Chapter 3

-a few moments earlier

Kai placed his twin gently on the ground, resting his head on the tree. He looked back to where his parents had walked, feeling a sense of unease and worry at the message his father had sent them.

"Hide..." Those words made Kai certain that something was wrong. He had seen his father bend many times before, lifting a boulder the size of a house with ease. He knew for a fact that his father was strong. But Kai was also a very logical person; he knew that no person is truly unbeatable.

He sat on the ground cross-legged beside his twin, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, remembering his mother's words about the importance of meditation in calming one's mind. And right now, he really needed to calm down.

His mind was filled with ugly thoughts; he couldn't shake the feeling that he might never see his parents again. He looked at Ryu, knowing that when he woke up, he would blame Kai if anything happened to their parents.

But what could he do? His father had just started teaching the two of them earthbending. They had only been learning for four months, and while Kai had picked it up quite fast, his level was still nowhere close to his father's or his mother's.

"The two of them are strong," he muttered, as if to convince himself that everything would turn out okay.

He closed his eyes to concentrate on his meditation when he was stirred awake by the rustling of the ground beside him. He opened his eyes to see Ryu starting to awaken.

Ryu groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, then remembered what had happened earlier, making him snap open as he hurriedly sat up and looked around, only to see Kai sitting cross-legged beside him.

"WHERE ARE THEY!!!" Ryu angrily spat, glaring at his twin, remembering how he had been knocked out.

Kai shook his head, wondering sometimes just what the hell his brother was made of. Ryu was always the durable one of the two, able to recover quickly every time he suffered from his own recklessness. He remembered one time when Ryu tried to bend a large stone, only to lose control and have the stone fall on his head. He had been knocked out at that time, but he regained consciousness only a few minutes later.

"I-I don't know..." Kai looked down, unable to look his brother in the eye. "But we must stay here. Father explicitly told us to hi-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT FATHER SAID!!!" Ryu angrily cut him off. "Did you see the look on their faces? Mother was even looking at us worryingly when the two of them left. Something is happening, and we must help them!"

Kai bit his lip as he also stood up angrily. "AND DO WHAT!!! TELL ME RYU, WHAT CAN WE DO IF EVEN MOTHER AND FATHER ARE!!! ...even they look to be afraid..." His voice lost its power as he stared at the ground, clenching his fist. "I did see the look on their faces... And it told me that whatever it is, it was dangerous enough that even father had told us to hide."

Ryu grabbed Kai by his collar, his strength boosted by his anger making him able to raise him up a few inches off the ground. "When did you become so cowardly!" He growled at Kai, his eyes not leaving his.

Kai didn't answer; he only looked to the side, dodging Ryu's glare.

Ryu clicked his tongue and pushed Kai to the ground, then marched toward the direction of the village.

"Ryu, where do you think you're going?!" Kai got up and grabbed Ryu by his shoulder, stopping him.

Ryu turned around and punched Kai in the face, knocking him down to the ground. He then glared at him coldly. "To find and help them! Don't you dare stop me."

As Ryu turned around, a boulder appeared in front of him to block his way. "I can't let you do that."

Ryu growled, turning to face Kai again, frustration plastered on his face. "Do you really wanna do this right now?"

Kai shook his head, getting into his stance, centering his gravity and moving it close to the ground. "No... But I will do what must be done."

Ryu's eyes widened momentarily; he looked at Kai with disbelief and shook his head as well. He also got into his stance, mirroring Kai's. "Maybe you aren't a coward after all... Just incredibly stupid." He stomped his foot on the ground, shaking the area around him. "Stupid for thinking that you can stop me."

The two stared at each other, watching how the other would react. They had fought plenty of times, but this was the first time that they would fight with everything they had. They knew that one wrong move could lead to defeat.

Kai and Ryu might be different, but they were still twins; they still carried each other's traits. Kai may have had a more passive nature, but he could and would fight if push came to shove. He could be as aggressive as Ryu whenever he was serious.

And Ryu might have had a more impulsive and aggressive nature, but he too could think logically. He too could fight with calmness to find weaknesses in his opponent and use them to his advantage.

The two brothers stared at one another, one wanting to stop the other from putting himself in danger by going to a dangerous situation, while the other wanted to help their parents face the potential danger they might be facing.

Just as the two were about to move, they heard a large rumbling from a distance. The two stopped and stared in the direction where their parents had headed.

"That came from the village," Ryu muttered, clenching his fist as he turned to Kai. "Kai, you heard that right?! Are you really gonna stop me after hearing that?! Are you really just gonna hide here knowing that this may be..." He paused and bit his lip, his voice faltering for a moment. "Knowing that that might be the last time we will ever see Mother and Father?" His voice turned soft, sounding frightened by even the idea of it.

