Harsh winds beat against the closed sails, trying to tear them apart, the waves broke furiously against the side of the ship in the hope of sinking the hated ship along with the entire crew. The ship tossed from side to side and Smollett's orders sounded more like barking – how he could laugh and give orders in one breath, Michael didn't even want to know. Not a single drop of rain could hit the deck thanks to Michael's efforts, and they still hadn't crashed into a random glacier thanks to Han and Khan.
The twins steered the ship forward, pushing the glaciers out of the way. It was noticeable that they often worked together, because even now they covered each other's backs. Michael wasn't sure he could control the ship with the skill they had even after years of practice.
Michael continued to hold back the rain so as not to worsen the situation of the team, the water surrounded the ship in a sphere of water that quickly flowed into the sea. So far, he hadn't had to repair holes or rescue drowned men, but he was ready for action.
It had already been an hour since they had entered the storm, and Michael began to hope that things might not end so badly. Of course, they could still drown, but if things continue like this, they will be able to get out without any prob–
"Brace!" Michael heard someone scream, but didn't have time to react. Something hit the side of the ship with great force and the whole ship jerked to the right. Michael was thrown onto the deck and the "shield" around the ship shook, but remained in place.
When Waterbenders try to feel what is inside the water, they must focus, otherwise all the information they receive will be a jumbled mess. So few people could attack and monitor the environment at the same time with the help of water, this type of thing was the specialty of Airbenders.
"What the heck?" He muttered and pushed away from the floor only to freeze in place. Circled around the ship in the sea were dozens, if not hundreds, of sea creatures Michael had never seen in his life. Their silhouettes looked like alligators with shark tails and hammerhead heads.
"Load the cannons! The Hammergators decided to have us for dinner!" Smollett shouted, holding on to the helm. "Cordato! Get rid of them if you can, don't care about the rain!"
"Yes sir!" He yelled back and jumped to his feet.
Dropping the shield, Michael winced as the cold rain hit his body. Normally Waterbenders would have been happy with rain during a battle, but now he was in the middle of the ocean, so he had enough material to work with.
Ice spikes immediately surrounded Michael's body and with a wave of his hand, he sent them into the sea, giving them an extra boost with blasts of air. A few of the Moths stood still in shock as their unexpected addition to the team poured icy death over the Hammergators. Spike after spike stuck into the bodies of sea creatures, but most of them just fell into the sea. But as soon as the thought slipped through the sailors that Michael had missed, the spikes twitched to life and began to chase the Hammergators.
Cannon shots thundered in the storm and shook the ship, the sailors got rid of the Hammergators as best they could, alas, the cannons were too slow to turn. But if the canon ball fell into the body of sea creatures, then they were torn apart like piñatas.
Lightning flashed through the clouds above the ship and made Michael lose focus for a second. His nostrils filled with the smell of ozone and he barely had time to raise his eyes to the sky to see the lightning that was striving for him. His vision was filled with blinding light and the only thought was: 'Shit.'
His hand clenched into a fist and he raised two fingers to the sky. Michael knew he had little chance of surviving the lightning strike, and he knew that only Firebenders could redirect the lightning. Unfortunately, now he had no choice but to try.
Lightning struck his outstretched fingers and Michael clenched his teeth to keep himself from biting off his tongue. Bringing his hands together in front of his stomach and passing the lightning Chi through his body, he raised his left hand towards the sea to release the lightning… Or so he tried.
As soon as he raised his hand, Michael felt his body freeze and arks of electricity ran through his blood, but then the lightning just… disappeared.
"What…?" He muttered, but didn't have time to think about this strange incident. The Hammergators were still surrounding the Ship, and noticing a pause in his attacks, they took their chance. The ship shook and Michael grabbed the side to keep from falling. While he was focusing on the left side of the ship, the Hammergators came in from the right. "Suka blyat'!"
More ice spikes surrounded his body and this time he didn't even look to see if they hit their target and started throwing them into the water. Blood and death quickly filled the sea, and the smell of metal was felt even through the howling wind. Captain Smollett looked at Michael with wide eyes, not believing that a random Waterbender had so much mastery over his element. Even so, the Captain couldn't stop laughing.
"Steer to the right!" One of the twins yelled, and the ship jerked to starboard.
