposite him. His Father had described the process of losing his bending as being very sudden and exhausting with a splitting headache that lasted for weeks. He certainly didn't feel any different other than the loss of the subtle push and pull of the frozen water all around him but it was still a hollow feeling. Knowing that what made him strong enough to fight back against his Father was gone… Of course if he never had bending to begin with his Father would have never taught him and Tarrlok bloodbending in the first place and he didn't change, or rather reveal his true nature, until he did.
"Oh I didn't seal it away; I just suppressed it for now." She answered to his relief and a bit of confusion at what the difference between her sealing it away and it being suppressed and when she had done it. Was she actively stopping him when he attempted it? "You had it until you decided to attack me and you will get it back when I feel it's safe to do so." Oh, well that answered those questions.
"I'm sorry." Noatak consented. "I panicked; my life has been troubled for a while now and recent events have been… difficult."
"Apology accepted Noatak but I would like this conversation to stay private so I can't give your bending back just yet." He ignored the use of his name, even though he didn't remember giving it, as she had already quoted him from his final encounter with his Father and Tarrlok and decided to ponder who could be listening in on them. "You will know them if you accept my offer." Noatak stared at Mother Chiyo, now pretty much confirming her mind reading, and she merely smiled at him. "Well?"
"Why would you teach me?" He asked straight out although he did think on not even voicing the question and just having a one sided telekinetic conversation. Or maybe she could talk back, putting her voice into his mind… No. That was too far. "I thought only The Avatar could have that kind of power?" Her smile disappeared at the mention of the container of The World Spirit.
"Anyone can learn to Energybend, even nonbenders. The Avatar merely doesn't have to go through the natural requirement to do so." Mother Chiyo answered as she once again began poking the fire again.
"And I have?" He wondered at what he could have possibly done as she regained her smile.
"You really are very lucky that I stumbled upon you so soon and that the snow preserved your body so well." She laughed at the face he made as his blood went cold. "What? You ran off into a blizzard in the middle of an arctic winter. Did you actually think that you survived that?" She leaned forward and folded her hands in front of her. "Now I'll ask again. Would you like to learn Energybending?"
Noatak and Mother Chiyo stepped off the boat when it docked in front of the Royal Palace in the Holy City, the capital of the Northern Water Tribe, into its most sacred district, the perfectly preserved and maintained "Yue's Sacrifice". The buildings were kept in the traditional style ever since The Siege of the North during The Hundred Years War to the point that the only way to get around was with gondolas the only effective way to get around other than walking, only the areas on the surrounding cliffs were allowed to follow more modern designs. Noatak gazed at the elaborate fountain that had been constructed of Yue in front of the Royal Palace, made of stone instead of ice like the rest of the district and dressed in what the stories of Avatar Aang had described her wearing during spiritual visits as the new Moon Spirit, a gentle look on her face and arms outstretched. There seemed to be a lot of commotion between the well-dressed men around her though…
"What's going on?" He asked as they walked around the group, none of them turning to look at or even notice them. He wasn't sure how she was able to do this but she had said that "Energybending is far more than just sealing away bending."
"Yes you wouldn't have heard the news out in your village yet. And you've been… indisposed for a while now." She said as they began to ascend the stairs to the Palace. "Chief Arnook is dying." That gave Noatak a start although it wasn't very surprising; Arnook was 94 years old and was ancient by nonbender standards. He hadn't actually been the ruler for some time, his advisors handled everything as his mind deteriorated and there was no heir to pass the Chiefdom to. "But who wins his position, or takes it most likely, is not our concern. We won't be anywhere near here for a long time after our meeting."
'My people could be facing civil war and I'm leaving.' He thought as they reached the upper courtyard and crossed to reach the steps that led to the Palace proper. 'But I have to if I want to learn Energybending and be able to protect the world from men like my Father.' The Avatar couldn't be everywhere at once and accidents like The Hundred Years War couldn't happen again.
"The world's political problems don't concern us." Mother Chiyo said, reminding him that his thoughts weren't safe around her. "If your people cannot keep together through these troubles and fall then perhaps they deserve it." When they reached the doors to the palace, the guards remaining vigilant and unaware to the conversation in front of them, she turned to him. "And I passed through Republic City during your Fathers reign and I can tell you he was equally loved as he was feared. When he was arrested he had just as many speaking not for his innocence but his virtue as those that came up to damn him."
"And what has my Father ever done that is so virtuous?!" Noatak demanded.
"Unlike many other criminal organizations he actually came through with the protection money they paid by being one of the few benders to actually fight the C.B.C.C. when they attacked nonbenders. It was only to make sure they could keep paying him but it was honest protection." He pushed open the grand doors to the frenzied activity of the central hall as servants ran around in a panic, but they always managed to weave around Noatak and Mother Chiyo never noticing their sudden change in direction.
"Well my people are still strong. We beat back the Fire Nation during The Hundred Years War; we can get through a little succession trouble." He said confidently as they made their way past the staircase that led up that a very vocal argument was occurring. It seemed that Chief Arnook was getting worse and had proclaimed someone his heir but they were unsure whether or not to release this information, given his previous mental health.
"If I remember correctly it was Avatar Aang, admittedly possessed by The Ocean Spirit, who defeated the Fire Nation Navy. After Admiral Zhao had killed The Moon Spirit and rendered you all defenseless until your little patron saint let The Moon Spirit use her to come back to life." She said the last part with a touch of anger hinting at some unknown belief while Noatak wondered what the hell a "patron saint" was. They opened another set of doors to find themselves outside again with nothing but a small temple a short walk away.
"We still would have fought on." Noatak insisted as they made their way across the courtyard, looking up at the surrounding cliff sides wondering if the people up there could see them. Not that they'd know who they were.
