Chapter 50 – The Gang Assemble!
Disclaimer: I own a bag of peanut
Aang and Kuzon nearly jumped out of their skins when they felt the grip on their shoulders. Luckily, Zuko and Suki had the foresight to put their hands over the boys' mouths first. The three rescuers were witnesses to the time when Henry the hand, during a rather mischievous phase, had taken to creeping on the foggy floor of Cloud Hall and grabbed any unsuspecting feet he could find. Aang could scream loud enough to wake the dead (which, he actually did, according to Master Kunyo who informed the class the next day that Aang's screaming, all the way from Cloud Hall, was so loud and filled with such magnitude of distress that the jiangshi – Earth Kingdom hopping zombies - in Master Kunyo's class were woken up and driven temporarily berserk).
Asami, who had free hand, drew a tiny Sigil behind their backs to hide the Aura, just in case, and whispered, "Anala", the Word for Fire Imbuement Charm. With the active Element, she severed the Water ropes that held Kuzon and Aang, much faster than the Basic Elemental Charm would and a good thing too because they had not learnt Liquid Transfiguration (that was second year curriculum).
The Bone Witch was still busy battling the ward in front of her. Carefully, the kids crept back, trying not to step on the grass too loudly. Zuko tapped Aang on the shoulder and handed him his wand. Zuko patted his Book of Shadows and the Sigil for the Popper Charm floated up. Aang looked confused until Zuko mouthed and made an expansive gesture that said 'huge'.
Grinning, Aang tiptoed closer to the Bone Witch while the others, now save behind trees, cringed on the spot, covering their ears. The Air boy drew the most massive amount of raw gold Aura Zuko had seen yet into his Shadow and shouted. "Sputakara!"
The blast of the Popper Charm blew Aang backward. It also blew the Witch forward.
Aang hit a tree. The Witch was launched head first onto the vines like an arrow.
Ironically, the Bone Witch's self hitting the veil of vines broke the protective ward. That was an oopsie, one that Zuko wished he would live to regret later.
"Guys, run!" Zuko shouted. He grabbed Aang by the scruff of his collar and pushed the smaller kid ahead of him.
They ran and ran, Zuko thought, maybe until they could not anymore. Certainly, Zuko was not sure that they could run all the way out of the Forest. He was not even sure they were running to the right direction.
Then, Kuzon tripped and fell.
"Guys, wait up!" the poor boy cried. Aang was the first to get to him.
"I think his ankle is sprained", Aang said. "Can you run?"
"I don't think I can even stand", Kuzon braved through the tears.
Aang drew a Sigil from memory and pointed Zuko's wand at the Kuzon's ankle. "Kacati bandha", a flash of light and a trail of bandage sprout from the tip of the wand, binding Kuzon's ankle nicely.
"Hey, that feels better", Kuzon stopped sobbing.
"Good", Zuko eyed his wand, still held in Aang's grip. With a dangerous Witch on their tail, he was not sure what the protocol was to ask for his wand back. "Well, now that that's taken care of…" he turned to the girls.
They gave him a dry stare.
"If you think you can get rid of us using them…" Suki growled.
"Kuzon needs medical help", said Zuko matter-of-factly. "You guys can't possible let these two wander around the Forest looking for a way out, can you?"
"You need help, too", Asami said urgently. "Listen, Suki, why don't you go with Aang and Kuzon and—"
"Oh, no!" Suki raised her voice, only to be shushed. She continued with an angry hiss. "I'm not leaving anyone behind to face the Witch!"
"Al said the Forest needs me to face the Witch", Zuko argued. "I'm Neo, remember!"
"What does Al know? He's a… a… whatever mammal he is!" Suki was getting red fast. "Look, we have to all stick together and get out of—"
"I know where Korra is", Aang said quietly. Everyone stopped arguing.
"Where?" Zuko turned to him.
"Those vines", the Air boy said. "The Witch was muttering to herself when she brought us there. I think it's a cave and she stashed Korra there and somehow those vines grew and protected Korra inside. The Witch was trying to break the ward when you guys came."
"Okay", Zuko exhaled, looking back they way they came. No wonder the Witch had not come flinging curses yet. "What does she want with you two anyway?"
