-hours earlier-
"The biggest battle yet is happening in just a few hours, son. Are you sure you're ready for this? It's not too late to back out and join the war a little later."
"I've been ready, Father."
"Alright, then. As our family tradition dictates, when one of our family's men join the Fire Nation Army, they get their special tattoos."
The young man didn't even flinch as his father used Firebending to burn permanent red scars into the back of his son's hands. The tattoos were shaped like stars, and the young man looked upon his new tattoos with honor.
"Thank you, father." he said, nodding once before turning and walking out of the door.
(A/N: Remember that dude at the very beginning of the story? The one with the star tattoos? Hint, hint!)
The man practically ran to the Fire Nation Palace to join his fellow soldiers. Once all had been gathered, the army marched toward the city gate, preparing for their next battle with the Earth Kingdom.
000
Meiya and the Gaang flew rapidly through the air on the Sky Bison toward the Southern Air Temple. It was almost midnight and the light beaming from the corner of the New Moon threatened to give way at any moment.
"What are we doing here?" Zuko asked.
"This is the Southern Air Temple, former home of Avatar Aang. There's something here that I want to pick up before we head to look for Reigo." Meiya said, jumping off of the Sky Bison and running into the temple. Minutes later, she reemerged, holding a wooden staff. Kohi gasped.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes." Meiya said, tapping the staff on the ground. Compartments on the staff's sides opened up into a blue-frilled glider.
"This is Aang's glider, one of his greatest weapons. And now, it's one of mine. The temple's Council of Elders was very happy to see me and immediately obliged to giving me the ancient weapon. For a five-century year-old artifact, this thing is surprisingly strong." Meiya said as the Sky Bison took off again.
"Now that I have what I need, we can go and give Reigo what's coming to her."
"Just one problem. Where is she?"
"Hey, guys! Look down there!" Kohi called. Meiya looked over the edge of the airship and noticed to armies marching towards each other.
"What should we do? The Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation are tearing each other apart." Ischi said.
"We can't worry about that right now. We have to find Reigo and stop her." Meiya said, picking up speed as she approached the battleground.
"We don't even know what's going to happen at New Moon! We could all be getting hyped up over nothing at all!" Zuko complained. "As far as we know, this New Moon crap is all one big wild goose chase to keep us from stopping THIS war battle! Land the Bison, Meiya."
"This isn't about New Moon! I'm looking for the person who killed my family! My temple-mates! Did anybody kill YOUR family?" Meiya yelled.
"Not YET, but if we don't stop them, my family and lots of OTHER people could die! New Zuko is only a half-mile away! Now LAND THE BISON!" Zuko yelled back.
"Stop yelling at her, Zuko!" Ischi pleaded.
"When did this become about you, Zuko?" Meiya retorted. "In case you've forgotten, we're all in this together. We all agreed that Reigo was the top priority."
"That was until many lives were genuinely at risk, which is right now!"
"I'm getting sick and tired of your pushiness!"
"I'm getting sick and tired of your stubbornness!" Zuko growled, grabbing Meiya's shoulder and trying to take the controls.
"Zuko! Stop it! You're hurting me!" Meiya cried. She pushed Zuko off and pulled the clutch into autopilot. She leaped onto Zuko and the two fought vigorously.
"Zuko, Meiya! Stop this, please!" Ischi begged, tears forming in her eyes.
Zuko and Meiya tussled with each other, rolling off of the edge of the Bison.
"Whoa!" Kohi yelled, jumping at the controls, and taking the Bison out of autopilot. She dove down and made a U-turn to catch Meiya and Zuko in the Bison again. Kohi landed the Bison next to the battlefield.
Zuko and Meiya rolled out of the Bison again and landed on the ground, still punching and kicking each other.
"Come on, guys! This is stupid!" Khole yelled.
Meiya sat on Zuko's stomach and continued to batter at him until Zuko extended his hands to defend himself and accidentally launched a stream of fire right into Meiya's face.
Meiya screamed and fell backwards, clutching her head.
"Meiya! Meiya, I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Zuko panicked, trying to help her up.
Meiya pushed Zuko away and grabbed her glider, jumping into the air and flying away.
"MEIYA, I'M SORRY!" Zuko screamed one last time, but as he expected, she didn't look back.
"Great, Zuko. Just great." Kohi said sadly.
"It was an accident! I would never burn her on purpose! You guys know that!" Zuko defended.
"We don't blame you, Zuko. And we don't blame Meiya , either. But look what your bickering has gotten us." Ischi said.
