Song to listen to – When Kai says "Stay away from me" turn on Omen by the Prodigy - .com/watch?v=uVefPPr69NU
A Matter of time
Kai hitched her bag up her shoulder, scuffing the ground with her black boot, the tattered hem of her baggy black jeans swaying the breeze. She hunched her shoulders against the little wind, shivering inwardly, not just because her red fitted blouse didn't exactly keep her warm. She shivered because…well she didn't actually know why. Just a feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her something was going to happen. It was the same feeling she got before her parents had died. She lived on her own now, since the law allowed teenagers sixteen and over to legally live by themselves. Her parents had died when she was just ten, and she had jumped from shelter to shelter, until she was finally able to inherit their house. Her mum and dad had been murdered by rogue earth, air and waterbenders. They had ambushed them on the streets of Ba Sing Se, torturing them before finally killing them. Their mutilated bodies had been found a week later. She increased the speed of her paces, wanting to get home before the storm hit. The sky was growing dark already.
She slipped down the well-worn earth pathway of an alleyway that wound around the back of a large factory. This time of day the factory was closed, the massive chimneys no longer belching smoke into the sky. Footsteps sounded behind her. She ignored them, pulling her blouse down to stop the wind from going up it. It was probably just a worker on the way home. She turned down another empty street. The footsteps followed her. Now she was getting freaked out. She quickened her pace, almost running. The echoing footsteps copied her. She began to run, turning into another alleyway. Her bag bumped against her legs, and she looked up to see a huge wall blocking her. What…? She could have sworn that this was usually the way she came home. She whipped around, to see two men coming menacingly up behind her. They were dressed in grubby suits, their jackets blowing open to reveal ugly looking guns at their waists. She gasped in fear, and held out her bag. "Take it, just leave me alone!" She cried, her voice sounding weak and small.
One man laughed. "Oh honey, we don't want your money. We were sent after you. And I don't like to leave a job unfinished," he hissed the last word.
Kai almost stopped breathing, her mind going blank. "What…who are you?" She gasped.
The other man snorted. "Yeah, nice try. C'mon, let's get this over with. I'm hungry." He leered at her.
Kai's insides froze. "Stay away from me!" her mouth said of it's own accord.
The men laughed. "Give it up, girly. You're done for." They moved towards her, taking out their guns and knives.
Kai felt strangely calm. "You don't want to mess with me. I have power you can't imagine," she said boldly. Her body set itself into a fighting stance. "Back off." She raised her hands, palms facing sideways. What was her body doing? It was like she knew what to do!
The men sneered. "Whatever," one said. "Let's get her." He lunged forwards, stabbing his knife towards her face. She leaning sideways, his fist whistling past her face. She ducked under his arm smoothly, grabbed it and tugged down. He toppled to the floor, smacking his head against the hard ground. The other guy growled and aimed his gun at her, and pulled the trigger. Kai watched the bullet speed towards her as if in slow motion. She raised her arms and swept her foot across the ground. She felt a resistance tug at the ends of her fingers. She pulled it up, and thrust her arms forwards, shooting a huge wall of earth towards the man, absorbing the bullet and sending them both crashing into the metal ladder behind him. He grunted, and fell still.
Kai let out her breath. What had she just done? It couldn't be…just couldn't! She shook her head, trying to clear it. She gasped, looking up. Vibrations coursed through her entire body. The other man was getting up. She spun around and punched through the air, sending a column of earth into his stomach. He wheezed, and fell, the gun clattering from his fingers. Her fist dropped, and her legs felt wobbly. She looked around, tears blurring her eyes, and ran off back down the alley.
A figure stood on top of the building, looking down at the fight scene. Brown eyes watched the girl run off. A crooked smile crept at the corners of the boy's mouth. "Mel," he said into a com clipped to his ear.
"What! This had better be good." A clipped voice snapped down the link.
He smiled wider. "Tell everyone. We found her."
"You sure?" Mel's voice sounded susceptive. "It could just be another fluke."
"Yeah. I'm sure. Meet me at the rendezvous. We can beat her home." The boy checked his watch.
