--The Beginning--
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Chapter 1
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Chapter 16
The ball of flame sped at Ichiro and the two ninjas directly by his side. He let go of the driver who fell facedown at once, and punched up into the air, drawing up a thick slab of hard earth. The flame hit the earth with so much force that it cracked. Ichiro thrust his hands forward and the slab opened up down the middle like a set of swing doors. The driver scuttled forward. The back of his clothes were badly crinkled and singed.
Jean was already running for Ichiro. “Stay with Steve!” She yelled at Chris.
The other four earthbenders were emerging from the sides of the slab, heading for Steve and the totem.
“Sure thing,” Chris murmured. “This is going to be fun.”
And the battle began.
The movements of Chris and the four earthbenders were so fast that Steve could barely follow them. He cowered behind his firebending protector, clutching the totem hard. The earth rumbled and shook. Red blasts of fire were everywhere. Despite Chris' previous show of confidence, the fight was intense. The earthbenders were pushing them back. Chris blocked attack after attack, his face squeezed in concentration, barely able to attack himself.
He gritted his teeth. “Steve, get in the car!”
Steve turned around and dashed to the black sedan. The doors were locked and the driver was nowhere in sight but he thrust his hand in through the broken window and unlocked it from inside. Then he dove to the floor of the backseat and shut the door.
He felt angry. Was this how it was always going to be? Him running and hiding and unable to do anything else while others fought to protect him? If the Incarnate was so important and he had to protect the Totem of the Elements, wouldn’t it have made his job way easier if he was a bender also? If only there was some other way he should help! He lifted his head and peered over the window's edge.
Not far from the car, Chris and the four were still going at it hard. Chris kept his back to the car, fighting to keep them away. Sometimes, one to attempt to attack the vehicle from a distance – the car would shake violently – but Chris would shut the attacker down with one of his own, forcing the earthbender to protect himself. With Steve safely out of the way, Chris was doing much better, managing to hit the earthbenders with fireballs and whips while also blocking their attacks. There was a fierce grin on his face. His eyes glinted furiously.
Beyond them, Jean and Ichiro were locked in battle. Steve could see what Chris had meant at once –Jean was a badass. Although her water had been little and Ichiro had an almost unlimited supply of earth, she stood her ground against him, attacking and parrying and dodging so fast she was almost a blur. She seemed to be pulling water out of the air itself, and even from the earth Ichiro bent!
But Ichiro was good. He hadn’t been exaggerating his claims of being a master. Despite Jean's continuous strikes, there was not a single mark on his skin. His clothes were unruffled and he still stood strong and full of energy. Jean on the other hand, was getting tired. It was easy to see. Her breathing was getting more labored by the second and her face was covered in sweat. She would not be able to stand up to the earthbendermuch longer. If something didn’t happen soon…
Suddenly, Chris landed a kick on one of the earthbenders. The ninja staggered backward and fell, hitting his head on the railings of the porch stairs. He stayed down. Another managed to get past him and headed straight for the car, but Chris rapidly sent a fireball blazing into his back. Steve ducked instinctively. The fire hit the earthbender, propelling him into the side of the car. He hit with a loud bang and slid down, unconscious. Steve peeked up again. The ninja lay facedown , a large area of the cloth on his back badly burnt in a strange circular pattern. However, nothing was on fire –it seemed the blast had been more energy than actual flame.
Chris faced the last two, fighting ferociously. Soon, they were both down.
Jean saw her opportunity.
“Chris!”She yelled, dancing to Ichiro’s side and putting all the energy she could muster into her next strike, forcing the earthbender to turn and face away from the house and the driveway where Chris stood. Chris grinned and sent a concentrated blast straight into his back. Ichiro was knocked to the ground hard. He rolled over, groaning.
Jean stood, panting. Steve opened the car door and came out; cautiously stepping over the earthbender slumped there.
And still grinning fiercely, Chris stalked forward towards the fallen Ichiro. He raised his arms slightly to the side, pointing two fingers outside, leaving a trail of sparks as he walked.
“Chris?” Steve called warily. “What are you doing?”
Chris didn’t respond. Ichiro tried to stand, but he was too weak to raise himself. He stared at the approaching Chris, fear building in his eyes as the sparks built in intensity.
Steve threw a glance at Jean. She was watching Chris, also clearly worried.However, she remained silent. That surprised Steve – this seemed like something she would be against, and she’d struck him as someone who would defend her opinions fiercely. Or maybe that only applied when it was him doing the challenging.
“Chris?” He called again. “He’s already beaten – they all are. If you strike him with lightning, you’ll be killing him.” Still no response. He stepped cautiously forward. Was Chris McGregor, a teenager just like himself, who grew up in the best of environments really contemplating murder? Steve felt a sudden chill, very unlike the fear he had felt when the battle was on. “Do you want to kill him, Chris? What happened to all that talk about there being no excuse for murder? It’s not worth it.”
