A/N:
When we last left you, Katara had a nightmare. She ran into Sokka (poor Sokka) as she was trying to get to Aang. Remember folks, look where you are going. If you don't you just might pummel into an innocent person.
Sokka? You okay?
[Cue mood change.] Everyone, please take your seats. The show is about to start.
Ready? Here we go.
Breaking the Promise
Chapter 2: Spirit Tribunal
All the Avatars were seated on the benches of the amphitheatre with the first seated high up farthest away from the action center stage. The pattern caused a stunning display of color. A repetition of blue, green, red and yellow spiraled its way down to the arena. Aang found himself seated in the first row, one seat apart from Avatar Kyoshi. To her right were Avatars Kuruk and Yangchen. Aang waved at them, but they paid him no attention.
The empty seat between us must belong to Roku. Hey, where is Roku anyway?
As if he had spoken aloud, he was answered by the Avatar to his left. There he is.
Aang blinked. He was shocked to see someone sitting next to him in Water Tribe blue. What's more, he didn't hear her speak. It was as if she voiced her response from within his head. The Avatar was a pretty young girl of about sixteen, strong, confident and rather stiff. Her arm remained raised, her finger pointing to a place in front of him. Aang's eyes followed it to its target.
In the arena, seated on benches on either side, were different spirits, some of which were unknown to Aang. Among those he knew were Hei Bai and the Painted Lady. Their attention was on Roku. He was a solitary figure standing before a dais above which were Tui and La. The Moon and Ocean Spirits were a marvelous sight to behold. They were waterbending in mid-air, circling each other in their perpetual dance. Aang was mesmerized.
Wow! I didn't know they could leave the Spirit Oasis.
"Hmmf! There are lots of things you don't know." The snide sing song comment came from the Monkey Spirit who had been rude to Aang on one of his ventures into the spirit realm. Nose in the air, he continued past Aang towards another seating area.
"What is this?" Aang's question went unanswered. He continued to look around. All the Avatars were motionless, their attention fixed on Roku who stood with his back to Aang.
Just then, Koh appeared. Upon seeing him, Aang stripped all emotions from his visage. Cautiously and neutrally, he continued to look around and take in his surroundings. With Koh, were Princess Yue, Wan Shi Tong and someone new, someone blinding. They joined Tui and La who began to dance around Yue.
Maybe Koh is the reason why everyone here is so stiff.
"Shows what you know," said the Monkey Spirit now seated twenty feet away.
How come they can hear my thoughts? I can't hear them. Well, except maybe Avatar . . . uh. I don't know her name.
Korra, said the resonating collective Avatar voice. Aang almost lost his composure, making himself vulnerable to Koh, by expressing his shock upon hearing it. The acoustics in the amphitheater would be amazing, however the voice once again came from within and not without.
"Uh, nice to meet you Avatar Korra." No response came.
Am I dead? I would have to be in order for there to be a Water Tribe Avatar. He took a quick appraisal of himself. He felt alright, though something seemed very wrong. Upon closer inspection of his style of clothes and his proportions he realized that he was twelve again. Hey! That's not right. What's going on?
"Silence!" called Wan Shi Tong as he walked right up to Aang's mentor and predecessor. "Avatar Roku. You have been summoned by the Council of Spirits to answer for your crimes against the spirit world and against humanity. The list of charges please."
Crimes? Roku? Can't be.
Koh glided forward, his arms in constant motion. He turned this way and that. His faces morphing in and out as he went. He circled Avatar Roku, till at last he came to a stop in front of the accused, allowing Aang a clear view of him. He spoke in his soft, confident, dulcet tone.
"Avatar Roku, you are the bridge between the Spirit World and that of the mortals. With that comes a great responsibility. You are a servant to both realms. Your main purpose is to keep balance. Balance between the nations, as well as balance between both worlds.
You stand here today accused of betraying both worlds. Your betrayal takes the form of negligence in performing your duties as Avatar. Because of you, the world burned. Because of you the Spirit World and its denizens have suffered greatly. Your failure to act jeopardized everyone and everything."
Roku remained neutral in light of the charges. "May I ask how I failed?"
Koh circled around the accused. Once more Koh was in perfect view. The face he wore was unknown to Aang
"You were in a unique position to sway Fire Lord Sozin from taking any action right at the start; or, at the very least to minimize the damage. Yet you did not. Why? You did not confront the Fire Lord for fear of being swayed by him due to your long standing friendship. Instead of confronting him head on you played it safe, told him that the four nations were just that – four. Then you left him to his own devices.
Your inaction led to disastrous consequences. You took your eyes off him. You were married, played house and started a family. Meanwhile the Fire Lord was busy rearranging borders and planting the Fire Nation flag on Earth Kingdom soil."
