AN – The last one focused all on Katara. Well, in this one, we focus on Aang….yeah, not much else that I can say, really…
Besides that this chapter contains gruesome and gory images. Not really too explicit, but they still exist.
Summary – Having just defeated the Northern Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom army begin their return home. Aang, however, finds himself contemplating the cusp of the entire siege…but it only takes his "little devil" to make him realize his true desires.
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God damn that didn't take that long at all. It barely took us eight hours to attack and take down the Northern Water Tribe. It took us little over another hour to get every soldier and high ranking official into the center of town. The sacrifices and captures took less than forty minutes, the cusp of which was giving each tribesman a choice.
All in all, not a bad turn out…
The excitement in my little devil's voice could be heard amongst our entire fleet.
"Free whisky and whores for everybody!" Toph had said.
Oh yes, tonight is going to be an entertaining one for sure…
Of the, oh…I'd say about 30,000 men we have here, only a very small fraction of them are reluctant to respond. The answer to this is obvious as they're still garbed in their Water Tribe uniform.
Betrayal. A very interesting crime and one often blown overboard. I can't really blame them for turning their backs on their society. I mean, they just saw their entire city get jumped and then raped like a teenager caught in a Fire Nation alley, common sense would say to switch sides to the winning team.
Of those that switched, the most surprising of the lot is a high ranking official named Yakone. It was surprising mostly because of how quickly he responded. On the first mention of a choice, he got right up and bowed at me and Toph's feet. The reaction from the tribe elder—Pakku—was…inappropriate, to say the least. A simple wad of saliva launched at Yakone's feet put to rest any ideas of him switching sides.
But alas, such is the life you live when you're the Avatar. After the final tribesman turned coats, the rest was the fun part: the execution.
I let my soldiers pick their prize. Most of them opted for women, but some chose children while others opted for other tribe warriors. I could only assume that they're somebody they met on the battlefield, but failed to defeat. At least, I could only desire to assume…
The rest was dirty, but effective. The snow covered ground was sent flying into the sides of the heads of the warriors. Every direction you turned, heads were being smashed together, leaving nothing left but limp bodies and lone necks. It didn't take long until the white of the snow turned crimson.
Yes, soon all that remain are warriors with families now passed, women kept as toys, and high ranking officials. Pakku keeps a group of two females close, not a tear shed from his eyes. I narrow my eyelids at his strength. Noble, and persistent, but annoying all the same.
I lean my head to the right so as to speak to Akuma.
"Who are the two with Pakku?" I ask.
Akuma straightens his glasses to get a better look at them.
"Ah yes, his two apprentices, and over there with Arnook—the tribe chief—is his daughter, Yue," he says.
I turn my head to glance at whom Akuma is referring to. Ooh…
"You ever consider nabbing a pillage of war yourself, Akuma?" I ask.
"All due respect, sir, I'm afraid that she would kill me before any pillage could be obtained…" Akuma says, always as deadpan and serious as ever.
"Hmm…" I pondered.
The Earth Kingdom soldiers stand at ready, looming over the remaining prisoners. Blood stains their uniform, leaving only morbid signs at what we are capable of, and what the remaining prisoners' futures are to be. Some of them even have smiles on their faces, eagerly waiting for what is to come.
I lean my head to the left towards Toph, fists on her hips, a smile on her face, enjoying the scenery through blind eyes.
"You think I could nab some prisoners?" I ask.
"Depends on who you mean. I'd say take Pakku, and maybe that moon chick, but other than them, I'm not sure who you could take," she says.
It takes me only a moment to ponder on her ideas. I like it. Effective, and ideal. Then, another thought struck me. Oh yes, this will do quite nicely…
I return to my original position. Straight and narrow as a stick…like Akuma, only with an arrow on my head.
"Gentlemen, I have good news, and bad news. The bad news is, you have to kill the rest of the soldiers," I call out to my men.
A few of them give off a noise of discontent, while others simply kick the snow in frustration. The majority of them remain at attention.
"However, the good news is, if you are a single man and have nobody to return to back home, then you may take a woman as your prize."
This causes a good portion of the men to reveal some hidden happiness. Some of them linger over their chosen prize with evil desires, while one in particular remains in the same position: a smile that would make Koh back away, staring at the same woman. What's peculiar about this is that that woman hasn't moved an inch. She just stares at me, her eyebrows diagonal and eyes narrowed in an emotion that could only be labeled as rage; pure, unadulterated rage.
"Ooh, now that's some evil thinking, my windbreaker," Toph says.
"I aim to please," I say.
I put my right hand on the back of my neck, scratching it in embarrassment.
After that moment, I return my hand to the side.
"Begin!"
My echoing voice is drowned out by the cries of mourning females and the sensational squish of heads being smashed to moosh. Soon, all that remains are the women kept as prizes and Anook and Pakku's groups. For those with good sense of smell—or hell, someone with a bad sense of smell—you could take a simple whiff and breathe in the scent of corpses.
