A New Path - Chapter 264

Another sunny day and Amell was strolling through the streets of Republic city while humming on a light-hearted tune. The streets were really crowded and loud so on one could really pick up on his humming, but what he could never escape was his height. Wherever he went, that was always one thing that would ensure he would be stared at. He could always change his height, but he had been this tall for so long that it had become a part of his identity and he felt no need to change it. Plus, nowadays he wasn’t as appalled by fame as he used to be. He actually didn’t mind people recognizing him, as long as it didn’t go further than a smile. He would still not even consider writing autographs or anything of that sort.

“This world has really advanced since the last time I was here. It’s amazing that they have cars now.” His eyes were tracking the vehicles filling up the two big lanes on the street. They weren’t as modern or nice-looking as his old world’s vehicles, but they still got people from point A to B. In the end, that was their purpose.

He had come here for two reasons. One of them was investigating the mysterious presence inside Kya. He had come to take a look at the boy that was her best friend. But, unfortunately, any trace of him was gone. This led Amell to only two conclusions. The first one being that this boy was the entity that poisoned Kya, this was the least likely option in his opinion. The more likely one being that the boy got possessed and is now lying dead in a ditch somewhere. The second reason for coming to the city was of course to meet Toph, the other disciple he had in this world.

“I wonder if she remembers me, hope so or this meeting might be really awkward.” He was walking around without paying much attention and he bumped into a man that had been pacing back and forth. Amell, of course, was fine but the man got knocked down on the ground, and a gun fell out of his jacket.

“What the hell!? Watch where you’re going, or I’ll kill you!” The man collected himself and looked up at Amell only to feel his blood freeze. Those calming, yet terrifying silver eyes looking down on him almost had him in tears.

“Why would you stand there? That was a bit clumsy, wouldn’t you say so?” Amell looked down on him expecting an answer, but he heard a gunshot instead. And, the doors to the jewellery store right next to him flung open and three people came running out.

“Why the fuck are you not in the car?! GET IN!!” The leading man yelled while he and the other two robbers in black hoods jumped into the car. “He stuck his head out of the car window and yelled, “We screwed up, there are two benders inside! GET IN THE CAR!” He was yelling to the man sitting on the ground, but that poor bastard couldn’t move because Amell was still looking at him.

“Uncle Amell?!” Suyin and Lin came running out of the store, “What are you doing here?” Suyin asked hurriedly until her eyes caught the car and the people in it. “OH NO! You’re not getting away!”

“Shit! Fuck him, just go!” The wheels on the car screeched as it took off, leaving the lonesome robber sitting paralyzed in front of Amell.

“Lin, take care of that guy, I’m going after them!”

“No way, you got the last car chase. I’m getting this one!” The sisters started butting heads, and Amell stood there with a look that expressed his confusion.

*BANG* “Monster!”

“UNCLE AMELL!” Both sisters yelled at the same time. Suyin ran up and kicked the gun out of the robber’s hands, then she delivered a savage kick to his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out.

“Phew, close one. Thanks for the warning girls.” Amell gave them a smile as he dropped the bullet on the ground.

“Y-You caught the bullet?! How is that even real?” Lin said. Suyin didn’t say anything as she was still working on believing what she was seeing.

“Just in time mind you. Scary stuff, those guns.” Suddenly and without warning, the car was dropped in front of them on the street.

“Just in time,” The three looked up and saw Appa approaching, and he landed beside the car. And, four people jumped off.

“Anyone wanna explain what happened here?” A firm, yet somehow caring voice rang out, and the sisters tensed up at the sound of it. Lin turned around with a smile, which Amell had yet seen on her until now.

“Mom, w-we weren’t crime-fighting, just at the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all!” Lin and Suyin that had expected a scolding of a lifetime were only met with silence.

“Toph? Are you okay?” Katara, Sokka and Aang, as well as the sisters watched as Toph stood paralyzed without even blinking. “Did mom die?” Suyin whispered to her sister. Lin just shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know. I have never seen her this quiet before. It makes me a little uneasy.”

“You’re back? You said you wouldn’t come back!” The first words out of her mouth confused the entire group.

“It was an unexpected visit, I didn’t think I would be back.” All eyes turned to him in hope of an explanation. “It’s good to see you again, and I’m not gonna lie. I am very glad that you still remember me.”

“You made it pretty difficult to forget you. Someone should tell you that you’re good at leaving a lasting impression.”

“Oh my god! Is mom crying?!!” Suyin whispered not so quietly.

“You’re right! Now, I’m very interested!” Katara followed up and said not so quietly.

“Toph and I have a history. Like you, Aang, she is also my student.”

“Ohhhh… Wait! That doesn’t make any sense, you’re an air bender, right? Why would she become your student?” Lin asked.

“How about this, we go somewhere more private. This isn’t exactly the most ideal place for this conversation.” Amell suggested and Aang immediately agreed.

