A Legend of Korra Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez (aka SMTsukishiro)
Summary:
A promising engineering student. A mysterious woman capable of controlling the four elements. When their paths cross, the resulting collision not only changes their lives and themselves, but the fate of the entire world as well. [Korrasami AU]
The Legend of Korra:
The Schism
Chapter 49: Fire Lord Izumi
He took a sip of his tea, unperturbed by the glare that he was being given. The sound of the clock as it counted the seconds, tick-ticking, made for a heavy ambiance in the sparsely decorated room. Even when he had prepared the tea and had set a cup aside for her, the young woman—Asami Sato—did not let her guard down. She didn't even the touch the cup. He could understand her, though. He would have done the same had the roles been reversed. He had acted the same.
"Has anyone ever tell you that you have the most fearsome of glares?" He asked, his tone light as his lips curved into a small smile. "If you would direct that to the Water Tribes, I imagine their polar icecaps melting." He chuckled then.
The observation shared was not appreciated. Nor did the young woman seem to find it amusing. She scowled.
"I am not here to make idle chatter," Asami Sato spat, frustration etched on her features. "If Korra wasn't still unconscious and if you haven't promised an explanation, we wouldn't even be here."
He glanced at the unconscious form laying atop the bed. He noted the dark complexion of her skin, the dark chocolate hue of her hair. The clothes she wore were different from the ones he had seen her in, but he was certain the girl at the tower and the girl that had stumbled into the capital bringing chaos along with her was one and the same person.
She was the one he and the others had waited for. Though, he wasn't exactly certain how to feel about that considering his nation had just lost one of their airship hangars.
"And I intend to keep that promise, young lady," he said before taking another sip. The tea was truly delicious. "But, would you not agree, that we should wait for your friend to wake up before I start explaining myself? I may not look like it, but I am old and it can be quite taxing to tell the tale I wish to share with you."
The tone he used—and he made sure of it—was one that left nothing up for debate. They would wait for Avatar Korra to wake up. Silence descended on them once more, though the emerald eyes that had glowered boldly at him had now turned to the sleeping girl with a concerned look.
He took the time to observe her then.
Zuko knew the Fire Nation had taken ensuring that Asami Sato was freed from the clutches of those who had kidnapped her. He had heard his grandson voice out his resolve on the matter. Though the Sato family no longer dwelled within the borders of the Fire Nation, it did not change the fact that they were still citizens. It was along that line of thought—though there was also a more personal reason behind it as well—that had made Izumi decide to make her a priority.
Who would have thought that the person who was said to have kidnapped her was the Avatar?
His brow furrowed, creasing his already wrinkled face, Did the White Lotus fail to provide the Avatar an adequate education to discern what is right and what is wrong?
As he watched the young Sato, however, he found it difficult to believe that the Avatar did something as criminal as kidnapping. She didn't look like a person who was kidnapped would to their captors. She didn't look afraid of Korra. If anything, Asami Sato looked distraught over the Avatar.
Whatever they had been told was wrong. He could see that much. Asami Sato was with Avatar Korra of her own volition.
"You are friends," he didn't mean to vocalize his thoughts like that, but the words escaped him before he could stop them. He spoke with melancholy.
The statement surprised Asami. She frowned, not certain what to make of the strange man's words.
"Yes, I am." It sounded like a question, though it was more from wondering why there was a need to state it rather than from the uncertainty of her relationship with Korra.
"That is good," he nodded, the smile never leaving his lips. "The Avatar's journey is long and hard…often fraught with danger. The weight too much to bear…she needs good people—trustworthy people—by her side."
Zuko hoped his message had reached the young woman, though from the way her eyes bulged and her jaw dropped, it seemed she picked up on something other than the hope he had for her.
"Y-Y-You know about Korra?" She shouted so loudly in her surprise that she flinched and quickly looked at the direction of the sleeping Avatar. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw she hadn't stirred, but then felt foolish. It was much better if Korra would awaken. "H-How? I don't understand. No one should know about the Avatar…she's supposed to be just some kind of mythological being!"
The crinkle at the corner of the old man's eyes doubled in number, his teeth showing as he smiled, then chuckled, baffling the porcelain-skinned, young woman before her.
"Finally," he said with mirth. "A reaction other than the scowling and the grumbling."
