Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra or Avatar the Last Airbender. I only own my own characters and ideas
Book four Peace Chapter Ten: Lightning Strikes
Ren woke up the next morning to find Sky asleep in a chair next to her bed. She rolled on her side to look at him, then got up. She quietly walked down the hall as quickly as possible. She bumped into Kuvira who raised an eyebrow at her. Ren tried to walk away but Kuvira grabbed her arm. Ren pulled but Kuvira tightened her grip. Ren gave Kuvira a smile, hoping she would let go. When Kuvira didn't let go Ren sighed. Ren figured if Kuvira wasn't going to let go of her arm she was going to pull her with. Kuvira let go of Ren's arm when she saw that Ren was about to go into the bathroom. When Ren closed the door, she splashed water on her face and took a deep breath. She looked down for a moment before she looked at her stomach.
"I know you are in there because the last time I felt like this the last time I was pregnant. Now listen to me right now and listen as well as you can. This needs to be our secret so you need behave so that nobody knows. I have no clue what I'm doing," Ren said.
Ren heard a knock at the door and she looked at her stomach one more time before she walked over to the door. Sky was standing there with a smile. Ren smiled at him before she exited the bathroom. She walked down the hall with Sky when she realized she needed to talk to Kuvira about this. She knew Kuvira would keep the whole thing a secret. Ren waited until she saw Sky walk into the dining area then she quickly ran to their room to grab and piece of paper. She wrote that she thought she was pregnant but she wanted to keep it a secret. She wrote about how she didn't know what to do and how she needed advice. She folded the paper and quickly ran to the dining area so she wouldn't raise any suspicions. When she arrived she took her seat and waited for her breakfast. She kicked Kuvira's leg, making Kuvira look at her. Ren passed Kuvira the note without anyone noticing. When Kuviria got the note she placed it in her lap to read it so no one would know she had it. Kuvira gasped making everyone including Ren look at her. Kuvira crumbled the note before anyone could see it. Ren pinched her nose as she shook her head.
"Dear, are you alright?" Baatar Jr asked.
"Oh, um yes. I was just thinking about um... um I was thinking about well I don't know really. I mean I do know but I don't know how to say it or if I should say it," Kuvira said.
"Oh, for Raava's sake. She is covering for me. I'm pregnant and we have two crazy people running around. Sky, we're going to have another baby," Ren said looking at him.
Sky looked at Ren for a moment and she wondered if he was okay. Ren stood and tried to walk away but Sky grabbed her arm. He turned her around and Ren saw the smile on his face. He kissed Ren passionately as he spun them both around. When Ren placed her feet on the ground and looked into his dark blue eyes. She soon heard her parents, great Aunt Kya, and Hakoda coming down the hall. She looked at the opening to the door to see everyone walking in except Hakoda who was running towards her. She crouched down to hug him but was knocked over by the young boy. He hugged her as she laughed. The Beifongs assured Kai and Jinora that Ren was now fine and that it was probably a bit of exhaustion that was making her have all of her problems. Ren looked at them with a smile as she got up. They all walked out to where Jinora had landed Pepper. Ren placed a hand on Pepper's head, then looked back at Hope. Kai nodded at Ren as her understanding that they couldn't all get on Pepper's back. Sky tapped Ren's shoulder and pointed to an airship. Ren shook her head as she lifted Hakoda to place him on Hope's back. The three walked onto the airship and were about to close the door when the Beifong family started to walk onto the airship. Everyone eventually took off towards Air Temple Island as Ren sat in the back away from everyone else. She sat in the lotus position and tried to meditate. She tried to think of a way to defeat Aki and Azula. She finally came up with a plan. She had to take one down before she could take the other down. She knew it would take longer but Azula had to go back to the Spirit World first before she could take Aki down. She stood and walked to the front of the airship to see that they were almost at Air Temple Island. Ren felt a gust of wind, making her turn around. She saw a golden hair piece on the ground. She walked over to it and picked it up slowly. She flashed back to when her great Grandpa Aang was struck by lightning. She gasped as she dropped it. Everyone turned their heads to see if Ren was okay but she didn't know what to tell them. She looked at the piece one more time and realized where she had seen it before. It was something Azula had worn. She left it on the ground and thought about the vision. When they arrived at Air Temple Island Ren thought about the vision again. She wondered if it was her great grandpa telling her to stop hearing lightningbending. She walked into the court yard and made a pillar. Everyone stared at her as she backed away from the pillar. Ren tried to clear her mind but was having trouble. She knew if she wanted to lightningbend she would have to be calm and focused. She flashed back to her Grandpa Tenzin's death again.
"There is nothing you could have done. It is in the past. Focus on the now Ren," Ren said to herself.
