A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry I didn't update sooner. I was planning to on Thursday but life caught up with me and I haven't had a minute on my computer until earlier today. As it is, I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. You can let me know either way by leaving one of those beautiful little messages known as reviews. I haven't had one in about a month and am feeling rather lonely. Anyway, enough about my problems, on with the show!
Disclaimer: Were I to own A:LOK, I would definitely add Kaji in as a character. Sadly, I do not and she will forever be only a figment of my imagination.
Previously on Events Unexpected…
Kaji looked down into the palm of her right hand where, between her palm and her middle and index fingers, was a piece of crumpled parchment. Tentatively, it was opened. Within read:
I know how the birds fly, how the fishes swim, how animals run. But there is
the Dragon.
I cannot tell how it mounts on the winds through the clouds and flies through heaven.
Today I have seen
the Dragon.
Kaji marveled at the words. They meant nothing. Not that she could imagine.
"My entire life, my existence, it was all for the sole purpose of achieving what my predecessors could not. I was to rekindle the honor of Sozin's line and make amends for the failures of Ozai, Zuko, and Azula; now, with this," Kaji's voice rose in pitch with each desperate word, "What do I do when I don't want to do that, but I have known nothing else?"
"You learn something else," Korra whispered.
"I was never any good at fixing or healing anything," the firebender said her thoughts aloud.
"You fixed me," Korra breathed.
"And then I tore down everything I had built with you like the idiot that I am," the self-loathing caked every syllable bit out from between gritted teeth. "I should have recognized that what I had was worth more than the conquest of the world ever could amount to."
"You know, doing something for yourself every once in a while, isn't betraying Azula," Korra treaded lightly over the fractured ice of Kaji's psyche. "She would have wanted you to be happy in the end. I didn't know her, but I'm sure that, because of all that you said, she loved you and she wanted you to live your life without regrets. Maybe that's why she wrote the letter to you. She had seen what her ancestors had strived to do and how they went about doing it; she saw what her father had wanted; she had reflected on her own desires and she recognized that she had only done what had been expected of her… until she had you. She saw the Dragon when she saw you finding love and finding your own way in the world, without the chains of obligation and others' ambitions to keep you from soaring."
They had stayed in their little space for a few days. Apparently, despite the fact that Kaji was still within her physical body, she felt neither hunger nor thirst; both girls were quite thankful for that. The wound in the firebender's leg was looking much better. The festering had become a thing of the past and the angry red swelling had diminished to an aggravated pink. The scab itself was closing slowly and Kaji had been able to walk a few paces with support from the cave wall and a staff fashioned for her with Korra's earthbending. It was a bleary day in the dessert; the storm had come back in all of its glory. The gloom had done some to dampen the general mood of excited expectancy lingering from Kaji's brush with her past and Korra's window into the inner workings of the firebender. The quiet morning- at least, they had deemed it slightly lighter than the terrain a few heartbeats before and thus gone on to call the silvery grey 'morning'- left the former girl mulling over her continued presence in the surreal world of the bodiless and departed. If she were to let the truth run through her hazy mind, still foggy from a nap she had taken a moment or so ago, she was continually finding herself drifting to the fact that her entire body was abuzz with the strange sensation that had slowly been creeping over her skin since she had been so rudely dumped in the middle of the sandstorm torn desert. It was emptiness inside of her. An emptiness where some form of foreignness should have been residing. Kaji longed for a sign, a reflexive urge, to tell her that she did not belong in the spiritual plain; all of the stories she had heard, although limited, held the recurring theme of the protagonist's strife with the abnormality of their body's continued presence in a land not meant for the living. It did not take much paranoia to corrode the Fire Lord's confidence in her imminent return to her home world when she felt as much a part of the world she was currently occupying as the one she had left. Staring across from her where Korra was subconsciously picking through her strands of hair for lack of anything to do, the firebender reluctantly decided to voice her concerns. She did not wish to break the younger girl's peace- especially when peace was so difficult to come by in the clustered living conditions they were trapped in- but her own tranquility was in mortal peril if she could not at least voice her concerns. And, if Korra happened to find some sort of solution for her, Kaji would be all the better for it.
"So," Kaji sighed, eyes closed and mouth straightened in a tight line, "Am I dead? I mean, I know this is some sort of limbo state that my body is in; how long do I have before I can't leave?"
Korra's eyes widened. They had never breached the unsaid barrier before; never really allowed themselves to think on the fact that, despite the continued existence of Kaji's earthly shell, she was still stuck in a place not meant for those living. Or, at least, the Avatar had tried to stay away from the topic. To have Kaji ask such a thing out loud; it clearly stated to the contrary from the Fire Lord's perspective. In most cases, even the Fire Lord's rudimentary knowledge of the workings of the Spirit World had outlined the one underlining principle, what was living was rejected. And as of yet, Kaji had yet to feel any sort of pull toward her home. And, despite having a gut feeling telling her otherwise, Korra could not answer her. She could not pretend to know what had ensued after Kaji had touched the necklace. For all she knew, Kaji had indeed become a part of the celestial place, never allowed to return to the land of the Four Nations. On the flip-side- and the one Korra preferred to think on- it was completely plausible for Kaji to simply be a traveler of sorts, sucked into the ghostly world but also able to leave it whenever she pleased.
