AVATAR is on the rise...
Disclaimer: Just read my monotonous disclaimer from my other chapters…
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Book 4
Air
Chapter eleven:
Team Avatar—Part Two: Falling Apart
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Fire Nation boundary, A hundred feet up
"We're closing in on them!" shouted Sokka, his words battling against the very wind that caused far more noise than their engines ever could. "They're trying to outrun us, but we'll make it!" Sokka said this as he turned the wheel and steered their ship.
Zuko nodded and acknowledged, holding his ground on the airship's metal platform. The wind shear had messed up his groomed royal hair and was now ferociously battering his eyes. But he could not worry about appearances now. Their enemy was almost within reach.
Sokka, Zuko, Mai, and the Kyoshi Warriors were on Sokka's airship tailing the one Zhao had taken. Aang, Katara, and Toph were moving much faster on Appa. The three chose to reach Zhao first and see if they could immobilize them before anyone else got hurt.
Zuko shook his head. No… Someone will get hurt…
A Fire Nation airship was a large, bulky warship styled with all the beautiful necessities that would intimidate any opponent when they would catch eyes on it. The front massif on the airship was already enough to tell anything in the sky to back away. But one thing the airship was not built for was speed. All the shiny decorations would slow it down in the air, acting more like a block of wood in the wind. But the Mechanist had fixed this, favoring speed to appearance. The Earth Kingdom airship was smaller, lighter. There was no golden decoration on the front—only a cutting wedge shape that allowed the craft to move even faster. It would not take long before Zuko, Sokka, and the others beat Zhao from his escape.
But it was Aang, Katara, and Toph that did the first move.
"I'll see if I can slow them down!" shouted Aang.
Zuko nodded, hopping he could see it.
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o0o
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Aang gave Appa a little jump forward, moving away from the Earth Kingdom airship to the Fire Nation one. "Appa! Yip! Yip!" The beast responded and sped up streamlining itself and moved quickly. After he did this, he turned to Toph and Katara. "Hold on! This is going to be rough!"
"Like it isn't rough already!" shouted Toph.
As they neared Zhao's stolen airship, the scores of Imperial Firebenders that were loyal to Zhao began moving to their shooting platforms. Without a moment's hesitation, they began barraging their newest opponent with blasts of fire. Their attacks made sure that Aang and his company could go nowhere near them.
"Watch out!" yelled Aang as a bunch of fireballs came charging for them.
"Where?" cried Toph.
Katara Waterbended a long water whip that easily dissipated the shot. More and more fireballs came towards them. Katara just kept revolving the water over their heads, catching the fires.
Aang took a moment to take a look at his newest adversary—or an old foe. Zuko had not said much about him in his letters. But a malevolent spirit was his area of expertise. If anyone should put someone's soul back into the Spirit World, then that was the Avatar's job. But there was something wrong when he looked into the soul of Zhao. He was not exactly dead as he thought he would be. There was also something else. The man's soul had phenomenal power.
But did Zhao's spirit pose as a threat at all?
No. Not one bit.
With one flick of his wrist, Aang sent a halting blast of wind towards airship. The force was so strong that three of these Imperial Firebenders fell off their platforms. The very airship itself moved to the left.
"Aang," spoke Katara. "Someone has to get onboard to stop that airship. We can't do it from outside."
Toph raised her hand, volunteering. "If anyone's going to stop some flying tin-cans, then that's my job. Just get me close enough to jump on it."
That, Aang figured, was going to be quite hard now…
Azula had just stepped onto one of the platforms.
Aang barely had the reaction time to snuff out the blazes of blue fire that came their way. It came so close that Appa freaked out. More and more of these firestorms were coming and if Aang didn't stop them now, they were going to get seriously burned.
"Aang!" shouted Katara.
Aang was too preoccupied to respond.
Aang jumped off Appa and Airbended higher, going right into this searing blue force that should incinerate him. This huge flame shouldn't even be possible by a single Firebender, thought Aang. It's just as if Azula's still powered by the comet. And with that thinking done, Aang focused on the fire, blowing it out with the force brought up by Aang's thrusting palms. But Aang stopped it far too close to him for comfort and the explosive force of the fire sent him flying back.
Appa caught Aang immediately, making him land on his head. Aang rubbed his palms together, still feeling terribly hot.
"We have to move back, Aang!" spoke Katara. "We can't expose ourselves like this!"
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o0o
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Suki had watched them from her viewpoint on their airship platform. It was clear that their enemies would not allow them to come near. But the blue flames she had seen told her a different story. One of them just wanted to kill them. When they started moving away, she turned to Sokka. "They're retreating!" she spoke.
Zuko had noticed. "They're trying to get onboard."
They watched as Aang, Katara, and Toph flew right beside them on Appa. Sokka ran up to them, holding onto the railings. "What went wrong?" he asked.
"There's just too much heat!" spoke Toph. "We can't get through!"
"It's the Imperial Firebenders," spoke Katara. "Once we can get past them and Azula, we can get Toph aboard and land the airship. But as you can see, we couldn't do that."
Zuko listened to them, not meeting any of their gazes. When he had heard enough, he turned away and walked back inside the airship's cabin. Mai followed him.
"What are you up to, Zuko?" spoke Mai.
"Nothing," Zuko responded plainly. "I'm just looking for something…"
Mai tapped her foot. "Don't kid with me, Zuko. I can see that look on your face. You're planning something, aren't you? You're planning but you're leaving everyone else out of your plans. Don't do this to yourself. We can win if we work together."
Zuko shook his head, preferring not to look directly at Mai. "This is a family matter, Mai. I have to finish things with my sister."
"No, Zuko!" shouted Mai. "Somehow, Azula got a lot more powerful. You might not be strong enough to deal with that kind of power."
Zuko shook his head. "I am strong enough."
Mai sighed, defeated. "You're so stubborn that it irritates me."
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o0o
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Sokka had come up with a plan, but it envolved getting dangerously close to the enemy. It involved some ropes and a few tricks. "I've got a plan, but it's pretty risky. It's harebrained too. Anyone up for it?"
They all smiled. Sokka didn't have to ask.
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o0o
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Zhao was uneasy.
Every time he reviewed his plans and how all of them fell apart so easily, he swore and cursed. How could he have been so foolish? He had underestimated his enemy yet again. Zuko was not someone to be trifled with. And now that the Avatar was involved in this, his plan would get much more complicated.
Does this mean that Zhao still had his plan?
Yes.
A smile went on Zhao's lips. The Avatar's involvement might be a good thing... It brings everyone into one place. I have ensnared them just as I had planed before. Things may have gone complicated, but I can handle that.
All I need now is for them to come a little closer...
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o0o
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The events that followed were swift.
Sokka trudged the airship forward, pulling out all the stops. Aang and Katara were in front of them, blocking every blast the Imperial Firebenders were extending their way. Suki and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors were ready too, all eyes on the target. But Suki was looking at Sokka. "Why are you smiling?" she asked. Sokka's face was serious, but there was definitely a smile there.
Sokka turned to Suki. "You can feel it, can't you?"
"Feel what?"
Sokka looked at Suki in the eyes, his seriousness overcame her.
"Today. This day. The sound of drums and the adrenaline rushing. Our hearts are beating faster. Our minds are saying, 'this is it'. Whatever happens, whatever comes next, we all know that this day would be life-changing. This thing would be totally awesome!"
