Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Prophesied ❯ Shroud Me in Darkness ( Chapter 18 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery. Joseph Conrad

Chapter 18: Shroud Me In Darkness

Katara stood at the window watching Zuko below on the grounds as he watched the sunset. She remembered the words he'd sung to the dying sun, wishing that it would take him with it beyond the horizon, and her heart warmed knowing how he had surpassed his fears, triumphed over them for her.

She sighed, and Hakoda smiled, touching her shoulder. Turning, she smiled at him before snuggling into his embrace. It had been so long since she'd been in her father's arms. He looked over her head, following her gaze to the Fire Prince below.

“Katara,”

“Hm?”

“What is the relationship between you and Prince Zuko?”

Katara's eyes snapped open and she sighed. “We're just friends Dad.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

“He seems to have strong feelings for you.”

“That's because I'm one of the first people to see past the fire and the scar and know that he isn't as bad as he was meant to be.”

Katara's eyes narrowed in anger. “His father nearly destroyed what good there is in his heart, and I saved him. He knows this, and that's why he cares for me so. I'm his teacher, showing him how to be who he wants to be.”

Hakoda looked at her and gently squeezed her hand as she pulled from his arms.

“I trust your judgment Katara, but remember, he's still a fire-bender.”

Katara nodded, trying to rein in her anger, but as she looked at Zuko below, his eyes now filled with the rising moon, she thought of that night, and her anger swelled again.

“Zuko!” she called and he looked up. “Come in now, it's late.”

Zuko nodded and got up, heading inside the ice palace. Katara turned away from the window and pecked her father's cheek.

“Good night father.”

Katara returned to her own room and shut the door. She took off her day clothes and slipped into some lighter clothes she could sleep in comfortably. The air chilled her and unbidden she thought of Zuko. She walked over and grabbed a couple extra blankets and then headed down the hall to Zuko's room.

Knocking on the door she was surprised when it opened under her hand without being bidden. There was no sound from Zuko and she wondered if he hadn't gotten there yet, but there was a roaring fire in the grate and the bedclothes were folded back.

And there was Zuko, sitting on the sill of the large window, staring out into the night.

“Zuko?”

He turned without starting and smiled softly. “Yes Katara?”

She couldn't help but smile. “I brought you some extra blankets. I know you aren't used to this climate.”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

Katara shivered once again in the cold and then spread out the blankets over Zuko's bed. Then without hesitation, she crawled into the bed and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders.

“Katara?”

“Shut up, I'm cold.”

A soft chuckle came from behind her. The warmth of the fire died down and Katara sighed, snuggling deeper into the blankets to make up for it. There was a burst of cold air as the blankets were pulled back, immediately replaced by the deeper warmth she'd been unknowingly longing for: Zuko's body.

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her flush against him and Katara smiled appreciatively, laying her arms over his, loving the feel of his skin against hers. His breath was warm on the back of her neck.

“Zuko?”

“Mmhm?”

Katara's eyes were soft and she stared at his hands, rough and lined with the hidden scars of his past. Her father had told her that you could tell so much about a person from their hands, and Zuko was no exception.

“Do you miss your family Zuko?”

He stiffened beside her in surprise, but relaxed after a moment and Katara bit her lip.

“I mean, um, I know they weren't the best but…do you-“

“All the time.”

Katara covered her hand with hers and said nothing more on the matter, lulled to sleep by the steady beat of his heart.

Kioko stood at the edge of the plateau, feeling the barrier with the immortal side of her, and only waited for the word of who had sent her there. She knew what she was to do.

The dragons, newborn and mature, stood around her, trusting her to be all that they needed.

“Do it Kioko.” Was all the Golden Dragon said as he was suddenly lounging nearby.

With a flick of her wrist, the beads wrapped around her right arm fell neatly, her hand catching the edge of them as they caught her ring. A simple movement of her hand sent them spinning vibrantly in the air around them. A green light began to glow from the beads until it was one long strip of light.

Kioko swung the light whip forward and it cracked against the hidden barrier, shattering it. The dragons needed no second bidding, flying off into the world they'd been so long forbidden from.

Agni smiled.

Ziri slowly awoke, his head pounding raggedly. He opened his eyes, the first thing that came into focus was a metal ceiling.

Metal? That can't be. Only Fire Nation…

Ziri gave a small cry as he understood. He was on a Fire Nation ship, he'd been captured, it was over.

“Midori,” he whispered. “Don't stop running.”

