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.

40. Light in the Darkness

Chapter 40: Light in the Darkness

After the hasty escape from the Executor, Mara Jade put the stolen TIE Bomber on course to Earth.

It was made easier by Darth Vader's actions in facilitating his misguided truce, something Mara Jade was all too eager to exploit. The Executor had been the only imperial capital ship in the system, as the Star Destroyers that should have been in Earth's orbit had been redeployed elsewhere. Therefore all TIE Fighters had to be deployed from behind for pursuit, none able to be launched from ahead of the bomber to intercept it quickly. The space between the Executor and Earth was empty, save for the blaster bolts that missed the bomber and kept on going.

From his view in the gunner's seat Aang saw the blaster bolts passing by too close for comfort. "They're getting closer. Can't you lose them?"

Mara was making the ship move from side to side as well as up and down, taking the subtle path that avoided the blaster bolts by the narrowest of margins. "In case you haven't noticed, space is empty. There's nothing out here to lose them in."

"Well then go faster," Aang suggested.

"Already going as fast as we can," Mara said. "Bombers aren't built for speed. I picked it because it has better armor than those fighters out there."

One bolt clipped a corner of the bomber's hull, and the resulting scorch mark startled Toph. "That one hit us! How much of a beating can this thing take?"

"I'd rather not find out," Aang said.

"We won't need to," Mara said. The view of Earth was filling up the window, centered on the planet's northern ice cap. "Brace yourselves. We're about to hit atmosphere."

Toph gripped the seats she was sitting between. "Oh goody."

The TIE Bomber hit the edge of Earth's atmosphere, and there was an immediate effect on the little ship's flight path. Wind resistance, weak though it was at this altitude, began to push against the ship. It conflicted with the pull of gravity, and the opposing forces made the ship more difficult to control at maximum speed. The effects were even greater on the TIE Fighters following the bomber into atmosphere, increasing in strength the further in they went. They were not designed for atmosphere after all, but continued the pursuit despite the challenging conditions.

Aang felt his native element return to him, and he quickly stood up while grabbing his staff. "Keep it steady. I've got an idea."

It took some finagling to get past Toph in the tight space, but they managed to trade places in this tiny ship. Aang stood between the seats and the hatch, held his staff in both hands toward the exit hatch, and started spinning it round and round. His eyes and tattoos glowed with the Avatar State, amplifying the airbending he put to work outside the ship. The TIE Bomber hit sudden turbulence, caught at the narrow end of a growing vortex, barely keeping a stable flight path. Behind the ship the vortex of wind grew wider and stronger, catching the TIE Fighters in pursuit.

This high altitude tornado tossed the tiny ships around like leaves, despite their pilots using every trick they knew to stay on course. Some of them crashed into each other, the debris caught in the wind and pulled along for the ride, inflicting further damage on subsequent impacts with other TIE Fighters. The tornado followed the bomber as it dived toward the planet's surface, growing even stronger as the air thickened. It only took a few minutes for the tornado to make all of the fighters crash into each other, and the pieces continued to follow the bomber's descent.

"What is going on back there?" Mara demanded.

"I think he's airbending," Toph said, clinging to the seat with both hands.

"He's what?" Mara questioned. She abandoned that train of thought when she saw moonlit ice sheets coming up fast. "Never mind, hang on, this is going to be rough."

Mara pulled up as hard as the tiny ship could, coming out of the vertical descent and curving onto a horizontal flight path. The tornado behind the ship followed suit, and the winds assaulted the frozen tundra rushing by beneath them. In the darkness of polar night the land was illuminated by the moon and stars and artificial lights up ahead, the latter belonging to an Imperial outpost. The maneuver left the bomber flying just above the icy surface, and the tornado whipped up a massive snowstorm, closing in on the outpost in a hurry.

