Fic Prompts and Ideas

Ryuga felt his life fade away as L-Drago gave its star fragment to Sagittario and Kenta.  Just before everything went black, he smiled slightly.  The kid had earned it, along with Ryuga’s respect.  His senses faded, and he felt like he was floating away.  Everything was black as he drifted through space.  Then, there was a flash of light, and he heard a familiar roar.  Turning, he saw L-Drago flying towards him, burning as bright as ever.  Grinning, he held out a hand, and grabbed onto its horns as it flew by.  It pulled him along, flying higher and higher, and Ryuga glanced around.  Where there was once blackness there were now many tiny pinpricks of light, like stars.  Looking up, he saw that L-Drago was flying towards a group of stars, one that he recognized.

“He,” he mumbled, “Draco, the dragon constellation.”  He turned to look at L-Drago.  “Is that where you came from?”

L-Drago roared, and Ryuga laughed loudly.  He pulled himself up onto L-Drago’s back.

“Well then,” He said, “What are we waiting for!”

With that L-Drago sped up, speeding straight towards the constellation.  However, as they drew near, a new light appeared, shining like the sun.  L-Drago paused, before turning to face the light.  Ryuga squinted from the glare, holding up a hand.  The light then dimmed, and Ryuga lowered his hand.  Standing before them was a man whose hair glowed like fire and eyes that shone like twin beacons of light.  He was wearing a long robe, decorated with flame patterns.  L-Drago reared up, before lowering its head and bowing to the man.  The man smiled, before reaching out and brushing the dragon’s snout.

“Who are you,” Ryuga asked softly, and the man turned to him.

“I am Agni,” He said, his voice booming in the silence, “And I have been watching you, Dragon Emperor.”

“Why,” Ryuga asked, “What is this place?”

“We are in the place between worlds,” Agni replied, “I called you and L-Drago here after you gave everything to stop Nemesis and the Black Sun.”

“Okay,” Ryuga said, eyes narrowing, “So what do you want with us.”

“Peace, Ryuga,” Agni said, “I mean you know harm.  I have, however, a request.”

“What kind of request,” Ryuga asked suspiciously.

“I saw how you were able to free L-Drago from the darkness of human greed and ambition,” Agni said, “Purifying him through fire and force of will.  And while you still sought to be the strongest afterwards, you never again let it consume you.”

“Can you skip to the part where you tell me what you want,” Ryuga asked bluntly, and Agni chuckled.

“Very well,” He said, before waving his hands.  There was a flash of light, and Ryuga found himself hovering in the air.  Looking down, he saw that he was gazing at a world, but not earth.  The continents were all wrong, with one massive one and a few smaller continents, including two at the poles.

“This world is similar to your own,” Agni explained, “But it is also very different.  It used to be connected to my world, the spirit world, and we still have a very close bond with it.  In this world there are those who can wield one of the four elements; Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.  These people formed four nations, one for each element, with their own cultures and philosophies.”

“Interesting,” Ryuga admitted, “But what’s this got to do with me?”

“It starts ninety nine years ago,” Agni said, “Just like L-Drago was corrupted by the darkness of men’s desires, so too has one of the nations, the Fire Nation, been corrupted.  Darkness seeped into the heart of Fire Lord Sozin, and from there it has spread into the rest of his people.  He started a war, wishing to make fire the only element.  Normally the avatar, a fusion of man and spirit capable of bending all four elements, would put an end to this, but Sozin attacked when the avatar was still unrealized.”

“What do you mean?” Ryuga asked.

“Allow me to answer that question,” A new voice said.  Ryuga turned, and saw an old man with a top knot appear.

“I am Avatar Roku,” the man introduced himself, “And I was the last avatar before the new one was born.”

“You mean there’s more than one avatar?” Ryuga asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes and no,” Roku answered, “While there is only one avatar, whenever that avatar dies they are reborn, cycling from one nation to the next.  This is possible thanks to the avatar spirit, Ravaa.  So while I, the man Avatar Roku, died twelve years before Sozin’s war began, the avatar was reborn in a boy named Aang.”

“I see,” Ryuga said, “But if this Aang is alive and the avatar, why didn’t he stop the war?”

“Because Sozin was cunning,” Roku replied, “When I was your age, I was friends with him.  However, once I learned that I was the Avatar, I went on a journey to master all four elements.  When I returned something had changed within Sozin.  He first approached me with the idea of making the Fire Nation the leaders of the world, something that I shot down.  However his ambition didn’t disappear.  Many years later I discovered that the Fire Nation had attacked one of the cities in the Earth Kingdom and claimed it as their own.  I confronted Sozin, and when he refused to stop and attacked me, we fought, and I soundly defeated him.  I decided to spare his life, due to our friendship, but warned him that should he try this again I would kill him.  It seemed to work, but many years later I learned my folly.

