Yes, I'm back after…two months. Due to school I've only been able to work on this during the weekends…
Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
The Startling Realization
Aang felt his hair rise up on the edge of his back as his body tensed up. His fingers were twitching while his breath hitched in the back of his throat. The pupils in his eyes widened as the young airbender stepped away from the older man in front of him.
Agnis gasped. "Are you all right, young Avatar?"
Aang continued to back away from the spirit healer. Agnis tried to step closer but that only made the young airbender more anxious.
Agnis sighed and took a few steps back. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."
The young teen pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose and uttered out a loud cough. "I…I'm sorry it's just…your presence…"
The older man smiled knowingly. "It can feel pretty uncomfortable."
Aang stared at the spirit healer with curious eyes. "It's like…a pressure equal to twenty palaces pressing against my forehead."
Agnis chuckled as he turned around, taking out extraneous substances from his pockets. "I forget how young you are compared to the others. You're such an interesting Avatar, Aang."
Aang frowned as he moved his hand up to scratch his rough black hair. He stared blankly at the spirit healer, specifically at the substances the man was now holding in his hands.
The young airbender felt sweat drip down his brow as he assessed his situation. Moving his eyes warily, Aang coughed again. "Uh…I don't follow…"
The older man smiled at the airbender compassionately, sincerity shining brightly in his eyes. But none of that mattered to Aang, only the powder the spirit healer rubbed absently in his fingers.
"Don't worry. You will understand…but only with time."
Aang pressed his back against the wall desperately looking for an exit now that the man was walking back towards him with the powder.
Just before the man had entered his reach, the young airbender burst for the door trying his best not to trip. Before he could reach the handle a strong force on his shoulder froze him in place.
Aang hissed as the headache came back. It was as if the veins in his forehead were going to explode. The young teen gasped before collapsing on the ground next to the spirit healer.
Agnis looked at the young Avatar with pity before quickly spreading the powder on his eyelids.
The man took a deep breath and assumed a meditating position. He smiled as he felt the young teen become peaceful, his body relaxing into a calm state.
"Only with time, Aang, only with time…"
The spirit healer sighed as he let his energy flow evenly throughout his body. The two figures remained silent as the room started to fill up with an unearthly glow…
ooOOOooOooo
Zuko gasped as he saw lights shining from across the room. Man, well something's happening. I just hope Aang holds out…
Zuko sighed as he stared at Katara who was resting beside him. She had fallen asleep in his lap and refused to wake up no matter how hard the firebender had tried otherwise. It was too dangerous for two of his top benders to be out of commission, but he could understand Katara's lack of energy. She had been staying up every day that week to take care of the young airbender, even when he had constantly tried to push her away.
Zuko rubbed the powerful waterbender's head softly as he contemplated how different things would be between the couple from now on. It was definitely going to take a lot of effort on both sides to ensure a long-lasting foundation for their relationship. All the fire lord could do was pray that they were up for the task.
The firebender sighed again as another relationship came into mind, one he had neglected for far too long. However that problem soon went to the back of his mind as another anxious servant ran in his direction.
"My Lord! Your friends have defeated the intruders that broke through the outside palace gates. A lot of damage has been taken by our defenses, but so far among our guards there are no casualties."
Zuko nodded appreciatively. "Well, it least things seem to be calming down. How are my friends holding up?"
The servant bowed as he realized his mistake. "Ah, yes. They have some minor injuries. I believe the young warrior in the group has taken most of the damage…"
The firebender furrowed his brow as he went over the assessment. "I guess his argument with Katara did more than we originally perceived. Please have Judis take care of him and the others. Tell them I'll be with them shortly."
"As you wish, my Lord."
The Servant scurried away as Zuko leaned down to check on Katara. She was still dead to the world.
Zuko sighed. He knew he was asking for trouble, but the idea was just too…tempting. The firebender snickered as he walked past the corner. After a few seconds he returned with a considerably large bucket of ice. Without hesitating, and a very serious expression, Zuko dumped the vast droplets all over Katara face.
The waterbender jumped up immediately with a large squeal, sending the ice shards all over the floor. Zuko couldn't help but smile lightly at the young girl's expressive facial expression.
"And…ice beats waterbender. How ironic."
Katara huffed loudly, the ice blocks turning into sizzling puddles at her feet.
"I can't believe you! So what, did you start taking lessons from Sokka or something?"
