Chapter 13: The Path of Envy
Talos soared through the late afternoon skies, alone with his thoughts as questions about recent events plagued his mind.
"Why would my father be a part of The Red Lotus?" Talos thought to himself, clenching his fist as he thought about it.
"Is that why he told me I was The Avatar? To make me join those people?" Talos continued thinking to himself, gritting his teeth at the thought of Unalaq.
"And what does that mean for Claire? Could he have already got to her?" Talos became concerned for Claire, despite his envy.
"Claire... You being the Avatar shattered my pride and broke my spirit... and although your existence is something I loathe... I'll be damned if I allow that snake to do anything to you!" Talos proclaimed, as Republic City came into view: The Grand Metropolis taking the Water-bender's breath away, but his empty stomach quickly tarnished the amazement.
"I... should've packed some supplies whilst at the South Pole..." Talos told himself as he gripped his stomach, looking back to Republic City.
"Perhaps there's a place to eat down there," Talos wheezily spoke, spying the Derelict Estate and beginning his descent towards it.
Talos stopped on the shores of the Derelict Estate, allowing the boat of the airship to float on the water before exiting the airship, but as he did an odd sound of sliding metal came from within the houses, making Talos immediately duck down as he crept around the house it came from, hearing the sliding metal sound happened again, followed by a man grunting as if pulling something heavy.
Talos stuck to the shadows as he slowly ventured near the front of the house, seeing a man with black unkempt hair and a leather pouch slung around his shoulder, but Talos couldn't see his face.
"Why am I sneaking around like some kind of thief?" Talos thought to himself as he stood up straight, seeing that the man had ventured far away from the house, but he had piqued Talos' curiosity: He wanted to know where he came from.
The feckless Water-bender walked around to the front door, creeping in, discovering no one inside as he observed the drag marks on the ground, looking at the Pallet which created them.
"This must be what that man moved..." Talos told himself as he began pushing the pallet aside to reveal a large metal door.
Talos wondrously looked at it, pressing his hand to the metal before spying a button to his side, instinctively pressing on it to see what would happen, causing the metal door to slide open before his eyes, but seeing the tiny room before him made the water-bender sceptical.
"Why does this just lead to a small room? Surely he's not just some... mad man in a box..." Talos asked himself as he stepped inside, but as he heard the metal door close behind him, his anxiety jumped through the roof.
"This room was a trap!" Talos thought to himself as the room suddenly descended, his stomach jumping up into his rib-cage as he dropped to his knees.
"What's happening to me!?" Talos asked himself as he panicked further, but the door reopened, revealing Kang's lab to Talos, his eyes widening upon seeing the inventions.
"It's as if this thing has transported me several hundred years into the future..." Talos told himself as he cautiously entered the room, observing the inventions as the futuristic ambience and fire pickled scent of the room set in.
Talos stood before Kang's workbench, looking at the schematics on the table with curious wonder.
"Capturer of Moments?" Talos curiously spoke as he observed a schematic which showed a small square-shaped device with a lens and a slim entry or exit point. Talos picked up another schematic.
"Fire Fuel Mk Seven Hundred and Sixty-One!?" Talos spoke aloud as he observed the schematic which showed a metal canister with a rod within it. He placed the schematics down as he turned his attention to another.
"Bending Prosthetic Mk nine?" Talos spoke as he observed the schematic, showing what appeared to be an ordinary prosthetic arm, and as Talos looked around, he noticed a part of the wall which seemed elevated off of the actual wall, then saw a button to his side, hesitantly reaching out to press it.
But as he pressed the button, the raised part of the wall slid out revealing eight prosthetic arms, one which caught Talos' attention greatly.
But as he reached out for it, he could hear the faint sound of footsteps in the distance, panicking and immediately ducking under the desk as a different door on the far side of the room opened up.
Talos could hear a woman humming a tune to herself, and all he could see were her Black slops and Dark Green boots, the water-bender struggled to maintain a steady breath as he tried to remain quiet, hearing the woman stop her humming and appearing to be facing the workbench, causing Talos to break out into a nervous sweat.