"I put a stop to it when I learned of it. The stronghold was destroyed before it could be colonists moved in. He retreated back to the Fire Nation."
That's right. You tell them Roku. Aang's thoughts earned him a nasty glare from Wan Shi Tong. Aang resolved to hold his thoughts back as best he could.
"You were reactive instead of proactive. Fire Lord Sozin had proven himself to be a real threat and still you failed to take the proper action. Instead, you gave him a yet another warning; a mere slap on the wrist."
"He heeded my warning. He withdrew from the Earth Kingdom. He stayed in line."
"He did not! He planned and plotted and waited for the right moment to take action. He found it, didn't he? You failed to learn what he was thinking and what he was up to."
At this Roku seemed to sadden. "Yes. I failed to see what he truly was."
Ummi's features now graced the Face Stealer. It was a cheap shot on Koh's part meant to drive home the fact that Avatars had been held accountable in the past for their actions or inactions and that Roku would not be an exception.
"You trusted him and he left you to die on that island." Koh danced around Roku. His voice seductive, lulling Roku into lowering his vigilance thereby exposing him to attack. "You wanted to believe that your childhood friendship was still intact. You wanted to believe you could put your faith in you erstwhile friend. You wanted. Yes. You wanted. You put yourself above the needs of the world, and by doing so, you jeopardized the Spirit Realm. Because of you the murder of Spirit Tui came to pass. The moon ceased to exist."
"Objection." It was Princess Yue who had spoken. But to Aang, Yue did not seem herself. "All was set right again when the Water Tribe Chief's daughter returned the life force given her by the Moon Spirit."
Wan Shi Tong spoke up just then, "Sustained."
Koh was undeterred and carried on his prosecution of the Avatar. "Because of you the Jang Hui River was polluted, forcing The Painted Lady to flee. Because of you Hei Bai took action against innocents living in the Senlin Village. Because of you, there are no airbenders! How is the Avatar cycle to continue without airbenders?"
"Objection! I am an airbender!" Aang had recklessly jumped up determined to defend his friend. He caught himself a second later and became unemotional just before Koh turned on him. "My friends and I cleaned up the Jang Hui River with the help of its residents. I was there at Senlin Village. There is a new forest growing at its outskirts. All these things have been rectified."
"Overruled," called Wan Shi Tong. "Sit down young Avatar. We cannot have any more of these interruptions from you, or else we will put you on trial. Do not forget that you fled from your responsibility and allowed all of this to happen. You were absent for a hundred years. In that time damage occurred which could have been pre-empted had you not run away. In your defense, it can be argued that if you did not run, you too would have been killed. Even if the Water Avatar managed to survive the next wave of massacres, there would have been no hope of ever continuing the cycle. Your reincarnation could never become a fully realized Avatar without an airbender to train her."
Koh piped in. "He is an Avatar. We cannot allow leniency on such basis."
"Overruled. Avatar Aang is not on trial here. We make an allowance for his actions based on his youth. It was never meant for anyone to learn of their position before reaching the age of sixteen. It is much too young an age for one to fully comprehend what is being asked of them. Koh, keep to the case at hand. I want no more digressions from you, nor any more interruptions from Avatar Aang."
Without missing a beat, Koh continued his assault on Avatar Roku. "Let's skip down the list, shall we? Since it has been brought up, let's address the issue of Avatar Aang. . . ." Koh turned to Wan Shi Tong, who had spread his wings, his anger evident as he ruffled his feathers, "within the context of this trial."
To Roku, Koh said, "You endangered humanity by placing your responsibility on one as young as Avatar Aang. That he did admirably has no bearing on you, but on Aang and his companions. Without them he would not have succeeded. He accomplished the impossible in so little time. Without you, he would not have had to."
There was yet another interruption. This time is was the spirit unknown to Aang who had arrived with Yue and Koh. "Let's get down to it. We can be here for eternity making lists and arguing this back and forth, only to call a draw on the issues you've stated so far and which no doubt make up your list. State why you have called this tribunal!"
Though Aang could not clearly see the spirit, he was struck with a sense of vague familiarity. He found he could not gaze directly at him. He put his hand up to shade his eyes. The spirit was clad in the most magnificent set of robes Aang had ever seen. He literally glowed with power which outshone the bright red and gold adorning him. Of course, it is the Sun Spirit – Agni.
"You've had over a hundred years to call the Fire Avatar to trial. Yet you have not done so. State your reasons for doing so now and stop this mockery!"
The Sun Spirit's anger was lost on Koh who remained as cool as ever.
"Very well. We'll get to the heart of it. All other charges pale in comparison to this." Again Koh turned to the accused. "Avatar Roku. You are guilty of all that you have been accused of; all of which this tribunal has chosen to and will continue to, shall we say, overlook? However, this final charge will not be dismissed. You are here because once again you are going to be the cause of more pain and suffering.
