Part 2 - Order
Claire awoke from her slumber within the dark guest room of Kang's hut, finding Khana and Ghazi still asleep in the other beds. As she yawned and stretched, she remembered what Unalaq told her about, 'Talos corrupting Spirits,' the thought weighing on her mind.
"When did this start happening? And Where else have they been attacking?" she recalled the mention of a Spirit Portal on Whale-tail Island, "Where is it geographically?"
She perked up from her bed and strode out of Kang's makeshift shack and into his Lab, but to her surprise, she found The Mad Inventor himself already awake and turning to her with a melancholic smile, "Good morning, bed head!"
"Bedhead?"
He gestured to his hair, "Your hair is a little... wild."
She looked up at her hair and padded it down whilst using a small blob of water to get out the curly tufts, finishing by pulling out a hair tie and styling it into a ponytail, "You wouldn't happen to have a map, would you? Or know where Wail-tail island is?"
Kang broke his attention away from the schematics, "Map, no. Rough knowledge of Whale-tail Island's location, yes."
"Great! Where is it?"
He placed a hand to his chin and hummed, "About Northeast of the Southern Air Temple."
"Southern Air Temple... perhaps Tenzin will know a thing or two about this Spirit Portal!"
But at the mere mention of it, Kang dropped his schematics and turned his full attention to her, "A spirit, what now?"
"A Spirit Portal. Unalaq told me about one hidden away on Whale-tail Island."
"Spirit Portals... and here I thought they were myths! Then again, Spirits had to get here somehow."
"I thought they got here through certain conduits?"
Kang shrugged, "Who knows!?"
Claire hummed and tilted her head, "Would it be okay if you took me to the White Lotus Compound to ask Tenzin about this?"
"Sure! Just let me create some fuel for The Magnificent Turtle Duck!" he raced into a secluded part of the Lab, emerging moments later with five canisters, "Let's go!"
He ran to The Magnificent Turtle Duck whilst Claire jotted down a note for Ghazi and Khana before following Kang. They prepared for take-off and shot into the sky, flying south to The White Lotus compound.
Ghazi and Khana awoke at the roar of their departure, striding out into the Lab and discovering Claire's note.
"Gone to White Lotus compound, will be home in time for dinner!"
Ghazi grumbled and crumpled the note before stashing it in his pouch, "What should we do until they return?"
Khana pondered for a moment, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, "There is one thing that's been on my mind."
"And that would be?"
"That Northern Water Tribe Chief... Claire mentioned there being something odd about him. Initially, I brushed it off. Still, the more I think about it, the more I think he's up to something."
Ghazi nodded, "Their presence has unnerved me; there is something off about them being here."
"How so?"
"The Avatar mentioned the Chief being here to discuss a 'Spiritual Disturbance', did she not?"
"She did...?"
"Then why come all the way out here with a large company of soldiers? Why not send a messenger? It does not make sense."
"...Now that you mention it, yeah... wanna help me get to the bottom of this?"
"Certainly. We should sneak into The Chieftain's tent to see if we can find out what's so fishy."
"Let's get going then!"
The two trotted for the exit and ascended into the city.
Kang and Claire arrived at The White Lotus Compound, touching down on the central metal platform and exiting into the uneasy silence as the hairs of their arms stood on end.
"It's quiet... too quiet for my liking anyway," Kang said.
"Where is everyone? I thought they'd come back here after the Tournament..." she scanned the eerie Compound, "Tenzin? Kya, Katara?! Ho Tun? Shu?!"
"Aren't you forgetting someone?"
"Oh yeah. Jinora?!"
Despite her calls, she received no response.
"Let's investigate these four areas, then that... large building," Kang said, wandering over to the Mountainous Terrain.
He investigated behind pieces of metal and earth whilst She checked in the Icy terrain, searching in the pools and behind the frozen blocks that covered the area. Kang sauntered over to the Agni Kai arena, the sight of it churning a sense of dismal Nostalgia within him as a lump grew in his throat and his jaw jittered.
Claire noticed him standing by the gate and hastily rushed over, "Kang, is everything okay?"
Her sudden intrusion broke his attention away, "Sorry, what? Oh, everything's... fine."
He took an uneasy breath and sprinted for the Air Temple Replica, but as he turned, a tear descended from his face while Claire gave chase.
Kang entered the Air Temple, but just like everywhere else, no one was home. Claire caught up to the Cross armed Inventor, his eyebrows raising as he looked around, "I think it's safe to say, no one but us are here."
