Chapter 5: Dusty Scrolls and Blue Spirits
The group was once again taking a break. Appa had been going at it pretty hard lately, especially after the temple ordeal. Even so, they weren't just lazing about.
Sokka was currently tending to Appa's toes…
Harry was again meditating, but this time it was in an area with even more potential distraction. He would be going over some airbending stuff as well. Sokka complained about him having it easy and saying Harry should help him, but Aang said it was important for airbending.
Harry also mentioned how he accidentally gave a way he was an Airbender at the temple. Sokka sighed in resignation at that. Now that Harry was outed as an Airbender to the fire sages, they would tell Zhao and everyone else. It would be good if he took the training up a level. That also meant they would have more options in the future when it came to facing Fire Nation.
Aang and Katara were doing waterbending training at the moment. Aang was getting really worked up after what Avatar Roku revealed to him. Katara came up with a great idea to help him. She would teach Aang the stuff she knew so he would be able to get to more advanced stuff even faster once they got to the North Pole.
There was however a slight problem with this plan.
"Sooo like this!" Aang cheered as he was bending a massive wave.
Katara was staring in awe. She was also getting a little angry now. She had been a Waterbender her whole life and started practicing when she was really young. She hadn't even finished figuring that move out yet! Aang just saw her pathetic, in comparison, attempt and mastered the move.
"Well come on, keep going!" Aang said excitedly. He was loving waterbending it was fun and easy.
"That's enough practice for today," Katara said in a huff of anger.
"Ummmm…" Aang started.
"How about we take a break. Sokka was wanting to resupply soon. Would you go tell him we're going to do so soon, Aang? I think you waterbended him away with Appa just a second ago," Harry said.
Aang gave a nervous laugh and ran off quickly.
Katara was glaring at the water. "Katara," Harry said.
"What?!" she said testily.
Harry raised an eyebrow at her.
She sighed. "Sorry…" she said.
"What's bothering you?" Harry asked while knowing the answer.
"Aang!" she almost shouted. "I've been training for years. Years! And he gets all I know in seconds! He's even doing better than me already," Katara said as her chest heaved in anger. It would be quite the sight under different circumstances.
"Did you forget what I said after the temple?" Harry asked her.
"Oh… I get it… Okay? It's so annoying though. So unfair!" Katara vented.
"Have you ever gone back and studied something again later? As a review of sorts?" Harry asked her.
"I have," Katara said as she sat down next to Harry. Her cheeks were still a flushed in her anger. Were she not angry, the color to her cheeks would be beautiful.
"Did it take you anywhere near as long that time around?" Harry asked her.
"No…" she said pouting a little.
"Bending is like that for Aang. He already has it all there. He needs your help, and others, to review a lot of it. He isn't even having to look at things with a different approach here. He is a very go with flow type of person. That really translates well to waterbending," Harry said.
Katara leaned back and sighed as she looked up to the clouds.
Harry wondered if she realized how difficult this was for him. She was pretty much in a swimsuit at the moment. A two-piece swimsuit on top of that. Thanks to Aang's over-zealousness, there were droplets of water running along her beautiful smooth skin.
Harry chose to try and focus a little more once again. He nodded to himself and asked, "Are you better now?"
"I am. I know Aang is special. I guess I'm more frustrated that I don't know what to do with my training at this point more than anything. Still," she turned to Harry and smiled before giving him a friendly hug, which was more torture for him. "Thanks for talking to me about it," she said as she hopped up from where she was sitting and put the rest of her clothes back on. "We should get going," she said to him.
"Yeah. I'll be right there," Harry said as he attempted to collect himself. He was fully in support of Aang and Katara, even if it was mostly one-sided at the moment. There was also the whole him leaving this world once they finished the war. Still… it was difficult for him. Hormones waited for no man or woman, especially if the girl was hot… and dripping water all sexy like.
It still was something different for Harry. He was aware of girls and even crushed on Cho Chang, but this was different. "Is it because Riddle's soul shard is gone now? Did that cause a floodgate to open?" he wondered to himself for a moment before going to meet the others.
[-] [-] [-]
The group was walking through a street market in a port town near where they took their break. Katara was worriedly looking at two cooper coins. They had three of them, but Aang used one to buy a bison whistle that they weren't sure even worked. It was because of this the group decided Aang wasn't allowed to carry their money. Ever!
"Oi! You lot. You four look like world travelers. Are you perhaps interested in exotic curios?" a man with narrow eyes and long black hair asked them.
"Sure. What are Curios?" Aang asked.
