Part 3 - Chaos
Kang arrived back in The Nexus, spying a Spirit Portal filled with water, and as he strode closer to inspect, he noticed two Fish circling one another.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's the Spirit Oasis!"
He stepped onto the Portal, allowing the radiant light to consume him as his eyebrows perked up, "I better hold my breath!"
Kang emerged with puffed up cheeks at the bottom of the Spirit Oasis, swiftly swimming up to the surface, struggling to hold on to his breath; however, he broke through the surface of the water, gasping and heavily panting.
"I should've taken those swimming lessons Masato offered me..."
He breathlessly climbed out of the water, the sparks of his prosthetic catching his ear as he turned to the smoking arm. He shrieked and frantically flicked it off, accidentally smashing it on the ground and shattering it.
He let out a melancholy sigh, "Farewell arm! ...Note to self, find a way to waterproof bending prosthetic."
He eventually got control of his breathing, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly as he heated his body to evaporate the water, which soaked him, letting out a pleased moan as the steam fizzled off his body.
Before he departed, he curiously hummed and stared at the water as he placed a hand to his chin, "Spirit Water could come in handy for an invention!"
He pulled a flask from his pouch, biting and popping the cork before kneeling and filling it with oasis water.
He placed it on the ground and popped the cork back on before swiping it and proceeding out of the Spirit Oasis. He crawled through the wood covered hole and entered the empty ice town, taking in the hazy black sky as he pulled out his Timekeeper and flipped the panel open.
"It's one in the afternoon... why is everything so dark?"
A chilling silence flowed through the air.
"And... where is everyone...?"
He explored the icy ghost town, keeping his guard up until he spied a lit fire within a house, "At last! Locals!"
He dashed over to the house and brazenly knocked on the dark wood door. The house's residents cautiously strode up to the door, opening it to find Kang standing before them.
"Kang! What are ye doing here?"
"Oh, Joseph, Norrak. I didn't realise this was your house... you don't happen to have a boat that can get to the Earth Kingdom, do you?"
The flabbergasted Joseph and Norrak stared at him as the mother lightly clutched her chest, "Where's Claire? I could feel her in a... dark, dreary place, but I thought she'd stick to you like glue!?"
"Long story short, Talos gave Claire and me the boot into the Spirit World; she's there right now with my Great-Uncle Iroh."
Joseph and Norrak's eyes widened before they quickly pulled him into the house.
"Oh my!"
Norrak locked the door whilst Joseph guided him to the living room, sitting him down to interrogate him.
"It'll be safer in here... no one knows what's out there with all this darkness..." Joseph cautiously said.
"What was that about Talos kicking you and our Claire into the Spirit World?"
"Well, he didn't kick per se, but we were on our way to the Spirit World through a portal, and then he came crashing out of the sky!"
"He blasted out some bizarre energy and stunned Khana, Ghazi and myself, then shot Claire with purple flames and then used my Blade-Bending Prototype to sever my arm when I tried to save her..."
He held up his stump, making Joseph and Norrak stare in blank silence
"But why would Talos do such a thing? He and Claire have been friends since birth!" Norrak said.
He shook his head, "I don't know..."
The parents stared at each other and inaudibly muttered before gazing back at Kang.
"Yer story is a little hard to believe, Kang..."
"But... we also think it's a bit too unbelievable to be fabricated!"
He perked up, "So, will you help me!?"
They nodded and smiled as the Mad Inventor grinned with glee, "Great!"
The three arose as Joseph curiously and worryingly stared at the metallic attachment on his stump.
"Do ye need anything for that arm?"
Kang clicked his fingers, "Oh, that reminds me! Do you still have the box I gave you?"
He nodded and ran upstairs, returning several seconds later, "This one?" He held the box up.
"That one!"
Joseph held the box out as Kang lit a fire atop his finger, placing it onto the four metal corners and making it pop open to reveal a blue and gold prosthetic arm.
The parents gazed down in wide-eyed surprise, then stared at Kang with questions fluttering through their minds.
"Are ye... Psychic or something?"
"Zu says I'm mad enough to be one!"
He grabbed the Prosthetic Arm and quickly slapped it on as an electric light pulsed in-between the connecting parts.
He wiggled the fingers and appreciated his work, "Ah! Having two arms again is nice!"
Joseph and Norrak chuckled before guiding him out of the house and down to the harbour; the father used his light-bending to show the way to the dock before presenting a dinghy to him.
"Unalaq... took all the good boats. But this one should get ye to the Earth Kingdom safe and sound!"
"Thank you, Joseph and Norrak!" he bowed and hopped aboard.
"Best of luck, Kang!" Norrak pulled the water in and pushed it out, setting Kang off on his adventure into the Earth Kingdom.