"I want you to try something," Korra said firmly. She was unsure whether what she about to suggest would do any good; if it went awry there was a great probability of it completely backfiring on the both of them. Still, she had to try, "Concentrate really hard on where you were last. Can you do that?"
Kaji nodded, taking in a series of breathes and concentrating on the image of the curtained room lying in far away Omashu. Once the picture had ingrained itself in her mind, she gave Korra another nod as indication for her to proceed.
"Alright," Korra rummaged through the dusty stockpiles of her first lessons. She had always been somewhat ill-suited for explaining the intricacies of out-of-body experiences. That had been Tenzin's area of expertise. "Imagine your body within the room; see it with your third-eye… and try to reach out for it."
Kaji grimaced from her exertions . She felt for the plush cushions of the futon sitting near the center of the carpeted floor, gazing down at the little pillows where they had fallen on the ground. She had been kneeling a few steps away from the furniture; this she knew from behind the haze of physical pain that came with the memory of her last few moments in the room. Still, she refused to be pushed out of her trance by such a minor inconvenience. But no matter how many times she ran her spectral fingers through the indented weaving of the carpet; no matter how much she tried to project an image of herself sitting on said floor; no matter how many beads of sweat clouded her brow, she could not do it. It was only after her eyes snapped open that she realized that there was a burning in her lungs from a lack of oxygen. Her hands hit the dirty cave ground as she doubled over and took in rasping inhales before expelling the air in a series of coughing fits. Her entire body felt like it had been at the receiving end of a battering ram and she would not have been in the least bit surprised if splotches of black and purple bruising lined her skin.
Korra watched the firebender hunch over, flinching at the dry heaving sounds coming from behind a curtain of hair. It was apparent that, along with Kaji's consciousness, her body had been taken into the fold as well. Koh's necklace had served its purpose fantastically, and now Korra had no inkling as to how she was going to get the Fire Lord out. She needed to find someone who could; she needed to find Aang. And to do that, she needed to get out of here… wherever 'here' happened to be.
"Kaji-"
"Don't make me do that again," Kaji wheezed, her hand moving to grasp at the loose shirt right above her heart.
"No, not again," Korra promised. It was getting to be so damn hard not to embrace the fragile, frightened girl; only the consequence of spontaneous combustion kept the Avatar safely pressed against her opposite wall. What she was about to say next, she knew would not be taken well, but she had to try to find her mentor- any one of them. "Listen, I need to find some way of getting you out of here. But to do that, I need to…"
How to say it… she did not want to use the words 'leave you,' they sounded too permanent and devastating. Before Korra's brain could come up with a suitable euphemism, a small voice came from the opposing side of the alcove, "You have to go… don't you?"
"Only for a little while," Korra promised. She instinctively reached out, scooting toward the hunched figure half obscured by the opaque shades of grey and black prevailing in the tiny space. Her fingers were barley brushing against one of Kaji's bangs, the one sticking out at an odd angle that brought it closer to Korra than the rest, when she felt the feverish temperature increase. Her hand fell back to the ground and her head sunk down slightly.
"It's fine," Kaji looked up and graced the younger girl with the worst excuse for a smile that Korra had ever seen. If anything, the attempt made her heart shrivel even more than if Kaji had screamed at her or broken down into a miserable wreck. Perhaps it was the fact that Kaji had always been such a good liar in the past, always able to pull on the perfect mask, that made the gruesome grin all the more abominable; perhaps not.
"I will, I promise. I promise," Korra tried to convey a confidence in her repetition that she knew she did not possess.
"I know," the smile faded once its owner recognized that it was subpar and ineffective. Instead, Kaji just shrugged her shoulders and sank further into her little ball, dragging her legs in so that she could rest her chin in the crook between her knees. "I just… Never mind."
Korra waited, staring at Kaji for a while. She really did not want to leave the girl on her own, but in order to find Aang, she had to spiritually teleport herself to wherever he was, and that required her spectral form to leave their decrepit dwelling. The change in her firebender was far too drastic to ignore, however. Kaji had never displayed such intense apprehension before, even in the wake of Katara's bloodbending which, in itself, was quite the accomplishment. Something was off. There had to be an outlying factor that the girl was not revealing to the young Avatar. The same factor that had been eluding Korra since she had awoken in the crummy cave in the middle of nowhere.
"Kaji, did something happen to make y-"
Her question was cut off by a loud crash coming from just outside of the miniscule space they occupied. Rock chunks flew into the cave, clinking off of the rock face and ricocheting until they hit the back wall and lay still. A terrible sound echoed from somewhere beyond the storm, something close to rusted metals being ground together; both girls rushed to cup their ears and give reprieve to their auditory systems.
The sand barrier at the forefront of the cave burst apart as a massive snout pushed its way through the opening. The jaws that followed were open in a fearsome growl, salivating streams of dark brown mud pouring out as its serpentine tongue lashed out, tasting the air for its prey. The teeth were made of granite chunks connected to a maw of bedrock, each reaching the length of Korra's hand and forearm. A massive, clawed paw struck the ground with force enough to cause a crater-like indentation to sprout as the thing tried to push itself closer. The Avatar had not even noticed her frantic backpedalling until her back hit the end of the alcove; and still, the wandering tongue was only centimeters away from her face, mouth only slightly farther. Only, it was no longer inching forward. In fact, the thing was shaking its gigantic head as though it was being frustrated by an unknown irritant.