Asami's cheeks colored. Embarrassed was she by her earlier display. Her mother and father had taught her better than that, but her stint with the Avatar had taught her to be wary. She wasn't going to apologize for that, not when she still wasn't perfectly certain that the stranger before them was friend or foe. Just because he knew about the Avatar, did not make him an ally.
She looked away. She didn't want to say much. What she did want was for Korra to wake up so that this scarred, old man would finally tell them what was going on…
"Service unreachable. Service Unreachable." The recorded voice kept saying those words, over and over again and she glared daggers at the communicator in her hands as though it was the source of all her troubles.
She pressed the button that disconnected the line, then pressed another to reconnect. Nothing changed. That voice that had become so annoying to hear repeated the exact same message again and again.
Duo Xin cursed under her breath. Not only did it seem that they had picked the worst possible time to visit the capital, she now couldn't get a hold of her true employer…and it wasn't for lack of trying. She had been at it for a good hour now, ever since the first explosions. It wasn't even because there was a disruption in the signal. The communicator had its own seamless connection.
Then why isn't Councilman Tarrlok answering? She wondered as she unconsciously began to nibble on her thumbnail. She began to flip through the schedule in her mind. She knew of the councilman's plans—knew when he would put them into action—and if her memory served her right (which it did), then the coup would have already been completed.
Briefly, she panicked. A thought trickling in her mind. What if Councilman Tarrlok failed? What if the coup failed?
Her eyes traversed the room, locking in on Bolin. The stupid, young man seemed oblivious of the dangers that had been made known to them. He was still jovially interacting with the others in the room who looked just about to strangle him as she did.
How can he be so carefree at a time like this? She wanted to march over him, grab him by the shoulders and violently shake him as violently as she could…if only to stir some sense into him.
The frustrated secretary looked down on the gadget in her hand. She would let him wallow in his own obliviousness for now. She had her own troubles—more important ones—to deal with.
Duo Xin hesitated for a moment. Had she any choice on the matter, she would have very much liked to not dial the familiar number. She wanted to have nothing to do with him. But as she chewed her bottom lip raw, she realized she really couldn't put her mind at ease and knew he was the only one whom she could count on for information…much as it pained her to admit.
With deliberate slowness, she inputted the number on her communicator. She really had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, she wanted the line that connected to him be unavailable. On the other, she silently berated him for not picking up the call as soon as it rang.
A click on the other end of the line and she knew the chance to change her mind had passed.
"Well, well, well," Even without seeing him, she knew he had a smug look on his face. She wished the technology she had in her hands had a function that allowed her to punch the one on the other end. "Now this is a surprise. To what do I owe the absolute pleasure?"
She took a deep breath. "Cut the crap. I'm not calling you to talk about old times, Mako. I called for information."
"Information?" There was a pause. "That's even more unexpected than this phone call."
Duo Xin didn't bother to give a reply to that. Mako sighed on the other end. Clearly, she was reminding him why it hadn't worked out between them, even when she was not saying anything at all.
"Why, pray tell, did you call me for it? Don't you have your own informants?"
"I do," She didn't need to nod seeing as he couldn't see her, but she found herself doing it anyway. "But seeing as you are closer to the source, I decided I would just suck it up and call you instead."
He chuckled. "And here I was thinking that you simply missed me."
Again, she said nothing and again he sighed audibly.
Without prompting, Mako's tone changed. He turned all business-like so quickly it was as though a switch was flipped. She was grateful for that. She really would like this conversation to be over and done with.
"You won't be able to reach him no matter how many times you try." He stated. "The coup he instigated was successful, but it didn't last."
"What happened?" she demanded, trying not to show her distress in the way she spoke or how she carried herself. She didn't want those in the room to become interested in her conversation over the communicator.
It was Mako's turn to pause before telling her, "This information will not come cheap. Just because it is you Duo Xin, doesn't mean I'm going to make any kind of exemption."
The woman scowled. "I know. Money is the only thing you ever truly cared about." That wasn't entirely true. There was something else the Mercenary held close to his heart. The wound was still fresh, however, even after several years had passed. "I'll send you the payment in exchange for your information as soon as we're done talking."
Hearing that, Mako went on to share what he knew.
He told her how he had been away on his own assignment—a job that was meant to pay well but had taken a downward spiral—and that he did not have a first-hand account of what had happened in Republic City. He told her how Amon had only allowed Councilman Tarrlok a few hours of glory to bask himself in before he snatched it away from him with the help of his Equalists. He told her how the city had fallen and was now in the hands of the Masked One.
