Reclaimer: The Last SPARTAN

Book 1 Chapter 1: The Mirror Faced Spirit

Swipe, slash, stab, swing. Sokka smiled proudly as the small trees fell from the swings of his sword.

"Wow, excellent fight, those trees really put up a fight," Toph said sarcastically as she walked past the eldest of the traveling companions.

"I was told to train, you know?" Sokka replied in an irritated tone as he sheathed his sword.

"Yeah, I know," Toph replied with a smirk. "And I offered to spar with you."

Sokka paused a moment, remembering Aang's screams as he ran from boulders. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"I think it would be a good idea; I'm sure Toph won't hurt you too badly…" Katara stated as she and Aang caught up, "We should be almost to the village. Headband, Aang?" Katara asked glancing to her friend.

Aang checked to make sure the blue on his forehead was covered before nodding. "Wait," Toph held up a hand and narrowed her eyes as she listened closely.

"What is it?" Sokka asked, his fingers resting on the handle of his sword.

"I… I don't know… I almost saw something… it was close…" Toph said slowly. "Thought it was Combustion Man again, but this was only for a second, not like his rampage stomp…"

The children waited for her to relax before they continued. None noticing the tall figure standing statue still in the forest, a pair of focused eyes behind a visor watching their every move. "Astounding," a feminine voice spoke in the man's ear. "The girl was giving off echo frequencies through the ground. If you hadn't stopped moving, she'd have likely known not only where you were but your basic physical appearance down to how many fillings you've got."

"Hmm," the man grunted as he slowly turned his head watching them continue on the trail to the nearby village… his village. "I have a feeling they could be trouble."

"They're just children," the feminine voice replied with a sigh.

"Looks can be deceiving," he said, turning and silently moving back into the dense forest.

O

"Um… We are still in the Fire Nation, right?" Sokka asked as he and the others stood in confusion at the entrance of the very active village.

"Last I checked…" Katara blinked in surprise as she saw a pair of women openly bending water from the central well and pulling it through the air toward their home.

Sokka did a double take when he saw an old man earth bending a wheel-less cart across the ground as if there was nothing to be ashamed of. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" He explained in an exasperated voice.

"Sokka!" A familiar voice chimed, and the four teens glanced up in surprise when Suki, in a loose brown tunic and pants, came running. "I know that bellow anywhere!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around the eldest teen.

"Suki?" Sokka squeaked as the young Kyoshi warrior pulled back. "What are you doing in a Fire Nation village?"

"Me and the others were ambushed by Azula not long after we parted company at Ba Sing Se. We were brought here to this Fire Nation prison." Suki explained, motioning to the small humble village.

"This is a prison?" Toph asked as a group of laughing children ran past. "Where can I get arrested?"

"It isn't, anymore. When we first arrived, it was a dreadful death camp where the Fire Nation tortured benders and captured enemies," Suki bit her lip gently, "But that was before the guardian spirit came."

"Spirit?" Aang asked curiously, excited as always by the concept of the spirit realm.

"Yes, we call him the Mirror-Faced Spirit," Suki nodded as she lead them farther into the village. "He… he saved me. We had been here over two weeks when it happened. The other Kyoshi Warriors and I were forced into the central part of the camp; the soldiers were going to use us as examples to the other prisoners." She shuddered at the memory. "Then, from nowhere, the spirit came. At first, we all thought he was a demon, and he was to the Fire Nation soldiers. He was gigantic, taller than any man I had ever seen. His body was like a green statue, and his face was like a gold mirror. He tore through the Fire Nation's strongest defenses, and their firebending was useless against him."

"He had a short staff that made a loud noise and tore the soldiers' bodies when he held pointed it at them. It was gruesome but no worse than what I had seen them do to the benders they had captured here." Suki said. glancing toward the large graveyard on the far end of the village.

"He devastated everything that had the Fire Nation's symbols. Then he turned to us as if sizing us up." Suki said with a fond smile. "He said in a deep voice… 'It's ok now.' And then he left, not asking for anything in return."

"I've never heard of any spirits being that actively involved in human lives," Aang commented.

"Me neither, but we were desperate; perhaps he saw this and showed mercy," Suki shrugged. "Anyway, we began to rebuild the prison camp as a village. And whenever the Fire Nation tried to take retake us, the Spirit would return and defend us again."

