Chapter 49:
"Why didn't you tell me about your Dad's crazy plan sooner?" Aang demanded as he paced and stalked around.
"I didn't think I had to. I assumed that you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait!"
"Wait or not you should have told us this!" Freya snapped "The Fire Lord is going to wipe out the Earth Kingdom and you think you shouldn't tell us because of timing?" she asked angrily. Zuko frowned at her and she threw her hands into the air before running them through her hair in panic.
"This is bad. This is really, really bad." Aang said as he grabbed his head, shook it and fell to his knees.
"Aang, you don't have to do this alone." Katara assured him as she walked up behind him and Zuko and Toph joined her.
"Yeah. If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down." Toph said as Suki and Sokka joined them.
"Alright!" Sokka cheered raising his arm in enthusiasm. "Team Avatar is back!" he pointed from one bender to the other as he spoke. "Air. Water. Earth. Fire." He picked up two different leaves to imitate fan and a sword, giving Suki the fan one. "Fan and sword!" his leaf lost its straightness.
"Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together. But I wouldn't want to do it any other way." Aang smiled fondly.
Sokka, Katara, Toph and Suki all moved over to Aang and they shared a hug as Freya crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Yeah."
"Alright."
"Get over here, Zuko." Katara said, catching his attention as he'd been watching Freya. They made a space for him between Suki and Toph. "Being part of the group also means being part of group hugs." Zuko pulled a look before he walked towards them and joined the hug.
"Freya?" Katara said
"I'm still mad a Zuko." she said and he sighed.
"You always seem mad at me."
"Are you surprised!" she snapped suddenly.
"He had a good reason." Aang said
"No reason is a good one for firing fire at someone!" she said
"I think Freya may have been a tad worried you'd reverted back to your old ways." Sokka said smirking at Zuko slightly
"Shut up Sokka." Freya snapped. There was a groan and they all turned to see Appa float down towards Freya before he shoved her into the others and onto Zuko and then proceeded to knock them all over in an effort to join the hugging.
Everyone laughed as Freya huffed.
"Thanks Appa." she muttered and he growled at her in response as Momo dropped onto his head.
Freya sighed. "Well considering things have changed I think we need to stop the beach party and do something proper." she said to everyone
"Like what?" Aang asked
"That's Sokka's choice he's the plan maker." she said "Just as long as it let's me knocked Zuko on his ass again." Zuko smiled at her.
"If it'll make you forgive me." and she scoffed in return as they all began to get to their feet. "But first there's something else I need to teach Aang." Zuko said looking at him and he looked at Zuko at the statement.
"Well everyone else can get dressed in the mean time." Suki offered.
Zuko and Aang stood in the courtyard facing one another as Freya walked out fully clothed again, moving to the steps as Katara followed her, sitting beside her.
"There's one technique you need to know before facing my Father. How to redirect lightning." Aang smiled slightly.
"Well how to create it might be a good one too." Freya said and Zuko looked at her annoyed.
"You trying to remind me I can't do it?"
"Pretty much." she said.
"Freya can though, I've seen her." Aang paused "Come to think of it, I've seen you redirect it too." and she nodded.
"I learnt it at the same time Zuko did. I was the only one between the two of us to be able to create lightning too." Zuko looked at her for reminding him before he sighed and turned back to Aang. He took a stance, widening his feet apart and raised his arms.
"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." Zuko began to make the same motion Iroh had made when he taught the prince the move, travelling his fingers down his arm, to his stomach and back up again. "You turn your opponent's energy against them."
"That's like waterbending." Aang realised
"Exactly. My Uncle invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders." Zuko admitted as Aang copied his motions.
"So... Have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang wondered
"Twice. Once against Freya in the Catacombs." Zuko admitted turning to her and Aang did the same.
"Though he didn't shoot it at me." she shrugged as Katara looked slightly worried
"And again against my Father." Zuko finished
"I can give you a demonstration if you'd like Aang." Freya offered, walking down the steps.
"You want to shoot lightning at me?!" Aang asked stepping back, stopping his motions and Zuko doing the same.
"I'm not shooting you, I'm gonna shoot Zuko." she shrugged casually and the firebender groaned
"Freya…" she shot him a look as he whined and he didn't continue.
"Maybe you shouldn't Freya." Katara said worried from behind her.
"Fine, I'll fire it at the sky." she said sounding disappointed as she walked into the middle of the courtyard. "If you'd like to see that is, Aang." she said turning to him.
"Show me!" he grinned.
Freya smiled before she took a breath and took her stance. She began to circle her hands downwards and up in a half circle, one after the other and lightning sparked, following her fingers before she shot one forward and the lightning cracked and sparked, shooting off into the sky before vanishing.
"Awesome." Aang grinned
"Lightning isn't a play toy." Freya said as she took a breath and then walked towards him and Zuko. "If you redirect lightning, you cannot let it cross you heart." she said placing a hand over her chest. "That much energy over your heart could cause it to stop, that's why you have to direct it down to your stomach." she said moving her own hand and he nodded. "Also remember that only Zuko, Iroh and I know this move beside you, Iroh made it himself and passed it on to us to tell you. We're the only ones who could shoot back if shot at us. If you redirect Ozai's lighting and fire it at him, he wont be able to stop it." she said and Aang's smile dropped from his face.
"What did it feel like? Redirecting lightning?" Aang asked, turning to Zuko beside him.
"Exhilarating." And the boy grinned. "But terrifying." Aang's grin fell from his face as Zuko added the last word. "You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body. But you know that you make the wrong move, it's over."