She looked at the pillar again before she started to generate lightning. She pointed her finger at the pillar and watched as it turned into dust. Everyone looked at Ren for a moment, then the pile of dust. Ren felt the breeze pick up again and she smiled. Finally, she understood some form of advice they were giving her. Ren looked at Republic City and grabbed her glider. Everyone looked at her before they followed her down to the ferry. Hakoda and Ty tried to come with but Ren crouched down and hugged them. She told them that they must stay on the island for their own safety. She laughed when they crossed their arms and walked away. She heard them say how they could protect themselves if they found any danger. Ren shook her head as she thought about herself at that age. When she got on the ferry she shook her head again as she thought about the boys. She smiled on the way to Republic City. Ren turned around to see Pema had come with them, which surprised her. Ren walked over to her and stuck a hand out. Pema looked at her for a moment before she took it. Everyone looked at Ren as Pema stood.
"Come on Gran-Gran Pema. I want to show you something. Lee, come over here so I can show Gran-Gran Pema something," Ren said
Lee raised an eyebrow as he walked over to the two. Ren turned Lee around and grabbed Pema's hand. Ren put her hands over Pema's, shaping them the way they had to be to be to chi block someone. Ren pulled her hands off of Pema's then pointed at certain points on Lee's back. Pema looked at Ren and Ren nodded at her. Pema looked at Lee before looking at Ren again. Pema pulled her hands away and shook her head. Ren pushed Lee away as she walked to the railing. When they reached the city Ren started to walk towards the park. Pema smiled at Ren after they stopped at Korra's statue. Ren turned around just in time to block a ball of fire. She saw Aki and Azula running towards her. Ren stomped, making a pillar and kicked it at the two. When she saw that it was going to miss she pulled water out of the lake to send an ice spear at Aki. Aki dodged it before she started to generate lightning. Sky's eyes widened as he saw the lightning start to head for Ren. Ren flashed to Tenzin's death before she stuck her fingertips to catch the lightning. Ren felt her foot start to slide and she stuck her other arm to the sky, shooting the lightning in the air. Azula was about to use a fire blast on Ren but Kuvira took one of her metal strips to knock her down. Ren smiled as Azula was knocked to the ground. Ren started to run towards Aki as fast as she could. Aki swung her fist and Ren used her airbending to jump over Aki. Ren kicked Aki in the back and tried to punch her but Aki grabbed her arm. Aki pulled Ren to the ground, punching her in the face. Ren placed her hands flat together and jabbed Aki in the shoulder. Aki fell to one side, giving Ren an opportunity to get up. Aki kicked Ren's feet out from under her. Ren tried to get up but Aki grabbed her by the hair and place a fire dagger near her throat.
"You know Ren, long hair really never was your thing. It was always one of the things that made you flawed," Aki said.
"Let go of my mom," Hakoda yelled as he ran towards the two and sending ice shards at them.
"Yea, let go of my Aun Ren," Ty said as he sent metal strips and running with Hakoda.
Ren felt her hair get lighter and she turned around. She saw Aki holding her hair. She saw her hair had been cut to her jawline by the metal strips. She smiled at the boys then Aki.
"You know Aki, you were right. Short hair always did suit me much better," Ren said.
Ren sent her fist out and blast of air knocked Aki into Azula. The two picked each other up and looked at the small boys. Aki started to propel herself towards the small boys and Ren used her firebending to propel herself into Aki. The two smashed into the ground. Azula tried to hit the two small boys with a fire whip but an earth barrier went up in time. The wall crumbled and Kuvira was close by. She ran towards Azula but was knocked down. Aki and Azula had Ren and Kuvira leaning against each other. The two small boys looked at each other before Hakoda pulled water out of the lake and froze a ramp for both he and Ty. The two slid across the ramp before Ty used his metal strip to grab both Aki and Azula's wrist. Hakoda sent two water jets. Ren looked at the two boys as they came running over to both her and Kuvira. Kuvira smiled at Ren and she looked at the two boys. Aki got up and Hakoda encircled himself with water. When Azula got up Ty and Kuvira stood next to each other, both in their fighting stances. Ren froze a ramp and slid behind Aki. Once one the ground she used her earthbending to send Aki in the air and then her airbend to knock her down. Hakoda started to punch sending Ice shards at Aki. Aki sent a continuous fire blast at Hakoda, knocking him down and back a few feet. Ren stared at Hakoda as he stayed on the ground and flashed back. She saw her great Grandpa Aang rescuing her Grandpa Tenzin, great Aunt Kya and Great Uncle Bumi from being kidnapped. She saw Korra protecting her four children. Ren flashed back into reality and her eyes started to glow. Aki stared at Ren as Ren started to bend the four elements at once. Hakoda looked up to see his mother in the avatar state. Aki fell on the ground and started to back away but Azula turned her attention to Ren. She was about to use the closest object to kill the avatar. She already tried lightning in the past with Avatar Aang so she knew that wouldn't work. Ren grabbed Aki with water from the lake and threw her towards Azula which broke her concentration. Ren sent all four elements at the two at once and watched as they flew back a few feet. Aki and Azula began to flee and Ren left the avatar state. She turned around to see Hakoda staring at her. He had only seen her use the avatar state a few times and she could still see the fear in his eyes each time. She walked over to him and crouched down. Hakoda ran over to her and hugged her. She hugged him and looked at Sky as Hakoda hugged her tighter. Sky walked over and picked up Hakoda and Ren looked over at the spirit portal. She whispered in Sky's ear and he nodded before Ren ran towards the portal and smiled when the group was standing there. Her smile soon faded when she saw the concerned look on her grandfather's face.