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o0o
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Ropes were first. The Kyoshi Warriors swung hooked lines that latched onto the railings of the other airship. Sokka, in control of their airship, rammed the other, crushing the propellers with the steel bulk of their ship. The grinding of metal pierced their ears and the collision shook everyone off their feet. But no one wanted to fall. They were too high up—a deadly place to do battle. A fall from their height would mean certain death.
Imperial Firebenders on the other side quickly moved to the rear railings to disentangle the lines and prevent anyone from crossing them.
Suki pointed to the lines. "Move! Move! Move!"
The Kyoshi warriors moved in synchronization. Their movements were swift and agile. Ty Lee had taught them more than just Qi blocking. She had taught them how to run on the balls of their feet. An acrobat in nature, Ty Lee gave them tightrope lessons and now, they ran on the ropes like cats.
The trick, thought Ty Lee, was to keep the arms extended at the sides when you ran across the rope. The farther your hands were to your body, the greater balance one had on the rope. And placing your heavy arms on the sides did another thing: it transferred a person's center of gravity. Instead of being on the rope, the body's center of gravity was now below it—making movement sturdy and balanced…
These principles allowed the Kyoshi warriors to run on the ropes like they were on flat ground. The Imperial Firebenders watched them coming their way, like speeding human bullets in green. Their face paint did not intimidate them. These were girls—target practice. They were coming towards them in three columns, running on three lines of thick rope.
So they attacked them with fire.
The Kyoshi warriors did not stop. "Shields!" shouted Ty Lee.
The first rows of warriors pulled out their collapsible shields from underneath their garments, still running, still moving. They placed their shields in front of them. And as the flames reached the first row, they stopped. The flames could not break their defense.
Sokka cheered them from the airship's cockpit. "You go, girls!"
And the first rows of Kyoshi warriors mounted the enemy airship like pirates overrunning another boat.
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o0o
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Zhao grabbed the shoulder of one of the Imperial Firebenders and pointed to the ropes. "You idiot! Burn the ropes!"
The Imperial Firebender nodded. "Yes, sir!"
And the soldier ran and sent a blast of flame that tore the three ropes from their railings. The ropes fell away.
And though some of the Kyoshi warriors safely crossed the ropes, most of them fell. One of these people was Suki.
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"SUKI!!"
Sokka's cries were heard as Suki saw the Imperial Firebender come crashing towards their ropes, burning them and cutting them off. Suki turned to Ty Lee. "Stay and fight!"
Ty Lee nodded bravely.
And the ropes were cut.
Suki and most of the Kyoshi warriors fell.
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o0o
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Aang, Katara, and Toph were using the Kyoshi warrior's assault as a cover for the rest of Sokka's plans. The Kyoshi warrior attack was a diversion made by Sokka to make sure that the Imperial Firebenders were diverted to that problem. Meanwhile, Appa flew beneath the airship platform, his back almost touching the platform from underneath. It was now Toph's turn to roll.
"Are you sure you know what to do?" asked Katara.
Toph rubbed her hands together. "I smash things up. That's not something I easily forget." And Toph reached up, her hands touching the underbelly of the airship's platform. She squeezed the metal together—and ripped it apart, just like paper.
And Toph pulled herself in.
Katara turned to Aang. "Are you sure you don't want to go with her? You can reach Zhao faster if he doesn't know where you are."
Aang shook his head. "If I disappear, then Zhao will know something's wrong. Sokka's right. We have to take care of this from the outside while Toph sabotages the airship from the inside. Let's go."
And Aang pulled on Appa's reigns.
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o0o
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Toph was inside the bomb bay.
With her extra-sensory feelings, Toph felt just like she did when she had to stop the fleet of airships during the attack of the Fire Nation on the arrival of Sozin's Comet. I'm inside a large hunk of metal… I can see everything in this little world—all the stupid little Firebenders on the outside platform… I'm in a little metal world floating on—nothing.
This was Toph's problem. Despite the fact that she could "see", Toph was only limited to viewing the interior and exterior of the airship. The outside world was completely nothing. This was her entire world for now.
Toph moved silently, making sure there was no Imperial Firebender on the other side of the room. But she found something else.
"Bombs…" she whispered.
Though this was Zuko's ship, the airship was still prepared for battle. If anything should happen, Zuko would attack if necessary. The bombs were only for precautionary measures. But that didn't mean that these bombs weren't dangerous. Fire could ignite them.
"Firebenders are idiots…" mumbled Toph. "They carry exploding stuff when their fire could accidentally light it…"
Suddenly, there was a voice.
"So you're the new addition to my list of enemies… I wonder why no one's killed you yet… You're blind after all…"
Toph jolted, afraid. She could hear the voice but she could not sense him through her feet. She had heard his voice before and the others had informed her of his name and his existence. Zhao. They told Toph to stay away from this man—spirit—at all costs.
"Those green warriors had been a diversion…" spoke Zhao. "I should have thought of that… They must have sent you to sabotage the ship… I can't let you do that… I guess I'll have to kill you…"
Toph bent low to the floor, crushing a clump of metal with her hands. All the time, Toph had listened to the voice and she sought out where it came from. When she had a feeling of where the man was, Toph said, "My friends were right! You just don't know when to shut up!"
And Toph pulled at the metal floor and sent a wave of metal towards Zhao the same way anyone would with a carpet.
"Amazing," Zhao murmured. "An Earthbender that can bend metal… Well little blind Earthbender, your attack just missed me… Maybe you should try again…"
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o0o
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Suki's life was dangling on a thread. Or rope.
As soon as the rope had been cut, the Kyoshi warriors reached down and grabbed the rope. When the rope fell to the side, the fallen Kyoshi warriors were alive and hanging. Above them, Mai assisted by pulling them up.
When Suki climbed up, Mai patted her on the shoulder.
"I told you those heavy outfits would be the death of you," said Mai, smiling at her.
Suki rolled her eyes.
Mai helped her up. "You're boyfriend went crazy, telling me to help you guys up. You can tell him to shut up now."
Suki looked over Mai's shoulder.
"What's your boyfriend doing?"
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o0o
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Zuko went to the farthest corner of the airship platform. He meditated for a second, hoping he wasn't going to kill himself. After he thought of all the things that could go wrong, he looked ahead—at the airship that was his.
And he started to run.
Zuko panted hard with sweat running down his neck. He forged ahead and his arms jogged along with him. He moved faster, hoping that he was at the right speed when he made his next move.
"Zuko! Don't do it!"
Mai's calls did nothing to stop Zuko from what he needed to do. When he reached the end of the platform, he did what he planned to do.
He jumped.
For a second, Zuko soared ahead. He had calculated how fast he would need to run if he wanted to reach the other airship. He wouldn't need much. Sokka had steered the airship close enough to the other that their distance wasn't that far. Zuko was an expert in jumping—he just jumped into everything.
But then, Azula was there—waiting for him.
"VVRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Zuko Firebended a fire shield that turned the fire around him. But this had slowed him down terribly. When Zuko started to fall, he realized that he fell just inches from the other airship's platform. His stomach made a horrible flip.
Azula just smiled from above, dominating over his presence.
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o0o
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Katara was watching Zuko fall. "We have to catch him!"