Zuko, his face blank again, shrugged as he dully walked past Katara. "I needed to release some stress."
The waterbender growled. "That's it? That's your reason?"
Zuko stared at the ceiling for a couple of seconds before continuing to walk down the hall. "Pretty much."
The young fire lord smirked as he felt Katara punch him in the arm. "Hey, don't get mad at me. You had to wake up sooner or later."
Katara blinked rapidly. "Wait…I was asleep?"
Zuko turned to look at the waterbender, his expression now showing annoyance. "Well, duh."
Katara returned the look. "You didn't have to snap."
Zuko rolled his eyes. "As you can obviously see, it's been pretty hectic in both my social and work life so if anyone deserves the right to be mean, that would be me."
Katara sighed. "We're all going through a lot right now, Zuko. That doesn't give us the right to push away those who want to help us. Look, we're your family. We'll always be around to lighten the burden. So you can treat us with a little more respect."
Zuko grumbled. "I don't think now is the right time to have this conversation."
The waterbender rolled her eyes. "We might as well have it now. Don't worry, you're not excluded. We could all do a better job in how we treat each other, especially since we're all living together now. Everyone is getting the talk."
Zuko raised an eyebrow. "And you're going to be the one to do it?"
Katara smiled brightly. "But of course!"
Zuko shrugged. "Well before you do, apologize to your brother first. It seems like you could take your own advice."
The waterbender frowned. "Please, that was all him…"
"Sure it was."
Katara threw her hands up into the air exasperatingly. "Seriously, it's just Sokka being…well being Sokka."
Zuko sighed. "Just remember, he's only trying to protect you. You may not realize it, but Aang is much more powerful then he was before, and that was him being in control of the Avatar state. You're going to have to be more careful dealing with him now. If you allow him to hurt you, he'll only push you away more…"
Katara stared at Zuko in shock. "Wow, seems like you've really gotten to know him…"
The young fire lord smiled lightly. "That can happen when you're forced to work with a guy for six months…"
"Oh, I see. I guess it makes sense. Your people must be dealing with a lot of stuff if you need the Avatar's help…"
Zuko shrugged. "It's a little more complicated than that. Let's just say Aang was here for more of a political reason then most would believe…"
Katara nodded, running over the ideas they had discussed in her head as Zuko lead them to the informatory. The door to the infirmary was right next to Judis's office. At first glance one would think the area was small, but as Zuko opened the door Katara was shocked to see how big the room actually was.
The room, just like Judis's office, was extremely white. The colors looked pasted on the walls and the area smelled strongly of rich herbs and soap. There were about twenty beds in the room each with a patient inside. Some were sleeping, but most were awake talking about the events that had taken place during the battle. Many seemed very angry while others looked a little frightened. Katara found herself recognizing a few guards here and there, but most of them were servants.
The waterbender looked at the various wounds, wondering what she could do to help. Her face brightened a little when she saw Sokka in the back of the room. She quickly ran over to him, softly placing her hand on the warrior's shoulder. Sokka turned his head and smiled lightly at her.
"Hey…" His voice sounded hoarse.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
Sokka shrugged. "It's nothing. Just a head wound is all."
Katara frowned and placed her hands his head. She felt a somewhat large bump near the back of his head.
"Are you sure that's all?"
"I'm fine Katara. I just…need a minute…"
The waterbender nodded. She stood up and was about to step away when she felt a force pressing against her. Katara looked down and saw Sokka's hand gripping her arm tightly.
"Sokka…"
"Katara…I'm sorry, about earlier. I just…don't want us to be fighting anymore. Not now."
The waterbender smiled again. "I forgive you." She felt the grip on her arm tighten more.
Laughing she pulled her arm away. "Alright, I'm sorry too."
Sokka smiled. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Do you want me to heal that up for you?"
The warrior nodded. "Sure. Just let me stay here for a couple minutes first. I think Judis would have a heart attack if he saw me walking right now."
Katara nodded. "See you in a few."
Sokka smiled lightly before closing his eyes as Katara left to give him some privacy…
oooOOOOooOooo
Where am I? Did I enter the Dragon's mind again?
Aang frowned as he looked over his surroundings. He was standing in another sandy area, but the dunes were smaller than the last time he was here.