He was going to die as a prisoner of the Fire Nation, or worse, they would draft him into their army because he was a fire-bender. Damn, there was no way out. But there was a sense of calmness coming from his other self, the presence, and it helped him to think clearly.

As he looked around, the latter seemed more probable, for he was in what appeared to be the infirmary. His head was wrapped in bandages and his broken fingers were splinted. Other numerous cuts had been treated as well.

He raised his unhurt hand up to find that his head had been shaven except for a small tassel at the back of his head. He gritted his teeth angrily, remembering how his mother had loved his hair and made him promise never to cut it.

The door opened admitting a large man in Fire Nation armor and Ziri did not like the look on his face, not at all. A wild strength rose up within him and he matched the man glare for glare.

“It seems you have not forgotten me.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I've never seen you before.”

The man laughed. “You don't remember me? And I was under the impression that you had sworn never to forget. I may have changed though. I am General Zade.”

The name meant nothing to Ziri and he said so. Zade laughed again.

“It was my plan you spoke out against three years ago. It was the reason for which you were banished.”

Banished? What was he talking about? This wasn't making any sense. His confusion must've shown clearly on his face. Zade crossed the room to his bed in an instant, grabbed him by the throat, and shoved him harshly against the metal wall.

“Damn you for having forgotten me. Do you not even remember who gave you that scar, the reason for which you have spent the past three years at sea…Prince Zuko?”

Ziri's eyes widened. “Wh…what did you call me?”

Zade slammed him into the wall again. Lights flashed in Ziri's head as he winced and bolts of pain shattered through him like lightning.

“Prince Zuko! Your name! Prince Zuko!” Zade yelled, punctuating each word by slamming Ziri into the wall again.

Ziri gasped for breath around the fist clutching his throat, trying to see past the pain shuddering through him.

“I…am…not…Prince Zuko.”

Zade growled in anger and threw him backwards. Ziri cried out as he hit the small table and slumped to the floor.

“Don't try that on me. How many people have scars like yours?”

Zade grabbed him by the throat once more and held him up. Ziri somehow didn't care that he was now treading on dangerous ground.

“So far as I know, two.”

Zade backhanded him, causing him to spin and land on the floor on his stomach.

“You are Prince Zuko. The banished prince whose own father wants him dead.”

Ziri felt a booted heel in his back, pressing him to the floor. “No, I'm…”

The booted heel connected with his head, and he knew no more.

A troupe of Fire Nation soldiers marched steadily towards a nearby village where they could spend the night. The leader walked ahead of the main procession with his rhino. A soldier stepped forward to speak with him as the sun began to set.

“How much farther to the village my lord?”

“Not much farther Captain. Why?”

“It is these woods. There is a rumor that a man, a man who bends the darkness my lord, inhabits these lands. The men are frightened, and frightened men do not fight well.”

“It is not much farther, and I will not let my campaign be slowed by a mere rumor.”

“Yes my lord.”

They could see the glow from the village up ahead, and the men became heartened and their step quickened.

They soon came upon the village. But the welcoming fires, hot food, and warm beds that they expected were no longer there. The village had been completely destroyed in a matter of minutes.

The soldiers were aghast as they marched into the village, surveying the damage.

“What could cause such damage in so little an amount of time?”

“Their own darkness.”

Every soldier turned to see the outline of a man against the moonless night sky, the silver rim of his eyes gleaming as he stood on the still smoking roof of what was once a house. When he spoke, the shadows trembled.

“There is nothing more destructive than the darkness of the human soul.”

The Fire Nation officer stepped forward, brandishing a spear.

“Who are you? Show yourself.”

The being smirked and took a step forward. They watched as the shadows flew to form a stairway from the roof to the ground before the admiral. The darkness followed him, tendrils swirling around him so he was constantly shrouded in it.

“What is your purpose here?” The officer inquired.

“I should be asking you that.”

“We are here to join forces with the army of Admiral Min.”

The shadows stopped whirling.

“Min did you say? Indeed. You will take me to this Min. And I will spare you.”

This seemed a fair trade to the officer. Apparently there was some truth to the rumors after all.

They traveled for about a week, never seeing the stranger except for at night and maybe briefly in the morning. He never interfered with their pace or deciding where to camp at night. It was as if he was merely following them, but the officer, whose name was Fai, felt that their lives were teetering on the barest edge of a knife. They had not been summoned to join Admiral Min's force and if they could not find it, Fai was sure that the shadow-bender would kill them all.

