The Southern Watertribe
There was a mob of people standing gathering in front of the Southern Watertribe Royal Palace, where the government of the place should be seated making plans and providing strategies for the good of the people, but now there was now time for strategies, no time for plans.. it was time for a Takeover.
As Kanna Mother of Hakoda and Grandmother of Sokka and Katara stood in front of the palace with her now fiance Master Pakku, he decided to travel to the southern Watertribe shortly after he trained Katara and she told him of the location of his long-lost love, they finally met again at the Southern Watertribe and decided to make up for their lost time, but Alas things would never go according to plans, as Catastrophe fell in The Firenation,
Kanna and Pakku were now waiting impatiently among a mob of angry Southern Watertribe men and women screaming their support for the former Chief Hakoda and calling for the immediate evacuation of the palace, which now hosted Voccak and his men, As much as Kanna and Pakku tried to stay away from politics as they could, but this concerned Kanna's family, not to mention concerned Pakku's favorite student, they needed to see a solution to this catastrophe, after all a problem doesn't exist without its resolution,
Finally Kanna and Pakku heard the mob's screams turn into Boos as they spotted Voccak and his men coming out of the Palace, as Pakku started observing the man as he was seeing him for the first time in his life, Voccak was wearing his usual dark blue Southern Watertribe costume with the famous crescent-shaped Watertribe insignia on the middle of his chest, he looked to be in his late thirties, His eyes were dark blue, he had brown hair that was styled in a Wolf-tail just like most Southern Water tribe Warriors, he had a goatee and a mustache, he had a well-built body for his age and Pakku heard the man was a Master Waterbender,
he also had a smile plastered on his face, raising his hands and waving at the mob as if they were cheering for him, making Pakku frown in response, he might have initially thought the mob were overreacting but now he understands their point of view, this man looks so agitating, but he decided to put looks aside and focus on what the man was about to say..
"Good Evening, Respectable Men and Women of the Southern Watertribe.." Voccak started as the crowd began to silence a little bit giving the councilman the space to speak, "Thank you for attending this public announcement and granting me this opportunity to clarify some misunderstanding between us, as a result of some events that happened of late, I'm saddened to inform you that Chief Hakoda and his family along with some of the other world leaders and The Avatar got brutally murdered by the hands of the betraying and cruel Firelord Ozai and his men.." That statement ignited some startled gasps from the receiving crowd,
The people of The Southern Watertribe had so much love and respect for Chief Hakoda, his family and The Avatar, they were truly saddened when Councilman Voccak confirmed their suspicions, Voccak exploited the crowd's eerie silence to make some decisions on his own without enraging them..
"But we promise you ladies and gentlemen The Southern Watertribe and the rest of the 3 nations will never never rest unless The Firelord and The Firenation pay dearly for our beloved lost ones, Chief Hakoda and his family were lost, but not forgotten, and as long as we draw breath, The Firenation will be in danger, and We Will Be That Danger !" Voccak shouted his face swirling with emotions, making the crowd erupt with him for his genuine feelings, as he finally got to the Southern Watertribe people, Voccak decided it was time to inform the crowd of the real reason why he called them out..
"That's why we're about to run an election, ladies and gentlemen to choose a new Chief for this tribe, the decision won't be made by me, it won't be made by the rest of the council, this decision concerns you, so the decision shall be made by you." This ignited a round of applause by the gathered crowd, making Voccak's smile widen as his plans were going more smoothly than he expected..
"The Elections is to start in a couple of days, i hope you make the right choice as always.. Enjoy the catering and have a good night." Voccak finished and the crowd erupted in another round of applause.. and Voccak wasn't joking when he said "Catering", as promised Free food and drinks were being delivered by the sexiest of maids to the present crowd, Pakku was staring in disbelief at how smart and intelligent that man is, He really won over the crowd with just small words and gestures, How can someone be so clever ?
As Pakku was about to voice his concerns he looked to his right only to find that Kanna disappeared, he scanned the place for his fiancee only to find Kanna making her way inside the palace after Voccak just entered, Hastily Pakku ran through the present crowd murmuring apologies to the angry people he bumped into along the way, until he finally made it inside the palace where his fiancee and Voccak were standing, she appeared to have initiated the talk with him, as Voccak was looking at her nervously obviously doesn't have a clue of what is going on..
