章 52: To Kill An Avatar Part 1
Macai walks through the small Fire Nation City Hebanentu, located about a three-day walk from the Fire Nation capital. The buildings are light brown with several dark red stripes and Fire Nation flags paraded throughout. A decent number of civilians travel throughout the town and Macai advances toward a relatively large two-story private building with a dark red fence at its borders. The front door is grey dark brown, and the building has several dark brown markings throughout it. The doorknob is gold, revealing decent status among the home occupants.
Macai knocks on the door and the retired Captain Hazo opens it. Hazo looks a bit older, with a few more wrinkles on his face since his discharge. Macai: "Hazo, it has been some time. I decided to take your invitation and see how you were doing."
Hazo smiles, "Macai, I've missed you. Please come, sit." Macai enters Hazo's estate. Hazo's home has light yellow walls, a light brown wood floor, several pictures hung up, and a large black table in the common room. Macai sits on the opposite side of the table from the retired captain. Hazo pours Macai a cup of vanilla tea and makes himself a cup of peanut roasted tea.
Hazo: "Try my vanilla tea, I have a special recipe."
Macai points at Hazo's cup, "Your tea smells a little different."
Hazo nods, "Aww, yes I have peanut roasted. I remember you saying you didn't like that flavor as much."
Macai: "Well, that's true." Hazo takes a sip of his tea.
Hazo: "Please, drink Macai." Macai takes a sip of the vanilla tea and grins.
Macai: "This is delicious." Macai takes a bigger gulp of the tea and Hazo smiles. Macai raises his eyebrows, "Wow, this is some of the best tea I've ever had. I didn't know you were a teamaster."
Hazo: "There are a few things you have yet to learn about me."
Macai looks back at Hazo, "I remember how you told me about the importance of compassion and how we should learn from different elements. I remember how you mentioned how you respected Iroh deeply."
Hazo: "That's right. I greatly agreed and resonated with Iroh. Many respected me as an officer because I grew close to my men and tried to show mercy to the people from the other nations."
Macai: "Do you regret not joining us?"
Hazo reveals a disturbed face, "I couldn't have stomached fighting against my own nation. While I often understood Iroh and even Zuko I wasn't brave enough to stand against my people. I believed that the people of the Fire Nation could make our important decisions alongside each other. A divided nation is a dead nation Macai."
Macai: "Then it's a good thing we quickly resolved this conflict."
Hazo asks, "Did you? Your faction overthrew the past hierarchy and now others look to overthrow your new order. The divisions have not stopped, they are just beginning."
Macai ensures his mentor, "With love and unity we will handle each conflict."
Hazo sighs, "Your Firelord is using Kyoshi warriors to assist him with domestic conflicts. People will never stand for that. He is working too closely with the Avatar, not prioritizing the interests and needs of his own country. I'm worried Macai, very worried about the future of our state."
Macai: "Challenges arise for every new nation. Give us time to figure this out."
Hazo replies, "It won't take much time for everything to go crumbling down. Be careful. Please commander, you know Zuko well. See where his heart is and make sure that he is putting the needs of his own people first." Macai looks down at his table uneasily. Hazo pats him in the back, "But enough about this talk, I made some Ginota ribs and I have some sushi in the fridge. Please have some, I cannot eat it all and do not want things to go to waste."
Macai goes to sleep later that night in a guest room in Hazo's estate. The fire officer shakes and turns in his sleep. Macai opens his eyes and sees himself surrounded by nothing but darkness. The young man looks down and notices he is wearing his 31st battlearmor. He looks up and hears Kanna's voice. Kanna: "Macai..." Macai looks forward then hears her voice from another direction, "Help!"
Macai chases the voice, "Kanna, I'm coming!" Macai sees Kanna collapse. Macai: "Kanna." Macai turns around and notices Rosh.
Rosh: "Oh, Macai." Rosh dies.
Macai shouts, "No!!!" Macai sees several 31st corpses. Macai walks pass several of the corpses and the background around him is no longer black. Macai is now in the Fire Nation Capital and it is night. The entire city is burning. Macai looks in the distance at several citizens and running and fleeing.
Fire Nation elder: "Nooo, save yourselves!! They are coming!" Macai hears a woman and a young child screaming in the opposite direction. Macai continues to slowly walk forward as a building right of his position explodes. The 31st leader looks right and watches several citizens get gunned down by arrows. Macai looks left and sees other civilians being cut down by marauders.
Macai hears a judge running in the streets, "Where is the order that once existed within our nation? Where is justice?! We have lost everything!" A marauder thrusts a sword through the man's back. Judge: "Ahhhh!"
Macai sees the Fire Nation Capital on fire in his dream.
