CHAPTER 10: THE SHOWDOWN (PART 2)

(Disclaimer- I do NOT own Avatar: The Legend of Korra. I only own my OC's)

Kenai had never pondered this much about the phrase 'expect the unexpected' until this very moment.

Right in front of him was a man that looked like the ghost of his past self. Tarrlok was pale, dirty from toes to head, smelly and definitely a lot thinner since the last time he saw him. If it wasn't for the fact that Kenai loathed him, he would've felt some sort of sympathy for him. But no. He quickly reminded himself of all the foul thing Tarrlok had done to Korra. Luring her into his task force, calling her a 'half-baked Avatar' and the worse of all, abducting her. Maybe Korra could find a way to forgive him, but Kenai couldn't.

Tarrlok glared at the pair. "I don't suppose you're here to rescue me."

"Your suppositions are correct, councilman." Kenai spat with an equally hateful glare.

"We had no idea you were here. Are there any other prisoners on the island?" Korra asked as she ignored her boyfriend's behavior.

"No. I'm the only one."

"And what does exactly make you so special?" Kenai asked.

"... I am Amon's brother."

Both Korra and Kenai gasped at the revelation. Councilman Tarrlok was Amon's brother? The two opposite's forces that had been facing each other for so long were siblings? Finding Tarrlok here was unexpected enough, but this? This took the phrase 'expect the unexpected' to a whole different level. Kenai shivered at the idea of this information going public. There would certainly be chaos.

"Amon is from the Northern Water Tribe. He's a waterbender and a bloodbender, just like I was." Tarrlok said.

Korra was gaping. "What?"

"Did you know this all along?" Kenai questioned.

"No. I realized only after he captured me."

"How did your brother ended up being Amon?" Korra couldn't help but ask. This day was getting even messier than what she anticipated. And she anticipated a LOT of things going down today.

Tarrlok stared at the ground, like the memories of his past ashamed him to the point that he couldn't even look at them in the eye. "It all began with my father, Yakone. With the help of his former gang, he escaped prison and underwent surgery to change his physical appearance . This way, no one could recognize him or link him with his criminal reputation. He assumed a new identity and settled down in the Northern Water Tribe. That's where he met my mother, a warm and caring woman that loved him. Before long, they started a family together. Amon was the first born with the name of Noatak while I was born three years later. My brother Noatak was a good-natured boy, always looking out for me. Ahhh, those were the good old days... before my father discovered that we were waterbenders."

He made a pause before continuing. "Of course, we were excited at first with our new abilities. If anything, it made out brotherly bond even stronger than it already was. But our training brought a different side to my father. "

|Flashback|

An eight year-old Noatak was manipulating a considerable amount of water, changing its size and shape. Meanwhile, a five year-old Tarrlok was struggling to keep up with his brother. Even with less water, he had trouble performing the exercise his father had instructed them to practice. It was already dark and he was tired and hungry, but his father still wouldn't let them rest. Finally, Tarrlok kneeled and stopped bending the water because of the fatigue.

"Tarrlok!" a severe voice called from behind. "You better start shaping the water like I told you to do or you'll be here all night!"

"I'm trying, but-"

"But nothing! You are a disgrace. Your brother was never this sloppy!"

Noatak took a step forward. "Dad, he'll get it. He just needs time." he tried to reason.

"Don't you ever talk back to me, boy! Ever!"

|Flashback end|

"Even back then, my brother wanted everyone to be treated fairly and equally. When I was seven, our father took me and Noatak to a hunting trip far away from our home. He told us his true identity was Yakone, Republic City's most notorious crime boss. He was a bloodbender of rare skill."

|Flashback|

"Dad, what's bloodbending?" Tarrlok asked his father as he and his brother sat down next to the small bonfire to keep themselves warm on that particularly cold night.

"It's the most powerful and feared form of bending in the world." Yakone told his son. "It was declared illegal thanks to that coward Katara. Our family has the strongest line of bloodbenders in history. You boys have this power inside of you and I will teach you how to master it."

After a moment of hesitation, Noatak spoke up. "What happened to your bloodbending?" he asked.