The man blinked a couple of times. "I don't know actually… But we got them!" he said flashing them a gleaming smile Lockhart would be proud of.
The group followed the man onboard the ship to look at their collection of wares. It was quite the collection. There were items from all over the world. Some of them, like the gold statue Katara looked at briefly, were on the creepy side.
"That thar is a fine specimen of a Lemur. It would catch quite the hefty sum, if ye be wanting ta barter," a man said with parrotlizard on his shoulder. His outfit just screamed pirate as well.
"Momo's not for sale," Aang said while quickly grabbing the flying lemur.
Katara looked at a scroll that caught her eyes. She blew a lot of dust off of it and was surprised at what she saw.
"Ooo look, Aang! A waterbending scroll!" Katara said far too excitedly. It sparked the pirate's interest. "It has some crazy moves in it!" she further said.
"Where did you get a waterbending scroll?" Aang asked the man.
The pirate captain snatched it up and said, "Let's just say up North for the bargain price of free."
"Wait a minute… This doesn't add up… Sea loving traders… suspiciously gotten goods… parrotlizards. Are you guys pirates?" Sokka asked a little worried.
"We prefer High-risk traders," the man from outside said while placing a hand on Sokka's shoulder and grinning at him. His demeanor didn't seem as goofy and friendly anymore.
"How much for the… traded scroll?" Katara asked. She made a point to use their language.
"Already spoken for. I have a buyer lined up. A nobleman in the Earth Kingdoms," the pirate captain said. He then gave them a shrewd smile. "Unless of course you have 200 gold pieces on you right now," he said.
"I've got this," Aang whispered to Katara. Aang looked to the pirate captain in confidence. "How about… One cooper piece!" he said holding up the coin.
The pirate captain gave a mighty laugh. He then chuckled a little and said, "200 gold pieces."
Aang was about to do something. Katara was about to do something. Sokka looked like he wanted to head up to the deck, but was terrified to do so at the moment.
Harry placed a hand on Katara's shoulder giving her a look. She blushed for a couple of reasons, but stayed put. "Aang. How about you and Sokka head up deck. We'll catch up in a moment," Harry said.
"I was going to go two cooper pieces, but sure. Whatever," Aang said as he helped a very grateful Sokka head out.
"Oh," the captain said. Harry was confused but then saw the other man straighten up. "Go and make sure our guests don't get too… adventurous," the captain said.
"His name is Oh?" Katara asked in shock.
"He thinks it's funny. It can be on occasion," the captain said. He waited as the two remaining people discussed something with each other. It was clear to him they were actually the one's in charge of this group's purchases.
"How important do you think this will be?" Harry whispered.
"Very important. I can further my training finally. And by extension Aang can too. Are you holding out on us?" Katara asked.
"Aang just bought a whistle that probably doesn't even work. You and Sokka thought it was okay to leave him with all of the money in the first place," Harry said.
Katara nodded to that. "That would explain how our funds lasted this long. King Bumi gave us some good money, but that was a while ago now. But 200 gold coins?" she asked.
Harry looked to her. "Just leave this to me," he told her.
He turned around and walked over the captain. "Sorry about earlier. We don't really let our bald friend carry our money. He isn't exactly responsible with it," Harry said as he pulled out his wand and held it causally on the table in front of them.
"Heh. Picked that up when he said he was going to try 2 cooper coins. It wouldn't have been amusing the second time," the captain said. He was wondering about this stick. It looked like a nice stick, but not worth the scroll. It could still fetch a good price. The craftsmanship was of fine quality. It would make for a great display, if handled correctly.
Harry nodded and then pointed the wand at the man and quickly said, "Obliviate!"
The man's eyes went oddly blank and his parrotlizard's as well. Harry thought the latter curious. He hated doing this almost. Then again this was a pirate who immediately tried to buy Momo.
"When holding the scroll again, you noticed it was actually a counterfeit. You then realized your buyer in the Earth Kingdoms would not have been amused. He has people who take care of things for him should it be required," Harry said.
"Didn't like the guy anyways…" the pirate said in a dazed sounding voice.
"Which is why, you had a change of heart and sold it to us for one gold coin. Considering it isn't worth any more than a piece of paper a kid doodled on in boredom, you actually got the better end of the deal," Harry said.
Harry pulled out one gold coin and the man blinked before grinning. "I haven't had a good laugh in a while. I'm actually feeling in a good mood. It is actually a different nobleman I was selling a different scroll too. Now that I think about it," he said.
