ATTENTION! THERE ARE NOW 37 CHAPTERS, NOT 24! I HAD TO REDO THE LENGTHS OF EACH, STRETCHING IT OUT MORE! THE NEWEST CHAPTER IS CHAPTER 37 (STRATEGY)! START FROM THERE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN READING THE NEWEST CHAPTER! IT WILL TAKE PROBABLY A FEW HOURS, POSSIBLY DAYS FOR ALL THE NEW CHAPTERS TO BE UPLOADED! PLEASE GO TO CHAPTER 37 AND READ THE NOTICE AT THE BEGINNING FOR EXPLANATION! MY APOLOGIES FOR THE CONFUSION!
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Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender
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"The chief had no ideas?"
Aang looked at Azula's inquiring gaze from where he trained Samir in airbending—ensuring her light feet by doing basic balance exercises. "No, he wasn't helpful at all. I shouldn't have even come here—I know Zuko bonding with Druk is important as it ensures the Sun Warriors and dragons will ally with us when we need them, but it doesn't seem so important. I thought the Sun Warriors would have some idea on Lee's attack, but they were adamant that energybending wasn't possible. Even the chief was reluctant to accept its idea, and he didn't know anything about Agni. I thought their primitive culture meant that they retained ancient secrets that everyone else has forgotten, but it's clear to me that they never knew those ancient secrets—at least, not the ones that really matter and would be helpful to me now."
Azula didn't look surprised as she aligned herself next to him, watching Samir's admirable but slow efforts. "Any ideas on how to heal Agni?"
"You're asking me this now?"
Azula raised one shoulder to shrug. "I cannot conceive a better time. Your mind is not actively engaged—you know it is not. It is elsewhere. You must be thinking about this. What are you thinking?"
He wondered how she knew him so well before nodding in acquiescence—it was truly difficult to stay engaged with Samir doing such basic exercises that he had mastered when he was around two or three years of age. "Keep going, Samir!" he called out to her, smiling a real smile of praise at her determination and enthusiasm—how necessary they were for his sanity! "You're doing great!"
Appa moaned in agreement from where he laid, watching, while Samir beamed and hopped onto her other foot and stretched out with shaky coordination. "Thanks, Daddy!"
Aang ensured she wouldn't fall or become distracted before he turned to Azula. "I'm thinking about Vaatu."
He often thought about Vaatu—where once he always thought about Air, Vaatu had filled the void since his return from his journey by the Tree.
"But not about Agni?"
He rolled his eyes as he shooed Momo off his shoulder. "I'm not sure Agni deserves my thoughts."
"You do not mean that," Azula observed, not blinking as Momo curled onto her shoulder.
She was a worthy Mother of Air—the only worthy one.
"I don't think Agni wants my thoughts on him," he countered.
Azula smirked. "Likely not. However, The Avatar should be above such pettiness, should he not?"
Aang stepped closer and pulled her against him. "But I'm still a man, and you know exactly how much of a man I am."
She shook her head, amused, as she patted his chest in confirmation. "Surely you have some idea how to reverse Lee the Energybender's attack and preserve Agni? I know you are furious with him, but you do not want him to become as meek as Indra. You hate that this is happening to Fire."
"It's like Kuei's still here," he muttered, disgruntled and frustrated. "This is what Kuei wanted. It wasn't executed how Kuei would have done it, but it's result and conclusion are the same. Fire's going extinct—if it's not already."
Such a thought would have once filled him with a resentful gladness, but he only felt grim resignation—and determination to thwart it from spreading further.
"Fire knows survival," Azula said after several moments. "But this is unlike any foe we have ever faced; this is different."
"Maybe it's happened before, but the knowledge of the event was lost. It's an ancient attack—energybending."
"And you have no ideas on how to fix it—or stop it?"
Aang rubbed his fingers against his forehead. "I don't know how to fix it, at least not yet. Agni isn't the one who's really injured; that's a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself."
"But Agni's diminishment causes problems- "
"But those problems are symptoms of deeper problems. Agni is only weak because of Lee's attack—it's like Indra."
Azula's brows rose in realization. "If you went directly to Agni to heal him, it would be impossible; it would do nothing for him."
Aang was realized she understood the complexity surrounding the problem, which only emanated lesser but no less devastating problems. "Right. The only way I know how to definitively fix it is if I entered the chi of everyone impacted by the attack- "
"But you would never be able to find them all before the attack spread across the world, if it affects other benders," Azula concluded, finishing his train of thought in recognition. "This attack spreads like fire itself—how ironic. It seems to exhibit characteristics of firebending, at least in terms of its destructive capabilities."
"The observation's been known to me," he admitted. "That's why I know Lee the Energybender is from either Earth or Water—likely Earth."
Azula nodded, frowning. "Indeed. No true Son of Agni would ever unleash such a thing on Fire."
"No man would ever do such a thing to his own race," Aang pointed out. "This isn't the attack of a traitor; this is the attack of an enemy."
"And Fire has no shortages of enemies," Azula observed, resigned and unsurprised. "It makes sense—except for what we know about Lee's appearance."
Aang glanced at her, startled. "What do we know about his appearance? Iroh didn't say."
"But Karluk said Lee's appearance is of Fire. We already established that Lee must be the one who attacked the North when King Kuei declared war on Fire—otherwise, Chief Arnook would have joined King Kuei against Zuko."
He had forgotten the detail of Lee's rumored appearance—attested to by a dead man trapped in limbo, from whom Azula learned such extinct knowledge. "It doesn't make sense," he said at last after several long moments of thought. "This isn't a traitor's attack- "
"But an enemy's attack," she finished, nodding her head, golden eyes gleaming in agreement. "But why would one of Agni's sons unleash such an attack that he must have known—or suspected—would impact Agni so severely? Why would a Son of Agni do such a thing to his own race, knowing the consequences?"
Aang recalled Afiko—the Betrayer—and grit his teeth. "Madmen have their reasons—sometimes they're good reasons."
He had agreed with Afiko's reasons but not the execution and implementation—although he realized Air's demise was always and simply inevitable, regardless of Afiko. If it wasn't Afiko, it would have been someone else, maybe even Aang himself.
He learned that what he thought he knew was often wrong—unfortunately.
Azula's features pinched. "Lee has no good reasons but vengeance. This reeks of vengeance—it reeks of retribution. I guarantee he is of Earth."
"But his appearance contradicts that," he pointed out, agreeing with her claim but wanting to hear her thoughts on the subject.
"Perhaps he is a half-spawn," Azula mused. "He possesses the madness of bastards—liminality. He attacks to overcompensate and verify his identity as of Earth, perhaps."
Aang thought of the necessary willpower, cleverness, and cunning to conceive such an unthinkable attack. "He's of Earth," he decided. "But he has Fire in him, which might be the sole reason he was able to make the attack work in the first place when he connected energies."
Azula looked up at him, mesmerizing holding him in place. "Could you stop the attack if he attacked me?"
He frowned. "Of course, I would. He can't stand before me if he stands before me, least of all against me, if I will it. I just don't know where he is—Vaatu's protecting him. Besides Ozai, Agni, and Devi, Lee is Vaatu's most valuable piece. But I don't want to go to the Fire Nation—I can't. I know it's a trap; I know that Vaatu wants me to react rashly and abandon the continent, which will leave him free to do whatever he wants here."
"I agree. We must remain here and let Uncle Iroh handle it—he is capable, for a fat man."
Aang shook his head. "He's your uncle."
Azula raised a brow in challenge. "Who is fat."
"Do you have any ideas for this?"
"Teach me energybending," she answered without any apparent pause.
Aang stiffened. "I don't know."
Her brows rose, clearly sensing his hesitation. "Whom can you trust but your wife?"
"This is the most ancient bending art," he stressed. "You see its effects. Energybending is the one bending art that can destroy bending itself—as energybending is the origin of bending. How do you think the Elementals blessed their Children with bending? How do you think they oriented them to the energy and frequency necessary? It was energybending by targeting those most spiritual and attuned, which became a lineal inheritance over generations. I can't trust such power to anyone. It must be a lineal inheritance, not a freely given or destroyed inheritance by any Energybender who listens to his whims. I should have never learned it in the first place; I threatened everything by doing so because I was a desperate boy."
"You trust me."
Aang sighed, realizing she was right. "Yes—but only you."
Azula smirked in delight. "Indeed. May your words fertilize my womb."
He rolled his eyes. "Fertilize your mind."
"It is not exclusive only to you, yes?"
"Yes," he said, drawing the word out. "Any bender can master it, which makes it even more dangerous. Even the most unskilled and foolish to the genius and prodigy can achieve energybending. Each bender, no matter the element, is different in terms of natural power and capability, but an Energybender is different; there is the possibility for progression always."
Azula was seemingly undeterred, unsurprisingly. "I used energybending when we were in the Immortal Realm after visiting the Face Stealer—the spiritual lightning attack, remember?"
"I told you how to do it."
"Perhaps this could be one of the ways we rebuild the Order of the White Lotus," she suggested, watching him with piercing golden eyes. "Only Masters, Grandmasters, and Sages learn energybending."
Aang shook his head. "No, I don't trust anyone to know it, least of all use it."
"What makes The Avatar worthy of such power alone?"
"Because I already have the power," he replied. "Thus, I choose whom receives it and who doesn't. I choose that no one learns it—and that includes my successors. I plan on locking it away forever, forced into extinct memory. I would make myself forget it if I could."
Azula stared up at him, bewildered. "You really mean that."
Aang nodded. "It threatens the world far more than preserves it as it's unnatural and evil—it's a more evil solution than any other. What I did to Ozai was an act of much greater evil than killing him as I defied What Is and attempted to circumvent Natural Law with my weak solution. I was a boy who didn't know better, but I'm a man now—I know better. I should have killed him; it was so much more natural and necessary than what I did with energybending. The point is—no one should have this kind of power, least of all me, to remove bending and make a devastating attack. That's why I'm going to force it into extinction. I'm going to find Lee and kill him and anyone he's taught it to—I have no other choice, not if I want to be the Balance-Keeper as I must be. If I let this happen, it will lead to a new, severe threat in the future—because it's already led to a severe threat now, and only a decade after I reintroduced the art to the world. Any Energybender who is disillusioned, perhaps a member of the Order itself, could unleash the same thing Lee did—I'm not going to let that happen. I'm closing the pathway to new threats. I'm The Avatar, the most powerful across the Realms, and I smothered someone as powerful as Ozai's firebending. Is there anything more powerful than that? No one, not even The Avatar, should have access to such power. Energybending is the most powerful bending art, and it can be used for wicked purposes, epitomized by Lee and what I did to Ozai."
Azula hummed. "All bending arts are dangerous, Aang—you know it better than anyone. A Waterbender can use bloodbending; an Earthbender can suck someone into the earth and suffocate; a Firebender can shoot lightning, use combustion-bending, or raise internal body temperature; and Airbenders can suck the air out of someone's lungs and compress the air pressure until the body explodes and, from what you told me, block the chi. Energybending smothers bending but also gives bending, epitomized by the Elementals- "
He sighed. "Don't ever compare a bender to an Elemental. It's different. I know you hate it, but you are not anywhere close to Agni's level—no Firebender is. Even Ozai under Sozin's Comet was insignificant compared to Agni. Someone could take away another's bending because it's easy. To give bending is impossible as you need so much more energy and understanding of what you are giving and opening to the necessary frequency to harness the available energy. Only Agni can give firebending; only Devi can give earthbending; only Tui and La can give waterbending; and only Indra can give airbending. But just because they can doesn't meant that they will—or should—give bending to anyone. There was a reason to begin with why they gifted bending to such a rare, select few eons ago. I can't give airbending to anyone- "
A strange frown crossed Azula's memorable face. "I was under the impression that you willed Samir's airbending to the surface."
Aang shook his head, unsurprised that she failed to understand the intricacies of what he did—how he 'awakened' Samir's airbending. "I only had to 'will it' because she's the one who smothered it—why, I never figured out. Probably to protect herself, I'm guessing. It was no energybending. She was always going to be an Airbender, whether I 'willed it' to the surface or not. If I didn't, it probably would have taken a few more years for her to get there and be aware of it, realize that there was something missing. There was no energybending at all. It was really just making her conscious of the connection she possessed—making her aware of her inheritance and able to actively feel it and use it. That's what I did."
Azula nodded, face distant as she gazed at Samir practicing her balance forms. "A long endeavor," she commented.
Aang watched Samir for several moments and felt the usual disappointment at her impossibly slow progress but had stopped resenting it. "There's no energybending, Azula. It's a damned art form—it's a curse, really. Look what it's done to your race."
"Have you considered that there need to be Energybenders to stop Energybenders?" she challenged softly. "Only you can stop Lee not because you are The Avatar but because you are an Energybender."
"That's a false conclusion," he dismissed. "There doesn't need to be any Energybenders to stop Energybenders because I'm killing energybending; I'm going to make it extinct, not even left in memory or legend. The world forgot energybending once, and it went extinct once for a reason, probably many reasons; I will make the world forget again, and I will ensure no lion turtle will ever reintroduce such a despicable concept."
"I want you to teach me- "
He wondered why he had expected her to accept his reasoning. "Why?"
She glared up at him, as if the answer was obvious and he was being foolish for not perceiving it. "I want to help you. Your wife must know energybending if there is an energybending threat. We both know you cannot be everywhere. Whom better to speak for you and act in your interests when you are gone than your wife? Whose voice will be your voice when you are gone? Mine will be—it always has been."
Aang couldn't stop the brief laugh as he imagined all the many things Azula said when he was gone for two months after their marriage. "You're not going to teach it to anyone else."
"Of course not," she assured.
"I mean it," he stressed, conveying how serious he was. "I'll trust you with no other secrets I alone possess about anything if you betray this trust. I may even look into an annulment if you attempt to teach anyone else."
Azula realized the gravity of energybending and nodded. "I vow on my honor never to teach someone else energybending, even Zuko should he beg like a child, and I will deny our children its power for as long as I live."
Aang accepted her promise and looked at Samir practicing her balance forms. "It might be nice teaching someone who isn't so slow."
She rolled her eyes. "Exactly what I had in mind when I nominated myself for Mother of Air, I assure you."
He smiled. "Energybending is quite like firebending, actually. You'll have an easier time mastering it than anyone else would. Energybending focuses on the energy inside, and firebending focuses on the same—the energy inside."
Azula nodded. "It will feel familiar."
"It will," he confirmed. "The lion turtle told me that 'the true mind can weather all of the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough through the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginningless Time, Darkness thrives in the Void but always yields to purifying Light.' In the ages before Wan became The Avatar, there was energybending, though the other bending arts existed. But people focused on energybending first and foremost. Before Wan, people bent the energies within themselves. To bend another's energy, your own spirit, connected to your energy, must be unbendable. If not, you will be corrupted and destroyed."
She blinked, absorbing the ancient knowledge. "Meaning?"
Aang paused for a moment. "I used energybending on Ozai, who refused to give up; his spirit and energy were dominating and intense. I was only twelve, and it nearly crushed me—it just about did until the last moment when all that I was saved me. If I wasn't The Avatar, I would have been destroyed easily."
"What would have happened if you had been crushed?" she demanded, posture tense. "Would you have died?"
He didn't want to think of it, but he knew the answer—it was horrifying! "His energy would have mixed with my own, his personality and mind more than likely destroying mine, corrupting everything. I believe he would have been in control of my entire body, all of the power of The Avatar at his fingertips; the world would have been doomed."
"That was an extraordinary gamble," Azula commented with a neutral tone, withholding judgment.
But Aang knew he should be judged—because it was the dumbest decision to make!
"I got lucky," he confessed. "That's all it was—luck. It was the luckiest moment of my life—perhaps the only lucky moment of my life."
"I think meeting each other on Ember Island was lucky."
Aang grinned and pulled her against him. "No, that was destiny."
Azula rolled her eyes and patted his bearded cheek with fondness. "It is destiny for you also to teach me energybending."
"I've already started," he dismissed, looking out at Samir again; he was proud of her admirable determination, even if her success rate was most limited and sporadic. "It begins with knowledge and goes from there."
She was quiet for a long time as she followed his gaze, watching Samir—the daughter they shared together. "Do you see Air in her features?" she asked softly.
Aang scoffed. "Don't ask me that- "
"Do you?"
"I never have," he answered just as softly. "You know that. It's only the gray eyes."
"Perhaps she will manifest such features as she ages," Azula mused. "She looks more Earth than Fire, and more Fire than Air."
Aang just closed his eyes, feeling an ancient exhaustion. "I know."
"Part of the reason why I thought you used energybending somehow, at least partially, is because she should have no airbending blood. Far too many centuries exist between her and Fire Lord Zyrn's mother, the last pure Air Nomad in her lineage—as far as we imagine."
He didn't want to think about that—or what it possibly meant. "There are no Airbenders left from my age, Azula," he whispered, understanding what she insinuated. "It's the one fact I know—the only one. I'm all that's left."
"Samir may be all that is left of forgotten Airbenders- "
Aang shook his head. "She's all that's left because she's mine, no one else's."
Apparently, his answer pleased Azula as she hummed and relaxed her head against his arm. "Whatever the reason, we are proud to have her."
"We are," he confirmed softly.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"The invasion is here, and you're not doing anything! You're bending over and letting us all be raped in our asses! What are you doing, Hahn?"
All the nobles were packed into the throne room before Hahn's icy throne, demanding answers. What happened to Chief Arnook? What about the invasion force that was near the shore What about the news of an assassin? And most disgustingly, where was Sokka?
"Chief Hahn," Hahn corrected with a pounded fist on his throne. "I know what I'm doing—I'm Chief now. This invasion will be beaten."
"Why call us here when we could be stopping it?"
Hahn's jaw clenched. "We can only stop it by knowing the truth, which is unbeatable. I called you here to tell you the truth- "
"What happened to Chief Arnook, Chief Hahn?"
He resented the accusatory eyes glaring at him but understood the accusation—he resented that he was forced into killing Arnook, but Yue wanted it to happen, the stupid cunt. "Chief Arnook was murdered by an assassin of this invasion force!" he cried out, face twisting in a mixture of anger and sorrow—because it was the truth of what he felt. "A woman appeared out of the mist, killed Chief Arnook, and retreated out the window while I tried to heal him, but I saw her run across the water—a powerful Waterbender! But Chief Arnook, with his dying breath, passed the chiefdom to me, as has always been the plan. We will avenge him! His death must not be in vain!"
Vicious jeers echoed through the air as the nobles ceased their nobility in favor of ferocity, demanding death and violence to destroy the Family-destroyer in the invasion. However, unlike the many others, Chief Arnook's wife bowed her head but managed to barely keep her composure at the announcement of her husband's murder; Hahn had informed her previously, and it had been tense beyond anything that he had experienced before.
It was the first time he ever suspected that Chief Arnook's wife didn't like him—a suspicion that only grew as she rejected his calls for war.
"Should we wait for Avatar Aang?"
Hahn's fingers tightened painfully on the arm grips. "Fuck Avatar Aang! May a polardog think he's a bitch in heat and go after him!" Shocked gasps ensued and hushed, unintelligible conversations flooded his ears at his words, but he raised his voice to continue. "I am your new Chief, and The Avatar is a nothing in our eyes! He does nothing but destroy! Look what he did to Ba Sing Se and King Kuei, the dear friend of Chief Arnook! I believe this invasion is being led by Avatar Aang himself! He comes to conquer us like he conquered the rest of the world!"
"Then why have you sabotaged all our efforts of defense?"
His eyes narrowed at Chief Arnook's wife, who stared up at him in rebellious clarity—she was just like her damned daughter! "You are mistaken," he dismissed. "Had I known that this was coming, I would have never made such decisions- "
"We must wait for Prince Sokka," Chief Arnook's wife declared, cutting through all possible conversations; she glared at him heatedly, eyes shadowed with deep grief and suspicion.
"The Usurper is no man worth being waited on!" Hahn snapped, ignored the concerned glances of the other nobles. "This isn't the time for your doubts! We have an invasion, and don't even know who is attacking us, but I suspect The Avatar!" He leaned forward, ass barely touching the throne, wondering with sudden clarity what need he had of Vaatu any longer. Vaatu had promised him the icy throne, but Hahn had acquired it on his own through sheer dedication and striving will, even if it meant killing the closest thing he ever had to a father—because that fucking cunt, Yue wanted it to happen! But he didn't need to ally with Vaatu anymore, which meant he needed to reverse all the sabotages he had, admittedly, made to the North's defenses! He had to do it before it was too late! "We will destroy this invasion!" he cried out, raising his arms in the air as he jumped to his feet, laughing freely, the potential glory of his leadership spurring him on; he would be remembered! "Prepare the men! Everyone, do your part! I'll lead us to assured victory! I'll command the ocean against this invasion and sink it to the depths! I will drown anyone who dares step on our ice in trespassing with thoughts of enslavement! We will destroy Vaatu to ensure our survival and independence!"
Silence met his declaration, and Hahn began to feel trepidation as Chief Arnook's wife's eyes gleamed with triumph. "I thought you said you did not know who was attacking us, Hahn?"
"Yeah, he did say that!" one of the noblemen exclaimed. "Who is 'Vaatu,' then? Did you lie to us, Hahn?"
"It's Chief Hahn!" he roared, slamming the flat of his palm on the throne for silence, but it stung far more than it was successful. "It was a slip of the tongue! I'll lead us to victory- "
The Moon's light suddenly pierced through the roof of the palace, through the cracks and holes offered for praise to the Moon Spirit, and the beam shone blindingly in front of the icy throne. Before Hahn's stunned eyes, before all of the nobles, words began to be carved into the ice where the moonlight hit, the screeching sound grating to everyone's ears. Hahn leaned forward but couldn't glimpse the words because the lettering was upside down; only the nobles could read it.
"Hahn, the Chief-Slayer," one of the noblemen breathed and raised his sudden distrusting eyes towards him, all of the others following. "It reads 'Hahn, the Chief-Slayer'!"
"He murdered Chief Arnook," a soft, familiar voice whispered, and Hahn's face drained of blood when he recognized it as Yue's voice; she was nowhere to be seen, but her voice echoed all around them. "He is the murderer and betrayer. He works for Vaatu and sabotaged your defenses to ensure an invasion. The ships that are coming, he always knew about them; he led them to you."
The voice vanished and all was silent until Chief Arnook's wife seized the opportunity to point at him while Hahn was deprived of words. "It is a sign from the Moon Spirit, my beautiful girl! We heard it all—Hahn is the assassin, the traitor to us all! He wishes our destruction and has led an invasion straight to us!"
"You stupid bitch, Yue!" he screamed, outraged, knowing he was damned—but he could damn Yue in everyone else's eyes. "Do you hate the North so much, Yue? Do you want our destruction, Yue? It's the only explanation, Yue! Everything you do leads to mayhem and chaos, Yue! No wonder you chose a fucking woman to save, Moon Spirit! You're a cunt who should have been tossed into the ocean when you were born, Yue! You worthless child in your intelligence—Yue!"
When he saw the nobles begin to act, he tried to dash away, but just before he got away, his feet were frozen to the ice. The nobles stomped towards him, spears of ice forming in their hands. "Traitor!"
"Let me go!" Hahn roared in demand. "I'm your Chief!"
"He murdered the Chief!" Chief Arnook's wife shrieked. "Kill him! Somebody kill the assassin who murdered my husband!"
"You will pay for what you did in the Spirit World, Chief-Slayer," the leading man, who he recognized as Master Pakku's son, Onartok, barked out while looming over him. "You will be remembered only as Hahn, the Chief-Slayer. None of us really liked you; we all liked Sokka more but honored Chief Arnook's wishes—that is all."