Aang was trying his hardest, but Appa was too slow. "Zuko's falling too fast!"
Katara knew it too. There would be no way to reach Zuko from Appa. The Fire Lord was going to die.
But Aang stood up, grabbing his staff.
Katara stared at him in disbelief. "Do you think you can reach him?"
Aang twirled his staff around until the blue wings snapped open.
"I don't think so. But I have an idea."
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o0o
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As Zuko fell to his death and the wind blew violently against him, he couldn't help but imagine better times and moments in his life. He recalled the people that made him great. He could see his mother. He could see Mai. He could see Iroh. He saw Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph. He saw his old blue mask and his Double swords. He saw the Fire Nation. He saw kites.
Kites…?
A blue kite was falling right beside him. Zuko recognized it as Aang's staff.
Was he still hallucinating?
He grabbed hold of the glider and placed his hands on the handlebars. He placed his feet on the foot holds. He was going to live. All he had to do now was just hold on until he landed on any island below him. Of course, that would mean that Zuko was out of the fight now. But at least he was alive.
But living didn't satisfy Zuko. He still wanted to fight.
And with a little bit of ingenuity, Zuko knew how he was going to get back up.
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o0o
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The Kyoshi warriors that were aboard the Fire Nation airship struggled to hold their ground. Ty Lee was in the lead. Among all the Kyoshi warriors, she was the only one who chose not to carry a sword. Her only weapon was a shield and she used it gracefully, batting off scathing attacks from the Imperial Firebenders like an acrobat would to flying daggers.
But their small band was not faring well. The Firebenders had the upper hand as they were larger in number and their attacks were impressive.
And to add salt to the wounds, Azula stepped in, looking straight at the leader of their particular group.
"Ty Lee…" she spoke, saliva dripping from the edge of her mouth.
Ty Lee was terrified. Of all her opponents, why did it have to be the one that actually had a grudge on her? But despite her terror, Ty Lee was ready to fight to the death. Azula was going down—one way or another.
And Azula attacked.
The Kyoshi warriors clumped together, forming one large shield.
All the way out in the air, there was this terrible flash of blue that exploded on the platform of the Fire Nation airship. The blue flash disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
Back on the platform, the Kyoshi warriors were down—their shields were melted. Ty Lee groaned painfully. Azula stepped over her. Her laugh was foul and terrible.
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o0o
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Aang and Katara had seen the sudden explosion. The sight of the sprawled Kyoshi warriors confirmed their worst fear. Aang felt his heart being squeezed. "These people were fighting with me!" he blurted. Now, he had the death of a group of people in the conscience of his mind.
Katara pulled on Aang's shoulder. "Bring me closer! I have to get on and heal them!"
Aang looked at Katara with fear for her. "You can't! Azula will kill you!"
"Aang!" Katara shouted forcefully. "They need me! It's your job now to take Azula down. Zuko's out! The Kyoshi warriors are out! I'll need to help them! It's your turn to fight her!"
Aang nodded.
"Appa! Yip! Yip!"
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o0o
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Sokka never felt so useless in his life. Being the captain of the ship did nothing but remind him that he wasn't contributing much to their effort to stop Zhao and Azula. Now, the Kyoshi warriors were hurt, Zuko was out of action, and Toph's sabotage (if she ever did it) didn't seem to affect the airship at all.
"Oh please…" spoke Sokka as he pathetically searched the skies. "We need a miracle…"
Someone had answered him.
Sokka saw clouds.
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o0o
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Azula was moving towards Katara. The Waterbender had been dropped off by Aang when he made Appa go close to the airship. Since Katara did not see Azula coming her way, Azula would kill her. It would be her ultimate revenge.
Goodbye filthy peasant…
But something caught her attention and distracted her. Something was flying right beside their airship.
It was Zuko.
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o0o
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Aang thought some sort of Airbender had joined in and rose from beneath them. He thought that this was some sort of miracle—that another person was going to save them. But then he realized, 'That's my glider…'. And then he saw who was riding it. 'That's Zuko…' And then he realized that Zuko was flying—like an Airbender!
No.
Not quite.
He could see now that Zuko didn't move freely. He was like a bird that could only move straight, down, and up. He could turn, but he moved slowly, like a snail in the sky. And tailing Zuko was a jet of fire.
Zuko was not Airbending. He was Firebending—using the focused energy to propel him forward.
But despite Zuko's newfound ability to fly—albeit, with the help of a glider—he was barely in control. A strong breeze looked like it could blow him away. Zuko didn't look so confident either. Aang could see that he was talking to himself, directing his control of the glider.
"Zuko!" Aang called out. "That's amazing!"
Zuko didn't think so. "Don't disturb me now! This glider is a lot harder to control than it looks!"
It looked pretty horrible already.
"Do you think you can get onboard your airship?" Aang shouted. "I think Katara might be in trouble!"
"I'm trying!"
Aang decided not to ask Zuko any more questions. He had a job of his own. So when he looked at the airship platform and realized what was happening, his heart stopped cold.
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o0o
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When Zhao stepped onto the platform, he felt a hundred and one eyes looking at him. He loved the limelight. He embraced it. And with a show of power, Zhao shot his fist up in the air. He could tell that his opposition was panicking now.
In his fist was the little blind Earthbender.
She was unconscious.
Or at least, that's what it looked like.
"ALL OF YOU WHO ARE AGAISNT ME," shouted Zhao, "STOP ATTACKING AT ONCE AND LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS!! IF YOU DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITHIN THE NEXT FEW SECONDS, I WILL RELEASE THIS GIRL!!"At first, releasing Toph sounded like a good thing. But with a step forward, Zhao was standing over the edge, dangling Toph over the nothingness that was below it. 'Releasing Toph' is not a good thing.
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o0o
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Sokka and Suki both saw the little helpless girl in the clutches of a madman. They felt their throats twist and their lips tremble. And in one unified moment, Sokka and Suki both screamed, "TOPH!" But both of them, just like their drifting cries, were utterly useless. They could do nothing but stare.
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o0o
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Zuko grit his teeth. Everything was falling apart now. He knew Toph well and somehow, he felt responsible. If he hadn't told Aang to send for the others, then that would mean that Toph's life wouldn't be in danger. Flying beside the airship allowed Zuko to see Toph better. He could see her well, even the small movements of her eyes and lips.
And then he realized that Toph wasn't moving because of the wind. She was conscious—just barely. She was muttering something. Zuko could hear nothing because of the wind. But years of living a suffering life allowed him to sharpen his spying skills.
Zuko was reading Toph's lips.
As Zuko saw her lips move, he followed it with lip-movements of his own. And then, he followed this action with speaking.
"Bombs…" Zuko whispered.
And when he realized what Toph wanted him to do, he ducked low and headed towards the airship's underbelly.
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o0o
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Katara knew that it was now down to her to save Toph's life. She was the closest one to her and she had the best chance of doing it too. There was only one slight problem, though.
Azula was blocking her path.
"Burn… Scorch… Fry… Melt…" dripped Azula with a rabid smile.
Katara realized that Azula was dictating the process in which Azula was going to kill her. But she was unfazed—strong. Azula wasn't the only one with a burning desire for revenge. While Azula had a burning heart, Katara had an icy one. And that force alone was strong enough to counteract Azula's hatred for her.
