AVATAR: LIGHT THE WORLD (The Illevitus Chronicles)

BOOK 1

-Air-

Chapter 2

-Dead Dreams-

The screech from the siren outside was absolutely abhorrent, as everyone covered their ears and hurried outside. It was just before sunset, and the platinum petals that would surround the city at night were about to curl up and protect the city for nightfall. Niko, Scar, and Niko's parents all uncover their ears as Niko begins to take off towards the south side of the city with Scar in hot pursuit, "Nik where are you going?" Scar started to speak, but suddenly the two notice the fire marshal's vehicle picking up speed behind them. Its siren is just an octave louder than the city's siren. The two create a wide berth between them to let the entourage of firemen and women through as well as the main vehicle belonging to police chief Ginger Sally.

In order to keep up with the entourage Niko quickly metal bends a steel sidewalk panel up off the ground, he jumps onto the long silvery sheet of metal, using it go faster than his legs could carry him. Scar quickly followed suit and before they knew it, they were catching up to the police and fire entourage. "Nik, please tell me what's going on?"

Niko had a fierce determination his eyes, and without looking at Scar he coolly responded, "We are going to your house!" He didn't flinch, he didn't bat an eye, but Scar was just incredulous, her face looked absolutely puzzled. It was as if Niko was aware her expression changed, but before he could say another word Scar looked ahead and yelled in absolute horror.

"MOM! DAD!" In the distance a roaring housefire lit up the horizon, it wasn't just any house though. It was Scarletta's family home, the one she grew up in. Niko also grew up here to and had many fond memories in this house. It was his second home from childhood, and here it was set in a cackling orange inferno.

As they got closer, they could see the silhouette of the police chief Ginger Sally, barking orders at the men and women who were all in uniform. Some running water hoses to other subordinates, some running with huge metallic buckets filled with water aloft with metal bending at work. As Niko and Scar got even closer, they could see Ginger also moving her arms in swift motion, she was water bending, and quite skilled at it, seeing her lift a huge tankers full water supply from the back of a vehicle. The experienced water bender was hurling gallons of water onto the fire at a single second, and directing the outfit seamlessly. Niko and Scar were starting to get too close when a few uniformed men surrounded the two, and started to block them from going further. Niko locked eyes with one of the men, he was very tall, with burly that held up massive arms, which were metal bending a sheet below him simultaneously. This man seemed oddly stoic for the situation at hand, "You must let us though, my friends' parents live here!" Niko pleaded with a more distinguished gentleman with many badges and medals adorning his uniform, "We know the chief! We-!" But he was cut off by another voice, a deep bellowing sound coming from behind them.

"SCARLETTA!" It was her father Boris, a rounder man with short squatty legs that gave him the appearance of bouncing rather than walking.

Scar ran up to her father exclaiming. "DADDY!" With tears in her eyes the two embrace for a moment, as the house booms in a fiery explosion, "Wait, where's mom?" She was panicking, she began to hyperventilate into her father's arms, as he just ominously looked at the house.

Niko couldn't just stand here as the house began to burn quicker, if Mirelle was still inside and alive, he had to help her. He burst past the barricade and was now in the front with Ginger Sally's voice becoming clearer as he approached the house. Ginger was no more than four feet nine inches, but damn was she intimidating. The small woman had the voice of a giant, it boomed as she continued barking orders. But then Niko jumped forward and sprinted up to the front door, "Nikolas Illevitus, what are you doing!? GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE NOW AND LEAVE THIS TO THE PROFESSIONALS!"

Niko then felt himself leaving his body, as if all the feelings welling up in him brought something entirely new to the surface. Glowing blue markings begin to appear on his body as he makes one swift motion with his arms that put out the fire in an instant. Then he fainted.

When he started to come to there was a faint ringing in his ears, as it started to dull out he noticed a strong distorted voice was speaking, "…room… we… move…!" His vision started to slowly unblur, and he was looking up at the face of Ginger Sally. There were others standing around them in a crowd, the first faces he could make out was his parents who were behind Ginger. His mother was bawling heavily into his father's chest, as his father looked down at him with a very defeated look on his face, but when he noticed his son holding his gaze his expression softened. Niko could see tears in his eyes, as his view began to sharpen, he noticed other faces, some of them his neighbors, some family friends, and just outside his peripheral he noticed a golden gleam coming from Scar's nose piercing. He tilted his head to get a better view, Scar and her father were standing in front of a stretcher with a body bag on top, the two were crying heavily, he could hear Scar's anguished cries of, "MOMMY… Nooooooo…" it was then that it all hit him. He felt uneasy, he knew who was in that body bag, and what's worse he couldn't save her even with his new powers.

