Behind the Flames .:H2OVanoss:.

.:Chapter 31:.

          A light wind howled through the tranquil mountain pass. Like sand in a desert, the thin layer of powder snow whisked into the air and blew across the tundra. Adorning the royal night sky, alongside millions of twinkling stars, was a planet of identical features to Earth, along with a tiny moon of its own. The magnificent celestial body orbited slowly across the blue canvas from mountain peak to mountain peak.
A feathery set of foot prints trailed behind a lonely air bender as he made his trek across the never ending biome. Though the night appeared to be cold and snowy, he was unbothered by it, and continued on without looking back. He raised his head, in awe of the miracle taking place in the sky.
          Lui's feet carried him blindly, until he made an abrupt halt when his foot bumped against a mysterious object. He noticed something buried under the snow and bent down to inspect it. He brushed the powder away gently, but was saddened by the result. It was a dead, frozen lemur.
          "Poor thing..." He crossed his legs and sat next to it, pulling its body into his lap. He brushed the rest of the snow off and ran his fingers through its frosty fur. It looked kind of familiar.
He studied the black patterns ringing around its fluffy tail. It's long, pale ears were stiff as a rock. Its tiny brown paws were tucked against its chest. Lui couldn't quite place where he'd seen this lemur before, and it bothered him. He lift the lemur's stiff neck to get a better look into its half closed eyes. They were grayish silver colored with the tiniest hint of yellow, almost exactly like his old lover's.
That's when it hit him. He shut his eyes sadly, and upon opening them again, the lemur was saturated in blood. The land was no longer frozen, but instead burning with hot embers and fire. The lemur's mutilated body was still warm to the touch as he shoved it off his lap.
He leapt back to his feet and watched as the scarlet skies rained balls of fire. He turned to run, but they exploded in every direction he could go, trapping him in a tight circle with high walls of flames. He looked up, hoping to jump high enough to escape, but what he saw happening above made his heart shatter.
A bison, his bison, fleeing from the fiery blasts of the enemy. They struck her down, knocking her out of the air, where she crashed into the ground out of Lui's sight. He screamed for her, pelting the invincible walls with furious gusts. When the fire proved to be too strong, Lui took a step back, and braced to leap through.
He tore through the hellish fires into the blissful, beautiful light of day. His clothes were untouched, completely in tact, with no signs of burns or scratches. The fires behind him immediately vanished, without so much as a single fleck of ash to prove they had been there. Flowers bloomed all around him, intertwined with tall golden grass that swayed in the wind.
However, far in the distance in front of him, he could spot his beloved bison. She was standing with her back to him. He launched himself from the ground and soared towards her unmoving body, tears stinging his flushed cheeks. Just as he reached out to grasp the silky fur, his hands phased right through her. He recoiled fast, looking down to his hands, then back up at her. He noticed her coat was ruffled and dirty. He began to walk alongside her, spotting things that sent chills down his spine.
On her four front paws were heavy chain weights. They were so tight on her legs they drew blood from chafing. Her back two legs were twisted awkwardly, and both of her horns appeared to have been broken off. Patches of fur were matted with blood and mud.
Lui brought his hands to his mouth. Who could do such a thing to her? He took a few steps back when he tripped over another large object. Falling to the ground, he came face to face with Arlan, who was a very dead man.
"No, no no no!" Lui scrambled away but his eyes were glued to the corpse. He was burned and mangled, with a twisted neck and a missing hand, and an fleshy scar if a burning chain indented in his skull. "Oh gods!! No!!" He swallowed the bile in his throat and crawled to his feet. He tried to run away but the shock had him crumpling to the ground again.
Sounds of anger surrounded him, where he suddenly found himself amidst a hoard of Fire Nation soldiers. They flocked towards Squee with metal spears and fiery fists. They surrounded her, taunting her, spitting on her, all while she did nothing.
"Take us to the Avatar!" They screamed.
"Fly us to the air temple!"
"Useless beast, move!!"
They struck her over and over but she still stood her ground, all until a pair of heavy boots sounded over the hill. The fire benders stopped and glanced back with knowing grins. Squee heard the dragging of a chain and began to panic. She tried to fly, but the weights held her down. She roared threateningly, but it did nothing. Her eyes dilated with fear and she crouched, baring her bloody teeth.
Lui turned towards the sound. Slowly making its way over a hill was an incredibly muscular Fire Nation soldier. This one had a glistening helmet of gold and scarlet, with spiked shoulder blades that exposed his arms, dragging behind him a massive chain with a spiked ball at the end.
Lui's breath faltered. He recognized this man as well; it was vague, but the memories were there. Many, many years ago, on the day of the island invasion. The second destructor behind Togek, wreaking havoc on the towns with his giant electric mace.
He stopped before her, expressionless and without a sound. Even his breathing was silent. Squee lowered her eyes to the ground as the man clenched tighter to his weapon. Then he raised the chain into the air, his people cheered, and his fist began to spark.
Lui wailed for his bison. The man's hand clenched even tighter, to the point of shaking, as tiny bolts of electricity zapped from his fingers into his weapon. Then, with a final thrust into the air, the entire chain lit up in a dazzling array of sparks. The lightning bender stomped aggressively in front of Squee, and she cowered back.
As he brought it down to her head, Lui screamed, leaping from his wooden bed with a gust of surprise. He rolled onto the soft animal skin rug covering the icy floor, and brought a hand to clench his panicked heart. He couldn't speak and could hardly breath as Ohm, David, and Jon circled him, demanding to know what happened.