Yakone stood up. "The Avatar stole it from me. That is why I brought you here, to learn your destiny. I will make you two bloodbenders of the highest order, and when the time is right, you will reclaim Republic City and you will destroy the Avatar. You must avenge me. That is your only purpose in life. That is what your destinies are."

|Flashback end|

"And with that, the good old days were gone forever. Every full moon, our father would take us to another 'hunting trip' were he secretly trained us in bloodbending. We kept the truth from our mother. Years went by, and our skills as bloodbenders had increased to the point of not needing a full moon to bend the blood of our targets. We practiced constantly, and I hated every minute of it. I had no stomach to manipulate helpless animals. My brother, however, had changed with his new power. In all honesty, he was a prodigy, mastering the most advanced bloodbending techniques of our father by the age of fourteen. But even when Noatak was my father's favorite, it wasn't any easier for him because he carried the weight of Yakone's expectations and demands on his shoulders."

Tarrlok let out a sigh. Kenai didn't want to admit it, but Tarrlok's story was starting to get him. If all of what he was saying was true, then Tarrlok wasn't just an enemy or a power-hungry man, but a victim of his past as well thanks to his father.

"My brother changed through the years, becoming cold and detached. Our father kept pushing us to extreme limits, and one day, he made us bloodbend each other in a duel."

|Flashback|

The two brothers were standing in front of each other, one looking calm and expressionless while the other looked nervous and scared.

"Noatak, go." Yakone said to his oldest son.

Noatak nodded, took a deep breath and stared at Tarrlok for a second before his whole body became tense.

In an instant, Tarrlok's body started to feel an unbelievable amount of pain. It felt like having his inside strangled constantly with hands as cold as ice. His bones were twitchy, like they were warning him they would snap at any minute now. His legs couldn't stand such painful torture, and so Tarrlok bended over and drop into one knee. Then, his brother hardened his gaze and Tarrlok's back began to stretch so much that he thought his brother was going to split him in half.

Yakone smirked as he looked at his older son. "Excellent. You can stop now."

Noatak did so and felt his body relax, letting go the grip he had on Tarrlok, who fell to the ground shivering and sweaty.

"Tarrlok, your turn."

"No, I won't do it." Tarrlok said as he stood up.

"Bloodbend your brother, Tarrlok!"

"No! It felt awful and I don't want to do that to anyone. I don't want to bloodbend ever again!"

Yakone took a step forward with gritted teeth. "You truly are a disgrace. You are nothing but a weakling. I'll show you wha-"

Suddenly, Yakone's body started to shake in pain. "Stay away from him." a voice warned.

It was Noatak. His own son and apprentice was using his bloodbending against him.

"How... dare... you... bloodbend... me?"

"What are you going to do about it?" Noatak said as he made his father bend over. "You're the only weakling here. You said that bloodbending is the most powerful thing in the world, but you're wrong. The Avatar is the most powerful thing in the world. He took your bending away, what can be more powerful than that?"

"I... made you... what you... are. You... are... mine!" Yakone yelled.

His older son glared at him. "We're your sons, not your tools of revenge." he said to Yakone before returning his gaze to Tarrlok. "Let's go. We can run away from him forever."

Tarrlok couldn't believe his ears. He simply couldn't. "Run away? But what about mom? We can't just leave her!"

Noatak gave his younger brother the same glare he gave to his father. "In the end, father was right about you. You really are a weakling."

With that said, Noatak pushed his father a couple feet away before running away, never to return.

"Noatak, please wait! Don't go! Noatak!"

|Flashback end|

"My father and I searched for days, but we never found any sign of Noatak. We told my mother he got lost in the storm and perished. My mother was never the same with the loss of her son. My father stopped training me since with Noatak gone, his hopes of revenge withered, and he passed away a few years later."

Korra looked at him with pity. "That's one of the saddest stories I've ever heard."

"Avatar Korra, I am truly sorry for all that I've done to you. I thought I was better than my father, but his ghost still haunts me. I became a soldier of revenge, just like he wanted me to be and so did my brother. The Revolution may be built on a lie, but I think Amon truly believes bending is the source of all evil in the world." Tarrlok said.

"How did you figure Amon was your brother?" Kenai asked.

"When he took my bending, the sensation was somehow familiar. I later recognized it as my brother's bloodbending grip."

Korra narrowed her eyes. "So, somehow, he uses his bloodbending to take people's bending away."

"I still don't understand how he does it." Kenai commented. "According to uncle Tenzin, only the Avatar is capable of doing that. I'm pretty sure bloodbending doesn´t comes with energybending, as powerful as it may be."

"Neither do I know how he does it." Tarrlok said. "But then again, I've never faced a bender as strong as Noatak."

