Here were are again with chapter 29, and now my largest chapter to date. Loose ends will be tied up, and what better way is there to set the stage for what comes next. Things are going to start getting darker as more character both good and bad, familiar and new join in for this new arc of the story. As always I own nothing but the plot and OC's. Now on with the story.


29: It Has Begun

In the days following Vaatu's resurrection something changed in Republic City. With the Avatar in a coma, fear had taken root in people's hearts. The citizens of Republic city felt a sense of foreboding and dread as they looked to where the spirit portal once stood. Where there was once a bright light serving as a beacon of hope there was now only darkness. It was as if the Dark Avatar's shadow now stood sentinel over the city. The people were scared, but what truly unnerved them was the waiting; waiting for Korra to wake up, waiting for their leaders to find a solution, waiting for Vaatu to return. All they could do was wait for whatever came next.


Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed across the dark cloudy skies as Fire lord Izumi rushed up the wet steps of city hall with her chief bodyguard Kahn following closely behind her.

"With all due respect my lord; I really wish you would stop trying to set me up on blind dates." Kahn complained while fighting back the downpour with an umbrella.

"And I wish my oldest friend would stop adhering to honorifics, and use my name; yet here we are." Izumi replied as they reached the doors, and stepped inside. "Now what's really bothering you Kahn?"

"What makes you think something is bothering me?" the aged fire bender asked while closing their umbrella.

"Because we've known each other since diapers, and in all that time I've learned to tell when something is bothering you."Izumi said giving him a serious look as they made their way through the halls of the large building. "You've remained silent the entire ride over here, and whenever you're that quiet it's either because you're brooding, or something has you on edge. Now please tell me what's on your mind."

Kahn sighed. "Ever since we arrived I've just had a bad feeling about this place, like there is a bad storm coming."

"Coming? It's been raining cat-deer and polar bear-dogs since we got here Kahn." Izumi countered with a chuckle.

"I meant a metaphorical storm 'your majesty', not a literal one." Kahn replied with mild sarcasm, and a small smirk as Izumi glared at him for using the honorific she hated most.

"Perhaps you're just getting paranoid in your old age Kahn." Izumi joked, but it was only half hearted. After hearing what Lin and Pema had to tell her, she didn't doubt that Kahn was right. There was indeed a very bad storm brewing.

"Please Izumi; if anything has made me paranoid it's being friends with you. Between your little surprise slumber party and Raiko's urgent yet cryptic summons I'm beginning to feel left out of the loop, and for an imperial honor guard that is a very bad place to be. Something very serious is going on here, and I can't protect you or your family if I'm kept in the dark."

The fire lord nodded. "I understand how you feel Kahn, and believe me if I had the time I would tell you everything that's happening, but I've only just been brought into the loop myself, and we don't have time to discuss things until after the meeting."

"I've got a bad feeling about this world meeting as well. My instincts tell me there is something not quite right going on, and it's got me on edge." The honor guard added seriously.

Izumi frowned as they approached the doors to the meeting hall. Kahn's instincts had saved not only her life, but the lives of her husband, and children countless times before, so if he was on edge then she needed to be alert too.

"This meeting should explain the majority of what's going on, and I'll discuss our slumber party afterwards. Until then remain alert, and be ready for anything." Izumi stated before she opened the door, and joined the other world leaders, and their security in the large conference hall.

The conference chamber in city hall was usually used for major political events like, elections, press conferences, or at times like now national meetings. To accommodate these events the chamber was very spacious with an open floor for public seating, and a raised dais near the back. A large rectangular table had been set up on the dais beneath the large domed skylight.

Seated at the center of the table was President Raiko with General Iroh on his left. Tonraq the chieftain of the southern water tribe and Korra's father sat on the president's right at one end of the table. On Iroh's left sat Wu who had assumed the position of prime minister to the budding Earth Republic. Next to him sat one of his established senators to represent their growing senate. At the end opposite Tonraq sat the Twins Desna and Eska; the co chieftains of the northern water tribe, and Tonraq's niece and nephew. Sitting across from Wu was Pema, and Tenzin who served as the de-facto leader of the new air nation.

With the leaders of all five nations gathered in one place there was also a considerable security force present. Gathered along the walls were at least thirty master benders split up into groups of five, and positioned behind their respective leaders. There were ten water benders in total with five for the north, and five for the south.

Behind Wu stood five master earth benders as well as three women dressed in traditional Kyoshi warrior attire, and Tu Onaka; Mako and Bolin's cousin who had eagerly taken up the position of Wu's personal bodyguard after Mako had even more eagerly resigned the post.

Providing protection for Raiko as well Tenzin and Pema was Lin Beifong, and a team composed of her ten most skilled metal benders. Assuming an air of authority Izumi took her place next to Tenzin and across from Raiko, while Kahn quickly joined the five other members of the fire nation royal guard who had arrived earlier on his orders.

"Ladies and gentlemen; thank you all for coming on such short notice. I only wish I had better news." Raiko said addressing the gathered leaders of the world.

"Why are we here Raiko?" Eska asked sounding bored. "Your summons was considerably vague." Desna added sounding just as bored as his identical twin sister.

"I called you all here, because Vaatu has returned." Raiko announced; immediately getting everyone's attention.

Aside from Tenzin and Iroh everyone wore expressions of shock except for Wu who only looked confused. "Alright I'll bite; who is Vaatu?" Wu asked.

Everyone shot the new prime minister disapproving looks except for Tenzin who sighed. "Vaatu is the spirit of chaos and darkness Wu. He is the polar opposite of Korra, and by far the most powerful and dangerous spirit this world has ever seen."

"Korra destroyed him several years ago when he merged with Chief Unalaq during harmonic convergence to become a Dark Avatar, and nearly brought about ten thousand years of darkness." Tonraq added seriously as he recalled the monster his younger brother had become.

"How did this happen Raiko?" Izumi asked seriously even though she already knew what had happened thanks to Lin and Pema.

Tenzin knew the full story as well, but he remained silent as per Raiko's request. He did this not out of loyalty to the president, but loyalty to Mako. When Jinora told him about how Mako had saved her from Vaatu; he had felt ashamed as he realized that there was still hope for the fire bender, and he had given up on him.

Mako had risked his life countless times to protect him and his family. Alongside Korra he had faced Amon, the red lotus, and even the very dark spirit that now possessed him. Mako had always been their when they needed him, and now it was time for them to return the favor.

After talking it over with Pema they had decided that while she found a way to secretly subvert Raiko's plans he would work with Raiko to find Mako, and sabotage their efforts from within. Finding out that Lin was working on something similar with Izumi greatly improved their chances of helping Mako. So he would support the president's vendetta, gain his confidence, and act when the time came. This also helped them if Kai's theory about Ikki traveling with Mako held true. If Jinora was unable to find Ikki, then he would.

Pleased that neither Tenzin nor Lin spoke up; Raiko proceeded to explain to the council that Vaatu had returned, and had found a way to become a Dark Avatar once more. He told them how upon their discovery of his presence the chaos spirit had summoned an army of dark spirits to lay waste to the city while he attacked Korra.

Tonraq visibly tensed at the mention of his daughter and the events that lead to her being sent to the hospital in a coma. While most of the leaders listened intently, Wu visibly grew paler when the president recounted how neither their strongest soldiers, nor police officers were able to stop Vaatu from escaping back into the spirit world.

"Vaatu may be bidding his time for now, but with each passing day his strength grows, and once he regains his full power we won't stand a chance." Raiko finished seriously.

Fire lord Izumi watched silently as the other leaders either remained silent, or in the cases of Desna and Eska or Wu and his senator spoke silently among themselves.

