Chapter 2: The Avatar Returns
Aang and Katara walked back from the Ship, the flare illuminating the twilit sky behind them. The villagers, along with the three Northern transplants, stood watching as they approached. The children appeared overjoyed at their return. "Yay, Aang's back!" one of them squealed. Some of the children ran to Aang in excitement, while others stood there with the adults, cheerfully. The adults, however, did not appear so overjoyed.
Sokka stepped forward. "I knew it!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Aang. "You signaled the Fire Nation with that flare! You're leading them here!" Katara shook her head angrily. "Sokka, you're being stupid! It was an accident!" Armonak tried to step into the conflict. "Now, everybody calm down. Aang, what happened?"
Aang shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Well... We were on the ship and there were booby traps and... We just boobied right into it." Gran-Gran spoke. "Katara that was foolish. You shouldn't have gone on that ship; now we could all be in danger."
"Don't blame Katara," Aang, replied, rubbing his head, "I talked her into it".
"The traitor confesses!" Sokka said. Senraq held up a hand. "Now, Sokka, let's not get too hasty. As an airbender he has little reason to love the Fire Nation. I'm sure it was just an accident."
"That doesn't matter!" Sokka said, "I don't care if it was an accident, the fact of the matter is that it happened! He has to go!"
"Sokka, you're being stupid-" Katara said, but Sokka cut her off, "No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad!" he said. "I'm protecting us from threats like him!"
"Aang isn't a threat!" Katara said. "He's given us one thing we haven't had in a long time: fun!" Sokka shook his head. "You can't fight firebenders with fun!" he said.
"ENOUGH!" Yanook exclaimed, bringing his fist down hard and cracking the ice in front of them. "Now the," he said, as everyone fell silent. "While the airbender's intentions appear to be entirely innocent, the fact remains that both he and Katara were highly irresponsible. They both may have put us all in danger." he looked from Aang to Katara then from Sokka, to Senraq, to Armonak, and to Gran-Gran. "Personally, I agree it would be safest if the airbender leaves."
"That would be best," Gran-Gran said. Armonak nodded. Senraq considered it for a moment. "I'm sorry, Katara, but I really think it would be best for Aang to return home," she said sadly.
Katara opened her mouth to protest, but Aang cut her off. "It's okay, Katara," he said. I'll go. I don't want to put anyone in danger here."
"Where will you go?" Katara asked. Aang considered this for a moment. "I guess I'll go back to the Southern Air Temple," he said. He smiled weakly. "Wow. I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years," he said, in a weak attempt at a joke. Once again, a shadow crossed Katara's face for a moment, but just as Aang noticed it, it was gone. He continued. "And maybe sometime you could visit there. I'm sure the monks wouldn't mind." Sokka looked about to say something, but Gran-Gran shut him up with a look.
A small girl ran up to Aang. "Aang, don't go; we'll miss you," she said, staring up at Aang. He smiled sadly. "I'll miss you, too" He pulled himself up onto Appa's back. "Come on, Appa, yip-yip!" Yet Appa still wouldn't fly, and instead merely plodded across the icy plains. Ignoring Sokka's jeers, Aang disappeared over the hills beside the village.
Aang and Appa rested on a hill. They had been traveling for about an hour when they came to rest. Aang looked morosely over the hills towards the village. Behind him, Appa grumbled. "Yeah, I liked her, too." Aang said. He saw something out of the corner of his eye. He jumped, as he saw a large, black ship, like the one he'd seen before, steaming towards the village. He gasped. "Katara!" he exclaimed.
The sight of the smoke from the Fire Nation ship had sent the village into a frenzy of activity. Yanook was busy at work strengthening the walls of the village, as Sokka and Armonak had both retreated into their tents to ready for battle. That left Katara without much to do. And so she stood on the wall, staring out at the foggy sea. She heard a noise behind her. Senraq stood beside her. "It's always like this," she said, "always this silent before a battle. Like the fact that death is approaching muffles all other sound." Katara glanced at her sideways. "Come," Senraq said, "We need to get ready."