Even with this new information, Kenai still wasn't able to figure out a way to defeat the Equalist leader. Not only he was a bloodbender, which was something dangerous by itself, but he was probably the most powerful bloodbender out there. To bloodbend without a full moon was something worthy of a genius, a prodigy. Kenai chuckled to himself at the thought of how would the Equalist supporters would feel when they found out their great leader and warrior of hope was actually an over-powered waterbender.

...

Wait a minute... That was it!

"Hey, maybe we don't have to defeat him. Instead, we could tell everyone about Amon's true identity and powers. If the Equalists are true to their cause, then they would revel against Amon right? That should put him on the run and make him lose his supporters." Kenai said, mentally patting himself for being such a genius.

Korra's eyes lit up and a wide grin made its way to her face. "Of course! If we tell everyone his little secret at the rally, we could take away his true power and end his revolution!" she exclaimed. Turning back to Tarrlok, she lowered he head. "I'm sorry."

Tarrlok merely nodded and looked away in shame, to embarrassed to meet her gaze.

Kenai was fighting with himself. He couldn't forgive Tarrlok for his actions, but he no longer desired to take his revenge he once swore. Was it pity? Was it because Tenzin taught him the value of forgiveness? Was it because Korra felt pity for him? He had no idea, and honestly he had more important things to worry about, like taking down Amon once and for all and making sure to get out alive or Korra would never forgive him or herself for that matter. That woman would be willing to go to the Spirit World and back if it meant to kick his bum for leaving her. The thought send shivers down his spine, not that anyone noticed. He started to walk away but Korra stopped him.

"We can't just leave him here."

"Go. No one can know we talked. Otherwise your only chance of taking down my brother will vanish. Defeat him, and put an end to this sad story."

|Pro-bending Arena, Rally|

Kenai never would've thought he'd see a bigger Equalist-supporter crowd than the one he saw at the rally when Bolin was captured, but this took the cake. Without counting the Equalist troops and Mechatanks guarding the stadium, the place was absolutely infested of die-hard Amon fanatics. What made things even worse was that people were still going in, even when the place had no space left. Apparently the Equalists had an open door policy, wanting all of the people to come and hear the great leader.

The crowd erupted into cheers and shouts of admiration when Amon came out; making the usual entrance he always did before starting a speech, with lots of smoke and flashes of lights directed to him.

"Thank you for joining me in this historical occasion." he began to say as the crowd started to quiet down. "When I was a boy, a firebender struck down my entire family and left me scarred. That tragic event was the beginning of my quest to equalize the world."

"That's a lie, Amon!" Korra shouted from above before Amon could continue. Both Kenai and Korra took of their masks now that their cover was officially blown. "Or should we call you Noatak?"

The crowd was now shouting about lies, punishment, something about blasphemy and similar things of the like to the couple. To his credit, Amon remained calm and gestured his followers to stay still. "Everyone calm down. We have nothing to fear from the Avatar. Let's see what she has to say."

"Amon has been lying to you all this time." the Avatar started to say out loud, gaining the attention of the people below her. "The Spirits didn't give him the power to take people's bending away, he uses bloodbending to do it. Amon is a waterbender!"

"Quite the amusing story you have there, Avatar. Sadly, it is nothing but a desperate attempt to change the inevitable. A pathetic excuse used as a last resort." Amon retorted nontachantly.

Korra ignored him and went on. "Your family wasn't killed by a firebender. His father was Yakone (multiple gasps were heard) and his brother is none other than councilman Tarrlok (even more gasps)!"

Meanwhile, Kenai was pondering on one thing he had failed to take into account.

How where they supposed to prove that what they were saying was true? They had no evidence to back their claim whatsoever. Sure, they knew the truth but that was not going to do a fat lot of good. Especially when they were facing thousands of Equalists fanatics AND the Equalist leader that was surrounded by his top-notch guards. 'I can't believe I hadn't thought of that earlier! Even Bolin would've realized! Heck, even Meelo would've realized! I have to be the dumbest bender of the Earth.'

"I suppose you at least have some evidence with you. You are not just saying such things without a way to prove it, now aren't you?" Amon asked.

"Yeah... about that..." Kenai mumbled to himself so that nobody could hear him. Spirits, this was so awkward.

"How about I show you how fake my lie is." Amon said as he took off his hood and started to untie the back of his characteristic white mask. Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what he was doing. Was their leader, the great and mysterious Amon, finally going to reveal his face to the world? The mere thought was simply surreal. From the very beginning of the Equalist propaganda, Amon had always, ALWAYS wore his trademark mask. It was quite basically the man's face. No one, not even his closest associates had ever caught a glimpse of Amon's true face. The only thing that mask didn't cover were his icy, unforgiving eyes of him.

