Book 3: Water
Chapter 17: The Eclipse (The Blood Moon, Part 2)
The news that Nagi had been arrested by her own people didn't do Aang any favors in trying to smooth things over.
Voices only grew louder as both sides accused the other of underhanded dealings, each claim more outlandish than the next. Aang, Kuei, and Wu all went unheard in their attempts to keep both sides settled. Fong demanded more information about Nagi. Muku's ramblings became more and more forceful. Zhu Zhang nearly got into a fistfight with a sailer captain. An undercurrent of energy thrummed through the gathering, something hot that spurred their anger.
"The library is ours!" shouted a chieftain.
"It is of great historical importance to all of the Earth Kingdom!" Fong retorted. "It has been under your control long enough!"
"Ba Sing Se doesn't deserve it!"
Above them, the sky darkened. Aang thought a cloud had passed over them, but the sky was perfectly clear. Its color had just faded, the vibrant blue leached out of it like a woodblock painting faded with age. The gong kept pounding in Aang's ears, the chanting of monks unrelenting.
"Can't you do something?" Toph asked Aang. "This is getting bad. Really bad."
"Not yet," he said, but the more this went on the more it became an enormous risk. His head spun and he saw the shadows stretching across the ground; perhaps he was the only one who could. "He's close. I know it."
Aang almost didn't notice the Hearer approach him until they were right at his side. They gripped his shoulder. "What did you say?" they asked in their low rasp, and Aang was shocked that his voice was heard over the din. "Who approaches? Did you stoke the fires of this conflict?"
Aang's eyes widened. That wasn't what he intended at all. "No! But…"
"If you want your precious library so badly, come and get it!" Muku challenged. He had already slammed his fists against the stone so many times that it had crumbled to pieces near where he stood. "Enough of this. Under my authority as general in Ba Sing Se's Council of Five, I declare – "
Aang had been distracted by the Hearer - he didn't want any of the generals to go as far as to officially declare war, and didn't want anyone here to get hurt. He shouted out to interrupt Muku but as soon as he opened his mouth an ear splitting screech echoed, reverberating from the temple walls. Aang and many others covered their ears just as another shadow passed overhead, blocking the setting sun. This time, it didn't move.
Wan Shi Tong had finally arrived.
He was enormous, with wings folded across his body like a mantle that seemed so long that it blended into the shadows around him. If anything, he seemed as if he wore a cloak of shadow, looming over the gathering with his face white as a specter's. His wings unfurled and they drowned out all the rest of the sunlight, an abrupt shift from twilight to night. The earth shook and something pounded the ground and Aang realized it was a monster approaching from the mountain pass, a rippling mass of muscle in nothing but a loincloth with a great hairy face and a massive wooden club.
"Once again, humans display all of their failings," said Wan Shi Tong. "Even as the world falls apart all around you, you engage in petty conflicts. How could I ever have considered your knowledge sacred?"
A massive spider appeared next, bigger than a canyon crawler, and Aang thought at first that a human man rode on top of it before he realized it had the top half of a man with six black eyes sticking out where the spider's head and eyes were. It walked with steps so light that he could barely feel them with his seismic sense.
"Wan Shi Tong," Aang called. The two spirits that accompanied him seemed to be dark spirits, which meant Wan Shi Tong himself was on the verge of falling himself. Dark spirits drawn to conflict. "Please, hear me out. I need your help. We all do. If we fail to address the imbalance between our two worlds, all of them will fall apart."
"No," he said, and he seemed to spread his wings even wider. "By our reckoning, humans are the cause of this. And the time of humans walking upon this earth needs to come to an end." He flapped his wings, and the ground shook, sand loosening and flowing almost like water. "Henceforth, you shall crawl. Crawl back into the mud you all came from."
Aang, Toph, and several other earthbenders tried to brace themselves against the shifting sand, but it moved too fast and all struggled to secure a foothold. Aang tried to free himself of it altogether, shouting for Toph, but decided against it at the last second - he wasn't going to let all of these people get hurt because of his own hubris and attempt to draw Wan Shi Tong here. The Hearer's accusation echoed in his ears, and he wasn't going to let them believe that he let this happen on purpose. If Wan Shi Tong was going to pull everyone into the Spirit World, Aang would go with them. And take them back out again.
He fell, darkness swarming his vision. He struggled to breathe for only a moment. He expected to feel the sensation of passing between worlds, but instead he only felt sand, coarse and rushing through around him. And then he hit the ground.
Aang coughed on his hands and knees, opening his eyes to total darkness. He heard others next to him doing the same, and once he recognized who they were from his seismic sense he lit a flame in his hand. Kuei and Wu shielded their eyes from the sudden light.
"Avatar, what happened?" Wu asked, taking in their surroundings. "Did Wan Shi Tong drag us into the Spirit World? Good heavens! I didn't expect him to appear! And what were those other monsters?"
