Chap. 8

The Gathering of Water Part 1

It was a few days later that the Army reached the first destination on its journey. Though most of the Avatar Gang and the Knights had separated on their own missions, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Iroh, Oscuridad, Agua, and Luz had stayed with the troops. Since the Army needed to utilize the Earth Kingdom Navy to reach the Fire Nation and Hakoda's encampment was near the western shoreline of the continent, the two groups had remained together. However it had required a bit of creativity on everyone's part. Aang still needed to learn Firebending, and it was obviously impossible to do that while constantly marching. Therefore, it had been decided that Aang and Iroh would ride on Appa, which would give them a firm, relatively stable surface to learn on, while Agua flew nearby, ready to douse the flames if things got out of control. Thankfully, Aang's natural skill with bending had allowed him to make much progress with fire, but not destroyed his sense of caution towards the element. Iroh had also been keeping him on small-scale exercises, in order to keep Appa calm while they were in the air.

In truth, only Katara and Sokka had been inconvenienced by the arrangement, since they had been forced to walk with the troops for their own safety. Oscuridad and Luz had offered to give them a lift, but the siblings had refused, since neither of them were comfortable with the idea of clinging to the Knight's armor while they soared over the ground. The two Knights had understood, and out of respect for their friends, spent their time on the ground. Of course, as the journey had gone on and on, both Oscuridad and Luz had begun looking longingly towards the sky, as Sokka began to feel the effects of the long march and vocalize his feelings. But thankfully, that didn't last long, and soon, the Army moved into sight of the ocean, and a small encampment.

"Thank God, we made it." Luz said, as the Army caught sight of the campsite.

"Good. Sokka! Wake up!" Oscuridad yelled, as he shook Sokka, who'd he been carrying since he'd passed out three miles ago.

"Five more minutes Gran….Huh? Are we here?"

"Yes we are. Now let's find your sister so you two can see your Dad together." The bat said. "Where is Katara, anyway?"

"The same place she's been for the last hour. I'll get her." Luz answered, as she fell back into the ranks of the Army. It took her a few minutes, but the fox eventually reached the spot where Katara was, and had been for at least an hour a day since they'd started; the spot where she could look up and see spurts of flame from the flying bison above her.

"Looks like he's doing well." Luz said, looking up with Katara. The young Waterbender was startled, but a moment later turned and nodded her agreement.

"I wasn't sure how he'd do at first, but it looks like Aang is really getting firebending." Katara said.

"Indeed. Listen, we're almost at your dad's campsite, I thought you'd want to be there when we reach it."

"Really? Thanks, Luz." Katara said. The Waterbender looked up a moment longer, then started to move up through the ranks to the front where her brother and Oscuridad were. Luz stayed a minute, and thought. Katara had been watching Aang train ever since their journey had started. At first, Luz had thought it was some kind of silent support, but now she was starting to wonder. Aire had told her that Katara had been watching before they'd left the city. And now, Katara had been pushing through the ranks every day just to watch. She's even asked Agua if she could go up with him one day to watch. But she'd also gone under great stress to keep her observations secret from Aang when they stopped to sleep. If she wanted to support him, why wouldn't she tell him about it? Without Aang knowing about it, Katara's support made no sense.

I wonder…. Naw, there's no way. The fox thought. She's been way too oblivious for things to start all of a sudden. Besides, he was her student, and she knows all about Aang's fire problems. Maybe she's just worried about him. Maybe. But then why would she have been talking to Agua about going up with him? Two Waterbenders may be better then one, but still….

But the fox didn't get to think on it much further, because then the group reached the campsite. As the Army came to halt, the Water-Tribesmen stopped what they were doing and stared at the large group that had assembled before them. They stared even more when Appa landed, in front of two Water-Tribe children and three masked figures. But one man stared not out of surprise, but out of recognition and happiness.

"Sokka! Katara!" a voice called out, as the siblings entered the camp. They saw Bato walking towards them, his arms open and a smile on his face.

"Bato!" they called back, as they ran towards the familiar face. The three of them hugged tightly, as Luz and Oscuridad watched with smiles under their masks.