"And Councilman Tarrlok?" She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as soon as she asked. "What became of him?"
"I can tell you he is not dead…yet." Mako's tone was somber, having sensed the panic Duo Xin was doing her best to tamper. "But I can't tell you much more than that." He gave a pause, a much lengthier one, before he pointed out, "Tarrlok has failed with what he had set out to do, Duo Xin. Your loyalty is lost on him. Work for the Equalists instead."
Her eyes flared with anger as she realized what Mako had done. Her words were laced with venom as she spoke, "You switched sides! You're working for the Equalists now! After everything that the Councilman has done for you, you betrayed him!"
He turned defensive then. "I betrayed no one. I'm a mercenary, Duo Xin! I was never loyal to Tarrlok and neither am I rooting for Amon. I go where the money takes me. You said it yourself, didn't you? The only thing I care about is how many yuans I will be paid with. Nothing more. Nothing less. But, if you know what's good for you, you would think about my offer."
Mako didn't wait for Duo Xin to answer. As soon as he ended his tirade, he cut the line, leaving her to contemplate both Mako's actions and her own.
Avatar Korra believed herself to be capable of many things. She grew up with the knowledge that she was not like all the others in the hidden village of Nia Bayou. She knew—without a hint of uncertainty—that she could do things others couldn't.
Growing up as the Avatar, Korra had heard many times over the course of her existence that she had a privilege no one in the entire world shared. She was given these privileges and no one could tell her otherwise.
Certainly, there were things that she couldn't do—taboos, even for her—but those were so few that they barely existed at all.
And Korra had taken all of that for granted. And it became apparent to her so very early on in this journey that she should have done so much more with her time in Nia Bayou than simply meditating in her lonesome.
It was one of the reasons why she had such difficulty in transitioning to the world outside her own.
Still, there was one thing Korra—even back then—never did. And that was eavesdropping on a conversation…which she had, inadvertently or not, done twice now.
It wasn't like she meant to do it on both times. It just…sort of…happened (as poor as excuse as that was, it was still true!). And really, it wasn't her fault Asami always seemed to find herself talking about something important when she was thought to be asleep.
So, as far as the Avatar was concerned, she wasn't truly at fault. Not really. The blame was not just on her but on Asami and on the person Asami was speaking with as well.
…Though she was pretty sure telling that to the Prodigy would end up with her getting into even more trouble.
Whenever Korra thought it would be safe to open her eyes though, the old man would speak and though there was nothing personal about the exchange between him and Asami, the Avatar found Asami's vocalized reactions to be quite entertaining.
Who knew she could really be frightening… Korra had thought at one point, albeit she wondered how frightening Asami truly was if it was only an old man she seemed to find the need to threaten.
Avatar Korra felt she was missing the point, however, as well as focusing less on things that she should be focusing about. Like the old man's knowledge about her, for one. Or the familiar way his voice now sounded like she had really heard his voice before.
When the conversation she was overhearing as she pretended to still be asleep came to a lull, the young Avatar finally let her eyes slowly open. She was greeted by a darkened room, its ceilings lost to the shadows. She did not like the view. It reminded her too much of the Dark Spirits.
The Dark Spirits whom this old man was able to hold at bay and banish. Korra remembered what had happened before she (embarrassingly) lost consciousness (again). Much as she wanted to get down on the matter, she didn't want to suddenly jump out of bed and speak. She wasn't certain how that would be taken by the two humans who were unaware of her having awoken.
In her mind, Korra counted to ten before she pushed herself to sit, groaning and surprising those that were in the room with her.
"Korra, you're awake!" Asami didn't have to point out the obvious. Raava's human incarnation couldn't help noting how quickly the taller girl could move if she had to. Though she scrambled to stand and had almost tripped in doing so.
The shorter girl nodded, hiding the wince that was threatening to appear on her face when she heard Asami speak. She had been listening to their soft conversation that she wasn't prepared for how loud the other girl's in-door voice would be.
"How are you feeling?" The concern etched on the features of Asami's face was still something Korra was unaccustomed to. It was still something that had her heart doing weird things and making her feel warm all over. It was still something strange. Alien. Her inability to provide an answer quickly made the Prodigy worry even more. She prompted an answer by saying the Avatar's name. "Korra?"
