nightelf37: Sorry for the long delay. I had final exams this month, and…you know…
?: Doctor Octogona—
nightelf37 smacks him away with a Keyblade.
nightelf37: That was random. Anyway, remember this. Only the plot, the Shisnos, and a few other characters belong to me.
Chapter 14: The Fortuneteller
A gray day…
The Gaang were camping close to a lake. Prior to that, Idano had managed to sell all the junk Momo collected (1) to various random shopkeeper (but never mind that; it's in the past). Just then, a large, green fish jumped out of the water and back into the lake.
"Look!", Katara gasped as she pointed at the fish.
Sokka got up and assumed what Idano called a gunslinger stance. Idano himself got up as well, under the same stance. Another fish of the same species jumped up and, as Idano saw it, glared at Sokka before returning to the lake.
"He is taunting us.", Sokka concluded.
"You think?", Sneers asked as he picked his teeth with a twig, leaning on a rock.
"That's right! He is so gonna be dinner!" Sokka and Idano ran into the tent and grabbed their fishing poles. They then ran to the lake's edge and cast their poles. While Idano's snagged one, Sokka's seemed to be missing something.
"Hey! Where's the fishing line?", Sokka asked as Idano then 'fought' with the fish, pulling at his pole against the fish's attempts to break free of Idano's grasp.
"Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Sokka.", Aang apologized as he held up a necklace.
"Aahh, it's all tangled!"
"Not tangled—woven.", Shyu corrected as he checked their stuff. "Can't you see it's 'styled' and not 'random'?"
"I made you a necklace, Katara.", Aang told the waterbender as he stood up, turned to her, and looked from side to side in an embarrassed fashion. "I thought since you lost your other one—"
"You thought making a substitute would cheer her up?", Aixata finished.
Aang nodded and held up the necklace with a sheepish smile.
Katara smiled, walked over to Aang, and took the necklace, "Thanks, Aang. I love it."
"Great, Aang.", Sokka complained. "Maybe instead of saving the world you can go into the jewelry making business."
"I don't see why he can't do both.", said Idano as he reeled in his catch.
As Katara put on the necklace, Sokka went into the lake to catch the fish by hand.
"Stop taunting me!", Sokka complained as he searched the water. By then, Idano has fully reeled in his fish, ended its life, and then got to work on preserving it for later consumption. Everyone, save for Katara and Idano, watched Sokka's antics as he tried to catch the fish.
"So, how do I look?", the waterbender asked. Aang turned to see her and was dumbfounded. As he stared at her and loosened his collar, he replied, "You mean all of you or just your neck? I mean, uh, both look great."
Sokka emerged from the lake, holding the fish as if about to give it a kiss while Aixata and Shyu broke up camp.
"Smoochie, smoochie, someone's in love.", he teased. As the fish flipped in his hands, slapping his head, before it could reenter the water, Idano tossed an arrow at the fish and skewered it to the rock wall.
"Where'd you get that?", asked Aang.
"When you and I were attacked by those archers back when we were collecting medicine, I collected those arrows as well. I wouldn't want them to go to waste.", Idano explained, then turned to Sokka. "And Sokka, stop teasing him."
"Aang's just a good friend.", Katara added as she rubbed Aang's head and Momo's when he hopped on his shoulder. "A sweet little guy—just like Momo."
"Thanks.", Aang replied, clearly put down.
Just then, an ominous sound was heard. As Momo immediately flew to the source, everyone followed. A minute later, they saw what was happening.
"Someone's being attacked by a platypus bear!", Aang called out.
Down the road, a huge bear-like creature with red eyes and the bill of a platypus bared its teeth and reared itself up on its hind legs. Its target was a middle-aged man in blue clothing who was smiling calmly at the advancing monster. The platypus bear advanced, swinging at the man, who dodged the blows by causally stepping backwards, hands behind his back. The beast continued attacking, but it kept missing th man, who casually dodged each attack, as if he knew every one of its moves, smiling all the while.
"Well, hello there.", said the man, dodging another attack. "Nice day, isn't it?
"Make noise, it'll run off!", Aang called.
"No, play dead, he'll lose interest!", Sokka yelled.
"Whoa! Close one. Haha!", the man said as he dodged again.
"Run down hill, then climb a tree!"
"No, punch him in the bill!", Katara cried out.
"And then run in zigzags!", Aang yelled.
"No need.", the man insisted. "It's going to be fine."
The platypus bear swung again, swiping a large chunk of wood out of a nearby tree as the calm man ducked just in time. Aang was about to shoot into the air when Idano stopped him. Sokka and the others were about to advance when Aixata blocked them off by unsheathing two 'blades' of light, just like when she fought Jet.
"What do you think you're doing?", asked Sneers.
"Don't worry.", Aixata assured them. "He knows what he's doing."
"Are you sure?"
"Come now. That man is dodging the platypus bear's attacks like he's done them everyday."
Just then, the beast managed to scratch the man at the waist. The man stepped back, opening his eyes in surprise. Aang got ready to assist, but Idano stopped him again and Aixata shot a bolt of light, which Aang dodged.
"Why are you holding me back? He's hurt!", demanded the airbender.
"Even perfect dodgers get hit once in a while.", Aixata said with an 'evil' smile. "He'll recover. I'm sure of it."
She was wrong however as the platypus bear caught the man by the neck and pinned him to a tree. At that second, Idano pulled out a whistle, and blew on it. Seconds later, just as the platypus bear reared up and roared, Appa came in time to do the same thing. Suddenly terrified, an egg popped out from the platypus bear's butt and it swam away. Idano and Aixata then allowed their friends to pass and Sokka went straight for the large egg.
