24 Water is the element of change
Deep inside the Si Wong desert, in the vast caverns where the giant gilacorns lived, there rested a great library.
Relocated in front of a golden shelf in the Corridor of the Phoenix emperor, there were sacred scrolls.
Scrolls depicting the most powerful and ancient of all races, the race that stood above even to the Great Primordial Spirits.
The Lion Turtles.
Mortal beings of pure spiritual authority, the Lion Turtles were the lords of the land.
They ruled over the entire world, and controlled even the fates of the stars, which were things of the spiritual world in their own right, as well.
Back then, the world was newly formed, and looked nothing like it does today.
The sky was a powerful mix of crimson red background and ashen black smoke clouds which blurred the horizon.
The beginnings of the continents were merely scorched red rocks that floated aimlessly on a constantly churning ocean of molten earth beneath.
But all things change.
The Spirits saw the land as a horrible barren wasteland.
For you see, there was no life.
Nothing could live on the earth back then.
Nothing but the Lion Turtles.
And so came the Great Change.
The first thing to change was the sky.
It transformed from its violent crimson to a light, calming blue.
A strange wind began to blow across the landscape, and the world began to cool.
Air.
As the world cooled, the steam in the atmosphere began to condense and collect in areas across the globe.
Water.
From these pools sprang green moss and oxygen-producing plants, leeching the redness from the scorched rocks, and transformed them into sand and soil.
Earth.
This change was surprising to the Lion Turtles.
They knew not what to do, and united among themselves.
They turned to their leader and chief for guidance.
"Hear me!" He announced to the crowd gathered around him. "Time has come for change! We are no longer alone, beings are manifesting everywhere around the world! We cannot fight the change nor should we! Let us go forth, and guide these Spirits with our ways!"
Long did he speak, and so eloquently, too, that the other turtles had no choice but to be bent unto his will.
And so they set forth, open to aid the foundation of the realm of the Spirits.
But ignored were they, for the spirits were proud and self-reliant, so the Lion Turtles had no choice but coexist without interference.
It was only after meeting a race of sentient beings after they just crawled out from the mud, named humans, that the Lion Turtles found a purpose.
For as long as it was required, they would act as the protectors of this new species, keeping them safe from the spirits.
Even trusting them enough to teach them how to bend the elements, a more feasible version of their bending of their spirit.
This continued on for thousands upon thousands of millennia until, one day, they transferred their duty to the Primordial Spirit named Raava.
With the cosmical energy from harmony convergence, the Avatar divided spirits and humans by sharing the world into two.
The physical and the spiritual world.
Left alone again, the Lion Turtles wandered the physical world, without having a purpose.
Most believed that they had been hunted to extinction, but in reality they had merely been forgotten by time.
Humans didn't look for them, neither did the Lion Turtles showed themselves.
Now…
A lone mortal human stood before the leader of the Lion turtles…
"Hear me, mighty Lion Turtle! I have traveled far and wide in search of you! I have gone deep into the earth and braved the sea to seek your aid! Share with me your power and knowledge over the stars, and I shall give a new purpose to your kind! Your race will be returned to its former glory under my rule! This I can do, for I am Zuko! The Phoenix Emperor!"
The massive ancient being stared at him in silence before saying. "I'm impressed that you were able to find me human, but me and my species are no longer bound by duty to protect and guide your kind. That responsibility falls over the Avatar."
The human nodded in acknowledgment. "That might've been the case since the last harmonic convergence. But tell me mighty Lion Turtle, have you seen the spirit of Raava in the past century?"
The Leader of the Lion Turtles was caught by surprise at the informed answer this young human gave him.
"The last Avatar was my Great grandfather Roku. Ever since his death at the hands of a natural disaster, Sozin, my other great grandfather, took upon his own hands the duty to guide mankind in the absence of the primordial spirit of order." The mortal identified as Zuko spoke. "But his leadership skills were severely lacking an unrefined. His dispute with Avatar Roku resulted in the end of the air benders."
The Lion Turtle spoke this time. "You carry failed legacies through your lineage. What makes you believe that you have what my kind has spent an eternity seeking?"
