Author's Note: (Rewritten 12/12/20) Since I rewrote this chapter from scratch, there's some pretty significant changes from the original! This was definitely my worst chapter previously, but I expanded on it so much that it has more than doubled in length. It's still one of my shorter chapters, but hopefully it's much better.
Book 2: Earth
Chapter 10: The First Guru
In this world and his own, Aang had never seen Appa so determined to head underground.
He didn't know if it had to do with a desire to rescue Zuko or defeat the spirit badgermole that had kidnapped him, but it was Appa who led the way through the tunnel leading into the mountains. Even by firelight, he could see that the tunnels had been constructed of a red, dusty stone, like ocher, and they criss-crossed into a labyrinth that brought to mind the Cave of Two Lovers; fitting, since both had been constructed by badgermoles. Aang and Azula flanked Appa on both sides with flames to light the way while Toph and Teo walked behind them.
"I've never seen badgermoles do anything like that," said Toph, her voice coming out in a grumble. "And I know badgermoles."
"Unsurprising," said Azula. "Both of you are brutish creatures."
Toph pounded a fist against the cave wall. "Tippytoes, did you hear something? Sounded to me like someone's in the mood to get their butt kicked."
Teo jumped away from her in surprise. "Uh, am I Tippytoes? Or did you mean Twinkletoes? I lost track."
Azula laughed. "Oh, please. We all know the one who had a proper master would prevail in a fight."
"Care to test that theory out?"
Aang let out a groan. He put a hand to his forehead and noticed for the first time that day that he must have forgotten to put on his headband in the morning. "Ugh, guys, can we not do this right now? We have to find Zuko. I don't know why a spirit would have taken him. It's a little concerning."
"Well, I already told you I can't sense where that spirit badgermole went. It's not making any vibrations in the earth like a real badgermole would," Toph said.
Teo rubbed his chin. "Aang, if it's a spirit, can't you sense it or something? You're supposed to be the bridge between our two worlds, right?"
Aang sighed. "If only it was that easy," he said. Another thought occurred to him. "Usually spirits get mad like that as a reaction to something bad happening in nature. Can you think of anything like that around here?"
"Not that I know of," Teo said, shrugging.
Aang also had to consider the possibility that Teo could unwittingly be responsible, since he and his mother were the only humans around, but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet. "Or have the Water Tribes done anything bad around here?"
He shook his head. "No. Like I said before, they just pass through the channel sometimes."
They left a trail of footprints as they walked; red sand coated the ground in a fine dust and it reminded Aang that the Si Wong Desert began not far to the northwest of them. Periodically, Toph would stomp her feet to try and get a reading on the tunnel system, but failed to track either the badgermole or Zuko. Meanwhile, Appa looked increasingly agitated, letting out grunts and growls as his six feet scurried through the tunnels, sometimes at a pace even faster than the rest of them.
Aang patted one of his legs after catching up to Appa in one such instance. "What's wrong, buddy? Are you worried about Zuko?"
Azula brushed a hand through her bangs. "I don't suppose he can slow down so he stops kicking up all that dust with those big feet of his, can he? He keeps getting dirt in my hair."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised that the big hairy monster is showing more concern about Zuko than Spicequeen is," said Toph. "Besides, a healthy coating of dirt is good for you."
Azula scowled. "Sorry, some of us bathe. And if you're joining our little group I expect you to wash yourself on a regular basis as well - at least three times a week and any night we spend in a town or near a river."
"I didn't do that with the Freedom Fighters and I don't plan to start now." Toph put both hands behind her head and grinned.
"You disgust me."
"Says the girl who just stepped in wolfbat poop."
"What? Ugh!" Azula's repulsed exclamations rang out through the tunnels and she dragged her boot across the sand in a frenzied dance. Aang thought it best to ignore them and walk ahead with Appa.
Teo sidled up to Aang and kept pace with him. "Are the two of them always like this?"
"It's a bit of an improvement, actually," Aang said, giving him a tight grin. "They used to try and kill each other."
Despite its feet bounding against the hard-packed, sandy ground, Zuko barely felt jostled as the badgermole lugged him around in its claws to a destination he couldn't guess. Dark tunnels shifted out of their way like the mountain itself bent to the badgermole spirit's will, forging paths and breaking walls at a whim. The creature made no noise, made no effort to squeeze him in its grip, but no amount of struggling helped Zuko break free. He expected the animal to smell like a mix of musk and dirt, but it didn't seem to have a scent at all.
He tried wriggling free, firebending at it, even singing, but nothing worked. He didn't want to give up and just let the spirit drag him away (perhaps to the Spirit World, never to return), but something inside of him - something that felt like the scarred firebender - told him he should wait and see what would happen.