Had Lin not previously informed her of what really happened she would have believed Raiko's story like everyone else, but she knew better, she noticed that Raiko had neglected to tell them the identity of the new Dark Avatar, as well as embellish the amount of hell Vaatu had raised before departing for the spirit world. Most of all he had skillfully avoided answering her initial question; how had this all happened in the first place.

Had she been ignorant of the truth then rallying them all together to fight against Vaatu would have been child's play, but since she did know; the first president of the United Republic of nations had just given her all the ammunition she needed to rip him apart. It was just like Lin said.

"This is indeed very serious Raiko, but I believe this is a situation that demands caution more than action. We know too little to just charge in blindly." Izumi stated getting everyone's attention.

"What do mean we know too little? This is not the first time we've been faced with this particular threat." Iroh said speaking for the first time since the meeting started.

Izumi's golden eyes locked with those of her son. "On the contrary; this is a different threat all together. While I admittedly lack the same firsthand experience with Vaatu that many of you posses, I did not just brush off his first attack as a small news article to be skimmed while reading a news paper. I'm well aware of the destruction Vaatu caused all those years ago, and thanks to a long talk I had with Tenzin after the fact; I'm aware of how he escaped his prison in the tree of time, and became a Dark Avatar for the first time."

As she spoke she made individual eye contact with every leader present before stopping at Raiko. "I also know for a fact that there has never once been two Avatars that were exactly alike. Avatar Kyoshi, Avatar Roku, and Avatar Aang were all Avatars, but each one was completely different. Unalaq as the first Dark Avatar was undoubtedly a monster, but what do we know about this new one? From what you've told us so far Vaatu sounds more like a wounded animal than a prideful demon assured of his power, and eager to play games of mass destruction. I need to hear more than just a scary story and speculations before I allow my family to take up a foolish tradition from a bygone era."

The last part had been directed at Iroh, and the fire nation prince fell silent. Raiko on the other hand glared coldly at the fire lord. "What else would you like to know?" he asked calmly.

"For starters I'd like to know what this new Dark Avatar is capable of so far." Izumi said before turning to her son. "How many spirits was he able to summon, and how powerful were they? I'd also like to know how many casualties there were."

Feeling the eyes of the council focused on him Iroh felt reluctant to answer, but after getting an imperceptible nod from Raiko he sighed. "We were unable to get an exact count, but we estimate that nearly a hundred spirits present. As for how powerful they were, the majority of them were smaller less powerful spirits like the ones commonly found here in Republic City."

"And the casualties?" Izumi prompted.

"There were none." Iroh admitted upon looking his mother in the eyes.

That caught everyone by surprise, and even seemed to spark Desna and Eska's curiosity.

"Very unusual; who is our father's successor?" Desna said. "Is this new Dark Avatar a bender as well? Vaatu was able to water bend after he merged with our father." Eska asked.

"Yeah, just who is this new Dark Avatar anyway?" Wu added.

"Mako Phenix."

The entire chamber fell silent, and the gathered leaders all turned to look at Pema. The air acolyte met their looks with cool resolve. "Vaatu merged with detective Mako Phenix." She said again.

Shock and surprise were but a few of the emotions that spread through the gathered leaders. Aside from Wu's senator everyone present either knew Mako personally, or was at least acquainted with the fire bender. While everyone seemingly began talking at once, Raiko sat quietly as he took stock of everyone's reactions.

Wu instantly began lamenting the fate of his best buddy Mako, while Tu yelled in outrage upon realizing that the person they were planning to hunt down was his cousin. He would have even marched right up to the table had the Kyoshi warriors not held him back.

The usually stoic twins wore matching looks of surprise, while Tonraq seemed unsure whether to be shocked or outraged. In the years he'd known Mako he had proven himself to be a good man, as well as one of his daughter's staunchest allies, and closest friends. The fact that he was the one who had nearly killed Korra was unbelievable.

What really caught Raiko's attention however was Izumi's reaction to the news. From the very moment the meeting had started she had been unfazed by everything he had said, and even seemed dead set on opposing him. This of course led the president to believe someone had defied his orders, and spoken to the fire lord, and now he had an idea of who it might have been.

Of all the present leaders Izumi seemed to be the most surprised by the Dark Avatar's identity, and for a brief second she had glanced at someone off to the side. Quickly following her line of sight he decided that he would be having a very serious talk with Chief Beifong later.

While Raiko was focused on Izumi he failed to notice that she wasn't the only one apparently blindsided. General Iroh, Kahn, and even the fire nation honor guards were just as shocked as the fire lord.

"This is indeed most surprising." Eska said quieting everyone down. "But how is this even possible? Without the power of harmonic convergence there is no way for another Dark Avatar to be created."

"We should know; we helped our father create the first one." Desna added in their signature emotionless monotone. "Then there is the fact that since the Avatar was able to destroy him Vaatu shouldn't have been able to return for another ten thousand years."

Having recovered her focus Izumi turned to Raiko. "That's a very good question Raiko. How did Vaatu get loose?"

Raiko glared at her, but answered. "Several months after Kuvira's invasion I commissioned Future Industries to begin studying the spirit vines, and developing new technology for the purpose of finding alternate uses for, and defending against spirit energy."

"Are you out of your freaking mind?!" Wu yelled. "Kuvira nearly leveled Republic City using those damn vines, and you thought it would be a good idea to keep messing with them?"

Everyone was stunned by Wu's sudden anger. While he was a Prime minister now most of them still thought of the young man as little more than a spoiled former prince at best, and a complete idiot at worst.

"I'm aware of what Kuvira did to my city with spirit energy Wu, and I refuse to allow it to ever happen again. That's why I ordered them to be studied. The experiments were conducted in secret by a small team of scientists led by Asami Sato herself. Kuvira was the first to harness spirit energy to be used for warfare, but with organizations like the Red Lotus still out there she will not be the last. I tasked Miss Sato with finding a way to defend against weapons powered by spirit energy, as well as finding more benevolent uses for it." Raiko responded before facing Izumi. "These experiments were of the books, and were conducted with the utmost secrecy. However several days ago a group of Triads broke into the lab. Their actions destabilized an energy core causing it to go critical. Avatar Korra was able to prevent a meltdown, but she and Mako were exposed to massive amounts of raw spirit energy."

"We believe it was this exposure that allowed Vaatu to escape from within Korra, and after merging with Mako it fused them together in a similar manner to harmonic convergence." Tenzin finished.

"Look none of this will matter if we do not act quickly." General Iroh declared impatiently. "As regrettable as his fate is Mako is gone, and with each passing moment Vaatu is getting stronger. If we are going to stand any chance of killing Vaatu we need to unite now, and take the fight to Vaatu before he regains his full power."

Before anyone could respond a boom of thunder seemed to shake the building, and caused the lights to flicker before going out completely, leaving the chamber in darkness.

"What's going on?" Tonraq demanded.

"It's only the thunder storm; they've been rather frequent over the last few days." Iroh said as he lit a small flame in the palm of his hand. "The storm probably knocked out the power, there's nothing to worry about."

"Actually my prince, with all due respect we have quite a bit to be worried about." Kahn said seriously from his place beside Lin as he pointed upwards.

Hearing the edge in Kahn's voice Izumi light a larger blue flame in her own hand and looked up at the ceiling. Following her lead the other council members looked up at the large skylight, and their eyes widened at what they saw.

By the eerie azure light of Izumi's flames they saw that it wasn't storm clouds blocking what little light there was outside from coming through the skylight. The glass dome was completely covered by the shifting shadowy forms of dark spirits. Over two dozen sets of furious glowing eyes glared down at them.

