Darkness
"Darkness is not evil, child. It is merely a liar. It hides truths. Those who cling to the light have demonized it, but it is not evil. You, child, as a Darknessbender, are not evil. You are doing great work, for tonight marks the first step in creating the new world. It is through darkness that great things can be done, can the great be brought down. Use your training child, use the shadows and begin the great change. Do not be afraid, do not listen to their lies, and do not forget that I am always with you."
"Yes master."
For a moment, Aang stood frozen petrified even. It was not due to the storm. The lightning and thunder seemed far away. Even as they wreaked havoc in the skies above the capital, being inside the massive Fire Nation palace made them seem as if they were in a different world. Even the actions that had played out before him: the child silently screaming out in pain as her life was cut short, it seemed to be in a different world. Even as her she fell, limp and lifeless, it seemed that the two were separated by an impassable space, so that as her body crumpled like a broken doll as it hit the ground, Aang felt as if she had merely been a bad dream, a figment of an exhausted mind on a sleepless night.
Everything seemed to be away from him, as if he were separated from the entire world by an invisible wall, everything but two exceptions.
Beyond the dead body, two eyes stared at Aang. They seemed to pierce through walls, stabbing into his head and heart, blood red irises that glowed onwards in the usual blue shades of night, blood red eyes that seemed to make Aang uneasy as they looked toward him, two red eyes staring out in a dark room.
Lightning flashed, seeming to make the entire world a blinding white. He could hear noises, footsteps and voices down the hallways behind him, the other guests and hosts of the entire party, silenced by the rumbling of thunder, rattling through the entire palace, rattling through every iota of Aang's body, preparing him for a very different sound.
"Don't worry Avatar. I'm not here to harm you. It would be better if you were completely comfortable. The child who brought peace being harmed by the experiment of war would be unfortunate at best for my efforts. That being said, I have something to discuss with you."
The voice was high pitched: a females whisper and a female's scream, both seeming to enter Aang's ears at the same time. At least, it seemed to be a woman's, almost sounding like a mother trying to calm a startled child. But, even if he could look past the blood that had just been spilled at the woman's hands, even if he could accept that the child was beyond redemption and needed to be slain, something else refused to let her calm the Avatar's nerves.
"What do you want to discuss?" Aang asked.
"Avatar, speaking about something so important upon freshly spilled blood, upon where you partied is not acceptable. We will have our discussion later on."
"And, what happens if I'm busy?" Aang asked.
"You will not be busy."
"Or else you'll send another assassin, won't you?"
"My pupil was not sent to murder anyone, merely to pass on a message."
"What message? She murdered Katara!"
The rain slowed as Aang yelled in frustration at his love taken from his very grasp.
"The Waterbender is still alive. 'You' really do have amazing luck and timing, saving Katara right at the last minute, giving her breath again just when her death was all but certain."
"What was the message then?"
Aang looked back. He had not asked the question, rendered silent in his surprise of the woman's words. It had been Zuko's voice that had asked his question from before. But, the Fire Lord was not alone. Mai, Suki, Toph, Sokka, and Katara were standing behind him.
"Good question," the woman responded. She was smiling, grinning as spoke. "But, I doubt you really have any desire to know. You just want to know who this woman is, how she managed to sneak past your security. Am I right?"
"Who are you!" Zuko yelled back, anger clear on his face.
"I'll take that as a yes," the woman said as she took a step forward. "My name is, well, just know me as Experiment 19. How I'm here is simple, your guards are terrible."
"You're an intruder," Zuko said.
"Yes, although what exactly are you going to do about it? Your guards cannot and will not be able to stop me. And, believe it or not, I'm responsible for keeping about half of you all alive after my pupils actions."
"You trained that little kid!" Toph yelled out.
"I did. She really was quite the prodigy."
"She almost killed me!" Katara yelled out.
"Yes, she did," the woman said flatly, "I am quite aware of her actions. It was actually almost amazing. A little girl who can manipulate sounds and make illusions in low light conditions was apparently able to do what entire armies and comet enhanced Firebenders were unable to. Especially you Waterbender, able to be beaten in such a pathetic way. Or is the worst you Fire Lord? You were well aware of the situation but didn't stop it."
Zuko looked toward Katara, both angered at the woman's words, both walking forward, past Aang, toward the woman.
"What exactly will I do about you being an intruder?" Zuko began asking to himself as he walked past Aang, "I'm going to arrest you."
"No you won't." the woman said as she casually grasped a chopstick from a table to her left, flipping it in he hand, "Your laws don't apply to me."
"They apply to everyone!" Zuko said as he took another step toward the woman.
