Last of Our Kind
This is one of the episodes I don't like as much. Most of it will be the same but there will be some things that weren't in the original episode that I included as part of my headcanon.
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender or the following quote.
"If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come."
―C.S. Lewis
Lessons Learned
The Gaang were walking along a path that wound its way through a dense forest. They were trying to stay alert, not being familiar with the territory and having heard that there were Fire Nation settlements nearby from the last Earth Kingdom town they visited. Sokka and Wenona had started to complain about finding something to eat when they saw a crossroads, at the center of which was a newsstand covered in various posters.
"This should give us a good idea of what's around here," Katara said as she approached the stand.
"See if you can find a menu," Sokka added. He and Wenona had just had a small fight over the remnants of the snack bag. "I'm starving."
"I bet we'll find something to eat here," Aang exclaimed, pointing at the largest poster. "The Fire Days Festival. Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, Benders, magicians…this would be a great place for me to study some real Firebenders."
"You might wanna rethink that, Cue-ball," Wenona said from the other side. "Look at this."
The others immediately came around to see what she was looking at. There, displayed in prominence amongst other wanted posters, was Aang's image.
"Hey, a poster of me," Aang said, clearly not realizing what it was.
"A wanted poster," Sokka corrected. "This is bad."
Aang removed the poster and they took a long look at it.
"I think we'd better keep moving," Katara said.
"I have to learn Firebending at some point," Aang continued. "And this could be my only chance to watch some masters up close."
"Please, Katara, please," Keng pleaded. True, he knew it was incredibly dangerous, but on the other hand he was very interested in having an adventure.
"I guess we could go check it out."
"What?" both Sokka and Wenona said together.
"No, no, no, bad idea," said Wenona. "A really bad idea."
"You wanna walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired up with all their…you know, fire?" Sokka added.
"We can wear disguises," Keng suggested. "If anything happens we can just leave."
"Yeah, because we always leave before we get into trouble," Sokka said sarcastically. Wenona put a comforting hand on his shoulder as she steered him away.
They walked over towards a small cliff overlooking the Fire Nation town where the festival was being held. Wenona started sifting through the bags until she found some decent cloaks they could wear.
"You guys stay out of sight here while we go to the festival," Aang said to Appa and Momo.
The bison and lemur ducked down behind a bush, though the former was not hidden very well due to his size.
"Ready disguises," Aang said.
The four Water Tribe siblings put their cloaks on and pulled up the hoods to hide their faces. Wenona and Katara also removed their necklaces as they were very clearly Water Tribe and would probably get the team found out. Aang, however, didn't have a cloak and simply pulled the back of his shirt over his head, giving him a slightly hunched look.
"It's like you're a whole different person," Sokka said dryly.
"Let's go," Aang said, motioning for his friends to follow him.
As they headed down the hill, Wenona couldn't help but feel like they were being watched.
The Fire Days Festival was truly a magnificent sight. Everything seemed to glow beneath the light of paper lanterns and fireworks. It wasn't long before the Gaang realized a slight problem with their disguises; just about everyone at the festival was wearing a mask.
"I think we need some new disguises," Katara pointed out.
"Where are we gonna get masks like that?" Sokka inquired.
"Get your genuine Fire Festival masks here!" shouted a nearby vendor.
"Thank you, Sokka," Wenona said.
"For what?"
"For prompting the Universe to act in our favor."
"I thought that was surprisingly easy."
The group hastened over to the stand where they each got a mask. Katara's mask was of a pretty young woman. Keng's was a thin, triangular one that had swirls on it that reminded him of the tribal masks worn at festivals back home. Wenona's mask was white and had thin, red stripes along the sides and a red crescent on the forehead. Sokka chose a bright blue, smiling mask while Aang put on a dark red one with a sorrowful expression; Katara, however, had other ideas and swapped the two boys' masks. Once they had their masks firmly in place, they continued to look around the festival.
"Hey, there's some food," Aang pointed towards another vendor, causing Sokka and Wenona to race over there.
