Part 3 - Chaos
The Chaos swirled through the skies whilst Fire Lord Zuko stood atop a palace balcony, gazing up at it with worried scepticism running through his mind. Shu approached and stood by his side.
"I've sent word for all members of The White Lotus to converge on The United Republic in order to combat whatever this threat is."
Zuko remained silent, pondering and anxiously gazing over his shoulder, "We may need more than just The White Lotus to deal with this."
He turned back to the sky and pulled his horn out from under his robes, pressing it to his lips and blowing into it to unleash a deafening bellow as Shu plugged his ears and quizzically stared at the Fire Lord.
"Pardon me, my lord. But what was that?" he unplugged his ears.
Zuko smirked and stared at the sky, spying the Shadow of Druk soar across it, "You'll see."
The mighty dragon came into view, smacking down in front of the Palace and worryingly gazing up at Zuko.
"My word! You really do have a dragon!"
Zuko leapt from the balcony, breaking his fall with fiery jets and landing atop Druk before taking hold of the leather reins, "I promised to keep the existence of Dragons a secret, but our current situation may force me to break it."
Shu nervously stared down at him, "My lord, are you sure you're able to fight?"
But Zuko closed his eyes and smiled, "If my Uncle and his friends can retake Ba Sing Se at their age, I'm sure my friends and I can take on whatever this threat is."
He heavily sighed and hung his head, "If you think you can, I will not stop you. Best of luck, Fire Lord!" he bowed.
Zuko nodded as Druk flexed out his wings, "I'll see you in Republic City, Shu!"
He took off into the skies, flying to the Southern Water Tribe while Shu marched back into the Fire nation Palace. He passed by the maroon walls decorated with paintings of past Fire Lords and into the War Room. Small fires illuminated the chamber whilst the Fire Lord's throne remained unlit.
Jin, a Ba Sing Se woman Zuko met in his past, had her silver locks styled into a bushy ponytail, her eyes an olive green, and her body adorned with crimson red and gold robes.
And Izumi, the forty-six-year-old daughter of Jin and Zuko, had her long black hair styled into a topknot and her eyes a deep green. She adorned herself with a crimson, gold-lined gown draped just below her knees; black baggy pants and maroon boots covered the lower part of her body.
They stood by the throne as they spied Shu's approach, "Has Zuko left already?" Jin asked.
He solemnly nodded, "Your husband intends to fight this threat alongside his friends, and I shall be joining him shortly."
Jin let out a melancholy sigh whilst Izumi's slanted gaze stared at them, "Is Dad going to be okay?"
Shu assuringly smiled at the Fire Nation Princess, "Your father is a powerful man; I'm sure he'll be victorious!"
He perked his head up and rolled his neck, "As for me, I need to go change into something more battle appropriate. After my embarrassing loss in the tournament, I learnt that fighting in robes is not a good idea."
He flicked his draping robes and departed from the war room, shortly followed by Jin and Izumi.
The Fallen Defenders, Zu, Li and Ty Lee, remained within the Patriarch's house at the Derelict Estate, resting while the tune of Ghazi's flute fluttered over them and the Chaotic winds swirled outside.
Hou frustratingly tapped his foot as his eyes fidgeted around the room, "I can't stand this any longer!"
His exclamation abruptly stopped Ghazi's tune as everyone watched him stand up, but Lin quickly followed and stopped him in his tracks, "Where are you going!?"
"I'm going to give that Fake Avatar a piece of my fists!"
He tried marching out, but Lin stopped him once more, "You'll get yourself killed if you do!"
"It'd be better than sitting around here doing nothing!" He turned around to the others, "Don't you agree?"
The Fallen Defenders gazed at each other as some agreed with Hou's statement.
"He's right... we aren't doing anything to help sat in here," Khana replied, arising and marching over.
"He's correct, Lin... but if we're going to stand up to Talos, we need to be coordinated," Jing's eyes slowly darted between Ghazi and Khana, "And not run in two manned."
Ghazi grumbled and arose before marching into the centre of the room, "Noted Governor. But we require a plan before we face him; he may be a False Avatar, but he still possesses incredible power. And we are a rag-tag group of benders and warriors."
They all sat around in a circle and began to devise their plan.
"We must attack in groups, ideally of four."
Ghazi pointed to Jing, "Because as he said if we all strike at once, we'll just get in each other's way."
"Governors. You know each other the best. You shall be one team."
They all affirmatively nodded.
"Kadan, The Captain, The Kyoshi and myself will be the second team," he gestured to the three ladies, each nodding to one another.
"Giant, I want you to come to the rescue should things go south, and medic, we shall need you to heal those who survive."