Macai yells, "Nooo! Get your hands off him you filth!" The commander pumps a white flame into the man's face. The marauder's face turns black as it is scorched by the heat and his body falls. Macai asks himself, "How did this happen?" Macai's background changes again and he finds himself inside of the Fire Nation palace. Prince Zuko kneels before Avatar Aang.
Aang stands dominantly before him, "Zuko you have failed your mission because you have put the interests of the Fire Nation over the others."
Zuko responds, "Aang, I'm sorry. I had to fight for the well-being of my people. Can't you see, everything is falling apart because the people are fighting amongst each other. Things have gotten out of hand and I can't do this anymore. It's time we stand up and change some things around here. If I don't it's only a matter of time before I'm assassinated. Ty Lee and Suki have already been slain by phantoms."
Aang coldly states, "That is not my concern. Your nation has brought this on themselves and now it will face judgment. I can't help if your people want to destroy themselves. Especially not when you are trying to hold onto colonized worlds."
Zuko pleas, "They were executing innocent civilians in some of those cities, simply because they were of Fire Nation origin."
Aang: "Then I will handle that."
Zuko shouts, "And the people do not deserve to be forced out, they have been in those places for GENERATIONS!! The reason they are there may have been wrong at first, but two wrongs don't make a right. Aang, you know that, don't let the Earth Kingdom do this."
Aang rolls his eyes, "Your ancestors stole the land, now let it go."
Zuko defiantly stands up, "No! If you take this from us, it will devastate our economy. The people will riot in the streets and my nation will implode. I shall fight to maintain what remains of my people and their legacy." Aang extends his right hand and launches Zuko against the wall. Zuko: "Ugh!!" Aang twirls his body left and smacks Zuko against the left wall.
Zuko rushes to his feet and Aang leaps in front of him. In an instant, the Avatar pulls his right hand back and creates an ice dagger. Macai shouts, "Stop!" Macai sprints toward the Avatar but neither of the figures can hear or see him. Aang thrusts his right hand into Zuko's stomach and blow flows from it. Aang pulls his right hand back and the Firelord collapses.
Aang comments, "Good riddance." Aang walks out of the palace and Macai can see him in the distance. The palace is looted after Aang departs and the Fire Nation Capital is sacked by marauders. Macai looks around as several historical centers collapse and families are slaughtered throughout the nation. Macai gazes and sees himself. The commander launches himself into the city and blasts away several warriors with his white flames as he attempts to save the falling city.
Then a knife flies into Macai's chest and he collapses. The scene turns dark again and Macai looks at his own corpse. Nothing but flames emerge around Macai and he wakes up. Macai looks around in his bed and is relieved to know he was only dreaming. Macai returns to sleep.
Was It Just A Dream?
Later that week, Macai heads to the Fire Nation Capital's harbor. He specifically enters the Prompt Adjudicator and his personal chambers within that ship. Rosh notices Macai as he is walking back, "Hey Macai, any updates about our next mission yet?"
Macai ignores Rosh, "No, I'm going back to my chambers. I need to shuffle through some files."
Rosh: "Uh, ok." Macai shuffles through several papers then someone knocks on his door.
Macai: "What is it?"
Aiya enters, "I have an update, a very important one that I was not able to fill you in on recently."
Macai: "What happened?"
Aiya: "The Firelord recently got in a conflict with the Avatar. You know about the Harmony Restoration movement right?"
Macai: "It's the agreement between Zuko and Earth King Kuei to return former Fire Nation cities to the Earth Kingdom. Our Nation will take a big loss from that. Our national economies are pretty reliant on those territories now."
Aiya sighs, "Our duty is to the Firelord and administration. It is not our place to bicker about everything, you should know that."
Macai interjects, "Our duty is to the citizens and families of our nation just as much as it is to them. Otherwise, why did we even stand against Ozai?"
Aiya looks down then looks back up, "What has gotten into you Macai? Tell me what's wrong?"
Macai shakes his head, "I'm sick of us putting our people last."
Aiya: "You were fine with our direction earlier."
Macai: "I had a bad dream last night."
Aiya: "What is it about? Come on tell me?"
Macai: "No no, I don't want to talk about it."
Aiya: "Zuko, Kuei, and the Avatar came to a resolution. The Fire Nation locals will stay there and they will coexist. They are working on a new United Nations group to bring all the states together."
Macai raises an eyebrow, "A new United Nations group? What happened to OUR IDENTITY? We will do away with that and everyone will lose everything that makes them special if we just meld together into some new nation."
Aiya explains, "The group won't be a one-world government. It will more so be an international institution to encourage peace between the countries that already exist."
Macai argues, "That sounds like everyone will be in puppet states for their globalist overlords. No thanks."