"Wh-what is this thing?" next to her, Kaji's breathes came in sporadic bursts of hyperventilation.
"Dilong," Korra answered, almost robotically. The earth dragon writhed in its fury, apparently far too big to cram its way into the miniature cave any farther than it already had. Its piercing shrieks caused little droplets of blue ectoplasm to drip from Korra's ears and a much darker vermillion to trickle from Kaji's.
Korra's heartbeat sped up as the thing's nostrils flared and sent a huff of warm air into her face. Cracks were lacing the ceiling and walls of their sanctuary and prison. There was no other way in or out, except for the entrance physically blocked by the creature trying to consume them. The danger was finally enough to snap her from her stupor. Her legs pushed her up so quickly that the top of her head collided with the sloped roof of stone. After a smattering of cursing and rubbing the sore spot, the Avatar reassessed the mess she had gotten into. The creature was one of the earth spirits residing in the Spirit World. Completely devoid of pleasant temperament, the Dilong was an extremely territorial spirit, not to mention perpetually hungry. Their means of escape was blocked, but all that was needed to free them was an instant of an opening.
"Kaji," Korra whispered. She knew the beast would not be able to understand them, but it still made her feel infinitely safer drawing less attention to herself by making loud noises.
"Yeah?" the firebender affirmed, awaiting the plan she knew would follow.
"I'm pretty sure that being in the Spirit World doesn't really affect your firebending all that much," the wince from the girl next to her was not lost upon the Avatar; they had no time, however, for questions so she chose to ignore it, "I need you to momentarily blind it with a burst of flame. I'll bend the cave wall so that we have enough maneuverability to squeeze out of here and into the open. Got it?"
Korra did not wait for the reply. Her mental clock ticked down 3…2…1… and shouted, "Now!"
Kaji grit her teeth and sent the strongest surge of golden fire she could muster under the circumstances without singeing them into the molten rocks of the small cavern. The plumes rocketed in a perfect trajectory toward the Dilong's snarling maw and tiny eyes. The protective lids closed seconds too late; the creature reared its massive head back as waves upon waves of agony hit its brain from the sensitive nerves within the burned corneas. Korra wasted no time in lowering her stance. The telltale full horse position transferred smoothly into a forward horse as she trust her hands forward and out, the rock face folding in on itself at her command. The crevice was not huge; barely enough to fit her body if she straightened herself flush against the stones. Still, with the spiked jaw receded to a less imposing position, the Avatar found her legs and made a beeline for the exit. Two steps away and she burst clear.
Kaji watched Korra fling herself forward, her legs moving in such ways as to make her appear to be flying more than running. Adrenaline visibly leaked from her pores as she jumped against the cave's sides and jettisoned herself out of the entrance. The firebender, aware that it was 'do or die' time, stiffly rose to her feet. Her injuries protested vehemently against any such movement, especially her leg which was still stiff from the scabbing wound and extended time left unused. Her first steps were more akin to hobbles, taking her barely a few inches. The pain intensified as her foot caught against a protrusion and sent the Fire Lord stumbling into the opposite wall, searching for something to balance on. Amidst the torrent of stimuli informing her to preferably cease and desist, Kaji's eyes turned to keep her exit in view. The Dilong's teeth were gnashing against the wall upon which she was leaning, not nearly far enough for her liking. The chasm between its head and the other wall was no more than a hair's breadth from her standpoint. Hot, musky breathes that smelled of sand and rust drifted to her as the earth dragon continued to fight against its confines. Wisps of putrid, sulfuric blood dripped from a gash against its right cheek where, in favor of the crippled firebender, a jagged stone spear had jammed itself securely. Kaji gathered her wits about her, clenching her teeth together against the urge to scream, and pushed herself toward the left side of the monster. For a moment, the jaunting strides bore her through, out in sight of her goal and the panting Avatar just beyond. A flicker of wind and sand stung her cheeks and her eyelids lowered to keep the granules out with her long eyelashes. Then, a wrenching sound and a flurry of rocks burst from her side. The dragon, in all of its fury and strength, had managed to dislodge itself; the momentum with which it had pulled free had quickly converted into a powerful whiplash to its left. The impact was astounding. Kaji felt like a beetle caught between the hammer and the anvil. Her body instantly shifted sideways in an attempt to shield her organs, but the prongs of hardened flesh and rock were more than her ribs could take. The crack was resounding.