Aang lifted his flame up higher, finding that they had been dropped into a squared hallway of dark stone. A faded fresco of an ancient warrior brandished his spear at them. Above, where they had come from, a thin trickle of sand emerged from a gap in the stone. Aang could have attempted to earthbend it, but he was afraid that if he did the sand would flood into the hallway. "I might be able to get back up," he said. "But we need to find everyone first. Just stay close to me - we're not in the Spirit World, so we should be able to find the exit. Wan Shi Tong just dragged us down here."
"We're inside the sunken temple of Aqmumu," said Kuei, looking around. "The mausoleum of King Mumuapur IV from Omashu. Coincidentally, one of Bumi's ancestors. The part we saw above ground was just the entrance. How fascinating! It is said that its depths are unmapped and nearly as labyrinthine as the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se. Since it is quite far from any major cities, it is a frequent target for graverobbers and treasure seekers…"
"Oh, lovely," said Wu, rubbing her forehead.
Aang stomped his foot, closing his eyes to get a feel for the temple's layout. The three of them had fallen deeper than he expected, with pathways above them that they had somehow bypassed in their descent. Some had been completely caved in with sand, while other hallways opened up into expansive chambers. He could sense the presence of some people, but he couldn't tell who they were yet… along with no sign of Wan Shi Tong or the other spirits. "This hallway leads to a bigger chamber and there are some people there. Stay close and make sure you step where I step - some of the floor tiles are connected to a mechanism underneath that might be a trap."
"Oh, yes," said Kuei, perking up. "I forgot to mention, King Mumuapur was known for breeding shirshus. I wouldn't be surprised if their venom was used for a number of traps here!"
Wu groaned. "Don't sound too excited, now."
The hallway led to a separate hall that was wider and sloped downward at a surprisingly steep incline. Aang led them down, wondering which people would meet him at the chamber near the bottom. He hoped he wouldn't have to keep everyone from fighting even as they struggled for their lives down here. At least the temple put Kuei in good spirits - he told them all about the reason for why an ancient king of Omashu was buried so far away from his city; apparently he loved a princess in Ba Sing Se who died tragically young and wanted to be buried near her.
"Stop!" Wu shouted. Aang thought she was talking to Kuei first but she held out a hand and Aang stopped moving just in time to avoid stepping on a tripwire. She let out a breath of relief. "For a moment, I thought you were going to hit that and we were going to have to avoid a giant rolling boulder like in the stories."
Behind them, something rumbled and Aang's eyes widened. Stone ground against stone and sure enough, a shape appeared at the top of the incline. Aang looked back down at the tripwire. "But I didn't touch it!"
Kuei leapt over it and ran ahead. "Run!" he exclaimed.
All three of them ran down the slope as an enormous boulder did indeed start rolling after them. Aang knew he could outrun it, but he wasn't so sure about Wu or Kuei.
"Avatar Aang!" said Wu, gasping for breath. "Aren't you an earthbender?"
Aang stopped short. "Oh, right!" He'd stopped tons of boulders like this in his training with Toph - even while blindfolded, but he wasn't about to tell them that. As it rolled toward them, he drew back for a punch and shattered the boulder to dust. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I just got caught up in the moment."
Wu simply waved a dismissive hand covered in rings as she doubled over, heaving for breath.
Kuei scratched his chin. "I never thought I would actually run into a trap like that in real life ruins," he said. "I suppose the ones who designed this temple weren't that creative."
Footsteps resounded from further up the incline, coming closer to them. Aang grinned when he recognized who they belonged to. "Toph! So glad to see you!"
"Sorry about that," she said, scratching the back of her head once she stopped in front of them. "That wasn't a trap you set off. That was me, I did it to crush that giant spider spirit."
Wu stared at her in disbelief. "Well, I hope that boulder was big enough. That spider was a fearsome creature of local legend, the Threadpuller. Quite a nasty one - I would rather not explain the origins of that name, it is too horrid."
"And the big muscle one?" Toph asked. "I'll crush that one too."
"I believe that was the Ogre of Taihua Mountain," she replied, shivering. "He is said to eat eyeballs."
"Let's keep moving," said Aang. "I'd prefer to stop them without crushing any more spirits."
"We stopped Koh the Face Stealer," said Toph, walking alongside Aang as they continued. "Wan Shi Tong will be a piece of cake."
The incline ended at a steep drop into the next chamber, enormous and rectangular, with two statues of a man and a woman. Torches in sconces low to the ground lit the chamber. At the center of the room, he saw a man earthbending at the unmistakable figure of the Hearer, who was lithe enough to jump around his attacks and block rocks launched at them with their shield. The Hearer wielded a strange weapon Aang had never seen before, a one-handed double-bladed weapon with two jagged tips, almost like hooks. Not a weapon that he expected a spiritual leader to wield.
Toph created a ramp and slid down to the two combatants. "That's Fong! What're they doing?"
Aang made it between the two of them first, banging his staff against the ground to make the ground rumble and disorient them both. "Both of you, stop! What's going on here?"
Fong answered first, pointing a finger at the Hearer. "We both found ourselves here and I suggested working together to get out."
The Hearer straightened and lowered their weapon, eyeing Aang and the others. They seemed like they were trying to gauge their chances against the Avatar and his allies. "The general assaulted me first," was all they said. "He suggested working together to get my guard down, I suspect."
