The Little Dragon

||58

Wednesday, August 5th

Kaida

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

    Baba's fire was so strong and warm, it fueled me. In seconds Ty-Lee and Mai had run into the underground cave ready to fight me. "Kaida?" Katara whimpered behind me. I looked back at her.

    Her eyes widen with shock at my appearance. I looked up to see Appa and Hyo coming down to meet us. It seemed Hyo had felt my fire wink out of existence for a moment "Go." I held out a hand, "I'll hold them all here." I turned back to them. I raised my hands, a wall of fire coming up around me, blocking her from seeing what was about to happen.

"No Kaida! You can't take all of them!" Sobbed Katara. "I can't lose you!" I glanced back at her for a moment.

"They don't stand a chance." I smiled at the fear that I remember seeing in their eyes. Then I looked down at Aang, I felt tears coming to my eyes. "You must live to fight another day. Goodbye, Katara."

    I walked through my wall of fire, the flames feeling good on my skin. When I walked in, they had looks on their faces that got me ready to fight. They all looked at me with trembling eyes.

     I turned to Ty-lee first, I paused only for a moment, putting my ankles together and sent out an inavoidable funnel of towards her. She let out a scream as she tried to avoid it but flew backward taking the five Dai Li that managed to get into my circle of fire down with her. I turned to my next opponent and didn't watch to see if Ty-Lee got up from it. Though I knew that there is no way she would recover from that blow today.

    I think they knew they couldn't run, my fire was blocking them all in. Mai decided it was her turn to fight, and stepped forward raising her knives over her head. Though, before her knives could hit me I sent a wave of fire that melted them in an instant. I smiled, the smell of melted metal filled my nose, it was the smell of success.

    I jumped forwards and punched her into Azula. I never had a problem with her, but she just happened to come across me at a really bad time. I heard her grunt, before not moving again. I flicked my eyes up from her when I realized I didn't kill her. That was the goal, keep them alive, I was no killer, I was a dragon.

     I was a strong dragon. Raised by dragons. Acted like a dragon. Born to be a dragon. This was why Dragon Masters can only choose one student besides family. The overwhelming power that comes with the mark.

    I raised my clenched fists and looked towards my next target. Mai didn't stand up, but Azula did. Only the two royals left. I looked between them.

     "So this is what the Little Dragon's true form looks like." She smiled and mocked me, but I didn't care for her. Nothing she said was getting to me now. She was just a little dog that barked too loud. I should kill this one. I sent a wave of fire that sent her into my wall of flame, burning her back. She passed out due to her overwhelming pain.

    I walked over to her, a devilish smile creeping onto my face before disappearing completely. She put me through so much pain growing up. She turned Zuko against me. She had killed Aang, the last hope to the world. I raised my hand ready to slice her head right off her body.

    "No!" Zuko cried but he was only white noise now. He didn't mean anything to me. He was a traitor, he chose his honor, something so fickle, over someone he loved. Humans. I scrunched my nose at the thought. I understood why Baba hated them like so. I hated them. I light my hand on fire and start my down slash.

    "No," Baba's voice rattled in my brain, stopping me right before I touched her. It snapped me into my senses. I was taken over by bloodlust if I killed her I would be nothing better than those filthy humans. All they do is kill and betray. I heard one of them breathing behind me.

     I turned on my heel making eye contact with the last human still awake. The last one left was Prince Zuko who looked at me with pure fear in his eyes. I frowned at his look, I didn't like him looking at me like that. Not him. Then what he had done to me crept into my mind again.

    "You." The voice didn't feel like my own. "Did you enjoy trying to kill me." I took a step closer.

    "What did it feel like when you drew all my fire away from me? When you saw me suffer." Another step.

    "Did you enjoy it?" I walked closer and he moved, backing away from me. I backed him against my wall of flames. He shot fire at me as a last resort but I caught his hand, absorbing it into me.

    "Kaida, I'm sorry." He said with fear in his voice. It only made me angrier. Did he think I would forgive him because he said sorry out of fear? I gritted my teeth, I had endured so much for him. I was in so much pain because of him. Because I still loved him.

    "Humans are despicable." I grabbed his face, my flames holding him in place. "I'm taking this back." I put my mark in his forehead. I pressed it, the dragon showing up. I couldn't risk him using this against me again.

"You are no longer worthy of it." He was smart for using my fire, no smart is not the word for it. It was evil and cruel. The feeling of betrayal was a rock as it sunk deep into my soul. Nothing I have ever experienced has came close to the feeling of sadness I am feeling right now.

    "Wait. Wait. No." Zuko struggled trying to stop me from taking his dragon mark away from him. He knew what was happening, I was giving him up as a student. I didn't think this day would ever come. He was no longer worthy of the dragon mark.

    "You are no longer my student, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." I felt my fire that I embedded in him start to flow back into me.

    "Kaida! No! Please!" He cried out to me. I took a breath, loving the feeling of my flames joining me once again. Flames I haven't seen in eight years. I looked down into his eyes seeing my expression, I had burning orange eyes, and glowing yellow scales right underneath them. This was my dragon form, I didn't think I would see it. Never thought I would be angry or desperate enough to use it.

     I glared at him once more, "Goodbye, Prince Zuko." I dropped him to the ground and he passed out instantly.

    Then I felt Baba's fire leave me, I groaned falling to my knees, hitting my head on the ground. My walls of fire came down, I had used too much power today. I started to pass out but I saw Iroh jump down from a cliff and land in front of me.

    Then there was a Mii but I was too weak now to even move. Hyo was next to me he wrapped around me, comforting me. "Take her home," Iroh said to Hyo in a soft tone, as if he was also afraid of me. I couldn't think much before I passed out completely. My only thought was simple.

    Home? Where was home?

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Season Two End