"... I suggest you tell me the truth now, Voccak !" Pakku heard Kanna screaming in an uncharacteristic tone, usually Kanna's voice is calm and steady, but now it's just not her.
"I really don't understand what you're telling me, Lady Kanna, are you implying that i lied to the people of The Southern Watertribe ?" Voccak replied with some malice to his voice, Kanna didn't have the chance to respond as Pakku made his way to her side and interrupted..
"What's going on here ?" Pakku asked as he made his way to his fiancee's side.
"Master Pakku, it's an honor to make your acquaintance." Voccak greeted bowing to the older man, making Pakku's expression soften a bit at the gesture.
"The Honor's mine, Councilman.. Now, Can somebody fill me in with what's going on here ?" Pakku asked after returning the greeting with a smile.
"Nothing to worry about, Master Pakku, apparently it's just a misunderstanding." Voccak replied hurriedly, making Kanna narrow her eyes and speak her mind again..
"Misunderstanding ? You told the people my family are dead, yet you have no proof of your words !" Kanna shrieked once more, Pakku wrapped an arm her, rubbing her arm gently to let go of the stress, but apparently it was to no avail, as she was more anxious and angry as ever.
"I fully understand your inner conflict, my lady, but words have arrived this morning of The Firelord's betrayal, We have eyes everywhere in the Firenation, and they informed us of the Firelord's plans as it happened.. The Firelord wanted to get rid of the world leaders and The Avatar permanently, the messages that arrived this morning said that The Firelord succeeded with his plans, so it's safe to say that.." Voccak trailed off making sure to look sympathetic and understanding of Kanna's situation so he decided to make his words softer..
"I'm sorry to say this.. But My Friend, Chief Hakoda and his family are gone." Voccak fixated his gaze on the ground with sad eyes, making Kanna frown with tears threatening her eyes, but she decided to blink them away as her suspicions weren't cleared yet.
"But who informed you of the news, Voccak ? Where does your allegiance truly lie ?!" Kanna made the insinuation making both Pakku and Voccak give a startled gasp, but clearly both for different reasons.
"How could you accuse me of something as horrible, My Lady ?" Voccak asked with hurt in his eyes.
"I don't know and i don't care anymore, All i know is my family are still alive, and they're coming back, so you better call off your 'election' scheme because we all know it's going to end in your favor, Which i will never allow as long as my son is still alive, you hear me, Voccak ?! It will never happen !" Kanna yelled and once again Pakku trying to be the peacemaker decided to intervene, and took a struggling Kanna by the arm and pushing his way to the door.
"We're truly sorry about this, Councilman, I hope we haven't caused any trouble, Have a good day." At Voccak's understanding expression, Pakku existed the Palace holding a grumbling and struggling Kanna close to him.
"What's wrong with you ?! This man is trying to use my family's disappearance in his favor and we're just gonna walk away !" Kanna shrieked after they were at a long distance away from the palace.
"Kanna, this isn't the way to go about it, This man is more clever than i thought, didn't you see how easy he won over the crowd ? we can't get information out of him by yelling and screaming." Pakku told her calmly, and as much as Kanna hated to admit it, she knew he was right.
"Then what do you suggest we do ? The Election is in a couple of days and that means when Hakoda returns he won't be able to rule." Kanna voiced her concerns aloud, making Pakku tap his chin and close his eyes in thought, trying to come up with something but failed all the same..
"I don't know, but we'll think of something i promise, They're your family so that makes them my family too, And i'll protect my family no matter the cost." At this Kanna gave a sad smile and let her tears fall freely as she fell into Pakku's embrace voicing her thanks and melting into his embrace as all her concerns, sadness and anger dawned on her, she felt all kinds of feelings as she heard about what happened in The Firenation, but she still had hope and with Pakku at her side, he's making sure that hope's still there.
The Earth Kingdom City of Ba Sing Se
The Great Earth Kingdom City of Ba Sing Se, The City Of Walls and Secrets, How long would you say you can survive in such a place ? Well, it depends on which ring you are staying on, If it were the lower ring, well, you need the power of the avatar to survive that one and not for very long, The middle ring ? Let's just say that's a safer place, but not safe enough, The Upper Ring ? Yes, now that's the place you can survive in.. Not at the moment, No.