"Fuck you!" Hahn spat, trying to reach for his dagger, but before he could react, Onartok speared the ice through his chest.
He grasped weakly at the icy spear plunged into his chest but felt his strength fading as the murderous eyes of all the men condemned him, the blood dripping from his lips a terrible realization—he was going to die. The ice faded from around his feet, and he toppled forward, the men sliding to the side as Hahn's head smacked against the ice, pain erupting through his mind, but new pain overwhelmed it. He felt smashing feet crack against his head and back as the men began to trample him, stomping and kicking like a polardog.
"We may be nobles, Chief-Slayer, but we know of revenge and death and blood!"
One of the men pulled Hahn's head up and gripped it on the sides; he yanked it down with terrible force, and his nose smashed against the ice, the bone exploding back, shooting up to pierce his brain.
"My vengeance against you is complete," Yue whispered into his ears as he laid, dying, beneath the feet of furious Water Tribesmen. "You drove Yue to her death because she feared you and did not trust you."
"She was weak," he managed to croak with the last of his strength, though he knew no one but Yue—or the Moon Spirit, really—heard him. "It's her fault."
"Yes, but you did little to reassure her—that is your crime that culminated in her sacrifice. May your afterlife be as distressing as Yue's as Yue received none."
Hahn felt his spirit leave his body; he saw Yue's stoic gaze—before nothing.
XxXxXxXxXxX
The continent was in chaos in the week since Grandfather died, matching the turmoil and hysteria warring in Bor's mind. Since they fled from Ba Sing Se, they had joined the scarce survivors in the various territories, who were looking for safety—but always had to leave before their identities were discovered. After everything he had experience, he didn't trust anyone to have goodwill in their hearts, specifically for their new king who failed to prevent Ba Sing Se's destruction, specifically so soon after its previous destruction. They passed many fractured, wounded groups who were all confused and traumatized by what they experienced in Ba Sing Se—and ran into other groups who had always been nomadic since Ba Sing Se's destruction the first time. They had gotten into fights with other survivors, warring over resources, and Bor knew he should let his people—they were all born of the same race, descended from Devi herself!—have the resources, but he couldn't because he was the new king and had to survive, and he had to look out after Toph, the girl he loved after everything that happened between them; Suki, who was pregnant with Water's future Chief or princess; and Jin, a loyal but widowed nobleman who was almost raped during the chaos and horror of Ba Sing Se's fall.
He did what he had to do, dirtying his hands with more blood—like Grandfather once did before him.
And his father, too—he didn't want to think about his father! He couldn't think about his father! If he did, he'd curse, weep, and scream!
From the rumored news he picked up from other groups he battled or encountered, the continent was being trampled by mass exoduses by countless people, going from one side to the other—and from bottom to upper, and everywhere in between. From what it sounded like, there had been a mass movement before Ba Sing Se fell—his father's literal army journeying from Chyung to Ba Sing Se—that caused much mayhem and havoc before everything was intensified to an unholy degree by Ba Sing Se's destruction in which there were more mass exoduses that culminated in more deaths, chaos, tragedy, and confusion.
People everywhere across the continent had no idea what was going on, and despite Bor himself having more knowledge than most, he didn't have much idea, either; he could only react in panic to the growing pandemonium that consumed everything and swept across the land—like all the others. There were various accounts of various atrocities that were committed and left traumatized survivors trying to make sense of a world that allowed such atrocities. According to some, Fire was responsible for all the atrocities in a convoluted plan to conquer Earth once again; according to others, it was all one elite group of forsaken nobles branching out and settling wherever they could amongst all the carnage that had happened; and according to a few, there were different groups taking advantage of all the chaos to seize land and try to make their own territories for the goal of becoming a new Major City. But there was a unifying opinion that prevailed everywhere he dared set his ears. Everyone else he heard blamed The Avatar for Ba Sing Se's second destruction, assuming that the first destroyer had to be the second destroyer—and because it was easier to blame The Avatar. It would be so much more horrifying to know that a fellow man of Earth did such a thing and didn't care about everyone he slaughtered in his pursuit.
Everything he heard and stumbled across before leading Suki and Jin elsewhere left him devastated and confused; it left him in dread because he didn't know what to do. He was nothing like Grandfather! Grandfather would rally everyone, from the most traumatized to the least traumatized, around himself and start fixing everything and rebuilding to make Earth stronger and more resilient—like Grandfather always did!
But it was so painfully clear that he wasn't like Grandfather at all.
Did that mean he was like his father?
Such a consideration left him breathless—because he had to give it natural thought!—and panicked to his core, possibly more than anything ever had. But that didn't hold his true attention, not as the days passed and there was no sign of a possible healer or doctor—hope died with each day that Toph didn't get help!
That was the most worrying thing for him, besides the fact he was the son of an inbred rapist, because Toph had remained unconscious since his father—his father, the inbred rapist!—marred her feet. There was no response; she seemed dead if not for her chest rising and falling with her breath. There was no reaction from her, even when he pinched her and prodded her, begging her to wake up and eat something; there was no reaction even when he dared touch her feet to try to cover them.
It made him feel sick—and powerless.
"Will you finally tell me what happened to her?" Jin asked softly, hugging herself, the fire casting her beaten, bruised, swollen, and abused face in violent grief; she had long since acquired a different shirt than the blood-stained one that Bor gave her—Bor's own former shirt, which he replaced with one he snagged from another group before running off. He was finally comfortable to be able to truly rest in a week since his father—his father!—destroyed Ba Sing Se, and he helped Suki make a suitable camp for them all, which was powerfully important as Toph needed desperate attention. He had thought to ask the other survivors across the continent for help, but everyone else had their own problems to deal with and couldn't help—nor did they even want to. Toph only had him to help her. "Was it one of those men?"
It was his father, but he couldn't say it—he could never say it!
Bor looked up from his position of re-bandaging Toph's feet; the sight of her blackened, oozing, and maimed feet would haunt him forever. "It was… the Butcher, the leader of all of the plunderers of Ba Sing Se; he scorched her feet, the only way she can see, with lava. He was a Lavabender."
But Bor was a Lavabender, too—and had verified it instinctively when he had nothing to lose—because he was his father's son, feeling the lava's call in his blood.
"I had no idea there was lavabending," Jin whispered, face streaked with dry tears. "I am sorry that happened to her. I would think only such legendary power would be The Avatar's."
There was something about the way she talked about The Avatar that made him want to rage or, more accurately, go to sleep and never wake up—because nothing was as it should be. According to Grandfather, everyone should love Avatar Aang, but it was obvious that no one would ever really love him. It didn't seem possible.
"It is his," he confirmed as Suki handed him more bandages, which he used to gingerly wrap around the soles of Toph's ruined feet, tightening and stretching the gauze as gently as he could. "But powerful Earthbenders can master it—it's rare. Only the best can do it."
"Could King Bumi?"
It was clear she was a noblewoman, expecting answers, and though Bor didn't feel inclined to give answers, he reckoned that she was trying desperately to think about anything other than her husband and what happened to her. "No, but Grandfather killed him anyway. Grandfather was the best. No one's ever going to be better than him, including me."
Jin's red, raw, and exhausted eyes roamed Toph's motionless body. "I hope she wakes up."
Bor almost choked on a surprised laugh, even though he didn't feel like laughing at all, possessing no amusement in the slightest. "Me too. But I also don't. I don't want her to be in pain, and I don't want her to remember what happened; I don't want her to remember everything she heard."
Suki clearly realized he alluded to the fact that Toph undoubtedly realized that the Butcher was his father, that he himself was the product of rape, and that Toph herself would be raped by his father, whom would force him to lay with Toph's daughter, who would be his own half-sister—all in a deranged plan to maintain the purity of a disgusting, evil bloodline. "Whatever Toph heard will never change her mind about whatever she already knew, Bor."
He really wished he could be sure, but how could he? His father was the one who maimed Toph's feet and proclaimed his intentions to rape her! His father had probably maimed Toph so he would have an easier time—and more pleasurable time—raping her! "How could you say that? You heard what he said? You know what he did? You know what he was going to do? He took her feet so she'd powerless when he raped her."
The revulsion and horror were so thick in his mouth that he felt certain he knew exactly what Grandfather felt the night he discovered his mother—named Lira, whom he never knew because she was so traumatized by the realization that he was the son of her rapist that she killed herself the night of his birth—was raped.
But how did Grandfather feel when he realized that his grandson was the son of his daughter's rapist? How did he stand the sight of him? How did he bear it? How did he look at him and love him? How did he have the willpower and love to raise him with strength and decency, always treating him like a grandson, someone worthy of his love and attention, and never telling him of his accursed, damned origin?
All he knew was that Grandfather loved him and raised him and said that there was no one he would rather call his own than him and didn't regret that his mother was raped because it led to him, who was the best thing in his life since they met because Grandfather couldn't have asked for a better grandson.
It was the only thing keeping his sanity from shattering—the only thing holding him together!
Whether it was her own experience that Bor saved her from or from stories she heard, which informed her prediction skills, Jin didn't look surprised. "I see. I am sorry she was threatened by such evil—there is nothing like it."
Bor believed her and imagined—believed—his mother would agree.
"Such a thing has happened, is happening, and will happen to so many women," Jin said distantly, looking ancient. "Particularly now, when there is only chaos—evil thrives in chaos, and there is nothing more evil than that."
Suki frowned, holding a hand on her stomach. "Why stay with us? It's chaos everywhere. You could have better luck by joining one of those other groups- "
"I do not trust those other groups—I trust King Bor."
He wished forever that he never had to hear 'King Bor' as it ensured that Grandfather was still alive and king—he would give anything to hear 'Prince Bor' again instead of 'King Bor' just so Grandfather could be alive! "They could target us because I am king," he said softly, focusing on Toph's feet, adjusting the bandages with ginger, precise fingers. "They want me dead—I'm certain of it."
He was the failure king who let Ba Sing Se be destroyed for a second time and fled, after all.
"Why stay with us?" Suki asked. "Why not get away when you had the chance after we fully escaped Ba Sing Se?"
"I almost did," Jin whispered, and Bor looked up for a moment, glimpsing the haunted eyes reflected by the fire before continuing his work, ears listening. "But there is nowhere to go, and I cannot abandon you three after you have showed me such kindness."
"Four," Suki corrected quietly. "I'm pregnant."
Again, there was no surprise on Jin's face. "I suspected but did not want to be wrong."
"I didn't save you to make you feel a debt," Bor interjected, hating the thought that Jin felt indebted to him, as his fingers delicately bending the gauze to stretch across the expanse of Toph's maimed feet. "I did it because I couldn't stand the thought of you experiencing that."
Jin nodded, posture tight. "Maybe it was the rape, but I am unsure of my honesty. I always heard of its unparalleled horror, but now I believe it—by Devi, I believe it. I will never forget it as long as I live, no matter how much I want to. King Bor, you saved my life—you saved me from the grossest of indignities. I cannot simply forget that. I do owe you a debt."
"I don't want your debt- "
"But you have it, regardless."
Bor stared at her for a moment, registering the serious desperation on her face—she really wanted to return the 'favor' and do for him something as profound as he had done for her. "Then you're going to pay your debt by never speaking of you owing me a debt again—that's how I'm calling in that favor."
Jin blinked, amazed, before she swallowed thickly. "Thank you, King Bor."
He couldn't help but laugh slightly in near hysteria. "Knowing that the Butcher's men are likely hunting us in vengeance for the Butcher's death, you still choose to stay. I can't decide if you're brave or insane."
"I think loyal and intelligent."
Suki nodded. "That sounds most accurate."
Bor nodded at Jin, assessing her for several moments. "I think Toph will like you."
"I'm very concerned that she hasn't woke up yet." Suki interrupted in a whisper; her features were pinched with a terrible guilt that Bor didn't understand. "This can't be good for her."
"It's probably better," Bor said as he finished the bandages and stared at Toph's unconscious face, untroubled by the knowledge of her fate imposed by his father. "I can't even imagine her reaction to the this—actually, I can. She's truly blind now—the worst thing for her. These will be the worst days of her life. I don't want her to remember any of it."
His father was the reason she was really blind, the author of those worst days of her life. How could she even stand the vibrations of him again? How could she never hate him, knowing who he came from, knowing whose blood flowed in his veins? How could she remember him and feel anything but hatred and disgust, the very things that he felt?
"If we don't get to Aang and Katara quickly, I fear that her feet may have to be amputated to stop infection from spreading."
Jin inhaled sharply, face paling rapidly. "Avatar Aang?"
Suki glanced at her. "Yes. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Jin assured, but Bor knew she was lying—and didn't have the energy to deal with whatever it was. All he knew was that it was insignificant next to the fact that they were so far away from Avatar Aang and Princess Katara, both of whom could heal Toph's feet. "I never expected to possibly meet The Avatar."
Jin's heart hammered at a rapid pace that was almost as fast as it was when she was nearly raped—the fear was immense. Bor knew she was lying again, but didn't care; he simply needed to get Toph healing—that's the only thing that mattered.
"I know we have to find them," Bor admitted with a grimace, trying to keep his emotions in check; they all needed him to be strong—just like Grandfather, whose limbs were amputated like Toph's feet may need to be! "I know about the threat of amputation. The only healers we know are Avatar Aang and Princess Katara, and Toph needs a healer—she needs it so badly. Do you have any idea where the Sun Warriors are?"
Suki looked as grim as he felt. "No."
Bor squeezed his eyes shut for several moments, keeping his panic as hidden as he could; he didn't think he was too successful. "And when they come back, they'll find Ba Sing Se destroyed. They will think we're dead and have no reason to look for us- "
"They'll find us if we can't find them," Suki vowed with a strong urgency. "Aang will know what to do."
He thought of everything Avatar Aang faced—and would have to face—and shuddered. "He won't have time to look for us," he whispered, ravished by the hollow feeling spreading through him. "He has too much to deal with and can't spare any time looking for us. We have to look for him—it's our only chance. It's Toph's only chance."
Jin swallowed, looking desperate. "Is there another place we could go? Is there someone else who could help us?"
Suki seemed to pick up on Jin's reluctance to see Avatar Aang. "What's wrong with Avatar Aang?"
There was a long silence before Jin shuddered. "I was there when he destroyed Ba Sing Se."
Bor's lips parted in shock at the unthinkable claim. "You survived that?"
Jin looked tense. "Yes. It was not a pleasant experience."
"How did you survive? Everyone died."
"I am aware," Jin snapped, eyes devastated by memories. "My husband saved me—we were some of the only survivors. Millions upon millions were slaughtered, and we remained in the wreckage, alive—while everyone else was dead."
Suki recovered from her surprise very quickly. "Don't worry—Aang's not going to do anything like that. There are a lot of things you don't know about what happened and caused it- "
"I was there—you were not. I know more than you."
Bor didn't bother arguing with Jin, who was correct. "I promise you as Ba Sing Se's king that nothing like it will happen again. If I'm wrong, I'll give you the crown and authority."
Jin blinked, disbelieving, at his promise. "You are that certain?"
"I'm that certain," he assured. "I know Avatar Aang, and my grandfather knew- " How it was a painful thing to admit Grandfather only knew Avatar Aang in the past tense rather than the present tense! "- him. I'll go even farther for you—I bet Toph's feet that Avatar Aang won't do something like that again. That's how certain I am about Avatar Aang."
"What if he cannot help?" Jin challenged softly, staring at Toph, who remained motionless, asleep. "He never has."
Suki clearly wanted to defend Avatar Aang but recognized that it wasn't the time as she placed a kind hand on Jin's arm. "He will help if he can."
"Is there nowhere else we can go?"
Bor had already thought about going to Omashu but hesitated. "My cousin is Omashu's queen now; her name is Anju. It makes perfect sense to go to Omashu for refuge, especially with this mass chaos across the continent, but we can't—because we need a healer for Toph, and the only healers I know of who could heal something like her feet are Avatar Aang and Princess Katara."
From what Toph told him while demanding utmost secrecy, Avatar Aang healed Princess Azula from her death, which ensured that Avatar Aang could—and would—heal Toph's feet.
If only he could get to Avatar Aang in time!
Suki nodded in agreement. "Yes, but would Aang think to go to Omashu after he learns that Ba Sing Se was destroyed?"
Bor shook his head. "I doubt it. I think he'd probably go straight to the Fire Nation to help with that attack by Lee the Energybender. He has to be everywhere right now, and he can't afford to think about us and look for us."
"He is technically in the Fire Nation now because that's where the Sun Warriors are, and if we think he will go to the Fire Nation after Ba Sing Se, which I think is certainly probable, we need to go to the former Colonies, regardless—head in that direction and try to reach Aang. If not, we can catch one of the ships to the Fire Nation and hope to meet Aang there—or Katara, at least. I can't imagine that Zuko will be able to stay away from the Fire Nation long with Lee the Energybender's attack—you don't know him that well, but Zuko tends to get very obsessive about things, especially when it comes to Fire. And where Zuko goes, Katara goes, so Katara will be in the Fire Nation, regardless. Either way, that seems to be the solution."
Bor felt hysterical. "That means going to Chyung."
Which his father had been the real king of.
Suki clearly understood his hysteria, and he was grateful that she did. "I know. But it's our only option—if our goal is to heal Toph's feet."
"Of course, it's the fucking goal!" he exclaimed before lowering his volume. "Sorry—but yes, it's the goal. I don't know what else we can do. Toph is the only one injured, and we need to heal her somehow."
"Bor, I'm so sorry- …it's my fault," Suki whispered, eyes squeezed shut tightly as her voice broke in guilt. "If it weren't for me, Toph wouldn't be maimed, and Bumi wouldn't- he wouldn't be dead."
Bor tightened his grip on Toph's body. "Don't do that," he pleaded, feeling his own emotions rise precariously. "Please don't do that because if you do it, I'm going to do it. I can't deal with it now- "
"But it's true; it's my fault. We could have all escaped if I wasn't pregnant—if I wasn't the weak link of the group."
"It's all hindsight," he breathed, words choking his throat. "It's my fault, too—it is. Grandfather would still be alive if I just killed that fucking whore instead of strangling her with my bare hands."
Jin stiffened. "Whore?"
Recalling what fate had almost befallen her, he winced. "Sorry. She was one, though—not only the Butcher's whore but his sister, too."
And she was his aunt, too.
Suki seemed to curl in on herself. "Do you think it's true?" she whispered, hands rooted on her stomach. "Did Avatar Kyoshi lay with Chin the Conqueror and bear him children?"
Bor believed it. "I don't see how it would be a lie. It explains how powerful they are—and how powerful Grandfather and I am."
Jin frowned, but she clearly only thought he was descended from Avatar Kyoshi and Chin the Conqueror not because the Butcher was his father but because he was Grandfather's grandson. "Avatar Kyoshi and the Conqueror?"
"Apparently," Suki said with a harsh laugh. "I always thought that Avatar Kyoshi created Kyoshi Island to save her homeland from destruction, but she must have just wanted to get away from her husband. How could she do that? How could she marry him?"
"We don't know if they were married," he pointed out, worn.
"If she bore him children, they were married—you know it as well as I do."
Bor grunted in agreement. "The Butcher and the Whore—how proud Kyoshi and the Conqueror must be to have them as their direct heirs."
"Did you kill the Butcher, too?" Jin asked.
"My grandfather did," he answered, tears spilling down his cheeks as he recalled Grandfather's last moments. "He finally won—he got him. And I killed the Whore with my bare hands because I knew she was the Butcher's sister, and I wanted to hurt the Butcher like he hurt me—basic vengeance. I knew the Butcher only cared about his sister, and I wanted to take that from him because he took everything from me. Grandfather took what the Butcher cared for most, but I took what was second most precious. I wanted them both to suffer for what they did and were planning to do, and I thought that killing her with my bare hands would do that, but it only secured… Grandfather's death."
He should have crushed her with a boulder, which would have spared Grandfather's life!
Bor cleared his throat to control his emotions and looked at Jin. "Well? Have you ever had an interest to see the Fire Nation? That's our only option to go to now."
Jin smiled, though it almost seemed cruel—because she had been devastated from feeling anything else. "Never, but now I do. I know Chyung. Perhaps I may know the Fire Nation." She wiped away a sudden onslaught of fresh tears. "I do not understand any of this. I should not know what I know now! I should not know what rape is, but I do! I hate this new knowledge—it should be unborn forever! Why would they all do this? I was a noble! I was supposed to be safe, but I was not, and my husb- husband died."
"The Butcher and his loyalists cared nothing for any of that; they were insane." He had stared into his father's eyes and knew it was the truth—his father was insane, either from inbreeding or natural disposition. "We all lost so much to him and his army."
Movement.
Panic erupted through him, and Bor was prepared for an attack, but it was Toph—she was twitching! He prayed that she would stay in slumber, but he knew that it wasn't to be when her eyelids fluttered open, and her milky eyes bulged in horror and panic, more than he had ever imagined her capable of.
He hated to see it!
"Let me go!" she screamed, thrashing, fists smashing into Bor's side, and he grunted, doubling over, unprepared for the strikes. "I can't see! I can't feel anything! Bor! Bor! Where are you? Who's there? Where are my feet? Where? Why does everything hurt? Tell me!"
"I'm here, Toph," he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "It's okay—we're all safe."
She stilled instantly, and he died inside as her feet moved slightly, stretching, and he saw blood begin to soak the bandages; she began to shake, tears spilling down her cheeks, horrifying realization carved into her blood-drained face. "My feet, he- he… the lava… it hurts," she choked out, her features a mass of distraught hysteria.
Bor pulled her up into his chest as the tears soaked his shirt, his own tears spilling into her hair, the sight of her maimed feet a cursed beacon to his eyes. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, not knowing what else to say, not knowing if he could say anything else.
He had so much to be sorry for, most of all for being her maimer and promised rapist's son.
Suki crawled over and placed a quivering hand on Toph's back. "Toph, it will be okay. Aang and Katara will heal your feet; we'll find them- "
"How the fuck will we find them?" The words bumbled past her lips in a frantic rush. "None of us know where they are! I'm ruined! I'm broken! My feet are… burned! I can't even feel them! My feet are gone, aren't they? They're fucking gone!"
"No- "
"I can't see!" Suddenly, Toph's hands crunched against the soil, and she seemed to sigh against his chest, freezing in relief. "Wait, I can… still see a little. He didn't take my hands."
Bor refrained from pointing out that the Butcher would have taken her hands and watched as the tears still flowed freely as she pulled back, stumbling, as she tried to stand on her feet.
"No!" he shouted and locked her in place with his arms, keeping her from standing up. "You can't; you'll make it worse!"
"It can't be fucking worse!" Toph hissed but gave up any fight and bowed her head, seeming to pull into herself, quivering as her finger weakly pointed at Jin. "Who's she?"
"Her name is Jin," Suki answered. "She was a former noble in Ba Sing Se Bor saved from…"
Toph pounded her fist against the ground, producing a small crater. "No, fuck you! Tell me—fucking tell me. I need a distraction."
Jin swallowed but raised her chin, staring at Toph—even though Toph didn't stare back. "My husband was… murdered by an animal before that animal chased me down and trapped me, beating me senseless. You can't see it, but my face shows the evidence of what happened."
"It looks much better than it did," Suki whispered in consolation, trying to smile. "You've had over a week to heal- "
"I will need a lifetime to heal from what happened. That animal was on top of me, raping me."
Toph shuddered. "I'm sorry. There's been too much of that going around."
Bor knew she was thinking about the truth of his birth and his father's promise to her. "Since the beginning of the world."
"Thank you, Toph. I was spared from the worst, but that animal's intentions were clear." Jin's voice shook, but her words were clear—she was a true noble. "After which, he was going to kill me. My fate was certain—until King Bor appeared and saved my life, killing that animal and all the other animals that came."
