Chapter 6: Aye Aye, Kappa!

They were easily the biggest animals Iroh had ever seen, their serpentine bodies twisting out behind them for hundreds of feet. Their scales glimmered fiercely, one a magnificent crimson, the other the deep blue-green of the sea. Their whiskered faces were fearsome and wild, fixed in a grin that revealed many sharp teeth. The wind from their wings was enough to knock a man over. They faced each other with the gaze of a maniac and roared savagely.

Iroh was sitting right between them.

The beasts roared once again, and Iroh realized that his trip to the Spirit World would be a short on eindeed if he did not move quickly. He sprang to his feet and leaped forward, landing painfully on his stomach, and then he felt the heat and heard the roar of the dragons attacking each other with their breath weapons.

Once he had scuttled what he believed to be a safe distance away, Iroh could not resist looking back. He turned to see the dragons fighting and gasped.

In the Spirit World, one sees, at times, with a kind of double vision. Here Iroh saw two massive dragons, one blue and one red, breathing fire at each other, each one's flame the color of its hide. But he also saw two rivers, one of fire and one of water, flowing into each other, meeting with a hiss as fierce as a dragon's roar.

A glowing ball of light floated through the mist, passing by Iroh's head.

"I would go now, if I were you," said a voice. "The dragons will ignore you, but they won't stop their fight, and you wouldn't want to get caught between them."

Iroh agreed with that analysis and made haste to remove himself from the scene. After some time, he cast a glance over his shoulder. He could still see the dragons, lashing out at each other with the coils of their serpentine bodies. He shuddered.

He was not in the Fire Nation anymore.


Iroh was afraid.

This was, under the circumstances, perfectly understandable. The Spirit World seemed to follow no rules whatsoever. Landmarks disappeared without warning and were sometimes replaced out of nowhere by entirely new geography. And although he had seen no more spirits since the dragons, he constantly felt as if he was being watched. Worst of all, he now realized he had no idea how to find Lu Ten.

He wasn't sure what he'd thought the Spirit World would be like, but he had definitely not imagined it to be so chaotic. Sometimes, he had even thought Lu Ten might be waiting for him. But this place was at once too similar to the physical world and not similar enough. He was wandering aimlessly.

He walked on, unsure whether he was moving forward or if the ground was moving underneath him. Eventually he came to a small grove of tall black trees. Again, he sensed a pair of unseen eyes watching him. He cast a glance over his shoulder. Seeing no one, he took a step forward and cried out when a jet of flame erupted from the ground. He stumbled back, only to stumble forward again when another column of flame sprang up, and came face to face with a human being.

He was a tall man with long white hair and a long white beard. He was clad in Fire Nation robes and wore a headpiece in the shape of two flames around his topknot. Despite his age, he stood straight, with confidence.

"Greetings, Iroh," he said. "I am Avatar Roku."

Iroh was silent for a long time.

"Have you not heard of me?" asked Roku.

"Oh, I've heard of you," said Iroh, suddenly hostile. He took a Firebending stance. "You were a traitor to the Fire Nation! My grandfather Sozin executed you for your crimes!"

Roku did not move or even alter his expression; he simply looked at Iroh.

"Do you really believe that?" he asked finally.

Iroh's eyes darted to the side and back again. He sighed, and dropped out of his Firebending stance. He shook his head, staring at the ground.

"I don't know what to believe. I don't even know if I believe in the Fire Nation anymore." He was silent for a moment.

"I believe my grandfather was a wicked man," he said finally.

The Avatar placed a hand on Iroh's shoulder. "Your grandfather's capacity for good was as great as his capacity for evil, and I do not regret calling him my friend. I-"

"You and my grandfather were... friends?" exclaimed Iroh.

"Best friends," said Roku. His eyes took on a faraway look. "And as I said, I do not regret our friendship. I only wish that I had been a better influence on him. Perhaps then he would not have chosen such a dark path. Sometimes I wonder if it was my..." He shook his head abruptly. "But I am not here to talk about myself. I've come to ask you, General Iroh, why you have come to the Spirit World."

"You must know by now," said Iroh. "It was you watching me this whole time, wasn't it?" Roku was silent.

"Well, Avatar Roku," Iroh continued, "I have come to the Spirit World to find my son. My Lu Ten, who died because of foolishness. My foolishness, my grandfather's, and the Fire Nation's."

"Your son's death was a tragedy, Iroh," said Roku, "but he cannot return to life again. Return to the physical world, where you can learn to deal with your grief."

"If my son cannot return to life, then I will join him here," said Iroh softly. He did not meet the Avatar's eyes.

"That cannot be!" cried Roku. "Such a thing would be a mockery of the natural order!"

Iroh took a Firebending stance. "How can you know what it's like? Get out of my way!"

"You dare to threaten me? I have master all four elements a thousand times in a thousand lives! I would make short work of you, Iroh."

"If I have to fight you, I will," said Iroh. "You don't understand! I will do whatever it takes to see my son!"

A single tear slid down Iroh's cheek. After a long pause, Roku sighed.

"Perhaps," said the Avatar, "I understand better than you think I do." He passed a hand over his face, suddenly looking weary. "You can relax, General. There will be no fighting.

"If you want to find your son, follow the flames until you come to the river. There, you will meet someone who will guide you."

"Can't you come with me?" asked Iroh.

"I do not dare. I'm afraid that my involvement has complicated matters too much already. Go, and always be on guard. The spirits are dangerous."

Iroh bowed. "Thank you, Avatar."

"You may not have anything to thank me for," said Roku, returning the bow. "Nevertheless, good luck."

Avatar Roku watched as the general walked away, and thoughtfully stroked his beard.

