Hiding in the Shadows of Madness (Heejin)

Based on "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and LOONA

Story and Characters by Loo Loo and SMZ

Written by Loo Loo

All of her life, Heejin had been hiding, her face half covered in shadow.

She was the Avatar. The one and only. She was destined to master all four elements, traveling the world and bringing peace wherever she went.

Day by day, the leaves of infancy fell from her tree of life. Childhood cherry blossoms bloomed in solitude.

Heejin would look out to the sea and smile at the sight, letting the sun's rays wash over her face. She would watch the tide pushing in and out from her bedroom window. "I wonder what makes it do that? I wonder what happens when you get to the horizon?"

She would look up at the sky and wonder what else there was out there. How would it feel to fly like... The monotonous streets of the Fire Nation capital couldn't be all there was to the world.

She wondered what other types of people there could be out there. What kinds of friends could she meet? What kinds of problems were people facing that she could help them with?

Every question was met with her parents' dismissal. 

"You think too much about those things, dear. It's best if you just focus on your schoolwork."

"But I'm the Avatar," she would say. "Aren't I supposed to think about those things?"

"The world is already at peace. You have nothing to worry about. Think of all of your friends you would be leaving if you left... all of your family..."

As more seasons passed, those same eyes that once looked up at the sky with wonder slowly fell... now reading words on books and making sure her tears didn't fall onto the pages. She was homeschooled by her mother.

Heejin was incredibly lonely.

The only kids her age that she knew were her cousins, but they couldn't visit every day. Whenever she would ask her parents why she didn't have any brothers or sisters, they would just say that she was enough for them.

Heejin didn't have any friends... until she turned ten.

On this day, her parents decided to hold a birthday party for her on the beach and invited some eager neighbors so she could get to know their kids.

She was so excited to finally get a chance to make some friends, but when the moment came... Heejin found it difficult to interact with anyone. She had no idea how to connect with the other kids. The whole day passed her by without her first friend. She sat by herself at a table eating cake as the wind blew.

This was when she met a curious girl who she had never seen before. The girl sat across the table from her and just stared with a slight smile, waiting until Heejin swallowed her piece.  

"Can I have some?"

Heejin looked around, unsure of who she was. "You don't look familiar. Did my parents invite you?"

She shook her head. "I just want cake. Can I have some?"

"Umm..." Heejin looked around again. Her parents were busy talking to some of their friends. "Okay! But eat it fast."

Heejin slid her the only remaining piece of cake left and watched her take every last bite. After she was done, the girl politely stood up and bowed. "Thank you so much. Please thank the baker for me."

Then, she just started walking away. Heejin watched for a bit, before racing over and stopping her. "Wait!"

"Hm?"

"Umm..." Heejin pulled on her hair and kicked her feet in the sand, unsure of what to say next. "I'm Heejin. What's your name?"

"Hyunjin. Nice to meet you."

"Oh... yeah! Nice to meet you." Heejin giggled. Every other time she had tried to interact with someone, she had introduced herself as the Avatar. Since that didn't work, she decided to leave that part out.

"How old are you?" Hyunjin asked.

"I'm ten."

"Oh, I'm almost ten too!"

"That's... good, so..." Heejin felt the words fall from her lips. The awkwardness was setting in but she didn't know when she would get another chance like this... so she just came out with it.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

Hyunjin looked like she was caught off guard by the suddenness of the question, but she smiled and nodded.

Heejin also smiled widely, jumping up and down on the sand. She never expected Hyunjin to respond like that. "Yay!"

After that, they spent some time sitting in the sand, building a sand palace. Hyunjin told her about her sisters and what it was like to go to a school, Heejin told her about how much she wanted to go to school with her and the other kids.

"You should visit my house sometime," Hyunjin said. "I'll introduce you to my sisters and my dad."

"And your mother too right?"

Hyunjin kept her face down, looking at the palace for a while. "Hey, there's something weird in here. Come look."