"Whatever. See you there." Mel's voice cut out, leaving dead air.
"Sure." The boy sighed, and turned on his heel, walking back to a large motorcycle that stood on the roof next to him. He slung a leg over the seat, revving the engine. He roared over to the far edge of the roof, and shot off the edge, falling on the alleyway beneath, sparks flying up from the wheels.
The rain started just after Kai turned into the block from her flat. She ran faster, her breath coming raggedly from her lungs. Tears blurred with the rain that plastered her hair to her head. She ran up the steps to her apartment building. She pressed her thumb to the small pad by the door, which beeped and the door swung open. She slammed it shut behind her, and limped to the lift, panting hard. She pressed the button for the top floor, and leaned against the cool metal walls. They vibrated against her back, so violently that her head began to hurt. Walking past the building had almost made her head explode. Everything seemed to vibrate in her vision, calling to her with high-pitched beeping. The lift pinged, and the doors slid open smoothly. Kai almost fell out of the lift, and opened her front door, scrambling with the scanner pad. It clicked open obediently. All she wanted to do right now was have a shower, and get dressed for the party. She just wanted to get drunk and party until she fell down, Miko would help her…Kai looked up. Two figures were silhouetted against the light coming dimly through the curtains. She gasped in fear, and backed towards the door.
"Wait, we're not here to hurt you!" One of the figures said, raising it's hand.
"Yeah, whatever," Kai hissed and opened a cupboard by the door. She pulled out a gun, and aimed it at the figures.
"Whoa, hey there's no need for that!" The boy (it sounded like a boy) said hurriedly. "We're here to help you! We saw what you did in the alleyway. Truth is, we've been looking for you for a long time."
Kai paused. "You saw that?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Look, just turn on the lights and we'll explain everything."
Kai narrowed her eyes. "Ok…" she reached over and pressed her finger to the light pad. Soft yellow lights illuminated the living room, bringing the figures out of the shadows. A boy about two years older than her stood in front of her, accompanied by a shorter girl, with brown shaggy hair and elegantly black-rimmed eyes. She was staring at Kai, her hand on her belt, where a large knife swung.
The boy smiled at her. "See? Better, huh?" He held up his hands, elbowing the girl to do the same. "Ok, can we talk now?"
Kai lowered the gun. "Sure, why not? I mean, you only broke into my house, and scared me half to death. Yeah, let's talk." She tucked the gun into her belt. "Let's start with who the hell you are."
The boy grinned at her. "Can we sit?"
Kai nodded, walking slowly over to the armchair. The boy and girl sat on the sofa. Kai noticed how the girl's eyes flicked around the room, assessing. "What's your names?"
"Her name is Mellesbere, but she goes by…"
"Mel." The girl said shortly, in a husky low voice.
"Yeah, so that's Mel, and my name's Jet." Jet smiled again.
"Mel and Jet. What are you guys, like, terrorists or something?" Kai's mind made the connection. "Wait…Jet…? I've heard that name before…wasn't that the name of the guy that helped that earthbender escape?"
Jet gritted his teeth.
"Yeah, that was him," Mel said smoothly.
"Thanks Mel," he growled at her.
Mel shrugged. "What? We were meant to tell her stuff." She got up. "Hey, kid. You got any food?"
Kai nodded dumbly. "Yeah, in the kitchen," she said dimly. "But you can't be the same guy, that happened about one thousand five hundred years ago!"
Jet sighed, rubbing his hand across his hair, which stuck up in all directions. "Long story."
"Tell it." Kai commanded him.
Jet stared at her. "Fine. Yes, I am the same guy that rescued Toph, I know it sounds impossible," he said hastily as her saw Kai's eyebrows raise. "But it's true. You know how Ozai made himself immortal by "finding" the source of spiritual power at the north pole?"
Kai nodded.
"Well, that isn't strictly true. What actually happened was…"
"Hey Jet!" Mel walked back into the room with a plate full of food. "Check out what I found!" She held up a sprig of thin parsley, and stuck it in his mouth. "Just like old times, huh?" She grinned, and started to stuff her face.
Jet smiled weakly, and took the herb out. "Funny, Mel, really!"