He then looked at the gold coin hungrily. "How about one gold coin? Shipping and handling of course," he said.
Katara was taking it all in stride and remained silent. She didn't want to accidentally ruin whatever Harry was doing here. Harry nodded to the man. "Seems fair enough," he handed over the coin.
"Pleasure doing business with ya," the captain said as he gave them the scroll.
"Put this in your clothes. We don't want to draw attention up top," Harry whispered to Katara. She merely nodded and followed him out.
"Can we please leave now?" Sokka almost whined. These pirates were starting to look bored. Sokka did not want to become their entertainment.
"Yeah. We're done here," Harry said.
"Let's go then!" Aang said. He was never one for standing around too long.
"Yeah…" Sokka started. He turned to the pirates and gave them a nervous smile as he said, "See you lot around. If we ever need someone in the field of… Aggressive Acquisitions. We'll look you swell guys up." He quickly ran off the boat.
"Hmmmm… Aggressive Acquisitions," Oh mulled over. He gave a big goofy smile as he said, "I like that one! Let's tell the Captain at supper tonight."
[-] [-] [-]
"Soooo what happened there?" Katara asked once they were away from the pirates and any other ears besides their group.
"Not something I'm too proud off. But… You guys actually needed it. Besides… he was lying to us about having a buyer," Harry said.
"How can you tell that?" Sokka asked.
"The scroll was far too dusty to be of importance to them. There was also the way his eyes lit up once Katara carried on about it excitedly," Harry said.
"You… didn't steal it, did you?" Aang asked with a frown.
"They were pirates, Aang… They stole everything they had on that boat," Sokka said with a roll of his eyes.
"I managed to persuade him to lower the price… Also… They won't be looking to require it," Harry said.
"You got him to agree to one cooper?" Aang asked impressed.
"One gold…" Harry said.
"You have money?!" Sokka asked in shock.
"Oh, please Sokka… How else do you think we've managed this long? King Bumi's money wasn't ever meant to last this long," Katara said in Harry's defense.
Sokka was in thought. "Still…" he started.
"It's been like this for a while actually," Katara started and she gave Harry a quick wink.
Harry grinned and nodded. "Yep. Pretty much every time Katara and I get supplies together," Harry said.
"That would make sense…" Sokka said. They always seemed to have the most success in that venture.
"Whatever the case," Aang said cheerfully. "We didn't steal it, so Katara can learn from it and teach me," he said with a grin.
"That's the plan," Katara answered smiling. She realized they had gotten away with something, but only thanks to Harry. She realized how bad things could have gotten. There was no way she wanted to have to run from pirates. Knowing their luck… the pirates might somehow team up with Zuko or Zhao to hunt them down.
[-] [-] [-]
Zuko let out a big sneeze.
"Bless you, Zuko," his uncle replied.
Zuko sniffed a little and sighed. "Can we just get your stupid Lotus Tile?" he complained. The dust from the roads was getting to him. This had to be like the twentieth shop they'd been to already.
His uncle suddenly started chuckling.
"What is it, Uncle?" Zuko asked in annoyance.
"You're really going to get a kick out of this one. That lotus tile I'm missing?" he asked in a leading manner.
Zuko stared at his uncle. His uncle kept grinning right back at him. Zuko sighed and nodded in understanding.
"Turns out… It was in my sleeve the whole time!"
Zuko couldn't even be angry at his uncle. The whole thing was just too preposterous. He instead headed back to their ship.
"Isn't life just funny sometimes?" his uncle asked with a big smile.
"We're leaving," Zuko said dryly. He couldn't believe his uncle dragged him all around this stupid port town to buy a stupid Pai Sho tile he had in his stupid sleeve the whole stupid time!
"This really has been a stupid day," Zuko grumbled to himself.
[-] [-] [-]
That night after Aang and Sokka fell asleep, Katara was still awake having looked over the scroll in detail. She wanted to figure out the best way to start training with it. There was something else on her mind though. "What exactly did you do that Pirate Captain?" she asked.
"I guess I owe you and explanation for the save earlier," Harry started.
She then gave him a very flirty look as she asked, "My womanly charms aren't enough?" She even used some kind of secret pouty girly voice that was just unfairly cute.
Harry gulped and blushed as he looked to the side. Katara giggled. Harry then sighed. Katara sat ready to listen. "It was a memory charm. I altered his memory of our encounter. When you use it, you can either change how something goes down, or erase someone's memory entirely," he said.
"That sounds both handy and scary," Katara admitted.
"It is. That was the first time I used it. I'm hoping not to do so again," Harry said.