"Mmm! Lunch!", Sokka said as he picked it up and sniffed the egg. He then looks at the calm man with a haughty look. "Lucky for you we came along."
"Thanks, but everything was already under control.", aid the calm man as he bowed in respect. "Not to worry, Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey."
"Aunt who?", Aang echoed.
"No, Aunt Wu. She's the fortuneteller from my village. Awful nice knowing your future."
"Wow, it must be. That explains why you were so calm.", said Katara.
"By 'safe', did she say you wouldn't get hurt?", Idano asked.
"I think so.", replied the man.
"Then the fortuneteller was wrong!", Sneers replied. "You didn't have a safe journey, you were almost killed!"
"But I wasn't."
"That's beyond the point.", Aixata answered. "You got hurt, so you didn't have a safe journey."
"Then she must have implied the 'alive' safe.", the man said. "All right, have a good one!" He gestured in farewell and began to walk away, but turned back again. "Oh, and Aunt Wu said if I met any travelers to give them this." He handed Aang a long, thin wrapped object and walked away.
"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes. It could be fun."
"Oh come on, fortunetelling is nonsense.", Sokka scoffed.
Meanwhile, Aang shredded the object's wrapping to reveal—
"What do ya know, an umbrella!", Aang said.
The second he opened it over his head, the sky darkened instantly and thunder was heard as it began to pour rain. Katara smiled and waterbended the rain in a sparkling arc away from her head.
"That proves it.", Katara said as she and Sneers ran under the umbrella with Aang.
"No it doesn't.", Idano argued. "My 'weather forecast' said there'd be rain today. The future isn't written in stone, I always say."
"I guess you're not really getting wet then.", Katara argued.
"The h*** I'm not.", Idano said as he already had an umbrella up. Shyu and Aixata were under it with him.
Just then, the egg slipped out of Sokka's hands and in his attempts to grab it again, it flew up into the air and—was 'caught' in time by Aixata.
"Be careful with that!", She said as she 'pulled' the egg to herself. "Let me handle this."
S—K—I—A—A—S—S
Sometime later…
It was still raining as the Gaang walked up the road ahead..
"Just admit you might be wrong and you can come under the umbrella.", Katara said.
"Look, I'm going to predict the future now.", Sokka said as he made funny motions and, in an exaggerated voice, began to say, "It's going to—"
"Stop raining in 3… 2… 1!", Idano cut in.
At the count of "1!", Idano snapped his fingers, and the rain instantly stopped, revealing the morning sun.
"Not everyone has the gift, Sokka.", Aang said as they continued walking and Appa shook off his wet fur, drenching Sokka.
S—K—I—A—A—S—S
Later…
The Gaang made it to a village (Makapu Village) which had a single snow-capped mountain overlooking it. As the eight of them (counting Appa and not Momo) crossed the gate (and passed a few duck hybrids), they were greeted by a white-haired man in black clothing who stood near a circular door.
"Aunt Wu is expecting you.", he said.
"Really?", gasped Katara.
Aixata just rolled her eyes as the seven of them walked inside. Appa had to wait outside. Inside the house were a half-dozen sitting pillows and an opening that led further in. Out of that emerged a young girl in a pink kimono with huge hair braids that stick straight out from the sides of her head. She also seemed to have a missing tooth, which was apparent when she smiled.
"My name is Meng and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant.", the girl introduced. Just then, she took note of somebody; Idano, of all people. Her eyes went wide and Idano deduced throught Thoughtbending that he was being stared at.
"Well hello there.", she greeted.
"Hey there.", Idano replied in a more monotonous tone than usual.
"Can I get you some tea, or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?", Meng offered as the others sat down.
"I'll try a curd puff.", Sneers said, but he was given the 'heisman'.
"Just a second." Meng then bent down to Idano, who sat down on the floor legs crossed. "So, what's your name?"
"Idano."
"You don't know?"
"I-da-no. I get that all the time."
"Aww. I think it's cute. You really have a nice mask, don't you?"
"Yup. Made it myself."
"May I see your face?"
"You don't want to. Trust me.", Sokka said.
"Don't believe him.", Katara countered. "He just saw a terrifying mask behind that."
"What's behind it?", Meng asked.
Idano didn't answer as he pulled off his mask and put it back on in a second. Meng missed his face, but didn't bother to ask him again.
"Oh well, Idano. It is very nice to meet you. Very nice."
"Likewise.", Idano replied with an expression of boredom.
Meng left, looking back slyly out of the corner of her eye, presumably at Idano.
"I can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense.", Sokka sighed.
"Try to keep an open mind, Sokka.", Shyu told him. "There are things in this world that just can't be explained."
"And wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?", Katara asked.
"It would be nice to have some bean curd puffs.", Sokka replied.
Katara looked annoyed at this. A minute later, as Aixata wrote on their Diary, just as Meng emerged with a tray of refreshments, the door leading deeper inside was opened by a young woman in a green kimono. She rushed over to Meng and said, "Oh, Meng! Aunt Wu says I'm going to meet my true love! He's going to give me a rare Panda-Lily."
"That's so romantic. I wonder if my true love will give me a rare flower."
"Good luck with that!", Idano replied in boredom.
"Is that the mysterious guy who Aunt Wu predicted you'd marry?", the woman asked.
