Chapter XXIX: Arrival
Two days passed. Jin was no longer plagued by nightmares, but that was because something else was on his mind. Toph now barely spoke to him; it felt that the only times they did speak was when she gave him instructions during training. Now that his nightmares had subsided, the others agreed to resume Jin's training. Jin was thankful, as it distracted him, if only briefly, from the incident. But as time passed, Jin began to realize something- in spite of the knowledge his friends passed onto him, he knew he would need more help. He knew he would need the knowledge of his predecessors.
So on that morning, two days after the incident, he approached the others and said, "Guys, there's something I need to tell you." The others all looked at him, with the exception of Toph, listening. "I know you guys have all been training with me, helping me master the four elements, but I don't think it's enough to beat the Order. I need to learn more about the Avatar's powers."
"So what are you going to do?" Kohta asked.
"I need to go to the Spirit World and talk to Avatar Aang. I'm sure he can help me." He sat down in front of the campfire, his legs crossed. "I'll be back in a few, um…" When would he back? In a few minutes? Hours? Days? The last time he had been to the Spirit World, what had felt like only an hour had turned out to be almost two weeks. Finally, he said, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
He began concentrating, trying to figure out how to get to the Spirit World. Last time, the other Avatars had brought his spirit there while he was unconscious. This time, however, he would have to get there on his own. He looked down at the fire, watching the flames dance as they consumed the leaves and branches within. It was mesmerizing, intoxicating even, to watch as those flames blackened the wood until there was nothing left.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Jin sat with his eyes and arm glowing a pure white. The others looked on, stunned. "What happened to him?" Yu asked.
"He must have crossed over to the Spirit World," Kohta replied. "He should be fine as we do not move his body."
Suddenly, Jin found himself sitting in front of a large open gate. He stood up and looked around; thick, oddly shaped trees surrounded his sides and back, while the front opened into a large, flat plain. Everything was surrounded by a yellowish haze- this, along with the trees, confirmed without a doubt that he was in the Spirit World. He stood up and passed through the gate, having nowhere else to go. The plain before him was devoid of any plants, and made of some sort of rock. He called out, "Aang!" His voice echoed across the plain, stirring up some sort of animal hidden by the haze. "Aang, I need to talk to you!" At that moment, a powerful gust of wind blew across the plain, kicking up a large cloud of dust. The dust blew away almost as soon as it had appeared, revealing Aang, and he said, "It's so good to see you again, Jin."
The other four looked on for a few moments before Kohta said, "Jin has the right idea. We need to start making our own preparations for the invasion."
Yu leaned back and asked, "Isn't that what we've been doing for the last three weeks?"
"Yes, but that is not what I meant. We need to begin planning for the invasion."
"Well, shouldn't we wait until Jin comes back? I'm sure he'd want to know about this." Nina said.
"We do not have enough information about the Order's plan to form a complete one of our own- that will have to wait until the other members of the White Louts arrive. This is only a rough outline of our primary targets during the invasion." Nina did not voice any complaints (and neither did the others), so Kohta continued. "From the information the Grand Masters have sent me, we have three primary targets." Kohta picked up a stick from the ground and drew three large boxes in a line. In the first box, he drew a rough sketch of an airship. "Our first and highest priority target is the Order's Mobile Fortress. From what our moles have told us, the Mobile Fortress is the Order's primary method for mobilizing large numbers of troops, and they will be using it during the invasion."
"Okay," Yu said, "but why is taking out some airship more important than Rei?"
"I was just getting to that. Neutralizing the Mobile Fortress is most important because, if it able to escape, it will return to the Order's headquarters and either allow the remainder of their forces to escape, or bring additional forces to the battlefield."
"Wait, so the Order isn't bringing all their forces with them?" Toph asked. "I thought the Order would be going all out to capture Ba Sing Se."
"No. The Order is relying mainly on the element of surprise to capture Ba Sing Se, so they are only using a small force to invade the city. The risk is high for them, but if they succeed, they will have an impenetrable fortress from which they can launch their invasion. But, by destroying the Mobile Fortress, it will prevent the Order from supplying reinforcements, and prevent their surviving troops from retreating."