Too bad Katara still depended on an external source of water. All she had was a satchel's amount of liquid. Azula, on the other hand, had all her internal energy to guide upon.
But Katara was about to get some help.
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o0o
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As Azula walked slowly towards her next prey, she couldn't help but be theatrical about it. She walked slowly, dragging her feet across the metal platform. She was playing the 'menacing' act, hoping to frighten the little Waterbender. Her little movements caused abrupt gasps to rise from her mouth. All these things were enough to frighten the little girl—but it didn't.
She would just have to kill her.
But then, she was slowly disappearing.
The Water Tribe peasant was disappearing too.
Even the airship was starting to disappear.
Everything was starting to disappear in some sort of thick fog.
No.
They were entering a large cloud.
At that moment, Azula felt some parts of her body freeze in place. In some other parts of her body, liquid droplets were forming over her skin—and then it froze her. Something was terribly wrong. This cloud, she realized, is made up of small droplets of water…
The Waterbender was using all of that water to freeze her again.
With wild anguish, Azula broke free from the crisp frosts of ice that were slowly enveloping her. She moved frantically, trying to break free. When she realized that the ice kept coming and forming, Azula started making fireballs and burned the ice off. She even resorted to blasting them away with the use of her fiery mouth.
When most of her body was free, she turned to the thick fog ahead of her. She could see nothing—not even her own hand. She started throwing more fire at the fog, hoping to hit Katara.
"VVVRRAAAAAAA!!"
But that fire was instantly consumed by the force of water coming her way.
It was as if the sea had reached up from below and slammed into her.
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o0o
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Aang had enough.
This battle had gone on for far too long and it was time to end it. He felt so stupid now. I'm the Avatar! And that made him realize that he should have stopped this before it had even happened. He was just so caught up in all the action and drama that he didn't realize it sooner.
With a slow breath, Aang said, "I—am—the—Avatar…"
And the moment everything slid into the clouds, Aang stood up on Appa. Momo skittered away to a safe distance. The Avatar placed his hands above the ground and parallel to it. Aang closed his eyes. He let out a brief breath of air. Since the Avatar was connected to everything living, he could sense where everyone was—Toph, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Azula, Zhao—everyone.
When his eyes opened, a bright flash of white light shone from his eyes and briefly lit the immediate surroundings.
When this light disappeared, Aang slowly lowered his hands.
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o0o
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Zhao realized that his time-limit was up. No one seemed to have retreated or given up. They just kept fighting. This made Zhao shrug. The others must not care for this girl at all if they were going to continue fighting. Might as well drop this girl and end her misery…
And Zhao released her.
But Toph did not fall.
The fog… thought Zhao. It must be playing tricks on my eyes… This girl isn't falling… It must be the fog or I'm just not seeing clearly… This fog is so thick that I can't see the nose on my face…
Neither could Zhao see that Zuko, who was standing right beside him, had held on to Toph and pulled her away.
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o0o
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Toph opened her useless eyes, but it was her back that allowed her to feel and "see" Zuko. She smiled. She was safe.
"Did you get my message…?" she whispered.
Zuko nodded as he ran on the platform. "You left the bomb bay unsealed when you entered… I got in…"
"What about the bombs…?"
Zuko smiled. "I took care of that too…"
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o0o
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In that moment, everyone inside the Fire Nation airship realized that the ground was coming up to meet them. Every fight and battle that was happening on the airship came to a halt when all their stomachs started flipping. The airship was falling somehow and it was bringing them with it.
This had all been because of Aang's doing.
Aang, with his control over the Avatar State, used the combined energy of all his past lives and condense their power in his being. With one slow downward push of his hands, Aang was able to collect hundreds of air currents and focus them over the Fire Nation airship.
When the right moment came, Aang pressed all that air downwards.
Now, the airship was forced into an erratic dive from the skies.
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o0o
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Sokka's airship was far behind. They did not enter the clouds because Sokka had steered the airship to fall back. And since they were not in the clouds, they were able to see the Fire Nation airship fall from the sky. Aang is doing this… thought Sokka.
Suki was pulling on Sokka's shoulder.
"We have to follow them down!"
Sokka didn't argue and he pushed the control stick forward. The airship slowly leaned forward. And with one pull of the cord, the airship steeply rushed towards the other airship.
"Hold on!" Sokka shouted and he grabbed Suki on the side.
Suki blushed and looked at Sokka. His sense of determination always amazed him. In a way, Sokka was doing more with the airship than anything he could have ever done with a sword.
"Let's go!"
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o0o
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Katara bended all the remaining amounts of water vapor from the cloud onto the Kyoshi warriors, freezing them in place so they wouldn't fly off when the airship started to drop. Also, she froze her feet in place.
Azula wasn't faring as well as she grabbed the railing and held. Her hair went up and so did her body. She had no chance to attack. She just held on for dear life.
The Imperial Firebenders who had tried to fight in the cloud were now floating upwards as they did not restrain themselves on the vessel. The only thing that kept them from falling out was the large bulk of the airship.
Zuko was using Aang's staff on the railings and it held him together. Toph was on the metal platform, using the steel to hold her down.
Everyone struggled.
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o0o
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Zhao was unaffected by the wind and the force of gravity. He wasn't even moving and his feet were on the platform. But even if he was physically unaffected, his mind was confused and distorted. He was still in disbelief. He could not comprehend that the child he had once thought as a mere target was now easily moving their airship like a baby with a toy.
He talked all the way on the descent. "The Avatar… His control over the four elements is impressive… I cannot fight something like that… I had underestimated someone yet again…"
Zhao looked at all the people that were around him. These children had changed since the last time he met them. All of them were powerful and determined.
"It's possible," whispered Zhao, "that they might actually beat me…"
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o0o
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Aang spotted a small extinct volcano right below them. The volcano itself was a small island and the crater opening was just as large as the island itself, making it look like a giant hole in the sea. That was the place where Aang was going to land the airship. That was the place where Aang was going to end this.
Momo went behind Aang as the wind swept violently before them. Their speed was bringing up so much air. Appa and Momo both moaned.
"Just hold on, guys…" spoke Aang cheerfully. "This will all end soon…"
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o0o
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The moment the Fire Nation airship crashed onto the ground was not a moment anyone wanted to remember. Although Aang did soften the landing, the breaking force was enough to collapse the entire airship structure—the entire airship just folded and grinded upon impact. The gnashing of metal could make anyone's ears bleed. The ice Katara had used to protect the Kyoshi warriors clearly broke off. Katara could only hope that they were okay. Azula, who had held onto the railings with her body in the air, was now back on the platform. Katara heard some ribs snap. Zuko released his hold on the railings and used the glider as a parachute. Toph had softened the metal to soften the impact. The Imperial Firebenders were actually unharmed as they used fire to slow them down. Zhao just watched all of it happen.
Aang landed Appa when the dust cleared and he faced Zhao.
"It's over, Zhao! It's time you went back to the Spirit World!"
Zhao looked at Aang at first. He then turned to Azula. She was getting back to her feet. The Imperial Firebenders were also up. Zhao smiled sinisterly.
"The fight is not over, Avatar!" shouted Zhao. "Azula! Imperial Firebenders! Attack!"
But Zuko, who was dragging Katara away from the airship, shouted, "It's over, Zhao! Goodbye!"
