It's been a long time, the woman thought as the airship touched down. From her appearance, the raven-haired, tanned-skinned woman was just another civilian tourist visiting Ranshao, the capital city of the Fire Nation. But, that's exactly what she wanted the passerby to think. She walked to the customs counter. The overly bored customs official looked at her, then said, "Passport." The woman pulled her passport out of her satchel and handed it to him. "Jin," he said. "Worker in a teashop in Ba Sing Se." He glanced at the woman. She nodded. "Well," he said, looking over the airship's passenger manifest, "everything seems to be in order." He handed back her passport. "What is your purpose here in Ranshao?" "I'm here on business," Jin replied. "The owner of the shop I work at asked me to purchase some of the local tea blends, saying he wanted to give the shop 'an exotic flavor.'" "Well then," the official said. "May I suggest that you try the Jasmine of the West? The tea there is simply wonderful." "Thank you," she said, then left.
That was almost too easy, she thought. She left the airfield and entered the royal city. My, my, Zu-Zu, she thought upon seeing the thriving metropolis. You've been busy. In the three years since the war started, Fire Lord Zuko had opened the ancient royal city to outsiders, and had transformed it into the prominent trading port, and a cultural hub, rivaling that of Ba Sing Se itself. Azula barely recognized the city of her birth. Back then, when the capital was simply named the Royal City, it was a third of its current size. The Royal City was for nobles only, and was a bastion for order and power. She sighed nostalgically, and then set off towards the Tower, the ancient royal dungeon. You locked me away in there for a year, little brother, and now I've returned. This time, willingly.
****
"Are we there yet?" Toph asked. They had been flying nonstop for around six hours. "No, Toph," Sokka said. "We still have about eight hours to go." In the past, the gang had been able to fly the distance from Kyoshi to Gaipan in about six to eight hours. But the skysailer was only half as fast as Appa, due to the fact it couldn't bend the air to reduce drag. "Ugh!" Toph grunted. She hated flying. She couldn't see unless she was touching earth or metal, but the skysailer's deck was wooden.
In the past, she had clung to Sokka as her anchor, but she didn't now. Right now, she wanted to keep her distance from him. So, for now, the skysailer's deck railing would have to do. "Don't worry," he said. "Haru's hometown should be coming up soon. We'll land there for a little bit." "Finally!" the earthbender shouted. A question had bugged her since Sokka had asked her to come on this little excursion, but didn't feel comfortable asking it until now.
"Sokka," she asked. "What is it, Toph?" "Why are we going to the Northern Air Temple?" "Well, it's a long story," he said. "Snoozles, we have too much idle time on our hands. If I don't have something to take my mind off the fact that I'm about a mile or so up in the air and can't see anything, I'M GOING TO LOSE IT!" "Okay, okay!" he said.
"You know how much weaker Appa's been getting?" Toph remembered his, landing at the Misty Palms Oasis. "That's putting it mildly," she said. "Well, Zuko and I got to thinking-" "Did it hurt?" "Yes, but-TOPH!" Toph laughed. She always loved to have fun at the Water Tribe man's expense. "Anyway, we got to thinking that since Appa was getting too old to fly across the world, that Aang would need a new way to travel, since he can't just use his glider to go from, say Kyoshi to say, Ranshao or Ba Sing Se." Toph nodded, following him so far. "So, Zuko suggested giving him an airship. I agreed, but it would have to be a completely new type of airship, one not associated with the Fire Nation."
"But
why the Northern Air Temple?"
"Because that's where the
Mechanist lives."
"You mean the crazy guy who built all of the
stuff for the Invasion?"
"Yep. That's him. Together, the
Mechanist and I are going to design and build Aang his own, personal
airship." Toph had to admit, Sokka was talking sense. She wasn't
entirely sure if that was a good thing. "But why me?" she asked.
"Well," he said, "since you can metalbend, I thought you could
help speed up the building phase." Toph groaned. "We're
almost there," he said. "Get ready to land." Finally,
she thought, solid
ground!
****
The Princess had left General Kurzon in charge of the Phoenix Order until she got back from her secret mission. She had said nothing; only that it would help counter the wave of anti-Phoenix opinion that was sure to follow from the Omashu raid. However, she had told him it was imperative to conduct the raids on schedule.
While waiting in the throne room, Kurzon had locked the doors to Azula's chamber, and removed any clue that could point to her return. He had just finished when there was a knock on the door. "Enter," he ordered. He sat down on the throne below and to the right of Azula's, reinforcing the fact that he was only holding the Order in stewardship for her. "General Shinu," Kurzon said. "General Kurzon." The veteran general dropped to his knee, but Kurzon shook his head. "Please, General. You don't have to show that kind of respect for me. We are of equal rank."
Shinu stood. "You wished to see me, General?" Kurzon nodded. "I summoned for you to discuss your upcoming raid on Omashu." "My men are ready, General Kurzon. They will do their job flawlessly." "I'm sure of that, my friend," Kurzon said. "But the Phoenix Lord has altered the planned mission." Shinu eyed the young general cautiously. "He altered it, how?"
"Instead of attacking the Hu Xin Provinces, your colleague, General Bujing, will attack Omashu. Your men are to raid the Hu Xin instead." Shinu's jaw dropped. "Has the Phoenix Lord lost his mind? The whole reason we planned for a SpecOps raid was to avoid the attention that a division of regulars attacking Omashu would bring!" "Let me assure you, the Phoenix Lord is aware of that fact and has set another plan in motion to counter this unfortunate but inevitable side effect."
