Chapter Twenty-Four

"Your earthbending is truly abysmal."

Aang continued transferring chunks of earth from one end of their campsite to the other and tried not to take Azuka's brutal assessment of his skills to heart. After all, it was difficult to maintain a pleasant disposition when one was constantly tired, dusty, hungry…and hunted. And Azuka had never had the bubbliest personality to start, so it wasn't a long fall to surly for her. Still, Aang understood. The past two weeks for them had been the very definition of "extreme duress."

Following their brief huddle in the ice cave and established truce, Aang and Azuka had resumed their journey in the small hours of the morning before the sun was visible. They'd hoped that the darkness would cloak them as they continued their flight away from the North Pole. Much to Aang's chagrin, however, Azuka had been right about her father's determination and he had sent trackers after them on foot. The instant they were spotted in the sky, a warning flare went up for the Fire Navy fleet so when Aang, Azuka and Appa finally flew over the sea, Sozin and his armada was waiting.

He and Azuka spent the first hour of that morning, after a frosty night with very little sleep, dodging fire strikes. Although they were running on empty, they traveled non-stop until they reached the edge of the Fire Nation border before stopping to camp out for the night. Azuka had been so exhausted that she didn't even complain about having to sleep in the dirt. But their respite was short-lived.

When Azuka went into the small Fire Nation village the following morning to purchase necessary supplies for their journey (because Aang's tattoos made him too visible), she discovered the wanted posters of themselves all over the square. Sozin had wasted no time splashing their likenesses all over the Fire Nation, thereby insuring that anyone they came across would know they were the enemy. Aang had already been at a disadvantage because airbenders were being hunted in general, but now Azuka was just as wanted as he was. Keeping a low profile became imperative. They knew they wouldn't be safe as long as they remained in the Fire Nation. And so, they kept moving.

Unfortunately, being inconspicuous was a little difficult while flying around on a ten ton bison. Most of the time they stayed on the ground because they knew the Fire Nation military would be watching the skies for them. However, for the instances when they opted for air travel, Azuka would guide Appa while Aang maintained a camouflage cloud cover around them. It was a nifty little trick that he had learned from his dreams, but it was also rather tricky and exhausting to do alone. Aang couldn't help but think about the many times he and Katara had done it together.

When he was up there in Appa's saddle, gathering and shifting the water vapor in the atmosphere, Aang could almost imagine her standing directly across from him doing the exact same thing. They would smile together, their movements synchronized and fluid, completely together in mind and body with one another and without having to speak a single word. Aang understood then why the aching loss of her felt more and more acute every day. How could it not feel that way when she was literally linked to his soul? It didn't matter that she had yet to exist in reality. She already existed in Aang's heart and, without her, Aang felt like he was missing a vital piece of himself.

His hopes that he could contact Roku for answers were dashed when he discovered that meditating his way into the spirit world proved to be an unobtainable endeavor. It felt as if there were an obstacle blocking his path to spiritual enlightenment…or like he was being deliberately barred somehow… But that made absolutely no sense and obsessing over it only made Aang feel more aggravated. He had no definitive answers for what was happening to him and he also had way of gaining those answers either. Aang couldn't help but feel as if he was groping around in the dark. As a result of that disheartening reality, he grew more and more discouraged as the weeks dragged on.

Determined to remain focused then, Aang did his best to stuff his feelings and his pressing need for answers and, instead, concentrate on the mission at hand. He still didn't have a clear direction of what he wanted to do beyond getting through the Fire Nation unscathed. It was unspoken between him and Azuka that they would cross over into the Earth Kingdom and meet up with the gathering army there, but Aang had no idea what was going to happen after that. He still wasn't ready to face the Firelord. His firebending and earthbending still needed some refinement and, regrettably, he didn't have an instructor at his disposal to aid with the latter. That was a problem he planned to tackle once he and Azuka were safely through the Fire Nation.

For nearly two weeks straight, they traveled nearly non-stop, breaking only when Aang found himself distracted with helping anyone he came across who was in need. His compassion and kindheartedness exasperated Azuka in the beginning because she was constantly aware of the bounty on their heads. In her mind, he was subjecting them to needless scrutiny and jeopardizing their lives each time he reached out his helping hand. She thought it was a colossal waste of their limited time and resources.

"If you don't help them, then someone else will," she would often tell him, "They will be fine!"

"And if I can help then and I don't, how am I supposed to live with myself?" Aang would often counter.

It was inevitable then that Aang would inadvertently give away his identity to some kindly old Fire Nation citizen or some grateful family and Azuka would want to throttle him every single time. She lived in fear every second of every day that her father would crush them both before Aang was ready to face him. But a strange thing happened. Rather than turning them over to the Fire Nation authorities, Azuka noticed that the opinion of the Avatar and the Air Nomads in general began to change among her people.

