Here we are with chapter 30...again. I know I already posted a chapter 30 on Christmas, but looking back it felt more like a chapter preview than an actual chapter, and it just felt ridiculous to have these much larger chapters get broken up by a single, almost pointless chapter. So I took the original 30, reworked what was already there a little, and added a lot more material. No I've gat a new chapter 30 that I'm happy with, and you guys get the kind of chapter you deserve.
As always I own nothing, but the plot and OC's, and I'd to thank everyone for reading, and reviewing. I also want to thank Muna for your little pep talk review. it's great to hear from you again, and rewriting this chapter has actually really helped with my writers block.
Anyway on with the story, enjoy.
30: Nightmares
"You will answer for everything that you have done."
Those were the words Suyin Beifong had said to her when she had been taken into custody, and it was those same words that now echoed relentlessly in Kuvira's ears as she ran through an endless waste land shrouded in mist.
Aside from the rapid beating of her heart she could hear absolutely nothing, and because of the mist she could barely see two feet in front of her. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or why she was running. All she knew was that three years of fighting to reunite the earth kingdom had taught her to trust her instincts and right now they were screaming run.
When Suyin had found her all those years ago as a child lost, scared ,and alone; she had made a vow to never feel like that again, and yet for reasons beyond her comprehension she felt like that lost little girl now more than ever. She was alone again, and more than anything she hated being alone.
As she ran further into the wasteland she began to see shadows in the mist all around her. Large, small there were hundreds of them all around her.
Fighting against the overwhelming fear coursing through her veins she closed her eyes and focused on her surroundings, and using her seismic sense she was able to get a quick glimpse of what lay hidden in the mist. Opening her emerald eyes and moving closer to a nearing shadow only confirmed what her seismic senses revealed.
The shadowy figures all around her were actually statues of what must have been spirits. There were hundreds of them with no two alike, and all of them were facing the opposite direction she was running with varying looks of pain and fear frozen on their stone features.
Why they were in this wasteland, or why they looked as terrified as she felt, she didn't know. What she did know was that her seismic sense also revealed that she wasn't as alone as she'd thought.
At first she had mistaken it for another of the hundreds of statues, because it had no heart beat, but unlike all the others it was shaped like a human and no matter how far she ran it didn't get any farther away.
Closing her eyes again and focusing solely on the supposed statue she realized it was moving, and while her instincts were screaming at her to keep running; she forced herself to stop, and turn around.
"Who's there?" She called out into the mist only to be met with silence.
Fighting against her fear and still unable to see through the mist she ground one foot into the dirt and stomped her other sending out another wave of seismic vibrations, sensing the figure moving closer.
She repeated the process again and again, and each time it revealed the same nonliving figure moving closer and closer until suddenly it disappeared.
Shocked she stomped the ground several times, but still she sensed nothing but the statues. The figure was gone.
"Kuvira," whispered a voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Feeling an icy chill run down her spine she instinctively extended her wrist blades. The voice sounded ancient and seemed to echo like thousands of people were speaking at once.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" she demanded.
"You know who I am Kuvira. Everything that has ever drawn breath knows who I am." The ancient voice echoed.
Looking around rapidly she continued to stomp the ground and listened with her seismic sense.
"As for how I know you Kuvira. You are the first to wield promethean fire, and in doing so you have upset the balance. You have given humanity a power it could never hope to comprehend, and started them down a path from which there is no return."
"I don't understand." Kuvira said as her fear turned to panic, and she began turning around and around looking for the source of the voice.
"Your sins have doomed the worlds, and damned everyone in them."
"You will answer for everything that you have done Kuvira."
Emerald eyes were wide with fear and her heart was hammering in her chest as she stomped one final time.
Sensing nothing but herself and the spirit statues the blood in her veins seemed to freeze when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.
The last thing she saw before her scream echoed through the wasteland and darkness consumed her were two glowing purple eyes as the ancient voice seemingly whispered in her ear.
"Your soul is mine."
It was early in the morning as Ikki crawled out of her tent. After yawning and rubbing the sleep from her grey eyes she realized that she was the only one up.
Due to the thick canopy and the massive library overhead; most of the clearing was still covered in shadows with only a few patches of morning light managing to shine through the foliage. None of which disturbed her companions.
Arctos and Ayeon were still sound asleep along the tree line with the rhino bear spirit pawing 'in her opinion' adorably at the air in his sleep, while Ayeon appeared to be dangerously close to falling off his tree branch.
On her right Mako lay draped over the stone bench Kuvira had erected around the campfire which was now nothing more than ashes.
At first she was surprised to see the lightning bender still asleep even though the sun was rising, but then she remembered everything they had been through over the past few days. Between all the traveling and fighting off hostile spirits it made sense that Mako and even Kuvira would forgo their habit of rising early in favor of a little more sleep.
