Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I own my OC's, and not much else.
-Recap "You just agreed with us Hisaki, moments ago, you'd better explain yourself, and make it good."
"Is now the time we should be doing this?" quickly answered the fire spirit.
"I know, I'm sorry" he continued "I'm probably the last person you expected to say something like this, but…have you seen Umi recently? Do you know what she's doing?"
Tenkuu was quick to answer. "She's missing her power, that's what! She's sad and lonely and a little lost."
"Yes, she misses her power, but have you seen what she's doing?" he emphasized the word.
The air spirit shook her head.
"She's learning" he began "she's learning to be her own person. She's learning a trade, she's learning to live, learning how to survive, learning about people, about work, building character and relationships."
He looked around and the circle of spirits. "Could she learn those things here? In her spirit form, her water form, floating in the clouds? The ocean? We're about to give her a free pass to an eternity of almost limitless power, invulnerability and nothing to hold her back but her own conscience."
Glancing at Tenkuu he quickly amended "granted, it is most likely enough, but does she seem as if she is truly suffering to you? Do you not sense a determination within her, to make her own path, to do her best and learn what she can?"
He shook his head. "I think we would be doing her a disservice by simply bestowing this power back onto her immediately."
There was thoughtful silence for several moments before Tenkuu finally spoke. "I don't believe I have ever heard you say that much at one time, you must be tired."
The entire circle of spirits spontaneously burst out laughing and suddenly the tension that had been growing the entire time dissipated, leaving behind a general feeling of good will.
"Hisaki, I didn't know you had it in you, but I do believe you are correct" Hayashi stated with a smile in her voice. "Your words are very wise, so wise in fact I feel rather ashamed that I did not realize this myself."
"Agreed" added Avatar spirit Wan, "there is much wisdom in your statement and I believe we are all in agreement." Everyone nodded and murmured agreement. "The question now is; when is the appropriate time? How do we, up here, decide when she should receive this ultimate gift?"
Moments of silence turned into minutes. It would seem that not a single spirit there knew how to determine when Umi would be ready to receive what they were prepared to give her.
"If I may…" the silence was broken by the hesitant voice of Avatar spirit Salai. "A thought…give her a year. A year from the date her abilities were taken from her. When she wakes up on the morning of that day, she will be everything that has been decided she will be."
Tenkuu piped up quickly "I'd like to add something to that. If she is ever personally in danger, true mortal danger or danger of a more..evil kind, as has befallen her in the past, she will immediately have all that has been decided she will have including the knowledge of what she has and how to use it."
There was unanimous agreement and every Avatar spirit reincarnation stretched out their arms with fisted hands in front of them then bent at the elbows, fists in the air and touched their forearms to the person next to them, creating an unbroken circle.
The air and fire spirits did the same and touched Hayashi's tree with their free wrists. The tree spirit sent out thin branches that wound around the wrists of everyone there, binding their arms together and completing the circle.
Hayashi began to glow, a soft yellow light; the branches connecting her to the other spirits slowly began to glow until the physical branches disappeared and they were all connected by pure energy. Every Avatar spirits' eyes began to glow, but their eyes glowed with a light that depicted their origin, fire, air, water, earth. The air and fire spirits became their elements; yet stayed tethered.
All at once, every single previous Avatar represented began to fully glow, bright white, as a partial Avatar state was reached in each one. The white power flowed into their energy bound wrists and traveled across the 'branches' of energy Hayashi had grown. Every single Avatar spirit a point of energy, every branch of energy coursing with white hot power traveling to the center of the circle, the elemental spirits, at the convergence point.
Hayashi, being the element of life itself, took the power into herself and created and commanded what it should do, how it should obey, exactly as the newly formed tribunal had stipulated, down to every last minute detail.
Well, almost. No one had stipulated what form Daichi was to take for his eternity of imprisonment. It was too late to ask so she felt it was her duty to…improvise.
There was a massive buildup of power as she gave it the final command and released it to obey. The effect was instantaneous. It exploded into millions of bright little particles that began to wink out as quickly as they had come.
It was done.
Quiet reigned in the aftermath of the power surge. Hayashi tiredly retracted her branches and the Avatar spirits finally broke the circle they had created. No one seemed interested in breaking the silence until the raspy voice of an old man grated on their ears.
"Haha, Hayashi, very funny!" Daichi groused. "This isn't my human form and you know it!"
"Oh Daichi, I'm so sorry, something must have gone wrong…I can't imagine what could have happened to cause this." Hayashi quipped innocently. "I don't quite remember the form you were to take being specified in the directive, perhaps the power somehow misunderstood."
