Alright, time for chapter 42. Anyone gonna be playing Hogwarts Legacy? I know I will be, just for the experience and possibility for new ideas. We'll be starting our last sort of arc before I have a bit of a time skip where we'll cover the major events of Riley's life over the course of the next few years. I hope you all enjoy and I look forward to your feedback as always.
Broken Angel: Rising Demon
Chapter 42: Arrival in Republic City
-Riley's Home, March 5th 2001-
The reception was a lovely affair. Riley's and Luna's friends and family were all enjoying themselves as they hung about Riley's home. The newly weds sat at outside, gazing out over Hashirama's forest, taking in the sight while listening to the party.
"So, what's your plans for a honeymoon Riley? Got somewhere in mind, or just gonna go into Kamui?" Draco inquired as he and Hermione stepped up beside the newly weds.
"Actually I was planning on taking Luna to see the Bending Nations, where Toph and Azula are from. There are so many different kinds of animals there, and I know how much my newest wife loves animals." Riley replied, earning herself a bright smile from Luna.
"Wow, that sounds like fun." Hermione offered.
"I hope it will be. Toph will be coming with us to show us around Republic city and introduce me to some of my grand-kids. Afterwards me and Luna are gonna go off and explore the continent for two weeks." Riley added in.
"Will Gaia or Yugito be joining us?" Luna asked curiously.
"Not this time. I plan on taking the two of them with me in a month or two to visit, but for now it'll just be us." Riley answered her.
"What about you two? Any plans for the honeymoon, I know your wedding is coming up here in a few months. It's before mine and Yugito's right?" Riley asked them.
"Yeah, three weeks before, we'll be back in time to make the trip out to the Elemental Nations to see it. As for plans, well I was thinking about taking Hermione to visit my family's vacation home in France." Draco answered, gaining him a bright smile from Hermione.
"Nice. Well I'm certainly excited to see you two tie the knot, you've been pining for one another since second year." Riley stated, chuckling to herself as she did.
"Lovebirds, since the beginning. I'm happy for you." Luna offered.
"I'm happy for you too, Luna. You both have always been so cute together." Hermione said to her.
"So how does it feel? Six down, two more to go?" Draco asked.
"Feels like almost being complete. Each one of my marriages has been special to me, and yet, afterwards, when I take that little fact into account, I can't help but feel like another piece of my life has come together. I've got Yugito in July, and Katie in January, and then that will be that. All eight of my mates, will be my wives." Riley answered, with a content hum.
"Any thoughts towards keeping your eyes open for another? Not that you need anymore women in your life, but have you given it any thought?" Draco questioned.
"I'm not looking anymore, if that's what you're asking. My mates are more than enough to fill my life with all of the love and companionship that I could want. With that being said, my hearts always open. If someone comes around, and I fall in love again, then it is what it is. I have no complaints. So long as they're compatible with me and my mates, then whatever happens, happens. I won't turn down love, if I feel it in my heart, but I'm definitely done looking. At least for now. Maybe a hundred years from now I'll feel different, but for now, I'm quite sure that eight is enough for me." Riley answered honestly, Luna nodding along with her. Truth be told, Riley had always been that way. In fact, the only reason she had settled on eight was because Luna has seen eight mates as Riley's paths. Riley herself had never had a set number in her head. In fact, until the marriage contract with Kumo came up, and learning about her mates becoming her paths, Riley had no prospects for another mate after Artoria.
"Hmm… well, I hope you two have fun on your honeymoon, try to find some interesting animals while you're there, I want to hear all about them." Hermione offered once the conversation reached a pause.
"We'll most certainly try to enjoy ourselves." Luna said in response as she leaned her head on Riley's shoulder, gaining a smile from her new wife.
Riley gave her a smile, and the two went back to basking in the joy of their union. Family and friends came and went, visiting and offering their congrats to the two. That night, Riley and Luna made love, spending every waking second of their wedding night together. Come the morning, they'd leave to go to the Bending Nations, they'd spend a day or two meeting with some of Riley's grandchildren, and then they'd go out exploring.
All in all, a perfect end, to a perfect day.
-March 6th 2001-
"You sure you don't wanna come with us? Might be interesting." Riley offered to Azula.
The former Fire Nation princess offered her a bland look before rolling her eyes.
"I can, at this very moment, name fourteen things I'd rather be doing than traipsing around the world my idiot brother/nephew and his equally moronic friend built." Azula responded, her son Shakik standing beside her, babbling incoherently, as toddlers are apt to.
Sharing in his inane baby babble was his aunt Lucille who stood opposite of him, though her babble had several coherent words sprinkled in.
Riley couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the sight. Despite Azula's cold, and generally aloof nature, she did have a small soft spot for baby sister, and welcomed the bond Shakik and Lucille were somewhat developing. Lucille was almost a year and a half old, with Shakik a few months younger than his aunt. Both were very close in age, so they generally hit the same milestones around the same time as one another. Letting them spend time together was thus, relatively easy, as they were both around the stage of development.
"Okay, well don't say I didn't make the offer. I think you'd find it interesting, but if you wanna stay here that's totally fine." Riley held up her hands in surrender, long since having gotten use to Azula's crass, and cold nature.
She headed out of the room, and quickly found Toph and Luna, both of whom were waiting for her.
"I'm guessing Azula wasn't interested?" Luna inquired.
