Chap. 29
The Battle of Ba Sing Se Part 3
"Do you see what I see?" Katara asked from the base of the palace steps, as she and the others got up and looked upon the glowing figure that stood at the top, ready to fight the chaos-demon.
"Indeed I do." Iroh replied, as he watched in awe. "But I am at a bit of loss to describe it."
"You mean you've never heard of it in any legends?" the Water-Tribe girl asked.
"No, nothing like this." Iroh answered. "The legends always stated that Light and Dark were complete opposites, and that their power could never be joined as one."
"Which is why you can't believe everything you hear." Hierro said, as he got up behind them. "It used to be that Light and Dark couldn't be combined, but Osc and Luz found a way to do it a couple years ago. They used their love and determination to save someone they both cared about to create the Almagan."
"Wait, if that's the case," Katara said. "then that thing…"
"Is the two of them, combined into one ultimate being, one that comes from both ends of the spectrum of good and evil. It's the greatest power that we Elementals have, and it's the one that we've been waiting to unleash today."
"What do you mean?" Toph asked. "You mean they could've done this at any time? Why the hell didn't they?"
"Because the Almagan is a creature of tremendous power that continually tries to break apart." The spider replied. "It takes all of Osc and Luz's concentration to hold it together, and if it was to be broken, then the powers of Light and Dark would spill out into the worlds, unchecked and uncontrollable."
"OK, good answer." Toph replied. "But then why are we just standing here? We've got to get up there and help!"
"True, but the Almagan must be the one that strikes the final blow." Trueno said. "Only the combination of light and dark can kill a chaos demon. All our efforts have been to weaken or immobilize the demon."
"So why didn't you tell us that before?" Toph snapped.
"So that we would fight harder to bring it down." Iroh replied. "Very shrewd."
"We thought it wouldn't make much difference; we'd just make sure that Luz and Osc, either separately or together, killed it." Desierto replied. "But that doesn't mean we can't give them a hand. Let's ride!"
"Just what I wanted to hear." Toph said gleefully. Moving out her hands, the young girl quickly created a platform of earth under her feet. Bringing it up, she said, "Earthbender express, all aboard."
"Wait, where are the Jin and the civilians and Azula's friends?" Katara asked as she looked around.
"It's all right." Agua said as Iroh, the Firebenders, Long Feng, and the other Knights hopped on. "I saw them lead the last of the civilians into the palace before the demon took us down. They'll be safe now that they're inside. Now come on, let's go send that thing back into it's own dimension. Or hell, whichever comes first." Reassured, Katara hopped onto the platform, just as Toph sent it up the stairway to the top.
"This is a good thing, right?" Sokka asked, as he, Zuko, and Azula stared at the Almagan. Aang hovered by his allies, still in the Avatar State, as the demon cowered before the Almagan's presence. The demon could barely even look at it; it was as if the being had some powerful aura that caused the demon pain. Yet still, Sokka was suspicious; apparently, all powerful-beings appearing out of nowhere still irked him.
"Believe us Sokka, this is a very good thing." The Almagan replied. "We are the only ones possessed of the power needed to kill this monstrosity."
"Right, and you just happen to appear out of nowhere?" Azula sneered, as she ignited her fists. "How do we know you're on our side?"
"Do you not remember what we told you before this started?" The Almagan asked. "There are no sides. We all fight together, or we all die?"
"What are you talking about? You didn't say that, the bat-Knight did." Azula said, still not convinced.
But Zuko apparently had heard all he needed to hear. "Put them down, Azula." The former prince said, as he sidestepped in front of his sister. Azula glared at him, but Zuko glared back, his face set in stone. After a moment, Azula relented and doused her fists. Turning back to the Almagan, Zuko looked at it, and asked quizzically, "Oscuridad?"
"And Luz as well." The being replied. "Only through the Knights of Light and Dark becoming one can we be summoned."
"Whoa. How long have you guys been able to do this?" Sokka gasped in amazement as he looked at this being that until recently, had been two of his friends.
"A few years. But we could not be summoned until the time was right; when the creature was at it's most desperate, and all other attempts had failed."
"And why's that? Didn't want to get your hands dirty?" Azula asked smugly.