He'd been unprepared for the sudden, blinding light when yet another rock wall fell away. He squinted and covered his eyes, but something about the harsh heat of the sun felt revitalizing in a way it never had before, and when he could open his eyes he found himself in what looked like a hollowed out mountain. Red stone rose up on all sides, almost like the inside of a caldera but narrower and with a smaller opening high above him, which let in sunbeams at a perfect angle to hit him directly. Despite the fact that this place should have gotten limited sunlight most of the day and its proximity to the desert, fresh green grass covered the reddish soil. Wildflowers grew among the grass, dotting it with all sorts of colors.
When he turned around to take in the whole view of the hollow, he almost stumbled backward when he came face to crumbled face with an ancient statue. Just past it, the oldest temple he had ever seen stood tall, structured as if carved from the inside of the mountain. It was unlike any temple Zuko had ever seen, with mismatching blocks stacked on top of each other in varying shades of red and ocher that gave him the impression it could topple at any moment, but thick, massive pillars supported it near the bottom and seemingly prevented that from happening.
In his surprise, he hadn't noticed that the badgermole had vanished. It didn't even drop him onto the ground - instead, he just found himself standing up and he didn't remember how.
He examined the statue closer for a clue as to where he'd found himself, but age had worn away all of its features, even clothing. Just when he started to consider exploring the inside of the temple, a man appeared in its doorway.
Whenever Zuko pictured an old sage, if Uncle Iroh didn't come to mind then this was the sort of man who did. He looked like the sort of old man Zuko sometimes saw in paintings of ancient scholars and spiritualists, with a long white beard that reached down to his waist and a thin mustache nearly as lengthy. He wore his hair up in a bun of the Earth Kingdom style, with worn and frayed robes that dragged on the ground. If they once had any color, it had long since faded away to a dull brown. A gnarled wooden staff completed the picture and Zuko almost expected him to move like wet ink on a page, but when he gestured in welcome he was all flesh and blood.
"I offer my sincere apologies for any alarm," the man said. Even his wide sleeves dragged almost to the ground. "I gave the badgermole spirit specific instructions but it seems she failed to bring the Avatar to me like I wished."
The spirit in question flashed into existence behind the man for a moment, sniffed the air, and then vanished again.
Zuko took a step back. "You… you can control them? Even though they're spirits?"
"Control? No," he said, shaking his head. "To control a spirit is to control a force of nature. We can only bend with them, live harmoniously with them. Other spirits who reside in these mountains notified me of the Avatar's presence nearby and I'd told the badgermole to seek him out, but I didn't think 'Bring me the boy who is attuned to his selves' could be misconstrued… yet here we are."
Zuko furrowed his brow. "I don't know why it'd mix me up with him."
The old man rubbed his chin. "I wonder… I would think that would only refer to the Avatar, by nature of his past lives, but perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye."
"What do you want with the Avatar, anyway?" Zuko didn't care about that. Aang was the one he worried about.
"Why don't you come inside the temple?" the old man asked. "I could make you some tea and then we could talk."
Zuko stood his ground. "I don't think so."
"Ah," said the man. He sat down on the grass, folded his legs, and lay his staff across his lap. "Forgive me again. It has been so long since I've been around another person that I've forgotten some simple courtesies. It's understandable that you wouldn't trust me! But I am Shēn, a guru in these parts." At Zuko's questioning look, he clarified. "A spiritual teacher. Though I suppose I haven't done much of that lately since I've come here to seek enlightenment in solitude."
Zuko sat down in the grass but didn't move any closer to the man. "Zuko," he said, by way of introduction.
"To answer your questions, I cannot be entirely certain why the badgermole would have confused you with the Avatar, other than the possibility that you are more at peace with another part of yourself - perhaps something foreign - than he is." When Zuko struggled to find the words in response to that, Shēn continued. "All I hoped was to give the Avatar some advice - and perhaps a lesson - to help him."
Zuko wasn't sure what part of himself he'd made peace with better than Aang did, but he wondered if it had something to do with the scarred firebender. Either way, not something he felt equipped to ponder. If he had Uncle here, he'd be better for helping Zuko sort out any thoughts of a spiritual nature. Best to focus on the things he could understand. "What is this place?"
The old man smiled. "Ah, it is a lovely place, isn't it? This temple is long forgotten by many of today's sages, but I do believe this is an early Avatar temple. Perhaps even the birthplace of the first Avatar ever born in these lands, long before even the four nations came to be what they are today. A scholar might even surmise that the red stone was once used in paints and pigments, and valued for its unique qualities."
"The first Earth Avatar?" Zuko asked. He'd never thought of such things, if the cycle even had a beginning.