Zhao didn't understand. He just watched as Zuko and Katara run away while Toph lifted the unconscious Kyoshi warriors on a large panel of metal.
"Goodbye!"
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o0o
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Earlier, inside the airship's bomb bay, Zuko had taken Toph's advice—to light up the bombs. He had gathered some spark powder and lined it up. He extended the line of powder for a few meters, estimating the time it took before his ignition would detonate the bombs. He estimated a few minutes.
Now, the ignited spark powder had reached the bombs.
And the airship exploded into millions of speeding shrapnel. The burst of energy created a fire so big that it consumed everything in its path within a few seconds. Zhao saw it coming and just stood there, as if the sun had come up to greet him.
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o0o
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Toph reacted quickly.
"EVERYONE GET BEHIND ME!!"
Everyone did. Even Appa and Momo flew behind Toph. With Aang's help, the two rapidly raised three thick walls of earth, one in front of the other.
When the blast came, everyone leaned against the last wall of earth to hold it together. Their surroundings slowly slid into a world of white and the searing heat should have killed them with one strike had not Zuko Firebended the heat away. Flying shards of metal collided against the wall like missiles onto a plank of metal. Some shot so fast that it broke through the first and second walls. The third wall stayed in place and held together. Although some rubble from the third wall did chip off, it remained intact and no harm came to them.
When the explosion finally stopped and the deafening sounds ceased, Aang used Airbending to clear out the smoke.
For the first time since their heated battle had started, everything was silent.
The group huddled together behind the earth wall, silent as stunned people could be. But it was Katara's uneasiness that broke that holy silence.
"Is it over…?"
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o0o
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ZZZZZRRAAAACCCCK!!
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o0o
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A blinding blast of lighting shot through the top part of the third wall and disappeared into the distance. Everyone was silent again, but now, it wasn't because of relief. It was because of terror. Lightning could only mean one thing: Azula was still alive.
Toph turned to Katara, feeling sarcastic.
"You had to jinx it, didn't you?"
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o0o
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Aang stood up and turned to them.
"Any advice before I go and stop this once and for all?" he said cheerfully.
Katara was angry. "Yeah! DON'T!"
Aang shook his head. "You said it was my turn to face Azula. You're right. It is. I have to stop her and Zhao before anybody else gets hurt. You guys are welcome to join me, of course."
Zuko looked up. "We will, but you're the only one that can do some damage. Is it correct to assume that you don't want any of us to kill her?"
Aang nodded.
"Then you have to take her Firebending away," spoke Zuko. "It's the only way we'll ever win this and Azula can harm nobody in the end. My advice is to take her Firebending away—that's it."
Toph punched her left hand. "But before you ruin the party, we dance with Azula one last time!"
Aang looked at Katara. "Are you going to join us?"
Katara sighed. "You're not going to do something as dangerous as this without my help."
Aang smiled.
"Then it's settled."
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o0o
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Azula had burned her hair. Most of it had burned into ash. She was now left with a much shorter hair length. The princess did not complain. Her hair had been a nuisance and now it was a lot more fitting.
That was one problem she was able to fix.
ZZZRRAAAACCCKKKKKK!!
Azula shot another tremendous charge of electric energy through the molten earth wall. Another large chunk of the wall turned into dust.
She then thrust her fists forward, igniting a huge blast of fire.
The last part of the wall turned into dust.
And the only things behind the wall were unconscious Kyoshi warriors, a flying lemur, and a ten-ton flying bison that just stared at her.
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o0o
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BOOOM!
The ground beside Azula broke into millions of pieces and four people shot out of the ground.
Katara moved first, bending the water out of her satchel and turning them into spikes. With whip-like speed, Katara flicked the ice spears towards Azula. She moved them with control—hoping to trap her and prevent her from bending. But Azula shot back with a flashing stream of lightning. The spikes landed at the side.
Zuko reacted next by moving ahead of them and redirecting the lightning into the air. The lightning coursed through his body and surged it out through his other hand.
Toph jumped up from behind Zuko and landed with impact, sending two large rocks into the air. The Earthbender slapped them hard and sent them flying towards Azula. Zuko aided this attack by burning the rocks. Now, the rocks traveled with a tail of fire like mini comets that were just as powerful and just as dangerous.
Azula swatted them aside with a swipe of fire.
Aang made the next approach.
With a strong push, Aang blasted a gale-force wind that spiraled towards Azula. The moving wind was strong enough to rip loose pebbles off the ground.
Azula went on all fours—on the ground with knees and hands. She focused her energy into her mouth. With one scream, Azula forced a large blast of fire towards Aang.
The flame and the wind met head on.
Aang was now using two hands, focusing more and more energy into this single blow of wind. But even as the Avatar, Aang could not blow such strong force. Should he enter the Avatar State? Did it have to come to that point?
No.
Aang forced more and more air. He was funneling it in and blasting it towards Azula's fire. Even until now, Azula was still screaming—still using the same breath of fire and the flame held steady. Zuko, Katara, and Toph were lying on the ground as Aang's vortex of air was pulling things off the ground.
But Azula was winning. Her fire was stronger, engulfing the violent wind. Her spirit to kill was much, much stronger.
Zuko, on the ground, turned to Katara and Toph. "Aang could be in trouble! We have to do something!"
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o0o
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Finally, Sokka landed the airship on the ground. He, Suki, Mai, and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors got off and left the airship on its lonesome. While the Kyoshi warriors tended to their unconscious fallen comrades, Sokka and Suki made their way towards the rest of the gang.
"We have to hurry!" spoke Sokka.
"We know!" Suki and Mai shouted in unison.
But then, from the rubble of the exploded airship, four Imperial Firebenders jumped out. The two closest to them were pinned to the ground by Mai's sleight of hand. Her stilettos forced them down—hard.
The third Firebender was pitched into combat by Suki. The Kyoshi warrior shielded herself with every blast of fire. Finally, she hit the man with quick jabs at the end of the man's spinal cord—a Qi blocking technique she had learned from Ty Lee. The Imperial Firebender didn't just lose his Firebending. He fell to the ground, completely unconscious.
Suki smiled over his fallen body and felt pride over her achievement.
The fourth Imperial Firebender snuck behind Suki while she wasn't looking.
But the man fell to the ground when Sokka hit his head with a large rock.
"Let's go!"
"We know!"
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o0o
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Azula and Aang were still locked in the same heated battle. But now, Azula's breath of fire had engulfed Aang's blast of wind. Her fire was now close to Aang's face. Aang's skin was already heating up due to the warmth.
Azula crawled forward. Her flame intensified. She had him in her mind's grasp.
But just as Aang focused on this blast of air, so did he focus on Azula's position. He was ready for his next move.
Aang kicked the ground.
In Azula's point of view, the ground shot up like a cannon and launched her into the air. Azula screamed and screamed in panic as she spun in the wind. Aang sent another scalding blast of wind towards her and it sent her even higher.
And Aang used his glider, jumped into the air, and trailed behind her.
Zuko jumped up next and followed her with a plume of focused fire on his feet. He hovered close to the ground. Meanwhile, Katara melted all the ice spikes on the ground and placed them back into her satchel. Then, she jumped on Toph's earth wave and they too followed Azula.
When Azula landed on the crater wall, she was already surrounded by the four benders.
"It's over, Azula," spoke her brother. "Surrender!"
Azula laughed. "Never!"
