End of book one

When Zuko actually put some real hard thought into the ancient and potentially lethal art, supposedly lost to time itself.

If this great art of the Lion Turtle's could manipulate a spirit into losing its connection with an element, rendering the person unable to bend and possibly giving him the ability to use it, then perhaps it could perform the opposite purpose.

Perhaps it could allow a regular human to connect with the elements and bend them.

It was an interesting thought, to say the least.

The point was obvious; If Zuko could use his newest bending talent to enable people the gift of Airbending, then the atrocities of his own great grandfather would be somewhat lessened.

At least in regards to public relations.

The so-called "balance" would be returned to the world once Air reasserted itself, and the Avatar Cycle could safely continue.

Aang would definitely appreciate his actions, not so much to which purpose he would have for the new benders.

After all, there would be plenty of time for Air Nomads to re-establish themselves in the time the spirit of the avatar would take to travel through the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation.

That is, if the cycle was allowed to continue after aang.

Of course, there were objections, mainly from possible risks.

The young emperor didn't believe that manipulating another's spirit should only be a last resort to a terrible situation, not to be abused or used casually.

But the risks that Energybending involved weren't nonexistent, as when the avatar himself noted about the corruption that had almost engulfed his very essence when fighting Ozai during canon.

Zuko was merely cautious, not objectionable, but given his knowledge with spiritual matters, his precautions about problems with the procedure of Energybending was understandable.

And the final matter: A test subject.

Who would he be willing to put the spirit on the line?

Who would he be willing to subject to the unknown, great power of Energybending?

This time not to interrogate without worrying about scorching their spirit like he did with Zhao, or to remove a peculiar type of bending like combustion man.

Zuko knew the perfect individual to be the third living person in the world to learn air bending, besides him and the popsicle.

The guilt of accidentally harming another's spirit shouldn't weigh in his conscience, the worry of failure might as well be the exact catalyst responsible for botching the procedure.

He remembered…

That to bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed.

Needless to say, he indeed cared for his happy little contortionist friend. But for her own sake, he must have more confidence over his own abilities.

Bending in and of itself is a study of contradictions.

As a skill, it defies natural physics.

In order to hone this skill, in order to bend the rules of nature, there are entire other sets of rules to follow.

Bending forms, for example.

A special kind of kinesthesia - knowing which way to move your body to channel the energy needed to make bending possible.

As a result, the practice takes discipline.

Years of discipline.

His confidence was precisely how he controlled his inextinguishable flames and remained unburned regardless of how hot or how cold the flames touching him reached.

The response that came out of her mouth after he stated his wish, was: "I trust you."

The pink-loving girl had a confident smile, her grey eyes burnt with something that the young emperor couldn't quite place. Her body still as lithe and curved as ever, brimming with subtle muscle,

The look on her face told Zuko everything he needed to know.

It was the middle of Autumn Ty Lee accepted his request; Autumn empowered his natural Airbender abilities with the winds of change, and he wanted to give her the strongest connection to the element of air that he could.

He had listed off all the potential problems, but the acrobat didn't really care, she was adamant on helping him out, literally being the guinea-sheep if needed.

It wasn't… But still...

Zuko breathed in and out.

The time was nigh, and Autumn bestowed him strength and confidence, like Summer for his control over Fire, Winter for his control over Water and Spring for his control over Earth.

With a serene mind, he knelt down in front of a patiently waiting Ty Lee, her grey eyes trusting and intent on him.

Energybending being such a foreign and mysterious tool, as Ty Lee gave him a reassuring nod, he indulged himself with the foreign power that no other bender had, the ancient art to manipulate the very energy of another person.

As the power of the season contributed to him, he gently rested his hands on Ty Lee's forehead and heart, the very centres of all her energy, just as he did when taking combustion man's bending.

And there was light.

Air thrives again, blowing through the trees of fortune, scattering seeds of hope through the land.

The Fourth Element returns.

Fire feeds on the Air.

Fire and Air, as close as Earth and Water.

The blazing wrath of Fire burns the Earth, while the Air whips the Water into a pathetic frenzy.

But it is Water that suffocates the Fire, and Earth that defies the Air.

They ally against their enemies.

Though, of course, Air and Water can make a soothing oceanic wind, and Fire allows the Earth to renew itself.

The elements are together again.

...

When Ty Lee regained her senses, she immediately felt a strange sensation.

She felt a sense of soft fragility, a sense of freedom, spiritual care, the ability to see past the clouds, and into the peace.

"This, my dear, is Air." Zuko told her. "The element of freedom."

Airbending, one of the four elemental bending arts, is the aerokinetic ability to control and manipulate air.

Ty Lee could confirm his teaching by how light she felt her body, and she already considered herself very nimble.

"The key to airbending is flexibility and finding and following the path of least resistance." He smiled. "I'm sure that won't be a problem to you."

"This is gonna be so great!" She chuckled before immediately testing her balance with some acrobatic maneuvers.

Though to her surprise, being lighter than usual wasn't the only perk she had acquired.

Gusts of wind seemed to aid her momentum in whatever direction she desired to go, funnily enough, that almost made her lose her balance.

"As you can see, air movements can also be used as a levitation aid." Zuko said as he approached her. With a flip over her, he said. "Airbenders are able to jump high and far by riding on strong gusts of wind and can also slow or deflect falls by creating cushions of air." As soon as he landed, he kept his movement and began spinning circles around her with great refinement. "The constant movement required by this art makes airbenders naturally flexible and agile, making masters of the art difficult to hit." From behind her he poked her shoulder, but when she turned to look at him, he was no longer there. "Even without the use of bending they can easily maneuver around an opponent by ducking, jumping, and sidestepping, appearing to flow around their opponents without expending any energy at all, letting the opponent tire themselves out and thus creating exploitable openings." She heard him speaking behind her. "This conservation of energy combined with high stamina gives them an advantage in prolonged combat."

Now trying harder to keep up with Zuko's fluid movements, Ty Lee questioned with a flirtatious smile. "So that means we can have our fun for longer periods of time?"

"That means you will be able to keep up with me a little longer." He chuckled, making her blush.

"Hey Zuko, can you teach me how to fight with this style?" She asked, trying to change subjects.

"Well, airbenders can enhance their movement in battle." He said, stopping to circle around her. " For example, you can run more swiftly by decreasing air resistance around you and even sprint across or run up vertical surfaces by generating a wind current behind yourself to propel you forward." He told her. "Run many times faster than an average human and maintain it for long periods, allowing you to travel long distances without gliding or jumping." Zuko informed her. "When used by a skilled airbender, this technique can also enable the airbender to use it to travel at a speed almost too swift for the naked eye to be able to see properly. A master airbender can even use this technique to briefly run across water."

"Wow! Really?" Ty Lee gushed before looking around looking for any surface of water to test it.

"Of course!" He replied. "I can see that your affinity for the element is powerful, and with me boosting your reserves of chi, I'm sure we can make you a master in no time. I also have some scrolls that can depict the basic katas of the art for you to practice by yourself."

Ty Lee rushed with great momentum towards him and gave him a hug. "Thanks Zuko! You will see, I will impress you with my progress."

The young emperor reciprocated the hug with a soft smile. "My dear Ty Lee, there isn't a thing that I wouldn't do to make you happy."

With a snap of his finger, a servant carrying a staff came quickly and offered it while bowing.

Ty Lee noticed the strange object, but before she had the chance to ask about it, Zuko spoke. "Consider this my gift to the first air bender in decades. It's a glider-staff that my own engineering minister created, it is considerably thinner compared to the staffs used by Air Nomads of the past. This refined wooden instrument is also different from its past versions with my empire flag in its wings and fins deployed through spring-loaded mechanisms, as well as a built-in snack compartment to provide you energy during flight."

Ty Lee was so glad with the present that she gave him another hug while thanking him for the present.

He later informed her that he had also located a surviving herd of flying bison and that soon she would have her very own air bending companion.

If Ty Lee was a regular girl, she would probably not be excited to have a six legged animal that weighed around ten tons.

But thankfully, Ty Lee had great affection towards all kinds of animals.

She even thought that the Shirshu that Zuko gave Toph was cute.

That earned Zuko another hug from her, again.

