ATLA chapter ten
They soared through the air on Appa towards Omashu. The sky was mostly clear, the sun was shining. All in all, it was a beautiful day.
Gohan sat cross-legged in the saddle as he entered a meditative state.
Again, he found himself in a black void and a golden glowing light way off in the distance.
He ran towards it again, and saw himself encased again. But this time he didn't touch. He instead examined it closer.
'It is obviously clear that my powers are being contained,' he thought as he began circling it. 'But I need to figure out how and why. And how to release this power.'
He turned and looked closely at his hand before trying to generate some form of Ki.
Sighing in frustration, he began trying to sense the container. It felt odd, weird; completely unnatural.
'It doesn't feel like Ki. And it doesn't feel like anything I've sensed here in this world. So, is this some sort of Magic? It's obviously connected to the reason I got brought here. I just need to figure out why,' he mused.
The more he thought about it, the more questions arose until he was so caught up in his mind, he didn't realize that Appa had landed and the rest of the gang had already went to a nearby water supply to cool off and for Aang and Katara to practice Waterbending.
It wasn't until he was splashed with some water did he come out of meditation.
Sighing, he wiped some water from his face before flipping off of Appa. He 'could' take a dip in the lake where Sokka was floating on a large leaf and Katara was waiting to see if he'd join them. But, he was trying to think of a solution to his 'Power Dilemma'.
'But, when else would I have the chance to relax like this?' he thought.
Flying for hours, he was a little sore and could use a swim to relieve his muscles.
He took off his clothes, folded them neatly, and dove into the water. The cool liquid is a soothing sensation for him as he began swimming around.
He was completely oblivious to the stares he was receiving.
The others were staring incredulously at him. He just got in the water completely nude like it wasn't a problem.
And it wasn't. Being brought up the way he was, modesty was something Gohan lacked.
They eventually ignored it and went back to what they were doing. It's not like he was flaunting it around.
Eventually, Gohan tired of this and exited the lake. He redressed and just sat, waiting patiently for the rest of them to finish so they could get to Omashu.
He really didn't think Aang was mentally prepared to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, unlike himself.
He faced galactic tyrants, flamboyant soldiers, Saiyans, an android, and space pirates. All of which would've made Aang soil himself. He was sure the Fire Lord wouldn't be much trouble for him.
"You two going to be finished soon?" Sokka suddenly asked. "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we're going to make it to Omashu today," he pointed out.
"What, like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?" Katara questioned sarcastically.
"I could be ready in two minutes." Sokka replied. "Serio-"
"Guys, incoming!" Gohan suddenly interrupted him. "There's a group of people coming our way," he said as he looked down a road. He could sense and hear the people approaching. They were… singing?
If he looked behind him, he would've saw Sokka fumble trying to get to shore.
They watched as an oddly dressed group of travelers came along singing, playing instruments, and dancing like they hadn't a care in the world. It was strange; very odd.
They stopped a few yards from the lake when they noticed the youngsters.
"Hey, it's river people," one pointed out to the rest.
"We're not river people," Katara told him.
"Your not?" the man asked. clearly confused. "Then what kind of people are you?" he asked.
Aang looked around at his friends. "Just… people." he shrugged.
"Aren't we all, brother," the man laughed.
Sokka stalked up to the group at the shore. "Who are you?" he demanded while pointing at them.
"I'm Chung," Chung introduced himself. "And this is my wife, Lilly," he introduced her. "We're nomads. Happy to go wherever the wind takes us," he said before suddenly doing an abrupt solo with his instrument.
"You're nomads? That's great. I'm a nomad," Aang said.
"Hey, me too," Chung said.
It was then that Gohan noticed that this man was off.
"I know. You just said that," Aang replied.
"Oh…" Chung drew out. "Nice underwear," he complimented Sokka.
The Water Tribe warrior covered himself before scooting off to change his clothes.
"Do you people really travel anywhere you please during the war?" Gohan asked.
"Whoa, nice hair spiky-head," Lilly said as she touched one of his hair's spikes, easily making it bend to her will.
"Whoa… what makes it so spiky?" Chung asked as he reached for one.
"It's hereditary." Gohan answered as he pulled away from the hands reaching for his head.
"Wha? Hey, your eyes are black," Lilly said in awe.
"Yeah, I know." Gohan shifted awkwardly. "Hey, I'll go looking around," he told Katara and Aang as he started walking away.
"See ya' later, spiky-head," Chung, Lilly, and their group waved after him.
Gohan stood on top of an out of place boulder in the middle of the densely forested area near the lake the others were at.
