Part 2 - Order
The Sun's rays illuminated the Derelict estate whilst Khana intensely stared at a boulder with her arms crossed, "How did he do it?"
She raised her hands to the boulder and swished them into the air, forcing the boulder to launch off the ground, "No!" she clenched her fists in frustration.
Claire heard her angered shouts as she lay atop the roof built above Kang's lab. She leapt from the top and broke her fall with a gust of wind before swiftly dashing over to Khana's location.
She arrived to find her friend pacing back and forth whilst angrily muttering to herself.
"You alright there, Khana?"
Her pacing ceased as her head perked up, "Claire! Could you help me with something?"
The Avatar proudly placed her hands to her hips, "Of course! What is it?"
"Can you teach me to Lava-bend?"
Her proud façade shattered instantly, and her posture slumped, "I uh... don't know how to do that,"
Khana softly sighed, "Kyoshi knew how to do it... maybe you could ask her?"
The Avatar's eyebrows raise, "Oh yeah, I can do that!"
They strolled back to Kang's lab, descending into an odd silence looming over the layered metal chamber until they found a note draped on his workbench.
"Helping Lin. Ghazi is with me. Behave yourselves!"
Claire lightly scoffed and placed it back down, "Where do you think the best place to call a past life would be?"
Khana gazed to the Hanger door as Claire's attention turned to it, "Magnificent Turtle Duck," they said in unison.
They strolled into the hanger door, slid under the Magnificent Turtle Duck, and then climbed through the hatch. Claire sat in a meditative position, taking a deep breath as a blue shape emerged from her and took the form of Kyoshi.
"Greetings, Avatar."
Her hair stood on end as her entire body trembled for a moment. But Khana bewilderingly stared at her and the other side of the shell's interior, "What's wrong?"
Her friend's concern broke her attention away, "You... can't see her?"
"I am only visible to you and the spiritual."
Claire oohed, "My friend here wants to learn how to Lava-bend... and from what we know, you could do it."
But Kyoshi shook her head, "Only the Avatar can bend Lava; you require both Fire and Earth-bending to bend it to your will."
Khana waltzed around and took a seat, placing her hand on her chin whilst Claire's eyes darted around the room.
"Could you at least give us a few tips on how to do it?"
She lightly scoffed, "If you insist. To Lava-Bend, you must have an unflinching will. A volcano's eruption is nature at its most ferocious. Lava does not care who crosses its path, and thus, nor should the person bending it."
"Where does needing Fire-bending come in?"
"Lava is molten rock; think of it as a rock on fire. An Earth-bender can control the rock; a Fire-bender can control the fire. But individually, they cannot do both."
Claire glanced to Khana and hummed, "Hypothetically: What if a person could learn to bend a second element. Dual-bending!"
Khana's eyebrow swiftly raised with a soft, wondrous glare, "Someone's been taking Kang's theories to heart..."
Kyoshi briefly pondered, "...I'm unsure. Perhaps you and your friend can surprise me... Go to Kyoshi Island; I will be able to help your friend there."
She faded back into Claire as the Avatar let out a curious scoff before standing up and turning to face Khana.
"What did she say?"
"She said Lava-bending is only possible by an Avatar... but she said to go to Kyoshi Island to help you."
Khana curiously hummed and placed a hand to her chin before the two hopped out of The Magnificent Turtle Duck, finding Kang and Ghazi stood before them.
"Oh... hi!" Claire greeted them.
"What were you two doing in there?"
"Talking to Kyoshi... You wouldn't happen to be able to give us a lift to her Island, would you?"
Kang smirked and strolled over to a cloth-covered structure, "I've been working on something for you lot, just in case The Magnificent Turtle Duck or Myself are out of commission.
They intriguingly watched as he grasped the cloth, pulling it away to reveal a peculiar-shaped aircraft; A tall and slim body with two tiny wings on each side, a fin with jet propulsion at its back and a door on the right side near the wing.
"The Magnificent Turtle Duck junior?" Claire smirked.
"No, I haven't come up with a name yet, but I figured one or two of you could use it whenever you need to take off somewhere!"
Kang opened the door, allowing Claire and Khana to step inside whilst Ghazi observed the exterior, "Are you sure this thing is airworthy?"
"Never doubt my inventions!"
The ladies observed the interior; hardwood flooring covered the cockpit, and two leather seats situated before a control panel behind a large windscreen.
