| By SuperFlash101 | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
| More from SuperFlash101 | Drama | PG-13 | None | None |
"Forgive Me, Lord..." is the fifth chapter of The New Politics Chronicles of the fanon series Avatar: Better World, and the tenth chapter overall. It is the first part of a two-part special, consisting of this chapter and its continuation, "...For I Have Sinned." It was written and edited by series creator SuperFlash101, and released May 29, 2010. In the chapter, Aang, Zuko, and the Earth King eavesdrop on a suspicious meeting being held in the Holy Temple by the Council of Five. The previous day, Lee and Slythrin ambush a Rebel weapons export on the Eastern Docks.
"Forgive Me, Lord..." was conceived to act as a display of Lee's regret and insecurity over the actions he and Slythrin had done over the course of previous chapters. The title had been developed during a spree of title conception SuperFlash had in 2009—he and several other users were impressed by the title and the transitional effect of it and it's predecessor. Though Flash originally intended to release it a week or two after the release of the previous chapter, "The Will of All Mankind", but his own procrastination and writer's crunch dampened on this and caused a habitual string of delays. Central themes explored in the chapter include regret, revenge, and political corruption.
Author's note[]
Welcome, one and all, to the first part of BW's first ever two-parter! Wow, that's a lot of numbers ¬_¬ Anywhoodles, read, enjoy, and review, because sampling your cheese platter of critique makes my day.
Content[]
Ba Sing Se Holy Temple, dawn
Lee sauntered down the carpet of the interior to the Holy Temple; his face was shadowed by a hood and he walked right by a group of monks. They were kneeling in front of statues of Great Spirits, surrounded by candles, and praying. They were in such deep concentration, and while illuminated by those candles, the whole area seemed incredibly eerie.
Lee enters the Temple.
He continued his thoughtful strut to the grand doors that led to the prayer room. The grand doors were laced with beautiful designs and engravings of the spirits. Lee's head hung in shame as he pushed open the doors gently and entered the sound proof room. He pulled off his hood. His face was covered in dirt and smeared with a light shade of red that lined his cheeks.
Lee got down on his knees before the grand statue of The Lord. He shut his eyes and sighed, and through the echo-less room preyed, "Now I-I know I have never been the one to prey, or beg, or ask anything of you, uh, o mighty Lord, but...but these things I've done...they're haunting me, like ghosts. They terrorize my dreams, and I haven't been able to sleep in weeks. And...and my persecutions yesterday were, well, just...terrible."
Yesterday, late morning
While Lee was the Sandbender's prisoner, it appeared that Slythrin had gone out and stolen a cart in much better condition than the previous one, which had been heavily torn up by their entrance to the Sand town. This new one was smooth, and the wooden planks were placed with preciseness and equivalency. The wheels were free of splinters, with a sharp hue and a perfect circular structure. And the ostrich horse that pulled it was young and strong, though its coloring was grotesque, at least compared to the clean hue of the cart itself. The old, weak ostrich horse had either died of exhaustion, or sold for meat. Knowing Slythrin, Lee thought, it was probably the last one.
And so presently the pair had departed from Si Wong and entered the Eastern Front, which was filled with lavish green forests, glistening lakes, and—more importantly—large docks. Said docks were so exhaustingly used, so exuberantly filled with bustling importers, exporters, and sailors, that they were horribly unmaintained, smelly, and rough. But this did not cease business and the Eastern Docks were generally known as the most bustling business center in the Earth Kingdom not based in an actual city. And it was these unmaintained, bustling, renowned, docks which Lee and Slythrin were heading towards at that moment.
Inside the new cart, which was laced with platypus bear skins and the pair's weaponry, Lee was undergoing a routine verbal exercise Slythrin had begun to orchestrate upon him (consisting of quizzing him on the speakers of famous philosophical phrases) for some reason of which he was unclear of. All he knew, as he was chugging down some ale they had "picked up" at an outpost 100 miles back, was that Slythrin was very serious about these daily recitings, and pissing off Slythrin would cause his ass to immediately be hugging his lungs. And he liked his ass exactly where it was.
"The words of the wind feed the very monsters of which we seek and kill," Slythrin recited.
"Uh...Meng," Lee said, taking another sip of his ale. "An Air preacher from the Southern Temple, I think."
"Bingo," Slythrin said coldly. "Now: Our apostles shall have retribution without arms, without words, without blood."
