Chapter 66: The Morning After
The red tint of the sun finally poked through the horizon, illuminating the pristine white snow dunes outside of the capital of Agna Qel'a. The place being surrounded by frosty mountains was a picturesque image of nature unblemished by humanity.
In between the endless waves of snow that covered the equally endless plains of the North Pole, a single stout old man wearing dark red robes with a fire sigil on his chest, could be seen walking, leaving a soft trail of footsteps behind.
Looking around, the old man spotted some smoke nearby, and couldn't help but sigh in relief before moving towards the one single touch of humanity since he left the northern capital.
"You took your time, Uncle" said a tired young man wearing white clothes with one scorched eye, while resting his back against a snow-covered tree.
"I'm more surprised that you, Prince Zuko, are not trying to capture the Avatar at this moment." Said the old man with a gentle smile on his wrinkled face.
"I'm tired…" Was all that Zuko could say before his eyelids got too heavy for him to endure.
"Then you should rest." The gentle General replied as he kneeled beside his nephew and covered him with his robes "A man needs his rest."
….
At the same time, in Agna Qel'a, the aftermath of the siege could still be felt. It's been hours since it ended but one could easily spot destroyed buildings, bloodstains and if too close to the wall… corpses… quite a few of them, both friend and foe.
There was no sleep for the northerners tonight, only grief for some and relief for many. While a few of them felt both simultaneously, such as Chief Arnook, who went pale after discovering the reason why the Moon turned red during the previous night.
"To think that… I would be here, thanking a firebender for the safety of not only our nation but also the safety of the natural balance of this world…" The middle-aged Chief said while looking at Madara's black eyes. It shocked him dearly when he saw it.
"I wouldn't allow my companion to live with the burden of her homeland's destruction just because of my personal bias" Replied Madara with a neutral but rather respectful tone.
Both of them were sitting on one of the palace's balconies, observing the city being rebuilt while having a one-on-one talk;
"We appreciate your help… Regardless of my own personal bias" said the Chief with a wry chuckle in response "I honestly thought that the Avatar alone would be enough to save us from destruction." He concluded with a rather depressed tone.
Madara couldn't help but shake his head "The Avatar is a boy still wet behind his ears, but I believe that he will rise to the challenge when needed, without a doubt he would have protected your city, but I also believe he is still too green to achieve that without significant losses…"
"To be honest with you… the night I became Chief, I dreamed about our city being covered in flames under a moonless sky…" said the Chief with some distress in his voice. "In the same dream I saw my own daughter leaving us… forever embracing a long sleep…"
Turning his head towards Madara, the Chief continued "To be honest, when you used that…"
"Illusion" Said Madara
"Yes… Illusion... on us during that council meeting, I thought you were the reason for said fate, we are spiritually attuned people, and I always took that dream as a vision of sorts, of an inevitable future."
Chuckling at the old Chief, Madara responded "The only inevitability is that we all die one day, the rich, the poor, the strong and the weak… but how we die is not up to fate and can always be changed, I never liked the idea of prophecies, they make me feel like my life isn't my own."
Now it was Arnook's turn to chuckle "Yes, I agree with you on that… I am glad that I didn't lose my daughter last night… I wouldn't even consider it a victory if I did"
"Your daughter is strong, and she is talented as well, she was blessed by the Moon Spirit, and if properly trained, she could become the strongest waterbender in the world…" Madara then coughed and leaned towards Arnook "Don't tell Kaliya that I said that."
The middle-aged Chief couldn't help but burst into a joyous laugh. "Hahahahahahahaha"
Even Madara couldn't keep his stoic face for long and started chuckling as well;
After calming down from the laugh, the Chief said "Unfortunately… our rules…."
"Suck" – said Madara, instantly.
Arnook raised an eyebrow "You don't have much respect for culture, do you?" he wasn't angry, he knew Madara disliked their views, he was with Kaliya after all, he would've been surprised if Madara actually agreed with them.
"You are not the only ones with stupid culture" Madara said
"Oh?"
"The Kyoshi Island, we've been there… and they are the polar opposite of you, they have one of the best martial arts that they train in, but they only teach women… men are forbidden from learning it."
"Really? They must really respect Avatar Kyoshi…"
Madara just shrugged "Doesn't matter, they are a tiny island nation that barely survives on fishing, they have no allies and they are fully dependent on a dozen or so Kyoshi Warriors, the females who learned how to fight, to defend themselves… They are easy prey because they ignore the potential of men."