The bomber passed over the outpost, the tornado knocked down several buildings, and the snowstorm enveloped everything. Chaos ensued inside the outpost, stormtroopers and support personnel blindly fumbling around in the whiteout while TIE Fighter pieces rained down on them. No one saw the bomber touch down just outside the outpost, its wings nearly breaking off in the quick landing. The tornado dispersed into gentle winds, and the snowstorm continued onward, concealing the bomber from aerial view.

"That could have gone better," Mara said, shutting down the bomber's engines. "Is everyone alright?"

The glow of the Avatar State left Aang, and he got to work opening the little ship's hatch. "A little banged up, but I'm fine."

"I've been better," Toph said. She got out of the seat, glad to have solid terrain beneath her again, even if it was a frozen wasteland. "It sucks not being able to do anything to help."

"Well we're back on Earth now," Aang said. He got the hatch open and a strong breeze brought snow through the hole. "Earthbending is back on now, and I think we're going to need it."

Now Mara recognized the term bending, though only from documents she had accessed on the Executor. "It will certainly help, that's for sure."

Aang hopped through the hole, setting foot on snow amidst the storm, barely able to see past his nose in the darkness. "What's our next step? Obviously this ship isn't going to fly again."

"We passed over an outpost," Mara said. She got out of the ship next and faced the path they came from, barely able to see pinpoints of light through the falling snow. "If we're going anywhere we need to stop there first for supplies and transport."

Toph was still in the ship, clinging to the edges of the hatch and pointing at Mara's feet. "Can I borrow those? I really don't want to get frostbite out here."

Mara was still wearing the stolen stormtrooper uniform on top of her clothes, and she noticed that Toph had been barefoot the entire time. "I'm not going to ask why. I'm sure you have your reasons."

She took off the stormtrooper boots and tossed them up to Toph, who reluctantly put them on her feet to shield them from the cold. Toph hopped down to join Aang and Mara, and she followed them toward the lights in the distance. Those lights were steadily becoming clearer as the snowstorm settled, the air becoming clearer by the minute and improving visibility. It was still polar night outside, allowing the three to approach under cover of darkness, but they still moved as quickly as they could run through the snow.

Patrol ships flew by overhead, casting spotlights onto the frozen terrain below. They were following the obvious trail made by the bomber as it landed, becoming easier to see as the snow settled. By the time the patrol ships could land Mara and the others were long gone, their tracks erased by Aang's waterbending. Still, the stormtroopers in the patrol ships started a search, knowing that whoever was in the bomber had to be nearby. That was going to be difficult, what with the nearest outpost in chaos and a lack of orbital support at the moment.

Mara stopped at half a kilometer from the outpost, where a small ridge of ice and snow offered cover from spotlights up ahead. "We need a way to get inside undetected."

Aang was busy waterbending away ice and snow, and he switched to earthbending when he hit frozen dirt and rock. "Already on it, should be ready in a moment."

Mara watched him work, pleasantly surprised with the initiative on display. "That'll work."

One the hole was deep enough all three of them went inside, and Aang closed the top of the hole behind them. From there they made their way beneath the tundra, Toph helping with her earthbending, making it easier for Aang to tunnel through the permafrost. Mara had to trust that they knew what they were doing, barely having any understanding of their full abilities. Toph's vibration sight, dulled though it may be by the boots and the snow, was invaluable in making sure they could surface directly underneath the outpost.

But when they started their ascent they hit a snag, requiring Aang to stop prematurely. "Of course they put in a solid metal floor. It would have been too easy otherwise."

"They had to get wise to this trick sooner or later," Toph said.

"I take it that means your powers don't work on metal," Mara assumed. She reached for a particular weapon kept out view, wishing she didn't need to reveal it so soon. "I guess I'll have-"

Toph punched the metal, and a large dent formed in it. "Okay, good, they used local materials instead of that hyper purified stuff. I'll have this open in a jiffy."

"Since when could you do that?" Aang asked.

"Oh I figured out metalbending a while ago," Toph answered. "I'll have to teach it to you sometime. It works by earthbending impurities in the metal. Doesn't work so well on the stuff they use in space, not enough earth in the hyper purified metal, but they don't know that yet."