Korra didn't think. She acted. She only saw and heard, touched and tasted, smelled the familiar metallic tang of blood. Her feet flitted against the sands, ethereal and blue like waves of the ocean crashing into the surf. Her hands wove in intricate arcs and punches as she pulled the ground out from under the beast's giant serpentine body. The earth dragon shrieked again as its legs were consumed by the sands that had birthed it. Its tail lashed out, blindly nearing Korra's lithe form. She deftly evaded it in a soaring leap, arching her back so that she could flip in midair. Her hands never ceased their frantic motions, bending the very fabric of the celestial plain to her will. The sands aloft in the air became cohesive masses before sharpening into points and loosing barrages against the entrapped creature writhing in the sinking earth. No stones provided support for the heavy arms as they pulled upward. The struggles only served to further sink the posterior half of the Dilong. Screaming, it lifted its head out of the hole in the ground that had been the girls' home for the better part of their stay in the Spirit World. The craning neck trashed about until it shook away the remaining fragments of stone debris and blood. Small stripes of red were visible amongst the waterfall of yellow oozing from the two tiny eyes and the marring wounds along the lower jaw and cheeks.
Not waiting for the Dilong to recover its remaining senses, Korra rushed onto its snaking back. The footholds were loose and constantly in motion as the scales relayed her foreign pressure to the primitive survival cortex nestled in the dragon's cranium. One misstep and she could feel that she would have lost the opportunity. Her feet stayed sure, rushing her on, up the spinal column, past the flexing shoulder blades and ascending the winding neckline. Her fist burned with transparent flames, almost a kindred blue to Kaji's if not quite as threatening of an inferno. She took a jump; hoping gravity would intensify her finishing blow. Her fist neared at threatening velocity, gaining speed and power with each millisecond bringing her closer to her foe. A screech from above had the dragon turn its massive skull away from Korra's onslaught, her fire connecting with the right spike coming out of the top of the dragon's head along with some of the frilled smaller spines along the jaw line. She had no time to curse; the ground coming up on her quickly. Korra twisted in midair, a cat spinning to land on her feet; plumes slowing her descent slightly. Her feet connected briefly before she convulsed into a protective roll. Her knees felt jarred by the impact, but not enough to impede her much. Forgetting the Dilong, the Avatar turned to the entrance of the cave where she could barely make out a slouched form leaning against the left cave wall. Korra's analytical mind told her to keep focus on the immediate threat; to turn around and find what had become of the serpentine creature ready the engulf them both to quell its hunger. Her dominant concern, however, was for the girl weakly breathing a few yards away from her. Racing away from the danger, praying that the intervening force which had stolen her victory from her would be enough of a distraction, Korra urgently climbed the dunes leading to Kaji.
From afar, the damage did not appear quite as extensive. Korra allowed some semblance of calm to wash over her. Up close, it was an entirely different scene. Kaji was not bleeding much. At least, not on the outside. Beneath the rags adorning the crumpled body was an extensive network of bruising. No bones had broken through the skin, but Korra could see the unnatural fluctuations in the firebender's chest. Parts of her skin were sunken while ridges of bone lifted up the stretched flesh in places that should not have risen to such extent. Lifting the shirt an inch or so above Kaji's belly exposed the purple discoloration in the skin; the bruises extended in a sickening pattern along the pale expanse of Kaji's upper torso. Gulping for air, Kaji's hand shakily reached for Korra's. It stilled just centimeters away, unsure as to the effect the contact would have on the Avatar. Korra felt the guilt was over her anew.
"I-I'm so-" Kaji gasped, coughing up blood as her punctured lungs threatened to collapse under her sternum.
Korra held up a finger, gently keeping it aloft over Kaji's trembling lips, "Hush," she compelled the injured firebender into silence, "You shouldn't talk."
Kaji seemed to be willing to comply, overcome by the sharp agony wafting through her. Yet, after a moment, her eyes lit with a sudden resolve. Her hand gripped the loose fabric of Korra's shirt, carefully avoiding any flesh that might shirk away from her intensified body heat, and she weakly pulled the younger girl closer. Her eyes were having a hard time concentrating on objects, everything coming out as a hazy outline. Still, her tongue felt well enough to formulate her thoughts into words, so she did, "I- Korra I- I need you to listen to me."
Korra's eyebrows scrunched and her mouth opened to insert a well-meant interjection, but Kaji's hand closed tightly around her shirt, indicating that the Fire Lord had no intention of being interrupted. Kaji was finding it ever increasingly difficult to breathe; she had to say it now, if she was ever going to. Briefly, she wondered what would happen to her if she died in the Spirit World. Would she become a normal spirit, sent to the final resting place allotted to her as per the path she had chosen for her life? That seemed the most viable option. She doubted that losing her body in the spectral realm would allow her to return to the land of the living. Still, eternal rest held a subtle charm to it. No more struggles; just peace.
Korra's shaking brought her back; her hand had fallen in her stupor and she could feel the heated sands under her, growing ever cooler under her skin. Her mouth felt dry as she opened it, "Hey, hey," Kaji waved in front of Korra's bowed face, pleading for her attention. "I don't want you to cry for me. Korra, I- I know that I have made mistakes. I see them plainly now. I have lied for so long; I do not know what sincerity is anymore. But I do know that my heart starts beating whenever you are near me and I can breathe again, through the deluge and the flood. Whether that is love, I cannot say, for I do not know what love is. Hell, sometimes I doubt anyone does. But I don't need to know it or understand what it means to feel it. All I know is; I want you near me for as long as I exist. So don't cry for me. You will always have me."
