Author's Note: Edited 7/9/20. Minor edits this time around. The main thing was trying to make Bato a little more of his own character and keeping Water Tribe culture in line with things I establish later (and less identical to Fire Nation culture in the show).
Sedna: Inuit Goddess of the Sea.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.
Book 1: Fire
Chapter 3: The Western Air Temple
"So remind me again where we're going?" Zuko muttered to Aang, arms folded as he stared up into the sky.
"The Western Air Temple," he responded, staring straight ahead. He had no time for this slightly more immature Zuko that he wasn't really used to yet. In his 'dimension,' Zuko was broody and silent, but a stable support for the group. He was strong and reliable.
Here, he was almost like the Sokka that he knew.
Thinking of one of his best friends, his brother, only brought Aang more pain. He quickly dismissed the depressing thoughts.
This Zuko was just as prone to complaining as the Sokka he knew, though both could be just as moody (especially as his Sokka got older). Zuko often fell victim to Azula's teasing and tricks. His younger sister was a bit mean to him sometimes, like when she singed some of his clothing out of boredom. She didn't normally mess with Aang, though, and that was perfectly fine with him. She seemed to look at him as something she couldn't understand, and acknowledged him as much stronger than her. The only interaction they had was falsely polite conversation and quiet laughter at Zuko's misfortune. He did not want to become acquainted with her, he decided, because she was very real and very plausible to attack him when his guard was down. Whenever he looked at her, he couldn't help but see someone different, something that could have been. He saw the malicious glint in her eyes and the evil smile on her flawless face, even when there was no such thing to indicate her ruthlessness. He was determined not to trust her.
Appa groaned with a semblance of relief when they arrived at the canyon. The familiar heat of the Fire Nation felt heavy and suffocating as always, a small fact which oddly comforted Aang. The barren land below him burned with heat and the air felt drier than it did in the southern islands.
"We're here," Aang announced to the other two, looking back. Both siblings sat up and leaned forward with interest.
"I don't see it," Azula said, squinting.
"He's seeing things now," Zuko mumbled. "Great."
"Well, this one's a bit different from the other Air Temples," Aang said. "While the others shoot up into the sky..." He flew Appa down into the canyon, where the two siblings gasped. "... this one is hanging under a cliff."
The temple was unchanged and undamaged from when he last saw it. The leveled buildings hung upside-down, each underside of the pagodas holding thin, twisting trees and wild grass. He directed Appa to land in the main square of the temple where they found a dried out fountain by a faded but colorful mural of sky bison. Pillars stretched from floor to ceiling acting as a support for both. Aang gracefully hopped off Appa's head and Azula landed cat-like on the ground. Zuko was about to copy her when Appa shook and he stumbled to the ground.
"Was this place run by women?" Azula asked, looking around at all of the statues of the airbender nuns.
"Yes," Aang replied, joining her to stare up at the statue, her arrow still prominent upon her shaved forehead. If this temple was the same as the one he used to visit back at home, then there was really no hope for...
"Whoa," Zuko said, interrupting his thoughts. The swordsman opened up one of the thicker doors, and he looked down a dark hallway. "There's a ton of statues in here." Aang and Azula walked over and the Avatar was pleased to see the Hall of Statues. They all lined up evenly and sloped downwards. If he remembered correctly, this was the same hallway where Teo, the Mechanist's son, crashed when his brakes stopped working. These statues were just slightly taller than the three of them, all depicting Air Nomad women, all of the nuns in the history of the Temple. "They're all... women."
"There's not much variety here," Azula said, indifferent.
"The Southern Air Temple, the place where I was raised, had statues of all of the past Avatars," Aang told them. "It's very interesting. It shows every Avatar in the order we were born in."
"What, you mean like 'water, earth, fire, air?'" Zuko asked him, snickering. Aang stared at him, his face blank. "Alright, alright, never mind."
"I only said that because... my brain was still all fuddled... from the iceberg," Aang said, grasping for words in an attempt to cover up his past mistake.
"Iceberg?" Azula asked, crossing her arms and staring at him with a raised eyebrow.
Aang's eyes widened as he realized another big slip-up. "Er... I meant volcano," he said, and hoped it was enough to save himself. They seemed to buy this, but Azula and Zuko looked to each other and shrugged. "Like I said, it addled my brains." He gave them a feeble grin that only fell when they walked off to continue exploring the temple.