"Cut the innocent act you stupid tree, you did this on purpose!" the old man that was Daichi growled.
The air seemed to shimmer, and before anyone else could answer there was a tendril of glowing power wrapped around the old man's neck, holding him off the floor until just the tips of his toes touched. Fear was evident on his face and he kicked and struggled, his face growing red as he choked.
"Don't worry Daichi, you can't die." Her voice was smooth, silky, and hard as diamond as it echoed around them. "You can never die."
She released him and he collapsed to the ground, coughing hard. She focused her attention on Salai. "You did unthinkable things to a pure being, but you are genuinely repentant, and so you have a modicum of forgiveness."
Salai inclined his head in appreciation. "Perhaps" she continued "in time, you may teach this ungrateful whelp to do the same. Because your fate is to spend an eternity imprisoned with this…" she paused in disgust "creature…I have granted you a boon. You simply have to say 'metamorphosis' and he will become something unable to speak. Use wisely."
Salai stared at her incredulously. It was true that he was to blame for everything that had happened and he was resigned to his fate, but for her to give him even that much power over the one he was to be imprisoned with was a true gift. "Hayashi, thank you, your kindness is boundless."
"Kindness? You call this kindness?!" screeched an enraged Daichi in his raspy voice "I will make eternity a living h…"
"Metamorphosis."
There, on the ground, in place of the screaming former earth spirit was a small bright red caterpillar with yellow spots on its back.
"You have my eternal thanks." Salai gratefully bowed and then went over to pick up the small caterpillar. "I could not ask for more." He turned towards the other Avatar spirits "I am ready." He said simply, and as quickly as they had come, they were gone.
Tenkuu began to giggle. Soon she was outright laughing, fragments of her merriment breaking off and spinning into the wind like miniature echoes of happiness.
Even Hisaki had to chuckle at the situation and Hayashi projected amusement at her antics.
The air spirit heaved a sigh of relief once she had calmed. "I needed a good laugh, thank you Hayashi."
She paused, then continued. "Don't think I didn't notice what you did there."
"Howso?"
"That was a caterpillar you turned him into, and the keyword you gave Salai was 'metamorphosis'. You gave Daichi a second chance, and you told him, indirectly, that he wouldn't always have to crawl if he could learn how to change."
The air positively hummed with approval. Even Hisaki looked at Tenkuu through new eyes. "Your insight is brilliant Tenkuu, well done." The air spirit blushed at the praise and scuffed the toe of her shoe on the ground. Uncomfortable, she changed the subject. "I can't wait until Umi gets her powers back!" She enthused, "she has a little less than a year and she'll get them."
"Yes, and now I think it's time we disperse and go our separate ways. I must admit it is strange now, without both water and earth spirits to balance out the elements."
Without warning, two water tribe garbed people appeared before their eyes and stood silently as they blinked in surprise. The next moment a massive Badgermole appeared behind the water tribe people.
Recognizing the significance of who they were; Hayashi greeted them at last. "Greetings spirits of the first benders."
It was the woman who spoke. "Greetings and salutations."
"I imagine you are here to speak about the elemental imbalance."
"You are correct. We would change nothing of your decision; however, we do believe that there must be balance."
"You are correct of course." She then addressed the huge Badgermole directly. "As the original earth benders you are the only ones who can decide and place and endow a new earth spirit." The Badgermole spirit caused the ground beneath them to spit out rocks, which it piled one of top of the other to rapidly create a humanoid form; then it grunted.
Hayashi nodded. It would be done. "The Badgermoles will provide a new earth spirit so that by the time Umi receives her powers, the earth spirit should be prepared."
"Is this wise?" the man asked.
"Howso?"
"We have already been without a water spirit for awhile; we cannot allow this to continue for up to a year." He replied.
She sighed. She knew he was right. Already certain imbalances had been created by Umi's loss of power. She had known it, but chose to allow it.
The water tribe woman spoke again. "Consider this, the power that Umi will be inheriting at the time chosen changes the very nature of her being. Yes, she will still be the major water spirit she was before, but at that time she will also be something else entirely. Never before in history has a single immortal being been allowed to wield that much power."
She shook her head. "Even the Avatar has a body that decays and dies and therefore must be reincarnated." Pausing she looked off into the distance in silent contemplation.
Turning back she continued. "Will she be able to keep the balance? I hesitate to speak on matters of the heart, but she clearly loves the fire nation prince; could her dedication to him become a distraction in her duties to the balance? Perhaps she is rejected and becomes heartsick?"