"Oh, really?" She stopped to look at him. "Tell me, what do you know about Ba Sing Se?" She asked as he drew up his foggy memories from the stories of Avatar's Aang's adventures.
"It's the capital of The Earth Kingdom." He started out with the most obvious. "General Iroh laid siege to it and managed to break through the walls but when his son died he lost spirit and withdrew, then he went on to realize how senseless and wrong the war was. It remained unconquered until Princess Azula infiltrated it and led a coup with the Dai Li, after a failed brute force attempt, which allowed The Fire Nation Army to march in and occupy it. Then it was liberated by The Order of the White Lotus during the passing of Sozin's Comet."
"Mostly correct except for one thing." She said as she began to walk around him. "Iroh defeated Ba Sing Se. Completely and utterly."
"What? He never captured it!" He argued as she shook her head.
"He broke through their outer wall using the terrifying new cannons that tore the walls to pieces before they could even be repaired, even with earthbending, and then set about bombarding the Lower and Middle Rings while the city desperately threw man after man against his forces to break the siege. They grew so desperate that they resorted to using prisoners and Lower Ring citizens as shields against The Fire Nation musket lines until they could get close enough." She stopped in front of him. "And then when he broke through the Inner Wall and was set to destroy the last of the city's defenses, the rest having already surrendered in previous battles, and they were ready to fight to the last he left. After nearly two years of nonstop warfare, destroying and starving their city, with assured victory just one final battle away he deemed it not worth it because of the death of his son."
"Yeah, like I said it helped him realize how senseless the war was." Noatak replied not understanding what she was trying to get across.
"Exactly." She confirmed which confused him more "Ba Sing Se had fought and lost, they knew this, but before the killing blow could be struck Iroh left, leaving the city broken and bloody, because he was sad. They didn't win because of their indomitable will, the proud tradition of their army, or their grand strategy or anything that the countless men and women sacrificed to saving the city had done. They were saved because Iroh stopped caring, about them, his soldiers, and the war that they had known all their lives."
"How can you say that he didn't care about his soldiers!" He shouted and a man from the temple stepped outside and looked around confused, possibly trying to find them. Guess she did have limits. "He withdrew because they were tired of fighting!"
"What solider doesn't wish for home during a long campaign?" She countered as the man from the temple shrugged his shoulders and went back inside. "They all made sacrifices, lost friends and even loved ones, and when the end they fought for was so close, maybe even the end of the entire war, he told them to stop and back up. He may as well have spat on their faces!" She spoke with a previously unheard of venom in her voice. "They begged him to see reason! To not throw away all of their sacrifices! And he ignored them, defeating subordinate after subordinate who desperately challenged him to Agni Kai hoping to stop him. In the end they left Ba Sing Se, her people screaming at them to come back and finish what they started, begged them."
"Why?" Noatak asked, an unsettling feeling descending upon him. "Why would they want to be defeated?"
"Because the true war is not fought with weapons against the bodies of a people but their spirit, as long as they remain firm that victory is possible they will fight ever onward no matter the costs." Mother Chiyo whispered quietly and he realized what the unsettling feeling was. It was understanding. "Iroh broke their spirit and by leaving made them continue the façade of fighting a war that he proved they had no hope of winning. They rebuilt the walls that they knew could be felled and spoke of how they were impenetrable, they kept a standing army that boasted a proud tradition they knew was outdated and worthless, and they kept making plans for a war they no longer felt they could hope to win. Until eventually they did the only logical thing and tried to recapture the glory they experienced before, unable to progress they censored the loss."
"There's no war in Ba Sing Se." He quoted and she smiled, happy that he was getting it.
"When Princess Azula led her coup and opened the gates to The Fire Nation there were no riots, no protests of any kind at the occupation. Just a saddened acceptance, maybe even happiness that there was an end at last. Even with a population that rivaled the entire Fire Nation a minimal occupation force was able to hold the city until The Order of the White Lotus liberated the city for them." She smirked. "Led by Iroh of course."
"Why are you explaining this to me?" He asked, wondering how the loss of Ba Sing Se could relate to the Northern Water Tribe.
"Because your people lost their god!" She snapped and he twitched at the outburst. "They fell to a fleet that breached their walls within 2 days and destroyed what you lauded most! Ba Sing Se lasted 600 days under the same conditions before Iroh left. The only reason your people are "strong" is because they were saved by Avatar Aang and The Ocean Spirit before despair could set in."
"No." He suddenly fired back. "Yue saved us. Her heroic sacrifice brought back the moon and restored balance to the world and gave us back our waterbending and-" And she was smirking at him. He didn't like the look in her eyes either.
"You know for it to be a heroic sacrifice a person generally has to choose to do it." She said cryptically that hinted towards something he didn't want to think about. "But come on, we've wasted enough time arguing." With that they finally continued on their way towards the temple, entering to find the man that had poked his head out earlier practicing his waterbending with a few women showing them moves that certainly didn't look like healing techniques. Leaving the illegal teachings behind them they passed through the temple and went through a door to a long hallway totally bare with a pair of guards waiting at the end. Unlike those that "patrolled" the historic Yue's Sacrifice district they didn't wear traditional furs or wield weapons made of bone, instead carrying very subtle pistols at their hips. They didn't notice them though as they stepped through the final door and came to the Spirit Oasis.
Noatak took careful steps as they walked into the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole, feeling the cold melt away as they crossed the bridges and he saw grass and trees for the first time in his life. The breath was knocked out of him when he saw a koi fish duo swimming in the pond, one white with a black spot on its head and another with an inverse, and he fell to his knees and bowed to the mortal forms of The Moon and Ocean.
"Get off the ground." Mother Chiyo commanded. "You bow far too quickly."
