ATLA, In A Darker World

Zuko's idea wasn't difficult to fathom. He was a banished prince entrusted with (thrown away with) a previously impossible task.

Not anymore, though. The Avatar was alive, and Zuko would make sure he was the one who successfully captured him.

He couldn't let those older bones like Commander Zhao get to his prize before him. But his goal was easier said than done.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Zhao was right about something.

"I have dozens of ships under my command. You? You're just a banished prince".

"If your father really wanted you, he would have let you come home by now. Avatar or no Avatar".

Zhao said that to him. It stung deeply, but he knew that he was right on both ends.

Capturing that blasted Airbender was the only way he could return home. But if he wanted to rely solely on what he had now, then the difficulty would be astronomical.

And no matter what world, money could always play an important role. There were some things he couldn't enjoy anymore as a banished prince. It would be better to achieve it with money.

Besides ..... What if?

Perhaps his father would look upon him more kindly if he successfully brought this rebel to Justice. It was a big if, but he would take it regardless.

After all, it didn't hurt to try.

The lonely, burdened back of the banished prince disappeared through the door that led to the ship's tower.

Iroh watched his nephew leave without any expression. Following which, he turned his gaze back to the staircase that led to the lower deck and stroked his beard in slight thought.

"Sir …". The standing soldier came to his side and stretched out his hand in a slight bow to receive the scroll.

"Well hold on a minute …". Iroh shook his head, pulling the scroll back. Following which, he began to read in detail. "... I'm not done yet".

.....

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The sound of footsteps against metal resounded inside. The interior of this ship was quite dark and narrow, with metal walled corridors and dimly lit red lamps.

'If I didn't know any better, I would have mistaken this place for a submarine'. The feel was the same as on TV. Especially the dim red lamps. Really completed it.

With an imperial fire bending in front and one behind, Luca couldn't help but get a slight déjà vu. Oh, right! This scene should be somewhat similar to the time when Aang was arrested by Zuko and was being taken to the cells.

Only at that time, Aang immediately implemented an escape plan using his Airbending.

Luca couldn't do that. Hence, there was no quick breakthrough to escape enemy hands.

Walking all the way, they moved past one cell door after another until they came to the very end.

The one in front took out the key, inserted it into the lock and opened the room. Just like the corridor they came through, the place was dark, with a dim red lamp serving as the only source of lighting.

"Inside". The Firebender uttered through his skull type scary mask.

Luca didn't argue and walked inside. Thankfully, this wasn't just an empty room. There was a small bed placed by the side of the floor.

As for things like a toilet for relief... That was to be determined.

Taking a look, he turned around the small room before facing the door he came in through.

Bang! The door was promptly closed right after.

Followed by the sound of keys securing the lock. Then footsteps moving away.

Luca listened carefully. There were no conflicting rhythms within the steps, not even a little bit. With one step following smoothly after the other, it meant only one of them had walked away.

The other was probably standing out front, guarding the door. Taking a look through the small airspace at the top of the door, that point was confirmed when what came into his sight was the back view of a Fire Nation helmet.

'Splendid. A bodyguard to make sure I didn't escape. Zuko wasn't bluffing on that part'.

Luca thought to himself while looking at his hands.

The cuffs were still there, binding his wrists together. Zuko also learned his lesson on that part. He remembered that Aang was tied with ropes when the scarred prince apprehended him.

They were gotten rid of effortlessly during his escape

Chuckling at the thought, he moved towards the bedside and sat down, not minding the shackles one bit.

After all, he wasn't going to be here long. It was easy to slip out of those. He was a bit tempted to take a long nap here and prepare to escape when he woke up.

Unfortunately, that wasn't ideal.

Luca sat down on the bed with his legs crossed. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes before reopening them a second later and uttered inwardly.

'Stat Panel'.

Like always, a status screen appeared in his line of sight, hovering a few inches away from him.

'Alright. It's time to finally come to a decision, isn't it?' He thought looking through it again to see if here were any changes. There weren't.