Slythrin quizzes Lee with philosophical quotations.
"Han, the Scribe of the South," Lee said passively. "Last scribe to come out of the Southern Water Tribe. You've given me like 8 of his already."
"He was a brilliant man," Slythrin began with his sly diction, "from a philosophical point of view, at least. He couldn't tell his ass from his elbow. He got killed trying to catch a fish during a snowstorm; fell through the ice, died upon impact. Poor bastard...Alright, that's enough for now."
"Great, because I'm all out of ale," Lee said tipping his bottle over his mouth to try and get at least another drop.
"I thought you were aiming for purity?" Slythrin commented.
"What does being sober have to do with purity? It's not like I'm impenitent for enjoying a good drink now and then."
"I can't be having you pass out during this mission, boy," Slythrin said sharply.
Lee was unsure how to rebuttal, but eventually mustered up what had been rather pestering him all morning. "Well I'm still unsure how this mission is actually supposed to be going down."
"You're like a log, boy: in one hole out the other," Slythrin shook his head. "And make one of your ridiculous perverted comments and you'll lose your balls. We're heading to the Eastern Docks. Some of the Fire Nation rebels are reportedly doing some trading with some Earth marketers. Just some crap, but namely weapons. They're arming themselves, and we cannot let that happen. Remember that, 'cause it's the last time I'll be telling you it."
"Yeah, I got it," Lee said, nodding and tossing the empty ale bottle aside. "I just hope these reports are right..."
"Nothing's ever right, Lee. Nothing at all."
The next day, at the Earth King's Palace...
Zuko, leaning upon a beautiful stone pillar, listened as the Earth King, standing this time in front of his massive podium, explained their agenda: "The next grand meeting will commence in a few days. We need to get further progress on the Council issue before that; it would be a rather glaring blemish on our part if we come to the meeting with nothing but infernal complaints about how much help we need with an issue within our own country."
"You're right, Your Highness," Zuko said. "Relying on other countries can only take us so far. We need to take a constructive course of action if we have any chance of getting to the core of the problem."
Aang, who was sitting on a wooden chair that was placed directly in front of the King, tossed in. "Any ideas?"
"Well, I was informed yesterday that the Council has been filing reports of visiting the Temple in the Middle Ring," the Earth King explained. "Specifics were never listed. Perhaps, and this is just a hunch, but perhaps they're discussing the purpose of their highly suspicious actions involving Act NL I. A report just came in a few minutes ago, and apparently they're gathering there once more. We could always head down there and, possibly, overhear their conversation? But again, it's just a hunch."
"Considering they're obviously starting a full-fledged coup, I say it's a pretty solid 'hunch,' if we're calling it one."
"Considering they're obviously starting a full-fledged coup, I say it's a pretty solid 'hunch,' if we're calling it one," Zuko said, changing his position from the pillar and standing upright, his arms crossed. "But, let's face it, we don't exactly blend in. How do we expect to spy on five men when they're in a place of worship? It's not exactly...discreet, ya know?"
"Or moral," Aang said rolling his eyes.
"It's the best idea we've got," the Earth King sighed. "We'll go in some kind of disguise to hide our faces. I have some hooded cloaks in the guard's sanctuary we can use."
"I'm getting kind of tired wearing cloaks all the time," Zuko sighed. "But if it's all we got...let's do it." And so Aang and Kuei nodded, and the three departed from the room in order to fetch the cloaks.
Back in the Eastern Front...
Slythrin and Lee parked the cart beside a withered old oak. Lee clipped a knife on each side of his belt and closed his cloak, leaving his hood down, and stepping out of the cart. There was a subtle breeze in the air as he lightly gridded his feet into the dirt, cocking his neck slightly to read the area. The trees gave just the right barrier between them and the docks, so that the men carrying boxes on the port were unable to see them. The rebels. So that the rebels couldn't see them.
Rebels.
Son of a bitch. He was fighting rebels. Stopping a goddamn revolution. It hadn't really dawned on him, the gravity of the situation, the true state of his mission, the danger lurking towards him. When Slythrin branded him, he said that he would be protected from the dangers lurking towards them in their quest. But what did it mean? And why did the brand itself read something as depressing and self-deprecating as "I am not special?" The sudden revelation of the mere existence of these questions now boggled him, and he decided to speak up.