Watching him she couldn't help but smile as she remembered when he and Bolin had first started to become part of her family.
After Amon and his equalists had attacked the pro bending arena that the brothers had called home they had needed a place to stay, and Korra had brought them to Air Temple Island. At first the bending brothers had just been guests, but when the revolution began they had really stepped up, and helped Korra put an end to it. Mako himself had played a big role in saving her and her family from the blood bender Amon. If not for him and Korra she would have had her bending taken away.
In the weeks following the thwarted equalist revolution life had settled down, and she started getting closer to the brothers, and learning more about them. One of the first things she had learned about Mako was that he was a notoriously early riser like most fire benders who tend to rise with the sun.
This had greatly irritated her at first. Days for the air nomads always started early, and she prided herself on being the earliest riser on the island. That changed when she started waking up to find Mako training in the courtyard, or getting a head start on his chores. She had been annoyed at first, but then they somehow turned it into a game, with her trying to get up before him.
For over a week she had tried her best to be the earliest bird, but he beat her to the worm every time. Every morning she would rush to either the kitchen or the courtyard, and he would always be there to greet her with a "Good morning Ikki," and a triumphant smirk.
It wasn't until Mako had joined the police force, and become Lin Beifong's protégée that he would start coming home exhausted and wind up sleeping in. She still remembered the look on his face when he shuffled into the dining room after his first all nighter, and she had greeted him with a cheery "Good morning Mako." her signature bright smile and a victory dance.
Snapping out of her old memories she decided to let Mako wake up on his own. Normally she would jump at the chance to play 'alarm clock', but now that he was the Dark Avatar there was a fifty-fifty chance she would be waking up Vaatu and after her little encounter with the chaos spirit last night she'd rather not take the chance.
Vaatu was definitely not a morning person.
Instead she made her way passed the slumbering Dark Avatar towards Kuvira's tent. Stepping up to the stone slabs that formed the shelter she knocked on the wall in a quick yet cheerful pattern. "Kuvira wakey, wakey; it's time to get up."
Hearing no response or movement she sighed and knocked again. "Kuvira it's morning. I know you guys are probably tired, and the library will probably still be there in a few hours, but it has moved before, and I don't think Vaatu will be very happy if he wakes up and it's not there anymore."
Once again she was met with silence, but instead of trying again she decided to try her luck elsewhere. Unfortunately for Ayeon her mischievous smile landed in his direction.
Light and pain; those, and for some strange reason the happy birthday song were the first things that registered in Mako's mind as he grudgingly opened his amber eyes. His entire body ached from his fight with Arctos, but as much as he wanted to he couldn't fight his nature. Like the water benders who drew their power from the moon, he drew his power from the sun, and like all fire benders he felt the undeniable urge to rise with it.
Despite his sore muscles he stood up and stretched. After feeling several satisfying pops in his spine he looked around to see who else was up. The minor spirits Ayeon and Arctos were still asleep, but upon seeing Ikki making her way towards the tree line he figured they would be up very soon.
Shaking his head and smiling he turned to see Kuvira's tent and winced. "So much for night watch,"
Glancing up at the spirit library he sighed, and walked over to the metal benders tent. "Hey Kuvira are you awake?"
Receiving no answer he knocked on the stone. "Come on Kuvira, the sooner you get up, the sooner we can meet up with Zaheer, and get some answers."
Again he was met with silence, but just before he could knock again he heard a muffled whimper come from inside.
"Kuvira?" he asked with a frown as he moved around to the front of the tent and peered in.
The inside of the tent was fairly spacious with the segments of her metal armor laid out along one wall, and Kuvira herself asleep in the middle. She was curled up in a fetal position, and her entire body was trembling.
Concerned he crawled inside the tent, and as he moved closer he could hear her whispering something rapidly over and over again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"Kuvira wake up; you're having a nightmare." He said reaching out and gently touching her shoulder.
The second he made contact her emerald eyes snapped open and she swiftly tackled him. Caught off guard Mako soon found himself pinned to the ground with Kuvira straddling him, and pressing a wrist blade against his throat.
His initial instinct would have been to send a jolt of electricity through her, but he stopped himself when his eyes locked with hers, and he realized that she wasn't looking at him; she was looking through him. During his time as a detective he had seen that same scared look countless times in the eyes of rookie cops, survivors, victims, anyone who'd just experienced their first real brush with death.
She wasn't just scared; she was terrified. Her breathing was rapid like she had been running, and he could feel her entire body trembling. Her emerald eyes were red from crying, and even now tears were falling down her cheeks.
Remembering his police training he instantly relaxed, keeping his hands down to appear as none threatening as possible. "Kuvira it's alright it's me; Mako. It was just a nightmare; I'm not going to hurt you."
