Book Two: Earth
Chapter 1
The Avatar State
Disclaimer: I own nothing Avatar except the characters I create.
P.S. Sorry for the long wait I was on a few vacations.
It was a peaceful trip on Master Paku's boat. Lin slept with ease in the hammock and dreamt of Zuko. She could feel the pain he was in and wondered how he got that scar on his face. He constantly seemed defeated since he should have been heir to the throne, but for some reason had been exiled instead according to Katara. So far no one had questioned her interest in the firebender. They just assumed she wondered who this boy that kept hunting them down was. Lin couldn't deny she was hurt he didn't remember who she was. Then again who is going to remember someone they met for a week after six years. He had a lot more to deal with compared to herself when the only thing she worried about was trying to learn how to waterbend.
In the morning it was time to part ways and Master Paku gave everyone except Sokka farewell gifts to use on their journey. To Katara he gave special spirit water, Aang received waterbending scrolls, and Lin was given rare healing scrolls, spirit water, and an apology. "I have no doubt you will soon be a master of waterbending like Katara and the finest healer." It felt good to finally be accepted after all the trouble she went through previously with him.
The gang was headed to the Earth Kingdom so Aang could master earthbending. They were told to meet with General Fong at the Earth Kingdom Base for an escort to Omashu to talk to King Bumi. On the way to the base Lin was anxious to look at the healing scrolls. She never thought there was much more to it than using her hands and was surprised to see some extremely advanced techniques.
It ended up being a short flight to the base and they were met by General Fong who gave them the warmest greeting. "Welcome to all of you our great heroes. Appa, Momo, Brave Sokka, the Mighty Katara, and the Fearless Mei-Lin." There was a loud burst behind them and they turned to see fireworks filled the sky in their honor. Obviously their reputation was starting to get around and they appreciated the recognition after risking their lives countless times.
General Fong led them into the castle for a briefing where he talked about Aang being ready to fight the Fire Lord. There was no way Aang reached his full Avatar capabilities and still needed more training as the teens tried to tell him. General Fong disregarded the group's concerns stating that Aang is "The Ultimate Weapon."
"He is not a weapon, he is a person" protested Lin. The Avatar was meant to bring peace and balance and General Fong only saw a weapon. Aang did not know how to control the Avatar state, but the General was not giving up "I'll help you figure out how to control the Avatar state and then you'll face your destiny".
This fired up Katara "No! We already have a plan. Aang's pursuing his destiny his way". General Fong brought Aang to a window that overlooked a clinic to show the large amount of soldiers that were lucky to make it back from the war, but they were severely injured. It seemed time was running out. This was the first time Lin and her friends saw how quickly the war was escalating and it made them feel insignificant compared to the heroic greeting they received earlier. The General showed the group to their quarters and gave them some time to think over the urgency of the matter.
Later that night Aang came into the room where they were staying "I told the General I'd help him" Aang said quietly as he sat down.
"Aang no this is not the right way" Katara's voice was filled with concern.
"Why not? Remember when he took out the fire navy? He was incredible." Sokka chimed in.
"There's a right way to do this. Practice, study, discipline" said the girl from the Southern Water Tribe.
"I agree with Katara. Only the Avatar can stop the Fire Lord, but Aang you haven't learned everything there is to being one. You'd be going in unprepared and could seriously get hurt or killed" said Mei-Lin.
Katara grew more upset when Lin mentioned death "If you two meatheads want to throw away everything we worked for, fine. Go ahead and glow it up". Katara left the room for Aang to wallow in his decision.
Lin sat down next to the young airbender and placed her hand on top of his, "I can't even imagine the burden you bare Aang. You are not alone in this and we will do everything we can to help shoulder this weight. Katara is just really worried about you, we all are."
"I know, but her yelling about it isn't helping" Aang slumped over.
"Come, you need your rest if you're going to try to get into the Avatar state" the healer stood up and pulled Aang towards his bed.
