Part 3 - Chaos
Khana glared up at The Heart of Chaos whilst her thoughts ran through her mind; Ty Lee strode over to her as an ill silence loomed over the two Kyoshi Warriors.
"Should we get going, or do you want to wait?"
She crossed her arms as her hair stood on end, "We need to wait. Probe Fire Lord Zuko and the others for information about Talos, how he fights, what he's capable of."
Her master nodded and departed to check in on Team Avatar.
Khana, however, turned her sights to Kang's lab, "Ghazi!"
He curiously perked up.
"I need to go do something... I'll be right back."
He nodded as he watched her march over to the Derelict Estate. She arrived at the house above Kang's lab and shoved the pallet aside to reveal the shiny metal door, opening it and marching in before the doors slid shut. She slowly descended into the lab, the electricity of the underground workshop waning since The Mad Inventor's absence. Her stomach churned as she lightly grasped it, keeping her balance and fondly smiling at the memories it swirled. The elevator doors slid open, revealing the dimly lit lab. The scent of fire and pickles still filled the air as Khana took a deep breath and strode into the sound of the door sliding shut behind her. She marched through to the hanger, then to the small hut and pushed the creaking door open before entering the guest room. She softly gazed at the messed up bedsheet and partially cracked frame, making her gently smile and chuckle. She turned her focus to a mirror and a hard-wood box adorned with a golden symbol. Khana knelt by the silvery glass and gazed at her pale face as the words slowly fluttered in.
"Freak! Half-breed!"
"Abomination! Mutant!"
But she closed her heart and eyes to them as she popped the box open and profoundly sighed.
She grasped three brushes and three pots filled with white, red and black paint. She lightly plucked a brush and dipped it into the white paint, slowly twirling it around in the pot and lifting it out.
"Despite what you think of yourself, I, Ghazi of the Eastern Legion, gladly accept you for who you are; as a warrior and woman, you have my utmost respect."
A faint smile broke over her as she applied the white face paint all over her.
Next, she took a second brush, shakily breathing and placing it in the red paint before twirling and lifting it from the pot,
"We've been travelling, fighting, and well... overall living alongside someone so unique! So rare! For once in my life, I'm at a loss for words!"
Her lip solemnly quivered as she brushed it from the bridge of her nose and across her eyelids, letting the brush flow up to the side of her forehead.
She took the last pot and dipped the thin brush in, slowly lifting it out and gazing to herself in the mirror.
"You're everything I could ask for, Khana. And no matter what you call yourself, I'll always love you."
A tear broke from her eye as she applied a sleek black line on top of her red face paint.
She determinedly stared at herself in the mirror as her fists rolled atop her thighs.
"You have the choice to either wait for the Avatar or to stand and fight in her name, be her will and avenge her."
Khana took a deep breath as she gazed into her pale blue eyes, "I failed as your protector. But I swear I won't fail you this time, no matter the cost."
She arose and exited Kang's lab, returning to where everyone prepared for the battle to come. Khana marched over to the group, catching the attention of Ty Lee and Suki as they proudly smiled.
Suki strode up to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are you sure you're alright with taking this guy on?"
She slowly nodded and clenched her fist as a tear grew in her eye, "I need to do this... for Claire."
Ghazi and Lin stood by her as they turned their gaze to everyone.
"If you can, we need to know everything you know about Talos," Lin asked.
"He's fast... inhumanly fast," Hou replied, shuddering at the thought.
Toph nodded, "There's something weird about him... kinda like he's... fighting with himself."
"Anything else?" Ghazi asked.
"His Blade-arm is susceptible to metal-bending," Ho Tun said.
Lin smirked and cracked her knuckles.
"From what I saw before Suki bashed his head, he seems to be able to go into his 'Avatar State' at will..." Sokka explained.
"Any more? Or is that it?" Ty Lee asked.
Everyone shook their heads, "Aside from the obvious: four elements, super-powered, and over the top bravado, no," Tenzin replied.
Khana, Ghazi, Lin and Ty Lee silently gazed at one another before turning their determined glares up at the Heart of Chaos.
"Let's go," Khana commanded.
The four set forth into the Heart of Chaos while everyone watched them depart.
"Good luck, Khana, Ty Lee," Suki muttered.
"Don't go dying in there, Lin," Toph muttered.
They continued their march and stepped into the Heart of Chaos, striding across the bridge and catching the attention of Talos.
