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Sneers
His plan was finally reaching its epic conclusion, it was only a matter of time, all of Yu Dao will be his very soon.
Sneers walked all the way to the top of the hill for a secret meeting, the road was long and boring to the top of the hill, so he took his time to think, he contemplated all the events that happened, he's reached a point where he can never go back, he's done things he's never thought he was capable of, things his older self would be despised by it, but now is no time to think everything through, he knew he needed revenge more than anything and so he decided to give his life if it means the end of the firenation supremacy.
He thought about Kori the most, with all this facade of made up disinterest, he tried so hard to keep his mind off her look of devastation over her father's murder,
yes.. it was Sneers who ordered the death of her father, and the plan went smoothly, they assured him that Kori knew nothing of it, but he felt very guilty every time he thought it, nonetheless, it was revenge that had the bigger share of his mind, and so he knew Mayor Morishita wasn't a man of action, keeping him in Yu Dao would mean that the earth kingdom would never fight the firenation, he had to act before it's too late.
Still, he felt bad for his girlfriend, it's her father after all, not to mention that Sneers spent a lot of time with the man, it was the hardest thing he's done yet, harder than killing Jeri and the rest of Shun's goons, and harder than breaking out of prison. Yes, he just broke out of prison, and he was on his way up the hill to meet with his comrades, the remaining freedom fighters, and the new ones.
The freedom fighters expanded ever since Sneers decided to take charge, his deeds garnered approval of the public, people of Yu Dao and the surrounding colonies really supported Sneers' idea of attacking the firenation first, Sneers wasn't going to stop there, he was going to keep fighting until he makes the entire earth kingdom approve of his plans. He finally arrived at the top of the hill to find his followers there, they cheered so hard as soon as they saw him, Sneers felt overwhelmed but he dared not show it, instead he just stopped right in front of them and inspected them, he looked to find the person in the front row to be Sensu, the very same man who spoke to Sneers in his prison cell and told him that his plan is working, not directly, but he told him that he's gathering enough people for a rebellion on the Yu Dao government, and he did just that.
Sensu was a young man, his father owns a Pig farm, his younger brother, Lee, who he misses the most, works with their father and mother on the farm after Sensu left, he decided to leave everything behind and join the military but after he saw how corrupt the military actually is, he couldn't maintain faith in them, he couldn't leave them, but he decided to spend his time in the military a rebellious fellow, so the military decided to ship him off to Yu Dao where the problems are, he's been in Yu Dao for almost half a year now ever since Avatar Aang defeated Shun, he spent the entire time there waiting for an opportunity to be free of the military.
Until he met Sneers in the prison, he saw what Sneers did and what he's planning to do, so Sensu asked to join him, at first Sneers didn't trust him, but then he saw the fire in his eyes, the eagerness to take down the firenation, he told him why he thought the military was corrupt,
"It's because they know exactly who the enemy is, and they still decided to do nothing about it." Sensu told Sneers, he asked Sneers if he's going to bring change to the earth kingdom, and Sneers told him, he would give his life for it, Sensu fully believed him and he decided to help him.
Sneers never thought that Sensu would be such a gain to his party, he brought so many people to the meeting on the hill that Sneers actually thought about taking them to invade the firenation right at this very moment, but he decided to wait.
Sneers looked at Sensu meaningfully, as if thanking him silently for his efforts, Sensu understood and gave him a nod, Sneers then got back to calm the crowd who was still cheering and then he started to address them,
"Thank you all for being here, I wouldn't ask for-" As he was about to continue, he found himself getting lifted in the air slowly by the very ground he was standing on, Sneers was startled at first but then he realized what happened, one of the earth kingdom warriors earth bent the earth beneath him to lift him in the air so that everybody could hear his speech,
Sneers looked at the earth kingdom warrior and spoke up,
"Thank you so much, but a little warning next time wouldn't hurt." He said sarcastically, and the crowd laughed.
