Chapter 33

What Sokka didn't know was that his words stroked a part of their feelings that he never thought about. Compassion, they were putting themselves in his shoes and wondered; How could such a man be so forgiving?

In their eyes, anyone whose mother got killed by the enemy would make them hateful. Yet the young man in front of them didn't hate them… it made the soldiers feel shame they hadn't felt in their whole lives. They were reminded of their own families.

Sokka had a calm exterior, they knew he had the strength to fight and possibly even kill them all. Yet the man stood there, calm as if he had predicted what had happened.

He was… like a saintly figure untainted by the sins of mortal men. Sokka stood tall and looked at them all with a calm gaze.

-Sokka POV-

Holy shit, holy fuck! I planned in case I fail, but not when I succeed like this. What do I even say here?

Now that I had all of this momentum, failing now would suck. Well, when you don't know what to say, saying nothing is better than saying anything.

So I just stayed quiet and looked at them with a serious, but sincere look. These things were so out of my league. How will they react to this gaze I was making?

I had about zero experience with these things. Still, though, I was at least prepared if the people here decided to attack me again. So, with that in mind, I calmed back down. Thankfully I hadn't shown anything outwardly due to [Gamer's Mind].

"Should you be apologizing to me?" I calmly stated. "You have done nothing against me. You do not carry the crimes of your fellow Fire Nation soldiers, so you shouldn't carry their guilt either."

That was when I noticed something even stranger. The people had tears in their eyes as they bowed, in forgiveness and regret.

FUCK…

Oy, oy, oy, the Luck stat was supposed to put me in a favorable situation. Why the fuck isn't it working? Because the situation just went way out of my league.

"Why are you guys bowing?" I asked them, trying to be calm outwardly. The thing I needed the most was information. What were they thinking? This was irrational behavior in my opinion.

"We… we were just blinding ourselves," said one of them. Pulling their head up, I saw that it was a man with a goatee and dark hair. He seemed sad at something. "I thought that as I followed orders… no, that was just my excuse so I wouldn't feel guilty."

So he was just a guy stuck on a battlefield that he didn't want to be in. Most of the military was like this, it was either people who had no idea what they were getting into or those that had no other choice. Though some knew that being in the military would offer a free scholarship. I doubt the Fire Nation offered even the latter.

These fire benders seemed quite aged. So they probably knew to think for themselves. No, it would be more correct to say that they just needed to hear someone say it.

This was lucky of me to meet all of these people… Luck… was unpredictable. Something that I had barely any control over. The only way I could control it was by controlling my actions and trying to incite a lucky event to happen.

But Luck could be dangerous. Because a lot of people who were considered Lucky sometimes lived a very tragic life. So I have to be careful with it. Especially to stop me from relying too much on luck.

Heroes were lucky… Greek heroes especially had great Luck, that's what everyone will say. Heracles was born as the son of a God, yet, his life was so tragic. I don't want to have a life like that.

Still though, for the soldiers to be so willing to ask for forgiveness. This means that I have been very lucky. Understanding that was fundamental, and while this could be considered good luck, things could develop worse if the "lucky opportunity" wasn't grasped.

Do you know what happens to a Hero who fails? That heroic tale can easily turn into a tragedy with one mistake.

I took a deep breath and channeled Chi into the tip of my spear. Something I had been able to do since getting [Spear Mastery] past Level 20 and sunk the tip of my spear in the metallic deck

Clang!

That drew everyone's attention back to me. Now wasn't the time to mull over whether I was good at public speeches or not, instead, I had to come up with something on the fly.

"I am not someone who can forgive anything, but if you follow me. The best I can do is to lead you into a path of redemption," though I said that. I had no idea how to go about it, that was why wording it in such a way was important. They will be expecting something in the future, but for now, I am safe.

They nodded, and the man with a goatee, that seemed like their temporary leader, looked at me intently. "Then, what should we do now?"

The fuck. You are an adult, don't ask stuff like that to a teenager like me. Seems like I will have to say something vague and dodge the question completely. Saying a concrete answer and then failing might turn them into hateful enemies because I deceived them. "What should you do? Shouldn't you decide that yourself? Forgiveness isn't something I can give, but something you must earn."

Take that sage-like advice and fuck off.

Those were the thoughts in my mind as I smiled at them gently. Can't these guys think for themselves? "Your commander was a bad man, so how about you take care of him? He was the one who has given orders that have resulted in thousands of deaths."