And she breathed fire again.
But Katara whipped some water onto her mouth and froze the band of ice onto the crater wall, holding her head in place. "That should shut you up!"
Azula was about to melt it with her hands, but Toph used the crater wall to reach out and hold her hands together with earthen binds.
Azula used her feet as a last resort for defense—but Zuko extinguished it with his Firebending and held her fire in check until Aang forced some earth on her feet. She was now immobilized. Azula struggled but she could not move.
They had done it.
Toph stepped back and sat on the ground, tired but relieved. "Alright, twinkle-toes… Do your spirit voodoo and take her Firebending away already!"
Aang nodded. "Right."
Aang stepped forward and lightly placed his hands on Azula's head and chest. He hummed to himself, waiting for his spirit to be released and his energy begin to flow. The mantra had begun. He was ready.
And so was Azula.
Because the moment Aang opened Azula's energy, he realized that somehow, the girl's energy had already been unlocked once before. Something was wrong here. Azula seemed to have learned to bend energy already.
Aang panicked.
But he couldn't stop it now. It was up to the strength of their inner spirits.
There was no turning back.
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o0o
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Sokka, Suki, and Mai went up beside them. Katara hugged her brother. Mai and Zuko embraced too. When the hugging was over, Sokka turned to Aang and the imprisoned Azula and clapped his hands. "Ooooohhhh… Aang's doing it again. This I want to see!"
Katara pointed to the two. "But nothing's happened for the past few seconds. They've just been like that. Are you sure this was how it happened?"
Sokka nodded happily. "Yup. There's going to be some terrific lightshow and I'm glad we got some of the best seats in the house."
Mai sighed. "Nothing's happening…"
"Yeah," continued Katara. "When's it going to—?"
The ground started to shake.
Sokka was giddy with excitement. "Here it comes!"
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o0o
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Aang's eyes opened and a beam of white-blue energy glowed out.
Azula's eyes opened and a beam of dark red energy glowed out.
Both their bodies began glowing under their spiritual energy. Aang shined like a beacon of pure light. Azula's energy was a tainted dark energy that expressed despair, death, and delusion. For a brief few seconds, it glowed that way. They didn't move, didn't twitch. They just stayed in the same position for what seemed to be hours.
The surroundings were bathed under the light of their spirits. The color of the sky was a half-mix of dark red and blue-white.
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o0o
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And then, Azula's energy started to crawl through Aang's fingers.
The tainted energy crawled through Aang's arms, into his shoulders, and through his chest. It continued downwards, to his legs and then his feet. Going upwards, Azula's energy consumed the beam of light in Aang's mouth. It followed the back of his neck and head.
All that was left were the eyes.
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o0o
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Katara was getting rattled.
"Sokka! Is this supposed to happen?"
Sokka was uneasy but calm. "This is exactly how it happened during the arrival of Sozin's Comet. I couldn't see much from where I was but I remember the sky suddenly turned red but Aang pulled through in the end and the sky went white. The next thing I knew, Aang took away the Firelord's Firebending. Aang will pull through—don't worry," he reassured.
Katara stared back at Aang's remaining white energy. She desperately pleaded that Aang would pull through.
Azula's energy had engulfed Aang's right eye.
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o0o
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The internal battle for Aang and Azula's spirit was fierce. Aang was holding good, but he could not hold on to this wave of dark spirit. Azula's passion for death was fierce and if Aang could not overcome it, the energy would consume him from the inside and his soul would be sucked from within.
Aang continued pushing.
Outside their bodies, the sky was blood-red with one tiny stream of white energy illuminating the sky. It was fading quickly. Aang was losing the battle.
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o0o
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Aang's spirit was completely consumed.
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o0o
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A beam of dark red energy rose into the sky and through the clouds.
The Avatar had lost.
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o0o
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When their spiritual light had disappeared and the ground had stopped moving, Aang fell to the ground. His soul was lost and he didn't even seem to breathe. It was only at that moment that everyone around them realized that something had gone horribly wrong. This shouldn't have happened at all.
"AANG!" screamed Katara. "AANG!"
She was the first to reach him. Her hands were already covered with water. When she touched his chest, she was happy to know that his heart was still beating—still there.
All Aang's friends had gathered around him. It surprised Zuko to see Mai crying. She's never cried like this before… What just happened…?
Katara did the best she could, but there was nothing for her to heal here. Her healing did not include resurrecting the soul. And she was helpless and destroyed. Katara placed her head on Aang's chest, sobbing and crying.
Her sobs were in tune with Aang's heartbeat.
"Aang…" she gasped. "Come on, Aang…"
Toph slammed her fist of Aang's chest. "Come on Twinkle-toes! You've never given up like this before! Get up now!" And she pounded her fist on Aang's chest again.
There was a cough.
Katara looked up. Her face was smothered in tears. When she looked at Aang's face, she felt despair when she realized that the cough had not come from Aang. It had come from someone else.
All of them turned around.
To Azula.
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o0o
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Azula was conscious but her eyes were sealed shut. She struggled with the ice and earth that held her. Her muffled screams to be set free were pathetic and disheartening. Tears were streaming out of her shut eyes and she snorted through her nose. No one had the heart to help her.
And then she stopped crying.
Her eyes shot open.
They shined a furious white.
Azula pulled free from the earth and her earthly binds turned into rubble. With her hands, she melted the ice. The wind around her feet started to swell up and wrap itself around Azula. Her hair violently swept everywhere around her face. Her teeth were gnashed together.
And the air that was swelling around Azula formed a large sphere with her inside.
Azula rose above the ground.
Her face only showed great anger and fury. The light from her eyes never faded. It was the concentration of all the cosmic energy in the universe through her body. She was more than just powerful.
She was now something else entirely.
Azula thrust her fist downwards.
Everyone on the ground felt the sudden shake of the earth.
When Azula pulled her fists up, the ground exploded in a mix of dust and flying debris. Katara, who was holding onto Aang, was one of the few people that landed face-first on the ground. Everyone shrieked in pain. Azula just watched over them with her bright, shining eyes.
They all cowered in fear.
Katara crawled up to Aang, who lay sprawled on the ground. She picked up his head, whispering. "Aang…wake up… We need you now…"
But Aang just lay motionless.
Zuko grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her up to her feet. "Katara! We need to go! My sister will kill us all unless we move!"
Katara looked at Aang. "We can't leave Aang!"
Zuko scooped Aang into his arms. "Let's go!"
They all started running away from Azula. But the beast that had transformed Azula would not let them escape. She opened her mouth wide and a blue fireball shot out towards them. We're all dead… Zuko thought. We can't save ourselves… I couldn't turn around to stop it…
But the fire never reached them.
When Katara looked at Aang, she realized that his hand was up.
He was blowing a strong gust of air against Azula's fire.
"AANG!"
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o0o
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Zhao appeared below Azula.
"That's enough, Azula! The longer you are in the Avatar State, the more chance you have of losing it through death. Come down now!"
But Azula did not stop.
Zhao reached out and grabbed her hand. He pulled her back down on the ground. The sphere of air slowly faded and Azula's feet began to touch the ground. When the air stopped spinning, the bright light from her eyes disappeared and her own eyes returned. She collapsed on the ground.
