Guys, we've officially reached the turning point of this story and you'll soon see why once you read it. In Team Avatar's timeline, this chapter takes place before the Library episode. As usual, italics mean hallucinations or dreams and thoughts. There will be a bit of POV switching in this chapter for the first time in this story, but it shouldn't be that hard to tell what's Abby's and what's not.
Rites of Passage
Previously, on Blinding Horizon…
"Up until this point, your life has been full of struggle, yet you remain fiercely determined even in the ultimate danger. You strive for perfection to be happy, only to feel lost and empty on the inside," Aunt Wu said.
My eyes almost bulged out of my head and I immediately turned to look at her, narrowing my eyes. "What makes you say that, Aunt Skunk?"
"I can see your past in not only your eyes, but your face as well. You've been hurt but it's only made you stronger. You've been misguided but soon you will face the truth and an inner conflict where you will be faced with a momentous decision that will dictate the rest of your life. Whichever path you take will have consequences for not only you, but everyone who you've ever encountered," Aunt Wu said.
~*•°•*~
I turned to face him. "I know who I am. I'm a stone-faced, cold-hearted, conniving, deceiving, calculating, ruthless, malicious, manipulative and insensitive bitch. But you know what, I'm proud of it. In fact, I embrace it. Without all of that, I'd have nothing. It's who I am and what I was always meant to be!" I admitted.
"But is that really what you want? Is this really the life that you want to lead? Are you really happy? For once, don't let someone control your decisions. Think what you think, not what anybody wants you to think! Is that really what you want?" Osamu asked.
~*•°•*~
"I have always been with you, child. You might not realise it, but I have always been watching you, trying to help you," Saori said soothingly.
"Help me? What help could I possibly need?" I asked.
Suddenly, the golden phoenix came out from the mirror, now hovering just a few meters away from me as I backed away to my bed, gripping it tightly, "I can see so much turmoil in your eyes. So much that has been buried for years and now that it is coming to light, you do not know how to handle it as you have always kept it buried. You need to understand that you will only be at peace with yourself once you have settled the conflict inside of you."
~*•°•*~
I scoffed, "I'm doing just fine, thank you very much. And these robes were always like this. You must've been seeing things."
Liling didn't seem to be convinced though but nevertheless, she accepted my response, "Very well. I must say… You seem a little on edge. Are you sure that you're doing okay?"
"How could I possibly be on edge? I'm as fine as I could possibly be! Trust me when I say that there is absolutely positively no reason to worry about me. Your concern is appreciated though, just not necessary," I replied as I stepped past Liling.
~*•°•*~
"When will we be moving forward with our plans?" Cheng asked.
"Daisuke told me that he will be sending her on a suicide mission shortly after he returns. I'm not sure what exactly, but he just said that it would be enough to remove her as an issue and she won't see it coming," Bujing replied.
"Besides, it's not like she was officially declared a general. Daisuke just gave her a title and that was enough to keep her happy. In my eyes, she's still merely a spoilt brat and that's what she'll always be," Cheng commented.
~*•°•*~
Two days had passed since I found out about Daisuke's plan. Since then, I had refused to leave my office, not wanting to give them the chance to continue with whatever plan they had install for me. It still disgusted me, the fact that Daisuke would be willing to just get rid of me like that astounded me. After everything that I had worked for and what I had done for him, he'd just toss me aside like I was worthless. The more I thought about it, the more I figured that maybe if he proved just how worthy I really was, maybe Daisuke would just abandon his plan and allow me to keep my title as General. I was not going to let anyone get in the way of everything that I had worked so hard for.
A few of my attendants had come to check up on me, but I always ignored them. Nobody could come inside, since I had lodged my sword between the door so there was no way anybody could get inside. If they were that desperate to see me, they would break the door down themselves. I spent most of the time hunched up in a corner, with my legs pulled up and my face buried in them as I tried to rock myself to sleep. I could still hear my demons going off, and this time they were louder than ever before. They made it impossible for me to go to sleep, and the fact that every time I closed my eyes there was something there didn't help either. Every time I would see something I knew wasn't there, I would simply scratch my eyes in an attempt to get it away from me.
