The ocean surface reflected the moonlight, forming a magical image. The cold wind of the winter night bellowed, unobstructed. Ren sat on the edge of the dock, eyes closed. The wind ruffled his brown hair, as if the world itself was messing with him. Despite the cold however, he remained unbothered.
"It's a cold night."
The newcomer spoke.
"It's perfect for retrospection." Without opening his eyes, Ren replied.
"Tea?"
"That would be lovely."
As Iroh handed him a teacup, Ren finally opened his eyes and turned towards the elderly man sitting beside him.
"Is your nephew still sulking?"
"Hmm. He will get over it after some time."
Silence followed, only broken ocassionally with the ambiance of the ocean. After taking a sip of his tea, Iroh spoke.
"You have the Avatar and the King of Omashu under your mercy," the general began. "why did you let them go?"
Ren hummed, taking in the ambiance of the evening ocean. He similarly took a sip of his tea before replying, "Is it a mistake?"
"Do you think it's a mistake?"
"Hmm," the earthbender thought for a moment. "Not really."
"Then it's not a mistake."
"Regardless, I am curious as to why you engaged in a," Iroh thought of a fitting word, "scuffle, with them."
"The correct answer would be because they weren't really planning on letting us go unscathed after Zuko jumped in first." Ren sipped his tea. "The real answer is because I was curious as to how I would do against the Avatar, even in his untrained and beginner state."
"I believe you got your answer?"
"I did." Ren stared at the horizon, the calm waves of the ocean reflecting the soft moonlight.
Iroh was silent for a moment. He closed his eyes as the cold air embraced his body, the warmth of the tea in his hand offering solace.
"You're thinking of what would've happened if you killed the Avatar right then and there." he began, eyes remaining closed. "Am I right?"
Ren turned his head towards the elder, face remaining calm and composed.
"I was."
"You got an answer?"
"More of a guess."
"I'm curious."
"Well," Ren shifted his seating position, letting his feet hang off the edge of the dock. "The world would probably end quite quickly."
Iroh didn't respond, but he opened his eyes this time.
"The world relies on balance, and as fragile as that balance is, it's vital," Ren continued. "And the Avatar is there to make sure that balance remains. If I ended him in Omashu, surely another will just spawn, but it's probably too late. The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years, in a couple more the Fire Nation would've succeeded in its conquest and break that balance. The new Avatar won't have enough time."
Worse, Aang might trigger the Avatar State. Still, that won't save him. I could still kill him despite that. I know it.
And when he dies during Avatar State, the cycle ends. The balance collapses, and the Fire Nation would win.
It's over, either ways.
"Can the new Avatar not free the world from the Fire Nation's rule?" Iroh asked back, an amused smile on his face.
"Well, considering how the Fire Nation deals with things, it wouldn't be easy."
"Besides, once the Fire Nation learns of the Avatar's death, they would probably kill every waterbender to ensure that another won't rise back up." Ren continued.
"The Fire Nation already did the same with Airbenders, yet..." Iroh sipped his tea.
"Even if the new Avatar did survive, they won't be able to travel the world to master the four elements. And even if they do master the others, finding an airbender to learn airbending would be impossible."
"So you spared the Avatar to avoid that? What a noble soul." Iroh mused.
"Indeed I am," Ren chuckled lightly.
"You're the same, are you not?" He continued. "Despite being a former general of the Fire Nation and traveling with your nephew to capture the Avatar, you're not really going to do anything to jeopardize the balance of the world."
"Oho, what makes you say such a thing?"
"Well, let's just say I have a good eye for people."
"I must say, you have sharp eyes."
The two shared a laugh together, clinking their teacups together in appreciation.
***
The sun bled.
With difficulties, she opened her eyes. She laid on the ground, shaken and exhausted.
Groaning, she sat up. The ground had dirtied her dress, dirt clinging to the expensive fabric.
Around her, the flowers she used to love for their varied colors were all dyed red. The setting sun painted everything orange, yet the crimson remained stark throughout. Dust ran rampant in the air, making it difficult to see far.
Something wet fell down her cheek.
Is it raining?
She raised a hand to wipe the wetness away. She flinched when she saw her hand afterwards—it was red.
Blood?
She raised her head to look up. Instead of the grey, foggy skies, she was met with a body.
Impaled by three earthen spikes in the chest, the corpse was brutally hefted in mid-air. The body still has his eyes and mouth open, the horrors of his final moments still stuck in his face as he passed away. The blood that fell on her came from the extended fingers of the corpse.
Wha—what is this?
"Kaen!"
That voice..!
Her head snapped to the opposite direction.
There, a man looked at her with a mix of worry and desperation. He was standing on his knees, with his arms extended outward. Thin yet solid earthen pikes went through his palms and on to the ground, locking them in place. Similarly, his calves have pikes pinning them.
"Ra—Raizo!" She called out his name, throat hoarse.
The dust gradually settled, the few streaks of sunlight illuminating the place around her.
Then, she noticed her surroundings.
Bodies suspended in the air, earthen pikes going through them. It was like a garden of corpses, the ground painted red with their blood. There's at least 20—no, 50. In any direction she look at, she was met with impaled corpses.
It was like a prison.
And she was trapped within.
As panic began to settle in, she turned back to the man.
Then, her pupils dilated.
Another man stood before the kneeling Raizo. His clean and unscathed appearance was a stark contrast to the bloodied and dirtied man. He held a sharp, thin spike in his hand, made from hardened rock. Blood dripped from the tip, painting the dirt below.