Heejin crawled over to the other side where Hyunjin was and leaned in closer to the palace, squinting at where she was pointing. "What is it, I don't—"

Heejin's face was driven into the side of the palace, crumbling it all down. She looked up at Hyunjin, her hair full of grains of sand. "Why did you..." As she saw Hyunjin form smile, Heejin took a handful of sand from the crumbled palace and threw it in her face.

Hyunjin was barely fazed and grabbed a handful of her own, laughing as she tried to nail Heejin with it. They spent the rest of their time together that day running, laughing, and throwing sand at each other.

Heejin's parents were concerned about the new friend Heejin said she had made, but allowed Hyunjin to come over to their house a few times a week. Heejin would finish her work early and look outside her window on these days, bouncing up and down on her tippy-toes until she saw Hyunjin.

After almost a year of persuasion from Heejin, Hyunjin and even Hyunjin's dad, her parents finally allowed her to go to school. They made Hyunjin promise to always sit by her and keep a good eye on her.

It was difficult for Heejin to adjust to her new environment, but Hyunjin was always there to help her along the way. She received a lot of attention for who she was at first, but eventually the other kids got used to it and just treated her as Heejin, the kind of awkward girl.

Heejin's parents had always punished her for bending the other elements, but as she grew older, they grew more lenient. Eventually, at her request, they introduced her to a couple of masters who she trained under a couple of times a week. She practiced waterbending and earthbending... but airbending was strictly off limits. Still, she found ways to do it when she was away from home and no one was around to see.

Heejin never really knew why that was. No matter how much she learned throughout the years, the relations between airbenders and the Fire Nation were always a mystery to her...

They ran out of the Fire Coliseum. Hyunjin had a firm grasp on Heejin's hand as they scurried past some curious civilians and into a dark alley. They sat and hid with their backs against the wall of a home, their loud breaths slowly calming.

The cheering of the crowd became a roar. Someone had been burned.

She looked to Hyunjin... her expressions were always so controlled. Even when her words were armed with anger, her face remained the same. But as the roar of the crowd soared through the city and bounced off the walls of the alley... Heejin saw a crack in her armor.

There was a hint of worry in Hyunjin's eyes, but she turned away from Heejin and stared at Yerim, who in turn was caressing Hyejoo's head in her arms. Chaewon met Heejin's anxious eyes with her own.

Heejin had heard the rumor before. But even if it was true, she never thought Chaewon would ever reveal it to anyone, let alone a coliseum full of people. She would never be able to go to school or live a normal life ever again...

After a little while, Yerim spoke up. “Okay, I don’t think it would be a good idea to go home right now. We need to think of getting somewhere safe. Do you guys know anyone that lives around here?”

It didn’t take Heejin too long to think of someone. “My friend Ryujin lives pretty close.”

It was decided that traveling as a group would be far too dangerous and one person was picked to go to Ryujin’s home to get her help. Heejin and Hyunjin were the only ones that knew exactly where she lived, but Hyunjin insisted on her going alone. Heejin didn’t put up much of an argument.

As more time passed, the streets became filled with people again. Heejin couldn’t help but overhear many of the conversations taking place. They were filled with venom for airbenders, even for earthbenders and waterbenders. There were talks of, “taking the country back to what it was before,” and, “the foreigners are ruining the Fire Nation.”

All they could do was sit there and listen to it, waiting for Hyunjin to show back up. Heejin couldn’t keep her eyes off of Hyejoo and Chaewon. She had known both of them for a little while, but not as much as she would’ve liked to. Hyejoo struck her as very similar to her sister Hyunjin, though not as quirky and a bit more emotional. She was unafraid of letting Chae cling to her and showing she cared about her. Hyunjin, on the other hand, was also protective of Heejin but it was much more of… a sister relationship. There was a completely different vibe around Hyejoo and Chae.

Hyejoo had Chae’s ears covered so she wouldn’t hear all of the things they were saying about her and her people.