The mortal responded with. "Instead of lamenting for the wasteful past, I will push forward to build a better future. With your aid, I intend to bring back the population of air benders to the world through the gift. My empire will not tolerate the lawlessness and injustices that reigns over the other nations. Nor will it stop striving for innovation and technology while still being considerable of our natural and the spiritual needs."
"You seem confident that you won't end up leaving the world worse than it is. Do you believe it will be an easy task?" The massive ancient being asked.
"The hardest choices require the strongest wills." He stated.
"Very well." The Leader of the Lion Turtles announced impressed before raising its hand forward. "In the era before the spirits, my kind bent not the elements, but the energy within ourselves. To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed."
The mortal stood still as he received the gift from the leader of the Lion Turtles.
His eyes then opened and a blinding light burst out of it.
The massive ancient being could feel Zuko's near infinite reserves of energy begin to swirl under his command.
"I'm thankful, mighty Lion Turtle. This gift I will not forget." The mortal smiled. "I will keep my word and facilitate the reunion of Lion Turtles and Humans again. Spread word to your kind, my new empire welcomes every single one of you with open arms. It's the dawn of a new age for both species."
The massive ancient being slowly nodded its head before ascending to the skies.
The mortal left alone in the shore, desired to test his new found control over his energy.
With an upward movement, he provoked a large mass of water to engulf the natural waves of the sea.
Rolling to his left before pummeling the floor with his right hand, he performed the same results he had with water on the sandy ground.
By pulling his left foot backwards, he conjured a crescent-shaped wave of compressed air behind him.
And finally, he stood up and breathed upwards a large inferno.
After that brief demonstration, Zuko chuckled. "Not bad."
—————————————————————
Zuko's Island is located off the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom and dotted with many villages.
No longer exclusively a fishing port, this small island in the South Sea is now an important settlement for the Blaze empire.
It was once well known as the adopted home of Avatar Kyoshi and the residence of her elite Warriors, an all-female fighting force.
But after it had been conquered by the empire, every village on the island lost its statue of its revered Avatar.
The main village had a shrine for Kyoshi, but now it has been converted into a temple dedicated to the supreme leader of the Blaze empire, Zuko.
The island wasn't secluded anymore, with all the imperial guards roaming around.
But Tata found the temperate climate chilly compared to her previous home.
She had bought a ticket for an imperial boat to bring her here, now she only had to cross a short distance before reaching the South Pole.
Her anticipation was palpable.
Unfortunately, it seems she won't have the luxury of having a boat taking her through the archipelago.
From what she heard in her journey from The conqueror village, that region was off limits for civilians.
And beyond that, not even soldiers were allowed to go.
The South Pole seemed to be safe from the empire's expansion, or at least, under a heavy blockade.
But Tata had not come this far to give up now.
After spending the night enjoying the hospitality of Zuko's island, Tata stole a small ship after leaving all the money she had earned for honest work and sailed south.
That wouldn't have been an intelligent move for a regular person to do.
After all, with so many imperial ships scouting the sea, it wouldn't take long before they spotted and possibly sunk or apprehended her.
Thankfully, her time in the Foggy swamp had taught her many tricks that would help her to pass unnoticed.
Tata made good use of the sea fog during her trip.
—————————————————————
Katara's POV
Water.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days.
About a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads.
But that all changed after the Fire Nation attacked.
Only the Avatar was supposed to be capable of mastering all four elements and only he could stop the ruthless firebenders.
But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
Almost a hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation was nearing victory in the War.
A month ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe.
Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, and that the cycle was broken.
But I hadn't lost hope up to that point.
I still believed that somehow, the Avatar would return and save the world.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.
Since the moment my brother and I had both broken into a fierce run, towards the snowy hills, I noticed how my gran gran's forehead wrinkled in fright, and she stared at us with immense worry.
I could already hear multiple invaders coming from their strange marine vessels.
My brother's voice shouting in painful defense...
Young children like me screaming and crying...
While the violent strangers continued to land on the icy shores.
In a stark contrast to that time that Fire nation raided my tribe and took my mother's life as flakes of dark ash fell from the sky, the pirates appeared without announcing their approach until it was too late for us to flee.
While the fire nation mostly faced the Warriors of my tribe, these pirates murdered and killed blindly.
