Chapter 41: Equivalent Exchange

When Mara had begun this fight, she hadn't thought it would lead to this.

She stared at the boy she had met just a few hours ago, who now seemed like a completely different entity. Between the glowing eyes, the glowing tattoos, the booming voice, and the rings of classical elements surrounding him, Aang seemed less like a person and more like an unrelenting storm. That was just what the eyes could see, it was the unseen parts were more disconcerting. From what Mara sensed in the Force, there was more to Aang than just himself, more than the elemental powers at his command, like a primal force of nature made flesh.

Vader sensed it too, realizing that there was more to Aang than meets the eye. He used the Force to lift himself off the ground, a few inches being enough, and moved more swiftly than his mechanical legs could allow. It was needed for him to stay ahead of Aang, carried by the sphere of wind at great speed, swerving back and forth across the clearing. Aang attacked with all the elements, alternating between them at times, using all of them at others, and simply ramming with the elemental rings. Vader was deflecting attacks with the Force, appearing to be using his gloved hands to do it.

As those two fought each other Mara made quick glances around the clearing, discovering that Vader's lightsaber remained where he had dropped it during the mutual suffocation. She darted over to the lightsaber and picked it up, turning it on beside her own, casting half her face in red light and the other half in purple. Dual-wielding the lightsabers, Mara charged at Vader, getting behind him as he came around the red orb. Mara leapt a dozen feet into the air, coming down with both lightsabers swinging at Vader's back.

But Vader would not be caught off guard so easily. While still moving he turned around, reached up at Mara coming down, stopping her descent and watching the lightsaber tips just barely miss his hand. Vader twisted his hand, fingers curling a little, and his lightsaber was ripped from Mara's grip, returning to the hand of its master. Then he turned back around, swung his arm, and flung Mara toward Aang. In turn Aang swatted her away with the wind, tossing Mara toward Toph, who was surprised when Mara landed on her feet beside her.

The brief diversion was enough for Aang to close in on Vader, thrusting a hand forward, and the four elements combined into a twisting spiral of destruction. Vader held his lightsaber in the way, vaporizing the rock and water slamming into it, dispersing a similar amount of wind and flames. But not all of it hit the lightsaber, plenty going past on the left and the right. Half of it whizzed past the left side of his head, and the other half struck the right half of his face. His head snapped back, pieces of black metal fell away, and Vader screamed in agony.

His head turned back, the hole in the helmet plain as day, his right eye and surrounding scarred skin exposed. The flames had burned the skin, and it was difficult to keep the eye open, but the enraged fury was clear in his narrowed gaze. Vader thrust both hands forward, pushed with the Force with all his might, launching Aang away from him. It only bought a moment, as Aang was already closing in on Vader again, the elemental rings moving to align on the vertical plane. Vader pushed again, Aang pushed back, and the merging rings got closer inch by inch.

Then the ground shattered, Toph's handiwork, and Vader was flung upward into the elemental rings. Stones and flames and water slammed into his body, battering his armor and shredding his cape, until he used the Force to free himself from the current. Flung through the air and away from Aang, Vader came down next to the red orb. Though he landed on his feet, his legs were weary after the impact, and the tattered remains of his cape were burning. He thrust his free hand, Toph was Force pushed further away, and Vader held his lightsaber behind his back.

"Enough of this!" Vader declared. Instead of pushing with the Force, he pulled instead, and Aang closed in even faster than before. "I am tired of your interference!"

The elemental rings around Aang had returned to their regular alignment, and Vader used the Force to twist the entire formation to bring a gap in front of him. Vader swung his lightsaber into that gap, aiming for the side of Aang's waist. But the winds in the sphere changed direction, Aang was flipped around, and the lightsaber missed him entirely. The sphere of wind enveloped Vader, kept on going, and the elemental rings struck him on the other side. This time the onslaught scorched and cracked his armor, but still intact as he landed closer to the red orb.