Mel grunted.
He shook his head. "Anyway. When Aang was killed, a tremor went through the entire world..."
~ ~ ~ .com/watch?v=OB3wgiaOOvA&feature=related
Sweat dripped down Aang's face, his skin feeling like heat was pressing down on him from all angles. He tried to create a small pocket of cool air around himself, but couldn't. His ball of rock wasn't going to last much longer, he knew. If only there was some way he could get back into the avatar state...He choked, gulping in a huge lungful of air. The roaring sound of fire grew ever nearer...he could see light coming through gaps in the rock. Ozai was getting closer...
Suddenly his world exploded in a flash of light, rock flying into his face, cool air whooshing onto his skin. Ozai reached out and grabbed the small boy by the throat, just before he could crash into the column of rock behind him. He lifted up Aang by the neck, inches above the ground.
Aang choked and struggled, clawing at the massive hand that squeezed his windpipe shut. "Please...you don't...have to do this!" He coughed.
Ozai laughed, a pitiless cold sound. "Why would I stop now?" He hissed. "When I'm so close..." He clenched his fist harder, feeling the tension of bone beneath it. "You've failed, Avatar. Even your pitiful friends won't be able to stop me...once I kill you, I can finally be rid of the pests that are element benders. I will be the greatest, and only bender in existence! I will be unstoppable!" He spat the last word into Aang's face.
Aang's mind began to cloud. "No...you can't...without bending...the world will be..." he whispered.
"What? Perfect? Without conflict? You think I caused the war?" Ozai's eyes burned. "No, Avatar, it was you. You turned nations against each other...you ran away, cowards that you are, just to let the Air Nomads burn and die. You could have saved them, and the Southern Water Tribe. If you had never been created, millions of years ago, this war never would have happened."
A tear ran down Aang's face. "It wasn't my fault," he gasped, vision starting to turn black. "I couldn't save them..."
"You've failed everyone you've ever cared about. That water tribe girl, her brother, the earthbender, they all gave up everything for you. And now you have failed." Ozai glared at the boy.
Aang tensed, gripping harder around the fist, then went limp. His head drooped down, tears splashing onto the ground. "I've...failed." He whispered.
Ozai laughed again. "And now you will die." He stated, heartlessly. He gripped the neck even harder, ignoring the twitches and convulsions of the little body. He smiled as a loud crack rang through the air, and the Avatar went limp. He opened his fist, letting the body fall to the ground, the warmth leaving it. He brushed his hands together, and regarded the corpse with disgust. "Finally..." he murmured. "I have won." He walked away, leaving the broken, still body behind. Let the wasp-crows eat it. It was what he deserved.
Toph stared up at Sokka's face, his beautiful blue eyes filled with desperation. "I don't think Boomerang's coming back, Toph!" He yelled. "It looks like this is the end!"
Toph's eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth to say something back, but a tremor ran through her entire body. It felt…sad, like all the hope in the world had been sucked dry. She gasped, and her fingers loosened around Sokka's. He yelped and swung his broken arm down to grip her hand. He yelled in pain as shooting pains ran up his arm., then gasped as the shockwave reached him. Pressure built inside his skull. "What the...? Toph...did you feel that?"
Toph nodded dumbly. "I think it was Aang!" She cried up to him.
Sokka gritted his teeth. "Oh no…I hope he's ok!"
Toph clenched her jaw. When the tremor had run up her body, she saw a monochrome vision, like the way she saw with Earthbending. She saw Ozai standing over Aang's body. He wasn't moving, no vibrations came from his body. He was dead. "Sokka…Aang's dead!" She choked through the tears.
Sokka's mind went blank. "No…that's impossible! How could you know!" He yelled hoarsly.
Toph shook her head. "Look around Sokka! What does it look like to you?" She was, for once, glad she couldn't see what the firebenders would do to the world.
Sokka lifted his eyes, and saw a jet of fire carrying a huge, muscular body into the air. Ozai. That could only mean…"No…" he whispered.
