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The wood was smooth and strong in his hands, never straining under the pressure he exerted on it. Many days had passed since his conversation with Azula when she suggested that he master a weapon and, ultimately, he had decided to master archery before he sought out Avatar Jinzhai. He wanted to focus more on a weapon as, one: it would incorporate into his bending and, two: it would be less destructive to learn archery than lavabending and combustion-bending.
Aang had, though, gathered the opinion of Avatar Yangchen and she had given him great advice, citing historical occurrences of a rogue Air Nomad, a disillusioned Airbender who, while a pacifist, would strike back with deadly force if they were attacked. She had even informed him of a knavish Airbender during her reign who experimented on innocent non-benders in the Earth Kingdom, holding the air away from his victims, watching as they died of suffocation to their air-starved lungs.
He knew that if the Airbenders had wanted to, they could have conquered the world, creating a world of only Children of Air. Such a massacre would have made the Fire Nation's conquest during the Great War seem piteous in comparison. While Fire was the element of power, power could be tamed, weakened. But Air was everything. It was life itself. Air was the element of freedom and if those who were borne of freedom chose to control the freedom of others, there would be nothing - only darkness and death.
Which was why he needed to rebuild the Air Nomads correctly, teaching the art of true airbending and not what the Elders had begun to decree. He couldn't allow airbending to become like the other bending arts.
It took his mind off other things.
A lot of work had been made in the past days since his talk with his wife, coming to terms that he wasn't going to be able to avoid an all-out war once more, for he had foreseen it.
When he was meditating, he had focused more intently than he ever had, drawing upon his true power and that's when he had witnessed it.
During Sozin's Comet, when he had battled Ozai the first time, he had known the risks, drowned under the doubts and fears he faced. He hadn't actually expected a Lion Turtle to answer his summons, only having a vague idea of what he had been doing during his meditation upon that day years ago, but he had done it anyway. But what he had seen in his vision…
A culmination of the evil that had plagued the Material World for thousands of years, festering, growing as Vaatu became ever stronger from the Great War's chaos, was to rise like a hurricane. In his vision, the world had been bright, clear, and then in the blink of an eye, a storm of destruction surrounded everything.
And across from him, walking on the wind as easily as a true Airbender, was Ozai.
Behind Ozai was a trail of blood and death. It was a combination of all of the evil that had been unleashed by Vaatu and Ozai's actions. He saw glimpses of the three elements' coalition: Water, Earth, and Fire. He even saw Air, too, but that part was unclear, murky even to Aang. Then, worst of all, he had discerned the feel of Ozai's power, shaking as he himself felt the horror of realization, the mind-numbing, strident truth.
Vaatu and Ozai were fully merged just as Aang and Raava. They had somehow accomplished it. There were now two Avatars, one borne of light and the other borne of darkness.
The vision of Ozai had tilted his chin up at him, golden eyes burning with enmity. "At last, it's finally come, the reckoning of everything that you've stolen from us." Power rippled through the air, shaking the earth beneath them, and Ozai's eyes were now black orbs, sucking in the light around them like endless holes of darkness. Abruptly, the Dark Avatar threw a sizzling torrent of lightning at him and Aang smacked it aside. "I will strike you down with endless fury and with a heart that has remained beating only at the thought of you dead at my feet." Ozai's voice was a fusion between he and Vaatu, darkness drifting off him in waves of malevolent power as they were fully bonded, a bond that no one understood except Aang and Raava themselves. "And you will know that I am the true and rightful Avatar when I inflict my vengeance on you."
That was all he had seen, but it was enough.
Aang had then fully embraced the idea of mastering a weapon, knowing that if he were to, in any way whatsoever, avoid that vision from coming to fruition, he would need to have every advantage over Ozai and Vaatu that he could.
Which was why he was practicing archery, a skill that was effortless to master, in all honesty, just like everything always was. The bending arts were as easy for him as breathing, even earthbending after he had embraced the mindset, and firebending after he had triumphed over his mental block. It had actually concerned him.
How was he to teach the new Air Nomads when there would inevitably be children who couldn't master a new form in a day as he had always done but would take months, and even years in some cases? Nobody would master airbending when he or she was only 10-years-old as he had, and Aang realized that he would truly need to be patient when it came to teaching the new generation of Airbenders.
Ever since he had gifted Samir airbending, he had been forced to grapple with his frustration at how slow she learned the movements to the forms he taught her. It was actually Zuko of all people who had reminded him of something crucial.
His friend had taken him aside one day when everyone was watching Aang train Samir and his eyes were serious. "People learn at different rates, Aang. It is hard to accept, but it's the truth. It took me so long to master firebending, whereas Azula was deemed a true Master when she was only 15. I only recently mastered lightning, thus making me a true Master. Not anybody, not even Azula, can master bending at the rate you do, Aang. You yourself mastered your first element when you were 10! To anyone else, it sounds unthinkable. When I was training you in firebending before Sozin's Comet, I was shocked at the perfection that you displayed. You even knew some of the forms better than I did and you had less than a month to learn them! It was, undoubtedly, from your subconscious of having done it before, but the fact remains that you must remain patient with those who aren't you, who don't have your bending genius."
Aang stared at the arrows he had created the past days. The feathers were taken from a hawk that Bumi had and the arrowhead itself was created when he used metalbending, securing some discarded steel. The shaft was made out of a tree branch that Aang had delicately used airbending to create.
In a blur of motion, as fast as the wind itself, Aang fired several arrows at his target, watching as they blazed through the air until they connected, how they were perfectly centered, accurate and precise in ways that eclipsed that of the Yu Yan Archers by a wide margin.
It was lonely, but he took peace from it, the air whipping around him gently, the whispers of the wind itself echoing in his ears.
He slipped the bow over his shoulder, stepping softly towards the edge of the cliff, staring across the large ravine at his target. He was leagues away from Ba Sing Se, away from where he could cause damage from his training for this was where he had decided to learn lavabending - and combustion-bending, too. Signs had plagued him the past days, and he had journeyed to a barren land in the Earth Kingdom as a result.
Something had been clawing inside him, trying to reach him, speak to him. And this past morning, it had almost seized control of his body, so Aang had stopped ignoring one of his past lives and intended to summon them forward, ready to meet who he suspected to be Avatar Jinzhai.
He could feel it, the beckoning, pleading urge that resonated throughout his soul, begging to be released. Still staring at the arrows across the ravine, Aang let go.
The world shimmered around him, pulling around strangely, lashing out in confusion; and then there was a rough inhale behind him, someone breathing for the first time in over a millennium.
Aang closed his eyes and slowly turned around, passively gazing at the force who sought his presence. A man stood behind him several feet away, golden eyes connecting with Aang's eyes. The man appeared quite tall, but he only gave that appearance because of the long, massive hat he bore that showed slight glimpses of his dark brown hair. The longer Aang looked at him, the more he saw the Fire Sages themselves for the man was dressed most similarly; noble Fire Nation robes hiding his body just like Roku's did and his mustache was pencil-thin, drifting down past his lips and chin.
"Avatar Jinzhai, I presume," he called out to the man. "I've heard about you."
"Just as the entire Spirit World knows of you, Avatar Aang." Jinzhai's voice was scratchy, almost nasally like Bumi's. "The greatest of the Avatars, the boy who triumphed over the most powerful military the world has ever seen, the last of the old Airbenders, and first master of energybending in many millennia."
Aang raised his brows, "Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it without my friends and Roku's guidance."
A snort echoed, "Roku was making up for his mistakes, his inability to do what all Avatars must do."
"Roku," he countered, feeling the need to defend his predecessor, "was-"
"Was unable to do what he was supposed to." Jinzhai interrupted, tilting his head at him, golden eyes narrowed. "The guilt for the Great War lies on both he and Sozin's shoulders, does it not? It's fitting, actually. Two childhood best friends, who had always fantasized about being true brothers, brought about a century of death and misery and hate and war. Both of their actions were the catalyst for the Great War, Avatar Aang. Even you cannot deny this."
"Vaatu is the true mastermind behind the Great War, controlling Agni, who thus controlled Sozin."
"Your loyalty to your predecessor is commendable," Jinzhai cut in before Aang could reveal more of the truth. "But you are the Avatar now. Roku is the past, I am the past. Only you know what is best for the world, for both worlds. I know about Vaatu and how Sozin was 'controlled', but it doesn't change the facts, my friend. Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku are who started the Great War; their actions directly led to it."
"I know," he snapped, beginning to grow angry. "I know more than you do, Avatar Jinzhai. I've learned all of it, experienced the emotions as I learned. Your contempt for Avatar Roku is… understandable in certain scenarios, but right now, it's uncalled for."
Jinzhai stared at him for a moment. "Very well," he stated evenly. "Thank you for summoning me. I've been trying to speak with you for days, but I was afraid that you would refuse my request. I'm glad that you didn't because I'm the only one who can teach you lavabending save for Avatar Kyoshi and Avatar Kuruk, from whom I presume you wouldn't care to learn?"
Aang shifted on his feet guiltily, "Yes, that is a just assumption. Anyway, how did you learn it? Lavabending?"
"I was raised by the Fire Sages, kept on as an ignorant apprentice, no idea that I was the Avatar. I constantly heard of the duties of the Avatar, heard the legends of my predecessor, Avatar Boruk. I had particularly been fascinated by the myth of his power over lava. 'On a whirlwind of lava, Boruk came. Through his power, he triumphed over maim. And a Master of Fire, he was proclaimed.' That was something I was told over and over, forced by the Fire Sages to explain possible theories as to why Boruk was unable to ever command lava once again."
"You were- …well, that explains a lot, actually," he said quietly, realizing that Jinzhai's jaded outlook was that of the Fire Sages. He had been raised by them! "And when you were told your identity?"
"I was shocked," his past life grunted. "For my entire life, I had heard of the duties of the Avatar, of the unsurpassable power he possessed. I had known that Boruk had died before I was born, but I had never even imagined that I was his successor. So, at first, I hadn't believed the Fire Sages, confused by their cruel joke."
"Understandable."
"Yes," Jinzhai nodded, "it took a while, but in time, I accepted my destiny and for a decade, I mastered the elements. As Roku told you, it was bitter work but the results were worth it. I soon returned to my home, to the Fire Sages, and they taught me how to master the Avatar State. It was relatively simple, and then I was able to speak with Avatar Boruk, the man whom I was raised under legends of his power."
"And what did he tell you?"
"He told me details of his life that I had never known, that the Fire Sages had never learned of. I was grateful for I had finally found one who could sympathize with my plight. In time, Boruk revealed the day of where the legend of his absolute power was born. In fact, he showed me."
Aang leaned forward, "And? You were able to witness the events as if you were there in person all those centuries ago. What happened?"
"Boruk and his firebending teacher were dueling on the cliff of a volcano, a monstrous one. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it's the same volcano that Roku eventually made his home many lifetimes later. Boruk had his Master beaten; nobody could truly challenge the Avatar and hope to win. Then the volcano rumbled, shaking in displeasure. Boruk told me that he believed it to be a result of the fire blasts that had exploded inside the throat of the volcano. With no airbending to aid him, Boruk slipped in, the terrified gasps and screams of all the observers echoing through the air."
"But Boruk survived," he pointed out. "He wasn't harmed."
"Yes, but everybody thought that Boruk was going to die, that the Avatar would perish. But the winds of fate had deemed a different outcome. In a matter of moments, a vortex of lava rose, and in the center of it, Boruk, looking as fearsome as any Avatar. I had always heard the legends from the Fire Sages, but it was something entirely different to witness it with my own eyes. For a few decades, Boruk revealed that he had tried and tried and tried to gain a semblance of control over lava, but he failed."
