The Avatar Strikes Back

by MegaBob452

A contaminated world, a menaced empire, brought together by mutual interference. A year has passed since the saiyans departed, their actions still leaving their mark on the galaxy at large and one little blue marble in particular. Earth is unprepared for the nightmares ahead, while the Empire finds wonders in an unexpected place.

39. Meeting the Mark

Chapter 39: Meeting the Mark

Luke kept silent throughout the flight, taking the time to calm his mind. He was sitting in the center of the imperial shuttle, surrounded by stormtroopers on escort duty, none of them particularly happy about their assignment. One didn't have to be force sensitive to feel the tension in the air, every mind wondering when this truce would come to an end. That was why Luke was meditating during the trip, so that the tension wouldn't overwhelm him. He wasn't going to let his composure break down because of an uncomfortable situation, not until actual danger presented itself.

Others kept themselves occupied in other ways. Sokka was holding the chaingun blaster in both hands, standing beside a couple of stormtroopers. "So like this…"

"Almost," one stormtrooper said. He raised the large weapon a bit with one hand, using the other to adjust Sokka's grip for better balance. "There, keep it steady like this, and you'll mow down anything in your path."

"Okay, I see it," Sokka said, understanding the proper way to hold this weapon. "Thanks."

"Just remember to turn the safety off before a fight starts," the stormtrooper advised. "It takes a few seconds to warm up, and that can make all the difference."

Meanwhile Katara was holding a waterskin in one hand, held her other hand above it, fingers moving in subtle gestures. Bit by bit water flowed out of the skin, a trickle at first but steadily increasing in volume, forming a variety shapes in accordance with her whims. Waterbending was slowly but surely returning to normal as the shuttle approached Earth, the gravitational push and pull between the planet and its moon filling the void within her. Katara's little experiment had the attention of a few stormtroopers, enjoying the little show she was putting on.

Katara glanced at the stormtroopers, and with a hand gesture she shaped the water into a little figurine that danced for them. "You know, sometimes it's the simple things that matter."

One stormtrooper tapped another's shoulder. "If that's simple, imagine what complex is."

"I'd rather not," the other stormtrooper whispered back. "We're going to be surrounded by ice and snow soon. So don't tick her off."

"Why thank you for the compliment," Katara said with a light laugh. She made the water figurine take a bow. "She thanks you too."

A little bit of laughter amongst the stormtroopers helped relieve the tension, and Luke couldn't help but smile. Moments like this had him wishing there was no war in the galaxy, where people could just be themselves and enrich each other's lives instead of taking them. It wasn't going to last, such things never did, but he could indulge himself just a little bit. He glanced out a window, seeing the black of space gradually give way to a light blue sky, daytime in this part of the world. They would be landing soon, and this moment of peace would be over.

The shuttle was coming down over Earth's southern hemisphere, crossing over the southern oceans before flying over frigid glaciers. The few settlements on the glacier passed by without notice, despite how much Sokka and Katara wanted to return home. Then the Everstorm appeared on the horizon, its mysterious green glow shrouding the terrain beneath it. It didn't seem so bad in the daytime, the light of the sun piercing the highest clouds, suppressing the darkness that permeated this place. Still, the shuttle wasn't going to fly right into it, as that would have been suicide.

Once the shuttle landed the doors were opened, allowing everyone to exit and walk onto freshly packed snow. A crude landing zone had been constructed here, made from local materials and with only the most essential facilities. There was a refueling station and a small barracks, barely enough for a temporary spaceport. More stormtroopers were waiting here, not happy about their assignment, but kept professional despite the cold. But it was a little infuriating to see the teenager emerge and pull back the hoods of winter clothes, like this was merely a pleasant day.

Sokka took in a deep breath, let it while looking at the sky, quickly realizing what part of the year it was. "It's been forever since having a midnight sun. Totally forgot it was supposed to be summer."