The fire benders raiders spooked me with their scorching infernos and battle cries, these pirates terrorized with their cold metallic weapons and maniacal laughters.
Later I learned that they were planning to set up camp in the lands of my people.
Lands that they had never bleed to defend and would never grow to love.
My brother's bravery did little to prevent his gruesome death at the hands of these savages.
With a heavy heart, I can still recall memories of him coming back with one little fishie on his spear, still proud of his small catch.
He would always yell out while making muscles to himself. "Who's going to cook my dinner!"
Or demand that I sew his clothes before taking some of the boys to play soldier.
Not even my gran gran pleads for mercy was enough to stop the cowardly slaughter of my people.
In the end, they murdered every single one of the elders and young boys while capturing all the women.
Including me and all the other young girls.
Even our dogs weren't spared.
Why father?
Why did you leave us behind?
Was that accursed war more important to you than your only remaining family?
Was it at least worth it?
Did you defeat the fire nation?
I now stared at the two men who had just carried my friend Nutha and her sister Niyok onboard their ship while the other pirates scavenged anything they could from our camp and my family's corpses.
One was a short old man with grey hair and a matching grey beard.
While the other was a very bulky tattooed man that seemed to have the guts to do anything and everything needed to be done to benefit his crew.
They began tying us all together on the deck of their ship and ordering us to be silent.
I tried my best to calm everyone, but wasn't successful due to my inability to stop myself from sobbing.
All hope I had was crushed as soon as the men that slaughtered my tribe set sail to leave.
From what I heard them talking amongst themselves, it seems they were heading to raid many other tribes that had been living in the South Pole.
I didn't know that there were others living in the south.
All my life I thought that we were alone down here.
I had always hoped to find someone else.
My father even went on a search to find me a water bender master.
After years of not making contact, I believed they had been captured by the fire nation.
However, after seeing what these savages did to my people…
I wished that there weren't anyone else.
If I had been more brave…
If I had learned how to properly bend water…
This tragedy wouldn't have been allowed to happen.
—————————————————————
At the moment he heard about some outside interference in the South Pole, a region he had ordered to be left alone, Zuko prepared for the worst.
He didn't wait for his War Balloon to be ready for him to travel.
The emperor immediately flew on his own summon made of golden lightning.
He needed to get somewhere before the Avatar was freed from his iceberg.
Soaring through the skies, he reached the exact point he had anticipated a large island would appear despite no records of its existence.
He drew the Lion turtle's attention and bargained with it.
In the end, after bluff about the Avatar's disappearance paid off, it had agreed to give him a more refined and advanced mastering over energy bending.
He had already succeeded in removing the fake face that that spirit had plastered over Ursa's real one, learned combustion bending and interrogated Zhao.
By himself, he explored his personal theory and reached that far.
Just imagine what else could he do now with the aid of someone that was even older than the primordial spirits.
A brief test showed him that bending the elements at its basic form was now possible.
Zuko had only to deal with the pirates that were foolish enough to mess with his plans.
Since flying over his lightning bird was becoming a second nature to him, he felt bold enough to try something new.
Now gifted with the Lion turtle's knowledge, the emperor could now merge himself with his trusted flying companion.
A form that was worthy of the title of supreme ruler of an empire came as a result.
He was cloaked in what appeared to be an armor made of pure lightning and had large golden wings sprouting from his back.
This time, when he took flight, he felt the same boost he usually felt whenever he supercharged himself with lightning.
His speed, in specific, was something that had gone through a drastic improvement as a result.
In less time than it took to find the Lion turtle close to the North Pole, Zuko arrived at the Southern water tribe.
However, despite all his speed, it seemed to not have been enough to avoid the massacre that had taken place there.
As he landed in the middle of the small agglomeration of igloos, he inspected the scene of pure savagery.
Countless bodies of elders and children now bleed over the snow.
Zuko found no body of the attackers, nor did he encounter any sign that the water tribe offered any resistance.
It appears that Hakoda had already left with the men of the tribe to join forces with the Earth Kingdom.
The emperor dissipated his lightning form and wandered around the destroyed village.
As harsh as it might be, Zuko didn't care the slightest about the slaughter that took place before he arrived.
