Broken Angel: Rising Demon

by I LIKE FEAR 1-2

The Age of Man, is over. The Age of Magic, is about to begin. A Demon stands upon the Earth. A beast, named goddess by right of passing. Darkness settles upon the Earth, will this goddess usher in a golden age for humanity? Or will she cast them aside to drown in their own sins? Behold the rise of the demon, and the Kingdom of Albion. (Sequel to Broken Angel)

24. 24: A Raging Inferno

Alright, heres the next chapter for you wonderful people. Hope everyone is having a good time and staying safe out there. Sorry this took so bleeding long, I hit a patch of writers block and just slogged through it, so I hope you all forgive the late work. I'll try to be better. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and more to come real soon.

Broken Angel: Rising Demon

Chapter 24: A Raging Inferno

-Earth Kingdom, Two weeks earlier-

Spirits were down, the loss of the Earth Kingdom and Avatar Aang's near death experience had left his friends and the Water Tribe forces, more than a little disheartened. Aang had yet to awaken, even after several days, and his friends remained restless as they waited for him to wake up.

In the intermittent time between capturing a Fire Nation warship and trying to slip away unseen, the Earth King had taken the opportunity to quietly slip away, so as not to draw too much attention to the Avatar or his companions. A few more old friends of the Avatar had been picked up, though otherwise the captured vessel stayed off anyone's radar and tried to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

Riley, Gaia, and Yugito spent the first night and day after capturing the ship, allowing Toph and her friends some time to recuperate after their defeat. Toph was mostly quiet during this time, her pride wounded, and more than a little upset with the condition her friend was in.

They were on the water, attempting to slip out of the lake and head west to try and make it to the open sea. From what Riley and her mates could pick up on, Toph's friends had a plan in mind in regards to the Fire Nation, though they were keeping it quiet at the moment. After nearly a day of quiet maneuvers, Toph took the time to approach Riley, Gaia, and Yugito and actually have a sit down talk with them.

"Hey..." Toph greeted the three as she approached them. All three had spent most of the last day simply staying out of the way and focusing more on acting as lookouts. They truly had little else that was better to do, so they just kept a low profile.

"Hello." Riley and Yugito greeted, while Gaia turned her attention to the young Earthbender.

"So… I don't remember if I thanked you for helping out Aang the other day, but thank you." Toph offered.

"It's no problem. You asked so I helped him." Riley responded, earning a curious look from Toph.

"Are you saying that if I didn't ask you wouldn't have helped him?" Toph asked in response.

"I'm not big on getting involved in other people's problems when I don't know them. I would have helped him because he was your friend, but I only usually get involved when I know that someone is just being a bully. Your mother and I aren't from around here, and outside of you, I have no real stake in this war against the Fire Nation, so the fate of the Avatar holds no meaning for me, beyond him being your friend. I would have helped him because he's your friend, but if he wasn't than I probably wouldn't have unless someone asked me to. This isn't my conflict, this isn't my war. Outside of you, I have no reason to get involved." Riley explained, her response earning a nod of agreement from Gaia, who saw it the same way, and while Yugito did agree, she found the explanation to perhaps be a bit too harsh.

Toph though seemed to understand and let out a sigh at that, leaning against a wall and turning her gaze out over the expanse of water.

"Yeah, I get that. I didn't want to get involved in this whole war too. I only agreed to it because I wanted to get away from the Beifongs and Aang needed an Earthbending teacher. I was fine just focusing on myself back then though I guess things change." Toph admitted as Riley stepped up next to her and leaned against the same wall.

"People change. Maybe I'll find a reason to care about who wins in this war, and maybe I wont. All I do know is the now, and how I feel in this moment. I'll help you fight the Fire Nation, but I'm doing it for you, I have no other reason. Your mother and I aren't from around here, this is a foreign war, and if you didn't have any ties to it, I'd have already suggested that we go find your half-sibling and leave this place." Riley expressed to her.

"Half-sibling. Seems crazy… I have two moms. I have a bunch of half-siblings… wow… Its kinda hard to rap my head around it all." Toph reflected, letting out a dry chuckle as she did.

"You also have a full sister, named Amaru." Riley offered, causing Toph to blink a few times.

"Really? What's she like?" Toph inquired.

"Strong willed, inquisitive. She's got aspirations of becoming a great doctor. She spends a lot of her time practicing and training, learning how to help people. She's got a good heart, she's kind, and generous, loving, and respectful. I think she'd love to meet you." Riley answered.

Toph responded by turning her gaze up towards the sky. It was so weird learning that she had siblings, even a full sister, now that was something unexpected.

"So, where are you actually from if you're not from around here?" Toph asked.

"Sometime in the future, in a place that can't be reached that easily. I'll show it to you one day, when you're ready." Riley offered in response.

"I think I'd like that, get away from all this weirdness." Toph admitted earning a chuckle from Riley.

There was silence for several long moments before Riley finally spoke again. "How's about we go below deck and I start teaching you how to mold and manipulate magic? I can show you how to activate your eyes on your own."

"Sure, let's do it!" Toph replied with a confidant smile, one that reminded Yugito and Gaia of Riley when she was excited.

The four of them soon vanished down into the confines of the ship, ending up in a quiet space in the hold where Aang's flying Bison was being kept. There, Riley began to explain the fundamentals of magic and how it could be used. Toph was different from her companions from the other benders, in that she wasn't an Elemental, she wasn't bound to whatever element she was born with, as her only access to magic, she had the full range of access as a half-demon, and just like anyone else, she could actually develop an affinity for the other base elements, if she practiced on it.

Toph was dumbfounded at hearing this, learning that if she wanted to, she could learn the other bending types, she could learn all sorts of different magical abilities, in fact there was almost no limit to what she could accomplish so long as she put her mind to it and worked her ass off.

The first thing Riley intended to teach her was how to harness and channel raw magic. Once Toph knew how to do that, she could learn how to activate her ocular abilities.

They spent the rest of the day working on it, lasting long into the night. Teaching Toph to distinguish between her bending and the power behind it was a trying task. Usually such lessons were learned the other way around, where someone learned how to manipulate energy first, and then honed it into usable magic.

Working backwards was a new area of study for all four of them.

It took some time, but Riley was eventually able to draw upon her own understanding of certain magical methods to find a place to start from. Going over her own history and training, Riley eventually came to a similar situation where she could work on Toph's issue on her own. This way was basically following the lines of how the Sharingan copied abilities. Basically if Riley copied a technique, she copied the way the technique was use and mimicked it. This was the reason why when a Sharingan user copied an ability it was only copied at the level of the caster. So what Riley often did was when she copied abilities, she would then break it down at a later date, while training, learn the fundamentals of the ability and then master it, taking the ability that she copied and raising it up to her level, that way her skill in a given ability wasn't tied to whomever she copied it from.

Knowing this, Riley chose to have Toph show her some minor Earthbending moves.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Toph inquired as she started to go through some of the motions to manipulate a small pile of coal used to fuel the ship's engines.

"My eyes can perceive the movement of magic, and memorize it. By copying what you're doing with my own magic I can mimic your abilities. Once I know what you're doing exactly and how your abilities work by using them myself, I can then find a way to strip away the reaction, so that we only have the act. Getting to the magic behind Bending, will be far easier than training you from scratch and forcing you to learn a way of manipulating magic that goes against what you've spent years focusing on." Riley observed her movements and how the magic oriented itself and drew upon the elements to move it.

"Huh… so if you can copy my bending, does that mean that you can use some kind of Earth magic?" Toph asked.

"I can use all kinds of magic. All people have magic, just usually not enough to actually use. All magic has a tie to one of the seven basic elements. Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning, Yin, and Yang. You can actually train up an affinity for one of the other bases through constant use of that element though it can often take years to accomplish. Most people just stick to the element that they are born with. Basically from the time I was born I had access to the Rinnegan, an ocular ability that grants me access to all elemental affinities. Because of that, I can actually learn to bend all of the elements, if I wanted to. I mean I know elemental magics for all of the elements already, and I can pretty much do what bending can do with wandless magic so I don't even really need the martial arts." Riley explained to her, earning amazement from the young girl.

"That's so cool. Does that mean I could learn the other bending types?" Toph questioned.