Sneers continued his speech, "As I was saying, Thank you all for being here, I'm sure you all know why I gathered you here, so I won't have to go through that, It's the very same thing we've been asking for for ages, We Need Change!" Sneers shouted, and the crowd erupted in cheers again, he realized that at this point he can say anything and still the crowd would cheer for him, Sensu must have said many great things about Sneers to them.
He continued, "I once believed in the government of this town, I really did, but evil is very strong nowadays, I can feel it, We all can feel it, do you know why?" Sneers waited a second to look at the audience who were all listening to him, he then continued,
"We feel it through our own government, it's corrupt, and it's defiled, that's why we need change, if our government is too corrupt to see the truth, then we will shove right up their asses!" Sneers said it, and the crowd erupted in cheers again,
The leader of the freedom fighters then continued, "We'll keep this rebellion until we step foot in every palace in the earth kingdom, until we take every army and do we stop there?" Sneers said, the crowd said 'No!' in unison,
"I can't hear you, I said do we stop there?!" Sneers shouted while walking right and left in front of the audience who once more yelled 'No!' but louder this time. Sneers didn't stop there, he finished his speech by saying, "No, we will never stop.. until the root of all evil in this world is extinct, by the root of all evil, I mean the ash makers, the dividers of families, the murderers and rapists. we'll never stop until the firenation is no more!" He finished his speech and once again the people yelled in unison.
He was so proud with himself, not just because he managed to unify the people under one banner, but because he knew that he was taking the route towards vengeance, he's going to be the monster that the firenation created to destroy themselves with, he's going to be the nightmare that haunts them every night, and every day. He'll never stop, until every last firebender is extinct from this world, that's his sole purpose in life right now.
Jet, Smellerbee, Long Shot, Duke, Pipsqueak, Shu, Bao.. the rest of the fallen fighters, I'll never stop.. until you're redeemed, I'll make sure they'll pay.. I promise.
Sneers said internally as he looked ahead of the group, feeling like the world is a throne, and he's sitting right on top.
But he was reminded that this throne could be threatened anytime soon, as Sensu approached him with some bad news,
"Kori isn't on board with all that's happening, I hope you realize that she could be a problem to us." Sensu said.
"Understandably so, we just murdered her dad.. Give her time." Sneers said.
"Yeah.. but that's just it, I think she knows it was you who ordered it." Sensu told him the bad news, and Sneers was shocked.
"What?" He asked, turning around to look at Sensu and looking terrified for the first time.
"It's a thought that we can't rule out." Sensu said, looking a bit frightened himself.
Sneers kept thinking about it, he knew it was rather obvious who killed her father, but he never realized that Kori would get to that conclusion, he still couldn't believe it, but as Sensu said, it's a thought that we can't rule out.
"Keep your eyes on her.. don't send anybody I want you to do it personally, ok?" Sneers asked, but it felt like an order.
Sensu didn't question, as he just accepted, "Of course. I don't want you to get worked up over this, we have bigger plans to think about, Just don't make it an afterthought, alright?" He said.
Sneers nodded, "Alright."
Sensu then left, leaving Sneers giving the largest share of his brain thinking about Kori and not their plans, he knew this was coming, he knew that it's a problem he's gonna have to take care of himself, but he just didn't want to rush things.
Time will tell whether Kori is a real problem or not.
The Southern Watertribe
Sokka was taking on an evil spirit with his club, the fight has been going for what felt like ages, they have been holding on, but Sokka knew that it won't be for long, as his comrades were falling one by one.
It's true that with each fallen warrior, at least two evil spirits fall, but it wasn't enough, they were too many, the ice underneath that was once bright white, was now beet red, with the blood of his fallen comrades filling the place, Sokka felt an agonizing pain with each soldier that he saw falling, but he knew that if he gave it as much as a thought, he would be laying down right beside them.
What can men do against such reckless hate? Sokka asked himself internally, feeling a throbbing pain, not for injuries as he sustained none yet, but he knew for a certainty that the fall of the northern and southern watertribes could mean the fall of the rest of the world, yes, there's still the avatar, but the watertribes know best how to fight those spirits, they developed the techniques and everything, but they still can't hold against them, the watertribe were the strongholds that protected the world, without them there's no hope for human kind, unless Aang gets that Avatar Spirit working again, something that he wasn't sure Aang would be able to do in time.
