Chapter 7
...
After Aang got taken away, I just waved at him. Causing my cute little sister to slap me on the back of my head.
"What are we going to do now?!" Katara asked, looking at me for an answer. She was panicking.
"I dunno, never planned this far," I shrugged nonchalantly.
She got annoyed at my joke and fumed. But I patted her on the head to calm my little sis down. "Just joking, look at your cool brother and how he fixes this situation."
"Hey!! We have to go and save Aang! Also, don't call yourself cool, it makes you even more uncool," she nagged at me. Katara didn't understand the duties of an older sibling.
"C'mon now~" I clutched at my heart with a mock hurt look on my face, "How could you say that to your cool older brother?"
"Stop making jokes! Let's start saving Aang!!" She yelled at me in a hurry and grabbed my shirt and shook me.
sigh* "Listen here dear Kat-"
"Also I don't want to hear any more of your stupid jokes or sarcastic comments of narcissism!" She interrupted me with an angry look on her face.
"Okay, okay~" I waved her off dismissively, "Then we just need to find that flying bison and chase after that warship. Because our small fishing boats won't be able to catch that thing."
ROAR!!*
That was when Appa's roar rang out and he was seen in the outskirts of the village.
"Oh, I just love it when the universe has perfect timings like this," I smirked and went to Appa, to hug my favorite flying bison.
[Appa (Lvl 53)]
Ohhh~ now I can see his level, meaning that my Observe can see people's levels but only when they are about 50 levels higher than me, any higher and all I see is their name and title.
Though I didn't dwell on his level too long as I helped Katara get on.
"Where do you think you are going?" Gran-Gran interrupted us and her eyes narrowed.
"Gran…" Katara didn't seem to know what to say.
So I decided to be the one to intervene. "We are not leaving the fate of the world to some twelve-year-old kid. Also, whether he is the Avatar or not doesn't matter, that Airbender is just another kid at the end of the day. We ain't letting him get taken by the Fire Nation."
Katara was afraid that she would try to stop us and fidgeted nervously. But I knew Gran-Gran better than this and just as according to my expectations she showed two bags in her hands. "You forgot your sleeping bags."
"Gran-Gran!" Katara smiled and jumped off Appa, hugging grandma. I followed her and hugged the old grandma too.
"Sokka, take care of your sister," she looked at me with a smile. I nodded, Katara was my sister now, family, I wouldn't let anything happen to her. "You two found the Avatar and your fates are now intertwined with his."
After that, we got on Appa and I said the magic words. "Appa, yip-yip."
With a huff, he set off to the skies, now staying on his head and looking down at the water made my head spin for a second. Like most people, I had a fear of extreme highs and was just standing on Appa. It felt like standing outside of an airplane as it set flight… scary… but that feeling wouldn't last for even a second as my Gamer's Mind took effect, calming my nerves immediately.
Huh? As long as I kept tight and made sure that I didn't slip out, guess that there was nothing to fear from heights. Wow, being able to think clearly in such situations was amazing. It made all fears sound irrational, after all, what was the use of being afraid?
Because it would take us some time to catch up to the Fire Nation ship. I decided to make some small banter with my sister. "So, Katara, are you into bald guys?"
"What? Obviously not," he answered immediately and without hesitation.
Ufff… I felt sorry for Aang, if he was here… yeah, better never tell him that Katara said this.
"So… what about Aang? He seems like a nice kid." I tried to bring the conversation back, because like any older brother, no way in hell would I want my sister to be married, especially when she was so young.
I will have to be an asshole to Aang if he tries anything, it's my duty as an older brother.
Once we arrived at our destination, I saw that Aang and Zuko were in a deadly battle of fire and air. The Airbender though just evaded and rarely did any attacks.
"Well, that's something," I commented. "Seems like our local angry guy got to fight the friendly bald guy. Who do you think will win?"
Katara was annoyed by my small talk and I knew she wanted to hit me so badly. So with that in mind, I shut my mouth and guided Appa downward toward the ship.
Fwosh!!