"You are a half-demon, which grants you heightened magical abilities, while you probably can't learn bending that's outside of your affinities at the moment, you aren't an Elemental like the rest of the people around here, you aren't bound to one element. You actually have two affinities that you were born with, gifts from Gaia, no doubt. Earth, and Wind are you base elements, so you could also learn Airbending with about the same ease as you learned Earthbending, though Firebending, and Waterbending, are outside of your ability to accomplish until you enhance your affinity for those two elements." Riley answered earning further amazement from the girl.

"This is unbelievable. Wait till I tell Twinkle Toes." Toph responded with a grin.

"Yeah, most of the 'benders' around here are a type of magical being called an Elemental. Meaning they can only use magic that is either tied to that element, or has no elemental tie at all. Meaning all benders could actually learn to use non-elemental magic, if they wanted to, though their elemental magic would be far easier to learn and it would be more powerful. You aren't an Elemental, and more closely related to a normal magical being. Normal magicals could learn bending if they wanted to, it would just be a bit harder because their elemental affinity isn't as fixed or as strong as an elemental's is. I have access to all elemental types. Gaia, has access to Earth, Wind, and Lightning, the former of which she gave to you when you were born, while Yugito has a strong Fire affinity. A person's affinity is strong tied to the affinities of their parents, but it can also be affected by their surroundings as they grow up, meaning that even if both of your parents had an earth affinity, you may be born with a wind affinity, or more likely you could be born with an earth affinity, plus another." Riley continued to explain how a person's elemental affinity worked and what it allowed a person to accomplish.

Toph listened with rapt attention, taking in what Riley had to teach. This sort of stuff was so cool to learn for the young Earthbender and she was eager to further her abilities and cement herself as the greatest Earthbender in the world. Learning that she wasn't even one of these 'Elementals' that were gifted in a specific element, and yet she was still better than any Earthbender she had ever come across, further cemented her belief that she was actually the very best.

"So what does it mean if I can bend metal?" Toph inquired.

Riley stared back for a moment, taking in her question.

"You can bend metal?" Riley asked in response.

"Yeah, I learned how to do it before you found me. I figured out how to bend the earth in metal, and I'm pretty sure I'm the first to do it. If anyone else has ever pulled it off, I haven't heard of them." Toph explained.

"Ah, well that makes sense. The reason for Riley's confusion stems from the combination element of Magnet release, which allows a person to manipulate metallic objects." Gaia explained, Riley nodding in agreement with her.

"Yeah, what you've described is still just Earthbending, since you're not actually bending the metal, but bending the impurities within it. Such a thing is possible due to the poor quality of the metal these people use. Most of this metal is iron, or at best, very poor quality steel. You'd have a much harder time bending more refined metals, such as high quality steal or even things like platinum. Magnet Release though, is a fusion element, a combination of Earth and Wind, both of which are elements that you possess. If you wish to learn how utilize Magnet Release, the first thing you need to do is get a grasp on Wind Release. Once you know how to manipulate and mold both Wind and Earth, then you can move onto the second step." Riley explained to her.

"And that second step would be?" Toph asked.

"Convincing Gaia to teach you how to use Magnet Release." Riley answered.

"Why wouldn't she?" Toph inquired curiously.

"Secret arts." Yugito muttered from her place leaning against a wall and staring at the ceiling lights.

"She's right. Remember how I said that such an art was often held by the leaders of my village. Well perhaps I wasn't clear enough, but I am one such leader. I am the fifth Kazekage, the fifth ruler of my village. Magnet Release, as it pertains to manipulating metallic particles, is a secret ninjutsu art that only the Kazekage may share. Not everyone has access to it, nor are they granted access, simply by having the prerequisite abilities. The world is a dangerous place and sharing secret techniques with those who can't be trusted will eventually lead those techniques to falling into the hands of your enemies, and eventually you'll see them used against you. With that being said though, once I know that you are capable of such an ability, and are responsible to keep it safe from those who wish to steal it, I would be willing to teach it to you. There are many dangers in the world, and there is always an uncertain future ahead of us. Just understand that the secrets of Magnet Release will be a burden, in and of itself, and by merely displaying your possession of it, you will be targeted by the greedy." Gaia explained to her.

"Wow… are people really like that where you're from?" Toph asked in response.

"Yes." All three of them answered in unison.

"My Great grandfather, Hashirama Senju was famous for his use of a combination element known as Wood Style. It's a fusion of Earth and Water. His mastery over this combination element was so vast that it allowed him to take out entire armies at once. His power earned him the title of God of the Shinobi." Riley offered as an explanation.

"He could take out entire armies!? That's insane!" Toph let out in surprise, trying to wrap her head around such power. The only thing that even came close to that kind of power in her mind was the Avatar State, that Aang could use and even then, the only time he had taken down a whole army was at the North Pole, but Toph hadn't seen that, only heard about it from her friends, and according to them, Aang had been helped by a powerful spirit while in the Avatar State.

"Yep, naturally since then, people have tried to replicate the art of Wood Style, but it was a gift that only Hashirama possessed, and he didn't intentionally pass it on to anyone. My grandfather, Madara was best friends with Hashirama and after a fight between the two, Hashirama used his own cells to heal Madara's injuries. As a side effect, years later, Madara manifested the ability to use Wood Style. No one, to my knowledge has replicated Hashirama's feat of developing Wood Style naturally. Everyone who has it now, has it because they are in some way connected to Hashirama. I can use it because he had it, and my grandfather had it, no one else has ever even come close to replicating that feat. The power of Wood Style is truly staggering. Enough so that it warrants the title of a god." Riley continued explaining.

"Wow. The guy sounds incredible." Toph noted.

"He is. I'd love to introduce you to him one day." Riley offered.

"He's still alive!?" Toph asked in disbelief.

"Yep. He's still kickin'." Riley responded with a chuckle.

"You can understand based on these examples though, why teaching combination elements isn't as simple as teaching more basic techniques. During times of war, such techniques are coveted. Having them makes you more powerful but it also puts you in danger. It's for that reason that I don't use Magnet Release in battle. It's a trump card, something to hold in reserve and use it only when I must. When you have a reputation for rare abilities, you become the target of those who desire such abilities. You are my child, so I will teach you how to use Magnet Release, when the time is right, when I know you can not only handle the power behind it, but the responsibility of carrying it." Gaia offered up, earning a slow nod of understanding from Toph.

"Don't take her tone as any sort of hesitance, I know Gaia's looking forward to developing an awesome new Magnet release bending style with you." Riley noted, earning a snort of amusement from Gaia, while Toph smiled cheerfully.

"Don't worry, I understand. I've always been about going my own way, and while I wouldn't mind lessons, in the end I'm pretty sure I'll just end up making up a style that fits me." Toph offered up.

"Good. I find that mindset to be the best way to learn. As Riley said though, if you ever want to get there you first need to work on controlling Wind or Air as you call it. That's something that'll take time, but with your mastery over Earth at such a young age, I can see you mastering control over wind in a short time if you share the same fervor for it that you do your Earthbending." Gaia offered.

"Well I look forward to it." Toph said to her, earning a nod from Gaia.

"Can you use Magnet Release?" Yugito inquired to Riley, earning the attention of Gaia and Toph.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." Riley responded.

"How?" Gaia questioned with confusion.

"Your dad..." Riley responded giving her a knowing look. Gaia stared back for a moment before realization struck her and she nodded.

"I can use it, I just don't because my having it would draw unwanted attention. That and as a secret ninjutsu of Suna, I wouldn't wanna piss anyone off." Riley offered.

"Huh… see I was curious about that, since you said that your eyes give you access to all Elemental affinities, so I was wondering what other affinities you could use." Yugito stated.

"Well you'd be correct in assuming that I can use all of the other combination techniques that aren't blood related. Due to the Rinnegan, I can use any type of elemental combination that is based from the seven base elements. The only thing stopping me from using them, is knowing how to mold my magic into that element. It's not a fifty-fifty split for combining elements to make a secondary elements. The ratios are often skewed in either direction and knowing that proper fusion is how you go about creating the secondary or tertiary element. So while I have the ability to use them all, I don't know how to use them all. For instance, I don't know how to use Scorch Release, the combo of Wind and Fire, I've never seen it done, or studied it, so I can't just use it." Riley explained to them all.

"I see. So what elements can you use?" Yugito asked, curiously.

"Ice Release, the combo of Wind and Water..." Riley began.

"Wait so manipulating Ice is a secondary element? Katara can manipulate ice." Toph stated, interrupting her.

"Can she create it?" Riley inquired.

"Uh… yeah. I've seen her turn water into ice before." Toph answered.