Having overshot his target by a dozen feet, Aang turned around to face Vader. "You are not in control here."

Then Vader's head turned toward the red orb, sensing something wrong at its twin in the south. "What is he waiting for?"

At the other end of the planet, the frozen forest was burning to the ground. The flames were spreading out from the center toward the edges, slowed but not stopped by the ice on the trees. Soot and smoke billowed from the burning trees into the sky, mixing with the ethereal green clouds of the Everstorm, obscuring what little midnight sunlight that could reach the forest. Now everything was cast in the dancing orange and red lights of the blazing forest fire, save for the very center, which retained the calm light of the blue orb.

Ozai no longer needed to keep the flames away from the group, as everything flammable around them had already burned out. "You're certain we can destroy this thing?"

Luke stood next to the blue orb, staring into it as he turned on his lightsaber. "If I understand this correctly, yes. I just need to test something first."

He swung the lightsaber at the orb, there was a shower of sparks on contact, but left no visible mark that Luke could see. He swung a few more times, at a variety of angles, only to inflict no damage whatsoever. Then he stabbed the orb, pushing the lightsaber in bit by bit, right up until the hilt nearly touched the orb's surface. A fountain of sparks sprung out from the lightsaber, and the hilt was heating up from the disruption of the blade, though Luke tolerated the heat. He had his eyes closed, focusing on what he sensed through the Force, observing how the orb might respond to physical threats.

After a minute Luke pulled away and shut off his lightsaber. "Okay, this is going to be delicate work. It can't be damaged in its current state, and once it's open everything we throw at it will just pass through to the other side. We need to hit it in transition, and that's going to be a very small window."

"That sounds incredibly risky," Sokka said. He walked over to the orb, drawing his space sword and tapping the orb with it. "If we screw this up, we might end up giving Vader what he wants."

"Then we need to get it right the first time," Long Feng said. He stood at the opposite side of the orb, looking across it to see Luke. "I do trust you have some idea of how to do this."

"It's going to take all of us," Luke said. "I will attempt to open this portal with the Force. When I give the signal, hit it with lightning, then the earth and water, and finally stab it with that black sword."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "This thing hasn't been any good against spirits around here. Why would it make a difference now?"

"We need a sealant to patch the hole destroying this thing will make," Luke said. "I'm afraid it will cost you the sword though."

There was a moment of hesitation, during which Sokka looked at his space sword, weighing the attachment he had to this weapon. "Fine… if it's to screw over the spirits then it's a good cause."

"Okay, let's get started," Luke said. He put away his lightsaber, held his hands close together, centering himself to prepare for this arduous task. "Here we go."

He focused on the Force, and started spreading his hand apart, as if to pry open a door with brute strength. Through the invisible connection of the Force, Luke seized the orb from within, working to break the seal that had closed the portal within. The orb pulled back against Luke, and he struggled to pull his hands apart. A crack formed in the orb's surface, split right down the middle, and light seeped through to shine into the clouds. Bit by bit the crack widened and more light came out, piercing the Everstorm and creating a hole to the sky.

But there came a point where the orb would split no further, straining Luke's focus nearly to the breaking point. "It's now or never!"

Ozai had been busy charging lightning, taking his time to build it to maximum power. He fired a massive lightning bolt into the split orb, right into the source of the light. There was a burst of brilliant light, electricity arced to anything conductive nearby, almost striking at Luke instead of the ground. It was followed by steams of water and large boulders from Katara and Long Feng, converging on the split orb and hitting the electricity surging within it. The orb swelled, the split widened, and the elements were absorbed into the spiritual energies of the orb, introducing physical imbalances to the portal within.

But just as Sokka was about to stab with his space sword, Luke lost his focus and his grip on the orb. "Get back!"

It was too late, the halves of the orb crashed back together, with Sokka's space sword caught in the middle. "Whoa!"

The orb was back to its original state, only with a sword buried in the side.

"That can't be good," Katara said.