"Your insight, as always my love, never ceases to amaze me." Riley responded, earning a playful smile from Luna.
"Let's get this show on the road, I'm sure you two are eager to get out there and start exploring the world, and I'm eager to see what my shit head daughters have been up too." Toph stated, Riley and Luna nodding in agreement.
Riley's mates offered her a farewell, with Riley asking one final time if Gaia or Yugito wanted to join them. Both had already declined, and did so again. Gaia was busy, and even if she wasn't, this was meant to be Riley and Luna's honeymoon, Yugito basically felt the same, so both offered to go next time. This time around, it was just gonna be the three of them.
Riley's mates and family offered her farewells and the trio quickly departed, Riley using Kamui to teleport them to the Bending Nations.
-March 6th 2001. Bending Nations-
The group arrived near to where Riley, Gaia, and Yugito had started their journey here over a year ago.
"So where too first?" Riley inquired.
"Let's head for Republic City, we'll meet with my eldest daughter Lin, and see what's become of her." Toph answered.
"Weren't the two of you not on speaking terms?" Luna asked as Riley took both of their hands.
"Eh, she had a fight with her sister, blamed me for not putting Suyin in her place. I'll be the first to admit I wasn't a good parent, I made my fair share of mistakes. Lin was probably right, in a way, though I never held anything against her, still don't. We'll go see her, if she doesn't wanna talk to me, than at least she can meet you guys, and afterwards we can go meet Suyin and her family. I expect more of a warm welcome from Suyin." Toph explained as the trio began to rise into the air, Riley lifting them up with her powers, and flying them in the direction of the large industrial city that sat on the opposite side of the Earth Kingdom.
Republic City, Riley had heard plenty about it from Toph. A city built by Aang, and the rest of the gang to act as a sort of cultural unity hub where all four nations could come together, and unite their powers and understanding to build something together.
It was one of the largest cities in the world, probably second only to Ba-Sing-Se, so it wasn't all the hard for Riley to sense out it's location on the dwarf planet.
Within minutes, the trio arrived on the outskirts of the city. Riley offered a hum of amusement upon first seeing it. The Bending Nations truly had come far in the decades since she'd last explored these lands. Before her sat an industrial powerhouse. A city much more closely related to nineteen-twenties New York City, than to the Asiatic style that had colored most of the world decades prior.
Technology had advanced by leaps and bounds. Old style automobiles drove on paved roads, airships flew through the skies lazily, suspension bridges connected the city, that spanned perimeter of the bay it sat on.
It truly was a curious sight, the towering sky scrappers truly stood out as a sign of changing times in these lands. Riley felt her curiosity bloom, wondering just what had happened to bring about these interesting and fundamentally world-altering changes.
"That's a big city." Luna noted.
"Bigger than when I was last here." Toph stated, her Byakugan activating for a moment, allowing her to get a full view of the expanse of the city, before deactivating it again.
Riley continued to scan the city until her eyes fell upon a sight that made her laugh aloud. The giant statue of Aang that stood poised on a small island in the center of the bay, seemed like the most obnoxious thing in the world.
Riley didn't even have to think about it to know that Aang himself, probably had absolutely nothing to do with that towering monument to the world's savior. She wondered if it had been built while Aang was still alive or if they waited until after he died to put it up. She couldn't not see Aang protesting the erection of such a monument in his honor, being the humble guy that he was.
"That statue is absolutely obnoxious." Riley chuckled aloud.
"Damn right it is. The Fire Nation had it built, along with the museum below it, as a symbol of peace, unity, and remembrance. Aang tried to argue against it, saying that it was far too much, and definitely sent the wrong message, but Zuko wouldn't hear it. This was an act of good faith by the Fire Nation, who'd worked hard to build it, and if Aang refused this act of generosity, than Zuko was going to order the construction of ten thousand statues of Aang that he'd ship around the world to be placed wherever people wanted them. So either Aang accepted the one big statue and a museum dedicated to his journey, and the past Avatars, or he got ten thousands statues of himself, ten of which Zuko was going to have placed on Air Temple island, just to annoy Aang." Toph explained, earning another chuckle from Riley.
Riley's eyes drifted over to the second island in the bay, and there she sensed a great power. This power, she immediately recognized.
"The Avatar is here." Riley noted.
"Is she? Down on Air Temple Island? She must have come here to train under Tenzin, Aang's and Katara's youngest kid." Toph offered up.
"Wanna take a little detour before we go hunting for your wayward daughter?" Riley asked.
"Sure, why not. Be good to see what twinkle-toes has been up to." Toph replied, once more taking Riley's hand, as did Luna.
This time, Riley Apparated them all down to the island, appearing at a clearing on the island.
The trio stood in the clearing for a moment, before being spotted by someone.
"Hey, who are you? Intruders!" A man who seemed to be patrolling shouted when he saw them.
"Not the reaction I was expecting." Toph noted as she felt a half dozen others come rushing towards them.
The man who'd spotted them fell into a bending stance, and then quickly fell out of it, as Toph shifted her foot and opened the ground beneath the man's feet, causing him to sink down into it, up to his neck.
"Wouldn't do that if I were you. This one gets pretty testy when it comes to protecting her wives." Toph noted as she stepped forward facing the troop of guards who now raced into the clearing.
