Chapter 28

Swampy Business

I leaned back on Appa's saddle, casually stripping a branch and turning it into a shaft for an arrow. Katara was leaning over the other side, looking down at the ground below while Aang stared off into space. Sokka too seemed to be feeling the lack of purpose the last day had given us. It wasn't until my ears popped that I noticed that we were losing altitude. I wasn't the only one.

"Aang?" Sokka called, trying to snap the grey eyed airbender from his reverie. "Aang!" Aang started, looking up at Sokka in shock as though hearing him for the first time.

"What?"

"We're losing altitude," Sokka pointed out, gesturing at the tree line steadily drawing nearer. Aang looked surprised for a moment before apologizing.

"Sorry, I thought I heard a voice… calling me." To my surprise Sokka didn't snort derisively, instead looking thoughtful.

"Well, enough weird stuff has happened to us," Sokka admitted. After a moment he clued in on all our surprised looks.

"What?" He challenged. I shook my head, laughing slightly.

"Nothing, but we do need to land." Of course Sokka couldn't be totally changed in an entire day so he quickly protested.

"Why? Just because a swamp talked to Aang?"

"No, because the swamp is going to tell Aang who his earthbending teacher is and I don't particularly care to be depressed by a giant whirlwind." There was silence for a moment then Sokka shook his head.

"I don't know why I try anymore."

We landed on one of the more dry areas of swamp land, looking around.

"So how is a swamp going to tell me who my bending teacher is?" Aang asked me. I frowned.

"Well, I'm not sure how it does what it does. The process is never explained but this swamp shows people their past and in the occasional case, their future. The problem is that you have to be alone." My friends frowned, not liking that idea very much.

"So you're telling me we have to separate? But what if we get lost? We might never find each other again." Katara pointed out. I shook my head.

"Not quite, the illusions will lead you towards the heart of the swamp, that's where we will meet up." I explained with a sigh.

"I still don't like this," Katara stated. I frowned than admitted.

"Neither do I. I just don't know what would happen if we try to leave. The swamp might want to show us the visions and stop us if we leave before. That's the problem, I don't know the motives behind this. It might be fine with us leaving while at the same time it might become angry that we aren't listening to it." I felt like pulling out my hair. I was so frustrated and confused. Katara picked up on my frustration.

"We'll stay here for today, if nothing comes by tomorrow morning we'll leave. Does that sound fair?" I smiled nervously and nodded. Sokka huffed, not looking very pleased while Aang but his lip, thinking nervously.

"Well if we're staying I'm getting firewood." Sokka stated, striding off. I looked up at the sky. It was only about an hour after noon, we wouldn't need firewood until later. I frowned, looking off after Sokka than shrugged.

"I'll go after him." I called to Katara and Aang, plunging into the underbrush after the young watertribe boy.


Sokka

I hacked at another branch, starting determinedly at it. Part of me understood what Pala had been saying, however the other part was insisting that we climb on Appa and get out of here. I didn't like the way this place felt, like it was watching me.

"Sokka?" A voice called. I looked up, frowning. The voice sounded like... I froze when I saw her. Standing in a clearing not far away was Yue, dressed in her priestess robes of silver and pale blue. She smiled at me, her eyes meeting mine then turned and walked away. I dropped the bundle of sticks and vines I had collected and bolted after her. What was Yue doing here? I ran after her, my feet sloshing through the muddy water. She never looked back, never sped up faster than a walk and yet she remained constantly in front of me.

"Yue stop!" I cried, frustration growing as she vanished out of sight. In frustration I screamed, slamming my machete into a tree. Groaning I pulled my weapon out and leaned against the damaged tree, running a hand over my wolf-tail.

This swamp shows people their past and in the occasional case, their future.

It hit me like a load of bricks, the swamp had been showing me my past and I had followed it like an idiot. I leaned back. I would just have to wait here, they would realize soon enough what had happened and come looking for me. My face flushed in embarrassment. I was not looking forward to the teasing I was going to get for this.


Maddi

"Sokka?" I called, looking around in confusion. I was sure he had gone this way. I continued walking, calling the water tribe boy's name.

"Sokka?"

"Mom!" I jumped in surprise, slipping and falling into the murky water. Yelping in shock I shot upwards, cold water filling my clothes. A peal of laughter rang out, causing me to look up. A little girl, about five or six years old stood in front of me. She wore her hair in two pigtails secured by red cloth. She wore a pretty blue dress that looked like it had water tribe origins but had been adapted for a warmer climate. Around her neck was a familiar pendent. In shock I lifted my own necklace. The two were perfect matches, only the string was different. While mine was a simple black cord the little girl wore a red silk ribbon. Her eyes were a pale brown and her skin matched my natural skin tone. She had the high cheekbones and brow that I recognized from myself along my dad's slightly upturned nose. Her chin was stronger than mine though and her face was more defined, less soft. She beamed at me, eyes twinkling as she tried to hide her laugh.

"You're so funny mom." She laughed, and took off running, her feet passing on top of the swamp water.