"No, it's not," Luke admitted. He watched Sokka try to pull his sword free from the orb, but it would not budge even the slightest bit. "I think we hit the reason Vader couldn't open this by himself."

Vader had missed his chance, and it was absolutely infuriating.

Through the Force he had sensed a disturbance in the red orb, coming from the attempt to open its twin. Were it not for the interference on this end Vader would have responded in kind, and he was certain they would have succeeded in opening the portals. But thanks to the battle Vader had not been able to get into position, and the window of opportunity had come and gone. Now he would have to wait until Luke tried again, assuming he wasn't suspecting his true motives by now. Even then, if this fight wasn't ended soon, Vader knew he might miss his next opportunity.

Once again Aang was closing in on him, but Vader was unwilling to evade him any further. Instead he retrieved his lightsaber with the Force, made it float just beyond his hand, and spun it around at high speed. The effect was a strobing disk of red light, wide enough to shield his entire body. Aang hurled the elements at Vader, striking the spinning lightsaber head on. Rocks melted and water evaporated, wind and flames scattered, flung in all directions except at Vader. It was quite the mental strain to maintain this defense, and more was needed to turn it into offense.

With his free hand Vader reached toward Aang, careful not to touch the spinning lightsaber, lest he cut off his artificial fingers. Vader pulled on Aang with the Force, drawing him in toward his weapon. Aang had realized the danger and stopped his advance, and now used the wind to pull back against the Force. Still, he was drawn in toward the spinning lightsaber, promising to shred his body and vaporize the remains. Aang renewed his offensive with the elements, hoping to overload the lightsaber with sheer volume of matter.

When that proved futile Aang switched tactics, directing his bending down instead of forward. The sphere and the elemental rings around him plunged into the ground, just short of the spinning lightsaber, and the terrain around him shattered like glass. The cracks were filled with fire and steam, rising out of the earth like the arrival of a demon, surrounding Vader on all sides before converging on him. Vader had to shift his focus and raise his free hand upward, having the Force stop the flames and steam from hitting him.

Aang had gone underground during this maneuver, tunneling through the bedrock with all the subtlety of an earthquake. He came up directly underneath Vader, shattering the ground he stood on, and Vader plunged into the rising elemental sphere. Once again Vader was assaulted by the elements, further damaging his armor with more cracks and scorch marks. Up close he swung his lightsaber at Aang, the winds pulled the target away, but the tip of the blade caught the front Aang's shirt, setting it ablaze and burning quickly.

Vader fell out of the elemental sphere as Aang kept going up, landing on top of the red orb with shattered ground on one side. Aang tore off his burning shirt and tossed it away, reduced to ashes by the time it hit the ground. Vader pulled with the Force, while Aang summoned the wind, and both found themselves hurtling toward each other. They collided in midair, the elements striking Vader's right arm while Aang's body hit the rest of him, a lightsaber strike deflected during the collision, and they fell away from each other.

Landing a dozen feet away from the orb, right arm stripped of armor with circuitry exposed and frayed, Vader could barely hold his lightsaber in his right hand anymore. "I believe this is the longest anyone has lasted against me without the Force. Quite impressive."

Hovering at the other side of the clearing, Aang was calm despite being in the Avatar State this long. "Flattery will get you nowhere. I will stop you."

Vader's exposed eye narrowed. "We'll see."

Sokka finally gave up on trying to free his sword from the orb. "So what went wrong?"

"It wouldn't open far enough," Luke answered. He put his hand on the sword's hilt, hoping its predicament might extend what he could sense through the Force. "Vader must have had the same problem. It's why he needed help to open them."

"And now we need help to destroy them," Katara said. She walked over to the others, looking between Luke and Sokka. "It's too much risk. I get the feeling once you and Vader start together, you won't be able to stop."

"If we screw up that time, and I'm fairly certain we will, it will give Vader what he wants," Sokka said. He turned to look Luke in the eye. "Maybe we should just leave things well enough alone. We found out why Vader needs you, and all we need to do to stop him is just walk away."

