I'm finally getting back into the groove of things!
There was a brief time when I was just... uninspired to write. Nothing was getting done, and it lasted about a week-2 weeks.
Now, however, I have risen from he ashes like a phoenix!
READY AND WILLING TO WRITE!
Riley: Dude... are you tripping?
KM: THAT'S HOW I GET MY INSPIRATION! *jumps out a nearby window*
Riley: Holy... alright, since Kage is somewhat... preoccupied... I will take this time to credit.
KM does not own the 'Avatar' franchise (belongs to Nickelodeon), Portal, nor TF2 (both are from Valve), and he does not own the original ideas for this series, which are from MADJester1.
Enjoy!
KM: I BELIEVE I CAN FLY!
Book 1: Pain
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Chapter 4: The Phoenix
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..
.
(Jane: 19 years old)
He was done.
He would not stand it anymore.
If he had to listen, just one more time, about the Fire Nation's army, well... he'd probably just burn down the Fire Temples.
Not that he disliked the army. Oh, no, he wanted to join it so badly!
Of course, once they noticed his... enthusiasm for fighting and killing, his superiors discharged him.
'Dishonorably discharged,' the recruiters told him.
'You have shamed this family to the highest degree,' his family mocked him.
'How could you even call yourself my son?!' his father scorned him.
Soon enough, he had to leave the family or face certain death. No matter how much he hated his father, it was obvious that the man was nearing Mastery of fire-bending, while he was still struggling to control his flame.
"Did you hear about the Doe boy?"
"'Dishonorable discharge', I heard..."
"I always knew the kid wasn't right, and this just proves it; he's sick in the head."
Jane froze in the middle of the street, desperately trying to rein in his anger before he did something now that could get him arrested.
Not that he wouldn't do something illegal; just not here.
...
...
It was rather ironic that Fire Nation, the nation wielding the element almost perfectly opposite to water, had the best Water Brigade the world would ever see.
Jane watched, rather amused, as the Brigade scurried around, desperately trying to prevent the inferno from spreading any farther.
Of course, if they knew he had set two bombs in the other wings of the temple, then maybe-
*KA-BOOM*
*KA-BOOM*
...maybe not.
Jane nearly fell out of his tree from laughing so hard, as he saw the brigade descend into a panic over the temple's imminent destruction.
Of course, the smile was completely wiped from his face once he saw his father striding towards the blaze.
Why wouldn't he be alerted? His family's crest had been painted into the roof of the temple using oil, then set alight to burn. The crest consisted of a phoenix, a flame beneath it, rising up as though reborn from the ashes(1).
His family's motto was, "Rising in triumph, just like the Phoenix."
Nailed to a tree outside the temple (the only one that didn't catch fire) was a piece of paper, reading Jane's final words to his father.
"Reborn from the ashes, revenge will come to those who wronged the Soldier. And not everything set on fire will rise again."
...
..
.
(7 years later)
The name had stuck, after all these years.
While the 'Wanted' posters for him called him 'The Screaming Phoenix(2)' (probably because that's what he usually yelled during a raid on Fire Nation armories), everyone else referred to him as 'The Soldier of Vengeance', most likely due to his little note from seven years earlier.
He just called himself Soldier.
He wasn't going to remain affiliated with those traitors any longer.
Within the first few years of his secession, only lower-level soldiers were hunting for him. It was actually rather easy to defeat them, due to his suicidal attack patterns scaring the hell out of them. It was only a bonus that he had plenty of time, then, to plan and carry out his attacks on the armories. Of course, this prompted the army to raise the bounty for him, and start sending more experienced warriors after him, not to mention the bounty hunters who wanted the price tag on his head.
Soldier spent the next two years running away from pretty much every single person in the Fire Nation. He would spend days or even weeks out in the deep wilderness, surviving using nothing but a blanket, a knife, and a piece of rope. Finally, at around Year Six of his 'betrayal', he decided he had enough.
