Chapter Six
Aang reached to the crest of a small hill and when he found what he was looking for he smiled brightly and spread his arms out wide. "Feast your eyes on the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" The teenagers joined him on the crest and looked over the city.
"Wow," Katara said with amazement. "We certainly don't have cities like this in the South Pole."
"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka said in jealous astonishment.
Zuko and Azula though, looked at the city in dread, knowing the people there would not be as forgiving as Suki and her Kyoshi Warriors.
"It would be smart if we don't go into Omashu," Azula told the group, though the name of the city felt ridiculous for her to say. Why she did not know.
"But I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi," Aang told her, surely implying he planned on going into the city.
Azula rolled her eyes. "Well that's all fine and dandy. Now, can we get underway again?"
"Not yet!" Aang said in excitement. "I need to show you guys how amazing this city is!" Azula pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"We don't have time for this," she grunted.
"But we do need to get supplies," Katara pointed out. "We have about two days left of food."
"And I need to get a closer look at those buildings!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Well if that's the case," Zuko said, "you three can go. It would be best if me and Azula stay here."
"No way!" Aang said indignant. "You two are coming along, no argument!"
"But if they find out we're Fire Nation," Azula said with a scowl, "they would kill Zuko then try to kill me." Zuko glared at her as she implied he would not be skilled enough to escape like her.
"But you two are in disguise," Katara reasoned. "As long as none of us give any hints that you're Fire Nation, you'll be alright." Azula rubbed her chin in thought, knowing her best friend was correct, but Aang was not about to get his way just like that.
"Fine," Azula relented. "But it would be time consuming if people find out you're the Avatar," she said to Aang.
"How would it be time consuming?" he asked, unsure what she was implying.
Azula furrowed her brow. "Don't you remember how much time we wasted on Kyoshi Island because of your fan girls?"
Aang smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right." He laughed nervously, hoping Katara would not become upset at the thought of him indulging in girls' admiration of him as the Avatar.
"She made a good point Aang," Sokka told him. "You need a disguise."
"Absolutely," Azula agreed to Sokka's surprise, a rarity to him. "If you wear a disguise, Zuzu and I will go into the city with you."
"Great, but what I am supposed to do?" Aang asked. "Grow a mustache?"
"And a head full of hair," Azula stated before she smirked before walking over to Appa.
Within short order, fur from Appa's coat was used to give Aang a head of hair and a thick mustache. He scratched his head underneath the wig while scrunching his nose in irritation. "Ugh!" he groaned to Azula's amusement. "How do you live in this stuff?" Aang asked Appa, who grunted in response.
"Great!" Sokka exclaimed. "Now you look just like my grandfather Tarruk."
"Technically," Katara said thoughtfully, "Aang is one hundred and twelve years old."
Aang picked up his staff and began using it as a walking stick. In a deep but fake voice of an old man, he said, "Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits."
Leaving Appa to graze in a field, Aang led the teenagers up the access road leading to Omashu's gates. "You guys are gonna love Omashu," Aang explained. "The people here are the friendliest in the world."
"These cabbages better not be rotten, merchant!" the group heard one of the gate guards shouted to a man with greying hair. The guard turned toward another and said, "Lance corporal, check this entire cart for any possible rot or mold."
The lance corporal bowed his head. "Yes sergeant!" he shouted before following through with his orders, going through the cabbage cart rather cruelly.
"Please be careful of my cabbages!" the merchant shouted, before receiving a mean look from the sergeant that silenced him.
As the group waited for their turn, Azula leaned over to Aang and whispered sarcastically, "'Friendliest people in the world,' uh?"
Aang smiled widely. "Just keep smiling…," he said with a hint of nervousness, remembering that a hundred years of war had caused people to become more caution in exchange for friendliness.
After his cart was crudely searched, the cabbage merchant was allowed entry, who was pouting over the fact his cabbages has lost value due to the guards' callous search. The sergeant approached Aang and stared down at him with a scowl. "State your business to Omashu," he demanded.
Aang burst forward with a speed uncharacteristic of an old man and pointed an accusing finger at the sergeant. "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours!" Aang shouted in his old man voice, while Katara, Sokka, and Zuko watch in terror, though Azula was rather amused that Aang could be forceful when it was necessary. "I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!" Aang shouted even louder, nearly causing Azula to burst out laughing.
"Settle down, old timer," the sergeant said in a calm voice. "I just need to know who you all are."
Aang smiled under his mustache. "Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicoplis, the Third, and these are my grandkids," Aang said in his old man voice with a hint of fondness.
Azula's amusement ended at the name Aang gave the sergeant. Knowing Sokka and Zuko, they would surely screw this up. But to her relief, Katara walked up to the sergeant with a polite smile and said, "June Pipinpadaloxicoplis. Nice to meet you."
The sergeant looked between Katara and Aang, then at Azula, Sokka, and Zuko. For a moment, they all thought he was going to begin probing for answers they did not want to give.
"You seem like a responsible young lady," he said to Katara and to their relief. "See to it that your grandfather stays out of trouble." He used his arm to signal his men to allow them passage. "Enjoy Omashu!"
"We will," Katara said with a smile before walking past the sergeant with Aang. The rest of the group followed, but when Sokka walked past the sergeant, the latter cocked an eyebrow.
"Wait a minute," he said to the group's fear. "You're strong young boy," the sergeant said as he turned Sokka around and pointed at him. "Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."