Sokka and Armonak stood atop the wall, gazing across the foggy seas. Below them, a mother, tying up her son's parka gasped as a rumbling noise cut across the village. The villagers stood up, as a dark mass loomed ahead in the fog. Everyone ran away from the ship, as Sokka and Armonak both stood and faced the ship. Beneath their feet, the wall began cracking and chunks of ice fell off. The ship plowed through the ice shelf, ripping it apart effortlessly. A large crack preceded it, tearing the wall in half and continuing through the village. As everyone ran, a small boy slipped and fell. The crack continued, and just as the boy was about to fall into the freezing cold Antarctic sea, Katara grabbed him. The section of the wall Armonak and Sokka were standing on collapsed, as they slid down the pile of snow.
The ship came to a stop, a hydraulic whine cutting across the silence as the bow of the ship was lowered. Sokka and Armonak stood at the bow, as Yanook joined them. From the ramp, six fire nation soldiers descended. In front of them, wearing more elaborate armor, were two other figures that Sokka realized weren't that much older than he and Katara. At the foot of the ramp, the eight figures came to a halt.
"Well," the boy said without preamble "where is he." As nobody answered, he suddenly lashed out, roughly grabbing Gran-Gran by the hood of her parka and pulling him toward him. "He'll be about her age, master of all four elements?" "Zuzu, patience," the girl said, "We're here for the Avatar," she told the villagers. "Don't deny he's here; we saw him leap across the old ship not a few hours ago. Hand him over and nobody gets hurt." With this the boy let Gran-Gran go, pushing her to the ground. Katara helped her up and stood in front of her.
Sokka turned to her. "The ship? Do they mean Aang?" he asked quietly. "I don't know," Katara replied, "What are we going to do?"
"We'll think of something," Sokka said. He strode over to the Fire Nation soldiers. "We have no idea what you're talking about. The Avatar has been dead a hundred years. He's a myth. A fable. You're wasting time here. Leave us."
"You speak boldly, peasant," the girl said. "Perhaps too boldly. Zuko, I think it's time we taught these peasants how to speak to their betters." With that, she lashed out, throwing a fireball at one of the igloos, causing it to collapse. "I agree," the boy, apparently Zuko, said. He also shot a jet of fire at another house in the village, only to have Yanook block it with a mound of watebent snow. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he said.
With that Yanook shot a jet of water at the girl, who blocked it with a jet of fire from her foot. Sokka, meanwhile, brought down his club on Zuko's head, as Zuko diverted it with a swing of his armored arm. The girl then shot a jet of fire at Sokka, which he ducked, as Armonak caught the end of his club on the collar of Zuko's armor, pulling him down, as the girl kicked Armonak over, causing him to lose his club. Armonak then charged, grabbing the spear thrown to him by Sokka. Zuko turned at the sound of Armonak's charge, shooting a jet of fire that was blocked by Yanook, while Sokka brought his club down on Zuko's head, as Zuko leapt aside barely in time, still taking a painful hit to his shoulder. Zuko leapt up from the ground, shooting a jet of fire as he did so, which hit Yanook squarely in the back as he attempted to ward of an attack by the girl. He fell to the ground painfully, while meanwhile Zuko's leap up was interrupted by a swing from Armonak's retrieved club. Armonak raised his club for a killing blow-
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the girl said. Armonak and Sokka turned. The girl stood in front of the villagers. With one arm she restrained Gran-Gran holding her arms behind her back. From her other hand emitted a dagger of flame, pressed against Gran-Gran's neck. "This has gone on long enough," she said. "Give us the Avatar, and nobody gets hurt." Katara rushed to the front of the crowd, only to be restrained by Senraq. "We don't have the Avatar," Armonak said. The girl smiled. "Well then. I had hoped you'd be more cooperative, but, if you must..." She smiled blandly, as the dagger of fire in her hand grew hotter and hotter-
"Stop!" Somebody yelled, and everyone turned. Aang, flying on his glider, came to a halt and landed in front of the girl and Zuko. The girl laughed. "Now who might you be?" she asked. Aang hung his head. "I'm the Avatar." This news was greeted by gasps among the villagers. "Aang?" Katara murmured. The girl snorted. "That's impossible," she said, "the Avatar disappeared a hundred years ago. You'd be older than her if you were him," she said, indicating Gran-Gran. "Are there any other airbenders around here?" he asked. The girl considered. "Fair enough. Tell you what; we'll leave this village in peace if you come with us." Aang nodded in agreement. "No!" Katara shouted, breaking free of Senraq's grip, "Don't do this!" Aang smiled sadly. "It'll be okay, Katara. Don't worry." He paused, attempting to smile. "Take care of Aapa for me." Zuko pushed Aang along, onto the ramp leading up to the ship. "Set a course for the Fire Nation," he said, "We're going home."