"Can all Water Benders?" Riley questioned.

"I'm not sure. I don't know all Water Benders, so I can't say for certain." Toph responded with a shrug.

"Well just manipulating ice that is already present, it just an extension of Water Release, Water magic, or Water bending, since it's simply water in a solid state. Creating Ice though is the result of adding a Wind nature to Water, causing it to freeze. I didn't bother checking out your friend's magical nature overly well, but she may also have a Wind nature, like you do, which is why she can create ice and bend it. Though it's also possible that Water benders in general from the poles, are all dual elementalists and can manipulate water in any state. Has she ever created steam before?" Riley asked as she finished her explanation.

"Not to my knowledge. Let me guess, Steam is also a combination element of Fire and Water?" Toph guessed, earning a smile from Riley.

"Catching on quickly. Most likely your friend has two base elements, of Wind and Water, which is why she can make Ice, but I'll have to look into it. Back to Yugito's question, I can use Ice Release, Magnet Release, Lava Release, Boil Release, Blaze Release, Wood Release, Dark Release, Yin-Yang Release, and Dust Release." Riley answered, listing the elemental types that she knew, earning awe from Toph, while Yugito and Gaia stared at her dumbfounded, neither knowing about all of those.

"Wow! Where did you learn all those combination styles, I though they were supposed to be crazy hard to learn?" Toph asked.

"Well I cheat. As I told you before, I'm not human. I can absorb the spirits of those I fight and kill. This ability allows me to take in their powers, adding them to my own. Ice Release I learned from your half-brother Haku, who was born with the ability. Blaze Release isn't a combination element, but more so a sub-category of element that I have access to thanks to my eyes. Magnet, Boil, and Lava Release I gained due to defeating practitioners of those three abilities. Dust Release I gained when I killed the Third Tsuchikage. Wood Release I was born with, and learned thanks to my Grandfathers teaching me how to use it, same with Yin-Yang Release. And finally Dark Release is also a sub-category of element, that I gained thanks to bonding with your half-brother." Riley explained to them all, earning collective nods of understanding from them.

"Wow..." Toph said quietly as she thought about that. It didn't surprise her that her mother was a killer, with the world at war, killers were all around. While Toph had, to her knowledge, never outright killed someone before, she wasn't certain that no one had ever died due to her actions. A pummeling from Earthbending often left a great deal of injuries and not everyone had a Katara to heal them. It wasn't something she liked to dwell on, ending life, as it was, but she knew it was a reality of the world she lived in.

"I didn't realize you knew so many Elemental manipulations." Gaia expressed, earning a shrug from Riley.

"No need to get super flashy and show off combo techniques, when I can just punch someone in the sternum and end the fight right then." Riley noted with a shrug.

"True… best not to showoff, even when you're as strong as you are." Yugito agreed with her logic.

"Huh… You've given me a lot of stuff to think about. We should try again tomorrow, once I've got my head cleared." Toph suggested.

"Sounds good to me. I look forward to it." Riley replied.

"Thanks. Say, would you mind giving my friends a few pointers? I'm sure Katara would appreciate it, so would Aang, whenever he wakes up. Sokka isn't a bender but from what you've said, plus that sword on your hip, I can guess that you don't rely on special powers all the time." Toph inquired.

"Since you're asking, sure." Riley responded with a nod. "I'm taught others how to fight before, many of my close friends learned how to fight from me. If you want to include them, and have me offer them some pointers and maybe a bit of insight into deeper magical secrets, I'd be more than happy to."

Toph smiled at that and offered them a wave as she departed, heading off to bed to think on the information she'd gained that day.

Riley, Yugito, and Gaia were quick to do the same, venturing to their cabin to rest and where Yugito and Gaia could question Riley on a bit of information that neither of them had been privy to.

The three ended up sitting on their bed, where Riley encouraged them to ask whatever they wanted.

"You've acquired quite the assortment of special abilities over the years. I was unaware of just how many nature affinities you had access to." Gaia noted.

"I've done a lot of fighting, what's there to say." Riley said in response, adding a shrug.

"I noticed a convenient lack of Kumo bloodlines. Was that the truth, or were you just trying to spare me a reaction?" Yugito questioned pinning Riley with a look.

"Nothing so devious my love, I simply haven't fought many Kumo ninja. The only ones I've ever killed were the ones sent after Amaru. I wasn't trying to hide anything, though if I'm being honest, I may have accidentally figured out how to mimic the Black Lightning, though only through one jutsu. A combo technique I developed that combined a Wind Release: Rasengan, with the Chidori. I know the black lightning isn't a combo technique, but for some reason, combining the unique nature of both techniques together, turns the lightning black." Riley offered earning a nod from Yugito at first, but she quickly adopted a look of surprise at hearing that Riley had accidentally mimicked the awe inspiring aspect of the Black Lightning, a technique that only two people were known to possess. One being the Third Raikage, and the other being Darui, the right hand man of the Fourth Raikage.

"Hmm… I see. Those kumo ninja that you killed, do you still have their souls? I mean as a demon, when you take a soul, what happens to it?" Yugito asked after a moment, Gaia offered Riley a curious look of her own at that question, eager to hear the answer herself.

"Normally, when a demon devours a soul that soul is placed within the demon's Soul Well, which is basically a container for souls that's tied to the demon's soul. My situation is a bit different do to a deal I made with the Shinigami. I actually have two Soul Wells, one for storage and the other that acts more as a filter. I helped to make the second one with the Shinigami's tutelage, but anyway, the point of it all is that I have one Soul Well that will hold souls in it, and allow me to do whatever I want with them, while the other Soul Well will filter out a target's memories and magic, and allow their spirit to pass on into death through a backdoor that the Shinigami has access to. So in essence, those people I killed, and in fact most people I kill, end up passing on to death after I steal their powers and memories, though I do have the option of placing the souls of particular people into the other Soul Well, if I want to keep them." Riley laid out the answer, receiving the unbroken attention of her mates as she responded.

"You've worked with the Shinigami?" Yugito asked with a bit of hesitance, fear touching at her gaze.

"A few times. He's a total cunt, by the way. I did get a cool weapon and a hot girlfriend out of both deals I made with him though." Riley gestured to the sword she had set by the bedside, and offered the two a smirk when they seemed confused at the 'girlfriend' bit. "Artoria."

"Artoria? I guess that would explain how she traveled so far into the future. Her legend dates back nearly fifteen hundred years." Gaia noted, earning a soft nod of agreement from Yugito.

"Yep. Despite being a complete ass, and having an honorary and eternal seat in the top five of my shit list, he has offered me some interesting deals." Riley stated with a dark chuckle, as she picture what she would do the specter the next time she saw it. Most likely nothing overly severe, though it would be getting a swift and firm kick in the ass for what it did to Artoria.

"Huh… Wow. So you also had to fight and kill a Suna ninja to gain Magnet Release. I hadn't heard of any major tension between you and Sunagakure. I'm assuming that took place before you became Kazekage?" Yugito asked after a few moments of silence, her question earned a nod from Gaia, and a dark chuckle from Riley.

"Who was it? If you don't mind me asking." Yugito questioned.

"My father." Gaia acknowledged quietly.

"Your father? The fourth Kazekage? But I though he was killed by the Angel of Carnage?" Yugito responded with a confusion.

"He was." Gaia stated.

"How is that possible then? Is that some sort of side effect of sealing the Angel into you?" Yugito turned the question towards Riley who was smirking in amusement.

"Nope. The complexity of the situation lies in the act, my love. I did kill him. He threatened Gaia, he threatened my mates, so I killed him and took his soul." Riley clarified.

Yugito was confused for several long moments as she thought on it. The only reasonable explanation was either Riley pretended to be the Angel of Carnage to pull off the murder, or…

"You're the Angel of Carnage?" Yugito asked, realizing that was the most likely explanation behind it.

"Yep. Took on the name of the Angel to murder a few punks who broke Luna's arm in school. Then I used it to threaten the Leaf who'd been annoying me at the time. Being a demon I had a taste for violence, and I'd been going out almost nightly to satiate my bloodlust by hunting down and killing criminals and scumbags. Eventually I decided that I could make a much greater impact if the world thought it was an angel doing the killings. I figured it was a good distraction, and since it was an angel and not a demon, people would be more inclined to change their ways rather than fight it. In the end it served it's purpose and I got rid of it, and then during the war, I found a good opening that would allow me to 'come out of hiding' as it were, so I had the angel break free and then I 'sealed it' into me. Which allowed me to use my wings and my tails without alerting anyone to the truth. After all, as the saying goes, 'a comfortable lie, is easier than a harsh truth'." Riley threw light on the situation, her words drawing a slow nod from Yugito as she took it all in.