"Vader will just get someone else," Luke said. He noticed odd looks from everyone. "Yoda spoke of another. I am not the only one that can become a Jedi. If I don't do this, Vader will scour the galaxy for someone that will. Leaving now would only delay him."

"I must agree with them," Long Feng said, approaching from behind Luke. "The risk is too great. You haven't exactly inspired confidence in your ability to get the job done. I must insist that we stop now and let Vader waste his time finding a replacement."

"Can't believe I'm agreeing with him," Sokka said. "We need to leave, before anyone realizes we're not doing what Vader wants."

"This is our only chance to stop his plan for good," Luke argued. "I'm not leaving until we see this through."

Ozai finally broke his silence on the matter. "And if you fail, Vader succeeds."

His mind made up, Ozai faced Luke, and punched to firebend at him. A plume of flames shot over the orb, aimed right at Luke's face, dodged at the last second. Everyone else backed away from Luke, just as Ozai threw more fire at him. Long Feng casually raised a wall of stone to shield himself, curved at an angle to deflect the flames toward Luke. He leaped out the way, leaped again to avoid more flames from Ozai, backing away from both him and Long Feng. From there Luke held his hand forward, and the next plume of flames struck and invisible barrier.

"What are you doing?!" Luke demanded.

"Stopping you from making a terrible mistake," Ozai answered. He used both hands, conjuring twin fireballs that he hurled around the Force shield. "I will not let you fall to Vader's manipulation."

"He wanted us to ensure you did," Long Feng said, turning to face Luke. "Vader sees you as essential to his plan. If you have to die to ensure he fails, then so be it."

While Luke avoided Ozai's flames, Long Feng stomped the ground, ripping a boulder out before hurling it at Luke. At the last second Luke held out his hand, the boulder stopped, and then it dropped beside him. A second boulder was already in motion, coming down from above Luke. This time he turned on his lightsaber and sliced the boulder in two, the halves falling on either side of him. A third boulder was coming down, accompanied by flames from Ozai, and Luke jumped out of the way from both. And both elements turned to follow, intent on striking him down together.

A floating stream of water intercepted the flames and the boulder, extinguishing the former and catching the latter. Katara brought the water back to her, fashioning a floating moat around herself. "Okay, I was against your plan Luke, but killing you goes a bit too far."

Sokka was standing behind his sister, hoisting up the chaingun blaster and taking aim. "You know, I was expecting a double-cross, but not this soon."

Having been watching the fight between Aang and Vader the entire time, Mara had not found another opportune moment to strike. She could only marvel at the sheer power on display, beyond anything she could manage with her own limited experience with the Force. But she wasn't going to stand there and do nothing, and when she spotted Toph returning to the clearing Mara had an idea. She quickly hurried over to Toph, keeping an eye on the battle the entire time, just in case any collateral damage came her way.

"Can you control earth in any form?" Mara asked.

"Of course," Toph answered. "What do you have in mind?"

"We need molten rock," Mara answered. "And we need a lot of it."

The possibilities were intriguing, but something Toph never thought of before. "Liquefying rock… that will be a new one."

"Can you do it?" Mara asked again.

"I need an example," Toph said. "I need to see the earth becoming liquid, to know how it's done."

Mara held up her lightsaber and turned it on. "That can be arranged."

She flipped the lightsaber around and stabbed the ground, easily piercing the dirt and stone beneath the soil. Keeping the lightsaber there allowed its heat to melt the rock, forming a narrow pool of molten rock two feet deep. Mara slowly moved the lightsaber in a spiral, as if to stir a pot, widening the pool slowly but steadily. Toph observed the entire process, watching the rock heat and change from solid to liquid, the vibrations changing just as radically as the change in state of matter. A smile formed and grew ever brighter, and Toph nodded in understanding.

"Got it," Toph said. She stood up straight, cracked her knuckles, neck, and other assorted joints. "Stand back. This is going to be hot."

