Last of Our Kind
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender, the following quote, or the song lyrics (which are in the public domain, just so you know).
"The man who finds that in the course of his life he has done a lot of wrong often wakes up at night in terror, like a child with a nightmare, and his life is full of foreboding: but the man who is conscious of no wrongdoing is filled with cheerfulness and with the comfort of old age."
― Plato, The Republic and Other Works
Nobody's Perfect
Aang was having the most wonderful dream. He was flying through a bright, open sky on Appa while the rest of his friends flew alongside him. Sokka was soaring by on a glider, Katara and Keng were riding on the back of a giant Momo, and Wenona appeared to be Waterbending the clouds to carry her.
"We need you, Aang," Katara said in a soft voice.
"I need you, too," Aang replied. Then, he turned and saw terrifying storm clouds ahead. "Be careful, guys! Guys!" Aang looked around and saw that he was alone.
Everything seemed to shift and suddenly a figure appeared before him. It was his former mentor and surrogate father, Monk Gyatso.
"Why did you disappear?" he said sadly.
"I didn't mean to," Aang replied.
Aang reached out to the man, but Gyatso seemed to turn to ashes and blow away with the wind before his eyes. A darkness began to fall over him and Aang became afraid.
"We need you, Aang," said Gyatso's voice.
Lightning flashed around Aang and he felt the cold sting of rain on his face. Soon, he found himself plummeting into the ocean, just like what happened the night he was frozen in the iceberg.
"We need you, Aang," said the voices of Gyatso and the rest of Aang's friends. "We need you. We need you, Aang. We need you."
"Aaaaaah!" Aang awoke with a scream.
"What's going on?" said Sokka sleepily. "Did we get captured again?"
"It's nothing," said Aang. "I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep."
"Don't have to tell me twice."
"Are you sure you're okay, Aang?" Wenona asked.
"Yeah, you seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately," Katara added. "You wanna tell us about it?"
"No," Aang replied quietly. "I think I just need some sleep."
"You guys wanna here about my dream?" Sokka asked suddenly sitting up. His two sisters leveled glares at him. "That's okay, I didn't wanna talk about it anyway." He then went back to sleep.
Katara and Wenona, however, spared concerned looks at Aang before they too returned to sleep.
The next morning saw the Gaang preparing to head out.
"Look at those clear skies, buddy," Aang said to Appa. "Should be some smooth flying."
"Well, we better 'smoothly fly' ourselves to the market," Katara said after checking the supplies. "We're out of food."
"Guys, wait!" Sokka exclaimed. "This was in my dream. We shouldn't go to the market."
"What happened in your dream?" asked Keng.
"Food eats people." Everyone just stared at him in disbelief. "Also, Momo could talk," he added, pointing at the lemur. "You said some very unkind things."
"This is what happens when you accidentally drop your younger brother on his head as a child," Wenona muttered to herself.
The shopping for supplies did not end quite as the team had hoped, seeing as they had run out of money. Needless to say, the merchant they had been about to buy food from was none too happy about their inability to pay, resulting in Sokka getting kicked in the backside.
"Out of food and out of money," Sokka complained. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
"The answer's simple, Meat-Head," said Wenona. "You're gonna have to get a job."
"Yeah? Like what?"
It was at that precise moment that they overheard an argument between a fisherman and his wife.
"We shouldn't go out there," the woman insisted. "Please, the fish can wait. There's going to be a terrible storm!"
"You're crazy," said the fisherman. "It's a nice day. No clouds, no wind, no nothing; so quit your nagging, woman."
"Maybe we should find some shelter?" Aang suggested to the Gaang.
"Are you kidding?" said Sokka. "Shelter from what?"
"My joints say there's going to be a storm," the old woman continued. "A bad one."
"Well, it's your joints against my brain," the fisherman retorted.
"Then I hope your brain can find someone else to haul all that fish, 'cause I ain't coming."
"Then I'll find a new fisher-hauler and pay him double what you get! How do ya like that?!"