He only cared to find Katara alive.
Nonetheless, after checking most of the corpses, Zuko noticed that he had found no women or girls amongst them.
'Perhaps they ran away from the pirates and were now hiding somewhere in the frozen desert that was the South Pole.' He considered. 'Or perhaps the pirates took them as spoils before leaving… I don't know which one is preferable for their survival.' He then kneeled on the ground close to a body that was facing the snow in a pool of blood, and recognized who it was. 'Sokka.'
Despite being grossly outmatched against the hordes of pirates, the boy still died without showing fear.
The emperor closed the corpse's eyes respectfully and said. "Don't worry, I'm taking good care of Suki. And I will protect Katara and Yue, this is a promise I make to you. Now rest in peace, brave warrior."
Remembering something, Zuko brought his hand up and scanned the surrounding area.
When he found what he was looking for, he motioned with his hand to reach it.
At that moment, an angular piece of metal came flying at great speed towards him.
After halting its momentum by catching it, he confirmed it was Sokka's trusted boomerang.
"If it serves as consolation to you, I will avenge the death of this tribe with your own weapon." He said before standing up again.
Since he found no signs of the pirates, Zuko proceeded to gather and cremate all the bodies and reshaped the ice around the village to match his memory of the show of how it was during Hama's time.
Reentering the form he labeled as Golden Phoenix, he took flight again and began his search for Katara and the pirates in the South Pole.
—————————————————————
Zuko's POV
In the past, many Southerners have taken up piracy as a profession to achieve the wealth and power they could not gain through legitimate means.
As the South lacked a professional navy due to a lack of native woods to build warships, pirates had once become widespread around the South Pole, further isolating the Southern Water Tribe economically.
One family of Southern descent in particular became infamous as leaders of the Fifth Nation, an ethnically mixed people of corsairs that roamed the seas for generations.
The Southern Water Tribe eventually disowned the entire family tree of Tagaka, head of Fifth Nation at the time.
Regardless, Tagaka portrayed herself as the protector of the Southern Water Tribe, and even attempted to get appointed as "Guardian of the South Pole".
What provoked such transformation?
From guardians back then to raiders now.
In 296 before the war, the Fifth Nation was defeated by a force led by Yun, an Earth Kingdom man presumed to be the Avatar.
Afterwards, the Earth Kingdom's leading politician Jianzhu requested Lu Beifong to grant the South a loan to develop its own deepwater navy to protect itself as well as trade in its waters, thereby ensuring future progress and prosperity.
Jianzhu's efforts came to naught due to the machinations of his political rival, Chamberlain Hui, and the Beifong patriarch refused to grant any loans.
As a result, the Southern Water Tribe remained politically and militarily weak.
With the outbreak of the Hundred Year War, the Southern Water Tribe took up arms against the Fire Nation.
Great grandfather ordered the Fire Nation's navy and air force to attack the tribe at the conflict's start, but it endured these attacks rather unscathed.
Around 40 after the genocide of the air benders, however, grandfather Azulon began to perceive the South as a threat for his expansion and ordered his navy to annihilate the tribe's military strength.
Consequently, the Fire Navy employed raiding forces of firebenders and cruisers in order to capture or kill as many Southern waterbenders as they could.
Following the widespread destruction and loss of life that the raids had caused, tribal unity declined and the capital city was largely abandoned.
The small chiefdoms and tribes that formed the Southern confederation divided and scattered throughout the South Pole as all contact to the Northern Water Tribe was lost.
Many Southerners have grown to blame the North for effectively abandoning them.
That said, convincing Katara to trust me and voluntarily join my empire will be tricky.
Enslaving was an option…
But I'd rather gain the trust of benders with so much potential.
Toph and Azula are special cases that respect my power and are eager to please me.
Katara ought to be different.
For now, since I found no trace of them running through the snow seeking refugee, I concluded she had been taken by those pirates.
It wasn't long before I found a small fleet of ships sailing close to the icy shores.
But they weren't alone.
They seemed to be fighting someone in a small boat.
—————————————————————
The last thing Tata was expecting to find was a group of pirates.