Aiya: "Well, talk to Zuko about this." A few days later Macai meets with Zuko at an international conference. Several officials from the Water Tribes, Fire Nation, and the Earth Kingdom are present. Macai notices Earth Kingdom representatives are trying to advance their own interests and Water Tribe Chieftains are doing the same. The facility has white walls, white tables, a white floor, and a white ceiling.
Macai talks to Zuko alone after the meeting in a corner. Macai: "How did it go?"
Zuko: "It went decently. We took some wins and losses. That's how compromises go. As long as everyone does, that's what matters."
Macai: "I just get the feeling that we're on the losing end of the stick. What happens if the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe want revenge and both use their leverage to win out against us?"
Zuko reassures Macai, "That won't happen, Aang wouldn't allow it."
Macai: "You trust him a lot."
Zuko: "With my life."
Macai: "The Avatar is still a person. No person is perfect, you must hold him accountable."
Zuko gets irritated, "Believe me I can, Macai. He is one of my best friends, if not my best friend. But if it ever came down to it, I told him he has permission to kill me. You don't think I have a conflict? Some time ago Iroh told me I have some heritage from Roku, the Fire Nation Avatar. But I also have descent from my father and I take from him. Sometimes I see myself lashing out and acting like a stereotypical firebender. Sometimes I want to fight and use military force when I shouldn't. I cannot allow myself to become a monster like my father, if I do, he will end me."
Macai argues, "If that happens, our nation won't be able to handle the consequences. Zuko, that would be the nail in the coffin that would lead to chaos and our Nation would not survive. Maybe it could bounce back in twenty years, but it might be the end of it forever. Great things are steak, I can feel it can't you."
Zuko shouts, "You think I DON'T KNOW THAT?! I HAVE PEOPLE TRYING TO KILL ME EVERY WEEK!" The nobles look at Zuko suspiciously. Zuko: "I'm sorry, I'm just stressed." Several Earth Kingdom officials and Water Tribe chieftains still give Zuko dirty glances.
Macai smirks, "See, they still don't trust you. You keep tap dancing for these clowns thinking you'll be like them. We'll never be like them Zuko and they'll never accept us."
Zuko nods, "Maybe not, but this is the path I chose. What we did last time wasn't working. If we try it again our nation will certainly be dead either way so we might as well take a gamble. If I fought the Avatar again and was taken down just like those before me then we'd lose everything. Why can't you see that? It's also just not right Macai."
Macai: "I'm not asking for you to do that. I'm asking for you to still stand up for your people and make sure no one walks all over us. But what I fear is that this system is biased against us. That we aren't getting the respect that we deserve. I heard Aang snatched you up on an airball to force his terms, you think that's respectful?"
Zuko: "I'm hard-headed and stubborn Macai. I deserved it."
Macai shakes his head, "If you get out of line the Avatar will check you. But if he gets out of line, then perhaps the nations need to check him. And if the nations and Avatar get out of line maybe every nation deserves to have its own enforcers on standby."
Zuko laughs, "No one can beat him Macai, he's the Avatar."
Macai: "But Azula did, everyone has a weakness."
Zuko: "Azula? Listen to yourself, do you really want to be associated with her again? Don't make me revoke your rank commander." Macai looks down. Zuko: "I know Macai, you're under a lot of stress right now. There are a lot of changes, but it's going to be alright. I'll give my all for this nation, you know that. The Avatar may seem strange but he cares about our people and our nation as much as the others."
Macai asks, "Are you really sure about that?" Macai hastily exits the facility before allowing him time to respond. Zuko looks back at Macai as he leaves.
Macai meets with General Mak the next morning. It is a sunny day and much of the sky is yellow while the rest is light blue. Macai: "Mak, I wanted to meet with you to ask some simple questions."
General Mak: "What's on your mind, commander?"
Macai smiles, "I've been looking for an opportunity to meet with the Avatar and congratulate him for his service. Had it not been for him, Ozai would have never been overthrown and I would have been executed. What are his whereabouts?"
General Mak scratches his head, "It might take about a month or maybe two to find a time. Right now his close friends Katara and Sokka are going on some sort of adventure."
Macai asks, "Wait, so they're not unified."
General Mak nods, "Right now the Avatar is spending time with his friend Toph in the Earth Kingdom."
Macai: "What about their flying Bison? That animal Appa?"
General Mak: "It is with Aang, but he won't be riding it all of the time. I assume they have somewhere to keep it. Do you want to meet Appa as well?"
Macai cheerfully exclaims, "Of course! I heard it's a lovable and gentle giant. Have you seen it?"
