Chapter Seventeen: In the Light You Shine
This is only the beginning.
Katara gasped, recognizing that voice, and she stiffened in Zuko's arms. The mark on her wrist seemed to burn, like ice.
Zuko's eyes were wide when they met hers again. "Who… who was that?"
"I think we need to talk to Iroh again," Katara said, albeit a little breathlessly.
Ooo0ooO
The light of the new day spilled across the land, burning and gold, chasing away the lingering darkness.
Aang inhaled deeply, allowing his body and spirit to welcome the dawn. Sitting at the peak of the cliffs, where all the elements converged together, he felt a part of him deep within connect with the spirit world.
"Avatar Roku," he said. "I need to speak with you."
There was an answering tremor from the other side, before Aang felt something pass between the worlds. When he opened his eyes, Roku was sitting before him as a blue apparition that flickered in the sunlight.
"Aang," the former Avatar said. "It had been a long time."
Aang bowed slightly. "I have not had a need to summon you, Roku."
"But now you do," Roku surmised, already aware of the turmoil that the world now faced.
"Yes. Ozai and Azula have escaped from their imprisonment, and are set on destroying anything- or anyone- in their path in order to continue the plans they started over five years ago."
Roku folded his hands into his sleeves, frowning. "I know. The spirit world has been restless ever since their escape. Even the old spirits are awakening."
"Old spirits?" Aang asked.
"Ones that are even older than Ko," Roku informed him. "You must be cautious, Aang, not to anger these spirits, or get in the way of their plans."
"Plans?" Aang repeated.
"Normally the spirit world will call upon the Avatar to be the champion of both the spirit and the living worlds," Roku continued. "Now it seems they have a different plan." Seeing the questions in Aang's eyes, Roku smiled. "You will soon see what it is I mean, young Avatar. Everything will be made clear."
Aang exhaled, suddenly uneasy at that thought. "Avatar Roku, I called you because I need to know… What should I do once we capture Ozai and Azula? Before I had the help of the lion turtle, and the other Avatars. But now…"
"Now the circumstances are different," Roku finished. "And the path is just as unclear as before."
"I do not want to kill them," Aang said immediately, staring at the former Avatar.
"You would not be the Avatar if you believed such violence was the answer." Roku sighed deeply, turning his gaze towards the sun. "For now, Avatar Aang, hear my advice. Allow the spirits to do what they may, and continue on your quest. Now is not the time for the answers you seek. Now is the time to continue on your journey."
As his form began to fade, Roku's voice came to Aang from within.
"This is only the beginning."
Ooo0ooO
Sokka studied the chart in front of him, brow furrowed as he rubbed a hand over his chin. He barely noticed when Suki slipped inside the tent, but when she sat down next to him, his arm reached out to encircle her.
"What's that?" Suki asked, leaning against her husband.
"An astrological chart," he answered. "Iroh brought it. Apparently after the attack we staged on the Fire Nation, some of the fire sages drew up charts to tell them when the next eclipses would take place again."
"Makes sense, the Fire Nation doesn't like that their weakness is known, and now they have something to go by to prepare themselves."
"Exactly. There isn't a real need for them now, not with the war being over. Iroh thought it would be useful when it came to tracking Azula, so we know when she's vulnerable."
"If she ever really is," Suki remarked, frowning as the image of Azula attacking Zuko, then Katara.
"Whatever helps," Sokka said.
"What about Ozai?"
"I was thinking of having Toph metalbend him into a cage," Sokka muttered.
Suki's eyes widened at that image. "Really?" she asked, trying not to laugh. "I thought Toph was still mastering metalbending."
"She could use the practice."
Suki shook her head ruefully, peering down at the chart. "A lunar eclipse is coming up," she noted. "Does Katara know?"
Sokka nodded. "She and Pakku made their own charts, like the fire sages did."
"Are you guys the only ones who know about the upcoming eclipses?" Suki asked.
"I doubt the fire sages shared that information with anyone except Zuko and Iroh. As far as Katara and Pakku, I don't think so. Why?"
"If more and more people gain knowledge about the eclipses, then who's to say that Ozai and Azula won't do exactly what we are doing now?"
"But it would only affect Katara," Sokka pointed out. "Aang doesn't get affected, he's the Avatar. If he did, he could just call on another element."
"Yes, but think about it- Ozai and Azula would go after the person they see as the weakest link, and since it's Katara, who is our friend…"
"She would be the obvious target," Sokka said, catching on and nodding.
"I think we need to talk to the others," Suki said before standing.
Sokka nodded, taking her hand so she could pull him to his feet.
Ooo0ooO
The group ended up gathering around the campfire, with Iroh and Bumi. The other members of the White Lotus were in the surrounding area, still gathering any information that they could about Ozai and Azula.
The king of Omashu studied the various expressions that everyone wore with a lifted brow and an odd gleam in his eye. "Well, well," he said, breaking the silence. "What's got everyone looking so morose?"
Suki gave the old earthbender an incredulous look, while most rolled their eyes or gave him a placating smile.
Sokka draw out the charts he was studying earlier. "Suki and I were talking," he started. "There's a lunar eclipse coming up in two weeks."
Katara leaned forward. "I know," she said. "Pakku and I have charts too."
"And the fire sages have the ones for the solar eclipses," Zuko said.
Sokka nodded. "We figured as much."