Mara pulled out her lightsaber and took a few steps back. "Do it."

Toph slammed her fists into the ground, and then thrust them upward. The pool of molten rock erupted into a plume of lava, all the surrounding earth melting and adding to the molten rock hurled into the air. It was harder to control than ordinary rock, requiring more fluid motions than her usual solid stance. She sent the lava up and over the clearing, over the red orb, coming down on top of Vader. His head turned, the exposed eye widening at the sight of lava, and for a split second his mind went to the most painful memory.

"Not again."

He reached with his left arm, calling on the Force to stop the lava. Most of it floated above him, but several droplets slipped free, raining on Vader and burning into his armor. He turned, swung his arm, and directed the lava at Aang instead. Vader saw him stop and back away in the face of this danger, the lava crashing down on him. But then Aang twisted his arms in different ways, as if to grasp the lava and bend it to his will. It changed direction again, curving around Aang to join and absorb the ring of stones, becoming a ring of lava in its place.

Vader realized the mistake he just made. "Because of course you can control lava…"

Once upon a time, Sokka would have jumped at the chance to kill the Fire Lord.

Now it seemed like a waste.

He was shooting the chaingun blaster at maximum rate, the unending stream of blaster bolts aimed at Ozai and Long Feng. A thick rock wall had been raised between him and them, eating the blaster bolts with its sheer mass. Long Feng regularly added more stone to his wall, replacing the pieces chipped away by the blaster. Meanwhile Ozai was throwing more flames at Luke, most of them extinguished by Katara's water, some slipping through her defense. Luke deflected the rest with the Force, dispersing harmlessly in the air.

Ozai switched from fire to lightning, charging a bolt in a split second, and changed targets just before firing. The bolt shot straight at Katara, forcing her to bring her water back to herself, intercepting the lightning at the last second. The water absorbed the lightning, but electricity arced from it, a portion connecting with Katara's arms. She screamed in agony as the diluted lightning rushed through her flesh, leaving through her boots into the ground. Her heart was racing in frantic and irregular beats, and she collapsed face first while her water spilled all around her.

Luke used the Force to push Katara toward Sokka, getting her behind the relative safety of her brother. In that time Ozai charged and fired another bolt of lightning, this one aimed at his true target. Luke held up his lightsaber, the lightning hitting it instead of him, and there was a bright flash on contact. Electricity flowed up and down the length of the blade, caught in the magnetic field that shaped the blue plasma, arcing at random into the ground. For a moment the lightsaber lost its shape, the plasma spilling outward, until the electricity was gone and the disruption gone with it.

Another bolt of lightning followed, then another and another, hitting the lightsaber again and again. The lightsaber barely kept all that electricity at bay, the blade warped by the twisting magnetic field, and the hilt heated to a nearly unbearable degree. Luke backed away one slow step at a time, holding the lightsaber as far out as possible, feeling the hairs on his head standing on end. One particularly strong lightning bolt nearly overwhelmed the lightsaber, numbness took over the hand holding the weapon, and Luke tossed it away before the electricity could arc to him.

"It's over!" Ozai declared.

Needing to end this now, before Ozai could fire one more bolt, Luke reached toward him and called on the Force. Luke jerked his hand to the left, the Force yanked Ozai's hand to his right, just as the lightning fired. It was sent in Long Feng's direction, missed him by a narrow margin, only to hit the stone wall in front of him. On contact the lightning exploded, electricity arcing in every direction from the demolished wall, some of it hitting Long Feng. It was his turn to scream in agony, and he fell to the ground, lying there very still.

Luke shoved with both hands, pushing with the Force and all his concentration, launching Ozai far away from him. "We don't have time for this!"

With the ring of lava at his command, Aang put it to use.

