Ayaan's first thoughts upon coming to were that he wasn't strong enough. He hadn't been vigilant enough. He was too weak, slow, and inefficient to catch the enemy before this happened. Everyone was in danger because of this slip-up.

Ayaan's second thoughts were rage and reprimanding. He should have been firmer, and they should have left the moment everything was done. Why had he even humored the idea in the first place? Why hadn't he just left this place entirely the moment they were able?

His third thoughts were the reasons he'd used. He didn't want to overwork Appa, but every sense in his body screamed that he shouldn't be here. He hated not trusting his siblings to use common sense, and he knew that there would be times when he wouldn't like their decisions. No one was perfect, especially him. They were doing their best and he'd wanted them to know it mattered.

But of course, the moment he wants something, it's dragged through the mud. His scar burned and ached. He should have listened to its warning.

Why hadn't he? Why had he stormed off in such anger? He thought he was more mature than that, but at the time, he was too angry to even care. If he stayed, he would have said or done something he'd regret. It was the right choice at the time, but they'd run out of time.

He should have just let it go and dealt with it later. It was childish of him to storm off, no matter how mad he'd been.

So why did he feel this dejected and outright furious at himself?

Oh, that's right.

He had a misplaced hope that maybe this endeavor was worth the trouble, as Katara had pleaded to him that it was. He'd wanted to trust his family because they'd asked for him to trust in all of them more.

He wanted to trust that Katara's efforts would pay off and that she'd see that she wasn't worthless at water bending like he was. He watched her work hard; he knew well her work ethic. She was the most determined of all of them to better herself and he wanted to honor that.

Yet her words hurt.

What she'd seen him do wasn't talent. It was trial and error with a mysterious "instinct" he hated that he couldn't understand. Waterbending to him felt like trying to scoop up a soup with a ladle that's been split in half. A piece was missing, and that made it hard.

What was left were only remnants of a broken form, he could feel that.

She had all the tools she needed, only missing a teacher that could actually help her.

He hated that he couldn't be that for her and Aang.

There were only three reasons he hadn't abandoned his waterbending entirely.

One, it was useful, and he wasn't one to toss something useful just because of his frustration with it. Creating traps with his waterbending saved him time and energy. The few skills he knew, he made sure to know them well.

Two, his calling to water was just a bit stronger than his dislike and helped him calm down. The songs he would hear amid the moonlight, the drifting tide that guided him towards it, and the coolness of the water on his skin all calmed him in a way not even his grandmother could.

He craved that sense of peace, however fleeting it was.

The third and last reason... was Katara.

That sparkle in her eyes when she finally figured things out, he wanted to see it again. The pure elation she felt when she would waterbend brought him back to better days when their family wasn't so broken. Back when happiness was an easier concept to understand.

<<"Ayaan! Ayaan! Look what I can do! I've been practicing all week!" She lifts her arms, letting them reach out toward the water of the icy river. At first, nothing happens, but she keeps concentrating until finally, a tiny water bubble surfaces in front of her. Struggling to hold it, but happy she was able to do it, she excitedly exclaims, "Do you see it?! I made a bubble! I am a waterbending master now!"

It then pops, splashing them with a bit of water. Before she started to sulk, Ayaan praised her. "That was awesome, Katara! Teach me your ways, O Wise One." He does a mock bow which makes her giggle, forgetting her failed bubble. And that was how they began playing in the water.>>

What pathetic wants he had.

He could not afford to relax, to stop, or to enjoy. Why had he let himself be, for even a moment, content? In the darkness of his subconscious, all of his inner demons scorned him for that mistake. They mocked his wants, thinking them just as childish as he did.

He'd been careless. He'd messed up significantly. He needed to find a way to fix it, and quickly. The ache in his chest returned, accompanied by an unease that made him sick.

Honestly, Ayaan didn't even have to open his eyes to know he'd been captured. Because of that, all of his inner turmoil would need to wait.

But where were the others?

Blearily, his eyes survey his surroundings. The moment he did, he wished he'd seen nothing at all.

On the other side of him, staring at him with a sick fascination was the Asrani, Sanho.

'I thought the day couldn't get worse. I jinxed it.'

"Hello~" The man closed the space between them, so close that Ayaan could see the sickly pale skin beneath the black cloth. The marred scars spread like spiderwebs across his visible skin, pulsing with every rancid breath he took.

Ayaan did not reply. Instead, he took in what he could from his peripheral.

In the distance, he could hear the others, much to his silent relief. They were close enough for him to hear, but far enough that he couldn't make out their conversation.

'They separated me from them and took my spear. I'll need to disinfect it since they've touched it.'

As for himself, he was tied to a tree. But it seemed the only enemy standing guard over him was this guy. He'd been separated from them, forced onto his knees because he'd been bound so low.