Shēn held up a single finger. "Personally, I believe the very first Avatar was born with fire. It only seems fitting to me for the first person whose responsibility it was to bring warmth and light and order to the world. Which would make this Avatar the second… I have to wonder, do you think any of them ever knew the Avatar would be part of a cycle?" He gestured to the featureless statue. "This one might have only heard stories about the previous Avatar and never imagined there would be another. Oh, to peek into their heads! Questions like those have fascinating answers, I think."
Zuko's gruff response came out before he could stop himself. "Is that what you do? Sit here and ask questions that'll never get answered?"
The guru chuckled. "More or less. I've always enjoyed philosophical debates."
Zuko stood. "Well, thanks for the conversation, but I should go find my friends."
Shēn smiled wide enough that it reached his eyes. "Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," he said. "They're much closer than you think. It seems I'll get to speak with the Avatar after all - I suppose I was fortunate that the other person who fit the criteria I gave to my badgermole friend happened to be one of the Avatar's companions. I've come to appreciate luck like that in my long life."
Zuko looked around. "Huh?" Just as he was about to say he was leaving regardless, intent on leaving this strange place and this even stranger man behind him, the ground rumbled and a space on the wall erupted into a cloud of coppery dust.
With fog cover and no fleet to worry about, Katara's warship drifted through Chameleon Bay, around the enemy blockade, and into the strait leading to Full Moon Bay and the Serpent's Pass without being noticed. It was there, on the western lake, they had planned to meet up with the rest of Katara's fleet.
Katara's fleet. It felt strange for Sokka to think of it as hers, mulling it over like the taste of a pungent ale on his tongue, a cask that had been soiled and made foul. He'd never heard of a woman - much less a child, like Katara - gaining command of a whole fleet, and he wondered to what lengths she had gone to get Father to approve of it. And to allow her campaign against the grand capital of the Earth Kingdom itself, untested and unbloodied in true battle as she was… It almost made him suspicious, like their father had set her up to fail. Or perhaps it was a test for Sokka: to steer her on course, to act as her advisor and strategist, and prevent her campaign from going astray.
That made it easier to swallow. He couldn't conceive of the idea that Katara would get command of a fleet before Sokka otherwise. Despite exiling himself for a couple years, he was still the elder brother. The idea that she had been given command independent of Sokka's involvement was absurd. After all, glory in victory went to both the commander and the strategist.
But, against all odds, she managed to control her men well. Her sailors and warriors looked up to her, admired her. Pushed themselves not out of fear or discipline but a sense of genuine loyalty even as they sailed fearlessly through enemy territory. They served her with fervor and hung onto her honeyed words with zeal - for Katara could speak, and speakers had always been valued through the Water Nation's history. Words could inspire men as well as break them and she had the capability of doing both.
Sokka, at least, didn't think she was a big deal.
For the first time ever, he consented to duel with her, to train their waterbending together and she threw herself into it with relish. Eyes alight with the thrill of battle, she threw a deluge of water and ice at him all morning. By night, the idea was for him to begin training in bloodbending, but for now they figured they'd give her men a show. He just didn't expect to come out of it so bruised while she barely looked like she broke a sweat.
Though Yue watched and dutifully awaited orders from her princess, Suki sat against the ship's balustrade and fanned herself with a predatory grin. "Care to spar with me next, Sokka?" she asked, her makeup making her expression look impish.
"I think he should rest," said Yue, her brow creased. "He's been training for hours."
"I don't care," said Sokka. He wasn't about to let Yue coddle him - he had his pride to uphold. Gran had already given him enough of that… "Warriors don't get a chance to rest on the battlefield."
Suki had a glint in her eye that made him suspicious. "Well, mister warrior, I can't wait to see what you can do. We're so gonna take down Ba Sing Se."
Hama strode toward them from behind Sokka and he tried not to jump out of his skin when he noticed her. "Perhaps," she said. "But brute force alone won't be enough to take down the walls of the impenetrable city. It will take deception, planning, and a great deal of stealth. Cunning will be your greatest weapon. And let us hope the Avatar won't get in our way."
Katara straightened her stance and smirked. "Well, we don't have to worry about anything on that front. I have a plan in mind to keep the Avatar away from the city in case he does decide to head in that direction." She held up a headband emblazoned with a white lotus that Sokka recognized as the Avatar's.
"Where'd you get that?" Sokka asked. He didn't think the Avatar would be lured away from wherever he was going with the promise of getting his headband back, but if Katara had a different plan in mind he didn't expect her to tell him all of it yet.
"Oh, he dropped it during our fight," she said. "We can use it to our advantage. And don't worry, Hama, my dear brother has a great deal of cunning."
He shrugged. Katara had her own brand of cunning, a form of manipulation that made people like her, a subtle kind that tantalized them with a supposedly sincere bit of gratitude or a reward. They liked her smiles, the feeling that they'd done something good for her. He wasn't stupid enough to fall for her flattery; he knew it to be nothing but her attempt to manipulate him in turn. But he'd play along, slither around her manipulations and keep his head above the current instead of oppose her directly.