He spoke soothingly in hopes of calming her down, and as the seconds seemed to crawl by her shaking lessened, and her breathing evened out. After a few more moment's consciousnesses seemed to return to her eyes.
"Mako?" she whispered. "What's going on?"
"You were having a nightmare, I tried to wake you up, and now you're holding a knife to my throat." He answered casually.
Realizing what she was doing Kuvira leapt back as if he were on fire. "Sorry about that," she said quickly wiping her tears, and trying desperately not to blush from embarrassment.
"Are you alright now?" Mako asked unsure of what to do. He'd been on the receiving end of countless nightmares, and when they'd been younger living on the streets he was the one to help Bolin through his nightmares. He'd even served as Jinora's council and confidant when she was having her nightmares after they'd faced Vaatu during harmonic convergence, but this wasn't a scared little kid he could play big brother to. This was Kuvira. Even before getting to know her better he'd always seen her as this strong, fearless, unbreakable warrior. Seeing her vulnerable like this, with tears in her emerald eyes was like being hit with a bucket of ice water. Behind the great uniter, behind the monster everyone called her, behind the mask she wore; she was like everyone else; human.
Not quite able to look him in the eyes she slowly picked up her other bracer. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need a few minutes to pull myself together. Could you?"
Realizing what she was asking he nodded, and quickly crawled out of her tent.
Stepping out into the crisp morning air Mako closed his eyes and took a deep cleansing breath.
("Well that was entertaining,") Vaatu said with an amused chuckle from within. ("I shudder to think what the child would have thought if she'd seen you two rolling around like that.")
("Shut up.")
Several minutes later Mako stood next to the newly resurrected campfire watching as Ikki made her way up Ayeon's tree, while Arctos watched her curiously from his place at the tree's base.
("You know Mako I'm not usually a morning spirit,")
("I know,") Mako thought with a smile as he felt the dark spirit's irritation at being interrupted. ("Not having to listen to you so early in the morning is one of the few things that keep me sane.")
("Really now, and here I thought it was watching the sunrise with the wench that put you in such a good mood in the morning.") Vaatu shot back.
("Was there a point you were trying to make?") Mako thought testily as he watched Ikki reach the same branch Ayeon was sleeping on roughly thirty feet above the ground.
("My point detective was that I want to know what Kuvira's nightmare was about. There are very few things that can get my attention, especially in the morning, but the fear I sensed in her. You saw the terror in her eyes Mako; it was the kind of fear that echoes through a person's soul to its deepest, darkest depths. I haven't tasted fear like that in a very long time.")
Hearing the sound of earth bending Mako turned to see Kuvira's tent sink back into the ground as the metal bender herself emerged fully dressed in her armor.
("If you want to know then ask her yourself,") Mako thought as Kuvira turned to face him. Any evidence of her previous distress was now hidden by a mask of composure. Her emerald eyes showed no trace of tears, and her long black hair was pulled back into a single wolf tail that faintly reminded him of the Korra he once knew.
("The only thing she is likely to tell me is to go to hell,") Vaatu said with a sigh of annoyance. ("The wench trusts you Mako. If she is going to reveal anything as intimate as a fear that dark to anyone it will be you, or possibly the child.")
"You should take a picture. It will last longer."
Snapping back to reality he found the metal bender looking at him with a playful smirk, and he realized he had been staring.
"In that case do you have a camera I could borrow?" he shot back with a grin of his own as she joined him by the fire.
"Are you alright?" he asked seriously.
Kuvira smile faded and she sighed tiredly. "I'm fine. There is no need to worry."
Mako could feel Vaatu's curiosity gnawing at him, but he didn't press the issue. Instead he nodded and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine. Just remember that Ikki and I are here for you."
Surprised and touched by Mako's sincerity Kuvira gave him a small smile. "I'll remember that. Is anyone else up yet?" she asked looking around the camp.
Mako grinned and nodded towards the tree line. "Ikki and Arctos are awake, and by the look of things Ayeon should be joining us soon."
Following the lightning benders gaze Kuvira spotted Ikki standing over Ayeon just as she brought two fingers to her pursed lips.
"In three, two, one."
"Come on, come on; it's got to be here somewhere." Jinora muttered to herself as she searched desperately for Root's tracking flower. "You are sure this is where you found me last night?"
"For the third time; yes Jinora this is where I found you." Bosco replied with a sigh as he helped the air bender search.
After realizing that the flower was missing Jinora had been on the verge of panicking. Without that flower she had no way of finding her sister, and now she knew for a fact that she wasn't the only one looking for her. Whether or not she was under Mako's protection she needed to find Ikki soon. She could only remain outside her body for a little while longer before she had to return to the human world. She was racing against time, Jaeger, and now a voracious horde of Yokai.