Khana perked her head out from the Aircraft, "Does it operate like The Magnificent Turtle Duck?"
"More or less."
Claire sat down before the control panel, fiddling with it and pressing a red button as the Aircraft shortly ascended up, making Khana jerk back and grasp onto the side of the craft.
"A warning next time!"
She apologetically grinned as Kang scoffed, turning his remote to the ceiling and opening the metal tunnel.
"There's spare fire fuel and Air Ascenders in a compartment if you need them!"
The two flew for the metal tunnel whilst they sat together in the leather chairs, "Thanks, Kang!"
The two ascended through the metal tunnel as Claire darted to Khana, "Wait, 'Air Ascenders'?'"
But the Kyoshi Warrior simply shrugged.
The two soared into the skies of Republic City, Claire's ponytail blowing in the wind with the long tufts of hair at the side of Khana's face,
"Do you know where Kyoshi Island is?"
"South Sea near Whale-tail island."
As the two jetted off Kang, let out a sigh of relief as Ghazi intriguingly glared, "Should I not have accompanied them?"
"Oh... yeah, you're supposed to be assessing Khana's... warriorness..."
"Correct... may we follow them?"
Kang slowly nodded and swayed side to side, "Sure, let me just finish up things with Lin and the City Guard! We've almost got these beepers ready for use!"
He heartily copped a small black device with buttons of varying colours and a tiny screen as he marched back into his lab, followed by Ghazi, "An acceptable request."
The ladies flew through the southern skies, the low humming of the engine filling the surrounding silence.
"How long do you think until we reach Kyoshi Island?"
Khana thought to herself as she gazed at the never-ending ocean, "Hard to say, but I think we're heading in the right direction."
Another hour passed before Kyoshi island came into view, a crescent-shaped shoreline with a mountainous terrain.
"I think we're here... where do you think the best place to land would be?"
"I think there's a village near the shoreline, the place where Master Suki and her... Kyoshi warriors originally trained."
Khana quietly sighed as the Avatar descended towards the shore, nosediving into the beach as the sand spewed up around them. As it slowly dispersed, Khana glared at her, all the while she chuckled to herself.
The Kyoshi Warrior raised a finger to her, "Next time, I drive!"
"That might be a good idea," Claire smirked before taking a deep breath and punching her fist into her palm, releasing a spherical gust of wind and blowing away the sand.
They hopped out of the Aircraft, making their way into the village Khana had mentioned. But to their surprise, the wooden houses were broken and rotting away. Splatters of dried, aged blood stained the ground, and Kyoshi's statue stood covered with moss.
The two ladies dismally gazed around at the Desolate Village, silently exploring their surroundings, hoping to find anyone. But after several minutes of searching, the two rendezvoused back at the Statue of Kyoshi.
"Did you find anyone?" Claire hesitantly asked.
Khana softly shook her head, "I didn't find someone... but I found... something."
The Avatar raised an eyebrow as the Kyoshi Warrior led her to the discovery; they stood by a derelict house as Khana peeked around a corner and pointed to a black, pulsating mass with purple steam billowing out of it.
"That... I don't know what it is, but every sense in my body is saying to stay away from it."
Claire peeked around the corner, the same sensation washing over her as they pulled themselves back around.
"Whatever that is, I think it's worse than what I found."
She led Khana to her discovery, arriving in a secluded corner of the town where a Skeleton in a long shredded coat and ragged clothes with a broken cutlass laid at its side on the ground.
"Pirates?" Khana asked.
"Yeah... after the Kyoshi Warrior's left this village, I guess there was no one able to defend it."
The two returned to the moss-covered statue, heavily sighing at the sight of it. But Claire pushed herself up to the level of the figure on an earthen column, opening her satchel and washing water around it, cleaning away the moss and flicking it to the ground.
The statue of Kyoshi now glimmered like it used to, and with a hearty grin, she descended back down to a smiling, cross-armed Khana.
"Much better!"
Claire bowed her head as she proudly smiled.
"Did Kyoshi explain what she meant by, 'helping me here'?"
But she shrugged, "I have no id-" A dusty tornado engulfed her, obscuring her entirely from view.
"Claire!"
The tornado raged on, but with a firm stance and swift fist, Khana unleashed a monolithic rock at the tornado.
But as the tornado ceased, her rock shattered against a black-gloved fist, and Khana loudly gasped as her body trembled, "K- Kyoshi!?"