Before the being could reply, there was a sudden burst of powerful winds that all but knocked the foursome off the ground. But the Almagan dug its sword into the ground and stretched forth its wings to block the winds from its friends. As the trio was pushed into the folds of the being's wings, Sokka yelled, "Aang, what are you doing?"
"I believe he's trying to stop that thing." Azula yelled back. Pointing skyward, she directed everyone's attention to where Aang was crisscrossing through the air, locked in battle with what looked like a large white dragon, it's body covered in sharp ridges.
"The demon must've shifted forms while we spoke." The Almagan said. "The sky was the best place for it to escape the pain of our presence." As the being spoke those words, the demon suddenly lunged forward at the Avatar. Aang quickly dodged it, but not before the creature twisted around and clamped it's mouth around his leg. Angrily, Aang tried to beat it away, but the creature merely tightened its grip. As it's teeth managed to break through his boot and into the skin, Aang screamed in wordless pain.
But as he screamed, he still managed to slam the creature with an air blast. Unprepared for the attack, the demon was forced to relinquish its grip as it twisted back in the air. But the damage had already been done, as Aang cradled his bleeding leg, as the creature regained it's balance and turned to face it's prey again.
"Oh man, I never thought anything could hurt him like that in the Avatar State." Sokka moaned as he watched the battle with baited breath.
"Sadly, the demon can do far worse then that." The Almagan said. "Though he has the power of the elements, Aang does not possess the power needed to kill the creature. We must go aid him."
The Almagan moved back and spread it's wings, ready to leap into the fray. But before it could take off, a rumbling shook the ground as Toph's platform reached them.
"What's going on? Where's the demon?" Iroh asked, as the platform sank back into the ground.
"Where's Aang?" Katara asked.
"Both of them are up there." Zuko answered, as he pointed to the battle.
"The Avatar needs our help if he is to survive the battle. Stand back!" The Almagan said, as it prepared to take flight again. But before it could fly, Toph said, "Wait a minute. If Twinkle-Toes is going to fight that thing, then he needs a little more help then what you can give him. Listen up…."
The demon shot towards Aang again, it's mouth open and ready to bite. The Avatar moved quickly and set up a series of air blasts to through the demon off balance. But the creature snuck its serpentine body past each blasts and inched closer and closer to the Avatar. Aang tried to move away, but the second he shifted his injured leg, the pain shot up his body and froze him in place, just as the demon's jaws reached his head.
But before they could snap shut, the demon suddenly let out a yelp and flew backwards through the air, as the Almagan grabbed its tail and pulled with all its strength. The demon whipped over the being, and then finally came to a halt as the Almagan released its grip. The being flapped it's wings and quickly moved over to the hovering form of Aang, who looked at it with a quizzical look.
"We have come to aid you, Aang." The Almagan said, as it held out its angel hand. "And we have brought help from below." The Avatar looked at the being's palm, saw what covered it, and smiled as the demon roared and began to charge them. The two living legends looked at each other briefly, then quickly went to work. The Almagan moved to hover in front of Aang; upon seeing it's foe, the creature quickly halted, and attempted to pull back. But from behind, Aang manipulated the earth that Toph had placed within the Almagan's robes and shot it out towards the demon.
Within seconds, the creature was encased in solid rock, but it instantly began to change form. The Almagan had no intention of allowing it to finish, and bringing it's weapons together, shot a concentrated burst of light and dark at the creature. It howled and writhed in agony as the two energies passed through it, and then it finally began to fall to the ground.
"Everybody out of the way!" Zuko yelled, as the body of the demon fell from the sky. The group quickly scattered, as the huge body hit the ground with a thud, sending a shockwave through the earth. For a second, it sprang up on reflex, then sank back down, it's body no longer white, but blackened and burned.
"Is it dead?" Toph asked, as they slowly began to approach the demon.
"No." said a voice from above, as Aang and the Almagan hovered down. As he came down, the glow left Aang's eyes as he regained his normal state of being. They touched down, and the young Airbender grimaced as his injured leg touched ground.
"Aang, you're hurt!" Katara cried out, as she moved towards him, waterskin in hand.
"No, I'm all right Katara." Aang insisted. But Katara heard none of it, as she quickly applied the water to Aang's leg and began the healing process. Within seconds, the wound was gone.