As they passed through the territory on their way to the Earth Kingdom with the hopes of rendezvousing with the army there, Aang and Azuka were shown untold amounts of kindness. They were given food, shelter, clothing and even money to sustain them while they traveled from town to town. Often, their generous hosts would give them the names of trusted individuals with whom they could stay while they continued their journey so that they would always have a safe place to rest no matter where they went next.

The reverence and respect that was shown to Aang as the Avatar and her as the Fire Nation princess astounded Azuka. Not everyone treated them as traitors. Not everyone viewed them as the enemy. There were some who did, some who would have gladly turned them over for the offered reward. But there was also a good amount of people who wanted to help them and who had been compelled to do so because Aang had been willing to help first. Upon realizing that, Azuka didn't find his side rescue missions quite as irritating as she had in the beginning. In fact, she grew to respect and admire Aang a little more every day…not that she would ever tell him so.

Now, they had finally reached the safety of the Fire Nation border. Just a day's journey over the ocean and they would finally cross over into the Earth Kingdom. It was a relief, but it didn't solve their current and most pressing problem. Aang needed an earthbending teacher. His firebending and waterbending were being honed with each passing day, but he still had much more to learn as far as earthbending was concerned. Scooping up dirt and plopping it from one location to another simply wasn't going to cut it. Azuka told him as much.

Aang dropped his stance and regarded her with a despondent scowl. "I know that. I'm trying to practice and draw on the things I already know, but…I need guidance. I've tried learning from the things I see in my dreams, but it's not enough. I still need someone to teach me the fundamentals…someone hands on."

"You need an instructor," Azuka said, "We knew this already."

"So how do we find one?"

Azuka stroked her chin thoughtfully. "That's the exact question I've been asking myself for two weeks and I still don't have an answer. It's not like we can hold auditions for this sort of thing."

Aang scratched his head. "Nah, I guess we can't," he considered seriously, only to burst into a wide grin seconds later when he added, "But it sure would be fun!"

"You would think so," Azuka retorted with a roll of her eyes, "Can you possibly be serious and focus for two seconds here? This is a real problem."

"What's the big deal anyway?" he considered with a shrug, "We'll be entering the Earth Kingdom in another day. I'm bound to find an instructor there somewhere."

"You mean someone who isn't preoccupied with the war or under Fire Nation control or generally too frightened to get involved with anything dealing with the Avatar?" she speculated sardonically, "It's not going to be as easy as you think, Aang. You need some sort of strategy."

"I got it!" Aang exclaimed with a snap of his fingers, making it abundantly clear that all Azuka had said to him went in one ear and out the other, "We'll go to Omashu! I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier!"

"What's in Omashu?"

Aang favored her with a feline smile. "My earthbending teacher. You're going to love him, Zuka!"

Azuka dropped her head forward with a heavy groan of consternation. "Why do I get the distinct impression that I'm going to regret this?"

Omashu was located deep within the Earth Kingdom territory and tucked away in the mountains. It was a powerful stronghold that had not been touched by Fire Nation invasion. Yet, as Aang and Azuka sailed overhead on their way to the great city, they could see from their vantage point that would not be the case for long. The Fire Nation military had clearly set a course and it was headed directly towards Omashu. Aang's determination to reach the city increased tenfold. No longer was it simply a matter of obtaining an earthbending instructor, he had to warn the city's inhabitants of what was coming their way.

He opted to sneak in through the city's sewage system after leaving Appa in a secured place just outside the city's gates, rather than choosing a more direct route. Although he was known in the city and generally welcomed whenever he came, this time he was without Gyatso and he was also traveling with a guest some might deem as suspect. Not really wanting to go through the hassle of explaining why he was traveling with the Fire Nation princess then, Aang decided on a speedier approach. Speedier…but definitely not the cleanest option available.

When they emerged in one of the city squares less than an hour later, Azuka was not in the best of moods. For days she had been living on berries and nuts, sleeping on the ground and bathing in polluted rivers, but the final straw for her was slogging through raw sewage. There was a limit and Azuka had reached hers. Her disposition wasn't the least bit improved when Aang doused her in a torrent of water and then air blasted her dry either. That only irritated her further.

Aang cringed at the expression of escalating displeasure on her face. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"This bending instructor of yours had better be worth it," she warned him through clenched teeth, "Or I may have to turn you into roasted Avatar on a spit!"

"He's excellent!" he reassured her, "Trust me on this! Bumi and I go way back!"

"Wait a minute," Azuka balked before he could take off, "Are you telling me that this potential bending instructor that you've been raving about for days, this person who is supposed to be so 'excellent,' is a child?"

"Of course he is," Aang replied with a shrug, "So am I. So are you."

Azuka dropped her face into her hands. "Ugh…you can't be this naïve."

"You haven't seen him bend, Zuka. He's perfect for this."