"What do ya have?" Sokka asked.
"Flaming Fire-Flakes, best in town," the merchant replied.
"I'll take em." Sokka bought a bag and immediately began scarfing them down, causing the spices to overload his inexperienced palette. "AHHH, hot, hot, hot!"
"Don't tell me you're going soft, little brother," Wenona teased as she tried some fire-flakes. They were very spicy, but Wenona ate them slowly so she could get used to the taste.
"Hey, look at this," Aang said, pointing them towards a puppet show.
A little puppet of Fire Lord Ozai appeared to the cheers of the young children watching.
"Don't worry, loyal citizens," said the puppet. "No one can surprise the Fire Lord."
The children gasped as an Earthbender puppet rose behind him. The Ozai puppet suddenly turned and sent out a blast of fire from its mouth, incinerating the Earthbender. The Gaang felt very awkward as the audience cheered for the obvious example of propaganda and slowly walked away. They continued until they reached a building with a sign that read: Fire Nation Legends. They entered the building and realized it was something of a small museum dedicated to Fire Nation stories and folklore.
"Hey, guys, check this out," Keng said as he examined one of the displays. "The Origin of Firebending." The display included a large, golden statue of a dragon with rubies for eyes that was coiled protectively around the tiny figurine of a beautiful phoenix.
"It is one of our greatest legends," came a calm voice behind them. It was an elderly man in simply red and black clothing. "The people in big cities like the capital have largely forgotten the story even though it is one which explains the source of our culture.
"Millennia ago, the world was engulfed in darkness as the sun had not yet been created. The original tribes who inhabited the island of the Fire Nation were primitive and ignorant. Then, a young woman, by the name of Sheuh-fuh, left one of the tribes in search of the light. She came upon an ancient cave where it was said a creature of light dwelt. She approached the cave and called out to the creature within and asked him if he could show her how to make the light.
"The creature shot out of the cave, revealing himself to be a giant, golden dragon with glinting red eyes. He told her that his name was Agni and that he was the Lord of the Flame. He agreed to teach her if she did what he said. For years, Sheuh-fuh trained under Agni, learning how to create fire until the day that Agni said her training was complete. However, he also said that there could only be one Lord of the Flame and that it was necessary for them to fight a Kai, a duel, to decide who would be that Lord.
"So much fire was created during the duel that the other dragons had to sweep it up into the sky, creating the sun and the stars. The duel lasted for days until Sheuh-fuh managed to overpower Agni. However, when he told her to give the final blow, she relented and said she could not do that to her mentor. Agni then changed into a man, though he retained some of his dragon-like qualities, and declared Sheuh-fuh to truly be the Lord of the Flame. The two went back to Sheuh-fuh's tribe where they taught others how to Bend fire and Sheuh-fuh became the first Fire Lord and married Agni.
"It is said that, when Sheuh-fuh died, Agni reverted to his dragon form and chased her soul into the Spirit World where she herself became a golden phoenix. Together, the two embody the source of all Firebending and are the ancestors of the Fire Lords."
The Gaang had stood there, enraptured by the tale as it reminded them of stories they used to hear back home. They thanked the man and looked around the rest of the museum before turning to go back outside. As they left, Keng glanced back and noticed that the old man had the symbol of a white lotus embroidered on the sleeve of his robe; it hadn't been noticeable at first, but Keng just happened to see it then.
"Aang, wait!" Katara shouted as the young Avatar headed towards a large crowd. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know," Aang replied, "but there's a big crowd so it must be good."
"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution," said Sokka.
As they drew nearer, they saw that it was a Firebending performance done by a young man in fancy clothes. The crowd cheered as the man suddenly caused several balls of fire to burst and reveal flocks of doves.
"I've gotta learn that trick," Aang said.
"Thank you," the magician said with a bow. "For my next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience!"
Aang and Keng instantly raised their hands.
"Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me!" they both yelled frantically.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sokka demanded quietly.
