VII.

Aang and Katara heard a roar of four voices rise up the hot, sulfur-caked air they now were swimming through. Katara couldn't see the battle; everything was hidden by the trees that encircled the bases of the volcanoes. She closed her eyes as she moved along the narrow path, clinging to the rock with dry fingers. She murmured the Warriors Prayer:

"Fight hard, Aim true, and like the sea, let victory wash over you." Aang nudged her.

"They'll be fine, but we gotta move!" They scrambled up the shelves of cracked stone, taking care not to look down. The wind blew much stronger up above the battle, as if it had anticipated the arrival of a fellow Air bender. Aang grit his teeth-he had never had to fight the wind before. The cave was almost in view…

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Lenara landed a blow on the first soldier's head, then caught the boomerang and arced it again at a line of soldiers cresting the hill. She clipped the first man's jaw before the others realized what had been thrown. Zuko ran for the thick of the battle and gave his years of sword skills a chance to thrive. General Iroh kept a close eye on the edges of the battle, picking off stragglers one by one. He threw aside one soldier, then noticed another trying to sneak up on him.

"Do you have any idea how foolish that is? Do you even know who I am?" The boy's arm grew heavy and he lowered his sword as he recognized the old man, "that's right. Why don't you just turn around and run back home to your mother." The boy dropped his sword and ran away mewling like a child that had just glimpsed a ghost. Sokka whacked two soldiers with a back-hand attack and they crumpled at his feet in a pile of metal breastplates and dirty elbows.

"Oh, yeah. That felt good." Lenara let the boomerang fly, almost caught a sword in the gut, but rolled out of the way in time and shoved the soldier down with a foot in the small of his back. He turned, sword still in hand and stood back up in time for the boomerang to circle and knock him on the helmet. His concentration rattled, Lenara used this distraction to place a hard kick to the man's groin. His sword left his hand and she swiped it up before it hit the dirt. He spit in her face and she felt the knuckles in her right hand crack as she introduced her fist to his nose.

She snatched up Sokka's boomerang from the dry grass and suddenly clutched her side. The bastard had managed to get a scrape in after all. A dark, sticky patch oozed slowly from the soft flesh under her ribs and she felt the muscles electrocute pain as she tried to lift the sword. She switched hands just as a soldier brought down his blade to the curve of her neck…

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Aang clawed at a dirty ledge with white dusted fingers and pulled himself up. Without hesitating to catch his breath, he bent down and pulled Katara up to the ledge. The wind whipped their clothes. Aang and Katara stumbled into the cave and glanced around. There was a lone marker that proclaimed Roku's body was below it, buried in the volcano's womb. He felt the volcano rumble. Roku knew he was here.

"Stand back, Katara," Aang shouted. The rumble grew louder. A shaft of steam broke through the ground, then another. The marker fell over.

"Aang! We've got to get out of here! The whole mountain's falling apart!" Aang had his back to Katara, arms outstretched. Katara stumbled on the unstable ground like a gaffer with too much Fire Saki in his blood and clapped her hand on the Avatar's shoulder.

"Aang! Did you hear me?" Aang turned, his eyes shone bright blue, the brown ring of his iris lost. The Avatar Spirit had surfaced…

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A gentle whisper of wind, much like a lover's breath, caressed Lenara's neck and she never had time to react to the sword. Something slammed into her shoulder and knocked her down. She regained her focus as Sokka dented the sword with his club and used a backhanded fist to knock the man down. He reached for Lenara's hand and pulled her up as Zuko took out another soldier nearby. Iroh circled close by and the four found themselves back to back, facing a pack of soldiers that closed in for the kill. Lenara felt warm fingers close around her own.

"You're hurt," Zuko growled.

"In a few moments, that's not going to matter much." They stood shoulder to shoulder and glared a rebellious teenage eye at their executioners.

"Aang, now would be the perfect time to ring that damn bell…" Sokka muttered.

"Steady. If we die, we go for an honorable cause," Iroh replied.

"Nuts to you! I'm too young to die!" Sokka squeaked.