The young airbender sighed and walked aimlessly around in the sand thinking over what the spirit healer had said to him. The man was obviously powerful, but in what aspect Aang was not sure. His presence had felt so strange to the young Avatar. It was as if his aura would burst through the seams and be engulfed by the spirit healer's.
Aang continued walking until he felt a weird sensation on his feet. Looking down, he could see grains of sand moving at an odd angle. Before he could contemplate what that meant, the ground underneath him started shifting and shaking sending him in a roll. Aang felt his body bump against various surfaces under the sand as he rolled.
Something must be coming up from underground…
He was unable to control his momentum and ended up speeding down a dune until he crashed into something hard.
The young airbender grunted loudly before opening his eyes to see what he had hit. Aang jumped about ten feet in the air as his vision cleared. Before him lay what seemed like a large temple. It looked like it was made out of gold, the blocks aligned in a geometric pattern similar to the ones Aang had seen in the western air temple. In the front was a huge door made out of bronze and it appeared to be very tall. The sides were shining very brightly causing the young Avatar to shield his eyes.
As he raised his hands the large bronze doors started moving sending small shifts in the sand. Once the door was completely open, a large fire started burning at the top of the castle.
Aang gaped at what was happening before him. He knew the Dragon was trying to show him something.
With a fair amount of hesitation, Aang walked over towards the castle.
The sand danced at his feet and the castle seemed to be singing in the distance. It was almost as if the building was sighing when the airbender had finally reached the front of the palace. As he placed one foot inside the castle, the doors quickly closed behind him, sending his body into another rolling fit. He stopped in the middle of the floor, rubbing his sore back with a groan.
Aang rubbed his eyes briefly before taking in the inside of the place. The inside was even more magnificent than the outside. The walls were filled with pictures of many different beasts, the main ones being the sky bison, badgermoles, various fish, some lion turtles, and biggest of all…the dragons.
Countless mosaics were attached all over the ceiling which was concaved upward to form a dome. There were large statue across from where Aang was sitting. It showed two dragons positioned in a way that looked like they were following each other. They formed a circle. One was flying up and the other was flying down. In the middle of the statue there was a small fountain. The water flowed out in four parabolic curves, making it appear that the dragons were sprouting out from the water.
Aang gaped at the beautiful interior, his jaw hanging out. He was so focused on the wonders before him that he barely noticed the red dragon walking beside him.
The airbender flinched back a few steps, nearly falling into the fountain.
"Whoa, please don't do that!"
The dragon glared at Aang with such intensity that it forced the airbender to close his mouth. Now that the dragon was present it seemed wrong for Aang to be there. He felt like he was intruding into something that was sacred and fragile. The young Avatar gulped as the dragon towered over him.
Aang flinched yet again as he felt a flickering presence from behind. Turning quickly he nearly bumped into a transparent form of Agnis. He was floating a couple of feet above the ground.
Agnis gave Aang a small smile. "Don't be frightened. I'm just here to help you."
The airbender huffed impatiently. "Seriously, what is it about being the Avatar that makes people think they can just jump up and surprise me? It's really starting to get annoying…"
The old spirit healer chuckled. "Ah….you wouldn't be the first. It takes quite some time for Avatars to get used to my presence. You are actually doing quite well for your age…"
Aang stared incredulously at the older man. "That supposed to make me feel better?"
Agnis continued to smile, but his eyes looked solemn. "Do you recognize this place, Aang?"
The airbender gazed around at the wonders before him and dumbly shook his head. Agnis lowered his head sadly.
"I guess I should have expected that…"
Aang looked at the man warily. "What are you talking about? What is this place?"
With a sigh, Agnis gestured towards the fountain in the middle of the room. "This place is the dragon's chamber, or should I say, the dragon's temple. It is a very sacred building that has disappeared from this world. It is a place where one could honor the spirit of the dragon, the creator of firebending…"
Aang stared at the intertwining dragons set in stone. "So this place symbolizes what used to be an ancestral ground for the dragons?"
The older man nodded. "It's somewhat like that. This place is very important for the spirits of the dragon. One does not glance at this castle lightly. It was with her permission that I was allowed to show you this."
The young Avatar turned towards the red dragon who was staring at him with large blank eyes. Aang bowed respectfully and kept that position as a series of thoughts ran through his mind.
"Thank you, but I don't understand why you chose me. I was the one who let the rebellions get out of hand. We didn't protect your secret well enough and your other half was killed in the process. So why show me this?"
