CHAPTER RATING: M (Language, Detailed Descriptions of Violence, Gore, and Death)
A/N:
Motherboard died. Technical difficulties are to blame for the delay.
Chapter 40, Part I: Avatar of Despair
The ashes were already clouding Aang's lungs. He held his glider with a strength strong enough to break it in half. This couldn't have happened. He leapt from the saddle of his most trusted, and longest lasting friend.
"Aang!" Katara cried and reached forward. Sokka pulled her back.
"Let him go, Katara. There's nothing we can do here."
To the sorrowful sound of Appa's cry, Aang opened his glider, and flew home.
The smoke became thicker as he came closer, melting with the clouds in the sky, covering everything in a black shadow behind a grey curtain.
The scars of fire became even more prominent. Amidst the weapons that were used: broken staves, shattered bows, and bloody swords, were bodies. Bodies that were incinerated, burned, and scarred. Bodies that wore the armor of the Fire Nation, and even worse: the robes of the Air Nomads.
He ran. The Inner Sanctuary was impregnable. No one could ever make it through without airbending. The disturbing odor of burned flesh, and seared bone rushed through his nostrils to his lungs as he took a breath with every step.
The door was open. Before him, covered in blood and dust, it seemed like every statue of every Avatar had been pulverized by the looters the Fire Nation had employed.
He fell to his knees. His senses went numb. His home was defiled, but the smells, sights, and horrors around him felt like it had faced. It felt like he was in a silent, quiet purgatory, all alone again.
Alone, as if he was still trapped in the iceberg.
In this torrent of emotion, his eyes began to glow.
...
Azula's zepplin shook the mountains with its landing. Sokka, Suki, Toph,and Katara jumped off Appa's saddle, covering their noses at the stench of death before them.
"I can't believe it." Katara gasped. "How could this happen?"
"Everyone!" Azula shouted to her soldiers. "Spread out! Look for any survivors..." She sighed. "Bring all the dead. They deserve a proper burial." Her loyal Company of warriors began searching the temple grounds, some ran towards the fields where the Sky Bison grazed, other crossed the massive bridge that connected the temple to the rice terraces across the white chasm below.
And everywhere, they were horrified. Most of them had seen battle, but none of them were alive one hundred years ago when a slaughter of this size first took place. Many shook their heads in disbelief and disappointment at the ruthlessness of the Firelord's orders. Among the dead, there were men, women, and even children.
From the spread of the corpses, many must have fought to their final breaths. Young children, no older than eleven-were seen laying by their parents, starting death in the face while defending their siblings. But others were slaughtered in hiding, crouched together in a tight corner, awaiting their inevitable fate in the rooms of the temple. Grandparents huddled with their grandchildren, their flesh singed from the bone. Black Ash mixed with dried blood was strewn across the white, marble walls. The smell of iron hung like a haze. Only replaced by the repulsive odor of rotting, burnt flesh.
"Bring wood from the zepplin! Build a pyre!" Azula shouted to her men, and then turned to Katara. "Go find the Avatar, make sure he's alright."
Katara nodded, and ran into the temple.
...
"Now, do you see?" Kiyoshi asked. "Look at what he has done." She shook Aang. "These are your people! This act of savagery is unforgivable!"
Aang looked up to see the rage in the Avatar's painted face. He looked up to his other lives, wanting to beg them for any sort of advice.
"Who would object to my suggestion?! If anyone disagrees, then speak!"
Ten thousand voices said in unison...
Nothing.
"Listen to us, Aang. Listen to our voices." Roku spoke. "You look to us for advice, and as we are different people, we have differing opinions. You look towards us, for answers, for options."
"But now, there is no other option." Avatar Yangchen spoke. "Long ago, you came to me, you refused to take the Firelord's life. And I told you that there was another way...But listen now." He took another breath. "You can hear them. The voices, cries, and sobs of our people. There is no other way now. The Firelord must pay."
"Aang..." Roku's voice came again. "Be stronger than I was. Do what I could not do."
His past lives faded, and behind him, he heard the sound of a wheezing horse, it's steps a gong against the temple floor. The reins and saddle jingled like a death toll. He stood, turned to face the man with bone-bleached skin.
Aang stared at him with determination, anger, and resolve.
"You've made up your mind." Death's strained voice came with a sickly smile.
"I have." Aang replied with a steel, unbroken voice.
"You don't fear me anymore."
"I don't."
Death's grin grew wide.
"...Good."
He felt Katara's arms wrap around him. She pulled back, tears streaming down her eyes, he nodded, tears falling down his.
...
They walked out into the stone courtyard, gathered were their friends, soldiers, and every airbender who has been murdered, laying prone on a wide, long structure of logs.
"I don't know how you wanted to proceed. This is how we do it back home." Azula placed a hand on his shoulder, and nodded. "We're here to follow your command."
"Thank you." Aang gave her a weak smile. "It means a lot." He walked over to one of Azula's soldiers, and took the torch from his hand. They bowed to one another, and Aang approached the middle of the pyre.
He turned, and bowed to the assembly before him.
