Back again! This chapter is meant to completely change everything... I don't really know what else to say other than enjoy!
(2018 EDIT) Hi! Future me here! This chapter really does change everything. I don't know why I felt the need to repeat myself but... there you go. Enjoy!
The sun is setting now. A few scattered stars have appeared over head and a full moon is sitting just above the horizon. For awhile I watch as it slowly rises upwards into the sky and far above the ostrich horse that I now shared with Noriko. There is a strange sensation that comes over me every time I see its complete beauty in the sky. I know the Moon Spirit is watching over me just like she always has, but it's at times like these that make me wish I was able to both physically see and touch her to know for sure that she really is there. But at the same time I know that isn't possible. It's been years since I had last seen her face, and as that time slowly fades into the past, I only manage to miss her more.
Eventually though, the dark sky fills with clouds totally obscuring my view of the moon. Rain begins to fall shortly after. The water just makes things much more miserable because it mixes in with the cold winter air around us. But every time I try to take my mind off the freezing temperatures, my thoughts would only drift over to Suki. She was the second woman I had loved, and the second woman who was taken from me. Even though we had been estranged for several years now, I still felt that there was something between us. Something that might help us both find redemption In the mind of the other. But after I watched the life fade from her eyes, I realized that I would never truly know if that was a possibility.
My mind would then begin racing about who could have possibly attacked us and why. In the past, I had heard about the bandit gangs that controlled portions of the outer ring, but I was under the impression that the government had fabricated it all it keep people in control. Clearly, there's some truth to the constant lies spouted by our dear leaders.
Then, I would begin thinking about Noriko's actions and how she murdered two Dai Li agents in cold blood. I'm not exactly their biggest fan, but surely she could have been a little more level headed? I understand that Noriko might be on the Dai Li's most wanted list, but what she did seemed a little extreme to me. Now there will no doubt be a massive investigation once they learn that two of their follow agents had been killed. I can feel my blood boiling now because of all this crazy shit, but at the same time, I don't want to question Noriko for fear of also being impaled by a giant spear of rock.
After the incident, we rode for nearly three long hours trying to distance ourselves as far as possible from the scene. Noriko led the way, guiding us to some unknown location.
Amaya and her daughter Izumi trailed just behind us on the other ostrich horse. No one speaks for the entire trip which gives me the impression that they all feel the same way as I do, or at least the two Fire Nation natives do. I don't particularly want to know what Noriko is thinking. Needless to say, I'm a little weary of her now, which is all made worse by the fact that I am currently sharing an ostrich horse with her.
After what felt like another hour, we finally came into a clearing. Thank the spirits for that. I was getting tired of the woods.
A rather large farmhouse sat on a hill a couple hundred yards away from us and Norkio angles our ostrich horse to go in its direction. A few minutes later and she speaks, finally breaking the silence that had formed between the four of us.
"That's the safe house. I already sent a message notifying them of the situation," If Noriko was upset then she didn't give any indication of it.
"The other Kyoshi warriors are here," she continues. "We are planning to meet up and vote for new leadership."
I don't even bother to acknowledge her. My attention is more drawn to the rain, which is coming down even harder than before. I better not get a cold from all this chilly wetness.
Wouldn't that just be perfect.
At this point I don't really want to do anything but dry off before then going home to drink until I pass out. Eventually, I would be able to put all of this behind me.
Finally, we pull up alongside the house and dismount the birds. Noriko takes the reins to both and guides them to a nearby barn. That was when I notice the door to the farmhouse open. The form of a small person appeared in the doorway silhouetted by a light from inside the house. Whoever it was motioned for us to come in. I don't hesitate, anxious to get out of the pouring rain. Amaya and Izumi follow close behind me.
"H... hey," the person spoke hesitantly. She is a young girl not much taller than the little Fire Nation girl that accompanied us.
"Um… my name is Kumi. I'm a Kyoshi warrior just like Noriko."
"Hi," I said, not trying to sound polite in any way whatsoever. As of right now, I couldn't care less about first impressions. Amaya and Izumi greet her a little bit more warmly though, bowing in that respectable way that the Fire Nation people bow. A moment later and Noriko walks through the doorway drenched in water. Her black hair that was usually in a badger-pony tail is now down past her shoulders and dripping wet.
"Greetings to you Kumi," she bows respectably to her sister in arms. The other Kyoshi returns the gesture.
