Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra or Avatar the Last Airbender. I only own my own characters and ideas
Book three Destiny Chapter Five: The Cave
Ren was now eighteen and thought about the war with the Earth Republic. There had been many battles that each side had won and lost. She knew at this point either side could win the war. She was still guarded by the White Lotus and at times she was happy about it, but then again she wished they would go away. Ren grabbed her hip which still gave her problems from time to time. The doctors told her that there was nothing they could really do about the problem, but give her painkillers. Ren knew that with all the damage the war was doing to her body that there was no point. Ren saw Sky walking up the temple stairs and smiled.
"Excuse me miss, but can you help me find my girlfriend?" he asked.
"You're going to have to tell me about her," Ren said giggling.
"Well she has the most beautiful green eyes. Her parents are Jinora and Kai. Her great grandparents are Aang and Katara. She has a twin brother named Lee. She has a spirit guide that is an armadillo lion that she named Hope. She can bend all four elements and most people know her as Avatar Ren, I call her Ren though," Sky said.
"Well that sounds like me," Ren said wrapping her arms around him.
"You guys are disgusting. Like it was cute in the beginning, but now it's gross," Lee said.
Ren laughed and thought about how today Roku was showing the Beifongs that he could lavabend. Ren was impressed that he could metalbend and lavabend. As far as anyone knew there were two lavabenders in the world and that was Bolin and Ren. Ren knew now that Roku had mastered his lavabending he would be a great asset in the war. Ren had asked him one day if would help with the war and he said he would be as cool as his great Grandma Toph if he did. Roku walked out and Ren could tell he was excited to show everyone. Ren thought about how Roku was talented enough to show everyone, even the White Lotus.
Ren convinced everyone that they were going to a family dinner in the city. As they walked through the city Ren could tell that Roku grew more excited. Ren heard someone say something about being in the wrong part of town to be going to a family dinner. They finally arrived at the abandoned Future Industries Warehouse and everyone looked at Ren. Ren made everyone wait outside of the warehouse as she escorted Roku into the building. Everyone looked at the two standing in the building. Roku looked at Ren with a worried look. Ren looked at him and placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. The two walked to opposite ends of the warehouse and faced each other. Ren stomped her foot and sent her fist in the air, quickly revealing lava.
"Ren, what are you doing?!" Opal yelled.
Ren started to quickly move the lava toward Roku. Roku waited until he could move the lava around himself and sent it back towards Ren. Ren smiled before she realized she had lava coming at her. She stuck her hands out and so did Roku. Ren decided before the two could destroy the building she would solidify the lava. Ren saw the lava turn into obsidian and she looked around the wall.
"Are you okay over there?" Ren asked.
"Yea, what about you?" Roku asked.
"Yea, I am so proud of you. I can't believe how much you have improved," Ren said.
Ren looked out to see everyone with their mouths hanging open. Ren and Roku walked out of the warehouse with smiles on their faces. Bolin hugged Roku as he laughed. Bolin grabbed Ren and and hugged both her and Roku as tight as he could. Ren and Roku laughed at how excited Bolin was.
"Dad, you're crushing us," Roku said.
"I'm sorry. I'm really excited that you can lavabend. When you could metalbend I lost hope for you to be able to lavabend, but you can and it's amazing," Bolin said.
Bolin finally let go of the two, still smiling. Ren felt a sharp pain in her hip, but tried to hide her pain. Ren never told anyone that she had been hit in the hip a few weeks ago during battle while defending Northern Ba Sing Se. Ren took her team and some of the White Lotus members with her to meet with the troops, but they were outnumbered. They won the battle, but not without many of the troops leaving the battle with injuries. Ren didn't think the large rock that hit her hip was a big deal until it started to bother her every so often. Ren could tell the platinum plate was still in her hip, but she felt like something was off about it. Ren remembered the many battles that had occurred over the past month and how she hid at one point. Ren could feel eyes on her, so she looked up.
"Ren, are you alright?" Asami asked.