"I know, right?" Katara asked. She breathed in that cool summer air of the South Pole, paradise compared to the harsh nights of Hoth. "It's good to be back here again."

"We're not here to be nostalgic," Luke said, leaving the shuttle and walking behind the others. "We've got a job to do."

"Yeah," Sokka said. He hoisted up the chaingun blaster, hopefully another weapon to add to his space arsenal. "Let's get to it."

"Right this way," a stormtrooper said. He guided them over a set of speeder bikes, modified to resist the cold. "We'll take these into the storm."

Seven speeder bikes were available, plenty for getting twice as many people across the tundra. Luke took the one in the middle, and a stormtrooper rode passenger despite wanting to drive. Neither Sokka nor Katara were confident enough to drive one of these vehicles, allowing stormtroopers to do it for them, each riding passenger on separate speeder bikes. The remaining four bikes had two stormtroopers each, a pair on each side of the other three, riding along in standard V formation with Luke's bike in the lead.

They drove straight into the Everstorm, its eerie green glow spreading over the sky above them. Soon there was nothing left of the blue sky, only the bright light of the sun still pierced the swirling clouds. Still, all headlights were turned on for more light, and they took a cautious pace, leaving nothing to chance. The temperature dropped as they rode into the storm, requiring even Katara and Sokka to pull up their hoods to shield them from the frigid wind. Most of the ride went along without incident, and it only took half an hour to reach their destination.

The frozen forest remained at the very bottom of Earth, unchanged since Luke's previous visit. Here the light of the sun mixed with the green glow of the clouds, casting everything in varying shades of green. Everyone stopped at the edge of the frozen forest, unable to dispel a feeling of dread that came with this place. There was a path that led into the forest, marked by a makeshift campsite at the entrance, containing enough supplies for a small group to survive for weeks. The speeder bikes were parked here, and the weapons brought with them unloaded.

"Is there an advance squad?" Luke asked a stormtrooper.

"A small one," the stormtrooper answered. "They should be here."

"They probably got tired of waiting and went ahead," another stormtrooper added. "That, or they're at each other's throats again."

"Again?" Sokka questioned, getting off a speeder bike and walking over to the stormtroopers. "I thought you imperials were all buddy-buddy with each other."

"Vader brought in a couple of freelancers," the stormtrooper clarified. "He believed this mission required some local expertise."

Sokka looked around for signs of waterbending, only to see displaced permafrost and scorched terrain instead. "I have a bad feeling about this."

There was a sound in the distance, warped shrieks and wails that shook the soul, getting louder and heading their way. Every stormtrooper pulled out a blaster, some using two, and a couple hoisting chaingun blasters, all of them ready to fire. Luke took out his lightsaber and turned it on, holding it in one hand and a blaster in the other, casting blue light on everyone. Katara melted as much snow and ice as she could, turning it into rings of water around herself, ready to attack in any direction. The shrieks and wails kept getting louder, and dark shapes appeared in the clouds.

Luke pointed his lightsaber at them. "Here they come!"

Spirits emerged from the clouds, in the form of dark snakes and eels swimming through air, instantly recognized by Luke and Sokka. Hundreds of them were descending upon the group, blocking the view of the forest with their numbers. Sokka was first to fire, the chaingun blaster making several shots per second, accompanied by all the other blasters shooting at spirits. A barrage of blaster bolts struck them head on, blowing small holes where they hit, the edges burning and spreading outward. Still, the spirits kept coming, ignoring the damage they sustained.

Katara expanded her water rings around the stormtroopers, like a moat floating in the air, making the water flow at high speed. As the spirits closed in she snared many of them in the moat, the current pulling them off their course, directing them straight into blaster fire. But she could only snare so many at a time, and many more slipped past her defense. Stormtroopers regrouped around her, focusing their aim on spirits going after her, allowing her to focus on her waterbending. By now many spirits were disintegrating from taking too much blaster fire, but there were plenty more to replace them.

