Chap. 6

The Test

The answer to that question was in a cell far below deck. Since he had begun capturing the Avatar, Zuko had prepared for the day when he would finally capture him and return home. To make sure that would happen, Zuko had devised a simple, but effective cell to hold his prize, and in recent times, that prizes' three friends. It was a room with four walls, empty of all things but three sets of chains. Two of them were on the ground, and just long enough to allow a person to stand but not enough to do much else. These two held Katara, and the still- unconscious Sokka.

The final set was located on the wall, high above the ground and made of only four manacle attached to the walls. It was here that Aang was held, with a small gag stuffed into his mouth. This gag kept him from drawing in enough air to bend, but still allowed him to breathe. And with his body so tightly chained, he would not be able to bend the air around him either. For all intents and purposes, it was the perfect cell for Aang.

And Sokka was given a full view of it when in awoke into the cold metal room after everyone had been chained and the guards stationed outside the door.

"Uuh…" he moaned, as he slowly rose his head of the floor.

"Sokka? Are you all right?" said a voice from a distance. "I… think so…" he answered slowly, as he attempted to rise to his feet. But in doing so, Sokka felt a strong pull on his legs that, in his groggy condition, caused him to lose his balance and fall back to the floor.

"What happened?" he asked, as he tried to right himself.

"Zuko captured us." Katara answered sadly.

"What! How!"

"I don't know. Something happened with my bending and then Zuko grabbed me and threatened to kill me if Aang didn't surrender."

"I don't remember that happening, and I think I would." Sokka insisted.

"Well, something went wrong with Aang's bending too, and he kinda knocked you out." At that, Sokka whipped around at Aang, who merely nodded sheepishly. For a second, Sokka's mouth hung open in astonishment, then he let out a cry of frustration. "I knew it! I knew this would happen sooner or later."

"Sokka, I'm sure we can get out of here if we just…."

"What, use some bending! That's what got us into this whole mess! Oh he's the Avatar, Sokka! Oh we have to be great benders Sokka! Great, but you couldn't have learned to at least throw a rock along the way? No, everything has to be woosh or splash or some other magic."

But while Sokka was filled with anger at what had happened, Katara was in no mood to listen to her brother's speech. "Oh sure Sokka, complain about bending! Everything is bending's fault! Why don't we just get some spears and learn all your immense fighting techniques so we can save the world? Oh wait, you don't have any techniques!"

"Yeah? Well, I have more techniques then you have Waterbending moves! But hey maybe you can splash your way out of here!" The argument went back and forth, while Aang made muffled urges for the two of them to focus on getting out.

But before the argument could continue, the door swung open. The three friends turned and saw a figure standing in the doorway. The shadows covered his body, but they could see that he was of medium height and build, wearing a long brimmed hat. The figure turned to his side and said, "Stay here. Do not come inside unless I call for you."

"Of course." Replied a voice outside the doorway. The figure nodded, and stepped inside the cell, shutting the door behind him. As he stepped into the light of the room's torches, his red outfit became visible which caused all three prisoners eyes to widen. They expected the uniform of a Fire-Nation solider or general. Instead, they saw a man dressed in ragged clothes, boots, gauntlets, and cape, with his lower face covered by wrappings. "What are you supposed to be?" Sokka asked, trying to put on a brave face.

But if the man heard the question, he didn't respond. Instead, he came closer to them, seeming to examine them with his eyes. Finally, he stopped. His face slowly turned from Katara to Sokka. Finally, he spoke.

"You two are siblings, aren't you?" he asked, with a level of warmth in his voice that threw the three friends off. Seeing their surprised expressions, the man chuckled and said, "It isn't that hard to figure out. Two Water-Tribe children who left their home together and have a similar look? Besides, I heard that argument. No one argues as loud or as hard as family."

"What do you want?" Sokka demanded.

"For now, to proceed with a little experiment. And since neither of you are Airbenders, that leaves your companion as the one I need to help to conduct it." With that, the man moved over to where Aang was tied to the wall.

But when the figure saw Aang, his eyes widened behind the wrappings. "You are the Airbender?" he asked with some surprise. Aang nodded as much as his bound head would allow. The man shook his head. "I knew you were young, but I didn't expect this. Ah well, given the Airbender's mistake, this actually makes it more plausible."