"Um, I'm glad Aang's ok, but shouldn't we be more concerned with the monster here that supposedly isn't dead?" Sokka asked.
"Good point." Aire said, as he looked up at the Almagan. The being nodded, then said, "There is only one way to truly kill this creature. It must be filled with the energies of light and dark, the same that exist inside all living creatures."
With that, the being moved towards the limp form of the chaos demon. Raising both its weapons, it suddenly drove them both down, through the body of the creature. It awoke, and howled in pain, as the sword and staff began to glow. As everyone watched, the glow from the weapons began to spread through the creature, as it began to glow black and gold.
"We should get going now." Agua said, as he began to back away from the scene. For a moment, everyone was puzzled as to why, but then they remembered what the Knights had said about how the creature would die, and they began to run. Except for one of them.
"What is this? What's going to happen?" Long Feng yelled, as the group ran towards the palace. Trueno paused, then turned back to the minister and said, "It's gonna go boom. We need to get to cover."
Long Feng's eyes widened, and he quickly began to run. As he ran, he turned to the ram and said, "I know a place where we can go. It is a secret hiding place inside the palace that was built for emergencies. The Earth King was taken there when the creature attacked."
"If it can survive an explosion, then it sounds perfect." Truneo said, as they rejoined the others. "Guys, he's got a hiding spot we can use." The ram said. Despite mistrusting looks, the others knew that they had few options. "Lead the way." Aang said to Long Feng. The minister nodded, and headed for the throne room. The others followed, as the minister entered and moved to a spot near the throne. Pushing a hidden button, Long Feng caused the throne to fall away and an elevator to come up.
"It's pretty small." Agua said. "We'll have to take it one at a time."
"Actually, I have a better way." Long Feng replied. Suddenly, he whirled around and the earth suddenly rose up and pushed the group back. "As I was saying." The minister said, as he stopped into the elevator, "I know a better way; only use it once." With that, the minister suddenly smashed the button, and the elevator descended down.
"You son of a bitch!" Tierra yelled, as he and Sokka leapt up onto the dais and began pounding on the space where the elevator had been.
"Hierro, bring it back up." Iroh said. "It's metal, you should be able to manipulate it."
"There's no time." The spider replied. "At the rate the Almagan works, the demon will blow at any second."
Hierro was right. At that moment, the Almagan was pouring the last of its power into the demon. The creature was perfectly split in black and gold. In another second, it would be full, and unable to contain the conflicting energies like the Almagan could. The being took one more look over at the palace, and hoped that his friends were safe, then concentrated and put the last of the energy in.
Before anyone could say anything, there was a tremendous bang from outside. "Shit! Everyone, get around me and Toph!" Tierra yelled, as he leapt next to the Earthbender. As everyone quickly moved in close, the two of them began to bring the earth around up into a huge round shield. Within seconds, everyone was enclosed inside it.
"Will this keep us safe?" Zuko asked inside the darkness of the sphere.
"It should." Tierra said. But there was a tremor of uncertainty in the dog's voice. Zuko quietly began to pray to Darya that he, Jin, and their friends would survive this as the others prayed to their own gods. He even prayed for his sister for the first time in years. But despite all this praying, he heard it when Katara yelled, "Sokka's not here!"
"Come on!" Sokka yelled, as he struggled to pull his boot from the crease where the elevator met the floor. He kept trying, but as he did, he felt the rumble of the explosion come closer and closer. Sokka began to panic and pull harder and harder, though he gained no ground. But then, just before it hit, Sokka felt a pair of hands wrap around him, and pull him back and out of the crease. Before he could view his rescuer, that person flipped him over, then sheltered him with his or her body, while pulling throne down on them for more shelter. Then the shockwave hit.
The people of Ba Sing Se looked on in horror as the explosion rocked the Royal Palace. As they looked on, they saw the entrance collapse under its weight and fall to the ground, crushing the stairs. They saw the front walls of the palace crack, and sections of it fall away under the stress. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the explosion ended, and the people saw the Palace, looking as thought it had been hit by a gigantic wrecking ball; broken and falling in on itself. Some of the people wept, while others offered silent prayers for their King and his allies, for none could have survived that kind of blast. No one at all.