"We are stronger than that, we have hundreds of waterbenders and many masters among our ranks." Arnook tried to argue
"Yet none of that would have mattered if neither me or the Avatar were here… and you know it…" Madara couldn't help but sigh, those old people following their old ways…
"Listen, I don't expect you to change anything because I said this or that… but understand this… we are living during one of the biggest recorded wars ever, a hundred years…. Do you really want your people to suffer just because of old traditions? That's up to you, I am not here to tell you how to rule your nation. Last night? That was just part of the Navy under ONE Admiral, what if the Fire Lord REALLY sets his eyes on you and your people? Do you think he will spare the women just because they don't fight? Ha, I remember the Southern Water Tribe having to deal with something similar in the past…"
That managed to shut Arnook up really fast, the old Chief couldn't even think of a comeback.
"Well, you think about my words, I need to get back to my lands…" Said Madara as he stood up, ready to walk inside to call for his team.
"So soon?" Arnook raised an eyebrow "At least stay for a while, let us compensate for our… rather poor... reception from last time you visited"
Chuckling, Madara replied "No need, I know how deep the hatred towards the Fire Nation runs… honestly, I don't even blame you all for it. It's just that I also have my responsibilities and I left everything behind to come help your people… I am not a homeless kid wandering the world anymore… I have to take care of my people now…"
"Oh, the woes of growing up…" Said Arnook with a smirk while shaking his head.
"Well…" Madara shrugged as he spotted Kaliya in the courtyard beating the shit out of both Aang and Katara in a waterbending lesson, his eyes lingered on certain places of her body before he smirked "It's not that bad…"
….
As noon approached, Kaliya finally decided to stop the beating… I mean teaching…
"Ye kids can't take even that? Ye need to double yer training!" She said while placing her hands on her hips, displaying a savage smirk
"P-please… just… just a minute…" The poor bald boy, sprawled on the icy floor like a starfish was having a tough time, he was never a big physical guy… his stamina was rather dreadful...
"T-that… that wasn't in the scroll…" Said an equally beaten Katara, sitting down while leaning back on the fountain behind her
"Of course not! That's only the novice moves, ye think I would've made an advanced bending scroll and left it for grabs? Are ye an idiot or something?" Kaliya couldn't understand the lines of thoughts of these kids, did they expect everything to be easy in life?!
At a distance, observing the training, stood Yue. While holding something to her chest with both hands, the white-haired northern Princess couldn't help but express her desire to be out there, on the training field, learning how to fight as well.
Last night was a wake-up call for her, if she was strong... if she was skilled… she wouldn't need someone else to come and save the day, no… she could do it herself! She was blessed by the Moon Spirit, but when the Moon Spirit needed her the most... where was she? Hiding behind the Avatar, powerless and scared…
'Never again!'
As she stood there, sharpening her resolve, ready to change her life, she noticed two people approaching the training yard.
One was tall and handsome with long hair tied into a ponytail, wearing traditional Earth Kingdom robes in black, with green and gold accents, carrying a big metal barrel on his shoulder with a single arm around it while smiling as he walked, as if the weight wasn't a big deal.
Following him was someone that made her frown a little bit… 'Sokka'…
"So, you learned how to fight from Madara as well?" Asked the hyper Sokka while following Lei around like a baby duckling following his momma duck.
"Against my will... but yes… I did, but now I am grateful for it" answered the ever-polite Lei, with a smile.
"Do you know if Madara offers a… you know… quick course…. For someone like me?"
Raising an eyebrow Lei could only stare at the teen Water Tribe boy "That's not how it works, no improvement happens in a short amount of time…"
"How long did you train then?"
"Over four years of daily practice and workouts… with a few… extraordinary expectations... of course..." Answered Lei while avoiding eye contact, he still remembers what his wife did to him not long ago.
"Four years?! We don't have that long!" Sokka was basically grabbing the skin of his own face and pulling downwards in frustration.
Lei only shrugged "Should've started sooner then, the early bird gets the worm…"
As they approached Kaliya, Lei's smile crumbled a bit, he and the Northern girl still argued back and forth every goddamn day… honestly being trapped by his wife at least relieved him from facing Kaliya for a while... he was rather grateful… 'sigh… I am missing the peace already'.
"Yooo Jackie" Said Kaliya with a teasing smirk that made him want to punch her… you know.. the usual.
"Kaliya" He said with narrowed eyes.