"The thank you all for your help. Know that they appreciate it more than I do. Today, you've proven that in the right world, we can all exist next to each other. We can all live together. No matter what Nation, Kingdom, Tribe, or Empire we come from...We can all love one another if we're willing to understand, and care for the person standing right next to us." He looked into the crowd, saw that they bowed to each other, and nodded.
"These are my last words to all of you." He whispered as he turned around. "Know that I won't ever forget your sacrifice. Know that I will make this right. Know that you will be avenged." He placed the torch into the base of the platform, the dancing flames gleamed in his eyes. "Join your loved ones. Please...Be at peace."
The fire burned well into the night. Everyone stood as still as the ancient forests. When the flames died down and ash was all that remained, Aang turned to the gathered crowd, smiled, and looked towards Azula.
"This is how we do it here." He pulled his arms in towards his chest, let in a breath, and pushed forward a gentle breeze, letting the wind of the high mountains carry the ashes of his fallen people.
They flew into the clouds.
They merged with the sky.
They became the wind.
...
Amidst the dying embers of the massive funeral pyre, a glint of moonlight caught Aang's eye as he walked out into the courtyard. An arrowhead, engraved with the symbol for infinity.
"The night air is always so nice!" A hearty, joyful voice came from behind him.
"General Iroh," Aang bowed.
"Avatar Aang." Iroh returned. "I'd like to give you my sincerest apologies for the heinous crime committed here. And help in any way that I can..."
"You don't need to apologize. It's not like you ordered this to happen." Aang looked out towards the mountains. The clouds parted, and the full moon gazed down upon them. "Sokka would appreciate this view. I'm sure he misses Yue."
"Yes, she is indeed lovely." Iroh joined Aang. "I'm sure his parting words to her were as powerful as the words you have those who passed on tonight."
"I'm sure they were." Aang agreed, and opened his palm. "There is one thing I'd like to ask you about."
"It's my pleasure, how can I help?"
"What is this?" He revealed the steel arrowhead. Iroh's eyes widened, then closed as he nodded.
"Those are the arrowheads of the Fire Nation's most elite assassins: The Yuyan Archers. They're said to have such deadly accuracy that they could split a pin in half."
Aang's fist closed around the arrowheads. The blade cut into his skin. A sense of worry rose in Iroh.
"Where are they?" Aang asked in a low, gutteral tone. From his robe, he removed a map. In his hand, he produced a flame, and with the arrowhead soaked in his blood, he created a pen.
Iroh's hand shook as he took the makeshift pen, and circled a small island west of the Southern Air Temple.
"This is their main head quarters. And exactly the reason why they were able to get here so quickly." Iroh nodded.
"Thank you, Iroh." He saw that Aang's hand was covered in black iron, the wounds sealed away. "Please, don't tell anyone where I'm going. I won't be here in the morning. But I promise that I won't be gone too long." He walked towards Appa and Momo. The two immediately stood at attention as if they knew what was about to happen.
"Avatar...What are you going to do?" Iroh dreaded the answer that Aang gave.
"I'm going to kill every single one of them."
Iroh wanted to stop him. But then remembered what he said to the Avatar long ago in the catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se.
"The responsibility of the Avatar was bestowed upon you at a young age. . . A path that only you can walk. . . Your choices are for no one to judge."
And he would not judge the Avatar tonight.
He watched Aang board the Sky Bison. And as they became a smaller and smaller cloud on the horizon, he heard something he thought was only a legend from the peaceful Air Nomad peoples. A low, frightening sound that shook him to his very core. A rumbling of anger, and sorrow, of vengeance, and hatred.
The mythical sound of the Sky Bison's War Cry.
Chapter 40, Part II: Avatar of Destruction
Appa approached a small chain of islands. Flying through the entire night, time seemed to pass like nothing. Aang looked down, and saw a steel fortress sitting on a larger island.
The sun rose, like a blood horizon to him. The red sky was only a sign of things to come. A horizon that was red from the blood that he would spill.
"Down there, buddy." He pointed to the very eastern tip of the island. Appa flew down and landed behind a massive forest by the coast. "You two stay here." Aang ordered as he jumped down into the soft, white sand. "I'll be back soon." He nodded to them, and walked into the thick forest.
His heavy steps crushed the vegetation with every footfall. Soon, the forests began to clear, and another set of steps came into sync with his. Heavy, burdened hoofs, and the jingle of the death toll followed him.
"How many?" The air froze behind Aang with the spirit's words. "How many of these souls are you sending me today?"
Aang looked up to the monumental black iron wall before him.
"All of them."
Hundreds of strings snapped back. Hundreds of arrows took to the air, moving with pinpoint accuracy, all converging onto his position.
This is what Iroh meant. Aang smiled as the steel points ripped through the air, screeching as they flew closer.
He stepped forward, and and stomped into the ground. A massive pillar of earth rose, every arrow embedded itself into the thin stone. Aang brought his hand to the arrows, sliding it over the bladed points, feeling the impurities within the steel.
