Hello people of Fanfiction!
This is the first of two really hard and complicated chapters, this and the upcoming one will give you a hint as to how the story will end, So read carefully and please be aware of the twists!
Have a good read and please don't forget to review!
Sokka
He missed that breeze. that cool, crisp smell of air that could only be smelled at the poles, He's been away for a very long time that he almost forgot about it, but just as he started to smell it, memories of how much he missed it rushed back to his mind.
Their ships finally approached the docks of the southern watertribe, but the audience awaiting them didn't look very welcoming, the gates of the southern watertribe were closed, Hakoda and Sokka had to stand outside the gates with their troops to request entry, as if they were unwanted guests, and they had to wait for the arrival of the chief of the southern watertribe to arrive to respond to their request.
After so much time negotiating with Katara, she still refused to come with them and decided to stay with her mother and grandmother on Kyoshi Island, Suki and The Kyoshi Warriors decided to stay home too to defend their island, Even though Sokka left with a heavy heart for all the loved ones he left behind, he knew that it was inevitable to leave with his dad, he left his mother, grandmother, sister and girlfriend on Kyoshi Island, he also didn't know how long this Voccak matter will take so he didn't have the confirmation whether he would be with Aang when he goes to negotiate with Firelord Azula or not, so many things Sokka left behind to help the man standing beside him, but he knew that if something were to happen to his dad while he's not there, he wouldn't have forgiven himself for eternity, so he had to be there with him, being there for his dad doesn't mean that his dad is now invulnerable, but at least now they would be harmed together.
Sokka sighed in boredom beside his old man as he's grown weary of Lord Voccak's antics, they have been standing outside the gate for almost an hour now waiting for Lord Voccak to give them access to the city, which is an insult by itself, the rightful chief and the army of the watertribes are trying to gain access to their own city, Oh The Irony,
"I'm getting tired of this." Sokka expressed his feelings to his dad.
Hakoda didn't even flinch as he kept looking at the top of the gate as the guards were standing to protect it, Hakoda then finally broke his daze to look back at the docks and then again back at the gates, Sokka was confused by his sudden movements until his dad spoke up,
"Something isn't right." Hakoda said.
"What's wrong?" Sokka asked.
Hakoda was silent for a moment, then he tapped his chin in thought, "There are no ships at the docks. and the city gates appear to have been recently opened, Have you also noticed that the city inside is kinda quiet?" Hakoda asked.
Sokka actually thought about this, but he didn't wanna express his concern to Hakoda because of the situation they were in, "Yeah, I noticed that too." Sokka said.
"Interesting." Hakoda simply said, which made Sokka's stomach turn, It was at that moment, he knew that his father didn't mean well, but he decided against speaking about it.
A few minutes later, a voice called from atop the gate of the city, "It's good to have you back, Hakoda!"
They all looked up, only to find the chief of the city. his father once made a pun about that, he said that Voccak can be a Chief.. but only if you replace the "C" with a "T". Hakoda is Sokka's father indeed.
There was also a man standing beside Voccak, who Sokka surmised to be his second-in-command, Hedrick.
"Oh Really? Is that why you won't let us into the city?" Hakoda answered Voccak's fake greeting with a question of his own.
"Apologies for the over cautiousness of my soldiers, as you can see we're not in any condition to withstand a rude guest." Voccak replied with a smirk.
"They're not your soldiers, Voccak, and we're not guests. this is the army of the southern watertribe, and I'm its legitimate chief. Also, this is Bato, the legitimate Commander of the armies and this is my son and heir, Sokka. All familiar faces, no guests around here." Hakoda simply responded, motioning to each one of them as he said their names respectively.
Voccak looked displeased with the words, but he hid it well under his smug smile followed by his sarcastic snort, "Do you really believe you're in any position to call yourself anything? If you've been alive all this time, where were you when this tribe needed you the most? You don't deserve to be the chief, you don't deserve to be anything!" Voccak said angrily.