Toph continued her work on the metal above them, tearing open a wide hole into the outpost's foundation. From there they continued their ascent into the outpost proper, emerging inside a supply depot half filled with construction materials. The other half was filled with pieces of several different TIE Fighters, which had crashed through the roof and demolished a wall. A few inches of snow covered the debris, and the only footsteps were from people fleeing before more of the building could fall in on them.

Mara held up a fist to signal for silence, hearing plenty of footsteps and voices outside the depot. The chaos seemed to have settled down, now that the immediate danger had subsided and the people could recover. The outpost was surely on lockdown by now, though the damage would just as surely leave holes in security. Mara moved as silently as she could, getting to the collapsed wall for a better viewpoint, listening in on the activity outside. She still couldn't hear all the details, but got the gist of what the imperial priorities were.

She waited until she heard footsteps moving away and the voices fade away, and then Mara made her way back to the others. "It looks like the barracks by the eastern wall were hit the hardest. If we can get to the hangar we can take a speeder bike out of here."

"And where would that be?" Aang asked.

"Assuming this outpost follows the standard layout," Mara said. She held up a hand, turned to put her back toward the collapsed wall, and pointed to her left. "It should be fifty meters that way."

Toph crouched and punched the floor, getting the best view she could in this terrain. "Found it, right where you say it should be. There are some stormtroopers standing guard near it."

"As there should be," Mara said. She walked over to a door in the right direction, readying herself to make a run for the hangar. "Can you create some cover for us with those tricks of yours?"

Aang held up his staff. "Another snowstorm should do the trick. It'll be smaller than the last one."

"It'll do," Mara said. She put her hand on the door's control panel. "Okay, go!"

Mara pressed a button and the door opened, and she sprinted through with Aang and Toph right behind her. Aang started airbending and whipped up all the loose snow around him, creating instant white-out conditions in this corner of the outpost, enveloping all three of them in the moving snow. He went into the Avatar State for a few seconds, using a brief burst of power to amplify this snowstorm, swallowing entire buildings in the white-out. Once the winds and snow were in motion Aang stopped airbending, letting momentum keep the elements moving for the short time it was needed.

That was when the imperials realized they were under attack. The snowstorm was no natural weather phenomenon, even stormtroopers could deduce that bending was at work. Spotlights were shined into the swirling snow, penetrating the outer parts of the white-out. Three vague silhouettes appeared, and the stormtroopers opened fire from several directions. It was difficult to find good aim, even with the spotlights, and the first volley of blaster bolts missed entirely. Walls of snow and ice formed in response, absorbing shots that got too close to the targets.

Aang only needed that waterbending for temporary defenses, as the run to the outpost hangar had been a short one. They almost ran into a fragment of a crashed TIE Fighter, stuck in the collapsed wall of the hangar, with a gap just barely wide enough for Mara to slip through. All three of them got through and Aang filled the gap with thick ice, just in time for the snowstorm to settle outside. Then Aang turned around, got a good look at the contents of the hangar, quickly finding everything they would need for a trip across the arctic.

"So how are we getting out of here?" Aang asked. He heard stormtroopers trying to shoot their way through the ice to get inside. "They're bound to come in through that door over there."

"One thing at a time," Mara said. She grabbed some thick winter coats and tossed a pair to Aang and Toph. "Put those on. You're going to need them."

Toph had the coat on in a few seconds. "Okay, now what?"

Mara picked out a speeder bike and turned it on, and produced a pair of thermal detonators from a pocket. "Get on and hold on tight."

She threw the detonators and jumped onto the speeder bike, followed by Aang and Toph hopping onto the back end of the vehicle. The detonated exploded and destroyed the northern wall, and Mara drove the speeder bike through the new wall before the rubble could settle. They emerged into haphazard spray of blaster bolts, a result of stormtroopers hastily moving their aim away from the intact door. Mara drove as fast as the speeder bike could move, heading straight for the northern side of the outpost, discovering a wall in their way.