"Who are… wait…" One of the new arrivals began to question, only to pause, blinking several times as he stared at Toph. This man was older, closer to his forties or fifties, and it was obvious that he recognized Toph.
"I'm guessing the White Lotus is here protecting Avatar Korra, still though, you fellas seem a little jumpy, you mind going and getting Tenzin, let him know he's got guests." Toph asked, her gaze cold, yet focused. She was perfectly ready to fight the six remaining benders, if they wanted too. Despite being in a relaxed stance, she already had them all dead to rights. Toph had once declared herself the greatest Earthbender in the world, even after all these years, that belief hadn't faded. The last year of training with Riley, and her family had helped to further sharpen Toph's already considerable skills. Just in Earthbending alone, she had these guys beat. That wasn't counting the fact that she was a dual elementalist, she knew Airbending, having learned from Aang, she was also the inventor of Metalbending, and she had begun developing her own magnet bending style, during her few visits with Gaia over the last year, so needless to say, she was more than ready to take these six on.
Silence filled the clearing for several long moments before the man who'd recognized her motioned for the others to stand down.
"Lady Toph Beifong. My apologies, my lady. We did not recognize you. We're on high alert here due to the recent attacks by the equalists." The man explained as one of the Earthbenders of the group helped the original out of the ground.
"Look I just got back, so I have no idea what's been going on around here. Like I said, go fetch Tenzin and tell him he's got visitors, I'm sure he'll explain everything." Toph instructed.
"Yes, of course. Please, follow us, I'll run ahead and let Tenzin know." The leader of the group offered.
"Well, that was surprising." Riley noted.
"Who are these equalists?" Luna asked.
"No clue. Probably bad news, if it's got the Avatar's bodyguards this wound up." Riley whispered in reply.
A few moments went by when the White Lotus members escorted the trio further into the temple, they came to a halt outside of the main structure, just as the lead Lotus member, exited with what could only be Aang's son Tenzin.
Riley would have known this was Aang's son, even without her sensory abilities. He looked just like him, dawned in Airbender traditional robes, he had a medium length dark brown beard. He was tall, with focused eyes, and sharp features.
A smile appeared on his face when he spotted Toph.
"Well, well, well, look who it is." Toph offered approaching the man with a smile.
"Lady Beifong, it's… it's good to see you again." Tenzin spoke with notable surprise.
"Oh none of that 'lady' crap. I've known you since you were in diapers Tenzin." Toph waved him off as the two got within arms reach of each other and shared a hug.
"I see you still haven't changed a bit. Still as hardy and rugged as you've always been." Tenzin noted as the two separated.
"I've been this way for a long time. Don't quite see a reason to change how I am now." Toph offered with a shrug.
"Well, it's good to see you again. I'm happy you're here, we could actually use your help." Tenzin said to her, his gaze grim.
"Well I certainly get a kick out of hearing that. Looks like we'll have to postpone the long reunion. You two wanna just go out exploring and do this later?" Toph inquired, gazing over her shoulder at Riley and Luna.
The two shared a glance with one another, having a mental conversation. After a few moments, Luna nodded with certainty, and Riley and she stepped forward.
"We're here for you, what's going on?" Riley asked.
"That's what I'd like to know." Toph returned her attention to Tenzin.
"You haven't heard?" Tenzin inquired with a look of surprise.
"I've been gone for over a year now, and I haven't really paid attention to what's been happening out in the world during my time away before that. I hear you're having trouble with some group calling themselves 'equalists'? That's about the extent of my knowledge." Toph responded.
"Wait, if you didn't come here to offer your aid, then why are you here?" Tenzin asked curiously.
"My mother and I were interested in catching up with twinkle-toes, before going to see Lin. I haven't had the chance to introduce my mother to my kids or grandkids. Otherwise, they're here to relax and celebrate their marriage, so be thankful they're offering their assistance." Toph jerked her thumb towards Riley and Luna.
"I see… You… those eyes… my father spoke about you. A spirit in living form, with power unlike anything he'd ever seen. A dark spirit, full of selfishness, and deceit." Tenzin noted as his gaze fell on Riley. His words caused her to smirk.
"Happy to hear thank Aang took my lesson to heart." Riley replied.
"A dark spirit that he also named a friend. Someone who was unafraid to speak the truth, and to teach lessons that were cold, and hard. He told me how your lesson about spirits, helped him to understand them, and learn how to navigate his dealings with them." Tenzin added, causing Riley's smile to soften.
"I only knew your father when he was young, but he was a good kid. He was a peaceful boy, and wanted to save people, even his enemies. In any other case, I would have been happy to let him go on believing in second chances, but as the Avatar, he is the bridge between this world and the spirit world. His purpose is greater than that of others, and he has to understand that some spirits, aren't just malevolent, but pure evil. I'm happy that my lesson helped keep him alive, and I hope he lived a full and happy life." Riley expressed.
"I think he did. His death was peaceful, and I think he left with few regrets. I am thankful for your aid, as you aided the last Avatar, perhaps you can help this one with her own trials. Unlike my father, she has a particular absence of connection to her own spirituality. It makes Airbending difficult for her, she still hasn't shown any ability to manipulate the element, which is concerning, especially in times like this. Come, inside. I'll explain everything, Korra should be back with her friends, soon enough. She does tend to bring them about, despite my protests." Tenzin stated, finishing with a sigh, that earned a laugh from Toph.