"So then it was you that destroyed the Hidden Leaf." Yugito noted, it wasn't a question.

"They were threatening my friends and my mates. That's what pushed me over the edge. I wasn't going to wait around for them to get one of my friends killed, so I struck first. I didn't want to play the game of escalation, I knew where it would end up. The Leaf, as well as my parents were corrupt, and they deserved what they got. Your village did the smart thing when they chose not to fight me, and they made an even smarter choice, bringing us together. I know this is a lot to take in Yugito, but I am happy we're together, and I hope you realize that I have no ill will towards your village, yours or Gaia's. They've never done anything to me that they haven't already answered for, so everything's cool between us." Riley cleared up the situation, causing Yugito's gaze to turn thoughtful as she took in Riley's words. She did offer a light smile at Riley's proclamation towards the end.

"Your host is a real charmer. Knows exactly what to say to make my poor little Yugito blush." Matatabi noted, earning a snort of amusement from Kurama.

"Riley can be a charmer, especially around her mates. She's either overly harsh, or she'll try to lighten it by sprinkling her feelings in there. Its one of the ways that she shows that she cares. If she actually wants someone to like her, she'll usually try to lighten the blow of a harsh truth, rather than just smack someone in the teeth with it." Kurama responded, earning a noise of curiosity from the Hellcat as it focused back in on the conversation.

"Alright well, I wasn't expecting this." Yugito muttered as she wrapped her mind around the information

"You alright?" Riley inquired, a bit sheepishly.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean it is a bit of weight off my mind that I don't have to worry about the angel anymore. Though it is a part of you I haven't had to deal with before." Yugito admitted leaning back and letting out a sigh as she did.

"It's not a pretty part of myself. It's the killer part. You know it well, both of you do. It's the part of me that embraces the demonic, bloodthirsty side of my personality that longs for conflict and the deaths of others. I'm a demon, I can't escape my desire to cause death and destruction. I can fight it, I can balm it, or I can direct it. Directing it has always seemed the healthiest output for my demonic nature." Riley offered to the two of them.

"It must be hard, going about ordinary life, while on the inside your instincts are telling you to kill everyone around you. When I was younger, I dealt with the very same issues. Though I didn't find as healthy of an outlet as you did. I killed whoever annoyed me, whoever threatened me. It wasn't until I met you, someone I couldn't kill, someone who cared about me for more than my powers, that I finally opened my eyes. You and I are both monsters Riley, in our ways. You helped me grow beyond what my father and people had made me, that's something I don't believe I thank you enough for." Gaia confessed, earning a tender smile from Riley and a soft look from Yugito.

"I never thought you were a monster Gaia, I always saw you as someone who had it rough, just like I did. Having friends helped me, and I thought it would help you too. It didn't hurt that I thought you were kinda cute." Riley responded, her words earning a snort of amusement from Gaia as she turned her gaze away to hide her shyness.

Yugito noticed the reaction, and offered a playful smirk at the sight of it. It was obvious, even to the socially stunted Two-Tails Jinchuriki, that the Kazekage wasn't often complimented on her looks.

Seeing her hide her embarrassment from the compliment, really helped to lighten the mood and rationalize the situation in Yugito's mind. This dark secret of Riley's, was in truth, no greater than learning someone used to be an ANBU, or worked as a tracker ninja, or worked in a torture and interrogation unit. In the Shinobi world, everyone had their dirty laundry, and it was often some of the most unbelievable and gruesome stuff, a person could imagine. Yes, what Riley had done was on another level, in the end though, it was no different than some unknown Shinobi with special powers. It was a plot, and the world had fallen for it, while it stung to be on the other end of the plot, Yugito had to admit, she hadn't expected it. Riley had covered her tracks well.

This was merely one of those things she'd have to file away as a personal secret, and carry it with her for the rest of her days. She definitely wasn't going to open her mouth about this to anyone else, knowing what Riley was capable of, that could bring about all sorts of chaos.

Best to simply accept it as a part of her, and take some joy in finally knowing the truth.

"Why don't we get some sleep. I've kinda had my fill of secrets for the day." Yugito offered, earning a nod of agreement from Gaia, while Riley merely shrugged but offered no complaint.

Sleep quickly came to the three of them as they settled into bed. It was a sleep that came much easier to Yugito this night, than it had the last few nights. She had never shared a bed with anyone before, the closest she'd come was maybe a campsite or a room on a mission.

At first Yugito simply laid away all night, as Riley or perhaps it was a clone of Riley, cuddled with her. Their sleeping arrangement had become Yugito and Gaia sleeping however was most comfortable, and Riley or a clone of her, would cuddle with them. The feeling of being in Riley's arms while she slept was a foreign thing for the kunoichi, to the point where she hadn't been able to sleep at first. Tonight though, she was far more comfortable, and she knew what to expect, and found herself drifting off to into quiet dreams before long.

In the morning, Yugito had to quietly take a few moments to herself so she could discuss with the Two-Tails how nice it felt to sleep in someone's arms. She didn't care if it was the real Riley or a clone at that point, she just enjoyed it, and honestly looked forward to the following a night when she'd get to enjoy it again.

It was still early in the morning, but the three found themselves up on deck where Riley, Yugito, and Gaia spent some time practicing their respective Taijutsu forms. It was only a bit of light training, nothing spectacular, but it still drew a crowd of onlookers as the three went about their practice, Yugito and Gaia, both training against Riley.

It was obvious from just watching that of the three, Gaia had the weakest Taijutsu skill, with Yugito in the middle, and Riley showing the most finesse. Gaia was more of a ranged fighter, and also excelled at Ninjutsu, which coincidentally was also how Yugito fought a lot of the time. When Yugito did fight at close range though, she usually elongated her nails and hardened them with chakra, turning them into long, sharp blades that could be used to slice and pierce her opponents. With her nails, her basic Taijutsu was just average.

With that being said though, the three of them still moved at great speed, faster than many of their onlookers could easily follow.

If a shinobi had been observing, this fight would appear around Chuunin level in intensity and skill. Though to someone who couldn't use magic to attune their senses, or hadn't trained their eyes to observe such quick movements, it would appear as something far more intense.

Benders, where they had incredible power in their given element, they lacked in almost every other area of magic. Even though their ability to use magic was designed around full body movement, which kept them athletic, they didn't use their bending styles and martial arts for physical combat, and without the ability to actually bend their elements of choice, their fighting ability was simply above the level of a regular human, but not much more than that. They were a bit more durable, a sign that they could use magic to reinforce their bodies, but that was more so a natural occurrence, something ingrained in their teachings, it had become so common place that most of them didn't even know they were enhancing their own vitality and durability.

The oohs and awes of the crowd soon became to much for Riley and her mates to ignore as they continued to train.

"Seems we've attracted a crowd." Riley noted with a chuckle as she blocked a kick from Yugito.

"It would seem so." Yugito agreed as she kept on the offensive, delivering a flurry of punches and kicks, keeping Riley on the defensive.

Riley slowly backpedaled, blocking each strike from her mate, before finally counter-attacking, catching a punch with one arm, and delivering a sharp elbow strike to the ribs which sent Yugito stumbling back, clutching at her side. She let out a gasp as the wind was knocked out of her.

"Fuck." Yugito muttered as she regained her bearings and glared at Riley whom stared back with a smirk.

"All hail the unbeatable Riley." Gaia noted, earning a snort of amusement from Riley, which then turned into a chuckle as she shook her head.

"Remember this Riley, that pride is gonna get you in trouble one day." Yugito stated, her tone challenging, and filled with anticipation for an escalation in their training.

"You're probably right. Still though, you're gonna have to try harder if you wanna so much as put a scratch on me." Riley rebutted, accepting Yugito's challenge.

Yugito smirked at her as she fell into a battle stance, her nails elongating and hardening, causing mutters of amazement to spread through the crowd of onlookers.

"You two best not get too excited, we're supposed to be acting inconspicuous while we're still in enemy territory." Gaia warned.

"Don't worry Gaia, if Yugito starts to get rowdy, I'll put her in timeout." Riley responded, grinning as Yugito led out a snort.