It wasn't until they summoned a tidal wave that the fires on the ship had finally been quenched. Then the ship nearly sunk, and all of the waterbenders had to use all of their power to keep it afloat. The ship was battered and in disrepair and Prince Sokka was more infuriated than ever. He needed to capture the Avatar; his own public honor and status as a waterbender, a man, and eldest son of the Water Emperor depended on it. The ancient Fire Nation valued their honor and pride more than the Water Tribes, but everyone had their dignity. He needed his own to be restored.
"You could help us, you know," his Gran said to him, dousing herself with water to block the heat. "The men all look up to you and are loyal. You can at least extend the hand of friendship."
"I don't have any friends," he snapped. I don't need any. Ever since his self-imposed exile, his grandmother had always preached to him the ways of friendship and love. She claimed that the ancient Water Tribes practically bathed in it. He didn't need such womanly wishes. The Water Tribes before the war were such a primitive people; he, like many others, much preferred to be called the Water Nation. Their army wasn't much to speak of, but their grand navy was unmatched. Sokka's ship reflected his current status in the tribe: smaller than most and made entirely of wood and stretched animal skins, while the more majestic ones maintained a coating of ice, even on deck, that made it seem like they had been carved from a glacier with blackened whale bones adding a wicked edge to the prows.
When the ship finally dragged itself to a port controlled by the Water Nation, his grandmother had to go into his quarters and pull him from his maps. He had been trying to track the Avatar's course. She tried to coax him into going into the town and go on a walk with her. Who was she to think that she, a woman, could order him, the prince of the Water Nation around? She might have been the Moonlit Mother but he technically outranked her.
"I have no time for that," Sokka growled, quickly dismissing her. "I have to stay according to schedule."
"Oh well, I guess you can't come with me and buy all of the seal jerky we've been missing," she said offhandedly, starting to walk off. He halted in his work, groaned, and let his head fall against his maps. She knew his weaknesses.
After showing Zuko and Azula the Hall of Statues, the Avatar led them to the All-Day Echo Chamber. It was large and dome-shaped, with many stone mechanisms inside to encourage the nearly endless echoes. It was one of the unique and entertaining traits of the Western Air Temple, built solely for that reason, but it was well known by the other Air Nomads. When Aang pushed open the heavy stone door, the grinding of stone against stone reverberated throughout the chamber, nearly deafening at first until falling into a steady rhythm until he closed it gently. Light filtered in through a hole large enough for a person in the ceiling.
"What's this?" Azula asked. What's this... What's this... What's this...
"The All-Day Echo Chamber," Aang explained. Echo Chamber, Echo Chamber, Echo Chamber. The two voices mixed with the grinding sound, bouncing off of the walls of the chamber. "It's famous." Famous, famous, famous...
"It's obnoxious," Zuko said. Noxious, noxious, noxious. "Okay, this is already getting annoying," annoying, annoying... Azula laughed at him, and the teasing sound echoed endlessly, infuriating him further. The numerous sounds mixed together, getting louder and louder as they meshed and were enhanced by the apparatus in the center of the room. They all soon covered their ears as it rose in a crescendo.
"Let's get out of here!" Aang shouted, which was also added to the noise. They pulled open the doors again, slamming them as they all exited.
"I don't see a point to that," Zuko said, rubbing his head. "I have a headache now." He seemed broody again, kind of like what Aang recognized.
"Let's keep looking around," Aang said to them. He still did not know what he was looking for, only what he wanted. He needed guidance. Answers. A way to get back home.
The moment Kanna and Sokka stepped off of the ruined ship, the Water Prince immediately felt a chill go up his spine. Only three people he knew could do that to him—two of which he highly doubted would be in such a small port in one of the Outer Islands of the Fire continent.
"I can't believe you're making me come here," Sokka said to his grandmother in a low hiss. "I can't lose his trail!"
"The Avatar's, right?" she asked him absentmindedly, looking at a shopping list. He was about to respond and tell her to shut her mouth about his target's identity, but the person he hated most walked up to them at that moment.