"Kumi, this is the girl and her mother Amaya. We need to get them washed up and well rested."
"Of course," Kumi replies. She motions for the two fire natives to follow her but Izumi held in place.
"What about Suki's boyfriend?" she asks with a concerned look on her face.
Now that is a very good question. What about me? Not that I don't like this kind of an environment or anything but thanks to that little stunt Noriko pulled on those Dai Li agents earlier today, I am more than a little bit paranoid to be around her now. She is kind of scary. There is also the added fact that Suki's death pretty much ruined all the plans to get Izumi out of the city, and I don't see any point in me sticking around.
"Yeah, I was wondering if anyone could give me a lift back to the inner ring," I say.
"No, it's too dangerous right now," Noriko replies. Water was still dripping from her hair and clothes forming a puddle on the floor beneath her. "We'll have to figure something out in the morning."
Damn.
Spending the night in a house full of women terrorists doesn't exactly bring me comfort, but I suppose I don't exactly have any other choice. I look down at my feet and noticed that a pool of water had formed beneath me as well. My clothes are still drenched.
"Well, the other warriors are here," Kumi speaks up. "They are waiting to convene with you."
"Okay," Noriko answers. She starts moving into a hallway that leads into what looks like a kitchen, but then she stops again and speaks. "Oh and get Sokka, some new clothes. He could use them." After that she continues and disappears around the corner.
For once, I agree with her on something. I just want to get dry and to wear clothes not stained with blood. Kumi nods and looks back at us three.
"Right this way," she says.
Later…
About an hour later and I find myself in a new set of Earth Kingdom styled clothes with a new dark brown coat included. At first, Kumi kept trying to tell me that she could wash the blood stains from my old green coat but I insisted that she just throw it away. The girl seemed taken back by that but then she just shrugged it off and got me the fresh and dry brown one. She seems nice enough and I definitely preferred to be around her more than Noriko, but for some reason I can't shake the fact that she seems anxious about something.
Amaya and Izumi are most likely sleeping in a room upstairs. I am too lazy and too paranoid to go up and find my own room so I just sat in what looked to be the main living area. Kumi is sitting in a chair across from me and eyeing me inquisitively. For awhile, we just sat in an awkward silence. I can hear the muffled voices of Noriko and the other warriors meeting in the kitchen. I can just barely make out one of them say, "We need to make a decision now. We need to choose new leadership." There is also the sound of rain hitting the roof of the farmhouse which is failing to calm my nerves.
I let out an exhausted sigh and look back over to Kumi who is still observing me. It's starting to make me feel a little uncomfortable. It also doesn't help that she has a sword lying across her lap and is presumably ready to kill me at a moment's notice.
"Aren't you a Kyoshi Warrior?" I ask in an attempt to get her to say something.
"Y... yeah…" she hesitates.
"Well, shouldn't you be in there meeting with the rest of them?" I point to the kitchen. She briefly glances over to where my finger was indicating before looking back at me.
"I'm in charge of watching you," she says.
"Why?"
"Because. They told me to."
That was an unusual thing for them to ask of her. Are they afraid I am going to do something crazy? Or is it something else? In any case, I can tell this girl is one of the newer members of the clan based on how she isn't in on the meeting and the fact that she still seems young.
"How old are you?" I ask her.
"Um… 15." She replied. "Why?"
"Just curious," I shrug. "So… are you just going to stare at me all night?"
"Um…" she appears noticeably nervous and looks down at her feet. Even in the dim candle light, I can see her face turning red. I furrow my eyebrows at her but I don't think she notices.
"Well… there isn't really any point in watching me," I say. "I'm going back to the inner ring tomorrow."
"I lived there once," she spoke up suddenly. "I... I didn't like it."
I can tell she wants to change the subject so I go ahead and let her.
"Oh yeah?" I say urging her on.
She nods in agreement. I don't doubt that at all. This girl is probably from Kyoshi Island where there is just a bunch of small villages. Going from that to the big city could be really difficult for anybody. Heck, I came from the South Pole and it took me years to get used to this place. Especially with the whole end of the world vibe that everything currently has.
"At least here in the outer ring there is some peace and quiet," she continues. "But I miss my home. Sometimes I wonder if it's even still there."
Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for her on that one. I don't know about half the shit that was going on inside the city much less an island on the other side of the Earth Kingdom. I am about to ask the girl about her family when someone else approaches me. I look up to see Amaya standing a few feet away.
"Mr. Sokka," she says politely. "Izumi would like a word with you. She's upstairs."
I am slightly bewildered by the suddenness of this, but I stand anyway and move to follow Amaya back up the stairs. Kumi stands up as well to follow us.
"No, it's okay Kumi," Amaya says putting her hands up. "I'll watch him."
Kumi nods and sits back down. If I'm not mistaken, she seems to be relieved that someone else is watching me now. To be honest, I'm secretly relieved to be out of her watchful and nervous gaze.
As I start up the stairs I can distinctly hear the voices of the Kyoshi's meeting.
"So, it's decided then," I hear one of them say. "Noriko will be our new leader."
That isn't really much of a surprise to me to be completely honest. But I have my doubts that she can live up to Suki considering that she seems to be far more unstable. That Noriko is now the new leader of the Kyoshi Warriors greatly unnerves me.
About a minute later, we reach what I assume to be Izumi's room. Amaya reaches for the door and slides it open, revealing the candle lit interior. I step inside expecting the woman to follow me but when I turn around, she is still standing out in the hallway.
"I'll be right outside," she says before sliding the door shut.
I turn back around and take in my surroundings. There is a desk in one corner with a couple of lit candles on it along with some assorted junk. On the opposite side of the room there is a bed with sheets perfectly made and with a chair right beside it. Izumi is sitting down in that chair looking at me nervously.
"Hey," I say while making my way around the bed.
"I'm only ten years old by the way," she says suddenly. "I know you were wondering."
Okay?
I guess that clears up that mystery.
"So, is that all you wanted to talk about?" I ask her sarcastically. She shakes her head and speaks.
"Suki told me about how you used to travel with the Avatar. She said his name was Aang. She told me you and your sister used to protect her from bad people."
Now I found myself to be confused. Why would Suki have told her something like that for? It was certainly true I suppose. At least until we ended up failing at it. But I can't help but wonder if she knew that those so called "bad people" were her own kind. Knowing how Suki was, she probably decided to leave that detail out. I fold my arms, curious as to where Izumi is going with this.
"She told me that if anything turned bad, you would help me." The girl continues to speak without even giving me a chance to open my mouth. "She said you would help me get to Gaoling."
"Gaoling?" I ask incredulously. She nods in agreement. I seem to remember that town got wiped out a couple of years ago. I also remember that this is where my sister's "body" was supposedly found.
"You mean you want me to take you to my sister, Katara?" I reply having finally put the pieces together. "She is still trying to run some kind of resistance, isn't she?"
Izumi nods, confirming my suspicion.
"They call it the White Lotus," she says. "They are trying to save the world. To finally bring back the balance."
Okay, that's enough of this nonsense.
"Save the world?" I say. "Look, the world is over. Aang was killed in the Avatar State years ago! The cycle is broken!"
Izumi shrinks back and stares nervously at her feet.
"Yeah but…"
"Now there are diseases, wars, and famines all over the globe. Ba Sing Se is the only place left. And even in this city, the government hands out free suicide packs to anyone. The whole world has gone to shit now. At this point, it's beyond saving!"
She looks up at me and I can see the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. A part of me starts to feel bad about saying those words to her. But the other part is realistic. There is nothing anybody can do now.
"Are you mad because of what happened to Suki?" Izumi asks.
My whole body freezes at the mention of her. I can feel a jab of pain piercing out of my chest.
Did she really just ask me this? Of course I'm mad! In fact, I'm actually really upset about his whole thing. Now I have the memory of another woman that I loved dying in my arms, and there was nothing I could have done about it, and I also think that…
I let out an incredibly frustrated sigh because I am unable to take this conversation anymore. I need to get out of this damn house while I still can.
"I'm sorry. I really am, but I have to go home." I say to her. "I'm sure your friends here can take good care of you."
I turn back to the door and start to leave. But Izumi refuses to let me go. "No! Don't go," she cries out. The nervousness was now much more evident than before. "Suki told me to only trust you."
I spin around and glare at her. "Well, I don't know why she said that!"
The girl is standing now with wide eyes. I notice for the first time that the red Fire Nation clothing she is wearing looks a little worse for wear. For a moment, we are both silent. A bug buzzes into my face and I swat it out of the way.