"How did you know it?" Katara asked.
Harry frowned. "A good friend of mine, Ron Weasley, and I went to a secret chamber at our school to try and rescue his younger sister. We brought a Professor with us, even if we knew he was mostly useless. When we got into the chamber, there was a bit of rough landing and my friend lost his wand. The Professor found it," he said.
"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Katara asked.
"With anyone else probably. Professor Lockhart though was a big fraud in every way. He had a lot of books he wrote about encounters with dangerous people and creatures. He then confessed to us that he had stolen the stories from other people and erased their memories of the event and of meeting him. Ginny, Ron's sister, was in life threatening danger, but Lockhart wanted to erase our memories, leave her for dead, claim we went mad in grief, and write his next best-selling novel about it," Harry said.
Katara looked horrified hearing that. She also decided to give Harry a hug. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said.
Harry was a little caught off guard. He smiled though. "Obviously it didn't work. My friend accidentally broke his wand earlier in the year. So the spell backfired. The results were both funny and a little scary when thought about too long. Lockhart forgot everything about who he was. It was rather fitting he fell victim to his own methods," Harry said to her.
"Why do they have such a spell in the first place?" Katara asked.
"People with my ability are rare as a whole in that world. They were hunted down in the past. They keep to themselves because of that. Accidents still happen and they have an entire branch of the government dedicated to fixing such problems. They mostly use the memory charm to help keep the peace between us and the non-users by keeping it all secret," Harry said.
"I'm still grateful you helped us out there," Katara said to him with a smile after a moment. Harry did feel a little easier hearing her say that. It was more than worth it to help the others out.
[-] [-] [-]
"Guard!" Aang shouted.
Harry threw his hands up to form an airbending shield.
"Left. Right. Right. Left," Aang said.
Harry was in the bending stance and he circled around where Aang was sitting on top of his air scooter. Harry side stepped in the directions Aang instructed while holding his hands ready. Aang was making sure he got the moves down to an almost instinctual level.
"Good," Aang said with a nod. He then shouted, "Evade Left. Evade Right. Forward. Forward. Strike!"
Harry jumped to the left then jumped right. He moved forward twice and shot out an air blast.
"Back. Back. Guard! Left. Guard! Right. Strike!" Aang instructed quickly.
Harry jumped back twice, made a shield, twirled to the left, made a shield, twirled to right and threw an air punch. He did so very quickly.
"Strike. Strike. Guard. Jump! Finish!" Aang called.
Harry sent alternating air blasts. He then quickly threw up a shield and jumped high into air with airbending. He finished off with air kick sending an arching air blast forward. Once the dust settled, Aang was grinning brightly.
"Well done! You really are coming along, Harry," Aang said as he clasped Harry on the shoulder.
Harry grinned happily as he said, "Thanks, Aang."
"It really is cool having and Airbender to teach. Even better because their a good friend," he said cheerfully.
Harry felt touched by that. "I couldn't ask for a better instructor and friend myself," he said.
"Aang! I've figured out a couple of new moves and we should review what we know," Katara called as she came over to them.
"Sweet!" Aang cheered. He turned to Harry and said, "Practice Air Blades over the water. Make accuracy and precision your priorities."
Harry nodded in understanding. "Will do, Professor Aang," he said chuckling.
Aang chuckled back. "I really like the sound of that," he said.
Aang and Harry then gave each other the Airbender salute, as they always did at the end of their lessons. "Later, Harry," he called back as he raced over to Katara.
This had been their solution with the waterbending training. Katara would look over the scroll first and learn some moves, while Aang taught Harry. This kept Katara from accidentally getting a little jealous or frustrated, even though she was kind of over that by now.
It also helped out Aang a good bit. Katara figured out the moves and taught him, where he quickly grasped them. He still practiced them a lot, that way he could use less energy and have more control while performing them.
Harry looked over the lake they were camping near. They traveled for a few days before they got here. They even came across a group calling themselves Freedom Fighters in that time. The four of them were actually happy to help the group of orphans. That was until Harry and Sokka went on a mission with them. The leader, Jet, had them attack an innocent elderly man. Jet claimed it didn't matter because he was still Fire Nation.
Sokka and Harry helped the elderly man and apologized to him. The man was upset at the others, but he forgave them after they helped him get home. The two told Aang and Katara what happened. They both confronted Jet about it. The leader, who was admittedly smooth with words, claimed the old man was an assassin sent after him. He even claimed to be showing the blade he had hidden.