After a carefully conceived plan (which involved a gallon of honey, a copper pot, and a mini-skirt(3)), Soldier managed to find a safe passage to the Earth Kingdom. Luckily, no news of his... 'exploits' reached the Earth Kingdom, allowing him a chance to sleep in a bed for the first time in years.
Now, his main goal was to find another military force. The absolute hatred at his family burned at his mind over the years, until nothing seemed able to cure it except destruction of the Doe's. With an army, or even just a small, extremely well-trained task force, he would kill all of them.
Now... where could he find some good, ready-to-follow-anybody henchmen?
...
..
.
"Maggie! No, don't hurt her!"
"S-Saxton... I... l-l-love..."
"M-mags? ...no...no... NO!"
...
"You... you killed Cave... YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, RAAVA!"
Scout awoke with a gasp, startled by the strange dreams he had been having for a few days now. He looked to his left and right quickly checking to make sure he hadn't woken his companions.
Medic seemed to be sleeping peacefully with the earmuffs he had on, but Evelyn...
A loud noise shattered the silence, and Scout jumped in fright. It took him a few moments to realize the noise came from Evelyn, and she was... snoring?
Well, as long as she was still sleeping.
Scout slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag, grabbed his glider, and took off into the night.
A few moments after he left, both Friedrich and Evelyn sat up to watch him go.
"Is this an effect of his being the Avatar?" Evelyn asked.
"Depends... Raava may be trying to tell him something, or his past selves are attempting the same thing. Either way, the message is a clear warning for the boy."
"...is there anything we can do to help?"
"We can only wait and see."
"Yes sir..." They sat in contemplation for a few moments. "By the way..."
"Yes Evelyn?"
"If you even mention the snoring, I will gut you with an icicle."
...
...
During his many years training at the Air Temples, Scout proved time and time again that he was quite capable at multi-tasking. While Etsuko used this as a viable training tool, Scout used this differently.
Gliding around aimlessly, which gave him time to think by himself.
The dreams he'd been having had Saxton Hale in them, which meant they were memories of his past life. There was also a female voice in them as well, threatening Raava for killing somebody... although it was most likely Saxton himself who did the deed.
The only question, then, was why had he been having them in the first place?
Was it Raava trying to say something? Was it Saxton himself? Was he just finally going crazy?
"Jeez... why is this Avatar thing so frustrating?!" Scout growled.
Suddenly, off to his right, a column of fire burst through the treetops, nearing twenty feet high.
"Shit... what now?" Scout angled his glider to the fire's source, and prepared for anything.
...
...
When Scout landed in the scorched clearing, ready for any sort of trouble that might come his way, he didn't expect...
...this.
"ALRIGHT SOLDIERS! Over the past year, we have amassed many troops and trained them well! Unfortunately, we have not yet achieved the capacity that I dreamed off... BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE WILL GIVE UP, NO! We will grow larger, we will grow stronger, and we will DESTROY! THE! DOES!"
A general's speech to his troops, right? Nope.
The man was talking to a bunch of raccoon-deer.
"Um... excuse me?" The stranger tensed slightly, before he whirled around to launch a fireball at Scout."AH! Jeez, dude, don't launch fire at everybody you meet, alright?!
"WHO ARE YOU?! DID THE DOES SEND YOU?! ARE YOU, PERHAPS, A SPY?!" Scout's head tilted slightly.
"Um, no. I'm... well, I can't really say exactly who I am, but how many people do you know who can bend all the elements?" The man's face morphed from anger to shock.
"You're the Avatar?!" Scout beamed. Bragging felt good sometimes.
"Yup! Air-bender and all!" Another fireball was suddenly fired in his direction.
"THAT'S A DIRTY LIE! EVERYONE KNOWS THE LAST AVATAR WAS A EARTH-BENDER, SO THAT MEANS MY NATION WOULD'VE HAD THE NEXT ONE!"
