A/N: I intended to have this up on July 4, but I spent the day volunteering at a festival, and then came home too tired to even do the things I most enjoy. So, happy belated Independence Day, America! And for the other countries of the world, I hope you had an amazing July 4th.
Now onto the story- Please enjoy and drop me a review!
Chapter Two: The Celebration Interrupted
Katara quickly made her way through the crowded streets of the local marketplace, heading towards the village square towards her intended destination. Vendors selling their wares shouted out to potential customers, trying to drown each other out. Their voices just barely carried over the sounds of laughter, music, and the crowd chattering amongst friends and family, and the noises all seemed to blend into a sort of energetic ball of energy that could be felt throughout.
Searching for the meeting place that Aang had told her to go to, she weaved in and out of the crowd, heading for the large fountain where she was to meet up with Sokka, Suki, Aang, and Toph. Because of previous appointments, Katara had to leave later than everyone else. The same could be said for Fire Lord Zuko, who was busy elsewhere. He and Uncle Iroh were going to meet up with them at the theater later that evening.
She wore somewhat traditional Southern water-tribe style clothing, having it redesigned so she would be able to wear it in a warm climate like the Fire Nation. Katara had pulled her hair up into a ponytail, recalling the time Aang had said he thought she looked kind of cute with her hair pulled back. Katara also made sure to wear the hairpin that Aang had gotten for her too.
"Katara, over here!" Toph called to her. Of course the blind earthbender would be the first to know she arrived. Aang was dressed in his traditional Air Nomad robes, and Toph had dressed up as well, who was only making an exception in this case because it was an important event; the first anniversary of the end of the 100-year war. This event represented a new era of peace, and many people were overjoyed and were getting into the festivities with much flourish.
It was obvious by the style of dress chosen by the different people in the crowd that they had come from the Water-Tribes and Earth Kingdom. If anyone had asked Katara a few years ago if she had thought it was possible that the Nations could come together like they were doing now, she probably would have said yes, even if the person asking would have thought her to be crazy. This was the kind of thing that she thought she could only dream of. But this was real; and it felt amazing.
At a nearby booth, Sokka was getting some type of skewered meat, along with a side of flirtatious hero worship. The girl who was working at the booth was giving Sokka quite a bit of praise, and he was just eating it up, while Suki watched them with an annoyed look. She looked as if she wanted to use some of her Tessenjutsu on the girl. Sokka was agreeing with everything the girl said about him, "Yes," "Why, yes! Of course I am!"
The girl then asked mischievously, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
A whole new look of appreciation and love came over Suki's face when Sokka grabbed her and pulled her close, saying, "Yes, I do."
The girl eyed Suki almost disapprovingly, while Suki looked at the girl with a look that said, "Yeah, that's right. He's mine."
The flirtatious girl's disapproving look disappeared just as quickly as it had come, before mumbling, "Well, thank you for coming. It was an honor to serve you."
Sokka and Suki joined with the others, Sokka looking very happy to get as much of the skewered meat as he did.
At the sight of Katara, Aang smiled at her and said, "You look great, Katara… I'm glad you like the hair pin." Katara smiled and brushed at her hair nervously, and blushed. "Thanks, I love it," Aang and Katara looked at each other, both drowning out the sounds around them. Their moment was interrupted by Toph, "Alright, you two. Enough of the love-y dove-y; Let's go."
The group of five quickly made their way through the crowd, so that they wouldn't be late in meeting up with Zuko. Because they were considered royal guests, they had ended up staying at the palace with Zuko. Currently, Appa was getting spoiled by the stable workers at the palace (particularly one boy whom Appa was very affectionate towards. The boy was also more than happy to do anything and everything for Appa). Momo was more than happy to stay with Aang, and happily rode on the Avatar's shoulder. He hungrily eyed some of the treats that the other vendors were selling.
Aang approached one of the vendors who was selling a variety of desserts, and asked to buy a few. He didn't want to risk Momo angering one of the vendors if he tried to steal some of their food.
"Oh, I can't ask the Avatar to pay for his food!" the man said, almost as if it was a ridiculous notion that the Avatar pay for anything at all. So Aang selected a few of the treats, and left the man a rather generous tip. He simply wanted to be sure that he didn't take advantage of people's kindness because of who and what he was.
Upon seeing this, the man quickly bowed and said, "Oh, thank you, Avatar Aang! Your generosity knows no bounds!"
About fifteen minutes later, they met up with Zuko and Iroh who were waiting in front of the theater where the Ember Island Players were putting on a special play dedicated to Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang. They hadn't seen the Fire Lord and his Uncle in almost three months, and a lot had happened in that time for the both of them. They all hugged each other as good friends do that haven't seen each other for long periods of time. None of them had a chance to talk because a short man came out from the theater, and his eyes widened when he saw them.