A grin on his lips, he pulled them apart, and held them in the air. With arms outstretched to his sides, hundreds of invisible archers stood with him, their bows ready to fire.
His hands came together with a mighty crash, the air broke with the collision, bending with the impact and distorting the vision of anyone who looked upon him. A sonic wave burst from his hands, and one-hundred archers let loose their arrows at his command.
Screams of pain and horror broke through the hundreds of yards that separated him from the grey walls of the fortress.
He could sense it.
The smell of iron from the crimson clouds of blood filled the air. The billions of particles filled his own veins, the metal ripping through armor and flesh shook him to his bones.
Wind at his back beckoned him on. The leaves rustled and flew by him with his every step. The sound of a deafening gong echoed from behind the great wall.
Chains descended, men repelled, and Fire Nation soldiers were upon him. Like a mob, they surrounded him. Another release of bows, and the Yuyan Archers' arrows flew again with pinpoint accuracy.
Aang leapt up, flipping behind them, then threw his hands apart, spreading the arrows until they pierced through the soldiers that had come to confront him.
Their bodies fell, and a puddle of blood formed.
He looked up, his eyes burning, not with the power of his past lives, not with the power of ten thousand Avatars, but with the hatred and despair of his own people. With the lost hope, and sadness that came from their deaths.
He stepped forward, throwing his arms towards the structure with a force to move the Earth. His grasp tightened on an invisible gate, his muscles twitched as he pulled back.
The massive doors opened as if a giant was tearing them open. Metal scraped against metal, bending unto itself, crumpling with each move.
He pushed one more massive push, forcing the metal gates to snap like twigs, and flew into another portion of the wall.
The archers fell with them, breaking bones, and meeting their deaths under the now crumbling ruins of their own fortress.
They ran, breaking away from the wall, and rushed to the main keep. While most ran, some poor souls were ordered to stay behind, to try and stop this embodiment of destruction.
This Avatar of destruction.
One soldier came at him with a sword, swung down and missed when Aang stepped aside. He took the man's hand by the wrist, and struck his elbow. A sickening crack came from the broken joint accompanied by a blood curling scream. Aang turned the sword onto the soldier, and let the blade sink into his chest.
The men following their comrade stopped for a moment with disgust, then charged, two this time.
Aang threw his arms forward, freezing them in their steps. He threw his hands up, sending into the air, and letting them fall, their necks breaking with the impact of the descent.
Another came at him with a long pike and leapt at him. Aang dodged, and took hold of the weapon. Air followed at his back, pushing him forward. His arm wrapped around the neck of the soldier. Aang raised his other arm, earth wrapped around the man's legs, holding him in place. Aang fell to his knees, and pulled down.
A loud pop sounded, and the man's head went limp.
The rest of them shuttered in fear, and scrambled back.
Aang took another footstep that shook the World, and followed the fleeing men, one earth-breaking step at a time.
...
He followed them up to the keep, a trail of death behind him, until he came to a large courtyard.
Aang looked up, another mass of archers pointed their arrows at him from above the walls.
A wave of his hand is all it took.
The Earth rumbled, knocking away any arrows the archers had readied. A massive fissure ripped through the ground, swallowing up the entire structure until all that was left was a patch of dirt, the Avatar, and a commander who had gone too far.
Aang threw his arms up, and from the rock that had swallowed this commander's men, raised four walls that were so high, they closed off the outside world, and served as an arena for what he was about to do.
"What's your name?" Aang asked.
"C...Commander Shao." The man replied.
"Well, it's your lucky day, Commander. If you survive this, the Firelord will reward you with all your wishes."
"Y-You think I'm a fool?!" He tries to bluff, but Aang can see the pulse in his veins. Aang can sense the terror in his heart. "I know who you are! And I know what kind of reward the Firelord will grant me if I bring him your head!" He took his stance.
"How honorable are you?" Aang growled under his breath. He raised one hand, and beckoned the man forward. "No bending."
Commander Shao charged with a weak battle cry that was the strongest he could muster. He fell upon Aang with a vengeance after seeing so many of his men swatted away like flies.
But Aang was always one step ahead, even without his airbending. Any punch thrown was deflected, any kick delivered was blocked, any lunge was dodged, until Aang found himself behind the commander.
And try as he might, the poor man could not turn himself to face the Avatar.
"Enough!" He shouted and turned with a flaming fist. But the Avatar was untouchable. He swept the man's leg, knocking him onto his back. Aang waved his hands again, and brought him to a sitting position, encased in rock.
Aang saw him look around, he saw the terror in the eyes of a man who saw Death itself. The fear. The helplessness. The desperation.
"You...You are as ruthless as the Firelord." Aang looked down at him. "Your ruthlessness, your indifference towards human life. How you can kill so many with such little remorse...You are just a child..."
Aang turned away, and clenched his fists. The commander of the Yuyan Archers let out a final gasp for air.
"Don't be such a hypocrite." Aang breathed out to himself before heading back east.
PUBLISHED ON: 10/22/2015
A/N:
*Sigh*...I really just wanna go write a smut scene now...
I'll see ya again in Veil of Flames.
Thanks for reading!