You can imagine his relief when they saw the Admiral's force in the valley before them.

Admiral Min finished the formal report to the Fire Lord and laid the parchment to the side to dry. The candle burned brightly by his side, and there were many other candles in the room, though unlit. He was glad that he'd chosen a fire-bender as his human form. Fire was warm, destructive, powerful, and uncontrollable. It also produced light.

He smiled at this last comment. It had been so long since he'd learned that light could be used to destroy.

A soldier stepped into his tent.

“My lord, there is a young man here to see you.”

“Well, send him in then.”

“He asks that you fade the candle first.”

Min's eyes widened, not in surprise, but in anticipation.

Could it be?

The candle faded to a mere flicker. “Now show him in.”

A moment later the flap moved back again to admit the aforementioned young man. There was no visible part of him, his body cloaked entirely in a black close-fitting outfit with black boots styled after the Fire Nation, black gloves, a black hood and facemask, and a black cloak.

Min smiled. “My, it has been a long time hasn't it…Shiroten?”

He raised his head so his silver-rimmed black eyes could be seen, reflecting the candlelight.

“I'm surprised you recognized me.”

“I knew you would come. Take off those layers; let me see what you've become.”

Shiroten hesitated a moment before first divesting himself of the cloak and hood, then the heavy tunic and gloves, revealing firmly muscled arms and a sleeveless black tunic that hinted at the muscles of his chest. Wild black hair fell about his pale face. The clothes fell unceremoniously to the floor and pooled there, a mass of black cloth.

“You have grown.” Min stated after a moment.

“Indeed?” Shiroten sneered. “You expected me to remain a child for nine years?”

“I expected you to die.”

Shiroten couldn't disguise the look of shock across his face and Min laughed, long and cruel. The poor boy hung his head, glaring at the space between his feet, the shadows forming daggers at his fists.

“Tell me how you have survived this long.”

“I learned to use the darkness I am consumed by.”

Min just looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate, and Shiroten smiled. The two guards standing just inside the tent began to gasp heavily as the darkness in the tent began to grow.

“Once you begin to think of shadow as an element, it takes on form.” Shiroten began.

“The shadows of the day are no more than vapor. Night shadow is like liquid, forming to whatever you wish it, becoming tangible if guided. These shadows usually only create fear and mayhem.”

Min smiled and Shiroten continued.

“But the most destructive form of shadow is the darkness of the soul. Even unbidden it consumes, corrupts, and destroys.”

The men behind him doubled over, wheezing for breath against the tendrils of darkness that welled up from within them, consuming and obliterating them.

“But guided,” Shiroten stated laughingly, “The process of devastation is much faster.”

Min laughed as the men fell dead to the ground.

“You have survived the world and now you are strong. These powers, this shadow-bending, will be very…useful.”

Shiroten scowled at the term.

“I felt you calling, driving me from the darkness, and now I've come.” He spat. “Why? Because I'm useful now?”

Min stood sharply. “Why I kept you alive I don't know. You were useless then, Shiroten.”

Shiroten gave a sharp cry, lunging forward against sudden invisible restraints, ignoring them as best he could.

“You bastard! You needed me! You would've never escaped without me!”

“And that was your sole purpose! I never needed you!”

“You are nothing without me!”

“Remember you are a part of me!”

“A part of you spawned onto an innocent woman who raised me by the sweat of her brow to have you possess and destroy the boy she loved!”

He lunged once again against the restraints Min had harnessed around him.

“Why didn't you let me die?”

Min let the restraints fall, and Shiroten glared at him, his fists holding shadow daggers by his side.

“Because I knew one day I would have use for you again.”

Shiroten turned towards the door slightly, his eyes filled with hate.

“You did not have use for me then, you do not now. Good bye…father.”

He started to walk out. Min's eyes narrowed and every candle in the room burst into light, flaring to the ceiling, casting blinding light to fill the tent.

And Shiroten screamed, driven to his knees by the pain as the light literally burned his skin away. As he writhed on the ground he reached out to the shadows, to the darkness, but there was no more to be reached, only a tiny amount hidden in his cloak. The boy dragged his burning body across the floor to pull his cloak over his vulnerable torso; tears of pain and of sorrow streaming down his face.

“Remember, my son, that I hold the light of your soul.”

Min let the light fade, faltering back to a single candle. Shiroten drew the darkness to him, letting it heal his wounds, but he couldn't stop the sobs that racked his body. What had he expected, returning to the man that had abandoned him when he was barely eight years old to fend for himself? Has he expected an apology or a welcoming father ready to accept him into his life?