Mak smiles, "Once, it licked me in the face." Macai laughs. General Mak: "I think the Avatar will wait until Sokka and Katara have returned from their trip before he meets with you. That way you can meet the whole gang. It will be great. As long as everything goes according to plan, I hear there is some spiritual storm coming or something."
Macai shakes Mak's hand, "Thank you General. I know you are stressed right now, but you're doing a wonderful job." Macai keeps note of what happened. Oddly enough, ever since his dream he has had a constant obsession with killing the Avatar. It seems it would be the safest way to ensure the long term stability of his nation. Afterall, the Avatar is just too powerful at his full potential and will only grow stronger.
The only way to keep Aang from becoming invincible is to terminate him while he's still young. With his past history, he will be a difficult man to fight. Afterall, Macai has never faced an airbender before. On the other hand, Aang has never fought anyone like Macai before and the 31st commander knows he will have the element of surprise if he gets the jump on him. Macai currently has more battle experience on his side, he's been fighting for an entire year before Aang was even trained.
He doesn't want to wait to meet the entire team because there will be too many people to fight during that time. Instead, Macai plans on researching where Aang and Toph are before taking them out. Macai doesn't know much about Toph, besides the fact that she taught the Avatar earthbending. Macai's fighting style is the most effective against earthbenders, as long as he swiftly deals with one of them he'll have the time to neutralize the other.
Macai returns to Hazo's estate and reveals his plan. Hazo looks at the commander haphazardly, "Why did you come to me with this plan?"
Macai: "Because you're the only one I can trust. I left a letter to my crew letting them know I'll be out for the next two days for administrative purposes."
Hazo: "Your career will go down if you do this."
Macai answers, "I'll worry about that after I kill the Avatar."
Hazo: "You may even die."
Macai: "It will be worth the risk to save my nation. Even if Zuko is killed another strong leader could rise without an Avatar who will take away our ability to win. But I still will be picked off with ease if he activates his Avatar state. I want to find a time to strike in the next month."
Hazo smiles, "Well, you are fortunate then."
Macai asks, "What do you mean?"
Hazo: "I have realized that a spiritual storm is coming. For much of my life, I've had a lot of spiritual knowledge that I didn't share with you because I wanted to make sure that you could focus on your immediate responsibilities that the war brought up." Hazo takes Macai to one of his rooms and shows him several bookshelves. The books include books about spiritual influence, seasons, control, and Macai notices one book that talks about manipulation.
Hazo interrupts to take the trooper's attention, "In time, you can learn these things but several spiritual experts are saying that a storm is coming. The Avatar is getting ready for a big spiritual battle and he will be distracted by the spiritual war. Much of his concentration and even his connection to the Avatar state will be reduced up to that point. Which will give you more time to kill him. I don't know how long this conflict will last, but I believe it will occur for at least a month."
Macai: "I heard General Mak mention something about that."
Hazo passionately asks, "What did he say?"
Macai: "He didn't seem to know much about it."
Hazo looks up and his voice gets serious, "The Avatar must be taking time to meditate. He is currently engaging in spiritual warfare and his concentration on the physical world has been reduced. His spiritual sessions will also weaken his power and he is still a novice in this area being a new Avatar. Now is the time to strike, now is your best chance to kill him."
Macai looks back at Hazo, "Alright, but you've been planning this."
Hazo's eyes widen. Macai: "You forgot that I was a master tactician. I can adapt to things outside of battle. Oh, Hazo you thought you could manipulate me. You never got over Ozai's empire falling and you still feel betrayed by Zuko. You almost had me with your spiritual knowledge and merciful outlook for the people of other nations."
Hazo claps, "Oh Macai, you are a smart young man and you've found me out. It's too bad your emotions made you vulnerable the moment you walked in and you have no spiritual wisdom. Your worldly wits alone are not enough to win conflict like this. I was a step ahead of you the moment you came in hear and had a cup of tea." Hazo pulls out a spoon and Macai enters his battle stance.
Hazo taps the bookshelf near him and Macai freezes. Macai tries to move and is unable to. It as if his body and brain are ignoring him. Macai: "What?!"
Hazo grins, "Now you see my true power. Macai, your mission is to kill the Avatar. Do not hesitate, show no mercy." Hazo taps his spoon on the shelf a second time and Macai regains control of his body but his ambitions miraculously change.
Macai: "Of course Hazo." Macai exits Hazo's home and begins his hunt for the Avatar.
Macai visits the Fire Nation Intel Department briefly. The building has light grey walls, light yellow carpet, and a dark red ceiling. Macai walks up to the front desk, "I see you've done some renovations around here."
The desk woman smiles, "Yeah, how do you like it?"
Macai: "It's a nice change of pace. I'm wondering where the Avatar was last sighted."