"Seems like a chip off the old block! Aang always did whatever he wanted to, even if he tried to be thoughtful about it, he did have a wave of convincing himself, or letting others convince him to do things he probably shouldn't have. I should know, I got him into plenty of trouble during out travels." Toph laughed again as the trio followed Tenzin into his home.
The trio sat and listened as Tenzin explained the situation brewing in Republic City. A group of non-benders had started a movement, the equalist movement. Openly, their goal was to stop the oppression of non-benders by benders, not so openly, their leader, Amon, had the ability to remove a person's bending ability permanently. It was believed that their ultimate goal was to remove the bending ability to all benders. As a fighting force, the equalists employed a force of chi-blockers, those trained in a gentle-fist type martial art, that shut down the magical pathways in a person's body, temporarily disabling their bending.
This group was rapidly evolving into a full-blown terrorist organization. Amon had already held several rallies, and openly threatened the Avatar by responding to her challenge against him by capturing her and showing her that he could have taken away her bending if he'd wanted too, but wisely he chose not to make her a martyr.
While Tenzin explained these things, his wife came and brought them tea. When his wife first saw Toph, her hackles rose, and she proceeded to walk on eggshells, Toph meanwhile just offered a predatory smirk, much to the annoyance of Tenzin.
Eventually curiosity got the best of her, and Luna asked what that was all about.
"Oh, Tenzin here use to be dating Lin. Then the two started drifting apart, they both wanted different things in life, and little Pema, stepped forward and confessed her feelings for our dashing Airbender, with the added caveat that she'd be more than happy to help repopulate the Air Nation. As for whats between us, well I just like giving her shit. It's fun to watching her wait for me to bring it up. She and I never talked about it, but she's always thought that I would. Still does apparently, and apparently, she isn't excited for that conversation." Toph explained with a chuckle.
"You're cruel." Riley noted with a smirk.
"Never said I wasn't. Really, it's her fault. If she just buckles down and asks me what I want to say, I'd tell her I think she's a good match for Tenzin, and they seem to have a good relationship. Still, I'll leave that for her." Toph responded, her answer earning an annoyed sigh from Tenzin.
"Can you save your torment for when my wife isn't pregnant?" Tenzin asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Well from the looks of things, if I did that, I'd never get to have any fun." Toph noted, causing a blush to appear on Tenzin's face.
"So, these equalists color themselves as freedom fighters, while following a man with the magical power to take away one's bending abilities? Sounds like a load of hypocrisy to me." Riley hummed.
"We don't know the source of his abilities, it could be something physical, not related to magic." Toph offered.
"No that's highly unlikely. These chi-blockers, that's about the extent of what the physical can do to the magical. While magical pathways do exist in the body, and are physical in nature, they aren't their own separate entity. Magic flows with your blood, and along your nerves, strikes against the tenketsu points can disable ones movement and their ability to channel magic momentarily but it all corrects itself after the body has had time to heal. Practitioners of the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist style of martial arts, can disable one's magical abilities, but the only permanent way to do it, is to strike at the magical core, that resides within the heart. Doing so, always triggers cardiac arrest, and if left untreated can kill the victim, and if the effects aren't reversed, the victim almost always dies. Taking away a person's ability to perform magic can only be done in one of two ways. You either remove the magic from their body via sealing or absorption abilities, the latter of which will usually kill you due to magical exhaustion, or you remove one's ability to control magic, which is dependent on how they actually go about controlling their magic. There is no purely physical way of removing ones ability to use magic permanently, that doesn't involve killing them. All living things require magic in order to survive, and physical objects aren't going to be able to detect the threshold for what's needed for one to live. Even if you had an object that could get close, without killing you, it would leave the person in a permanent state of magical exhaustion, so to know for certain, I'll ask, what state are the victims in, after Amon takes their powers away?" Riley explained thoughtfully, finishing with a question towards Tenzin.
"Tired, for a time, but they eventually return to normal, at least their physical health does. Nothing really compares to having something you've relied on your entire life, ripped out of you. Mentally his victims are a shell of their former selves." Tenzin answered her.
"So, unlikely to be a physical object, and even if he used seals of some sort, he'd still need magic to activate them, so this Amon is most likely a magical being, like a bender or something similar. Maybe not a bender, but more like a normal magical, like a witch or wizard." Toph stated thoughtfully.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. Benders are elementals, but that doesn't mean that there aren't normal magicals here as well. I'm guessing the same rates apply with the occasional magical being born to normal humans, but without proper magical training their powers go largely unused. Most probably cant perform the advanced bending abilities of benders, so they just get left at the wayside and seen as benders, just with none of the talent." Riley agreed.
"Hmm, a non-bender but still possessing powers. My father and mother mentioned something like that. Explained that people like that could exist, as you were living proof of it, but they'd never met any beside you and your two companions. I'm guessing it's like you said, they just get mistaken for benders, just without the talent." Tenzin offered his agreement.
"So, a non-bender magical, with the ability to strip away others magical abilities permanently. Sounds like a recipe for chaos." Toph noted.
"It does, and he is. Amon is a frightening force, to be sure." Tenzin said to them, letting out a sigh as he did.
"Hey Tenzin, we're back!" They all heard shouted from the entryway.
"Korra, come in here for a moment." Tenzin responded. A few seconds passed by as the Avatar and her companions stepped into the room.
