Oh gods panic panic panic panic. I chose a really really bad time to start a fanfiction. National novel Writing Month starts in 3 days and I still have 2 or 3 chapters left of this to write. I don't want to break my winning streak, but I also want to finish this fic while Avatar is still fresh on my mind.
And don't worry about me doing this for NaNo, nooo. I won't subject my readers to the quality of NaNo works. I'll figured something out...hopefully.
Shyu sat cross-legged in the middle of the saddle. Zuko sat at Appa's head, steering them in the right course and while Katara was at the edge of the saddle, resting her arms on the side and staring out at the clouds.
"I still can't figure out how the Avatar could simply vanish." Shyu sighed, wracking his brain for answers. The fact that Aang had simply disappeared, and that a Shirshu seemed unable to detect him in this world...it was certainly troubling. "I wish I had my grandfather's wisdom. I'm afraid information on the Avatar had disappeared over the years, even within the Fire Sages."
Katara leaned back from her position and turned to look at Shyu.
"There has to be some way. Is there anywhere you know of where we can research this?" Katara asked, a hint of pleading in her voice. They had to find Aang, he was their best hopes of ending this war, and she...she couldn't lose him. Not again, never again. The grief and the pain when Aang had been shot down by Azula, the weeks of daring to hope and the crushing realization he might not wake up...no, she couldn't go through that again.
"We could always try to contact Avatar Roku; as Aang's spirit guide he would know more about where he is than anyone else. The problem is..." Shyu began, and then hesitated at the hopeful look on Katara's face. "Well, there are three places strongly connected to Roku. Only one of them would be strong enough for me to achieve a connection, and only on a Solstice. And it's in the Capital."
Katara's shoulder drooped, and she looked away, back to stare into the clouds. Shyu crawled forward to her side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry for mentioning it." He mumbled, realizing he had given her hope and then crushed it. He had been thinking aloud, not realizing what the effects of his words would be.
"No, don't be. It's an option open to us if we can't solve this before the Winter Solstice." Katara told him, giving a faint smile to reassure him that she was Okay. Shyu saw through it of course, but chose not to say anything.
Appa groaned loudly, and with a flick of his tail angled himself upwards, and they were suddenly in a cloud. Both Shyu and Katara grabbed onto the side of the saddle tightly, and they heard Zuko's surprised cry. They could only imagine him hanging onto the reins for dear life, because with all the fog about them they could barely see his silhouette.
"What's going on?" Katara asked, raising her voice to be heard over the roar of the wind as Appa levelled off.
"I'm not sure!" Zuko cried back, and Katara got to her feet, rushing to the Sky Bison's head beside Zuko. She put one hand on the opening of her waterskin, and the other on the reins to keep her on in case there was any more sudden movement.
"What's wrong Appa?" She asked quietly, and the Sky Bison replied by lowering them down slowly. Eventually they broke through the bottom layer of the cloud, and Katara saw specks of red in the distance. War balloons.
Within seconds they were back in the cloud.
"That...would be my father." Zuko told Katara, a smile spreading over his face. Katara returned it, nodding enthusiastically. If Ozai was returning in War Balloons, then that means they didn't have their airships. It seems Sokka had succeeded, hopefully before too much damage had been done.
"Good job spotting them Appa." Katara told the sky bison, patting him on the head. "Let's veer aside and pass them by."
Zuko tugged on the reins to do just that as Katara went back to the saddle to tell Shyu the good news.
xXxXxXxXx
They saw the war balloons leave that morning. Suki was up early, working through different routines with a stick. She had been without a proper combat fan for a while now, but that doesn't mean she should allow herself to fall out of practise. Even at the Boiling Rock she had practised in secret whenever she could.
She was the one who spotted the small red dots in the sky, and though she didn't recognize what they were, Sokka certainly did when she woke him up. Crawling out of the tent, his eyes widened when he looked up at the sky.
"War Balloons." He told her with a sigh. "The Fire Nation soldiers are leaving..." So many of them had survived by the look of it; was Ozai alive up there? Possibly with Aang?
They spent the rest of the morning barely saying anything. Toph was seeping with anger, wanting nothing more than to have had a chance to shoot down those balloons. Though she was too far away to have done anything anyways, she was still angry that Sokka and Suki hadn't woken her up earlier. They didn't wake her up for that reason exactly.