"Slythrin, I-I've been wondering about my br-" but Slythrin's clammy hand clapped over Lee's mouth quickly just before Lee could spit out the rest of the sentence.
"Shut up," Slythrin hissed as he pointed to the docks. An unshaven man, looking to be about 31 and wearing some Fire garb, began sauntering down the docks, speaking to a broad-shouldered young man wearing similar clothing. "That must be their leader. Which means they should begin loading their ship any moment. Get ready, Lee."
"That asshole," Lee said quietly, looking awestruck. "That little asshole!"
"I assume you know him?"
"Hell yes I do! His name is Akugyo. The bastard used to kick my ass back when we lived in a Fire occupied town. Leave it to him to start a goddamn rebellion; I'm gonna enjoy beating the sh-"
"Your point was made 3 profanities in, Lee. You'll taste holy vengeance soon; wait for the first crate to be loaded into the ship. Then we strike. Then we strike..."
Present...
A hooded Zuko walks with Aang and Kuei inside the Temple.
Aang, Zuko, and the Earth King—hooded by the Earth King's cloaks—were stealthy as they entered the Holy Temple. They were forced to walk the whole way to avoid suspicion, which was rather grueling but necessary. Without uttering a word (and keeping their breath at a steady intake) they crept into the sanctuary.
To their right there was a group of preying monks, who for many moments did not turn from their position of spiritual enlightenment seeking. But then out of the blue they slowly glanced over, fixated at Aang's person. He propped up his hood more, further masking his face so that the monks were unable to see him. Crap. He hadn't considered them sensing him. But wait. Oh good. They were returning to their former stance. Brilliant.
They retreated behind a curtain, which was barely lit by a small candle, and so they dropped their hoods slightly and began whispering.
"Did anyone see them?" Zuko whispered.
"Unfortunately, no," whispered the Earth King frustratingly.
"Wait, I hear someone coming," Aang said, and all three quickly shot their hoods back up fully, glancing slightly past the curtain.
Kai was tromping down the Temple hallway, a disenchanted look on his face. He picked up his pace for about the next five strides before finally coming to a stop. He looked around for a few minutes before resting his hand on the wall and leaning. He then realized that the wall was still wet from fresh paint and pulled it off hurriedly, a disgusted look on his face. "Oh, hot dammit!" he hissed, flapping his wrist. He looked around, spotting a beautifully sewn blanket hanging on the wall, depicting dozens of smiling citizens looking up at the sun, which—as the image went upward—turned into the face of The Lord. Kai then crept over quickly and whipped the paint from his hand onto the blanket, then returning to the wall.
"What a douchebag," Zuko said disgusted.
"Seriously," Aang said.
Kai stood around for a bit, before the temple door beside the wall opened up. Fong stepped out; "Oh, Kai, you're hear. Been waiting long?"
"Hardly," Kai remarked, and then entered the prayer room. Fong shut the door, so Aang, Zuko, and the King slipped out from behind the curtain and crept into the room right beside the one Kai had just entered.
They each dropped their hoods. Zuko spoke first: "The prayer rooms are completely soundproof. So how exactly are we gonna listen to them in the next room?"
"You seriously need to stop forgetting I can Earthbend," Aang said, and then walked over to the wall, kneeling on the stone floor. He placed both of palms onto the wall, breathed in deeply, and then slid his hands across the wall about one foot each side.
"Aang, I'm afraid to ask, but what are you doing to that wall?" Zuko asked, looking disturbed.
"I've bended the stone into a less dense substance, so that we can hear through the other side; but we'll have to be completely silent, as to not be heard ourselves," Aang whispered, and then—upon realizing the perverted implications his bending had given that made Zuko so taken aback—he looked disapprovingly up at the Fire Lord, remarking: "Dude, mind out of gutter—now."
Zuko was about to remark in turn, but the Earth King spoke before he could. "Shh, I hear them talking." They all went onto their knees and pressed their ear against the wall. Luckily, they were able to hear everything the Council was conversing about in the other room.
"...rather odd to hold this meeting in a sanctuary, wouldn't you say?" what sounded like Kai said.
"It is the least likely place of all to hold one, and therefore is a prime spot for sustaining secrecy. Anyways...They're becoming suspicious, ya know," the voice of Lie pronounced. "I've a feeling our mechanical behavior from our last encounter glaringly gave them the assumption that we're starting an insurgency or something."
"But we are," Sung's voice insisted.