"Very interesting…" Sokka rubbed his chin, not noticing the way Suki was staring at him.

"Ah, so, you've just been hiding here, letting a spirit do your fighting for you?" Toph asked crossing her arms. "Disappointed, but not surprised."

"What do you mean by that?" Suki asked, her eyes narrowing on the younger girl.

"Well, it's all well and good to be saved by some giant, faceless, spirit guy, but I'm just saying…" Toph responded with a scowl. "Everyone but us seems to just be bowing down to the Fire Nation like a bunch of wild goat sheep. Sure, Aang's the Avatar, he's all bad like that, and when you're free, you're all gung ho to fight, but when the going gets tough, you all get soft."

"Toph, I don't think this is such a good idea," Katara hissed as a crowd began to gather.

"What do you expect us to do? We were prisoners," Suki asked, turning fully to the little girl. "I wish I could be so young and childish to think I could do anything, but when you get older you'll understand more."

"Hey, Momo, I think my hearing is going too," Toph said, turning to the lemur on her shoulder. "I'm half sure I heard her call me young and childish. I really must have heard her wrong."

"Now, ladies," Sokka said, stepping between them. "Suki, you really must forgive my little friend here; we've had a rough few months, and she's a tad stressed …"

"Sokka…" Suki said calmly.

"Out of the way, Sokka," Toph growled.

Sokka turned quickly to the girl, with the tone and the fact she used his name and not a nick name showed trouble on the horizon. "Aang, you're better at this than me!"

"Leave me out of this," The young Avatar whimpered when the glare from the two young women turned to him.

"Why don't we all go someplace where we can sit down and relax? We're all tense here." Katara said quickly, stepping between the two girls.

"Great idea, Katara!" Aang said excitedly.

"Let's all go back to my place; I'll put on some tea…" Suki said, still glaring at Toph.

O

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Fire Lord Ozai said to his two children as they stood before his throne.

"We came as soon as you called, Father," Azula said humbly.

"As you should," Ozai said glancing from his joyful daughter to his sullen son. "I have an important task for you both, especially you, my son."

"What is your wish, Father?" Zuko asked, not meeting his father's cold gaze.

"The rebels are planning an invasion," Ozai stated, "I know where they will strike, and I want our forces to be ready. I especially would like my supreme generals to be ones that I can trust completely."

"Our generals have served you faithfully, Father," Azula stated with an amused look.

"For their own purposes, they have," Ozai corrected. "That's why I would like you both to command my forces in this, the final battle of our war. I know I can trust you both to do what must be done for your great grandfather's dream to become reality."

"I am… honored, father," Zuko said, surprisingly not feeling the slightest.

"Not quite yet," Ozai corrected coldly, "Though after this final victory, you will be, Son."

Ozai nodded to them both. "Now, go; begin preparing your battle plans, and more importantly, enjoy the calm before the storm. It will be… quite the battle."

"Thank you, Father," Zuko and Azula bowed before leaving.

Ozai remained silent till he was certain they were gone. "It is all going according to plan."

"You would really place your army in the hands of children?" a growling voice spoke in the shadows.

"It really isn't my army any longer, is it, my friend?" Ozai said to the figure. "Nor are they my children. There is little doubt in my mind that the Avatar will crush them both during their foolish invasion. Placing them at the head just adds to the bait to draw him out. And when we harness his power for ourselves, our path will be set and nothing will stand in our way."

"The former Prophets told of a future through the Great Rings," the voice growled. "I do like your vision of our future better, Fire Lord."

O

Katara yawned and stretched as she woke up in the middle of the night. Judging by the moon phase it was likely just an hour or two past midnight. She was about to leave the hut to perform her personal business in Suki's outhouse when she heard slight sniffling from their old friend's kitchen.

Katara peeked in through the door and found Toph lying curled in a ball on the metal table. "Toph, why aren't you in bed? You'll get a sick if you try to sleep on that cold table," Katara said softly as she approached the girl, who quickly sat up and wiped her eyes. "Are you ok?" the Waterbender asked as she approached her friend. "Toph… have you been crying?"

"I don't cry," Toph responded weakly.

"Why are you trying to sleep on the table?" Katara asked curiously as she approached the girl.