"Because lavabending originates from earthbending," Aang pointed out, remembering Boruk's words. "You're the one who realized it."
"I know," a smug tone echoed in the air. "I had originally tried to succeed where my predecessor failed but had gotten nowhere after months of effort. I had tried every form of firebending I knew, adding different flares with no effect. Eventually, I perused through every scroll in the Fire Nation that contained information about volcanoes. What was lava, I wondered. Why had no Firebender ever manipulated it? But why had Boruk done so? If lava was essentially fire-water, why couldn't the Fire Nation control volcanoes? Why were so many villages and provinces near volcanoes terrified of them? Firebenders could walk through the lava, but they couldn't keep the lava from destroying villages and non-benders. Why didn't the benders just control the volcanoes, taming them? I then narrowed down a list of differences between Boruk and a Firebender. What made Boruk so different except for the fact that he was the Avatar? Then I concluded that it was because he was the Avatar. I constricted my line of thought even further. Boruk was the Avatar, but so was I. Why hadn't I controlled lava when he had? We were both the same person, essentially."
"What did you do?"
"I spent time speaking with Boruk, trying to determine what was so different between us. Then I had the epiphany! What was Boruk when he bent the lava?" Aang frowned in confusion, not sure what Jinzhai meant. "He was the Avatar, yes, but he wasn't a fully-realized Avatar. He only knew earthbending and firebending. No Avatar State was triggered in the volcano, so it was only Boruk who had controlled the lava. It was clearly not from firebending for Boruk and I had both tried for almost a combined century with Fire. That's when I realized that Boruk and I had been looking at it all from the wrong angle. Boruk hadn't bent the lava using firebending. He had bent it by using earthbending."
Aang was impressed by his past life, concluding that behind the man's cold arrogance was a brilliant mind. "So, you were then able to lavabend? You mastered it?"
"Yes, I did, and long after my demise, I passed on the knowledge to Avatar Kuruk, bypassing Avatar Yangchen who didn't yearn to master such a power, who then passed it onto Avatar Kyoshi, the last Avatar to truly utilize lavabending. I know you are about to argue that Roku has bent lava, specifically when he destroyed his own Avatar Temple, demolishing the entire island in the process, but he wasn't a Master as I and the others were. Now, I can teach you or you can learn from Kuruk or Kyoshi. Who do you choose, Avatar Aang?"
He chuckled despite himself. "I choose you, Avatar Jinzhai. I am ready to learn under your guidance."
XxXxXxXxXxX
The food was splendid, some of the finest that she had ever encountered throughout her life. It was obvious, at least to her, that King Bumi had ordered it specifically for them. Azula sipped from her chalice and the water slid pleasantly down her throat, refreshing her. She then took a bite of her komodo chicken, savoring the flavors of the rich substance. She hummed and wondered where King Bumi had procured such a Fire Nation treasure from.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Sokka asked while chewing what looked like the leg of an animal. "We came here to build an army."
"And an army you will get!" King Bumi declared.
Sokka nodded his head, "Yes, but what do we do in the meantime? We have no idea what Dark and Ozai are going to do. Aang is currently gone; he traveled to do some Avatar mumbo jumbo."
"He went to learn lavabending, Sokka," Katara rolled her eyes.
"Don't forget that my husband went to learn combustion-bending, as well." Azula pointed out, delighted that she could again remind the Gaang that she was married to the Avatar and that once Aang learned combustion-bending, she could as well.
Toph huffed, "Yeah, we all know that you snared Twinkletoes and that he lost his freedom. I felt it the moment it happened," she shivered and Azula smirked. "I still can't believe that an Earthbender can manipulate lava."
"You should believe it because it's a terrible truth." King Bumi murmured, eyes remembering a moment none of them had ever experienced.
Zuko took a long drink from the firewhiskey, "King Bumi, what about this army you keep mentioning? Of whom is it conscripted?"
Azula raised a brow as King Bumi deflated, "That's the problem, Fire Lord Zuko. I'm still working on it."
"What do you mean you're still working on it?" Sokka exclaimed, small chunks of meat flying out of his mouth. "You've had months, now! How much longer, Bumi?"
"Half-past a Badgermole's ass and a quarter to its balls!" King Bumi snarked and Azula's lips twitched in amusement.
"Snoozles, next time when you talk," Toph growled out after King Bumi's declaration. "Make sure that you swallow before you speak," she blatantly flicked the pieces of meat out of her hair.
Sokka reddened, "Sorry, Toph."
"Grandfather, what has been the hold up in building the army?" Bor asked.
"Wouldn't the Children of Earth be eager to join arms against my husband?" Azula's mother added. "There is no love lost between them, King Bumi."
"Quite true, quite true, but you see, Dowager Fire Lady Ursa, much, if not all of the Children of Earth seek not only to destroy your husband but all of the Children of Fire along with him."
"Joy, I love being hunted," Mai said dryly.
"It'll be like the old days!" Ty Lee chirped in a giggle, "Maybe I can run into Haru again."
Azula took another sip from her glass, ignoring her two former friends. "And let me guess, if the citizens get word of three members of the Fire Royal Family residing in your new palace, they will be outraged."
"They would try to overthrow me," King Bumi clenched his fist. "I've been dispatching messengers throughout the Earth Kingdom, sending them to Chyung and Zaofu, but both Kings were infuriated at such a proposal of a world with Fire still remaining."
"But don't they realize that would throw the world out of balance even further?" Katara asked in disbelief.
Azula shook her head, "At this point, Katara, I don't think that they care. Nobody knows of Samir's existence as an Airbender and Aang is believed to be the last of the Air Nomads. I suspect that, in the Children of Earth's minds, they preach to snuff out Fire, thus making only two nations and two elements - balanced."
Zuko closed his eyes. "And now the world pretty much has only three nations and three elements - unbalanced."
"But that risks the Avatar Cycle being broken," Toph commented. "Twinkletoes is gettin' busy with Lighting Psycho to pop out some little Airbenders, bringing back balance, but if the Children of Fire are massacred, that will put the world at risk without the Avatar."
"And the Great War is the perfect example of what happens when an Avatar is gone," her brother finished darkly.
"Yeah, but Roku could have stopped Sozin, and he didn't," Sokka said with a finger waving in the air.
King Bumi snorted, "That's true, but based on the truths that Aang revealed to me, there was a lot more at play during those times then what seems at first glance. Dark had corrupted Agni, influencing Sozin with darkness, and Roku was too blinded by their shared sentiment from childhood to recognize what had happened."
"We are digressing, everyone," Azula raised her voice. "The fact is, is that we must have a plan for my father and whoever sides with him against us. Ozai has already acquired earthbending and I'm certain that he is well on his way to mastering it, if he hasn't already. I'm sure that he still has the Dai Li with him; they would train him in their ways."
"All he needs to become on par with Aang is- " Katara was cut off.
"Ozai would never be on par with Aang even if he and Dark became fully bonded." King Bumi interrupted. "I've been in the Order of the White Lotus ever since the Great War began, the Avatar's personal army. I know that of which I speak. Aang is the living embodiment and culmination of ten-thousand years of knowledge, power, and bending. Ozai has only lived one lifetime, whereas Aang has lived thousands."
"Actually, he hasn't," she corrected. "Each Avatar lives for a long time and based on what Avatar Kirku had said to me, there haven't even been half a hundred Avatars to exist since Avatar Wan, the first of the Avatars."
"I know that, but you get the point," King Bumi said with a wave of his hand. "Ozai could never compete against my friend. It's unthinkable to even contemplate a victory for your father during such a battle when both he and Aang are fighting with all their strength and power."
"Anyway!" Katara snapped, her words echoing. "That's not what I had meant! What I meant was that Ozai needs two more elements to become on par with Aang in that regard, not with pure power and mastery and knowledge."
"Nicely said," Zuko said and his hand squeezed Katara's. "I am still waiting on a reply from the Sun Warriors about the Dragons. Based on whatever I receive back, I'll do what I need to."
"And I'll join you," Katara declared.
Sokka raised his brows, "Katara, do you really think it's a good idea to split away from the main group? Ozai was able to directly attack Aang and Azula-"
"And the Loser Lord got his ass kicked by Aang." Toph reminded him, "That was amazing."
Azula rolled her eyes, "But that was after I had been shot with lightning, Toph."
"That's true. Nevermind, actually. I agree with Snoozles, Sugar Queen."
"I can take care of myself and if we do leave, I'll have Zuko with me. He's a powerful Firebender."
"So am I," Azula gestured to her chest, where the scar was hidden beneath her Air Nomad garbs. "And in spite of that, Ozai was able to almost kill me with Aang nearby."
"I don't know if we even are leaving!" Zuko suddenly cried out. "It's a big if, guys!"
Azula's mother tilted her head, curiously gazing at her brother. "It might be fortuitous if the group did, indeed, split up. Zuko and others can personally go to convince the Dragons to join us, while some stay in Ba Sing Se."
"We are speaking of hypotheticals, everyone." Suki suddenly spoke, ending her streak of silence. "Ozai still needs Water and Air to become an Avatar. Nobody, not even Aang, knows where the Air Spirit is, but the Ocean and Moon are in the North Pole."
Bor leaned forward, "Are you suggesting that Ozai would… you think that he would invade the Northern Water Tribe?"
"It's possible," Suki shrugged.
Sokka shook his head, "But highly unlikely. He would need an army and a means to sail to the North Pole, and the Northern Water Tribe, while displeased that I'm a non-bender, accept me as their future Chief. I'm their only viable heir; they wouldn't oppose me."
"Assumption is the mother of all failures, Sokka," Zuko warned, golden eyes remembering something.
"Fine, Zuko. I would be shocked if the Northern Water Tribe joined Ozai. It wouldn't even make sense. They know him! They would attack him the second he appeared."
"My father has an uncanny commitment in regards to planning, among other things," Azula called out. "If anyone would be able to gather an army and invade the Northern Water Tribe, it would be him."
Her mother took a bite of her meal, "That's true, my daughter, but your father's temper is infamous. He would kill his loyalists and allies."
"Not if they are of the same mindsets," her brother said quietly. "If his allies are like him, he'll keep them alive, if only as a tool to discard when they have no further use."
XxXxXxXxXxX
"Did you know that the Avatar murdered my sire... Piandao?" Chin V stared at him with poisonous green eyes, matching the beautiful jade clothing he wore, curiously rotating a dozen small pebbles in the air without even waving his hand. "That's why I joined you and the mighty Vaatu, you see? My fellow brethren and I have tried for centuries to murder the Avatar just as my sire was murdered, but we failed drastically each time. We could never hope to match the Avatar in power, but when the mighty Vaatu whispered enticing words, I and my brethren eagerly joined your crusade, recognizing that our long-awaited vengeance had finally arrived."
Ozai narrowed his eyes, "And who is your sire? Am I right when I assume it to be Chin the Conqueror?"
Chin V grinned and it was filled with sadism. Ozai was beginning to like this man more and more. "Of course, Piandao. Through him, my brethren and I are powerful Children of Earth. I am begotten of the Conqueror's bloodline."
"The warlord?" Hama leaned forward, a frown splitting her features. "Wasn't he the one who tried to unify the Earth Kingdom centuries ago during Avatar Kyoshi's reign?"
"Yes, he was, Hama," Chin V nodded. "My lineage has sworn vengeance against the Avatar. The bitch, Kyoshi unjustly murdered my glorious sire, Chin the Conqueror. She was too much of a woman to see the plans that were in motion."
Zhao snorted, "Just like all women."
"Well said," Ozai remarked. "The only thing that a woman is good for is fucking and bearing children. They are a slave to their emotions - pathetic! Only the magnificent breed of women are worthy - the powerful benders. The rest are fickle mistresses!"