"Everybody out now!" Lin yelled as the glass shattered and the horde of dark spirits poured in with the rain.


It was silent as Jinora made her way through the halls of the southern air temple. It was the middle of the night, and she had agreed to meet Kai in the statue room. The thrill of sneaking around made her feel like she'd swallowed a flock of butterflies. Exploring the air temple at night with her boyfriend was her most anticipated part of the day, and despite her headache she couldn't wait to meet up with him.

Quickly making her way through the shadow filled hall she eventually came to the chamber door. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she took a deep breath and thrust forward unleashing a concentrated gust of wind into the air lock. As the air funneled through the mechanism the locks turned, and the door opened. With one more quick glance she darted into the dark chamber, and closed the door behind her.

"Kai I'm here," She whispered as she grabbed a torch from the wall. The chamber was massive with thousands of Avatars aligned in a spiraling pattern from first to last. After a few minutes she started following the line of statues until she found herself before the statue of her grandfather Avatar Aang.

"He really was a hero, wasn't he?" She heard Kai whisper as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Jinora smiled and covered his hand with her own. "He was a twelve year old kid who against all odds ended a hundred years of war, and brought balance to the world."

"It's such a shame all his effort, and sacrifices are being squandered by an unworthy successor." Kai said placing his other hand on her other shoulder.

Jinora frowned. "I know things are bad now, but Korra is doing her best."

"Her best?" Kai laughed cruelly his tone growing darker. "Her best is a joke, just like her. The day we first met, she was nothing more than a cocky, arrogant, brat who thought she could take on the world. Now after years of constant failure, and being ground into the dirt by every opponent she has ever faced; she now reveals herself for what she truly is; a failure, a traitor, and a coward."

"You're wrong," Jinora snapped, and tried to turn around, but the hands on her shoulders tightened their grip and held her in place.

"Am I Jinora? Amon wanted equality for all people, and now Republic city is the pinnacle of equality. Unalaq wanted to bring about a new spiritual age, and now the portals are open and the spirits have returned. Zaheer wanted to free humanity from oppression, and now the earth kingdom if free of the earth queen's tyrannical grip. Kuvira sought to reunite the earth kingdom, and now they are at peace. Korra tried to stop every one of them, and she failed every time. All she ever did was take credit for the fruition of their labor."

"They were monsters! Every last one of them," Jinora shouted as she struggled to get free.

"They are only called monsters, because they took a stand against the established order in hopes of making things better. They tried to fix problems that everyone else, including Korra was content to ignore." The arms holding her suddenly shifted with one reaching over her right shoulder and grabbing her left, while the other curled around her belly. The embrace would have felt intimate if not for the malice in his voice.

"Korra may be a hero, but sometimes the world doesn't need another hero Jinora. Sometimes what the world needs is a monster." The voice whispered in her ear as it pulled her back against its chest.

"Who are you?" Jinora whispered as a chill ran up her spine. She could practically feel the wolfbatish grin aimed at her.

"I am the demon who dwells in the depths of Korra's soul. I am the lord of destruction. I am your darkest nightmare made flesh. You know who I am child?"

Jinora shuddered as a feeling of darkest dread settled in the pit of her stomach. "Vaatu," She whispered the very sound of his name making her blood run ice cold.

Suddenly she was whirled around, and crimson eyes burned into her's. "No one's here to save you this time child."


With a sudden gasp Jinora bolted upright. Her head ached, and her heart was beating a mile a minute, but she was alive. It was only a nightmare.

After calming down a bit she took in her surroundings. She was sitting on a futon in a living room. Everything was decorated in white and varying shades of green, but seemed to have been built in a style more commonly found in the fire nation.

Getting up slowly as to not aggravate her headache Jinora moved slowly around the room taking everything in. There were beautiful paintings on the walls, while various books, scrolls, decorative tea pots lined multiple shelves. There were also several lit candles placed about the room to provide a warm, relaxed aura.

As she continued to brows she spotted two portraits positioned over the fire place. Stepping closer she realized they were hand drawn portraits. Both pictures appeared to be of a group of people, but the one on the left could only be described as really, really bad. It looked like a right handed five year old drew it left handed. The one on the right depicted a group of eight people. They all seemed vaguely familiar, but when she spotted a young man with air bender tattoos sitting next to a water tribe girl she realized that she was looking a picture of the first team Avatar. Now that she knew what she was looking at she instantly recognized everyone in it. Her grandparents Avatar Aang and Katara, her great uncle Sokka alongside the Kyoshi warrior Suki, Fire lord Zuko, Toph Beifong, princess Azula's former friends Mai and Tylee, and Finally Zuko's uncle Iroh.

"That picture holds many of my happiest memories."

Jumping in surprise Jinora whirled around only to find herself speechless as she came face to face with Iroh himself. He was dressed in white and green robes, and his beard was snow white, but he wore a soft smile that reached his golden eyes which held years of wisdom. "The other one there is not quite as good, but it is a Sokka original, and has sentimental value."

"You are lord Zuko's uncle Iroh, the dragon of the west, the founder and leader of the order of the white lotus." Jinora said in awe.

Iroh nodded with a gentle smile. "Please just call me Iroh, and what may I ask is your name young lady?"

"Oh; my name is Jinora. I'm Avatar Aang's granddaughter." She answered with a polite bow.

"It is an honor to meet you Jinora, and I must say a most pleasant surprise. Would you care to join us for some jasmine tea?" Iroh asked gesturing to the doorway he'd just come through.

"Yes thank you and the honor is all mine." The young air nomad said following him into the hall.

As she followed Iroh down the hallway she started to hear the clinking of porcelain, and snippets of conversation.

"I'm telling you guys something has changed. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and in my dreams I see only darkness." She heard a woman say.

"What could it be?" Asked one of the strangest voices she'd ever heard. She could tell it was male because of how deep it was, but it also sounded dopey like a character voice her father would use when he read her a bedtime story when she was little.

"Perhaps the answer lay in your heart child. What do you feel?" asked a third voice that sounded both kind and ancient at the same time.

As they drew closer Jinora heard the woman laugh. "I may look young Yawgoo, but I'm hardly a child. Hell you're only older than me by a few hundred years." She said before her voice took on a more serious tone. "As for what I fell? I feel cold like there is ice in my veins, and I can feel this chill running up my spine. I haven't felt anything like this since, well you know; him."

Jinora paused as the last part reminded her of her nightmare. "What are they talking about?" She asked in a whisper.

Iroh glanced down at her and smiled kindly. "There is only one way to find out."

With that he led her into a cozy tea room. The moment she set foot in the room the conversation stopped and everyone's attention instantly turned to her. She knew she was in the spirit world, but the young air bender was still caught off guard by the spirits present.

They were all more or less seated around a low set tea table surrounded by cushions. The spirit on the left appeared to be a fairly large tortoise shell that was balancing on an old wooden staff. Seated at the end of the table furthest from the door was one of the strangest animals she had ever seen.

Between her trips to the zoo, and her travels around the world she had seen platypus bears, skunk bears, armadillo bears, gopher bears, every kind of bear imaginable, but the bear seated at the table appeared to be just that. A regular plain bear dressed in a long sleeved yellow shirt, and a small green hat. Finally the third person was a woman who was actually floating in a seated position.

