"Yes," said the spirit, using Sayu's voice. "Sayu is the avatar, and I am Raava, spirit of peace and light. Merged with a human spirit, we are the avatar spirit. I chose Sayu after the passing of the last avatar. She was meant to keep balance in the world and bring peace, but she did the opposite and has thrown the world into disorder and chaos."
They couldn't believe what they were hearing. They wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't seen it for themselves.
"The world is in such disarray that even spirits of those who have died cannot move on to the Spirit World, they are trapped here to haunt the living until order is restored."
Everyone turned to look at Li, who didn't seem at all surprised by this.
Taro said in wonder, "He wasn't crazy after all."
"Niiya is his sister," said Misa in awe.
"I told you she was here," he mumbled. He wasn't gloating, just stating fact.
The spirit continued. "She has lied to you since you were children, she has lied to the entire world. That is the reason she is dying; to cause disorder she had to go against me, she has been fighting me for years. Since we are connected, fighting me makes her weak and ill. She is only sick now because her plan is coming to fruition. War is nigh, and if Sayu isn't stopped, thousands will die. I tried to stop her in the spirit water, and the past avatars pleaded with her to change, but she wouldn't listen to us. By opposing me, she is killing herself. She chose this."
Ryosuke wanted to cover his ears and block this out, it couldn't be true. But the proof was staring him in the face, he would be a fool to deny it now. "Sayu, how could you?"
Sayu's eyes continued to glow, but she regained control of her body. It was all over, her secret had been given away, so there was no point in hiding now. She stood to her feet and said with her own voice and the voices of all the avatars before her, "I couldn't do it. As an Air Nomad, and as the avatar, my fate was always to save people from themselves and try to bring peace to a world that doesn't want it. I didn't have a choice, a job was forced on me and I was expected to do it without question. I never asked for the entire world to be put on my shoulders, I never asked to be a martyr! This is the only way I can be who I want to be and change my destiny!"
"And the Black Lotus? What about them?" asked Misa accusingly.
"There is no Black Lotus," Sayu said derisively. "I created the idea of the Black Lotus, it was designed to show you and everyone else how much you let fear dominate you. The world is going to war over this, that's how people always solve their problems. Today it's the Black Lotus, tomorrow it's someone else. The avatar is pointless!"
Ryosuke suddenly understood what Li had said before, that to win she had to lose. The battle raging within her was what was killing her, and the only way she could survive was to lose to Raava. If she won this, she would die.
He walked right up to her and said, "So you were just using all of us this whole time? You were using me? Was our friendship even real, or was that a lie, too?"
"Of course not, you're my best friend, Ryosuke," said Sayu as she cupped his cheek with her hand. She smiled and said, "I love you, and I want us to be together, just like you said."
She tried to kiss him, but he shoved her away. "No, stay away from me! You're a monster, look at what you've done! People are being hurt, people are dying because of you!"
"Can't you see it was the only way?" she yelled at him. "This is the only way I could be free! No one can tie me down, no one can control me. I've known all along that doing this would cause me to die, but death is a small price to pay to be the most powerful being in the world and to have complete and utter freedom! You can't imagine what it feels like, to take charge of your own destiny! If I weren't about to die, I could dominate the earth. We could rule together, Ryosuke!"
"You're insane!" he shouted at her, and she let out a scream of rage and shot a blast of fire at him. He jumped out of the way, but she shot more fire at him.
"Stop her!" shouted Misa like a war cry, and the three of them joined Ryosuke. Sayu rose into the air and fought all four at once with all four elements. She looked terrifying with her eyes glowing and blazing and with her hair blowing around her face.
Ryosuke felt the powerful urge to run away again. His entire world was shattered, the person he loved was a killer and a liar. How many people were dead because of her? How many would die if they didn't stop the war from starting? And would she care, even a little? No, she was going by her own twisted logic. How had he never seen it? Was she such a great actor that she could fool everyone in their temple? Or had he looked the other way, not wanting to see what was right in front of him? It didn't matter now either way, because despite his feelings of love and betrayal, he had to stop her. Running wasn't an option, he had to save all those people.
Sayu deflected a fireball from Li and then used her airbending to suck the air from his lungs. He collapsed to his knees grasping at his neck, choking for air. He was drowning in a sea of oxygen. But Misa threw off Sayu's concentration by shooting a spear of ice at her head. She stopped it in time, and Li gasped and coughed and was able to breathe again.