'What am I going to do ..... Once I get out of here ….'. It was a question he had no answer to. Ever since he was dropped here in this world two days ago and suddenly handed a death warrant, life had been something of a rollercoaster.

The events taking place weren't the standard novice village one would expect from the first day of transversing.

Of course, it could be worse. 'Perhaps this is the novice village'. Thinking of transversing to the time when he was still within Fire nation territory .... Now that was a hellish start.

Still, the thought didn't make his situation any better. After escaping this place, he would still be on the run from the Fire Nation.

Wandering aimlessly wasn't a solution.

His current goal was to escape past Omashu, but that city would be conquered in due time. By then, the pursuit would surely continue.

The longer this dragged on, the worse his situation would get.

The Fire Nation never tolerated rebels, always hunting them down with full force. There was no such thing as lying low till they eventually gave up.

This was why the Defection rate had dwindled significantly to the point of being almost non-existent over the years.

One would be forced to forever live life looking over their shoulders.

Now, it was just search parties and scouts. As time passed, he would be considered a thorn needing to be eradicated. Perhaps Ozai would take it to the next level, growing angry that he ran away without accomplishing the tasks.

By then, more advanced troops would follow.

If Ozai was determined enough to locate him, Luca didn't think there was anywhere in this world where he could hide.

Aside from the spirit world of course, but there was no way he was going there anytime soon.

Aerial scout ships would be able to pursue effortlessly. The earth Kingdom tracker, June with her Shirshu, Nyla would be able to trace his scent, no matter what part of the world he was on.

The Rough Rhino's could and probably would be sent over.

The Fire Nation's highest assassination experts, the unfailable Yuyan Archers with a perfect mission record ..... Perhaps even ..... Azula herself.

Luca shuddered imperceptibly at the thought. If any of the last three were sent to hunt him down, then he would truly be finished.

Ozai could definitely do this. After all, wasn't he sending him to kill his former commanding officer?

.

Rebels weren't tolerated.

'So now, I have two choices. One, running and hiding while developing my power until I have the ability to take on the entire Fire Nation myself and hoping I don't get caught and killed in the process.....'. This was what Aang and team Avatar did throughout the whole series. Running from one location to another, finding masters to teach Aang bending, improving their strength, making friends and allies, while prevailing over adversity again and again in a journey of self discovery.

From the Southern Water tribe to the fire nation colonies, to the Earth Kingdom to the Northern Water tribe, back to the earth kingdom, to the Fire Nation …. Aang mastered the other elements in the span of a year and gathered enough strength to finally fight against Ozai.

Throughout that time, they were chased by Zuko, Zhao, Fire Nation Army, Fire Nation Navy, Azula and the team, Combustion Man …. When watching the series, it looked cool.

Awe-inspiring even.

Wasn't it just running from your enemies? Wasn't that easy? Yeah ..... No.

Not in real life pal. As a transverser who had clearer knowledge and understanding of the world, Luca knew that the above script was simply designed for protagonists with escape cheats and plot armor to boot.

Transversers are protagonists as well? The notification informing him of his 'Trial' stated otherwise. He never forgot that the number one reason why Team Avatar could achieve all their wonderful close call escapes in the series was because they had the equivalent of a teleportation talisman in the cultivation world.

Appa!

That's right. That flying bison was by far Aang's most valuable ally. The lynchpin to the Avatar's success. Without him, Aang would never master all four elements..... Likely wouldn't even master three.

He would be captured by Zuko and brought back to the Fire Nation from the first episode. The glorious journey would probably end before it all began.

On the Avatar's journey to save the world, the flying bison's contribution was almost ninety percent.

He was even more valuable than the unreliable Avatar state at the beginning.

Don't agree? Well, that's how Luca saw it. The only reason Aang was able to live long enough to actually stand a chance was because Appa was the head of their running away department.

If Luca's evasion and escape was at 16, then Appa with his ability to fly, started at 30 with a conservative estimate.

