After three weeks of preparation, Pakku was ready to make his way to the south with the other benders and healers. After a day of sailing, they gathered on the front deck to say goodbye as Pakku had some things he wanted to give to the group. "Katara. I want you to have this. This amulet contains water from the spirit oasis. The water has unique properties. Don't lose it." He explained to her. "Thank you master Pakku." Katara told him with a hug before turning to climb onto Appa.
"Aang. These scrolls will help you master water bending but remember, they are no substitute for a REAL master." Pakku told him. Aang smiled and bowed, then turned to climb on Appa. "Azula. This bow was made by our best craftsmen specifically for you. It was my idea. The Fire Nation as you know, have left a deep impact on the rest of the world. Many people won't be as understanding as our chief. It's my hope that this bow will allow you to help your friends while putting no danger on yourself." Pakku explained as he handed her a beautifully crafted water tribe bow with a pouch for arrows. Inside were forty arrows. Azula never fancied herself as an archer, but being able to fight in the earth kingdom without spiteful villagers throwing things at her sounded pretty convenient. After she bowed, she took the bow. "Thank you Pakku. Oh and maybe DON'T mention our fight to Gran Gran?" Azula asked with a bit of nervousness to her voice. Pakku laughed. "Don't worry, these lips are sealed." Azula holstered her new bow and climbed on Appa.
"And Sokka." Pakku said as Sokka looked excited for what he was going to get. Only for Pakku to just pat him on the shoulder. "Take care son." Pakku told an embarrassed and disappointed Sokka. "Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base east of here. General Fong will provide you an escort to Omashu. There you'll be safe, to begin your earth bending training with King Bumi." Pakku told them. "Appa yip yip!" Aang said to get Appa flying. "Say hi to Gran Gran for me!" Katara called out as they flew away.
After what felt like an hour of flying, they had arrived at the fortress. "There it is!" Sokka shouted as the approached. Upon landing, they were immediately welcomed by General Fong and his soldiers. "Welcome avatar Aang! I, am general Fong. And welcome to all of you, great heroes! Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara, and Azula. The great dragon of the south!" Azula was taken a back a little by that comment. "Dragon of the south? I like it." Azula said with a smug grin. The sound of fireworks could then be heard and the group looked behind them to see soldiers launching fireworks to celebrate their arrival. "Not bad, not bad." Sokka commented.
Soon everyone was inside in Fong's office sitting on some mats before his desk. "Avatar Aang. We were all amazed at the stories of how you single handedly wiped out an entire fire navy fleet at the North Pole. I can't imagine what it must feel like to wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility." Fong said as he stroked his beard. "I try not to think about it too much." Aang told him.
"Avatar. You're ready to face the Fire Lord now." Fong told him. Everyone became stunned. 'Are you out of your mind!?' Azula screamed in her head. "What?! NO I'M NOT!" Aang shouted in concern. "Aang still needs to master all four elements!" Katara pointed out. "Why? With the kind of power he possesses, power enough to destroy a hundred battle ships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the Fire Lord NOW!" Fong argued. "But sir the thing is, Aang can only do those things when he's in the avatar state." Sokka explained. "See it's this special state where-" Aang tried to explain but was cut off. "I'm well aware. Your eyes and tattoos glow, and your able to summon unbelievable power. Without you we'd be slaughtered before we even reach their shores. But with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon….we could cut a path right to the heart of the Fire Nation." Fong explained. Azula had heard enough and stood up to speak.
"General Fong Aang is NOT, a weapon! You can't treat him like one!" Azula shouted. "Azula calm down!" Katara told her, surprised by her outburst. "Azula. Your father is Fire Lord Ozai himself, correct?" Fong asked. "Don't, call him my father." Azula said with venom in her voice. "Apologizes. Anyway, you know how powerful your fa….Fire Lord Ozai is. Tell me, do you think he could stand up to the power the avatar possesses?" Fong asked her. "That's not the point. The point is that Aang is NOT your super solder." Azula told him. There was a strong sense of venom in her voice as she called out Fong for trying to use Aang like how Ozai wanted to use her.
