Reborn In Water || ATLA

Bring Me Back To Life

The Siege Of The North Part Two Continued

"I'm pumpin' blood, I'm runnin' dry, my heart's been beating overtime to help this broken body live another night. Battle cry, is the damage done? Who has lost and who has won? Who will be there when my life's support is gone? Oh I'm broken and I'm barely breathing, I'm falling cause my hearts stopped beating. If this is how it all goes down tonight, this is how you bring me back to life. This is what it's like when we collide, this is how you bring me back to life." - Extreme Music

🌊 🌋 🔥 🌪

"Hello," Aang called out as he and Aelita walked down the narrow slope that lead into the cave. The cave itself was damp, dark, and lifeless. The monk wasn't sure anyone or anything had ever really lived here. "We're looking for a spirit named Koh." Aelita suddenly stopped and Aang paused behind her. "This place looks abandoned, do you think Ryuk was wrong?"

"No," Aelita assured. She had sensed the eyes watching their every move, waiting for them to slip up. "He's here, I can feel him." She explained as she scanned the cave. "He's hoping if he surprises us he might end up with another prize to add to his collection."

Her observation was met with a deep, throaty laugh that echoed off the walls. Not only was this new Akira sensitive to spirit energy, but she was also smart too. Koh wasn't sure if he admired it or hated it.

"Very clever child, very clever indeed." The spirit spoke. Seeing as he had been discovered Koh dropped down from the roof of his home directly in the young girl's face. "Welcome." He smiled.

The sight of the Face Stealer would've made any other normal person's skin crawl. His body was that of a centipede, as big around as the trees in the swamp and with more legs than any human could count. For now, his face was that of a young human, skin painted white with blood-red lips and vibrant blue makeup on the eyes. Koh had borrowed this face from a member of an acting troop many decades ago, it was one of his favorites. The air around the spirit was thick and uneasy. Aelita wasn't sure what the story of this thing was but she could tell his polite act was just that, an act. Fine then, they'd play along.

"Thank you." She bowed to the spirit, Aang following suit.

"My old friend the Akira." The spirit drawled on and his many feet tapped the ground as he circled the two like a snake on the hunt. His smile wilted slightly as he looked Aang over head to toe. "And our acquaintance the Avatar, it's been a long time."

"You know us?" Aang asked while he focused on keeping his expression blank.

"How could I forget you?" Koh sneered. When he blinked his face morphed from the actor to that of an older man with wrinkled skin, Fire Nation-like features a thick, brown facial hair. "One of your previous incarnations tried to slay me, maybe eight or nine hundred years ago." Koh shot inches away now from Aang's face but the boy didn't flinch. Strong-willed these children were.

"I didn't know that," Aang admitted. Kill a spirit? That had to be impossible, no Avatar would ever hunt a spirit. They were one end of the bridge, after all, it just didn't make sense to him. "Why did he, or I, try to kill you?"

"Oh, it was something about stealing the face of someone you loved." Koh blinked and his face changed again. The man was now replaced by a beautiful woman with blue eyes, tanned skin, and luscious brown hair. He was rather proud of this one. Aang felt a small ping in his heart as if the woman were familiar but he couldn't place how or why. When the boy remained unmoving Koh blinked again and the woman's face gave way to that of the curly-tailed blue nose. The spirit laughed like a hyena pup, he was enjoying this far too much. "You almost succeeded at one point, Avatar. During one of my trips to the mortal world you nearly brought me down, but luckily for me the Akira came to my defense, spouting off some line about not disrupting the balance or angering my mother whom has even more knowledge and power than I, but that's a tale for another day. Tell me Akira, are you still so noble?"