Intermission 1: Form

Suda descended into the hold to take his turn. Whistler looked relieved to see him. She would never complain, of course, but they could all tell she didn't like watching over Sen.

The Avatar hadn't moved in two days. On every physical level, Sen appeared to be fine, but he was comatose nonetheless. He had been resting almost peacefully, with Gun at his side, since they had left the North Pole.

"No change?"

"None," Whistler replied. The first few times, they had tried to be optimistic, looking for any slight twitch of his fingers, but over the days they had given up on that. He would move when he moved.

Suda took over, and Whistler left the hold to take a look around. They were, as they had been for a long time, in the middle of the open seas, with no land in sight. Whistler took a quick look around at the expansive seas. She knew in the back of her head that the Blade Ship was fast, but with no landmarks nearby it was hard to gauge how well quickly they were travelling.

The door to the Blade Ship's cockpit was open, as always, so Whistler strolled right in. Ada was barely manning the controls. The Blade Ship was designed to be run by a skeleton crew; it could maintain its course with almost no work on the captain's part. Ariak was more uptight when he was behind the wheel, but Ada tended to relax. It made conversation easier, which was convenient for Whistler as well.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"South. We'll probably hit the northern coast of the Earth Kingdom soon enough."

"I mean what town are we going to?"

"I don't think we're going anywhere," Ada said with a shrug. "I tried to decide, and it just didn't…feel right. Sen usually decides where we go."

"Yeah well, he's unconscious," Whistler said bluntly. "So somebody needs to take charge."

Ada folded her arms across the desk in front of her and sighed.

"I don't think any of us are really leaders," Ada said. "At least not in this situation. We're Sen's team, Whistler."

"Don't I know it," Whistler said. "I wouldn't take orders from any of you other guys."

"Thank you for that, Whistler," Ada grunted.

"It isn't personal."

Ada pretended to be busy with the controls for a while. Whistler sat around and adjusted the screws on her staff. She'd hit too many people with it during the battle in the North: all that blunt trauma was knocking the pieces loose. At this rate it risked falling apart.

The routine was interrupted by the dull sound of shouting through the metal hull of the ship. Ada and Whistler immediately abandoned their ships. There was only one reason anyone would be shouting right now. Whistler and Ada dove below decks.

Sen was awake, and startlingly coherent. He was already up on his feet and stretching his sore muscles. Ariak and Suda were already asking him prying questions about his health and well-being. Gun was pacing back and forth along the cargo hold excitedly, nearly trampling several speedboats as he went. Sen finished stretching and scratched his animal guide on the forehead to calm him. With that done, Sen turned his attention to his friends and their questioning.

"I'm fine," Sen said. "I just had to take time to recover."

"Are you all there, like in the head?" Whistler asked. She tucked her right hand behind her back. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," Sen said ambivalently. Whistler tucked her hands away. Sen was right.

"Alright, so you still got all, like, seventeen of your senses in order," Whistler said.

"I'm fine," Sen assured them once again. "Where's the food?"

"Oh, we've got plenty, right over here," Ariak said, leading Sen to another part of the storage hold. The Blade Ship was kept well-stocked to supply dozens of soldiers at once, if necessary, so it had large stockpiles of food.

"It's mostly dehydrated and processed stuff, but it'll fill you up," Ariak said. Sen nodded thankfully and found himself something to eat. He ate in silence for a few minutes. While he ate, he took a quick look at the food available, and then at one of the nearby speedboats. He had a distant look in his eyes.

Sen finished eating, took another look at the crate of food in front of him, and then picked up the entire crate. Slinging the container of food over his shoulder, he walked over to the nearest speedboat and packed the food crate securely within.

"Sen?"

With the food crate squared away, Sen wandered over to another shelf and grabbed several canisters of gasoline, likewise packing them away in the speedboat. Ada got between Sen and any more supplies, stopping his progress.

"Sen, what are you doing?"

"I need to leave," Sen said casually.

"We're already on the move, Sen, we can go anywhere we need to," Ada explained.

Sen pushed her aside and continued searching for supplies to pack into his chosen speedboat. He didn't look any of them in the eye while he continued.

"I didn't say we need to leave," Sen elaborated. "I said I need to leave. Me. Alone."

Sen stopped packing for a minute as he felt the cold realization sink in to his friends. He waited patiently as they all considered their words for approximately seven seconds. After those seven seconds were up, they simultaneously exploded into a torrent of questions and concerns. Sen held up his hand, and they all fell silent.

"This isn't some spur of the moment decision," Sen said. "This is something I've thought I might have to do for a long time. I meant to talk to you all about it, but what happened in the North…My priorities have changed. I need to do this now."

"What could you possibly need to do that doesn't involve us?"

"Something important, alright," Sen shot back. "It's Avatar business."

"That's the excuse you used for your school sessions," Ariak protested.

