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 16. Corrupted Half - part 1
Spirit World, Realm of Keepers.
Wei'Rai reached the golden pedestal and called a Gathering. Soon, Nukuio, the leader of the Water Keepers, and Denger, the leader of the Earth Keepers, joined him on the pedestal. "Greetings," said Wei'Rai. "We have an urgent issue to discuss about the human child."
"Such as?" asked Nukuio.
"Shen'Rai took him to Wuyan Temple," Wei'Rai began to explain. "The boy was attacked by someone, who's capable of earthbending. Vulture drake saved his life and luckily, he was able to remain calm. My brother suspects that Earth Keepers wanted to kill the child."
"That's impossible," Denger replied, shaking his head. "None of my siblings left the realm in years let alone visit Wuyan Temple to kill a human child. Not to mention it would be really risky attempt. One small mistake, which would allow the human to be terrified for even a little bit, and Yuan'Shi would be free. Are you sure earthbending was involved?"
"Shen'Rai was pretty certain," Wei'Rai replied. "The boy told him everything and it didn't seem like he lied."
"Hmmm... we must learn more and be sure that the boy is telling the truth," Nukuio pointed out and looked with his reptilian blue-colored eyes at Denger. "And there's one certain way to know that he's telling the truth without hurting him."
Of course, the Water Keeper talked about seismic humans had a physical reaction when they lied, such as a heightened heart rate, earthbenders who had perfected seismic sense could lock on to those physiological changes and tell whether or not a person lied or not.
"Good idea, but we need to be careful about the way we ask questions and handle it calmly if he lies," the pangolin-like creature replied. "We don't want to scare him."
"Worse case scenario, we'll make it quick and painless for him," added Nukuio. Wei'Rai looked at the serpentine-like creature and nodded. "I'll tell Shen'Rai to take him outside our realm so all of us can talk with him."
"Agreed," Denger and Nukuio replied in unison.
Suddenly, all three Keepers heard the sound of wings flapping and turned their heads in one direction. A small butterfly-like creature barely managed to reach the pedestal and land, completely exhausted. "Nin To," Wei'Rai said, approaching the Air Keeper. Denger and Nukuio did the same. The three Keepers towered over Nin To, who was no bigger than a human's hand. "You should not strain yourself."
"I'll be alright, Wei'Rai," Nin To replied with a feminine voice. The Air Keeper looked like a butterfly with beautiful yellow-pink-colored wings. Unlike normal butterflies, who had two forewings and two hindwings, Nin To had three of each, with the third pair being located on its back like a fin. Her body with six legs was covered in yellowish fur and ended with two long tails, equipped with two round soft-tissue tail vanes. Two grey-colored compound eyes were positioned on her head, along with three antennas and a long proboscis.
"I'm sorry I missed a few Gatherings," Nin To apologized.
"You have nothing to apologize for," replied Wei'Rai. "You're barely able to stand because only one human with the element of air exists in the physical world."
"So, what did I miss?" the Air Keeper asked, and the three other Keepers began to explain everything.
Shen'Rai waited with his two siblings for Wei'Rai. While Nou'Rai and Vin'Rai sat quietly, Shen'Rai paced around impatiently. "Sit down and calm yourself," said Nou'Rai. "Everything will be fine."
"I know you don't care about Huo, but I do," Shen'Rai replied.
"Why can't you see the bigger picture?" asked Vin'Rai. "If Yuan'Shi escapes her prison, Huo will be the first one to die quickly and only if he's lucky. Yes, killing a human child is dark and cruel, but it's nothing compared to what Yuan'Shi would do."
Shen'Rai didn't reply since he spotted his brother, Wei'Rai, who flew back and landed on the ground. "And?" Shen'Rai asked.
"We need to learn more from the boy," Wei'Rai stated. "Denger will ask him a few questions outside of our realm. That way, we'll know for sure that he told you the truth and that he didn't hide anything."
Shen'Rai sighed, not liking the idea of Huo being interrogated. "Fine, but at least let's take him to his father. He'll be able to calm him down if he gets scared."