"Prince Sokka, Lady Kanna, great to see you both here," Clan Chief Bato of the Water Nation said, stepping up behind them, his voice personable as always. He was flanked by two marines in leather helms with twisted horns, as always - members of Bato's Buffalo Yak Clan. Sokka did not envy their choice of headwear in this heat.
"I wish I could say the same," Sokka muttered to himself. Kanna discretely nudged him with her elbow.
"Captain Bato," she greeted. Using his navy title over his status as chief of his clan was a slight to Bato; one that Sokka appreciated his grandmother for. "What brings you here today?"
"I'm a fleet commander now," he said, sounding slightly insulted at what she said to him but boastful of his title. "Anyway, I can ask the same of you," Bato said, turning around to look at Sokka's ship, or what was left of it. "Seems you've run into some trouble. Pirates? Or something... else?" He stared Sokka in the eye, both of their blue gazes having a battle of wills. "Your father wouldn't be too impressed by your naval skills... or lack thereof."
"No, it was just a kitchen fire," Sokka said with a glower, his voice low. "It got out of control. And don't speak to me of my father."
"Figures. Your royal clumsiness and food hog was never a good cook," Bato said wryly to him. Perhaps he intended it as a friendly jape, as he often tried in Sokka's childhood. Sokka hated it then and he hated it now.
"You are far too bold, Commander," Kanna said to him, slight aggressiveness in her eyes. "You are out of line. He is your prince. Show him the proper respect." Bato just grinned and bowed to him, while Sokka, on the other hand, felt ice in his blood. Bato mocked him, whether he meant it in good nature or not, and it was intentional.
"I apologize," Bato said, but it was obvious to Sokka that he didn't mean it. "I would like to invite such esteemed members of the emperor's family to some tea and seal biscuits. This is my naval base now. I have plenty to offer," he said. Sokka was about to blurt out that he could shove his tea and biscuits in his own face, and that they were leaving immediately, but his grandmother spoke up first.
"We'd love to," she answered, shooting Sokka a furtive glare.
While a good portion of the Western Temple was unscathed, the bison grounds and entrance to the Temple were in ruins. He knew this was where the battle had taken place, an effort to protect the temple. Many Water Tribe soldiers probably lost their lives falling from the cliffs because there were no signs of any bodies. He wandered around silently, stepping through the rubble with the grace and finesse only an airbender could possess. He had seen much death in his short life. As morbid as it sounded, he was used to it, but seeing the destruction of his own people still chilled him. He felt the remnants of it, almost as if he was there. But even in this world, he couldn't be there to help them. He had still failed the world.
And that hurt more than anything.
Zuko and Azula followed him as he searched the remains, keeping respectfully silent as he mourned the loss of his people. They knew what it was like to lose loved ones. They eventually came to the most dilapidated building of them all, which Aang vaguely recognized as the remains of the bison stables. The door was blocked by fallen wood and stone and other debris, so he simply pulled his fist back and punched the weak remains of the wall through. It easily crumbled under his strength, even as diminished as it had become in this world after he got shoved back into his younger body.
Once the dust cleared, the first things he saw were the dry blue leather chestpieces of the Water Tribe soldiers, their bone spears and other weapons sticking out of the ground all around them. But in the center of the room were the skeletal remains of one of the Air Nomads, a nun by the looks of her clothing. He almost expected to find Gyatso but it still felt like a dull blow to his gut. He put his head down in sadness and respect for her as well as the soldiers whose descendants he had once befriended. This woman had probably fought against the soldiers as she gave everyone else a chance to flee on the bison. It was a futile effort. Most of the ones that had left were hunted down, or gone. Even in his own previous life he accepted the fact that they were all gone. He turned away.
He did not know why he almost expected to see Gyatso, his friend, his mentor, his father. He simply needed guidance, but he knew that the dead could not provide it to him. He shouldn't have come here. He looked into the sad eyes of both Zuko and Azula, both unfamiliar looks on their faces, and thought that it was a waste of time bringing them here. He did not even know why he let them leave their village. He still did not trust Azula and this Zuko was much different than his own. He was still an amateur with his dao broadswords and it would have been much safer for them to stay away from his travels and his business. They would just be a burden. He preferred to travel on his own. He would have brought them back, but he knew well of Zuko's fierce dedication (but he wasn't sure if this Zuko had any) and this Azula's persuasiveness. They would absolutely refuse to turn down an adventure such as this. They were Fire Nation. They were passionate.
