DISCLAIMER: don't own AVATAR.
Not much 2 say, cept read Firework13's story: Mightier Than The Sword. It'll rock ur sox. (I have no idea where that came from.)
In 2day's chapter: apparently, the Grim Reaper's real…
Chapter 21: Scythe of the Grim Reaper
The next morning, there was about 1 and a half feet of snow everywhere, this year's blizzard came early!
Zuko groaned unhappily as Kellie shook him awake.
"What is it? I was having a good dream." Kellie grinned.
"That's another reason to wake you up. To make you miserable. And the main reason? The blizzard came early! And bigger than ever! We got over 10 inches of snow! All the roads are closed off until further notice!" Zuko groaned again.
"What time is it?" Kellie smirked.
"5 A.M." Zuko glared.
"You woke me up at 5 in the morning just to say there's a bunch of snow on the ground?"
"Yup. And that I'm going to have the biggest snowball fight ever with my neighbors." Zuko just looked at her.
"Have fun. And good luck." Kellie grinned.
"Thanks. But I won't be needing it. After all, I'm a waterbender."
Kellie lived up to her title, she quickly changed into warm clothes, and made the trek outside.
She pushed snow up next to the overhang next to driveway, and shaped it into walls. The snow was powdery, so she blew on it and made it hard. She had wiped half the yard clean with her bending.
Next, Kellie turned the snow on the side walk into snowballs. She put them into piles in her fort. After that, she took snow and made the trek across her driveway harder by piling it, Kellie began to chuck her warmer outer clothing. After all, she was a firebender. She could keep herself warm without jackets and gloves.
Eventually, she was done. She gathered up her jacket and gloves and various other outer clothes and walked inside. Her parents were dumbfounded to see her in nothing but nylon pants, a t-shirt, and boots.
Kellie was sipping hot chocolate and watching TV contently when Zuko finally came down.
"Snowball fight done already?" Kellie looked up and grinned.
"Nope. I just finished the fort and weaponry. Lieutenant Tyson has gotten clever within the past few years." Zuko tilted his head in confusion.
"Lieutenant?" Kellie looked up and grinned.
"It's a war, out there, soldier. My brother is the retired General, and gives us promotions. Lieutenant has been has had his title for years. He's awaiting his promotion, but he must impress General Aaron first." Zuko nodded. A snowball war, just like a real war.
Except, it's rather childish.
"And how great are you, soldier?" Kellie looked up at Zuko, and grinned.
"I'm awaiting my promotion to General. Skipped up from soldier to Colonel Commander few years ago. I made the biggest heist ever performed. Even the great General never pulled off such a stunt."
(A/N: I highly doubt 99.9 that Colonel Commander is even a real rank. I just made it up.)
Zuko gaped.
That must have been big. Even for a pretend war!
"I also have a great skill at sneaking into enemy territory, and destroying the ranks. All you have to is get past one, and all their weaponry is sitting there, awaiting you."
"Yes, you did beyond excellent, Colonel Commander Kelso." Kellie and Zuko looked up at Kellie's brother, the great General Aaron.
(A/N: I'm making a big deal out of an annual snowball fight. Just ignore it.)
"And thanks to that display last year, you are hereby promoted to General." Kellie nodded, then grinned evilly. Now she had more territory, with her promotion.
Kellie sat in her fort, twirling three snowballs in midair, waiting for any sign of the enemy.
"They're hiding in the back." Zuko whispered in her ear. Kellie looked up, Zuko had said he didn't' want to play.
"I thought you didn't want to join us, soldier." Zuko grinned.
"How could I resist such a fight? General?" Kellie grinned. She put a snowball in Zuko's hand.
"Wait until I tell you to throw." Zuko understood. She give the signal, he throw the ball at any moving target.
Kellie stood up.
"Alright, lieutenant, game's up. You have snuck into un-authorized territory, and by order of the war Treaty, you must surrender." Tyson's voice sounded from over the fence.
"Negative, Colonel Commander. General Aaron promoted me to Captain. That means I can have a small area of the back."
"Sorry, Captain, but even under that cause, a General can take you down with ease."
"Yah, well, you ain't a General."
"Negative, Captain. I just got promoted to General this morning." Tyson gulped from behind the fence. With Kellie as a General, he would never win.
The newly promoted General spun the snowballs above her hand even faster, then launched them.
There was a scream, and the sound of feet going further into the back.
"OPEN FIRE!" Kellie yelled. Zuko launched a snowball. It knocked the Captain down. Kellie smirked.
"Well, Captain, by law of the war Treaty, when any promoted soldier falls, his division must surrender. And you just fell." Tyson got to his feet, and looked at the General.
"Alright, you win, General Kelso, but you won't next time."
"We'll see, Captain Tyson. We'll see." And with that, Kellie turned on her heel, and entered the house, with Zuko following proudly behind.
A spider crept up along the quilts of Kellie's upper bunk, where Kellie was sleeping, it's red hourglass gleaming in the light coming from Kellie's lava lamp.
It saw flesh, and sunk its pincers into it. When the spider released, the skin on the arm immediately began to swell and change color. It turned around, and crawled away into the darkness.