"Ren, what happened to your hair? Are you alright? Is everyone else okay?" Tenzin asked.
"Tenzin, you aren't even giving the poor girl a chance to talk. Take a deep breath and let her speak," Katara said.
"Yes, everyone is fine. I am fine. As for my hair well that is a different story. Ty and Hakoda saved me from Azula and Aki and they cut my hair in the process. Aki had me by the hair and if it wasn't for those two I would have been a fried avatar," Ren said.
"You let them fight? Ren, what were you thinking?" Tenzin asked.
"Grandpa Tenzin, they did amazing. You would have been so proud of Hakoda. Plus, they were protecting more than me at that moment. Trust me on this. Them doing what they did was amazing," Ren said.
"Wait, no you're not. Not another one. I'm still trying to get over the fact that you have Hakoda and that he is five. I remember when you were little and I was trying to teach you to airbend and now you're here expanding your family yet again. Oh, Ren I wish you would stop growing so fast," Tenzin said hugging her.
"Hey, would someone who can lightningbend and also redirect lightning be able to assist me? Since Grandpa Tenzin's death I have been having problems with it. I have only done it twice since his death and I almost failed at redirecting. I just need to make sure nothing goes wrong," Ren said.
Aang, Iroh, and Zuko looked at each other before they nodded at Ren. Aang stood a distance from Ren and the two stared at each other. Ren started to generate lightning and soon shot it at Aang. She watched as her great grandfather redirected it with ease and she sighed as she thought about how she couldn't do that. Zuko switched spots with Aang and Ren repeated the process. She looked at the ground as she thought about how the two men redirected the lightning with ease. When Iroh switched spots with Zuko she really hoped that she would be able to redirect the lightning with ease. She watched Iroh start to generate the lightning and she stood there. He shot the lightning at Ren and as Ren caught the bolt she pointed her other fingers towards the sky. When the lightning left Ren's body one of Ren's feet slipped, making her fall on her hands and knees. Everyone ran over to Ren to make sure she was alright but she reassured them she was fine. Korra helped Ren stand as Iroh apologized. Ren stumbled slightly as she started to walk for the portal. The group gave Ren a worried look as she walked through the portal. Ren looked at Air Temple Island and slowly made her way towards the docks. She placed her hand over stomach as she thought about how careful she had to be now. When she arrived at the docks she got into the ferry and sat down. She thought about how their little family was growing yet again. She also thought about how lightning struck her but she managed to finally redirect it. When Ren got to the island everyone was in the courtyard. Hakoda and Ty were play and laugh when Sky walked up to Ren with a smile, examining her new haircut better.
"Mrs. Beifong," a flower deliver man said.
"Yes," Ren said as she gave him a confused look as he handed her a boquet of fire lilies.
"Sign here. Someone must really love you to buy you this many fire lilies at this time of year. I mean I know you're married and it isn't my business but someone is clearly trying to get your attention," he said.
Ren smiled as she signed the piece of paper. She took the flowers and was hesitant to smell them. She looked back at Sky who shook his head. Ren began to look for a note to see who sent the flowers. She hoped that the person at least sent a note with the flowers. She looked around at everyone to see if someone would say they sent them. When she found the note she slowly reached for it. She turned the not around and closed her eyes before she lifted the note. She stared at the note and realized she wasn't really reading or processing the note. She finally began to actually read the note.
Congratulations Ren. You may have won this round but next time you won't be so lucky. I have Azula and you have that weak team of yours. Remember I have become stronger since I left that team. I can't wait for our next rematch. Oh, and that home of yours is so lovely. Until next time, Ren.
Aki
"At least she remembered my favorite flowers," Ren said as she set the flowers on fire.
Everyone gave Ren a concerned look as she looked at the ashes. Ren looked at the city and wondered what she was going to do now. Aki knew where she lived. That didn't just put her at risk anymore. She looked at Hakoda as he played with Ty. She knew she could always have him stay at the Island until the whole situation was handled but that shouldn't be how things had to be. Ren smiled at everyone as a tear rolled down her cheek. She just couldn't do this by herself. She couldn't do it anymore. Ren felt someone wrap their arms around her and she hugged them. She expected Sky but when she looked up she saw her father. He pushed her hair out of her face then wiped the tears out of her eyes. She smiled at him for a moment.
"My sweet little girl everything will be alright and if it isn't, I will fix. I will always protect you just as I have in the past. Your mother and I will always help you," Kai said.