"Ah-ha! More entertainment!" he sarcastically greeted and raised his arms out to them.
The four silently stood together, catching The False Avatar off guard.
"What? Just going to stand there in brooding silence? Or does my overwhelming power just leave you speechless?"
"Quit your gloating, you overcompensating Bastard!" Lin sharply replied as she raised her fists.
"Oh! You wound me!" He placed a hand to his chest before finally arising from his throne.
Khana withdrew her daggers, and Ghazi pulled out his hammer whilst Ty Lee readied her fists.
She rose a dagger to him, "We're here to bring you down! And we aren't leaving until you're nothing but a corpse!"
"Oh, please, you'll fall just like everyone else!"
Talos proudly lunged in at Khana, but she smirked and dodged, throwing him off as Ghazi slammed his hammer into him and threw him back. Ty Lee and Khana leapt in, striking the pressure points of his arms whilst Lin leapt in from behind and slammed a slab of Obsidian onto his back. But as the Obsidian crumbled, Talos weightlessly lifted into the air, swishing his legs around and unleashing an almighty blast of air, knocking the two ladies back, but Lin and Ghazi stood their ground as the hammer became imbued with the power of air. Ghazi stormed in with impeccable speed, his hammer swings near enough cleaving through Talos, but the False Avatar deftly evaded his assault as Lin punched up an obsidian boulder and propelled it at him; however, Ghazi swiftly caught it on his hammer, turning it to dust around him, as his hammer radiated with the power of the earth. He slammed his Obsidian clad Hammer into Talos, hoisting him on the end and swinging him into the air of the battlefield as Lin bent the metal of his blade and slammed him onto the ground. His body bounced up as Ty Lee, and Khana sprinted in and mercilessly struck his upper and lower body, making him spin and slam onto the cold black ground as they regained their footing.
Talos howled with laughter as he rose to his feet, "Yes! That's it! Give it all you've got! MUSTER ALL YOUR STRENGTH!"
His eyes turned pitch black, a black aura taking the shape of a demon around him as a shock-wave of air blasted everyone back while he maniacally laughed and grinned with glee, "So that you may finally learn your place!"
He dashed in at a mighty pace, bringing his blade down on Ghazi, but he clashed with him and swiftly kicked his gut, knocking the air out of him before ramming his hammer into his chest and unleashing a pressurised blast of air, throwing him back as Khana and Lin hurled slabs of Obsidian, smashing and knocking him off balance. Before he could regain his balance, Khana threw a dagger and impaled his shoulder, making him wince forward as Ghazi's hammer loomed over him.
"Together, they are a force to be reckoned with... thou must divide and conquer!"
Talos nodded and weightlessly drifted away from the hammer as it smashed into the ground. He stood in the centre of the battle, sizing the four up as they inched closer to him. He glared at Lin and Ty Lee, measuring them up like a predator before leaping in at the Kyoshi Warrior, viciously striking her gut and cracking her armour as the wind blasted out of her. He quickly grappled her face and mercilessly smashed her into the ground.
Khana recklessly sprinted in, "Master Ty Lee!"
As he rose from the smashing, he lunged at Khana and furiously kicked her chest, splitting her armour and blasting her back into the crystalline walls.
"Wait your turn!"
The False Avatar glared over and viciously dashed in at Lin, vigorously slashing at her as she met him with sturdy defences of Obsidian, blocking and parrying his strikes before pulling an obsidian gauntlet to her fist and delivering a mighty punch to his gut. Talos stumbled back as Ghazi leapt in to assist and slammed him away from her. The two watched him gain his bearings as he rolled his neck.
"One old chi-blocker, an uppity Kyoshi Warrior, a Guard Captain and a Hammer slamming Legionnaire... you're certainly the most diverse group to come in here."
"We're not done yet!" Lin snarled, clenching her fists, "I'm getting payback for Kang, Avatar or not; I'll make you submit!"
She punched out vicious chunks of Obsidian, but Talos brushed them aside and leapt in. Then, however, she bent the Obsidian throne up and hurled it at him with lethal force. He chuckled and punched into the throne, turning it to dust around himself, but as it clouded his vision, Lin leapt in, drifting through the air and kicking his face, knocking and slamming him to the floor. She smashed her fist into the Obsidian ground, rocking the foundations and throwing Talos off his balance, but he weightlessly drifted into the air and brought his blade arm down on her. However, Ghazi leapt to her defence and deflected the attack, allowing Lin to take control and bend Talos into the ground, dragging him along the Obsidian and flinging him into the air before crashing him into the Crystal interior. Talos growled and chuckled as the pain racked his body; however, Lin mercilessly dragged him high into the air and slammed him down to the ground, the Obsidian Bridge cracking under the sheer force.
