Chapter 10: 'Mother Nature'

Author Notes

God this chapter took a lot of planning in terms of timeline and such. Just a heads up, there's some pretty graphic violence in this chapter! Enjoy!

~The Southern Water Tribe, 15 years ago~

"How long do we have to sit here freezin' our asses?"

"Until Zaheer gives the signal, not a moment before. We aren't fighting ordinary benders here."

Ghazan's eyes peered out from the tiny hole Ming-Hua had created in their snow shelter, walls of ice could be seen about 30 meters away from their current position. A spotlight anchored into the top of the wall panned across the desolate whiteness that stretched on for miles, illuminating it in a strange orange glow. The cloaked guard operating it could be heard grumbling in the breeze, bitter about however long he'd be stuck up there by the sound of things. Can't exactly be a pleasant job.

"P'Li firing one of those things off would be pretty hard to miss in this darkness," Ghazan commented as he glanced up to a hillside to his right. Zaheer and the combustion bender were heading up to the top of that peak, an ideal position for P'Li to rain hell on their target below as well as signal the remaining Red Lotus who were huddled in a bunker of snow Ming-Hua had crafted. Ghazan was supposed to be in charge of the group of 10 or so, benders of all nationhoods who'd joined their little organisation for various reasons. It normally boiled down to the same thing once you plucked away at all the personal history and drama.

Change. Real, lasting, change.

Tonight would be the start of that mission. If they were victorious, the Red Lotus would become a devastating force Ghazan and Zaheer could've only have dreamed of when they were young teenagers. "It'll be quite the show..." Ming-Hua spoke quietly whilst staring at the snow falling softly. "Do you think we can win this fight? We know whose in that place, what they're capable of."

Ghazan placed a firm hand on her shoulder, his deep voice was good at creating false self confidence. "It'll be the fight of our lives that's for sure. But yeah, I think we'll get what we want in the end. We'll win."

Ming-Hua glanced up at him with an appreciative smile but she still appeared to be filled with doubt. Ghazan was too, he could feel it bubbling away, threatening his resolve. They could very well die here. The likelihood was pretty damn high, and if not that then prison for the rest of their existence. Once I start lava bending this churning will all go away. I'll be in control. If not for his dark haired friend, but for the rest of these recruits Ghazan had been assigned, he had to be resolute. Unbreakable.

"Doesn't mean some of us won't die," Ming-Hua pointed out quietly as she shifted closer to Ghazan. "And if I happen to be among that sorry group then I'd like to finally know where you came from. How you and Zaheer met all those years ago..."

Even Zaheer didn't know the full extent of this story. Ghazan swallowed hard, pulling out the small hit flask of whisky he'd brought along before taking a quick swig. Ming-Hua narrowed her brows in frustration, though there was the hint of a smirk beneath all that scowling. "Drinking? Really?"

"It's to calm my nerves woman," Ghazan defended with a growl as he felt the whisky burn the back of his throat. "You know how much I can drink before I even stagger, I don't plan on getting pissed here. That'd make for some dangerous lava bending." He stretched out his arm across the small distance between them and allowed Ming-Hua to take a reluctant sip. "But you asked me for some stuff I've never spoken about before, so I need a looser tongue and a bit more bravery."

Ming-Hua nodded with a grin as she leaned against the wall of snow, paying equal attention to both Ghazan and the hole to the outside world, waiting for that damn signal. "Fair enough, I hope it's a good story. Might be my last."

Ghazan crossed his arms firmly as he glanced up to the icy ceiling. "Tough crowd. Hope it lives up to the hype. Guess it's best to start with a name and a place, what all good stories start with. My name was Ghazan Hishimoto, I grew up in a former Fire Nation colony where my parents called the shots, and man did that work out for them. The Hishimoto family was stupidly rich and stupidly powerful..."

~Koto, Earth Kingdom. 6 years earlier~

Ghazan marched into the lavishly decorated family living room, trampling in all the dirt he'd spent all day collecting on the soles of his boots. It was strangely satisfying to see the white marble floor splotched with random spots of mud even if it was going to be cleaned by one of their home help in under a minute.

"Ghazan." His mother's sharp voice cut through all of his stomping clean as a knife. "You were supposed to be back hours ago – and why do you insist on traipsing in every inch of gravel when you come home, bad enough that you still run around with those street rats across at the market." It was the same lecture every day, easy to block out. "-I'm so sick of you hanging around like a bad smell. Either you go back to your tuition or you get a job."