"Yes rise Noatak, there's no need." Another voice asked, light as if traveled on the wind. He raised his head off the ground and his throat went dry as The Moon Spirit herself floated over the pond in front of him, clad in her white flowing gown that matched her hair, and smiling at him. "But you are in danger Noatak. This creature will lead you down a dark path of which there is nothing but chaos and pain."
"Nice to see you too Tui." Mother Chiyo said dryly. "Still favoring that poor girl's form I see." As he got off the ground Noatak began to wonder just what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into. And just to confirm it Mother Chiyo laughed at his thought.
Age 19
Noatak killed the engine of his snowmobile and sat back, observing what his Southern Water Tribe brothers and sisters referred to as the "Everstorm" over the South Pole. Dark storm clouds circled jagged cliffs as an unnatural blue glow emanated from its frozen forest center, its brightness seemingly unaffected despite it being the middle of a summer day. He looked around, scanning the cliff faces and snowy wastelands for any activity and predictably finding none. His Southern brothers and sisters never came anywhere near here if their stories were to be believed, rightfully afraid of being attacked by angry spirits. Of course that was why he was here in the first place.
"There are three ways to kill a spirit." His Master had taught him; when she had finally set him off after deeming him capable of fighting and winning against their eternal foes minions. "The first is by far the most destructive and doesn't even require Energybending but only works if the spirit is a guardian of a location. They are connected and draw power from all living things in their domain and can be killed by destroying all life above that of moss." He dismounted and made his way to the frozen tree line, observing the dead trees and the occasional branch or root that poked out of the ice. Nothing lived here; stories said that even animals avoided this place, so he didn't have to worry about giving away his presence by waterbending at least. He stepped into the mouth of a frozen tunnel, the sound of the storm outside dying and leaving him alone with his footsteps and breathing.
"The second is to strip them of all of their energy, much like with all organic life without spiritual energy their mind will die." There was a scrapping sound behind him and Noatak swung around, finding nothing in the tunnel with him. "But because their "body" is made of it and they can change their form at will this can take a very long time and be very difficult. You will also have to find a way use up the energy you leech off otherwise you'll have to release it and they'll just reabsorb it or you'll be unable to contain it all and melt your brain." Noatak came upon a large chamber with a floor of solid ice with a sphere of light frozen within the center, the source of the unnatural light, the Southern Spirit Portal. "Naturally this is a method that only benders can use as bending requires spiritual energy. You can take the spirit apart piece by piece and use their own spiritual energy to fuel some rather impressive displays of bending against them." Stopping in the middle of the chamber, stood atop the sealed spirit portal, Noatak then sat down and folded his legs, closing his eyes in meditation, waiting for a spirit to come and try to kill him. He doubted he would have to wait long.
"The final way is to make them kill themselves." He heard a familiar scrapping sound above him but this time it wasn't alone, several others followed it. "There is a mind that keeps all that energy together, be it "sentient" like the Moon Spirit or merely animal in nature." He took a deep breath as the scrapping sound was replaced by the sound of cracking ice as they began to tunnel through the ceiling to reach him. "And just like the human mind you can manipulate it, making them open to any command you give them with a simple battle of willpower." They hissed as they broke through the ice and he could feel them distantly, their small energies forming into a single large one as the hissing turned into a roar. "And if you are the weaker during the deciding moment you will be consumed and possessed." Noatak suddenly rolled forward and leapt to his feet as the angry spirit crashed into where he had previously been meditating, doing nothing to crack the ice over the spirit portal. Now that he could get a good look at its serpent like form, with a jagged black coloring that shifted in the air, burning red eyes, and a head the size of his body, which curled threatening on the ground glaring at him he snapped off the cap of a water flask at his side. With an exaggerated gesture that made him wish he could waterbend like he used to he pulled the water out and separated it in two and then froze them until they were the size and shape of daggers and gripped one in each hand. "Steel yourself Noatak. Remember everything you have seen and been taught. You are strong my Apprentice, trust in that."
The spirit roared as it launched itself through the air, its jaw opening impossibly wide to the point that he was sure that it could swallow him whole. Noatak ran to meet it. He brought the ice dagger in his left hand into the roof of its mouth as it crashed into him, the right swiping at the smaller spirits that broke off from its "teeth" to attack him. He cut them in half only for them reform in mere seconds as the black energy began to creep around his left fist, enveloping his dagger inside its skull. But more importantly he was close to where it most logically centered its mind, the spirit not smart enough to understand it didn't need to follow biological convention in its form.
With a roar of its own he dug in with his dagger, edging further and further inward as the spirit began tearing away his gloves to rip at his flesh sending blood flowing down his arm. When he felt sufficiently close he reached out and opened himself to the spirit, feeling the oily sensation of its energy and gripping a tiny amount that he swapped with his own to establish a connection. Immediately he could feel the pinpricks in his skull as the spirit sought to control or kill him, its eyes now boasting a bright red glow that no doubt rivaled the blue from his eyes, flashing images to cause him to waiver. His body torn apart and dozens of small spirit snakes digging into his chest cavity, tearing at flesh they couldn't even consume. His home village empty save for blood stains in the snow, their igloo homes crumpled inward and a layer of frost over all their tools. His family being chased down by countless spirits. Noatak fought back the images, remaining focused on fighting off the ankle biters and summoning a sufficient retaliatory image and sending it through the connection that the spirit was as unable to stop as he was.
It was him and his Master, dancing and laughing in a rare moment of levity for the two of them, in front of a decaying tree. In the background an impossibly tall mountain could be seen and all around them the Spirit World burned.