Meng shoved the young woman away and brought the tray over to the seven, but her eyes were fixed on Idano. She tripped and almost dumped the food on him, but his sister 'caught' them in time.
"Enjoy your snack.", Meng said in an embarrassing manner as she left. A few seconds later, a grey-haired woman in a yellow-gold kimono approached the seven.
"Welcome young travelers.", she greeted. "Now, who's next? Don't be shy."
The males looked uninterested, and Aixata was too busy with the Diary.
"I guess that's me.", Katara said as she followed Aunt Wu inside.
"Not bad. Not bad. Mmmm!", Sokka muttered as he chowed down on the puffs. When he offered it to Aang, he took the bowl—only to pass it to Shyu, who gave it to Sneers, who indulged himself, although the former Sage picked at a few.
"So what do you think they're talking about back there?", Aang asked.
"Boring stuff, I'm sure.", Sokka casually replied. "Love. Who she's going to marry. How many babies she's gonna have."
At each of the non-bender's pronouncements, Aang grew more alarmed at each of them. "Yeah…dumb stuff like that.", Aang agreed as he bit his fingernails his eyes wide. "Well, I've gotta find a bathroom!"
As Aang went off, Sneers decided to flick bean curd puffs to each of his companions. Shyu caught his with little problems, the Shisnos got theirs absentmindedly, and before Sokka could get his, Momo intercepted it, but the former didn't notice.
Meanwhile, Aang walked down the hall near the inner door, obviously trying to be quiet so he can eavesdrop. He then put his ear to the wall and listened to Aunt Wu and Katara talk.
"Your palms are so smooth…do you use moisturizer?", asked the fortuneteller.
"Actually, I have this special seaweed lotion.", Katara replied. "I could get you some if you want. Aang stuck his tongue out, his face clearly expressing his disdain for the subject of skin care. "So, do you see anything interesting in my love line?" Aang's eyes bugged out instantly and he leaned in close to hear.
"I feel great romance for you. The man you're going to marry—"
"Tell me more!"
"I can see that he is a very powerful bender."
Upon hearing this, Aang's expression flipped from wide-eyed to smug in an instant. He launched himself into the air, ecstatic over this news. Clearly, there was no doubt in his mind as to what this prediction meant.
Back at the reception area, Sneers was picking his teeth when Aang walked back in with a smile.
"You look like the cat who ate the canary.", Idano said with a naughty tone.
"Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break.", Sokka remarked.
"Yeah, when I was in there—"
"We don't even wanna know!", Aixata cut in. "That's gross of you to discuss such things!"
Just then, Aunt Wu and Katara entered.
"Who's next?", the fortuneteller asked.
Sokka stood up and sighed, "Okay, let's get this over with."
Aunt Wu looked unhappily at Sokka and predicted, "Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted."
"But, you didn't read my palms or anything!"
"I don't need to; it's written all over your face."
As Sokka sat down sulking, Sneers raised his hand and said, "I'm next."
"Very well, then."
As Sneers followed Aunt Wu inside, Idano consoled Sokka by saying, "Don't worry about it. Some people can determine who somebody is just by looking at them."
"Gee, thanks. Hey, do you think we could order some more cream puffs?"
S—K—I—Z—I—A—M—A (2)
In the Seeker…
Moritz was in his bunk, writing down on and conversng with Aixata using his Diary. Just then, Zuko opened the door. This caught the Shisno off guard.
"Darn it, Prince Zuko!", Moritz shouted as he concealed his Diary. "Despite your high rank, please knock before you enter. What is it that you request?"
"I need an opponent to spar with."
"You came here to ask me for that? Won't Lieutenant Jee suffice?"
"I also wanted to see what your Soundbending can do."
"Really? And you want us to practice at the deck? I'm trying to keep it a secret from the crew. I don't know what they might think of me."
"But didn't you use it during that storm?"
"It was chaos out there; nobody would've suspected me. They don't even know what Soundbending is, or even the fact it exists."
"I see.", Zuko replied, and then remained silent for a few seconds. "What was that you were doing?"
"Writing on my Diary. Can't a soldier like me do some form of recreation other than Pai Sho and music? And why are you so concerned about me?"
"Because other than my uncle, I feel that you're the only one I could trust."
"Huh?"
The two just looked at each other blankly.
S—K—I—Z—I—A—M—A
Back at Makapu Village…
So far, Aunt Wu had read predictions of Shyu and Sneers (they would someday part ways with Aang and his friends), and the Shisnos ("For reasons I cannot fathom, your future is a blank slate.", she said.) Finally, it was Aang's turn.
At the inner chamber, which was a simple room with the four red pillars rising to the roof. There was also a square are surrounded by pillars and was depressed into the floor by a small amount so that you'd have to step down into the area where Aunt Wu and her guests sit and discuss the future. In the center of that square was a small fire. Four pillows lay at the four corners of the square. On the left was a small urn filled to the brim with bones. Aunt Wu and Aang went over to the urn.
"This is the most reliable method of telling your fortune.", said the fortuneteller. "The bones never lie." She then motioned to the urn with bones. "Go on, pick one." Aang picked one and they sat down. "Now throw it on the fire." He obeyed. "The heat makes cracks in the bones and I read the bone cracks to tell your destiny."
At the fire, a huge crack appears on the bone.
"Wow, that's a big crack.", remarked Aang. The bone cracked again, almost disintegrating.
