Chapter 40

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Love ya

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It took Cheshire two weeks to take me to the borders of the Fire Peninsula of the spirit realm, before he abruptly disappeared without saying anything leaving me in an unfamiliar place with a lot of questions.

As far as the eye could see, an endless plain of red fire colored cracked earth covered the area, interspersed with black vegetation and fire like roses. The sky in this part of the spirit realm looked like I would expect in hell, vivid red almost magma colored, with the occasional black or red lightning flashing across the hellish sky.

"Well, I guess I have to finish this journey on my own," I muttered, asI noticed that in the far, far distance,there was a moving mountain…. Wait moving?.... The turtle.

Seeing this was my only clue as to where I had to go, I started making my way for the moving mountain.

Measuring the distance by the eye, I knew it would take me several hours to reach the foothills of the Lion Turtle, maybe even a day. Hopefully, I will be able to find some place to make a shelter as I make my way there.

As I walk, I started to contemplate my situation, did I really want to merge with Vaatu? It had its cons and pros, for one I would become the Avatar, with some extra perks, but was it really worth it? For one, I would be forever one with him… meaning I would have to deal with his whispers of chaos for… however long I will live.

Well, I suppose I will get my answer about it when I get a hang of the Turtle, perhaps things will go smoothly with me and crazy Vaatu.

Right now, I'm honestly more concerned about Cheshire… he just disappeared as he was guiding…. Maybe I got him into trouble or something, I could hope he was okay.

"Maybe he had other things to do," I hummed, as a deafening crash behind me shattered my train of thought. Twirling around to find a big crater behind me, taking my distance, I looked at the crater in anticipation water ready to strike if needed, moments after the crash, the very earth started to shake violently, fire spreading through the area as a roar erupted from the crater, the ground shuddered and collapsed in on itself, as a huge fire Bear jumped out of the crater.

"FOUND YOU! HA!HA!" The Bear shouted triumphantly, with the fire around him growing in volume.

"Ok?" I didn't know how to answer such a display of… Well I didn't know, should I attack him? Should I be friendly? I didn't know….but thanks the heavens the Bear made my decision easier by trying to attack me, which resulted in him being immediately frozen, "Well… that was something,"

"FINALLY!! A WORTHY OPPONENT!" The Bear shouted with glee as he melted my ice in the blink of an eye, "OUR BATTLE WILL BE LEGENDARY!"

And… I died laughing, the universe played me a dirty one with that one, "Oh god,"

"DO YOU NEED A FEW SECONDS BEFORE WE EMBARK IN THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY!" The Bear shouted with a somewhat worried look, and then it hit me, why I wasn't feeling any real hostility from the bear, he wasn't a bad guy, he was just a battle junkie, that thought I was a good choice for a dance partner.

"Not that I don't like the idea of a good battle, but…. I have a mission to complete first," I told the bear, after calming down from my fit of laughter.

"THEN I SHALL HELP YOU IN THIS MISSION, SO THAT WE CAN BATTLE!" The Bear… offered… no, more like included himself in my journey, and by this tone, I knew I had no way out, besides fighting him and seeing how easy he melted my ice… that battle would take a few.

"Very well," I sighed, "digging the enthusiasm,"

"I DO EVERYTHING WITH A TWO HUNDRED PERCENT OF MYSELF, OR I DON'T DO IT," The Bear smiled.

"So, what exactly did you mean earlier by… I found you…. Were you looking for me?" I was actually quite curious, I mean… how did he hear about me, to decide looking for me.

"I DID NOT KNOW YOU, I JUST GREET EVERYONE THE SAME WAY, BUT NONE HAS EVER MANAGED TO LAST MORE THAN A SEC AGAINST THE WILD FIRE OF MY SOUL!" The Bear answered.

Yeah, a battle junkie alright, "Very well, my mission is simple. I need to talk with the Lion Turtle of this Peninsula, help me out and I'll fight with you, deal?"

"DEAL!" And…. he was gone…. The moment he said deal he just ran…. Full speed towards the mountain, I wonder when will he notice I am not behind him…. I give him two hours before he does… three if he's a total idiot.

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[FIVE HOURS LATER]

It took my newly forcibly acquired companion five hours to notice I wasn't with him… yeah, sad in many levels, but hey besides his constant shouting and obvious lack of normal cognitive abilities, he was a pretty chill bear.

Guiding me through the Fire Peninsula like a professional guide, I guess thanks to the fact he was a local, if his fiery body was anything to go by that is.

"I think we should set a camp," I yawned, starting to feel the weight of the day slowing me down.

"VERY WELL!" The Bear laughed, "LET US COMPETE IN A CAMP SETTING FIGHT!"

"Is everything with you a challenge…?" I asked the bear, taking a deep breath.

"....VERY WELL, WE WILL SAVE THIS COMPETITION FOR ANOTHER DAY," The Bear chuckled awkwardly, noticing my shining annoyance at his Gai like attitude.

"For now, let us get to the Lion Turtle," I yawned as I stretched my arms focusing on creating a dome of ice to sleep in, "I will sleep inside the dome," I pointed to my newly created dome, "You for…. Well, obvious reasons need to find another place to sleep,"

"VERY WELL!" The Bear nodded, as he literally burned the ground a few yards away to a black crisp, and like a dog, circled the burned ground three times, before falling asleep, immediately.

"God, is like someone mixed, Gai, a dog, and Tai Lung, and this Bear came out," I chuckled, before going to sleep.