Avatar the Last Airbender Fanfiction. Continuation of Chapter 1: Sokka's Mishap. The second of a three chapter story.
Chapter 2: Beware of Dark Places
Katara and Aang followed Sokka away from the river heading for the little valley Aang had said he'd sent Appa and Momo to graze in before they'd been attacked by a patrol of Fire Nation soldiers. Though they had managed to escape, they were far from safe, especially knowing Zuko was once again close on their trail.
As the breeze shifted and blew downwind, both Katara and Aang scrunched up their faces from the rather pungent odor coming off Sokka.
"Sokka?" Aang asked a little timidly.
"What?" he replied in a short gruff voice.
"Ah, would you mind if you walked behind us for a little while?"
Looking over his shoulder, he asked, "Why?"
"Ah, well, you kinda still stink."
"What! Errr..." Sokka faced tensed up again. Katara looked at Aang trying not grin but Sokka saw the amusement in his sister's eyes anyway. "You think this is funny?"
"Well, yeah," Katara commented.
Sokka growled. "I have nothing more to say to either one of you!" He then marched ahead fists clenched.
Aang hurried after him. "I said I was sorry," he tried again to apologize.
"Yeah, lighten up big brother," Katara interjected. "Don't be too hard on Aang. After all, he did save your life."
Sokka stopped short, his whole back rigid then whirled around. Still wet and caked in mud, his eyes glared with heated anger at Aang. "Yeah. After he nearly tried to kill me in the first place!"
"Please don't be mad. I couldn't think of anything else at the time," Aang tried to explain. "I knew I could make the wave, I just didn't think I'd sweep you in the river with the rest of the Firebenders. I'm really sorry. Beside, how was I to know you'd land in a den full of skunk-rats?"
He could see the vein on Sokka's temple begin to throb again and he thought he saw the corner of his eye twitch."You know, that's just the trouble with you. Every time I'm around you, something happens to me! I should have never left the South Pole to come on this stupid quest!"
"Sokka!" Katara reprimanded sternly.
Aang felt as if Sokka had literally hit him. He bit his lip to stop it from quivering. Gripping his staff, his eyes suddenly became big saucers full of guilt. For a moment he looked very lost and alone. Sokka sighed, feeling like a heel. Despite all the powerful thingsAang could do sometimes, Sokka had to remember he was still just a twelve year old kid trying to figure out how to be the Avatar. Trying to control his temper, he put his hand on Aang's shoulder. "I'm sorry Aang. I didn't really mean that. It just hasn't been my day today, okay?"
Aang nodded. "Okay."
"Look, I think the best thing we can do right now is find Appa and get the heck out of here," he said matter-of-factly.
"He's right Aang," Katara agreed. "It won't be long before those Fire Nation soldiers track us down. Why don't you try using the bison whistle again?"
"Okay." Aang withdrew the whistle and blew. Though no audible sound came forth, he knew Appa would hear it. But after several minutes and nothing happened, Aang frowned. He tried again and got the same response. "Something's wrong."
"Maybe the whistle's broke," Sokka suggested only to get another stern look from his sister. "Well, it could be. I mean how would we know? No one can hear the darn thing except for that flying fluff monster."
"We're probably just too far away for him to hear it."
"Maybe," Aang replied but he was worried. It just wasn't like Appa not to respond. "The meadow I left him in should be just beyond that forest belt over there," Aang pointed.
"Come on, let's get going then," Sokka insisted.
Meanwhile, Prince Zuko had finally managed to pull himself out of the river after the girl had knock him off the log and back into the water while attempting to save her moron of a brother. The last glimpse he had of the Avatar was watching him wildly try to evade the tops of the trees on the glider with his friends dangling beneath. Now standing dripping wet, Zuko gazed at the direction in which they had disappeared. With the added weight, he guessed the boy couldn't have flown far. Taking in a deep breath, he blew a couple a quick short fire breaths to warm himself up before setting off in the direction of his prey.
The trio hadn't gone far when suddenly they spotted several soldiers rounding a bend. "Quick, we need to get out of sight!" Sokka said dragging his sister behind a clump of bushes. Aang, not needing to be told twice, followed suite. Unfortunately the bush wasn't very large and all three had to squish in tight.
Aang stepped on Sokka's hand and he let out a strangled yelp. "Hey watch it!"
"Sorry,"Aang apologized as Sokka yanked his hand free.
"Shhh. They'll hear us," Katara whispered harshly only to receive an evil look from her brother. "Here they come." They ducked down as low as possible just as several soldiers approached. All three held their breath waiting for the soldiers to pass.
"You men! Stay where you are," an authoritative voice suddenly called out. The soldiers halted less than ten feet from their hiding place. The three were almost sure they'd been spotted.
"General Iroh," one of the soldiers addressed the stout man accompanied by two more Firebenders.
"Any sign of my nephew, Prince Zuko yet?"
"No sir, but we have soldiers scouring the river downstream."
"And what of the Avatar?"
"No sign of him or his friends, but we've captured the flying beast they were riding as you instructed, though several of my men have not yet regained consciousness."
