Chapter 7: Winter Solstice Part 2
Hey guys! Here's the 7th chapter. Glad I could get this up before I left. I hope you enjoy! –Clee0412
"C'mon Appa! Move, let's go!" Aang shouted. The moonlight shined down on Aang and I as we tried to get Appa to move his furry butt. Aang was tugging at ropes attached to his horns, and I was pushing against his butt.
"Look Appa, my siblings can't come with us to the fire nation. It's gonna be dangerous, and we wouldn't forgive ourselves if they got hurt." I insisted. Aang nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, so get your butt off the ground and let's go!" He shouted as he gave the reins a giant tug. I laughed a little as the ropes pulled him back and he fell onto the ground. I walked over and held out my hand. He smiled gratefully at me as we heard a voice in the background.
"I think that his butt is trying to tell you something." Sokka said. Aang and I looked around Appa and saw Katara and Sokka standing there with the villagers. Katara stepped up.
"Please don't go guys. The world can't afford to lose you to the fire nation, and neither can I." She pleaded. I snorted. I had to interject at that.
"Well the world can't afford to lose Aang. I, on the other hand, am not the Avatar. So you stay here Aang! I'll tell you what Roku said when I get back!" I replied cheekily as I jumped onto Appa and grabbed the reins from Aang. Katara looked at me unamused.
"Not funny Kai. While you may not be the Avatar, you're still important to us." She crossed her arms. I rubbed the back of my head nervously. Aang decided to interject.
"But, we need to get to the temple to figure out what we're supposed to do. We need to get there before the sun sets on the Winter Solstice. That's today!" Aang explained as he joined me up on Appa. He took the reins back as we looked at Sokka and Katara again before beginning to lead Appa away. But, they forced us to stop by running in front of Appa.
"We're not letting you go to the fire nation guys." Katara insisted. We stared at them unsurely.
"At least, not without your friends. We got your back." Sokka smiled at us. I sighed in relief as Momo flew onto Aang's shoulder. Oh good, I thought that I would have to knock them out or something.
We all laughed as Appa suddenly licked Sokka.
"Ew!" He complained. I clutched my stomach as I pointed at the slobber dripping off of him. Thing 2 walked up to Appa's side holding some supplies. He handed them up to us as he spoke.
"It's a long journey to the Crescent Island. You will have to fly fast if you want any chance of making it." Aang smiled.
"Thank you for your-."
"Go!" The man cut off Aang with a shout. We were immediately up in the air. I waved goodbye to the people as I had a thought. Turning to my siblings I asked,
"Did we ever learn their names?" I scratched my head. They all stared at me with wide eyes before turning to each other in surprise. I shrugged.
"Huh, guess not."
We all looked down at the water as we flew on Appa. The sun was now high in the sky as we tried to get to the island quickly.
"C'mon Appa! We have a long way to go, faster!" Aang shouted. Appa gave a grunt and sped up. Katara suddenly pointed to the water.
"Uh, guys! We got trouble!" We all looked down and saw Zuko's ship.
"Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" Sokka panicked. I gasped as I saw a fire ball light up on the ship. Katara realized the same thing.
"Fire ball!" we shouted simultaneously as it suddenly shot up at us.
"I'm on it!" Aang quickly veered Appa around the flying ball of death. As it passed us we all plugged our noses at the horrible stench.
"Ew! That smells almost as bad as Sokka's socks!" I complained. Sokka gave me a smack on the head for that.
"Aang we need to get away from him before he shoots more hot stinkers at us!" Katara shouted. Aang looked down in horror at the water.
"Yeah, just one small problem." He pointed at the water. We looked down and gasped as we saw a blockade of fire nation ships in our path.
"If we fly north we can get around the ships, it's the only way!" Aang insisted, but Katara shook her head.
"There's no time!" She said.
"This is why I didn't want you guys to come! It's too dangerous!" Aang groaned in frustration.
"And that's exactly why we're here." Katara responded. I threw my hands up.
"You guys make no sense! Why can't you be normal and avoid danger." I complained. She merely smirked at me as I pouted.
"Let's run this blockade!" Sokka shouted, further proving my point that we are crazy. But, oh well. Aang looked at us unsurely before turning around in determination.
"Appa, yip yip!" He shouted. We sped up towards the blockade. As we neared the blockade we screamed as all the ships launched fireballs at us. Appa desperately flew around the fire balls, but one neared his head. I quickly jumped up and ran to Appa's head.
