Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. After some consideration, I've decided on a theme song of sorts for Ryou: 'I Apologize' by Five Finger Death Punch. Now these guys aren't usually in my playlist, but the lyrics of this song in particular stuck me. I might come up with an actual soundtrack for this later, but I don't know just yet. For now, on with the chapter:

"Why can't these cultists ever set up base on a resort beach somewhere?" one of the agents complained. A small group of Dai Li agents were moving through a tunnel, which was lit by green luminescent crystals protruding from the walls and ceiling. The group consisted of five men dressed in the Dai Li uniform, plus a sixth wearing civilian clothing standing in the center.

"Quiet!" Ryou snapped. His hand was resting on the katana at his hip, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. The Earth King had dispatched Ryou and these agents into the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se in order to take down a cult that was threatening the safety of the city. Despite their high profile status, very little was actually known about this cult. All that Ryou knew was that they were well trained in hand to hand combat, and they worshiped some vague ancient spirit.

The tunnel they were in opened into a massive chamber. A few waterfalls fell from the ceiling into a ring of water that encircled the center of the chamber. At the heart of the ring was a raised alter, with figures in black robes all standing around a single figure in green. The man in green was chanting in some sort of religion, while the black robe figures sang in deep voices.

"They've started the ritual. Fan out, attack them all at once," Ryou ordered. The Dai Li spread out, sticking to the shadows while Ryou himself walked toward the alter. As soon as he crossed the ring of water, various black robed figures broke away from their protective ring around the alter and charged him.

Ryou drew his sword and began to hack his way through the oncoming enemy. One of them brought a large knife down, attempting to stab him. But Ryou simply side stepped while bring his sword up, removing the cultist's arm in a spray of blood. The swordsman instantly reversed the swing, removing the cultist's head from his shoulders with a single swipe.

The Dai Li charged forward as well, either ensnaring cultist's with their rock gloves, or using them to literally punch their enemies hearts out. Ryou watched as a rock fist sailed through the air and impact one of the dark figures in the chest, but it continued on it's journey, bursting out the back of the man in a spray of blood and obliterated organs.

Then, all at once, time came to a complete standstill. Ryou looked around, puzzled at this sudden shift. Water from the falls was suspended in mid air. A rock fist that had just been fired by an agent hovered a few feet in front of him. In the center of the frozen chaos stood the man in green, his mouth hanging open with no noise coming out.

"Well. It would seem someone want's my attention." From all corners of the chamber, the shadows snaked forward toward the alter like lines of ink on the floor. The shadows all came together and settled into the form of a young man. He was wearing monk robes, had a shaven head, and a fair complexion.

"A shame. So much potential. You could have elevated yourself and your family to a comfortable position of power for decades to come, and yet you chose to squander it all and focus on that which you cannot possibly understand," the monk said, speaking to the man in the green robes. He then turned and regarded Ryou.

"You should have been more like Master Ryou here, and been more interesting," he said as he descended the alter toward the swordsman. Ryou raised his sword and held it at the ready.

"Who are you?"

"I am known by many names from many cultures. But for now, you may call me the Observer. The real question is; who are YOU, Ryou the Wanderer?"

"How do you know my name?"

"It is in my nature to observe the on goings of the worlds. All things come and go, from the tiniest ant to the largest empire. But you, you have been bestowed with a way to avoid the natural process of life altogether. And for that reason, Ryou the Wanderer, you have peaked my interest." The two were starting to circle each other now, with Ryou pointing his sword at the Observer. He was taking absolutely no chances.

"What are you? A Spirit?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. One almost as old as the great Spirits of Light and Darkness themselves. Unlike the others, who reside in the Spiritual Realm, I reside within the darkness between realms."

"And you want to escape, walk the mortal plain? Is that it?"

"No, no I don't. My job is to ensure that the two realms remain separate and do not crash into each other. However, this can get rather dull. So, as my name implies, I observe the on goings of the world."

"Then why would they summon you?" Ryou asked, motioning to the cultists still frozen in time around them.