She had successfully evaded any attention as she crossed the South Sea, but was welcomed as soon as she began to navigate the shoreline of the south pole.
Funny thing was that she hadn't met a single group of bandits up to that point.
Had the southern water tribe fallen so much to not be capable of defending itself.
Her answer came with the shouts and cries of people being kept prisoners to these pirates.
But what could she do against them?
She wasn't much of a fighter.
Tata failed to wash the enemies of their ships with the water bending motion she had been practicing.
And even if she had the power to flip the ships, which she certainly hadn't, the innocents would probably suffer as a result.
She had to find a way, and fast since they were shooting arrows at her, to free the innocents and defeat the pirates.
However…
Before she had the chance to do anything, a bright light came out of nowhere from above, it was as if the sun had somehow approached the earth.
The air became static as if a storm had suddenly taken over the region.
Tata covered her eyes as she attempted to look upwards, the sea below her began behaving erratically.
It was a…
A giant golden bird?
Zap! Zap! Zap!
The bright entity opened its wings and what appeared to be lightning feathers were shot off.
As she finally heard the crackling sound of each lightning spear, she noticed the bright light disappear.
Now, descending from the sky at a high speed was a guy dressed in some pretty armor that reminded Tata of all those imperial soldiers she had met on her journey.
Before she could help cushion his fall, the water began circling as if a whirlpool was taking place and a sprout of water rose from its center to meet the strange individual.
As soon as he made contact with the water, it froze instantly and spread to cover a large portion of the sea.
Her small boat and the pirates ships were trapped over the frozen surface that had just manifested.
The person responsible for such an abnormal feat came skating down from the ice slide in the middle of everything, completely indifferent towards his own water bending feat.
"What's the meaning of this?" The boy asked in a serious tone as his momentum slowed to a walking pace.
Tata was the first to speak up. "I-I have come from far away to meet the southern water tribe. M-my name is Tata!"
The boy stared at her for a while before commenting. "My name is Zuko." He chuckled. "You are a long way from home, swamp dweller."
"How did you…" She began saying before he interrupted her.
"Guessed?" He completed. "Green eyed water benders are not that common anywhere else. Besides, that many layers of clothes are a dead giveaway."
She wanted to ask if he had really visited the swamp, or better yet, how did he froze a small island in the middle of the sea.
But the pirates had already recovered from their shock and didn't plan to stay put until the two of them had finished their conversation.
"Watch out!" Tata warned Zuko as the pirates showered them with arrows.
But Zuko showed no signs of worry, instead, he raised his hand and…
Believe it or not…
The swarm of arrows came to a halt in mid air.
"I haven't forgotten about you." He said before letting the projectiles fall to the frozen ground. "Please, excuse me for a moment."
And with that, Zuko performed a great jump towards one of the trapped ships as he rode a strong gust of wind.
Landing in the dock of the first ship, Zuko noticed that it was free of any hostages, so he began eliminating the pirates circling him.
He picked the boomerang that he had brought along, and while he maneuvered around his targets, by ducking, jumping and sidestepping, he swiftly eliminated every single one of them with the weapon he had just sharpened.
His movements were so fluid that he didn't seem to waste energy, letting the pirates tire themselves out before exploring their weak spots with deep cuts on their jugulars.
But fluidity wasn't the only thing he had against his foes.
His speed seemed to ignore any trace of air resistance as the wind currents propelled every single one of his moves.
Before the tripulantes had the chance to intervene, he had eliminated all the pirates in the first ship.
Zuko propelled himself again as he performed another jump and landed over the second ship.
This vessel also had no hostage onboard.
The emperor saw the group of pirates had abandoned their bows and were rushing at him.
This time he had no intention to dance around, so he threw the boomerang and guided its path through their necks.
It wasn't easy for a metal as thick as his boomerang cutting through someone's neck, even if sharpened.
But its speed and heat were enough to turn skin, meat and bones into butter.
As soon as the weapon returned to him, Zuko jumped while rotating himself to the third ship.
That moment he noticed that Tata was already engaging with the pirates in combat, but her lack of experience in combat was painfully obvious.
The girl from the swamp preferred a more evasive style.
But when she made a mistake and tripped, Zuko intervened just in time to prevent a bald man from bashing her head.
