Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfiction.
My hiatus from this story was much longer than expected. But I'm back!
Things will be busy, but I will do my best to try to get a chapter out once every one or two weeks. At that rate, I think I stand a good chance of finishing this story in about a year. And then another year to do my own rendition of Aang and Katara's romance after the war - after I pull some deus ex machinas (...unfortunately...) to try to reset everything to the state it was in during the premise of BaSingTe's AU. That was my original plan, and I'd like to stick to it. RIP in peace. Rest assured, I am putting all my efforts into trying to transform this into a polished backstory to Coming Together, and I swear things will diverge more from the cartoon series as chapters go on.
Well... this part is going to be two chapters. It's waaay too long for me to fit in one chapter.
It had been weeks since they had left General Fong's base, upset over the fact that not only did they not have an escort to Omashu, but also that precious time was wasted trying to appease the insane General. Their delayed journey to the Earth Kingdom city was further compounded by the fact that they encountered many Fire Nation troops at many different points on their route to the city of Omashu. As a result, they were forced to travel underground through a place called "The Cave of Two Lovers." Of course, the mere mention of love sent Aang into a blissful reverie about Katara, but he decided it probably wasn't the best thing to do, especially next to her older brother. It also didn't help that they were chased down by Fire Nation troops, and were forced to trap themselves inside the cave to escape. Despite Sokka's handiness with a map, they were lost for many hours until their last torch had burned out, and they realized they were standing under a single file of glowing crystals that clearly marked out a path through the labyrinth of tunnels. Despite Sokka's scoffing and derision, Aang simply grabbed the skeptical boy by the wrist and dragged him along the path while Appa steadily trudged on behind them. They finally reached the end of the tunnel by evening, and although much time was lost, the journey wasn't a complete waste - namely, Aang learned that until he learned earthbending, Sokka's map reading skills could not be trusted underground.
And now, they climbed up the very last mountain before they would set their eyes on Omashu. For Aang, it would be the first time he laid eyes on Omashu in one hundred years. Needless to say, he was filled to the brim with curiosity, question, and concern. Was Omashu still standing? No, that wasn't a smart question; if it wasn't then Pakku would most certainly not send the Avatar and a fellow watertribe man into a trap. No, Aang was more concerned about the effects of the passing of time. Did anything change? Had they rid the city of its mail delivery system that secretly served on the side as the "world's greatest superslide," as his old friend, Bumi, had once said? Was Bumi even around? Aang shook his head to keep that depressing thought out of his mind. One hundred years was so long... perhaps even too long...
But wait. If nothing else, Bumi was the wiliest of the wily. If anyone would survive a hundred years, it would be him. Come to think of it, that might have been one of the reasons the city hadn't fallen yet - its close proximity to the Fire Nation relative to Ba Sing Se, coupled with its value in trade and transportation due to its brilliant delivery system - made it a prime target for Fire Nation attacks. And yet, Pakku had sent them here for a reason. And if there was anyone else he'd trust beyond his small inner circle of friends, assuming Commander Prince Hotman was still making his gradual way to Ba Sing Se for their rendezvous, it would be his waterbending mentor.
Speaking of watertribe...
"So, any idea who the king of Omashu might be? A mighty warrior who's fought a lot of battles? A wise figure who cares for his people? I mean, obviously Pakku trusted him, so I'm thinking maybe a little bit of both." Sokka's eyes became dreamy as he envisioned the idealistic ruler he had assumed ruled over Omashu. "Man... I wonder what it'll be like to meet him..." Sokka, despite himself and the pretentious air he had assumed upon proclaiming himself eldest and therefore leader of the group, still retained traits of a precocious child, and was thoroughly excited to see his first Earth Kingdom city, a city Aang had visited numerous times in an age long gone, when the Air Nomads still walked on the earth of the Physical World and there was no real sense of urgency to reach the capital.
"Yo Sokka, snap out of it. We still have a ways to go." Aang's face darkened in annoyance at the recollection of the past few days. "Can't believe we had to travel through that cave..."
"Tell me about it," Sokka said, stopping for a moment to stretch himself out. Aang cringed at hearing distinct cracks that obviously seemed to relieve Sokka, as the watertribe boy let out a satisfied sigh once he had finished his... disgusting routine. "Ah... that's the stuff," Sokka said, only to find himself face to face with a disapproving Aang. "What? It's not like I'm used to walking for days on end." Appa bellowed his agreement. The flying bison still held a grudge against the duo for having him squeeze his way through an underground tunnel, not used to the constricted space and being fettered to the floor, unable to fly whenever he pleased. "See? Even Appa agrees with me. Right?" In response, Appa affectionately licked Sokka. "HEY! THAT WAS NOT AN EXCUSE FOR YOU TO GET ALL YOUR SLOBBER OVER ME!" Appa stared menacingly down at the watertribe boy. Sokka, however, instead of cowering like he used to under the forbearing gaze of the monstrous fuzzball, simply fished into his backpack and held up a cabbage head. "Do you want it, boy?" Appa visibly salivated at the impromptu but welcome snack, and he lunged his head forward to snatch at the crunchy vegetable. But Sokka quickly whisked away the cabbage. "Nuh-uh! Not until you promise you won't lick me again!"