He lay there motionless as Lin and Ghazi smirked, "Excellent work, Guard Captain."
She cautiously approached him, her breath ragged and her limbs shaking as she lightly kicked Talos, receiving no response and making her smile as she bent up a sharp piece of Obsidian and stabbed it into his head with a mighty cry. But his form faded away as Lin's heart skipped a beat and Ghazi's eyes widened. She pressed her foot against the ground, sensing a presence behind her before swiftly twisting and kicking out at it, but her foot didn't make contact, and a sinister chuckle filled the swirling air.
"Where are you!?"
"I'm here!"
She turned to her right to find an ominous figure looming before her.
"And here!"
She twisted to her left to discover another sinister silhouette.
"What in the world!?"
Four figures circled her as the wind rushed around her like a tornado.
"I am everywhere!"
Talos reappeared, gleefully grinning and delivering a mighty uppercut to her jaw, racking her brain and knocking her out.
"Now... What was that about 'making me submit'?"
He turned to march back over to where his throne used to be, but he found Ghazi stood firmly with his hammer in hand.
"Ah, I thought I missed one."
"Stop talking. Your voice annoys me."
He laughed and engaged Ghazi, the wind rushing past and rippling the water as the two collided, launching a shock wave throughout the Heart of Chaos. He roared and shoved Talos away, viciously swinging and slamming his hammer, but The False Avatar weaved through his mighty swings until finally finding an opening and running his scythe through his gut. Ghazi stumbled back, grimacing and groaning as Talos pierced his lean muscular flesh. But instead of falling to his attack, he placed his firm, unbreakable grip on his prosthetic, making The False Avatar's eyes widen as he wrenched the blade arm from his gut.
"Kafia," he snarled as he clenched his hammer.
With a mighty swing and roar, he slammed it into the ground, sending an earthquake across half the city and throwing Talos off his balance. And while he stumbled, Ghazi spun and swung his hammer into The False Avatar's face, near enough cleaving his head from his shoulders as he flew through the air. However, before he could touch the black bridge, the Warrior tapped the ground, binding his allies in the ground before he spun with his hammer, forming a cyclone and pulling him back in. He span with the raging winds, eventually entering the eye of the storm and falling towards the man and his hammer. But before he could attack, Ghazi flicked his hammer up and slammed Talos away into his broken throne. He chuckled through ragged breaths as Ghazi marched up to him and viciously swung his hammer at Talos' head, ready to turn him to mincemeat. But an ethereal black hand caught the weapon, and Talos smirked. But so did Ghazi as he pulled on his hammer and the spirit's arm, ripping Raava from Talos as the black glow faded from The False Avatar's eyes.
He tossed her aside and rose his hammer to the sky, "Asaa ruhuk an taerif allaenat al'aba-"
A Black Blast shot Ghazi's shoulder, making him wince forward and grit his teeth.
Raava rose to her feet and launched another blast of chaos at him, forcing the hammer to slip from his grasp as he fell to his knee.
"Han waqt altathahur bil-mawt."
Ghazi heavily breathed his last before falling to his stomach. Talos hesitantly chuckled, and Raava joined him in the laughter, their howling echoing throughout the Heart of Chaos.
"I appreciate your save, Raava."
"What can I say... for a human, thou are not so bad."
She merged back into him as his veins pulsed with a sickly black light. He rose once more and gazed down at the fallen warriors.
"And that should be the last of you, it has been fun, you lot, but now I must bid you farewell!"
He bent the air around the four. But Khana awoke to the feeling of the air against her skin and clothes as she dug her fingers into the binding Obsidian, holding on with all her strength while Ghazi, Ty Lee, and Lin hovered before him. He unleashed a howling gale and launched them from the Heart of Chaos. The three flew out of the entrance as Zu and Hou quickly ran in and propelled themselves into the air.
Zu caught Ghazi and his hammer, whilst Hou caught Ty Lee and his sister, the two landing on the ground whilst everyone else sceptically stared at them.
