Part 1: In France's Fields
A few years earlier
Song-Li stood before his contraption. A large circle made of metal glowed a bright purple. It swirled and swirled mesmerizing him. All fueled by the lava underground. He was proud of himself for what he had been forced to create.
He had been "asked" to build a 500 year old design that was supposed to link two worlds together by the Fire Nation. He had resisted building it at first, but being in a locked room with nothing to do for two years has its effects.
The Fire Nation had already won the 100 Years War. Ba Sing Se had fallen, the attempted attack on the capital failed. The Fire Nation has been looking for new places to conquer since they had conquered it all. Then they had found the blueprints. However not all hope was lost thought Song-Li. The avatar lived. Hiding away somewhere in the wilderness.
Song-Li looked back to the swirling portal. It could lead anywhere and to any time he thought. It could be a universe where the Fire Nation never existed. He sighed. Whatever is on the other die would also most likely fall to the Fire Nation.
The Fire Nation has the best military the world has ever seen, he thought. No one could possibly beat them. The Fire Nation had the ships to sail the sea, the airships to hound everyone in the air, and the ground forces to decimate anyone. There truly was no hope for whoever was on the other side of the portal.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in." He called, his voice gruff from the minimal talking he's done in the past 2 years. The soldier in charge of him unlocked the door and opened it. "You have finished the portal." He stated. There was no question in his voice. A mere observation made by the soldier. "Yes" Song-Li replied.
The soldier nodded. "Could someone pass through it?" The soldier asked. "I should hope so but we would need to do a few tests befo…" he began but the soldier interrupted him.
"Get it done." The soldier said before closing the door again. Song-Li sighed again. He sat again at his desk across the portal and began planning the first specimen to travel through the portal.
2 months later
The rope was fastened tightly around the prisoner. Song-Li double checked it just in case. The first few trials had been successful. The first few specimens had returned with no harm done. Now it was time for the human trials.
The prisoner had only done it because of the deal the Fire Nation struck with him. If he participated in this experiment, they would let him be free. The man was quite ecstatic and was rather confident that he would be fine. Song-Li wasn't so sure. He gave the prisoner a push towards the portal. The prisoner looked back at him for a second before he inhaled deeply and stepped through.
The prisoner felt a twist in his stomach as he felt he was being pulled by his feet. He tried to scream but he couldn't. Everything was swirling in blue, purple, and pink. He felt himself begin to pass out. He was losing control of his own body. He was being twisted and turned.
Then he touched solid ground. The prisoner took a tentative step forward and poof he was out of the portal. The prisoner looked around, giant trees were everywhere and the ground was lush. He looked down and realized the rope wasn't around him anymore. He had no idea where he was, he realized. Song-Li did tell him to explore. According to him this was a new world. That seemed quite unbelievable to the prisoner.
This new world, if it is a new world, is very like his old one. The prisoner wondered if they had any bending. He also wondered if the four nations existed in this world. Everything was so confusing. He began to walk around for a bit and found a road and on the side of the road there was a sign.
90 miles to Paris
What the hell is Paris the prisoner thought. He continued down the road before he came to a town. The people dressed very weirdly and looked at him very weirdly. He looked around town. He found some sort of paper that seemed to give news on a bench in town. He looked over it and read the caption.
Today in History: German Civil War Ends with a Monarchist Victory, Kaiser Wilhelm 2 is Reinstated.
Where the hell was Germany the prisoner thought. What was Kaiser? He looked at the date and read May 17, 1939. Where do they get the year? The prisoner shook his head and began to walk out of town.
Where was this new place? When was it? Was it the future of the four nations? So many questions and so few answers. Luckily the prisoner had the newspaper which maybe Song-Li could take a look at. The prisoner looked to his left and saw the sign again. He turned left into the woods there.
He walked through the woods for a bit before he reached the portal. It still swirled in a mesmerizing dance. The prisoner walked through it confidentiality, preparing for the ride.
Fire Nation Capital
An aide walked through the palace of the Phoenix King. He walked quickly holding the letter which detailed the success of the portal to a new world. A world that seemed very primitive. He was sure the fire lord would be excited.
He reached the throne room and bowed before the throne. The Phoenix King looked down upon the aide bowing before him. "What do you bring?" The Phoenix King said.