In response, Appa simply opened his mouth wide as if to yawn, then flicked out his tongue, enveloping both Sokka and cabbage alike in pink appendage. Aang giggled as he amusedly watched the spectacle Sokka had put himself into. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Sokka. "No, Appa! Bad Appa! Don't ever do that -" the bison's mouth closed threateningly over Sokka, and the boy's screams grew shriller until it was almost as if a girl was the one stuck inside Appa instead of the son of the Southern Watertribe chief. "NO! HELP ME! NO, APPA, PLEASE! DON'T EAT ME! I'LL DO ANYTHING! I'LL GIVE YOU ANOTHER CABBAGE! I'LL OFFER MOMO AS A TASTY SACRIFICE! I'LL EVEN LET YOU LICK ME WHENEVER YOU WANT! JUST LET ME GO! MERCY! MERCY! PLEASE -" the tongue unfurled, and Sokka flopped to the ground, breathing a huge sigh of relief. "Ah... escaping the darkness of Appa's stomach by the glibness of my tongue," he sighed. "Have the cabbage as reward for not eating me up, you big lug." Appa simply grumbled in response and licked Sokka's lying form. Sokka opened his mouth to rebuke the beast, and then growled as he realized he had been outsmarted by a ten-ton furball who didn't even look like he cared about the whole ordeal in the first place.
Aang suppressed a smile as he looked at his thoroughly soaked, thoroughly shell-shocked friend. "Well," said Aang. "Maybe that'll teach you not to mess with a flying bison again."
Sokka waved a lethargic hand in the air. "You learn something everyday, no matter how smart you are..." drawled Sokka, and then his hands fell limp as he fell unconscious. Appa stared at the prone boy for a moment before licking him yet again and then finally returning his attention to his well-earned snack. He opened his mouth once more to eat the delicacy when Momo came flying in, having took a small break gliding around the mountain. Upon seeing the cabbage, Momo landed in front of Appa, gesticulating wildly and uttering complete gibberish that Appa seemed to understand, as he took a substantial bite out of the cabbage and left a small portion for the lemur to munch on. As the two animals merrily nibbled side by side and Sokka remained unmoving on the ground, Aang took a moment to admire the view from the mountain's summit.
Aang noticed, much to his never ending delight, that the city of Omashu appeared - at least on the outside - to be relatively untouched by the ravages of time. Four mountains were visible in the city, each nearly overcrowded by a plethora of houses. The chute slides were clearly visible even at their distance from them, and Aang could tell that besides any retouches, the chutes remained much the same as they did a hundred years before. And at the very top of the tallest mountain, Aang could just barely make out the palace of the King of Omashu - what was to be their final destination. The harsh sunlight made everything take on a lifeless, scorched, desert-sand hue, but Aang knew that it wasn't really the outside that mattered. In fact, the people of Omashu were among the friendliest in the world...
Unfortunately, that also applied to the appearance of Omashu. Who knew just how much had changed...
Sokka, having finally got up, took a good long look at the city. After a moment of silence, he said, "So that's Omashu, huh. So big. So huge. And are all of those dots houses?" A pause. "Wow... that's... that's something." Overwhelmed by sheer awe and emotion, he fell over for the second time that day as both Appa and Momo emitted two large and contented belches at finishing their small meals.
"Are you sure that we'll be fine? I mean, we're unannounced visitors and we don't know how this is going to go..." Sokka bit his nails nervously as he and Aang made their way down the winding path to Omashu's walls.
Aang smiled reassuringly up at the agitated watertribe boy. Although he could somewhat understand Sokka's concern - it was the boy's first Earth Kingdom city, and an imposing and impressive one at that - with the immense experience Aang had in his travels around the world with his mentor Gyatso, the young Avatar knew there truly was nothing to be afraid of, nothing to have misgivings over.
"Don't worry, Sokka! We'll be perfectly fine! The people here are the friendliest in the world. You're going to absolutely love it here! I'd say it'll be just like home, but you know, it'll be a stretch for us, seeing that you've seen nothing but snow your entire life and I the world a hundred years prior. But that aside, there's nothing to worry about!" Aang grinned confidently as he took another step forward, only to find himself in the unsettling shade of a hovering boulder.
"Who in the Four Nations do you think you are?" barked the guard, a feral snarl on his face. It seemed as though the guard had simply categorized his job into one simple task, and forgone the analytical, reasonable part his job entailed. Sokka decided it would be best to let Aang handle the situation - after all, he was the one who had visited this city before - and he slowly backed away from the scene, pretending he was associated in no way, shape, or form with the ongoing confrontation. After all, despite the frequent reassurances by Aang, the look on the guard's face was anything but friendly. The rock looming over the Avatar's head didn't really help matters either.
If there was ever a time that Aang's carefree smile faltered, it was here. The inflection on his lips now more resembled a forced, macabre, grotesque symbol of fraudulence than the unadulterated joy the affectation usually expressed on the young airbender's face. "Uh..." Aang said, mouth spasming with the effort to maintain his amicableness. "Hello... I was wondering... if I could make my way into the city... with my friend over -" he looked over his shoulder to point out Sokka, but to his confusion, he found Sokka far down the road, apparently trying to make himself invisible and insignificant to Aang's interaction with the sentry outside Omashu's walls. Aang blinked, caught off guard, but quickly rallied. "My friend all the way over there." He pointed, and for some reason, it seemed as though the guard had taken no notice of where his hand pointed but rather the motion of Aang's body.
"Stop moving!" the guard said, eyes squinting suspiciously at the young boy. "Clearly you have absolutely no idea about anything in the world. One does not just simply gallivant their way into a city that has stood time and time again against suspicious folk and outright military enemies. Who are you? State your business!"