He could feel someone strong approaching from the direction he was facing. The same direction they were traveling towards, and the feeling he had grew stronger the closer the person got.
Sitting, he wondered if this person was the cause of his power being suppressed.
'Why was I even brought here?' he asked himself. 'That blue fire must've had something to do with it. But why? Why me?' he asked himself.
These questions only brought him confusion, anger, and more questions.
"Hey, buddy," Sokka suddenly greeted him from behind.
"Huh? Oh, hey, Sokka," he greeted with a sad smile.
"What's got you down?" the older teen asked.
"I'm fine. I just get the feeling something weird is gonna happen," he said.
"You can never be sure what will happen while traveling with the Avatar," Sokka laughed.
"No, I'm talking about a different weird," Gohan sighed.
"You mean, weird like your tail, or weird like a tongue stuck to the ice at the South Pole?" Sokka asked.
Both boys laughed momentarily.
"It doesn't matter. Let's get going." Gohan said as he got up from the rock and turned to start walking away.
"I mean, what can be more weird than traveling with a one-hundred and twelve year old kid with a ten ton flying bison? Well, besides you?" Sokka asked.
"Haha, hey, I'm not weird," Gohan laughed.
Sokka gave him a look that said 'Yeah right'.
"Do you think Aang can actually beat the Fire Lord?" Gohan asked, suddenly serious.
"I'm not sure. But, he is the Avatar. I say he has the best chance to defeat the Fire Lord," Sokka answered.
"I don't think he's mentally prepared for what it takes to defeat him. I'll get him to meditate when we get to Omashu. That's how I got ready," Gohan said.
Sokka was going to ask what he was ready for but realized that he probably meant the war they were fighting.
The two then walked back to camp.
They arrived and saw everyone relaxing. And one of the women was braiding Appa's fur! Flowers, braids, music! Something was definitely not right here.
"Sokka, Gohan, you two should hear some of these stories," Aang told them once they got close. "These guys have been everywhere," he said enthusiastically.
Chung, who was playing his instrument, stopped to correct him. "Not everywhere, little arrowhead, but where we haven't been, we heard about through stories and songs," he said.
"They said they'll take us to see a giant night crawler," Aang told them.
"On the way, there's a waterfall that creates a never ending rainbow," the large man, Moku, lying near Appa's tail added.
"I don't think we have time for that," Gohan pointed out.
"Yeah, I'd hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara is busy." He gestured to his sister; she was getting her ponytail braided by Lilly. "I guess it's up to me. We need to get to Omashu. No side trips, no worms, and definitely no rainbows." He pointed sternly to the large man.
"Whoa, sounds like someone has a case of destination fever. You're worried too much about where you're going," Chung said.
"You need to focus less on the where and more on the going." Lilly added. Peripheral
"Omashu." Sokka emphasized.
"Sokka's right. We need to find King Bumi so Aang can learn Earthbending somewhere safe," Katara agreed.
"Well, it sounds like you're headed to Omashu," Chung pointed out.
Sokka slapped his forehead in agitation. Chung really was off.
"There's an old story about a secret pass, right through the mountain," Chung told them.
"Is this real, or a legend?" Katara asked skeptically.
"Oh, it's a real legend. And it's as old as Earthbending itself," Chung said as he leaned up from his seated position.
He then broke into song about a 'Cave of Two Lovers.' Gohan couldn't deny the fact that the song was kind of catchy.
When Chung finished, everyone except Sokka clapped. He looked like he was straining his patience for these people.
"Yeah, I think we'll just stick to flying," Sokka said as he moved towards his sister and Aang. "We've dealt with the Fire Nation before, we'll be fine," he said.
"Yeah, thanks for the help, but Appa hates going underground," Aang told them. "And we need to do what makes Appa feel most comfortable," he said.
To say that Appa was uncomfortable while they tried to fly to Omashu would be an understatement. They were attacked by the Fire Nation almost immediately when they took to the sky.
They ended up flying back to Chung and his group with soot covering them in small amounts.
Sokka begrudgingly trudged past Chung with the others in tow. "Secret love cave, let's go," he sighed.
Chung began leading them to the secret passage. All the while singing happily and dancing.
Gohan liked being with happy people. It somewhat reminded him of times of peace with Goku.
They've been walking for nearly an hour and Gohan kept getting odd looks from the other two women from Chung's group. They kept asking him about his hair and why it looked stiff but was actually soft.
"How long are we from the tunnel?" Sokka suddenly asked.