He threw a third of it at the ground, splashing on impact and spreading outward, going right for Vader's feet. Vader held a hand toward the lava, it splattered against an invisible barrier from the Force, a few drops getting through and burning his legs. Aang threw the rest of the lava ring at Vader from above, aimed straight for his head. With a wave of his hand Vader diverted the lava with the force, tossed away to splatter on the ground with the rest. The lava continued to spread outward, covering much of the ground near the red orb.

Aang dropped to the ground, being on the opposite side of the lava from Vader, slamming both fists into the dirt. A ton of rock and stone melted in an instant, erupting into a wave of lava rushing at Vader. He leaped back, landed on top of the red orb, and pushed down with the Force. The wave of lava broke in front of him, and the lava flowed around the orb, leaving it surrounded by molten rock. It reminded him of that fateful day on Mustafar, but he pushed the memory out of his mind. He focused on keeping the lava at bay, still spreading as Aang melted more and more of the ground.

Raising his hands to the sky, Aang made the lava rise on both sides of Vader. The lava was shaped into large hands, and they grasped around Vader and the orb, enveloping both in molten rock. Aang clenched his fists, intense heat surged out like steam, and the lava hardened into a mound of solid black rock. For a moment all was still, until cracks formed and spread through the rock. The mound shattered into pieces, their sharp edges cutting through the air, aimed at Aang to skewer him. But he swung his arm and the shards changed direction, reforming the ring of rocks around him.

His armor scorched and red hot in places, Vader still stood on the orb, now surrounded by hard igneous rock. "Skywalker… what is taking you so long?"

After dealing with Ozai for the moment, and discovering that Long Feng wouldn't be a threat any longer, Luke hurried over to where Sokka was standing. The chaingun blaster lay at his feet, as Sokka was tending to his sister at the moment, helping Katara get back on her feet. She was having trouble standing, her arms and legs numb and barely responding, though her heartbeat was finally starting to settle. Luke turned off his lightsaber and put it away, and he came to a stop in front of the siblings, standing near the blue orb.

"You two should get out of here," Luke advised. "Ozai isn't finished, and he will be back."

"What about you?" Sokka asked. He had Katara's arm wrapped around his shoulders. "We can't just leave you here alone."

"There's not much left you can do here," Luke said. "I can handle this by myself from here."

"Yeah, no offense, but I'm not buying that," Sokka said. "I mean, last time you had Ozai helping, and now he's trying to kill you."

"I have a plan," Luke said. He saw Sokka's disapproving look. "Well an idea, but it should work."

Sokka looked past Luke, spotting Long Feng on the ground, not moving at all. "Yeah, this hasn't been working for any of us. Maybe you should take your own advice and leave while we still can."

Luke shook his head. "I'm not done yet."

Sokka let out a long groan. "You're still going to go through with this?"

"Yes," Luke said. He looked at the orb, still with the sword sticking out of it. "If it doesn't work this time, that'll be the end of it."

"Sure…" Sokka said, having his doubts about that. "It's your funeral."

"Let's just go," Katara said, having trouble getting the words out.

"Fine," Sokka said. He turned and walked away, helping Katara along with every step. "Come on sis, let me know when the shock wears off."

"It's getting better," Katara said. "I should be fine soon."

When they were near the edge of the clearing Luke turned away, facing the orb and walking to it. "Okay, let's try this again."

Vader had enough of this.

He focused the power at his command, drawing upon all his anger, all his pain, all his passion, everything that strengthened his connection to the Force. Vader crossed his arms, concentrating his power while Aang closed in again. At the last second Vader threw his arms out, and the Force unleashed a shockwave in every direction. It struck Aang first, and the shockwave hurled Aang out of the clearing, almost to the edge of the forest. Then it struck Mara and Toph, and they were launched out of the clearing in the opposite direction.

Only having moments before they returned, Vader got down from the orb and faced it properly. "Now then, to the matter at hand."