"What?" Toph's head popped up, her death-like pale features highlighted by the campfire's flames. "King Bor? No, no, where's Bumi?" Her hands patted the soil all around her, fingers digging deeply, almost groping in desperation. "He's fine, isn't he? I… I can't hear or feel him."
Bor scrunched his features tightly, trying to control his emotions. "You were unconscious- "
"Where's Bumi, Bor?"
"He's at peace now," he whispered, unable to actually say that Grandfather was dead—it was the worst thing to ever say! "He's with my mother now and all her siblings—he gets to see them all again."
Toph's fingers grasped at his neck, feeling for his pulse—and he let her do it. "Are you lying? Bumi's dead?"
Bor swallowed. "The… Butcher severed his limbs with lava, torturing him, but Grandfather was the best. He was so remarkable and strong that, even after all the torture, both physically and mentally, he used his face to metalbend a shard through the Butcher's skull to kill him; he used his face to free me, and I killed everyone else, who were all too stunned to react." Toph had become eerily still almost like she had become unconscious again but sitting up, but Bor continued, knowing that if he didn't, he would never be able to say the words again. "I strangled his sister with my own hands, but she managed one final strike against Grandfather; he… he died minutes later."
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, and one of her dirty hands cupped his cheek, and Bor nestled into the contact, feeling his own sorrow augment at the sight of Toph's visible grief; the tears flowed down her cheeks as the pain in her milky eyes were prominent to his own. "I know how much you loved him and how much he loved you."
Something broke inside him, and he pulled her into his chest, sinking his face into her hair, as he struggled to breathe. "He loved me more than I ever thought," he whispered. "Even knowing my father, he loved me; even knowing I killed my mother, he loved me; even knowing all that I am, he loved me; even knowing the resemblance I held, he loved me; even knowing he was doomed to hold the knowledge for himself all his life, he never told me and tried to keep me from knowing. And I love him all the more for it. Why did he have to die? Why? Why did that fucking cunt, my own damned aunt, have to kill him? Why did my father have to be my father? Why couldn't it have been Grandfather? I wanted him to be my father—I wanted to only think of him for it forever. Why did this have to happen?"
Toph's hands rubbed his cheeks and down his chest. "I know, I know. He was really the closest thing I've ever had to a father," she said, voice cracking. "We had problems, but I never wanted him dead. Bumi, I'm so sorry. And I'm even sorrier, Bor, that it happened to you and you're left with all of this."
Bor grasped at her back, squeezing her tightly, overwhelmed that she didn't seem to hate him at all for what happened to her. "I'm sorry he did this to you," he choked out. "I'm sorry I let it happen- "
"You didn't let it happen; he made it happen- "
He bowed his head to her shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. "He's my father," he hissed. "My father did this to you."
Toph inhaled slowly against him. "I know. I don't care that he's your father—I'm never going to think he is. Bumi was your father, Bor, not that sick cunt."
Bor wished desperately to believe it. "I'm so sorry."
"Is he dead?" she asked, voice trembling—and rising, making Suki and Jin part of the conversation. "Is the Butcher dead?"
"He's dead," Suki confirmed, and Bor hoped hysterically that Jin heard nothing about his father's identity from his whispered conversation with Toph. Too many people already knew the truth! "Bumi killed him, and Bor killed his sister. We fled the palace, and Bor carried you. We stumbled upon Jin, and Bor rescued her before we- "
"Thank you again, King Bor." Jin stared at him from across the fire with such gratefulness that he felt overwhelmed.
He sniffed and tried to gather his control. "You're welcome, Jin."
"- before we tunneled our way out of Ba Sing Se, clashing with other groups of survivors and avoiding others while stealing supplies, and we stopped here to rest because this is the first time we've been able to. We plan to go to the Fire Nation, either to get to the Sun Warriors or to the Caldera, where we're sure that Aang will go once he hears about Ba Sing Se. And if not Aang, Katara will be there—because you know that Zuko won't be able to stay away long since Lee the Energybender's attack."
Toph swallowed thickly, and Bor held her tighter, feeling her hands sink into the ground between his legs, probing and gripping the soil harshly. "And Ba Sing Se?"
"Gone—again," Jin answered before Bor could.
He nodded. "Most of the continent's probably gone, from what it seems. There's so much chaos. I can't imagine the death toll—from even before this, too. So much has been overrun, killed by the Butcher's army. We know definitively that Chyung and Ba Sing Se are king-less, but I'd add Zaofu, too, because there's too much chaos and confusion going on- "
"What happened to the King of Chyung?" Jin demanded in a disturbed gasp, suddenly sitting straighter. "Bipin was killed?"
"By the Butcher," he confirmed. "At least half of the continent is in chaos, king-less, but I'm guessing Zaofu is, too, which makes three quarters of the continent in chaos. I'd be shocked if the Butcher didn't kill Tornor on his way to Ba Sing Se to make more chaos, making it easier for him to unify Earth under his rule when he was ready to do so—make himself look like Earth's savior."
"My family is in and from Chyung," Jin whispered, hugging herself. "I hope they are safe."
"Are they nobles, too?" Suki asked. "Are they like you?"
"I am from Chyung's oldest Noble House. King Bipin is- was my cousin; he spoke with me… before everything happened."
"That's why we waited so long for Bipin to reach the palace," he murmured in realization. "You two were catching up."
"That is why I was near the palace to begin with," she revealed.
Bor closed his eyes in understanding. "I see."
"You got all the brains in the family," Toph said, words muffled against his chest but heard clearly. "He was an idiot—and he was older than any of us. Wait, I don't know how old you are, Jin."
Jin smiled tightly. "I near my thirtieth year. Yes, Bipin was never bright, which I am convinced came from my uncle, who was weak, nothing like my grandfather."
"Your grandfather was king," Bor realized. "Your grandfather was friends with my grandfather."
"I will trust your account—I never knew my grandfather, descended from his daughter, who is my mother. Bipin and I were never close to one another; it was only obligation that he spoke with me."
"Is there another heir to Chyung? Can order be restored there, or will there only be disarray?"
Jin shook her head. "No, Bipin was the last of my grandfather's line- "
"There's you," Suki pointed out.
"There is no legitimate heir of my grandfather's line. There are only myself and my younger sisters."
Bor closed his eyes. "Every man in Chyung is eager to seduce the women heirs."
"Yes."
"And you're widowed now," he continued, disturbed. "If one gets his hands on you, he will force a marriage to make himself king." When he saw the pallor on Jin's face, he winced, remembering what almost happened to her—and how what he described was basically a replication of such an event because it would be against her will. "I'm sorry. I won't let that happen—I promise. You're friends now with the King of Ba Sing Se."
But he didn't want to be King of Ba Sing Se—he wanted Grandfather back because Grandfather was the real King of Ba Sing Se.
He just wanted Grandfather back because he loved him.
Jin swallowed. "Thank you, King Bor."
"If you were really second-in-line for Chyung's throne, why the fuck were you even in Ba Sing Se?" Toph finally turned away from his chest and her face was still streaked with tears. "Why didn't you marry a man in Chyung?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because if I don't keep my mind off of what that sick cunt did to me, I'm going to go insane. Now fucking tell me, Jin."
"I loved my husband but did not always; it was a match between our families, enforced by my uncle, King Lonin—he wanted to be rid of me and the threat my line possessed. He knew if a charismatic, powerful man married me, he would be a rival to the throne to my uncle—and Bipin. Our fathers had been fighting over who found a collection of rare gems first, so they arranged our marriage, which my uncle readily approved, seeing his chance to capitalize."
"You have no brothers?"
"I am the eldest girl among my father's three daughters."
"It makes sense why your father would be so eager to see you married, then. With no son, he would have lost it regardless. Not to mention Lonin's interest in it."
Jin nodded. "It would have stayed in the family through my children."
Bor felt a terrible thought occur to him. "I know that your… husband was killed, but did you have any children who were… killed?"
A grief crossed Jin's face, making him wither inside, before she shook her head. "No, King Bor. Thryn and I tried, but I never carried a child to full-term."
"Good," he breathed in relief before inhaling sharply in realization. "I mean, about having no targets through your children. I didn't mean your… inability to- to…"
"She gets it," Toph interrupted. "She knows what you meant."
Jin smiled tightly. "I understood, King Bor. The gems are gone now, regardless, destroyed during the chaos—I am sure."
Suki nodded. "It sounds like the Butcher and his army came across the continent to Ba Sing Se, devastating areas- "
Jin shook her head. "No, Bipin was foolish, but he would not have allowed that- "
"I doubt Bipin knew. The Butcher was in charge, not Bipin. When Bipin wasn't looking, when he moved to the next area, the Butcher and his men destroyed everything while Bipin looked ahead, unaware to the carnage and atrocities happening behind him."
"That's why there's so much chaos now," Bor added. "I bet Zaofu was hit, too. Bipin was never in control—he was a pawn in the Butcher's game."
"But who is the Butcher?" Jin asked. "What is his importance? How could he do something like this?"
"The Butcher's name was Chin V," Bor confessed, almost shuddering at the truth of the words—his father's name was Chin V. "He was the new Chin, descended from the first."
"From the Conqueror?"
"Yes, and from Avatar Kyoshi, remember?"
Suki winced at the reminder while Jin leaned back slightly, clearly beginning to put pieces together. "Right."
"The reason everything is so bad now is because the Butcher was a king, too—he was the real King of Chyung, and I suspect he was probably the real King of Zaofu, too. There have really only been two Earth Kings since Avatar Aang destroyed Ba Sing Se, which was a catastrophe that we thought could never be surpassed. But we were wrong. This is worse because it's chaos everywhere. Chyung, Zaofu, and Ba Sing Se are in disarray—I'd be surprised if it wasn't so. Omashu is the only safe haven on the continent, and Anju has to defend Omashu from invasion, keeping all the refugees from overrunning Omashu in desperation. It's all horrible. There's no solution. So many more people are going to die—and keep dying. Grandfather and the Butcher, the men holding the continent together since Avatar Aang destroyed Ba Sing Se, were killed, leaving everything and everyone in chaos because there's a void of authority—and no man can fill it because no man rivals Grandfather or the Butcher, certainly not me."
Even though he was Grandfather's grandson and the Butcher's son, he couldn't compare to either of their apparent greatness and renowned.
He was weak.
"There is no order," Jin realized. "Until someone comes and imposes order, there will only be death."
Bor felt a hysterical laugh escape him, withering his lungs. "We need someone like the Conqueror to rise up."
Suki winced hard. "The irony is clear."
"We'll clean everything up," Toph promised, though her words lacked any energy or conviction; she was drained of anything resembling hope. "If not us, Aang will. Maybe we can't—I don't think we can. I'm just tired—I want to sleep and never wake up."
"Don't say that," he comforted.
Toph sagged against him. "Why not? I'm fucking useless—there's nothing for me."
"There will be- "
"No, there won't. I see it—it's the only thing I can fucking see now."
Jin bowed her head. "I would recommend rest, Toph. Perhaps a less frazzled mind would be the best remedy for your situation."
"But I won't be able to sleep."
"Me neither," Bor said softly. "I can't."
He hadn't really been able to sleep since Grandfather died. Would he ever sleep again? If he did, would he wake up, dead, and see Grandfather again?
Maybe he should try to sleep.
"Bor and I will take watch," Toph informed quietly, but a bitter and haunted smile graced her lips; the tears returned to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "But I won't be watching, only Bor will be. I literally can't except for my hands; I really am fucking useless—just a true blind girl."
"I'm sorry, Toph." Suki approached loudly, no doubt making sure that her presence was heard and felt. "If I hadn't been there, you wouldn't have been… maimed."
Toph snorted, but it lacked the vigor that it usually did, and the sound filled Bor with even more grief. "We don't know that. That sick cunt and his crazy sister-whore could have done something else; they were insane enough to do anything. And I don't want you to be regretful. It was me who left you vulnerable; when I felt Bor being strangled by that bitch, instinct took over, and I rushed to him to save him. I wasn't thinking, only reacting. Plus, I kind of forgot that you were pregnant. I was used to the skilled, able Kyoshi Warrior, and I left you by yourself. It all started because of my mistake."
"But- "
"And Bor and I stopped attacking of our own free will; we- we knew what we were doing." Toph's fingers crunched the soil to locate Suki, and her head turned to look at Suki upon finding her location; she sniffed and used one of her dirty hands to wipe away her tears, leaving a smear on her cheek. "You're my friend and Sokka's wife; you're pregnant with his babies. I would always do what I must to make sure that you three are safe until he gets back. I'm not going to condemn you for this; the- the blame belongs solely to that sick cunt and his crazy sister-whore."
"Three?" Suki whispered after a moment; she looked startled and grateful all at once. "Babies? Did you misspeak?"
"I guess now is as good a time as ever. I put it together just before everything happened." Toph's words were soft and even Bor stared at her in shock because she had never told him, maybe not having the time to. "There are two babies in your womb—twins. That's the reason why the heartbeat was so strong—because there are two, and they only recently became unique enough to be able to feel the difference between each."
"Congratulations," Jin commended gently, though her eyes still shone with sorrow—and heartbreak. "You are blessed. Believe me, you are blessed.'
Suki blinked her shock aside. "So that is what Yue meant. That clever wom- spirit." She wiped away sudden tears; she kneeled and slowly wrapped her arms around Toph. "Thank you for what you did for me. My babies and I would be dead if it weren't for what you and Bor did." Toph nodded against Suki's shoulder but didn't say anything. "My words can never show you how grateful I am, but maybe if you name my firstborn you'll understand."
Toph finally perked up. "You… you want me to name your firstborn?"
"Yes."
A slow grin spread across Toph's face, and the sight relieved Bor more than anything; the distraction worked. "Snoozles isn't going to like that. He'd want to name both of them, probably something hilarious."
"It doesn't matter. He's not here, and this is my decision to make. I want you to name my firstborn, Toph."
"I would be honored, Suki." Toph patted Bor's hand with what once seemed like lost enthusiasm. "I'll pick something that will be remembered forever."
Suki faltered. "Please don't make me regret this."
Toph laughed, which lifted Bor's spirits, and based on Suki's relieved expression, it lifted her own. "Nope! You already gave your word! It's too late to take it back! Oh, I can't wait to hear what Snoozles says! I have to start thinking of names! Bor, you can help me! Do you think 'Toph' would be too much if a girl? No, let me think about it!"
Despite the horror all around them, which could converge and destroy, Bor felt better about their chances than previously, even if only a little.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Once we get back to Ba Sing Se, I wonder about Uncle," Zuko said as he approached with his sack of belongings to place on Druk. Aang was near finished packing Appa's saddle to return to Ba Sing Se while Zuko was going to have his own ride—a strange experience. "I need to hear from him—I need to see him. I think since I have my own transportation now, I'll go to the Caldera and find him. I need to figure out where things stand."
Aang wondered about Iroh in the Fire Nation dealing with Lee the Energybender's attack and nodded. "We'll write him, at first. But you can't go to the Fire Nation—I know you want to, but you can't."
There was a familiar stubbornness on Zuko's face. "This is Fire."
"I'm asking you to make a hard decision," he said, raising his brows. "I know this is about your race—I get it. Do you think I haven't made hard decisions about Air?"
Zuko sighed. "You make those hard decisions because you had no other choice. I still have a different choice- "
"I had a choice," Aang interrupted, trying to convey how honest he was being. "Zuko, I had the chance to do something different, and I didn't do it. The hard decision is the best decision, even if it's not fulfilling. Either you trust Iroh or you don't. Do you think he can handle it? It doesn't matter about if he should handle it or not; it doesn't matter if you think you should be handling it, instead. Iroh is handling it. I would trust no one more than you or myself to handle it until I can figure out how to fix it."
"When will you figure it out?" Zuko asked, adjusting his sack on Druk's back before frowning. "Can you take my sack? I don't think Druk's big enough to carry it yet."
Aang accepted the sack and tied it to Appa's saddle with the other ones. "I'll figure it out when I get one of those chi-stealers and see how this attack really works."
Zuko grunted in displeasure. "That means we need to go to the Fire Nation and find one of them."
"It means I do," he corrected. "My chi can't be stolen by anyone, not even Vaatu. Until I know what I'm dealing with, I can't have the Fire Lord's chi attacked."
"He is right, Zuko," Azula called out as she approached with Samir trailing her with Momo on her head.
Zuko rolled his eyes and glared at Azula. "Of course, you'd say that—he's your husband."
Azula smirked as she tossed her sack up to Aang, which he tied to the saddle. "You think I have never disagreed with him?"
"You know what I mean."
"I know you must accept that you can do nothing but trust Uncle Iroh to handle it."
"It'll be okay, Uncle Zuzu," Samir chirped with ignorant enthusiasm.
Aang's senses suddenly prickled, and he stiffened. No one else noticed or felt it, but he did. Someone was trying to reach him—a spirit.
"Avatar Aang."
"Moon Spirit," he acknowledged, turning around to see the Moon Spirit floating before him as a specter; none of the others could see her.
"The situation is dire."
"What are you talking about?" Aang demanded, stepping forward; he dimly noticed that the others had detected the change, and they stared at him in concern, wondering what was going on. "Tui, what happened?"
"The Northern Water Tribe has become ever more strident. Chief Arnook was murdered by Hahn and sits, vulnerable, to the invasion facing it."
Aang's eyes widened, and he scarcely breathed. "Arnook's dead?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Azula's own eyes widen at his words. "What invasion? Am I needed? What happened?"
The Moon Spirit smiled sadly; her ethereal eyes shed tears. "The North is under the threat of extinction. Vaatu approaches. He comes for my brother and I—we know it."
"What?" he exclaimed, voice rising like a tide, and he noticed that he drew the attention of Sun Warriors in the distance. "How? How did he find you?"
"Vaatu liberated my murderer and must have learned from him."
He realized distantly that she alluded to Zhao, but he was in too much panic. "Why didn't you tell me before? Why now?"
"I wanted to preserve my energy in case it was nothing- "
"You were wrong!" Aang roared, horrified—and furious. Vaatu knew Tui and La's location! Vaatu was going to turn Tui and La to his side, increasing his power and alliances! It was everything he didn't want to happen! "I'm going to fix this! I'll leave immediately, take care of Hahn- "
"Hahn is dead, trapped in perpetual limbo; he took the Chiefdom, but I revealed the truth of his actions and the foul stench of his lies. Hahn was killed by a furious mob of nobles."
"Sokka's not even here to take the throne," he realized in dread. "It's going to be chaos! There's no stability anywhere! Too much is happening all at once! This is Vaatu's design! While he devastates Fire with that attack, he devastates the North, forcing me to choose!"
"I do not have much time- "
"Then speak quickly!"
"Who are you talking to?" Zuko demanded, staring at him in concern.
"The Moon Spirit," Aang answered quickly and whirled to face the others. "Go! Gather everyone! Get Katara and Ursa! We have to go! We go to the North! I have to save Tui and La and stop Vaatu from allying with them! Now!"
"Avatar Aang!" the Moon Spirit cried out, and Aang stiffened in dread when he saw the worry on her face as her form began to waver. "The invasion is here!"
XxXxXxXxXxX
"What?" Iroh stared at the messenger in horror and shock; he stood to his feet. "I do not believe a word of it! A trick—it must be! My brother is devious beyond any other; he would send this false message to spread even more fear during this plague!"
The messenger swallowed thickly. "It is true, Prince Iroh. Forgive me for telling you this. I would never tell you otherwise. It was confirmed through multiple, authentic sources that have been loyal to Fire Lord Zuko throughout his reign. Ba Sing Se is gone again, and extensive chaos has spread across the continent. The only city that appears to hold firm against the powerful chaos is Omashu, but we do not know how long Omashu will hold out. Omashu may fall. If Omashu falls, Earth may never recover from these wounds."
"Fire will never recover from our wounds!" Iroh snapped, gripping the table so tightly that it cracked ominously; he neared his limits for dealing with crises and felt his control wane dangerously.
"I know, Prince Iroh—our situation is very much similar to Earth's. But the plague seems to have run its course- "
"And left millions dead! There are no Firebenders left!"
The messenger fell to his knees for pardon. "Forgive me, Prince Iroh."
Iroh exhaled slowly to calm himself, though it was profoundly difficult—everything was profoundly difficult these days. "There is nothing to forgive. Please—forgive me for growling at you. Speak again; report your report and concerns."
"There are less reports coming in about the plague, only its aftermath," the messenger pointed out hesitantly.
"Because the plague targets only Firebenders," Iroh replied, collapsing in his chair—he had started think of it less as Zuko's chair and more as his chair since the plague started. "We have proven that. At this point, I would be shocked if it targets Earthbenders, Waterbenders, or Airbenders. There are less reports about the plague because the plague did its job, depleting the amount of Firebenders in the Fire Nation, destroying us to our core, and tainting our spirits, endowed with a mighty inheritance by Agni himself. There are no more Firebenders to infect. That is why we hear only of the plague's aftermath. The plague worked."
At this point, Iroh believed horrifyingly that he was the last Firebender in the Fire Nation—there was no evidence to suggest otherwise, for which he had looked desperately but could never find. Why did he let Lee the Saboteur go? Why did he choose the wrong choice? Why did he not capture Lee? Why did he not learn about the plague and how to stop it? Why did he fail instead of succeed?
The messenger looked as troubled as he felt. "There are concerns from the few of us who survived- "
"All non-benders."
"- that with Earth's current state that those on the continent may try to come here and replace those we have lost, seeing the losses here and seeing a place for themselves, a haven away from the chaos on the continent."
Iroh rubbed his eyebrows. "We do not need their problems—we have enough of our own. We cannot take theirs on; we cannot afford to—because there will be a terrible price to pay if we take theirs on. I pray that their situation resolves itself, and I cannot imagine the terror they feel and how desperate they are, but we need to focus on Fire now. This is the hard decision my father always spoke about, which he learned from his father. For all the years after the Great War until King Kuei invaded, we focused on Earth and Water to possibly our own detriment. Now we cannot do such a thing. Tragedy has consumed us, and that is most important for us, not Earth's problems. We will not let anyone from the continent trespass on our lands—that is a direct order."
"I will relay it, Prince Iroh."
Shuddering, he braced himself against the desk, exhausted at the thought of how many people—millions upon millions!—were killed not only in the Fire Nation but in the Earth Kingdom. "The world's most-populated city is gone again, destroyed by a destroyer, but who is the destroyer? Do you know?"
"We do not know his identity yet, Prince Iroh, but we know that he hit many towns, provinces, and even Zaofu itself before he hit Ba Sing Se. Anything civilized that remains on the continent is Omashu, which holds firm against the tide slamming against it—for now."
"And King Bumi?" he asked, wondering how his oldest friend—truly, his only friend left in the world because all the others had been killed—intended to unify Earth under his banner as he had during the Great War as the Scourge of Fire. "What is his plan? Do you know? Has he sent a message? Any word?"
The messenger hesitated before shaking his head. "Forgive me, Prince Iroh—this is hateful intelligence."
Iroh knew it—he felt it in his bones! "He died?"
"His limbless body, amongst the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of corpses found, was identified in the remains of Ba Sing Se's palace."
The words floated in the air of the Fire Lord's private study, and his eyes closed as the truth flared with the intensity of Sozin's Comet "My friend," he croaked, trying to keep control, but tears spilled down his cheeks. "You were too good to die without limbs. Do you know if he was in pain? I know he was limbless, but maybe that occurred after he died."
"Based on how he died, how it was described in the report, it appears that King Bumi was tortured before he died."