And now, the face of the mighty Amon was revealed.

"Look what that firebender did to me!" he proclaimed loudly, pointing at his face which sported a bright red scar that started from the left side of his jaw line and ended in his right temple. The scar covered almost all of his otherwise pale face. Witnessing this, the crowd went berserk and started to shout even louder than before, pointing at the Avatar and throwing insults at her like there was no tomorrow. It was pandemonium in the stadium.

Korra was starting to lose her composure. This was so not good. Tarrlok never mentioned his brother's scar. Could it be a fake? She really hoped it was, because otherwise she and Kenai were in big trouble. How were they supposed to back up the real story now?

Feeling the rising tension, Kenai spoke up, feeling a strange sense of inspiration rising from his spirit. "Just answer me this, Noatak. What do you really want? Where is this revolution of yours going? You preach complete equality like it is going to fix the world, but you are wrong. What we need is justice, not equality. Benders are different, that much is true. It's what we do with our powers what we have to fix, but taking everyone's bending away will not make things better. We have been given the responsibility of making the world a better place, with benders and non-benders coexisting in true peace. If you go on with this madness, you'll end up doing the exact opposite of what you want."

This seemed to quiet down the crowd to the point where Kenai's voice could be heard. The less extremist followers were whispering to one another, going over the airbender's statement. It did made sense, for the benders of the past had also done good deeds, especially the Avatar and its reincarnations. Firelord Sozin was the one who started the war that lasted for a hundred years, and it was Avatar Aang the one who ended it, starting a new era of peace. Benders started wars and benders put them to an end.

"It is true that bending has been gravely misused for years, and non-benders are the ones who have had it the hardest." Kenai continued with his improvised speech as he now addressed the horde of Equalists followers. "We have done you wrong. On behalf of all of those who have hurt you in the past, I ask for your forgiveness. But I'm sure you have no interest in my apologies. What you want is a better life, a life without fear. Your leader is right in one thing: We can change this corrupted system. Let us fight for you. Let the Avatar fight for you. Have faith in her just like I do, because I know she can lead the world into a new era of kindness and justice, just like all the previous Avatars have done before her."

If the crowd was not silent then, it sure was now. Korra found herself gaping at her boyfriend. She never would've thought Kenai was so good at addressing people just like that. What she didn't know was that Kenai was even more impressed with himself. Even though he was naturally open to others, Kenai didn't think of himself as the kind of person to give speeches to a number of people. It was different when he spoke to Korra in private, where they could be intimate and express their thoughts to one another.

Amon, who had already placed his mask on again, noticed how some of his followers were starting to hesitate, so he was quick to return the word. "Worry not, airbender. For I will change this corrupted system. Starting with your precious family."

Kenai's eyes widened in shock as Tenzin, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo appeared at the stage, hand-cuffed and with a piece of cloth in their mouths to prevent them from shouting.

"No... They got away. We saw them get away." Korra whispered

"Tonight, I will free the world from airbending forever."

"Let them go, you bastard!" Kenai shouted as his anger and ire quickly took over.

"You are more than welcome to come down here and try to save them." Amon taunted the couple before walking towards Jinora. "The Avatar needs a reminder of the power I possess. Maybe a little demonstration with the older girl will do."

Kenai lost it.

Without a second thought, he propelled himself towards the stage using airbending, landing on the left corner. Korra caught up to him by using her firebending. As soon as Kenai and Korra touched ground, they encountered a number of elite chi-blockers making their way to them, eager to put them down. Kenai found himself in a state of nothing but violence, blasting away his enemies as they came closer. The sight of Amon attempting to hurt Jinora made him so mad he reached a level of rage he never knew he had. All of his past frustrations, all of his sadest moments, all of the times he had cried were all mixed into a single desire to protect his family even if it meant to stop being human for a while.

Nobody touched Kenai's family without paying for it.

Korra was unnerved by Kenai's outburst but quickly regained composure. Focusing her chi into her fingers, Korra created a small yet powerful flame to melt the chains Tenzin and his family was handcuffed with. "Where are Pema and Rohan?" she asked once the piece of cloth was removed from Tenzin's mouth.

"In prison."

"And Beifong?"

"I don't know."

