Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Awake and Alive" by Skillet
Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence
Chapter 7: The Avatar State
I'm at war with the world cause I
Ain't never gonna sell my soul
I've already made up my mind
No matter what I can't be bought or sold
"There it is!" Sokka stands up on the saddle and points. As Appa flies over a mountain peak, they see what he's pointing at: a large fortress in the middle of the mountains. A gleaming white spire with shining gold accents protrudes from the center of a circular base. High marble walls keep out invaders.
"That's amazing!" Katara breathes. "I just hope whoever is in charge lets us stay for the night."
"It'll be nice to sleep in complete safety for once," Aang agrees. He steers Appa down towards the citadel.
They land on the lawn in front of the citadel. They'd been flying for the entire day, so the first thing they do after hopping off of Appa is to stretch their stiff muscles.
"Welcome, Avatar Katara," a friendly voice says. They all turn to see a man in green armor bow slightly in respect. Behind him, a line of Earth Kingdom soldiers bow deeply. "I am General Fong." He spreads his arms out. "And welcome to all of you great heroes! Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, and the powerful Aang!"
"Brave Sokka," Sokka repeats, crossing his arms. "I like these people already."
A set of fireworks screech into the air behind them and explode. A line of Earthbenders punch another round into the air. Katara is a little put off by the huge show. She glances over at Aang and Sokka to see them watching with wide eyes and smiles.
Katara turns back to the general. "Excuse me, sir," she begins. "But how do you know who we are?"
He grins. "The story of what you did for the Earthbender prisoners has spread all throughout the Earth Kingdom! There is hardly a person who hasn't heard! When my men saw your flying bison descending, I knew exactly who you were!"
The story of what she did has spread all over the Earth Kingdom? Everyone knows that the Avatar has returned? Everyone knows who she is? On one hand, it's a good thing. The message of hope is spreading. On the other hand, she and Aang and Sokka will have to be more careful than ever now.
"Now come," General Fong says. "We have much to talk about."
A few minutes later the kids are sitting on cushions in the main room of the citadel. General Fong sits on a chair in front of them. Katara feels like she's in the presence of a king. It gives her a bad gut feeling that she pushes away.
"Avatar Katara," Fong begins. "Being a high ranking general, I am privy to information that isn't so widespread. I recently received a stolen Fire Nation transmission. It's old, but the story it tells is fascinating. It was written by a sailor who claims to have been on a ship with you. He wrote about how you saved the ship from a hurricane."
Katara nods. "It's true."
"He says that you harnessed the power of the winds, seas, and even the lightning in the sky." Fong strokes his beard. "I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility."
Katara shrugs a bit, overwhelmed by the praise. "I just do what I can to protect people."
Fong nods. "As we all are in this war. And the best way to protect people is to end this war." He looks her in the eye. "Avatar, you're ready to face the Fire Lord."
Her eyes feel like they're popping right out of her head. "What? No!"
"You have the power to manipulate the weather! Who can stand a chance against that?"
Katara shakes her head. "I can't just do that," she explains.
"She still needs to master all four elements," Aang explains.
"Why?" General Fong asks. "With the power she has she can take on the entire Fire Nation!"
"I was in the Avatar State," Katara protests. "I wasn't in control of my own body. The past Avatars were the ones doing that, not me."
General Fong nods. "I know of the Avatar State. Your eyes glow and you can summon unbelievable power." He walks over to a tapestry of the nations and stares at it. "My men would be slaughtered before they even reached the shores of the Fire Nation. But with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon, we could cut straight to the heart of the Fire Nation."
"Yeah, but…" Katara feels so frustrated. She wants to help. She wants this war to come to an end. This doesn't feel like the right way, though. "But I don't know how to get into the Avatar State."
"So it's decided then." General Fong turns. "I'll help you learn how to unlock the Avatar State, and you'll face the Fire Lord."
"No!" Aang stands up suddenly. "Katara has a plan. She's following her destiny her way. And you can help us or we can leave!"
To Katara's surprise, the general nods. "Alright," he says. "So what exactly is your plan?"
"Katara has to learn the other elements," Sokka explains. "The next on in the cycle in earth. We're looking for an Earthbending master."
Fong smiles. "Then it's a good thing you're here," he says. "Katara, if you like, I am willing to teach you how to earthbend."