In his world, he learned of Zuko's fierce determination the first time he entered the Fire Nation with Sokka and Katara, back when they ran their first blockade.
A sudden jolt went through his spine when the thought entered his head. Crescent Island. That could be his next destination, but would he even be able to contact Roku without a solstice? Somehow, this time, he knew he had to go there regardless and figure out a way to contact his past life. Avatar Roku's temple would hopefully still be there, and if he had any spiritual troubles, that was Aang's best bet. Having an objective flooded him with hope again, one of the few things he had left to rely on. That was the only thing that drove him and his friends in the past.
They decided to spend the night at the temple. They had a long journey ahead of them and Appa needed a rest anyway. Aang spurred him on as much as he could to get to the Western Air Temple. They had set up camp exactly where Aang and his friends used to those few nights they stayed here three years ago. He found it to be another strange and unexpected comfort.
The cool night breeze ruffled his clothing as he tended to the fire. He looked to the faces of his companions—both fallen asleep. They were still new to this, he reminded himself. They needed to rest. His own younger body got tired fairly easily. He still could not get over the changes of getting younger again. He was shorter, bald, and his voice was still annoyingly high. He would have to go through puberty again. Fortunately, he discovered before, the huge disfigurement on his back was gone. That was why he was able to enter the Avatar State back near Zuko and Azula's village. He still couldn't believe that the person who caused the rugged scar on his back slept peacefully right in front of him with no memories of ever doing it to him. The Avatar leaned against the wall, tucking his knees up to his chin and resting his head there. His eyelids drooped. His vision became blurry. For a moment, he thought he saw Momo dancing in front of the flames before darkness obscured his sight.
Kanna shoved the seal biscuit into her mouth, savoring the flavor. It was not as she used to make them but it was still delicious. Bato stared at her with a look of distaste while Sokka looked slightly embarrassed. But for the most part, they ignored her as they talked.
"So have you had any news of the Avatar?" Bato asked, taking a sip of his tea. The whole time, the clan chief wore an unnerving smirk that suggested that he knew something Sokka didn't. "That's why you left the South Pole, isn't it?"
"Nothing," the fallen prince muttered, taking his own sip of tea.
The other Water Tribesman let out a low, bellowing, almost boastful laugh. Sokka, Kanna, and the two guards stationed at the entrance of the tent looked up at him. "Figures you wouldn't find anything. Unless you're lying about something?" he asked, once his laughter subsided. "Even your father knows it's a fool's errand. He doesn't know why you're so intent on this. You're smarter than this, Sokka - we all know it. Why don't you just come home?"
"No," Sokka nearly growled in response. "I haven't found anything. And I'm not going home yet."
"Well that's too bad then. Some of my own men are out searching for him now, following your own mapped routes," Bato said offhandedly.
Sokka stood up, face hot with anger. "You won't lay a hand on him," he threatened, holding his club out. "How dare you force your way onto my ship?"
Kanna stayed silent - no man boarded another's ship without permission; it was tantamount to trampling over his pride and called his manhood into question. A woman butting into this would only make the situation worse for Sokka.
"Is that a challenge?" Bato asked him, his brow furrowed.
"Yes. I challenge you to Sedna'a!"
When Aang awoke the next morning, he found himself in the same exact position he was the night before. The other two had already woken. Azula practiced with the fire left over from their camp, making it dance through the air not far from him. Zuko sat in front of the remains sullenly eating a cold breakfast.
Aang watched Azula bend the fire through the air, working on her control over the flames. It was so odd to see her so inexperienced with her bending. She was far from the cruel, vicious, master firebender he knew. Sweat formed on her brow as she moved through the motions, not even noticing as the Avatar watched her. When she did finally turn around to see him, she abruptly separated the flames and let them dissipate into nothing.
"There's somewhere else we still need to go next," Aang told them. "We're leaving soon." The two looked a little miffed to be told like that, but neither of them did anything.
