Hey everybody! I am finally posting up a story! Yeah! (Drum is banging in the distance) Anyway, I still have school right now and Finals but I will update as much as I can, and I WILL FINISH THIS STORY. I won't just leave you hanging and then suddenly stop writing because I hate it when I read other stories and then the author just stops writing and never finishes. So I am going to try extra hard not to do that to you guys! Now on with the story!

Aang: *ahem* Justice333 does not own Avatar: The last airbender or any of the following characters that appear in this story (Except for Shen and the rest of the LL PHOENIX troop. They are OCs). The characters belong to nickelodeon and other sources.

(Aang bows respectfully. Justice333 cheers and claps!)

A peaceful Death

~~~~3 months after the defeat of Firelord Ozai~~~~~

Deep within the sun warrior village the chief and the people celebrate the defeat of the ruthless leader of the fire nation. Festivities are being planned and the people are happy and safe. As the people celebrate, the Sun Chief walked over to the caves to see the masters who gave the people such wisdom and knowledge.

The Sun Chief wanted to tell the masters about the glorious new changes happening for the village. For the first time in decades the Sun Warrior village was ready to share its knowledge about fire to the rest of the world. Now the whole fire nation would discover the true form of fire, not to use it in anger or rage but as a way of energy and life. Now that the Avatar had defeated the Firelord, the Sun Chief assumed that it would be safe to let the two masters (who were dragons) come out into the world. They would be safe and not have to worry about being hunted anymore.

Soon the Sun Chief reached the two mountains where large steps took one closer to the two caves where the dragons dwelled. The steps were very steep. They were made this way long ago according to belief that whoever went up the steps would immediately tremble and trip, a special sign that they were not worthy to see the masters. The Sun Chief went up these steps with ease and soon reached the point at which the two caves opened up.

The Chief then took out a small horn and blew into it softly. The sound of the horn sent small shockwaves into the air as the ground shivered with fear. This was the call, the call that would bring out the two last living dragons for judgment. The sound traveled really far, sending small tremors in some palm trees in a beach close to the area. After a few moments the air soon went back to its peaceful flow. The area became quiet once more.

How strange. The masters should have come by now... The Sun Chief glanced briefly at the two caves. Both seemed hollow and barren as if they had been empty for a while. The Chief scrunched up his eyebrows and prepared to blow the horn again. Before he could take in a breath, he suddenly tensed up. He sensed movement near his right side. The Chief pulled out his staff. He quickly spun around and aimed a low strike close to his own feet. A man tripped near the Chief and collapsed to the ground.

"What are you doing here? This place is sacred." the Chief replied coolly as the stranger rose to his feet.

The man was dressed up all in black and had a flowing gold cape that caught the sunlight at weird intricate angles. The man also had on a golden mask which had red glowing orbs for eyes and silver white quills coming out of the top. The man had also had a strange birdlike symbol that seemed to fly out amongst the ashes that was centered in the blackness surrounding the man's chest. The man's stance seemed silly to the chief. It resembled a bird taking flight.

"I am Shen, leader of LL Phoenix, and we have come to destroy this village starting with the dragons that live in these caves." The man replied, his tone just as cold as the Chief's.

"What! How foolish of you to think that we would stand by and let you overrun this place! You will not get to the masters. The time of dragon hunting is over and now that your Firelord has been defeated you truly have no use for conquering this village." The chief positioned himself right in front of Shen. "I won't allow you to come any further. Leave at once."

Shen smiled slowly. "I think you are the one being foolish. How about you take a look around so you can fully see the situation you have made for yourself."

The Chief was shocked to discover that he was surrounded. More men came out from the caves sharing the same symbols as Shen, but not having very elaborate outfits as was the case with their leader. Each had thin long staffs with feathers sprouting here and there along the stems. The Chief would have laughed at the sights if he hadn't been too busy trying to figure out a way to escape. It was a small group of about twenty, but of course this was only one person against all. Slightly overwhelming odds, the Chief thought bitterly.

Shen smiled again, though this time it looked very nasty and cruel. "So where are they? Where are your masters? We can avoid all of this as long as you comply smoothly. Heck, I'll even avoid your village if you tell me where the dragons are. Not such a bad price when you think about it. The rest of the world doesn't even know they exist so what's the trouble of ending the line for good? It really seems like such a waste to protect something that is so isolated."

"Well, if you think it's so worthless why hunt them? The fire nation doesn't practice that tradition any more. You really don't expect to be seen as a higher authority figure just for killing a dragon, do you? The world views things differently now. The Avatar would never let you get away with it."

The Chief said this all very calmly, as if he were talking about the weather. He was not afraid of Shen or the other men. He was very angry that they had found out about the dragons though. That was a secret only the Avatar, Aang, knew along with the new Firelord, Zuko, and his uncle, Iroh. Those people had sworn not to tell a soul about the dragons or the village, but somehow the news must have gotten out.

Shen sighed briefly. "You obviously don't understand the matter at hand here. I do not want to be respected. I want to be feared. No one has ever killed two dragons at once. This will make our group well known and soon the fire nation will come back to all its glory, ruled by the PHOENIX KING!"