"I wanna get a closer look," said Aang.
"Me too," Keng added.
"It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves," Katara said patiently.
"How 'bout you, little lady?" the magician asked, pointing out Katara.
"Uhh…" Katara shook her head and started to back away nervously.
"Aww, she's shy. Let's give her some encouragement, folks!"
The rest of the crowd cheered and someone gave Katara a light push forward. Katara threw an uncertain glance, which was undetectable from behind her mask, back at Aang and her siblings as she was lifted up onto the stage by the magician.
"Aw, that could've been me," Keng and Aang both whined.
Just then, Wenona got that familiar feeling of someone watching them.
"This next trick is called 'Taming the Dragon'!" the magician announced as he brought out a chair. "You will be my captured princess," he said to Katara as he tied her to the chair with a red, silk sash. He then Bent some fire from the torches into the shape of a large dragon. "Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" He shot out a rope of fire which attached to the fire-dragon's neck. The dragon swerved through the air, coming perilously close.
"It's too strong!" the magician continued. "I can't hold it!"
"We gotta help her!" Aang said before Sokka and Wenona held him back.
"No, we don't want to make a scene," said Sokka.
"Besides, Aang, it's just a magic trick," Wenona assured him. "Katara is perfectly safe."
"Really?"
"Well, duh!"
"The rope! It's breaking!" the magician continued. That was when he released the dragon as it sailed right at Katara.
Aang tried to leap up and help her, but Wenona kept him held firmly in place. Wenona didn't like her sister being up there any more than Aang did, but she knew that it had to be some sort of trick. The man up there was a magician, after all, and would of course know better than to put his audience at risk. Just as the dragon was about to reach Katara, it exploded into a shower of confetti that rained down upon the cheering audience.
Aang let out a relieved sigh.
"Guess you were right, Nona," he said. "It was just a trick."
"Told you."
The magician released Katara from the chair.
"Let's give cheer for my lovely assistant," he said, motioning for Katara to bow to the audience. She did so and then shakily stepped down from the stage and approached her companions.
"That was certainly…exciting," she said.
"I had to restrain air-boy over here from jumping up onto the stage to 'rescue' you," Wenona said.
Katara snorted.
"Aang, don't tell me you actually thought I was in real danger?" she said.
"Well, he was a very convincing magician," the Airbender said sheepishly.
"Come on, let's enjoy the rest of the festival," said Keng.
"I still think we should leave," said Sokka.
"Stop being such a killjoy."
The rest of their time at the festival seemed to go smoothly. Well, that is until a Fire Nation guy tried to flirt with Wenona and Katara. Neither girl was amused by the young man's advances and told him to beat it. The guy, however, didn't seem to want to take 'no' for an answer.
"Come on, don't be like that," the guy said as the sisters tried to walk away. "Me and my buddies are throwing this party. You should come-"
"Leave them alone," Aang snapped, getting in-between his friends and the jerk.
"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it, shrimpy?"
When the boy tried to push past Aang, the Airbender stuck out his foot, causing the youth to trip. That just made the guy angry and he started throwing punches, all of which Aang dodged skillfully until the man finally shot a blast of fire which Aang deflected with Airbending, accidentally loosening his mask which fell off.
"Hey! That kid's the Avatar!" someone shouted. This caught the attention of a group nearby guards who rounded on the group.
"Time to go!" Wenona declared as she grabbed Aang and her sister and started to run.
The ducked around a corner and accidentally bumped into Sokka and Keng, who had gone to get some snacks.
"Follow me! I can getcha out of here!" came a voice from a side alley. They turned and saw a cloaked man.
"There they are!" shouted one of the guards.
Not wanting to take their chances with the soldiers, the Gaang hurried after the strange man who then threw a smoke grenade at the ground to confuse the soldiers. They raced through the village, narrowly escaping the guards. During the chase, Aang called for Appa with his bison-whistle. Soon enough they found themselves up against a dead-end. Luckily, just as he guards were closing in, Appa appeared and blasted away the guards, allowing everyone to quickly get on.
