Hey everyone! This takes place Book 1 Episode 5. Enjoy!
I was awoken when Appa hit the ground. My head hit the side of the saddle in the process. I quickly sat up.
"Ow! You couldn't have made that a smoother landing, Sokka?"
He shrugged. "Hey I'm new at driving a flying bison."
I slid down Appa's tail and stood next to Katara. Aang had already ran ahead of us.
"The Earth Kingdom City of Omashu," he proclaimed proudly. His smile broadened. "I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi."
I could tell he was thinking of a memory. I shrugged it off as I saw Katara and Sokka staring in wonder.
"Wow, we don't have cities like this in the South Pole," she proclaimed.
"They have buildings here that don't melt!"
I looked at Sokka with an incredulous expression. "Seriously?"
He shrugged.
Aang continued, "Well let's go slowpokes. The real fun is inside the city." He started heading toward the entrance.
"Wait Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar," Katara warned.
"You need a disguise," Sokka thought out loud.
"And a darn good one," I added.
"So, what am I supposed to do, grow a mustache," Aang said sarcastically.
I looked at Appa and smirked. "Sorta."
Within minutes, Aang was wearing a fur wig and a fur mustache. He wrinkled his nose and scratched his head. He looked at his bison.
"Ugh, it's so itchy! How do you live in this stuff?"
Appa snorted as I laughed.
"Now that's a good disguise."
Sokka smiled. "Great, now you look just like my grandfather."
"Technically, Aang is a hundred and twelve years old," the brunette added.
Aang grabbed his staff like a walking stick. "Now let's get to skipping, young whipper snappers. The big city awaits."
I couldn't help but to laugh at the obviously fake old man voice.
"That's convincing," I teased.
The four of us started making our way to the entrance. It was a long road that zig zagged as much as it could.
When we were getting close to the entrance, Aang started talking, "You guys are gonna love Omashu! The people here are the friendliest in the world!"
We reached the entrance only to hear one of the guard's voice, "Rotten cabbages? What kind of slum do you think this is?" He proceeded to earth bend the cart over the cliff.
"No, my cabbages," the poor merchant yelled. We heard it crash to the far below floor.
Aang looked back at us, "Just keep smiling."
Katara laughed nervously as she opened her mouth into a grin. I stayed quiet and made a small and nervous smile. When we reached the guard, he earth bended a rock over Aang's head. I gripped Sokka's wrist as I continued to watch nervously.
"State your business," he said calmly.
Aang rushed up to the guard. "My business is my business young man and none of yours! I got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside-"
The guard had dropped the rock. "Settle down, old timer. Just tell me who you are."
I slowly let Sokka's wrist go as I began to relax.
Aang continued, "The name's Bonzu...Pippinpaddleopsacoplis...the third! And these are my grandkids."
Katara moved forward. "Hi. June Pippinpaddleopsacoplis. Nice to meet you."
I stood next to her. "I'm her older sister May Pippinpaddleopsacoplis."
The guard looked at us critically. "You two look like responsible young ladies. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble," he paused as we nodded, "Enjoy Omashu."
"We will," Katara answered the guard as we walked forward.
"Wait a minute," the guard said. I spun around to see him holding Sokka's shoulder, "You're a strong young man; show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."
I let out a sigh of relief as Aang played along.
"Good idea."
He tossed the bag to Sokka. I laughed at his expression. The four of us watched the doors open in amazement. Aang led the way while the rest of us followed him. I jumped when the doors closed behind us. The siblings were staring at the huge city. We walked to a railing as Aang talked.
"This is the Omashu delivery system, miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earth bending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down."
I watched an earth bender hit a package up.
"Great, so they get their mail on time," Sokka said dryly.
"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes. The world's biggest super slide!" he grinned at us widely "Come on, you guys have got to try it."
We all ran after the fast air bender as he took us to one of the top chutes. Sokka grabbed one of the crates and set it at the edge. We all jumped in.
"One ride, and then we're off to the North Pole, air bender's honor."
"This sounded like fun at first," Katara spoke, "but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second thou-!"
She was cut off as Aang moved us down the chute. The rest of us started screaming our heads off. We quickly moved next to a second chute. It was carrying a package of spears. Soon, the two chutes merged together with the spears in tow. We started to scream louder.
"Who sends spears to someone," I yelled frantically just as Sokka ducked to avoid the points. Katara and I leaned forward.
Aang turned and saw us.
"I'm on it!"
He began to rock the crate back and forth. This caused us to derail and slide down a roof. Somehow we were still moving pretty fast. After destroying a few roofs, Aang was able to land us in another chute.