"Well, my name's Aang. I'm the Avatar. I need to speak with your king about a matter extremely important to the war."
"Oh really?" the guard asked, lowering the boulder, eyes wide with curiosity. Aang eagerly nodded. The guard snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. And I'm a royal advisor to Firelord Ozai, the world isn't embroiled in a war, and you're over a hundred years old."
"Well, technically, I am a hundred twelve years old," Aang offered hopefully.
The next thing he knew, Aang found himself back at the beginning of the path, chased by an angry boulder and knocked into the air by an unexpected piece of earth that suddenly shot from the ground below him. Sokka calmly observed the results of Aang's meeting. "Friendly, huh," he noted.
"Apparently, things change more than you'd think in a hundred years," pondered Aang. Momo flew in to chitter his agreement while Appa simply slept where he had placed himself since Sokka and Aang had embarked on the treacherous path to the city of Omashu.
"This won't work," Sokka deadpanned as he looked down on Aang. Appa's white fur was used liberally to "disguise" Aang to a certain point. Although that might have worked had circumstances been different, nothing really changed about Aang except his personality to fit his new character and the fact that he frequently scratched at his head due to the irritating properties of animal fur. For example, the rope that held Aang's makeshift wig together was so embarrassingly (and dangerously) obvious. The glider-staff Aang now leaned on for "support" seemed over the top, especially considering the bright, childish clothes Aang wore as per Nomad custom.
"Who knows? Maybe it will," Aang said. It seemed as though he wanted to say more, but no sooner did he open his mouth did he suddenly cringe and bring his hands over his head. "How does Appa live in this thing all the time?" he cried, clawing at his hair as though it was a leech that had latched onto his skin and wouldn't let go. "I really don't think I could last ten minutes with this thing on -" Aang caught Sokka's vindicated look. "Don't say a word," the young boy warned as they approached the guard once more.
"Name and state your business!" the guard barked, holding up a boulder once more. But this time, instead of remaining under the boulder, Aang ran out from undernearth and immediately confronted the guard. "My business is my business, and none of yours!" he wheezed out in an impressive rendition of an elderly man's voice. He jabbed a finger at the guard's chest as he dropped his boulder in surprise. "I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"
"Okay, okay! Settle down, old timer! Just tell me who you are." The guard raised his hands placatingly, not wanting to face the tirade of an angry old man.
"Name's Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third," Aang said grandiosely, chest puffed out, no longer pretending to hold onto his cane for support. Meanwhile, Sokka stared at him as though he had grown a face on the back of his head. "And this here's my grandson! Bonsai! Bonsai Pippinpaddleopsicopolis!" Sokka's flummoxed stare quickly became a withering glare as he imagined daggers stabbing into the infuriating airbender's back. "Hmm. Very well... you!" he said, pointing to Sokka. "As the legacy of the family. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble." He stepped out of the way to the city's entrance.
"Thank you young'un! We'll be on our way!" Aang said cheerfully. Sokka joined him as they both headed towards the city entrance. Sokka couldn't quite believe their good stroke of fortune. Making it into the city! On such a wild and unreliable plan as well!
And of course, he thought too soon. As soon as Aang hobbled his way up to the guard, the guard simply snatched at the wig and mustache Aang had on. It was several steps in before Aang realized what had happened, and by the time Aang turned around, it was too late. The revealing of his youthful face didn't help matters.
The guard sighed dramatically. "Kids these days. Think they can get away with anything." Without warning, the guard swung his leg lazily at the ground, and Aang and Sokka suddenly shot like missiles to the ground far below, their screams echoing throughout the chasm they were cast into. "Nice try!" the guard called in sarcastically after them.
Sokka groaned as he lay at the bottom of the chasm. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to do anything - except eat. And maybe breathe.
Unfortunately, none of those things came to fruition, as he was instantly bothered by what he figured was now his least favorite person in the world. "Sokka, come on, get up! We can still get into the city, but it'd probably be best if we get moving now!"
Sokka glared up at Aang through half-lidded eyes. "No. Talk later. Sleep now." He closed his eyes, turned around, and tried to go back to sleep.
Suddenly, he felt a wriggling sensation around his stomach. "Sokka! Look out! There's a pricklesnake on you!"
Sokka had never moved so fast in his life. Not when he scurried to get in one last good snowball at his little sister during snowball fights. Not when he scrambled to get his things ready to try to leave with his father and the rest of the men to fight the Fire Nation. Not even when he had garbed himself in war gear in preparation for Zuko's Fire ship. Later, even Aang admitted that Sokka's reflexes and speed were nearly as fast as an airbending master's. At any rate, Sokka's screams filled the air once more as he groggily, wildly, terrifiedly attempted to shake whatever was on him. "AAAaaaAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAhhhHHHhhh!" he screamed, limbs flailing all over the place. He thought he got a satisfying hit on the prickle-snake, but the audible yelp of pain he heard to the side signified that that wasn't the case. Finally, Sokka's rampage stopped when he smacked into the wall of the basin they were trapped in, and he laid dazedly on the floor as Aang stood over him, somewhat triumphant look on his face, one hand covering a cheek.
"Well," Aang said. "At least you're up now!" he smiled cheerfully. The smile went, but the infuriatingly optimistic (illusionistic) mood didn't. "Sokka, don't give up yet! There's still another way into the city that requires no guards!"