"Look, I'm not entirely sure what's going on around here," I continue. After she doesn't respond to that I turn to leave again.
"No! You can't leave!"
"Izumi, I'm in a lot of trouble myself! I'm sorry." I reach for the door.
"Wait!" she says opening her hand. She concentrates hard for a moment before a small flame appears in the palm of her right hand, casting an orange glow in the dim interior of the room.
"What are you doing?" I ask her. But she ignores my question and opens up her other palm. "Don't do that. You could catch the house on fire."
The girl keeps concentrating. I make a move to stop her, but I before I even take two steps, something appears in her hand, and it isn't a flame. I am caught completely off guard by what I see before me. What I see is air, air spinning in a mini tornado just above the palm of her left hand. Everything else in the outside world completely vanishes as I put two and two together. She is air bending and fire bending at the same time.
Holy shit…
Izumi looks back up at me with eyes just as wide as before.
"I'm scared," she says with a quavering voice.
"Holy shit," I say aloud this time. The entire world is now crashing down around me. Everything that has happened to me in the past couple of days temporarily escapes my memory. For now, I am just focused on the tiny cyclone she has created almost effortlessly.
"Izumi!" I hear Noriko's shout coming from behind me. I don't even bother to look as the Kyoshi Warrior storms her way into the room. "What are you doing?"
"She wanted him to know!" Amaya shouts back. "She has the right."
Noriko pulls up beside me and nods. "Of course she does."
Amaya walks past us and over to her daughter. The little girl puts out both the flame and the air as her mother bends down and hugs her.
"Come on," Noriko grabs my shoulder but I refuse to budge. My mind is reeling in about a million different directions at the same time. In my experience, only one person was able to bend more than one element. Only one being in existence ever had that ability. Slowly, I glance over to Noriko who is looking back at me impatiently. I open my mouth and speak.
"She's the Avatar."
Noriko looks over the girl who is now being comforted by her mother before turning back to me. "Now you know what's at stake," she says.
The realization of this completely blows my mind. This has to be some sort of a dream, or at the very least, some sort of extremely cruel joke. As Noriko turns to leave I grab her by the shoulder and stop her again.
"She's the Avatar," I say again. My brain is failing to wrap around this.
"Yeah, I know," Noriko replies. But she doesn't look too excited about it. In fact, she looks downright furious.
"It's a miracle, isn't it?" she says bitterly before walking out of the room.
I steal a glance back at Izumi too see her eyes pleading me to help her. It's at that moment that I feel an intense resolve wash over me. Something I haven't felt in the nearly ten years since Aang's death. I decide right then and there that I am going to help this girl, whatever the cost.
Later…
About another hour later and the Kyoshi Warriors bring us all into the kitchen to discuss further plans. To my surprise, there are about twenty of them not including Noriko and that Kumi girl. My attention however is elsewhere. Too much craziness has happened in the past couple of hours and I am beginning to think I am going insane. The revelation about Izumi is by far the most unexpected. But there is one thing that I was nagging at my mind. If she really is the Avatar, which I don't see any other option to her being, then why has the cycle gone back to the fire benders? I thought water was supposed to be next? And for that matter, I swear the Avatar cycle had ceased to exist. Something strange is going on and my mind won't put it to rest. Nevertheless, I do my best to listen to Noriko as she reads a wanted poster that one of her sources had just sent her via messenger hawk.
The poster has all of our names on it, including mine. And to make matters worse, Jet had signed to bottom left corner of the poster in black ink.
That lying bastard.
"I'm not sure how they were able to identify all of us," Noriko says. "But we are wanted criminals now and we have to move quickly."
You have got to be kidding me, I think to myself. It is quite obvious how our names were acquired. First of all, it is now clear that Jet is a double agent, helping illegal refugees under the table and then reporting their movements to the government. That's how my name got mixed up into all of this. I knew I shouldn't have trusted that psychopath. As to how they found out the names of the others? That much was obvious too.
"They identified you because the Dai Li is everywhere," I say. All heads turn to look at me. "And they probably know every little detail about your operation here."
"Why are you even here?" one of the girls speaks up. "You're not one of us."
"He's here because Izumi wants him here," Noriko replies for me. "So he stays."
The girl is sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the room besides her mother. She nods in agreement.