"I dunno", Aang wiped his brows. "Kuzon and me were at the Menagerie with Master Malu, then the Witch just appeared. She Froze Master Malu and captured us. Then she got our wands and threw them in the manure pit – oh, here, Zuko", he handed Zuko's wand back (Zuko felt whole again). "And then the Witch just looked at the two of us for a long time and then… hey, do you guys hear something?"
"Sounds like screaming", Asami looked around.
Suki stood, wand ready like a dagger. "It sounds like this Shrieking Lady that plagued Kyoshi Island this one time."
"Sounds like Sokka", Kuzon opined.
Sokka's screaming was cut short when he fell through the trees and hit the ground. Haru landed on top of him a second later.
"See? It's Sokka" Kuzon said.
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Aang led the way with a borrowed wand; the unconscious Metal Mage did not seem to mind it, said Al who had appeared shortly after Sokka and Haru. Al, after promising that he would take Kuzon to the school and alert the teachers, set them back on their path to expel the Witch. A cruel taskmaster and a delusional twit, the Caretaker was. It was hard to believe that this guy was friend with Zuko's mom and aunt. He was basically sending the son of his BFF (and some other kids, as if it wasn't bad enough) to his gruesome death.
As they trekked through the trees that Zuko could have sworn bore absolutely no resemblance to the ones they had ran past through, Haru briefed them of how he and Sokka, when lunchtime came, could not find Zuko and the girls. Sokka then deduced that they had gone to the Forbidden Forest. As soon as they reached the nearest trees at the outside of the Forest, vines dropped down and dragged them through leaves and branches, and depositing them on top of one another in the heart of the Forest.
At this juncture, Sokka took over and went on rambling about how he came to the deduction. No one understood a single word (strangely, except for Suki), so they shushed him up. Actually, Aang shushed him up. Yes, Aang. It showed how serious the situation was.
Their resolve was tested when a Shade jumped at them, a particularly big one that took on the shape of a flat octopus with a grinning face that reminded Zuko of the Pokémon Gengar. Haru and Sokka screamed and ended up in each other's embrace. Somebody else screamed louder (it might have been Zuko). Suki and Asami yelped and fired an Expulsion Spell each. Aang jumped back and weaved a Popper by instinct, thankfully not a ginormous one. The flash was enough to make the Shade flinch. Suki, Asami, and Zuko regrouped quickly and threw their combined Flash Charms at it – since a Shade could only be exorcised by pure light. The Shade retreated in defeat, groaning its ghostly wail. Sokka and Haru screamed some more.
They braved forward, shooting down Sokka's suggestion that they lit up an Illumination Charm ("The Witch can see it, you dummy!" Suki hissed mercilessly). They picked up the pace as the trees thinned.
After a stretch of eerie silence, Suki just had to ask. "How do you know where you're going, Aang?" since the small kid was in the lead, wand ready and looking alert, which was very uncharacteristic of him.
Aang turned but did not stop walking. "What? You mean, you don't see it?"
"See what?" they all asked.
"The Aura", Aang said as if it was the most obvious thing. "The Forest is leaving a trail of Magic for us."
Suki squinted and looked around. "I don't see anything."
"Me too", Asami added. "And my Sight is on."
Zuko, who had also been using his Sight, saw nothing. Then, a tug in his chest. He closed his right eye.
Hanging above them was a mist made of the finest grain of gold Aura, like a floating trail of pollens. Zuko decided to say nothing. He also decided to open his right eye and let the trail disappear from his Sight. They had Aang to navigate their route, after all. It would not be funny if he tripped and sprained his ankle before the upcoming fight.
After all, if Al was to be believed, Zuko was crucial to the mission. Obviously, Zuko still had no idea how that could be true and he was hoping to heck that it would be untrue. Suki and Asami, sure, he understood; Sokka's argument that those two were special because they were given tokens during the Ceremony of Patronage came a-ringing in his head. Aang, of course; after all, the Bone Witch had taken the trouble to kidnap him. Haru, why not? Even Sokka. The Forest did drag them in.
Him? He didn't even want to be here.
