Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 8. Family Fallout.
Two hours later – Fire Nation Central Island.
Shen'Rai flew back to the island with Huo on his back. Since it was no longer early morning, the phoenix landed much further from the cave in order to not be spotted. "Sorry about the distance," the spirit apologized and sat down on the grass. "I would like not to be spotted by the villagers."
"Hey, you carried me on your back all this time and helped me to become a firebender," Huo pointed out and dismounted the large bird. "It would be rude of me to complain just because I have walk a bit further."
Huo turned to face the phoenix and bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you for everything, Shen'Rai," he said.
"There's no need to thank me," Shen'Rai replied. "Use your firebending advisedly. Fire is a dangerous element and without control, it can hurt those around you."
Huo raised his hand palm up and created a small orange flame. It felt completely different than waterbending, more natural and right like it was supposed to be his element, to begin with. The boy guessed that maybe since the phoenix gave him a part of his life force, it was easier to use firebending. "I'll be careful," the boy promised, and the phoenix nodded.
"One more thing," Shen'Rai said. "You and your father are the only humans who know about the Ancient One. They were hunted down by the humans so let's not risk his safety."
Huo nodded once again and the phoenix as well. "Good," Shen'Rai stood up and spread his wings. "Take care, Huo, and say hello to your father for me. When we meet again you can show me what have you learned."
"I will!" Huo promised and ran off, waving to the phoenix. The boy couldn't wait to show his father his firebending. He also pondered how to convince his mother to become a firebender. Although he was aware that it would be hard, the reaction of his father would surely convince his mother to try.
As he ran through the forest, Huo spotted many people looking for Eilu and Shaku. They called their names and searched literally everywhere. Huo hoped that they could fix this somehow and everything would be okay. His father surely had an idea of how to solve this problem.
When Huo was out of sight, Shen'Rai lowered his head and sighed. "Just don't give me any lectures," he said and turned to face his brother, Wei'Rai. The phoenix with the blue-colored crest looked at his brother sternly.
"When the Ancient Ones take away or give element, the Keepers of that element sense it," stated the leader of the Fire Keepers. "The Ancient Ones have the right to take away or give bending to anyone they want, but the fact that you revealed the existence of the last of their kind to a human... what where you thinking?"
"Brother, you know what I'm going to say," Shen'Rai replied. "We don't have the same opinion about humans. Not every human is the same."
Wei'Rai sighed and slowly shook his head. "And do you mind explaining to me why I've sensed your life force from that human child?"
"When he was born, he was sick," Shen'Rai explained. "It was the urgent situation I've told you about six years ago. Since my friend asked me for help, I gave the child a part of my life force. It was the only way to save him."
"I really don't know what to say to you right now, I really don't," Wei'Rai said with a disappointed tone. "Socializing with a human is one thing, but this... go back to the Spirit World. I'm going to watch that human child and decide what to do with him and his parent."
A few minutes later – Fire Nation Central Island, Hama's Village, Yan Zu's Cottage.
"Mom! Dad!" Huo quickly called out the moment he entered the cottage. His mother sat at the table and looked at him when he entered. "Huo, where have you been for so long?!" she stood up and asked sternly.
"A fire spirit took me to see... a rare creature!" Huo replied excitedly. He didn't tell that it was a lion turtle, but it wasn't a lie either. "The last of his kind!"
Hama rolled her grey-colored eyes and sighed. "We have a problem so stop with this spiritual stuff for now," she groaned. "Your father discovered that we're waterbenders and attacked me." Of course, that was a lie, but Hama couldn't tell Huo about the nonsense Yan Zu spoke. She needed to have Huo on her side.
Huo's orange-colored eyes widened. "W-What?!" he asked, shocked. "Where is he?!"
"I knocked him out and locked him in the basement," Hama said, sitting back down. "Some villagers asked about him and I told them he went to look for Eilu and Shaku. So far they didn't find the cave. I need to decide what to do with Yan Zu. Getting him to the cave is the best option, but it will be difficult to carry him there since I can't use bloodbending without a full moon."
"Don't do that!" Huo asked. "We can put him in bed and say that it was a bad dream! We can say that I'm a firebender!"
"Ha! Don't be silly, Huo," Hama chuckled and shook her head. "There no way that would work."
"It would because it's true!" Huo replied stubbornly and turned his palm upward, creating an orange flame. "With this, he'd believe that it was a dream!"
Hama went silent, and her smile faded from her face. Her son just used firebending. "Huo, since when can you do that?" she asked, staring at the flame with contempt. The sight of her son firebending made her sick. However, a crazy thought appeared deep in her mind. The last Avatar was supposed to be an airbender. If he was killed by the Fire Nation, the next Avatar would be born as a waterbender. If Huo could bend two elements, did that mean he could earthbend and airbend as well? Was her son the next Avatar?