The Avatar herself was a tan skinned woman, with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair. She was tall and muscular, and dressed in the blue that signified a close affiliation with the Water Tribes. Her friends included two boys and a girl, all around her age, being late teens, most likely. The two boys shared a number of physical similarities making it appear like they were related, the woman, from what Riley could see, was a non-magical, making her stand out as the boys were obviously benders.
The foursome took note of Riley, Toph, and Luna when they entered, with Avatar Korra focusing her eyes on Toph with a curious look that slowly began to morph.
"I… don't believe it… Toph?" Korra asked, blinking several times, as if she was hallucinating.
"Good to see you again twinkle-toes." Toph responded, rising to her feet as she did.
"Wait, Toph? As in former Chief Beifong's mother? That's impossible, she's too… young?" One of the boys rebutted.
"Healthy living kid." Toph replied with a chuckle.
By now Riley and Luna had also risen to their feet.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" The Avatar asked, taking a step forward.
"Well, I was on my way to introduce Lin to her grandmother when I decided to swing by and see how you were doing. Last time I saw you, you had a bit more facial hair, you were also a man." Toph noted with a chuckle, her words earning a yelp from the Avatar, as she touched at her face, only to then glare at Toph who was openly laughing at her.
"How do you look so young? You should be in your eighties by now?" The female friend asked.
"Well, I am in my eighties, and like I told him, healthy living. You must be the new gang, pleasure." Toph responded.
"You…" Avatar Korra began, only for her eyes to drift over to Riley who now stood behind Toph. There was no recognition at first, but something about Riley seemed familiar. Her crazy eyes, definitely set off some warning bells for the Avatar.
"Greetings, Avatar Korra. It's been a long time. My name is Riley, I'm Toph's mother." Riley greeted her.
"You… Katara mentioned you, something about a woman who was really a spirit in human form." Korra stated, earning bewildered looks from her three friends who turned their attention to Riley.
"Sounds about right." Riley hummed with a touch of humor.
"You don't look like a spirit, your eyes are kind of freaky, but you look pretty normal to me." One of the boys stated, appeared beside Riley, eyeing her curiously.
"Hmm…? Oh, I hide it well." Riley responded, as the boy let out a yelp and was flipped upside down. One of Riley's tails pulling his foot out from under him and flipping him over before he hit the ground. Now he hung suspended in the air, his face level with Riley's.
"What the heck?!" The boy got out.
"What is that?" Korra questioned in disbelief.
"One of my tails." Riley answered, as another uncoiled from her body and wiggled in the air.
"You have tails? That is so cool!" The boy she was holding upside down, shouted with excitement.
"Thanks, I don't think I got your name?" Riley inquired, glancing at the boy.
"Oh, I'm Bolin, that's my brother Mako. You already seem to know Korra, and that's Asami." Bolin introduced himself and the rest of his friends.
"Pleased to meet you Bolin, I'm Riley, this is my wife, Luna." Riley introduced herself and Luna.
"Nice to meet you." Bolin offered with a smile, still held upside down.
"Nothing ever dampens your spirits does it Bolin?" Korra asked, smiling at him.
"Eh, I try not to let things get to me." He responded brightly as Riley used her other tail to right him in the air and set him on his feet.
"So, what are you doing here?" Korra asked, directing the question towards Riley.
"I was just here to meet my granddaughter, and then take a trip around the world to see the sights and maybe find some interesting animals. My wife likes animals, and we're on our honeymoon. Thought we'd drop in to see you, though it's obvious you don't remember me." Riley answered, causing Korra to blink several times in confusion.
"Korra has had a bit of trouble getting in touch with her spiritual side. She's also had similar difficulties contacting the spirits of the past avatars. That she even remembered Toph is something of note." Tenzin offered, gaining a nod of understanding from Riley.
"Sorry. Tenzin's right, I haven't had much luck connecting with my past lives. I did have a vision not long ago involving Toph, which is how I recognized her. I'm guessing that means your Toph's mother, Lin Beifong's grandmother." Korra offered.
"No need to worry. It's understandable. Spirituality comes easier to some people, and more difficultly to others. Those more grounded in reality tend to have a harder time getting in tune with the spiritual, and vice versa, those more attuned with their spirituality can sometimes forget or overlook reality. Sounds to me like you all have a problem here in Republic City. These Equalists, and their leader Amon." Riley responded, folding her arms over her chest as she drew the conversation towards a more critical matter.
"Uh, yeah, actually. We've been looking into it, trying to piece things together, and figure out what the Equalists have planned. It's slow going right now, but we're trying to stay safe while we figure things out." Korra explained, though Riley could immediately tell she was hiding something.
In the mind's eye of all four of them, Riley could see something brewing. The group had been having excursions into the city to hunt down the Equalists and they were trying to keep what they were up to quiet.
"Ah, to be young and stupid. Was I ever that reckless?" Riley hummed internally.
"Yep." Kurama muttered sleepily.
"When?" Riley asked indignantly.
The response she got was intentional snoring, causing her to deadpan.
"Well, we're here to help, just in case things go awry. We should probably contact Lin and get us up to speed on everything going on here. You said former chief, so I'm guessing that means she retired." Toph noted.
"Actually, she resigned. It's a long story." Korra corrected her.
