Chapter 11

- [Katara] -

Watching Aroh pull the sword out of the now dead teen, she realized…she didn't feel terrible. Whether it was Aroh's influence or not, it made sense to her.

It was simple logic. They tried to kill them first so it was only natural for them to pay for it with their own lives.

- [Aroh] -

His words spurned them into action as they all charged at once. He heard Jet loudly whistle an odd and short tune, repeating it twice.

'So he's calling for backup.' Aroh realized. 'Fine by me.'

He parried a thrust from a spear, breaking its pole with a kick as it went past him. Quickly grabbing the broken pieces from the air, he threw them towards a buff man at his right.

The man took out a thick log of wood, blocking the projectiles but also his line of vision. Aroh easily shot past him, cutting through his neck in one motion before moving to the nearest attacker.

A tomboyish girl swung her two swords at him, Aroh deflecting them with his stolen sword. As she went for a thrust, he slipped into her space, grabbing her by her neck and using her block an incoming arrow that pierced her stomach.

"No!" A voice shouted.

The shout was accompanied by the thrust of a sword but Aroh cruelly pulled the bleeding girl in front of him, allowing the sword to pierce her chest.

He pulled the body off the sword, delivering a hard kick to his attacker's head, feeling the telltale cracking of their neck.

Tossing the body away, he weaved around a large fist, digging the sword into it and dragging it along the surface of the skin and tearing the muscle.

The owner tried to pull their arm back only for Aroh to remove the sword from the skin and cut the arm off completely. He ducked under another arrow, transitioning into a low roundhouse kick and sweeping his opponent's feet.

As the large man fell, Aroh swung the sword lightly, using his own momentum to behead him. He turned to the others who began to look less human, their eyes turning red and features growing animalistic.

"So you finally show your true self." Aroh said with a smirk as he swung the blade to the side, splashing the blood from it.

From the moment they surrounded them, Aroh noticed something. It was exactly like it was with the wolf except that it was more contained. There was also the faint rotten smell he perceived when they got close.

They were already dead.

"What are you doing outside the spirit world?" Aroh questioned as Jet jumped down to ground level.

"You're clever. Very clever. Of all the humans I've seen so far, you're the only one who's been able to deduce our origin." 'Jet' said, his voice no longer human and miasma leaking from his body. "What gave it away?"

"You're not exactly subtle when you're taking over dead bodies. I'm surprised there's still blood in them." Aroh mocked as 'Jet' smirked.

"You're partially right. You see, we spirits are able to merge with your human physiques." It said, speaking the word 'human' with disgust. "From the moment we inhabit these bodies, they become a part of us with no way to resist."

"It's not like you have a choice. After all, from the moment you left your world you lost your immortality. It doesn't seem like you can undo the 'merge' once it's finished. That explains why your friends weren't able to escape these bodies." Aroh analyzed, gesturing to the dead bodies.

"If the host body dies, so does the spirit inside, seeing as how you've replaced the original owners." Aroh said, adjusting his grip on the sword. "You disgust me."

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it?" 'Jet' said, his voice going back to sounding human. "I'm innocent."

"This farce is over." Aroh said, vanishing from his spot for a second before appearing back there, blood on the sword.

The rest of the freedom fighters fell to the ground, blood leaking from their now slit throats.

"What are you waiting for?! Kill him!" 'Jet' shouted in panic to Longshot who was still in the trees.

The moment he finished his order, another body fell from the tree the other boy was supposed to be in. He didn't need to turn around to know whose body it was.

"It's over." Aroh said, stalking towards the 'Jet' who took a step back in fear. " Monster! W-what are you?!"

"That's rich coming from you. Now, you'll tell me what I want to know." Aroh said, moving in a flash, cutting off 'Jet's' wrists, ending any chance of him fighting back.

"How did you all cross into the physical world?" Aroh questioned, now holding it by the neck.

"I-I'll never…talk!" It managed to say.

An oppressive force accompanied with intense bloodlust pushed down on it, coming straight from Aroh who held no expression at the moment. "How many spirits escaped with you?" The boy questioned.

"Y-you think that…will s-scare me?!" It struggled to say, a crazed inhuman grin appeared on its face. "They'll come for you! They'll make you pay!!!"

As soon as it finished speaking, 'Jet's' neck lengthened a bit before violently twisting backwards, ending its life.

'This is going to be a problem.' Aroh thought in frustration.

- [Azula] -

Ozai has been acting weird lately.

He'd been meeting privately with strangers and unknown people of different types. Some of them even walked around the palace as if they belonged.

He'd also been more irritable, sometimes seemingly forgetting that she was his own daughter.

Not that it bothered her. She wasn't the same little girl she was before who craved her father's approval. Not after she found out a few things he'd been hiding.

From the reason her mother hated her to the reason why he was even the Firelord. The man was powerful but had the military intelligence of a turtle.

It was a wonder the fire nation still stood. Most of the nation's fear and achievement the nation had gathered were from the actions of the former firelord Azulon and General Iroh before he lost his son.

Ozai was simply riding their tailcoats and Zuko was out chasing the avatar. Though, all of that paled in comparison to the latest thing she had just found out.

It wouldn't be hard to convince Ozai to let her leave with how strange he'd been acting. It would take some time to pick up Ty Lee and Mai but she was patient.

It would be worth it in the end. She would go on a search for now and when she came back, she'd have him with her.

She'd finally found him.

'Wait for me, brother. I'm coming.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Note: Spent the last few hours writing these three chapters and now I need to rest. Enjoy.