"Need a ramp," Mara said. That wall was coming up fast. "Now!"

Aang delivered by waterbending the snow all around them, creating a ramp of ice in front of the speeder bike. The vehicle hit that ramp head on and soared upward, assisted by Aang airbending an updraft beneath it, just barely clearing the wall. Coming down on the other side would have damaged the speeder bike, if it weren't for the snowbank to soften the impact. From there Mara drove away from the outpost, just as the external defenses came online to target them. Aang whipped up another small snowstorm behind them, preventing automated turrets from acquiring target lock.

Soon enough the outpost was far behind them, and Mara drove the speeder bike straight north. "Okay, we should be ready now."

"That was a fun little diversion," Toph said. She sat behind Aang and was holding onto him, her view of the world reduced to the speeder bike and everything on it. "So when are you going to bust out that toy of yours?"

Mara glanced back at her for a moment. "Could you please be a little less vague?"

"That thing on your belt," Toph specified. "The one you clearly don't want anyone to see."

Aang wasn't in the mood for this, so he closed his eyes and punched the side of the speeder, using his limited skill with vibration sight for a brief look into Toph's world. "That's a lightsaber!"

Mara had a choice to make, right here and right now, with one of her secrets revealed. No one was supposed to know about the lightsaber, or that she knew how to use it, not unless she was going to kill them with it. This was the weapon she used in her role as the Emperor's Hand, dispensing his will and judgement within the Empire. Yet Toph had clearly known about it for quite some time, and she had kept that information to herself until now. Not to mention that Aang had been quite useful in this endeavor, likely going to be essential in any confrontation with Darth Vader.

She could always dispose of them later.

"Yes, it's a lightsaber," Mara said. "I haven't been using it because it draws too much attention. It's hard to sneak around when flashing an unmistakable weapon around like a toy."

Toph appeared to be satisfied with that answer. "I suppose people don't see them every day."

"I've only seen Luke and Vader use them," Aang said. "Well… I presume Yoda had one stashed away, but he never showed it when he was training Luke."

Now there was a name to keep in mind, but Mara would have to investigate it later. "I'd like to keep mine a surprise. Please don't give it away."

"No promises," Toph said.

Mara scowled at that remark, but got the feeling Toph was simply messing with her. "How about this? You keep my weapon a secret, and I'll keep your metalbending a secret."

Toph shrugged. "Fair enough."

They continued northward at the speeder bike's maximum velocity, not bothering with using headlights that would give away their position. Far from the outpost and its bright spotlights, the stars in the sky were enough for basic navigation. This far north the sky was blessed with aurora, the northern lights that formed majestic bands of constantly changing colors. Aang found them pretty to look at, and Mara could appreciate the extra light they provided. It made the trip much easier, not needing the speeder bike's headlights that would give away their position.

Aang figured they had to be far beyond the Northern Water Tribe's borders by now, heading into terrain even their best scouts rarely travelled. He hoped they could swing by there after they were done, but had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. He kept his gaze forward, and soon spotted a vehicle parked up ahead. Mara recognized it as the personal TIE Fighter of Darth Vader, all alone here at the top of this world. She slowed down the speeder bike on approach, just in case Vader was nearby, eventually coming to a stop at the threshold to a valley containing a strange forest.

Unlike the one in the south, this forest was free of ice and all its vegetation was in full bloom, despite being in the middle of the months-long polar night. Aang could feel the spiritual energies that kept the forest alive, similar to the oasis in the Northern Water Tribe, but on a larger scale. The Force was strong here, Mara could sense that, and could start to understand why Vader might be obsessed with this place. Toph only saw it when she hopped off the speeder bike, setting foot on frozen ground and watching the forest appear in her view of the world.

"Okay, this is different," Toph said. She turned to face the forest, putting her fists on her waist. "I take it we are going in there?"

"Of course," Mara said. She climbed off the speeder bike and walked past Toph. "Be on your guard. It's only a matter of time before Vader realizes we're catching up to him."

