Part 3 - Chaos
Kang flipped through the Diary, "Now... what part was I up to? ...Oh, yeah!"
"I raised you within the hut's seclusion, awaiting the day your Fire-bending came to fruition, dreaming every night of the day I'd use you against my brother to bring him down and raise you up as the Fire Lord... but something had changed in me as the years went by, and those dreams became hazy, incomplete..."
"Whenever you seemed in danger, I would always rush to get you out of it; whenever you were upset and bawling your eyes out... I would try to console you. I couldn't work out why I kept instinctively doing these things. Things I'd never done before in my life..."
"But when your Fire-bending came to light, the dreams of my plan to forge you into The Ultimate Weapon returned... and I began to resist those instincts and tried to distance myself from you.
"I still remember the rigorous training I put you through to make you the strongest Fire-bender the world would ever know."
He faintly smiled, "You certainly succeeded with that..."
"Three long and hard years of training forged you into an expert Fire-bender, but although you knew the forms like the back of your hand, you still lacked the power to use them properly."
"But despite that... I still forced you into your first Agni Kai."
The two stood inside the freshly laid Arena on opposing sides, light dirt and lush grass surrounding them. In her ragged clothes and her silver, black hair flowing, Azula stood tall and proud, ready for battle. In contrast, the nine-year-old Kang, dressed in a stolen crimson shirt, maroon baggy pants and sandals, nervously gazed around, unsure what to make of the situation.
"It's time for your first Agni Kai, Boy!"
"What's an... Agni Koi?"
Azula blankly stared as her eyes blinked like a pair of headlights, "It's Agni Kai, Boy. K-a-i. An Agni Kai is a duel between two Fire-benders, a battle of honour, and ends with the victor burning the defeated!"
The young Kang winced, "I'm... not sure about this, mother."
"Oh, don't worry, Boy. I won't burn you if you don't refuse to fight and go down with honour. But if you cower on the floor begging for mercy, I will have none to spare!"
The Young Kang froze up, his heart skipping a beat and his legs quaking, "Don't back down, got it!"
He raised his fists, to which Azula zealously smiled.
"The Agni Kai begins now!"
She mercilessly kicked out a blast of sapphire flame; however, Kang quickly ducked under it and rolled forward, meekly roaring and unleashing a slight puff.
But Azula snuffed it out with a flick of her wrist, "Come on! I know you can do better than that, Boy!"
She leapt into the air, kicking up and bringing down an arch of Azure flame as fear washed over Kang's face; the young Boy rolled to the side while his heart raced. Azula landed and unleashed an almighty stream of cerulean fire, keeping her merciless golden eyes locked on Kang, watching him try to block the onslaught of flames. But the sheer power ultimately knocked him down, wracking his body with exhaustion as he rolled onto his back, staring at his mother with a hazy gaze.
Her hands flexed out as Blue flames grew in her palms, "Stand up, Boy! You can still fight!"
He tried to stand but inevitably fell onto his stomach and lifted his head to his mother, "Please... don't, I can't fight anymore..."
He gazed at her as rage came over her glaring face, "You will rise and fight, Boy!"
Her voice echoed with malice as she raised a hand to the sky, the azure flame blazing in her hand.
"I'm... too exhausted to fight on."
Despite his attempt to reason with her, Azula simply glared down at him with her piercing gaze, "How Disappointing! To think I thought you would be The Ultimate Weapon, You!? You're nothing but a failure!"
With teeth bared and eyes flared, her arm began its merciless arch down, "This will be a lesson you will remember, and suffering shall be your teacher!"
Kang cowered on the ground, averting his gaze from the blazing blue flames, but as she brought her fire down, the pained cries of Zuko permeated her mind, the memories of watching her father burn his face coming into focus and soon after, the words Iroh muttered echoed in her mind.
"How could you do that to your own son?"
The flame in Azula's hand slowly sputtered out as she gazed into the distance, her posture slumping and her breath shaking.
"I'm... becoming no better than him..." she turned to the hand intended to burn Kang, clenching her fist and eyes before turning away in disgust at herself as it slowly dropped to her side.
Her eyes opened as she softly stared at the still quivering Kang, "I... won't... I can't use him as a weapon; they never showed me what it meant to be loved... but that doesn't mean I should treat him the same way."
A tear streaked out of her eye as she knelt before him and softly placed a hand on his shoulder, "Kang?"