"Keep firing!" one stormtrooper ordered. "Keep them off the waterbender at all costs!"

By now the spirits were close enough for melee range, and Luke was swinging his lightsaber at every spirit within his reach. Every hit cut a spirit in half, the severed ends burning in blue plasma that spread in both directions, quickly devouring them and leaving only ethereal ash behind. Luke covered the flanks of the stormtroopers around Katara and Sokka, cutting down every spirit that got through their combined firepower. Even then, there were simply too many, threatening to overwhelm them with sheer numbers.

"There's too many of them!" one stormtrooper shouted. "We have to fall back!"

"I am not getting pulled into the spirit world again!" Sokka yelled.

One spirit almost made it through, barely cut down in time by Luke. "They're fighting a lot harder than last time. Something's got them spooked."

Katara was melting more ice and snow and adding the water to her flowing moat, widening its reach to snare more spirits. "Whatever it is, could it get here and scare them off?"

That was when the ground shook, and Sokka saw slabs of rock pierce the tundra. "We've got an earthbender nearby!"

The slabs of rock shattered and expelled dozens of shards upward, right into the mass of dark spirits descending onto the battle. The shards cut through the spirits easily enough, but they quickly mended and made the injured spirits whole again. More shards of rock were hurled at the spirits, even if it didn't inflict lasting damage. It did get their attention, and half of them split away from the group to attack this earthbender. That seemed to have been the point, as the rock shard attack was followed by a spine-chilling crackle in the air.

Sokka recognized that sound instantly. "Everyone get down!"

A bolt of lightning shot out from the forest, hitting a cluster of spirits simultaneously. On impact those spirits were disintegrated, and the electricity in the air arced away to hit more spirits. Another bolt of lightning followed and struck another cluster of spirits, then another and another, disintegrating several dozen spirits in a few short seconds. All that electricity spread from spirit to spirit, each like a link in long chains of lightning, clearing out the spirits that had gone after the earthbender. And more bolts of lightning were coming, the firebender conjuring them all too eager for an excuse for slaughter.

The spirits still attacking the group quickly realized what was going on, and they fled from the battle in nearly an instant. They appeared to vanish from this reality altogether, simply disappearing into the ether. Everyone kept firing blasters anyway, just in case the spirits had merely turned invisible, but the blaster bolts hit nothing but clouds. They stopped eventually, for the sake of conserving ammunition, though Luke kept his lightsaber on and Katara kept her water at the ready. Then they heard footsteps, and everyone turned to greet the new help.

Yet when the two middle aged men came into view, Sokka couldn't believe his eyes. "Oh you have got to be kidding me. How in the world did Vader convince these two to work together?"

"You know them?" Luke asked.

Katara nodded. "We weren't exactly friends, right Long Feng? Ozai?"

The two former leaders of their respective nations approached, though they put considerable distance between each other. They had cleaned themselves up plenty since being pressed into service, having restored their hair and beards to their respective styles, albeit trimmed shorter to conceal the parts that had been harvested in captivity. Both were thinner than Sokka and Katara remembered, the likely result of malnourishment for months on end, only recently brought back to physical fitness. They were wearing thick clothes for the cold, though Ozai seemed more comfortable than Long Feng.

"Of all the people in the world, why are you two here?" Long Feng asked.

"That's what I was going to ask," Katara said.

"You're welcome," Ozai said. He walked over and stopped just out of arm's reach from the stormtroopers. "Those things would have killed you all, or worse."

Luke kept his eye on Ozai, curious about who this man was and why he sounded very peculiar to him. "I see your abilities are quite effective against those spirits."

"It appears they are vulnerable to high amounts of energy," Ozai said. "Blasters, lightning, that glowing sword of yours, they tear apart the non-physical nature of our foe."

"Good to know," Sokka said. He glanced at Long Feng, but didn't take one eye off Ozai. "What about you? I don't see you using a blaster."