His training as an heir to Sozin converged in his mind, and he shook himself out of his grief—for now. "And the other bodies? You said hundreds, possibly thousands."
"Yes. King Bipin of Chyung was recognized as one of the corpses, and his personal guards were surrounding him. They were slaughtered. But there were many others- "
"From whom did you receive this report?"
"Fire Lord Zuko's agents in the Earth Kingdom; they know how to remain unseen and unrecognized. They gathered much information based on the reaction of the invading army."
Iroh hated that he believed the messenger, but he did—his experience with the Fire Lord's agents in the continent was excessive. He had maintained the Colonies for so many years because of those agents, many of whom he interviewed, hired, and commended. "What about the other bodies?"
"No one knows, but they appear all related on some level; they resemble each other too much. It was as if it was one big family somehow. Those who came to the palace were distraught over two specific corpses—we believe these were their leaders, a man and women who appeared inbred, likely siblings. The interesting part about the man is that there is a large, gruesome hole through his skull; it is what killed him. The woman was strangled to death. From what was described, the man was older, around your age, Prince Iroh, but he was inbred, and his face was disfigured by three scars, like from three daggers slashing through with equal force and rhythm. The woman appeared younger, but she was equally inbred; her ears were also large."
"And Prince Bor, Lady Toph, and Princess Suki?" he asked, afraid of the answer as he stared into his teacup, which he now wished was full of firewhiskey rather than tea. "Were they killed, too?"
"We do not know, though we suspect they survived; their bodies were nowhere to be found."
"If they could be found," he muttered in conclusion. "What about location? If they survived, where would they go?"
"Omashu is the only option for not only them but everyone on the continent."
"What about my sister, niece, and Fire Lord Zuko? What of Avatar Aang?"
"There is no change of which I am aware; they were sighted flying into the Fire Nation on Avatar Aang's sky bison before heading north, as if they were going to the Boiling Rock."
Iroh knew that direction actually meant the Sun Warriors, likely to deduce a solution for the plague—but it was no longer needed. The only solution needed was for population regrowth and firebending, which may be lost. "Leave me."
The messenger bowed respectfully and exited the Fire Lord's private study.
Once he was alone, Iroh finally let go, freeing his grief, intensified by the ragged stress that thinned his hair and gnawed at his spirit, leaving only a deep exhaustion. He had lost so many friends and ones close to his heart through the years, especially after his brother had somehow hunted down and killed almost the entire Order. Now Bumi was amongst all those he lost—it almost seemed impossible. Out of all the men he had ever known besides Avatar Aang, Bumi seemed the most unkillable, invincible to the core with strength and determination. Bumi survived the entire Great War; Bumi survived his father's wrath and focus; and Bumi survived even without the Great War. But despite all his greatness, Bumi died from Ba Sing Se's invasion and lost his throne and life.
How many more were lost?
Iroh knew so many of them across his life. His only reprieve was that Pakku and Piandao were still alive, along with Ursa, Azula, and Zuko—they were all he had left.
Would he lose them, too?
He had lost everyone else in his life, from his mother to his wife, to his son, and to his father. He always failed—it was the theme of his life. When it really mattered, he failed. His only success in his life was helping Zuko mature into the man and Fire Lord worthy of the Dragon's Throne and of ending the Great War—that was the only one. Everything else was failure. He once thought that his success with Zuko would produce momentum in which he would only have successes, but it was horrifyingly clear that he would only know failure.
Letting Lee go and leaving Fire in the darkness of ignorance as a Fire-destroying plague targeted them was the foremost of his failures. No matter what he did to help his race, he only received reports of death or abandonment, where people understandably fled to get away from the plague. He had no idea where they went, and when he asked, trying to get answers, he received no reply—there was only maddening ignorance. He had read countless testimonies about the plague and its devastating consequences for families and towns, where everyone was wiped out, where father hunted son and destroyed him, and where mothers ripped their children apart under the plague's madness. There was too much! There were only horror stories in which no life seemed possible, only damnation! It was as if the world reacted in vengeful wrath to all of Fire's crimes across the eons of Fire's existence!
But unlike all the testimonies he read, he was never impacted. But why? Why was he different? Why was he never impacted by the plague? Why was he likely the only Firebender left in the Fire Nation? Why did so many have to suffer instead of him? Why did so many have to die instead of him? By seeing and reading about all his race's suffering, from which he was immune somehow, he suffered more than he ever would have if he was liable to the plague's effects!
He was powerless—exactly like when Natsumi and Lu Ten died! The stress was killing him slowly—he felt it. The pressurized strain had stolen from him years of his life, and he imagined that with each hair that fell from his head one more year was depleted from his lifespan. By the rate he had lost his hair from the stress, he had likely lost close to thirty or forty years.
Time was running out, not only for him but Fire! Would firebending survive? Would it become a lost art remembered only in stories, whispered about and dismissed as myths for generations henceforth? Would anyone believe that Firebenders existed and tamed themselves to master firebending? Would anyone believe that unleashing lightning born of chi was possible and achievable?
Fire was dying—like everyone he had ever lost.
However, there was hope of revival, for Piandao was still alive and, according to Zuko, was being rescued by Prince Sokka, Lady Mai, Lady Ty Lee, and the famed Kyoshi Warriors, which was a stark relief. If Piandao was restored, Fire could be restored, too—it had to be!
He worried deeply for Zuko, whom he knew must be frantic about the plague, powerless to do anything so far away and bitter that he could do nothing. However, he trusted in Zuko's logic to refrain from returning to the Fire Nation in a haphazard attempt to be the Fire Lord—not that it mattered.
There was hardly anyone in the Fire Nation to rule anymore.
May it be enough to produce rebirth, an atonement for Fire's crimes.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Nobody spoke—because no one could speak. The air shrieked everywhere in violent power, rolling over everyone relentlessly, biting into their huddled faces, as Appa flew faster than he ever had, not doing anything to extend his airbending across his body—no one could hear each other over the sound of the rushing wind.
Aang didn't bother to soothe the ride as he intended to preserve his energy, preparing for facing Vaatu again—Vaatu was going to steal Tui and La!
It was everything he didn't want to happen, and he cursed his inability to ever get an edge over Vaatu. He did everything he could to prevent Vaatu from knowing about Tui and La, literally staying away from the North for over a year because he feared such a move would arouse Vaatu's suspicions.
But it was all for naught—because the North was being invaded by Vaatu's army, spearheaded by Ozai, undoubtedly.
Sitting on Appa's head, he let the wind slam into him being parting violently past him as he gazed at nothing in particular; he felt far away. Was his legacy going to be that of failure? No matter what he did, it seemed that he was never prepared. He had searched and searched for Vaatu, but Vaatu knew more secrets than he did, knew how to shield himself and his army from his sight; he had taken extensive measures to ensure that Vaatu would remain ignorant to Tui and La's location, but it happened anyway—because, somehow, Zhao had returned.
The North was in perilous danger because he didn't plan diligently enough. He had no idea about Hahn murdering Arnook, even being willing to murder Arnook, and didn't know about the invasion that approached. For all he knew, the North was already destroyed, and Vaatu had allied Tui and La, enriching his position to a horrifying, haunting degree.
He was pulled out of his grim thoughts as Azula gracefully hopped onto Appa's head; she sat next to him. "Slow the winds."
Aang reached out and parted the winds into a gentle breeze while Appa continued his powerful, rapid pace. "Why?"
Azula's golden eyes were amused but serious. "So we can preserve our energy. It takes valuable energy to protect ourselves from the wind."
He glanced back to see the others relaxing in their positions, not holding themselves so tightly in protection. "Right."
"This is not your fault."
Aang laughed in surprise. "It is on some level, and we both know it—everyone knows it."
"Then everyone is a fool."
"Sometimes the fool sees most clearly," he pointed out, recalling Afiko, who was, above all, a fool, but Afiko was the only one besides Gyatso who saw the truth of Air's fall. And Gyatso had certainly played the fool with others, pretending often to be not as intelligent and wise as he was.
"A foolish thing to say," Azula dismissed, leaning against him for balance as Appa made a slight adjustment in his trajectory. "Vaatu was always going to find Tui and La—it was simply a matter of time."
Aang closed his eyes. "I thought I'd have more time, but I should have known this was going to happen—that's my fault. He's unleashing a pincer attack, making me choose between Fire and the North."
"You choose correctly- "
"I know I do, but I wonder if it's too late. What if he already reached Tui and La?"
Azula stared up at him, golden eyes keen. "Do you think they would ally with him?"
He felt hollow. "With how everything has been going, I'd be shocked if they didn't."
"We must prepare."
Aang looked back into the saddle and stiffened when he saw Samir staring at him, curious, to which he hissed and squeezed his eyes shut. "I wasn't thinking. She shouldn't be here."
Azula blinked and glanced at Samir with an alarmed gaze. "Everything happened so fast," she breathed, sounding closer to panic than he had ever heard her.
"What's wrong?" Zuko demanded, voice drifting into his ears; his friend was riding on Druk next to Appa. He was surprised that Druk was able to keep up with Appa, but after consideration, he knew that the lingering effects of App's own airbending were helping Druk, propelling him further and faster. "You look like you forgot something."
"I did!" Aang exclaimed, catching everyone's attention, wondering if he could possibly turn around and drop off Samir and Azula—or Samir and Ursa—back at the Sun Warriors. "A battle's no place for children—we know it better than anyone!"
Samir looked confused while Ursa smiled tightly. "The thought occurred to me, but I did not trust the Sun Warriors. I thought it more prudent to travel with you and stay on Appa in the sky, where we would be safe."
Zuko glanced at her, astonished. "They're the Sun Warriors! Why would they hurt her or you?"
"I know history; they are primitive."
Aang pulled Azula into the saddle with him. "That's not going to work," he pointed out. "Appa will be too tired."
"Regardless, if we are to arrive at a battle where Ozai leads the fray, Samir is best suited away from it." Ursa's tone was serious, on the verge of a reprimand, but Aang knew it was directed as much at Ursa herself and the situation, which was difficult at all angles. "She is much too young, and if Ozai discovers who she is…" She intentionally trailed off, and the message was received.
Aang paled, and Azula's fingers dug into his skin painfully; her nails even pierced his Air Nomad garbs. "Of course, but you're right—I wouldn't want to leave her with the Sun Warriors, either! And there was no time to fly back to Ba Sing Se!"
"I'll be okay, Daddy," Samir assured with innocent confidence. "I'll be airbending! I can help!"
"And you will be an excellent Airbender," Azula cut in swiftly, golden eyes sweeping over everyone, clearly looking for inspiration for a solution, "but now is not the time to test yourself. You still have much to learn. You will not be a master for years."
"But I can do it," Samir protested, not comprehending the severity of the situation. "I'm strong."
Ursa's hand brushed some of Samir's hair. "Yes, you are, but this is not your fight, my dear. It is your father and mother's."
"And your uncle's," Zuko called out from Druk's neck, who was still flying strong, not looking to be as fatigued as Appa was, likely because Appa was doing all the hard work while Druk was coasting off Appa's airbending. "You don't need to worry, Samir. You have to be safe."
"One of us has to watch Samir during the battle," Katara pointed out, worried, "One of us has to stay behind."
Aang glanced at Azula, unable to think of any refutation to Katara's obvious solution. "What do you think?"
Azula's eyes narrowed in consideration, face almost harsh in intense analysis. "Samir must be somewhere safe; she must be away from the battle. It is the only acceptable scenario. One of must stay behind with her. Appa will be too tired to watch her."
Zuko laughed suddenly, and Aang frowned. "Why are you laughing?"
"Yes, Zuzu." Azula didn't look amused; she looked tempted to shoot lightning. "Pray tell us."
The laughter stopped instantly at the look on Azula's face, and Aang's lips twitched in amusement, despite the direness of the situation. "Sorry. I only realized the irony. A Firebender will stay behind with an airbending child to keep away from the enemy. It's the same scenario from when I kidnapped Aang at the Spirit Oasis."
Aang's eyes widened in relief—the idea was swift and complete. "That's it! That's where Samir will stay! And Appa, too. Above the Spirit Oasis is perfect! That's where they will be safe. Appa can rest while staying there; he will need to after this long, hard flight."
"Speaking of that," Zuko called out. "I don't want to risk tiring Druk out before we reach the North; he would be a good ally for the fight."
"Here, jump on Appa." Aang squeezed Azula's shoulder and floated off while adjusting his speed to match that of Appa's; he flew beside him with Druk was on his other side. "The weight won't change, and we'll still make it in time."
Hopefully.
Zuko slowly stood on Druk's head, crouching, one arm extended to keep his balance—but his face was stern. "Don't let me fall."
Aang smirked. "You're not the only one who doesn't want Azula sitting on the Dragon's Throne."
"You make me rethink my affections," Azula chided in amusement, looking unconcerned.
"Don't worry," he assured, motioning Zuko forward. "Just jump, and I'll push you into the saddle."
A moment passed before Zuko jumped off of Druk's neck, and Aang, while maintaining his speed, shot a small blast of air to spring Zuko into the saddle, in which landed and fell into Katara's arms.
"Well-timed." Katara smiled down at Zuko, and Aang knew at that moment that she was in love with him—like Zuko was with her. "I think you did that on purpose."
Zuko smiled up at her and adjusted himself until he sat next to her, bodies touching. "I think you're right."
Katara's smile faded as she gestured to Samir. "But who will stay behind with her?" she demanded. "Normally, I wouldn't mind, but since we're going to the North, I think that Aang and I as the only two Waterbenders would be the strongest to fight. We can't risk staying behind with her."
Azula and Zuko glanced at each other but before either could speak, Ursa did.
"You must not fight or debate amongst yourselves," Ursa cut in; she looked serene. "I have seen enough death in my life. I will stay with Samir. Are you okay with that, Samir?"
Samir nodded; she still didn't seem to fully grasp that she would be near a battle because of Aang's mistake, but she seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation, remaining quiet. "Yes, Grandma."
Azula nod tersely. "A wise decision, Mother. Seeing me alive might make Father hesitate in surprise or anger."
"He knows you're alive," Aang corrected.
"It is one thing to know it and another to see it."
"And I fought at the North before," Zuko added, looking over at him, the world below them. "It's different than any other place in the world. The cold tries to snuff out a Firebender's firebending."
"May it snuff out Father's," Azula murmured, and Aang silently agreed; it would be much easier and save so many more lives.
"Wait, shouldn't we all go to the Spirit Oasis?" Katara asked. "That's where Ozai and Vaatu are going, right?"
Aang thought about for several moments, knowing it was his decision to make—he felt the weight of the decision. "They don't know we're coming. We have the advantage of surprise. We don't know how far they are into the North. Ozai has an army, but his army has no powerful benders that we're aware of—none that we couldn't make short work of. We know it's an invasion, but we don't know the size of it. It might be like they are trying to sneak into the North, although I find it unlikely. We need to see what has already happened first. I can't make a decision until then."
"You might have to," Azula warned, golden eyes enveloping him. "We will need you to aid us regardless if there is an army. I doubt we will last long without you, Aang. There are only three of us without you against a potential army of corrupted benders and non-benders under the leadership of Vaatu and Father. Perhaps Mother and Samir can notify us if they see anything as Appa flies over the Spirit Oasis. That way, you can focus on the army, which will hopefully lead straight to Vaatu."
"Yes," he commended before thinking of something better. "Katara, you'll remain on Appa as he flies over the Spirit Oasis, and depending on what you see, you'll come back, helping inside the city if you need to, or yell as loud as possible and make a grand display that will allow me to see you as I try to help those in the city or wherever I am—and I'll show up in seconds, which will keep Vaatu from hurting you, Samir, or Ursa. But I don't want to go immediately there on my own—I don't want to abandon the Water Tribesmen. If I go there, and Vaatu isn't there, I expect him to kill Zuko and Azula."
"Most likely," Zuko agreed.
"I can do that, Aang." Katara's blue eyes were serious. "If I see… wait, what does Vaatu even look like?"
Azula's lips twitched. "You will know when you see him."
"If I see Vaatu or Ozai, I'll create a small avalanche from the top of the Spirit Oasis that will go into the palace; it shouldn't destroy anything, but you will have to see it. You wouldn't be able to miss it."
"Sounds like a plan." Aang reached over and patted Appa's head, fingers brushing through thick fur. "Come on, bud. Keep going. We're almost there. You'll drop us off and fly to above the Spirit Oasis, okay? Then you can rest- "
"Aang, look!" Azula interrupted in a shout; he swiveled his glance to where she was pointing and paled. The North was finally visible in the distance—it was visible!
Fires burned in a cold where no fire should burn and smoke floated into the crisp air, and worst of all, hundreds of massive industrial Fire Nation warships—even more than during the Siege of the North during the Great War!—were on the waterfront. And floating in the air above the warships were dozens of Fire Nation airships, the same kind used on the day of Sozin's Comet. Above, he was paralyzed as he watched the carnage below; the snow was permanently stained red already leading to the city and so many on both sides had already died—he could see it all! Millions of Firebenders and non-benders—Children of Earth!—swarmed the city, and although the Water Tribesmen were at an advantage being in their home and having water all around them, it was obvious that the North hadn't been prepared, likely because of Hahn, and were outnumbered by the massive invasion force—and they were losing, men falling who were never to rise again in every direction Aang looked.
One side had been prepared, and the other hadn't. Vaatu and Ozai's army was vast, larger than he had imagined—millions of invaders invaded the North!
"We're too late," he whispered in horror, staring at the army cutting through Water Tribesmen. "He must have Tui and La by now."
"Appa, go faster!" Katara cried out desperately, face bloodless in seeing her sister tribe decimated. "Come on! Hurry!"
"Aang, if we destroy the ships, both air and sea, they will be stranded!" Azula called out from where she had repositioned herself on Appa's head, and Aang was thankful that she was a born tactician—he wouldn't have thought of such a coherent strategy. "We can prevent their escape and destroy their army!"
Zuko jumped onto Appa's head next to Azula. "Lightning?"
"I think that you're right," Azula echoed her brother's earlier words. "Mother, come aid us!"
Samir cuddled into Katara as Ursa climbed to the front of the saddle, standing over her children as she adjusted her body, following Zuko and Azula. "All at once—now!"
Aang began to twist his fingers in the familiar motion and felt the others do the same, heard the sparks of lightning begin to crackle and pop. All at once, they unleashed their strikes, which sizzled through the air in brilliant streams until they connected with several of the warships; they exploded in fiery balls, and the flames and smoke rose high into the air until Aang himself could taste it. The explosions reached the airships, and it caused one of them to waver in the air. In response, while Azula, Zuko, and Ursa continued to shoot lightning strikes to destroy all the warships, Aang inhaled sharply, and feeling his inner flame, he felt the energy surge through his chi paths until it erupted out of his forehead; the first airship exploded in shards of metal and flames. He quickly replicated the attack into the other airships before any counterattack could be fired at Appa. Noxious clouds were thick in the air, the black smoke darkening the North even further, mingling with the mist of blood in the air.
"I'm glad you're on our side," Zuko muttered behind him after all of the airships were destroyed. "Or, actually, I'm glad I'm on your side."
"Appa! Let us down, and then fly to the top of the Spirit Oasis!" Aang began to descend, and he shockingly felt Druk begin to follow his actions—maybe it was out of a predatory sense that battle was soon at hand. "Keep Samir and Ursa safe! I'll come to get you when it's over!"
It was time to invade Vaatu and Ozai's invasion.
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Your tricks are useful to know," Ozai commented with a smirk as he unleashed a massive torrent of water into approaching Water Tribesmen; when the water connected, he sharpened it into ice spears, which impaled each man, leaving them to die. He tasted blood in his mouth, but it was not his own—the air was hazy with blood, which he inhaled with every breath. It made him feel alive, reminding him of his supremacy—as he was the only one who survived while everyone else died around him. He was to be his own Avatar!
"You have yet to use my most useful," Hama replied next to him, fingers were sprawled forward as she held multiple Waterbenders in her grip; their bodies were twisted and bent abnormally before she dropped them. They were all dead, eyes filled with blood as their dead faces showed their fear and anger. "Now's the best time to do it."
Ozai glanced at Vaatu, who seemed to simply bask in all the chaos everywhere, doing nothing but absorb it into himself. The bodies were everywhere, piling up—it was glorious! The Avatar could never stop it and recover from it! The three-pronged assault was the ultimate morale destroyer, and he intended to destroy everything he could once he ensured the Ocean and Moon's alliance. "His intention. What better way to strengthen my waterbending than putting me in a position where I will die if do not?"
Hama continued her killing spree with magnificent efficiency—he would have to show her how much he appreciated and admired her efforts later. "I won't let you die."
"Careful—you sound like you are fond of me."
She didn't respond as swung her arms in a fluid circle and a rotating sphere of ice shards floated around her; she fired them into faraway Water Tribesmen, and many of them dropped with cries of fury and pain. "And if I am?"
Ozai spun away from a lash of water and lashed out with devastating power, a fluid response that affirmed his proficiency. "It shows your intelligence."
On his other side, Zhao snarled and unleashed fireballs from his fists, destroying the water coming towards him. "We're almost there—just past the wall ahead. The Yu Yan Archers, other Firebenders, and non-bending Children of Chin will finish off the rest of the North while we take the Spirit Oasis."
"I will finish off the rest," Ozai corrected. "I will leave their bodies for The Avatar to find—I will mangle and move them in a script to denounce his tyranny."
Vaatu reared back behind them, and a pulverizing energy blast disintegrated a group of recovering Water Tribesmen. "I fear The Avatar's imminence. I sense his approach- "
Panic and dismay filled him as he looked at his severed arm, floating in the air under Hama's concentration. "What?"
"He knows of the attack. He will be here soon. We must hurry. It is ill-advised to confront him now; we must wait and build our power."
Ozai's arm suddenly began to throb and he gnashed his teeth together; he flexed his fingers before ripping the wall of impenetrable ice away with a harsh motion. A sudden blast of hot air hit him but it was not The Avatar as he had feared instinctively; he saw luscious grass.
"How is this possible?" Hama breathed, following him into the Spirit Oasis, and she kneeled to brush her fingers through the strands of grass. "I never knew about this place. This shouldn't be here. Nothing grows in the Water Tribes. It's why we traded with Earth."
Vaatu floated ominously toward the pond in the middle of the Spirit Oasis, in which two koi fish circled each other, one black and the other white. "Spiritual energy; this place brims with it. It makes the impossible possible—as I do."
"In that pond are Ocean and Moon Spirits," Zhao declared needlessly as Ozai had already determined the identities of the two koi fish. "They circle each other. Even Water's spirits are primitive."
Hama glared at Zhao. "You're primitive for thinking such a thing!"
"I'm angry. They tortured me for years—I can think whatever I want about them."
"This is where my children have existed for eons," Vaatu hissed, enraged and disappointed, as he floated closer to the point until he was directly over it; his aggravation rippled the air around him. "They became mortal for the humans because of The Avatar—because The Avatar tricked them. He banished them to the Mortal Realm and stripped them of their immortality. I will mend this crime, one amongst his many."
"How will this work?" Hama questioned as Ozai brushed his fingers across his severed, floating arm—how he yearned for its reconnection! He almost failed to think straight! "Can they talk?"
"We already communicate. Tui disagrees with my aspirations, though she is furious at The Avatar for stripping her of her immortality." Suddenly, the Moon shone brighter, and Ozai squinted, feeling the air around them hum with immortal power—but it was substantially, laughably weak. Vaatu's dark, booming laughter erupted, and darkness condensed around them, flooding the Spirit Oasis like a mighty tide, fogging the moonlight, snuffing it out, and Ozai basked in the feeling of true divine power. "Tui, you should not stretch yourself, not when you are already so thin. You know The Avatar deserves my wrath—deserves our wrath. Look what he did to you; look how he diminished you into a speck of your radiance. You were killed because The Avatar ruined you, deceived you into eternal diminishment. Do not deny the rage and darkness within you—I sense it. You fear me, but you need not fear me—I will never do to you what The Avatar did. I will do the opposite of The Avatar, who ruined you; I will restore you."