"Hello beautiful." Said Sokka, swaggering his steps towards the voluptuous waterbender "Sokka. Southern Water Tribe, I can't help but feel amazed by your strength and skill… you must be the strongest waterbender in the world!"
Sokka liked to believe that he learned a lot about how to woo girls from his travels, he even made a list!
Rule number 1: Never discourage them of anything
Rule number 2: Always compliment their skills, they are fond of their achievements
Rule number 3: Never undermine them in any way, shape or form, Suki made sure to engrave that lesson on his bones.
Rule number 4: Listen more and talk less
So far that's all he had, but it was working if Yue and the other girls he met during their travels across the Earth Kingdom were any proof of it. Kaliya was totally his type, age difference aside she was the hottest girl he had ever seen, and she is from a Water Tribe, they have a lot in common!
…
Unfortunately…
…
All he got was awkward silence before both Kaliya and Lei each raised an eyebrow… and…
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Kaliya couldn't help it, bursting out laughing loudly like a crazy person, holding her stomach and bending forward almost losing her footing, even tears could be seen in her eyes.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! SEE THAT, JACKIE? HAHAHAHA! THE PIPSQUEAK IS FLIRTIN' WITH ME! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Now... it's not hard for a girl to completely obliterate a guy's self-esteem, regardless of which universe, but… talking about size aside… the one thing universally accepted as a metaphorical kick in the nuts to any dude is when the girl laughs at their attempt…
Even Lei couldn't help but chuckle… "Hehehe… you say that but you and Madara started having an affair when he was around Sokka's age…"
'…Wait...' thought Sokka, already sweating bullets.
"I know I know… but look at him… his arms are like twigs… a boy like that can't handle me… no offense kid…"
For an instant… A second, a brief moment… Everyone could've sworn to have heard a loud cracking sound… It was really… really weird.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
KojiSan
KojiSan To be honest this chapter was supposed to be for tomorrow....
But...
because it is more of a slice of life, more based on interactions and talk and not much plot into it...
i wouldn't consider it Filler because its an interesting interaction
between team avatar and Madara's goons...
So i thought that people wouldn't really like if this chapter was the "Chapter of the Day".
But again i am heavily inspired to keep writing for now, so i just spill chapters like crazy...
Well i kinda owe yall a bit for my absence over the past year.
Have a great night, wont post another one today tho.... see ya tomorrow
Chapter 67: Road to Earth Kingdom
"Wait, so this is what you all travel in?!" Asked Sokka, a slight tone of depression could be noticed in his voice as he stared at the contents inside the airship, which was docked in a spacious location known as Qana Square within the heart of the capital.
Inside the airship were the most luxurious things that Team Avatar had ever seen! And they were friends of King Bumi AND Chief Arnook, so that tells how fancy this thing is!
Yeah, the boy had a harsh moment a few minutes ago, but he bounced back up. 'Well, there's plenty of women in the world, I will find someone eventually… It's not like Katara has found her husband already...'
"Fufufu, I didn't expect the Avatar and his companions to be so young…" Said Nari, rubbing Aang's bald head while Lei was busy securing the large barrel of Spirit Water inside the ship.
"Hey, we are not kids, okay?" Said Katara with a trembling eyebrow. She was pissed! Ever since this group arrived, they had been treated like kids, and she would much rather they be treated the way they were before!
"Meh, that's how it works, little lady," said Kaliya as she walked inside the airship while eating a Sea Jerky kebab. Such a nostalgic taste made her happy.
"We are not kids!" Shouted Katara.
"Well, tell that to our Avatar over there" Said Sokka, sarcastically, while pointing towards Aang with his thumb. The poor Avatar boy was melting because of Nari's headpats like a lazy tiger seal.
"Urgh!" Katara made angry noises and walked out of the airship, frustrated.
Then a loud clap could be heard, making the remaining members of Team Avatar turn towards the doorway of the airship;
"Alright kids, time to get out… We are leaving," said Madara with a smirk, having heard everything. Honestly, he felt surprisingly happy over how pissy Katara was being with the whole "kid" thing, he always found her rather annoying until the final season.
"Yes Sir!" Sokka did a military salute while pulling Aang away from Nari's side, though the bald kid was like a koala octopus not wanting to leave!
"They are good kids, aren't they?" Asked Nari with a motherly tone.
Chuckling, Madara only said "They do have their moments..."