Luca had no such advantage. (I explain this in such detail in case most readers feel unsatisfied about the choice. This won't be a smooth sailing, worry free novel without many risks so quit your protagonist mentality here and now. The MC will not have the ability to wipe out wave after wave of enemy forces chasing him during the early stage. He can barely get enough Chi to use density shifting for ten seconds as it is. With no bending, he is weak without his perks and his skills aren't enough to help him achieve what most will probably ask. The reality will be a grim and grisly death. So running away from the fire nation like Aang and the gang did for the entire series is unrealistic and full of too much plot armor to implement on a character without a flying bison. This just goes to show that even the basic action of running away to fight another day is difficult as hell)

'…. Or two … Complete Ozai's mission'.

Luca could see the brief flash of hatred in Ozai's eyes when he mentioned her. He probably understood why.

Fire General Onomu wasn't a part of the Avatar series. Not even a mere mention or a slight flashback. She never existed in the cartoons, but she did exist in the video game Avatar Generations.

Luca had played it before. Hence he remembered the storyline.

Onomu was once a high-ranking general in the Fire Army known for her power, pride, and arrogance.

Sometime after Ozai became Fire Lord, he held a war meeting to discuss how his ambitions to conquer Omashu could be made reality.

Onomu, convinced that this was nothing but a vanity project, voiced her opposition.

Overwhelmed by her ego, she exchanged Terse words with the fire Lord, believing that the other officers would back her up.

No one did. There and then, she knew that her criticism towards Ozai had effectively marked her for death and retreated as soon as possible, escaping from the capital.

The Fire Lord himself probably never expected her to react so fast, hence her successful escape. If that wasn't bad enough, not only did she defect, but she also left with several important Fire Nation War plans.

Yep. Her living was completely intolerable.

The game itself never went into detail on whether Onomu survived after escaping to the Earth kingdom, as apparently, Grand Secretariat Long Feng (Head of the Dai Li) who she had made a deal with to exchange the war plans for sanctuary in Ba Sing Se never actually intended to let her live.

He only had interest in the war plans and had decided to kill Onomu after obtaining them. It was a curtain fall from there and the rest was unknown.

But from Ozai's information, she was probably still alive. Last seen near the Si Wong Desert.

At the current stage, that was a no man's land the Fire Nation had no access to. Hence, why Ozai found him.

The notification also said that Ozai saw that he had some value so he gave him a chance. Although a nearly impossible one, it was still a chance.

This meant that he wouldn't go back on his word and try to silence him after the mission was completed.

As long as Luca successfully killed Onomu and brought her head back, then he could rid himself off the status of a rebel. Compared to spending a full year or more on the run, it was a much better option.

As for the second task. … Sorry, but Luca had no intention to kill Jeong Jeong. Not only because he was a master Firebender and a named character on the good side in the avatar series, but also because he was a member of the white lotus.

Killing him would be branding himself an enemy of Iroh, Bumi, Paku and his master Piandao.

Just for the fact that Piandao had helped to get the predecessor out of jail, he wouldn't carry out such an action even if he could.

Onomu on the other hand, who was an extra among extras gave much less psychological burden.

'…. Should I go down this path?'

Of course, nothing was set in stone. At the end of the day, Luca knew the number one principle of all Transversers. When there is little strength, your actions, although high profile at times, are always measured.

During the growth phase, cautiousness, over planning and hiding of trump cards were second nature.

Once the growth phase is over .... All other principles be damned.

Regardless of their character. Lustful, greedy, lazy, willful, murderous, they all had one thing in common. Arrogance hidden in their bones to the extreme.

As beings from a "higher dimension", they saw themselves as superior to anyone and everyone else. Add a cheat to that and boom…. The fourth natural disaster in any and every world.

Luca knew he was no exception.

This time spent being hunted ..... He would definitely repay it back tenfold.

Second principle ..... Repay enmity and gratitude tenfold.

It dawned on him then. 'No wonder my alignment is Lawful Evil'.