"It's not even remotely the same," Sen said, slightly offended. "You think I would make excuses for some personal errand after what happened? After I looked Sarin in the eyes, after I fought him for the first time in my life, and lost?"

"That's not what-" Ariak said, before hesitating. Suda picked up a different train of thought.

"If this is about you losing that fight, Sen, it's nothing to be ashamed of," He assured him.

"I know that, Suda," Sen sighed. "It's not a fight I expected to win. But the way I lost…"

Sen could still remember it well. It had been just a few seconds, but it would be burned into his mind for a long time. Not just the pain, but the failure that had come before it. The inability to tap into the one thing that truly defined him as the Avatar. Without being able to control the Avatar State, how could he call himself an Avatar?

"I have something I need to learn, and it's not something that any of you can teach," Sen said.

Sen pushed one last container into place and examined his work, counting up the supplies he had available. His friends stepped forward as one to stop him.

"I don't want to do this," Sen shouted sadly. "I'm not happy about it, and if I could think of any other way, I would take it. Leaving is my best option."

"Why?" Ariak asked. "You can't just demand our understanding. Tell us what's going on."

Sen grit his teeth. He didn't want to tell them, and he hardly knew why. Was it shame, or perhaps that they might try to talk him out of it? Sen's face turned red and he eventually relented. Whatever hesitation Sen felt, his friends deserved to know what he was planning.

"Because I'm missing the last thing I need to be a real Avatar," Sen said quietly. "I have never been into the Avatar state. Not even once."

Ada opened her mouth, as if to protest, but she closed it just as quickly. Suda put a contemplative hand on his chin. He had been with Sen a very long time, and never once seen him unleash the Avatar State.

"I have been poisoned, electrocuted, drowned, bloodbent, Sarin attacked my soul!"

Sen clutched at his chest, counting out the numerous times his life had been threatened. Throughout it all, the Avatar State had never risen to defend him. A lack of control was one thing, but to completely lack such an important tool, even in desperate situations, was inexcusable.

"Something is wrong with me," Sen declared. "I need to find out why."

"But why does that mean you have to leave us," Ada asked. "Why can't we help you?"

Sen crossed his arms across his chest and looked away from them. Gun was trying to force his massive head into the circle of conversation. He had picked up on the argument and was trying to force his way in out of concern. Sen placed his open palm on Gun's striped forehead. He sighed loudly.

"Because I think you're the problem."

Ada recoiled like someone had stabbed her in the gut. The reaction was universal among Sen's friends. He was quick to clarify.

"It's not- I'm not trying to blame you, any of you, it's just that- How do I say this?"

Sen grabbed at his head for a moment. He should have started that off better. He thought about his past, and the words that had made him begin this line of thought.

"Someone told me once that letting go of earthly attachments is part of being the Avatar."

With a slow turn of his head, Sen looked over his friends, examining them all in turn. Ada, Suda, Whistler, Ariak, each one of them was so different, but so indescribably important to Sen. These were the people that had made him strong –but they were also what was holding him back. Without them he never would have made it out of his fight with Sarin alive. That was a good thing, and a bad thing all at once. He couldn't use his friends as a crutch. He had to be powerful enough to take care of himself.

"I don't have a home, a family –I barely even have any possessions," Sen said. He grabbed at the glasses on his face, the only things he had which were truly his. "All I have, everything I care about –it's you. My friends."

A sense of betrayal turned to a bittersweet sensation, a mixture of love and sadness. Sen briefly bit his tongue.

"I love you. All of you. But I have to let you go."

At that moment, Suda decided to do the exact opposite of letting go. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Sen, nearly lifting him off the ground, before remembering that Sen was now too tall for that. Suda sighed deeply and, eventually, he released a somewhat uncomfortable Sen.

"You do your thing," Suda said. He sounded startlingly serious for a man who had just done so much hugging. "But first you let us know exactly where we find you when this is over."

Sen actually took up a smile, and a somewhat faint sense of confidence settled into him.

"Believe me, Suda, you'll know where to find me," Sen said. "I'll be the one standing up in front of the whole world saying 'I am the Avatar'!"

"You might want to work on that speech," Whistler suggested.

"No. That's exactly what I'm going to say," Sen shot back. Whistler rolled her eyes, but Sen saw the faint hints of a smile on her face.

They all said their goodbyes. Sen tried to keep everything short and simple, to avoid any temptation to linger. On the flip side, his friends tried to cling to him as long as possible, coming up with advice and questions to keep the conversation going as long as possible. Sen politely brushed them off and returned to his speedboat.

As soon as he attempted to step into the boat, he felt a sharp tug on the back of his neck as his coat was pulled back. Sen adjusted himself slightly, noticing that his coat was now stuck in place, and then slipped right out of the sleeves. He turned around to see Gun clinging sadly to Sen's coat, his fangs still dug into the collar.

"Gun."