Hama's eyes widened. "Restore?" she whispered, stunned while Ozai felt unbearably antsy to be reconnected to his arm.
"I will restore your immortality, Tui—and you, as well, La. Think of all your children who are miserable across eons since The Avatar banished you here; they are trapped in limbo not because of a lack of your devotion or love for them but because of The Avatar's cruelty. I will never betray you- "
Ozai stiffened as Vaatu suddenly fell silent. "What is it?" he demanded, stepping closer, glaring down at the koi fish in the pond—they were delaying his restoration! "What are they saying?"
"La is enraged that I freed Tui's murderer," Vaatu intoned. "Tui is hysterical. They both demand Zhao's return."
"Don't believe a fucking word those things say!" Zhao cried out instantly, eyes bulging in terror as he stumbled away. "They're lying! Agni, of course, they're lying! Why wouldn't they? They hate me!"
Vaatu's shadows darkened. "Their hatred is true and right. You murdered my daughter, Zhao—and you celebrated it. A price must be paid. What you paid previously was never enough for the murder of a Great Spirit."
"No!"
Sensing the inevitable and not regretting it—it was worth it to see his restoration and The Avatar destroyed! "You have served me well, Zhao," he commended, staring at Zhao, whose face had drained of blood. "Now is your chance to perform your greatest service."
"No!" Zhao tried to flee, bursting across the Spirit Oasis with violent, frantic, and rapid strides, but when Ozai looked at Hama to stop him, she only stared back at him, clearly encouraging him to use bloodbending himself.
As Zhao neared the exit, Ozai raised his hand, focusing as deeply as possible, looking within Zhao for connection—and found it. He gripped Zhao by his blood, freezing him in place, despite his desperate attempts to escape.
"Well done," Hama commended near him.
Ozai pulled Zhao back through the air, trapped as Zhao screamed in helpless despair. "Please, don't do this! My lord, please! I have served you always since your ascension! Don't forget me now! Love me as I've loved you!"
He held Zhao over the pond's surface. "Without you, none of this would have been possible. I will never forget you; I will remember you fondly."
"Stop!" Zhao squealed like a fire ferret, but before he could speak again, Ozai released him into the pond; he was swallowed whole immediately, disappearing into the sudden inky blackness, and the water swayed in pleasure.
"Now are you willing to negotiate?" Vaatu purred as shadows swept over the pond in enticement. "I already restored to you your prisoner—and I will further restore to you what you have lost, for which you have been waiting for eons. But you must do something first. You must allow my vessel's healing in your waters. He was maimed by The Avatar, whose cruelty you know all-too well. In return, I will return you to your former glory and rightful place, free from the fear of mortality in being killed by unnatural men."
Hama gripped his hand suddenly, and Ozai realized that she was equally excited—excited for him. It was interesting to experience after so long without Ursa—he had forgotten what it felt like. "It's finally happening," she breathed, face stretching with the force of her exuberant smile.
Ozai caught himself staring at her and vowed to celebrate with her like the waters crashing into each other. "It is," he whispered, chest shuddering from the anticipation that surged through him like lightning.
It brought tears to his eyes.
"Here, Piandao," Vaatu said, almost gently, and Ozai walked through Vaatu's parted shadows, feeling Hama follow him, but he could barely hear anything other than his pulse, which roared in his ears. "It will be painful, but Tui and La vow to see it through and soothe you—they will allow the waters to retain their healing powers, which Hama will use."
Ozai reclined into the warm water, lying on his back, hair dipping into the water, which teemed with powerful energy—he felt its quality and purity, unlike any water he had ever felt before! Hama kneeled next to him and shivered in awe at the sensation; she held his severed arm in her hands like a holy relic before she positioned it next to his maimed shoulder. Her blue eyes locked onto his golden eyes. "Are you ready?" she asked softly.
"Never more so—do it."
Hama clenched her fingers, bringing the severed arm and maimed shoulder together, and Ozai immediately, in response, bucked against the water, which seemed suddenly to hold him in place, wrapping him in blanket, locking him, trapping him. He closed his eyes, trying to embrace it, knowing of the awe his restoration would evoke, but the very blood in his body was fighting, rejecting the healing, and he grit his teeth as the pain increased tenfold.
The agony was intense and overwhelming; a lesser man would have succumbed to the weakness of passing out, but the pain was good. Pain meant that he was alive, and not dead, as The Avatar had wanted him to be, probably wishing for the infection to kill him. But he survived! He always survived! No matter what was thrown at him, he remained standing and fighting! Even without his firebending, after The Avatar shamed him fundamentally, he had fought to survive! Thus, he would continue to do so—forever!
Ozai envisioned himself welcoming the agony, embracing it as if it was a friend.
The pain swallowed all sense of time, drawing moments into eons, as he grit his teeth, accepting its fervor. However, with each eon passed, his tired and sought desperate escape, despite knowing he needed the pain. The call to an eternal rest weakened his body and strength with each passing second. As his willpower diminished from the pain, the ocean in which he found himself came alive in a tempest, trying to suck him into its relentless power. He was in its heart alone, powerless to the frigid water that enveloped him, twisting him in stomach-churning circles, drowning him under monstrous waves, pulling him deeper and deeper, promising him rest and cessation.
It was not to be borne! He did not want the peace offered by the ocean—he wanted the air above it, for that was where The Avatar dwelled!
He rebelled against the pain that scorched his body and kicked his legs violently, propelling him to the surface for a gasp of air—before he stiffened in pain, body frozen. There was a sudden heat, a burning, searing heat that was unlike any fire that he had ever produced or felt, piercing through his arm unbearably. It burned through the icy water that kept him contained in its grasp, a fire impossible to douse by water, even an ocean's worth of water. The heat vanished, leaving a chilling ice, accompanied by a frigid throbbing that pulsed in tandem with the beat of his own heart. The heat was gone, and he had never missed it so much! Not even when The Avatar had stolen his firebending! The icy pounding began to fade away, replaced by a pleasurable, powerful fire, burning through the frigid sea surrounding him. He felt all the changes as they occurred, recognized what was happening, that it must be part of the healing process Vaatu spoke of—he neared his recovery and restoration!
Ozai's eyes snapped open, burning like melted gold, as he watched his body turn and twist, limbs working furiously against the tremendous pressure of the tempest-induced whirlpool. Suddenly his arm, which had been limp at his side, the one stolen from him by The Avatar, stirred and strengthened before his eyes, growing out of the withered heap it once was—it swelled with muscle and flesh, stretching and perfecting.
He was restored!
A vicious triumph surged through him, spreading through his body, his mind. He would never die! He would never face such humiliation again! He would never be unmanned in such a way again! The Avatar's power was not eternal—its effects could be reversed! He began to kick furiously, thrashing and clawing at the towering sprouts of water above him.
It was time to awaken!
Sparks of agony faded and condensed into nothingness.
Ozai's eyes shot open, and he staggered upward, feeling the old weight attached to his shoulder—his arm. His gaze latched onto Hama, who smiled in elation at him. "You're healed, Piandao. Look."
His head swiveled, traveling to his healed, restored arm—it was glorious to behold, more than any child he could ever sire! "I will never deny you anything, Hama," he breathed, overwhelmed at the sensation of being whole, something he thought impossible to feel again. "I will give you the Mortal Realm while I take the Immortal Realm, if that is your wish."
Hama smiled, though there was a sudden sadness in her eyes that he did not understand. "I'll think about it."
Ozai clenched both fists and stretched his arm, rolling his shoulder, ensuring its functionality was efficiently and perfect—it was. He stood to his feet and stepped out of the pond, power pouring off him as he bowed to Vaatu. "Your friendship is the blessing of my life. Thank you, Vaatu."
"You are an exquisite vessel, Piandao," Vaatu praised, and he felt the praise nestle inside him. "You are deserving of all the achievements we will make. Now we have healed you, ruined The Avatar's standing in the North, and obtained Tui and La as allies."
Hama swallowed. "They will be Great Spirits again?"
"I will restore their immortality- "
Ozai frowned in concern as Vaatu froze suddenly and whirled towards the ice wall on the other side, looking up, and he followed Vaatu's gaze.
It was The Avatar's sky bison!
Lighting suddenly descended from the sky in four decimating strikes, and he stared in shock at the explosions in the distance—an image that reached his line of sight from above the towering ice wall. He paled as one of the many airships that Zhao had been able to procure was destroyed by an abrupt explosion, and the sight and residual sound of the attack was familiar.
"Fulki-Aridam," he breathed out in shock as he watched more lightning descend from atop the sky bison, destroying the other warships based on the size of the explosions, and how the other airships were destroyed in the same attack. "That traitor!"
"No." Vaatu seemed to shrink back as he hissed: "The Avatar is nearby. It is he who leads the charge against our army. I feel his power; that last strike carried his whisper of strength. I sense it from here."
"The ships," Ozai whispered in realizations of horror and rage. "He trapped us."
"Come. We must leave. Forgive me, Tui and La, but I will conclude your restorations in a future encounter…" Vaatu paused before he rushed forward, and the darkness in the Spirit Oasis cleared. The Moon's light pierced against Vaatu for a moment but it seemed to cringe at the contact before it abruptly, almost mournfully withdrew as Vaatu seemed impervious to its feel. Instead, a haze of shadows converged around Ozai and Hama, and Vaatu's form seemed to dwindle, but his power was in no way diminished. "The natural darkness will confuse them," Vaatu whispered. "Be silent and restrain your aggression. It will draw The Avatar's gaze if you do. It is not him who approaches now but someone else. I would feel him if he were so close."
Ozai opened his lips to ask what was happening, but his eyes noted a moving object pass above them, his golden eyes seeing through the haze of darkness that Vaatu had covered them in. It was easily identifiable as The Avatar's sky bison—they were found! Before the terror spread through him in a vicious, starving panic, he realized Vaatu's words that The Avatar was not the one who approached. With clear eyes, he glimpsed the outline of someone—a woman?—stand up and jump off of the beast; the snow atop of the cliff transformed into water and reached up to catch her. It was clearly a waterbending woman, but she only stared down critically into the Spirit Oasis for several tense, long moments.
The Avatar's sky bison still floated far above them, and Hama suddenly tensed beside him. "It's Katara," she hissed and Ozai, hiding his surprise over the revelation of the woman's identity, gripped her arm with bruising force to keep her from ruining their concealment—and to prevent himself from demanding Vaatu return to him his firebending so he could shoot lightning at Katara to ensure Hama her vengeance.
He owed Hama her vengeance after she had helped him with such devotion, loyalty, and affection.
"Not here," he informed regretfully in a barely audible voice, knowing how desperately she wanted her vengeance.
Before either could speak again, Katara's outline turned away and looked up at The Avatar's sky bison.
"It's okay!" The words were barely understandable from the great distance, but he deciphered them with effort. "They're not there! I don't see anything! They're somewhere in the city! I'm going to help Aang! You know what to do! You'll be safe!"
Another voice answered, but it was indecipherable.
The outline of Katara suddenly rode away on a wave of water, disappearing from sight into the various clashes happening in the city, but Ozai kept his eyes hooked onto The Avatar's sky bison, knowing someone was there, someone important. It was confirmed when The Avatar's sky bison shifted, revealing the shape of two passengers, one bigger and the other smaller, in the saddle, neither of which were The Avatar—before the beast flew away, its two passengers ignorant of Ozai, Vaatu, and Hama's presences.
A triumphant plan entered his mind, born of vengeance and promise, as Vaatu rose back up, and the haze of darkness faded. "A clever trick, my friend, but before we leave, I can wound The Avatar in ways that will not cause bodily harm to any of us."
"The sky bison?" Vaatu hummed and turned towards the direction where the oblivious, weary-looking sky bison had headed. "I believe you are correct. The sky bison's death is what unleashed his wrath at Ba Sing Se."
"And this time, he will not be there when it happens, giving us time to escape—and make the death long and painful."
"Katara was fond of the beast, for she was fond of the boy Avatar." Hama smiled in agreement. "This will be a worthwhile retribution."
"Plus the two in the saddle," Ozai added. "Our men will hold The Avatar off for a bit, wherever he is. We have time because he does not know where we are."
Vaatu darted up to the cliff where Katara had once stood in a single stride, and Ozai copied Hama's action in gathering himself atop a waterspout that deposited him next to Vaatu atop the cliff—with Hama next to him. From there, he glimpsed the full view of the North, but what he saw scared him. The Avatar was more fearsome than he remembered because arrows blurred through the air in dizzying speeds; all of the Yu Yan Archers were in the presence of a true master, something that Ozai never thought possible, but he understood. An Airbender would be incalculably greater than any non-bender at archery.
"No, I see a ghost," he whispered, and unconsciously, his fingers tightly gripped Embers' hilt; he narrowed his eyes at the sight of a creature breathing fire and slithering and tearing through his men, and Ozai felt faint because it, in fact, was. It was a creature of extinction and legend, a dragon—a dragon! It was a monster, another monster on The Avatar's side, not just the sky bison as he had believed but another one, another breed that undoubtedly hated him. There were now two; he yearned to use Embers as his grandfather before him had done and cut off that dragon's head, skinning it in the process, but he recognized that it would be suicide with such a disadvantage in numbers.
Besides the dragon—a dragon!—he recognized the outline of his son, and his teeth ground together. Only his worthless son, rebel to his core, could have kept such a secret from him and befriended one of the creatures of Sozin's sport. The tide of battle had blatantly changed; the Water Tribesmen were revived and fought back harder. Many bodies fell, the Firebenders and non-bending Children of Chin and Earth, and Ozai turned his gaze when he saw another flash of lightning but could only stare uncomprehendingly at the sapphire flames that flared in the distance following the lightning strike.
"There she is," Hama spat next to him. "I see Katara! We should have killed her earlier!"
"Cease your foolishness," Vaatu demanded, sounding far away. "Attacking her would have alerted The Avatar of our- "
Ozai's hearing malfunctioned, and one of his fists clenched while his other hand pulled out Embers as he finally understood the truth; it stared at him and he could never look away. He nearly staggered at the confirmation of what he always suspected but remained standing. Azula lived—she survived because The Avatar returned her spirit from her death. It was obvious, as there was only one Firebender in the past several generations who could produce sapphire flames, and Ozai would have been notified of someone else.
"She lives," he whispered, feeling rooted in place, watching the sapphire flames roar in thick jets in the distance. "The Avatar healed her from her death."
Hama looked at him, concerned. "Who? What are you talking about?"
Ozai felt a strange heat in his body. "My daughter."
"Daughter?" Hama echoed, features shocked. "She's here? The one who directed The Avatar to attack you?"
The wrath was sudden and consuming as the snow on the cliff surged forward in a roaring avalanche that crashed into the city below, expelled from the cliff by his fury. "The Avatar fucks her!" The rage grew inside him, and he narrowly avoided the perilous mistake of choosing to confront The Avatar, who stole not only his son from him but his daughter. "That boy opens her legs and puts his foul seed in her womb! She is a traitor to my line! My children are failures!"
"Enough!" Vaatu hissed, and if Ozai were not mistaken, there was a simultaneous fury and wariness emanating in the shadows. "The Avatar has grown stronger; his power is unbelievable—and absolute. We must hurry to strike a crushing blow to him."
XxXxXxXxXxX
"I didn't see Ozai or Vaatu!" Katara screamed as she entered the chaotic fray on a wave of rushing water. "I don't know where they are! They have to be in the city!"
"I'll find them!" Aang answered, voice carrying in a powerful roar over the clashes happening everywhere, and the confidence in his voice spurred Zuko on. "Help us here!"
Oh, he had missed it, the feeling of war and combat, the strength of his fire rushing through his blood as he showcased his might against those who would kill him. Zuko embraced the unholy cold of the North, for it strengthened his inner flame that much more, forcing him to adapt with each breath that he took. Around him, dead Water Tribesmen lay in piles, limbs distended unnaturally, and he vowed to avenge them; the color of blood was everywhere, and his eyes locked onto it.
Father's army, indeed, was massive beyond anything he had ever seen, but with Aang on his side, he felt satisfied in an eventual victory. It already seemed certain based on destroying the warships and airships, stranding Father's army in the North forever. There was also the fact that Aang refused to hold back in dealing with the army, killing anyone and everyone, one after another, all in a rapid pace, traveling everywhere, clearing out the masses on the North's shore. He knew inherently that without his friend aiding him, Katara, and Azula, no matter their strength as the most powerful benders of their generation, they would be swept away by Father's army. But while Aang did the real heavy lifting, Zuko, Azula, and Katara focuses on the remnants left behind by Aang, who had depleted the invasion force on the shore of their incalculable, superior numbers with devastating attacks that killed hundreds all at once.
They still had to clear out the North's city, which was clearly overrun based on the thick, black smoke and haunting screams echoing through the air, but it seemed inevitable with Aang on their side.
This would be the day when things changed; they could end this new war! It helped that upon the sight of The Avatar and his renowned, indomitable power, a resurgence swept through the exhausted, dejected Water Tribesmen, while dread poisoned their foes.
With each footstep, the bloodstained snow beneath him began to melt; he met his combatants with precision and power, feeling his rage compound at the sight of those against whom he fought most. While he cut through non-benders with dark green eyes, it was not them who enraged him; it was the others. He recognized them–how could he not? They were his former nobles, his own subjects! His generals and admirals had abandoned him for Father and Vaatu!
Although it was not a surprise, it was infuriated to experience.
"Fire Lord Zuko!" General Lao's brother, the former Noble Head Kiju cried out, and Zuko was suddenly surrounded by a group of his former nobles, including generals and admirals; he was outnumbered vastly. "You will face your doom, as you doomed my brother!"
Zuko's face contorted into a mask of cold rage. "I should have executed you years ago."
"Your mockery will be your last- "
He did not wait and unleashed a roar of fire through his lips and spun around. While the group was distracted for a brief moment, he pulled out his dao swords and dashed forward, killing three of them quickly, before seizing upon four others with imperishable flames consuming them. He heard Druk roar and the sound of flesh being ripped from flesh, the smell of sizzling skin, and the sound of terrified screams.
"Dragon!"
"Look out!"
Blood splattered against his face, and it was hot; it sent him into a frenzy. He used his blades and his firebending to defend himself, going from one to another in a deadly dance, and when they all launched a combined assault, Zuko rolled backward, and at the same time, swiped his flames through the attack before he spun his fingers to unleash lightning—it was so useful!—at them. Several of them were blown apart while the last were blasted back, landing in a heap in the snow. Before Zuko could make sure that they were dead, he fell to his knees as crushing pain erupted in his mind; he looked down, and an arrow had found its mark.
It was through his shoulder, and Zuko groaned in pain; he intentionally fell forward and snapped off the arrowhead, keeping the pain inward as he chose to leave the shaft of the arrow in his shoulder, trying to keep it from overwhelming him. As he kneeled on the ground, catching his breath, he heard another deafening roar and saw Druk dash past him and heard an agonizing scream echo behind him; he turned around slowly and saw Druk spitting out the upper body of a Yu Yan Archer.
Reptilian eyes stared down at him for a moment, and Zuko smiled, though it was heavy with pain. "Thanks, Druk," he commended with a grunt and forced himself to his feet. Druk stood next to him as he caught his breath and observed the battle.
Katara was as fearsome as she was beautiful; she stood atop a spinning waterspout, and floating in her hands were ice shards, which she shot at the enemy—in non-fatal areas of the body. They were incapacitated but not dead; she was more merciful than Zuko himself was. His good eye widened in horror when he saw Yu Yan Archers begin to shoot arrows up at her.
"Look out!" he bellowed in warning, and Katara turned around at the last second, raising a thick shield of ice to protect herself. Zuko recovered his stamina in fury and shot his fire at the archers, one blast noticeably not as precise, but more non-benders wielding swords, axes, clubs, spears, throwing knives, and bows soon appeared, and Zuko searched for Aang and found him impossibly quickly—because all the real action happened around Aang, who was responsible for the tide of the attack.
Aang led the siege, and Azula followed behind him, picking off anyone who slipped through or was not killed by Aang's attacks. The air dazzled and ripped through the opposition, water and ice sweeping all attacks to the side. Sapphire flames blazed brightly even in this realm of darkness and cold, and Zuko was never more thankful that his sister had 'seen the light' and was on his side. Azula cried out something indecipherible, and Aang glanced back, and Zuko did not miss the alarmed expression; his friend whipped out his bow and fired an arrow so fast that Zuko took a moment to even process what happened.
"The Avatar!" one of the many non-benders—the numbers were depleting closer to the thousands than millions now!—screamed in a rage after his comrade had fallen, an arrow through his chest; it was fatal from what Zuko could discern. "Kyoshi will suffer! Come on!"
Before Zuko could try to intervene, the Yu Yan Archers, too, turned their attention from Katara to Aang, who had already reacted in deadly instincts. He floated in the air, arrows hurtling through the air into a small part of the Yu Yan group; they fell before they could even react. The others pulled back their arrows and released them at Aang, but his friend turned the bow to the side and pulling his hands together at the bottom, he swung the bow as he had done countless times before with his glider. A wide arc of wind rushed down and deflected the volley of arrows back at the non-benders below, piercing through their bodies.
Aang fell suddenly from his position in the air, and when he smashed into the snow and ice, a maelstrom exploded in all directions and swept those in the vicinity off of their feet. Aang immediately ripped ice through their bodies, spraying gore into the air, reducing the number of threats before moving to the next and doing the same—over and over again, all in the span of seconds.
It was mesmerizing to watch.
Aang nodded at Zuko before he turned and shot fire near an enemy who had nearly snuck up on Azula. The man stumbled back at the last moment, but the sound alerted Azula; she whirled around and lightning sprang from her fingertips, and the bodies of the enemy began to pile even higher.
Zuko turned away from her sapphire flames and narrowed his eyes, trying to think—because things were going too smoothly. Something was wrong. Where were Father and Vaatu? They had to know that the warships and airships were destroyed, stranding them and their army, and they were too intelligent not to understand their only hope of escape was with an army—but they were letting their army be slaughtered.
Katara had looked into the Spirit Oasis but had not seen them. They had to be somewhere in the city, but if they were, why were they not returning to help preserve their army, their only hope of escape, so they could try to overwhelm Aang through sheer numbers.
As he gazed at the smoke drifting out of the city, something caught his attention—it was above the Spirit Oasis! He watched in amazement as the snow above descended in a rushing avalanche before crashing into the city, which undoubtedly killed whatever people were there.
But how did the avalanche happen?
Was it Father? Was it a Waterbender in the city near the Spirit Oasis who made one last desperate attempt to fend off his attackers?
He was about to run to Aang and tell him his concerns when Katara jumped down from her waterspout; she rushed toward him, eyes concerned and frantic. "You're hurt!"
"I'm fine," he countered, remembering his shoulder. "I've had much worse, believe me."
"Let me heal you- "
"No. Not now! Heal me when this is all over. What do you need? How can I help?"
Katara pointed toward the heart of the city. "While on the waterspout, I saw a large group break away and enter the city!"
"Another group," he hissed and ran a hand through his hair. "There are probably a hundred groups inside the city. Damn it!"
"I'm afraid of how much destruction and death they have already caused in the city. I can't let the North be destroyed. I have to help! I'm going after them and try to help any who I can find. I could use your help in there."