He sailed for over half a day through treacherous waves, brutal storms and the occasional rogue sea bird, just barely making it to the Earth Kingdom shores in one piece. However, the dinghy lent to him wouldn't be sailing again. Kang gazed out to the forest before him as a cold familiarity crawled over his skin. He marched towards it, venturing through the fields, the foliage and rocky paths until he found himself stood before an old Agni Kai arena. He sharply gasped as visions clouded his sight, a high-pitched ringing permeating his mind, but he turned his gaze away, slowly catching his breath and striding through the Agni Kai arena. Burnt soil and piles of rubble surrounded the ground he treaded on until he reached a path leading to a sizeable open area surrounded by trees and bamboo. More visions clouded his sight as he held his hand to his head, raggedly breathing and averting his gaze while he strode forth, until finally finding an old abandoned hut.
His breath shook at the sight of it, and the ringing finally stopped.
"This is it... I'm... home...!"
He slowly strode up to the Hut, standing before the door as his whole body quaked. He reached for the old wood door, pressing his shaky hand upon it and lightly pushing it open, creeping in to find everything as it was. His breath shook as the aged floorboards creaked beneath his feet with each step. He first entered the Hut kitchen, fond memories of him and his mother helping each other cook and clean filling his mind as he ran his gold-tipped prosthetic finger along the thick dust-coated surface, spying a toppled over bag of rice and two plates set out near it. He shook his head and turned back, marching away to a staircase leading up to the Hut's second level, treading lightly up the steps and across the floor, until finally standing before two doors, his old bedroom and his mother's bedroom. He approached the right-hand door, a pit building in his stomach as his hand slowly pressed to it and pushed it open. The door creaked and swung open, and his mother's bed caught his eye as memories of the times she'd read stories to him on rainy nights fluttered in. A wooden bookshelf next to the bed, lined with storybooks with a partially melted candle on top.
Kang heavily marched in, the floor creaking, his lip quivering and body shaking as the memories crept in.
"I'll run to the Village; I'll get whatever I can to help!"
"Kang, wait!"
His heart weighed heavier the further he stepped in as he stared at the bookshelf with fond memories, but he discovered an unfamiliar leather book whilst inspecting it, to which he reached out and gently grasped the spine, pulling it out to find an item wrapped in Cloth just behind it. He carefully reached in with his Prosthetic hand and grabbed it from behind the books.
He gazed at the Leather book and then at the Cloth wrapped item, "Knowing my mother... she'd want me to read this first..."
He sat upon the creaking wooden floor, placing the Cloth wrapped item beside himself and opening the Leather book to read its contents:
"Kang, by the time you're reading this. I'm probably not with you anymore because who knows when you're going to find this, or if I'll ever have the guts to tell you the story I wanted to tell you... one I never really found the opportunity to tell. My story."
Kang flipped through the pages, reading about her time during the one-hundred year war, her conquest of Ba Sing Se, her battles against Zuko on The Boiling Rock and the Western Air Temple, and her fall against him during their Final Agni Kai. He also read about the time she and Zuko's friends tracked down her mother and the time she posed as a kidnapping spirit.
"After the war ended and my attempt to overthrow Zuko failed, I remained in the Shadows of the Fire Nation, developing my plot to turn your uncle into the Ruthless Fire Lord I thought he should be, sending waves of assassins and stirring up Chaos from the darkest corners of the Nation."
"But try as I might, I couldn't break ZuZu's resolve, even after nineteen long years, and the weight of that failure slowly piled up, and my natural luck seemed to be running out, Until one day, a grand idea came to my mind."
Azula sat within a Fire Nation forest, glaring up at the crescent moon through the branches as a chill wind blew past. And as it did, a realisation dawned.
"If I can't make little ZuZu the Ruthless Fire Lord, he should be... I'll just create my own Fire Lord!"
With the seeds of her new plan sewn into her mind, she set out into a nearby village, searching for a fire-bender worthy of using in her project. Over the years, Azula's black hair had grown out, styled into a topknot with her long, playfully unkempt hair draping down her back. She wore a dirty crimson and dull gold sleeveless shirt with a partially shredded black long sleeve undershirt. Baggy maroon pants and knee-high red and gold boots adorned her lower body. She entered the bustling town, and to the village people, she was unrecognisable as the Ex-Princess of the Fire Nation. Azula strode through the village, encountering store vendors and several men trying to catch her attention, despite her worn appearance. But, none seemed suitable until she reached the village's Tea House. Patrons filled the room, calmly drinking their tea while a peaceful ambience filled the air. A waiter adorned in red and black robes with a Lion Turtle's face on the back eagerly approached the entering Ex-Princess.
"Welcome to the Jade Lion Turtle! Will you be drinking alone?"
"For now, but the night is still young!" she bewitchingly replied.
The waiter blushed and guided Azula to a table, "What would you like to order?"
"Surprise me!" She winked.
The waiter chuckled and blushed as he left Azula to begin her scan of the room, her golden eyes peering into every man of the Tea House, but an altercation between two patrons erupted, cutting her search short. A hefty hairless earth-bender flipped a table at a well dressed; stylish Fire-bender sat across from him.
"You're getting on my nerves, Zin Bu; either cough up the gold or cough up your insides!"
