Author's Notes: "A World Divided" is finally complete! I can devote full attention to this story for a little while now. Trust me, I will get a sufficient amount of chapters in. I am quite excited for the rest of Book 1, because I've managed to come up with quite a lot of changes from the show, and I'm sure you'll all enjoy it.
Oh, I guess you can consider Aang's real world AU after "The Day of Black Sun" episodes, though I am trying to keep some elements from after that.
(Edited 7/28/20). Minor things, mostly. Got rid of some details that contradict things I have planned for later and tried to do the usual of making sentences flow better. Admittedly I got a bit lazy with the edits for this one. (Edited May 9, 2021): Went a little more in depth than I did last time.
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 7: The Spirit World (Summer Solstice, Part 1)
The Comet streamed high above them, leaving a tail of fire behind it. Aang, his friends, and all of their warriors looked up at it with a grim look of foreboding. They didn't win the battle in time. The Fire Nation forces would be striking back any moment now...
Aang and Zuko were the ones who went to fight Fire Lord Ozai together. Unfortunately, Ozai had foreseen the resistance to his invasion on the Earth Kingdom and had many defenses planned, including a full platoon of royal guards with him at all times. Aang had finally caught his first glimpse of the ruthless tyrant in person, but the Fire Lord slipped away as more royal guards came to fill his place so he could continue his immolation. Aang and Zuko had wasted much time and energy fighting them off and they were forced to retreat or face their deaths. Aang wasn't able to go into the Avatar State because of his locked chakras then.
His thoughts were immediately forgotten, for when Aang and Zuko returned to the battlefield to retreat, his friends and the combined force of the Earth Kingdom remnants and Iroh's secret society were winning against the Fire Nation soldiers. Everything was going smoothly until the arrival of Sozin's Comet, turning the sky red in its power. Aang, Zuko, and all of the other firebenders there felt the power coursing through them, but the enemy soldiers were able to turn the tides first.
Friends around him fell to the onslaught. Master Pakku was bested by a dozen firebenders' simultaneous blasts. Chey, a strengthened firebender, exploded when his own bombs caught fire. Katara and Sokka were losing hope—they had learned earlier that Azula and Ozai had their father and the first invasion force executed. Suki, freed from prison, was fighting valiantly, but she was the first to organize the retreat. Jeong Jeong's firebenders stayed behind to hold the enemies off, but the master firebender himself was the last to fall in a spectacular feat of flames.
And yet, Aang pursued the Fire Lord and the Phoenix King...
The day of Sozin's Comet was the worst day of his life. Ozai had succeeded in ending his enemies in fire and smoke, all hope extinguished.
Aang was struck with a sense of déjà vu as the bison flew over the dirty, polluted river. The sun was hanging high in the sky, just past its zenith for the day. The group was hot, tired, and especially hungry after a full day of flying. Aang found himself surprised that Appa didn't fall into the dirty water beneath them.
Azula, as she usually did when she was bored, tossed a ball of fire up and down in her hand. Occasionally, she'd let out a tired sigh as if trying to communicate her boredom. Well, if she wants to be entertained, Aang thought, it won't be me doing the entertaining. After leaving the Coalition's encampment, Azula had realized that she had lost her prized golden headpiece, and since then, her attitude had become sour. Despite her somewhat flippant attitude toward her family life, he could see how much their mother's loss had affected her. It made Aang wonder what she thought of her mother in his world - Zuko had never told him.
Zuko was silent. Almost broody, even. Aang was reminded of the Zuko he knew well, and he found himself starting to blur the two of them together in his head. That helped to settle one dull ache... It was starting to feel a little like he had his old friend back.
Katara... Sokka... Toph... I need you, he thought sadly, his eyes drawn to the streaks of orange light reflected from the sunset. His friends still felt like holes inside of his heart. A light weight on his head shook him from his thoughts, and Sabi the lemur chittered in his ears. Her long, bushy tail swept around his head of growing hair. And I miss Momo, too! He laughed, taking the lemur off of his head and petting her. Still, Sabi wasn't bad. She was much more affectionate than her counterpart ever was.