Sokka just frowned at Aang. "And you also said the people of Omashu were the friendliest in the world, if I recall correctly. What changed, exactly?"
"A hundred years?" Sokka didn't have a response to that, so he let that matter go.
"And this other option? Why didn't we take it first before trying out a desperate second-rate disguise?"
Aang shrugged. "I just... wanted to, I guess? I didn't have a reason."
Sokka brought his hand to his forehead. "I miss Zuko already. At least with him majority vote goes to me instead of the Avatar, so that we don't have to do these ridiculous things."
"Way to be optimistic, Sokka," deadpanned Aang. Sokka grit his teeth, biting back a fierce retort for the child he practically had to babysit. Once upon a time, he would have balked at performing such a domestic, feminine task. He still did, especially with a charge so... rambunctious, to put it mildly. But now was not the time to complain. Maybe after the Fire Lord was taken down, he could start moping about all the suffering he had to endure throughout the wild journey he was taking. But for now, the whole world practically rested on his shoulders until Aang was able to take down Ozai - or at least grow up somewhat.
He took a deep breath. "Alright. Show me the passageway."
"Actually... we have to take it during the night. Much more convenient that way."
Sokka looked at Aang untrustingly. "Why's that?"
The night was still. Not a sound disturbed the tranquil peace of the Earth Kingdom City. No civilians walked the streets. No animals wandered the alleyways. Nothing permeated through the calm, quiet atmosphere that constituted the night in the otherwise lively city. Even the patrols were lacking, despite it being wartime. It was an entirely different world where the only thing that showed signs of life was the moon glowing softly, bathing everything in its pale light.
Suddenly, a strange circle in the ground made a soft grinding sound as it slowly turned. At its end, the circle was popped out of the ground, and two boys emerged from the hole, whooshing out breaths of air they didn't realize they'd been holding, greedily gulping in the fresh air they'd sorely missed during their venture underground.
"The smell..." Sokka wheezed, glad that he had taken deep breaths before their horrific venture into the revolting passageway Aang offered into the city. He inhaled huge amounts of air and held it inside of himself for as long as he could, silently promising to himself that he would never take the sweet smell of bland air for granted ever again.
Aang only stood there, amused at Sokka's obvious discomfort at the interesting journey he took. Well, if interesting constituted wading through repulsive muck up through a sewage pipe into the middle of a street, praying to Tui that no one would be around to witness their sudden appearance from the ground. At the very least, the things they found on their way up were certainly interesting, if not really leaving anything to be desired.
"Bluurgh," retched Sokka. "Good thing I didn't eat anything before our trip through nightmare land. I can't believe I just said that, but then again, nothing has ever been right in my life since you suddenly popped into it."
"Nothing was ever right in the first place, seeing as you've grown up in the middle of a war that's been raging for a century," Aang pointed out.
An injured Sokka glowered at Aang. "Wasn't the point of my complaint. The point was that maybe you could've done a little better job of warning me about the ABSOLUTE HORRORS you were going to drag me through."
"Oh, quit it! At least I airbent all the disgusting stuff out of your way so you didn't get anything disgusting on yourself!"
"Which could be avoided if we didn't have to take this route, if you didn't decide to try passing the same guard on two different infiltration attempts, if you'd just clearly stated our business, if you'd just not act like such a child sometimes - you're a hundred and twelve, for La's Sake!" he added exasperatedly to Aang's pretend pout. That airbender was going to drive him off a cliff someday - oh wait. He already had. "If you didn't decide to treat everything a game, if you didn't decide to come visit me, if you didn't escape the iceberg in the first place, we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"If we didn't have to deal with a century-long war, if the airbenders weren't wiped out, if Sozin didn't decide to go tyrannical sadist on the world, if the Four Nations didn't have any problems with each other, if the Avatar never existed, if bending never existed..." Aang continued in the same vein.
Sokka scowled. "Alright, wise guy. Let's just go to find some place to stay before even sleep can't save me from your madness."
"Glad you never met my friend Bumi then," was Aang's reply as he began wandering down the road.
Sokka stared agape at the back of Aang's tattoos, then slouched over and began to follow. "Of course you'd be friends with lunatics that are somehow even crazier than you yourself," he muttered resentfully.
Day had come. Aang and Sokka were still walking. Any concerns over Momo and Appa or anything else, and any complaints about their situation, were swept away by the crippling fatigue they felt caused by their inability to find some place to stay.
Omashu did not naturally have slums. City though it was, the efficient chute delivery system, coupled with the prosperity of the place, ensured that all of its inhabitants, not just the lucky few, were fairly well off economically. The impact of the system that crisscrossed the mountains of Omashu exposed and offered every street and every building the prosperity that the city as a whole enjoyed. But although this was all good and well for the denizens of the successful city, it unfortunately meant that the beleaguered duo had no place to stay, not place to rest. As such, neither boy's face escaped the wrath of the dark splotches underneath their eyes that typically signified weariness and drowsiness.
About chutes...
Aang whipped around to face Sokka. "Hey Sokka, you wanna..." he trailed off, realizing he had forgotten what he wanted to request from the older boy. He squinted one eye and cocked his head to the side as he tiredly tried to recall what he was so excited to share with Sokka.