"Aang! Just steer Appa! I've got this." I shouted as I took my stance on Appa's head. He nodded his head in affirmation as we flew towards the flying balls of death. In my head I silently gave a little prayer. Agni, you don't have to break the rules and talk with me. I just need your help with my fire. Please help me to protect my family.
I took a deep breath as the first fire ball approached. With a grunt I punched my fist out and shot a blast of fire at the projectile. It exploded. I pushed down my satisfaction as more approached us. I repetitively shot blasts of fire from my fists and occasionally my feet at the balls of fire.
Explosions appeared everywhere around us as I destroyed the rocks. I wobbled as I grew fatigued. I had never fire bended so much. As another flew at us I quickly shot another blast at it, but I bent over on Appa's head gasping.
Aang quickly began to steep Appa around the fire balls again as he saw that I was tired. Suddenly Katara screamed. Looking behind me I gasped as I saw Sokka fly out of Appa's saddle.
"Sokka!" Aang shouted as he pulled Appa around. We flew down as we desperately tried to catch Sokka. We flew right above the water as he fell towards us screaming. Katara reached out her hand and luckily pulled him back into the saddle.
We flew around a couple more fire balls as we approached the ships. But, they suddenly stopped falling. I watched in anticipation as I saw a rock light up in the front ship.
Suddenly is shot straight at us. Pulling myself up I collected all the fire I could into my hands. With a yell I shot the fire out of my hands in a large stream of flames. It connected with the rock and exploded, covering us with soot. I gasped as we flew over the blockade safely, and the exertion took over my body. Aang caught me as I collapsed.
"Kai! Are you okay?" He looked down at me in concern. I waved him off as I continued to gasp for breath.
"Just peachy." I gave him a thumbs up. He handed me to Katara before grabbing the reins again. She laid my head in her lap as she gave me a cup of water. I smiled at her gratefully as I drank to refreshing drink.
"Well we made it through!" Aang shouted happily. Sokka looked much less sure.
"We got into the fire nation…great."
"There it is! The island that Roku's dragon took me to!" Aang suddenly shouted, pointing at Crescent Island.
I rubbed my eyes sleepily as I awoke from my nap. Stretching, I gave a yawn as we landed Appa behind a wall of rock.
"You did it buddy. Nice flying!" Aang said as he pet Appa's head. As soon as we all got off Appa groaned and rolled onto his side. I giggled as Katara and I pet his belly.
"Aw, you must be tired." Katara cooed. Sokka who was stretching smiled.
"Nope, I'm good! Refreshed and ready to fight some fire benders." He said as he began to jog in place. I laughed at him as Katara looked at him in annoyance.
"I was talking to Appa." She said. Sokka's eyes grew wide as he tried to come up with an excuse.
"Well, I was talking to…Momo!" He insisted. I snorted and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's okay Sokka. Nobody believes you anyways." I stated, patting him on the shoulder. He glared at me as I shrugged at him.
"Now let's go into the fire nation temple, on a fire nation island, in the fire nation!" I shouted as I beamed at the others. My siblings groaned as Aang and I ran over to the large temple.
"There are no guards; the fire nation must have abandoned it after Avatar Roku's death." Katara commented as we hid behind some rocks in front of the temple. Aang and I looked up at the setting sun.
"It's almost sunset! We need to go!" Aang shouted as we ran into the temple. We ran into a large chamber filled with red light. We tiptoed through the room.
"Wait, I think I heard something." Sokka said. We all turned around and saw five men dressed in red. Wow, the fire nation really like red and pointy hats. The men stood in the door way.
"We are the fire sages, guardians of the temple of the Avatar." The man in front said, quite dramatically might I add. I rolled my eyes.
"Great! I'm the Avatar!" Aang shouted. They just glared at us.
"We know." And then they promptly shot blasts of fire at our faces. Aang and I reacted quickly and stopped the fire. Turning towards us, Aang shouted.
"I'll distract them! Run!" We ran through the door on the other side of the chamber. We ran as fast as we could through the hallways. Suddenly Aang ran through the doorway in front of us.
"Follow me!" He shouted as we began to run again.
"How did you even get here?!" I yelled at his back. He shrugged in response as we continued to run.
"Do you even know where you're going?!" Sokka interjected. Aang yelled back.
"Nope!" Well that's reassuring. Aang disappeared around the corner ahead of us, but reappeared seconds later.