When Michael saw that there were no Hammergators left on the port side of the ship, he moved to the right, where he decided to change his tactics. The water in the sea around the Hammergators has become much thicker and their movements have slowed down. The animals didn't understand what was happening, and in the next moment Michael swirled his arms in front of him and threw them sharply to the sides. The bodies of Hammergators began to pull in different directions and they didn't even have time to scream as they were torn apart.
Wodaniel was surrounded by wind, rain, lightning and animal corpses. Smollett looked from his seat at his team and frowned. So far, everything has been going well, especially with the help of Mr. Cordato, who was helping his crew survive right now. But it had only been an hour since the storm had begun, and he didn't want to bet on luck. Lady Fortune is a touchy Mistress, and can turn her back at any moment. That is why Smollett was ready to pray at any moment.
Khan and Khan continued to pull the ship forward, oblivious to what was happening around them. Their mission was to get to the North, nothing more.
Michael followed the latest Hammergators. From hundreds of underwater reptiles, only a dozen bastards remained who were in no hurry to climb on the rampage. Leaving the mutants alone, Michael looked around. The ship definitely saw better days in its voyages, the sides were scratched and even pierced in some places. The mast was tilted to the left and most likely would have fallen long ago if not for the efforts of several sailors who held it in place by the ropes.
"When did– not important." Michael shook his head and froze the base of the mast to keep it from falling.
The cold winds still beat on the faces of the sea men, but now everyone felt much better. Lightning still flashed in the sky, the rain was especially cruel and cold, but the crew had already got used to the storm and continued to work to get out alive. One sailor sat on the deck next to Michael and sighed heavily, it was clear that he was tired like a dog, but continued to push through his fatigue.
"Spirits, this can't get any worse." Michael's head snapped in his direction with fury in his eyes, startling the man. "Wot?"
A long, gutterul whail resonated through the sea, sounding like the sound of a terrible nightmare. Not far from the ship, the water began to boil and hiss, and the shadow of someone's huge body swam under the bow. Michael slowly turned towards the water and crouched closer to the deck. "Just so you know, you've cursed us all."
Smollett's laughter grew even louder and drowned out even the storm. The captain had long ago abandoned the helm and held his saber, preparing for battle. "Gentlemen! We were visited by the greatest Spirit of the Seas! Never in my life did I believe that our life would end in the jaws of this monster!" The sailors left their business and looked at their captain with horror, right now he frightened them much more than the creature under water.
"This is not the Leviathan for you, and not even the Bloody Bangputys!" Michael staggered. That was a God that shouldn't have existed in the mythology of this world. "Our death will be the fault of the great Brer'yuth!"
A colossal body slowly rose from the sea, sending waves around itself. Michael expected something similar to Cthulhu, but instead of a living Lovecraftian horror, a beast appeared from the sea, which even for this world was insane. Long, twisted arms with jagged claws, a head on the neck so thin that it was more like a thread in relation to the body. A maw full of bloodied fangs and Hammergators flesh, and beady eyes set deep in the skull. The Spirit looked more like a mangled human who lived his life killing everything in his path. Only part of his body was visible above the water, but even so, the Spirit was huge. He did not swim in the sea, he stood at the bottom of it and towered over their ship like a child over its toys in the bath.
"All men on board." Smollett began, suddenly deathly calm. "Pray for your souls, for if he takes them, you will not see peace after death."
Brer'yuth's head rested on his shoulders, his neck coiled like a snake preparing to attack. A roar filled with rage sounded from the throat of the Spirit and Michael felt his knees begin to tremble.
"Jasmine, I underestimated the danger of this world… Perhaps the Void will welcome me."
Michael looked at the Spirit– no, the monster that towered over the ship and couldn't feel anything but an all–consuming dread. In his short life, he saw not so many things that could scare him, mostly because he knew that there was nothing supernatural in the world. All the horror in the world was created by people for other people. But this thing… that wasn't some cheap prop from a B-rated movie. That abomination was an evil sea Spirit.
Michael had already felt something similar when he fought the silver not-horse. But if you compare these two, then this Spirit was much more dangerous. Last time, Michael got away with only a broken arm, and was able to kill – he's dead, right? – Gotl with a couple drops of water. Now he doubted that he would be so lucky.
Brer'yuth raised his hands to the sky, and smashed them to the turbulent sea. Waves rose into the air and quickly approached the ship. "Waterbenders!" Smollett shouted and that was enough to get people moving.
