The water erupted in an explosion of white foam.
Katara gasped, her arms trembling from the effort. She relaxed for a moment, believing she had won.
But then the water surrounding Taga exploded outward.
At the center of the blast, the man stood unharmed. A sphere of swirling wind completely enveloped him, a shell of compressed air spinning at dizzying speed. The water droplets that touched the sphere were flung away in every direction like buckshot.
Taga moved his arms and the sphere condensed, transforming into a wind blade the size of a man. He hurled it at Katara, who barely had time to create an ice shield in front of herself. The blade struck the ice with a deafening screech, cracking it into a spiderweb of fractures. The shield held by a hair's breadth.
Suddenly, a blast of fire erupted from behind Taga.
At the same time, a silver boomerang and a rain of fist-sized rocks converged on him from opposite directions. Taga leapt at the last instant, his body spinning through the air as the three attacks passed beneath his feet.
Sokka, Zuko, and Toph advanced toward Taga from the shore, their faces marked by determination. But even all together, they were no match for him.
Taga moved like a gale. He dodged a rock thrown by Toph by sliding under it; blocked a blast of fire from Zuko with a gesture of his hand that deflected the flames skyward; intercepted Sokka's boomerang in midair and split it in two with a slash of compressed wind.
With a spinning kick, he sent Sokka crashing into a stone wall. The warrior struck it with a dull impact and fell to the ground, unconscious, blood sliding down his forehead.
Taga condensed the air in both palms. The wind swirled in his hands, forming a spinning sphere that buzzed like a swarm of wasps. In the blink of an eye he planted himself in front of Zuko and smashed the sphere into his chin. The Fire Lord was launched upward like a rag doll, his body spinning out of control. Taga leapt after him, caught him in the air, and delivered a downward kick that slammed him into the ground. The earth cracked under the impact, forming a crater with jagged edges. Zuko spat blood and his eyes closed.
Toph let out a roar of fury. Dozens of rocks rose around her and flew toward Taga like a storm of projectiles. He charged headlong into the rain of stones. He dodged them with precise movements, his body contorting between them like a leaf carried by the wind. He reached Toph before she could react, seized her by the throat, and slammed her into the ground with brutal force.
Then he punched her.
Taga's knuckles turned red as he struck again and again, until Toph's body stopped moving. When he stood up, his hands dripped with blood and his eyes shone with a cold, relentless light.
He raised a finger. At its tip he condensed a bullet of compressed wind the size of a marble that hummed with lethal power. He aimed it at Katara, who had just emerged from the water and was charging toward him with a cry of rage.
Without hesitation, Taga fired the bullet.
The wind bullet crossed the air in an instant and struck Katara in the chest. The girl doubled over, the air driven from her lungs, and fell into the water. The sea swallowed her, and the bubbles of her breath rose toward the surface as she sank into the darkness.
Aang, guided by instinct, arrived at a sanctuary that rose in the heart of the island.
On the floor were carved the symbols of the four elements. Each occupied one quadrant of the floor, and in the center, where the four dividing lines converged, a circular slab remained blank.
Aang walked toward the center of the sanctuary. He did not know why, but something inside him told him what he had to do. Without thinking, his body began to move.
First he assumed the waterbending stance. His arms traced a fluid arc, his fingers curved like waves, and from nearby a current of water sprang forth, dancing around him before settling gently upon the wave symbol. The carving lit up with a deep blue glow.
Then he pivoted on his heels and assumed the earthbending stance. His feet anchored to the ground, his knees bent, and his fists struck the air with firmness. A small rock rose from the floor and settled upon the earth symbol. The carving shone with an intense brown.
Next came fire. Aang extended his palm and a small lash of orange flames burst from his fingers, dancing over the fire symbol. The carving ignited with a crimson red.
Finally, air. Aang traced a circle with his arms and a soft breeze swirled at his feet before expanding toward the corresponding symbol. The carving glowed with a luminous white.
The four symbols shone in unison. The light of each intensified until the colors fused into a single beam that converged on the central slab. The circular stone lit up with a pure celestial blue so bright that Aang had to squint.
Then the ground trembled.
A mechanical creak echoed beneath his feet. The central stone slabs began to open slowly, sliding over one another. From the opening rose a pillar of blue light that shot toward the sky like a celestial spear, illuminating the night for an instant before dispersing into a rain of luminous motes.
When the glow faded, Aang saw a large blue sphere emerging from the ground. He reached out and touched it.
The sphere burst like a bubble. The light it contained expanded in a blinding flash, and Aang raised his hand to his eyes by pure reflex. When his vision cleared, floating in the air where the sphere had been was a staff.
It was golden, of a single piece, with metal rings threaded on both sides that tinkled softly even without any wind to stir them.
"The Staff of Sonum…"
Aang stretched out his hand and grasped it. The metal was warm to the touch, and as he closed his fingers around the grip he felt a vibration run up his arm, as if the staff recognized him.
"Brother."
A sudden voice resonated behind him. Aang turned without releasing the staff and saw Taga approaching from the darkness of the sanctuary.
"Taga, it's real. The staff is real!"
Aang ran toward him and lightly struck the end of the staff against the ground. The metal rings tinkled in unison and the staff lit up with a golden radiance that bathed both their faces.
"At last we'll be able to restore airbending."
Taga seized the staff with one hand.
"Let's go tell the others."
"We can do it, Aang. Just you and me."
"Huh?" Aang frowned, his smile fading.
"I can't do this without my friends."
Taga yanked the staff hard and tore it from his hands. But in that same instant a metal boomerang sliced through the air and struck Taga's hand with a sharp impact. The staff flew free, spinning on itself before falling to the stone floor several meters away.
"Aang!"
Sokka appeared, dragging himself through the entrance of the sanctuary. His body was covered in wounds and blood streamed from a cut on his forehead that soaked half his face; his left arm hung limp and his breathing was ragged and whistling.
"You… you have to be careful," he gasped, propping himself on one elbow to look up at Aang. "Don't let him use the staff."
Aang took a step toward him, eyes wide with shock.
"Sokka, what…?"
"No…" Sokka spat a mouthful of blood that splattered the stone slabs and raised a trembling hand to stop him. "Deal with him first… That guy… that guy killed the others."