Chapter 62: Divergence (3)

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"Thank you, so much. It is troubling that the Freedom Fighters would also target us..."

The Village Square was packed with the villagers as they surrounded a few tied-up individuals with bandages on their bodies. The Village Head, an old Earthbender nodded in appreciation as he gazed at Katara, Nik, and Suki. Of the three, two of them had strange expressions while Nik smiled, "Please, sir. It is no problem. You said they are freedom fighters. Could you tell us more about them—"

There were seven men to the side with gags pushed into their mouths but if their glares could kill then Nik would have lost his life many times by now. Besides the so-called Freedom Fighters were many weapons and four barrels filled with exploding jelly... or something like that, Nik reckoned, but these were only half the loot. Most of it was devoured the moment Nik laid his eyes on them. There were also bow and many arrows, quite a few stocked into his space for any possible use in the future.

At this point, a figure tore out from the crowd. Tear-stricken, an old lady with greying hair screamed, "My Jota! Oh, my Jota! Please, Chieftain, let go of him. I promise to keep him out of trouble."

Nik and others gazed at one particular thin youngster who glared back at the woman.

The Village Chief hesitated for a moment and then walked up to the woman, "You should go back... your son... he... sigh, just go back."

"Chief, please," A well-built middle-aged man walked out, too. His expression was complicated at the moment but he looked to be pleading, too, "Jota is young. I know, we don't see eye to eye, but that isn't his fault. The war has been harsh... but I plead you to give the boy a chance. He is my wife's hope... he is our only son..."

The look of sadness on the man's face only made the young one in restrictions struggle violently.

"Then you should hear his intentions... yourself," The Chief pursed his lips. Walking up to the boy, he pulled out the gag and Jota instantly screamed.

"Don't screw with me! You're not my dad! You fire nation scums killed him in war! Don't you all see it?! You foster scums! Vile Scums! And old hag, how could you marry someone like him?!"

Tears spilled out of Jota's eyes as he continued in shouts, "How could you do that to me?! He killed my father!!"

"He didn't! Jota— Jota—" The woman began to bawl harder. Her thin frame trembled as if she would fall at any moment while the look of sadness on the man's face grew more profound. He wasn't the only one. There were too many villagers, including the chief, who had the same expression.

"Tell them what you had planned, boy," The old man sighed as Jota began to cackle—

"Blow all of you worthless bastards up! To free the Earth Kingdom! All you benders will rot in hell!"

He glared in Nik's direction as he could only shrug. If one's place after death was really assigned by Jota's words then sure, he would have been delighted. That would only mean making Jota a friend and keeping him happy. Too bad the reality isn't as simple.

The Chief gagged the youth again and looked at the man sympathetically, "Take her home and take good care of her. Take a week off from the mine and make sure she doesn't do anything reckless."

Jota's stepfather nodded with a helpless sigh escaping his lips. Still, his eyes were red as he glanced at Jota, "Jota... you should know that we were worried sick about you when you left. And I'm sorry about your father... but we all lost someone in the war. My wife was killed by a waterbender, too, but the past shouldn't change us... I hope you get the chance to return."

The man then nodded towards the trio and left. His words had already caused Katara to bite her lips as she felt complicated at the moment, too.

She had never stopped to realize that... she wasn't the only one who lost someone and was looking for someone. In this era, almost everyone is similar to her— a victim of an unkind war.

---

"They call themselves the Freedom Fighters but really they are just a bunch of rebels... well, it is said that there are actual rebels making a difference near Ba Sing Se but these people here... they just hurt," the Chief shook his head.

"They were trying to hurt the fire nation," Katara mumbled softly, "But ended up hating their own people."

"You're wrong," The Chief crossed his arm. His cottage was humble with barely anything noteworthy. Even the stove behind was self-made— wonders of earthbending. He gazed at the trio and smiled, "As travelers, I'm sure you young ones have seen quite a bit. So let this knowledge of mine be a memory of yours to be passed on to the latter half of your journey...

There are no sides. There never were... when the civilians of the fire nation arrived here, we all were disgusted. But they were kind, and hurt, like us. They brought knowledge with them, and shared it with us. Bad men and women do not differ based on the origin of birth, but are cultivated through harsh and unkind experiences..."