He hated the thought of not accompanying her, but he knew that an impulsive decision on his part could result in all their deaths. "I'll be right after you, but I have to make sure that all of these guys are dead. We can't have anyone sneaking up on us from behind. Druk will help you until I get there."
Katara nodded in determination, leaned forward, and brushed her lips against his for the briefest moment before she pulled back. "Don't be too long."
"I won't," he assured and watched as she sped away on another wave, already disappearing into the city. "Go!" Zuko hissed and pushed Druk after Katara. "Help her! I'll be fine! I mean it, Druk—go!"
Druk obeyed him and dashed after Katara, but as he stabbed one of the groaning men on the ground to ensure death, he cursed as he recalled the suspicious avalanche he saw. Seeing that Aang and Azula were finishing the enemies who remained, he opened his mouth to exclaim a warning, and for a moment, everything seemed okay, but then he heard a scratch behind him, the familiar echo of metal sliding out of a sheath, and the sound of rushing feet running through the snow.
Zuko whirled around, words fading from his lips, prepared at the thought of another enemy, and he was correct.
A knife slashed toward his face, a snarling countenance with insane eyes his adversary!
XxXxXxXxXxX
His balance was different—it was the immediate fact apparent to him. He needed to relearn his stride and how his body functioned with two healthy arms, for his weight was no longer slanted to the side in overcompensation. It would take time to adjust, specifically when it came to bending—he had only ever used earthbending with one arm!—but he knew he would succeed.
It was his nature.
Ozai's feet crunched through the snow, and his golden eyes connected to the outline of The Avatar's exhausted sky bison in the distance; his lips curled in victory, and he turned his head. "Despite him arriving and ruining our invasion, we still win—we will always win."
"Our alliance verifies it," Vaatu confirmed. "Kill the sky bison and capture its occupants."
"Two people," he recalled. "I have no idea who they could be."
"They will be easily dealt with." Vaatu floated behind them as a corporeal shadow of might and immortal power. "You know what to do, Hama."
Hama's eyebrows rose in encouragement. "Piandao knows bloodbending, too, now. This is good practice for him."
Ozai nodded, knowing she was correct, especially with having both his arms—both his arms!—for the first time in months; it would help his adjustment period, forcing him to adapt and acclimate swifter. He suddenly raised his hands—both of them because he had two hands now!—and stretched his senses until he connected with the large presence of blood in the sky bison, which he seized, followed by the two occupants. Instantly, The Avatar's sky bison bellowed in the distance in fear, seconded by a childish squeal of terror. "They are all in my grip," he notified before frowning as he registered the feel of one of the occupants. "One… feels like a child."
"How interesting," Vaatu murmured. "Whom would The Avatar trust to be alone with his precious sky bison? What child could handle such responsibility?"
Ozai's lips curled in anticipation—it would be such delicious, meaningful vengeance to inflict against The Avatar! "We must find out."
As if drawn by a force beyond his understanding, he retained his bloodbending grip while holding Embers in one hand—and forging an ice-sword in his other hand. He stomped quickly toward the frozen sky bison; he was being further pulled into this realm of cold and darkness, with no solitude of light and warmth save for his own flames, which he no longer possessed as Vaatu had oriented him toward his waterbending, forcing his mastery. As he approached, the figures in the saddle became clear and indeed, one of them was a young child, likely a girl; the other was a woman struggling in his grip, but it was useless to fight.
Ozai stepped even closer, unafraid of the frozen sky bison, and he raised himself on the snow, creating a ladder—before lurching to a sudden stop, staring at the sight that was impossible, when his gaze rested on someone he knew better than anyone, despite the passing of years.
It was a miracle!
The face! The hair! The flesh! The hauntingly familiar, beautiful golden eyes staring back at him.
Ursa!
As if in a trance, he stepped even closer, setting one foot in the saddle, which confirmed it. "Ursa," he gasped, almost choking in awe, the name of his wife—his wife!—floating in the cold air; he almost did not believe it, nearly convinced that his mind was playing tricks, but it was true. She was finally within his grasp—she was here! "You are here," he breathed, reaching out to touch her face, but when her eyes filled with desperate tears, he paused and remembered his bloodbending. "No!" he exclaimed, horrified that he dared hold Ursa in such an evil position. "Forgive me, please. I did not know it was you. Here—it is over now."
The moment he released his bloodbending hold, Ursa scrambled toward the child while the once-weary-looking sky bison unleashed a deafening roar; a vortex of incredible wind slammed into him, tossing him over the saddle, where he crashed into the snow, losing his grip on Embers.
"No!" he screamed as his face was aflame with the snow's bitter chill; he spun around, one hand reaching for Embers. "Hama! Stop it! Hold the beast! It will take off!"
Before Ursa was lost again to him, Hama seized hold of The Avatar's sky bison, freezing the beast once more.
"Indra's animals have always surprised me." Vaatu floated forward, and Ozai heard a quick shriek echo from the child, but he only stared up at Ursa, who stared back at him—but she looked afraid! Why did she look afraid? "For such a usual peaceful spirit, she birthed aggressive creatures."
"Ursa, come down," he requested, standing to his feet, though his balance was jeopardized—he could not let Ursa see him in such a weak state! "I will never hurt you—you know this."
"I betrayed our plan that night," she replied. "You are obsessive—I know you thought about it."
He closed his eyes at the sound of her voice, which he had not heard in over fifteen years. "That is behind us."
"It follows us daily."
"We both betrayed each other that night," he pointed out, staring up at her, heart racing; his eyes traced her face, which was so much more memorable and powerful than his memories revealed. He wanted to look at nothing else but her. Her face was worth more than the world around him. "But never again. We start over—now. We are together again."
"How can we be together again when we have been so far apart?"
Ursa gripped the child, whose face was hidden from him, but when he finally registered the Air Nomad garbs, the same kind as The Avatar's, he frowned. "Who is she?"
"No one important," Ursa assured. "She is my ward."
"What is going on?" Hama demanded in interruption, glaring up at Ursa in distrust. "You know her?"
Ozai did not want to deal with the intricacies of introducing his mistress to his wife—and vice versa—but knew it was inevitable. "My wife, Ursa."
"This is your wife?" Hama echoed, shocked; her face slackened with something that he thought resembled betrayal. "The one who betrayed you?"
"We betrayed each other," Ozai interrupted, wanting—needing—Ursa to know that he wanted her return. He handed Embers to Hama, who accepted it with stunned, dumbfounded fingers, before he raised himself on the snow until he stepped into the saddle, crouching in front of Ursa, whose arms held the child dressed in Air Nomad garbs. "We have all the world to love each other again. My beautiful Ursa, you have not aged a day."
Ursa's golden eyes brightened in emotion as they roamed his face. "Neither have you," she whispered.
"We must hurry," Vaatu intoned in interruption, making the child shriek in terror against Ursa's chest, muffled—but present. "The Avatar is imminent."
Ozai stared at the child. "Ursa, who is she? Yours?"
"She is no one's- "
"You think you can lie to me?" he demanded in disbelief. "I know you. You love this child but why? Who is she?" As he watched the child shudder against Ursa, trying to hide herself, the Air Nomad garbs rustled, and a terrible suspicion seized hold of him. "The Avatar's? Is she his?"
Ursa shook her head, panic on her face, conveyed by her mesmerizing eyes. "No."
Ozai reached forward, but when Ursa flinched away, holding the child closer to herself, he paused. "She is," he realized, trying to process the unthinkable.
The Avatar had sired a child—an Airbender, likely, based on the garbs.
"Did you know about this?" he demanded, whirling to face Vaatu. "That girl is The Avatar's child! Look at her—it is obvious! He would never let anyone but his children wear Air's garbs!" He reached back suddenly and ripped the child out of Ursa's arms, to which both Ursa and the child cried out. He held the girl between his hands and saw the confirmation shining in the girl's eyes—gray eyes, not identical to The Avatar's but similar enough. "Avatar spawn," he hissed, tightening his grip on the girl's frail arms.
The girl shrieked and, suddenly, a weak gust of painless wind smacked him, surprising him, but based on his angle in the saddle, he tipped backwards; he let go of the girl to try to catch his balance, waving his arms, but his momentum carried him over the saddle's lip—before he used his waterbending to pull snow to his aid.
He did not fail to notice how Ursa's beautiful eyes widened in dread as she pulled the child close to her again, protecting her. "Do not harm her," she ordered in plead.
"How fascinating," Vaatu murmured, floating next to him, peering directly down at the child, who shook in terror, face red with teary emotion, gray eyes wet. "We now have a way for you to master airbending other than Indra after Hama finishes your waterbending."
Ozai blinked in surprise, glancing at Vaatu, unsure he heard correctly. "The girl?" he echoed. "She is no master! She knows nothing!"
"But it is fortuitous all the same—the miracle we needed. We have had no success finding Indra; this child is our insurance- "
The girl wrestled in Ursa's grip and freed her face; she was weeping. "Daddy!" she cried out. "Mommy, help!"
At the sudden dread on Ursa's face, different from him knowing the identity of the girl's father, Ozai leaned forward, recognizing that the girl's mother was somehow equally, if not more, important. "Who is your mother? Ursa, tell me her mother's name- "
"Daddy!"
"Silence!" he snapped.
Something pale flashed over the girl's face before she looked at Ursa, startled; she swiveled her head between them, blinking rapidly, gray eyes thinking. "Grandma, is that Grandpa?" she asked hesitantly while Ozai stiffened at the title of 'Grandpa,' which could only come from one source. "He looks like Uncle Zuzu."
'Uncle Zuzu' confirmed it—Azula's nickname for Zuko all through their childhood and adolescence.
Ozai's eyes fell shut in realization. "Azula," he hissed, not understanding why Azula adopted The Avatar's bastard but knowing it was the only explanation. When his eyes opened, they narrowed into slits as he saw the truth on Ursa's face—Azula was the girl's mother. He dimly noticed that Hama was staring up at him strangely from her position, but he did not bother with her. "I am not your grandfather, bastard; my blood is not in your veins—and neither is your whore mother's blood in your contaminated veins- "
The air suddenly reacted violently and began to beat against him, but he only laughed because it was pitiful, amusing.
"I thought I would never see you again," Ursa said, rising to her feet, pushing The Avatar's bastard to the saddle's grip, to which The Avatar's bastard huddled, shaking. "I thought we would leave so many things unsaid, but now I have the chance to say to you all that I have wanted to say—now I have the chance to do what I should have on that night all those years ago." Overwhelming heat emanated from her suddenly, and Ozai felt his loins stir in ways that he had not experienced in years—certainly not with Hama! "You turned your back on our children, and now you torment our granddaughter, whom I adore and cherish—you will not do to her as you did to them! Scar your own face, not hers! Break your mind, not hers!" Ursa surged forward, leaping out of the saddle with a flourish of firebending, which she spun against him, making him falter back before he fell to the snow, nearby where Ursa landed elegantly; steam began to drift from underneath her. "Get out of here, Samir and Appa! Find Aang!"
Ursa's fingers wound, and lightning sprang from her fingertips; it was painfully bright in this realm of darkness and cold.
"No, Grandma!" The Avatar's bastard cried out, jumping out of the saddle. "I can help!"
Ozai almost did not believe that Ursa shot lightning at him, could not wrap his mind around something so unthinkable, but his instincts saved his life at the last moment when he jumped to the side, bypassing the lightning, which rocketed into the ice with a loud eruption, which swept Hama off her feet from the blasting shockwave; her grip faded, and The Avatar's sky bison roared and took off into the sky in a massive gust of wind.
Vaatu merely watched The Avatar's sky bison depart—why?
XxXxXxXxXxX
Zuko whipped his head back as the deadly-sharp edge of the blade sliced the flesh under his chin; the eruption of blood streamed across the hand holding the knife. He lashed his flaming foot into his newest adversary's kneecap, and the man—it was actually a young man who was a few years older than his age when the Great War ended—screamed but did not fall as Zuko had expected. Instead, their eyes connected—golden vs insane!—but the eyes that stared at him were not normal; they seemed to enlarge and burst from their sockets, widening in paralyzing fury, brimming with insanity.
"You!" The man suddenly lifted one of his hands and viciously pressed it into Zuko's wounded shoulder; he hissed in pain as the malicious fingers sunk into his flesh, digging and stabbing, pushing the shaft of the arrow even further without mercy. But he locked his grip on the man's arms, holding him as best he could, though it was a losing effort as the man was impossibly—impossibly!—strong. "I've always known the truth about you, Fire Lord!"The face was now contorted horribly, a mass of twisted and all-consuming rage, insane eyes squinting as his blood-stained teeth resembled Druk's teeth. "Now I'll finish it! I'll wipe you and all memory of you from the world like you did to me!"
A strange fluttering was felt in Zuko's chi—energybending?—but it quickly vanished, and the man's face crackled with even more rage; the fingers dug deeper. Zuko snarled and roared flames from his mouth into the man's face. The man staggered back and screamed animalistically, howling like a beast, hands flying to his flaming face. The impossible sight kept Zuko silent, stunned. The man should be dead; his flames were so much more potent since he had mastered his chakras, but the man was still somehow alive. It was not possible!
Catching his breath, Zuko rubbed his shoulder but before he could do anything else, such as warn Aang about the man, the man somehow remarkably recovered and spun around; the blade appeared again, surging toward him, the line of assault aimed for his stomach. He pulled one of his dao swords at the last second and deflected the knife; he kicked the hand and saw the knife clatter to the ice and snow.
In reaction, the man stepped forward with a sizzling face and wrapped his hand around Zuko's throat with mighty strength. He struggled but the grip was unlike anything that he had experienced; it was a strength that was not possible and again, he felt the fluttering in his chi again—energybending?—but more insistent and painful. Zuko felt paralyzed by the attack and was helpless to move but quickly, the feelings in his chi vanished, and the man screamed in rage.
"No!" The hand squeezed even tighter around his throat, suffocating him. "You're no master! I know you, Fire Lord! You're nothing! You will be when I kill you! I can't infect you like all the others, but I can just as easily kill you! And I will! You fucking deserve it! You killed me! An eye for a scarred eye, Fire Lord!"
Zuko choked for air and raised his good arm. With one of his dao swords still in hand, he sliced the blade through the man's wrist. The grip immediately faded, but he still felt the fingers on his throat; the man stumbled back, staring at his stump of a hand in horror.
Peeling the severed hand off of his neck, Zuko raised the sword. "I finish it, not you."
"No! You aren't- " The man was cut off as Aang appeared, staring at him in shock.
"It's you," Aang breathed and swiftly imprisoned the man in the thickest prison of ice that Zuko had ever seen, probably even thicker than the iceberg that Aang slept in for a century; there would be no escaping from it. The sudden break was needed, and he pulled his hand to the wound under his chin and with pained breath, cauterized it with determined willpower, despite the sudden pain that almost made him black out and choke on vomit; he did the same to his shoulder wound after yanking out the shaft of the arrow.
"Who is he?" he demanded, blinking the tears out of his good eye as he stared out at the mass number of corpses everywhere—too many to count!
Aang stared at Lee with an unthinkable expression of relief on his face. "It's Lee. Now I can figure out how to stop the attack."
Zuko cleared his pained breaths as he overcame the pain; he stared at Lee almost uncomprehendingly for the words finally pierced through his mind. "Wait… this is him?" he whispered, fingers tightening around his blade's hilt, and blinking at the hateful, seething man who struggled mightily against the ice imprisoning him.
"It must be," Aang assured. "I feel all the chi inside him—it's not his. He's stolen countless benders' chis. Can't you feel it? It's greater than I imagined. Did you burn his face?"
"I had to," he defended. "He should be dead, but he survived, and his face already seems to be healing from it. Is that from energybending? That's what his attack did- "
"My plague is glorious," the trapped Lee hissed, malevolent eyes gleaming. "Through me, Fire will die; it's already started! It's the ultimate revenge! I know your lies, Fire Lord! What I did to Fire I'll do to you! It will swallow you whole, taking everything from you, unstoppable!"
Stuffing his sudden hatred, Zuko remembered something else that had looked unstoppable. "Aang, there was an avalanche I saw earlier atop the- "
"Aang!" Azula screamed from behind them, and they both whirled around. "Look! Appa!"
Zuko blinked and saw Appa racing toward them while Aang tensed beside him. "No, that's- … I told him to wait. Why is he…?"
He stepped forward when Appa crashed before them in a heap of exhaustion, but he paused in horror at the empty saddle; it was a cursed beacon to his eyes. Where were Mother and Samir? A terrible silence was prominent for several moments before Aang's face drained of blood.
"Appa?" Aang rushed forward and put his hands on Appa's head while Appa blinked drowsily. "He's exhausted…"
"Where is Samir?" Azula demanded, coming to stand next to him; he did not know who she was asking out of himself, Aang, or Appa. "Where is she?"
Aang staggered forward before he shuddered. "Vaatu."
Zuko remembered the avalanche. "The Spirit Oasis! I saw- " He was cut off as Aang blasted off of the ground and blazed into the sky.
He shared a dreadful glance with Azula—what happened?—and quickly turned to the weary Appa. "Watch him!" He pointed at the trapped Lee. "Do you understand? If he escapes, eat him! Tear his head off!"
"That would be unlikely." Azula's words were brisk, on the verge of a simmering eruption—a quiet eruption. "Appa is a vegetarian, and he is not angry enough to consider such a meal; he is also exhausted. This Lee will not escape; that ice is thick."
Knowing there was nothing else they could do, he grabbed Azula's arm and shoved her forward. "Come on, we are needed inside! Aang will get Mother and Samir!"
Zuko turned, and with Azula by his side, they rushed into the city to aid Katara and Druk and eradicate the remaining army of invaders. Bodies hit the snow and ice as they passed, watching each other's back and killing any who opposed them. The sounds of lightning and agonizing gasps before eternal silence were prominent.
"I never knew that this would be so fun," Azula purred as they kept going, killing all of Father's followers. "Slaughtering Father's pathetic group with you by my side is cathartic, yes?"
"Absolutely." He ducked from a sudden attack and spun the other away with a flaming blast of fire from his foot; the attacker fell with a pained cry as his chest was blackened. "I could do this forever." He suddenly felt his wounds. "I take it back—I want this over as soon as possible."
Azula glanced at him before leaning back to avoid a fireball from an enemy; she did not even look as she returned fire, killing him. "Let us arrange the conclusion."
Zuko smiled and further entered the fray of the city with her, unleashing destruction and power at the mass invaders.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Ozai had little time to feel anger or righteous bemusement at Vaatu's inaction; Ursa jumped at him with a snarling face, hot flames nearly searing his face before he rolled back just in time, swiping water through the blast, though his balance was off. He staggered back, trying to regain his former greatness, but it was difficult not only because of his newfound restoration.
It was also because he was fighting his wife, which he hated—it was against his willing! Fighting against his wife was something that he had never thought possible, and his body rebelled against him.
"Ursa, stop!" he demanded.
"Did you stop when you scarred his face?"
Ozai barely had enough time to bat away another incoming fireball with his water-covered hands. "Stop! Ursa, listen to me- "
"Azula listened to you and lost her sanity!" Ursa shrieked, face twisted in despair—and ire. "I listened to you and murdered Father!"
He spun his hands and swept aside several blasts in a wave of water, frothing with ice. "Ursa- "
"Our children needed you, but what did you do?" She heaved a plume of fire that seared his back; he was too slow to move in time. "You maimed his face and maimed her mind! You made them kill your enemies and forced them against each other, where they almost killed each other!"
Ozai summoned a massive wave and blasted it toward Ursa, finally fighting back—because he was forced. "It was to teach them strength! And look at the results—I succeeded! They rebel against me like I did against Father- "
"You hate them for their rebellion!" Ursa fired more lightning, piercing through the cold in a brilliant, blinding lash, and Ozai narrowly avoided it; he stumbled to the side, trying to stay on his feet. "You have no children! They are no longer yours!"
Ozai suddenly caught sight of Hama standing to her feet at last, reoriented from the lightning shockwave. "Get the bastard! Hama, do it!"
Ursa's features contorted into hysteria as she threw more fireballs at him, which he deflected with frantic breaths, trying to recover his balance. "No! Leave her alone! Samir! Run!"
"Too late," Hama hissed gingerly, and The Avatar's bastard was frozen in place, pale terror on her young, shivering face. "Stop fighting, Ursa."
Ozai felt no satisfaction at Ursa's evident fear and horror. "I need you to listen, Ursa- "
"Spare her, please," she begged, golden eyes riveted on The Avatar's bastard. "Do not hurt her."
"I will not if you listen to me," he vowed, meaning it. "Hama will not rip her apart, nor will I—though it is within our capability. Will you come with me? Will you return to me?"
Tears spilled out of Ursa's stricken, eyes and she slackened even further, head nodding slowly—painfully. "Yes, only if you do not touch a hair on her head."
Before Ozai could respond, Vaatu hummed, making Ursa—and The Avatar's bastard—flinch. "You do not need to worry about harm befalling her. The Airbender will not die; there is a plan for her. She is the answer—the miracle for which we awaited. The Ascension will be possible because of her. We depart now. I sense The Avatar's approach—he is angry."
"Release her," Ursa demanded, glaring at Hama with fire in her eyes—and spirit. Lightning crackled at her fingertips in ominous warning. "Now!"
"Go ahead," Ozai encouraged, nodding his head, when Hama glanced at him in question. "Release her."
Hama's fingers loosened, and The Avatar's bastard lurched forward with a small cry of haunted relief, and Ursa rushed to pull her into her arms, whispering words into her hair.
"Daddy!" The Avatar's bastard shrieked immediately, her terrified, screaming voice ringing unlike anything that he had heard before; it had somehow been amplified by her airbending. "Help!"
"No!" Ozai screamed and felt a chill descend down his spine, and he spun around, terrified at what it meant. He saw something—The Avatar!—fly out of the expanse of the Spirit Oasis and rush straight at them in a blur of unstoppable motion. He recognized the blurry color of the Air Nomad garbs first and stumbled back. "Stop him! Hama, stop him!"
Hama straightened and jerked her arms forward, her fingers stiff and immovable. The Avatar suddenly froze ahead, but it was apparent immediately that his escape would be imminent; he was too powerful. "Hurry!" Hama hissed, falling to her knees. "I can't hold him for long! There's… there's something taking hold!"
"The Avatar State," Vaatu hissed and shadows began to wrap all around them, including The Avatar's bastard and Ursa. The Avatar's bastard tried to reach for The Avatar, but she was pulled back by Ozai with a daring look at his wife; he saw Ursa hesitate, but when one of Vaatu's tendrils ominously wrapped around her waist, she solemnly put her other hand on The Avatar's bastard's shoulder.
"Daddy," The Avatar's bastard whispered with tearful eyes, and the brilliant glow of The Avatar's orbs was seen before the shadows coalesced around them all, and Ozai felt the weight of triumph bearing down on him before it all faded.
"OZAI!" The Avatar bellowed just before they vanished.
XxXxXxXxXxX
The Avatar roared up at the heavens, enraged; he immediately tried to latch onto Vaatu's energy, but it was gone! Further fury swept through him but he used that as strength, feeling the fury of all that he was compound with his primacy. His eyes closed, and he teleported into the Immortal Realm, but there was still nothing! Vaatu couldn't be felt! Where was he?
The thought of Samir in Ozai's grasp sent him spiraling even further; his power stretched through the Immortal Realm violently, raping everything, showing no gentleness or love, probing and relentless.
He had to find Samir—but she was nowhere to be found!
"VAATU!" The Avatar screamed, and the earth beneath him cracked; the air heated with the intensity of Sozin's Comet, and he spewed violent flames from his mouth."Where are you?" He was nowhere to be found—and Samir and Ursa were gone, too! The stench of Vaatu's darkness was impossible to miss but now, it was impossible to find!