After that, they spent some time practicing basic sets of air bending techniques.

Ty Lee was already extraordinarily agile before receiving the gift of bending.

Even as a child, she executed mid-air somersaults and cartwheels that surpassed even Azula's.

Her agility continued to improve with age and she was commonly seen walking around in a headstance on just her fingers.

Later she even developed remarkable acrobatic abilities, which during canon allowed her to join the Fire Nation circus and perform high-wire acts with balance and grace.

Because of this, she was already very fast and agile in battle, able to outmaneuver almost any opponent she came across and jump exceptionally high and far, even from a stationary position.

Her abilities allowed her to dodge the attacks of dozens of powerful benders, who were unable to land a hit on her.

She was also limber; able to twist, bend, and contort herself into positions nearly impossible for an ordinary person to achieve.

These abilities also granted her impressive parkour and free-running skills, allowing her to scale almost any surface or terrain quickly and squeeze through most barriers and small spaces with noticeable ease.

Like Zuko had expected, her control over air came as natural as if she had been born with it.

Another of Ty Lee's defining abilities was her mastery of pressure-point-striking martial arts, otherwise known as "chi blocking".

With her extensive knowledge of the human body, she could strike sequences of pressure points, immobilizing her enemies to various degrees.

She had the ability to paralyze a single body part or an opponent's entire body.

This technique also allowed her to block certain chi paths in benders to compromise their abilities.

This made her especially dangerous to benders who relied solely on their bending and possessed no secondary fighting skills.

Combined with her extraordinary agility without being an air bender, she was able to defeat dozens of powerful benders within seconds.

However, if her target had faced her before or was expecting her attacks, the effectiveness of her chi blocking decreased as her opponent took measures to prevent her from using the technique.

Though the mastery of air would take care of eliminating that weakness.

It would be hard to avoid her, even to a master of chi blocking, once her movements became faster than the regular eye could see.

"Remember my dear, an airbender strives to use the opponents' energy against them, they often adapt to the situation surrounding them and employ negative jing, preferring evasive maneuvers as opposed to direct confrontation." Zuko pointed. "However, airbenders can easily overwhelm many opponents at once with large and powerful attacks that could easily be proven fatal."

"Really? How so?" She asked while bursting around in high speed while performing the air scooter that Zuko had taught her.

"Be it by pulling the air out of someone's lungs, extinguishing flames, shock waves, hurricanes and much more. It depends on how creative you are."

"Hmm. Got it!" She said before thinking for a moment. "Hey Zuko."

"Yes?" He replied, noticing she dismissed her air scooter and had gotten serious all of the sudden.

"I-I know I shouldn't be asking for anything, since you already gave me too much, but I would like to ask you something anyway." She said shyly.

"Please, in all honesty, you were the one that made me happy by agreeing with my wish." The young emperor told her with a charismatic tone.

That seemed to have eased her worries. "Ah, that's nice to hear. Then I think you will also like what I have to ask you." She began. "Can you make my sisters benders as well?"

That definitely surprised Zuko.

He wasn't expecting that Ty Lee would want to share something that she had that they would never under normal circumstances.

"I don't mind at all, my dear. But mind telling me your reasons?" Zuko questioned. "I thought you wanted to be unique in comparison to your sisters."

After nodding her head in acknowledgement, she said. "I once wished to have something that people would recognize me with." She looked him in the eyes. "But ever since I saw that you can recognize me even though my own parents couldn't, I decided that I only needed to be unique in your eyes."

She rushed again at him, but instead of hugging him for the fourth time, she gave him a passionate kiss.

And the young emperor was quick to answer her kiss with even more passion.

But both of them knew, that wasn't the appropriate time nor the place to go any further than that.

"I'm very glad to know that you feel that way about me." He told her. "But that still doesn't explain why you would want me to make your sisters benders as well."

"Well, you know, I'm very competitive." Ty Lee laughed. "I noticed that they were also very skilled in acrobatics. And since this is a gift from you, I am very determined to prove how great I am with it."

"I can't argue with that logic." Zuko pointed.

"Besides, I want to make a fair competition for when we are in bed." She added with a smirk.

"We?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't mind of course." Ty Lee gave him a wide smile before winking. "They will arrive soon."

Zuko couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's antics.

He sure would enjoy seeing again Ty Lin, Ty Lat, Ty Lao, Ty Liu, Ty Lum, and Ty Woo.

Ty Lin would definitely get along with Han'i, they both excelled in using the flute.

Ty Lat might enjoy competing with Katara and Tata for the title of the best swimmer.

Ty Lao and Suki would show to each other new styles of dance.

Ri Huo had expressed great admiration for the harp, perhaps Ty Liu would accept to teach her.

Ty Lum did origami, curiously, that's something that Mai liked doing as much as she liked throwing sharp weapons.

Though Ty Woo would be more popular and have Azula, Toph and June share her hobby of insulting people.

Zuko was very pleased by the way things were going.

He might need a larger bed though.

—————————————————————

Kori Morishita glared at her opponent, rubbing the spot on her protected chest where a fire blast had made contact.

The older girl gasped for breath, sweat pouring off her.

A few of their mutual friends sat to the sidelines, as her cousin looked no worse for wear.

Chunks of rock surrounded them both, and there were a few scorch marks on the ground, but neither were harmed.

She was barely even tired.

"Okay, Kori, I give up!"

Their friends applauded, whooped and hollered for the girl who was quickly on her way to becoming the best earthbender in the entire city.

With Yu Dao being a home for firebenders and earthbenders, this was saying something.

Her cousin shot her a smile as she bowed theatrically.

"Thank you all, my dear, adoring fans." The firebender said sarcastically, and the group laughed.

Kori stared at them all for a moment.

Earthbenders and firebenders all in one place, no fighting or anything.

Sure, there were some tensions, but Yu Dao was old enough where most people who lived there considered themselves fundamental parts of the Blaze Empire.

Kori and her cousin were no different, though her cousin was much less nationalistic than she was.

Kori was expected to enlist, unlike her.

It will be soon.

As a fourteen year old, she could enlist after two more birthdays.

Most people didn't go until seventeen, but as the daughter of a governor, and a particularly important one at that, she was expected to do her part.

Excel beyond her peers.

Become an officer.

Her mother and father differed with which branch she should join.

Her father (and cousin) thought there would be more honor, and thus, more prestige and chance for advancement involved with ground combat with the army.

On the other hand, her mother figured that there was less chance of her getting hurt in the navy.

She was inclined to disagree.

But she was a good daughter.

And so she would join the army, thankfully her mother usually supported her father on these matters.

It would be years before she was respected enough to have any major rank.

It helped considerably that her earthbending was exceptional.

She was passionate about anything, really, and had much drive.

She had mastered her forms, not restricting herself to all the ones that her teacher had let her learn.

There was much love between Kori and her teacher; Ming was a great enthusiast of the unity between nations and had multiple times disciplined students that would make derogatory comments about someone descendant of a different nation, regardless if the victim was a earth bender or a fire bender.

Interestingly, the seething respect that pumped through Kori's veins at the woman had boosted

her earthbending practice for years.

And the latest rumors about their emperor discovering new types of bending, she simply had to learn them.

For earth benders she heard that it was possible to bend metal and even heat the earth to the point of making it turn into lava.

That really interested her.

"-ri. Koooorriii. Woo. You there?"

The young earthbender blinked rapidly, now noticing her cousin's hand being waved in front of her face.

"You've been staring off into space for like five minutes now. I didn't hurt you that badly, did I?" Amusement masked a hint of concern.

It had happened a few times.

"No, no! I'm fine! I was just thinking."

"You shouldn't do that, you might strain something."

"Oh ha ha. Funny."

"You know you love me, little cousin."

"Only about as much as I love getting burned."

"With how often we fight against one another, one would think you loved to feel the heat."

"You have a point. I guess you love to chew on rocks, since you insist in not dodging my attacks."

The two cousins laughed, and Kori noticed that their audience had left the two alone.

"Come on, let's go to the tea shop, I'll pay."

Kori was not good at sleeping at night.

She usually felt restless and her thoughts would run wild.

Tonight was no different, as she stared into the ceiling of her room.

These days, it was her future that kept her awake.