"I didn't want to say anything, but a few weeks ago when we were defending Northern Ba Sing Se I go hurt. I was hit in the hip by a large rock and now its been bothering me. I didn't think anything of it before it started to cause me pain," Ren said.
"Ren you should have had that checked after the injury occurred. You may have made the plate move or you could have caused more damage," Kya said.
"I'll go get it check out right now," Ren said.
Ren started to walk in the direction of the hospital when she felt Sky wrap his arm around her waist. She looked at him before he smiled and tilted his head toward the White Lotus masters following them. Ren knew the hospital was a few blocks a way, but she still had to be protected. When they finally arrived at the hospital Ren looked at the building before she walked in the the doors. When she walked in she saw the doctors rushing around with what looked like soldiers. Ren looked at Sky and walked over to one of the patients to find that he was a soldier of the Untied Forces. Ren knew that Kanan had threatened to attack the United Republic, but not that he actually had attempted attacking the United Republic. Ren knew that she couldn't afford to rest while a war was going on. Ren continued to walk down the hall to see that the hospital was filled with soldiers from the United Forces. Ren looked at Sky then the White Lotus masters.
Ren walked out of the hospital and made her way to City Hall. She could tell that the group was rushing behind her, but she didn't care. She was angry at Ekta for not telling her about Kanan attacking the United Republic. Ren made it very clear that when there was a threat made she wanted to know so that she could help the troops. When they were at City Hall Ren walked up the stairs to the world leaders offices and walked into Ekta's office. Ren saw Ekta filling out papers at her desk as if nothing was wrong. Ren walked over to the chair in front of the desk and sat down. President Ekta looked up from her papers to see that Ren was sitting in front of her with an angered look on her face. President Ekta set the pen down and looked at Ren.
"Ekta, why was not informed about Kanan threatening to attack the United Republic? Did you think he wouldn't attack the United Republic?" Ren asked.
"We felt we had the proper amount of troops for the threat. We were correct, but a few of our soldiers were injured in battle," President Ekta said.
"A few? Have you been to the hospital? Let me tell you there are more than a few in the hospital. This all could have been prevented if you would have told me. My team and I would have come to help and this could have ended better," Ren said.
President Ekta looked at Ren over her hands and sighed. President Ekta opened a drawer and pulled a piece of paper out before she handed it to Ren. Ren looked at the paper then back at President Ekta. Ren couldn't believe what she had just read. Ren shoved the paper in her pocket and nodded at President Ekta. Ren stormed out of President Ekta's office past Sky and the White Lotus masters. The men quickly followed Ren and wondered what was wrong. When they arrived at Yue Bay Ren didn't even want to wait for the ferry. Ren jumped in the water and made a pillar and quickly made her way for the island. Sky jumped in the water and quickly followed Ren. Master Ping repeated what Ren and Sky had done. Master Oma made a large air pillar and followed the three. Master Kuang shot flames out of his hands to launch himself in the air to follow the group. Master Suan looked at the group before he walked to the ferry. He would prefer to keep his feet on the ground even if his comrades thought differently.
When Ren landed you saw the sand fly around her whole body. Sky and three of the White Lotus masters made it to the island before Ren made it to the temple stairs. Ren continued to look for a certain person on the island. She ran into one of the air acolytes who quickly apologized. Everyone was sitting in the courtyard waiting for Ren to return from the hospital. Rohan was the first to notice Ren and smiled.
"Oh Ren how…" he stopped when he saw how angry Ren was.
Ren walked over to Iroh and pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket. "Do you know what this is? I know you know what this is," she said shoving it at him. "You and your troops were the ones to go and fight for the United Republic. You requested that I wasn't there. You requested that my team wasn't there," she said still pushing him. "Did you want some heroic death Uncle Iroh? Did you want to get hurt? Have you seen all of the men in the hospital? You were being stupid. You knew that we have been losing battles and you still chose to go without us. We are fighting a war, not playing a game."