"She's found me, hasn't she!?" Talos thought until he heard the woman speak.
"Kang left the cabinet open? That's not like him..." The woman spoke as Talos became more unnerved, considering giving himself up, but the woman let out a dismissive sigh.
"I guess there's a first time for anything," The woman said aloud as she closed the cabinet of prosthetics, slowly walking away and into the small room, ascending up to higher ground.
Talos breathed a sigh of relief as he climbed out, standing back up and reopening the cabinet, looking towards the Prosthetic with a blade attachment. The blade was akin to a Scythe, its Silvery blade was sharper than any weapon Talos had come across before, and the arm attachment was a solid black with a shiny metal ring around the edge which would attach to the stump. Talos grasped the Blade Prosthetic and a leather scabbard which hung behind it, containing the schematics and notes for the Blade Prosthetic. the eager water-bender unfolded the notes to read.
"Blade-Bending Prototype: I've seen people bend with their arms, their hands, their legs and feet, even their mouths! But I've never seen bending done with a Blade. This is partly for fun to see if it's possible to bend with a blade as well as partly for progress to see how well the user's natural chi-paths would interact with artificial chi-paths," Talos read aloud, looking to the Blade Prosthetic with curious wonder.
"I'll look... very suspicious if I'm seen wearing this..." Talos told himself, covering the blade with the leather scabbard then placing it within his sack of supplies along with the schematics and notes, quickly evacuating the room the way he came in, ascending back up to the Derelict Estate.
The metal door opened before Talos, only for him to find the Pallet blocking his way, but he lifted it with his right hand and move it aside, sliding out and then repositioning it back into its original spot. Talos observed his surroundings to ensure no one waited for him, and upon seeing that the coast was clear, Talos ran out into the Derelict Estate and into the streets of Republic City.
The Sun hovered over the Horizon as Talos walked through the streets, looking at stalls whilst he gripped his stomach, and as his head hung low, he bumped into a goggled man, causing the water-bender to stumble to his knees from fatigue and hunger.
"Oh, are you alright?" the goggled man asked as he supported Talos back up. The water-bender looked at the goggled man, his vision hazy and his breath bated.
"I'm... fine, just famished is all," Talos nonchalantly replied, intending to go on his way.
"If you're short on money, here!" the goggled man told him as he gave Talos a sack of gold piece, perplexing the water-bender as he held the sack of gold.
"Why would you give me this? You don't even know me?" Talos curiously asked, but the goggled man shrugged.
"I enjoy helping! If you're looking for a good place to eat, I'd recommend Piando's Bakery or exploring around Little Ba Sing Se! You can't miss 'em," the goggled man recommended as he began walking away.
"See you around, possibly!" the goggled man waved back to Talos as he left, leaving him confused but thankful.
"Strange man... but he was kind," Talos told himself as he bounced the sack in his hand before putting it in with his other supplies.
Talos ventured around town, spying a replica of the rings of Ba Sing Se in the distance, smirking to himself as he ventured towards it.
"This must be the... little Ba Sing Se that man mentioned," Talos thought as he entered the lower ring, venturing around the food stalls and gathering a miniature buffet from multiple stalls, wolfing it down with reckless abandon, filling himself up once more as he ventured into the middle ring, spying an open store.
"I wonder what they have for sale..." Talos asked himself as he walked over to the store, venturing inside to see cosmetics, wigs, coloured contact lenses, and small trinkets. The smell of incense burnt in the air as a short and stout shopkeeper with a partially bald head and tiny moustache rushed out and approached Talos.
"Welcome, customer!" "I hope..." The shopkeeper enthusiastically greeted him as he quickly thought to himself.
"Hello... Can I ask what all this stuff is?" Talos asked as he looked around at their products.
"Here we sell products that people can use to dress up as someone else!" The shopkeeper explained.
"Dress as someone else? Why would anyone want to do that?" Talos sceptically asked.
"Well, for fancy dress parties and stuff. Some people often like to dress up as Avatars, so my brother had this idea of creating Avatar figurines!" The shopkeeper explained as he raced behind the counter-top, pulling out figurines of Avatar Yangchen, Kuruk, Kyoshi, Roku, and Aang.