Heejin knew Yerim a little better just because of how outgoing she was. Her parents wouldn’t let her out too much, but anytime she would go over to their home, Yerim would be there to greet her with a big smile. Their dad was always respectful towards her since she was the Avatar, yet he didn’t shy away from giving her a stern talking-to.

“Your parents have been treating you with kid gloves, Heejin. Regular people should always listen and do what their parents say… but you are not a regular person. You are the AVATAR and I’m afraid you don’t really know what that means. We all have a role to play in the world, and it is our responsibility to strive and work as hard as we can to be who we are meant to be. That’s why I’m so tough on my daughters. Us regular people only get one life and we shouldn’t waste any second of it.”

A familiar voice snapped her out of her daydream. She looked over and saw Hyunjin rushing over wearing a hood. Ryujin was with her, as well as another girl, a brown haired girl she was a little familiar with. Her name was Chaeryeong and she was an earthbender.

"Okay we're here." Hyunjin picked Heejin up by her arm pits as everyone else stood up.

Chaeryeong stomped on the ground, opening up a hole. "Get in everyone."

They didn’t waste any time and one by one, they jumped down into the hole. Before they ran off, Heejin gave Chaeryeong a big hug and thanked her for what she was doing. She also hugged Ryujin and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You are a lifesaver!"

Ryujin wiped it off. "Please don't do that ever again."

With Chaeryeong leading the way, they moved quietly through the underground tunnel that she was digging. Ryujin and Yerim were both carrying lit torches that casted shadows onto the narrow walls around them. Chaeryeong had long ago closed up the hole she had made in the alley.

Heejin stared at Yerim's orange fire... In the coliseum she had unleashed purple fire, a color she had heard only dragons could create. "Yerim..."

"Hm?" Yerim looked back. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you something. How... did you bend purple fire?"

Yerim turned back forward, all of the attention was on her. "The truth is I don't really know. It just kind of... happens whenever I get really angry— which isn't that much."

She looked back again for a second, this time eyeing her sisters; Hyunjin walked with Heejin, and Hyejoo was in the back with Chae and Ryujin behind them.

Yerim took a deep breath. "The first time I remember it happening was when we were little kids. Our father would push us so much to be better and I got really... upset. After my father saw that, he made me promise not to let anyone know about it. He knew I would get so much undeserved attention and privilege if anyone ever found out about it. He was afraid of how people would treat me... He wanted me— he wanted all of us to earn what we got. So I swore to him that I would never get angry. I would never fight if I didn't need to."

Ryujin spoke up from the back. "I thought dragons were the only ones who could do that."

Yerim audibly smiled. "My mother said I was born on a night when two dragons danced. They were the original firebenders... And no one ever sees them anymore because people know they have the power to burn down a whole city. That's why I firebend like I do. It's a dance for me, not something that should be used for brute strength. I never want to hurt anyone ever again, but I will if they are threatening my family."

"Hyunsuk is a monster," Chae added, "My parents told me all about how much he hates airbenders. It's because of people like him that we can't live in peace. They said that in the past, airbenders used to be able to show who they are in the Fire Nation. I hope Hyejoo's dad made him regret everything he's done."

Heejin looked at Hyunjin again. She was looking straight ahead, face unmoved... as if she wasn't even paying attention to what they were talking about.

"What were you thinking when you did that?" Hyejoo sounded like she had been holding this in.

"What do you mean?" Chae asked, "I was thinking you were gonna get your face burned."

"So what?"

"What do you mean so what? I was worried about you."

"I don't care if you were. That was stupid. Do you know how hard life is going to be for you now? Next time I want to get my face burned off for you, just let me okay? I deserved it anyway."

Chae stopped. Then everyone else stopped.

"That's not true." Chae furiously shook her head. "You didn't deserve that. It was harsh what you did... But those girls had it coming. They were terrible, entitled and... They were putting my life and— and my family's lives in danger.  You know that's the truth so don't you ever say that you deserved that again. I don't wanna hear it. You're a good person."

With eyes full of tears, Hyejoo looked down at the ground and said, "I'm not."