"I've never seen this before.", Aunt Wu said, clearly surprised. Suddenly, the bone exploded, sending smoke to the ceiling. "Oh my!" Once the smoke cleared, she focused on the fire, bits of bone surrounding it.
"This is incredible!", she prophesied. "You will be involved in a great battle; an awesome conflict between the forces of good and evil, a battle whose outcome will determine the fate of the whole world!"
Yeah, yeah, I knew that already. But did it say anything about a girl?", Aang asked, uninterested as he knew about this since he was the Avatar.
"A girl?", Aunt Wu asked, confused. "You want to know about love?"
"Yes!"
"I'm sorry, but I didn't see anything." Aang looked downcast at this, and Aunt Wu looked on compassionately. Just then, she gasped in a gesture of mea culpa, "Oh look! I must have missed something." She picked up a sliver of bone, held it over her head, and examined its underside. "Right here! It says, 'trust your heart and you will be with the one you love.'
"Really! Thank you, Aunt Wu!"
S—K—I—A—A—S—S—M—W ({Gaang}, Meng, Aunt Wu)
Outside Aunt Wu's building…
The Gaang (with Momo on Aang's shoulder) had gathered around Appa and they all moved further into the main square together. Appa's massive footsteps echoed through the ensuing conversation.
"Well, now you got to see for yourselves that fortunetelling is just a big, stupid hoax.", Sokka said.
"We didn't.", Aixata said. "It may not be all lies. Maybe she was destined to read your fortune wrong."
"You're just saying that because you're going to make yourself unhappy your whole life.", Katara replied to Sokka.
"That woman is crazy!", Sokka exclaimed. "My life will be calm, and happy and joyful!" As he kicked a stone, it ricocheted off a nearby sign and hit him the head, knocking him on his behind. "Ow! That doesn't prove anything! What do you mean by what you said, Aixata?"
"I believe that we all have our preset destinies.", the lightbender explained.
"I'm indifferent to all this.", Idano declared.
"Well, I liked my predictions.", Katara said as she held her hands together in a gesture of hope. "Certain things are going to turn out very well."
"They sure are.", Aang answered.
"Why, what did she tell you?"
"Some stuff. You'll find out."
"By the way, are you guys worried about what Aunt Wu said?", Idano asked Sneers and Shyu. Both just shrugged their shoulders. "I see."
S—K—I—A—A—S—S
Sometime later…
The Gaang arrived at the village square, where a large crowd has gathered at its center. A covered stage resided in the center. As the Gaang approached from behind them, they saw that most of the people stood around, looking up in silence. One of these onlookers was the man they met from the last platypus bear attack.
"Nice to see you again, uh—", Idano started to greet.
"Lugn Tyyni."
"Ah. I'm Idano." He then gestured to his companions and introduced each of them. "And these are Aixata, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Shyu, and Sneers."
"What's with the sky?", Katara asked as he looked up as well.
"What we are doing, Katara, is that we're waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds to predict the fate of the whole village.", the man said.
"Hey! That cloud looks like a fluffy bunny.", Sneers indicated.
"You better hope that's not a bunny—the fluffy bunny cloud forecasts doom and destruction."
"Do you even hear yourself, Lugn?", Sokka said to him.
"I have a bad feeling about this.", Idano muttered to himself.
"The cloud reading will tell us if Mount Makapu will remain dormant for another year or if it will erupt.", a female villager explained.
"We used to have a tradition once a year of going up the mountain to check the volcano ourselves.", Lugn explained. "But ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village twenty years ago, we have a tradition of not doing that."
"I can't believe you would trust your lives to that crazy old woman's superstition.", a clearly incensed Sokka exclaimed.
"I have to agree with him.", Idano spoke up. "Relying on fortune alone is not a life worth living."
"Aunt Wu's coming.", shushed Shyu.
Sure enough, Aunt Wu and her herald (the man who greeted the Gaang when they first entered Makapu) arrived from a large staircase below. The crowd parted to allow her access to the stage as they began to clap and cheer. Suddenly, Meng showed up suddenly next to Idano.
"Hey Idano, doesn't that cloud look like a flower?"
"I wouldn't know, I rarely look into the sky.", Idano replied as he pushed her away.
Aunt Wu was now on the stage. She bowed, drew a breath, and held up her hands to the sky. Aunt Wu then examined an open book in her hands after looking up into the sky.
"Bending arrow cloud: good crops this year, nice big harvest!", she read.
"Arrgh! Good news!", cheered an old farmer as he hugged his wife.
"Wavy moon shape cloud: let's see—gonna be a great year for twins."
"Yes!", cheered two identical boys as they did a high five.
"And a cumulus cloud with a twisted nob coming off the end of it: the village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year!"
The crowd went wild upon hearing this. Apparently, this was good news.
"Since I got you here, uh, there's something I want to tell you.", Aang said to Katara. "I like you, but more than normal."
Unfortunately for the airbender, Katara was clearly paying no attention to Aang and was looking with rapt attention at the stage with Aunt Wu and at this point, she ran up towards the stage leaving Aang alone. Aang looked crushed. Momo, perched on Aang's head, also drooped his ears in sadness.
"Never mind.", Aang sighed.
S—K—I—A—A—S—S
Later, at Aunt Wu's house…
Katara decided to come over and knock at the door. She was answered by Aunt Wu.
"Hi, Aunt Wu.", Katara greeted. "Sorry to bother you."
"Anytime."
"About this man I'm supposed to marry, is he gonna be handsome?", the waterbender asked, getting more and more flustered with romance. "Oh, I hope he's tall!"
