Ascending Flame

Multiple Remnant troopers stand in battle position in a Fire Nation gym. Two firebenders punch a barrage of flames at a man that is surrounded by other Remnant soldiers. The man flips in the air and it turns out to be Ronin. He extends his arms, shooting two blocks of flames into his challengers. The men fly backward into a wall.

A wooden staff is thrown at Ronin's back but he spins left and blasts two men back with orange spurts of fire. A man with a baton runs at Ronin's left rear flank but he pivots his left leg and back kicks a fireball into the man's stomach. Trooper: "Ooof!" Another man launches a beam of light orange fire and dark yellow at Ronin's arms but he immediately blocks the flames and uses his right leg to sweep low with a fire whip.

Another three enemies are blasted down. Two men run at Ronin from behind but he rotates his body and shoots a double blast of fireballs into his enemies. A female firebender rushes at his rear but Ronin smoothly rotates his body and punches a flame into her left shoulder. Female Firebender: "Ahhhhhha!" As the lady falls, Ronin looks around seeing all eighteen of his opponents have been defeated.

Ronin has scaled it up since the last time he trained. Alev watches in the distance and claps slowly yet in a reserved manner three times. Ronin looks over at Alev, "Not bad, huh?"

Alev: "You actually beat them all this time. Last time you put up a respectable fight, but sixteen troops were too many. Your ambition has taken you very far."

Ronin: "Perhaps we could spar one day."

Alev laughs, "Oh Ronin, your persistence and confidence are admirable. But you are no match for me."

Ronin smirks, "Perhaps a session is in order then? I'm looking to be challenged. That's the only way to get better. And you are one of the best firebenders in the Remnant."

Alev responds, "I AM the best firebender in the Remnant. Save possibly Ozai, he doesn't count."

Ronin: "Then you need to stay active to make sure you STAY the best. Sitting around, painting your nails, doing your hair, buying perfumes, and having people make them for you, I mean that's fine, but you need to train like the rest of us."

Alev: "I train on my own. All the time. Why do you think my form is so sharp? Oh, believe me, I grind, I just treat myself for working hard. That's why I'm always in amazing shape. As much as I care about having nice hair, smelling good, and being well dressed having a good shape is just as important." Alev points down to her slender yet tone body.

Ronin enters his battle stance, "Then let's see how well I can do against the best."

Alev sighs, "Alright, prepare yourself!" Alev sharply enters her battle stance. Ronin grins. Two Remnant troopers barge into the room.

Remnant trooper: "Alev, Ronin, come please!"

Alev turns, "What is it trooper?"

Remnant trooper: "Come with us outside. There is this trooper, from Tesero! He's distraught and he came with a Lieutenant!"

Ronin replies, "Wait a Tesero! And what Lieutenant?"

Remnant trooper 2: "I believe his name is um Arko!"

Ronin: "I don't know anyone named Arko, I mainly was familiar with Captain Bundi. Honestly, they were more the friends of Hakon. But Bundi was a great man, I had a lot of respect for him. He conducted himself well and he took of my friends and I when we stayed there." Alev and Ronin run outside of the facility with the troops.

Outside the sky is a mixture of white and grey. A cool chill flows and leaves begin to fall off trees. The trees have turned a faded grey-brown color. There, Captain Ardo waits with a trooper by his side. Ardo has light brown hair, coyote brown eyes, beige skin, and long eyebrows. Ronin: "You must be Captain Arko."

Ardo smiles, "Good to see you Ronin, you might not remember me, but I remember you. We didn't get many visitors on Tesero."

Ronin: "Oh, I'm sorry, I just saw so many faces and didn't have time to figure out who was who."

Ardo: "Great and the name's Ardo by the way."

Ronin looks sideways at the Remnant trooper who told him the wrong name. Alev asks, "Why did you leave Tesero?"

Ardo: "We had no choice. The base was raided."

