Anthem of the Angels Chapter 2 - Dead Hearts, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

Aura – a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (like the halo or aureola in religious art). The depiction of such an aura often connotes a person of particular power or holiness. Sometimes, however, it is said that all living things (including humans) and all objects manifest such an aura.

Telekinesis – also known as Psychokinesis, production or control of motion, especially in inanimate and remote objects, purportedly by the exercise of psychic powers.

PsuremSpecial - I'M ALIVE I SWEAR! (0_0)

I apologize for the HUGE lack of stories from, quite honestly, ALL of us from Flipping Table Productions, but some family problems came up, ending with someone becoming depressed, someone nearly getting arrested, and someone nearly getting expelled. So, that ate up most of our time and energy. But we're back now, with more knowledge than before!

I refuse to make our past make us bitter, for it's only going to make us better!

UPDATE: Sorry if you noticed that this story was temporarily released on my cousin's channel, Daethtofools, and got confused. It's just that I forgot my password for this account...and then I found out I carved it into my bedpost...silly me...

Guest – I'm really sorry that this was updated...five months later...

24601 – JEAN VALJEAN. YOUR TIME IS UP AND YOU'RE PAROLE'S BEGUN— *Cough* Sorry. Toph's my favorite character as well, and her partner, Caedite Eos, is not an OC. His past name just shall not be mentioned yet.

Let's begin!

"Tell me everything that happened

Tell me everything you saw

They had lights inside their eyes

Did you see the closing window?

Did you hear the slamming door?

They moved forward, my heart died

Please, please tell me what they look like

Did they seem afraid of you?

They were kids that I once knew

I could say it, but you won't believe me

You say you do, but you don't deceive me

It's hard to know they're out there

It's hard to know that you still care

I could say it but you won't believe me

You say you do but you don't deceive me

Dead hearts are everywhere

Did you touch them, did you hold them?

Did they follow you to town?

They make me feel I'm falling down

Was there one you saw too clearly?

Did they seem too real to you?

They were kids that I once knew

Now they're all dead hearts to you

They were kids that I once knew

Now they're all dead hearts to you..."

- Dead Hearts by Stars

"WELCOME TO THE BODY SHOP!"

Caedite flinched at the guttural, shouting voice, but Toph headed in as if the shop owner didn't possibly break their eardrums. The shop was as large as an elementary school gymnasium, yet the endless multitudes of glass and/or metal cages made it feel much smaller. At Caedite's first glance, the things inside of the cages were simply life-like, naked mannequins along with strangely mounted fauna.

He didn't really get a good look at them anyways, since he constantly kept placing his hand by his neck to make sure it stopped bleeding. Toph hasn't spoken a word to him since they met up, and it unnerved the psychopomp a bit. It may have been that whenever Toph looked at him, he saw the silver aura rise dangerously once more and complete fury in her eyes, as if she would snap and kill him at any second.

So his black and blue nose, bleeding neck, and paranoia that his partner was going to rip him to pieces at any second kept him from thinking clearly at that moment.

The two continued silently to the counter, which was mysteriously placed in the very back of the shop. When they approached, a putrid, absolutely foul smell of rotting meat hit their nostrils and both shuddered in disgust and Caedite's expression turned to one of repulsion.

Seated in a towering crimson swivel chair, bare, scarred back towards the two, was a rather frail and boney old man with heavily tanned skin, and as Caedite got closer to the counter, he could see a familiar yet faint white aura radiating off the man like smoke. He glanced towards his new partner once more, and saw that same aura, yet more silver in color and more visible, radiating off of her.

Ah, so I have more psionic to deal with... Caedite thought worriedly, biting his lip in nervousness. The second after he thought that, however, the man tilted his head and said aloud, in his whimsical and accented voice, "Now, now, boy, not all of us psionic Soul Collectors are as violent as little Toph there. No need for racism in here."

Flustered and avoiding Toph's narrowed eyes; he asked the man politely, "S-sir, you can read my thoughts?"

"Ah, why yes, boy. As you may know, once a psionic, or really, any Soul Collector, reaches maximum amount of souls, their full potentials are unlocked, making them essentially immortal and invincible. One attribute to our psionic mastery is indeed completely clear telepathy." The man continued, shifting his position a bit. Finally, Caedite noticed what was on the man's filthy workbench, and his blood froze.