As Long Feng stood at the steps of the palace, watching as new decorations were being done to the gardens of the palace at his orders with a satisfied grin on his face, Without a shadow of a doubt Long Feng is the safest man in Ba Sing Se, this man has the best group of Earthbenders at his disposal, The Dai Li Agents, An Elite group of Earthbenders led by none other than his nephew at the moment, since Long Feng is now the interim Earth King, they make him feel safe, they make him feel at home, like the whole world is at his disposal, which was his ultimate goal.
Yes, Long Feng wasn't a man whose ultimate goals is to follow orders from a shameless Firelord, but now, he has to, otherwise his goal of taking over the earth kingdom and eventually the world will turn into dust, he has to follow the orders for now, and so he will do, he was engrossed in his musings that he didn't hear the call from his nephew, the current leader of The Dai Li.
"Uncle ?" Long Feng turned his head to find a young man in his early twenties, with a Dai Li costume, he had green eyes, a tanned skin from roaming the whole earth kingdom, and a well-built physique, Long Feng smiled at the boy, he's always been proud and fond of him, that's why he entrusted him with the Dai Li, fully trusting him to lead this elite group of warriors to the right path.
"Hello, Tolan." Long Feng smiled as he greeted his nephew.
"You zone out a lot these days, are you sure spirits don't pay you a visit at night ?" Tolan regarded his uncle with a sly smile, making his Long Feng give a light chuckle.
"No, as much as i'd love to have their support, looks like they fear me as much as everyone else does." Long Feng stated giving a sly smile of his own.
"I concur, Uncle." Tolan said with a chuckle, but soon all laughing subsided as Long Feng decided to address the serious matters with Tolan.
"Well, you might be wondering why i called you here."
"I'm sure it's worth my time, Uncle." Tolan stated as he knew his uncle wouldn't call him if the matter wasn't serious.
"Indeed, but we can't discuss it here, we need to be in a more secure place, Follow me." Long Feng stated making his way to the inside of the palace, Tolan following him closely, soon they arrived at the large hall where the council of five are used to making place for the kingdom, as he made sure no one was here, Long Feng motioned for Tolan to sit down, as he did so, Long Feng began..
"You might've heard of the massacre that happened in the Firenation, correct ?" Long Feng asked, Tolan fixated his sight on the ground as he was saddened and angry of the news, he's always loved the earth king kuei, probably one of the few people in the city that do, he loved his pet bear Bosco, he loved making conversations with him, he loved having tea with him and attending his parties, but he never showed that to his uncle Long Feng, as he's always told him, by joining the fools, you're encouraging their acts.. and let's face it, The Earth King was a fool, but an admirable fool nonetheless.
Tolan straightened himself forward once again, and regarded his uncle. "Yeah, that was a tragic event, I suppose we ought to plan revenge on The Firenation now ?" Tolan inquired, turning skeptical as the look on his uncle's face was passive,
I hope he's not thinking what i think he's thinking. Tolan mused, he wasn't dumb, he knew his uncle sought the throne for a long time, but Not like this, finally his suspicions were confirmed..
"No, We ought to join them." Long Feng stated making Tolan's eye pupils shrink in shock.
"WHAT ?!" Tolan shrieked making his uncle visibly flench at his tone.
"Just hear me out, Tolan !" Long Feng retaliated, only to be cut off by a rant from Tolan.
"Hear you out ?! You just said we ought to join them, Join the Firenation in their cruel schemes to take over the world, including our nation ? How could you say that ?!" Tolan Asked with a high-pitched tone once more.
"We're Joining them.. For a time." Long Feng finally stated, making Tolan cool down a little, but obviously not completely calm yet.
"What do you mean ?" Tolan inquired incredulously, Finally Long Feng gave a sigh of relief as his nephew gave him some space to speak.
"The Firelord is going to take over the world anyway, Tolan, but not just take over it, he's going to destroy it, which means all the people of Ba Sing Se killed in an instant.. He offered me to join him on his cause, and i accepted on the condition that no harm shall be laid on the Earth Kingdom.." Tolan had his eyes as wide as plates now from the revelations of his uncle, he knew this man would do anything for his own good, but not like this.. "I did what i did for the good of the earth kingdom, Tolan, had i refused our city would have been nothing but ashes." Long Feng finished, Tolan kept silent for a while taking all the information in, before he asked the big question..