Jinora was stunned by how beautiful she was. The woman had flawless alabaster skin, long jet black hair, and a curvy hourglass figure most women would kill for. She dressed in white silk yukata with a light blue obi and trim. At a distance she could have easily been mistaken for human but there were other details in her appearance that betrayed her identity as a spirit. Up close Jinora could see the woman had eyes like a dragons with slit pupils, and crimson irises that seemed to burn with an inner fire. She was also much larger than any normal human and while hard to tell Jinora guessed that she stood around ten feet tall. Her hair was combed back to expose pointed ears, and was styled into a perfect braid around twelve feet long, which also seemed to move on its own like a prehensile tail. Her hands and bare feet were tipped with razor sharp claws.

"Well hello child. How nice of you to join us. I was hoping you would wake up soon." The woman said sweetly with a predatory grin that exposed sharper than normal teeth.

"Hi," Jinora said meekly as another chill ran up her spine. Somehow the female spirit seemed very familiar.

"Excuse me everyone this is Jinora," Iroh announced before turning back to the young air nomad.

"Jinora these are my good friends. This is Yawgoo my spiritual guide and mentor." He said gesturing to the balancing shell which slowly rose up to reveal that the tortoise spirit was actually balancing on its head instead of on his shell as shed first thought.

Grabbing onto his staff like a koala sloth he slowly lowered himself to one of the cushions, and gave her a kind yet toothless smile. "Hello Jinora," He said in the same ancient voice shed heard earlier.

"This lovely young woman is Pandora, the great spirit of hope." Iroh continued gesturing to the female spirit. "And this is an old friend from my time in Ba Sing Se, Bosco."

"Bosco?" Jinora asked in surprise as she looked at the bear. "You're a spirit?"

Pandora chuckled. "Of course he is child. How else do you explain the existence of something as strange as a regular bear?"

"We've already met," Bosco huffed in the story book voice she'd heard earlier. "You know it's very rude to scream in people's faces right?"

Jinora frowned, and was about to ask what he was talking about when suddenly she flashed back to the spirit that attacked her before she woke up here. The pitch black eyes, the sharp teeth and claws, it was him. "You're the spirit that attacked me!" she exclaimed

"Excuse me, I attacked you?" the bear spirit asked indignantly. "If anything I saved you. You should know better than to be playing near the nether roots, especially at night."

"Peace you two," Yawgoo said raising a clawed hand, and they both fell silent. "Bosco, she is but a child, and obviously new to our world. You said you found her stumbling around in the dark. Isn't it possible she was just as scared as she was lost? I highly doubt she would have gone anywhere near those roots if she'd known where they led."

The tortoise spirit paused, and turned to the air bender who was matching Bosco's glare with her own. "And Jinora I assure you when Bosco found you last night he meant you no harm, and after you lost consciousness he brought you straight here for help."

Jinora stopped her glaring, and looked at Yawgoo. "He did?"

The tortoise nodded. "Indeed. He didn't mean to scare you, but it's lucky for you that he did. If he hadn't found you it is likely your path would have taken you to a place from which you never would have returned."

Her grey eyes widening in surprise she turned to Bosco. "You did?"

Bosco huffed in annoyance, and started adding sugar to his cup of tea. "Yes I did. So why are you in our world any way?"

"There is no need to be rude Bosco." Iroh admonished lightly as he guided Jinora to an open seat at the table. "You can sit here Jinora, and I'll fetch another cup, and some more tea."

After watching Iroh step out of the room Pandora smiled at the girl. "Don't mind Bosco child, he just gets a little grumpy around humans." She said as her braid reached over and slid the bowl of sugar away from the bear spirit to just out of his reach which happened to be in front of Jinora.

"Hey after everything I went through; I have every right to be grumpy with humans, especially spoiled, ungrateful little girls like her." Bosco said with a glare aimed at Pandora.

"What happened to you?" Jinora asked not understanding why he was acting so hostile to her.

Bosco frowned down at the bowl of sugar just out of reach, before looking her in the eyes. "I met Kuai."

Seeing the confusion on her face Bosco sighed. "During the course of my life I had only ever been to your world a couple of times, and after Raava sealed the portals it was hardly worth the energy to cross over. However while your world held little of interest to me I would make an occasional trip every hundred years or so. It was during one such sojourn that I encountered a sheltered young earth prince who more than anything in the world wanted a friend. After seeing how lonely the boy was I took pity on him, and stayed. I never revealed my identity as a spirit, and despite my odd form he never suspected I was anything more than an animal, but he still treated me like an equal. I had originally only planned to stay for a week or so, but between Kuei's kindness, and all the tasty treats he gave me; we truly became the best of friends."

"You got attached to a human, and that never ends well for spirits." Pandora said upon seeing the melancholy look on Bosco's face.

"Why not?" Jinora asked seeing the sympathetic looks on Yawgoo, and Pandora's faces.

"Because we spirits are essentially immortal child," Pandora laughed sadly before turning serious again. "Don't get me wrong; we spirits are no strangers to death, but time does not ravage us as it does you humans. We actually grow stronger with age, but power is of little comfort when watching those you love wither and die. Growing attached to humans is painful for us, because you lead such fleeting lives, and we often miss large segments of it."

"Then why not stay in the human world with them?" Jinora asked.

Yawgoo just shook his head. "Jinora how many ways can a human enter the spirit world?"

"There are two ways. The first and most commonly used is through meditation which is how I got here. The other is by going through the spirit portals. Why do you ask?" Jinora said cocking her head curiously.

"Because there are only two ways for us spirits to enter your world as well." Yawgoo answered before looking her in the eyes. "When you humans enter our world through meditation you leave your physical body behind. This method allows you to come here from anywhere in your world, but you lose your ability to bend, and if you remain here for too long your body will die. This is why the portals are preferable as it allows you to bring your body with, and you can still utilize your bending. Spirits are faced with similar restrictions. We spirits can enter the human world at will, but as Bosco said it takes considerable energy to crossover. Another problem we face it that we are beings composed of living energy. It takes great focus and energy to both remain in your world, and maintain our physical forms. Eventually the strain is too great and we must return to our world to replenish our strength. By going through the portals however, our energy becomes galvanized, and we can remain in your world for decades before we must return to our own world."

"But because Raava sealed the portals I had to make a serious decision." Bosco said resuming his tale. "I could return to the spirit world to regain my energy, and risk losing my best friend to the flow of time, or I could relinquish my power, and become a part of your world."

Jinora's eyes widened in shock. "Spirits can do that? You actually became"

"Mortal," Bosco finished with a nod. "I condensed all my spiritual energies into a single physical form, and spent the rest of my life at Kuei's side."

Pandora smiled. "It happens so rarely that most people don't know it is even possible, but by doing this a spirit can remain in your world unburdened by the pull of our own. However this is not a decision to be made lightly. If a spirit becomes mortal they relinquish all their powers, and will no longer be able to return to the spirit world. This decision cannot be undone, and the spirit will remain mortal until their body perishes.

"I didn't give up much. I lost the ability to talk, but at least I was still a good whistler." Bosco said with a chuckle before looking Jinora in the eyes. "Kuei was my best friend, and the years I spent with him were the best I ever had."

"Then why are you so bitter about humans?" the air nomad asked.

Bosco's smile faded into a frown. "Kuei had a daughter, a spoiled little brat by the name of Hou Ting. I tried to get along with her, but she never liked me. I think she saw me as competition for her father's love, but by the balance I have no idea why. Kuei loved her more than anything. Anyway I didn't realize just how much she hated me until after Kuei died. It wasn't even a day after her father's funeral that the tyrannical little psycho had me killed, cooked, and served with an apple in my mouth."

Pandora and Yawgoo winced at the description while Jinora's jaw dropped, and her eyes opened wide in horror.

"By the spirits I thought that was just a horrible rumor?" Jinora finally managed to ask, horrified that someone could do something so malicious.