I hadn't slept properly in almost four days and it was beginning to take its toll on me. There was nothing more that I wanted than a few hours of sleep but even that was impossible. I hadn't properly seen myself in the mirror in days and I probably looked horrendous, but given the fact that I was refusing to let anyone see me, there was no point in worrying about my appearance since it didn't matter. I could see my life falling apart right in front of me and despite how much I tried to resist it, there was nothing I could do. I tried singing myself to sleep or at least to a state of where my mind didn't feel like it was about to explode.
This wasn't right. This wasn't how things were supposed to be, yet there was nothing I could do to stop it. My life was crashing down before my eyes and I didn't understand why. Why is it then when I finally had everything that I ever wanted, everything starts to fall apart? The universe must have it out for me. Otherwise, I would be happy at my success, not hunched over in a corner while I tried to console myself.
"There is still hope for you, child," a familiar voice called.
Dreadfully, I glanced up to see Saori floating above me, her golden wings stretched out as they flapped back and forth. I narrowed my eyes before seething, "There is no hope for me."
"Despite what you may think, you can still be saved. Cleanse yourself of your sins. Live the way you want to live, not what others want you to," she said softly.
This time, I glared at the spiritual being, getting irritated with the way she spoke to me, "Oh, so you can see the future now, can you? You can see me in a different life? Well, I hate to burst your bubble but that's just a hallucination, just like you are."
"You say that like it is normal. Open yourself, broaden your horizons. People will help you if you just let them, rather than shutting yourself away and relying on fear to control people," Saori said.
"I don't want anybody's help. I don't need anybody's help. If I want help, I'll get it myself when I want it. Now just leave me alone," I pleaded.
Saori opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out were hissing noises before she unleashed a blast of fire towards me. Instinctively, I sent one towards Saori, but the phoenix merely sent it towards the chandelier before flying through the roof, leaving me alone once again. The fire was quick to surround the chandelier before it plummeted towards the ground with a loud crash, with the fire spreading around it. When the panic started to set in, I moved my arms in a rhythmic motion, augmenting the flames before bringing them towards me in a spherical shape and with one movement, I thrusted my hands upwards, the fire disappearing as it's ashes fell to the ground. That was one of the many firebending moves that I had taught myself, to dissolve fire and it was something that only I knew.
After that, I took a few cautious steps backwards until I was pressed against the wall. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and my head snapped up. There was banging for a few moments, but no voice. Who wanted something from me now? Then, panic started to set in as I rattled over the possibilities. For all I knew, it could be Daisuke returning to send me on his mission, so I could die. There was no way that was going to happen. I walked towards a nearby bookshelf and climbed onto the top, giving myself the height advantage.
"Abby? Is everything alright in there?" A muffled voice asked as they tried to break down the wall. Because of that, I couldn't make out who it was which made me panic even more.
"Yes, now go away!" I hissed.
Eventually, after a few hard kicks, the door to my office burst opened and I glanced down to see Seung walk in, a shocked look on his face as he saw the chandelier on the floor. Ugh, what did he want?
"Abby? Are you in here? I thought I heard your voice," Seung said carefully as he stepped around the chandelier.
Keeping my position hidden, I stayed quiet, not wanting him to find me so he would just leave. I was not in the mood to deal with their pathetic problems.
"Well, if you're not here, I'll just leave now," Seung said as he turned around. Smart move.
As I crouched down on the shelf, I heard the smallest squeaking sound from below me and I grimaced, realising that my spot had been blown. Seung whirled around and his eyes widened upon seeing me, but he didn't make a move for the door.
"Abby! W-what are you doing up there?" Seung asked.
I scoffed, "Why should I tell you? You're probably in cahoots with them, waiting for me to fall apart so you can send me away! Well, you can't send me away if I'm up here!"
Seung just looked confused, yet slightly terrified, "In cahoots with who?"
"Don't act like you don't know! I wouldn't be surprised if everyone knew!" I exclaimed as the realisation dawned on me, "Yes, that makes perfect sense. You all conspired together to take me down, because you were jealous of my perfection and my skills! I'll give you credit for turning Daisuke against me, but alas, it will all be for nothing!"
"Abby, what are you talking about? Who turned Daisuke against you?" Seung asked.
"You're just an imbecile, like all of the other morons who run this place! You all need someone to tell you what to do and that person was me! But you couldn't handle my authority, so you lead a revolt, a revolt that will not succeed! Because I never fail, and I never will!" I screeched.
"Yes, y-you are successful. And I'm not against you, Abby. I never was," Seung tried to reason with me, but I was not having any of it.