At that, Aang's eyes narrowed and he began to mutter something under the gag. "Have I angered you, young one?" the man asked. "What I said was unpleasant, but it was still the truth. Would you like me to explain how?" The man paused, then after not hearing a reply, continued anyway. "To begin, I must introduce myself. My name is Fuego, and I am the most trusted emissary of the ruler of the Fire-Nation. He entrusted me with discovering the identity of the Avatar, and to do, I studied the ancient lore of the Fire Sages, as well as some of the text taken from the Air Temples. You see, I am aware that the Avatar was told of his title at your age, instead of sixteen. I know that afterwards, the young one ran away, unable to comprehend the vastness of his new destiny."

"Don't you judge him!" Katara yelled from her section of the wall. "You don't what it's like to have a destiny that's huge and beyond your control. You have no right to call him a coward!'

"I do know of having a great destiny actually. Therefore Waterbender, I do have the right to judge him. And I don't recall calling your friend a coward." Fuego answered. Katara grew a confused expression on her face, as Fuego continued. "If this boy is the Avatar, then I don't blame him for running. I would have done the same thing."

"Huumph?" said Aang, his eyes wide in surprise.

"The monks were fools to think that a twelve year old boy would simply accept such a great destiny and give up everything he knew and loved. The Avatar may have run away, but the monks' inability to understand him caused it. The Airbenders played as much a part in their own destruction as anyone. Only Gyatso remembered who he was dealing with and what that boy needed, not what the world needed."

"But such things are to be discussed by wiser men then you or I." Fuego said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked up at Aang. "For now, I must fulfill my duty, and make sure that this is indeed the Avatar that stands before me."

"Great idea, just pull that gag out and watch him Airbend. Then you can watch him rip this ship to bits." Sokka said sarcastically.

But Fuego was unfazed. "Airbending alone does not an Avatar make." The strange man replied. "But there is another way. Tell me, young one, do you know of the Avatar State?"

At that, Aang's eyes widened. "You know the words, even though you don't know what they mean." Fuego said. "But you have seen it. So have your friends. When your eyes glow. When you are capable of power you don't understand, but wield with a devastating force."

"You know what that is, don't you?" Katara asked, her curiosity overwhelming her apprehension of Fuego.

"Not as much as you think, I'm afraid." Fuego replied. "What I do know is that it is a defensive mechanism that all Avatars have, which comes involuntarily under the right circumstances."

"Gee, what a startling conclusion." Sokka sneered.

"True, it is not much more then you know." The man admitted, as he backed away from Aang. But it can be quite useful, if one knows what those circumstances are."

"And what are they?" Katara asked, as Fuego turned to the sound of her voice.

"Why two very simple ones my dear." He replied, as he walked over to her. "The Avatar must be in danger that he or she cannot escape from….. or that Avatar must become enraged."

"Now, I don't think endangering him is a good idea." Fuego said, as he looked Katara in the face. "After all, none of us want a beaten Avatar delivered to the Fire-Lord. But if he could be angered….." For a second, the room was silent, then Sokka cried out as Fuego suddenly grabbed Katara's arm, as he pinned her body to the wall. "I have heard that you care for this girl, Airbender." Fuego said, as he looked over at the struggling form of Aang. The boy muttered something that could have been "LET HER GO!" but Fuego paid no notice.

"Let us see just how much you care." With that, Fuego grabbed Katara's shirtsleeve and pulled it up, revealing her bare arm. Pulling off his gauntlet, Fuego then clamped his hand around Katara's arm. The young Waterbender tried to pull away, but the man's grip was too strong. But a second later, it grew much stronger, as Fuego's hand began to glow red. Almost instantly Katara began to scream in pain, as Aang and Sokka's struggles to escape tripled. But despite it all, Fuego remained calm.

"Come on Avatar, save her!" he yelled out to Aang. Turning back to his captive, Fuego saw she had fallen to her knees in pain. Between his fingers, he could see blood begin to ooze out. "You'd best hurry." He whispered, perhaps to himself, perhaps to the boy he was testing. But as he turned to face Aang, Fuego saw that he was struggling against his bonds and gag with the ferocity of a wild animal……..

And then it happened.