"You mistake my being here for being the result of their pathetic little ritual. This man and his followers believe that with the right chant, they can bend the Void to their will. The Void is ancient, it is timeless, and it bows to nothing. No, I am not here for them, I am here for you, Ryou."

"Why? Why me?"

"Oh don't play coy. We both know about your little 'condition' as you call it. You are walking contradiction, a mortal thing that cannot die."

"And what, you're here to kill me?"

"On the contrary, I want to give you a gift." The monk said before he stepped forward and placed his hand on top Ryou's left hand. A searing heat and pain blasted through the hand, causing Ryou to jerk it free and shake it in an effort to get it to wear off. He looked at his hand, which now had a short cross shaped mark on the back of it.

"Use this gift however you choose. And remember, Wanderer, I will be watching."

I burst out of the dream in a sweat, sitting up in my bed quickly and panting a few times in order to get my breath under control. A simple glance at the back of my left hand confirmed that it wasn't a nightmare. The Observer's Mark was still there, in the same spot it had been branded a hundred and eighty years earlier.

When you dedicate your life to being around the Avatar, you tend to encounter spiritual things from time to time. But that day in the catacombs beneath the Earth Kingdom Capital was my first real encounter with the Spirits. After that, I went and did research on the Spirit I had encountered. It was very difficult to find information about him.

Unlike Hai Bi, or more infamous beings like Koh, the Spirit known as the Observer tended to keep to himself, only rarely interacting with the physical world. He preferred to, as his name implied, observe the world, interacting with it when something or someone peaked his interest. With me being, well, me, it was only a matter of time before I encountered him.

The Observer's Mark was something of a curse in it's own right. More fanatical religious secs tended to view the Mark as something vile, as they viewed the Observer to be a dark spirit given the nature of the Void. As a result, anyone with the Mark was to be killed on sight. But these groups were rare, and becoming even more so as times progressed.

In reality, I could walk down the street bearing the Mark and everyone would think it was just a burn scar or a tattoo. That didn't stop me from covering it just to be on the safe side. Once you've had a bloodthirsty group of ideologue try to hunt you down, you tend to take the safer route. But, the thing is, they actually kind of had a point.

Like all living things, the Observer had both a light and a dark side. In the years immediately following the War, Zuko gave funding to a group of scholars who were dedicated to preserving the culture of the Sun Warriors. In one of the abandoned cities, they found carvings in the walls, pictures and paintings that gave reference to the Observer. Not long after, ancient airbender ruins were found with similar images. Even a scroll that Sokka had stolen from the Great Library had a reference to him. The thing was, he was known by a different name.

The Collector.

According to ancient legend, when a bearer of the Observer's Mark dies, he collects their soul. What exactly he does with them is unknown, all is known is that he takes them into the Void where they are never seen again. So you can imagine my reaction to this little development. After four hundred years of being so willing to embrace death, I suddenly had a reason to stay a step ahead of it.

Swinging my legs over the side of my bed, I rubbed my head in an effort to clear the sleep. Thinking about the Observer wasn't how I had wanted my day to start out, but it was what had happened regardless. I got dressed for the day. Grabbing up my set of fingerless gloves, I pulled them on, covering up the Mark like I had every morning for the past almost two hundred years. Most people don't spend their every day to day lives wondering how they're going to die or what will happen to them afterward, and even after almost five hundred years I was no exception.

I made my way to the mess hall, where I was treated to a bland breakfast of fruit and oatmeal. It's not often I say this, but I actually missed the meals I could cook up for myself when I was on the road. At least I could get some bacon or something made of meat. Here on Air Temple Island, it was a strictly vegetarian diet. In other words, it was a nightmare for someone like me who loved meat. I mean I was once treated to the finest feasts that the city of Omashu had to offer, and now here I was eating glorified wheat juice with a side of apple. I really shouldn't complain though, this was by far much better then some of the broth concoctions my unit cooked up during the Siege of Ba Sing Se. You could say this was a happy middle ground.