"I didn't want to see them, ok?" Toph snapped with a slight flush on her cheeks.

"See who what?" Katara tilted her head in confusion.

"Katara, didn't you see which bedroom Sokka went to tonight?" Toph hissed through gritted teeth.

"I didn't really notice… he usually sleeps in the same room as Aang but…" Katara froze as realization struck. "Oh … Oh! Ew…" She shivered at the image.

"Yeah, it would bother me, having to see that, and I guess it would help to get off the ground to get that disgusting image out of the way, huh?" Katara asked, and Toph marveled at how oblivious she could truly be.

"Yeah, you said it," Toph replied, rolling with the flow.

Katara listened carefully for a moment, "It's quiet, now so you can probably come down." She said, holding out her hand for the younger girl.

Toph gave a small smile and took Katara's hand and stepped down from the table. But as soon as her bare feet touched the stone floor, her grayish green eyes widened in horror. "HE'S HERE!" She said tackling Katara to the ground as an energy beam cut through the wall narrowly missing them.

"AANG!!" Katara screamed out as she leapt to her feet and pulled Toph through the hall. "SOKKA! SUKI! WE GOT COMPANY!"

Aang ran out, his eyes wide with worry before Katara and Toph tackled him to dodge a second blast.

"That guy just doesn't know when to quit!" Sokka cursed as he walked out of Suki's room his sword drawn and a blanket wrapped around his bare waist.

"Ew! Ew!" Katara covered her eyes at the sight, before throwing up a pillar of ice as the hut ceiling began to give way. "We have to get out before this place comes down on us. And try to stay out of my sight dressed… er, undressed like that."

"Way to go, Sokka!" Aang beamed before noticing the hut's instability. "Now, run!"

"What's going on?" Suki asked as they exited what was left of her home. "What's doing this… Gods…" She breathed at the sight of the towering man with a single metal arm and leg and an eye tattoo in the center of his bald head.

"Suki, Combustion Man," Sokka said as their stalker approached, "Combustion Man, Suki. I really don't see you two being friends."

"How did he sneak up on us?" the eldest of the travelers asked glancing to the blind companion. "Didn't you see him coming, Toph?"

"I was a little distracted!" Toph countered, sending a wave across the ground that the massive assassin easily jumped.

"We have to run," Katara whispered, staring at the giant.

"I'm not running anymore." Aang said, planting his feet, staring defiantly at the giant.

"Then, we stop him here and now," Katara said, bending water from the well to hover obediently around her.

"You're both nuts," Toph said, taking a fighting stance of her own, "I knew there was something I liked about you."

"We're all gonna die," Sokka said, matter-of-factly as he held his sword out before him.

Sokka rushed first, swinging his sword, which Combustion Man caught easily in his metal hand. The teen screamed like a girl as he was slung through the air like a rag doll. Suki attempted to catch him only to be thrown down to the ground with him.

Toph responded in a cry of rage as she threw a barrage of large stones at the man. She gasped in shock as the man fought through them to drop to one knee before her. She raised a wall of stone between them, but it crumbled as he punched through it, slamming his fist into her abdomen. She gasped as she fell backwards.

The man yelped in pain as Katara slammed whip after whip of water into his back. Her attack ended with a blast from his forehead that cut through her defenses and sent her flying backwards into a hut.

Aang was the last to attack, and launched himself at the man, enraged at the harm done to his friends. He threw himself at at the man in a technique that if completed would have blown the giant high into the air. Unfortunately, a metal fist closing around Aang's throat stopped his movements completely.

"Now," Combustion Man growled, holding the boy off the ground. "I end you."

He was just about to close his grip when he felt something hit his metallic shoulder and stick. "What is this?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder to see a fist-sized glowing sphere giving off a steady pulse.

Aang bent air around himself and pushed free from the man just as a blinding flash erupted from the sphere, and the, until now, unstoppable assassin cried out in pain.

"What?" Aang asked as he saw Combustion Man on his hands and knees, tenderly holding the massive dent in his shoulder plate.

The assassin growled and slowly climbed back to his feet and started to approach Aang again until a voice called out: "Hey."

Combustion Man turned quickly to the intruder, only to see his reflection in a gold faceplate.

"Pick on someone your own size."

To Be Continued

Next: Book 1 Chapter 2: The Unstoppable vs. the Unyielding