Aang smiled and exclaimed, "Good idea!" He tossed the bag at Sokka, who caught and slung it without complaint, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention. As the group walked through the gates, which were essentially stone walls that were bended into position, the sergeant watched them walk into the city and saw what looked like bunny ears burst out of the old man's hair before the gate closed. He shook his head and continued with his duty, attributing it to the long day he was putting in.
The group approached a railing and look over the city, seeing the many houses that rose to the largest of buildings. What really caught everyone's attention was the series of chutes that crisscrossed the entire city.
"This is the Omashu delivery system," Aang explained to them in his normal voice. "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down."
"That's amazing!" Sokka exclaimed, wondering if in some way, he could implement the concept of a delivery service in his home village.
"That's great that they get their mail on time," Azula pointed out.
"They do get their mail on time," Aang informed her.
"But why are you pointing this out to us?" she asked, getting more impatient with Aang's antics that was causing delays in their trip.
"Because my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes…," Aang said with a mischievous smile as he recalled Bumi explaining to him that this was the world's greatest super slide; Aang called him a mad genius before they spent hours on the chutes, laughing and having the time of their lives. After reminiscing on the past, Aang then led the group up to the start of a chute and found a basket large enough for all of them to fit into. Aang pushed it to the edge with his airbending while the others have mixed feelings about doing this. Katara, Sokka, and Zuko were rather leery about this, but Azula was enjoying it, especially since Sokka and Zuko looked ready to wet themselves.
"One ride, then we're off to the North Pole," Aang promised. "Airbender's honor."
"You know," Katara said nervously, "this sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second THOUGHTS!" she shouted just as the basket dropped down an intimidating vertical drop. Aang and Azula were enjoying themselves, the former for the ride, the latter for the ride and seeing the looks of terror on Sokka's and Zuko's faces.
But her amusement did not last for much longer when a basket with sharp spears merged onto their path and soon caught up to them. Sokka, sitting at the back, ducked down as the spears past over him. Zuko learned forward into Azula and Katara.
Aang took notice of what was happening and shouted, "I'm on it! I'm on it!" He began rocking the basket back and forth once it pulled away from the spears, causing it to derail out of the chute and land hard on a rooftop. They slid across a few more rooftops before flying past a formation of soldiers heading off to war. When the basket impacted the ground, Aang used his airbending to propel the basket into the air and back into a chute.
"Aang, do something!" Katara shouted at him. "Use your airbending!"
"Yeah!" Aang shouted with a smile. "Good idea! That'll make us go even faster!"
"I don't think that's what she-!" Zuko shouted before Aang blasted air behind them, making them pick up more speed than before. Omashu citizens looked at them in astonishment as they flew past them. They spot an off-load point with a package directly in their path. The kids begin screaming as they envisioned themselves crashing into it, though they stopped and breath out in relief when the earthbender moved the packaged out of the way.
But the kids began screaming again when the earthbender brought up another package. Rather than hitting it, Aang derailed the basket again, causing it to flip end over end, nearly throwing everyone out. Aang righted them up and they crash through a resident's house, destroying some property before continuing toward a market, where they crashed into the cart belonging to the very same cabbage merchant they saw earlier in the day.
"My cabbages!" he shouted in horror before eyeing the kids. "You brats are going to pay for this!"
Azula heard the man and quickly scanned the area for Katara. When she spotted her lying face down to the ground and trying to get up, Azula sprinted to her and forced her to follow into a nearby alley just as soldiers came to arrest them. A few soldiers attempted to arrest Azula and Katara but failed to find them.
But they did arrest the other three kids.
"Two cabbages please," Aang said sheepishly.
It did not take long for Azula to escape the soldiers as they searched for her, for they had to switch their attention to controlling the panicking crowd in the marketplace. When it was safe for her and Katara to stop, the latter turned her friend around to talk.
"Okay Katara, let's figure out-" Azula said as she looked at Katara's face. "Oh you've got to be shitting me."
But it was not Katara she grabbed. It was Sokka.
"Yep, you grabbed the wrong person," he said with a frown. "Thanks for saving me though."
"Shut up," Azula said before pinching the top of her nose. "Out of anyone I could've grabbed, why did I have to grab the most useless one?"
"What?!" Sokka exclaimed indignant. "How am I the most useless one?"
"Because you can't bend!" Azula told him. "Even Zuko is marginally more useful than you!"
"Fuck you!" Sokka shouted at her before she eyed him dangerously, though he remained undaunted by her glare, irritating her further.
"Fuck you!" she shouted back before realizing they would draw attention to themselves and covered Sokka's mouth with her hand. He made a few muffled noises before Azula put her index finger before her lips to indicate he should be quiet. He got the message and stopped making noises.
Azula lowered her hand and breathed deeply to calm down. "Okay," she began, "Katara, Airhead, and Dum-Dum are in custody and we need to get them out."
"Right," Sokka replied, "and the first thing we need to do about that is figure out where they were taken."
Azula stared at him in astonishment, much to Sokka's irritation.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Azula said innocently. "It's just that's the smartest thing you've contributed to a plan." Sokka groaned but decided that arguing with Azula was not going to help them find their friends any faster. The two teenagers set out to find out where the others were taken, hoping that they can stay alive long enough to be rescued.
In accordance with Omashu's traditions, those who are accused of crimes must be submitted for judgement by the city's King. Aang, Katara, Zuko, and Momo were led into his throne room and were forced to kneel before the King. The King eyes them in curiosity, particularly the boy with the arrow tattoos…
"Your majesty," one of the arresting soldiers said, "these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses, and malicious destruction of city and private property."
"Especially my cabbages!" the merchant cried out. "I want a head for each cabbage destroyed!"
