"(Y/N), wake up," A voice was saying. It was a strong, male voice, and one that I had heard before, though not very often. I opened my eyelids, and found myself still lying on the grass of the spirit oasis. I remember everything that had happened: the duel I lost to Zhao, the death of Tui. And yet, despite the pain that had previously been coursing through my body, I felt... fine. I got up from the ground and dusted myself off. I saw the familiar sights of the spirit oasis, but something was different. It was just me in the oasis and, as I peered into the spirit pond, I saw only La, the black koi fish with a white dot, circling in the pond. He said my name in his usual echoing voice. Suddenly everything made sense; I was in the spirit world. I had only crossed the barrier into this world a few times during my meditations at the oasis, but when I did Tui and La always spoke to me.
"Am I dead?" I asked the spirit, who continued to circle the pond alone endlessly.
"No, not exactly," La bluntly told me. I randomly started to cry, the warm tears helplessly running down my face as I mourned the demise of Tui. The lonely sight of La circling the pond by himself had shifted something inside of me, and I fell to my knees sobbing.
"I'm sorry I failed you, La," I sobbed at the spirit. "I was given the job to protect you, and I failed,"
"You haven't failed me," La told me. "We chose you for a reason, and I stand by our choice. We only choose to inhabit within those who have courage and heart. Hundreds have bathed in the spirit pond. Only two have ever been chosen," La explained to me.
"I don't understand," I admitted to the spirit. Everything he had said confused me.
"We have only ever chosen to bless two individuals with our power," La began to clarify. "We chose you because we saw your power, and your determination, but we also saw your heart. We knew that we could trust you to do the right thing, always. But before you, Tui chose to bless another. Somebody who had immense loyalty and courage,"
"So there's another person who has been chosen by the spirits?" I questioned, trying to make sense of it all.
"Yes, and I believe you know her rather well," he stated. "A part of Tui inhabits inside Princess Yue. She is your spirit sister,". I couldn't believe it. I had known Yue all my life, but had never known that she had also been chosen by the spirits. That would explain the strange bond I had always felt to her, as if we were close family. But none of that mattered now. Tears continued to fall down my face as I knelt next to La.
"None of that matters, now," I cried to the spirit. "Tui is dead,"
"Tui is not as far gone as you believe," La told me in his soothing voice. I was becoming more upset and confused by the minute.
"What do you mean?," I asked, genuinely baffled.
"Yue will give up her life for Tui," La explained. "She knows it's her duty,". As if by command, I suddenly heard the soft, female voice of Tui saying my name. I rubbed the tears from my eyes, clearing my fuzzy vision, and when I looked back towards the spirit pond, Tui was present again, circling La as if she had never left.
"(Y/N)," she spoke softly. "You are now the only person left who has been chosen by the spirits," she told me.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," was all I managed to mutter to the spirit. I was still extremely confused as to how Tui had returned. Had Yue really sacrificed her life for Tui? Was she... dead?
"It is our job to protect you just as much as it is your job to protect us," Tui said to me kindly.
"You are destined for great things, (Y/N)," La continued. "It's our role to make sure that your destiny is fulfilled,". Still confused, I was about to question them until Tui cut me off.
"In order for us to protect you, we can give you our power for a short while. But understand, we cannot do this often. By manifesting our full power into you, we sacrifice our own mortal lives," she explained. I didn't truly understand what was being requested, but something inside told me that I should agree.
"I accept," I quietly told them. I watched as the two koi fish in the spirit oasis pond continued to circle each other. I soon noticed that their circling began to speed up, and the bodies of the two spirits began to glow; something was happening! I felt a strange, warm feeling inside. I felt confident, and more powerful than I had ever been. Before I could even try and figure out what was happening, everything began to fade to darkness.
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My eyes shot open with force. I was back at the spirit oasis in the real world, but it was quieter now. Something within me felt very different. Before my meeting with La and Tui, I had both my arms burnt, and was completely weak and powerless. Now, however, I felt powerful. Really powerful, like nothing I had felt before. I quickly got up from the grass, where I presume I had been laying for a while, and peered into the spirit oasis. The two fish circled each other once more; Tui was alive again! However, when I stared into the waters of the pond, I noticed something unusual in my reflection. My eyes were different. Usually they were a dull amber colour, but now one eye was shining a bright white, while the other was a dull black. It shocked me, and in reaction I stumbled back away from the pond.
"Do not be afraid, (Y/N)," I heard the calming voice of Tui in my head. "We have put our complete power within in you for a short while," she explained.
"Go, protect your tribe. We'll be with you," said the powerful voice of La. Now the strong, powerful feeling I had in my body made sense. I had the power of the ocean spirits running through me. Without a second thought, I ran out of the spirit oasis. The Northern Water Tribe was still under attack, and I intend to protect it with everything I have. As I ran away from the ice palace, towards the large ice gate where the attack was, I saw a large, blue glowing figure in the distance. Something told me that the Avatar had also harnessed the power of the spirits, and was defending the tribe.