Kai kept his eyes on the direction of the village, also clenching his fist, especially at Ryu's words. He started thinking the worst, looking at Ryu who was staring at him with pleading eyes. He took a deep breath to calm himself and gave a nod to his brother. "Let's go."

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The twins ran through the forest, heading straight towards the village, following the sound of fighting as their guide to their parents.

"Ryu, I want you to listen to me very clearly here. We need a plan if we're gonna do this," Kai's voice was stern as he looked at his brother, wanting to see if he was listening.

"Even I know that," Ryu answered a little forcefully.

'No, you don't,' Kai wanted to retort but let it go. He knew his brother, having been with him all his life, he knew his tendency and temperament. Ryu was the type of person who let his actions do the talking, someone whose primary plan when it comes to a fight is to attack.

But he couldn't deny that it had always worked in his advantage. Ryu was a person who'd make a plan on the spot, moving based on instinct. That's why whenever they sparred, Kai could never beat him once he got close.

While Kai might be the better bender, Ryu was without a doubt the better fighter. Kai sighed and shook his head. While it was true that Ryu often relied on his instinct, he was still capable of logical thinking... At least that's what Kai would like to think.

"Very well... As soon as we arrive, we hide and observe. We have no idea of the capabilities of Mother and Father's opponents, or how many of them there are," Kai then turned to see Ryu's reaction, seeing that he looked like he was agreeing, he nodded in approval.

"I think we should also catch them by surprise," Ryu added. "Out of the two of us, you are the better bender. Even Father said that your control is second to none. Our best bet is to attack them from afar with your bending, and once they're confused on where the attacks are coming from..."

Kai smiled and continued Ryu's words. "That's where you come in."

Ryu also mirrored his smile and glanced at him. "Exactly."

As the two reached the clearing, they could now hear clearly where the fighting was taking place. They saw an orange glow in the distance, clearly indicating fire.

The two continued to move, and in one last turn, they could finally see the silhouettes of the people fighting. And to be honest, the two of them weren't expecting that big of a number.

Kai quickly pulled Ryu to the side, remembering their plan to first observe before engaging. They moved through the houses that were now devoid of people, clearly having left after the fight started, afraid of being caught up in it. They used the darkness of the night to their advantage.

They hid at a nearby house and watched the fight unfold. They saw their mother, using sandbending with ferocious intent as she mowed down multiple men with it, using the sand as a sort of blade to shred their skin and armor.

They saw an old man, whom they had no memory of ever meeting, fighting alongside their parents. And by the looks of it, the man was a firebender. While he might be old, he was effective nonetheless.

And then, their father, who was in a stalemate with one of the men, and by the looks of it, it was their leader. The two of them expertly dodged and weaved around each other while also sending devastating attacks.

The twins observed this, trying to find a perfect opportunity to launch their own attack.

"There's too many of them," Kai whispered to Ryu, keeping his eyes peeled on the fight.

"Yeah, I noticed," his twin answered sarcastically, which he did not appreciate at the moment.

"Xinyi, cover for me!" They heard their father scream as he dodged a ball of fire that came from behind him.

Their mother nodded her head as she stomped the ground, creating an earthen wall to block the others from reaching Peng.

This allowed Peng to fight the leader one-on-one. They watched as their father got closer and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the unknown man.

The fight was intense as neither of them gave an inch. Then the two boys cheered when they saw their father land a picture-perfect spinning kick right at the abdomen.

But then, they realized that it didn't really land. A wall of earth blocked his kick, and he was then sent flying by the leader.

Their mother screamed his name as she rushed towards him, not seeing the ice spike that was coming for her. It hit her at the shoulder, sending her rolling to the ground.

Ryu gritted his teeth and was about to charge, but Kai held him by his arm, stopping him.

"Kai, let me go!" Ryu spat angrily.

"Stick to the plan!" Kai answered back, his voice also carrying a lot of force.

"They're gonna get killed!" Ryu pulled his arms out of Kai's.

"We're all gonna get killed if you don't stick to the plan!" Kai's words made Ryu stop. He gritted his teeth and stared at the fight. He saw his mother, Xinyi, crush the metal marbles he always carried and use the shards as a spear to impale the waterbender who attacked her.

"Trust them, Ryu... Our parents are strong," Kai spoke again, his voice urging Ryu to hide once again.

Ryu growled and hid back beside Kai. Kai nodded at him as they again resumed watching the fight.

The old man moved forward towards the leader, speaking something they couldn't hear due to the distance.

Kai stared at the old man; somehow, deep inside him, he looked kinda familiar. It confused him. "Mako." A voice suddenly sounded inside his head. He turned around to see if there was anyone behind them, yet he saw no one.