"By Tui and La... what a bunch of Polar Dog-shitters you all are!" Hama spat, eyes darkening.
Silence reigned until it was pierced by the amused voice of Chin V.
"May I commend you, Hama, on being the first woman whom I've met in many years to have a backbone; it's most refreshing."
"But she just proved our point," Zhao said with a sneering laugh. "Her emotions controlled her."
Chin V chuckled, "Well, she can either be timid like all woman and play slave to her emotions, or she can be bold and play slave to her emotions. She can't be both. I prefer the latter, if it's all the same."
"I commend you," Zhao took a long drink from the alcohol.
Ozai observed his new earthbending teacher and raised a brow. "What were the plans that Chin the Conqueror had set in motion, if I may ask?"
"What is the key difference between the Royal Families in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes versus that of the Fire Nation?"
"The others are…" Ozai had to still his tongue from saying 'peasants', so he said the second difference that popped into his head. "They are weaker."
Chin V nodded his head, "Exactly! The Water Tribes have two different Royal Families and the Earth Kingdom had four Royal Families. Now it's only three because of that manic fucker, King Bumi, and then the Fire Nation only has one Royal Family, the line of… Sozin."
Ozai had to refrain from smirking viciously at the fact that even the peasants could recognize the Children of Fire's superiority. "So Chin the Conqueror was going to unite the Earth Kingdom under one Royal Family," he hummed in agreement, "under his bloodline."
"It was the right move from a tactical standpoint." Zhao pointed out, eyes darting towards Ozai's own.
"Of course, and it would have put my sire on even ground with the Fire Lord. A new contender would have arisen, and there would have only been one survivor. My sire first made a name for himself as a watcher of incoming Fire Nation ships for trade off of the coast. For several years, he was forced to hear of how mighty the Fire Lord was, how Fire Lord Kazuki's will alone shaped an entire nation through terror and absolute power. Eventually, my sire rallied and banded together with other warriors who sought power for the Earth Kingdom." A curious mixture of revulsion and pride flashed across his features. "He even met the bitch, Kyoshi, becoming quite close to her. This was just before she had been declared the newest incarnation of the Avatar, stumbling across my sire during her early teenage years through the Earth Kingdom. All reports show that she was intrigued with him, fascinated that he was willing to overthrow the four Earth Kings over the Children of Devi. I even found a scroll that said she agreed that the Fire Lord was the most powerful out of the leaders of the Four Nations; she was even quoted as saying that those who failed to see that truth were mindless fools."
"The two knew each other?" Hama leaned forward, intrigue carved into her features. "What could cause such a dispute that Kyoshi would later be willing to murder Chin the Conqueror?"
"The story goes that Kyoshi and my sire laid together when she was only a girl, probably when she had just turned fifteen, and soon, Kyoshi found herself pregnant with the Conqueror's firstborn." Ozai's own eyes widened and he found himself fascinated with Chin V more and more. To have the blood of an Avatar… He knew that Ursa was the lone granddaughter of Avatar Roku, and that was why Azulon had been so content with their union. His wife was a prodigy, strong, and powerful. Avatar Roku's blood flowed through her veins, just as it flowed through Zuko's and just as it used to flow through Azula's before Ozai killed his disappointing whore of a daughter. Any Avatar's line was the epitome of power, no matter a man or woman, and often the strongest benders in recorded history claimed the blood of an Avatar. "That's when the unraveling began. You see, my sire had, by that point, begun to share his plans with her, his vision of an Earth Kingdom united under his bloodline."
"Did she finally see him for the monster who he would become?" Hama questioned, ignoring Chin V's narrowed eyes. "You can't deny that many thousands died during his conquests through the Earth Kingdom."
"Those who died were only the ones who rebelled after they surrendered to him." Chin V countered fiercely. "In fact, my sire claimed to say that he was the punishment of Devi, the Earth Spirit. He declared that the conquered shouldn't have committed a great sin, for if they had not, Devi would not have sent my sire to conquer them, thus uniting the Earth Kingdom."
"What became of the situation after Kyoshi fell with child?" Ozai demanded, sweeping through the pointless chatter. "Are all the Children of Chin… Children of Kyoshi, as well?"
"After Kyoshi gave birth to my sire's firstborn, Chin II, his heir, she was then outed as the Avatar by the Earth Sages. She left to master the elements, leaving her son, Chin II with my sire, where he was raised alongside all of the numerous children that my sire would soon father through his harem of women - he often said that the legacy of a man is determined by his children, so he fathered many. After a number of years, over a decade, he had amassed an army that outclassed any in the Earth Kingdom, building a loyal circle of men with similar contentions to himself. He soon journeyed through the Earth Kingdom, conquering every city and town, even the four Major Cities themselves: Ba Sing Se, Chyung, Zaofu, and Omashu! By that point, Kyoshi had finished her training and all accounts detail that she returned to the land of her birth, which was the last occupied Earth Kingdom land that my sire needed to conquer to fully unite the Earth Kingdom."
"And Kyoshi wouldn't let him do that," Zhao took another swig of the alcohol. "Sounds just like an Avatar."
"Yes, it was exactly like an Avatar," fierce hatred spasmed across Chin V's face, making him look inhuman. "That bitch was too foolish to understand my sire's glorious plan." The ground around where Chin V sat crackled and before Ozai's very stunned eyes, it morphed into lava.
Silence.
Hama finally broke the shocked atmosphere. "Lava? How…?" Water from her glass swirled around her suddenly clenched hand, transforming into long shards of ice. "What is this power? How have you learned of such a devious art? Who taught you?"
"You can bend lava itself," Ozai murmured, staring at Chin V in a new light. He had been mistaken, it seemed. Before, he had classified Chin V as a great tool he could wield in his ever-growing arsenal, but he now recognized that he was in the presence of another very powerful man, one who could possibly be a legitimate threat to him. "How? I've never heard of anyone controlling lava, and I'm from the Fire Nation. No legend has ever mentioned Fire Lord Sozin or Azulon or Ozai manipulating lava. They could only walk through it unharmed." That reminded Ozai of Embers, his grandfather's fire-blade. Soon, he would possess it, his very birthright, thanks to that boy.
Chin V smiled and it was a sickening sight, the scarred flesh around his face scrunching, cringing together until his face was an inhuman mass of glee. "Why it was the Avatar who taught my ancestors, who then, in turn, taught it to me." The amusement in his tone was unmistakable.
Fire bloomed across Zhao's hands, alighting his own face with a sinister snarl. "Impossible! You lie! I've seen Avatar Roku bend lava and there is no way he would have ever taught your forefathers!"
The mention of Avatar Roku reminded Ozai of the report he had received from Zhao all those years ago, detailing the destruction of Avatar Roku's Temple by Roku's ghost who had taken control of the new Avatar's body, and the deceit of those treacherous Fire Sages. When he was notified, he hadn't truly believed it, scorning the idea of Avatar Roku appearing and bending lava itself, believing that Zhao had been afflicted by 'war madness', but now he realized that Zhao had spoken the truth.
Chin V laughed and the lava bubbling around him swirled in a display of the man's great power. "Such a temper! You truly are a Child of Fire." His face darkened, "I despise the Children of Fire."
"Yet you've joined us, anyway." Ozai pointed out calmly, allowing his lips to smirk in amusement. "You've already mentioned your hatred of the Avatar, specifically towards Kyoshi, and your disdain towards Agni's Children is obvious. You must decide whom you hate more, and I think you've already made that choice since you joined us against the Avatar."
"You're right, Piandao," the lava-controller said after a moment, glaring at Zhao before he inhaled deeply. "If you remember, I said Avatar, but I never mentioned which Avatar."
"It wasn't Avatar Roku," Hama said in realization, spears of ice still floating around her hand, pointed towards Chin V.
"And it wasn't the current Avatar…" Ozai frowned in disbelief. "Are you saying that… Avatar Kyoshi taught Chin the Conqueror how to control lava? The woman who killed him, taught him?"
Chin V smirked, "Not exactly. My sire was murdered by that bitch in front of his entire army, among them his heir, Chin II, Kyoshi's own son. From the stories that have been told for the past generations, Kyoshi separated the entire mainland into an island, tearing relentlessly through hundreds of leagues of forest and farmland. She blew my sire's entire army back, among them Chin II, leaving my sire alone. Then, an enormous fissure cracked through and lava erupted out in a great wall, towering over the entire army. The separated island then blurred away under Kyoshi's power, leaving my sire to die."
"Yep," Zhao took a long sip of the alcohol, "it sounds exactly like an Avatar. It's like the Northern Water Tribe all over again." Ozai's eyes narrowed at the mention of Zhao's failure but he turned his attention to Chin V, curious.
"It's obvious that Chin II was who learned lavabending. But how did he master it?"
"Kyoshi quickly disbanded the entire army, placing the Kings of the four Major Earth Kingdom Cities back on their thrones and murdered all the soldiers who rebelled against such action. From what's been shared, I've gathered that Kyoshi had sought to reconcile with her son. She tracked him down, questioning how he was raised and what he planned to do now that his father was dead. Chin II was livid and kicked her out, but he didn't dare to attack her, knowing it would be suicide. And he wouldn't have his revenge if he was dead. Then, years passed and Chin II had secretly built the Children of Chin up, building a worthy legacy of our great sire. He was the undisputed leader, for he was not only our sire's firstborn, but he also was of Avatar Kyoshi's blood, making him the strongest amongst our sire's numerous children. He fathered a son - Chin III - with one of his half-siblings, making my bloodline even stronger in earthbending and when the time came, Chin II journeyed to Kyoshi Island." Pure disdain rolled across Chin V's face. "He 'reconciled' with Kyoshi, declaring that he was a fool and sought to have his mother in his life."
Ozai snorted, "That was a lie if I've ever heard one. It was a facade, wasn't it?"
Chin V grinned maliciously, "Yes, it was, but Kyoshi had been so desperate to know her son that she overlooked the strangeness of it all. Upon his urging, the bitch taught him lavabending, granting him access to such extraordinary power. When he finally mastered it, he left, promising Kyoshi that he would visit again. When he returned to his home, he taught everything he possibly could to Chin III, making sure that the knowledge of lavabending would live on in Chin's Children. After the knowledge and forms were passed on, he ventured back to Kyoshi Island, and killed himself by jumping off a cliff."
"He preserved the secrecy of what he had built," Ozai concluded, finding that he admired Chin II's ability to do what was necessary.
"Kyoshi was never given wind of my ancestor's deeds, not knowing that he had fathered a son and that her bloodline lived on through him."
"So, only an Earthbender can bend lava?" Zhao asked after a moment, looking at Chin V's boiling lava stream enviously.
Chin V grinned and his poisonous orbs connected with Ozai's, "Yes, which is why my fellow Earthbender should master it, methinks. I joined your crusade because I want to destroy the Avatar, and the best chance to see that dream become a reality is to train the destroyer of the Avatar with all my power, gifting him secrets that haven't been spoken of by anyone other than my ancestors." The lava swirled around his hand and Ozai yearned to touch it. "After all, isn't it justice? The Avatar murdered my sire through lava, so shouldn't the Avatar be destroyed through that very art?"
"That's poetic justice if I've ever heard of it." Hama chuckled and the shards of icy spears vanished, swirling back into her chalice.
"When do we start?" Ozai demanded, fingers arching towards the stream of lava, aching to control it, to control such destructive power!
A dark smirk split Chin V's disfigured features, "You've received basic training from the Dai Li, Vaatu mentioned, so how about now?" All of a sudden, Ozai felt a tingling shiver crawl up his spine. He knew what was about to happen, but because he was so unfamiliar with the true concept, he was helpless to defend himself from the pillar of earth that appeared out of nowhere and smashed into him.