She wanted to live an honorable life, and she wanted to make her family proud.

In a war, the two things might be really cooperative goals.

And, to be honest, she didn't mind getting her hands dirty if that helped her empire.

She was aware that there were non combat roles she could take, but it would dishonor her and her family.

"It's not like I could just run away... not have to bother with any of this… even if I wanted."

The thought stuck with her for hours.

It would dishonor her family, which was against her goals.

It was only after gazing around her room one more time that she noticed a scroll placed over her desk.

It was known, and well adorned in gold.

And had the blazon of the empire.

...

Kori could not believe her luck.

She out of every other earth bender serving the empire had been acknowledged as a potential candidate for learning a brand new form of bending.

And what was even crazier was that the emperor himself would teach her.

She was no fool to question what a fire bender could teach her, the entire city of Yu Dao had spoken of his divine powers and how he brought the air benders back from extinction.

From what she saw, after arriving at the capital city of the empire, she wasn't the only one selected to learn the art of lava bending.

But she had been blessed by the fact that the emperor would give her private lessons.

The hardest part was not to blush or stutter whenever she met his eyes.

Especially after he did something with his flames that didn't burn her.

"Lavabending is a specialized sub-skill of earthbending that allows the user to manipulate molten earth." Zuko told her while wearing only pants and being barefooted.

His solid abs and slim frame making it harder for her to concentrate in the bending art.

"This rare ability allows the bender to phase-change earth into lava, lava into earth, and otherwise manipulate existing lava with great dexterity." He told her while digging his feet into the ground as a glowing heat began manifesting through the surface surrounding him. "Similar to how a water bender can turn water into ice and mist. Though I wouldn't recommend touching lava yourself, my peculiar power allows me to ignore the intense heat."

Kori nodded, not wanting to test her limits by challenging his statement.

"Lavabending provides an earthbender with an array of both offensive and defensive possibilities during battle." Zuko continued levitating a small chunk of rock from the ground. "Only a small amount of earth is necessary to create a useful amount of lava to bend, I personally recommend fashioning a shuriken-like projectile from just small rocks." The piece of rock began spinning and morphing into a shuriken thanks to the heat. "This technique is capable of easily burning through thick layers of wood and is beneficial in environments with very little earth to manipulate."

Kori nodded again while attempting to copy Zuko's movement, finding it very useful to be able to weaponize her own weapon with this technique.

"In addition, the use of lavabending to turn a portion of the earth into lava allows earthbenders to isolate themselves from their opponents and avoid battles at close range." Without stopping to spin the molten shuriken, a pool of magma began forming around Zuko. "Then again, do pay attention to not burn yourself with it."

"Yes my emperor!" She said as the piece of earth under her influence finally began to show signs of heating up.

"The attacks at a lava bender's disposal range from small scale, like the lava shuriken I showed you, to larger attacks, such as conjuring blasts of lava or entire streams or waves, straight out of the earth." He said before performing just that with great skill to not harm her or destroy their environment. "The use of earth in a liquid state turns this bending into something closer to waterbending, requiring more fluid movements and allowing a more supple combat style."

Zuko was performing very wide and slow motions to make his explanation more visually suggestive and to facilitate her understanding of it.

"Due to its own nature, lava can spread and cause more damage when left unattended, much like how fire is perceived by more prudent firebenders." Zuko pointed, emphasizing the need to stay alert while using the technique.

"I got it!" Kori cheered as the piece of earth under her influence finally reached a point where it could be described as being lava.

"Good!" The young emperor said. "Now try again."

The second time, Kori was shocked to find the performing the art much easier.

And the third it felt as if she had been practicing her entire life.

"Excellent!" Zuko praised her. "Now let's see how further you can go."

After that, they spent ours refining her mastery over the art, and in the following day they explored multiple uses of the art beyond combat utility.

Kori was really honored to be able to serve her emperor.

And she would definitely strive to continue impressing him in the future.

—————————————————————

In the spirit oasis, at the northern water tribe, a white haired girl with a darker tone of skin laughed gracefully after hearing a joke.

"Hahaha! That was really funny Gorudo!" Yue wiped tears of joy from her eyes.

Floating around her as if gravity had no business in regards to him, a boy smiled back. "I live to entertain, my dear."

"Oh great spirit, please tell me another one of you wonderful tales." Yue asked in a friendly manner.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait." He told her. "I believe I will have to check on my friend. It's been quite some time that I had sent her on a mission in the spiritual world."

"Oh, you mean lady fire?" Yue though, remembering about the girl with red hair that had once visited her alongside Gorudo. "Please tell her to come next time. She's such a delight to be around. Her hair makes me feel some type of kinship towards her."

"I believe that's because both of you have been blessed by powerful spirits." He told her. "While the moon spirit gave you a fraction of her life force, the spirit of the sun had done the same for her."

Yue turned to the mortal incarnations of the Moon and Ocean Spirits. "I just can't believe that my people had forgotten about our patron spirits. I'm so thankful to have met you. I've never expected that an unknown spirit would have so much to teach me."

"Likewise my beautiful Yue." He told her. "See you later."

"Wait a moment, please!" Yue shouted before the boy vanished like he always did. "If you don't mind me asking, could you next time show me a bit of the spiritual world. I can't stop dreaming of visiting the places you speak about."

"That will be my pleasure, princess." He bowed his head respectfully before vanishing.

Yue's humor darkened a little, she enjoyed so much her time with Gorudo that her regular life seemed so bland in comparison.

But for now, she still had to fulfill her duties as a princess.

In her dreams, she continuously saw herself being rescued from such burden.

—————————————————————

Since waking up in this world two years ago, during a duel to the death with his own father, the one now named Zuko had changed the course of history forever.

The fire nation had shifted from its past beliefs and had now become an empire.

The avatar, declared enemy of their nation for the past century, was now publicly detested for spending the last ten thousand years subjugating mankind to its cynical notion of balance.

People from the earth kingdom and from the water tribes were now welcomed to become loyal citizens of the empire.

The splendor of the empire has allowed the birth of new forms of bending.

The world now knew that unity had made humanity capable of shaping and bending metal with their own hands.

With their emperor's grace, lightning was now wielded by the most trusted elite benders of fire.

The emperor himself had shown his divinity to the people living in the fire section through his influence over the volcanoes of the region.

Many earth benders had come to the imperial capital seeking to learn how to bend lava.

Even the long thought extinct air benders had returned and their temples have been occupied for resource extraction.

Rumors say that the emperor's youngest sister has been blessed with bending explosions with the thought.

And the advances of the empire weren't restricted only for the bending arts.

The recently appointed, Engineer minister had made his empire proud by reaching impressive achievements in the technological field.

All people of the blaze empire had deep admiration for the mighty metal flying fortresses named airships and large tanks in the shape of a human being.

Not to mention the splendor of traveling by balloon.

The capital city was the only place in the entire world that was powered by electricity and rumors were saying that a new invention named radio was on its way to revolutionize the empire.

However, technological progress and bending arts weren't everything that the Blaze Empire had been blessed with.

The race once believed to be a mere fairytale fantasy by most humans, the giant lion turtles, had recently shown themselves in territory controlled by the empire.

That was seen by the empire citizens as a sign of the emperor's spiritual worthiness.

—————————————————————

Plantbending has enabled members of the swamp to control and manipulate every form of plant life from the highly water-saturated vines and roots found within the swamplands to seaweed from the ocean floor, all by bending the ample amount of water within them just as they can with watery mud.

They could even rapidly compress and replace the plant mass of the plants they bend, since the cell tissues of a plant are more versatile than the cell tissues of an animal.

At its simplest, Plant Bending allows the user to manipulate the water inside plants.

At its greatest, the user could even make wood grow, essentially converting their chi into a source of life for the plants under their influence.

Zuko had once heard in the spiritual world, and through reading in Wan's library, that the lion turtles had once made forests of mighty trees from various sizes and shapes using this technique at its purest.

The vegetation could even sprout from a minuscule plant or grow from the surroundings.

Wooden constructs could also be created, ranging in complexity from cages to complete houses, similar to how water, earth and metal could be bent to make similar constructs.

It is not necessary that the created wood take any identifiable form, that allows the users to focus on its inherent pliability to ensnare targets or its durability for brute force attacks.