"Uhuh – and what was dad doing at my age? Probably not a lot. Living off the Earth Queen's payments?" Ghazan moaned as he began munching on an apple from a nearby fruit bowl before thudding down onto a sofa.

"14 and talking like you run the place," his mother continued whilst picking up a nearby newspaper.

"Don't need to. You and dad have got that pretty covered," Ghazan replied quickly as he chewed loudly. "Not a person in this town will say a bad word against me, not even the 'street rats' I hang around with, and they mouth off about a lot of people. Everybody's scared of the Hishimoto's, and with good reason-"

His mother silenced him with a finger firmly across her lips as a lighter, more bouncy set of footsteps entered the room. Those belonging to his 12 year old sister, Yuuki, whose age had meant she'd been kept firmly out of the family business for the moment, though she was at least smart enough to figure there was something odd about the family's source of wealth. Smart enough to hopefully never become a part of it. "What did you do now?" Yuuki noted as she glanced between her mother and brother.

"The usual," Ghazan grinned cheekily, which earned the same response from his sister who quickly tried to amend it when their mother looked in her direction angrily. Tucking a loose piece of her long black hair behind her ear frantically hardly made her look innocent. "How was school?"

Yuuki narrowed her brows as she lowered herself down beside her older sibling. "I finished ages ago, it's night time." Her expression shifted quickly to one of excitement as her green eyes glimmered. "But that did give me a chance to work on the project. I think I'm all done."

"You fixed it?!" Ghazan beamed as he embraced the smaller girl tightly before his eyes darted towards his mother who had thankfully finished her lecture for the day and exited the room. "Let's go and see the fruits of your labour." He tossed a fresh apple to his sister in the same moment.

His sister caught it with an exhausted expression. "Really...?"

"I thought that was pretty good," Ghazan winked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

It took them a while to get to Ghazan's bedroom on the third floor, though they'd made the journey more amusing by making a game out of dancing and weaving around any house staff or personal security that happened to be wandering the halls of the mansion at this time of night. Those guards in maroon never made Ghazan safe even though they were well paid by his family. He knew what they did to other locals, people who couldn't afford to pay the Hishimoto's the rent they were owed, or some other stupid tax. Payments were extorted in other ways when that happened.

Yuuki sprinted on ahead in her impatience, pulling Ghazan firmly by the hand as they entered his spacious bedroom. One of the housemaids had rearranged it from the chaotic state he'd left it in this morning before heading out to the market.

"Behold!" Yuuki smiled proudly as she raised a hand to gesture to the large square object on a nearby desk. The one thing Ghazan didn't damage on purpose but in one of his rages, which were growing ever more frequent. "You should be able to play records just fine now, she spins like a dream."

"We'll see about that," Ghazan teased as he ran a hand through his younger sibling's black locks. "If this doesn't play I might have to kill you."

"I tested it, idiot, I always test my projects first," Yuuki retorted firmly as she passed Ghazan a record from his collection.

"'Path of Wind', least someone in this damn house knows me well," Ghazan grumbled as he took the large, black disc from it's sleeve carefully and placed it gently onto the player. He pulled the needle arm across delicately and watched it drop down with baited breath.

Clear, crisp music played almost instantly as Ghazan exhaled deeply. His sister on the other hand didn't seem remotely nervous, at least not with the functionality of the record player. However, there did appear to be something else disturbing her. "Why can't you just play nice with mom and dad? Everything's got to be an argument. I know you want to be some kind of rebel to show off to those boys in town."

"I don't do it for them..." Ghazan replied slowly as he watched the record spin. "Me. Mom. Dad. We just don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, probably never will. One thing we can agree on though, you. School's where you belong with a brain like that. Stick at it and you'll get out of this white marble maze. I know it."

Yuuki opened her mouth as though about to ask another, probably more intrusive, question but she paused mid breath, retracting an outstretched hand to her side and instead standing in place, closing her eyes and listening to the pleasant music.

Ming-Hua's eyes had certainly widened since Ghazan began the tale. For what reason he couldn't say. "What did your family do exactly?"

"Nothing I'm proud of," Ghazan mumbled as he rubbed his hands together. "They owned the land that pretty much every house in our town was built on so charged some pretty heavy rent. People that couldn't pay were persuaded to by the militia my parents hired."

"So wait...the Earth Kingdom had to know what was happening...didn't they ever intervene?"

