Spirit World

Book Three

Volume 8

Ch. 117 Spirit World

Pov.

-Kara-

Separate your body and spirit, huh?

Maybe if I do that I can get an idea of the prison's layout.

I meditate for a few minutes

Soon those minutes turned to hours and those hours to days and suddenly I've been at it for a week

I refused to eat drink or sleep till I finally managed to split my body and soul

"Hey. Hehe." I giggle as I float over my corpse

Awesome.

All I had to do is clear my mind, separate the urges of worldly desires such as fighting a women

It's no wonder it was so hard. It was all I could think about being alone all that time

I stroll down the hallway.

The prison looked rundown

From the looks of it. It had been abandoned until now. The closer I got to the exit the less guards they had posted

Most of them had no idea who was imprisoned so they spent their time chatting about some woman the fire lord married last weekend

Those that did know who I was were commanding officers and even a general

I continued down the corridors until I found the exit

I was about to take a look outside when a dark cloud replaced the doorway

The air dropped below freezing instantaneously and the men guarding the door quickly ran outside

I hold my ground for a moment as the cloud got darker and the air grew thinner

"Yesss." A deep more sinister voice hisses

I've heard it before.

Yeah…

I'm not sure I recall where

"Come, boy." The ground trembles from the bass in his voice

…

"I will take you to the land of the spirits."

I thought you had to be in the north for that

"No, not for us."

Why not?

"The laws binding their worlds do not apply to us."

It felt odd speaking to this character

It was almost like I was having a conversation with myself

I was asking questions I somehow already knew the answers to

"You want to speak with Vatuu. You want to make his power Your own, yes?

I thought if I had the same prowess as the Avatar it'd make the battle with Ozai a walk in the park.

Once the dark cloud engulfed the entire room the stench of rotting corpses and fresh blood crawled up my nose

A throne crafted from human cadavers sprouts from the ground before me and in it was…

Me?

I could see myself sitting on that throne

My throat was chained to the throne, same as my ankles and wrists.

"Take my hand." He opens his hand and I step forth, ready to do so

I reach out but hesitate for a moment

I was hoping to not rely on anything outside of my own strength. After having the titan prowess for so long I wanted to do it all myself this time around

"Yes, the pride of a true warrior. Tis why I'm glad to be the one to say… We are simply taking back what was once Ours… no?"

…

Yeah.. he's right

I reach out for his hand but something jerks me back

Our fingertips miss each other by a hair before I found myself being reeled back into my body

"Agh!" I gasp

"Wh-what the?!" I huff

"Wake up!" She cries

…

"Y-yanala… wh-what are you doing here?"

"You're alive. I knew you'd be okay." she tears up

"B-but…"

What the hell is going on?

Why is she here?

"What's going on? Why are you here?" I pull her back

"I-I was so worried. I thought I'd never see you again" she sobs

"Y-Yanala." I hold her back "wh-what?"

…

"F-Five months ago. Ozai was granted a meeting with the world government and they contacted Falco right away."

"Said I was dead, huh?"

She nods

That explains the secrecy

"But I didn't believe it. Not for a second."

"What about Falco?"

She shakes her head

"He says you aren't that easy to kill."

"Good, now what I don't understand is what you're doing here. What was Falco thinking, sending you off on your own?"

"W-well… you see…" she blushes

"You idiot! How the hell did you manage on your own?!" I growl

"Th-the Pirate King. He was in the capital so I begged him to drop me off."

"What about your daughter?"

"Sh-she uh…"

"Stow away, huh?"

"Heh" she smiles nervously

"Great, now let's get you two home."

"Wait!" She grabs my wrists before I'd stand up

"W-we can't.. it's too late for that."

"You don't mean you were…"

"Y-yeah. Not long after we stepped ashore Ozais men…"

"Someone must've tipped'em off"

"Yeah, the world government got a hold of Ozai so he imprisoned me in his castle!"

"What did you think would happen?!"

"I-I.. I wanted to find you." She tears up

"It's fine I'll just take you with me."

"You can't. Lala is in the castle, she isn't allowed to go anywhere."

…

"Shit."

…

"Ozai took your hand in marriage."

She nods shamefully

"You're supposed to be dead so I'm as single as can be in the eyes of the world government."

Now that the marital pact is finalized Falco is obligated to help him win this war

Knowing Falco there's no doubt he'll attack.

With Yanala, our daughter, and I as hostages there isn't a thing he wouldn't do to take us back

Originally, thanks to Sozin, this continent became neutral to both the World Government and the Eldian Empire. Although he was leaning more into allying himself with my Empire

Now Ozai has set his sights with the world government.

If he joins them they'll have the manpower to really be on par with the Eldian Empire.

We'll lose the little edge we had over them for hundreds of years and in order to avoid a war in the entire southern portion of Gaia we'll be forced to come to an understanding

Europa would win. She'll have a fraction of our titans at her disposal.

"How long does he have?"

"Falco was given until Sozin's Comet. If Ozai doesn't take control of the Continent he'll be forced to act"

I smile

Clearly he did his research

A fair enough date. The World Government can't force him to act any sooner than that

Gives me about a month to really put in some work

"C'mon. Let's get out of here" I stretch my arms

"Right." She smiles before unlocking my chains

"Good. Now stay close."