Though the words I used were soft, these guys would have to take care of Zhao. Not only would that end up with him dead, which was one of my own goals, but the ones who would kill him won't be able to ever return to the Fire Nation.

That was two birds with one stone. Because after these guys did that, then they will have to fight against the Fire Nation.

After saying that, I just walked off as I saw Appa diving through the air and landing next to me. Looking back at the soldiers, I waved at them. "You know what to do already and have no need for my help. So just do what feels right in your heart."

"""YES!""" They yelled out enthusiastically, a flame of blood lust was lit in their eyes.

This was what was scary about people. They would kill someone just to prove that they were in the right. Tribal mentality was there too, as even the ones who weren't convicted by me would have to follow.

We flew off, and I just looked at them, rushing into the ship to look for Zhao. They will probably fail and die as the other Fire Nation soldiers from the rest of the ships come and kill them all.

There was no other choice. I couldn't stay back with them or would have gotten killed too.

But, who knows, they might be successful and able to escape all of this. Even though I think that had a very low chance of happening.

I feel kinda sorry for them. They were used by Zhao, and now me. But sadly, I wasn't going to risk my life for them.

Also today I learned something incredible. Luck… could be dangerous. Right now, when the people were listening to my speech, it should have been effective. It was too effective and the people gathered there were the ones who fell for it too easily.

Having people like that in one place wasn't easy, and very rare. So Luck played a huge part in it.

Well, things worked out well in the end. For me at least.

"I didn't see anything as you said, and I quote; badass. All you did was just talk." Katara found this moment to send a snide comment at me.

Deciding to not fall to her word traps, I kept quiet.

"I think that is even more impressive," said Aang suddenly. "He was able to do all that just by using his words. Using violence is easy, but convincing people to not fight is even harder."

Oh? Right, a pacifist like him would be more impressed with me talking my way out of a situation than fighting a hundred people off.

"Katara, you should be impressed by my charisma," I said smugly. But in reality, both Aang and Katara knew that between the three of us, usually only I did the talking when it came to situations that required it.

"If you didn't brag so much about yourself, then maybe I might see you as someone cool."

I smiled at her. But that would be a problem, little sister. After all, as siblings, if I am not expressing things like these to you then we will slowly start drifting apart. When the time comes that you have to try and actively make yourself seem without faults and not speak your mind in front of me easily, then that will be when our relationship will be over.

Sometimes, relationships can be complicated, and not understanding them can be quite disastrous. I and Katara were brother and sister, there was no need for me to act like some kind of casanova with her, since we aren't dating, nor am I trying to woo her. It doesn't matter if your family sees your bad side.

After all, if you can't be your true self with your family and trust them, then who can you even trust in this world?

...
By dawn, we arrived on a crescent-shaped island, and on top of it was the tower. The temple, the one where Avatar Roku's status lay. One of the stupidest avatars of his time, though they were all kind of very unsuited to be Avatars, maybe Kyoshi being the only one who understood her responsibilities.

Aang's weakness and inability to kill someone would create a lot of problems, even for the Avatar after him. Men with consciousness were good people, but horrible leaders, someone that no one should allow to make decisions. Because he will base everything on emotion, and that was worse than even corruption.

Appa went and got a well-deserved rest on the outskirts of the island, while I, Katara, Aang, and Momo went towards the temple.

The five Fire Sages were there, waiting for us. It seemed like they had already gotten news of what was happening.

"Welcome, Avatar," one of them that seemed the oldest bowed towards us and he rose, a small smirk on his face. "How may we help you?"

"You know about me?" Aang inquired, surprised that they already knew about him and how he looked.

"Of course," the oldest Fire Sage smiled gently.

Well… these guys know that they can't defeat Aang head-on and decided to do this. That's very interesting, let's see how they act.

..
The Fire Sages continued talking with Aang as I discreetly went and checked the Dimensional Chat and saw that Zabuza and DemonicDragon had a chat while I had been fighting on Zhao's ship. And there were a couple of messages that caught my eyes.

One of them was about Zabuza describing how to use the Transformation Jutsu, and DemonicDragon wasn't able to use it. Even someone from his world who could use Chakra had tried, but couldn't use the Transformation Jutsu either.

Seeing this, an idea came to mind. Also, DemonicDragon's identity has become clear now. With almost 100% certainty I can assume that DemonicDragon was Vali Lucifer, from DxD and the person who he said had chakra in his world was probably Kuroka.

