Chapter 32 - A Nation Reborn

Stepping out of the smoke, I looked at Ursa and Iroh. All the people present stood there dumbfounded by what they saw.

"This war is over.", I told them, "I want every single one of Ozai's followers!! All of them will stand trial for their inhumane actions against the world! Any of them that approved the harming of children...they will be handed over to the families of the children, and they will decide their fates."

Having watched the overwhelming power I wielded, neither of them argued with me. Ursa was happy the war was coming to end, she knew better than most of the Royal Family how bad it was for the populace as she herself was once a commoner. Iroh was content with ending the war as well, he wasn't completely over the idea of conqueror the world but after the near loss of Lu Ten...he was willing to stand down for his son. Even though the two of them were for it, I knew there was a group of devoted people that would keep the war going till they won or they were killed.

"Now...lets restore the peace in the city and hold a proper funeral.", I said.

"Why...why did you hide the fact you were the Avatar?", Zuko asked me.

"I didn't want to become a puppet for Azulon and Ozai. If they knew my identity, they would have tried to manipulate me into doing what they wanted. Not telling anyone gave me a lot more freedom, and I was able to stop a lot of things from happening.", I told him, "Iroh can take the throne with Lu Ten helping him run the country. I can focus on helping rebuild the nations from the ashes of the war."

"Don't you want to take the throne?", Azula questioned.

"Hell no! I don't want that throne, who wants to sit through all those boring meetings and balance budgets!", I chuckled, "No, Iroh and Lu Ten can take of things."

"How generous of you.", Iroh laughed.

Agreeing to leave it there for the time being, we went down into the city to quell the fighting.

---3rd Person POV---

Floating in the nothingness, Ozai spat out curses at the brat that had killed him. Even though he lost...he couldn't help but recognize the power Mael had used to kill him. That said...the fact he was overwhelmed so easily drove him mad, he had decades of training and yet a self-taught child managed to kill him so easily. If he had known what to expect...maybe he could have come up for a plan to stop him.

'It doesn't matter now though...I am dead.', he thought waiting for the darkness to consume him.

"That was quite a nasty fight.", someone said from within the darkness, "All that power at his disposal yet he sits on it without using it to make the world what he wants. You would have easily taken the throne with that power...such a shame."

"Who is there!", Ozai shouted, "Are you God...have you come to mock me for my failure!!"

"Haha, no I am not a God...yet.", a man in a very flashy outfit said coming out of the darkness, "I am here to offer you another chance to settle your score."

"What's the catch...nothing is ever free.", Ozai inquired.

"Serve me faithfully, and you will have your revenge on the boy.", the man chuckled, "Not a bad deal, no?"

Blinded by rage and anger, Ozai accepted the deal without hesitation. Cracking a smile, green aura started radiating from the man's hands.

"Now then, let's get you a new physical body.", he said with an evil smirk, "We have lots work and preparation to do."

---Next Day, Mael POV---

Waking up as the sun broke through the curtains, I let out a yawn as I stretch out. Feeling something squishy in my right hand, I jerked it back and glanced to my right. Seeing Azula asleep on my bed, I was confused what she was doing here. With Ozai gone, the two siblings could move back to their own rooms again...yet here Azula was asleep in my bed.

"Mael, are you coming to-", Iroh said coming to get me for breakfast, "Oh!! Excuse me, I didn't realize you were of that age now."

"It's not like that!!", I sighed rubbing my face, "Why is she in my room?"

"Is it wrong for a couple to share a bed?", Azula inquired opening her eyes.

Leaving us alone, Iroh scurried off to the dining room to eat. Telling Azula that there was nothing wrong with it, I said I just needed a warning before she did that.

"Consider this your warning.", she teased.

"See...the thing about a warning is that it needs to happen before you do it.", I said giving her a smile.

Telling me I was being to stubborn, she told me to just relax. She chose to sleep in my bed because she wanted too and would continue to do so till she decided otherwise. Saying she already picked out where she would put her belongings, she told me I had no choice in the matter.

"Excuse me?", I questioned, "I believe this is my room, I say who can stay in here."

"I am your fiancée, you shouldn't talk to me that way.", she snickered with a playful smile.

"Uh huh...you certainly have some guts telling me you'll sleep in here.", I chuckled, "Fine, I don't care if you stay in here but your shit stays in your room. I don't need your clothing all over my room, I know you aren't the neatest person."

"Such a buzzkill.", she laughed, "Fine, I will concede that. If you had said no, I would have told mother about a grabby hand this morning."

Smacking her on the butt, she yelped and looked at me in shock. Telling her my hand grab was an accident, I said to not bring it up with her mother...last thing I needed was to hear The Talk from her. I knew first hand about sex...I didn't need another lecture on it.

"Fine...", she said rubbing her butt, "You shouldn't abuse your fiancée, it's not the right thing to do."

"Uh huh...not really my problem.", I replied with a smile, "Besides which, I'd never lay a finger on my family in anger. I am not the same kind of person your father was."