Zu and Li unsurely nodded to each other, "We can do that," The Giant affirmatively replied.
"If we are lucky, reinforcements will show up. I do not know who, but after The False One's display of power, I am sure there are already armies converging on Republic City."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Ghazi. Avatar Aang didn't want the United Republic having its own army," Lin dismally replied.
He grumbled, "Let me guess, something about 'being like the Air Nomads'?"
She nodded, "Something along those lines."
Ghazi shook his head as Khana clicked her fingers, "Couldn't you send a message to the Arkan's?"
"I could, but they would not respond."
"Why not?"
"I am a mere soldier sent on a quest; if I were to send a plea for help in a matter which does not concern me, I would be shamed by the Ghazi Caste and possibly ostracised from the legion."
Khana sighed and hung her head back as everyone silently chattered, "Well... guess it's just us."
Lin stepped in, "I almost forgot. We need to inform the evacuees on what's going on."
"One of Kang's inventions should get us around fast enough to inform them, follow me!"
The two ran out of the door while everyone else made way for the revived and grounded Heart of Chaos.
Khana and Lin descended into the lab and quickly made way for the aircraft, hopping in and jetting out of the lab. They soared through the chaotic skies of The United Republic, the thunderous ambience setting in while the engine quietly hummed.
"Are you sure you know where the evacuees would've gone?" Khana asked as she kept her eyes on the blackened skies.
Lin pulled out a map and pointed, "There are several designated Evacuation points around The United Republic; we'll need to go to all of them."
Khana nodded and flew towards the closest location as a silence loomed over them.
"...Do you think we'll win?"
"... I don't know, Lin... Kang and Claire are still missing and..."
She choked on her words as the Guard Captain patted her pauldron and stared back at The Heart of Chaos, but Khana shook her head, taking a deep, shaky breath before pressing on with their journey.
The Governors, Ty Lee, Ghazi, Zu and Li stood in Ground Zero before The Heart of Chaos, its gigantic crystalline structure looming over them and the crumbling buildings with its daunting aura.
"Remember, if you are on the verge of losing, do not be afraid to flee; better to live and fight another day than die," Ghazi said.
"Don't worry; we'll save our city!" Gao proudly proclaimed before leading the march into the Heart of Chaos.
Jing's eyes darted between the Crystal and his Earth Governor friend, "Hou, you're arguably the strongest of us... what do you think our chances are?"
"Well... I've never fought a Fake Avatar before, so... I'm afraid I can't say."
Jing shrugged and chuckled, "Maybe we should've let The Avatar into the Tournament."
The four stood before the archway as each uneasily sighed, "Once we go in, there's no turning back. We face this False Avatar together!" Gao said.
"Oh, we're gonna die!" Sheng muttered.
Hou smacked him upside the head, "With an attitude like that, you will!"
He pouted, shortly followed by Gao groaning. But Jing strode up to the fire-bending Governor and proudly stood beside him.
"We're the Governors of this city; whether we live or die, at least we tried making a difference!"
He bewilderingly stared down at himself as Hou crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "Wow... where did that come from?"
"I'm... not sure."
The Governors gazed at one another before shrugging and entering The Heart of Chaos.
Khana and Lin landed outside the Yu Dao city of the United Republic as multiple evacuees flocked to their presence.
The hefty Yu Dao mayor approached and formally bowed to them as they hopped out of the aircraft.
"Captain Beifong! I was hoping you or a Governor would arrive soon."
"Sorry for the delay, we had a confrontation with the man who caused this, and we needed time to recover."
The surrounding crowd murmured.
"Are we safe?"
"A man did this?"
"Will Republic City be okay!?"
"What's going on?"
The Mayor feverishly gazed around at them before turning back to Lin and Khana, "A man? Surely this is the work of a violent or vengeful Spirit!"
The crowd murmured in agreement.
"Like that old Iron guy Avatar, Aang had to fight!"
Lin grimaced and hummed, "Well... I think we're both half right. The man who caused this has some form of inhuman power and used it to cause this," she pointed to the rumbling chaotic skies.
The crowd and Mayor gasped in horror, "And in all this mess, dare I ask... where's the Avatar!?"
She heavily sighed, "Lost in the Spirit World... another act of this man."
Her words brought despair to the crowd, heads hanging and hair ruffling as The Mayor tapped his foot, trying to take in the situation.
"What about the evacuees? The United Republic can only handle a capital-wide evacuation for so long, Captain Beifong!"
But before Lin could form a reply, a sleazy man approached the three, with a City Guard and a person in blue and white robes behind him.
