Chapter 50:
Night had fallen and everyone sat out in the courtyard eating dinner. Aang had hardly touched his as he had his back to the others and Katara walked out to join them.
"I have a surprise for everyone!" she called as she had a scroll in her hands.
"I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru!" Everyone looked at her and then up at Katara as if waiting for the answer as Katara gave her a frown.
"Er, no." Everyone returned to their rice, less interested. "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this." she unrolled the scroll in her hand to reveal a black haired baby painting staged at the beach. It's hands were in the air, a large smile on his face as he wore nothing back a red diaper. "Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute?" Katara teased as everyone chuckled
Freya tipped her head and rose an eyebrow. "That's not Zuko." she said looking at is unsurely.
"And how would you know?" Sokka asked smirking
"The hair's too dark for one." she said obviously as Zuko closed his eyes almost looking annoyed
"Oh lighten up, I was just teasing." Katara smiled
"That's not me. It's my Father."
Everyone was silent and Katara lowered the painting.
"But he looked so sweet and innocent." Suki said pointing at it and Katara rolled it up.
"Well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst Father in the history of Fathers." Zuko said
"But he is still a human being." Aang said, drawing everyone's attention.
"You're going to defend him?" Zuko questioned
"No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person and the World will probably be better off without him." Aang said as he got to his feet and turned to them. "But there's gotta be another way."
"Like what?" Zuko questioned
"I don't know." he frowned before grinning "Maybe we can make some big pots of glue and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore."
"Yeah. Then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again." Zuko said sarcastically, causing Suki and Sokka to snicker behind him.
"Do you really think that would work?" Aang asked naively
"No!" Zuko snapped and Aang hung his head with a sigh.
"This would be a lot easier if he could just not bend." Freya sighed before she turned to Zuko annoyed. "Why do you fire royalty need to all be benders?" Zuko gave her a look for having a go at him unnecessarily and she sighed.
"This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like…" Aang said as he paced in front of them all.
"Sure, you can. You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the Universe will forgive you." Sokka shrugged.
Aang rounded on hm angrily. "This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understands the position I'm in!" Sokka jumped at his outburst as Katara frowned.
"Aang, we do understand. It's just…" Katara began
"Just what, Katara?! What?" he demanded
"We're trying to help." Katara snapped back
"Then when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I love to hear it!" Aang shouted, throwing his hands in the air and then stalking towards the house.
"Aang, don't walk away from this." Katara snapped before she turned to follow him. Zuko caught her shoulder to stop her and she looked at him surprised.
"Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself."
"Besides, you're doing a bad job of trying to help him, you'll just upset him more." Freya said obviously before taking a sip from her bowl and everyone turned to her.
"What?" Katara asked
"Like you're much different." Zuko said and Freya shot him a look before turning to Katara.
"Tell me Katara, why didn't you run Yon Rha through with those icicles? Why didn't you do it?" Katara frowned and turned her are away. "Sokka when have you ever had to stain your sword with blood? Have you ever plunged it through someone's stomach?" he gazed to the side. "Taking a life is not something to do lightly. It all comes back to you conscious and your humanity. You're literally ending someone, killing someone is not as easy as slicing the top off of a melon." she said and Sokka glanced at Suki. "Aang's one of the most gentle people, not just as an Air Nomad. He's a vegetarian in order to not cause harm to animals and he just wants to help everyone. It doesn't matter what kind of person Ozai is, he is still a person." they all shared glances. "You wanna help, stop with the buts." she said
"What else do you expect us to do?" Katara asked
"Stop expecting a twelve year old to simply kill a person!" she snapped "You Katara should know it's not an easy thing to do! You had every reason to end that man and you couldn't, not you didn't, you couldn't, you really think Aang's any more capable!?" she demanded getting to her feet. "It's like you people don't know Aang at all! Telling him you want to help and then adding a 'but' in there, saying there's no choice, you really think that helps him?" They all frowned.
"Seriously its like I'm the only one who actually feels for him." she groaned before grabbing her plates and moving off inside.
Aang sat on one of the balconies with candles lit before him and some fruits in a bowl and a cup of water. He had his legs crossed and was meditating, his guilder leaning on the railing as the ocean sat in the distance. The door opened quietly behind him and Freya came out, closing it behind him before she moved to sit beside him. She took her own position, her legs crossed and putting her hands together before Aang glanced at her as she closed her eyes.
"You going to tell me to get over it?" he said sourly.
"Absolutely not." she responded calmly and he looked at her slightly surprised. "Taking a life is not exactly an easy thing, especially for someone as peaceful as a Nomad." she said smiling slightly. "I probably understand better because I met the monks and learned about their way of life unlike anyone else."
"They just don't seem to get it." Aang frowned talking about the others.
"More they're not opening their minds to another option."
"Like what?" Aang asked.
Freya sighed and slumped a little, turning to him. "I don't know." she frowned "Like I said, this wouldn't be a problem if he couldn't bend, we could just lock him in a cell somewhere and he wouldn't be able to get out."
Aang glanced back to the ocean before them. "Well that's not an option."
"Unfortunately." she grumbled. "If we could knock him out for ages than maybe we could build some really advanced cell, maybe in one of the Poles to trap him in but something like that would likely take time." Freya said as she leaned her head into her hand. "It's amazing how prepared we've made ourselves for this point and yet we still seem to have nothing."
"It wasn't until it came to this point that I even thought about what I was going to do, at the Invasion it never even occurred to me." Aang admitted and Freya nodded
"Not until Zuko asked." she understood as Momo flew down and landed before the boy, hopping into his lap and looking up at the boy, catching his attention.
