Chapter Nineteen: The Spirits
"The sun is warmth and life, its presence helps the growing things and provides light when there is so much darkness. Fire is cleansing and rebirth, strength and power. Feel it in your body, your breath. It exists in your soul, your muscles, your veins. Breathe in the sun's light, and exhale its fire."
Zuko exhaled deeply, his gold eyes opening slowly.
"Very good, my nephew," Iroh said, who sat across from him.
On top of a lone mountain, near the most northeastern part of the Earth Kingdom, the two firebenders meditated to welcome the dawn and the sun's rising power.
Zuko looked up, spotting the moon's fading shadow, as she disappeared before the coming day. His heart ached, thinking of Katara.
A few days ago, he had received a letter from her, sealed with the sigil of the Northern Water Tribe. She assured him she had reached the Oasis with no issues, and had spoken to the Moon Spirit. The rest, she said, she would relay when she returned, as the information she knew was too dangerous to send through a letter that may be intercepted.
Don't worry. I'll find my way back to you.
Although the letter did soothe most of his concerns, Zuko still found himself restless as they waited for another letter or her return. She had already been gone for well over a week, and with the eclipse soon upon them, he burned at the idea of not being by her side to protect her.
"The spirits will protect her."
Zuko frowned at Aang's words as they whispered through his mind. His gaze drifted back to where the moon had disappeared. If the Moon lost her power during an eclipse, who would be there to protect her, should something arise?
"You have doubts, my son."
Suddenly, Zuko was sitting alone on the mountain top, surrounded by a thin veil of mist. "Uncle?" he called out. "Aang? Sokka?"
"Do not fear, Fire Lord Zuko, you are in no danger."
Zuko leapt to his feet, his fists engulfed in flames. "Show yourself!"
A figure emerged from the fog, which quickly dissipated, leaving them both standing in pure, golden sunlight.
"Who are you?" Zuko demanded.
The man resembled a firebender- with onyx hair that was partially tied back in a topknot, which then spilled down his back. His skin was fair, but marked with sigils that matched the color of Zuko's scars. His markings, however, were of the sun, of the Dancing Dragon. A red and blue dragon wound around each of his arms.
His eyes, which held Zuko's, burned like flames- amber, gold, and red. They danced like fire would, but now they were filled with amusement.
"Agni," Zuko breathed, before bowing deeply before the deity.
"Rise, my son," the Sun Spirit said. "It is past time that you and I met, no? After all, your intended as met with mine for some time now."
Zuko struggled not to stammer at the god's words. "Katara is not… The Moon is…?"
Agni smiled. "Does she not wear my betrothal necklace, as your woman described? Do we not share the same sky, rule over it?"
The Sun Spirit sat before Zuko, as Iroh had. "Now then. I'm sure you have questions. But first, let me tell you about your connection to… well, me."
So Zuko sat and listened to the spirit, who told him about the worlds and the descendants just as Katara had with Tui. His eyes widened at the implications of his role- of their role- in the coming battle.
"So you see, my son, this time will not be easy," Agni told him.
"It was not easy last time," Zuko said, lowering his gaze and touching the scar on his chest.
"Ah yes, many carry the scars from the past," Agni nodded, his tone drawing Zuko's gaze back to him. "As many warriors have before you, scars are not something to be ashamed of, for they are tokens of bravery, of loyalty, and of love."
Zuko looked at the markings that danced along the spirits's skin.
"The markings or scars we bear tell many stories. Ones of how we began, of how we fought for what is right, for those we care deeply for. Your Katara bears scars, yes, and also my woman's mark, her blessing. So do you, my son."
Zuko's brow furrowed, and his hand drifted up to his cheek.
"No," Agni said, in a surprisingly gentle tone. "Not that one. My mark came to you long ago, when you leapt to protect the one who have come to love."
Zuko's expression changed when the realization came to him. His hand touched the spot where that scar was, the scar so often described as a sunburst.
"Why did you wait to come to me?" Zuko asked softly.
"Because many years ago, it was Katara who started all of you on the path to where you are now, when she released the Avatar from the iceberg. The fates have seen it fit that she would be the one to lead you down the path first, again."
"But… she left."
"Yes, she did. Fate is… unpredictable in that way. That which connected her to all of you would be tested, and would be endured. Her return set everything into motion."
"Are you saying she was the catalyst?" Zuko demanded.
Agni shrugged. "All I am saying, Zuko, is that you are all where you are, now, for a reason. Do not think it a mistake that the spirits are interfering now, when before they only offered their guidance."
"Tell me why," Zuko said. "Katara left to find out why. If I am connected to you, descended from you, I am owed that much."
The spirit's flame-colored eyes flickered. "There are those who threaten the balance between the worlds. I cannot reveal more to you, for fear of straying you from the path you are meant to take. Now this- that which burns inside you for the young waterbender will guide you. Do not fear your feelings, young Fire Lord. They will be your salvation."
And just as quickly, Zuko was sitting on the mountain top, with Iroh giving him a strange look.
"Nephew, what is it?"
Ooo0ooO
The soft sounds of water soothed Katara as she sat alone in the Spirit Oasis. She sat in front of the pond, watching the koi dance as she drifted away with her thoughts.