Why had he cared?

Eimin viewed the shivering boy on the floor before him, his eyes dark with disgust. He could no longer see the boy's face due to the cloak, but he did not need to.

“I have a gift for you Shiroten. Compose yourself, and when you are fit to be seen, come join me.”

He then walked out of the tent. Shiroten lay there for what seemed hours but was in reality only a few minutes, choked sobs forcing their way from his chest as he relished the cool darkness around him. Finally his eyes dried and hardened, anger returning to replace the void within him caused by the loss of his light.

As he stood and redressed in his complete gear, black blood pooled on the floor, his blood. He knew that once his blood had run red, but never anymore. The light of his soul had been stolen, and he was no longer human.

Shiroten tied on his cloak, pulled up the cloth that covered his face, and walked out into the night. He would know better next time that to trust his father.

The cool night was welcoming of him, and he was a part of it. The young shadow-bender quickly found his father and followed him through the many tents into a somewhat clear patch of woods. There, bound by chains unseen, was a large black two-headed dragon.

One of the heads raised and let out an eerie screech when it should been a roar. Eimin smirked.

“Ji and Kan, the silent one, the only shadow dragon borne of hellfire. He will help you on your missions.”

Shiroten glared at Eimin. “I already said I won't fight for you.”

Eimin smiled. “You don't understand. You do these things for me, and I will give you your light.”

Shiroten's eyes widened in awe and surprise. “Give?”

Eimin nodded. “Yes, give.”

Shiroten's gaze wandered back and forth between Ji-Kan and Eimin, finally settling on Ji-Kan.

“What must I do?”

Shasa flitted through the Spirit World; searching for the man she called her husband, the only one she'd ever loved. She had something to tell him, something wonderful. She couldn't find him anywhere, but she didn't mind.

But upon finding the broken chains, Shasa's heart leapt. Finally protocol had been broken, finally he'd seen the folly in certain rules that they followed.

Agni had returned to the mortal world.

The water turned to ice, and the wind chilled everything caught in its path. The bison flying in the snow was uneasy for some reason, but those on its back were just bored, since they'd been flying for several days.

“Look Aang, I don't care. Katara's not going anywhere. We can rest a little while before we get to the North Pole.”

Aang fought back a smart remark. It wasn't going to get him anywhere. Sokka just didn't understand. He needed to see Katara, to hold her in his arms and know she was safe and Zuko hadn't done a damn thing to her. He couldn't wait any longer.

“Nakara! Leave Momo alone!”

The lemur flew up to rest on Aang's head, and the blue dragon, now the size of a large cat, crouched like one, watching Momo with narrowed reptilian eyes. Sokka walked up and picked Nakara up and cradled her.

“What have I told you about fighting?” Sokka lectured.

Aang smiled. He treated the young dragon like a child, but Sokka had to remember that fighting was a part of Nakara's heritage. He just had to teach her who to fight and when.

“All right Sokka. We'll take a rest. I'm sure we'll see Katara tomorrow.”

“Great! Let's dive down and find a good landing spot!”

Aang nodded and gave the signal for Appa to dive down through the cloud cover, which the bison did only slightly hesitantly. Hey, what was another day? Sokka was right, Katara would still be there.

They descended through the clouds, and suddenly Momo and Nakara became beyond upset. Nakara tore from Sokka's arms and began scampering about the saddle. Momo hid in Aang's shirt. The sunlight softened as they broke through the clouds, and then both Sokka and Aang gasped.

Below them hundreds of Fire Nation ships were attacking the North Pole outer wall and black snow was falling.

“Katara!” They both cried, though they were too far to see any one person.

It wasn't a moment before Appa had been spotted. Chains flew upwards from the four nearest ship and encircled the bison, Appa being too surprised and too tired to dodge. He fought valiantly though as they were dragged down.

“Fly Nakara!” Sokka yelled as he threw the dragon off the side of the saddle.

Nakara spread her wings and with much exertion managed to get the air beneath her and soared upwards just behind Momo. Sokka drew his machete as Aang threw his glider and soared away from them. He landed on one of the Fire Nation ships and tried to fight off the fire-benders while trying to break the chains holding Appa.

He failed in both attempts. The soldiers seized him and he was quickly knocked out before the Avatar State could be induced. Sokka fought desperately to get to him but he was on another ship. The soldiers tried, but somehow they could not get near the infuriated Water Tribe boy.

