Aang and I simultaneously released the Avatar's spirits and faced one another, no longer glowing or ebbing with pure power. In complete and utter disbelief at what we'd accomplished, we both cheered and yelled out to celebrate our victory. Eerie turned the intercom on and increased the gain to allow for the entire watch room to celebrate with us, our friend's hollers echoing throughout the chamber. Aang and I embraced each other and nonchalantly separated so we didn't attract too much attention. However, I did not miss Aang's warm smile as he admired our connection from afar.
We composed ourselves and tried again. The third time truly was the charm as Aang and I eased into our Avatar state together, tying the connection with a less dramatic approach. We stood beside each other and assessed our perspectives, noting just how powerful we felt. With this new feeling Aang and I shared, I knew we could blow the entire stadium to pieces if we wanted to.
Eerie started slow with the blows. He pushed several buttons which brought boulders careening towards Aang and I. This time, we moved with one another, our arms and bodies in complete sync. We not only could read each other's mind, but we could predict what we were going to do. Together we twisted mid-air and brought our forearms close to turn the rock to pure dust. The system continued to try its best to move earth, water, air and fire to take us by surprise, but we barely budged. Aang would flick boulders away from me if he saw them coming, hardly shifting his feet doing so. After having solidified our Avatar's connection it made sharing the Avatar state together much, much more fluid. Dangerously fluid. After several minutes of training in the Avatar state together, Eerie commenced the session. Once Aang and I were both back to our normal selves, I caught him smiling tenderly towards me.
"That was so awesome, guys!" Sokka said, running towards us. "You were like," he started making kissing noises with his mouth, Aang and I blushing, "and then you were like, ziiiinnng! and then, pow!"
"Well done, indeed," Eerie said. "You have brought the pieces of the light spirit back to herself. Opening this last chakra will reward you both, if you continue to train and have patience."
We bowed low to Eerie and thanked him for his guidance. I scanned the friendly faces in front of me but noticed Zuko wasn't nearby, my stomach dropping. The distraction of training was pleasant for the time being, but I was sorely reminded of my recent breakup. Strangely enough I realized Katara was also missing and as though on cue, I felt Aang's anxiety rise when he noticed this, too. I squeezed his arm and offered a small smile, but he excused himself and left the training chambers.
For several days Aang and I continued training together. We were feeling confident in the control we had as a unit when in the Avatar state together. Soon after, Eerie wanted us to work on communication. The noise from the spiritual energy occupying our minds made it difficult to talk to each other and we were unable to decipher the voices. We'd done it maybe only once or twice before, but like Aang said, it was out of fear or risk of death.
While in the Avatar state, I searched in the front of my mind where I'd usually talk to Aang. A familiar hum vibrated through my skull and I heard water rushing through a brook of sorts. I was in a memory somewhere standing on ice in the North Pole. When I turned around, I immediately recognized Kuruk, the more recent water bending Avatar. He looked up at me and smiled thinly before returning back to building ice sculptures with his icy breath. I shifted head spaces and listened deeper, eventually hearing a familiar voice.
Hello? Aang said, trying to search for me still. I feel ridiculous. I'm not talking to anyone. Can you hear me, Nira? Hello?
I smirked and felt a spark of joy shoot through me like electricity. To my satisfaction, Aang had no idea I could hear him. I creeped up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
You have something on your face, I said to Aang. He glanced at me, his eyes glowing, the arrow on his head the brilliant color of a bluebird. His eyebrow rose in confusion and I signaled towards his tattoo, Aang rolling his eyes at my joke. I laughed out loud.
Eerie called over the intercom, breaking my giddiness and wiping the grin off both Aang and I's faces. He beckoned Aang to return back to the watchroom. I stood dumbfounded in the chamber, alone, my arms crossed and waiting for Eerie to begin the next session. While waiting I saw Katara walking back through the door of the watch room, her icy gaze sending a chill down my spine. I kept my stare solid as she opened the door and broke eye contact, entering the room behind Aang.
How's Katara in there? I asked Aang. She sure wasn't shy in giving me a dirty look.
She's fine, Aang said back, though I knew it was mostly just him being dense and oblivious.
Suddenly, the lights went out. The waterfall went still, filling the chamber with silence that made my heart race. I could hear the whirr of a mechanical fan nearby, working hard at something. My stomach dropped and I felt a sick feeling come over me. The darkness was so thick I could barely see a few feet in front of me.
"Hey, what's going on?" I called, afraid of my own voice. I bended a small flame of fire to hold and use as a guide. I took a few steps forward but was met by the wall, the stone cold and wet. Behind me a bright light glowed, and I spun around to see a hologram of a small brown animal. I blinked a few times and realized—it was Hermit, my dog from when I lived in the Earth Kingdom. Though I knew somewhere inside of me it wasn't real, it took me by such surprise, I gasped out loud. "Hermit!" I yelled, running after her. She bounced around the chamber happily with her mouth wide open and her tail wagging. She was wearing her same collar, her tag jostling as she danced around. I practically cried with delight while watching her, the familiar gaunt in her step sending me into various memories of when Hermit and I lived together. I couldn't believe she was here—was she?—I wasn't able to tell the difference in that moment. Abruptly, she stopped, hacking, her throat closing in on itself, and she crashed to the floor. "No! What's happening to her? Hermit!" But she convulsed, my cries unable to stop it, and a fiery ring appeared, surrounding her. A laugh so cold and evil echoed in the chamber with me—Azula—and then Hermit was still, her body numb.