"I took your pointy stick. Very sharp, not very safe~" It said. "I'm glad I found you alone. Just me, just me, all for myself..."

That piece of news was both welcomed and not. Good, he was alone, much easier to manage. Bad, because he couldn't understand what this guy even was. He was strong and gave off vibes that screamed "dangerous". His presence disgusted him.

His spear was nowhere near him, and that only made his anxiety skyrocket. His mind went spiraling, ever so slowly, as he tried to think of ways to get out of this.

He hid it expertly, however, instead growling at the Asrani before him.

"Oh? Fiesty blessed one! I like it." The guy rasped, his eyes were swirling pools of black, lost in insanity as he panted. "More energy is better! But you aren't complete... I needed to make it complete..."

"What are you even saying...?" Ayaan strained against his binds. His spear wasn't near him, and the ropes were too thick to get out of right away. He tried anyway, using his strength in whatever limited way he could while tied. "Get away from me!"

"The pearl will show me the truth again. It will show me, and I will feel alive. I want to feel it." It panted, touching his face tenderly. It made Ayaan sick. It was vile, awful, how soothingly this parasite touched his skin.

To Ayaan, it felt akin to being caressed with a hot iron, unbearable. "Give me enlightenment, blessed one. With you, I will finally see everything clearly. Please? Please...!"

"Please?" This guy was completely out of his mind. With trembling hands, the Asrani grasped onto the pendant that was at his hip. His black bandages were disheveled by his eagerness, revealing a marred face and unnaturally sharp, smiling canines.

"The pearl will give it to me." It sneered, predatory in its approach, "I'll force it out, just like they showed me."

Force what out?

What pearl?

Ayaan instinctively tried to get away. Something in his entire being reacted to those thoughts. He knew what it meant, he knew what the pearl was. He'd encountered it before, something stronger, more vicious. He'd seen it somewhere. But where? He'd never seen that this aside from when Yon warned them, so why did he feel like this?

Trauma was coursing through his veins, seeping into his bones as every fiber of his being was screaming at him to not let that thing touch him. The ropes were breaking slowly through his struggling, rubbing his skin so raw it bled. He didn't care, whatever was happening couldn't succeed.

He couldn't let it happen to him again.

'Again?'

What had he meant by 'again'? What was happening?

"No!"

"I need to, you see. I must. I can't live without it." Violently, he brought the pendant forward, "You are the way, the blessed one! They said you were. They said you were!" He dug his nails into Ayaan's cheeks as the youth tried to yank his face away from those disgusting hands. "You have to, okay? You have to. You have to you have to you have to you have to You have to!"

It inched closer and closer until the moment it finally made contact. It went from being a murky stone to a vibrant jewel, and something that shouldn't have been touched crawled from beneath Ayaan's skin.

Sanho howled with maniac laughter, as Ayaan writhed in a pain his mind couldn't comprehend. Everything burned just like it had on that day. It was like acid was stabbing into his skin and he wanted to get away get away get away from it.

He couldn't even scream, the ropes tearing at his skin more and more. Usually, he was strong enough to have torn through a bind like this by now. He couldn't understand why it had become so hard so suddenly. Sanho was strong, but they were almost equal in strength.

No, he was weakening while Sanho was getting stronger. Something was being taken from him. What was this? What was this thing doing to him? It was drawing something out of him, something that had laid dormant deep within his subconscious.

The unholy agony was accompanied by a cacophony of images he couldn't understand, jumbled words, and groundless voices. He didn't know what was happening around him aside from the pain he felt. Something was keeping whatever Sanho was doing at bay.

Something beyond his reach, far away, was trying to help him. The songs he heard on the wind became screeching howls, and the river in the distance became dangerous with rapids.

Finally, he broke through the binds, and his first action was to punch the parasite across the face. Sanho flew into the nearest tree, dazed from the blow. All of his senses were dialed to eleven, however.

For a brief moment, something appeared on Ayaan's head. A strange, black shape with a small white dot at its center, the dark half of a taijitu - The yin and yang symbol. Something was reacting violently, fighting whatever this pearl was trying to do, but it was weak, fading just moments later.

"Ah~ That's it! The divine power~" Sanho was elated. "Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes!" His body began to buff up unnaturally, the spiderweb-like veins becoming more pronounced as they did. His already horrible complexion worsened even though his expression was euphoric.

For Ayaan, it was the opposite. Everything in sight was overwhelmingly bright. His ear rang and his skin tingled with painful pinpricks. He felt like breathing was a chore, his chest painfully constricting in ways he'd never felt. When he coughed, he could taste something metallic on his tongue.