"Sadly it is not," Iroh said as he finally returned with another cup and a fresh pot of tea. "I have heard many sad tales in my lifetime, but having personally known you and Kuei it strikes closer to my heart than most."

As Iroh began refilling the empty cups, Bosco sighed sadly and leaned as far as he could over the table trying to reach the sugar bowl. His claws were fully extended, but it was still just out of reach.

Wondering why neither of the other spirit were helping him Jinora looked up only to find Pandora giving her a pointed look while Yawgoo nodded imperceptibly to the sugar bowl. Realizing what they were indicating she quickly reached forward and gave the bowl a small nudge allowing Bosco to hook the edge with his claws.

Pulling it close the bear spirit looked up at her in surprise. "Thank you."

Jinora just shook her head. "No thank you for helping me last night. I'm also really sorry for what happened to you, and for accusing you of attacking me. It was dark and I thought you were this smiling cat spirit that's been hunting me."

Suddenly the room went silent, and all four spirits looked at her intently. Jinora couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as Yawgoo and Pandora began whispering back and forth rapidly while Bosco glanced nervously between them. Of the two Pandora sounded much more agitated, and the fact that her claws slowly began to sink into the wooden table only confirmed her unease.

"Did I say something wrong?" Jinora whispered to Iroh, but he just shook his head.

"No Jinora, but are you sure that it is a cat spirit hunting you?"

The air bender nodded. "I'm definitely sure; he was able to turn invisible, and he had this big crescent moon grin filled with rows of shark like teeth. I've been running from his twisted game of cat and mouse for almost two days now."

"Damn it, that's definitely Jaeger. You see Yawgoo I told you something was up, and the fact that she just described that sadistic little hairball to a T proves it." Pandora said with a glare.

"But why would Jaeger venture so far from Tartarus now of all times?" Bosco asked worriedly.

"Perhaps Jinora may be able to enlighten us." Iroh suggested. "Jinora have you heard, or perhaps know of anything happening in your world serious enough that it could affect the spirit world?"

Jinora hesitated for a moment, but with everyone looking at her she eventually nodded. "Yes I do, but I'm afraid it's bad news."

Pandora and Iroh glanced at each other warily, but Yawgoo just smiled encouragingly. "Aw Jinora, there is just news. There is no good or bad."

"Vaatu has returned, he's become a Dark Avatar once more, he put Korra in a coma, and now he is here in the spirit world and I'm pretty sure my little sister Ikki is either following him, or he's captured her." Jinora said all at once and for a moment sounded just like her more talkative sister.

The gathered spirits were completely stunned. Iroh and Bosco stared at her speechless not even knowing where to begin.

Yawgoo's eyes were open wide, and his toothless mouth hung open comically for a moment before he regained his composure. "That is bad news."

The sound of porcelain being crushed suddenly drew their attention to Pandora, and Jinora shrunk back in fear. In Pandora's right hand the tea cup was crushed by a sudden death grip spilling its contents on the table while her left hand had left deep gouge marks from where her claws had curled against the wood. What really frightened the air nomad though was the female spirit's eyes. Her eyes now glowed a fiery crimson that sent an increasingly familiar chill up her spine.

"You are sure of what you say child?" Pandora asked slowly, dangerously.

Jinora just nodded quickly, and Pandora shot upright, her white and blue yukata fluttering as the remaining shards from her tea cup clattered to the floor.

"Please excuse me everyone, but I must be going. Sorry about the mess Iroh, and thank you for the tea. As always it was lovely." Pandora said quickly before she disappeared in a flash of crimson light.

They all sat in stunned silence for a few minutes until Bosco covered his furry face with his paws and groaned. "Oh no, no, no, no, no."

"Um can somebody please explain what is going on? I know Vaatu is very bad news, but what was that about? And the cat spirit, Jaeger you called him. What does he have to do with anything?" Jinora asked worriedly.

Yawgoo smiled sadly. "You'll have to forgive Pandora; there is much bad blood between her and the lord of chaos. As for Jaeger his presence means the Yokai are restless, and that the legion will begin marching soon."

"Hmm I have heard legends of the Yokai, but I'm afraid I do not know enough to tell fact from fiction." Iroh said as he took a sip of his tea only to frown. During all the excitement it had gone cold.

"If what you have heard gave you nightmares then they are indeed accurate." Yawgoo stated solemnly.

"Who are the Yokai?" Jinora asked as she tried to reign in her emotions as to not effect Iroh's home.

Looking at both of them Yawgoo sighed. "As you two know the spirits, and our world is completely composed of spirit energy. The entirety of the spirit world, every rock, tree, river, everything is composed of neutral energy, which is why it is so easily influenced by human emotions. The energy of the spirits themselves however due to our sentience is either completely positive or negative. Aside from Vaatu, every spirit that you've ever encountered was truly a light spirit, even the dark spirits you've faced. They were merely light spirits twisted by either their own anger, or by the dark will of others like Vaatu."

"But Jaeger didn't seen angry, or like he was being controlled." Jinora stated in confusion.

"That is because Jaeger is a true dark spirit also known as a Yokai. Their spirit energy is naturally dark making them far more feral and malicious than their light counter parts." Yawgoo replied. "They thrive in darkness, and feed off of chaos and fear. Most of them crave destruction and war, but others like Jaeger prefer sadistic games, and the thrill of the hunt."

"They sound terrible. Why is it that no one has ever seen a Yokai, or even heard of them for that matter. I'm very well read, and yet I've never heard anything about them until now." Jinora asked.

"That is because Avatar Wan banished them all to the darkest depths of the spirit world, a place known as Tartarus. The nether roots actually serve as one of several gateways there." Bosco said.

Hearing that Jinora instantly flashed back to the first time she had entered the spirit world with Korra. Thanks to the Avatar's emotional instability they had somehow been tossed through multiple gate ways. They had fallen down a hole in the ground which had dropped them into some kind of Spirit Ocean where they were then eaten by a giant aquatic spirit, and they somehow wound up falling out of the sky into a forest. It made no sense what so ever, and it gave her a headache just remembering it. Shaking of her reverie she continued listening to Yawgoo.

"Thousands of Yokai once roamed freely throughout the spirit world, coexisting fairly peacefully with their light counter parts. Conflicts between the Yokai and your world were minor, and often resulted in isolated incidents such as tormenting humans who had dishonored the spirits, causing small plagues to break out, or even on very rare occasions stealing children."

"That's awful!" Jinora exclaimed, but Yawgoo only shook his head sadly.

"That was nothing compared to what happened after Vaatu and Raava ripped open the spirit portals during one of their most vicious battles. With now unrestricted access to your world many spirits migrated there from our own world. The light spirits established territories, and were content to ignore humanity and explore your world. The Yokai however, with nothing to hold them back nearly drove humans to extinction. Humanity fought back as best it could, but without bending they stood no chance against the Yokai and were hunted relentlessly until only fragments remained. Humanity would have been wiped out entirely had the four great lion turtles not granted the remaining humans sanctuary on their backs."

The air nomad's eyes widened at that. She had read the stories, and even heard the first hand experiences from Korra. How Wan the very first Avatar had once been a non bending human who lived in a massive city built on the back of a giant lion turtle. There were four lion turtles, each one able to control one of the four elements.

Their wisdom and power was both respected and feared by human and spirit alike. They even had the power to give and take away the ability to bend their own specific element. While humanity learned how to bend from sky bison, the moon, dragons, and badger moles, it was the lion turtles who gave them the ability to bend in the first place.