Desk woman: "Do you have authorization for a request like that?"
Macai: "I thought the Aang was a public figure, after all it is peacetime. I want to see him and thank him for all he has done."
Desk woman: "Then visit him at an official event."
Macai: "Does he have any happening in the near future?"
Desk woman: "Well, you could go to any government center or one of those new United Nations centers to find this out. However, I happen to have a pamplet on the locations where events will happen. There won't be another one until two weeks from now."
Macai waves and takes the pamphlet, "Thank you for your time." Macai looks at the pamphlet knowing the Avatar will not be at that location anytime soon. He likely will keep himself aware from there until the event to avoid the spotlight. However, he won't be too far from there either because he'd need to be able to make the trip within two weeks. Macai sits in his room and analyzes several maps to see nearby cities that Aang might be interested in.
Macai then pulls various public newspapers and articles to study official statements about Aang's mannerisms. The young officer wants to understand his hobbies and what kind of places would attract him. Being a monk and spiritual leader, Aang would probably want to be around some nature. He'd want to keep a low profile and be in a village that isn't too big. Perhaps he'd been in a completely rural area.
Perhaps he would want to visit a spiritual site. His next public meeting will be in an Earth Kingdom medium-sized city called Refanopu. The young prodigy looks to see the most interesting spiritual sites nearby and notices there is a famous park that is not so far away. The Gegenpo park, which is located in the Teranto Woods. It is a relatively isolated region that several past Avatars visited.
An evil grin emerges on Macai's face, he knows the Avatar will be there. But when will he be there? How can Macai find him in a timely manner? The Avatar will likely be there for a while, he probably won't just go for a couple of hours if he doesn't have a lot on his plate. Without his friends around, he may want to meditate longer. Aang also may communicate with past Avatars there, leaving him vulnerable.
The young lad will likely go there during the early morning or midday rather than at night. Macai is determined and will stay from sunrise to sunset before he leaves to ensure he catches the Avatar. He will casually stroll the area until he finds his target but make it seem like he's just visiting. The park doesn't get many visitors but some people go there every now and then.
Macai can't go in his battle armor, he needs to look like a civilian. Macai gets an eel hound and rides into an Earth Kingdom city. The commander buys a light green shirt with yellow markings and finds light green pants to go with his outfit. Three days later, the young warrior finally finds the park. Macai dismounts his eel hound and leaves it on the outskirts of the park. Macai looks at the hound, "I'll come back by the end of the day."
The park is gorgeous. It has blush light green grass, tall trees with dark green leaves, flowers of all shades, copper brown wood, and much of the forest smells like lavender. Even the insects are pleasant and come in every color; some fly while others crawl. The rocks range from light grey to dark brown to light blue.
The park has signs that describe several plants that can be used for medicines for healing purposes. There are also signs that describe the history of several insects and the uses of the park in ancient history. The park was once attacked by a water Imperial Warlord and his personal escort however the past Earth Kingdom Avatar Habergo ultimately emerged victorious over the villain.
The first day, Macai has a fruitless search. He walks around but sees nothing outside of two civilian visitors. Macai heads to a local motel to keep a low profile and stays there for the night. The next day he is back at his search and still finds nothing. Macai comes back a third day and arrives again in the morning. After pacing around for a couple of hours Macai becomes hysterical and briefly strolls aimlessly.
Macai hears faint voices left of his position. The sixteen-year-old looks left and notices the Avatar and his friend strolling about twenty feet away in the park. Aang is thirteen-years-old. He has light skin, light blue arrow tattoos on his arms, a light blue tattoo over his bald head, and orange robes. His friend Toph is the same age.
Despite how well she moves and her confidence, Toph is actually blind. She uses her advanced senses to detect objects and movements around her. Normally, she would have noticed Macai but he is far enough and silent enough to avoid detection. The earthbender is also distracted by her friend Aang and Macai is shielded by unseen spiritual forces that war against the Avatar.
Toph has green and tan robes with gold markings, black hair, pale skin, a straight medium-length nose, very thin lips, large almond-shaped grey eyes with a shade of teal in them, and a green and gold headband with two fuzzy cream-colored balls on both edges. Toph: "Relax twinkletoes, we just took down the loserlord I'm not too worried about 'spiritual psychopaths'. They're chumps who don't even have the guts to face us in real life."
Aang shakes his head, "This spiritual war is just as real as the physical world. In fact, it's more real. I've never had a challenge like this, but I know we'll get through it. One step at a time."
Toph yawns, "Alright, but don't stand around all day. It gets boring you know."
Aang: "Maybe you can meditate with me."
Toph rolls her eyes, "Not a chance."