Ginger tilted Niko's face back to hold her gaze, "Are you crazy Niko? You could've been killed; however, given the fact that you managed to single-handedly put out the fire. I cannot be mad, in fact, thank you, but now we should go." She looked off into the distance as a car was approaching, "I think I have an idea of what's going on here, but we'll talk later old friend." She helped Niko to his feet, and the police captain ushered the young man through the crowd. They passed Scarletta, Boris, and the stretcher which was being loaded away into the emergency vehicle. Niko's heart sank, he couldn't help it, he started to cry too, and his sudden burst of emotion staggered him and the short police chief. He felt an arm go under his opposite shoulder. Looking through the tears he saw his father's face, he was still teary, and his mother was now in front of them at the car door. She helped load up Niko into the car, he was weightless at this point, and in his anguish and frustration he fell asleep on his mother's lap.

When Niko started coming to, he could hear distant voices from another room, currently he could vaguely hear an older man's voice, it was a low disappointed tone, "Sanclea… hiding this… my own family…" his senses was still out of whack from the experience earlier. He could hear a smaller but equally disappointed female voice, "…sorry… just discovered… he's still my son!" The end of that last bit of dialogue was fierce, it was his mother, only she could start off in her low monotone then do a complete three-sixty in tone like that. Another voice was piggybacking off the last comment, it was another female voice, "Be that as it may, he still needs guidance before jumping the gun on this Avatar situation!" The loud sharp voice was none other than Ginger.

His vision began to realign, things became less blurry, he noticed he was in a familiar place, but he couldn't put his finger on it until he'd seen a large lavish oil painting of a woman over the fireplace. The woman was his great-grandmother, Suyin Beifong, the clan matriarch when Zaofu was first established. Partly by her genius, and the architectural attributes of his great-grandfather Baatar. If that painting was on the wall Niko realized he could only be in one place, his great-grandmother's compound. The compound was currently under the ownership of his uncle Thatcher, the leader of Zaofu. Now he recognized that first voice, it was the head cheese himself. Niko and Thatcher never saw eye to eye, perhaps it was the fact that Thatcher always hated the fact that his sister married his childhood nemesis, or perhaps it was because he felt threatened that Niko could assume his position someday. The threat was quite real as Thatcher's own son, Lygin, ran away a few years ago to pursue a career in dancing much to the dismay of Thatcher. Aside from Lygin, Thatcher had no other children as his wife, Everly, died in childbirth after delivering Lygin. The man was so distraught after the loss of his beloved that he started getting more radical as a leader. Niko's grandfather Wei, the only son of Suyin who stayed to become the new leader, died young from a broken heart after seeing what his own son was doing to his own people. Wei was the people's leader of Zaofu, they loved him unconditionally as he brought a ten-year reign of prosperity; however, Thatcher practically caused Zaofu to go bankrupt, and in the years since has done very little to change that. The homeless rate in Zaofu is staggering, the price for a loaf of bread alone… is astronomical, those who aren't metal benders are treated as lower class, and have to work like slaves for a wage that is barely worth it. The metal benders didn't have a much better life unless you were a member of the Beifong family, had wealth before you lived in Zaofu, or worked for the Beifong clan. His family was elite and Niko was now the Avatar, which wouldn't bode too well for him when his uncle would just use him in his army. On the other hand, Niko didn't have to care about or listen to his uncle anymore. It was then that he realized his parents, uncle, and Ginger were approaching the room he was in. Niko quickly closed his eyes to avoid talking to his uncle.

"When my nephew awakens, we shall have a talk," his uncle's tone was very judgmental, something Niko was already accustomed to.

It was then his mother's voice intervened, "Absolutely not, Mirelle's funeral is first thing tomorrow morning, as the leader of Zaofu you should be there! Another thing, my son also has a right to be there as well, she practically helped raise Niko with me, and her daughter would be unequivocally devastated if her best friend wasn't there!" He could hear his uncle's throat make some unhappy noises in protest, but no words would come out, "I do not wish to fight on this matter, brother! Now if you wouldn't mind, I would like everyone to leave my boy alone, and let him sleep." Niko was so grateful for his mother in this moment. He didn't quite trust himself not to start tearing into his uncle like a savage had they actually spoke in this moment. He could hear everyone shuffling out of the room silently until, "Ginger could you stay back for a moment?"

Niko could only imagine what his mother was about to say to Ginger, "Thank you, for getting Niko out of that scene earlier. Could I ask you to keep an eye on him during this journey? I know you're getting transferred out soon, so you'll have the time-"

Ginger cleared her throat, "Not another word, Sanclea. Of course, I will, plus it's not like I don't have experience keeping him out of trouble." She laughed, which was a shocking contrast to her vocal pattern, it was light and airy, like a baby animal yawning.

Niko could feel the edge of the couch dip down as his mother took a seat next to him, "I wish you two would've worked out, you were always great together." She gently pushed some hair out of her son's face, "But I understand completely. You both were heading in different directions in life."

Ginger chuckled again, "We we're also like fourteen, but I'll admit I do miss his calming aura. Your son always knew how to get the soft side out of me." Niko was hoping neither of them were looking at him because he couldn't help, but grin like a mad man. Only for a second though, but neither woman seemed to notice.