He flinched and perked his head up, finding his mother knelt before him, "You're... not going to burn me?"
She gently smiled, "No, I'm not go-" he immediately threw himself at her and tightly hugged her.
His sudden act flustered her, leaving her unsure how to respond as she quizzically stared at him from the corners of her eyes.
"I hope this is okay!" he nervously said from his shoulder buried position.
Azula smiled again, "Of course it is..."
"As I hugged you, an odd warmth bloomed inside me. I'd never truly been able to choose my own path in life, always a puppet dancing to another's tune... but you gave me a chance to walk a road of my choosing, and from that day forward, I did my utmost to repair my relationship with you, showing you the motherly love I never received."
"Having you as a son... changed me. I gave up on my goal of creating my own Ruthless Fire Lord; now, my only goal in life was to raise you with the utmost love I could give you."
"I still remember how I would read a story to you every night, some I even created myself. We would cook and clean the hut together and go up to the hillsides on sunny days. I still trained you in the ways of Fire-bending, of course, eventually turning you into a Master by the age of Sixteen."
"You even inherited my blue fire... something I never expected."
"But then... this day came..."
Azula stood within the hut's kitchen while the Sun beated through the window. She stood next to two aligned plates with a small bag of rice next to them. Her hair had turned almost entirely silver, and her red and gold clothes freshly stolen from the nearby village.
She lit a flame under a cauldron of water and reached out to the rice as her hand quaked and her breath shook, "Stop, damn it..."
She grasped it as firmly as she could.
"Hey, Mother!" Kang swung through the doorway.
Azula's chest tensed, making her drop the rice on the side, but despite her racing heart, she chuckled and turned to him, "Kang! What have I told you about sneaking up on me!?"
His hair had grown out long and shaggy, and he stood adorned in a pristine crimson shirt with a gold line running around the collar and down his chest, whilst black pants and maroon boots covered his lower body.
Kang awkwardly averted his eyes, "Only do it during emergencies?"
She slanted her gaze and put a hand to her hip as he nervously chuckled.
"Could we... have another Agni Kai?"
She briefly hummed and quizzically stared at him, "Sure, dear. Exercise before a meal is a good thing after all," she smirked and marched towards him, her stride slightly limped.
"I'm sure you're still fighting fit, Mother!" He smiled.
The two ventured up to the Arena, but as they did, Azula lightly clasped her chest and stumbled forward; however, Kang caught her and checked her over.
"Are you alright?"
She eventually regained her breath, standing back up and brushing her hair back, "I'm fine, Kang. Just tripped on a rock."
She took a deep breath whilst he slowly nodded.
"Let's keep going!" She marched towards the Agni Kai arena, shortly followed by Kang.
The two had scorched the ground from their years of training, now appearing to be more of an ashy black rather than its original dirt brown. Azula and Kang stood on opposing Sides, raising their fists and engaging each other. Kang unleashed kicks of mighty azure fire at Azula, who ducked and weaved through the attacks, countering with a stream of cerulean flame. However, Kang blocked the attack with a wall of impenetrable raging blue flame. The wall ceased as the two stood against each other once more. Azula swept her leg along the ground, unleashing a low wave of sapphire flame, but Kang leapt over and landed on his palms, his back facing her as he angled his legs and kicked out a plume of azure fire. But she scoffed, swiping her arms and snuffing out the flames, and as Kang leapt back to his feet, Azula pointed her fingers to the ground, beginning to circle them to her side as electricity crackled. She lunged forward, letting loose a vicious lightning bolt, but Kang pointed his fingers at it and brought his arm in, down then out to his opposite side, unleashing the bolt into the air.
Azula clutched her chest once more, her arms tense and her legs quaking.
Kang smugly watched the cascading lightning before turning to his mother, his gaze nervously slanting, "Are you okay, mother?"
"I'm... fine," she breathlessly lied as her firing arm numbed.
"Are you sure? We can stop if you..."
Azula unleashed a violent crescent of sapphire flame as Kang's eyes flared.
He leapt over it, watching it crash into the surrounding foliage and earth, "Alright, you're fine."
Azula smirked and kicked out waves of cerulean fire, but Kang brushed them aside, swinging his arms around as electricity crackled. He lunged forward as she kicked out another wave, her eyes widening at the sight of the surging bolt. But She quickly improvised, leaping up with her other foot and catching it, then redirecting it up her leg, flipping and kicking it out behind her. She landed back on her feet and smugly gazed at Kang as the earth crumbled behind her.