Katara can't believe it. First they get a warm welcome and now someone is volunteering to help her learn earthbending? This is perfect!
She stands and bows. "I would be honored to study with you, General Fong."
"Good. My men will show you to your rooms and we can begin later today."
Katara is silent until they're by themselves in the large room General Fong had generously given them. She thinks about what the general said about ending the war quickly and his strategy for doing it. She tries to remember how she felt when she went into the Avatar State to protect the ship from the hurricane.
"Thank you for standing up for me, Aang," she finally says. "I was really confused. But you knew what was right."
He smiles. "Of course! That's what I'm here for. To watch your back."
"I don't trust that guy," Sokka remarks.
"He's just passionate about ending the war and saving as many lives as he can. I'm sure he's a good man. You saw how quickly he backed down."
"Yeah," Sokka says. "A little too quickly, I think."
Katara looks out the window at the citadel. "This is perfect," she says. "A safe place away from the reach of the Fire Nation where I can learn to earthbend. There's lots of air space for Aang to fly in, and good food for you, Sokka."
"This place is nice," Sokka admits grudgingly. "And these people really do appreciate us."
There's a knock on the door. Katara opens it and a servant bows.
"General Fong would like to begin with your lessons now, if you're ready," he says.
"Of course!" Katara looks over at Sokka and Aang. "Are you guys coming?"
They follow her out of the room and through the citadel to the grounds below. Katara finds General Fong in a circular arena. She approaches him and bows respectfully.
"I'm ready to learn earthbending," she says.
"Good." His eyes skim over her. "First thing: take off your shoes. An Earthbender must feel the earth."
Katara does as he says. She digs her toes into the thin soil and tries to feel the earth.
"Earthbending is about strength and stubbornness," General Fong continues. "The earthbending stances are not as fluid as waterbending or airbending. Earth is unmovable, and so should the bender."
He demonstrates a proper stance. His legs are spread and his body is centered. His feet are firmly planted on the ground. Katara copies the stance as best as she can. She has to admit that it does feel a little strange compared to waterbending.
"You must be commanding," the general instructs. "You must be firm. Earthbending is not for the timid or for the weak."
Katara takes a deep breath. She's strong. She's a leader. She can do this.
"We're going to start small." General Fong earthbends a couple apple-sized stones and floats them over to Katara. She catches them in her palm. "Try levitating those."
She focuses on the soil beneath her feet and the stones in her palm. She takes deep, steady breaths and concentrates. She pictures the stones levitating in the air. She imagines them spinning.
Nothing happens.
She's not sure how long she stands there trying to levitate the stones, but it's a long enough time that when she finally takes her eyes off the stones and looks around, Sokka and Aang and Momo are napping in the shade by the citadel. General Fong is still watching her.
"Focus," he insists. She tries again. This time one of the stones rises ever so slightly before dropping again. The small victory only leaves Katara frustrated.
"I don't understand," Katara cries, throwing up her hands. "What am I doing wrong?"
General Fong is silent for a long moment. "I have an idea," he finally says. He calls over a servant and gives him an order. A few minutes later a man in simple but elegant robes approaches, trailed by two servants carrying a tray of tea and cups.
Katara, Fong, and the man sit down together.
"This is a rare Chi-enhancing tea," the man explains as he pours a cup for Katara. "It's a natural stimulant. In normal soldiers, it improves strength and energy ten-fold. In you, it may open up your Chi pathways and give you a jump start on your bending."
Katara hesitantly brings the cup to her lips. "Ten-fold energy, huh?"
It isn't until after she downs it that he adds, "Oh, and it may also induce the Avatar State."
Katara feels full of energy that she can't contain. She runs around a bit, waking up Sokka and Aang and excitedly telling them about the tea. Sokka's reaction was to face palm. Aang asks if there's more of the tea and if he can try it.
General Fong finally catches up to her and tries to give more instructions, but she finds that she can't focus at all. As her energy finally wears out, he declares that the tea didn't work.
Fong shakes his head. "Katara, you have to reach deep inside yourself. You're the Avatar. You have mastered the four elements thousands of times in past times. You need to find the part of yourself that recognizes earthbending."
"Maybe I should try meditating," she says. "Maybe I can contact one of my past lives."