Laying, face-up, was a completely decimated, undressed corpse, explaining the excessive amounts of bodily fluids splattered along the counter and workbench, and also jars of organs and bones lining the shelves behind the counter. Even pristinely clean severed limbs hung on hooks from the ceiling, and the man plainly raised a hand and a limb was encased in his white aura and floated towards him, and Caedite saw for the first time active telekinesis. Caedite watched with both fascination and absolute disgust, as the man measured the limb in midair, checking for scars or rot, and then place the limb in its correct place by the dismembered cadaver and the literally sew the limb onto it.

Caedite's mind suddenly clicked into place and he turned around to the rows upon rows of cages and containers, and saw that he thought were stuffed chimeras and mannequins, were indeed bodies, sewn together with the most look-alike pieces and limbs; that only one with a professionally trained eye could see the seams. The bodies ranged from ages, races, and sexes, yet all had a number tattooed on the back of their right ear. The mounted animals were also the same way; pieces of the animal sewn together and placed in cages haphazardly, such as dogs, cats, birds, and larger creatures, such as deer, bears, and even a young elephant was shoved into the corner of the shop.

"You seem bewildered, my boy." The man cut through the young psychopomp's musings, he his face once more turned red, and he could see out of the corner of his eye that his partner was snickering. "This is your first time in my shop, isn't it?"

"Y-yes sir."

"Ah, so you must have never gotten into a body before, hm?"

"N-no sir..."

"I'm guessing you were an active participant in the Thousand's Years War? Is that why you have never gone on this type of mission?"

"Can't you read thoughts, you old buffoon?" Toph interjected, a bit annoyed and speaking for the first time since the entered. She crossed her chained arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "You know he was which is why he has those stupid Latin words on his puny scythe."

"Then why do you have those 'stupid Latin words' on your cross there?" The man asked, and Caedite could practically hear the grin in his voice. Toph merely chuckled and absentmindedly brushed her gloved knuckles against said silver cross that was chained to her chest; stating plainly, "It was only one recon mission, and that's all."

"If you call that one little reconnaissance mission the one that changed the outcome of the war, my little Bandit." The last seam was made on the body, and the man placed his steel thread and bone needle back onto the gore-covered table and extended his calloused hands over the carcass, and the pure white aura around him grew like bonfire, similar to the way Toph burst out in the assignment hall. Except, this time, tendrils of the white mist extended from his hands and encased the body, and ever so suddenly, the body rose from the bench and lifted into the air.

Caedite's jaw dropped, Toph snickered at his bewildered expression, and the man stood as the body turned and floated, suspended in midair with arms extended. The man placed his glowing hands onto the body's head and began muttering something in a language forgotten by man, but still sent shivers down their spines.

"Non ministrari, sed ministrare..."

A resounding crack, one similar to lightning, burst from the man's hands, and the body's head to lift and its dead eyes to shot open, a pure white light bursting out every visible orifice. The psychopomp and Soul Collector watched in awe as any existing rot or open wound close, and the new seams fade to become almost non-existent. It's pale, clammy skin slowly restored in color, and they could watch and hear as the body breathed, and its heart functioned once more. It's chipped and fallen off hair and nails gradually grew back, and they were amazed at how the body was alive once more.

It only lasted for a few seconds, until the light faded to nothing again, and the head hung limp. They watched as the man placed his hand over the corpse's right ear and a soft glow peeked out from under it, and once the hand pulled away, a numbered tattoo was behind the ear. The body then floated over the man's head and rested onto the counter, right in front of the new partners.

"That...that was amazing!" Caedite shouted, leaning forward and poking at the body. He saw now that it wasn't dead, for it was still breathing and its heart was still beating, and it looked as if it was just in a deep, deep sleep. "You brought it back to life!"

"Well, yes, and no." The man finally turned around, and Caedite recognized him in less than a second, noting the slightly sunken in eyes, great white beard, and a glowing white infinity sign adorned his left cheek.

"You're Soul Master Pathik!"

"Heh, why yes, yes I am, little psychopomp." Pathik responded, brushing his long white beard absentmindedly, then turned to Toph and smiled fondly. "Hello again, little Bandit. How have you been?"

"Eh, well, I've been partnered up with this idiot and now we have to go live in one of the busiest and regulated cities on earth." Toph sighed and pulled up a chair, sitting down. "Not to good, really."

"Ah, yes... I've heard what happened to your cousin and your partner, Toph. My condolences..." Toph turned away from the Soul Master and ran her fingers through her hair and avoided eye contact. Caedite saw her silver aura flicker for just a brief moment, but not out of anger, just pure sadness, and he quickly defused the situation by asking the Soul Master, "So, how did you bring this body back to life?"

"You see, dear boy, this body isn't technically living, for it has no soul inside of it." Pathik explain, gesturing at the sleeping body in front of them. "So, in a way, this body is dead and alive at the same time, for its bodily functions now work, yet there is no spirit to make it actually live."