Aang set foot inside the forest, finding only a thin layer of snow crunching beneath his feet. "It's too dark to see any footprints. Toph, can you pick up the trail?"

"Can I pick up the trail…" Toph muttered, laughing a little and shaking her head. She followed into the forest and punched the ground. "Got it, he went that way, straight and narrow path ahead."

"After you then," Mara said.

They walked into the forest, heading down the path that Vader had taken. The temperature increased the further they went in, quickly climbing above freezing, which in turn made it sweltering in the stolen winter coats everyone wore. They had to remove the coats and leave them behind, no longer needing them as the cold gave way to comfortable warmth. Toph had to keep the stormtrooper boots on, as there was just enough snow on the ground to still risk frostbite on bare feet. They kept a brisk pace as they travelled deeper into the forest, heading straight for a clearing at the center.

Throughout the journey, from the moment they set foot in the forest, all three of them noticed that they were being watched. It seemed like there were eyes in every shadow, creatures observing them from every dark place around them. The silent observers would vanish when anyone approached, only to return when the group had passed. It seemed that watching was all they would do, not lifting a finger or other appendage to stop the latest visitors. Still, their presence was a little unnerving, expecting them to do something at any moment.

"This is strange," Aang said. "We're surrounded by spirits, but they aren't attacking us. What are they waiting for?"

"So those are spirits," Toph muttered. She slowed her pace a bit, trying to get a better picture of the things surrounding them. "I'm having a hard time seeing them. It's like they're there and yet not there at the same time. The vibrations from them seem to phase in and out."

"That would be their incorporeal nature," Aang said. "I'm surprised you're even picking them up at all."

"You weren't kidding about these spirit things," Mara said. She had never seen anything like them, and she didn't like what she sensed from them. "Hopefully they won't interfere."

Toph stopped in her tracks, and Aang nearly bumped into her. "I see him. That mechanical monstrosity of Vader's is unmistakable. He's in the clearing up ahead, standing in front of… something. What I'm seeing doesn't make any sense."

"Let's get a closer look," Aang said. "We can sneak up on him from-"

"Don't bother with stealth," Mara interrupted. "Vader will sense us coming, if he doesn't already know we are here."

"Well in that case," Aang said, walking around Toph. "Let's go say hello."

They continued onward, heading into the clearing up ahead. There was a slight downward slope, like a shallow crater worn away by time, and the group stopped at the rim. Almost at the bottom was Darth Vader, facing the center of the clearing, where a large orb of red light cast a dull glow on the clearing. That ominous mechanical breathing of his filled the air, the only sound that broke the silence. Vader stood with his hands behind his back, patiently waiting for some unseen signal. He slowly turned around, facing the three new visitors to this strange forest.

"I must admit, I did not anticipate this confrontation," Vader said, his gaze moving between each of the three interlopers in turn. "It is not like your kind to recruit allies."

Mara stepped ahead of the others, taking slow and steady steps toward Vader. "Just as it is not like you to make peace with the rebellion. Is all of this truly worth betraying the Emperor?"

"They were a means to an end," Vader said. "Just like those pawns of yours."

Aang had taken a step away from Mara. "Do you two know each other?"

Vader glanced at Aang, then Toph, and then looked back to Mara. "Neither of you know who she really is. I wonder, what alias has she used this time?"

"It doesn't matter," Mara said. She left Aang and Toph behind her, walking down the slope to confront Vader up close and personal. "It is your plot against the Emperor that concerns us."

"You would know all about that," Vader said. "Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand."

Mara didn't bother attempting to maintain her charade. "And as the Emperor's Hand, I charge you with willful insubordination with intent of treason against the Emperor. As enforcer of his will, it is my duty to end your plot against him. Your betrayal ends here."

"Betrayal is the way of the Sith," Vader said. He started walking toward Mara. "Masters betray weak apprentices for stronger apprentices, and in turn apprentices betray their master to become the master. Darth Sidious will not hesitate to replace me, should someone stronger turn to the dark side."