Everyone watched as Ren continued to yell and shove Iroh. Iroh's children looked at him with a hurt look on their face as Ren continued to yell at him. When Ren was done she has pushed Iroh against a wall and had him looking directly in her eyes. She knew he saw Korra's temper at the moment, and Ren didn't care she wanted him to understand what he did could have cost people their lives. Ren didn't understand why it was so hard for everyone to think about the safety of their people. She had a war to deal with and she didn't want more injuries or deaths then needed. Ren looked over at Sesi to see that she had tears in her eyes. Ren walked over to her, but Sesi pushed her away and walked into the temple. Asha and Gopan walked away and Ren looked at Aki and she followed her siblings.
Ren didn't know if she wanted to be mad at herself or her Uncle Iroh. She jumped on one of the pillars and grabbed the roof before she pulled herself onto the roof of the temple. Ren began to run up the large tower part of the temple. She began to grab windows and parts of the roof until she reached the top. When she reached the top she looked down and thought about what would happen if she jumped. She used her airbending to launch herself forward a bit as she jumped and hoped that she wouldn't get hurt. Ren heard screaming and she closed her eyes. Ren suddenly felt water around her body and swam to the top. She started to laugh as she swam to shore. She had so much fun, and felt so alive. She probably would never try that again, but she actually had fun for once. When Ren got to the courtyard her mother grabbed her and started to shake her.
"Ren what were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that was?" Jinora asked.
"For once I wasn't thinking. I had fun for once. I would have made it and if I didn't then I don't know. It was fun okay and I wanted to have fun," Ren said.
Before Jinora could say another word Ren laid down and slammed her head against the ground and groaned. She shouldn't wish for Kanan to attack somewhere, but at least it would give her something to do. Ren knew that it would only be a week or so before Kanan attacked Northern Ba Sing Se again. She figured she would sit on the island and wait until someone called and said they were being attacked by Kanan. She knew she couldn't go straight into the war head first, because there was a good chance she could get herself killed. Ren looked at everyone as she laid down and wished that they would understand how hard it was to have the balance of the world in her hands. Failure wasn't an option for her.
Ren couldn't be a failure, she just couldn't be. This was war and people were being hurt and some were dying. She saw families displaced and watched as some members said goodbye to their loved ones. Two long years of being a failure and not ending the war. She knew the next time she fought she would make a statement that the war would end soon. She wanted her team to be ready for the next fight, wherever it may be. Ren knew Zaofu was protected by the Beifong family and the soldiers, but Ren knew that it wouldn't be safe forever. She sat up and looked at everyone.
"Team Avatar training session. Lee, you will go to the spinning gates with mom and dad. Aki, you will train with Uncle Iroh and Uncle Mako. Sesi, and Sky you will train with Aunt Kya. Asha, you will train with with Aunt Asami. Gopan, we will train with Lin and Uncle Bolin. The rest of the Beifongs should head back to Zaofu and protect it. We are going to make an impact on this war," Ren said.
Ren stood and looked at her team as the group stood. Everyone could see the determination in the kids as they looked at each other. The group walked towards each other smiling at each other before they laughed. They all knew if anyone could make an impact on the war it would be them. Not only were they determined, but their family saved the world for two generations. They knew saving the world was what their families did.
"I'm in," Lee said.
"Me too," Sesi said.
"You know I'm in," Gopan said.
"Well great Grandpa Zuko did work hard to restore the family's honor and I don't want to mess that up by not saving the world, so I'm in," Aki said as everyone shook their heads.
"Somebody has to make sure you idiots stay safe," Asha said.
"You already know my answer," Sky said.