A runny, meatless, middle ground. But a middle ground all the same.

"And in the final round, the Buzzard wasps managed a knockout victory," Korra said as she read from the morning paper. Her and Tenzin were sitting across from each other at a table away from the Air Acolytes. At each corner of the room was posted a White Lotus sentry, their arms clasped behind their backs and their eyes scanning the space between them.

"What do you think, Ryou? Wanna go catch a Pro Bending Match tonight?" she asked as I plopped down in the seat next to her.

"Not interested," I grunted before taking a bite of apple. She looked a little hurt as she cocked her eyebrow at me.

"Well, sorry Mr. Grouch. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she said. I glanced down and stirred my oatmeal a little.

"Sorry, unsettling dream," I said, rubbing my Mark absentmindedly.

"Okay. So what do you say Tenzin, can we go catch a few matches?" she asked, turning toward the airbending master.

"That sport is a mockery of the noble tradition of bending," he declared before taking a sip of his tea. I rolled my eyes. Maybe it was the fact that he had always been so strict, or maybe it was his airbending pacifist nature, but Tenzin had never really liked sports. Personally I had never really gotten into Pro Bending either. I always preferred the underground, no holds bard matches. The kind where you could either walk away a few thousand yuan richer, or get carted out on a stretcher or in a coffin.

"Oh come on, Tenzin. I've waited my whole life to see a Pro Bending Match and now I'm just a ferry ride away from the Arena," Korra said, motioning over her shoulder toward the open window.

"You are not here to watch that drivel," Tenzin reminded, "you are here to complete your Avatar training. So for the time being I want you both to remain on the Island." I dropped my spoon into my oatmeal and looked up at him with a glare.

"Excuse me? It sounded like you said 'both of us'," I said.

"I did. Lin has made it clear that she doesn't want you running around the city. And seeing as how Korra looks up to you, I would prefer it if you stayed in one place and not wandered off somewhere for her to follow," Tenzin said.

"Listen up, buster. Asking me to stay in one spot is one thing, but don't think you're old enough for me to not take you across my knee if you want to start giving me orders," I said, jabbing a finger at him. The airbending master's ears turned red, and Korra snickered behind her hand. Looking back, I realize how the whole situation must have looked. A twenty year old threatening to discipline a middle aged man like he was a child is about as absurd as it gets. But at the moment I didn't really care.

"Ryou, if you would, could you please remain on the Island so that Korra can focus on her training?" Tenzin asked. I sat back and folded my arms. My point of having Korra get out and experience the world still stood. Keeping her here on the Island was just the Compound being transplanted a few thousand miles north.

"I will consider it. But I still have my own training regiments with her as well. And I will dictate where those take place," I said. Was I gonna go against everyone's wishes and take Korra off the Island? You bet. Was I doing it just to spite the White Lotus? Not fully, that was just an added perk. Tenzin sighed in defeat.

"Very well. Alright Korra, let's get started," he said before standing.

"You're the Master," she replied, laying the newspaper down on the table before following him out of the room. I picked it up and flipped through the pages, looking for anything interesting. One article caught my eye. It was about this group that was calling themselves the Equalists, and their mysterious masked leader Amon.

I'd first heard about the Equalists a few years earlier when I was passing through a small town on the United Republic border. Back then, they were nothing more then a small fringe group. As easily ignorable and forgettable as some of those groups that claim the end of the world will happen every year. Now though, they were gaining both steam and popularity. From what I could tell, they wanted reform in the government of the United Republic and the other nations so that non benders and benders were treated equally.

As admirable as a non bender like myself may have found this, the fact remained that the Equalists were more then willing to resort to violence in order to get what they wanted. I'd seen these revolutionary types before, and it always ended one of two ways; bloody dictatorship, or crushing defeat.

Standing, I went to the kitchen and began to rinse out my bowl. As I was finishing up, I felt a shiver go down my spine, like someone was looking over my shoulder. The Mark inched a little, and I scratched it while glancing around the room only to find that I was alone. My hand brushed against the sword hilt on my belt. Hair on the back of my neck stood up, and goosebumps appeared up and down my arms.

