Part 3 - Chaos
Talos sat upon his throne, his muscles twitching and his eyes tightly shut, every nerve in his body writhing against him until his violet eyes flared open and he shot out of his throne, clenching his head tight like a vice as he roared in anger and pain, "Damn it! Get out of my head, get out of my head!"
His face writhed and twitched, "You're not me; you're just some foul mockery!"
"Curb your tongue! I am all you wanted to be and more!"
"If being the Avatar meant being this, I would've gladly given it up!"
"Then why release Raava when promised the boon of an Avatar's power!?"
His head and body kept writhing and twitching, the Talos brought back by Suki's actions fighting against Raava, doing all he can to retake his mind and body while Chaos rumbled above the Heart of Chaos. Talos shot up, the water by his obsidian bridge spraying up into geysers as the ground quaked, "If anyone else comes in while I'm like this... I'm done for... but what can I do!?"
And as Talos anxiously seethed, Raava's quiet chuckling came into focus.
"Meditate upon thine throne."
Talos took a sharp breath as he turned to it, nodding with a wry smirk, "I think I know what you're getting at..."
He marched over and leapt upon the seat, balancing on one foot as his other rested upon his knee with his hand resting upon his prosthetic, "Time to be rid of my old self..."
Whilst Talos meditated within the Heart of Chaos, Kang and Ragna stood before the Elder at the centre of the air ball pit; the sounds of the Air Clan playing and training filled the atmosphere whilst the scent of lavender flowed through the chamber.
The Elder's eyes darted up and down Kang, "A Fire nation Prince wanting to learn Air-bending... I never thought I'd see the day,"
"Do you have a name we can call you?" he lightly shrugged.
"My name is Yorru."
The two slowly nodded, "What's the first lesson going to be?" he asked, eager to get started.
Yorru gestured to the pit around them, "A good old-fashioned game of Airball!"
Kang raised an eyebrow and gazed over to a shrugging Ragna, "Alright... Airball."
He invited him onto the slender poles, and Kang leapt onto them, carefully balancing while members of the Air Clan quizzically glared at him.
"Elder, why are you allowing this Ash-maker scum into our game!?"
"Curb your tongue, Re Tou! From what these outsiders have told me, the war ended long ago. Therefore, we need not fear the Fire Nation any longer."
Re Tou glared at Kang, but he simply waved to them as a stray female Air Clansman approached; her unkempt hair covered her head, and she wore orange and yellow monk robes, "Don't mind them. The Elders taught us to fear the Fire Nation and kill them on sight... and you being a Fire Nation Prince has them on edge."
"Well, I've never been much of the Princely type," he nonchalantly replied, surprising the Air Clansman.
"Well, I'm Ku Tou. It's nice to meet you!" She extended her hand out to him.
"And I'm Kang, a Fire-bending Inventor!" He shook her hand.
Yorru turned his gaze to the cross-armed slouched Ragna, "Are you not joining in?"
"Not in these hooves," she sarcastically clicked them, startling The Elder as he tried to avert his gaze.
Kang and the Air Clansmen broke into two teams, ready to begin their Airball game. They leapt between poles and struck the ball, bouncing it between the members of each unit; the Air Clansmen woefully outclassed Kang. But he still kept his balance atop the poles, darting across them and surprising Yorru.
Re Tou lined up a shot at Kang as he leapt onto a pole and hit the ball with a ferocious kick.
"Kang, on your left!"
He looked left to find the ball smacking his chest and knocking him from the pole. But as he fell, Ragna opened up a portal beneath him, transporting him to the Shadow Realm before she reopened it above her, dropping Kang into her arms.
"You okay?"
"Yeah... one of these Air-benders just smashed the ball into me is all," he winced, scanning around to find Re Tou smirking.
Yorru grimaced and leapt onto the poles, but to his surprise, Ku Tou blasted the hot-headed air clansman off his stance with a howling gale and threw him down into the pits.
"Ku Tou!"
She flinched and twisted around to the smiling Elder.
"Nice hit!"
She smirked as he returned to the platform Kang and Ragna stood on, "I must say, Prince. You moved... adequately well for a Fire-bender."
"Well... I had an Air-bending friend teach me some moves."
Yorru quizzically stared at him.
"He has a friend who can... 'switch' egos and bending styles."
But this left Yorru even more confused, "The world has changed much since our time in the Air Mountain, it seems."