The spirit screeched as it burst apart into dozens of smaller snake spirits that set upon swarming him and making the images they conjured a reality. Noatak, now having to deal with a number of simpler spirits in his mind through the now multiplied connection, cried out as a number of them managed to get past his frozen weapons and began to latch on and start tearing through his fur coat. Dropping his daggers he wrapped his hands around one trying to eat its way into his stomach and ripped it and some of his skin off. The spirit tried to worm its way out of his grip but he quickly placed a thumb on the top of its head and spirit stilled, the red glow from its eyes intensifying and its black form beginning to turn golden. Even when he fell to his knees and closed his eyes in pain as more of the spirits began to swarm him he held onto the spirit as it began to disintegrate bit by bit into a golden mist that floated and landed onto his hands, where it began to sink in. With temples throbbing and his body bloody from being nearly eaten alive Noatak screamed and raised his arms up and brought them back down again, the ceiling coming with them.
The spirits were ripped out of his body with the force of the ice crashing down, a man sized hole opening up and giving enough space for Noatak to stand in place as the spirits nipped at his boots angrily, denied flesh to tear. Bleeding and in pain he staggered away, the wall of ice giving way to water that he floated through, trails of blood following him. As the edge of the block of ice melted and the water rushed out of the opening Noatak fell to the floor and struggled to get back up, the wounds across his body flaring up. With a groan he pushed himself up onto shaky feet and turned back to the spirits who had begun worming their way out from under the ice and were reforming into the giant snake spirit again, this time noticeably smaller.
'I can't go through that again.' Noatak thought as the spirit curled around itself and roared at him from the end of the melted tunnel. 'I need to end this now, before it tries' there was a flash of white all around him and suddenly he was standing in a sunny and peaceful field, '…to use the connection to possess me.' He looked around the endless sea of green grass, no wind or clouds in the sky, and prepared himself. While in the real world they would be just standing there, glowing eyes locked at the opposite ends of the melted hallway, but this last fight would decide the winner. Either he would fall and be possessed, or more likely just killed and needlessly butchered, or he would win and be able to command the spirit to kill itself.
"Noatak!" A youthful voice called out behind him and he turned to find his brother Tarrlok standing behind him a ways, waving to get his attention. But it seemed that Tarrlok had yet to go through puberty as he looked the exact same when he last saw him five years ago. He also didn't seem bothered by the warm temperature in his heavy furs meant for winter wear. But then again you don't start off by fighting the smart spirits.
Turning away from the sorry excuse of a distraction he scanned the fields for any other anomalies, ignoring Tarrlok's pleas for his attention until he saw the grass begin to move far off to his right as if there was wind in this false construct. Given that it seemed to be a very isolated batch of wind Noatak readied himself as it got closer and closer. The spirit wouldn't be able to split apart if it wanted to hold the imaginary world together so he didn't have to worry about being swarmed again, only being eaten by something with a head the size of his torso.
When the "wind" reached him the spirit appeared out of thin air, its jaws open to consume him whole. Leaping up into the air, his wounds raging in protest, Noatak managed to get his chest to hit the spirits upper jaw, its teeth grazing his stomach and his feet dangling above its lower jaw. Before the spirit could close its jaw around his lower body and bite him in half he reached out and placed his hand right between its burning eyes and the spirit froze. He could feel the frenzy of its mind as it realized what was about to happen and began to fight or escape it, trying desperately to break apart but held together by Noatak as it began to turn golden. When its mind and body stilled he sent a single command through, its simple animal mind unable to refuse.
'Die!' Then, rather anticlimactically, the spirit began to dissipate into a golden mist as its constructed world broke apart with it, the sky cracking and the field falling into the world being replaced with ice. Soon he was alone, no spirit at the end of the melted hallway, and only the dim glow of the Southern Spirit Portal underneath the solid block of ice to illuminate him. Then, with a weary sigh, Noatak walked to the tunnel he had arrived from and made his way out to his snowmobile, ready to go back to his Master and hear how he could have performed better.
He was pretty surprised when all she did was help him bandage his wounds, pat him on the back, and say "Well done."
Age 34
When Noatak opened the door and stepped over the dead guards, the blood from their slit throats pooling on the carpet, he expected to find The Mayor cowering in the corner of his office shaking like a leaf, not sat behind his desk casually reading a rather large book. "Come in. I was hoping to finish this chapter before you got here but…" He took of his glasses when he saw Noatak and looked him up and down as he melted his blood coated ice daggers and bent them back into their flask. "Well, you aren't what I was expecting. Are you Southern or Northern Water Tribe? Or are you from The United Republic of Nations?" Noatak's vision blurred as he closed the door behind him, his temples burning.
"Northern." He answered simply, his voice hoarse. "Who were you expecting?"
"Oh there's a commander of nearby Army base who has had it out for me for some time. Please have a seat; would you like a drink? You sound like you could need it." The Mayor gestured to the large chair in front of his desk which Noatak gratefully took, sinking into the cushion and trying to relax while his skull burned. He waved away the offer for the drink though. "I'm guessing you're here to kill me?"
"Yep." Noatak said as The Mayor poured himself a small glass of clear liquid.
"And what about my family?" He asked in turn, taking a casual sip of his alcoholic choice.
"I'm just here for you, no one else." Noatak answered as his vision swam again and he took a haggard breath.
"I'm sure my guards would disagree." The Mayor muttered into his glass. "May I ask why?"
"You boiled a woman alive in oil a week ago." Noatak answered, sitting up straight even though it made his eyes and skull throb. "Two weeks before that you had a man mauled by platypus bears. Three days before that you had another thrown into a pit filled with razors. One and half weeks before that-"
"I get it." The Mayor stopped him with a raised hand. "If you have a problem with our judicial system you could have voiced your complaints by setting up a meeting. Is my secretary still alive?"
