Dak(White fire)

FINALE Part 1- Leaving the beach to find Kar.

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Dawn was breaking over the eastern horizon across the water. Dak silently rose from his sackcloth bedding on the sand and grabbed his sword and fastened it to his belt. The Lavabender clothing he'd been given in the Volcano had been cast aside and he was once again wearing his tattered and worn fireflower clothes. Dak checked the blade of his sword and sheathed it. He made sure everything was in order, then silently crept around the sleeping soldiers who had their weapons at their sides, ready for battle. They had spent a few nights like this, waiting for the order to charge and fight. But Dak couldn't wait. He snuck around the sentries at the perimeter and started walking up the slope towards the Volcano.

There was movement behind him. With split second reflexes, he drew his sword and spun. His perceived attacker stopped with his throat at the end of the blade, his own weapon pressed to Dak's neck.

"Deserters are executed in this army." the man threatened.

"I'm not in your army, Bai Mao." Dak replied.

Bai Mao lowered his weapon and stepped back. Dak held his firm.

"Where do you think you're going? We need your help with this fight." Bai Mao said.

"Not my fight. You know who my fight is with." Dak replied.

"Kar can wait. We need to finish the lavabenders and their plans for good."

"No! Nine years! I waited nine years, I won't wait another second!"

Bai Mao went quiet.

"I'm going to kill him today. I'm not your soldier. I don't take orders. I didn't come here to help you fight a war, I came here to kill Kar."

"Dak, please just listen-"

"No," Dak cut him off, "I'm through listening, through talking about it. If you were to turn around and sail away with Rieji, I wouldn't say a word about it. I don't want to fight you. But I will if you make me." his sword was still pointed at Bai Mao's face.

Bai Mao didn't say anything. Eventually, he looked Dak in the eye and nodded. Dak sheathed his sword and started to walk again, but Bai Mao stopped him. He grabbed his hand and gripped Dak's shoulder as a kind of farewell and watched as Dak disappeared into the twilight.

Dak emerged from the forest onto a plain covered in lava floes and volcanic gas vent spewing lava. Across the field, he saw the remaining force of soldiers fighting a much larger number of lavabenders. They had cleverly bent a wall of earth to protect them from lava and fire that also let them attack through it, but Dak wasn't interested. He spotted the massive craggy door of the volcano and ran towards it. The lavabenders' focus was on the earthbenders, so Dak had no trouble running in. The royal guard that ushered him and Bai Mao in before was still there and jumped to action when he saw Dak. He fired three intense fireballs at Dak. Dak dodged the first two, drew his sword and sliced the third in half with firebending. He used the cloud of fire to charge the surprised lavabender and jab the sword up into his ribcage through his stomach, killing him on the spot. Dak ripped the sword from his body, but didn't clean or sheath it. He knew there would be fighting ahead.

Dak built up a compressed ball of fire and used it to turn the royal obsidian doors into a mess of shattered fragments. Three lavabenders rushed through the hole at Dak, trailing streams of lava behind. Dak rushed one and sliced his abdomen open, which dropped him immediately. The second whipped the lava at Dak, who ducked under it. The third shot them like bolts at Dak. Dak difficultly bent one bolt away, which hit the second lavabender on the upper chest and face. He rolled on the floor, screaming, until he died. The last lavabender fired his second bolt at Dak, which he had to roll under. He ended up next to the lavabender's legs. Dak spun in spot and cut his calves, then stood up and jammed his sword into the man's neck as he lay on his back unable to move.

Dak entered the winding corridors and retraced the routes he'd mapped in his head. Kar's chambers were to the left all the way down, next to Vuln's throne room. Dak found the passageway. Luckily, there were no lavabenders patrolling this hallway, they had probably been pulled back to protect Vuln. He ran flat out towards the door to the chamber. Every step he felt closer to finishing this conflict he'd carried on for so long. He was at the door. He blew it off it hinges. He entered the large room. And there, on the opposite side, was Kar. Dak suddenly felt a fury build inside him. His breaths became deeper and sharper. He felt his body heat up and he snarled.

Kar turned to see what had happened, and he laughed when he saw Dak.

"Finally, you make good on all your promises! You've come to kill me, haven't you? It won't happen, of course," he tapped his armor as he said this, "But I admire the single-minded determination of an animal like you. Maybe I could start a collection like Lady Tsaya, starting with your head!"