Push and pull, push and pull…
The sun and the moon, the sun and the moon…
It is all connected…
Shaking her head, scattering those strange thoughts, Katara rose. The sun would be setting soon, and with the eclipse only days away, she knew she would have to leave at dawn to return to the others.
"You must hurry."
Katara whirled, and saw Yue hovering over the Oasis pool, looking pale for a spirit.
"Yue, what is it?" Katara asked, her hand hovering over her waterskin, silently cursing herself for leaving her sword behind.
"The spirits are stirring. Something is going to happen soon, Katara. You need to go back to your friends now."
Resisting the urge to shiver, to give into her fear, Katara looked around before striding to the entrance of the Oasis. She glanced over her shoulder, to look at Yue.
Reading her thoughts, Yue nodded. "I will be with you on your journey back."
Katara then ran for the ocean, wishing there was another way to call out to her friends to warn them about this sudden, unknown danger.
When she dove into the waves, wrapping herself in them, a pulse shot through the water as the waterbender used the growing moonlight to guide her through its depths.
Ooo0ooO
Miles away, Aang stood in a small river, bending water whips around him. Toph sat on the shore, picking her toes absently.
A tremor passed through the water, then up Aang's spine. Immediately, he crouched, resting his hand on the bottom of the river.
"Something is wrong," he said.
Toph stood, cocking her head. "I don't feel anything, what is it?"
"It's not the earth, it's the water." Suddenly, an image appeared on the water's surface, where the moon's reflection was.
"Aang," Yue called out. "Help me. She's almost back, but I'm fading from being so far away from the North."
Instinct had Aang closing his eyes, using his power to follow Yue's path through the water along the winding systems of rivers that lead back to the ocean. There, he saw-
"Katara!" he exclaimed.
He could see her now, bending the water as quickly as she could, desperately using the moonlight as her guide. But as Yue's power faded, darkness began to creep around the waterbender.
"I can't see, I don't know-!"
A rough hand grabbed Aang's arm. "Focus, Twinkletoes!" Toph yelled. "Where's Katara?"
"There's something chasing her but I can't see it! The darkness is cloaking it!"
"What do we use if we need to see in the dark then?" the earthbender shouted.
Aang suddenly knew what he had to do, and in a swirl of air left Toph standing alone in the river.
"Zuko!" the Avatar yelled, landing by their campsite. "We have to go now!"
Before the firebender could draw his next breath, he was thrown on top of Appa, who took off after a sharp, "Yip, yip!"
"What is it?" Zuko exclaimed as they hurtled towards the open ocean.
"It's Katara! She was coming back, but something is wrong!"
Zuko's eyes widened as he looked down. There, far below, he could make out the crashing waves of waterbending, with Katara in the center, but as she made it closer to shore, a darkness crept across the sea.
There was only a brief moment where Zuko and Aang locked eyes, and when they both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
As Appa dove towards the churning sea, both benders leapt from his back, and the ocean was suddenly engulfed in flames.
Ooo0ooO
"Wake up now. You are safe, my child."
Katara was slow to open her eyes, wincing at the brightness of the sun. When she lifted a hand to shade her eyes, Zuko appeared in her line of sight.
"Thank Agni, you're awake."
Katara sat up with his help, realizing the others surrounded them in a loose circle. "What happened?"
"You were nearly consumed by a dark sea spirit, my dear," Iroh told her.
"What?" Katara exclaimed. "But, Yue-?"
Aang cleared his throat and began telling her everything- how Yue had sent him a message, how him and Zuko had rushed to the ocean to see something stalking Katara deep beneath the water, and how they used firebending to drive the creature away.
"The sudden journey, going so far so quickly, must have exhausted you," Iroh told her. "My nephew and Aang had to pull you from the water."
"Katara," Suki said softly. "Did you say something about Yue?"
Katara nodded. "She warned me something was wrong in the Spirit Oasis, and told me to get back to you as soon as I could. She offered me her protection and guidance."
"Yue is tied to the Oasis, and Tui. Being so far must have drained her strength."
Everyone glanced at Sokka in surprise.
The tribesman shrugged. "Before, when I would see her, she was only an apparition. She gave her life to save the Moon Spirit. It only makes sense."
Katara reached for her brother's hand. "You are right. And there's more."
The sun was sinking low in the sky when Katara finished telling them what she had learned in the Northern Water Tribe, which promoted Zuko to follow up with his own story of his conversation with the Sun Spirit.
"So why did an evil spirit attack now?" Suki asked, leaning against Sokka's shoulder. "Why did it attack Katara?"
"The spirits are stirring," Katara murmured, remembering Yue's words. "Maybe with this threat, some spirits are escaping to our world to attack those they perceive as dangerous."
Iroh frowned thoughtfully. "Or someone is controlling them. It is not unheard of that magics have been used to summon spirits to do another's bidding."
"Whatever it may be, how do we stop more from attacking?" Sokka asked.
Aang rubbed a hand over his head, sighing. "I'll try to get in contact with Roku again, and see what he says. For now, let's move on at dawn. We still have to find Ozai and Azula." Then he glanced at Katara and Zuko. "And if you hear anything else from your spirits…"
"We will tell you," Katara said, nodding.
Ooo0ooO
Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of its characters.
Author's Note: And a happy early New Year!
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