"I know that! But think about it! I was born in 432, right? Well, Saxton Hale died in 330! The difference between our dates of birth and death are about the length of a person's life span, which means..."
"...my nation... did have an Avatar?"
"But they were taken before anyone else knew about them!"
"So, the cycle then moved onto you after the Fire Avatar died."
"Exactly!" The stranger slumped.
"...oh. Well, then, u-um... sorry sir." Scout's smile was replaced with a scowl.
"Excuse me? Did I just hear you call me 'sir'?!" The man squeaked in fear.
"I'm sorry! PLEASEDON'TKILLMEAVATAR!"
"Yeah... that ain't happening." The man looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Scout used the air currents to maneuver him into a sitting position on the ground, and the stranger joined him.
"Well... you know about the different oaths the Air Monks take, right?"
"Yeah, but... you don't look like you're a vegetarian, kid."
"I'm not. See, I didn't grow up in the temples; I was found and brought to them instead. Unfortunately, I had already picked up the habits of other peoples' ways of life, so it was hard for me to conform to the Oaths. I eat meat, I cuss like a sailor, and I'm pretty much the first person to start a fight and the last person to end it."
"Then how on earth did you stay?!" Scout frowned, lost in thought.
"There was one rule I would never break; I will never kill another person, no matter what."
"Issues?"
"You have no idea, bud..."
...
...
"SCOUT! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Evelyn called out into the forest. She and Medic had been walking for the past hour, searching for the Avatar after he had failed to return from his nightly excursion.
"Scout! Where did you go?!" Friedrich called. He may not have shown it, but he was slightly concerned for the boy.
Laughter was heard through the trees. Evelyn and Friedrich gave each other a look, and rushed to the source of the sound. After a few minutes, they came across Scout sitting with some man in a straw hat and Fire Nation garb, and they were both laughing at something the man said.
"...and I swear, when he read that note, he practically started screaming at the top of his lungs!" Both burst into another round of laughter at the thought. The stranger wiped a tear of laughter away from his eye once the giggles subsided. "Ah, anyways... that's how I became a fugitive.(4)"
"Wait, wh-" Evelyn started. Unfortunately, Scout chose that exact moment to notice them.
"Oh! Hey guys! Glad you found us okay!" The stranger suddenly jumped into an attack position.
"WHO ARE YOU?! DID THE DOE'S SEND YOU?!" Scout quickly got between him and his allies.
"Whoa, Soldier, chill! These are the two water-benders I was telling you about: Medic and Evelyn." The man, whose name was apparently 'Soldier', had the decency to look sheepish.
"Whoops... sorry!" Both water-benders stared at him in confusion.
"Um, Scout? Where did you find him?"
"He was just out here, training the raccoon-deer so that he could destroy his family and the Fire Nation's army." Scout replied, completely nonchalant. Evelyn continued to stare at the man, a mixture of confusion, worry, and fear on her face, while Medic took this time to drag Scout from the clearing.
"Scout... I don't understand what your problem is, but we can't just make friends with people like... like... that!" Scout scoffed.
"Okay, so he's not all there (Scout rapped his skull a few times with his knuckles)... but that doesn't mean he's not sane! His family disgraced him after he was discharged from the military, and they basically ruined his life for it!"
"Scout, you are the Avatar! You cannot condone revenge!"
"I don't."
"So, you need to realize that we need to just-... wait, what?"
"I don't approve of his idea of revenge in any way, whether or not I think he's justified in it. However, he's a good person, once you get to know him, so I want to help him! He's a fighter, so getting the violence out of him is impossible, but helping him to forgive can be done. And I'll do it!" Medic stared at the boy blankly for a few seconds, before a small grin grew on his face.
"Well then... why don't we ask him to come along then?" Scout whooped in joy, before rushing back to Soldier.
"SOLDIER! I'm on a mission to stop Gray Mann! Do you want to come with?!" Evelyn's eyes widened, and she frantically began to shake her head 'no'. Once Medic caught her eye and gave her a reassuring nod, she ceased.
