Blackburn let out a flurry of punches and kicks at Aang, letting fire burst out of every kick and punch. Eyes widening, Aang dodged Blackburn's attacks, bopping his head left and right and using his footwork to avoid more attacks. After Blackburn did a spinning fire-kick to Aang's head, Aang ducked the attack and ended up behind Blackburn's back. Blackburn tried to spin around to face the Avatar, but Aang continued to stay behind him.

"You can't avoid me forever, Avatar!" Blackburn shouted. Blackburn quickly did a spinning fire-fist, forcing Aang to finally face Blackburn once again. Aang hopped away from Blackburn, but the ninja warlord quickly followed with a fire-fist to Aang's chest. Unable to have time dodging it, Aang barely blocked the fire and hit the ground. His arms felt slightly burned from blocking the attack, but he was grateful he was still alive. Panting, Aang got up and began to take his air-bending stance.

Suddenly, his eyes widen.

-:-:-

Now remember, Aang. You're a full-fledged fire-bender now. It's not just about avoiding attacks and fighting back in certain angles. It's not only about standing your ground and facing them head on. Being a fire-bender is about becoming alive. Hold absolutely nothing back! Keep your eyes forward and let your desires drive you to your goal! LET YOUR SOUL BURN WITH LIFE AND EARN WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS! SEIZE THE MOMENT! TAKE IT! TAKE IT NOW!

-:-:-

Kiba's lessons burned within Aang's very heart. Kiba was right. He's a fire-bender. Aang has mastered all of the elements, and right now the element of fire burns from deep inside his very soul, pushing away all the other elements that could get in his way.

Aang let out a roar and punched a huge fire-fist for Blackburn's face. Eyes widening, Blackburn barely dodged Aang's fire-punch, feeling some of his hair nearly singed. Feeling his momentum building up, Aang did a fire-leg sweep and quickly did a jumping fire spin-kick. Blackburn began to back away from more of Aang's graceful fire-kicks, shocked and amazed at the same time from Aang's fire-bending skills.

Grinding his teeth, Blackburn refused to be out-matched. Soon after Aang performed a spinning fire-fist, Blackburn dodged it and responded with a spinning fire-kick. Aang dodged it and did a fire leg-sweep. Blackburn leapt up from the leg-sweep and swung his leg down on the Avatar with a burning foot. Aang rolled away from Blackburn's enormous fire-stomp and cartwheel back to his feet with an arc of fire burning from his feet.

As soon as they were back on their feet, the Avatar and the ninja warlord of the Dark Infernos began to exchange fire-strikes all over again. The fans cheered for their lethal yet beautiful exchange of attacks, making their battle look just as lovely and graceful as a ballet or a waltz. The Agni Kai was not rigid and clumsy like an earth-bending duel. It was not gentle and weak like a pitiful water-bending duel. And it certainly wasn't fancy and cowardly like an air-bending duel.

When it comes to combat, no one on the face of the planet can fight with grace, power and ferocity like a fire-bender. Only a fire-bender can let out his fangs and make the art of combat so fascinating, no matter how much blood is spilled or how many bodies burn before him/her. The Agni Kai was the most powerful and feared duel in the entire planet, and all the other nations were too damn afraid to admit it.

Aang and Blackburn locked hands as their hands burned with intense fire. The two warriors felt their jaws straining as they pit each other's physical strength and fire-bending against each other, seeing who's truly the stronger. Both of the fire-bending warriors were surprised from each other's strengths, staring into each other's eyes with sheer tenacity.

Aang had never faced an opponent like Blackburn before. The Avatar remembered how difficult it was to face exceptional fire-benders like Zuko and Azula, but Blackburn seemed to be in a league of his own when it comes to not only fire-bending but the desire to erase Aang's very life. Blackburn's mind was much clearer than Zuko's, and what was scarier was that Blackburn's wickedness seemed to surpass even that of Azula's. Aang was grateful that at least Blackburn's fire didn't turn blue.

Blackburn hated to admit it, but the damn kid was by far the greatest opponent he had ever faced. In all of his previous Agni Kai's, every one of his opponents that questioned his powers burned to ashes in less than one minute. Five minutes had already passed away, and the Avatar didn't show any slowing down at all. The little brat has much more stamina than Blackburn thought! Even his strength was amazing! What was Aang doing all this time? Lifting a boulder on his back?

As a minute passed away, electricity began to spark out of Blackburn's hands. A surge of lightning surged out of Blackburn's hands and attacked Aang without any mercy. Aang screamed and fell to his knees. However, Blackburn refused to let go of Aang's hands. Smiling to himself, Blackburn continued to unleash more of the 'cold-blooded fire' into the Avatar's body, hoping it would rip his very soul to shreds.

"This is my time, Avatar! This is my moment! You will die, and I will dance upon your grave! Any last words, boy?" Blackburn asked. Aang didn't say anything as he hopelessly struggled with Blackburn's electrifying onslaught. Grinding his teeth, Aang began to stand up. All of the fans were astonished from Aang's determination to live. Even Blackburn was taken by surprise from Aang's resistance. No one has ever survived the wrath of the 'cold-blooded fire' at such a dangerously high level.