Appa groaned with tiredness, but he seemed reluctant to land in the dirty water. "It's okay, buddy. It doesn't seem that bad," Aang comforted him, hanging over the side of the bison's head. He inspected the water closely and even saw streaks of a brilliant red color that made him think of blood with alarm. "Actually... just fly higher," Aang told him uneasily. The water was cloudy and dirty... and there were many floating fish at the surface of the water. He wondered if the vermillion substance had something to do with that.
"That's gross," Azula said, scrunching her nose. "It reeks of rotten fish and eggs."
"Well... that's pretty much what this river's full of," Aang said. "Well, except for eggs. I wonder what happened?"
"The water's poisoned," Zuko said, taking his turn to inspect the pollution. "We should try to find the cause of all of this. Sooner or later, it will affect everything around it."
"Or everything else in it," Aang said, looking ahead of them. "Look."
The dirty, ugly river widened, and right in the middle of it was a series of interconnected wooden docks, inlaid with wooden houses on stilts. A floating village with thatched roofs and rowboats situated at the river's junction. Aang squeezed the bridge of his nose. Not this place...
"It looks like some sort of a fishing village," Zuko pointed out.
Azula snorted. "I wonder how successful that venture is," she said, bitingly sarcastic as usual. "Great observation, Zuzu!"
"Azula, just be quiet for a minute," Aang said, rubbing his temples. Azula crossed her arms and turned away, huffing. Neither of them noticed her shooting dark glares at their backs. I know this place. But a Fire Nation factory was the cause of the polluted water before... what is it this time? he wondered.
Since Appa couldn't land in the water or on the rickety dock, Aang landed his bison off on the shore across from the town. He saw a tiny hut next to them, where Aang pointedly remembered an odd man ferrying them across the river. Sure enough, a bony, balding man waved to get their attention.
"Hey! Need a ride across the river? Last one for today!" he yelled out.
Azula leaned over the saddle, scrutinizing the old man with something like perplexity. "So did you completely miss the flying bison that we're riding?"
"Not at all!" the old man replied with a toothy grin. "But riding my ferry is more of an authentic, sleepy fishing village experience!"
"So are we going?" Zuko asked Aang, apparently accepting that as an answer.
"Yeah, I want to see what's going on," Aang replied, steering Appa toward the shore - he would be too heavy to stand on the docks, anyway. This place reeks of mystery... and fish. He hopped off of the bison, patting the side of Appa's head. "You stay here," he said. Sabi, previously clinging to the top of his head, wrapped around one of Appa's horns. "You watch Appa, Sabi," he added.
"I don't really want to come. This seems like a waste of time," Azula said. Zuko ignored her and climbed off the saddle.
"Then don't," Aang said offhandedly, walking down the slope toward the ferry boat.
Azula scowled and he thought she might stomp her foot in petulant anger, but she held back. "Fine, I'll come! I just don't want to be bored to death," she said, following after them and muttering under her breath.
By the time the three walked down the short, dirt path to the ferry dock, the old man was packed up and ready to go. "Hello, my name's Dock!" Aang nearly slapped his forehead. As soon as he heard the name, he remembered everything about the man. He very dearly hoped he wouldn't run into the same frustrations as last time. "Hey, those are funny markings on your head. I've seen spirits with funny facial markings, just like our very own ex-protector spirit! Is that arrow pointing somewhere? To the ground, right? To represent the earth! And it's blue, so I bet my brother would say you're a waterbender, too." Dock pointed to Aang's tattoo, his words coming out rapid-fire. He kicked the boat away from the dock after they all clambered in. Before Aang could say otherwise, Dock continued. "But you don't seem like those other waterbenders I've seen before, which means you're a nice one, like the last Avatar a hundred years ago! So you're the Avatar, aren't you?"