Kai shook his head, thinking that it might have been the wind. He brought his full concentration to the fight. It seemed like it had halted as the old man spoke to the leader.

Then suddenly the leader pulled a large boulder out of the ground and sent it towards the old man, shocking both Kai and Ryu. It was fast, faster than even Kai cared to admit.

But the old man seemed to move just as quickly; he swirled his hand as lightning crackled in the area around him. Ryu stared in awe, while Kai couldn't help but admire the display. It was the first time the twins ever saw it. Lightning bending.

The old man pushed his right hand forward, with two fingers pointing at the boulder. Lightning exploded as it beamed straight towards the projectile. It turned the boulder to dust, and it was still going, straight towards the leader.

From then on, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The leader, who was also an earthbender and a metal bender, extended his left hand forward. They felt chills when they saw a smile on his face.

A metal rod appeared on his extended hand, and as the lightning hit it, it appeared as though his body absorbed the lightning. He then rotated his body, moving his right hand forward this time as another metal rod appeared on it. The lightning then reemerged, this time heading straight for the old man.

Kai had read about this technique in one of his father's books before: lightning redirection. His mouth agape as he read from that book that only firebenders can redirect lightning, and that man was clearly an earthbender.

Then it clicked; it was his armor made out of metal. It acted as a conductor for the lightning, the rod acted as the entry and exit points. But even with all of that, you would still need skill to be able to pull it off.

The twins watched as the old man also got into stance to redirect the lightning. He received it with his left hand, using his finger as the conductor. He followed the same movements the leader performed, but before he could finish, the rod that was attached to the right hand of the leader flew at extreme speed towards the old man. It pierced him in his chest.

They saw how the lightning ran wild inside the body of the old man, how his flesh burned from the heat, as his body smoked. And then how he fell to his knees and into his death.

Kai's eyes were glued to him; he didn't understand why, he didn't even know that old man, but he felt anger. He felt a bubbling rage coming out of him. Then everything went blank.

Ryu, who was beside Kai, was about to move again; he had made up his mind, he wouldn't watch anymore. But before he could, Kai's body suddenly fell to the ground.

"Kai?" He asked worryingly, moving to his brother and starting to shake him. But there was no response. "KAI!!! WAKE UP!!!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!!" Ryu then heard a scream; it was his father. He turned back into the fight, only to see Peng cutting the hand of the leader as the other men started to overwhelm him with their numbers.

He saw his mother, Xinyi, rush in to help, but she too was smothered by multiple men. Ryu gritted his teeth; he wanted to rush in, but he couldn't leave Kai, not in the state he was in. He didn't understand why he suddenly fell unconscious.

"KAI, WAKE THE FUCK UP!!! THEY NEED US NOW!!!" Ryu continued to shake Kai, hoping for him to suddenly stir awake.

His eyes moved back and forth towards their parents and back to Kai. "COME ON!!! WAKE UP!!!"

He then stopped as his eyes landed on the leader who bent a metal rod to look like a sword. He looked in horror as the leader raised his only remaining hand up in the air, the sword reflecting the light of the full moon, as his father lay face down below the feet of that man.

Ryu acted on instinct then and there. His body moved; he stood up, letting go of Kai as he tried to rush towards his father. But then he suddenly felt the whole world shake.

The ground beneath his feet started to crack, the air picked up speed, the very nature itself seemed to be showing its wrath. "Kai." He turned around, wanting to shield his twin from whatever phenomenon this was, but he fell back onto his rear when he saw Kai once again.

His eyes were now open, and they were glowing with a bright white light that seemed to blind him. "No way..." He muttered in disbelief as Kai's body slowly stood up, the ground seemingly following his will, pushing him to his feet.

"The Avatar?.." Ryu's voice was filled with confusion, fear, doubt, but it was filled with another thing. It was filled with hope. He smiled towards Kai, his brother looking down at him as he sat on his rear. He gave Kai a nod and spoke one word. "Go."

With it, Kai jumped up; the earth below him rose at the same time, propelling him high into the air. Ryu followed him with his gaze as he landed at the center of the fight. "So the Avatar is my brother, huh... Who knew?" He chuckled, his body relaxing now because of the revelation. "Go get them." He whispered to himself.

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***

Hey guys, chapter three is out. How do you guys like this fanfic so far?

Anyway quick question regarding animal companion. As of now I have 2 choices.

One is the Badger Mole.

And the other is the Owl Wolf.

So what do you guys think. Which would be a better animal companion?

Anyway.

Leave a comment, feedback, some advice for me to better write the story. Every little thing helps.

Good day, Love y'all.