How did he disappear without a trace?
Despite all the demands he made of all that he was, searching inward across the expanse of eons lived, deciphering the cacophony of different voices, nothing he summoned—remembered—was useful to tracking Vaatu, whose knowledge was superior to his.
Knowing he might destroy the Immortal Realm if he continued in his wrath, Aang fell to his knees in grief as The Avatar State left him; he clutched his legs with his hands, gripping his flesh with such force that he didn't know if he could ever let go. He began to shake in realization as the whispered words reached him—"Daddy! Help!" Aang had failed and now, his daughter and mother-in-law were in Vaatu and Ozai's clutches, under the tyranny of the terror of the Realms.
"I'm so sorry," he breathed, voice cracking, as tears spilled out of his eyes. "I'm sorry, Samir. I fai- failed. I failed you. Ursa, forgive me." He didn't know how long he remained there; days could have passed for all he knew since it was the Immortal Realm, but his mind descended into a state of cold, seething anger—a familiarity that he embraced as it was the simmering fury he felt about Air's murder for so long. "I'll find you," he vowed, standing to his feet. "I promise."
Teleporting back to the Mortal Realm, Aang didn't feel the North's great cold. Immediately, he returned to the Spirit Oasis. After he had seen Appa appear without Samir and Ursa, and with Zuko's words about an avalanche above the Spirit Oasis, he had blazed toward it. It was easy to see that Ozai had been there; many dead bodies laid outside the actual Spirit Oasis, forming a long, piled-high trail. When he arrived, he had felt the lingering taint of Vaatu's power, and with dread, he had observed the pond where Tui and La swam. It was apparent immediately, to his utmost relief, that Vaatu had failed in obtaining Tui and La's alliance. But before he could demand answers of Tui and La, he heard it.
Samir's scream.
Aang had flown toward the sound, tracking it, hearing its call not only in his ears but his heart. Just when he had been certain that he was going to stop Ozai and Vaatu while saving Samir and Ursa, he was forcefully stopped using bloodbending; it had been a-somehow-younger Hama, he was certain, and Hama must be Ozai's waterbending master. It had been the same sensation from over a decade ago except much, much stronger. It was impossible not to recognize it; it was Hama's bloodbending grip, from which he broke free—but too late.
Vaatu, Ozai, and Hama vanished with Samir and Ursa.
He stared down at Tui and La in their pond, feeling his face contort; he did nothing to stop it. "You healed Ozai," he said, recalling Ozai with all his limbs—something that should have been impossible, even with Hama as his healer.
"Vaatu returned to us Tui's murderer!" La snapped in defense. "We would give him anything to- "
"And you think I won't do anything to you?" he hissed before calming himself, though it was half-hearted. "How foolish you are. You were going to ally with him, weren't you?"
Tui swam in aggravation. "He offered us a return to our eminence."
"That you stole, Avatar!" La added in hostility, his masculine voice reverberating in his mind with a deformed screech. "For eons we have rotted here because of your betrayal! You deceived us! You tricked us!"
Aang was unimpressed, knowing exactly what they alluded to. "You knew the risks- "
"You promised to restore us once our Children's numbers were replenished! You stole our immortality!"
"Your immortality?" he echoed in disbelief; it was hard to keep his anger under control. "You made your choice! You forfeited your immortality- "
"Because you deceived us, promising you would restore us to glory within a generation!"
"I died before I could- "
"But you refused in your next lives! You would never let Agni, Devi, or Indra rot as we have, deceiver!"
"I let Indra rot now, wherever she is," he pointed out softly. "I'm sorry this happened—I really am. I know you don't believe me, but I'm sorry. Whatever it's worth to you, I'm sorry."
La's violent movements in the water rippled in small, powerless waves. "I would attack you now if I could! Resolve your crime, Avatar! Redeem us of your slights! You owe us eons of mortality for what you did to us! Cast aside your immortality and live as we do, in constant terror of our demises! Look what it culminated in with Tui's murder at that human's hand!"
Aang recalled Zhao's presence. "Zhao was never dead. Is he back with you?"
"Where he belongs! You should join him, but even if you promised to, you never would—as you are a born deceiver! Every word you speak is a lie! Your breaths are poison to the world! Unlike you, Vaatu promised us our immortality! Prove your worth as The Avatar and restore our immortality or confirm your tyranny by denying us! What shall it be, Avatar?"
"If I restore your immortality now, as I certainly could, you will go to Vaatu and join him," he foresaw, hating the truth of it—Tui and La would be so powerfully useful as allies to him. But he couldn't trust them, as they would go to Vaatu, or Vaatu would seduce them to his side. Either way, it would increase Vaatu's options as the cost of Aang's own, which was unacceptable. "He took my daughter and mother-in-law," he whispered and cursed those words as they left his lips. "I tried to find them, but they are gone; they disappeared somehow. But it's not only them—he took Agni and Devi. He took hundreds of millions across the world since the Great War that he wanted; he took Air. I'm not going to let him take you. Believe it or not, me denying you your immortality for now is actually an act of protection; it's really an act of love because I don't want Vaatu to take you."
"Deceiver!"
Aang looked at Tui, ignoring La. "Do you agree, Tui? What will it be? What judgment do you hold?"
"I am kin to La in all things, especially this," Tui replied in a gentle but stern whisper. "I was murdered because of your folly, Avatar. The only reason I called you here was to spare the deaths of all our Children, but you failed at that—I know you did. Failure is your legacy, stretching back to the Beginning."
"I'm not giving you your immortality back," he decided, surer than ever of his decision. "If I did, Vaatu would sense you and take advantage, taking you. But Vaatu knows your location now here, which isn't good; it's unacceptable. I have to take you somewhere; I have to move you- "
La's sudden swerve in the pond made a small splash. "You would not dare!"
Aang inhaled deeply and reached down into the pond, trying to grab his targets. Tui and La tried to furiously swim away from him, but he used his waterbending to envelop them in a small globe, keeping them together. He ignored their various screeches of outrage and reached his hand in and wrapped it around the slick scales of each, rubbing gently, reminding them of their position—he was done playing games. "I'm not going to hurt you," he promised softly, staring at them through the globe of water, where they wiggled desperately against his fingers. "But I'm also going to make sure that Vaatu can't hurt you, either. I'm going to take you somewhere that no one can find."
Aang silenced their judgments and turned away, severing Tui and La from their primal dwelling in which they had swam for eons; he flew out of the Spirit Oasis and almost turned back upon the memory of his newest failure, the sudden and crushing fear too much. But he couldn't do that; Azula and Zuko didn't deserve that. With a heavy heart, Aang found his wife and friends in one of the courtyards in the decimated city. A group of captured enemies had been gathered and were imprisoned together while heavily guarded by over a dozen Waterbenders who all looked exhausted and wounded in various ways. He was relieved to see that the not-so-scarred-now Lee was still there; he had urgent questions for Vaatu's prized Energybender.
And he would get his answers.
Azula immediately stepped toward him when he landed next to Appa—his friend thankfully seemed more rested, prepared for another flight—worry on her face that was visible only to his eyes; the sight forced him to brace himself against his Appa's side for a moment. Katara stood with Zuko and was healing the wound on his shoulder and under his chin, the blue glow of the water a brief distraction. A large group of other Water Tribesmen stood near Katara speaking about the injured men in the battle. Druk was curled near Zuko, but the creature's eyes were watching the prisoners, predatory and daring.
"What happened?" Azula demanded, drawing all attention onto him, to which he kept the globe of Tui and La behind him, not having the energy yet to explain it; he didn't even have the energy to explain Samir and Ursa, least of all to his wife. "Where are Samir and Mother?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered and gathered his composure. "Vaatu and Ozai… took them."
"What?" Azula grasped his arm, and her golden eyes were suddenly frantic, desperate, on the verge of dark fury. "Our daughter is… gone? My mother? They were taken?"
Aang felt tears spill down his cheeks, ashamed of his failure, grieved at the thought of what Samir felt under Vaatu and Ozai's cruelty. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't save them. They… they disappeared. I tried to find them, going into the Immortal Realm, but Vaatu vanished." Sapphire flames sparked at Azula's fingers before vanishing suddenly; she wavered, and he pulled her into him and felt several tears dampen his garbs. Everyone was quiet, and he looked at Zuko, was frozen in place, golden eyes hazed. "I'm sorry," he whispered and squeezed Azula tightly, trying to prevent his despair and anguish from overcoming him.
Thankfully, and unfortunately, he had much practice at it.
"We'll get them back Aang," Katara spoke fiercely, blue eyes hard. "They will regret it. We won't stop until Samir and Ursa are found."
Azula moved out of his arms and didn't look at any of them. "I will see this world burn to get our daughter and my mother back."
"It won't come to that," he assured fervently. "I'll find them no matter what."
"Your oaths are powerful but never mistake mine are not. Is your oath one you can keep, Avatar?"
"What else happened?" Zuko insisted desperately in interruption, holding onto Katara, anchoring himself, and Aang felt thankful for the reprieve—he could barely process his own horror; he couldn't face Azula's, not now. "How come… you couldn't save them?"
"I was caught by bloodbending," Aang answered, looking at Katara, seeing the shock and confusion on her face, which would turn inevitably to denial and disbelief when she learned of the Bloodbender's identity. "It was Hama—she's with Vaatu and Ozai, and she's young. I suspect that Vaatu restored her chi- "
Katara stepped away from Zuko, astonishment and horror in her eyes. "Hama? No, she's in prison—if she hasn't already died!"
"She's not dead," he confirmed. "It was her, Katara—there's no way it wasn't. Bloodbending is only known by us—and her."
Unfortunately, he was certain that Hama was teaching bloodbending to Ozai—unthinkable!
As expected, Katara shook her head in denial. "No, she'd never- "
"She did. She's with Vaatu and Ozai. It was her bloodbending grip, which you know I'd never mistake for anyone else. It was her." To distract her—and himself—from the horror of a Waterbender of Hama's caliber being Ozai's waterbending master, Aang pulled Tui and La forward in their globe. "In the effort of being honest, I took- "
"The Ocean and Moon," Katara breathed, blinking at him, disbelieving. "What? Why?"
At her words, the minimal Water Tribesmen stared at him with paranoia, suspicion, and accusation on their faces. "Avatar Aang, you can't take them! This is a transgression against our laws! You sully Tui and La with your- "
If anything, it was more accurate that Tui and La sullied him with their outrage, but Aang shook his head. "I have to- "
Ire flashed in their blue eyes as jeers and condemnations were hurled at him. "Thief! You seek to destroy the Family!"
"Vaatu invaded because of them!" Aang snapped, letting the globe float in front of everyone, trying to keep allied together, letting no misunderstandings splinter them. "That's why he attacked; they are why he attacked. It was the only reason. If they weren't here, he would have never invaded. I'm going to take away his reason to invade again, and when all this is over, things will return to how they were—I promise."
He meant Tui and La returned to their immortality, how things were a long, long time ago, but they didn't need to know that—for now.
"Who is Vaatu?" one demanded, distrusting.
"A powerful spirit," he answered quickly. "All this carnage is because of him. He's an ancient spirit—estimate his age at eons if you want, but if you do, triple his age. He's beyond your fathoming. He's older and stronger than Tui and La—by a lot."
"Why would he want Tui and La?"
Aang raised his brows. "That's what you do in a war—ally with your strongest competition or destroy your strongest competition. I saved Tui and La from destruction, and by taking them from the Spirit Oasis, I'm saving the North from further destruction. This is how it's going to be—it has to be. With all the numbers you lost, incalculable right now, you can't afford for another invasion, and make no mistake, if Vaatu comes again, he will get them. I'm taking them away from him—I'm protecting them because you can't protect them, not from Vaatu. If any of you think you can protect Tui and La better than I can, go ahead and take Tui and La; protect them from primal power that exceeds any man but me to ever walk this world; protect them from an intelligence and knowledge that created them."
Silence. As expected, no one dared step forth. Even if one had, Aang would have refused.
But his point was made—and understood.
"How did this happen?" Katara exclaimed, voice trembling.
"It was Hahn!" One of the Water Tribesmen sneered and pounded his bloodied, worn spear against his cupped palm, which leaked blood from various cuts. "That traitor! He killed Chief Arnook and led this invasion from Vaatu straight to us!"
"I'm sorry this happened," Aang whispered, bitter, and saw a single tear slide down Azula's cheek before her posture changed; she suddenly resembled the girl in the Great War. It was never really Hahn—it was Aang himself who was at fault. He had miscalculated, assumed that Vaatu didn't know Tui and La's location and couldn't figure it out—at least for a longer duration of exploration. Because of his miscalculation in this long, strategic war, the North was decimated with, likely, only one hundred men remaining of their population—if that. "I'll everything I can to- "
A burst of piercing laughter split the air and Aang turned to face the trapped Lee. The Energybender howled and tears spilled out of his gleaming eyes.
"What a liar you are, Aang!" Lee shook raucously, violently in his ice prison. "You'll do everything you can? Badgermole shit, you will! You never do anything! You let the Great War happen, doing nothing! You let Fire live, doing nothing! You were gone for a century, you lost your sky bison, and now this, on top of everything else and all the things I don't know about but know that you did nothing with those, too! That's all you do—nothing! The Great War only ended because you were pushed to end it, not because you actually wanted to end it! And that was only luck—it's the only explanation! You're a failure in all ways, Avatar. Now I hear that your daughter is gone—good riddance! She never deserved you! But now that skin-melted cunt's mother is gone, too! It's the best news I've ever heard! I hope she's raped in her cunt constantly as atonement for pushing that skin-melted cunt through her cunt walls!"
"You're the cunt!" Zuko roared, enraged, and darted past the Waterbenders who acted as guards and attacked Lee, smashing flaming fists into his not-so-bad-burnt face; the punches didn't even seem to affect him that much. "You want death so bad? I'll give it to you!"
Zuko pulled out one of his swords, and while none of the Water Tribesmen cared, and even Katara didn't look too concerned, only resigned and disgusted at Lee, Aang did, icing Zuko's feet over, holding him in place until he reached him.
"No," he whispered, watching Zuko refuse to lower his sword, which was poised to stab through Lee's face. "We need him—Zuko, we need him."
"I don't care," Zuko hissed. "I'm going to kill him."
Lee began to laugh again, his hysterical cries hovering in the air. "I win. You're proving me right, Fire Lord, as I wanted in Ba Sing Se! I win!"
Aang gripped Zuko's shoulder and ignored Lee's deranged, mad comments—for now. "He has the answers about his attack against Fire- "
As expected, Zuko's duty to Fire superseded any thoughts of rage as he pulled his sword away. "I'll be there when you get those answers."
"I won't give you anything!" Lee cried out, face twisted in mad calculation. "You'll never learn! I won't let you! We were friends once, but we were always enemies—you're worse than Fire!"
Aang stared at Lee, bemused. "I don't know you. We're not friends- "
"My face is different, that's all. I'm cursed with this ugly fucking face, but it's worth it—all for vengeance against the damned race that destroyed the world."
"Who the fuck are you?" Zuko demanded, leaning forward, face pinched into something sinister. "Why do you hate me and my uncle? Why did you say this fucking attack is his fault? Why work for Vaatu? Why betray your race? Why betray us? Why unleash this against Fire?"
Lee's eyes seemed to burst in mania. "You ruined me! You and your fat uncle killed me! Vaatu rescued me, gave me my second chance, and made me more than I ever was! Fire's going extinct because Vaatu trusted me- "
Zuko looked baffled and furious simultaneously. "You're insane! You hate me and my uncle but work with my father? You hate Fire but work with your former Fire Lord? You should despise him even more than me!"
"Father?" For the first time, Lee looked confused, blanching. "There is no Fire Lord Ozai! What are you talking about? I work for Piandao and Vaatu of my free will."
Aang stepped in, finally having enough; Azula was still quiet, staring into the distance with an indecipherable expression. "We don't know that yet. Enough with this. I can't deal with this right now."
"Fuck you, Aang! I know what I know!"
Zuko immediately smashed his fist into the side of Lee's temple, but Lee only laughed, healing features crinkling. In fact, Lee didn't seem to feel his injuries.
Aang sighed and bound up to the trapped Lee, the Water Tribesmen parting for him; he placed his hand on Lee's forehead and was immediately bombarded with intense chi energy—an unholy amount that should be impossible. It was shocking how much was there, but he didn't have the strength to deal with it right now—and its implications. With a grunt of effort, he forced slumber to befall Lee, and when he opened his eyes, Lee was unconscious.
"I thought he would never shut up," Zuko muttered, glaring poison at Lee.
Standing to his feet as he turned away from the unconscious Lee, Aang looked at all the Water Tribesmen—there weren't as many as there should be, unfortunately, only a fraction. "Are you all who remain of your tribe? Did you clear the city?"
"I cleared the city, Aang, with Zuko, Azula, and Druk's help," Katara informed. "They joined after you left and we finished off the army—at least those who we could find. So many of my people are dead… So many on both sides…"
"We are the only men of our tribe who we know are alive, Avatar Aang," one of the Water Tribesmen answered his first question solemnly. "We were saved by Fire Lord Zuko."
"The dragon saved me," one of the others said. "I thought I was going to die."
"Princess Azula got us; we were surrounded, but she appeared and saved us."
"Princess Katara saved me and my group!"
Aang was thankful that his friends had managed to keep the North from being extinguished fully, though it had been close; he did a quick estimate of how many were before him. "And there are only around a hundred of you out of the fifty thousand who woke up this day," he closed his eyes to control his dark, horrified emotions. "I want you all to deal with the prisoners for now. Is this all of the enemy?"
One of the Water Tribesmen nodded; his eyes glinted with death and blood. "We killed all of the Firebenders who were still alive," he notified, shooting a nervous glance at Zuko and Azula.
Zuko snorted, but it lacked energy. "You won't hear any protest from me. My subjects betrayed me and only their deaths are acceptable atonement."
"I killed some of them myself," Azula murmured; her voice was different, containing a disconcerting amount of predatory impulses.
Aang closed his eyes at the thought of the number of dead. Although he had seen and experienced much worse, specifically his race's murder, it was still unpleasant to see how much destruction was everywhere; the North didn't even resemble a city anymore, barely counting as civilization. It needed to be rebuilt. "I need to find my daughter and mother-in-law. After I speak with whoever is in charge- "
"You are in charge," Azula interrupted, voice flat and challenging; she glared up at him. "Take control, Avatar—embrace the fact that everyone here looks to you for guidance."
"Who took over after Hahn was killed?" he asked, adhering to Azula's wisdom. "I know there was someone- "
"Onartok" one of the men answered quietly. "He's who struck the killing blow to Hahn."
The name was vaguely familiar but he couldn't place it. "And who is Onartok?"
"He's Master Pakku's son. He hasn't been seen since the battle started. We don't if he's still alive; we haven't seen him. I fear the worst. Without Prince Sokka, we're going to be thrown into a succession crisis. There may be a civil war—if there's any number of us left who care now."
"Prince Sokka will be here eventually," he promised in assurance. "It may take some time, but he will come. He's going to claim his heirdom. Until I find a regent, I'm taking control—I'm the North's chief for now until I leave. I trust there is no complaint?"
Silence.
Aang nodded. "Since Onartok isn't here, I'll speak with all of you who are here—you are all that's left of Water. I want the prisoners all contained and guarded heavily. I want to know what they know. I have to take Tui and La somewhere safe, but after I return, I want a report of their knowledge- "
Azula straightened and marched up to him; her golden eyes were on fire. "I will handle that. They will tell me everything. Silence will not help them; I will force them."
"Avatar Aang, why did they attack us?" the same man asked desperately, hearing the other Water Tribesmen begin demanding the same. "Please, tell us. Why did Hahn lead them to us? Was it really only for Tui and La?"
He felt his anger latch onto a dead man, something he was very used to, unfortunately—it was easy and familiar. "Hahn cared for nothing but power; he allied with Vaatu to gain more of it. Vaatu needed Tui and La, but we kept that from happening. Thank you for your sacrifices. I know it's too much to bear."
"But why did those Children of Earth attack us?" The man pointed at the unconscious prisoners. "They're of the Earth Kingdom; you can tell just by looking at them. Why would they attack us and join Ozai and Vaatu?The Firebenders need no explanation."
Aang sighed tiredly once more. "I know you heard about what I did to King Kuei."
Wariness crossed their faces. "Yes."
"Earth hates me for it, and they attack anything I'm associated with, which includes the North because Tui and La are here—but I'm taking away that motivation until all this is over."
Zuko looked at him. "One of them mentioned something about Kyoshi—I heard it."
"So did I, but I don't understand what Kyoshi has to do with anything."
"And the Fire Nation, Avatar Aang?" the Water Tribesman asked, voice dark and resentful. "Of course, those of Fire are all savages. They couldn't help themselves, could they?"
"No, they couldn't," Zuko spat, answering instead. "Like Hahn, they wanted nothing more than power. Many of the Fire Nation soldiers and nobles all despise me as much as Lee apparently does. They see me as a failure of a Fire Lord. They were effortlessly swayed to follow my father once more. I have always known that they wished for the Great War to resume so that they could reign supreme—the doctrine that my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father preached—but I should have done more to contain them."
"You could not afford to do that," Katara pointed out softly, staring at Zuko; she looked sad. "This is a nightmare. But we can stop the nightmare by tending to the injured, which I will do. There were many injured, and they need help quickly, or there will be nothing that I can do. I don't know how many women survived the invasion- "
"All of them," one of the other Water Tribesman interrupted, face brightening in relief; it was an identical expression to all the other Water Tribesmen, who were similarly comforted. "All our women survived. When we realized the invasion's imminence, all the women and children were sent into the underground ice caverns for safety. We checked on them, and the invasion force thankfully didn't hit the caverns."
"They could have helped you!" Katara snapped in disbelief. "I understand the children and elderly, but the women your age could have entered the battle and saved lives! Why would you send them away? They could have kept some of you alive! There aren't even a hundred of you left out of the fifty thousand that you started with!"
"It's to keep our race and civilization from dying. Women are the ones who bear our children." The Water Tribesman slowly leaned up and held a hand against his shoulder; it was badly burned. "We have lost much today, so much, but we didn't lose everything because we still have our women. Because our women are safe, we can rebuild; we can recover. Losing our fellow men is tragic and horrifying, but it's not crippling. Losing our women would be crippling. We can recover our population in a single generation with only us hundred men because we can sire many children, but if the women fought, they would all be killed, making us extinct. Even if there were some women who miraculously survived, like the same number as us, it would take centuries to build back from because the women can't bear as many children as we can sire. This is one of the leading reasons why Water has our men fight instead of our women."
Katara looked speechless, blinking in shock, clearly never having given such a thing thought, and Aang nodded. "It's the right approach, especially about this."
He knew better than anyone the horror of extinction.
"I never knew that," Katara whispered, blue eyes considering. "It makes sense, actually. It's almost flattering."
Azula smirked, though it was half-hearted; her golden eyes were shadowed with clear thoughts about Samir and Ursa. "It is."
The Water Tribesman nodded. "And because of that, we will be able to rebuild in a generation. We all know how important our women are to our race; we know their worth and protect them, for they are the mothers of our children."
"And to protect all of us from having something like this happen again, here's what's going to happen," Aang cut in. "Azula will interrogate; Katara will heal; and I'll deal with Tui and La, question Lee, and take away his energybending. Zuko, what will you do?"
Zuko sighed. "I'll help with the burial of the dead and search to see if any of the enemy somehow survived. This will all take several days—maybe weeks—to sift through everything that must be done."
