Maya: Fire, Air, Water, Earth. These are the elements that the Avatar controls and will use to set balance to the world. Nick may not see himself as Avatar material but I believe he can save us all.

Shin: Previously on Avatar… Following an Equalist attack on my home; Phoenix, Maya, and I retreated to The Spirit World through a dormant portal that lay beneath my home. There we were separated and faced tasks of our own. Eventually we reunited and found a doorway that led to Kurain Village where we returned to the physical world. I am not a good man. My past is bloodied and unforgivable… but with this new "Team Avatar" we seem to have created, maybe I can work to remedy that...

Avatar: The Legend of Phoenix

Book III: Energy

The Blood Curdling Turnabout: Part One

Tearing through the lake's surface one by one; Phoenix, Maya, and Shin all came up gasping for air. Their momentary breathlessness was immediately superseded by jubilation as having made it out of The Spirit World alive. Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief as Maya hooped and hollered. Shin, on the other hand, had trouble staying afloat.

The elderly firebender did not appear to know how to swim.

"...GUYS…!" He yelled out as he struggled to keep his head above water.

With a swift kick, Phoenix shot Shin to the surface as he landed with a thump.

"Very graceful, Shin." Maya said with a snort.

"Yes, very funny…" Shin coughed with an irritated smirk.

"I'm glad you think so!"

"Sarcasm! That was sarcasm!"

"Whaaaaat? No way!"

Despite their initial animosity Phoenix noticed a change in the way the two spoke to each other. Gone were the blunt warnings and cautious side eyes. Whatever happened in The Spirit World seemed to make Maya trust Shin now; even to the point where she playfully poked at him like she would her other friends. At least Phoenix didn't have to sleep with one eye open now.

Phoenix and Maya joined Shin on the shore. The sun had barely started to rise over the village so luckily for them no one was out by the lake.

"Where did you say we were again?" Shin asked as he brushed wet matts of hair out of his face.

"Kurain Village." Phoenix looked to Maya, whose expression was uncharacteristically stern.

Maya walked by Phoenix, "Didn't we just leave this place?" She sounded annoyed. "Why'd The Spirit World bring us here of all places…?"

Shin noticed something in the distance. "I think that might have something to do with it…" He pointed out a caravan brandishing the Equalist symbol driving along the road. "Must've set up shop while you all were gone."

From the corner of his eye, Phoenix saw Maya clench her fists. He couldn't imagine the anger stirring up inside of her, seeing Kurain surrendered to Equalist control.

"Caravans usually mean there's a checkpoint up ahead." Shin observed. "Doubt they'd let the three of us just walk in."

Phoenix placed his hand to the ground, feeling the vibrations of the earth gave him insight most others didn't. He shut his eyes and allowed the earth to speak to him. In the distance another caravan was approaching.

"Alright." Phoenix rose. "I have an idea."

The plan was simple. Team Avatar hid in the bushes until the caravan approached. Once it did, Phoenix would raise a wall of earth and force the caravan to stop. Shin shocked the car to short out their radios. They'd take out the Equalists, steal their uniforms, and restart the car and make it past the checkpoint.

The caravan approached and right on cue Phoenix raised the earth, forcing the caravan to stop. With a blast of electricity just strong enough to kill the radios but leave the vehicle undamage, the Equalists couldn't call for backup… Yet, as Phoenix soon found out, they didn't need it. Phoenix had forgotten how skilled the chi blockers in the Equalist's American division had been, likely a result of training with Amon himself. These Equalists effortlessly dodged Phoenix's earthy strikes and ducked under Shin's bursts of flames.

"Great plan…" Shin griped as he flipped over a bolo tossed his way.

"Yeah well, that's what happens when you make it up on the spot." Phoenix used the water from his soaked clothes to wrap a water whip around a chi blocker and pull him closer. Phoenix punched the chi blocker in the face, sending him to the ground but the chi blocker rebounded immediately and nailed Phoenix in the torso with a drop kick. Phoenix was knocked against the caravan as Shin had the chi in his arm blocked, preventing him from using it.