"So smug… oh how I'm gonna remember the day I wipe that condescending smirk off you face. I tell you, I think I'll be able to die happy, knowing that I got one past you." Yugito challenged in response to Riley's boast.

"Alright, one scratch, no leaving the boat, nothing flashy. Let's see if you can put one scratch on me." Riley countered, cracking her neck.

"Good money on the Kitty cat getting the shit kicked out of her." Shukaku stated, giggling to himself as the Two-Tails hissed out a curse in response.

"Riley's being playful today… Wonder whats gotten into her…" Kurama hummed, half paying attention to the duel about to take place.

"Alright, if the two of you wish to exhaust yourselves, go right on ahead, I don't care to spend my day mending bruises." Gaia muttered, stepping back and shaking her head.

"Okay, one on one it is. Come on Yugito, let's see what you've got." Riley offered.

"Alright, but just remember, you asked for it." Yugito responded as she vanished in a burst of speed that drew amazed gasps from the crowd of onlookers.

Riley sidestepped a slash from Yugito as she appeared behind Riley. Like an elegant dance, Riley glided away from her strikes, a prideful smirk adorning her face as she retreated from Yugito's assault.

"Wow, they're both so fast..." Gaia heard the familiar voice of her daughter state.

"Neither one is really trying. This is nothing more than them stretching their legs." Gaia admitted as she turned her gaze to Toph, and her friends Katara and Sokka. All three were watching the fight with awe, or in Toph's case, feeling it out.

"How are they doing that?" Katara asked aloud, her eyes barely catching the flickers of movement as Yugito dashed about, swiping and stabbing at Riley with her extended, razor sharp nails. Riley continued to dodge, moving with sublime grace to the eyes of those watching.

To all of the onlookers, save for Gaia, it looked like Riley was quite literally dancing. Each move from Yugito was anticipated, and reacted to with extreme precision, almost as if the entire fight had been choreographed, down to the smallest movement. It had to have been rehearsed because there was no way in the minds of those who observed the fight, that Riley could be moving this gracefully, in response to Yugito's seemingly wild, and vicious assault.

The way the Kumo Jonin's sharpened nails sliced through the air and stabbed at Riley, screamed of danger, and bloody violence. Her nails didn't even seem like nails anymore, but instead like ten long thin blades, extending from her fingers.

Yugito moved with speed, precision, and a sort of wild ferocity that the onlookers had difficulties understanding. It wasn't any type of martial arts, or style of movement that any of them recognized. To them it seemed wild, and chaotic, which was in stark contrast to the fluid gliding of Riley as she shifted out of the way of each strike, sometimes allowing the deadly blades to pass mere inches from her body.

"They're so fast!" Katara let out a gasp as her eyes trailed the two warriors, trying desperately to make heads or tails of their movements, which were quickly becoming a blur to the naked eye.

"Katara's right, how are they doing that?" Sokka asked, shaking his head as he tried in vain to keep up with their movements.

"They're using magic to amplify their speed. Or at least Yugito is, Riley may just be that fast, but she isn't human so she doesn't have the same physical limits that we do." Gaia offered.

"What? Magic isn't real." Sokka replied, glancing over her.

"Really? Than what is bending?" Gaia inquired, glancing back.

"Well… Um..." Sokka began to reply, though he made a face and found himself confused.

"Bending is bending. I'm not sure I understand the question." Katara chose to answer.

"Your bending is a type of magic. It's the energy behind your actions. Chi, I believe you call it. My people call it Chakra, Riley's people call it magic. They can use this power to enhance their physical abilities beyond normal levels, as well as modifying their physical characteristics, like Yugito extending her nails." Gaia gave as an explanation, earning a dumbfounded look from brother and sister, while Toph simply smiled.

"What did you mean she isn't human?" Sokka and Katara's father, Hakoda asked, from nearby.

"Riley isn't human. A powerful entity, a spirit, was sealed into her body, empowering her, and elevating her above a human being. She's, in many ways, a spirit herself." Gaia offered them a vague extension of the truth.

"Where did you find these people, Toph?" Katara inquired to her friend.

"They found me." Toph replied with a smirk, continuing to take in the duel.

Riley's smirk never left her face as she danced around Yugito, avoiding each strike. She didn't retaliate, nor did she lay a hand on Yugito to deflect any of the incoming strikes. Instead she merely avoided them, keeping on her toes and maneuvering around or away from each incoming attack.

Riley waited for her moment to strike, dodging until she saw an opening. In a sudden movement, that caught all of the observers by surprise, Riley swiftly caught both of Yugito's wrists in either of her hands.

Yugito blinked several times, momentarily stunned by the swiftness of the action. Riley offered her a chuckle, which earned a sigh of frustration from Yugito.

"You're getting faster." Riley noted.

"You weren't even trying." Yugito countered with a glare.

"You're good, Yugito. Don't mistake my nonchalance as an indication towards a lack of skill. You're good. But I've been trained by Kage-level shinobi since I was a child. Madara, Hashirama, now Tobirama. I've sparred often with S and A ranked shinobi all my life. You would be the first to admit that you're nowhere near as powerful as the Fourth Raikage, and I'm sure he'd be one of the first to admit that he wasn't as powerful as my grandfather or great-grandfather. You're not weak, just like they are not weak. Remember, I'm not just a demon, I'm a demon that's over twice as strong as the Nine-Tails." Riley said to her in a quite tone as she slid her hands from Yugito's wrists, and intertwined her fingers with hers.

"Wow. Truly, that's how powerful she is?" Matatabi inquired to Kurama.

"Yup. Because she adapted to my soul, she became a Tailed Beast. She reached the Ninth tail, during he battle against the Ten-Tails. She then sealed away the Ten-Tails into her body, and has spent the time since then, absorbing it. The Ten-Tails has been destroyed, leaving Riley with as much raw power as more than two of me. Than she also has me to aid her, and we have another to help us out, one of Riley's demonic children lives within her, and he is an ancient Archdevil, that ended up at a time before the Earth existed, and evolved into an aspect of Darkness. His power is vast, but highly diluted across the entire solar system. If all of it was brought together, he'd have about as much raw power as I do. He's bound his magic to hers. I've bound my magic to hers. She has twice the power that I do, thanks to her growth, and the Ten-Tails. Basically, at her full power, with everything working as it should, Riley can output four times the power that I can." Kurama explained to his sibling, causing the cat to let out a sigh and a groan of displeasure.

"What were you thinking, Kurama? That much power in one being. She could easily destroy this planet if she wanted to."Matatabi muttered.

"So could I. Remember something Cat, this world we inhabit is a fragile little ball. It wouldn't take much to wipe out all life here, and it wouldn't take much more than that to simply destroy the planet itself. Even that crazy Tanuki, has the power to ravage all life on this planet. He may be the weakest of us, but he's still capable of that. Hell, by the time you get to Son Goku, you have enough raw power to blast a hole straight through this planet's crust and into it's molten center." Kurama challenged in response.

"I'm aware of that, Kurama. Still though, with that much power, she could accidentally slaughter everything living and render the planet uninhabitable." The Cat countered.

"True, that's why she spends years and years and years, training in her own pocket dimension, so that she doesn't just annihilate the planet by accident. That's also where shinobi training helps her to manage her abilities, and where the techniques we developed, help to ensure that the planet isn't destroyed. I taught her how to use our powers, like the Bijuu Dama. Powers and attacks that concentrate her power into a small area, rather than unleash it across vast expanses. I'm not a fool Matatabi, and once you learn about some of the crazy shit we've seen and what may be coming after this little blue and green ball we call a world, you'll be happy that I did this." Kurama explained to her.

The cat was silent after that, reflecting on Kurama's words. Riley and Yugito both stared at one another as they eavesdropped on the conversation that was happening within them.

"Is that true, do you really have that much power?" Yugito asked, once it seemed like the demons were done talking.

"Yeah, about that much. Since the war, basically all I've been doing is learning to control the added power I gained from the Ten-Tails. I've got it mostly under control now, at least to the point where I'm happy to start diverting my attention to other forms of training. But Kurama is right, most of my abilities are primarily focused on precision, rather than area of effect." Riley responded, earning a slow nod from Yugito as she took in her explanation.

It seemed the duel was over, and people slowly began dispersing, while Yugito and Riley began to relax, Yugito's nails returning to normal.

"Are you two finished?" Gaia inquired.

"For now." Riley replied, offering a smile to Yugito which she returned after a moment of thought.

"Morning Toph." Riley greeted her daughter, as she made her way over to them, followed closely by Yugito.