"Don't worry, Cap'n; we got it all under control."
Lin raised an eyebrow as Khana peaked out behind her, "Ferret... what are you talking about?"
"Zu's boys, your boys and these... what were you again?" he turned to the white and blue-robed person.
"The Order of The White Lotus."
Ferret affirmatively nodded, "Yeah, jeez, what a bleedin' mouthful. Anyway, Zu's boys, your boys and these White Lotus guys are helping the common folk as best we can."
She raised a sceptical eyebrow and crossed her arms, "Why would you, of all people, do that?"
"Hey, we're all evacuees' here! No point in fighting each other when we're all up shit creek without a paddle. And besides, don't you know the part of the Yakuza code about protecting the weak?"
She pressed her foot into the ground, determining that he spoke the truth and nodded in surprise, "Well, thank you, Ferret. Just don't go stepping out of line."
He lightly scoffed, "Don't you worry, Lin-o."
He casually saluted, "if anyone steps out of line, I'll just beat 'em back into it!"
She grimaced at the nickname before turning her attention back to The Mayor, "From the looks of things, everything's going to be alright for the time being; Khana and I best go inform the other Evacuee settlements."
The two returned to the aircraft, hopping into their seats and taking off into the skies.
The Governors marched across the bridge and into the peculiarly illuminated interior as their footsteps echoed and awoke Talos atop his throne, his piercing purple gaze settling on the Governors as he let out a disgusted grunt.
"You are not Claire, begone!"
He flexed out his hand and unleashed a howling gale, but Hou erected an enormous wall before it and blocked the relentless breeze, and as it ceased, he dropped the wall and determinedly hopped on the spot with his fists raised.
"Gonna take more than that to get rid of us!"
Talos scoffed and rose from his throne, "Evidently."
He stretched his arms and cracked his neck as he stepped down from his throne, "You think you can stand up to me? When I have the Supreme Chaotic powers of Raava pulsing through my veins!?"
"Oh, thou doth flatter me."
Sheng scoffed and drew water onto his arms, "An ego will only get you so far, False Avatar!"
"Same goes for sub-par bending!"
Talos dashed in with unprecedented speed, paralysing the Governors with shock as The False Avatar's blade arched down upon them, but with a swift parry, Jing deflected his attack and lunged in. Gao and Sheng backed him up with streams of fire and water whilst Hou launched out obsidian slabs. Jing deftly avoided the oncoming slabs and streams with every slash, but Talos effortlessly dodged their attacks, his power seemingly untouchable to them. Jing's guard broke, and Talos struck out with a mighty kick, smacking him across the bridge and cracking his ribs.
He rolled his neck and proudly smirked, "Mere benders and warriors cannot stand up to the might of the True Avatar!"
"Ugh, doth thou have to call thyself that?"
"Yes."
Hou picked Jing up off the ground, checking him over and glaring back at Talos before stomping his foot and shaking the foundations of The Heart of Chaos, much to Talos' surprise as his balance broke. Gao rushed in, leaping and smashing his fist onto the ground, unleashing an indomitable wave of fire, but Talos flipped over it and countered with a blazing violet wall, utterly stunning the Governors as he bent it around himself and unleashed an unstoppable wave of violet flames; however, Hou raised a barrier between them and the fire, but his wall crumbled to dust at the almighty strength of the flames as they scorched their clothes, skin and crashed along the crystal walls.
Sheng willed himself back up and bent the water from by the bridge and dowsed his fellow Governors in it. They groaned and stood back to their feet, ignoring their wounds and restarting the fight. Gao roared and dove in, unleashing quick jabs and waves of fire, but they meant nothing to Talos as his body weaved between the fiery attacks. The Governor released a low tide of flame, but The False Avatar flipped over it, swinging his blade and cleaving Gao's head from his body, his blood spewing and splattering Talos' malice ridden face, scythe, clothes and the black bridge.
"Gao!" Sheng shouted.
Talos grappled his corpse by the collar of the shirt and presented him like a freshly slaughtered pig, "I suggest the rest of you put your tails between your legs!"
But despite his taunts, they persisted, all charging in with vengeful might. Talos shook his head, tossing Gao aside and meeting their charge as he lunged and crouched before Sheng, paralysing the Governor as his blade shot up. However, with a quick flick of his wrist, Hou forced the blade away, briefly sparing him. But the False Avatar's Chaos coated fist shot through Sheng's chest, shattering his ribs as he crushed his heart in his palm. Hou and Jing stood petrified with slack-jawed gapes as he pulled out his blood-stained hand, watching Sheng's bloodied corpse fall to the cold ground.