The third chi blocker approached Maya. With an energy field, Maya effortlessly knocked the bolos out of the air and slammed the chi blocker violently against a tree. Normally, Maya would've apologized for the excessive force but she wasn't feeling very apologetic at the moment. Maya stepped towards the chi blockers fighting Shin and Phoenix, making a barrier beneath their feet she flipped the chi blockers over allowing the two benders to deliver finishing blows to their opponents.

Shin gave Phoenix an impressed glance, Phoenix just shrugged in return. He knew how angry Maya must've been seeing the Equalists in her home. It looked like the second Maya was stripped of the title of Master and banished, the elders had welcomed the Equalists to Kurain with open arms.

The Equalist uniforms weren't a perfect fit. Phoenix's was a bit too tight, Shin's had belonged to a heftier fellow, and even the smallest uniform required Maya to roll up the sleeves and pant legs.

"Right." Shin's voice was muffled beneath the mask. "...Who's driving? I, uh, don't have a license…" Without saying a word, Maya hopped into the driver's seat as Phoenix called shotgun. Shin took his place in the back. There was a long silence as the three drove along the road. "...You know I would've liked shotgun…" Shin joked, breaking the awkward silence.

"What was that?" Phoenix asked, having trouble hearing much of anything underneath the mask.

"What…?" Shin replied, unable to hear Phoenix as well.

Eventually the trio reached the checkpoint. A fairly average looking man serving as the inspector noticed the damage to the car. "Everything alright? You didn't radio in with your code…"

Phoenix swallowed hard. He didn't think they'd have to radio in a code.

"Radio's busted." Maya said, clicking the radio over and over to prove her point. "Don't know what the hell's wrong with it."

"Hmmm, this vehicle certainly is showing its age. I suppose you could just tell me the code…"

"Right…" Maya clenched the wheel. "(ESP don't fail me now…)" It was a psychic trick Maya rarely put to use, as it always gave her the creeps hearing others thoughts. Still, if there was any time to dig up that old trick it would be now. She allowed her intuition to take over and said the first three numbers to come to mind. "723"

The inspector stayed silent. He stared at Maya's concealed face and baggy, ill fitting uniform. "Right then. Be on your way."

Shin breathed a sigh of relief as they drove past the checkpoint and into Kurain Village.

"Nick…" Maya couldn't believe what became of her home. It was swarming with Equalist camps. Drones and chi blockers filled the once peaceful streets.

"I'm so sorry, Maya." Was all Phoenix could muster. The Kurain he knew was left unrecognizable.

Shin grew uneasy being surrounded by this many Equalists. "This was a bad idea…"

Maya pulled parked the caravan off to the side and got off with Phoenix and Shin. She immediately bolted into the direction of the Master's Manor her first instinct had been to find Pearl.

"Wait! Ma…" Phoenix was about to call out to Maya but realized how bad an idea it would be just to shout her name right in the middle of Kurain. "Damn it…"

"Where's she off to!?"

"Fey Manor…" Phoenix answered. "Come on!"

"Right!" Shin followed after Phoenix as he led the way to Fey Manor.

Pearl filled a bucket with water by the nearby well, sighing wistfully to herself. She'd much rather not be fetching water for those Equalist people, but she knew she couldn't disobey an order from the elders. Pearl glanced towards Fey Manor, which had now technically become her home in light of Maya's banishment.

Delivering the bucket of water to an exhausted group of unmasked Equalists, all of whom who had been very cordial and kind, made Pearl feel sick. The Equalists showed great reverence for Kurain since their arrival but not enough to stop plastering their logo all over the place, Pearl thought to herself. The elders insisted their stay in Kurain was temporary. They had, through Maya's actions, been responsible for harboring a wanted killer, The Avatar no less, and believed that this was the best way to regain goodwill with the rest of the world.

Pearl headed back to the manor. She recalled the Equalist's initial arrival to Kurain. That masked man whose very presence frightened Pearl to no end, the man who called himself Amon, met with the elder's. Pearl, who was next in line to become master by proxy, had to sit in the meeting. The elders apologized profusely for Maya's actions to Amon, calling her a criminal. Amon insisted that an Equalist presence in Kurain was unnecessary, referring to it as a holy ground. The elders, however, pleaded that Amon help them make things right for the sake of the village's future. It was only after this that Amon agreed to have Equalists occupy Kurain.

Following the meeting Pearl noticed Amon standing outside Fey Manor, doing nothing. He simply stood there and observed it. It wasn't until he realized Pearl was watching him that the Equalist leader left.