Agnis smiled softly. "You don't think you deserve to see this place?"
The older man started chuckling loudly, causing the young Avatar to tilt his head in confusion. The Red dragon just stared at Agnis with an expression that could best be described as unimpressed.
The spirit healer rubbed his eyes wistfully, still chuckling. "Forgive me; I always forget how this place may appear to you. Like it's your first time..."
Aang frowned. "Excuse me?"
Agnis sighed as he shook his head. "It just always surprises me how you never remember this place…this palace, the statues, the paintings. All of it is very precious to understanding the four disciplines of bending. Their complete essences can be drawn back here to their originators."
Agnis stared at Aang, his smile turning sad. "But the most amazing thing is that you forget every time, every single time…"
The young teen stared at the spirit healer suspiciously. "What do you mean I always forget?"
Agnis waved his hand in a salutary gesture. "Oh, that explanation will have to wait for another time. Sorry, I got a little carried away back there…"
Aang just stared at the older man again, not liking the vague comments. The Red dragon's gaze was starting to look impatient as she flipped her tail back and forth softly.
The spirit healer gazed at the Red dragon with pity. "I'm sorry. I hate to admit this but I get distracted quite easily."
The young airbender sighed. "Look, I don't want to intrude so maybe you should just take me out of this place."
"Aang, this place is sacred. It can only be seen and inhabited by the spirits and ones with the power to cross into the spirit realm, such as you and me. Therefore it's a very useful place for you, being the Avatar. This will help you prepare for more conflicts in our present and future."
"I don't understand, if this place is so important how come Roku and my other past lives haven't mentioned it before now?" Aang had meant to say this in a polite tone but it ended up sounding bitter and rude, even to his own ears.
Agnis sighed. "I wish I could explain everything to you now, but I can't give out all the details…"
The young teen groaned, slumping into what almost appeared to be a sleeping position. Agnis walked over towards him and placed his hands on Aang's forehead.
Despite the lack of depth due to the spirit healer's transparency, the airbender could still feel a force pressing against his head. His pulse quickened, the muscles tensing in his arms and legs, and from the bright lights shining from his hands and feet, Aang could tell that he was close to entering the Avatar state.
Startled, Aang pressed his hands against the spirit healer but it was in vain. His hands barely left a mark on Agnis. They went straight through him.
A black mist clouded Aang's vision as he felt his eyes turning heavy. Before long, the teen could feel his body falling towards the hard floor of the palace, barely registering Agnis's voice as he made the impact.
"Don't worry, we will be leaving soon. But before we move on I need to show you something…"
oooOOOOooooOoo
Zuko grumbled loudly as he headed back towards the room where Agnis was doing his 'spirit' work, which had been going on for about two hours. Personally, the fire lord was very suspicious of the spirit healer. Countless times many people had come to offer service to the Avatar, fortune tellers, agricultural inspectors, even numerous generals. Zuko was very picky about who he let into the palace. The only reason Judis was still here was because he was one of the best doctors in the Fire nation with a very open policy towards all of the bending nations which was rare in this grand nation full of hot heads.
But Agnis….there was something wrong with him. He didn't know why he felt the way he did, but Zuko was determined to make sure Aang got out of this transition safely. And right now the spirit healer appeared to be making the whole situation worse.
The fire lord grumbled again as he approached the door towards Agnis's temporary study. From the glowing white lights shining out of the cracks underneath the door, Zuko assumed that they were not finished.
Zuko glared at the door, struggling with the idea of blasting it down or simply knocking.
The choice was taken away from him as the door in front of him blasted open with such force that it caused the older teen to jump. It was as if the door had been ripped from its hinges before smashing against the wall on the other side of the room. Zuko glared as he saw the source of the destruction behind him.
"Don't you just love the sound of wood snapping? I especially get excited when it smashes against the wall."
Clapping loudly, Toph stepped closer to Zuko from behind, a huge smirk threatening to split her head into half. She appeared to be somewhat ragged, as if her body had been out of the washer and back. There were various scrapes on her arms and legs and from the side one could see a nasty cut on her waist. Judging from Toph's expression though, it appeared that she had rather enjoyed the fight and had not suffered any damage at all.
Zuko groaned audibly. "Really? You just had to follow me here and complicate things…"
The fire lord growled due to the rather potent force striking against his arm. Toph laughed loudly as Zuko stepped away from her slowly. "Who are you to complain? You wanted the door open anyway."