Aang: "Pleeeeeease, come on. Sit with me and give it a try."
Toph gives Aang a pokerface and looks the other way, "I SAID NO."
Aang: "Fine, but why did you even bother to come?"
Toph replies, "You look after you, goofy." Toph runs her index finger down Aang's nose.
Aang swipes Toph's hand away, "Stop it, eww. I'm the Avatar, I can protect myself."
Toph extends her hands, "You are still a target Aang. There are still gumpy has-beens who are mad that they lost the war and all they need is to see you standing here sitting ducks with your eyes closed. Especially since you sit there FOR HOURS!!"
Aang sighs, "The war is over. Do you know how many times we sat around and nothing happened? Most of our enemies are struggling to even function and not be cracked down by the governments around them."
Toph: "Aang let's be real, for the most part, these governments are all jokes. Just really bad jokes."
Aang nods, "That's kind of true, but I have faith in Zuko's government."
Toph grins, "I do too, but wow... It needs some work."
Aang: "Awww come on, he's just getting started. Give him time."
Toph nods, "I have no doubt he'll be a fine leader one daaaay. Eventually... He's still a knucklehead, seeing him as the Firelord is different. It still takes some getting used to."
Aang: "Maybe you should lead the Earth Kingdom. You're strong enough."
Toph gives Aang the hand, "No way. All those politics are for chumps."
Aang: "Well, someone's got to do it Toph."
Toph: "Not me, you know I do not have patience for simpletons. And you have to sit down and listen to them. That's all politics is."
Aang grins, "Well, you have to listen to everyone. That's the only way we can have justice."
Toph: "That's exactly why I hate politics."
Aang: "But if you don't you're basically the same as Ozai."
Toph: "I don't like that either. Don't get me wrong, I'll go with democracy but all of it sucks. It's like slicing up poo. It always will be poo, no matter how you slice it. Maybe it'll be better, but it still sucks."
Aang: "Toph, that analogy doesn't make any sense."
Toph replies, "Neither does politics."
Aang sits down, "Anyway, it's time to meditate."
Toph: "Oh great. Ok, show me." Toph and Aang start meditating and Macai looks at them in the distance.
Macai thinks, "Oh this is going to be easier than I thought. But they look like good kids. Do I really want to go through with this?" Macai's back suddenly pops and Macai stands up straight. Macai re-enters his trance, "Of course I do."
Toph starts focusing as she mediates then she hears a twig snap. The girl opens her eyes and looks left. Toph looks back at Aang, "Aang.." Aang's eyes are completely closed and he doesn't respond. Toph assumes she can handle the situation herself and stands up then looks around. Toph thinks, "It's probably just a little animal or a visitor. What am I worrying about?"
Toph tilts her head and sees Macai, but she can't tell who he is from the distance and has never met him before. Macai stares at Toph. The young lady looks back at him in an annoyed fashion, "Hey boozo, what are you looking at?!" Toph assumes Macai is just a random person and enters her battlestance, "You wanna dance?!"
Bee Rolls Out- Fall of Cybertron (Youtube) Music Starts
Macai swiftly pumps his right hand and a massive white rectangle of fire flows toward the master earthbender. Toph's eyes widen and she swiftly raises a wall of earth in front of her. Macai's flames are so hot and large that they break Toph's cover on impact. Because Toph was unprepared for the immense temperature of Macai's white flames and the relatively large size of them; she created an earth wall that was too close to her body. A chunk of her barrier flies back into her body.
The young earthbender flies three feet back and tumbles into the grass. Specs of dirt cover much of her robes. Toph coughs as the confused girl crouches in a feeble position. Macai kicks a white flame into her right side, Toph unconsciously rolls over on her back. The young commander looks back at his target who is still meditating.
Macai smiles and Aang's eyes suddenly open. Aang immediately looks at Macai and notices Toph on the ground. Aang shouts, "Toph!" Macai extends both of his hands and fires a chunk of white fire at the young teen. Aang leaps over the flame and kicks a wave of air at the 31st leader. Macai rolls right then Aang pulls his arms in that same direction, gathering a massive gust of wind.
Aang swiftly extends his body left, hurling a powerful stream of air at Macai. The commander hops left and pumps two white flames at Aang. Aang sprints right then Macai shifts his body and fires two white flames toward where Aang is running. The Avatar spirals right then points both of his hands, firing a surge of air at the firebending master.
Macai leaps over the air blast and kicks a rod of white fire from his right leg at the Avatar's neck. Aang rolls right and forward; Macai lands a few feet left of his position with feral eyes. Macai briefly pulls his right hand back and tosses an unstable white fireball at Aang. Aang leaps left then Macai extends his left hand and fires a beam of white fire at the air bender. Aang rolls right then Macai rotates his firebeam left as he attempts to fry the young man.