"Don't worry Jinora. Even if we don't find your flower; I'm sure we'll find your sister." Bosco said reassuringly as he searched among a thick tangle of roots around the base of a massive ancient tree.
Back at Iroh's home Bosco had referred to them as the Nether Roots, and that they housed one of the gateways leading to Tartarus. Seeing them now during the daytime she realized just how fortunate she was that Bosco had found her when he had. Under the cover of night she had mistaken the Nether Roots as just another tree like the thousands of other gargantuan trees in the forest. Seeing it now in the morning light she could easily differentiate from the rest.
The first major difference was that the Nether Roots were no longer part of a living tree. They extended outwards from a massive dead tree trunk that only reached fifteen feet up from the ground before tapering off. The next difference was that while the roots were all tangled together there was enough space to climb, crawl, and weave one's self through.
While retracing their path back Bosco had also explained that located within the roots, beneath the stump at its center was very deep, dark hole which was actually the gateway itself.
"Iroh says he knows someone who can help us find her, and if any of the local spirits have seen or heard anything then Yawgoo will let us know." Bosco continued snapping her out of her thoughts.
" Woah!" The light spirit suddenly yelped in surprise before looking around rapidly.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Jinora asked worriedly as she rushed to the spirit bear's side.
"Don't worry I'm fine, just a little surprised is all. You didn't hear that?"
Jinora shook her head no.
"Damn that was a higher pitch than I thought. We spirits have sharper hearing than you humans do, but if you didn't hear anything then it must be a pretty good ways away." Bosco said frowning as he stared off into the massive forest. "Something out there just made a very loud whistling sound and managed to hit a pitch only spirits and probably canines can hear."
"Why would anything do that?" Jinora asked curiously.
Bosco merely shrugged in response. "Some spirits are able to manifest their energy into a sonic attack. It was probably just a spirit defending itself. All I know for sure is that I feel sorry for anything caught too close to the source. My ears are ringing and we're miles away."
Shrugging off the whistle they returned to their search making their way closer and closer to the tree housing the gateway.
Still unable to find any trace of the flower Jinora groaned. "We've searched everywhere twice now. The flower is not here."
"Well it has to be." Bosco snapped. "You've searched all those pockets in your strange clothing at least ten times, and it wasn't at Iroh's. I even made sure to take the exact same route back here. Someone must have taken it."
"Well who could have possibly," Jinora began to ask, but stopped abruptly and sighed. "You can come out now Jaeger." She called out.
Her call was quickly answered by an amused chuckle as the cat Yokai himself materialized out of thin air on a branch above them. "I must say Jinora I'm impressed. I thought I'd have to gut your little teddy bear friend before you realized I was here."
"Jaeger," Bosco growled putting himself between Jinora and the sadistic Yokai. "You were banished."
"And you look absolutely ridiculous in that silly little hat." Jaeger said sitting back on his haunches and smiled viciously. "Word spreads fast in the spirit world so unless that hat is also cutting of circulation to your brain you must know that Raava's not the top dog anymore."
"What do you want Jaeger? I don't want to play your games anymore." Jinora said fiercely, but the second Jaeger's glowing orange eyes met her own she had to fight to keep her resolve lest her fear start warping their surroundings again.
"I must admit I've grown rather bored with this game as well, and there are much more important things I need to do like report back to Aversa and the other generals, and track down that wayward little sister of yours." Jaeger said making a show of counting off his tasks on his razor sharp claws.
"You're bluffing. The spirit world is big, and she could be anywhere." Bosco asserted confidently.
His smile fell when the Yokai laughed.
"Bluffing am I? Tell me Jinora; do you think I'm bluffing?" Jaeger asked presenting Root's flower held tauntingly by his prehensile tail.
Seeing the shocked look on their faces Jaeger's smile grew wider. "Whenever I play a game it's either win or lose, I never quit, and while I do have other priorities none of them are more important than the game unfortunately for you."
Eyes narrowing Jaeger leapt from his perch and began stalking towards them. "I've lost my fair share of fights over the centuries, but I have never lost a game, and I have no intention to start now."
With a savage roar Jaeger lunged for Jinora only to be intercepted by Bosco. With surprising speed the bear spirit tackled the Yokai to the ground. "Jinora run!" he yelled trying to pin her attacker to the ground.
She hesitated for a moment not wanting to abandon Bosco. Jaeger was three times as big as the light spirit, and he could probably tear him apart, but he wasn't after Bosco, he was after her.
"Go!" Bosco yelled again trying desperately to hold the larger spirit back.
Shaking off her hesitation Jinora did as he said and ran.
Seeing his prey getting away Jaeger roared in fury, and viciously raked his claws across Bosco's back shredding his shirt, and drawing particles of yellow energy from the wounds.