"Actually, it's not just 'one' tunnel; the lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth," Chung correct Sokka.
"Labyrinth?" Sokka questioned, horrified.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure it out," Chung told him.
Gohan was skeptical of this but kept silent. If it came to it, he could just punch his way out, right? It's just rocks.
"All you need to do is trust in love," Lilly told him. "According to the curse," she added as an afterthought.
Sokka froze at her words. Curse? Really? A cursed mountain labyrinth? That was pushing it for him. But what other choice did they have?
They walked until they reached an opening in the mountain. Moss covered the entrance's top half but they could still enter without problem.
"Hey, we're here," Chung pointed out the obvious.
"What exactly is this curse?" Sokka asked.
"The curse says that only those who trust in love can make it through the cave. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in it forever," Chung answered.
"And die," Lilly added.
"Oh yeah… and die," he said. "Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song." He cheered as he moved forward. "And die!" he said with a slightly lowered tone of voice as he strummed his instrument's strings.
"That's it!" Sokka exclaimed. "There's no way we're going through some cursed hole."
"Hey, someone's making a big camp fire," Moku pointed to a column of smoke behind them in the distance.
"That's no campfire, Moku," Katara told the large man, already knowing what it was.
"It's Fire Nation. They're tracking us," Sokka told him.
Gohan stared out at the smoke column. To him, the Fire Nation was really stupid by giving away their position. He blamed it on the fact that he was in a alternate earth's past, and that battle strategies probably weren't as good as the ones from his world.
"So all you gotta do is trust in love to make it through the tunnels?" Aang asked Chung.
"That is correct, master arrowhead," the nomad answered.
"Everyone into the hole," Sokka ordered as he began moving to the entrance.
Appa was less complying and let his complaint known with a roar. He was begrudgingly led in by Aang shortly after.
But no less than a minute after they entered, the entrance was sealed off from the Fire Nation soldiers following them from outside.
It became immediately dark, so Gohan held out his hand and created a flame for them to see. The area was bathed in a blue light. Not that he really needed it. Saiyans had excellent vision in the dark. But he was half-Saiyan, so his vision wasn't perfect.
He saw Appa trying to claw his way out of the cave and was unaware of the stares he was receiving from Chung's group.
"Hey, you know, there's this old ancient prophecy about a boy and girl. I forgot how it goes but they both have blue fire. Or something like that. Hey, you're full of surprises spiky-head," Chung said.
Gohan didn't really pay attention to what Chung said as he watched Katara try and soothe Appa.
"I'm gonna make a map to track exactly where we've been," Sokka said as he climbed aboard Appa and pulled out a piece of parchment and writing quill." Then we should be able to solve it like a maze and get through," he said as he got back to the ground.
He began leading the way through the labyrinth.
An hour passed and Sokka led them to ten dead ends. Gohan was about ready to try when Katara spoke first.
"Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've led us to," she told her brother.
"This doesn't make any sense, we already came through here," he said frustratedly as he began scrutinizing his map.
"We don't need a map. We just need love," Chung explained. "The little guy knows it," he said, directed towards the Avatar.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't mind a map also," Aang replied.
"Sokka, the tunnels are changing. That's the only explanation," Gohan told his friend as he too looked over the map, still creating light with his fire.
"You're right," Sokka agreed. "It's strange. Do you think it's the curse?" he asked.
As soon as the last word left his mouth, the ground started shaking.
'What was that?' Gohan asked himself as he moved his hand to move the light further down the tunnel. He heard something down the tunnel. It sounded like birds flapping their wings, but also chirping like bats. 'Birds? Bats?'
Chung started rambling about the curse and the mountains changing. Sokka had a rude retort but Katara silenced them when she too began hearing the noise.
Gohan increased the output of fire as he looked down the tunnel. He could see a clump of creatures approaching them.
Seconds later, the first one let itself be known as it glided over his head.
"It's a scary flying thing with teeth!" Chung exclaimed.
"No, it's a wolf-bat!" Moku exclaimed.
Gohan scared it away with a small blast of fire. Unfortunately, this caused Appa to go crazy and start madly stomping around before ramming into walls like a mad bull!
He caused a rock avalanche and rocks of all sizes began falling from the ceiling.
Katara, being the closest to him, Gohan pulled her out of harms way while Aang pushed the others out of the way with airbending before he ran over to Gohan, Katara and Appa.
"Darn it!" Gohan complained as he walked over to the fallen rocks to examine it.
The rocks sealed the path shut from ground to ceiling. And the rocks were firmly locked into place.