Sokka waved his club in front of the evil spirit who dodged it with ease, but then Sokka turned it back to meet the spirit's face, and the spirit immediately evaporated, he didn't get a chance to catch a breather as two more jumped him, he was a capable warrior, but he knew that he wouldn't last for long.
Right at that same moment, Hakoda was facing similar odds, but somewhat bigger at the same time, because he had to both fight and lead, Hakoda was proving himself to be the hardened leader this tribe needs during such dark times, not because he was winning, but because they were still trying to survive, the fact that they are still alive to this moment proves how good of a leader Hakoda is, and how strong the people of the southern watertribe are.
Meanwhile, Miki was having a dilemma of her own, as she was facing an enemy with qualities that trumps hers, she was being tossed around like a rag doll by none other than the master of evil himself.
"Give up, humanity won't survive, but someone of your abilities could be useful to me. spare yourself the pain, my child, and join me." Vattu said to Miki.
Miki spit the blood in her mouth and stood up again, preparing for another round, she smirked and said, "Getting cold feet, are we?" Miki asked.
"I don't understand some of the terms you humans use, but I surmise that's a No, correct?" Vattu asked.
"That's a hell No!" Miki shouted, and jumped the master of evil again. She kept going in circles around him, Vattu kept shooting spiritual beams at her, Miki dodged them with skill, and kept shooting water at him, sometimes she would shoot purified golden water to wrap around Vattu, but he was too strong for such skills, Miki then used the water in the air to propel herself up, she got to the face of Vattu and used the water in her pouches to cut through him, the cut made its impact as Vattu got somehow smaller, not by a large margin, but enough to make Miki believe there's hope again.
Miki landed on the ice and then she tried the same trick again, but this time Vattu was prepared, he met her with a large purple beam that made a deafening sound, and it sent Miki so far away.
She tried her best not to lose her consciousness, eventually, she blacked out, but at least she was out of Vattu's reach, in fact even the evil spirits didn't bother to come to her as they were ordered by Vattu to leave the child of Raava to him.
Hakoda and Sokka were still fighting side by side, the watertribe warriors were piled up against each other so to not lose formation, under Hakoda's leadership, it was at this moment, Vattu located a new target. Sokka saw it first, he saw him focusing a huge beam right at them, The warrior then yelled at the group,
"LOOK OUT!" He shouted, he then grabbed Hakoda and jumped out of reach, some of the watertribe warriors did the same, some weren't so lucky as they were destroyed with Vattu's purple beam.
Sokka felt a loud whistle in his ear, he couldn't hear anything, and he struggled to get to his feet, and so did Hakoda, the explosion was so immense, it made his head heavy, they saw their comrades falling to the ground, and they couldn't do anything to stop it, they couldn't even save themselves if they wanted to, it was very hard to even get to their feet.
After some time however, the hearing was back, they looked at each other and they held each other tight, "Are you okay, dad?" Sokka asked.
"Yeah.. Are you?" Hakoda asked in return.
Sokka smiled sadly, "Never better." He said sarcastically, with tears in his eyes, "I feel like this is the end, Dad." Sokka said, as tears were falling freely from his eyes.
Hakoda mirrored the tears in his son's eyes, but then he got determined and he put a hand on his son's cheek,
"We'll fight to the end.. But if it's indeed the end for us, I just want you to know.. I could have never asked for a better son." Hakoda told him.
Sokka looked at his dad with tears falling again, but this time he was smiling fondly as they did, "And I could have never asked for a better dad." The warrior said.
He then grabbed his dad and stood up, they turned their backs to each other again as they waited for the coming attack, apparently the evil spirits were coming at them in ranks now, they were walking slowly towards them, with Vattu right above them, this was indeed the end for the southern watertribe.
but then a miracle happened, hope made itself visible to them again, as Sokka saw the herd coming from above.