"But I'm not tired. I have all these thoughts racing through my head" Aang reluctantly laid down on his bed.
"I can do something about that." Lin placed her hands on top of the Avatar's bald head with some water from her water skin. With her healing she was able to calm the sea of thoughts which was followed by the sound of Aang's snoring.
"Whoa neat trick! Why don't you put me to sleep every night?" asked Sokka.
"Because I would put you in a coma."
The next day General Fong tried to get Aang into the Avatar state with a tea that would give him energy. All it did was make Aang super talkative and whirl around like a crazy tornado. "I guess he could talk the Fire Lord to death" said a frustrated Sokka. Nothing they were trying was working. After a long day of unsuccessful attempts Sokka and Lin retired to their room while Katara and Aang took a walk together outside. "This is getting us nowhere" sighed Sokka. Lin was too lost in her own thoughts to hear the water tribe boy as she wondered how Zuko was doing and was still dealing with the fact that they were enemies.
"Hello! Lin, you got water stuck in your ears."
"Oh sorry, yeah, getting nowhere."
Ozai had left the palace on war business for a few days and Azula was having a sleepover at Mai's house. Having the palace to herself, Princess Ursa decided to invite her new friends to visit. She knew she was pushing her luck having Water Tribe citizens in the heart of the beast, but she couldn't help but be defiant in her own way. Of course Ursa was taking special precautions as she kept only the servants she trusted and gave everyone else the day off. It was no surprise to the Fire Princess that Yuki turned down her invitation so she sent a palanquin escort.
Zuko was beyond thrilled that Lin would be visiting his home and without his antagonizing sister there to bother them. The young prince made sure his room looked extra clean and then turned his attention to his wardrobe. It took him longer to get ready each time he had a play date with the young girl. After the tearful confession he had in the park Zuko was sure that things would be awkward between him and Lin. He showed weakness which his father hated him for, but Mei-Lin accepted it. For the first time the young firebender could be himself to someone else besides his mother. His thoughts were interrupted as his mother knocked on his open door. "They are here sweetie. You ready?" He nodded and took one last look in the mirror before he followed her to the courtyard to greet their guests.
Lin was mesmerized by the turtle-ducks in the pond and how beautiful the palace looked, it took her breath away. It was more extravagant than where Princess Yue lived and probably five times larger. As one of the turtle-ducks swam closer Mei-Lin noticed Zuko's distorted reflection in the water and gasped "Zuko!"
"You really like turtle-ducks don't cha?" he smirked.
"They are so cute and you have a whole pond of them!"
"Want to feed them?"
"Can we?" Lin couldn't hide the excitement in her voice.
Zuko had one of the servants bring them some bread and the two kids sat down by the edge of the pond.
"You really have a beautiful home even if you don't like it so much" the young waterbender tossed a small piece of bread into the water which was snapped up by a larger turtle-duck.
"I know I'm really lucky to live here and it's not the palace that bothers me, but more of what happens within it."
After feeding the turtle-ducks Mei-Lin wanted a demonstration of Zuko's firebending, but he was too shy since he knew he wasn't as good as his sister and she made fun of him for it. The waterbender was quite persistent and the prince eventually gave in showing her some fire punches and kicks. The young girl was impressed to see how much heart Zuko put into his bending abilities allowing him precise control over his flames. She wished she had that kind of control over her waterbending as well as be able to open up to Zuko about who she really was. Once his demonstration was over the firebender decided he would give Lin a tour of the palace with his room being the last stop.
"Wow your room is so big! Your bed is twice the size of mine" Lin was wide-eyed at all the space Zuko had.
"Well I am the prince after all so I should only get the best" Zuko teased and Lin responded by jokingly shoving him.
"Hey let's jump on your bed or is that frowned upon by royalty?"