"More! Give me more! Give me more!" He was so disoriented that he couldn't react in time to the monster's charge at him.

Good thing he didn't have to as shadows burst from all sides, knocking a crazed Sanho away from him. One went to him, while the other three attacked Sanho.

"My lord?" Who was speaking? He knew that voice. He'd committed the sound to memory since it was rare for them to speak. A voice that was soothing, bell-like, and light.

But it was being drowned out by the subtle winds in his ears. The woman who always sang lullabies was singing again, trying to soothe him. The pain in his chest ebbed away into something manageable, and the overload he felt calmed down enough for him to finally understand what was being said to him.

"My lord! Please, concentrate on my voice."

"Wǔ...?"

"Yes, my lord." Something cold was being dabbed on his head. He was bleeding. What had even happened? The questions could be read on his face apparently as the phantom immediately said, "Don't speak yet. We are dealing with the filth."

Blinking back into his senses, he was helped to his feet by Wǔ. The boy and his brothers all wore a mask to cover their features, but he was certain it was them.

Qī, with a tenacity every earthbender had, bombarded the monster with stones at every punch of his fist. When it was pushed back, the child switched up his stance, adding a fluidity that guided his sharpened sand to his enemy. It was a whirlwind storm, tearing at the beast's skin with each contact. A ferocious display.

"Agh!" The monster shielded itself from the onslaught, but that wasn't the only attack it had to weather.

"Brother, now!" The youngest of the three called, earning a nod from the eldest. Liù skated onto the scene gracefully, his speed making him a blur. Icy daggers dug their way through thickened skin, cutting ligaments and tendons mercilessly. Every flick and fluid motion was met with a howl of pain.

They locked the Asrani down with water and stone, and within moments, took the pendant away from them. Immediately Sanho's body returned to its normal size, much to their horror.

"What... is happening...?" Ayaan couldn't understand what he was seeing at all. He could barely understand what he was feeling.

"Shh." Wǔ said. He warmed his palms slightly, messaging Ayaan's temples. Within moments the older boy relaxed, tension leaving. His senses slowly dialed themselves to a normal range as the Asrar ally tended to his other wounds, too. When he'd finished, he joined his brothers in taking care of the filth.

Just a few meters away, Ayaan watched it all.

"No...! No! NO NO NO! Give it back to me! My pearl! My pearl! Give it back! Give it back!" Sanho had lost any rationality he once may have had. He was nothing but a ravenous beast that snarled and struggled, the sound becoming more inhumane the longer it went on.

With a swift move, Liù pinned the pendant to the ground, where Qī smashed it to pieces with a boulder. Wǔ then burned them, and they blew away as ash on the wind.

"AAAHHHHHhhHHhhhhHH!" Sanho screeched before his body withered. The firm muscles he had decayed to nothing but skin and bone, and any youthfulness he had rapidly vanished. "Ah.... no... no...."

A shriveled old man was all that was left, until he too became ashes, aged to nothing.

Where the pearl had been were whisps of white light. The three bowed their heads as some of them floated into nothing, but a few whisps went his way instead. Slowly, they entered Ayaan from the space where the pearl had touched him. The strength he felt was ripped from him and returned slowly, and the pain he felt ebbed away to nothing.

"What... was that?" He asked, completely shaken by what had happened. Qī ran to give him a hug, silent as he tried to comfort him from the shock. Wǔ continued to treat his injuries, thankful that they were only mild.

"They call it 'The Pearl Of Divinity'," Liù said, his voice palpable with hatred. "It's a tool used by the Asrani to absorb spiritual energy. A heinous, awful thing created... through sacrifices."

"Sacrifices...?"

"It was one of the reasons we were sent to infiltrate." The waterbender continued, "The people that were taken... not all of them went to a prison. When we followed the leads... that truth is what we found."

"The way to artificially create spirits is... to kill the living. Mutilate them. The sin of desecrating the dead, the afterlife, and the sacred spirits is shown by the spiderweb marks when they use that power. That is how the Asrani, even the weakest runt like this one, are so strong." Wǔ finished.

Those whisps of white light were the essence forcibly taken from people.

Ayaan felt sick, and this time, he did vomit.

He'd allowed himself to be caught off guard, and he couldn't do anything to save himself from that thing. It almost got whatever it was that it wanted from him. What would have happened if they hadn't come?

This was the first time in a long time he'd ever felt so vulnerable, and it disgusted him he was this weak.

The three phantoms were solemn as they comforted him, patting his back and giving him something to wash away the vile taste. The youngest gave him back his spear, which had been taken by that thing.

He instantly felt calmer with it in his hands. But even so, it took a few minutes more, a lot more than he wanted, to calm down enough to recover himself.