However, Katara and Aang didn't buy it. They didn't throw a fit and just kind bowed out of the plan Jet proposed. Sadly, they found out he already put it into motion and it was too late to actually stop it by the time they came across the group. Harry and Sokka went to the town and helped get everyone out safely. The elderly man vouched for them and the people quickly got into action.
Jet wasn't happy with them and wanted to start a fight. Before he could though, three of his closest friends put a stop to it and explained they had been worried about where he was headed for a while now. Jet wasn't happy to hear this, but realized they had points. In the end, he was more disappointed they hadn't stopped him from going so far sooner. His friends agreed to speak their minds to him more often in the future.
As Harry focused back on the present, he started making small Air Blades and sent them across the water. He immediately saw why Aang had him do this on the water's surface. He could see the small rippling trail the blades left. It was a good way to keep an eye on his accuracy and consistency.
Once Harry did enough of his training, he knew Aang would be satisfied. He met up with Sokka.
"You ready then?" Sokka asked.
"Yeah," Harry replied.
The two of them started doing some training themselves. It was mostly physical training, but Harry was more than onboard with that. He wasn't the scrawny boy from Gryffindor here. He was also in a war, so he wanted to get in even better shape and get stronger.
Harry also helped Sokka practice with someone when it came to his own moves. Harry would pick up a stick and transfigure it into a practice sword. It additionally gave Harry more practice using his airbending stances as he squared off against Sokka.
It was a good bit later when the two boys were sitting down next to each catching their breath. "Man. I'm really glad you don't mind helping me out too. I know I have a long way to go still, but it is good to have someone to practice what I learned from Suki," Sokka said.
"Don't mention it. I was always a scrawny little thing in the past. I like actually being able to work out and get stronger," Harry said.
Sokka nodded and gave Harry a grin. "I will admit Suki was far better to look at," he said grinning.
"Hey now… I've heard people swoon when it comes to my eyes," Harry said in a joking tone.
"Ha. Sorry. Not me," Sokka said.
Harry chuckled. "I would honestly be a bit worried if you did. I mean the way you carried on about marriage after we first met," Harry said.
"I said we could still both have girlfriends," Sokka corrected.
"Then I saw you wearing a dress…" Harry said.
"Warrior's Uniform," Sokka corrected. Harry shook his head. "Besides…" Sokka grinned. "Getting to practice with such a beauty… That was more than worth the sacrifice."
Harry chuckled to that. Sokka did as well.
"It really has been quite the adventure so far," Harry said in reflection.
"Got a long way to go," Sokka added.
"Yep. Need to get Katara and Aang a Waterbending Master," Harry said.
"Then Aang needs an Earthbending Master and a Jerkbending Master as well," Sokka said. The two laughed at the Jerkbending joke.
"At least we avoided that one situation," Harry said.
"Yep," Sokka replied.
"So glad you suggested we just keep flying instead of walking through that canyon," Harry said.
Sokka laughed to that. "Those two tribes looked like far too much trouble. We could hear the shouting before we even descended into the canyon," he said.
"The view was much better from the sky anyways," Harry said.
"That's why Katara came around to the idea in the end," Sokka said.
As the two got up, they made their way back to camp. Harry then said, "I know we have a way to go, and I really want us to succeed. But I'm also really looking forward to more of our adventures." Sokka nodded in agreement as they joined Aang in waiting for Katara to finish cooking their meals. It was her turn tonight.
[-] [-] [-]
"I've heard many great things about the Yuyan Archers," Commander Zhao said to a man who was a couple of heads shorter than him.
"They are the best," Colonel Shinu said to Zhao.
He really hated how he had to look up to Zhao. The Commander was being as polite as required given their equal statuses to each other, but he was definitely using his height to be more imposing and taking far too much joy in looking down at him. At least that is what the Colonel thought.
"Which is why I am requesting you allow them to follow me as I seek out the Avatar. They deserve more honor and glory than mere security guards," Zhao said.
"I will not hand them over to you for some pet project of yours. We are fighting a real war here," the Colonel said.
"But-" Zhao attempted to say.
"My word is final," Shinu said angrily.
Just then a messenger came to the colonel and handed him a scroll.
"News from the Fire Lord?" Zhao asked. He was trying not to smirk. He had hunch what this was about, but he wasn't fully sure.
The colonel huffed as he handed the scroll over. He was the leading officer here, but the message was not for him.
Zhao looked at it and then smirked as he no longer tried to put on a veil of politeness. He was now taking full advantage of his superior height. "It seems I've been promoted to Admiral. My request is now an order," he said looking down to the other man.