"Ahh, you want another reading?"
"Yes, please!"
Aunt Wu allowed her inside her reading room and closed the door behind them.
K—W—K—W—K—W—K—W—K—W (Katara, Aunt Wu)
Sokka, Aang, and Idano were walking through the village square, the former being in a bad mood. Sneers, Shyu, and Aixata were at the marketplace, purchasing supplies for their journey.
"I can't believe all these saps.", Sokka complained. "Someone really needs to scream some sense at them."
"They seem happy, Sokka.", Aang stated.
"Not for long. I'm gonna prove Aunt Wu's predictions are nonsense." He turned and grabbed a nearby man. "Hey, you. I bet Aunt Wu told you to wear those red shoes, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she said I'd be wearing red shoes when I met my true love."
"Uh-huh. And how many times have you worn those shoes since you got that fortune?"
"Every day."
"Than I'm afraid you have doomed the fortune to failure.", Idano stepped in.
"What do you mean?", the man asked, a bit panicked.
"You see, because you actively sought out your fortune, it no longer became valid. After all, Aunt Wu said you'd be wearing red shoes when you met your true love, yet no such love has arrived."
The man was now sweating with nervousness. "Then what must I do? What must I do to meet my true love?"
"Forget about the fortune and go on with your life. Aunt Wu's prediction will only come true if you don't chase it."
"When will I meet my true love, then?"
"The day you wear those shoes, but not with the intent of looking for her, okay?"
The man felt relieved. "Thanks a lot."
"Don't mention it."
With that, the man wearing red shoes left.
"What did you just do?", Sokka asked.
"I merely properly guided the man to his destiny.", Idano bluntly answered. "And don't kick—" His warning came too late as Sokka kicked a stone on the ground, which hits a fowl close by, which flew up onto Sokka's shoulders and started to annoy him. Idano merely tapped into his forehead with two of his fingers and a second later, the fowl flew off. "Told you so. …I wonder why no one gets suspicious on my wearing a mask."
"Don't ask me.", Aang said.
"Like I was gonna."
S—I—A—S—I—A—S—I—A (Sokka, Idano, Aang)
Back at Aunt Wu's house…
Katara was still having her fortune read. It was about an hour since then.
"…and then you'll have your third great grandchild before quietly passing away in your sleep.", Aunt Wu finished. "Is that enough information for you?"
"Wow, thanks Aunt Wu." Katara got up and turned to leave when she suddenly turned back to the fortuneteller. "Oh, wait, one more thing. How warmly should I dress tomorrow?"
"You want me to do a reading for that?", Aunt Wu asked, flabbergasted.
Katara, with a huge and slightly scary grin on her face, nodded enthusiastically.
K—W—K—W—K—W—K—W—K—W
"I don't care what Aunt Wu told you, you have to take a bath sometime!", Sokka shouted at a filthy old man.
"Let me handle this.", Idano declared as he then whispered a few words to the old man. Seconds later, that man ran off like Hei Bai was after him, headed to a river outside Makapu.
"What did you tell him?", Sokka asked.
"Nothing much. Merely clarified what Aunt Wu had told him." Idano then asked in a slightly nervous tone. "You know some stuff about ladies. Right, Sokka?"
"Some stuff? You've come to the right place.", Sokka answered as he put his arm around Idano's shoulders and pointed at his chest in a conspiratorial gesture. "What can I do you for?"
"Well, there's this girl…" Sokka then noticed Meng hiding behind a barrel at the far end of the square, stalking Idano.
"I think I know who you mean.", Sokka cut in, seeing her giggle.
"You do?"
"You want to know how to woo her, right?"
"On the contrary…" Idano got closer to Sokka's ear. "I want to now how to ditch her."
"I see. Well, here's the first step."
As Sokka moved closer to whisper stuff to Idano, Meng was waving her arms, trying to get the Shisno's attention. She got Aang's however, who sweetly smiled and waved back. Meng was irritated and communicated to him with body language that she wanted to talk to Idano, to which Aang answered by indicating that he was busy. As they continued 'conversing' this way, Sokka finished on his advice-giving.
"…and that's it."
"Thanks, Sokka. I owe you big time."
At this point, Meng sidled right up to the boys.
"Hey Idano, I was wondering—"
"See ya later.", Idano said as he quickly walked away, leaving a disappointed Meng, who sighed.
"Wow, he's good.", Sokka noted.
S—I—A—S—I—A—S—I—A
Back at Aunt Wu's house…
Katara was being pushed out of the house. Apparently, Aunt Wu was losing her patience with her.
"—and you'll be fine as long as you've got a scarf. Bye bye now."
"Okay, okay, but, one more thing."
Aunt Wu was exasperated by this point. "All right, what is it?"
"Should I eat a mango or a papaya for breakfast tomorrow?"
"…Papaya." Aunt Wu slammed the door shut.
"Ohhh, I hate papaya.", Katara complained as she gave the dirt at her feet a petulant kick.
"That took long.", a voice said.
Katara turned to see Aixata leaning against the wall of Aunt Wu's house, looking nonchalant.
"Are you really gonna have your life fully guided by Aunt Wu?"
"Hey, Aixata.", the waterbender said as she walked away.
"You didn't even answer my question!", Aixata shouted after her. "I can't believe it! I better ask Idano to save her from herself."
K—A—W—K—A—W—K—A—W (Katara, Aixata, Aunt Wu)
At the marketplace…
Katara was at the papaya stand, which surprised Shyu, who was at a nearby stall, a basket filled with food strapped over his shoulder. Papaya wasn't exactly a delicious fruit. Although, he does find them okay for him.