"Wrong way!" He shouted. A fire sage suddenly ran up through the door that Aang had just taken.
"Wait!" He yelled. I snorted. Yeah right! We continued running through random hallways. I gasped as Aang led us into a dead end. Turning around we saw the fire sage corner us. We all prepared to fight him.
"I don't want to fight you. I am a friend." He insisted as he put his hands up. Sokka glared at him.
"Fire benders aren't our friends!" He shouted. Katara promptly smacked his head. He glared at her in confusion before she pointed at me. He smiled sheepishly.
"Oops, Kai's the exception." He reiterated. I smirked, and put my hands on my hips. But, then our attention was drawn to the fire sage again as he suddenly bowed before Aang.
"I know why you're here Avatar." He stated.
"You do?" Aang asked. We all looked very confused. But, the fire sage nodded in affirmation.
"Yes, you wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him." He stated, standing up.
"How?" Aang asked in suspicion. The sage put his hand up to a hallway light and pulled it to the side, revealing a small hole. Putting his hand on the hole, the man shot fire into it. Suddenly a doorway next to the light opened and revealed a secret passageway.
"This way." The sage pointed into the door. We all stared at him, still suspicious. But, we heard the other sage's voices down the hall.
"Time is running out! Quickly!" He insisted. We all looked at each other before nodding and walking through the doorway. The fire sage followed us, and closed the door.
We walked through a large chamber of rock, and down some stairs before walking up a path made of hardened magma.
"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma." The fire sage commented as we walked along the path.
"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked. The sage shook his head.
"No, but my grandfather did. Many generations of fire sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place." He explained.
"Is that how you knew I was coming?" Aang questioned again. The fire sage nodded.
"A few weeks ago an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes began to glow." He stated.
"That's when we were at the air temple! Avatar Roku's eyes glowed there too." Katara interjected.
"At that moment we knew you had returned to the world." The sage finished. Aang looked at the man confused.
"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the sages attack me?"
"Things have changed. In the past the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died the sages eagerly waited for the next Avatar to return, but he never came." He explained. Aang looked down guiltily.
"They were waiting for me." He whispered. Sokka put his hand on his shoulder.
"Don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late." He said with a smile. I walked over a smacked him on the head as Aang glared at him. The fire sage ignored us and continued.
"They lost hope that the Avatar would ever return. When Fire lord Sozin began the war my grandfather and the other sages were forced to follow him. I never wanted to serve the fire lord. When I learned you were coming I knew I would have to betray the other sages." He said.
"Thank you for helping me." Aang smiled at the sage gratefully. He smiled back. Then I had a thought.
"Hey, what's your name? Wouldn't want to make the same mistake twice." I asked thinking about Thing 1 and Thing 2. He turned to me with a smile.
"My name is Shyu young fire bender." I smiled back at him as we followed him up a column of stairs.
"We will follow these stairs to the sanctuary. Once you're inside wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him." He explained as we continued to walk. Once we reached the top he opened a panel above our heads and walked into a large room. As we followed him in, he suddenly gasped.
"No…" He whispered. Ahead of us was a large door with a fire nation design and 5 connected dragon heads. Aang looked at Shyu in confusion.
"What's wrong Shyu?" He asked. Shyu merely walked up to the door.
"The sanctuary doors, they're closed." He said in horror. We stared at him.
"Can't you just open them with fire bending? Like you opened that other door?" Katara asked as Aang and I pushed on the door, trying to make it budge. Shyu shook his head.
"No, only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise the sages must open the door together with five simultaneous fire blasts." He explained.
"So I guess that means that just you and I can't open it, right? The most fire blasts we could make together are four." I sighed. He nodded in affirmation. I looked over at Sokka who had a thinking face on.
"Five fire blasts, huh? I think I can help you out." He smiled. I looked at him.
"Uh, did you become a fire bender in the last 2 minutes or something?" I asked, folding my arms. He shook his head. He walked over to a lamp on the wall and took it off. Uncapping it, he sat down and grabbed out five bags with string.
"This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil in these animal skin bags. Shyu lights the oil soaked twine, and ta-dah! Fake fire bending!" He announced. We all smiled at him.
"You've out done yourself this time Sokka." Katara complimented.
Shyu smiled at the bags and said, "This might actually work."
I walked over to Sokka and gave him a slap on the back.
"Hey, Sokka can actually come up with good ideas! Who knew?" I beamed at him. He glared at me and smacked me on the head.