Zuko looked down depressively. 'What have I done?' he thought.
000
On the battlefield, the Fire Lord and his army marched toward its adversary with fiery vigor, while the Earth King and his army marched with rocky stalwartness.
"Ready yourselves, men! Today, we lead the Fire Nation to a glorious victory!" Fire Lord Houja shouted, loud enough for the Earth Kingdom to hear.
"I must say, Houja. It was bold of you to declare this battle during the nighttime. Are you sure you're THAT confident in your men's Firebending ability?"
"Of course I am. Allow me to demonstrate! Men, CHARGE!"
The Fire Nation Army screamed their battle cries, then swiftly advanced forward, shooting fireballs at their opponents. The Earth Kingdom charged as well, tossing heavy stones.
Before either side could physically clash with the other, a large wall of shadow rose out of the ground and separated the two warring nations.
"Welcome, foolish warmongers!" Reigo said, rising out of the ground as the shadow wall fell. "Welcome to your destruction!"
The Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom looked wary as Reigo continued.
"Tonight, the borders between your four pitiful nations blurs completely, and gives way to absolute chaos!"
"Not if we can help it!" yelled Kohi's voice. Reigo leaped out of the way as Kohi threw a wind sphere at her.
"Ah, the munchkin patrol. Where's your pack leader?" Reigo mocked, noticing that Meiya was not among them.
Zuko tensed up at Meiya's mention.
"Well, no matter. Your world is ending, with or without the Avatar."
Reigo swiftly tapped her foot on the ground, and shadow tendrils shot out of the ground and quickly bound the Gaang's arms. More tendrils shot up and wrapped around their legs and waists, tethering the Gaang where they stood.
"Now that I have your attention, this war is about to take a turn you never saw coming! Fire Nation! Earth Kingdom! Others…"
Reigo regarded the Gaang as if they were toddlers.
"Get ready for THIS!"
Reigo raised her hand into the sky, toward the darkened moon.
Ischi looked up and gasped, thinking that she was imagining what she was seeing.
The moon was vibrating. It looked as if a massive-scale earthquake was occurring on the sky-bound stone.
Ischi also thought she was imagining that the moon was getting larger, which she was. The moon wasn't getting larger, it was coming closer to Earth.
"Are you going to make the moon collide with the world?" Khole asked.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm only bringing it into the atmosphere."
"Atmo-what?"
"Oh, how primitive." Reigo said, shaking her head disappointedly.
Once the moon entered the Earth's atmosphere, the darkness literally began to swirl, until the moon became one large spherical vortex.
"Now, you miserable wretches, make way for the Shadow Clan!"
Suddenly, a large meteor of shadow shot out of the moon and began to careen toward the Earth.
"It's a portal!" Kohi realized.
"But a portal from where?" Ischi followed.
As the shadow meteor approached the Earth, it suddenly split into hundreds of other shadow meteors that were much smaller.
These smaller meteors crashed into the ground, forming pools of shadows where they landed, as opposed to craters. These pools of shadows rose to form strangely dressed people, similar to how Reigo could sink and rise out of the ground.
"Shadowbenders! Attack! Seize the night!" Reigo yelled. "So commands your princess!"
"Princess? So you're not leading this attack?" Ischi asked.
"I'm leading THIS attack, just not the whole mission. That job belongs to my mother, who you'll meet soon enough." Reigo said with an evil smile.
Zuko struggled against his bounds, and he eventually freed one hand, which he used to light a fire and burn the living shadows, making them shrivel. Once he freed himself, he burned the shadows that bound the rest of the Gaang.
Reigo smiled, then covered her entire body in shadow. When the shadows dissipated, Zuko's shoulders tensed. Reigo had taken on the same form that he first saw her in, a young lady, no older than sixteen.
"Catch me if you can, cutie." Reigo said, winking at Zuko before sinking into shadow form and swimming off.
"She crossed the line! Let me at her!" Ischi said, cracking her knuckles and chasing after Reigo.
"Ischi, wait!" Zuko called, following his fiancé.
"I guess it's just you and me." Kohi said, shrugging at Khole. The two girls stood back-to-back as Reigo's two original associates cornered them on either side.
"Kohi, go thin the ranks. I've got these two." Khole said.
"You sure?" Kohi asked, with wariness in her voice.
"Positive. I can handle myself, even without my Waterbending."
Kohi nodded and jumped into the air, conjuring an Air Scooter beneath her and riding away.
The Shadowbenders that stood on either side of Khole lunged forward.
