Chapter XI: Sozin's Comet Part III:
Into the Inferno
In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
Raya sat atop one of the many great pillars of stone that dappled the mainland as she sat patiently in meditation. Her legs were folded beneath her, and she practiced her breathing as the morning sky fell upon her. Rai Jin was at the shore, hidden for his protection with Sokka and the others eel hound. They were hopefully close to the air ships by now.
And then it happened. Power so immense that it made every inch of her skin tingle as though a flame had been ignited beneath her skin. She breathed deeply, slowly, and with every release of her breath, green flame emitted from her nostrils and a ring of emerald fire surrounded her; rising and falling with her breath. Her eyes opened slowly and she found herself beneath an orange-red sky. The comet had come.
The Demitar stood and looked on at the fleet of air ships that had ascended into the sky across from her. She took a deep breath and let the exhale come through her mouth, a small green flame coming forth and she took a bending stance. As the air ships approached, she could see that the lead ship was far ahead of the others, and it was already spraying the land below in a swath of fire. Fire Lord Ozai.
This was it, the moment had come, and she was ready. She felt the fear and anxiety melt for a moment from her body, and felt instead the immensity of purpose blanket her senses. She was the Demitar; a protector of the four nations. She was the only person that stood now between Fire Lord Ozai and the Earth Kingdom that lay behind her.
With a few swift movements of her arms, she sent out four short emerald blasts that collided with the Fire Lords air ship. It faltered for a moment, but continued to push forward. She noted that the thick flames pouring from the front of the ship had stopped for the moment. Another deep breath. As she released it, she moved her arms up and out, and a powerful jet of green flames tore through the side of the air ship, relieving it of its ability to remain in flight entirely. It swerved to the left and landed atop the many stone pillars.
Her body shook with the intense power coursing through her veins. The comets energy was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life. The fire within her was so incredible it felt as though she might burn up from the inside. Turning her face forward once more, she steadied herself, and noticed that although the ship was out of commission, she was being joined.
Landing on a stone pillar in the not-so-distance, Fire Lord Ozai glared at the Demitar. She didn't waver, and her stare was equally hard. Everything about the Fire Lord was power. From his tall stature to his thick muscular composure. He was confident and she could sense that he was already predicting the outcome of this battle.
"We don't have to fight, Ozai. You have the power to stop what you are doing right now," Raya said, trying to be peaceful first. She didn't think in a hundred years it would be successful, but she knew that the air nomads would have tried; Aang would have tried.
"You're right; I do have the power. I have all the power in the world!" Ozai retorted, throwing his arms out and his face up. As he yelled, jets of intense flame erupted from his clenched fists and open mouth. The heat of it transported Raya back to her most recent dream and she felt herself suddenly gripped with fear. She pushed it away quickly, and tried to maintain her composure.
A jet of flame shot forth from the Fire Lord then, and she flipped backwards onto another stone pillar to avoid it. She heard a disgusted sound coming from the Fire Lord, and as the dust settled, she could see the disgusted look that accompanied it.
"Timid. Weak! All of the air nomads were. You're just like them, with your tattoos and timid nature. Nothing like a fire bender at all!" Ozai shot another blast at the Demitar and she avoided this one too, trying to maintain the distance between them. Ozai followed. "When you had awakened, I was hopeful that the legends weren't true, that you hadn't become like them. But I was sorely mistaken. You were ruined by them! You're no fire bender at all. I should have killed you when I had the chance, so that we could truly be rid of this disgraceful excuse for bending."
Ozai flew, fire flaring from his feet, and rocketed toward Raya. She leapt sideways, but he caught her arm roughly, and threw her off the side of the stone pillar she'd been standing on. She heard her arm crack lightly and cried out in pain. Using a cushion of air she settled herself on the ground, and looked around quickly. Ozai was plummeting toward her, and she jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blast he sent into the earth.
'He's right,' she thought as she leapt up, using her airbending, and began to climb out of the Fire Lords reach using the pillars to jump back and forth. 'I can't approach this like an airbender. It's not working.' She held her arm and knew that there was going to be no way to stop the pain; she had to bend or she would die here.
She could hear him using his fire bending to sail up behind her as she jumped, and with a deep breath, turned and faced him. In midair, she moved her hands up to her mouth, ignoring the pain in her arm, and felt the surge of sozin's comet course through her veins. A spiral blast erupted from her mouth, and emerald flames swallowed the Fire Lord. His eyes were wide with surprise, and he held his arms up to deflect the blast.