"Probably to make a point, knowing her. Still, get her here, and let's talk. The sooner we can get a full grasp of the situation and all its various characteristics, and sooner we can decide how to handle it." Toph instructed, her role as former police chief, really shining through here.
"I'll contact her and have her meet us here. In the meantime, I'd invite you to stay here, while you're in Republic City. The ever-growing danger has put a lot of people on edge, and I'd hate to see things escalate into further violence." Tenzin offered.
"That's probably wise." Luna agreed, not noticing that Asami had been staring at Luna for the better part of the conversation.
"Problem?" Riley inquired, glancing at the Avatar's female friend.
"What? No. Sorry, it's just… are you changing colors?" Asami asked, having taken notice of the dim movement of color under Luna's skin and in her hair.
"Yes. I do that from time to time." Luna responded, as if it was all that was needed to dismiss the curiosity.
Asami slowly nodded at that, her question having earned the attention of everyone else, who took note of how color slowly shifted and moved through Luna's body.
"Why is she doing that?" Mako asked.
"Wish I knew. You figure it out, let me know." Riley answered with a shrug.
It wasn't long afterwards when Tenzin summoned one of his children to escort Toph, Riley, and Luna to where they could stay for the time being. While they took some time to relax from their admittedly brief journey, Tenzin would contact Lin and have her come to the island to meet with them.
Later that day, just after nightfall, Lin arrived.
Tenzin invited her into a room where Riley, Toph, and Luna were waiting. The first person she took notice of was her mother.
"Mother? What… are you doing here?" Lin asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
"I came to check in on you, been a few years. I also wanted you to meet your grandmother." Toph answered, rising to her feet as she did, and gesturing towards Riley.
Lin Beifong blinked several times before glancing at Riley and taking in a breath. Riley took the moment to analyze her granddaughter. Lin was a tall woman, with sharp features. Her eyes were a light green, and she had a pair of scars running down the right side of her face. Her aura was domineering and held a great strength to it. Riley could see the power within her, though it was obvious that she hadn't embraced her demonic heritage, as her hair was beginning to gray with age and stress.
A half demon who never taps into their demonic powers will generally live the average life a magical, which could still be longer than a normal human, but far from their full lifespan. Riley still didn't know how long her progeny could live; the age of half-demons varied from one to the next. Some had double the lifespan, some could live for centuries. Until her kids started showing signs of aging, Riley was left only to guess.
"So… you're Toph's first born. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Riley." Riley offered in greeting, her Rinne-Sharingan shining with curiosity.
"Grandmother… it's… a pleasure to finally meet you. Mother told me all about you." Lin stated, stepping towards Riley to stand before her.
"She's told me plenty about you too. A hard ass, just like her. Strong willed, clever, and just." Riley responded, chuckling as she thought about how much her children often reminded her of herself and her mates.
"Well, I won't deny that I'm happy to have the chance to finally meet you, I'm sure you didn't ask me here, just for a family reunion." Lin inquired after a long moment of analyzing Riley. Tenzin cleared his throat at that, while Toph rolled her eyes.
"It's always business with you, isn't it." Toph sighed.
"In case you haven't been informed mother, we have a bit of a problem occurring right now. An entire movement, led by a highly dangerous man, are scheming to topple Republic City and start some sort of revolution. I think in this case, business has to come before pleasure." Lin argued, pinning her mother with a look, earning another sigh from Toph.
"Come now, Toph. It's important to them." Riley offered.
"I know, it's just annoying having to pretend like things are bigger than they really are." Toph groused, picking at her ear as she did.
"You think this isn't a major problem?" Lin asked, incredulously.
"I think the definition of 'major' changes when you're involving your grandmother. Last time she got involved, she was handicapped by destiny. This time around, not so much." Toph countered, her words causing Riley to smirk, while Luna elbowed her playfully.
"You seem confident that having her here changes things. Amon and his followers are spread out. Many of them probably hiding in plain sight, and they are trained specifically to defeat benders in battle." Lin returned.
"Well, my mother isn't a bender. She's also not human, she's a spirit. She can also read minds, and sense intentions. Anyone looking to ambush her, is gonna have to do so without thinking it, or feeling the desire to attack her. Aside from that, she's got the ability to track magical energies, no matter how far away they are. So, the moment this prick Amon shows himself, and allows mother to get a look at him, is the moment his movement ends. Whether defeated there, or at another place, once mother has him recognized, there's no where he can go on this dinky little planet of ours, no disguise he can wear, no legion of followers he can hide behind, that'll stop mother from reaching him. Seventy years ago, mother was willing to help us defeat the Fire Lord because I asked her to. She was also willing to allow Aang to be the one to take him down because my sister, asked her to. Now, her family is in danger. You're in danger, and I'm not going to let some revolutionaries try and take away my daughter's bending, so I'll be putting myself in danger, and unless either of us wants to ask her to not get involved, she's going to help, and help in her own way, and that means taking these guys down." Toph explained to her daughter and Tenzin. Having Riley there to help, rendered most problems as moot points. The only question was whether or not she was willing to help, and as Toph had already pointed out, these Equalists were a danger to Riley's family. That was more than enough reason for her to get involved.
Toph fully recognized that with Riley's help, there was nothing the Equalists could do to win if things escalated to violence. Violence was Riley's forte, and she had mastered it far beyond what any human could hope to achieve.
