"No, please, don't bow to me, please."
Evera stands up with her shaking knees, her eyes darting from councilmember to councilmember as they keep their heads to the floor.
"You are the Avatar, child," Secretary Hilan pipes up, "And you've been missing from the world for quite a long time."
"Where I come from, we only kneel to the Spirits, so please, this is uncalled for."
"Evera dear," Chairman Bolin glances up, a calming sympathy in his emerald eyes, "You are a Spirit. At least, a Spirit Bridge. The Spirit Bridge. I know it must feel overwhelming. And... maybe confusing. But don't worry. We want to help you."
"How are you sure that it's me?" The council members finally rise from the floor and stand in reverence around her. Tuvo grins behind his thick beard.
"Well. I could have just written off what you did to my tea as some freak accident. Sometimes I get a little too caught up in the work and my tea goes cold. But never that cold." He laughs at the thought, "But, while you were in the office, your Ring photos automatically uploaded to my classified secure cloud storage. Remember after your last mission, when you uploaded them that way? Your Ring must have the auto setting still tied to my cloud."
He reaches behind him for his laptop, opening its lid to reveal a series of images. There was Evera, eyes glowing, braided hair flowing in the wind, a half-dozen peaches flying all around her. Her Ring cam must have went off while she was in the encampment.
Strange... was her camera taking photos when she wasn't looking?
"I didn't do that on purpose, just so you know," Evera says defensively, "I actually don't know what was happening to me. It was like something else was controlling me." Her eyes fall on Guru Jinora. She does not speak; her face only beams with a blissful grin.
"That 'something else' is the Avatar State." Chairman Bolin says matter-of-factly, "It's something only the Avatar can do, when you tap into your Avatar Spirit and your past lives, using all of their power and knowledge."
"It's a defense mechanism, actually," Tuvo joins in, "The Avatar Spirit is reincarnated. The past Avatars; their experience and skills live on in you. So the Avatar State can be very powerful."
"Powerful?" Evera asks, "It felt terrifying. I didn't tap into it, it tapped into me."
"So you're sayin', you didn't know about this until the other day?" President Franko finally speaks, his thick accent echoing in the room. Sometimes he sounds more like the owner of a Lower Ring pizza shop than a President. "We were wondering how long you knew."
"No. I had no idea, I swear," Evera pleads, "It all started while I was on the mission in the desert. I thought I was just feeling sick or something."
"I certainly hope you didn't know," Hilan says, a tinge of arrogance in her voice, "Imagine, hiding such a thing from this Council."
"I swear. I didn't even mean to do that to your tea, Tuvo, it just kind of happened." Evera darts her eyes back to Hilan. "But honestly though, isn't it kind of no one's business but my own?" Tuvo strokes at his beard in thought.
"It's alright, Evera. We understand." The President's voice diffuses the room. "And the members of this Council have decided that it's actually in the City's best interest to keep this a secret. If the Si Wong Rebels, or any other bad guys for that matter, find out who you are, it'll draw a lot of unwanted attention, ya know? They might up their attacks on the City."
"That's right," Chairman Bolin nods knowingly. "And, we think you should begin your Avatar training, immediately."
"Immediately?" Evera asks, "But what about my missions? What about my post with the Dai Li?"
"There are bigger things at stake here, dear child," Hilan says softly, "You will be resigning. The Avatar's duty is to the world. The Dai Li will be fine without you."
They can't be serious, Evera thinks. Her eyes fall sullen, glancing back over to Tuvo.
"Tuvo, you can't possibly agree with this?" His eyes now dart to the floor with lament.
"Well. Actually, I don't. At all." Tuvo's voice rings with blunt honesty. "But it's not up to me, as much as I wish it were. You're the best agent I have, Evera, my most trustworthy. And, quite frankly, being the Avatar, it means-
"It means stepping up and being brave, my child." Hilan interrupts, "Every Avatar has answered their call to duty. This is your destiny."
Evera tries to hide her contempt.
"With all due respect, Ma'am," she says, masking the grit in her voice, "my destiny is up to me. And me alone."
She looks over the group again solemnly where they stand in the royal chamber, feeling frozen like an unfinished sculpture on the marble stage. Kneading her silk Dai Li robe sleeves between her fingers, they catch delicately on her calloused hands; the hands that had worked so hard to make it here, to become the Dai Li agent she always wished to be.
"I have great respect for all of you. But please, just hear me out," Evera begins, "This is all just... a lot to handle for me right now. But I know that I don't want to resign from the Dai Li. I have worked much to hard to earn this uniform, and I love protecting Ba Sing Se. I love going on these missions and I love serving my nation."