Alev gasps, "Wow, they didn't know where that base was, and even when they did they were never willing to risk a fight with that town. The people had many pro-Remnant views. Most of the time, the Fire Nation is hesitant to attack places like that because the fighting will never stop."

Ardo nods, "They usually hardly got involved with us. They must have had a real incentive to attack. I evacuated our wounded and non-combat staff."

Ronin asks, "What happened with Bundi? Did he make it out?" Ardo looks at the Remnant trooper then look back at Ronin and shakes his head. Ronin glowers.

Ardo adds, "He boldly defended Tesero to his last breath."

Alev: "Like a true warrior."

Ardo: "There's more. The trooper here can tell you."

Remnant Trooper: "While other forces evacuated, I stood with Bundi. He had a detachment of men that help the army forces back. We had a glorious battle, you should have seen us we were quite the force. Unfortunately, it all started to go sideways as they kept pressuring us and their archers inflicted heavy casualties. Our lines eventually cracked and a motor landed a few feet across me."

Remnant Trooper: "That motor knocked me to the ground and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, every trooper around me was dead. I looked further back, toward the edge of the battlefield. Enemy soldiers were several feet away and they were busy gathering bodies. I immediately got up while their backs were turned and fled into the woods. But I still watched from the distance. I saw them bury their own but they did something different with our men."

Alev: "What did they do?"

Remnant trooper: "They burned them! I saw a huge fire and dozens of bodies being thrown into it. It seemed they wanted to remove all evidence of the attack and it smelled horrible. Then I disappeared in the woods until I linked up with Ardo at the rendezvous point and told him everything I told you."

Alev shakes her head in disbelief. Ronin paces and punches a flame into the ground. Ardo motions to calm his ally and Ronin starts breathing intensely and yanks his hair. Ronin stops himself and regains his composure.

Ronin coldly says, "This war gets harder and harder every day. Look where we ran to. Look how we hide in a cold wasteland instead of the warm tropics of the Fire Nation! But our time, our time is coming. When we return, we will soar high like hawks! Our enemies will look right, they will look left, but everywhere they will see fire. There's a rising flame and it hungers. And it will not stop until it has eaten every inch of this new treacherous nation!"

Ardo nods. Alev crosses her arms and bats her eyelids. Alev exhales and steam flows from her mouth.

Ronin: "I say we strike now, take the fight back to them! We have forces at the ready."

Ardo replies, "I must gather my men, we are still recovering. We have some allies not near here but around Tesero. We are stronger together."

Ronin: "Gather your men and prepare to fight."

Ardo: "When the time is right, I look to strike back for my friend Bundi. But I am a father now and the lives of the people in my unit are in my hands now. So if I commit to an attack, I need to make sure it's impactful and well planned. I will not rush into battle recklessly. I know you want revenge Ronin, but I need to make sure there is more involved in it than that."

Ronin: "What more reason do you need than glory?"

Ardo: "I've seen enough glory recently." Ronin scowls at him.

Alev interjects, "If there is any reason for glory or actually winning this war it's Ozai regaining his powers and General Eyre mobilizing his unit. Eyre is a sound strategist and a veteran."

Ardo: "I agree, but good luck with that. The Avatar took his bending away."

Alev: "How about this? If it happens, I will have a messenger inform you and several other Remnant officers. Then we will unite the Remnant. Get many of our forces together for one great attack. It could be our best chance to destroy the enemy. If Ozai defeats Zuko and takes his throne, thousands more will rally to our cause. Many undercover sympathizers will reveal themselves."

Return of the Tryants

Ozai waits in the cave with Eyre. They wait in total darkness. Eyre inhales and the torches are automatically lit with orange flames. Ozai looks at his ally, a man he once bossed around at this moment is now his teacher. Eyre: "Are you ready?"

Ozai: "I am." Eyre walks up to the stones and lights his hands up as he presses them against the engraved stone columns in the center of the cave. The columns highlights turn yellow and Ozai feels a strong evil presence in the room. Sozin floats behind him.