"She tried smashing in my skull with a potted plant and then came at me with a knife. I slit her throat like the guards." Noatak admitted. "She should have stayed quiet and hidden or ran away." The Mayor merely hummed and took another sip of his drink. "Why did you do it?"
"The Wheel of Punishment has always been the basis of justice in Chin Village." He said. "But I've managed to get it used only for extreme cases; most punishments have been defaulted to some form of community service. Everyone you just listed," he pointed an accusatory finger at Noatak, "were known dissidents to the Earth Queen's rule. With the U.R.N. claiming entire provinces left and right we can't have any elements that could get us invaded and made into a Trust Territory."
"Do you know of the spirit of the nearby forest?" Noatak asked suddenly, and his head began to clear. "It was a fox spirit, known for playing particularly harmful tricks on travelers." He answered not waiting for The Mayor. "I killed it."
"…Right. Sure." The Mayor said as he refilled his glass. When he finished he suddenly flung the bottle at Noatak who snapped his head to the side as it sailed past him, shattering on the ground behind him. His right hand dove under his desk and returned with a pistol, a model that certainly didn't look like Earth Kingdom make, which he pointed at Noatak's head. "As amusing you've been I've got a lot of work to do, what with my security team and secretary dead." As the pain in his head lessened Noatak smiled as The Mayor's hand started shaking and he grew confused.
"You know I honestly missed it, being able to bloodbend with nothing but our mind." He said as he missed a well-known pin prick sensation inside his skull. The Mayor screamed in horror as his arm began to move without his control, pointing the gun at his head. "The fox spirit was intelligent and it knew everything that ever happened here. And now so do we." The Mayor's screaming stopped as his mouth was forced open and the barrel of the pistol jammed inside but it was fine, his eyes did the screaming for him. The pin pricks inside Noatak's skull increased and still they didn't notice. "Let us show you our opinion on it." Then, with a simple twitch of their finger, Noatak made The Mayor blow his brains out.
Then the pin pricks ceased and Noatak's world went white.
"I am incredibly disappointed with you Noatak." Master's voice pulled him out of the darkness and he pried open his eyes to find her standing over him with a look of pity on her face. What had happened? "I had warned you that meditation after energybending a human is vital and that when dealing with sentient spirits it is crucial!" Sentient spirits? But he hadn't fought any yet. That wasn't until next week at least. Why was the ground under him so hard and wet? "They can muddle your mind even after death through the connection you form! If you had just listened!" Why was he cold?
Noatak sat up, his joints snapping as he did so that made him wince, and gazed at the destruction all around them. He guessed that this had once been a rather large village or small town before whatever calamity had befallen it. No building higher than a single story still stood and those that did were caved in, gigantic chunks of ice protruding through their sides and roofs, while some only had their foundation remaining, some unknown force having swept the buildings away. And the bodies…
They were scattered everywhere, their blood mixing in with pools of water that settled the ground. Most were whole, their forms twisted and battered as if struck by incredible force, some were riddled with ice shards, a few that looked like they had been sliced to bits, missing limbs or entire halves of their bodies, and one or two were completely in cased in ice, their faces stuck in expressions of pure terror. The scraps of clothing that had survived were shades of green and gold along with the occasional brown that were popular in the Earth Kingdom. "Is… is this Chin Village?" He asked, it had been the closest town when they had settled down to make camp, and his Master's face grew confused.
"You don't remember?" She asked as she helped him to his feet. "Perhaps you blocked it out..." She stood straight and locked eyes with him. "Yes, this is Chin Village. And you did this, under the possession of the fox spirit that I sent you to fight three days ago."
"I- I was possessed?! How-" He croaked as he swung his head around to look at more of the destruction or perhaps find any sign of survivors. But there was nothing, not even sound other than the wind and their voices to break the silence. "Why would I- the spirit make me do this?"
"You defeated the spirit quite well but likely didn't mediate enough to separate its memories and ideas from your own through the connection, which coupled with how upset you got when we heard about Chin Villages recent public executions and your desire to see justice done it would have clouded your judgment enough to seek it to carry out a punishment in "your territory"." She cast a sad look across the destruction. "Spirits however have a much broader idea of who should be punished for crimes and sometimes have difficulties recognizing individual humans. When I got here you were screaming about how they all deserved it by bearing the responsibility of their ancestors who either created the Wheel of Punishment or let it be created. You nearly killed me a couple of times."
He didn't respond to any of this and instead wandered to a nearby collapsed house, the roof having crushed what looked like a man and woman, if the shape of their legs and style of footwear were anything to go by, under the weight of a giant slab of ice. "Really if it bothered you that much Noatak some information gathering and special interrogations with energybending could have let you dig up any dirt you'd need to get the mayor disposed." He moved to woman holding a small red bundle of cloth, who was riddled with shards of ice that tore skin away and revealed muscle and bone underneath. He didn't think that the cloth had been red originally but he couldn't bear to move it and find out. "And if that didn't work you could implant suggestions to make them begin acting out, seeking conspiracies that don't exist and- where are you going?"
He didn't stop when Master began yelling after him, asking what he was doing and where he was going. He just kept walking, drawing more and more into himself the farther he walked into Chin Village, its streets destroyed and littered with its citizens until he reached the wall that had once surrounded the village in the past which survived better than most of the infrastructure. The gate was packed with corpses, some having been trampled by those trying to escape the destruction he had unknowingly unleashed and he was forced to climb over them, his hands and feet slipping on their blood until he tumbled off the other side. Past the gate the buildings were spaced out farther but they were no less destroyed and its people no better off.
Four hours later he was far out of Chin Village and entering his- the fox spirits forest but even here he found the dead, their bodies exploded as if they had been flung out here at great force and height. When he felt the earth under his feet shift he turned and his mind went blank at what he saw.