"I'm fine," She wouldn't dwell on that strange warm feeling for now. There would be some other time to do so…Perhaps when the woman that was the cause of it was not an arm's length away. "You worry too much, Asami." As if to prove a point, Korra showed the other girl her ankle. It wasn't making that strange glow any longer. "See? Perfectly fine."
"I would not say that if I were you, Miss Korra," the suddenness by which the old man spoke surprised the two young women who seemed to have forgotten they were not the only ones around. They whirled at where the old man sat, hand wrapped around the teacup he had just swallowed a mouthful of tea from.
Seeing the old man, Korra's eyes widened. She might not see much distinction between humans—they mostly look alike to her and barely held her curiosity enough to warrant remembering their faces—but there was no way she could forget that face. She knew that face!
"It's you…" It wasn't awe that coated her voice. At least, Korra was certain it wasn't. She just wasn't positive what her feelings were on the matter when she saw the old man again. Feelings weren't her forte, after all.
"And it is good to see you again, young lady." The old man looked at her with that kind eyes of his and smiled, genuinely. "Who knew that we would meet again, under such circumstances?"
Asami looked from Korra to the old man and back again. She was more confused than stunned. "You know each other?"
"The old man who kept me from leaving," Korra nodded to the old man in question, before flicking her eyes at Asami. "The one who helped me realize I was at fault as when…um…you tried to, uh, incapacitate me?" She was really uncomfortable reminiscing about that time. "That's him."
The old man's amber eyes danced with mirth now as he looked at Korra and Asami anew, and Korra had a distinct feeling that she was not going to like what the old man was going to say…
…Which was the reason why she wasn't at all surprised when he told her, "I see that your questions were not at all rhetorical back then." He was smiling, which made the Avatar appreciate it. It was that look humans had when they found something funny but weren't willing to divulge anything further. "I see…I see."
"T-That is neither here nor there now." Why am I stuttering like a fool? Korra tried hard to remember what else she might have said that gave this strange old man ammunition for…something…whatever it was he was trying to insinuate. "How did you do that with the Dark Spirits? How did you banish them? How do you know about me, the Avatar?"
The last question was not something she would have added but her desire to steer the conversation anywhere else than the memory of the night when she and the old man had met made her forget that she wasn't supposed to have heard him say anything regarding the Avatar.
Quickly glancing at Asami ascertained the young Avatar that she had caught that little tidbit as well. And by the look she was receiving—and subsequently trying but failing to ignore—Asami wasn't going to let it go and would confront her as soon as they were alone.
Which wasn't good.
At all.
And Korra wanted to scream in frustration because, Spirits, I am the Avatar! I shouldn't be worried about what a human has to say!
And it was very frustrating for her because those were things humans worried about. As the Avatar it shouldn't even cross her mind to concern herself with such trivial things.
"So many questions," again the old man chuckled. It was strange to find someone as scarred as him to be jovial.
"And you promised us answers." Again, the young heiress glared at the old man, daring him to not keep his word.
"And I am a man of my word." He then patted the space beside him where a tatami seat cushion was, then looked at both of the two, young women with him and said. "And it will be a long tale. As I am certain you are both famished—considering that one of you do not wish to eat without the other," at this he looked pointedly at Asami who met his gaze head-on, "I suggest we eat as I give you the answers to those questions…and more."
It was unexpected, to hear that her father had disappeared from the banquet held in the Mover Star's honor. It wasn't as though he enjoyed the young man's company that much to subject himself to his tales of fame and the struggles of being an actor again. She was certain her father would much rather relive any other unbearable aspect of his life than spend another hour listening to the young man's stories—which, according to her own father's insight were quite embellished—than to have to resort to feigning some sort of sickness just to get away. Be that as it may, her father also knew that it was part of his duty to socialize with the wealthy and the privileged much as he would with the less fortunate members of society. That was the reason why it was such a surprise.
But, perhaps, even more so was learning that her father had welcomed guests to his own abode—that small house he asked to be built before handing the throne over to her—and was entertaining them. She hadn't heard word from him that he would be having guests and her father always made it a point to tell her if he was.
She didn't think much behind the reason for not knowing about it sooner. Fire Lord Izumi merely assumed her father had forgotten to tell her about it. After all, he was a really old man now.
