-Inside The Jasmine Dragon-
"So even after all he'd done, they still banished him?" asked a new voice "Why? There's no way that he could have known that Mei Li was really Princess Azula. Nor could he have known about that squad of soldiers would attack the village."
Glancing up Iroh noticed sitting at the table to his right was Kuei, the 52nd Earth King. Smiling, he noticed that in many ways the king himself was like a child.
"In the end it didn't really matter, it was an excuse to get him to go." Iroh explained "Ultimately it was a blessing in disguise for him. For with those few steps out of the village, he embarked on a journey that would forever change his destiny. With Lo Pan's armies invading the earth kingdom, that destiny would come sooner than he thought"
"So what was the story with Lo Pan? "Asked Kanna "He had an seemingly unbeatable army, declared himself fire lord and conquering land after land. What could he possibly want in the spirit world?"
"A lot actually" Iroh said "As I said before, Lo Pan was an ambitious man. A funny thing about the thirst for power, very rarely is it ever quenched. Lo pan not only wanted to conquer the mortal realm, but the spirit realm as well."
"But..." said Hui and Hahn "That's impossible!"
"For a normal man yes, but thanks to the Phoenix of Shi, Lo Pan was far from a normal man. Even with only two pieces he was formidable threat." Iroh explained "However with all his power, one problem remained. Without the third piece, it needed a spirit to bestow its gifts. So rather than sacrifice his own, he journeyed in the spirit world for the most powerful ones he could find."
"You don't mean..." Lan started
"...the Avatars?" finished Tai
"Can you think of any spirits more powerful? I can't..."
Chapter 5
-The Spirit Thief-
The spirit world was never really a safe place but thanks to Lo Pan, the fragile balance that the realm held, had been brutally shifted. Now, it was an even more dark and twisted version of itself. The sky was blanketed with angry black clouds in a perpetual violent thunderstorm. The trees of great forests had now been twisted and gnarled while the once clear waters of the eternal river had now ran blood red.
Avatar Kuruk raced through the massive forest of the spirit world. The former avatar had spent a lifetime and beyond hunting Koh the face stealer. Now he found that it was himself that being hunted. Though he was unable bend in this realm, he was far from helpless. During his time in the mortal world, he was also known as a very formidable spear fighter.
"Kuruk!" an angry voice challenged "Why make things harder on yourself? Submit now and I promise it will be painless!"
Taking cover behind a gnarled oak tree, Kuruk gasped. Lodged in the tree was the lifeless form of Avatar Yangchuan, her face frozen in a mask terror. Spinning around he noticed the other trees, embedded in each a lifeless avatar. The horrific sight went on far beyond the horizon of the spirit world, like an unholy orchard of death.
"Like my work, Kuruk?" the voice taunted "It's such a shame you spirits are so easy to dispatch, I'm almost disappointed. I expected some sort of challenge out of the mighty avatars"
"You vile monster!" Kuruk yelled "I don't know how you've done this, but it ends here! Come and face me you coward!"
Lightning crashed and thunder rumbled as Kuruk tossed off his parka. Gripping his spear tightly, Kuruk choked down his fear and readied himself.
Lo Pan slowly descended from the night sky. His eyes glowed white as did the crystal pieces in his chest. A wicked grin appeared on his face as he eagerly stalked his prey. Over the last few months he hunted an avatar each night, first out of necessity to feed the Phoenix of Shi. However lately, it's been just out of sheer pleasure of the hunt.
If Kuruk felt any fear, he wasn't showing it. With a loud war cry, Kuruk attacked, running toward the demonic fire lord aiming his spear at his throat. Lo Pan evaded the thrusts easily, blocking and parrying with perfect form and technique.
"I don't know why you're doing this" Kuruk said in frustration" But it ends here"
Grabbing the spear and with a well place kick to the gut, Lo pan disarmed the former avatar, sending him sliding across the ground.
"Kuruk, you disappoint me" said Lo Pan arrogantly tossing the spear back "I expected more from a warrior of the water tribe"
"He's...He's toying with me" thought Kuruk "Well lets see how he likes this..."
Rolling to his side, Kuruk swooped up his spear. Kipping to his feet, He began his attack again, this time using deceptive low kicks and wide swings of his spear. Lo Pan was caught unbalanced by the new attack, feeling the pain of each kick. Evading the last low kick, Lo Pan felt a searing pain on his right cheek.
"So you are a man after all" Kuruk said reading his spear for another attack.