Pearl tried her best to think about something else as she entered her empty home. Without Maya or Phoenix around she had become very lonely in the weeks following their leave. No letters, no form of communication, nothing. She understood why but she couldn't help but worry. Pearl flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling, praying to Ami Fey that everything would be resolved soon.

Suddenly, a knock on the door ripped Pearl from her thoughts. Pearl reluctantly got out of bed to peek through the door to see who knocked. It was a lone equalist. Odd. Equalists weren't allowed to set foot near Fey Manor, an order from Amon himself. The equalist lifted up its mask to reveal a familiar face.

"Mystic Maya!" Pearl squealed excitedly as she unlocked the door.

She tackled Maya with a hug as soon as she came into the manor. Maya wrapped her arms around Pearl and planted a kiss on the top of her head, holding her closely. "Oh thank God…" Maya muttered as she sprinkled Pearl with more kisses. "Ok…" She was able to breath easy now knowing that Pearl was safe. "Ok, ok, ok."

"I missed you so much." Pearl said through tears as she tightened her grip on Maya.

"I've missed you too." Maya swallowed a lump in her throat. "Are you okay? You're good?"

"I'm alright. What about Mr. Nick? Where's he?"

"He's here with a friend. He's in disguise too, don't worry." Maya ruffled Pearl's hair. It had only been about three weeks but it was three weeks too many. Especially since Maya had herself convinced that she would never see Kurain again… though now it may as well be unrecognizable. She was surprised to find Fey Manor completely in tact.

Another knock on the door. Maya pulled her mask down and took a peek, she recognized the ill fitting disguises, it was Phoenix and Shin. Letting them in, Maya was ready to be chastised for running off but instead found Phoenix wrapping Pearl in a hug too as Shin stood around awkwardly.

"Pearls!"

"Mr. Nick!"

She may have grown up but that didn't stop Phoenix from lifting her up and spinning her around. Maya smiled to herself, while she may have been Pearl's mother figure for most of her life, Phoenix, in way, was her dad… Something she made sure she would never say aloud.

"May I use the phone?" Shin whispered to Maya, ripping her from her thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah sure."

It was an older rotary phone but Shin was manage to work out how it functioned. "Hello…? Hello…? Patty! Yes, hi!"

"Who's that?" Pearl asked, referring to Shin who was poking around Fey Manor admiring all the trinkets as he spoke on the phone.

"Shin. My firebending teacher." Phoenix pulled up his mask. "He's a friend of Mystic Ellen's."

Pearl suddenly looked very somber at the mention of Ellen's name.

Maya felt her heart skip a beat. "Oh no…"

"Ah no no. Don't worry. I wasn't home for that. I'm actually in America safe and sound…" Shin shifted on his feet uncomfortably. Patty had been the closest thing he had to a neighbor despite living about a mile away. She was worried about the explosion at his house. "Actually Missile should still be around… I was wondering if you could keep an eye on him for me…"

As Shin spoke on the phone Phoenix noticed the sad expression on Pearl's face. "Pearl…" Phoenix was afraid to ask. "Is Mystic Ellen ok?"

Shin immediately became silent at hearing Ellen's name. "Patty. I have to go." He hung up the phone and walked towards Pearl. "Did I hear that right? What's wrong with Ellen? Is she alright?"

Pearl glanced downwards.

"Come on…" Shin muttered. "Just say it… Please."

"That man in the mask… Amon… He did something to her. Her husband too…"

"No…" Phoenix said under his breath. He worried as much when he saw the Equalist here in Kurain but to hear it aloud. "Where are they?"

Ellen hadn't been feeling much herself since Amon took her bending away. Frequent dizzy spells and intense fatigue left her feeling drained. Not to mention the powerlessness she felt. She struggled to even get up for a drink of water. Yet she was uncertain if these effects were from whatever technique Amon used to rid her and Harold of their abilities or merely the shock of everything that occured. Still, an effort had to be made with moving on with her life. All she could hope for now was that wherever Phoenix was, he was safe.

There was a weak knock on the door. Ellen didn't feel up for company and the moment so she chose to ignore it. Up until she heard a familiar voice. It was faint but unmistakable.