She finds a tree on a hill overlooking the entire citadel and begins to meditate. She focuses on Avatar Kyoshi, the Avatar she knows best and an Avatar who was originally an Earthbender. She focuses on the story from the vision she had seen on Kyoshi Island and tries to remember what Kyoshi had done to earthbend. She focuses on the world around her and the ground beneath her. When those things don't work, she prays and begs for help.
Nothing.
"Let me show you something," General Fong says after he finds her tearing apart of dandelion in frustration. He points to a red-roofed building on the edge of the citadel where a line of soldiers are slowly walking to. Upon further observation, Katara realizes with horror that all the men have casts, bandages, and all sorts of burns, scratches, and bruises.
"That's the infirmary," Fong explains. "And those soldiers are the lucky ones. They came back. Every day the Fire Nation takes lives. People are dying, Katara." His voice hardens. "You are the only one who can end it! But not if you can't follow your destiny."
She knows he's trying to motivate her but she just feels worse than before. Or course she knows what happens to the people who fight the Fire Nation! Her own village had been destroyed, her entire tribe and nation wiped out. She's trying, she really is!
Maybe General Fong just isn't the right teacher for her.
No. Katara shakes her head. She needs to learn earthbending now. General Fong isn't the problem, it's her. Maybe she just needs to be pushed harder.
"Let's try again," she insists.
General Fong strokes his beard. "I have an idea," he says.
Katara feels a little intimidated when she finds herself in the arena again, this time surrounded by a dozen Earthbenders. She turns in a slow circle. All of them have unreadable facial expressions.
"Uh, General Fong? I don't understand the purpose of this exercise," she calls out shakily.
"Sometimes the best way to trigger bending is to be put under pressure," Fong explains. "In this case, the pressure will be danger."
"What?" Katara looks around wildly for Sokka and Aang. She's getting a bad feeling. "No, I don't think I'm ready -"
"Attack the Avatar!" Fong cries.
The Earthbenders roll large stone circles at her. She jumps and dodges them, her heartbeat racing. Some of the stones pass by her so close that she can feel the wind whish past her skin.
"What are you doing?" she cries.
Stones rolls at her from all four sides. She gets trapped in a small hole in the very middle. The stones roll a bit, and when she's too dizzy to think straight, on of the Earthbenders blasts it open. She tumbles out and onto the ground.
She picks herself up slowly and evaluates her opponents. She doesn't want to hurt them, but she's afraid she might have to. All she needs is a little water. But, upon looking around, she can't see any in sight.
Instead she runs and dodges and weaves in between stone attacks. Fong catches her in the middle of a disk and drags her his way.
"You can't run forever!" he threatens.
"And you can't fight forever!" she shoots back as she leaps clear of the disk.
"Katara!"
She turns to see Aang and Sokka running towards her. "Just hang on!" Sokka yells. "We're coming to help!"
Aang starts running her way only to be cut off by six Earthbenders. Sokka nails one with his boomerang.
The general quickly appraises the situation. "Maybe you can avoid me," he taunts, "But he can't!"
Suddenly the Earthbenders turn on Sokka. Katara watches in horror as he's trapped by a dozen stone slabs.
"Katara!" Aang zips by, pursued by stones, and manages to toss her a water flask. She takes it and sends a whip of water towards General Fong.
To her shock, he summons up the dust from the ground to intercept it. The water turns into mud upon contact and drops harmlessly to the ground.
"Katara!" She whips around to see Sokka imbedded in the ground of the arena up to his knees. "I'm trapped!"
She tries to find Aang, but he's still being chased around by a group of Earthbenders. She's the only one who can save Sokka now.
"Let him go!" She feels a burst of rage fill her. A small pile of stones lies not too far away. She imagines them flying towards Fong and knocking him out. To her surprise, they follow her command and fly towards him. He effortlessly dissolves them mid-air and Sokka sinks deeper in the ground. Now he's only visible from the waist up.
"Don't hurt him!" she begs.
Fong narrows his eyes. "You could help him if you were in the Avatar State," he says, revealing his true plan. "Or if you earthbend. It's your decision."
"I'm trying!" Katara exclaims. She tries to reenact what she did with the stones, but she simply doesn't know enough about earthbending yet to manipulate the property of earth. And she has no idea how to summon the Avatar State.