"I am here for support," Long Feng answered. With a couple of hand gestures he summoned small pieces of rock to him, molding them around his hands to make a pair of stone gloves. "It was assumed that earthbending would be required."

"Uh-huh…" Katara said, certain there was more than that. "Well, since you're the only earthbender here, we won't turn you away."

Luke finally turned off his lightsaber and put it away. "Alright, I presume you've scouted ahead. Please, lead the way."

"As you wish," Ozai said. He turned and walked along the edge of the frozen forest, heading for the path that led inside. "Right this way."

Everyone followed Ozai around the forest, reaching the entrance and then walking into the path. Freshly tilled dirt was crunched beneath their boots, evidence of Long Feng's work to clear out the path ahead of time. But he hadn't touched the ice-covered trees, their branches still crossing over everyone, blocking the view of the clouds in the sky. Ozai conjured a flame in his hand for light, stormtroopers turned on flashlights mounted on their blasters, and Luke turned on his lightsaber, everyone trying to pierce the darkness of this eerie place.

Luke walked ahead of the group, getting beside Ozai and holding his lightsaber beside the open flame. "Now what's your story? How did you get involved in all of this?"

"It wasn't by choice," Ozai said. He glanced at one of the trees, catching a glimpse of spirits keeping their distance. "I once ruled half of this world, and the rest was within my grasp. The first aliens put an end to my ambitions, and the Empire ended my rule altogether."

"They took you prisoner, I presume," Luke said. He saw spirits leaping from branch to branch, keeping ahead of the group. "Did they try reconditioning, or some other method of coercion?"

"I was subjected to experimentation for months on end," Ozai said. "They wanted to unlock the secrets of firebending. They failed of course, such things are beyond the Empire's understanding."

"And yet you are working with them?" Luke questioned.

"Vader came to me with an offer," Ozai answered. "It was that or continue with the experiments. The former option seemed far less painful."

"I see," Luke said. There was a small clearing up ahead, where tree branches just barely reached each other. "You realize you are still a prisoner, only outside of a cell now."

"Of course I do," Ozai said. He held up his free hand, signaling for everyone to stop. "At this point, I'm handling things one step at a time. The next step is dealing with those."

He pointed at the far end of the clearing, to a cluster of trees around a fork in the path, their frozen branches covered in dark spirits. The snakes and eels coiled around the branches and each other, all eyes on the group in front of them. Every stormtrooper aimed blasters at them, and the spirits scattered into the air. Half of them panicked and opened fire, shooting into the mass of spirits, blasting holes in many of them. The spirits swarmed around the clearing, evading blaster fire from the other stormtroopers, their shrieks making warped echoes throughout the forest.

Katara reformed the moat of fast moving water around everyone, but the spirits weren't converging on them yet. "What are they doing?"

Luke had his lightsaber at the ready, surrounded by all the blaster bolts whizzing by him. "Wait for it. They're up to something."

The dark spirits coiled around each other, coming together at three points around the group, merging together into a trio of larger monsters. Several dozen spirits to a monster, the new forms stood twenty feet tall, towering over everyone in a mockery of the human shape. They had long and spindly arms and legs, thick and hunched over torsos, oversized heads with nonexistent necks, these merged monsters brandished claws that were like curved swords. Heartless abominations staring with inhuman yellow eyes, these new versions of dark spirits closed in to attack.

Stormtroopers were still shooting at them, but the larger form allowed these spirits to absorb the blaster bolts with minimal damage. The little holes they made were quickly filled in, barely slowing down the dark spirit attack. They swiped and stabbed at the group, forcing the stormtroopers to scatter, and the sharp claws impaled the ground. One large spirit raked its claws through the dirt and snow, catching a stormtrooper by the leg, and sliced the limb clean off and in pieces. He fell to the ground in pain, screaming in agony, still shooting his blaster.