That admission was all Mara needed to hear. "Then it is time to put you down."

She drew the lightsaber she carried and activated it, projecting a dark purple blade and casting its dark light upon the clearing. In turn Vader drew and activated his lightsaber, its red light clashing with the purple before the blades could even meet. Mara charged forward, holding her lightsaber in both hands, swinging it at Vader with all her strength. He blocked the attack easily, the lightsabers clashing between them, Vader's refusing to budge even the slightest bit. Vader's gaze met Mara's eyes, glaring past the crossed lightsabers, both reading the other through the Force.

Aang hadn't moved an inch, watching the start of the fight from afar, still coming to terms with the revelation of Mara's identity and true role. "I'm confused. She was working for the Empire this whole time, but is fighting against Vader anyway?"

"Looks like villainous infighting to me," Toph said. "Doesn't matter who wins, we're left with someone that's surely going to kill us."

They watched as Mara pulled back her lightsaber to swing again from a different angle, only for Vader to block that attack just as easily. She swung at him again and again, yet none of her attacks got through Vader's defense. Then Vader struck back, swinging his lightsaber at Mara's neck, though she blocked it just short of touching her throat. She pulled back, Vader struck again, and she dodged instead of blocked. Mara spotted an opening, swung her lightsaber at Vader's waist, but before her weapon could connect she was struck by an unseen force that pushed her away.

Toph turned toward Aang. "That's a neat trick. I couldn't see that connect."

"That was the Force," Aang said, recalling such tricks from observing Luke's lessons with Yoda. "Unless she can use it too, she doesn't stand a chance."

Coming to a stop a dozen feet away, Mara leaped into the air and got above Vader, coming down and swinging her lightsaber at Vader's head. With a wave of his hand Vader called upon the Force, using it to toss her aside. She landed on her feet, kicked off the ground to leap with surprising speed, closing in on Vader to strike again. He blocked with his lightsaber, and the two weapons clashed some more, until Vader twisted the clash until Mara's weapon was ripped from her grasp. Her lightsaber shut down and clattered against the ground, and Vader's was about to cleave her in two.

That is, until a pair of boulders nearly struck him, barely stopped in time by quick reflexes and the Force.

Standing side by side, both in earthbending stances, Aang and Toph were ready to attack again. "You really think we should be doing this?"

Aang nodded and started airbending. "Best chance to bring down Vader. We might as well take it."

He fashioned a sphere of wind and hopped on top of it, riding the ball of air across the clearing toward Vader. Boulders rained down in front of Aang, hurled by Toph for cover fire, only for Vader to halt the boulders with the Force. Up close Aang punched one of the floating boulders, all of them shattered into rubble, and the tiny pieces pelted Vader like hail. A fireball followed, which Aang amplified with a gust of wind, and the resulting plume of flame enveloped Vader's helmet. When the flames passed there was soot on the helmet, but no apparent damage.

Vader thrust a palm forward, and Aang was flung off his airball to tumble across the ground. He was replaced by Toph closing in on a moving mound of earth, closing in at surprising speed. Vader pushed with the Force, the power clashed with earthbending, and the moving mound shattered. Toph flipped end over end, going right over Vader's head, crashing into the ground between him and the red orb. Vader turned around, saw where Toph had crashed, and pulled with the Force to yank her away and toss her across the clearing.

By then Mara had recovered her lightsaber and turned it back on, swinging at Vader while his back was turned. A backhanded swing blocked the attack, lightsabers clashing behind Vader's back. Vader raised his free hand, Mara was lifted off the ground, and he pushed her away, her back slamming into the ground. The wind was knocked out of her, she needed a second to recover, and by then Vader was standing over her. He swung his lightsaber straight down, Mara barely blocked in time, the tip of Vader's lightsaber right in front of her eyes.