"No, they don't," the woman began, grasping the chopstick in her hand, "Your laws don't apply to gods."
A quick turn was all that Zuko saw before watching the chopstick flying toward his face.
He weaved around it, his eyes becoming focused on the piece of wood flying past him, not noticing the woman moving toward him, not noticing the swirl of her arm, the water being pulled from the pitcher, the water slamming into him, freezing as it touched him.
Slices of water came from the woman's left, quick whips of water swinging toward the red eyes but seeming to miss each time.
The ice was cracking, an angered Firebender melting ice that touched him, water dripping down to the floor.
Another whip of water struck too high, missing the mark slightly as the ice cracked again, louder that it had before, the Fire Lord moving slightly, stepping forward and punching, water hissing as a flame shot forth, hurtling toward the woman, toward a surprised face, and then through her, her body fading into the darkness.
"What the?" Zuko blurted out.
"She's just like that kid, her apprentice," Katara said to him, glancing around. "A Darknessbender. She can turn invisible, manipulate sounds. Where is she! Toph! Can you see her!"
"Zuko! Look out!" the blind Earthbender yelled, powerless to do anything before the woman's fingers poked at the Fire Lord's neck, his body twitching and convulsing before falling to the ground, limp and powerless.
Katara turned, water surrounding her arms, ready to strike the woman down, running to take down the real red eyed woman and not another illusion, ready but powerless to move.
Her body had frozen, immovable and powerless mid-step, but without losing balance, as if the entire world had frozen, all except her frantic breath and the slow steps of the woman.
Her foot stepped down in front of Katara, the red eyes looking upon the powerless Waterbender, each breath slowing more and more as the water began trickling away from her arms, dripping down to the floor.
Katara's body was lowering, feeling itself pulled to the ground, limp legs falling into the puddles of water that she had attempted to strike with, falling further until she was kneeling, her arms dropping weakly to her sides.
"What is this!" Katara began asking, "I, I can't move. What are you doing? I can't even move my arms or legs. Are... are you a Bloodbender!"
Slowly the woman looked down, stepping away slightly.
"Bloodbending you ask. Pulling at the very liquids that goes through ones veins and arteries, pulling their body to your whims. Do you honestly feel like that is going on? Well, it is not. Bloodbending is nothing more than a dead end in Bending. What you are feeling is your bones, your tendons, ligaments, veins, arteries, capillaries, organs, muscles, skin, hair, and nerves in every part of your body being bent before my will. What you are feeling is the future of your Bending."
Slowly the woman began walking toward her, a slight smile coming over her face.
"I can give you this power," she began saying, "A single touch, all that I need. A single touch, and you will become the future, become"
"ENOUGH!"
The woman turned toward the sound of the voice, Aang attempting to show dominance over the room, surrounded by his friends, all prepared within a second to strike at the woman. She kept her smile.
"What did you do to Zuko!" Sokka yelled at her, demanding an answer.
"Remarkably little for a god's hands. You can ask the blind Earthbender; he is still very much alive, even conscious." Sokka turned toward Toph, a slight glance of an eye telling an entire conversation. "You should be thankful that I am a merciful god."
"Enough with the god claims!" Suki began yelling. "You're not a god! You're just a Waterbender who knows how to hide her tricks extremely well."
"A Waterbender," the woman repeated. "How do you think I defeated Zuko? Lightning, a shock that went through his body: that was how I defeated him. Now tell me, how does a Waterbender do that? They cannot. What I used was Lightningbending, a variation of Firebending."
"You're lying!" Suki yelled.
"Water." The water from the floor swirled around the woman toward the ceiling. "Earth." Stone tiles from the floor rose, hanging in the air. "Fire." All around the woman, flames burst out, fading away in seconds. "Air." A gust ripped through the palace, ripping at Suki's face and seeming to pull her backwards as the water and tiles fell to the ground, the last flames burning away in the gust. "All is within the realms of control for a god."
"What in the world are you?" Aang began asking.
"I never did tell you the message did I?" the woman began saying, ignoring Aang's question as she looked up slightly," Right, little boys and girls need their rest so I'll keep it short. The message went something like this: 'you and you alone are to meet me in a place called Scorched Earth Colony Four in, lets say, no longer than two weeks.' Look on a map. You'll find the location there. There we will have our discussion, and your questions will be answered. Do not keep me waiting."
The woman turned slowly walking away from the group, and further and further from Katara. The Waterbender fell forward, nearly crying as she laid on the ground, seeming to have come a single touch from some twisted form of bending. She turned to watch as the woman began walking into the darkness of the hallway, stopping to say one thing before disappearing into darkness of the night.
"Oh, and sorry for ruining your party. I heard it was beautiful."