Ghazan chuckled loudly which produced a large cloud of vapour and drew some confused stares from nearby recruits. "They knew fine well, but my parents made a deal with them. The Hishimoto's would run the numbers, keep control of the town and it's people, as long as the Earth Queen and her officials received a chunk of the profits. Still left my family with plenty."

Ming-Hua's voice grew hesitant. "And your sister – I never even knew you had any siblings – but I can't remember you ever speaking about someone before the Red Lotus with such warmth. I thought you hated everyone from your past."

Ghazan couldn't look Ming-Hua in the eye then. A first for the lava bender. "She was one of the good ones. I'll never say a bad word against her..."

Sensing Ghazan's growing unease Ming-Hua quickly changed the subject. "And what about Zaheer...? Where does he fit into all of this? He didn't always have that beard and long hair did he?"

"Nah – he looked more like an air bender back then, hair shaved back to the top of his head. It was better like that, living like he did. Much cleaner and easier to handle. Zaheer and I met when I was still 14. I got word from one of the 'street rats' I hung around with that some kid was leading a group of teenagers and children in town, preaching about change and equality, and getting his followers to steal from some of the big shots in town. He was only a year older than me...but still he felt and sounded a lot more grown up..."

Ghazan followed one of his friends cautiously through a back alley, heading to finally meet this Zaheer every one of his peers had been on and on about. He sounded like a particularly dangerous guy, but to who Ghazan couldn't exactly be sure. From the rumblings he'd heard the mysterious boy seemed to be interested in targeting authority figures, the local police and military. Eventually that would surely lead to the Hishimoto's – the real power of this corrupt place.

"He's round here," the dirt caped girl in front of him muttered softly, excitement lacing her voice.

Ghazan simply nodded, feeling far more nervous that enthusiastic. "He better be." That sounded a lot more assured than he actually felt as his hands trembled furiously.

Turning the corner, Ghazan found himself in an old square no longer used by the locals since the large fountain here had stopped flowing. He'd been sure this place had gone to the hog monkeys but apparently not. This Zaheer had cleaned it up pretty well. It didn't take Ghazan long to spot him either, this leader of misfits, who was sat with closed eyes on the edge of a set of steps. He was dressed in dank, dark grey robes which gave a distinctly nomadic appearance. If Ghazan didn't know any better he'd say this guy was an air bender, but only the current Avatar and his family still carried those abilities. This guy was all show.

"-let go your earthly tethers, empty and become wind. Let go your earthly tethers, empty and become wind-" the shaved boy mumbled to himself over and over again.

"I think you're in the wrong place buddy. Air Temple Island is a couple of thousand miles that way," Ghazan interrupted loudly as he firmly crossed his arms. The group of rag tag children surrounding their leader bristled at those words but didn't retaliate except in the form of a few angry glares.

Zaheer opened one eye to examine his guest. "Actually, there are several Air Temples much closer than that, sadly lost during the war." He pulled himself to his feet with poise and grace, bowing to the girl that escorted his guest here. "You must be Ghazan, you run things down at the market, yes? I'm Zaheer." The bald headed teen stretched out a hand with a warm smile.

"I know who you are, seems like everyone does," Ghazan replied coldly but shook the boy's hand none the less. "You asked to meet me, so here I am. Say what you've got to say and then I'm leaving here for good."

"You're free to leave right now," Zaheer pointed out softly as he gestured back to the alleyway. "It's your choice. You can stay, listen to what I have to teach or leave right now, go back to your mansion on the hill. I'm certain the first option will be far more rewarding."

There was something about this boy, a power in his voice, in the way he carried himself. Everything about him. Ghazan felt compelled to stay, even just for a few seconds. Just to be in this electrifying presence for a few moments longer.

"Doesn't sound like you got on any better then than you do now," Ming-Hua pointed out in amusement.

"They're aren't exactly many people I get one with," Ghazan reminded which a mischievous grin before glancing outside for a few seconds. The sky remained as black and still as it had been for the last hour. Guess P'Li's not gonna save my ass here then. I'm gonna have to tell the whole story. "Our friendship isn't much different to how it was back then, but I'd still do anything for that man. For any of you."

"I know..." Ming-Hua spoke quietly. "So how did Zaheer convince you to join him?"

"He didn't – not really. I liked the guy, liked what he had to say and saw him nearly every single day. But did I actually sign up to his little group of pickpockets who saw themselves as freedom fighters? No. And Zaheer never pushed me into joining either, another thing I liked about him, even though he knew fine well what my familie's influence could do, what I could do for his cause. The unique position I was in," Ghazan recalled as he glanced to the recruits nearby. None of them had been forced to join either. They were all volunteers, willing members. Ready to live and die for their cause. Which many of them would probably have to this evening.