"Now," Noriko continues. "I know we all agreed to get Izumi out of the city and into the hands of the White Lotus, but now we have to reevaluate that position."
"What?" Amaya spoke up. "Why can't we move forward with the original plan?"
At once, arguments sprang up between the group. I can't really distinguish anything that is being said since it's all jumbled together. I just resign myself to my corner and wait for them to finish.
"Because!" another of the women yells out and getting the attention of everyone in the room. I recognize her voice as Eshima, one of the Kyoshi's who had taken me captive a few days ago. If I am remembering correctly, she is the one who was doubting Suki's leadership.
"She'll never make it," Eshima continues. "The Dai Li are out looking for her too."
"We need to find a way," Amaya replies. "It's what Suki wanted!"
"Do you really want to place your daughter at risk?" Eshima asks.
Another woman stands up before Amaya gets a chance to answer back.
"Listen!" She says while glaring into the eyes of the Fire Nation woman. "I say she stays here in the city. She is the Avatar and she could be the flag to unite us all!"
Amaya stands up in protest, matching the woman's glare with her own. "My daughter is not a flag!" she says.
And with that even more arguing breaks out and it's once again almost impossible to make sense of any of it. I just keep thinking to myself.
Are these women really considering staying put in this farmhouse?
The Avatar isn't much of a help uniting people if she hasn't even mastered her own element of fire, which is quite obvious to me based on how hard she had to concentrate just to get a flame to appear in her hand. Shouldn't we just tell everyone that she's the Avatar?
"Make it public!" I shout. All noise stops in the room and they all turn to look at me. Each one has a confused look on their faces. I can tell I hit a very thin string with that comment.
"You saw the wanted poster," Noriko says to me. "She's about to be very public."
"It doesn't matter," I say undeterred. "She's the Avatar."
"Oh right, and the government will just decide to drop all charges against her and then decide that Fire Nation citizens are people too?"
I am bewildered by that statement. Noriko is eyeing me fiercely again, and I can tell she has very strong feelings against the government's policy against illegal refugees. I begin to wonder why.
"Yeah well whatever is going on here, whatever your political ideals are, they're completely irrelevant. It doesn't matter." I speak, ignoring the protests from all of the Kyoshi Warriors in the room. "She is the Avatar and she needs to master the four elements."
I know I am being completely logical here, but for whatever reason, Noriko and the others will not listen to reason. Now I am beginning to wish Suki was here with me. She would back me up. I was already starting to miss her…
Noriko spoke again. "We all know that this government will never recognize the new Avatar if she is an illegal refugee, an illegal refugee of Fire Nation heritage at that!"
She does have a valid point I suppose, but still, Izumi will never be an effective Avatar if she doesn't first train to be one.
"I'm not going to the government!" Izumi shouts, catching all of our attention. She turns to look at Noriko. "You told me you would get me out of the city and over to Gaoling. You promised!"
The new Kyoshi leader suddenly puts on a sympathetic face and kneels down to her. "I don't think it's safe to do that anymore," she says in a surprisingly soothing voice. "But you could stay here where it's safe. And when all this dies down, we will get you to the White Lotus. I promise you that."
"But it could take months to get back in touch with them again," Amaya says to the woman.
"That's true yeah," Noriko replies. "Izumi, you're the Avatar. This is your choice."
You know, under different circumstances I might agree with her, but as of right, I am just undeniably pissed off. For a while, no one in the room speaks. All eyes are on the little girl as we wait for her to make a decision. I begin to wonder if all that superposed Avatar wisdom has been passed down to her, and if she will realize that staying here is a bad idea.
"Okay," Izumi says. "I'll stay here for now. But then you'll get me to the White Lotus, right?"
Everyone in the room lets out a huge sigh of relief. Everyone except for me.
"Yes, of course we will," Noriko says, placing her hand over the girl's in a comforting gesture. "I promise."
I look over to the girl's mother Amaya. She looks back at me and I can see the unease in her eyes. I shake my head in frustration.
This can't be happening.
(2018 EDIT... again) Wow, I really don't miss writing research papers. I'm leaving my old author's note here for posterity.
The intention of this chapter was to blow your mind and I hope I was able to achieve that here. Unfortunately I have a research to paper to write now so I may not be able to update until sometime later this week. If you noticed any grammar or spelling errors then please let me know.