He tried pulling one free but that only succeeded in more rocks falling down and almost hitting the others.
"Be careful," Katara cautioned him.
Sighing, Gohan walked back over to them. There was no use in trying. They were completely separated from the others. He could punch through but that would cause more rocks to fall. Not that he couldn't stop rocks from hurting those on his side, it was the others he feared of getting hurt.
"We should keep moving. I'm sure Sokka will find a way out," Gohan told them.
Katara and Aang nodded in agreement and they began walking down the tunnel.
Gohan was slightly annoyed by this situation they were in. And it was slightly his fault for getting them in it. But, then again, why did Appa freak out so badly?
But he knew he couldn't blame the beast. It only reacted the same way any animal would.
They kept walking until Katara saw what seemed to be the entrance to an inner sanctum to the labyrinth.
Gohan walked over to it and examined it. Pulling his fist back, he punched the stone in front of him and destroyed it, creating a way in.
Katara and Aang were shocked by the display of strength but shrugged it off as him being a spirit that made him strong. It was the only logical answer, right?
They entered and Gohan amped up his output of fire to get a clear view of the area the just entered.
"This isn't the exit?" he asked disappointedly.
"No, it's a tomb," Aang told him as they went down a path of stairs that led to the two coffins made of earth that was in the center of the room. "It must be the two lovers from the legend. That's who's buried here," he deduced.
"These pictures tell their story," Katara said as she scrutinized carvings on a wall.
"They met on top of the mountain that divided their two villages. The villages were enemies so they could…" Katara began telling the story.
Gohan didn't pay it any attention as he began looking around the tomb. He looked behind him and saw a couple kissing crafted into the wall.
'Love is brightest in the dark,' he read the inscription to himself. His brain went to work thinking of an explanation for this. 'Could it be…' he trailed off as he slowly let his flame die out.
"Gohan, what are you doing?" Katara asked suddenly, unable to continue the story she was reading.
His answer came as the entire cave lit up in a light, blue hue from the ceiling.
They looked up and saw that there were glowing crystals that filled the room.
"I get it now. 'Love is brightest in the dark.' It has a kind if double meaning to it," Gohan said before blushing.
He avoided the gazes of Katara and Aang as he led them out of the room.
"Gohan, how'd you know this would happen?" Aang asked him, indicating the crystals.
"It's the inscription. 'Love is brightest in the dark,'" Gohan shrugged as he sped up his pace.
Soon, they were jogging until they saw the exit. Appa rushed past them and made it out first. He stood on his back two legs before doing a half spin and plopping down on his back.
'I hope my Senzu beans are ok,' Gohan thought worriedly. Those things were very helpful.
"What about Sokka?" Aang asked.
'He's coming,' Gohan thought as he looked at the mountain side.
Just then, there was a rumbling and Sokka emerged from the mountain. On top of a… badger-mole?
"How'd you guys get out?" the Water Tribe warrior asked.
"Gohan figured out how," Katara answered.
"Really?" Sokka questioned as he slid off the big creature. "We let big, ferocious beast lead our way," he told them as he turned and waved at the retreating badger-moles.
They grunted in unison before turning and entered the holes they made. Then the holes closed after them like a door.
Momo and Appa had a reunion too as Sokka and Katara hugged.
"Why's your forehead all red?" she asked when they parted.
"Hey, it is red," Gohan said as he looked with intrigue at his friend's forehead.
Chung suddenly slid over next to them and lowly said, "nobody react to what I'm about to tell you; I think that kid might be the Avatar." He pointed at Aang.
Sokka face-palmed at the stupidity while Gohan was just surprised Chung even knew what the Avatar was.
"Sokka," Chung continued as he removed his lei and put it around Sokka's neck," I hope you learned a little something about not letting the plans get in the way of the journey," he finished with a hug that Sokka didn't return.
"Just play your songs," Sokka grumbled.
Gohan smiled as Chung and his group did their thing. Even though they had a massive setback, he was glad everything worked out fine.
They left shortly after on Appa towards Omashu and not a word was spoke the entire ride their. They were just relieved at the time.
Appa landed a little under a quarter mile from Omashu, but the city wasn't visible because a hill blocked it's view.
They began walking up the hill and when they began reaching the top, Sokka spoke:
"Well, Gohan, my friend, the journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about; the destination," he said as they reached the top. "I present to you, the Earth Kingdom City of O- oh no," he gasped at the sight of the city.
Gohan looked at Omashu and frowned as he tilted his head. From what he was told, Omashu was a Earth Kingdom stronghold, not a Fire Nation colony.