Eventually, they arrived at the other end of the tunnel. It turned out that other end led to Ryujin's basement and they spent no time making their way out. Ryujin led them out of the darkness and up some creaky wooden steps to her living room. Sitting on the lone red couch was a girl with her hair tied up into two pigtails. Her name was Yeji.

Everyone except Hyejoo bowed to Yeji and greeted her politely.

The red curtains were shut, shrouding the room in an ominous orange muted light. The place was modest enough. Ryujin did well for herself and her mother, all things considered.

"You guys can sit down," Ryujin made her way towards the kitchen. "Yeji, Chaeryeong. Come help me with the food. Hyejoo looks like she needs to sleep for a bit. Chae...won right? You can take her upstairs. There's a couple of beds in my room on the right.

Hyejoo really did look like she needed to rest. Her eyes were droopy and she had been complaining about her head hurting. It seemed like she had suffered some type of concussion from how hard Lalisa had stomped her head into the ground.

With their arms linked, Chae led Hyejoo upstairs. The rest sat down on couch, listening to the commotion that was going on outside.

Once again, Heejin noticed Hyunjin's blank stare looking at the curtains. It seemed like she had nothing on her mind... and at the same time, everything.

Heejin took her hand. "Everything's going to be fine. Your dad is the strongest person I know."

Hyunjin just looked at her and nodded. "Mhm."

After eating, all of the girls went up to Ryujin’s room and brought a bunch of blankets down to the basement. They used one of them to cover up the tunnel and agreed that if anyone suspicious came knocking, they would all jump back in and hide as long as they needed to. They could all try to go back home if they wanted to, but it wasn’t about them. It was about Chae and protecting her from whoever wanted to harm her. She had just interfered in an Agni Kai in front of a large group of people. They had even more of an excuse to make an example of her now.

Chae, Hyejoo and Yerim made a pile of blankets and lay down together. Heejin and Hyunjin shared another pile. Heejin didn't get any sleep and she was sure Hyunjin didn't either. She just had her eyes shut, pretending. Hiding.

Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yeji all went out to get a feel for the situation. Heejiin told Ryujin about her cousin and asked her to get him to come over. After waiting in the dim basement for what felt like forever, they finally came back.

Heejin’s cousin was the first to walk down to greet her. Heejin ran over and wrapped her arms around him. “Jungkook! You don’t know how relieved I am to see you.”

Even in the darkness, she could still make out his slightly messy hair, parted to both sides. His face was both fierce and comforting. “Are you guys okay? I tried to find you when you ran away but you just kind of… disappeared.”

“You were there?” Heejin asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jungkook scratched the back of his head and chuckled. “Uhhh… Your parents don’t really let you out much so I didn’t think you’d be there?”

Heejin almost gasped. “What about my parents? Have you seen them?”

Jungkook shook his head. “I’ve been out looking for you but gave up after a while. Your friends came by a little after I went back home.” He looked at Yerim and pointed at her with a smile. “You’re the purple fire girl! Yerim right?” Then he pointed at Chae. “And you’re the airbender Chaewon! You’re both really brave for what you did.”

They both bowed and gave him a warm greeting.

Jungkook’s expression turned dark. “Everyone’s been looking for you, Chae. Not just you, but any airbender they can find. It’s getting out of hand.”

Ryujin stepped in to add something. “They’re saying airbenders need to go back to where they belong, that they don’t respect our culture… and anyone who helps them is a traitor.”

Hyejoo was still lying down in her little corner with her arms spread out. “So I guess that makes everyone in this room.”

There was a moment of silence.

“General Hyunsuk is the one who’s been getting everyone riled up,” Jungkook said. “He—” He put a fist over his mouth, as if immediately regretting even starting the sentence. “Um…” Then, he leaned into Heejin’s ear and whispered something.

Heejin jumped back and looked at him with wide eyes. She couldn’t believe what he had just told her. “Why would you tell me that?”

Jungkook shrugged and whispered to her again. “You’re their friend. You should tell them.”