The man exhaled deeply and sighed, "These Freedom Fighters are hurt. It makes me sad... what happened to them. This only means we were weaker in the war and let all these horrible things happen but as much as we regret it, we are still alive and have to accept the life we are dealt with. Move on, and try to keep from making the same mistake.

These boys just need to learn that... or they will one day end up dead. If not by an enemy, then by an accident or their own teammate."

The more Katara listened, the annoyed she grew, "That's bullshit," she snapped, "Hurting innocents is wrong. So, it is easy to label these freedom fighters wrong. But what if you find the cause of all your pain and suffering?"

Suki and Nik stayed silent at the moment.

"I'll tell you what I did," the Chief smiled, "I found the Fire Nation soldier who killed my son. We both were in the army together and the bastard was my jailer. The moment I was freed, I killed him by that very night and buried him under my son's grave. So, if you find the culprit who caused you pain and suffering of losing a loved one, sure, kill him. But remember, my son is still dead... and I have another man's blood on my hands.

I don't preach to you guys to not do anything. I just hope, in the future, if you do anything, you take responsibility like a grown-up.

Anyway, you ought to leave. We will strengthen our defenses, call out for a few guards and have them find out more information on these Freedom Fighters... but the possibility of the enemy changing location is greater.

And take this with you."

The chief pulled out a pouch and set it in front of the trio, "I could only fork out this much. It's the new currency going around the kingdom and will work in most of the establishments. The amount should be 200 coins."

"Don't want it," Katara snorted and stood up, "Come on, let's go."

Nik picked the pouch with right hand before it was devoured and Suki pursed her lips seeing this.

"What the..." the man mumbled but the trio gave him no notice.

The moment they walked out of the cottage, Katara hissed, "Why'd you take his money?!"

"Relax, it's destroyed," Nik was about to wave his hand but flinched, an action caught by the duo.

"I... don't want to move my hands unnecessarily... you know," Nik frowned as Suki and Katara sighed in agreement. Nik could bend, well, elements. This was a surprise to the three of them simultaneously but what Nik still refrained from explaining was his soft exhalation turning into a small wind canon that tore through the ceiling of the barn they spent the night in.

'It can't be that... I became a bootleg Avatar? Is someone going to possess me, too?' Nik instantly got stumped at that point and wished that to not be possible. But the ability to bend... he realized, was directly connected to the strange situation from yesterday. Even Suki and Katara realized it, too.

"We should make a move. Hopefully, we could meet Aang and Sokka in two or three days then we'll be able to have more options to figure out your situation..." Katara traced her chin, looking a bit distracted as the trio made its way to the northern exit of the village.

"Something on your mind?" Nik inquired.

"Just... what that old man said was... so irresponsible. Hypocritical, I guess... he said to move on but never did himself."

"Maybe he wants to help others move on... possibly?" Suki muttered.

Katara glanced at her, "What do you mean?"

"It's the same as... how should I put it... yeah, it's the same as Nik and my relationship. I teach him, and make sure he follows the routine. Meanwhile, I also make sure he doesn't make the same mistake I did," Suki explained, "Maybe that's what the Old Chief was going for? He made a mistake... he probably still cannot move on. But he might have realized that we could also fall into the same regret... so he wanted to warn us."

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"By saying I can kill anyone who wrongs me?" Katara scoffed.

"By... hinting," Nik mumbled as he looked back towards the village, "That what are the possibilities, and what the end result could be. Today it's that old man... tomorrow, it could be any of us."

Katara finally grew quiet for a few seconds...

"I guess... thank you," she whispered softly.

"What was that?" Nik smiled.

"I said-" Katara huffed, crossing her arms, when Suki interjected with a sly smirk, "Ignore him, his hearing has gotten strangely better."

"Hey, come on!" Nik grumbled and glared at Suki as she shrugged it off while Katara snorted, "Shameless... but, I just realized!" Katara's gaze sparkled.

"You can bend!" She suddenly stopped and held Nik's shoulder.