"… Extreme situations… call for EXTREME MEASURES!" Aang shouted. Aang drove his knee right into Blackburn's groin. Blackburn ceased his lethal lightning technique, released Aang's hands, let out a yelp and held onto his family jewels. Aang grabbed Blackburn's head and gave Blackburn a vicious head-butt to his nose. The Dark Inferno warlord let a cry and clung onto his nose, feeling the pain as blood began to spill from his nose.

The elderly announcer stroke his beard to determine whether or not Aang will be penalized for using such attacks.

"I'll allow it," the old one announced.

Seeing him preoccupied with his bloody nose, Aang summoned electricity from his very hands and struck his hands into Blackburn's chest and stomach. The lightning from Aang's hands was even more intense than Blackburn's, causing Blackburn to scream like never before. So much electricity surged from Aang's hands that it caused Blackburn's hair to stand up and illuminate his very skeleton. Aang let out a war-cry and let out one last jolt. That jolt sent Blackburn flying and landing him hard into the steel floor. Panting heavily, Aang collapsed to the ground face-first.

"AANG!!!" Toph screamed. Shackled to the wall and unable to feel the floor beneath her feet, Toph felt a tear stream down her cheek. Her feet couldn't touch the floor, but she can still feel his vibrations as they traveled from the floor up to the wall. Toph didn't care how much more powerful Aang became. All she wanted was to feel Twinkle Toes' arms wrap around her body and his lips brushing into hers. Toph tried to struggle with her tears, refusing to show any weakness. She had to believe that Aang can do it. She must believe that her love can win the Agni Kai and give Blackburn the most humiliating defeat in Fire Nation history.

Besides, this was Aang's time. This was Aang's moment.

Aang breathed heavily and got on his feet soon after Blackburn got on his feet as well. Feeling their bodies wrecked with punishment, the fire-bending monstrosities glared into each other's eyes with sheer determination for victory. Feeling much of his energy returning, Aang began to put his hands in front of himself, look like he was holding an invisible sword. Fire erupted from his hands, beginning to take a certain shape.

Kiba's eyes widen from Aang's actions.

(This is it! He's gonna do it!) Kiba said to himself. Aang screamed as he put more focus on his fire. The fire began to shine brightly, causing much of the audience to shield their eyes. The fire in Aang's hands quickly transformed into a beautiful black sword, determined to end Blackburn's very life. The 4-foot-long sword glowed hot orange, catching everyone's eyes. This must be the very first time such a fire-bending technique was shown to the public. It even caused the Fire Lord's brow to rise a bit. With a face of stone and seeing his opponent 15 feet away, Aang aimed his mighty sword right at Blackburn's throat.

The only one who wasn't impressed was Blackburn. Wiping the blood off his nose, Blackburn began to chuckle. Then the chuckle burst into laughter. Blackburn's laughter was so maniacal that it filled the entire Throne Room. Smiling wickedly, Blackburn regained his composure and eyed the Avatar very dangerously.

"Ah, I see. You must have learned the Pyrodium technique. I didn't know you know how to do that. Now the duel is definitely going to get more interesting…"

Aang eyed him strangely but still kept his hand firm on the handle of his blade. Blackburn raised his hands high in the air. Fire erupted from all over his body, looking as though he was about to be consumed by his very power. Suddenly, the fire began to shine brightly all over him, shining so brightly that everyone had to shield their eyes.

Even all of the Dark Inferno ninjas had to shield their eyes from Blackburn's powers. However, Kiba was the only one who didn't shield his eyes at all. That was because he was too damn shocked from the sudden change of events.

When the shining light all around Blackburn was gone, all of the audience was awestruck once again. Blackburn was armed with a wicked 6-foot-long black sword, black armor, and a black helmet. His armor, blade, and helmet glowed just as hot as Aang's sword. The only part of Blackburn's body exposed to the public was his long white hair. Smiling beneath his horned helmet, Blackburn aimed his gigantic blade right at the Avatar's skull.

"/Did you foolishly think you're the only one who knows how turn fire into solid matter? For your arrogance, I will slice you down into pieces and serve you on a silver platter for the Fire Lord himself…/" Blackburn said through his helmet. Preparing for the worst, Aang held his Pyrodium sword close to him, waiting for the right time to strike.

Kiba began to tremble and bit his lip underneath his mask. Seeing that Blackburn's Pyrodium technique has vastly surpassed Aang's told him that there's a very good chance that the Avatar will die tonight.

"Aang. Oh no…" Kiba said to himself quietly.

Feeling her nostrils flare up, Toph began to feel her heart beat like mad.

"No matter the odds, I believe in you, Twinkle Toes. You can do it, Aang. Win, Aang. Win…"

Phew. Boy, it's been awhile since I get to write duels like this one. This is the very first time I wrote a duel that involved fire-bending. It's much harder to write such a fight since fire's the most complicated element to write about. I'm pretty proud of myself for at least pulling it off. I hope I did all right.

So what do you guys think about the Agni Kai and the story so far? Please review this chapter and let me know what you think so I can improve on my writing skills. I'm working on making my writing a daily habit instead of wasting my time on television and videogames. Your reviews are truly appreciated. Well, time for me to go. I got a whole new life to begin. Live and love, people.