"Why can't you be more supportive?" He pouted. I smirked at him.
"Then I wouldn't be the fun little sister you know and love." I stated. He sighed, but offered no rebuttal. We grabbed the little bags and stuck them into the holes in the doorway. Stepping back, we prepared to light them.
"The other sages will hear the explosions so once the doors open, you rush in." He said to Aang. I raised my hand.
"Uh, I'm going too." He looked at me in confusion.
"You are? Why?" He asked.
"Eh, spirit talk and all that fun stuff." I shrugged. He still looked confused, but nodded and walked over to the side of the door. He shot a small flame at the strings and lit them all. We all ran behind the columns inside the room and plugged our ears. I smirked as I saw Sokka hugging Katara's legs. You big baby.
When the fire reached the bags, a large *BOOM* shook the building. Smoke filled the room as Aang and I immediately rushed towards the doors. But, when we arrived the doors were still closed. I tugged on the handles desperately before turning to the others and shaking my head.
"There still locked." Aang sighed. Shyu looked at the doors in sadness.
"It didn't work." He stated as we all looked at the locked doors in front of us.
"Why won't it open!" Aang shouted as he shot blasts of air at the door in frustration. We had been sitting in the room for a while trying to open the doors, but they wouldn't budge. Honestly I'm surprised that the other sages weren't there yet. It's probably because they're old. I thought as I continued trying to kick the door down.
"Aang stop! There's nothing else we can do." Katara said, grabbing his arm. Aang looked down.
"I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing." He said. I groaned as I gave the door another hard kick.
"Stupid door." I muttered as I held my injured foot. Katara looked at me unamused.
"Kai, I don't think that you'll be able to kick the door down." She said. I shrugged and continued to kick the door. Sokka walked up and rubbed some of the soot off the door.
"I don't understand. That blast looked as strong as any fire bending I've ever seen." He said as he stared at the doors. Suddenly, Katara's eyes widened.
"Sokka, you're a genius!" We all stared at her.
"How is Sokka a genius? His plan didn't even work." Aang asked. I nodded.
"Yeah, and even if it did work I wouldn't exactly label him as 'genius'." I said putting my fingers up in air quotes. Sokka waved us off.
"C'mon guys, let her dream." He smirked. Katara just shook her head.
"Your right, it didn't work. But, it looks like it did." She pointed at the doors. Aang and I shared confused looks.
"Did the definition of genius change in the last hundred years?" Aang asked me. I shrugged.
"Apparently it's been changed to, 'A person who's plans don't work, but look like they did. Can be applied to complete idiots from the Water tribe.'"
"Come quickly! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary!" Shyu yelled as he led the other sages to the door. Katara and Sokka were hiding behind some pillars, while Aang and I hid behind the pillar nearest to the doorway.
"How did he get in?" The sage that attacked us earlier asked. Shyu shook his head.
"I don't know, but look at the scorch marks and down there." He pointed at the shadow under the doorway. The sages gasped.
"He's inside! Open the doors quickly, before he contacts Avatar Roku!" They all lined up and shot streams of fire into the holes. The door creaked as the dragon heads moved down and the flames of the insignia parted. The door opened and the sages all stared inside. There, in the doorway, was a dirty Momo.
"It's the Avatar's lemur! He must've crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked-Ah!" He was cut off as Momo suddenly jumped onto his face. As the others restrained the sages, Aang and I turned to each other and nodded. Just as we were about to go out, a hand was put over both of our mouths.
"Unless you two want nice burns on your faces, you won't struggle." Zuko's voice came from behind us. I turned slightly and gave him my hardest glare. His grip on my face tightened.
"Aang! Kai! Now's your chance!" Katara shouted from by the doorway. Zuko dragged us out into the open.
"The Avatar's coming with me." He announced. The other sages quickly switched positions with the others and had Shyu and my siblings restrained in seconds. Momo flew off somewhere with one of the sages hats. As they began chaining the others to some columns Zuko threw me at one of the sages.
"Take the girl. She's useless to me. Close the doors!" He ordered. One of the sages grabbed me and began to lead me over to a column as the others began to close the doors.
As Zuko led Aang to the stairs, Aang's eyes locked with mine. We nodded at each other. I quickly head-butted the sage holding me. As he released me to hold his face I elbowed his gut. Aang was able to kick Zuko down the stairs, and joined me as we ran towards the closing doors.