When Tenzin and the kids were liberated, the aged airbender supported his surrogate nephew and together they sent a strong gust of wind to Amon. The Equalist leader fared well against the airbending attack, but in the end he couldn't resist any longer and was pushed back a couple of meters away, leaving him temporally out of the fight. "Follow me, kids!" Korra yelled as they escaped the scenario. The crowd was gone from the beginning of the fight and the chi-blockers were knocked out, making the escape a lot easier. Together, they made their way through the exit door.

"Get them out of her." the Avatar ordered to Tenzin. "We'll create a distraction."

Tenzin nodded in agreement. "Come on, kids. Let's go find your mother and baby brother."

"Prison break!" Meelo shouted before joining the family search party.

At the end of the hall, Korra spotted Amon. She quickly reacted by sending fireballs his way in order to slow him down, but Amon's reflexes were just as fast, if not faster than Korra's, and so he dodged all of them without missing a beat. He turned right to face his opponents, but they were nowhere to be seen. His eyes caught a glance of the third door to his left barely closing, indicating that the Avatar and her boyfriend were most likely there.

The third door to his left turned out to be a small warehouse were some of the malfunctioning Equalist devices were stored. The place was reasonably sized and had lots of places to hide, like tables with blankets over them and big delivery boxes used to transport merchandise, along with several other spots.

Noatak smirked under his mask. They made it way too easy.

Korra felt like screaming in agony when Amon bloodbended her, making her body get out from her hiding spot under a table. This was not the first time someone used bloodbending on her, taking into account her kidnapping under the hands of Tarrlok. But between the two of them, Noatak's grip was ten times more painful. It made all of her body twist back and ford repeatedly. She felt like there was no more blood inside of her, but liquid ice going through her veins. The pain was so big she couldn't even shout. Her voice was caught in her throat.

"Leave her alone, Noatak!"

The bloodbender look back at the figure of Kenai sending air blasts his way. Not losing his grip on Korra, Amon dodged all of them except the last one. It was a wave of air that tackled him and sent him falling on his back, his grip on Korra lost. The girl was too weak to move, but still conscious. The moment he raised his head, the young man was running towards him holding some sort of strange rotating air sphere. It didn't took him long to figure out that it would cause him a great amount of damage if he got struck by that unknown technique. Judging by its sound, the air was rotating at dangerous speed. Kenai let out a roar as he approached the masked man.

Kenai yelped as his body froze in mid-air, the air sphere still active in his hand. With his face twitching in pain, he looked at Amon's hands.

Three of his right hand fingers were being held.

He had been caught.

"That's quite an impressive technique you have there." Amon said as he stood up. "It's almost like an entirely new bending. Sadly, you won't live enough to progress any further with it. You have been an annoyance for far too long."

That said, Amon started to close his fist, making Kenai's open hand to approach his stomach area. The airbender's eyes widened in panic. He knew full well how devastating his technique was. If he received the air sphere at full force, he was finished.

He would die.

'No! I can't die yet!' Kenai thought as she struggled to keep his hand away from him. Just a few inches and the sphere would touch him. 'Wait, my only chance is to-'

"Noatak, please stop! I beg you!" Korra yelled. She wanted to move, but her body was still too numb to respond.

"You can beg all you want. This is for interfering with my revolution. Farewell, airbender." Amon said. With a quick hand gesture, he closed his fist completely.

It lasted for a second. Before either Amon or Korra could notice, Kenai's torso glowed in a white light before his hand drove the air sphere into his stomach.

Upon impact, Kenai was sent back several meters with a staggering force, his body bouncing all the way against the hard, unforgiving ground. The moment he stopped, Korra saw with horror the hole in Kenai's Equalist suit. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open, with blood coming out of it. The airbender's body was not even struggling to get up. It was simply there, lifeless.

"Such a pitiful way to go." Amon commented dryly. "And now it's your turn, Avatar. Prepare to be equalized."

But Korra wasn't listening. On her knees and with her hands on the ground for support, she stared at Kenai's limp body waiting for an answer. A shook of his head. The movement of a leg. The slight tremble of a finger. Anything that might indicate he was still alive.

Nothing. Her boyfriend was not moving. Her boyfriend was not going to move.

She felt a rush of feelings taking a hold of her. Sadness, despair, denial.

Rage. Rage beyond her wildest dreams. Never in her life had she felt so angry, with such a thirst for blood. Noatak's blood. He was going to pay.

"You... I hate you... I HATE YOU!"

With a roar, Korra got up and launch herself at Amon. Her eyes were replaced by a white light and her face was contorted, making her look like a crazy animal. Amon was shocked by the sudden turn of events and attempted to bloodbend the Avatar.