"The letter my lord, it details the success of the portal project." The aide said presenting it to the Phoenix King. The letter suddenly flew out of the aides hand into that of the Phoenix King's. The Phoenix King tore open the letter and read the paper.
The aide quietly continued to bow before the king let out a booming laugh. "It has succeeded. Soon all the worlds will be under our nation's grasp. I will be the true king. This primitive world will fall under our grasp. From what the people have seen, these people have no bending. No way to defend themselves. We shall rule this world. We shall suppress them with our iron thumb. They shall fall into the pit of darkness that the Earth Kingdom fell into. We will be remembered as the greatest nation to have ever lived!" The Phoenix King screamed.
The aide pressed his nose to the floor. He did not dare to look up. "We shall execute Plan A against these infidels. According to this report, there are over 100 nations in this world. We shall blow up the major cities and by that show of power, they will surrender. For they have no benders, they have not learned to control the elements. By this show of power, these nations will be utterly shocked by our show of force, and will surrender to the might of the PHOENIX EMPIRE." The aide pushed his nose against the floor even harder.
"Aide" the Phoenix King addressed him. "Go tell the generals my orders. Tell them to build a large canal for our ships and have a large portal made for them to pass through. Make sure a canal is built on the other side of the portal as well. In a few months, we will strike." The aide quickly nodded and walked as fast as he could to get out of there.
Łódź, September 1939
Three of the biggest leaders of Europe along with that of Poland sat around a large table discussing with each other. Prince Wilhelm 3, Neville Chamberlain, Albert Lebrun, and Władysław Raczkiewicz.
"Kaiser Wilhelm, we can't let you have Danzig." Raczkiewicz said. "I agree with Raczkiewicz." Chamberlain said while Lebrun nodded. "We can't let Germany have any room for more conquests."
"Here's what I think gentlemen." Kaiser Wilhelm said looking at all three of them. "Germany will annex the Polish Corridor and in return, Germany will help negotiate a two crown system between Poland and Lithuania. It is in our best interest that Poland will annex Lithuania and I gain the Polish corridor. This way we all get what we want. You, Chamberlain and Lebrun will have peace. You, Raczkiewicz will keep your ports in the Baltic Sea. And finally I will gain Danzig. Everybody wins. All of us want to avoid war."
"But Kaiser, how do we know you won't just ask for more territory?" Lebrun asked. "I have no reason too, most of Germany's lands prior to the Great War have been taken back. If that madman Hitler had won the civil war then maybe he would've kept asking for more but I shall not. I see no reason for territories in Africa. I only care for German lands here on the mainland." Wilhelm stated simply clasping his hands.
Chamberlain looked at him thoughtfully. "If this is what it takes to achieve peace, so be it. We shall invite Lithuania tomorrow and we shall convince them to accept this proposal. We shall reconvene tomorrow." All the leaders nodded. Wilhelm nodded and packed up his stuff.
"Chamberlain, I hope you will call Smetona and negotiate with him." Wilhelm asked. "I will," came the reply. Wilhelm nodded and took his leave. The other three stayed behind, most likely to discuss his preposition.
Wilhelm walked out of the room and made his way towards the room he had been given to stay. After he placed his suitcase on the table the phone rang. He eyed it carefully weighing his options before picking it up.
"Hello Will, how was the meeting today?" came a familiar voice.
""I think I have secured the deal father. We are all trying to avoid an unnecessary repeat of the Great War. Me, you, Chamberlain, even Lebrun want to avoid a repeat. We know what it did to Germany last time. Lithuania will most likely fold to our demands." Wilhelm said speaking to his father, Kaiser Wilhelm 2.
"I'm proud of you Will, really I am. I'm happy that you will succeed where I have failed. You will take back our ancestral lands. I know you will lead our nation to greatness. Even with your many affairs." The Kaiser said.
"Thank you father." Came Will's reply. "How are things at home?"
"Rather quiet without all of you playing around screaming cries of war. It's becoming rather lonely here in Berlin. All we have in the palace is servants and maids." It was easy to see the Kaiser's smile from the other side of the phone by just the tone. "Speaking of the palace, I might step down soon and let you rule Will."
"What, father, why would you do that!?" Will practically screamed into the phone. "Will, you know I'm getting old and I want you to rule. I don't know how much longer I have left in my life." the Kaiser said. "But don't worry, I don't plan on stepping down for another few months."