He wrote a name in the second box. "Our next target, after neutralizing the Mobile Fortress, is Rei. She is the most powerful and most dangerous tool at the Order's disposal. There is only one person on our side who could possibly stand a chance against her, and I imagine he will want to face her alone. I cannot be entirely sure, but if Jin manages to defeat Rei, it may cause a panic in the Order's forces, if they do not outright surrender." He wrote another name in the last box. "Our third and final target is Commander Rao. He will be leading the Order's forces on the day of the invasion, but neutralizing the Mobile Fortress and Rei comes first. However, if we are able to capture or otherwise neutralize Rao, then the Order's remaining forces will be thrown into disarray and very likely surrender." Kohta thought for a moment, and then said, "I think that covers everything. Are there any questions?"
There were none.
"Aang, I need your help. I've been training with the others, but I still don't feel like I'm ready. Is there anything you can teach me? Anything that'll help me in the invasion?"
Aang crossed his arms. "Mastering the elements takes years of practice. And you're right to be worried- no matter how much training you do, three weeks simply isn't enough time for you to do it all. But there is a special technique, a technique that was taught to me by a very powerful being- a lion turtle."
"A lion turtle? So, do I have to find this thing so he can teach me whatever this technique is?"
"No. The last lion turtle died after the war three hundred years ago. But he passed the knowledge of this technique onto me, and now, I shall pass this knowledge on to you." He clasped his hands in front of his chest. "I realize that I might have asked too much of you when I told you that you had to kill Rei. The technique I'm about to teach you can allow you to defeat Rei, without killing her." He closed his eyes, concentrating. "Long ago, before the Avatar, and even before the separation of the four elements, we bent the energy in our own bodies." As Aang spoke, small white tendrils began appearing around him. "This technique can be used to do many different things- to share knowledge or experiences, to give strength or life, to connect with others beyond any physical sensation. And while this technique can be used to give, it can also be used to take as well. With this technique, you can take away a person's bending."
"You can do that?"
"Yes, but it is very dangerous. If you're not strong enough, the other can take away your bending instead." He noted the look of horror that spread across Jin's face. "But as long as you remember what I've taught you, you have nothing to be afraid of." The tendrils that Aang had summoned had grown much larger, and glowed in a brilliant white light. "The energy within your body can be controlled like any other element, but you must draw it out first. Concentrate on drawing the energy out of your body."
Jin nodded, and closed his eyes, focusing on controlling the energy inside him. He could feel it flow as he manipulated it, as he tried to pull it out, until… He opened his eyes again- a small white wisp floated near his side. He held up his arm and flexed his fingers, pulling it towards his hand. When it came close, he noticed it was incredibly warm- not uncomfortably so, but the heat that radiated from the small wisp was more intense than any fire Jin had been able to create. He began to manipulate it further; stretching it, compressing, dividing. It was so strange- it was unlike any of the four elements, and yet it seemed to have traits of all of them.
"Amazing isn't it?" Aang asked. "This kind of bending- energybending- is the only kind that can be used in the Spirit World. And it is also your key to taking away another's bending."
"How?"
"Before you can take away another person's bending, you must first enter their mind. Once there, your spirit and theirs will do battle. If you can force your opponent's soul into submission, then, and only then, can you take away their bending." Aang lowered himself into a fighting stance. "But first, you'll have to get that far."
Kohta was the first to awaken. He knew he would he would need to revise the plan, but it was the best he could do regarding what little information he had. He emerged from his tent; he saw Jin still sitting in front of the fire pit. Jin had now been sitting motionless in that spot for nearly an entire day. Kohta wondered to himself if this sort of thing was normal for an Avatar. After a few minutes, Yu emerged from his tent. "Hey Kohta," he said. Then he looked over at Jin. "Is he still in the Spirit World?"
"It seems that way."
"Is he doing alright? Shouldn't he have come back by now?"
"He seems to be okay. And I am sure Jin will come back as soon as he can."
There was a short pause before Yu asked, "Kohta, this might seem off topic, but why do you talk like that?"
"Well, my father taught me that one of the most important skills to learn as a leader is communication. So, as the leader of my tribe, I must ensure that everything I say is understood perfectly by anyone who hears me."
"Oh."
Toph's earth tent sank into the ground and she joined the two by the fire pit. "Hey," she said, "Jin's not back." Nina then sat down by the fire pit as well, and asked, "How long is this supposed to take, anyway?"
"Who knows," Yu replied. "I just hope he gets back before the invasion."