"Humanity would remain under their protection for over ten thousand years until the next Harmonic Convergence came to pass. The human Wan had acquired all four elements from the lion turtles and after being merged with Raava they became the very first Avatar. With their newfound power they were able to seal Vaatu away in the tree of time. After that they decided to close the portals and return the physical world to you humans. Naturally the light spirits obeyed their patron grand spirit and returned to the spirit world. May I have some more tea Iroh?"

Both Jinora and Bosco were so entranced with the tortoise spirits story they couldn't help but groan at the sudden interruption. Iroh merely smiled, and refilled Yawgoo's cup. Slowly the aged spirit raised the steaming cup to his lips, inhaled, and gently blew. He repeated the process four times, and Jinora grew more anxious by the second. Her hope flared when Yawgoo turned to her and opened his mouth as if to speak, but instead blew on his tea again.

Bosco groaned, and Jinora could feel her eye twitch in annoyance as he finally took a long slow sip of the jasmine tea.

"Um Yawgoo, your story?" Iroh prompted sensing the others agitation.

"Ah yes," Yawgoo nodded as he set his cup down. "As I was saying the Yokai did not want to leave the human world. Unfortunately this was the least of Avatar Wan's problems. The Yokai adhere to a strict pack mentality, and only obey those stronger than themselves. Vaatu with all his power cared little for those weaker than himself, so even though they deemed him their alpha it was a position he disregarded completely. With no leadership, no focus, and no one strong enough to challenge Vaatu for the right to rule, their numbers were scattered to the winds."

"By sealing the grand spirit of darkness away, however Wan merely created a power Vacuum. In Vaatu's absence another spirit rose forth and took command of the Yokai. This spirit was powerful enough to claim the title Daiyokai, but it wasn't his strength that made him dangerous, it was his cunning. It was under his command that the Yokai stood united for the first time in centuries, and together their name became legion, for they were many."

"By sealing Vaatu away Avatar Wan had hoped to bring about an era of peace for all of humanity. Instead Vaatu's successor brought about an era of fear. Using his dark legion the successor created strife between the four newly formed nations, and eventually drove them all to go to war with each other. Avatar Wan would spend almost his entire life fighting against the Yokai while simultaneously trying to stop them from turning nations against each other, and putting an end to the wars they managed to start. It would take him decades, as well as his life but Wan eventually did it. It took everything he had, but he drove the Yokai back into the spirit world where he then sealed the successor away, and banished almost all of the Yokai to Tartarus."

"What do you mean almost all the Yokai? Why would he allow any of them to remain free?" Jinora asked with a frown.

"Because whether or not a spirit's true nature is dark or light they choose what path they walk." Iroh said sagely, and Yawgoo nodded in agreement.

"You are right my friend. To answer your question Jinora there were only two Yokai that were spared the fate of the rest, and both of them were great spirits. One of them was Koh, the face stealer." Seeing the shock on Jinora's face Yawgoo raised a hand in placation. "Despite his sadistic nature Koh is amoral at worst, and surprisingly enough he has always been against the eradication of humanity. During the war he remained a neutral party, and returned to the spirit world without a fight."

Jinora mulled this over for a moment before sighing. "I can't say I agree, but I can understand it. Who was the other Yokai?"

"Pandora," Yawgoo said causing Jinora's heart to skip a beat.

Seeing the look on her face Yawgoo smiled sadly. "Pandora harbors a deep hatred in her heart for Vaatu, and all who serve him. That is why during the Yokai wars she fought alongside Avatar Wan against her own kind. With her at his side they spent years hunting the other Yokai down one by one until only the Daiyokai and his lieutenant remained. The Daiyokai was by far the most dangerous adversary of any Avatar, second only to Vaatu himself, but after long and furious battle they drove him back to the spirit world where Wan managed to seal him away as well. With no Daiyokai to lead them Pandora assumed dominance, and with Wan's backing banished all Yokai to the depths of Tartarus where they would remain for all eternity."

Looking down at her empty cup, Jinora processed everything she had just learned. That the dark spirits she had faced were armatures in comparison to these Yokai. That there was a very powerful Vaatu wannabe sealed away somewhere in the spirit world waiting to be released and most of all with Vaatu free the Yokai were rising once more. "So what happens now? What can we do to stop them?"

"I am afraid there is nothing we can do Jinora. The era of Raava is over and according to you Korra is in no condition to fight anyone, let alone a legion of Yokai." Iroh said solemnly.

Yawgoo shook his head sadly. "I believe Pandora will try to reassert her dominance over the Yokai, but without the Avatar to back her it is unlikely they will follower her. Then there is the fact that Vaatu is here in the spirit world and while Pandora is strong she is not strong enough to stop him. Other than the Avatar there are no spirits powerful enough to challenge him. If the Yokai find Vaatu and he claims the title of Daiyokai, he will undoubtedly set them loose upon humanity once again."

"What about the other grand spirits? Can't they do anything about him?" Bosco asked desperately, but again Yawgoo just shook his head.

"The other grand spirits do not interfere with matters outside their own dominions. Whether it is Vaatu or Raava they do not care who rules so long as balance is maintained. Other than the Avatar there is no one who can bring Vaatu to heel."

Seeing the troubled looks on their faces Jinora searched desperately for a shred of hope to give them. Without Korra the only one strong enough to stop Vaatu was… The air nomad's eyes widened with a sudden realization. They did have someone who could stop Vaatu if only partially.

"But there is somebody who can. Mako can stop Vaatu from unleashing the Yokai." Jinora announced excitedly.

"Pardon me Jinora, but who is Mako, and how could he possibly stop Vaatu?" Iroh asked with a raised brow. Yawgoo and Bosco also looked to her curiously.

"Mako, he is the human that Vaatu merged with to become a new Dark Avatar." She answered quickly causing looks of surprise to pass over the gathered spirits faces.

"His humanity is still intact?" Yawgoo asked seriously, and Jinora nodded.

"Between his resurrection, and fusing with Mako, Vaatu was severely weakened. Between that and Mako's strong will he wasn't completely consumed like Unalaq was when he became the first Dark Avatar. Mako is like a big brother to me, and if it weren't for him both I and a lot of other people would be dead right now. I'm pretty sure he's watching over my sister too."

She had expected to see hope in their eyes, but instead she only saw worry. "What, what is it?" the air bender asked worriedly.

Yawgoo exchanged a fearful look with Bosco before sighing. "Jinora, I'm afraid your sister is in very grave danger. Up until now we believed Vaatu was in full control. At his full power no Yokai would dare challenge Vaatu. However as much as they respect strength the despise weakness even more, and to them nothing is more weak than a human. When they find him they will see Mako's existence as a weakness, and the stronger spirits among them will challenge his right to rule. Without his full power Vaatu is at a severe disadvantage, and if he is not strong enough take command, then they will kill him and anyone with him."

For a moment it felt as though her heart completely stopped beating.

"I'm sorry but I need to go now," Jinora said as she shot to her feet, and started rushing towards what she guessed was an exit. "I need to find Ikki before the Yokai do."

"Jinora wait a second; Jaeger is still out there, and besides how are you even going to find them?" Iroh asked quickly before she could leave.

Jinora hesitated for a moment. "I'll just have to take my chances, and don't worry I've got this flower that…" She began as she made to grab the flower Root had given her, but it wasn't there. "Oh no. No. No. !" she cried as she searched her person more and more desperately only to come to a single devastating conclusion. The flower was gone.


The council chamber erupted into chaos as a menagerie of nearly two dozen dark spirits poured in through the broken skylight as rain and shards of glass showered down on the stunned world leaders.

"Everybody out now!" Lin yelled as she and Kahn rushed forward to protect their charges closely followed by the other guards.