I quickly arrived at the site of the battle. I could see in the distance that a large part of the thick, ice gate that protected the entrance of Agna Quel'a had been destroyed, and was surrounded by many fire nation navy ships. Some were shooting large balls of fire into the city, causing a lot of damage. On the land were many metal tanks, and I saw waterbenders attempting to destroy them. The sound of shouts could barely be heard over the noise of explosions, as large blasts of fire were ruthlessly pelted into nearby houses, where innocent people lived. Thick chunks of black, polluted snow fell through the air as I watched the carnage occur in front of my eyes. I wasn't just going to sit back and let the fire nation destroy my home. I had always been told that it was destiny to protect the Northern Water Tribe from any outside attacks. Whether that was truly my destiny, or just a destiny forced upon me, didn't matter right now. At this moment, all I cared about was protecting Agna Quel'a
I decided to gather a source of water from a nearby ice fountain. When I moved my hands to bring the water towards me, I realised I was able to control a far larger quantity of water than ever before. La and Tui were extremely strong, I was beginning to realise. I sent the huge stream of water towards a nearby tank, turning it to ice before it made contact, allowing the ice to pierce through the centre of the tank, pinning it to a nearby building and rendering it useless. I smiled slightly when I saw what I was now capable of. I raised my arms into the air, and a tsunami of water raised into the air from a nearby canal, which I dumped onto three tanks, which I masterfully swept across the icy landscape into a small platoon of fire nation soldiers. I then bent the snow around me to create a wall of ice, which I sliced many times, sending sharp ice disks at the reaming fire nation troops. I continued my onslaught of the fire nation offensive; two dozen tanks and many hundred men fell to my swift and precise offence. However, the fire nation soon realised my strength, and I suddenly found myself surrounded by ten tanks. Luckily, I was able to swiftly bend a protective ring of water around myself and, before the tanks we able to fire at me, I rapidly sent the water ring outwards under high pressure, slicing all the tanks clean in half.
Once the majority of artillery had been taken out, I took a good look around me. I saw a few waterbenders relentlessly continuing the defence. To my disbelief, I also saw Kyana contributing to the defence. She was sending bullets of water at fire nation troops, just like I had always taught her to do. I was extremely proud of her, but something quickly took away my attention. From afar, I could see a recognisable figure running away from all the combat: Zhao. A feeling of pure fury washed over me as saw him cowering away from the battle. He had killed Tui, and he had to suffer for it. Instantly I started sprinting towards the unknowing General, athletically vaulting over icy canals and sliding across streets.
I was quick to catch up with the fleeing Zhao, sending a wave of water from a nearby canal crashing over his back and forcing him to the floor. He hastily turned around to see his attacker.
"(Y/N)," he growled at me as he got up from the icy floor.
"This is a rematch I'm looking forward to," I told him. I saw Zhao's usually confident face morph into an expression of fear. Perhaps he could see the glowing of the water spirits in my eyes. Nonetheless, he was quick to send a wave of fire in my direction as he swung his arm wildly, which I blocked with a simple wave of water. Zhao quickly continued to be on the offensive, sending wave after wave of flames towards me. I could see his strategy; he was pushing me backwards towards the nearby canal, so that I had limited land to defend myself on. However, I decided I would welcome his plan. When I was at the edge of the canal, Zhao sent a particularly powerful blast of fire from both of his fists. I knew I couldn't block it in time, but I didn't need to. Instead I simply took a step back, and let myself fall into the canal behind me. I felt the icy water envelope me, and it gave me an overwhelming feeling of confidence.
I masterfully pushed and pulled the water around me so that it spun rapidly. The whirlpool of water started to rise out of the canal, lifting me into the air with it. I felt the buzzing of the spinning water at my legs as I stood at the top of the water tornado, standing many feet taller than the tiny Admiral below me. I looked down on Zhao, who's expression of fear had increased tenfold as he watched my demonstration of power. He sent a few desperate attacks at me, but my whirpool of water protected me. Still levitating above him with the water enveloping my legs, I raised my hands above my head, causing a large wave of water from the canal to rise alongside me. I pushed my hand away from my body, unleashing the tidal wave of the firebending master, sending him crashing into a nearby building. Now on the ground and disorientated, I knew I had the Admiral right where I wanted him. He looked up at me with pleading eyes, as if begging me to be merciful. In response, I sent a large spike of ice towards him. However, as the ice was just a few metres away from making contact with the firebender, something flipped inside of me. This isn't how it should be. Sure, I hated Zhao and everything he stood for, but if he was truly my uncle... I couldn't kill him.
I felt the large ice spike transform back into water as it harmlessly splashed on the terrified Admiral's face. I returned to the ground, my whirlpool of water dissipating beneath my feet as I made my decision. The confused Zhao was swift to scamper up from the floor and sprint away. For some reason, I didn't follow him. I watched as he ran towards the bruised gate of the Northern Water Tribe, where there was no doubt that he would board one of the ships and escape. Admiral Zhao had lived to see another day.
As I watched Zhao board his ship in the far distance, I began to feel weak again. The power that Tui and La had given me was fading away. I immediately began to feel normal again, and then a sudden feeling of faintness washed over my body as the spirit's power left. I felt extremely weak, so much so that I fell to the ground. I closed my eyes and, for the third time in one day, I passed out.
Word Count: 2353
(A/N: Wow, so this story blew up last night! Within twenty four hours the total views tripled from 80 to now almost 250 views! It means so much that even one person is reading and enjoying my story, so having this many people is just insane! But we're nowhere finished yet, there's still many, many more chapters to come! Speaking of which, Chapter 9 will release on Sunday, so be there! And with that, thank you so much for reading, and have a great day! See you guys on Sunday! -JetDragon09)
Edited on 9th March 2024. Original word count: 1907