The fire sages blocked our path and began to shoot fire at us. Aang jumped over their heads and through the doors as I simply blocked their fire and power-slid through them, barely making it.
"Woo-hoo! We're alive!" I shouted with a smile as I stood up. Aang and I high-fived each other before taking a look inside the room. Inside the room was a large statue of Avatar Roku with a red light hitting it. I looked up and saw a large, red gem casting the light. Aang looked around in confusion.
"The light hits the statue and we talk to the spirits, so why isn't anything happening?" He asked. I shrugged as we stared at the statue. Aang let out a groan of frustration.
"I don't know what I'm doing! All I know is air bending. Please Roku, I need your help!" Aang pleaded. I nodded.
"Yeah, some help from Agni and Vayu would be nice to. They're all like, 'You'll know when you're ready' and it's annoying!" I groaned. Suddenly dust filled the room, and Aang and I weren't in the sanctuary anymore. We were standing on the peak of a high mountain surrounded by rocks and clouds in the sky. Standing in front of us were three figures.
"It's good to see you Aang. What took you so long?" Avatar Roku asked with a smile on his face. Aang bowed to him as Roku turned to me.
"Ah, so you're the Azrita Zura I've been hearing so much about. Nice to finally meet you Kai." He said. I smiled and waved at him, but suddenly I was knocked back as I was glomped.
"Kai! You're here! I missed my little fire bender! Vayu get over here and join in the family hug!" Agni shouted as I struggled for air. Vayu sighed and walked over to us.
"Agni, learn restraint. And we aren't a family." He stated as me pulled her off of me. She pouted at him before turning to Aang.
"Look! Our little fire bender's all grown up! She's bringing home boys!" Agni ignored Vayu and went to tackle Aang, who hid behind me with a look of horror on his face. Vayu sighed again and rubbed his temples.
"Agni, if you don't behave yourself I shall have the other spirits escort you home. Then you won't be able to talk to Kai and the Avatar." He said as he crossed his arms. Agni gave a gasp of horror and obediently went over to Vayu's side and sat down. Vayu sighed in relief. A laugh suddenly cut through the air.
"You two are entertaining as always." Roku commented with a laugh before turning to Aang and I.
"But, I believe that we have some business to attend." He stated. Vayu and Agni immediately sobered and stood up straight. They nodded to Roku before also turning to us.
"Aang, Kai. We have some very important things to discuss with you both. But, we'll start with Aang's message." Roku began. Aang stared at Roku wide eyed.
"Is it about my vision? The one about the comet?" Aang asked.
"Yes." Roku nodded. Aang stared at Roku in confusion.
"What does it mean?"
"100 years ago Fire Lord Sozin used that comet to begin the war. He and his fire bending army harnessed its incredible power and dealt a deadly first strike against the other nations." Roku explained.
"So the comet made them stronger?" Aang asked.
"Yes, stronger than you can even imagine." Roku nodded. Aang was still confused.
"But, that happened a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with the war now?" He asked. Roku looked at Aang seriously.
"Listen carefully. Sozin's comet will come again by the end of this summer, and Fire lord Ozai will use its power to finish the war once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang, you must defeat the Fire lord before the comet arrives." Roku explained. I stared at him in shock. Dang, that's rough Aang. Heh, I rhymed.
"But, I haven't even started to learn water bending! Not to mention earth and fire!" Aang broke me out of my thoughts as he shouted.
"Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice. But, if the world is to survive you must do it before summer's end." Roku insisted.
"That's reassuring." I murmured. Aang stared at Roku in horror.
"But, what if I can't do it? What if I fail?!" Aang questioned. Roku merely smiled.
"I know you can do it Aang, for you have done it before." He said as Aang smiled back. Roku turned to me.
"You will also have a strong ally in young Kai here." He stated as he looked at me. I stared at him in confusion.
"Moi?" I asked, pointing at myself. He smiled at me and nodded. Agni suddenly jumped up and raised her hand.
"Yay! It's our turn Vayu!" She shouted. Vayu merely nodded. They both turned to me. Vayu spoke first.
"Kai, you've been wondering what Azrita Zura is, right?" I nodded at his question. I've been dying to know!
"Well, in our language, Azrita Zura literally translates into chosen warrior (1)." He explained. I looked at him in confusion and asked.
"So I'm your chosen warrior? What does that mean?" He took a deep breath before continuing.