“Everyone, get on Appa.” And, everyone did just that. Amell grabbed the sisters and leapt up onto Appa. They sat down and Sokka immediately asked Amell to continue his explanation.

“Right, where to begin.”

“How about you tell us how you met?” Aang said.

“We met when I was six years old. I got lost in a large cave system next to my home town. In there, we stumbled upon each other and after that he became my earth bending master. He taught me how to use Seismic sense. You girls always ask where I learned that, well, that’s where.” Toph looked at her daughters with a smile. Her strict and stern police chief persona was slowly melting away.

“But how? Only the Avatar can use more than one element.” Katara was listening with interest. She wanted to get to know him because he was like a closed book, filled to the brim with mysteries she wanted to solve.

“Little lady, you may have helped save the world. But, when it comes to the art of bending, no one compares to me!” Amell created a rock above his palm and summoned, fire, water and air around that small rock. “There are secrets in bending not even the ancient Lion Turtles know about.”

“WOAH! AMAZING, UNCLE!!” Suyin jumped up in delight, “Teach me that! I want to bend fire too!” She punched the air in excitement. Appa was approaching air temple Island, and high up above him, Orlando was soaring with Valerie on his back, but only Amell was aware of their presence.

“Bending multiple elements aren’t as easy as I make it out to be. Ask your uncle Aang, he can do it because he is the Avatar, but I also explained the concept around it from my perspective and he still hasn’t figured it out.”

“Hurts my pride to admit that, but it’s true. If I wasn’t the Avatar, I’m not sure I could ever practice the bending that Master does. It’s freakishly complex.”

“So, it’s hopeless for me? That sucks!”

“Not hopeless, but the chance of you succeeding in your life is minimal at best.” Amell saw the hope die out inside the girl, but what else was he gonna say to her. He couldn’t say, “try your best, and you will succeed.” because that just wasn’t true. He wasn’t even sure he could teach the cosmic bending to anyone. Valerie and her brother had the ability because they had his bloodline, but for anyone else, he wasn’t sure it could be taught. Though to be fair, he hadn’t tried teaching someone seriously, and if he could learn it, maybe anyone could, he wasn’t sure.

“Where have you been all this time?” Toph asked. She hadn’t reverted to that hot-blooded, yet innocent little girl she once was, but her daughters had never really seen her this calm before. Her tone wasn’t strict either, which was surprising to them.

“Here and there,” Amell said and smiled. “But, I’m guessing that is not the detailed answer you were looking for.”

“Uncle Amell!” Suyin interrupted. “How was mom as a kid?”

“SU! Cut it out or you’re gonna burn both of us!” Lin whispered to her sister in a threatening tone, while Toph looked over with those very familiar disciplinary eyes.

“She was the cutest kid ever, used to cry whenever I left the cave after our training sessions.”

“Wha…” Toph’s jaw came loose and hit the ground, and Lin and Suyin both sprouted the biggest smiles Toph had ever seen. “I’m gonna kill you!” She looked straight at Amell.

“Good luck, while you try and do that, you guys wanna hear another embarrassing story about Toph?”

“YES!” The sisters said immediately.

“QUIET!” Toph sent a piece of metal to wrap itself around Amell’s head to cover his mouth. He, of course, just had to look at it to make it stop mid-air. “You mastered metal bending, very good. But, you’re still not within my league.” He grabbed the piece of metal and threw it away.

“I’m having a hard time believing this. I always thought I was the only one that knew about you, Master. How come you never talked about this, Toph?” Aang turned towards her.

“What point was there to do that? He disappeared, I moved on, that’s about it.” She said with an undertone of anger.

“You make it sound like I’m the worst person ever. I had my reasons for going, and they were important.” And it wasn’t like those reasons had disappeared at all. He could still feel this world rejecting his presence. The only difference was now was that his mastery in cosmic bending had improved, and technically, he was stronger than an entire planet, energy-wise. He could be here for longe, it would just take more effort on his part.

“Whatever, it’s not like I’m still mad about it. I moved on, you moved on, great, everyone’s happy.” Her sulking had officially begun.

“And, there is the mom we know and love!” Suyin said happily.

“There she is, indeed. I kinda wanted the nice one a little longer.” Lin said.

“You two keep talking like that and you’re grounded for life.” Toph glared at her daughters.

“Toph, you should be nice to them, at the end of the day, they’re all you have.” Amell couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, he had missed the simple things, such as Toph’s voice, or her overbearing personality. With everything that was going on now, he found himself longing for those simple times with him and Toph in that cave, practising earth bending.

“Yeah! You go, uncle Amell! Tell her!” Suyin yelled happily.

“FLEE”In the next moment, right as Suyin’s laughter died down, before Amell could utter another word of warning, an incredible and pin-point accurate force came and struck him in the chest. “MASTER!” Aang only saw a glimpse of a shadow than the force came and he was gone. A big splash was heard as Amell’s body hit the ocean.

“WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?” Sokka stood up with his weapon in his hand, but not before Toph had managed to throw her body over her daughters.

“Aang! Where did Master Amell go? What the hell happened?!” Toph met Aang’s gaze and it by itself spoke louder than any words could. Another force passed by them again though this one was much weaker and clearly only used to get everyone’s attention.

“He is better than I thought. He sensed my attack coming.”

“Who’s there?!” They heard the voice. A beautiful yet eerie and stoic voice. But, they couldn’t see the one that uttered the words. It came from all directions, so when Katara turned around, expecting to see someone, she was still only met with the empty air.

“Is it just me, or has Appa stopped moving?” Aang looked around and he was the first to notice in all this confusion that his flying companion was no longer moving. He felt someone tap on his shoulder, and then everything went dark.

“AANG!” All of them saw a pale-white man step out of space and grab Aang by the throat. He had long white hair that was two times longer than himself. The man flashed a calming smile as he threw Aang to the side.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO DAD!!?” Valerie came diving from above, her eyes had tears streaming down from seeing her invincible dad suddenly just disappear. Her expression showed rage, and her hand were enveloped by an incredibly sharp wind-blade.

“Daughter of the candidate. I can not kill you, but that doesn’t mean I can not use you.” A single string of hair flew up and caught her mid-air. “Scream for your father!”

“AAHHHHH!” Another string of hair, separate from the one that had her trapped pierced her shoulder like a hot knife going through butter.

“That looked to have done the trick.”

A heavy pressure, beyond anything that anyone had ever felt before, came over just not them, but the entire planet. Halfway around the world people were knocked unconscious by this very heavy pressure. Only a select few people could stay conscious, The people on Appa were among those that stayed awake. Soon after the pressure appeared, the ocean started to rise, not only where Amell had struck down, but thousands upon thousands of miles of the ocean started to rise into the air. And, from the water emerged Amell. With eyes glowing bright red and killing intent so thick and vivid that space around him almost broke apart, he rose slowly up towards Appa that was still suspended in the air.

“W-W-What’s going on?!! Is this his doing?!” Lin had fallen down on her knees, she was just staring out at the unbelievable sight, just like the rest of them were doing.

“Let go of my daughter!” Amell didn’t speak loudly at all, but the group sitting on Appa felt like vomiting when they heard it. His voice carried his intent in full, and they couldn’t handle that pressure affecting their very souls.

“Your wish is my command, after all, you decide the rule to this duel.” He let go of her and instantly she disappeared, and Amell delivered her to Orlando but not before healing her wound. “Get her to my mountain, fly like the wind.” He said. Orlando disappeared like a bolt of lightning.

He appeared before the man and the water had become a spherical ball with them in the middle. This was something that would require maybe millions of water benders, yet he managed this with just his mind.

“This is what’s going to happen. You will tell me who you are, you will tell me what’s going on. Then, I will kill you in a way so painful and so brutal that it will make gods weep in fright.” Amell waved his hand and Appa, together with Aang and the rest got sucked into a rift and disappeared.

“A seat among the Council Of Gods is empty. You are one on the fifty-six chosen candidates for the spot. The council chose me as your challenger. Now when I have presented myself to you, the duel can commence at a time of your choosing.”

“I don’t know of any council, what is it? Give me the short version!”

“The council is the gathering of the twenty-nine most powerful beings in the multiverse. We reside in the Celestial Realm, created personally by the Almighty. A seat has opened up and among the chosen for that seat, you are one.”

“Are you one of them? One of the twenty-nine?” Amell was itching to rip his spine out, but if he had learned something from half a millennia alive, it was patience. Right now, the smart move was to get the basic information, especially since he apparently decides when the killing starts.

“Absolutely not! It would take a thousand of me to combat the lowest seat. I am but a servant to the twenty-fourth seat, sent here to test you.” The man both sounded and looked offended by Amell believing him to be among the beings seated on the council.

“Then why have I been chosen for this? Both you and I know that we are equal in strength. I am not a thousand times stronger than you.”

“I am surprised you do not know this. You have the mark of the Almighty. Those who carry his mark can fight for an open seat no matter what.” He was clearly in awe when speaking about this Almighty being.

“Who is he?” Amell had an idea, but he prayed he was wrong. He wanted nothing to do with him ever again.

“I am not aware of the Almighty’s identity. Only the council chairman has direct contact with him. No one else is allowed to see or talk to him. All I was told by the council was that you wear his mark on you. That alone qualifies you.”

“I understand.” He ripped open a rift in the air. “I will kill you in here. I do not wish harm onto this world.”

“Your concern for these insignificant mortals baffles me.” The man said stoically and walked right into the rift, not at all concerned about death, or it being a trap.

“I never take pleasure in killings anymore. But, I believe that is about to change.” Amell walked in after the stranger and the rift closed soon after.

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End