…
Time slowly passed as the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe came to a close. Madara left the North Pole the day after, and went back to his resort to manage things there. He had a talk with the spirits afterwards and was taught the most optimal way to use the Spirit Water, but sadly… his mental state wasn't nearly good enough to try it right now. He needed time to unwind. Time to relax and heal all the negativity inside of him due to the attack they suffered that day at the Uchiha Resort.
On the shores of what looked like a pink forest, there was a small yet luxurious hut, housing several workers who could be seen doing their job, which was taking care of their two newest arrivals.
"This is what I've been missing! Who knew that… Floating on a piece of driftwood for three weeks with no food or water, and sea vultures waiting to pluck out your liver, could make one so tense?" Said Iroh with a beaming, optimistic smile, before looking towards a clearly unhappy Zuko as he walked towards him, so that they could both sit on the ground they missed so much.
"What is bothering you today, Prince Zuko? … ah… I see.. " the old man's tone became a bit grave. "It's the anniversary, isn't it?"
In a brooding tone, the young Prince nodded and answered "Three years ago… Today… I was banished and I lost it all…" he looked up towards the sky "I want it back, and to be honest Uncle… I don't care much about the Avatar right now. But I want my honor and my throne… I want my father to not think that I am… worthless…" concluded Zuko with a regretful look towards the horizon.
"I'm sure he doesn't. Why would he banish you if he didn't care?" Said Iroh, trying his best to help his beloved nephew.
Unfortunately… His words made Zuko get up and walk away, making Iroh grimace as he turned to one of the massagers "Ugh… that came out wrong, didn't it?"
As Zuko walked outside the massage hut, he could only sigh.
They arrived not long ago, but he refused to let his presence be known to Madara; he stood at the outskirts of the Resort, not wanting to show himself.
But he knew… Madara was aware…
"Within his lands… nothing can be hidden from Madara's Red Eyes"
It became a saying after years of people trying to infiltrate this place were met with swift ends, to never be heard of or seen again… and ever since… Whatever happened a month ago… the security of this place doubled, no! Tripled!
He could see men walking around in unique dark colored robes, each wearing a colorful navy blue and white 'haori' on top, carrying curved sheathed swords known as katanas.
'…The Shinsengumi…' Zuko knew of them, he heard rumors.
Now that Winter was ending, many patrons finally returned here for a new round of gambling and relaxation, but Zuko, who had been here before… felt watched… all the time.
Looking at the performers on the street, the food vendors, and the 'Geisha' that walked with glamorous and exotic kimonos and delicately painted faces, sometimes playing with paper fans while others sometimes played instruments called shamisen… Zuko couldn't figure out who was an agent, and who was simply a worker…
Zuko wasn't wrong to feel that way, ever since Madara returned, he decided to put together a real powerhouse to protect the resort. The former Beifong Guards became the first generation of the resort's police force, or the Shinsengumi.
While the former Kyoshi Warriors started training new girls in several deadly arts including espionage and performances. The Geisha on the streets were a mere branch of the true shadow that protected these lands.
Many of the food vendors, the massagers, the artists, painters, sculptors, builders, and even some of the day-to-day 'clients' that walked around the resort for their seasonal enjoyment were all part of the deadliest group of assassins.
The Oniwaban.
Zuko didn't know about that organization, but he felt that someone was always watching. As he should, after training with Madara for so long. The teen just couldn't put his finger on who was the watcher.
'It's like Teacher's lands have a culture of their own… Completely outside of the Four Nations…' the banished prince couldn't help but feel proud of his own Teacher 'It must be related to his family…'
He stopped by the shores of the Su Oku River, watching the high buildings of the main resort from a distance as his thoughts led him somewhere else…
"Family… huh…" Mumbled the Prince as he kept staring at nothing in specific.
….
"Almost perfect."
"One hair out of place."
Said two elderly female voices as the vestiges of a well-executed lightning generation movement could still be seen on the deck of a luxurious Fire Nation Royal Ship;
On the deck, a young woman could be seen, wearing Imperial Armor similar to Zuko's. Her dark hair was in a tightly-pulled bun with bangs falling on both sides of her face.
Although incredibly similar to Zuko, both in appearance and apparel, her armor and Zuko's had a keen difference, while Zuko's was black with red trimmings, this girl's armor was black with gold, a symbol of her Royal Status.
Her pupils contracted at the elders' comments in the background as her amber-yellow eyes sharpened;
"Almost isn't good enough!"
The girl gritted her teeth and went back through the same motions again and again, as more and more lightning sounds echoed through the northern seas.