"Hmmm... do I get to kill people?" Scout frowned.
"Ummm... depends on the situation, I guess."
"Do I get paid?"
"I don't have any money, really, so... no."
"Will I get to train you in fire-bending?" Scout gasped loudly.
"DUDE! If you really would do that, that would be a-MAZ-ing!" Soldier nodded, and closed his eyes to think about the pros and cons to going out on this venture with a person he just barely met and has no moral obligations towards and it would actually be extremely foolish to accept such a proposition because he's really not getting anything out of this except- "I'll go." Scout gaped for a moment.
"R-really?" Soldier nodded, and Scout leapt into the air with joy. "ALRIGHT! THIS IS SO AWESOME! You're gonna teach me fire-bending, and then I'm gonna be the best Avatar ever!"
"Of course, you must wait until after Scout masters earth-bending. The cycle must be kept in balance, or else."
"Or else what, maggot?!" Medic was taken aback for a moment.
"Did you just-... never mind. The point is, Scout, you must first master air-bending before I can teach you, then you must find yourself an earth-bending teacher before Soldier here can begin your training." Both Scout and Soldier groaned in annoyance.
"Seriously?! What's the worst that could happen if I tried to fire-bend right now?"
"Why don't you ask Avatar Aang's opinion on that?"
...
..
.
(One week later; Western Air Temples)
"Sooo... what are we doing here?" Soldier asked. Scout grinned sheepishly.
"Well... Medic told me I needed to finish mastering air-bending, but nothing ever... clicked...while I was at the Southern Air Temples. Sooo, I decided we could stop here for a bit, and I'd ask the monks for help!" Soldier looked around the forested landscape, confused at the lack of temples.
"But... there's nothing here." Scout beckoned the group forward, and they followed him to the edge of a cliff leading into a giant gorge. "Still not seeing anything."
"Duh! We're standing right above them!" Medic gasped in realization.
"You mean, these are the temples built upside-down?!" Scout nodded, and Soldier and Evelyn gaped in shock.
"Unfortunately, I have no way to get you guys down there. On top of that... this is a females only temple. I'm pretty sure they'll accept having me, due to me being the Avatar and my... problems... but I'd rather Soldier and Medic just stay up here. Evelyn may be granted access, but that all depends. So just... wait here, and I'll be back with news soon." With that, Scout's glider opened up and he jumped off the cliff.
"You know... I've always wondered why he hadn't conformed to the glider jumpsuits that the other air-benders that visited the Northern Water Tribe seemed to wear..." Evelyn mused.
"I asked him about it one day." Medic mentioned.
"And?"
"He said his Master, Etsuko, wouldn't let him wear, and I quote, 'A disgrace to the honor and dignity of the Avatar!' end quote."
...
...
"You are Master Etsuko's Apprentice, yes?" Scout was slightly surprised at the question.
"Um, yes ma'am. My name is Scout." The head monk of the Western Temples, Kana, nodded, and beckoned him to follow him. She led him into, what looked like, a private study which held a desk and many books. She walked behind her desk, and pulled out a telephone before talking into it quietly for a few seconds. She nodded, before holding out the phone to the Avatar. He, reluctantly, took it from her, and held it up to his ear gingerly.
"H-hello?"
*SCOUT! HOW DARE YOU RUN AWAY FROM THE TEMPLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT JUST SO YOU COULD GO LEARN WATER-BENDING! YOU GET YOURSELF BACK HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, I WON'T MAKE YOU CLEAN THE AIR-BISON STABLES FOR THE NEXT YEAR!*
...
*...Scout?* Scout was currently face-down on the floor, having been blown away by Etsuko's momentary rant towards him. Kana picked up the phone from it's place on the ground.
"He's fine. He just passed out from ear damage, I believe." Etsuko sighed in relief.
