Lost Secrets
Chapter 1: Hidden
For century's benders and non-benders lived apart, benders knew about humans but humans never knew about benders. Lately the last few decades' benders have started living among humans. But they keep their bending a secret, for if they expose their bending to a human, it could lead to an all-out war. Knowing the humans and their weaponry it could be a tie or a fight to the death if they found out about us. But somehow the benders have managed to keep their bending hidden even the infants, as for me and my sisters' Zikira and Jinx we live in a small village called 'Blue Valley'. We live with our uncle, Rohan and our aunt Kuvira. Our parents died when we were born, but we see Kuvira and Rohan as our parents. Zikira is the oldest, she's 20. Jinx is 18 and so am I. My village is all benders. Not one person is a human, we benders strongly dis-like humans. From what I know there is only one place in the nation where humans and benders live in harmony, it's a city right in the middle of the Earth Kingdom called Republic City. Me and my sisters have always wanted to go there but our village is on the other side of the Northern Water Tribe. Our sister tribe is the Southern Water Tribe. We live in the North Pole and they live in the South Pole. Everyone here in the village is a water bender. But I'm more than just a water bender, I can also fire bend, earth bend and air bend. Only one person in the whole world can control all four elements, and that's the Avatar. Which is me, I found out I was the new Avatar soon after our parent's death. They died from a Fire Nation raid. The Fire Nation is the enemy to all benders. Fire Lord Ozai is a ruthless man all he wants is power over the four nations, and will do anything to do so. Even if it means taking another's life. He already did it to my parents. We don't talk about them much, and I like to keep it that way. Rohan says that our names have meanings, our last name is Ryu. He says it means 'Dragon'. Zikira means 'Noble', the name fits her well. Jinx means 'Loyal' I agree with that. But my name stands out from the whole village. My name is Teegan; it means 'Young Warrior'. I don't know why I was given this name; in all honesty I don't deserve the title. I'm no worrier; I flee at the sight of fire nations, while the other young and old benders go defend the village. I may be the most powerful bender in the village but I'm no worrier. And never will be.
I love to bend, it's my whole life, I do it almost every hour of the day, whenever I can. After chores, meals and school. Sometimes I stay up all night practicing and make up my own moves. The chief of our village is Chief Iroh; his name means 'Wise One'. Everyone in the village has meaning behind their name. Iroh asks me why I don't help fight. In order to be able to fight in our village, you must be a certain age. Boys have to be 15 years old and girls have to be 16. My sisters and I are able to fight, and do very well. But I refuse. I tell Iroh that I'm not strong enough, but every time I say this he laughs. I ask him why he's laughing. He tells me when I was little I used to play with the kids my age and I was always the strongest, both physically and mentally. The physical part I can agree with but mentally, I can't. Some think since the time I learned I was the Avatar my bending became stronger, but others think I mourn for the loss of my parents and let that get in the way of my everyday life. It's true, they're all I think about. Jinx tells me that she, Zikira and the whole tribe is my family, but I ignore that statement because I know half of the tribe left for Republic City and some of the Southern tribe were forced to retreat to the Northern tribe due to a Fire Nation attack. They haven't attacked my village since my parents' death. I always feared the day they would return in search of the new Avatar. But the last Avatar was killed by them but what they didn't know is that every Avatar is killed the spirit Ravah is reincarnated into another bender; Ravah is the Avatar spirit that is a part of me. She chose me to be the next Avatar. I can't talk to her but I can talk to the past Avatar's through the Spirit World by meditating. Little did I know that I would be in the middle of meditating when my fear came true.
Chapter 2: Visits
One evening my family just got done with the dishes and Zikira, Jinx and I chose to go outside to play what our tribe calls water ball. It's a game the water bender kids made where you water bend snow into a ball about the size of a melon. You use water bending to move the ball and the goal is to get it on the other side of the frozen lake. It's really fun, we played water ball for hours almost until sundown. As the kids gradually leave their homes, me and Zikira stay out and talk while Jinx turns in for the night.
"Hey Teegan, I have a question." She starts and we look up into the stars while lying on the frozen lake. To me It's not cold, I wear a white tank top, fur boots, sweat pants and an animal skin jacket tied around my waist. Every now and then I'll put on my blue water tribe coat. But mostly I wear this. I always have my hair up with hair ties my parents gave me before they died. It keeps my long dark black hair out of my face while training. I sigh happily and content,
"Yeah what's up?" I say,
"You know how you're the youngest?" she says, looking at me.
"Yeah…"
"I can't help but see you as the oldest." She smiles,
"Why is that?" I giggle,
"Well, you seem to have taken me, Jinx and the whole tribe in as one of your own." She continues.
"What do you mean?" I ask confused
"Like you're always the first one there when there's an issue. You're the strongest bender in the village, water bending wise that is. Chief Iroh said not to tell you this but he actually looks up to you." She explains. I say nothing, Zikira sees this and I feel her hand wrap around mine,
"I don't see how that makes me special, I mean if Iroh really does look up to me then he must have mistaken me for someone else." I trail off and walk to the house.
"Teegan wait…" I hear Zikira say, I turn around. "Why won't you let anyone help?" she says putting her hands on my shoulders.
"Help me with what?" I say,
"I know you're hurt because mom and dad are gone, believe me, the whole tribe is but that's why we have each other; to talk about it and be there for others. But you're taking it too hard-"I cut her off slapping her hands off my shoulder,
"Too hard?! I never saw mom and dad hear their voices, nothing. You and Jinx have, you know what color eyes they have, what they're like and more. I know nothing about them; you want to know why I'm so protective of you and the tribe? Because you're all I have left in my life, and… I can't see my life going on if you were dead too." I start to tear up.
"Teegan I didn't know I'm sorry-"Zikira starts but I put my hand up,
"No, forget it. It's ok now you know." I say calming down and drying the tears, as I head up stairs into my room I turn out the light and sit on my bed, then out of nowhere I bury my face in the pillows and cry myself to sleep.
The next morning I was the first to wake up and decide to go down stairs and outside to my old training spot. It's all the way by the bay, where we keep our fishing boats and hunting supplies. It's the most relaxing spot in the village. I sit at the end of the dock and sit Indian style and touch my fists together, take a deep breath and close my eyes. This is my meditation pose. I listen to the waves gently hit the shore line behind me, the boats rocking to the rhythm of the sea. I feel the cool morning ocean breeze calmly whistle past my ears and through my hair. I inhale the fresh air and smile; this is what makes me happy, being one with nature. I sit like this for hours. When later I hear my name being called, I open one eye and listen for a minute, when I hear nothing I close my eyes and inhale re- centering my inner self. When someone yells my name again. I grunt, slouching
"Guess meditation time is up." I say to myself. I make my way back to the village when one of the kids runs up to me in panic. "Hey what's going on?" I say bending down,
"Chief Iroh he's gravely ill hurry!" says the little boy and grabs my hand as we run to his hut. When we get there, most of the village is already crowded around his doorway,
"Teegan is here!" says Kuvira; people make an open path as they tell me to enter his room. I see him lying in his bed covered in layers of blankets with a cold washcloth on his forehead. I quietly knock on the door frame before entering, he looks at me.
"Teegan, come have a seat." His voice is dry and raspy. I bow before entering and sit at the foot of his bed.
"Chief, what's the matter?" I ask removing the cloth and dip it in the cold water, wringing it out before returning it on his head.
"Oh my child, my days are growing short. I'm 95 years old, soon I won't be chief of the Northern water tribe." He begins. I hold back tears. Not him too, I thought.
"…But without you as chief, who will be the leader of the village?" I stutter.
"I have already chosen a new chief, your uncle Rohan will be chief when my time has ended." he says with a weak smile.
"But the tribe won't be the same without you…" I feel a tear slide but quickly whip it away.