Wei'Rai thought for a moment. "Good idea," he replied. "Take him and we'll join you after I'll inform the others of the location. Nin To will join us."
"Nin To attended the Gathering?" Nou'Rai asked, surprised just like the other phoenixes.
"I was also surprised she managed to reach the pedestal in her state," Wei'Rai replied. "She wants to speak with the boy as well so I'll take her with me. Four Keepers will question the boy about the recent events."
"Fine," Shen'Rai agreed and flew away.
The moment Shen'Rai landed near the cave, he immediately noticed that something was not right. Huo sat cross legged on the yellow-red grass without his shirt and silently watched a pile of ashes. "Huo, are you okay?" the phoenix asked and glanced at the ashes. "What did you burn?"
Huo didn't respond in any fashion and kept staring at the ashes. Shen'Rai approached him and spoke louder. "Huo!"
The boy flinched this time as if waking up from a trance. He slowly, almost creepily, turned his head towards Shen'Rai, looking at him absently. "Oh, hey Shen'Rai," he replied and smiled widely.
The phoenix knew something strange happened to Huo because he didn't usually behave like that. He leaned his head towards him and focused. Just like at the temple, he sensed that Huo's life energy was different. Back then, he didn't give it much thought since he assumed it was related to his near-death experience, but it seemed to be a more serious matter.
"Huo, stay still for a moment," Shen'Rai asked and unfolded his right-wing. Squinting his orange-colored eyes, the phoenix conjured a violet-colored flame from the tip of his wing and began to slowly move in front of Huo. It didn't take long for him to realize that the boy's life energy had been bent with energybending and imbued with fire. That was really bad for Huo, and Shen'Rai already knew the consequences.
"Huo, who did this to you?!" Shen'Rai asked, folding back his wing. "Someone used energybending and imbued your life energy with the element of fire! Human minds can't handle it! I need to know how that happened!"
The spirit knew that it had to be done by one of his siblings since only Fire Keepers could use both firebending and energybending and that it happened at the Wuyan Temple. The phoenix had more questions with each second since it made no sense. Even if killing Huo, regardless if he liked it or not, was meant to save many in exchange, consciously risking the boy's sanity was counterproductive. And if one of his siblings worked with an Earth Keeper and had the time and option to energybend his life energy, why try to kill him in the first place?
The boy looked to the side as if listening to someone who wasn't there, with half-closed eyes, and turned his head back to look at Shen'Rai, who spoke once again. "Huo, please, you need to tell me. Was it one of my siblings? Did he or she told you to keep it a secret?"
Huo only smiled with a chuckled. Shen'Rai realized he won't get through to him here. Still, there was another option. "Huo, we're going to see your father," he stated, hoping that Yan Zu would be able to convince Huo to talk.
Huo's orange-colored eyes widened. "Okay," he agreed and stood up. Unfortunately, the phoenix had no idea that Huo felt anger towards the Keepers and his father. Shen'Rai allowed the boy to get on his back, and they flew off.
Sometime later – Spirit World, Ek'Noshi Pond.
Yan Zu sat on the grass and played on his pipa when he noticed Shen'Rai high in the sky. When Shen'Rai landed on the grass, Huo quickly jumped down and noticed his father. Yan Zu smiled and furrowed his eyebrows, seeing his son bare chested. He stood up, placed his instrument on the grass, and began to walk towards them.
Huo inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. "Do you think your father still loves you?" Huo heard the voice of his mother and looked to the side. Hama stood right beside Shen'Rai with her arms crossed. "He became a better person and could live a peaceful life, helping others in need. Instead, he died because of you. No wonder he lied to you."
"I know you can firebend, but aren't you cold?" Yan Zu asked with a chuckle when he reached them.
Not waiting for Huo's response, Shen'Rai unfolded his wing, touching Yan Zu's arm, and beckoned him to the side. "There's a problem with Huo, and I need your help," whispered the phoenix.
Yan Zu's smile vanished from his face. "What's going on?" he asked worriedly and squinted his brown-colored eyes, shifting his gaze from Shen'Rai to Huo, who didn't even pay attention to them.