"Silence!" the soldier shouted at him. "Only the King can pass down judgment." He turned back to the King. "What is your judgment, Sire?"
The King scrutinizes the juveniles carefully. The boy with the scares looked beyond anxious while the girl pleaded with her eyes for mercy. The lemur looked around the room in curiosity.
But the tattooed boy, tried to look invisible, yet it was clear to the King who the boy really was…
"Throw them…," he began to say, much to the dread of the juveniles and the delight of the merchant, who were expecting the dungeons.
"A feast!" the King said, causing the soldier to react with confusion, while the merchant felt humiliated.
The soldiers complied and led Aang, Katara, Zuko, and Momo to a large dining room. After issuing orders for the damage to be repaired and the merchant rightfully compensated, the King joined the group after the food was served. Momo was quick to grab hold of some fruit and began devouring it. The trio eye the food hungrily but were hesitant because they did not understand why the King would cast this kind of judgement. It felt more like a reward than a punishment.
The King chuckled. "The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts," he explained before picking up a chicken drumstick, "so I hope you like your chicken with no skin." He held it out for Aang to take, but the latter grimaced slightly.
"No thanks," he politely declined, "but I don't eat meat."
The King hummed before looking at Zuko. "How about you? I bet you like meat." When Zuko opened his mouth to respond, the King stuck the drumstick rudely into Zuko's mouth. At first Zuko was rather angry that someone violated his personal space, but he decided that it would be best to play along and began chewing on the drumstick, giving a look of approval.
As the King walked around the table to his chair, Katara leaned over and whispered to Aang, "Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?" She made cukoo motions to the side of her head to emphasize her point. Aang shrugged his shoulders, unsure how to answer that.
"So," the King began after he sat down, "tell me young bald one. Where are you from?"
"I'm from…," Aang said as an idea came to mind, "Kangaroo Island."
"Oh, Kangaroo Island you say," the King said thoughtfully. "I hear that place is really hoppin'!"
Even though everyone in the room knew the King was making a joke, no one laughed, especially not Zuko, who kept thinking about how dead he would be when they find out he is the son of the Fire Lord.
He also wondered what happened to Sokka and Azula. He knew the latter had a mystical talent for escaping so maybe they could break them out. Assuming Sokka would not antagonize her too much.
"Well, all these good jokes are making me tired," the King said as if oblivious to no one laughing at his joke. "I guess it's time to hit the hay." As the King turned in his seat, he suddenly throws another drumstick he hid in hid cuff toward Aang. Out of reflex, Aang airbent it to a standstill in front of him.
"There's an airbender in our presence and not just any airbender," the King said smugly, "the Avatar!" Aang dropped the drumstick onto the table and acted like he did not just reveal himself. Katara grimaced while Zuko groaned. "Now what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pipinpadaloxicoplis?" the King said with more smugness.
"Alright, alright, alright," Aang said as he stood up from his chair. "You caught me. I'm the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe, including Omashu. Everything checks out here," he said as he looked under the table to prove his point. "Yep, no firebenders here," he finished in a lie, hoping that no one would suspect Zuko being from the Fire Nation. "You're all doing good work around here!" Aang continued as he urged Katara and Zuko to stand up. "Love each other, respect all life, and don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!"
Just as the trio was attempting to leave the dining room, the guards at the door use their spears to block the exit and stopped them.
Katara glared at the King. "You can't keep us here," she said. "Let us leave."
The King held up a lettuce leaf. "Lettuce leaf?" he mocked before taking a bite out of it, much to Katara's irritation.
Zuko leaned over to speak to them in a low voice. "We're in serious trouble. This guy is absolutely insane."
"Tomorrow the Avatar will face three deadly challenges," the King announced. "But for the time being, the guards will show you to your chamber."
"My liege," the lead guard began, "do you mean the good chamber, or the bad chamber?"
"The newly refurbished chamber," the King replied.
"Which is that one, your Highness?" the guard asked, showing that even the closest of the King's servants are troubled by his erratic behavior.
"The one that used to be bad, until the recent refurbishing that is," the King said, though he looked a bit flustered by not addressing the organization of the prisoner chambers properly. "Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them." He cleared his throat and declared, "Take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!" As the trio, with Momo in tow, was led away by the guards, the King continued to eat lettuce, eager to see if the Avatar can stand up to his challenges.
The guards escorted the prisoners to their room and locked them in with earthbending. They examined their prison cell and were astonished by how beautiful and spacious it was, while containing three luxurious beds. "This is a prison cell?" Katara asked. "But it's so nice."
"Nice or not," Zuko countered, "we're still prisoners, and we need to figure out a way out of here and regroup with Sokka and Azula."
"We're stuck in a prison made out of rock," Katara pointed out. "How do you suggest we get out of here?"
"Simple, Aang earthbends us out of here," Zuko explained, causing Katara to look surprised. "What?"
"Nothing," Katara said. "It's just that's the smartest thing you've ever contributed to a plan." Zuko grunted before looking at Aang.
"Can you do it?" Zuko asked him.
Aang looked down reproachfully. "I don't think so. I haven't even started waterbending, so how am I going to earthbend?"
"Well we can piss you off and make you do that eye glowing thing," Zuko explained.
"No way," Aang told him firmly. "I had no control when that happened, and the last time I almost killed you and Azula. It's not happening again." Fear settled into Aang's stomach, terrified that if he would let himself go into that mode again, he would try killing his friends again. Or worse.