Chapter 34

The way the Fire Sages were going was very different from the original timeline. So they were probably ordered to do something. Obviously not something in our best interest, but what were they planning to do?

While following Aang as he talked with the Sages, I kept an eye on all of them.

"Honorable Sokka, lady Katara," the Fire Sages addressed us too. "We are honored to have the Avatar's crew here with us."

Katara was about to say something, but I walked in front of her in a manner that might seem rude and greeted the men. "Hi there, so you are Sages, right? So like, you know everything?"

"Hahaha," the eldest amongst them laughed amusingly. It seemed like he found my questions funny. "No, far from that. We are but normal people who serve the Avatar."

"Sokka, don't ask such stupid questions," Katara elbowed me lightly to my side, and I looked her in the eyes. Immediately, she looked back, and although she had a smile on her face, she side-glanced towards the Fire Sages multiple times.

She was signaling me that there was something suspicious about them. Seems like my cute little sister is smarter than most would think.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologized with a foolish smile on my face and put an arm around Katara's neck. "Also, little sis, don't treat me so badly," normally she would waterbend my face off if I did something like this. But while the others might only see us acting as siblings, Katara noticed my finger that was pointing downward.

Looking towards the ground, she saw many footsteps left on the soft earth, it was much more than five people could leave, more as if an army had passed through here.

Katara was suspicious before, but now she was on guard. I felt her body tense once she saw that, and was now ready to waterbend and fight her way out of here.

But I nudged her slightly and whispered to her. "Don't act suspicious, we might be surrounded already. Let's play along for a while."

The Fire Sages were running circles around Aang and asking him many questions, so they didn't pay attention to us. Which was good, as that meant they weren't too worried about us either.

But this also brought up another question. Why the hell weren't they on guard against me? Didn't they get the news from Zhao's division, wasn't that… or maybe they didn't. Was there something I am missing here? A piece of the puzzle I can't see.

No, for now, that wasn't something to worry about. Instead, these footprints were more of an urgent matter, as it meant that there were many people here that we couldn't see.

Should I check the Map? But that will block my vision for a split second. It's a little reckless with master firebenders so close, but [Danger Sense] should warn me before it happens. Also, Katara was on guard and would protect me.

In the end, I decided to open my Map, and the 3D image appeared all around me. The towed, instead of the usual blue lines… was fully covered in red, it was swarming with enemies.

There were so many red dots that I could barely see the layout of the temple. Each of them was a Fire Nation soldier and they were hidden within the secret rooms and passages of the temple.

As we walked behind Aang, many thoughts came to mind. Katara was following my lead, so that meant that I would have to be the first one to act and she would follow.

These guys were planning something. Should I attack the Fire Sages right now? No, that would just cause the people around us to spring into action.

As we walked in, we were greeted by some tight hallways.

Then would a fight in these tight hallways be beneficial? Again, no, I had nowhere to escape the fire.

How about an open field, I just jump out of the window with Aang and Katara? Fuck no, that would just make the numerical advantage even more obvious and get us wrecked.

Aang then won't be able to meet Roku. I could explain him what Roku wanted to say about the comet. Well, I could tell Aang that myself, but it would be troublesome and bring unnecessary questions. Also, even more spirits might start taking an interest in me.

This will be hard… but I am confident in outplaying everyone around me as long as I don't get arrogant. At least as some semblance of my future knowledge stood true.

One of the Fire Sages, Shyu, I believe he was called, he signaled at me. Shaking his head nervously and looking towards the walls where some hidden doors stood.

Dumbass, stop being so obvious.

I smiled at him and waved as if misunderstanding his signals as a greeting.

This guy should just shut the hell up, if he knew that we were surrounded, then he should just act normal and understand that even if I knew what message he was trying to send. It would only bring trouble to us all.

..
Once we arrived at the top of the temple, the doors to Avatar Roku's chamber were open, and in the middle, the statue of Avatar Roku stood tall with a fierce face.

"Please go on, Avatar…" said the eldest Fire Sage, bowing respectfully. "We will close the doors behind you so you can meet avatar Roku."

As Aang entered, the doors behind him closed and everyone stood silently. I already had my spear in my back and was ready for an attack at any moment now. But contrary to my expectations they just stood there and smiled at me.

These guys, what are they planning? Letting Aang enter like that was illogical. What if he enters the Avatar state, then… wait… that is their aim!

A dozen scenarios played in my head and I finally understood why there were so many Fire Nation soldiers hidden here.