Chris didn’t stop. He was only a couple of feet from Ichiro now.
Finally, Jean spoke. “Chris,” she said quietly. “Is this what your father would want?”
Chris froze. Then slowly, slowly, he relaxed his hands and let them fall. The sparks of lightning disappeared.
Steve breathed in relief.
But then, Chris fisted his right hand and a blaze of fire erupted around it. Before either Steve or Jean could utter a word, he lurched forward and in another of his super-quick movements, struck Ichiro across the face. Ichiro went down, fully unconscious.
Chris turned around. The fierce grin was gone. In its place was his usual confident smirk. “Really, guys? You didn’t enjoy seeing ‘Itchy the master earthbender’ squirm in terror? That had to be fun.”
Jean rolled her eyes. “Yes, we just got ambushed by the Solution’s forces. Much, much fun.”
Steve came forward. “So... What now?”
Together, they looked around. The lawn was pretty much destroyed, along with the driveway and most of Grandma Lily’s front windows. There were scorch marks all over the face of the house. And for the first time, they saw that across the street and in adjacent houses, curtains had been pulled aside as the neighbours watched the action, wild-eyed. Some were on the street, also watching but keeping a safe distance. One or two had a cellphone out, probably calling the police. But then it occurred to Steve that they could as well have been filming the whole thing.
In any case, they had to get out of there immediately.
The front door opened and Grandma Lily hobbled out, looking shocked but relieved. The airbender-driver emerged from the side of the house.
Steve went to Gran and helped her down the stairs. Then he gave Chris a look. “What now?” He repeated.
Chris looked around for a second. His expression hardened. “The Solution tracked this house down faster than I expected – if we hadn’t been here, they would’ve had the totem. We need to learn how it works soon, so we can end this. We have to get going. All of us.” He turned to the driver. “Are you okay enough to drive?”
The man nodded.
“Alright. This is what we do. We all get in the car and head to the airport. On the way, I'll call my father – we have to get to that temple in China before the solstice closes.”
“Chris!” Jean cautioned, glancing at the earthbenders, but they were all still out. She nodded to Gran. “What about her?”
It was Steve who responded. “She goes to the colony. Along with him.” He gestured to the driver. “We take Chris' plane and put them on another.” He turned to Gran. “It’s the only place you’ll be safe.”
Gran nodded. “I guess there’s no time to pack a few things.”
“No, Gran,” Steve replied. “I’m sorry.”
They sped off in the black sedan, leaving Gran’s pickup on the driveway. They had also left Ichiro and his earthbenders lying there – there had been no time for anything else. In fact, before they had driven off, they could already hear approaching sirens. It was Gran's knowledge of Albany's roads that got them through safely, but they had no way of knowing if Ichiro had managed to get away before the cops had arrived. If he hadn’t, the cops' taking him in would buy them a little time before they wouldattempt pursuing the escapees, enough to get out of Albany. Either way, Steve was absolutely certain they hadn’t seen the last of the earthbender.
He couldn’t believe it had been less than 24 hours since he had dozed off watching Nickelodeon in his apartment. It seemed like a different lifetime entirely. Since then, he had been attacked twice, had slept underground, flown in a private jet from New York to Ohio, and was now planning a much longer journey to the other side of the world.
Chris sat at the back, uncharacteristically quiet. He had called his father as promised, and even spoken to Director Strongman. Steve didn’t hear what they had to say, but all was being arranged. They were going to China.
Jean sat at the other end of the seat, Grandma Lily between her and Chris. As usual, she was alert, watching the roads and the fields for any sign of danger. Feeling Steve's eyes on her, she turned, but only took a moment to scowl before turning back. It seemed their recent experiences had done nothing to improve their relationship. Steve remembered her assertion on the plane that there would be no traveling for the team and wondered what she thought of this new itinerary. So far, she hadn’t said anything against the venture, which led him to believe she was not unwilling to go along. As for the other aspects… well, it seemed they would have a lot more time to work it out.
Suddenly, Laurel’s last words came back to him. She had been right. They had set out on a simple mission of retrieving the totem from Grandma Lily, but were now about to travel thousands of miles further. And there was no telling where that journey would lead them next. His quest as the Avatar had begun.
And he was certain of one thing also. The adventures they had had so far – they were only just the beginning.
THE END!
Watch Out for The Lost Legend: Incarnate, the 2nd book in the lost legend series!
The Lost Legend series is fan fiction based off Nickelodeon's Avatar franchise.
Find more of my original works as Peter M. Ogwara on Amazon!
