"You must help us Avatar," said the Leader of Senlin Village, his voice tinged with pain like an Air Nomad elder who'd eaten spoiled elderberry pie. "The spirits they just… The children…"
A young woman started to cry, clutching her baby daughter desperately. "The spirits… I don't know what we can do anymore…"
Yeah… Senlin Village was unlike anything Aang had seen before… Not because- It was kinda ordinary, in an Earth Kingdom type of way. Square and stony, with tiny little cube- ugh, Sokka's lessons were starting to stick- shaped houses with slanted shingled roofs to help funnel stormwater into sewage canals. It must've rained a lot in this town, which was consistent with the many trees and architecture… The science lessons had to stop! Like soon. His thoughts were starting to feel more sciency than air nomady which Aang didn't like at all.
"Huh," said Sokka, scratching his head. "I never thought that spirits existed. But I guess…"
"I know what you mean," said Teo. "Mo- I was always told that spirits were holy creatures. Proud and more magnificent than I could possibly imagine. I never expected them to do something like this."
Aang couldn't believe it either.
"The spirits they're just," the Leader shook his head, and wiped a tear out of his eye. "They're just a bunch of lazy, good-for-nothing, freeloaders!"
A wandering frog- um- frog? It was just a frog? What the heck? The frog stopped hopping and stared at the Leader with black oval pupils.
"You heard me you damn spirit!" The Leader said, taking a step back. "You lot don't pay any taxes! You don't man the defenses against the Fire Nation. All you do is eat!"
The frog croaked, and two other frog- frogs joined beside it, ribbeting at the Leader.
"Well, I guess you are kinda cute," said the Leader, voice softening, petting the frog's head. "Aww, cute little froggy! You're just trying to take care of your family aren'tchya little froggy?"
The frog croaked and nodded.
"Not another one," the young mother cried. "Village Leader, you can't keep taking in these spirits. We can't feed them all!"
"But look at him," the Leader said, sticking the um, just-a-frog in the mother's face. "How can you just turn away such a precious little amphibian?"
"I'm not a cruel woman Avatar," the mother said, cradling her toddler in her arms. "I'm not worried about these frogs. But our Leader never turns away a spirit, and if we get another panda-"
"So you're saying we must turn Hei Bei away," the Leader spluttered. "You know he's a special case!"
The woman left with her child, muttering something about free handouts and bleeding hearts.
The Leader turned to Aang and straightened his beard. "Let me show you Hei Bei. I think once you see him you'll understand what you must do."
It was true. Aang knew as soon as he saw the big panda spirit that he'd have too… Hei Bei's fur was falling off, leaving exposed skin with boiling pink blisters. The spirit was wheezing, its back rising and falling from the effort it took to take a single whistling breath. The giant panda leaned against the side of the stable, and stared at Aang with bloodshot eyes. There was pain there, inside the spirit's mind. Agony. Suffering beyond comprehension.
It was… Aang walked towards the panda slowly, each step measured, each step soft. It didn't notice him, not even when he was right next to it, not even when he ran his hand through its coarse dry hair. It came out in clumps, and Hei Bei's skin peeled off with it. The exposed wound started to bleed, but the giant panda did nothing, it just continued to breathe. It continued to stare and see nothing. The monks had taught him that life was sacred. Right now it felt like a curse. A shackle. Aang looked inwards, looked for some third option, but he saw nothing, he felt nothing, being the Avatar didn't give him power over life and death. There was only one final solution. But Aang couldn't. Wouldn't. Even when he knew it was the only way.
"Father," Teo muttered under his breath. He walked next to the panda, pulled a vial from a pocket, and forced it into the panda's mouth. Its eyes flattened, and the spirit's breathing became less heavy. Then he slid his knife across its neck. Aang watched as the life left the giant panda, blood pooling on the floor, staining his sandals red. Finally the panda moved no more.
Air Nomads refused to eat meat. Killing was wrong, or at least that's what Aang had been taught all his life. But he wasn't angry with Teo. Not in the slightest. It had been an act of mercy. One that the Avatar should have given, but Aang had refused too.
Sokka nodded. "Two birds. One stone. Now you have enough meat to feed-"
"No," said Teo. "The meat is poisoned. This is Father's work. He must be stopped Avatar. You must kill him."
The Leader's eyes narrowed. "Your Father's work?"
Teo grimaced. Shrugged. And sighed. "The Chemist."
"The Chemist," said the Leader skeptically. "You can't be serious."
"I am," said Teo. "Father is a monster Aang. He's worse than the Fire Lord or the Dark Phoenix. This stuff that he's doing, it's what drove my mom to-" He stopped and looked around, then at his hands. His eyebrows knitted together.
The Leader shook his head. "No, no, no. The Chemist is one of two good things that the Fire Nation has ever produced. A savior right up there with The Phoenix Ki-"
"You're wrong," Teo exploded. "Dad's a bad guy! Once mom stopped working with Him, He focused on dad, and dad wasn't strong enough! And then dad got... And then mom left? Mom? Huh?" Teo wandered away, muttering to himself, and poking at his skin.
"Interesting," said Sokka, leaning against a peeling wooden post. "Aang, be sure to ask Teo what his mother was researching before she started poking around the Northern Air Temple. If it got His attention it must've been something crazy."
Aang frowned. It was obvious wasn't it? This wasn't fun, Sokka was supposed to be the pessimistic one. "I'm not, uh, sure that that's Teo Sokka. It might be… He never told me how he got out, and I always kinda suspected that he was one of… You know..."
Sokka chuckled. "They don't attack nonbenders remember?"
"They were attacking you. We found you at the entrance. But how did Teo get out?"
"It's good that you're cautious. But," Sokka shrugged, and said carelessly. "You know what, maybe you're right. Keep an eye out on Teo."
Something wasn't right. Why wasn't Sokka more suspicious of Teo? Aang was missing something, a piece of the puzzle, hidden away somewhere. Maybe if he thought back on that night he'd find the missing clue, but Aang couldn't. Wouldn't. His failures, all the words he hadn't said, what if he could've found a way to save Haru? Or what if they hadn't gone there at all? It was his fault. His fault. All his fault!
"Hey little guy," said Sokka, grabbing a little monkey- monkey spirit? Like the one that had given birth to the Air Nomads? Well, at least according to the monks, but the creation had always been a part of their teachings that Aang had struggled with. "Think you can lead us to whoever did this to you?"
The monkey spirit hesitated.
"That boy over there, the one with the big ears and giant arrow, he's the Avatar. He can get rid of whoever is doing this to you. You just have to show him the way. Is that okay?"
The monkey hopped over to Aang, and crawled up his back, peered at his arrow and shrugged. It shimmied around, and wiggled Aang's ginormous ears. It gasped, leapt to the ground, and pointed Aang to the South side of town.
Aang and Sokka followed the monkey's direction, but the monkey jumped in front of Sokka, and held out its palms. It wiggled its ears, pointed at Aang, and nodded. Then it folded its ear, pointed at Sokka, and crossed its arms. Its intentions were clear. Only the Avatar would be allowed to venture into the spirit world.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! This entire chapter is finished. If you'd like the rest all at once leave a review or like and favorite. If I can get three, I'll post the rest of the chapter. Otherwise you can look forward to the next the pieces of the chapter being released every Friday night.