Aang ducks to avoid being cremated. Aang swiftly pumps two airballs at Macai's chest. Macai extends his arms and blocks the airballs. Macai taunts, "Is this the great Avatar who defeated Ozai?!" Macai leaps forward and tosses two explosive flames at Aang. Aang leaps from left to right as he dodges both attacks.
Macai: "You fight like a girl. Like Ty Lee or Kanna, you can't dodge forever!" Macai extends both of his hands and fires a deadly white beam of fire at Aang. Aang flips left and hears a tree snap in the distance.
Aang: "You are damaging this beautiful forest! The Fire Nation lost, get over it!" Aang extends both of his hands and launches a strong gust of wind into Macai. The fire commander crosses his hands, but the wind is too strong to block. The 31st leader is launched ten feet backward into a tree trunk. Macai hits his back and feels a snap as the tree cracks behind him.
Macai gets dizzy and shakes his head as he attempts to gather himself. Aang lands about five feet away from the injured marine officer, "Stop this now! You're Macai aren't you? What are you doing? Do you think your mother would want this?" The tree behind Macai starts to crack and falls inward in his direction. Aang's eyes widen and Macai dives right. The snapped tree rotates and falls toward Aang.
Aang leaps left. Macai rises back on his feet and looks in the Avatar's direction as he prepares for more of a fight. Aang springs over the leveled tree and launches a massive earth ball at the marine while in midair. Macai slides as the gust of wind flows behind him. Aang lands in front of the commander's position. Macai loves to brawl and dives at him with an enhanced right hook but the airbender is too fast.
Aang backflips but double-kicks Macai in his chin. The firebender rolls over, never facing such a fast defensive fighter before. Aang lands gracefully, "Oh my, how the mighty have fallen."
Macai growls, "Aahaahah!" Macai leaps and shoots another beam of white flames at Aang. Aang's eyes briefly widen before he rolls right. Macai yanks his right hand forward, tossing a white flame at Aang's face. The Avatar ducks and Macai pumps another flame from his left hand at Aang's right shoulder.
Aang extends his left arm and blocks the flame. Aang extends his right leg and kicks a rod of orange fire at the 31st leader. Macai flips right, "Oh, that's right you can use several elements." Aang extends his arms and hurls several rocks at Macai. The 31st officer raises his arms and a wall of white fire absorbs the shots. Macai extends his right hand and launches his wall of white fire Aang. The Avatar runs right and leaps away from the flames.
The vegetation that hits the white fire is zapped into black soil. Macai extends his left hand and pumps another large flame at Aang. Aang slides right and the commander pumps another big fireball at Aang. The airbender leaps left and closer to Macai. Aang extends his hands, propelling a sizable stream of light-blue water at the tan teen.
Macai pulls his right hand up and a wide whip of white fire douses the water stream. Macai extends his hands again, sending a barrage of white flames at the Avatar. Aang tilts his head right to left and he dodges multiple shots. Macai changes his attack angles and directions; using his admirable technical skills. Aang crosses his right below blocking another white flame then Macai pulls his left hand low and shoots a white flame into the left side of Aang's stomach.
Aang flies two feet back and directly into the ground. He rolls over into the dirt. Aang shouts, "Arraahahahaagha!" The teen's eyes flicker from white to grey as he hopelessly attempts to enter the Avatar state. Aang tries again but to no avail.
Macai grins, "Just as Hazo predicted." Aang leaps back on his feet but is weary. The Avatar fires a stream of ice sickles at the commander but he fires a ray of white flames back at Aang. The white fire burns through the ice sickles toward the Avatar. Aang creates an air bubble around himself and the white flames collide with his bubble. The bubble breaks but absorbs the flames and Aang glides back three feet.
The bald boy tumbles in the dirt unconscious. Macai clinches his fists, "THIS ENDS, NOW!" Macai points his right hand at Aang as he prepares to fire the killing blow. Macai hears a buzz zoom across his right flank. Macai turns and sees a massive chunk of wood racing toward him. The commander pushes an explosive beam of white fire into the center of the wood, splitting the object into two scorching pieces. Macai looks ahead and notices Toph.
Toph defiantly stands across his position, "Macai, how about a proper fight?!"
Macai: "As you wish." Macai flips and fires two thunderous white bursts of fire at the blind earthbender. Toph extends her left hand and fires a chunk of earth into the one flame. Then Toph fires a massive stone into the second flame. Macai notices Toph doesn't seem to be as agile as Aang, so he decides to ramp up on his output.