She uneasily gazed at the metal building, "Yeah... someone would've come out of there by now."
"Where do you think they'd go? You know them better than I."
She placed a hand to her chin, "Ho Tun, I'm not sure... Shu might've returned to the Palace... Katara and Kya would most likely have gone to the Southern Tribe..."
"Would Tenzin have gone with them?"
"Possibly, but I doubt he'd stay there long... Air nomad and all."
"Good point... let's check the Southern Air Temple!" He sprinted over to The Magnificent Turtle Duck with Claire in tow.
The two ascended into the skies and left the Compound for the last time. They soared through the skies for hours before the Air Temple came into view, a white, blue-roofed Spire situated around several monasteries of similar design atop a mountain.
They landed on a circular platform, frightening local monks as the Wings retracted. Kang and Claire raised a quizzical eyebrow at the screaming and slowly turned to each other.
"THE AIR ACOLYTES!" They gasped.
The Duo frantically leapt from The Magnificent Turtle Duck, running out to find the cowering monks adorned in yellow and orange robes with their heads shaven.
"Settle down! We aren't your enemy!"
"Hi! Hello! Avatar here! We don't mean you any harm!"
The Monks stared at Claire, gasping and clamouring, "Avatar! What... brings you to the Southern Air Temple?"
She calmly approached the Monks, "I'm here looking for Tenzin, Aang's son... bald, long, pointy beard, arrow on his head."
"We know who you speak of, Avatar; he is deeper in the temple with Jinora."
"Would you mind showing us to him?"
The Air Acolytes bowed their heads and led them to Tenzin.
They guided them through the snowy bounds of the Temple, eventually arriving in a small shrine to find Tenzin and Jinora deep in meditation.
Kang waltzed over and squatted in front of the Air Nomads, utterly intrigued by them, "Hello? Tenzin?" he poked and prodded him but received no response.
"Wow, he's really into this... wait!" he pressed his fingers on his neck, the pulse bumping against his fingers as he breathed a sigh of relief.
Claire raised an eyebrow to Kang as he lifted his hand, igniting a small flame on the tip of his thumb and placing it under Tenzin's nostrils, but she grasped his collar and pulled him back, "Kang, you're the smartest person I know, but you're simultaneously the dumbest person I know."
He chuckled and dusted himself down, "I'll accept that!"
"From my meditation experiences, they're gonna be like that for a while... What say we explore a bit?"
Kang crossed his arms and nodded, "I hear this is where they keep the Past Avatar statues."
Claire clicked her fingers and pointed to him, "That's something I've been wanting to check out!"
The two smirked and strolled out of the meditation chamber, wandering around the stone and snow, passing by several Air Acolytes on their way.
"You gotta wonder how they get up here..." Claire muttered.
"Secret tunnel, perhaps?"
She sceptically turned to him, "What? Through the mountains?"
"Do you have any better theories?"
Kang crossed his arms as Claire indifferently tilted her head and marched on, finally coming to a giant wooden door with a coiling horn surrounding the Air Nomad's symbol.
"You know how to open this, right?"
"Blow air into it until those panels flip open."
Kang stepped back as she lunged forward, thrusting her palms out and unleashing a long gale of air into the horns; an elongated droning reverberated around the area as the panels flipped over one by one, eventually opening the door. They strode into the dim inner sanctuary, gazing around at the thousands of statues spiralling into the upper abyss.
Kang whistled at the grand size, listening to it echo while Claire gandered around, finding herself stood before a statue of Aang in his prime; she softly smiled at it as the Mad Inventor strode up behind her, "How far back do you reckon this goes?"
She smirked, "Only one way to find out!"
Kang uneasily gazed at her as she flexed her arms, forming an air sphere around herself and floating up off the ground, "Last one there cleans the lab for a month!"
She shot off as Kang huffed, "You're on!"
He blasted fire from his feet, swiftly catching up and soaring past her, his fires eventually fading into the abyss. Claire floated, utterly flabbergasted while lightly smacking her lips, "Well... doesn't call himself the Best Fire-bender for nothing."
She slowly ascended, staring around at the statues, all seemingly peering into her as she passed them, "It's hard to believe these were all... well... me."
She shook her head and dashed up into the upper abyss of the sanctuary, eventually finding Kang with a flame in hand stood before a chipped, rough and rugged stone statue of a man with a top-knot and sideburns, wearing a long coat and boots with a sheathed sword pointing to the base, clutched in both hands.