With thunderous roars six large dark spirits like fire face slammed down onto the conference table while mid-sized spirits like the ones Vaatu had summoned during his escape scattered around the room savagely attacking the guards and cutting off all the exits. All the while smaller serpentine spirits flew wildly around the room keeping the humans disoriented while looking for their own openings to attack.

Wu screamed girlishly as one of the larger spirits lunged forward. Acting quickly Pema quickly ducked under the table and swiftly yanked him and the senator by the ankles, effectively pulling them to the ground out of harm's way, and allowing Tenzin to force the large spirits back with a powerful air blade.

"Pema get them out of here, while I cover you!" the air bender ordered as he began launching strong gusts of wind keeping the spirits at bay.

With a quick nod the air acolyte scrabbled back pulling the panicking Wu with her. The senator made to follow them, but a dark spirit seized him by his ankle and dragged him screaming under the table where his fearful cries were swiftly silenced permanently.

Slowly Tenzin fought their way away from the center of the chamber where the majority of the dark spirits were swarming like buzzard wasps. Their only hope was to get their backs against a wall. While it was more of a bleak last stand option it was still better than being surrounded by attacking spirits or getting caught in the cross fire.

While Tenzin was focused on the attacking spirits, and Wu was trying his best not to faint, Pema was taking stock of how everyone else was faring. What she saw looked like something from a nightmare. Blood was splattered along the walls and pooling on the floors where it was mixing with rain water. The remaining guards fought desperately for not only their leaders but their very lives.

At least four of the ten water benders had been caught off guard and killed, while the remaining six rallied around the three chieftains. While Desna and Eska fought in unison with duel water whips, their uncle Tonraq and the other southern water benders utilized ice spikes and spears. Thanks to the downpour they were well equipped with water, and were beginning to thin the dark spirit's ranks.

Izumi and her fire benders were faring much better with only one casualty so far. With Kahn at her back the fire lord had ordered her remaining honor guards to protect Iroh, while she unleashed powerful blasts of azure fire taking out two spirits at a time. General Iroh with four imperial fire benders to back him up easily burned his way through the swarm and established a defensible position in a corner around President Raiko.

Lin's ten officers weren't faring much better than their earth kingdom counter parts, who without any significant amount of earth available to bend were ruthlessly wiped out. Thanks to their skills and elite training the metal benders had managed to hold their own at first, and by using their cables and teamwork they were taking down a fair amount of small and mid-sized spirits. That changed however when two of the six larger spirits set their sights on the metal benders, and started taking them down one by one. Razor sharp claws tore through metal armor like tissue paper until only Lin Beifong herself remained.

As Pema, Wu, and Tenzin neared the wall one of the larger spirits caught sight of them and charged.

It was too big to force back with air bending, so with only seconds to act Tenzin knocked Pema and Wu out of the spirit's path with a burst of air. At the last second the air nomad leapt aside as the spirit rushed past him, its claws dragging painfully across his side.

"Tenzin!" Pema screamed as her husband applied pressure to his wound.

"Keep going!" he yelled back as he turned to face the dark spirit.

Turning around the spirit snarled at seeing the air bender still standing instead of lying gutted on the floor as it had intended. With a savage roar it launched at Tenzin again swiping wildly with its claws.


Across the room another of the large spirits managed to cut Desna and Eska from the other water benders. By now a majority of the smaller spirits had been dissipated so they were able to fight without too much worry of being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Using their water whips the androgynous twins were able to counter the dark spirit's savage attacks, but only just.

"Desna we must end this quickly." Eska said in their usual monotone.

"I concur, but how?" Desna asked as he concentrated his whips into a single water blast that forced the spirit back several feet.

Acting quickly Eska followed up by freezing the spirit in place with her own water whips. The spirit was immobilized for a moment, but the ice quickly began to crack as it struggled to get free. "If you can distract it long enough I may be able to pacify it with father's technique."

"Alright but hurry. I won't be able to hold it back for long." Desna said as he bent the surrounding rain water into duel water whips and charged the dark spirit just as it broke free.

As her brother engaged the spirit Eska quickly started going through the fluid body motions their father Chief Unalaq had personally taught her. Slowly the water around her condensed into a single large tendril that swayed back and forth in tandem with the fluid movements of her arms. Applying all her focus and will the water began to glow with positive spiritual energy.

"Desna now!" She yelled as she launched the tendril towards the dark spirit.

Leaping out of the way Desna used his water to freeze the spirit once again allowing Eska to encircle the dark spirit with the spiritually charged water.

With a cry of rage the spirit shattered the ice that bound it, but it was already too late. Its dark form stopped thrashing, and slowly the shadows comprising its form began to fade. Its glowing crimson eyes began to glow blue, and its body was slowly consumed by white energy.

After several moments a pacified spirit of light stood before them, and with a sigh of relief Eska released her hold on the water. They expected the spirit to fade back into the spirit world just like whenever their father performed spirit bending. To their shock however it did not. Rather it faced them and its blue eyes shifted back to red.

With eyes widened in shock they noticed that there was a dark spot in the center of its chest that had somehow remained unpurified. So great was their shock that they were unable to react as the spirit completely shifted back into its dark form, and lunged at them with a savage roar.

Instinctively Desna moved Eska behind him, and braced for the attack, but before the spirit could strike a large ice spear impaled it from the side. Howling in rage it turned around only to be impaled again, only this time the spear struck right where the dark spot had been, and the dark spirit dissipated in a flash of light.

With the spirit gone the twins saw their uncle standing with two more spears at the ready. "Did your father ever take you two hunting?"

Glancing at each other they shook their heads no. All their training had been focused on healing, water bending, and the spirits.

Seeing this Tonraq tossed them each an ice spear. "First rule of hunting never let your guard down. Now come on and watch closely, it is high time you two learned."


Moving as fast as he could Tenzin narrowly dodged several lethal swipes. The dark spirit besetting him was fast, twice as big any human, and had long, lanky arms whose skinny appearance belayed its actual strength. One solid blow was all it would take for the spirit to kill him, and if that happened the spirit would likely go for Pema and Wu next.

With thoughts of his beloved wife and their children, Tenzin lashed out with a vicious wind blade catching the spirit by surprise. Wanting to keep the spirit off balance he followed up with two more strikes, before it lashed out wildly, and lunged again.

Tenzin barely avoided the claws, but was unable to move out of the way as the spirit knocked him to the floor. Grabbing him by the front of his cloak the spirit then threw him viciously over Pema and Wu where he slammed against the wall.

"Tenzin!" Pema screamed as she and Prime Minister Wu rushed over to his side as he fell motionless to the floor.

Dropping to her knees next to him Pema pulled her husband close and sighed in relief to find he was still breathing. Her relief was short lived however, as she looked up to find the large dark spirit stalking towards them. Seeing that Tenzin was unable to fight and the fearful look on Pema's face, Wu in a rare moment of bravery moved to stand shakily between the air nomads and the encroaching danger.

"Don't worry Pema, I've got this." He said trying to sound brave, but the tremble in his voice suggested he would much rather crawl into a corner, shout his signature phrase 'Wu down!' and wait for someone to save him. Pema knew the former earth prince was capable standing against stronger foes, but this time he didn't have any giant badger moles to back him up.

Just as the spirit neared striking range it suddenly stopped as four people swiftly moved to stand between it and the trio.

"Don't worry Prime Minister, we can handle this." Said the tallest of the three Kyoshi warriors in a calm serene voice.

Pema could only look up in surprise as the other two warriors stood alongside their leader, while Tu moved Wu back against the wall next to them. "Don't worry your highness; these ladies know how to take care of business."