Dak let out a primal shout and charged at Kar. Kar unfurled his chain whip and spun it like a saw, tearing up the ground in front of him. As Dak got closer, he lifted the whip up and snapped it around at Dak. Dak blocked it with his sword, but the whip wrapped around the blade. Kar tried to jerk the sword away, but instead of pulling back, Dak just hung on tight to the hilt. The force of the pull launched Dak at Kar, and Dak untangled his sword, aiming to make a swipe at Kar. Before Dak reached him though, the whip came between them and struck Dak in the gut, tossing him backwards. Dak landed on his feet and kept going.

Dak shot a cone of white fire to distract Kar and ran to his left, Kar swung his whip to dissipate the fire, but didn't see Dak. From behind, Dak runs up to Kar and lunges. The sword meets Kar armor, but doesn't penetrate it. The force of Dak's attack goes back into the sword and the top third of it snaps off. Kar spins with his whip and knocks the sword away. Dak get hit in the chest by the whip and is turned around by it. Kar runs up behind him and wraps an arm around Dak's neck and lifts him off the ground. Kar brings the whip around and holds it to Dak's neck.

"Did you think that would work? This armor is molten lead in Magma Salamander hide. I can make it as thick or thin as I want. You can't hurt me while I'm wearing it. And now look, you broke your sword. What now, animal?" Kar sneered.

"You think I need a sword?" Dak growled under his breath.

Dak raised his hands in front of him and smacked himself in the chest. Instantly, he felt the searing sensation rip through his body, through his skin, through his lungs, and a burst of heat on his back. He heard Kar grunt in surprise and pain as the explosion erupted, sending them both flying away. Dak landed hard on his side and he felt his left arm pop out of socket. But he quickly jumped up and turned to face Kar, who had been knocked back into a pile of jagged rocks. Dak hoped for a moment, but he wasn't dead. He rose slowly and checked the spot where Dak's white fire bomb had blown a hole in his armor. He cooled the spot down so none of the metal would escape. Dak lit his compressed fire blades and pressured them far more than he normally did. His hands were covered in fire that was almost solid.

Kar recuperated fast and folded his whip over into a makeshift sword, pulling all of the loose blades in tight. With a burst of fire, Dak charged at Kar, bellowing animalistic roars. They met and Kar swung down hard at Dak. Dak caught the attack on his hands and pushed it away. He jabbed low with his left and swiped at Kar's face with his right. Kar jumped back and swung at the same time. Dak jumped forward with him and slashed the hard armor with little effect. Kar was still in mid-swing and took a step the the left and brought the whip-sword down at Dak's feet. Dak flipped to the side and dashed forward, stabbing both hands into Kar's abdomen. Kar winced as he tried to absorb the blow, but still had it in him to bend the armor into elbowing Dak backwards twenty feet.

Dak shook his head like a wet dog and looked up to see Kar only feet away from him. He raised his arms and pointed them at Kar, ready to shoot his fire blades when he heard a shout from the doorway.

"DAK!" Sayo called out.

Dak lost focus for a second and looked, but he turned back too slow. The edge of the whip-sword was inches away from his neck. He quickly fire the blades, one of which missed and the other that sank deep into Kar's left shoulder. Kar's swing was interrupted, but not enough. The attack slowed dramatically and was knocked upward, but still hit Dak with enough force to knock him unconscious. Dak spun in midair and landed face first on the rocks.

Kar looked at Sayo and laughed. "Who's this? Dak's apprentice? Perfect!" Kar laughed.

Sayo looked nervously at Dak's unmoving body as he drew his wakizashi.

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There it is, part 1. Enjoy.

Sayo(Wakizashi and Water bending)

FINALE Part 2- Dak is unconscious. It's up to Sayo to fight Kar and keep Dak alive.

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Kar charged right into the fight, swinging the large folded chain sword at Sayo. Sayo rolled under the swing to avoid and slashed upwards at Kar's wrists. The armor prevented any damage and Kar separated the whip and sent the smaller razors at Sayo. Sayo finished his roll and sidestepped and spun around Kar's back. He tried to stab down Kar's neck under the armor, but Kar bent the razors back to Sayo. Sayo tried to cut the back of Kar's knees, but again, the armor was too thick.

Kar had disconnected half of his whip and kept the rest together as a small sword-shaped row of razors. Kar bent the separated blades like a snake and made them pounce at Sayo. Sayo ran forward and attacked Kar. Kar seemed to be easily defending himself with one hand while he controlled the blades with his other.

"Dak sure was some teacher. This is pathetic. You can't even land a hit, can you?" he taunted.