"Uh huh?" Sokka slowly lifted his head. He looked as though the guard from earlier had decided to carry through with crushing him with a boulder, and had been successfully smushed between the ground and the rock. If nothing else, that appearance at least somewhat resembled how Aang internally felt at the moment. He missed having a bed. And a pillow. He silently swore to the spirits that after this temporary ordeal was over - even starting while the predicament was ongoing - that he would never take pillows for granted again. And now that he reflected on it, he was certain that he should apply that appreciation for such a seemingly mundane object to the rest of his life.
Like meeting Katara...
"Yo. Aang. Were you... saying... something to... me?" Aang jerked back into the present, suddenly aware that Katara's brother was regarding him strangely, as though he had said something aloud. "You were saying before?"
"Huh? I said something before?" asked Aang.
Sokka shrugged. "Beats me man, this no sleep thing is killing me." Aang nodded numbly. They continued their mindless wandering around the streets, heedless of the glances aimed their way - well deserved what with their unkempt looks and unlikely companionship - minds filled with nothing but the sweet temptations of release from the waking world. And yet still they slowly braved onward, vainly trying to ignore the cries within themselves for a reprieve from their condition. It was almost too much for the boys to bear. Never were they forced to stay awake for so long, under such strenuous conditions in a hot dry desert with little ware to barter or buy. As such, they were nearly at their breaking points, and secretly feared for each
Aang suddenly came to a stop, an act so unwarranted and unexpected that it took Sokka several seconds and many steps to realize that the airbender had fallen behind. He stumbled back to see what was the matter. "Yo... Aang," he said weakly. "What's up?"
Aang smiled slowly. Although his mind wasn't as clear as he would have liked it to be, deep within the recesses of his brain something had shifted to enlighten him of something highly beneficial to their moods and energy. "I think I know a way of how to wake ourselves up, and to have fun while doing it..."
"Behold!" Aang said as he thrust out his arms theatrically and offered a pleased grin to the seemingly unconcerned teenager who was studying the state of his nails.
Said teenager was unimpressed. "Uh-huh?... And?"
Aang's smile fell as he took stock of Sokka's unexpected reaction to the wonders before him. He wracked his brain for anything that might engage Sokka in the fun and useful activity he had planned for themselves. "Do you know what this is?" asked Aang, slightly holding out on the first word he spoke, hesitant at the noticeable lack of enthusiasm from the older boy.
Sokka took a quick glance up at the sight below him. "It's... the Omashu delivery system?" he said slowly, as though he had to enunciate every word so Aang could comprehend what he was saying. "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes?" he stated as though Aang were an uneducated little child untrained and unlearned of the world around him. "Is that what's supposed to 'invigorate' us for the day until we somehow meet the king? We haven't even decided how we'll be able to seek an audience with him. Who knows what we'll have to do to try to get his attention, nevermind the fact that you're the Avatar. He's probably super busy right now attending to his equally busy subjects. It's not like we can just go out in front of the palace and start banging on the doors shouting for permission to see the king. I'm isolated in the Southern Watertribe, and even I know it takes forever to be granted an audience with a king. And that's not even considering all the things we have to do to get his attention and force him to listen to two childredn! And yet here we are, on top of these chutes, expecting a miracle to occur that will make our mental conditions better. What gives?"
"Well," began Aang, "Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down."
"Great, so they get their mail on time." Sokka yawned and nodded. Then he shook his head to reinvigorate himself, to little effect. "Not so great, I'm even more tired than before despite your super thrilling and engaging recapitulation of Omashu's claim to riches and fame."
"Sokka, you're missing the point. Yes, it's the reason why Omashu is so prominent and important nowadays. Yes, it lets the people of Omashu get their mail on time. But," Aang said, a nostalgic smile on his face unbefitting one of his relatively young age. "My friend Bumi found an absolutely brilliant use for these chutes that is so much better than their original intent." He narrowed his eyes in delight as he recalled the first time Bumi had ever shown him the crisscrossing network of chutes...
The sun was bright. Overly bright. But then again, what else would one expect of a city situated in the middle of a desert? Not to mention one floating aloft in the sky, wedged between a compass of mountains that bolstered the city high into the sky. Below, the chutes were busied with activity as carts were sent every which way at the whim of the earthbenders directing the flow of carts. Tubes opened and closed as carts were elevated and dropped down many different levels to alter their destination or to examine the wares within. Earthbenders thrust the carts forward on their ever descending journey, as they were speedily whisked away by the sloped inclines of the chutes to wherever they were needed.
Aang slowly made his way to one of the many balconies ringing the city. After getting his tattoos, it seemed as though everyone rejected him. His friends at the airbending temples who thought he was too powerful. The elderly monks who thought he needed to accept his responsibility. Almost all his friends and acquaintances from around the Four Nations had shunned the young boy because of his newfound status as the next Avatar - a destiny Aang very much did not want. And yet it was as though fate ordained his life to be of suffering. Now he had so much work to do, so many obligations to fulfil, so many burdens to carry - all at a young age. And worst of all, when Gyatso wasn't around (as even his beloved mentor couldn't always stay by Aang's side), the airbender had no one to turn to. He was lonely, far lonelier than he expected his innocent, ignorant life to become. And so it was with a long face that he approached the balcony and saw a familiar face - rather, back.
Bumi. His eccentric, exciting, entertaining, exceptional friend from the Earth Kingdom. A resident in Omashu. A seeming nobody. And yet, when the two boys saw each other, something clicked. Perhaps it was their shared obsession over fun and games. Maybe it was because Bumi's uniqueness and Aang's acceptance meshed them together to form an inseparable bond. Whatever the case, their friendship ran deep, and Aang had always been able to count on Bumi whenever he needed a lift in mood.