"Shut your trap, Sung!" Kai could be heard hollering. "You know this is not some ridiculous coup; this is lawmaking!"
"Kai, you young and ignorant fool"—Sung sounded impatient—"You fail to grasp the gravity of the situation we are in. The leaders of this entire world are riding down our throats as we are committing blasphemous acts the likes of which would make our very mother shake in their gr—"
"Enough is enough," How hollered with sharp execution on every syllable. "The stakes of our situation is not what we are here to discuss. We are here to decide on the next course of action we should spearhead to not only get the new NL II passed without notice from any department and get the Avatar, Earth King, and Fire Lord off of our assess. Unless you have any suggestions on achieving this, I suggest you piss off and stop bickering like babies."
"Do we hear ourselves right now?" Fong was then heard shouting, a trembling sense of regret in his voice. "I am telling you, this is going to be the end of us. I just know it. Thi-this wasn't how this was supposed to turn out—Good Lord, how did this happen? I mean—"
"Shut up, SHUT UP!" By the sound of How's angry voice he had lost his patience with Fong. "For once, stop whining like a little bitch and accept the fact that this is where we stand, and this is what we have to do--I've regretted you joining the Council since your inauguration: your credentials are not even your's; without that goddamn brother of your's, busting his ass back on the battlefield during The War and giving you all the credit, you'd still be a lowly soldier with no title higher than 'Private—Exacting laws, withholding the political aspects of the city's culture, that is our job, and right now, we're doing that—it just happens to be by in doing that we will have lie, deceive, and insurge. Besides, you know that this was the cleanest way to get out of the scruff."
"But The Dogs—" they were unsure who had said this, as he was near immediately muffled out by the voice of How once more.
"But nothing. The Dogs are not to be our concern right now, it is just the law."
"Yes, the law The Dogs developed," Lie sighed.
"You're missing the point—The Dogs want this to happen, and we've no right to deny them this when they hold power like they have," How's voice was shaking, but it seemed to be less from anger and more from the unraveling of his nerves. Alas, he sighed. "Now, if this meeting is to be any way constructive, I suggest we plan how we're gonna handle the next steps to getting this whole crap done and over with."
And inside Aang's, Zuko's, and the Earth King's room, they were each trembling in sheer anger. Each of their brains were scrambling left and right, searching for a way to grasp the situation and answer what exactly they were going to do to stop this, but the general consensus that they all began to focus on was thus: Who the hell are The Dogs? But their anger would not even be matched by that of which they would succumb to in just a matter of minutes. And it all began with this statement: "Well," Kai began, "there are always those two guys from the city The Dogs have got doing some dirty work..."
Eastern Docks
Morning quickly left, and the afternoon swept over the atmosphere with brisk pace. Slythrin and Lee crept through the bushes, watching as the Rebels finally began unloading the weapons. Now was the time to strike. Slythrin gestured at Lee to begin, and thusly he did.
Lee discretely sauntered out from the bushes, sliding behind some trees, before he got close enough to the docks to nonchalantly step out in front of a shipment of weapons that were about to be unloaded. The Rebels standing there were too busy talking to one another to notice Lee as he walked up, so the unshaven Earth Kingdom lad walked right up to one of the boxes containing weapons, and—with the sole of his shoe—kicked it into the river with minor force. The splash it made had the Rebels turning around shocked, wondering what just happened.
Lee split his face into a giddily nefarious smile, and then remarked, "Oops. My bad."
"You little asshat," one of the Rebels said, igniting flames in the palms of his hands. "What the freak do you think you're doing here?"
"This." Lee then unclipped a knife from his belt and chucked it at the aforementioned Rebel's ignited hand. The rebel clutched his bleeding hand, unlighthing his fire, and looked up angrily at Lee. Lee then burst into continued action, kicking one of the other Rebels in their stomach, then clashing two others heads together; all three were knocked out and lying on the dock floor. Lee quickly posed his knife but half-an-inch from the first Rebel's neck, smirking, and then Slythrin whipped up from behind and knocked the Rebel out with his bare fists. They nodded to one another, and then sprinted down the docks.
Slythrin fights some Rebels.
The Rebels quickly took notice of them and burst into action as well, but the pair swiftly fought back. One Rebel igniting some flames and sent them sailing down the docks—Slythrin and Lee quickly ducked out of the way, and Lee readied himself to throw a knife at the Rebel, but Slythrin stopped him.