"Father, I'm not sure if I'm ready to rule yet. Even after all I did in the past?" Will asked. "I don't care what you did in the past, I care about what you have done now in the present. You have negotiated back many German lands and I feel confident leaving Germany in your hands."
"The main trait a ruler must have is confidence, Will. If you have confidence, you will find your path much easier and much clearer. I know you have the confidence, just find it within yourself. I was not confident and relied too heavily on my advisors and that cost us The Great War. I pray that you don't make the same mistakes that I did so long ago."
"Don't fear father, for I will learn from the past. The past will affect my future as how the seasons affect the crops." Will said confidentiality. But that was merely a facade. He could not imagine his father stepping down. Would Will be ready to take the throne and bring glory for Germany? He did not know?
His father seemed to have accepted this answer and they moved onto lighter topics such as his mother and siblings and grandchildren. Soon an hour had gone by and Wilhelm said, "Ah, the servants call for dinner. It is time for me to take my leave Will. I shall see you for your joyous return."
"It was a pleasure to speak with you father. I shall see you when the negotiations are finished. Farewell." Will said before he hung up and sat on the chair next to the desk. This news was unexpected. He knew his father was reaching the end of his days but Will didn't know if he could take the throne.
Regardless of the problem, it could be dealt with later. Now he had to finish the deal. For Germany and his family.
In Eastern France, a general looked out across the ocean. "Are firebenders in position?" He asked the messenger beside him. "Yes sir!" "Are letters ready to be sent to all the nations in the world?"
"Yes sir!"
"Good, tell the firebenders to commence the plan." The general said, still looking far off in the distance. "Is the canal almost done?" "Yes sir!"
"Then begin sending ships through. How many troops do we have here?"
"60,000 benders, 40,000 non-benders, 40,000 archers, 1000 Fire nation tanks, 600 crossbow modified ones and 400 normal ones."
"Send this out to all the cities, we blow things up tonight."
In the Southern Earth Kingdom, the Avatar sat clutching his head. "What's wrong Aang?" Katara asked worriedly. "I feel like the balance of the world is in limbo. Like something new just came into the fold."
"Is it from the success of the Fire Nation and their conquest of the world?" Katara asked. "No, it's been a few years and I've never felt this pain before." Aang said still clutching his head.
He winced as he felt another pulse in his head. "Guys I have news about Fire Nation activity." Zuko said, coming over holding a letter. "What is it?" Katara asked. "It could be why Aang is having headaches."
Zuko unwrapped the letter and opened it reading it. Slowly his eyes widened more and more. "This could be a problem." He said.
"Have they discovered us?" Aang asked, his eyes widening. "No, but they have discovered something else." Zuko said, handing the letter to Aang who also quickly read it.
"This is bad." Aang said after he read it. "What is?" Said Sokka's voice as he and Toph came back from collecting wood. "This letter." Aang replied.
"Where did you get the letter from?" Sokka asked suspiciously. "Zuko" said Aang.
"Zuko where did you get the letter?" Sokka asked again. "A loyal person in the Fire Nation government who overheard an aide speaking to the Fire Lord. He sent me this letter detailing the conversation." Zuko said, holding up the letter.
"Oh please just tell us, I'm dying of trepidation." Toph said, crossing her arms. "The Fire Nation has discovered another world and is invading it too." Aang said solemnly. "You mean like the spirit world?" Sokka asked. "No, another whole new world." Zuko said.
"That's why you're having headaches Aang!" Katara exclaimed. "That could be it." Aang said. "Wait, wait, how are they doing this?" Asked Sokka. "Portals, they made portals to carry troops and ships. However they don't expect any resistance. This world has no bending and hasn't manipulated the elements." Zuko said.
"We need to help them then. They need all the help they can get!" Said Katara, her motherly spirit showing. "They won't be too helpless." Sokka added.
"Sokka imagine an army of you running at an army of firebenders. We don't even know what weapons they have. For all we know they could have clubs. Add to the fact that they're divided into over a 100 nations." Zuko said.
"That's it, we have to help them but where are the portals?" Said Aang. "Probably where all the Fire nation ships are headed." Toph added. "We just have to shadow the ships and we'll reach the portal."
"Well then come on, let's pack up camp and find a Fire Nation Ship!" Aang said, pumping his fist up.