"I wanted to barge in. Doesn't mean I can though. I have certain responsibilities and a reputation to uphold. That's the difference between me and you."
Toph snorted. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. So, have they stopped yet?"
Zuko glared at the spirit healer with wide eyes as he saw him sitting in the lotus position with his hands placed upon Aang's head. The young Avatar's tattoos were glowing brightly nearly causing the fire lord to shield his eyes. Clearly, Toph breaking in had not distracted them from whatever they were doing.
Zuko frowned. "They're still in the spirit world or wherever Agnis is taking him…"
Toph shifted her feat uneasily, staring in the direction of the spirit healer. "Is that the new guy you keep complaining about?"
"Yeah, he says he can talk to the spirits. He also seems to be able to sense the spirits inside of the living as well. He gave me a…interesting interpretation not too long ago…"
Toph laughed loudly sending her a glare from Zuko. "Relax. They're not leaving anytime soon. It's almost like they're in a deep sleep…except…"
The young earthbender furrowed her brow as she stabbed her feet deeper into the palace floor.
"I don't know…something feels off about this guy. It's like…he's here but at the same time he isn't."
The young fire lord shrugged. "You mean like Aang?"
Toph shook her head. "No, it's different. I've…never felt something like this before…"
Zuko frowned. "Well, we can discuss that later. Come on, we better leave. We don't want to mess up whatever Agnis is doing. Right now he's our only hope of fixing Aang."
The two of them left the study, heading back towards the living room of the palace. Toph smiled and punched Zuko in the arm, nearly sending him smashing into the side wall.
Zuko bit back the angry flow of swearwords that had almost made it out of his mouth. "Toph, would you please stop doing that!"
The young earthbender shrugged, her face adopting an innocent expression. "You're stressed. This is my way of helping."
Zuko grumbled for the third time as they entered the living room where the others were waiting.
ooOOOooOoo
Judis walked briefly towards Agnis's study, his hands full with notepads. He was well aware of the conditions surrounding the spirit healer and his work. He was not to interfere. But of course, he had to watch. Observations such as this only came once in a life time. Judis was definitely going to take advantage of this.
As he approached the room he was startled to find Agnis standing in the doorway. His face was drawn in a very tight expression and his body looked tensed. He was able to compose himself though by the time Judis had reached him.
"Ah, I see you have finally finished with your work?"
The spirit healer chuckled. "Oh, I'm far from done. But it least we have a starting place. His journey begins now…"
Judis nodded. "That's great to here. Now if you excuse me, I must record Aang's condition. Being his doctor I have to mark every change otherwise my results will be inaccurate."
If Agnis had been offended by Judis's brash interruption, he didn't show it. "I see, carry on then. I advise that you do not touch him. It would be quite bad if he woke up to early. We need to give him time to process all that I've given him so far."
Judis nodded in an impatient matter, already scribbling furiously on one of his notepads. "Yes, no interference. I'm well aware…"
Agnis repressed the urge to sigh and headed toward the area where he could sense the spirits of the other teens.
Once Agnis was gone from sight, Judis eagerly walked into the room stepping closer near Aang than was necessary.
Scribbling, he placed his hands on the airbender's forehead, feeling for temperature. He had to draw his hand back and nearly shout due to it almost being burned beyond repair. The boy was scorching!
Judis huffed, a frown spreading his features into an irritated expression. He quickly wrote 'obsessively high fever' in his notebook. Before he could add to that, a hand swiftly knocked the notebook from his fingertips. He could barely retort before the same hand was wrapped tightly around his throat. The pain was excruciating.
A scream erupted loudly from Judis's lips. The hand quickly left his throat, allowing the doctor to rub it furiously as he took deep, painful breaths. A mark was starting to form near the base of his neck which Judis counteracted by rubbing a special ointment on it.
The doctor looked up to see Aang staring at him challengingly. His eyes were narrowed into slits, the irises a very bright yellow to the point where they were almost shining. His pupils looked small and cat like, turning even smaller as the doctor scurried away from him.
Judis laughed nervously. "I see…you're awake."
Aang glared and started walking towards the doctor. Judis shivered as the young Avatar approached him, but in spite of all the fear he still felt the urge to write down what he was seeing on his notepad. But that would have been an unwise move at the moment.