They all looked at each other until Azula crossed her arms. "Well, he is right. But for all the wrong reasons. How did he even do that?"
"Yeah. My name's Aang," he said with a forced smile of greeting.
"That's just great! We could really use your help!" Dock said happily, grinning at them again as he rowed. He didn't seem to hear Azula.
"Yeah, I've noticed," Aang said, letting out a sigh. "But what happened to the river?"
"Did your village do this?" Zuko asked, leaning over the side of the boat. Now that they were much closer, he started to look a little green.
"No, not at all! It was the Water Nation!" Dock said. "They have a laboratory not far from here, and they're dumping their wastes from their experiments into the water and polluting our air!"
"A laboratory?" Aang asked. "What's that?"
Azula rapped him on the head with her knuckles. "Wow, you really missed a lot living in that rock for the past one hundred years," she said, a delighted smirk twisting her lips. She loved to know more things than him and took advantage of it whenever she could, but that tendency didn't test his patience yet. He was just glad she didn't hold that knowledge close. "Or were you always like that?"
Aang rubbed his head, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, that tends to happen if you've been cut off from the world," he said, scowling. He turned back to Dock.
"We don't really know too much, but the waterbenders are doing all different kinds of secret alchemical experiments in there. Whatever it is, it's making our Painted Lady mad," Dock explained, paddling slowly to the village.
"The Painted Lady?" Aang asked. Katara?
"Yes, she's the river spirit," the man informed them. "Most of us used to respect her, but she started to destroy parts of our village and take people away!"
"The Painted Lady did that?" Aang asked, gaping.
"Yes, so we need your help. Who better than the Avatar to solve Spirit World troubles?" Dock asked. "You're just in time, too! The summer solstice is approaching."
"The summer solstice?" Zuko asked. "So?"
"Each solstice, the Spirit World and our world come closer and closer to touching, until there's really no line between them at all!" Dock answered. "We don't know what'll happen then!" And for no reason at all, Dock began laughing.
Azula shared an uncomfortable glance with Aang and Zuko. "What a kooky old man."
"Oh... The Fire Nation lands are so hot," Kanna said, reclining in the ice pool she had made herself. "Prince Sokka, you should make one for yourself. It is a nice weapon against the heat," she said to her grandson.
The old woman relaxed in a small clearing in the willow forest, resting from their long journey of searching for the Avatar's trail. In between Sokka's extensive training and their endless search, the old waterbender was tired.
Sokka's back was turned to her as he spoke. "I don't need any cold water baths. What we need to do is find the Avatar and make me stronger," he replied, rolling his eye. "But, uh, maybe not in that order."
Kanna let out a low, sleepy moan. "Oh, but we've searched so long already..."
Sokka turned around in anger. "You're so frustrating! Come back to the ship in an hour, or we're leaving."
"TURN AROUND!" Kanna shouted at him. "Give an old woman some dignity!"
Sokka covered his eye and rushed off, suddenly feeling very sick.
"So do you have any idea what you're doing?" Azula asked Aang as they waited for the sun to set fully.
"Somewhat," the Avatar replied. He stood near a pile of netting tangled with muck from the river and a box full of raw oysters that smelled so foul they stung his nose. He sidled away from the oysters, grimacing. "I've worked with spirits before. I know what to do." In his movement to get away from the oysters, he accidentally kicked over a bucket full of chum that smelled even more rotten. Azula didn't look convinced.
"Everyone get inside, the sun's setting!" Dock yelled out to the villagers.
"Well, see you later," Aang said to Azula, shrugging. He turned to face the water and began to wait. Azula frowned, but didn't move. She looked at the emaciated villagers with something like pity as they hurried indoors, but on her it even looked a little like disgust. Aang had a hard time discerning it. He wondered if she really did look down on them, or if she even had any desire to help them at all. Like Katara had helped them, once.