"I'll go!" Sokka offered.
"You're hired."
Sokka turned to see the uncertain looks on the faces of his friend and siblings.
"What? You said get a job, and he's paying double."
"Double?" the fisherman inquired. "Who told you that nonsense?"
Zuko stormed into his quarters. How dare Lieutenant Jee speak to him so disrespectfully? The arrogant man clearly didn't realize how important capturing the Avatar was, nor the reason why Zuko was so desperate to bring the young Airbender back to the Fire Nation.
The scarred prince sat down and began to meditate, focusing his energy on the candles in front of him, making the flames grow larger, then smaller, then larger again. Zuko tried to calm his thoughts, but he kept remembering what Jee had said to him.
"What do you know about respect?! The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard-working crew to your esteemed uncle, shows you know nothing about respect! You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?"
It was ironic, Zuko thought, that what Jee had said made him want to both fly into a rage and burst out laughing at the same time.
The longer he meditated, the deeper Zuko began to drift into the recesses of his memories until he came upon memories that weren't his own.
Wenona had wandered off on her own for a while. She often needed time to think, away from the chatter of her comrades. As she walked around and spoke to a few people, she learned a few things about the village; the village itself was named Duānkǒu and was the oldest port in the Earth Kindom, having been founded several millennia ago.
Wenona stopped suddenly as something caught her eye; an old liuquin guitar that had been dumped on an old rubbish pile. She looked at it curiously for a moment and wondered why someone would just throw it out when it looked to be in decent condition. Wenona picked up the liuquin and sat on the ground as she began to pluck a few notes. Slowly, the memory of an old song her father once taught her came to mind. It was a song that was actually devised in the Earth Kingdom back when Avatar Ehane was alive and operating a group whose goal was to liberate slaves.
"When the sun comes back,
And the first quail calls,
Follow…the drinking gourd.
There the old man's waiting for to carry you to freedom.
Follow the drinking gourd.
Follow…the drinking gourd.
Follow…the drinking gourd.
For the old man's waiting for to carry you to freedom.
Follow the drinking gourd.
Now the river bank'll make
A mighty good road,
The dead trees…
Will show you the way.
Left foot, peg foot,
Traveling on,
Follow the drinking gourd…"
Wenona hadn't realized it, but a group of people had stopped to listen to the haunting tune, many of them had also thrown a number of coins at her feet. As she came to the end of her song, she was startled back to awareness by the sound of clapping. When she spotted the coins on the ground, she quickly swept them up into her purse.
"That was a wonderful song you just sang," said a voice.
Wenona looked up and saw a young man in formal robes standing in front of her.
"Thanks," she replied.
"If I'm not mistaken, you were singing about Avatar Ehane and his mission of liberation."
"Yeah, he's one of the Southern Water Tribe's most revered Avatars and part of the Sacred Seven. How did you know about him?"
The man chuckled.
"I am one of the keepers of his shrine here in the Earth Kingdom. This village was one of many founded by slaves that Ehane freed thousands of years ago. Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Deshi."
"My name is Wenona."
The two shook hands.
"So you are from the Southern Water Tribe?" Deshi inquired.
"Yep."
"That is quite remarkable. I've always wondered what it was like there."
"It's not really that interesting. Our tribe was practically destroyed by the Fire Nation raids a few decades ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. And it'll be fine, eventually. My siblings and I are on our way up north to find a Waterbending teacher."
"Oh, you're Waterbenders? That's incredible; I've never met a Waterbender before." Deshi began to look at Wenona as if she were the most fascinating artifact in a museum. "The only Benders I've ever seen are Earthbenders."
"You've never seen Firebenders, then, huh?"
"No. The towns I visit are often too small to be much interest to the Fire Nation and the shrine of Ehane is in a village that is mostly cut off from the rest of the world by cliffs; I'm only out and about here because there are many people who still worship him as the founder of their town or village."
"What is the shrine like?"