It was for that reason that it didn't occur to her that his meeting with these guests was held under secrecy. That it was something she wasn't supposed to know about. Though, in retrospect, even if she had stumbled into this secret, she would still have marched into his house and everything would still have happened as it had.
As she walked towards his abode, she mentally flipped through a portfolio of people who had the privilege to be invited there. And there were so few of those people that it intrigued her even more.
When she got to the door that led to his inner sanctum, Fire Lord Izumi did not bother to knock. Again, the list of people who were allowed in was so short and most of them knew her even when she was still a baby that she didn't think it would matter if she knocked or not. She was also the Fire Lord, she wasn't required to knock.
She did announce her presence by greeting her father as she opened the door, though the greeting died on her lips the moment she saw whom her father was having dinner with.
In the same manner, Zuko, Asami Sato, and that strange girl—The kidnapper, Izumi's mind quickly reminded her—looked at her with the look of deers caught in an automobile's headlights.
"Izumi," Zuko immediately smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes and the Fire Lord could have sworn she could see the budding of sweat from his brow despite how cool it was in the room. "To what do I owe the pleasure…?"
"I heard you left the banquet, father…" She chose her words carefully. If these women didn't know how much trouble they were in, she wasn't about to give that away and scare them off. She had been, after all, given a change to save the young heiress and apprehend the vile, young woman who held her captive. It was not something she would pass up. "…and that you had…guests?"
"Ah, er, yes," Too few things could get her father to lose his composure. This confrontation—should she even call it that—was not something she expected to be among that list. But then his eyes steeled, and he confirmed, "They are my guests. My…honored guests."
Had her father called them anything but 'honored', she would have remained as stoic as she was portraying herself as. But hearing him say that—and including in that adjective the girl who had caused Hiroshi Sato grief and did who-knows-what to Yasuko's beloved daughter—made her…furious.
"Father," the words came out harsh. "Can I borrow you for a second from your—" She glanced at Asami and glared at the other girl, spitting the words out when she looked at her, "—guests?"
The look Zuko gave her was one she had not seen in a very long time. It was one that made her feel like she was a little girl who was in trouble.
"Very well," he told her. Then his features softened as he directed his attention towards his so-called 'guests'. "I will be back shortly and we shall continue with our discussion then…hopefully, uninterrupted."
The two young women nodded, saying nothing as her father rose from his seat and left the room. She followed after him, hot on his heels.
They did not stop walking even after leaving the room. Instead, Zuko led Izumi down the hallway, past the many rooms and back into the small courtyard where the only decorations were one giant cherry blossom tree on a small island in the middle of a small pond. It was her father's favorite place.
"You are not to harm my guests," he didn't beat around the bush, and the way he spoke told her this was not up for debate. "And that includes Korra—the girl you seem to have a vendetta against."
"Why?" she sounded like a little girl, whining. She was upset. "That girl abducted Yasuko's daughter!"
"Does it look like Asami Sato is in the hands of her captor?" Zuko retaliated, having turned his back on her. "Does it look like she is being forced by Korra? Certainly, if that was the case, would she not have taken the chance to escape when you had your Imperial Guards surround them?"
"So it was you!" It was like a slap at her face. "You were the reason why we couldn't find them, scour as we might! You helped them escape!"
He didn't dignify her accusations with an answer. He didn't have to. There was no way the two could have disappeared had her father not helped her. She was certain of that. Or so she would like to think…
"I was not the reason you lost them in your sights." Zuko turned to look at her with a look that reminded her how he had been as a Fire Lord. "As I am also not to blame for the feats you have witnessed when you tried to apprehend Korra and 'save' Asami. You saw for yourself what had happened in that alley."
She didn't want to dwell on what she saw. But if her father wanted her to acknowledge it, it would only serve to back up her stance.
"Then that makes that girl that much more dangerous!"
"She is not a danger to us."
"She blew up one of our hangars! Injured several of our guards!" Did she really need to enumerate what this young woman—this Korra—had done to show just how much of a danger the girl was? "She wiped out one of our coast guard fleets! She harmed your grandson!"
Her old man sighed then, rubbing his temples with his fore and middle fingers. "Korra is not the villain you paint her out to be. Her actions may be unorthodox, but have you stopped to consider why she would have taken these actions?"
She scoffed, "What is there to consider? What she has done is clearly an act of violence!"