"Azula! please, calm down." Katara pleaded with her. Azula looked at Katara's concerned eyes and let out a sigh and sat back down. Katara put a hand on Azula's shoulder "I'm not using Aang as a tool. I'm trying to make him see reason. With the power of the avatar state, he could bring the Fire Lord to his knees." Fong explained. "General Fong, I don't know how to get in or out of the avatar state. Much less what to do when I'm there." Aang confessed. "It's decided then. I'll help you figure out how to get into the avatar state, and then you'll face your destiny." Fong told them.
Everyone stood up. "No! Nothing's decided! We already have a plan! Aang's pursuing HIS destiny his way!" Katara told him. "Well, while you take your time learning the elements. The war goes on. May I show you something?" Fong asked them, pointing at a window. Fong led Aang to the window.
"That's the infirmary. THOSE soldiers, are the lucky ones. They came back. Every day the Fire Nation takes more lives. People are DYING Aang! You could end it, NOW! Think about it." Fong told him before walking away. Solders came to escort the gang to where they will be sleeping. "Hold on. I wish to speak with Fong, alone." Azula told the soldier who looked at the general, gave him a nod telling him it was okay. The others left, leaving Azula and Fong alone in the office.
"General Fong." Azula said coldly. "What's on your mind Azula?" Fong asked as he returned to his seat. Azula gave Fong a cold glare. "I know what you're doing. I don't like it." Azula told him. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." "You know EXACTLY what I mean!" Azula told him, raising her voice but not shouting as she approached his desk. "When I was a child…..when I was just a little girl….Fire Lord Ozai raised me to be a weapon. Something equivalent to a machine. He wanted to turn me into a weapon for war. A weapon, of mass destruction! And now you're doing the same thing with Aang!" Azula told him. Fong let out a soft grunt.
"I swear to you, I am doing no such thing. I have the best intentions for Aang, and I'm leaving the choice up to him. If he refuses, I'll have you escorted to Omashu immediately. I give you my word." Azula wasn't convinced. She leaned forward and put her hands on his desk. "I'm going to say this once. Aang is NOT your super soldier. He is NOT, a weapon. If you try to make him one….you'll regret it." "Are you threatening me?" "Yes, I am." Aula told him before walking away.
Later that night, Aang had stepped out to speck with the general. After a half hour he returned and sat down on his bed. "I told the general I'd help him by going into the avatar state." Aang told them. The blood in Azula's body boiled immediately. Katara sat up from her bed. "Aang, no! This is NOT the right way!" Katara pleaded with him. "Why not? Remember when he took out the fire navy? He was incredible." Sokka told her. "SOKKA! THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Azula shouted in rage, catching everyone off guard. "Azula, calm down!" Katara pleaded. "No I will NOT calm down! That man is trying to do to Aang what Ozai tried to do to me! He's trying to use Aang as a weapon!" Azula shouted. "Azula please. Fong isn't manipulating me, this is MY choice. I'm CHOOSING to go through with this." "AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM! We had a plan Aang and that general is convincing you to throw it all away!" Azula continued to shout. "Azula, please understand that I know what I'm doing!" "NO, YOU DON'T! If you face Ozai you're going to die! You need to master the elements first! Just like we planned!"
"Or he could just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord." Sokka told them from his bed. Azula glared at him venomously. "IF YOU TWO IDIOTS WANT TO THROW AWAY EVERYTHING WE'VE WORKED SO HARD FOR THEN FINE!" Azula screamed in rage as she stormed out to clear her head. Katara followed her as Aang called out to them. "Azula, I'm just being realistic! I don't have TIME to do this the right way!"
Outside Azula crossed her arms and stared out at the night sky as she regained her composer. "You okay?" She heard Katara ask her from behind. Azula looked behind her at Katara as she walked up and stood next to her. Azula let out a sigh and looked down at the ground. "I'm fine, it's just…..I'm just afraid that the general's going to manipulate Aang like how Ozai tried to manipulate me." Azula explained. Katara let out a sigh and put a hand on Azula's shoulder. "I don't think the general is anything like Ozai. I don't agree with what he's trying to do, but I don't think he has any bad intentions." "I hope not." Azula told her as the two went back inside to go to bed.