You failed to take action against Sozin, yet you are pushing your successor to take action against the current Fire Lord. Aang is in the same unique position you were so long ago. He is friends with the Fire Lord. He can talk to him and avert disaster, where you failed to do so with Sozin. Avatar Aang has proven himself resourceful, though unconventional, in finding alternative solutions. He has displayed more capability than you. Yet he is a child and you are still his mentor. When he meditates he seeks advice from you. And your advice will cause him to repeat the mistakes of the past."
Someone called, "Objection."
"Overruled."
Koh pressed on, dancing around Roku intent on breaking the Avatar's composure and forcing a change in his countenance. "You are charged with interfering, undermining, obstructing, sabotaging, and impeding the sitting Avatar! Should he take the actions you counsel him to, it would prove even more disastrous than before. The world would be plunged into war once more and no one knows what the outcome could be. All would not only lose faith in the Avatar, they would turn against him!
Let me sum it up for you; for everyone to understand. If we lose our link to humanity; if we lose the Avatar, a distinct possibility, we will lose our ability to guide the mortals. They would be left to wander in darkness, left to their own devices, to wreck havoc upon the earth and each other. We would be powerless to stop them; powerless to help them. We would be contributing to our own destruction."
Aang continued to watch the events intently while trying to remain detached in spite of the fact that it was dizzying. How could this be happening? There is no movement, no murmurs, nothing from the Avatars. Why does no one speak for Roku? Even he does not speak for himself. What kind of trial is this?
A disembodied voice, soft-spoken yet loud in volume, called out, "Aang?"
Aang thought he heard his name called. Just then someone on his right spoke. "I don't know, but it is entertaining. Popcorn?" Aang turned to face the speaker and found that Roku's seat was no longer vacant.
"Momo? You can talk?"
"Of course he can talk. He won't shut up," called a familiar baritone voice seated on his left.
Aang forgot all about Koh and fully expressed his surprise. "Appa? When did you guys get here? What happened to Avatar Kyoshi and Avatar Korra? What's going on here?"
"Aang." The disembodied voice called to him again.
"What?"
"Aang. Wake up."
Aang's eyes widened. "Ooooooh. I'm dreaming. Of course! This isn't real."
"Aang. You must wake up now," the voice called again.
"I'm trying."
"Aang!"
"I'm awake!" He was sitting in his bed. Moonlight shone through the window. A light breeze parted the curtains giving way to the beautiful sight of the full moon hanging high in the night sky. For a second, Aang thought that he saw Yue smile at him.
"Aang, are you okay?"
Aang rubbed at his eyes as he turned to face his rescuer. "Yes. I'm fine. I just had this weird dre- . . . ." His speech was cut short and his mouth dropped open. "Gyatso? But you're dead."
The monk smiled warmly. "No time to explain Aang. What did you take away from your dream?"
"I . . . ." The dream was receding fast and Aang struggled to recall pieces of it. "I . . . I remember Roku was on trial. I think the spirits were angry that another war would come to pass. That . . . that I might repeat the mistakes of the past. I guess they think I'll take Zuko's life."
"Hmm. Sounds serious. What do you think?"
"I think I never should have made that promise. It goes against everything I believe in."
"A promise?" The monk patiently waited for Aang to continue.
"I promised Zuko that I would end him should he turn out like his father. Roku said that I should be decisive and that a person should keep their promises. He said that Zuko knew what he was asking me to do. Zuko said that he wanted me to be a safety net. He thinks he might become like his father."
"Has he?"
"No." There was a long pause that followed.
Gyatso smiled to himself and had a wistful look about him. "I remember Roku. He was a lot of fun. Tallest kid in the class."
"Gyatso?"
"Yes Aang?"
"What are you doing here? I mean . . . you're dead."
"Yes Aang. I am."
"Then, am I still dreaming?"
The old monk nodded. "Your subconscious is trying to work things out. You will find an answer Aang. I have confidence in you. You found a unique way to end the war. You will find a way to avert another one. Goodbye Aang. It was nice seeing you again. Give my best to Momo."
"Gyatso? No. Wait!"
"Did you hear that Aang? Someone just screamed."
"What?"
Aang's eyes flew open for real this time. "Katara!"
He bolted out of bed, ran to the door and yanked it open. He tried and failed to make it into the hallway. He stumbled on and fell on top of Katara, who was on top of Sokka.
"Can't a guy get a snack in the middle of the night without getting attacked? You're on my sandwich!"
A/N:
Join us next time as we find out how badly hurt Sokka's sandwich is. Tragic, isn't it? It was so young . . . and tasty. Oh yeah, and we'll find out what happens between Aang and Katara.
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