"Morning. You've got to show me how to move like that." Toph replied, an excited smirk spread across her face.

"Sure. First you need to learn to tap into the raw magic within your blood, but once you can manipulate that power at it's most basic form, than you can begin using it to enhance your physical aptitude." Riley responded.

"Cool. Hey Katara, Sokka, you two wanna join us. They know some really interesting stuff, things that could help us, and help Aang when he wakes up." Toph offered to her friends. The two shared a glance with one another but nodded.

Soon the six of them were down in the cargo hold once more, with Toph going back to work trying to tap into her magic, while Riley explained to the brother and sister, that she, Gaia, and Yugito weren't from the Bending Nations, and actually came from somewhere far away. She explained how magic worked and how Benders were actually Elementals, and what that meant.

She explained how her eyes could see magic, and how due to that, she could see that Katara possessed the Elemental Affinity of Wind, and Water, with a minor affinity for Fire as well, similar to how Toph possessed Earth and Wind, and that was the reason why she could so easily create ice, but it was also why she could make steam if she focused hard enough.

When asked how it was possible that she had three Elemental bases, Riley noted that every person had an elemental affinity, even if they couldn't use magic. Her father, Hakoda, had a Fire affinity, even though he couldn't use magic, and her brother also possessed a fire affinity as well, though due to having a magical mother, Sokka was actually a squib.

The term drew uproarious laughter from Toph, who simply found it funny, despite not knowing what it meant.

"Wait what's the difference? My dad's not a bender, despite having a fire affinity, same as me, but I'm a squib, and he's just… what? Not?" Sokka asked, confused.

"Like I said, everyone has an affinity. Magic exists in everything, in some for or another. Most people, can't use magic, and the magic within them, is relatively weak. Your father has a fire affinity, but he's not a magical being like you, your mother, or your sister. You have a magical parent, magic is stronger in your blood and the ability to use it, passed down to you through your mother. The reason why you're known as a squib, is because you cannot shape or form magic, outside of your body. Meaning you cant bend, you cant cast spells, or perform Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. You aren't able to control your magic, outside of your body, due to a genetic condition that sometimes affects the children of magicals. The power is there, you just lack the physical components, to control it externally." Riley explained in detail.

"So what does that mean? He has the energy in his body, and you said he cant control it externally, does that mean he can control it internally?" Katara asked, sharing a glance with her brother, who shrugged with uncertainty.

"He can, with hard work. There aren't many teachers out there who practice ways of manipulating magic without expressing it. Most of the time, a squib is simply cast off as a failure, but I've met a few in my life that have shown incredible power and skill." Riley answered, sharing a glance with Gaia who nodded in remembrance of a particular squib she had faced once.

"A number of years ago, I fought a boy, he was a bit younger than you, Sokka. He was a squib, unable to perform Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He couldn't control chakra outside of his body, but he could manipulate it while it was contained within him. He was a hard working young man, pushed himself to his limits and focused on a particular art of fighting, one that focused almost exclusively on manipulating chakra on the inside of your body. This art is that of Taijutsu." Gaia offered as an explanation.

"Taijutsu, the physical arts, Body Techniques. These techniques often rely on stamina and strength gathered through years of training, but these abilities can be honed and amplified through the use of internal energies. There is also the natural enhancement of the body that comes through unlocking and honing ones internal magic, chakra, or chi, that increases a person's physical abilities. Take Yugito for example, she's in the prime of her life, and is physically fit. Without magic amplifying her abilities, she'd noteworthy levels of speed, strength, and skill, but nothing that would appear unusual for a physically fit woman. Add in magic amplifying her physical abilities, and you now have someone who can run faster than the wind, punch through stone, hear the smallest sounds from hundreds of feat away, sea with almost perfect clarity in the pitch dark. These enhancement come naturally to her, due to her unlocking and manipulating magic within her body. With hard work and training, these amplifications become automatic, you do them without thinking, every strike hits with the force of a bolder slamming into you, each jump sends you rocketing into the air. Shinobi like Gaia and Yugito have practiced and honed these arts for thousands of years, and you saw the truth in my words from out practicing earlier. These are abilities that you can learn Sokka, if you want." Riley continued on from where Gaia left off.

As she explained it, the boy's face lit up in excitement. The idea of learning to move like he saw Yugito and Riley moving earlier, that was absolutely incredible.

Despite not fully understanding who Riley, Gaia, and Yugito were, or where they came from, the brother and sister found themselves excited to learn this interesting new form of abilities, things that could help them in their war against the Fire Nation.

What started out as a few lessons quickly began to evolve into full on training of three as they waited for the Avatar to awaken from his coma. Every night Riley, Yugito, and Gaia would sit awake for a while and discuss new information they had learned about their party, the world, and the situation they had found themselves in. For the moment, the three were committed to assisting Toph and keeping her party safe, since they were obviously in the most danger, and conveniently, their plans would take the trio to the heart of the Fire Nation, where the suspected second child was waiting.

More than that though, it was the knowledge that the Firebenders would lose their powers during the oncoming solar eclipse where a ragtag invasion was planned of the Fire Nation capital. The idea that a person could lose their abilities based on a natural event was something that confused Riley and her mates, though they did learn that the same thing happened to the Waterbenders when the Moon Spirit had been temporarily killed a few months earlier.

Riley's only guess as for the reasons behind the effect was that the benders abilities were heavily amplified by these natural forces, and having them taken away, caused a sudden, and almost overwhelming weariness to overtake them. Preventing them from using their abilities.

It was definitely something she intended to investigate though, when the solar eclipse occurred, but that was besides the point.

Riley and her mates, now had a plan in place. They would stick with Toph and her group until the invasion, and aid her and her friends in assault the Fire Nation capitol. While there, they'd track down the Fire Nation princess, Azula, and verify that she was the missing child.

Until then, they were happy to tag along and teach Toph and her friends. This offered the trio their own chance to bond and have a good time, without more pressing matters to attend to.

As time went by, Riley and her mates began learning more about their new companions, about Toph, and her friends, about the Water Tribe warriors, and the resistance fighters that were quietly joining up with their rag-tag little team.

Despite the crushing loss of the Earth Kingdom, Toph and her friends were still confidant that an invasion of the Fire Nation during a solar eclipse could allow for the capture of the Fire Lord without need for a massive army. If they could capture the Fire Lord they were certain that the war would come to an end.

Riley, Gaia, and Yugito offered acceptance of the plan in public, but in private they heavily criticized it. The whole operation hinged on the idea that the people of the Fire Nation either didn't know what happened during a Solar eclipse, or didn't know one was coming.

The trio wasn't convinced that the most powerful nation on this planet hadn't figured out how to map the trajectory of the moon. Ancient tribes on Earth had managed that thousands of years ago. Far more primitive people than the Fire Nation understood lunar phenomenon so it was highly unlikely that the Fire Nation didn't know about this weakness.

While the three did concede that perhaps the Firebenders were unaware of the invasion, the possibility of them still putting countermeasures in place when they were at their literal weakest wasn't just possible, it was highly likely.

Still though, this wasn't their fight, and it wasn't their place to criticize what these people viewed as their last ditch attempt to free themselves from tyranny. Regardless of what they ultimately thought of of the invasion plan, the three did agree that the Fire Nation itself represented and imperialistic society and would stop at nothing until they achieved world domination, and their methods were atrocious, going so far as to genocide and entire ethnic group.

While discussing and acknowledging the faults with the invasion, the trio did accept that their assistance may be what ultimately achieves victory for the freedom fighters. All three of them were Jinchuriki, and could ultimately lay waste to entire armies that were thrown against them so even if they were entirely accurate and the Fire Nation was prepared for the day they would be at their weakest, they certainly wouldn't be ready to face the might of a Bijuu.

Discussions were also had about what they would do if Azula the Fire Nation Princess was indeed Yugito's child and how they would convince her to join with them or ultimately accept a relationship. Unfortunately, without knowing Azula's personality beyond what Toph and her friends had to say about her, which painted her as cruel, conniving, powerful, intelligent, arrogant, and menacing. All traits that did little to give them an inner look into her actual personality, as all of those traits could and often were, used to form a mask or shield to hide ones truer self from their opponents.

Until they learned more about this Azula, they were left with merely waiting. It was decided though that they wouldn't put more effort into aiding the invasion than needed. If they had family on either side of the conflict than it wouldn't do to dramatically shift the odds in favor of one side or the other.