The group went to designated training areas to make sure their skills were war ready. At the spinning gate Jinora sent an air blast and Lee began to go through the gates. When he was on the other side Kai was standing there with a grin on his face. Lee frowned as Kai kicked a gust of him. Lee quickly avoided it before he was knocked down by another gust of wind. He looked up to find his mother standing close to him with a smile. Lee only thought he was doing the spinning gates not fighting his parents. Lee jumped up and sent two air blasts at his father before he sent one for his mother. Jinora and Kai easily avoided them and sent air blast at Lee and watched as they smashed into him. Lee felt all the air leave his body before he fell to the ground. He didn't have the strength to get up, so he just laid there and groaned. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his father and then he saw him with hand out. Lee grabbed his father's hand and Kai pulled him up.
"I thought I was only suppose to practice the spinning gates," Lee said.
"During a war you never know what is coming," Kai said.
On the beach Kya, Sesi, and Sky stood by the water. Sesi made a shield of water around herself. She started to to punch the shield and sent ice towards Kya. Kya made water tentacles and grabbed the ice and started to throw them to the ground. Sky made a giant ice slide and slid behind Kya, but she grabbed him and threw him toward the bay. Sky froze the water and made his way back to the fight. Sesi froze the water tentacles and Sky sent a wave for Kya. Kya sent the frozen tentacles for the wave making it crash before it reached the shore. She pulled Sesi into the bay and smashed two waves together and watched as Sesi and Sky went underwater before they swam to shore. She saw the defeated look on their face and knew their training session was over.
In the courtyard Aki, Iroh, and Mako stood facing each other. Mako made the first move by sticking his fist out and sending flames at Aki. Aki stuck her fist out and slammed the flames on the ground. Aki kicked her leg, sending a flame at Iroh. Mako stood and sent two quick jabs with flames and knocked Aki to the ground. Aki slide her leg across the the ground and sent a line of fire at the two men. Mako fell and Iroh jumped over the line and sent multiple fire blast and knocked Aki on the ground. Aki laid on the ground as she smelled her burnt hair.
On one side of the island Bolin, Gopan, Lin, and Ren stood in fighting stances. Bolin sent two large rocks at Ren and she smashed them with her platinum cables. Gopan sent his metal cables at Lin and she used her cables to hit his cables away. Ren sent her cables for Lin's wrist and watched as it wrapped around her wrist. She swung and smashed Lin into Bolin. Bolin slammed his fist into the ground and sent a wave, making Gopan and Ren fall to the ground. Gopan and Ren quickly jumped up and kicked two rocks at Bolin and Lin. Bolin and Lin kicked the rocks at the two and watched as the were knocked to the ground. Gopan and Ren laid there and looked around.
"My hip hurts," Ren said.
"My everything hurts," Gopan said.
At the Sato mansion Asami and Asha stood in a room that Asami used to practice her defensive skills. Asami kicked her foot above Asha's head and he ducked. He swung his leg under her feet and watched as she fell. Asami jumped up and grabbed his arm and pulled it behind his back. Asha bent down and pushed back before he kicked his foot back, knocking Asami forward. Asami swung her legs and pushed her arms up and watched as Asha fell to the ground with a thud. He laid there and coughed. He thought he had won the fight until she beat him.
Everyone was slowly making their way to the courtyard and Ren didn't like the way her team was entering the courtyard. An air acolyte, Bumi, Desna, Pema, Senna, Tenzin, and, Tonraq all walked out with supplies to help the group. Tonraq handed Ren a few bags of ice for her hip. Bumi handed Gopan some things to clean his cuts, ice for the pain and patted his shoulder. Pema looked at Lee's arm and cleaned the cuts and then wrapped it. Senna lifted Asha's shirt slightly to see bruising before she began to heal his abdomen. The air acolyte walked over to Aki and looked at her head to see that only her hair was burned. She gave her something for her hair and Aki thanked her. Desna walked over to Sky to see the worse he had was some neck and shoulder pain, which was easily fixed. Sesi complained to Tenzin of a headache and pain in her arm, which he fixed with some ice.
"Please tell me at least one of you won, and you only got hurt in the process," Ren said.