As they flew away, the strange man lit another grenade and threw it at a storage pen filled with fireworks that went off with a huge blast. Appa's tail briefly caught on some lanterns, but the lanterns fell off just as they were over a large, wooden effigy of the Fire Nation symbol, causing it to burst into flames. The crowd below cheered, thinking it was all part of the festival celebrations.
"Nice touch setting off those fireworks," Aang said to the man.
"You seem to really know your explosives," said Sokka.
"I'm familiar," the man said. He then turned and they could clearly see his face.
"You're a Fire Nation soldier," Wenona gasped at the sudden realization.
"Was," he corrected. "My name's Chey."
The group landed and set up camp in the woods. They all gathered around the fire to hear what Chey had to tell them.
"I serve a man," he explained. "More than a man, really, he's a myth, but he's real. A living legend, Jeong Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general…or, wait, was he an admiral?"
"He was very highly ranked," said Sokka impatiently. "We get it."
"Yeah! Way up there! But he couldn't take the madness anymore. He's the first person ever to leave the army and live. I'm the second, but you don't get to be a legend for that; it's okay, though. Jeong Jeong's a Firebending genius! Some say he's mad, but he's not. He's enlightened."
"You mean there's a Firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?" Aang said excitedly. "We've gotta go see him! He can train me!"
"Aang, I don't think it's a good idea to go looking for some crazy Firebender," said Wenona.
"He's not crazy!" Chey asserted. "He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar. That's why I followed you into the festival."
"Look, thanks for the help," Sokka told Chey as he stood up. "We're leaving for the North Pole in the morning."
"Sokka, this could be my only chance to meet a Firebending master who would actually be willing to teach me," Aang said in a quiet voice.
"It can't hurt just to talk to him," said Katara.
"That's what you said about going to the festival! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?!"
Sokka turned angrily only to be cut off by a spear in front of his face. A group of men in very tribal-looking clothes had just appeared in the clearing.
"Don't move," the leader ordered.
The strange men led them deeper into the forest. For some reason, Chey didn't seem at all fazed about essentially being kidnapped by the group of men; in fact, he seemed to know them.
"Jeong Jeong told you not to look for Avatar," the leader said to Chey.
"Hold on," said Sokka. "You know these guys?"
"Oh yeah," Chey said casually. "Ling-Yi's an old buddy. Right, Ling-Yi?"
"Shut up," the leader, Ling-Yi, replied, pointing the spear tip at Chey. "Keep moving."
They soon came upon a very rustic set of structures beside a shallow river.
"Go on," Ling-Yi said to Chey, indicating towards the building closest to the water. "He sees you only."
"Oh, that's okay, we can chat later," Chey said nervously.
"Is that where Jeong Jeong is?" Aang asked excitedly. "I need to talk to him right away." Aang tried to run forward but Ling-Yi stopped him.
"No," the man said. "You wait there. Go, now!" he added to Chey, giving him a shove as he did so.
"Don't worry," Chey assured Aang. "Everything will be fine." He started to walk down the hill to the building, going on about how Jeong Jeong was a great man.
Meanwhile, back at the Fire Nation town, a certain admiral was none too pleased about the fact that he had missed the chance to capture the Avatar.
"So the Avatar was here," Zhao said, barely keeping in his anger, "and you let him slip away."
"Yes, sir," the head of the town guards replied nervously. "But, other than that, the festival went off without a hitch." At that moment, the smoldering remains of the wooden effigy of the Fire Nation insignia collapsed behind them. "No fights. Theft was way down."
"I don't care about your local crime rates! Which way did they go?"
"They headed into the forest. Up the river, I suspect."
"Ready the river boats," Zhao said to his soldiers. "We're going after the Avatar."
It was about half an hour later that Chey returned from his meeting with Jeong Jeong. He entered the building where the Gaang had been sent for the night looking very uneasy.