Ozai put his arms up at the last second and his hands - both hands because he was finally healed! - were alight with flames. The air left his lungs in a rush, reminding him painfully of what the Avatar had done to him, as the pillar blasted him out of the squalor he had called 'home' for the past months.
He snarled as he stood to his feet, golden eyes blazing with rage. "Do you covet death so much, Chin?"
The Lavabender had the gall to strut out the hole that Ozai had created and smiled. "No, no, Piandao," he clenched his hand and the ground between he and Ozai turned to lava. "I merely wish to see if Vaatu had chosen correctly in his vessel. Perhaps, I would be better than a lying coward such as yourself. After all, the mission of myself and my ancestors is to destroy the Avatar. I should become the Dark Avatar. You are unworthy of such a glorious burden, deceiver. To the victor goes the spoils, Piandao!" He rushed forward on a wave of lava, Hama and Zhao watching from afar.
Ozai growled. He would deal with them later. Streams of fire jetted out of his feet as he blazed towards Chin V, the scorching heat soothing his fury. "You will regret this, and it will be the last thought to ever enter your mind!"
They clashed against one another, all-encompassing heat blanketing the surrounding area. Lava roared as it smashed against Ozai, who focused on his inner flame, but nothing happened as the lava drifted down his form like droplets of water.
Chin V's maniacal grin left his face and panic was visible in his green eyes. Ozai grinned and lunged at the man, streams of fire burning the man's pristine robes, revealing the muscles beneath.
"You will rue the day you tried to put me in a hole in the ground!" Ozai snarled, smashing his flame-coated fist into the Lavabender's stomach, the smell of burning skin a sweet odor as Chin V roared in agony as flesh sizzled.
"I'm not dead yet!" Chin V cried out and Ozai's head snapped to the side as his opponent lashed out, but he simply smiled, blood gleaming against his teeth. He focused and felt the terrible power of lightning condense in his palms, crackling, sparking, the unholy strength of the cold-blooded fire filling his veins - just like it had when he killed his whore of a daughter. Ozai pointed his fingers towards Chin V, lightning exploding through the air, the roaring echo of thunder resounding throughout.
Chin V's eyes were wide before a smirk stretched his scarred lips, and Ozai suddenly lost his smile as Chin the Conqueror's heir vanished into the earth. The lightning smashed into the lava, blowing Ozai back from the resulting detonation. He wildly looked around, standing to his feet, waiting for Chin's inevitable attack, but seconds passed and nothing happened.
A movement.
He whirled to his right, instinctively catching the shard of metal that had almost decapitated him. Chin V leaped toward him, metal and lava rotating around him in a defensive shield. Ozai threw the spear back at him and charged, fire blooming across his clenched fists.
Ozai dimly noticed all of Chin V's fellow brethren had joined Hama and Zhao in their quest to not get involved, gazing at the fight in curious awe; they were too far away to hear the words exchanged between them.
"Did you truly think that I wouldn't recognize you?" Chin V's words were barely audible over their clashing, but he heard them. "'I'm from the Fire Nation,' indeed! You were in their heart of them, weren't you, Fire Lord Ozai?"
Ozai laughed, amused that Chin V shared such details when nobody else could hear. "If you know the truth of my identity, then you should know how grave of an error it was to attack me." He winced as several pieces of the metal suddenly clamped onto his feet, trapping him. He lurched forward as his momentum was used against him, Chin's metal-protected fist smashing painfully into his ribs, forcing Ozai to his knees, hands engulfed by lava, but unharmed.
His hands were then fastened with metal, too, eyes glaring upward at Chin V.
The metal ground against his skin, trying to crush his bones, and Ozai resisted as much as he could. "And yet I've defeated you, proving my superiority over Fire Lord Ozai, over the mighty Vaatu's unworthy vessel." The man's eyes were delighted, blazing with malevolent glee, poisonous green orbs dancing in the light of the lava.
He laughed once more, "Do you truly think me so weak?" He kept his words low, not desiring for his future waterbending teacher - nor the other Children of Chin - to know the truth yet. "I am of Sozin's line, the culmination of a Royal Bloodline so mighty that the rest of the nations tremble at my very name. I am Phoenix King Ozai, son of Fire Lord Azulon, son of Fire Lord Sozin, son of Fire Lord Kohaku, son of Fire Lord Kazuki. You may have the blood of Avatar Kyoshi in your veins, but my veins are brimming with the destructive force of fire." Ozai's eyes glowed with monstrous power, glowing like melted gold, and his hands, which were still clamped, became flames, burning away the metal restraints.
Chin V stumbled back, gazing at him in - what Ozai noticed to his great delight - fear. Lava and metal rushed at him, flung at him by the stumbling man, but Ozai simply let the lava crash against him harmlessly and he roared magnificent fire out of his lips at the approaching metal, melting the potential weapons.
He threw fireballs at Chin and smiled at the sight of the man barely managing to erect walls of rock to defend himself. He inhaled deeply and squatted, lashing his foot out in blurred motion, toe pointed at the barrier as fire swarmed at it, tearing through relentlessly. Before Chin could stand to his feet and react, Ozai leaped forward and held his flaming fist above Chin's scarred face. "I told you that regret would be the last thought to enter your mind, and I'm glad to see that I was right. Die with the final realization that you won't see the Avatar destroyed, that the truth of my identity will die with you. The bloodline of Avatar Kyoshi and Chin the Conqueror ends here. I grant you no mercy just as you wouldn't for me." An ugly smile split Ozai's face, "You shouldn't doubt Vaatu, fool. He knows true potential and power when he sees it. Enjoy the Gardens of the Dead, Chin V."
Cold.
Ozai barely managed to refrain from flinching from the frigid atmosphere that suddenly bore down on him. He suddenly felt the presence of his ally looming over him.
"And what, pray do tell me, is going on, Piandao?" Vaatu's voice snapped like thunder, shaking the air itself.
"This fool attacked me and tried to kill me," he growled out, snuffing out his flames, and stepping back. "He yearned to see if your judgment was correct in your choice of your Dark Avatar. He believed it to be an error, especially since he knows my identity."
The darkness exploded off Vaatu and suddenly the mighty spirit had Chin V in his grasp, holding the now-terrified man over a dozen feet off the ground. "You dare? I am ancient, the creator of your pitiful Realm! It was I and Raava who bent the Tree of Time's very roots, binding them to this world while we shaped its very formation, creating it out of the cosmic energies. I am a power beyond understanding, mortal. My judgment is aligned perfectly - unlike yours." Ozai felt himself shiver minutely at Vaatu's words, gleefully watching as Chin V was humiliated. "The only reason you still yet breathe is that of your usefulness, mortal. Your utter disrespect by judging me and my decisions is unacceptable. Don't have your unsavory tendencies outweigh your potential valuable contributions to my crusade against the Avatar because if that happens, I will have no qualms in granting Ozai the gift of snuffing out your pitiful existence." Hooks of malevolent shadows extended out of Vaatu and slithered over Chin V's chest. "But, the matter of Ozai's identity must remain a secret beyond any other. I can foresee that you wish to spread the truth, and that will not be tolerated. Let this serve as a… reminder to not do such a thing." The hooks brutally tore into Chin V's chest, the crimson color of blood clashing against the darkness. The Children of Chin all shrieked from their long position away and dashed forward but Vaatu swept his shadows at them in a dreadful wave before they could get far, smashing them back into the camp.
"The more I become acquainted with your methods, the more I admire you, my friend." Ozai murmured as agonizing, hysterical shrieks in a foreign language echoed in the air as Chin V dangled in Vaatu's shadows, poisonous green orbs hazed with the utter pain. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was over and Vaatu slithered towards Ozai.
"No problems will occur again with this one, my vessel. Enjoy your training." With that, Vaatu blurred through Ozai's chest and he felt the fire leave him, replaced by a steadfast, sturdy power. "Soon, everything that I've dreamt of since Wan will be a reality, Ozai," Vaatu appeared back in front of him, almost seeming to grin. "And you will know the true taste of power once we are fully bonded; I've made great progress in deciphering our dilemma. It won't be too long, now. The reckoning is coming."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Night had fallen, heralded by the screeching of Agni's setting light. A blanket of darkness, save for thin streams of fire from the torches blazing along the walls, covered him, masking his presence from those who would kill him if they knew who he truly was.
An acolyte of Vaatu, the mighty spirit who had managed to release him from his unjust, eternal torment. He had been chosen because of his deep hatred for Fire Lord Zuko and the Dragon of the West, and because of his prior involvement with Aang, Katara, and Sokka.
In return, he had aided Piandao, Vaatu's chosen vessel, in the slaughtering of the Order of the White Lotus, catching those self-declared masters off-guard, feeding on their chi's, forcefully siphoning off their energy to strengthen his own body.
It was thanks to Vaatu - the future, preordained destroyer of the Avatar and Children of Fire! - that he had become the way he was. His mind was sharper, able to utilize patience in ways he had never done so before in his previous life. He could see the bigger picture, now.
His footsteps were soundless, stealthily gliding across the stone, dark eyes darting, deciphering positions of concealment around him. He could not be caught. If he were, he had no doubts that he would end up in the Gardens of the Dead again. He couldn't go back to that accursed place! Not until he had his revenge!
A light pierced through the jaded, murky darkness ahead and he froze, crouching low as he watched one of the other lowly servants, specifically, one of the chefs for the Royal Family approach. He relaxed and stood to his feet, motioning for the ugly man to come closer.
"What is it you wanted, Lee?" The man hissed out, eyes warily glancing to and fro, panic carved into his features.
The scribe known as 'Lee' smiled and chuckled lightly to put the man at ease. "Don't be so nervous, my friend. I just need your help with something, that's all." He slung an arm around the man's shoulder, "You see, since you're a Firebender and I'm not, I need you to open a passage for me."
"Passage? What passage? What are you talking about, Lee?"
"Well, you do know who Fire Lord Sozin is, don't you?" Lee asked rhetorically, ignoring the man's huff at Lee's obvious mockful tone. "There's a legend that I've heard about a weapon he wielded, one that he himself forged in the rushing rivers of lava beneath the Royal Palace with the aid of his Dragon." Lee leaned closer to the chef. "It was called… Embers. It was a mighty blade that could withstand a Firebender of Sozin's caliber's blazing flames without melting."
"What are you talking about, Lee?" The Chef demanded, "Who told you of this weapon called Embers? I've never heard of it, and while you're at it, explain to me why Fire Lord Sozin would need a sword when his firebending was so mighty? Also, I've heard the stories of Fire Lord Zuko wielding swords while firebending-"
Lee snarled, hand gripping the chef's shoulder until bones quivered. "Don't speak of that skin-melted bastard to me, got it?"
The chef gasped and the blood drained from his face, "Lee! You cannot speak such things! That's treason, utter blasphemy. People have been executed for less."
"Grow a pair of balls, milquetoast," he spat. "Fire Lord Sozin made the sword specifically during his Dragon-hunting conquests. He skinned the hide of the beasts using the fire-blade. Now, are you going to help me or not?" His fingers harshly dug into the chef's shoulder, clawing at the fragile bones beneath.
"Okay!" Sweat had begun to spill down the man's sunken cheeks. "What do you want me to do?"
Lee smiled and released the chef, "I've already told you, my friend. I just want you to open a door for me, that's it, okay?"
"Where is it?"