The spirit told him how he took Huo to the Wuyan Temple, where Huo almost got killed by earthbending and where his life energy was tampered with. The more he said, the more worried and shocked Yan Zu became. He was aware that Spirit World was a dangerous place, but he never expected that spirits, who were supposed to protect his son, would now try to kill him.
"We have little time before other Keepers will show up to question Huo so you need to ask him to tell me everything what happened," said Shen'Rai.
Yan Zu quickly looked at Huo and took a deep breath as he approached him. The man sat down in front of his son and was about to ask a question when Huo suddenly conjured a blue-colored flame in his right hand. Yan Zu's eyes widened, and even Shen'Rai was surprised. "Blue flames?" asked the man. Huo raised his hand and looked at it. The blue flame began to move and change shape, forming itself into a hawk, which flew up and landed on Huo's shoulder without burning him.
Immediately after that, another flame shot from the same hand and turned into a lizard, which crawled up Huo's arm, then up the back of his nape, and rested on the top of the boy's head. Yan Zu could see every detail; feathers on the hawk and scales on the lizard.
"Liars... kill... burn everything... devour," Huo heard the hawk and the lizard voices.
"Since when he can do that?" Yan Zu asked. "He creates shapes just like you and your siblings."
Shen'Rai was afraid of this. "Huo's isn't doing this," he replied, shaking his head. "His own fire is taking control of his body and mind, compelling him to do what fire does, to burn everything and consume. I suspect that he burned his own shirt."
Huo squinted his orange-colored eyes and placed a hand on the side of his head. "Why did you lie to me, dad?" he asked calmly.
"What?" Yan Zu was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"
"You said my mom can change, like you did," Huo stated. "I thought you told me the truth."
"I did told you the truth, Huo," Yan Zu assured. "She can-"
"Liar!" Huo snapped and screamed in anger, causing Yan Zu to lean back slightly in shock. The blue hawk, which rested on his shoulder, flew away and began to circle around the boy, who grabbed his head with his hands and closed his eyes. He could hear the voices in his head and the voice of his own mother, who stood beside him and blamed him for everything.
"Huo, calm down," Yan Zu asked. He felt terrible seeing his son in such a state. "I know it's difficult but you know you can't get angry."
"Listen to your father, Huo," added Shen'Rai. "We only want to help you."
Huo abruptly opened his eyes and looked at Shen'Rai, lowering his hands. "Help me?" he asked and began to snicker and then laugh maniacally. After a few seconds, the boy stooped laughing and began to cry. Yan Zu was shocked. He reached out and hugged his son tightly. "Shhh, everything will be okay," he reassured.
"No it won't!" Huo began to wail. Blue flames began to shoot down from his hands and burn the grass and flowers beneath his feet, forcing Yan Zu to pull away from him. "Mom killed you!"
Yan Zu's eyes widened, quickly getting up and taking a few steps back. Part of him hoped he simply misheard Huo, but he knew he heard it right. The man turned his head and looked at Shen'Rai. "How does he know?!" he asked.
"I have no idea," Shen'Rai was also surprised, just like him. He never said anything to the boy, and there was no way he'd snuck up and eavesdropped on them without them knowing.
"You all lie to me every time! You want to kill me! I heard you!" Huo kept screaming while continuing to blast the ground with streams of blue fire while the hawk once again landed on his shoulder. The flames, intensified by his emotions, became bigger and bigger, surrounding Huo and spreading all around.
"Huo stop! You're burning everything!" Yan Zu pleaded. "This is Ek'Noshi's home!"
The boy stopped screaming as Yan Zu's words reached him and began to breathe heavily from exhaustion while tears streamed down his cheeks. He lowered his head and looked at the ground, realizing that he had burned the grass and the beautiful flowers. Aside from the hawk and the lizard, his blue flames cooled down and turned orange, but shortly after, a shadow covered Huo's face and caused him to raise back his head. The orange flames turned black, and a pale hand suddenly emerged from them.
Shen'Rai's eyes widened. "No!" he exclaimed in horror, taking a few steps back and spreading his wings. "Huo! Get away from there now!"