"Fine!" she snapped, "Let's find him already. The sooner we do, the sooner I can have a real bath!"

Of course finding the aforementioned bender in a house was much too easy. Instead, Aang led Azuka to the very edge of the city and yet another set of tunnels, but these had been dug deep into the side of the mountain. The networking labyrinth of caverns within served as a hideaway for the city's inhabitants during disaster or attack. Barring those times, they were mostly abandoned…except for one, peculiar boy who had turned them into his private playground. Aang knew that Bumi favored one cave in particular and there was where he and Bumi hid themselves away whenever he visited Omashu. Their hideaway could only be accessed by an earthbender so it was a difficult place to find without prior knowledge of its location.

It took a fair bit of coaxing but Aang succeeded in convincing Azuka to accompany him into the caverns. He basically had to promise to be her servant boy for a week. After that she gladly provided Aang with light so that he could feel along the cavern walls for the place that marked his and Bumi's hideout. "We combined our names and carved them into the rock," he explained to Azuka as they moved deeper into the catacombs, "It was like our own secret symbol. Pretty neat, huh?"

The look on Azuka's face was anything but fascinated. "You are a master of intrigue, Aang."

It took a few minutes of searching but Aang finally located the markings. When he did, he gave three sharp knocks to the rock wall. They waited. Nothing happened. Azuka heaved an impatient sigh. Aang knocked again. They waited again. Azuka's sigh became a serrated groan. Finally, a panel of the rock slid away revealing a large pair of vivid, green eyes.

"Who goes there?" the voice from the other side demanded, "Are you friend or foe?"

"Bumi, it's me…Aang. Let us in!"

"You're not Aang. Aang is in the North Pole."

"Obviously I'm not because I'm standing right in front of you."

Green eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I don't know. You seem shady. What's the password? If you're Aang then you'll know the password."

"Bumi, come on! We made up two dozen passwords! We never decided on which one to use, remember? Let me in!"

"A likely story," Bumi growled, "No password. No pass."

"Do you have eyes?" Azuka snapped impatiently, "Surely you can see that he's who he claims to be!"

"Yes, I'll admit it," Bumi replied in a wary tone, "He looks like Aang. He sounds like Aang." He pressed his nose to the opening and took a huge whiff. "He smells like Aang. But I'm not convinced. He could very well be an Aang pod grown from vegetables…probably cabbage…and sent here to take over the city."

Azuka blinked at him. "You think he's a pod grown from cabbage?"

"Maybe mushrooms too. I can't be too sure."

He seemed so perfectly sincere that Azuka couldn't keep herself from asking, "Are you insane?"

Bumi's green eyes twinkled with merriment and maniacal fervor. "Listen, I think you're pretty, but we just met. Don't you think flirting is a little forward?"

"Aang…" Azuka growled in an under-breath, "Do something or I will!"

"It's just one little password…" Bumi wheedled.

"Fine," Aang sighed, wracking his brain for the numerous suggestions he and Bumi had tossed around more than six months before. He decided to settle on the last one they had debated. "What about…um… pipinpadaloxicopolis? How about that one?"

The rock panel abruptly slammed closed. The resulting draft snuffed out the flame in the center of Azuka's palm and left them cloaked in darkness. She sighed once more, reignited the flare and turned slightly to flick Aang with a deadpan glance. "I'm thinking perhaps that was the wrong password."

"Yeah…me too."

"Now what?"

"Sometimes he can be a little…"

"Crazy? Mad? Completely off his cabbage?"

"Eccentric," Aang provided meaningfully. "He'll come around. Maybe we should knock again."

Just as he lifted his fist to do just that, the entire wall of the cave slid away revealing a short, wild-haired boy who looked almost as crazy as he'd sounded. He threw his arms open with a wide smile. "Aang, buddy! Where have you been? It's good to see you again!"

The two boys embraced each other with smiles and laughter. "It's good to see you again too, Bumi."

Bumi cocked an appraising eye over at a sullen and windblown Azuka. "Who's the broad?"

"This is Zuka," Aang replied, "She's my friend. She's teaching me firebending."

"Yeah…I heard about you being the Avatar," Bumi said, "I forgive you for not telling me by the way."

"That's good because it's not like I knew anyway."

"Well, you made out pretty good with everything it seems," Bumi considered. A sly grin suddenly spread across his face as he considered Azuka and he moved closer to poke Aang in the ribs with his elbow. "Your girlfriend isn't half bad. And she makes fire too? That's pretty sweet!"

While Aang blushed the deepest shade of red imaginable, Azuka lifted her chin with a disdainful sniff and stated in a tone that brooked absolutely no argument, "No. Not even in his wildest dreams, little odd boy."