"Was there another here... besides us?" He could have sworn there was a fourth shadow that helped him. His senses had been overridden by anguish, but he knew he'd seen three people attacking the Asrani scum.

"An ally!" That was all Qī said, not giving much away even though he seemed so happy.

It was not Yon, Ayaan would know her for miles thanks to her impressive stature. It was wholly blurred, but the color he'd seen on the fourth wasn't close to the neutral colors the phantoms wore.

Was it red? Orange? It definitely wasn't Aang, as he felt heat on his skin. But that also could have just been from Wǔ. But he couldn't be sure. It could have been anything, he was that out of it. Was it the helpful phantom, a Fire Nation soldier, or the pearl burning into him?

He'd seen grays, too. An old man? It could also be the normal colors the phantoms wore, but what if it wasn't? Who was he then? Why would he help him if he was Fire Nation?

It didn't make sense to him, alongside the fact that whoever it had been... seemed familiar now that the voices finally stopped screaming in his head.

'Why...?'

Whatever had happened heightened the senses he had... or at least unearthed what was already there. It felt wrong, so wrong. He hated it, his skin crawled. But he couldn't focus on that right now.

What he felt right now didn't matter right now. His siblings were still unaccounted for, and they were no longer nearby. Whatever happened went on long enough for things to change where they were.

He needed to find them.

Whoever helped him would have to wait.

"Please assist me." He said to the three. "Something... isn't right. I don't... trust myself right now. If you would be willing, I'd like your help in rescuing my family."

"Of course, Sir Ayaan!" Qī exclaimed, absolutely elated that the blessed child had even asked. "That's what we came here for!"

"Hm." Wǔ nodded, his saturated eyes were sparkling just like his little brother's. His face may not have changed expression, but his background suddenly twinkled with delighted color.

"There was a commotion near the far end of the river, they may be there," Liù said, trying to hide his own giddiness at being of use to his lord. The three of them were like puppies, Ayaan could almost see their tails wagging.

"We can get there quickly with the Cheetah Seals."

"Cheetah Seals?" Ayaan asked. The three gave out a whistle, and moments later three heads popped out from the water. The moment they saw him, they hopped out of the water and proceeded to lick him.

They had round eyes and slicked-back, spotted gray fur. Their snout was cat-like, but their tails were wide like a fin. There were also smaller, flipper-like fins along their strong legs. They looked chubby, but if one looked closer, it was obvious that those were layer upon layer of trained muscles.

By the time the trio got them off, he was soaking wet, but much happier than he'd been a moment prior. They were wet, but they were really, really soft because of their thick fur.

The Cheetah Seals gave each other a look, gave their companions a look, and then proceeded to once again pile up on Ayaan. Each was tall enough on all fours to reach his chest, and they took advantage of snuggling.

Ayaan welcomed the comfort it brought. The tall teen did not mind at all. It was cute that they were so affectionate, considering the menacing teeth he saw they had.

'When dry, I'm sure they'd be extremely fluffy.'

"What are their names?"

"Jia, Mei, and Chen. Come back here, you rascals!" The trio proceeded to once again, with difficulty, pull the pups away from their lord.

'Why do you keep pulling us away?!' Though Jia, the eldest and largest of the three, Liù's companion.

'Good human is upset! The filth did something. We should have torn them apart instead! It wouldn't even make a good snack. Disgusting.' Wǔ's companion, Mei, thought viciously. She growled, pissed at the Asrani. 'Cuddles Good Human!'

'Bad friend! Bad friend! Let us cuddle Good Human! Good Human needs cuddles!' Chen whimpered at Qī, still inching his way back to Ayaan.

They gave their companions a scathing look, which was returned with equal ferocity.

'We can't do this right now! We have a mission!' Liù scolded with his eyes.

'You're getting Lord Ayaan all wet! He does not need that right now!' Wǔ followed, which only earned him a huff from his sassy companion.

'You little oppotunists! I want to hug him too!' Qī looked at Chen with an expression of betrayal, which the Cheetah Seal pointedly ignored.

But they got the message clearly anyway and groaned in disappointment. The pups visibly deflated, opting to just sit around Ayaan's legs protectively. Though Chen, the youngest and smallest of them, still gave Ayaan one last lick before joining his sisters.

"They're still young and excitable... Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I... needed that." He bent the water and saliva off of him as he normally would, letting it fall harmlessly away from him.

He didn't notice the remnants spiking into ice the moment it touched the ground. He was focused on Cheetah Seals and his allies.

'They'd be even more fluffy if they were dry...' And he was tempted to remove the water from their fur to test it, but no. He needed to focus right now.

Siblings first.

Then, destroy pirates and fire nation scum.

After that, and only then, he'd think about fluffy cheetah seals.

"Let's go."

.

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