Raya ignored the pain in her arm and landed finally at the top of another stone pillar. She watched the space below for signs of the Fire Lord, and jumped back when he came flying forth.
"So there is some fight in you after all," he said, his voice condescending. "Too bad that won't save your life," he said as he moved his arms quickly and sent a jet of flame towards her. She parted it with her hands, and gritted her teeth as her arm sent out waves of nauseating pain. When his blast subsided, she sent out an air blast, and followed it with a double palmed fire blast.
The Fire Lord was blown off balance by the air blast and barely blocked her emerald flames. She could hear him snarl as the smoke cleared and he raced towards her. He wanted to end this, and end it fast. She leapt back and sent out another fire blast, but he, blinded by rage and conviction, was too fast, and sent a blast of flames up into her chest. She was swallowed by heat and flame and could feel herself being consumed by fear.
She twisted, and an air ball coiled outward from her center, taking the fire with it. There wasn't enough air to keep the blast from slamming her into one of the stone pillars and she felt her head hit the rock devastatingly hard. Raya began to fall. Her body felt spent, and she knew that she was losing this fight. With some panicked arm movements she made an air cushion big enough to keep her from slamming into the face of the earth, but she still hit with enough force to cause her to lose her breath.
Face down in the dirt, she could smell singed hair and knew that some of her snow white locks were likely the source. Some stone from her above hit tumbled down over her and she simply let it. She coughed a few times, and put her arms underneath her body to try to support her weight. It was too much, and she felt her arm pop again. She cringed and cried out in pain.
"Pathetic," she heard from above her. Ozai stepped forward, slowly, and she could tell he was savoring this moment. She tried to look up at him, glaring. "The Great Demitar and Avatar. A joke. The Demitar is a weak, wanna-be nomad, and the Avatar doesn't even show up. I can't tell you how much joy I will take in ending this," he said as he lifted his hand, a concentrated flame beginning to form. It was so strong that it gave off sound. "It's over."
The hand began to come down towards her, and she let her head fall back into the dirt; cheek pressing hard against the cool earth. It was over. She felt herself give a small sigh, and wondered why she suddenly felt almost relieved. It made no sense. It was as if a blanket of comfort was being laid over her, only from the inside out. Like her soul was suddenly at peace. . . Her eyes shot open in realization.
"Aang," she whispered into the dirt.
"No, Ozai. It is not over," she heard him say, his voice hard and commanding. The Fire Lord was so caught off guard by the Avatars appearance that the flame faltered and he turned his attention away from Raya. The feel of Aangs presence made Raya feel complete again and she could feel something else swelling there within her.
A blue glow radiated from Aang's eyes and tattoos, and she felt the Demitar spirit consume her. A hundred other voices chorused in her head, and suddenly she was more than herself. She stood, strong and sturdy. The pain was gone from her arm, and the rest of her body as she stood and faced Ozai's shocked expression; eyes and tattoos glowing the same vivid blue as Aangs.
She had been in this state only once before, and that was when she had frozen. Then, she had been afraid; lost. Now, she felt empowered, immovable, and strong. The wisdom of the Avatars and Demitars past coursed through Aang and Raya's connected minds and they felt like a single entity.
Are you alright?
Yes. You came back . . .
I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, Raya. You're hurt.
It doesn't matter. You're here now.
Let's end this.
Aang flew past the Demitar, and with a quick set of movements sent the Fire Lord sailing backward into a stone pillar. There was an audible crack as the Fire Lord made contact with the stone. There was fresh panic in Ozai's eyes, and Raya reveled in it. She felt her past lives build within her, guiding her. They didn't speak and yet she understood what they were saying; knew what they were doing.
Ozai flew up and away from the two powerful benders, and Raya knew this was it. Aang roared, and fire spewed from his open mouth before it swirled around him. Earth came next, and he formed another ring around himself. Water flowed easily to him from the bay, and another circle was made. Finally a ball of air encased him, and he lifted off the ground. There was a menace in his eyes for the moment that made him look unlike the Aang she had come to know and love.
There was no time for that now, however, and she felt air swirling at her feet, lifting her off the ground. She rose with the air to the height of the pillars, and watched as Ozai made his desperate escape. Aang took off after him, and Raya already knew what she needed to do. She flew quickly forward on her pillar of air and went wide around the Fire Lord.