"Aang can't earthbend yet," Katara said in Aang's defense, lifting his spirits a bit. "Legends say that if the Avatar learns the elements out of order, they can lose connection to the others. We can't take that risk just so we can break out of here."
Zuko groaned in frustration. "Well there still has to be a way out of here."
Aang looked up and saw a perfect circle within the wall. "The air vents!" he exclaimed and pointed toward it.
Zuko looked over his shoulder and studied it. He frowned and said, "If you think we're going to fit through the vents, you're more insane then that damn King."
"We can't fit through them," Aang said thoughtfully before looking at Momo, "but Momo can." He approached the bed Momo was lounging on and licking an apple. "Momo, I need you to find the others so we can bust outta here!" Momo purred and looked at Aang, who took it as a sign of agreement. Aang picked Momo up and attempted to push him down the vents.
Which proved to be too small even for the lemur. But Aang was determined and said, "Go on, boy, find our friends!"
"Okay, I think you're just hurting him now," Katara said before moving Aang aside and pulling Momo out of the vent. While checking Momo over, Katara explained, "We're just going to have to wait until Azula and Sokka figure out a way to get to us."
"This palace is huge," Aang said, unsure of Azula's or Sokka's skills. "How are they going to get in here and find us?"
"Trust us Aang," Zuko said as he laid down on a bed, "Sokka and I have snuck into plenty of places back home."
"That's true, the whole village would know about it when they were caught," Katara teased, causing Zuko to roll his eyes. "And Azula is much better at sneaking around than Sokka."
Zuko propped himself up and look at Katara. "And makes you say that?" he asked skeptically.
Katara smiled smugly and teased, "Because Zuzu, unlike you and Sokka, Azula and I were never caught." Zuko groaned and laid back down on the bed to get some sleep.
Aang looked between Katara and Zuko, still thinking that the former had feelings for the latter. It pained Aang to think that way and he decided to change the subject. "What do you think these challenges are Katara?"
Katara's smile faded and she sighed. "I have no idea Aang. But whatever they are, you're going to need all the rest you can get." She laid down on her bed with Momo and said, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Aang said, worried about whatever these challenges are, and more so about losing Katara's attention to Zuko.
After laying low for the night and then donning clothing that would allow them to blend in with the residents of Omashu, Azula and Sokka began asking around about the juveniles that were arrested. All their inquires led them to the Omashu Royal Palace, set upon the highest hill in the city.
"Alright," Sokka said as he studied the palace, "we know the gang is in there, but how do we get inside?"
Azula surveyed the area and noticed a wagon train ferrying supplies toward the palace. "There," she said as she pointed toward them. "We climb aboard those and they'll bring us in."
"Sounds good," Sokka said before becoming skeptical, "but how do we get aboard those wagons?"
"Not by standing around," Azula said before grabbing Sokka's hand and leading him toward the wagon train, which stopped to allow a group of school children pass. Thanks to rather inattentive drivers, Azula and Sokka managed to climb aboard the last wagon. They both took a moment to gain control over their rapid heart rates, despite the rather short run for teenagers in exceptional physical condition.
The wagons began rolling forward again. Azula peeked out the front and confirmed they were heading straight for the palace. She turned to Sokka and told him, "Once we're inside, we find some servants and take their clothing as disguises."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Take their clothing how?" he asked, feeling he would not like the answer.
"By knocking them unconscious," Azula said simply. Sokka's eyes widen in disbelief.
"We can't just knock them out, we might hurt them more than we intend to!" he told her, doing his best to keep his voice down over the wagon's noise.
Azula looked at him in annoyance. "That won't happen. I'm sure Hakoda taught you how to knock someone out. And I know that because I saw him teaching you and Zuko."
"Yeah, but he also told us that if you're not careful, you might hurt them too much or even kill them," Sokka told her. "We're not doing that to innocent civilians. Besides, if two servants disappear, people may start looking for them, or they wake up and tell the guards what happened to them."
"Well do you have any better ideas?" Azula asked, knowing he had several good points. "I don't hear you coming up with a better idea."
Sokka looked around the wagon and noticed a crate with some writing. He crawled over to it and after confirming what was written on it, he began praying at it with his knife.
"What are you doing?" Azula hissed. "You're going to give us away!"
"This crate says 'clothing'," Sokka told her. "Maybe it's clothing the palace servants wear."
Azula was rather impressed by Sokka's forward thinking but it was not far enough. "That is quality thinking, but we can't just bust open those crates. They will know something's wrong when they offload them."
"I can close it just like it was never opened. Did it a few times back home as practice," he replied as he worked on the crate. He managed to quietly open it and guessed correctly that it contain clothing for servants. He handed two sets to Azula and then worked on closing the crate. In short order it was closed without a trace of it ever being opened. He smiled smugly at Azula.
"Okay, I'm impressed," she said genuinely, much to Sokka's delight.
"So how do we get off this thing without being seen?" he asked. "They'll unload it as soon as it stops."
"Not quite," Azula replied. "When this wagon stop, we will have a brief window to go out the back and hide underneath it. Once we have an opening, we'll try to find a place to put on our disguises." Sokka nodded and they sat their waiting, strangely avoiding eye contact.
It was another twenty minutes before the wagons entered the palace. Azula peeked out the front of the wagon again and noticed they were approaching a warehouse. "Get ready," she whispered to Sokka before they crawled to the back of the wagon. "Now!" Azula whispered as the wagon came to a complete stop and the teenagers hopped out the back then crawled underneath the wagon. They noticed the driver hop off and walked away toward the other drivers, who were greeted by an elegantly dressed man. With their backs turned toward them, Azula and Sokka crawled away from the wagon and quietly found a place to change into their disguises.
