AN: 3-year hiatus? Or was it 4? Even I didn't think I would be coming back to fanfiction…but after many years of growing wisdom and experience, I finally have a whole lot of free time. Therefore, I promise no more hiatuses and one full journey. (Unless of course if no one reads it and destroys my motivation….then nope). Just in case if anyone is wondering…my writing has not improved much, possibly gotten worse.
It was a cool Friday evening. All the staff members left early. Surprised? Nope. Aang was supposed to meet up with Toph and a few other staff members for an initiation/welcome sort of party in 20 minutes. While the idea of it was nice, Aang was pretty much going there to only meet Katara. He didn't exactly know how to put it but it was just a sort of excitement to spend more time with her. He looked himself in the toilet mirror to ensure everything was prim and proper about his attire.
"You seem oddly a little too conscious about your appearance lately young avatar…" came a steady voice from inside one of the cubicles.
Aang was startled as he scrambled to a 'casual' pose facing the direction of the sound. General Iroh came out of one of the cubicles as he chuckled, "Got you good, didn't I"
Aang bowed for courtesy as he spoke, "Of all places you could have chosen to meet me General, you chose this?"
"What? It is the most private place you can find in a school… speaking of privacy what is going on with your private life, eh?" Iroh spoke giving a gentle cheeky nudge.
"It's barely anything, just a nice pretty girl…Suki told you, didn't she?" Aang spoke as he watched Iroh stroke his beard.
"Nope you just did it yourself" Iroh guffawed as he spoke.
Aang smacked his forehead as he grudgingly gave in, "Alright alright big deal"
Aang let a sigh as he got back to the issue at hand, "so anyway why did you sneak up on me, couldn't you have just sent a post mail to me, or called me or something?"
"I could have but we have received information that posts and calls from the capitol are being traced. Even I had to leave in disguise!" he said pointing to his large hat.
Aang nodded in amusement as Iroh continued, "The main issue at the hand right now is that the rebel group is larger than we expected. 'Amon' is turning the silent majority, the non-benders against the benders."
Aang caught on, "This gives them tracking and tracing powers at an unimaginable scale. That's why you had to come on your own?"
Iroh nodded in agreement and handed him a package, "Our initial hunch that this school is one of the hotspots for the dissemination for the drugs is true. In order for them to operate here, they would probably need a strong support from someone inside." Iroh continued, "Possibly a staff member"
Aang nodded as Iroh added, "that includes the one you are fondly acquainted with Aang. Love clouds vision at times."
Aang looked at him in disbelief, "Really Iroh? …Really? Love?"
Iroh laughed, "Just kidding!" but turned serious almost immediately, "Anyway Zuko told me there is a non-traceable phone inside the package. I don't know how it works but Zuko told me he will contact you through that."
Aang nodded as he opened the restroom door for Iroh to leave with him. Iroh shook his head as he toddled back into the cubicle, "I think I will leave through I the way I came in, enjoy your evening Avatar! Tell the young lady you like babies! Women love it!" his voice emanated through the cubicle as he left.
Aang spoke bemused, "How did Iroh ever become a general?"
"I heard that, and I ask myself that!"
Toph was tapping her feet at the car park, "What's taking him so long? Suki where is he? The cactus Bar is not open the entire evening yaknow"
"It's not usual for him to be late but in the mean time is everyone else here? It seems like only the female staff are here…" Suki spoke looking at the tiny gathering.
"I did ask the male staff and Sokka apparently called prime dibs on you so no one was interested. All mighty attractive Dancey-pants however, is unreserved so yeah" Toph explained it as though it was regular for single teachers to be so desperate.
A small anxiety rose in Katara's mind as Toph spoke. She looked at the group; Meng, On ji, Ty Lee and others. She tried every combination where Aang was close to any one of them and shuddered at the thought. She felt guilty for feeling so possessive over Aang when she has barely seen him for a couple of weeks, but things like these were rarely under her control, right?
Aang made his way towards the car as he waved a sweet charming wave to the group. Katara would see the girls commenting on how they were going to take turn to make a move on him. Part of her wanted to think that Aang was overrated…but she was unsure if she was fooling herself.
