Spacebender
Chapter 6: Confrontations at the South Pole
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of the characters involved except the Guardians
Morning dawned brightly at the South Pole. Korra stirred as the sunlight filtered into her chambers, groaning as the light woke her and she began to move.
She went about her morning routine, and as she stepped out of her room, she found Space leaning against the wall waiting for her in the hall.
"Chieftain Unaloq wants a meeting with you," he said. "I've agreed to let it happen over our lesson for today, it's of more pressing importance."
"Morning to you too…" She replied sarcastically.
Space let a smirk cross his face as he kicked off the wall and began to walk down the hallway.
"So, what's this meeting about?" Korra asked as she jogged to catch up to him.
"It's better to let him explain that when we get there. I plan to add some more information of my own that you all should be aware of as well."
Korra gave him a side glance, but when he did not elaborate, she let it go and looked forward again.
The two eventually were admitted to Unaloq's office, where Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, and Korra's father Tonraq were waiting.
"Well, if we're all here," Unaloq began.
Space nodded as he kicked the door closed with his foot.
Unaloq looked around the room, then spoke; "It has come to my attention that the spirit portal here in the South Pole is beginning to show signs of waning."
"What does that mean?" Bolin asked.
"The border between the physical world and the spirit world is fading here at the South Pole, which is why the spirit that attacked during the festival was able to get through. Something to be said for the South's abandonment of our traditions."
"Unaloq…" Tonraq said in a threatening tone.
Unaloq rolled his eyes before continuing. The two had been over that point.
"What we need now is Avatar. With her help, we can restabilize the portal and keep the borders secure… as much as I'd prefer it didn't have to come to this."
Everyone looked at Korra, who started at the sudden attention. "Me?"
"You," Space confirmed.
"There's something else going on," he continued. "After speaking with chieftain Unaloq about something he'd found a few months ago, I have a concern about this mission."
The whole room was looking at him now, even Unaloq was caught off-guard by this sudden news.
"I told Mako and Bolin this yesterday and I feel the rest of you should, especially Korra; There's another Guardian in this World. And she is not allied to me or my comrades."
"Would that not make her a Corruptor then?" Unaloq asked.
Space shook his head, "No. She's not opposed to the existence of the Worlds like the Corruptors are. She's more of an… observer. Her task, along with her companions, is to observe the World and report back- "
"Who are they reporting to?" Mako asked.
"That's the rub, we don't know."
The whole room was silent.
"You don't know?" Unaloq asked after a few minutes.
"Right. They show up, stick around for a while, then leave again. The amount of time varies but usually falls within a few months of the World's timeline. So, if Chieftain Unaloq found the clue that told me she's here a few months ago, she could have left already, but I have a feeling she hasn't."
"You keep saying 'she.' Who is it?" Korra asked.
Space looked to her, "Guardian D. Destiny. One of the more powerful members of what we've come to calling 'The Gray Guardians'."
"Gray Guardians?" Tenzin asked.
Space nodded, "If you think of it like this; We Guardians are officially known as the Guardians of Order, or Light. The Corruptors are technically Guardians too, we call them Corruptors so as not to confuse people. They're officially the Guardians of Chaos or Darkness. If you mix Light and Darkness, or the colors they're often associated with; White and Black, you get Gray. The Gray Guardians are a neutral sect who do not involve themselves in our affairs, so they're The Gray Guardians."
"If they don't get involved, why is Destiny's presence a problem?" Mako asked.
"Because Destiny gets involved whether she wants to or not. It's in her name and her power. She controls Destiny or Fate. Whichever you like to call it. Her presence alone can alter the course of a World's Story, and the lives of those who live in it."
"So, you think if she's still here, she'll cause a problem for our mission?" Unaloq asked.
Space nodded, "Whether she intends to or not, yes."
"Can you deal with her? Like fight her off or something?" Bolin asked.
"If it were that easy. She overpowers me by a large margin. Think of it like this; how do you fight an enemy who can make it, so your attacks are always destined to miss her?"
The others remained silent as they considered the idea.
"So, what can we do?" Unaloq asked.
"Nothing. I plan to talk to her if I see her and convince her to leave before she causes any permanent damage. That's my job, but if she decides to stay, I wanted you all to be aware that this might be a lot rougher than a standard mission into the wilderness to investigate a spirit portal."
The group looked at each other, concern on their faces.
"I suppose I should clarify; she's not here to cause intentional harm. We might encounter difficulties or some more rogue spirits, but nothing we can't manage. If she were here to cause a problem, we wouldn't be standing here talking about it," Space told them.
That did not seem to lighten anyone's mood, and after several minutes of awkward silence Space sighed.
"I'm going to go help get things ready. Just go about this like your normally would and leave anything related to Destiny to me."
He turned and walked out of the office, leaving the others behind. After a couple of minutes, they all began to straggle out in ones and twos until eventually Unaloq was left standing alone in his office.