They were rather subconscious changing around each other.
"Okay," Azula said as she gain control over herself. "Now that we're in disguise, we need cover names."
"Oh, right," Sokka said as he shook off whatever was bothering him. He thought for a moment about a name before smiling and saying, "Rock. Dang Rock will be my name."
Azula rolled her eyes and flatly said, "No, that's not happening." Sokka pouted while Azula thought to herself. "Wentai is your cover name."
"That's a stupid name," Sokka said.
"A stupid name for a stupid guy," Azula teased at Sokka's indignation. "My cover name is Jing."
Sokka blinked for a moment before saying, "Wasn't that the cover name your mom gave you?"
"Yes," Azula said, grateful for her mother giving her that name, though she still was a bit resentful about being taken away from the Fire Nation despite her mother's good intentions. "Don't forget it, and especially don't forget yours Wentai."
"Got it," Sokka said surely. "Now let's find where the gang is being held."
Despite the circumstances, Aang slept soundly in the luxurious prison cell. He woke when he heard a guard earthbending a door to enter the cell. Aang opened his eyes slowly and looked over to see if Katara, Zuko, and Momo were awake too.
Only to find their beds empty.
"Katara!" Aang shouted as he looked around the cell. "Zuko! Momo!" After realizing that they could not hide in the cell, he turned toward the guard and said in a demanding voice, "Where are my friends?"
"The King will release them if you complete your challenges," the guard replied.
"And what if I fail?" Aang asked wary. He had no idea what the King was capable of, but he was determined not to find out.
"He didn't say," the guard replied before holding out his hand. "Your staff please?"
Aang frowned that he would not be able to use his staff to aid him in these challenges, but he complied and handed the guard his staff before following him to the throne room. The King stood there waiting for him in a horribly designed robe with blue, purple, and light shades of green.
"First Avatar," he said with a crazy smile, "what do you think of my new outfit? I want your honest opinion."
Aang gave no reaction to the King's question, not wanting to give away his disgust. But he felt that if he gave his honest opinion, the King would react negatively and punish Aang by hurting his friends.
"I'm waiting," the King said with a hint of losing his patience.
"I… guess it's fine," Aang said as sincerely as possible, choosing to answer neither positively nor negatively.
"Excellent!" the King replied with a smile. "You passed the first test."
"Really?" Aang asked, hopeful that the next challenges were of similar nature.
"Well, not one of the deadly tests," the King replied to Aang's irritation. "The real challenges are much more… challenging."
Aang scowled and used his airbending to rush up to the King. "I don't have time for your crazy games!" he shouted. "Give me my friends back! We're leaving!"
"Ohh, I had a feeling you would refuse…," the King said before raising his arm toward a wall, where an opening appeared to reveal Katara and Zuko being held firmly by guards. Another guard held a cage made of rock with Momo inside. The two guards behind the teenagers placed small rings on one of their fingers, which contracted to fit snugly. Katara and Zuko attempted to remove the rings in vain. "So I will give your friends some special souvenirs," the King continued. "Those delightful rings are mad of pure jennamite, also known as the creeping crystal. It's crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall, your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."
The ring on Zuko's hand begins to slowly but surely grow around his finger. "It's already growing!" He tried desperately to remove it but only pains himself when he pulled too harshly.
"Aang, help us!" Katara screamed while staring in horror at the crystal. Momo screeches in his cage, knowing that the situation happening around him was terrifying. Aang stared in horror, wondering if he can learn earthbending under duress to save his friends. Then again, he may just end up hurting them himself if he tried.
"And I'm sure your lemur would make an excellent meal," the King said dreamingly. "And perhaps a cozy hat too."
Aang felt a rush of aggression flow through him, but he knew that acting on it will not help his friends. "I'll do as you want," he said reluctantly.
The King grinned evilly at his submission.
The King led everyone deep into the caverns of the palace, where a large waterfall was roaring freely against the stalagmite covered floor. Aang stood on the balcony with the others, wondering what his first challenge was.
"It seems I've lost my lunch box key and I'm hungry," the King complained before pointing toward the waterfall, where a long chair was suspended within the waterfall with a key attached to the end. "It's over there. Would you mind fetching it for me?"
Aang breathed out sharply and then jumped into action. Bouncing between the stalagmites with his airbending, he charged into the waterfall and grabbed hold of the latter to climb it.
It proved harder than he thought, given the strength of the waterfall.
"Ooo, climbing the ladder," the King observed with sarcasm. "Like no one's tried that one before."
The waterfall proved to be too much for Aang, and he lost his grip on the ladder and was tossed aside. He braced himself between two stalagmites and barely stopped himself before being impaled by another through his groin; he practically felt the tip touching his personal area. Aang breathed out in relief before climbing onto another stalagmite. He launched himself up to a stalagmite hanging from the cavern ceiling, and then launched himself as hard as he could with his airbending into the waterfall, rotating his body to push through the strong current…
Only for the current to win again and swat him down. Aang once again managed to save himself just barely, grabbing onto a single stalagmite to stop himself, while another was directly below his buttocks.
"That's right," the King taunted. "Keep diving head in, I'm sure it'll work eventually."
The King's words gave Aang an idea. If going in headfirst was not the solution, then maybe he should use something else to get the key. He broke off the tip of a stalagmite and jumped onto the now flat surface. He aimed carefully and spun his own body around to give the stalagmite tip a surge of momentum to fly toward the chain holding the key. Aang also sent a powerful gust of wind to boost the stalagmite, where it flew through the waterfall without slowing down and impaled itself into the wall above the King, with the key dangling below it on its chain.