On a second note, Plant Bending can also produce very detailed, ornate constructs. Similar to how crafty the metal benders had become in Korra's time.

Similar to the earth and metal armor, plant bending can essentially create a thick layer of defense around the user, allowing them to gain protection without sacrificing mobility.

In special cases, plants like vines can be used in larger quantities to boost the defense of a bender even further than the regular armor would allow and even extend their reach through tentacle-like appendages.

However, it comes with great sacrifice to its mobility.

A member of the Foggy Swamp Tribe, Huu, illustrated that talented waterbenders could manipulate plant life to that extent.

The Plant Bending technique is also equally powerful for its ability to manipulate, suppress, and/or absorb a target's chi through plants.

This would be done by ensnaring a target with the plants and upon such physical contact would then control their chi until they were finally too weak to escape.

The plant's enhanced durability and powerful grip gives the technique a basic advantage against air and earth bending.

And can easily fend off against weaker water benders.

However, like most forms of plants are flammable, the technique has an innate weakness against fire and possibly lava.

That weakness could somewhat be mitigated through coating the plants in a thick layer of water, but that leaves it open for lightning attacks.

...

"Your home is that bad for you not wanting to talk about them?" Zuko questioned as he went through the movements required to bend plants.

"You don't know what the swamp is like." Tata said.

"They indoctrinate you into their bullshit lifestyle. And well... I had enough of doing nothing but meditating all day." She stated. "They teach you the world is interconnected, and that everyone is related but yet they seclude themselves from everyone else!" She got angry remembering her home and family. "The hypocrites! They're so out of touch with the word for people preaching togetherness and unity. There is a whole world out there, so many places to go, so many things to do and they decided to just sit under a tree and not think about anything so that they may forget that the world goes on outside the swamp."

"You and Ri Huo might have more in common than I first thought." Zuko pondered.

Tata nodded, remembering the times she had spoken with the redhead. "They forget that unity is actually about being together. That being together is nothing unless you live and work together. Unless you strive for greater things! For growth and progress! They sit there in seclusion so that they may never have to work a day in their life. So that they may never be a part of anything bigger than themselves or be useful to anyone other than themselves or ever experience anything actually worth experiencing."

"That might be the case." Zuko replied as he continued to show her some of the movements involved in bending plants. "So, would you oppose it if I made them open up to the rest of the world?"

"Be my guest." She shrugged her shoulders and mimicked his movements.

—————————————————————

In the small town located in one of the central islands of the Fire section.

Where its citizens believed it to be haunted by a "moon monster" who caused locals to disappear during the full moon.

Zuko and Katara came disguised as regular travelers looking for someone who he said was responsible for terrorizing innocent people.

To Katara's initial surprise, their target was an innkeeper.

A gentle looking, kind old woman, that showed a caring, maternal personality.

She didn't know, but the innkeeper of the village and she were separated by decades and miles and oceans, but they were still so similar.

They both once thought that they would be the last water benders of the Southern Water Tribe, although each had assumed that title fifty years apart.

Katara loved her brother Sokka dearly, but he would never know what it was like to be looked at with reverence as the Hope of the South… and with reservation, fearing that her very existence would bring down another raid.

In the end, her powers as a bender weren't strong enough to protect her tribe from the pirate scum.

Katara had been the Last Waterbender for nearly a decade, and assumed she would continue to be at least a decade more, if not for Zuko's interference.

When those pirates raided the southern water tribe and took her, Katara had spent what seemed to her an eternity fearing that each breath would be her last, she would have killed all the pirates if she had the power.

Even though she normally felt remorse for any living being that might be suffering, in that moment, she wished to make those pirates suffer.

Greatly.

She needed to learn bloodbending.

She wanted to.

Even a yank of a limb here or there could have devastating consequences against non-benders.

Not to mention that it would be effective even against powerful benders as they would lose control of their bending under her restraining will.

From what Zuko told her, both her and Hama were Southern Water Tribe in the past.

However, now she owed allegiance to her emperor, and she won't feel remorse for those that terrorized innocents.

Zuko's orders were for her to learn everything she could from the old woman before capturing her.

Though she doubted that someone could possibly know more than her master.

It was him after all that told her that Bloodbending was a specialized sub-skill and a rare variant of waterbending that allowed an extremely advanced waterbender to take hold of and manipulate fluids within an organism's body, allowing the bender to move the person's muscles.

The forms and styles used to bloodbend resembled how a puppeteer controlled a marionette.

Whereas waterbending used flowing motions with the arms, bloodbending seemed to require a more rigid and abrupt form of movement, further highlighting how different it was from the primary waterbending forms and its other sub-skill, healing.

The complexity and sophistication required to perform the art are usually only allowed for its use during a full moon, when a waterbender's power is at its absolute peak.

That wasn't the case for her master though.

And naturally talented individuals like him that have trained vigorously in the art, are capable of bloodbending without using their arms, making its use nearly imperceptible, psychic bloodbending as Zuko had described to her.

This ability could even be used in duels to minimally alter the movements of opponents and give the user the advantage without revealing their bending.

Bloodbenders are also capable of levitating their victims in the air in a similar way that waterbenders can lift water.

Additionally, it could be used to knock its victims unconscious.

Skilled bloodbenders could even lift and hold their victims in the air, as well as launch them across short distances.

The art could also be used to render multiple people unconscious for a period of time and even be used to crush or disrupt the activity of a victim's internal organs.

Which obviously could result in lethal and painful results for the victim, as seen when Katara first met Zuko.

Some limitations were being able to only manipulate another person's body at the physical level, leaving the victim's mental faculties intact.

Consequently, a regular bloodbender is unable to use the bending abilities of the victims, as bending also relies on the mental state of the bender.

Though her master hinted that it might be possible for a master of the art to accomplish the feat.

She could for now, restrict movement to stop the act of bending, as well as reposition attacks in progress by manipulating the user.

The effects of bloodbending can be resisted, and a bloodbender's hold can be broken when applied to a waterbender of similar or superior skill to the user.

Zuko tested her skill multiple times during their training.

...

Hama had been reluctant to use her bloodbending at the beginning, after she had just barely escaped the Fire Nation Prison, but then she had heard a group of soldiers talking about another Waterbender and considering raiding the 'Southern Barbarians'.

False rumours could not be spread if no one was there to start them, and Hama had used her bloodbending to force them to kill each other.

When she had arrived at the Village she had made her new home, Hama had started work as a maid, the simple chores reminding her of better times.

Then she had heard the old innkeeper talking about how his wife was the sister of a Fire Nation Captain who had led the attacks on the Southern Water Tribe.

Bloodbending had stopped her heart as she slept, and that of the Captain, when he visited to mourn his sister.

The Captain had… certain expectations… that night, and the Innkeeper hadn't tried to stop him.

A tree in the forest where he had made his proposition had crumbled to dust as Hama panicked and killed them both, leaving them for the wild animals.

It would have been too suspicious for her to leave so suddenly and so soon, so she stayed, and became the new Innkeeper.

People talked over a few drinks, and innkeepers hear a lot more than people think.

Hama stayed, and waited, and listened… and when she heard something she could act upon, she disrupted.

Hama had known the pressure of being the Last Waterbender, and the fear that some would have rejoiced at the lack of raids when she was finally captured.

In three generations of Fire Lords, Azulon was the lesser evil, as he had aimed for just the benders, and left the rest of the tribe alone.

Hama had been overjoyed when she had discovered the group of children, one of them Water Tribe, with a strong touch of her old friend Kanna in her face and stance.

Hama recognized Kanna's sarcasm, penchant for acting out stories, and gentle, yet indomitable protective nature.

Hama had been so welcoming, almost risking appearing suspicious, to the two newcomers when they arrived at her village.

Water was family, and Tribe, and Hama had been forcibly separated from both for far too long.

Katara was probably a desperate dream come true for the old woman.

It was nice to walk through the marketplace and pretend that they were walking through the icy tundra, laughing as they gathered bird eggs or looked for the scant vegetation that grew in the poles.

It had been wonderful when she and Hama had walked through the forest, talking about Waterbending, and discussing new techniques, instead of being hushed and scolded and warned that it could be dangerous if the wrong ears overheard.