"Come on, Zula," Zuko said, walking up to the two. The sky darkened into night and most of the villagers had gone inside at this point. She still didn't move. "Azula?"
"What?" she snapped at him.
"Hurry up, we have to go!" Zuko urged her.
She put a hand on her hip. "Why can't I help? You've had this annoying tendency of trying to leave me behind or away from the battles but I think I've proven by now that I can handle myself," she said.
"Is this about trying to prove you're strong or is it about helping the people who need you?" Aang asked without looking at her. "I know you're strong, Azula. And crafty. But dealing with spirits is something completely different."
She huffed. "I don't see why it can't be a bit of both."
"We don't know anything about spirits, Azula," said Zuko, his voice low. "C'mon."
Aang turned to them, seeing the older boy's scar-less face creased with worry for his younger sister. "Azula, go. It's too dangerous for you," Aang said. "You heard Dock—the Painted Lady has been taking people away. Dock, don't close those doors yet!"
"Hey, it's his brother Xu now! Dock is inside!" the old man yelled out, ready to close the doors.
Aang rolled his eyes—it was the same person again. "Well, you heard Xu. Get out of here!" Zuko started to pull Azula along, and she reluctantly acquiesced without another word of protest.
With that minor problem handled, Aang turned back to the water and took a deep breath, waiting. The dark waters were still as the night grew cold, and a heavy fog descended over the village. He could still see the streaks of red in the water, like spilled paint dancing on the surface.
Zuko and Azula were not quite inside of the building yet when a little boy stuck his head out the window, his head of unruly brown hair bouncing. "She's coming," he whispered, his voice edged with excitement. At that point, Azula stopped and looked back toward Aang, the wooden boards creaking beneath her feet.
"We can't just leave him," she said to her brother. "He doesn't know what he's doing. I think he's bluffing."
Zuko put a hand on her shoulder. "You heard him and Xu. There's nothing we can do!"
"Get inside, quickly!" the loony old man urged them. "It's the Avatar's job, and he's the only one who can do it. He is the bridge between our worlds."
Azula didn't care about that. Aang didn't have a plan, that much she knew. He was right in that she was out of her depth regarding spirits, but wrong regarding her reasons for standing alongside him. She saw the way he looked at her as they arrived at the village, saw the disapproval in his eyes when a child approached her asking for food and she brushed him off without an apology. She had nothing to give, but it was as if Aang had expected her to offer comforting words, like he did after she had dismissed the child. But she didn't see the point in empty words, in pitying and patronizing the boy. Her village had scarcely more than these people did, and she hated when they had the rare visitor as well, because they always tried to patronize. They'd make a show of giving charity to her village in an attempt to curry favor with her father or the spirits. It was never genuine.
These people deserved better. Azula had to find the cause of all this, but that meant knowing how spirits operated. What they wanted.
She waited inside with Zuko but didn't shutter the window. Instead, Azula watched.
Back at the end of the docks, Aang patiently awaited the arrival of the river spirit. He was not going to put his guard down like last time with Hei Bai and get attacked from behind. It occurred to him then that this was another parallel to an event in his world, eerily similar to the events surrounding the forest spirit. If he remembered correctly, that was during a solstice, too.
Near where the river split, over the top of the water, he saw her fade into existence.
Kanna laid her head back against the edge of the pool, taking a deep breath of relaxation as the ice soothed the back of her neck. Why couldn't her grandson Sokka learn to appreciate these kinds of things? The cold dip was refreshing in the hot Fire Nation air. Why was he always so hurried? He always planned things ahead, always only had one goal in mind. She'd been impressed by his creative schemes on more than one occasion, but he never stopped to take a break...
...Except to flirt with the young women in the nearest town. She couldn't believe that boy sometimes. With pretty women around him, his mood always changed for the better, even if he only wore it like a mask. It was nice for him, though. She did not want her dear grandson to become so possessed by his goals.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by a deep rumbling all around her. She opened up one eye, but she didn't see anything. As she was about to sit up and take a look around, the ground rumbled again and rocks came up all around her, holding her in place.