"Don't throw it at them."
"Then where the hell do I throw it?"
Slythrin then pointed to a few barrels of blasting jelly that were cushioned in between the row of weapon boxes at the edge of the dock.
"Oh," Lee said, throwing the knife at said barrel, "right."
A large explosion swept over that area of the dock, either burning some of the Rebels or sending them heavily injured into the water. Slythrin and Lee hopped over the vertical hole cut through the dock from the explosion and preceded with their fight. Many Rebels came launching at them, but the two eventually dispatched them all.
After some time, Lee had just knocked out one Rebel with a swift punch when Slythrin called his name. "What is it?" Lee called back.
Slythrin, with his pale, boney finger, pointed several feet away from them, past several Rebels' heads, to Akugyo, who was standing angrily in the background. Lee's heart jumped, and he prepared to say something—but as if Slythrin had just read his mind, the white-haired man pronounced, "I'll take care of them, don't worry. Just...do what you need to do."
Lee nodded and dove through the crowd of Rebels. Akugyo was not paying attention to Lee and was focusing on the carnage occurring at the hands of Slythrin, so Lee was able to headbut Akugyo's stomach while flinging his arms around his ribs, sending him slamming down onto the ground.
"What the—" Akugyo began, but then saw Lee's face. A wicked smirk cut through his face. "Lee. Never thought I'd see your face again. Especially at a place and time like this. The world's just weird like that, I guess, huh? Hehe."
"Shut up, Akugyo," Lee said, rage settling in the creases of his mouth. "Ten years. Ten goddamn years I've been waiting for this. All those times back in the day, every day, you'd destroy me. You'd beat my face in, you'd leave me burns, you'd insult my...my mother. You'd call her a whore. And my brother, you'd...And my dad, y-you'd..."
He then let out a furious roar and shot his fist into Akugyo's face. The two then began to wrestle on the wooden dock, each of them launching their fists at one another. Akugyo sent a whip of fire at Lee—it merely singed his ankle, tearing it pants simultaneously, but also having the wood underneath them given way, and they were sent into the water. Still, they fought; Lee kicked Akugyo in the stomach, and unclipped a knife from his belt, flinging himself over to the Firebender. Akugyo immediately blocked Lee by holding onto his wrists while Lee frantically tried to loosen the grip. After kneeing Akugyo in the gut, he was able to get the grip of him, and stabbed Akugyo in the ribs. Blood began filling the water as the two floated up to the surface of the water, where Lee—viciously—clutched Akugyo by the throat and lied him down on a piece of wooden debris, then began brutally punching him in the face. Blood stained the water further, and Lee began shouting (tears filling up his eyes), "I hated my family. They'd b-beat me, and my mom wouldn't, she-she wouldn't do anything! But...the things you said...SHE WAS STILL MY MOTHER!" The life was gone from Akugyo, but Lee could not stop himself from thrashing, making more blood fill the water.
"Lee..." Slythrin called out, but it was cloudy to Lee. "Lee!" Lee finally heard it and stopped. He panted furiously, wading there in the water. Slythrin extended his eerie hand down from the dock. Lee slowly met it with his own trembling hand, and as he clutched Slythrin's palm, Lee noticed that his own hand was covered in blood—blood that wasn't his own. This all felt unnatural. There was blood all over him and all over the water. Murder. This was murder. Good Lord...
Slythrin pulled Lee's shaking person up onto the docks, blood staining his drenched clothes and dripping from his hair and nose. They walked slowly down the dock, a hollow look in Lee's eyes that matched his trembling saunter. Just then, a man—with black, messy hair and a knife in his hands—launched himself at the two, sending Lee to the ground.
Lee knocked the knife from the man's hands; he then took him by his shirt and slammed him against a tree, holding him there, unsure what to do next. The man he was holding against his tree looked down and saw Lee's collar, which was clearly viewable (his cloak was torn at many areas), noticing his brand.
"I...I don't understand," the man said, looking genuinely confused. "Th-they told us..."
"They told you what? And who's they?"
But before he could answer, the man went pale—he was dead. A knife was stuck through his head...a knife that was sent by Slythrin.
"Slythrin, what the hell?! He was about to tell me s—"
"He would've lied. He was clearly trying to deceive you. Just trust me. Trust me."