Suki ran to the rudder of the massive air ship, swinging a rope around her body and tossing it around the metal. She gritted her teeth, and leaned back with all her might. The rope cut into her hands, making it slick with blood. She narrowed her eyes, pulling harder, until the ship began to turn. She grinned as she saw Sokka and Toph in the distance. If she could only…She doubled over as the tremor hit. The rope slid from her fingertips as she lost her footing, and slid down the smooth side of the airship. There was suddenly nothing beneath her, and she was falling through the hot air. She looked over, and saw Sokka watching her fall. She opened her mouth to shout out to him, but the wind caught her, and turned her over, sending her tumbling towards the sea below. She watched the waves get bigger and bigger. She knew she was going to die. She just hoped it wouldn't hurt. She wished she had told Sokka how much she loved him. She thought of her family, back on Kyoshi Island. She thought of everything she never did, never said, wished and thought of doing but never got around to. She closed her eyes as the water got closer. Her body hit the water with a smack, and she lost consciousness. She didn't think of anything more, as her body slowly fell through the water, down into the darkness, her arms stretching up towards the receding light.
Zuko was blown off his feet as the lightening stuck him in the chest. His head slammed onto the ground and he dimly saw Katara running towards him, her hand covered in water. She was blown backwards as well after Azula shot a jet of blue fire at her. He reached out, but his chin dropped to the floor as his mind slipped into oblivion.
Katara ran towards a pillar, hiding behind it, catching her breath. Zuko was motionless behind her. She concentrated, looking around. She saw the huge grill next to her, and lifted her foot to run towards it, but stopped as a huge wave of sorrow and fear rolled over her. She sank to her knees, as the wave left her she saw Aang lying still on the ground, Ozai standing over him. He wasn't breathing. No…Aang…please…tears ran down her face. She didn't hear Azula walking up behind her. She just rocked herself back and forth, arms wrapped around herself just to keep from falling apart. She gasped and looked up as Azula reached out and gripped the front of her dress. She was pulled to her feet, and tried to summon a water whip, but Azula knocked her hand away. Katara closed her eyes.
Azula smiled. She wasn't going to kill them. She would make them watch as she and her father turned their world to ashes. She reached into her armour and brought out a length of chain. She grabbed Katara's hands and pulled them together, welding the links together with a burst of blue fire. She grabbed the chains and pulled Katara over to where Zuko lay. She pulled more chains out of her clothes, and bound his hands and feet together. "Heal him," she commanded.
Katara's mind was still reeling from Aang's death. "What?" she gasped.
"I said, heal him. I want him alive. It's no fun torturing someone unless they are alive." Azula grinned. She reached down and tugged her water bottle off her. She poured the water over Katara's hands. "Do it. And if you get any ideas…" she aimed her fingers at Katara's head. "You get the idea."
Katara held the water around her hands, making it glow. She leaned over and laid her hands over Zuko's chest. She hoped it wouldn't work. At least then only one of them would survive. She winced as Zuko stirred, and looked at him sadly as he opened his eyes.
"Well done," Azula congratulated her.
Zuko struggled against the chains, but a sharp jab in his chest stopped him.
"Aang's dead," Katara whispered to him.
Zuko's eyes widened. "What…"
Azula laughed. "So Dad managed to finish him off! Excellent." She punched Katara in the back of the head. She slumped to the ground, water spilling around her. "This is cause for a celebration, eh ZuZu!"
Zuko pulled against his chains, feeling his bones crunch.
"I wouldn't even try it if I were you." Azula warned. She knelt down next to him, and comfortingly stroked his hair. "I'm your sister ZuZu, I'm only trying to help." She knocked him swiftly on the head with the side of her fist. "Oh well! Never mind." She stood up, threw back her head and laughed to the sky. Jets of fire shot from her hands, illuminating the destroyed and burnt earth.
Jet fell silent, his hands clenched. "Toph felt all this. It was like she was there…in all their defeats." Jet's mouth hardened. "It almost drove her crazy."
Kai didn't say a word. When Jet had told her Aang died it was like a part of her screamed out. "But…what happened with you? I thought you were captured too…" her voice trailed off.
Jet didn't reply. "I was." He said finally.