"You're standing on it." Lee pointed to the ground, at the beautiful mural of a Dragon. It was magnificent, even he had to admit that. The creature's eyes seemed to lock onto his own, predatory orbs shining with the urge to devour like fire itself. It seemed to glow, alighting the area surrounding them the longer Lee locked at it. The beast's chest itself shined with a red, orange light, depicting fire as it longed to be breathed out and raze everything in its path.
"This is a… door?" The chef gulped as he stared down at the Dragon.
Before the other man could react, Lee wrenched the man's hand down to the Dragon's open mouth, to the smooth stone. "Now firebend, my friend. Then you're free to go."
The stone quickly grew hot and Lee was forced to remove his hand from the searing heat, a smile splitting his face as the door revealed itself, sliding soundlessly.
The chef slowly stood up, shaking fearfully and before he could bolt off, Lee snagged the man's shirt, "Not too fast,"
"But you said that I could go!"
"I did say that, didn't I...? I lied. You serve a purpose greater than you think, milquetoast. You will aid me in the fall of Fire Lord Zuko and the Children of Fire, the nation that took everything from me." Lee closed his eyes and his other hand wrapped around the chef's throat, squeezing tightly, but not with the intent to suffocate. No. He didn't want the chef dead, not at all. Rather the opposite, actually. He wanted the chef to live as he himself did.
Slowly, like a weary Badgermole, he felt his own chi reach out, mixing with the chef's, tainting it, snuffing out the inner flame, siphoning strength and life. Thanks to Vaatu's touch, Lee hummed in utter pleasure as he felt life flood through his darkness-touched chi. The chef's eyes bulged out of their sockets, hysteria overwhelming the poor man, skin stretched taut, a mass of sunken terror.
Before he accidentally stole everything, Lee dropped the on-the-brink-of-death man, "You know, should thank me. Because of me, you will live multiple lifetimes, rivaling the Avatar in longevity."
The chef gasped and his features became smoother, losing the expiry that had been carved into his skin. His eyes blazed with anger and fear and he lashed out at Lee. "Die, you traitor!" Nothing happened as his fist hung in the air, no flames or smoke. The chef paled, "What have you done to me?" He shook his fist at Lee several more times, inhaling with utter concentration, but the results were the same as before.
No fire.
"You've heard the stories of… Fire Lord Ozai and how the Avatar used energybending to snuff out his inner flame, taking away his very bending itself, right? Well, I simply took it a… step further, you could say. You can thank the mighty Vaatu for that, for it was he who transformed me. I now have the balls to do what Aang could not, what he was too naive to see as he was a fucking bright-eyed child. I've made you a long-lived terror who will help rid the world of the Children of Fire. They stole the only ones who mattered from me, so I will bathe in their blood once they're all extinguished." Lee brought his hands down and cupped the man's cheeks. "Can't you feel it? The insatiable hunger? You feel a need to feed, do you not?"
The chef pitifully shook his head, but Lee could see it, view the change as it happened. Within seconds, the man's eyes glowed with insanity and the lust to feed was carved into his features. "Where's my… fire?"
"Extinguished, my friend. You will never firebend again, for I changed the inner workings of your chi, just as the Avatar did to Ozai. But instead of just snuffing your fire, I opted to replace it with… something different." Lee smiled, watching the former chef stiffen at the sight. "Now go and follow your instincts. Travel as far as you can across the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom Colonies, and when you tire, keep traveling. Help me rid this world of Agni's Children, of Fire itself. Now go and… feed, my friend."
The chef bolted off, the changes fully rooted within his chi, signaling the end of firebending. Well, at least those who weren't Masters. Lee had gotten lucky that Piandao had aided him with the hunting of the Order of the White Lotus, for while he loathed Firebenders, he had to admit that Piandao was the greatest Firebender he had ever encountered. The man was… a true warrior, a worthy vessel for the mighty Vaatu.
The man had dealt with the actual Masters of the Order while Lee himself handled the rest, catching them off-guard as he took their chi. There were even a few times when he had joined Piandao in securing a 'release' with the women they had beaten.
Lee smiled as the first echoes of chaos reached his ears and he stepped down the revealed staircase, slightly surprised that the door had stayed open so long, but he wasn't about to complain.
From what Piandao had divulged, the fire-blade of Sozin should be in his crypt beneath the Palace. Lee honestly didn't know why Piandao wanted Embers, and he didn't really care. All he cared about was razing the Children of Fire, and he had agreed to steal the fire-blade for Piandao because he wanted to spit on Sozin's sarcophagus, to desecrate the man who started the Great War and who was the forefather of Azulon, Iroh, Ozai, and Zuko.
He turned a corner and remembered Piandao's words about directions and details for the Royal Fire Tombs. 'Every Fire Lords' crypt is deep beneath the Palace, rooted in the lava rivers that flow underneath the entire Caldera. Each tomb is separated from one another, although all are within eye distance. Between each, lava flows unchallenged, forbidding safe journey across. But, there is a walkway connecting all with one another, but you must come to the first crypt, otherwise, you will die. You must find a way to safely cross the streams of lava if you wish to survive. Only true Masters of Fire can walk painlessly through the lava, but the only ones who have been true Masters in the past centuries have been the Fire Royal Family, the Fire Sages, and several of the commanding generals of the military. If you bring me Embers, I promise that Fire Lord Zuko's head will be cleaved from his shoulders by the very fire-blade itself.'
Lee continued to travel, with the aid of small torches lining the hall, down the wide tunnel, eyes tracing the art engraved in the stone behind the trophies. Majestic Dragon heads stared back at him as he journeyed, the trophies of Sozin's conquest. Lee lifted his fingers and grazed one of the visible fangs protruding into the open, "Such a shame. You would have been so very useful. Killing Fire with Fire - poetic. But you were deceived. Sozin told you that he would keep you safe and worshipped by Agni's Children, but he lied."
He removed his finger and instead gripped the fang - the size of a sword - with his hands and closed his eyes, drawing upon the strength in his enhanced-chi. He felt his fingers dig into the tooth and then, he ripped it out, gazing at his new trophy with a critical eye. It was about the length of his forearm, blood permanently stained into the marrow, but Lee liked it. He could carve it into a dagger and when the time came, plunge it into the heart of Sozin's line.
He pocketed the tooth and continued his journey, wrestling to stay patient, but he soon found himself running, anxiously roaming through many halls, trying to get to Sozin's crypt. He had to get there! He needed to spit on that fucker!
Finally, ahead in the distance, a glowing light was visible, warmth beginning to seep into his body. It was time!
The closer his feet carried him, the more his excitement began to burst out of his soul, reminding him of what he had set out to do so many years ago before his tenure in the Gardens of the Dead.
It was the stifling heat that registered in his mind first, and then it was the almost inhumane atmosphere. Lee stared at the flowing lake of lava, eyes wide as he spotted the erected… monuments in the middle of the lake, spaced with a walkway just as Piandao had said. The world under the Caldera was red, all the rock and stone a hellish hue as Lee's eyes observed.
How was he supposed to traverse?
Lee licked his lips and kicked a chunk of stone into the lava, watching unblinkingly as the stone became alight almost immediately and sunk within seconds, disappearing from sight.
"Having trouble, are we?" A voice asked from behind him and Lee whirled around, seamlessly falling into a fighting stance and froze when that tea-loving bastard stood several feet away, eyebrow raised, but eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Pri- Prince Iroh!" He cried out and kneeled before him, "My liege, you mustn't be down here. It could be dangerous."
"Same could be said to you, Lee, if that's even your name. I am a Master of Fire. Lava won't hurt me, boy, but it will hurt you." Iroh took a step forward, and Lee stiffened, panic beginning to spread through him. He had been caught off-guard, taken by surprise, and that mistake would probably result in his death. "So, tell me, boy, who are you? How were you given knowledge of the Royal Fire Catacombs, and more importantly, who was foolish enough to reveal such traitorous secrets?"
Lee suddenly saw an opportunity from Iroh's words and seized it with everything he had. "Piandao!" He remembered that Piandao had said that he and Iroh knew each other, although their paths had diverged long ago, even though Iroh just didn't know it - the fool still believed them to be friends, apparently. "He told me, sending me on a mission to obtain a weapon that he believes will help in the battle to come."
The change was instantaneous. Iroh's jaw slacked and eyes were wide with emotion. "Piandao's alive?" He breathed out, "How… how can this be? For many months, we've all believed him dead just like all the others."
"Piandao narrowly staved off the call of death, Prince Iroh." He was dangerously close to lying, but he knew that every good lie contained a truth, so he mentally gathered all of the facts he knew of about Piandao. "In fact, he lost his arm and has spent the past months recovering. He is building an army to fight."
"By the spirits, I'm relieved to hear of my friend's survival. Bumi will certainly be pleased, as well." Iroh closed the distance between them and the joy in his eyes was visible. "Come, boy! I believe I know exactly which weapon my friend speaks of." A bright, genuine smile split the Dragon of the West's face and Lee almost couldn't believe his luck.
He had managed to fool Iroh, the man who had been the catalyst for his fall to the Gardens of the Dead!
"Come where?" Lee asked, "To get the weapon?"
Iroh jovially pulled him towards the lava, a large smile splitting his chiseled features. "Of course, Lee. You know, I had spine-chilling suspicions about you, but I've never been more relieved to have been wrong. You have been the messenger of good news! And you will be rewarded for your efforts, my boy. Come, see what only those of the Fire Royal Bloodline have viewed with their golden eyes."
With no hesitation, the Dragon of the West stepped into the lava without a batted eye. Lee had to admit that he was unnerved though he would never say so aloud to the tea-loving bastard. "How will I get across?"
"I can carry you," Iroh raised his arms above his head, hands pointed towards the cavern roof, "or you can try to make the impossible leap. It's your choice, Lee."
Lee grit his teeth, disgust spreading through his mind. To complete his mission he would need to trust the man who sentenced him to his fate all those years ago, the Firebender whose very name was whispered in terror across his homeland during his childhood - the Dragon of the West, General of the Fire Nation, the firstborn son of Fire Lord Azulon.
Without a word, Lee swallowed and prayed to any spirit that this wasn't all a trap and that he would actually live through this ordeal. He stiffened as he laid himself on Iroh's hands, barely quelling the urge to shiver in revulsion.
The trek through lava was slow and Iroh's arms were strong, deceptively strong beneath his robes. After several minutes, Iroh suddenly tossed him forward and before he could scream out his hatred, his unholy discontent with the man who had taken so much from him, Lee felt his feet land on solid stone.
"Don't worry, Lee. I'm not going to harm you. You've proven to be trustworthy, although your methods in doing such are… unorthodox, quite simply - breaking into the Royal Catacombs is very foolish."
"I make it a habit of doing things that people say I can't do. Triumph over death. Learn to read. Reclaim what is rightfully mine."
Iroh stepped towards him, "You're tough, boy, you're tough. You remind me some of my nephew."
Lee inhaled deeply to refrain from gutting the man like a fish at that moment. How dare that tea-loving ass compare him to that fucking skin-melted parasite?
He instead looked around, at the monument near. It was ancient, he could tell and his eyes widened when he saw the engraved writing on the entryway before you entered the monument to pass to the next one beyond: 'Blessed be he who spares these stones, but cursed be who disturbs my bones.'
"Who's this?" He asked to distract the man.
"Ahh… You are gazing at the very first Fire Lord - Kai." Iroh stepped closer and motioned him along, "Come, we have to journey onward to reach the weapon."
He warily followed, eyes glancing at the inscription on the statue:
'Kai, first of the true Lords of Fire. May Agni, your sire, welcome you into his incandescent kingdom.'
He raised a brow in derision and moved along.
As they reached each monument, Lee found himself curious about the inscriptions for every bastardous Fire Lord. He read most of them as they passed, Iroh providing history for some and frowning at others.