The 31st commander launches himself at the Avatar and right with a spark of white flames. Macai shifts his body in the earth prodigy's direction pumps two huge white flames at Toph. The earthbender launches herself from the ground and pumps two colossal bricks of earth at Macai. Macai sprints and slides as the first object shatters behind him. Macai rolls right as he narrowly avoids being crushed by the second large object.
Toph lands about nine feet away from the Commander's position. Macai sprints and directs a payload of white flames at Toph. The girl tightens her left fist and stomps the ground with her right leg. A cascade of earth slides in Macai's direction and runs through his flames. Macai leaps right and blasts a stream of white heat at her. Toph senses the heat flying in her direction and stomps her right foot.
A wall of stone absorbs the shot. This time Toph has gotten familiar with the size and heat level of Macai's flames. Now she is making adjustments with her timing and counters. Toph launches her damaged cover at Macai. Macai's eyes widen but he leaps right and bumps into the earth materials Toph fired at him earlier. Macai pushes himself back up then leaps in the air and kicks a white stream of fire at his opponent.
Toph slams her hands together and stops the flames with a massive wall of earth. Toph extends her right hand and launches the wall at Macai. Macai pulls his hands down and burns the portion of the wall in front of him open. The firebender swiftly sends another blinding barrage of flames at Toph as he looks to overwhelm her, but the blinding nature of the white fire have no impact on Toph because she is already blind.
Toph covers her arms with metal and sways them side to side as she parries each flame. Macai continues to fire several shots as he attempts to use his technical skills and timing to overwhelm the earthbender. Unlike Aang, Toph can sense Macai's movements. She uses her senses to block all of his shots and knows where to move before he even strikes.
Although Macai has a sharp mind and uses his angles well when attacking; Macai doesn't move his feet as much as fighters like Aang, Kanna, Ty Lee, or even Azula. Macai fights more on his feet, like an earthbender. This makes his attacks more predictable for Toph and from his grounded feet, Toph can sense the movements of his entire body including his arms.
Toph uses her excellent conditioning to move side to side and block over eight strikes. Macai becomes frustrated, as none of his opponents have been able to directly block so many strikes before. Even Iroh would have had to change his tactics at this point due to his large size and limited mobility. Toph extends her right hand and launches a metal bar at Macai's gut. The elite firebender leaps right and launches himself off the cascade of earth that Toph generated earlier.
As Macai flies in the air he aims both of his hands at Toph and directs a beam of white fire at her. Toph slides forward as the flames penetrate the ground directly behind her and her body sweats from the heat. Macai spirals down and lands a few feet behind her. Toph launches herself off the ground while flipping her body toward Macai. The earthbending master glides at the commander with metal arms and Macai engulfs his hands with white fire as he prepares for a brawl.
Toph glides down at Macai with a lower vertical strike and Macai leaps backward. Toph leaps off the ground a second time and swings horizontally right at Macai's face. Macai ducks and backpedals. Toph lets go of the metal around her arms so she can attack him more quickly but keeps it over her hands to enhance her punching power.
Toph extends her right hand and launches her body toward the 31st war master. The earthbending prodigy launches her metal right fist into Macai's nose and blood gushes from it. Macai takes another step back and Toph smirks. Toph: "That all you've got commander, I thought you'd be tougher." Toph swings at Macai with a straight left hand but the fire national ducks and pulls the little woman forward.
Macai knees Toph in her stomach and shoves her backward into the ground. Macai: "That all you've got, Toph. I thought you'd be more skilled. I guess striking isn't your thing, stick to bending." Toph grunts and launches herself off the ground with a diagonal right underhand strike. Macai attempts to move left but runs into the punch. Toph's right hand smacks Macai's left ear and it immediately turns red from the blow.
Macai takes a step back and his legs begin to wobble. The officer's equilibrium is disrupted from the shot, messing with his senses. Macai growls, "Ughghg!!" A frustrated commander leaps forward with white fists as he swings at Toph with two rapid hooks. Toph ducks under Macai's left hook and blocks his right hook with her left arm. Toph uses her shorter reach to glide toward Macai and close the distance.
Macai braces himself and Toph swiftly pops Macai on his left side with a stiff left metal jab. The jab quickly distracts the firebender then Toph steps up to him a second time and pulls her right down as she rushes ahead. Macai pulls his left hand back (that was recently blocked by Toph) as he prepares a counter in reaction to Toph's movement but Toph slams her right hand into Macai's jaw with a staggering uppercut. An egregious pop is heard as Macai's head snaps back and he is stretched out on his back.
(Music stops)
Toph smirks as she looks at the unconscious 31st leader. Aang gets up rubbing his sore head, "Ugh, what happened?"
Toph looks back at Aang, "I just took out the trash."
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