"There!" Aang shouted. "Enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back! NOW!"
The King tsked while shaking his head and index finger. "Not yet. I need your help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsie. Could you find him for me?" he finished with an innocent helpless façade.
Aang groaned and airbent his way over to the group, where he found the creeping crystals have covered an entire arm on both Katara and Zuko. "Don't worry, I'll get you guys out of that stuff," he said as they followed the King to the next challenge.
"There's got to be a way to get this off," Zuko said as he eyed the crystal around his arm. It had not covered his shoulder yet, so when the opportunity presented itself, he smashed it against an earth pillar, only to yell in pain as it remained stubbornly in place around his arm. One of the guards grabbed hold of his shoulder to keep him in line.
"Ah ah ah," the King said, amused by Zuko's efforts. "Jennamite is only breakable through earthbending." Zuko groaned in response as he continued to follow the insane King with the others.
After approaching a large animal pen, the King pointed down to it and said, "Go Avatar! Find Flopsie for me!" Aang rolled his eyes and jumped into the pen. After searching for several minutes, he found a bunny with incredibly long ears.
"Okay, I found him!" Aang shouted back.
"Bring him to me!" the King demanded. "Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsie!"
Never considering that there could be a twist to this challenge, Aang slowly approached the bunny. "Come here, Flopsie," he said before noticing that a large goat gorilla with thick horns and even thicker tusks was behind him. Aang turned to face the goat gorilla, which caused the bunny to squeak and run off. Aang noticed and took off after it, shouting, "Flopsie, wait! Flopsie!" The goat gorilla chased after him around the pen. Aang continued to chase after the bunny and shouted, "Flopsie, stop!" The goat gorilla chasing after Aang skidded to a halt, though Aang barely noticed as he shouted to the bunny, "Flopsie, come here!" This caused the goat gorilla to again chase after Aang, who pursued the bunny into its hole in the side of the pen. Aang stuck his hand in hope to pull the bunny out, but then realized something. He stood up to face the goat gorilla as it closed in on him.
"Flopsie?" he said to it, causing it to halt and wag its tail. He then picked up Aang tenderly and gave him a huge lick. "Flopsie!" Aang shouted before rubbing Flopsie's head. A sharp whistle made Flopsie put Aang down and climb out of the pen next to the King.
"Awww, that's a good boy!" the King gleefully said as Flopsie laid down, allowing the King to rub his belly. "Yes, who has a soft belly?" the King said in a cooing voice, while Flopsie pawed his left leg into the ground in pleasure.
Aang jumped out of the pen and landed near his friends, who were now covered from their necks down to their ankles. Momo was far calmer in his cage from earlier, though he still looked agitated from the cramp space. "How are you guys holding up?" he asked them.
"Other than the crystal slowly encasing my entire body," Katara began to reply in a mildly sarcastic tone, "I'm doing wonderful."
The crystal to the left of Zuko's head continued to grow faster than the other side, which caused him to lose his balance and fall over with a thud. "Yeah," he groaned, "really wonderful."
Aang scowled, angry that he was losing time due to the King's twisted game. He powerfully approached the King with a grimly serious look. "Come on," he said. "I'm ready for the final challenge."
The King smiled and laughed wickedly before leading the group to the palace arena for the Avatar's final challenge.
The spent the better part of the day searching the palace for their friends. They asked around but the other servants either were not aware of any prisoners or if they did know about prisoners, they had no idea where they could be, much to the frustration of Azula and Sokka.
"Ugh!" Sokka let out after they were out of earshot of anyone. "How are we going to find them if no one knows what we're talking about?"
"Or they refuse to say a thing," Azula mused. She thought to herself that if she were a monarch, she would keep the servants unaware of the true going ons within her seat of power.
Yet the guards would be a different story…
"Follow me," she told Sokka. "And keep your damn mouth shut." Sokka huffed at that but decided to trust her. They approached a guard standing his post. "Excuse me," Azula humbly said, "but I have a message for the King. Do you know where he is by chance?"
The guard stared down at her with furrowed brow. "What are your names? I have not seen either of you two before."
"My name is Jing, and this is Wentai," Azula said while gesturing to Sokka. "We just arrived yesterday and we're still learning how to go about the palace."
The guard raised an eyebrow at Azula, before looking at Sokka. "Is this true?"
"Y-yes sir," Sokka said nervously. He remained silent after that, causing the guard to regard him with weariness.
"Is that all you have to say?" the guard asked, causing Sokka to gulp deeply.
"Don't mind him, he's just really nervous," Azula said calmly, though she was growing anxious that Sokka will blow their cover. Part of her was angry at him for that possibility, though she was angrier with herself for putting him here.
The guard scowled, growing suspicious of these two. "What is your role in the palace?" he asked in a stern tone, a sign that he was growing impatient.
"We're messengers, sent to receive and deliver any correspondence on behalf of the King," Azula said, growing anxious by the minute.
"Let me see this message," the guard demanded.
"Well, you see, it's a verbal message," Azula lied with a guilty smile.
"Then let's hear it," the guard said with a frown.
"Well, the message is-," Azula began, but was cut off by the guard.
"I wasn't asking you," the guard said to Azula's horror. "I was asking him." Sokka's eyes bulged, unsure what to say.
"Well, the message for the King is," he said, trying to come up with a convincing story on the fly, "that his throne has been cleaned thoroughly." Sokka smiled, hoping that the guard would believe that.
