"Everything is fine, Gale, you are in good hands now," Unalaq said as his gaze remained fixed on the horizon.
"Yes, thank you, Lord Unalaq," Gale said respectfully.
As the massive ship of the Northern Water Tribe distanced itself from his Southern brother, Gale finally sighed; it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He could finally relax, if only for a short period.
After killing his father, he fell unconscious to the ground; the stress had taken over his body.
When he woke up, he was already in the tribe's infirmary, being tended to by the healers. It was the first time he had seen this bending healing technique of waterbenders, something his father never taught him and something he didn't inherit.
Later, when questioned by the tribe's counselors about why his parents were dead and he was the sole survivor, Gale cried pitifully in front of the counselors and nurses in the room. He cried, telling them how his father went mad and killed his entire family, and how he also tried to kill him, showing the marks of his father's hands on his neck. The counselors and everyone in the room felt a chill down their spine witnessing Kael's madness.
"Poor boy," an elderly counselor with a long white beard said.
"I knew that Kael was crazy, but not to the extent of killing the whole family," the younger female counselor said with a sad look.
"Despicable," other counselors continued to curse Kael.
"So, you killed him?" an expressionless-faced counselor named Amaruq asked.
"Amaruq, the boy just saw his family dead. How dare you ask that?" another counselor intervened after hearing the question.
"He's right," Gale said as he leaned on the infirmary bed.
"When my father was strangling me, he suddenly released his fingers and placed his hand on his heart. After that, he fell to the ground lifeless." Gale said, looking down.
"Heart attack? Possibly, he was in terrible shape in these last years," Amaruq added.
The other elders agreed; they all knew how Kael's health was. It was ironic that he died just when he was about to finish his business with his son.
"With whom will I stay now?" Gale said as he stood up to grab an apple near his bed.
Realizing how quickly the young man had risen from bed and accepted all of this, they felt a chill down their spine again.
"Hmm, according to your father's will after his death, Unalaq of the Northern Water Tribe will be responsible for you, financially and as a mentor as well," an elder said as he took out the paper from his tunic.
Taking the paper from the elder containing his father's will, Gale internally chuckled.
"You're not as useless as I thought; it seems you actually cared about me at some point."
And now he was here, with Unalaq, heading to the Northern Water Tribe.
"I destroyed your father's basement that contained information about our organization," Unalaq said, looking at the boy who had a solemn expression on his face.
"I understand; that's good. Our plan cannot be discovered. Vaatu will return to the world soon," Gale added, thinking that's what the man beside him would like to hear.
Hearing Gale's words, Unalaq subtly nodded.
"What did your father tell you about the plan?"
Gale pondered whether he should reveal his father's plans to dominate the world with Vaatu's power or if he should say what his father told him to say in case this day came.
"All according to your plans, Unalaq. The Dark Avatar must exist, and the spiritual world must be liberated," Gale said while his mind contemplated saying something more.
"Good," hearing the boy's words, Unalaq's shoulders relaxed. Relieved.
"One more thing, he wanted to betray you at the last moment," Gale said with a look of disgust on his face. "Despicable, my father was truly someone without honor."
"What? Betray me?" Unalaq said with an angry expression. "Explain more about this, Gale."
Seeing that Unalaq had fallen into his trap, Gale continued.
"He planned to become the new Avatar, merging with Vaatu, killing you," Gale said with disdain. "That's why I killed him."
Hearing all that information, Unalaq's calm face was now in shock.
"You killed him? I thought it was a heart attack," Unalaq said, disbelieving.
"When I found out he would sabotage the plan, I couldn't bear it," tears streamed down his face. "I couldn't believe he would betray us, Unalaq."
Holding Unalaq's shoulders, Gale continued.
"So I threatened him, threatened to tell you. But he threatened me, saying he would kill my entire family. I said he wouldn't have the courage... but he did. So I killed him." Tears continued to flow from his eyes.
"How did you kill him?" Unalaq asked, curiosity in his eyes.
"With this," Gale said as he stepped away from Unalaq.
Gale closed his eyes, trying to sense the blood of one of the soldiers on the ship.
When he finally felt it, something Unalaq would never expect happened.
A soldier emerged from the crew cabin, walking as if being controlled. His movements were as if he were learning to walk for the first time.
"Sir, what is happening?" The soldier said as he approached his boss when he stopped.
"I have bloodbending," Gale said, opening his eyes with a serene look.
His eyes met Unalaq's maniacal gaze, as if he were amazed.
"bloodbending, in the middle of the day without a full moon? , I knew you possessed something, Gale," Unalaq said as he used waterbending to form an ocean hand towards the ship.
Thinking that Unalaq had decided to kill him, Gale quickly tried to control him. But what happened changed everything.
The huge seawater hand reached the soldier, pulling him into the depths of the ocean.
"Sir," the soldier cried pitifully but was swallowed into the depths of the sea.
"He knew too much," Unalaq said as he turned again to the horizon.