"Perhaps," mused the Avatar, "I should have told him that there's no bending here."


During the journey to the river, Iroh finally began to see more spirits. Well, he assumed they were spirits. Most took the form of animals (a fat panda bear gorging himself on bamboo came to mind), and there seemed to be more of them the further he went. He had tried to engage a few in conversation, but they took little interest in him. He walked on, wondering how he would recognize Roku's promised guide.

At last, he made it through the trees of the flame forest and caught his first glimpse of the river, which, for a spirit river, was entirely unremarkable. It was simply a muddy river with muddy banks. A few animals bent to drink there.

"Hello?" said Iroh self-consciously. "Er, are any of you my guide?"

The animals said nothing. A turtleduck and its young waddled up the bank.

"Um, the Avatar said that I was supposed to find a guide here. Please, I-"

There was a loud whinny, and the assembled animals scattered as a wild-eyed Ostrich Horse splashed frantically into the water. The beast trotted madly back and forth, screamed again, and then Iroh realized that the animal bore a creature on its back.

It was small, about the size of a five-year-old child, and it stank of rotting fish. It looked almost exactly like a monkey, but instead of fur, it was covered in green fish scales. It climbed forward onto the Ostrich Horse's neck, and Iroh saw that its hands and feet were webbed, and that there was a tortoise shell on its back.

The creature ripped a handful of feathers from the Ostrich Horse, and it again whinnied in pain. The fish-monkey climbed further up the poor animal's neck, putting it's weight on the head. It was trying to drown it.

"Stop!" cried Iroh, moved with pity for the beast. He snatched up a fallen branch. "Stop, or you'll be sorry!"

The creature looked at him, still hanging from the Ostrich Horse's neck. It blinked, slowly, then tumbled off into the water. It stood and slapped the animal on the hindquarters.

"Get out of here!" it barked. The animal was happy to oblige.

"You spoke!" Iroh exclaimed.

"Of course I spoke, sir," said the creature. "I am not an animal. I am in fact quite articulate."

Iroh stood speechless. He had not reckoned this monster capable of conversation, and had definitely not expected it to be so polite. Eventually, he found his voice again.

"Why were you tormenting that poor animal?" he asked the creature. It yawned.

"I was bored, sir," it replied. "And I was hungry. I am still hungry." The creature leered at Iroh, and put out its tongue. It laid on its belly in the water and crawled a little closer to where Iroh stood on the riverbank. Now that he could see it more clearly, the general noticed a depression on top of the creature's head, a round, saucerlike hollow. The thing submerged itself briefly, and when it resurfaced the hollow was filled with muddy river water.

"Pardon my saying so, sir," rasped the monster, "but you look delicious." It grinned, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Delicious?" said Iroh.

"Oh yes, sir," said the creature, crawling out onto the bank. "Quite delicious. It's been so long since I've tasted human flesh, or sank my teeth into a healthy liver. So long since I felt the sweet, sweet blood trickle down my throat. So long." It stood. "Why, the only thing I'd like better now, sir, is... a cucumber."

Faced with that absurd statement, Iroh could not control himself. He laughed out loud. The creature's eyes narrowed.

"It is very rude to laugh at someone," said the monster.

It was also very rude, Iroh thought, to threaten to eat someone, but he didn't say this. He cleared his throat.

"I am one of the most powerful benders in all of the Fire Nation, little scaly thing. I wouldn't threaten me if I were you."

It was the creature's turn to laugh, a sound like the river lapping at its banks.

"Forgive me, sir," it said. "In your world, I have no doubt that you would be a formidable foe. But in the Spirit World, you are as vulnerable as a baby. Go on, sir, try to Firebend."

"You asked for it," said Iroh, and spun his foot in a wide arc. Nothing. Iroh's blood ran cold, and the creature stepped closer.

"So you see," it said. "Now, I wouldn't try to run, sir. I am very fast." It snatched a fly from the air.

"Can I die in this world?" wondered Iroh.

"Who knows?" replied the creature, licking his lips. "Death is only an illusion."

"Very well then," said Iroh. He thought of Lu Ten, and vaguely of a Second Spirit World, if there was such a thing. "I accept my fate."

He bowed. To his surprise, so did the monster, and as it did, water spilled from the hollow on its head.

"I wish you wouldn't do that, sir," said the creature politely.

Curiously, Iroh bowed again. "Why?" he asked.

"Because," said the fish-monkey as it returned the bow, "when I bow, the water spills from my head, and without it, sir, I cannot move."

"Then why do you keep doing it?" Bow.

"It is very rude not to return a bow," said the creature, bowing again. A note of panic crept into its voice. "Please, sir, stop this and I will do whatever you ask of me."

Again, Iroh laughed. "What could you do for me?"

"We kappa possess vast knowledge. I am sure I could be of service in some way."

Iroh bowed once more, and reluctantly so did the kappa, spilling the last of its water. It remained as it was, unable to straighten its back.

"Oh drat!" cried the kappa. "Excuse the language, sir."

"Now that you're immobile, we'll negotiate," said Iroh. "Swear to guide me through the Spirit World for as long as I need you, and I will give you some more water."

"I swear, I swear! Just don't leave me stranded here, sir! I swear it a thousand times!"

Satisfied, Iroh went down to the river, scooped up some of the muddy water in his hands and poured it into the depression in the kappa's head. Immediately, the creature straightened.

"You'll forgive me for not bowing, master, but thank you all the same. Where are we headed?"

Iroh stroked his beard. "You know," he said, "I half expected you to kill me as soon as you got your water back."

The kappa gave him a stern look.

"It is very rude," it said, "to break one's word. Now where to, sir?"