Sokka and Suki did their best to avoid her rage as they took down camp. There really wasn't much to do. Suki made a makeshift spear and did her best to catch breakfast from the water. Toph took down all the structures she had created, and Sokka got to sit there feeling incredibly useless with his broken leg.
After cooking and splitting a single small fish Suki had caught through a sheer accident that involved the Kyoshi Warrior getting completely soaked, the three were ready to set off.
"I would give up everything for Appa to be here right now." Sokka groaned, only five minutes into their hike. They followed the shoreline, knowing that there was a river here somewhere that would lead them to the capital. The riverbed was shallow, the water lazy and slow-moving, and this was key. They couldn't walk through the forest; even though there were few visible flames, the forest radiated heat from hidden fires, smothered under all the debris. They'd have to travel in the river if they didn't want to be roasted alive as they walked. It'll be slow going, but it's all they can do.
Suki had offered to carry Sokka, but he had outright refused. Suki didn't push it, although she had a knowing smile on her face. Sokka's pride made him...stubborn, so she let it be. So they hobbled along slowly, with the young man trying his best -and failing- at not slowing the group down.
Suki and Toph stopped as the beach before them opened up into a tributary, the river pouring out into the sea here. The water was only a trickle, knee-deep at most in the centre. It was coloured black from soot. The Kyoshi warrior turned back to see Sokka awkwardly hobbling forward, panting for breath. Well, it's probably been long enough; he's learned his lesson.
As Sokka got near, Suki approached him.
"Hey there tough guy, how're you doing?" She asked with a teasing grin.
"Fine." Sokka grunted, trying to keep a straight face, trying his best not to making his heavy panting obvious. She moved in suddenly, and before he could fully react, she had him on her back.
"H-hey!" was all he offered as the Kyoshi warrior sprinted back to Toph, barely slowed by the extra weight. He gave in, leaning in against her as he grumbled about making a girl carry him, but Suki could hear the gratitude in his voice.
"I love you too Sokka." She giggled as a response.
"Took you two long enough." Toph grumbled, already ankle-deep in water. They began their long journey up the river.
xXxXxXxXx
It started raining around noon, just as they reached the forest. It came pouring down, soaking them all down to the bone before Katara stepped in to dry them all off and keep the rain off them. Appa looked down at the forest, and let out a loud, tired groan. They continued to fly over it, his passengers taking in the damage.
The forest under them was smoking and steaming as the heavy rain battled the heat of the fires. Katara winced at the sight of blackened trees and the acrid smell of soot. Why would Ozai execute such meaningless destruction...? That monster had to be stopped.
Under them Appa suddenly angled himself downwards towards the trees until his feet barely brushed against the topmost branches. He roared, a sound so loud his passengers covered their ears. Without Katara's control the rain momentarily fell down onto the three again before the Waterbender quickly pushed it all away.
"Appa?" Katara yelled above the sound of the rain and the wind. She was answered a moment later by Zuko's surprised cry.
"Gyaaahh! Geitoferme!" He cried out in surprise as something swooped up from the forest in front of them and collided with him. There was now a mass of white fur clinging to his face, and the Firebender let go of the reins to try and pry the thing off. It had claws though, and clung on tightly as if its life depended on it.
"Zuko!" Katara once again let go of her hold on the water and rushed to Appa's head, grabbing Zuko by the shoulder before he could fall off. Shyu was clinging to the side of the saddle fearfully, having no idea what was going on.
Katara grabbed the small furry creature around the waist with a hand and finally managed to pull it off, leaving small claw marks on either side of a very flustered Zuko's face. It was then that katara recognized the mass of sodden fur.
"Momo?" The flying lemur stared up at Katara with wide fearful eyes and the Waterbender let go of Zuko, holding Momo out at arm's length. He was completely soaked, his fur singed in places, and the poor thing looked absolutely miserable.
"Momo? Didn't he disappear with Aang?" Zuko asked, rubbing his new scratches. Katara looked down to Zuko, nodding.