"Your arguments are absolutely valid, and each of them, and more, are certainly a possibility." Hayashi agreed. "Are you suggesting that a new major water spirit be born to keep the balance; removing the need for Umi's involvement altogether?"
The man nodded. "We will communicate with the ocean spirits and see that it is done."
"Very well." The tree spirit acquiesced.
As quickly as they had arrived, the other spirits vanished, and once again it was just the three of them.
"Do you think Umi will miss minding the balances?" Asked Tenkuu.
"Probably not" answered Hisaki "she's going to spend the next several months without her water spirit duties, she will be fine with not doing once she gets them back I'd expect."
Hayashi allowed them to chat amongst themselves while she pondered the strange turn of events that had transpired since she had first met the fire prince Zuko in the forest. At that time he had merely been a human boy to her, someone she hoped to save. Now, he was someone she felt a certain amount of motherly affection for.
She was proud of who he had become and truly wanted him to succeed. He had managed to do something no one else had been able to do, free Umi. She was glad to have been able to be party to saving his life, and not only that, but restoring his body. Ripping Umi's powers from her and causing her to be mortal was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. She allowed it only because of who would receive the gift.
Zuko, she knew, was very deserving and she had known of the Dragon of the West, but she also knew he had changed and she respected that. He would help the young prince to fully embrace and promote peace among the nations, she was certain of that.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
They had traveled long and hard to reach the fire nation capital. Both were weary of travel and wished only to find a comfortable inn to rest. Thanks to the kind couple, they had a small amount of money they had saved by sleeping in the forest or field, as they were no strangers to it.
Zuko had determined that he would meet Firelord Ozai on the morrow, so they splurged and spent some of their precious coin on two rooms; Iroh insisted that they be able to have their own bed to get the best rest possible, and Zuko was loathe to disagree.
Rising in the morning he felt rested, but strangely weak. He had an odd feeling, like something was happening that he didn't know about, but should.
"Zuko…" he glanced up from his breakfast at the older man across the table from him. "Just be careful, son." Zuko's lips twitched in a small half-smile at 'son'. It felt good to be loved.
He nodded. "I will, father."
"You are sure you will not allow me to accompany you to the palace? I will not interfere." He was on edge about something, but he couldn't pinpoint what.
"No…no I have to do this on my own."
Iroh nodded; he had known that would be the case. "Just please, please be careful. I feel as if something isn't right."
Zuko looked at his adopted father in surprise. "I do feel it myself, that something is just…off. I will take extra precautions to be safe."
"That is all I ask."
Zuko lingered over their very late breakfast, almost wishing he could avoid the coming confrontation. Eventually, however, he gathered himself and bid his adopted father goodbye. "I'll be back soon." He stated confidently as he strode out the door of the inn.
The moment he stepped outside he realized something was very wrong. The atmosphere was strange and the sun's warmth seemed…cooler somehow. As he made his way towards the palace the feeling grew, and his internal fire felt strangely cool; as if someone had partially snuffed it out. He shivered and continued on, undeterred.
Choosing a back way into the palace he maneuvered his way through the gardens, past the turtle duck pond of his childhood. He only spared it a moments glance for the memories it held; his attention was on the fire inside him, how it was rapidly waning, and how the sun seemed to be..dimming. Suddenly, his inner flame almost completely flickered out.
He felt weak and vulnerable, cold. Looking around him he realized it wasn't just him. The entire atmosphere of the garden was cool and dim, as if twilight had settled over the area...twilight during high noon! Crickethoppers chirped and sang their evening songs all around him.
Finally, his mind caught up with him. Eclipse. The scholars had taught him about the Day of the Black Sun, and he had forgotten. He had chosen this day, of all days, to meet the Firelord in his own house. How incredibly ironic.
Even this wasn't enough to dissuade Zuko from his path, and he continued resolutely into the palace. Now that he knew it was an eclipse, he knew where Ozai would be hiding, waiting for his power to return. He wasted no time in making his way there, and upon arriving, easily fought his way through the guards and threw open the doors to the room. There, seated upon a throne in the center of a large dais, was Firelord Ozai, the man who had sired him.
"Of all the people I might have expected to see today, my errant son was not one of them." Ozai began. "Especially looking so…healthy."
A/N: Uh oh, what's he going to do now? Until next time! :D
PS: Fun fact, an actual total solar eclipse is exactly as Zuko experiences in this chapter. I was at 'ground zero' so to speak during the total solar eclipse event on August 21, 2017. The actual eclipse lasted over two and a half minutes and was a bizarre yet incredible experience.