"Aang, do something," Katara yelled, "Use your air bending!"
"Yeah! Good idea! That'll make us go even faster," he yelled.
"I don't think that's the point," I screamed as he used it.
We quickly took a few turns and slid down a huge drop. We started screaming as we saw a stationary crate in front of us. The earth bender moved it out of our way as we sighed with relief. We only screamed again after he lifted another one up. We hit it and we were sent flying in the air. Aang did a quick spin and helped us land in a different crate. We fell onto a few more roofs and through a pottery shop.
"Sorry," Aang apologized for breaking the pottery.
We slid through a house. A cat started attacking Momo who shoved it off just as we rammed ourselves through a railing. We ended up falling into the cabbage stand.
"My cabbages," he yelled, "You're gonna pay for this."
Several guards rushed toward us. Aang looked up sheepishly.
"Two cabbages please."
The guards quickly escorted us to the large palace. We soon came to the king's room. They had us sit on our knees.
A guard spoke, "Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses, and malicious destruction of cabbages."
"Of with their heads! One for each head of cabbage," the merchant yelled.
"Why are you even here," I spat.
"Silence! Only the king can pass down judgement," he looked to the old man, "What is your judgement sire?"
He looked at us closely. Sokka made a pouty face; Katara gave her biggest smile; Aang whistled and I just looked at the floor.
"Throw them," he began. We all looked up with anticipation, "a feast!"
The room was filled with confusion at the king's demand. A feast was quickly prepared for us. One of the guards seated us quietly. The king leaned over Aang and Sokka.
"The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts. So, I hope you like your chicken with no skin."
"Thanks, but I don't eat meat," Aang replied.
He looked at Sokka. "How about you? I bet you like meat."
He shoved it into the tan skinned boy's mouth. Sokka ate it greedily.
"Is it just me or is this guy's crown a little crooked," Katara asked us.
"I bet all of him is crooked," I muttered while biting into some chicken.
"So tell me young bald one," the king began, "where are you from?"
"I'm from...Kangaroo Island," he replied.
I slapped my forehead.
"Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hoppin'."
It was silent for a few moments until Sokka busted out laughing. We all looked at him.
"What? It was pretty funny," he defended himself.
I nodded. "Maybe a little." He smiled at me.
We looked back at the king as he yawned and muttered, "Well, all these jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to hit the hay."
He reached into his sleeve and chucked some chicken at Aang. He instinctively caught it with his air bending. We gasped.
The king continued, "There's an air bender in our presence, and not just any air bender. The Avatar." Aang quickly dropped the chicken. "Now what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pippinpaddleopsacoplis?"
Aang stood up. "Okay, you caught me. I'm the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out." He looked under the table. "No fire benders here. So, good work everybody." He grabbed the siblings shoulders while Katara grabbed mine as we slowly walked to the door. "Love each other, respect all life, and don't run with your spears. We'll see ya next time."
The guards crossed their spears.
"You can't keep us here," Katara spoke, "Let us leave!"
The king picked up a piece of lettuce. "Lettuce leaf?" He began to chomp on it.
"We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts," Sokka whispered.
I looked at him. "What tipped you off?" I smirked with sarcasm evident.
The king stood up. "Tomorrow, the Avatar will face three deadly challenges. For now, the guards will show you to your chamber."
The one guard leaned over. "My liege, do you mean the good chamber or the bad chamber?"
"The newly refurbished chamber." He smiled.
"Wait, which one are we talking about?"
"The one that used to be the bad chamber until the recent refurbishing that is. Of course we've been calling it the new chamber but we really should number them, uh. Take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad," he proclaimed.
We walked down a hallway that was barely lit. We soon came to a bare wall. One of the guards opened the wall and shoved us in.
"Hey," I yelled.
The door quickly closed. I looked around. Three beds were in a circle. Crystal-like lamps hung on the wall.
"This is a prison cell," Katara asked, "But it's so nice!"
"He did say it was newly refurbished."
"Nice or not, we're still prisoners," Sokka added.
I leaned against the wall. Aang looked at the floor.
"I wonder what these challenges are gonna be."
The brunette straightened her back. "We're not sticking around to find out. There's gotta be some way out of here."
"The air vents," Aang exclaimed.
We looked at each other. "If you think we're gonna fit through there then you're crazier than the king," Sokka stated.
"We can't, but Momo can." I looked at the lethargic lemur. He was licking an apple. Aang walked over to the animal. "Momo, I need you to find Appa and bust us outta here." He groaned pathetically. The Avatar picked him up and started shoving him through the small hole. "Go on boy, get Appa!"
Sokka looked at him. "Eh, how is Appa supposed to save us anyway."