"Oh, please! I could spot that lie a mile away! I bet she put you up to this, didn't she! Well, nice try Sunshine but I'm winning this round!" I yelled.
"Who's Sunshine?" Seung asked.
I rolled my eyes, "You really are a moron. Just like all of the others. But I am not a moron just like I'm not worthless!"
Seung's eyes widened, "I never said that you were worthless, because you're not. Abby, nothing you're saying is making sense."
"Does it ever?" I hissed.
"Maybe I should go get Liling. She can help you. You need help," Seung said.
"I don't need help! I never have, and I never will!" I screamed as Seung turned to leave, but I wasn't going to allow that to happen, "You stop right there! If you even move another muscle I will destroy you!"
That seemed to do the trick as Seung stopped dead in his tracks. I'd even scared him to the point that he wouldn't turn around to face me.
"You know, you can turn around to face me. I'm not that hideous," I said.
Slowly, Seung turned around and I couldn't help but laugh at his appearance. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost or used the bathroom. Or both.
"Oh, you should see your face right now," I laughed as I carefully stood up on the shelf. I went to make another move, but I heard a creaking sound and the next thing I knew, the shelf collapsed below me, and I went down with it.
"Abby, are you okay? Do you want any help?" Seung asked as he walked towards me.
"NO! I don't need any help! What's it going to take to get it through your thick head?" I shrieked as I forced myself up, with pieces of wood from the shelf falling off from me. My head felt slightly dizzy and the room was starting to spin around, but I figured that it was just from the fall and that I'd be fine.
I glanced down at my arms and my eyes narrowed as I saw a few dots of blood dripping down my elbow, with a nice long scratch to go with it. I glanced back at Seung, who simply stood there, frozen. It was almost as if he was too afraid to do anything that would upset me, as he should be.
"Tell me, Seung, have you ever examined your own blood?" I asked tentatively.
Seung looked confused but nevertheless, he answered my question, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, not all blood can be the same, right? Everyone's has to be different! Look at mine, for example. Is it like yours?" I asked, oddly fascinated by my own blood as it dripped down my arm.
"I wouldn't know, since I've never seen you bleed before," Seung answered carefully.
I grinned, taking out my spare pocket knife that I kept in my shoes, "Well, I can help you do a comparison!"
"Abby, what are you –" Seung started before I grabbed his hand and stabbed the knife through his skin, eliciting a powerful scream from him. I watched as blood started to pour from his right hand, satisfied at the damage I had caused.
"So, is it the same?" I asked, gesturing to my elbow and to his hand.
"Abby, you need help. You're going crazy," Seung said as he gripped onto his hand.
"Stop saying that! I don't need help! If I needed it, don't you think I would've found it myself?" I asked.
Seung shook his head, "You're not thinking clearly. You don't know what you're doing. Even your normal self wouldn't do this."
Do it, end his pathetic self. He's not worthy of your space.
"Oh, so I'm abnormal now? Or would you prefer, crazy!" I shrieked as stalked towards him, ready to inflict more pain on him.
As I took several steps forward, the room suddenly felt even more dizzy. The voices inside my head were growing louder once again, almost as if they were arguing over each other. I stumbled over the remnants of the chandelier, ready to deliver another blow as I pounded my hand against my head.
"Oh, shut up! I don't need this nonsense now!" I shrieked.
Seung chose that moment to run away from me to his right and he eventually hunched himself up in a corner. I whirled around, giving him an award-winning glare as I stumbled towards him, the knife slowly slipping from my fingers as my coordination began to fail me as well.
"Abby, please, just think about what you're doing!" Seung pleaded.
"You've already turned my mind against me, don't you see? They're always there! Even when I don't want them, and I just want it to stop! The only way to stop them is to just do what they want!" I shrieked.
As I took more steps forward, it got to the point where I was beginning to stumble over my own feet, tripping from side to side and I struggled to keep myself upright. At one point, I looked up to see that my vision had blurred like it had never blurred before. Everything just looked like it was surrounded by bubbles, with a beaming light in the distance that only hurt my head even more. I could barely make out the figure of Seung in the corner as everything jumbled together, confusing me all the more. I could feel the knife shaking in my hands, it's impact spreading throughout my body. Suddenly, the knife slipped out from my hands and fell to the ground.