"That's not just an ordinary Water Tribe woman, men," the Earth Kingdom soldier said, stepping from behind the curtain of willow branches. "She's one of their elders."
Kanna frowned, her eyes flicking back and forth between her captors, gauging their numbers. "Leave me alone, if you know what's good for you."
"Forget it," the captain said. "You're too valuable of a captive to pass this chance up. Can't help but wonder what you're doing so far from home. Men, grab her."
She was having none of that. "Don't touch me!" she yelled hoarsely to the two soldiers as they stepped up to take her. "I know about you soldiers and your longing for a woman's touch! The cold nights spent away from your wives, the loneliness... Get away from me! Perverts!"
"Ma'am, please," one of the soldiers begged fearfully. "None of us are thinking that."
"I'm naked!" she shrieked. Inwardly, she grinned like a demon.
"H-here, take y-your clothes!" another stuttering soldier said, handing her the robes and underclothes hanging on a tree branch. She snatched them out of his hand, covering herself up.
"All of you turn around now!" she ordered them.
Sokka wandered into the clearing, frustration written all over his face. Where was that old woman? He told her to be back to the ship a long time ago. He hoped she didn't drown in her ice pool or something. A couple of his warriors followed him.
"I don't see her anywhere, sir," one of them said, kneeling down to search for tracks.
"What happened? What are these rocks?" the other asked. "Was it a landslide?"
"No... These were caused by earthbenders, probably from Jie Duan," Sokka said, joining the warrior who searched for clues. He didn't see any sign of a scuffle aside from the earthbending that broke his grandmother's rapidly melting ice pool, but he spotted tracks in the soft earth leading off to a path between the willow trees. "I think they took my Gran away."
For a quick moment, his heart skipped a beat. There she was, gently gliding across the water. Her wide hat and thin veil hid her face, giving her a mysterious quality that made her beautiful, in her own way. It was painful to watch her, because she reminded him so achingly of Katara. She was the closest thing he had seen to Katara ever since journeying to the Spirit World. He had the childish desire to see her true face, just to make sure. His mind entertained the thought that it was Katara under the guise of the spirit woman again and that they'd be reunited.
The Painted Lady raised one slim hand, her long sleeves hanging down so that they almost touched the water. The dirty river underneath her shot forward, off to the side of Aang, destroying part of the wooden dock. Aang covered his face with his hands, protecting himself from the flying splinters of wood. Aang intercepted her next attack by swinging his staff at the raging water, causing the torrent to lose its momentum.
The spirit, or perhaps Katara, had previously ignored him. Now, the water spiraled at him, but an air barrier splashed the water to all sides. He was about to dart over to her when she raised both of her hands into the air, lifting her face to stare at him emotionlessly. Aang almost faltered, disappointment growing inside of him. She wasn't Katara. He had to remind himself that he was alone in this world.
A wave that towered over her head formed at her beck and call, threatening to wash over the part of the village where Aang stood. Aang's brow furrowed as he dropped his staff and jumped into the air, gripping the air currents in his hands. He waved his arms to let the winds become more intense, clashing with the water wave and throwing it back. Aang fell gently to the wooden surface again with a deep breath, getting into a stance. He could not falter now.
"He needs our help!" Azula argued with her brother. "I want to fight. I can't just stand here and watch him."
"He's doing fine," Zuko said, gripping her shoulder to prevent her from moving. "Now, we have to get inside. Who knows what that spirit could do?"
Azula shook herself free of her brother's grasp. "Fine, you be a coward." And before he could stop her, the young firebender ran to the Avatar's aid.
Aang had his staff in his hand again as he jumped to the side to dodge the spike of ice that erupted from under him, destroying the wood in another splintery explosion. The Painted Lady's movements were all graceful, but her attacks were disastrous. A sharp arc of water cut out at one of the support beams, sending the platform Aang was on and part of a house into the water. Dirty water flooded around his shoes, seeping into them. He was unable to express his annoyance as he dodged another attack from the Painted Lady. She seemed to be switching between attacking him and the village.