"There are some people in the world that are chosen by spirits at birth. They are chosen for a purpose and are given powers by the spirit to complete a certain task. We chose you Kai. Usually there is only one spirit as a patron, but you are different. Agni and I had a common goal that we need to work together on. When we saw you, we knew that you were our chosen warrior." Vayu explained. I stared at him in shock.
"You chose me? Have you just been controlling me? Task? Powers? You aren't explaining anything!" I shouted I frustration as I grabbed my head. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to meet Aang's sympathetic look. He smiled at me in reassurance. I took a breath, and gave him a shaky smile in return. I turned back to Agni and Vayu. They both had sad smiles on their faces.
"Kai, the only thing that we controlled in your life was where the merchant ship that you were found on landed, and where Hakoda chose to look for food. We have helped you in your life when in danger, but we always left your choices up to you. Your choices are the reason that we chose you. We knew what your heart would be like, and we knew that you were the best choice." Agni reassured with a smile. I nodded, but I still rubbed my head.
"And what about this task? And what powers have you given me?" I asked. Vayu stepped up.
"Your task is why you are connected with the Avatar. He is to bring peace to the nations by defeating the fire lord, but when he does there will still be animosity between fire benders and the world. You are to bring peace between the benders themselves. You must show the people that fire is not destruction, and bring the true meaning of fire back to life." He explained. I stared at him with wide eyes.
"I can't do that! How am I supposed to show the world something when they've already become convinced in their own conclusions?!" I shouted Agni put her hand on my shoulder.
"It will become clear in time. You can do it Kai. I trust you to bring my people back to the truth." She smiled. I looked at her, and thought about how hard it must be to become hated and feared because your people misusing your gift. I smiled at Agni in sympathy before she continued.
"Now, onto the fun stuff! You already have most of the powers that Vayu and I have given you. I obviously gave you your fire. But, your fire is stronger than most. Probably the strongest if you train hard enough." She smirked. I fist-pumped. Awesome!
"I gave you two powers. One is a spiritual connection that awoke when Hei Bai brought you to the spirit realm. This will allow you to speak with Agni and I. You can talk to us in your head now without us breaking the law. Also you can journey to the spirit realm, but you need to somehow boost your connection to us when you do that unlike the Avatar." Vayu explained. My eyes widened.
"So, I could've talked to you guys earlier today? Why didn't you tell me?!" I shouted at Agni. She rubbed her head sheepishly.
"I wanted to surprise you." She shrugged with a smile. I groaned.
"Meanie, but I still think that the powers are awesome! But, what's the second power?" I asked Vayu. He smiled at me.
"You will find out soon. I also like to surprise you." He smirked. I gasped at him.
"You're just as bad as Agni!" I accused. He actually looked offended at that. Agni merely laughed.
"Calm down you two. Agni, Vayu. Isn't there more that you want to explain to Kai?" Roku asked as he glared at the spirits. They flinched. I looked at them in confusion.
"More? What else is there?" I asked. They looked at me sadly.
"Kai, being the Azrita Zura of two spirits takes a lot out of you. Because you have a human body, the powers given to you drain your life force. That's why there is usually only one spirit patron for a human." Agni explained as she looked down. Aang and I stared at them in shock.
"My…life force? And, what exactly does that mean?" I whispered out, almost afraid of the answer. Vayu took a deep breath.
"It means exactly how it sounds. A normal Azrita Zura rarely lives until half the normal life span. You have two patrons who gave you powers. We have no idea the toll it will take on you." Vayu explained sadly. They all stared at me and gauged my reaction. I stared at the floor, numb. I'll die before even half of a normal life span? I could feel tears form in my eyes.
Suddenly a loud shout broke me out of my reverie.
"How could you guys chose Kai?! You knew that this would kill her! There had to be better ways of uniting the benders!" Aang shouted in fury. He glared at the spirits as they flinched under his glare, but I put my hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay Aang. Don't be mad with them. I'm sure they feel bad about this. And, it was thanks to them that I didn't die when I was a baby anyways." I gave him a slight smile. He just stared at me in shock. Roku walked up and put his hand on Aang's shoulder.
"Calm down Aang. They didn't say that there was no way of stopping Kai's fate." He said with a slight smile. Aang and I looked at him in shock. I looked at Agni and Vayu.
"It can be stopped?" I asked. They looked at each other before turning to me.