Ah yes…an intoxicating scent…
As a man, I should probably question why the hell I find the bodies of dead humans to be a rich and engaging scent…
…but fuck that, I'm the Avatar! Why the hell should I justify my actions? Who are you, Monk Giatsu? He tried to lecture me, and look where he is: dead. The people of the Water Tribe, both north and south, tried to lecture me, and look where they are: dead, just like the airbenders.
And hell, you want motives? How about so people can know how I feel? Does that sound justifiable? Let the Water Tribesman know what it's like to be the last few remaining waterbenders. At least they've got more than one, I'm a one man army!
So ungrateful. For all the avatar has done for this world, they still treat me like a common cabbage man.
"Um…sir…" I hear Akuma's voice break through my thoughts.
I shake my head and return to reality.
"Huh, what?"
"The soldiers are ready for their next orders," Akuma finishes.
"Ah, of course!"
So now what? All that remains are the soldiers' prizes—the women, and apparently a few children—as well as Pakku and Anook's groups.
"Hmmm…"
I hold my chin against my left hand. Who should I have take her…? Ooh, I know!
I turn around and point to the one called Yakone.
"You there, the one called Yakone!"
Genius.
The man in question stands at attention. They learn so fast…
"Yes, sir?"
I use my right thumb to motion to the moon chick, the daughter of Anook whose name I don't give a shit enough about to remember.
"Take that moon chick to the waterproof dungeon. Have someone show you the way."
Yakone nods in response before doing as commanded. The cries of both Anook and Yue hide the despairing silence. Everyone in his vicinity can hear Yakone's footsteps as he crosses the snow to the two in question. Yakone grabs Yue's arm. The first attempt of taking her away is thwarted when Anook won't let go of his daughter's arm.
"Please, no!" he cries.
Pathetic…
I can't help but groan at the situation we're in.
"Why are people so stupid?" Toph asks.
"A question that will live on when all of us have passed…" I respond.
When Yakone tries to take Yue again, Anook reveals a knife. Judging by Yakone's failure to respond, he is unaware. Releasing another groan from his lips, Aang brings his right hand. He does a motion with it, which causes some water to come out of the snow. That springs up around the hand of Anook; the same hand with the knife in it.
Anook releases a cry of pain. Fortunately, this causes him to let go of his daughter. Yakone struggles to keep the wailing princess at bay, but when she refuses to stay still, I close my hand into a fist, causing the ice to shatter and fall back into the snow. It is followed right after by Anook's hand, the knife still in its grasp.
"Classy," Toph says.
I glance over and see her smile, which causes me to smile in return.
"You bastard!" an unfamiliar voice rings out.
I look around for the answer until I find one of Pakku's apprentices glaring at me. She looks older than the other one, by about five years, I'd say. You know, if I actually followed female's ages. Which I don't. Because that'd imply I look into. Which I don't.
I shake my head in faux shame.
"Such disobedience. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh, wait! I mean did you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
I hold both of my hands up, palms open, to my side. My wife and Akuma precede to high five me on the respective hands. I return them to my side before finding myself welcomed to a loogie at my feet. I look down, and crack a smile at such insolence.
It's funny, actually. Funny enough for me to begin laughing at her idiotic rebellion.
"Feisty. You'll do great. You—" I say, pointing to a nearby soldier. "—take her to the waterproof cells with the moon chick."
Yakone and the soldier in question take their two captors towards the ship. Unfortunately, they don't get far until Anook rushes towards us.
"Yue!" he shouts.
I glance over and get a glimpse of his face. What was once a strong willed leader has become a pathetic excuse for a man. Before he reaches our front, Toph sends a piece of snow covered earth out of the crowd. It meets him mid-way, right into his abdomen, which causes an audible release of breath to be heard from the man's lips.
Not to be outdone, I make some snow covered earth appear to his right. It flies out of the ground right into the side of his head. The impact causes Anook to fall into the snow. If the blood coming from his severed hand wasn't turning the snow red quick enough, the wound from the side of his head would certainly do the job.
"No!" Yue screams out.
In an act of what I can only see as pity, Yakone lets Yue run to her father.
"Y-Yue," Anook spits out.
It's quite obvious that the once leader of the northern water tribe is on his last few breaths. At least, any human with a brain could see that.
"What happened to you Aang? This isn't you!" Yue once again shouted.
"What happened to me?" I repeat the question.
I spin around, spreading my arms to motion to the earth soldiers.
"What happened to me?" I ask once more, louder this time.
I cease my spinning and point to Yue and her crumbled father.
"I woke—the fuck—up! That's what happened to me…and you know what, I think it's time for you…to do the same," I say.
The cheers from the soldiers around me echo in the cool, afternoon air. I lift my hands up, causing two crimson colored snow rocks to float up from the crowd on adjacent sides of Anook's head.