'Ravi, descended from Kai's line. The blood of Agni flows through your veins. May you join your Black Prince by Agni's grace.'
'Rohit, grandson of Ravi, descended from Agni's line.'
Iroh saw his surprise at the inscription, of how it detailed so little. "Fire Lord Rohit wasn't a great ruler. Nobody wept when he was deposed by his cousin."
Lee quickly looked at the next one, and the two after:
'Hideki, grandson of Ravi, descended from Kai's line. The sun will shine on you again in the majestic kingdom of Agni.'
'Houka, son of Hideki, descended from Kai's line. May the minds of Agni's Children remember your deeds for eternity!'
'Zyrn, son of Houka, descended from Kai's line.'
"Zyrn will always be recognized as a mentally unstable and weak Fire Lord, swayed by a woman's smile." Distaste poisoned Iroh's tone.
Lee looked to the next two:
'Ehktol, son of Rishi of Vasuman, descended from Kai's line. Sedulous as Kai himself, you gave strength to the title of Fire Lord. Agni welcomes you home.'
'Elsine, son of Ehktol, descended from Kai's line. May your afterlife be better than your mortal existence.'
His eyes widened when he gazed at the next statue and it was… terrifying. A large man, powerfully built, loomed over both he and Iroh, glaring down at them with hate-filled eyes. What was most disconcerting was that there was a gaping hole in his chest, where his heart should be.
"You have stumbled upon Fire Lord Ojas, Lee." Iroh tone was dark, almost a snarl. "My nephew has often told me that he thinks, besides his father, that the rank of worst Fire Lord in our nation's history belongs to another, but I narrowly disagree. Fire Lord Ojas was a monster, a usurping coward. May his eternal rest in the Gardens of the Dead be turbulent, painful, and memorable."
Lee turned to look at Iroh, meeting golden eyes that he had looked into years ago. "What do you mean? What did he do? How was he worse than… Ozai?" And your nephew, he wanted to add, but knew he would be killed if he said something like that.
"You see the hole in his chest, yes? After Ekhtol's death, Elsine was supposed to succeed him as his firstborn male heir, and only days after he was crowned, Ojas, Ekhtol's once-loyal younger brother, usurped the throne, killing Elsine, who was only a boy. He murdered his own nephew and blatantly seized the Dragon's Throne, Lee." Disgust was carved into his features. "It was heinous and despicable. You know, I've long pondered my severe loathing for Ojas, and I believe it stems from the fact that our situations correspond. When my father, Fire Lord Azulon died, I was his heir apparent, but after the death of… my own son during my 600-day siege of Ba Sing Se, I disappeared for several years, mourning in seclusion. Ozai seized the Dragon's Throne upon my father's death, seized my very birthright, the rank which I was groomed to dawn since I can ever remember. By the time I returned to the Fire Nation, I had a viable claim to seize the Dragon's Throne from my younger brother, but I didn't. Instead, I undertook a new mission: to show Ozai's son the truth. In fact, many senior members of the Order of the White Lotus yearned for me to become Fire Lord after the Great War instead of my nephew. I scorned such a notion, realizing that it would be an insult to everything that Zuko had gone through to reach his destiny. Simply, I realized my destiny wasn't as Fire Lord, but Ojas was too vile and power-hungry to realize that."
"There's no inscription on Ojas' statue," Lee noted after several moments.
"There was once, but it was destroyed by Sozin long ago after he found the skeleton of Elsine and Ehktol's second son."
Lee nodded and looked to the next one, eyes noting Iroh's every move while he read. This time, he noticed that there were two statues, a man and woman in an eternal embrace.
'Henjul, great-great-grandson of Ravi and husband of Elizyruth of Vasuman, descended from Kai's line. A Child of Fire who brought order out of the endless entropy that was the Cousins' War, reuniting the House of Agni, you were beloved. For your unceasing efforts, Agni smiles at you from your seat at his high table.'
'Rylun, son of Henjul, descended from Kai's line. A dutiful ruler, you were. Find rest in Agni's kingdom, for it evaded you in the Mortal Realm.'
His eyes widened as they came to a single woman's statue with no man in sight. "A woman was… Fire Lord?" He breathed out, scarcely believing the sight.
"Yes, Fire Lady Akemi, her name was." Iroh pointed to the statue. "Do you notice the dullness, Lee? Even in death, dear Akemi isn't respected. It's a shame. She was a just ruler for many years until she went mad after her son's death." Now that Iroh mentioned it, Lee could see the obvious disrespect, the bare minimum that was given to Akemi. Even Fire Lord Ojas' was more extravagant!
He read the inscription:
'Akemi, daughter of Rylun, descended from Kai's line. May your madness settle when you lay eyes on Takumi once more.'
Lee looked to the next and noticed Iroh gaze at the statued-man darkly. "This is whom my nephew has vocally declared the worst Fire Lord after his father: the child-murderer - a monstrous tyrant. I've long wondered what Akemi would think of her child-killing son."
'Kazuki, son of Akemi, descended from Kai's line.'
'Kohaku, son of Kazuki, descended from Kai's line. A redeemer of the past, may you find Agni's table welcoming.'
He turned his gaze across the walkway and his breath hitched. He instinctively knew whose crypt was next. He dimly felt his feet trek across the stone, the almost-boiling warmth of the lava ever present. The closer he became, the less air entered his starved lungs.
Iroh's voice echoed, "Welcome to Fire Lord Sozin's crypt, Lee."
Lee shuddered as he looked at Sozin's final dwelling. His tomb was that of a magnificent temple, beautiful columns encircled by mosaics depicting Fire Lord Sozin and his army desecrating what he instinctively knew were the Air Temples, hunting Dragons bathed in fire, and the entire structure was made of pure gold, glowing brilliantly under the light of the flaming torches and lava.
A primal fear swept through his heart, causing him to feel rage as he stepped closer into the temple. Inside, treasures were strewn throughout, making Lee feel the yearning he had felt all those years ago when he had had nothing. And in the center, was a sarcophagus. Lee swallowed as his legs moved towards it, eyes riveted on the inscription on the side of the coffin:
'The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Sun was seen.
No words were laid on stream or stone
When Sozin woke and walked alone.
He saw the racing rivers run,
And the waves dancing in the sun.
He set his heart on the far shore,
And swore to rule forever more.
The time had come for him to leave.
He soothed his flames with no reprieve.
He named the nameless hills and dells,
And drank from yet untasted wells.
He stopped and looked in water clear,
And saw a crown of flames appear
As gems upon a golden thread
Above the shadows of his head.
His work remained true, his dreams done.
To golden lands, his days begun.
The world was fair, the mountains tall
In better days before the fall
Of Agni's glorious child,
Who forged strength out of the wild
The sun never sought to fade away.
When world was fair in Sozin's day.
A king he was on Dragon's Throne
In many-pillared halls of stone
With golden roof and copper floor,
And arts of fire upon the door.
The light of sun and star and moon
In shining lamps of golden hewn;
Undimmed by cloud or shade of night,
They shone always fair and bright.
His reign was great, and length was long.
Sozin remained steadfast and strong
Then death emerged as dire foe,
Who struck the final, mortal blow.
Grief-filled then were Fire's folk;
Beneath the palace music woke.
The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,
And at the gates, the trumpets rang.
The world is grey, the mountains old,
And Agni's Fire is ashen-cold.
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls,
The darkness dwells in Sozin's halls.
The shadow lies upon his tomb
Foretold when bore through mother's womb.
There lies his crown in lava deep,
Till Sozin wakes again from sleep.'
An ugly snarl formed across his face as the inscription's words echoed in his mind like the sound of an explosion. Lee felt his hand clench into fists so tight that he was genuinely afraid that his knuckles would burst through the skin.
Those fucking Children of Fire dared to revere Sozin when that monster had started the Great War? They truly deserved to die for their utter idiocy and monstrous beliefs. A contempt beyond the already poisonous hatred in his heart swelled inside, reminding him with a start of Sozin's heir who was standing right next to him!
Iroh's sudden words kept him from attacking right then.
"And I believe that this is the weapon Piandao spoke of, is it not, Lee?" Iroh stepped into his line-of-sight, fingers gently brushing over the sarcophagus. It was grandiose, the very stone molded to look like Sozin himself. And atop it, clasped in the stone's hands, was a beautiful sword, an unholy sharpness that Lee realized, with a start, cut through Dragon's hide.
"This is it?" This is Embers, he wanted to ask, but he knew that Iroh would become suspicious if he knew the name of the weapon.
"Yes, this is a weapon worthy of a King, of a Fire Lord." The tea-loving bastard hummed and his finger's grazed the sword's edge. "I knew my grandfather; did you know that? When I was a teenager, around your own age, Sozin was still Fire Lord and my father was in his sixties, the prince to the Dragon's Throne, with myself second-in-line. When Sozin died, which I truly believe was more of loneliness than any sickness or frail health, my father succeeded him, and I was heir apparent. My father loved this sword, you know? In fact, he wielded it on several occasions, eventually laying it on his father's tomb when Zuko was born. Its name is Embers, a fire-blade forged by Sozin himself in these very lava lakes." Iroh gestured outside. "It is still sharp."
"Piandao will be very pleased."
"Oh, I'm sure he will be, my boy. But, I do find myself wondering why Piandao would go to such trouble to secure a blade that he cannot even wield to its fullest potential."
"What do you mean?"
Iroh turned to him, eyes narrowed, and Lee felt something unpleasant roll down his spine. "My friend is a non-bender. He is no Firebender, thus he would never be able to fully wield Embers. So why would he task someone who I've never met to break into the Royal Catacombs, a place that he has never even been to? And a place of which he doesn't know the location?"
Lee tried to laugh, but he knew that it was pitiful. "I don't know, Prince Iroh. I'm just the messenger, remember?"
"Yes, yes, I remember. I remember having doubts about your identity, about who you truly are. I was too elated at the possible survival of my friend, but now I realize what has happened."
"And what's that?" He challenged and inched towards the exit, carefully keeping his eyes connected to the Dragon of the West's.
Iroh pointed the blade at him and suddenly flames swirled around it, molding around the metal, creating a pure fire-sword. "Vaatu has corrupted my friend, utilizing my brother and the Fire Sages' knowledge about the Royal Catacombs to influence my corrupted-friend into sending you to retrieve Embers, no doubt to give to Ozai."
He laughed in shock; Ozai wasn't even working with Vaatu. "No, my liege, that's not true. Ozai, your devious brother will be nowhere near that sword." The moment he said the words, he regretted it.
Iroh's eyes burned, "So you admit to working for Vaatu and that my friend has been corrupted by him just as the Ladies Mai and Ty Lee were."
Lee then lashed out, pouring great energy into his enhanced-chi, kicking Iroh's leg, making the man stumble to his knees. Then, without a moment's pause, he heaved his fists into the man's surprised face, causing Embers to fall to the ground, fire vanishing.
He plucked it from the ground and raced out of Fire Lord Sozin's tomb, alarm ringing in his mind. His feet pounded across the stone, the stifling heat a burden as he inhaled the smoke, and he risked a glance behind him.
Iroh had jumped out of the tomb, fingers burning with bright flames. His golden eyes were fierce as fire, "Who are you?" He roared as his fire lashed toward Lee at intense speeds.
Lee narrowly managed to roll to the side, hiding behind Fire Lady Akemi's statue. "Someone who you should know well," he called out and furiously tried to concoct an escape plan. He was at a disadvantage in every conceivable way.
"I believe that I would remember an acolyte of Vaatu, boy." Iroh's voice echoed, coming closer.
He kicked Akemi's statue to the ground, causing the walkway to crack and Lee leaped across to Rylun's crypt, heart racing with energy.