Heejin looked at Hyunjin and her sisters, then whispered to Ryujin. “Please tell me this isn’t true. I can’t…”

Ryujin’s face was all she needed to see to know that it was. Heejin shook her head and whispered back to Jungkook. “Tell them for me please. I don’t want to… I can’t.”

“Heejin, I love you, but you’re the Avatar. You can’t hide from these things forever. They’re going to find out eventually, don’t you think it would be better if they heard it from you?”

Heejin just kept shaking her head. Her eyes were tearing up as she looked back at her friends. “I…” It sounded like her voice was going to collapse. She could see in each of their faces that they already knew. She didn’t want to be the one that broke them, but at the same time… Jungkook had a point. She couldn’t hide forever. There were going to be dilemmas much bigger than this in her future. She had to stand up and face the sooner or later.

Heejin flipped her hair back and took a deep breath. “Uh… Oh, I don’t know how to say this…” She covered and couldn’t fight back the tears. Then, she felt Ryujin’s hand on her shoulder.

“Your dad died," Ryujin said.

Heejin was in shock at how nonchalantly she had said that.

Yerim’s hands shook. Her eyes shifted around the room. Then she went over to Hyejoo and buried her sobs into her embrace.

Hyejoo’s eyes were frozen. There weren’t even any tears, it was as if she was just in complete shock. Heejin couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind. Chae joined them and began whispering something into Hyejoo’s ear.

Hyunjin didn’t do any of that. Instead, she walked up to Ryujin and asked, “Why are you lying?”

Ryujin raised an eyebrow. “Why would I lie about something like this?”

Heejin stepped in between them. “Ryujin, let me talk to her.” Then she looked at Jungkook, Chaeryeong, and Yeji. “You guys too. Can you give us a moment?”

They all nodded and walked back upstairs. Yerim’s sobs filled the room, each one cutting deep into Heejin’s heart.

“They weren’t there.” Hyunjin’s eyes were burning.

“Hyunjin…” Heejin had no idea what to say. “I know… this is hard to believe, but it’s true. Jungkook would never lie to me.”

Hyunjin just shook her head. “They don’t know anything and neither do you.” She stuck her finger into Heejin’s shoulder. “So stop saying things you don’t know.”

“Hyunjin, you’re scaring me.”

“And you’re scaring my sisters, so take back what you said right now.”

Heejin had never seen her act like this. It wasn’t just a matter of protecting anyone, she was clearly hurting and doing everything she could to hide her pain. They had lost their mother when Hyunjin was very young and now… Heejin took Hyunjin’s finger off of her shoulder and hugged her. “It’s okay to cry. I’m here for you.”

“Stop.” Hyunjin tried to wiggle free but Heejin hung on tight. “Heejin, I said…” Her voice shook and she sounded like she was about to give in… Then, Heejin gasped as Hyunjin pushed her away. She flew back, crashing against the wall. Her head snapped back and hit as well as her back. She fell and sat on the cold ground as she watched Hyunjin stomp her way upstairs.

“Hyu…” Heejin reached out at her for a moment, before realizing she wasn’t coming back. She just sat there in the shadows, her messy hair covering the tears in her eyes. One by one, they fell down her cheeks and hit the floor.

They spent several days hiding in the basement. Hyunjin made Yerim trade places with her and hadn't spoken with Heejin besides the words, "pass the bread." Heejin attempted to apologize multiple times but she never got a response.

Jungkook visited every day, bringing them food, and letting them know what was going on outside. Heejin had asked him to tell her parents that she was fine, but she didn't want them to know where they were. If they did, they would almost surely rat them out to the authorities for their own good. They were putting up posters on every street corner, telling people to turn in any airbenders they see. Any person caught hiding an airbender would also be punished.

Hyejoo and Yerim's faces were being used on the posters as the, "Twin Traitors," and there was a special reward for anyone who turned them in. At first it was just a vigilantes going out and hunting down airbenders, but now.. The queen had put her seal of approval on it and gotten the military involved. They were systematically going door to door looking for them.

