This Weapon is Your Life
Fire Nation Colonies
While riding upon Appa, Sokka and Katara are looking at clouds and debating how soft they might be, Aang guiding Appa from his reins. While they focus on things I take inventory of the parts for my third Lightsaber, the three crystals, a purple crystal that determines what color it would become, one bonded to my spirit, and a crystal that allowed for it to deflect fire. The mechanical pieces were all there to aid in making the hilt of his lightsaber. As I close my eyes and feel all of the pieces disassemble and begin to put the Lightsaber together but as I let the force guide me I am quickly interrupted by Aang's yell of joy as he jumps off of Appa. With my concentration broken I look over the edge and see Aang disappear into a cloud. Mentally stating to myself,' Sithspit well let's hope he landed gracefully.' As he airbends himself back onto Appa he states," Well turns out clouds are made of water."
I look at him with a look of displeasure that which I state, " That was a stupid idea Aang you shouldn't do that again because I could have explained it do you have so little belief in making sure you are safe and sound." Aang looks at me with shock and sadness but sadly states an apology. Which my fury calms and responds with, " I am sorry as well but you have to be careful with what you do because you, you need to be more careful okay." Aang nods his head in agreement but while I was scolding Aang.
Katara and Sokka are distracted by something in the distance. What appears as a scorched area to me looks to be a Turbolaser bolt impacting the grounds in a mass concentrated bombardment. However, as we land the four of us walk in different areas while I stay near Appa. I feel fear, fury, and death even after many years. However, I feel another emotion very subtly of vengeance and hatred. While I attempt to meditate on the matter, while Katara attempts to cheer Aang up with the hope that the forest will return one day with the acorns and she hits Sokka with one. However, none of us see another who seeks us as we see him. An old man approaches our area with anxiety and worry. Which must be related to the feeling I felt in this area.
As we followed the Old man with Appa following us I kept having a feeling of uncertainty and worry as the day shifted into night with what appears to be walls on the horizon and a wrecked town. This is odd because there looks to be no scorch or burnt-out buildings like this is something ancient and etheric. As we move further into the town it looks as if something far bigger attacked than the Fire Nation. As we walk through with the Sun setting we enter a Town Hall like building mixed with a grand hotel. The Mayor walks up to Aang greeting him," So the rumors of your return were true."
Aang answers," Yes I am here, what seems to be the problem?"
He responds," I don't know if you can help us with it…"
The mayor is interrupted by the old man stating," He is the only one capable of helping us with our current predicament." While they both start to incoherently bicker over the unknown subject annoying us I finally had enough.
" Do both of you care to ignore us or explain what is going on here." I look at them with a slightly annoyed and angry look on my face which they both take note of and agree to explain it.
" The last few nights our village has been attacked by Hei Bai, the spirit of Black and White, which has taken a few of us and it continues to grow stronger as we near the Solstice. Which is when the Spirit world will be at its strongest in this world. We were hoping the Avatar as a bridge between the two worlds could help solve our problem. Now, will you help us with this problem?" The Mayor states this with pleading eyes.
"Hey Great Bridge guy over here," Yells Katara worriedly as Aang and I walk over to her she asks," You seem a little worried about this?"
Aang looks to her and answers," Well yeah I'm worried I don't know anything about the Spirit World nor what I'm suppose to do." As we all look at each other in shock Aang continues," Well I never had anyone to teach me about it, but I will have to try to help these people."
" Do or Do not, there is no try because if all you do is try you will fail." I state to Aang and he looks to me confused by it," My Master said it to me and left me confused by it." Aang nods in acceptance as he leaves the town hall with the Sunsetting while I find a secluded spot to meditate and focus on finishing my lightsaber as my focus on it is crucial. The Jedi of old proclaimed often would say,' This Weapon is your Life,' my lack of one and the need for such a weapon is necessary to defend the innocent. The symbol of a Jedi, a peacekeeper not a soldier, a sign of restraint and harmony. My spirit is the crystal and the blade is my heart. With it happening slowly the internal wires floated alongside the crystals and containment but the hilt had yet to be forged as I felt it about to happen. Katara yelling pulling me out of my meditation and focus," Sokka!" I immediately turned to face the building and ran to Katara.
