She lifted her hand, yellow parchment wet and stretched over bone and covered his eyes. His lips parted in natural reaction to his nose being covered. Sweat lined their bodies, entwined, blankets pushed to the side in lieu of self-created heat. She smiled, the first true smile she'd ever smiled and he felt it even without seeing, he felt her smile and returned it. Her free hand lay on his bare arm and he licked his lips, his lashes fluttering against her hand.

"Ana..."

"You'll feel it, my love, when the sky closes and the ground opens up. You'll feel it. You won't see it but you'll feel it."

"You have to be so philosophical sometimes."

"Trust me, my love. One day you'll need my words. Trust me...Zyperis."

---

Chapter 15

---

Three men stood in a circle around a stone altar just the length of a human body and exactly three feet off the ground. They lifted their eyes at a silent call they all heard. They all moved as one, turning slowly to look at one another, a soundless decision made. They each moved as one to return to the altar.

“Faster.” They said...in one voice.

---

The dark cloud over the Fire Nation growled and rumbled ominously and the crowds below struggled to get indoors before what they thought was a thunderstorm was unleashed. In the hall outside of the Fire Lord’s bedroom, several guards stood watch.

Inside the Fire Lord’s bedroom, Zyperis paced back and forth. On the bed, another Zyperis lounged, watching. At the desk, was a third Zyperis.

The one pacing turned and pointed a finger at the one on the bed.

“You, go and retrieve the Air Hatchling.”

The one at the desk twirled a knife.

“The Four must be reunited.”

The one pacing clapped his hands and sighed. The one on the bed stood, drew a seal on his own forehead in blood, and vanished in a swirl of wind and red light.

“Let me guess,” the one at the desk mused. “I’m to take the Son of Earth?

The one pacing nodded, rubbing his temple. “I’ll get the Son of Agni and Nen’s Daughter out of here. Wait a moment, why are we discussing this?”

The one the desk shrugged.

“Because the Leader is incapacitated.”

“Go now!” The one pacing shouted and the one at the desk sighed before repeating the signature of the copy on the bed and vanishing.

The Zyperis pacing stopped and turned, wringing his hands together. The strain of simply existing was wearing on him and he ran out of the bedroom and down towards the living area of the Elite.

“Korosu! Come now!”

Korosu tossed back his covers and grabbed a shirt, already following the Fire Lord as he staggered down the hallway towards the prisons. Zyperis staggered and Korosu stepped forward to steady him.

“Are you all right, Fire Lord?”

“I’m not your Fire Lord, Son of Agni.”

Korosu blinked in surprise. Zyperis doubled over as a small trickle of blood fell from the corner of his mouth.

“You...”

“It’s too complicated to explain right now. We need to get Katara.”

Korosu nodded and, supporting Zyperis, headed to Katara’s cell. He stopped just outside the prison and helped Zyperis to lean against the wall.

“Explain part of it to me.”

Zyperis sighed as he stared at Korosu and closed his eyes.

“My name is Zyperis and I’m the Speaker for the Powers That Be. I’ve been secretly working against Eimin by hiding at his side, using my biological connection to him as a shield. My cover has been compromised...no...” he chuckled. “It’s been obliterated. Eimin is using the Fire Nation as a base. I have to get you and Katara out of here before he finds you here.”

Korosu nodded. A few of the guards started coming down the aisle towards them. The sight of one they thought of as their Fire Lord weak and bleeding caused them to half-shout in worry and come running.

“Kill them, Korosu,” Zyperis offered.

Korosu pulled the knife from his belt and walked into the first, the blade sliding under the guard’s jaw, up and into his brain. The corpse fell twitching as Korosu flicked his wrist. The other guard started to slow and pull back but Korosu was upon him in an instant. The wet knife buried itself in the guard’s throat and Korosu used the body as leverage to propel himself up. The heel of his boot connected with the third man’s temple and sent him to the ground as Korosu spun, freeing his knife and spinning, the blade slashing across the throat of the final guard.