Unaffected, Sayo replied, "I'm not trying to hit you, you idiot."

Kar snarled, but before he could utter a retort, Sayo deflected one of his attacks with more skill than he had been leading on and slashed at Kar's face while ducking down. The sword cut deep into Kar's nose and he shouted in pain and grabbed his face. Just as he opened his eyes, the flying blades he had been bending at Sayo rammed into his chest, knocking him on his back and cutting up his face and neck. After a few moments, he had recovered and got to his feet, but Sayo was gone.

Kar waited for several minutes, but Sayo never returned. He decided the boy was in over his head and ran after realizing it. Kar reconnected his chain whip and curled it around his shoulder. He walked back to where Dak lay and looked with glee at the bloody head wound he inflicted. He started to release the hinge that held his arm blade in place, but was interrupted by a sharp pain in the back of his head. He spun furiously. The boy hadn't left. Another rock hit him from the side and he looked that way. Then again from behind. Angrily, he unfurled his chain whip and separated all the pieces, sending them everywhere around the chamber.

Sayo had been hiding behind him and took this chance to run up and kick Kar in the back of the knees. Kar fell flat on his face, and the razors scattered. Kar rolled over and tried to draw the pieces of the whip back to him, but Sayo was already on top of him with the wakizashi to Kar's neck. They looked each other straight in the eye. But still, with Kar's life in his hands, Sayo could understand why Kar still looked so smug and arrogant.

"You think you've got me, don't you? I'll assume you've never fought a lavabender before." Kar said through a crooked smile.

Kar's hands were flat on the ground. He kept his fingertips touching the ground, but brought his hands upward. The ground below the two of them began to shake. Sayo looked down. Two small red circles had appeared next to Kar hands. Sayo jumped back off of Kar , but not before two jets of lava burst out of the ground and through his coat. It caught on fire instantly, and Sayo struggled to get it off, dropping his sword in the process. Kar gathered his whip together and started furiously whipping at Sayo. Sayo finally ripped the burning coat off, and got out of Kar's immediate range. Sayo's sword was now behind Kar, and that fearsome chain whip was just that much more so when you aren't armed.

Sayo knew that he couldn't wait any longer. He had hoped to beat Kar without it, but he knew that he couldn't keep it a secret anymore. It hardly mattered now, considering the circumstances. Sayo tore a bit of cloth wrapped around his torso that revealed three water pouches. Sayo opened one of them a bent a jet of water at Kar's whip. The whip was immersed and doused, causing the coals to be put out. Kar had lost his best weapon. With a snap of his hands, Sayo froze the whip and it crashed to the ground in a shower of ice. Kar's lack of firebending meant he couldn't re-ignite it. He had never had to. It was lit once, long ago, and now, it had been put out.

Kar angrily burst more lava out of the ground and fired two large cone of it at Sayo. Sayo used both of his remaining water pouches and blocked one of the lava jets, and ran to the side to avoid the other. Sayo went on the offense, using water whips on Kar's hands to disrupt his bending motions and pushing him back into a wall. Kar bent lava from the floor at Sayo. Sayo used the last of his water to block it. Sayo was now defenseless. He had no water, no sword. He had failed. And, as Dak began to stir slowly, Kar pulled out his arm blade and ran at Sayo. Sayo stumbled backwards a bit and tried to run, but Kar had reached him. Kar was determined to kill him this time and spun Sayo around, stabbing him in the stomach.

Sayo gasped as he felt the blade sink in. He would have screamed, but his air seemed to have escaped him.

Kar grinned and started to laugh. He twisted the blade slowly in Sayo's abdomen to cause as much pain as possible.

"So, who might you be? What does Dak's sad little apprentice look like?"

Kar grabbed the straw hat on Sayo's head and tore it off, throwing it to the side. Long light brown hair fell out from under it. And it was then, as Kar looked into Korae's bright green eyes, that he realized what he had done. This was Dak's love. He had killed her right there in front of him. He laughed even more now. Tears were welling up in her eyes and with one final sickening twist of the blade, she took her final gasping breath and fell to the ground.

Dak was stirring several feet away. He hoarsely called out Sayo's name. He had no idea how much worse it was.

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For anyone who might be confused, Korae, Dak's girlfriend, dressed up as Sayo and joined the group after Dak told her to stay behind. Now, she's dead, and Dak will be mega pissed in the final chapter of the Finale. BTW, feedback would be nice just this once, especially on the fighting scene here. After this, you can all get bent for all I care about your opinions...