Zuko answered with a devilish grin and hopped on top of his bed and then reached out his hand towards Lin to pull her up. Together they couldn't stop giggling as they bounced up and down while having a pillow fight causing feathers to fly everywhere. When Lin tried to dodge one of Zuko's attacks she missed her footing and fell off the bed. The prince quickly dove after her and used himself to break her fall. Lin opened her eyes and was surprised to find Zuko beneath her. They both blushed as their noses practically touched and her hair tickled his face.
"Zuko are you ok?" the waterbender asked as she slowly and reluctantly pushed herself off of the prince.
"Mostly, I think my hand is a little sprained, but it'll heal in no time."
Hearing that Zuko was injured caused Mei-Lin to react instinctively as she waterbended the water from the wash basin beside the bed onto her hand.
Zuko's mouth dropped open "You're a waterbender!"
Lin quickly let the water fall from her hand to the floor. "No, what are you talking about?"
"Lin, don't lie to me. It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you."
She broke down into tears out of relief that Zuko knew the truth and guilt that she couldn't keep her promise to her mother. The prince drew her in close for a reassuring hug. It wasn't long before Lin opened up about the reason for her travels and the troubles she had at home. He realized they were kindred spirits whom weren't accepted for who they are and were being forced to be something else.
"I'm so glad to have met you Zuko and I want to remember this trip forever" the waterbender dried her tears up.
"Well we do have an artist here who makes portraits. Want to get a picture of us?"
Lin's ice blue eyes lit up and nodded. She knew she would have to travel back home soon and the healer was afraid that she would forget Zuko's face. It took a couple of hours of them sitting next to each other, but Lin knew this portrait was going to be her most prized possession.
The next morning Lin and Sokka accompanied Aang to see General Fong to tell him that he will continue with his training since he cannot reach the Avatar state with the General's tactics. Aang had talked things over with Katara the night before and it gave him enough confidence to go with his gut. General Fong was not pleased with the Avatar's decision and figured that the best way to force Aang to glow was to fight him.
It was a shocking turn of events as none of them expected the General to go this far. General Fong earthbeneded the ground Aang stood on to throw him out of a window while the guards seized Lin and Sokka. Sokka used his quick wit to stomp on the guards feet while Lin used the water from her pouch to form a whip and sent the guards flying across the room.
The black haired girl rushed down to the courtyard to help the Avatar fight the rest of the guards. She had been training hard on her waterbending techniques, but the earth would soak up any her water attacks. Soon they were joined by Sokka who had left to alarm his sister on the current attack. Before Katara could even reach for her water pouch she became the focus of General Fong's attack as he held her prisoner in quick sand. As she disappeared into the ground this caused Aang to go into his Avatar state. It became clear to Lin that his love for Katara would cause him to protect her in any way he could. The rage and anger the young boy showed was enough to scare even his friends as Lin gave Sokka a worried glance.
General Fong grew scared of the young boy and showed him that Katara was indeed ok and that he never meant to harm her. Aang immediately returned to normal and the guards backed off. The Earth Kingdom Army saw firsthand how dangerous this state was since Aang had no control over it. The earthbenders allowed them to leave to Omashu and get away from the overzealous General Fong.
Katara decided to have a heartfelt talk about Aang and his lack of emotional control of his Avatar state. This left Lin with Sokka which seemed to become an ongoing thing. "Never knew a 13 year old could be so scary" Sokka said as fed Momo.
"Yeah. Hey Sokka...do you think that he may not even be able to tell friend from foe when he's emotional like that?" As much as Lin loved Aang as a brother this was becoming a large concern.
"Nah! Aang would never hurt us. I mean 'c'mon we thought those earthbenders were on our side and looked how that turned out. This war is making people do crazy things" the Water Tribe boy circled his finger by his head.
"I really love your optimism in every situation."
"Don't stop there. Tell me what else do you love about me. My charm, wit, looks, boomerang skills."
"I love when you know to shut up." Lin giggled and so did Momo.
"That's the last time I feed you, stupid lemur."