Even Ozai, a man who was known for being fearless, feels tension in his chest. Ozai nearly mutters but gathers himself before he responds, "Grandfather, am I now worthy to receive my powers." Ozai turns to face Sozin.

The ancient Firelord slowly walks toward his grandson. Sozin looks him in his eyes and sniffs him. Sozin looks Ozai up and down, "Hmm, you seem more ready than before. But your mind is clouded."

Ozai shouts, "I am ready, grandfather! I will not stop until that Avatar suffers, as I did."

Sozin: "I'm not sure if a revenge quest is enough for me. I want you to restore my empire!"

Ozai: "I cannot restore your empire as long as he still lives! And you know the Avatar is the one that crushed everything we had. If nothing else, we need revenge. It is the only way, to get back what they took from us."

Sozin: "Of course, but I saw an Avatar die before and returned then took everything I worked to build. Seeing the whole world united under our banner would be amazing, but it would take longer now. it will never be quite the same, I hope you realize that. Aang has destroyed our best chance of unifying the world, it might now take decades."

Ozai: "With my power, it won't take any longer than that. And if I kill the Avatar now, as well as that traitor Macai. That will..."

Sozin: "Not be enough. You will need to clean out the Avatar's entire team. You will need to subdue both your children now."

Ozai: "They will come around. Don't worry."

Sozin: "Oh, you have deceived yourself. A great firelord is willing to do WHATEVER is necessary to unite his nation. If that means sacrificing your children, I hope you're ready." While Sozin was a wild person, it is questionable if Sozin in his life would have ever advised something so drastic.

Ozai hesitates. Sozin: "What?! Have you gotten soft!"

Ozai responds, "Of course not! I know how important my legacy is."

Sozin: "It is not just your legacy, it is OUR LEGACY! And if you fail, then you fail me! And I will return with vengeance! Still, you must earn the blessing of the other two, for the full enhancement."

Ozai: "And if I kill the Avatar, I'll at least buy our people some time. Time to figure out how to defeat him again and again. With the nations united under us, we won't have to focus on the war anymore."

Sozin: "The next children will come sooner if he dies at such a young age. Meaning you will need to fight again most likely. You will need to keep eliminating whoever it is and it will become increasingly difficult to predict. The burden will be on your shoulders but with a chance to redeem my people and destroy the traitors that helped do away with our nation. It will be worth it!" The Firelord Shakro and the brutal hun Gehou enter the room.

Shakro has black wavy hair, dark yellow skin, dark orange eyes, and medium lips. Sharko's robes are maroon with grey stripes and he wears a long robe. Shakro is roughly five feet and seven inches tall. Gehou hears a wolf-lion skin coat, is incredibly jacked, has a full brown beard, has a bald head that is covered by a spiked battle helmet and is six feet and five inches tall.

Of all of them, Sozin is the shortest, standing at only five feet and five inches tall. Gehou towers over Ozai, who is usually the tallest person in the room when Eyre isn't around. Gehou's voice is heavy, "Well, the boy looks troubled."

Ozai raises an eyebrow, "Boy? I'm in my forties!"

Gehou looks back at him, "Oh, well that's still a boy compared to me. I've lived for HUN-DREDS of years. And he doesn't have that spite in him." Gehou slaps Ozai's right arm and it becomes sore.

Ozai hisses at him. Gehou, "It'll take more than that to back me off." Though Ozai doesn't have his powers he lunges forward and socks the hun in his right jaw. Gehou chuckles, "Hehehahaha, was that supposed to hurt?" Gehou pounds Ozai in his left eye. A loud snap is heard as it turns purple.

Ozai groans, "Ooof." Gehou follows up with a hard right counter which darkens Ozai's other eye. As Ozai gathers himself, the man follows up with a strong left uppercut to the stomach and a right hook to the nose. Ozai feels a crack as blood rolls down it. Sozin just watches alongside Shakro.