Hama had been imprisoned and tortured, and while she admitted to have taken her revenge to the extreme, it made a twisted kind of sense to the old woman.

But she was getting old, and in the few days that she sheltered the group and interacted with Katara, the child became like the niece she had always envisioned.

Kanna had been pregnant when she reached the Southern Water Tribe, and Hama and Kanna's husband were the only ones who knew that it was by the Waterbender she had been betrothed to marry.

Hama had looked forward to teaching Kya, and failing that, she was determined to teach Katara.

So teach she did, as she would a favourite niece.

Hama was pleased to hear of Katara's resourcefulness and open mind for the art, knowing that it would make it easier for her to accept and learn more unconventional forms.

Katara's bending seemed to Hama as a combination of competent self-teaching and an interesting, balanced style, whoever had taught her was clearly a water bender master.

Katara was a protector, a Woman of the Tribe, and if a discovery could protect her loved ones, she would learn it, and use it, happily.

She was proud when Katara progressed so easily, absorbing the knowledge like a sponge.

She was disappointed, and somewhat surprised, when Katara betrayed her.

Hama was old, and hardened, and knew that what she did, however cruel, had been a necessary evil.

Katara was young, though still retaining some innocence, her loyalty to the boy from the nation that made her suffer, made Hama sick to her core.

Hama had learned Bloodbending when she had healed herself after a particularly bad beating in prison.

To heal, a Waterbender had to feel the water in a body, how it flowed through muscles and veins, and guide it to her will.

In extreme cases, when a patient was near death, the water had to be forced to the healer's will.

If a Waterbender knew how to heal, and had enough power, they would be able to Bloodbend.

Hama was speechless after finding that Katara knew bloodbending long before meeting her.

And that she had been sent to take her down.

…

Before facing Hama in combat, Zuko took Katara somewhere.

"By Agni!"

The cave was full of corpses, chained upright against the walls.

Rotting, putrid. Men and women both.

The smell was indescribable.

Katara looked around, horrified.

She grimaced, and said: "T-they're dead, aren't they?"

There was the slight tinkling of a chain being moved, and Katara nearly jumped out of her skin.

The only living prisoner in the cave was a man, his hair ragged and dull, his cheekbones prominent, his eyes sunken.

His clothes hung loose around him.

The man couldn't support himself, and when Zuko set him free, he slumped forward onto the ground without protest.

"We need to help him." Said Katara, and Zuko nodded in agreement.

Katara stood nervously as Zuko healed the near-comatose man.

He coughed, and choked, but his vitality eventually returned to him.

"What happened to you?" Asked Katara after Zuko had finished his work.

The man's eyes flicked to meet her.

He opened his mouth, but the sound he made was too soft to make out.

Katara leaned forward.

"Witch."

"You understand why I can't allow this woman to continue to be free?" Zuko said. "Unlike the earth benders you've met, she is no longer an innocent victim of this war."

"I understand my emperor." Katara nodded.

Looking at the man descendant of the fire section, she saw in him her own tribe being wronged.

...

Hama met Katara at sundown, a live Komodo chicken slung over her shoulder.

Katara, understandably, was curious.

"You'll see in a bit." Said the old woman. "I promise you, tonight's lesson will be very exciting."

After following the old woman for a while, they stood in the middle of the forest, basking in the brightness of the full moon.

"Can you feel the power the full moon brings?" Asked Hama, and she breathed in deeply. "For generations, it has blessed waterbenders with its glow, allowing us to do incredible things." Hama put down the trussed komodo chicken in the clearing. "Tonight, I'm going to show you what some of these things are."

Katara stared at the chicken, finally understanding that the time had arrived.

"Watch carefully, Katara. What I'm about to show you, I discovered in that wretched Fire Nation prison." Hama untied the chicken, and the bird hopped up, shaking its feathers out and clucking. "The guards were always careful to keep any water away from us. They piped in dry air, and had us suspended away from the ground. Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of trouble was met with cruel retribution."

Hama gestured towards the chicken, which was now strutting and pecking around. "And yet, each month, I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to escape. Then I realized that where there is life, there is water. Watch."

Hama stood straight, and held her hands out, fingers splayed and stiff.

It didn't look like any regular waterbending position Katara had learned from Zuko.

It resembled the secret style he had taught her, but greatly unrefined.

"I passed years developing the skills that would lead to my escape." The old woman said as the chicken froze in place.

"Look. Remember how I showed you the water in the plants? Animals are the same. But animals fight back, which is why we can only do this under the full moon's light."

The chicken let out a squawk, and Hama moved her hands, scooting the chicken forward. "I call it 'bloodbending.' I bend the water in another body. You can do it to anything." Hama smiled. "Or anyone."

Katara faked surprise. "You mean, you do it to people?"

"This is how I escaped. First, I practiced with the rats that scurried across the floor of my cage. Then, I was ready for the men. It took years, but one full moon night, my cell was unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. And I walked free, for the first time in years." Hama closed her eyes a moment, overcome with the emotion of the memory.

But she didn't lower her hands.

Katara inspected Hama's posture while feigning to not know about the art the old woman was showing her. "But, to reach inside someone and control them? That kind of power is incredible."

"The power exists, Katara. We cannot deny that it is a part of us. A part of every waterbender. And it is our most powerful weapon against the Fire Nation. Or empire. With this, no one can stop us."

Katara stared at her. "But why would you use it against innocents?"

Hama noticed the accusatory tone.

"And if they had captured you, Katara? What would you have done?" Hama's eyes narrowed. "Would you have made use of anything you could to escape? Or would you have died, like everyone else?"

Katara's heart lept into her throat. "I don't mind fighting monsters. But I draw the line with innocent people."

Hama was beginning to look angry, and the chicken began clucking wildly as the old woman's hands clenched. "Katara, I watched the man in the cage next to me use his own piss to try and escape. He was beaten, and he died. The woman across from me chewed open her arm to use her blood. They cut her hands off, and she died. When I escaped, no one came with me because they were all dead."

Katara's eyes were cold as ice. "And yet, you've become what you hate most. You have become worse than the fire nation of the past."

Hama breathed deeply, and she relaxed.

The chicken, suddenly freed, ran into the undergrowth.

"I won't apologize, child. I did not wish to tell you these things. But I want to make sure that the last hope for our tribe has the skills she needs to survive, and carry on our traditions. Do you understand?"

Katara nodded slowly. "Yes, I will keep our traditions."

"Good. Now, let's find that chicken…"

With a swift move of her hand, Katara extended her arm and brought the chicken back to its place.

Hama smiled. "Congratulations, Katara. You really are a natural. Now, try spreading its wings."

The komodo chicken convulsed a moment before spreading its wings naturally.

"Astonishing skill." Hama gaped. "You can practice this even when it's not the full moon, you know. I make hollow puppets and fill them with water to mimic a body. Now, try a more delicate movement: turning the head."

The chicken squawked, and its head turned.

However, it turned too far, and Katara kept a calm expression as the bird went limp.

"Hm. That's too bad. But you're definitely improving. And the truth, Katara, is that you don't even need the full moon to move corpses." Hama raised her arms, and the dead chicken flew into her hands. "There's still water there, after all."

Katara looked at the old woman.

"It can be tomorrow's dinner. I'll have you practice with the puppets tomorrow. Those are less delicate. Besides, I think that's enough for tonight. We should both get some rest. And you should get rid of that boy accompanying you. Spreading war and violence in his blood."

But Hama's movements were halted as she felt an agonizing sensation restraining her.

"H-how dare you?!" She spat after seeing Katara's stance.

"I found out what happened to all the people who disappeared!"

"You what?!" Asked the old woman angrily.

"I found the cave!" Said Katara, without releasing her influence over Hama. "It was full of rotting people!" She continued. "One guy was still alive, and me and my master rescued him. The man told me about your atrocities."

Hama asked, shocked. "My atrocities?"

"Yeah, and we talked to old man Ding. He told us that something had once controlled him with weird witch magic!" Katara said fervently while staring at Hama, who lowered her head.

"Yes, it was me." Hama raised her face to meet Katara's eyes. "I'm the one who did it."