"It was an act of defense." No matter what she said, her father would not stop giving her that condescending look, despite his tone growing weary. It grated her so much. "You were trying to take Asami away. Asami, who—if it is still not clear to you—does not want to return to her father just yet."
"Why are you defending her?" Fire Lord Izumi's voice grew and it shook as she spoke. The servants who came across the pair quickly bowed their heads and rushed as far away from father and daughter as quickly as they could.
"Because she's the Avatar!" He hadn't meant to say it out loud, not knowing who might overhear their discussion. "She was the one I had waited a long time for; the reason why I am still here!"
The outburst was met with stunned silence, Izumi's jaw having dropped to the floor.
The Avatar. She had heard so much about that person from his father's stories when she was young. He had held this figure in such high regard that was made obvious with each of the tales he weaved regarding this being.
But that was all they were! Stories! Made-belief! They were anecdotes made to fascinate young children; made them believe in a world that is different from their own. They were not real.
Fire Lord Izumi had long held her own father with great respect, but at that moment, she couldn't help but think that perhaps he had gone senile. Despite witnessing what she had earlier that day, she couldn't accept it to be a fact, her mind having decided that the earthen wall was nothing more but a complex tricked prepared beforehand by this foul Korra in hopes to get close to her father.
It's irrational, the small voice at the back of her mind told her. But she stubbornly refused to listen to it.
Zuko saw something in his daughter's eyes then that made him warn her, "Do not try to do anything foolish, Izumi."
But the Fire Lord was no longer listening as she turned in her heals and stomped away.
Korra didn't really understand what had just happened. Nor why Asami looked like she just saw the entirety of Raava's past incarnations (at least, the look the Prodigy was supporting was something Korra thought she would have if something like that did happen…as unlikely as it would). So surprised was Asami that she had not moved a muscle since father and daughter had left, nor had she picked up her slacked jaw. The only indication Asami hadn't been frozen in time was her steady breathing and the owl-like way she blinked.
The Avatar tried to let Asami process whatever it was that was going through her mind while she continued to take bite after bite of the food they had been offered. But when the seconds stretched into minutes, and Asami still hadn't stopped looking like a fish out of water, she knew she had to say something.
Clearing her throat—which warranted a reaction from the other girl—Korra asked, "Asami, are you alright? You seemed quite shocked by that Izumi-person."
Asami turned to look at Korra as though she was crazy. "Korra, don't you realize who that was?"
"Uh, she said her name was Izumi?" the Avatar replied, unsure of why she was being asked that. Surely Asami had heard what the old man had called his daughter.
The raven-haired, young woman vigorously shook her head. "That was Fire Lord Izumi! The ruler of the Fire Nation!"
"The…Fire Lord?" It dawned on Korra just then what that could mean, and her eyes blazed with anger. "Are you saying that woman was the one behind the people trying to take you back to your father that time with the coast guards and then earlier today with those Imperial Guards?"
"Maybe," Asami sounded unsure. She didn't want to pin the blame so easily on others. Not when they didn't have enough information to prove anything. "She is the Fire Lord. But, at the same time, this could all be circumstantial."
But Korra was no longer listening to what Asami was saying. Instead, she had turned her focus past the door and what lay beyond. Heightening her hearing while asking for the minor Wind Spirits to help her, she eavesdropped the second time that day.
What she heard did not help calm her down. Seeing her fuming, but only vaguely understanding why, Asami quickly placed a hand on Korra's forearm, hoping to calm her down.
"Korra, please, don't do anything reckless." She pleaded.
"But—!" Korra was about to argue, before she realized another important fact. "Wait, if she's the ruler of the Fire Nation then…what does that make the old man?"
It took less than a minute for both girls to comprehend just who, exactly, was the old man that had helped them escape the Dark Spirits and whom Asami had been giving death glares to.
Post Author's Notes:
And there you guys have it! Another chapter down!
I wanted to be able to update this fanfic before I head out on a 5-day vacation and I am glad I was able to do so. Since I will be having my 14th anniversary as an author here in , I also wanted to be able to upload something special...but I suppose that would have to wait as I am out of time to do so. Hopefully I will be able to give you all something great next week, though (again, that depends on my Beta).
Anyways, thank you all so much for the wonderful support you are giving this story of mine. Comments and reviews are always welcomed!
Until the next update, dream on; fly on! :)