Chapter 6: Great Ships of Fire
With Max safely back with May and Brock, Ash, Delia, Katara, Suki, Appa and Pikachu flew into what seemed to be the Apocalypse. Villages were scorched, towns demolished, cites cindered...no doubt lives lost as well. Ash, Pikachu and Delia, new to this world, cringed at the worldly destruction of the world. "So many lives taken," Ash gritted. "The Fire Nation's out of control for sure." No one would dispute it, not even Suki.
"Ever since Aang was found in that glacier," she remembered. "All the Fire Nation wanted was the death of him and now this is rubbing salt on a giant wound." The Avatar was knocked out of commission. Over the ocean, the group spotted ships floating. To Katara, those ships were hostiles. The proof was each sail...red sails with fire emblems.
"A whole lot of Fire Nation soldiers," she murmured. Why would Appa guide them to fleets of the Fire Nation? Was Aang kidnapped on one and sent to be killed? "Is Aang aboard one of these vessels?" The flying bison never grunted. That's when fireballs began to fly at the group. Multiple ships fired flames at Appa.
"Incoming!" Ash shouted. Appa saw the flames. No way did this overgrown beast want a lick of fire on its fur. Using it's quickness, Appa flew passed each shot that zoomed their way. Ash wanted to help out as he grabbed a ball to release a Pokémon. The flying bison was moving so wildly, Ash couldn't get a chance to release his creature. He was too busy trying to stay balanced. As if Appa's moves weren't wild enough, it began to nosedive toward the ocean.
"Were we hit?" Delia wondered. They descended pretty fast. Finally, Appa nailed the water, skipping a couple times but suddenly ceased...and so were those on board. The multiple thrashes and thrusts were too much to handle and the group passed out. A couple of soldiers guided their ship to Appa and pulled up the occupants. Once on board, Appa seemed to hop on too. Worried about Katara? One soldier, rather young in appearance, checked on Katara who suddenly came around. That soldier had to react.
"Katara, remain calm," he tried to ease her sudden terrified excitement. He removed the headgear... Hey, it's Sokka! Katara turned from scared to happy as she lunged onto her brother for a hug.
"Sokka!" she cried. Sokka wrapped his arms on her to calm her down. Ash and Delia began to stir as well as Suki and Pikachu were still out.
"Man, what happened? How did you survive that fall?" Katara couldn't wait to tell Sokka about the adventure she had with Ash and Pikachu.
"What about Aang?" Sokka shot a glance at the door, indicating that Aang was in there.
"Dad and Toph made sure that Aang was comfortable. That shot to the back really took a lot out of him." Delia got up and walked over to the cabin. Looking inside, she saw Aang. She saw the Avatar. By then, a grown brunette male stepped forward to confront her.
"First time seeing the Avatar?" he muttered. Jumped, Delia turned to the new man who had the same skin color as Sokka and Katara. Certainly, he meant no fright. "Sorry. The name's Hakoda. I'm Sokka and Katara's father." Delia and Hakoda shook hands as Katara entered to see Aang. She hadn't seen him in a long time.
"Aang?" she called softly. "Aang!" Aang suddenly began to open his eyes and saw his water bending friend.
"Katara?" he weakly muttered. A soft giggle and a dive onto Aang was Katara's sign of him being alive. "What happened? I heard that you vanished." He wasn't dreaming. Katara had to think of something to say.
"I had gone to look for medicine after Azula injured you. I got help from some people." Nice lie. He turned to the door, spotting her father...and Ash's mother making sweet talk. "Hold on." She walked a little outside where Ash dug through that waterproof backpack of his. He pulled out a bag of stems.
"There we go," he huffed. "This should help." Katara was a bit baffled with what Ash presented. "Salveo Weed. Mortar some of it up and it should help with Aang's injury." Interesting... Katara snagged a few stocks.
"That would explain the reason you carried your bag." Both reentered the room where Ash finally met Aang for the first time. Obviously, Aang was stunned to see new company.
"First time seeing you," he gawked. "Some water tribe Katara wanted to keep secret?" Can't blame Aang for that sudden train of thought.
"Not exactly," he declined. "More of a freelance person." Not that it didn't help who Ash was but it was a nice start.
"Ash was able to find something to help with that injury to your back," Katara named. The name made Aang believe something didn't quite fit with joining the boat.
"That sounds like a name of someone from the Fire Nation," he simply put. Ash didn't take long to wonder why he said that.
"Blame my mom," he exaggerated. Katara finished mortaring the Salveo Weed and mixed it with some water. She slathered the contents onto Aang's back who felt the stinging effects.
"That tickles a bit." As she applied the mixture, Aang began to reflect about the events back in Ba Sing Se. "So, Azula was the one who hit me with a bolt of lightning?" Ash nodded, remembering Katara's tale.
"Apparently, you were shot out of the sky by her. It's a miracle that at least you're still with us." Aang didn't feel appreciated. They were after him.
