Chapter 4: The Siege of the Swamp
At a southern port, Commander Zhao was creating a strategy to bring down the Avatar. It would require a force as large as possible, so he called in several favors that the Admirals owed him and began assembling his army at the port. All he needed to execute his plan was authorization from either an Admiral or a General.
While Zhao applied the finishing touches to his plan a courier arrived with a message for Zhao. He took the message and read it. Oh spirits! Not HER! He thought. He quickly tidied up his tent, putting everything in order for his unexpected guest. He had just finished when the guest arrived.
"Commander Zhao," she said as she entered the tent.
"Princess Azula," Zhao said.
Azula was wearing full royal armor, designed for optimal firebending combat. "I'm here on a military matter Zhao, not a political one. You can drop the formality."
"Of course Azula," Zhao said. "How was the siege of Omashu?"
"Pathetic," Azula said. "That mad king surrendered without putting up a fight. It was really disappointing."
"I see," Zhao said. "Well if you're here than it must be about the Avatar."
"That, and your plan to burn down some backwater swamp," Azula said.
"The Avatar was last seen heading for the Foggy Swamp," Zhao said. "That was a month ago and he hasn't been spotted since. Word on the grapevine is that he only knows airbending, and needs a waterbending teacher."
"So you think he's found one in that swamp?" Azula asked.
"It may not be the poles, but there's enough water in there to make any waterbender feel at home," Zhao explained. "The Avatar could have stumbled across a hermit in there, perhaps an outcast from the Northern Water Tribe. In any case he's still there for a reason, and it's about time we flush him out."
"Very well, you may carry on with your plan," Azula said. "Just make sure you finish it. You wouldn't want to disappoint my dear brother, would you?"
In the middle of the swamp, Aang and Katara were practicing their waterbending. Today they were bending the water around a pair of skiffs, sending them forward in the water. Aang was moving one and Katara was moving the other. Both skiffs had ropes attached the back, towing Suki and Huu on wooden skis. Suki was wearing local clothing to prevent her Kyoshi Warrior uniform from getting ruined in the swamp. Aang and Katara were having a race, and the winner would need to still have their skier at the finish line.
At the finish line were Tho and Due, holding a rope to mark the end of the race. Katara and Suki reached the finish line first, drenching Tho with the skiff's wake as they passed. Then Aang and Huu crossed the line, drenching Due with their wake. Both skiffs stopped next to the water's edge and everyone got off.
"That was some mighty fine swamp skiing Suki," Huu said.
"Well I never thought it would be so much fun," Suki said. "Hey Katara I reckon we can beat the boys again." Then Suki stopped taking for a moment. "Did I just say 'I reckon'?"
"You must be picking up the swamp accent," Katara said.
"Please tell me you two have finished mastering waterbending so we can leave?" Suki asked. "I done think I stand it longer." Then she realized what she said. "It's happening again."
"We haven't started bending plants yet," Aang said. "Hey Huu, when are we going to start that?"
"One step at a time," Huu said. "You've got plenty more to learn with water before moving on to plants. Now Katara on the other hand, she could start bending plants tomorrow."
Suddenly another skiff arrived, with a very worried woman riding in it. She jumped off and ran up to everyone. "Huu we have a problem," she said. "There's an army right at the edge of our home. They have strange animals and metal boats and I think they're going to attack."
"Fire Nation," Katara said. "How many were there?"
"Too many to count, and more were arriving," the woman said.
"Maybe we should go and see what they want," Huu said.
"That's a bad idea," Suki said. "If the Fire Nation is gathering outside the swamp it can only mean they plan to burn it to the ground."
"Well then we won't let that happen," Huu said. "We'll gather everyone together and fight for our home."
On a river at the edge of the swamp, Commander Zhao gave the order to begin the attack. Firebenders took point and set the southern end of the swamp on fire. They enhanced and directed the flames inward, quickly burning away the plants despite being soaked with water. As the vegetation was burned away engineers moved in to dig ravines to drain the water soaked into the ground. When the ground was dry the troops moved forward, keeping an eye out for the Avatar's bison.