Getting changed, the two of us headed out to eat breakfast.

---South Pole---

Having headed to see Katara and Sokka after breakfast, their village was very happy to hear that the war had ended. Telling them that Azulon and Ozai were dead, I informed them that Iroh was taking the throne and he had agreed to stop the war.

"That's wonderful!", Kya said with a smile.

"Yes, but the work has only just begun. Those loyal to Ozai will likely try to keep the war going in their own way, and the extensive damage from the war will need help recovering.", I replied, "That was actually part of my reason for the visit today. There is a lot of things that need sorted out in the Fire Nation, but once that is settled I will be traveling the world..."

Telling the family I wanted to know if Katara and Sokka wanted to travel with me when I started, the siblings looked at each other with concern.

"I am not saying it's a permanent thing, one of the places I am going is the North Pole so you could-", I started to say before Katara cut me off.

"I want to go!", she shouted with sparkling eyes, "I can hopefully bring back help, and they can assist in the rebuilding."

"What about Sokka?", Hakoda asked.

"While he may not be able to bend, he can receive weapons training on the journey. I am thinking the journey may take about a year or so.", I told him.

Agreeing to let them leave when they were thirteen, I said that was fine. That was just over four years away which gave me time to handle some things in the other worlds. It was almost time for me to make my reappearance in Orario so that worked out perfectly. Leaving some scrolls with Katara, I said it would be a little while before I would come back.

"Is something wrong?", she inquired.

"Well as you know the Airbenders are almost completely gone. There are some that are roaming around the world that left the temples so I hope to get information from them, and maybe even help them rebuild their own nation again. I don't know how long it will take to track some of them down, but we will see what happens.", I chuckled with smile, "Don't worry though, I will be back in a few months to see how your training progressed. If you do well, we can go sledding with the penguins."

"Yeah!!", Katara and Sokka shouted with excitement.

---Earthland, 3rd Person POV---

"I miss Mael!!", Millianna complained sprawled out on the couch, "Dinner just isn't the same."

"Seriously...that's why you miss him?", Sorano sighed.

"Yeah, no one cooks fish like him!", she giggled, "I...I also miss his encouraging words. Being a model is nice, but...there are a lot of creeps that have been watching us."

"Yeah...", Lisanna remarked having had a camera jammed in her face by an overzealous fan, "I am starting to regret it."

Airing their complaints about the situation, several of them were ready to quit. They had all decided to be models to impress Mael, but it didn't really matter because he wasn't here to praise them. Thinking about what they should do, Irene said they should stick it out for the time being.

"He should be back in a few weeks, I am sure he will have seen the magazine up there.", Irene reminded them.

"He hasn't called at all though...", Erza pouted.

"We should call him!", Minerva spoke up, "Maybe he can come back early and take pictures with us. Remember, the agency said they needed a male model!"

"That's right!", Lucy shouted, "We could-"

Before she could finish, someone started pounding on the front door. Turning to look at the door, they couldn't see who it was through the glass. Saying he would get it, Macbeth went towards the door when the man started screaming at through it.

"I know your in there, Juvia and Minerva!! You have some nerve running off to become models!!", the man howled in anger, "I raised you both better than that!! You make a mockery of mages by dressing in those ridiculous outfits!!"

Dropping their cups, the color in Juvia and Minerva's faces vanished. Jumping up from their seats, the two of them hid behind the other girls.

"How did he find us!?", Juvia shivered, "Our address isn't public! Did he track us here!?"

Grabbing the phone, Minerva called her agent to see if they gave the address to him. Sure enough, the agent gave him the information after showing proof he was their guardian. Hearing him pounding on the door in the background, the agent realized they had screwed up big time. Taking the phone from her, Juvia hung it up and started calling Mael as the boys came in from their workout.

"Let's run him off!", Richard said cracking his knuckles, "He can't harass our sisters!"

"Yeah!!", the boys shouted in unison.

"Please don't!! You aren't strong enough!!", Minerva pleaded with them.

Young and full of ego, the boys ignored her warning and went to confront the man. Opening the door, Elfman was the first to speak to him. Telling the man to leave, Elfman said they'd throw him on the street if he didn't go. In response...Jiemma punched him through the back of the house and into the pool.

---Mael POV---

Flying back to the capital to prepare for departure, I got a phone call from the house in Earhtland. Cracking a smile as I saw it come in, I was proud they had managed to hold out so long. I had been waiting for them to call and brag about their work, but that call never came. Picking up the phone as I was flying, I said hello and asked how things were.

"Mael please come home!!", Juvia cried, "It's Jiemma, he showed and is tearing the house apart. He wants to take Minerva and I away!! The boys tried to stop him, but he beat them up!!"

"Come here you damn brat!!", I heard Jiemma growl on the other side of the phone.

Stopping my flight, the smile on my face vanished. Hearing the phone disconnect, I immediately opened a portal back to the house to deal with Jiemma.