He swung his tail, shooting Zuko and the other men surrounding Aang away. As expected of a ten-ton giant bison.
Though more soldiers came out and I noticed Iroh casually drinking tea to the side. The old man didn't seem like he wanted to get involved, so I took out my spear and jumped down, and got ready for a fight. "So, anyone wanna dance?"
Their levels were around seven on average, there was one at Level 13 and he was probably the ship's captain who managed the day-to-day duties.
Suddenly, the Sense Danger Skill warned me and I tilted my head to the side, dodging an attack that would have hit me in the head. Though the heat waves still hit me a little.
"Now that's some good heat," I complimented the attacker and looked at the side of the ship. Where a drenched Zuko stood. "Anyway, Aang, did you get everything you needed?"
"Yeah…" he said, no longer speaking as enthusiastically as he did in the village. It seems like his identity being discovered had already put the weight of an Avatar on his shoulders. "Let's go now."
He jumped towards Appa, but I grabbed Aang by the nape of his neck and pulled him back.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A wall of flames was created, between us and the flying bison. Appa freaked out and he flew to the sky with just Katara on him. Still, he didn't go away and floated in the sky.
Looking at the wall of flame, it resembled that of a water wall, something that Waterbenders usually used.
"I must apologize for my nephew's anger," Iroh came forward. "But I can't let him fight two opponents at once, so I will be joining the fight."
"You didn't have a problem when Aang was against the soldiers who outnumbered him? Where was your sense of honor back then?" I asked the old man, who only shrugged.
"I never said that I was perfect," was his excuse as he shot a pillar of flame at me. "So how about we spar a little?"
BOOOOOOM!!
Seeing the pillar of flame coming at me was terrifying, but with Gamer's Mind, everything was calm. So I twirled my spear and dispersed the pillar of flame to the side by using the spear's momentum.
Immediately I noticed that this was done way too easily and looked at the old man who only winked at me.
Iroh wasn't going all out and it was obvious to me, though from the outside it would look like he is throwing pillars of flame and I am just deflecting them easily.
"It seems like the Southern Warriors are quite strong," he complimented me smugly, knowing that this all wasn't due to my skill but him. The old man really got to have his fun as he threw waves upon waves of flames.
Still though…
[Spear Mastery Level Increased]
[Spear Mastery Level Increased]
[Spear Mastery Level Increased]
My Spear Mastery skill kept leveling up like crazy as I used my whalebone spear to deflect the fire attacks. Slowly but surely, Iroh started doing stronger attacks and not trying to go easy on me.
Is this guy training me?... Well, he was the kind of guy who would help a thief how to hold a knife better and then give him sage-like life advice.
"Aghhh!!" Suddenly, Aang's scream brought me out of my thoughts and I looked on as his body flew overboard.
Chapter 8: Bros
As Aang fell off the ship, by using Observe I could tell that he wasn't injured. But had entered an unconscious state.
I kept my eye on Zuko and charged at Aang, trying to stop him from falling on the cold water. Things changed with my presence, I didn't want to take any chances with this. What if the ship's propeller slashed his body to bits? Or even drowning? I didn't want to take a chance on these things.
As I started running, an intense wall of flames blocked my way, the heat almost made my skin blister. But due to Gamer's body, only a small amount of HP is lost. No damage was taken on the outside. I looked at the attacker.
Iroh, who had been passive most of the time, looked at me with a cold gaze. "Sorry, but I can't let someone like you fight against my nephew. You are too dangerous."
Hm? What did he mean by that? I didn't have time to contemplate that as another blast of fire came my way. I dug my feet in the ground and carefully used the tip of my spear to disperse the fire. I took a lot of damage, and my HP dropped by 15% in one attack.
Iroh skillfully controlled the flames to form a circle, entrapping me. "Stay where you are, young man."
[You have got a new Title!]
"Uncle! We need to take care of him or else he will stop us from capturing the Avatar." I dismissed the notification as Zuko threw a ball of flames towards me.