"Appa is a ten ton flying bison. I think he could figure something out."
I walked over and pulled Momo out of the vent. "What would he do, ram through walls until he found us?"
"Well, no point arguing about it now. Get some rest Aang, looks like you'll need it for tomorrow," Katara reasoned.
She looked at me and motioned me to come to her. I walked across the room and sat at the end of her bed. She held up one finger for me to stay quiet. In a matter of seconds, we could hear the boys snoring.
I giggled to myself. "That didn't take long. So what's up?"
"I noticed there were only three beds. Do you wanna share one."
I smiled and shook my head. "It's okay. The ground is fine."
She smirked. "I bet if Sokka asked, you'd say yes."
"What," I whisper yelled, "What makes you think that?"
"You hugged him almost the entire time after leaving Kyoshi," she said bluntly.
I crossed my legs and sighed.
"It's not what you think. Remember Orian?" She nodded. "When we were leaving, I saw one of the rhino's tails smack him into a rock. He didn't move. I-" I stopped myself. Tears started to well up as I grabbed my necklace. "Sokka just comforted me."
She looked at me with her blue eyes. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
"It's okay."
"No. It's not." She gripped her own necklace. "My mother died when I was younger. The Fire Nation took her."
I pulled her into a hug.
"Would you prefer if we shared a bed?" She nodded. "Alright. Skooch over."
We quickly fell asleep. What seemed like minutes later, some guards came in and took us. They walked us by our wrists into a hidden hallway. I tried to loosen the grip, but the guard persisted.
"Where are you taking us," I demanded.
"That is something you'll have to figure out."
I growled.
*If only Toph were here, she'd know.*
The part of the wall in front of us opened.
The crazy king was speaking, "So, I'll give your friends some special souvenirs."
The guards proceeded to put a blue ring on my index finger. It quickly formed itself to stick to me.
"Those delightful rings are made of pure gennamite, also known as creeping crystal. It grows remarkably fast. By nightfall, your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."
I looked at the siblings. Sokka's ring started to grow.
"Eh! It's already creeping!"
Aang looked at the king, defeated. "I'll do what you want."
"No," I whispered. I started to yell, "Don't Aang! This isn't right!"
He glanced at me.
"I have to try, Nahla. I'm not going to let you three be stuck like this."
I sighed, "Good luck."
The king grinned. We walked to a giant room with spikes coming from the top and bottom. There was a waterfall with a ladder inside of it. Aang jumped over to a flat part. The crystal had already creeped up our wrists. The king laughed.
"It seems I've lost my lunch box key and I'm hungry. Ooo! There it is! Would you mind fetching it for me?"
Aang huffed and started hopping from spike to spike. He rested on one just as he dove, head in, into the waterfall. He grabbed onto the ladder.
"Ooo, climbing the ladder. No one's thought of that before," the king taunted.
Aang was forced out of the water. He started falling toward the spikes. The three of us gasped as he caught himself between two of them. I sighed with relief. He then bounced off the spikes to get to the ceiling. He stuck himself between two of them. He dove head first and slid with the water. He was again flung at a spike. He caught his balance quicker this time.
"That's right. Keep diving head in. I'm sure it'll work eventually."
I growled at the crazy king. I saw Aang's eyes light up as he looked back at the waterfall. He broke off the top of the spike he was on and threw it at the water. He then sent air in front of it. The air cut through the water just as the spike caught the key. The spike landed on the wall right in front of the king's face.
"There! Enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back now," Aang yelled.
He put up a finger. "Oh! Not yet. I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsy."
We were quickly taken into another room.
Aang jumped into the huge pit. "Okay! Found him!"
"Bring him to me! Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsy!"
I gagged as Sokka grimaced and Katara widened her eyes.
"Come here Flopsy."
A giant gorilla-goat dropped behind Aang. He turned around with a slightly terrified expression. He turned back around to the scared rabbit.
"Flopsy wait!"
Aang ran after the bunny while the huge animal ran after Aang. The king stood there laughing.
"Flopsy," Aang yelled again.
The rabbit soon jumped into a hole. Aang dove and stuck his hand inside. All of a sudden, the bald headed boy stood up and looked toward the gorilla-goat.
"Flopsy?"
The beast stopped running and wagged his tail at him. He picked Aang up off his feet and licked him.
"Flopsy," he exclaimed while he hugged it.
The king quickly whistled as the giant creature ran toward us. He cooed at his enormous pet.
Aang hopped in front of us. "Guys, are you okay?"
"Other than the crystal slowly encasing my entire body, doing great."
At that moment, one side of Sokka's grew causing him to fall over.