"I've got a great deal of a lot of things," he said, and the words felt so unfamiliar to him that he almost cringed. Instead, his face folded into a simper and, unable to help himself, he glanced toward Suki and Yue, who both fell into a fit of giggles - to his absolute horror.
Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."
He had no idea where that came from.
When the dust cleared, Aang squinted to shield his eyes from the sudden sunlight but readied his staff and sword, only to see Zuko unharmed right in front of them while an old man sat in the grass in front of a derelict temple. Aang lowered his weapons as Appa shuffled out into the sunlight and gave Zuko a big, wet lick.
Zuko froze and held his arms away from him, covered in slobber. "...Hi, guys."
After making sure Zuko was all right, Appa turned toward the old man with a low growl. The old man, to his credit, didn't move and only lit up into a smile. "Oh, what a majestic creature. How blessed I must be to see one of you in my lifetime!"
Appa's distrust of the man perplexed Aang - since that was the sort of behavior more typical of his Appa, but Aang walked over to Appa's side and put his hand on one of his furry legs. "It's okay," he whispered to his bison. Aang didn't feel anything dangerous about this man; if anything, he felt like part of the environment - peaceful, ancient, and unyielding. This felt like a spiritual place, almost as alive as the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole. No wonder Aang had thought Zuko had been dragged into the Spirit World. At his touch, Appa let out a short grunt and backed down.
"I am Guru Shēn," said the old man, completely unfazed by Appa's aggressive posturing. "Welcome to my little sanctuary."
"You couldn't have just sent a message, could you?" Azula asked, lips pursed into a thin line. "Or, better yet, come out of here to see us yourself? You just had to do something dramatic like summon a badgermole spirit to kidnap my brother."
Toph held up a fist. "Yeah! I don't like the fact that you tried to fool me with a spirit!"
Azula rolled her eyes at her. "I don't think he knew about your blindness to do that intentionally, dum-dum."
"Duh, I know that! Seriously, what is your problem? Do you have something you wanna say to my face?"
"You may not have noticed, but I've been saying things to your face this whole time. You're the one who's just tetchy all the time and taking offense."
Toph stomped her foot. "Tetchy?"
After he finished wiping off Appa's slobber, Zuko frowned at Azula. "What does that even mean? And you two still haven't sorted through whatever's bothering you yet?"
Teo held up his hand and whispered to Aang. "If you ask me, they're both just pretty irritable, aren't they?"
"I apologize for any discord I may have caused," said Shēn, inclining his head with his arms spread wide. "I only meant to speak with the Avatar. And show him this place, since it may have a connection to one of his past lives."
In looking at the statue Aang felt a sense of its immense age along with a weight in the air that he couldn't describe, but he didn't pick up anything like a name as he did when he first looked upon Roku's statue. Perhaps he tried to reach too far back this time. Either way, whoever they once were didn't matter to him now. "It's just a statue," he said. "What did you want to speak with me about?"
"There is a lot of value to be found in history, I think," said Shēn, looking at the statue with a wan smile. "We can learn the mistakes of the past in order to make better choices in the future."
"A history lesson?" Teo asked. "Not what I expected."
Aang didn't, either. He failed to see how it could be so important that this guru dragged Zuko here to get his attention.
"Not just any lesson in history," said the guru. "But the history of our world. How it came to be. In the beginning, in the primordial void, a singular being of light and darkness appeared from nothing. It was during this time that the Spirit World formed around them. In their union, light and darkness created the first lion turtles - perhaps the first and only complete beings, if you ask me."
"Lion turtles?" Aang asked. He felt like he had heard of such a creature, but didn't know where or how.
"How do you even know this?" Toph asked. "It's not like you were around back then."
Shēn stroked his beard. "I have it on the good authority of someone I know and trust who once spoke to a lion turtle about such things."
Aang's eyes widened, but Azula put a hand on her hip. "I fail to see what this has to do with us, but continue."
The guru nodded and acquiesced. "Eventually, the light and the darkness became distinct from each other, for reasons I do not know, and in their nature became so diametrically opposed that, in some sense, they were paradoxically still together. Locked in combat, sure, but united for eons out of a desire to remove the other from existence. During this time, humans, animals, and spirits began to form. And it is said that each time the light and darkness struck each other, the force of their blows created a new world, reflections of each other and the Spirit World."
"A new world?" Teo asked, eyes wide. "If they were doing that for eons, wouldn't that mean there are countless worlds?"
Aang caught Azula's gaze but neither of them said anything. He couldn't read the expression on her face.
"Indeed," said Shēn. "You catch on quickly. An interesting story, don't you think? I like to believe that it has some merit."