As he turned to shoot some blasts at Aang, Raya appeared behind him, and he veered off course to avoid colliding with her. He tumbled onto a stone pillar and Aang took advantage of his sprawled position. Moving his arms and hands, he made earth encase Ozai's feet, then his hands. The Fire Lord was laid out before the Avatar, and Raya stood over him as their decree rang out.
"Fire Lord Ozai, you and your fore fathers have devastated the balance of this world. And now, you shall pay the ultimate price." Aang raised his arms and fire, water, earth, and air swirled into a violent point. He moved his arms forward, and the elements of the Avatar's judgment sped towards the Fire Lord. He cringed, and Raya felt the pain within Aang radiate throughout her. He didn't want it to end this way.
Aang stop. Stop!
The four combined elements stopped their beeline for the Fire Lord. Water and rocks rained over him, and he let out a sigh. Aang floated down onto the stone pillar, both his and Raya's glow dissipating. The earth encasing Ozai's arms and legs receded, and he pulled himself up. Aang looked slumped slightly and Raya could feel something within him. Something she had never felt before. She stepped up to him, and he looked at her solemnly.
"I won't end it like this," he said, and Raya nodded.
As Aang spoke, the Fire Lord leapt at them. "Even with all the power in the world, you are still weak!"
Aang raised his back leg and encased the Fire Lords right hand in another earth cuff. He spun and encased the other as Ozai tried to bend a blast from the other hand. Finally he faced Ozai, and blew a large gust of air into his face, to keep the flames emitted from his mouth from going anywhere until his right thumb rested on Ozai's forehead, and his left thumb on Ozai's chest.
They both froze, and Raya gasped. She could suddenly feel Ozai's spirit through Aang. It was dark, and full of powerful rage. Aang fought it for a moment, until Ozai's spirit began to flood into Aang like an undammed channel. She could feel Aang pressing against Ozai, but he was losing. She held her arm in pain, and stumbled forward slightly; without the Demitar spirit, all of the pain she was in came rushing back to her in an overwhelming tidal wave.
Just as the red rage of Ozai's spirit was about to consume the last of Aang, Raya placed her hand firmly against his back. She froze and her eyes flew open, mouth agape. She could feel the red of Ozai creeping up her arm, but her power now combined with Aang's forced the red to retreat almost immediately. The blue of Aang and Raya washed over the Fire Lord completely and it was done.
The blue light subsided, and the Fire Lord fell back against the rock. His body was spent, and he flopped as though he hadn't a drop of energy left in him. He flailed his arm out a bit – a sad attempt to bend – and it landed limply across his chest.
"What have you done to me?" he asked weakly.
"I took away your bending. You will never be able to hurt anyone with it again," Aang said, his voice strong and hard.
"I knew you'd find a way," Raya said, then added, "But how?"
"Actually . . . That's why I disappeared. I wound up on a lion turtles back, and it taught me how to bend energy." Aang was standing at the edge of the stone pillar and with a deep breath raised his arms to bend water up onto the land. His eyes and tattoos flashed, and Raya felt the surge of energy within him as the fires began to extinguish.
"You were . . . on a lion turtles back?" she asked, eye brows furrowed. Aang released the water, and it all flooded back into the ocean and rivers that surrounded them below.
"It's true, ask Momo," Aang said with a boyish smile and a shrug. As if on que, the flying lemur landed happily on the Avatar's shoulder. Raya began to laugh and shake her head, but coughed and began to totter where she stood. "Woah, steady." Aang reached around her waist to support her weight and she was grateful for it.
"Took a little more damage than I thought," she admitted as she leaned against him.
"This is my fault," Aang said, and she could hear the misery in his voice.
"No, this isn't anyone's fault. We fought one of the worst men in history, and won. There was no way we were coming out of it unharmed. Besides, I'll live."
"Yeah . . . I guess we all will. The hundred year war is over. It's really over."
X
Sozin's comet made its departure from earth's atmosphere, and Raya felt the power it brought begin to go with it. She sighed in relief. The power was a lot to feel and contain, and she was glad it was almost over. Only a small amount of the comets boost lingered as an airship docked against the stone pillar Aang and Raya stood on.