The next morning, the group met up with Fong so they could start trying to find a way for Aang to enter the avatar state at will. They went to a gazebo a few minutes away from the fort. One of Fong's people joined them and he, Fong, and Aang sat down at the table in the center of the gazebo. "This rare chi enhancing tea is a natural stimulant. In an ordinary warrior, it improves strength and energy tenfold. In you, it may induce the avatar state." The man explained as he prepared the special tea. Aang took the cup in his hands. "Tenfold energy huh?" Aang asked before taking a sip.
The next thing anyone knew. Aang was flying all over the place on an air scooter. "ISITWORKINGISITWORKINGICAN'TTELLSOMEBODYTELLMEIFIMINTHEAVATARSTATECAUSEIDONTHAVEAGOODFEELOFMYSELFAMITALKINGTOOLOUD?!" Aang shouted as he flew all over the gazebo. "I guess he could TALK Ozai to death." Azula said unamused as Aang flew into one of the support beams of the gazebo.
After the tea wore off, everyone returned to the fortress. "Maybe I can shock you into the avatar state." Sokka proposed. "I like surprises!" Aang said happily. Katara covered Aang's eyes and Sokka quickly grabbed Momo and tucked his head into his shirt. He then placed Momo on top of his head and gave a thumbs up. Katara moved her hands away and Sokka quickly leaned forward as Momo screeched loudly as Aang, startling him. After getting the daylights scared out of him, Aang quickly recovered and looked at the tattoos on his hands. "Still not glowing." Sokka suddenly began to lose balance and comedically fell to the ground, causing Azula to chuckle. "You okay?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." Sokka told her.
Everyone had gathered in a temple. Azula, Fong, Katara and Sokka stood to the side. Aang stood in the center of the room in front of a man who stood behind a large stone with a big bowl on it. Aang was wearing on top of his clothes, clothing from each of the other nation's styles. "You are wearing a ceremonial piece of clothing from EACH of the four bending nations. Now, I shall join the elements into ONE! WATER! EARTH! FIRE! AIR!" The man poured water and some dirt into the bowl and then threw a lit torch in. He then finished it by taking an air pump and blowing air into the bowl. "FOUR ELEMENTS TOGETHER AS ONE!" The man shouted as he took the bowl and swung it through the air, sending its contents all over Aang. "This is just mud!" Aang said annoyed as he was covered in mud. "So…do you feel anything?" The man asked. Aang held one finger up and his face twitched. Everyone tensed up. "AAHHCHOOOO!" Aang sneezed and the mud went flying everywhere. Covering everyone in mud. "Whelp, that went exactly how I thought it would." Azula joked, earning an annoyed look from Fong. "We have to find a way." Fong said as he whipped the mud from his face.
Fong decided to take a break and continue tomorrow. Aang and the others went off and Azula went to the training yard to practice her archery. At first her accuracy was horrible, and it was obvious that she had NO IDEA what she was doing. Every shot either landed low on the target or missed entirely and hit the wall behind it. 'This is harder than it looks.' Azula thought to herself with a sigh. "You're holding it wrong, first of all." She heard a voice behind her say. Looking back she saw it was one of the drill instructors. "Your arm should be straight when you hold the bow out. And you only need your middle and pointer fingers to hold the arrow back." The instructor told her. Azula readied another arrow. "Like this?" She asked as she straightened her arm with the bow and used the correct fingers to pull back the arrow. "That's good. Remember to always have faith in the arrow. You should always trust that it will hit its mark. Let your faith stay true to the arrow and it will stay true to you." Azula was silent as she held the arrow in place between her fingers. She took a deep breath and released the arrow. The arrow still missed the bullseye but made it closer than the other twelve arrows she had fired before.
"The trick is to fire the arrow on empty lungs. Take a deep breath and only when your breath has completely left your lungs, do you release the arrow. Try again." The instructor told her. Azula nodded and readied another arrow. She took a deep breath in and held it for a second before letting it back out. She waited for half a second after her breath left her, before releasing her arrow. The arrow went flying through the air and landed right in the yellow. Her best shot yet. "Not bad for a beginner. Keep practicing." The instructor told her. Azula nodded and readied another arrow and kept practicing until it was late. Azula collected all her arrows and decided she would continue practicing in the morning.