A shocked expression appeared on the face of Lo Pan as he touched his cheek. It quickly turned to anger he pulled back his hand and saw that the spear drew blood.
Drawing his power from the crystal, Lo Pan moved with blinding speed, kicking the spear out of Kuruk's hands. Landing a strong punch to the gut, former avatar doubled over in pain, only to be kicked in the face. Lo Pan grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off his feet. With a fierce squeeze, Kuruk felt his very essence being sapped away, being drawn into the Phoenix of Shi.
"Even the strongest of you will fall to me" Lo pan gloated "With all of you gone, Aang will be little more than an annoyance to me. A little more than a fly and just as easy to kill"
"And you, know this.." Kuruk countered weakly "Without the third piece, you are still just a man. A mere mortal man. In the end, you will face proper judgment for the sacrilege you've brought upon the spirit world"
Lo Pan snarled as he squeezed tighter, draining the last of Kuruk's essence leaving a new tree with his lifeless form embedded in it.
"Kyoshi! Roku! yelled Lo pan into the stormy sky "Enjoy your freedom while you can!"
Leaving the spirit world, Lo Pan had a lot to ponder. With what should have been a measure of satisfaction was instead replaced by feeling of dread. As much as he hated to admit it, Kuruk's words had merit. As long as he had only two pieces he was indeed mortal as any man. Touching his cheek reminded him of that.
Finding the Avatar would have to wait, he wasn't a threat at the moment. No, for now the priority will be finding the last piece. Nothing else mattered...
Azula was a mess, the past few days of travel had left her hair caked with mud and grass, her eyes red and swollen from crying and worse, her mind was filled negative and dark thoughts. To think, that she would honestly be happy being with that earth peasant family. How preposterous! And yet why did it hurt so much when she had to leave? Why did her heart ache when Sho looked at her with such angry eyes? Why did it feel like a knife twisted in her heart when twins told her they'd miss her? Why did she care?
Making her way through the forest, she came across a secluded beach. Taking time to rest on a big piece of driftwood, her stomach growled much to her annoyance. Too tired to forage for food, she dug into her pack hoping to find anything edible. Mercifully, she found some jerky and a skin of water. As she took a bite, her thoughts drifted to the boy with the wonderfully strange eyes, Xi'an. Why had he helped her? Why had he been so nice to her? Did he like her or did he just pity her?
"Is that it?! Did he... pity me?" Azula thought angrily "How dare he? I am to be feared, not pitied!"
Grabbing the bracelet off her arm, she threw it into a nearby tide pool, landing with a loud -PLUNK -
"I DONT NEED YOUR PITY! I DONT NEED ANYONE!" she yelled out loud
"You are really pathetic, Azula" a voice called from the tide pool
"Who said that? Where are you?!" Azula demanded
"Come here and find out" the voice beckoned "Unless you're afraid..."
Azula walked slowly to the to the tide pool, careful not to let her guard down. Looking inside, she saw a few small fish, some crabs and the bracelet she tossed in.
Sighing, she gently retrieved it, carefully wiping off the saltwater from it. She smiled slightly as she looked at it remembering how much Xi'an blushed when he gave it to her. Putting it back on her arm, she vowed to cherish it as reminder of that boy. As she looked back into the tide pool, she jumped back in shock
"Hello, Azula!" the voice taunted
Reflected in the clear blue waters of the tide pool, was the cold, calculating and perfect version of Azula. A nasty sneer of disgust formed on her face as she looked back at herself
"Look at you, a pathetic shell of weakness and failure." the reflection spat
"S...Shut up" said Azula her voice shaking
"Hahahahaha." the refection mocked " It's sad really, under all that ruthlessness and cruelty, you're just a pitiful little girl calling out for mommy! A mommy who saw you for what you really were, a monster!
"Stop it!" yelled Azula holding her head
"Do you even think that you could have ever been happy with that little peasant family? The monster princess..."
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Azula screamed hitting the tide pool with repeated fire blasts "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
She blasted the tide pool until it was a just smoking crater. She collapsed in a heap, tears of anger, and frustration streaming down her cheeks. She thought the voices had gone away, but they always came back.
I'm not a monster...I'm not a monster!" she repeated over and over
Wiping her tears, she wished she had someone to hurt, someone to utterly destroy. As if fate granted her wish, she heard movement in the trees behind her. She smiled wickedly as she readied her herself, almost feeling bad for the poor soul who came across her path, almost...