He ran as fast as he could, barely feeling the cold in the air around him. To the fire-benders above him, it appeared as if he were walking on water, but they could not see the ice forming just beneath his feet as he ran. She was there, behind him, supporting him as he ran, for only he could do this.

He reached the ships that had brought the bison down and she sent him flying up with a geyser of water. Landing on the ship's deck next to the Water Tribe boy, he could almost feel the tide turning.

Two shuriken found their way to the throats of two fire-benders and Sokka turned to see someone beside him dressed as a shinobi. When he turned around, Sokka saw that his face was completely covered except for his right eye. He gasped as another shuriken flew from the shinobi's fingers and killed the fire-bender directly behind him.

The Water Tribe boy, he is her brother. His name…

“Sokka.”

Sokka's eyes went wide. “How do you know my name?”

“There's not time for that. Get the Avatar. I will free the bison.”

Sokka nodded and sprinted for the ship where they had Aang. His way was cleared of soldiers by flying shuriken and kunai. He managed to make the long jump from his ship to Aang's and turned just in time to see the shinobi leap for Appa, but there was no way he could make the jump.

Just as he started to arch down about halfway from the bison, a jet of water plumed up to meet him and froze, allowing him to land and push off again, this time landing on the back of the imprisoned bison.

Sokka threw his boomerang, knocking out the soldiers that held Aang and catching the weapon as it came back around smoothly. He hoisted the unconscious Avatar onto his back and looked back towards Appa.

It didn't take a thick cord of fire to slice through the chains holding the bison and the beast was smart enough not to stay in the water, but he nearly lost his balance and fell off as it soared into the sky. He was barely able to catch onto the edge of the saddle, hanging by the bison's side.

He then saw the Water Tribe boy and the Avatar and extended his hand, lifting them up with him. The boy, Sokka, pulled himself up and pushed the Avatar into the saddle before getting in himself and then pulling him into the saddle as well.

“Get into the city. They need help.”

He said nothing more before leaping from the saddle and returning to the battle.

Sokka stared after him until he had disappeared within one of the ships. Within seconds, Appa had landed within the Northern Water Tribe's city. A young woman took Aang to the healer's and Sokka ran for the outer wall, his boomerang in his hand.

Once there, at first he tried to find Katara. The Fire Nation hadn't gotten too close yet and it was mostly the water-benders fighting now, and it wasn't long until he found Katara, but she didn't seem to be working with the rest of them. Her concentration was focused completely on something else; she didn't even notice when he said her name.

Following her gaze, he saw a shadow flit from one ship into open air, the shinobi! A pillar of ice rose up and he pushed off, soaring for the next ship in his path, and Sokka realized that the ninja was not a water-bender as he had expected. Katara was bending the water around him.

“Katara, are you all right?”

She nodded faintly but said nothing and he understood. Sokka started to walk off and see what he could do.

“No, Sokka, wait.”

He turned back, and she didn't need to say anything more. He stood by her. Minutes later, she brought the shinobi skidding in on a fast-flaying sheen of ice and rocketed him up to where they stood.

“Did you do it?” she quickly inquired and he nodded, raising a hand to pull back the cloths over his face and head.

“Yeah,” Zuko said. “One more fireball and they'll all be destroyed.”

Katara smiled and hugged Zuko. “Only you could come up with a plan like that.”

Zuko chuckled. “Comes from spending three years on a ship Katara.”

Sokka was in shock. The one that had brought them more close calls with the Fire Nation, the one that had hunted them until they were exhausted, the one that had shamelessly put them all at risk during the first attack on the Northern Water Tribe, the one that had inadvertently caused Yue's death…

…was now the one who had saved him, Appa, and Aang, was the one nowlaughing and hugging his sister.

“You bastard!”

Both turned and stared at him, and Sokka was tense, ready to spring at the fire-bender.

“Wh…What do you think you're doing!” Sokka shouted but Zuko just looked at him.

Yes, the Fire Prince had changed significantly. His hair was now short and ragged, a different light shone in his eyes, and just moments before he had laughed. He seemed smaller without his armor, and had saved his life and the life of others selflessly.

But he was still the Fire Prince.

Zuko looked sad though, and Sokka couldn't bring himself to attack. Katara was biting her lip and looking away from them both.

“Look Sokka,”

“Stop using my name, you don't know me!”

Zuko winced, but continued.

“Look, it's a long story and we don't have much time. In fact, we don't have any time. They are preparing for a simultaneous attack and if we don't warn Hakoda and the others there might not be enough time to stop it.”