Hearing what Mako and Bolin's cousin said the youngest of the three warriors glanced back with a giggle to give them a bright smile and a flirtatious wink.

"Stay focused Vita!" the third Kyoshi warrior snapped irritably.

"Oh lighten up Severa," Vita said rolling her blue eyes before glancing to their leader. "What are we going to do about the President Tuela?"

The lead warrior Tuela diverted her blue eyes from the staring contest she was having with the dark spirit to glance at the corner on the opposite end of the chamber to see General Iroh and the imperial fire benders fighting back two of the remaining five larger spirits with president Raiko pressed against the wall behind them. "There is nothing we can do about Raiko now, and therefore he is no longer our concern."

"And the others?" Severa prompted as her blue eyes narrowed at the three chieftains and their water benders engaging another of the large spirits and the remaining dozen of mid-sized spirits. They themselves had cut down the remaining small fliers.

"As I said they are no longer our concern." Tuela replied as she continued to weave her open war fans back and forth in front of her, while turning her attention away from the fire lord who was engaging a larger spirit with her blue fire. "Our only concern my dear little sisters is to defend our charges even to our dying breath."

"Uh oh, guys I think we've lost one." Vita said sounding mildly surprised.

Severa scoffed. "Oh well, no sense in crying over spilled tea."

While the Kyoshi warriors were talking among themselves Pema was half listening to their conversation, and watching the dark spirit standing before them warily. Since the Kyoshi warriors had intervened the large dark spirit had stopped moving, and looking closely it looked as if its glowing yellow eyes were following the movements of Tuela's war fans.

Suddenly Tuela stopped moving her fans and assumed a combat stance, with her fellow warriors following suit. In response the dark spirit roared in fury, and prepared to lunge.

Before it could charge them however a metal cable lashed around its neck stopping it short. Snarling angrily the spirit whirled around to find Lin Beifong holding the other end like a leash.

"Leave. Them. Alone." She growled.

Yellow eyes narrowing dangerously the spirit seized the cable, and yanked hard.

With a yell of surprise Lin was pulled through the air towards the spirit which seized her by her upper arms and slammed her down against the floor. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and a searing pain to lance through her head as the back of her skull struck the ground.

"Lin!" She faintly hear Pema yell from several yards away where the Kyoshi warriors forced her to stay back.

Her vision was slowly fading to black, but a sudden searing pain in her upper arms brought everything back into focus. Gritting her teeth she looked down to see blood flowing from where the tips of the spirit's claws had easily and accidentally punctured her armor. Looking back up she was met with burning yellow eyes glaring hatefully into her own emerald orbs.

Defiantly she met the spirits stare, which only seemed to anger it further. With a roar of fury it opened its fang filled maw ready to take her head off in one bite. Before it could however a powerful blast of fire struck it in the side, knocking it away from her.

"Lin!" Izumi yelled as she rushed to her childhood friend's side.

"Thanks for they help princess, but I had everything under control." Lin groaned as she started getting up.

Seeing the metal bender wince in pain, Izumi quickly helped her into a sitting position." I'm sure you had him right where you wanted him, but it isn't me you should be thanking."

With a look of confusion Lin turned to follow Izumi's golden gaze to see Kahn going toe to toe with the dark spirit.

The Chief of police was surprised to see the aged fire bender was actually holding his own. The dark spirit was lashing out wildly, but Kahn easily evaded the blows, only to respond with quick but powerful bursts of fire whenever he found an opening.

His amber eyes were narrowed with focus as he dodged the strikes. To an inexperienced fighter it would look like he knew what the spirit was going to do before it even did it, but she knew better. He was watching for the slightest of movements, because even so much as a twitch could tell you where the next strike could come from. With each successful evasion the dark spirit grew more and more angry, which only caused it to get sloppy.

Bellowing in fury the spirit brought down a hammer blow in a desperate attempt to crush the veteran fire bender. Stepping smoothly to the side the blow splintered the floor where he had been standing, and delivered a spinning fire kick directly to the spirits head.

Stunned by the unexpected counter the spirit stumbled back only for Kahn to follow up with several succinct blasts to its body forcing it to stumble backwards.

Now with some space between them Kahn began moving his arms in wide circular motions. After a few moments sparks of electricity began to gather until he had a powerful arc following the movements of his right hand. Seeing what Kahn was trying to do the dark spirit charged towards him, and much to Lin's shock he charged forward to meet it.

They drew closer and closer until right as they were about to collide Kahn dropped low and slid beneath the spirit. With an enraged roar the spirit whirled around only to be met with a bolt of lightning right between its yellow eyes and in a flash of light the dark spirit exploded into thousands of glowing particles before it faded away completely.

"He's still single if you're interested Lin." Izumi said teasingly.

"I'm not," Lin snapped in response as she slowly stood up despite her entire body protesting against it.

"Are you sure," Izumi asked with a knowing smirk. "Because the last time I saw you making goo goo eyes like that you started dating Tenzin."

The fire lord grinned triumphantly as she noticed that underneath the most intense death glare Lin had probably given in her life was the lightest of blushes.

"Last warning princess." Lin growled before she started making her way over to Pema and the unconscious Tenzin.

"You know if looks could Kill, I would be out of a job right now." Kahn said stepping up beside her.

Izumi smiled softly, but it diapered quickly. "Have all the spirits been dealt with?"

"That was the last one. There is also a significant number of casualties. We've lost two of our own, but other than Wu's senator the world leaders are all safe, including Prince Iroh." Kahn paused for a moment before looking her in the eyes. "Izumi what do you plan to do about all of this?"

The fire lord sighed tiredly. "Honestly Kahn I'm not entirely sure. I need to speak with Lin and Tenzin before I make any final decisions. I also need to have a very serious talk with my son."

"You may want to talk to Iroh soon then. It looks like Raiko is very eager to start the hunt." Kahn said looking over at Iroh and the president, both of whom appeared to be having a very spirited discussion with Tonraq and the twins.

Izumi shook her head slowly. "Raiko was looking for allies, not permission. Now despite my efforts he may have all the support he needs to go to war with the spirits."

" There is a consolation though Izumi." Kahn offered "After wondering for decades on end we now know that despite all this time, and everything that happened the bloodline did indeed survive. The phoenix rose from the ashes."

The fire lord looked from her son over to Lin and the air nomads. "If past sins are to be rectified, and forgiven we must first secure our future Kahn. The era of Raava is over, and darkness is rising. I fear the era of Vaatu has only just begun."


Man it took me forever to get some of the concepts just right, and I hope they make sense. In the series we'd always see spirits start out light, shift dark, and eventually revert back to light like it was their default setting. That got me thinking, and following the concept of Raava, and Vaatu I decided to introduce the Yokai to stand with Vaatu on the other end of the spectrum. Default dark.

I've also reintroduced several old characters, and I hope I've portrayed them well. I would also like to hear what you guys think about my new OC's, several of which will go on to play larger rolls in the story. Also for those of you who didn't pick up on it Yawgoo is an inspired character like Root. To find out his inspiration just read his name backwards.

Another thing that has always annoyed was that throughout the entire Avatar franchise there have been only two family names. Beifong, and Sato. So I took the liberty of giving Mako and Bolin a last name, as well as a family name for their father's side of the family.

The title of this chapter comes from the song (It has begun) by the band Starset, which served as partial inspiration for this chapter.

I know I probably say this too much, but please leave a comment, or review. Pivotal chapters like this are important, and greatly impact how future chapters unfold, and I want to write this story as best I can so any tips, ideas, or constructive criticism you have would be much appreciated.

Until next time then. Thank you for reading.

.