"Well, I might as well tell you that we've had a little spy while we were here," Azula said to him, a hand on her hip. Aang froze. Who followed them? Was it an enemy? He stood on guard. Azula pointed up at one of the rafters. Aang followed her finger, and up above he saw a tiny white head flinch back into hiding. His mouth dropped open. He propelled himself up there with a burst of air to get a better look. The creature, alarmed, dropped off of its rotted wood beam and then flew down to their camp. It glided right above a startled Zuko, and then it swooped up, flapping its leathery wings to get away from the one chasing it.
"Hey, wait a minute, little lemur!" Aang called out, overjoyed at the thought of reuniting with his friend - the idea of seeing Momo again lifted his spirits more than anything else since coming to this world. "We won't hurt you! Zuko, toss me some food!"
Zuko fumbled, but quickly threw a slightly bruised peach to the airborne Aang.
He deftly caught it. "Come here, little lemur. I have some food for you!" He quickly cornered the slightly slower creature, and then offered the fruit in his hand. The lemur's ears flattened against its head. Aang gently placed the peach down and rolled it over. It fell back on its haunches, shy and afraid, but warily crept up to the food and took a hesitant bite. The lemur seemed to enjoy it. Aang grinned. Lemurs were easy to win over if you had a little food.
As he watched it happily nibble on the fruit, his spirits dropped abruptly. This wasn't Momo. The ears were shorter, he noticed. Some of its patches of fur were darker. The tail was longer. The lemur itself was smaller than Momo. With a start, he realized she was a girl; they tended to be more timid in addition to those other physical traits and a more pointed snout. He knelt down next to her. "Hey, little one," he cooed softly, and sadly, to her. She focused her big, round eyes on him inquisitively, and then scampered up onto his shoulder. She must have been alone, he thought. The females never came out of hiding unless there was nothing left for them. She was desperate for companionship. "I'll name you Sabishi," he decided. "You're just like me," he added quietly. She purred softly.
"What, you're keeping it?" Zuko asked him, surprised. "Whatever. I'm not cleaning up after it."
Aang rolled his eyes at him. "Don't worry, I won't expect you to. Just as long as you don't try to eat her."
"You can eat those?" Azula asked, staring at Sabi with distaste. "There's hardly any meat on her."
Sokka stared at his opponent upriver. Bato's eyes narrowed at him as if trying to figure out Sokka's motives. Both stayed silent, neither of them moving except to use waterbending to maintain their positions on the river. The city they were in lacked any formal Sedna'a arenas, so the two combatants had to adapt to the situation and fight next to the closest river. Sokka's grandmother and some of Bato's men watched.
A Sedna'a was a form of duel between two warriors within canoes. The challenger always had to start downriver - a significant disadvantage to deter a Sedna'a from happening as encouragement for the two men to resolve their dispute peacefully. Despite being a nation with an appetite for war, a sense of community was prized among their people. A challenge for Sedna'a was always taken seriously.
"Don't you remember how your last duel ended?" Bato asked, eager to egg him on. "What a horrible day that was. I've noticed you wear your token from that occasion with pride - why don't you use an eye patch or something?"
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Sokka growled at him, his scar twitching. The last time, he did not engage in Sedna'a. That was a simple waterbending duel, pure and brutal, with no canoes involved. The circumstances behind that one had been different.
Bato scowled. "You've no desire to back out of this, do you? We never received the blessings of the spirits for this Sedna'a."
"I don't need any spirits," Sokka said. "You're just being a coward. I know you never cared about spirits either."
For the first time, Bato seemed truly angry. While it may have been true that Sokka, Hakoda, and Bato never put much stock in spirits, Bato still had an image to uphold as the chief and fleet commander of many other men who likely were more spiritual. If Bato's men thought he wasn't devout enough, then why would the spirits give him and his campaigns any good fortune? "Your father will hear of this sacrilege."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Remember what I have taught you, Prince Sokka," Kanna whispered just loud enough for Sokka to hear.
Water rose with Sokka's hands, which he brought together and held at his side, freezing it together into one long lance. He held the lance under his arm while thrusting the other hand behind him, using that hand to propel his canoe while the other pulled up ice spikes that he launched at Bato. With a flick of his hand, Bato brought up a small wall of water to absorb the blow and pushed himself at Sokka. Sokka's whips lashed out at him, but Bato deflected the attacks with swift movements, exerting little energy. Sokka scowled as Bato formed an ice lance of his own and the two converged on each other, forming shields at the last second that cracked their lances in two. Sokka managed to cover his face, protecting it from shrapnel.