Gehou grabs Ozai and headbutts him. Ozai rolls over on the ground as Gehou walks toward him. Gehou taunts, "Come on! Is that all you've got?! Some Firelord you are. And they say you're the best firebender yet? Where is that fire in you to prove it? You can't be the best when you can't even fight!"

Ozai shouts, "Ugghghghgh!!!" Ozai scrambles back to his feet and sprints forward. The ex-Firelord immediately pounds his enemy in the face with two fast punches. Gehou stumbles an inch back and smacks Ozai 's left shoulder with an overhand. Gehou pounds Ozai's right arm with a left hook. The arm pops from the hit.

Ozai: "Oh!" Gehou hits Ozai in his face and Ozai takes a knee. Gehou starts laughing. Ozai scowls, lunges forward, and knees the mammoth in his groin. Gehou huffs and Ozai elbows the titan in his right eye. Gehou's eye turns pink and the ex-firebending father follows up with a left uppercut. Gehou tumbles on the floor and Ozai jumps on top of him. Ozai peppers the large man with hook after hook, until the man's face is just as bruised as his.

Gehou pushes Ozai off him and huffs in pain. Gehou spits a tooth out and stands back up. Ozai gets up as well. Ozai lunges forward and slams his right foot into Gehou's face. Gehou takes a knee as blood pours out of his mouth. Ozai leaps forward and smacks the hun with two nasty hooks. Gehou shouts, "Enough! You have proven yourself."

Gehou stands back up and extends his hand. Ozai shakes it. Gehou: "You are a worthy fighter, but fighting alone will only grant my blessing."

Shakro looks at Ozai. Ozai inquires, "So what is your test?"

Shakro: "Gehou tests the heart. But I am here to test your skill." Shakro launches himself in a air with a gust of red and light yellow fire. Due to his flames not being as hot as some of the leaders in his era, he always needed to use skill to get to the top over the others. That skill is derived from relentless practice and meticulous planning. Still, Shakro knows Ozai would never possess his level of planning, he only looks to test his skill and instead looks to instill the strategic standards into Eyre.

Shakro shoots a wide beam of red and light yellow flames at Ozai. Ozai runs left toward a wall but quickly launches himself off the wall toward Shakro. The firelord legend spins and hurls two explosive spinning balls of flames at Ozai. Ozai spins in the air dodging the strikes as they explode behind him knocking rocks everywhere.

Eyre pleas, "Be careful or this whole place will come down."

Sozin barks, "Quiet subject!"

Ozai glides toward Shakro and attempts to roundhouse kick him. Shakro lowers his elevation and Ozai instead kicks the cave wall. Ozai screams as he shatters his bone and falls backward. Eyre leaps and catches him. Eyre puts Ozai down.

Sozin yells, "How dare you interfere! Ozai is to suffer on his own. If he can't pass, that's on him."

Ozai gets up, "Then I will take the burden." Ozai looks at Eyre, "Leave this to me." Eyre steps aside. Shakro punches four flames at the firebending former monarch. Ozai leaps in the air over the first two flames but he was always more tough than he was agile. Ozai ducks his head as he dodges the third flame but the other flame hits his left arm. Ozai bends down in pain and desperation.

Shakro buzzes left of Ozai's position with a gust of fire hovering him five feet in the air. Shakro blasts a ray of flames at Ozai but the firebending master slides forward before he notices a large rock. Shakro flies toward Ozai with a gust of flames propelling him at 70 miles an hour. Ozai latches onto the rock without making any sudden movements and braces himself. As Shakro moves in closer he fires a stream of blazing flames.

Ozai does a right diagonal spinning flip. Before Ozai lands on the ground, he hurls his stone into Shakro's face. Shakro falls and tumbles against the ground. The sheer speed of his movement makes his fall that much more devastating. The old firebender's own flames burn him and smoke flows across his robes. Ozai slowly walks toward him.