"And you do?" Hakoda asked, looking as stiff as a rock even after all those tough accusations, which really terrified Sokka.
"Yes, I do! I've carried this nation on my back for the past year, something you've never done even when you were chief, I've achieved a lot of things and made the people happy, I've compensated for your stupid mistakes, and you repay me by questioning my integrity? you ungrateful fool." Voccak said.
Hakoda snorted, "Integrity? You are a Traitor, Voccak! A Fuckin' Traitor! Do you know what that means? You're in no position to even utter that word. You have no integrity, You have no respect for anyone, not even yourself. You don't love anyone but yourself and that's why you did whatever you've done to brainwash the people and make them your personal puppets.." Voccak's facial expression changed to that of discomfort as Hakoda said that, and it was time for Hakoda to have a smirk of his own as he continued, "You didn't think I was unaware of what was happening here in the southern watertribe while I was away, did you? I have eyes everywhere." Hakoda finished, and Sokka couldn't have been more terrified of his father than at this moment, he couldn't believe how much his father has changed.
Voccak mirrored Sokka's expression but apparently for different reasons, he looked at Hedrick who also mirrored his face of discomfort, but eventually Voccak's expression turned to a smile again as he tried to save face,
"Nice Try.. Is that some kind of sick, twisted attempt to turn my soldiers against me? Do you remember when you spoke to me about how much you hated snakes?.. You've become what you hate." Voccak said.
"Yes, you're precisely correct." Hakoda started, "and to wrap this up, I only have two options for you, Voccak. Either you open this gate at the moment and give us back Our City, Or face the consequences of your refusal." Hakoda finished with a steady posture that terrified both Voccak and Sokka, but again for different reasons.
Before Voccak could respond, another a booming voice of a familiar old man was heard from behind Voccak, "Open The Gate!" Master Pakku commanded, interrupting Voccak, who kept looking at him in disbelief.
"What are you doing? they are armed." Voccak asked.
"No southerner will fight another southerner as long as I'm alive, Even if it means getting rid of the both of you!" Pakku said loudly for the both of Voccak and Hakoda to hear, "We're gonna have a nice chat in The Royal Palace to discuss terms of peace, We have other matters to be concerned about, goddamit! Now put aside your egos and let's talk." Master Pakku finished and immediately left the place, suddenly after, Sokka heard the gates being opened.
Hakoda ordered his army to enter the city peacefully and both parties followed Master Pakku and headed towards The Royal Palace, as they kept walking Sokka decided to ask his father a question that kept nagging him,
"Would you have really attacked the city?"
Hakoda was silent for a while, he kept a stern face and didn't even look at Sokka as he simply answered, "Yes."
Sokka then got the confirmation that this is a completely different version of his father, a version that is driven by revenge, a version that he's never seen before nor has he ever hoped to see.
Sokka then realized how dangerous his father could be, which really terrified him to the core, he only hoped his father won't have to do anything that could make Sokka take serious actions against him.
Katara
"Come on, Katara.. at least give me a hint about what might cheer you up." Suki said.
"Leaving me alone would be such a good idea." Katara responded.
Suki feigned that she was hurt by Katara's words, "Aw.. I can't believe you just said that, I thought we were friends." Suki said, which made Katara feel slightly bad as she believed her, but still she couldn't give her reassurance as she was looking for it herself.
"You thought wrong." Katara said half-heartedly.
"She's lying, She loves you, Suki." Kya said as soon as she arrived with a tray of tea to the porch where Suki and Katara were sitting.
Suki chuckled, "I know that, She's just trying to make me feel bad for her.. is Widdle Katara trying to figure out how much we love her? is that it?" Suki said, mocking the voice of a little child, and Katara actually almost smiled at that.
"You sound ridiculous." Katara said, still looking ahead with her mouth twitching as she was struggling to keep a straight face.