" What is going on out there Katara?" I ask with worry.
" The spirit just took Sokka and Aang went after him. I am worried that something happened to them," Katara looks at me holding Sokka's boomerang with tears streaming down her face in fear.
" Don't worry Aang will be back soon and it would be a good idea to get some sleep." As I finish telling her this she shakes her head.
"I will wait at the gate until Aang returns with Sokka," She states this adamant with it being so dark out I take a roll and fall asleep in the town hall until morning. However, for me, my third Lightsaber's internal components are there. All I need to do is create the Hilt itself with it being an easy thing for me to do. A new lightsaber will inspire people to have hope for the future. As I pass into my sleep I see a dream which has become recurring since I opened Kreia's Holocron of the Man and the Starship. When it is over I awaken and see that Katara is still sitting by the gate to the forest. She must have fallen asleep there huddled while waiting for Aang and Sokka. I walk over to her and Appa.
" You look like you could use some sleep Katara," I tell her she shakes her head to me.
" No, I must wait until they come back," Katara answers with tiredness throughout her tone.
"How about you get some sleep and I will take Appa to see if I can find them," I tell her this and jump onto Appa. She slowly gets on Appa's back.
"You aren't going anywhere without me helping you and I will sleep on Appa," She answers finally.
" Appa, Yip Yip," As I tug on the reins we take off into the air on the back of Appa, and almost as soon as we start our search I turn back and see Katara asleep. Thus as we pass through the forest the day drags on and then I see something in the distance it appears to be Aang who seems to be surrounded by ash-covered and choked animals. He awakens and doesn't notice us and begins to open his staff and fly towards the village as we arrive he greets us. Katara who is now awake clambers down to speak to Aang.
"Where is Sokka?" Aang is saddened and responds to Katara.
"He is in the Spirit World, I know what I must do." His optimism replacing the momentary sadness. As we wait for night to fall I complete part of the hilt with it coming together and almost ready for use in what is to come. When the sunset finally happens Aang goes to face the spirit waiting for it to appear then with it seeming to not wish to appear for him until he decides to turn back and walk towards the Hall then out of nowhere. The spirit appears and rushes towards the hall to abduct another person however Aang is able to calm the Spirit with words and that the forest will come back in time. The spirit turns towards the forest and walks away with bamboo covering it leaving and out pops the abductees and Sokka who Katara runs to hug him. Aang then reveals something that happened in the Spirit World," I know a way to speak to Avatar Roku but it needs to happen during the Solstice."
Katara responds, " The Solstice is tomorrow."
" That ain't the worst part it is in the Fire Nation," As Aang says the last part Katara and Sokka look at each other worried.
"You're not going into the Fire Nation alone, Aang we are going with you end of discussion so let's get going." As I say it, he turns to see both Sokka and Katara clamber onto Appa's saddle. " Aang you aren't going into the Fire Nation alone you need help with this so don't try and talk us out of it." As I put a hand on his shoulder reaffirming our decision.
As we take off Aang forces Appa to fly faster because of Zuko on our tail. However, it isn't my main concern as my Lightsaber is nearly complete thus while in the meditation on the way. I finish it alongside a piece of knowledge of what is in front of us. Sokka notices the Silver Cylinder that has been finished. " Well, third time's the charm ain't it Sokka," I say this as a way to inform him of it," Let's hope I don't have to use it." As I equip my new lightsaber to my belt. However I grab a pair of electrobinoculars and see a fleet of ships," A blockade, Aang there is a Blockade waiting for us."
"We could head North and attempt to go around it," Aang says.