Toph threw Katara the keys as she dished out commands, "Sweetness take the wheel, Suki front. I will get there by bike to reserve the table. Get in the car you noodle brains!"
The worry in Katara's mind increased ten fold as Aang sat in the middle with Ty Lee, Meng and On ji fighting for space in the back seat. The amount of contact they had with Aang was more than understandable for Katara. She grudgingly took the wheel as Toph started her engine.
"You sure you don't want to go on the bike with Toph, Meng? You seem a little uncomfortable back there?" Katara suggested.
Meng winked at Katara, "It's alright Katara I am very comfortable with my view"
Katara grit her teeth as she asked, "How about you Aang?"
Before Aang could reply, the rest gave a pretty unanimous reply to make him stay.
Katara started the engine and was determined to focus on the road so that the hellish ride could be over fast.
However hard she tried, she couldn't help but look behind to see Aang getting overwhelmingly uncomfortable with their advances. Meng slowly touched his biceps and commented, "You sure are strong Aang…"
Katara could not believe what was going on. Her eyes widened in shock. Just then, Suki yelled, "Katara watch out! Tree!" Katara got her focus back to road and instantly kicked fully on the brakes.
Everyone in the car was jolted up. Katara whispered a sorry and took a deep breath to calm down before starting the engine again. Just then, she heard Aang apologising incessantly.
She curiously turned back to look at possibly one of her worst nightmares in front of her; Aang was sprawled over the girls. (Don't ask me how, it just happens) To make it worse he was apologising for giving the girls a treat that they enjoyed a little too much.
Suki chuckled, "Relax little bro, guys would kill to be in your position right now. Just enjoy."
Katara used every bit of her will to fake a smile. How could she say that! She set me up with him and now she says this? ALRIGHT KATARA it does not matter. GET THERE FAST, GET HIM OUT FAST!
Katara started the engine and increased the speed to reach there, ignoring the giggles from the back. Before they knew it, they reached the location.
Toph spoke amused, "Wow sugar queen didn't know you had it in you to speed here this fast."
Katara gave a pursed lip smile, "Wouldn't want to keep you waiting, would we?"
Toph scoffed as she ushered the gang in. Ty Lee came close to Katara's ears and whispered, "Thanks Katara! We owe you one! Great driving!"
Katara forced a smile nodding. I owe you three too… a few slaps!
As soon as they sat at the shop, a couple of cactus juice bottles came on the table. Toph stood on the bench and put one of her feet on top of the table as she yelled her toast, "To Aang and Suki!" as she gulped down the juice. Katara very well knew how things were going to go soon and she did not like it…not one bit.
"From the drug samples we received, it is a highly addictive drug. Its effects range from person to person but most commonly it causes benders to be almost crippled for a few hours after consumed" spoke the council representative of Medicine and public health.
"So are you suggesting it is possible to be used to coerce or brainwash citizens?" The Fire lord asked concerned at the possibility.
"I don't see why not. The highly addictive nature makes them vulnerable to both brainwash and coercion. Should we be working on the antidote Fire lord Zuko?"
Zuko nodded as he dismissed the meeting. He stood next to the windowpane as he looked over republic city. He turned to face his uncle, "Uncle how do I bridge these benders and non-benders? They seem to hate everything about one another. To make things worse the Avatar is yet to be announced. Once he is announced another wave of anti-bender movement would erupt"
Iroh chuckled, "Why do you say so?"
Zuko scoffed, "Because he can not only bend one element but all 4 of them and is presented a demigod status almost immediately!"
Iroh took a deep breathe, "Zuko, just as you are a bender, you are also a non-bender in every right. It is all a matter of choice. Similarly, the avatar is not just a role model for benders but also for non-benders. His role is to bring peace and balance to the world universally, including the spirits, benders, and non-benders"
Iroh patted his nephew's shoulders, "It will not be easy, and he will need our help in doing that. That is exactly we will do. I am sure the world will realise the truth about this hate one day and understand your efforts. You may not be there yet, but you're closer than you were yesterday. I am more than proud of you for that"
Zuko let a sigh as he prepared for his next meeting.