He jumped out of his position and frowned when Iroh was nowhere to be seen. Where did that bastard go? His eyes widened and he whirled around, sliding to the side when Iroh burst out of the lava.
"I've thought of nothing these past years except the thought of plundering your heart - and your nephew's, too!" Lee roared, swinging Embers at the Dragon of the West.
Iroh jumped back from the blade, "I can assure you, boy, that I haven't a clue as to why you hate me."
"Your line molested this world! How many families have been ripped apart because of you, Dragon of the West, during your years terrorizing the Earth Kingdom? How many children had to watch their parents murdered by Children of Fire?" Lee saw that his words had an effect on the bastard and he saw his chance.
He grabbed the Dragon's tooth he had acquired earlier and flung it with deadly accuracy at Iroh, smiling sickly as the man stumbled back, tooth protruding from his chest.
The Dragon of the West slowly looked down at the tooth, hands yanking it out of his chest. Blood flowed down his chest as a stream and Iroh fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Gently, he brought one of his hands to the hole and the smell of burning flesh sizzled through the air. He then looked up at Lee. "I don't know who you are, nor at this point do I care. I'm sorry that I've wronged you in some way, but you threatened my nephew. That is something unforgivable." Iroh began to stand, looking like the General he once was, and Lee felt fear spread through his mind. "Once I seize you and retake Embers, I will learn where my friend is located and free him. And as for you, I believe that death will suffice. If you cannot accept this, then kneel before the Dragon of the West!"
Lee bolted before Iroh could say anything else, racing faster than he ever thought possible, wondering if he even rivaled Aang himself at that moment. He heard sparks echo through the humid air and he dove behind what he dimly noticed as Fire Lord Zyrn's statue.
Lightning exploded near the statue and lava burst through the stone, beginning to rise like a deadly tide, threatening to drown Lee in a painful, agonizing death.
He quickly pushed Zyrn's statue into the lava, using it as a stepping stone to the next walkway. "You'll never capture me, you fat bastard!" He screamed, "I would rather die!"
"I have no misgivings with your chosen path," Iroh's voice drifted into his ears and Lee dashed through the following crypts, listening for more sparks of lightning, and he wasn't surprised when the hauntingly thunderous sound reached him.
He kept pushing himself further, and at the last second, rolled to the nearest statue, shoving it into the walkway in a smooth motion.
Lightning smashed through the statue - Fire Lord Kai's, he realized ironically - and large chunks soared through the humid atmosphere, splashing into the lake of lava.
Lee knew that this was his opportunity and he focused on his chi, drawing great amounts of the stolen energy, and exploded towards the lava lake, sword gripped tightly in his hand. At the last second, he leaped as far as he could, using a large column of the statue that was nearly fully-consumed by the lava as a surface to jump from once again.
He tumbled to the ledge, narrowly pulling his legs up away from the lava in time. He jumped to his feet and whirled around, staring across the giant lava lake into Iroh's fearsome golden eyes. "Soon, tea-loving bastard, we'll meet again and I swear on the graves of those who you murdered that I will be victorious! I will watch the life flee from your eyes at the sight of my unholy contempt." Lee saw sparks blossom in Iroh's hands and he laughed loudly, glancing up at the roof of the cavern. "Do you really think that's wise, old man? Listen, truly listen," he urged, tuning his own hearing as far as he could. Slowly, sounds from the world above could be heard and the screams of terror were music to his ears, a balm to his heart.
"What have you done?" Iroh demanded, eyes widening in realization, sparks of lightning ceasing.
Lee grinned maliciously, "I've unleashed a plague that will snuff out your accursed kind, a chaos which will forever change the world." The sounds were becoming louder with every second, the victory resonating in his soul.
He gasped as Iroh abruptly surged forward, jets of flame blasting out of his feet, propelling him forward like a comet. In a blink of an eye, the Dragon of the West was only seconds away from him, and Lee dashed away, chi pulsing with energy, and he wondered if he would ever be able to escape from the fat bastard.
Iroh's approaching presence was a constant warning, an irritating shadow that inflicted true fear to resonate in his mind as Iroh followed him where he did, the sound of crackling flames echoing.
Racing past the Dragon heads, not paying them any mind, he began to calm his mind - and fear, too. He had one more chance to escape out of the Fire Nation alive with Embers, and it would be because of Iroh's own choice. Lee didn't have any other options, in spite of his racing thoughts.
He jumped out the surprisingly still-open door and his feet landed on the solid stone once more, the Dragon mural a fearsome sight. His eyes bulged as he viewed the Caldera of the Fire Nation. But he didn't have much time to ponder his success, though. Iroh burst out of the door and his hands were alight with hot flames.
He rolled away from several blasts of fire as Iroh's booming voice echoed. "Give me Embers, boy," the tone was uncompromising, alarmingly similar to an Earthbender's.
Lee snarled and gestured around, eyes watching and waiting for another attack. "You have a choice to make: try to apprehend me, or save what remains of your fellow Children of Fire. What will it be, tea-brewer?"
"I can do both."
"Can you, though? Can you really? Are you willing to risk the lives of your fellow Firebenders?" Lee challenged, "Take a look around you. Watch your kin suffering right now."
Iroh's eyes darted around and Lee watched the change, felt it as it happened. The man's face paled and golden eyes were astonished, on the verge of horror. Pandemonium had swept through the city, a mayhem beyond anything Lee had ever envisioned, and it was glorious. Multiple fires were razing a path of destruction as blood-curdling screams howled through the night, the sound a fierce victory in his heart. Brilliant blasts of fire exploded in the dark, destroying various structures, unable to be snuffed out because all the Firebenders were under siege. He spotted figures dashing through the night, attacking fire-wielders and feeding on their chi, changing them as Lee had changed the chef. Animalistic lust to feed swept through their minds and the number of chi-stealers continued to grow and grow.
Iroh's eyes turned to him and they shone with anger and defeat, recognizing that Lee was correct. "You've made yourself an enemy on this day, boy."
The Dragon of the West refused to allow his kinsman to potentially die, especially since he had no idea of what Lee had done. If his path had been different, Lee dimly realized that he would respect Iroh, but all that burned in his heart was hatred.
"No, you made me your enemy on that day so many years ago; ever since then, I've been your enemy. You just didn't know it." Lee smirked and dashed away, the sound of Iroh's roar of frustration echoing ominously.
He didn't need to watch as Iroh attacked the figures, snuffing out as many fires as he could. The sounds were violent and loud.
Lee smiled in awe as he bolted away, recognizing that he had accomplished this. Because of him, the Children of Fire were on their way to extinction.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Aang inhaled deeply, focusing intently on his inner flame, and snapped his eyes open with purpose, begging to find success after many failures.
Nothing happened.
He defeatedly slouched against the rock, exhaling roughly. He was merely physically spent, exhaustion threatening to overwhelm him.
For over two weeks, he had remained leagues away from Ba Sing Se, away from Azula and Samir and the Gaang, desperately trying to complete his training. Jinzhai had been a good and worthy instructor, guiding Aang through everything about bending lava, and he was relieved to have, in Jinzhai's words, proven to be a prodigy, indeed, eclipsing any who had reigned before him.
After lavabending had been completed to both he and Jinzhai's satisfaction, Aang had begun to focus on combustion-bending, eager to return to his wife and Samir and his friends.
But, quickly, it became apparent that combustion-bending was going to be a much tougher art to master than any other, even earthbending all of those years ago.
He had tried and tried, focusing with an intensity that would have most-assuredly frightened his younger self. He had copied every movement that he remembered Combustion Man - Fulki-Aridam - using, precisely tuning his body to the physical motions from his memory.
Aang had felt it, the insistent churning inside his chi, working in tandem with his inner flame, but nothing came to fruition, in spite of his best efforts.
To soothe his inanimate frustration, he transformed a small area around him to lava, feeling the change as it happened, watching it with a practiced eye. The air became hotter, causing his face to flush, and he looked upward, staring at Agni's great light.
It was dull, a jaded light barely able to pierce through the surrounding clouds. And now that he was paying attention, Aang noticed how dark the day had become, knowing that it wasn't because night had begun to fall. What had happened? Was it Vaatu's power over Agni corrupting the spirit?
That thought renewed his determination to master combustion-bending, gnawing at the goal with rekindled vigor. He refused to allow Vaatu - and Ozai, too - to continue to reap chaos across the world, across both Realms, Spiritual and Material.
Aang slowly stood up, closing his eyes and Jinzhai's words from that first day suddenly echoed, '…had been looking at it all from the wrong angle.' His lids opened, staring with unseeing eyes at the world around him, thoughts louder than any ringing bells.
What was he missing? What answer and solution were eluding him like a true Master of Wind and Air?
He thought about it. This time, he had no teacher to guide him as he had for all of the other bending arts, subsets included. So how had Fulki-Aridam mastered such a power with no instructor? The man had truly been powerful, frighteningly strong, so he must have been a Master.
Azula had revealed that she had tried to tame such a destructive power, as deadly as lightning itself, but she had failed, not even able to get anywhere. That told him immediately that the ability was exceedingly rare, pretty much unheard of, a myth - like lightning in that regard, too. Azula, being a member of the Fire Royal Family, had had access to the world's greatest Firebenders as teachers, but none of them were Combustion-benders.
This was something that he had to learn on his own, unable to even draw upon the knowledge and spirits of his predecessors.
Aang recalled every shred of information about combustion-bending with an almost manic energy, ciphering through each with alarming speed.
Chi. That was the key difference, he realized.
Fulki-Aridam's chi flow had been unlike anyone's whom he had ever felt, a strange yet harmonious cycle of energy. Most benders' chi flow spiraled intensively around and through the limbs of the body, but Fulki-Aridam's limbs had had no chi flow in his limbs; instead, a vortex of pathways that all led to his forehead, like a rerouted river, were all that Aang had been able to sense, to feel.
He tore off his upper garbs and felt the air caress his body gently, warmly. He sat in the Lotus Position, holding his fists against one another strongly, the picture of a Master bender. The scar on his back prickled from the heated air and he remembered the… the knot of energy and power that had been rooted there, been stuck until the day of Sozin's Comet.
The Avatar State had remained a voiceless ghost during those times, eluding his every attempt to synchronize with his fellow Avatars. The chi flow had been entangled infinitely, almost like it didn't exist. He had been able to feel the power and remember where it was, but the power that he had been able to grasp during those times was only a memory. It was nowhere near what it should have been. And it wasn't until his battle with Ozai while Sozin's Comet blazed through the sky, igniting every Firebender's chi with enough strength to rival a training Avatar, that the Avatar State had, thankfully, been activated.
During that moment that had changed the outcome of Ozai's almost-assured victory, when Aang's scar had smashed into the rock with such painful agony, the knot had suddenly dispersed and the power had been there, shivering to be held and used, to revel in its brilliance! It had been intense and overwhelming and almost instantaneously, his chi flow was no longer hindered, and he had never been more relieved than he had been in that moment. He could easily remember the rushing tsunami as the power flooded his body in a raging fire that rivaled Agni himself. 'Cease to worry, young one. We are with you now.' All of the past Avatars had whispered soothingly in his mind. A part of his soul had been awakened after the forced slumber and he had felt at peace for the first time since he had seen Guru Pathik. Aang had no longer been a blind painter, a deaf musician, or a tasteless chef; he had felt alive for the first time since Ba Sing Se.
Was that how Fulki-Aridam had been? Had he felt alive when he used his combustion-bending?
The limbs of the only-known Combustion-bender possessed no chi pathways, so the chi pathways had revealed themselves in a new location. Aang inhaled strongly, the air quivering at the movement, and he delved into the flow of energy in his own body.