Yan Zu noticed a woman covered in black clothes with a hood, who emerged on all fours from the black flames, and stood up. She was really tall with black hair, sickly pale skin, and orange-colored eyes. "Is that her?!" Yan Zu asked, turning his head towards Shen'Rai and immediately realizing that the phoenix was ready to fight by looking at his eyes.
The man looked back at the woman, who stood inside a circle of black flames next to his son. Yan Zu knew already that she spelled trouble.
"Hello, brother," Yuan'Shi said with a wide grin as the flames returned to their orange color and kept spreading. "I'd say that I missed you, but you were in my dream all the time." The woman turned her head and looked over her shoulder at Huo.
"Leave the boy alone!" said Shen'Rai, ignoring Yuan'Shi's words. The phoenix's body began to emanate intense heat, and he was ready to fight, but he was careful.
"Why?" Yuan'Shi asked, looking back at the phoenix. "Huo is my friend, and I care for my friends. We've known each other for some time now, and I even told him about my past."
Huo moved forward and stooped right next to Yuan'Shi, who placed her hand on his free shoulder. "See?" Yuan'Shi smiled widely and looked at the phoenix. "You fed him lies, and I helped him see the truth. I had to imbue his life energy with fire so that he could see and hear you through the fire, but he managed it."
Shen'Rai's eyes widened. "You used energybending on him at Wuyan Temple!" he realized. "You know what the act of imbuing a human's life energy with an element does to their minds!"
"Of course, I do, and I warned Huo," Yuan'Shi pointed out. "He wanted to learn the truth so badly that he was ready to risk his body and mind."
"Huo," Yan Zu whispered. The man felt guilt, realizing how much Huo must have gone through. No child should've suffered like that.
"Still, as you can see," Yuan'Shi moved behind the boy. "Huo is holding pretty well. An average human would already lose his mind entirely and become a servant to his flames, but his willpower is astonishing. Even I have to admit that much. He even learned how to absorb the flames and feed on them."
"You manipulated him!" Shen'Rai stated angrily. "You wanted to wipe out humanity, so don't pretend to be friendly to a human."
"True, I was furious back then," Yuan'Shi admitted, closing her eyes and massaging her forehead. "I wanted revenge after the betrayal. Of course, killing all the humans would affect all the Keepers and me." The woman opened her eyes and chuckled. "However, I saw a perfect solution in my dream, which will keep everyone happy."
Yuan'Shi quickly raised her right arm and pulled a rock from the scorched ground. She then promptly formed it into a thin, sharp, blade-like shape and hovered it above herself. She extended her left arm to the side and swung her right hand down, clenching her teeth.
The blade-shaped rock came down with incredible speed, and to both Yan Zu's and Shen'Rai's shock, it cut off Yuan'Shi's left arm. The arm fell down to the ground, and Yuan'Shi quickly used her right arm to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding.
Huo was clueless about what just happened. When he tried to turn his head around after hearing something hitting the ground, Yuan'Shi spoke between heavy breaths. "Keep your eyes on them, Huo. When I tell you, absorb the flames, and you'll receive power beyond any firebender."
Huo nodded and looked at Shen'Rai and Yan Zu with half-closed eyes while the hawk and the lizard kept their eyes on the woman. Yuan'Shi grabbed her arm and threw it into the orange flames behind them. Like real animals, the hawk and the lizard left Huo and rushed towards a literal piece of meat, joining the fire in their 'feast.'
Shen'Rai had no idea what Yuan'Shi planned. Yes, he knew every firebending skill and knew what would happen, but it didn't make sense. It didn't seem to the phoenix that she tried to kill him since there were easier ways to do it. When Yuan'Shi thought that the time was right, she spoke.
"Now, Huo," the woman gave the signal, and Huo placed a hand on his belly. The boy leaned back and began to take a deep breath as the orange flames turned blue. The fire began to head towards Huo from all directions. The blue flames spiraled in front of Huo's mouth like a fiery whirlpool and vanished. Soon, all the fire was gone, even the hawk and the lizard. The only things that remained were the scorched ground and the charred remains of Yuan'Shi's arm.