I laughed and then looked at Aang. "You're doing great, Aang. Keep it up."
He nodded and smiled at me. He jumped over to the king.
"Come on. I'm ready for the next challenge."
We were escorted to a third room.
"You're final test is a duel. And as a special treat, you may chose your opponent."
Two menacing looking men appeared on either side of the king.
"Yup. We're dead," I whispered.
"Point and choose."
"So, you're saying, whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?"
He grinned, "Choose wisely."
"I…chose…you," Aang said as he pointed to the king.
He chuckled, "Wrong choice." He slowly stood up and pulled off the robe.
I turned around. "Let me know when it's over."
I heard Aang scream and the king land near him.
"You thought I was a frail old man. But I'm the most powerful earth bender you'll ever see."
"Can I fight the guy with the axe instead," Aang asked.
"There are no take backsies in my kingdom. You might need this."
I saw the guard to my right toss Aang's staff forward.
I heard a few grunts until the king spoke again, "Typical air bending tactics; avoid and evade. I'd hoped the Avatar would be less predictable." I squeezed my eyes tighter. "Don't you have any surprises for me? Sooner or later, you'll have to strike back."
More grunts.
"Aw, you'll have to be a little more creative than that."
"How's he doing," I asked Katara.
"Uh, he's still alive," she replied.
I heard more grunts and cracks.
"Did someone leave the windows open? It feels a little drafty in here. Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?"
More grunts and heaves. The siblings gasped. I quickly turned around. Aang was on the far side. The king hadn't moved much at all.
"Now how are you going to get me from way over there?"
Aang sprinted forward toward him. The king quickly made quicksand. He sent two boulders toward Aang. I gasped as they closed together. I smiled when Aang hopped over them. He sent a large gust of wind at the king. He landed on the wall. He then pulled the two boulders at him. Aang jumped, barely missing it. It hurled toward the king. He quickly diffused it. The king started setting his feet. Soon, the balcony was out. Aang ran in circles, creating a tornado. The lunatic hurled it at him. He screamed while it came back toward him. He split it in two as Aang jumped toward him. He pointed his staff at the king and smiled. He didn't realize a huge piece of earth was above his head. The king laughed.
"Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart."
He chucked the rock away and sank into the ground. He ended up in front of us three. Aang followed him.
"You've passed all my tests. Now you must answer one question."
"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests," he yelled.
"Aww, what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"
"Oh come on," Sokka yelled.
"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What…is my name? By the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes." He smiled and walked off.
Aang looked at us. "How am I supposed to know his name?"
"Think about the challenges," Katara spoke, "Maybe it's some kind of riddle."
"I got it," Sokka declared.
"Yeah?"
"He's an earth bender right? Rocky! You know cause of all the rocks."
I shook my head. "Why not Boulder or Pebble," I teased.
"We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good back up."
"Okay, so back to the challenges. I got a key from a waterfall, saved his pet, and had a duel."
"And what did you learn?"
"Well, everything was different than I expected."
"And," Katara urged as some more crystal creeped.
"Well, they weren't straight forward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I normally would. I know his name."
We quickly went back to the throne room.
Aang started to speak, "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities." The king started snorting. "Bumi, you're a mad genius!" He quickly ran and gave him a hug
"Aw, Aang. It's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit, literally."
"Uh, over here," Katara yelled.
"A little help," Sokka added.
"Quickly, please."
In just seconds, we were free from our prisons.
"Gennamite is made of rock candy," Bumi said as he ate one, "Delicious."
"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?"
"Who you calling old? Okay, I'm old."
"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were," Sokka asked.
"It would've saved us some time," I muttered.
"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people," he snorted, "But I do have a reason." He turned to the young boy. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius." Aang smiled and bowed. "And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation. And you'll need Momo too."
I hugged Sokka and Katara. Aang continued, "Thank you for your wisdom, but-"
"Oh boy," I smirked.
"Before we leave, I have a challenge for you."
The rest of us packed up Appa's saddle as Aang and Bumi slid down the chutes. The big furball groaned.
I laughed. "I think Appa wants a turn on the giant slide." I rubbed his head.
"That's not very likely." Katara giggled.
We heard a large boom.
"That must be them." I smirked.
Sokka stared in Aang's direction. "He just loves stalling, doesn't he?"
Katara and I just looked at each other and continued packing. By sundown, Aang had appeared and taken the reigns. When we were settled, Appa took off. I laid on my back and looked at the appearing stars. I soon fell asleep.
I apologize for the weird text format changes. I really don't know why it's doing that. Anywhoosal, thanks for reading! I hope you like it!