"She's already laughing, I can tell." Gran-Gran said as she came to the porch as well, the four ladies sat together, all drinking tea except for Katara who was too depressed to eat, drink or sleep.
How could she? Most of the people she loves are possibly in danger and she can't do anything about it. her father, her brother and Aang.. they are all in possible danger, and she's sitting at a porch in Kyoshi Island drinking tea with the ladies, it made Katara feel powerless, which is the feeling she hates the most, ever since then, Suki, Kya and Kanna have been trying to cheer her up but to no avail, ever since she decided to stay at Kyoshi Island and not go with her father, she's been feeling depressed, sometimes, she would think that it would have been better if she went with him, her fear for her father and her brother took over and made her forget about why she refused her father's offer in the first place.
This isn't about restoring the dignity of the southern watertribe and bringing it back to prosperity, this is about revenge, something Katara vowed never to take part of.
"I know how concerned you are for your father and brother, believe me, we all are. But all we can do right now is hope for them to be ok." Gran Gran suddenly said. Katara kept silence, so it was Kya's turn to speak up, she moved her chair slightly towards Katara and came beside her,
"Listen, sweetie. Your dad isn't a little child, he's a grown man and a world leader, You don't expect such men to listen to anybody but themselves, believe me, I've known him for as long as I could remember, even before we got married, even when we were little children, he's always been stubborn and only listens to himself.. but I trust him, always have and always will be. you should too. because trust me when I tell you, he always comes back." Kya finished.
Katara was silent again for a while, she was about to answer her mother if it wasn't for a Kyoshi warrior running in their direction at full speed, and said,
"AN ATTACK FROM THE SEA! FIRE NATION SHIPS ARE APPROACHING!", Her words were followed by an alarm bell that was heard all around the city, which caused the people to panic and run all around the streets, Katara and Suki were very shocked at what's happening they couldn't move for a couple of seconds, before they immediately reacted.
Katara composed herself, "Suki, Gather the warriors and find a safe place for the people to stay, I'll go to the sea and find out what's happening." she instructed.
to which Suki replied, "Got it!" and ran to the streets to gather the warriors while Katara stayed for a second to speak to her mom and grandmom.
"Go with Suki and the others." Katara said.
"No! we won't leave you." Kya said with panic all over her eyes.
Katara got closer to her and kissed her head, "I'll come back, I promise.." She said looking her mother and grandmother in the eyes with a small smile, in return, they hesitantly nodded to her, her face then got serious again and she pushed them gently,
"Now, Go! Leave!" She said before running towards the sea to face the upcoming threat.
Aang
The First Avatar decided to take the current Avatar on a journey, one that will grant him all the answers he needs, but for Avatar Wan to do so, he didn't dig deep into his memories, or even into Avatar Aang's memories, a reincarnation of Wan that answered the ultimate question, how do you defeat Vattu permanently? Whose memories is it? It belongs to the great Avatar Salai.
The Earth Avatar who lived in times of peace thanks to his great leadership, the man who lived for almost 350 years discovered some information that could prove critical to Aang and Wan's quest towards salvation.
"Are you sure this is the right timeline?" Aang asked.
"Yes." Wan simply answered, Aang didn't even give him a nod as he thought Wan was just making a mistake again, It's been some time since he ventured into the spirit world, almost two days, but he knew it equaled a lot in the outside world, He learned so much in the span of two days, but what should have been a day's job has been extended for another day, and the reason for the delay? Avatar Wan's uncertainty.
"And What makes this timeline different than the others?" Aang asked with a look of boredom.
"Because in this timeline Salai is headed towards the position of the tree of time where Vattu was imprisoned." Wan said, which caught Aang's attention and made him listen carefully, he looked at the memory and found that Avatar Wan was right, Salai was indeed headed towards the position of the tree of time, despite the scary look of Vattu, the elderly avatar looked at Vattu like he had no care in the world.
"Hello, Old Friend." Vattu said as he saw Salai.