"Bumi, we have a problem," Aang interjected quickly before they could fly off on a tangent, "On our way here, Zuka and I spotted something terrible. The Fire Nation is on their way to Omashu as we speak. They're maybe a two or three day's journey away from Omashu. We have to warn your father so he can tell the king and prepare the city!" He turned to Azuka to explain. "Bumi's dad is the king's cousin. He can get in to see him without a problem."

"You're right," Bumi agreed, "My dad shouldn't have a problem talking to the king. We should tell him right away!"

Yet, despite his agreement, the young earthbender made no move to run off and do just that. In fact, he merely stood there grinning at Aang rather stupidly. Azuka snapped her fingers in front of his nose impatiently. "You might want to do that now," she prompted him tersely.

"Oh, I can't do that now," Bumi snorted, "We have to ride the mail chute first! Duh! Don't you know anything? Aang, what's wrong with your girl? Her priorities are all screwed up. She's very strange." He hopped around a gaping Azuka and gestured for her and Aang to follow him. "Well come on, you two! Stop wasting time! I want to show you my city. It's the greatest place in the world!"

"Bumi has never been outside of Omashu before," Aang whispered to Azuka in aside, "He loves it here." He frowned pensively. "That might be a problem for us later…"

"That's all well and fine," Azuka hissed back after the young Earthbender had bounded off, "but you do know that your friend is a couple of berries short of a fruit tart, right?"

Aang grinned. "I know. Isn't it great?"

He ran to catch up with Bumi then, leaving Azuka behind to massage her suddenly aching temples. She didn't think that the situation could possibly get any more aggravating…until she saw the mail chutes. At that point, Azuka was fairly certain they were going to die before they ever gave Bumi's father the warning that his city was in danger. They were long, winding structures that rather resembled large earthen slides. They started at the very pinnacle of the mountainous city and then curved and crisscrossed to different zones of the city. Aang and Bumi actually expected her to climb into what amounted to a small, rectangular box and ride full speed down the chute like an idiot. Ultimately, she agreed, not because she had any real interest in breaking her neck but because the sooner they rode the thing, the sooner they could attend to real business.

The boys whooped and laughed like little maniacs. They soared down the chute going at top speed, assisted along by Aang's airbending. Right. Then left. The right again. Swift turns and hard jerks that left Azuka clutching the edges of the mail basin for dear life. Several times they encountered carts going at a much more sedate pace, but rather than stopping or slowing down, Bumi would simply use his earthbending to jump it and catapult them onto different chute. Azuka had never thrown up a single day in her life, not even when she had been her most ill, but riding Omashu's mail chutes brought her pretty close. When they went airborne Azuka was sure of two things…they were about to die and she was going to throw up all over everyone.

A few seconds later they came skidding to a halt in front of a tall, scowling man dressed from head to toe in Earth Kingdom military issue. With one plant of his foot and turn of his ankle, he brought the ride to an abrupt end. Azuka wanted to throw herself at his feet in gratitude, but Bumi and Aang merely smiled up at him with gamin smiles.

"Look, Dad!" Bumi exclaimed excitedly, "Aang came to visit!"

"Yes," his father murmured, surveyed the havoc and destruction they had left in their wake, "All the yelling and mayhem pretty much gave that away."

Shu, named in honor of the very Shu whom had helped to found the great city, gladly offered Aang and Azuka lodging for the night. He was concerned that the two of them had traveled so far without adult supervision, but when he learned that the Fire Nation was only a couple of days away from the city, his attention turned to the king and preparing the city for invasion. While he attended to that business and Azuka finally sank into a much earned bubble bath, Aang and Bumi caught up with each other.

"I can't believe you're really the Avatar," Bumi commented with a lopsided smile, "You've always just been my good friend, Aang…that weird kid from the Southern Air Temple. I didn't know that you were special. I wouldn't have made you play in the dirt all the time."

"I'm not special, Bumi," Aang told him, "I don't want you to start treating me differently. Everyone back at the Air Temple did that and I hated it."

"Well, I was going to make you a lettuce hat," Bumi considered with a shrug, "but if you don't want it…"

Aang laughed. "It really is good to see you again, Bumi. I've missed you, mad genius."

Bumi smiled and sprawled on his stomach across his bed. "So…can you stay awhile or do you need to get back to the North Pole soon? I figured Gyatso must have you on some kind of time limit or something."

The grin on Aang's face immediately faltered. "I can't go back," he murmured, "Not until after I've faced the Firelord and this conflict is over. It won't be safe for him…or anyone until I've stopped Sozin for good."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I have to complete my training first," Aang explained, "That's actually why I came here in the first place. I want you to be my earthbending instructor, Bumi."

Bumi bounced up onto his knees with a wide grin. "Are you kidding me? You never had to ask, buddy! When do we start? I can show you a few moves right now!"

"There's just one catch…" Aang prefaced slowly as Bumi jumped from the bed to begin demonstrating his impressive earthbending skills, "…you'd have to leave Omashu."