"Then how did you both end up in the Red Lotus?" Ming-Hua asked in confusion.

"Circumstance. For a year or so, I stuck around Zaheer. He told me about his family – he lived with his grandparents who barely had enough money to put food on the table. Luckily, Zaheer stole enough that they never went hungry. But then one day my hand was forced. The Hishimoto's happened to own Zaheer's home and had figured all the trouble he'd been causing in town. When his grandparents wouldn't pay up, not because they didn't want to but because they simply couldn't my familie's militia ended them."

Ming-Hua looked strangely appalled with that. "They didn't always end like that – otherwise I would've turned my back on my parents sooner. Normally people that couldn't pay were beaten around a bit, some of their possessions taken. Murder rarely occurred. But Zaheer's case was different, they wanted to make him suffer, and to put an end to him as well. His voice and influence was becoming a dangerous thing."

"Then how did he survive? Zaheer's a great to hand to hand fighter, but in a real battle, it's his voice that gives him power, his ability to motivate and make people want to die for him," Ming-Hua replied curiously.

"He didn't need anyone else there but me. I was with him when the militia came knocking, but they wouldn't kill me. It didn't stop them trying to get at Zaheer, they just tried knock me out the way with some fancy earth bending. There was five of them, way more than I could handle."

"Is this when you tell me someone flew in to save the day?"

"That never happens," Ghazan replied sternly before he grinned. "Luckily, I was so damned scared and angry, that well, something happened I'd never been able to do before. I didn't just earth bend, I lava bended. Which was made all the more crazy when up to that point I'd never even bent a rock."

Ming-Hua's looked absolutely fascinated as Ghazan continued. "I burnt the attackers good, but I got myself and Zaheer chucked in a jail cell for good measure, even my family couldn't bust me outta there without upsetting the men they'd hired to protect them."

"That must've been some big news, a lava bender in the midst," Ming-Hua mused.

"Must've been, cause a certain big shot came and busted me and Zaheer outta there a week or so later..."

The cramped cell Ghazan and Zaheer had been sharing with four others was suddenly filled with smoke as large crumbling sound could be heard in the distance. It sounded distinctly like that of a wall being brought down but it was hard to tell over the eruption of noise from the other prisoners shouting and ranting at the sudden disturbance.

"What the hells going on?" Ghazan grumbled as he pulled at his chained wrists. The prison officers had taken no chances once they'd found out he was a lava bender. By now everyone in town had to know. Zaheer had seemed most pleased with the discovery, commenting that 'He'd always known there was something special about him, since they day they'd met'. Ghazan could probably have said the same for the boy across from him.

"A riot perhaps, or maybe someone breaking in rather than out," Zaheer spoke softly as he moved to the bars of the cells, peering down the hall as their fellow cell mates crowded him. For a poor boy Zaheer was incredibly well spoken. Better than Ghazan anyhow.

"I don't know which is better!" Ghazan coughed as he pulled and hauled at his chains with no effect.

After a few more seconds of struggling a group of cloaked figures came streaming down the hallway, clothed in black and red. Not the dark green uniform of the guards. So this was break in.

"Move back," one of the group, a female, spoke quickly. It take several seconds for the prisoners at the bars to realize they were being addressed. "Back!" That time they did move. Zaheer was that last to go, but he stepped back all the same.

Once the entrance was clear the cloaked woman pulled the metal bars apart with ease. Ghazan felt his jaw drop at that. For all the rumours he'd heard about metal bending and the fact Republic City was filled with them, he'd never seen one in real life before. It was incredibly impressive.

"You two, stay there, the rest of you may go," the cloaked woman ordered as she pointed to Ghazan and Zaheer, standing completely unmoved as the rest of the prisoners scuttled on desperately past her. "Xai Bau, they're here."

"Who are you people?" Zaheer questioned with arms raised, he was however unable to hide the fear in his normally smooth voice.

A weathered but formidable looking old man step inside the cell, pulling down his black hood to his shoulders to reveal a long white beard. He completely evaded Zaheer's question, instead he placed a hand on the trembling boy's shoulder. "You will find out soon enough. For now it's best we get away from this place, unless you'd rather stay?"

Zaheer shared a concerned glance with Ghazan but didn't say anything. For the first time he seemed lost for words. He had been much quieter ever since the death of his carers. Ghazan however, took one look at the tin bucket in the corner and was pretty sold on the idea of getting out of here. "We want to leave, both of us."