Colonel Shinu mentally raged at the man. On the outside, he gave a respectful bow and said, "As you command, Admiral Zhao. The Yuyan Archers are at your disposal. May they assist you in your hunt."
The admiral wasn't smirking too much now. Now that the colonel was behaving, he actually treated him with a little more respect. "Thank you for your cooperation. I will ensure they are given the chance to live up to their honorable reputation," he said.
[-] [-] [-]
Zuko watched warily as a large Fire Nation ship pulled up alongside his. "Wonder what they want," he thought out loud.
"Maybe a game of Pai Sho? I am a bit famous in the proper circles after all," Iroh said as he played a game with a member of the crew.
Zuko ignored his Uncle. The Exiled Prince had a newfound distaste for the game. He wouldn't be easily forgiving his Uncle for dragging him all over that town only to mention he had the stupid tile all along.
A solider from the other ship approached Zuko and gave a quick salute. "The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance. Admiral Zhao commands all information regarding the Avatar be handed over to him promptly," he said.
"Zhao got promoted? Good for him," Uncle Iroh said as he made a move on the board.
Zuko couldn't believe his uncle. Zhao had been such a pain in their ass this whole time and Iroh showed no hesitance in stating his disapproval of the man. Yet now he was congratulating him? Zuko frowned at his uncle. It really seemed liked all his uncle cared about was drinking, eating, and playing a stupid game.
Zuko looked to the solider. "I've got nothing to report to Admiral Zhao," he said. Zuko was proud of himself. He didn't even hint at his dislike of the guy. "Now get off my ship, and let us pass," he said sternly.
"Admiral Zhao has put this area under lock-down. No ships are allowed to pass in or out," the solider said.
"Get off my ship!" Zuko roared at him. The man gave a calm bow and left.
"Looks like I win! The pot is all mine. Don't worry, boys. You are all getting better. You might even beat me next time," Iroh said with a big grin as he chuckled to himself.
Zuko glared at his ship's deck and stormed off to his quarters. His uncle was completely unbelievable. Everything they had been working so hard for was coming crashing down around them. His uncle only carried on about his stupid game. Zuko had to do something… His uncle was fine with living out his remaining years in disgrace. Zuko was not. He still felt lost on what to do anyways.
[-] [-] [-]
Aang was in a hurry and was also close to cursing his luck. "Is Harry's so-called Potter Luck rubbing off on me?" he thought to himself as he dodged another volley of arrows. If he wasn't the target, he would marvel at their ability even in the rain. Since he was the target, he was not happy about this. He was pretty sure he would have to find these frogs again.
That Herbalist was crazy, but that was probably why she knew the way to cure the sickness Sokka and Katara came down with. Luckily, Harry wasn't getting it too. Aang still got a few extra frogs just in case. Harry said he was probably wasn't getting the sickness, because of Lady Cosmo's power he was blessed with. It improved his immune system.
Aang quickly turned around and bent up an ice wall to block the arrows coming his way. He was shocked when the arrows broke through his ice wall and a new volley was already heading towards him. He dodged to the left. He was then pinned to the ground by a sleeve just as a net shot at him and something knocked him out.
When Aang came to, he was bound by chains and looked to see a face he recognized from what he was shown before his escape from the Fire Temple.
"It really is bizarre how you managed to elude the Fire Nation for so long. Some Master of the Elements you are," Zhao said with a scoff.
He then grinned at Aang and said, "Your little childish game of hide and seek is over."
"I've never tried to hide from you," Aang said in anger and frustration. "I'll fight you right now! Untie me!" he shouted.
"Why would I do that? Then you'd have yet another opportunity to run away like a coward," Zhao said.
Aang looked to him in defiance.
"Tell me. Little Avatar. What is it like to be the last Airbender? Do you miss your people?" Zhao asked mockingly.
Aang blinked for a moment. He almost shouted about Harry. Instead, he looked down sadly. It still got to him the other Air Nomads were dead. That was the kind of thing you never really got over.
"Oh, don't be so sad. You won't be slaughtered like they were. Then you would just be reborn and we would have to search for you all over again. We'll keep you alive as either a trophy for the Fire Lord or maybe a tool, if you learn to cooperate," Zhao said.
Aang took in a deep breath and blew a mighty gale force wind at Zhao. The man went tumbling backwards and slammed into a wall. He shook the dizziness from head and stood up. Aang gave him a smirk.
"Your situation is futile, Avatar. You really are nothing more than a big blowhard now," Zhao said with a glare as he left the room.