"That means...Aang's back!" She exclaimed, a wide grin breaking out over her face for as long as it took for the implications to hit her. By the state of Momo, he had been here for quite a while now, probably little under a day. He had been here during attack. That means Aang had been here as well. So what had happened to him?
"You're Okay now Momo, let's get you dried up." She told the Lemur soothingly, holding it close and stroking his head and ears. Momo curled up against her, and she could feel him shaking. She climbed back into the saddle, with a gesture re-diverted the rain around them in a globe, and drew the water out of Momo's fur and everyone's clothing.
xXxXxXxXx
Well, their day just went from slow and painful to completely miserable.
All three of them were soaked to the bone, and though none of them admitted it, they were freezing. The rain was doing a good job at putting out the fire finally though, and they could finally walk safely along the shores of the river.
"Maybe we should find some shelter." Sokka piped up, shivering from the cold as he clung to Suki's back.
"What are you complaining about, Ponytails? You're not even walking." Toph called out, which was responded by an angry rebuttal, something about a Warrior's Wolf Tail. Sokka stopped when he saw that Toph wasn't listening, and contented himself with muttering angrily under his breath.
"I like your ponytail Sokka, it's cute." Suki told him, tilting her head to look up at him with a smile. Sokka's muttering stopped, and he grinned proudly in response.
Toph shook her head as she felt the change; men were weird. And to think she had once thought she had a crush on this guy.
Well, it seems the original topic was completely forgotten. While Toph didn't exactly enjoy being soaked, especially as her feet was becoming covered with dirt and grime, she knew they had to make as much distance as they can. Ba Sing Se was a long way off, and if they didn't want to take months to get there, they had to find civilization. Hopefully they'll eventually come across some sort of village by the river.
"Hey, Suki, wait, stop for a moment." Sokka called out a little while later, having caught a glimpse of something at the edge of his vision. Suki stopped, looking over at where Sokka was pointing, a fallen tree across the river. Something metallic was caught in its branches, and it looked suspiciously like...
"Boomerang! I knew I'd find you again!" He cried out excitedly, slipping off of Suki's back to hobble to the river's edge. The Kyoshi warrior quickly stepped forward and grabbed him before he would jump into the water like an idiot. She ran down the length of the fallen tree herself, moving with the speed and grace as if she were simply sprinting over flat ground. Grabbing onto a branch, she swung herself down to grab the boomerang by the handle and landed back onto the trunk of the fallen tree.
It was that moment that something large flew overhead, just above the trees. Suki looked up when the rain was suddenly blocked above her to see something huge, fluffy, six-legged...
"Appa!" Suki cried out; it wasn't that hard to recognize who the giant 10-tonne flying bison was. "Down here!" Suki yelled, waving her arms above her head in order to catch his, and his rider's, attention. She sprinted back to solid ground as Appa groaned and turned around, angling down to land in the middle of the shallow stream with a loud splash, the only open space he had. He made his way slowly to shore, coming to a rest right at the tree line.
A figure hopped off Appa's back, using his tail as a bridge to land. It was Katara. Suki slung Sokka's arm across her shoulder to support him and helped him hobble over to his sister.
"You're Okay!" Katara cried, and Suki stepped out of the way as the Waterbender wrapped Sokka in a tight hug. Overbalanced from the sudden momentum, his arms flailed wildly in an attempt to keep his balance.
"Ahck- yes Katara, can you please- thank you." He said as she let go, taking a step back. Her hands were still on his shoulders. She turned to examine their group, her smile slowly fading.
"Aang's...not with you?" She asked tentatively, afraid of the answer. When Suki and Sokka both turned their gazes down to the ground, she let go of her brother, eyes widening in horror. When she had seen Suki, she had been hoping, praying, that Aang had been with them.
"What happened to him?" She asked fearfully, and started when someone laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's get onto Appa first. Your friends look like they need the rest." Shyu murmured, and Katara took a deep calming breath, nodding. They were soaking wet, muddy, and weary-looking. Even Toph. Several minutes later, the reunited group were huddled on Appa's back as Katara dried them off and tended to Sokka's broken leg.