"What happened?" Aang asked him at once. "Can I see Jeong Jeong now?"
"He won't see you," Chey said somberly. "He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately."
"Finally," said Sokka. "Let's hit the road."
"Why won't he see me?" Aang asked.
"He says you're not ready," said Chey. "Says you haven't mastered Waterbending and Earthbending yet."
"Wait, how does he know that?"
"He saw the way you walked into camp. He can tell."
"Plus, it is kinda obvious," Wenona spoke up, drawing the others' questioning looks. "Well, it is! Aang's only been back for a few months now and it takes years to become a master of one element, let alone four."
Aang shook off the statement.
"I'm going in anyway," he said.
Aang practically stormed out of the building and down to where Jeong Jeong lived. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Aang entered into the dark structure. The only light in the room came from a number of candles around a man who sat with his back towards the door, hunched over as if trying to hide himself. The man was Master Jeong Jeong. There was nothing in the room aside from Jeong Jeong, the candles, and a small tree on which more candles were placed.
"Get out," he said bluntly.
Aang hesitated, then slowly stepped up to the outside of the circle of candles.
"Master, I need to learn Firebending," Aang said.
"Only a fool seeks his own destruction."
"I'm the Avatar," Aang continued, taking a seat on the floor. "It's my destiny to-"
"Destiny?! What would a boy know of destiny? If a fish lives its whole life in this river, does he know the river's destiny? No! Only that it run on and on, out of his control. He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean."
"O…kay? But it's the Avatar's duty to master all the Bending disciplines."
"To master the Bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself; but you have no interest in this, so I have no interest in you. Now, get out."
"Please. I have to learn. This could be my only chance."
Jeong Jeong shot around to face Aang, looking absolutely furious.
"Are you deaf?!" he shouted. "How can I teach you if you refuse to listen?! Before learning Firebending you must learn water and earth. Water is cool and soothing. Earth is steady and stable. But fire…fire is alive…it breathes, it grows. Without the Bender a rock will not throw itself, but fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it. That is its destiny! You are not ready! You are too weak!"
The flames from the candles shot up and then faded, engulfing the room in a moment of darkness. Then, a single candle relit and the room was filled with a misty haze that illuminated only Jeong Jeong, the tree, and five people who stood on the other side of the candle. The first person visible was Avatar Roku, easily recognizable despite the gloom. The other people were three men, one from each of the Air, Water, and Earth Nations, and the fourth was a Fire Nation woman who stood closest to Roku of the four.
"You think I am weak?" Roku said to Jeong Jeong.
"Avatar Roku," Jeong Jeong whispered in amazement. "No! No! I did not mean that!"
"I have mastered the elements a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes. Now, I must do it once again."
"You claim that Avatar Aang does not understand discipline," the Fire Nation woman added sternly. "Then it is your responsibility to make him understand. Is that not what teachers are for?"
"Aang has the ability to learn if he is given the chance," said the Air Nomad with a calm smile.
"You will teach the Avatar Firebending," Roku concluded, setting the tree alight.
"Yes, yes," Jeong Jeong said quietly, lowering his head. "I will teach you."
"Really?!" Aang exclaimed as the apparition cleared. "That's great!"
Jeong Jeong gave a defeated sigh and sincerely hoped that Avatar Roku and his four teachers hadn't made a mistake with their command.
It was sunrise when Aang started his lessons with Jeong Jeong. Katara and Wenona had set to practicing their Waterbending while Sokka fished and Keng fixed some of their damaged gear and clothes.
"Widen your stance," Jeong Jeong instructed Aang. Aang complied. "Wider!" Again, Aang did as he was told. "Bend your knees. Now concentrate." Aang gave a look of clear focus and Jeong Jeong turned away. "Good. Good."
"Wait! What do I do now?" Aang asked.
"Silence! Talking is not concentrating." He then gestured over towards the others. "Looks at your friends. Are they talking? Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he's doing," he added, pointing at Sokka.