"Oh! Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang!" he said, quickly walking over to them and bowing. He was rather rotund, wore black and white robes, and had a pointed nose, a balding head, and spectacles, making him look rather like a strange sort of penguin. "Welcome, welcome," he was saying, "I'm Lee Yen, assistant to Master Po Ren, the writer and producer of tonight's play. He's reserved seats just for you,"
They were given the best seats in the house, right next to the playwright, Po Ren. He kindly offered them drinks, and Uncle Iroh happily accepted his offer for tea.
The play consisted of a few of the conquests that Aang and Zuko had done after the war had ended, although everything was done on an overly dramatic scale. A few events that didn't even happen found their way into the play, and it was made worse due to the glances the honored guests were getting from Po Ren, who was seeing whether or not they were laughing or crying at those particular moments throughout the entire play.
When the play finally ended and the audience gave a standing ovation, everyone was more than relieved. Aang and Zuko did their part when Po Ren came up to their group and asked them, "So, Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang, what did you think? I hope I captured the true heart and soul of your adventures. No, conquests."
"W-why yes," Zuko started, "Yes, you did. It honors me that you would dedicate your play to us."
"We are very grateful," Aang agreed. "I thank you and the Ember Island Players for your hard work and dedication in honoring us."
Po Ren laughed, obviously flattered by their words, said, "Oh, it was difficult, but thanks to the hard work of my assistant and the actors, this was made possible."
"We should be going," Katara said quickly, being able to tell that both Zuko and Aang (along with everyone else) really wanted to leave. "While we would love to stay and chat, we're expected elsewhere. I'm afraid we can't be late."
"Oh, yes. I understand," Po Ren stated with a nod, "You don't want to miss your other appointments. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you again for coming. I bid you farewell."
The others looked at Katara with relief and gratitude, and said their goodbyes as well.
Because the play had taken quite a long time, the group figured that they could just eat something at the pier, and have more of a celebratory breakfast instead of dinner. As they walked, Aang told Zuko and Iroh about a group of people he had met who were huge fans of the Avatar and Air Nomads in general. "I'm calling them Air Acolytes," Aang said. He went on to tell Zuko about how it had started as a fan club, but now it was going to be something official.
Zuko went on to tell Aang about how restorations were going, and how he was working to help heal the land and promote peace between the Nations.
As the group headed to the pier, they happened to stop at a very strange carriage that had a stage set up. People were talking about it, wondering who was running this show. A short man came out onto the stage, he was short (sort of around Aang's height) his face hidden by the hood of his elaborately decorated robes, and only a long white beard stuck out from the hood, coming almost to the man's feet. With a clear voice, he began to sing a song about mirrors, numerous worlds, and traveling. While Iroh seemed to listen and take genuine interest in whatever the man was singing about, the others felt bored out of their minds. This man did not seem to make any sense to any of them. After a few more songs, he made his way into the crowd, and stopped right in front the Avatar and his group.
"You…" he pointed at them with a long and bony tanned finger, and continued with a raspy breath, "There is something about you. I do believe you will need these."
He then handed Aang and his group strange glass balls that had a strange tint to them. Each one of them felt a strange sensation come over them. Toph had never felt such a cool, smooth, and strange glass surface before. She felt as if there was something more to the glass balls that the man handed them then what he was saying. For a moment, she felt rather dizzy, but the feeling soon passed and was forgotten in a matter of seconds.
"They will guide you," he was saying. "Now I bid you farewell," and just like that, he packed up his stage and rode away, disappearing into the crowd.
"Well, that was weird." Sokka said, and he stuffed the glass ball into his pocket.
Toph felt as if she were hearing voices come from the glass ball, but because of the noise from the crowd she couldn't be sure. It was at this moment that something came over all of them, sort of like a dream. The group made their way down to the docks so that they could watch the fireworks.
On the way, they passed a few more vendors trying to sell their wares, and Iroh saw something and called out, "Wait!"
The others followed close behind him and saw the reason for his sudden need to stop. He stood at a tea merchant's kiosk, admiring the assortment of teas. The merchant had an odd smile as he welcomed them, "Welcome, friends and heroes of the Four Nations,"
Toph flinched, because for a moment the man sounded just like the strange storyteller. But for some reason, the thought was pushed to the back of her mind. Since she didn't know that the storyteller from earlier was wearing robes, a part of her simply figured that if it was in fact the same man, somebody else would say something.
"Go on ahead without me," Uncle Iroh said, after taking a sip of tea. His nephew and the others either rolled their eyes or smiled knowingly. They simply decided to leave Iroh to his own devices, and go on to the pier.