Vader held both hands toward the orb, reaching with the Force to grasp it from within. He slowly moved his hands apart, pulling on the orb to split it in two. A crack appeared in the center and widened slowly, light emerged from the orb, shining into the night sky to join the aurora. The gap spread to a few inches wide, and Vader held it there for the moment he had. He was not willing to overexert himself in the futile effort of opening the orb all the way by himself, needing to wait until its twin was being opened.

"Do not disappoint me," Vader said. His exposed eye narrowed. "There is not much time, Skywalker."

While facing the blue orb, Luke heard footsteps approaching, still some distance away but steadily getting closer. Luke deliberately put his back to the sound, expecting Ozai to approach him from behind. He reached for the orb and focused on the Force, attempting to open it again, just as he did before. The orb split and bright light came out, much more slowly this time. He held it there for the moment, feeling the orb fighting back against him. The footsteps stopped, Luke felt where Ozai was standing through the Force, and he waited for the right moment to duck.

"Okay…" Luke muttered. He heard the cackling of charging electricity behind him, just as he wanted right now. "Here we go."

Suddenly Luke felt something tug on him, and his whole body was jerked forward. The resistance through the Force vanished in an instant, and Luke's arms flung to the sides, hands as far apart as possible. The orb split all the way, and a pillar of blue light shot into the sky. The light pierced the clouds, penetrating the core of the Everstorm, and a bright flash dispersed the entire storm in an instant. A clear blue sky with the midnight sun greeted the forest, with dim aurora visible in the daytime, centered on the pillar of light shining into the sky.

As the pillar of light materialized, Luke felt the spiritual energies unleashed before him. "What… No!"

"Yes!"

Vader felt the resistance vanish, knowing that it was from Skywalker being in position. He threw his arms out all the way, and the orb opened all the way. A pillar of red light shot into the night sky, joining with the aurora above, intensifying the bands of ever-changing colors. Vader felt the spiritual energies emanating from the pillar, nearly overwhelming at first. But then Vader heard the wind, and he turned to see Aang incoming. But Aang didn't go straight for Vader, swerving slightly to the side, almost going behind the pillar instead.

Aang reached for the pillar with his right hand, grasping the light as if it were solid, and the pillar began to shrink back into the orb.

And a lightsaber cut off Aang's hand.

And a bolt of lightning struck Luke's back.

Ozai had fired just before the portal opened, aiming for center of mass. Luke had been stuck in place during the opening, and he couldn't even attempt to avoid it. The lightning seared into Luke's back, came out through his left foot, ravaging his flesh on the way through. Luke fell forward, landing face first in the ground, lying there very still. Ozai slowly walked forward, scowling as he looked at the open portal, realizing that he had failed to prevent this from happening. He stopped and stood above Luke, looking down at the burns in his back and foot.

"It's your own fault," Ozai said. He bent down and plucked the lightsaber from Luke's belt. "You won't be needing this."

Instantly dropping out of the Avatar State, Aang screamed in pain.

His severed hand fell to the ground, and the stump of an arm ended at his wrist. The portal was restored to full brilliance, and Aang stepped away from it. There was no blood, as the wound had been cauterized by the lightsaber, the only reason he wasn't passing out in shock. His head turned toward Vader, seeing him raise the lightsaber for another swing, aiming to take off his head. Aang summoned all the wind he could muster, whisking himself out of the way, and soared beyond the edge of the clearing.

Vader watched Aang retreat. "No matter…"

He turned and walked into the portal, vanishing in the red light.

With the stolen lightsaber in hand, Ozai turned toward the portal.

He considered the options available to him, though they were few and none were appealing. He couldn't return to his former role as Fire Lord, not while the Empire controlled the entire planet. Becoming a fugitive and pretending to be a commoner was not acceptable, not after the indignity suffered already during his imprisonment. Then there was the portal before him, leading to someplace Ozai couldn't fathom. But he did know it was where Vader wanted to go, that it contained whatever power Vader desired. Ozai had to admit he was intrigued, still looking at the lightsaber in his hand.

Ozai cautiously walked into the portal, vanishing in the blue light.