Zin Bu wore dark red nobleman's clothing, his black hair styled into a topknot and a trim beard around his mouth, and his amber eyes peered into the Earth-benders dark brown eyes.
"Kai Feng, I told you I already paid you and your workers! My word, is the stereotype of all earth-benders being hard-headed really that true?"
He fiercely swung his fist at the snarky Fire-bender, who effortlessly dodged his assault and wagged a finger at him, "Now, now, we're in a Tea house, not an earth rumble. Calm down before you hurt yourself!"
Azula continued to observe as her fingers interweaved under her chin.
Kai Feng's frustration erupted as he bent the earth beside him, "Insides it is, Zin Bu!"
He hurled two boulders at the Snarky Fire-bender, one after another. However, he weaved through them with ease, the other Patrons behind him fleeing as they smashed through the Tea House walls.
"You really are quite the brute, Fengy!"
"You do not call me 'Fengy'!"
He bent up another boulder, but to his surprise, Zin Bu flicked a tiny fireball at his hand, stinging and burning his palm as his boulder dropped. He dashed forward and clapped his palms onto Kai Feng's ears, discombobulating the feckless Earth-bender as he attempted a wild counter-attack, which Zin Bu deftly avoided, kicking out a mighty blast of fire and scorching the brute's body. The fire riddled earth-bender frantically tried to extinguish the flames, but Zin Bu mercilessly struck his diaphragm, knocking his wind out and sending the unconscious man to the ground.
Azula stared in amazement at his effortless take-down.
"Are there any Water-Benders here? This knucklehead could use a drop... or two!"
Azula arose from her table and strutted over to Zin Bu, almost immediately catching his attention.
"I see I have a fan already?" he flirtatiously said.
Azula stood before him, placing a hand to her hip while her other arm draped by her side, "Those were some sharp moves, Zin Bu!"
"They were, weren't they? If they were any sharper, I could puncture the hull of a fire nation battleship with ease!" he chuckled, briefly humming and placing his hand to his chin.
"Then again, that would cause quite a few casualties..."
Azula loudly and awkwardly laughed as Zin Bu raised a curious, nervous eyebrow.
"You have... quite the laugh,"
Sweat broke on her brow as she grimaced at the awkward tension building in the air.
"So, what brings you to talk to the great Zin Bu, my..." His eyes darted up and down her, "...fine lady?"
Azula fixed her gaze on him, "I haven't... how you say 'Socialised' for a long time, but after seeing your display against this thug of an Earth-bender," she kicked Kai Feng.
"I just had to meet you!" she softly smiled, cloaking her manipulation.
Zin Bu smirked, "I tend to have that effect on humans. Is this the part where you try to whisk me away to start a tale of romance?"
Azula seductively leant in, their faces mere inches from one another, "Would you oppose it?"
His heart skipped a beat as he gazed into her piercing eyes, "Not at all, but can I get your name first?"
"My name is Azu- Mi! My name is Azumi..." she nervously chuckled.
Zin Bu pondered and raised an eyebrow to her, "Well, Azumi... Allow me to take your hand as we begin our romantic endeavour!"
He outstretched his hand to Azula, who took it wholeheartedly as he guided Her back to his invention riddled manor, sharing in a premium Fire Nation wine as the gears of her plan slowly began to turn.
Kang read through the Leather book.
"Zin Bu drunkenly whisked me up the stairs of his manor. I went along with it, hoping he'd fall for my ruse, but I think he was so far gone I could strut like the most sober woman in the four nations, and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
"We finally made it to the bedroom, and that's where my plan finally kicked in. Zin Bu practically tore my clothe-"
Kang blushed and grimaced, "Oh my... You know... I think I'll skip to the next page."
He turned the page over.
"And the... next page."
He flipped to the next page.
"And the... next... page..."
The flustered Inventor blushed, flipping through two more pages and coming to the end of the conception part of the diary.
"I waited for Zin Bu to be deep in his slumber and seized the opportunity to sneak away in the middle of the night, picking up my strewn about clothing and adorning myself in them once more."
"I slithered out of the window and into the dead of night, making way to the Earth Kingdom, hoping Zin Bu wouldn't trail me. And to my... luck, he didn't... or at least I think he didn't."
"I travelled for days before reaching the Fire Nation's shore, the vast ocean eclipsing my vision, and luckily I found an abandoned, still functional boat. And so I took it for myself and sailed away for the Earth Kingdom."
"After a day of rough sailing, I landed on their southern shores and took what would be my final look at the Fire Nation, foolishly proclaiming I'd return."
"I set off on my journey to the North of the Earth Kingdom, being assisted by travelling earth-benders and Ostrich-Horse riders. Still, most of the journey I made on foot until I discovered this conveniently secluded Hut near a village, abandoned by its most recent tenants."
"It took me three months to get there, and over the next six, I sneaked into the nearby village late at night, stealing supplies and stocking up a wealthy bounty for when you would be born. And in time, I finally held you in my arms. I can remember the malice ridden smile on my face while you silently lay cradled in my arms."
"But deep beneath it all... something new began to bloom."