The ground had cracked several hundred yards behind him and stretched out to the East and West farther than he could see, the earth moving away from the mainland. Holding onto a tree for dear life he watched as the split earth rose up, higher and higher until he couldn't see anything except a solid wall of dirt and stone that floated out over the ocean slowly. Then when the floating island was far out over the ocean to be a point on the horizon it suddenly exploded, the millions of pieces flying far over the horizon or just dropping into the water below them. A few the size of small buildings flew past him and slammed into the forest beyond and another crashed into the newly formed cliff side, allowing him to catch a brief glance of broken wall on top of it before it disappeared out of his vision, the impact making the ground shake fiercely.
When the Earth calmed enough he released his death grip on the tree and on shaky legs continued on his way. A few days later when news properly spread he heard someone mention, admittedly very drunkenly although he wasn't far behind them, that perhaps the ghost of Avatar Kyoshi had taken her revenge on Chin Village he couldn't find it in himself to disagree with them.
I didn't want to give away too much about Energybending, Mother Chiyo's philosophy, or how the spirits act instead leaving that for when she or Amon teach Korra so you can learn with her. Originally I was going to reveal a lot more with Noatak taking a trip to The Spirit World, it was going to get weird, and revealing what it was that Gommu saw there. But that would have invalidated his part, minor as it is, so none of that. Also ended up way longer than I was going for, I want to keep these Side Stories under 10,000 words, so they got cut which may explain why it seems a little choppy.
P.S. I was lamenting the lack of Legend of Korra and Code Geass Crossover material the other day when I came upon a rather poorly photo shopped picture of Amon and Zero man hugging with Zero saying "I feel your pain man!" and realized that there doesn't need to be anything more than that. But seriously I would love to read something other than my own story or Naruto Takani's, variety is the spice of life after all, and I'm not the only one. When I first started writing this, even before the Rewrite, I got a message from a dude/gal who was bummed that the story didn't have a KorraxLelouch pairing and I felt like shit for having to break their heart by not giving a shit who Korra or Anguta end up fucking. So do your part Internet, make their dream a reality! Write or draw something that they can go "aww!" or jack/finger off/themselves to! This is the Internet! There should be truckloads of that kind of crap!
And now for the promised Question and Answer Session! We'll start with the only one addressed to me.
Jouaint asks: "Is Raava and Vaatu still going to be a thing in this story?"
Answer: 19-5-8 | 21-14-17-2-9 | 18-15-4-17-4-19 | 4-18 |13-14-19 | 21-5-12-19 | 4-19 | 18-8-8-1-18
No. Like I said I have plans for the spirits and The World Spirit, aka The Avatar Spirit, which would be completely invalidated by the dueling magic kite spirits of Light and Darkness. In short the rules of what The Avatar Spirit was before Episode 19, "Beginnings Part 1", apply i.e. it's the spirit of the entire planet. Wan may make an appearance but it sure as hell won't be as "The First Avatar". Especially at the pitiful date of 10,000 years in the past, in this story C.C. and Mother Chiyo were already ancient by then.
Now for the character questions, all of which come from reven228 because they were the only one to ask.
reven228 asks: "Anguta, will you be republic city's reckoning? And will you take over subtly through espionage, or will you go Bane and just conquer through force?"
Answer: 15-12-4-13-7-20-2 | 1-8-1-14-17-4-8-18 | 2-12-23 | 10-14-20-8-17-8-9 | 12-6-12-4-13-18-19 | 5-4-18 | 21-4-2-2
Anguta leaned back in his chair, smiled, and folded his hands in his lap as he spoke. "Before I answer this I would like to ask everyone else a question." The rest of the cast, those that currently or previously mattered anyway, all perked up from their assorted seats around the green room. "What is Republic City?"
"Uh, a piece of Aang's legacy I've got to protect and preserve from any corrupting influences?" Korra guessed from right next to him as she tore her eyes away from examining Anguta's Zero mask in her hands, trying to find all of the triggers to open and close the eye piece.
"A nice place to hide if you know how to blend in with crowds," C.C. answered from her laying position on a couch across from him, "but beyond that it holds no other value for me."
"A city of over six million that's constantly under attack by extremists and radicals who don't care who they hurt to spread their message?" Saikhan responded with a glare to Anguta from "The Dead Corner" where he and Li are enjoying a game of Candy Land.
"Don't mind him; he's just angry because he's been stuck on a cavity for the past five minutes." Li explained. "I personally see Republic City as one giant underground bending match. You got all these bending groups fighting for dominance and the big money with this poor little nonbender thrown in to fend for themself. Granted if that nonbender was smart they'd have hidden some brass knuckles under their gloves, even the field a bit, and wait for the others to tire each other out before striking."
"My home?" Bolin answered, confused at what else he could possibly say. "Sure it has… problems. Which I'm now… rather extensively involved in. But it isn't that bad and it's the most advanced city in the most advanced country in the world! We're on the forefront of everything! Nightlife is great too."
"Not technically a country Bolin. We're a multinational peace talks and military force with a massive civilian support structure which owns land and standing army with war making power." Mako corrected. "And Republic City is where the strongest or smartest in the world have congregated, leaving their home countries behind either pursuing success or wanting to join the winning team before the army makes them a Trust Territory, to feed off and use the weak."
"Gonna have to agree with my fellow firebender." Hotaru said. "My grandmother moved out here along with a lot of the other Fire Nation nobility to avoid Zuko's, wait I'm sorry, Sozin's Debt using some loophole in the program." She explained, quickly remembering the proper name for the Hundred Year War Reparations Plan. "So now we continue to call ourselves nobility while all we are is a bunch of businessmen and women playing a game that ended long ago. That's what Republic City is, the same old bullmooseshit with some new technology and style."