"This is as far back as it goes... do you reckon he's the first or...?"
Claire landed beside him, forming her own flame and striding up to the statue, "I don't know... my memory of the past lives only goes back so far... everything passed a certain point is... fuzzy."
She gazed at the sheathed sword and reached out for it, but Kang slapped her hand away, "Probably best not to touch it; looks like he could crumble away if you look at him wrong."
She nodded and shook her smacked hand before kneeling in front of it, spying a half faded inscription, "There's something written here but... I don't recognise the language."
Kang knelt with her, stroking his chin and investigating the writing, "Our language would've evolved over the many millenniums, but I can make out some words."
He scanned it some more, pointing to the words he recognised, "... Love. Kaishi. May. Peace."
Claire's eyes flared at the mention of the name as she jerked back, holding her head as half-faded memories of a man battling a black being amongst an eternal night fluttered in.
Kang shot up, ready to grab her in case she fell, "You alright?"
"Kaishi... yeah... yeah... he's the very first Avatar!"
The mad inventor's vision darted back between Claire and the statue, "Wow... can't say you got better looking over the years."
"I'll accept that."
The distant tapping of footsteps crept into the sanctuary as the two gazed into the abyss.
"Claire!?" Tenzin's voice echoed up to them.
"Ooh, he's finally out of meditation."
"Be down there in a jiffy!" Kang shouted, spooking the Air Nomad as he scanned the area, eventually finding the two landing before him.
He leapt back in shock, raising his palms to them before slowly lowering them, "What were you doing?"
"History lesson."
He nodded and eyed the two up, "The Air Acolytes said you were looking for me?"
Claire shuffled between him and Kang, "I'm here to ask you about Spirit Portals."
He perplexingly stared at her, "People consider Spirit Portals the stuff of Legends; some think they don't even exist."
"The Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Unalaq's told me of a Hidden Spirit Portal on Whale-tail Island."
Tenzin's eyebrows raised as he remembered his family's trips to the Southern Air Temple, "My father and I recalled sensing spiritual energies coming from nearby whenever we visited this Temple, but we could never quite track it down. Your Chief may be onto something."
"Would you mind coming with Kang and me to investigate?"
Tenzin scowled at the mere thought of being in his presence, but he breathed a defeated sigh, "I will... Jinora should be fine with her friends here."
The three left for The Magnificent Turtle Duck, striding through the snowy staircases and reaching the platform it sat on. The Duo stepped inside while Tenzin worryingly gazed up at it; however, Kang perked out from behind the shell, "Come on! I'm an excellent pilot!"
His attempt at encouragement made him reluctantly climb aboard and take a seat in the Cockpit's back seat as Kang took his position in the Pilot's chair then took off into the skies.
Tenzin hung onto his seat while the Cockpit rattled, "You fly in this thing, Claire!?"
She nonchalantly turned to her master, "Well yeah, it's not like you had a Sky Bison to offer me," she winked.
The Magnificent Turtle Duck flew north to Whale-tail Island, much to Tenzin's discomfort.
Ghazi and Khana stood by the stone walls around the Northern Water Tribe campsite's perimeter,
"How do we plan on sneaking in?" Ghazi asked, eyeing up the large tent.
"I can create a tunnel and sneak in under the tarpaulin."
He grumbled and raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure that is wise? Would he not hear us?"
She stood steadfast and raised a pointed finger to him, "You're standing before an Elite Warrior trained in the arts of Stealth by Master Suki herself!"
Ghazi's eyes sceptically slanted.
"I can get us in."
"I will believe it when I see it."
Khana smirked, taking a firm stance and putting her hands in front of her, then pulling them apart to open the ground before forming a small tunnel at the back of Unalaq's tent. The two leapt in, crawling through the tunnel and popping out under the tarp of the tent, finding themselves under a table with a cloth sheet draped over it.
"Convenient..." Ghazi muttered.
Unalaq sat on a creaky wooden chair.
"What's the plan when we reach the Spirit World, Chief?"
"We find a way for Claire to purge the corruption of the spirits; there was an Old Avatar who developed a way of bending Spirits to their will. So if she finds them, they will hopefully teach her the technique."
"But, couldn't she just use the Avatar state for that?"
"And risk losing the Avatar forever? These corrupted Spirits aren't to be trifled with, especially as Talos... my own son is the one controlling them!"
