Kishi: OK, kids. Time to settle down and smell the conspiracy…

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Kara-No

Intermission:

Let the Nations Plan…

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Deep within the Fire Nation borders there existed a small village. It sat at the foot of the volcanic Toku-yama, and it was the sort of place that went out of its way to be unobtrusive. Fire Nation soldiers would sometimes pause here, to stop at the small inn, but they never lingered long. The place was just a typical small farming settlement, rice patties stretching out around it, and with a few small stores and maybe one tavern.

There was absolutely nothing interesting about the place. So when a group of travelers arrived late one night, they knew they'd hit the perfect place.

They walked to the modest tavern, a small outdoor gathering of tables and benches set close to a wooden kitchen.

This group of four was hardly conspicuous - a gathering of peasants, by the look of things, traveling and simply stopping off for the night. They were easy to forget - typically weathered look, hard hands, hair ranging from dark brown to black, faint red cotton jackets and darker leggings, and wooden travel sandals.

A young boy came to take their orders and started when he saw that each of them had light, silvery eyes, but he brought the sake to them anyway, and they tipped him well.

They sat there, quiet, feeling the warm wind of the mountain dulling the chill of the air.

"It seems that things are set to keep going the way they have been," said one of the men. His hair was brown and short, and his features plain.

"How dull a description for such active times," remarked the one next to him. This one, unlike his fellow, had an unnatural beauty to his features, pale and angular, and his long black hair flowed in a wave whenever he moved. "The world is at war, three peoples on the very brink of genocide, and all you can say is that this is the way it's always been?"

"It's the way of the world," said the first. "It's all a cycle. Peace and war and war and peace are nothing more than repetitions. The world has always been on the brink of change."

"So you would fall back on that tired paradox?" asked the beauty.

"Oh enough, you two," sighed a third. "Honestly, Naota, Liang, you two should know full well that we don't have time for meaningless things."

Naota shrugged, but Liang twirled a lock of his long black hair and sighed. "Always like you to take the fun out of things, Jiro."

Jiro shrugged noncommittally. The man was tall, at an absurd 6'4", but otherwise he seemed to be normal enough with brown hair to his ears and stubble on his chin. Only those absurdly light eyes marked him as anything out of the ordinary.

"This is no time for such things," came the voice of the fourth. It was quiet, and while not particularly sinister his voice was quiet enough to seem like a whisper, connoting shadows. "The world is changing," he said, "and it's progressing faster than we ever could have hoped for."

"I guess you'd be the one to say, eh Cao?" asked Liang.

Cao was the shortest of the lot of them, but solidly built. His hair was pulled back in a topknot, and his features were deceptively soft. Nevertheless, there was a certain quality in his bearing, a certain deft competence in his motions that made people pay attention to what he was doing.

"Here is what we can tell insofar as our intelligence can gather," he said. "The Fire Nation is drawing closer and closer to realizing Sozen's vision. The front lines of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom step closer and closer to the cities of Omashu and Be Cing Xe. When those cities fall, the Earth Kingdom loses both its religious centers and its political centers. Without those centers, the rest of the Kingdom will eventually fold."

"It will not fold too soon, I hope?" asked Naota. "We can't afford for the Fire people to have an easy victory."

"It's all right," said Jiro, stroking his stubble thoughtfully. "The Earth Kingdom is giving ground, but not easily, and it will redouble its efforts to hold those cities. It will cost the Fire Nation dearly to take them. By the time it's done securing the new territory, the Nation will be severely depleted and thinly spread."

"And we strike then, don't we?" asked Liang, looking to Cao.

"Yes," said Cao.

"But the Avatar could stop even us," said Liang. "Four elements against one is hardly a fair fight no matter how you cut it."

"True," said Cao. "But that's why the Prince is going to keep him busy. He has to stop the Avatar at all costs."

"And how is our 'representative' aiding him?"

"He doesn't trust her enough yet," said Cao. "At last report, he's growing more receptive, but he's not malleable to us yet."

"But that should happen soon, right?" asked Jiro. "After all, his goal is essentially the same as ours for the moment."

"It's within our best interests to serve his," said Cao. "But he is more our tool than we are his. All is going as it should."

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In a far flung, forgotten mountain in the east of the Earth Kingdom, a temple fought the surrounding jungle. The stone walls were cracked with age, the tile of the flying tresses falling off. The main sanctuary within the walls had a roof once, before it caved in. The windows let in shafts of afternoon sunlight, making the shadows all the more pronounced.

The room was empty, dust and debris spread all over the place. The only things that really seemed to withstand age were four murals on the walls. On each, depicted in such striking color, was a dragon, serpentine and powerful.