"Hey!" the older boy protested.
"But what am I concentrating on?" Aang asked.
"Feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of fire, yet it is in complete balance with nature."
"So, when do I get to make some fire?"
"Concentrate!"
Behind him, Aang could hear his friends snickering and began to feel embarrassed. The rest of Aang's training didn't go any better as it mainly consisted of Jeong Jeong leading Aang up to the top of a nearby mountain and leaving him there to concentrate on his breathing. After several hours, Aang marched back to the camp and stormed into Jeong Jeong's room, clearly aggravated.
"What are you doing here?" Jeong Jeong demanded. "I did not tell you to stop."
"I've been breathing for hours," Aang complained.
"You want to stop breathing?"
"I want you to stop wasting my time! I already know how to squat and breathe and feel the sun! I wanna know how to shoot fire out of my fingertips!"
Jeong Jeong gave a frustrated sigh.
"I had a pupil, once, who had no interest in learning discipline," he said. "He was only concerned with the power of fire. How he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path. But fire is a horrible burden to bear. It's nature is to consume, and without control it destroys everything around it. Learn restraint or risk destroying yourself and everything you love."
Aang silently walked back outside where he sat down and began to meditate on what Jeong Jeong had told him. That was how the older man found him when he emerged from his dwelling.
"I thought about what you said," Aang said quietly. "I promise I'll be more patient."
"We're going to work with fire now," said Jeong Jeong.
Aang immediately perked up and gave a victory jump.
"Oh yeah!" He then realized what he'd just done and straightened himself up. "I mean…let us begin."
Jeong Jeong caught a leaf in his fingers and burned it slightly before handing it to Aang.
"Concentrate on the fire," he said. "I want you to keep this flame from reaching the edges of the leaf for as long as you can."
Aang gave a groan of frustration.
"Master!" said Ling-Yi, suddenly appearing. "There is trouble!"
"What's going on?" said Aang.
"Concentrate on your leaf!" Jeong Jeong shouted before hurrying after Ling-Yi.
"This is the worst Firebending instruction ever," Aang grumbled. "All he does is leave me alone for hours to concentrate or breathe!"
"I'm sure there's a good reason," said Katara. She and Keng had walked in just as Jeong Jeong left.
"But I'm ready to do so much more." Aang suddenly got a thought. He took his stance and began to breathe steadily until his leaf burst into flame. "I did it! I made fire!"
"That's great, Aang," Keng said nervously. "But, shouldn't you take things slower?"
Aang ignored him and gave the flame more heat, causing him to stumble back a little.
"Careful!" Katara warned him.
"Now that's Firebending," Aang said as he regained his balance. He then sent a small blast of the fire into the air.
"Aang, you'll hurt yourself."
Aang still wasn't listening and was starting to play with the ball of flames.
"I wonder how that juggler did it," he thought aloud. That's when he shot out a swirl of fire around him.
Katara jumped in front of Keng and stretched out her hands defensively to shield her younger brother from the flames as they got within inches of the boy, screaming as the fire made contact with her exposed skin. Aang stared on in horror as Katara doubled up in pain, holding her burned hands close to her chest and sobbing.
"Katara!" both boys shouted.
Keng hugged his sister comfortingly as Aang came over and tried to apologize.
"I'm so sorry!" the Airbender pleaded.
"What happened?" Wenona demanded as she and Sokka rushed over. "What's wrong?"
"What did you do?!" Sokka shouted at Aang.
"It was an accident!" Aang said desperately. "I-I was…Katara, I'm so-" Sokka cut him off as he tackled the boy to the ground.
"I told you we shouldn't mess around with this!" he yelled. "Look what you did! You burned my sister!"
Katara ran away from them, still crying. Wenona and Sokka were glaring daggers at Aang while Keng looked as though he were worried that Aang would start attacking them.
"You burned my sister," Sokka repeated as he let the younger boy go. At that moment, Master Jeong Jeong walked in and Sokka pointed an accusing finger at him. "This is all your fault!"