"And it won't be the same without you and your sister's young Avatar." He continues
"Huh?" I look at him confused.
"Your uncle thinks it would be safer for you and your sisters to leave the village and journey out on your own." He says, I drop my jaw.
"What why?" I say a little louder than I intended.
"Late last night we just got word from our sister tribe that the fire Lord's son, Prince Zuko has been banished from the fire nation and is only able to return if he brings back the next Avatar, Which is you my child." He says his breaths are getting shallow. I shake my head, I can't believe it; my fear is coming true.
"Where are we supposed to go?" I say looking at him.
"You must defeat the Fire Lord himself. Once you complete that, you need to go to Republic City and go into hiding." He explains I feel my hands begin to shake; I have to face the man who killed my parents. I'm about to say something else but Iroh's eyes drift closed and his breathing slowly comes to a halt. He's gone; I sit there for several minutes then stand up and carefully pull the covers over his head and leave. When I walk out the talking stops. Everyone looks at me, and just by looking at me they know he's gone. That night we buried his body and hardly any words were spoken the rest of the day. In the morning we would host a traditional ceremony for my uncle becoming the new Chief. I'm not going to tell my sisters what Iroh instructed me to do. Not yet any ways, it will have to wait till things settle down. But I also have to tell the village this as well. This will not be easy. Until then I'll be doing a lot of meditating, I can tell.
Chapter 3: The Journey
After the ceremony was performed everyone's spirits seemed to be lifted a bit. But not mine, while everyone was playing water ball I sat all the way at the docks. This time I wasn't there to meditate, the time was getting closer where I would have to tell my sisters and the rest of the tribe. I'm sure uncle wouldn't mind letting us have one of the boats to travel, after all this is his idea. I watch as fish nibble at the surface, in hopes to catch any water bugs. As the sun showed it was about dinner time, I chose not to eat. For I lost my appetite early that day. Soon I start to gather my thoughts and start to stand up to head back to the village. When I see a flare shoot far from the distance across the ocean. I stand there watching it as it slowly dies but then I see another flair shoot up in the air. I expected for this one to die as well but for some reason it seemed to be getting closer and bigger. I narrowed my eyes at the flaming object and then It dawned on me. Those aren't flairs, there're flaming boulders, I gasp.
"The Fire Nation!" I shout running back to the village. "Rohan! Rohan!" I shout his name,
"Over here Teegan, what's the matter?" he says casually. I skid to a stop,
"The Fire Navy, they're nearing shore." I panic out of breath.
"I know this may be hard for you-" I cut him off,
"They're after me, I know. Iroh told me before he died. I have to get Zikira and Jinx and leave fast, it's the only way you'll be safe!" I say. He pulls me into a tight hug,
"Your parents would be proud. Go get your sisters, take one of the boats." Rohan says, kissing my forehead. I run to the house and grab the others,
"Come with me!" I shout, dragging them behind me.
"What's going on dude? Where are we going?" says Jinx
"No time to explain, get in the boat and stay low!" I explain as the three of us pile in the boat. The moment we leave the dock I use my water bending to move the boat. I don't have to look at what I'm doing, I can sense the flow of the water.
"Teegan, what is going on?" Zikira says,
"Iroh told me that the fire nation is looking for the Avatar, there is a navy boat headed towards the village. Rohan said he wants us to leave the tribe, go to the Fire Nation and defeat Fire Lord Ozai, and go into hiding in Republic City." I say quickly. They look at me like I'm insane, "Don't believe me? Look," I hissed and pointed to the giant navy ship we were about to pass.
"Teegan do something!'' They shouted but before I could think of something the ship spotted us and threw an anchor at our boat, and soldiers came down and quickly tied our hands up and lifted us on the metal ship. "Teegan, no matter what only use water bending." I hear Zikira whisper. I nod; we are thrown on to our knees side by side and forced to look up at a man with brown eyes, and brown hair with matching facial hair. He has an iron fire symbol in his hair. He has on a red warrior uniform also with a fire symbol. I assume this must be the captain. Oh how I hate the Fire Nation, with a passion. I look at Jinx on my right and Zikira on my left, I'm in the middle. For some reason they are bowing their heads. I look up scowling at the man in front of us.
"What do you want?" I hissed. He narrows his eyes at me and I do the same.
"Well looks like we got us brat here men." He smiles, his voice low and dry. "Tell me young water benders," he starts motioning his men to make us stand, my sisters went up willingly, but I refused to have a fire nation's hands on me and swing my leg up kicking the guards' behind me helmet off. I hear my sisters gasp, as one kicks the back of my leg forcing me back to my knees. They grab my hair and force me to look at the man. He kneels down to my level,
"What's your name, water girl?" he says as he orders the guards to release my head. I glare at him,
"Teegan Ryu," I hiss, he smiles,
"My name is Admiral Zhao, this is my ship and you are now my prisoners." He says cheerfully standing up. I go to attack him and swing my leg from under me and trip him. He falls back as my sisters giggle a little. He grunts and stands up looking at me. I smile, acting innocent, he growls and shoots a fire whip at me, but I trained my whole life and will take a lot more than that to hurt me, instead I jump up doing a backwards flip in mid-air using a guard's helmet to cut my ropes. By the time I landed on my feet I was ready to fight. The soldiers started shooting flames at me from their fists, I easily dodged all their flames and leaped over them, kicking my foot on one's head, knocking him forward and was careful to only use water bending. Within minutes the soldiers were sprawled out on the deck. I run over to my sisters and go to untie them but Zhao strikes me hard in the side as I skid away from my sisters. I get up but fall back down, my left side, it burns badly. I clutch it and struggle to stand, and manage. I look at Zhao with hatred. I take a step forward but something suddenly strikes the back of my head and I fall down unconscious.
Chapter 4: The Search
We watch our sister Teegan fall to the ground lifeless.
"TEEGAN!" Me and Jinx shout. Zhao walks over to her as the soldier who knocked her out steps over her body. We watch as Zhao bends down, turning Teegan onto her back. We're on the other side of the deck but even from here we can see Teegan's burn. I hold back tears, while Jinx already is quietly bawling. I couldn't hear what was being said between Zhao and the soldier but when Zhao raised his hand the men holding us pulled us up and walked us below deck. We passed many metal doors, the halls were dimly lit. Nothing but the sound of ours and the men's footsteps echoed in the metal hall. When we came to the last door on the right the men turned the large lock and slid the metal door open. Inside was a single cell room, they pushed us in and untied our hands before leaving, locking the cell door and the main door to the hall. Leaving us with only a small lantern to allow us to see. Jinx and I both huddle in the far left corner of the small cell, in hopes to receive some warmth but gather almost none. For a Fire Navy ship they sure keep it cold.
Hours pass and Jinx is fast asleep while I fight from drifting too far off. When suddenly the lock of the door opens and two guards come in, one is holding Teegan who is still lifeless. I hit Jinx rather hard not meaning it to be.
"Don't move." Barks one of the men as he unlocks the cell door and lets the other set Teegan down, then they leave, locking us back in. We scurry over to Teegan and see they have wrapped the burn on her side, as I lift her head onto my lap I feel a small but deep cut behind her head, as well as dry blood. That must be where she was struck.
"Teegan? Can you hear me?" Jinx says holding her hand, nothing. I sigh and sit back against the wall, stroking my little sister's bloody hair. While Jinx curls up in the corner trying to stay warm.
Slowly my senses come back as I flicker my eyes open and see Zikira above me asleep, I turn my head and see Jinx curled up into a corner also asleep. I wince sitting up grasping my side finding it wrapped up but soaked in blood. The motion of me getting up woke Zikira up who gasped and hugged my tightly,
"Oh my gosh Teegan you're alive!" She says waking up Jinx, who also comes over and hugs me.
"Dude your crazy…. But that was awesome," Jinx smiles. I smile too and scoot up against the wall.