"It is a pagoda made of white marble with a blue tiled roof," Deshi explained, his eyes lighting up at the chance to describe his home. "It is probably the only building in the entire Earth Kingdom that has blue tiles. Inside the shrine is the relic of the pillar where Ehane was bound and left to die by the men whose slaves he liberated which is said to possess healing powers."
"That sounds amazing."
"It is." Deshi gave her a measured look. "You say that you and your siblings are going up north to find a Waterbending teacher?"
"Yes. All our tribe's Waterbenders were taken away or killed during the raids."
"Then take this." He handed her a pouch with some money.
"I can't accept-"
"Please," Deshi insisted. "Consider it a contribution to the rebuilding of your tribe and a form of remuneration for all that Avatar Ehane suffered for the sake of our people's freedom."
Wenona smiled and thanked Deshi for his kindness.
The two talked for a little while longer before Wenona noticed the dark storm clouds rolling in overhead and bid farewell to Deshi. She found her siblings and her friend still at the dock where Sokka was helping his new "boss" load supplies onto the fishing boat.
"Sokka, maybe this isn't such a good idea," said Aang. "Look at the sky."
"I said I was going to do this job," Sokka insisted. "I can't back out just because of some bad weather."
They were startled for a moment by the sound of the fisherman's wife ranting at her husband again.
"The boy with the tattoos has some sense," the woman said. "You should listen to him!"
"Boy with tattoos?" said the fisherman, puzzled. He then turned to look at Aang. "Airbender tattoos. Well, I'll be a hog-monkey's uncle. You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"
"That's right," said Katara proudly as they all grinned.
"Well don't be so smiley about it," the man snapped. "The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years! You turned your back on the world!"
"Don't yell at him," Katara retorted.
"Yeah," Wenona added, "Aang wouldn't turn his back on anyone!"
"Oh, he wouldn't, huh?" the fisherman sneered. "Then I guess I just imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering."
"Aang is the bravest person I know," Katara said defensively. "He's done nothing but help people and save lives since I met him. It's not his fault he disappeared, right, Aang?"
The Water Tribe siblings turned to look at their friend when he didn't repond.
"Aang, what's wrong?" said Keng.
Aang had a look of deep sadness on his face as he turned and took off on his glider.
"Aang!" Keng shouted.
"That's right, keep flying'!" the fisherman shouted.
"You're a horrible old man," Katara said angrily as she, Wenona, and Keng got on Appa and set off in search of their friend.
It took them a few hours and the storm had started, but they eventually found Aang huddled up in a cave. He just sat there, staring despondently at the ground.
"I'm sorry for running away," he said as he sensed them approach.
"It's not your fault, Aang," Keng reassured him.
"Yeah, that fisherman was way out of line," Katara added.
"Actually…he wasn't," said Aang.
"What do you mean?"
Aang began to choke up.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"This is something to do with your dream, isn't it?" Wenona asked.
"Well, it's kind of a long story."
Back on board his ship, Prince Zuko was deep in thought and completely shut off from what was going on outside.
Someone was screaming. He looked over and saw a girl with black hair, which was tied up in a ponytail like his, struggling to escape the grasp of another girl. The girl who was attacking seemed strange, her eyes were completely black and lifeless. Both wore the green robes of Earth Kingdom people.
Without thinking twice, Zuko threw himself at the attacking girl and forced her off the other woman. The black-eyed woman hissed and snarled; suddenly, Zuko felt a sharp sting and realized that the woman had clawed his face.
The black-eyed woman gave another hiss before darting off into the woods.
"Chun!" the other woman called after her. Zuko put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"It's too late, Xian," he felt himself say. "She's already lost to the Darkness."
The woman, Xian, had a look of deep pain on her face.
"I'm sorry, Xian."
"I can't lose her, Akari! She's the only member of my family who ever really cared about what I wanted in my life."
"It's going to be alright, Xian. I promise you, we will do everything we can to bring your cousin back. We won't leave anyone behind."
Xian threw her arms around him and pressed her face into his shoulder as she began to sob. Eventually, Xian managed to pull herself together and dried her eyes.