He sauntered off into the mountain with Kang and Ragna pursuing him up a staircase spiralling up the mountain. Small plots of farmland built within the mountain stood off to the twirling stairway's sides, with large holes above them to allow Sun, Rain and Moonlight into the farm plots. The three strode by hand-carved statues of past Air-bending Masters, some ancient and others more recent, until they reached a small stone chamber near the peak of the mountain.
"If you are to become an Air-bender, you must bolster your spirituality. Air-bending is much more than just fancy footwork after all," Yorru leapt into the air and crossed his legs, breaking his fall with a gust of wind.
Kang nodded, slowly sitting down before him whilst Ragna leant against the chamber walls.
"Take a deep breath, and let your mind empty..."
He repeated what he said to do, the two entering their meditation.
Talos' meditation continued, black energy pulsating out of him as he focused all his mental energies unto himself. Within his mind, the old Talos stood before a blackened North Pole, the buildings desaturated and the fortress of ice sitting in the distance, but before him sat Raava, posing as him upon a throne perched atop enough skulls to fill a catacomb. Talos gazed upon his left arm, finding it to be merely a stump, "Damn... looks like father was right about that one."
Raava callously smirked as he stepped toward her throne, "I must say, thou hast been causing quite a bit of trouble since your little reawakening."
"And I'll keep doing it until you, me and the foul mockery you've turned my body into are dead! I can't bring back the people you've senselessly killed, but I can avenge them by taking you down!"
But Raava simple shook her head, "Unless thou hast my brother up thy sleeve, you have no hope of defeating me!"
She faded from view as Talos jerked back, finding her to be striding behind him, now in the shape of Claire, "You're all the same, you humans, with your justice riddled speeches and pride oozing proclamations. But they're all just hollow words devoid of any meaning."
She vanished from view once again as Talos' eyes feverishly darted behind him to find her now in the shape of Unalaq, "I gave you the destiny you sought, and yet here you stand just like every other human. What made you think you were so special that you deserved to be cut from the same cloth as I?"
She disappeared again, only to appear as Aislinn and circle around him, "Or did you know you weren't worthy, and instead wanted to rise above the rest of your pathetic kind by any means necessary... even if the price was your own soul."
She withdrew back to her throne, finally taking her true form, "Thou art nothing more than a puppet on my strings until my business with the Avatar is done."
Talos' entire spirit trembled with anger and terror, but he steeled himself against her, then rose his finger to her, "Now look here, Raava! I'm not about to let you sit there and berate me! I know now what I did was foolish, but I'll be damned if I don't try to avenge the people you've defiled and slaughtered! I'll pry you out of my soul with my own hand, no matter what it takes!"
She simply shook her head, "Once again, the hollow words of a dead man beat against my ears."
"Then let's put our words to the test and see who's are truly hollow!"
"Art thou serious...?"
"You're damn right I am! I may be down an arm and have no bending, but none of that matters anymore! I won't stand and cower before you!"
Raava nostalgically rose from the throne and stepped down to meet his challenge, "Thou truly art no better than the rest..."
Talos readied his fist as Raava summoned forth spiralling runes and ejected blasts of chaotic energy, but he sprinted through them, nimbly dodging and weaving through them before lunging in at The Demon, but before his fist could collide, her cosmic form dispersed and reappeared behind him. He firmly landed as Raava rammed her shoulder into his head, smashing him down to the floor, but with a roar and spin of his legs, he swept her away, watching her tumble and rise as he took a slow breath, "Don't throw yourself into anger..."
Chaotic tendrils exploded from Raava's back as they lashed out at Talos like a pack of wild pythons; however, he leapt through them and sprinted up at Raava, finally driving his fist into her face, almost thrusting it through her crown, and with the decisive blow landed, he wailed on her with his single fist, "Exploit my despair to settle a several millennia-old grudge will you!? I don't care if you're some primordial spirit; no one screws with my mind and gets away with it!"
Raava's head swayed back and forth with each strike as her body lay limp, "To think you made me want to help you kill Claire!? I was a fool to allow my envy to control me, but now I don't care if she's the Avatar because in the end, she's my sister, and I won't allow you to harm her!"
Talos drove her into the blackened ice, his breath ragged and his eyes trembling, but despite that, he wryly chuckled at himself, "Oh, Zin Bu would be ashamed..."
"Quite right."
His eyes flared as a fist drove through his back, and Raava's form faded from the ground, a mere illusion. Talos glanced over his shoulder, finding Raava in the form of Zin Bu, "A valiant effort, Talos."
She ripped her fist from him as he stumbled and collapsed, "but ultimately pointless."