"That was brave of you, what you did out there is what I was talking about the other night, when I said you put our safety before yours." Says Zikira,
"So what now?" adds Jinx,
"Well we're probably on our way to the Fire Lord right now." Says Zikira,
"That's where you wanted to go right?" corrects Jinx, I nod,
"Yeah but not like this. I can't fight him in this condition," I say, gesturing to my wound.
"Well what do you want to do?" continues Jinx, I sigh thinking.
"Well first things first we gotta get off this ship." I say,
"Yeah and do it by just using water bending." Adds Zikira,
After a couple hours I hear the door unlock and Zhao comes in. I sit up wincing at the burn and looking at my sisters who are fast asleep. I turn back to Zhao and glare at him. He walks up to the cell bars and stands there.
"Nice to see you up and moving again Teegan," he begins. I huff and try to stand using the wall to support me. But fail and fall down at his feet from the bars, cringing fighting to hold back tears. I will never break into tears in front of any Fire Nation soldier. I hear him chuckle lowly, I look up at him with hatred,
"What are you laughing at?" I hiss; internally laughing at my comment.
"You," he smiles. "You are a skilled little water bender, some of those moves I've never seen, I'm impressed." He comments. "How did you learn those moves if you don't mind me asking?" he continues
"I taught myself." I simply say.
"Really? Very impressive." He nods, kneeling down. I couldn't tell if he was giving me a hard time or really meant it.
"Thanks?" I say moving into a sitting position.
"You're welcome, see we can get along." He coos, I frown,
"I will never in my whole life befriend a fire bender, especially a flaming dick head like you. Your stupid army killed my parents!" I hiss, he narrows his eyes at me, studding me.
"You look very familiar, Teegan." He pauses, and then he cracks a smile. I give him a questioned look.
"Yes, now I remember you, you're the little water tribe girl who was just an infant, you and your sisters over there were the only surviving benders." He smiles widely, I feel my anger reach its peak. I grab his short beard through the bars and pull myself up to his eye level.
"You killed my parents?!" I shouted, not caring I woke my sisters.
"I'm not the one who ordered the raid. I was just doing my job." He simply states not affected my actions whatsoever, in fact to my surprise he laughs. I narrowed my eyes not letting go of him.
"Who was it?" I growl. He smiles, "SPEAK YOU WORTHLESS FIRE BENDER!" I roar. I didn't notice my anger was taking over my actions and I clench my fists tightly.
"The Fire Lord," He sneers, grasping my wrist that held me up. He begins to burn my wrist, but hold back the pain and hold on tighter. "Let go Teegan or you won't have a wrist anymore." He growls, heating my wrist up more. I wince and let go grasping my burnt wrists. I look back at him and he stands up stroking his short beard. "If you would like to talk to him in person you're head there now," he smirks, turning around to shut the door before he adds something. "Let's just hope he's in a good mood today. He's not as nice as me." He chuckles and shuts the door. Only then do I allow tears to stream down my face.
"Teegan what just happened?" says Jinx.
"He burnt your hand!" gasps Zikira,
"It's not bad, I'm fine really. But I found out who killed mom and dad….it was the Fire Lord. Zhao said we're on our way to see him now." I say calmly,
"That's perfect! Pretty soon we'll be on our way to Republic City!" cheers Jinx. I think about what Iroh said.
"I'm going to meditate for a while." I say walking to the corner and getting into a meditation pose.
"Was it something I said?" I hear Jinx whisper. I shush them and concentrate.
Chapter 5: Arrival
While Jinx plays with dust bunnies I couldn't take my eyes off Teegan. She's been sitting in perfect Indian style with her fists touching and her arms at her side for hours. How does she stay in one position for so long and not get cramps? It must be an Avatar thing, I don't know. Suddenly the ship comes to an abrupt halt. Jolting Teegan out of her concentration.
"What happened?" she says standing up.
"We must have stopped," Whispers Jinx.
"Well no duh…" I say sarcastically, sticking my tongue out crossing my eyes. Jinx laughs and to my surprise so does Teegan. I'm glad we can lift our moods in times like this. Normally it's Teegan that does it but hey I don't mind doing it. We hear guards walking up and down the hall. After a while they stop and we sit down.
Zikira and Jinx know how to cheer me up, I love them. When the footsteps stop we sit back down.
"I wonder what happened." Jinx finally says breaking the silence. I see Zikira shrug, I say nothing.
"Bathroom break?" I blurt out, we all start laughing, "What it could happen," I chuckle. We all stop when the door unlocks and Zhao comes in with three soldiers. "Done with your pee break Admiral?" I try to keep myself from laughing at my own joke but lose it when the others start to giggle. Zhao rolls his eyes and opens the cell as the three men pile in each one, tying our hands behind our back. I wince as the rope rubs against my burnt wrists. Zhao then leads us out down the hallway. The three of us say nothing as we walk back up to the main deck. I drop my jaw at the sight of thousands of fire navy ships lined perfectly in rows. Fire Nation soldiers walked in every direction, all wherein the same skull helmet as the ones on the ship. As we walked behind Zhao I made sure to glare at every soldier we passed. We enter a series of long hallways finally coming to a halt at two tall doors, Zhao opens them and the guards push us in, we enter what looks like the Fire Lord's throne. The whole back wall was lined up with fire and the throne itself sat behind those flames. We stop at the bottom of the steps and are forced down to our knees. I struggle a little but am elbowed in my burnt side. I groan and fall to my knees. But refuse to bow my head.
"My Lord, I bring you survivors of the Northern Water tribe. It seems they managed to survive the raid from years ago. For I remember one water tribe girl." Zhao begins turning to me, I scowl at him going to attack him but the guard that held me twisted my burnt wrist. I didn't mean for a yelp to escape my lips but it slipped out,
"Ah!" I wince cursing myself for the sudden outbreak. Zhao smiles pleased, and turns to the Fire Lord.
"Welcome young water benders. I'm Fire Lord Ozai, and who might you three girls be? His voice is even deeper than Zhao's, sending chills down my spine. We all say nothing, but when Lord Ozai stands up he walks through the fire. Not burned by one flame. I gulp unnoticed and stiffen as he walks over to us, I hear a small whimper come from Zikira. He stops in front of us. While my sisters lower their heads in submission I glare at the man who was behind my parent's death. "Your names please." He repeats but more sternly.
"Jinx." I hear her say.
"Zikira." She says. They both look at me; I frown looking at the ground. No, I will not tell him my name. Suddenly my hair is yanked back forcing me to look at him. He bends down. He has a much longer beard than Zhao as well as his hair; he has a bigger fire nation pin in his hair, marking him as Lord. He has a long red gown with a red robe. He's definitely creepier than Zhao.
"Your name child." He bellows low enough for me to hear. I respond by spitting in his face. The girls gasp as Ozai shoots back. Whipping it off roughly, then I receive a foot in the face, the guards let me fall back as my sisters are moved aside, I look up at the sorry excuse for a Fire Lord. I use my elbow to sit back up. Only to have my neck tightly held, not enough to choke me but to where I couldn't turn my head.
"My name is for me to know and for you to find out," I wheeze, he glares at me.
"Take those two to the cell room, this one stays." Hisses Ozai throwing me on the ground. Before I could say a word my sisters were dragged out with the tall doors closing behind them. I growl looking back, Zhao steps aside as Ozai walks to me. I scoot back against one of the many wide posts and use it to help myself onto my feet. I frantically try to loosen the ropes but can't so I did the one thing I could do. I used my finger tip to burn through the ropes. But I kept my hands behind my back, "You're brave to do that girl," Starts Ozai stopping mere inches from me. I stand my ground, "Her name Zhao." He demands,
"The girl's name is Teegan Ryu, those were her sisters." Zhao says from the side. I glare at him,
"Teegan? That's an unusual name, considering the meaning behind It." he smiles,
"You know what my name means?" I say in disbelief.