Zuko awoke to the sound of screaming above him. If any of Kellie's family heard her, they would just think she was having a nightmare. But she wasn't.
Zuko got up and looked at Kellie. Her face was contorted in pain, and her back was in an arch.
He noticed her arm, swelling and changing into sick colors. Then, Zuko noticed something with eight legs, completely black, except for a red hourglass on its abdomen, slinking away into the darkness…
A black widow.
Kellie had warned Zuko of these, and he knew that it had bit Kellie, and the poison was killing her in the night.
Zuko made a small dagger made of fire, and decapitated all the spider's legs, and its head, then threw it in the waste basket.
Kellie was screaming louder, and a little froth was coming from her mouth. Zuko's eyes got wide. He rushed to the phone in her room.
Thank the Fire Gods Kellie taught me how to use these.
He dialed the three most important numbers you could ever know.
9-1-1.
Someone on the other end picked up, and Zuko immediately went into detail.
"Ok, don't worry. An ambulance is on its way." Zuko hung up. He noticed something black out in the backyard.
It was a giant black robe. With giant bell sleeves, and a hood that covered its face. Its hands were skeletal. And in one hand, it held a giant curved blade. The blade went past its head.
The wind blew, and the robe was roused.
It had no feet.
Kellie had told Zuko of this too. Something that everyone feared.
The Grim Reaper.
And he had come to claim Kellie.
Zuko ran back to Kellie, and wrapped his arms around her. He held her close, and tried to get rid of the image of the black thing below them, watching them. He loved Kellie, he had almost lost her once, and it wasn't going to happen again, not as long as he lived.
Kellie's screams ceased, and the froth stopped issuing.
Then, a few men carrying a stretcher rushed in. They put Kellie on it, and rushed out the door. Zuko followed, holding Kellie's hand.
Kellie was curled into a ball in a circular room. The walls were made of solid stone, and the floor of cold, cruel, ice.
For two years, this room had protected Kellie from feeling any emotions. It had suffocated her. Closed in on her, and stopped her from feeling anything. The ice had made her numb, and the stone stopped any other feeling.
But lately, the walls were backing off, giving her room to breathe. And the ice had melted, enough to hold her, but just enough to be transparent.
Through the ice things Kellie had once loved could be seen. Things that used to make her happy.
As much as Kellie wanted the ice to melt, to let her go back to those things, she didn't. She feared if she was too happy, something horrible would come along and take them all away.
Suddenly, all those happy things disappeared, and darkness and pain erupted through the floor.
The darkness acted like a rope, and pulled the stones close around Kellie, suffocating. The pain made the ice cold, and froze her feet to the ground.
Kellie screamed for the pain to stop, to release her feet and make so much of the cold go away, but a voice whispered.
"No."
Kellie cried for the darkness to lift, and to take the stones with it, so she could breathe, but the same voice whispered.
"Never."
Kellie gave in, letting the pain and darkness overwhelm her. Her life was gone, and her suffering was over. Her-
Just then, warmth surrounded her, washing her with comfort.
Light chased the darkness away, and caused the stones to crumble.
Fire, a gentle, but fierce fire, fought the pain and melted the ice. Kellie fell through the floor.
Kellie screamed, thinking she would fall through eternity, stopped. Warm, strong arms caught her and held her close. Held back the pain, and chased away the darkness.
Kellie looked up, and smiled at her savior.
It was Zuko.
"Kellie," he whispered.
"Come back, return to life, I need you." Kellie smiled.
"I, need you too…"
Zuko's head perked up, when he heard Kellie mutter.
"I need you too." Zuko grabbed her hand, and held it tight. He was sitting in the hospital, waiting for Kellie to return to Life.
A nurse came in.
"Sir, you should get some rest." She said quietly. Zuko nodded.
As he passed by a mirror in the room, he saw a reflection.
The Grim Reaper.
Zuko snapped around, and saw nothing. But he knew it was there, waiting for him to leave. Zuko was the only thing standing between Kellie, and her death.
"Uh, on second thought, I think I'll stay here." The nurse shrugged, and left. Zuko took his seat again next to Kellie, and held her hand.
"Come on, Kellie, fight it. Come back." Wearily, Kellie opened her eyes, to see Zuko sleeping next to her. She smiled, and feebly passed a hand over his shaved head. His skin felt smooth.
Note to self: touch Zuko's head again sometime.
Zuko stirred under her touch, and opened his eyes. He gasped. Kellie was smiling at him.
"KELLIE!" He yelled and hugged her. Kellie rested her head against his.
"What'd I miss?" Zuko grinned with joyous tears.
"Not much. Except you nearly died from a spider bite." Kellie smiled a weak smile.
"Almost died, huh? I'm just like dad." Zuko chuckled softly, and buried the good side of his face into her hair.
"I'm glad you decided to live, Kellie." She smiled, and ran her hand over Zuko's head again.
"Yah, I'm sorta glad too."
I'm not done! It's just getting good!
LONG LIVE HIPPIES!
INSANITY AT ITS FINEST
Zukoscute2