"What a terrible joke!" Aang shouted at the door with a groan.
[-] [-] [-]
A figure often seen only in legends of the past quietly watched a road leading to the nearby fort where the Avatar was being held captive. The figured was in black except for a mask on its face. The mask was blue with white markings and had an open mouth showing white teeth. The mouth looked like it was either snarling, laughing, or growling depending on the person's interpretation.
A wagon approached where the figure laid in wait. As soon as the wagon was close enough, the figure vanished to underneath it. The blue spirit was hugging the bottom of the wagon and riding it to the fort.
"Hold up now," A guard said to the man in the wagon. The driver complied with ease. The soldiers looked over the wagon to make sure it was secure. They even looked underneath it just to be sure. By that time, the stealthy figure already moved and was again hiding in the shadows.
"… This year Sozin's comet returns to grant us its power! This year we break through the walls of Ba Sing Se and burn the city to the ground as a testament to the greatness of Fire Lord Ozai and our people. The superior of benders!" Zhao said from a balcony to a cheering crowd of soldiers.
The mysterious figure surveyed the courtyard and plotted their path. It was rather obvious where the Avatar was being held captive. It was the only building where the guards were looking stern faced and determined despite the inspiring speech being given.
Zhao raised his hand to quiet the crowd. "We have finally caught the Avatar. Not even the Master of All Elements can stand against our superiority! Fire Lord Ozai's reach grows ever stronger and so too does our mighty and glorious heritage," he said.
The crowd cheered yet again. No one noticed the two now unconscious guards. The dark figure slipped inside the building paying no heed to Admiral Zhao's words. That man would not be victorious tonight.
[-] [-] [-]
"Oh no! The frogs! Already?!" Aang said with a sigh. Two of the frogs croaked as they hopped out of his tunic. They then made their escape. One of them wasn't even fully thawed yet, but it was still making its way to the exit.
Aang noticed a masked figure approached him. The blue masked figure seemed to pay no mind to the escaping frogs. Soon the sound of two chains being cut could be heard. Aang blinked and moved his arms experimentally.
"Who are you? Are you here to save me?" Aang asked.
The silent figure merely started to leave. Aang was torn on what to do. He wanted to grab the frogs, but he knew that was too late now. He frowned and quietly followed his silent guide.
Zhao was feeling mighty proud of the speech he just gave. He had a scribe copy it all down. It would be sent out to all of the Fire Nation with due haste. He frowned as he noticed two unconscious guards.
"I guess this means I hold off on sending the speech for the moment," the scribe said mostly to himself.
"On the wall! There they are!" a nearby guard shouted.
"Capture the Avatar! Close all gates!" Zhao commanded.
Aang blew away the guards in front of the closing gates. He would barely make it, but he noticed his liberator was surrounded. Aang found a spear and broke the head off so he had a handy staff. He hopped right by the blue spirit.
Aang sent a low to the ground air blast which knocked several of the guards down. The Blue Spirit was looking at what he did. Aang couldn't tell what his thoughts were due to the mask. Instead he used his newly acquired staff to launch the Blue Spirit up to the nearby wall. The gates were already closed. They would have to find a different way out.
The Blue Spirit managed to not be thrown off balance by the Avatar's action. He immediately started engaging several of the guards while he looked for an opening. He was tempted to use his trump card, but that would give away his identity. He did not need that at the moment. This was a mission done in secrecy.
Just as it was getting to be too much for him with all of the soldiers around him. Aang came and said, "Grab on!"
The spirit did just that. Aang took a moment to readjust with the added weight. He then helicoptered them over to a different courtyard. This one was smaller, but only one gate remained an obstacle as the sun started to rise.
Four Firebenders working together sent a mighty gout of lame at the two of them. Aang's eyes widened as he sent a massive blast of air at them and negated their flames.
"Hold your fire! The Avatar must be taken alive!" Zhao commanded.
Aang wasn't sure what to do here. His masked temporary companion had an idea though. Aang gulped uneasily as he was being held as a hostage with the swords right on his throat. He could see what the masked man was trying to do, but he was still very uncomfortable with it.
"Let them go…" Zhao said with a frown at the blue masked man.
"Admiral? Just like that?! You're letting them escape?" an officer asked.
"Need I remind you of your place. It is not to question me," Zhao said dangerously to the officer.
"Sorry sir… Open the gates as the Admiral commanded!" he shouted.
The gate guards were confused for a moment but followed their orders. They weren't about to test their luck.