Sokka hobbled off the ship with the help of Suki, and Toph wasn't far behind. It looked like Sokka had faired about as well as Raya – his leg bandaged and his body bruised. Raya clenched her arm and willed the pain to stop soon. She eyed Sokka's bandages and hoped she would be able to get some treatment herself. Hopefully they would meet up with Katara, and she would be able to heal it completely.
The sudden thought of Katara forced her to think about Zuko. Did they defeat Azula? Were they both okay? Were they both . . . She couldn't bring herself to finish the last question, and her heart ached.
I'm sure they're fine.
I hope you're right.
"Oh man! You guys should have seen yourselves. Raya was all like woosh psh psh. And I was like oh no! She isn't gonna make it! And Ozai was like muahahaha! Then Aang was all like zoom woosh psh! And then both of you were like 'We are the Avatar and Demitar. You must face your crimes!'" Sokka said excitedly as he strangely acted out the battle he had witnessed. Raya cringed at the silly water tribe boy and withheld another laugh, as it made her cough; she suspected a broken rib or two.
"So, did you . . . do it?" Suki asked as she looked at the still mass of the once-Fire Lord.
"I'm still alive," Ozai suddenly spat at her, and she jumped back a bit.
"I learned there was another way to defeat him and restore balance; I took away his bending."
"You . . . can do that?" Toph asked, incredulous.
"Apparently," Raya confirmed.
"How'd you learn that?" Sokka asked.
"A lion turtle."
"What?" Sokka, Suki, and Toph all asked in unison.
"It's why I disappeared. A lion turtle called me away in my sleep and I've been with it till now." He shot another apologetic look at Raya.
"Don't apologize anymore," she commanded.
"Man, twinkle toes, you always go on the craziest journeys," Toph said.
"Well, now that your bending is gone, I guess we should call you . . . the 'Loser Lord'." Sokka said as he hobbled over to mock Ozai.
"I am the Phoenix King." The former Fire Lord glared at the water tribe boy and made a move to attack, but faltered in his weakness and fell flat on his face.
"Oh sorry, your highness, didn't mean to offend you, Phoenix King of getting his butt whooped." Toph laughed.
"Yeah!" Suki joined in. "Or how about the . . . Guys who don't win?"
"Leave the nicknames to us, honey," Toph said with zero amusement. This made a laugh spring forth from Raya and a violent cough followed it. Aang looked on at her with concern.
"We should get going. You and Sokka need help," Aang observed as he moved Raya forward onto the airship.
"Someone needs to ride Rai Jin back to the fire nation palace." Raya let Suki continue to help her aboard the air ship.
"I'm on it," Aang said as he watched her disappear within the crafts confines. As Sozin's comet vanished entirely from the sky, it took the light with it and revealed nothing less than the darkness of night dappled by myriad starlight.
Raya turned slightly to watch Aang spring forth from the stone pillar they were on top of, and through their connection showed him where he needed to go. He found the dragon easily, and Raya felt a bit of herself relax. It was short lived as she let Suki help her into a seat in the control room.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather be in a bed? There are a few rooms on board that would probably be much more comfortable than this," Suki said, motioning towards the steal bench she sat on. Raya moved her head back and forth in protest.
"I'm sure." Raya shifted her arm in a way that she felt might make it hurt less. She was wrong. It didn't matter what she did, the pain simply radiated outward from the point of injury; more so when she moved it to find a comfortable position.
"Pretty bad?" Suki observed as she watched the Demitar flinch in pain as she tried to position herself more comfortably on the bench.
"It's broken," Toph interjected suddenly. Raya frowned at the confirmation of what she had already been thinking.
"You can see that?" Raya asked.
"Not really; I can hear it popping though. It's kinda creepin' me out," Toph admitted. Raya sighed.
"Sorry."
"You just defeated the Fire Lord. You saved the world. Don't be," Toph said, her voice hard. She hated it when people apologized. "You should definitely get that looked at soon, though."
"I'm hoping Katara can do something with it," Raya said hopefully. "For now, I'm just trying to keep it from moving."
"Let me bind it," Suki said, moving toward her with bandages. "It'll hurt to do it, but it'll hurt less once it's bound."
"Okay," Raya agreed, though her eyes showed her apprehensiveness. Suki was right; it hurt. A lot. But once it was done, the aching seemed to dull down and the throbbing went away entirely a few moments after its completion. She sighed in slight relief and looked towards Sokka.
"You're pretty banged up too," she observed.
"I don't know if it's broken. But it was worth it. The war is over, and we're all still here to see the world after."
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