Aang didn't take his eyes off either of them. "Toph?"
Toph knelt to the ground. "They're both telling the truth." She stood up again, holding her fists out toward Fong. "He knows I can tell if someone's lying. I mentioned it once, so he knows to choose his words carefully."
"You're going to take their word for it?" Fong asked, stepping forward. "What reason could I have to attack the Hearer while their back is turned?"
A wind carried into the chamber and the shadows at the connecting hallways seemed to coalesce into the shape of a feathered serpent with a ghostly face. "A man steeped in lies and secrets," said the face. Wan Shi Tong had found them. "Men have always put down others for the sake of their own personal gain… All to hide their schemes. But I see you, Fong Kewang. I am He Who Knows and He Who Sees All."
Aang faced the owl spirit. "You're turning dark, Wan Shi Tong," Aang said. "Please, try and resist it!"
"Why would I?" said Wan Shi Tong. He fixated on Fong. "Now I can look at you all and see all your history behind your eyes. Everything you are and everything you've done. I know the evils of which you are capable, the evils you have committed, all in the name of maintaining your power in your insignificant human kingdom. You've demonized an entire culture in your pursuit of more power, of more control. You've staged attacks in their name. Colluded with foreign powers to wage war for your advantage." He turned to Aang. "This is the example you would show me? The example of humans who would do good?"
Fong gaped, his eyes almost comically wide. "Wh-what? Preposterous! You're just some spirit, what do you know?"
He tried to turn around and run away, but Aang and Toph both raised a wall to block his path. Upon hearing Wan Shi Tong's words, Aang narrowed his eyes, the pieces all falling into place. "You're the one behind the attack on the palace that night," he said. "It was you all along!"
Fong turned back to face them, finally standing his ground. But Wan Shi Tong opened his beak and let out another screech. Aang covered his ears and screwed his eyes shut, but it seemed to penetrate him. It went on and on, echoing in the chamber, bringing them all to their knees. Just as the owl whirled to the top of the chamber, preparing to swoop down for the kill, Aang used all his willpower to pull his hands from his ears and press down on the air around them, as he'd seen Sangmu do.
All sound muted. Wan Shi Tong even stopped, but a pillar emerged from the wall and slammed into him, sending him careening to the opposite wall. Sound returned with a crash courtesy of Toph.
"Neat trick," said Wan Shi Tong, righting himself. "But you will need more than that to defeat me."
Night fell, and with it, an unexpected storm that gripped Aniak'to. Some thought it to be the work of raging spirits.
Up in Winter's Heaven, in the throne room, Azula felt as if they sat at the top of a crow's nest. A precarious perch for a ship at sea with choppy waters. She even thought she felt the high point of the palace swaying in the storm. The frozen waterfalls that fed into the throne room were slick with rainwater from outside, an occasional splash that made puddles in the gutters at the sides of the room. Thunder, so unusual in the South Pole outside of the Everstorm, rumbled the palace even further.
Through it all, even with the palace and the city on lockdown in preparation for a potential invasion and a search for Katara ongoing, Hakoda threw the occupants of the throne room a feast. A hint of normalcy in the chaos of the unknown.
It was a quieter feast, smaller and less rowdy than the first one she had attended, but a feast nonetheless. Azula sat at a single long table in the center of the throne room with a dozen of Hakoda's other guards - warriors she didn't know - and only a trio of elder advisors. Three waterbenders performed in a triangle around the table, tossing orbs and streams of water between each other in a languid and mesmerizing dance. The only other woman present was Malina, the woman at last selected as Hakoda's bride-to-be from the North. A lifetime ago, she never would have thought she would be here in the presence of the Water Emperor, his guest and his bodyguard.
The blue dragon's breath was warm against the back of her neck. A lifetime ago, you didn't have me.
She had even been allowed to wear armor. Not a full suit of it like her father's soldiers normally wore - they couldn't find anything in her size - but someone had procured iron bracers for her forearms, a breastplate with spikes around her shoulders, and boots. All from the Fire Nation, all black. It didn't match with her Water Tribe clothes and white pelt around her hips, but she found it to be striking nonetheless.
"The Blood Moon will be here in moments," said Hakoda, at the head of the table. He stood and retreated to his throne at the top of the dais, a massive chair draped in furs. "Leave us."
The waterbender performers fed their streams into the waterfall gutters and bowed to Hakoda, heading toward the massive double doors. Even Malina stood and departed, silent and steady with an impassive face. The trio of elders followed at the rear, closing the door behind them and sealing it with ice. There was a finality to the sound of the heavy doors grinding shut, keeping Hakoda inside with only his guards. Keeping everyone else out.
The feast was over. All of the guards stood, including Azula, and backed up from the table, taking their positions near each of the pillars lining the throne room. They held spears and clubs and machetes ready, and more than a few gave Azula odd looks just for standing there with her hands calmly folded behind her back. The only firebender and woman in their midst.
"Men," said Hakoda, sitting with a spear that looked more ceremonial than anything across his lap, "and Azula," with an incline of his head toward her. "Now, we wait."