"No!" Yue once again screams.
Yakone comes back into the fray, grabbing Yue by her waist and dragging her away from the mess. She fights back though, elbowing him a few times and throwing the back of her head into his nose. By the time she's free, I slam the two pieces of earth together. The result is the rest of Anook's brain all over the snow.
All Yue does is stare at the corpse of her father.
"Now Yakone, for goodness sake, get her in the brig!" I shout.
The man in question nods before grabbing Yue and leading her towards the ship. Unlike before, there is no fighting. She willingly makes her way into the ship. I'd like to say that I know the feeling and why she's going along with things, but I really can't. Such is life, I suppose.
I take a glance back at those remaining and see that only Pakku and his final apprentice are left. I nod at the result.
"It is truly a beautiful sight to behold," I say.
"We ready to head home? I'm itchin to get this party started!" Toph exclaims to the world.
This causes all the soldiers, including those that were once water tribesmen, to shout to the sky, raising their fists up high in joyous expression.
"You three—" referring to three soldiers stationed behind Pakku and the final apprentice. "—kill those two. Let the bodies rot so that any passerby's and visitors know what we have done."
I gotta say it was a good day. We seized control of the northern water tribe, and committed a generous dose of genocide. Could life be any more grand?
"Gather your prizes men, we're heading home!" Toph calls out.
The three of us—Toph, Akuma, and I—turn around to make our way back into the ship. It's almost sudden that we hear movement behind us. It's when we turn around that I see a knife located in front of my face, and the body of Pakku, still, unmoving, frozen where he stands like a statue of a legendary hero.
The only way we know he's still alive is the random jerks he makes. His hand opens up, causing the knife to hit the ground in front of me.
"Uh…sir…" Akuma says.
I turn around and see Yakone, hands out in front of him, and a smile on his face.
"I'll be dammed…" Toph says.
The motherfucker can bloodbend, and it's not even a full moon!
"Truly…a beautiful sight…" I think aloud.
I motion to my wife and Akuma to head towards the ship using my fingers. We then begin to march. As we pass Yakone, I whisper to him.
"I'd like to see you in the captain's room after you're done here," I say.
"Sir, might I inquire?" Yakone says.
I nod is all I respond with.
"Are you suggesting that I be the one to kill my own tribe's elder?" he asks.
I respond with a smile, and another nod. My trio then resumes their march towards the ship. I don't bother to look back at how the death is brought out. The sound of ripping flesh and a girl's scream is all I need for my imagination to do its course. What makes it even greater is that that scream is soon cut off by the sound of rock meeting rock.
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By the time we make our way into the ship and into the captain's room, I'm already itchin to get home.
I make my way towards the desk, putting my hands in front of me. I look down at the various pictures of Toph and I. There's one of the official portrait taken by the Earth Kingdom. Another one features me and her at our wedding, but the one that catches my attention the most is one of us on a beach, her wearing nothing but a bikini almost too small for her and I stuck in my monk speedos. If it wasn't for today, that moment would remain the greatest day of my life.
I turn around to see my wife and my right hand man staring at me. As I lean against the desk, I look at them both. I release a sigh from my lips before speaking.
"Am I…shaming…the avatar name…with my actions?" I ask.
All Toph does is shrug. Not very surprising considering this is the same woman who wanted to have sex in the library instead of researching the moon spirit. Attractive and damn good in the sheets, but not one for tradition.
Akuma, however, I expected a response from.
"The goal of the avatar is to bring balance to the world. However, Kyoshi is famed for doing things bluntly and without care for its aftermath. That being said, every avatar has a different way they go about bringing balance. Roku opted to stay on the sidelines and life a normal life, while Kuruk preferred to let life live as it did. Yangchen is probably the closest I can compare you to. Even though history would have it written negatively, she did what she needed to do to protect the world. You perceive the Earth Kingdom as the correct way of life and the right path that the world needs to take, and you will do whatever it takes to make that philosophy known and practiced worldwide, including murdering the cusp of the water tribe."
"Well yeah…but that don't mean shit," is my response.
All Akuma does is continue his unemotional stare.
"Akuma, could you leave us alone for a bit?" Toph asks.
"Of course, sir. I'll make sure that nobody interrupts you two."
Akuma obliges her request. He proceeds to exit the room, probably going to make sure that everything goes as it should in terms of the soldiers reentering the ship and what not.
Before we even hear the click of the door, Toph charges at me, planting a big kiss on my lips.
I gotta say it was a good day…
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A/N – "I gotta say it was a good day" is going to be repeating constantly, I can tell. Without even knowing it, I'm predicting it.
Anyway, here's what happened at the Northern Water Tribe. I think we're gonna meet up with Sokka and Azula next, but I dunno. I'm like Kuruk. I just let life take me with it.