"Wait!" I shouted, tearing off after the girl, Sokka forgotten.

It felt like I had been running forever but the girl had vanished and I couldn't find her. Slowly I began to decrease my pace. Looking around I realized that I was completely lost.

"Great, just great." I muttered, spinning around again, "Why on earth does this always happen to me?"

"If I knew that then I would also know how you came to be here. Sadly I do not have answers for either." I jumped for the second time today, turning to find myself face to face with the familiar figure of Nut. With a sigh I allowed myself to relax.

"Hello, long time no see. To what do I owe this particular visit?" I asked. What was it about me that had spirits so fascinated?

"You're lost." Nut replied with a lofty tone, "As for why we are drawn to you-"

"That was rhetorical," I snapped before pausing, "And you read my mind again." Nut paused, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully.

"I suppose I did. It is hard not to when you project your thoughts so powerfully." I grunted in reply.

"So why are you here? Unless you can tell me what I just saw I don't really see a point in you being here." Nut tutted lightly, shaking her head.

"Actually I thought I might introduce you to a friend of mine. Madison meet Ashvattha, the spirit of the tree." I blinked owlishly as another spirit emerged in front of me. He was tall, even in human appearance with a sturdy build. His clothes seemed to be a mix of leaves and vines while he had armour made of what looked to be bark. He looked older than most of the spirits I had met so far, in his early fifties I assumed, but I could tell that in reality he was younger than them. He nodded to me formally.

"I have heard much about you young spirit-walker." I turned to Nut, unsure of how to process that particular introduction.

"So you're the spirit of this swamp." I finally replied after Nut ignored my silent plea for help. Typical, she reads the thoughts I don't want her to and ignores the ones I do. Ashvattha nodded again.

"That is correct. I must admit I have had very few chances to show anyone their potential futures, it was refreshing to give two on the same day." I smiled, that meant that Aang had already seen the vision of Toph. Good.

"Can you tell me what my vision was about?" I asked timidly. I wanted to know who that little girl was. Ashvattha looked surprised at my question.

"Didn't she tell you who she was?" I furrowed my brow in thought.

"She called me her mom." Ashvattha nodded again. I was beginning to get the idea that he was a spirit of few words. Judging from Nut's reaction to his reply my assessment was correct.

"Oh for the love of- just answer the question already." The spirit of the north star insisted. I nearly chuckled at her reaction. Ashvattha sighed, a sound that reminded me of a soft wind rushing through willow branches.

"Yes, that child is your daughter, or at least your potential daughter. With the ripples you are causing no future is certain any longer. However if you continue on your current path she will exist... at least it is highly likely." I grimaced, it was a lot to process.

"Then can you please direct me to my friends?" I asked, deciding to take the time to really think on it later. Ashvattha pointed in front of me to the right.

"Thank you." I replied and walked past, letting the spirits vanish back to their world.

I pushed through the underbrush, gnats buzzed around my head, taking bites out of my skin. I swatted another one away only to slip down a slope. Rolling I slammed into the back of someone. The person yelped and promptly lost their footing.

"Maddi!" Katara yelped, running over to help me up, ignoring her brother who looked particularly cross at being shoved into the water.

"Sorry." I winced, helping the water tribe boy out of the thick water.

"Thanks." He grunted. I looked around then laughed softly.

"Looks like I'm the last one to this reunion huh?" I asked. We laughed together before I looked around again. Something was missing but what?

"Who are you?" I jumped. A short, dark skinned man dressed in huge fig leaves stepped in front of us. Despite his short size I knew he was a strong bender. Waterbender I remembered at once, in the show he had bent vines into a giant monster to scare the group away. But for whatever reason he hadn't attacked us this time. I suspected that it had to do with the length of our time here, Sokka hadn't done that much damage to the swamp, therefore we didn't need to be intimidated. We looked at each other. Katara quickly stepped forward.

"I'm Katara from the southern water tribe, this is my brother Sokka, our friend Pala, and Avatar Aang." The man bowed formally.

"Greetings I am Hue. I protect this swamp. What brings you here to the swamp?" I listened as Katara explained, leaving out my knowledge of the future. It was best kept a close secret between the three of us anyway. Hue looked surprised. He grinned and quickly gestured at us to follow.

"Come with me." Hue lead us a little farther north to a gigantic tree.

"I reached enlightenment under this very tree. I hear it calling me, just as you did avatar." Sokka snorted.

"Yeah it seems really chatty."

"He really isn't." I replied with a sigh earning strange looks from my friends. Hue sat down and we followed his example.

"You see this entire swamp is just one gigantic tree. Branches spread and sink and take root and then spread some more into one great big organism like the entire world." Aang frowned, tilting his head sideways in thought.

"I see how the tree is one thing but the whole world?"

"Sure. Do you think you are any different from me? Or your friends? Or even this tree? If you listen hard you'll realize that everything breathes together, grows together. We're all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. Like your friend's necklace says, everything is in harmony and all of us are connected, even the elements are connected. I blinked, looking down. I had forgotten to tuck my necklace back under my dress after seeing the spirits. Now it was where everyone could see. I blushed and held it up. The four elements glimmered in the half-light from the setting sun. Katara stared at it for a moment before shaking herself out of it. She turned back to Hue with a frown.