The blue dragon roared. Deafening only to her. No!
She bent low, striking the guards on both sides of her with twin concussive blasts of blue flame. Part of her felt as if she burned with them as the force sent them crashing into pillars. The other guards leapt into action, but Azula danced light on her feet as one guard's spear darted through the air toward her. She ducked low into a sweeping kick, an arc of blue across the floor. Wide gouts of flame gave her space, kept them away from her, a pack of wolves biting and hunting as she stood atop the table, around the pillars, constantly moving to keep up her relentless onslaught.
Azula roared back at the blue dragon in defiance, but she couldn't have said if she did it for real or not.
The guards all took formation in front of their emperor, who stood in front of his throne with his own spear readied. Eight guards all standing in two neat lines.
Despite the burning, despite the blue dragon clawing and raging within her, Azula felt a sense of certainty, a calm rationality, settling over her. The same certainty she felt in the plum blossom garden so long ago, so far away. The same corner of her mind where she saw the burning woman, where she tucked away the love of her mother and her love for Aang. The only place where the blue dragon hadn't yet left a trail of devastation.
The crackle of lightning at her fingertips echoed the storm outside as her arms circled and she aimed at the guards, unleashing her power and linking them all in a convulsing chain. After it struck all eight guards, she cut off the flow and watched as they collapsed, falling still. She couldn't have said who survived or not.
It all happened in a matter of seconds.
Hakoda was still. Even without the threat of waterbending, he cut an imposing figure. Unflappable. "I wouldn't have thought you would do something so foolish. You have the true heart of a warrior." Despite watching his men fall, he hefted his spear toward her. "But you have rejected my hospitality, my respect. Was all of this your plan? Did my wayward daughter's betrayal fall into it, too?"
She didn't back down, didn't know how to react to his faint praise. But she didn't care. "None of that matters. I'm here to kill you."
He spread his arms wide. "What are you waiting for? I suspect under that power, I'd fall as easily as my men did. But I have to say, I expected the Avatar to be the one to do this. Not one of his lackeys."
He was trying to talk, to distract her while he came up with a plan. The longer he delayed the more time he had to regain his footing. The blue dragon thrashed with wild abandon, screaming and burning with the fury of a volcano. She had never experienced the Fire Lord's wrath like this. The plum blossom tree went up in flames. "Aang has been through so much pain," she said through grit teeth. "If I could spare him from more, I would do anything in my power. My hands are already dirty. One more stain would mean nothing to me."
Despite the pain and the ashes in her vision, she circled her hands again, summoning forth more lightning with all of her willpower. Before it crackled to life in her hands, a flash of motion to her right caused her to defend herself with her bracers through pure reflex.
A clang of metal on metal rang out through the throne room. Katara had entered without Azula noticing, her short blade grinding against Azula's bracers. She had an even shorter knife in her off hand, which slashed toward Azula and she only barely managed to step back far enough to avoid it.
"How sweet," said Katara, drenched in rainwater. Even without her mask, with her blade in one hand and knife held in a reverse grip in the other, she looked like a spirit of vengeance. "But I'm not going to let you steal my kill from me."
Aang leapt out of the way of Wan Shi Tong's spearlike beak, and then again to avoid the beating of his wings. The owl's sheer bulk seemed to fill the majority of the chamber, but he was swift as shadow and nearly as intangible. He snuffed out flames with his wings, burst through grasping earth attacks, and weathered the wind. His elongated neck snapped toward Aang, but he broke off a piece of the male statue to defend himself.
"What ancient relic did you just destroy?" Wan Shi Tong asked. "So thoughtlessly, just like all of your people. Time and again, you use knowledge as a weapon."
Toph cut off Fong's second attempt at escape and simultaneously attacked the owl herself. "Wow, I didn't think you meant all that in a literal sense."
"He has a point!" Kuei protested, joining them on the main floor of the chamber. "You just broke a priceless artifact!"
Toph raised a fist at him. "Whose side are you on!?"
Aang tried to ignore his friends. "Isn't it different when we have to defend ourselves? When we're forced into a situation where we need to use the resources available to us or die? My people have always taught the pacifistic solution, and I will always treasure that, but running away isn't always an option."
Wan Shi Tong swirled into the air, his wings wrapping around him, before he came back down on Aang from above. "Yet humans always choose violence. All this I have learned from you. So now I visit violence upon you in turn, to protect what is dear to me."
"Venerable spirit," said Fong, at last choosing to stand his ground once he realized he couldn't easily escape. "Doesn't that make you no better than us? Everything I have done, I have done to protect my people!"
The owl's wings spread wide again, conjuring a torrent of wind with one wave that threw everyone into the far walls except for Aang and Toph. Aang spared a glance for Wu, still ducking low up above, safe from immediate harm. The Hearer had taken a place at her side, standing in front of her protectively. Kuei and Fong both regained their footing and helped to surround Wan Shi Tong.
"I can't believe we have to spell out the difference for you!" Toph shouted across to Fong. "You did all that for your own gain, just like Wan Shi Tong said!"