"I do yes, it means 'Young Warrior', I don't know what your last name means though." He trails off, and looks back at me, "Teegan," he repeats. "I like that name. Let's see if you live up to It." he coos and with that he shoots a fireball at me. I retreat my hands in front of my face blocking the fire, forget about using water bending, I thought. I throw my fist at him with such force of my own fire he is blown off his feet and tumbles backwards before skidding to a halt. Both Zhao and Ozai look at me in shock. I smile proudly. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. I go to attack again but see Zhao shoot a fire whip from the corner of my eye, I swing my hand up blowing the flame the other way, I point my attention back at Ozai and swing my leg around throwing a fire wall at him. But he claps his hands together and parts the fire wall allowing him to walk through, I run to him and jump but am struck on my shoulder and sent flying through the air only to land hard on my back. I grunt on impact and this time struggle greatly to get up. I look up at my opponents who are closing in on me. I hit the ground making the earth sink Zhao's feet in making him immobile. I use the wall to lift me up and run at the Fire Lord once more. He raises his fist but I slide under his legs and jump up shooting a gust of wind at his back. He regains his footing and turns to me quickly grabbing both my wrists and suddenly he electrocutes me.
"AAAH!!"I shouted, falling to my hands and knees. I still feel electricity coursing through my body. I shake looking up at him as he bends down lifting my chin up.
"I know exactly who you are…Avatar." He growls, I scowl at him weakly lifting up my hand but fail and my arms give out, I fall to the ground in pain, defeat, shame. He turned me over so I was looking at him. "As much as I would love to end you right here, I know a man who would pay a fortune to do it himself." He sneers. "Get her to the airship, set a course to Republic City. Tell them they have a rather expensive delivery for their leader." Orders Ozai,
"My sisters…" was all I could say I was so weak.
"Your sisters are going to stay here with me for the time being." He hisses and that's the last thing I hear before I fall into darkness.
Chapter 6: Separated
As I slowly wake up I find my hands chained behind my back and connected to a wall. I sit up remembering what happened. I curse myself for exposing my secret and making myself look like a fool in front of the Fire Lord. Where am I? I look around the blank metal room. I can faintly hear a low humming sound if I listen hard enough. I lean against the wall to help me stand up, this done I look back at the part of the chain attached to the wall. To my luck the bolts are worn and rusty. I smile and quietly blow fire in the bolts, when they turn orange I take this time and yank hard on the chain. After much effort it snaps off. I smile and sit down tucking my legs in and swing my arms under them bringing them in front of me. I then use my fingertips and start to burn the cuffs themselves. This takes longer considering the thickness but ended up with the same results. They drop to the floor and I rub my wrists which still hurt from the shock Ozai did to me, how did he do that anyway? Walking around the cell I look for any sign of a door hinge or something indicating an exit. But eventually I found the door and looked underneath it. There is a hallway head but as I look closer I see sunlight peeking from one of the rooms. I smile and get up, I think of a way to open the door. Looking at the hinges seeing they too were made of metal I could melt them as well. To my surprise this took not long at all. As the door begins to fall back I catch it and slowly lower it to the ground being as quiet as possible. I peer down the hall and head toward the lit room. But come to find out it's the control room, filled with people in very odd uniforms. Each one of them had on a skin tight dark green mask with golden goggles. As I look closer and see not where I'm at but what I'm on. An airship, fantastic. I thought how am I going to get out of here now? Well one thing is for sure, I have to hide somewhere for the time being or at least till we land. Walking down the short narrow halls of the air ship I finally find a storage room filled with boxes, I go in and walk all the way to the very back and find an empty box. Perfect, I thought; I climbed in and put the lid over me.
We were taken down to a dungeon and thrown in a cell; we had no way to escape, we had no water to bend and they wouldn't give us any either. God I wish Teegan was here, whatever happened to her with the Fire Lord? Where is she?
After that I don't know how long I felt the air ship land. I waited a couple minutes before lifting the top off, setting it down as I climbed out of the box. I work my way closer to the front, hiding behind box to box. I then peek down the hall and see the coast is clear. Making my way back to the control room I see no one was in there. I look further down the hall and see an exit sign; I run to it and see I'm on top of a building? I'm in a city; could this be the Republic City? Suddenly I hear shouting coming from the air ship. I spin around and hide behind an air duct unit. I peek around it and see the green uniformed people run off the air ship.
"The Avatar has escaped!" says one of them. Two ran down the stairway off the roof while the others went back on the ship. I gulp and think quickly of a plan. I leaned over the edge of the roof seeing how high I was, jumping was off the list. I scoot back to the air duct unit and peek around again. The green uniformed people run off the ship who are met with I assume the two who ran off, but they all look the same. The two are followed by a man in a black uniform with a black hood. I couldn't see his face though his back was too me.
"What happened?" says the hooded man.
"When we landed we went to retrieve the Avatar but found the door to her cell was knocked down and the hinges were burned off. She also seemed to burn the cuffs off as well." Says one of the green people.
"The Avatar is a girl? Well this makes things much more interesting. Gather more Equalists and search for any trace of her. I want her brought to my office first. When you capture her chi block her and tie her hands behind her back." Explains the hooded man. So that's what the green uniformed people are called. Equalists, what the heck is an Equalists? And what is a chi block? I shake my head refocusing, many of the Equalists run down the steps but one stays with the hooded man. This one I could see only the bottom half of his face, while everyone else had the whole face hidden. The man had a long mustache and held two long rods. He walked over to the hooded man as they both turned to face my way. I slip behind the duct holding my breath. I hear their footsteps crunch the gravel as they get closer. I shut my eyes and bite my lip, detaining a whimper. Thankfully they stopped but sounded very close to the duct.
"Where do you think she is Sir?" says the man with the mustache,
"The Avatar couldn't have gone far. The air ship has only been on land for 5 minutes." I hear the hooded man say. I gulp, inching my way to the opposite side of the duct from where they are. Trying not to crunch the gravel. I stop when they start speaking again.
"I heard she attacked the Admiral and the Fire Lord." Says the mustache man,
"It would seem that way wouldn't it Lieutenant." Bellows the hooded man, so that was the Lieutenant? Then that must make the hooded man the leader or something. Then it dawned on me. The Fire Lord said I was being sent to Republic City to some sort of Leader. This must be the Leader he was talking about. I stiffen greatly and move away more. But my focus was on them. I didn't see a bird right around the other side of me. I accidentally spook it and it flutters away, cooing loudly. It scared me and I gasp not meaning to. But the men heard the bird,
"What was that?" I hear the Lieutenant hiss. I widen my eyes as I see his shadow grow larger from the side. I see his hands reach for something behind him and he pulls out the long rods. He flips a switch on them and they begin to hum. I widen my eyes realizing they are electric rods. I dash around and run to the airship, refusing to go down the steps knowing I'll run into more trouble. "THERE!" shouts the Lieutenant. I look over my shoulder and see both the men run after me. I ran in the air ship and down the hall to the storage room and back to my box I was in earlier, closing the top over me. I catch my breath listening to them enter the ship.
"Go get more men and bring them here. Quickly." I hear the hooded man order as his footsteps echo the hall. I can't tell if he was walking this way or the other. All I could do was hold my breath and stay as quiet as possible. The longer I sat in here the more I felt beads of sweat form on my forehead. They were not from heat, no they were from fear. Finally his footsteps come to a halt, but once again I can't tell how far he is. Until the light flickers on peering through the cracks in the box. I feel my heart rate quicken. As I hear his footsteps inch closer to the back, I prepare myself to jump out and run but also fight if needed, I just hope this Leader wasn't a fire bender; I already know I'll lose against one.