Bending over, Aang brought his face so close to Judis's that the doctor could feel the boy's hot breath hitting his sensitive neck. The airbender's face was livid as if he would strike out again at any second.
Before the Judis had a chance to scream, Aang lowered his head near the base of his neck…and sniffed him. To shocked to do anything, the doctor froze and held his breath while the young teen sniffed him from the base of his collarbone to the tip where his jaw began. The airbender froze at his jaw and just stared at it for a while.
Judis was feeling enough courage to speak when Aang suddenly jumped five feet in the air before landing on the other side of the room. His landing was weak and wobbly, and the young teen had to hold onto the wall for support. But his expression was what really captivated the doctor. It was very close to the look someone gets when they had just tasted something really sour. Then he ran out of the room, spreading small dust clouds on the floor as he used airbending to propel him forward.
As the tension left his body, Judis quickly grabbed his notepad and started scribbling while muttering about taking a shower.
ooOOOOooooOo
Agnis stepped into the living room quietly. Everyone appeared to be asleep, some draped on the couch while the waterbender was lying on the carpet. But just as the spirit healer took another step, everyone jumped up out of their seats and headed over towards Agnis.
A barrage of voices hit him all at once.
"Is he okay? Can I go see him?"
"It's about time. I say five…maybe six hours. That's a new record. I've never seen Aang's avatar stuff take that long!"
The next person who spoke elbowed the person before in the ribs.
"Will the kid be all right?"
The talking continued on and on but one voice stood out among the rest.
"If you've done anything to hurt him, I swear, you will regret that decision for the rest of your life!"
Everyone stopped talking to stare at Zuko while Agnis chuckled.
The firebender glared at all the curious glances. "What?"
The spirit healer smiled. "Don't worry. Aang is recovering quite nicely. I'll still need more time with him, but it least he won't experience the same events that he did the last time he entered the spirit world."
Everyone paused to take this in. Toph looked satisfied with the man's answer and sat back on the couch in a calm manner. Sokka sighed with relief while Suki smiled and leaned her head on the warrior's shoulder. Katara still appeared to be in a state of shock and looked stressed.
Zuko continued to glare at the spirit healer. "I'll believe it when I see him."
Agnis nodded. "You may visit him if you like, but just don't touch him. He'll need time to adjust to the amount of mental images I've sent him."
Sokka stared apprehensively at the wise man. "Huh?"
The spirit healer chuckled again. "I'll explain more later on. Just make sure you don't disturb his 'sleep'."
Zuko froze as he looked behind the older man, his brow furrowing. "He's already awake."
Agnis gasped and looked down the hallway. He frowned as he saw Aang walking towards them. The airbender was moving slowly, as if he didn't quite trust his feet. His hands were clenched at his sides and he was frowning. The frown deepened as he noticed the others standing in the doorway.
Katara was about to run out to confront the airbender but Zuko beat her to it. The firebender quickly ran over towards the airbender, oblivious to the death glare being sent in his direction.
Unthinkingly, Zuko grabbed Aang by the shoulders. "Hey, you're awake."
Faster then he would have thought possible, the airbender swiftly pinned Zuko to the wall, his hot hands nearly burning Zuko through his clothes.
Zuko stared at Aang incredulously. "What in the world are you doing?"
The firebender gasped as he saw Aang's yellow eyes. They were blazing with fury.
"Aang stop!" Katara was about to step in and help, but Agnis spread his hand out, blocking her.
"I'll take care of this."
Katara stared at the spirit healer in shock as he walked over towards Aang. The airbender's expression softened somewhat upon seeing Agnis, but not by much. His hands were still pressing Zuko into the wall in a way that was clearly painful.
The spirit healer looked at Aang and spoke, using a voice that one takes when assuming authority.
"Let him go. No one is trying to hurt you."
Aang growled audibly but complied, letting Zuko go with a rough shove.
Agnis smiled. "See, we shouldn't have to use violence. You of all people should know that."
Zuko stared at the two figures suspiciously. He couldn't help but wonder if there was a certain secret message in the statement that he wasn't getting.
Before anyone else could speak anymore, Aang was off again running down the hallway spreading more gusts of air and dust into the area.
Agnis chuckled lightly, placing his right hand over his eyes. "She's more impatient then I had suspected…"
Zuko frowned at the spirit healer. "Excuse me?"