The group shook their heads and she laid back on the ice. She had to think of a better way to train the team. She had to end the war that had been her fault. She could have prevented it and she didn't. It was her fault that innocent people were losing their lives, homes, and rights. Ren tried to stand up, but the pain in her hip prevented her from getting off the ground. Ren felt two people helping her up and she smiled and looked to find Mako and Iroh standing there. Ren started to walk away when she heard an air acolyte calling for her.
"Avatar Ren, Representative Wu is on the intercom. He said that it is very urgent and he must speak with you right away," she said.
"Thank you," Ren said.
Ren looked at her team and prayed to the spirits that Kanan wasn't attacking Northern Ba Sing Se. Ren knew her team couldn't fight, not now anyway. She couldn't even fight, why should she expect her team to charge into battle. Ren looked at the air acolyte who was smiling at her. Ren looked back at her team before she walked into the room where the intercom was kept. Ren looked at the intercom before she sat down. She slowly reached for the microphone and took a deep breathe.
"Wu this is Ren. What is wrong in Northern Ba Sing Se?" Ren said.
"Kanan just threatened to attack us and we need your help or he might destroy Northern Ba Sing Se," Wu said.
Ren closed her eyes before she responded. "Don't worry Wu we will be there," she said.
"Thank you and please hurry," Wu said.
Ren walked out of the room and looked at her team as they slowly stood. The group stood up and looked at her and they knew they had to go. The adults saw the determination on the kids faces and smiled. Ren and her team had vowed long ago that no matter what they would help people in need.
"Dad, mom can we take Lefty and Pepper? We are going to need a way to Northern Ba Sing Se,". Ren said.
Jinora and Kai nodded and Ren smiled. Asha went to get his equipment as quickly as possible. Ren went to get her glider and Hope. Lee got his glider and Sky made sure he and Sesi had enough pouches of water. Gopan double check to make sure he had both his metal cables and his platinum cables. Aki continued to form flames in her hands and make them disappear as the group made sure they had what they needed. Asha, Lee, and Ren quickly returned to the courtyard and the team made their way for the stables. They placed all their supplies on the two bison and returned to the courtyard to say goodbye to their families. After Lee and Ren pulled away from Jinora and Kai they could see the tears in their eyes, but could tell they were proud of them. The group walked down to the stables and split so they could take Hope. Hope, Ren, Sesi, and Sky on Pepper. Aki, Asha, Gopan, and Lee hopped on Lefty and the group left.
Ren didn't talk the whole the way to Northern Ba Sing Se. She gave Sesi the reins and began to meditate. Ren knew if she wasn't focus this battle wouldn't end well. Ren told Sesi that she should land Pepper right inside of Northern Ba Sing Se. When both bison landed Ren saw the troops standing, just waiting for them to arrive. Ren knew that outside of Northern Ba Sing Se's wall there was nothing but empty land. The next city was quite a distance away. Wu was at the top of the wall, waiting to give the signal to open the wall for the troops to be able to march into battle. Ren nodded at him and Wu gave the signal and the wall started to slowly open. Ren slowly lead her team and the troops outside of the wall with her head held high. Ren knew that she had to win this battle and she had to show that she was confident.
After everyone was outside of the wall it was shut. Ren turned around and looked at the faces of the troops and her team. She knew that they would be out numbered, they always were. Ren turned around and felt Hope nudge her. Ren started to walk and the troops followed her. Ren took one final look at the wall and saw the troops that stood across the top. Ren thought about how if she could decrease the amount of troops that Kanan was bringing to Northern Ba Sing Se the city might have a chance. It didn't take long for the two sides to come face to face. Ren saw that Kanan had come to take charge of his troops. Ren also took notice to the numerous mecha tanks and newer tanks that did more damage than anyone could imagine. Everyone was proud of Asami for making theses tanks, but Ren wondered how the Earth Republic got their hands on them.
"Take out those tanks. Those are the new tanks Aunt Asami just invented and if they make it past us, Northern Ba Sing Se doesn't stand a chance," Ren ordered.