And I fell with it, before my vision went completely blank.
~*•°•*~
Seung stood there, petrified at the sight before him. Only moments ago, he'd been cornered, and his life was threatened by someone who he once considered a friend. He had been shocked by the turn of events, never experiencing this sort of behaviour from her before. But what shocked him the most was when Abby went tumbling down along with the knife she had threatened him with moments ago. She laid there, limbs sprawled out across the floor. He grimaced as she landed over some of the glass from the chandelier. It was enough to make him almost forget about the blood dripping from his hand. Almost.
Seung heard the sound of footsteps in the distance, before the doors burst open and he heard a loud gasp from that direction. He looked up to see Nurse Liling and Master Kenji standing there, shocked at the scene before them.
"Seung! What happened?" Liling exclaimed with wide eyes as she rushed towards him, examining his hand one she did.
"I don't know. She just went crazy!" Seung answered.
Kenji raised his eyebrows, "Crazy?"
"She was saying all kinds of random stuff, like we were all in cahoots and that we were out to get her. She said that we'd somehow managed to turn Daisuke against her, but she wasn't going to let us succeed. Then the shelf collapsed, and she was on it. She then pulled out a knife and stabbed me in the hand before threatening my life, saying that it was the only way to get the voices to stop. Then, she just collapsed," Seung quickly explained.
"I knew that there was something going on with Abby," Kenji muttered.
Liling sadly looked down at the girl who was collapsed on the ground, "You were right, Kenji. I should've seen this coming. Especially now when it was so obvious something wasn't right."
Kenji put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Abby always knew how to manipulate people to her advantage. I think that she'd managed to manipulate people into thinking she was fine when she clearly wasn't."
"I don't even think she knows that," Seung muttered as Liling bandaged up his injured hand.
"We must get her safely to her chambers. But before we do, we have to make it seem as though nothing's happened. Luckily, nobody else was around to hear the commotion like we did," Liling instructed.
"What are we going to do about the office?" Seung asked.
"We will fix that in due time. But right now, Abby is my primary concern. However, nobody can know about this. Especially Daisuke. If she's right, and he really is against her, there's no telling how he will respond to this," Liling said as she looked around the room.
"Liling is right. Abby's mental health and well-being should be our first concern. We will worry about this later. Right now, we need to get her safely to her chambers without being spotted," Seung said.
Liling and Seung nodded and they both helped Kenji pick up Abby before carefully carrying her body out of the damaged office. Once they were sure the coast was clear, they safely carried her to her room where she could hopefully rest and recover safely. However, unbeknownst to them, Abby was fighting her own battle.
~*•°•*~
At first, everything had been all fuzzy and confusing. But when I opened my eyes next, everything was as clear as day. However, it wasn't like I had remembered it. For starters, I wasn't in my office, I was somewhere near the Fire Nation Capital City. Secondly, I was in a more elaborate outfit and my body didn't feel as rigged as it did before. I walked past a nearby corner, trying to find out where I was. Then, I heard a booming voice from nearby.
"Abby, the Dragoness, one of the most powerful firebenders in the world, faced off against the Fire Nation's greatest threat, the last airbender, the Avatar!"
My eyes widened as I realised what was happening. No… This couldn't be happening. Whoever this was couldn't be declaring my failures out to the world.
"Like nobody else would, she lived up to her name, displaying her true power and ferocity!" another voice that was almost identical yelled.
"She completed what many had tried but had all failed!" the first one yelled.
"She slayed the Avatar, securing our victory!" they both yelled.
At that comment, my eyes almost bludged out of my head. Since when had I faced off against the Avatar and won? How did I even slay him, when all the times we had faced off, he had regretfully overwhelmed me.
"Now, it is with great honour and pride that we present to you…" the second voice trailed off.
"Abby, the Dragoness! And now, the greatest firebender in the world!" they both yelled.
That was certainly a mouthful, but a good one for me. I liked being called the greatest firebender in the world. It made this feeling of pride overwhelm me. I had never felt this proud before. Ignoring the impossibilities of the situation, I stepped forward and through the flames in front of me to see that I was now facing the Royal Plaza with renowned firebending mentors, Lo and Li standing beside me. No wonder their voices sounded so similar.
The crowd below me applauded like I had never heard an applause before. Even during my firebending tournaments, I had never gotten this sort of response. And it thrilled me. Because this was all for me and my success, not my failure. I didn't even care if it seemed too good to be true.