Suki pointed and silently counted as a lump grew in her throat, "Where's... Khana?"
Zu and Hou cautiously gazed up to the air, then to the Heart of Chaos before hearing the faint grumbling of Ghazi.
"If she is not here... she is still within..."
Zu's heart jumped into his throat at the sound of his voice, "Well, shave my beard and call me an Air-bender. How are you alive!?"
"I played dead, and he fell for it, but for now, your friend should... attend to the women."
Li nodded as Hou laid them down on the earthy beds.
Khana forced herself back up and marched to the centre of the battlefield, adamantly standing before Talos, but he gave her no notice as he recreated and sat down upon his throne.
"You people are like Elephant-roaches... I think I'm done with you, but you keep coming back."
However, with a thrust of her fists, Khana blasted out an obsidian chunk, but he caught it in his hand, stopping it dead in its tracks and tossing it away.
"You people are insufferably dim-witted. You try and try, despite the clear gap in power. Do you all have a death wish?"
Khana raised and tightly clenched her fists, "I'm avenging Claire and taking you down, even if it kills me!"
He curiously observed her and snapped his fingers, "Ah... I recognise you... the filthy sewer rat!"
Her heart skipped a beat, "H-how do you..."
"You see, after your little intrusion into my tent, I sent Raava down into the hole to investigate who exactly it was snooping around."
"And we got to learn so much about you."
Khana stepped back as he smirked, "About how much of a freak you are. Some mutant Half-breed who shouldn't even exist."
She stepped back as her heart sunk, her breath getting caught in her throat.
"Really, how could anyone be so... stupid to accept and love a horrific abomination like you? Truly, it boggles the mind."
She stood petrified as the words perverted her mind, echoing throughout her as Talos leapt in, shattering her breastplate with a vicious punch.
"Freak! Abomination! Mutant! Half-breed!"
He slashed and shattered her pauldron.
"FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed!"
He cut away her other pauldron, and with her stripped of her armour, Talos maniacally grinned and began viciously kicking, punching and jabbing her, all while she stood too stunned to move.
"FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed! FreakAbominationMutantHalf-breed!"
And with a final strike, he slammed her away towards the bridge. She dropped to her knees, paralysed by the pain surging throughout her entire body as blood trickled from her mouth.
Talos leapt back to his throne, "Who would've thought that mere words were your weakness."
He smirked and flexed his palm down to the Obsidian, bending it to his will as the heat of the chamber escalated, the black ground transforming into Lava as a massive wall of magma shot up.
Khana's far gaze rose to the boiling wall as she sharply gasped.
"Farewell, Kyoshi Warrior!"
He launched the wall of Lava as it quickly encroached on Khana, and sweat broke all over her.
Yellow tinted Memories began flashing before her eyes, every beating she took for being what she was, all the times people berated her with foul words. However, the red-tinted memories of her friends faded into view.
The sight of Ghazi and her in the abyssal sewers, his deep green eyes adamantly glaring into her.
The vision of Kang's gormless grin at the prospect of having travelled with her.
The sensation of Ty Lee and Suki hugging her as if she were their own child.
And Finally, Claire's soft smile as the two kissed for the first time.
"These people won't stop coming for you until you've grown a backbone and stopped caring about how others see you."
Her welled eyes flared with determination as the base of her spine and stomach twinged. She rose and punched her fists out, arching them down and bending the Lava to her side; the sheer force and flames of its passing lightly burnt her robes and the hair tie, allowing her red hair to flow freely. Talos gawked and hesitantly chuckled as he watched Khana proudly stand before him, the burning embers of her robes flicking against her skin.
"All my life, scum like you have dragged me down, belittled me, made me feel as if I wasn't worth the air I breathed."
"But now I have people in my life who love me for who I am," Her fists clenched as her eyes averted from him, "But even so, I still couldn't accept myself the way they did."
She clutched the material on her shoulder, "But that ends... today. I can't change what I am, and for once in my life, I don't care anymore."
She wrenched her burnt and torn robe from her form, revealing her lean biceps, chiselled abs and bandaged wrapped upper torso.
"You dared to lay your filthy hand on the ones I love!"
Talos lightly chuckled as Khana raised her fists to him, the lava cooling around her.
"Let's see if you're still laughing when I pull out your fucking heart!"