*That's... that's good. Thank you Kana; can you send him back as soon as possible?* Kana frowned.
"About that... he requested assistance with mastering his air-bending."
*...he did? But... the letter said-*
"His current companions most likely persuaded him to finish his mastery of air-bending first before beginning his water-bending."
*Current companions?*
"Three, I believe. While I have not met them myself, I do know that he travels with 'The Medic' and his apprentice." Etsuko hummed in thought.
*That man... I'm not surprised he would push Scout to master air-bending... Are you willing to give him that last push to mastery?*
"I am, but this will not be easy..."
*What do you mean?*
"Do you not remember? You yourself noticed my high affinity for spirits the first time we met, saying it almost rivaled your great-great-grandmother, Master Jinora."
*The point, please.*
"What I am trying to say here, is that the Avatar is suppressing Raava within him."
*What?! But... why would he do such a thing?*
"Tell me: what happened the first time he ever used the Avatar State?"
*...oh my... h-he said, when he woke up, he had k-killed his entire village.*
"That... that would be cause enough for him to subconsciously suppress Raava."
*Will you be able to help him?*
"I will do my best... but this will take time..."
...
...
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE STUCK HERE?!" Soldier roared.
"Exactly what it means; we're not leaving until I've... healed... as Master Kana puts it so nicely..." Scout grumbled.
"Well, while I am glad you are taking the necessary steps towards your Mastery, I am also upset with the fact that you're just leaving us up here while you stay in the temples."
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?! My hands are tied right now, because outsiders aren't allowed in no matter what! I'm only barely able to enter, due to my status as the Avatar, but no one else is allowed! They'll send up food every day for you guys, so you won't go hungry, but other than that..." Medic sighed.
"It's fine. Just go." Scout seemed unsure, but he nodded hesitantly before launching himself off the cliff again.
...
...
"Breathe in... and out... breathe in... and out... focus your mind on that day, and tell me what you see." It was Day 3 of Scout's 'therapy', and Kana was sitting with him in her study. Scout was currently laying down in a chair that was made in a reclined position, scrunching up his face in concentration.
"I'm... sitting with my family... we're eating dinner... and, someone just knocked on the door. My brother... he got up to answer it... and... a-and... NO, JAKA!" Scout sat up with a cry of agony, and Kana hurried over to him. She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, as she guided him into the calming breathing exercises.
"Scout, it's okay; it's just a memory. You need to let the past go before you can fully begin to heal."
"Then why are you making me remember it all over again?! How is that letting go of my past?!"
"Burying your memories deep inside you did nothing, yes? You must let them out again, and only then can you truly rid yourself of the past."
"B-but... they all died... I can't watch it happen again, even if Jaka was a jerk to me..."
"You must! You cannot let this linger inside you, or you may lose control of your Avatar State!" Scout stared at her.
"What do you mean?" Kana sighed, upset she let this slip before Scout was ready.
"If... if the holder of Raava has a corrupted spirit... then Raava's power may become corrupted as well."
"Wait... you mean, Raava will turn dark?!"
"No, not like that... your Avatar State will instead. You will become a monster, intent on destroying everything around you." Scout's face went pure white.
"Like... like..."
"Yes. Like the day your family died."
...
..
.
(Omake Start)
...
Soldier's First Attempt
Soldier walked into a random bar,the doors swinging behind him as he entered. All conversation seemed to stop, as everyone stared at the new guy.
"ATTENTION ALL HOOLIGANS: I AM LOOKING TO CREATE AN ARMY OF WHICH I WILL USE TO DESTROY MY FAMILY AND THE ARMY OF THE FIRE NATION! WHO WILL JOIN ME?!"(5)
...
Soldier limped out of the bar an hour later, covered in a variety of injuries such as bruises, cuts, stabs, burns, and breaks.
He exacted revenge before he left, though, as the bar was left to burn while all it's patrons were locked inside to die.
...