"Haven't kissed a girl yet, huh?" Zuko eyed Sokka.

"YES I HAVE!"

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Aang clutched the Hotaru. He felt Roku near, but the previous Avatar didn't interfere. Aang became aware of other souls in the cave-every Avatar, from Kyoshi to Leta, were standing with Roku. They smiled at Aang and he realized they all had the same smile-his smile! He walked to the mouth of the cave, then to the ledge. He raised the Hotaru. Katara watched from the opening of the cave, fighting the wind that curved and obeyed the Avatar. Aang held his breath, every sound died away…

…then he thrust the bell forward. The voices of millions spilled out from the loud, echoing tolls of the bell. Every language of every tribe mixed together and flowed down the volcano, spreading to blanket the nations below. The volcano began to crumble.

In the Earth Kingdom, King Bumi watched the first cracks ever made without the help of an Earth bender race up his throne room wall…

In the South Pole, people ran from the fractures that split and shaped the glaciers… The temple bell in every Air Temple resonated loudly, recalling the chants of the dead monks…

The statue at Kyoshi toppled…

The leaves of the trees of the Freedom Fighters lair crumbled and showered the ground…

Pirates watched the sea swallow their ships, the Great Divide was reduced to pebbles, level with the ground and Fire Lord Ozai noticed the flames in his throne room suddenly waver and then snuff out.

And the people, those who were meek, beaten, and worn, heard the voice of the Hotaru. They heard a choice in the confusion of voices: 'stay in sorrow or lift up your weary masses and bring down a plague upon them'. All that was left was to rally and seek out the Avatar.

VII.

Lenara shuddered, surprised as the first swelling notes of the bell rushed down to them. She closed her eyes. It worked. The bell worked! She held up the battered sword above her head and shouted:

"For Taro Hün-dai!"

"For the men of the 41st Division!" Iroh yelled.

"For my mother," Zuko and Sokka murmured together.

The ground shook below their feet, several rotted trees toppled and crashed in the forest. The soldiers lowered their swords, watching the land change before them in reaction to a bell that would not be ignored. Iroh caught a whisper of the old language; it sounded like his grandmother, the woman who had introduced him to tea. He knew from this moment on, Zuko's fate was in his own hands. Iroh would continue to support him, but he had taught the Prince everything he could in the realm as his uncle.

The last note hung heavy in the air, refusing to die, absorbed in the skin and the bone, curling up the back and lingering to run a lap in their ears before it melted away.

The first person to move was Sokka. He tossed his club to the ground. He'd had enough of senseless battles with confused men ordered to die by a tyrant. Lenara followed suit, plunging her sword firmly into the ground. Zuko sighed, cursing the sheer idiocy of it all, and hung his sword back in its sheath. The soldiers, still half intoxicated by the Hotaru's knell, stared at their captives. Zuko stepped forward.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go tell my father! Run back to him and watch your families become his personal shield, you cowards!" A few men peeled from the pack and ran for the main road. Those who remained watched their exiled Prince with a wary eye. For all his youth, he still had a commanding presence. His scar creased, the eye narrowed. A stubborn soldier (there's always at least one in the history of confrontation) held his sword out to the motley group.

"That's the log calling the cinders black, Prince Zuko. If anyone here is a coward, it would be the son who refused to fight his father during Agni-kai." Lenara felt Zuko's anger I the heat his body harbored. Sokka took a step back, expecting sparks to snap in the air.

"Uh, let's not do anything stupid…and that goes double for you, Scarface." Iroh glanced at the volcano.

"Ah, here he comes." Everyone averted their eyes skyward. A long dust trail snaked down the volcano. At the head was a small boy, who ran just ahead of the wind itself. His girl companion was wedged in his arms, holding onto the Avatar's neck as he leapt from the solid rock and arced down to the ragged circle of soldiers. He landed in front of the Nibushi, eyes still blotted out. Katara unfolded herself from Aang and peered into the blue void.

"Aang?" The light faltered, faded, and Aang drew in a breath before he collapsed on his knees.

"Shouldn't have eaten those berries before we left."