A herd of flying bisons that landed in the no man's land between the watertribe warriors and the evil spirits, suddenly airbenders jumped from the saddles and together with their bisons, they launched the biggest blast of air the world has ever seen.
It was the move Sokka helped them practice at the southern airtemple, they acted in unison as Sokka would want them too, the blast was so strong, it sent all the spirits except for Vattu flying away.
Sokka then looked hard to find the person leading them was Senge, he left the airbenders as he shouted, "Hold Formation!" he left them holding the attack and he came beside Sokka and Hakoda, he hugged Sokka tightly.
"I'm glad you are okay." Sokka was so relieved that Senge was here, that he couldn't question the twelve year old how he got here, he just hugged the young man back with the same passion.
Senge then broke the hug, and spoke to the watertribe warriors, "Everyone, get on the bisons, We have to go now!" Senge shouted at them.
The watertribe warriors didn't need talking into it, they just jumped on the saddles as quick as rabbits.
Senge then went to the airbenders and said, "We'll leave two at a time, don't lose the formation right away, abandon your posts gradually!" The airbenders heeded his words, and gradually they lost formation.
The young airbender decided to be among the last two leaving, Sokka and Hakoda got on Senge's bison with some other watertribe warriors, the air current was so weak now that the evil spirit got loose, he focused a purple beam at them.
again it was Sokka that saw it, but it was so fast, he knew they would be dead, before he could say anything however, a huge wall of purified water formed from the ice beneath them was risen, it held the dark beam of Vattu and it protected the company from the blast that almost killed them.
Sokka turned his head back to find that it was Miki who made it, her eyes were white, which is something that shocked Sokka, it wasn't as strong as the light that came out of Aang's eyes when he was in the avatar state, but it was really strong.
Miki was now connected to her spiritual self, just as The Avatar would. It was magnificent, but Sokka knew they had to go.
"Miki, We need to go!"
"You need to go.. I don't run." She said calmly, but her voice held what felt like a hundred voices, those must be her former lives, Sokka was at a loss of words, he looked at Hakoda for answers, but his father provided him with none, as he was just as helpless, but then a passenger that was with them got off the saddle, and right towards Miki.
Sokka noticed him, it was her boyfriend, Kai.
"Kai, What are you doing?! get back here!" Sokka yelled at him.
Kai paid him no attention, "Miki.. It's me."
Miki's eyes somehow softened, she looked at him as she still held the wall of purified water, "What are you doing? get back on the bison!" Miki told him.
It was enough for Kai to realize that Miki was in control, he got closer to her, and he put his hands on her shoulders, which tensed for a second before easing up again.
Kai then looked her in the eyes and said, "It's not what Master Pakku would have wanted, You're needed in the quests to come, it's not over yet, but without you, there's a pretty good chance that it's indeed the end." Kai said, Miki was getting softer and softer by the second, "We need you.. I need you.. Please." Kai said, with the most emotional eyes.
Miki still waited for a couple of seconds, before she eventually eased up, without a single word she dropped her tense shoulders and relaxed, Kai was relieved, but then she said,
"But first!" As soon as she said this, she launched the wall of purified water at the evil spirits, purifying hundreds of them, before Vattu held it to save the rest. As the vision cleared for Vattu, they were already soaring in the sky. hope stayed alive, Hope in Aang, Petu and Miki, the land will be restored, but without those people, there's literally no hope for this world.
in the saddle, Miki stayed in Kai's caring embrace, Sokka and Hakoda were dwelling on the events that occurred, and Senge was leading the bison towards the southern airtemple.
The southern watertribe might have fallen, but they knew they'll have another chance.
back in the southern watertrbe, Vattu laughed the most menacing of laughs, as he realized that Voccak was victorious in the northern watertribe as well,
"This is the first of many victories. This world will fall into darkness very soon, Raava." The dark spirit said, as he stared into the horizon, watching the bisons soaring away with the remaining warriors.
And this is the end of our chapter today.
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