"Avatar," he whispers, I flinch at the sudden noise. I close my eyes, "I know you're in here," he continues. I gulp covering my mouth preventing whimpers to escape. "I would hate our first encounter to end up in a fight. My name is Amon, it seems you and the Lieutenant briefly met. I understand you're a bit frightened from a few days ago in the Fire Nation, but we can start fresh here." He pauses, his footsteps stop. I open my eyes and place my hand on the top, not yet removing it. Is he gone? I thought, I wait several minutes and still hear nothing, I think he is gone. I quietly open the top, only peeking my head out, but see him right next to me. I couldn't help but gasp, not meaning to, he spins around and sees me. Jumping out of the box I speed to the doorway only to run into a handful of Equalists. I shot back and went to run the other way but Amon was a few feet behind me. I stop and back into a wall,
"Calm down Avatar, you act as if you've seen a ghost." Says Amon, walking up to me. I shoot a gust of wind at him but he regains his footing so I try fire instead, but as if he knew this he gracefully dodges every flame I blow at him. I stand there frozen; I gulp as he stops in front of me. I couldn't see his face. He had a pale mask on with a large red dot on the forehead.
"Who…are you?" I stutter. This guy tops the Fire Lord and Zhao on the creepy list.
"I already introduced myself, Avatar, now it's your turn." He coos, I try to act brave and treat him like a fire nation rat.
"My name is for me to know and you to never find out." I hiss, I see his eyes narrow behind the mask.
"So be it, Lieutenant, would you be so kind and take our guest to her room and make sure she's secure in there." Orders Amon, all I see is his hand raised and my world goes black.
Chapter 8: Rules
Being held prisoner by the Fire Lord isn't the worst thing that could happen to us, it's being away from Teegan. Who knows where she is, or what happened to her…. or if she's even alive anymore. All we know is she was held back by the Fire Lord while we were being dragged away. She was only trying to protect us. We have a small barred window in our cell, we can see what time of day it is, but for the most part it's dark in here. Me and Jinx don't talk a lot, for we were told we're not allowed to talk. We mostly sleep and sit in silence. Whenever we are given water we are closely watched to make sure we don't bend it.
As I slowly wake up I go to rub my head but find my hands chained above my head. Shit, I try to heat the cuffs up but for some reason I can't even produce a spark. What happened to my bending?! I start to panic and tug at the chains but stop when the sound of a door opening reaches my ears. I stop and look around but am surrounded in darkness, until another door opens and the room light turns on, though it may be very dim. I see the hooded man come in; if I remember it correctly his name was Amon. His eyes peer through the mask holes scanning my injured form.
"You're inexperienced." He spits,
"What?" I huff, that just came out of nowhere.
"Your fighting skills are weak." He clarifies, I frown.
"What the hell, I fought the Fire Lord-"he cuts me off,
"And you lost." He adds,
"Unchain me and I'll show you just how skilled I really am!" I hiss pulling on the chains.
"How cute, but those chains aren't coming off anytime soon." He sneers pacing around me,
"What are you planning on doing to me?" I say glaring at him,
"Nothing yet, but you might as well start gaining my trust because I would hate your stay here to be spent locked up in here." He snickers,
"Like I'd ever trust you. I'll find a way out." I hissed, tempted to strike at him.
"I'd like to see you try Avatar." He bellows and leaves, locking the metal door leaving me in the dark. I sigh deeply and look at the ground, only then do I notice my shoes have been taken away leaving me bare foot. I roll my eyes and try to think of a way out. I look at the cuffs around my wrists and don't see a lock on them, weird I thought how do they come off then? I raise my eyes and follow the chains and see they both are attached to the ceiling. I squint trying to look closer and see the bolts screwed in the ceiling. Each chain had two bolts, if I could loosen those bolts enough I could yank the chains down. But how am I going to loosen them? I tug a little realizing I can lift myself up. I grab one chain and start to climb it like a rope. Once to the top I prepared myself to hold on with one hand. For a split second I was able to do so but my arm gave out from holding my weight and I fell landing on my feet but yanking my shoulders which really hurt. I cringe and try again. But failing once more, I tried this many times but not once succeeded. Finally I gave up on this plan and started to think of a new one.
I wasn't sure how long I stood there, limbs chained in the darkness, but after a while the exhaustion of being forced to stand with my arms raised, which cut off my airway so badly that I feared falling asleep, should I shift and suffocate. All this combined with extreme hunger and thirst I was quickly becoming worn out and discouraged. Not to mention my inability of somehow not being able to bend scared me, was I ever going to be able to bend again? I had always hated silence, even at home it never was completely silent; I could feel myself growing weaker and weaker. My throat was so dry it hurt and I haven't eaten in days. I'm so hungry I feel sick to my stomach. My arms have long since gone numb and my legs often started shaking beneath me, threatening to give out. In all honesty I'm more worried about my sisters than my own wellbeing. I know the Fire Nation and what they're capable of. They killed my parents and are currently taking over my village. I can only imagine the damage that has been done and the amount of people killed or taken prisoner. And I can't do anything about it, I never could have anyway, I'm no worrier. I'm just a young water tribe girl who happens to be the all mighty Avatar, I hate being the stupid Avatar, why did the spirits choose me?
Chapter 9: Choices
It's been weeks since the fire nation captured us and sent Teegan away; she's all we think about. Until one day Zhao and Fire Lord Ozai come into the cell room.
"Good news water tribe brats, our beloved Admiral is going to Republic City where your sister is." Says Ozai, we look at each other scared.
"Why?" Jinx says.
"Lord Amon wants to have a meeting with me. Also I want to see how your sister is adapting to her new surroundings." Coos Zhao, as they leave. We sigh softly; we have to get out of here.
Much to my surprise I jolted out of a somewhat dream-like state, and saw the door had been open. Was I asleep? I look around the dark room, but yelp as my hair is yanked back, forcing me to look in Amon's eyes. Only then can I see his eye color, solid blue, creepy. I frown,
"What now?" I say my voice is dry and raspy.
"I've got a little surprise for you Avatar." He purrs,
"Are you letting me go?" I raise an eyebrow, he chuckles and let's go of my hair walking to the front of me.
"Cute, but no; I'm sure you're familiar with Admiral Zhao," he pauses.
"That flaming dick head." I whisper harshly, balling my fists.
"I'll take that as a yes; he's coming in a few days to Republic City to meet with me and he might just be coming to visit you if he has time." He sneers, I lower my head not wanting to look him in the eye,
"Why can't I bend?" I mumble,
"That's for me to know and for you to find out, don't worry it's only temporary, it could have been permanent." He pauses, leaning close, "In other words, I'm saving you for last." He purrs, turning around, the feeling of anger boiled up inside and I swing my leg up and kick the side of his head. He spins around and grabs my neck, "You better watch yourself young avatar, before you get yourself into a lot of trouble." He hisses slowly, I glare at him and spit on his mask. He shoots back and to my surprise starts to chuckle,
"No worries, you'll learn soon enough, you seem intelligent." He bellows and leaves the cell; I growl and start pulling on the chains again, how can he take my bending away? I have to get out of here, with the inability to bend for some reason, I'll have to find a way out, and so far I'm starting to get to the point where I'd try slipping my wrists out of the cuffs. Though it would be painful and result in badly damaged wrists, the idea could work. The reason I hesitate with this plan is the fact that one, pain is involved and two even if it did succeed the door is locked and I can't bend. Wait… Amon said the effect was only temporary, meaning my bending will come back eventually. I got it, once my bending comes back I will burn the cuffs and the door down and escape then, ok then looks like I got a plan. All I have to do now is wait. In the meantime I might as well try and meditate. Closing my eyes and slowing my breathing I concentrate on my inner self. Zoning in on what I feel at the moment. My side where Zhao burned me still hurt and was covered in dry blood and starting to scab. My wrist where I held his beard was not healing very well and the cuffs didn't help. I try to move past the pain and distract my thoughts with memories. My sisters, my family, the village. All of them gone, missing, destroyed; and it's my entire fault. If I would've just stayed and fought when the fire nation was spotted approaching the village none of this would have happened. I don't deserve to be the Avatar, the avatar is supposed to protect others and bring balance to the world. Well, aren't I doing a fine job of that. For hours I sulk in my misery, not knowing what time of day it is due to the fact there are no windows in here; seems to make time go by a lot slower. Until I hear the sound of the cell door scraping open, already knowing its Amon I don't even bother looking up.