Tata was shocked to see her attacker have his skull pierced by a metal boomerang, but she was still thankful for the help.
She felt a small vortex of air bringing her back to her feet as Zuko proceeded to deal with the other pirates onboard the last remaining ship.
Though his boomerang still finished the one she had managed to knock down, as if it had a mind of its own.
—————————————————————
Katara's POV
I don't know what happened.
In one moment the pirates seemed to want to have their way with one of the women they had captured from my tribe.
The other, I heard these bastards shouting orders to attack an approaching boat.
Now, after witnessing a golden spirit descending from the sky as the ship stopped rocking over the waves as if we had run ashore.
While the pirates were momentarily shocked by something, I swear I heard a voice.
Maybe two.
But before I could understand what was being said, the pirates began shouting to shoot at someone.
But even though I heard them releasing their arrows, I couldn't hear the sound of the arrows hitting anything at all.
I heard angry shouts and cries for mercy from the monsters that had murdered my family.
Hearing that made me truly happy.
I wished their suffering was being prolonged as much as possible.
But the intense fighting going on outside my field of view made me realize that the pirates' numbers were decreasing quickly.
It was at that point that the savages onboard of the ship I was in were seeking to use me as a form of protection.
They cut the ropes restraining me and brought a knife to my throat.
I couldn't avoid shaking in fear in that situation.
I hated these pirates with every fiber of my being.
They took the collar my mother gave to me, and because they didn't seem to like it, they broke it before throwing it in the sea.
I wanted to be strong enough to kill them.
To kill anyone else that acted so vilely.
Anyone that enjoyed terrorizing innocent people by making them suffer.
If only I had the power…
It was then, when I was at my lowest, that I saw him for the first time.
I saw him landing swiftly as if the gravity had no hold over him, wearing some type of elegant military attire.
He had black hair that was long enough to be tied by a golden headpiece.
His skin was fair and his eyes shone with a golden light.
For a moment I feared that I had been cursed by the spirits with the worst day ever to meet someone from the Fire nation in this terrible situation.
As if things weren't bad enough.
But he definitely looked different from those that killed my mother.
He was much younger…
And handsome.
But what happened next was just as mesmerizing as his looks.
The pirates holding a knife against my throat were shaking even more than I was.
They stuttered their warning. "B-b-back off freak! Go away if you don't want to watch the young girl die because of you."
The boy clad in what I believed to be some sort of royal armor, sheathed his weapon.
Wait a minute! That's Sokka's boomerang!
But how?!
"Release the girl now, and perhaps I might end your lives without making you suffer." The boy said in a serious tone.
The pirates holding me tried to fake a laugh at the boy's offer, but were unable to continue.
Their grasp over me became stiff as they began hearing them gasping in shock.
Turning my gaze back at the mysterious boy, I noticed his posture.
Holding one hand forward as if he was trying to pull something, he said. "You had your chance."
What came next completely blew my mind.
Both pirates released their hold over me and began floating up in the air while I fell to my knees.
I tried my best to recover as quickly as I could from the shock, and when I turned to face the two bastards that tried to use me as insurance, I saw them struggling in pain.
Their skin quickly became purple with bloodshot eyes.
I turned to see the mysterious boy, his arm was no longer raised, but I could see that his concentration was the responsible for torturing those pirates.
He was a bender.
The strongest I had ever seen or heard about, since he appeared to be capable of bending with moving at all.
As the floating lifeless bodies behind me were dropped to the ground, I noticed the mysterious boy turning his gaze at me.
This time, his cold expression shifted to a friendly smile. "Don't worry my dear. This was the last of them." He offered his hand to me. "Are you hurt?"
I was so tired that I couldn't find the strength to answer him.
But when he touched me with his hand, I was frightened to see it lighting up in flames.
He was a fire bender!
One of those people that had taken my mother from me!
However, instead of feeling a burning pain at his blazing touch, I felt a relaxing warmth that somehow began reinvigorating me.
To my total surprise, I watched my bruises healing completely and the pain of being restricted tightly in the last few hours disappearing.
The boy smiled at my reaction to his special touch. "Don't worry, everything is going to be alright, I've come to help."