"So, you knew that The Firelord was going to execute the world leaders prior to the massacre ?" Tolan eyed his uncle warily as he asked the question, Long Feng showed no nervousness at all, but he confirmed Tolan's thoughts with just one word..
"Yes." Tolan took a sharp breath and slumped back on the chair, he didn't know what to do or say, he was at a loss of words, what will he do ? he can't just murder his unce right then and there, he loved him, and used to respect him, he can't just leave his job as a Dai Li agent and wander the world on his own, not even knowing if the avatar was alive or not to support his cause, he just kept sitting there in shock, Long Feng eyeing him warily, so Tolan decided to confront the issue instead of finding a way to repel it.
"Why ?" Tolan asked his uncle, Long Feng gave another sigh of relief as he found out Tolan was willing to give it a chance.
"I just informed you of The Firelord's plans for the earth kingdom, he was going to kill everyone, every man, woman and child would've all turned into a pile of ash had i refused The Firelord's offer, would you have preferred it if i chose the Earth king and his pet bear's lives over the lives of all these innocent people ?" Long Feng asked calmly making his point to Tolan.
"But this is treason, you practically set the earth king up for execution to take over the throne for yourself." Tolan accused the shock wearing off slightly.
"The Earth King has never been the true power of Ba Sing Se, He's always been just a name to fill on papers and attend offical parties, even i used to fill on some of his papers for him, so don't tell me that his life is more important than all these innocents."
"But you're avoiding the point ! The Point is, how should i know that you agreed on The Firelord's terms to save the people and not to take the throne for yourself ?" Tolan accused once again, all the while Long Feng bottling up the accusations inside him as to not lash out at his nephew, and decided to keep a calm posture..
"Maybe i do want the throne for myself, but not for my benefit, you think i wasn't happy as the leader of the Dai Li ? as a kid that was more than i ever thought i could achieve, but when i did become the leader of the Dai Li, i saw things that needed to be changed, and the only way to change it was to take over Ba Sing Se."
"But you're in charge of Ba Sing Se, you were the earth king's personal advisor, nothing has ever been decided without your consent." Tolan argued.
"Yes, Nothing in the city.. but what about outside the city ? i want what is good for the whole earth kingdom and not just Ba Sing Se." Long Feng retaliated once again.
"So, to keep people from harm, you join in a massacre orchestrated by the most evil man in the world ? that's your idea of saving the world ?" Tolan kept arguing, Tensions were high at the moment, and Long Feng felt his patience wearing thin.
"Do you think the earth king's ancestors took the throne because they were guru goodie-goodies ? you're unbearably naive, Tolan, The Earth Kingdom was built on conspiracies, so why not keep the tradition going ?"
"Are you being serious right now ?!"
"What i meant to say was, This is not about us, this is about the people, and like i said we aren't supposed to follow the firelord forever, Spirits know how much i hate this man, but we had to, and we will keep that going until the time is right." Long Feng spoke with a sense of finality to his words.
"If it allows you to sleep at night, then keep telling yourself that, Uncle." Tolan spoke making Long Feng avert his eyes to avoid eye contact, Finally Tolan stood up from his chair and made his way to the door and out of the palace leaving Long Feng to his bad musings.
The Southern Air Temple
Peace and Comfort, that's one way to describe the feeling at the Southern Air Temple, one of the four most magical places in the world, even in a world filled with benders and magical beings, these places still wonder whoever steps foot inside them, Everywhere you go you can hear joyful shouts, wherever you go, you can smell freedom in the air... Not anymore.
As on the highest ledge of the temple, there stood a lone figure hearing the panicking voices of the air nomads after she came with the news, she stood there watching the sunset, this magnificent sight from the top of a temple is another level of magnificence, Alas, she couldn't enjoy the sight as her mind was reeling back to the bad memories of the past few days, the air was blowing her blue dress and caramel hair as she took a break from attending to a specific patient to have some air and clear her head from the terrible thoughts,
how can we blame her ? her parents' state was unknown, the state of the world was unknown, she only had her brother and the one man she felt some affection towards, she still doesn't know whether he would live or... the other result, but she had hope, she had faith, she would never give up on him, there she stood with determination,
she decided to bring him to his home of all places due to its safety compared to the rest of the world at the moment, she still doesn't even know what happened to her own home, but she still had hope, she still had faith.. she still doesn't even know what to do next had he woken up, but she still had hope, she still had faith.. those are the two things this incredible Waterbender would never give up on, Hope and Faith, she was so engrossed in her musings that she hadn't noticed some heavy footsteps from behind her..