This was wrong. Even though the four humans worked together, they were at odds with Fong. No matter what they said, that fact alone would keep anything from getting through to Wan Shi Tong.
"All we're doing is proving Wan Shi Tong's point," Aang said, lowering his staff and sword. He faced the great spirit in the center of the room. "Even as we fight together, we just keep fighting with each other. Fong's mindset is not one I can condone, but neither is yours!"
"You humans with your differing ideas and ideals," said Wan Shi Tong. He sounded almost mournful. "No matter what, those differing mindsets will continue to lead to conflict. That is why I must do everything in my power to end it all."
The shadows lengthened. Aang didn't know what he planned to do, but he knew it couldn't be good. "He's going dark! I need some water - I need to use spiritbending!"
"Here, Avatar!" shouted the Hearer, tossing him a waterskin from above. "We desert folk don't go anywhere without a source of water."
Aang had to leap over another beak strike from Wan Shi Tong, but he caught the waterskin in midair. "Toph, hold him in place!"
"You believe all your problems with the spirits can be solved with spiritbending?" Wan Shi Tong asked, his voice echoing in the chamber. "You have so much to learn." This time when he unfurled his wings, the torch flames sputtered out, casting the chamber in darkness. That wasn't a problem for Aang and Toph, but when he heard Kuei's shout of alarm he unleashed a beacon of white fire, illuminating Wan Shi Tong's ghostly face just in time for Kuei to slam him head on with his hammer.
The temple rumbled and sand shifted somewhere above them and Aang had a weight in his gut that told him Wan Shi Tong was going to sink everything further into the sand like he once did with the library. While Kuei and Toph had him occupied, Aang focused on creating balls of white fire that floated throughout the chamber unsupported, his breaths slow and calming. He suspended them with all his willpower, casting light throughout the chamber.
"I know fighting and spiritbending can't solve all my problems," Aang said. "But… it seems you're talking like you want us to convince you humans can be trusted again. Can't you give us another chance?"
"You've destroyed my accumulated knowledge, used it in endless wars against each other in countless worlds, and you think I secretly want to give you another chance?" He made a sound that sounded like a scoff. "Don't be absurd."
Kuei used the haft of his hammer to ward off Wan Shi Tong's talons. "Throughout history, people have waged war. When we have differences, sometimes it does lead to that, it's true. But sometimes we also learn from each other."
"Peace between your peoples is always ephemeral," the spirit continued. Just as he pinned Kuei to the ground and was about to impale him on his beak, Toph rolled the ground under the owl and slammed it into his side. Wan Shi Tong picked himself up again. "Even if you do find peace now, soon enough, you'll wage war again and again and again. As I've told you once before, it's nothing but a vicious cycle."
"Even if conflict is brewing between my people and theirs," said the Hearer, "I choose to believe we can find peace. The actions of a few do not determine the feelings of the many. I understand that."
Fong ducked behind the ruins of the statue Aang had destroyed. "What does a spirit want with all that human knowledge anyway? Aren't you just hoarding it? Aren't you just as selfish as the rest of us?"
Something roared in the distance, an echo that carried into their chamber. The ogre, Aang surmised. They were running out of time. "It's not always born from selfishness," Aang said. He waved his arm and the white flames soared to the torches, lighting them again. He let his staff and sword clatter to the floor, and the Hearer's waterskin with them. "I'm not going to fight you, Wan Shi Tong. Or spiritbend you. I want to come to an understanding. You've been hurt and betrayed by humanity in the past, and I won't deny that we've done so much wrong. There are bad humans among us just as there are bad spirits among you."
Wan Shi Tong lengthened, rising closer to the ceiling. "Your point?"
Aang glanced toward Fong. "Fong may misunderstand, but he does have a point. You're just… hoarding all those books and inventions. But my past lives told me that long ago, you used to be the champion of human knowledge. You had to gather it all for a reason."
"Koh the Face Stealer wanted to understand humans," Toph said, her voice smaller than usual. "Is it the same with you?"
"You are children wriggling in the mud," he spat. "Helpless worms. But there was indeed a time where I admired your people, your persistence and growth. But times have changed. You've all let me down again and again, destroying each other, destroying the world around you. You've burned villages and forests. You lie and cheat and steal and murder."
Wu finally found the courage to speak in his presence. "But for every forest we burn, we plant trees anew. For all those who hurt others there are even more who help and heal. Kindness still has a place in this world."
"What use is all that accumulated knowledge if it isn't freely shared?" Kuei asked. He followed Aang's lead in dropping his hammer, a heartfelt plea. "You'd keep it to yourself, all alone in the depths of your library? The more people learn of our history, the more we teach each other, the fewer opportunities we have to repeat the mistakes of our past. You have to give us that chance."
"Even you resorted to lashing out when you had enough," said Aang. Wan Shi Tong had hesitated, his wings slowly unfurling. "Even you fought to protect what was important to you. Can't you see that we're trying to do the same? Violence is never justified. As an Air Nomad, I know and believe that, even after everything I've been through. But sometimes you have to fight for what's important, fight when there are no other options left."