Zhao placed her on his shoulder like a sack of rice. "Don't be such a drama queen… We need to go now…" And he patted her proudly on the back. "You did well today—exactly as planned. I was right when I chose you…"
Zhao carried her towards the Earth Kingdom airship.
When he placed her on its platform, he smiled at her unconscious body.
"We have a long way to go, Princess Azula… You rest well now…"
And Zhao spiritually moved himself to the abandoned control room. He moved the right switches and lifted the airship into the sky. He took one last glance at his enemies. They all watched him leave. He smiled at them. How little they knew of my intentions… They lost as easily as they won…
And Zhao steered the airship back into the horizon.
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Fire Nation, unnamed Extinct Volcano island (afternoon)
Everyone was watching Aang recover. He had said nothing since his rise to consciousness. All he could do was drink water and eat—nothing more. The entire group had moved from the inside of volcano to its beach, awaiting rescue since they were stranded and Appa couldn't lift all of them. The rest of the group said very little to one another. No one could speak. Trauma had taken their hearts from them. It would be a long time until they would recover from their defeat. Sokka was right. Today was a life-changing day.
Katara came up to Aang with another satchel-full of water. Aang took it greedily. Whenever Katara looked at him, she could see that his soul was lost and a severe blow of depression was sinking in.
When Aang looked into Katara's eyes, she swore he was going to speak to him.
Aang did.
"Katara…" he whispered.
Katara felt tears stinging her eyes. "Yes?"
"Azula took the Avatar Spirit from me…"
Zuko, Sokka, Toph, Suki, and Mai listened silently. Their worst fears had come true. Aang was no longer the Avatar.
But Aang smiled at them, making their hearts rise for a second.
"But she didn't take everything, though…"
And Aang formed a small sphere of air around his hand.
Aang looked happily at Katara. He was crying softly, making his words show more meaning.
"She didn't take everything…"
And Aang fell back to silence.
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o0o
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Mai kissed Zuko on the cheek. Zuko smiled sadly at her. "The cheek? Is that all you can come up with…?"
Mai punched Zuko on the shoulder. "You expect too much. And besides, that's all you're going to get until you come back."
If I come back, thought Zuko. He turned back to Mai. "Why aren't you coming?"
Mai pointed to all the Kyoshi warriors on the beach. "They'll need assistance and I can help them. Ty Lee also needs some encouragement. I just woke her up and she seems down about the fact that her uniform just got blackened in some parts. You know how Ty Lee is about appearance?"
Zuko nodded. Here was a nice enough conversation.
"I have to stay behind, Sokka," said Suki on the other side of the beach. "These are my warriors. They need their leader. So I'm counting on you. You have to bring everything back in order, okay?"
Sokka bowed his head low. "I don't think I can do that…"
Suki took his chin in her hand. "You can."
And they kissed.
Toph was kicking sand all over the beach, feeling disgusted. "Blech! Everyone's kissing each other!"
Appa was already on the beach, waiting for the five of them to get onboard. They would if Aang could just listen to them instead of stare into the distance. The wind was blowing their way, picking up sand in the beach. The sunset was behind them, casting their shadows on the sand. Aang had this preoccupied look on his face.
Katara went up to him and held his hand.
"We're all set to leave now," she said. "We're just waiting for you. How much longer is this going to take?"
Aang didn't look her in the eye. "We won't win, you know? Since Azula took the Avatar Spirit from me, that makes her the—"
"I know what that makes her, Aang," spoke Katara. "But does that make her the Avatar? Was she the one who saved the Northern Water Tribe from the attack of the Fire Nation? Was she the one who stopped the Firelord's destruction of the Earth Kingdom? Was she the one who returned to the world to bring back its peace? No. She's no Avatar to me, Aang.
"You are."
And Katara squeezed his hand.
Aang showed no reaction but a simple nod. Zuko, Sokka, and Toph had gathered beside them, watching the sky turn from blue to red and the sun cast shadows of them on the beach.
These were the true heroes of the world.
They were the ones who gave hope despite its lack. They were the ones who fought when everyone else gave up. And now, they were more than heroes. They were legends in their own true right. It took one man to change the world. It took five kids to save it and win against all odds.
And as the dimming sunlight cast long magnificent shadows on the beach, these five would have to rise up and do it once again.
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(Please take a breather before reading the next few things. Recall everything so far and imagine the story once more. What comes next is somewhat similar to the San Diego Comic Con Discussion Panel—except without the reactions from you audience/readers. That will come with your reviews. So, when you're done with the breather, proceed with what I'd like to call, the Avatar Fanfiction Discussion Panel)
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Hello reader,
This is Kojab8890 with a very appreciative thanks to those who have read up to this eleventh chapter. Thanks a bunch for the reviews! So…since the story has flowed on and a lot have been revealed already, it's time to unveil a few things I had to do to get this Avatar fanfic on the roll.
Let's get started.
As most of you know, what I'm trying to do is a realistic continuation to the Avatar storyline. Doing that is a lot harder than it seems and there had to be a lot of plot outlining before I could actually put this story down. In fact, the bones for this story were already in my head WAY before the Avatar finale came up. So what stopped me? Here are the guidelines to my idea of writing this likely continuation…
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o0o Peace Keeping o0o
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This is a very important factor I had to stress out when I had to write this fanfic. Some of the direct Avatar continuations out there just put something bad that came out of the blue and it completely disrupts the peaceful world and sends our heroes charging off on another wild goose chase. I'm sorry if I'm bashing those who did write these kinds of stories. I'm just saying that I didn't want to write something that way. Mike, Bryan, and the rest of the Avatar storywriters worked so hard to place the world back into peace that it just seems cruel and unrealistic to even start war all over again. That's why Zuko said in chapter 10 that the peace was too strong to break. I can't argue with Zuko. So then came my next problem…
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o0o Raising Conflict o0o
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No story—especially in the world of Avatar—would be interesting if there was no conflict going on. For season one, it was finding a Waterbending Master while reaching the North Pole. For season two, it was finding an Earthbending Master and the fall of the Earth Kingdom. For the third season, it was the Day of Black Sun, finding a Firebending Master, and the battle against the Firelord. So how could I raise conflict when the peace everyone had fought for would just blow up in their faces? I couldn't do that. That would be story suicide.
So the idea was to create a villain that was far worse than the Firelord. Azula was my first candidate, but she was just crazy. Zhao's unclear demise was another choice, but the man was just tactical—not powerful. Was there another choice? Yes. The Avatar. Now, I couldn't make Aang some creepy bad guy. That would be stupid. So I thought of Energybending. The story came together and it fell just right. But then, I realized I would still be in conflict with the first problem.
The next thing I had to do was create a random problem. Everyone's always talking about the returning Air Nomads, so I thought of giving that a little spin. The death of the old man was a subtle raise in conflict and the idea started to rise until it made sense with the first problem. Peace still remains, but there are just some things out of their control.
And now, the shattering truth about Avatar Azula is born—and it was presented in a slightly realistic format too. Since the peace is too strong to break, you'd need the Avatar to break it for you.
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o0o Squeezing things o0o
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This is probably the most difficult part of making this fanfiction. Now, how could you turn all the beautiful scenery, the colorful dialogue, the awesome soundtrack and voices, the funny twisted emotions, and the things that make Avatar—Avatar—into just plain words. Truthfully, it can't be done—it just CAN'T. So what I had to do was get the next best thing.