The same spirit moved to strike again, but was struck by a bolt of lightning. Electricity surged through the spirit's semi-corporeal form, stunning the spirit and stopping it from finishing off the wounded stormtrooper. Ozai turned around, charged another bolt in a mere second, and fired it at one of the other large spirits. The lightning stunned it at well, just before it could skewer a pair of stormtroopers on those claws. He charged and fired a lightning bolt at the third large spirit, frustrated that stunning was all his attacks did now.

The electricity was shrinking the spirits bit by bit, Luke could see that much. One spirit recovered and stabbed at a stormtrooper, and Luke brought down his lightsaber on that spirit's right arm. It cut the spirit's arm clean off at the elbow, the severed ends burning in blue plasma fires, and the detached limb burned away in seconds. The spirit screamed, pulled back its wounded arm, and the other arm swiped at Luke. He jumped to avoid the attack, allowing the claws to cleave air beneath him, and he swung his lightsaber at the spirit's left shoulder, cutting off the entire arm.

"Finish that one off!" Luke ordered. He landed beside the wounded spirit, and he ran past the stormtroopers. "Ozai, help me with the other two!"

Stormtroopers concentrated their fire on the wounded spirit, their cumulative blaster bolts inflicting more damage now that it had been weakened. Luke charged at the closer of the other two spirits, barely held at bay by Katara's waterbending and Long Feng's earthbending. The two were hurling water and boulders at the spirit, as well as dodging the spirit's attacks, but weren't inflicting any real damage. The third spirit was being held back by repeated lightning strikes from Ozai, and the stormtroopers plus Sokka were steadily whittling down the wounded spirit.

Luke turned slightly, running toward Long Feng now. "Give me a boost!"

Long Feng avoided another slash of the spirit's claws, and then clenched a fist in Luke's direction. He raised that fist, yanked a slab of stone from the ground, with Luke riding on top of it. He leapt from the hurled slab, got above the spirit, and swung his lightsaber straight down. It cut straight through the spirit from top to bottom, bisecting it into two symmetrical halves, with blue plasma burning in between. The spirit screamed in agony, even as its head burned away, as if the scream was coming from the essence of the spirit instead of its now non-existent mouth.

Landing right in front of the vertically split spirit, Luke swung his lightsaber through the spirit's legs, cutting them apart just below the knees. The legs burned and the spirit fell in pieces, both arms desperately slashing blindly, and Luke cut them apart as well. All of the pieces fell onto the tundra, flailing about in the dirt and snow wildly. The severed ends burned away and the blue flames spread from them, quickly consuming the rest of the spirit, leaving only ethereal ashes to blow away in the wind.

"One down," Luke said. He turned around to face the other spirits. "Now for the other two."

However, it seemed the other two spirits weren't interested in that. The wounded one in particular was the first to flee, detaching the burning stumps of its arms, leaving them to burn while the rest of it split back into the dozens of snake-shaped spirits that had created it. Those smaller spirits disappeared into the ether, abandoning the portions still burning away. The remaining large spirit was still kept at bay by Ozai's repeated lightning bolts, and it too vanished in a moment. The fighting was brought to an abrupt end, though blasters were still shooting for a little while longer.

"Where did they go?" Katara asked.

"Does it matter?" Long Feng asked in turn. "They're gone, and most of us survived."

Luke turned toward the stormtroopers, lightsaber still on in case the spirits returned. "How many did we lose?"

"Two dead, three wounded," Sokka answered, looking at the stormtroopers tending to their fallen comrades. "We've got six troopers still in decent shape."

Even though they were stormtroopers, Katara wasn't going to just let the wounded bleed out. They did still have a truce after all. "Hold on just a bit. I can get you stable."

Katara got to work on the wounded stormtroopers, coating her hands in water and applying them to the wounds, glowing light blue as they healed. She worked on them one at a time, closing the wounds on one stormtrooper before moving onto the next, ensuring that they could at least stay alive. There was nothing she could do about the severed limbs, save patch them over with fresh skin. The other stormtroopers stood guard over her, watching for any spirits that might attack while she worked, but she got to finish without interruption.