"We also said how if we know these dates, and they aren't being kept secret, then…" Suki trailed off, looking at Zuko and Iroh.
Iroh frowned. "Then Ozai and Azula must know about this as well," he concluded.
"What can Ozai do about it?" Toph asked, leaning back against her rock tent. "He's not a bender anymore."
"I think we can all agree that my sister is the bigger threat," Zuko said, eyes narrowing at the charts. "If she knows, she might go after Katara."
"That's what we are worried about," Suki told him.
"Wait, hold on. Master waterbender, remember?" Katara said impatiently.
"Azula knows how to get to you," Aang said, finally speaking up. "She knows how to get to all of us. She uses our weaknesses against us."
Katara huffed. "Even so, I'm not going to let her get to me again," she said, fists clenching. "I'll keep practicing with my sword until I master that as well, then I'll gladly have a rematch with her, when she isn't taking cheap shots at Zuko."
There were a few raised brows at that statement, and Suki studied her friend curiously. She noticed the blazing look in Katara's eyes, and how Zuko's expression changed when he also looked at her.
Could it be? Suko wondered silently.
"Be that as it may," Bumi cut in, folding his hands into his sleeves, "Azula is not one to be trifled with. She will use this information to her advantage." Then he noticed the way Aang's shoulders drooped.
"What is it, young Avatar?"
Aang looked up. "I spoke to Roku today." When everyone exchanged a look, Aang continued, telling them what the former Avatar had told him.
At the mention of old spirits, Katara looked at Zuko, who was sitting next to her. He read her expression perfectly, and reached out to take her hand.
"I need to tell all of you something," Katara said in a low voice, her gaze shifting to the fire.
Toph, who was picking up on the strange vibrations coming from the waterbender, frowned. Suki, who was trying not to openly gawk at Zuko holding Katara's hand, stared at the pair with wide eyes.
Katara exhaled slowly, then began to tell them about her strange dreams and their connections to the sun and the moon. Zuko interjected with his own stories, and Iroh explained the other stories about the sun and moon spirits when questions emerged.
Katara fidgeted before continuing with her latest dream. "At least, I think it was a dream," she said, her brow furrowed. She told them about the Moon Spirit, who was Tui but also not, and her warning about this only being the beginning.
"If that was the Moon, and she is connected to you, then who is the Sun? Who is he connected with?" Aang asked. His gaze shifted, before he finally realized that Zuko was still holding Katara's hand. His eyes shot back to hers. "Katara?" he asked in a faint whisper.
Zuko spoke up. "My dreams… I believe they are connecting me to the sun."
And there it was - finally spoke aloud, not just between Katara and Zuko, but in front of all of them.
"That would make sense," Bumi stated thoughtfully. "Given the link between your elements."
"If Roku told Aang about the old spirits stirring, we can only guess that he meant the sun and the moon," Iroh said, stroking his beard.
"But… how could the Moon be Tui, but also a different spirit? A goddess?" Sokka asked, having been silent for most of the conversation. As a member of the Southern Water Tribe, the moon had always been Tui, a spirit linked to the ocean, to La.
"There are many beliefs and many stories, as I have told you," Iroh told him. "It is not inconceivable that there are many different spirits that exist in different planes, in different worlds, as something entirely different."
"Does that mean that the Sun Spirit is Agni?" Toph asked. "Isn't Agni the spirit of fire, like Tui is the spirit of the moon?"
Zuko shook his head. "I don't know. The Sun Spirit has not revealed himself to me."
"Agni is the deity of fire," Iroh said, answering Toph's question. "So it would only makes sense that he is the sun."
"But Roku said that the spirits have a different plan," Aang said in a subdued tone. "Does he mean that Katara and Zuko are the plan?"
The two benders looked at each other again, before Katara looked at the mark on her wrist. "I think… I think we're going to find out. Soon. The Moon Spirit has left her mark on me," she said, showing the group, before Suki leaned over to describe it to Toph.
"I think she's right. The moon. This is only the beginning."
Ooo0ooO
The following day, the group, now joined by members of the White Lotus, decided it was time to move on from the seaside village to continue on their journey.
Standing at the edge of the cliffs, Katara watched the way the wind caused the ocean to rise and fall, so the massive waves battered themselves against the cliff face. The sun had broken through the early morning clouds and burned brightly, its reflection shining on the water's surface like a coin.
With all the elements converging together, Katara wondered if it was a good omen before they continued trekking through the Earth Kingdom.
Zuko watched her from a few paces away. The sun made her eyes a near transparent, crystalline color, shockingly blue against the brown of her skin and the dark black and brown waves of her hair. Her clothing was dyed a deep green color, a stark difference from her usual blue. He knew the shirt she had been wearing during their confrontation with Azula and Ozai had been burned, since it had been torn and blood-stained.
In green or blue, she was beautiful standing in the sunlight, looking like a spirit or goddess herself, exuding her own light upon the day. And when she turned to look at him, he felt a sudden reassurance.
Suddenly, he knew if she was by his side, for now and always, they would be able to face whatever came their way. And something deep within, something that burned, knew that she was the only one for him, the only one meant to be by his side for the rest of his life.
So he smiled at her, taking her into his arms when she approached him, and wondered how he ever felt lost when her embrace always felt like coming home.
Ooo0ooO
Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of its characters.
Author's Note: Happy Thanksgiving!
Please review!