The guard scowled deeply. "I'm going to have you two come with me. Right now."
Terrific, Azula thought to herself. She briefly thought through her options and decided that a quick strike to the guard would-.
But she did not finish her thought as an audibly smack resounded through the hall, followed by the guard falling to the ground with a groan.
Azula stared at Sokka in shock. He rubbed his hand after delivering the powerful blow against the guard's head.
"Well," Azula said with a smirk, "that was unexpected."
"He was going to blow our cover," Sokka said before taking her hand. "Now come on, we have to find the others the old fashion way." He led her down the corridor, then another, then another.
Until they saw too large rocks, one blue, the other green, walking down a corridor led by an elegant old man.
Amongst them was the distinctive colors of Aang's clothing, along with his blue tattoos.
"There they are!" Sokka said with a smile. He took two steps toward them before Azula held him back.
"Wait a minute Dummerang," she hissed at him. "We can't just run up to them. Airhead or Dum-Dum would blow our cover."
"But we have to help them!" Sokka pleaded.
"We will, when we find an opening," Azula cautioned. She carefully led the way as they stealthily followed the group to a corridor that split into three balconies. The crystals, which were revealed to Azula and Sokka to contain their siblings, were marched to the balcony on the left, while Aang and the King took the middle balcony. Naturally, Azula and Sokka went to the one on the right, though they did not step onto the balcony itself and stayed in the threshold. They listened carefully as the King explained the challenge to Aang.
"Your final test is a duel," the King began, "and as a special treat, you may choose your opponent." Two gladiators dropped from the ceiling, causing Aang to grimace in terror. The first fighter was a muscular man with an assassin's blade and a creepy smile to match. The other fighter was a much more muscular man with a large axe and looked like he relied on brute strength to win. "Point and choose," the King said with a smile.
"So," Aang said thoughtfully, "you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?" Azula rolled her eyes at Aang's ridiculous question. Yes Airhead, that's exactly what he's saying.
"Choose wisely," the King said with a smile. Aang looked between the two fighters, weighing his options.
"Who do you think he's going to choose?" Sokka whispered to Azula.
"I don't think it would matter because he's dead either way," Azula replied, making Sokka grimace.
"I choose you," Aang said while pointing at the King, surprising Azula.
"Ah, he made a good choice for once," she said, admiring Aang's boldness.
But the King suddenly burst out laughing. "Wrong choice!" he shouted before correcting his lumped posture. He dumped his robes to reveal a surprisingly muscular physique for an elderly man. Aang recoiled as he realized his mistake of choosing the most formidable opponent in front of him.
"You were saying about his choice?" Sokka dryly asked Azula, only to receive an elbow to his rib.
The King further showed his formidability as he stomped on the ground, blowing Aang far into the arena. The King then launches himself off the balcony and landed close to Aang as the latter got up and dusted himself off. The King laughed evilly as Aang stared at him in fear.
"You thought I was just a frail old man," the King taunted, "but I'm the most powerful earthbender you've seen!"
"Can I fight the guy with the creepy smile instead?" Aang asked.
The King smiled at Aang's fearful request. "There are no 'take-back-sees' in my kingdom. You would need this!" the King said before gesturing to the guard, who tossed Aang his staff. Just as he caught it, the King immediately launches several boulders at him, making him dodge it with great effort.
"Typical airbender tactic," the King said in disgust, "avoid and evade. I'd hoped the Avatar would be less predictable." He launched another boulder at Aang, who dodged it and launched himself into the air. "Don't you have any surprises for me?" the King taunted. "Sooner or later, you'll have to strike back." He launched another boulder at Aang as the latter flew with the aid of his staff. The boulder missed and exploded against the ceiling, the debris knocking Aang to the ground and making him lose his staff. He got back up and charged at the King, who bent several earth pillars from the ground to block Aang's path. The Avatar zig-zagged to avoid them, but one catches him in the gut, forcing him to the ground.
"Oh," the King said amused, "you'll have to be a little more creative than that!"
Seeing Aang in trouble made Sokka move toward the arena, but he was stopped by Azula. "What are you doing now?" she hissed.
"Helping Aang," he replied as he readied his boomerang and knife.
"I think Airhead can handle himself," Azula said.
But then she noticed Aang being knocked to the ground again. And again. And again. And again.
"Okay, he needs help," she said reluctantly as she pulled out her own boomerang, though decided to use her firebending as an absolute last resort. The firebender and the warrior waited till an opportunity came and the King was much too focused on Aang, who was now on the offense.
"Did someone leave the windows open?" the King asked with sarcasm. "It feels a little drafty in here! Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?"
"No," he heard a young man say, "but you can catch this!"
The King turned just in time to see a flying metal object fly toward him. He bent over just in time to dodge it and looked at the newcomers with disdain.
Sokka caught his boomerang and stared at the King with a defiant look. The King huffed in annoyance.
But it was the teenage girl that caught his attention. He can already tell she was the most dangerous of his three opponents.
"No one fights in my pit without my say so," the King snarled before stomping on the ground, which result in Sokka being buried to below his knees, though Azula just barely avoided and landed on the ground, only to sink in herself. The King bent the earth again and forced them deeper into the ground.
"NO!" Aang shouted as he sent a power gust of air toward the King, knocking him off balance. Aang rushed forward and picked up his staff, continuing his charge at the King. The King turned around and noticed that Aang was getting closer far faster than he can dodge, leaving the King with only one choice…
He stomped on the ground, which caused the earth below and behind Aang to rise. The Avatar used it to launch himself forward and land before the King, staff leveled toward the elderly man's face.