In retaliation, Sayu took the spear and threw it back at Misa. Misa raised her hands to make a shield of ice, but she wasn't fast enough. Taro jumped in front of her just in time and the spear pierced him in the shoulder.
"Taro!" Misa cried. She was about to run to his aid, but Sayu shot dozens of tiny, jagged rocks at her and she had to block them from hitting her or Taro. She moved away from him so Sayu wouldn't come near him, and continued fighting.
"Sayu, stop this!" Ryosuke shouted. She ignored him and shot out a ring of fire, nearly hitting them all. Ryosuke came up from behind her and grabbed her leg and pulled her down. He held her by her shoulders and looked her in the eye and said, "You have to stop! You're going to kill them, they're our friends! If you don't stop, you'll die too, and what good is your so-called freedom if you're dead? Be the Sayu I grew up with, the one that made me laugh and knew me better than anyone else! I love you Sayu, I can help you, but only if you'll let me. We can fix everything, we can go back to what we had, but you have to stop hurting everyone!"
Sayu looked up at him for a moment, she looked into his pleading eyes, considering his words. They were tempting, they enticed her, and she nearly said yes. But she couldn't do it. She had come too far, she wouldn't lose everything she'd worked so hard for. She summoned a bolt of lightning and, before he even knew what was happening, she struck him through the heart. Excruciating pain surged through him, it felt like his entire body was being consumed in flames. It was so terrible he couldn't make a sound, it lasted a few seconds but felt like a thousand years. He fell to the ground, but his eyes stayed open for a second longer, staring up at the girl he loved.
Sayu stood over him for a moment. Ryosuke thought he saw regret in her eyes, but he couldn't be sure. She closed her eyes and said, "I loved you, Ryosuke."
Those words were her last. The act of killing Ryosuke completely severed her from Raava. She screamed in agony as she felt her very soul being ripped from her body, and then she too collapsed, right beside Ryosuke. Her limp hand landed over his.
Misa, Taro, and Li watched as golden light left Sayu's body. As it floated up into the sky, Kiba came over to where Sayu lay and let out a grief-stricken roar. They had to cover their ears against the sound of the poor, broken creature. They wondered if the bison was aware of what Sayu had done. Maybe he did, but he loved her anyway and wanted her to come back to him. Kiba lifted his dearest friend in his mouth and flew away with her lifeless body, and none of them tried to stop him.
Misa dashed to Taro, who was trying to sit up. The spear was still in his shoulder, she cut most of it but left it in his shoulder to keep him from bleeding out. "Why did you do that?" she asked.
"To prove that, even though I'm an earthbender, I'm not made of stone," he said weakly as a ghost of a smile flitted across his face. "And to keep you from getting hurt."
"Thank you," Misa whispered. She had never expected to see such a selfless act from him. She turned away and walked over to Ryosuke and put a hand over his heart, bracing herself to feel nothing. No one could have survived that. But to her amazement, she felt a weak heartbeat. She gasped and said, "He's still alive! We have to get him help! Li, while I try to heal Ryosuke, you help Taro."
Li nodded and went over to Taro's side. Misa tore open Ryosuke's shirt and tried to heal the wound over his heart, but there was little she could do, the damage was too extensive. She hefted him onto her back, and Li helped Taro to his feet and lent him support in walking. As they began to take their first steps, Li suddenly let go of Taro, and with no support he fell to his knees.
"Niiya!" Li shouted. "Niiya, come back, don't go!"
"When Sayu died, it must have allowed the spirits to move on," Misa deduced, feeling sorry for him.
Taro managed to pick himself up and walk to Li. He put a hand on his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry about your sister, I know you loved each other very much. She's at peace now, she's happy."
"I'm glad she's gone," said Li quietly as tears streaked down his face. "After all these years I can finally have peace, too. But I didn't get to tell her goodbye, and… I haven't been alone in so long… I don't know if I can stand to be alone. I've lost everyone now."
"You won't be alone, I promise," said Misa. "Now we need to go, we have a long trip ahead of us and Ryosuke won't live much longer without help."
Li let Taro put his arm back around his shoulders for support, and slowly, mournfully, they walked down the mountain.
When Ryosuke woke later, he was in the worst pain of his life. Every breath took immense effort. It felt like his blood was boiling in his veins, scorching his body from the inside out. It took him some time to remember why he was in pain, and to remember what had happened.