"It's nice to see you again Teegan." Says a familiar voice, I widen my eyes,
"Zhao." I practically growl, glaring at him.
"How have you been my dear," he sneers walking around me. I clench my fists looking down, refusing to look in his face.
"What do you want?" I hiss,
"What? I can't visit you?" he says sarcastically stopping in front of me, I frown deeply and look up at him, if looks could kill he'd be ashes.
"Get out of my FACE!" I shout echoing in the cell room. He smiles wickedly and grabs my chin leaning in close,
"You are in absolutely no position to make demands of Avatar." He sneers, I narrow my eyes
"Don't tell me what to do." I hiss,
"I can do anything I damn well please, and If you have a problem with it you can discuss it with your master." He sinkers,
"I have no master." I spit, he laughs.
"Oh yes you do Avatar." He chuckles,
"No I don't, and even if I did, who the hell would put up with me?" I sass,
"Amon." He says simply, I widen my eyes slightly, and then frown.
"LIAR!" I shout, swinging my foot up and kick him hard in the chest. He staggers back clutching his chest. Just as he was about to say something the cell door opens and Amon walks in, I grit my teeth at him.
"What is going on in here?" he says calmly,
"It seems Teegan is not happy with the thought of you being her master." Says Zhao turning around,
"Teegan?" Amon questions.
"The Avatar," points Zhao, "Has she not told you her name?" he smiles looking at me.
"No in fact she hasn't, tell me Teegan what's making you so upset?" he sneers walking to me. I say nothing but glare at him in the eye, he waits a few seconds "I asked you a question Avatar," he says slowly, I still say nothing. He narrows his eyes, "I'm going to ask one more time. If you still refuse to answer me, then I will gladly make you." He hisses, I narrow my eyes back at him,
"I'd like to see you try." Is all I say, he does a single nod,
"Very well, Admiral Zhao, would you be so kind and heat the cuffs up until I say otherwise?" he says, not moving his eyes away.
"My pleasure." He sinkers, walking behind me, I close my eyes ready for the pain. Within seconds I feel the cuffs begin to heat up. I grit my teeth and bite my lip to detain the scream, even though I can't see his face I can tell Amon is burning me with his gaze, I feel my hands start to shake from pain as I clench my fists so hard my nails dig into my skin letting blood fall, I inhale deeply and struggle to hold in a whimper, I groan loudly and feel tears fall.
"Enough," I hear Amon say finally and Zhao releases the cuffs, I gasp as the pain lingers, Amon lifts my chin up, "When you are asked a question you are to answer it, if you refuse there will be consequences." He says slowly. I open my eyes and glare at him, "Either you do as I say and enjoy your stay here or I can make your time here quite unpleasant. This is your last warning before things get serious Avatar." He growls letting my chin go and walks out followed by Zhao, I'm once again left alone in silence.
Chapter 10: Lessons
I stand here in darkness and silence; my wrists burned badly because some heat was still trapped in the cuffs. My thoughts went back to when I was younger, back when Chief Iroh was still alive. All the times he caught me training by myself, he'd always ask if he could join, we would train till sundown. Or the time when Uncle Rohan and Aunt Kuvira took me and my sisters on a fishing trip. Zikira and I would always have a race on who could get the most fish until the end of the trip; the loser had to cook the winner's fish for them. Jinx loved to practice her water bending on these trips. I remember one time when it was a quiet day in the village, at least that's what I was told from Rohan; for me and my sisters were fooling around with a nearby herd of sea penguins, eventually they ended up running through the village, as a hand full scurried in the market shop they came running out with all the tribe's fish, some dropped the fish but most got away, we still laugh at that day. Breaking me out of my thoughts I hear the door open and close. I refuse to look up, not only because I don't want to but also I'm growing weaker. I close my eyes trying to ignore whoever it was, but quickly fling them open when I feel a cool metal object being placed around both my ankles, I look and see cuffs have been locked around my feet; I lift my head up and see an Equalist guard stand back up, only for him un-cuff my wrists. As a result of this I collapsed on the floor. I struggled so much to sit up but my arms were completely numb from lack of blood flow, I shakily raised my head to see the door shut again behind the guard. What was the point of unchain my arms if you were going to chain my feet? I took this time to inspect my wrists. Burnt flesh and blood stuck together as if they were glued. I could almost feel heat rise from the burnt flesh. I wince and take this chance to get some sleep for once; I haven't slept since the morning of the invasion at my village.
I wake up to Jinx shaking my shoulder, I wine and roll the other way,
"Zikira wakes up…Zhao's back." She lowers her voice at the mention of his name, I fling my eyes open and sit up walking to the front of the cell. Looking down the hall I see Zhao talking to one of the prison guards',
"You must be the water tribe sisters." Says a small frail voice, I search for the tiny voice looking a few cells down across ours.
"Yeah…" I say sitting down leaning against the bars before looking in Zhao's direction, he's left and so has the guard.
"I'm Yue, I'm from the Southern Water tribe," she greets shyly,
"I'm Zikira and that's my sister Jinx, we're from the Northern tribe." I say looking down at the thought of my family and home, "Why are you here?" I say wanting to change the subject,
"I'm no ordinary water bender, I'm the last one in the Southern tribe." She softens her tone at the end.
"What happened to all the other benders?" I ask worried,
"The Fire Nation invaded my village a few months ago, they killed every living water bender but the Admiral wanted me alive and I was taken here. What about you?" she explains.
"…It's a long story…let's just say we also might be the last water benders in my tribe, or the only ones left alive." I feel a tear fall.
Chapter 11: A Sea of Red
Despite the fact I'm burned and weak and laying on the hard cold floor, this is the best sleep I have had in a while, that is until the all too familiar sound of the cell door opening, too tired to open my eyes I tilt my head in a way I can hear enough.
"Since you're new here I give you this one time to be here." I hear the voice of Amon, "A few months ago I received a 'gift' from the Fire Nation," he pauses, I hear footsteps approach, by instinct I fling my eyes open and throw my fists at the person, I hit them hard enough for pain to surge up my arm, not knowing who or what part of them I hit. I soon found out I hit Amon, for he was on top of me in mere seconds. I let my eyes focus for a minute and his mask comes into view, I growl and go to hit him again aiming for that creepy mask but as if he knew what my next target was, he whips his hand up and catches my fist mere inches away from his face. I grunt and pull away, but he holds on tighter,
"As you can see Rick, this particular prisoner is the all mighty Avatar," Continues Amon, I look past Amon's shoulder and see a tall man with black shirt and jeans and has reddish brown hair. I pay him no attention and look back at Amon.
"She's a little spit fire isn't she," Rick chuckles.
"Get off me you psycho masked freak!" I shout resisting his grip. He then quickly moves his free hand to my neck and starts to choke me. I still fight his grip but his whole body weight is holding me down, he just squeezes harder, I gasp and choking sounds manage to escape my lips, my frantic movements start to die down and my face starts to feel hot, I open my mouth in an attempt to speak. But all that comes out is a groan. I then frantically grab his monstrous hands and try to pry them open, I hear his muffled laughter.