Michael, Han and Khan stood at the edge of the ship and threw their hands forward. The water in front of the ship rose and rushed in response to the attack of the Spirit. The two waves collided with each other and fell into the sea, but the force from the collision still rocked the ship.
"Load the cannons! That should slow him down!" Smollett screamed. "To arms! There's no escaping from him, so we die fighting!"
The sailors began to load the cannons while Michael watched the Spirit in the sea. His overly thin neck was an obvious weak point. Far too obvious weak point. But if video games have taught him anything, it's that obvious weaknesses are the best. Unfortunately, the Brer'yuth didn't have a huge red gem in the middle of its chest to hit, but a thin neck would be a sufficient substitute.
"Khan." Khan turned towards Michael with a raised eyebrow. "I'm going to do something really stupid. Get my body out of the water, if anything happens." He knew he could stay on the ship and just wait for Brer'yuth to get closer, but with arms like his, he could just tear the ship in half. Then he will be lost at sea with no way to return to land.
The brothers did not have time to answer, as Michael jumped from the side of the ship into the air. Behind him, someone was shouting, but he ignored it. A tornado of water rose up from the sea at his feet and lifted him higher and higher until he was level with Spirit.
"Now that I look at you, you're one ugly fucker." Michael muttered.
Spirit's face – if you can call it a face – lookedd more like a drawing of a schizophrenic. Small, deep-set eyes surrounded by an additional three pairs of smaller eyes. In its outstretched mouth, the teeth were sharp and long, about the size of an adult, and it didn't have a nose. Brer'yuth's neck was completely hidden behind his head, but Michael had a couple of ideas on how to get the Spirit to move.
"Fuck, this is stupid…" Michael groaned and began his plan.
Brer'yuth looked at Michael like one looks at an annoing fly, he waved his hand and smashed his water tornado, but was surprised when his victim was left hanging in the air. Michael thought that his staff broke at the very wrong time, because it was too hard to keep the water in the air along with his body. 'Now I understand why only Airbenders occupied the airspace. It's fucking hard.'
The tornado recovered and Michael began to circle around the Spirit, sending air blades into his body. Brer'yuth finally looked up from trying to sink the ship with the waves and turned to Michael, which turned out to be a mistake. The cannonballs hit the Spirit's side one after the other, causing him to step aside from the force of the impact.
'Huh, that did something? I thought he would be sterdier.' Brer'yuth growled in rage and turned back to the ship. "Shit."
The wind in Michael's hands quickly took the form of a ball and he threw the ball at the Spirit. The Rasengan dug into Brer'yuth's flesh and exploded into hundreds of aerial blades, but the wounds were shallow at best. The spirit roared in pain and clutched at its shoulder. His head jerked towards Michael, turning so far that anyone else would have broken their neck.
"You dare?!" The Spirit roared and Michael nearly fell into the sea. 'This shit can talk?!'
"You dare oppose me?! The Spirit that keeps the sea in balance!" Brer'yuth focused on Michael as if seeing him for the first time. "I see. Now I see. Nature itself wants to get rid of you. You are an infection that has settled deep in the wounds, you need to begone."
The arms of the Spirit split into tens and hundreds of long tentacles and surrounded Brer'yuth's body like a wall of flesh. "Ah. There's the Lovecraftian horror." Michael didn't stay still and immediately let go of the water that surrounded his body. The man fell into the water like a stone, avoiding a series of quick tentacle attacks – "Gods, that's just wrong." – from the Spirit, and responded with one strong blow of air to open a passage in Brer'yuth's defenses.
Without his glider, Michael couldn't control his flight as well, so he had to replace it with air blasts against his own back. The tentacles continued to follow him like homing missiles, missing by a hair's breadth.
He wasn't sure if physical attacks would do anything to the Spirit, he only knew parts of the plot of "The Legend of Korra" and that the main motherfucker merged with Vaatu and was defeated by the power of bullshit. He knew interesting places where the main parts of the plot took place, but he couldn't remember if it was possible to kill the Spirits with physical attacks.
"Ah, wait, Zhao could… But its main body was in the Human world." Michael almost flew through the wall of tentacles and got far too close to Brer'yuth's body when he realized one simple truth.
He was fucked, but at the same time, he wasn't.
The body of Brer'yuth was, oddly enough, in the Human world. Wherever the Spirit went, the storm followed. He was the cause of the biggest and most violent storms on the water, but at the same time, he didn't have the ability to manipulate any element. His huge body allowed him to create tsunami, whirlpools and even hurricanes, and when this could not sink ships, he simply tore them apart with his bare hands.