As they continued on their way to the pier, a voice called out to them, "Hello, folks!" At first they didn't stop, because there were people all around them and that greeting could have been directed at anyone. But the voice called out to them again, and this time they turned towards its owner; a very familiar, strange-looking man sat at a makeshift desk with a large glass ball and a deck of tarot cards. The man smiled a very wicked smile, and said, "Won't you have your fortunes told?"
"I would!" Suki said optimistically. She then turned to the others, "I'll catch up, okay?" She gave Sokka a peck on the cheek, and turned back to the fortuneteller. "Tell me about my future; romantic and family-wise. Can you do that?"
"Why, yes I can child," the fortuneteller answered, "just let me see the palm of your hand."
Zuko, who had made it a personal responsibility of his to remember faces thought that this fortuneteller looked very much like a certain tea merchant. But that suspicion left as quickly as it had come. There's no way, Zuko reasoned with himself. There's no way that they can be the same people.
So they ended up leaving Suki behind, and they reached the pier without any other incident.
There was already a crowd waiting to rent boats so that they could paddle out in the water in order to watch the fireworks. A dockworker saw the group, and called out a greeting, "Fire Lord! Avatar! How are you?" He quickly bowed to them, "And hello to the warrior Sokka of the Southern Watertribe, and warm greetings to Miss Katara and Miss Beifong. I'm Moe. Allow me to lead you to your boat,"
As he led them, Moe kept looking up at the clear night sky, as if he were expecting something.
"Is anything wrong?" Katara asked, but the man shook his head and sighed.
"Not sure. Feels like stormy weather, but not a cloud in sight. It just feels off, not sure how to explain it. Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing. But pressure like this… makes you wonder if the Spirits are moving."
They followed the dockworker in silence to a very funny looking man who was waiting in a strange boat. The man had such strange clothing, that he looked rather out of place. The boat looked long and flat, and was adorned with tags that had strange symbols written on them. The dockworker smiled, and told the group that he was guiding, "This is Puk Joo, and he will be rowing you and your guests out to the designated area."
"Ah, heroes!" Puk Joo said, smiling widely and bowing deeply. "Please, get on board and make yourselves comfortable."
Zuko and Sokka helped Toph into the boat, but not before asking if she truly wanted to go. "I'll be fine," she insisted. "It's not like the water is flowing like crazy or anything (it's not right?) Anyway, I'd rather hang out here with you guys than wait here on the docks, or listen to some silly fortune teller, or drink tea."
"What kind of boat is this?" Katara asked, running a finger along the smooth, black-painted polished wood."
"It's a gondola," Puk Joo answered, he stood near the back of the boat and gently guided it to an area where people in other boats had lined up in anticipation of the fireworks.
Toph settled near the front of the gondola and laid back, lacing her fingers behind her head. Sokka tried to explain some of the fireworks to Toph, who only smiled and said, "That's okay Sokka, hanging out here with you guys is enough."
It wasn't even half an hour into the show when the gondola suddenly shook as if something bumped into it. Puk Joo lost his balance, but quickly regained it. Toph's eyes widened, and she sat up quickly. "Something just hit the boat,"
Bubbles formed around the gondola, and the water started making waves, pushing the other boats away, so that the gondola was at the center of the activity. Puk Joo peered into the water, and pointed at something. "What is that?"
Just then, the gondola was hit again, knocking Puk Joo down on top of Zuko. The boat then started spinning as a whirlpool began. Aang and Katara began to work together to waterbend as the shaking and the spinning got more violent. Momo clung tightly to Toph as she tried to fight against the bile that threatened to make its way up her throat. Other waterbenders started trying to help as well, but it was as if the water wasn't obeying any of their commands.
The boat stopped spinning rather violently, causing Aang and Katara to lose their balance and tumble awkwardly and painfully into each other. "Katara, are you alright?" Aang asked, after he caught his breath from Katara's head ramming into his stomach.
"Yeah…" Katara said, rubbing the area of her head which had hit Aang.
Sokka was about to ask, what was that? When the water shot up around them and a giant Koi fish wearing a jinbei rose up out of the water, and opened its mouth, swallowing the gondola and its riders in one gulp.
Everything was dark, and their boat had capsized. They held onto the gondola for dear life as it shook violently and they couldn't breathe, and for a brief moment there was a flash of green-tinted light, before it felt as if they were swallowed by something else. The darkness and the inability to breathe felt as if it had lasted forever, and nearly everyone was at their limit. Suddenly, the shaking stopped, and everything was at a still.
They could see streams of pale light glowing in the water, and since she was the closest one to him, Zuko grabbed Toph and pulled her atop the capsized boat. Both of them, especially Toph, gasped greedily for air, followed just a few seconds later by Aang, Katara, and Sokka.