The owl spirit shook his head, but even as he spoke he seemed to return to something closer to his normal size. "We argue in circles. Even as I hear you out, I even as I consent to listen in the hopes that you may finally sway me, all I hear is further justification for your people to slay each other. Your knowledge once allowed your people to achieve a great many things. From your people, I learned all sorts of wonders. The beauty of art and song. Works of literature. Great strides in healing and the sciences. There was a time when I sought out your people for more, traveled the world along with my knowledge seekers. I had friends in the human cities; a past king of Ba Sing Se known for inventing musical instruments. A sage of the Water Tribes who first learned our world was round. A child from the west who invented a game of sticks all on her own…"
Aang recognized the pain in his voice. "It's grief," he said. "You're grieving those you have lost."
Kuei's face lit up. "I know two of those people you're talking about," he said. "King Yishu, of the Jade Dynasty. And that sage was Ahno, from the south." When Wan Shi Tong looked at him with something like surprise in his white mask of a face, Kuei smiled. "That may have been long ago, but their legacy lives on. Their knowledge and their memories live on. And that child's name may have been forgotten by the world at large, but I am sure there are children somewhere who still laugh and play her game."
"We know how far you'd go to protect your knowledge from humans," said Toph. "But what about protecting it all from the end of the world? Both our world and the Spirit World are in danger. And we could use the help of a spirit to stop that from happening."
"And we can help you, in turn," Kuei continued. "You don't have to protect that knowledge by yourself. Now that it's in Ba Sing Se… it could be the start of a new era. A time where all of that knowledge inside the library can be shared, where we could learn from you and you can learn from us again."
"Your Majesty, I think you would be a wonderful choice for a steward of the library along with He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things," said the Hearer. "As a token of goodwill between our peoples, I will suggest it to our council… provided the great knowledge spirit consents."
"I would like to suggest an additional steward," said Wu, smiling to the Hearer. Wan Shi Tong looked back and forth between them. "Nagi has an appreciation for the history of our world too, and there are no Dai Li who wish to uphold the rich culture of our kingdom more than her. As a member of the Si Wong tribes as well, she would represent the interests of both our cities."
"The library has never been under the stewardship of any humans," said Wan Shi Tong. The shadows edged away from the corners of the chamber. "But… perhaps you are right. Perhaps it is time for that knowledge to be freely shared. One last chance for humanity to prove me wrong. One last chance to break the cycle."
"And we are at war, it's true," said Aang, stepping forward. "But we're trying to end it. To save both worlds, we have to end this war. I won't ask you to fight with us, but please… help us in your own way. Only by working together will we be able to accomplish this."
Wan Shi Tong stretched his wings again, and for a moment Aang thought he meant to strike. "You push your luck, Avatar. But I do understand this world and the Spirit World face an unprecedented crisis. For now… we will see how this goes." He glanced at Kuei again, his voice softening. "And her name was Yizu. The child."
Kuei smiled.
Out of the corner of his eye, Aang caught Fong trying to tiptoe away. Before Aang could move to stop him, Toph twisted her foot and made him sink into the floor up to his waist. Fong looked up to them with a pleading look in his eyes. "Oh, come on! Didn't we just all give impassioned speeches about peace and cooperation?"
Aang crossed his arms. "Not you. You still have to pay for your crimes."
Katara didn't give her any space.
Her attacks came swift and strong, forcing Azula on the backfoot even though Azula was the only one with bending. Bangs of blue flame sputtered against the ice floors, Katara's footing firm as she dodged and kept up with Azula's own non-stop movements. Azula thought hitting her was like trying to scoop water with a net.
"Why'd you do it, Azula?" she snarled, diving out of the way of a sweeping blast of flame. Her blade and knife came out in two quick bites, one that Azula dodged and the other that she had to block with her bracer. She nearly tripped on one of the fallen guards.
Azula fought to keep the Fire Lord's rage from bubbling over, knowing she would be consumed if she let it out. "You endangered the mission," she said, flowing into a double spinning kick. Flames followed the heel of her boot, two arcs of blue rushing out at Katara. She swept her fingertips from hip to shoulder, hoping the rush of flame would give her enough space to finish this. All the while, she kept an eye on Hakoda, who seemed content to watch this scene play out. "I wasn't going to let you get in my way. You would've ruined everything."
Katara readjusted her grip on her knife, her eyes narrowed. She lost the advantage of surprise and now Azula forced her to keep her space. "I could say the same of you." She held the knife level with her face. "Was that your plan all along? To come in close so you could take out the emperor yourself?"
Azula didn't bother answering. She fixed her eyes on Hakoda again and focused on the swirling energies within herself, once again calling forth lightning, but Hakoda moved to duck behind the pillar. She hesitated for just a moment for Katara to lunge at her before she could get the attack off and the blue dragon continued to wail with rage as she tried in vain to chain it down. All three distractions combined to a detonation of fire and smoke issuing from her fingertips instead, throwing her to the floor where she almost fell into the icy waterfalls. Rainwater from outside splashed onto her, and when she looked up, she saw Sokka there.
Katara had moved to the other side of the throne room in an attempt to fight Hakoda herself now that Azula was out of the way, but Sokka shouted. "Stop, Katara!"