This time, I felt the urge to respond to him. "Thank you!"
He winked at me before removing his hand from me. "Don't mention." He stood up and asked. "Can you stand?"
I tested my strength again, and to my surprise, I was able to do so.
"Wonderful! Now if you'll excuse me, I believe the other girls are in need of my help."
The mysterious boy then proceeded to free my family and heal their wounds.
From their expression, I noticed that I wasn't the only one to feel his touch very pleasant.
It washed our aches away and made our terrible day seem as if it had been just a terrible nightmare.
I turned to look at the sea for the first time since I had been tied by these pirates, and noticed more astonishing things.
The first thing that came to my mind was the countless bodies of those bastards.
I wanted nothing more than to kick and spit at them.
But when I noticed that we were still in the middle of the ocean on a frozen island, my thoughts shifted to wonder what made this ice.
"Hey Zuko! Is everything alright over there?" Asked a girl as she climbed to board the ship we were in.
Was she the responsible for freezing the sea?
Is she a water bender?
But what was a water bender doing with a fire bender?
Weren't we supposed to be mortal enemies?
I had countless questions in my head.
And I wanted to ask them now.
I approached the mysterious boy again, before the girl had the chance to talk to him, as he was just about to finish with healing the last woman of my tribe.
"Mister… Zuko?" I asked, hoping that he wouldn't be angry to be called by his name.
Thankfully, he answered me with a smile. "That's my name. How can I help you?"
"I-I want to know how you took care of those pirates that were trying to kill me?"
"I will tell you that if you tell me what your name is, sweet girl." He replied with a charming smile.
I don't know if he noticed, but I really liked the way he smiled.
It felt so genuine.
So warming.
Back to the point…
"My name is Katara." I told him.
"Well Katara, I used a very rare type of bending technique I had learned." He told me, but seeing that I still wished to know more he added. "It's called blood bending."
"Blood bending?" I repeated while trying to understand how a fire bender bent the blood of some inside their bodies.
He nodded.
Before I had the chance to ask him something else, the girl with curly hair from before arrived. "Hey Zuko! That thing you did back there was totally awesome!"
"Thanks Tata." He smiled.
"No, I'm the one that has to thank you. If you hadn't showed up when you did, my rescue attempt would have turned badly." The girl named Tata stated.
So they aren't together.
Still, why did Zuko come to help?
Was he involved with that golden lightning bird that descended from the sky?
"Don't worry, I'm only glad that everyone is safe." He said with a calm tone. "So, you have come all the way from the swamp to live here?"
"Technically, yes! But I had no idea that this place had become such waste land." She said.
"I believe that I own you my sincere apologies." Zuko stated my and Tata's confusion. "By being secluded in the swamp, I believe you have little knowledge in regards to the current political situation. In the last century, my ancestors had waged a war against the world. But mind you that since I took over control over my nation, I've made some progress towards avoiding unnecessary conflict."
"Wait, so you are really some kind of royalty?" I asked, interrupting their conversation. "Unnecessary conflict?"
"Ah, yes! I remember your name! I've come here from an island that has your name." Tata revealed.
Zuko turned to Tata and said. "Makes sense, since you made your way from the foggy swamp." And then he turned towards me and brought his hands together in a gesture of respect. "Phoenix emperor Zuko, at your disposal. And by unnecessary conflict, I mean hurting innocents."
After answering our questions he asked. "Will you be coming with us? I will be escorting these people to somewhere safe?"
"Sure! Perhaps you can lead me to their city." She replied. "I'm a little lost around here."
Zuko nodded. "Do you plan to follow us with your boat?"
"Nope. That thing isn't fast enough, will probably only slow us down." She replied.
"So you are leaving it behind?" I asked.
Tata simply shrugged her shoulders before moving on to the edge of the ship. "It's not meant to be my definite transportation." She turned to face Zuko. "Mind removing all this ice?"
"Removing the ice, but aren't you a water bender?" I asked.
"Yup, but I'm not at the same level as him. If it was up to me getting rid of all this ice with my bending, we will be spending the next month stuck here." Tata confessed without showing signs of shame.
"But he is a…" I tried to say fire bender.
But Zuko quickly rose both arms and the ice trapping the ships and the boats melted away.