Zuko and the girl led Aang up the ramp onto the ship. Katara watched as they took him away, tears in her eyes. With a hiss, and a cloud of steam, the ramp rose, blocking Aang from view. The engine of the ship started up again, as the screws turned in reverse, pulling the ship out of the ice. Behind a cloud of steam, the ship shrank to a distant shape on the horizon, as the ship receded.
Katara was a flurry of activity. "We have to go after him," she said. Behind her, Sokka loaded the canoe. Misjudging his lack of a response as hostility, she turned angrily. "Can't you see," she insisted, "Aang was only trying to help us. If he is the Avatar, it's our duty to help him." Sokka attempted to speak, but Katara cut him off. "I know you don't like him, but we have to help him. We have to-"
"Katara," Sokka said, cutting her off, "are you coming with me or not?" She faced him, finally noticing the canoe loaded with supplies.
"Where do you think you're going?" a voice behind them asked. Gran-Gran and Senraq stood behind them. Gran-Gran held out a bundle. "You'll need these." Inside were their sleeping bags, along with some old Earth Kingdom money Gran-Gran had boxed away, and some seal jerky. "It's been a long time since I had hope, but you brought it back, my little waterbender." She turned to Sokka. "And you, my brave warrior." She embraced both of them. After she let go, Senraq spoke to Katara, smiling. "I know you think I'm a prematurely old fuddy-duddy, and that I'm so hide-bound that I can't see any other possibility other than that set out by my people's customs. I know you think I'm like Armonak and Yanook: that I'm only here because I offended somebody back home. But I did ask to come here. I want to help our sister tribe." She laughed, "And I can see that you're destined to be something much more than a 'magic nurse.'" Katara grinned. "You two have a long journey ahead of you," Gran-Gran said "Aang is the Avatar; he's the world's only hope for peace. Fate dictated that you find him. Now your destinies are intertwined."
Sokka looked down at the channel the ship gouged out. "There's no way we're catching a warship on a canoe," he said. Just then, a low rumbling noise from behind startled them. "Appa!" Katara exclaimed. Sokka looked dubiously at the flying bison. "You just love putting me out of my comfort zone, don't you," he said exhaustedly
Zuko watched as the village receded. He held Aang's staff in his hands. He turned to the Azula. "This will make an excellent gift for Uncle. You know he likes antiques" He held out the staff to Lo, or maybe Li. "Take this to my quarters," he ordered. She took it, handing it to a fire navy sailor "Take this to Prince Zuko's quarters," she ordered him. He took it, and walked away.
The two fire navy sailors led Aang down the stairs. He looked from one to the other. Thinking fast, he looked up at one. "Bet you've never seen an airbender before, have you?" he said. "Silence," one said. Aang breathed deeply in. He blew hard, airbending as he did so, throwing his two guards against the wall. He bolted up the stairs, hands still tied behind his back. He ran from room to room, looking for his staff. In one room, he found a spear which he used to cut the ropes binding him. He looked to the last room at the end of the hall. In it, he saw his staff. Looking behind him to see he isn't followed, he walked in and picked it up.
Suddenly, the door closed behind him. He whirled around to see what it was. Before him, the girl from before stood, blocking the exit. "Well hello there, Avatar."
Sokka stared out boredly across the ice-choked seas. He glanced up at Katara, who was sitting on Appa's head. "Go. Fly," he said boredly. Katara stroked Appa's head. "Please Aapa. We need you to fly. We can't get to Aang in the water. Aang needs you" "Up. Ascend," Sokka said blandly, stretching out on Appa's saddle. "I know Sokka thinks you can't do it, but I do. We need you to fly so we can save Aang." Sokka sat up. "Didn't Aang have something he said to this thing? Yaa-hoo? Yee-ha?" he thought for a moment. "Yip-yip?"
And at that the beast gave a great roar and pushed off with his massive tail. After what appeared to be almost a running start on the water, he finally leapt into the air.