This proved to be useless. Bloodbending someone was one thing, but bloodbending the Avatar in the Avatar State was a whole different story. It was like trying to bloodbend one hundred individuals at the same time. It was simply too much for Amon. He was sent flying by a strong gust of wind that came out of Korra's palm. She didn't even realize she was airbending. Her fury was far too great for her to notice.

"I HAD IT WITH YOU AND YOUR REVOLUTION!" Korra shouted at the top of her lungs as a huge air blast was sent to Amon. The Equalist leader was too stunned to evade it, and thus he was sent crashing into a wooden wall.

"GRRAAAAAAAAAH!"

With one final gust of wind, Korra sent Amon against a window and out of the building. Her Avatar State worn out and Korra finally came back to her senses. Running back to where Kenai was, she discovered her boyfriend still immobile. His stomach was a mess of black, purple and red while a trickle of blood was running down his nostril.

"Oh Spirits, no... Kenai... Why?"

The Avatar started crying. Kenai, the man she cared for the most, was lying there with no signs of waking up. Sobbing uncontrollably, she placed both her hands in his head and cried her spirit out. She had thought for some time that losing her bending to Amon was the thing that scared her the most. It wasn't until just a couple of days earlier when she realized how wrong she was. What scared her most was this… losing Kenai. After several minutes of crying, she noticed a slight movement in his chest. Placing her ear in his heart, she gasped at the feeling of a small, but still noticeable heartbeat.

He was still alive.

'Am I... dead?' Kenai wondered as he slowly woke up. He was in a strange garden, filled with flowers and plants he had never seen before. The sky was surrounded by puffy-looking clouds, but that was the least of his concerns. What was this place? It felt so... spiritual and full of live, like he was aware of every living thing around him. He slowly got up, and felt completely fine for some reason. Pain was nonexistent.

That baffled him. The last thing he could remember was Amon bloodbending him. Just before his air sphere made contact, he had focused his chi around his torso in order to increase his resilience to the point of making it hard, very much like an armor made out of steel. Then his air sphere touched him and... Everything went black. His air sphere had enough force to drill through solid material. So why wasn't he feeling anything? He should have an enormous bruise on his stomach at the very least. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for his chi-hardening technique, he would've died. Or maybe he was dead and that was why he was feeling no pain?

"Wake up, son."

Kenai turned around, and what he saw left him speechless.

It was Kayi and Bantoh. His mother and father. They looked exactly the same as the day the left him with Tenzin ten years ago. His mother was wearing a casual Northern

Water Tribe dress with her black hair done in two ponytails, as it was the water tribe costume for woman her age. His father wore a green tunic and beige pants that reached just below his knees. He had short brown hair and a medium-sized beard. The both of them were smiling, and Kayi was actually crying out of happiness.

Kenai was anything but happy. He was so confused he couldn't even talk properly. "What... Mom... Dad... How...?"

"I know you are shocked, sweetie." Kayi said as if she was reading her son's mind. "But we need you to listen to us. Time is essential."

Bantoh chuckled. "Damn. You've really grown kid. Last time I saw you, you were only eight."

"I... I don't... What are you doing here? What is this place?"

"This is the Spirit World. But that's not of importance right now." Kayi answered as she held hands with her husband. "It is time for you to know the truth. Ask Tenzin what happened 'that fateful day'. He'll know what it means."

"Wait! This doesn't make any sense. Why is this happening?" Kenai begged for an answer. Right in front of him were his parents, whom he had not seen since he was eight years-old, and now all of the sudden they were in the Spirit World chatting with him like nothing? Did neither of them had any idea about how much he had missed them?

Bantoh sighed as he looked away. "Everything will be revealed in due time. You have to go back now. Don't worry; we'll see each other one day."

"Bye sweetie." Kayi said as one last tear reached her chin.

Then, everything went black again.

Hello, and welcome to another chapter of 'The new bender'. Man, I wanted to finish this one for so long, but there were several things that required my attention. The ending is a bit rushed, but not too bad if I do say so myself. Next chapter, there will be important revelations taking place, so stay tuned.

Also, I want to announce a change in this fanfic. From here on now, expect shorter chapters from me. I'll start making them 5.000 – 8.000 words long. Why? Because making longer chapters take me a lot of time, not to mention the fact that I might get frustrated if I feel the story is taking too long. Besides, updates from here on now should take less time with this implementation.

Peace.