Gun dropped the coat to the ground and pressed his nose forward. Sen placed his palm on it and pushed Gun's head backwards, eliciting a loud whine. Gun moved his head, and gently placed his jaws around Sen's arms, lightly tugging him forward. Sen pulled backwards, away from Gun.

"You're not making this any easier," Sen said. For the first time in this entire conversation, he almost felt like crying. His human friends at least understood what was happening and why. Gun sat down and moaned loudly. Sen tried to tune it out. He waved his hand at Ariak to get everything under way.

The Blade Ship was equipped to launch speed boats even while the ship was in motion, so Sen was not wasting time. The bay doors opened, and Sen looked out at the vast expanse of sea. He knew where he needed to go, but it seemed so far away.

No progress was ever made standing still, though. Sen hit the release, dropping into the ocean and speeding off into the distance.

The Blade Ship made landfall a few days after Sen's departure. True to her word, Ada had piloted them to some nameless chunk of the Earth Kingdom's northern coast. Ariak guided the Blade Ship to the coast and they went ashore, to get their bearings and determine their next course of action. No sooner had they gone ashore than Gun vanished beneath the soil, heading in an unknown direction. Suda tried for a moment to rein the badgermole in, but Gun had his own goals for now. Suda quickly gave up trying to control him.

The journey had been aimless in many ways since Sen had left. Ada had tried to take charge to some extent, but her friends were not interested in being led, nor was Ada too greatly interested in leading. Without Sen to focus them, they had very little in the way of goals.

The map was extensively examined for a great expanse of time, trying to determine their location. Ada eventually realized that they were a few miles from several small towns, some along the coast, some inland. None of them had any direct connections to any major cities, so they were still a long way from any population centers.

"So, which way are we heading?"

"No better place to get lost in a crowd than Ba Sing Se," Suda suggested.

"I don't think so," Ada said. "Sarin's angry and desperate. We get anywhere near a major population center, he'll have eyes on us."

"We need to be near the media, though," Ariak countered. "Televarricks, phones, newspapers, anything that would tell us about Sen's return."

"So we stick to small towns. That still leaves us a lot of options," Ada continued. "We probably shouldn't go east, that'll take us towards the Energybender-sympathetic parts of the UEK, but if we go too far west we'll hit the Republic's border, which he'll also be watching."

There was a loud metallic screech of metal on metal as Whistler zipped up her pack. She slung the full backpack across her shoulder and pointed down the coast in the direction of a town.

"I'm going that way," She declared. "So don't any of you follow me."

"You're trying to leave too?"

"Course I am," Whistler snorted. "You said it yourself, shortstuff, we're Sen's team. No Sen, No team."

"That's not what I-"

Ariak held up his hand to pause the conversation. He'd had a thought that deserved speaking aloud.

"Whistler may be on to something," Ariak admitted, quite reluctantly. "We're a team. Sarin has seen us as a team, and he will be looking for us as a team."

Suda nodded slightly as he caught on to the idea.

"You think if we're travelling alone he might not be able to track us as easily."

"Exactly," Ariak said. "He's looking for all of us, not one of us."

Ada put her palms down on the map. There were enough settlements nearby that they could all branch off in different directions and be just fine. That still didn't mean it was a good idea.

"I think we should stick together, in case something happens," Ada said.

"In the best case scenario, the next thing to 'happen' will be Sen's return," Ariak countered. "We'll regroup when that happens."

"See you then," Whistler said, saluting lazily in their direction. "Hope it's not too long. You guys are alright."

That was the closest thing to a real compliment that any of them would ever get from Whistler. She turned her back, unfolded her glider, and caught the next breeze to carry her up and away, over the treetops. Ariak was the next person to stand and prepare a backpack.

"I've made up my mind," Ariak said. He gathered his own supplies and set his course. He would head down the coast as well, albeit the opposite direction from Whistler's destination.

"Kida will be hunting me as well," Ariak said. "If she should catch up to me on a full moon…I'd be putting the rest of you at risk by staying. Luck be with you both. I hope we meet again soon."

Ariak set off down the coastline. Suda and Ada turned to one another sadly.

"If anyone should stick together, it's us," Suda said.

"Yeah, but-" Ada said hesitantly. "What if they're right?"

"If. If they're right. And if they're wrong we just split up like a bunch of idiots for no reason. Nothing good ever comes from splitting up."

Suda looked at Ada. He seemed slightly disappointed, but mostly sad.

"It's hard. I know. I don't think you and I have been more than a few miles apart since we met."

"Are you going to go back to Zaofu?"

"Not yet," Ada sighed. "With the way things are, it would be too risky. I'm just going…going to wait, I guess. And hope Sen finishes preparing quickly."

"So they're right," Suda mumbled. Ada sighed and nodded sadly.

Two more backpacks were prepared, two goodbyes were said, and two more divergent roads were walked. The Blade Ship bobbed idly in the waves, abandoned and alone.