"Talking lion turtles," said Azula, scoffing. "You can't be serious."
"Are the light and darkness still fighting?" Zuko asked. "Or is it, I dunno, like a metaphor for how there's lots of conflict still in the world?"
Azula looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well, that's surprisingly deep for you, Zuzu."
He shrugged. "Kind of reminds me of Uncle's proverbs."
Shēn smiled. "In a sense, you're exactly right. But scholars and sages throughout history who have studied the Avatar have come to think that the very same light spirit is within you." He looked at Aang as he spoke. "But what I want you to remember today is that both light and darkness were born at the same time, entwined together, one and the same. And even now, they may not be so separate. And I don't believe that makes them necessarily 'good' or 'evil.'"
By this point, the sun had passed the rim of the hollowed out mountain, casting the sanctuary in shadow. Aang swallowed. "You said the lion turtles came from a time when the light and darkness were joined, and that made them complete. Does that mean there are pieces missing from the rest of us?"
Shēn clapped his hands together and chuckled. "Oh, and there is the question I'd hoped you'd ask. Indeed, I think that is the case. Though as the Avatar, you have a bit more of the sublime in you than the rest of us."
Azula crossed her arms. "That doesn't make sense. That means humans are fundamentally flawed and I refuse to accept that."
Toph let out a loud guffaw. "Truth hurts, doesn't it? Maybe now you can get down from that high ostrich-horse of yours."
Aang shook his head while Azula shot a glare at Toph. "I don't like that, either," he said. "I don't want to be better than anyone else just because I'm the Avatar. I wouldn't be here today without my friends."
"But you are a little more whole than everyone else," Shēn continued. "All that knowledge, power, and wisdom of all your past lives. Though it seems you are not so at peace with those other selves, which is why my badgermole spirit fetched the wrong person for me." His eyes fell to Zuko.
"It mixed us up, big deal," he said with a shrug. "We were standing close to each other at the time."
The old man tilted his head. "There is a strange spiritual energy that surrounds all of you," he said. His eyes passed briefly over Azula. "For some, it is more like a pall that clings to you."
"All of us?" Teo asked, eyes wide. "Even me?"
"And you said I might be the one most at peace with this energy," said Zuko, crossing his arms. "Why me? And what makes you think it's something spiritual?"
Aang bit his lip and worry for his friends gripped at his stomach. "Wait a minute, what does all that mean? What's 'clinging' to my friends? Is it something dangerous?"
"I can't answer any of those questions," said Shēn. "But it's something that the spirits have noticed, and I thought I would let you all know." Appa, apparently tired of all the discussion, finally dropped onto his stomach with a groan of satisfaction. "Even that bison has been touched, and to me that certainly feels benevolent!"
"Can't you tell us more?" Aang asked, his brow furrowed. "It doesn't seem right. This spiritual stuff shouldn't be happening to them, whatever it is." He hated the idea that he could have done something to endanger any of them.
Zuko scratched his head. "Like I said, I don't think it's spiritual stuff. It… doesn't feel bad. I'm pretty sure it's related to how I can firebend now."
"Oho, you gained firebending from it?" Shēn asked, grinning. "What a delight! You've certainly been struck with good fortune."
"Well, isn't Zuzu lucky," said Azula. Her voice came out sharp, reverberating through the sanctuary, and when Aang looked at her he saw her golden eyes through shadowy veil. "How wonderful. Now, if it's all the same to you, I think we've wasted enough time here."
"I've shared all I meant to," said Shēn, his arms spread wide. "I do hope I was able to aid you, young Avatar."
Aang's head whirled with everything he had learned, and with the difficulty of trying to piece it all together in a way that made sense to him. "I guess so. Thank you, Guru Shēn."
The old man stood and bowed, holding his staff behind his back. "May you be blessed by good fortune on your journey. Perhaps, one day, we may meet again."
The smell of stale alcohol assaulted Sokka's nose when they entered the establishment on the edge of a fishing village on the south shores of East Lake. The smell seeped into the wood of the tables, the walls, the floor; soaked the clothes of the tavern patrons as if they themselves hadn't moved for ages. It had an open center with a roaring hearth fire on the far wall while a veranda encircled the primary part of the tavern. Sokka couldn't see the upper level well, as it wasn't as well lit as the main floor, but up there it seemed significantly less rowdy.
A crowd of all types jostled in the center of the room. Sokka could see all the unsavory sorts he could imagine - pirates, bandits, drunks, brawlers, and ex-soldiers of the Earth Kingdom and Water Nation alike, all reveling together despite their differing backgrounds. Sokka supposed this place operated outside of Earth Kingdom law if even his nation was welcome here. With Katara, Suki, and Yue, he felt supremely out of place.
"Katara, what are we doing here?" he hissed at her out of the corner of his mouth.