But now, everything was different. It had been a year since Bumi had last seen Aang. So much had changed. His announcement as the Avatar. His tattoos. Everything about his life had been rearranged, torn about, and then hastily put back together. When Bumi had first became known to Aang, Monk Gyatso had to argue with the other monks in order for them to maintain a friendship - the monks, despite their claimed impartial living, adamantly refused to let the potential Avatar bond with someone who looked little more than a street urchin. And although that plight had come to pass, now Aang feared that their friendship was imperiled by Aang's new status as the most powerful known entity in the world. How would Bumi react? Would he still treat him the same? Or would he reject Aang like so many others did? Aang felt knots in his stomach as he steeled himself for what was about to come, and then slowly walked forward, letting his presence be known to his friend.
Bumi was looking down on the city, overseeing the delivery cart process, but now he jumped around to face Aang, wide lopsided grin on his face. Aang braced himself for his worst fear, but instead of the rebuke or the dreaded words of cold rejection from the wild boy, he heard the utterly random words Aang never realized sounded so sweet to his ears. "Look around you! What do you see?"
Aang was utterly flummoxed and flustered at Bumi's bizarre choice of topic to pursue. He mentally searched himself for a response to this fairly obvious question. "Um ... The mail system?" he said, saying it as though it were a tentative question rather than a definitive answer.
Bumi's grin grew impossibly larger. He shook his head. "Instead of seeing what they want you to see, you got to open your brain to the possibilities."
"A package-sending system?" Aang was confused at what the delivery system could impossibly entail. Was it a trap? Just another responsibility Aang had to shoulder? A final goodbye from Bumi as a nod to the past they once had? But Aang could not think of anything else to say, or of anything at all. His attention was only directed to the boy in front of him who unwittingly determined the course of Aang's wellbeing for the rest of his life.
"The world's greatest superslide!"
At this, the Avatar's eyes grew wide in disbelief. Only now did he see that the carts were large enough for three children to fit in, and that indeed, the chutes twisted and turned and spiraled for an endless amount of time into some unknown place. The unpredictability of the fun, the destination, and of Bumi's attitude completely changed Aang's regard for his world and his friend and he stared at his friend in relief and surprise. And through the twinkling of Bumi's eyes, Aang realized that though his life had turned upside down, some things never really changed.
"Bumi, you're a mad genius!"
Bumi's eyes widened with pleasure, and he let out a snort-filled cackle that never ceased to amuse Aang, and in fact spurred him at the moment to join Bumi in his moment of ecstasy and camaraderie. Responsibility could wait. Avatar duties could wait. Boring work and suffocating obligations could wait. For now, Aang still had a friend.
And they were about to have some fun.
Aang smiled as he recalled the subsequential series of events that occurred after his pleasant memory: Him and Bumi laughing almost maniacally as they whizzed by bemused guards and earthbenders, cheeks pulled back by the force of the wind on their faces, mouths open with glee. Those were good times, when there was no war, and all Aang had to worry about was his next form of entertainment, which Bumi more than happily provided for the both of them...
"No." Aang was jarred from his happy memory as he remembered where he was. He peered curiously at the waterbender's face, which now seemed uncharacteristically alert and... dare he think it... fearful? At the very least, Sokka definitely was more awake than before, although he looked paler than before and had a huge scowl on his face for reasons Aang didn't know. He looked askance at Sokka.
"What?"
"You heard me. Absolutely not."
"But-"
And Sokka snapped. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep that lead to the slip in his self-control. Perhaps it was the undue stress placed on him ever since he was placed in charge of Aang. Perhaps it was all of the pains and suffering he had endured throughout his fraught life, that had begun trickling through the dam Sokka had bravely put up that had now shattered in earnest, letting his vitriol flow out and scorch everything in his path. Whatever the case, Aang found himself on the receiving end of the worst berating he had ever received in his life.
"YOU SOULLESS STUPID SON OF A BITCH!" Sokka screamed, bringing all workers and chutes and carts in the nearby vicinity to a screeching halt. "WHY THE FUCK DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS KIND OF STUPID THING? FIRST, YOU DECIDE TO HAVE ALL FUN AND GAMES AND IGNORE YOUR DUTIES AS THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN THE FOUR NATIONS. THEN, YOU DECIDE TO RUN AWAY LIKE THE MONKEY-FEATHER BRAINED IDIOT YOU ARE!" Aang blinked twice in surprise at Sokka's utterly ruthless venting. Why bring his past failures into this? Now was now. The past shouldn't be brought back to weigh down one's present and tear down their future, despite the beliefs and actions of the many who thought otherwise.