The men surrounding the Chief whooped and cheered at Shen's wisdom while Shen bowed respectfully to his team. The Chief resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Now, enough with the pleasantries. You will tell us where the dragons are," Shen said while sharpening his own feathered up weapon. The Chief noticed that there appeared to be something black on the tip of Shen's staff.

The Chief squared his shoulders. "You obviously know what my answer will be. That is why you have brought a group to ambush me. But if you must know the answer..."

There was a long pause as the Chief tried to decide how he should respond. The sharp slashing of metal caused the Chief to be aware that the rest of the men were sharpening their staffs as well.

"...I have no idea where they are," the Chief replied.

The men said nothing as Shen stared at the Chief. The silence lasted long enough to be considered awkward as some of the men started coughing lightly. Finally, Shen started walking towards the Chief. He quickly stabbed the Chief's right foot. The Chief immediately fell to the ground as the poison from the staff slowly caused his right foot to become paralyzed. None of the men moved as Shen tilted the vulnerable leader's head up so he could stare into the man's eyes.

"Oh, don't worry. We've already found them." Shen said this as he looked up into the sky and saw two dragons circling each other above the two mountains.

Shen quickly pulled out his staff from the Chief's leg and started shouting out orders. "Don't lose sight of them! You over there hold the Chief over the edge, but don't let go of him just yet. Perhaps these masters will take pity on him and come for a rescue. Then we will strike!"

The men shouted loudly as they all started to become more excited. Each of them wanted a chance to strike the powerful beasts. Shen lifted the Chief and started to walk to the edge of the cliffs. He smiled. Soon I will have all the respect that I deserve. Everyone will soon know to fear the LL Phoenix.

The dragons noticed the Sun Chief's dangling body. They were greatly puzzled. This sort of thing didn't happen here. The blue dragon looked at the Chief with great pity while the red dragon stared on in indifference.

The blue dragon started to descend lower towards the cliffs. The red dragon tried to block the blue dragon but the blue dragon was quicker. The Blue dragon was now directly above the Chief's body. It seemed for a while that the only beings in the area were the blue dragon and Shen as they stared each other down. Then Shen spoke.

"ATTACK!"

The men immediately started throwing their spears at the blue dragon, but the spears were quickly destroyed as they got doused in rainbow colored fire. Most of the men shied away from the dragon, but Shen continued to attack, blasting himself up into the air by shooting fire out of his palms.

Now Shen and the blue dragon were battling in the air, exchanging blow after blow. There was fire shooting everywhere.

In the commotion, the LL Phoenix group forgot about the Chief's body. Luckily, the red dragon caught the Chief before he could crash into the ground. The red dragon stared at Shen. The dragon's eyes were blazing as a huge amount of fire poured out of its mouth and into the air.

Shen dodged the fire successfully, bumping into the blue dragon. Shen was still holding his poisoned tipped spear as he stabbed the blue dragon in the heart. The dragon wailed and thrashed wildly, flicking its tail which sent Shen flying into the mountain. The blue dragon continued to wail and screech as it flew away to the little beach close to the area. The red dragon chased after the blue dragon, still carrying the body of the Sun Chief.

Shen fell roughly to the ground as his men swarmed all over him to access the damage. Shen stood up and swiftly punched the man closest to him.

"What was that? How come I'm the only one fighting? You worthless morons! Next time I better see some more action from you guys!" The men stumbled over themselves as they mumbled their assent.

"Now who saw where the dragons went?" Shen replied in a bored voice as he brushed his arm in a spot where a bruise was forming.

Shen's second in command, Jack, responded. "They're headed towards the beach sir."

"Well don't just stand there. Let's finish them off!" Shen and the other men ran down the steps shouting their motto, "LONG LIVE THE PHOENIX KING!"

Presently, the two dragons were on the sand close to the coast of the beach. The blue dragon was wheezing and squirming. His death seemed to be approaching. Before the blue dragon could cough up his last breath, it stared at the red dragon in fierce agony. GO! His eyes said as the dragon breathed out for the final time.

The red dragon roared defiantly, the sound echoing of the water menacingly.

The Chief watched the dragons with much grief. He hated what he was about to say but he breathed out, "You should go. We…must…protect your species. You are the only one who can show us the full meaning of…fire now..." The Chief blacked out then, falling beside the blue dragon on the sand.

The red dragon howled in desperation as it flew away from the blue dragon and the Chief's unconscious body. The dragon flew around blindly, roaring every now and then.

So much sadness, so much anger, all rolled into one boundless grief. The dragon flew wildly seemingly going in no direction at all. But nothing mattered to the dragon now. Her perfect half was gone. The dragon continued to move wildly as it began to slowly approach the fire nation palace.

Well, there's chapter one. Sorry if it's confusing or long, but I had to set up some background. The next chapter will be all about Aang who is currently in the fire nation right now. To clear some information, the beginning of this story took place in the Sun Warrior village (You know the place that Aang and Zuko visited in the episode The Firebending Masters ) Anyway, please review! This is my first story ever on this sight so it would be nice if there are no flames. I do like constructed criticism though. I'll try to make the next chapter longer if you guys liked it. REVIEW!

PEACE!

Last Edit: June 28 2012