There!
He felt it, he could see it in his mind's eye, the infinite passages of chi flow that he possessed. It was beautiful, almost incomprehensible, the sheer power thrumming through the pathways at speeds that were beyond any Airbender, even Aang himself. He focused on his head, of any potential pathways that led there, and just as he had suspected, found none.
He had finally determined why he had gotten nowhere - and Azula, too - when trying to become a Combustion-bender. The answer had lain in the very chi pathways itself! Aang still intended to master the art, desperate for any edge that he could hold over Ozai and Vaatu, especially since he had had that vision.
He then remembered how, when he had healed Appa after Ba Sing Se's slaughter, he had manipulated his best friend's blood, coaxing it to create new veins, the blood's pathway. In theory, he should be able to do the same thing for his chi.
Knowing that it was the only plausible way to create the chi flow to his forehead, Aang undertook the task with zeal.
Slowly, like he had when approaching the baby that Appa was all those years ago as a young child, he inched towards his actual chi, wary of causing potential damage - he didn't want to lose access to the Avatar State once again. His chi pulsed with unfathomable power, and he felt Raava's essence seeped within - just as much as she existed within his own soul.
"Hello, Aang," she whispered and the peace he felt from her was unprecedented.
He smiled and with Raava's peace coating his heart, he urged the energy to create new pathways, intermingling with already-existing ones to produce a trackway to his forehead.
For minutes, he patiently maneuvered the energy, wincing as he felt a burning spread across his forehead, at the point of his arrow, but he continued, knowing that he could irreversibly damage his body if he stopped.
He gasped as the connection solidified and a new pathway leading to his forehead filled with his chi's flow of energy, ready to use. Aang opened his eyes and waved his hand, returning the lava back to its original state. He stood up, focusing on his breathing and inner flame, feeling the energy of the new pathway brim.
Just when he thought his head would burst, Aang's eyes snapped open and the fiery energy erupted out of his forehead, detonating the area before him in a display of pure destruction. He blinked and panicked as raging fires rose from the desecrated area, swiftly punching air currents into the flames, snuffing them out.
He had done it!
Aang laughed and rose hundreds of feet into the air, and once he walked among the clouds, he looked down at the patch of land and unleashed another blast from his forehead, proudly watching from the sky above. Incredible explosions ruptured the Earth and Aang could have sworn that he heard Devi screech but knew that it was only his imagination.
Curiosity spread through his mind and he drew water from the clouds and formed the liquid into solid, reflective ice. He stared at his reflection, pulling his hair up over his arrow and his eyes widened at the sight.
Directly over his sixth chakra - the Light Chakra - and molded beautifully into the very tip of his arrow, the third eye-like marking that he had seen on Fulki-Aridam all of those years ago was perfectly centered across his forehead. But something was different, though. Combustion Man's had been a tattoo, but Aang's marking looked like actual veins themselves, swirling in the eye-like pattern. He was mesmerized by the sight, and he realized that Fulki-Aridam must have had the tattoo completed directly over the veins.
He slowly dispersed the ice and wondered in a haze what Azula and Samir and his friends would think of his new appearance.
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That's all of this one, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed it and please leave a review and tell me what you thought. I always appreciate it.
**Aang finally contacts Avatar Jinzhai and learns how lavabending was recognized as a subset of earthbending. I hope that it seemed believable how Jinzhai discovered it and how his viewpoint as the Avatar is unique because he was raised by the Fire Sages themselves.
We've seen, in canon, Avatar Roku bend lava when he destroyed his temple in Winter Solstice, Part 2: Avatar Roku. Because of that evidence, I proposed that Roku knew a little bit and what he had done was pretty much all he knew how to do. It also would explain how he was unable to defeat the volcano which ended up killing him - from the poisonous gases and Sozin's betrayal. In The Avatar State episode, we are shown a Fire Avatar - who is Jinzhai, in this story - who controlled four volcanoes, causing them to erupt and he manipulated the lava of the said aforementioned volcanoes. If that is the peak of what a Lavabender, at least one who is the Avatar, is capable of, why didn't Roku simply do the same to the volcano which killed him? My answer is that he never learned how to. Remember, Roku lived a very short life for an Avatar - only 70 years old upon his death. He had probably thought he had more time to learn and master lavabending, but he assumed wrongly.
Avatar Kyoshi was shown to bend lava during the Avatar Day episode flashback when she annihilated Chin the Conqueror's army and created Kyoshi Island. So, it seems like she mastered it, or at least learned more than Roku ever did. I debated whether or not Avatar Kuruk would have ever mastered lavabending, learning under Avatar Jinzhai and I ultimately decided to. Kuruk lived for at least half a millennium - 500 years or more - and he was known to be arrogant and cocky, always willing to impress women. I think, from what we know of his character, that he would have learned it from Jinzhai, if only for the opportunity to secure some dalliances with awestruck women. And this would be before he ever met Ummi because I believe he met her after decades, perhaps even centuries since he began his reign.
Aang is a prodigy beyond any other; it's said as much in canon. He is a genius when it comes to bending. At age 10, he was declared a Master Airbender, ahead of his teachers even. And remember, there have been Avatars borne of the Air Nomads before, and yet Aang apparently outclassed them as a child, as well. He mastered his native element, as an Avatar, faster and more efficiently than any of his predecessors. Roku was shown in flashbacks to still be clumsy when he was almost 16 and announced as the Avatar. Aang picked up waterbending effortlessly and would have mastered it in the show more than Katara ever had if she hadn't berated him in a jealous fit of rage. It was earthbending that gave him the hardest struggle, but he eventually became more than adept at it; while he wasn't as strong as Bumi or Toph, he was far stronger than the average Earthbender. And he only trained under Zuko for firebending for just a couple of weeks, becoming very proficient at it. If it wasn't for his mental block, his fear after burning Katara - when he had effortlessly been throwing around large spurts of flames on his first ever try just based on watching someone else, mind you - I believe that he would have been stronger. I've really liked how the creators portrayed Aang. Not everything was effortless for him like bending was, especially when his identity as the Avatar was revealed. Despite being the strongest bender in recorded history, Avatar or no, Aang still struggled immensely as he was only a child fighting the strongest nation and strongest military. Add in that he is the last of his people, he's a truly special character, and it shows that he is, by no means, a 'Mary Sue' or 'Gary Sue' type of character.
**Chin V and Ozai finally meet and it is revealed how Chin V is a Lavabender! I know that I probably ruffled some feathers with how I changed Kyoshi's origin, especially concerning her giving birth to Chin the Conqueror's firstborn, but if we're going on the era that the show is based on, it makes a lot of sense. In the olden days, more than several centuries ago, people had a lot of kids, and Chin the Conqueror - whom I based on Genghis Khan, the greatest warlord this world has ever seen - fathered many, possibly hundreds. Kyoshi was a woman, a young woman of marrying age at around 14-15 years old, and it wasn't uncommon for females to marry at that age during that time period. There were even women who gave birth when they were 11-13 years old! (Check out Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII of England and grandmother of King Henry VIII. She gave birth to Henry VII - then Henry Tudor - when she was only 13 and she had first been married at 12 years old. She's a great example.) For her entire life, Kyoshi has been taught that a man is always better and that she should strive for a marriage or match to benefit her family, whoever they were. And remember, this is all before Kyoshi discovers that she is the Avatar; for all that she knew, she was just an average female Earthbender. Since Chin the Conqueror would hold no qualms in laying with a young girl of only 15 years of age, Kyoshi wouldn't deny him because she has constantly been told throughout her life that men are stronger, better, and pretty much that women will always be second-rate. And if you tell something to somebody enough times, no matter what it is, they will eventually believe it to be the truth. So, Kyoshi falls pregnant and Chin V reveals what happens thereafter.
"In fact, my sire claimed to say that he was the punishment of Devi, the Earth Spirit. He declared that the conquered shouldn't have committed a great sin, for if they had not, Devi would not have sent my sire to conquer them, thus uniting the Earth Kingdom." That is a quote based on one of Genghis Khan's sayings.
I truly tried to realistically think of some other way in which Chin V and his ancestors could have learned lavabending, but I just couldn't. Since Avatar Jinzhai was who first mastered lavabending, it is logical that only an Avatar during Chin the Conqueror and his descendant's days would know lavabending to somehow teach Chin II. And since it was shown in canon that Kyoshi knew lavabending, it's all I could think of. I'm sorry if you don't approve, but I honestly couldn't envision a conceivable history where Kyoshi wasn't the one who taught Chin II lavabending. "How dare you defy your Avatar?!" Kyoshi was very strict and cold, so I had to create a legitimate scenario as to why she would even willingly teach Chin the Conqueror's son lavabending, so I constructed that Chin II was her son, too.
War madness, when Ozai remembered Zhao's report of Roku's ghost, is similar to what many doctors during the World Wars thought of patients who had sort of gone insane - post-traumatic stress and haunted by the horrors they had witnessed.
Ozai and Chin V then duke it out and that was really fun to write, especially since I think that Chin V would be very powerful, able to go toe-to-toe with Ozai when he only has firebending. Chin V did realize who Ozai was but nobody else, save for Zhao, knows the truth! Hama and all of the Children of Chin, because they were too far from the battle and because of the sounds of the battle, were unable to hear the truth of the words expressed by Chin V. That is why Vaatu then tortures Chin V, to keep him from spilling the beans. Ozai's secret is still safe - he can still play at being Piandao.
**In case you forgot, Lee was the scribe who was introduced at the end of Chapter 13 during Iroh's battle with the traitors sent by Ozai and Vaatu. It's revealed that Lee is working for Vaatu and was tasked by Ozai, whom he doesn't know is Ozai, to retrieve Sozin's famous fire-blade, which is sharp enough to cut through a Dragon's hide. If you think about it, a Firebender's flames could melt metal so if they wanted to wield a sword with their firebending, a truly deadly combination, they would never be able to because the metal of the blade would simply melt. (If they diminished their flames' heat and potency, they could wield any blade, but they dance with the risk of their strikes not being as deadly.) So, Embers is a sword that Sozin himself forged so that he could use both a blade and his firebending at full potential. Also, I have heard time and time again that a Metalbender could easily kick a Firebender's ass, but as stated previously, fire can melt metal. So I have a very difficult time seeing a Metalbender triumph over a powerful Firebender. Sorry, Toph!
To put it in layman's terms, if you didn't understand what Lee had done to the poor chef, he used energybending and snuffed out the inner flame, but he went a step further than Aang had done with Ozai at the end of the Great War. Instead, he changed the man's chi, adding Vaatu's tainted energy to it, causing untold havoc. And in case you were wondering, Vaatu is who first changed Lee's chi to be able to utilize energybending.
The poem/song on Sozin's tomb is the same one that Ursa sang in Chapter 11, in case you didn't remember. The 'Blessed be he who spares these stones, but cursed be who disturbs my bones' bit is based almost perfectly on the inscription on William Shakespeare's grave. I don't claim any credit for it; it belongs to the biggest Willie of 'em all.
**Aang masters combustion-bending! I hope you liked it. I struggled with how he would actually 'unlock' the ability, but I'm happy with how it came out. I hoped the chi pathways thing seemed at least kind of realistic. I based it on neural pathways in the brain. The brain creates new neural pathways every time someone experiences something new and/or different. And if part of the brain is damaged, the brain can create new neural pathways - sound kind of like Combustion Man? So, I sort of had Aang do something similar, creating a new chi pathway to his forehead so that he could utilize combustion-bending.
Things are starting to heat up! I hope you enjoyed this one. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought. I always appreciate them!
Stay Safe
ButtonPusher