"Then he came for us. He could fly, by shooting fire out of his feet. Aang couldn't reach us. We tried to fight Ozai off, but we couldn't do much. Me and Suki couldn't reach him, and Toph couldn't see him. Then Aang created this really big wind. It knocked Ozai off, and blew us out over the Ocean. That was the last we saw of him." Sokka finished, shaking his head. "We saw the War Balloons leave this morning. It had been a losing fight, so we think they have him. He would have come to find us otherwise."
There was silence in the group as Katara and Zuko digested the information. Shyu hung his head sadly, praying under his breath.
"Can we be certain that they had captured him? What if Ozai had-" Zuko began, but was interrupted by a very irate Toph punching him hard in the arm, sending him crashing into Sokka, who in turn toppled into Suki's lap.
"Think before you speak, idiot." Toph scowled. "They can't afford to kill him. Aang told me that when Zhao captured him, they kept him alive because otherwise they'd have to hunt the Avatar down all over again."
Zuko had very quickly extracted himself from the embarrassing tangle, though Sokka and Suki seemed fine where they were. The Firebender cleared his throat, doing his best to act as if nothing had happened though he glared daggers at Toph.
"Sorry. I just thought that it's best if we planned for the worst." He mumbled. Katara drew the water off of Sokka's leg, having done all she could on the torn muscles, nerves and blood vessels. She could do nothing for the fracture itself, which will have to heal on its own.
"Hey, at least we stopped Ozai from burning the world down, that's got to count for something. And as long as they keep Aang alive, we have a chance to save him." Sokka piped up, feeling that the group really needed some sort of positive thinking. Katara sent her water back into the Waterskin, nodding absently.
It seemed like such an empty comfort. If Aang is alive...no, Aang is alive...he'd be kept by the Fire Nation. The image of Aang in chains tore at her heart.
"So...how did your mission go?" Sokka asked. Zuko glanced over at Katara.
"Um...I'll tell them. Why don't you go and steer Appa for a while?" He told her, seeing her state of mind written all over her face and posture. She nodded and wordless got up.
xXxXxXxXx
"Hey there little guy. Do you live here?"
The ratroach looked up at Aang for only a brief moment before ignoring him and going back to his business of collecting crumbs of food from the ground. It was an odd looking creature, with a hard black shell, a long worm-like tail, and a long snout ending with a sensitive nose from which several whiskers sprouted. It scurried around on six furry legs.
"I thought so. It doesn't seem a very nice place to stay though." He told the creature, who continued to ignore him. With a great sigh, Aang looked up at the locked and bolted door on the other side of his cell. The large room was made almost entirely of metal, not surprisingly. Dim torches burned on either side of the door, much too far away for Aang to manipulate with Firebending in his situation.
Two pillars stood in the middle of the room, slightly elevated above the ground. It was between these two pillars that Aang was chained, his arms pulled towards the pillars and his ankles bound to the ground. It was very similar to how he was held in the PoHuai fortress when he had been captured by Zhao. He could barely move, and was far from any bending stances he knew of, pretty much rendering him incapable of Bending anything. He could manage some minor Airbending with his breath, but he couldn't think of how that'll help him.
They had arrived at the capital late in the afternoon. Ozai had been greeted immediately with bad news, much to Aang's amusement. Reports of Fire Nation Soldiers retreating, peace treaty talks being made between Fire and Earth generals, War Prisoners released, Azula's mental breakdown...all because Zuko had somehow managed to take control for a day. He and Katara had gotten away safely too! Ozai had left immediately to take care of the chaos, leaving the soldiers to take Aang to the prison near the palace. For the weary and beleaguered boy, such news raised his spirits, especially news that Katara was fine. And to top it all off, with Ozai so busy, he had better things to do than to come down here and taunt his prisoner. Considering the situation, it was like New Years had come early!
Other than the initial arrival to the capital, things have been uneventful. With everything seemingly taken cared of except his own situation, he felt rather calm. Of course there was the nagging anxiety biting at the edge of his mind, worry for the safety of his friends as well as the hopelessness of his own situation, but his biggest mental enemy for the good part was boredom. Aang was not the type of kid to stay still, and being confined to one position for hours sucked.