"The human brain needs oxygen to live, as well as the lungs," Amon begins, "but as soon as the airway is blocked then brain cells start to die, the lungs are at high risk at collapsing, then the heart weakens and then death is sure to follow," he pauses, leaning in my face. Tears gather at the corners of my eyes as my vision starts to blur. "Fortunately I know when to let go far before that happens." He hisses and releases my neck and stands up again but stays above me, I inhale so deeply I break out into a violent coughing fit, I roll onto my side and start to cough so hard blood splatters on the floor, after at least a minute the coughing stops and I'm able to concentrate on my breathing,
"Is she always like this?" Rick says bluntly, I roll onto my stomach and push my hand under me and sit up half way but due to the lack of air at the moment I immediately become light headed and fall back down glaring at Rick,
"What kind of stupid question is that?" My voice is raspy. Rick looks at Amon and back at me.
"Is she serious?" he chuckles. I narrow my eyes,
"Oh I'm dead serious, Rick you Dick." I hiss, smiling at his new nickname. Rick looks at me shocked, he looks at Amon and as if Amon knew what Rick was thinking, Amon nodded stepping aside, this let Rick strode to me and slam his foot in my jaw, catching me off guard, the force of the kick sent my head flying back, I grunt and go to attack him but he was too quick and grabs my arm and raised it high behind my back, pinning me on the ground holding my head down with his foot, I groan in pain, as much as I tried to slip out of his grasp, it hurt too much, and the harder he pulled,
"Hold her there," says Amon who bends down in front of my face, "I warned you Avatar, keep it up." He bellows and allows Rick to let me go, I grunt and sit up as they leave, once again stuck in pain and silence. A couple hours went by and I'm lying on my side, facing away from the door, I'm too angry to rest properly. Not only is the pain keeping me up, it's the constant alertness for Amon to return. As the hours pass the air seems to get colder, all I have on is my water tribe clothes. My white tank top and sweatpants, although my once pearl white top is now coated in a mixture of blood and burnt cloth from where Zhao shot me on the fire navy ship. So far it's almost fully healed but will most likely leave a scar. Much to my surprise I drift off to sleep without noticing.
It's dark, all I see is dark. A world of black, nothing. But my dark world is suddenly filled with roaring thunder and ice cold rain. I look up and see the dark clouds rampage above me and wind starts to blow. My hair quickly becomes shocked as some of it sticks to my face and the rest blows with the wind. The unforgiving feeling of rain batters my body, looking down I see the once solid black ground fades and a rocky surface is painted over, the same thing happens with the surroundings, my black world is replaced by miles of rocky mountains, but the sight is saddening. What used to be a warm bright green paradise for nature and its creatures is now colorless; the land is warm and sacred, as if a massive raid of flames flooded the mountains. What happened? I say looking around but freeze when my eyes land on two bodies' scorched to the bone and flesh singed at the edges. At first I could barely recognize the humans but as I got closer I dropped to my knees, these dead bodies are my beloved sisters. I throw myself over them and cry my heart out, I cry so hard it hurts, my chest heaves and aches. But in the corner of my eye I see a live being. Though I never want to take my eyes off my sisters I look and see myself. But I'm not me, my eyes are glowing bright blue almost white, my fists were covered in fire. Then it hit me… I killed my sisters.
I wake up screaming covered in cold sweat, I heave hard sitting up, it was just a dream, I would never do that to them, to anyone. It takes minutes to calm myself down, and when I do the scent of food reaches my nose, I look to my right and see a plate of bread and water. I waste no time and devour it all within seconds, I almost want to cry when it's all gone. Looking down at the empty glass cup a wave of anger surges through me, I'm the Avatar and I'm being treated like an animal. Amon said he needs me alive for something but due the condition I'm in I might as well think of this cell my grave. I weakly lift myself up and drag my body over to the wall and pull my knees to my chest. The sound of the chains dragging on the hard floor constantly reminds me how I got here, and what I lost. I close my eyes and let tears start to fall, it's all my fault that my home is destroyed, my tribe is dead or taken, my sisters far from my cell. If I ever do get out…I'm not going back. Why would any of them want to see me after this? If it wasn't for me everything would be normal. The village thriving with kids and animals. None having a single trace of worry. All I do is fuck things up. Deep inside I know I deserve everything that's happened to me so far and most likely what is to come. For a while I fidget with the ankle cuffs out of boredom, when I notice a tiny loose bolt on the lock of the cuff. It was so small it had to be the size of my fingernail. I quickly jiggle it in every direction soon it falls out with a small ding that barely echoed the cell; the scene of hope filled my heart. I frantically began to look on the other cuff in hopes there was a flaw on it as well. But was interrupted to the door unlocking, I quickly hide the bolt and act as if I wasn't doing anything. I look and see Rick come in.
"I thought you weren't supposed to be in here." I mumble he hears this and walks over to the empty cup and plate picking it up looking at me.
"That's none of your business, little one." He sneers and walks to the door,
"Who are you calling little?" I raise my voice sitting up.
"You're the only one else in here besides Me." he points out turning around,
"Oh so you're talking to yourself." I sarcastically clarify, smiling at my comment. He glares at me for a minute and leaves slamming the door. "That's what I thought." I whisper to myself lying back down. Amon's warnings echo in my head but I pay no attention to them, I never will. If there's one thing I've learned while chained in here; it's not to let fear get in the way of escaping. My eyes slowly wandered the dark cold cell and soon settled at my bare feet. I don't know how long I've been here but judging on my current state of health… probably months. I'm covered in dust and dirt particles along with torn, burned clothes from the day me and my sisters left the village. So far the largest burn is the one along my side where Zhao struck me.
Chapter 12: New Recruits
I sit in my office, eyes glued on my paperwork. It's nearly 6pm and the overnight staff hasn't arrived yet, Rick offered to stay the night and keep an eye on the Avatar. Personally I think it's not wise considering he started this job a few weeks ago. But seeing him correct the Avatar earlier, I was rather pleased that he would show such confidence toward a stronger being, let alone the Avatar. So I wasn't that worried about him. As my eyes wander off the paperwork and on the screen where I could watch the girls' every move. Seeing her body curled in the corner, each limb chained to the wall… helpless… weak. I could still see there was a fight left in her. A lot of fights, if I want my plans to go smoothly with the Avatar then she needs to be broken. Her attitude will get herself into trouble but she does not seem to be concerned about it. But that shouldn't be an issue once I'm done with her. Just than the sound of quiet knocking barely reached my ears, I quickly put my mask back on,
"Come in." I sigh looking up as the door opens. I see Rick walk in holding the tray of an empty plate and cup, I assume he just came back from seeing the Avatar and by the looks of it she was rather hungry. "How is she?" I say looking at the screen of her.
"She's got a big mouth." Rick hisses, a small smirk appears behind my mask,
"What'd she say this time?" I ask
"She obviously listens to what we say, but just doesn't care," he begins.
"Really?" I say sarcastically, I could tell Rick sensed it due to the result of a heavy sigh passing his lips.
"Look, I am aware that I just started this job, and I respect you very much but the brat needs to be taught a lesson, I used to be a drill Sergeant for 26 years, I could teach her a thing or two but only with your permission." He explains,
"Very well, if she misbehaves then you have my permission to knock some sense into her," I pause walking out my office, "Just save some for me." I snicker closing the door and leave for the night,
"Call me if anything goes wrong." I finished walking out of the base. The headquarters sit near a cliff on the edge of Republic City, with the ocean below.