Suddenly a massive wave of water moved through the swamp, heading for the fires. It washed over the fires and extinguished them, then soaked the firebenders and the soldiers behind them. Then the vines in the swamp came to life and wrapped around the firebenders and pulled them into the swamp. Soldiers moved to rescue them, but were ambushed by cat-gators jumping out of the shallow water. The cat-gators bit the arms and legs of the soldiers and dragged them into the water.
The Fire Nation sent in the Kimono Rhinos next, which the cat-gators couldn't bring down. The firebenders riding the rhinos firebended at any vines moving towards them, burning them away. When the firebenders were about to set the swamp on fire again they saw something approach. Several skiffs being propelled across the water, and then they stopped and the waterbenders sent another wave at the firebenders.
"There's a whole tribe in there?" Zhao muttered as he observed with a spyglass. He gave a signal to the ships on the riverbank near the swamp, ordering them to fire their catapults. Large fireballs were hurled through the air and landed in the swamp, setting more of it on fire. As the catapults reloaded Zhao spotted the bison moving towards the ships.
Aang jumped off Appa and flew down on his glider. He landed on one of the ships and used airbending to push the crew off the deck, then used waterbending to punch a hole in the ship's hull and sink it. He repeated this with more ships until he was exhausted and had to get on Appa to rest. Fortunately night was approaching, and the Fire Nation stopped their attack.
The waterbenders of the swamp put out the fires and then regrouped. They observed that a tenth of the swamp had been burned down, and that this was only the beginning. While the waterbenders had the home field advantage, they were no soldiers. During the night they prepared as best they could, taking positions near the burned end of the swamp.
When the sun rose the Fire Nation resumed their attack, setting the swamp on fire again. Kimono Rhinos advanced, their riders firebending at the ground in front of them to dry it out for the beasts to walk on. Soldiers followed behind the rhinos, guarding the rear from being flanked. The catapults from the ships fired again, setting the trees ablaze.
Appa flew in and dropped off Katara and Suki. In her Kyoshi Warrior uniform Suki fought the soldiers with her fans, deflecting fireblasts and taking out the soldiers. Katara pulled water from the soil and turned the ground beneath the rhinos into mud, sinking them into it. Then she pulled the water out of that soil to trap the rhinos in hard dirt, and used the freed water to wash away more firebenders.
Huu moved in, creating the monster of vines. He wrapped the vines around the soldiers and tossed them into the water for the cat-gators. Some of the rhinos attempted to charge at Huu, but he stopped them with a wall of thick plant matter. Firebenders set Huu's vines ablaze, but he bended away the burning material and replaced it with fresh vines.
Zhao ordered the tanks to move in, their occupants firebending into the swamp. They dried up their own paths to get into the swamp to attack the waterbenders. The tanks were attacked by a wave of water bended by Tho and Due on a skiff. When the wave hit the tanks were flooded with water that carried cat-gators with it. In one of several tanks there was an angry Slim that bit off the limbs of firebenders inside.
Aang fought more firebenders and soldiers, combining airbending and waterbending to deal with them. He would disorient them with windblasts then bend water into the soil and make them sink in the mud. With help from several waterbenders he flooded the ground beneath the army, trapping the tanks and rhinos in the mud and slowing down the soldiers.
While the natives of the swamp fought well, they were far outnumbered. Despite their efforts the Fire Nation slowly advanced, and by nightfall a third of the swamp had been burned down. The attack stopped again for the night, and both sides regrouped. Half an hour before sunset Aang, Katara, and Suki rested under the giant tree in what used to be the exact center of the swamp.
"We can't keep this up," Aang said, resting on his back.
"Maybe we should start evacuating?" Suki suggested. "Get everyone that can't bend or fight out of the swamp."
"And where would they go?" Katara asked. "This is their home, they won't abandon it."
"There are other swamps in the Earth Kingdom," Suki said. "They may be smaller than this one but at least the people here can maintain their culture elsewhere."
"If only this swamp would call up one of those tornados like when it brought us in here," Aang said. "I'd settle for some kind of swamp spirit."