Black ethereal chains sprouted from her form and slithered over to Talos as he rolled onto his back, the immeasurable pain wracking his spirit, "My faith rests on you, Claire... please, end... her and... me."
He closed his eyes as the black chains strung him up by the icy fortress.
Talos reawakened within the Heart of Chaos, taking a sharp breath as his eyes flashed with an abyssal blackness, "Is it... over?"
"Your old self will no longer be a problem."
Talos smiled as footsteps echoed throughout the Heart of Chaos, "Good... good... just in time too."
While Talos warred against Raava, Ragna had fallen asleep within the meditation room, snoozing next to the wall whilst the two meditated, but as they did, two misty forms began emerging from Kang and Yorru, their spirits departing from their body.
The Elder's Spirit glared at Kang's in shocked awe, "You're just a natural at everything, aren't you!?"
Kang observed his spiritual self and wiggled his spirity stump, "What? The Avatar did this during her first meditation session. Is this not normal?"
"This is a technique that only the spiritually enlightened can pull off! It would make sense for the Avatar, but some Fire Nation Prince? Absurd!"
Kang pondered for a moment, "Hmm... could be because of my recent trip to the Spirit World?"
Yorru's spiritual head jutted back as his eyes flickered, "You went to the Spirit World? How?"
"Spirit Portal."
He stared in bewildered silence, "...You know, if Spirits could faint, I think mine would."
An uncontrollable smirk came over Kang as a silence loomed over the two.
"Well... anywhere you want to go? Or do you just want to continue your training?"
"...I haven't been able to see my friends for a while; perhaps I could go see how they're doing?"
"Very well, focus on the energy of a person you have a powerful bond with, and transport your spirit to their location. Keep in mind, though, if they don't have a spiritual connection, they won't be able to see or hear you."
Kang nodded and closed his eyes, focusing on Lin within Republic City as his spirit flickered and disappeared entirely. His spirit appeared in front of the Heart of Chaos, finding Khana, Lin, Ty Lee, and Ghazi standing before it, all four glaring up with fear toiling in their eyes. Kang turned and floated upwards to see the Heart of Chaos in all its dreadful glory.
"Sweet Fire Buns!"
Tenzin raised a suspicious eyebrow and sceptically scanned around as Bumi crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "Are you alright, Tenzin?"
"I'm pretty sure I just heard someone say 'Sweet Fire Buns'."
"I think that False Avatar hit you a little too hard," Li jested.
Sokka, now revitalised and slightly hungry, smacked his lips, "Although now that you mention it, I could go for some Fire Buns right now."
"Me too! I'll go raid the bakery!" Zu replied, charging off down the streets.
Toph shook her head and smirked, "He never changes."
Li smirked at her as he sauntered around and checked everyone over. Kang drifted back down to the four final combatants, his eyes anxiously slithering up and down them.
"Let's not push ourselves too hard..." Ty Lee said.
But Khana scoffed as they entered, "He won't show us any mercy. We need to push ourselves past our limits if we want to win!"
"Even if it means dying?" Ghazi asked.
Lin remained quiet as she gazed up at the Heart of Chaos, swallowing her dread and stepping through Kang's Spirit as the odd warmth of him caught her off guard. A slow sharp gasp left her lungs and grabbed the attention of the other three.
"Are you okay, Lin?" Ty Lee asked.
She slowly nodded, "I'm fine... just... felt something strange when I entered..." She quizzically gazed behind her, shrugging and following the others in.
Kang's spirit fondly smiled, "Good luck, Lin."
His spirit flickered and disappeared once more, reappearing before Yorru, the two smiling as they hovered down and returned to their bodies and reawakened within their mortal forms.
"Thank you, Yorru!" he bowed his head to him.
The two stood back up, "Come, Prince. We still have to forge you into an Air-bender!"
He marched out of the room, lightly kicking Ragna on his way out and startling her awake.
She sparked awake and stared up at Kang, offering her a hand up, "What did I miss?"
"Just some spiritual stuff," he smiled and pulled the Hunter up before following Yorru out of the chamber.
She lightly shrugged and chased after them; the three passed by the statues and farms once more, the lavender scent hitting their senses once again. Yorru guided them to a small training ground and invited the two to the centre. They stood against each other whilst quizzically staring at Yorru.
"In the old days of Air-bending, its primary use was defence, but as you know, it had to undergo drastic changes."
They nodded.
"But despite the changes, we cannot alter its pacifistic roots, so you must learn to evade, flow like the wind away from Shadow Lady's attacks, feel the air course around you. And do not retaliate."
Kang and Ragna glanced at each other with brief smirks.