Sprayed with blood, Korosu landed and straightened up, wiping the blood from the knife on one of the guard’s uniforms.

“Get Katara,” Zyperis continued, his breathing labored.

Korosu knelt and retrieved the keys from one of the corpse’s, stepping over them and on them to get back to Katara’s cell.

Inside, Katara stood at the sounds of combat outside her cell. She distinctly felt four deaths before Korosu pulled the door open, standing in the doorway framed by firelight. Without hesitation, she rushed into his arms, immediately checking to see if he’d been harmed. Then Katara saw Zyperis where he leaned against the wall for support, blood now flowing freely from his mouth.

“Speaker!”

“You knew?” Korosu gasped as Katara lifted Zyperis up, wiping away the blood.

“Korosu, find me some water!”

Korosu had turned to do so when Zyperis’ voice stopped him.

“Katara, there’s no need. I don’t have a body to heal.”

Katara stared at him and Zyperis chuckled lightly. “I am a clone of the real Zyperis. Nothing but Spirit and a little Light. The real Zyperis lacks the strength to support us anymore.”

“There’s more of you?” Korosu interjected and the clone nodded.

“Six more to be exact. Three of us have gone to retrieve the Four from their subsequent hiding places. The other three are performing one last task, the last thing Zyperis will be able to do for anyone.”

“Is he...dying?” Katara whispered and the clone smiled.

“It’s highly likely. Now if you two will help me, we need to get to the top floor of the west tower.”

Korusu walked over and pulled Zyperis’ clone onto his back with little fanfare.

“Let’s go.”

---

Jet pushed himself back and skidded on the snow. He’d been on his way to the Northern Water Tribe capital but, of course, he gets attacked by some random...thing.

The ice had cracked but not broken, water spurting out. Jet realized that with the thickness of the ice below, even to make the water trickle out would’ve required a massive force, a massive being.

Whatever it was slammed into the ice again and the broken slabs arched up. Jet lifted a hand and the Hiketsu began to glow, the tundra winds shifting to his command, swirling around his arm, prepared to lash out at whatever came through.

Another thunderous crack sounded through the air and a brilliant blue unagi pushed up through the ice. Jet could hardly believe it but...the creature was actually beautiful. The sunlight gleamed against her scales, turning them every shade of blue imaginable. Slowly Jet let the wind die down and watching the unagi pull itself out of the water and bask in the sunlight.

“Son of Samir.”

Jet straightened and inclined his head to the unagi. She seemed to smile. Light shone through her and a moment later, an equally beautiful Water Tribe woman stood before him.

“Nen?” he whispered and she nodded.

Behind him, a dozen Water Tribe warriors appeared, urging their elk across the frozen fields. They arrived moments later.

“Goddess Nen,” the first said, skidding to a stop before glancing at Jet. “...and companion. May we offer you a ride to the palace?”

Jet laughed and Nen smiled. “Sure. Let’s go.”

The man helped Nen onto the elk behind him and another offered Jet a ride. Jet was also given a thick fur coat which he lavished over once wrapped in its warm confines. The tundra natives chuckled at his excitement but Nen urged them on to the capital.

Jet was astonished by the beauty of the Northern Water Tribe as they entered the city through a massive ice wall that was lowered by waterbenders on each side of the gate. Nen waved to them both but the entire company jumped as the sound of a large explosion came from their left. The man with which Jet was riding gave a sigh.

“They just won’t give in.”

“The Fire Nation?” Jet asked quietly and Nen’s guide nodded.

“Yes, they have been here since the great lords Agni and Mamoru and the lady Kaia assisted us. They bring tanks over the risen land and continue to attack. They will not give in.”

Jet turned and both of them stared in surprise. Nen nearly fell off her elk and the rider with her had to grab her arm.

“Yue?!”

---

Korosu and Katara half carried/half dragged Zyperis’ clone up to the top of the west tower. There on the floor, drawn in chalk, was a large circle with symbols drawn all around. The clone chuckled as Korosu helped him to the floor to sit.