At the end of the day, Toph didn't know what the Equalists were after or what they hoped to achieve, she also didn't know why they sought the things that they did. All she knew was that they were willing to go to extremes to get it, up to and including violence. It wasn't her business why they thought this needed to happen, only that they were endangering people she cared for.
She recognized that this was a problem, but she also recognized that with Riley here, this problem could go away by tomorrow morning, so she wasn't going to waste her energy by pretending this was more than it would ultimately end up being.
"Before this escalates to a shouting match, you may wish to know that the Avatar and her friends have snuck off the island." Riley spoke up, causing Toph, Tenzin, and Lin to all glance at her.
"Ah, I thought it was strange they weren't trying to eavesdrop on our conversation." Toph noted.
"What? How do you know?" Tenzin asked.
"Didn't you hear her? Sensory abilities. Also, my natural senses are superhuman. For example, without focusing at all, I can hear the heartbeat of everyone on this island." Riley replied, a few blinks from Tenzin.
"We've got to go after those idiots. There's curfew out for non-benders, making it the perfect time for the Equalists to launch attacks." Lin stated, turning and marching towards the door.
"Alright, let's go look in on those knuckleheads and make sure they're not getting into too much trouble." Toph agreed.
"Yes, lets." Tenzin also agreed.
Riley and Luna went with them, just happy to be along for the ride right now. While unexpected, both were more than eager to enjoy this little adventure together. It had a bit of mystery to it, like how Amon could take peoples bending powers away, which was interesting to Luna, and it offered the chance to get some fighting in, which was always a joy for Riley.
They went into the city, Riley leading them in the direction of the Avatar and her friends, showing them that her tracking abilities truly were capable of following people from lost distances.
They arrived at a chaotic scene within the city. Police were busy arresting protesters for some reason, and Korra was arguing with the new police chief.
"What's going on here?" Tenzin asked as they approached the scene.
"Tenzin… thank goodness your here. Tell this pigheaded idiot that he's gone way over the line. He's arresting all of these people, even my friends." Korra said to him.
"Why would he be doing that?" Tenzin inquired, his eyes settling on the police chief.
"Inciting a public disturbance. Breaking curfew. I don't make the rules councilor, I just enforce them. The Avatar's friends are going to lockup, just like the rest of them." The chief replied stoically.
"This is bull. These people don't deserve this. They weren't even out here protesting the curfew. Someone shut off power to this side of the city. Look around, everything is pitch black. Instead of getting answers or turning the power back on, this man is just going to arrest them. It isn't fair." Korra argued.
"I agree that it doesn't seem right. Come, let's go to the police station and try to get this squared away. Lin, if you wouldn't mind offering your assistance?" Tenzin placated Korra, and then turned his attention to his former flame.
"Sure, I'll see if I can't figure out what's going on here, why the powers out should be a good place to start." Lin offered, Tenzin nodding in agreement.
"Need any help?" Riley inquired to Lin.
"No, I should have it handled. If you want, you can return to Air Temple Island, I'll head back there once I have some answers. My mother seems confident that you can help settle this situation. I've never known her to be wrong when it comes to things like this. Let's just hope it doesn't escalate that far." Lin answered.
"Okay, we'll head back, but I'll keep my ears open for you. If you need help, just call my name, I'll be able to hear you from the island, no problem, and I'll be there in a flash." Riley said to her with a smirk, earning a curious look from Lin, but then she nodded.
"Okay then. Tenzin, we're headed back to the island. Let us know if you need any help, we'll keep an eye on things there until you get back." Toph said to Tenzin, gaining his acknowledgment.
After their brief trip into the city, the trio returned to Air Temple Island to settle in for the night. While Riley laid in bed with Luna, she kept her ears open for Lin to call if she needed it. She didn't know if her newly met daughter would actually call out to her, but she kept her ears open just in case, and kept her senses focused on her granddaughter.
Riley was awoken from her rest by the feeling of power being thrown around. It was the Avatar, she could sense Korra, and she was fighting someone.
Luna was quickly up with her and ran to awaken Toph as well.
Once the two were up and dressed, Riley grabbed them and flew them to the source of the fighting. They arrived at seat of the Republic City Council, where Korra was battling a Waterbender. She had just gotten the upper hand when the trio appeared on a balcony overlooking the battle.
"Who is that man?" Luna asked.
"No idea." Riley replied.
"It's over, no more water to bend." Korra chided him, approaching the downed man with a bold stride.
"You'd think so, wouldn't you, but there's much about me you don't know." The Water bender growled, raising himself to his feet. He took in a breath and focused, then he fell into a stance and suddenly, Korra stopped.
She froze in place for a few moments, her body seemingly unable to move.
"Wh-what?" Korra got out in disbelief.
Suddenly her body lifted into the air, her limbs contorting painfully.
'Ah… Blood bending." Toph and Riley thought simultaneously.
The only one who didn't recognize the power was Luna.
"You… you're a blood bender?!" Korra got out as her body contorted painfully.
"You should have taken my offer." The man stated coldly.
"And you should know that punks like you always get what they deserve." Toph shouted down at him, causing his head to snap up towards when the three of them stood.
In an instant, Riley leaped from her position on the balcony and landed between the man and Korra. One of her tails shot out, grabbing Korra and pulling her up towards where Luna and Toph were.
"You, who are you?" The man asked, focusing his gaze on Riley.
"Me? Just an old friend of the Avatar." Riley answered.