Her second wind raged within as she punched the ground and dug her fist in, forcing a cascade of Lava to erupt out at Talos. But he swiftly leapt into the air; however, with a fiery swing of her fists, she unleashed a spiralling disc of Lava, bending it to chase after Talos.
He ran along the crystal walls as the heat lapped at his heels, "now, just where did this come from?"
"Her eyes burn with the same light as the Avatar of old... tis a sickening sight."
Talos leapt from the wall and floated at the centre of the Heart of Chaos as Khana stood firm, flexing and tightening her fingers, forcing the heat of the chamber to ascend, making the water boil as two waves of Lava shot up and roared over at Talos. The False Avatar unleashed a chilling gale and rapidly cooled the raging magma tides into Obsidian before relentlessly slashing out with his elements. However, Khana charged in, ducking and diving from his attacks as she leapt up the fresh obsidian walls, coming face-to-face with Talos. He confidently slashed out at her, but she drifted to the side, his bladed arm sliding past her as she rammed her fist into his face, the sheer force sending ripples across his skin as it propelled him across the chamber, smashing and cracking the crystalline walls. Khana descended and pulled parts of the Obsidian into a platform as Talos' head loosely swung, and a giddy chuckle emanated from him. He launched himself from the crystal, flying in and bringing his blade down upon her. But she crossed and blocked with her arm guards as a faint crack emitted from her gauntlets.
Talos' eyebrows slanted as Khana smirked, "Thanks Ragna."
The Kyoshi Warrior roared and shoved him away, making him stumble into the air, as she stomped her foot into the platform and flipped it around, kicking it out at Talos and crashing it into him as she fell to the floor, sweat coursing over her body. Talos slammed down in front of his throne, swiftly rising to find Khana stood firmly and tensing her arms as the last of the water fizzled out into steam, Lava taking its place and making the Heart of Chaos burn red. He smirked and punched out a violet stream, but she struck her clasped hands out, the raging violet fire parting to her side and making his eyes widen.
"Impossible..."
As the flames ceased, Khana erupted two streams of Lava at Talos as he formed an obsidian barrier around himself. But the red-hot magma persisted, slowly melting the Obsidian as he roared and unleashed a shock-wave of wind, blowing the molten tide into the air. She stood fast as he scowled and flew in with a vicious roar, but she too charged in, withdrawing and flicking a dagger at him, and with him blinded by rage, the blade pierced his chest, making him wince back as she gripped the handle, wrenching and twisting the knife from his flesh. She spun back around and plunged her hand into the stab wound, hoisting Talos up and shattering his ribs as blood spewed out from it. She slammed him into the bridge, his head swaying as Khana clenched his heart. He jerked, winced and desperately swung his scythe out, but Khana pinned it with her foot, shattering the black ground as the muscle rapidly pounded against her palm.
"Get... off... of that!" he snarled and tightly gripped her arm.
But she persisted, resisting his strain as she pulled on his heart. Talos screamed in agony as a gleeful smile cracked over Khana's face, her arm twitching as she dragged the heart out, his arteries snapping and squirting blood, until with a mighty roar and wrench of her arm, she ripped his heart from his chest, making crimson red blood shoot out like a fountain and splash the pair. Talos choked on his breath as blood flooded his throat, and Khana stepped back, her face, hair and upper body soaked in crimson while she clutched the heart in her hand. Her vision blurred as she stumbled back and tilted her head to the crystal ceiling, taking a shaky breath and falling to the obsidian ground with a heavy thud. Silence loomed over the chamber while the bloodied bodies of Talos and Khana lay still against the Obsidian ground.
"KADAN!" Ghazi's voice boomed throughout the crystal chamber.
He stormed in and stopped before the two, gazing at the wide-eyed, far-off staring Talos and the shut-eyed, proudly smiling Khana. He smiled and plucked her off the ground, cradling her in his arms while the False Avatar's heart lay in her hand and lap. Ghazi carried her away from the Heart of Chaos and out to everyone. Suki and Toph sprinted over, gazing upon the victorious Khana and gasping at the sight of her.
"Medics! She requires your aid!"
Li and Katara quickly rushed over as Ghazi laid her down atop an earthen bed. Toph pushed her feet to the ground, sensing for her heart as it faintly pounded. She lowered her head before heavily gazing at Suki.
"This isn't good... she's lost a lot of blood... we're going to need something better than regular water healing!" Li exclaimed.