Aang nodded. "I can help with whatever any of you need me to do, but I do have pressing concerns. This doesn't involve just Water but everyone. I must be on top of it. After I deal with Lee and Tui and La, I will go into the Immortal Realm to speak with Wan Shi Tong. He should know how Vaatu eludes my gaze and how he just disappears. If he does, I should be able to find Samir and Ursa because I'll be able to track Vaatu, which would change everything. He also might know what I can do about the attack that Lee unleashed, but I'm hoping that Lee himself can tell me."
"I doubt Lee will tell you anything, Aang." Zuko seemed to believe his declaration, glaring at the unconscious Lee.
"He will," Aang said after several moments. "He wants to. He wants to tell us just so he can see the pain and hopelessness on my face."
Zuko scratched at his healed chin irritably. "I will kill him. Only the Fire Lord can."
"After I have the answers I need," he ensured, to which Zuko nodded.
As the Water Tribesmen began to disperse to begin their tasks, or to rest, Katara swallowed, looking at him. "Will he kill them?"
Aang knew instantly who she was talking about, but Azula did to; her golden eyes brightened like lightning, enraged and serene. "He will not kill Mother; he is obsessed with her, always has been. I want to know why he took Samir."
"To hurt me—and you if he knows that Samir is your daughter, too—in ways that no physical attack ever could," Aang answered immediately, hating that he understood Ozai's reasons—but he did! "He hates me above all others. He would know that Samir's an Airbender and my daughter; it's the only explanation he could make. From what I gathered, Samir was also used as a way to keep your mother under control. I assume that… Samir was captured, and that's how he got your mother to comply."
"She once swore never to go back to him," Zuko murmured bitterly. "It would have taken something drastic for her to be receptive to him."
"And Samir was that drastic measure," Aang whispered those cursed words. "I shouldn't have brought her here. What… what was I thinking?"
Azula seemed to flinch; he glimpsed the mist in her eyes. "I pray that Mother will keep her safe. If anyone can handle him, she can. I cannot imagine how terrified Samir feels."
XxXxXxXxXxX
"I have a lead," Sokka notified in an excited rush, staring at the other faces. They were all in a tavern after a long day's journey, passing from Zaofu into Chyung—and he had finally gotten the big break he needed! "I asked around, and apparently, that man in the corner- " He waved his arm vaguely toward the man, huddled with a large drink, slouched on a table, miserable. "- over there works for a man named Piandao. It can't be coincidence, not this far into the Earth Kingdom. This is it!"
He was powerfully relieved to be on the margins of the continent based on the rumors he had heard in the past week; there were alleged terrible atrocities and attacks that left countless people stranded, migrating everywhere, looking for refuge. Apparently, all the activity was in the center of the continent, near Ba Sing Se, and he didn't envy the task Bumi, Bor, Toph, and Suki had in dealing with all the chaos that was undoubtedly happening.
Based on Haru's story about Chin V, he suspected that Chin V was responsible for all the chaos, but he doubted that anything had happened to Ba Sing Se. Thus far, he hadn't heard anything specific about Ba Sing Se, which was a good thing. He had heard the Zaofu's king was overthrown and murdered, possibly by Chin V—Haru was dead certain it was Chin V, at least—but there was nothing about Ba Sing Se.
Thankfully—he'd go out of his mind if he heard that Suki was in danger. But he trusted Toph, Bumi, and Bor to protect Suki.
But it was clear that there was chaos everywhere on the continent—except for where he was at. The margins—the coasts—of the continent were clear of any chaos or disturbance. From what he had gathered, people had even fled from the coasts, fearful that Fire was going to invade. He understood why as, according to some of the rumors, Fire was responsible for all the atrocities in a sinister, designed plan to conquer Earth once again because almost half the continent was in disarray. Besides where he was on Chyung's coasts, it was exactly like it had been for so long in the Great War—Omashu and Ba Sing Se were the only safe zones.
The irony was bitter, particularly since he knew that Fire couldn't invade, lacking the manpower. Lee the Energybender's plague—he would always think of it as a plague, no matter what Aang said—had wiped out much of Fire. Fire wasn't going to be invading anyone for a long time, for many generations, probably.
Would anyone invade anyone after everything settled down? Wouldn't everyone be so sick of it all?
Hopefully.
"Are you sure, Sokka?" Haru leaned forward, goblet pushed to the side. "This could get messy."
Mai began, as always, twirling one of her shuriken. "Please make it messy."
Ty Lee rolled her gray eyes, inherited from her two airbending grandfathers—a fact that still was hard to grasp completely. "Mai, we have to be subtle."
"Even if something happens," Koko cut in, "we'll all be here. It's all of us against him. I don't care if he's an Earthbender. We have Haru."
Ty Lee grinned, rubbing Haru's arm. "He's strong and can do so many things with those fingers of his."
"Just because you taught me chi-blocking doesn't mean I want to be that close to you," Sokka pleaded, crossing his arms. "My ears will thank you. Keep it to yourself."
"How can I keep to myself how Haru- "
"That's it." He stood up and turned to approach the man. "You're making me miss Suki."
How he missed her!
Haru chuckled. "Good luck. We're here if something happens."
Sokka kept his stride calm, but he was tense inwardly; he slid across the man who he was told to see. "How are you? I hear you know some things about a man named Piandao."
The man took a long drink from his goblet before he smacked his lips. Then he blew out the candle with a sloppy puff between his lips, throwing them into relative darkness. "You're a surprise. It's not often you see a Water Tribesman. What do you want?"
"I heard you know Piandao."
"Who's asking?"
"Me—obviously."
"Do you have a name?"
"Wang Fire."
The man abruptly burst into laughter, and Sokka suddenly smelled the haze of alcohol surrounding him. "That's a funny name—Wang Fire."
"You're drunk," he realized, leaning back, trying to clear his nose of the stench, but he was relieved; it might be easier to pull information from a drunk man than from a sober one.
"Probably. But then again, I usually am around this time. Are you wanting to start a lecture, Wang Fire?" The man suddenly giggled again before it cleared, replaced by a drunk's logic. "It won't do anything. I failed in school so none of those lectures work on me. My teacher worked on me, though. I wanted to marry her. Give it your best shot."
"You're sick."
"No, I'm drunk."
"You mean dramatic. That candle-blowing stunt was extreme. Why the darkness?"
"No, I'm drunk," the man repeated, voice rising in frustration. "That's what you said. Am I repeating myself?"
Sokka blinked, trying to gather the conversation to a suitable topic. "Um, so about Piandao- "
"Sorry about that." the man took another huge swig from his goblet. "I didn't sit down next to you, Wang Fire." A brief giggle escaped the man's lips, and he shrugged lazily, leaning back. "You sat across from me. Are you here to kill me?"
"What?" Sokka asked incredulously, wondering briefly if he should give up. Apparently, it was much harder to get information from a drunk man than from a sober man. "Why would you think that?"
"You have a sword."
Suddenly, he glimpsed a way to loosen the drunk man's tongue. "You're a smart man," he commended. "I don't want to see you dead, but that could change."
"How's that?"
"By not telling me what I want to know—and you can tell me."
"Do you know something that I don't?"
"I know you know Piandao."
"That's right!" The man slammed his goblet on the table; he leaned forward, tilting his head. "What can I do for you?"
Sokka almost smacked his forehead in exasperated frustration, but he barely stopped himself—barely. "I just need to know about Piandao. You know him."
The drunk man hummed thoughtfully. "I work for him. He's going to kill The Avatar, and I'm going to help him. Do you want to kill The Avatar, too?"
"Um… yes?"
The drunk man smiled suddenly, face lighting up in joy and surprise. "Why didn't you say so?" he demanded, voice rising in exclamation. "I know Piandao!"
Sokka almost strangled him. "I know!"
"Do you want to meet him?"
"Yes! Do you know where he is?"
"Uh-huh. Words from the dark are impossible to miss."
"Whatever you say," he said, smiling uneasily. "Can you tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
He blinked slowly. "Tell me where Piandao is?"
The drunk man frowned, tilting his head. "Why would I do that?"
Sokka gripped his sword's hilt but refrained from yanking it out and stabbing the drunk man to death—it was so frustrating! "Because I hate The Avatar! There! Is that what you want to hear?"
"Of course!"
"Why do you hate him?"
"Kyoshi murdered my sire, and the newest incarnation murdered King Kuei of Ba Sing Se, and he hasn't allowed us our revenge against the Fire Nation! How can anyone not hate The Avatar? Only The Avatar doesn't hate The Avatar! Everyone else hates him!"
Sokka forced himself to nod eagerly but inwardly, he felt sick; he knew how much, in fact, The Avatar did hate The Avatar. "The Fire Nation killed my mother."
"Mine, too! Did they murder your wife and kids, too, like they did one of my brother's and a bunch of my cousins'?"
"I'm not going to give them the chance," he deflected, lying through his teeth but he needed the location of Piandao; he would figure out if he could trust a drunkard's word later! "That's why Fire should be destroyed—and The Avatar, too."
"Exactly! Wang Fire, you may be a Water Tribesman, but you have the heart of the Children of Chin." The drunk man downed the rest of his goblet. "I can take you to Piandao—I'll do it now. He just got back from invading the Northern Water Tribe. We're close to destroying The Avatar."
Sokka stared at the drunk man incomprehensibly as the words roared in his ears, hoping with all the hope he possessed that it was just a drunk man's ramblings, but he knew, deep down, that it was true—he felt it! "The North was invaded?"
"Fucked to oblivion, if you can believe it. Piandao's healed and everything. From what it sounded like, there's probably just a handful of men left to the ice."
He swallowed, heart racing so fast he thought it would burst; he felt the pulse in his eyeballs! "That's great news," he choked out. "Why aren't you celebrating? You're by yourself."
The drunk man slackened, and his features tightened; he seemed nearly sober. "I'm grieving. My leader was killed. He was the greatest man I ever knew, and he was the soul of the Children of Chin."
"I'm sorry for your loss," he lied. "What was his name?"
"Chin V."
Sokka stiffened in shock and narrowly stopped himself from whirling around to see if Haru had heard—Haru was hunting Chin V, who had murdered his father! Chin V was the new Chin who was going to be like Chin the Conqueror and take over the Earth Kingdom. But with Chin V dead, did that mean that his quest to sweep across the continent failed? Did Aang stop it? Was the threat over? What about all the whispers about devastated areas? Was that because of Chin V? Although it was strange because, unlike Zaofu, which had certainly been destroyed in many areas, including the ruined village in which they had found Haru, Chyung was fine. It seemed that Chin V had elected to leave Chyung along—for some reason.
Or was it because he was from Chyung? Lonin's advisor seemed to know enough about him to actually know him, even if by reputation, which suggested proximity?
Did Chin V live in Chyung? But did it matter anymore since Chin V was dead?
"Really?" he asked slowly. "That's interesting."
"With no leader, we all decided to continue to follow Piandao and Vaatu until The Avatar and his followers are destroyed. You would be a good recruit. Are you by yourself?"
Sokka shook his head and angled his head back, seeing Mai, Ty Lee, Haru, Koko, and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors where he left them; they looked back at him, curious, while Haru was tense, staring at the drunk man with a hungry, bitter look on his face. "No. That group sitting at that table over there—do you see the woman twirling the knife?"
"Yes."
"That group's with me. We want to work for Piandao and see our goal realized."
"Are you all non-benders?"
"No. That guy is an Earthbender, a pretty good one."
"Me, too!" the drunk man exclaimed. "He could be integrated into the Children of Chin, like so many have since The Avatar murdered Ba Sing Se! He can take one of our women—there are plenty of them! There used to be millions of us, but since the North's invasion, where we lost everyone but Piandao and Vaatu because The Avatar showed up, we have much less—but it's still a lot! He can marry one of the widows! I'll set him up!"
Sokka blinked rapidly, trying to keep up with all the information he was hearing, but the North was invaded, Aang stopped it, destroyed Vaatu's army, but Vaatu was able to escape.
What about the Ocean and Moon? What about Yue?
He almost asked the question, but he knew it would be too suspicious, and he nodded in discomfort, clenching his jaw. "Where's Piandao?"
"Oh, don't worry—he's a month's journey from here on foot. It would be a day from here, but he moved to different territory in Chyung since he returned from the North. He's in charge now since Chin V died. You know where Yu Dao is?"
He knew the name but not the location. "Part of the old Colonies, right?"
"Right. We're near the coast—it's how we got enough ships to invade the North."
Sokka smiled and leaned back in relief—he found Piandao! "Looks like we're going to Yu Dao. Are you wanting to take us?"
"We can go now!" The drunk man unsteadily stood up from his chair and staggered towards the door, barely opening it. "Come on!" Sokka stealthily motioned for everyone else to follow him, and they all stepped after the drunk man; they were outside of the tavern, the night air crisp and refreshing. "It's this way!"
"Where?" Mai asked, stepping toward him.
The drunk man lurched and turned around, prepared for a slurring explanation. "It's this way- "
In a blurred motion, Sokka watched in shock as Mai threw her shuriken, which pierced through the drunk man's throat. The drunk man stood there uncomprehendingly, and Mai tore the weapon out of his throat; blood burst out, and the drunk man collapsed to the ground, dead.
"Why did you do that?" Sokka cried out after a stunned pause. "What the fuck?"
Mai shrugged, unashamed. "We have the knowledge we need. He could set up a trap for us once sober, when he will no longer be so harmless. We could never trust him."
"Bu- but you weren't even there!" he spluttered. "You just killed him!"
"He was loud; we all heard what he said."
Sokka turned to look at everyone else. "We just killed a guy who did nothing to us! Do you have a problem with that?"
"He worked for Chin V," Haru muttered. "If she didn't kill him, I was going to. He won't be missed."
"I'm sorry about Chin V," he said, face pinching in memory, reminded of everything that was at stake. The drunk man needed to be killed—Mai did the necessary thing. "I know you wanted to be the one to kill him."
Haru smiled tightly. "We have a chance to go deeper, getting intel from Piandao about Ozai and Dark—it's the way it happens."
Ty Lee rubbed Haru's shoulder, face sympathetic. "It will be worth it."
"We need to hide the body," Koko interrupted. "Someone could see it and would think of us, first. We're the travelers."
He nodded at Haru. "Do it. Make sure to get the blood, too."
Haru stomped his foot and pulled his hands towards himself, and a grave-like hole appeared. Sokka grunted and rolled the drunk man's body into it; he pulled dirt and rubbed it over the blood spots. When he was finished, he stood back up, and Haru closed the hole.
They all stood above the unseen grave, a place that no one would ever know was there. An awkward silence was prominent for several moments before it was pierced by Koko.
"What kind of name is Wang Fire?"
"An awesome one!"
XxXxXxXxXxX
Well, that's all for this one, everyone! That's all for this one, everyone! I hope that you all enjoyed it and I'd also really appreciate it if you left a review; it would help me out!
**Aang reveals to Azula that he plans to kill energybending, forcing it into extinct memory, forgotten forever—like it was before he learned it from the lion turtle. It's extraordinarily telling that energybending went extinct to begin with. It suggests, for whatever reason, that energybending wasn't good enough. It probably wasn't good enough for safety reasons; it was too dangerous to keep around and it died out—in whatever ways it did. The lion turtle said that energybending was around before The Avatar's era, which suggests that The Avatar and the other bending arts were outgrowths of energybending. Thus, if energybending was capable of producing four bending arts in airbending, waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, how powerful and primal is energybending? It reveals a terrible danger with energybending, a possessive risk that caused it to die out—it was too dangerous because the impulse to screw around with energybending and defy What Is was too great, causing chaos.
Although it was never clear what would have happened if Ozai had overpowered Aang during that energybending scene during Sozin's Comet, it makes sense that Ozai's energy would have overtaken Aang's, giving Ozai all the power of The Avatar—because energybending is all about bending the energy within yourself and other people, which means you can destroy that energy and smother it, like Aang did when smothering Ozai's firebending. Either way, Aang's decision not to kill Ozai was the biggest gamble he could make, which was the sign of an unbelievably poor Avatar—he was playing "Russian Roulette" with the world's fate because he couldn't summon the willpower within himself to kill Ozai. The only—the only!—reason why it's an acceptable choice for him to make is because he was twelve years old, a literal boy—the only reason. But it's no longer an acceptable choice now that he's a man. He nearly doomed/damned the world because of his decision.
Aang recognizes that him smothering Ozai's firebending was a far more evil and "unnatural" solution than killing him as it was the exact lesson he learned in going back to see Gyatso again—defying What Is leads only to catastrophe. By smothering Ozai's firebending, he defied What Is, because bending isn't meant to be smothered like that—it's, literally, unnatural, defying What Is. Bending is meant to be used. If you're a bender, you're a bender—you can't just "magically" become a non-bender. It's unnatural. That's why Ty Lee's appearance was such a big deal in S2 because it was a literal invasive element that terrified benders, specifically Katara, because it was unnatural to be without the natural bending gift they possessed, passed through their lineage. Also, by smothering Ozai's firebending instead of killing him, Aang opened the door for Ozai to return, which culminated in everything that happened thus far through the story because he kept Ozai alive. The nature of everything was always going to happen, but the form would have been different if Vaatu chose another man besides Ozai. Really, in my estimation, Aang ensured the worst form for the nature of everything by sparing Ozai—because Ozai is his ultimate opponent and Vaatu's most premier possibility as a vessel. If he doesn't kill Ozai henceforth, what will the consequence be? He understands that it would be much worse than killing Ozai and whatever outgrowths would occur from killing him.
However, Aang agrees to teach Azula energybending because she's his wife and needs to know and understand, on some level, what he knows and understands.
**Hahn takes the Chiefdom in the North but is killed in a mob rampage because of the Moon Spirit's actions, revealing what happened to everyone. Really, Hahn was dealt the short end of the stick, and the Moon Spirit, for whatever reason, had it out for Hahn. The Moon Spirit forced the situation, making something out of nothing, forcing Hahn into the position where he had no other choice but to kill Arnook, which would always result in his inevitable death. Hahn could never win.
**Bor, Suki, Jin, and Toph rest after fleeing Ba Sing Se! Toph eventually wakes up and is understandably hysterical and distraught about her feet. Because she's in so much pain, she distracts herself—or tries to distract herself—from the pain by asking questions and demanding things about what happened and who Jin is. Then Toph spills the beans about Suki's pregnancy, about how she's pregnant with twins.
However, the continent is in chaos after everything that happened. Basically, in his quest to Ba Sing Se, Chin V pillaged much of the continent on his way from Chyung, and because Bipin was so incompetent, Bipin had no idea. Bumi and Chin V, ironically, were the two men holding the continent together, but now they're both dead, killed by each other.
**Aang and company are getting ready to leave the Sun Warriors when the Moon Spirit appears and warns Aang about the North's invasion, to which Aang flees immediately.
**Iroh learns of the death of Bumi and is anguished by it. He thinks of how many friends and loved ones that he has lost and that leads into how much the Fire Nation has lost from Lee's plague. Pretty much, Iroh thinks that he's the last Firebender in the Fire Nation—very horrifying. Firebending is dying out rapidly, which was Lee's goal—it all went according to plan.
**Aang, Azula, Zuko on Druk, Katara, Ursa, and Samir fly to the North! Unfortunately, Aang was caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't leave Samir with the Sun Warriors, and Azula would never have allowed it. Ursa considered staying behind with Samir, but she did not trust the Sun Warriors. Thus, Aang didn't really have any other option, even if he didn't actively think about it when he left (he's still a new father, after all). However, Ursa volunteers to stay with Appa and Samir away from the battle—and Katara will look into the Spirit Oasis to see if anything is amiss—because Appa needs to rest.
Then they get to the North, and Ozai's army is already there, and it's not good! So, because of Hahn, the North wasn't prepared except for the knowledge that there would be an attack. Preparations can make or break an army, and the North was nearly broken because of Hahn, but it was saved in time because Aang and the one-third of the Gaang entered the battle and turned the tide!
**Ozai, Hama, Zhao, and Vaatu go the Spirit Oasis! Zhao is returned to his prison so that Vaatu can mend the bridge he kind of burned when freeing Zhao in the first place. Because of it, Tui and La allow Hama to heal Ozai in the Spirit Oasis and re-attach his arm to his body, which is successful. Ozai is whole again! However, when Vaatu goes to restore Tui and La to their immortality, strengthening his alliances by a lot, Katara shows up on Appa, but she doesn't see anything because of the haze of what looks like natural darkness. Ozai has it confirmed that Azula is still alive and learns that Zuko has a dragon. His reaction is about what you would expect. Then they follow the not-paying-attention-because-he's-so-exhausted Appa, and Ozai finally encounters Ursa once again after years. Samir, because she's still a kid, doesn't have a sense of danger so she stupidly attacks Ozai with air and they learn that she's an Airbender. Ursa attacks them, and in the confusion, Appa manages to fly away on a burst of adrenaline, but Samir fears that Ursa could get killed so she tries to help and as a result, she is captured. (Remember, she's only a 7-years-old kid.) Aang appears at the last second after seeing the empty saddle on Appa, but Hama freezes him with bloodbending, and they all disappear—with Samir and Ursa.
**Zuko fights in the battle, and even though the odds are against him and his friends, they persevere. He kills his former subjects, the nobles, because treachery is not tolerated, and what else would you expect in a war, a battle? No one is shown mercy; it's a horrifying war where there can only be slaughter. Just after Druk and Katara go into the city, he remembers that he saw a strange avalanche—Ozai reacting to the confirmation that Azula is alive and was "seduced" by The Avatar—but before he can tell Aang and Azula, he is attacked by Lee. Zuko fights him off and it culminates in Lee getting one of his hands sliced off. Then Appa appears and Aang realized what had happened; he flies away while Zuko and Azula go into the city to strike the final blow to the army of invaders.
**Aang, after Vaatu and Ozai disappear with Samir and Ursa, enters The Avatar State and goes to the Immortal Realm, trying to find Vaatu to rescue his daughter and mother-in-law, but Vaatu disappeared; he cannot be felt. Don't worry, it will be explained why and how Vaatu can do this and how he seemingly teleports and took Ozai to the Immortal Realm without mastered chakras in Chapter 8 and other places. Aang, of course, is furious and miserable and when he confronts Tui and La, he is pissed off, understandably so. He learns about Zhao's involvement but how the man was also returned to his prison in the ocean. However, because he knows that Vaatu knows Tui and La's location, he has to take them and hide them.
About the Water Tribes and only men fighting. There must be a reason for that. At least in Canon to me, it just seemed like a sexist thing to give Katara more power and a defining moment, but it's a lazy explanation, as portrayed in the show. There must be a reason why the Water Tribes are that way. It doesn't just magically happen or else it's a plot convenience-thing. Women are more valuable biologically for procreation, and this has been proven in real-life history. If a population loses 30%, 40%, or even 70% of its men, it can recover in a single generation, whereas losing that many women would take centuries to build back from (Irish potato famine, and Russia during the 20th century, particularly during Stalin's Great Purge, for example). Thus, the Water Tribes took on that mindset, and that's one of the main reasons why Water Tribe women never fight.
**Sokka, Haru, Ty Lee, Mai, Haru, and Koko and the other Kyoshi Warriors have a lead about Piandao! Sokka talks to one of the Children of Chin, who is also drunk because of Chin V's death, and he says that he can take them to Piandao. Sokka learns some of the stuff that happened and when they all leave, Mai kills the man, recognizing that he could become a threat. Sokka isn't pleased but he reluctantly agrees and they bury the body. Their next stop is near Yu Dao, where the man said Piandao was.
I think that was everything so leave a review and tell me what you think of the chapter. I'd really appreciate it!
Stay Safe
ButtonPusher