"This guy is a powerful water bender!" Tata announced proudly while patting over his shoulder.
"Thanks, I aim to please." Zuko said with a smile.
At that moment, too much information circled around my mind.
The only logical conclusion I found was. "You are the Avatar!"
"No, I'm not." He immediately replied. "Please, I rescued you and your tribe from vicious pirates, so don't insult me."
"Insult?!" I was confused. "I meant no disrespect by that, I only thought that since you can bend multiple elements that the only logical conclusion would be that you were him."
Zuko sighed. "But thanks to Agni I'm not him… Listen..."
I could understand why the fire nation would hate the avatar, he was the only one that could stop them.
But as Zuko began to share with me his ideology while steering the waves to guide all the ships through the sea, I couldn't bring myself to disagree with the points he was making.
His explanation of how he was able of bending multiple elements was a little vague, but I believed that he wasn't the Avatar.
I might not like siding with the invaders, but Zuko's motives and actions seemed to be so noble and just that I was having a hard time remembering the difference between right and wrong.
He gave me back Sokka's boomerang after I asked him to do so and even agreed to be my water bender teacher.
I did share a tear after hearing about how he honored my dead family by not allowing their bodies to freeze.
Though now, I was faced with the decision of where I should take my people.
Zuko said he had repaired my tribe's village.
But since it still brought us too many painful memories, and after he left we would be on our own agai, regardless of having a proper defensible wall this time.
Tata didn't want to be in a secluded community similar to her home, she accepted his invitation to visit his home.
So when Zuko offered the choice of becoming citizens of his empire, I had to make a choice for my people.
After all, I was the daughter of their chief.
Father might disapprove of my choice, but he abandoned us first.
He and the other men were selfish and stupid to fight a war they had no chance of winning.
When I told Zuko that the other women had agreed to swear fealty to him and his empire, he showed tremendous respect for our decision.
However, his way of guaranteeing that we would make safe travel would be by melting the ice that trapped an old fire nation ship.
I saw him becoming a majestic golden Phoenix a day before our departure.
He left saying that he would bring anyone he could find lost in the South Pole that agreed to his terms.
In less than an hour, he had brought twice as many people than my tribe had before the pirates attacked.
Including two siblings named Siku and Sura.
From what Zuko told me, they had all been scattered around the frozen tundra surviving by themselves.
As we sailed towards the capital that had once ordered bloody raids against my people, I couldn't help to smile at the bright new future that we would have.
Though the weird sensation that I was leaving something behind still bothered me.
That was probably my attachment to the South Pole.
But Zuko said that one that he would rebuild what was lost.
He showed ancient transcriptions that detailed the culture of my people.
My hope on the Avatar had died since then.
But my trust in Zuko was just beginning.
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(09/01/2021)
*Hope this chapter is of your liking. Anything you wish to ask, feel free to do so.
Thanks as always for your attention and please be safe.
Any problems with my writing, just point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.
** Please don't hesitate to tell me if the quality is dropping. I really wish to continue trying to update fast, but I don't want to make it reflect badly on my writing.
*** Thanks to everyone still reading this story.
We just reached 100k words and the first season is almost at its end.
Hopefully I can still engage you to stay around after I turn my attention to my other stories.
What did you think about my approach to the Southern water tribe? Did I overdid a little with the tragedy?
I had read this chapter multiple times, but I still feel that despite its large word count, it still felt rushed.
Apologies to everyone that didn't like the kill count in this chapter. But you did continue reading a fic that had infamously decided to kill Iroh in its first chapters.
Sorry if I hadn't flesh out the pirates before making them the villain, I just didn't want to unload another chapter of OCs onto you.
I had considered explaining more of how the MCs' influence to better patrol the sea had driven the pirates to raid and pillage the South Pole.
Yeah, crazy stuff like that.
Am I leaving out someone you liked from the original series? Chances are that I plan to use them in the future seasons, but there is still a possibility that I might have really forgotten someone.
I'm planning to write two more chapters before switching to my Dc fic. At the end of the second chapter, I might write an epilogue detailing some minor plot points that would serve to illustrate the "time skip".
Thanks as always for your attention.
Bye!