Sokka just looked at him and Zuko sighed exasperatedly before pushing past Katara's brother and running down the length of the wall to where the warriors stood, preparing. Katara grabbed Sokka's arm and ran after him.

Zuko's mind was running faster than it ever had before, assessing the situation, forming a plan, and dismissing wild stupid thoughts within seconds. It didn't take Zuko long, relying on the feelings of his inner fire, to know that he would never reach Hakoda in time to warn him.

He skidded to a stop. There was no other choice. He just hoped he'd be strong enough. Katara stopped and stared at him.

“Zuko, what is it?”

Sokka glared at them both, but said nothing. Zuko had regressed several years, back to a time before he knew pain.

A boy and his uncle sat in the courtyard, away from the world and havoc of the miraculous everyday life.

“I'm going to teach you something new today, Zuko.”

“Really?” the young boy cried. “What?”

“How to stop a thousand fireballs by yourself.”

“A thousand? I could never…”

“Listen to me now, nephew. Don't doubt your abilities.”

“Yes uncle.”

“Now,” he made a flame in his hand. “If you wanted to take control of my flame, what would you do?”

The boy's brow furrowed in concentration. “I just reach out my hand, feel for the flame, and make it my own.”

“Right.” The flame disappeared. “But what if you had hundreds of flames?”

“I couldn't do the same thing.”

He ruffled the boy's loose hair. “I knew you were bright.”

The boy smiled.

“Alright, how does a fisherman catch many great big fish?”

The boy thought for a moment as if trying to see the relevance.

“He'd use a great big net.”

“So if you want to catch many great big fireballs?”

The analogy that would've taken a normal fire-bender several hours took his imaginative nephew seconds.

“I'd use a great big net!”

“Precisely.

“Katara.”

She reached over, placing a hand on his arm. “I'm here.”

“Don't let me fall.”

She nodded. Zuko stepped forward to the edge of the wall and raised his hands. Before them Katara could see the Fire Nation soldiers lighting the fireballs and preparing to fire them. She could hear her father and the others preparing to receive the flames, knowing there was nothing they could do and that they probably would not survive the simultaneous attack.

But she stayed beside Zuko, Sokka a few feet behind her. Unknowingly, Katara wrapped an arm around Zuko's waist.

Zuko could see the cords of heat that he gathered with his mind, his hands raised before him, his fingers twitching as he worked, weaving the net before them. It would only take a spark. One fireball and the fleet would be destroyed, but they had to survive to call it a victory.

The fireballs were lit and Katara glared at the ships, her eyes narrowing in anger. She didn't notice the thin stream of blood now flowing from Zuko's nose, caused by sheer exertion, until he sagged lightly against her. Her grip tightened as she held him upright. His eyes were narrowed, concentrating on the task at hand.

The fireballs flew. Zuko tied the last knot and formed a small flame in each hand.

Katara gasped at the sight that unraveled before her. The flames formed in Zuko's hand seemed to have lit a wire, a wire that sped through the air, straight out above the water in front of them. It hit a point and erupted outwards, screaming along a predetermined pattern. In moments, there was a huge net of fire in front of the North Pole.

Zuko forced himself to take steady deep breaths, fueling the fire within him. Then the first fireball hit the net. He gasped, his eyes widening and only Katara kept him on his feet. It had hurt!

Katara gritted her teeth, but his weight was too much.

“Sokka, help me!”

“But…”

Cracks began to appear in the ice around them.

“Swallow your damn pride Sokka and help me!”

Sokka ran forward, wrapping an arm around Zuko and holding him upright. The thin stream of blood had become a steady flow and each fireball that hit the net was like a stab straight through his mind, but Zuko held it. He had no choice.

The Fire Nation ships began to explode, one by one, victims of the sabotage that Zuko had enacted, but still the fireballs were flying, and still they stuck fast to the net, blazing with its clasp. But Zuko's strength was rapidly dissipating, and so were the edges of the net.

As the last fireball landed among the others, Zuko drew his arms in, the net closing around the fireballs. He drew his arms across one another in a cutting motion and there was a final explosion as the fireballs and the net burst.

Sokka gave an exuberant cry and Katara hugged Zuko. Zuko smiled at his work, and then promptly passed out from exertion. This time Sokka didn't hesitate to help Katara carry the Fire Prince to the healer's hut within the city.

“My Lord Ozai! My lord!”