The tanks made their first shots with large metal balls toward the group. Before any metalbenders could react they turned into whips that would wrap around people and shock them. Gopan and Ren used their cables to hit as many away as possible. Lee swung his glider like a bat and watched as a few of the wraps flew back at the Earth Republic troops. Troops from Northern Ba Sing Se made barriers and the remaining wraps smashed against the walls. The tanks then shot darts at Ren and her group and Ren's eyes widened. She and Gopan quickly used their metalbending to send the darts to the ground in hopes that it would hit some of Kanan's troops. Ren watched as some of Kanan's troops dropped to the ground and closed their eyes.
Ren opened a hole in the ground and she jumped in and quickly ran toward Kanan's troops. She slammed her hand on the ground above her and felt that she was a good distance within enemy territory. She opened a hole and three soldiers fell in. She punched them in the face and watched as they fell unconscious before she jumped through her hole. Ren turned around and was standing right in front of a tank. She used her platinumbending to tear the tank apart. She watched as the soldiers fell to the ground and she kicked her foot and watched a flame knock them back several feet into multiple soldiers. Ren made a large platinum spike with the metal pieces of the tank and took out two more tanks. She looked up to see Hope smash into soldiers before she grabbed a tank and completely destroyed it. Ren smiled and thought about how they might actually win this battle.
Ren saw a large rock heading for her out of the corner of her eye and she jumped. She saw Kanan throwing rocks at her and she continued to jump and let him hit his own soldiers. Ren thought about how she had a few things Kanan and his troops didn't and she could use that to her advantage. Ren had to get her troops and hope that her plan worked. She continued to let Kanan hit his troops and she hid under one of the new tanks. She used her metal cables to tie herself to the tank and held on with one hand. She stuck her hand out and both feet and watched as flames continued to shoot out and Kanan's soldiers dropped. She released the cable and let go of the tank. She saw Hope running towards her with Asha on her back with her glider. Asha tossed Ren her glider and Ren instantly flew into the sky.
Ren looked for a position that she felt would help her troops the most. She saw a spot that was filled with troops and she let go of her glider. She felt a metal whip around her waist and looked to see Gopan getting ready to whip her at the ground. Ren made two fist and Gopan whipped her at the ground and Ren slammed her fist on the ground and saw a wave form throw the ground along with a crater. Ren started to feel tired from the fight they were putting up and she knew that they had to keep fighting for the people in Northern Ba Sing Se.
Ren felt a rock hit her in the back and she fell to the ground and slid a few feet. Ren looked up to see Kanan standing near her with a smile on his face. Ren went to stand, but Kanan made a pillar form under her and she slide down and coughed. She kicked the pillar and it smashed into Kanan and he fell to the ground. She tried to get up and she was soon surrounded by Earth Republic soldiers. She was hit by multiple rocks and she was in pain and she didn't have the will to fight. Ren saw a fire blast and water whips knock soldiers over. She saw a gust of wind and large rocks and was happy that her team finally showed up. She saw Asha and he quickly helped her up and she saw her glider and Hope next to Asha. Ren saw the troops of Northern Ba Sing Se continuing to fight. Ren tried to go help the troops but was quickly placed on Hope's back and the team quickly left.
The team was looking for a place to hide so the could make sure Ren was okay. They could tell that she had wounds, but they wanted to see what the extend of her injuries were. They soon found a cave and quickly entered the cave and Gopan covered the cave opening. After Aki lite a fire Sky pulled Ren off of Hope's back and laid her on the ground. Sesi pulled water out of one of the pouches and started to check Ren's injuries. She looked at the group and ran her hand over Ren's face.
"She needs a medical center. I say we get her to the one in Zaofu, because if Northern Ba Sing Se falls who knows what they will do to Ren. We need someone to get to Zaofu to get help," Sesi said.
"I think it would be safer for us to tunnel to Zaofu, so I'll go and bring someone back," Gopan said.
"We will go fight until Gopan gets back. Gopan the instant you get back come and get us," Sky said.
