Chapter 18: Coming of the Fire God

The forest outside Avatar Town.

And two Guardians took a break from all the excitement.

Cornelia found a soft patch of ground in a clearing, sat down, and invited her friend to join her, but Irma elected to stand.

Then the Guardian of Earth dropped the question that had been on her mind for quite some time.

"You've been really angry lately, Irma. First with Hay Lin, then arguing with Taranee." began Cornelia. "Were you upset with Hay Lin? Because it seemed like you were really mad at her right before we found her. Why?"

"It's not Hay Lin." revealed Irma. "She's great. It's…" she stopped, unable to say more.

"Did something happen to you?" asked the concerned Earth Guardian, who realized Irma never told her the full story of her stay in the Earth Kingdom when she learned of Irma's time tending bar.

"Something. Yeah. You could say that." admitted Irma, looking down at the ground to find a rock to boot with her sandaled foot, as she didn't wish to meet Cornelia's gaze.

"Do you want to talk about it?" said Corny, being as supportive as she could.

"Not really. It's…difficult." said Irma, raising her head to finally face the deep, soulful eyes of Cornelia.

Irma didn't want to talk about it. Irma hated the very idea of talking about it!

But she couldn't hate her friend for bringing it up.

"Well, whenever you want to, I'm here for you, Irma. All the girls are." said Cornelia, giving her friend a hug.

"I know that. Thanks. Maybe later. But you didn't bring me here to grill me, did you?" asked Irma, trying to change the subject.

"I suppose not. I wanted to get away for a bit. It's quiet here." replied Cornelia, who never wanted to be the 'famous Plant Spirit', and cared little for the crowds the Spirit attracted in Avatar Town. "And plants don't lie to you." she added.

"You mean Jet?" commented Irma, knowing just the mention of his name made Corny see red.

"I'm over him! He was such a big jerk!" snarled Cornelia.

Irma felt bad for playing her friend in this way, and changed the subject yet again.

"You can really talk to plants?" said Irma, who actually had wondered about Cornelia's abilities.

"Sort of. It's not really 'talking'. It's more like I know how they feel." answered the Guardian of Earth. "It's weird. Everything on this world seems so alive! I mean, our Earth is obviously alive, but it's even more so here." said Corny, touching a flower growing from the forest floor.

"I know what you mean." agreed Irma, who proceeded to open up and share her thoughts on a subject not about her. "It's like there's so much magic here, but it's almost always just out of reach. At times, you can practically see it out of the corner of your eye. It's a subtle thing. Not like on our Earth, where magic is completely hidden! It's as if this world was a cross between our Earth and Meridian. Must be why Phobos wants it."

"I guess." replied Corny, taking a meal out of her sack that Hay Lin had packed away for her.

"What's that?" asked the Water Guardian.

"Muzzlegrub sandwich." said Cornelia. "Want one?"

"Hold on! What's a muzzlegrub? Some kind of rodent?" said Irma who, if there was one thing she knew about this world, it was the crazy animal combinations. I mean, catgators? Skunkbears? Please!

"Of course not!" denied Cornelia. "It's a food crop."

"A veggieburger?" said the amused Irma.

"Hey, it's good!" crowed the Earth Guardian.

"Do your plant friends know what you eat?" teased Irma.

"Ha ha." said Cornelia, between bites.

Irma noticed something was missing from this picnicky scene.

"Yo, Corny!" declared Irma. "Need a drink?" she said, magicing up a fountain of water.

"I'm not sure. I don't know where it's been!" joked Cornelia. "Hey, Irma, why don't you stick around a while? Pull up a rock!" she said, telekinetically moving a large, flat rock under Irma.

Irma then sat down and got into the picnic spirit.

Over lunch, they talked about various things.

"You know, it's great being able to openly use our powers and all, but the way people act around me? Not so great. I'm far more than a 'plant spirit'!" said the Earth Guardian.

"I know what you mean." replied Irma. "People thought I was about water bending, and that's all, when I performed my act."