Longshot ran through the forest, his hand gripping a note tightly. He paused to shot and arrow behind him, hearing the soft thud as it met it's mark. Now only two fire nation soldiers were following him. Great. He ran to a large tree, and shimmied up the trunk. He scrambled down a large branch, swinging down with his knees holding him up. He loosed another arrow, hitting the second. One down…he aimed at the other man, but was blinded by a flash of fire. Sparks flew into his eyes and he yelped. He almost lost his balance, but regained it quickly. He rubbed his eyes angrily, seeing no one in front of him. The man had run. Damm it! He swung upright again, sliding down the trunk. He looked around the forest again before running swiftly off, towards the hideout.
Smellerbee paced impatiently in front of Jet. "He should be back by now," she snapped.
Jet nodded. "Yeah, weird."
Smellerbee's face darkened. "Weird!" She yelled at him. "Is that really all you can say!" She went back to pacing. "I mean, why should you care, we only rescued you from that Earth Kingdom lake place, travelled all the way to the misty swamp to find a waterbender to heal you, spent weeks nursing you back to health…yeah, why should you care!"
Jet reached out and grabbed her arm. "Hey! I never said I wasn't grateful, 'bee. I'm just saying, sometimes we have to be sneaky getting back here." He heard a distant bird call. "See, that's The Duke. Longshot's fine!" He walked over to the hut entrance. "C'mon! Don't you wanna welcome your boyfriend home!" He teased.
Smellerbee stalked to the doorway. "Bite me," she said as she brushed past him.
Jet laughed, and followed her out. They ran across narrow walkways high in the treetops, not caring about the height. Smellerbee was practically sprinting by the time they reached the Duke. Longshot was doubled over, panting hard. The Duke looked worried, his freckled face screwed up in concern. Since he had found his way back from the Western Air Temple, he had been more serious, less childish. It was like the journey had aged him ten years. "He can't talk yet, Jet. But he had this," he held out a crumpled piece of paper. Jet took it.
Smellerbee had her arm over Longshot's back. "C'mon! Breathe! Breathing is good." She said hastily.
Longshot looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.
"What!" She shrugged. "It is!"
He shook his head and smiled.
"Shut up." Smellerbee helped him stand up. "You ok?"
Longshot looked pointedly at the note.
Jet unfurled it, his face turning to stone. "Are you sure about this?" He said shortly.
Longshot nodded.
"What is it Jet?" Smellerbee moved to take the note, but he crumpled it up in his fist before she could see it.
"The Avatar…" Jet's voice caught in his throat. "The Avatar is dead." He clenched his fists.
Smellerbee's mouth dropped open. "No, he can't be! No!" She yelled.
Longshot hugged her tightly. "It's going to be ok," he whispered in her ear. No one else heard him.
Jet dropped the note onto the wood. "The Fire Nation had captured the Avatar's friends. It's too late for some of them."
"Who have they killed already?" The Duke asked solemnly.
Jet paused before he spoke. "Katara was killed a week ago. Sokka a few days after that." His voice sounded strained.
Smellerbee unwrapped herself from Longshot's arms. "What about that Earthbender? Toph?"
Jet looked at her and nodded. "She's still alive. They're using her for some experiment to do with her blindness."
Smellerbee wiped her eyes roughly. "Let's go get her."
Jet smiled weakly. "It's gonna be tough."
Smellerbee shrugged. "Whatever. We can handle it."
Longshot nodded.
Jet turned to the Duke. "I need you to stay here. You need to be the leader when we're gone. I know I can trust you."
The Duke nodded, his young face grim. "We can take care of things while you're gone, Jet. I promise."
Jet grasped him tightly on the shoulder. "Thank you." He turned back to the other two. "If we're gonna go, we have to go now."
The huge wooden building loomed in front of them. It was shadowed by the thin moonlight seeping through the clouds. "That's where she is?" Smellerbee whispered. They were lying on their fronts just behind a few tufts of long grass. "Doesn't look so hard to get into."
"It is." Jet's mouth hardened, as he ground his teeth together. "It's not too late for you guys to turn around, you know that, right?"