"Mystic Ellen…"

Ellen got up and peeked out the door. She scowled as she recognized two equalist foot soldiers standing outside. She turned away from the door but was pulled back in by another soft knock.

"It's us…"

Now there was no mistaking the voice. "Phoenix…?" She said under her breath as she unlocked the door.

The two equalists removed their masks as the door opened. It was indeed Phoenix and Maya. The three immediately engaged in a group hug.

"I'm so sorry, Ellen…" Maya fought tears. "This is my fault."

"No, Mystic Maya…" Ellen reassured her. "The blame does not fall on you…"

Outside, Shin sat alongside the wall of the house, away from the doorway. He lowered his head in shame and fought back tears at hearing Ellen's voice for the first time in years. He dried his eyes as he heard footsteps approach through the grass stopping just as they reached him.

Shin knew who it was but could hardly bear to raise his head. He took a deep breath and commanded himself to be brave as he tilted his neck upward to see Ellen standing before him. She looked down at her old friend with a solemn smile. Neither one of them quite knew what to say.

It had been so long since they had last seen each other. Long enough that both of them were now old and grey. But to Shin, he saw no difference in her. Grey hair, winkles, none of that mattered, she was always the bright and beautiful Ellen Beifong to him.

Shin opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Ellen merely extended her hand and helped him up. Not a single word was exchanged between the two as they wrapped their arms around one another. Tears sliding down both of their cheeks as their eyes shut.

Ellen smiled at Shin as they seperated. She patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to come inside.

Phoenix and Maya both had a million questions for the two of them but thought it best to give them some privacy. So they had both retreated to the kitchen to help themselves to food and drink while Ellen and Shin spoke.

For a while not a word was said between the two old benders. Shin always carried an air of awkwardness but especially more so now. Ellen didn't press him to talk. The two merely sat there in Ellen's living room; so much to say but unsure how to say it.

Shin decided to break the ice. He knew he had to be the one to do it. It was his fault that they had grown to be this distant. His eyes darted around the room for a brief moment, thinking how best to word everything he wanted to say. He went with the simplest and most concise phrase, "I'm sorry…"

Ellen wiped a tear from her eye. Relief flooded her, the man sitting before her was a far cry from the man she last saw years prior. "Thank you…" She smiled. "For taking care of them."

"I should be thanking you." Shin chuckled. "The two of them really are something… But don't tell them I said that." He laughed.

"They are, aren't they?"

"And you? How have you been?" Shin looked over to Ellen and Harold's wedding photo. "Happy?"

"As happy as I can be, all things considered."

Shin shifted in his seat as he leaned forward.

"I wish you would've caught me at a better time."

"I know." Shin took hold of Ellen's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know…"

At the kitchen's doorway, just out of sight, Maya stood, eavesdropping on the conversation. Her stomach twisted into knots as guilt ate away at her. None of this would have happened if she hadn't chosen Phoenix over Kurain. She glanced over at her friend. Phoenix had barely touched any of the food or water Ellen gave them.

"We're gonna make this right." Maya said, breaking the silence.

Phoenix saw the look in Maya's eyes. He knew she wasn't asking. "Whatever it takes." He replied.

The Equalists had uprooted both of their lives. They could stand around and blame themselves all they wanted but both Phoenix and Maya came to the same conclusion; this was on the Equalists, on Amon, and he was going to pay. Whatever it takes.

As the three left Ellen's home, they made their way back to the center of Kurain Village where the Equalist presence was most concentrated. Though they were all disguised it was best to keep a low profile. Not draw any attention. Ever since their visit with Ellen, Shin had grown more and more concerned with where both Phoenix and Maya's heads were at. Just out of earshot of the group of Equalists huddled around a TV, Shin pulled the two of them aside.

"I feel like I need to say this…" Shin said in a hushed tone. "What happened with Ellen and her husband is tragic but whatever Amon did it cannot be undone. Alright?" Nothing. No response. "Look I'm just as mad as the two of you. But I have a terrible feeling you two are thinking of doing something incredibly stupid… We have to be smart."
"Shin, with all due respect…" Maya's voice was eerily calm. "This isn't your home."