Xai Bau nodded his approval before he turned to the woman who had opened the cell. "Is the hallway still clear?"

"Yes, it's safe to leave, but we'd better be quick about it," she replied calmly before crouching down and prying Ghazan's cuffs open with ease.

"I didn't realize you guys actually met the Xai Bau...the founder," Ming-Hua gasped.

"Didn't know him for very long. He was an interesting guy, a lot like Zaheer. They got on really for as long as that bearded guy was around," Ghazan said nonchalantly. "But he died about a year after we joined him, old age I think. He taught Zaheer how to mediate into the spirit world. What a useful skill that is..."

"Why did he come after you? The two of you?"

Ghazan faked offence at that comment which brought out the slightest giggle from Ming-Hua. "He'd been watching us for a while. The way Zaheer could get people to follow him, his general opinion on the world order. And of course my lava bending. We peaked his interest so he asked us to join the Red Lotus. This band of brothers and sisters he'd set up after abandoning the White Lotus who'd become nothing more than slaves to Avatar Aang's will."

"And they still are," Ming-Hua agreed as she looked outside for a moment.

"Honestly, it was what I'd been dreaming about, a place I could belong. I'd always tried to do what I could to help people in my town but it was never enough. The old order was too strong and I was a part of it," Ghazan admitted. "You can't choose your family, and Xai Bau wasn't quite as sure about me as he was about Zaheer. He gave me a test, to be a part of the Red Lotus I had to cut off my earthly tethers and root out the corruption I'd been born in."

"He wanted you to end your parents..."

Ghazan nodded sadly. "My whole family. And I wanted to join, I wanted to stay with Zaheer, with the Red Lotus. I didn't want to spend my life behind bars, so I agreed..."

Ghazan stepped quietly down the hall of his home, a place he hadn't been in several months. There had been no stomping today as had been his custom, but slipping around the militia that remained in the mansion after everything had seemed more important.

"Just tell them to go – tell them to leave..." Ghazan mumbled to himself as he neared his parent's huge bedroom. It was late enough in the evening that his father would be home and his sister would be fast asleep.

When he gripped the handle of the bedroom door with trembling fingers Ghazan struggled to control his breathing. Still, he pushed the door open lightly, trying to steady the pounding in his head as he stepped inside. His parents were indeed in bed, their figures shifting below silk covers before they wrenched upwards suddenly, apparently his heart had been much louder than he'd thought.

As he stared at his parent's confused and surprised stares Ghazan looked up at the roof. He'd told himself he hated them, but it wasn't true. He could never hate his own blood no matter what they'd done or who they were. Maybe he wasn't made of the right stuff for the Red Lotus, he wasn't tough enough, strong enough to do what needed to be done.

How could he burn the old order away if he wasn't willing to set off the first spark?

"Ghazan...son – what are you doing here? Where have you been?" his father questioned as he shifted out of the bed in a state of undress. It was very rare that his father addressed him as his child, perhaps he sensed the sinister nature of his son's intentions this evening.

"Away. Out of town. Just like you're going to," Ghazan spoke coldly, hoping he could scare them into obeying him.

"How did you get in here?" his mother questioned with none of the softness of her husband. "I told the guards not to let you into our home." Ghazan's father raised a hand to silence his partner as he took a cautious step in Ghazan's direction.

"Your home? Guess it never was mine," Ghazan replied as he felt the anger building in his voice at his mother's indifference. "I want you both to pack your things, take Yuuki and leave. Go anywhere but here, the United Republic. I hear it's nice. But not here. You leave all of this behind."

"And why would we do that?"

"Because I want you to. You're going to end all the pain and misery you and the Earth Queen have caused right here, tonight," Ghazan explained in a trembling voice as he clenched his fists. "Now go. This is a kindness." He pulled some pieces of earth from his pocket and illuminated them in an orange glow.

"I always knew you were a monster," his mother spoke coldly as she rose from the bed and began marching towards Ghazan. "Very few of our family can bend, but you, of course. The runt, the mistake. You always had to be different. Not like your sister."

"Don't bring her into this!" Ghazan roared as he threw lava forward without a second thought, hitting his mother directly who'd only been a meter away. The woman immediately began screaming in agony as she tumbled to the floor, coated in the orange liquid. "I didn't – if you'd just did what I said!"