As soon as he jumped over the attack, he saw her preparing another one. He was thinking about what to do next when a small arc of fire rushed out at her, pushing her back slightly with the force. Aang looked behind him after he regained his bearings to see Azula landing on the dock, recovering from her kick. She looked up at him.
"Seems like you needed help, Avatar," she said with a smirk.
The next thing they knew, the Painted Lady was among the wooden village in a swirl of mist, tearing parts of it down with tendrils of water. A wall of water shot out from under one of the docks, cutting Aang and Azula off from the rest of the village. A wave picked up around them, and the Painted Lady pushed them away. Aang jumped after her with an almost feral frustration, slamming his staff down on the docks around her and destroying parts of the village himself with a torrent of wind. The spirit put her arms up to defend her face, her robes and veil rippling as her hat threatened to fall off her head.
When the winds died, she sent a stream of water Aang's way and quickly withdrew, running across the water and barely causing a disturbance on it. Azula, trying to regain her balance on the quickly sinking piece of wood, fell on her bottom rather ungracefully as the water snatched her out from under her feet. The polluted, smelly water snaked around her limbs, dragging her after the Painted Lady.
Azula shouted, a wordless exclamation of panic that made Aang's heart drop with fear.
Before doing anything else, Aang unfurled his glider and took chase after the two. He willed the winds behind him to move faster in order to propel himself and rescue Azula. He was quickly and easily reminded of a similar experience with a different spirit and a different friend, which only fueled his desire to rescue her further. Unfortunately, the Painted Lady was unusually fast, and to his horror, Azula seemed to be sinking into the water. She flailed against it but refused to scream. Instead, she tried blasting the water with fire, but it wasn't doing any good.
"Azula! Grab my hand!" Aang shouted to her, flying low enough to get her. His hand stretched out towards her, and she gave up her firebending effort to take it. Her pale hand stretched to him. Closer... just a bit closer...! For the first time, he was able to see the desperation and the fear in her face, and he knew he had to save her. He put on one last burst of speed, and she was nearly in his grasp...
...When she sunk into the water's clutches and the Painted Lady's figure disappeared. Startled, Aang was unable to stop himself from crashing into the water where he hit something hard and rolled, somehow, to dry land face-first. Grumbling, he picked his wet body up off of the ground. He looked in front of him, surprised to see a statue of the Painted Lady he was just chasing. He turned around, and he was startled to see several round rocks arranged in a circle, in which he was the center of. Realizing what happened, Aang quivered with frustration.
"No!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He was just so angry. He was furious at the war, the Spirit World, and himself.
But most importantly, he was angry at his inability to do anything, to change the way things were happening. All of his mistakes were being replayed and he could do nothing about it. What was the purpose of dumping him in this world when he couldn't change the outcomes? Whatever it was, he sure was screwing up his opportunity for a second chance.
Sokka followed the Earth Kingdom soldiers' trails on the back of his buffalo-yak, following after his grandmother alone. He ordered his soldiers to remain with the ship as he searched.
He nearly stepped on it before he noticed it on the ground—his grandmother's betrothal necklace. He often wondered why she kept it all these years, long after her husband was dead. The blue pendant was warm in his hands. Kanna had left it so he could follow, and the warmth signified that he was close. He was relieved. As soon as he had her back, he could resume his search for the Avatar.
Coincidentally, at that moment, the Avatar's bison sailed through the night sky, not far above him. Sokka narrowed his blue eye at it. Why was the Avatar flying so low to the ground? Were they searching for a place to camp? He looked closer, but was mildly surprised to see not the Avatar, but the inexperienced swordsman friend on the head of the bison, searching for something. Sokka sensed the opportunity. Was the Avatar missing? Could he be in these very woods that were all around him?