"Don't say it like you are leaving me," Korra's voice shook with the effort from not unleashing the tears burning to come out. The sadness welling in her heart suffocated the butterflies of joy in her stomach. Kaji's passion for her meant nothing if Korra would not be there to hold the younger girl in her arms or caress her lips with a searing kiss."You are going to be fine! You survived up 'til now, you can't die! Not when we haven't even gotten out of this blasted desert. I promised that I would save you. I promised. I promised," each word grew quieter until there was only silence and Korra's murmuring lips moving without sound.
Kaji's eyes glowed golden, widening as a beam of light burst out from behind the bowed back of the Avatar. Her body froze in fear, before melting into calm submission. If it was to be her end, at least it was beautiful. Korra saw the reflection of the sudden yellow bud flowering along her firebender's dimming golden irises. The play of warm sunlight was fluorescent enough to cover some of the girl's pupils, creating an illusion of slits instead of the usual round holes. Dragon's eyes. The shockwave hit them soon after, distinct in a shower of dust flying past them. The sound of the collision was only drowned out by the metallic shriek of a creature in the final stages of its demise. Fearing that somehow, by looking away, Korra would instigate Kaji's passing, she refused to turn her gaze away from the girl until a resounding thud shook the very ground beneath her. Turning whilst using her body as a protective shield in front of Kaji's broken body, the Avatar beheld the Dilong's growling teeth. The eyes were milky, a crust formed over them to keep the damaged tissue from infection, but it was still evident that the life force of the beast had been extinguished. Trickles of glittering blood ran down the sides of its head, landing in piles of sand among the other trillions of particles making up the waterless sea of dunes. Smoke rose from a point in the thing's back that appeared optically abnormal from the slope of its body. It looked as though the flesh simply ended, dipping in some unseen gorge until the spines of the lower haunches rose up once more. It was not until the mass of the dragon bore it down onto its right side that Korra was able to see that the hulk of its form had been blown apart without a trace of scale or tissue to account for what once had been a complex system of living rock.
She tensed, torn between returning her attention to the fading Fire Lord behind her and searching out the cause of such a massive display of power. Not many held the capability of ripping through such a formidable, if not more primitive, spirit of nature. Choosing a mixture of the two, Korra knelt down next to Kaji, marking that the girl was thankfully still awake and breathing; her eyes then snapped up to survey the landscape. The sands had receded, as though the light had vaporized the storm itself, not simply the components of it. A steady glow thrummed from the epicenter of the explosion, charred embers of superheated rock particles sizzled in luminescent orange hues while those that had already cooled streaked the terrain in black spikes. The ball of yellow burned so brightly that Korra had to cover her eyes; her cornea drying from the intensity. Nothing from the inside of the sphere was visible. Shadows burned away until all was illuminated. It felt like the landscape had suddenly been flung into the sun's core.
To Korra's side, Kaji lay transfixed. Her gaze could not turn from the constant flux of the pulsating orb of pure warmth. It was as though her essence was being pulled from her body and into the vortex of luminescence. Her inner fire yearned to touch it, to become one with the pure cosmic energy that coalesced in the miniature star. Each ebb caused her heart to ache with longing; each flow filled her with such happiness that her chest became light as a bird's. The physical pain decreased until there was nothing but a faint stinging in her eyes from looking upon such radiance.
"Hikari," the firebender whispered. Her legs moved of their own volition, not that she would have stopped them had she been aware of their thrusts forward. Come closer, the sphere beckoned, almost as if it had a voice of its own. Bathe in my light and know what true beauty is.
Korra watched, stricken, as Kaji's battered body picked itself up and elegantly carried itself in the direction of the light. The misshapen bones and tissues were no longer askew or in danger of shredding the firebender's internal organs. Her scabs and scars vanished with each footstep, pulling farther away from Korra and closer to the unknown object. Tremors shook the Avatar as she frantically reached out for her love, not willing to let her go. Yet, no matter how desperately she clawed at the air, all she could do was kneel on the malleable ground and watch as Kaji became a silhouette, then a shade, then a glimmer, and then nothing at all; entirely consumed by the spectral sun that had fallen to earth.
Kaji briefly wondered at the tiny emptiness in her gut as she continued on into the heart of the brilliant being. The pulses she had long ago deduced to be heartbeats. Each flare washed over her with pure ecstasy, erasing all of the negativity and darkness with burning fire. At first, it had only been white and blinding, but the further in she went, the more colors had come to dance around her. Green emeralds sparkled against mirrors of cobalt. Amethysts dotted fields of vermillion. Orange dusk and golden dawn melded together into glamorous shades of something the human tongues could not portray with justice. Her heartbeats hammered within her ribcage, completely healed. The waves rushing by her sped up with it, drifting by her like water. But water could never have matched the welcoming heat. It was the embrace of the mother she never had; the kiss of the Spirits and Gods that cleansed all impurities.
Just ahead, there appeared a membrane. It was transparent, a spider's web woven into a curtain of silken threads. Kaji looked upon the womb from which the sparks of life were birthed; her eyes widened at being afforded the opportunity to behold such a sacred spectacle. It seemed utter blasphemy to disrupt the tranquil sheet, to mar such loveliness with her clumsy, flawed hands. Yet, her instincts told her that what she sought was just beyond. A tentative hand brushed along the rim, creating a fissure in the veil. The Fire Lord dipped her head just low enough to duck under the opening she had created; meticulously ensuring that she did not further damage the sacrosanct mesh.