"This is going even worse than last time!" Hou shouted as the two faced him.
Nevertheless, he took a deep breath, "Fight like mother... brute force won't win this."
The remaining Governors circled with Talos until Jing leapt in, mercilessly slashing and roaring as the False Avatar parried his attacks, attempting to make a counter; however, Hou blocked his blows with stalagmites of obsidian, throwing him off guard while Jing swung for his face, slashing across his nose and stunning him as he jerked back.
Talos lightly grasped the bridge of his nose as blood trickled down his fingers, "Good hit."
Jing raised an eyebrow, his guard briefly dropping as the False Avatar viciously dashed in; however, Hou shifted the ground beneath him, his attack missing and leaving him wide open for Jing to slash into his gut, making him jerk back and grip his side as he growled at the two. Talos bared the pain, lunging back in with his blade poised to strike, but Jing caught the sword in the fabric of his fan, closing and trapping it in his grasp before twisting him into a submissive position. Hou kicked up another stalagmite at the subdued Avatar's face, but he snarled and snapped the fan, breaking free of Jing's grasp as he rolled onto the floor, grunting in pain and glaring at them.
"Had enough?" Jing confidently taunted.
Talos smiled and dashed into the Governor, taking advantage of his overconfidence. To Jing, time seemingly stopped as he approached him, his heart skipping a beat as The Scythe-like blade cleanly slashed through his torso. Talos pulled his blade back, watching Jing's bloodied arms fall from his robe, the metal clang of his sword echoing through the silent Crystal until his bloodied upper torso slid off and thudded onto the floor. Hou trembled all over, his wide-eyed hazy gaze darting between the heart crushed Sheng, the decapitated Gao, the freshly cut down Jing, and the blood soaking his clothes. His petrified stare set on the blood-soaked Talos, his ears ringing as he watched him pluck the Space Sword from beside the corpse.
Talos slowly marched up to him and dropped his guard. But despite that, his form seemed to become Chaos itself in Hou's eyes; for the first time, he feared for his life.
"Fleeing is still an option for you... Hou Beifong, was it?"
He shook all over, his words deafening against his ears before he swiftly dived into the ground and reappeared by the bridge and sprinted for his life.
"I see bull-headedness doesn't run in the family," he chuckled as he watched him flee past the bodies of his fallen friends.
Hou sprinted out and breathlessly fell before the others, but Zu quickly caught him.
"Governor! What happened?" Ghazi asked.
"D- Dead, they're all dead. Gao, Sheng, Jing. They're dead! Slaughtered l- like animals!"
His body shook in Zu's massive hands, and everyone else uneasily stared around at each other as the sound of the aircraft descending onto the ground broke the silence.
"Hou!" Lin shouted.
She leapt from the aircraft and sprinted over to him and Zu, feverishly staring at her blood-stained brother, "What... what happened!?"
Ghazi approached whilst Zu helped Hou up, "The other Governors are dead. Your brother was the only survivor."
She gasped in terror, all her words leaving her as they gazed slack-jawed at the Heart of Chaos.
"If the False Avatar is this merciless... we are in for the fight of our lives."
As a silence loomed, three dismembered and blood ridden corpses flew out of the archway and splattered on the ground as everyone jerked back in disgust and horror, all the while Hou blacked out.
Claire stood within Iroh's tea shop, ensuring she had everything she needed before setting out. She stepped outside the Tea shop, the grey colours of the surrounding Spirit World filling her vision. However, since her unconscious adventures into the past, some colour had begun to return. She turned to the outdoor tables, finding Iroh and Xiong handing tea out to what few fellow spirits still visited.
"Iroh! I'm heading out."
The wizened tea maker placed down a final cup of tea and approached her with a tray under his arm, "Is there anything I can give you for the journey?"
She shook her head, "I'll be fine; I just need to find an old Avatar Relic before I return."
He slowly nodded, "It's been nice having you around, despite you being unconscious for most of it."
Claire smiled and bowed, "Thank you for all your help!"
Iroh warmly smiled as she stood back up straight, "Feel free to visit any time you want, in this life or the next."
She happily nodded and set out into the Spirit World, closing her eyes and trying to tap into the fuzzy memories of the Avatars. A hazy vision of a familiar temple with a heavenly statue standing by its entrance filled her mind.
Her eyes slowly opened as she took a deep breath, "I think that's the temple from Avatar Kaishi's story... Where Vaatu was sealed away."
Her face flared with determination as she made her way for the Spirit Portal, the light engulfing and transporting her to The Nexus.
She heavily sighed and gazed around at the portals as she clenched her fists, "I'm coming for you, Talos."