"We've got five Avatars made so far with a sixth on the way!" The shopkeeper told him as Talos gazed at the wooden figurines.
"Who's the sixth Avatar you're going to make? Avatar Szeto by any chance?" Talos asked, but the shopkeeper shook his head.
"Nah, we're struggling to find a good picture of him to get his design down, so we're making one of the new Avatar!" The shop owner replied as he pulled out a colourless wooden figurine of Claire.
"Thinking about it, I could ask that Avatar what he looks like," The Shopkeeper mumbled whilst Talos' heart skipped a beat, his nerves tensing as he gazed at the incomplete figurine.
"Claire has her own figurine!?" Talos exclaimed as he gritted his teeth.
"Yeah, she killed a guy called Amon who was trying to overthrow the City... although half the city doesn't even remember," The shopkeeper explained as he looked over the figurine.
"Claire killed someone? That's... quite out of character," Talos replied as he placed his hand to his chin whilst the shopkeeper nodded his head.
"Yeah, she didn't kill him when she first had the chance, so her doing it is... suspicious," the shopkeeper replied whilst Talos theorised to himself.
"That and some witnesses say they saw bolts of lightning shooting out from city hall, and some goggle-wearing Fire-bender used lightning against Amon the night Republic City fell to his hands," The shopkeeper added, interlocking his fingers as he gazed to Talos.
"Lightning Generation... impossible, there's no way Claire knows how to do that!" Talos adamantly replied as the shopkeeper slapped his hands in approval.
"Exactly what I thought! But the Governors are adamant that 'The Avatar slew Amon and saved the City', and hey, if my brother and I can make a profit off her 'success', I'm not going to complain," The shopkeeper nonchalantly replied as Talos lightly scoffed, turning his head to the cosmetics, a plan taking root in his mind.
"Tell me how much for that brown hairpiece and these... blue things?" Talos asked as he picked up a set of blue colour contacts.
"Three gold pieces!" The shopkeeper replied as he placed the Avatar Figurines back on their shelf.
Talos pulled out the sack, seeing four gold pieces left, taking out three and placing them down on the counter.
"How do these blue..." Talos spoke as he looked at the box, "'Coloured contacts' work?" Talos finished as the shopkeeper pulled out a display box, flipping it open as he withdrew the contacts.
"Open the container, put them on the tip of your finger and gently put it on the iris of your eye!" The shopkeeper explained as he put a red colour contact onto his iris, his eye now appearing red, making Talos smirk as he put the wig and contacts in his sack.
"Thank you!" Talos replied with a bow before taking his leave, making his way back to his airship.
Talos walked through the Derelict Estate, but as he did, the water-bender spotted two figures standing by his Ship: one Giant and Burly, the other Short and Skinny.
"Do you think this is one of Kang's inventions?" the Giant asked as he gestured to the airship.
"Hmm... no, Kang wouldn't leave an air-" the Short man's eye twitched as he spoke.
"Kang wouldn't go leaving one of his inventions out in the open!" the shot man replied, his personality changing as Talos raised an eyebrow to the two, clearing his throat to grasp their attention.
"That is my Airship. Or at least one lent to me by the Southern Water Tribe," Talos told them as he approached whilst the two sceptically looked to each other.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" the short man asked as he perked over to Talos, pointing his finger at him.
"What reason would I have to lie? Now stand aside! I need to get going," Talos dismissively replied as he brushed the short man aside, but he took offence to Talos' actions, bending the air around Talos, pulling him back and throwing him to the ground.
"Kaz!" the Giant shouted as Talos leapt back up, his hair ruffled as he glared at Kaz.
"Not another one!" Talos shouted as he gritted his teeth, but before Kaz could make another move, the giant embedded him in the earth, and Kaz shuffled around to the Giant, glaring at him.
"What have we talked about, Kaz?" the giant asked as he disapprovingly looked at him.
"Be nice to strangers..." Kaz begrudgingly replied.
"Correct," the Giant replied, turning his attention to Talos.