Screaming in pain Bosco lost his grip, and Jaeger took off after the air nomad.
Jinora ran as fast as she could, but without her air bending she had no chance of out running the Yokai. Hearing Bosco agonized scream she glanced over her shoulder to see Jaeger gaining ground rapidly. With no hope of out running him she ran towards the nether roots hoping that the tree roots would help her lose him.
While they did slow the cat Yokai down; he was still gaining on her. With her heart pounding in her chest she relinquished all control of her emotions, and allowed her fear to flood out. She had no idea what might happen, but anything would be better than losing at Jaegers game.
As Jaeger continued to claw his way through the roots her fear began warping the world around them. The roots began to grow thorns, and more began to spring from the earth.
Jinora grit her teeth as the thorns scratched her arms and legs as she crawled deeper into the nether roots getting closer to the base of the tree. She was so focused on getting through that it wasn't until she glanced back that she realized she lost track of Jaeger.
Trying to avoid the thorns she looked around desperately, but the Yokai was gone.
"Jinora watch out!"
Whirling around she spotted Bosco through the root, and then to her horror Jaeger rematerialized between them his shark like teeth bared in a feral grin.
With a savage roar he lunged forward, as she bolted backwards.
Acting fast Bosco dove into the thorn covered roots and sank his teeth into the Yokai's back leg.
Jaeger roared in fury, while Jinora screamed as his claws sliced her leg. Since she didn't possess a physical body there was no blood, or lasting damage, but she still felt the pain the attack would have caused and particles of yellow energy escaped from the wound before it reformed leaving no mark.
Kicking Bosco away Jaeger roared again as he clawed his way closer. Jinora was panicking now as she crawled backwards desperate to get away with thorns scratching her relentlessly until she felt the ground give way behind her, and with a terrified scream she fell back wards through the gateway leading to Tartarus.
She could feel her spirit energy being pulled like she had fallen into a river. The last thing she heard before the darkness enveloped her was Jaegers enraged roars, and Bosco screaming her name.
"Do you think Ayeon will ever forgive me?" Ikki asked worriedly.
She and Kuvira were sitting next to each other by the remains of the campfire watching as Mako and Ayeon spoke with Arctos. After Ayeon had calmed down enough from her little wakeup call they had eaten, packed, and were getting ready to enter the fabled spirit library. The only thing left was to bid farewell to the rhino bear spirit.
Kuvira shrugged. "Maybe later after his ears stop ringing and he can actually hear your apology."
"I meant it as a joke; I didn't think he would fall out of the tree." Ikki continued ruefully with her shoulders slumped.
Seeing this Kuvira hesitated for a moment before she placed a comforting hand on the girls shoulder. "Just give him a little time, and I'm sure you two will be back to playing twenty questions in no time."
Ikki looked up at her hopefully, and Kuvira gave her a reassuring smile, which in turn rekindled the young air nomad's bright smile as well.
Pleased that she was able to cheer the girl up Kuvira returned her attention to Mako and the two minor spirits. Just by looking at Arctos she could tell he was healing fast. After a single nights rest his size had already doubled that of a natural rhino bear, and would he most likely be back to his full strength and size within a few more days.
While Arctos's increased size was something that she took into account it wasn't what held her attention. That honor went to the Dark Avatar. She was moderately surprised to find that Arctos was actually speaking primarily with Mako. Occasionally his eyes would flare crimson for a few moments before they would shift back to the warm amber eyes she found herself getting lost in more and more often.
It wasn't just his eyes though. From the start; fighting and traveling alongside the former detective had been one surprise after another. They had been enemies during the war, and she'd expected him to be wary of her if not openly hostile, but that wasn't the case. He'd looked her right in the eye, asked if she was friend or foe, and accepted her like everything else be dammed.
From then on she began to see how much more there was to the man she'd mistaken for Wu's butler over a year ago. Fighting alongside Mako she'd learned that he was strong, cunning, determined, and Dark Avatar or not he was a very powerful bender. What's more he possessed will strong enough to rival her own as well, as clash with Vaatu's.
Then she'd seen what he was like with Ikki thrown into the mix. More than anything the lightning bender was a natural big brother, and a formidable guardian. Watching him interact with Ikki she had seen that he was kind, patient, as well as firm but fair. Seeing how they interacted with one another she could tell the two shared a strong bond built on trust, respect, friendship, and genuine affection. Blood or not Ikki was Mako's little sister.
She had learned a lot by observing Mako, and talking with him, but what gave her the most insight though was his power. By merging with Vaatu and becoming the Dark Avatar he now wielded powers she could only dream of, and yet held back. Even in his weakened state he could have leveled half of Republic City, but he didn't. He could have racked up a serious body count, and yet no one lost their lives that night. Mako could have fought back, but he chose to run.