"Ugh. Papaya please.", she said as she handed over some money for a single papaya.
Shyu came over and remarked, "Is that a papaya you just bought?"
"Why do you ask, Shyu?"
"I had no idea you liked papaya."
"Well, I don't."
"Let me guess…Aunt Wu advised you to eat one?"
"Yes."
"Are you this dedicated to following every single one of Aunt Wu's fortunes? If this keeps up, you will continue to rely on her and no longer be able to think for yourself. It won't be good for you, or for the others, especially Sokka and Aang."
"…" Katara just walked away, leaving the former Sage to sigh.
Somewhere else in the marketplace, Aang was looking for Momo, who ran off, when he saw a woman in green and a man in white and pink talking to each other. Just then, the man gave something to the woman.
"Oh! A Panda-Lily!" The two proceeded to hug each other. Meanwhile, Momo decided to return to Aang's shoulder.
"Did you see that?", the airbender asked Momo. He then 'stealthily' moved inbetween the couple, physically forcing them apart and ruining the romantic moment as Aang leaned over them to point at the flower the woman's hand. "Excuse me. Where can a guy find one of those things?"
K—A—S—K—A—S—K—A—S (Katara, Aang, Shyu)
"I can't believe you're dragging us all the way up here for a stupid flower.", Sokka complained as he, Idano, and Aang climbed Mt. Makapu. Well, only the former two were climbing; Aang was hopping his way up with airbending.
"Not just any flower—a Panda-Lily.", Aang replied. "I've seen it in action and boy does it work."
"A flower, no matter how rare or exotic, isn't worth bringing the two of us for.", Idano told him.
"But my heart is telling me to get this flower, and Aunt Wu said if I trusted my heart I would be with the one I love."
"What? Don't tell me you believe in that stuff too.", Sokka exclaimed.
"Well, Aunt Wu hasn't been wrong yet. Why should she be wrong about love?" Finally, they made it up. "There, on the rim!"
Aang was on the volcano's rim, which was dotted with Panda-Lilies. As Sokka and Idano got up, Idano was sweltering from the intense heat, but Sokka only perspired slightly and Aang didn't seem fazed in the least.
"Is it me, or is it hot up here?", the Shisno asked. Just then, he realized that there was a fiery glow emanating from the caldera below. As Aang picked up a flower and sniffed it, Idano realized the situation and quickly ran for it.
"Where are you going?", Sokka asked.
"What do you think?", Idano replied as he ran out of sight. "It's ************* hot up there!"
"Really? It's just plain hot to m— wait a minute!" Sokka looked down into the volcano and saw that the caldera is full of lava. Aang saw it too as Aang dropped the Panda-Lily into the lava, which burned instantly.
"Oh no. Aunt Wu was wrong.", he muttered.
"Those people all think they're safe.", Sokka said. "We've got to warn'em."
"There's no time to walk." Aang opened up his glider. "Grab on." The airbender grabbed Sokka, who got on his back.
As the pair glided quickly down to the village, Idano, who was running below, decided to activate his wings and take off with them.
S—I—A—S—I—A—S—I—A (Sokka, Idano, Aang)
Soon enough, the three made it to the square and found Katara waiting outside of Aunt Wu's door. As for the others, who were nearby, they were just about done and were packing their supplies on Appa when they saw Aang, Sokka, and Idano's frightened faces.
"Can you believe she won't let me in?", the waterbender said. "And after all the business I've given her?"
"But she doesn't even charge.", Aixata replied.
"I know, but still."
"Well, we have other things to worry about.", Sokka told his sister. "Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano."
"Wait? She was?", Idano asked.
"Sokka, you tried to convince me she was wrong before.", Katara told her brother. "It's going to take an awful lot to change my min—" She was cut off by the sound of the mountain erupting to life. Everybody looked up at the mountain, which suddenly had a full plume of ash and smoke stretching to the heavens. "Oh, no!"
S—K—I—A—A—S—S
At the square…
The Gaang, with Appa behind them, hurried to the villagers to tell them what they knew.
"Everyone!", Sokka called. "That volcano is gonna blow any second. Aunt Wu was wrong!"
"Yeah, yeah, we know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, Mr. Science and Reason Lover.", a young girl in the crowd simply said.
Katara stepped in. "If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to me. I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do, but my brother, Idano, and Aang saw the lava with their own eyes."
"Well I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears.", Lugn merely replied.
Aang had enough of this and airbent himself up onto the roof of Aunt Wu's house.
"Please listen to us!", he declared. "You are all in danger! And we have to get out of here. You can't rely on Aunt Wu's prediction. You have to take fate into your own hands."
Just then, there was another explosion, which everybody felt.
"Look!", Sokka said as he pointed to the mountain, which was spewing smoke. "Can your fortunetelling explain that?"
To everyone's surprise, especially the Shisnos, the villagers remained calm and one of them asked, "Can your science explain why it rains?"
"Yes! Yes, it can!", Idano yelled. "I'll even explain it to you right now!"
He then used his Thoughtbending to give them a quick explanation of the water cycle. (4) Despite this, the crowd simply dispersed back to their homes.
"I can't believe this!", Aixata screamed. "This is a severe violation of common sense! I'm declaring them 'too dumb to live'!"
"They just won't listen to reason.", Sneers sighed.
"But they will listen to Aunt Wu.", Aang told them.