And right now, Michael was too close to those hands – even if Brer'yuth changed their shape. Of course, he could try to rip a passage in the Spirit's chest and exit on the other side, but there was a wall of tentacles waiting for him there. Without even thinking, he stupidly burst into his opponent's domain and decided that he could kill him with his abilities, completely forgetting that he isn't a superhero of some shitty fanfic and he doesn't have plot armor.
"Yeah, I'm fucked."
Throwing his arms forward, Michael released two blasts of air and his body ached from the overload. He felt his brain turning to jelly, but he continued to do deadly maneuvers in the air, avoiding the tentacles and tried to create distance between himself and the Spirit.
Flying back, Michael gathered a stream of air around his index and middle fingers, compressing and wrapping the air into a ball. 'The Rasengan didn't do shmuck to that asshole, which means I need to use the techniques I created to break through heavy armor. His body is too big to force the air out of his lungs and I can't drown him. Fuck, I can't even use pseudo-firebending in this political climate!' He stopped for a second. 'The fuck was that thought…?'
Brer'yuth leaned back, his tentacles tilted along with his huge body, and threw his arms forward, mimicking Michael's movements from moments before. Hundreds, if not thousands of tentacles charged forward at incredible speed, giving Michael no time to react.
Hundreds of thin tentacles pierced his body, piercing his lungs, liver, kidneys, and only miraculously missing his heart. He knew that once Brer'yuth released him, he would bleed to death in less than thirty seconds. The water that was keeping Michael airborne fell lifelessly into the water along with the rain, and his wind was carried away along with the storm. He couldn't sustain his Bendings with such wounds, even if he were God.
'It hurts…' Memories began to flash before the teenager's eyes, but he could not make out any of them. Michael coughed up blood and looked into the eyes of the Spirit who lowered his defenses and stared back at him.
"Nature will be pleased with the offering. Know, man, your death will be the greatest blessing for our world."
Michael coughed again and grabbed one of the tentacles, his fingers dug into the Spirit's flesh, tearing at the thick skin.
"You know… What's the advantage of being a Bloodbender?" He asked weakly, doubting that the Spirit would hear his voice through the strong winds. Brer'yuth didn't react, which was understandable. Most Spirits didn't care about human affairs, even if they were strong enough to threathen them. But Michael didn't care what the damn Spirit was thinking either, so he continued talking. "I can control more than just other people's blood."
The blood from Michael's wounds slammed around the tentacles like guillotines, sharpening the stumps inside his body. His hand dug deeper into the flesh of Brer'yuth and he began to pump fresh air through the Spirit's bloodstream.
Michael noticed that Brer'yuth had been bleeding since the start of the battle, and that he had a slim chance of killing the bastard with Bloodbending. But he couldn't just get close to the Spirit, because it would be a suicide attack. So he bet everything on his luck and decided to take a hit in a near-suicide attack.
"Loki… give me strength." Michael muttered, hoping that his knowledge of anatomy, Bloodbending, and Healing could support his body long enough. He could heal such wounds only using his water form – because how else he could name the form when his body turnes into water?
Brer'yuth howled in rage and pain, and threw Michael towards the ship. It was evident that the Spirit felt that something was wrong with its body, but it couldn't understand what. 'One of the perks of being a reincarnator – knowledge…'
Michael cut through the air like an arrow and entered the water like a stone, because right now he was hardly human. His wounds burned, and consciousness eluded his grasp. So he focused on his punctured innards and tried to get rid of the blood that was pooling in dangerous places.
The corners of his vision began to darken as soon as he felt himself being pulled upwards. Michael's body was lifted inside a ball of water and carefully lowered onto the side of the ship. But he could no longer resist and closed his eyes.
"Spirits, how is he still alive?!"
'I won't last long, I need to figure out how I can live long enough to be healed completely. First, the wounds didn't touch the internal organs.' Michael's arms and legs froze in place and slowly turned into water, closing his wounds and stitching his muscles back together.
"What the… Fuck, is he even human?" That was Han or Khan, Michael couldn't tell which.
"Don't care about that! Look at Brer'yuth! He's retreating!" Shouts of joy rose through the storm, but were drowned out by Smollett, who was already barking new orders.