He clenched his fist and remembered the warm blue necklace in his hand. No, his grandmother was more important.
Sitting there, Aang sort of figured out what was 'supposed' to happen next. Last time, he remembered Fang, Roku's dragon, coming to him. As soon as he thought about that, he sat up, alarmed.
Last time, Fang came so Roku could tell him something very crucial, the deciding factor of the war. Sozin's Comet. What about now? What sort of nasty truth awaited him? It wasn't like Sozin's Comet could arrive again, could it? It would empower the firebenders! That's a good thing, isn't it? he thought. The firebenders were on the good side now. Would Fang even come this time?
But then he remembered something different. In this world, everything was reversed—the order he had to learn the elements, the seasons, and even the Avatar cycle. That meant that a waterbending Avatar came before him, and not Roku. He wondered if it would be Kuruk, or someone he never met. There was no way to be sure. He wasn't even sure if an animal guide would visit him this time.
Aang sighed again in frustration. He debated whether or not to leave the small island that the Painted Lady led him to, with her own statue in the middle of it. Behind her, there were some reeds growing rampant, but the island was completely surrounded by dirty water. He sat in the middle of the circle of stones with his knees folded against the rest of his body, almost like a cold, frightened child. Frowning, he stood up. He figured he'd try to get back to Zuko in the village, so they could figure out what to do... he didn't even know how he'd get there in the first place, since he was unable to bend.
After screaming earlier, he was able to work out that he was a spirit stuck in the mortal plane again. He stayed in his spirit form—even though his body was carefully seated next to him—just in case some kind of animal guide did come. He was debating whether or not to step back into his body when he saw a blue glow in the distance.
It definitely wasn't a dragon, he could tell that much. It was much smaller... but still quite a large animal. It bounded to him across the water, stepping above it like it wasn't even there. Like most spirits in the mortal world, it was transparent and blue. It was a wolf, and quite a large one. It sped towards him without slowing down.
The large animal barreled him over before he could move, its heavy paws on his chest. Aang looked almost fearfully into its maw of sharp teeth, and he began to wonder if he could die as a spirit, or if he was somehow lost in the spirit world and it came to retrieve him and take him away forever... or back home. Before he could finish his list of things that could happen to him, the animal slobbered all over his face, licking every bit of it that he could find.
"Hey! Hey, stop!" Aang laughed, trying to push the wolf away. It stepped back, almost as if it was smiling to itself. Aang jumped to his feet. Immediately, he widened his eyes. This wolf was huge, a lot bigger than he previously thought. Standing on four legs, the spirit creature reached Aang's neck in height, and the rest of his body was wide and rippling with muscle. "Hmm... are you Avatar Kuruk's animal guide?" he asked the wolf. It yelped in response and crouched down, almost as if it wanted to play. The wagging of his tail made Aang laugh and the spirit lunged at his hand to gently nip and drag him onto its back as if he weighed no more than a feather.
The wolf barely stirred Aang as it moved, leaping and bounding across rivers and mountains as it made its way far to the south.
Kanna grinned to herself after she spotted a tiny puddle of water on the side of the road. The Earth Kingdom troops led her through a wooded area, probably to bring her to King Long Feng of Jie Duan. She had no interest in going there, so she planned her escape. She pulled a single drop of water from the puddle and used it to cut at her metal shackles every time her captors turned away, using only her fingers to manipulate the water.
"So," one of the soldiers began. "What is a Water Tribe elder doing so far from home? You're a healer, aren't you?"
"Why do you want to know, you rude, dirty little boy?" she asked him. Her tone was accusing. Her eyes darted to their corners to see his reaction.
The soldier fumed. "Well, you're just lucky we don't deal with you right now, you annoying old hag!" he yelled at her. "Don't get so smart with us. We know Water Tribe women aren't trained to fight."