Within, there was once again a complete whiteout of all hues and shades. The web had acted as a refractor, breaking the exuding whiteness into the myriads of colors washing outward into the world. Here, at the center, there was only the elemental form of light. Nothing to bend or break it. Nothing to interfere. Nothing to interrupt. Kaji walked into the hallowed space, awaiting the arrival of whatever lay there for her. She could sense that she was not alone. No mere human would be allowed such close proximity to such immense energy without the guidance of a particularly potent Spirit.
Kaji turned on the spot three times before her eyes fixated on the figure of a man standing to her left. His skin was tanned, but not dark like the Tribesmen. Chest bared, he only wore a flowing robe wrapped around his waist and dropping down to just above his sandaled feet. His hair reached to the sky in plumes of dark crimson which turned to copper and then shiny bronze at the tips. Where his irises should have been, there was only an extension of the pupil, leaving only the whites of the eyes as the only distinction of where they ended. Markings adorned his muscular arms and abdomen, rays of sunlight and arcs of gold that would make Apollo jealous. His entire being emitted his overwhelming vigor. It was not even a thought for Kaji; her body simply slid to its knees and dipped her head onto her arms, prostrating herself before the fiery deity.
"You know who I am," the man spoke, his voice deep and resounding, even when he was not forceful in his speech.
"You are Agni, Lord of the Flame," Kaji replied, never once taking her eyes off of the whitened sheets of sand beneath her.
"That is correct," there was a smile on the God's face which seeped into his words, "And I know who you are, my child."
"I am Kaji of your bloodline," Kaji stated anyway. It was etiquette, a tradition instilled in her from a young age, "and I am honored to be in your presence."
"Stand child. All of this groveling is unbecoming of a talented wielder of my element such as you."
Kaji eased herself out of her reverent position and regained her feet. She felt it to be an act of heresy to be so informal before such a mighty, omnipotent Spirit, but she dared not go against him. He was the creator of the dragons- masters of the element signifying life and death; predecessor of the Royal line of the Fire Nation; patron to the Land of Kindling Flame.
"I sense the inner turmoil that seethes within you. It blocks the gift I have given you; your blue fire is no longer strong."
Kaji hung her head in shame at the words. Her body shook, the familiar feeling of disappointment at falling short of an expectation coloring her cheeks. Her lips were already moving in an apology, when she felt the hand gently fall on her stiff shoulder. Her skin glowed with the essence of the Fire God's touch, filling her with a thrum of soothing morphine. Her mind shirked away from the affectionate gesture, screaming of how wrong it was for a deity to place his hand atop her imperfect flesh. Despite it, she could not pull away; could not do anything but marvel at the good fortune she had been afforded.
"Karma must have taken an extended holiday," she muttered under her breath. To her surprise and growing chagrin, Agni graced her snide comment with a hearty chuckle. His smile shined with whitened teeth, nearly as blinding as the glowing orb which housed them.
"I tend to provide help to my favored children. I have been told by Tui and La that it is not polite to choose some above others, but I cannot help myself at times," Agni shrugged.
"They should not question your judgment," Kaji fiercely growled. She had not considered herself very pious- only praying and going through the motions of religion when it suited her- but the Fire God held a special place in her heart, as in the hearts of every other firebender. To have him questioned by anyone was an infraction that was unforgiveable.
"Calm my little dragon," he said in his laughing voice, a paradox of strength and softness. The nickname brought out an embarrassed blush from Kaji's cheeks. "I take no offense for it. And the Water Spirits are not why I am here."
"You are here because of my inability to produce blue fire," Kaji repeated his earlier reason. The Fire God nodded solemnly.
"I believe that you are aware as to why this is happening to you?" the question called for introspection. He wanted the Fire Lord to answer it truthfully, from her heart. Agni knew that Kaji would not dare lie to him, but it was herself he feared her words deceived.
"Korra," Kaji whispered the name. She felt the twinge of longing grow stronger in her stomach. It was almost a physical pull back the way she had come from. Her eyes followed the invisible string until the mists of white opened up and she was looking at the stunned Avatar, yet to get up from her knees.
"That's right," Agni's voice drifted into her ear from where he was leaning over her shoulder. The air that escaped his lungs with the utterance caused gooseflesh to run along her neck, but she ignored it, focusing on the awed expression plastered on Korra's face. It was obvious that the girl could see her just as clearly as Kaji was able to look at her.
Taking the opportunity to speak, Agni moved to stand between the two girls; addressing them both, he announced, "Your firebending was not completely snuffed out because you were still aware of your spark," he pointed at Korra, "Unfortunately, your conflicting obligations and emotions made it difficult for you to utilize her as a fuel source for your inner flame. Accepting her would go against your life's ambition; yet, rejecting her was never an option for you either."