"I can't believe it," Aang said once the initial shock was over. "I know the war had spread far, but Omashu… it just seemed untouchable," he said.
"I know. And up until now, it was. Now Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom stronghold left," Sokka told him.
"This is horrible," Katara said sadly. "But we have to move on," she told Aang.
"No," Aang disagreed. "I'm going in to find Bumi," he announced.
Sokka moved forward. "Aang, stop. We don't even know if Bumi is… still…" he trailed off.
"What?" Aang turned to face him. "If he's still what?"
"Alive," Gohan answered bluntly.
"Yeah," Sokka diverted his eyes.
"I know you had your heart set on Bumi, but there are other people who can teach you Earthbending," Katara told him.
Aang turned back to the city. "This isn't about finding a teacher, it's about finding my friend," he told them.
Gohan couldn't argue against that. He'd do the same thing for Piccolo.
The gang flew on Appa to the bottom of Omashu at a sewer exit with the pipe protruding a couple feet out of the wall.
"A secret passage? Why didn't we use this last time?" Sokka asked as Aang jumped onto the top of the pipe and hit it open.
The sludge from within gushed out and Sokka gagged as he stepped back.
"Does that answer your question?" Aang asked as he entered the sewage pipe.
Katara entered after him, followed by Gohan then lastly Sokka.
While Aang and Katara bended the gunk out of their paths, Gohan and Sokka were getting it all over them.
Aang and Katara emerged topside perfectly fine while Sokka and Gohan came out covered in the gunk. They looked like sewer monsters with all the sewage covering them.
They couldn't see it, but both Katara and Aang looked incredulously at them.
Katara saw a barrel of water and Waterbended them with the water. Aang followed up with a blast of air that dried them off.
Gohan looked at his older friend and was shocked to see Pentapuss' on his face.
He felt suction on his face and silently gasped as Sokka yelled and tried to remove them forcibly.
"Ahh! Help me, they won't let go!" he shouted. "Agh-umph!" He was tackled by Aang to a wall.
"Quit making so much noise. It's just a purple pentapuss," he laughed.
Gohan watched as Aang reached up and rubbed the small creature with his index finger. He did the same with the two on his left cheek and forehead, leaving red dots where the suction cups once were.
He tucked them behind him when a Fire Nation guard suddenly shouted, "Hey!"
Aang hid behind Gohan and Katara really fast and rapped his head to keep his tattoo arrow on his head covered. They all put on fake smiles as the guards approached them.
"What are you kids doing out past curfew?" the middle man asked.
They were all carrying spears as they stopped in front of them.
"Sorry, we were just heading home," Katara lied and they turned and started walking away.
"Wait, what's wrong with them?" The same guy asked.
"Uh… they have Pentapox," Katara lied again as she turned Sokka around. Gohan turned back too.
The lead guard stepped forward and was about to touch Sokka in the face, but Katara interjected again.
"It's highly contagious!" she warned him.
The guard retracted his hand a little and scrutinized Sokka's face.
"Ugh, I'm dying," Sokka groaned as he acted sick.
Gohan went along with it and he too started groaning and selling the role of being sick.
"Oh, it's so awful, we're dying," Sokka groaned.
"A-and deadly," Katara added as Sokka took a few steps towards the guards.
"I-I think I've heard of pentapox," the guard said, afraid. "Didn't your cousin, Chang, die from it?" he asked the guard to his right.
"We better go wash our hand! And burn our clothes!" the guard to the left yelled as they all ran off.
"Wow, I can hardly believe that just happened," Gohan laughed lightly as they walked away.
They snuck away from the area they were just at and onto a the second tier of the city in the center of the city.
They hid behind a stack of wood when two guards walked by.
"Let's find Bumi, and get out of here," Katara planned.
"Where would they be keeping him?" Sokka asked.
"Somewhere metal," Gohan answered. "That way, he wouldn't be able to Earthbend," he said.
They ran from cover and towards the slide-like mailing system. Almost reaching them, Gohan noticed a group of people walking below them, approaching from the opposite direction. Above, he sensed a power level spike and looked up to see a Earthbender send a small boulder down towards the group of people.
Gohan didn't need to look back to know who the intended target was. He jumped in front of the small boulder and kicked them, causing them to explode on contact and create a dust cloud.
Down below, they were spotted by (Just realized that Mai's mother doesn't have a name. I think I'll call her… Shai.) Shai and the Royal guards. Her daughter, Mai, immediately threw her Knives and Stilettos at them.