The Sages were somehow knowledgeable that to kill the avatar permanently, he needed to be in the Avatar state. But I don't think this knowledge was something that anyone would have. Even Zhao, who was in Wa Shi Tong's library, didn't know that. So there was only one option left, a spirit informed the Sages.

Which spirit had been in contact with us and wanted to harm me? Evil Lady, the Spirit of Strife, she is working against me right now.

Ding!

[For making a logical conclusion Intelligence increased by 2]

That spirit. I am not strong enough to defeat it, and probably won't be for a while. But… I will kill that bitch.

People that try to go against me will die. I will fucking drown them all in a river of blood if I have to.

...
Sokka's malicious thoughts weren't shown on the outside at all. Instead, he seemed to be pretty relaxed and looked at the Fire Sages. "So, do you have any games here? Or we could do something to pass the time faster."

The Fire Sages glanced at the young man, he casually walked towards them. But he dropped his spear on the ground and the way he carelessly strode forward with a huge grin on his face made them drop their guard around him.

What was there to be worried about? He was just some foolish young man, in their eyes. How could he compare to the Fire Sages who have studied firebending their whole lives?

Fwish!

Sokka casually walked past them, and suddenly all of the Fire Sages' eyes widened. Shyu was the only one who seemed normal and glanced at his colleagues.

Shyu looked on in shock as the other Fire Sages' faces turned purple and they fell on their ground, grasping at their throats.

"Don't worry, I just blocked the Chi Points in their throat," Sokka reassured the last standing man. "Now tell me, what is happening?"

Shyu immediately spilled the beans. "A woman with dark hair and grey skin came to tell us how to kill the Avatar. She promised them glory and they would be known as the great firebenders who killed the Avatar and finished him off for good… permanently."

"Just as I expected, things always become messed up when people like her get involved." Sokka sighed.

"Uhhh… what the hell are you talking about?" Katara intervened, curious at what we were talking about.

"Oh~ it's nothing. You know how your cool brother attracts females. They sometimes become just too crazy for me."

At first, Katara was going to refute and dismiss such a foolish notion. But then she remembered how his departure with Suki ended. He had said the worst things he could say, and she ended up falling for him. "You aren't cheating on Suki are you?"

"Huh? You make it sound like me and her were in some kind of serious relationship."

Katara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Just don't be a scumbag that goes around breaking girls' hearts."

"Are you getting involved in my love life now?"

"Your love life? Why would I get involved in something nonexistent?"

"You can be such a bitch sometimes."

"What did you just say to me?!"

Though they were both arguings, Katara felt something strange. Like Sokka was trying to tell her something through their arguments, something that he couldn't say out loud.

'Are we being observed?' - wondered Katara.

Shyu looked at the bickering siblings and knew that if they made too much noise, it might alert the guards below them. They might come up and check, after all, by now they should have gotten the signal by the Fire Sages, yet they hadn't. So some might come and check. "Excuse me, mister Sokka, miss Katara, can you please not make too much nose-"

"Shut the hell up!" "Don't interfere in our business!" Both of the siblings yelled simultaneously. They were the only ones allowed to critique each other, if anyone else intervened then they would band together and bash the outsider.

The Fire Sage wisely decided to back off, but he notices something strange. By now the Fire Nation soldiers in the hidden rooms below should have noticed something and come in charging. Why haven't they done that yet?

"What's going on there?" Wondered Shyu.

...
Below the Avatar's floor, an injured Zhao, with one of his arms missing, and a burned lower jaw looks in rage towards his new prisoner. It was Zuko, he had just been caught here. The Fire Nation soldiers had filled the room, now that someone with high commanding power like Zhao was here, the Fire Nation soldiers would have to listen to him.

"Zhao? I didn't even recognize you. What happened to you? Finally lost against someone who didn't spare you?" Asked Zuko mockingly, even while in chains the prince hasn't lost his pride. He was here to capture the avatar and nothing would stop him from that.

Zhao clenched his teeth as fire started to appear around his hands. The man was unable to control his emotions for now, as he had suffered great shame by having his men mutiny and they almost killed him.

A/N: Katara is intelligent, as she had been portrayed so in the series too. Though she doesn't have that experience needed to sometimes figure out things and catch clues that Sokka seemed to catch on quickly.

Also she knows how her brother usually acts and can generally see when he wants to tell her something without actually telling her something. Though sometimes she can completely miss the message too.

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