"Okay, that's about all I can do," Katara said. She stood up straight and faced the other stormtroopers. "They won't be able to fight for a while."

Luke walked over to her and faced that stormtrooper. "Take your men and get the wounded out of here. You'll only slow us down from here."

"Are you sure about that?" the stormtrooper asked. "Those things can still come back."

"Blasters aren't going to be much help any longer," Luke said. He pointed toward the center of the forest. "And we're almost where I need to go. Get your people to safety while you still can."

"Sir, with all due respect, we were ordered to stay with you," the stormtrooper said. "We're not going to abandon you."

Luke didn't want to do this, but it seemed necessary to get the stormtroopers to proper medical attention. He called on the Force and waved a hand. "You need to look after your men."

There was a slight pause, but the stormtrooper did reply. "I need to look after my men."

"There is nothing more you can do here," Luke continued.

"There is nothing more we can do here," the stormtrooper echoed.

Luke extended his focus to the rest of the stormtroopers. "This isn't worth your lives. Return to base."

By now the Jedi mind trick was doing its work, and the lead stormtrooper turned toward the others. "This isn't worth our lives. We're returning to base."

The wounded were lifted up and slung over their comrades' shoulders, and they stormtroopers slowly made their way back down the trail. Every free hand they had was holding a blaster, just in case they got attacked on the way out. Luke and the others watched until they were out of sight, listened for a while for any screams or blasters fired. But they heard no signs of an ambush, and they turned back toward the center of the forest. The path forward led through a large cluster of trees, into a large grove with thick branches blocking out the sky.

"Come on," Luke said. Holding his lightsaber forward, he led the way down the path. "We're almost there. Let's finish the job."

Everyone else followed Luke down the path, keeping close and on guard for another spirit attack. Katara and Long Feng kept their respective elements at the ready, taking water and rock with them into the grove of trees. Sokka was still carrying the chaingun blaster with him, fingers numb from clenching it too long. Ozai's fingers sparked from time to time, eager to put lightning to use some more, only lacking a target. They walked into the grove, entering the center of the forest, and found a dim blue glow waiting for them up ahead.

The pit Luke had made last time was still here, and the orb of light was still at the bottom. Its radiance blended with the glow of the lightsaber, the only sources of light this deep in the Everstorm. Luke saw unfamiliar footprints around the orb, and he imagined Darth Vader walking around this place after he had been here. He walked into the pit first, getting up close to the orb, and poked at it with his lightsaber. The weapon did nothing to the orb, just like the last time he tried it, but it didn't hurt to be certain.

"I did not get this far last time," Sokka admitted. He stopped at the edge of the pit, watching Ozai go in after Luke. "Is that really what the spirits are guarding?"

"Apparently so," Ozai said. He stopped beside Luke, staring into the orb's light. "What exactly is it?"

"Vader believes it is a portal of some kind," Luke answered. He placed one hand on the surface of the orb, feeling a strange warmth coming from it. "Whatever he wants is on the other side."

"Did he ever say what it was?" Katara asked.

"Not specifically," Luke admitted. He pulled back his hand and turned toward the others. "He did say there was another portal at the North Pole. That is why he needed me here. They need to be opened at the same time for the Force to work."

"Let me guess, the Force will tell you when you're both in position," Sokka figured.

"Something like that," Luke said. He closed his eyes to focus, thinking about what he should do, and turned back to look at the orb again. "Vader wants the power on the other side to overthrow the Emperor. But if he gets that power, what's to stop him from using it against us?"

"Perhaps you could take the power for yourself," Long Feng suggested. "Use it against Vader and then the Emperor. Take over the Empire in their place."

"I doubt I could beat Vader to the punch on this," Luke said. "He is far more skilled than I am in the Force. And he knows a lot more about this than he's letting on."