Opening his eyes was a challenge, and he didn't even try to move anything else. He opened his eyes halfway and saw that he was in an unfamiliar room. Dim light streamed in from a window. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Li sitting by his bed, his eyes glassy as he seemed to be staring at the wall but not seeing it. He noticed Taro was in a bed next to his, but he was propped up against a pillow with bandages wrapped around his shoulder and chest. Misa was sitting on the edge of his bed, they were talking to each other in whispers.
"You're finally awake, thank goodness," said Misa when she realized he was awake. Relief washed over her face as she got up and poured Ryosuke a cup of tea. She put her hand behind his head and slowly helped him drink it, and the tea marginally eased his pain.
"Where… are we?" he asked weakly.
"We're in an infirmary. You've been unconscious for three days, we were afraid you wouldn't wake up at all," said Misa.
"Where's Sayu?" he asked.
"She died right after she shot you," Li replied softly. "She won the fight against Raava, and it killed her."
Ryosuke felt seething rage at her for her betrayal. There was nowhere for his anger to go, so it simmered deep in his gut. He tried to push Sayu out of his mind, but he couldn't do it, she stayed at the forefront of his thoughts.
"What about the war, and the Black Lotus?" he asked.
"We sent word out about Sayu being the avatar, but it's too soon to know the damage that's already been done," Taro replied from his bed.
"But it should stop the war, they have no reason to go to war against your people now," said Misa.
"Except for the fact that the cause of all these problems was an airbender," Ryosuke pointed out.
"And she's dead. She can't do any more damage, and the avatar will be reborn in one of the Water Tribes," said Taro. "They can't justify a war now, if they really want to fight your people, they'll have to wait for another day," said Taro.
"So everything goes back to normal now," said Ryosuke morosely. "Are all of you okay?"
"You're the one who almost died, and you ask how we're doing," said Misa with a hint of a smile.
"Last time I saw him, Taro wasn't doing so hot."
"I'm fine," said Taro as he rolled his eyes. "Mom won't let me leave the infirmary."
"I'll let you leave once I'm sure you won't drop dead of an infection," Misa retorted.
Ryosuke suddenly remembered what they'd learned about Li's sister. He turned to Li and said, "What about Niiya?"
"She moved on when Sayu died," he replied solemnly. Ryosuke noticed that the dark circles under his eyes had diminished a little, and his face seemed to have more color.
"Are you going back to the asylum?" Ryosuke asked.
"No, I'm not going back."
"Good, you don't belong there." And he meant it, too.
"There's something you need to know, Ryosuke," said Misa. She pulled at her braid and looked down at the floor, avoiding his gaze. "There's no easy way to say this…"
"Just say it," he said firmly.
"I did everything I could, I tried to heal you, but the wound runs too deep. Ryosuke, the lightning, it… it ruined your heart. I don't know how much time you have left, but it's not much. You have months, a few years at best. I'm sorry."
He surprised them all when he let out a bitter, mirthless laugh. "How fitting. I'm going to die of a broken heart."
Misa gently put her arms around him. She held onto him for a long moment, and he was grateful for her kindness. She pulled away with tears in her eyes and said, "I'm so, so sorry."
Li put a hand on his arm and looked him in the eye. "It'll be all right. You'll make it through this."
Taro groaned as he pulled himself out of bed. "I don't have anything to say that can fix anything. There aren't words to describe what you must be going through right now. You'll probably want to go home once you're well enough to travel, but just know that we'll be here for you."
Ryosuke nodded, he had nothing to say. They left the room, giving him time to be alone and come to terms with everything. He stared up at the ceiling, letting his anger and bitterness course through him. But after a while, those feelings started to fade, despite his attempts to hold onto them. Once they were gone, he was left with feelings of crushing sorrow and grief. He grieved his life that was cut short, and he mourned for the loss of his best friend and the love of his life. Even after what she had done to him, he still missed her, and wished she could be here with him. He wished the lightning had killed him instantly, instead of taunting him with a few extra days. He wished he was already dead.
He briefly imagined the life they could have had, would have had if she hadn't done this. He envisioned asking her to marry him, having their own home and children to love and raise. He imagined teaching his children how to fly, and taking them to choose a sky bison, and seeing them earn their arrow. He imagined holding Sayu's hand, laughing with her and crying with her, spending their days together falling more and more in love each day. He had wanted to grow old with her, but now neither of them would grow old, period. He buried his face in his hands and wept over the future that would never be.
Author's Note: One chapter left! This story's not quite over yet.