"I told you," she said with an air of irritation. "I used to be in contact with a bounty hunter. She's the real deal."
He rolled his eye. "You and your contacts," he muttered. "What makes you think a random old bounty hunter will succeed where we failed?"
"She doesn't have to catch him," she said. "Just distract him. Steer him away from Ba Sing Se."
A chorus of cheers and jeers rose up from the center of the crowd and in a break between the people Sokka spotted an enormously muscled man locked in an arm wrestle with a woman much smaller than him. Sokka's eyes were drawn to her bare, tattooed arms, taut with the strain of forcing the man down, but her face betrayed no hint of a struggle. Her opponent, on the other hand, breathed heavily through his nose as his face turned red.
With one final push, the woman slammed the man's fist down into the table and the crowd erupted again while she stood up and downed her drink with a flourish. Sokka gaped.
"Oh, please," said Suki, putting a hand on her hip. "I do that all the time."
Katara waved to her. "Hey, over here! June!"
The woman, June, caught Katara's eye and smiled as she maneuvered her way through a slew of congratulatory fists and shoulder pats. Up close, Sokka's eyes wandered from the dark makeup around her eyes and lips to her form-fitting sleeveless tunic and whip on her belt. He cleared his throat. "I stand corrected," Sokka said to Katara before the woman came into their range. "This isn't just a random old bounty hunter."
"She's really nice if you get past the gruff exterior and fearsome tattoos," said Yue.
"Well would you look at that," said June, giving Katara a quick two-finger salute in greeting. "It's the princess squad. Is it time for you to call in that favor?"
Sokka slapped his forehead and groaned before turning to Katara and Yue. "Oh, c'mon. Did you seriously let slip that you two were princesses?"
Both of them glared at him and crossed their arms but June spoke. "No, you just did," she said, chuckling. "Actual princesses, huh? Who would've guessed."
Sokka was about to retort when he realized what he did and the words died in his throat.
"It is time to cash in on that favor," Katara said, continuing as if Sokka wasn't even there. She held up the Avatar's headband. "There's someone I need you to find. I think this will suffice for his scent."
June took the headband in her hands. "Oh, I think Nyla and I can manage that."
They flew on Appa out from the top of the sanctuary after promises from the guru that his badgermole spirits wouldn't kidnap any of them again. By the time they made their way back to the Astronomer's tower, dusk had fallen so they prepared to spend another night with Teo and his mother. Since the Astronomer retreated to the top of the lighthouse to take advantage of another clear night, Aang and the others took their supper with Teo. For the most part, they ate with limited chatter, too caught up in the things the guru told them and the prospect of the journey ahead. All five of them squeezed in at the table inside Teo's home, thankful for the opportunity to eat indoors for once.
"You guys are sure it isn't hurting you?" Aang asked for the fifth time. "Whatever spiritual energy is clinging to you, like the guru said?"
"I just wanna know why it's strongest in Zuko," said Teo, staring into his chopsticks. "That's what he said, right?"
Zuko lowered his bowl of vegetable broth to the table. "Dunno. But like I said, to me it doesn't feel exactly spiritual."
"And you gained firebending from that?" Teo asked, peering at him closely. "I've never heard of such a thing!"
"I have to find out what kinds of spirits they are," Aang said, leaning back on his stool against the wall. His eyes wandered to the portrait of the Mechanist before he looked away. "I've never heard of spirits that can give people bending before."
Zuko frowned. "I told you, I don't think it's a spirit."
"But bending is spiritual - "
"Well, I don't think we should discount a scientific explanation…"
"...It could be my fault, like something's out of balance."
Azula's bowl slammed into the table, its contents spilling over the rim. "Just stop talking about it," she said, her face twisted into a scowl. "Zuzu learned how to firebend. Big deal. Maybe he always had it but he was just too weak and pitiable to demonstrate it until now."
Toph let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah? Or do you think you're just scared your bending newbie big brother is gonna get better at firebending than you? Seriously, I've never met someone who was so full of themselves."
Aang's brow furrowed. He was afraid their bickering would reach a boiling point soon and he didn't have the energy to handle that. "Azula, that's not fair to Zuko. And Toph, don't provoke Azula like that."
Toph's eyes widened in disbelief as she sat up straighter. "You're telling me not to provoke her? Listen, I put so much effort into not punching her face in after all the comments Princess Prissypants made today. Someone's really gotta knock her down a peg, if you ask me."
Azula's nostrils flared. "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here!"
"What's wrong? Can't handle not being the center of attention?"
Zuko put out his hands as both girls pushed to their feet, glaring at each other. "Toph, you don't really know Azula that well yet but she just says things like that all the time. Don't take it personally."
Toph pointed at him. "You guys really let her talk to you that way? Not a chance that I'm just gonna sit here and take that."
