Chapter 7 – Council
Fan-fiction based on Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender and other connected comics and series. Enjoy, and don't forget to let me know what you think in the comments!
Chapter 1 - The Boy in the Apartment
Chapter 2 - The Avatar Returns
Chapter 3 - Re-emergence
Chapter 4 - The Bending Alliance
Chapter 5 - The Director
Chapter 6 - History
He looked into the eyes of his companions in the flickering light of the tavern’s candles –the leaders of seven bending nations and the woman he loved. Although most of their enemies had been put down, the journey would not be an easy one. There were forces beyond their control that wanted them to fail, that would never allow them to complete their quest, but they had to do it anyway. The survival of the human race –of the Earth itself –depended on their success. She looked back at him and gave him a reassuring nod and a tiny smile, squeezing his hand under the table. The others too gave him curt nods. They were ready.
He stood and approached the man on the raised platform. The man, old and frail, and clothed in a white and silver garment, gazed at him gravely for a few seconds, then nodded too and opened his previously clasped hands. Inside was the totem of the elements…
The sunlight was blazing. He stared at his companions, his friends, as they stalked towards him, murder in their eyes. They had killed her –he was sure of it. She would never have gone along with them to do this and would have fought to the death by his side. He felt rage boil up within him as they attacked. The totem hung heavily on his neck…
Steve opened his eyes groggily. The room was dark, and the soft wool on the bed did not entirely mask the hardness of the rock underneath. A little light came in from the open doorway, from a lone torch flickering in the passageway outside. He sat up and swung his feet to the ground, groaning.
Suddenly there was a shadow at the door. “Good morning, Avatar.”
Steve shook his head, trying to clear it. The dreams and the memories of the events of last night were all muddled up.
“It’s morning?”
“Some minutes past nine a.m., to be exact,” the shadow replied curtly. “The director instructed we let you get as much rest as you needed.”
Director Leonardo Strongman. Right. Steve now realised the shadow at the door was one of the ninja guards of the Alliance.
He nodded. Everything was becoming clear again.
“As soon as you’re ready I’m to take you to him and the other members of the council,” the ninja continued. “Is there anything you need?”
Steve looked up at him. “Yes,” he replied. “I need to use the bathroom.”
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“Hey, man!” A familiar cheerful voice called as Steve entered the circular chamber, followed by the ninja guard.
“Chris?”
“Yup. Still here,” Chris stood from the bench at the centre, grinning. “Sleep well?”
“Relatively. Bed was a bit hard.”
Chris chuckled and nodded at the ninja. “It’s alright, I’ve got it from here.”
The ninja nodded and walked away. Steve watched him go, then turned back to Chris. He was still grinning.
Steve raised an eyebrow. “So, how exactly does a superrich royal kid sleep in a place like this?”
“You’ll be surprised at the things you can get used to.”
The eyebrow went higher. “Five star hotels to this?”
Chris laughed. “Contrary to society’s stereotypical opinion, I’m not a spoiled, rich, entitled brat. Okay, maybe rich and entitled, I’ll give you that. And, it’s all for saving the world right?”
Steve didn’t reply. Chris looked at him and nodded in understanding. “Yeah… it’s a bit heavy, right?” He said. “Come on, we should be getting to the council.”
They set off through one of the doorways Steve hadn’t been through yet, along a long corridor with short passageways leading to rooms of different sizes along both sides. Steve was surprised to see that some had pretty high ceilings –they must be further underground than he’d thought. Some had wide windows, but the wall was so thick, they looked more like short tunnels. There were people inside each room, mostly kids and teenagers. As they passed, the kids broke into whispering, some pointing excitedly. The teens too whispered and stared. Those that walked past them along the corridor turned and gawked.
Steve felt a bit unnerved by the attention. “Wish they would stop staring,” he told Chris. “It’s not like I’ve got a blue arrow on my head or anything.”
“You are the Avatar. They've been hearing talk of you ever since they joined us, especially from the council. It’s like having your favorite celebrity come into your house –they’re pretty excited.”
Steve huffed and kept walking. The corridor was filled with sounds of bending. It seemed those in the rooms were practicing. He looked into one and saw young earthbenders molding small individual relief sculptures on the walls with their bending.
“So,” he asked Chris. “What exactly is the council?”
“The leaders here,” Chris replied. “Made up of the director, and the eight bending masters. They masters are in charge of the day-to-day running of the colony –ensuring the walls stay up, security is intact, we have enough air and water, things like that. They’re the one who teach the others, which is really why we call them masters. If not for the meeting, you’d have met at least four of them in the bending halls.”
“This whole place runs by bending?”
“Yup. Airbenders draw air in and keep circulation. Waterbenders draw up water and pass them through the pipes to the tanks and bathrooms, while Earth and fire benders build everything.”
They rounded a corner. Up ahead, the corridor ended at a large doorway. Chris glanced at Steve. “We’re here. You ready?”
Steve exhaled and nodded. Then he led the way in.
The Council room was as round as the entrance chamber, but it was very different. There were no sculptures here just benches made of earth arranged in two concentric semi-circles directly facing the door. In the middle of the outer benches was a bigger, throne-like chair. In it was Director Strongman. The other members of the council sat on the inner benches, four on either side of the director. Steve recognized Segun, the earthbender that had led him into the underground complex. Along the walls and on either side of the doorway stood several ninjas with their masks off, including the blonde girl, Jean. She glanced at Steve as he paused at the door and glanced away again, scowling.
Director Strongman smiled encouragingly at Steve. “Avatar,” he called. “Come on in. We’ve been waiting for you.”