Soldier's Second Attempt
Soldier cleared his throat nervously.
After his first failure, he decided that he would try to use a little... diplomacy to get what he needed.
"General Zhang." Soldier stood up to shake the man's hand, and both sat down a the general's desk. The office was rather well done, with a panoramic window surrounding them, and many different war models adorning the room. "I request that several of your battalions be given to me for temporary command, so that I may bring about my goals." General Zhang nodded, contemplating the stranger's bizarre request.
"Why would you need such a thing? Why would you not use your Nation's troops instead?" Soldier grimaced.
"Well... let's just say I'm not welcome there at the moment..."
"And... your goals?"
"Ah! Well, I'm going to destroy my family, due to their treachery to me!" Zhang frowned.
"Is that the 'Screaming Phoenix''s newest goal? Destroy your family?" Soldier paled drastically.
"W-well... u-ummm..."
"Your father actually warned us that you would work to integrate yourself into our armies, you know. I never dreamed you would go to such an extent as this, though..." Zhang sighed. "It actually seems as though you have some skills, if you managed to even make it to this desk... a pity, though." Soldier grinned weakly.
"Y-yes... a pity." Soldier leaped out of the window, intent on escape.
...
Soldier's Third Attempt
Soldier led the inmates of the prison out the doors, cheers sounding from all the criminals as they were given their long sought-after freedom. Once the crowd exited the gates, he turned to face them.
"I know none of you understand my exact reasons for freeing all of you, but I have a simple request. I have a goal, in which I will destroy my family and ruin the Fire Nation's army. Unfortunately, even someone as skilled as I am (maybe he was laying it on a little thick here, but strength inspired people) would not last long against the entirety of the Nation's army. I ask you, now, are any of you willing to fight with me?!"
Dead silence.
Soldier's inspiring face drooped.
One man from the crowd (Soldier remembered he was Lazy-Eye Li) stepped forward sheepishly.
"Sorry mate... we criminals stick together, ya know?" Soldier brightened up.
"Oh! Well, in that case, I am a criminal as well! I am also known as the 'Screaming Phoenix'!" Several heads perked up, though for the entirely wrong reasons.
"Are you now? ...any idea what yer bounty is, mate?"
The answer set many of the prisoners to drooling at the thought of so much money.
...
Soldier's Final Attempt
"Sergeant Nibbles! What is the status of our troops?!" Soldier barked at the small raccoon-deer in front of him. The little creature scratched at it's ears, and stared at Soldier blankly.
"I see! And has Corporal Ringo completed his latest mission in time?!"
The raccoon-dear chirped a tiny bit.
"Excellent work, Sergeant! We will make the Doe's pay soon, with all the hard work you've done!"
...
(Omake End)
I'm such a bastard! Leaving you with such a cliff-hanger!
Fortunately, next chapter features a battle scene with Scout, Soldier, Medic, and Evelyn, along with some of the ladies of the Western Air Temples.
Of course, this means I need a Beta to help me with this... because I really suck at making up battle scenes.
Just look at the last chapter! Took me over a month to finish it!
A.N. Time!:
(1): Go onto Google, and search up 'Rising Phoenix Crest', and it should be the second result in 'Images'
(2): Screamin' Eagles, you know?
(3): I used a noun generator to give me three different things that Soldier could have possibly used to get passage to the Earth Kingdom. I'm not going to describe the actual scenario to y'all, but anyone who wants to give it a shot is more than welcome to... provided, you tell me that you're doing so, and credit me and MJ1.
(4): I had to add that joke in somewhere. You TF2 fans all know it, and it's the greatest thing in existence to watch the 'reaction' to the end of the story.
(5): Get the reference? True '90's kids will know this episode from 'Spongebob'
Anyways, I'm offering a Beta reader position to anyone who asks, be they a Tumblr reader or a FF reader!
Until next time!
~Kage Musha
(P.S: Should I keep the 'omake' thing going? I need to know if I should even bother...)