Teo had sunk so low that his head now barely poked above the table. "Uh, can you guys take it outside, please?"
"I'm not about to let this petty argument devolve into a brutish street brawl," said Azula, sneering. "We all know I'm more sophisticated than that." Looking at her, Aang couldn't help but think she looked even more imperious than usual, with derision in her eyes and haughtiness in her shoulders. He saw something of the other Azula in her and it stunned him too much to say anything.
Toph slammed her fists on the table. "Ugh, I've had it with your self-important attitude! The Freedom Fighters had a word for people like you and I don't think you wanna hear it."
Aang found his voice again after the sound of her fists on the table startled him out of his reverie. "You two better stop now before you say something you can't take back."
Toph cracked her knuckles. "Oh, I don't regret anything I ever say."
The corner of Azula's mouth quirked. "Well, that's the first thing we're in agreement on." She spun her hand, palm up, and flames flickered to life at her fingertips that flashed blue for a moment before settling on crimson. "And you really think I'm concerned about my brother getting better than me at firebending? Please. Though under my tutelage, even Zuzu will be able to overpower you without any effort."
"Think you're that good, huh? Are you all talk, or do you think you can back that up?"
Azula rolled her eyes. "If a fight is what it will take to convince you, then by all means." She gestured toward the door. "Let's go."
Outside, under the light of the stars, Azula and Toph stood across from each other on an open field separated from the lighthouse and Teo's workshop. The mountains where the guru lived loomed in the distance. Aang, Zuko, and Teo stood nearby, ready to intervene if necessary; Aang, however, had become so exasperated with their constant back and forth that he wanted the two of them to fight it out and hopefully get over whatever bothered them about each other. Even Appa stood with Aang, restless even as Aang did everything he could to calm the bison.
Toph cracked her neck. "Ever since we met I got the feeling that you didn't like me," she said. "And it's always been mutual. You know what I realized? In light of what Aang told us, it makes so much sense."
Azula narrowed her eyes and spoke with such a low tone that it made prickles dance up Aang's spine. "And why is that?"
"You're crazy and evil," Toph said, her legs spreading into a fighting stance. "That's all there is to it. This fight's been a long time com - "
Azula cut her off with a blast of blue fire that screamed toward Toph, gouging the earth in its path. Toph pulled up a block of stone to defend herself, but Azula's fire tore through it and the force of the blast pushed Toph back, who had to cross her arms to brace herself. She retaliated by dragging her foot forward, making the ground shift as if a badgermole dug underneath it. A slab of rock erupted under Azula's feet, but she leapt off of it and the force propelled her into the air, where she unleashed a series of red fireballs on Toph below her.
Toph stomped her feet and the ground beneath her descended at the same time as a shield covered her from above. As soon as Azula landed, an unseen attack from below launched toward her, but Azula kept on the move, never lingering in one spot for longer than a second and rolling with Toph's blows to take advantage of their momentum as much as she could. The barrage of stones came continuously but Azula was dexterous enough to avoid them, baiting Toph to attack in one direction while she weaved around the blows and closed in on Toph's shield from somewhere else. After one attack with a jagged spike of stone, Azula spun around it and leapt up on a previous earthen ramp Toph had made in order to slide down toward the shield, which she destroyed with an axe kick wreathed in flame.
Toph emerged from her hole to find Azula on the offensive, whirling around missiles of stone and dirt to retaliate with arcs of fire. Toph was forced into movement, sliding away from her on an earthen wave, but Azula's assault was relentless, her movements constant.
Teo held his collapsible metal pole defensively, as if expecting either one of them to turn on him at a moment's notice. "This fight's pretty serious, huh?"
Zuko looked to Aang. "Should we stop them before someone gets hurt?"
Before Aang could answer, Toph's voice rang out from behind a pillar of stone that she had used to defend herself. "Can't stand still, can you? Y'know, you fight kinda like Twinkletoes!"
Azula flipped toward the pillar and struck it with a dropkick-empowered blast of flame, making it topple, but Toph jabbed her fists and launched it toward Azula. From the ground, Azula lifted herself up and rolled out of the way just in time for the pillar to slam into the grass where she'd been moments before. Jumping to her feet, she whirled into a spinning kick and a hand movement that produced a disc of fire, both of which cut toward Toph. Appa shuffled his feet and grunted, perhaps in concern about the fire, but Toph ascended on another pillar of stone above the attack, which she leapt off of and came crashing down in a shockwave that made Azula topple.
