AVATAR: LIGHT THE WORLD (The Illevitus Chronicles)

BOOK 1

-Air-

Chapter 3

-Banished-

DISCLAIMER: This chapter has some graphic violence in detail, so before you continue be warned! THE LAST PASSAGE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! - Enjoy reading!

The rest of the funeral Niko was just quiet, maybe even despondent, he wasn't looking at anyone or anything, just down at his hands. He was a good boy, but he felt so dirty inside. The burial was probably the worst, because he was asked to assist Aunt Riki a few times much to his displeasure, but his mind was miles away to even check Aunt Riki's advances. He managed to get a moment, before the metal-bending undertakers would lower Marielle's body into the ground, to light up a smoke. His thoughts swirled like the fumes that whirled around his head. He didn't even smoke regularly, yet he still managed to bum one off Ginger. "You don't smoke, you don't even have a drink when I invite you and Scar out, so since when did you start smoking?" Her pupils narrowed suspiciously analyzing Niko, who she could tell was off, the voice trailing, the shaky tremor in his hand, and the lack of eye contact was a big red flag in her eyes. She discreetly handed him a cigarette, ushering him away from the grounds at the same time, "Okay? Somethings up, and you're gonna tell me, every… detail!" She pointed a finger into his face making him feel even more uneasy, "Nikolas, we dated for a good four years when we were kids, I think I know when something is wrong with you."

Nikolas broke, his face was streaming tears, hot tears at that, and his chest hurt. A feeling of anxiety that was more painful than anything he'd ever experienced before, and it honestly caught Ginger off guard to see him so visibly distraught that she did something out of character. She started to tear up, "It's not the funeral… is it?" She wiped her teary eyes then motioned to light Niko's cigarette, "I don't think it has to do with this Avatar thing either-" she bit her lip, "Something happened to you, yesterday you were all over the map, but not this sad."

Niko hugged her, and choked back a whispered: "Don't tell anyone… promise me…"

Ginger was floored by all the shocking and discomforting things that Niko was telling her, she wanted to cry with him, so badly, but no tears would come out. She wanted to hold him, so badly, but her arms wouldn't move- they were deadweight. She wanted to tell him that things would be okay, and he can get help- still she just opened her mouth, with no words. Her horror manifested itself in the burning sensation at the back of her throat, it felt like acid was pouring down her gullet, preventing words from coming out. Ginger was never one to get all choked up on someone else's behalf, but then again it's not often someone special to you tells you a dark secret.

In Zaofu tradition, following the burial, their was a city-wide party to celebrate Mirelle's life. It was one of their stranger customs surrounding a funeral. Another was the appearance of makeshift bar that was essentially made to blend into the corner of the Beifong estate seamlessly. Other quick set-up bars had been established all over the city, and once everyone was considerably intoxicated the bars would start giving out food. Nikolas was posted up at the mini-bar at the corner of the estate, getting obliterated, he couldn't see straight forward for once.

Ginger noticed right away that Niko was getting wasted, and impeccably quick at that. It was probably at drink six, within twenty-five minutes, that she excused herself from two of her top men, both of whom were Mirelle's neighbors growing up. She tried to avoid bringing attention to herself going to the bar, she didn't drink at all, which was enough of a red flag to begin with. Still, she managed to inconspicuously round up behind Niko, the bartender, addressed her, "Ma'am, what can I get for you?"

Ginger looked at the Avatar almost as if she couldn't recognize him, "You can get this man some water, since he isn't a drinker, and I'll take a water as well," she sat next to Niko as the bartender scurried back to get water for the two, "What are you drinking?" she asked more callously rather than inquisitively.

Niko hiccupped, "Vo-dka," he smiled a bit.

Ginger rolled her eyes at him as the bartender dropped their waters in front of them, "Give us a moment, please!" her sharp tongue made her almost feared by many, but in this instance she slid him some money making the moment slightly less impactful. The bartender scuttled away, out of sight, but Ginger wasn't one to trust strangers. She started her stance in a low whisper, "You can always press charges," she darted her eyes around making sure no one had noticed them.

"What would be the point?" Niko semi-whispered, starting to sway, "she'd be cleared of all charges because of her societal standing…" he took a sip of water, "I don't want to talk about it…" he lifted his arm and began to metal bend two bottles into his hands by the metal fasteners on top.

Ginger tried to grab the bottles from him, but in a fit he sent her flying back about three feet with air bending. He then ran away with the bottles leaving Ginger in his wake, the bartender ran over to Ginger, "Of course, he would perfectly do that when he's drunk," she lifted herself up a bit as the bartender held out his hand to help her up.