Hama continued to look straight at Katara despite feeling her body screaming in pain. "They threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters. They deserve the same, Katara! When I am gone, you must carry on my work!"

Katara looked at her with cold anger. "Monster! You said this was just to survive!"

"Survive, yes! And to destroy this entire vile nation!" Said Hama with a wicked smile. "Katara, you are young, and full of spirit. You can use bloodbending to win the war. You can use it to save the world. Listen to me. This is the most important thing you will ever learn. Will you learn it from me?"

Katara stepped forward, shaking her head with a grin. "Learn? From you? Your skill manipulating blood is raw and completely unrefined."

Katara paused.

Then, she straightened her posture, and stuck her hands out straight.

She could feel every drop of water flowing through Hama's body, and she knew that she could freeze it immediately if she wanted.

Hama's face contorted, her arms twitched.

"Well, I think that's enough." A third voice joined them.

Walking from the shadows, Hama saw the same boy that came to the island alongside Katara.

"This is none of your concern, filth!" Hama spat.

Surprisingly, the young boy smirked after hearing her threat. "Release her."

"What?" The old woman questioned, not sure why would a powerful bender like Katara obey him.

But to her surprise, she obeyed his orders like a trained dog would.

"Yes master." Katara replied, much to Hama's shock.

The old woman felt the influence over her body vanish as she fell to her knees.

Noticing that the boy was approaching her, she endured the pain in her old body and moved to bend his blood.

However, that didn't come to pass.

He continued making his way towards her without showing signs of slowing down at all.

"What?" Hama gasped. "What are you?"

The boy chuckled as he stood right in front of her. "I am the solution."

Hama suddenly felt her body stay completely still, as if she had been encased in ice.

The boy betrayed no sign of being his doing, and neither did Katara move a muscle.

"W-what i-is H-Ha-happening?" She struggled to open her mouth and whisper those words.

The boy standing right in front of her continued smirking. "Old lady, I indeed owed some form of compensation to you for all the injustice my predecessors committed against you." His palms light in a bright colorful fire. "But given your own criminal actions, not only you won't receive any form of reparation, but you have forced my hand to punish you."

"You are a fire bender?" She questioned in terror, not believing that after coming this far, she would meet her end by the flames of one of her detested enemies. "Please! Have mercy!"

"Oh, not tonight." He told her before placing his hands on her.

Immediately Hama cried in agony, but after a second, she noticed she wasn't being burned by the flames.

No, on the contrary.

Those wretched flames were healing her.

No, it was something more than mere healing.

She could feel the toll time took on her disappearing.

Her back didn't hurt anymore.

"I can see you are completely oblivious to what I'm doing." Zuko said. "Allow me to enlighten you. This method is focused on keeping order in one's body. As aging is the result of the body deteriorating on "the smallest, most invisible levels" without repairing this damage, one can stop and even reverse this process by putting all things which had fallen out of order in your body back into their places."

"B-but why?!" Questioned Hama, as she noticed her long hair changing its grey color back to a healthy dark brown. But her skin became darker than she remembered it was during her youth. "You said you would punish me."

"Oh, believe me. You will wish that I wasn't so creative." He laughed before taking his burning palms from her.

In doing so, she felt something leaving her.

At first she had no idea what he did, but as she missed the empowering energy coming from the full moon, Hama came to a realization.

The restraining feeling went away.

This time, instead of feeling frail like she did after Katara bent her blood, Hama felt better than she had ever felt before.

Inspecting her smooth hands and face, she acknowledged that it was a miracle.

However Hama wasn't one for gratitude, as soon as she regained her balance, she attempted to condense moisture from the air with the intention to shoot daggers of ice at the boy.

But the humidity completely ignored her.

With wide eyes, Hama refused to give up.

This time she spun in place in order to collect water from the grass around them.

But the element ignored her once again.

"I-Im-impossible!" The rejuvenated woman shouted in disbelief.

The temperature quickly rose as stormy clouds began forming above them.

"More impossible than bringing a senile woman back to her prime?" Questioned Zuko with a smile. "Your water bending is gone…" He made a dramatic pause while enjoying Hama's incredulous face. "Forever!"

Metal plates detached themselves from his sleeves and rushed towards Hama's wrists and ankles, bending around them and forming shackles.

"As is your freedom henceforward." He grinned.

"B-but…" Hama tried to say something, only to be interrupted by a painful sensation running through her body again.

"Silence slave!" Shouted Katara. "Show some respect to your emperor!"

"Em-emperor?" Hama gulped.

She did overheard some rumors about the new leader of the fire nation and how unnatural his abilities seemed to be.

Never would have she thought that he would find her.

—————————————————————

Around the time Avatar Aang had been freed from his iceberg prison, the one now named Zuko was pleased with his progress since waking up in the world he had once considered to be fictional.

He still had not discovered how and why he had reincarnated in the body of the banished prince before his infamous Agni Kai with a power that he had never seen before in the cartoon or comics.

And only after his travels through the spiritual world did he recognize how limitless his abilities really were.

To the young emperor's surprise, Wan Shi Tong did follow his advice.

Not only did the owl spirit appear in the Capital city of the Blaze empire, but somehow it brought its library alongside it.

Zuko was quickly in founding the university of the Blaze empire once the owl spirit gave him the permission.

Now he had a place filled with spiritual energy for him to use during his visits to the spiritual world.

It sure helped him visit more frequently princess Yue.

He had also visited spirits like the mother of faces, the embodiment of individuality and mother of one of the most hated spirits.

Koh, the face stealer.

Zuko gave the mother of faces an ultimatum, either take responsibility for her sire and stop it herself.

Or Koh would burn in an inextinguishable inferno of black and white flames.

She wasn't happy by his demand, but neither was she a fool to challenge him after his brief demonstration of power by copying her "creation technique".

Not to mention the fact that he had the favor of the Lion turtles.

Even the primordial spirits, Raava and Vaatu bowed to them.

In the spirit world, he also met the painted lady.

The benevolent spirit of the Jang Hui River, known for her protectiveness and healing abilities.

After his actions to restore her home back to its pristine condition, she returned to guard the fishing village.

Her blessing made "restoring" one's body much easier for Zuko.

As did the affinity of Hei Bai.

His first attempt with Lo and Li had been successful, but didn't rejuvenate them enough to consider them attractive.

What remained of his conscience wouldn't allow him to sleep well if that came to pass.

Fortunately, the blessings made his "healing" of Hama much simpler than he was expecting.

As for the creator of blood bending, she had been graced with the privilege of being his personal sex slave.

Similar to a concubine, but Hama received none of the gentleness that Suki and June received from him.

Zuko used Hama to fulfill his dark fantasies he had for enslaving Katara, since the original Katara had earned his respect.

She will soon come to enjoy their rough time together.

Azula was most pleased to be allowed to play with his toy however she saw fit.

Healing was after all a simple matter for him.

Ri Huo aided him with improving the relations between spirits and the citizens of his empire.

Thanks to that connection of spirituality, rumors began spreading of how fertile their lands were and how powerful the benders under the empire were becoming.

Even the greatest enemies of the empire had heard the tales of how the spirits began to favor them.

Indeed, Zuko was very pleased with his empire.

But what brought him even greater joy than that, was being around such beautiful girls.

Not only that, but knowing that they had deep feelings towards him and craved for his attention.

Right now, he had his prime bending masters fighting one another.

Ty Lee had really been diligent with her training.

Her swiftness and agility were almost on par with his own capabilities.

If he needed to describe her style in one word, that word would be untouchable.

She bobs and weaves around any attack that was shot at her.

Though her air swipes weren't to be taken lightly, especially after he aided her to perform vacuum slices.

Her sky bison contrasted with her slim frame, it being possibly even bigger than Appa and having the best armor his blacksmiths could craft.

Eventually she even shifted from the traditional glider of the airbenders and followed his preference for the wingsuit.

Thankfully his army had successfully adapted to her teachings, and alongside Han'i and Mai's sharpshooting lessons, even his non-benders were now effective against most types of enemies.

By the way, both Mai and Han'i were accepted as students of Pian Dao. The young emperor couldn't contain his excitement to one day witness both girls defeating the traitor swordsman after he foolishly declare his support to the avatar in the future.

Ty Lee's sisters were a welcome addition to his harem.