It all came down to the writing style.
This is why I need your reviews so badly. I need to see if they're realistic in a way that you can imagine it as something that Avatar could really do. The fighting scenes are the toughest for me. They need to be fast-paced and yet they have to be described accordingly. There are only so many adjectives you can use to describe each type of bending movement. It's difficult and it requires patience and a whole bunch of jelly worms, I assure you.
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o0o Character Development o0o
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Of course, in all Avatar fanfic continuations, no ending really ends happily. But there are some people that write the characters living clichéd lives. Toph, for example. After the war, she is usually shown as a miserable child back with her parents. I don't think that's realistic at all. (Sorry if I'm bashing again). In fact, I think her parents would come to terms with her. In Zuko continuation stories, he plays little political roles despite the fact that he is the Firelord. Katara is usually played as the "healer" and she seems weak in some other fanfictions. The Katara we know is awesome! And what about Aang? He's the freaking Avatar! He should have some roles as the Avatar. (Again, I am not trying to offend those that have written fanfics with these ideas. You're stories are amazing. I'm just not doing it that way.)
I had to play it right and even though I know I played some things wrong, I hope that you people know that I thought of not doing it this way.
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o0o Returning Airbenders o0o
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This has been a problem fans have been prodding the Avatar storywriters since the storyline thickened. It should only make sense that the Airbenders should make a return as the Avatar cycle needs Airbenders so the Avatar could be reborn again. This is all well and good.
But then, why the heck would Mike and Bryan make the title: Avatar—the Last Airbender?
Putting Airbenders back into the world would totally go against that title. If I just placed Airbenders back into the story, it would already make it unrealistic. The death of the old man doesn't mean that I placed an Airbender back. No. It's just the spreading rumors that contributed to the story.
So, does that mean that there is no Airbender in this story?
Kojab8890 smiles sinisterly.
He then reaches into your ear and whispers, "I found a loophole…"
You'll have to read on to find out…
: )
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Now just because I tried to make this story realistic doesn't mean I couldn't fool around with some other ideas. Here are some pretty unrealistic ideas that could never happen in a 100 years…
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1. Zhao's return—I have full confidence that Zhao is dead. Period. But… There is no way I could get Azula to have some Energybending without some sort of spiritual interaction. But the only villain to ever encounter a spirit was Zhao when he got caught by the Ocean Spirit. Although most fans believe he's dead, there has been room for doubt. In this story, Zhao is dead—but the misty details that surround his return allow me to grasp his ability to have taken some Energybending. It is realistic to the story. And Azula can use Energybending.
The reason why Azula can Energybend was stated by the Lion Turtle. "In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the Elements, but the energy within ourselves…" This means that people used to bend energy—not just the Avatar. It should work. But if Mike and/or Bryan says that Energybending is only limited to Avatars, then my only explanation will be—'this is a fanfic, dude!'
So, Zhao's return is a realistic one—I just doubt that anyone would return him any time soon.
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2. That fifth air sanctuary thingy—The fifth Air sanctuary does play a minor role in explaining the mysterious Air taker. And it's situated in the Wulong forest—that's in the middle of the four Air Temples if you do your research right. But this thing has mostly been a teaser of sort—something similar to a distraction if nothing less.
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3. Khai—This kid is a favorite idea of mine. For each element, there was always a kid who mastered it. Shouldn't there be a kid that could master all the four elements without actually bending them? It is realistic and the kid would be mighty powerful.
Also, the kid and his mother will play more roles—but you'll only know when you read. These roles will be important and vital.
And, as I said, this character could happen in the Avatar universe—it just didn't.
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4. Air taking/ Air Sucking (No real name yet)—This idea has been something I've played about since the middle of season one. In the Wikipedia article about Avatar, it describes Airbending with a fatal flaw: It has no finishing move.
Now, this makes sense. After all, the Air Nomads were completely peaceful in nature. Killing people is just something they would not do—as shown by Aang in the finale. So what would happen if they do?
Well, that wouldn't make them an Air Nomad no more.
So, who is this mysterious Air taker? An Air Nomad?
The more I explain, the more I'll give clues. The possibility still remains. It could be an Air Nomad.
You'll just have to figure that one out yourselves when you continue reading.
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Now that I've explained the guidelines of my story and the things I just had to include for the story plot, here are the things to look forward to in the upcoming chapters and the four-part finale of this dedicated fanfic.
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1. Azula's mastery of the four elements—The only way Azula and Zhao could truly rule the world is if Azula could master the four elements the same way Aang did. That also includes the Avatar State.
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2. Zhao's origin—how the heck did Zhao get into our plane of existence and will the explanation be suitable for those die-hard fans out there?
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3. Ursa's return—I just hope I can make it subtle and 'touchy-feely' to the readers that love a good emotional act in the story. Of course, balance it out with some realistic situations and events. I don't want you readers just to feel that Ursa returned. I need you to know that she's always been around the corner…
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4. Khai and co. comes back—Of course this kid will be back! I worked too hard on him to disappear all of a sudden!
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5. The Final Battle
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6. And yes…the mysterious Air taker, revealed—My freaking summary is all about him. Hopefully you guys will accept the revelations when it comes.
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The things on top aren't arranged in any particular order. All of the things will definitely happen before the final battle—even the Air taker's identity.
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And if you liked this Fanfiction Discussion Panel, then you will be happy to know that there are two more coming your way—one after the 19th chapter and the other after the last chapter.
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Also, REVIEW on this chapter as well. I bet you guys forgot all about Chapter 11 with this panel. I just want to know what you guys think—the emotional, action, and narrative parts of it. If you don't review, I guess that's fine.
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Now comes the hard part.
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I might have to go on hiatus.
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This is because I have only sketchy ideas of the chapters that go from 12 to 19. Sure I have some revelations planned, but that doesn't account for the rest of it. That's why your reviews are pretty much necessary for the development of this story. Not just reviews, but ideas. Truthfully, what I had planned for the next chapter was something about Sokka's grief. The original chapter 11 was supposed to end up with Suki dead or fatally injured—just not dead yet. The next chapter was supposed to deal with Sokka handling that kind of grief. Everyone would try to cheer him up with all sorts of nonsense stuff (for example, Katara and Zuko would use a hat and some of Sokka's socks and do a puppet show in front of him to cheer him up. Aang would use Sokka's fake beard and do some sort of comedian act. Toph would put on the Kyoshi warrior uniform and cheer him up a bit.) In the end, they would go up to the scene of the Finale and retrieve Sokka's dropped space sword, but people are worshiping it as some sort of "Excalibur". The story goes on, but I can't do it now that Suki's still alive.
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So I need your ideas for the next chapters.
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I'm not holding the fanfic hostage. I'm just having a serious writer's block.
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And the reason I'm making this very dedicated fanfic is because I want to raise a question to all you readers out there. Michael Crichton in his novel, "Prey", said that the number of possibilities that could happen is infinite—but the number of probable things that could happen was much, much limited. Did I limit it right when I made this fanfic? Did I follow all the guidelines? And even if the story is poorly written, then at least I was able to share my ideas with you people.
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I am in the mission of raising the 'could it happen' factor. I want people to ask what could most likely happen if Avatar continued? That's all I'm really aiming for here.
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SO REVIEW! COMMENT! FLAME! AND LONG LIVE AVATAR!