…
In a dimly lit makeshift temple within an Earth Kingdom fortress, a tall thin man with an incredibly sharp goatee, who was wearing blue robes and had an equally incredibly annoying voice, draped a bald tattooed boy in a Water Tribe cloak, an Earth Kingdom hat with leaves coming out from the top, part of a Fire Nation outfit and what appeared to be a belt.
"You are wearing a ceremonial piece of clothing from each of the bending Nations. Now I will join the four elements in one!..."
As he said 'Water' he poured a jug of water into a fancy bowl, then came 'Earth' and he poured dirt, then 'Fire' and the man took a nearby torch and threw it in. 'Air' he releases an air gust from a wooden contraption.
"Four Elements together as one!" The man, or how the people in the fortress called him, the 'Oracle', raised the bowl and flung the contents at Aang.
The poor Avatar could only clean his eyes with his fingers with an annoyed expression "This is just mud!"
"So… Do you … Feel anything?" The Oracle asked quizzically.
Raising a finger and catching everyone's interest… Aang then sneezed loudly, causing the mud to fly everywhere, coating the General of the fortress, Fong, and everyone else.
The General could only rub the mud from his face "We have to find a way…"
….
Within a brightly lit room, with elegant chandeliers and luxurious furniture, most in the colors of black and red, a group of four could be seen sitting around a green table while putting down ceramic tiles with different symbols on them, each person with their own side;
"Hmm… I think… this is…" an old voice started low before increasing in excitement as he declares "Tsumo! Isn't it?"
Sounds of resignation from the other three could be heard;
"Hey, Old Iroh, are you sure you never played this before?" Said an annoyed young man with wild long hair, wearing his traditional black and red kimono, sporting a fan sigil on the back of his red haori.
"How could I? You came up with this game, didn't you?" the old man could only laugh. "But I like this way more than that roulette game…" he concluded with a frown.
One of the other men at the table couldn't help but snicker "Of course… You lost everything there…"
"That's not nice, Jackie… We need to incentivize our visitors to keep playing the games… Not throw their losses in their faces" said the first young man.
"Oh! I see, well Mr. Iroh, I think you should try again... Who knows, maybe your luck in Mahjong will carry to other games…"
The old man could only sigh "Young people these days have no shame, trying to extort money from an old man without a single coin to his name…"
The one woman playing the game with the three men could only chuckle "fufufu, by the way Mr. Iroh, have you already told Zuko that you have been coming here on a daily basis?"
The old man scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile "Well... I did say to him that I would go out to procure some things… He was so concerned with trying not to be noticed by you that he only asked me to not show myself…"
"And yet… you did exactly that…" Said Madara with his classic Saitama face;
"You can't blame an old man for wanting to enjoy what is left of his time in this world… can you?" asked Iroh with a pitiful expression.
'Shameless' Both Madara and Lei thought at the same time.
"Well... the game is over, so I think it's better for me to go back to my nephew before he decides to blow something up, he has been rather irritated recently…" Said the old General as he stood up.
"You can go ahead," said Nari as she started to gather the pieces of the game, putting them back in the box. "I will clean everything here"
As the three men agreed and left, Nari kept humming with a smile on her face. She was rather happy to see their place safer, she was even made the head of their secret spy force… and she was doing an absurdly good job at that!
But if one looked at the tiles on her side of the table, they would've noticed that she could've won the game at any point, but didn't… What is life without some mischievousness, right?
'Madara and Lei always look so funny when Iroh wins anything… how can I bring myself to stop it from happening?'
"Fufufu"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
KojiSan
KojiSan
I hope yall liked the chapter.
Its more like a chapter in between Avatar season 1 and 2;
I had to do a lot of PoV hopping during the chapter because many things happens at the same timeframe, and i don't like going back in time, breaking the pace, just to say "hey this shit happened at the same time as that other shit from previous chapter!"
I'm kinda breaking one of my rules of storytelling by hopping PoVs so much in a single chapter, but i like to think that i got good enough as a writer to pull this move and still make it good enough... XD
Other than that... we are on the road to Book 2: Earth guys! Yaaay Toph is comin back... soon! XD
Ok while the little midget is there, playing the blind bandit, Madara and the Gaang is doing their things, Zuko is having his own piece of PoV as well since i neglected his side during the Siege, which is fair, he wasn't that relevant other than capturing Aang.
I hope yall enjoy the chapter! we are on top 3 guys! i never been to top 3 before i think... woooooooot!
Stay awesome you wonderful sausages, and see you tomorrow ^_^
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