Her wishes were quickly shattered when Huo began to explain. "The fire spirit that saved my life told me about a rare creature I've mentioned earlier, which was able to grand firebending. I asked the spirit to take me to it and it was able to take away mine waterbending and give me firebending instead. I guessed that since us being waterbenders was bad, we could become firebenders so that everything would be fine."
"We're waterbenders," Hama stated, narrowing her eyes. "Pretending I'm from a Fire Nation is as far as I can go and I certainly won't become a firebender, no matter how much I'd need to blend in. Return to that creature, whatever it was, and undo this."
Huo scratched the back of his head. "I... I can't," he replied somewhat sheepishly. "Like I said, that creature was the last of his kind, and he only controls the element of fire. He could take away any bending, but only give firebending. So," he shrugged his arms. "There's no way for me to become a waterbender again."
Hama's eyes widened. She closed her hands into fists and slowly got up again. She carefully processed Huo's words in her mind, and she began to breathe heavily. All her plans just went down the drain. "Are you telling me that you just ruined everything I work so hard on?" she asked silently and ominously.
"Huh? I don't understand," Huo cocked his head and squinted his orange-colored eyes.
"Oh, I'm aware of that!" Hama growled and gritted her teeth. "I wasted over six years on you! I gave you waterbending, I taught you how to use it, and you just decided to become a firebender?! You ungrateful brat!" When she screamed out the last two words, the water burst from the bucket behind her in all directions due to the lack of control.
Huo gasped and backed away with his mouth wide open. "Mom... you're scaring me," he said.
"You're useless to me now!" Hama added with a scowl. "You're a failure and you're one of them, just like your father!"
Huo's eyes began to water. His mother never screamed at him like that before, nor she was ever angry with him. "But... I... I just wanted to... help."
"You mean help the ones trapped in my prison?!" Hama asked. "Your father wanted the same thing!" Overwhelmed by anger, Hama swung her hands, bending the spilled water and hurling it towards her son. Huo was splashed by it, and the impact made him hit the wall behind him. Before he could slide down and hit the floor, Hama immediately froze the water. The boy's body was covered in ice and stuck to the wall in a standing position.
It wasn't the first time Huo was covered in ice or splashed by his mother since they often did that during training. However, it was the first time his mother actually hurt him. Huo was scared and began to cry as tears trickled down his cheeks.
"I should have been more stern with you and show you more discipline!" Hama growled. "I should have got rid of your father the moment you were born and place him with the others!"
Huo tossed his head from side to side, trying to break free. Hama moved her hand and began to pull the water from the air in the room. She covered her fingers with the water and froze it, creating ice claws. "Then again, placing your father in prison now would be a waste of space."
Huo's eyes widened, and he began to panic, thinking that his mother wanted to hurt his dad. Negative emotions mixed together, and the boy inhaled sharply, closing his eyes. "Leave my dad alone!" he cried out as loud as he could and opened his eyes, staring at a blank spot on the wall behind his mother. The moment he did, Hama noticed a thin transparent beam, which came from Huo's forehead. Making a sound similar to firecrackers, the beam exploded in the middle of the room with a flash and a loud bang.
The windows shattered, the furniture and everything on them were blown away by the shockwave as the whole cottage quaked. Sharp pieces of wood were hurled in all directions as the large portion of the floor was ripped apart, revealing the ground beneath. The whole room was now filled with smoke. Hama was knocked right off her feet, unlike Huo, who was held in place by the ice, which cracked thanks to the shockwave and some pieces of wood. Still, the boy was dazed, and his ears rang loudly.
The ice finally shattered, allowing Huo to fall on all fours. The boy coughed, shook his head, and blinked, looking around in a dazed state. He had no idea what just happened or how he even did that. Through a blurry vision, he only saw smoke and fire.
Huo stayed on all fours for a while until he was able to stand up again. As the smoke began to drift out through the shattered windows, he noticed a key lying on the ground. It was his mother's key to the cave prison. Huo picked it up and heard a grunt. He noticed his mother, who began to get up as well.
"Mom?!" Huo called worriedly. He was about to run up to her and help her, but he stooped when he noticed her face. Hama had a furious expression, and her left cheek was burned badly. It would certainly leave a scar. "I'm so sorry!" Huo apologized. "I didn't mean to do that!"
"You little monster!" she growled and noticed the key in his hand. Scared, Huo quickly turned around and ran towards the backdoor. "Get back here!" Hama ordered, but Huo left. Holding her cheek, Hama ran after him, not caring that it was broad daylight.