"You tell anyone I was crying and I'll mess you up," Xian threatened half-heartedly.
Zuko felt a sad smile tug at his lips.
The vision was suddenly shattered as lightning struck the ship, shaking Zuko out of his stupor. He raced out onto the deck in time to see the helmsman about to fall to his death. Without even giving it a second thought, Zuko began a mad race up the ladder to help the man.
As Aang finished his story, his friends looked at him sorrowfully.
"You ran away," Katara concluded.
"And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple," Aang said sadly. "My people needed me and I wasn't there to help."
"You don't know what would have-" Wenona tried to say but Aang cut her off.
"The world needed me and I wasn't there to help!"
"Aang…"
"The fisherman was right! I did turn my back on the world!"
"You're being too hard on yourself," Keng said to him. "Even though you ran away, maybe it was meant to be. If you stayed behind you would have been killed with the rest of the Air Nomads."
"You don't know that."
"I know it was meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people hope."
The three Waterbenders all smiled at their friend who gave a small smile back.
At that moment, there was a flash of lighting and a voice called from the entrance to the cave. It was the fisherman's wife.
"Help! Oh, please help!" she cried out.
"It's okay," Katara assured the woman as she ushered her inside. "You're safe now."
"But my husband isn't."
"What do you mean?" asked Wenona. "And where's our brother?"
"They haven't returned. They should have been back by now. And this storm is becoming a typhoon! They're caught out at sea!"
"I'm going to find them," Aang said.
"We're going with you," said Katara.
"I'm staying here," the fisherman's wife said resolutely.
The Waterbenders and the Avatar took off into the storm, desperately searching for the ship. It was hard to see in the darkness and the rain, but they somehow managed to spot the little vessel and got Sokka and the fisherman into Appa's saddle. Just then, a huge wave surged above them and plunged them into the freezing water.
Aang looked at his companions, all trying to hold onto the saddle as they continued to sink beneath the icy waves.
No, not again, Aang thought as he felt power begin to course through him. He took hold of the reins and sent a shockwave of water out that pushed them up to the surface. As soon as they were out of danger, Aang's Avatar State flickered off just as he caught sight of a very familiar Fire Nation prince standing on the deck of his ship.
They managed to arrive back at the cave as the storm was tapering off. The fisherman's wife ran to hug her husband.
"Oh, you're alive," she said in relief before becoming stern. "You owe this boy an apology!"
"He doesn't have to apologize," Aang said.
"What if, instead of an apology…I give him a free fish and we call it even?" the fisherman said thoughtfully.
"Actually, I don't eat meat."
"Fish ain't meat."
"Seriously," Sokka spoke up, "you're still gonna pay me, right?"
Sokka grinned as he held out his hand to receive his wages, only to wince as the man handed him a fish as payment. Wenona began to snicker.
"I call dibs on the eyes," she said.
"But you always get the eyes," Sokka whined.
Aang looked a little green at the discussion of who got to eat what part of the fish, but managed to shake himself out of it and turned to look at his other two friends.
"Keng, Katara, you guys were right before," he said. "I'm done dwelling on the past."
"Really?" said Keng.
"I can't make guesses about what would have turned out if I hadn't run away. I'm here now and I'm going to make the most out of it."
"I don't think you're gonna have those nightmares anymore," Katara said with a smile.
"And if you weren't here now," said the fisherman, "well, I guess I wouldn't be either. Thank you for saving my life, Avatar."
"Do you hear that?" Sokka interjected. "It stopped raining."
They all walked outside to see the sun begin to peak out, illuminating the whole coast with light. The beautiful moment was ruined, however, as Appa decided to shake the water from his fur.
"Appa!" they all groaned in annoyance.
It wasn't until the Gaang was packing up the following day that Wenona remembered the money Deshi had given to her.
"You mean I went through all of that for nothing?!" Sokka yelled in frustration.
"Well, look at it this way, Sokka," Wenona said smirking. "Nearly drowning in a horrific storm builds character."
"I hate you so much."