Ginger was absolutely right, he wasn't a drinker, at all. He was stumbling through the backfields of the valley, once a home to the royal traitor Iwae, it was his drunk place, and albeit he never got drunk often, when he did he would end up somewhere near the ruins come morning light.

Niko looked at the sky with a glossy gaze, spaced out in a drunken stupor, he tripped over a gopher hole, and dropped his remaining bottle. It clattered along the dirt path then stopped suddenly, he lifted his head from the dust, and saw Scarletta, "I've been looking for you everywhere!" She picks up the bottle, "And… you've been drinking." It sounded more like a question than a statement. She walked forward, knelt down in front of him, and pulled Niko up to be at eye level, "What the hell man? Don't fall apart on me…"

Niko blinked, "Your… aunt… violated… me…" his eyes became huge as he screamed, "You know better than anyone…" his voice tremored, "you know better than anyone, that I've been used in similar ways before." He was drunk crying, it wasn't pretty, snot was dripping heavy from his nose, the tears were just globs, and hiccups where now coming up every thirty to forty-five seconds.

This was real, Scar was understandably beyond stunned. Her cheeks flushed of all color, for years she just shrugged off her old aunt's taboo suggestions and provocative nature towards young men, but it was all too undeniable now the old bat was a rapist. But how? She then realized her aunt was an exceptionally skilled bender… one who was a widow to five young, equally skilled benders. The whole thing seemed like some wicked cruel joke, she allowed her family to not follow upon her suspicions in the past, and now her friend was a victim of her aunt's abuse.

The two just hugged for what seemed like hours upon hours, Scarletta's right shoulder was wet from the many tears produced by the emotionally vulnerable Avatar. Now the sun was setting, Scar hadn't moved at all, Nico wasn't nearly as drunk now either, and he could see Scar's face a little better, "Did I throw up on you?" Niko asked feeling like had had thrown up, but just couldn't remember.

Scar chuckled a little, started to let him go, and showed Niko the now dried liquid vomit on her back, "Yeah, but it's all good, I hate my formal wear anyway." The two started to laugh as they took to their feet. Scar sighed, "I'm gonna get changed, and now that you're somewhat sober I'll change and get you some food." She smiled, "How does that sound?"

Niko stopped laughing and felt his stomach, it was in knots from hunger, and the sensation of post-vomiting was lingering. It was like a lurching feeling, "That would be nice, I'd really appreciate that, let's go."

Scar stopped him, led him to a rock, and sat him down. "I'll go do that, you stay here… Your uncle is furiously looking everywhere for you, so I'd just lay low for now." And with that she started back towards the estate mildly uncomfortable by the putrid stomach acid and vodka scent that engulfed her backside.

Niko was extremely lucky to have Scar in his life, she always had his back, and visa-versa. He could vividly remember when she first started to metal bend properly, he had been helping her for about two years from the tender age of six, yet no results. Then one day she successfully caught the silverware and plates that Niko was serving them for lunch after practice, and she always seemed to feel indebted to Niko because of that. Niko always knew that she deeply felt like that was the case, he had once caught her say it out loud at a house party in downtown Zaofu.

His thoughts had been interrupted by a loud noise coming from the wooded area behind him. Whatever it was sounded like it was down at the bottom of the hill he currently sat on, he leaned forward to see if it was an animal or a person, and hopefully it was an animal because no one from Zaofu enters the woods especially before the domes would close up. On the off chance it was a human though they might be injured. As soon as that thought entered his head, he heard low pain filled groans, a noise like that wouldn't come from an animal, he thought, so without any hesitation he started to slide down the hill.

After three seconds the hillside started to become a vertical line that frightened Niko as he couldn't stop himself from falling. He was now passing through a layer of forest canopy, and soon enough he'd hit the ground. The young man screamed knowing the fall itself would kill him, no doubt about it, and started to flail his arms hoping he could air bend out of this mess. Nothing was happening, the ground was visible now, and soon Niko would be hitting it with enough force that he'd die. He closed his eyes and braced himself for impact, but in that moment he stopped- inches from the ground. He looked up and noticed his formalwear had snagged onto a thick tree branch. He started to wiggle to free the fabric from the tree, but instead he somehow managed to remove himself from the formalwear, falling flat onto the ground below him.

Light was barely filtering down from above, the canopy of leaves and branches overhead cast an ominous shadow over everything, yet Niko could see perhaps five feet ahead of himself. He stood up, looked around for a few minutes, then he heard the groans again, but this time they were coming from above his head in the treetops. Niko squinted and scanned upwards to find the source of the noises, and within ten seconds he saw what appeared to be a hunter's net with a human inside.