The Past Avatar appeared adorned with a long green robe and a golden undershirt. Black arm guards covered her forearms, and massive black boots covered her feet. A Golden crown with dangling braids at each side adorned her head, and her brown hair flowed down her back. White face paint covered her face with thick red marking streaking over her eyes and sleek black lines stretching over the red.
"I take it you're the Avatar's friend who wishes to learn Lava-bending? And you're a Kyoshi Warrior?"
She nodded.
"It's good to see my Warriors still live on... even if the attire has changed... and where is your face paint?"
Khana gazed down at her attire, noting her dark green pants, "Oh, these? I chose to wear these because of... certain reasons," she instinctively pulled out her daggers, presenting and twirling them around before sheathing them.
"As for the Face Paint, since moving to Republic city, my supplies are limited... so I'm saving it for any special occasions."
"And meeting me wasn't special? Oh, I'm hurt!" She sarcastically placed a hand to her chest.
Khana smirked, "Well... if I knew you were going to possess my friend, I would have!"
"And what of that green circlet?"
"A sign that I'm the Fire Lord's personal Guard."
Kyoshi's eyes curiously flared, "Wouldn't a red circlet be more fitting?"
"Stuck out too much."
"I see... And what of your fans?"
Khana raised a finger to the air before sharply gasping, "I, uh... forgot them... at the Palace..."
Kyoshi rolled her eyes, "Tell me, why does a warrior of my legion wish to learn Lava-bending?"
She stared into Kyoshi's sharp dark green eyes, "During my time at The Royal Palace, a group of Red Lotus Assassins came for Fire Lord Zuko, and one of them could Lava-bend."
Disbelieve washed over the Past Avatar, "Are you sure of what you saw?"
"I almost fell into it, so yes," she briefly chuckled and quickly regained her composure.
Kyoshi silently gazed at her, "... If what you say is true, then The Avatar's Hypothesis may be true. I will pass what knowledge I have of Lava-bending onto... Claire, is it?"
"Thank you, Avatar Kyoshi. It's been an honour to meet you!"
Khana bowed as the tornado consumed her, quickly dispersing and making Claire reappear, stumbling forward while her eyes darted around, the knowledge of Lava-bending filling her mind.
"What... just happened?"
"You... turned into Kyoshi. I explained why I wanted to learn Lava-bending. And Kyoshi passed on her knowledge of it to you."
The Avatar remained silent whilst she regained her composure and scoffed, "Huh... neat."
Claire strutted over to the hope brimmed Kyoshi Warrior.
"Do you think you can teach me?"
She closed her eyes, letting the knowledge sink in as a moment of silence loomed over them.
"...First, I'm going to have to teach you Fire-bending."
Khana perplexingly stared back at her, "Why?"
"Well, it's like Kyoshi said; Lava is a rock that's on fire. A Fire-bender can move the fire, and an Earth-bender can move the rock, but neither can do both. So, I'm going to need to teach you fire-bending first."
"Should we start now?"
"Well, of course! Better to create Lava in a desolate village than Republic City," she placed herself before Khana.
"I'll teach you the forms of Fire-bending, but when you do them, try not to Earth-bend, strike like you intend to unleash a blast of flame!" She struck out her fist, producing a moderate puff of fire.
"And remember, Fire comes from the breath."
Khana nodded and repeated her movements but produced no fire and launched no rocks as her friend approvingly nodded.
The two began her Fire-bending practises. Claire would unleash small puffs of fire while Khana copied her movements, matching her punches, kicks and breath patterns.
Their training went on for hours on end, the Sun now perched on the horizon and dimly illuminating their surroundings.
"Alright, Khana. I want you to do a Fire-bending form, but use it to Earth-bend!"
She took a fierce stance and struck her fist out as a chunk of earth curved out from the ground behind her.
Claire waltzed over to the curvy rock, placing her hand to it as her hair stood on end, "Khana, can you earth-bend normally for me?"
A suspicious eyebrow raised as she took a firm stance, then punched her fist into the air and erected a monolith.
Claire trotted over to the jutted up earth, placing her hand to it as it sent a shudder up her arm, "I think you're on your way to being a Lava-bender!"
Her eyes sceptically darted between the two bent pieces of earth, "How can you tell?"
"The first piece of earth was warm, but this one is cold... meaning that if you fight like a fire-bender when earth-bending, you can make Lava!"
An uncontrollable grin came over Khana as she bowed, "Thank you, Avatar!"