"I heard about your last bout with a Shadow-Bender; I just hope I get to keep my head," she raised her fists.
Kang scoffed as Yorru backed away, signalling for them to begin. Ragna launched her fist with magnificent speed, but Kang flowed away from it, the fist just barely missing his face as The Hunter went to sweep the Mad Inventor's legs; however, he jumped over the attack and smirked at her.
They circled each other, Ragna with fists raised, whilst Kang sauntered around with his hands behind his back. The Hunter lunged forward and kicked out as he evaded once more, gracefully flowing away, but she kept up her assault, charging and striking whilst he avoided, but the more she persisted, the more Kang stumbled, the urge to fight back bubbling up as he teetered on the edge of the small arena.
He glared at Ragna, thrusting his prosthetic fist back and his fleshy palm forward as he unleashed a small blast of air and knocked the Hunter off her balance while he supported himself with a jet of fire. He pushed himself away from the edge whilst his opponent checked herself over.
"Kang... I think you just... Air-bent."
He sceptically stared at his hand.
"She's correct... although it could've been just a fluke."
Kang turned a determined gaze to her, "Let's keep going."
The two would practise for several more minutes, but as they did, a chill ran down Kang's spine as he caught Ragna's punch in his prosthetic hand, his gaze averted to the ground.
The Hunter and Elder raised a curious eyebrow, "Is everything alright there, Prince?"
Kang shook his head, "I think... I really need to get back to Republic City..."
"But you haven't finished your Air-bending training yet... I don't even know if you can properly do it yet!"
He released Ragna's fist as he stared down at himself with worry, "I know, but I can feel as if something terrible's happened to Lin and my friends!"
Yorru pondered to himself before inviting Kang over to the centre of the arena. He marched over and stood within the centre whilst he stood to his side.
"We air-benders learn to feel the energy of the wind, not just the breeze on our skin. You must be one with that energy in order to bend the wind to your will," he twirled his hand as a slow breeze gusted behind Kang, "Do you feel the wind at your back, Prince?"
He slowly nodded.
"You've pulled off the fancy footwork, the avoid and evade, even providing lucidity to your own spirit. Now don't go disappointing me... bend it!"
Kang took a slow breath and raised his open palms as he lightly squatted. His energy unfamiliarly coursed through his body, and as Yorru ceased the breeze, he struck his palm out and let loose a howling blast of wind, making a grin of glee come over his face.
"And with that, you're an Air-bender! Albeit a novice."
Kang turned to the Elder while gazing at his tingling fleshy hand, "Thank you, Yorru!"
The Elder nodded and peered at the two, "I suppose you'll be needing a ride back to this 'Republic City'?"
He nodded and lowered his hand to his side as Yorru guided them to a massive enclosure near the mountain's base, where a small herd of Sky Bison lived. He placed his thumb and index finger into his mouth and whistled to one of the Sky Bison.
"Tuan! Come here, girl!"
One of the older looking Sky Bison with a partially broken horn raised its head, lowly gruffing and marching over to Yorru.
He quickly shoved his hand in his robe and pulled out an apple, making Kang ooh as he deftly used his new air-bending powers to yoink a second apple.
Yorru handed him his apple, "Give that to her."
The Sky bison loomed over them, but Kang slowly approached her with the apple in his prosthetic hand and presented it to the Sky Bison, "Here you go!"
Tuan sniffed the apple and lightly pinched it from his hand.
"Now, Tuan, I want you to take this Prince back to Republic City, is that clear?"
She lowly grumbled as he turned to Kang and gestured for him to jump on. The Mad Inventor tried to climb aboard Tuan until Yorru gave him an air boost up.
He grabbed the reins attached to her horns, gratefully nodding to Yorru before gazing down at Ragna, "Are you coming?"
"I'm afraid not, Kang. There are Demon's plaguing the world, and this Chaos is only making them stronger."
Kang smiled and nodded, "I understand; Good Luck, Ragna!"
She smiled back before opening a portal and leaping through it, departing from the Air Mountain.
Yorru stroked Tuan's fur, "Now, to make Tuan fly, you need to say the words 'Yip-Yip'... It's one of the few things we can say that Sky Bison actually listen to."
He nodded and prepared to set off, "Alright!"
"Feel free to come back to finish your training any time, Prince. And if we're not here... check the Air Temples."
He smiled, "I'll come back sometime... but for now," he looked down at her head, "Tuan! Yip-Yip!"
The Sky Bison set off into the air, flying through the Skylight at the top of their enclosure and beginning their journey to Republic City.