Toph felt something through the ground. "Uh, guys? There's something coming this way. A lot of somethings." The four readied themselves. Toph could feel them coming towards their camp. After a few tense minutes, one emerged from the woods. Kohta was the first to react- he pulled a stream of water from the ocean and hurled it at the intruder. Suddenly, a wall of sand shot up fro the ground, blocking the stream of water. Kohta dropped his guard at once. "You're a bender?" he asked the intruder.
The wall of sand collapsed back into the ground. "Yeah," the intruder replied, "and I guess you guys are too." With the sand wall out of the way, the group was now able to get a good look at the intruder- he wore heavy clothes of brown and tan, the sleeves of his shirt and pants wrapped down with bandages. Most peculiarly, he wore a cloth around his head that obscured most of his face, save for a small slit for his eyes. But even then, he wore a strange pair of glasses with small slits instead of lenses.
"Who are you?" Kohta asked.
"I'm Ren," the intruder replied. He then took off his glasses and unwrapped the cloth around his head, revealing brown hair and eyes underneath. "This is where we're supposed to meet, right?" He reached into a pocket in his clothing and pulled out a white lotus tile. Kohta spotted this and asked, "You are with the White Louts, then?"
"Yeah. Does that mean you're with the Avatar?"
"We are." Ren relaxed slightly, then said to someone behind him, "It's all clear." A half dozen other people emerged from the trees, all wearing heavy clothes with wrapped sleeves. The four looked at them for several moments before Nina asked, "Is that all? Shouldn't there be more of you?"
Ren scratched his head. "Well, my father told me to go here with the warriors from our village. He's still back in the Si Wong Desert gathering sandbenders together." Kohta then said, "I see. Well, this is the rendezvous point. Your group is the first to arrive. Just make yourself at home."
Ren turned back to his small group. "San, Ka, help me set up camp. The rest of you, go back and get our stuff." Four of the people complied and returned to the woods; the remaining two stepped forward next to Ren. Kohta watched as the three of them erected buildings from the sand at near-blinding speed, one for each person in their party. When they had finished, Ren approached Kohta and asked, "That's him, isn't it? The Avatar." He pointed to where Jin sat. Kohta nodded. "Wow" Ren said. "I didn't think he'd be so young."
"Do not be fooled. He is very capable."
"I'll take your word for that."
Jin stood hunched over, trying to catch his breath. After a few moments, he stood upright. Aang stood a short distance away, waiting. When he saw that Jin was ready, he said, "Again." Jin pulled two strands of energy from his body and whipped them out at Aang. Aang easily sidestepped them and whipped out an energy strand of his own. Jin quickly pulled out another strand and stretched it, creating a shield to block the attack; when it made contact, he quickly tried to absorb it into the shield. Aang pulled back, but Jin was able to overpower him, and the tendril of energy disappeared into his shield.
"Good," he heard Aang say. "Absorb your opponent's energy, then use it against them." Jin focused and thrust out his arm, shattering the shield and throwing the thousands of shards directly at Aang. Aang created his own shield in response, but Jin swiped his arms several times, throwing out an arc of energy with each swing. The shards made contact, but failed to break through Aang's shield. Then, the arcs made contact- one, then another… when the third made contact, the shield fragmented and disappeared. Aang dodged the remaining swipes, but failed to notice that Jin had closed the distance between them. When he recovered from his evasion, he found Jin before him, arm outstretched, swathed with energy, pointed directly at his chest.
"Excellent," Aang said. "But keep in mind that you'll be at a disadvantage while inside another person. They can call upon their energies instantly, but it will take several moments for your energy to reach you- that's why it's important for you to learn to control another person's energy. But now, you need to return to your world. Remember what I have taught you." The world slowly faded into darkness, and Jin felt the sensation of falling.
Suddenly, Jin found himself on the beach. He became especially aware of an acute pain in his back, so he stretched, partly relieving the pressure. "Jin," he heard Yu's voice say. "You're back." Jin looked over to see Yu sitting in front of the fire a few feet away. Jin stood up, stretching his legs, and asked, "How long was I gone?"
"Two days."
"Really? I didn't mean to be gone that long."
"Don't worry about it. But you're not gonna believe what happened while you were gone. People showed up! They're gonna help us fight the Order!"
"Really? That's great! Can I meet them?"
"Sure. Come on."