The ground beneath them shattered, a powerful gust of wind struck Vader, and he was blown off his feet. But he wasn't toppled over, and he stopped when his feet hit solid ground, recovering his footing and turning to face Aang. A giant boulder hurled in from the right, Vader turned to stop it with the Force, his gaze set on Toph now. He let the boulder fall, reached out toward Toph, and the Force squeezed on her throat. She was lifted off the ground, her view of the world vanishing in an instant, clutching at the invisible hand choking her.

"It was a mistake to let you loose on Carida," Vader said, tightening his grip through the Force. "It is fortunate that I get to correct it."

"Toph!" Aang screamed. In a moment of desperation he reached toward Vader. "Let her go!"

Aang clenched his fist, commanding the air to stop. Vader's mechanical breathing halted in an instant, replaced by screeches of metal on metal. The air inside his suit refused to move, as if made solid and clogging the tubes and valves of his life support systems. His charred out lungs burned for air, the kind of pain Vader hadn't felt in decades. Vision was already fading around the edges, lightheadedness threatened to take his mind, and his limbs felt like lead. And yet Vader couldn't help but be impressed by this imitation of the Force choke, even if he was on the receiving end.

Vader let go of his lightsaber, shutting off before hitting the ground, and he reached toward Aang with that hand. The Force gripped around his throat, lifting Aang off the ground just like Toph. Though gasping for air now, Aang didn't stop his airbending, instead reaching with his other hand and clenching his fist. What little air still circulating inside Vader stopped, and the charred out lungs shriveled around dense air that would not move. It was a battle of wills now, and it would only stop when one could no longer suffocate the other.

It was a draw.

Both Vader and Aang stopped at the same time, resulting in Aang and Toph dropping to the ground, while Vader fell to his knees. All three of them were gasping for air, all in a great deal of pain. Aang recovered the fastest, using a variety of breathing techniques that exploited airbending. Toph needed more time, though she was relieved to be back on the ground and having her view of the world back. Vader needed to manually adjust his life support systems, one hand using the controls on his chest, greatly increasing the oxygen ratio of the air he breathed, and even then his lungs still burned.

"Impressive…" Vader said. He stood up straight, and his mechanical breathing was gradually regaining its normal rhythm. "No one… has ever… countered the Force… quite like that before."

"If you think that's good…" Aang said. He took in a deep breath, centered himself, and his eyes and tattoos glowed with bright blue light. "You will enjoy this."

Winds converged on Aang from every direction, combining into a sphere around him and lifting him off the ground. Snow and ice melted and flowed to Aang, forming a ring of water around him. The ground shattered beneath him, two dozen large rocks rose up into another ring before compacting into denser stones. Flames burst from his hands and mouth, twisting into a ring of fire around his waist. Aang floated in the center of the four elements, displaying his full power and all its glory for Vader and Mara to witness.

Vader had heard the local legends, but it was different to see it firsthand. "So this is the Avatar State…"

Aang reached forward, and all four elements surged together, aimed right for Vader's head. Vader held his palm forward, the elements clashed against a barrier of the Force, and pushed him back several feet. Aang flung rocks and fire in an arc, coming down from above Vader, and he moved to the left to dodge the attack. Vader used the Force to hurl boulders at Aang, only for them to stop and compact into more dense stones, joining the ring around him. Aang moved forward, bringing his entire arsenal toward Vader, and he used the Force to move himself out of the way quickly enough.

Turning to follow his foe's movements, Aang saw Vader and the red orb now behind him. His glowing eyes were suddenly affixed to the red orb, as if he recognized its true nature. The memory was buried deep in the collective consciousness of the Avatar State, before the life of Avatar Yangchen, before many cycles of reincarnation, going all the way back to the very beginning of the Avatar itself. For nearly ten thousand years the memory had laid dormant, deliberately buried so that the knowledge would not be misused, but seeing the red orb awakened the memories of the First Avatar.

"The portal must never be opened!" Aang yelled. His gaze turned toward Vader. "I will not let you release Vaatu!"