But she scoffed at her formality, "Hey, we're friends. No need to get so formal!"
Khana perked up, mildly embarrassed, as Claire raised her arms to the side and smirked, affixing her eyes on her, "Get over here!"
She lightly blushed, swallowing her nerves and marching over to her as the two softly embraced each other.
Khana's face flushed red as Claire's eyebrows slanted and her eyes suspiciously flared at an odd sensation on her neck and leg, "So that's the third dagger Kang mentioned..."
Khana's eyes flared as her embrace forcefully released, and her fist instinctively shot into Claire's gut, teeth bared as the wind blasted out of the Avatar.
She fell to the floor, her gut thudding as Khana's eyes returned to lucidity, gazing at her trembling fist and the fallen Claire.
"I..."
Claire rolled onto her back, slowly getting her breath back while her head swayed, "I think I touched... a nerve..."
Khana backed away, her hands placed to the side of her head as her legs gave way and threw her to the floor.
Claire finally got back up, placing a hand on her gut and wincing, "I'm... gonna feel that... for a while."
Khana's breath turned ragged as she gazed at her, her ears ringing as the Avatar quickly rushed over to her.
"Are you alright, Khana?" She softly asked.
"I... I'm sorry."
Claire slanted her eyes and helped her friend back up, "Hey, I guess I crossed a line there... no hard feelings."
"It's more than just that..." Khana pushed her away, her arms crossed across her stomach,
"I'm not like you... or any other woman you've met, I'm..."
A tear welled in her eye, her fingers digging into her arms while her lips tightened.
But despite that, Claire gently placed a hand on her arm, "There's no need to force yourself to tell me, You're my friend, and nothing's going to change that."
"...Thank you."
Claire lightly patted her arm, "Come on, let's get back to Republic City."
The two ventured back to the Aircraft, standing before its sand ploughed glory. Claire let Khana climb in first, but to their surprise, giant tentacles emerged from the water, flicking the ocean into the skies before they could get in their transportation.
As the water boiled and raised, Claire's eyes shook, "Kyoshi's dimpled Buttcheeks!"
A gigantic Octopus-like head burst from the sea. Spikes riddled its blackened tentacles, while two enormous tendrils with heads on their ends loomed beside it, its crimson, fury filled eyes peering into the two as its abyssal head loomed over them.
"One of Talos' minions, no doubt..."
Khana swiftly observed it as her nerves shuddered, "I don't think it is, but there's no time for theories! Let's show them what The Avatar and a Kyoshi Warrior can do!"
Claire nodded as they prepared to fight the monstrous spirit; all the while, Kang and Ghazi observed from the air atop the Magnificent Turtle Duck's Bill.
"Should we, uh... help them?"
"No."
The spirit's tentacle heads howled, its bellowing forcing the ladies to hunker down and root their feet. But as it ceased, they matched their movements and fired out a mighty stalagmite ridden cliff from the shoreline, blasting the Monstrosity back as they sprinted up their newly formed terrain together. The spiked tentacles thrashed and lashed at the two, but they dodged and weaved through its attacks with efforted leaps and dives. Khana bent a piece of the earth into a razor-edged disc before slinging it at an oncoming tentacle and chopping it off. Claire slashed her palm out and severed a writhing tentacle; the spirit wailed.
The two regrouped as the spirit regained control of itself.
"Now that I think about it... shouldn't we try calming this thing down?"
Claire shrugged, "from the looks of it, it's way past the point of no return!"
The Monstrous Spirit screamed to the heavens as the spikes of its tentacles launched out at the two like missiles, striking and cracking their platform as they weaved through them. Their rocky structure fell into the ocean, almost taking them along with it, but with a flex of her arms, Claire formed a sphere of air around her and latched onto Khana before ascending into the skies.
"Any ideas?" Claire asked.
"Throw me at it!"
"Come again?"
"THROW ME AT IT!"