Gopan nodded and quickly opened a hole for everyone to climb out of the cave and closed it. Gopan that opened a hole and began to tunnel his way to Zaofu. Sesi placed Ren's head her lap and thought bout how she promised everyone that she would make sure Ren was okay. She always tried to protect Ren, because she felt like she had her mother back when she had Ren. Sesi knew that Ren wasn't biologically her cousin, but she felt like she was. Sesi had grown close to Ren when they were younger and it always stayed that way. Sesi didn't know what she would do if Ren would die. Sesi didn't tell anyone, but Ren's chances weren't looking great right now. Sesi thought about how Ren always lived when her chances weren't that great. Sesi felt a tear roll down her check and she wiped it away.
"Please don't die Ren," Sesi said.
Sesi sat there and waited and Hope came up to her. Hope licked Ren's face and tried to wake her and Sesi smiled. She wondered what was taking Gopan so long. Sesi soon heard the wall where the cave opening would have been start to rumble. Sesi placed Ren's head against Hope and stood as she pulled water out of one of the pouches. She made water tentacles and hoped that she would be able to fight off her enemy. When the wall came down it revealed. Her siblings, Kuvira, Lee, Sky, Wei, and Wing. The group looked at Sesi with wide eyes as she started to put the water in pouches. Sesi was just relieved that she wasn't going to have to fight Earth Republic soldiers. The Beifomg twins and Kuvira walked over to Ren and found out why she needed to go to a medical center.
"Don't worry guys we will get her to the medical center in Zaofu," Wei said.
"Yea and you know she will get the the best care," Wing said.
"Lee, Sky you should go with her. We will stay and help the troops of Northern Ba Sing Se fight," Sesi said.
Lee and Sky nodded. Lee grabbed Ren's glider as Sky put Ren on Hope's back. Wei and Wing opened a a hole so the group could make their way to Zaofu. Sky stood next to Hope and Lee stayed with Kuvira. As they walked to Zaofu everyone was silent. Sky looked at Ren and remembered the conversation they had last night. Ren had promised him that in every battle that they went to that she would make sure she was careful. Sky saw the blood and cuts on Ren's face and body. Sky hoped that Ren would make it to the medical center.
Everyone was happy to see that Ren held on until they made it to Zaofu. The remaining Beifong family members quickly ran over to Ren and the group and saw her condition. They all went to the medical center in hopes that the doctors would be able to help Ren. When they entered the medical center the doctors quickly ran over to Ren and pulled her away from the group. Lee and Sky tried to follow them but a few healers pushed them back. The group stood there and looked at the door as it closed and hoped for the best. A few hours passed by and a doctor finally walked out into the room where the group was sitting.
"Avatar Ren is far from out of the woods. She came in with quite a lot injuries. We had to reset the plate in her hip and it looks like she has a few broken ribs. That is all we can do for right now. We also found this when we were cutting away at her clothes," the doctor said handing Lee a note.
Lee nodded and the doctor walked away. Aki, Asha, Gopan, and Sesi soon walked in the medical center and they looked like they had some form of good news. Lee hoped that Northern Ba Sing Se was still in one piece. He knew that they had knocked a decent chunk of the the Earth Republic troops out but that didn't mean anything. Lee looked down at the note and then Sesi.
"We won the battle at Northern Ba Sing Se. The Earth Republic made it to the second wall, but Northern Ba Sing Se is still safe," Aki said.
"Yea, but at what cost?" Lee asked.
"Aki didn't mean it like that Lee. We are concerned about Ren, but we wanted to let you know that we won," Asha said.
Lee sat down and looked at the note. "They found this with Ren…. I have to know what it says but I don't think I can read it," Lee said.
Lee looked at everyone and hoped that someone would tell him to read it, but no one did. Sesi sat down next to him and smiled and he tried to hand her the note but she shook her head. Lee knew it would be difficult for Sesi to read, but they needed to know what it said. Suyin stood in front of Lee and smiled and he stuck the note out at her. Suyin took the note and slowly opened it. Before she read it she looked around at looked down at the note and began to read it slowly.
