Part 2 - Order
Claire practised the Spirit-Bending forms for hours on end in her quiet, isolated corner of the Library. She deeply sighed and rolled her fingers as she gazed at her palms, "I think I've got the hang of it... now I just need a Spirit to test it out on."
The Library met her words with silence as she hung her head, shaking it to herself and striding out of the chamber she trained within. She marched back to where they entered, regret building up in her as the lingering atmosphere of recent events set in. Despite the anguish, she silently strode up to the great gate and shoved them open, their metal hinges creaking as she set out onto the snowy mountainous ground.
She quietly pondered to herself, trying to think about where to go next, but a loud thudding resonating across the mountains broke her train of thought. Something approached.
"AVATAR!"
A mighty hulking spirit leapt up onto the snowy plain, the stone cracking under his robust form. The beast possessed four arms bigger than Claire, a chest hard as iron, fangs sharp enough to bite a man in two. It's fur, black and shaggy. Small horns protruded from its head just above its empty white eyes.
She stepped back as her eyes widened, "You know when I said I needed a Spirit to test it on, I didn't mean this soon!"
It sized up the uneasy Avatar as she readied herself for battle. Its eyes flared as it unleashed a mighty roar, blasting Snow off the ground and knocking her off-balance. It thunderously charged, shaking the mountains with each stomp. However, Claire thrust her hand out at the Gorilla Spirit, ejecting spiritual tendrils from her hand and entangling the hulking beast. Despite her attempts, it shook off the tendrils and continued its charge.
She tried blasting fireballs at the Gorilla, but it merely barrelled through them unscathed, its mighty form looming over her; however, with a quick flip to her side, she avoided its ramming attack and quickly pirouetted away from it.
The Gorilla Spirit huffed and grunted, slamming his knuckles onto the ground as it turned to face her, "AVATAR!"
"I need to get this thing off the mountain..." she looked behind her, peering at the edge, then turning her gaze back to the beast and leaning forward while clapping her hands, egging it on to charge, "Come on then! If you wanna get me that badly."
The Gorilla pounded its chest and charged at Claire as she slowly backed away, getting ready to leap from the mountainous cliff. But before she could turn her back, an enormous flare screeched overhead and crashed down in front of the two, blasting back the Gorilla Spirit while Claire hunched over.
The smoke slowly cleared, revealing a grounded and disorientated Gorilla Spirit. Claire turned around to find Kang ominously floating overhead on flaming jets. He slowly descended to her side, extinguishing his jets and striding up to her.
"I didn't think I'd see you again..."
He heavily sighed through his nose while rolling his fingers and keeping his eyes off her, "You're a Bitch for dragging up what you did, Claire. But... one fight shouldn't end a whole friendship."
"I don't know what I can do to make up for what I did... but, thank you for coming back."
"Buy me a good quality whiskey, and I might forget everything that happened," he smirked and turned his gaze to her, "And sorry for almost... scorching you."
She wryly smiled, "It's fine... I understand, and besides, what would Khana say if her girlfriend came back more burnt up than when she left?"
He lightly chuckled, "Enough chit-chat. Let's take this behemoth Spirit down!"
"We need to lure it off the mountain. Can't risk the Library getting damaged."
"Right, well... let's fly off this edge!"
"That's the plan!" She smirked.
The Gorilla Spirit finally came to its senses, roaring and charging in, but as it loomed ever closer, the two launched themselves off the mountain, Claire in an Air Sphere and Kang on Jets of Fire, but the beast threw itself off the cliff, trying to catch the two, its grasp nearly a hair's breadth from them before it fell.
"You did find out how to cure these kinds of spirits, right?"
"Of course!"
"Good to know you weren't just wallowing in self-pity; let's get going!"
The two soared down the mountain face as the Gorilla slammed into it, the entire mountain shaking and splintering at the might of its fists. The erupting stone struck Claire out of her air sphere as she wailed, and Kang ascended away. However, she regained her footing and sprinted down the mountain at the Gorilla Spirit, bending and forming an earthy gauntlet onto her fists.
"AVATAR!"
"Front and centre!" She slammed her earthen fist into it, her fist caving into its form and knocking it from the mountain's face.
Kang soared down, aiming his prosthetic fist at the descending Spirit. With a sharp intake of breath, he launched it like a rocket at the beast, mercilessly striking its face, almost flying straight through it as it shot past, then looped back around, hitting the beast a second time as it flew back to Kang.
"Claire, I've got an idea! Keep it busy!"
"On it!"
He ascended back up the mountain, hovering on his flaming jets with his fleshy fingers pointed to the sky, profoundly breathing while Claire charged down at the Gorilla Spirit.
The Avatar and Spirit warred on the mountain's face, nearing the ground with each punch, kick, roar and bend of the earth, fire and air. And as they dug themselves into the rock, an indomitable heat radiated against Claire's back, her eyes widening as she twisted and spun into the mountain, feeling the warmth of a huge crimson flare roaring overhead and slamming into the Gorilla Spirit.
The beast's roar reverberated across the mountain as the flare crashed into the ground below, exploding in a grand display of flame and rubble. Claire popped out of the stone like a badger-mole as Kang hovered down to her.