She covers her face and I kick the door open

The General who was keeping watch was gone so I quickly make waste of his men

In the following corridor I hold my hand out and create a small typhoon that circled the ceilings and walls and clears everyone out of our way

After breaking out I take the rest of the building down as well and we head over to the spot where Yanala was supposed to wait for the general who smuggled her in there

"Are you sure you can trust this guy?"

"Yes, he has a troubling past with Ozai."

"Hmm…"

…

"So.. has he… done anything to you?" I ask what's been bugging me ever since she said he took her hand in marriage

…

"H-he… he wants me to bare his successor once he becomes the Phoenix King"

…

"Right…" I suppose that went without say

…

Laying his hands on my woman.

"I'm sorry I let him do it. I-I really am." She whimpers

"What other choice did you have?"

She shakes her head.

"Exactly, so quit beating yourself up."

"Actually…"

"What?"

"It doesn't have to be him."

"Wh-what?"

"Please, I don't want it to be him." She sits up

"Y-you don't mean…"

"Yeah! Please?!" Her face lights up

"You can't be serious. Now isn't the time for that." I awkwardly scratch my cheek

"Oh boy. That sounds awfully familiar don't you think?!" She pouts

She's right back home we'd do it just about anywhere

"We're in enemy territory now." I cross my arms

"Please!" She digs her face into my chest

…

"I don't want it. He's pure evil. I don't want him to father my child." She tears up

"If he finds out… wh-"

"He won't." She insists

…

"Fine…"

-

| Kara's Past | Ch. 20 |

Pov.

-Kara-

"No, let go!" I kick my feet's as mister Ignia carries me over his shoulder halfway across the lawn

"No, Kara!" Ignia follows behind

"Hahaha." Mister laughs like a villain "you'll never save the princess from my evil clutches. Hahaha!" He checks back with Mia

"Hehe." Mia gives him two big thumbs up after he sites his line correctly

"No! Save me, Kara!" Mia cries as she stuffs her mouth with another powdered donut

Ignia and I wanted to wrestle with his dad, but Mia insisted she'd be the princess and we save her so Mister was playing his part

"Waaa!" I shout as he sends me spiraling into Ignia

"Ah! You fatty!" Ignia gasps

"Hehe." I giggle before rolling aside "C'mon!" I jump back to my feet

"Dang it." Ignia hurries behind me

"Nghk*" Mister Ignia steps back "oh c'mon, give this old man a break"

He catches my knee before I could slam it into his face

"Hehe." I giggle

Ignia slides under his legs and kicks the back of his knee

"Waaaa!" His knees buckle and he finally falls on his butt

"We did it!" Ignia giggles

"Yay, you saved me!" Mia jumps on my back

"Hehehe." I giggle before helping Ignia up

"Hehehehe. Hahahaha!" Mr. Ignia laughs hysterically

"C'mon, let's play house!" Mia slides off my back

"I'm the mommy."

"Kara, you can be the daddy and Ignia is the doggy."

"What?!" Ignia growls

"Hehehe." Mia giggles

"No, let's play cops and robbers or something." Ignia crosses his arms

"No, Kara wants to play house. Don't you, Kara?" She hugs my arm

"Hmm." I give her a little smile, although I wasn't sure what they were talking about. I was too busy watching how the smile across Mister Ignis face fades away as he watched Paris head back inside

He scratches his head

"You three keep at it. I'll be right back." He stands up and follows Paris inside

…

"So?"

"Wh-what?"

"Do you want to play house?" Mia asks again

"I… I have to go to the bathroom."

"What?!" Mia frowns

"I'll be back, alright?" I follow mister inside and I creep over to their room

"Look.. I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn't have… hit you." Mr Ignia apologizes awkwardly "but you need to manage that anger, especially when it comes to the kids."

"I-I know but…" she tears up "I can't help it. I-I got so angry that I…"

"I know.. I know." He pulls her head in

…

"Have you been seeing your therapist?"

…

She shakes her head

"Paris… we made a deal."

"I-I know but… every time I speak to him I feel like it happens all over again."

"The only way to heal is by accepting what happened."

"You need to know that none of it was your fault. There wasn't a thing you could've done to prevent it."

She nods

"Besides, he's gone now. So there's nothing to be afraid of."

…

"Hey!" Mia whispers

"Mia?!" I fall on my butt

"Are you spying on papa?"

"P-papa? N-no…" I look away

"Hehehe." She giggles. "C'mon, Ignia wants to play video games."

"O-okay…"

She helps me up and I follow her into the living room

Who are they talking about? Was it… Him?

That man that tried to…

The man I murdered along with his family. Are they talking about him?

What did he do?

Did he do those scary things to her too?

…

-

"Hmm." Yanala smiles

"What?"

"I've never seen you smile before. Least, not like that anyway."

"Oh…"

"Hmhm." She giggles with her mouth shut "I'm so glad I got to see it." She sits her chin on my abdomen

"Hmm." I crack another smile before looking up at the morning sky.

She insisted we go at it until morning

She wants this more than anything

"I hate that you feel the need to do this."

"Don't. It's my fault after all. You wouldn't be under so much pressure had I stayed put."

"Your compassion drives you to illogical reason."

"I'm sorry I-."

"No, don't be… don't ever apologize. Not for that."

Every one of my girls had that very thing in common

How could I ever forget?

…

-to be continued