"I know," the man said. "Now pack your things. You must leave immediately."
"I'm sorry," Aang said meekly. "I didn't…I'm sorry." Aang glanced up sorrowfully at the Firebender who turned away, ashamed to even look at him.
Katara knelt down by the river, trying to force back her tears. She couldn't believe that Aang had done something so reckless. If she hadn't jumped in the way, Keng would probably have a horrible burn mark across his face. She bit her lip as she lowered her hands into the cooling water. She began to relax as the pain ebbed away, being replaced by a strange, rippling sensation that pulsed through her nerves. She opened her eyes and stared down in shock to see her hands glowing with a pale blue light. She lifted her hands out of the water in astonishment to see that the burns were gone.
"You have Healing abilities," came a calm voice. She turned around and saw Jeong Jeong approaching. "The great Benders of the Water Tribe sometimes have this ability." He took a seat beside her, staring at the river with a deep look of grief. "I've always wished I were blessed like you, free from this burning curse."
"But you're a great master," Katara replied. "You have powers I'll never know."
"Water brings healing and life, but fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we're torn apart."
A blast of fire suddenly shot out in front of them. Jeong Jeong deflected the blasts as they nearly stuck the two of them. They looked up and saw three river boats headed towards them.
"Go get your friends and flee!" Jeong Jeong shouted to Katara. "Do not come back here or you will all be destroyed! Hurry!"
On the barge, however, Admiral Zhao noticed Jeong Jeong standing on the bank while looking through his spy-glass. When he recognized the man, Zhao smirked with cruel satisfaction.
Jeong Jeong sent up a huge wall of flames across the river, blocking the boats from going any further. The boats turned away and headed for the shore. Zhao jumped straight of his ship, closely followed by his troops.
"Don't worry, men," he said. "My old teacher gave up fighting a long time ago." He cut through the wall of flames. "Haven't you, Master Jeong Jeong?"
Jeong Jeong stared down his former pupil before lowering his arms, causing the wall of fire to vanish.
Katara rushed over to her siblings as they were finishing up packing their things back onto Appa. Wenona and Sokka still looked angry, but Keng seemed to have settled down and had a very anxious expression.
"Katara!" Wenona exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said calmly. "We've gotta get out of here. Where's Aang?"
Sokka pointed over towards Jeong Jeong's dwelling. Katara rushed over there and entered to find her friend sitting remorsefully amongst the candles.
"Jeong Jeong tried to tell me that I wasn't ready," Aang said sorrowfully. "I wouldn't listen. I'm never going to Firebend again."
"You'll have to eventually."
"No. Never again."
"It's okay, Aang, I'm healed."
"What? How?"
"I'll explain later. But right now we have to get out of here. Zhao and his soldiers are attacking."
Aang shot up with a blast of air.
"Where?"
"By the river. They captured Jeong Jeong."
"I have to help him!" Aang streaked past her and out the door.
"Look at you," Zhao said in a slow drawl. "You were once so great. I can't believe my former master has become nothing more than a simple savage."
"It is you who have embraced savagery, Zhao," Jeong Jeong retorted.
"It's Admiral Zhao, now."
"That title will not help you against the Avatar. Do not try to fight him! You are no match."
"I think I can handle a child."
"I have never seen such raw power."
That seemed to annoy Zhao. However, it was at that precise moment that Aang appeared.
"Jeong Jeong!" he called out.
"We'll see," Zhao muttered. "Men, take the deserter."
The guards closed in around Jeong Jeong; however, the old Firebending master simply smirked and sent out a huge orb of fire that engulfed everything around him in its light. When the flames cleared, Jeong Jeong had vanished.
"It's a trick!" Zhao shouted. "He's run off into the woods! Find him!" As the soldiers ran off to search the woods, Zhao turned his attention to Aang. "Let's find out what my old master has taught you."
"You were Jeong Jeong's student?" Aang said incredulously.