"THEN YOU DECIDE TO GET ALONG WITH A DAMNED ASHMAKER WHO HAPPENED TO WIPE OUT YOUR NATION -"
"But he wasn't the one who orchestrated the genocide of my people!-"
"SHUT YOUR LITTLE IGNORANT AIRHOLE, YOU FUCKING HOG MONKEY." Aang began to shrank in his clothes as Sokka only seemed to grow larger and more intimidating as he finally snapped under the stress he carried. "I AM DONE WITH YOUR STUPIDITY! EVERYTIME YOU DO SOMETHING, YOU DON'T THINK IT THROUGH AND YOU ALWAYS LAND US IN TROUBLE. AND WHEN WE HAVE TO CONCENTRATE ON SAVING THE FUCKFEST OF A WORLD YOU LEFT BEHIND TO ROT IN SUCH A STATE, DO YOU HELP OUT IN A MESS YOU MADE? NOOOOOO. YOU JUST HAVE TO GO RIDE SOME ELEPHANT KOI AND NEARLY GET EATEN BY THE UNAGI. YOU JUST HAVE TO START FOOLING AROUND AT THE MOST INNAPPROPRIATE TIMES. AND NOW -" He unsheathed his club and waved it under Aang's frightened and sorrowful eyes. "I'M ABSOLUTELY DONE. DONE I SAY, WITH YOUR SHENANIGANS. YOU MIGHT ONLY INTERNALLY BE TWELVE YEARS OLD, BUT THIS WAR'S BEEN GOING ON FOR ALMOST ALL OF YOUR LIFE! AND IT'S ALL." Sokka savagely stabbed the club into Aang's chest, stopping it only just in the nick of time to repeat the gesture again. "YOUR. FAULT! AND WHEN WE NEED A AUDIENCE WITH THE KING OF OMASHU? WHAT DO YOU DO, HUH? WHAT PEANUT-BRAINED IDEA DO YOU COME UP WITH? A SUICIDAL RIDE INTO WHO-KNOWS-WHAT WITH A ONE HUNDRED PERCENT CHANCE OF DEATH AND A ZERO PERCENT CHANCE OF USEFULNESS. I DON'T FUCKING UNDERSTAND YOU. NO WONDER YOU MADE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE LIKE BUMI. FUCKING IDIOTS, THE BOTH OF YOU. THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE THEY GOT THE SAYING BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER, HUH? HUH? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF, AVATAR AANG?" This last part he spat out mockingly, as though sloshing the name of the Fire Lord Ozai himself in his mouth and his mind. He opened his mouth, about to continue, to fully instill the pathetic idiocy that was Aang, when he finally saw that his ward was trembling, shivering in his clothes as a single tear trickled down his cheek.
Sokka immediately backpedaled, remembering and realizing too late that Aang was still just a kid, not aware of the ramifications of his actions or their significance. And he just completely devastated him. An innocent boy with a child's mindset. He didn't deserve such a horrible chastisement - and that was an overly mild word of what he had just done to Aang. He desperately tried to make amends. "Aang, I'm sorry! Please! I really am! I didn't mean anything I said! It - it was probably just the lack of sleep -"
"But would you have said it if it wasn't true?" Sokka's mouth shut as he acknowledged the airbender's words. He did, indeed, thought that Aang wasn't quite as devoted to his mission as he could have been, but he had blown Aang's neglect to massive, insurmountable proportion. And the effects of that were clear on the crushed boy's face. "You're right. I've been acting childish and stupid and naive. But... I thought..." Aang sniffled and put his hands to his eyes, not able to turn away from Sokka, his friend and somewhat father figure in his new life. Not able to try. "I just thought... maybe... maybe this was a farewell. An apology. To all the times that were. To all the times that have been lost. To all the times never to come again." He looked up through a tear-streaked face, droplets of salt and sorrow marring his still boyish face. "I'm sorry."
Sokka, heart melting in sympathy, reached out a hand to console Aang, placing it on his shoulder. "Hey man. I'm really sorry for what I said. It was overly exaggerated, and even though sometimes I feel like you could maybe man up a bit and try to act more responsible, you're doing really great as it is. Okay?" Aang nodded, a ghost of a smile on his face.
"HEY! YOU TWO OVER THERE! I TOLD YOU YOU WEREN'T ALLOWED IN THE CITY!"
Whirling around, the two saw the guard from the day before leading a troop of guards who looked none too happy at catching some trespassers. "Well," said Aang, remaining silent thereafter and prompting a response from Sokka.
"What is it?"
"You know how you said we needed an audience with the king to discuss earthbending and Avatar stuff? Well, we're certainly going to see him, but I don't think we'll be talking bending so much as we'll be talking sentences...
The room was big. And ascetic. There was not much to stare at besides the strange T-shaped rug on the floor they were currently forced to kneel down on.
The king wore a strange antelope-like crown on his head. There were more wrinkles than hairs on his face, and he leaned to one side of his surprisingly humble throne as he examined the two vagabonds thrust before him.
The guard escorting the duo boredly stated, "Your Majesty, these youths were brought into custody under the charges of illegal infiltration, illicit trespassing, disturbing of the peace, and flat-out insulting the king and his people." The guard remained impassive as Aang looked toward the wall and Sokka simply hung his head in guilt, knowing that it was he that brought them into such horrible circumstances with the king of Omashu. "Only the king can pass down judgment. What is your judgment, sire?"
The king squinted at them. Time seemed to slow down. Aang could suddenly make out all the details of the throne room, such as the fact that the king squinted in one eye, and had three hair strands loose in his beard. He also noticed some suspicious white fur clinging to parts of the rug, and the faded away but somewhat legible etchings on the throne of the king of Omashu. The boys were on the edge of their seats as they anxiously awaited their judgement. "I pronounce them... guilty as charged." Their faces fell, knowing they were officially doomed. All their efforts, all their sacrifices, for naught, all because of a series of unfortunate events that all unfolded within the span of forty-eight hours. Aang slowly met the king's eye while Sokka cringed, expecting to hear the worst.
"Throw them..."