"Gotcha!" Khole said suddenly, ducking down and striking one Shadowbender's leg. A flash of white energy shot from Khole's fingers and spread into the Shadowbender. He found himself unable to stop himself and flew into his partner. They both crashed to the ground.
"Get off!" one Shadowbender growled.
"I can't move!" the other complained.
"My Energybending is lethal. There's almost nothing I can't do with it." Khole said, blowing her fingers before running off.
000
Zuko lost Ischi within the throng of fighting Benders. He wanted to keep looking for her, but felt compelled to help his nation. He stopped to fight off some Shadowbenders that were beating some Fire Nation soldiers.
"Prince Zuko! Where did you come from?" one Firebender panted when Zuko had run off the opposing Shadowbenders.
"No time to explain. Regroup with another batch of soldiers and cut a swath through the ranks. We said we were leading the Fire Nation to a glorious victory, and that's exactly what we're going to do!"
The soldiers saluted at Zuko's inspirational words and ran off to find another struggling group of Firebenders. Zuko ran off to continue to look for Ischi.
000
"Where are you, Reigo? Come out so I can thrash you! No one flirts with my fiancé and gets away without a bloody nose and swollen lip!" Ischi yelled, walking amongst the warring battles between the Earthbenders and the Shadowbenders.
"Ischi! My darling girl, Ischi!" yelled a familiar voice. Ischi turned around just in time to catch a full-on bear hug from her father. Ischi pushed him away.
"I'm still not talking to you." Ischi said coldly, turning away.
"Oh, come on, sweetie! I've turned a new leaf! I won't force the Avatar to learn the elements to defeat the Fire Nation anymore. Mostly because as far as I can see, we have a new threat." Bure said. "The Earth Kingdom has dropped the bounty on the Avatar's head, and we've lowered the bounty on the annoying Airbender and the Firebending rapscallion."
"Lowered?"
"-sigh- Alright, I'll drop their bounties, too. For you, Ischi."
"Thank you, Father." Ischi said, hugging Bure. "Now, let's go take out the Shadowbending trash!"
Ischi clenched her fists together. Rocks began to rise into the air and stick to her skin, creating rock armor.
Ischi ran into the multitude of fighting Earthbenders and Shadowbenders. Left and right, she smashed the faces of the Shadowbending adversaries, until the Shadowbenders who remained began to retreat.
"That's right, you pricks! You better run!"
As Ischi turned around to rejoin her father, a shadow crept up her leg, freezing Ischi in place.
The shadow spiraled up her thigh, wrapped around her waist, and twirled itself around her neck. The shadow felt hard and tight instead of soft and clammy. Ischi could hardly breathe.
"Looking for me?" asked Reigo's teenage voice.
The Shadowbender princess's head emerged from the binding shadow, smiling at Ischi, who was being choked, and therefore, unable to speak.
"Now that the first part of my mission has been completed, I can begin killing people directly. And I think I'll start with you."
"No you won't!"
Ischi turned her head with a smile. Reigo turned her head with a scowl.
Over the nearby hills, Meiya was glaring down at Reigo. The Shadowbender unraveled herself from Ischi, causing her to fall to her knees, panting.
"Ah, our guest of honor has finally arrived. You cannot stop me, Meiya. No one can."
"You want to bet on it?"
"I do, actually. However, I'm keeping myself from calling a bet. It just wouldn't be fair. And by that, I mean, it wouldn't be fair to YOU, especially considering your current state of appearance."
Meiya had dark red burn marks on her cheeks and parts of her bangs were scorched. Somehow, her hairrow was unharmed.
"My appearance doesn't matter right now, does it? Only I can stop you. Can you guess what comes next?"
"You defeat me, SOMEHOW find love and ride off into the sunset? In your dreams, wannabe."
Meiya was flustered to say the least. Reigo seemed to have two different personalities. She was calm and cool in adult form, but when she morphed into teenage form, her entire persona changed dramatically.
Nevertheless, Meiya was pissed. She held a tight grip on her glider-staff and leaped off of the hill she stood upon, raising her weapon in the air and preparing to begin the fight of her life.
(A/N: Sorry that it took so long for me to update, but I've been a little discouraged about my life, lately. Sometimes, everything around you is just so unfair, you know? :'-(
Anyway, since the entire New Moon chapter is way too long to fit into my standard word limit, I'm splitting it up into two parts. The second part and the last chapter of Book One will be up as soon as possible. Please bear with me, I'm trying my best…)