Come morning Azula returned to the training yard to continue practicing her archery. Azula fired arrow after arrow and followed the advice of the instructor that decided to help her. Each arrow landed on the target with slightly more and more improved accuracy. After firing all her arrows, Azula went to collect them to try again. However, after placing them back in her arrow bag and moving back into position to keep practicing, a loud boom sound was heard throughout the whole fortress. "What the?!" Azula shouted as she jumped from the noise. She looked in the direction of the sound and realized it came from Fong's office at the top of the tower. Azula saw as what looked like Fong's entire stone desk, flying out of the newly created hole in the wall. Aang also came falling to the ground along with it. Aang quickly used his air bending to soften his landing. Azula stood where she was confused as to what was going on and looked up at the giant hole in the wall where Fong's office is to see Fong standing there looking down at Aang below. "MEN! ATTACK THE AVATAR!"
'What's going on?!' Azula thought to herself as Fong jumped down from the tower and used his earth bending to stop his fall. He stood where he was and Azula could see a smile on his face comparable to a mad man. "What are you doing?!" Aang asked him. "I believe we're about to get results." Fong said calm and coldly. 'That crazy son of a…' Azula thought to herself as the earth kingdom soldiers began attacking Aang. As Aang dodged and evaded the soldier's attacks, Azula holstered her bow. Her archery needed a lot more work before she was ready to use it. Azula used her fire bending to propel herself to the center of the courtyard and next to Aang. "I got you Aang!" Azula told him. "Stay out of this Azula!" Fong shouted. "I WARNED YOU FONG!" Azula shouted in rage as she summoned fire to both her hands. "MEN! ATTACK THE AVATAR! AND THE FIRE NATION PRINCESS!" Fong ordered.
Fong's soldiers used their earth bending to make giant stones of the earth kingdom symbol. A circular stone with a perfect square in the center. Seeing the size of the stones and the number of the troops, Azula realized too late how much trouble they were really in. The soldiers launched the stones at them and Aang used his air bending to dodge them while Azula used her fire bending to propel herself upwards and evade the attack. "I'm not your enemy! I won't fight you!" Aang shouted. The troops launched more stones at the two of them. Some troops focused on Aang while some targeted Azula. Azula did her best to avoid the giant stones.
Aang was doing his best to evade the troops, using his air scooter to fly by many of the soldiers while Azula used her fire bending to propel herself forward at high speeds around the troops. After circling the soldiers a few times, Azula made a beeline for Fong. "Come here Fong!" Azula shouted as she went straight for the general. As she got close, she did a front flip and swung her right leg forward creating a big wave of fire that went straight down to Fong. The general saw it coming and bended a big chunk of earth upwards in his defense to block the attack. Slamming the earth back into the ground, the two locked eyes with each other before more troops intervened and came to the general's defense on ostrich horses and began attacking Azula. "Get outta my way." Azula shouted as she blasted fire at the troops. As Azula was busy fighting the troops, Fong set his sights back on Aang. "YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER!" Fong shouted. "YOU CAN'T FIGHT FOREVER!" Aang shouted back.
Suddenly Sokka and Katara joined in on the fight. Sokka using his boomerang to knockout a soldier while Katara water whipped another in the face and sent him off his horse, which Sokka quickly stole. "Man am I glad to see you guys!" Azula shouted as she blasted fire at the troops. Suddenly the troops held their fire as the two sisters stood next to each other. Katara and Azula stood back to back as they prepared for whatever was going to happen. "Maybe YOU can avoid me. But THEY can't!" Fong shouted to Aang. Azula and Katara shared a look with each other as they realized that Fong was going to focus on them now.
Azula stepped forward and sent a blast of fire at Fong. Fong quickly blocked it with his earth bending before Azula could make another attack. Azula suddenly went into the ground itself as Fong used his earth bending to sink Azula and Katara. The two sisters were trapped in the ground up to their knees. "I can't move!" Katara called out to Aang. "Fong you crazy son of a pig sheep! I WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU!" Azula shouted in rage. "Don't hurt them!" Aang shouted as he charged at Fong and blasted a wave of air at him. Fong was quick though and blocked it with his earth bending and then quickly sank the two sisters even deeper into the ground to their waists.