3 rounds of cactus juice and the group was out of control already. Katara was instructed not to drink any so that she could drive them back. While she knew she was teased about being the mother in the group many times, being taken advantage of was by no means acceptable. Normally Katara would have left but this time round it was a little hard to leave knowing that she would be leaving a tipsy Aang with a bunch of hormonally charged adults in a party. She decided to keep a watch out just in case.
Aang was in his post high stage after talking about everything that he could think of non-stop for 2 hours. The topics included past life avatar hallucinations about tasty mushrooms, a bat looking white fluffy animal swallowing a gigantic flying bison, and the fire lord trying to freeze him etc. At this stage, Aang was super tired and could barely think for himself.
Just then, an unstable On Ji hugged Aang tightly from behind and kissed his cheeks. Katara got up instantly, as she could not believe that someone actually kissed Aang in front of her. To make things worse On Ji was about to go for another one and this time on the lips. Katara had enough of all this nonsense. She yanked Aang away from On Ji and froze her to the chair
Katara put Aang's hands over her shoulder to assist him in walking out of the bar/restaurant. Since her house was nearby, she decided it would be for the best if they could just walk there, hoping the walking will wear the hallucinations off.
Aang in the meantime was in full drowsy rant mode. "Hey there President Sokka, your foreign policy is weeeird. Don't ban the water kingdom people. They are sweet and beautiful."
Katara couldn't help but laugh at his randomness as she struggled to maintain balance while supporting Aang.
"Especially Kataraaaa…" Aang added.
Upon mentioning her name, her sense of hearing sharpened to make out what he was mumbling.
"Kataraa is the sweetest and nicest and prettiest girl I know…have you seen her eyes!?… and I don't want you to do anything to her. If you hurt Katara, I will…. Use my Aang powers and Grab you by the… pants and throw you to the Unagi."
Aang's mumbling was unbelievably cute and disturbing to Katara. Aang Powers?! Could he be…LOL what a geek no way. She thought as she blushed furiously at his comments. The proximity to Aang did not help much.
The rest of the journey was just filled with Aang mumbling a lot of 'I's and 'you's. A small part of her hoped that he would let go an accidental proposal like they always do in movies. Soon she reached her house and was disappointed that she was yet to hear an accidental confession from Aang. While she knew it was technically an invasion of personal privacy to make use of the situation, she desperately needed help from this whole Aang mess. She laid Aang on her bed and decided to sleep on the couch in the living room as Sokka leaves his room locked even when he is not in the house...
She stared at the ceiling as she wondered about the events that happened in the past month. There on her bed laid a sweet handsome young man whom she currently has a crush on dreaming about some hallucination. A month ago she was stuck in a cancerous relationship with a jerk named Jet and now she was… with Aang... Do I actually like Aang, or is it just some crazy infatuation.
Katara fancied the idea too much to consider Aang as just a normal nice guy whom she met. She knew they had some form of chemistry going on, but 'was it just the beginning of great friendship or was it more?' was her biggest doubt. Maybe not in love with yet, but she was definitely closer.
With that, she passed out on the couch.
"We know how you feel about the benders. Republic city was built from the blood and sweat of non-benders. We need to take back our community from them!" Came the ominous voice of Amon through the speakers in the stadium as the crowd cheered loudly. "And we can take it back… permanently." The crowd fell silent.
With that, a visibly weakened fire nation pro-bender was pushed on to the stage, as the crowd booed at his entrance.
He tried with all his might to punch a few fire jabs at Amon but his efforts were futile. Before he knew it, he was on his knees in front the dark hooded figure.
Amon took a deep breath as he pressed his thumbs on the young bender's forehead. His pupil contracted as his body stiffened in pain. Within moments he collapsed hard on the ground.
"His bending is no longer his to keep, but ours to take. Soon we will eradicate this nation of bending. We Equalists need to show that there is no place for benders like these scumbags in our nation" Amon spoke as the crowd cheered and gasped at what he did. "We may not be there yet, but we are much closer to that goal than we were yesterday…"
No bender was safe. Not Anymore.
Cue violin-sounding instrument…
So yeah that was the instalment. I always wanted to see how the whole Amon/ equalists incident would have played out if it were against Aang… well let me know what you think. Leave a reply! Deeply appreciate the support (and criticism…) so pls be good netizens and reply. Depending on its reception I will try to continue writing.