Korra listened, transfixed. She had not guessed that Kaji's irregular flames had stemmed from a blockage in her resolve. If anything, she had believed that the girl's orange fire had been a consequence of the extended stay in the Spirit World. Happiness gripped her at the thought of being the spark needed to ignite Kaji's beautiful element, only to be heavily weighed down by the responsibilities that came with that sentence. She felt as though she had been handed a fragile porcelain flower that was already starting to crack in her inexperienced grasp.
Kaji similarly felt her own vulnerability. She faced the precipice. One step and everything she had been living for would no longer be relevant. Korra would be her tether, where once there had only been the promises chaining her to the side of the drop, hanging like some ragged doll with no life of its own. Still, the prospect of the uncertainty that came with the freefall- whether the harness that was her Avatar's love would keep her from crashing into the jagged rocks beneath- was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measures. Her body felt ready, the only thing holding her back being her errant mind. Trust had never been something Kaji had chosen; it always found ways to covertly slip through her defenses and nestle in her heart. Whether it was a sweet poison or an undesired antidote, the firebender doubted she would ever know.
Agni watched his daughter struggle with herself, sadly lamenting the difficult decisions that innately found his people. Fire held within it a power that was nearly impossible to control and had a particularly nasty habit of corrupting those who wielded it. So many wars, so much blood, all spilled in his name. The Spirit felt the weight of all of those prayers and declarations more than any of the others. To see Kaji's fire kindled by love rather than hate was a welcome reprieve from the past centuries. Breaking the silence gently, he came up to give Kaji's shoulder a reassuring pat, murmuring, "It is what you want that drives your fire. And I know that she is what you want."
Kaji nodded stiffly, biting her lower lip with the admission. Her heart skipped a beat at the smile that graced Korra's face, twinkling in her sapphire eyes. Her own smile was smaller, insecure, but there nonetheless. Her feet moved her into the tunnel bridging the center of the sphere of light and the desert sands. The colors swirled over her head in excitement, blinking like the aurora borealis. Each step caused her chest to quiver; her fingers twitched against her hips lightly before moving to sweep her unruly hair out of her face. Another small membrane separated her from Korra at the end of the cylindrical funnel. Kaji paused in her advance, turning slowly to look back at Agni's casually poised form; his arms folded over his muscular chest and that mischievous grin marking his approval. Her hand lifted awkwardly, unsure of how best to say her farewell to him. A simple wave did not seem to be enough for someone of his caliber. Still, when he gave her a lazy thumbs-up and a hilariously exaggerated wink, the Fire Lord found herself more than comfortable with her own informal departing gesture.
Korra didn't wait for the firebender to fully come out of the grandiose sparkling ball. She had had enough of waiting over the past few months. Instead, she hurriedly wrapped her arms around Kaji's neck, pulling her into a passionate kiss that tasted sweeter than caramel dipped in honey. Kaji too, clung to her like they were the last people on earth. Her hands rubbed up and down Korra's spectral body, relishing in the solidness of the transparent blue form. Apart from the slightly lower skin temperature, the Avatar felt just as she had in Omashu. It was only after Kaji's brain was finally able to sluggishly regain some semblance of thought that the Fire Lord pushed Korra away from her in a panic. She had completely forgotten about her strange condition, praying that she had not severely harmed the other girl in her embrace. Korra, as signified by her hurt and confused expression, had not yet come to the same realization as her Fire Nation companion.
Kaji, huffing from the lack of air she had experienced, raked her eyes over Korra's body, noting with a happy sigh that there didn't seem to be any new burn marks on the Avatar's lips. Figuring that she owed the younger girl an explanation, Kaji simply said, "I thought that touching you would scald your skin."
Korra's eyes widened as she finally understood why Kaji had moved away from her seemingly without precedent. Her hands moved up to trace her lips where she could still feel the firebender's tongue pressing for entrance. There was nothing but the delicate pressure exerted through her fingers.
"I don't feel anything," Korra affirmed.
"H-how?" Kaji wondered. Her head snapped to where Agni's presence had been, immediately locking eyes with the deity's fading essence. Her features turned from incredulous to thankful as she mouthed a quick, "I am grateful."
His voice remained after even his fiery hair was lost amongst the quickly spinning sphere, "It was you. Once you released your fire, your body no longer kept the chi burning inside."
A loud whirring sound came from the rapidly rising top-like light; its revolutions increasing in frequency until there was nothing but light spreading across the four horizons. Korra and Kaji backed away, covering their eyes with their arms only to have even that shade blasted away by the luminescence. Like a star returning to heaven, Agni rose in the sky, burning the clouds of dust in a comet of radiance. The clear, blue atmosphere beckoned with its openness and freedom. Where there had been leagues upon leagues of sand, grass and flowers now permeated the ground. Had there been birds in the sky or wildlife running along the still creek a ways away, the scenery might have been reminiscent of some of the smaller Earth Kingdom islands to the southeast. Korra's eyes lightened up as she caught sight of a familiar figure sitting with his back against a comfortably large boulder; a familiar figure she had been craving to see.
"Master Aang," she called out, running over to where the monk was meditating. His grey eyes opened at her approach, warmly welcoming her into his arms.
"Korra," he said as she happily returned the hug. "I had hoped that you would find your way to me. After I left to find medication for your firebender, the desert closed around you and I could no longer sense your location."