Shakro slowly emerges but falls to his knees. Shakro suddenly rises again and stumbles toward Ozai. Ozai pounds Shakro in his face. The legend hits the deck and Ozai snatches him up by his neck. Ozai shakes Shakro and shouts, "I AM OZAI!! And I too will be remembered as a legend among my people. I WILL destroy the Avatar with or without your blessing. And if I don't do it physically, I will destroy him mentally!"

Shakro begins coughing, "Fine, fine! You have my blessing." Shakro rises and shakes Ozai's hand. Ozai looks back at Sozin.

Ozai points at Sozin, "And YOU!! I'm sick of your antics! So, what do I need to do to get your blessing?"

Sozin extends his arms, "Your tenacity has shown me that you are indeed worthy. But remember, what I said. You can give your children a chance to join you, but if they fail to obey you are to KILL THEM. Thus, setting an example to all future generations, the cost of stepping against one's blood. There is no greater abomination than familial sedition!"

Ozai lowers his head, "Y-yes, grandfather. It will be done."

Sozin smiles, "Exxxxxx-cellent."

Ozai pumps his fists, "I followed my end of the bargain. So then, give me my powers!"

Sozin looks deep at Ozai, "Very well." Sozin puts his hands on Ozai's chest and shoots a beam of black energy into Ozai's chest. It is similar to the white energy bending that Aang used to remove Ozai's bending. But this is a darker, corrupted version. Ozai kneels from the sensation which makes him sweat profusely.

Shakro grabs Ozai from his rear left side and enters his dark essence into Ozai. Gehou does the same to Ozai's rear right side and enters his dark essence. As the dark energy hits Ozai a powerful white explosion of pure black light darkens the room and knocks all of the lights out.

Eyre relights the torches and the spirits are gone. Eyre sees Ozai hunched on the ground. Eyre pats Ozai on his back, "Ozai! Are you alright?" Ozai stands back up, the spark in his eyes have returned. He has a new powerful essence.

Eyre: "Wow, it looks like you got your powers back."

Ozai: "Only one way to see." Ozai turns and shouts, "Ugghghghghg!" Ozai extends his right hand and punches a hurricane of swirling red, orange, and yellow fire. The flames are wider than Macai, Azula, and Zuko's. They travel directly into the back of the cave, shaking it on impact. The flames are frighteningly explosive, only second to that of Kanna's which are still much smaller in comparison.

Ozai smiles. Eyre: "Sir, instead of risking taking this place down it would be great if you practiced outside." Ozai looks back at Eyre. In the past, he would have threatened Eyre for such a comment. But with Eyre's loyalty paying off, Ozai changes his mind. Ozai buzzes out of the cave, using a gust of flames to carry himself. Eyre looks in amazement.

Ozai buzzes in the air flying at 30 miles an hour. Multiple soldiers look up in total astonishment. A Remnant trooper points and shouts, "Hey look, in the air!"

Another Remnant soldier finishes his statement, "It's Ozai!" While Alev and Ronin are debating with Ardo and his Remnant witness they hear a lot of commotion.

Alev looks at sees many troopers running. Alev shouts at some of the soldiers, "Trooper! What's going on?"

Ronin ignites his fists, "Are we under attack?!"

Trooper: "No, it's Ozai! He's back!"

Ardo looks confused, "Ozai?"

Ronin: "Could it be?"

Alev smiles, "No way, look up." They see Ozai hovering over the Remnant forces.

Ozai: "Greetings, my brothers and sisters of the Fire Nation. It has been a long, long journey. You all have fought well. While it may have seemed your efforts were unnoticed, and that your time was running out; I'm here to tell you all, that your moment of triumph is NOW!" The troops cheer and pump their fists.