"Well, it was unwise of you to come here." The man stated as he made an attempt to blood bend Riley.
Riley stared at the man for several long moments before beginning her approach. Slowly, methodically, she marched towards the man. He made several attempts to use his blood bending powers on her, but to no avail.
"What? Why isn't it working?" The man demanded, uncertainty and panic beginning to color his voice.
"Well, it's simple really, it doesn't work because I have no blood in my veins." Riley replied, with a hum.
"No blood…" The man stated with confusion.
"No blood, only fire and death swim in my veins." Riley spoke, flexing her fingers as she did.
The man looked to begin panicking as yellow light began to form around Riley's hand. With a smirk and a motion, the light jumped from her hand, shooting across the room at impossible speeds. It struck the man in the chest, piercing flesh and bone as if it was tissue paper.
The man felt something coil around his heart, and he was lifted into the air, pain lancing through his body as he was held aloft by an invisible hang, clutching at his heart.
"So… wanna tell me why you thought it was a good idea to attack the Avatar?" Riley inquired with a devilish smile.
The only response she got was a gasping cry as the man clawed at his chest in desperation.
"Yeah see, it doesn't make sense to me either." Riley shook her head, and with nary a thought, the fist of golden light surrounding the man's heart, squeezed tightly, bursting his heart in his chest.
Riley dropped the lifeless body to the group, drinking in the man's soul as she did.
"Well, you get anything out of him?" Toph inquired, her Byakugan active so she could see that Riley had taken the man's soul.
"Well, he was planning on kidnapping the Avatar so she wouldn't get in his way. He's also the one who turned off the power that caused the earlier protests, in the hopes of drawing out the equalists and starting a fight. He's also one of the city councilmen, so that's nice." Riley spoke, as Kurama went through the man's memories.
"His name was Tarrlok by the way." Riley added after a moment.
"Where did he learn Blood bending like that? I've only ever seen that kind of blood bending once before, without a full moon." Toph asked, as she hopped down next to Riley.
"Apparently he was born with it. Learned to do it from his father. A crime boss named…" Riley began to answer, but Toph came to a swift realization a beat her too it.
"Yakone." She growled right as Riley said the name too, earning a blink of surprise from Riley. A moment later, Kurama informed her that this Yakone was someone Toph had arrested alongside Aang years ago, and both had been on the bad end of his blood bending, which he could also do without a full moon.
He was so dangerous, that Aang was left with no other choice but to remove his bending.
"This prick was Yakone's son. Damn it all." Toph growled, throwing a glare down at Tarrlok's corpse.
"Is he…" Korra asked as she and Luna joined them.
"Dead? Yes." Riley answered, glancing at her.
"Wow… I've… never seen someone die before... Thanks for coming to rescue me." Korra said meekly, as she stared down at Tarrlok's body with sickness and regret.
"It was unwise of you to come here, Korra, you know that. Had we not intervened you would have been this man's prisoner. He may not have been working with the equalists, but that doesn't make him any less nefarious. Who knows what he could have done to you, if things got desperate enough." Riley chastised her.
"I know. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to help my friends." Korra responded.
"Well… now you've got to live with what's happened. He may have been an enemy, but had you not come here today, then neither would we have. This man is dead tonight, because of that choice." Toph reprimanded her, harshly.
"Wait… this isn't my fault. I didn't kill him!" Korra shook her head.
"No, you didn't kill him. You just got him killed. This man died because you came here tonight. Because you came looking for a fight and got one, because you pushed this man to the limit, and he called upon a terrible power to beat you. And because of the consequences of using that power, he now had to get rid of you. Cause and Effect, Korra. You are the Avatar. Every action you take, has consequences. You came here to help your friends, but you allowed this situation to escalate to this point. You have to recognize the power of your actions. The Avatar is the one who can help reshape the world. That is the power you possess by simply being the Avatar. You can't make stupid decisions like this, because you never know how they'll spiral out of control." Toph explained the gravity of the situation to her. Taking the moment to use this loss of life, as an important lesson for the Avatar to learn.
Though it was important that anyone know this lesson, the Avatar had a special duty to the world, so acknowledging cause and effect was vital.
Korra hung her head and let out a quiet sigh, and she took in the gravity of the situation. As much as she wanted to argue, she couldn't. A part of her wanted to argue that Tarrlok had been the cause of this. That by arresting her friends he'd caused this to happen, but she knew that was the wrong way to think of things. She was the Avatar, it was her duty to be better. It was her duty to be a mediator, to show wisdom, and care. Tarrlok had baited her, he'd admitted as much, and she'd fallen for it, and now he was dead.
He may have started it, but she had escalated it. No matter his crimes, Korra didn't think he deserved to die.
"Come, let's get out of here." Luna suggested.
"Yeah, let's go and bust your friends out of jail." Riley agreed, earning a soft smile from Korra, who nodded in agreement.
The troop departed from city hall, and made their way to the police station. With any luck Tenzin would still be there, and they'd tell him what happened. If nothing else, this was one heck of a start to Riley's and Luna's adventure in Republic City.
-To Be Continued-
Alright, there's the start to this arc. Gonna be two, maybe three chapters, I'll see how the next one goes. Hope you all enjoyed, see you on the next one, and let me know if you guys got the chance to play Hogwarts Legacy or not, I definitely can't wait to get back into it.