"Way to go, Aang." The soldiers slowly approached the Avatar, unsure of the boy. They treated him like a relic just dug from the earth. Aang stood up and Katara tucked an arm under him. The defiant soldier raised his sword.

"The Avatar's just a boy."

"Appearances are misleading, young man."

"Thank you, General Iroh. I'm aware of the proverb."

"Oh. Well, then you won't need me to explain what they are doing here." The soldiers turned from the Avatar and found themselves surrounded by their own citizens. Hundreds of villagers lined the rocky path, spread out through the trees. A couple of the soldiers pushed back their helmets to reveal local midwives disguised as guards. At the head of the path was a girl in Fire Nation armor, the rank of Commander proudly displayed above her left breast. She dropped a nod in Iroh's direction.

"General."

"Commander."

She drew her sword and the people of the Fire Nation brandished their weapons, from the family sword to the humble ax to the clumsy broomstick. Katara raised a hand to her mouth, overwhelmed by these people who had come to their rescue.

"Back away from the Avatar, soldier."

"You can't claim him! We captured him first!"

"Well, of course you did. But I'm not here to claim anything. Here's the deal, do the right thing and apologize to these people for ruining their lives with your hate and lust for battle…or you can answer to their wrath yourselves. I should warn you to watch out for the mothers," she lowered her voice, "they don't take too kindly to losing their sons and daughters." The Fire Nation soldiers didn't dare meet the eyes of the women-something deeply embedded in their survival instincts warned them that doing so would result in their rapid departure from this orb. The Commander and the two midwives approached the defiant soldier.

"So, what's it going to be?" Most of the soldiers tossed down their weapons, soft impacts coughed from the tall grass where they fell. A few still clutched their weapons like something vile they couldn't afford to part with now. The Commander strolled down the path, the corner of her mouth frozen in a sharp half grin. She was almost chin to nose with the troublesome soldier.

"You gonna give me trouble, boy?"

"N-no, m'am."

"What was that?"

"NO SIR!"

"That's what I thought you said. Listen up, maggots!" she shouted, "We have a duty as Fire Nation soldiers to protect one thing. What is that one thing, gentlemen?"

"The Fire Nation!"

"Bulls-eye! And as protectors of the Fire Nation and the people of the Fire Nation, we have, as of late, done a shoddy-ass job. So, from this point on: no massacres, no executions, and no secrets. We're all the same, so helmets off, maggots. You're part of the Fire Nation now!" The soldiers hesitantly shed their helmets and became men once more. Commander Xeilu signaled to the midwives and they collected the discarded weapons. Xeilu turned and folded her arms behind her back, catching Iroh's eye.

"I could really get used to this."

"No problems meeting up with the underground Fire Nation then?" Sokka asked.

"Nope."

"Thanks for your help, Xeilu," Aang finally regained his strength and held out his hand. Xeilu clasped it without hesitation.

"I told you I would be watching you with great interest, or some garbage like that. Besides, we weren't but a few yards away when your bell went off. Nearly ruined a perfectly good cup of tea; the damn thing's so loud."

Iroh asked: "What kind?"

"Ginseng." He shook his head.

"That would have been a tragedy." Xeilu slid her gaze over to Zuko.

"Zuko."

"Xeilu."

"Still got that scar, huh?"

"Bite me, "he growled.

"Not a chance. You gonna introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Sure, and 'army intelligence' is the wave of the future."

"When did you get so cynical?"

"When Zhao lied to me. I've been tired of the war for a while now."

"But not the army, I see."

"Hell no! I've been given a leadership position with the underground movement. It's not 'General', but it'll do." Lenara handed Xeilu a flask of water.

"We're grateful. Thanks."

"No problem," she took a swallow and wiped a hand across her mouth, "Hün-dai, eh?"

"Geez, can't you Fire Nation focus on anything else or are you all obsessed with wrists and pasts?" Zuko allowed himself a quiet smile.

"We should get out of here and find better cover, Aang," Katara muttered, "there will be a lot of people coming here soon."

"Right. Okay, everyone!" Aang raised the Hotaru, "let's move!"