"Republic City is filled with a bunch of assholes being assholes to other assholes." Hasook said as he glared at Mako. "But occasionally you meet someone who isn't a total asshole and it's important to help out those people." He smiled and clapped Bolin on the back. "Just try to not get captured again in the future."
"It's where the crazies gather to make themselves heard, attacking the innocent people who live here because they know it will get the most amount of attention." Lin answered. "You just got to keep calm and look out for the psychos until we catch them."
"Republic City is the most important city in the world." Tarrlok answered simply as he blew out a plume of smoke and twirled his cigarette around his fingers. "The Holy City sits in the north with nothing to offer but fish, both to eat and worship, while The Capital City in the Fire Nation falls into poverty as the country struggles to survive under its long economic depression, and Ba Sing Se remains centuries in the past. I hear they only have electricity in the palace for the Earth Queen and that she learned from her predecessors' mistake by keeping a tighter grip on her secret police. If Republic City falls…" He couldn't finish the thought and just took a drag from his cigarette.
"I'll have to agree with my brother." Noatak said as he broke out of his meditation with his Master. "It's why I chose to start The Revolution there. The ease to find recruits, support, and make equipment is unmatched with the possible exception of Yu Dao."
"Republic City is life, free of the spirits influences." Mother Chiyo answered, not opening her blind eyes in her meditation. "Benders are free of the spiritual requirements or identity to use their power. It is a struggle for everyone to survive; nonbenders are powerless and fight amongst themselves to have enough to live while the benders fight for dominance, both through physical and social means. They all struggle together and against one another, growing stronger and stronger and have become their own people despite the United Republic's original purpose. Now the people don't identify as Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, or Fire Nation but as United Republican, free to "stabilize" the lands their ancestors came from. It is a damning insult to The World Spirit's four nation design," she gave a wrinkled smile, "it is beautiful."
"Fine answers." Anguta accepted before he settled back into his seat, and sipped a fresh cup of tea. "My own is this: Republic City is filth." He stated to the confused look of Korra, everyone else just went about their business. Not like they were being interviewed anymore. "They say you shouldn't judge someone by how they treat their equals but how they treat their inferiors. For the sake of my explanation let's say that applies to an entire city or even a system. As an immigrant nonbender I have no inferiors in this city. When I received my "welcoming" and went to the police about it they-" Suddenly a wad of paper hit Anguta on the forehead and he swung his gaze to ZGW who sat away from them all, with the exception of the older man with the Geass marking on the back of his left hand, a book resting in his lap and an open notebook at his side.
"Save it for chapter 15." He ordered as he went back to reading, occasionally making a quick note in the notebook.
"Fine." Anguta relented, his plan of a dramatic speech denied. "In short yes I will be Republic City's reckoning. And subtle espionage will only be used to make the destruction of Republic City easier." He settled back into his seat and took another calming sip. "Destruction must come before creation after all."
reven228 asks: "Anguta, if you we're to die, who would you spend your last night in bed with?"
Answer: 3-23-12 | 8-13-19-8-17-19-12-4-13-8-9 | 12 | 18-4-1-4-2-12-17 | 4-9-8-12 | 14-13 | 5-4-18 | 8-4-6-5-19-8-8-13-19-5 | 11-4-17-19-5-9-12-23
Anguta spit out his tea as the question was finished being read to him, sending him into a coughing fit as C.C. frowned and wiped off the tea sprayed onto her face. "Oh come on I don't want to hear about this!" Korra complained as she took off the Zero mask, having tried it on to see how it felt. Surprisingly comfortable for your information. "Can I leave the room or something?" She asked ZGW, interrupting a hushed conversation he was having with nervous looking middle aged man wearing glasses who no one had noticed sitting with him and the Geass marked man before.
"Sure, go hang out in The Waiting Room for a couple minutes." He said pointing to a door at the other end of the room as the nervous man got up carrying the notebook that ZGW had been writing in with him, making for the door. "Send Varrick out here too." Korra raised an eyebrow to that but shrugged it off as she left, following the nervous man to the room that the yet to be introduced characters used.
"Right." Anguta coughed as he tried to collect himself from the shocking question. "Well it should be noted that my year in Republic City hasn't been spent pursuing any romantic engagements. I've been too busy trying to survive and learn the rules of the cities underground. And the two women I know the best are a green haired and seemingly immortal power granting… human?" He guessed as C.C. merely shrugged and hummed. "And someone who I've had to manipulate to not murder me and frame me for rape." Hotaru for her part did look away guiltily. "And as the final night of my life would be far more important emotionally than physically I'd have to say that my choice would be someone from my past since I currently have nothing but suspicion for either of them." He straightened his back as finally got around to answering the question. "Kya."
"What?!" Lin yelled shocked, being the only person to personally know the woman now that Korra was chilling in The Waiting Room with Asami, Iroh, and many others. "She's nearly three times your age!"
"Maybe that's where the attraction comes from!" Li ripped from The Dead Corner. "If it is that's too bad for you though. Only other lady in Republic City that you know around that age beat the ever loving shit out of you and broke your arm!"
"I do not deny that Kya is very attractive." Anguta started. "But as I said this isn't about physical gratification but a matter of intimacy and I don't know anyone in Republic City well enough to consider them. I've known Kya for as long as Master Katara has been Korra's teacher and with her living in the same city that I'm from we saw each other fairly regularly, Kya often bringing news from the compound where she wasn't restricted to once a month visits."
"And with that we end what is hopefully the closest this fic gets to shipping and romance." ZGW murmured to himself.
reven228 asks: "Bolin: how's life on the run from the law treating you? Do you think verek could help you if/when he's introduced?"