"Then what were our visions about?" Hue gave a small smile.

"The swamp shows us that we are all connected, that time is an illusion, that distance doesn't matter and that those we believe are out of our reach are never truly gone. We're still connected to them."

"But in my vision I saw someone who I had never seen before? What does that mean?" Aang asked. Hue smiled knowingly.

"You're the avatar, you tell me." I could almost see the light bulb go off above Aang's head.

"If time is an illusion then it is someone I'm going to meet... My earthbending teacher!" He cried, shooting into the air, once again defying gravity. Hue shrugged.

"Well I don't know about the specifics but if you say so."


The next day after finding Appa and Momo with the swamp benders we were on our way. Aang was grinning like a maniac, so excited to finally know who his earthbending teacher was. Sokka was just happy to be out of the swamp with a full stomach. Katara on the other hand was looking at me thoughtfully.

"So when did you get that necklace?" She asked me after a moment of thought. I shifted uncomfortable.

"I got it at Kyoshi Island."

"That long!" Sokka yelped, shooting up to look at me incredulously. I nodded.

"Yep, I got it for really cheap. The same vendor who gave me this." I gestured at the earth kingdom dress I was wearing.

"Didn't you guys wonder where I got it?"

"I thought Suki gave it to you." Katara explained, "You started wearing it right after you started learning from the Kyoshi warriors after all." I paused, thinking how they could have come to that conclusion. It made sense actually.

"I suppose. Anyway, no one wanted it so I bought it. I liked it because it kind of reminded me of what this world is going to be like after the war as well as our group."

"There's no fire nation people in our group." Sokka pointed out.

"Not yet," I agreed, "But eventually Aang is going to need a firebending teacher."

"Zuko right?" I spun around so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash at Aang's voice.

"WHAT!" Sokka shouted. I winced.

"That was my ear." I snapped, holding the throbbing body part.

"What do you mean Zuko is Aang's teacher? That crazy guy has been chasing us across the world!" Sokka looked quite alarmed. Katara also seemed to be bothered but not to the extent that her brother was.

"Zuko isn't all bad, he freed me from Admiral Zhao after I got caught by him one time."

"Aang, when did Zhao catch you?" Katara asked. Aang looked nervous for a second before plunging into the entire story. I listened to the entire story. I was even shocked when Aang told us how Zuko hadn't attacked him, instead just telling him to leave.

"But if he such a good guy... why was he trying to capture you in the first place?" Katara asked.

"Zuko had his reasons," I stated softly, "I think that I'm the only person outside the royal court who knows the real reason why he is chasing Aang and how he got that scar." I replied softly. The somber expression on my face seemed to be contagious as soon enough all my friends looked equally serious.

"So... what happened to him?" Sokka asked. I chewed my lip.

"I don't think I have the right to divulge it all... but Zuko never had a good relationship with his father. He was always considered the disappointment of the royal family. Anyway, Zuko was allowed into his father's war room one day and argued against using an entire battalion as bait. Anyway, it ended with Zuko being banished with a fresh scar over his eye." Katara's reaction was immediate as she clued in. I hadn't been quite as subtle as I thought I had been.

"His father... did that to him." I didn't reply but my silence was answer enough. We were quiet for a long time. I could see how sickened my friends were at what I had just revealed.

"Just... don't ever tell him we know. Let him tell us himself if he wants to." I insisted to them, "I probably shouldn't have told you any of that."

"But then why would he try to catch Aang, why was he so important."

"What better way to break a person then convince them that they deserved what they got and then send them out on a hopeless mission. A mission that after two and a half years turned out to not be a futile as it was thought to be."

"They told him to look for the avatar and if he caught me his honour would be restored." Aang stated, connecting the pieces of the many conversations he had with Zuko.

"That's sick." Katara snapped, blue eyes filled with anger and determination, "What sort of father is Ozai anyway? The spirits damn him." I blinked at Katara in surprise. She looked ready to tear right into the fire lord herself. I smiled.

"Like I said, don't tell him, don't treat him as someone to be pitied. Treat him as you would one of us." The silence stretched on for a while. Finally Aang broke the silence.

"So what can you tell me about my earthbending teacher?"


A/N:

ashvattha - sacred banyan tree - fig tree

- gives visions of those we believe we have lost (not necessarily died). If connected to the spirit world such as the Avatar you can see visions of ones that you may meet in the future.

So tell me what you think? How was this chapter. Sorry that it is another short one but there were some pretty major steps taken. What do you think about Maddi spilling Zuko's secrets? What do you think about her vision? Please review, I love hearing from you.

Princess Kassie Out.

P.S. There is supposed to be a line break after Sokka's Point of View. However it kept disappearing on me when I was editing this chapter. If you didn't see it please let me know and I will try to fix it. Again.