"I apologise for my friend's outburst. This side of him is a bit hotheaded," the Giant explained as Talos quickly rushed over to his airship, hopping inside it and preparing to ascend.
"Well, thank you for restraining him, farewell now!" Talos swiftly replied as he ascended to the skies. The Giant removed the earth from around Kaz as the short man shook the dirt from his vest.
"Hey, what do you think he meant by 'Not another one'?" Kaz curiously asked as the Giant's fluffy eyebrows perked up.
"Hmm... we probably should've asked..." the Giant replied, both looking to each other and shrugging before turning around to head home.
Talos soared through the night skies of the northern Earth Kingdom and into the frozen lands of the North Pole, seeing Unalaq's fortress in the distance, snarling at it as he saw it, but as he did, a realisation came to him.
"The Spirit Oasis..." Talos thought as he glided over Unalaq's fortress, descending onto the roof and deftly leaping down into the Spirit Oasis.
Talos took in the area's warmth, deeply breathing before walking to the two Koi fish within the oasis, standing before them and bowing.
"Tui, Spirit of the Moon. La, Spirit of the Ocean. I request that you open the way into the Spirit World!" Talos formally requested as a moment of silence came over the oasis before a light blinked from the bottom of the oasis. The water glowed with radiant spirit energy as Talos jerked back.
"So... the rumours were right: The Spirit Oasis is a way into the Spirit World!" Talos told himself before he dived into the oasis.
He swam towards the light, spotting a Spirit Portal at the bottom, reaching out his hand and pressing his palm to the portal as a light engulfed his body.
Talos reappeared inside the Nexus, catching his breath as he sat at the side of the Spirit Portal, before standing up straight, gazing around at The Nexus.
"The Spirit World is... different from what I expected..." Talos told himself as he strode around the hollow tree, stepping atop another Spirit Portal, a light engulfing him as it shined bright beneath him, causing Talos to fall through the Portal and reappear near a large island by a Cliff-side.
"What happened!?" Talos exclaimed as he looked around, seeing the large island, the sun over the horizon and the calm waters below.
"Could this... be the Spirit World?" Talos asked himself as he looked around, walking away from the portal and out into the vibrant fields, seeing Spirit Animals gleefully running around the field whilst he stared with curious wonder, whereas the Spirits fearfully looked back at him, inaudible chatter surrounding the area as Talos ventured through the field.
Talos travelled for hours before finding a tea house, raising an eyebrow at its presence.
"What's a tea house doing in the Spirit World of all places...?" Talos asked to himself as he approached the tea house, sneaking around to the entrance. No door stood in his way, so Talos knocked on the doorway.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Talos asked as he inched into the small and cosy tea-house, a door opening before him. Talos raised his fist to the oncoming presence, but to the Water-Bender's surprise, he did not see an animal spirit, but a human, dropping his defensive stance as the old man approached him.
"Oh... another human," Talos commented, standing up straight as the tea maker smiled at him.
"More or less," the tea maker replied with a smile as he walked over to his teapot.
"Can I ask, who are you?" Talos curiously asked.
"My name is Iroh, and I run this Tea shop!" the tea maker happily replied as he made several cups of tea, taking them outside to spirits who had gathered around the tea house.
Talos looked out of the doorway, flinching upon seeing so many spirits as Iroh turned around to see Talos peaking out behind the doorway.
"There's no need to be frightened, the Spirits won't harm you!" Iroh reassured Talos as he inched out from the tea house, catching the attention of the Spirits.
"Hello... everyone," Talos greeted the spirits as they looked at him for a moment before returning their attention to their tea, and after Iroh had finished dishing out the tea, he walked back over to Talos.
"So, what brings you here... and physically!?" Iroh asked as he exclaimed at Talos' physical presence in the Spirit World.
"I'm here in search of... ancient bending techniques, and possibly some teachings on Air-Bending," Talos explained as Iroh's eyes widened. The two walked back into the tea house, away from prying ears.
"I know where you can find what you search for, but I will need to accompany you!" Iroh adamantly informed him as Talos raised a sceptical eyebrow at Iroh's comment.
"Why?" Talos curiously asked.