"Help!" Sokka yelps. He sinks to his chest. Katara's heart races faster. She hears a groan and looks over in the distance to see Aang pinned by a stone disk. Her panic builds. How is her heart not bursting out of her chest?
"Ah!" Sokka sinks to his neck. "Katara! Do something!"
Katara grabs Fong's and and falls to her knees. Tears are brimming over her eyes. She can't lose Sokka. He's all she has left. And Aang - he's still so young. She can't let him get hurt on her account.
"Please," she begs. "You don't have to do this! There has to be another way!"
"We've already tried those." Fong closes his fist. Sokka disappears. Katara jumps to where he's just been seconds ago. The arena ground is flat. She claws at it, scraping her fingers and ripping her nails to no effect. Her desperation bleeds like her fingers. Not Sokka. She can't lose him.
She won't.
Something inside of her snaps. She becomes detached from her self and transcends into that state of pure power and destruction. She connects with every single one of her past lives and they take over her body, ready to deal out judgement.
"It worked!" Fong exclaims, jumping up and down in joy. "It worked! The Fire Nation doesn't stand a chance!"
But Katara's rage isn't focused on the Fire Nation right now. It's focused on him. She turns on him, eyes glowing and her whole body levitating, and he stumbles back in fear.
With a sweep of her hand she sends a stone slab to pin him against the wall. Then she sinks the slab and he falls to the ground in a heap. Then she rises in the air.
Fong stands up. "Avatar Katara!" he shouts. "Your brother is safe!"
He pulls Sokka up from the ground. He breathes deeply, his hands and knees on the ground.
"That was just a trick to trigger your abilities! And it worked!"
But Fong made a severe miscalculation. He thought that the same girl who struggled to earthbend is the same girl that's floating above him. Right now, Katara isn't Katara. She's bits and pieces of all the Avatars, all of whom have different temperaments - and not all of whom are as forgiving and compassionate and gentle as Katara. In this moment, she's just as much the fierce Avatar Kyoshi as she is Katara.
She shoots down to the ground. The ground rockets up when she hits, shooting Fong and all the other Earthbenders into the air. Only Aang and Sokka are left untouched. Even the buildings of the citadel are shaken from their foundations, roof tiles blowing off.
And then the Avatar State ends. But Katara doesn't return to her body. She's taken up in non-physical form, floating up high into the air where she encounters a familiar face.
"Saura!" she exclaims. The former Avatar is seated upon a flying bison much like Appa. Katara floats over and sits next to the Airbender.
"It's time you learned," Saura says. "The Avatar State is a defense mechanism designed to empower you with all the skills and knowledge of the past Avatars. The glow is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through your body."
Katara has visions of past Avatars using the Avatar State to achieve great feats. She sees Kyoshi and Saura and an unknown Waterbender and Firebender.
"In the Avatar State, you are at your most powerful. But you are also at your most vulnerable."
Katara frowns. "What do you mean?"
Saura stares straight ahead. "If you are killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle will be broken."
She turns to fix her gaze on Katara. "The Avatar will cease to exist."
Saura drops Katara's spirit form back on her physical body. Katara finds herself laying on her hands and knees in the center of the citadel. She looks around and is horrified to see the destruction she caused.
All the houses have torn roofs or stone slabs sticking out from them. The ground is uneven and torn up. Everywhere people are groaning and picking themselves up. Some people don't move.
Sokka and Aang run up to her, putting their arms around her. She leans into their embrace.
"I'm sorry," she says, her voice muted.
"Ha! Are you joking! That was perfect!"
They all turn to see General Fong approaching. Although he looks a little worse for the wear, he has a satisfied expression on his face.
"We just have to find a way to control you when you're like that." He strokes his beard, already deep in thought. Sokka slips away, but Katara's focus is on the man in front of her.
Aang shakes his head. "You're crazy," he claims. "You don't own Katara. You don't control her. We came for help and you manipulated us."
Fong spreads his arms. "I am helping her realize her destiny!"
"She's going to realize her destiny her own way!" Sokka declares, riding up on an ostrich horse. He smacks Fong over the head with his club.
A few of Fong's men approach, heads bowed in respect.
"We gathered up supplies for you," one of them says. "If you want, we can give you an escort to wherever you're going."