"You had an act?" asked the surprised Corny.

"Sure! I had to do something for money! Want to see?" offered Irma.

"Of course!" said Cornelia, with anticipation.

Irma then demonstrated her street performer act.

It was a traditional Earth Kingdom song about a dog.

Irma sang it, and her watery creations 'performed' it.

It ended with "... And the dog ran all the way home!", and it looked as if Irma's water dog was actually running.

"Ha! That's great!" laughed Corny, applauding.

Irma hadn't seen her friend laugh in a long time. It felt good.

So the next thing she had to say made her feel terrible.

"Are you sure you're over Jet? " asked Irma Lair, with trepidation.

"Yes, of course I am! That's what I said!" seethed Cornelia Hale.

"That's good, because that guy over there looks just like the picture I saw on his 'wanted' poster!" pointed out Irma.

"Well, well, well! Plant Spirit!" announced Jet. "Fancy meeting you here! Although it's not too surprising, you being a plant spirit, and this a forest..."

"What are you doing here, Jet? On second thought, I don't care! Get lost!" ordered Cornelia.

"Whoa! I'm just passing through, on my way to the Avatar Festival!" said the charismatic, onetime rebel leader. "And don't be so quick to dismiss me. Don't you want your share of the money we earned? I've been saving it for you." needled Jet, who must have had a death wish.

"You used me?" said the furious Earth Guardian. "To make money??"

"Something like you falls into my lap, how could I not? But it wasn't all about the money. That was just a fringe benefit." revealed the confident rebel. "One thing I never understood, though. What was the deal with eating all those leechie nuts? That's animal food!"

"I'm a vegetarian, Jet! Yet another thing you didn't understand about me!" argued Cornelia.

"You want to know what your problem is? You're too emotional!" shot back Jet.

"Leave now or, or I won't be responsible for what happens!" said the enraged Corny.

Cornelia's vitriol towards Jet surprised the Water Guardian.

Irma thought, if they ever ran into the jerk, she'd be the one to put him in his place.

Given how mad Cornelia was, though, Irma was afraid the situation could get very, very bad if things escalated, and decided to put a stop it.

"Hi-yaa!" yelled Irma, jumping in, arms in a faux karate stance because she remembered how Taranee said bending was a martial art.

"What is she doing?" asked the unconcerned Jet.

"I'm a water bender!" exclaimed Irma, trying to scare Jet. "So you better run along, or..."

"Thanks, Irma, but I can handle this guy, no problem!" declared Cornelia. "Leave now, Jet, or else!"

"Or else what?" responded the smirking Jet, who thought Cornelia's residual feelings for him would protect him from her wrath.

"You don't want to know!" replied the steadfast Earth Guardian.

"You want to go at it?" dared Jet. "Okay! Let's do it!" he said, unsheathing his twin blades from their scabbard and advancing on the one he called 'Plant Spirit'.

Cornelia gasped.

Even she didn't think Jet was so obnoxious as to fight her!

But her shock only lasted a split second.

She wasn't about to back down!

"What are you going to do?" teased Jet. "Grow vines? I'll slice 'em!"

"You never did understand anything, did you?" said Cornelia, retreating but still defiant.

Then she raised the earth very quickly under Jet's feet, sending him flying!

He struggled back to his feet, but this time, when he tried to raise his twin tiger head swords against her, Corny was ready for him.

Cornelia took control of his hook blades and aimed them right at his throat!

Jet was trapped!

At Cornelia's mercy!

"And do you want to know what your problem is? You rely too much on weapons!" bellowed Cornelia.

"Corny! Don't!" yelled Irma, seriously worried about her friend's mental state because of what she herself had gone through when the injured Earth soldier died due to her actions.

Cornelia glanced over at Irma, puzzled, then turned her attention back to Jet and used his swords to knock him out.

"And my name's Cornelia, not plant spirit!" she exclaimed as he lost consciousness.