"I thought Michi already proved that," Nik frowned and Katara pursed her lips before hissing, "I'm serious. You can train with me... you just boiled seven people. You need to learn control! Yeah, it's done. You're training with me—"

*Sshk*

Suki shoved Katara away by her shoulder and had her hands akimbo, "Not so fast," stated the Kyoshi Elite.

"He completes his training with me first!"

"Whatever. Not like you can keep up with him anymore in terms of stamina. Waterbending can drain him quickly!" Katara snorted and then realized something. Suki did, too. And so did Nik.

The two women gave each other an evil smile and stated at the same time, "Then why are we even fighting?!"

---

*Thud*

Sokka was blasted a meter away as he began to cough violently. He was present within the palace, more like, an underground personal arena that Bumi had built the moment he returned to power.

"Hmm, *Khnnk* Ya know, this is boring. Why are we even fighting?" Bumi stood at an impressive height of three meters... with his tiny body suspended in the air with two giant arms pressed forward like a gorilla and two shorter rocky hind limbs.

"You said that you're bored... and want to fight me," Sokka exhaled heavily while clutching his chest.

"Oh— Huahehehehehe! Thaaattt'sss right! I did!" Bumi cackled, slamming the two fists as the ground trembled. Sokka instantly felt ominous and he hurriedly pulled his club forward and in time, for a pillar or earth shot up towards his chest, hitting right in the middle of his club as the force sent him flying again.

*Thud*

*Cough*

*Cough*

Sokka entered into a fit of coughing, his spit pouring out due to the hit as he was barely able to push himself up from the ground.

"You know why we're fighting?" Bumi inquired but Sokka failed to take notice of the serious note in his voice after taking such a beating as he grumbled, "Cause you're bored. I get it. What now? Should I call others to get beaten by you for your entertainment?"

"I'm a king with a small army of Phoenix King threatening to invade the city and grant its people a world of hurt, if I do not hand over the prisoners. I'm not bored, child. I'm vexed."

Sokka blinked. Only now did he take note of this because Bumi didn't laugh even once.

"Then..." Sokka muttered and looked around, obviously hinting as to why he was being given such beautiful entertainment.

"I'm doing you a favor, boy. A favor. Why? Because you're a friend of Aang's and I don't want you to make the same mistake again."

"I've been thinking about the same thing... if only I was stronger..." Sokka lowered his head, "As a chieftain, I vowed to defend—"

*Bang*

A pillar of earth suddenly hit him from behind.

"Waaahh—" A scream escaped his lips involuntarily as—

"Oommmphhh!" He crashed into the ground face first and slid through, raising a small cloud of dust.

"What the fuck?!" Sokka screamed in anger as he spat out the dust while clenching his club.

"It's wallowing," Bumi interjected, "The mistake you committed is wallowing in doubt and self-pity. Do you think you're the only one who makes mistakes?

I didn't defend the city when the Fire Nation came knocking back then. But do you see me crying? You fool! Doubt, pity, regret... all of these are illusions of life!

They only exist to hold you down!

To stop you from reaching your highest potential!

What do you think Aang would do after committing a mistake when all he has to look up to are adults who are easy to cry and whine?"

Sokka's expression was frozen by now as Bumi thought for a moment and added, "You've got a life ahead, child... Sokka. Learn to see what's ahead, and also learn from your mistakes. Dai Li? They are just a group of better earthbenders, nothing that a group of a hundred warriors can't take down. Phoenix King? Just a fire bender with the support of the world, nothing an all-powerful enemy can't take down?

Crippled body? Nothing that an ingenious bending of rocks can't be used to deal with."

Sokka's eyes widened at this time.

"Support..." he mumbled, "That's it!"

"Good! We need to be crazy! Say more unreasonable things that have nothing to do with the situation!" Bumi cackled.

"No," Sokka looked up, "Fire King is only a firebender with support of the world... Aang can't fight with him or hope to take him down... alone. We need to keep to our original plan. Support... support. We have the Kyoshi Warriors, the Southern Tribe, too. Now Omashu. And it's only been weeks. It's possible, it's possible," Sokka muttered under his breath when a guard intruded in.

"King Bumi! The army of Fire Nation has been sighted by the scouts!"

"Kekeke, Fire Nation, you say?" Bumi cackled oddly.

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