Claire nervously went along with her idea and slung Khana around the sphere before chucking her at the spirit. With Daggers Drawn, she latched onto the Monstrosity, digging the blades into its form then cleaving down its face; the spirit lashed out at her, trying to strike with its spiked tentacles. Still, The Kyoshi Warrior leapt away, just barely slinking through its impaling grasp. The Spirits own spikes dug into its flesh as Khana flew for the shoreline, outstretching her hand and pulling a segment of earth out, then sliding down it onto the shoreline. And as she landed and watched the Monstrous Spirit writhe in the agony of its own making, she vigorously stomped her foot, her arms straining as the earth quaked, and with a swift, roaring punch, she launched pillars upon pillars of earth at it, smashing into the Spirit as Claire snapped her fingers. Her eyes radiated with a brilliant light as her arms swayed to the skies, and with a quick flick down, the rubble falling around the Spirits form turned to Lava, scorching and moulding around its grotesque body. The beast roared as its lava cloaked form sank into the ocean, but it broke through the magma and latched onto the shoreline as a girl in traditional Kyoshi Warrior attire covered in a black ooze lunged out of the split made by Khana's daggers, their legs replaced by a tendril which attached them to the monstrous spirit.
"Home. My Home. Must Protect. My Home"
Claire descended back to the shore as the duo uneasily gazed at it then to each other, "If I was a betting girl, I'd say the 'brain' of this thing just came out to say hello!"
The Avatar took a deep breath as the two headed tentacles loomed over them, "Khana, go for the kill on that thing; I've got your back!"
"And here I thought it'd be the other way around," she wryly smiled and withdrew her daggers, beginning her charge up the monstrous spirit's form.
Claire followed her behind as the headed tentacles lashed out at the sprinting warrior, but Claire launched fireballs like a cannon, blasting and blazing their forms as Khana ran in ever closer. The form of the spirit rumbled as The Avatar and Kyoshi Warrior continued their assault. Eventually, Khana came within a dagger's length of the girl, but a black ooze shot up and latched onto her arm, restraining her as she scowled and tried to force the dagger towards it.
"One... of us?"
The girl's head tilted as another tendril of black ooze shot up and grabbed hold of her, slowly dragging her in. Claire took her eyes off the headed tentacles and gasped at the sight of her.
"KHANA!"
She slashed out with her palm, unleashing a razor slash of air and severing the black ooze from her dagger arm. With her weapon free, she slashed out at the girl, cleaving the head from her form as Claire slashed out another razor gust and cleaved one of the headed tentacle, followed by kicking out a slicing sheen of water at the other, decapitating it as the tentacles flopped back into the sea. Khana managed to break free of the black ooze as the now-dead spirit sank into the ocean; however, Claire leapt up and kicked out an icy platform under the ready to swim Khana, making her stumble forward.
And while they met atop the icy platform, Ghazi grumbled and nodded, "Perhaps the legend of the Kyoshi Warriors is true after all."
"We best get back to Republic City before they notice us, or else we're gonna get a hiding!"
"Good idea."
The two scrambled back into the cockpit and made a quiet break for it.
The Avatar quickly landed atop the icy platform as Khana turned to her, "You know I can swim, right?"
Claire smiled, "Didn't want to take any chances."
She smiled as Claire hugged her, catching her off guard as she slowly hugged her back, "for a moment there, I thought I was gonna lose you to this thing."
A tear broke from her eye as she lightly buried her head in Claire's shoulder, unsure what to make of the situation as she finally let the embrace go, only for the Avatar to quickly smooch her cheek.
Khana stood taken aback, "Ava... Claire, I..."
Claire's smile turned to a look of blushing embarrassment, "Oh, um, sorry... acted without thinking again."
"Well, it's just... I've heard that's... usually only something someone should do if they... well..."
The Avatar covered her embarrassment with a suave bravado as she strolled around and hooked an arm around her, "Och, you saying I should only do it if I like you?"
Khana stammered and muscled away as a tear streaked down her face, "No, Claire... I don't... I don't deserve someone like you; a freak like me doesn't deserve anyone."
Her words felt like a dagger running through her heart as her breath got trapped in her throat; unable to speak, Khana gritted her teeth and bared it, "Let's just... go back to Republic City."
Claire hesitantly pushed the icy platform to the shoreline, silently stepping off and into their Aircraft, ascending into the skies as a bleak silence hung in the air.
"Are you, uh... sure you don't want to take a break after that?" Claire asked
Khana shook her head as the two soared through the skies back to Republic City, and after several hours of flying, the metropolis came into view, but Claire noticed something odd in the distance, a colossal Colosseum stood tall where the Theatre hall was once situated, making Khana's eyes perk open.
"The Colosseum!"
A perplexed stare of the Avatar darted to her, "The what?"
"There's a Tournament on tomorrow, and it's going to be held there."
Claire peered at the Colosseum with a now eager grin as the two descended back to the Derelict Estate.