"Excellent!"
Aang let out a gasp. "Appa!" Katara quickly covered his mouth. Iroh turned and looked curiously at the bush.
"What is it sir?"
"I'm not sure. I thought I heard a noise." He and a few soldiers carefully approached the bush. As silently as possible, Sokka wrapped his fingers around the boomerang in its sheath on his back.
But when Iroh was within just a few feet, he stopped short and screwed up his face. Halting the soldiers, he took a fan out of his sleeve and waved it quickly in front of his nose. "I fear we best not approach any closer gentlemen unless one of you wishes to be sprayed by a den of skunk-rats." To the trio's relief they moved away.
"We must find Prince Zuko as soon as possible. Without the flying buffalo the Avatar won't be able to escape. Make sure the animal is well guarded."
"Yes sir!" Iroh and the rest of the soldiers walked away.
Katara took her hand away from Aang's mouth. "No wonder he didn't respond to the whistle. Katara, they've got Appa!" Aang said anxiously.
"Don't worry, we'll figure out a way to get him back."
"Well, we can't get to him from the direct route. They'll have guards all around him just waiting for us," Sokka replied.
"But then what are we going to do?"
Sokka looked around thinking. "Our best bet is to cut through there," he pointed to section where a small creek disappeared into a densely wooded forest off to the right. "If we circle around and come out the other side, they may not expect us."
"Then let's go," Aang insisted. The three headed down into the gully.
Prince Zuko crested the rise and looked around. From his vantage point he had a clear view of the area in all directions. At first all he could see was forest but then movement in the distance caught his eye, a brief flash of yellow and red before it disappeared into a gully. Too short to be a Fire Nation soldier, the brightly colored outfit could only be one other, the Avatar!
As the trio walked through the shallow water of the slow moving creek, Katara hugged her arms a little tighter around her waist. The further they walked the creepier the forest became. The canopy of trees overhead grew closer together blocking out the sun until only a shadowy gloom filtered through. It was also very quiet, almost too quiet, the only sound made was from the sloshing of their feet in the water. Sokka had insisted they walk in the water to hide their tracks. Aang was beginning to wonder the same as he gazed through the dense foliage which seemed to take on a grey almost dead appearance.
"I don't know about this Sokka," Katara said. "This place gives me the creeps."
"It can't be that much further," Sokka insisted, but he too felt uneasy.
A large fallen tree blocked their path and they had to duck low to pass under it. When they stood up, all three stopped in their tracks and stared. They were in a darkly covered clearing, the canopy of trees high but still blocking the sunlight. But it wasn't that which drew their attention. All around the clearing huge shrouds of grey webbing hung from every branch and trunk. They walked further into the clearing looking up and all around at the intricate eerie design.
"What is this place?" Katara asked moving closer to Aang and her brother. "It's creepy but amazing."
"I don't know," Sokka replied.
Off to the side Aang spotted something usual hanging almost suspended in mid air. It was large and bulky but its form undistinguishable. He moved closer. Cautiously he poked his staff at it and it swayed and began to rotate slowly. Suddenly a grotesque face appeared shrouded in a cocoon of webbing. Aang stepped back quickly and bumped into Sokka who let out a grunt when Aang's elbow made contact with his already bruised ribcage from his previous fall. It was a Firebender, or rather what was left on one, now nothing more than mummified remains. Katara turned her head away from the sight.
"I vote we turn back," Aang suggested.
They suddenly heard soft clicking in the darkness. The trio froze. It was soon followed by more clicking then the sound of scurrying movement. "Uh, that would probably be a good choice," Sokka seconded in a slightly high-pitched voice.
They backed slowly up the way they'd come. But suddenly out of the corner of his eye Aang spotted something dark moving quickly out of the shadows towards him. He brought his staff up and whacked the ground before him, sending an air blast of current at it. With a squeal, the thing was catapulted back.
Before Aang could even determine what it was, another creature emerged from the darkness and scampered towards them. This time it got close enough for Aang to see a three foot furry silhouette on eight fast moving legs. Aang brought his staff around in a sideways motion, slicing another blast of air which sent the creature sailing back into the darkness.
"Aang!" Sokka said nervously and pointed upward. Katara gasped as she saw three more silhouettes descending slowly from the grey canopy above.
"Well it was certainly nice visiting, but we really must be going now," Aang insisted.
Without further prompting, the trio turned and fled. Ducking under the tree, Katara felt something suddenly wrap around her leg and pull her off balance. She landed in the shallow water with a splash and suddenly felt herself being pulled backwards.
"Katara!" Sokka cried as he saw his sister suddenly disappear back under the log.
Flipping over she saw her ankle wrapped in a rope of webbing and attached to the other end was a giant spider reeling her in like a fish on a line, its fangs only a few feet from her. Katara quickly bended a water whip at the creature, smacking it between its eight glowing eyes.
Momentarily stunned it nevertheless rose to its feet and started reeling her in again. Aang grabbed her from behind and pulled as Sokka brought his boomerang blade down and cut the line. Then suddenly they heard more clicking, this time faster and in more of a frenzy as more silhouettes emerged. As fast as they could the trio took off running.