Jungkook also told Heejin what they were saying about her. Queen Zohyun was offering her a deal: If she came out of hiding and publicly said that airbenders should not live in the Fire Nation, they would pardon them allow Chae to leave in peace.

Heejin could never accept this. Even though she had barely left her home her entire life, she still knew the power her words held. It was still her responsibility to do what was best the whole world. Giving her blessing to all of this did not sit well with her. people would be forced out of their homes, lives would be ruined. All for what?

But as much as Heejin wanted to go and tell her off, she remained sitting in that basement. No matter how much Jungkook, Yerim, and Ryujin tried to get her to go out and say something, she just couldn't. Everything had come at her so fast. She had never had to make a tough decision in her life... and now she was supposed to help decide the fate of an entire group of people?

She was petrified.

That all changed one day, when there was a knock on Ryujin's door. She was out at work. Everyone followed the plan. They put out the torches and jumped down into the tunnel, pulling the blanket back over it to cover it up.

They heard the door open... then, a pair of steps walked around upstairs. The steps slowly came down to the basement. As they walked around, Heejin got ready to do her part. They walked closer to the blanket... then they fell in.

Yerim and Heejin lit their torches. It was a Fire Nation soldier and he was scared to death.

Wasting no time, Hyunjin tossed his flimsy helmet aside and wailed on his face. Even after he was long knocked out, she didn't stop punching. Heejin put her hand over Hyunjin's shoulders to stop her, but thought back to the day she shoved her against the wall and left her alone.

They ended up tying his hands and feet together, then wrapping his mouth shut with a random blouse Ryujin had in her room. It was then that Heejin got the courage to show herself. How many times would they need to do this? How many people were going to get hurt because of her cowardice?  She couldn't hide from life forever, she couldn't wait any longer.

In case things went south, she decided to take Jungkook, Hyunjin, and Yerim with her. Ryujin insisted on going as well, but everyone agreed that it was too dangerous to risk upsetting Jungeun. So, she begrudgingly agreed to stay with Chae and Hyejoo.

Before they left, Heejin wanted to make sure she and Hyunjin were on good terms. So, she asked her to come up to Ryujin's room so they could speak in private. It took a little while, but she eventually met her there. Hyunjin shut the door behind her and sat down on the opposite side of the bed with her back turned to Heejin.

Heejin put her hand on Hyunjin's shoulder. "I wanted to make sure you were... okay with going."

"Of course. I'm not gonna let you go without me."

"You know Hyunsuk will probably be there..."

"I know."

Heejin bit her lip, her hand still on hyunjin's shoulder, hoping she would turn around and look at her again. "Are you going to be okay? I don't want you to do anything stupid."

"Like what?"

"Like... attacking him or making him angry or—"

"Why would I do that?"

"..." Heejin wasn't sure how to respond without making her upset again. How could she get her to drop this act? It was not good for her to hold all of this pain inside. In all of their years together, Hyunjin had never touched the topic of her mother. Now, she was refusing to deal with this. She had to get her to open up somehow...

Heejin held her hand. "Remember the day we met? You came up to me because you wanted some cake and we made a sand palace together?"

Hyunjin looked down at their interlocked hands and nodded, her eyes still avoiding Heejin's.

"And then you smashed my face into it?"

They couldn't help but laugh at the memory. It was as if they were still those little girls sitting on the beach all those years ago.

Heejin hung on tight to Hyunjin's hand as she finally finished the question. "Why did you do that?"

Hyunjin turned away from her again. Heejin already knew the answer, but she desperately wanted her to say it herself. 

Hyunjin took a deep breath... "I don't know. I'm just like that."

Heejin couldn't help but give her a smile full heartache. She had always been like that... Heejin scooted over to her and leaned her head on Hyunjin's shoulder. "I'm always here for you if you ever want to talk, okay? It's fine if you don't want to. I'm sorry for trying to force you to do it."