Almost on cue, there was suddenly a loud burst in the sky above me as an ethereal being showed itself, glancing down upon me. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen before to the point that I couldn't even describe it.
"You think you're the greatest firebender in the world? That would be the overstatement of the century! You are no legend, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation! You deserve nothing!" the being declared.
Suddenly, the sky began to part into a dark colour and the scenery around me began to fade into nothingness as the buildings started to collapse. I leaned over the ledge to see that the crowd had started to disappear as their applause turned to boos. I glanced to my side to see Lo and Li fade into thin air. I leaned backwards, only to fall hurling towards the ground as the railing disappeared. I glanced down, the ground getting closer and closer to me and despite how hard I tried, there was nothing I could do to save myself.
"You can't even save yourself! How pathetic!" the being yelled.
The last thing I heard was a loud splat before everything disappeared into darkness once again.
~*•°•*~
Meanwhile, in Abby's chambers, Kenji watched with concern as he saw his former student convulsing on her own bed. When they finally managed to bring Abby to her room despite almost being spotted several times along the way, Abby's temperature had reached a peak like it had never before. The poor girl was boiling hot, with sweat dripping down her body as she thrusted around her bed.
"What is wrong with her?" Kenji asked Liling.
"I'm not sure. This is unlike anything I have ever seen. Her chi feels clogged, like there is something in the way. Perhaps that is what's causing her to act this way?" Liling suggested as she examined Abby's body.
Before Kenji could respond, the door burst open as Seung rushed inside with a bucket of water and several towels. His injured hand was now wrapped with a bandage that was almost soaked with his blood but Seung knew that there were bigger, more important things to worry about. Like the girl in front of him who he considered a sister.
"I got the cold water and the towels that you asked for, Nurse Liling," Seung said as he handed the items to her.
"Thank you, Seung. If you don't mind, would you please dip the towels into the water and place them over her body. Maybe that will be enough to cool her down," Liling instructed.
Seung nodded as he did what he was told, "Anything to help."
Kenji only watched as his former student's face crinkled up in pain. His heart went out to the poor girl who was clearly struggling like she never had before. All they could do was hope that Abby would eventually snap back into her senses and recover from this, but the chances of that happening seemed highly unlikely.
~*•°•*~
When I next opened my eyes, I was lying on the ground but to my surprise, my body was not dismembered into tiny pieces with my blood splattered everywhere. In fact, it was perfectly intact. That only made me wonder even more what was going on. Why was this happening? How was this happening? I should be yelling at Seung and trying to kill him, not doing whatever I'm apparently doing now.
I groaned as I forced myself to sit up straight and properly open my eyes, so I could see where I was. Once I did, I was met with an almost blinding light that caused me to shriek in pain as it came into contact with my eyes. I rubbed them furiously and my surroundings started to come to me. I was in a room, I got that much. And I was surrounded by dozens of mirrors. Maybe even hundreds. I had never seen this many mirrors before. Who needs this many mirrors anyways?
Suddenly, all of the mirrors flashed and started to play sequences of actions that I couldn't seem to recognise. Slowly, I forced myself to stand up as I looked around the room, trying to find a way out so I could go back to wherever it was I was supposed to be, but there was nothing. As I looked closely at the mirrors, my eyes widened as they were practically replaying all of the key events in my life. When I first met Daisuke, my first firebending tournament, all of the times I faced off against the Avatar and everything else. It was like being stuck in a whirlwind as I struggled to keep up with everything.
I started to feel dizzy once again before there was a loud smashing noise and I looked up to see all of the mirrors shattering into thousands of tiny pieces. I tried to punch or kick out any firebending form as they fell towards me, but nothing came out. It was like I had just been reduced to a… nothing.
"Because that's what you are!" A voice shouted.
I grimaced as I looked up to see a man clad in Earth Kingdom clothes towering above me before noticing a woman clad in Water Tribe clothes glaring down at me.
"What do you want?" I couldn't help but ask.
The woman glared at me, "To tell you what a disappointment you are!"
I glared back at her, standing up as I did so, "I am not a disappointment!"
"Oh, really? That's not what Daisuke seems to think since he was so eager to get rid of you!" the man yelled.
"You're both wrong!" I yelled, more to myself than to them.