With a swipe of my spear, I dispersed the fire, but by doing that, I started noticing the dark scorch marks that had started appearing around my weapon. It was crudely made of whale bones, so it wasn't made to resist flames like this.
"You are good with the spear," Iroh complimented me. "You might not be the best out there, but you are a fast learner."
I didn't take his words seriously, now wasn't the time to contemplate such things. Instead, a small calm smirk made its way onto my face. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you all."
"Where do you think you will be going? Helping the Avatar is a crime." Zuko narrowed his eyes and snorted. "You will be transferred to our prisons."
I didn't need to answer him. A torrent of water came out and Aang stood in a reverse whirlpool and looked down on us all, his eyes and tattoos glowed ominously. He landed on the ship, his foothold was very stable but his hands moved in a Waterbending stance. Aang's movements were perfect, as they were done over thousands of years. Lifetimes of bending experience were transferred all in this singular moment.
"What's that?" Questioned Zuko before Aang made a ring of water around himself and expanded it, knocking everyone off the ship. Even Iroh was pushed back by the cold water and his flames doused out.
Seeing the torrent of water coming at me too, I immediately knew that Aang couldn't tell the difference between friend and enemy in that state. As the water hit me, it was cold. The next thing I felt was the sensation of falling and saw the cold sea below me. But by using my spear, and jabbing it into an opening in the ship's metal plates I was barely able to hold on to the side of the ship.
Thanks to Gamer's Body, the cold I felt from being doused in freezing water didn't last too long. But I was now stuck and could only hold into my spear's handle to stop myself from falling into the ice sea below. I pulled myself up and jumped back on the ship by twisting my body and doing a backflip for momentum. I was able to get back on board.
Damn... It was quite amazing how good my body could move. The Agility stat translated to both physical speed and acrobatics too. Something that wasn't necessarily correlated normally, but to the Gamer Interface it's the same.
But I stopped thinking about my ability being amazing when Aang's body slumped on the ground tiredly. I went and grabbed him and waved at Appa. The sky bison landed next to us and let down his tail as a way to get on him.
"Good boy." I complimented Appa, and he huffed in response. Had no idea what that meant, but I will take it as him saying 'You are Welcome' to me.
Putting Aang over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, I ran up Appa's tail and let the Avatar down, and took the sky bison's reins. "Appa, yip, yip!" The big bison flew in the sky with a swing of his tail.
Aang opened his eyes. "Katara…" he muttered softly. Looking at my sister with a sad gaze.
We then started having a small talk in which he explained that he was the Avatar and got back to riding on Appa's head while I went and sat on the saddle. Katara immediately reignited her hopes into saving the world. I could see that in her eyes.
I on the other hand said my views on the matter. "You can chill, I don't expect to have a twelve-year-old kid just come and magically solve my problems."
Aang looked at me in surprise, Katara seemed a little annoyed. But she couldn't exactly argue against my logic.
"Then who will save the world?" Asked Aang. "The Avatar has done that for generations."
"Well, I am not saying you should not save the world," I clarified. "I just think that you should have a choice in the matter."
I didn't care about changing a whole world's culture just because I came from a more advanced one. But still, at least the twelve-year-old should have a choice on these things where his life would be endangered.
[Wisdom increased by 1]
"Running away once didn't do anything for me, so I won't be running away from my responsibilities again." Aang's eyes harmed and resolve was born in them.
I smirked at his answer. "Well, I can't let a twelve-year-old go and do the job of a Hero."
"Technically I am 112 years old," insisted the Air Nomad. "Ugh, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years…"
Well, he had a different priority, but I could understand where he was coming from, he didn't know what had happened in these 100 years.
Opening the interface, I looked at my skills and noticed that my Spear Mastery had gone up to level 5. Also, my new title called [Fire Fighter] gives me a boost in strength and agility when fighting against Firebenders.
I needed this power, especially since I don't have access to ID Create. Raising my level will be hard, though… Maybe I could change this. After all, a Gamer Interface is usually limited by the world, but any skill that they get can be developed into a godly level.