"Now, when were you going to teach me that one?"
"Maybe later; I just thought of it now!" She breathlessly chuckled.
Kang smirked, swinging his fist out and unleashing a crescent of azure flame, but as Azula went to parry it, her arms seized as the heat of the flames closed in on her.
"No, no! Move damn it!" She gasped.
Kang's façade turned from prideful to fearful as he began to rush in and stretch his hand out to the fire.
"MOTHER!"
The flames struck Azula, her screams piercing his ears as she fell to the ground with a scorched thud.
Kang frantically threw himself down to her, gazing upon her burnt clothes and skin, "Mother! Are you alright? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I got carried away I-"
She raised a hand to his cheek, "I'm... alright, Kang..." she softly lied, trying to reassure him.
But the burn marks across her skin and scorched clothes said otherwise as Kang welled up, his breathing hysterical and his head shaking, "N-no, you're not alright... I need to get you back to the hut!"
He lifted her off the ground, carrying her back to the hut and up to her bedroom, laying her down in the bed as Azula gazed at the frantic Kang, his limbs quaking while his hands ruffled his hair.
"Kang..."
He placed his hand on her face as a tear streaked down her face.
"I'll run to the Village; I'll get whatever I can to help!"
He recklessly sprinted out of her bedroom.
"Kang, Wait!" She cried, outstretching her arm to him.
But her calls fell on deaf ears as he blasted out of the hut and towards the nearby village.
Her arm dropped as her life slowly ebbed away. However, she turned a final gaze to a leather diary on top of her bookshelf, reaching out to it and grasping a quill pen from nearby.
"I never did... get a chance to finish this..."
"With my dying breath, I want you to know. I'm sorry for the way I treated you when you were young, and I'm sorry I lied to you. But I still love you, Kang, and I always will."
"Was this a redemption for all the wrongs I committed? Hardly. But I can at least die knowing I put someone good into this world before my time was up."
"I've left a gift behind with this diary; it's the only memento I could think to leave behind for you."
Kang finished reading and closed the book with a soft drop of the leather cover, his heart sinking as he placed the book down and gazed to the ceiling, clutching his stomach as tears streaked out from under his goggles.
"There's just... one last thing to do..."
He grasped the leather book and cloth wrapped item, standing and placing them in his pouch before finally leaving the hut for the last time. He marched west from the hut, ploughing through the leaves and bamboo of the surrounding forest, which had overgrown onto the path he and Azula used to take up to a hillside, until eventually, he marched out into a massive clearing, spotting a hill with a blooming tree atop it. Kang gazed upon it, his heart growing heavy as he remembered how he pushed her body up the hill inside the remains of a boat. Despite that, he took a deep, shaky breath and pressed on to face his past. The Tree became ever more distinct as he approached, but also something else. Sapphire Lilies surrounded the hilltop like a beacon of cerulean light amidst the black blanket of Chaos that cloaked the world.
Kang quizzically scanned around, "Blue flowers... I don't recall planting these..."
He marched forward, coming to the beginning of a stone path leading up to the Tree, and at the start of it, a small red chest stood atop a pillar with tiny clasps of earth locked onto the legs. No lock adorned the box, and Kang's curiosity got the better of him. He popped it open, discovering a letter addressed to him as his eyebrow bewilderingly raised.
He unfolded the letter.
"Dear Kang. I don't know if you'll ever read this since I don't think this is a place you want to return to. But after you told Li, Masato and myself about what happened to your mother, we came here to pay our respects to her."
He sombrely smiled.
"We didn't know her, at least not personally. But we know you loved her. And that was good enough for us."
"Li and Masato planted some Sapphire Lilies around the hilltop you told us about... At least I hope this is the right hilltop."
He softly chuckled.
"We picked them out because they reminded us of your fire-bending, gotta say, I'm surprised I didn't put the pieces together the first time I saw it."
"If you ever read this, Kang, we're always wishing you the best."
"From your Patriarch and Captain and Lieutenant: Zu, Li & Masato."
"P.S. Gai, Kane and Kaz say 'hi'"
A tear streaked out from underneath Kang's goggles as he folded it back up and placed it in his pouch, turning his heavy gaze to the hilltop tree. He slowly marched up to it as a lump grew in his throat, his heart weighing like a boulder on him while his legs quaked, and as he stood at its base, the weight of his grief dragged him to his knees as his head hung low.