"So, Toph and I will get two of these bodies?"

"Of course! In fact, this body here is yours! I just have to change some features, fix the hair, and it'll be yours!"

Caedite's eyes widened as watched the Soul Master unexpectedly pull out a pair of tweezers and literally float forward, blowing off Caedite's hood and plucking out a few strands of his brown hair causing him to flinch. Rubbing his head, he kept quiet as the man pulled out a frightfully old lamp and threw the hairs inside, and the lantern flickered to life with unnaturally brown fire.

Soul Master Pathik raised his free hand and snapped his fingers, and his white aura rushed towards his hand, looking like thin sheets of paper, and the sheets bundled together and forming something in the shape of a thick stick, until Caedite recognized it as a glowing white torch made of spiritual wisps. He stuck the wispy aura torch into the lantern, and the flickering flame transferred to the torch and the man plainly threw the lantern over his shoulder and let it clatter onto the floor.

He slowly brought the abnormal chocolate-colored flames over the body's head and tapped the flames onto the body's chest, right over where its heart was.

The effect was instantaneous, for shimmering brown ripples of light spread like waves on water, and the ripples morphed the body to become slightly shorter, its thin layer of hair naturally growing out more and changing from black to brown, the body's skin turned tanner in color, and its features changed to become younger and more familiar...

"The...the body..."

"Yes, boy, this body is now a copy of your current spirit. So, essentially, this body is an exact copy of you...before you became a psychopomp."

Caedite was fascinated; poking and prodding at the body repeatedly, checking every detail, such as even looking at the tiny scar underneath his chin from when he fell into a river. He then paused, and asked hesitantly, "Wait...how am I supposed to get into this body...?"

"Simple really."

Startled by Toph's voice, he suddenly felt her clawed gauntlets grip his shoulder, and he turned his head to see Toph's sadistic grin.

"We just need you to 'possess' this body, but since you're neither an actual spirit nor a filthy demon, which you should be, this old buffoon and I will have to improvise."

He watched in horror as similar silver lightning crackled across the chains around her arms, yet unlike Pathik's lightning, hers was out of controls and flaring in all directions.

"And lucky for you, this is the first time for me doing this. This better hurt...a lot."

Just as the lightning reached her hands, he blacked out.

"C'mon...wake up..."

"Ugh, five more minutes..."

His eyes shot open as he felt a rather hard metal object smack to his head, and he instinctively shot up and reached to grab his attacked, only for the object to smack him right in the face this time with a sickening crack, and he fell flat on his back again. He clutched his now broken nose as fresh blood poured out, and he could hear Soul Master Pathik complain, "Aw, little Bandit, I just fixed up that body, and now I have to fix it again!"

"Tch, it's not my fault this imbecile is so soft." Toph defended, and Caedite saw the lantern from earlier in her hands. She grinned at him, asking jokingly, "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty, like the new body?"

Caedite blinked, confused for a few moments, until he glanced down at himself and gasped. Ignoring the pain from his slight headache and shattered nose, he felt took in a deep breath and felt for his thundering heartbeat, and it felt...wonderful.

It was hard to explain, yet as he flexed his fingers and stood, he felt free from his heavy, bulking armour, and as he ran his bare fingers over his neck and shoulder, unlike his actual skin, this skin was fresh, new...

He felt...reborn.

"I see you like that new body, hm?" Toph asked, smiling at him mischievously. He turned back saw an embarrassed smile on the Soul Master's face and Toph just smilingly slyly. He raised an eyebrow, about to ask why they were staring at him like that, until Toph finally commented:

"I know you like it a lot, but I really suggest you cover yourself up, because not everyone's excited to see you like that."

He face turned as red as a thousand fiery infernos fueled by as much oil as there are molecules in the universe once he realized, like the rest of the bodies, he was completely exposed. Pathik hastily tossed him a blanket as Toph abruptly burst out cackling, and Caedite tried to regain at least some of his dignity by wrapping the cloth around his waist, and since all the blood was rushing to his face, the bloody nose became much worse and a steady stream of blood was now dripping down his face.

The Soul Master politely cleared his throat as the laughter died down, mostly since Toph had fallen off of her chair and onto the floor in her fit of laughter, and said to the still red-faced psychopomp, "Heh, I apologize for that inconvenience, boy. Although, we really should go get that nose fixed and get you some, ah, clothes..."