"Of course," Korra smirked, "Nothing I couldn't get out of somehow or other."
Kaji watched the exchange patiently, aware of the importance the monk held in Korra's life. Her own curiosity had been piqued. She had been too far gone in the cavern when they had first come in contact with one another. Here, she was able to observe him. The slight frame and bald head painted with the blue arrow reaching just above two relaxed eyebrows clearly marked the man as an Air Nomad. To meet the Avatar Aang, the antagonist to all of her grandmother's stories and lessons, was in and of itself an experience Kaji had never imagined herself having. His easy smile was the feature she was captivated by the most. It certainly made hating the man very difficult.
Korra must have noticed Kaji's aloof mannerism, and took it upon herself to introduce her mentor to her firebender, "Master Aang, this is Kaji."
Aang turned his smile on the disconcerted Royal, holding out a hand, "Nice to see you up and well again."
Kaji walked purposefully over. She sensed no trap in his pleasant demeanor, but that did not mean that she would completely throw caution to the wind. Korra trusted Aang, which gave a few points in his favor, however, the Fire Lord also remembered the power and ruthlessness Azula had described. This man had stolen the fire from past Fire Lord Ozai and Kaji coveted her blue flames more than her life.
"A pleasure," she said, coming up to his hand and giving it a firm shake. Once separated, the firebender inconspicuously sent up a spark to ensure that her element was still alive within her. Clear cobalt danced above her pointer finger.
Korra shrugged at Aang's questioning glance at Kaji's back. Both Avatars understood the paranoia that was still held by many after the truth about their power had been unveiled. A polite silence stretched over the three occupants of the meadow landscape. When Kaji was sufficiently pleased with her firebending capabilities, she motioned to their surroundings before proclaiming, "Not that it isn't grand to just stand around here all day, but do we actually have any notion as to how Korra and I are going to get out of here?"
Aang rose to his feet, smoothing out his colorful robes. His smile turned into a concentrated line as he collected his thoughts. His voice was level, a teacher about to impart a lesson upon a student, "I have a few hypotheses that I would be willing to try. It will not be simple; the veil is a very delicate thing and one mistake could be catastrophic for both worlds. Koh's magic is one that I have not seen before, something long lost to all but him it would appear. As such-"
"It will be nigh imposssible for you to essscape without Massster Koh'sss conssssent," a slithery tone came from behind them. The three benders turned quickly, lowering themselves into defensive crouches, hands raised to protect the open areas of their bodies. Across the field from them, wreathed in a cloak of putrid purple smoke, stood a nightmarish figure. Four long talons came out of the festering flesh of reptilian feet, surrounded by a circle of dead plants within a six foot diameter of the creature. Scales of dull indigo scales traced up sloped legs and powerful thighs. A ripped up stretch of cloth covered the torso and lower abdomen of the figure, spines poking through the material along the sides of the chest area. A belt sloped over one shoulder, carrying a Guan Dao with a blade that was longer than Korra's arm. The hands wore black gloves that ended in silver claws caked in grime and dried blood. A majority of the thing's head was covered by a darkened scarf that could have been either blue or purple at some point but had become a depressing shade of grey. Spiked hair fell over the shoulders and back, looking to be a conjunction of porcupine quills and keratin. What could be seen of the one eye in the open was that it was a golden button sewed into the flesh above the eyebrow and below the cheekbone.
Its words were spoken with a serpentine lisp, slow and pronounced. The distance between it and the group of benders held no effect on the projection of the sound. Even the scarf's heavy fabric did nothing to muffle the carefully said syllables, "He wishesss for the Fire Lord. I am Nopperabou Ichi, the firssst of Massster Koh'sss sservantss. Come quietly and neither of you will be hurt, Avatarssss."
"Make us," Korra growled. "We have you outnumbered three to one."
Nopperabou Ichi's shoulders convulsed and rasping sounds wheezed past the ugly grey rag winding itself around the Faceless' mouth. Korra's anger only intensified when she recognized it as laughter. Before she could say anything snarky, however, the creature lifted its arms into the air, looking as though it were opening up for an embrace. Behind it, from the shadows pooling to either side, emerged more grotesque figures. Three to its right and two on the left.
"It appearsss asss though you are the onesss at a disssadvantage," Nopperabou snickered. "Now, last chancssse. Give usss the girl."
P.S: Sufficient cliffhanger? Yes, no, maybe so? Leave me a review! Hope you all enjoyed, and I will really strive to write the next chapter sooner than this one, though I make no promises since the Game of Thrones season finale is tomorrow and I may just die from the anticipation. Still, tell me that you like it, tell me that you hate it, tell me random things not pertaining to the story at all, just leave a review of any kind! Bye for now.
P.S.S: Dilong- Earth Spirit that takes the form of a giant dragon as found on Google
Hikari- means 'light' in Japanese as found on Google translate
Guan Dao- I can't really explain it other than it looks sort of like a broadsword on a spear. Bing has good pictures of one if you want to see what it looks like.
Nopperabou- faceless spirit in Japanese folklore as found on Google.
If there are any mistakes, grammatic or cultural, I apologize and chalk it up to artistic license. :)