"Hey you may be onto something," Suki said.
"Come again?" Katara said.
"You don't know?" Suki asked. "The Avatar is the bridge between the physical world and the spirit world. At least that's what the old stories say."
"So if there is a swamp spirit, then I can talk to it?" Aang asked.
"Yea, and tonight's the winter solstice," Suki said. "If there's any time to reach a spirit, it's now."
"Alright I'll give it a try," Aang said. He sat up and got into a sitting position and started to meditate. Nothing happened at first, but when the last rays of the sun ended Aang's tattoos started to glow.
Suddenly Aang found himself in a different place. The swamp was gone, and in its place was a forest of bamboo. He started to explore this strange place, and heard a voice chanting. Aang followed it to a baboon trying to meditate.
"You shouldn't be here," the baboon said.
"Why?" Aang asked.
"Oh that Hei Bei is upset again," the baboon said. "You should be calming him down right now, but you are clearly not since you are here instead."
"Do you know who I am?" Aang asked.
"Of course Avatar," the baboon said. "Do not worry about Hei Bei. By the time you reach him our worlds will be far enough apart to force him to stop destroying that village."
"Ok, can you help me find a spirit of the Foggy Swamp?" Aang asked.
"You have more pressing matters," the baboon said. "We have company." Then the baboon pointed at the sky behind Aang, who turned and saw a blue dragon flying down. When it landed in front of Aang the rider dismounted and stood in front of Aang. He was an old man, wearing red clothing and a Fire Nation headpiece in his gray hair.
"Avatar Roku!" Aang said.
"Hello Aang," Roku said. "I have something very important to tell you."
"Can it wait?" Aang asked. "I need to find a spirit to save the Foggy Swamp."
"This cannot wait Aang," Roku said. Then Roku explained that how Sozin's Comet enhances firebending, and how it was used to begin the war. And then Roku told Aang that Sozin's Comet would return at the end of the summer, and that he would have to defeat the Fire Lord before that happens.
"But I only know Air and Water, I haven't started Earth and Fire," Aang complained.
"I know you can do it," Roku said. "Now, what did you need?"
"The Foggy Swamp is being burned down by the Fire Nation" Aang explained. "There's a native tribe of waterbenders there that will be destroyed if I don't get the help of a spirit that lives there."
"Is that all?" the baboon asked. "I can help with that."
"Are you the swamp's spirit?" Aang asked.
"No," the baboon said. "But I know him and he would be very upset if the center tree is destroyed."
"Can you take me to him?" Aang asked.
"No," the baboon said. "But I can help you protect his swamp. You really don't want to see that spirit upset. It's not a pretty picture."
"Ok, let's go," Aang said.
Commander Zhao was sleeping in his ship, getting much needed rest for when the attack would resume in the morning. He was dreaming about tossing the Avatar to the ground in front of the Fire Lord, then getting promoted to Admiral. Just before the good part involving the Princess he was woken up by an alarm outside the ship. Zhao quickly put on his armor and ran outside to see what was going on in the middle of the night.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Zhao yelled when he saw what was happening. A massive fifty foot tall monkey made out of plant matter was attacking his troops. It swatted the men away like flies, crushing the tanks and rhinos under its feet.
"Go Away!" the monkey said. When Zhao ordered all of his men to firebend at the monkey, but this only annoyed it. "You're still here?" The men panicked and ran away, leaving only Zhao behind. Then the monkey destroyed the ships that hadn't left the riverbank, and only Zhao remained with no way to leave. The monkey stepped on Zhao, and then said "Good Riddance!"
With the task complete the baboon spirit returned to the spirit world. The plants that had been used to create his physical form dried up and shattered, leaving Aang behind with his eyes and tattoos glowing. Then the glow faded and Aang realized that the swamp had been saved. But he was tired, and went to sleep as soon as he made it back to his friends.
A/N: If canon can get away with Monster-Panda, Owl-Librarian, and Koizilla I really don't see anything wrong with Plant Kong. Someone should write a story where Koizilla and Plant Kong reenact Godzilla vs. King Kong.