"I think we're all set," Aang says, taking the supply bags. "Let's go, guys."
Katara follows without a word. She wants to get away from this whole mess as soon as possible. They all climb onto Appa and he takes off immediately.
When the whole citadel is behind them, Sokka finally turns to her. "Is everything okay, Katara? Do you want to talk about it?"
She sighs. "Not really."
They're both looking at her sadly so she turns away. Momo climbs into her lap. She holds him gratefully.
All she can think about is how she trusted someone and was betrayed again. It's a cycle that she can't seem to escape.
It seems like the only people she can trust are Sokka, Aang, Momo and Appa. But as helpful as they are, they're just three kids (and two animals) in the middle of a war on a daunting quest. She has to trust other people - she's reliant on them for help and guidance.
Katara needs to figure out a way to determine who she can trust.
"I always knew you were weak, Zuko, but now you're just embarrassing."
Zuko lays on a cot in the infirmary of the prison, watching as Azula paces in front of him. She has her cocky smirk spread across her face and her eyes shine brightly.
"Why are you here?" he asks.
She stops in front of him and crosses her arms. "What, I'm not allowed to check on my dear brother after he's been beaten up by the big bad prisoners?"
He ignores her condescending tone. He's sick of giving her reactions, of falling for her manipulation. He's over her.
"Fine." She drops her arms. "You can't die here, Zuko. If you get attacked again, defend yourself. Don't just lie there and take it like a coward."
"Why do you care what happens to me?"
"Because you dying messes up my plans." She catches his eye. "I took a lot of blame for your little girlfriend's escape. I could have delivered you to father and blamed it on you but instead I took it and spared you. That's all for nothing if you die in here."
Zuko rolls his eyes. "And here I thought you were being merciful."
Azula narrows her eyes at him. "Don't get too full of yourself. You're not completely untouchable."
Zuko glances down at his bruised and beaten body. "Really? I hadn't noticed."
Azula lifts her chin and continues her pacing. "I have no idea how you can be so cheeky after what you did to Mai. Makes me wonder if you ever cared about her at all. She's been even moodier than before - so thank you for that."
Zuko looks away. He doesn't want to talk about Mai. He still feels incredibly guilty. He totally mishandled that situation.
"But on the bright side, she's got her eyes set on the Avatar now. I will admit that the Avatar evaded us for a while. She was smart, laying low, not drawing attention to herself. But then she got too cocky and decided to reveal herself to the whole world by making a prison break in the Earth Kingdom. Mai and Ty Lee are on her trail as we speak. I would worry about her if I were you. Mai doesn't get hurt often but when she does, she wants blood."
Zuko ignores the taunts. On the inside, he's elated that Katara is still free. As long as she's chasing after her destiny then he hasn't thrown his freedom away for nothing.
"You're so boring these days, Zuko. I preferred your whining about honor or unhappiness to this dreadful silence. I am your family, after all. Or at least I was until you disowned me and our father by betraying us."
"Families don't manipulate each other. Families love and support each other."
Azula laughs. "What would you know about family, Zuko?"
"I know how our mother raised us and loved us. And I know how our uncle was always there for us."
She whirls around. "You keep saying 'us' when you should be saying 'me'. Our mother loved you. Uncle was there for you. Father is the only one who has ever cared about me."
"That's not true and you know it. Mother loved you. Uncle Iroh loved you. But you turned your back on them. You ridiculed them for being weak and sided with Father over them on everything."
Azula spreads her arms. "And look where that's gotten us. You and your love is sitting in a hospital bed in prison and I'm free to go wherever I want and use whatever resources I want. Following Father was the right choice. You're a fool to think that you're better off."
Watching her, Zuko is sad. One day everything is going to come crashing down just like it did for him. Father is just using her, just like he was using Zuko until he had no further use for him. How long does Azula have until she's more of a threat and a burden than a tool?
And unlike Zuko, Azula is manipulative. When it comes crashing down for her she'll be completely alone. At least Zuko always had his uncle. He can't say the same about Mai and Ty Lee staying with a broken Azula. Not after the way she's treated them.
Zuko may be physically in a worse state, but mentally and emotionally Azula is screwed. He wishes he could help her somehow, but it's too late for her.