"The Knowledge Spirit does not enjoy the presence of humans, but I have a good relationship with him. So I may be able to convince him to make an exception!" Iroh heartily explained.
"I would be grateful if you took me to this Knowledge Spirit!" Talos replied with a bow as Iroh smiled and proceeded out of the Tea House, looking to a Gorilla-Bear Spirit drinking his tea.
"Xiong, I'm going away for a while. Can you look after the Tea house?" Iroh asked.
"Sure!" Xiong replied with a happy nod as Iroh and Talos ventured over to the nearby Spirit Portal.
The Light engulfed Iroh and Talos, transporting them to The Nexus. Iroh casually strolled across to a Spirit Portal whilst Talos observed his surroundings.
"What is this place?" Talos curiously muttered as he walked towards Iroh.
"This is The Nexus. Some spirits call it 'The Bridge Between Worlds'," Iroh informed him as Talos slanted his eyes.
"I thought the Avatar was 'The Bridge Between Worlds'?" Talos asked as he stepped atop a different Spirit Portal.
"The Avatar is the Metaphorical Bridge, this is the Literal Bridge!" Iroh explained as he gestured to their surroundings, but before Talos could utter another word, the light engulfed them once more, transporting them to the outside of Wan Shi Tong's Library, the grand structure ominously looming over them.
Iroh walked towards the library with Talos cautiously following behind. The two reached the gates of the Library, gently swinging them open as Talos marvelled at the interior, seeing books and scrolls as far as the eye could see, but a giant black Owl, Wan Shi Tong, swiftly averted his vision.
"I do not allow humans to enter my libr-" Wan Shi Tong spoke as he turned his head to Iroh.
"Oh, Iroh. What brings you here? And with a human?" Wan Shi Tong curiously asked him.
"This young man wishes to learn of Ancient Bending techniques, I believe he's worthy to gain access," Iroh explained as Wan Shi Tong looked Talos up and down.
"Does he have any knowledge with him to donate?" Wan Shi Tong sceptically asked as Talos froze, wincing at Wan Shi Tong's piercing gaze before he remembered the Blade Arm.
"I do!" Talos confidently replied as he gently dropped his sack of supplies in front of him, rummaging through and pulling out the Schematics and notes for the Blade Arm, handing them to Wan Shi Tong.
"Are Schematics and Notes about a Prosthetic Blade Arm suitable?" Talos asked with a confident smirk, but Wan Shi Tong remained silent, brushing his wing along the schematics and notes.
"This is unique. A Fine addition!" Wan Shi Tong happily replied.
"Enjoy your time at the library, Human," Wan Shi Tong added before descending into the abyss, but Iroh gazed to Talos with a curious glare.
"Where did you get something like that?" Iroh asked as Talos froze.
"I, uh... found them. A scientist died on a roadside and I found these schematics and notes during my adventures," Talos lied, trying to keep up his confidence as Iroh slanted his gaze, brushing off the subject.
Iroh guided Talos to the area regarding Ancient Bending techniques. Showing him the vast array of tomes and scrolls, the water-bender gawking in awe as he quickly began sifting through them whilst Iroh peacefully sorted through a catalogue of tomes. Talos found a peculiar-looking scroll, opening it up and beginning to read.
"Spirit-bending, an art separate to the four elements in which the user can bend and bind Spirits to their will. The first known Spirit-Bender was Avatar Shen-Chao. The user can bind multiple Spirits, and once bound the user must give them a command," Talos read in his head, studying the forms before glancing over to a knowledge-seeking fox, then over to Iroh.
Talos outstretched his hand towards the Fox, replicating the movements on the scrolls as a slender tendril outstretched from his hand, linking the minds of the Fox Spirit and Talos.
"Bring me whatever Wan Shi Tong has on the Avatar Spirit!" Talos transmitted his command with a malicious smile, retracting the tendril as the Fox Spirit walked away, its gaze distant as it proceeded deep into the library, but Iroh turned his unsure gaze to Talos.
"What did you just do?" Iroh demanded to know as Talos froze.