"Until I got bored." Zhao sent out a blast of fire that Aang dodged with his Airbending.
Zhao kept shooting blast after blast of fire and Aang was suddenly struck by a thought. Jeong Jeong said that his student had no control, therefore, all Aang had to do was get him angry and Zhao would do all the fighting for him.
"Stand and fight, Avatar!"
"Oh, were we fighting?" Aang said with a devious grin. "I thought you were just getting warmed up!"
"I was!" Zhao continued to blast fire as Aang headed for his boats.
"Is that all you got? Man, they'll make anyone an admiral these days!" Zhao sent more fire and Aang made it up to the top of the first boat. "Ahoy! I'm Admiral Zhao," Aang shouted as he shook his backside in Zhao's direction.
Zhao growled as he jumped up onto the boat, unintentionally incinerating it with his fire-blasts. Aang skillfully leapt to the next ship.
"I don't know why, but I thought you'd be better than Zuko," Aang said, making Zhao even angrier than before.
Aang kept mocking him and Zhao just kept spewing fire until the older man confronted the young Avatar at the prow of the last boat.
"Nowhere to run now, you little smart-mouth!" said Zhao. Zhao sent another blast of fire and Aang spiraled up through the air to land behind him.
"You've lost this battle," the Avatar said, jumping out of the way of one final blast.
"Are you crazy? You haven't thrown a single blow!"
"No. But you have." Aang indicated towards the smoldering remains of the river boats. "Jeong Jeong said ya had no restraint." With that, Aang leapt away into the river, leaving Zhao to burst into a furious tantrum.
"Have a nice walk home!" Aang called back.
"Aang, come on!" Sokka called from the riverbank. "Let's go!"
Aang jumped up onto Appa's head and they took off into the sky.
"Wait," Aang said, "where's Jeong Jeong?"
"He disappeared," Wenona answered, "Along with the weird guys in the funny hats."
There was a heavy silence for a few minutes as they continued on their way. Once Aang was sure Appa knew which direction to fly in, he joined his friends in the saddle.
"Aang, you're burned," Katara said, noticing the injury. "Let me help you." She Bended some water out of her pouch until it surrounded her hand and began to glow. She then placed her hand on his wound until it healed.
"Wow, that's good water," Aang said.
"When did you learn how to do that?" Keng asked in amazement.
"I guess I always knew," Katara replied.
"Oh, well then, thanks for all the first aid over the years," Sokka said sarcastically. "Like when I fell in the greaseberry bramble, or that time I had two fishhooks in my thumb!"
"Two?" Aang inquired.
"He tried to get the first fishhook out with another fishhook."
"Oh, and the time that mink-snake bit me," Sokka continued. "Thanks for healing that up. That was great. Really helpful."
"Seriously, Kit-Kit, how did you find out how to do that?" said Wenona.
"After Aang burned me I put my hands in the water and…it just sort of came to me," Katara explained.
"…or the time when that tiger-seal practically mauled me," said Sokka.
"It was just a pup and it didn't even bite that hard," Wenona muttered.
"Anyway, Jeong Jeong told me that some Waterbenders are able to use their ability to heal," Katara continued.
"That's what Setna meant!" Wenona exclaimed, earning curious looks from the others. "Sorry, it's just, remember when we went to that one village where Sokka and I got kidnapped by that spirit and I met Mother Setna?" They all nodded. "She told me that I had to master Waterbending and Healing. I didn't really know what she meant by 'Healing' at the time since none of us have ever seen it done before now."
"I've been wondering something, Nona," said Sokka. "Why'd Mother Setna take such an interest in you?"
"Uhh,well, there's something I've been meaning to tell you guys…"
Author's Note: Finally got this done! Anyway, Wenona hadn't really told her siblings or Aang that she is Aang's Water Source. She'd only really told them that Setna had told her to get to the temple with Aang so she could meet her Spirit Guide, but she never explained why. Anywho, keep watching and please, please, PLEASE write some reviews!