"How on earth did you manage to get here?" Bato said, as they slowly detangled themselves. "Last I heard, the Avatar was in Ba Sing Se."

"We've had some help." Sokka answered, gesturing back to the Army.

"I see." Bato said dryly, as he saw the massive group of soldiers. "I'm guessing there's something important going on here."

"There is." Katara said. "We need to talk to Dad. Where is he?"

"Your father's in the war-tent." Bato said, pointing at the large, circular tent the center of the camp. "He's planning a big attack on the Fire Nation forces that our scouts have reported about."

"Anything we can do to help?" Oscuridad asked, Luz, Agua, Iroh and Aang behind him.

"Hi Bato. Nice to see you again." Aang said warmly.

"You as well, young Avatar. You Knights as well. But I'm afraid I don't know your friend." Bato said, looking at Iroh.

"Oh sorry Bato." Sokka said quickly. "These is a friend of ours from Ba Sing Se….."

"Mushi." Iroh said, introducing the group and moving to shake Bato's hand. "On the other hand Bato, I've heard all about you. Your story is quite well told by these two." The old general said, pointing at Sokka and Katara.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Bato answered back. "And I'm quite pleased to meet any friends of Hakoda's children and the Avatar."

"Speaking of Dad, could you take us to see him?" Sokka asked, with some urgency in his voice.

"Of course Sokka. I forgot how long it's been since you two have seen him." Bato said, as he gestured for the group to follow him, and began walking towards the war-tent. Sokka and Katara looked at each other in anticipation, then followed Bato, the others trailing behind. Bato moved to the tent, pushed aside the cloth door, and said, "Hakoda, there's some people here to see you. I think you might want to see them right now. I told you about some of them before."

Inside the tent, a bearded middle-aged man looked up from his maps of the surrounding areas, as did the rest of the council surrounding him. His face was lined with the stresses of war, and a few streaks of gray were visible in his dread-locked hair. He looked up at Bato with some annoyance and confusion as to what his old friend meant. But that faded away a moment later, as Sokka and Katara walked inside the tent. Hakoda's jaw dropped in amazement at the sight of his children; they looked at their father in awe, unable to believing he was really here in front of them after all this time. They both stared at each other, trying to make sure the sight in front of them was real. Then Hakoda's face broke out into a smile that wiped the lines from his face, and he got up and embraced his children. They hugged back, as tears fell from their eyes at this reunion that was more then two years in the making.

"I can't believe you two are actually here." Hakoda said, as he looked at Sokka and Katara. "Bato told me that you were traveling with the Avatar, but…"

"It's good to see you too Dad." Sokka replied simply.

"We've missed you so much." Katara added.

"I've missed you too, little Waterbender." Hakoda said. "And you too, little Warrior." As they slowly broke apart from their embrace, Hakoda said, "Look at you two. I left two children in the Tribe, and now a young man and a young woman stand before me. You two found the Avatar and left home to guide him through the world. I couldn't be more proud."

"Yeah, I really appreciate it too." Aang said, as he walked into the tent, Iroh and the three Knights behind him. Hakoda saw the young Airbender, gaped, then quickly bent on one knee in respect.

"No, no, you don't have to do that." Aang protested.

"You're the Avatar. It's my duty."

"No Hakoda, it isn't." Aang said. "You did your duty already, helping the Earth Kingdom, and being a good father."

"He's right." Agua said. "It's because of you that Katara and Sokka are the people that they are, the people we're proud to call friends. You left home to help save the world, even though it hurt. For those things alone, you don't need to bow."

"But we do." Aang said, as he bent down and bowed to Hakoda. Iroh and the Knights did the same, as Hakoda looked on in amazement.

"I-I…. Thank you, Avatar." He managed to blurt out.

"Please call me Aang." The young Airbender replied.

"Aang, then. I'm sorry though, I don't know your friends."

"They said their names were Mushi, Oscuridad, and Luz." Bato said. "I think you'll really want to meet this one though." He added, gesturing at Agua.

"My name is Agua." The cat replied. "Although truthfully, that's not the name you know me by."

"I'm sorry?" Hakoda asked.