He had his eyes on her, the serenity within them earning a shudder.
"You're awake?" He spoke. More for himself than for others.
"Doesn't matter," he muttered, turning towards the kneeling Raizo in front of him.
What is he going to do?
As the man turned his attention to the kneeling one before him, she began to panic. A sense of dread began to rise, drowning anything else she's feeling.
"No... No! Get away from him!" She began yelling before she knew it.
She tried to stand up, but a sharp pain came from her left leg.
She looked back at it. A thin earthen pike had shot up through her leg, locking her in place. It was painful, but something else hurt more at the moment.
"Raizo!" She turned towards them.
"Kaen," Raizo turned his head towards her, a soft and gentle smile on his face. "This past month has been the happiest of my entire life."
No! No! No! Stop!
Unknowingly, tears had began dripping down her face.
"Well, it would've been nice if you didn't run away with the princess, you know?" The other man spoke, voice level—exasperated, even. "Now the Fire Lord paid to have your head and bring her back."
"That's all on you." He finished, tapping Raizo's forehead playfully.
"Raizo!" She called out. She tried to move, crawl towards them. Only, the pike is stronger than she thought. Each of her movement was rewarded with a sharp, tearing pain on her leg.
"It's alright, Kaen," Raizo smiled at her, a tear flowing down his cheek. "Don't cry."
"Stop! No! Don't do this!" She yelled until her throat began to hurt. She clawed the ground, trying to move. The wound in her leg grew larger as blood began to pool under it.
She watched in horror as the man raised the pike in his hand and place it above Raizo's eye. Her stomach dropped, and the world seemed to disappear around her. Only Raizo existed in her vision then, and the pike hovering above him.
"I love you." Raizo spoke, a sunny smile on his face.
Then—
Princess Kaen opened her eyes. Unknowingly, a tear slid down from her eye.
Instead of the grey skies and the orange sunset, a black roof tent greeted her. The cold, hard ground changed to a soft mattress. Her dress was clean, void of neither dirt nor blood.
Right. We're travelling to Omashu.
She sat up, wiping away the wetness on her cheek. Her face remained cold and calm.
Raizo...
The memory of back then still haunted her. The happiest portion of her life ended just like that—a gruesome tragedy.
She won't forget that day. She won't forget the pain and suffering she felt.
A piece of her died that day. And she knows she won't get it back no matter what.
She clenched her fists. Faint blue lightning arcs flashed around them.
"I'll tear you apart, Ren."
***
"He left."
Zuko stood on the deck of his ship, dumbfounded. What does his uncle mean "He left"? That makes no sense at all.
"Where?" He even forgot to be angry, just confused.
"He mentioned something about conflicting interests, and prompty left early in the morning." Iroh, sipping his tea, answered with a smile.
What the fuck?
As the realization settled in, Zuko began trembling with rage.
"That fucker!" He kicked a nearby metal crate, slightly denting it.
"He agreed that he'll help capture the Avatar! Now he just randomly left?!"
"Relax Prince Zuko. You were doing fine even without him. It'll be fine." Iroh supplied from the side.
"How can I relax?! We had an agreement!" Zuko moved from beating the metal crate to dropkicking a nearby wooden table. A watching member of his crew clutched his chest as his bottle of alcohol shattered.
"People come and go, Prince Zuko." Iroh sipped his tea, exhaling a satisfied breath. "Don't let a small matter affect your ultimate goal."
"Ren, I'll fucking kill you!"
***
"I'm sure he'll take the news with grace and decorum fitting a royal prince."
A distance away from Shen Guan, Ren spoke to himself as he sat on top of a cliff, overlooking the entire Kolau Mountain Range. Omashu is visible from a distance, as well as a massive boulder crammed onto one side of the gorge.
A map he 'borrowed' from Zuko's ship is carefully spread out in front of him. The earthbender took a look at it, humming in thought.
He decided it would be better to move on his own, rather than with Zuko. Zuko is hellbent on capturing the Avatar, and he's really just out there to watch the events. Unfortunately, given the prince's reaction, he figured he might as well save himself the headache.
He did say that he'll help Zuko track down the Avatar. But in no way has he mentioned that he'll be actively helping him capture the kid. That's fully on Zuko. But the prince would probably try to bite him to death if he mentioned that.
So, early in the morning, he decided to just head offf on his own.
"Now, where the hell do I go?"
Unfortunately, he has no idea of his next step.
"If I remember correctly, after Omashu, they should be heading to a mining village somewhere west of the mountain range..."
But should he go there?
Well, he sure is interested in seeing the protagonists do their thing, but it might not be a good idea to just meet them right after threatening their lives. He probably could talk them into some sort of understanding, but doing so right after a scuffle won't be the best way of doing things.
"So, let them do their thing for a while to recover, then show up."
That way, they won't be too agressive when they meet again. By then, he would have a better chance of talking them down.
"Good plan. Now, just where should I go in the meanwhile..."
He studied the map for a moment, scrutinizing every location marked within. Then, his eyes drifted up north and...
"Alright then, Makapu Village it is."
Ren rolled the map and put it within the leather bag on his waist. He stood up and stretched, letting the strong wind ruffle his hair.
With a leap, he jumped off the cliff. Then, using his bending, began flying off into the distance.
Learning flight is really the best thing he ever did.
If only he can stop getting migraines right after flying for long periods.