" No let's run this blockade Aang," Sokka tells him in encouragement as I focus with the force and crush the fireball from behind. However, there is more than one on the way that leaves me exhausted and strained from it. Aang looks at us with a smirk as we break through the wall of fire and death onto Appa which Aang navigates us through with me using the force to nudge the other Fireballs into each other and out of Appa's path. As the fireballs explode around us Sokka falls from the saddle towards the water below us. As I watch Sokka fall through the clouds. We hear Sokka screaming for, " Aang!" Aang forces Appa to go downwards to grab Sokka as we get closer to him. I use the force to pull him into the saddle. As we slip past the blockade under an intense storm of fire and explosions.
The fleet behind us we all look on in shock with all of us stating simply," We got in the Fire Nation." I don't feel the level of fear of Sokka and Katara nor the joy of Aang but simple indifference because it feels like a normal day for me getting in and out of Imperial installations, Starships, and other places. We travel further west to find Crescent Island with a temple on it. The sight of it makes Aang jump with joy while the rest of us are a little uncertain. About what awaits us inside but if it is anything it is most definitely Destiny. A fate which we must know and take control of for all our sakes.
While we get off of Appa Katara and Sokka banter to another I walk to Aang with a questioning gaze as he sees it. I simply ask," Are you ready for what comes next?"
Aang responds to my inquiry with an inquiry," Why wouldn't I be ready to meet Avatar Roku."
"Just wondering on how you feel about it thus my question lets be careful because nothing is ever as it seems," I finish looking off at the temple with a sense of worry about what is to come and who also awaits us excluding Roku," But let's be careful we don't know what else we are walking into."
We all climb the steps towards the entrance hurrying to get inside so Aang can speak with Roku but as we enter we are greeted by five men who seem to be waiting for us. I sense through the force that four of them are going to attack and one of them wants to help us. While I feel all this Aang speaks with them but the men attack which Aang retaliates with an air blast knocking them back onto their asses. After which we all run in different directions in the temple to elude the Sages as I group back up to Aang we encounter one of the Sages whom we run from and run into Sokka and Katara as we follow Aang he leads us into a dead end with only a window which I prepare to break but the one Sage who I felt when we enter meets us while Sokka and Aang get into stances prepared for a fight I watch as he bows before Aang and opens a secret passage into a Magma Flow under the Temple. As Aang and Shyu speak of them waiting for him for the last Hundred Years. Shyu looks at me and realizes with shock what I am and states a question," You are a Jedi aren't you."
" I am Jedi Knight Ezra Bridger. I spoke with Roku in a Vision," I answer his question not saying what I had said to Saw Gerrera on Geonosis. As Kanan told me after Stygeon, 'If all I do is try then all I will do is fail.'
"A Jedi has not been seen for over a century. They are a myth but you seem like one with the cloak of a Jedi. However, the Lightsaber is the truest sign of a Jedi for it is as stated in the great myth of Revan 'that it is the weapon of a Jedi Knight'." Shyu states it with such a casualness that it confounds logic and what I know of Revan comes from Suki and she told me it had become a myth told to children.
" The Great Myth of Revan, who is he, and what happened to him?" I ask befuddled about Revan due to my lack of knowledge on the subject and that Kanan told me was very little of Jedi history which was due to his halved training.
" Revan the hero of the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War, Jedi Master, Dark Lord of the Sith, Liberator, Conqueror, and Master of the Force. He died Four Thousand years ago but some state he waits for his Heir within a hidden location but it is all written about by the Fire Nation during the Grand Age of Peace which is an Era lost to the anals of History after a cataclysmic war destroyed much of Ratava's great Shipyards which made us isolated to only travelers from afar and pushed the Nations behind and created the Si Wong Desert from the bombardment," Shyu says this as we reach the door in front of us he looks on in shock because it is closed in which I simply walk away while thinking about what Shyu has told me about Revan is this all true or is it all propaganda. I will need to look into it for myself then but with all of our current problems. While Sokka attempts his plan I know if I cut through the door with my Lightsaber it wouldn't grant Aang and Roku the privacy they need. Then I look closely at the door and realize what it looks like. Katara realizes the same thing as I do: it looks like firebending.