Chapter 13: Plans
I don't remember falling asleep after Rick left but the sound of distant thunder jolts me awake. I sit up and sigh deeply at nothing in this cell, I miss the fresh morning air that carries the salt water from the sea, I miss the sound of the morning birds sing out to the morning sun that pears over the horizon. I miss waking up to the view of the people I love, to the home I live in, to the food given. But all of that is gone, never to be seen or heard of again, all that I have now is the view of an old brick wall that surrounds me, the smell of dust and dirt. I hear the sound of clanking metal and my own heartbeat. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I'm not going to save my sisters or my home sitting in here, I need to get out. Remembering the broken cuff I quickly look for it, scrambling to find it I hear it slide across the floor. Quickly grabbing it I use the end of the small bolt to loosen the rest of the shackles. It took a while but it worked, now to figure out how to escape without the ability to bend. I look at my burnt wrists and shutter at the sight, doing my best to ignore the pain. I stand up and walk to the metal door. This is the first time I've seen the door this close, rust and dents cover the surface. Looking beyond that I search for a handle or something, but find nothing. I bite my lip and detain a sob, feeling a tear slide down. How am I supposed to escape if I can't even open this door? I feel like shouting and screaming in frustration. I'm growing weaker and weaker by the day, there is no way I'm getting out of here alive. Sliding down the door I curl my knees to my chest and bury my face in my arms. Why can't I just use my bending to free me from this cell? Will I ever bend again? Will I ever see the daylight again? Or the midnight moon in the sky? I would do anything to see anything, ANYTHING other than this cursed cell. Just then I hear shouting in the hall, I jolt at the sudden sound but get over it quickly. Pressing my ear against the door and listening. The only thing I hear are muffled voices briefly than nothing. What just happened? I thought. Ok that was weird, anyway back to my self pity. I eventually doze off,
I wake up in an open field, covered in miles of flowers and long grass, as I stand I find myself wearing a traditional air nomad warrior uniform. Why am I wearing this? I thought. Although I can now see why the nomads love it, it's so lightweight and comfy. As I walk in the long grass I can't help but feel like I'm not alone out here. Just then I hear footsteps, I whip my head around to see a young air nomad boy.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"I'm you!" he says smiling, I look at him dumbfounded, "I mean I was the Avatar before you." he clarifies,
"...Ok, well what am I doing here?" I don't believe this,
"You're lost and need help," he says simply.
"What? no I'm not, I'm dreaming." I stutter,
"This is your first time in the spirit world isn't it; It's ok just relax, the spirits must have called you here instead." he states,
"But why would they bring me here?" I am so confused. The boy thinks for a moment,
"Because you're hurting, and you have self doubt." He was right,
"You're right, my whole village is gone and my tribe is probably dead or taken prisoner from the fire nation and my sisters are the Fire Lord's prisoner, and it's all my fault." I say in shame, and guilt.
"No it's not, you were just doing what you thought was right," he continues but I cut him off.
"Why was I chosen to be the next Avatar? I'm not brave." I slump into the grass, the boy sits next to me.
"I asked myself the same thing when I found out it was the Avatar, I thought that being the Avatar; I had to be tough and brave, but really, it's not at all like that. Being the Avatar means you've been chosen for your wisdom and courage, kindness and strength." he begins,
"What do you mean by that?" I ask.
I find myself waking up to the door scraping open. I fling my eyes open and see It was all a dream. But I quickly remember where I really am and look at the door. There at the door way I see Rick speechless,
" How did you-" I give him no time to finish and dash past him and down many halls not knowing where I'm going. As I zig-zag down halls I run through a door out the building. I'm free! Fresh air in the night sky, something I haven't seen in who knows how long, I dare to look over my shoulder but wish I hadn't, Rick and several equalists are hot on my tail. I face ahead and keep running. I can't see where I'm going because it's so dark. But when I feel the ground end abruptly I plummet down a cliff into the ocean. I close my eyes, holding my breath as the ice cold water consumes my body . My muscles threatened to freeze allowing me to drown. But I muster up all the strength I have left and resurface gasping for air. Waves toss me around like a ragdoll and I cough up sea water. I kick frantically trying to stay afloat. I see rocks ahead at the base of the cliff. I push my battered body over to them and throw myself over one out of breathe. I look up and see how far I fell and thank the ocean on being here. I see Rick and the guards peer down. I can hear him shouting but can't hear what he's saying over the roaring waves. But my vision starts to blur and my muscles start to weaken then the world goes black as I feel the waves swallow me alive.
Chapter 14: Restoring Home
The last of the suns' rays faded behind the blue mountains as the chilly frosty air intensified. Surrounded by the isolated tundra was our village. The fading sun reflected off the ocean as I looked at the horizon. It's been nearly a year since the girls have left to go to Republic City. I remember Teegan saying how she was worried the Fire Nation would get to us; we were able to fight them off but not without a few losses, my wife Kuvira was killed in the raid. The village suffers from damage to the buildings and crops, many of the tribes' water benders either have been killed or captured. Though Chief Iroh has put the safety of the village in my hands, I feel as if I have failed terribly. I'm not ready to become Chief, a good Chief wouldn't allow members of his own tribe to go through such a disaster, I feel a tear escape my eyes and trickle down my cheek. As the sun sets and the moon rises I think to myself… how can I make things better?
The overnight guards have just arrived as me and Jinx finish our last meal of the day. Just then Zhao barges open the door down the hall shouting,
"How can you just lose someone who's chained and locked in a cell!?" We hear him shout, Jinx and I look at eachother,
"Could that be Teegan?" she whispers I shrug
"I sure hope so." I say continuing to listen,
"They already sent out a search team for her, he said they lost sight of her in the ocean. I'm on my way to go help." Zhoa says and we hear him leave. Me and Jinx smile at each other,
"I think it is!" She squeals. Come on Teegan, I know you can do it.
Chapter 15: Lost
I slowly come to my scenes as I hear the faint sound of birds chirping and I can feel the rays of sun on my face, I flicker my eyes open and find myself stranded on the shore of a beach. When I go to sit up my head starts pounding in pain, as I go to touch where it hurts I feel a large cut above my eye and is bleeding. I try to think about what happened. Rick, escape,cliff, ocean, then nothing. I must have hit my head on one of the rocks knocking me out cold. I blink a few times and stand up, the sand sinks my feet slightly as I look out into the calm ocean, where am I? I ask myself to turn around. There are trees everywhere, how am I going to get out of here? I sigh deeply, well one thing is for sure, standing here isn't going to be any good so I might as well start walking. The blazing sun shone high above the sandy shores in the deep blue sky. Apart from the faint cries of birds and gentle sway of the sea's currents, the entire site was hushed and silent. As I look around me, studying my surroundings. To my right the vast blue ocean, to my left are the shore lines forrest. I held my hand up to my face shielding my battered face from the sun, my feet hurt even more with every step I took, my mouth felt parched and dry from the lack of water. I felt pangs of hunger in my stomach, I tried not to think of anything that involved the mere thought of food, this was bad I had to find something, anything to eat. Even if it was something as simple as a piece of fruit. Soon my path had become more prominent with rocks only to reveal a stream of water running through the rocks. It seemed to be coming down the mountains and looked quite clean, without any hesitation I knelt down and cupped my hands, I brought the cool liquid to my lips letting it trickle down my dry throat, I glanced around the site checking to see if there might be any kind of edible food. My eyes landed on a couple moon peaches hanging from a bush. They looked ripe enough, so I got up and crossed the stream and plucked one and sat down at the bush. I cherished every bite, savouring every taste in my mouth. After eating out the whole bush my stomach was finally satisfied.
After a short but well deserved nap I continued up the mountain, the more progress I made the more rocks turned into boulders. As much as I tried to go around the boulders I eventually had no choice but to climb over them, which only bruised and scratched them even more. By the time I reached the mountain top twinkling stars began to appear in the sky as the sun sunk over the horizon. The sky was painted in colors of deep orange and indigo, with a slight breeze carrying the scent of earth and wood smoke. The treetops swayed from the gentle wind as the distant hoot of an owl was heard. As I approached a small clearing it was surrounded by towering trees shielding it from the rest of the forest. The ground was uneven and covered in loose leaf debris but it would provide enough cover and safety from the rest of the forest for the night. I looked up at the night sky. Dark clouds were moving in, occasionally passing over the moon. It was a while before exhaustion finally took over and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter 16: The Hunter & The Hunted