Zuko was particularly found of the sensation of fucking multiple airbenders as they piled over him, with positions only they could perform.

Next, his beautiful blood bender.

Katara had made great progress with all the lessons and scrolls he provided to her.

Even though she proved to be a skilled healer, her real talent was in combat.

Like Ty Lee, Katara opted for a more stealth approach, making good use of mists.

She might even earn some nickname like the demon of the hidden mist.

She adapted well enough to Ming Hua's style, literally making water an extension of her own body, without sharing the same lack of arms.

And her blood bending was finally reaching Noatak's level, if he lived to his potential as a blood bender.

Thanks to that, if he needed to describe her style in a word, Zuko would go with Bloody.

Finding her animal was hard, neither the moon or ocean spirit would do.

For the moment, he gave Katara an Eel hound.

But in the future, he considered giving her either the unagi.

The real on this time.

Or the serpent from the serpent's pass.

Regardless, his plans of giving her everything he had about her tribe and accommodating her people had thrived beyond his expectations.

Especially after he created more water benders.

The blood bender now followed his orders like a faithful dog.

Azula even joked that she was his polar bitch.

But Katara didn't seem to care.

Speaking of the pole, his empire had just begun colonizing it, thanks to him informing about the vast amount of crude oil in the region.

When Katara asked him about, he simply informed that he wished to rebuild her tribe and keep the pirate filth from making that place their home.

No need to say that she thanked him.

And by thanking him, it means she actually got more intimate with him.

…

Yeah.

Back on track…

Next, his precious Loli.

Unfortunately he couldn't call her his blind loli, but at least she kept the cloudy eyes. It kinda was part of her charm, in Zuko's opinion.

Jokes aside, making Toph capable of seeing again was probably the best decision he had made ever since waking up in this world.

For some reason, despite seeing almost everything through her feet, he noticed that she hadn't been exposed to the temptations of the flesh.

Every time he approached her, Toph became red like a tomato, kinda like Suki but with Toph's attempts to look tough despite of it.

Possibly because she might've understood why her mother had come to the capital, and why she always talked about him.

Zuko had to thank Ursa again, she was excellent with the foreplay tactic.

Beyond that, he had to admit that it was very wholesome presenting the world to Toph.

Showing her all the existing colors, how to read and write and even make mathematical equations.

Not to mention how it improved her combat capabilities.

After mastering metal bending similar to Kuvira, Zuko finally got his spider loli swinging around with her metallic wires.

And she even adopted the technique of manipulating a swarm of blades that he used against her.

The Shirshu fit her style like a glove, since the blind badger mole would be too cumbersome for using around.

June did mention that it was a gift from her father, but after a passionate night with Zuko, she completely forgot about the animal.

But despite wanting her to master metal bending, Zuko didn't allow her to neglect her earth bending training.

Toph still made great use of her seismic sense and excelled in stealthily moving underground by digging tunnels.

And after she made condensing rocks her trademark movement, her style could easily be described as indestructible.

Be it earth or metal, her opponents would be really hard pressed to go past her defenses.

And Zuko had to admit that the training the boulder had been giving, would definitely turn Toph into the next Mikasa.

Rock solid without losing those curves.

And last but not least, his sexy sister, Azula.

Out of the four girls, she was the one that had been more beneficiated by Zuko's dense aura of chi.

Her current reserves allowed her to approach the same level of power she had displayed during her Agni Kai with the original Zuko under the influence of Sozin's comet.

But now with discipline behind her every move.

…

That made him remember that he had to change that comet's name next time it appeared.

Which will be soon.

Anyway, back to the sexy Azula.

Her fire bending was already excellent during canon, now her lightning bending had indeed gone up multiple notches.

Not only he taught her how to redirect it, but she was finally understanding how to overcharge herself with it to make her faster.

Though like lave, a bender that wasn't him couldn't endure the stress for longer periods of time like him.

That doesn't matter though, Azula was deadly enough to beat every royal guard she faced.

Even the capitan.

Her style could definitely be described as unstoppable. Given her overwhelming power and her own dragon that complemented her style rather fittingly.

Zuko first thought that unlimited power would fit, but neither was it a single word nor was it the truth.

Especially with him being around to show what unlimited power really was.

Azula finally found some peace in being in his arms, and she had even accepted that their mother wanted to fuck him as much as she did.

Like mother, like daughter I guess.

"Alright girls, I believe that's enough for today." Zuko suddenly spoke, stopping the four girls to continue dishing out attacks.

The young emperor had to admit, despite how completely OP he might've turned them, they still somehow got locked in a stalemate.

Possibly because he made sure to point out their weakness for the others to explore, in the end that would push them to go beyond their current limits.

—————————————————————

Despite what was said within the many tales and legends that had been spun across all four of the great bending Nations, how bending came to be was not due to spiritual intervention or divine choice or anything of that nature.

There was no great spirit who came to man and bestowed to them the power to move the elements.

Rather, bending came to be how many things in the natural world did; adaptation.

For the once great nomads of the sky, it was the need of travel that fostered their need of flight.

The mountainous landscape of their lands across each point of the compass reached tall into the clouds, with summits so steep that it would be impossible for a single monk to climb its sides.

Harnessing the raging winds that blew through the land, Airbending lifted the nomads high into the air and granted the first Airbenders travel.

For the tribes in the Poles of the North and South, bending of the chilling seas of the tundra was not an art form, but a necessity in order to survive within the ice.

Food came from the water, travel came from the water.

Water built their igloos and streets.

Water formed their weapons.

Water heats them in the cold.

Water was everything.

It was all the the first Waterbenders had and still possess in terms of materials.

Bones and pelts were crucial but it was the water that became their most valuable resource.

For those within the great plains of the Earth Kingdom, Earthbending came from protection.

The lands of their nation spanned farther and larger than any other, and with that came much more threats.

Countless peaceful villages had been slain throughout the nation's long history by the hands of beasts, invaders, and even their own people.

In order to protect themselves, two star-crossed lovers looked to the mighty Badermoles, who had lived on top of the food chain, and learned the art of Earthbending to shield themselves from the danger that threatened their lives together.

And for those within the smolder heat that coursed within the mighty First Nation, fire was power.

The world was large and brimming with potential sitting idly, waiting for someone to go and grasp it.

And for those who first learned to harness the power of the sun, it was they who saw that opportunity.

They smelted the earth, inflated their sails, and boiled seas to raise themselves as the most innovative Nations across the world.

Fire allowed for progress to be made and the mighty Firebenders had lit the flame for the great Fire Nation.

But of those left with nothing?

What of those left to fend for themselves with no winds nor oceans nor solid ground nor opportunities?

How could those left with lands of unknown certainty survive with the barest of necessities?

For that, they had done what all others around the nations had been forced to do; adapt.

And adaption, in the case of the Sandbenders, was what they tended to do best.

…

There was an old wise tale within the Seven Tribes that said hunting was always more fruitful when the sun had fully risen above the desert's dunes.

It was thought that when the sands became too hot, the most delicious of catches would come to the surface to escape the blistering heat.

And yet, in the wee hours of dawn, a single sand-sailer could be seen coasting along the Si Wong's golden sand eager for a day's hunt.

A lone Sandbender stood atop the small sail, single-handedly piloting the billowing sail while whirling a column of sand to fill the sail with fluid, graceful movements of their heavily covered arms.

Like many who called the desert home, the Sandbender was covered head to toe in layers upon layers of cloth.

Every square inch of their frame was covered, with the slivers of skin that would normally peek out from beneath the frayed edges of their brown harem pants and beige short sleeved tunic shirt covered in thick bandages made from the material as their belt and scarf.

The only piece not made of cloth were a pair of sun-bleached goggles nestled along the tightly swaddled wrappings around their head.

The sand-sailer soared across the dunes effortlessly, the grounding of the sand grains dragging against the wood the only noise that could be heard in the early morning.

The Sandbender's covered head was unmoving as it gazed upon what seemingly appeared to be nothing to the outside eye.

Suddenly, the Sandbender's rapid arm movements began to slow down, causing the sailor to sink back into the grasp of the sand at a full halt.

Silently, the Sandbender climbed down from the vessel with the ease of someone who had done the movement hundreds of times and let her covered feet sink into the warm sand.