The woman laughed, "You think you're so great, when you're not. You're a failure and a disgrace!"
The man nodded, "I've never been so ashamed of anyone in my life, you spoilt brat!"
"There's no reason to be ashamed! I've achieved more in the past ten years of my life than what most people do in their entire life! I'm not a failure, I'm a success!"
"Keep telling that to yourself," the woman snarled.
The man smirked, "At this rate, she's the only ally she has left after she turned everyone against her."
"What?" I shrieked.
"There was no plan, and nobody was ever out to get you. Just your own, stupid fault," the woman hissed.
"Just like everything always is!" the man yelled.
For a split second, I saw another being flash above me. I took a few steps backwards upon seeing the familiar white hair and Water Tribe clothes. In a split second, the late princess was gone, leaving me with the two figures. Suddenly, the two hunched over me, slowly bending down as they repeated the same words, "You brought this on yourself."
"You brought this on yourself."
"You brought this on yourself."
All I could do was scream to nothing.
~*•°•*~
"How is her temperature now?" Kenji asked Liling as she examined Abby.
Liling shook her head, "Even worse than before. It seems as though the cold water has done the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do."
"Have you figured out what's wrong with her?" Seung asked.
"Unfortunately, no. I have looked over every sickness that it could possibly be and her symptoms match nothing. This is unlike anything that I have ever witnessed," Liling replied.
"Maybe we should tell someone?" Seung asked.
"No! Like I said, nobody can know about this. It would do her more harm than good," Liling snapped.
Kenji opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as a burst of fire filled the air. But it didn't come from one of them. It came from Abby.
The three of them watched in horror as the Dragoness screamed, fire bursting out of her mouth as she did so. They all looked at each other in shook, having never seen her firebend like this before as her body continued to writhe all over the place. At one point, Abby brought her hands to her face and started scratching at her eyes as she screamed, almost as if she was trying to claw her eyes out.
"Abby, can you hear me?" Liling asked desperately, hoping for a response that she would not receive.
The firebending prodigy only continued to breath out enormous bursts of fire, almost as if she was completely unaware of her surroundings or what she was doing.
"What should we do?" Seung asked panicky.
"We need to restrain her somehow!" Kenji exclaimed.
They all rushed around, trying to find something or anything that they could use to tie Abby down. Eventually, Seung found a set of chains nearby before handing a piece to Kenji and Liling as they tied Abby down to her bed. While it stopped her from twisting and turning, her mouth still breathed of fire and all the three onlookers could do was watch her display. There was nothing more that they wanted than to help her, but it seemed as though everything they tried only made things worse.
~*•°•*~
At one point, the screaming stopped and the booming voices above me disappeared. I was still hunched down with my head buried between my legs. Only once I convinced myself that nothing was there did I look up, only to see that I was now suspended in the air in a cage of all things. Honestly, how in the world were these things happening to me? One minute I would be somewhere completely different and then when I opened my eyes, I'm somewhere completely different.
Suddenly, I heard a loud screeching sound from behind me and I turned around in shock to see two dragons duelling each other. This had to be some sort of bizarre dream world since the last thing I remembered was falling to the ground and as far as I'm aware, the dragons are extinct. Still, I watched in awe as the possibly real but most likely fake dragons circled each other, unleashing their own burst of flames at each other. It was safe to say that I had never seen a firebending display quite like this before.
The blue dragon glanced at me as it seethed in a scarily familiar voice that sent shivers through my spine, "Did you really think that you could defeat me?"
"I will always defeat you, blue dragon because good always wins!" the red dragon yelled in another familiar voice that I couldn't quite point out.
"Since when has good won? As far as I'm aware, the Fire Nation are the ones winning this war as they rightfully should!" the blue dragon taunted.
"There will come a time when you, and everyone else will meet their fate. Whatever that is, it's up to them," the red dragon said ominously.
Before the red dragon could even react, the blue dragon unleashed a powerful firebending display that literally destroyed the red dragon as it fell hurling towards the ground. Once the blue dragon finished watching it's opponents untimely demise, it's gaze turned to me.
"Well, isn't this just special. The Dragoness, at my disposal," the blue dragon taunted as it circled my suspending cage.
"Let me out of this thing now and I'll show you just why that's my name!" I demanded.
The blue dragon laughed, "As entertaining as that sounds, I'd much rather finish you off quickly and easily!"