"I know.", Sokka said with a frown. "That's the problem."
"Well, it's about to become the solution. We're taking fate in our own hands."
"Hold on a second!", Idano cut in. "What exactly did Aunt Wu predict?"
"She predicted the village will not be destroyed by the volcano this year."
"Then let's get outta here!", Idano said as he hopped on Appa.
"But the village—", Aang began to say.
"—will then stop believing in Aunt Wu's predictions. I know this is a hard decision to make, especially for you Aang, but if we attempt to save Makapu, the only other thing we'll accomplish is proving Aunt Wu right once again!"
Everybody was shocked at Idano's immoral choice, save for Aixata, who knew Idano was always one for logic, even if it meant a sadistic choice like this.
"So Aang, what do you wish to do for the betterment for Makapu?", Idano continued. "Do you want to save this village, or let them learn not to 'live on' prophecies? You can't do both, so you'll have to choose one. Whichever you decide, I'll follow you all the way through."
Aang thought about this for a minute, Sokka stared at Idano, Katara stared at Aang, and everyone else alternated between staring between the two. Finally, the Avatar made his choice.
"I choose to save the village.", Aang answered.
As Sokka sighed in defeat, Idano looked at Aang for a few seconds, then replied with a smile, "…I knew you'd say that. What should we do?"
S—K—I—A—A—S—S
A minute later…
The rest of the Gaang waited at Aunt Wu's door while Idano snuck into the topmost balcony.
"I wonder why Idano bothered asking when he knew Aang's answer?", Sneers asked.
"It's to see whether Aunt Wu's prediction was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not.", Aixata answered.
"Self-fulfilling prophecy?"
"Whenever anyone tries to avert a prophecy like this, for good or ill, the end result of their actions is to bring the prophecy about.", she explained. "The reason this may happen could be because of how vague the prophecy is, how people would react to hearing the prophecy, and other factors."
"Fate loves irony, it seems.", Aang remarked.
Meanwhile…
Idano made it to the reading room and searched for the cloud reading book. As he did that, he saw Meng's face on the polished metal gong in front of him, he saw Meng's face. He gulped in nervousness from the fact he was caught.
"You don't like me. Do you?", Meng asked sadly, her enormous hair braids wilting to match her mood.
Idano regained his composure. "Not the way you like me, I'm afraid."
"It's okay. It's just really hard when you like someone, but they don't think of you that way."
"I know exactly how that feels."
"She's beautiful, by the way.", Meng then said, changing the subject.
"Who?", Idano asked as he stood up and turned around. "My sister?"
"Not her, but she's beautiful too. It's the Water Tribe girl I was talking about. I can see that your cheerful friend with the tattoo on his head likes her so much." She counted out the reasons. "She's sweet, she's a bender, and her hair seems so manageable." She tried to mash her braids down, but it simply sprang up again. "I wish I'd find my true love someday."
"Don't worry." Idano put his hands on her shoulders. "You have a special somebody you're destined to be with, but it's not me."
"Okay." Idano turned to continue looking when Meng interrupted, "Wait! Don't you want this?" She handed him the cloud reading book in her robe.
"How did you—"
"I've kind of been stalking you…heh!", Meng apologized.
Idano shook his head and thanked Meng.
I—A—A—S—M—I—A—A—S—M (Idano, Aang, Aixata, Sneers, Meng)
Later…
Appa was flying through the clouds with Aang, Katara, and Aixata on his back.
"Clouds are made of water and air so between the two of you, you ought to be able to bend them into any shape you want.", Aixata said as she looked through the book. "…Ah! Here's the symbol for volcanic doom!"
Together, the two benders manipulated the clouds to form the desired shape, Aixata guiding their every move.
Down below, the villagers looked up to see the clouds shifting. Idano was bringing Aunt Wu over to her stage as he pointed to the sky.
"Aunt Wu, look!", he said. "Something is happening in the clouds."
"That's very strange. It shouldn't—Oh my!"
Aunt Wu looked horrified as she saw a skull-shaped cloud, predicting volcanic doom.
S—K—I—Z—I—A—M—A (5)
On the Seeker…
"I thought I told him to get rid of the statue!"
Moritz was infuriated that Iroh hasn't disposed of the weird monkey statue. He was sparring with Zuko on the ship's deck. The exiled prince was practicing Firebending while Moritz practiced 'mock display' of it. Iroh was watching the two and was sitting in the lotus position next to a short table with the statue.
"Come on, Moritz.", assured Iroh. "It's just a statue. What's the worst that can happen?"
"If you don't dispose of that soon, I'm sure we will end up regretting it someday."
"Why don't you explain why you don't want this here?"
"Private!", Zuko called. "Could we get back to our training?"
"Sorry, Prince Zuko!"
S—K—I—Z—I—A—M—A
Back at Makapu…
Aang was addressing the crowd in the village square. Luckily no one has suspected that he and Katara formed the clouds. Or at least that's what it seemed.
"We can still save the village if we act fast.", the airbender said. "Sokka has a plan."
"Lava's gonna flow downhill to this spot. If we can dig a deep enough trench we can channel all the lava away from the village to the river."
"If any of you are earthebenders come with me.", Aixata said.
One of the twins earlier, who upon closer look had no footwear, raised his said, "I'm an earthbender!"
"I'm not!", the other one said, who did have footwear.
"Everybody else grab a shovel.", Sokka ordered as he raised one up. Just then, there was another explosion.