Without warning, three of them began to glow. In front of each of these murals a form began to manifest. The first to exist was before the mural of a blue dragon. Its crest was golden and it had a white mane, and it sprang out of the ocean, its look quiet and uncaring. The small spit of land in the picture didn't seem to do it much credit until the viewer realized that an entire town lay there - tiny and utterly insignificant. But the woman who stood in front of the mural now was tiny, petite, clad in a blue robe that flowed and shimmered as she moved. Her hair was white, her eyes a kind azure shade. The only real concession to vanity was a pearl, fastened to her forehead by means of a slender golden chain.

The next to emerge came from the mural right next to hers. It depicted a white dragon soaring through the clouds, gray mane flowing in the winds and the silvery crest shining in the sun. Another woman emerged, dressed in a white robe that seemed to catch the sun. She was tall, her hair long and gray, reaching down to her waist. Like her counterpart, she wore a pear at her forehead, but this one was bound with a silver chain.

The last to emerge was from the mural directly across from hers. The dragon in that one was at rest, which was seemingly unimpressive until one realized that the dragon was sleeping along the length of an entire chain of mountains. This time it was a man who stepped forth, dressed in brown robes that seemed to possess that same light-catching quality. Like the dragon's mane, his hair was the most delightful shade of evergreen one could ask for, but his pearl was in a pendant, held by a leather long and covered in ivory.

The last mural refused to shine. In this one, a red dragon wreathed in flames flew through the darkness of space. It seemed to stretch forever and ever out into the boundless emptiness.

"Suino. Tsuchino," intoned the lady in white. "It is good to see you both again."

"As with you, Kazeno," intoned Tsuchino, the lone male.

None saw any need to move, so Suino spoke: I assume we all know why we are here?"

"To discuss the humans, correct?" asked Tsuchino.

"Yes," she answered. "Certain humans have always been able to call upon our powers at will. You all remember we were glad to share our power with them."

"And why should we not be?" asked Kazeno. "Humans can never destroy us, and if they tried, they would pay dearly."

"That may be about to change," said Suino. "You do realize why Kano is not here?"

"He flies in the heavens," said Kazeno. "He has taken the form of the comet."

"The same used by the humans to start their war, yes?" asked Tsuchino.

"Yes. And they plan to draw power from him again."

"But to do so means the humans would be taking an active part in the Balance," said Kazeno, a note of surprise in her voice.

"Indeed," Suino replied. "Implanting shards of our power into them at birth does nothing to the Balance at all, but to act in tandem with us is to interfere with our ability to keep the Balance."

"Yes. Sozen would never have shifted the Balance, had he not siphoned power from Kano at the beginning of their war," said Tsuchino. "If this new ruler, Ozai, performs a similar feat, humanity could be destroyed."

"That is irrelevant," Suino chided gently. "We have watched countless things grow and live and die. If it is the time for man to die, then so be it. But if Kano becomes embroiled in the human's war, and enough power is drawn from him, he could be destroyed."

Kazeno gasped. "And if that happens -"

"Yes," said Tsuchino, his eyes widening. "The Balance could never be maintained. The world as we know it would collapse, and we with it."

Kazeno turned to face Suino fully. "And why haven't we acted to deal with it yet?"

"The Avatar blocks our path," said Suino. "The Avatar was made to keep the Balance in our stead, a guardian that could never die. The Nameless One named us to be pillars and the Avatar to be the intercessor."

"But what if he fails?" asked Kazeno. "What if Kano is destroyed?"

"Then we will collapse under the weight," said Suino.

"And the Nameless One will not let us act?" pondered Tsuchino.

"No, it is ourselves, our oaths that we bound to our very existence, that do not permit us. We have to bend to the wishes of the Avatar Spirit, and it always says 'Wait.' Only the destruction of the Balance frees us of our oaths."

"So in the end," Tsuchino growled, "all we can do is wait."

"We can," said Suino. "But we can hope as well. It is the only thing we can do now."

The three nodded, bowed, and disappeared in flashes of light.

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Kishi: Well, let's see how many plot holes I create here. Anyway, here are some more translations I owe you guys:

Suino - of Water

Tsuchino - of Earth

Kazeno - of Wind

Kano - of Fire

Kishi: And also, from last chapter:

Mami - a deceitful spirit

Sashimi - true raw fish, without the rice and seaweed that sushi has.

Kishi: I guess that's it, then. Thanks for reading! The real story shall recommence… eventually… (but since this is a repost, probably in a week or so).

Avatar: The Last Air Bender is copyrighted to people who aren't me. I don't know who they are, otherwise, I'd give 'em credit.

The only things I own in this story are those things that I perceive as being original, and thusly are mine. If you recognize something that you came up with first, all credit goes to you.

I have no clue where you can contact me. I think the address is in my profile…