"Katara.." Called her brother from behind her to grab her attention, she turned around almost panicking but relaxed her posture as she saw her brother and allowed a smile to grace her lips as to not make him feel worse than he already feels..
"Yeah, Sokka ?" she responded with a soft tone, but try as she might, she couldn't fool her brother.
"Are you alright ?" Sokka asked with worry and concern written all over his face, making Katara frown in the process as her plan failed.
"What do you mean ? Of course i'm fine." Katara said her voice cracking between the lines, she turned her face towards the view one more time to avoid eye-contact with her brother.
"You don't look fine." Sokka said worriedly.
"Then how does Fine look like so i can mimic it ?!" Katara growled with frustration.
"Katara, I'm your brother, i understand you more than anyone, i know you've been bottling up inside yourself for the past couple of days, this isn't good for you, Sis, Please, talk to me." Sokka pleaded softly, making Katara melt at his soft words, as a tear trickled down her cheek, still facing away from Sokka, she put her hands on her face and let out a sob..
"I don't know what's Happening to us, Sokka ?! This was supposed to be a fun trip, everything turned upside down in a heartbeat, we weren't even prepared ! Those bastards just took Our parents, our friends, The World Leaders, The Avatar, Everyone, I don't even know how to feel anymore !" Katara broke down in sobs now, Still her hands on her face as tears came freely down her cheek, she felt a pair of strong arms grabbing her and enveloping her in a tight hug, making her melt in the embrace still sobbing..
"It's ok, Katara, i feel the same way, and those bastards are going to pay dearly for what happened to the world leader, but we still don't know what happened to mom and dad.. we still don't know what happened to Suki.." Sokka trailed off, shutting his eye briefly to keep the bad thought away from his brain, he has his doubts himself but he's trying so hard to push them away for the sake of everyone, but before he could continue, his sister, who was still clinging tightly to him, her tears staining his clothes, spoke..
"But we still don't know whether Aang will make it or not, i used all the spirit water on him and his vitals are all going ok, but he still hasn't woken up, The World can't make it without him, Sokka, how do we know we will have revenge on them and save the world ?" Katara sobbed while trying to comfort herself as much as her brother is trying to comfort her, but to no avail.
"We don't, Katara, we don't know, all we can do is hope." Sokka mimicked Katara's words with a smile, she looked up at hi, when he finally voiced those words to her to find him smiling down at her, she knew instantly what he was trying to imply, he was trying to tell her to follow her own words and help yourself with them, as she helped her family and everyone in crisis she met with the same words, "Have Hope", Finally Katara allowed a genuine smile to grace her lips, hugging her brother again but in gratitude this time.
"Who knew you could do pep talk sometimes ?" Sokka chuckled lightly at his sister's words, while she was smiling widely against his chest.
"Well, i don't know, maybe because i live with the queen of pep talk under the same roof." Katara chuckled at her brother's teasing remark and slapped his arm playfully, as have finally they reached a point where they can be normal people again, the problem is, they still don't know whether Aang will be Okay or not, it's been six days since he got shot and he still hasn't woken up, Sokka and Katara decided to stay at the temple with the new head of the council of elders, following Monk Sashing's death, the council had to elect a new leader to the council of elders and they chose a elder monk in his early fifties named Tenzin,
Katara noted the man was so kind and appreciative, yet he was somewhat grumpy and old-fashioned when it came to preserving the monk traditions and customs, Katara was hoping she could make a difference in her -hopefully- brief stay at the temple, as Aang told her about his struggles as a kid in the temple, maybe her stay with the monks could change their ways of teaching the new students as she did at The Northern Watertribe with Master Pakku,
Of course the situation here seems to be a lot harder than The Northern Watertribe, but she's still stuck to her own words, Have Hope.
A/N : Tolan is the youngman that took the Earth Rumble belt from Toph at Chapter 5.
He's Long Feng's nephew.
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN.