"I'm here... mother."
His voice broke through the pain, but he didn't know where to begin while he knelt by the Tree in silence. But as he laid slumped on his knees, a soft wind blew petals from the Sapphire Lilies, making them flow with the breeze and spiral around Kang and the Tree. As he tried to get his words out, an odd presence hung in the air, and a soft touch graced his cheek. He slowly raised his head, finding a spiritual blue figure knelt before him, her hair long and flowing and her clothes ragged. Azula's Spirit had come to him. Kang's lips quivered as he stared into his mother's blue-tinted gold eyes, stumbling over his words as the two rose to their feet.
"Hello, Kang," her Spirit smiled.
He slowly raised his shaking prosthetic hand to her cheek, "Mother, is that... really you?"
She solemnly nodded, "It is; I've been here for a long time... waiting... hoping you would come back someday."
"I read through the Diary you left... Why didn't you... tell me what was happening to you!?"
She gazed to the ground and slanted her eyebrows before softly gazing into his goggles, "I kept my... health a secret because I didn't want you to worry..."
Kang tried to keep himself together as his heart raced and his body shook.
"And because of that... I killed you..."
She sadly scoffed, "I... am just as much to blame for what happened that day, if I hadn't lied, hadn't been so secretive..."
Tears rolled out from under his goggles, "I've hated myself for what I did... I was a fool... I should've noticed sooner; I shouldn't have even asked for that stupid Agni Kai!" He fell and punched the ground, quaking like a dam ready to burst.
Azula heavily sighed, closing her eyes as she stood over him, "Kang..."
His head lifted as their gazes locked.
"You need to grow up."
"Wh-what."
"Shut up and listen to your mother!"
Kang shot up and remained silent as she set her indifferent gaze on him.
"Look at the world around you! The Four Nations have been dragged into an eternal night. But there you stand, the strongest Fire-bender the world may ever know, whimpering and berating yourself about something you can't change!"
Kang's mouth hung ajar as the lump in his throat blocked any words he could say.
"Did I raise you to be like that!? A man who stands rigid in the past as everything he's come to love and cherish crumbles to bloodstained dust!?"
He shook his head, trying to speak, but no words would come out.
"I raised you to be better than this! So please, Kang. For the sake of your friends and loved ones. Stop holding yourself back. Let the past go; there is nothing either of us can do to fix it. And it's time you accepted that!"
Tears broke out from behind his goggles, feeling as if he were choking on his heart at the sound of her words, but she gently placed a hand to his cheek as he softly grasped it, "Just know, that despite what happened. I never stopped loving you. You're my Son, after all."
He smiled as he shakily breathed, "I always thought you'd died... hating me for what I did."
She gently shook her head, "How could I hate you, Kang?"
His breath quivered as he smiled, unable to think of a response as she lowered her hand and crossed her arms before taking a good look at her son, "Now I really have to ask... what's with the goggles?"
Kang unconsciously placed his hand to the rim of them, "My friend Zu... he gave them to me, to help me..."
"To help you?"
"Every time I looked in a mirror or a glass and saw my eyes... I saw you, and they constantly reminded me of that day... so he gave me Masato's old Goggles, which would stop me from seeing my eyes and stop reminding me of how I... you know..."
Azula's sorrowful Spirit smiled, "Would it be okay if you took them off?"
He fell silent, mulling it over before reaching around to the back of his head, "For you... sure!"
He pressed a part that linked the two straps, letting them drape down as he grasped the rims, taking a deep breath before slowly and gently removing his goggles with his quaking hands. He softly clutched them in his prosthetic hand, drying his eyes with his fleshy hand and slowly blinking, letting his eyes adjust and revealing them to be the same piercing Gold as his mothers.
A joyous smile came over her, "It's good to see those eyes again."
Kang smiled as a tear streaked down his cheek.
"And before I forget, what's with the gauntlet?"
He sharply stared at it and wiggled the fingers, "It's a, uh... prosthetic."
Her eyes flared, "what in the world happened to you to need that?!"
He nervously chuckled and rubbed his prosthetic arm in his fleshy hand, "eh, well... helping the Avatar leads to a few... foreseeable complications."
Azula pouted with raised eyebrows and crossed arms while Kang poked his index fingers together.