"Couldn't have given me a warning?"
"From that high up?" He pointed to the skies.
"...Aye, good point."
The duo descended the mountain, landing on the blackened, burnt grass, flickering flames surrounding them as they cautiously approached the unconscious Gorilla Spirit. Claire outstretched her arms as spiritual tendrils once again emerged and ensnared the beast. A faint glow emitted from them as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath until her eyes flared with a radiant light, the soft shine erupting into a brilliant glow like a beacon before slowly fading away.
She descended from the Avatar State, the tendrils fading away as the Gorilla Spirit groaned, its form now appearing more like an ordinary Silverback Gorilla.
"Where... am I?"
"Wan Shi Tong's Library... well, the bottom of the mountain it's on," Claire replied.
"Any idea... when I got here? My memory's been fuzzy ever since that human told me to bring him the Avatar."
"Talos used Spirit-Bending on you, and because of that, you went insane."
"So you... saved me?"
"Yup!"
The Gorilla Spirit turned to Kang, "And I take it, your friend helped?"
The Avatar nodded whilst Kang waved, "Hello There!"
"Hello!" he greeted him, "As repayment for saving me from that corruption, how can I help you two?"
She crossed her arms, "We need to cure all the other insane Spirits... do you know where they might be?"
"... You're the Avatar, right?"
"I am."
"So, you can air-bend?"
"Yes...?"
"I have an idea. Hop on my back!"
They quizzically stared at each other as the mad inventor shrugged, "I don't see why not."
They jumped aboard his back, beginning their Spirit saving journey.
The three arrived In a wide-open field of vibrant colours whilst dismally dark regions lay amongst the Horizon. The Gorilla Spirit stopped in the middle of the area, allowing the two to jump off.
"And here I thought my first bareback experience would be with Lin..."
The Avatar and Spirit quizzically twisted to him, "do you wanna run that by us again?"
Kang's cheeks flared red, "Well... you know. Like we did with The Gorilla Spirit!"
"My name's Xiong."
He nodded as Claire tried to wrap her head around what he was saying, "you think Lin... Captain of the Guard... would run around with you on her back?"
The mad inventor stood in silence as Claire cheekily smirked and turned her attention to Xiong, "Alright, what's your idea?"
He poised its hulking arms out to the side, "Right, you use your air-bending to draw in a massive amount of air," he brought his arms in, as if pulling in his surroundings, "then shout at the top of your lungs to all the corrupted Spirits, and they come right to you!"
"How would that work?"
"From what I can gather from my fuzzy memories, the corrupt spirits 'sniff out' your Avatar Spirit, and if they hear you. They'll follow the source and eventually find the trail of your scent!"
Kang rubbed his chin, "You know, that might just work!"
"Well... if you think so, I'll try it."
She began to suck in the surrounding air, but Xiong stopped her, "Oh, and one other thing... You may want to put us on an elevated platform."
"Good idea!"
She nodded and erected an earthen pillar large enough to hold them, "Ready?"
The two plugged their ears, "Go for it!"
She nodded and turned to the Horizon, then sucked in an enormous amount of air.
"TO ALL THE CORRUPTED SPIRITS OF THIS WORLD! THE AVATAR IS RIGHT HERE! IN THIS GENERAL DIRECTIO-"a violent fit of coughing cut her off.
Kang unplugged his ears, "You alright there?"
She continued coughing hard enough to spit out a lung or two, "Yeah, just never shouted that loudly before..."
Her voice travelled across the Spirit world, even passing by Iroh's tea shop. The bemused Tea maker peeked out and quizzically stared at the blackened skies, "Must have been the wind..." he shrugged and returned to making tea.
The trio remained atop the pillar for hours; Claire lay on her back gazing up to the bright sky whilst Kang bounced a fireball between his hands and Xiong rested between them.
But a distant rumbling approached, the pillar quaking and awaking them, "I think my plan worked!"
Claire and Kang gazed out to the Horizon, finding a gigantic hoard of corrupt Spirits charging at them, their presence distorting the field as they pursued the Avatar.
"I... think it did!"
"How did Talos manage to corrupt so many spirits!?"
"When he initially did it, he only got me and a few of us, but those few and myself managed to spread it like a plague."
"That doesn't seem natural; I thought spirits only changed to represent their emotional state?"
"Normally, yes, but whatever he did was... unnatural."
"Enough talking, you two! Claire, get into the Avatar State and bend the insanity out of them before we become dinner!"
She stood up and took a deep breath, staring down the approaching hoard whilst Xiong and Kang held onto each other for dear life.
"You're sure she can do this, right?"
"We're about to find out..."
Her eyes glowed with brilliant light as she swerved her arms around her form, then thrust them out and unleashed hundreds of spiritual tendrils from her arms and hands. All latching onto the approaching Spirits and ensnaring them on the spot as a brilliant light radiated all around.
Xiong shielded his eyes whilst Kang watched the radiance shine and fade. The corrupted horde came to their senses, the befuddled spirits all staring at one another as Claire descended from the Avatar State, letting out a small groan before collapsing. Kang leapt over and caught her as she hit the earth, but the pillar underneath them crumbled to rubble.