She can feel the palace lights shining down on her sunkissed face, catching eyes with each member of the Council as she continues. It was strange, having the full attention of such high-ranking, important people. Though some Avatars reveled in their fame, Evera still finds herself wanting to just blend right into the walls.
"I want this to stay a secret too, so I'm glad we're on the same page there. But can't I just stay on the force and stay...undercover?"
Tuvo's eyes light up at this word. A smile crosses his face.
"Undercover!" Tuvo says it again, trailing his thoughts out loud, "If Evera stays with the Dai Li, and continues on her missions, she could become the greatest, most resourceful undercover Agent that the force has ever seen."
"How do you mean?" The President asks slowly. Tuvo begins pacing around the room.
"Imagine it, Evera." He says to her, "You go undercover to the Fire Nation, as an actual Fire Bender. You'd blend right in!"
Evera smiles, slowly at first, at the thought of this. "That's right. If I learn all the elements, I could blend in anywhere in the world."
For the first time, Evera feels a sliver of hope in all this serious Avatar talk. She looks back to the rest of the group.
"I don't know," The Secretary places a hand on her hip, "Won't working for the Dai Li just be a huge distraction?"
"I think it's a great idea, at least worth considering," Chairman Bolin smiles in approval. "I can even help you finish off your Earthbending training, just in case Tuvo missed something in your super secret agent bootcamp. Korra and I did our fair share of sparring back in the day on the Fire Ferrets." He lifts his arms up and around his head to nonchalantly stretch out his still-impressive old man biceps. CRACK! The Chairman makes a twisted face and reaches for his shoulder. "Ooof. I guess it's been awhile."
Tuvo chuckles.
"Don't worry, Chairman," He boasts, glancing back at Evera. "I'll make sure of it, but I think Evera has Earthbending locked down. You've come a long way from being that freshman from the Desert."
"What about the other elements?" The President thinks aloud.
Evera nods confidently.
"My roommate Song said she'd teach me Waterbending."
"You must master Firebending first." Secretary Hilan says, "I just think we should do this the traditional way and send you to the Fire Nation where you can focus."
Evera sighs. She again catches eyes with Guru Jinora, who is still standing silently, her warm, nearly stupid smile still plastered across her face.
"Guru Jinora," Evera says softly to her, "I know you knew Avatar Korra too. She is a stranger to me. But don't you think I should have a say in what happens here?"
Their eyes meet in a new silence. The Guru takes a few gentle steps forward, her elegant robes gathering in a train along her ankles, moving like drifting mountain clouds over the marble flooring. She pulls away her hood to reveal her completely shaved head, her master arrow tattoo now in full display to the room. It curves down at the nape of her elegant neck and disappears under her robe like a carved wooded trailhead vanishing into Hei Bai's forest. Her smile never fades.
She outstretches her arms, wrapping them around Evera securely, embracing her into a sweet, long-lasting hug.
"Oh, I've missed you," Guru Jinora whispers, "But I knew you weren't really gone."
Evera, at first a tad stunned, lifts her own arms to hug her back. The Airbender's presence certainly feels familiar to her, too.
Guru Jinora finally pulls away from the hug and takes Evera's hands.
"I think you should decide what is best for yourself." She turns to the rest of the Council. "This is a new situation. The Avatar is not a child, like my Grandfather Aang was when he started his training, or a young teenager like my dear friend Korra was." She turns back to Evera. "You are grown. You've made a life here that you should be proud of. There's no good reason to take you away from that."
Evera smiles with relief at the Guru, her indigo-grey eyes looking more and more familiar by the second. She nods in agreement.
"I do think it's quite odd that you didn't have the power to bend any other element until now." The President remarks, "Usually an Avatar begins training when they're around 16."
"I thought I could only do Sandbending until a few years ago. I didn't even try any other forms of Earthbending until I moved to the city." She thinks on this, and some memories of her Father echo in her head. He had instructed her in Sandbending, from a very young age. "Well, it was more like, I thought I was only allowed to be a Sandbender. My tribe considered everything else... forbidden."
"We searched for so long after Korra passed," Guru Jinora says, her voice trailing on the memories of those scary days, "But your tribe must have eluded us. And if you really were that isolated, your Avatar Spirit must have been very repressed. And now, it's fighting to come out. It could get very dangerous for you and for others if you don't learn about how to control it. But this is your path."
Jinora makes her way back to the other Council members and turns to face her again.