"Ok but it was." Shin's voice grew stern. "Not here, not this place, but the same thing happened to me. With The Red Lotus. Amon and his people they wiped us out. At the our peak. I nearly lost my life so believe me when I say you two cannot face him… Not yet anyway."

"What's the point of me being the Avatar if I can't stop men like him?"

"Are you ready to kill him? Without hesitation?" Shin was blunt. He paused for a response that never came. "I didn't think so. Because he will kill you. Without hesitation, if you prove a threat to his goals. You may not have been one in the past but you certainly are now and that's going to only make him more dangerous…"

"And you," Shin turned his attention to Maya. "I get it. These are your people but you can't help them if you're dead. You're pissed. Rightfully so. The time will come where you can let him have it but not now. Hold it. Till it burns your hand. Then you can let him have it… But until then-"

A distinct cackle rippled through the air. Shin's eyes glanced over to it's source, the television that the Equalists had been huddled around. A blood curdling laugh that shook him to his core. Shin couldn't see it but Phoenix's face grew pale. He'd recognize that laugh anywhere, it had long been forever etched into his memory. The three of them cautiously joined the group of Equalists to see what they had been watching.

The camera had been bouncing around sporadically until finally focusing in on a familiar face. Maya clasped her hand over her mouth; despite the bottom right hand corner of his face being horrifically burned it was none other than Kristoph Gavin.

"Hello?" Kristoph's eerily calm voice asked through the television set. "Hello? Testing?" Kristoph had looked to be standing inside a blood soaked board room of sorts. "Am I good?" He asked someone off camera for affirmation. The camera nodded. The broadcast was live. "Right then, let me just start off by saying this might look bad…" A corpse that had been dangling from the ceiling dropped down to the floor as if right on cue. "But it could've been a lot worse, or rather, it will get a lot worse…" Kristoph could hardly keep a chuckle in before moving on to his next point. "I… Times for people like me lately have been difficult... We're hunted down in the streets like animals. And why? For the sin of merely existing?"

Kristoph, as he stood before the world now, was unrecognizable from the man he had once been. The Kristoph of old was calm, collected. Now all that evil and hatred that had bubbled beneath the surface was laid bare for all the world to see. His bloodshot eyes shot around the room before focusing in on the camera. As though he were looking at Phoenix directly.

"And it's all your fault, Phoenix." Kristoph's face grew cold and stern. "Instead of owning up to your crimes you ran like a coward and now we're the ones being punished for it? People like me… People like these children." The camera cut to Kristoph's gang of benders assembled for the assault on the news tower. "Discarded by society because you've poisoned what it means to be a bender. And the Equalists? For some odd reason they seem more than happy to ignore you be and punish the rest of us! Tell me, is that fair?" The camera cut to a row of people captured and brought to the tower, bound and gagged. The camera slowly panned down to reveal the people on the chopping block; the mayor, some police officers, local politicians, the judge, "So I decided to take it on myself to punish you… Every day the Avatar doesn't turn himself in, I will kill one of these people!" The camera stopped and focused on the last two captives… Trucy and Apollo. "At random, of course… It's only fair."

The camera cut back to Kristoph's wicked smile before suddenly going off air. The group of Equalists scrambled for their communications, all knowing that the time to mobilize was soon. Phoenix, Shin, and Maya silently left the group amid the chaos.

"Phoenix… Was that…?" Shin asked as they hurried along to Fey Manor.

"Kristoph."

Maya packed her bags. Only the bare essentials. She didn't have much time to stay behind and reminisce over her old home but she did stop as she observed her mother's old staff from behind a glass case. Kristoph made the first move and even worse, he had Trucy and Apollo. Kurain Village fell to the Equalists, Ellen Beifong had her bending taken away, she lost so much already, she wasn't going to lose anyone else. Maya removed the staff from the glass case. A harsh reminder of her inescapable destiny from all those years ago in Hazakurain; where Diego Armando made an impossible choice… all to save Maya's life. Maya drew the sword from the staff; the very same sword Diego used to save her life. The same sword her own mother brought to save her… Maya took a deep breath as she sheathed the sword and packed it in with her belongings. She tossed her bag in the back of the caravan where Phoenix and Shin waited for her. She pulled the chi blocker mask over her face as she hopped into the driver's seat. They were heading back to the city to stop Kristoph. To save Trucy and Apollo. Whatever it takes...