"Oh, I just saw the fox and wanted to pet it, sadly it wasn't up for it!" Talos lied as Iroh's gaze turned every more untrusting, returning to his tomes as Talos continued searching whilst he waited for the knowledge seeker to return. Talos pulled another scroll from the shelf, gently unravelling it.
"Flesh manipulation. A skill of blood-bending which allows the user to manipulate their flesh or that of their enemies. Its primary use is to mutilate an enemy's flesh, or manipulate your own..!" Talos read within his mind, sewing a devilish plan into his mind as a look of malice came over him.
Whilst Talos continued reading through ancient tomes and aged scrolls, the knowledge seeker returned with a ragged leather-bound book, handing it to Talos before turning away. Talos flicked open the book, gleefully reading through it.
"The Spirit of the Avatar is not one, but two spirits. The Spirit of Order: Vaatu. And The Spirit of Chaos: Raava. These spirits carry out my wish to continue on as an Arbiter of Balance, passing my soul and the souls of other Avatars onto the next. A never-ending cycle," Talos read in his head, seeing depictions of the two spirits in grand detail.
"The Spirit Portals of the world are peculiar things. Five exist within each world, one in each nation and one deep beneath whale-tail island, why the southern world has two spirit portals and not one is beyond me. Perhaps the Primordial Lion turtles just like things in fives," Talos continued reading, but before he could continue further Wan Shi Tong swooped in, swiping the book from Talos' grasp.
"Where did you get this!?" Wan Shi Tong demanded, his wings spread and poised to strike.
"That book was on the shelf, just here!" Talos told him as he gestured to an empty spot on the shelf, whilst Iroh looked to Wan Shi Tong and Talos, staying out of the conflict.
"This tome should be in my private collection!" Wan Shi Tong replied, making Talos quickly think of an excuse.
"Perhaps one of your Fox Spirits misplaced it, I humbly apologise for looking in the book!" Talos replied, bowing to Wan Shi Tong as the great owl thought to himself.
"Maybe you are correct... I will let you off, but just this once. If you find anything else from my private collection: avert your gaze and give it to Iroh," Wan Shi Tong commanded.
"How will I know if it's from your private collection?" Talos asked as he crossed his arms.
"If you read from a book or a scroll and think 'Hmm, I'd have this in a Private Collection' assume I would too," Wan Shi Tong sarcastically replied as he left, Talos scoffing at the Owl as he departed with the book. Talos curiously looked to the Spirit-Bending scroll, unravelling it once more.
"Spirit-Bending can also be used to rip out Spirits which have merged with humans by cleaving through their seven chakras..." Talos read to himself, smirking as he thought.
"It's all coming together! I shall rectify the universe's errors in due time..." Talos thought to himself, placing the blood-bending and spirit-bending scrolls down on a small footstool.
"Iroh, I think I'm ready to leave!" Talos called over to him.
The two departed for the gates, but as they crossed into the junction of the bridges, Talos glanced over to what he thought was another human, running over to them only to find a rotted skeleton, his heart skipping a beat as dread washed over him.
"What in the world!?" Talos exclaimed as he leapt back, catching Iroh's attention as he walked over to Talos.
"I believe that was a professor from Ba Sing Se... he came here with Aang and his friends. Whether Wan Shi Tong allowed him to live is a question we shouldn't ask," Iroh explained as Talos caught his breath, standing up straight and backing away from the skeleton.
The two exited the Library, venturing over to the Spirit Portal as the light engulfed them, transporting them to The Nexus.
"Might I give you some advice before you return to the mortal world?" Iroh curiously requested as the two stood next to a spirit portal.
"Go on," Talos indulged him as Iroh adamantly gazed at him.
"Lying to a knowledge spirit is inadvisable. Although you convinced Wan shi Tong, you didn't convince me. I know you made that Fox spirit retrieve the book... I don't know how, but please do not do something so shameful again," Iroh replied as Talos lightly scoffed.
"Point taken, Iroh," Talos dismissively replied as the two stepped atop the Spirit Portal, a light engulfing them once more and transporting them to the outskirts of Iroh's tea shop.
"IROH!" Xiong's voice bellowed in the distance, Iroh's eyes widening as he ran towards the tea house, but Talos remained by the spirit portal, slanting his gaze as he watched Iroh leave.