The last time I had felt something like this was almost forty years earlier, just before Aang, Toph, and myself had arrested a crime lord by the name of Yakone. With this, and the dream I'd had the previous night, it couldn't be a coincidence. Something was about to happen, and the Observer was watching.

By the end of the week, a routine had been settled into. Korra would train in airbending with Tenzin in the mornings, and then in the late afternoons into evenings she would train with me. Her airbending wasn't really going anywhere, but her work with me was making leaps and bounds. She now had a mastery of the basics and was starting to incorporate the use of the terrain around her into our sparing matches.

Unfortunately, she was also using her sessions with me as a release for frustration in the airbending field. That morning, she had fully lost her temper and destroyed a cluster of ancient airbending training gates. Why Tenzin wasn't using reproductions and having the originals set up in a museum somewhere was beyond me. But the damage was done, and there was no taking it back.

I would have thought that her firebending training would have taught her control over her emotions and how they effected her ability to fight, or handle stressful situations in general. It seems this was yet another area her previous teachers had failed her in.

"No, focus! Channel your anger, let it fuel, not consume!" I snapped as I slapped away her attempted jab at my chest. Korra was dressed in full pads, and even had a helmet with a face guard on it. I was just dressed in my normal clothing. She swung a long swipe at me, intending to hit me in the ribs. I brought my sword up, deflecting hers away with an upward slash before reversing it and bringing the wooden blade down on her shoulder. Korra cried out in pain and fell to one knee, her free hand grasping her shoulder.

"You're letting your frustration with airbending get in the way," I noted as I took a resting stance. Korra yelled in frustration, yanking her helmet off and throwing it across the training yard.

"I suck at it! Everything bending wise I've ever done up until now has been easy, and I can't even get the basics now!"

"You're looking at it from Tenzin's point of view," I said, "you need to look at it from a fighting point of view."

"How? And how would you know what airbending implies? You're a non bender," she said.

"Just because I can't control the element doesn't mean I can't study the art and use it to my advantage," I replied.

"Alright, how do I look at it from a fighting point of view?"

"Think of it as if you're fighting much larger, more powerful opponent. One hit from you isn't going to mean much, but one from him will finish you off. In order to beat him, you have to stay light on your feet, ducking, dodging and weaving and striking back with what you can," I explained, demonstrating this by circling a dummy and making quick strikes with the sword against the straw mannequin.

"You're saying I need to think more like a waterbener," she said.

"Yes. Rather then take your enemies' head on, you evade his attacks, switch directions at the last second," I said. Korra seemed to think my words over before she suddenly attacked me. I was stunned by the attack, but only for a short moment, quickly putting her on the defensive as the wooden blades clashed into each other.

Apparently she took my words to heart, being much quicker on her feet then before. Korra danced around me, sticking at me every chance she got. I stood my ground, fending off her attacks as they came. Finally she showed how much progress she was making by managing to disarm me. I watched as the sword flew out of my hands, only to dodge as she attacked again.

She swung downward at me, and I sidestepped, allowing her wooden sword to hit the stones where I had been standing just a moment before. I grabbed her blade and we began to fight for control of the weapon. Korra turned away from me and yanked downward, flipping me over her body and causing me to land on my back.

I kept my grip on the sword and pulled forward, pulling Korra down on top of me. The wooden blade flew free of our grip, skidding well beyond either of our grasps. Korra began to crawl forward, trying to reach it first. I grabbed her sides and rolled us over so I was on top of her, pinning her arms to the ground so she couldn't move.

"Um. Hi," she said when she realized the position we were in. Her cheeks turned a shade of crimson.

"Hi," I replied, grinning down at her.

"You can get off me now," she said. I leaned down closer so that I was looking her square in the eye. Her blush deepened as I leaned further into her personal space.

"And let you get free? How dumb do you think I am?" I asked.

"I..I don't..."