"Did you get the gift I left with the diary?"
Kang nodded, rummaging in his pouch before pulling the cloth-wrapped item out and presenting it to her.
"Well, unravel it!" she shortly laughed.
He slowly unwrapped the cloth, revealing Azula's old Hairpin, a red band adorned with a dull golden flame.
"It was mine during my time as Princess of the Fire Nation; it saved my life once... And I want you to have it, so I'll always be with you in some way."
Kang smiled at the Hairpin before pulling a brush and comb out of his pouch, "never thought I'd use these..."
He tidied up his hair and pulled it up into a ponytail at the crown of his head, sliding the Hairpin onto it and letting go of his hair. His long shaggy hair now neatly styled into a ponytail with two short strands of hair draped at the sides of his forehead.
"How Do I Look?"
"A bit like my younger self!" She chuckled as Kang smiled.
"How has your fire-bending progressed over the years?"
"It's strong, but... well, I can't do the blue fire anymore."
"What happened to it?"
His posture slumped, "Similar situation with the goggles... My friend Kane helped me 'dampen my flame', and now I don't know if I can do 'blue fire' anymore..."
He punched out a plume of red fire to his side, but Azula simply scoffed, "Well, let's reignite that flame, shall we!"
She outstretched her hands to Kang, to which he nervously reached out and grasped them as their stares locked on each other.
"Take a deep breath and find your inner flame!"
The two closed their eyes as Kang looked within himself, visions of a raging red flame amidst a vast blackness filling his mind.
"Do you see it?"
"Yes... angrier looking than I expected."
"Let the flame calm. Let go of your grief and your shame. Let your inner flame burn with the power you strode so far to achieve!" She passionately said.
Kang focused on it, but visions of Azula's fall clouded his focus, his arms shaking as he winced.
"That time is over now, and neither of us can change it."
The vision faded, and the hazy images of his life came into view. His first invention, The Timekeeper. The time he spent with Zu, Li and Masato. Their raid on the City Bank. Masato's body cradled in Li's arms. Their fight against Yakone alongside Toph, Aang, and Sokka. His display of power against Claire. The time he brought down Amon. Every part of his life up to this moment flooded in, and Azula smiled.
"You've certainly had a colourful life, even after the events of your past. But now it's time to let that past go and embrace the future, your future!"
Kang focused on her words, letting the memory of her death fade from view as his stomach and heart twinged, and with that, his inner flame calmed while blue embers flickered around it. His eyes flared open as he struck his fist out, letting loose a mighty plume of blue fire, followed up with swift kicks of fire to his left, then finishing with a ferocious azure blaze into the sky.
The Mother and Son stood in amazement.
"... Perfect!" She turned her gaze to him, "you've finally grown into a fine figure of a man, Kang."
He smiled at her and slowly lowered his arms as the flower petals ceased their spiral.
Azula's Spirit solemnly gazed around, "It looks like my time is running out..."
Confusion dawned on Kang as he welled up once more, "Will... I ever see you again?"
Azula's Spirit placed her hand to his cheek and gazed at him with a soft smile, "From now on, you'll always carry me with you, Kang. And remember that I will always love you!"
Her Spirit faded to a blue mist as Kang tried reaching out to her one last time, but he fell before the base of the Tree as a silence loomed.
He turned his gaze up to the stiff bark and rustling leaves, "... I'll always love you too, mother!"
Kang smiled as a tear streaked down his face one last time. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and turning his attention to the direction of Republic City.
His eyes softly flared, his heart now unburdened and his pitted stomach fading, "If my mother can take down an Avatar, then I should be able to do it too!"
Determination burned like the Sun within him as he slowly stared down at his goggles one last time, scoffing and smiling.
"I won't hide myself any longer..."
He knelt to the base of the Tree and carefully placed the goggles down by it before standing back up and patting the tree trunk, then softly touching the Hairpin as a smile cracked across his face.
He departed down the path with his head held high, "For twenty-five years, I went through the worst agony I could have imagined..."
"And even now, I don't know if I'll ever truly forgive myself for what happened... but I won't run from it anymore."
Kang stopped and turned his gaze to the direction of Republic City as lightning crackled in the distance.
"And I won't allow Claire to go through the same pain I did..."
He clenched his prosthetic fist and began his adventure back to The United Republic, finally ready to face Talos and Raava within their Heart of Chaos.