Niko's insides began to squirm, something was seriously wrong with the trapped man, but he couldn't tell right away until he was directly underneath the net. While he was occupied looking up Niko's foot kicked what seemed like a log or broken branch, but this branch felt soft. Looking down he realized that he kicked a severed arm, then he felt something warm trickle down onto him, and instantly Niko knew it was blood, "Hello?" Niko began, "Don't move, I'm gonna get you out of there!" In a flash the young Avatar scaled the tree. Luckily this trap seemed like a primitive pulley, so he snapped the main support rope clean, and began to lower the injured man to the ground. Now Niko wasn't one to be judgmental by any means; however, he couldn't help thinking about this man and how heavy he was even missing a limb, and honestly it was hard work to not just drop the man.

Once the bleeding man was safely on the ground Niko jumped from the tree and landed next to him. He was about to address the man when he heard Scar from the top of the tall hill, "Scar! Down here! Bring three metal slabs down, I have a man down here who's lost an arm and a lot of blood!"

It took about ten minutes to get back to Niko's house, all the while along the way the two friends were cautious not to be seen with the outsider who was bleeding out rapidly. Being caught in the city without proper documentation was highly illegal, and aiding an illegal interloper was an equally punishable offense. Didn't matter the circumstances, or the fact that Niko's uncle reigned over the people; bottom line was if they were caught they'd all be banished from Zaofu without a single word.

Niko instructed Scar to get a fire going, and now it was roaring in the hearth. It's orange and bright yellow flames dancing around, casting a unique glow onto the room, but now wasn't the time to get all starry eyed. Niko quickly looked back at the man bleeding out on his floor, "Scar, get me a hot poker and also heat up the back end of the shovel," a sickening look twisted on his face, moreso like he might be ill, and despite this Scarletta acquiesced. Within a few moments both the poker and the back end of the shovel were both a hot glowing molten orange.

Scar turned to face the men with hot irons in both hands, "Okay, okay, okay! What am I doing with these?" Niko gestured towards the man's wounds, "Holy-! No way! You stick him, I might throw up if I have to…" She gurgled a bit in disgust.

Niko hung his head for a second, "Fine!" He looked up at her with an equally sickened look, "Hand me those, and Scar at least hold him down." Scar gladly resigned the hot fireplace equipment to the Avatar. He hesitated for a moment before handling the shovel first, "Come here," Scar quickly got down on the other side of the injured man without a second thought, "okay, he's gonna wake up from the intense pain, and when he does I need you to- well first, get a firm grip over yourself, and secondly cover his mouth because he will be screaming." Niko put the poker to the side for now, not minding the singe marks on the floor behind him, "Scar!"

She was crying silently, she took a huge exhale, and said quietly, "Do it…"

If there was ever a moment where Scar was less prepared this was it. As hot shovel made contact with the man's bleeding stump of a hand the man jumped up in agony, screaming louder than Scar was crying, "Scar!" She snapped back to reality at the sound of Niko's voice, "Hold him down!" Scar pushed the man back down, and covered his mouth pleading with him, "Please, be quiet! We won't kill you, but- you've lost a lot of blood and-" Niko was about to go in for round two, "get ready, my friend's gonna get you fixed up!" Niko stuck the hot shovel back on the stump, Scar was struggling to hold the man down, not just from the sheer force this man was exhibiting, but the blood on his torso was causing her to slip around his exposed stomach. The man's legs were flailing wildly, and after a minute Niko removed the hot shovel. The man simply went limp, Scar could feel hot tears coming down the man's face, and she shifted for just a minute to let Niko gain access to his chest. It was so bloodied that Niko needed to have Scar wipe it away as Niko reignited the poker. The lacerations to his torso were unbelievable, Niko could count at least seven different stab wounds, "Wow, you must be the luckiest man alive!" Scar backed away, and immediately threw up in the corner without so much as a warning, "Whoever attacked you clearly has no concept of human anatomy, they missed every vital organ… Scar! I need you over here, regain your stomach, and help me. Please."

Scar was staggering back over with tears streaming down her face, snot was also dripping from her nose and off the piercing in her nose. She quickly wiped the dribble onto a blanket strewn upon Niko's sofa and resumed her position holding down the man, this time by straddling him, so Niko could easily cauterize his wounds. Niko covered the man's mouth this time as he aligned the poker above the first wound. Sweat was dripping from his face onto the floor, it was now or never. He stuck the hot poker onto the first wound, the moment it made contact with his skin the injured man screamed, bucking his head, which moved Niko's hand away from the man's mouth, and his screams were just pouring out. The agony, the pain, all of it. Slipped out of the man quicker than his blood did, "Scar, his mouth!" Scar quickly squirmed to cover the man's mouth as Niko forged on trying not to burn Scarletta in the process now that she was leaning over him to hold him down.