Prince Zuko walked cautiously through the dense canopy forest trying to make as little sound as possible. He could sense the Avatar and his friends were close by. Though it was getting more difficult to see through the gloom he didn't dare ignite a flame in his hand least give his position away. He thought he heard a strange sound, like a tapping and whirled around in a defensive stance but could see nothing. But his stealth efforts proved to be unnecessary when suddenly he heard a lot of splashing and the Avatar and his friends suddenly appeared right in front of him.
With giant spiders on their tail, the last thing Aang expected was a face to face encounter with of all people Zuko. As Aang suddenly stopped short, Sokka and Katara barreled right into him, knocking the wind out of him. Aang landed face first in the shallow water right in front of Zuko's feet.
"Stay where you are!" Zuko demanded, his arm immediately coming up into an attack position above Aang's head.
Sokka held up his hands. "Um, this really isn't a good time."
"Shut up!"
Sokka darted a quick glance behind him, his teeth clenched nervously. He jerked his thumb backward. "Really, I'm serious. This isn't a good time."
Zuko looked up and saw several of the fast moving spiders approaching. Katara brought her water whip up and zapped one of the creatures while another scurried past and headed straight for Zuko. The prince quickly countered with a flaming torch which forced the spider back screaming. But another soon took its place.
Aang sprang to his feet and brought his staff about knocking the spider away from Zuko. It was hard to determine who was the more surprised, Zuko or the spider. But before either could dwell on this more spiders emerged and Zuko and Aang found themselves standing back to back zapping them with a combination a air and fire blasts.
Sokka and Katara were busy with their own battle. Katara continued zapping them with her water whip but then got an idea. As one of the creatures scurried towards her, she flared her fingers out pushing at the water. At the same time she exhaled and the water froze about the spiders legs stopping it in its tracks.
Sokka in the meantime had found a large stick and was using it like a bat to knock the spiders away or poke them between the eyes. But suddenly his stick was wrench out of his hand. "Huh?" He looked back to see one of the spidershad grab it with its spinner rope.Turning back around he saw a second spider fast approaching.
"Ahhh!" Sokka exclaimed. Quickly he ran behind the mummified Firebender still hanging from its suspended webbed cacoon. The spider tried to circle around him, but Sokka kept the mummy between them, trying to use it as a sheild. Finally the spider stopped and simply stared at Sokka with its eight reflective eyes.
"Nice spider," hesaid in a squeaky voice. The spider clicked its fangs slowly together as if contemplating its next move. Then all a sudden it lunged and landed on the suspended mummy which began to rotate crazily. Sokka dropped to his knees and scurried under the spinning corpse before finally getting to his feet again. The spider tried to jump after him but was suddenly knocked down by another spider sailing through the air, the result of an airblast from Aang a short distance away.
As Sokka zipped past Aang though a spinner rope caught him by the ankle. Another spider was reeling him in. Aang leaped into action and jumping into the air, sailed over Sokka and landed feet first on the spider's head. Seeing her brother's plight as well, Katara raced to his aid and helped free him. They looked around as the spiders started to regroup.
"There's too many of them!" Sokka said. "We need to get out of here!"
"This way," Katara shouted pointing to a sunlit opening in the dense forest.
The three raced towards the light, but before they reached it, Aang looked back and saw Zuko battling four of the creatures alone. Suddenly a web rope caught him around the waist trapping one of his arms to his side. When he tried to counter, his other arm was caught and pinned to his side as well. Then his feet were pulled out from underneath him. Aang bit his lip knowing he couldn't leave Zuko to his horrible fate. Without thought, he grabbed the boomerang out of Sokka's hand.
"Aang! What are you doing!"
"I'll be right back."
Using the limbs of the canopy trees above as leverage he sprung over the spiders and landed in front of Zuko. Forming an airball, he shot it at one of the spiders holding Zuko hostage, then spun around and did an air kick at the other. Cutting the web ropes with the boomerang blade, Aang grabbed Zuko and leapt up into the air just as two more spiders jumped up to attack smashing into each other. Aang did a forward arching flip before tumbling to the ground. Zuko, still with his arms and legs bound in webbing grunted as they hit the ground hard. Aang grabbed Zuko and dragged him out into the sunlight where Sokka and Katara stood stunned.
The spiders did not follow, instead retreating back into the darkness. Aang was on his knees breathing heavily from the exertion.
"Aang are you crazy! You could have been killed!" Sokka said.
Zuko lay on the ground struggling to free himself, his face filled with rage. "This changes nothing Avatar!"
Sokka scoffed. "Firebending scum! He should have left you to your fate!" Prince Zuko spat a fire blast at Sokka which he had to do a fancy hop step to avoid.
Aang got slowly to his feet. There seemed to be a tired sadness about him. He looked down at Zuko. "It's Aang," he said quietly.
Zuko looked at him perplexed. "What?"
"Aang, that's my name. Just in case you wanted to know." He handed Sokka the boomerang back. "Come on guys. When need to find Appa." He turned and walked away.