Hyunjin dipped her head lower, letting her hair hide her face. She sniffled and nodded as Heejin wrapped her arms around her.

They entered the dark throne room where the queen sat, fire burning behind her. There were three others sitting in front of her. The first was General Hyunsuk, the second was the king, Jungeun's father (who was named Jongsu), and the third was Jungeun herself.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Avatar!" The queen opened her arms, like an aunt welcoming her into her home. "And Hyunjin! Who are the other two?"

"I'm Jungkook Jeon, my lady."

"I'm Yerim Son."

They all bowed.

"Ah, yes..." Queen Zohyun tapped her lower lip before pointing at Yerim.

"You're the purple fire girl who caught Hyunsuk by surprise. I have to say, you really made an impression him. He hasn't stopped talking about you since it happened. He says you have the spirit of a dragon in you. You should be very proud."

Heejin looked at Yerim, who was visibly conflicted on how to take that compliment. Heejin could tell she was doing her best to hide her anger. 

Yerim bowed again. "Thank you, my lady."

The queen waved away that label. "Please, there's no need for formalities. Call me Zohyun... And I take it you came her to agree to my offer?"

Heejin stepped forward with slight hesitance. "I came here so you could explain yourself."

"Hm?" The queen's ears perked up.

"I want to hear you explain why you want me to say these things. I love airbending. The hatred I have seen for them all of my life has never made sense to me. I think we should be working together to fix the relationship between airbenders and the Fire Nation so we can continue living together."

Heejin noticed everyone's reaction. The queen looked like she was genuinely contemplating what she had said. General Hyunsuk was grinning, King Jongsu looked like he couldn't care less, and Jungeun looked like she didn't want to be there.

Heejin focused on her. "Jungeun, you know I'm right."

Jungeun looked unsure of herself, but then glanced at Zohyun. "I agree with my mother. This is best for everyone... the relations between the airbenders and the Fire Nation can't be saved anymore. It's best for them to go back to their temples where they belong and won't be harmed."

Heejin couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Hyunsuk was still grinning. Heejin had told Yerim and Hyunjin to not get angry, but even she couldn't contain her rage. She wanted to rip that smile off of his face. "Why are you smiling?! Hm? Who do you think you are to take someone's life and when their daughters are here you smile in their faces?!"

"Who am I?" Hyunsuk's smile vanished. "I see you haven't been communicating with your last lives, Avatar Heejin. You and I know each other very well."

Heejin felt Hyunjin and Jungkook's hands on her shoulders.

Hyunsuk continued, "Be honest with me Taeyeon... Do you really not recognize me?"

Heejin froze. The rage she had just shown had dissipated. "Who— Who's Taeyeon?"

Hyunsuk laughed. "Wow, I knew you were being babied but I never expected this. You don't even have a clue of who you are. Ask your friends, I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you."

Heejin looked at Hyunjin who stared back at her. "Who is she?"

"Heejin..." Hyunjin had devastation written all on her face. "Taeyeon was one of your past lives. She—"

Heejin slapped her hand away and stepped back. She was breathing rapidly. None of this seemed real... it all had to be a dream. Her sweet mother would wake up to go to school any time now. "What do you mean? Why didn't I know this? Why do you know?"

Zohyun spoke up. "You were just a little girl, no more than four years old when your parents brought you in and told us you were the Avatar. I expected them to be delighted to have the Avatar as a daughter, but they seemed mortified. They told me all about how they wanted you to know nothing about your past, how they wanted to protect you and make sure you had a normal life. They would raise you to be a good little citizen of the Fire Nation who would be on our side when she grew up. Of course, there was no way they could ever keep you from knowing about your identity and they humored you by letting you practice the other forms..."

Heejin couldn't speak, she could barely even form a coherent thought.

Zohyun continued. "Since the world has been at peace, we decided to go along with it. I remember one day, your mother came to me talking about how much you wanted to go to school and play with the other kids. So, we made sure every teacher you've had was been forbidden from ever telling you about your past. Your best friend? She couldn't be your best friend without first making a promise to your parents that she would do everything she could to be by your side and protect you from the truth."