"These damn Guardians, always getting themselves involved where they aren't wanted," He muttered to himself.
"Not all of us are like that you know," A voice echoed through his empty office.
Unaloq immediately tensed, looking around to find the source of the voice.
"Who's there?" He demanded.
"Just little old me," A woman emerged from a pink-colored portal.
She was young, her bright pink hair was kept in a high ponytail. She wore a pink jacket over a white thin-strapped top and a light purple, pleated skirt with black shorts underneath, and simple white shoes covering her feet.
"You!" Unaloq said as he recognized her.
She giggled, then gave a mock curtsey, lifting her skirt slightly with one hand "Guardian D. Destiny. Pleased to make your formal acquaintance Chieftain Unaloq."
"What do you want with me? Why are you here?" He asked.
"Oh, so serious. Relax, please. I am only here for one purpose. My sibling."
"Sibling? Space? You mean Space?"
She smiled as she gave a brief nod, dipping her whole body with the movement.
"Yes! Space has been gone for such a long time, and my brothers would like to see them again!"
"So, you're telling me you'll take him away from us? To leave us be to our own devices?"
She gave another whole-body nod, "Indeed I do! They have been gone for so long, and my brothers have tasked me with retrieving them. They know we always had a special bond, and they thought that I, of any of us, could convince Space to return."
Unaloq put a hand on his chin as he considered this development.
"Well, as Space puts it. I don't have much of a choice, do I? You can manipulate my fate so that your desired outcome will always happen, can you not?"
Destiny put a finger on her cheek and her bottom lip came out in a pouting expression, "Oh Chieftain Unny, my sibling has lied to you I am afraid to say."
"What?"
"My powers are not so direct. I cannot manipulate anyone's fate to my whims. I simply can… persuade them, shall we say. My powers are always active, more of an influence on those around me than anything I can control at will like Space can their gravity magics."
"So, if you aren't going to force me to do what you want, how will you be sure I will obey you?"
Destiny's pout turned into a smile as she approached Unaloq, despite being only as tall as his shoulders he felt an intense sense of intimidation coming from her.
She looked at him, her pink eyes glistening in the reflected light from the icy walls.
"Because if you do not listen to me, I will make sure whatever you want in life will never be yours. I will do everything in my power to sway your fate so that you will suffer an endless series of failures so catastrophic that you will wish for death. And then, when you finally give in, I will deny you even that. Forced to endure as your pitiful life wastes away in a never-ending series of mistakes and mishaps. Is that what you want?"
Unaloq managed to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat, "No."
"Great! Then when you go on your mission make sure to send Space off on some kind of trumped-up task so I can get them alone!"
Unaloq nodded his understanding, her sudden switch from a cold-hearted threat to bubbly excitement was unnerving.
"Oh, Chief Unny, I knew you would be such a good companion in my plan! Well, until then I believe you have some preparations to make! As do I! I shall be going now!"
She gave another half curtsey before a portal appeared and swallowed her from behind, leaving Unaloq alone in his office once again.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, not realizing it had even formed until it almost dripped into his eyes.
"This is becoming too much for me," he said to himself.
After a few minutes of recomposing himself, Unaloq left his office to begin his preparations.
Two hours later, the team was speeding through the snowy landscape of the South Pole's wilder regions, Space was gliding along the ground, to leave space for more of the group on the snowmobiles. They were making good time as they were trying to reach the spirit forest before nightfall.
As they went, Unaloq considered Destiny's threat and her instructions to him. As he saw a large mountain that was coming up on their left, he made a signal for everyone to stop at the base of it. The team pulled off to the side and once they were all stopped, and their snowmobiles turned off he made a gesture for them to dismount and group up to discuss something.
"This is where things might get dangerous. If Space's warning of Destiny's interference is true, we can expect to meet spirits going forward. They have been known to wander this far from the forest at the North Pole from time to time, so we should be on the lookout. Space, why don't you scout ahead and report back if you find anything."
Space shrugged, while he did not like taking orders from Unaloq, he saw sense in the suggestion.
"You got it."
He lifted a couple of feet and then soared off into the distance.
"Let's take a break to catch our breath before we go after him. Give him a chance to survey the area and for us to recover," Unaloq told them.
The others nodded, removing the gear they had brought to prepare a quick meal.
As Space sailed over the snowy landscape, he was surveying the area for any sign of rogue spirits, when a movement caught his eye. He turned back just in time to get hit in the face with a snowball.
He stopped, still floating off the ground as he rubbed the icy-cold water from his face and looked around for what had thrown it at him.
"Yoo-hoo! Over here!" A voice called to him, which made his blood run cold.
He slowly turned and saw Destiny standing a short distance away from him, a smile on her face and a pile of snowballs at her feet.
"Hello, again Sibling! It has been such a long time!"