“Normally we don’t have to use such a base but this is rather an emergency. I can’t promise where you’ll come out but you’ll be safe.” he said.

While he spoke, a small bubble of blood formed at the corner of his mouth.

“Are you going to be okay?” Katara asked automatically.

The clone smiled at her wearily. “No, I’m not. Get in the circle.”

Korosu took Katara’s hand and stepped into the circle. The clone dragged himself to the edge of the chalk circle where he placed both of his hands on the edge of the line. After a breathless moment, Korosu moved forward and touched the clone’s shoulder. The Light of the Illusion was beginning to fade and the clone looked less and less like Zyperis.

“Zyperis...clone...”

Here the clone smiled and Korosu swallowed hard, not sure if he wanted the answer to his question.

“Will I ever remember?”

The clone’s smile grew wider, darker. His eyes lost their color and through them, Korosu felt he could see far beyond the world they were in, the world they had come from, to the place where all time had begun...and where time was kept prisoner.

Korosu gasped as the clone reached up and wrapped a hand in his hair, pulling his head down and whispering in his ear.

“The right words...by the right person...at the right time...What shines brighter than the sun?”

Korosu yelped when the clone pushed him back into the circle and Katara grabbed him, curling up around him almost protectively. Korosu gave the clone one last look before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around Katara.

Two moments later...the room was empty.

---

Eimin screamed with incomprehensible rage, and lashed out with one hand, the black paw lengthening out to an impossible reach and slashing at Zyperis from across the battlefield. Unmoved, the Speaker raised a hand, stiffened the fingers, and slashed downward with it.

Lightning cracked, and a bolt of fury severed the paw and its talons. Eimin shrieked in pain, the dismembered limb retracting but Zyperis shot forward a step and caught the steaming stump in one hand.

"There's nowhere to run." he hissed.

His arm sparked with thunder, driving thousands of volts through Eimin and into a stake of metal that erupted from the earth on the other side of the Death God. Flesh crackled and burnt to the sound of the Slayer's howls until Zyperis hauled back on the limb with superhuman strength, jerking Eimin off his feet and towards his Judas.

The Speaker met his descending jaw with a rising palm strike that launched him upwards again, but Zyperis again seized his collar and slammed a hand seething with plasma into Eimin's gut. Writhing and steaming, the Death God lashed out with his other set of claws, which Zyperis severed with a spat word and a serpentine lash of wind.

While his foe squirmed, impaled on a screeching blade of energy, Zyperis wasted not a moment. He glared down at his plasma-sheathed hand, and spoke another word that crackled with primordial force. The plasma detonated with a bang and Eimin disintegrated in a shower of black.

Zyperis straightened, started to turn when the black coalesced into a shapeless mass behind him. He blinked in shock and blurred away as a maw of black studded with teeth lunged out and bit off the tips of his hair. The Speaker whirled mid-dash, just in time to duck under a whirring buzz saw of pitch mass, and leap upwards on a buffer of wind as a rolling wave of shadow coated the ground.

Haku started forward but Antaram caught his arm.

“Kanna cannot maintain the shield alone. We’re safe here.”

Haku growled. “He needs help.”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Azula snarled.

High above, Zyperis glared down at the vat that was Eimin, the black blight covering the land beneath. It laughed, a parasite on the back of the continent itself.

"Perish, traitor." the mass hissed, raising a cobra-head plated in shadow. "There will be an eternal freefall for you at the END!"

The cobra lashed forward and Zyperis bellowed, splitting it with an azure lightning bolt and then he paled as the separate halves divided into dozens of hydra-shoots and lunged forward. The Speaker crossed his arms and grunted as he burst into white flame that ate away the heads before they tried to bite.

Zyperis blasted downward on another jet stream before the heads could reform, grinding away the pitch on the earth with air pressure before crashing to a stop on the dirt. Grunting, he forced his hands into the silt and then outwards, creating a single puff of dust. Tremendous walls of earth arose on all sides and then toppled over, crushing the black marshes. Tar squirted out from beneath the slabs of stone then began whirling around the Speaker in a dust-devil storm of shadow.