As they discuss it we wait for the other Sages to arrive while I wait. I feel a new presence approaching aggressive, hotheaded, but conflicted individuals. As I raise my head the deception goes according to Sokka and Katara's improvised plan. They open the door as we had planned in which I run forward and take one of the Sages using the Force to put him asleep while making certain they couldn't get to the door. Aang rushes by Zuko and slips into the sanctuary. I use a technique I learned from Maul to cloak myself from Zuko and the Sages. When they turn to me I slip past them, sneaking away into a concealed position but close enough to hear the interrogation of Sokka and Katara by the Prince after he and the Sages failed to get the door open.
" Where did your extra Airbender go?" Zuko demands wishing to know more about me, thinking I am an Airbender. How mistaken he is.
" I don't know what you are talking about because Aang is the Last Airbender," Sokka says with Katara finishing the answer," you and the Fire Nation killed the rest!"
As I stay hidden Zuko's ire turns from the Water Tribe Siblings to Shyu with the rest of the Sages. A new cadre arrives as my illusion becomes more taxing which I drop the trick and advance an officer having a pair of Mutton Chop's approaches which makes me laugh at him and my memory of Kallus, who he feels like my old friend when I first fought him and the Empire. Which I draw my new Lightsaber and approach using the force to break the chains around Sokka and Katara.
"Both of you behind me now," as I yell this to Sokka and Katara they both run while Zuko is arrested Zhao turns to face me with the arrogance dripping from both his gaze and tongue.
"Pathetic this is the Avatar's allies, two Water Tribe brats and what seems to be another Airbender," Zhao's statement is laced with so much overconfidence and arrogance that it is overwhelming.
" Your arrogance is your greatest weakness, and I am no Bender, I am a Jedi!" I say this by dropping the hood of my cloak and igniting my Lightsaber.
As a blade of purple forms shooting out of the emitter which dazzles me but I return to the conflict at hand. I look and feel shock from the Sages who flee while many of the Firebenders quakes in fear of the legends that they were told as children. As we all stand silently waiting making small steps then Zhao makes the first move attacking first then followed by the other Firebenders quickly move in. I raise a force barrier to block an attack on the first soldier with my blade being plunged into the soldier opposite, killing him instantly followed by another. The moves are quick Ataru strikes mostly going for the hand and body. I force the benders onto the defensive which is lackluster seeing as Firebending is very aggressive like Juyo with them failing to regain the initiative while seeing in shock their cauterized limbs strewed across the floor of the temple.
Then as if out of nowhere Aang emerges from the sanctuary but it is not him rather Roku in ghostly apparition using Aang's body as an anchor in the world. Zuko runs while Roku brings down the entire temple on top of us which he finally releases Aang as Appa arrives. We get Aang onto Appa's back and fly away. While Aang takes a nap Sokka and Katara look at me with so many questions buzzing through their heads.
Sokka looks at me with awe and joy," So wait how did you do all that, Ezra, because you just went into the troops with no fear and fought them with that purple sword?"
Katara," We thought you had abandoned us but you turned invisible and were able to save us from Zuko, the Sages, and the Benders."
I finally explain," Firstly it's a Lightsaber Sokka and I was using the force to do all of those abilities including pushing, pulling, and shattering objects. That was how I turned invisible though that trick was learned from Maul, a former problem for me and my Master Kanan who often had to deal with him but he was killed by Master Kenobi on Tatooine about one standard year ago." As I finished talking about Maul, while I was finishing up we all notice Aang coming back from the state he was in, " So how are you feeling Aang?"
" Well Roku told me many things but we have to hurry to the Northern Water Tribe and I need to learn how to Waterbend, Earthbend, and Firebend before the end of next summer, and the return of Sozin's Comet," Aang tells us this worriedly.
I don't own either Star Wars or Avatar the Last Airbender both belong to their respective owners. Critique to your heart's content but be polite.