'Now the first test: can I push foreign objects out of my body?' His lower abdomen turned to water and three severed tentacles fell to the deck at once. Michael howled in pain as he felt his intestines moved and were healed, but he couldn't stop the treatment. The rain had given him enough water to close his wounds, so he continued.
Wound by wound, organ by organ, he treated each problem in his body very slowly, so that they would not open up in the near future. Michael could still hear the sailors running around the ship, trying to weather the storm that was already ending. Fortunately, he was left alone with his problems, so he could finish his task in peace.
Once the last wound was closed, Michael let out a long sigh and passed out with the thought: 'Even if that freak comes back, I won't fight him, it'll be easier to fuck off.'
Michael woke up feeling like crap. This was nothing new, he had woken up feeling like crap numerous times, and this was far from the first. After yesterday's beating – 'At least I hope it was yesterday.' – he didn't feel so hot. His only hope was that no one would disturb him.
"Is he awake? It's been three days already, and as much as I trust your skill, Dr. Livesey, I want to see him myself." Captain Smollett said, sounding like he was standing not far from him. Michael lay in the hold of the ship in the medical bay. His bed was blocked from light and people's views with a thick sheet, for which Michael was infinitely grateful.
"Well, Captan, I can't say yes, but I can't say no. Patiant's privacy as they say, ha–ha!" Dr. Livesey replied with a cheerful laugh. Michael hadn't met the kind doctor before, but had heard good things about him from other sailors.
'This whole thing gives me deja vu vibes. I should've read more of the classics in school while I had the chance. Or watch more cartoons.'
"Doctor… This man saved my crew and my ship. No matter how great the death at the hands of the Spirit is, I can't sleep well knowing that he is on the verge of death."
"Ho! On the verge of death, you say! This man is healthier than a bull-bear! Apart from the terrible scars on his right arm, of course. To be honest, I suspect he's not even human. Don't know about you, but I've never seen people turn into water."
Michael rose from the bed and his back gave a satisfying crunch. His feet touched the wooden floor and he looked down at his body. Everything was in perfect order, except for bits of rough skin here and there, these were traces left from Brer'yuth.
"Blyat'." A single word left his lips. Now he was wearing nothing but plain blue pants– they weren't his pants. Which means two things: someone saw his dick, and someone took all his weapons. The second was undoubtedly worse, and the first was not a big problem at all. So he just decided that he had one problem. The fact that the whole crew saw him turn into water was not a problem, who would believe them? Especially considering that he did it right after he received mortal wounds from a bastard who was higher then the depths of the sea.
"Mr. Cordato? Are you awake?" Livesey asked and pushed the sheet aside. The doctor looked a little over forty, he had short, uncut gray hair covering his ears and small, piercing blue eyes.
"Meh, that's up in the air right now. I just want to fall and die on the spot, but I know it's a very bad idea." Michael scratched the rough skin on his side and frowned. "Doctor, any water for a poor sod?"
Livesey broke into a huge smile and laughed softly. He went to the corner of the medical bay for water, leaving Michael alone with Smollett.
"When I took you on the ship, I didn't think that instead of the usual Waterbender we would get… You." Smollett looked Michael up and down. "I don't care who or what you are, you saved my people and I'm grateful for that. When we arrive in the North, you can expect a reward from the Head of the Tribe."
Now Smollett didn't look like a madman screaming for death at the hands of the Spirit. Michael saw that in front of him was a man who truly cares about the lives of people under his command. He even somehow reminded him of Igor, a broker who sold information to his gang in the previous world.
The police shot Igor in both knees when he was arrested, but he still refused to rat out his clients. Michael saw the same courage and loyalty in Smollett's eyes. Yes, Smollett was strange, but he was ready to give his life for the lives of his people.
Michael smiled and nodded. "I never refuse payment for job well done. Has anyone been hurt on board?"
Livesey returned with a glass of water and handed it to Michael. "Of course some were hurt, but apart from bruises and abrasions, everything is in order. The only corpse in my office was you, my friend!" Livesey burst into laughter again and walked off towards his office. The doctor knew that Michael was fine, so the final check was useless.
'Maybe he doesn't think I'm human and that's why he left? Wouldn't he be interested in seeing a possible Spirit?' Michael automatically led the water to the rough spots on his skin and quickly healed the damage. "Doctor has a strange sence of humor."
Smollett turned and walked out of the room, Michael following him. "That he does. Livesey has way too much stress in his life, humor serves as a resting place for his heart."