However, Xiong grabbed ahold of the duo and protected them from harm as they fell onto the fields, "Are you two okay?"
"I am... I'm not sure about Claire, though."
The cured Spirits chattered amongst themselves as Xiong stepped towards them, "Friends! An invader of the mortal world drove us mad! Forcing us to hunt the Avatar in his stead, but she brought us back from the brink of insanity!"
He showed them the Avatar, each Spirit clamouring around to get a look at her and Kang.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know the way to Iroh's teashop from here?"
"Iroh? He's a friend of mine! Come on; I'll take you there!" He offered them a ride, and Kang happily hopped aboard, holding onto Claire as the trio raced over to the Teashop.
Xiong dashed through the ever-changing terrain of the Spirit World, "So, how do you know Iroh?"
"He saved our hides when we got booted into the Nexus."
"Booted?"
"We... didn't exactly enter willingly, we were going to, but Talos crashed the party."
Xiong affirmatively hummed, and after an hour of rough riding, he, Kang and the unconscious Claire arrived back at the dismal surroundings of the Teashop, "Iroh!" he called out.
The wizened teamaker strode out of the Teashop with a wide grin on his face, "Xiong! You're safe. What happened to you after the attack?"
"Long story short, the human forced me to hunt the Avatar, and here I am... helping the Avatar," he grinned.
Kang hopped off the hulking Spirit's back as Iroh's grin turned to a look of worry as he saw Kang approach with Claire unconscious once again.
"What happened?"
"She used the Avatar State to cleanse the Insane Spirits... then blacked out."
Iroh observed her and hummed, "... it seems she's fallen into a coma... but she will live."
"A coma!? Of all the things, that is the last thing we need!"
They carried Claire inside the Teashop, followed by Xiong. They laid her down on the table as Kang and Iroh's faces crawled with concern, "How is she going to face Talos now!? We don't even know if she'll wake up!"
"She will need time to recover from whatever happened out there."
"We may not have that much time! Who knows what Talos is doing with his newfound Avatar powers!"
"Talos and Raava may be formidable opponents... but I know you are just as powerful, if not stronger."
He turned his befuddled gaze to him, "What... makes you say that?"
Iroh faintly smiled, "I know you are Azula's Son, Kang. And I also know that her fiery strength burns within you too."
Kang gritted his teeth, "No... I... it doesn't... not anymore..." his voice choked.
"Are you sure? Not every Fire-bender can create an enormous Dragon whilst battered, bloodied and bruised."
He turned to him with a flinching, perplexed eyebrow, "How in the name of Kyoshi do you know about that!?"
"Your mother and I were there at that tournament, but we weren't visible," he gazed at Claire, "Well, at least not visible to most."
"...She... she was there?"
Iroh nodded, "I could feel my time slowly running out, but something was telling me my work was not over just yet. And so, I detached myself from my mortal body and watched over my nephew and his family, as well as Bolin and Mako at the Jasmine Dragon."
He marched over to a teapot, "but some time ago, when I went to visit him, I wound up in the middle of nowhere. And after a while of searching, that's when I found her. My niece sat slumped against a beautiful tree."
Kang's lips quivered as his breath choked in his throat.
"She had been trapped by that tree for years, unable to feel Death's embrace, because, like me, her work was not yet done. And so, I showed her how she could temporarily leave her prison by meditating and focusing on the one person she truly loved."
He poured out two small cups of tea and one big enough to be considered a bucket, "We watched you tinker, create and help the city that you call home. And she was proud to see how strong you had become. And she was quite impressed with that tattoo of yours."
He dished out the tea to Xiong and Kang, "but now you have an opportunity that I never had."
Kang curiously crossed his arms, "What... opportunity?"
"I could never find my Son, Lu Ten, and I believe he is far out of my reach by now, reincarnated into a new man. But Azula still waits for you. Go to her!"
He stepped away from him, clenching his fists and glaring, "What!?"
"Go to her, lay out your Shame and your Grief, let it flow from you. Release it from the bottle you have sealed it within."
Kang remained silent as Xiong's mighty footsteps creaked the floorboards, his heavy paw resting on his shoulder, while Iroh heavily sighed and marched up to him, "I know the pain of losing someone you love, but you cannot allow this despair to destroy you."
"You know what it's like to lose, but do you know what it's like to kill someone you love?"
Xiong's head lowered as Iroh's closed gaze turned to the ground, "In a way... I do."
Kang let out a deep, shaky breath and gazed at the floor, "I... understand."
Iroh's head rose as he smiled and patted his arm, "take the North Pole Spirit Portal; you should arrive in the Spirit Oasis, from there take a boat to the Earth Kingdom. And then..."
"...from there... go home..."
He sombrely nodded as Kang patted Xiong's paw. He drank his tea in one go before settling it down and striding out of the Teashop, stopping in the doorway, "Thanks... Grand-Uncle."
He smiled, "Uncle will do just fine."
Kang smirked and marched for the Spirit Portal, beginning his adventure back into the Mortal World.