"This requires precision," Zhao said mostly to himself. He then watched as the two slowly backed out the front gate. "When you have a clear shot. Fire," Zhao said flatly as an archer nearby nocked an arrow.
Mere seconds later, an arrow whistled through the air! It struck the sword wielder in the mask. The man fell backwards and hit the ground unconscious. Aang was worried as he looked to the figure and back to the fort.
"Retrieve the Avatar and the thief," Zhao ordered confidently.
He frowned when he saw a mighty dust cloud seem to appear right where the two escapees once were. There was no sign of them though. The archers couldn't fire through the dust cloud either.
"I'm guessing… I will not be sending that speech to anyone," the scribe then said careful.
"No…" Zhao said as he glared at the spot where the dust cloud was.
"Shall I order the men to keep quiet about events, under penalty of court martial?" the officer asked.
"Yes…" Zhao grumbled as he returned to his quarters. He would have to figure out where the Avatar would go next it seemed. If that masked man ended up being who he thought it was… Well, he would need proof for his next course of action. But make no mistake, the Exiled Prince would soon be joining the deceased.
[-] [-] [-]
Aang sat on a giant root in the nearby swamp area and watched the sun rise. He looked again to the unmasked Prince Zuko. He had a sad contemplative look in his eyes as he heard the prince stir.
"You know what the worst part about being frozen in an iceberg for 100 years is?" Aang asked as he looked to Zuko with sorrowful eyes.
Zuko had no choice but to listen as he regained his bearings. He was additionally coming to terms with the fact the Avatar saved him... They were enemies, yet the Avatar saved him. It should be obvious the only reason he freed Aang was so he could instead capture him. Zuko was even planning to knock him out once they were far enough away from the fort.
"It's the way everything has changed. Missing all of my friends. Traveling anywhere at will. Before the war, I had a good friend named Kuzon I would visit a lot," Aang said.
He gave a nostalgic chuckle as he looked to the horizon. "The two of us got into so much fun trouble together. Even when were caught and made to do punishments such as repainting the fences in his neighborhood, we would laugh together. He would say, 'Aang. You're looking at this the wrong way. It's just something else we're doing together. What good would an old story be if we didn't laugh at getting caught in our foolishness'. It was some great times, even the punishments," he said.
He turned back to look Zuko in the eyes. "He was one of my best friends. The thing is… He was Fire Nation, just like you. I have to wonder. If we had met back then, would we have been friends too? Would it have been the three of us getting in trouble and laughing about it later?" he asked.
Zuko felt conflicted for a moment. He then jumped up and threw a fire ball at Aang! Aang easily dodged it and flew away on a current of air. Zuko watched as the Avatar departed. He couldn't help but ponder Aang's words. He gave a sigh and started to walk back to his ship.
"It doesn't matter… This isn't back then… Even if it was possible," Zuko thought to himself in exhaustion.
[-] [-] [-]
Harry was relieved when Aang finally returned. As funny as it was watching Sokka argue with a rock, which seemed to be very world weary. It was getting to be a bit much watching over two sick people. Katara wasn't too bad, but even she had to be tended too as well. He would still probably joke with Sokka after this. "Earthbending Powers Away! Earth Master Sokka commands!" he would say to Sokka in jest.
It was strange when Aang placed what looked like chocolate frogs in Katara's and Sokka's mouths. "Suck on these. They'll help," he told them. He turned to Harry and asked, "Are you still good?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure Sokka lost five arguments to Momo and took lessons on History from Appa," Harry said with a chuckle.
"Well, Appa is pretty knowledgeable. Momo knows what's up too," Aang said with a laugh.
Harry's eyes widened and he made a yuck face as the treatments turned into actual frogs which croaked in disagreement as they hopped away. "I may never look at a chocolate frog the same ever again," Harry thought to himself. It was a pity. Those were one of his favorite sweets.
"Eeeww…" Katara said.
"Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! It was on my tongue! Gross," Sokka said.
They seemed over their sickness now. Harry would have to ask Aang what took so long another time.
A/N: Decided to mostly skip over Jet and the Freedom Fighters in this story.
I feel I should point this out here, Harry will eventually be very powerful, especially when he returns. Hopefully, that doesn't bother anyone. I'm not going to go God Mode with him, but he will be powerful. Once he gets back, eventually the Bending Force aspect will come into play.
I got the idea from RRW's review for that part about the Great Divide episode. They pointed out it would serve as a nod to the Ember Island Players. That was one of the funnier parts of the show in my opinion and Avatar has a good amount of humor in the first place.