"Hey, Momo." he pat the lemur's head. "I don't suppose you know what I should do." The lemur responded with a caw. "I didn't think so." he frowned before regaining his position and the lemur curled up beside him.
"You never know." Freya whispered turning back to the ocean "A solution may just present itself, somehow." she smiled at him. Aang smiled back.
"Thanks Freya." she placed an arm around his shoulders and he leaned his head on her shoulder.
"Any time, little brother." she grinned, earning a roll of the eyes from him.
"Remember I'm older than you."
"Not physically or mentally. Just in years." she chuckled.
Both children fell asleep out on the balcony with Momo, the candles going out after they'd burnt through the wick of the candles. Light shone from inside through the small windows and the moon lit some of the porch as the sky was clear.
A sound began through the night as Aang opened his eyes, looking blank and drowsy. It sounded like chanting as Aang sat up and in the ocean there was now a tree covered Island. Aang stood to his feet before walking towards the balcony railing, stepping over the small table of fruits and candles before he jumped over and down to the ground. Momo woke up chirping and moved to the railing before he cawed and cried a little. Freya sighed and she sat up rubbing her eyes before she looked at the lemur. He flew off towards the water as Freya looked at the island sleepily. She blinked a few times before she began to sway slightly and her eyes flittered shut as if she'd been hypnotised to sleep.
Aang however continued to walk down the path as though sleepwalking while Momo flew over his head. He left footprints in the sand as he moved toward the water and then walked straight into it. The water rose up as he walked until it was at his waist before he leaned forward and began to swim toward the mysterious island before him. Momo sat on the sand watching him before flying into the air and after the boy.
The sun rose shining on the ocean and on the house. The water crashed on the sand as everyone was getting up, having breakfast and packing Appa's saddle. Toph sat on the empty fountain in the courtyard behind the house as Sokka was in the saddle, everyone else standing beside the bison.
Freya began to stir as she was still lying on the balcony before she sat up. She rubbed her eyes tiredly before looking at the ocean, she blinked a few times, looking at it as if trying to comprehend, before she shook her head.
She looked around to find herself alone and by herself, Aang was missing and Momo was gone too. Freya noticed Aang's glider was still on the balcony as she ran a hand through her hair and shook it again, there was a fogginess in her mind that made her feel drowsy still. She looked at the sun and noticed it was rather high, it seemed she'd slept in much more than ever expected of her.
Voices sounded behind her shouting throughout the house before footsteps joined it. Eventually Sokka walked out behind her.
"Freya, there you are." he said and she turned to him
"Huh?" she asked
"Have you seen Aang?" he asked
"Aang?" she wondered before placing a hand to her head as if unsure. Sokka rose an eyebrow at her before he noticed Aang's glider. "He was here last night." she muttered as Katara joined him.
"Freya, what are you doing here?" she asked
"I just woke up." she admitted as Suki joined the three.
"But, you're always awake before us." Suki admitted as Sokka moved over to the glider, catching Katara's attention.
"Freya have you seen Aang?" she asked
"Not this morning." Freya admitted as she stood up. "Ugh my head feels foggy." she mumbled as she shook it again
"He left his staff. That's so strange." Sokka said as Zuko and Toph walked out as well.
"He was here last night." Freya said before Zuko came over to her
"Are you alright?"
"I dunno, I had a weird dream last night, and now I feel like I can't remove the drowsiness." she confessed and Zuko placed a hand on her shoulder before turning to the others.
"Aang's not in the house. Let's check the beach." He said.
They all left the house and moved down the path to the beach, along the sand where they found a set of footprints. Freya looked down at it before she got to the edge of the water and she stared out at it, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Look! There's his footprints." Sokka said crouching down at the end by Freya. "The trail ends here."
"So... He went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki asked confused.
"Maybe he was captured." Katara frowned
"I don't think so. There's no sign of a struggle." Sokka assured as Toph walked forward and crouched beside the water tribe boy.
"I bet he ran away again." she said
"Ah-uh. He left behind his glider and Appa." Sokka reminded him
"Then what do you think happened to him oh sleuthy one?" Toph questioned
"It's pretty obvious." Sokka said standing up "Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a Spirit World journey."
"But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko remembered
"Oh yeah, forgot about that." Sokka said slumping.
"Then he's gotta be somewhere on Ember Island. Let's split up and look for him." Katara decided.
"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph said before clinging herself to his arm and causing him to blush. Everyone stared at her surprised, beside Freya who was still staring at the water looking confused. "What? Everyone else went on a life changing fieldtrip with Zuko. Now it's my turn." Toph explained grinning. Sokka turned for the house to get Appa, while Katara and Suki, still dressed in Fire Nation red, moved off for the town. Zuko and Toph moved to go along the beach before Zuko realised Freya hadn't moved.
"Freya? Come on." he said and she blinked as though she hadn't heard him before turning.
"What?"
"What's with you?" Toph asked and she turned back to the ocean.
"There was an island there." she said
"What?" Zuko asked
"An Island? Where?" Toph asked
"In the ocean." she muttered
"Freya, there's no island."
"I know…" she muttered. "I don't understand." she rubbed her head "I swear I saw an island covered in trees, it looked like a hill, standing out of the water."
"Well what happened to it then?" Zuko asked but Freya only shook her head.
"I don't know." she mumbled. She looked at the foot prints and then back at the water. "But Aang looks definitely as though he went for a swim. If there was an island then that would explain where he went but…"
"Where'd the island go?" Zuko finished for her.