Ozai turned and viewed the messenger running up to him with one cold, shrewd eye.

“What?” He replied none too civilly.

The messenger did not hesitate to press himself to the floor in front of the Fire Lord.

“I am deeply sorry for having disturbed you my lord, but there is urgent news from the 37th regiment scouts!”

“What is it?” And what could be so important that they disturb me so early?

“My lord, they've reported Air Nomad survivors in the Achlys Mountains!”

“WHAT?”

The messenger screamed once as the flames devoured him, and Ozai glared at the pile of ash that remained of him, his fists clenched before he turned and disappeared down the hallway. A single maid ran to warn all she could find to stay away from the Fire Lord this day.

The war was about to go from mindless massacres to genocide.

Aang opened his eyes and then sat up straight.

“Sokka! Appa!"

There was a heavy weight on his feet and he looked to see Nakara and Momo curled up at the foot of the bed. Aang quickly realized that he was with the healers, surrounded by those with battle injuries. He leapt from the bed without hesitation and was about to run out when two people came in supporting a third between them.

“Sokka! Katara!”

Sokka smiled bleakly. “You using that bed Aang?”

Aang shook his head and they laid the black-clad warrior on the bed. The warrior's head fell back and Aang gasped.

“Zuko!”

Katara nodded and sat down on the floor, gasping for breath. Zuko's front was covered in blood from his nose and his breathing was shallow. Sokka sighed.

“He just saved us all Aang. And that thing he did, it had to be Avatar level fire-bending.”

Katara pulled herself up. “Let me clean him up, he looks horrible.”

A young woman came bustling over. “No, I'll take care of him. You rest.”

Katara nodded without hesitation and sat down on the bed next to Zuko's while the woman took a bowl of clean water and began cleaning the blood from Zuko's face. Sokka and Aang took up a place on either side of her.

“So Katara, what happened after Shasa took you?” Aang inquired.

Katara looked up and smiled. “It's a long story.”

And she began.

Shasa was calmly walking through the woods.

“Mamoru! Samir! I know you two were around here yesterday, now where have you gotten to?”

She continued on, hoping they might have some idea where Agni was. She was unaware of the great wings that beat the air behind her.

Once again cloaked against the sun, he sat on the back of the giant two-headed dragon, preparing to strike, his first task at hand.

Azula and Jet were walking through the woods, and Azula had been silently complaining for the past two hours, annoyed that she had decided to leave the royal escort behind. Now it was just her and the rebel brat, but she was going to find two old friends.

Jet could read every words that the princess didn't say in her movement, the twitching of her eyes. She really hated walking, and he smirked.

“Well, it was your idea.”

It was the first thing said since they'd left the ship and Azula spun to face him, her eyes flashing fire.

“What!”

“It was your idea.”

“What was my idea?”

“Leaving behind the escort. I told you earlier I wouldn't carry you.”

“I don't need you to carry me!”

“Then stop complaining.”

Infuriated by his calm tone, Azula struggled to keep from burning the forest down.

“I haven't said a word.”

“You didn't have to.”

Azula let out an angry cry through gritted teeth before turning and stalking away with Jet behind her. She could feel his smirk burning into her back and bit her tongue until it bled to keep from saying anything.

Shasa wandered into the clearing her heart light with her news. Then uneasiness crept down her spine, a fear that blossomed into bloom when a black two-headed dragon landed into the field before her, its black robed rider resting casually in the saddle.

He raised one hand to the sky and black tendrils formed at his fingers before spiraling skyward. They seemed to hit a barrier and snaked outwards. The noonday sun was soon blocked by the shadow, the world becoming as dark as a moonless midnight.

Azula and Jet gasped as the world suddenly went dark, tangible clouds covering the sky. Azula's eyes narrowed.

“The clouds came from that way!”

And she sprinted off. Jet drew his hook-swords before following, the amulet now pulsing warmly against his skin.

“Who are you?” Shasa shouted, her body already seeking water to bend.

The black rider lowered his hand and unclasped his cloak, letting it and his mask fall to the saddle before he leapt to the ground. He had a kunai holster on each thigh. She tensed, but he didn't seem to be more than a teenage boy. Her heart told her otherwise.

“There is no water near enough for you to bend, goddess Shasa.”

Her eyes widened. He knows who I am.

“Who are you?” she cried again. “What do you want with me?”

“I want nothing with you, but your presence has been requested, a meeting with my superior, and I have been asked to make sure that you attend. Now, will you come with me?”