"Theoretically it can be. Your powers draw from your life chakra. This is where your Avatar friend comes in. The Avatar could possibly block the drainage of your chakra, but then you'd need another source to draw from." Vayu explained. Aang shot up with a gleam in his eye.
"But, there's still a chance!" He shouted happily. He turned to me.
"Kai, I swear that I will do anything that I can to help you." He promised. I smiled at him.
"Thanks Aang." I said as I gave him a hug. He was a good friend. He nodded with a smile. Turning back to the spirits I smiled.
"So, anything else?" I asked. They looked shocked at my nonchalance, but smiled at me.
"Nope, you're good to go!" Agni beamed. Vayu smiled at me, and Roku turned towards Aang and me.
"The Winter Solstice comes to an end. It's time for us to part ways, for now." He stated. Aang and I nodded. Suddenly a vision entered our minds. We saw a fire nation ship outside of the island. Then we saw a man that looked like a monkey preparing to shoot fire at the doorway with some soldiers.
"Great danger awaits you in the temple. Aang, I can help you. But, only if you are ready." Roku stated. I gasped as Aang's tattoos suddenly began to glow, and when he opened his eyes they glowed too.
"I'm ready." He said. His voice sounded like a bunch of people talking at once. Roku turned to me.
"Kai, you might want to stay behind Aang." He advised. I nodded. It would probably be for the best. I don't want to be barbequed. I shivered at the thought. Turning to Agni and Vayu I bowed.
"I'll talk to you guys later." I waved with a smile. They smiled back, and Agni hugged me again.
"See you later Kai. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry." She whispered in my ear. I shook my head as I hugged her back.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." I smiled at her. She smiled back. All three spirits waved goodbye as the scenery faded, and we were back in the sanctuary. I turned to Aang and squeaked when I was a glowing Avatar Roku instead, and boy did he look mad. I had to look away as the room lit up with light, and the doors opened.
"Ready!" I head a man shout.
"No, Aang! Kai!" Katara shouted from the room.
"Fire!" I quickly hid behind Aang as fire was shot at us from the soldiers. I heard gasps as Aang, or Roku, bended the fire around him and shot it back out at the soldiers. He glared at the sages, scaring them off. With a grunt, Roku split the floor. He raised his hand, and I gasped as lava shot out of the ground. I felt the building shake.
Suddenly the wind gathered around Roku in a dust cloud. When it dispersed, Aang was left standing. He groaned, and I quickly caught him as he began to fall, but I was also tired and he began to slip out of my hands. My siblings ran up to us and lifted Aang up.
"We got your back." Sokka said as he smiled at us. Katara smiled from the other side of Aang.
"Thanks, where's Shyu?" Aang asked as we began to leave the temple. Looking around, the fire sage was nowhere in sight.
"I don't know." Katara said. We walked over to the stairs and gasped as we saw that it was flooded with lava. Looking out the gaping hole in the side of the temple, we saw the building begin to lean and fall towards the ground.
"Well this is just great." I groaned. But, I smiled as I saw Momo and Appa flying towards us.
"Yay! We won't be cooked today!" I shouted in glee as I jumped out of the temple and into Appa's saddle. Aang and my siblings laughed as they followed after me. We flew away from the temple as it crashed and burned. Aang and I stared at the temple. I wondered how things would turn out. Hopefully I'll live to see my 25th birthday. I sighed at my thoughts. Suddenly Momo popped up next to us, and I laughed at him.
"Nice hat Momo." I said as I looked at the fire sage hat sitting on his head. My siblings looked over and laughed as well. I looked over at Aang, and saw the serious expression he wore. I sobered up. We did find out a lot today. It's kinda hard to digest. But, at least we have each other. I smiled at that thought and put my hand on Aang's shoulder. He looked over at me.
"We're in this together Aang, no matter what." I stated. He smiled at me gratefully and nodded.
"You're right, and don't forget that I'll keep my promise." He said with a determined face. I nodded and pulled him into a hug. I felt another hug from behind and glanced at Katara and Sokka as they joined the hug. I smiled, and Aang and I looked at each other. We had the same thought, and nodded.
No matter what, this is our family. We will protect it.
Even if we die trying.
(1): Azrita Zura is the pronunciation for the Hindu words that I posted in the second chapter. I made Hindu the language for Agni and Vayu since they're Hindu spirits.
It's done! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I hope I explained the Azrita Zura stuff well. Next one will be out sometime at the beginning of July after my trip! See you then!