Suddenly his father was on his, lunging on top of him and throwing the younger man to the ground. He wrapped his much stronger hands around Ghazan's throat and began to squeeze tightly. For a few seconds Ghazan struggled for breath as he tried to push his father away, but to no avail. Instead he reached across with a flailing hand to a piece of rock nearby, bending it to his will until it became razor sharp before he pulled it firmly into his grip.

Ghazan brought the sharp object into the side of his father's neck a moment later, blood gushing from the wound as the older man tumbled to the side and clawed at his throat in vain. Ghazan coughed and spluttered frantically as he tried to stop himself from retching at the smell of blood and burned flesh in the room. His father had stopped flailing very quickly as red liquid pooled around his still form. The room which had been filled with screaming and shouting a few seconds ago was abruptly silent.

Silent except for a few light footsteps from behind.

"Ghazan...what – what did you do...?" his sister croaked as she dropped down to her knees.

"I – I had to. They wouldn't listen – they. They were monsters-"

Yuuki looked up at him with an unexpected fury burning in her green eyes as she stood. "No Ghazan! You're the monster! You murdered them!"

She charged forward then, slamming her fists into Ghazan with little effect. "Please...stop..." Ghazan muttered as he managed to grab a hold of her wrists. She wouldn't stop squirming in his grip as tears poured down her cheeks, causing black locks of hair to stick to her face. "I don't want to hurt you...you're not like them..."

"And I'm not like you either..." Yuuki whimpered before she gritted her teeth. "And you're not my brother. Not anymore."

Ghazan nodded his head sadly. They were never alike. Never would be. The life he would have now was not one he wanted his sister to have. But he wouldn't end her either. He couldn't, and his body wouldn't allow it anyway.

"Get out of the way," Ghazan pleaded as he released his grip and pushed Yuuki back a few paces. "Let me leave – you'll never hear from me again."

Yuuki stood resolute and determined. "No."

Deep down Ghazan had expected nothing less from his little sister. She was far braver than him. "Then I'm sorry..."

He raised a small piece of rock from the floor with a swift flick of his hand before he sent it rushing forward and smacking into the side of Yuuki's head. Her unconscious body began to tumble towards the hard floor, but not before Ghazan's arms were under her back, preventing the fall as he laid her down gently. "Stay good. Stay you..." he muttered quietly whilst frantically rubbing the tears away from his eyes, taking one last look at his sister before fleeing.

"Shit..." Ghazan mumbled to himself as he sprinted back down the hall. He hadn't planned on killing anyone this evening, but it'd happened all the same. And he'd hurt the only person he truly loved in this world.

Xai Bau had told him he could take the minimum amount of possessions with him to the Red Lotus lair in the South, but he didn't specify what that had to be. Ghazan stopped briefly at his bedroom as he pulled his backpack down from his shoulder. "Screw clothes," he hissed whilst unplugging his record player from the wall. 'The Path of Wind' was still inside. After gently pushing the player and solitary disc inside Ghazan sealed the pack over. "Hope the Red Lotus have some kind of generator."

"Ghazan...I'm...I'm so sorry..."

He shook his head firmly. "Don't be – it was my choice. Hope that was at least a good story."

Ming-Hua seemed a little lost for words, but she did open her mouth as though about to ask another question.

"You're wondering what happened to her I assume? She's dead. But not by my hand. After my parents downfall she took on the family business, but she wasn't cold like them. She couldn't handle it, and other families nearby sensed that, they overthrew her. Papers said she 'Died in mysterious circumstances', but I know they killed her," Ghazan started to snarl. "I only went back there once, to right some wrongs. Spill more blood."

Ming-Hua nodded in understanding before her eyes widened suddenly as she glanced outside. A large popping sound filled the air. "P'Li's signal! It's time to move!

Ghazan straightened his body as their snow shelter crumbled around them. He gestured to the group of recruits at his back who all looked a little terrified as another blast of fire rang out in the night.

"Alright, time to go boys and girls! Lets go nab ourselves an Avatar!"

End Notes

*rubs hands together* questions? Thoughts? ANYTHINGGGGG!

- This chapter was set in two different times, the Red Lotus attack on Korra's compound in the South when she was a little girl, Ghazan was about 20, about 16 years before the current story is set, and then 6 years before that when Ghazan would've been 14/15.

-There's a pretty clear reason why Ghazan has warmed to Asami so much. She's pretty much a grown up version of the sister he lost.

-Next up we're back to the present timeline, in Ba Sing Se where shits about to go down, I just felt like we needed this backstory for Ghazan since I've given him a lot of attention in this fic.

Thank you for reading and please leave your comments below!

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