Teaching the children was alright, because at the end of the day, it was what they did with that training that would ultimately decide how it benefited them, and in the end, a few weeks of added training wasn't going to really do much when it came right down to it, not when facing the armies of an entire nation.

During their time on the ship, Toph merely referred to the trio as 'new friends' and never went into her deeper connection with Riley and Gaia. Despite her boisterous nature, Toph was the type of person who often hid her true feelings behind a mask. She wasn't one to go revealing things that were overly personal unless she deeply trusted someone.

So the news of their true connection was kept quiet, and their relationship was treated as more of a friendship for now.

Aside from the daily training exercises, things on the ship were mostly silent, with Riley spending her free time learning bits and pieces about the various members of the party. It didn't take long see that Katara was at odds with her father, and the reason for that was quite obvious once Riley had learned a bit of history about the siblings.

It was obvious that the young girl was upset with her father for leaving them behind to go off and fight in the war. She was dealing with abandonment issues, something that Riley could relate to, as could Gaia, and Yugito. All three quietly offered the girl their sympathies but respectfully kept their distance from the situation. Hakoda was a good man, all three of them could see that, and he loved his children very deeply. That was something for father and daughter to work out on their own.

On occasion, Riley would check in on the unconscious Avatar, often looming in the background as Katara tried her best to continue healing his injuries. Riley could tell just by looking at the boy that he was monstrously powerful. He was a powerful magical being possessing access to all seven base elements, and his powers were accentuated by the fact that he was still an Elemental, just one that didn't prescribe to any one Element. This meant that the boy's magic was amplified to extreme levels, allowing him to accomplish incredible feats of magic, even with very little effort.

As the days went on, and the boy's power returned to him and he slowly began to drift back into the land of the living, Riley began to notice the presence of a mighty magical being that lurked deep within the Avatar's body.

It didn't take her long to conclude that the reason for the boy's monstrous magical strength, had to be that he was a Jinchuriki. He had a spirit living inside of him. Now what this spirit was, Riley didn't know, and from what she could see it wasn't a malevolent entity, quite the opposite in fact. This entity was pure, and gave off positive energy. It could have very well been an angel for all Riley knew. For the moment, all she could say for certain was that this entity was comprised of incredible amounts of powerful light magic. Now that didn't guarantee that it was an angel, but it did raise the chances.

Riley quickly became eager to hear just what this entity had to say. After over two weeks of travel, it seemed like the Avatar was starting to stir. Within the next day or so, he would most certainly awaken, and when he did, Riley was eager to converse with this spirit learn what it truly was, and how it would react to her presence.

For now though, it was best to simply wait until the boy awakened, and could join in the conversation. Toph had asked if Riley could help teach Aang some new abilities. Riley had agreed, though whether that happened or not would surely depend on the boy, and the spirit that lay within him. If the two could be convinced to accept her offer of training, than perhaps the boy could unlock powers never seen before on this world. It was an exciting prospect, one that would soon be explored. For now though, she would wait.

-Fire Nation, at around the same time-

"We need to talk." The Fire Nation Prince Zuko began as he approached his girlfriend Mai.

"What about?" She asked, bored.

"About what happened yesterday. When we went to see my brother..." He began. Mai stared back at him for a moment, her gaze cold and distant. Slowly she nodded and motioned for him to follow her.

He did so and she led him quietly through the palace. They soon arrived at a small empty storage room where she shoved him inside, and shut the door behind her as she entered as well.

"What's with you? Why are we hiding in here?" Zuko demanded.

"Keep your voice down. The walls have ears you know." Mai quieted him with a glare.

"What's going on? When we saw my brother yesterday, you froze, almost like you'd seen a ghost. Why?" Zuko asked as he quieted his voice.

Mai was silent for a moment as her gaze fell to the ground. After several long seconds she let out a sigh and slowly closed the distance between them, placing her arms around his neck and pulling him into an embrace.

She rested her head on his shoulders and began to quietly whisper.

"I've heard rumors about some bad things going on around here. Nasty rumors, the kind that make your stomach churn. Strange experiments going on. Dark acts being committed within these halls. It's all really twisted stuff." Mai began, placing a kiss on his neck, pretending like they were having an intimate moment, her words drew confusion from Zuko.

"What are you talking about? What does this have to do with the baby?" He asked as he followed her lead, placing his hands on her hips and returning her embrace.

"One the rumors I heard was that Azula had vanished a little while back. She just disappeared without a trace. It was all really hush-hush. No one talked about it, and those that made a stink weren't see much afterwards. It was something like six months she was gone. One day she suddenly appeared again, claiming to have returned from special training or something like that. I wasn't here at the time, and she and I weren't exactly talking much. But the odd thing was, is that she showed up, around a week after your brother appeared here. It's not exactly a secret that the Fire Lord has a new son, but it also isn't really talked about. She showed back up, and spent almost every single day since her return doing nothing but training. One of the whispers I heard floating around was that it almost looked like she was recovering..." Mai explained to him, her voice barely audible, even as she whispered into his ear.

"Recovering from what? Where did she go?" Zuko pressed as Mai slowly pulled back, but stayed in his arms.

She shook her head at the question and let out a sigh.

"Zuko… use your brain… don't make me say it." Mai muttered, her normally cold, and uncaring tone, now carried an inflection to it, one that didn't sit comfortably with the prince. Mai was unnerved, hesitant even. Whatever she was getting at upset her greatly, enough to even push past her normally aloof exterior.

Zuko stared back her for a long moment as he though on her words and reflected on what he had seen yesterday. How Azula had reacted around the baby, how she held him in her arms and her smile almost seemed to loose much of it's usual cruelty. She actually seemed like she liked the baby, as strange as that was.

In truth it was only strange for Azula. Most people enjoyed their baby siblings, but Azula never seemed like she would be one such person. She was cruel and mean, and yet with that baby she was surprisingly gentle, almost appearing like a loving caregiver or a mo…

Zuko's eyes went wide as the thought struck him.

"You said she was gone for six months… that's to short of a time for-" He began but she cut him off.

"For the whole thing yeah, but if you want to hide it, she only needs to vanish before she starts to show." Mai countered quickly, as Zuko turned his gaze away from her and tried to take in what he was hearing.

"I don't understand. If the baby is Azula's than why would they treat him like he's father's?" Zuko questioned turning his gaze back to her and pinning her with a hard look.

Mai bit her lip at that question and averted her eyes.

"I can't say for certain. There's two possibilities in my mind. Either Azula did something dumb and got pregnant by someone and the Fire Lord is covering it up by claiming it as his own… or… or the reason that he's claiming it as his is because…" Mai offered him up her ideas, based on all the rumors she'd heard in the past. The second possibility was the one that disturbed her the most, and it was for that reason that she couldn't voice it. The look on Zuko's face though, told her that she didn't need to, he understood exactly what she was getting at.

"That's… That's impossible! That's… He wouldn't do that! He wouldn't…! She wouldn't…!" He started to get loud as his emotions began to burn out of control. The implication of what Mai was suggesting was utterly stomach turning. It was already bad enough that Azula could have possibly done something stupid and gotten herself pregnant, she was only fourteen after all meaning she had gotten pregnant at thirteen, but the idea that the father could possibly be her own, was absolutely heinous, and something he couldn't possibly believe. "It's not possible! It's just not… that couldn't have happened..."

"Azula's fucked up. You've seen it. How she carries herself, how violent and cruel she is. She's always been messed up in the head, we've known this since we were kids. And as for him… look what he did to you! He scared your face and banished you! Do you really believe he's incapable of anything after that?" Mai pointed out closing the distance and trying to keep her voice low and make him keep his voice low.

Zuko was quiet for a moment as he calmed himself, taking in deep meditative breaths to try and keep his emotions in check.

"Do you really believe what you're saying? Do you really think they did something like that?" Zuko quietly demanded, his gaze falling as his eyes fell shut.

"I didn't really know what to believe until I saw him yesterday. You know me Zuko, I always expect the worst out of people. I'm probably wrong… Azula probably did something stupid, slept with a guard or someone else because she was feeling rebellious, and she got pregnant from it. To stop a scandal from getting around the Fire Lord claimed it as his own. That's what most likely happened. But… like I said, you know me. And we both know Azula… if there was anyone she'd willingly spread her legs for, it would be the strongest Firebender in the Fire Nation, blood relation notwithstanding." Mai replied, her response earned a physical reaction from Zuko because he knew that she was absolutely correct.