Gritting his teeth, Zyperis clapped and the air around the storm imploded, rushing inward with a bang; the black was crushed into nonexistence by the force, and a screech sounded from beneath the stone slabs. A beast of black rage, bearing the appearance of an ape with a flailing white mane, erupted through the middle of a slab like a heathen volcano and dashed towards Zyperis with a scream, even as its spawn-brothers emerged with matching howls.

The Speaker split the first with another word and blade of air then bashed the remains up into the atmosphere with an updraft, where it froze somewhere in the sky. The second lunged at him from the side, and, disdainfully, Zyperis drew a pillar of stone up and slammed it into the construct's face, bashing it open like a melon. Then, with a swipe, the pillar pivoted in the earth and swatted another beast out of the air.

Zyperis crouched then spun, a circular, jagged blade of silver force lashing outward and cutting through every animal at the knees. Then he stopped and reversed the spin; and the circle shuddered and shattered, a thousand cracking whips of silver chopping everything within forty feet of the Speaker into chunks no wider than an inch.

Panting, Zyperis glanced around. There was stillness.

"You're still here, Eimin." he murmured. "Come out and perish for me. It is not done until you do."

A reverberating chuckle and a mirror of black rose from the dirt in front of Zyperis, the scrubby grass near the pane rotting yellow and then collapsing into ash. The Speaker looked into the portal and saw a photo negative of himself; a white-irised, black skinned man that rippled like a pond.

"It's never done." Eimin replied, smiling. "But I'm going to change that."

“Zyperis!” Haku shouted, once again held back by Antaram. “Let me go!”

The world rocked as the ground turned into a flat plane of black glass and shattered upwards. Zyperis hurled himself skyward and summoned a zephyr to hold him aloft, glanced down, and watched in disbelief as the thousand shards of glass turned to obsidian crows. They cawed in a single, bone-rattling unity and dove at him.

Two quick hand motions and the zephyr exploded in a rectus of wind; the crows were torn apart by the winds rapidly. A glance down revealed that the earth had been shattered and torn by...whatever Eimin had done with that glass spell. The Speaker crushed the earth flat beneath him and landed again - only for something to smash into the back of his skull and catapult him to the ground.

Zyperis twisted his head around painfully to see Eimin emerging from his own shadow. He hissed and cast a simple light; his shadow rotated around and lengthened, putting distance between the two.

Eimin just chuckled and flicked a finger. The Speaker's shadow whipcracked like a living thing, shattering both his ankles where the shadow connected to his feet. He screamed and blasted the shadow from existence with a lightning bolt, spun in midair, and lanced another at Eimin.

The God of Death simply stood there as the thunder shot into his black chest and off into an endless abyss. It dwindled from sight in seconds.

Zyperis, gaping and trying to stand, had no time to react as tar erupted from the dark behind his eyeballs and tore them out. The gently bloodied orbs rolled to a stop by Eimin's feet, smeared with black. The Speaker collapsed, twitching silently.

"Everything ends." Eimin said quietly to the convulsing form. "Even you, traitor."

A mirror of black rose from the dirt in front of Zyperis, the scrubby grass near the pane rotting yellow and then collapsing into ash. It drifted to float over Zyperis. Then, without hurry, it drew his shivering form into the umbral depths.

Haku screamed his protest and nearly fell forward out of the shield before Antaram caught him. They all stared at the black portal in horror, Haku uttering obscenities directed at the Slayer. He steadied himself, tears pouring down his face, and prepared himself to fight Eimin.

The Slayer paid him no mind, amused by the glass and what lay beyond it.

Zyperis whirled and saw black.

He whirled again and saw more black.

All around him, the inky maw of silence extended, endless and impermeable. The traitorous Speaker turned around and around, looking for some spark of light in the night. There was none. There was no hope.

Zyperis screamed his denial as the void blossomed Teeth and ate him alive.

---

Zyperis Vs. Eimin written by Gleam and edited by Elenea Galad.