Lee complied, and the two slowly walked back to the cart. And while they were riding down the road, Slythrin hissed to Lee an eerie message. "Lee, there is something I need you to do. This mission is not yet completed; to truly make the mark on these radical's front, we need to strike at the core, the center of which their corruption has seeped through. And I know directly where this is. Mind you, the trip will take till morning..."
Present time, in the Temple...
"We can always have them take care of some problems," Kai's voice continued. "I doubt The Dogs would object anything that assists us in getting their plan taken care of."
"You have a point," remarked How. "Still, we'll have to emphasize that we don't want them killed—merely...indisposed."
"Though by this point, I wouldn't strongly object to killing them..." Lie remarked.
And on the other side of the wall—where Aang, Zuko, and the King were kneeing against—Aang gave up on discreetness. He bended the wall, causing it to collapse. The Council all turned to look at Aang, standing there, with the Earth King and Zuko still kneeing beside him.
"My...my lordships," Sung remarked stunned. "On what circumstances do you...do you grace us with your presence?"
Zuko stood up. "Councilmen, you have a lot of explaining to do."
It was at this moment that Lee finished his confession in the soundproof prayer room across the temple. He was staring intently at the floor: "S-so, ya see, I've done these things, and...and I don't know how I'm to live with them. Slythrin tells me that murder is holy, when...when it's in Your Name, but I...I just don't know. So, I need...I need your sanctity. I need a sign of your a-acceptance of my action. Your forgiveness." He looked up at the statue of The Lord. "Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned." He picked himself up, flipped his hood back over his head, and walked out of his room and out of the temple...
But not before he slipped something out of his sleeve—it was rather long, and wooden, and laced with wire. It was crackling and sizzling and...it was an explosive. And as he dropped it right in front of the temple's doors, walked into the cart where Slythrin was waiting for him, and drove off, said explosive erupted. A blinding light and the spray of the explosion went all through the temple—including the room where the Councilmen and the three lords were.
Meanwhile, on the roof of Team Avatar's apartment
Sokka stumbled up and down the roof. Sleep-deprived, his vision was blurry and everything looked out of focus. Everything was unclear to him at that moment—what the spirits had told him about his visions, and his destiny, had been driving him insane the past few days. He didn't want this burden; he felt that he didn't deserve this burden, nor did he feel he could even handle the burden. The whole world's fate, in his hands... the survival of all mankind, up to him to keep in tack.
How did the spirits even expect him to handle the world's very survival at the same time as allowing a war to erupt to engulf it? And then an idea came to him. A terrible, terrible idea—an idea that he would regret merely thinking for the entirety of his life: but the idea he had. Maybe, just maybe, the spirits meant that the war was meant to end the world. That that was destiny's actual plan. And that by keeping it in his hands, they wanted him to spearhead the war...and the destruction of the very world.
No, that couldn't be it. The universe was a bitch at times, but it wouldn't pull that on him. It wouldn't...
But what if it did? Then what would the point be, in fighting it. It. The war to end all wars. The war that would finally destroy the Earth, and humanity...all of mankind....What would be the point?
Maybe there was no point—he began uneasily sauntered over to the edge of the roof, stumbling the whole way—no point in fighting, no point in keeping the burden on him. If the world needed someone to sit idly by and watch the world burn, then what was the point in being that person? What was the point of being...alive.
He looked down over the edge. It wasn't that long of a jump. But there was a large slope down to the left that would send him rolling on hard, hard stones that lead to a large ditch. A surefire death.
But this was crazy. He couldn't. He couldn't just end himself, end everything, right there. It was crazy. And he was doing it. There was no point in fighting it—some things just must happen. Destiny wants to burn the world. Let it. Don't let yourself just watch it. Don't let yourself join it. Just end everything. It was foolproof...
"Sokka, what are you doing?!"
He blinked several times, trying to get a clearer view of what was happening again. "K..Katara?"
Katara had been looking for Sokka—she and Toph had grown bored down stairs and wanted to see if Sokka wanted to go for a walk with them—and upon entering the roof through the hatchway was horrified to see Sokka prepared to jump. To die.
"There's no need to fight it, Katara," Sokka said, sounding completely monotone and exhausted. "This is...the only way."
"Sokka, you're talking crazy!" Katara exclaimed, both concerned and furious for and at her brother. "This is never the answer. Whatever it is that's happening to you, just talk to us. Your family. Your friends. Aang, Toph, Suki, Zuko, Dad...me...all of us. You can't just leave us behind. Trust us, please. Just tell us what's wrong. We'll solve i—"
But just then, the temple exploded. The sound echoed all throughout the city and smoke hovered over it, visible even from where the Team's apartment was.