They dodged and began running away. Guards quickly climbed up a ladder and they were whipped down by Katara's Waterbending.
Mai climbed up too and sent more of her knives at them.
Katara created a shield with water and the knives hit it. She took off running again after she made sure they were all blocked.
Aang turned around and blocked Mai's path with piled up construction wood before he continued running away.
He turned back and blocked a knife Mai ricocheted off a wall, with his staff.
Gohan turned and was about to ignite the wood with his Firebending, but the ground beneath him opened and he, like the others, fell.
Gohan landed on his feet and looked around to take in his surroundings. He relaxed a little when he noticed it was Earth Kingdom citizens.
He reached down and helped Katara up to her feet.
"Hello, Avatar," a man with a beard greeted Aang. His name was Yao.
"Hi," Aang greeted. There was a moment of silence. "So… is King Bumi with you?" he asked.
The refugees all looked to Aang, none knowing how to break the news to him, they stayed quite.
"Is he leading the resistance?" Aang asked, a little hope in his voice.
"Of course not!" Yao half-shouted. "The day of the invasion, we readied ourselves for battle; prepared to defend our city; to fight for our lives and for our freedom. But before we even had a chance, King Bumi surrendered," he told them.
Gohan pondered why a King would give up. 'He probably only wanted to save his people,' he thought as the man continued.
"The day of the invasion, I asked King Bumi what he wanted to do. He looked me in the eye and said, 'We're going to do nothing.' It doesn't matter now. Fighting the Fire Nation is our only path for freedom. And freedom is worth dying for," Yao said.
"Actually," Aang interjected. "There's another path to freedom; you can leave Omashu," he said. "You're directing all your energy to fight the Fire Nation. But you're out numbered. You can't win," he told them." Now's the chance to escape so you could live to fight another day."
"You don't understand," Yao. "They've taken our home. And we have to fight them at any cost!" he told them vehemently.
"I don't know, Yao. Living to fight another day sounds good to me," another man said.
"Yeah, I'm with the kid," another man agreed.
Murmurings started in the crowd of refugees. All agreeing to escape. Yao saw this and understood that he was wrong.
"Fine. But there's thousands of citizens that need to leave. How are we gonna get them all out?" Yao asked.
Gohan couldn't think of an good idea. He had one that involved fighting their way out, but he knew next to none of the civilians knew how to fight.
"Suckers?" Sokka suddenly said, earning stares from everyone. He had a big cheesy grin on his face as he darted his eyes around. "You're all about to come down with a nasty case of pentapox," he said with a smile.
The next morning, Gohan went with Aang to gather as many pentapusses as possible.
After gathering several dozen buckets filled, they took them to a secluded area of the city and got the operation started.
He felt the feeling he had get stronger with each passing moment as he helped the citizens of Omashu get situated.
Once everyone had gotten 'pentapox', Sokka announced:
"The marks make you look sick, but you've got to act sick too. You've got to sell it," he told them.
"So get into sick formation," Gohan told them as he and Sokka started following after the crowd, making sure to play the role of being sick.
It was almost too easy. The Fire Nation soldiers all got scared and drove them out of the city.
Once they got out of sight, they walked normally until they were out of reach for a few hours and set up camp there. Gohan made sure they weren't followed.
Gohan stood with his friends and discussed they past day's events when Aang and Bumi's pet Flopsy came back from searching for Bumi.
They walked over to them and noticed that Bumi was not with them. Which meant he was either dead or hidden really well.
"We looked everywhere. No Bumi," Aang said sadly.
Katara hugged him while Sokka hugged Flopsy. The beast made a whining noise.
Gohan turned to the quickly approaching Yao.
"We've got a problem," Yao said. "We just did a head count," he told them.
"Oh no," Katara gasped. "Did someone get left behind?" she asked.
"No, we have an extra," Yao said as he pointed to a Fire Nation baby behind him, playing with Momo.
"What do we do with him?" Gohan asked.
"I guess we take him back?" Sokka shrugged.
"I'll take him back," Gohan offered, not seeing a problem in doing so.
"Are you sure?" Katara asked, not sure if he could successfully pull it off.
"Yeah, it'll be easy," Gohan told her. "I'll do it tomorrow," he said before going over and sitting at their campfire with Appa and Momo.
They all agreed and joined him. Katara brought the Fire Nation child so she could watch it.
Gohan watched the baby play around with Momo for a while before falling down on his rear. It was obvious that the baby was still new at walking.
The baby saw Sokka's club on the ground, picked it up, and started teething on it.