Kurzon got up and walked over to where Shinu stood. He placed his hand on his fellow general's shoulder. "I also have some bad news," he said. "I just want you to know, I did not ask for this." "Just tell me already," Shinu said. Kurzon took a deep breath. "The Phoenix Lord has replaced you for command of the SpecOps portion of this mission." "WHAT?" Shinu exclaimed, his face burning with fury. "Who is my replacement?" he demanded. Kurzon lowered his head. "I am."
"I see," Shinu said. "The Phoenix Lord wants to give the spotlight to his little protégée!" "No," Kurzon corrected. "He has a different task for you. One only you can perform." Shinu considered this. "I'm listening." Kurzon continued. "The Phoenix Lord specifically told me to give you this assignment in private. Not a word of this is to ever leave this room." Realization lit up in Shinu's eyes. A long time member of Ozai's special forces, he knew a secret assignment when he heard one. "Understood, General."
"Your new assignment is to train a select group of recruits into elite SpecOps units, much like you did with the Yu Yan Archers. This task is of vital importance if we are to retake our rightful place as rulers of this world." Kurzon let Shinu soak in the important duty he was asked to perform. "Do you accept, General Shinu?" Shinu again dropped to one knee, and said, "It will be my honor to accept this new assignment General Kurzon." "I will relay your acceptance to the Phoenix Lord," Kurzon said. "That will be all, General Shinu." Shinu rose and walked to the door. "Oh, and General," Kurzon said. Shinu turned to face Kurzon. "Good luck." Shinu smiled and bowed his head. Then, the old general walked out the door.
****
"LAND!" Toph exclaimed. She jumped from the sailer and made a rock angel in the earth. Sokka secured the sailer, and together they walked into the small mining village. "Where are we going?" the earthbender asked. "To see an old friend," he said. Sokka went to a small house near a stable. He knocked on the door. When it opened, the man standing there pulled the two into a great bear hug. "Sokka, Toph!" he said. "It's been a long time." "It's good to see you too, Chief Tyro," Sokka said. "Come in," the elder said. "My wife was just finishing lunch. Won't you join us?" Both Sokka and Toph's stomachs growled. "When have I ever turned down a good home cooked meal?" replied Sokka. Tyro chuckled and invited the two to sit at the table.
When the meal began, Tyro asked, "So, what brings you to these parts?" After swallowing a mouthful, Sokka answered. "We're on our way to see the Mechanist." Tyro was intrigued. "What are you planning to build?" he asked. "We're going to design an airship for the Avatar. A completely new one." Tyro became puzzled. "Doesn't the Avatar have a sky bison?" "He does," Sokka said. "But he's getting old. He just can't fly the long distances he used to be able to do." The village chief nodded. "I understand how it feels to get old," he said. "The Northern Air temple is still a good day away from here." Sokka nodded. "We plan to set camp in the forests surrounding Gaipan," he said. "Then you'll have to hurry if you want to get there by nightfall," the chief said. Sokka nodded. "Thank you for your hospitality." "It is always a pleasure to welcome friends into our home," Tyro said. "If you happen to stop by the capital, check up on my son for me." "We will."
The two youths left and took off for Gaipan. Toph still refused to hold on to Sokka's arm. "Is there something wrong?" he asked her. "No, no it's nothing," she said. "Are you sure? Because normally you cut off circulation to my arm when we fly." "I'm fine!" she yelled. Sokka knew she wasn't, but didn't push the issue. She'll tell me when she's ready, he thought, and steered the skysailer towards Gaipan.
****
Things had been quiet on Kyoshi Island when Sokka and Toph left. Even with the typical two-year-old antics Yue performed, Aang still thought it was quieter than normal. "What are you thinking about?" the love of his life asked him. She sat down next to him. Aang stared at the ocean, admiring the view. "Nothing much," he said. "It just seems quieter around here without them." Katara grinned. "Yeah," she said. "They're always at each other's throats."
She joined him and admired the ocean view. Almost subconsciously, she slipped her hand into his. Aang turned and looked at her with even more admiration than anything else he'd ever seen. He thought about what Zuko and Iroh told him. "Katara," he asked nervously. "Yes Aang?" Aang started to blush, and asked her, "Have you ever thought about us?" Katara seemed puzzled. "What do you mean?" "I mean, have you ever thought about our future?" Katara nodded. "I think about it a lot, Aang."
Aang decided to go for it. "Do you ever see us, you know, getting closer?" This time, Katara blushed. "Yes, I do," she said. She turned to him and asked, "What about you? Do you see me in your future?" "There isn't one where I don't see you, Katara," Aang said. Katara felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she hugged him. Then, she pulled back and looked him in the eye. "I love you Aang." "I love you too, Katara." He drew her into a passionate kiss. If not for their need to breathe, it might not have ended. They looked into each other's eyes. But, before they could say anything, they were shocked out of their dreamland by a screech.
TSEER A messenger hawk swooped down and landed next to Aang. The Avatar took the message from the raptor and opened it. As he read it, his heart sank. "Aang, what's wrong?" "It's Bumi," he told her. "He's dead."
Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Mike DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Nickelodeon