She tensed. “Who is your superior?”

“Lord Eimin.”

She stared at him in shock. “No, that's not possible, he was Sealed!”

“No longer. And is that a `no' goddess Shasa?”

“Of course! There's no way you'll get me to speak with him! He can take all his words and go back to the hell hole he crawled out of!”

The rider sighed. “I'm afraid that is not an option. But since you insist…”

He raised one hand and brought it sweeping forward. Snakes of shadow screamed from the woods around them and flew towards Shasa. She summoned orbs of blue light to block them and ran, but they were everywhere, all around her. A wave of shadow rose up from beneath her and threw her across the clearing, slamming her into a tree.

A thin trickle of blood ran down from the corner of her mouth and her eyes glowed ethereally as blue light encircled her hands. He raised his hands before him, preparing for her attack to come, and come it did.

Orbs of blue light flew from her hands, block easily by his shadow-bending, but he made no move to stop her and soon she had worn herself out. Shadows snaked forward, casting her backwards once more.

Shasa leaned against the tree, watching as the shadow-bender walked closer. She saw the silver ring of his eyes but her attention was quickly diverted by the tendrils of darkness that bloomed from her own chest and bound her to the tree.

He stopped a few yards in front of her.

“You see, goddess Shasa, no matter how fast your light travels, it will always find that the darkness had gotten there ahead of it, and it waiting to consume it. This battle is over.”

“Not quite!”

A plume of lightning connected with his chest, sending him flying backwards. Azula smirked, electricity sparking at her fingertips as she viewed him. Jet stood behind her at the ready.

Growling, he picked himself up. Azula gasped when she saw that nearly half his chest was missing, not charred, burnt, or bleeding, but completely gone. She was even further mystified as the shadows rose up and reformed his missing half and right arm. Still, she gritted her teeth and tensed.

“My name is Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. I hate people like you, who start fights for no reason, most of all. By the time I'm done with you, you will wish you were dead!”

He smirked. “My name is Shiroten, and I am dead, or close enough.”

Azula stared at him in shock. Shasa let blue light erupt from her body and broke the shadows holding her. She then sprinted into the woods and away from the battle. Shiroten gave a frustrated cry before starting after her.

“Stop, you will fight me!”

Shiroten stopped and turned. Azula glared at him.

“You will fight me, and I will send you back to the pits of Hell!”

He merely looked at her before sighing.

“I am busy, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, and you are boring.”

She gasped and stared at him, the fact that she'd just been sincerely insulted unable to register.

Shiroten waved a hand idly. “Ji-Kan, take care of the wench and her lover.”

He then sprinted away into the woods. The two heads of the dragon roared simultaneously. Jet gulped and Azula tensed, ready to battle.

The dragon attacked first, sending identical plumes of shadow fire towards them, which Azula tried to divert.

“I can't bend it!” she cried to Jet.

He grabbed her around the waist and dodged the flames.

“That's because it's shadow, not fire!”

The dragon was beyond quick, the two of them hard pressed to dodge it, let alone wage an attack of their own. Azula was a step ahead of Jet as they ran, and she had formed a plan.

“Separate from me Jet!”

“What?”

“Just do it!”

He nodded and sped away from her. She watched him go, but hesitated just a moment too long. The dragon's spiked tail flew up to meet her, one of the spines burying itself in her shoulder as it flung her against a tree. There, the darkness took her.

“Azula!” Jet cried, but he too was too late to dodge the dragon, brought down by his care for another.

Ji-Kan trapped him beneath a claw and both heads hovered above him, hungry for human flesh.

Shiroten flew through the shadows after the light ahead that was Shasa. She could not run faster than he in his home element. They burst out onto a cliff overlooking a raging river that ended in a enormous waterfall. Shasa stopped at the edge, then turned to find Shiroten between her and the mainland as she stood on a protruding ledge.

“Now, you will come with me to meet Lord Eimin.”

She shook her head desperately and he sighed.

“This is getting boring, goddess Shasa, and my patience is gone. You are out of options.”

She stared at him, her heart pounding as her heels brushed the edge of the cliff. He did not step towards her, merely looked at her, as if daring her to leap over the cliff.

Shasa thought of what she had to tell Agni, of the life she carried, of the world that needed her, of the people that looked to her for hope, and then she thought of Eimin, the very god of death that she helped Alem to Seal all those years ago, and a single tear fell down her cheek as Shiroten waited for her to make her decision.

Shasa closed her eyes…and leapt from the cliff.