"Come on, we've gotta hurry!", Sneers said as he led the way. As lightning, the crowd dispersed.
In minutes, everybody was working to dig the trench. The townspeople used either manual labor or Earthbending, Sneers, Idano, and Sokka dug with the rest, Aixata joined the earthbenders in…moving the earth, Appa carried loads of rocks via ropes, and the rest gave out orders under Sokka's plan. Just then there was another explosion and Mt. Makapu started to spew lava.
"Dig faster! Dig faster!", Sokka frantically ordered.
Finally, the trench was connected to the river.
From above the trench, Shyu called, "Everyone needs to evacuate! We'll come for you when it's safe!"
Everybody complied and minutes later, the village was empty save for the Gaang. It was now precipitating ash. Soon, the lava reached the village gate and engulfed it, along with a couple of headstones, presumably where the cemetery is. Finally, the lava reached the trench and began to fill rapidly, its progress temporarily halted. The Gaang observed it all from the safe side of the trench, except for Idano and Aixata, who decided to flee for some reason.
"It's too much!", Katara gasped. "It's gonna overflow!"
Another explosion rocked the village as burning ejecta began to rain down with the ash. Katara, Sokka, Sneers, and Shyu began to run, but turned to see that Aang hasn't moved. A huge boulder then fell out of the sky and landed in the trench, exploding. Aang then rushed forward with a furious war cry and launched himself into the air and began to airbend. As the lava began to overflow, Aang blew the lava straight up, rather than allowing it to advance on the village. Finally, he drew in a mighty intake of breath and expelled it, airbending it as it exited, cooling all the lava to stone. Aang then relaxed and assumed a meditation pose, calming himself after the massive exertion. Aang's friends watched in awe. While Mt. Makapu was still erupting, it was no longer threatening the village.
"Man, sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is.", Sokka said to himself.
Katara's expression instantly changed at this, remembering Aunt Wu's words.
"Wait, what did you just say?", she asked.
"Nothing, just that Aang is one powerful bender."
Katara looked back at Aang and saw his figure was wreathed in the red glow of the lava still seething behind the stone shield Aang created.
"I suppose he is…", Katara muttered.
After a minute of silence, Sokka decided to change the subject.
"I have a question.", he said to Idano. "Why did you and Aixata run off early when the lava approached? It wasn't that hot yet."
"Well, it was too hot already for the two of us.", the Shisno explained. "Besides, we did explain that we were from another world. The two of us aren't as resilient to the elements as the humans here. That includes non-benders like you."
"I see."
S—K—I—A—S—S
The next day…
Everybody was assembled at the village, admiring the new stone wall that now served as an effective barrier. Aunt Wu stood at one side, the villagers (and Meng) behind her, and Idano stood at the other, his friends behind him. The latter then offered offering the former back the cloud book he 'borrowed'.
"By the way, sorry for using your book without permission."
"So you messed with the clouds, did you?", Aunt Wu said as she grabbed the book.
"No. It was these two." Idano thumbed toward Katara and Aang. "Although I conspired with them too."
She stared at them for a few moments before finally laughing, and then saying, "Very clever!"
"No offense, but I hope this taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortunetelling.", Sokka declared.
"But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn't be destroyed, and it wasn't. She was right, after all.", Lugn pointed out.
"But still, could you teach them that lesson, Aunt Wu?", Idano requested.
"Why?"
"It's for their sakes. When we saw the first signs of eruption, including the blatant smoking of the volcano and the occasional rumbles, that would normally prompt ordinary people to run for it. These people however, thanks to total reliance on your predictions, they didn't so much as panic and would've perished were it not for us. As a matter of fact, I was even considering to abandon the village to teach that lesson."
"You were going to what?", gasped one of the villagers.
"I know it's amoral, but I could not think of any other way to convince them of the volcano's eruption. *sigh* Luckily, as Aang is our leader, we did not come to that. Just remember what I said; it's for their own good."
Aunt Wu nodded from this as Idano went to prepare Appa for takeoff. Just then, Aang turned to ask her a question and requested to do so, when she agreed, he said, "You didn't really see love in my fortune, did you? You just told me what I wanted to hear."
"I'll tell you a little secret, young Airbender.", she said. "Just as you reshaped those clouds, you have the power to reshape your own destiny."
Meanwhile, everyone else have got up on Appa, with Idano at the reins. As Meng stood in front of the bison, the Shisno said, "Goodbye everyone! Do not live your lives wholly on Aunt Wu and it will be worth living! And Meng, take care."
"You too!", Meng waved as Aang hopped on and the Gaang took off.
"Floozy…", Idano muttered to himself, then realized he did. "Now why did I say that?"
X Lugn Tyyni
Resident of the village of Makapu. He is an absolute believer of Aunt Wu's predictions and is shown to be quite proficient t dodging as we saw from the platypus-bear attack.
X Meng
Aunt Wu's apprentice. She had a major crush on me (Idano), but I quickly settled the matter.
X Aunt Wu
The fortuneteller of Makapu Village. Her predictions are taken as gospel by the villagers and this almost cost them their lives. Despite this, she doesn't believe in predestination and claims that her predictions will come true only if a person wishes them to.
(1) Back at "The Blue Spirit".
(2) I know that Zuko and his crew never appear in the episode, but this is my fanfic, so deal with it.
(3) In this world, papaya is a little-liked fruit, but is used for other purposes.
(4) If you don't know what this is, go back to grade school.
(5) I know this part is too random, but like I said before, it's my fanfic.