Yan Zu slowly opened his brown-colored eyes and looked around, realizing that he was in the basement with his hands tied up. His head hurt like crazy, but he stood up and remembered what had happened. "Hama," he said. Yan Zu looked at the rope and then at the bottles with beverages. "Hmpf, you need to be more thorough."
The man grabbed a random bottle and smashed it against the wall. With a piece of glass, he cut the rope and freed himself. He massaged his wrists and smelled something. "Hmmm?" Yan Zu sniffed a few times. "Smoke? What's going on?"
"Hello! Is anyone here?!" Ding's voice issued from above. Yan Zu approached the door and called out, hitting it several times. "Ding! I'm in the basement!"
Yan Zu heard footsteps on the staircase, and after a moment, the door opened. "What's going on?!" Ding asked. "We heard an explosion in your cottage and we went to check if everything was alright!The room above looks as if firebender masters just had the most violent Agni Kai in history!"
Yan Zu quickly left the basement and headed upstairs with Ding right behind him. When he noticed the destruction, he couldn't believe his eyes. Everything was destroyed, and the hole in the floor was massive. Yan Zu was lucky that the basement was more to the side, or he'd be buried under the wood.
A few other villagers tried to put out the flames, but with the amount of fire, it was obvious it was the effect of firebending, but he had no idea who could do this. There wasn't a single firebender in the village, unless... Yan Zu thought about Huo. If Shen'Rai took his son to the lion turtle, that would explain the firebending, but he couldn't imagine Huo being capable of such destruction. Regardless, if he became a firebender and Hama learned about it, Yan Zu was sure she wasn't going to be happy about it. "Did you see Hama or Huo?!" he asked Ding, who shook his head.
"I think I saw Huo and Hama running into the forest," said one of the villagers.
Yan Zu noticed the backdoor opened, and without a word, he ran out. He knew Huo was in trouble. His son needed help, and there was no way he'd left anything bad to happen to him.
Huo ran through the forest scared and confused as his own mother chased after him. He didn't know where to go or what to do. At first, he thought to head straight towards the prison, but with his mother knowing about the key, she would find him there and stop him from freeing the prisoners.
"Get back here, boy!" Hama yelled angrily after Huo. "Give me that key!"
Huo felt as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He hid behind a tree to catch his breath for a moment. He wished his dad was here; he'd know what to do. Now that he thought about it, he left his dad in the basement. Huo wanted to risk returning to the cottage to help him. His thoughts were interrupted by Hama's voice. "Huo, where are you?!"
He peeked around the tree and spotted his mother getting closer, looking for him. She was no longer a calm, nice lady. She was angry and ready to hurt anyone who got in her way. Not to mention the burn mark on her cheek made her look scary. "Huo, I want you to come out right this instant!"
Huo suddenly spotted two men approaching his mother and realized they weren't from the village. They looked like traveling merchants. "Is everything alright, mam?" asked one of them. "Are you looking for someone? Do you need help?"
Huo had a bad feeling about this, but he wouldn't get a better chance to leave unnoticed. With his mother focused on the two men, he dashed towards the mountain as fast as possible. Freeing the chained people was the least he could do at the point. The right thing to do.
A couple of minutes later – Fire Nation Central Island, The Mountain Prison.
Huo knew time was against him. Depending on how his mother dealt with the merchants, she could arrive here at any moment, so he had to act fast. He didn't need a torch this time since he could create his own fire, but he still took one of the wall-mounted torches. With the key, he opened the metal door and stormed inside the prison. The people inside looked at him, confused.
"Huo?" the boy heard his name and noticed Eilu and Shaku, who were chained to one of the pillars like the others. Even though it wasn't even a full day, the two were scared. Huo quickly ran up to them and began to release them. "I'm here to get you all out," he reassured. As soon as Eilu and Shaku were free, Eilu hugged him tightly.
"Eilu take this key and free the others, hurry," Huo said to his friend, giving her the key. He looked at Shaku and gave him the torch.
"But I don't underst-" Eilu was confused.
"Just do as I say, please," Huo asked. "Free everyone and return to the village. Your parents are worried sick."
"What about you?" Shaku asked.
"I..." Huo took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'll try to distract my mom as long as I can. She's angry and might hurt you."
Before Eilu and Shaku could ask if he'd need any light to return, Huo created a small flame in his hand. Both of them looked in shock. "Awesome! You're a firebender!" Eilu pointed out, and Huo smiled weakly. "Too bad my mom doesn't share your enthusiasm. Wish me luck." He turned on his heel and headed back.