The next morning it was raining heavily, you could tell especially living in Zaofu, the rain is shielded away by the metal petals that cover the areas of the city, but when they open all of a sudden you can only hear the rain plummeting through the opening as it delicately unfurls. Where was the rain yesterday, Niko thought as the loud manmade waterfall outside rocketed to the ground and begun gaining momentum. It was a rare occurrence for rain in this area of the Earth Kingdom, especially at this caliber. It must have been pouring down in buckets all night, normally it's a light mist versus this kind of storm, but then again it was certainly appropriate weather for the gloomy occasion of the morning.

Niko was swift and nimble, skirting about the compound in his socks, trying not to wake anyone else who was trying to go back to bed. He was the only early riser in his family, a trait he shared only with his cousin Lygin, as everyone else in his family was known to be a late riser. He got together a bowl of fruit, yogurt, granola, and caramel sauce. He thought about having toast with it since there was a loaf of bread laid out on the counter, but knowing his uncle as well as he did Niko thought twice. His uncle would most likely want him or his parents to pay for the two slices, stupid, but his uncle was just that ridiculous.

His favorite room in his great-grandmother's compound was her gallery. Suyin was very proud of her family and to honor them all she metal-bended a long hallway together that housed artworks her children produced, blueprints of Zaofu, pictures of Wei and his twin brother Wing winning the first power disc tournament, the eulogy that was delivered at Wing's funeral along with the collage, pictures of his great aunt Opal the only air bender to be in the family, and his favorite spot to sit in the whole hall. Underneath a picture of Suyin, months before she died, holding onto Sanclea and Everly who are both visibly pregnant, was her armchair - that for a long time was at Suyin's spot at the head of the long table in the dining hall- and Niko always felt close to Suyin when he sat in it. He listened to the rain pounding down on the roof now. This meant the petals were completely down now, soon he'd have to get ready for the funeral, but for now he enjoys his breakfast feeling the presence of his great-grandmother not too far away.

Niko hardly dressed up nowadays, the thought of a black-tie affair was more appealing, but due to his uncle's rule of traditional garb being worn at formal events, he had to wear an iron-clad outfit of yesterday. The garb was uncomfortable to say the least, with its heavy cloth and lack of pants. It could be best described as a tunic fastened to a long skirt, heavy long undergarments where the alternative for pants. The fabric seemed too thick and stiff to allow for much movement.

The funeral was about to commence, with hundreds in attendance, and yet somehow Niko couldn't help but feel like everyone was mandated to be here. Amongst the crowds there was a face or two that he knew, but for every face there was about five he couldn't identify. One face he wished he'd missed was that of great-aunt Riki, she wasn't his biological great-aunt, in fact that honor belonged to Scar, but he old woman treated him just the same. Aunt Riki was about four foot nine with silvery flyway hair that was upturned into a beehive. Her face was long, wrinkled, and weather beaten. Her age was never explicitly stated by any adult as he was growing up, yet somehow, she just looked as old and decrepit as when he'd first met her twenty years ago. If Niko had to guess he'd say she was in her late nineties; however, unlike many centennials she moved with the speed of someone who was in their forties, and before he could blink, he felt her bony arms drape around him like some limp skeletal scarf.

The smell of brandy and 'eau d' frieze No.12 perfume clung to the ancient woman, who opened her mouth releasing a cloud of stale air and brandy, "Nikolas, my dreamboat, why have you been hiding from Aunt Riki?" Her voice was quite deep, and had a lingering impression that she smoked cigarettes for decades.

Niko looked around, hopefully someone would see him, and remove him from Aunt Riki's clutches. It wasn't that he disliked her, more so what she did to him. "Aunt Riki, now why would I hide from you?" They were kind of dancing now, swaying towards an empty parlor. He tried to stop, but she was leading him. She put a bony finger up to his lips, shushing him softly, they were now in the parlor, the room was empty, and Aunt Riki had just closed the door behind him. Niko was getting really worried now.

Aunt Riki started to hug him again, yet this time she seemed closer. The scent of her perfume and brandy-laden sweat were enough to gag him at this point, "I know you wouldn't hide from me…" she paused "otherwise how would I get my dues?" She quickly moved a bony hand down his chest, and descending fast stopping it to rest on his crotch. Niko was extremely uncomfortable, and without trying to break her he attempted to pry her off gently. Her grip just got stronger with every movement of resistance, and now her other hand was groping his butt with little remorse. It was like this ever since he turned fifteen, Aunt Riki was always weird around him before that, but since his fifteenth birthday things had escalated to a more sexual tone between them. Everyone knew, yet didn't seem to care, the adults would always just say Oh that's just how she is with all men. This wasn't some innocent flirting, this was essentially abuse, and the more he tried to press away, the tighter her grip on his groin became. Now it never got worse than groping, still it was wildly inappropriate, but something about this time seemed more… sinister.