The Water Tribe boy was appalled by this and snatched his weapon away. "No! Bad Fire Nation baby!" he said.
The baby started crying.
Katara smacked Sokka and glared at him for being so rude. It was just a baby for crying out loud.
"Oh, all right," he sighed as he handed the weapon to the baby.
"Oh, you're so cute," Katara said with a smile as she ticked the baby.
"Sure, he's cute now," Yao started. "But when he gets older, he'll join the war. He'll be a cold blooded killer," he told her.
Gohan froze. Thinking of some of his past enemies as babies.
'Whoa, I wonder what Freeza looked like as a baby," he thought as he pictured the dead tyrant as a baby blowing up planets.
He was pulled out of his musings when he heard a bird screech. He looked up at a messenger hawk that landed on a rock in front of them.
Aang removed the message from the hawk's back strap and it flew away.
"It's from the Fire Nation Governor. He thinks we took his son. So he wants to make a trade. King Bumi for his Son."
It was silent.
"I think we should rest on it before we make any decisions," Gohan told them.
"Yeah, we're all tired," Katara agreed.
With that, they all went to sleep. Gohan tried to ignore the odd, growing feeling he was receiving as much as possible.
Gohan woke up first with a start. Looking around frantically, he could've sworn someone was near. He felt the presence of the power related to the odd feeling he was getting.
Looking over to his right, he saw his friends sleeping peacefully.
Sighing, he got out of his sleeping bag and put it away on Appa, all while thinking of this situation.
'Whoever it is… they feel evil. Not too evil, but not good,' he thought as he walked over and sat on a rock.
Little did he know, but the person, or rather, the girl he was feeling the same thing as him.
Azula didn't like it any more than he did. She hated it. It was a feeling she learned to ignore at times, but it's been growing stronger each day.
The feeling wasn't completely terrible. It made her like she was attached to something.
Later, after he had time to muse to himself, Gohan stood with Katara and Sokka as Aang approached them with the baby.
"You realize we're probably walking into a trap?" Sokka questioned the Avatar.
"I don't think so. I'm sure the Governor wants his son back as much as we want Bumi," Aang replied. "It's a new day; I have a good feeling about this," he told them.
Gohan didn't. He couldn't help but feel like things would turn south.
Boarding Appa, he kept any indication of his uneasiness off his neutral expression. It was time to be serious.
Gohan breathed in through his nose as he stood next to Sokka. He could feel it. Three people approaching, one stronger than the others.
That one was the same he has been keeping tabs on for a while now. While it was was getting closer, the feeling was growing stronger.
Another one felt similar to the baby's. He assumed that it was a family member.
Gohan watched as three girls walked up to the construction site. A girl wearing pink, the girl that attacked them two nights ago, and… his jaw dropped at the site of the third girl.
'She… she's the girl from my dream," he thought numbly. 'But how?' he questioned.
They never even met before. Yet, he felt like he had a bond with her. Like a friendship bond but deeper.
He didn't even seem to notice Bumi being descended to behind the girls by a metal crane. He just stared blankly at Azula.
Little did he know, she was having similar thoughts.
"You have my brother?" Mai suddenly asked, breaking the half-Saiyan out of his trance-like state.
"He's here," Aang answered. "We're ready to trade," he told them.
"I'm sorry, but a thought just occurred to me, Azula cut in. "Do you mind?" she asked Mai.
The others couldn't hear, but Gohan did.
"Of course not, Princess Azula. "Mai answered as she looked back at her friends.
'Princess?' Gohan questioned as he continued listening.
"We're trading a two year old for a King?" she asked as she looked back at Bumi. "A powerful, Earthbending King?" she questioned.
"Mmhhmm," Bumi agreed.
Gohan frowned. He picked up on what she was getting at. Was Bumi trying to help them, or was he just crazy?
"It doesn't just seem like a fair trade, does it?" she asked Mai.
Gohan looked over to his friends when Mai looked back at them. "Guys, get ready," he warned them.
"The deal's off!" Mai suddenly told them as Bumi was raised back up into the air.
The old Earth King started laughing as he was pulled up into the sky.
"Bumi!" Aang exclaimed as he ran forward, giving himself a boost with Airbending.
Azula shot a blue Fire blast at him as he jumped several feet into the air and onto a scaffolding.
"The Avatar," Azula whispered before smirking and following him up.
Gohan took off after her as she started climbing up the scaffolding of but stopped when he felt something prick his arm. He pulled a knife from his arm and looked incredulously at Mai. He looked back up at Azula and heard a whooshing. Turning, he caught Mai's thrown knives. He then back flipped away and landed next to the retreating Sokka.