Kanna cackled to herself. Oh, those ignorant young fools... Her laughter immediately stopped as she looked up at the sky, surprised. A spirit sped past—a spirit wolf, with a young boy riding on its back. Are there any Water Tribe shamans around? she wondered. The wolf almost seemed to be flying.
"I beg to differ," she said to the soldiers. They numbered half a dozen but she felt certain she could take them. She pulled her wrists apart, snapping the damaged metal chain. She thanked Sedna for the swampy ground and moist air of the Fire Nation as she caught the startled officer with a surprise attack.
"Get her!" another one of the soldiers shouted. The inexperienced recruits pulled boulders from the ground, but with agility belying her true age, Kanna dodged out of the way. She smacked the other soldier's ostrich-horse on the flank with a whip of water, sending it speeding away with the screaming man on top of it.
Another one sent a hailstorm of rocks at her but she summoned a thin stream of water to circle in front of her and redirect the attack harmlessly, and then she twirled around and sent the water stream into the face of a fourth soldier, knocking him backwards. There were three left for her to deal with.
Something whizzed through the air behind her, striking one of the soldiers and pinning him to the ground by his uniform—icicles. "Nice of you to join me, grandson," Kanna said to Sokka, who hurled his boomerang at another soldier.
"I can't believe you let them capture you, Gran," he said to her, a shadow of a grin on his face, finishing off the last soldier with little effort.
"Now let's get back to camp," Kanna said, huffing. "Not one of those soldiers thought to try and ask me on a date."
Sokka gagged. "Ew, Gran!"
From what he could gather, the spirit wolf was taking Aang far to the southeast, in a direction he guessed was the Southern Water Tribe. What was there? If Aang was correct, the wolf was going to bring him to an Avatar Temple... but he didn't know of any in this region.
The wolf was surprisingly close to the speed of Appa's flight, but the wolf traveled with very long, very high leaps and bounds. It skirted across the water as if it wasn't even there, so they reached their destination in no time. Aang was able to surmise it was one of the islands immediately north of the Southern Water Tribe—among those of the Patola mountain range where the Southern Air Temple resided—but he wasn't able to get a close look. The wolf leapt again, and disappeared right through the walls of the blue Avatar Temple with Aang right on his back. He didn't even flinch this time.
The spirit wolf finally skidded to a stop in a large, empty chamber, devoid of everything except a large statue on the far wall. Aang picked one leg up and over the side of the wolf and slid down, letting his spirit feet touch the floor. He had eyes for nothing else—just the Avatar statue, made of some sort of blue stone like aquamarine. As he walked closer, it was just as he expected—Kuruk.
"Alright, do I have to wait for some sort of solstice or something, again?" he asked of nobody in particular. The wolf let out a low growl to get his attention, and he looked to where the animal pointed his snout. Up above the entrance of the chamber was a blue crystal which reflected the sunlight from outside. Just like in Roku's old temple, the sunlight was supposed to reflect at a certain angle, and then Aang would be able to talk to Kuruk. "Okay... the summer solstice... how many days away is it, again?"
The wolf just seemed to give its own version of a shrug.
"Some help you are," he said to it. "So what am I supposed to learn about this time?" It wasn't really some awesome strength of the waterbenders or the firebenders he wanted to know. It was the Spirit World that got him into this mess, and he was going to use it to get out.
It was a shame. He was starting to get used to nice Azula.
Author's Notes: Wow, sorry this one took so long to get out. I started it as soon as I finished "A World Divided," but this chapter was longer than I thought and difficult to write.
Don't worry, I didn't forget about Azula. She's going to be rescued next chapter because this one was getting too long and I didn't want it to stretch on. Speaking of chapters that just stretch on, sorry if this one does. For important plot episodes, staying close to the episode is extremely important. After this and Part 2, I promise the chapters will get very different. There's some stuff I just can't include in the Fire Nation version of Book 1 (Jet and the Great Divide, for example). But don't worry. Jet will come in during Book 2.
Please review! My updates will come faster for a little while now, so I hope I can maintain my reviewers!