Katara unfolded her blade from against her forearm and stood up straight without looking in Sokka's direction. She stayed fixated on Hakoda, her back to Sokka and Azula both. "I knew you must have been in the city, brother. Did you manage to scale the outside of Winter's Heaven and climb in through the waterfalls like I did, without your waterbending?"
He ignored her question. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it."
At the throne, Hakoda started laughing. "Well, never would I have expected a family reunion! Both my son and daughter have come back to me. Are you here to try and kill me too, Sokka? It's been too long. You've grown, boy."
"It isn't a family reunion!" Katara's shoulders shook. "And it's because of you! You took Mom away from us! You and Gran both!"
Azula edged away from Sokka. Her momentary lapse of control frightened her. She only saw blue.
Sokka stepped toward the center of the throne room. "Katara, Mom's alive," he said. He held his hand over his heart. "I found her. After all this time, we can be with her." He glared at Hakoda. "He doesn't matter. From the beginning we've just been tools to him, ready to throw aside the moment we're no longer useful."
Katara froze. Azula couldn't see the expression on her face, but Hakoda looked between her and Sokka. "Now that's a surprise," Hakoda said. He loosened his grip on his spear. "Well, would you look at that. Her time as a taboo-breaker is over. Now we can all…"
"Don't you dare say it," said Katara, and her voice came out strained. Low and dangerous and with the force of holding back tears. "Don't you dare say we can be together again. Sokka betrayed me once, too. I can't trust him. Even if Sokka's right, even if she is still alive… You took her away from us for all those years. You were going to let me be sacrificed to the spirits without a second thought. You still deserve to pay."
Any lingering mirth on Hakoda's face vanished. "You think you know everything that happened that night? Well, then. If you're so dead set against it, try and kill me." He aimed the point of his spear at her. "Even though you're a coward who tried to take me out when I didn't have bending, you'll find that you'd be hard-pressed to finish it. You too, Sokka. I'd like to see you both try."
Sokka shook his head. "No," he said. "Defeating you is the Avatar's destiny. Not any of ours."
The blue dragon opened her maw and unleashed a deluge of blue fire on the garden in Ba Sing Se. Even thoughts of Aang and her mother failed to keep her away. The Fire Lord was punishing her, making her pay for her insolence. Any power she could have had was thrown away. Azula herself let it all go up in flames.
Katara inclined her head only a fraction to look at Sokka out of the corner of her eye. Azula saw the half-moon burn under that eye as clear as a cloudless night. "What do you know, Sokka? You think your new friends will be able to end this war with Dad's clean defeat? You're hopelessly naïve. When he dies, another chief will climb over all the others to take his place. That's why I need to be on top."
"It doesn't have to end that way." Sokka took another step forward. "It can end with peace for all of our nations. With love and kindness. You've both lost sight of what's truly important. We're not warmongers like you both seem to think. The Water Nation is full of innovators and healers. Family and community are at the core of what our values always used to be." He glanced at the pillars around the room, traced a fish along the nearest one with his fingertip as if they were the same pillars that held up the society he spoke of. Then he looked back to Hakoda. "To us, you've never been family. You may have trained me a bit, tried your hardest to 'toughen me up,' but I can't believe I ever called you Dad."
Hakoda scoffed with derision. "Who was it that got to you? The Avatar or your grandmother?"
Sokka gave him a defiant grin. "I'd say a bit of both."
The door to the throne room quaked. Through the screaming of flames, Azula thought she heard shouts behind the door. She saw her mother on the ice, writhing in pain. Burning, burning.
"Looks like your precious time is running out," said Hakoda, in the full mantle of the warrior again. "Even if you do manage to beat me before the eclipse ends, will you get out of this palace alive? If either of you are going to take your chances, do it now. Or else you won't live to regret it."
Katara snapped both of her weapons in front of her. "Shut up!"
Sokka held out a hand as the doors behind him banged. "He's trying to goad you!" He exchanged a glance with Azula as if remembering she was there for the first time. "Katara, we have to go. Come with us."
The throne room doors flew open. They had a battering ram. Warriors flooded in, but to Azula they were a blur of blue.
"Emperor Hakoda! We heard crashes! We thought the dark spirits had gotten inside!" The warrior almost dropped his club when he saw Sokka, Katara, Azula, and all of the fallen guards. "What…?"
Sokka took advantage of the man's shock and went on the attack, knocking him out with his boomerang while his black sword flashed. "Azula, I'll try to clear a path out of here! Zuko and Sangmu are outside causing a stir - don't leave without my sister!"
It was all noise. Sokka disappeared into the halls outside, but Katara continued to face the emperor. She wasn't about to leave her target alive, even if she had to kill him out of desperation… but neither could Azula.
Azula felt her arms moving, carving a wound into the air just as Katara burst into motion. Azula aimed her finger at Hakoda, letting the power free to aim it directly at him as he focused entirely on the approach of his daughter, spear readied…
She saw the blue dragon's eyes. The Fire Lord had different prey in mind. Azula heard a single chime somewhere. Something dissonant, echoing. Despite the blazing heat, it made her feel cold.