Nodding furiously, which caused the nosebleed to become worse, Pathik led to the back room (which neither Toph nor Caedite noticed before), and Toph stayed behind, catching her breath. Once the two disappeared behind the thick backroom door, Toph heard the bell above the front door ring and she tilted her head towards it, as a familiar energetic voice shouted:

"OH MY GOSH! APPA, MOMO, LOOK AT ALL THE BODIES!"

Toph turned her attention to the backroom, where she heard faint yet heated argument on what color shirt matched Caedite's eyes, and she saw the counter was completely open. Getting an idea, a grin crept onto her face as she headed behind the counter, picked up the fallen lantern, and hollered out to the new costumer:

"WELCOME TO THE BODY SHOP, TWINKLE TOES! YOU BRING THE COPPER, WE BRING THE CORPSES! LET'S FORCEFULLY STUFF YOU INTO SOME CADAVERS, SHALL WE?!"

"There we go! Done!"

Caedite was whirled around in his chair and faced towards the tall golden framed mirror on the wall, and what was reflected back stunned him.

Sitting in a plain wooden swivel chair was a rather muscular boy about 14 years old, with slightly tanned skin, and a head of incredibly healthy raven black hair. His unnatural crimson eyes were covered by a pair of thick sunglasses, much to his displeasure, for it restricted his enhanced eyesight. An equally crimson t-shirt compensated for his new hindrance, and a black leather jacket covered that. Plain blue jeans and red and black running shoes adorned his legs and feet, and a golden watch was fastened onto his right wrist.

"Wow..." Caedite breathed, staring at the boy, who he barely believed was himself, and he stood from the chair, getting a closer look at the mirror. Pathik chuckled at the boy's amazement and folded the rejected clothes back up and put them into the rows and stacks of dressers pressed against the wall. "Is this really what humans wear these days?"

"Yes, although I say you fit the part of an average teenage boy quite nicely..."

The two froze suddenly at the sound of cackling flames and a cry of panic reached their ears, and they bolted towards the entrance without hesitation. When the door was finally opened, Caedite's jaw dropped and Pathik's eyes widened in surprise.

Standing with a burning lantern in one hand and a thin, empty syringe with traces of blood on the needle in the other, was a confused Toph and across the counter was a puzzled Aang and Appa (who somehow managed to fit between the tight rows of bodies).

To Caedite's and Pathik's amazement, sitting calmly on the counter was a light-colored and completely alive cat, with wide, confused dark green eyes and a recognizable striped brown and white tail, and a number behind the cat's right ear...

"Oh, hi there!" Aang greeted in his naturally friendly tone, waving towards them with a goofy grin on his face. Appa made a sort of grunt of recognition and the cat walk towards them and meowed so quickly it came out in a chirp. The younger psychopomp gestured towards Toph and the cat, exclaiming, "Toph just got Momo this new cat body! Cool, isn't it? It looks almost exactly like his real form!"

"Toph... you fixed up a body by yourself?" Pathik questioned, genuinely impressed as Momo tested it's cat body by stretching and walking a lap around the counter. There were no visible seams whatsoever, and Caedite, with Momo's permission of course, petted the cat's head and could tell the fur was extraordinarily healthy, like his own hair.

"Well, yeah! I'm going to be the best Soul Collector in the world, and I can make one little cat body, no sweat!" Toph shouted victoriously, snuffing out the flames with a flick of her wrist and leaning against the counter, grinning away. "I was even about to work up on Appa's body, maybe with that gigantic dog over there..."

As the Soul Collector continued to talk, Caedite turned from Momo to face her, and he immediately noticed something was off. It took him a few seconds to register, yet his gaze fell upon the tattoo on her left cheek that counted her Soul Collection, instead of the number 9413 he saw earlier, it had lowered to 9392.

It had lowered.

And that's never a good thing.

Pathik had evidently noticed that troubling fact as well, for he serenely placed his hand on Toph's shoulder, stopping her from speaking as he smiled sweetly, "You did something even the higher ranking Soul Collectors couldn't do, and I'm really impressed. But how about you leave the rest of these bodies to me, and I'll get you yours afterwards, alright?"

The Soul Collector crossed her arms in annoyance and huffed, a bit miffed that she couldn't make a few more bodies, but she eventually gave into Pathik's almost sickeningly sugary smile and let the Soul Master continue his work.

Even though Toph stayed out of the way as Pathik gave Appa and Aang their new bodies, Caedite still didn't understand why her Soul Collection went down.

Why did she lose some Souls then? He thought, constantly gazing back and forth from the counter to Toph's tattoo, which she didn't notice. If a body doesn't need a soul or spirit, why would resurrecting one require some souls?

"It doesn't."