As the Dark Avatar he would eventually wield limitless power, and that was the biggest reason she was able to trust him. From childhood Suyin Beifong had raised her, trained her, and taught her everything she knew. When she had chosen to become the great uniter, and Suyin had cast her out; she had shoved most of her former mentor's teachings to the back of her mind. After Korra had defeated her, and she had been locked away she had remembered something Suyin had once told her. 'Nearly anyone can stand adversity, but if you truly wanted to test someone's character give them power.'
Among the minor spirits Vaatu was comparable to a god, and as his Avatar Mako was entitled to the same authority, and yet even now he chose rather to speak with Arctos and Ayeon as equals. He didn't have to save Ayeon, and he could have left Ikki behind. He could have destroyed Arctos, but he didn't. They had saved Ayeon and protected Ikki despite Vaatu's objections. He had put Ikki's life and her's before his own, and even spared Arctos.
As she continued to think about her companion the conversation between Mako, Vaatu, Ayeon, and Arctos came to an end as the rhino bear bowed his head in respect.
Kuvira couldn't help but smile at Arctos's surprised look when Mako returned his gesture with a small bow. After sharing a nod with Ayeon; Arctos turned to them, and offered another respectful nod. She returned the gesture as Ikki waved goodbye.
With a small smile the rhino bear spirit turned and made his way back into the massive forest. As Arctos disappeared back into the trees, and Mako and Ayeon made their over to them; Kuvira made a decision.
She would stand by Mako, because they had both wielded true power, and while she had failed; he hasn't.
"Do you think we'll ever see Arctos again?" Ikki asked hopefully.
Mako nodded with a smile. "Arctos said we are welcome in his territory, and we're bound to run out of berries eventually. I'm sure he'll be glad to see us in a day or two. Are you guys ready for this?"
Kuvira nodded. "We are. So how do you plan for us to get up there?"
Before he could respond his amber eyes turned crimson, as Vaatu assumed control. "According to Arctos the only ways to get in are by flying, or by scaling one of the nearby trees. The three of us will be taking option one."
"Three of us? What do you mean three of us?" Ikki asked in confusion.
"I mean you, myself, and the wench will be flying up there while Ayeon takes our supplies the long way up." Vaatu replied as he handed their duffle bag to the aye-aye spirit.
"Flying up there will be no simple task, and lord Vaatu will have his hands full as it is." Ayeon continued as he accepted the bag. "It won't be any trouble for me to climb my way up even with the supplies, and it shouldn't take me too long to catch up with you all."
"And I'm sure you could also do with some peace and quiet. It might help get that ringing out of your ears." Vaatu said with an amused smirk as he began walking towards the center area beneath the spirit library with Kuvira following closely glaring daggers into his back.
"Yes; yes I could." Ayeon muttered as he narrowed his yellow eyes at Ikki before turning, and making his way towards the tree line.
Ikki cringed at the spirit's cold shoulder, but remembering Kuvira's advice she just sighed, and followed after Vaatu and the metal bender.
"As an air bender I assume you are capable of flight?" Vaatu asked as she joined them directly beneath the library.
Nodding her head the chaos spirit pointed to the library's tallest spire which since it was suspended upside down also made its single window the closest entrance to the ground. "That will be our way in. Fly through there, and we will be right behind you."
With another nod she released the glider flaps on her flight suit, and with a powerful gust of air she took off into the sky.
Turning to a scowling Kuvira Vaatu smirked. "Ready captain?"
"Let's just get this over with." She growled in annoyance only to yelp in surprise as the Dark Avatar swept her off her feet, and with twin blasts of fire from his own feet propelled them both into the straight towards the spire.
While flying was as natural to air benders as breathing; it was no simple task for a fire bender. Skilled fire benders were able to propel themselves across sheer surfaces like walls, while only the most powerful fire benders were capable of achieving lift off, and even then they were only able to glide short distances. It was only during Sozin's comet that they were able to achieve true flight, thanks to the power boost they received from the celestial event.
While it still took considerable energy and focus; with Vaatu augmenting his bending they were capable of achieving short distance flights. Even still flying was no easy feat even in optimal conditions. Throw in a passenger dressed in full metal armor the task became far more complicated, since he wouldn't be able to use his arms to help stabilize their ascension. It also restricted them to flying in a more or less straight line with little to no maneuverability.
The second they left the ground Vaatu felt Kuvira wrap her arms around his neck, and hold on so tightly it was getting difficult to breathe.
"What's the matter Kuvira; afraid of heights?" The chaos spirit chuckled while trying to maintain their trajectory.
"No, I'm not." She growled in response as she glanced downwards, only to tighten her grip and screw her eyes shut.