And with that, the blue dragon came flying towards me before opening it's mouth and swallowing me down. I let out another scream as I went down the dragon's stomach, hearing it's booming voice from outside its body.
"You're weak! You do not deserve your title! You never did! Now it's time to pay for your mistakes!"
Despite how desperately I wanted to escape the dragons body, there was nothing I could do as it's stomach slowly encased towards me. I tried my hardest to withstand the suffocating feeling that quickly overwhelmed me before once again, all I saw was nothing.
~*•°•*~
Kenji, Liling and Seung watched Abby as she laid on her bed. Her fire-breathing had stopped a few minutes after she started, as did her convulsing. At first, they took that as a sign of improvement but were quick to take that thought back as Abby started to cough more and more, occasionally throwing up over herself as she did so. While her erratic behaviour had seemed to subside, her sickness only worsened.
"This is horrible," Seung muttered as he watched Abby.
"Are you sure there isn't anything we can do?" Kenji asked Liling.
Liling shook her head, "I've tried everything to help her, but nothing as worked. It seems as though she is either going to win whatever this battle is, or succumb to it on her own."
"Let's hope that she can win it," Seung said.
"For now, all we can do is wait," Liling said.
~*•°•*~
The next time I opened my eyes, I wasn't even surprised to see that I was an entirely different setting, since that's how things seemed to be working now. I was growing tired of this. All I wanted to do was just wake up and go back to whatever this place wasn't. My mind could only handle so much of this nonsense.
"But is that really what you want?" an angelic voice asked me.
I turned to face another ethereal being standing there. I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out whatever it was but got nothing in response. All I could do was just stand there, unsure of how to react.
"You know what to do, Abby. Deep down, you've always known. For so long, you've kept the truth hidden from yourself. Only once it started coming to light did you start to fall apart because for so long, the truth has been what you feared, much like how you have used fear your own way," the angel said.
"Don't listen to her garbage, she doesn't know what she's talking about! Isn't that right, Abby?" another voice asked.
I turned around, to see another ethereal being standing there. This one seemed a little less welcoming than the angel, although there was certainly something tempting about her.
"She is the one who has filled your head with lies! Just admit that you've always known the truth, because you have! Abby, you know what your heart wants, and you know that this isn't it," the angel reasoned.
"Sometimes, the heart can be blind. Just do what you've always done and follow your gut because it hasn't been wrong before. You know what they say, your mind can play tricks on you and your heart can be blind, but your gut is always right. You know what your gut wants," the devil said.
In that moment, I closed my eyes, wanting one moment of peace as I tried to sort out what in the name of Agni was going on. These two beings really were pulling me in two different directions. One that I will admit that has always been with me and one that has hardly ever crossed my mind. Now, in hindsight, one of them is what I've always really known, and the other is something that sounds rather tempting, but not what I really wanted. I will say, in this moment, my head felt more clear and less confused than it had in months, maybe even years.
I suddenly felt the presence of another being and looked up to see Saori floating above me, a stern looks on her face as she spoke her next four words.
"It's time to choose."
Wow, that was another mouthful of a chapter at over 6.5k words, which is now officially the most that I have written for this story. Now do you guys see why I said this chapter was the turning point of the story? In case you missed it, Abby just went through her metamorphosis, similar to what Zuko went through in the series. There was also some subtle foreshadowing in this chapter that will come into play in later chapters. Well, that's it for now so as always, favourite, follow and of course, review!
SPECIAL MENTIONS
GumptiousGriffin: This is definitely the longest story that I've written so far, and it's also the one that I've stuck with the longest. It's good to see you spreading your wings across my other works and I'm glad that you liked Blinding Horizon as much as I've enjoyed writing it so far.
Lirg123: You wouldn't be the first person to point out the similarities between Azula and Zuko's storyline with Abby. In all honesty, I somewhat planned having Abby as a combination of them both without actually realising it. She was always going to be a confident and arrogant bitch like Azula was yet still be tortured on the inside like Zuko was. After this you'll get to see which path she follows for good.
uNICOrnDIANGELO: Yeah, the whole general thing was kind of something that I pulled out of my butt cause I knew that I needed something to keep Abby grounded before she snapped and that seemed like the perfect fit. I've gotta admit that it has been writing Abby's development even though there have been plenty of times when I've felt sorry for her. But I guess that's a sign of a good character.