Heejin looked at Hyunjin again, this time not even sure who she was. Jungkook hugged her from the side and spoke softly. "Everything's going to be fine. Just breathe."

Heejin pushed him away. "Who are you? Are you really my cousin or are you just pretending?"

"What? Heejin, you know me. Of course I'm your cousin."

"How do I know that? How do I know when everyone has been lying to me? You, Hyunjin, my parents... everyone. I..." Heejin looked around the room, unsure of what to do.

"We just wanted you to be safe," Hyunjin said.

"Safe? Safe from what? What are you protecting me from?"

At that moment, Hyunsuk stood up. "I think this little charade has gone on long enough. Avatar... two lives ago, you were known as Avatar Taeyeon. I knew you. I killed you."

All of the breath left Heejin's body. Hyunjin rushed over to her and held her up as she wept. Jungkook and Yerim also joined them. These weren't tears of sadness, they were full of anger. How much of her life had she wasted being coddled by everyone? How many people out there in the world could she have helped if she actually thought for herself and didn't do everything that she was told to do?

"Alright, that's enough," Hyunsuk said. "I think it's time you..."

The words trailed off, disappearing into a dark abyss that she fell down. The embraces of everyone around her vanished and she was left floating over a scene in mist. There were three people there. One of them was Hyunsuk, a much younger Hyunsuk. The other two were women standing in front of him.

One looked to be even younger than Hyunsuk. Her tall frame was clothed in blue and her face held an intense gaze.

Heejin felt a strong connection with the other, even though she had never seen her before. Even in her old age, her beauty was striking. She wore the orange outfit of the Air Nomads.

Just as their fight was about to begin, the Air Nomad turned to the skies, looking directly at Heejin. Her lips didn't move but Heejin heard her voice and saw the face of her youth. Was this Taeyeon?

"Find me..." 

She disappeared into mist.

At that moment, Heejin felt all of Taeyeon's emotions. Love, regret, happiness, and most of all... anger. All of it welled up inside of her, becoming an uncontrolled force as her eyes snapped open. Everything after that was a blur. All she felt was anger flowing through her body, all directed at this one man. He had killed Hyunjin's father, he had killed Taeyeon. He was the reason she had never known who she truly was. Why was she allowing him to breathe?

Heejin pushed her friends away with a powerful gust of wind and took the fire that was burning behind the queen. She used it to wrap herself in a tornado. She took the earth beneath her feet and launched a giant boulder directly at Hyunsuk, but he propelled himself out of harm's way with a boost of fire from his hands before hiding behind one of the many pillars. 

"Hyunsuk!" Heejin's voice was infused with the power of all of her past lives, Taeyeon had taken over. "There's no where to hide!" She bent a column of fire that wrapped around the pillar and sent Hyunsuk flying back. He quickly got up and dodged another attack before gathering his strength and shooting a giant ball of fire at her.

Without breaking a sweat, Heejin took the fire and spun it into her tornado of rage, making it twice as big. Hyunsuk turned tail headed for the exit.

"Heejin!" The voice was so distant, Heejin could barely hear it. She didn't know who it was and she didn't care.

As she saw Hyunsuk getting away, Heejin gathered a ball of air in front of her. She spun some fire from her tornado around it and launched it towards the entrance.

The pillars along the way crumbled. The entire entrance wall exploded and anything remaining was on fire. The sunlight came through and shined on Heejin's face once again.

Then, everything went dark. She fell back into the shadows.

A/N: I hope you are enjoying the story everyone!

We have been focused on the Fire Nation for three chapters straight and I know I promised a Haseul chapter, but the momentum of the story is too much to take our focus away from it right now.

So next week, we will have the first split POV chapter to deal with the aftermath of all of this. Then, I DOUBLE promise we will finally get a Haseul POV chapter XD.

You can expect new updates every Sunday from now on!