Sokka waved his hands in the air in a gesture of confidence. "Obviously, there's more Avatar stuff going on here then you can comprehend, Zuko. Basically, that's not Aang. The person you were talking to was the dragon."
Everyone stared at Sokka in awe, Katara in particular wearing the most unbelieving expression.
The warrior shrugged, nonchalantly. "What? I pay attention."
Katara smiled as she shook her head. "Sometimes you simply amaze me old brother of mine…"
Sokka gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah, I'm awesome. You don't have to rub it in."
That resulted with a smirk from Toph while Suki rolled her eyes. Zuko smiled, glad to see the two siblings getting along again. Then he turned back over towards Agnis.
"So, that was the dragon we had just seen in Aang's body."
The spirit healer nodded. "I guess I showed the boy too much. I should have known all that information would have been too much for him. We need to catch up to the dragon quickly. In Aang's body she could do some serious damage. Right now she doesn't know how to do much, but pretty soon all the knowledge in the body will be available to her…"
Zuko placed his hand underneath his chin. "Where would she go?"
Agnis stared solemnly at the young fire lord. "Where do you think?"
The firebender's eyes widened when he realized the place. "But, she can't head over towards the sun warrior village! Would she even be able to figure out where to go?"
"The Red dragon is the originator of the art of firebending. Her ancestors have roamed this place since it was first created. She probably knows this city far better than you."
Agnis quickly started walking in Aang's direction. "If we don't stop her now, she could easily destroy the city not to mention the possibility of the Avatar getting captured…"
Zuko nodded. "I'll have to do this fast. I can't leave for too long otherwise people will think I'm slacking off. Toph, I'll need you to stay with the military and help guard the palace in case of an attack. Katara, I need you to stay here and take care of the rest of the elite's injuries with Judis. Sokka and Suki, you two will come with me into the city and we'll split up…"
Everyone nodded. Despite the flaws in Zuko's plans, they knew right now with the young firebender's stress levels it would be best to do what he says.
Agnis sighed. "I should come with you. I should still be able to detect her aura in this form, which will come in handy as you go into the city…"
Zuko stared at the spirit healer. The older man was repressing it, but the fire lord could see how much energy it was taking him to simply stand straight. He was exhausted.
"Don't worry. We'll find him. You should rest here so that you can help us fix Aang when we get back…"
Agnis nodded, sliding down to sit into the couch. "Just remember, be gentle. If you scare her off she'll do whatever she can to avoid you.'
Zuko nodded. "We'll be back."
As the others left to do their respective jobs, Agnis sighed as sleep began to overcome him.
Forgive me young Avatar, but I will have to take a small break for now. Wake up soon…
Well, that's the end of the chapter. Sorry for the *cough* really long wait, but yeah…school.
Thankfully, the holidays are coming up so I should have more time to update…
I know that some of you might notice that the preview from the last chapter showed a part that's actually not in this one. I've decided to move it to the next chapter because this is long enough for me (longest chapter I've ever done up to this point…).
So here's the preview for chapter 14:
Preview of Chapter 14
Zuko struggled against the binds gluing him to the ground.
"No matter what others may tell you, I always keep my word. I didn't sell you guys out!"
The new sun warrior chief gave Zuko a nasty smile. "You modern firebenders are all the same, out to destroy everything your little greedy fingers touch."
{}
Agnis stared at Aang solemnly as he listened to the horrors the young airbender recounted.
"I see, so she showed you the inner workings of his chi?"
Aang gasped. "What do you mean?"
Agnis stepped over towards the window in the room. "When a spirit shows you their past, they are engulfing your whole body with energy. Energy from a spirit can be very dangerous, Aang. Only such people like you and me can withstand that much power."
"Okay…"
Agnis turned to look back at the puzzled airbender. "I know it may seem painful now, but the dragon gave you those visions for a reason."
"But why does it have to torture me? I don't need to see visions to understand how much the dragons were mistreated."
"Understand? Well of course you understand. You do realize why the dragon decided to show you and not Zuko, don't you?"
Aang's eyes widened as his breath hitched. "What?"
Agnis went over to Aang and placed his hands on the young Avatar's shoulders.
"She chose you because you are the only one who has fully experienced what the dragon is feeling right at this moment. You both have a strong connection and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll be free."
Last Edit: July 1 2012