"How far are we from the North?" Michael asked, ignoring the admiring glances of passing sailors.
Smollett smiled in a way that just didn't look right on his face. "Just an hour away." Michael looked around for his clothes, but the Captain beat him to it. "Your bag is right where you left it, along with the rest of your things. At least the ones that weren't destroyed. Get dressed and go up on deck, you don't want to miss the view from the ship."
With that, Smollett left Michael alone with his thoughts. Michael went into his cabin and began to dress. A knife hidden in each shoe, another hidden on the back, two under the armpits and one on the right wrist. Blue pants, a black jacket and a black cloak that only miraculously survived the storm. 'Or because it was given to me by Death herself.'
Michael didn't know what exactly awaited him in the North, but he hoped that at least for now the canon would remain mostly the same.
"... I just jinxed myself, didn't I?"
Michael stared at the city with empty eyes. He occasionally looked down at his own clothes and blinked his eyes to keep the tears from coming out of the corners of his eyes. Khan, who was standing next to him, looked at his friend in confusion, not understanding what exactly was happening to him.
"Umm… Dude? Is everything all right?" He finally asked hesitantly.
Michael was silent for a couple of minutes, just watching the ship approach the huge ice gates leading into the city. "I just realized that my life is probably a shitty story written by an idiot. My parents died when I was seven and the world turned against me, literally. Fast forward three years, and one of the nearby gang's superiors picked me up and raised me as his own son, even teaching me everything he knew."
Khan looked like he had the better places to be, but decided to listen to what Michael had to say.
"Then, at thirteen, I rank as one of the best thieves in the gang, at fifteen, I start my training as an interrogator. At seventeen, some shit happens to me and I lose most of my memories and end up in the Air Nomads temple. Then the Avatar picks me up on a fucking flying Bizon and helps me down the mountain."
"What? The Avatar is actually alive?!"
Michael turned to look at Haan and nodded furiously. "Yes! Now you get what I mean? Some strange shit happens to me all the time, sometimes even inexplicable!" Michael got so far into his rant, that he haven't noticed when he swithed to Russian. "For example, I sneaked past the security of the traveling circus and met a girl from the troupe. But instead of hitting me in the balls and calling security, I went on a date with her! Even for empty-headed people, this is too strange! Who in their right mind would go drinking with a dude who most likely came to steal shit?! It all feels like someone is manipulating the events around me."
While Khan was trying to understand at least something from the words of his friend, somewhere in heaven, one Nameless Goddess sneezed. "Someone's talking behind my back…?"
Michael, meanwhile, continued to grumble and curse. "And did you see what I'm wearing?! Holy crap, I look more like a girl with eighth grade syndrome's wet dream, than a man!"
Khan grabbed Michael by the shoulders and headbutted him in the nose, shutting him up. Michael looked at Khan in shock, not even trying to stop the trickle of blood that was running down his face.
"Better?" Khan asked.
Michael blinked a couple of times and set back his broken nose with a crunch. The blood on his face abruptly dried up and fell off, turning to dust in the wind, both Waterbenders stared at the disappearing blood with shock in their eyes.
"Huh. I thought I couldn't do that." Michael shook Han's hands off his shoulders and nodded. "But yeah, I'm better. Do it again and I'll switch your arms with your legs."
Khan laughed, but fell silent when he noticed the seriousness in Michael's eyes. "This is a joke, right?"
The ship touched the dock and a couple of sailors lowered the bar, on which workers immediately began to climb to help unload the provisions. Michael turned around and went to the ship's hold to help. "Michael? Please tell me it was a joke!"
The Nameless Goddess frowned and looked at the crystal ball in her hands, where the picture of Michael's face showed. "Ah… He already noticed my interfearence. Could be better, but I can still work with that."
She got up from her seat and stretched. After the Goddess was fired from the Divine Office, she had too much free time. Losing a name seemed like a small price to pay for such freedom. But when the Big Guy gave her a new task – to monitor the soul that is looking for its own universe – she decided to… help her new ward a little.
A mental push here, an acceleration of time there, and things are already going a little differently! Oh, how happy she was when Ty Lee dragged Michael to see the city! She even helped the Russian to get so drunk that he didn't remember what happened last night! It was the perfect chance, and she missed it.