"As long as you draw breath, the fight is never over, Korra," I said, "now get yourself out of it." The Avatar struggled beneath me, managing to get her feet up into my chest before shoving with all of her might. I was flung off and landed on my back. Before I could react, Korra was on top of me with her fist held at the ready, a jet of flame erupting from it.

"I got you now," she said, grinning down at me. But she made a mistake and leaned her head a little too close. I returned her grin when I noticed that she hadn't noticed her error.

"Do you?" Her grin quickly faded, and I cracked my forehead against hers. Korra was stunned and reared her head back, the fire blade dissipating in the process. I surged upward, grabbing her by the forearms as I wrestled for control again. Before she could react, I had gotten behind her and placed her in a choke hold. I wrapped my legs around her midsection, using my body weight to weigh her down as I cut off her oxygen supply.

She beat her fist against my forearm, trying to break my hold. I only tightened in response, determined to see her defeated if she couldn't find another way out. Korra's blows became softer and softer as she slowly began to black out. At the last possible second, she threw her hand out before her before jerking it back, like she was becoming someone to come to her.

I suddenly saw stars as a rock sailed from across the courtyard and slammed into my forehead. My grip on her vanished as I was forced backwards onto my back again, my head spinning. Korra clawed away as fast as she could, coughing and sucking air into her lungs. We were back on our feet at the same time, only she had her sword in her hand again.

She swept the blade along the ground, launching dust straight into my face. I yelled out in pain and annoyance as I was blinded by the strike. The world was suddenly dark as my eyes were squeezed shut to keep any more dust from getting into them. Now I was impressed, she was starting to include her bending in her blade work.

"Very clever," I commented. If she was smart, she would use this moment to try and either slip away, or relocate to a position from which I could not beat her.

"Nice to be appreciated," she said, her voice coming from my right. Oh well, the student still has a lot to learn apparently. Despite my lack of sight, I was on her before she could react. I had the sword free of her grip and back in my hand in the blink of an eye. In an instant, I had my free hand gripping her forehead from behind, pulling her head back so that I could press the blade to her throat with my sword hand.

"Dead." One single word, and it was all over. I released her and took a few steps back. Based on her breathing, I could tell she was worn out.

"How did you do that when you can't see?" she asked, panting.

"There was a period of about six months when I lost my sight during the war thanks to a blasting jelly explosion. I learned to hone my other senses, should the day ever come that I lose my sight," I replied.

"I shouldn't have spoken," she realized.

"Yes, now you see your mistake. Even if you manage to land a crippling blow on your enemy, you must never lower your expectations. Use his weakness against him, but never underestimate him," I instructed. I heard scraping on the ground, and realized that she was walking closer to me. A towel appeared on my face, wiping away the dust. My other senses were heightened thanks to the loss of my sight. I could smell her, the tang of sweat combined with a hint of something feminine. It was the sweat we had worked up in the spar combined with the shampoo she had used that morning.

My left hand reached up and gripped hers as she wiped down my face. I could feel her pulse racing beneath my fingertips. In fact, her pulse elevated slightly just after I touched her. The last bit of dust was brushed away, and I opened my eyes. Her cyan blue eyes were looking up at me, although I couldn't exactly tell what was going on behind them.

"Thanks," I said. She blinked and swallowed, realizing that I had spoken and she was staring.

"Um, yeah, sure. No problem," she replied before taking a step backwards. I kept the towel and buried my face in it, scrubbing off the last of the dirt.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," she said. I froze and looked at my hand. My glove had been torn off during the scuffle, giving Korra a full view of the Mark.

"It's just something that got slapped on me a while back," I replied, hoping that if I made it sound boring, she drop the subject.

"What does it mean? It looks like some kind of symbol," she said, trying to take a closer look.

"It's been so long I don't remember," I lied. She grabbed my hand and looked closer at it before reaching out to touch it. Just before her fingers brushed against the Mark, she froze. A look of puzzlement came over her face.

"What?"

"It's just...a feeling I'm getting," she said.