The older, master waterbender stood and balanced, his face dashed with anger. Bato hurled javelins at Sokka before their next joust but the prince deflected them with his own icy weapons. Others were dodged or blocked completely by water. The current became tumultuous as Sokka's canoe approached Bato's again, so he focused on calming the waters and bending the river's flow to his will. Their canoes sailed side by side down the river and Sokka took the chance to try and topple Bato's with a wave, but he raised his canoe over it, then swept out with his own sword of ice. The gash cut across Sokka's stomach. He winced, feeling blood flow, but it was shallow. Sokka held out his hands and slowed his movement. Bato took this chance to hurl another ice javelin at him, which grazed his right shoulder. He grunted in pain.
He's winning, Sokka thought. I need to come back! I need a chance to defeat him! Kanna warned him after he declared his challenge. Sokka was well below the status of a master. But he had to try. Water dripped from Bato's soaking wet form as he grinned in triumph, as if he already won. Hastily coming up with an idea, Sokka blew icy breath at him. Bato's clothes frosted over. His hair became coated in icicles. He tried moving, but cracking sounds came from his arms and legs and Sokka took the opportunity to pull ahead of him, as if in a race. Bato growled, his eyes turning to slits. He shot his hand forward, slamming Sokka in the back of the head with a sphere of water. While Sokka was disoriented, the water underneath his canoe swelled and lifted the canoe out of the river, toppling and pouring him out onto the rocky shore. The frost melted off of Bato's body as his canoe moored and he stepped off of it in one smooth motion. He stood victoriously over Sokka, poised to kill him. Sokka glared at him, daring him to do it. He wanted his shame to end...
"You're finished," Bato declared. "But I won't kill you out of the respect and brotherhood between both of our families. I enjoyed humiliating you, though. I want to do it further, to show your father that you're not worthy to be his successor." He turned and began to walk away, his voice gaining in volume so their audience could hear. "The spirits have spoken - your challenge of Sedna'a, the ice joust, has failed."
"Kill me, you coward!" Sokka shouted at him.
Bato stopped walking away and turned to face him. "You call me coward? I defeated you in a fair fight that you initiated. Maybe I should make your face a little more symmetrical, if you're insisting!" Water blinked through the air, slashing toward Sokka, but even as he winced in anticipation of the attack he felt the ice shift underneath him, submerging him in water until he came up at his grandmother's side. It took him a moment to realize that watery arms had pulled Sokka into the water and then shot him out on the other side of the river, into his grandmother's arms.
"Need your dear old grandmother to protect you?" Bato taunted, voice laced with cruelty. "You are a weakling. Not even worth my time. Farewell, Lady Kanna." He and his men walked away.
Sokka glared up at his grandmother. "Why did you do that?" he yelled at her. "You interfered!"
"I saved you. You are too young to throw your life away," she said to him. "Besides, do you want to die at the hands of a man as low as him? A clan chief scrounging for your father's scraps?" Sokka hung his head in shame. Bato had defeated him - his second loss. But what else should he have expected? Bato was a waterbending master. He was not. It was as simple as that. "But I am still proud of you. I enjoyed watching your fight. You did wonderful, far better than I would have expected. It was very clever to freeze his limbs."
Sokka barely listened to her patronizing words as he stared into the raging river, continuing its flow now as it was unimpeded by the two waterbenders. He had only one thought on his mind—he needed to get stronger. He would have to put all of his time in effort into gaining strength, to one day be strong enough to defeat Bato and the Avatar. Now, it seemed, he had competition for his prize.
Aang leaned back against Appa as they flew through the noonday sky, his new friend Sabishi clinging to his shoulders. They left the Western Air Temple behind them. On the horizon was more adventure, more days to be spent with his enemy. But he was prepared, and determined to get home back to his own world, where things were right.
Their next destination was Crescent Island, home of the Temple of Roku.
Author's Notes: The All-Day Echo Chamber is real, and mentioned in the Western Air Temple episode, as well as the Hall of Statues, and Teo's accident.
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