The Nameless Goddess knew Michael's attraction to Ty Lee, so she wanted to bring them together. That he was interested in Toph was not a problem, she had enough ideas to get the three of them together.
One such idea was to destroy the Fire Nation armory so that Ty Lee would be accused of aiding Michael and kicked out of the circus, but the plan failed. Azo said that the innocent Ty Lee was with her all this time, and gave her an alibi! The cheeky girl has delayed the sailing of her ship by several months!
Sighing heavily, the Nameless Goddess looked at the time stream of the world where Michael was. She saw many lines leading to his death, and even more lines where he lost his right arm, for some reason. There were only a few paths that led him to the Word Gate, and she was sure she could guide him on the right path.
"Hmm… The seige of the North…" Blood gushed on the screen before her eyes and her frown deepened. "I need to avoid that."
After all, Michael wanted to leave worlds much better than he found them, no?
The North Pole was not at all what Michael imagined it to be. In the canon, this place was shown as one of the few forts that could survive the onslaught of the Fire Nation army. People in places like this would be hardened like soldiers from Briggs, where the survival of the people isn't a rule, it's a way to live. Even the uncanny resemblence between the two places should've turned every inhabitant of the North Pole into a warrior ready to tear the throats of enemies.
Instead, Michael entered one of the most peaceful and lively cities in all of the Elemental Nations.
'People in Ba Sing Se have been jailed and brainwashed for just mentioning the war, and thus maintaining the illusion of utopia. Here everyone prefers to count on the Fire Nation to give up and leave them alone? I don't even remember what the reason was in the show, but it's just absurd.' Michael thought as he looked at the sleeping guards.
"Oh well, not my problem." He turned and followed Smollett, who was leading him to the merchants' hotel-thingy – he wasn't listening, so he missed how the place was called. According to the Captan, it was one of the tolerable establishments where no one sang their Nation's anthems at night, so Michael decided to stay there until the Gaang arrived.
After a short conversation with the owner, Michael got himself a lodging for the night and decided not to leave the room for several days just to rest. Loki knew he needed rest.
Smollett and his crew took food to the poor, and decided to sail again in a week, knowing that the North would soon need more food. At least they could sail knowing that Brer'yuth would lick his wounds for a long time to come.
Michael spent his first three days in the North sitting in his room and thinking about his choice of clothes. Aside from his black coat – which was completely unsuitable for the current era – he only had clothes that would look good on the Young Master of the Peng Family. He didn't like it, but unfortunately Michael had no choice, if he wants to blend in with his surroundings, he will either have to endure or steal more clothes.
"Should I spit on the canon and just start looking for the World Gates?" Michael muttered. "I certainly want the story to end better this time and Aang not die at forty, but is it worth it?"
For a long time, Michael just stared at the ceiling and thought about the future, waiting for Gaang to arrive so he could finally continue traveling.
'I can kill Ozai and throw the consequences on Aang. Or I can have a bloodbath during the eclipse, but that would take too long. Сука, how complicated.' Michael pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes. 'I'll sleep on it. All this will be a problem for tomorrow's me.'
Momo's ear twitched and he turned towards the new sound. The lemur jumped onto Katara's shoulder and tilted his head to look at the glaciers in the sea. "Momo? Buddy, what's wrong?"
Momo raised his finger and pointed somewhere far away, but what he pointed to was hidden behind the clouds. Katara crawled over to Aang and patted him on the shoulder. "Get down a little, Momo wants to show us something."
"Sure thing!" Aang led Appa down with a smile and the three Gaang members gasped when they saw what Momo was pointing at. "We've arrived! The North Pole, at last!"
As Katara and Aang rejoiced that their journey for the time being was over, Sokka gazed up at the city walls. Something deep in his gut told him that this wall would not last long.
"Why do I feel so uncomfortable?" He shuddered, remembering the words of a fortune teller they met in a village near a volcano.
~Ho… Your destiny is to be a support for your friends, but this path is full of blood. Such a great life, for such a naive boy. Well… the world has special ways to eradicate your innocence.~
Sokka, despite his stupidity, didn't consider himself naive. He knew how cruel the world could be, and the fact that the world could be even worse… the thought scared him.
"Wow! I didn't know the North Pole had such ships! The thing's huge!"
Hearing Aang's words, he smiled. Even if his life would be filled with blood, he was ready to live it for the sake of his family and friends.
"That's what she said!" He added, only to get slapped by Katara. "Worth it!"