Ozai: "That's right! I your rightful ruler Ozai, has returned! And a new era of prosperity looms on the horizon." The crowd cheers. Ozai: "But to obtain that era, we must destroy the Avatar, otherwise our other victories will all come to a screeching end." The crowd goes silent. Ozai: "So I ask all of you for your loyalty. You all gave so much for a movement centered on my reign; I only ask you to trust in me."

Ozai adds, "If I fail, then I will take full responsibility, but I deserve that much respect, don't I?! To have a loyal group of subjects. If I am fit to lead, then surely my plan should be enough. One thing I can promise you all is I will never grow faint of heart. I will fight alongside all of you, and I will fall alongside all of you if need be. But I will not stop, I will not rest, until Aang is on his knees BROKEN!"

The crowd cheers again. Ozai: "So, for now, I salute you all, but ask every one of you to remain on standby. During our moment of action, I will need each one of you to follow your orders with utter obedience. It is the only way we can hope to win." Ozai launches himself forward like a comet.

Alev looks up, "I wonder where he's going."

Ardo comments, "There's no telling." Gendall, Cafri, and Kedo emerge.

Gendall: "Wow did you all see that? Ozai is back! We might just win this war after all."

Cafri sighs, "These sure are interesting times."

Kedo: "One thing is for sure; we'd better be ready for a real fight. There is no way our enemies will take this lightly. As soon as they discover this, the whole of the Fire Nation military will be after us." Gendall gulps.

Even Alev looks down in distress. Ronin pats Alev on her back, "Don't worry, now is a chance to cement our legacies." Though Alev is powerful, stubborn, and selfish she is not someone who desires to die for her cause. The thought of dying at such a young age, in such a needless manner, is mind-boggling for her.

Ozai flies faster, quickly moving at 50 miles an hour and zooming past the sight of his allies. Ozai pushes himself harder, "Arrrraaahahha!!" Ozai soars faster at 70 miles an hour, yet he moves in a choppy manner. Ozai hasn't used rocket propulsion in a long time. Ozai sways his body from side to side as he begins to control his movements.

Ozai zooms forward again in the deep blue sky. Buzzing past multiple tall trees higher in the air. A tiny cloud of grey smoke follows Ozai but quickly disappears. The royal travels faster again but this time with more control at 80 miles an hour. Ozai halts himself in the center of the air as he looks down at his surroundings.

Ozai rotates his body right as he shoots a beam of red, orange, and yellow flames into a line of trees right of him. The trees collapse and dark grey smoke flows from them. Ozai buzzes forward and shoots a swirl of flames into a stone column ahead of him. The column is smashed into several pieces which fly in his direction.

The regal buzzes right to left as he avoids each boulder. The debris slam into the ground below and Ozai shoots another beam of fire into a tree in front of him; burning it down. While his attacks seem senseless, they are not to Ozai. He is testing the damage output of his skills and the complete nature of his firebending is destructive. By doing this, Ozai is simply preparing himself for what he will need to do in battle if he hopes to destroy his nemesis.

Ozai looks down and then launches his body toward the ground like a shooting star. Ozai travels faster as he spirals downward. The wind howls as the man moves at 130 miles an hour. Just before he hits the ground, Ozai tops out at 150 miles an hour. Ozai flips and stomps the ground, and a whirlwind of flames is unleashed.

All the trees, rocks, stones, and life within 300 meters of his blast and fried. Ozai looks around at the barren crater he created, steam flowing from the surface. He looks up as the sunlight shines down on him. Ozai smiles and glides back in the air. Ozai lowers his body onto a mountain and looks down at the landscape below him.

Ozai proclaims, "Avatar, wherever you are. Know that I am coming, boy! And when I do, you better be ready! Because I'm coming for EVERYTHING you have and everything you LOVE!" Ozai shouts and a blaze of flames flows from his mouth. Ozai extends his arms and streams of fire surge out of his hands. Ozai launches himself back in the air and spins while doing it. Ozai flies deep into the clouds then crosses his arms.