"Heh." Aang laughed nervously "Well, not over over, I mean there's always Katara and a little spirit water action... Am I right?" he said turn to the girl, all three benders turning to her.
"Actually I used it all up after Azula shot you." she confessed with Momo beside her.
"Oh." Aang said
"When you redirect lightning, it's not just your life that could be over." Freya warned gravely.
"You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life. Before he takes yours." Aang looked unsure as Zuko walked away.
"Yeah... I'll just do that." Aang muttered unsurely and Freya frowned at him as he glanced up at her.
"You guys all done?" Sokka and Suki stood by the door as he grinned with his sword strapped to his back. "Good, let's go." he had a melon under his arm, some fabric over his shoulder and Suki a few sticks.
"Go?" Katara asked. She shared a look with Aang before the three in the courtyard and Zuko who'd been heading for the door anyway, followed the water tribe boy with Suki.
They moved from the house and met Toph waiting for them outside of it before tracking up to the the rocky mountain points a little ways behind it and up from the house. Sokka started fiddling with the sticks and fabric before he had a scarecrow.
"Gather round Team Avatar." he slammed the melon onto the top and he'd carved a face into it and they all gathered before him, kneeling in a circle. "In order to take out the Fire Lord, or in this case, the "Melon Lord", our timing has to be perfect." He kneeled down to the dirt with a stick in his hand, he drew the face on the melon in the dirt before him. "First, Suki and I will draw his fire." He drew their direction around the left. "Then, Katara, Freya and Zuko charge in with some liquidy hot offence," This line was drawn straight at the melon lord. "And while the "Melon Lord" is distracted, Aang swoops in and "BAM!"" he drew a curved line around the right hand side and cut it right through the melon lord. "He delivers the final blow." Aang stared at the drawing unsurely.
"You realise this kind of plan likely wont actually work in a real fight right?" Freya said
"Why not?" Sokka asked
"Well, for one thing you've forgotten about Azula." Freya said obviously and Sokka's expression slumped. "Secondly, how would we even get this close to the Fire Lord without there being defences in place." she shrugged "An invasion could hardly get into the palace due to their guards' numbers, how could we get through all of them when there's seven of us. Even if we were stealthy and could get into the palace to get to the Fire Lord, there's still a lot of guards to get through. Which is another point, we have no guards here." she said obviously.
"I already thought about that," Sokka began
"Err... what about me?" Toph asked and Sokka grinned
"For now, you're the Melon Lord's forces." he said and Freya blinked before sighing.
"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?" she smirked
"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic." Sokka shrugged
"Sweetness."
"The exercise is more about our cooperation together more than realism." Sokka said to Freya who shrugged in response and got to her feet.
"Well then Toph will need some boulders, Zuko can you light some fires and Katara, you and I will find some oil to put on the boulders." Freya said and they all nodded.
The Melon Lord stood in top of the hill, it's arms up in the air and Toph was stationed before him.
"Muahahahahahaha!" she cackled. Boulders surrounded her, covered in black liquid and a few bowls filled with fire burned before them.
Freya, Katara and Zuko sat crouched behind some rocks, Aang a little ways to the side with Momo while Suki and Sokka, dressed in his armour, peered out at Toph. They waited for Sokka before he waved his hand for them to go.
Suki and Sokka ran across the ground while Zuko, Freya and Katara climbed their way up a ledge and ran across the ledges towards Toph.
The ground shook before Sokka and Suki and they came to a stop as earth soldiers, with horned helmets on their heads, rose out of the ground and grounded across toward them. Sokka drew his sword and sliced straight through the one in front of him while Suki jumped and bashed another to the ground, breaking it. They continued on, ignoring the last solider before a boulder went flying, covered in fire and landed right before them. Suki jumped, her legs apart and her hands on the rock as she jumped over it and the flames, Sokka however was lying flat on the floor the rock and fire inches from his nose.
"Watch it, Toph!" he shouted at her, waving his fist around as he'd lost his helmet, lying on the floor beside him.
"I am not Toph, I am "Melon Lord"! Muahahahahaha!" Toph laughed wickedly before she rose another oil covered boulder, placed it over a fire for it to catch alight and sent it flying up into the air and at the three benders charging up the path.
Zuko and Katara split sideways and Freya shot fire from her hands to shoot herself forwards and have the boulder land behind her. They continued onwards before more earth soldiers moved forwards and surrounded the three. Zuko and Katara stopped, standing back to back while Freya ran at one, jumped, one hand on it's shoulder before it exploded in a burst of flames and she continued forwards while Zuko and Katara whipped around water and fire to cut apart the others. Freya slid under another soldier Toph sent at her, whipping water from her pouch to slice it up before she continued her way towards Toph. The earth bender sent another flaming rock at her but Freya swirled her hands around before shooting the lightning at the rock and exploding it.
"Now, Aang!" Sokka yelled.
Aang ran up a ledge and up from behind Toph and the Melon Lord. He had his staff raised, ready to bash through the melon before he came to a stop and didn't bash the scarecrow. Everyone stood behind a rock as Freya landed beside Toph who had her back to the boy.
"What are you waiting for? Take him out!" Zuko shouted but Aang shook his head
"I can't."
Sokka was first to streak up towards the boy, the other's following.
"What's wrong with you? If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now." he scolded
"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself." Aang frowned. Sokka stared at him, raising an eyebrow, before he pulled out his sword and slung it behind him. Aang looked surprised as he cut the top off of the melon.
"There. That's how it's done." Sokka said and Aang looked at him surprised while Momo ran to the cut off piece of melon, licking it. Aang stared down at the broken melon unsurely.