Sokka seemed to have been waken up slightly by this, and both he and Katara horribly remarked, "Oh no."
Themes[]
The deceitfulness of the Council of Five assert the chapter's themes surrounding political corruption.
A central theme explored in the chapter is that of regret and guilt regarding that of one's sins. Lee regrets his actions during his mission with Slythrin, particularly committing murder, and begs The Lord Kami for forgiveness and retribution. Lee's feelings and insecurities towards murder are shown in the chapter as being something he does not wish to commit, but is forced to do so by Slythrin's insistence that it is pure as it is being performed in the name of Kami, and his own thirst for vengeance and rage. Some Councilmen, even, also express regret for their actions that they are forced to do for unknown reasons by the mysterious organization of The Dogs.
As part of the action of "Forgive Me, Lord..." takes place in a Holy Temple—which acts a symbol for real-life Churches and other religious sanctuaries—many themes concerning the spiritual beliefs that are upheld in the world of Avatar. Kami, who in the chapter is normally referred to as merely the title "The Lord," plays the part as the main object of worship in the structure of these spiritual beliefs. In fact, the name "Kami" translates as the Japanese word for "God." The sanctity of the Holy Temple is also brought up in the chapter—when it is decided that using the Temple to spy would not be discreet, Aang remarks that it also would not be moral.
"Forgive Me, Lord..." continues the story's New Politics Chronicle's political theme. The main political aspect brought up in the chapter is that of political corruption and the corruption of one's morals. The Council of Five is used as the outlet for these themes—they are detailed revolting against the government by enforcing laws such as Act NL I because of the mysterious organization of The Dogs. While some Councilmen, like Fung, are ashamed to be doing so, others are far more willing, such as How.
Production[]
Conception[]
During 2009, SuperFlash101—creator of Better World and writer and editor of this chapter—began jotting down several titles to be used as the title for future chapters in The New Politics Chronicles. One idea that came to him was the title "Forgive Me, Lord, For I Have Sinned." Considering the title to long, it donned upon him to split it up with a "..." transition, making the titles "Forgive Me, Lord..." and "...For I Have Sinned" those of a future two-parter. It was not until the Chronicles were underway that he had a clear idea of what would happen in these chapters.
Writing[]
Writing for "Forgive Me, Lord..." began in early April of 2010, near immediately after Flash had published "The Will of All Mankind." With previous chapters detailing the mission between Slythrin and Lee (including their violent actions during which) and Aang, Zuko, and the Earth King's growing suspicions of the Council of Five after the Council passes the non-properly-vetoed Act NL I, Flash decided that "Forgive Me, Lord..." would detail Lee's guilt about his choices during the mission, and Aang and company spying on the Council. Furthermore, after "The Will of All Mankind" revealed that Sokka was destined to handle the future War to End All Wars, Flash devised that this chapter would also concern how he deals with such a dramatic revelation.
While beginning to write the chapter, Flash envisioned that he would finish it in a week, as a nice surprise and apology to readers for his habitual delays between chapter releases. However, it became clear to him after a few weeks that with his persistent procrastination, coupled with his sustained writer's block and real life distractions, would cause for this to be unable to happen. As he tried to finish it at least a respectable time, two events caused further delays and fear of having to restart the chapter: Flash's laptop was having problems with its battery and was being repaired for a week, and said laptop was attacked by a computer virus and once more went to be repaired.
"Forgive Me, Lord..." was also highly revealing, though nearly all of its revelations are left ambiguous. Revealed aspects of the story's plot include the Council's basic reasoning behind the law, and that the organization that sent Aang a group of assassins in "Spare the Innocent" and Slythrin is apart of is known as The Dogs. Much more detailed revelations will be given in the following chapter, "...For I Have Sinned."
Reception[]
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| Better World chapters | |
| The New World Chronicles
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| Bad Start - Hunted - Settling Scores - Eruption - Aftermath | |
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The New Politics Chronicles | |
| Bitter Empire - Spare the Innocent - Be Thou a Cain - The Will of All Mankind - Forgive Me, Lord... - ...For I Have Sinned - Bathe With the Dogs - Into Here I Am - John the Revelator - Brothers in Arms | |
| v - e - d |