Salai smiled and said, "Oh how I wish we were friends, Vattu. But we're not meant to be."
"Then why are you here but to visit me, may I wonder?"
Salai sighed, "I'm here to have a conversation with my nemesis.." The Old Avatar took a seat on the ground and groaned as he did so, "You wouldn't mind an old man having a seat on the ground, would you? I'm afraid I'm not as steady as I used to be." Salai finished.
Vattu merely looked in silence as the old avatar did just that, they kept looking at each other in silence for a while, both openly contemplating each other.
"You made the wrong choice by digging as deep as you did, Human. Achieving the things you discovered could change the world forever." Vattu said, starting the conversation.
Salai looked away for a second, having old man heavy breaths every now and then, "That's true." He merely responded.
"It won't turn out well for the humans you swore to protect."
Salai nodded, "That is.. also true."
Vattu stopped for a second before saying, "I beg you not to do it."
The words shook Aang to the core, as he was watching from the sidelines with Wan as The Master Of Darkness, the most evil creature in the history of all the worlds, begged Avatar Salai not to follow on with his plans.
Aang continued watching as he saw Avatar Salai close his eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them again and asking, "Why not?"
"Because The World doesn't need to change, It's appropriate as it is. and I see it unfair that The course of history gets to be altered because of the well of a single man, Have you even consulted Raava of the matter? You're here to protect humanity, not to change their livelihood." Vattu finished, anger consuming his voice.
Salai waited for the master of evil to finish, he waited a couple of seconds to contemplate his words before saying, "I never thought I would receive words of wisdom from you, but I do believe you are right, Vattu." Salai said.
Even for a faceless creature with tentacles, you could see the relief on his features, Vattu couldn't have looked anymore comfortable as Avatar Salai agreed to his words,
"Thank you, Human." The master of evil said.
Salai took some deep breaths before saying, "It'll happen eventually.. Just not in my time." He said, and just like that the memory was gone.
Wan then turned to look at Aang, "Do you understand now?" The First Avatar asked Aang who shook his head in return, he didn't know what Salai was talking about.
"Salai discovered a method that could end Vattu permanently, but the problem was that the method wouldn't have just affected Vattu, it would have also affected the world, it would have changed the whole world, not necessarily to something bad, but to something out of the ordinary, even though Salai was a man of immense intellect and also a top gambler, he still couldn't take the risk, as it was too grave, not just for him but for all of history.. It would have changed Everything, Aang." Wan said, which made Aang all the more baffled and terrified.
"What's it?" Aang asked already terrified of the answer.
Wan was silent for a while, the first avatar closed his eyes briefly before opening them again and looking seriously at Aang,
"Closing the broken divide." Wan said.
Aang had the most confused expression on his face, "What?" He inquired.
Wan looked so hesitant, like he's been debating with himself on whether to tell Aang or not but in the end he settled on telling him,
"A long time ago, there was a divide that separated the plane of Spirits from the material world, a barrier that was created to keep the two worlds separate, until Vattu came along and broke through that barrier, ushering in a new era for both worlds, the lion turtles and the original masters of bending, the animals, then came into our world and thus started the age of bending.." Wan started, Aang kept listening, Wan waited for a second before continuing,
"Avatar Salai discovered the location of that divide and with the ability of Raava by his side, he threatened to close it, but he knew it was a great risk, a risk that you wouldn't take during times of peace.." Wan then looked at Aang, "But you are not at times of peace, are you?" The first avatar asked.
Aang looked at him with desperate eyes and nodded, the current avatar then had a question, "What are the side effects of closing the divide?" Aang asked.
"Closing the divide won't just drive away Vattu, it'll also drive away Raava and the rest of the spirits, the spirit world is the reason we're able to bend, which means that with the closure of the divide.." Wan trailed off, but Aang continued for him,
"Bending will cease to exist." Aang concluded slowly and sadly, which was followed by an affirming nod from the first avatar.