Toph gagged and spit, and shouted, "What was that?!" When nobody answered her, she shouted at them again, this time grabbing Zuko's shoulder and saying, "What just happened?"
"I-I don't know…" Zuko said, his voice sounding funny. He was silent for a moment or two before continuing, "There was a giant Koi fish that swallowed us, and now…"
"Now what?!" Toph asked, getting frustrated at her friends for not telling her what was going on.
"We aren't in the Fire Nation anymore…" Sokka said, sounding as if he was still trying to process whatever was in front of him. "We're in a forest…"
"A forest? What do you mean, forest?" It was then Toph realized something; "Weren't we with somebody else? Where is he?"
"I don't know…" Zuko said, hesitantly. "I thought there was somebody else, but he's not here now… wherever 'here' is. I couldn't even see a thing when we were underwater."
Just in case, Zuko took a deep breath and dove underwater, searching for… what was his name again? As Zuko searched, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and all he could see were rocks and seaweed. He began to doubt that anyone else was with them. Whenever he tried to remember, it was like trying to remember a dream. When his lungs started to burn from lack of oxygen, he quickly swam to the surface and greedily drank in the air.
"There's nothing down there…" he said when he caught his breath again.
Afterwards, they swam to shore, and could see the full moon through a large hole in the forest ceiling, the moon reflected eerily on the large pond that they had somehow appeared in. From what they could see illuminated by the moonlight on all sides of them were strange trees that looked like oversized mushrooms, with smaller mushrooms of different kinds growing out from those. Tangled vines and what could have been branches blackened out the rest of the sky.
They could hear the cries of numerous creatures, causing involuntary shivers to go up and down their spines. Katara took the lead by saying, "Okay, let's go. Walk in a straight line and let's try to get out of here and see where we are."
Aang walked with Katara at the front, so he used his firebending to make a sort of torch, and Zuko did the same while at the back. The firelight somehow made things look more ominous, because they occasionally saw tiny, shining orbs in the trees and bushes, letting them know that they were being watched. Toph tried using her seismic sense to check for any other signs of life for something that wasn't an animal. After a while, she made a face. "I think we're on an island. I can smell saltwater."
They spent roughly 15 or more minutes walking before coming out onto a beach that had amazingly white sand. As far as they could see, there was nothing but ocean. The feeling and realization of being stranded in an unknown place was slowly dawning of them.
"We're gonna die~!" Sokka shouted, and a few creatures in the forest behind him seemed to answer him with their own howls and screeches.
"We aren't going to die, Sokka!" Katara berated her brother, "So just stop it and calm down. We'll figure something out, so just stop it!"
Sokka looked as if he wanted to argue, but instead gave in, and just said, "Okay…"
Taking charge in times like this was Katara's specialty, so she stepped up and told everyone what to do.
"Toph, make a tent for us to sleep in. Sokka, see if you can find us something to eat; there's got to be fish or something, make a fishing pole if you have to. Zuko, gather some firewood and start a campfire. Aang, come with me. I'm going back to the pond that we came out of. We can get some fresh water from there."
With everyone completing their assigned tasks, Katara hoped that keeping everyone busy would help them keep their minds off of whatever this situation was.
Katara and Aang worked together to waterbend (both very thankful that wherever they were had no affect on their bending) and brought a few gallons of water back to the beach, where Toph made a makeshift well to put the water into. Sokka was thankful that he always carried a knife on him, so he was able to make a spear, and about an hour later, they had a few small fish to eat.
Although the fire was comforting and seemingly kept the strange animals at bay, that didn't stop insects from biting them, and the sounds from the forest made them feel uneasy. The events of the night finally caught up to them, and so they headed into the makeshift tent for the night, intent on doing any explorations in the morning. Soon, all of them were asleep, worn out from the previous evening's events.
A/N:~ Thank you to PainterofEmotions who was the first reviewer, and left a helpful tip that also gave me some ideas to help expand this story. Here is a bit of an answer to her review that didn't really have a question.
In the first chapter, Neko-Mi is described as smiling like a Cheshire Cat. Since that part of the story was semi-told through Pukje's POV, her smiling like that would be the only thing that he, the foreigner in that part of the Spirit World, would be able to compare her smile to would be the Cheshire Cat. The Spirit World is likely going to be sort of an AU as this story expands.
Can anyone guess who the stable boy is that loves Appa and Appa loves back?
And how do you get rid of characters that you don't really want to write for? Hypnosis, death, or complete non-existence? I felt like Suki and Iroh couldn't work in the One Piece World, and (SPOILERS) Mai broke up with Zuko anyway, (WHY?!) so convenient reason for her not being there or even mentioned.