The next five wounds went off without a hitch. It was almost over, Niko had the poker hovering over the last wound just above his left collarbone, but before it could make contact there was a loud knocking at the front door. Ginger's voice boomed from the other side of the door, "Niko! Open up, we got a call about screaming coming from inside your home."

Scar froze, still covering the man's mouth, "Do it, quick…" She barely whispered as Niko placed the hot iron onto the last wound. The man's muffled screams and his thrashing must've been heard from outside because Ginger was kicking in the door the next moment.

"Zaofu police!" Ginger started as she stormed in with three men behind her all wielding guns, presumably made of platinum, "What the-?! Niko, what kind of fresh hell is this?" Her men were all aiming at Scar and Niko. Niko didn't let up on cauterizing the wound though, "For God's sake, stand down boys!"

Ginger looked absolutely beside herself, "You do realize what this means, the both of you?" It was about twenty minutes after the door was broken in, Ginger's men were outside containing the scene as avid onlookers wanted a glimpse of the action. The wounded man had been moved to the couch to rest, Scar was sitting in silent shock next to him, and Niko was trying to figure out the words that could get them out of trouble. "Your uncle is on his way, Niko, if I were you I'd get a bag prepared, you know he's going to banish you…" Niko was about to speak, but she cut him off, "Look, it's beyond me at this point. I get it, though, if I were in your shoes I would have done the same thing, naturally… if I wasn't a law enforcement agent." She looked over at Scarletta, "I took the liberty of having one of my men call up your father so he could bring you a bag as well, he should be here soon?" Niko quickly left the room, "Do you know this man?" Ginger began looking at the heavyset man who was missing his left forearm. Scar looked at her with tears in her eyes, and with a hearty swing of her head she indicated that no they didn't know the man.

A second later one of Ginger's men was walking in with a large travel bag, a medium roller bag, and Scar's purse. The man dropped it all next to the door, and resumed position with the other officers outside. The next minute was Niko and Scar's time of reckoning, Thatcher stood in the doorway, his face contorted into a bland frown, "My own nephew, a criminal." He was looking at all the blood rather than anything else, "Some Avatar."

Ginger was very unnerved by that comment, she shot up from her chair, "For you information sir, your nephew risked it all to help this man!" She pointed at the squat armless man, "And another thing-" but Thatcher held a hand up to silence her.

"Ginger, I know you have a personal connection with my nephew, but another outburst like that, and I will revoke your badge, understand missy!" Thatcher was cold and ruthless even towards his most elite officer, his tone albeit not raised from a speaking one, was still sharp and menacing.

Niko stormed out of his bedroom with several bags, and it was apparent he was in a rage, "Threaten her again, I'll show you my full powers!" He walked right up to his uncle and stared him dead in his eyes, "Now then we are leaving, but if I catch wind that anything has happened to Ginger… or my parents… or Boris for that matter…" He left the statement open ended as he walked back, picked up his bags, metal bended the slab used for the wounded man up next to him. "Scar, Ginger, if you two don't mind lifting that man onto the slab."

Scar began to move the mans legs onto the slab, Ginger started to move towards them, but was stopped by Thatcher, "Nobody touch that man, he is under arrest-" now it was Niko's turn to cut off his uncle.

"No he isn't!" Niko bellowed, and the flames from the fireplace shot up without warning scorching the roof terribly. Everyone but Niko fell to the floor as Niko quickly adjusted his bags, and got the man's upper body onto the slab. He sat on the one end closer to the man's face and gestured towards Scar to get up and grab her bags. As soon as she had a hold of everything Niko flung the slab forward causing Scar to get knocked backwards onto it. And now they made their leave, the metal slab flew out of the house and into the air as onlookers watched as they made their way towards the closed dome above them. Niko was very upset and angry now, "Scar get ready to maintain the slab!" Scar was quiet, but she listened and took the invisble reigns on the slab as Niko jumped up ahead. His eyes started to glow again as they did yesterday, and without missing a beat his body began to spin at a hyper acceleated speed that made him a blur to the naked eye. Flames began to spiral around him as he shot out of the dome through a hole melted in the platinum dome, and with that action they were now officially enemies of the state