“When the volcano erupted on my home island, I rushed to divert the lava so that the rest of my village could escape.  By this time I was an old man, and my body was weak.  The fumes made it hard for me to breathe, and my strength flagged.  Then Sozin showed up, and began to help me.  At first I was grateful, and once the people were safe we rushed to flee.  However, the fumes became too much, and I turned to Sozin for help.  That’s when he revealed that he had not forgotten his ambitions, but had only been waiting for the day I died.  He left me there, and not long after I succumbed to the ash and smoke with my dragon, Fang.

“That is when Sozin began to plan. He knew that his greatest enemy was the Avatar, and that once they were fully realized they would come and stop him.  As I stated earlier, the Avatar follows a cycle of rebirth; Air, Water, Earth, Fire, then back to Air.  Using this, he knew that the Avatar would be reborn among the Air Nomads, a peaceful people that lived in the mountains and around the world.  It would be impossible to assault normally, so he waited some more.  Then, on the day Chicanto’s Comet arrived, he struck.  Chicanto increased the power of a firebender a hundred fold, and with that new power he attacked all four air temples, killing almost every air nomad.  The ones that escaped were hunted down and lured into traps, and soon there was only one left.”

“Let me guess,” Ryuga said, “Aang, the avatar.”

“Yes,” Roku agreed, “You see, several months before the attack, the elders of the air nomads revealed to Aang that he was the avatar when he was twelve.  This is unprecedented, as normally the Avatar only learns of their status once they are sixteen so as not to place too much of a burden on them growing up.  Aang, however, was a prodigy in airbending, and had already become a master, which is probably why they chose to do it early.  However, as had proven to be the case, the burden was too much for him.  His teacher tried to help, but the elders feared that he was making Aang forget his duty, and chose to separate them.  Aang, devastated, left the temple, only to get caught in a storm.  As he was swept under the waves out at sea, he instinctively used his power as the Avatar to encase himself in ice, protecting him and sealing himself away from the world.”

“Where he remains to this day, right,” Ryuga asked, and Roku nodded.

“This is why I called you here,” Agni said, and Ryuga turned to him, “As we are cut off from the world, we cannot free Aang ourselves, which means we cannot know when he will be discovered.  In one year Chicanto’s comet, which Sozin arrogantly renamed after himself, will return, and the balance that was undone with the destruction of the Air Nomads will be forever lost.  The Fire Nation needs to be purified from the darkness that has entered it.  And who better than one who has overcome thousands of years of human desire.”

“Okay,” Ryuga said, “And what’s in it for me.”

“Aside from a chance at a new life,” Agni stated, “I will grant you firebending, the power to control my element.  You will need it in order to complete your task.”

“And how will I learn this, firebending,” Ryuga asked.

“L-Drago will guide you,” Agni said, “After all, the first firebenders learned from dragons.  It’s only fitting that you do as well.”

A light flashed in the distance, and the three of them turned to look at it.

“Ah,” Agni hummed, “It appears your friend Ginka has managed to defeat the Black Sun with the strength of every blader in the world.”

A bolt of light streaked past them, and Agni held out his hand.  The light curved around, before slowing down and stopping in front of them.

“Here,” Agni said, “This star fragment, once corrupted by Nemesis, will allow L-Drago to be reborn so he can guide you on your new journey.  Do you accept this request?”

Ryuga hummed as he thought.  “A new life,” He said, “L-Drago by my side, new power, and a chance to make a name for myself.”  He grinned.  “I’d be a fool to turn down that offer.”

“Very well,” Agni said, before cupping the star fragment in his hands.  It glowed briefly, before he revealed a bey, L-Drago Destructor.

“Here you are,” He said, holding it out.  Ryuga accepted it, and then with a roar L-Drago flew around him before entering the bey.  Ryuga grinned as he felt it hum to life.  Agni then raised his hands, and placed one on Ryuga’s forehead, and the other on his chest.

“And now for your bending,” He said, closing his eyes.  After a moment, Ryuga felt something awaken inside him.  He gazed down at his free hand, and a flame appeared.  He grinned before looking back up at Agni.

“For one final lesson, remember this,” He said, as everything around Ryuga began to fade once again, “Breath.”

Ryuga opened his eyes, and winced as the sun shone directly in them.  Sitting up, he began to look around.  He saw that he was in a grassy field next to the sea.  He lifted his hand, and found that he was clutching L-Drago in it.

“Was it a dream?” He wondered as he stood up.  Lifting his other hand, he stared at it, trying to will a flame to appear.  Nothing happened, and he was about to just walk away, when he remembered the last thing Agni said to him.  Taking a deep breath, he relaxed and let it out in a sigh.  He heard a whoosh, and when he looked back at his palm, a flame was now hovering above it.  Ryuga grinned, then started to laugh.  Pulling out his launcher, he attached L-Drago to it and launched the bey.  It soared outward, transforming into a massive blazing dragon.  He laughed as his bey flew about him, before calling it back to his hand.

“Well then,” He said, “It seems like you and I have a new world to explore L-Drago.”  He gazed up at the sun.  “I’ll do as you asked, Agni,” He yelled, grinning sharply, “But don’t expect me to play nice.”  With that, he turned and walked off, ready to face whatever this world had in store for him.