Azula didn't realize she moved her fingers, didn't fathom the depths of the blue dragon's hatred until it was too late. The lightning arced from her fingertips before she could stop it. It struck Katara in the center of her back, blinding and radiant and black and sudden. She fell into a crumpled heap, motionless on the floor. The lightning sparked once more through her body before fading away.
The silence was so heavy she almost didn't realize the burning had stopped, the Fire Lord's rage spent. With a sense of clarity and regret she hadn't felt in a long time, she locked eyes once with Hakoda, who stared back at her with something like pity in his gaze, and then she turned around to flee. Hakoda didn't follow, not immediately.
Escaping was easy. When she met up with Sokka again at the stairs to the Whale's Belly, he looked at her without the knowledge of what she had done, but seemed to accept that she couldn't force Katara to come with them. Azula felt as if she had been numbed by the lightning herself, and when they made it outside into the dark spirit storm and more lightning seared the sky, she almost wished it would strike her down too.
They emerged from Aqmumu Temple to a night sky laden with moving stars, reminding Aang inexplicably of the day in the library when the skies moved. When they used the planetarium to find the day of the eclipse. This was far more dizzying. Far more beautiful.
They met General Zhu Zhang near the entrance, an unconscious General Muku over her shoulder. She had the delegation from Si Wong City with her, who rejoiced upon seeing the Hearer unharmed. Everyone cowered when Wan Shi Tong emerged from the shadow of the temple with them, but when they saw Aang and the others stand at his side, they backed down.
"General Fong?" Zhu Zhang looked at the makeshift metal handcuffs Toph had fixed around the other general's wrists. "What's going on?"
"He's under arrest," said Wu, glaring at him with her hands on her hips. "For crimes against the Earth Kingdom. He will stand trial for what he has done."
Zhu Zhang blinked, but when the Avatar and Earth King didn't dispute her words, she frowned and seemed to accept them.
"What happened to that big ogre spirit?" Toph asked, looking around. "We heard it roaring in there. We didn't think our problems would be over yet!"
Zhu Zhang patted her biceps and grinned. "Oh, it wasn't so big a problem that some good ol' wrestling couldn't solve it. Muku's old wounds acted up, but I handled it."
Toph grinned as well and spoke to Aang. "Y'know, I think she's okay."
Aang was so distracted by the thought of her facing down the giant ogre spirit in a wrestling match that he didn't notice Bumi and Nagi of all people sitting calmly at the remains of the earthen table from the discussion earlier, drinking tea together. "Bumi! Nagi! What're you two doing here?"
"Oh, there you are!" said Nagi, standing up and waving at them. Her eyes widened when she saw Wan Shi Tong.
Bumi giggled. "Hi Aang! I thought there were some things that didn't add up so I went to Si Wong City to investigate on my own. And it led to me busting her outta there! There are some perks to being a renegade king!"
Nagi pulled at her long, thick ponytail braid with a frown but then tucked it back into her cowl. "There was no 'busting' me out, I assure you. He did it the proper way, following the law with paperwork and magistrates. They didn't have much ground to stand on when they arrested me."
"Aww, phooey. Everyone likes to spoil my fun."
Nagi pursed her lips at him and continued. "I may have been snooping a little, but only because I'd discovered evidence of certain ex-Dai Li agents planted in Si Wong sending letters back and forth to someone in Ba Sing Se," she said, glancing at Fong. "I'd say this warrants further investigation, but it looks like you have a suspect already."
Wan Shi Tong observed all of this happening with what Aang could only assume was apathy. "She is the other human suggested to watch over my library? Well… I hope she likes foxes."
Aang turned to him. "Wan Shi Tong," he said. "I know how you can help us."
"And how is that, Avatar?"
Aang cast his eyes back out over the dunes to the south, and thought of his friends even further away. "Tell me how you moved your library around the desert."
The throne room had been left open and untouched by the time she arrived. No one stood here; all had abandoned it for the conflict outside with spirits.
She saw bodies, but no blood. Some even stirred, feeble and fleeting, but she searched for one in particular. She knelt down on the ice next to the person she sought. A horrific burn scorched her back, ugly and pungent enough to make her wrinkle her nose. But she saw the girl take breaths, shallow and rapid. Princess Katara still lived.
The ice in the floor melted with a wave of her hand. Hama held a glove of water over the wound, a glow and gentle chime ringing throughout the throne room.
"Don't worry, Princess Katara," she said. "I'm here now."
Author's Notes: Oof, sorry again that took so long! Now that I've finally gotten over this roadblock of a chapter I can hopefully continue at a faster pace. "The Blood Moon" was one I'd been looking forward to and also dreading for a long time.
As a reminder, if you want to know the remaining chapter titles and total length for the rest of the story, check out the latest Distorted Reality podcast/audiobook episode for an interview with me and a sneak peek!
One last thing - since my last update, there have been (at least!) two updates to the comic as well. Check it out, "The Chase" adaptation is finished and it's amazing to see it in a visual medium!
Please review! But please be nice, lol.