Like most earth benders she preferred to keep her feet planted on the ground, but that never hindered her before. Over the course of her life she'd climbed trees, mountains, buildings, as well as ridden in countless air ships, and even a giant freaking mech suit and she'd never had any problem with heights. However looking back on those times she noticed a big difference between then and now. Back then she'd had some semblance of control. She'd never been afraid of falling, because she'd always had either her metal cables, or a powerful bending grip on whatever stone or metal surface she'd been scaling. Now she was hundreds of feet in the air at Vaatu's mercy.
Sensing her fear Vaatu smirked, but before he could say anything his mouth clamped shut, and he felt his hold on Kuvira tightened.
("Keep your mouth shut, and focus on getting inside.") Mako ordered from within.
Vaatu struggled for full control for a moment, but decided pushing the metal bender's buttons wasn't worth it. So with a growl of annoyance he returned his attention to the window, and with a surge of energy followed Ikki through the narrow opening.
Flying in they had expected the window to lead into a study or some other room dedicated to scholarly pursuit, but instead they found themselves in an empty shaft like a belfry with nowhere to go but down, or since the library was upside down; up.
With another burst of energy Vaatu caught up to and flew alongside the young air bender as they continued upwards. This proved to be a mistake however, because as soon as they flew through the threshold separating the spire from the main central chamber; the gravity suddenly reversed itself and all the fire power he'd fed into their upwards thrust now sent them plummeting at high speed.
"Vaatu!" Ikki screamed as she arrested her own fall with a gust of wind, only to watch as the chaos spirit continued to fall.
With the ground rapidly approaching, Ikki's scream echoing in his ears, Kuvira's grip now officially depriving him of oxygen; Vaatu lost his concentration, and Mako instinctively seized control.
Acting quickly the lightning bender twisted as far as he could, and as they were about to impact he released twin jets of fire from his feet.
Since Vaatu had unintentionally built up too much momentum Mako was unable to arrest their fall completely however if there was one thing he'd learned from Ikki and her siblings it was how to survive a crash landing.
Acting quickly the lightning bender twisted as best he could in midair, tightened his hold protectively on the metal bender clinging to him for dear life, and at the last possible moment before impact he unleashed twin jets of fire from his feet aimed more or less parallel with the ground. The powerful burst of fire thrust them both to the side, causing them to hit the ground diagonally at a less than lethal speed. Bracing himself Mako gasped painfully as the sudden impact knocked the air from his lungs, and their momentum sent them tumbling across the floor.
He and Kuvira rolled end over end across the floor for several yards before they slammed into a column with Mako taking the brunt of the impact. The world flashed white and pain flared through his skull as the back of his head struck stone.
Seconds before darkness closed in; he felt a cool gust of air wash over him, heard a terrified Ikki scream his name, and as consciousness gave way to oblivion the last thing he saw was a pair of worried emerald eyes.
"Jinora."
"Jinoooraaa. Come out, come out wherever you are."
Jaeger's call echoed tauntingly as Jinora ran for her life.
After falling through the gateway nestled among the Nether Roots she was momentarily blinded by a flash of purple light before she found herself falling through thick fog and crashing painfully into the ground.
Under normal circumstances such a fall would have broken at least half a dozen bones, but since she was in spirit form she only experienced the pain for a few moments before it gradually faded away, leaving no lasting injuries. After painfully pulling herself together she realized two things. One: she was trapped in Tartarus, and two: Jaeger was more than likely to follow her through the portal, and could show up any second.
Realizing that she had taken off into the surrounding fog, and after a few minutes the sadistic cat Yokai's laughter and taunting calls began to echo a short distance behind her.
"You're in my world now Jinora! There is nowhere you can hide that I can't find you. There is nowhere you can run to that I can't follow."
With her heart pounding rapidly in her chest she felt the dry earth beneath her start to harden until she found herself running on solid stone. Trying desperately to see through the fog she began to notice towering wind carved pillars of stone like ones found in a desert canyon. As she continued to run the pillars became more frequent which forced her to run more evasively, swerving left, and right. One after another she raced passed the pillars all the while looking for a place to hide.
"I can hear your heart beating Jinora. I can smell your fear, and so can every Yokai within ten miles. We know you're here." Jaeger called out with a laugh sounding even closer than before.
With her fear and desperation mounting Jinora made a hard right nearly tripping over the uneven ground, and continued running for her life. After several more yards the stone pillars became more sparse, and she found herself running up an incline. Before long the fog began to thin, and she found herself standing before an ancient tree growing upside down from a sheer cliff, it's gnarled roots stretching up and out towards a the grey smog filled sky, while the upper part of the tree disappeared into the stone.
Glancing all around the air bender searched desperately for another route to take, but her only option was a large cave like opening in the tree leading into the dark foreboding depths.