Dragging him like a sack of potatoes to a tree to tie him up, Cornelia asked Irma "You didn't really think I'd kill him, did you?"

"I don't know. Hunh. Seems like I don't know much of anything, anymore!" replied Irma, shrugging her shoulders.

Cornelia didn't know what Irma meant, but before she could ponder it or explore it any further, Jet began to wake up.

"Now you're going to tell us what you're doing here, Jet! No lies this time!" demanded Corny of the restrained rebel.

"You really want to know?" said Jet. "Why not? You'll find out soon enough!"

"What are you talking about?" ordered the Guardian of Earth. "What crazy, dangerous scheme are you up to now?"

"I serve a new master - the Fire God! " exclaimed the proud lackey.

"Fire God??" questioned Irma. "Who the heck is that?"

"The Fire God will save us all!" Jet declared. "He comes to burn away the old world to make way for the new!"

As if on cue, Prince Zuko appeared in the sky, looking for Jet.

"Uh oh. I think we're in trouble!" said Irma of the flaming figure in the air above them.

Zuko didn't think much of being denied what he wanted by a pair of silly girls, so he aimed his fire balls at Jet's bonds that encircled the tree behind Jet.

The bonds burned, releasing the former leader of the freedom fighters.

But Zuko was careless, and sparks fell on the grass and trees, igniting a forest fire.

Which Irma and Cornelia attempted to stamp out.

But Irma's waterfall and Cornelia's movement of soil to suffocate the blaze weren't enough to put it out completely!

Then Zuko swooped in to pick up Jet, his arms extending out of his personal 'fire field' that was always around him so he could grasp Jet without burning the loyal follower.

"Stop!" Cornelia screamed at Zuko "Are you crazy, starting a fire in a forest? You could burn it down!"

"Wait!" Irma cautioned Cornelia, grabbing her arm. Irma recognized the familiar pinkish hue of the Heart of Candracar, and figured this must be the man who took it.

"No, Irma!" said the Earth Guardian, yanking her arm free of Irma's grasp. "I can't let you take Jet! He's a dangerous criminal!" she declared to Zuko.

Cornelia then had her vines grow and reach around Jet's legs, preventing the fiery Prince from absconding with Jet.

Zuko was surprised at the actions of the odd, yellow-haired girl.

A plant bender?? he thought. Am I dealing with a spirit?

But he was more annoyed than anything.

It didn't matter if she was a spirit! No one was going to stop him from regaining his honor and achieving his destiny!

And he had the power to make it happen!

So Prince Zuko waved his hand once and fire shot out, obliterating the vines that anchored his subject to the earth.

Then he waved his hand a second time and a wall of fire flared up around Irma and Cornelia!

Surrounded, the two half-powered Guardians were unable to end the Heart of Candracar-powered conflagration. Irma's water turned to steam when it met the flame, and Corny's 'soil bomb' only scattered fiery embers at them.

They could only watch, helplessly, as Zuko flew away with their captive while the circle of fire slowly advanced on them, its sister blazes burning the rest of the forest around them.

Powerless to stop the encroaching fire, Cornelia and Irma had no choice but to wait for the end.

Together.

When the mighty inferno finally exhausted all of the dry tinder fuel of the woods, the entire forest was burned down.

There was nothing left.

And there was no trace of Irma or Cornelia. Nothing, no evidence, to indicate they were ever there.

All that remained were charred embers on the forest floor.

Oh no!

I didn't just kill off two of my main characters, did I?

I'm going to have to watch that in the future!

Next:

Hay Lin shows the residents of Avatar Town what real home cookin' is,

ably assisted by Taranee. (Well, Hay Hay tries to, anyway!)

Plus: Taranee's theories on the Avatar's World!

(Does his world have anything to do with Xin Jing and the Four Dragons?)

And young Bao makes a most impolite comment.

(Let's just say, the NAACP would not be happy!)

Meanwhile, Will tells Marshal Han the untold story of her and Taranee's

"Escape From Ba Sing Se"!