"KATARA! AZULA! NO!" Sokka shouted on his horse. Sokka tried to intervene and charged the general, only for the legs of his horse to get sunk into the ground and for Sokka to go flying to the ground. "Sokka!" Azula shouted as she watched her brother face plant into the ground. "Stop this! You HAVE to let them go!" Aang desperately pleaded with the general. "YOU COULD SAVE THEM IF YOU WERE IN THE AVATAR STATE!" "I'm trying! I'm trying!" Aang desperately told the general. "WAIT! TAKE ME! KILL ME BUT PLEASE! LET KATARA GO!" Azula begged Fong as the two sisters sank even lower to their chests. "Azula, no! We're gonna be fine!" Katara tried to assure her sister. "How do you know that?!" Azula shouted back. "I….I…." Azula could see the fear in Katara's eyes. She had no answer.
"I don't see glowing!" Fong shouted. "FONG YOU MONSTER!" Azula shouted and blasted fire at Fong from behind. Fong seemed to take it, being barley hurt by the blue flame. He let out a loud grunt and without turning around to look at them, sank them deeper into the ground to their necks. "AHHH! PLEASE!" "FONG DON'T DO THIS!" the sisters pleaded desperately. "YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THIS!" Aang begged the general. "Apparently, I DO!" Fong told him as he clenched his fist and sent the sisters into darkness underground. Azula could only see darkness as the ground surrounded her and limited her breathing and restricted her movement. The feeling of hard rock was felt throughout her whole body as she tried to shout for Katara. Only to be met with silence. However despite being underground she could still hear everything from above ground. The sounds of strong winds forming and the general shouting made their way into Azula's ears. IT WORKED! IT WOOOOORRRKKED!" She could hear the general cheer. That meant that Aang had done it. He was in the avatar state, and judging by the sounds, she'd say it was going exactly how one would think it would. The sounds of powerful winds made it into Azula's ears. She could only use her imagination to guess what was happening. However, Azula could only assume it was just like the southern air temple, just worse. Soon the sound of Fong could be heard.
"AVATAR AANG! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! YOUR FRIENDS ARE SAFE!" Fong shouted as he bended the two sisters back out of the ground and to the surface. The two sisters immediately taking a big gasp of air as they were once again on the surface safe and sound. The two looked up to see Aang in the avatar state, suspending himself in the air using his air bending. "IT WAS JUST A TRICK TO TRIGGER THE AVATAR STATE AND IT WORKED!" Fong shouted. Aang looked down to see the two sisters staring back up at him. He then slammed down into the ground sending huge shockwaves causing massive damage to the fortress. Aang stood there in the center of the now heavily damaged fortress, the glowing of his tattoos and eyes slowly faded and he dropped to his knees. The two sisters wasted no time in rushing to his side. "I'm sorry Katara." Aang said sadly as he looked at the damage the whole place was in. "There's nothing to be sorry for Aang. You did what you had to do." Azula told him. Suddenly the three of them heard footsteps approaching. They looked behind them to see Fong approaching. Azula got up and went to stand in front of Aang and Katara. "NOT A STEP CLOSER YOU PSYCHO!" Azula shouted in anger.
"I'm sorry. That was dangerous… BUT PERFECT! WE JUST NEED TO FIND A WAY TO CONTROL YOU WHEN YOU'RE LIKE THAT!" Fong shouted in excitement. "You're out of your mind." Aang said annoyed. "I guess we'll figure it out on our way to the Fire Nation!" said Fong. As Fong spoke, Sokka came up behind him on an ostrich horse. When the general finished his sentence, Sokka satisfyingly shut the mad man up with a good bonk on the head, knocking him out. "Anybody here got a problem with that?" Sokka asked the troops, who promptly shook their heads no.
"Do you still want an escort to Omashu?" One of the soldiers asked. The group looked at each other for a moment. "I think we'll do fine on our own." Azula told them. Soon enough, the gang was on Appa. Flying away from the fortress and towards Omashu on their own. Or at least, not before Azula took one last look at Fong and hocking a lougee on the general's unconscious face.