"We gotta get outta here," he told Katara as she whipped two knives away.
He looked back and saw that Sokka had tripped and skid to a halt over the edge. Barely avoiding not falling to his death by mere inches.
Ty Lee came from under and began running after Sokka.
Gohan and Katara began chasing after her but stopped when Mai threw more knives.
Gohan turned again and plucked them out of the air before sending them back at Mai. But instead of aiming for her, he threw them at the floor in front of her as a warning. Her eyes widened in shock at this. He caught her knives! In mid air!
When he turned back around, he saw Katara get hit with a furry of quick jabs by Ty Lee. The acrobat was stopped from attacking Sokka by Katara and attacked the Waterbender.
Katara lost control of her Waterbending and took a defensive step back.
Ty Lee cartwheeled over to Gohan and when she tried to jab him, he caught her wrist. He pulled her and threw her into Mai. They were both shocked that he had cancelled their specialties without much effort.
"Come on," he ordered Katara as the girls got tangled with each other.
Just then, Sokka came riding in on Appa. They quickly climbed aboard and the bison took off.
Gohan and Katara sat on either side of Sokka and they flew looking for Aang.
Katara spotted him being chased by Azula and Sokka directed Appa down.
Now flying along side Aang and Bumi as they slid down the mail deliver system. All while Azula sent blue fire at Aang.
When they got close, Azula sent a flame after them. Gohan sent his own and the two flames clashed before dispersing.
Aang attempted to throw Bumi from the slide to the Bison, but he miscalculated and the steel coffin went over them and plummeted to the city below.
Aang jumped after him.
Sokka had to steer away to avoid crashing into a home. Maneuvering around the house, they tried to locate the Avatar.
"Down there," Gohan pointed down to the base of the construction site.
He looked over his shoulder and saw the Fire Nation Princess using fire to propel her away. It was weird. Gohan never met her before today, but he felt like he knew her. Sighing, he looked back in time to see Aang alone standing where Bumi left him. The Avatar walked sadly over to his friends and jumped up to Appa's saddle.
Now that the immediate danger was gone, Gohan and Katara climbed in the back with Aang.
"What happened? Why'd Bumi leave?" Gohan asked.
"Bumi left?" Sokka questioned from Appa's head. "After a- "
"Yeah, he said he'd wait for the right moment to strike," Aang told them.
"Who's going to teach you Earthbending?" Katara asked.
"He said my teacher will be someone who has mastered neutral jing," Aang answered.
"So… where do we go from here?" Gohan asked.
Princess Azula was being carried in her carriage while Ty Lee and Mai walked to the right of her.
She contemplated the events that just transpired. The Avatar and the boy her father told her of were traveling together.
'He's probably the Avatar's Firebending teacher,' she thought.
If the Avatar already had waterbending learned, and had a Firebending teacher, if her assumptions were right, all he'd need was an Earthbending teacher and he'd basically be a fully realized Avatar.
"So… we're hunting down your brother and uncle, huh?" Mai suddenly asked.
"It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again, won't it Mai?" Ty Lee teased her friend.
Mai turned her head away and smirked. It would be interesting to see Zuko again.
"It's not just Zuko and Iroh anymore," Azula said without looking at them, saying her uncle's name without the 'uncle' title. A blatant sign of disrespect to him. "We have two more targets now," she told them.
She left them without explanation of who she was talking about. They could assume that one was the Avatar. But what about the other?
Admiral Zhao stood in his room aboard his ship he acquired from a Fire Nation Navy Captain. It was believed that he was dead, But rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated. He was heading to the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se to try and intercept the Avatar and that blue-flamed child.
With Omashu conquered, he doubted the Avatar would go anywhere but Ba Sing Se.
He vowed to kill the boy at any means necessary. Even if he died in the process, he'd be sure to take him down too.
Gohan, after Aang set out to return the baby, picked up the technique book Tien and Choutzu gave him and started reading.
He went through everything that required Ki and was a little sad that he was unable to do any of them.
He flipped a page to a blank page and then again to a page that had 'Psychokinesis and Telekinesis' written in bold letters on top of the page.
Intrigued, he flipped the page to the first tutorial. His eyes widened when he read the first note about psychokinesis.
'No Ki required to perform the following,' he read with a large smile.
AN: There you have it. I put up a longer chapter. You guys like this?
Anyways, do you want me to do a Q/A at the end of the future chapters?
Thanks for reading.
R&R