"A good feeling or a bad feeling?"

"I'm not sure...just a feeling," she said again before letting my hand go. I found my glove and slid it back on, eager to get the Mark out of view again.

"So are we done?" she asked.

"Yes, training is over for today."

"Do you want to come with me to the Pro Bending Arena later?" she asked. I knew she had been sneaking off the Island for the past few nights to go watch, but I didn't think she'd ask me to go with her.

"Are you asking me on a date?" I asked. Her cheeks flushed crimson again, and I had to turn slightly to hide my amused grin.

"No no, just some new friends I wanted to introduce you to," she said.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to decline," I said, "I have to plan out the next phase of your training." She looked disappointed at that. The explanation I had given her was the truth, I did next to sit down and figure out where to go next from here. But I also didn't really want to go near the Arena. Too many people in one place for my liking.

"Tell you what, we'll go on a field trip into the city in a few days, and you can introduce me to them then," I offered. She brightened a little at that.

"That sounds like a good plan," she said.

"Good, now go get cleaned up. You don't wanna go around your new friends smelling like you just got your ass kicked by an old man," I joked. She gave me a look, but smiled regardless as she stripped off the gear and then jogged off to take a shower. I collected the equipment and set it all up for the next day's session before heading back to my room.

Lighting a few candles, I sat on my bead in a meditative position and began to review everything that was going on inside my head. The rising of the Equalists, the return of the Observer, it all weighed heavily on my mind. There was a nagging feeling that I had which told me that it was only a matter of time before the blade of my sword was soaked in blood again.

I didn't want to kill. Five hundred years of it had left me with a bad taste in my mouth. But I wasn't turning into an ideological fool either. I've been around enough to know that sometimes the only option you have is to take the life of another. Out of all the people in the world, there are those out there who's only decent contribution they could make would be if they stopped breathing. These Equalists though, I wasn't sure if I was ready to cross that line with them yet. If they proved that they were more then willing to take lives and terrorize to get what they wanted, I wouldn't hesitate to answer them in kind.

A knock at the door brought me out of my thoughts. I opened my eyes to find that a lot of time had passed, a few hours or so based on how far the candles had burned down. Time tends to fly when you're contemplating life and death.

"Come in," I said. The door slid open, and Korra slipped inside. She looked absolutely giddy as she danced back and forth on her feet like a child needing to use the bathroom.

"Someone's mood has improved," I noted.

"I managed to convince Tenzin to let me off the Island, and I got onto a Pro Bending Team," she said.

"How did that fly with Mr. Mockery of the Arts?" I asked, genuinely surprised at this development. Tenzin had been so entrenched in his stance on Pro Bending he might as well have been an earthbender.

"He saw me using the airbending techniques in the match and figures this might be the best way to help me get through my block," she explained. I smiled at that.

"See? Like I said, a different point of view." She was bursting with excitement as she started to leave my room.

"I gotta get some sleep, the team has practice early in the morning," she said.

"Don't overdo it, a good warrior knows their own limits," I warned.

"I can handle it," she replied, her pride and ego showing. I wasn't so sure, but I knew that only time would tell.

"What team did you get on, anyway?" I asked.

"The Fire Ferrets, the new guys," she said before closing the door. The Fire Ferrets, I had read about them in the paper. They were an up and coming rookie team that was undefeated so far. Everyone seemed to believe that unless their flame suddenly burned out, the Ferrets had what it took to make it all the way to the Finals and be crowned the new champions. Oh great, as if Korra's ego wasn't bad enough as it was. Being in the city spotlight as the Avatar was already a problem as it was, the added limelight of being a Pro Bending star would either make her cautious about her approaches, or make her prideful to a fault.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be great," I muttered to myself.

And Cut. Once again, I never could have gotten this far without your guy's support. So what did you think of these new developments? And how will Ryou handle meeting Mako and Bolin as well as Amon? I encourage you all, please, don't hesitate to drop a review, leave a PM, or ask a question or two, and I'll see you all next time.