Startled by the new voice in his head, he reflexively sat up straight and glanced around, earning an annoyed glance from Toph and a confused stare from Momo, who had decided to nap on his lap. He then saw Pathik looking at him from the corner of his eye, even though the Soul Master was still working fluently with the body of a great white dog.

"I don't only read thoughts boy, but I can send them too."

Oh, so then, why did Toph's Soul Collection go down? He continued to think and sitting back, now knowing Pathik could hear him. Bodies don't require souls; you said that earlier.

"Yes, bodies indeed do not need souls to resurrect. But bodies do need some part of the Soul Collector's power to be brought back to life."

But how do Toph's powers affect the Souls she carries? Caedite thought, eyes narrowing and biting his lip slightly. When a Soul Collector collects Souls, the Souls are then stored deep within them, giving them more power without even lowering, like an everlasting-battery.

"Although, when a Soul Collector's collection of Souls lowers, that would be the equivalent of someone taking out some of those said batteries. I have a theory that may or may not be correct about our little Bandit here that I need you to hear."

Yes?

"I personally believe that Toph's powers have a direct link to the Souls she intakes, and instead of acting like those everlasting-batteries you mentioned, the Souls she has are like coal for a steam engine. They only fuel the flame of her powers, but if she uses her powers too much..."

She'll run out of Souls. Caedite's eyes shot open as he stifled a gasp. And when a Soul Collector runs out of souls—

"They die."

Caedite turned at a snail's pace back to his new partner, who had leaned back against the wall and was sleeping rather peacefully. He could feel his fists clench as his eyes gazed at the slightly changed number, and he could hear a painfully memorable whisper ring out from his memories:

"H-heh...I-I think I've run out of Souls...and I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to kill them all like you said..."

I'm not going to lose this one. I promise, Meng. He thought, closing his eyes.

I promise...

"And that's a promise you'd better keep, boy."

"Is she done yet?" Caedite repeated in a beyond bored tone, rubbing his sunglasses against his jacket. Momo shook his furry head and rested back down onto his lap, and the psychopomp sighed in defeat, leaning against the wall. He heard laughing and a deep bark echo through the store, and he tilted his door to the entrance and could see Aang and Appa playing fetch with a random stick they found, and both psychopomp and Soul Collector were in their new bodies.

Aang was slightly shorter and scrawnier than Caedite, but made the lack of muscle up by his energy. Like his regular form, he was bald with an orange baseball cap, yet had no blue tattoos whatsoever. Other than lack of tattoos, the younger psychopomp looked exactly as he was before, yet instead of orange and yellow robes he wore a carroty colored shirt, golden-trimmed vest, orange shorts, and seemingly-golden sneakers.

Appa was no longer a colossal bison, but now an abnormally hefty white dog, which Caedite believed to be called a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, with a thick leather collar and a silver name tag reading: APPA.

The sound of purring caught Caedite's attention, and he smiled and stroked the sleeping cat Soul Collector, who just purred louder and rolled over. Caedite laughed, and the broad back door finally opened. Momo opened his eyes and Caedite looked up, about to ask why it took so long, but he paused once he saw her.

Like Caedite, her pale green and orange eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses, yet she seemed to pull it off better than he did. A pale green baseball cap sat backwards on her head, also bringing to Caedite's attention that her hair had been cut shorter, at least to be put into a short ponytail. The light green hoodie she wore was short sleeved; the sleeves being forest green and trimmed with yellow. Faded and slightly torn jeans were held by a silver-studded black belt, and her feet were adorned by green Adidas.

Her clothes were completely different, but her body wasn't.

Scarred skin on run up her arms, shoulders, and all the way up to her neck, and the tattoo still remained on her face, and even if it wasn't glowing, the black ink 9392 made her seem more intimidating than she already was.

"Heh, what are you staring at, idiot?" Toph asked, grinning at him, and just now he saw a slight fang replacing her left canine tooth. "It's just me."

Wordlessly, Caedite nodded, and carefully moved Momo off of his lap while he stood. His new partner kept grinning, and Aang and Appa came back in, both sweaty and tired (and in Aang's case, just sweaty).

"Hey, Soul Master Pathik?" Aang asked, and the older man turned back to them. "Where...where exactly did you get these body parts?"

Pathik paused, yet the aura around him flared for a slight second, startling all of them.

An uncharacteristic chuckle sent shivers down all their spines, and he turned to all of them with an almost evil smile on his face.

"Let me just say...I have a friend on earth who, well, sends these to me occasionally...

And they're always so fresh..."

"Non ministrari, sed ministrare..." (Not to be served, but to serve)