Sokka was ecstatic. "He's flying! He's flying!" he exclaimed. Katara smirked. Sokka quickly sobered up. "I mean- er- big deal. He's flying" Nevertheless, he still leaned over the edge of the saddle and stared in wonder at the icy landscape unfolded beneath the.
"Aang's the name, is it?" the girl asked. "I'm afraid we were never properly introduced. I'm Azula, daughter of Prince Ozai, granddaughter of Firelord Azulon, and the niece of Heir Presumptive, Prince Iroh. The oaf you saw earlier is my brother, Zuko" As she said this she circled him, always keeping herself between him and the door. Aang tried to stall for time. "Why do you want me anyway," he asked, "I never did anything to you; I have no idea what this whole war is about. I just hear about it yesterday." The girl laughed. "Oh foolish boy. You know, for an Avatar, you seem so naive. Do you really think that matters? Do you really think my father cares whether you did anything to us?" She shook her head. "You're nothing but a pawn, Avatar, a pawn in a bigger game than you realize."
As she said this, she stepped closer. Thinking quickly, Aang saw an opening. The girl- Azula, apparently, was speaking again. "Now why don't you be a good boy and give me the sta-" And at that, Aang swung his staff, bending the air behind the table next to Azula. With a grunt, the table slammed into her, pinning her against the wall for a moment. Before the table even hit her, Aang bolted to the door, hurriedly turning the latch and bolting into the corridor.
Aang ran down the corridor and up a flight of stair into the conning tower. Not bothering to use the ladder to get up, he merely pushed himself up with a blast of air that propelled him onto the bridge, Azula pursuing him from behind. Not looking to either side, and therefore not even noticing Zuko and the Helmsman, Aang smashed the window in front of him with a jet of air and jumped out the window, opening his glider.
He soared for a fraction of a second, then began to sink. Looking behind him, he saw Azula had grabbed onto his leg. The two fell to the deck with a crash, as Zuko sprinted out of the conning tower and onto the deck. Azula leaps back to her feat, shooting a fireball at Aang, who rolls to dodge it, jumping to his feet and assuming a fighting stance as he does so. He looks uncertainly at Azula and Zuko, as behind them Lo and Li stand, watching. Just as they are about to fight, however, a growl sounds from above. Aang turns. "Appa!" he exclaims.
Appa landed on the deck with Sokka and Katara on his back. Aang turns to them for a moment, and in the split second his attention is divided Azula shoots a jet of fire at Aang, who deflects it with his staff in the nick of time. This leaves him off-balance while Zuko shot his own fireball at him, which Katara, jumping of Appa, blocked with a block of ice. Azula fired a blast of fire at Katara in retaliation. Aang then deflected the fireball with his staff, running toward Azula with airbending to propel him and swinging his staff in a wide arc blowing a wide arc of air towards both Zuko and Azula, throwing them back. Aang and Katara then ran back towards Appa.
Zuko was the first to jump to his feet, with Azula only a split second behind him. They both fired: Azula at Katara, Zuko at Aang. Aang jumped out of the way of Zuko's fireball, twirling his staff to block Azula's. The force of Azula's fireball threw him backwards, as he hit the deck once, twice, and then tumbled over the edge, into the icy Antarctic sea.
"Aang!" Katara shouted. "The Avatar!" Azula exclaimed, horrified that they might lose their target.
Aang sank beneath the water, knocked half-unconscious by the force of the impact. Dimly he opened his eyes, the light from the surface dimming as he sank deeper and deeper. Suddenly, his eyes and tattoos began to glow. He steadied himself in the water, and began to rise. He broke the surface atop a massive vortex of water, towering over the ship. As Zuko and Azula looked on in horror, Aang descended to the deck, surrounded by a bubble of water. With a wave of his hands, the bubble expanded outwards, knocking Zuko, Azula, and the Fire Nation soldiers back. Azula was knocked off the deck, and Zuko appeared to slump, momentarily unconscious.
"Now that was some waterbending!" Sokka exclaimed, as Aang slumped in exhaustion. "Aang, are you alright," Katara asked. "I dropped my staff," was his weak response. Sokka ran to get it. However, as he pulled it, a hand grabbed it. Azula held onto it, an expression of pure hatred on her face. He shook the staff violently, finally shaking her off. She grabbed onto the chain of the anchor instead, allowing Sokka to run to Appa.