"So what are you going to do?" Katara asked.

Luke knew what this situation called for, although the likely consequences would include getting them all killed. "We can't allow Vader to succeed. The danger is just too great."

Ozai nodded, and he turned to look Luke in the eye. "How exactly would you stop him?"

There was only one surefire way Luke could think of, something that would prevent another force-sensitive person from opening the portal. "Vader needs it opened. That won't happen if we destroy it."

Loud shrieks came from all around them, the kind that everyone could feel in their very souls. Dark spirits emerged from the trees, their serpentine forms leaping from branch to branch, converging at the center of the grove directly above the orb. Hundreds of them joined together and merged into a single being, becoming a massive serpent well over ten meters thick. The serpent's head had a wide maw and sharp teeth, open wide and bellowing a mighty roar at the people below. It came down right on top of Luke, as if it knew what he wanted to do.

Sokka was already shooting at it, the chaingun blaster firing at maximum rounds per second, the bolts pelting the spirit like hail. Actual hail followed the blaster bolts, Katara's waterbending at work, going for sheer volume of ice. Long Feng hurled a barrage of rocks as well, every one hitting the very large target. Lightning bolts struck the spirit as well, one after another fired from Ozai's fingertips, right in the eyes and the wide open mouth. Yet the spirit kept on coming, barely slowed down by the attacks against it.

The spirit bit down around Luke, as if to swallow him whole. He shoved his lightsaber straight up the throat of the serpent, igniting its ethereal form from the inside. The resulting flames of blue plasma grew up and outward, spreading through the core of its being, burning away everything in the inferno's path. It took all of Luke's concentration to keep from being burned, using the Force to keep the flames away from himself and keep the heat at bay. The serpent was consumed from end to end, the blue blaze spreading into the forest canopy, melting the ice and setting the trees aflame.

The head of the serpent was burned away, and when those flames dispersed Luke was left standing there, holding his lightsaber toward the sky in both hands. "That… was too close."

"I'll say," Katara said, staring at Luke right now. "I thought you were a goner for a second."

"Could be worse," Sokka said. "Could have been swallowed whole and spat out in the spirit world."

"Worse might still happen," Long Feng said. He was looking up, and pointed to the inferno raging above them. "We've got a new problem."

The center of the forest canopy was burning fiercely, spreading outward amidst the treetops. The flames quickly changed from blue to red and orange, losing the form of plasma and becoming regular fire instead. Smoke and steam billowed out from the burning trees, mixing with the clouds of the Everstorm. Spirits fled from the blaze as it spread across the forest, abandoning the treetops as they were destroyed. Ash and embers fell to the forest floor, raining down over the group, requiring action to avoid being burned.

Katara created a dome of water over herself and Sokka, catching the hot embers and extinguishing their flames. Long Feng had made similar shelter out of rock, more than enough to protect himself. Ozai was casually firebending away the burning embers with waves of his hand, child's play for a firebender of his caliber. Luke simply held up a hand and focused on the Force, and the embers simply stopped in midair above them. They only needed to hold out for a few minutes, until the forest canopy above them burned away completely, though the grove continued to burn as a ring of fire.

All Ozai had to do now was keep the flames from spreading inward, easy enough for him to do with simple hand gestures. "Alright. Who wants me to let this entire Agni forsaken place burn to the ground?"

Sokka raised his hand. "Go right ahead. Maybe it'll teach those spirits that they don't belong here."

"Good luck with that," Katara said. She had put her water back into a ring around herself, keeping up her guard and half expecting spirits to emerge from the blaze. "It might take a lot more convincing."

Still, it seemed that the spirits weren't about to attack again, and Long Feng turned his attention back to Luke. "You were saying something about destroying this thing?"

"Right," Luke said, turning back toward the orb. He stood there and closed his eyes, trying to visualize how to make that happen. "It will be tricky, but I think we can pull it off together."

Ozai's gaze narrowed. "Together… yes."