Their eyes widened and they winced. Where would they be thrown? In jail? In a torture chamber? In a room with ravenous dolphin piranhas? The king's mouth opened once more, to strike the death knell of the engaged Watertribe teenager and the Avatar who had only experienced a few months of life after freed from his icy prison.
"... a feast!"
The guard gasped, while Aang and Sokka fainted in pure relief and obvious perplexion at their sentence. A feast... for what? Would it be poisoned? On the bright side, it looked as though they would finally be able to eat.
Dinner was a fiasco.
Nothing stood in the way of the two boys - except maybe the meat dishes for Aang. Chicken was throttled, vegetables devoured, even sea prunes Aang gobbled down without a second thought. In the meantime, the king simply sat with one lettuce leaf on his plate, surveying the spectacle that was two growing boys with no food to eat for several days.
"So..." the king said. "... tell me, young bald one, where are you from?"
They froze. The king had been an unexpected monarch. Instead of the hero Sokka had envisioned, they had received an old man whose crown was clearly more than a little crooked. What use could the king have of their origins?
Aang clearly did not trust the king as well. "Um... wee're from Kangaroo Island! Yup!" he smiled widely at the old man, hoping to beguile him with the charm of a child.
The king, however only frowned. "Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh?" He leaned forward on the table. "I hear that place is really... hopping!"
Sokka immediately burst out into laughter, while Aang looked concernedly first at Sokka, and then at the king, who was currently glaring at Aang in a way that made Aang sure that he would've turned into a puddle long ago had looks been able to kill.
The king stretched. "Glad you like that one. Made it up on the spot!" he yawned. "Well, now. I'm feeling tired from all the generous work I've done for you. Might be time to hit the hay." He made as though to get up, languidly pushing his chair back to stand up. Suddenly, his hand shot forward with unnatural speed, picking up a leftover chicken leg and flinging it at Aang as though it were a dagger. Aang yelped and tipped backward, holding out his arms in self defense. An air sphere formed, capturing the potentially dangerous and edible projectile midair and causing much surprise amongst the guards overseeing their meal. the king smirked satisfyingly as Sokka looked fearfully at Aang while the culprit of the bending himself was beginning to look worried as he realized what he had done.
"Well, well, well." he said, pointing a gnarly finger at Aang. "Looky here. An airbender. And what's more," he added, taking a cup and throwing it at Aang, he reflexively bent the liquid out of the way before realizing his huge mistake. "it's not just any airbender. The Avatar has decided to grace me with his presence for the first time in the entire Hundred Years' War! Would you look at that!" He sat himself back down with an "umph!" now picking at his leaf of lettuce untouched since the start of the small feast. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pippinpaddleopsicopolis?"
Aang and Sokka looked at each other, concern clear on their faces. How had this senile old pile of bones successfully deduced Aang's true identity? What secrets were the old man hiding? Was he a spy? Did he plan on doing unspeakable horrors to the boys? It certainly looked that way, from the mad glances the king shot their way. This was a far, far cry from what Sokka had envisioned of a monarch. If all rulers were like this, then it was no wonder that Ozai was so disliked...
Aang suddenly stood up, hands raised in appeasement. "Alright, alright. You got me. I'm the Avatar. Doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out." Aang suddenly peered under the tablecloth for show. "Yep. See? No firebenders here!" He offered a phony grin that hid the rampant fear within his chest. "So good work!" He pulled in Sokka, who was pulling off his own fake smile to go along with the act. "Love each other, respect all life, and don't run with your spears." Aang began to slowly and surreptitiously inch towards the palace exit, Sokka right beside him, praying they could make it out. " Have a nice day! See you soon!"
Suddenly, they felt two cold bars pressing on their back, and turned around to find that two guards had crossed their spears in order to deny them exit. Aang looked at Sokka. Airbender though he was, he staunchly refused to leave a friend behind - especially in the presence of this madman. So he decided to go for a Plan B. "So... any chance you could... you know... let us leave?"
"Lettuce Leaf?" the king said innocently, eyes wandering back to his dinner. He picked up the solitary leaf, and began to munch on it, piece by tiny piece, much to Aang's and Sokka's dismay.
Sokka cursed. "This guy is nutso," he muttered under his breath. Clearly he wasn't quiet enough, as the guards stiffened after he finished his statement, but the king didn't react, so either he was deaf or he didn't care. Sokka wasn't sure which way he wanted.
Aang nodded listlessly, not taking his eyes away from the king. Even despite the obvious threat from the guards, he had a nagging feeling that there was more to this king than there seemed to be.
"Tomorrow," the king said amusedly, "The Avatar will face three deadly challenges." Aang's eyes widened in fear as he realized he had added yet another annoying and life-threatening task to fulfil on his long list of obligations he had only just started. "But for now..." he paused. "Take them to the refurbished chamber. Chamber number, uh, two." the King grinned. "You two are lucky that we've decided to number our chambers. Otherwise, we'd be in here forever discussing which chamber was which and which one is good or bad and which one's been refurbished... just know that you're lucky."
But at hearing the word "chamber," Aang and Sokka listened no more. They gladly let their guards drag them to their rooms, and, not caring for anything beyond the few seconds they lived in, they crashed onto their beds, ignoring their sheets and blankets, relieved that they could finally close their weary eyes, no matter the consequences, even in such a treacherous place.
Please Review
Will definitely be revised soon, but... I NEED TO GET THIS CHAPTER OUT! Okay, personal lamentation finished. Please enjoy.