Huo suddenly fell forward on his knees and grabbed his head as part of memories, which weren't his, flooded into his mind. It wasn't a pleasant experience. The boy blinked, chuckled, and looked at the woman. "What... you're... but... how?!" he was confused. "I don't... understand."
Yuan'Shi crouched before Huo and grinned. "Since you 'ate' the flames, which feed upon my arm, part of my chi and memories are inside you now," she explained as she lifted and looked at her right and only hand. "Don't worry. What happens next will free you from all your worries and problems. Even your mental issues will be a thing of the past."
The woman took a deep breath and focused. The skin of her hand seemed to turn ashen grey, and illuminating green cracks appeared on it. Huo focused on the hand for a moment, forgetting about his questions.
In one swift movement, Yuan'Shi reached out and touched Huo's forehead. The boy felt a sharp pain, and his vision was covered by a green hue. Yan Zu and Shen'Rai noticed as Huo's hair and skin began to change color. In a matter of seconds, his whole body, along with his hair and clothes, turned ashen grey, and Huo fell on his side.
"What did you do to him?!" Yan Zu demanded and dashed towards them, not caring about what may happen to him. Huo's well-being was all that mattered to him right now.
Fortunately for him, Yuan'Shi only stood up and chuckled. "It's my solution for the disease called humanity," she replied and laughed with wide-open eyes. "Instead of killing humans, I will control them with my bending."
Yan Zu reached Huo and grabbed him, turning him on his back. The man felt that Huo's body was soft, despite looking like a petrified corpse. He glared angrily at Yuan'Shi. "You monster, he's just a child" he stated.
"A human child," Yuan'Shi corrected with a grin. "Each of them are the same, no matter the age, bending, or gender."
"Just like the elements in the physical world, you're unbalanced," stated Shen'Rai. "While the Keepers only lose our their powers and their forms shrink, you lose your sanity."
"And who's fault is that?" Yuan'Shi looked at the phoenix and asked as her bigger eye twitched. "Humans devastated the balance, and they're responsible for everything that has happened to us."
"They don't know any better," Shen'Rai replied. "They have no idea how their actions affect us."
"Oh, and you think they'd behave differently if they knew?" Yuan'Shi asked and chuckled. "Don't make me laugh, Shen'Rai. They would try to exploit us and blackmail us to achieve their twisted goals, but that's not gonna happen. I will turn humans into my puppets just like this boy. Not all, of course. The strong ones will be useful once I manipulate them, but the weaker ones will have a choice; serve the spirits or die."
"Only one won't have a choice," the woman continued and frowned. "The one who dared to think he could take my place without consequences; the Avatar. After I drain his chi from his body, I'll finally be able to restore my real form and become whole once again."
Shen'Rai chuckled. "You forgot about one thing," he spoke. "No matter how much you'll try, mo matter how much power you gain, you won't change the simple truth. That you're just a corrupted half of a greater being."
Yuan'Shi went silent and gave Shen'Rai a furious glare. "Careful brother," she growled. "You're playing with fire."
"I am a Fire Keeper, after all," Shen'Rai replied. The phoenix began to conjure violet-colored flames from his wings.
Before Yuan'Shi could reply, roots sprouted from underneath the scorched ground and coiled around her legs. "Leave my home!" Yan Zu and Shen'Rai heard the displeased voice of Ek'Noshi, who materialized near her pond.
Yuan'Shi turned her head towards the humanoid spirit. "Hmmm... I think we need to make this more interesting," she spoke with a wicked grin and shot a black-colored flame from her hand, burning the roots. "Huo, get up and kill your father."
Huo opened his eyes, which were now only lifeless green orbs, and turned his head sharply towards Yan Zu. He immediately shot a blue-colored flame from his hand, but Yan Zu managed to lean back in time. He quickly rose to his feet, and Huo did the same.
"Huo! Snap out of it!" Yan Zu pleaded, but Huo only conjured more flames from his hands while Shen'Rai flew towards them.
Please R&R ;)