Zuko stirred, finally rising and assuming a fighting stance. Katara, not wasting any time, motioned with her hands, as a steady stream of water shout out at Zuko, freezing as it covered him, encasing him in ice. Katara and Sokka ran to Appa, who Aang had already climbed onto. As Azula climbed back onto the deck, Appa gave a great push and rose into the air.
Azula stood absolutely still. From Appa, they could see her slowly rotate one arm, a sort of electric crackling in the air. "What's she doing?" Sokka asked. "I don't know," Katara said, "But I don't like it." Azula seemed to finish her motion, and then raised her hand-
And with a loud bang! An explosion in her face threw Azula backwards. She hit the deck, hard, and slid a few feet.
Katara, seeing the opportunity, motioned with her hands, and the entire side of the glacier collapsed onto the deck of the Fire Navy ship, as Appa flew away with Aang, Katara, and Sokka on his back. The Fire Navy ship receded into the distance, as they flew higher and higher over the cold, ice-choked Antarctic seas.
Azula picked herself off the ground, gazing in silent fury at the avalanche which had covered the deck of the ship. She glanced back at Zuko, who, though frozen, appeared to have just the ghost of a smile on his lips. "One word, Zuzu," Azula warned, her fist clenching. "Didn't Lo and Li tell you you weren't ready for lightning?" Azula snorted. "Well, I can't say I'd exchange our positions, Zuzu; in case you haven't noticed, I'm not the one trying to thaw my way out of a block of ice." Zuko tilted his head to the side, acknowledging the hit. Still, it wasn't every day that he got to rib his sister.
Lo and Li stepped out of the conning tower. "Is it over?" one of them, perhaps Li, asked. The other, maybe Lo, shook her head. "That was sloppy work, Azula," she said, "Not your best. Not your best by far." Azula scowled. She turned to the Fire navy sailors on the deck. "Well, don't just stand there; get the ship cleaned up." She thought for a moment. "Helmsman," she called up, "When they're done cleaning up, set a course for the Shanyu Base; the commander there is someone who can be trusted to keep his mouth shut."
A shadow fell over her face. "You bested us once, Avatar," she muttered, "But that was beginner's luck. We won't underestimate you next time."
Appa soared over the ocean, the sun finally beginning to set as they reached higher latitude. Aang sat at the rim of Appa's saddle, while Katara and Sokka sat at the back. "How did you do that, with the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" Katara exclaimed. Aang shifted in his seat, looking downcast. "I don't know," he said truthfully, "I just kinda did it."
"But why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked. "Because..." Aang began, looking sadly at the horizon, "I never wanted to be."
"But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to being an end to this war!"
"How am I supposed to do that?" Aang asked, still downcast.
Katara considered it for a moment. "Well, the Avatar's supposed to master all four elements; air, water, earth, and fire. I'm a waterbender, so I can teach you what I know, and we can head to the North Pole to find you a real master." Aang brightened. "We can learn it together!" he said. Katara paused. "Well, the Northern Water tribe doesn't let women learn waterbending. But I'm sure they'd make an exception for the Avatar."
"And I'm sure you'll get to knock some Firbender heads along the way," she continued, turning to face Sokka. "I'd like that," he said, leaning back in the saddle with his hands behind his head. "Then we're in this together!" Aang said.
He paused. "But first we have some serious business to attend to," he said, pulling out a map. "Here, here, and here," he said, indicating three points on the map. "What's that?" Katara asked. Aang pointed to a location in the Earth Kingdom. "Here, we'll ride the hopping llamas." He said. He pointed to a location in Air Nomad territory "Then waaay over here, we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish," he continued. Katara and Sokka stared at him in wonder. "Then back over here, we'll ride the hog monkeys." Aang said, not noticing, "They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!"
Aang grinned as he went on enthusiastically about their future adventures, as Appa continued to soar through the sky, and sunbeams broke through the clouds behind them...
It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Sorry for the long delay; life intervened. Please, review! It would make little Meelo so happy!If you need to, phone in a review to the United Daily News. The number is (282)-827-2264