Talos pulled his sack of supplies out in front of him, a devilish smile creeping over his face.
"It's time..." Talos told himself as he pulled the Blade Arm from his supplies, grafting it onto his left stump, leaving his supply sack by the portal.
Iroh's tea house had seen a burst of popularity since his departure, hundreds of spirits crowding around as Xiong and Iroh desperately tried to get them all served.
"Talos! We could use a-" Iroh called over as he noticed Talos strutting towards the crowd of spirits, the silver sheen of the blade glistening in the sunlight.
Talos flexed his right arm as he approached, an uncontrollable grin encroaching over his face as his hand glowed with a malicious light, striking it out towards the horde of spirits, multiple tendrils linking Talos to them as they all blankly gazed into the distance, leaving only Iroh unaffected.
"SPIRITS! BRING ME THE AVATAR! BRING ME THE WHITE HAIRED WOMAN KNOWN AS CLAIRE!" Talos demanded as a dark aura shot along the tendrils, infecting the spirits with Talos' command as their eyes turned white, their souls and minds closed off, only one goal drove them: Talos' command.
The Insane Spirits roared and charged out into the Spirit world, calling for the Avatar as Iroh looked at Talos in shock.
"What have you done!?" Iroh angrily asked as Talos menacingly flexed out his arms, standing before Iroh.
"I am fixing the errors of the Universe! I will become The True Avatar! And no one will stand in my way, Not even you, Iroh!" Talos proclaimed as he pulled his satchel off, cleaving the blade through it, his chi coursing along his arm and into the prosthetic, as the water-bender slashed the water out at Iroh, freezing the tea maker on the spot.
"Talos!" Iroh shouted as he tried breaking out of the ice, but Talos chuckled to himself as he twisted around to return to the Mortal world.
"Farewell, Iroh! And thank you for your help!" Talos told him as he departed for the Spirit Portal. Iroh broke free from the ice, giving chase to Talos, but as he came an arm's reach of him, the light engulfed Talos, transporting him to The Nexus as Iroh let out a defeated sigh, hanging and shaking his head.
"I am sorry..." Iroh spoke as he looked to the sky, dismally marching back to his tea house.
Talos emerged inside The Nexus, quickly dashing over to the North Pole Spirit Portal, the light engulfing him as he reappeared at the bottom of the oasis, quickly swimming upwards and out of the water.
"One last thing to do before my plans are set in motion..." Talos told himself as he glared at Unalaq's fortress, climbing from the oasis and onto the grass.
Talos marched into Unalaq's fortress, invading his father's private study. The light of the full moon shined through the window, briefly illuminating the room as a fire crackled in the fireplace. Talos rested in a chair, facing away from the door as he waited for Unalaq to arrive.
Talos waited for half an hour before hearing the door open and close gently. Unalaq had entered, spying an arm draped on his chair as his heart skipped a beat.
"Hello, Unalaq," Talos greeted him, his voice coated with malice like a poisoned dagger as Unalaq's eyes widened.
"Talos? Is that you, son?" Unalaq asked as his voice lightly choking, but Talos scoffed.
"Do you really deserve to call me that?" Talos asked, chilling anger boiling in his tone as Unalaq slanted his gaze, standing tall before his son.
"What are you playing at? You disappear for near enough five years and show up out of nowhere in my study and start talking nonsense!?" Unalaq asked him, demanding to know what was going on.
"I know all about you and The Red Lotus, Unalaq," Talos told him as he remained seated in the chair, Unalaq's heart racing as he gasped.
"You... know about them?" Unalaq shakily asked as Talos stood up from the chair, turning to face his father, the fire illuminating the blade arm, making Unalaq lightly jumped back.
"Yes, I do. And I know all about your plot to hand Claire over to them," Talos replied as he slithered towards his father, remaining poised whilst Unalaq shuddered.
"I believe in their cause! If it weren't for Claire being The Avatar. We could've done great things together!" Unalaq told him, trying to convince Talos he meant him no harm, but Talos scoffed at his remarks.