"Y- Yes, Chief. Sorry, Chief."
"You needn't seek forgiveness. It was a reasonable question; now go. Make sure no one enters the camp."
The sounds of the soldiers bowing and leaving reverberated throughout the tent while Ghazi and Khana mulled over what they heard.
"Yes, yes, no need to flatter me."
The two raised an eyebrow as they turned to each other with a perplexed gaze.
"She has no reason not to trust me. Claire and her parents have always trusted the Chief; this plan of ours is foolproof!"
Their eyes flared while Unalaq seemingly talked to himself, but Khana prepared to sneeze as they did. Ghazi slowly shook his head as she sneezed loud enough to alert the entire camp.
"Who's there!?"
Her eyes widened, and she hastily kicked her foot down in the tunnel.
"Whoa!"
Khana launched them out from under Unalaq's tent, throwing the pair into the sewer system of Republic City. Unalaq crouched under his table, his eyes darting around, hoping to find someone. He grabbed the table, his one-handed grip cracking the wood as he roared and tossed it across the room, kneeling and lifting the tarp to discover the tunnel Khana created, sweat breaking on his brow, "Who... was that?!"
His laboured breathing slowed to regularity as he stood up straight, "Yes, good idea... but don't make yourself too obvious."
The two screamed and fell onto the metal walkways by the sewer water. Khana retched at the smell whilst Ghazi wafted it away from his face.
"You would think as a warrior trained in stealth, they would teach you how to suppress a sneeze."
She raised an eyebrow, "You can suppress a sneeze?"
"Yes, you pinch your nose tight and grit your teeth as you sneeze; that way, it makes no noise."
"Huh... I'll remember that for next time."
"For now, let us find our way out of here."
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
The two marched out into the sewer, "and hopefully, we will not require your stealth skills."
The Magnificent Turtle Duck finally arrived at Whale-tail Island and landed on its sandy beaches. Kang and Claire exited the shell as Tenzin threw himself out, his legs quaking on the ground, "I never thought I'd miss Appa so much."
Kang scoffed while Claire approached him, "Do you sense anything, Tenzin?"
He regained his composure whilst scanning their surroundings, "I... can sense some spiritual energy, but even so, I can't narrow down its source."
"Is it like the one you sensed back in The Southern Air Temple?" Kang asked.
"Yes, there is a familiarity to it... If Toph or Lin were here, they could find this hidden chamber easily."
An ill air loomed as the waves washed against the shores, "Does anyone else get the feeling we're being watched?" Kang asked.
And as he spoke, several corrupted Spirits emerged, surrounding them entirely, Baboon Spirits, Eel spirits, and small swarms of Hornet spirits.
"Me and my big mouth!"
The three took each other's backs, "Kang, get The Magnificent Turtle Duck ready to fly; Tenzin and I will jump up once you're airborne."
"Good plan!"
He leapt inside The Magnificent Turtle Duck as the corrupted Spirits attacked; however, Claire pushed the baboon and Eel spirits away with waves of air and obelisks of the earth whilst Tenzin blew away the hornet swarms with howling gales.
The Magnificent Turtle Duck ascended into the air, its shell opening for the two to jump inside, "Come on!"
The Avatar and Master looked up, each using an air spout to propel themselves up and into The Magnificent Turtle Duck, but several Eel spirits gave chase, rapidly slithering through the air.
However, Kang turned around, flipping and flying over the pursuing spirits as Claire let loose a mighty blast of fire, engulfing and scorching their forms as they squealed and dropped to the waters below.
Kang returned to normal flying as he closed the shell and set a course for the Southern Air Temple.
Claire and Tenzin sauntered into the Cockpit, sitting down in their respective seats.
"Next time... Kang, Please warn us when you plan to flip upside down."
"Eh, you're an Air-bender; I knew you'd be fine!"
Tenzin grumbled as Claire swiftly twisted to him, "Do you have any idea how these Spirits have been corrupted?"
He took a deep breath and stroked his long beard, "Someone or something must have driven those Spirits mad, something akin to what happened during Avatar Yangchen's time... If my theory is correct, then Balance in the Spirit World has tipped, and you're the only one who can restore it."
She slumped back in her seat and heavily sighed as the weight of the task at hand bared down on her. However, Kang patted her on the shoulder, "You'll be able to do it, I'm sure."
She smiled at his assurance and gazed out to the skies before them.