So with that in mind… What would happen if I went to the Spirit World? After all, that was another world and it might give me some ability. To reach the spirit world I would need to level up Meditation. After all, showing everyone else that I didn't need sleep, even to someone like Aang and Katara was a big No. so I could train Meditation while pretending to sleep.
In this world, spirits existed. Getting mistaken as a possessed Sokka would ruin everything and I would be hunted down no matter where I went. Well, the slow change in personality would be better, I still have my sense of sarcasm which I and Sokka had in common. Though his luck with women was off the charts and every girl found him cute, in a dumb kind of way.
Though will I have the same luck as him? While I had experience in my first life with girls, they didn't throw themselves at me either. ,
We traveled through the day, Aang and I got to know each other. While he was still a young kid, there was undoubtedly a sense of Wisdom to him. Growing with old monks, they must have imparted a lot of wisdom in him.
"Young man, you shall bow eighteen times to your elders," Aang imitated an old man as he used some of Appa's white fur to make a fake beard.
I too had some of Appa's fur and used it to make a mustache. "Young Aang, technically you might be my Elder, but in mind, I am older. For your insolence bow me nineteen times."
"Young man Sakka, I am 112 years old, even your grandmother wasn't born during my time."
"Young Aang-"
"Can you two stop messing around?! You have been doing this for three hours straight!" Katara complained, ruining our bonding time.
"Yes, sorry~" Aang scratched the back of his head nervously. The guy had already fallen headfirst, with a crush on Katara, I don't think his temple had any girl disciples as the female monks lived in a temple of their own.
I on the other hand just rubbed my newly acquired Dumbledore beard, insisted. "Sorry sister, but my beard tells a story of wisdom. Listen to your elders."
"I apologize too, my excitement to learn Waterbending got the better of me." Katara ignored what I said and just apologized to Aang.
"Yeah, you are ruining our bro time. Also, my feelings were very hurt," my comment was ignored again as she went back to consoling Aang.
Though I saw the clenching of her fist and she probably wanted to punch me so bad. But had to keep her composure in front of Aang, after all, she didn't wanna burst and seem in front of someone she hadn't met for too long.
The TV show had skipped most of this stuff, but the Southern Air Temple was around a day away, even with Appa. So we had to stop at a nearby island, I think they did something similar in the show too. My presence might change things, but it will be logical and the world won't be destroyed just because I sneezed.
As we stopped and laid our sleeping bags down on a beach, I called over Aang and explained to him that we had to keep watch. Zuko was still after us, he wasn't the kind of guy to give up simply because of one loss and Aang got the same impression from him too.
"I will leave these kinds of things to you," he nodded. "I don't know anything about hunting or camping in the wild."
"Sokka's knowledge would be only in theory, so don't trust his skills too much," Katara came into our conversation and she got a knowing smug smirk on her face.
Did I somehow anger her? Or is she just being childish? Maybe both? Well, getting mad at kids wouldn't lead anywhere. Anger in general doesn't lead to good things.
"Well, at least I still know something. Maybe you can guide me? Queen of Wilderness that grew up with wolves," the sarcasm dripped out of my voice densely. She narrowed her eyes on me, her hand clenched into a fist.
"Grew up in the jungle?" Aang on the other hand seemed confused by my sarcasm and took it at face value. "Oh!" Then he seemed to realize. "That was sarcasm."
After everyone went to sleep, Katara tried to make a comeback with insults against me but just failed horribly. So as a kind brother, I decided to take the first night watch and let her rest and give her time to think of better comebacks.
Also, I had to see how safe this shore was while the other two slept. It also gave me a chance to train with my spear, and after some time I got Spear mastery to Level 8.
Fwish!
Suddenly from the shadows, I saw something move...
A/N: Sokka is very casual with Katara, she is his younger sister after all, so as siblings they will banter sometimes. To anyone without siblings, brother and sister fighting sometimes means nothing, and they still love each other.
P.S: Aang is a pretty friendly guy and easy to get along with.