For a few moments, she did not move.

She just stood there, letting the rising sun warm her and the desert.

And then, without warning, she moved.

The Sandbender's feet sprung to life and slide through the sand as she waved her arms in a soft, fluid arch.

Twenty paces away, the sand began to swirl down into a crater then spat out what appeared to be a small Gilacorn right into the air and into the Sandbender's grip.

The Gilacorn squirmed in the Sandbender's grasp as she walked back into the sand-sailer.

Tied to the compass was a large white sack that twitched every once in awhile.

The Sandbender untied the sack where a dozen other Gilacorns struggled in and threw the newest one inside before making quick work to tie the sack once more.

She then walked back towards the piloting station and began to bend the sailor to life.

The sun was a deep orange as the vessel drove across the dunes.

In the glow of the dawn, it seemed as though the entire Si Wong Desert was made of piles and piles of small amber gems.

The sand-sailer was driven back deep into the desert.

Eventually, the faint, mirage-like image of a tall, circular wall of hardened sandstone could be seen nestled along the summit of a few large sand piles.

The sailor soared towards it, eventually coming to a halt right along one of its curved walls.

Other sand-sailors were stationed along its sides.

Grabbing the sack of Gilacorns and slinging it over her shoulder, The Sandbender dismounted the vessel.

With a shift of her foot and hand, a part of the sandstone began to soften and reach out to grab the front end of the sailor before hardening once more to lock it in place.

From there, the Sandbender hiked the sack further up her shoulder and made her way to the only opening inside the structure.

Inside the wall laid a heart tribe of Sandbenders.

The tribe was similar in size to that of a typical Earth Kingdom village.

But whereas Earth Kingdom villages were made of warm homes made of dark woods and straw roofs, this tribe was mostly built of sandstone huts and sun-bleached wooden doors shaped along many rings inside of the circular walls.

Small windows were punched from the stone and curtained with the same cloth that made their many layers of clothes.

The streets were sand hardened just enough for one to not sink into but still had grains shifting against passerby's feet.

Clothes lines hung from hut to hit, the clothing hanging there swaying against the sky not from wind by the movement of the crowd below it.

The tribe itself was bustling around the Sandbender as they made their way to the village's center.

There were people of all ages walking freely about to enjoy the new day.

The young men of the tribe were exiting their huts.

They were ribbing one another, teasing as they finished wrapping their arms and legs for the day.

The women were out and about, walking along the ring that held the many trading posts and shops looking for supplies for the day.

The merchants, grinning through their wrappings, called for customers to sample their wares.

The men stood by those wares, bartering with merchants for lower prices and speaking about the trading markets highs and lows.

The older folk were stretching their bones, reminiscing about younger times within one another.

The children were running around, dodging the legs of the crowd and playing games with odd sand made toys.

The Sandbender made her way to the tribe's center.

The center was less structurally busy than the rest of the tribe with only a large water well being the only permanent object.

The ground around it was empty for people to walk freely in and commune, which was just as the people were doing as the Sandbender walked towards the well.

Some older folk had bended a table of sand and were setting up a game of Pai Sho.

A handful of mothers congregated together by the well, a large wooden bucket of water shared between them as they laundry while gossiping.

"Look who's back!" One of the mothers called as they saw the Sandbender approach. "Out early again, I see. The others haven't even packed for their hunts yet."

The Sandbender dropped the bag of Gilacorns and grabbed a wood ladle that was tied against the wall of the well.

She reached down and filled it with fresh water, lifting up a small section of their wrappings to guzzle down the cool liquid.

"How'd you turn out today?" Another asked.

While taking another sip, the Sandbender reached down and shook the bag.

The Gilacorns frenzied inside.

"Wow! So what I'm seeing is that Lok is going to be bringing the meat for tomorrow's potluck." The others giggled around her.

The Sandbender dropped the ladle back against the edge of the well and slung the sack back over her shoulder.

She pulled the wrappings back around her face and waved a pleasant good-bye to the mothers as they retreated back into the tribe's streets.

She made their way through the lively crowds and buildings towards a small hut nestled along the fourth ring of the five ringed tribe.

It looked no different than the others around it, but the Sandbender's shoulders softened as she caught sight of it.

"Hello?" The Sandbender announced as they entered the hut.

Their voice was muffled by the wrappings but was still surprisingly light and smooth like honey.

"Lok?" They scanned along the hut to only see it was empty.

The hut itself was rather plain and small, with the same sandstone walls and floors as it had in its exterior.

A conservative amount of furniture was held inside, consisting mainly of two futons, a sandstone table, and a fire pit dug into the center of the singular room.

A few personal items, such as parchment scrolls and thicker tunics, were strewn about.

A large stack of wood was stacked by the entryway along with a stick of flint and steel on top.

The Sandbender walked towards one of the futons and fell ungracefully atop it.

She spread her arms wide as she took a long, deep breath.

Without getting up, she removed the goggles and tossed them to the futon beside her.

Blinking up towards the ceiling were almond eyes the color of gold framed by thick lashes the same light, bright shade.

The Sandbender sat up, rubbing her eyes with her bandaged fist then began to undo the wrappings around her head.

Beneath all of the cloth laid the face of a girl no older than sixteen.

She was a beauty, the girl, with a Sandbender lineage apparent in her features.

The deep, golden hue of her skin and freckles were typical for many of the Sandbenders of her tribe as well as the raised bones of her cheek and hooked shape of her nose.

Her full lips parted with a sigh as she reached to tousle her straight, golden hair parted down the center of her scalp to brush against her shoulders.

—————————————————————

In the South Pole, Zuko soared through the skies with complete focus, following the feint trail of spiritual energy similar to the one he felt coming from Vaatu's prison.

The young emperor was impressed to see how far his colonization effort had come in such a short amount of time, and that the extraction of crude oil had begun with the most efficient way and technology available to his empire.

Outside of the mainland, he found a large glacier completely hidden from regular eyes.

As he made his descent, he made the surface of the ocean freeze for several meters, stabilizing the floating iceberg.

As he landed, he forced his will over the iceberg, and the mountain of ice began melting away.

When the layer of ice got thin enough, a blinding light bursted out of the ice shell and a pillar of pure energy was shot straight into the sky.

The Avatar had returned to the world.

And he will help Zuko conquer the rest of the world, even if he ended up choosing to oppose him and his empire.

Neither will Raava or the White Lotus be enough to stop him.

The Legend of the Phoenix will be respected for the eternity to come.

—————————————————————

There are despots and dictators - perverse political manipulators.

There are blue bloods with the intellects of fleas, rulers who don't know how to rule.

There are kings and petty tyrants, who are so lacking in refinements.

And that over the years, each time they only knew more and more to steal!

He was born and raised to rule, the king of an entire civilization.

No one has ever been this cool.

In thousands of decades of aristocracy.

He had the power in his hand, the history his name will keep.

The quintessence of perfection, that is he and his nation!

He's more than a mighty king, he's like a fabulous God.

He's the alpha, the omega, A to Z.

He's the most sophisticated dude in creation.

Years of such selective breeding, generations have been leading.

To this miracle of life that we all know.

And this perfect world will spin, around his every little whim.

Because this perfect world begins and ends with…

"Me."

What's his name?

Zuko, Zuko, Zuko.

Zuko (That's his name!)

Zuko, Zuko (Is he hip or what?!)

Zuko (Don't you know he's the king of the world?)

Zuko, Zuko, Zuko (Oh yeah)

Zuko-oh-oh-oh (Ow!)

—————————————————————————————————————

(21/01/2021)

*Hope this big 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.

** Thanks everyone for staying with me until now!

The first season is over! Did you like it? I sure hope so, because I love it!

Please, for those who haven't already, reviewed my story do so. You can be honest as much as you want, every criticism is welcomed! It really helps me grow as a writer!

For now, I will be taking a break from this story.

Next one to receive some love will be my DC story, hopefully I can convince some of you to give it a chance.

I don't know when I will be updating this fic again, but don't worry, I won't drop it.

Anyways… I'm sure that I'm forgetting something, but let me thank you again for following me on this journey.

See you around dear reader!

Bab 26: End of book one

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Bab 26: End of book one

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