The chances were good that Azula had simply done something dumb and it was being covered up, but then again, Azula wouldn't just sleep with anyone. She was a prideful, arrogant, princess who wouldn't lower herself to sleeping with someone she viewed as beneath her. The only kind of person she would sleep with was a man of high station and noteworthy abilities. Those were few and far between and it knocked the list of candidates down, and unfortunately, Mai was right. Azula was messed up. He didn't want to believe it, but now he could stop thinking about it.

"I think I need some time to reflect on this. I need to take a day or two..." Zuko began, earning a nod of agreement from Mai.

"Just do me a favor… before you go snooping and end up turned to ash, promise me you'll swing by let me enjoy at least night with my boyfriend before he dies." Mai responded, attempting to lighten the mood a bit and get Zuko's mind off the craziness.

"Thanks… I'll keep that in mind." Zuko muttered quietly, blushing a bit as the implications of her words.

Seeing him blush, Mai found it to be the perfect opportunity to push him out of the closet. There was a convenient servant nearby, standing a few yards off, cleaning at some tapestries. She gave them a quick glance but her gaze didn't hold for long as she noticed the blushing prince and the smirking Mai, whom offered her boyfriend a wink and quickly headed off.

It didn't take much thought for Zuko to recognize the cloak and dagger going on. He took the moment to recompose himself and quickly headed in the opposite direction from Mai. He needed to go and speak to his uncle, he needed to tell him what was going on. They weren't on speaking terms right now, but this was to big for him to handle alone. Something gut wrenching, may be going on, and he needed guidance.

-Elsewhere, in the Fire Lord's Throne Room at the same time-

"My Lord, care of the child is proceeding as expected. He's quite temperamental and doesn't seem to respond well to anyone other than the princess..." A Fire Sage began explaining.

"That is to be expected. His cousin was much the same. Still is..." The Fire Lord responded impassively.

"He's already shown to be affecting the flames around his crib. We haven't seen anything like it in years, not since Princess Azula and Prince Zuko were babies." The Fire Sage continued.

"Good. Watch the flames closely. With any luck, it wont be more than a few months before they begin to change. Prepare the Catalyst, soon the time will come for a new Birthing Flame to come into fruition. Zuko was a failure, but we succeeded with his mother and Azula. I am greater now than when I sired the failure. Shakik Azulong will provide all we need to secured dominance over this world, and one day with the power fate has provided us, the might of the Fire Nation will spread beyond the boundaries of these lands." The Fire Lord declared, his tone rising in pitch and the flames around him growing in intensity as a malevolence filled the air. Black smoke began to rise from the flames as they grew hellish in nature.

The Fire Sage kowtowed to his lord, slowly crawling away while keeping himself low and submissive. He did not dare raise his gaze until he was well beyond the boundaries of the Throne Room.

"I will seize this world as my own, Ursa, and then one day I will conquer your world as well. When I do, I will gladly show it to you, and I will allow you to look upon your family in chains. Your defiance will come to an end, when I cast down that wretched aspect of worship. I will show you what a true god is, and this mother of yours will know what it means to stand before true power. All shall fall before the might of the Phoenix King!" The Fire Lord thought to himself, as his veins began to burn with hellish fire.

Pain wracked him, but he did not flinch. This power was his now, his to master, his to command. He would control it, and not the other way around.

His time was coming, soon he would ascend to new heights, and the world would tremble before him.

-Elsewhere a short while later, deep beneath the Fire Nation palace-

Down in the depths, within an old and smoldering Lava chamber, a place as near to hell as one can get. There sat a being, naked and chained. She sat upon her knees constantly burning from the heat of her hellish prison.

Surrounding her were iron bars, twisted and reinforced. A cage to hold her, to never let her leave.

This being, a woman it appeared, a face, fair and beautiful. Her feet, her legs, her groin and belly, all charred and burned from the smoldering rock and the blistering heat.

Slowly this woman raised her gaze, burning red eyes, filled with three spinning tomoe in each eye. The monstrous glare of that marred her beautiful face was enough to freeze the blood of anyone caught in her gaze and send them scrambling. Around her churned monstrous things. Living fire and magma, rising and falling, groans and roars of unnatural power filled the chamber.

She felt someone coming, a human. The creatures turned and hissed but none moved from their positions as a Fire Sage passed amongst them. His face was calm, though fear danced in his eyes. His shoes had been removed and the heat blistered at his feet, burning them black, but he kept walking until he arrived before her.

"My lady… your son has returned..." The Fire Sage stated, causing the woman's glare to falter and morph into desire and longing.

"He's seen the boy, his cousin. The Fire Lord has given commands to prepare the catalyst to harvest the child's flame. No word yet on what he intends for your son. That is all the new for now, I must depart but I will return soon." The Fire Sage continued, earning a slow nod from the woman.

The Sage began to turn but stopped when a soft voice called out to him. It was gentle, despite it's source. The sound of it nearly caused the Sage to being tearing up. Slowly he turned back to the woman.

"Is it burning…?" She asked, a question so often repeated to him, and so often his answer left her with despair.

Sorrow spread across the Sage's face as he slowly lifted his gaze to the top of the cage. Strung directly over the woman's head, out of sight from her but always within her presence, was a charred black feather. A strange artifact that never seemed to burn, despite the hellish heat of this prison.

For years, ever since she had been placed in this cell of torment, she would often ask questions about what was happening on the outside world. Always though, her final question would be of the feather and whether or not it was burning. The Fire Sage didn't know what significance the burning of the feather had, only that is seemed to be always on the woman's mind, almost as much as her son.

His eyes fell upon the blackened feather, and to his amazement he found it smoldering. Fire dancing within it. The feather did not wilt nor catch flame, yet it was burning. His reaction must have given away the answer because without needing to speak, the woman began smiling.

"My lady..." The Fire Sage began.

"Mother is here..." The woman spoke, quietly smirking to herself as she hung her head and shut her eyes. "Mother has come for us..."

Around the Sage, the monsters began to stir, roaring and hissing as the heat of the room skyrocketed. Quickly the Fire Sage ran through the creatures and climbed out of the chamber. Knowing to stay was to risk his doom.

"She's here sister. Mother has come for us. Hold on a little longer Zuko, we'll be reunited soon." The woman replied as she slowly fell into slumber. The roaring of the surrounding demons, lulling her to sleep.

-Miles away, back on the ship, at the same time-

Yugito and Gaia watched as Toph and her friends gathered around the newly awakened Avatar. The boy had just come rushing up from his room, obviously scared out of his wits and uncertain about where he was.

His friends were comforting him now, telling him about what was going on.

"Seems he's finally up." Yugito noted.

"Seems that way." Gaia agreed turning her gaze towards Riley.

She found her mate and bride-to-be staring off into the distance, her gaze focused and her Byakugan blazing.

"What's wrong?" Gaia asked, drawing Yugito's attention as well.

"Demons/Demons/Demons." Riley, Kurama, and Matatabi all replied in unison.

Gaia felt her stomach sink as she followed Riley's gaze towards the West, while Yugito took in a deep breath.

"It's coming from the Fire Nation. I don't know where, but there's a lot of it. A lot of demonic power..." Riley said aloud, her vision extending over the Fire Nation capitol where a hellish miasma of demonic energy surged out from somewhere in the city. This power was so dense her eyes couldn't pierce it, but she knew for a fact that it was the power of a demon.

"Riley?" Yugito questioned cautiously.

"I have very bad feeling about all of this. Something isn't as it seems." Riley growled out a response as she deactivated her Byakugan and shared a glance with her mates.

Both of them nodded in agreement before glancing back towards Toph as she called out to them, waving them over to come meet Aang.

The three shared a glance one more time before throwing up masks to cover their uncertainty. Things were definitely not how they seemed. Something was going on, something they hadn't anticipated, and now all three of them were on edge. This kind of power could only come from a full demon… so then what did that mean for Azula? None of them knew at the moment, but they needed to find out.

-To Be Continued-

Holy hell, I got through it! Sorry this took so long, as I mentioned before I got hit with a severe case of writers block as I made my way through the earlier parts of this chapter. There's a lot of exposition and interaction in the earlier half of the chapter so hopefully you enjoyed the bonding time with Toph. As I mentioned before, this arc is gonna be a bit bigger than the others, as some important stuff if going on. Just know something right off the bat, I did not get Zuko's relationship with Shakik wrong. So… use that information as you will, more will be explained soon.