Aang looked like there was no hope left inside of him, why does everything has to have brutal consequences? this is not a fair world to live in, this isn't a world to live in at all, why is everything so complicated? why does it have to be this way? so many questions inside Aang's head that made him clutch his skull in pain,
his voice cracked as he said, "This is awful."
Wan looked at him with pain in his own eyes and said, "I know.. But I'm sure the people can manage, for they have done it before."
"That was a long time ago, their lives aren't the same anymore." Aang responded.
"Yes, but think about how the people who are already non-benders would help them through it, I've been thinking over Avatar Salai's decision ever since he's taken it over eight decades ago, Why didn't he rid the world of the evil of Vattu? And I've come to the conclusion that he knew the world didn't need to at that time, their lives didn't depend on the extermination of Vattu, but now they do, Aang.. now they desperately do. What they need now is peace, not bending. As Master Iroh once told you, It's wise to choose happiness and love over Perfection and Power." Wan said which made Aang emotional as he remembered his old master and proud as Iroh's words were so wise that even Avatar Wan loved to listen to him.
Aang was silent for a while before asking another question, "What about Raava?" Aang asked, concerned for the spirit of light who would leave the world with Vattu.
"Raava agreed to the proposition over eight decades ago, she still does.." Wan responded, he continued, "I taught you how to reconnect with her, you do so as soon as you get out of here, and then you immediately head towards the location of the divide. Trust me, Aang, there's no other choice to stop this madness." Wan said.
Aang was silent for a while contemplating his choices, he then looked at Avatar Wan with eyes full of desperation, "Where's the location of the divide?" Aang asked.
"You know, you've been there before." Wan only said.
Aang thought for a while, before it clicked, it was actually rather obvious, "The Great Divide." Aang said, and Avatar Wan nodded.
They didn't get a chance to say anymore words as they heard something in the distance that disturbed them, they came out of their hiding place and looked over the horizon in the spirit world, to find an army of angry spirits coming at them at full speed, Aang was terrified by the scene but Avatar Wan stood his ground.
"You need to go now." Wan said.
"What?! No! I won't leave you!" Aang resisted.
"You need not worry about me, boy, I'm already dead. Go and do as I said, the future of this world depends on your decisions, Aang. either you choose a world of darkness or a world without bending. my role here is done, it's time to face my destiny." Wan said, Aang still hesitated a bit, "I SAID GO!" The first avatar shouted, which prompted Aang to use his spiritual intellect to get himself out of the place immediately, leaving Avatar Wan behind to face his destiny with a smile on his face. Aang woke up on the ledge and jolted up, he gasps for air and the light in his eyes stops, he looked up to find Shaman and two Bhanti tribesmen looking down upon him from the mouth of the cave.
"Did you find answers to your questions?" Shaman asked. Aang nodded at her, the shaman then ordered the tribesmen to bring him up and Aang finally got out of the cave to find Senge waiting for him.
"You sure know how to take your time." Senge said.
Aang was silent for a while as he put on his clothes, before looking at Senge and saying, "Cheer up.. We're going home."
Senge gave him a curious look and asked, "Why?"
to which Aang responded, "Go get Abby, and I'll tell you on the way." Senge whimpered before heading outside to do as Aang asked of him.
Aang then looked at Shaman to express his gratitude, "Thank you for all your kindness."
Shaman nodded to him and said, "We don't want you to express gratitude with words, Avatar. The only endeavor of gratitude that we would accept is for you to save the world, don't be hesitant to make bold decisions, It's only the courageous who have the right to choose in this world." Shaman said.
Aang then looked at her with confusion at first, how did this woman know about the conversation of bold decision that went between him and Avatar Wan, but then he decided against asking and only thanked her again and promised her that everything would be alright.
A promise he wasn't sure that he would hold on to, but he's courageous enough to try.
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Have a good day :)