"No!" I shrieked, my Avatar spirits spiraling—no, not Hermit, please—"Hermit!", and I lost control of myself, my spirits exploding due to a defense mechanism. My muscles tightened and I felt the rage twist with grief and tighten my muscles, a hot sensation shooting down my veins. I clenched my fists and the earth below me cracked and broke, sending small boulders and rocks winding around me. I ripped a whip of fire through the ground, turning the entire floor to magma, the temperature in the chamber rising by twenty degrees. My confidence was crumbling and the spirits within me tenderly held me, hushing me in a soothing way. Tears streamed down my dirty cheek and Avatar Kyoshi was there, wiping them with her thumb and smiling at me through her eyes.
A flash of light pulsed, and I was surrounded by a bubble of howling wind and rock. Lightning split through the storm clouds I'd created and sent a loud rumble of thunder vibrating through the ground. Rain began to pour in sheets that soaked me immediately to my core, but the Avatar shook it off and carried on. Another moment passed and more memories of Hermit flashed through my head—her sleeping by my feet calmly, my hand stroking her head as she sat next to me by the stream, our many trips into town together—and I screamed in an attempt to protect myself from the agony. Hermit's body still lay limply on the ground, unaffected by the hot magma that boiled below her. Even still, it felt too real. I practically watched myself outside of my own body, my arms twisting around and slicing through the rock wall, creating an abyss inside of the chamber. A twister of Earth below me, I rose higher into the chamber, clouds of darkness surrounding me. I heard something—Aang—yelling at me through spirit. Nira, it's not real! But the Avatar state had its nails deeply invested in me. My face was shining with fury, sorrow, betrayal—I began sweating, my body struggling to keep up.
I saw my previous lives circle me in that moment—Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen—comforting my spirit, helping me get through the pain I was in. Roku touched my arm and Yangchen had her hands on my shoulders, while Kyoshi and Kuruk stood on either side of me.
"Avatar Nira, we hear you. You can push through this. We will always listen when you need us."
Together, they brought a certain energy into my mind—closure?—I wasn't sure, but I channeled it through the elements I controlled in the training chamber. They watched me with a gratified expression as I gathered the chaos I'd created around me, releasing the remaining hold the Avatar state consumed me in. I clenched my jaw and watched as the storm above me roared, lightning striking the walls, the foundation of the chamber crumbling underneath me. I screamed loudly and a tsunami of elements rose and fell down into the abyss I created, the Earth crumbling except for two pillars, one which sat below me.
Eerie stopped the hologram, Hermit's body disappearing on the opposing pillar I'd left. I snapped back, my spirits trickling out of me now, and I was back in the Air temple. The wind slowed and the system repaired the floor first, the base of the waterfall filling quickly. I dropped and landed loudly on the column of stone beneath me. Sounds of sobs echoed the walls and I stared at my hands, unfamiliar with myself. It felt like something shook me from my core and spat me back out, tossing me aside like garbage. For a moment I thought I may have destroyed Eerie's training system, but after several minutes, the chamber repaired itself and sighed with relief to be through with the damage.
Once it was safe, Toph came running to my side, consoling me with her arm around me. "It's okay, Nira, it wasn't real. That didn't happen to Hermit, I promise."
"Can we be certain, though?" I asked, my voice cracking and quiet. I was unsure I wanted to hear the answer. Toph held me closer and her silence filled me with further grief. I cried unapologetically, allowing myself to crumble on the floor of the watch room.
My head was swarming with thoughts, the memories I worked so hard to shut out now fresh in my mind like new wounds. I was sure I had control over my emotions, so much so that I was confidence I'd have full control over the Avatar state, but I'd forgotten about Hermit. Stupid of me. My shoulders stiff like stone, I got up slowly, Toph helping me. Aang bended a breeze to help dry me off before Zuko came closer with a ball of fire to keep me warm. I stared into the ground, feeling Azula's laugh haunting me the more I steeped in my own thoughts.
They came, I said to only Aang, his ears subconsciously perking up. Kuruk, Roku, Yangchen, and Kyoshi. They were with me.
Probably best to wait to tell Eerie, I suppose, Aang said, sensing my hesitation. I nodded appreciatively.
Zuko put his hand on my shoulder in comfort, bringing me back to the chamber and sending a glimmer of delight through me. "My sister has a way of manipulating people, even if she doesn't directly say or do anything. I'm sorry," he said, his face apologetic. I tried to give him a small smile, but it was all a bit too painful still. I stood next to the warm flame he conjured and felt my adrenaline start to slow.
"I think I can go again," I said towards Eerie, my throat dry. Suki passed me a bottle of water and urged I sit for a minute more, but I shook my head. Eerie turned quick on his heel, eager to move on, and waved the rest of the group to follow him.
Toph felt my steady heartbeat and stood. "I'll force him to turn it off if it's too much," she warned, giving my arm one last endearing squeeze before following the group. I stared at the ground while they walked away, looking up after another minute to see Zuko standing there.
"Kick my sister's holographic ass, Nira," he said confidently and with a bit of lightness to it. I blushed, agreeing to try my best, and longingly watched him walk back to catch up with the rest of the group.