Answer: 5-8 | 21-4-2-2 | 2-14-18-8 | 8-20-8-17-23-19-5-4-13-6 | 11-20-19 | 6-12-4-13 | 19-5-8 | 10-4-19-23
"Oh it's great!" Bolin said as he slumped in his seat, getting a comforting pat on the back by Mako, Hotaru, and Hasook. "My gorgeous mug is in all the papers with the words "WANTED CRIMINAL" above and beneath it. I got a bounty of 5 million Yuans out on me. And I get to spend my time hiding in a storage closet in an abandoned warehouse turned hidey hole with only the food brought to me by Hotaru and Hasook and a flashlight to read by." He listed off his current living conditions as the door to The Waiting Room opened and Varrick strolled out, Zhu Li following dutifully behind.
"That's a tough break kid!" He said as he fell in between Bolin and Mako and wrapped an arm around the earthbenders' shoulders. "If we had met by some unlikely set of circumstances before you got ousted as a terrorist and you made the same impression that you did as in the canon storyline then I'd have let you hide out in one of pent houses in a heartbeat! Or use my personal jail cell if you got caught."
"Great you answered the question. Now get out." ZGW commanded, pointing his pen at The Waiting Room door. "Send Korra back out here too."
"Alright, come on Zhu Li. If we're lucky The Ghosts haven't eaten all the hors d'oeuvres, you know how much they can put away." His assistant nodded and they began to make their way out of the room before they were stopped.
"Actually Zhu Li can stay." ZGW said to the confusion of everyone in the room. The shipping industrialists' assistant stopped and glanced at ZGW and back at Varrick with a questioning look. He didn't look pleased at having to be separated from his assistant but it wasn't as if she was going to be far so he shrugged his shoulders and gave a "See ya later" and a promise to save her some food as he left. The man with the Geass sigil on the back of his hand pushed out a seat for her at their spot and she wordlessly took it as Korra reentered the room, munching on a handful of small fancy sandwiches.
reven228 asks: "To everyone: who would you say you are most like in comparison to the CG cannon?"
Answer: 19-5-17-8-8 | 18-20-19 | 18-7 | 7-18-20-17 | 21-18-13-19 | 18-8-8 | 19-5-8 | 8-13-9
"Ha! Sucks to be you guys!" Korra yelled as she resettled in her seat and offered a sandwich to her brother. "We know who we are. I'm Nunnally and Suzaku mixed together cause my life drove my brother to decide that destroying the entire world is an acceptable action to correct it and I'm going to be a major adversary who he has trouble facing."
"Lelouch" Anguta answered as he accepted the sandwich and took a bite. "If I have to explain why then no one has been paying attention to the story. And I do have other motivations Korra, which will have to be delayed being revealed." He said casting a glare to ZGW.
"Given that I share the same physical description, name, and role I'm going to have to say that I'm C.C." C.C. answered.
"Since I was Zero's first strategic opponent and he killed me after interrogating me I'd say I'm Clovis." Saikhan said as he finally managed to draw a yellow card and free himself of the cavity. Not that it mattered when Li was already in Molasses Swamp.
"I'm based off of Niihari from Speed Grapher." Li answered. While not a Code Geass character Li is the first actual OC that isn't a renamed character from Code Geass so he gets a pass.
"I guess I'd be Ohgi because… I showed some loyalty and trust compared to Hasook during the first fight but wasn't as combat capable as Hotaru and everyone seems to like me?" Bolin speculated. "Not that I think I'm going to betray Zero because I fell in love with an amnesiac woman who tries to murder me."
"Kallen." Hotaru stated. "Same reason as C.C., same physical description and role. Although instead of fighting Britannia when my brother died I turned to petty crime to vent my anger. Lot less heroic."
"Guess I'm Tamaki because I realize how fucking ridiculous it is to follow around a guy in a mask who calls himself a number. At first anyway." Hasook said.
"And by being a short sighted idiot and all around ass." Mako muttered which got a glare from Hasook. "…I got nothin'." Mako admitted with a shrug. "Let me know when a former criminal returns to their old ways when their little brother is threatened in Code Geass/"
"Jeremiah Gottwald." Lin answered. "Although my drive for revenge against Zero is for the murder of my officers and my friend turned lover, not the ruining of my career through Geass."
"With my Mind Reading Geass and my desire to find C.C., although it's to save my own skin instead of insane childish love, I'd say I'm Mao." Tarrlok answered. "But I don't plan on going crazy."
"I'd say that I'm Cornelia." Noatak speculated. "Although instead of a highly organized and skilled military force I have a highly organized and skilled revolutionary group which happens to have unheard of technology that is purely nonlethal. Not that The Lieutenant and I are afraid to get our hands dirty."
"I'm based off of elements of Kreia from Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords." Mother Chiyo answered, getting the same pass as Li and their not being any old manipulative and powerful women in Code Geass. "With some traces of Flemeth from the Dragon Age series when I'm being dramatic or speaking with someone other than my Apprentice."
"Luciano Bradley." Zhu Li stated which got everyone to turn and stare at her. She didn't respond and merely pushed her glasses back into place as the man with the Geass marking smiled and offered her a cup of tea he had pulled out of nowhere.
I'm just going to leave this here for reference.
Current Kill Count, Human unless stated otherwise
Anguta: 61
Bolin: 0
C.C.: 60, 632
Hasook: 1
Hotaru: 3
Korra: 1 Human (The Chiblocker whose head she froze in the last chapter suffocated); Countless Micro Organisms
The Lieutenant: 8
Lin: 0
Mako: 6
Mother Chiyo: 83,465 Humans; 28,287 Spirit Entities; 34 Other
Noatak: 4,338 Humans, 3 Spirit Entities
Tarrlok: 3
Zhu Li: 461