The ratroach suddenly stiffened, raising its nose to sniff at the air before it glanced over at the door briefly. Then in a flash it scurried past and behind Aang, presumably to some hole in the metal wall. Aang tensed, staring at the door as he heard it being unlocked. A moment later it creaked open, and a figure stepped in, a bag slung over his shoulder.
It was the medic.
"I see yer still awake." He commented tiredly. "Seems like your friends really did a number on the Phoenix King's plans."
The man stepped forward, the door shut behind him by some guards. He dropped his bag down beside Aang and stretched, his bones audibly cracking. Now that he was fully awake and alert, Aang took note of the man's appearance. He seemed quite old, his hair, sideburns and beard showing significant signs of ageing, though amongst the grey were scattered strands of black. His face was weathered and wrinkled, and his dark eyes were warm but...there was a sadness to them.
"So how're ya holdin' up?" He asked, rummaging through his bag to take out his supplies. He mumbled angrily under his breath the entire time, though Aang could only catch a few words. Something about Ozai and the wounded.
"Uh, well...I've been better I guess." Aang responded. The man straightened back up, now holding a Waterskin and a small sealed bottle.
"I can imagine." He chuckled, opening the bottle to dump out two small white pills. Aang was reluctant to take them at first, being so different from the tradition forms of medicine he was used to, but the man made it clear in the end that it wasn't his choice.
"Ugghh, it tastes like...sea prunes!" Aang complained; he had not expected the liquid in the Waterskin to be some form of medicinal tea. And it did not taste pleasant. The man chuckled, putting away the medicine.
"It's ta stop anything' from getting infected. Surprised that hole in yer shoulder's still fine. Yer a tough kid, Avatar." He told Aang, examining his splint to ensure it was still firmly in place, though Aang hasn't exactly been active enough to jostle it. "Ya know, I've never caught yer name kid. 'less you prefer being called Avatar? Just doesn't seem ta roll off the tongue very well."
"Ah, well, you can call me Aang." He replied, happy to start off what seems like an actual conversation. He was definitely more interesting than the ratroach.
"Aang...interestin' name. Kinda silly soundin' if ya ask me." The man commented, stepping back.
"Well, it's not exactly a common name, but it's not totally unique. There was this one Aang I knew who lived in the Northern Air Temple, but I only met him once three years ago- well, actually...a hundred and three I guess, but-" Aang replied, building in momentum and enthusiasm until the medic cut him off.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down kid. I don't need yer life's story. Just asked fer a name for goodness sakes." The man laughed, a warm genuine laugh that reached his eyes, erasing the earlier weariness and sadness.
"Ah, sorry." Aang apologized with a grin. "Say, what's your name? I don't think you've told me."
"The name's Roku. I-"
"Hey! I know a Roku!" Aang exclaimed excitedly, cutting the man off. Roku nodded.
"I suspect ya do. It's not commonplace anymore, but Avatar names used ta be pretty popular." He explained, and bent over slowly to pick up his bag. He moved deliberately and stiffly, presumably from ageing joints. "Well, you seem ta be doin' fine, so I'm gonna go back to the infirmary."
He held the bag with one hand, and rummaged through it with the other.
"Ya want anythin' ta help ya sleep kid?"
Aang, more than a little disappointed that Roku was leaving, shook his head. Oh no, he was avoiding any more medicine if he could avoid it. The aftertaste from that last bit was still lingering unpleasantly in his mouth.
"No thanks."
"Alright then. See ya tomorrow mornin' Aang. I'll be bringin' breakfast, and we'll see if yer bandages need any changin'." Roku told him, turning and waving goodbye over his shoulder.
"Good night Roku."
Aang watched as the medic left and heard the door being bolted and locked. He sighed, watching as the ratroach suddenly reentered his vision, sniffing around where Roku had placed his bag earlier.
"Sorry little guy, he didn't bring any food." He told the small creature, and then stared back up at the door, wishing he wasn't so alone. The room seemed so much emptier now than before after Roku's presence.
Wait. He wasn't alone, he was never alone.
"Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Aang mused out loud. Closing his eyes, he slowly calmed down his breathing to a slow regular rhythm. It took him longer to enter the peaceful state of mind needed, unable to sit and take a comfortable posture, but eventually he reached it.