But the King only smiled in satisfaction. A rock bounced off Aang's head, causing him to look up to find a boulder large enough to crush him and the King.
The King smirked in satisfaction. "Well done, Avatar," he said respectfully. "You fight with much fire in your heart." He tossed the boulder to the side of the arena and released Azula and Sokka from the ground. Before any of them could react, the King fell backward into the ground, leaving his outline behind in the ground and a flabbergasted Aang. He shook off his confusion when he saw the King emerged on the balcony next to Katara, Zuko, and Momo. Aang went over and helped Azula and Sokka to reach the balcony. The King smiled in satisfaction.
"You've passed all my tests," the King informed Aang. "Now, you must answer one question."
"That's not fair!" Aang shouted. "You vowed to release my friends if I passed your tests."
"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?" the King said smugly.
"This is getting ridiculous!" Zuko shouted. "Let us go!"
"Answer this one question," the King continued, "and I will set your friends free. What…," he said to build suspense, "is my name?"
"What?" Azula asked, completely dumbfounded by this King.
"From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a half hour tops," the King said before walking off.
"Okay," Sokka said, "just what the hell is going on here? What's with the rock around you guys?"
"It's called creeping crystal," Zuko answered. "And it's slowly encasing us." On que, part of the crystal began to grow closer to his face.
"The only way out of it is with earthbending," Katara said. "Now let's focus. What is the King's name?"
"How am I supposed to know that?" Aang asked desperately.
"I got it!" Sokka shouted.
"Yeah?" Aang said with eager eyes.
"Rocky!" Sokka said. Everyone looked at him with blank faces.
"Really?" Azula said, disappointed that was the best he could offer.
"Yeah, you know, because he's an earthbender, and because of all the rocks," Sokka said defensively.
"We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good backup," Katara said, desperate to take any suggestions as she felt the crystal cocooning her.
"Okay," Aang said, "back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall, I found his pet, and I had a duel where I can choose my opponent."
"And what did you get out of all that?" Zuko asked as he felt the crystal closing in around him.
"Well, everything was different than I expected," Aang said thoughtfully.
"And…," Katara said in an urging tone.
"Well, none of them were straightforward," Aang continued. "To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would." He pondered those words, then remembered where he once heard that idea before. "I know his name!" he said with realization. The gang set off for the throne room as fast as they could, finding the King hunched over and in his green robes.
"I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges," Aang told him. "As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities." The King began laughing and snorting in delight, just like he did as the child Aang remembered him. "Bumi, you're a mad genius!" Aang ran over to hug his old friend, beyond excited and relieved that a part of his past survived the last century.
"Oh, Aang," Bumi said fondly. "It's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit." He rubbed Aang's head, taken aback as to how his friend remained a child over the past century. "Literally," he remarked.
The teenagers approached the reuniting friends, Katara and Zuko particularly eager to get their attention.
"Uh, over here!" she shouted to them.
"Get this stuff off us, now!" Zuko added.
Bumi raised his arm and made a pulling gesture with a fist, shattering the crystal from around Katara and Zuko. Some pieces flew across the room, where Bumi caught one. "Jennamite is made of rock candy," he said before using his earthbending to bite into the piece to eat it. "Delicious!" He noticed the cage holding Momo and made a sweeping gesture to open the cage, allowing the lemur to fly free. Momo landed on the ground to examine a piece of jennamite, namely by licking it.
"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?" Katara asked.
"How did he live to get so old?" Azula added.
"Who are you two calling old?" Bumi asked. After a moment, he admitted, "Okay, I'm old."
"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Zuko asked, annoyed that he had to spend the day in a rocky cocoon.
"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people," Bumi replied before cackling then regaining his composure, "but I do have a reason." He turned toward Aang and gave him a serious look. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead of you. The world has changed for the worse in the last one hundred years you've been gone. It is your duty as the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn and not a lot of time to do so. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord, and when you do, I expect you will think like a mad genius!"
Aang felt the pressure of being the Avatar just like every time someone reminded him of his position. But unlike before, he felt okay about it, given how confident his old friend Bumi was in him. It gave Aang hope that he could and would do what destiny expected of him. He smiled and bowed in respect to Bumi.
"And it looks like you're in good hands," Bumi said as he looked at Aang's friends. "You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation. Especially when two of your friends are the Fire Lord's children."
Everyone went wide eyed when Bumi said that.
Azula was quick to regain her composure. "How did you know that?" she snapped, not having the patients to deal with the King's insanity.
"I've been around a long time," Bumi replied. "Word has spread that your mother took you and your brother away from Ozai as children. Given how you two look Fire Nation, I took a guess and you exposed yourselves." The King began laughing, much to Azula's anger. She never wanted to leave a place as much as she did now.
"And you'll need Momo too," Bumi told Aang after the lemur jumped onto its owner's shoulder.
"Thank you for your wisdom," Aang said. "But before we leave, I have a challenge for you!"
Not long after that, Aang and Bumi were riding a basket down a chute, having the time of their lives as they raced down to the bottom of the chute.
Only to impact into a certain cabbage merchant's cart.
After compensating the merchant for the damages, again, and saying goodbye to Aang and his friends, Bumi made his way to his study to meet his secretary to compose a letter of great importance.
"Ah, Gyashong," he said as he spotted her at her desk.
"Yes, King Bumi?" she asked, sensing that what he needed of her was of great importance.
"Please get some parchment ready," he told her. "An old friend of mine needs to know of certain members of his family…"