As soon as Huo climbed back, he needed to take a breather. At first, he wanted to wait near the cave entrance and drew his mother's attention if she'd head towards the prison. However, Huo heard his dad's voice in the distance. It was faint, but it was his dad. "Huo! Where are you?!"
Huo quickly dashed in the direction of the voice. Soon, he spotted his dad, but also his mother, who hid behind a tree. Huo saw his mother pulling water from the grass beneath her feet. While his father turned his back towards the tree, Hama came from behind it, ready to attack him. "Dad! Look out!" Huo warned, pointing at his mother.
The man looked at Huo, and so did Hama. The two adults then looked at each other. Thanks to Huo's warning, Yan Zu was ready. When Hama sent a water stream towards him, Yan Zu jumped out of the way. The man knew there was no way to talk sense into her anymore.
Hama pulled the water from a tree, which she used to hide earlier. Turning it into many sharp ice spikes, she hurled them at Yan Zu. The man dashed towards a large rock and jumped behind it as a few of the spikes shattered against it.
"Huo, I got this!" Yan Zu exclaimed from behind the rock. "Get to safety!"
Huo hid behind a tree while Hama spun around, pulling the water from under her feet once again and creating another dark, withered field of grass. With the water, she created a rotating ring around herself. Huo knew his dad was in trouble. His mother was able to cut through stone with her waterbending, so that rock wasn't a good cover. He needed to help his dad, but he didn't want to use firebending and hurt his mother again.
Gathering his courage and taking a deep breath, Huo came out of hiding. "Mom!" he screamed, gaining her attention. "I love you! Please stop this!"
"You don't get to say that!" Hama replied and looked back at the rock. She was ready to cut it along with Yan Zu. "Don't do this!" Huo pleaded but without any effect. Suddenly, Eilu's voice came from behind the boy. "Huo!"
Eilu found Huo and ran up to him, gaining his and Hama's attention. "What are you doing here?!" Huo asked. "I told you to help the others!"
"Shaku is doing that," Eilu explained. "I needed to help you."
Hama now realized Huo freed her prisoners. She looked at Eilu with a frown. "You!" she growled, gritting her teeth. "This all happened because of your meddling! Everything would be fine if it weren't for you! Stupid child!"
Hama pulled some water from the water ring around her and froze it, creating an ice disc. With one swift motion, she hurled it vertically at Eilu. "Look out!" Huo jumped in front of Eilu, and the sharp disc hit his face instead. The boy fell over, and Eilu cried out. "Huo!"
At that moment, Hama's grey-colored eyes widened, and she froze for a second, realizing what had just happened. Her son lay on the grass motionless while Eilu kneeled beside him.
Hama noticed Yan Zu in the corner of her eye. After witnessing his son getting hit, the angry man rushed at Hama and managed to slide underneath her water ring. Hama quickly shaped the water into a sharp edge and shot it at Yan Zu, who hit each of her arms with his fingers. The water ring fell to the ground as Hama couldn't sustain it with her chi path's now blocked. Still, Yan Zu fell to his knees and winced in pain since Hama's attack reached him before his chi blocking began to work.
Hama backed away as her arms now swung limp. With her only weapon gone, Hama quickly turned around and began to run. She stooped to look one last time at Huo and ran away.
Yan Zu wanted to run after Hama, but his son was more important right now. He managed to reach Huo and Eilu and checked his son's state. He was alive but injured. "Eilu... get help... quickly," Yan Zu said to the girl, who quickly nodded and ran off.
The man began to feel weak. He moved away from Huo and sat down, leaning against a nearby tree. A typical blade would remain in the wound and stop the bleeding, but Hama's attack was far more deadly. Yan Zu could feel that he was losing blood fast, and he knew that there was no way for him to survive. "I'm sorry, Huo," he said, looking at his unconscious son. "It's all... my fault. I never wanted this... to happen."
He winced from the pain and closed his eyes for a second, breathing heavily. Something cast a shadow over them, and Yan Zu felt warm air. When he reopened his eyes, a large phoenix landed in front of him, and the man thought it was Shen'Rai until he noticed the blue-colored crest and the blue flames on the tail. "You're... one of... Shen'Rai's siblings," he noted.
Wei'Rai remained silent and only turned his head to look at Huo. The phoenix observed the injured boy for a moment. He then approached him, reached with his foot, and grabbed Huo's arm. With one last glance at Yan Zu, the phoenix swung his wing and created a column of blue-colored flames, which engulfed him and the boy.
When the flames vanished, Wei'Rai and Huo were gone. Yan Zu guessed the phoenix took his son to the Spirit World. The man took a deep breath and assumed a lotus position with the rest of his strength. He rested his hands on his knees and closed his eyes.
Please R&R ;)