When she heard an amused chuckle come from behind her she froze, and slowly turned around to find Jaeger standing several feet away with his shark like teeth bared in a triumphant grin. "End of the line Jinora. There is nowhere left to run." He said smugly.
"I know," Jinora said sadly as she acknowledged the truth of the Yokai's words. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no portal to fall through, and with the overwhelming fear threatening to consume her she had no chance of meditating back into her body in the physical world. This was the end.
"I must admit Jinora this was fun. I've never encountered a human with as much luck as you have." Jaeger conceded as he began stalking slowly towards her. "Unfortunately your luck has run out. No more narrow escapes, no teddy bear to protect you, and no one to save you. You lose Jinora; any last words? Perhaps a message for your little sister when I find her?"
Jinora tensed at Jaeger's taunt. With her hands balling into fists she glared furiously at the Yokai, her previous fear momentarily forgotten. "Actually yes, I do have a message you can deliver. Since you have that flower I have no doubt you're going to find my little sister, her name is Ikki."
"Ikki, what a nice name," Jaeger said with a grin before he nodded for her to continue. "And what message would you like me to give her?"
To the Yokai's surprise Jinora shook her head and gave him a grin that caused his own to waver for a second. "My message isn't for Ikki, it's for Mako; he is the fire bender she's traveling with."
"Very well," Jaeger said his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "And what would you like me to tell this Mako?"
"First I want you to tell him I'm sorry, and that I tried my best. Then I want you to tell him what you did to me, and make sure not to leave out a single gruesome detail."
Jaeger stopped completely, and cocked his head curiously. "A rather morbid message for a monk. May I ask why?"
"So that he can do to you tenfold whatever you do to me." She answered calmly.
Jaeger's eyes flare crimson in anger, and the beginnings of a rumbled in his throat. "We'll just see about that Jinora. Either way it's game over."
Seeing the Yokai's muscles coil as he prepared to pounce; Jinora closed her eyes, and waited for the inevitable. Between now, and all the other near death experiences she'd had over the last several days she was becoming very adept at awaiting death's cold embrace.
With a thunderous roar she heard Jaeger's claws scrape stone as he lunged. Expecting to feel the pain of razor sharp claws tearing into her, Jinora shouted in surprise when she felt the impact come from behind as she was suddenly knocked to the side.
The force of the blow sent her rolling across the ground, and over the edge of the cliff. With a terrified shriek she barely managed to grab a hold of the ledge.
Holding on with all her might Jinora clung to the cliff face with her eyes closed tightly, and wishing that she could do the same with her ears as screams of pure agony began to fill the air.
Jinora listened as Jaeger thrashed and screamed desperately for what felt like an eternity. With each passing second the cat Yokai's screams became more and more desperate until everything suddenly went dead quiet, and then the only thing she could hear was the rapid beating of her heart.
The eerie silence lasted for several more minutes before it was broken by the sound of a large body hitting the ground with a dull thump, and a rhythmic almost constant clicking noise on the stones up above.
"I know you're there child. The decision to climb back up here or let go is up to you, but I assure you I make much better company than whoever you'll meet down below." Said a voice that was equal parts ancient, polite, and blood chillingly malicious.
Glancing down at the fog filled abyss below Jinora took a deep calming breath, schooled her features, and slowly started climbing back up. As she pulled herself up onto the cliff she caught sight of Jaeger lying motionless on the ground. At first she thought he was dead but then his tail twitched slightly, and his ears turned towards her most likely hearing her heavy breathing.
Aside from an apparent lack of energy the Yokai appeared to be fine until he slowly turned to face her, and her heart skipped a beat. His face was gone. All of his facial features were missing from his feral eyes to his crescent moon grin there was nothing but a blank canvas like a stone statue that had its face sanded away.
Hearing the distinct sound of something clicking on stone she slowly turned to see a great black centipede like spirit as big as a sky bison extending out of the cave like opening in the tree.
With the sound of dozens of insectoid legs clicking on the ground the spirit turned to her and instead of a mouth and pincers there was what looked like a closed eyelid? Slowly the 'eyelid' opened to reveal Jaeger's missing face, crescent moon grin and all.
"Tell me child, do you know who I am?" The spirit asked curiously as it drew closer.
Trying desperately to keep her face completely devoid of emotion in spite of her growing fear Jinora whispered one word.
"Koh."
Dun! Dun! Dun! Talk about ups, downs, and going from bad to worse. I Don't always leave my readers in suspense, but when I do, I leave them waiting with the face stealer. Fortunately I cant wait to get started on the next chapter, with any luck you guys wont have to wait to long.
As always please leave a comment, or review. I love hearing what you guys think, and have to say.
Until next time then stay tuned.
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