"My real name. It's one you've heard before." Agua answered, moving his hands to his mask. As he began to undo it, he said, "My name, the one you know, is Seaking." With a final pull, the cat undid the mask and revealed his face to the assembly. Hakoda and the assembled council gasped in amazement.

"You're real?" Hakoda blurted out. "I thought you were just a story. I figured Bato's story about the Knights were just that. But if you're real, then they're…."

Behind the cat, Luz and Oscuridad nodded, and began to undo their own masks. Within minutes, more gasps had filled the air, as well as the names Nightstalker and Lightweaver.

"Sokka, Katara, how on earth did you manage to find such warriors?" one of the council members asked.

"Oh, you'd be surprised who we found." Katara said, gesturing towards Iroh.

"And who is he?" Hakoda asked.

"Someone that I am sure the Earth Kingdom warriors have told you the story of." The old general replied. "I was once called the Dragon of the West."

"By Ruta, General Iroh!" another council member yelled. "A Firebender in our midst!"

"Calm down, Kioa." Hakoda said. "If the Avatar trusts him, then we don't have anything to fear." Looking over at the group assembled, he said, "I'm honored to have you all in my camp, but I'm guessing you didn't come here to introduce yourselves."

"No, but it was a nice perk." Agua said. "We love dramatic entrances, you see."

"Dad, we're getting ready for something big." Sokka said. "We're putting together an army. A really big one. Someone said that you were supposed to be a part of it."

"Who?" Hakoda asked.

"My mother." Oscuridad said. "Rastla, Architect of Shadow."

"I see." Hakoda said. "But, we have a lot to do here. If the Fire Nation was to take this coast, they could head back through the land and take this territory."

"Actually, we came prepared for that." Oscuridad said. "How many men do you have in this camp?"

"About fifty."

"Then take fifty of the Earthbenders outside and put them in your place." The bat replied.

"What? Won't we need all those troops for the army you have planned?" Bato asked.

"We have more then four hundred troops back there." Agua said. "Plus, we have friends all over the Earth Kingdom obtaining troops for us. Believe me, everything will be taken care of."

Hakoda was quite a moment, then said, "All right. But I want to leave some of my troops here, for their familiarity of the area."

"Fair enough." Oscuridad replied.

"Hold on." Bato said. "I'm not against being in this Army, but if you came all this way, then I'm guessing you want us to go somewhere with you. So what is this place you need us to go to?"

It took about an hour for the council to calm down enough to discuss everything in a calm and rational manner. When they did, it took all of Iroh's, Hakoda's, and Oscuridad's considerable leadership skills to convince them that the trip would be safe. Even after that, they weren't sure, but then Aang stepped in, and they finally agreed. In another two hours, the troops from each army had been selected, and the Water Tribe members were loading their ships for the journey ahead.

"Are you sure you don't want to travel with us?" Bato asked Aang once again.

"Naw, we've got Appa, we'll be fine." Aang said, as he patted his giant bison. "Besides, we can't carry all the troops on your ships anyway."

"We'll move to the port on land while you follow on water. Once we have the ships, we'll move out together." Oscuridad said.

"All right. But I still want to know what he plans to do." Bato said, looking over at Agua. The cat stood on the shore, almost in the water, looking out on it with a look of almost longing on his face.

"He's almost ready. He just needs to absorb the power in the water. You'll see in a minute." Oscuridad said. Sure enough, Agua suddenly ran forward and leapt into the water. There was a splash and then a streak shot out from the shoreline, moving at tremendous speed into the deep.

"By Ruta!" Bato gasped.

"At that speed, he'll reach the South Pole in about two days." Oscuridad said. "Then he'll turn around and hit the North in three."

"Amazing." Bato said with a shake of his head. "He truly is the son of the Water Goddess."

"You should've seen the time he raised a ship from the deep." Oscuridad said. "Of course, he had to put it back, but then he found that stupid pendant, and wrote that goddamn screenplay and left it in the café, where Cameron got his hands on it…"

"What are you talking about?" Aang asked.

"Huh? Oh nothing, just an old regret." the bat said. Bato and Aang shrugged, then walked off. The bat stood there a moment longer, then muttered, "And that damn song he wrote, too. Some things should not go on." With that, he turned back and walked over to where the Army stood, ready to move out once again.