"Claire won't be the Avatar for long. And you won't need to worry about The Red Lotus," Talos replied, his voice sinisterly calm yet as his blade began arching out.
"Talos, son... settle down!" Unalaq nervously demanded as he raised his hands.
"I am calm," Talos replied as Unalaq's heart raced.
"You would've handed me or Claire over to a group of Pathetic Anarchists, betraying us and her family... you're no father, just another obstacle that stands in my way!" Talos told him, swiftly lunging in at Unalaq, slicing through his body with ease, the northern chief let out one last scream as his severed body collapsed to the floor, soaking the ground in blood as Talos gazed at the split corpse.
Talos moved his hand towards his face, rigidly moving his fingers as he gazed at Unalaq's face, transforming his face into that of his father's before turning to the mirror and curiously looking at himself.
"Perfectly repulsive," Talos told himself as he pulled the colour contacts and wig from his sack, putting the blue colour contacts on his iris', then tying his hair up tightly and placing the wig on his head, styling it into his father's style before walking over to his corpse and looting the accessories in his hair, finishing his look with a long navy blue robe. Talos, now perfectly disguised as his father, strode out of the study, locking the door and resting for the night.
Dawn broke over The North Pole as Talos awoke, looking in the mirror to see the transformation had stayed, smirking at himself before he left the fortress, being greeted by several citizens and soldiers, but to his surprise Talos saw several warships aligned in the harbour, rushing down to see what was happening.
"What's all this?" Talos asked, gesturing to the mighty array of warships as a soldier turned to face The Fake Unalaq, raising an eyebrow to his question.
"This is for your invasion of The Southern Water Tribe, Chief. You wanted to retake the south, remember? To 'Set them on the Righteous Path'?" The soldier asked as Talos' eyes widened, trying to keep his composure.
"Ah, yes, the invasion... I've changed my mind!" Talos told him, making the Soldier jump back in surprise.
"But Chief! We've been planning this for months! Why are you pulling out now!?" The soldier bewilderingly asked.
"Because invading the South is a foolish idea! We will leave them be!" Talos shouted to the soldier, frightening him into submission.
"As you say... Chief," The soldier replied as he left to inform the crew of the warships.
Talos paraded around The North Pole, meeting with a ship captain and Joseph.
"Excuse me, Ship captain?" Talos greeted them, gesturing with his right hand.
"Ah, Chief Unalaq! How are you?" Joseph curiously asked as he looked him up and down.
"He seemed... tall last time I saw him," Joseph sceptically thought to himself
"Greetings, Joseph. I have a request for the two of you!" Talos replied as the Ship captain and Joseph both perked up, looking to The Fake Unalaq with a curious gaze.
"Ship Captain, I require you, a boat and a small platoon of soldiers to come with me to Republic City!" Talos formally told them.
"Republic City? Why? if I'm allowed to ask," The ship captain replied as they perched back in their posture.
"A Spiritual Disturbance has occurred and I need The Avatar's help!" Talos informed them, but Joseph walked towards The Fake Unalaq, their eyes locking as a light sweat broke on Talos' brow.
"Claire's at The White Lotus Compound, why not just go there?" Joseph curiously asked.
"I don't want to interrupt her training. And I'm sure Republic City is a place she will return to after her... victory over Amon," Talos replied as Joseph's eyes widened.
"How... do you know about that?" Joseph asked as a chill shivered down his spine.
"Word travels fast, Joseph. As for you: I wish for you to be the Stand in Chief whilst I'm gone, you're a natural leader, and I believe you're the best suited for the job!" Talos told him as he patted his shoulder with his right hand, Joseph softly scoffed at his comment.
"Alright, let Claire know I said 'hi' whenever you see her!" Joseph replied, waving goodbye to the Ship Captain and The Fake Unalaq.
"When do you want to move out, chief?" The ship captain asked.
"As soon as possible. We need to deal with these insane spirits quickly!" Talos replied as the ship captain began preparations for the journey whilst Talos looked out to the skies, softly chuckling to himself.
"In due time. I will be The Avatar. Your time is running out... Claire," Talos thought to himself as he closed his eyes.