Ghazi ran his finger along her blood-stained face and tapped it together, "This blood is not of Kadan..."
Li and Katara's heads perked up before swiftly turning back, "Her blood or not; we can't get Spirit Water. That's all the way up in the North Pole!"
They swished the water along her torso and arms while everyone worryingly watched on. But while they did, Tenzin could hear something land behind them, and after a few seconds, Toph's eyes widened.
Khana awoke surrounded by a field of wheat rustling in the winds, the soft shine of the sun hitting her face as her eyes fluttered open. She sat up to find herself adorned in a dark green and gold kimono and her red hair tied back into its usual bun with strands draping down her face.
"Khana!" A familiar voice cried.
Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of it as she shot up to her feet. A massive Asiatic house stood in the distance while a fence lined the fields. The land stood near a cliffside out looking the ocean, the sea breeze ruffling her hair as she gazed at a figure in the distance.
"...Claire!?"
She feverishly ran to her, her flowing snow-white hair becoming more prominent as she sprinted to her, the azure and cyan kimono catching her eye. Khana fell into her arms, slowly raising her head and gazing into her emerald eyes.
"Fell asleep in the fields again?" She chuckled.
Khana couldn't stop smiling, her gaze silent and unbreaking.
"Come on, let's get you inside. Tomorrow I'll work the fields. Give those muscles of your's a break," She smiled.
Claire turned and guided her back to the house, pushing two heavy red and gold doors open with a weary oomph. The two strolled into the navy blue matted hallway, the walls a marble white with paintings of the couple and their friends decorating the walls. She guided Khana to the living room; two fabric chairs, one a dark green and the other a pure white with golden trim, sat by an unlit fireplace. Above the cage stood a grand painting of Claire with her hair long and flowing adorned in a white kimono decorated with red flowers and Khana with her hair draped down her shoulders dressed in a black kimono embellished with golden flowers. They stood under a Cherry Blossom tree at the peak of its life while they smiled, happy as can be.
Claire took Khana to her Dark Green chair and gently sat her down as she flicked out the leg rest and spooked her.
She chuckled, "Yeah, Kang's inventions take a bit to get used to."
Khana nodded and smiled as she waltzed behind the chair, placing a firm grip on her shoulders, "Now you just rest. Dinner's going to be ready in a few minutes."
She leant over and smooched her head before strolling away, her footsteps receding into the house as she leant back, closing her eyes and getting comfortable.
She let out a satisfied sigh, "This... I could stay like this forever."
The faint sound of flickering flames caught her ear as she softly scoffed, "I guess she got a bit chilly."
But the flickering became louder and louder, her eyes flaring to find the house engulfed in violet flames. Her heart raced as her eyes darted around; the grand portrait burnt almost entirely.
"CLAIRE!?" She cried as she shot from the chair.
She sprinted for the front door, but a giant piece of wood fell and blocked her way, making her flinch back, and yelp before her shaking sky blue gaze turned to the window.
The fields had been set ablaze, the purple flames raging against the blackened chaotic skies. And amongst the fields and flames stood a silhouette.
Khana smashed the window and flung herself through it, sprinting through the burning wheat like her life depended on it. But the closer she got, the more prominent the silhouette became, its black wolf-tail hair flowing in the wind and its blood-soaked bladed arm glistening against the fires.
She stood petrified as the figure turned to her, its face stained a crimson red, and Claire's bloodied body lay behind him. She screamed as it loomed before her, its bladed arm poised to strike.
"You were a fool to think I would die so easily, Kyoshi Warrior!"
Its bladed arm arched back, prepared to strike her down too as she lunged for her daggers, but she had none to grab; her terrified glare affixed onto the figure as it maniacally laughed and lunged in. She raised her hand, turning away and shutting her eyes. However, the figure turned to a black mist, fading around her as she opened her quaking eyes. Khana threw herself forward and frantically crawled toward Claire, crying out her name as she inched ever closer. And as she came within an arms reach of her, the body turned to the same black mist the figure did.
Her hand shook as the mist swirled and drifted away, "N-No, no! Come back, don't go!"
The field. The house. The flames. All began transforming into the black mist as her eyes frantically darted around, only for the last bit of ground she stood on to disintegrate. She fell into a never-ending abyss, flailing her arms out as her silent screams faded into the blackness.
Khana's eyes fluttered open, the blurred image of two familiar figures standing over her amongst a black sky filling her vision.