"And Ba Sing Se?" That made Ash and Katara shake their heads in a mourning tone.
"Destroyed," she motioned. "At least we saved the Earth King. The city can be rebuilt." That should be good to know. Aang felt worse now. A city that opened their arms to him and it's gone. "There. The medicine should kick in soon enough." Soon enough?
"I'm already feeling my back getting better. I should start moving around in no time." Good to know. "Ash, thanks for helping Katara find medicine for my back." Ash smiled, but then frowned a bit. Did he miss Max, May and Brock already? "What's wrong?" Ash glanced over at Katara.
"Katara, could you excuse us for a second?" he requested. Katara nodded, though baffled at why. Once she left to check on the families, Ash felt the need to relieve his back of guilt.
"Any reason?" Once Ash swallowed his...uh, pride, he was ready to speak.
"How much... How much do you like Katara?" This was a question that befuddled Aang. He gave it a thought.
"I guess...a lot." It was about the incidents back on the battling island and the Pokémon Center. He was ready to confess.
"Well, I don't blame you if you get upset. Katara seems to be having feelings for me, even kissed me a couple of times." Aang was shocked despite Pikachu taking a snooze on Appa. Was he mad? He didn't burst out in anger.
"Wow...um." Think Ash and Aang were astounded?
"This is something," a female voice spoke out. Ash and Aang turned to the voice, eying a young raven-haired girl. "Katara liking another boy? Wow, she's lucky. I wonder what I need to do to get myself a male." Her eyes were glazed and seemed to be faded.
"How long have you been there, Toph?" The blind one?
"I've been watching you since Sokka told me that Katara vanished." Ash and Aang gawked and looked at each other in confusion. Watching someone when someone's gone missing isn't bad...unless that person was blind. Toph came over to Ash and began to feel his skin. "I like to know what Katara sees that appeals to you, other than your muscle tone." Was Ash really that muscular? Ash tried to think back at what would make Katara fall for him...until he remembered what she said before Delia decided to barge in.
"If I recall, she mentioned that she saw me as the Avatar, despite not having any bending abilities like you, Aang," he replayed. "I'm a trainer with an assortment of creatures." Ash as the Avatar thought had Aang and Toph scratching their heads, wondering how Ash could be like Aang, be like the Avatar. Meantime, Sokka had a chance to observe Pikachu, even petting the lightning bolt Pikachu had for a tail.
"I may not be one for fire attacks and those who can shoot lightning," he began to state. "But I can admit that the design is cool." Delia and Pikachu huffed a laugh. As Suki looked on, she had to wonder where the ship was heading...and so was Delia.
"Mr. Hakoda?" she opened up. "Where are we going?" Hakoda had a stern look, a face indicating danger being up ahead.
"We're heading for the Fire Nation's heartland," he described. "There's wind that Prince Zuko will be greeted with a hero's welcome for slaying the Avatar." Delia and Pikachu became horrified. "This is why we hijacked one of their ships and hid Aang away to conceal the fact that he's still alive." Good planning. Without warning, a blast of smoke billowed from in the cabin. What, was there a fire on the Fire Nation vessel? The siblings looked into the cabin where a red tortoise with a blackened shell stood in bewilderment. Everyone else was coughing the smoke out.
"Torkoal!" Ash scolded. Torkoal acted innocent. The others, including a grown green gecko with a twig in it's mouth and blades of grass embedded in its arms, a large black swallow and a red crustacean with giant round pincers. Sokka had to wonder who these Pokémon were when...
"Hey!" one other ship called out. Hakoda and Delia turned to the sound as the smoke was finally emptied out into the sky. "What happened? You got a lot of smoke coming from the cabin!" Actual Fire Nation soldiers. What could they say without blowing their cover? Delia had one.
"We through some material in the fire bin which kicked up a lot of exhaust!" she replied. Some flammable material? The soldier would want to dispute it, only asking this.
"Are you all right? We can send someone to help with the maintenance!" How thoughtful. Delia had a way to counter his offer.
"My son's got it under control! Thanks, anyway!" Heeding the word, the soldiers let them go. Seeing that vessel sail away, Suki and Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief...until they saw a tall teenager step out to look. A dirty brunette male came out for fresh air. Nothing out of the ordinary...until he turned to face the adjacent boat. His left eye had been heavily scarred by some sort of fire incident. Delia became horrified by who this boy was and the endless scorn he provided. Her trembling came close to a reality check of her consequence of joining Ash and Katara to aid Aang instead of retreating back with Max and possibly head over to meet Norman in Petalburg City. 'I don't like the way he's looking. Why did I come with?' Paying no attention, the teen approached the soldiers.
"How far are we from home?" he questioned.
"A couple of hours before reaching the Fire Nation, Prince," he answered. Prince? Prince Zuko? Delia, paralyzed with fear, wished now that she was back home in Pallet. With the group nearing landfall, Ash and Aang were ready to team up...unaware that the Fire Nation's liege was close by.
TO BE CONTINUED...