But that day hadn't come yet. Now wasn't the time to rush into the fire nation palace, blades akimbo but to take calculated, measured actions.

'The notification ….'. Among all this, Ozai wasn't even his greatest enemy. Luca hadn't forgotten that all his actions in this world, would ultimately add up for an evaluation after he was done.

Put accurately in the words of xianxia novels

…

In the grand scale of things, the fire nation was nothing but a little Karami.

The Trial evaluation was his ultimate foe. His actions would constitute his final score, and hence he needed to live long enough to make a good impact.

Hiding and waiting until he was strong enough to make a difference wouldn't really make much of an impact, would it?

"Strength. The number one priority has always strength….". He muttered to himself, his gaze focusing on the stat panel.

"To get stronger, I can only rely on my chosen perks .....".

Chi absorption, Density shifting, Chi manipulation.

Density shifting was the signature skill in his arsenal. But it was restricted due to Chi requirements. Now, Luca's regular Chi reserves stagnated at 223 points. It wasn't enough for three seconds.

As for Spirit Chi ..... This was a scarce resource. Luca had already made up his mind to refrain from using it unless there was no other way. It was the gateway to new abilities.

Thinking that his Spirit chi would only dwindle but never refill, he felt greatly distressed.

'There has to a way to naturally regenerate it'. He thought with a slightly pensive expression.

Information on the Avatar verse passed through his mind. From the ATLA to ATLOK, to the pitiful information he knew about the legend of Genji …. He tried hard to recall everything he knew about the spirit realm.

Luca sat that way as time elapsed. Eventually, he gave up. The spirit realm before Korra's time was basically a mystery. The Legend of Korra series did go in-depth in season 2, but Luca remembered nothing concerning Spirit chi and a detailed explanation of what was so special about it.

Well, until yesterday, he didn't even know that regular Chi and the chi produced by spirits had differences.

This was why all his previous speculations could only remain as such. Speculations.

For the first time, he found his plot knowledge insufficient.

Apart from going into the spirit realm to research by himself (which was suicide for the current him), there was no other place that had detailed information about that place in the four nations. Unless of course ...

At that moment, Luca's contemplating expression froze. Then his eyes lit up and widened to the extreme as his brain kicked into high gear.

Aside from the Avatar, no other human had more information the spirit realm.

But what if this informant wasn't a human?

A name emerged in his mind.

Wan Shi Tong.

The giant owl who owned a library at the middle of the Si Wong desert, the spirit of knowledge ... The last part wasn't verified, but Luca's enthusiasm didn't care.

All the answers he needed concerning Chi produced by spirits …. Perhaps even the avatar might be stumped.

Wan Shi Tong on the other hand ..... He might actually find what he was looking for.

If not for the fact that his hands were cuffed, Luca would have slapped them against his face, wondering why he didn't think of this sooner.

That Library was a treasure trove that could hold the answers to all his problems, and more. Forget about his Chi, he would go there regardless.

There were things he needed to learn that would be hard to find anywhere else. At that point, his Chi Manipulation perk which has been dormant, would finally serve its true purpose.

If before he was hesitating on what to do after, now it was basically decided.

'Si Wong desert, General Onomu, Wan Shi Tong ..... Here I come'.

....

The Navy cruiser sailed on the Mo Ce Sea along the Earth Kingdom Coast.

Down in the Prison Hold ...

The imperial Firebender stood at alert, guarding the cell of the only prisoner on the ship.

With the key in his possession, he stood facing the entrance to the Prison Hold and his back against the cell itself.

"Alright then ….". Luca no longer sat cross-legged. He twisted his neck to the side casing them to make cracking noises before moving towards the door and raising his cuffed hands.

A small, imperceptible smile crept its way up to his face without him noticing.

".... Let's get out of here ….".

'Density Shifting'. His density shifted instantly, and the cuffs fell off. The moment it did, Luca phased right through the locked metal door, appearing on the other side and stretching his arm out.

The Imperial Firebender didn't even react as the arm passed right through his chest, straight through his heart.

...

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