I know what my destiny is as the Avatar, but I feel like I was prevented from fulfilling that destiny for two years. I must now correct that error and end this war. The war that I should have seen coming. My destiny is to keep peace and balance in the world, yet I have failed. I must restore peace and balance or I have failed as the Avatar, and will not fulfill my destiny as the Avatar. I must end this on my own.
Suyin frowned and looked at everyone. She couldn't believe what she had just read. Ren had never told anyone how she felt about her destiny or the war. Suyin wondered if Ren had told every region she wanted to be in their battles so she could prove herself. Suyin looked at the door of Ren's room and felt disappointment in herself, in Ren and everyone else that didn't see that Ren felt guilty.
"What does it say?" Baatar Sr. asked.
"Ren said she knew what her destiny as the Avatar was, but she wasn't doing a good job at fulfilling that destiny. She thinks she needs to end the war to correct that error. She thinks the war is her fault, because her past lives gave her those flashbacks of their memories. She thinks she has failed because she didn't keep peace and balance. She said if she doesn't restore those things she will fail as the Avatar. The final line said she has to end this on her own," Suyin said looking at everyone.
"Damnit Ren, you couldn't just accept this war isn't your fault," Lee said throwing his chair at the wall. "You couldn't just ask for help, of course not you never do. You always think you failed as the Avatar when things go wrong," he said as he punched the wall. "You know you can restore balance, why do you always doubt yourself? You did this on purpose. You yelled at Uncle Iroh for this. You wanted some heroic Avatar death, so people would remember you. You were being stupid, and I hate you for that."
Everyone stood and watched as Lee started to punch the wall and threw things. He took his glider and swung it at Iroh's children and Sky. The team began to dodge the attacks as fast as the could. No one could get close enough to grab the glider so Gopan used his earthbending to trap Lee's feet. Sky made a water whip and grabbed the glider and pulled it away from Lee. Sky tossed the glider to Wing as Gopan released Lee's feet.
"Calm down," Aki said.
"You were suppose to protect. I was suppose to protect her. We all were suppose to protect her, and if anyone one failed at their job it was us. She may be your cousin, your friend, your girlfriend, but she is my sister, my twin. She may be the Avatar to the world and the world may need her, but our family needs her. There are days I wish she wasn't the Avatar and it isn't because of the attention she gets. I want her to be safe, like those two years we had where we didn't know what fear or keeping the world safe was," Lee said walking away.
"What do we do now?" Asha asked.
"Use the intercom and call Air Temple Island and let them know about Ren's condition. We also hope that Ren makes it. If she does then that's great but if she doesn't… we hold our own during the war until the next Avatar is found. We all know Ren's a fighter so she will make it," Kuvira said.
Hope stood up and walked over to Ren's room and started to scratch the door. Everyone looked at the large cat and tried to smile. Hope laid down and started to cry outside Ren's door. Iroh's children and Sky went and sat with the large cat. Asha and Gopan sat against Hope's side and laid their heads against her shell. Aki sat at Hope's back and laid her head against Hope's fur and watched Hope slowly move her tail. Sesi and Sky laid by Hope's head. Sky laid his head against Ren's door and his arm on Hope's shoulder. Sesi laid her head back and her hand on Hope's head and began to pet her. The Beifong family watched as the team sat on the ground and waited for Ren to wake up. The family left and gave the team their space and hoped for the best.
(Author's Note: So Ren is in serious condition after trying to save Northern Ba Sing Se. Lee isn't handling the situation to well. I also did a time skip because I figured eighteen year old Ren would be more mature and able to handle a war better than sixteen year old Ren. Ren's mad at Iroh for his actions with the war. Roku's lavabending comes in handy in the future and that's why I put it in this chapter. Also you see new tanks that Asami invented and you will continue to see them. I have some big things planned for this story so I hope everyone is excited. Reviews are welcome and thanks for reading.)