He suddenly stood in front of his corporeal body, his astral one transparent and blue. He wore the outfit he had left the Southern Air Temple with, whole and undamaged. And in a state where he appeared as he made himself to be, no painful scar marked his back and foot. Before him stood the image of Roku- Avatar Roku.
"Roku, I need help." Aang told his past life, looking back to indicate his body chained to the pillars. The old Avatar nodded sadly.
"Yes, things have not worked out for the best. But as long as you are alive, you still have a chance." Roku told the Airbender.
"What can I do? I can barely bend." Aang asked, a hint of frustration seeping into his voice. He had done well to keep himself calm up until now, partly because he had refused to give Ozai the satisfaction, and partly because it was just easier to not think about it.
"Is that what you truly believe?" Roku asked calmly, and Aang hesitated before nodding.
"I can't move, and I'm nowhere near a good Bending stance." He mumbled, knowing that it wasn't the answer Roku was looking for. But he couldn't think of what the older Avatar was hinting at.
"And that is where you are wrong. Think carefully." Roku replied patiently. Aang crossed his arms, tapping a foot as he thought hard, wishing that he would just tell him the answer already.
"Well, I guess there's Lightning redirection..." Aang finally said tentatively, recalling the lesson Zuko had given him. It had required a wide, solid stance, and the redirection was done with outstretched arms, ending with two fingers to channel the energy. A stance he was chained into. He had no clue how that would help him though, because he doubted anyone was shooting lightning at him anytime soon.
Roku, however, nodded.
"Yes. Lightning Redirection is heavily based off of Waterbending Philosophy, but it parallels an ancient Firebending Technique. It is simple in principle, but it is taxing on the body, especially to the extent you must successfully perform it if you are to escape." Roku began.
"You have a plan?" Aang asked, genuinely surprised. The young boy was often unsure of how involved Roku was in his life, and felt ashamed that he seemed to have already figured something out while Aang himself had barely started to come up with a means of escape. Maybe he should stop relying on Sokka to come up with the plans.
Roku nodded and moved down into a sitting position, gesturing for Aang to do the same. The young Avatar readily complied, moving down to sit cross-legged across from his elder.
"The first thing you must do is recover. You are hurt and in no condition to fight. But you must not wait too long. Your strength will be worn away the longer you stay here, and Ozai will try to break you. Stay strong, and prepare." Roku told Aang, and he nodded grimly in understanding. "In two weeks time, the Mid-Autumn Festival will come around, and it will be your best chance. The Full Moon will provide you, a Waterbender, an advantage you desperately need."
"I'm ready Avatar Roku." Aang announced, and Roku nodded in agreement.
"The technique is simply the movement of preexisting energy, Heat Redirection if you will. Unlike Negative Energy, Lightning, it will not flow naturally with your own chi. You must grab it and channel it forcibly, especially if you are moving it against its natural tendency; heat moves from hot to cold. This takes energy and concentration, and could be extremely dangerous if you..."
Yay Physics lessons. Writing both parts of this chapter was a pain.
This took me a long time to write mostly because not much really happens and my mind keeps wandering to more exciting scenes in the future, but all of it is important for tying into the following chapters. So I was forced to write them for the sake of continuity. The next chapter will more than likely be another bridge chapter of me trying to explain what happens in the two weeks, though if I don't get enough down for that I can probably get to writing the scene for the Mid-autumn festival.
One of the things that appealed to me the most about Avatar is that as someone who grew up in China, I loved seeing all of the cultural references. I wasn't kidding about the medicinal tea tasting horrible. They all end up tasting the same for some strange reason, no matter what they seem to put in them, and they are...ugghh...you Western Folks have no idea how lucky you are with pills that you can swallow without tasting.
I noticed that this chapter seems to have a much lighter mood than before. In case if anyone cares, I work on this fanfiction during my Spare (a period at school where I don't have class) daily, usually getting roughly 1k written at a time. I apologize if this makes the story feel disconnected, as I do write pieces of this in varying states of emotion, stress, and energy.
AK-47: Nice to know someone agrees with me. I wonder why everyone was so against the idea. I mean, Aang feels uncomfortable with losing control, but that was what they were working at; helping him gain control of the Avatar state. Anyways, thanks for reviewing and I hope I don't disappoint you!