"So. What do you want to do, Avatar Evera?"
Evera's eyes fall back on her hands again. She can't help but feel a little appalled at herself; She recalls her time spent at the Si Wong shrines with her tribe, where the Priests would call upon the Sandbender youth, and tell them over and over that their bodies are the "holy temples of the sand."
She didn't feel very holy anymore. But she didn't feel like a sinner, either. And she certainly didn't feel like a monster any longer.
Her entire life, she was taught that the sand was the most pure of all the elements. The memories of her departing from her Tribe come rushing back; the uncertainty, the longing for her family and familiarity; but she never felt any fear. Or any regret, even as she learned the so-called "sacrilege" soil-born Earthbending.
It all feels so silly now. Because now, she thinks, she has to learn all of the other elements. She has to become that once-fearsome Firebender, a graceful Waterbender, an elusive Airbender. It goes so much further than the sand, she thinks... and in this moment, the desert has never felt so small. Because she is the Avatar.
She is the Avatar. She is the Avatar!
"I will learn how to control this Avatar State," Evera states firmly, "I will learn, and master, the other elements. But I will not resign from the Dai Li, absolutely not. I can start my training and use what I learn on the undercover force to continue serving my Nation."
"It is not about this Nation," Secretary Hilan says, "It's about restoring balance to the world."
"You are right." Evera retorts, "but Ba Sing Se is the biggest city in the world. People from every Nation come here, start families here. Benders of all elements are born here, and are even allowed to join the Dai Li. If my work on the force can help me learn and use the other elements, and help me understand the bigger problems facing this world, then I know it can help forge my path as...the Avatar."
They all nod in agreement with her, except Hilan. She crosses her arms defiantly.
"I guess we could have a trial period, where you remain on the Dai Li," Bolin says, stroking at his chin, "So long as the work doesn't interfere with your teachings. And that you really do begin learning all of the elements, as soon as possible."
Evera smiles at him before looking over the rest of the Council with a nod.
"It's settled then." Tuvo says, walking up to Evera to place his hand on her shoulder. "We will keep your secret while you train. We can help look for a Firebending teacher for you over the next few weeks, perhaps someone from the Royal Palace can make a trip. Remember, if you're still Dai Li, you still report to me. But I know that you will make an amazing Avatar."
She smiles at him, proudly.
"Thank you, my friend." They lock arms in a traditional handshake grip.
"In the meantime, I guess I can still give you the new travel assignment I had lined up for you. It's a quick document handoff." Tuvo stands up broader, remembering that he's still the Avatar's boss. "We got the lead after something strange has happened at the Ba Sing Se University Library, and we believe it has something to do with the Rebels. I want to brief you on it before you leave."
"Sounds like a plan. Where am I headed for the assignment?"
"Let's just say, you might be able to use some of those waterbending skills you used on my tea." Tuvo turns to Chairman Bolin. "Unless the Chairman has anything else, I believe this meeting can be adjourned."
Nodding, the Chairman turns back to his seat at the half-moon table and grounds his stance. With a quick powerlift of his arm, a small granite gavel hammer whimsically lifts into the air above the table. With a double tapping motion of his wrist, the gavel hits the table decisively with a hearty "KNOCK-KNOCK."
As the group turns to collect their belongings, Secretary Hilan approaches Evera alone. Her voice hushes into a whisper.
"It sure is good to know the Avatar really was born to the Earth Nation, even if you are a transplant to the city," She says, careful to note that they are indeed alone on the marble floor now. "I was just wondering. Have you had any connections with Avatar Korra? Anything, perhaps signs from the Spirits, or maybe any visions? Has she come to speak with you at all?"
Evera nervously holds her breath, noting the serious tone in her voice.
"No. I haven't connected with her at all. I don't really know anything about her." Evera says it convincingly enough. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason. Just curious. I'm just wondering if she's made herself known. She was loud, like that. You know how quite savage Water Tribe folk can be." She begins to step away. "Be sure to tell me if you do, my child." She watches her walk away back up to her seat, her famous old grimace crossing back over her wrinkled face.
Guru Jinora, her glider staff gripping in her hand like a walking stick, approaches Evera again onto the floor. She bows in deep respect to the newfound Avatar.
"It has been such a pleasure, young Avatar. I'll be staying in the city for the next few days, so please don't be a stranger. Come to me if you have any questions about anything" The Guru turns about, noting Hilan heading back up the white carpet towards the exit. Her voice falls to a sweet whisper. "Or anyone."