It was Toph's turn to press her attack, stomping her feet to produce boulders that she launched toward Azula, but each attack summoned clouds of dust that obscured Azula's form. Firelight that blinked from within the miniature dust storm was their only indication that Azula still stood, blocking or deflecting Toph's attacks with loud crashes of shattered rock. Just as Toph made her first steps into the dust cloud, she gasped when a wave of fire rolled toward her bare feet, which she just barely managed to cover with dirt as the fire rolled over her clothes. Singed and angered, Toph pulled back her fist to slam it against the ground, but Azula emerged from the dust cloud in a leap with fire wreathing her punch. Toph managed to duck underneath the blow and blanketed herself with a stone shield, but Azula stood over her with a constant stream of fire that superheated the rock.
The flames came not from her fist or fingers but from her open palm, washing over the circular stone shield. Aang could see the sheen of sweat on Azula's brow, which focused on the rock in front of her, eyes narrowed in cold anger. The stream of red flame brightened and turned electric blue, its intensity almost blinding in the night. Zuko moved to intervene but Aang beat him to it, shouting for Azula to stop her assault. Before he could rush into the battle, Appa launched forward with a mighty roar directed at Azula, making her flinch away from him and giving Toph the opening to emerge from her shelter.
Aang's eyes widened as he regarded Appa. What had moved the bison so much that he felt it necessary to stop Azula? Had he sensed the intent behind her attacks? Did Azula really mean to hurt Toph? Or did Toph mean to hurt Azula? He was about to put a stop to the fight altogether when Toph dove at Azula, bringing the battle into a close quarters brawl. Azula managed to roll backward and send Toph careening overhead, but when Toph's body slammed into the ground and she pulled herself up to grapple with Azula again he saw that she wore a wide, toothy grin.
With their arms locked together in a struggle of physical strength, Toph let out a laugh through grit teeth. "You've got a lot more fight in you than I expected, Prissypants," she said.
"And you're annoyingly stubborn!" said Azula, gripping Toph's arms and trying to break her root. She, too, wore a grin, and that convinced Aang to stand down. Even Appa's growls lowered to a disgruntled rumble.
"What did Toph mean by calling her evil?" Teo asked Aang and Zuko. "What happened between them?"
Zuko looked to Aang, but Aang didn't take his eyes off of Azula and Toph. He had no words for Teo.
The next morning saw Azula and Toph bruised and battered, but ultimately in better moods after letting out all of their frustrations on each other. As they packed up their supplies on Appa, who rested on his stomach with all six of his legs spread out, Aang scratched behind his ears as he thought back on the events of the past few days. His friends knew his secrets and they all decided to remain with him, even after conflict had arisen out of the reveal. But now a new problem in the form of some kind of spiritual influence had plagued them.
At least they didn't have to trek through a desert again. And this time he didn't lose Appa. "Are you feeling better now, boy?" he crooned, pressing his forehead into Appa's fur. "See? It wasn't a serious fight. Azula and Toph might even be friends now."
Appa grumbled when Azula and Toph together hoisted the tent onto Appa's saddle. They still traded barbs, but Aang couldn't sense any venom in them anymore.
"That was an awful throw," Azula said, shielding her eyes from the sunlight as she looked toward the saddle. "You're so short that you missed and now the whole tent came unraveled."
"Are you kidding me? You didn't put any strength behind that. If it really did miss it's all your fault."
Teo walked up toward them with his arms crossed, frowning. "You guys are welcome to stay longer," he said. "It's nice having other kids around."
"We have to get to Ba Sing Se," said Zuko, climbing up Appa's tail. "Your mom gave us valuable information that could help with the war."
Looking at Teo, Aang felt another pang of guilt as he remembered the last time he saw the Teo in his world. "You're welcome to join us," Aang said. If the other boy did indeed have some kind of spirit hanging over him, he wanted to make sure Teo would be alright. The guru's words haunted Aang, making him toss and turn in his sleeping roll. He leapt onto Appa's head and gripped the reins. "The more the merrier."
Teo scratched the back of his head. "I appreciate that," he said. "But Mom needs me. We're the only people around for miles, after all."
Aang smiled, understanding. Teo still had family here, and it would be unfair to separate him from it. If only he could have both the Mechanist and the Astronomer in this world. "Take care, then," he said. "And tell her thank you for all the help!"
Teo laughed. "She was up stargazing all night. She won't be waking up for hours, but when she does, I'll pass it along!"
After they flew away from the lighthouse, Teo waving behind them, Aang craned his neck to look into the saddle at his friends. "Next stop, Ba Sing Se," he said. The grim sense of foreboding settled over him, but only he knew how bad the city had the potential to be. He'd have to fill them in on everything that had happened there so they'd know what to expect.
"Are you still planning to hide your identity once we arrive?" Azula asked. "You've stopped wearing your headband."
Aang put a hand on his forehead, his fingers resting on the blue arrow. "It's been missing," he said. He didn't expect to feel so wistful about it. "Ever since the fight with Katara. But no… I think it's best to let Ba Sing Se's leaders know that the Avatar has come."
