It had been two days since the incident at Fong's fortress. The group had stopped by a river to rest and take a break from flying and for Aang and Katara to practice water bending. Azula was off to the side meditating since there wasn't anything around to practice her archery on. Sokka was relaxing in his underwear on a giant leaf floating on the water with Momo resting on his chest.
"You guys are gonna be done soon right? We've got a lot of ground to cover if we wanna make it to Omashu today." Sokka told them. "What, like YOUR ready to go right now? Naked guy?" Katara countered. "I can be ready in two minutes. Seriously, whenever." Sokka said back. Azula rolled her eyes at her brother. Aang and Katara began to practice water bending. Azula barely paid attention to their practice aside from taking a glance at them and seeing Aang blush as Katara corrected his stance.
'Ah, young love.' Azula thought to herself as a small grin formed on her face. As she sat where she was, meditating, a sudden sound could be slowly heard approaching them. 'Is that music?' Azula thought as the sound of someone playing a guitar could be heard. Over the hill in the distance appeared a small group of people.
"Don't fall in love with the traveling girl! She'll leave you broke and broken hearted!" One of them sang. As they came closer they noticed the group. "Hey, hey, river people!" The one with the guitar said. "We're not river people." Katara said to him. "You're not? Well then what kinda people are ya?" the man asked confused. "Just….people." Aang told him. The man smiled. "Aren't we ALL brother?"
"So who are you guys?" Azula asked, standing up. Judging by their clothes, she'd say these guys were just a small group of simple hippies. "I'm Chong. This is my wife Lilly. We're nomads. Happy to go wherever the wind takes us." Chong explained. "You guys are nomads? That's great, I'M a nomad!" Aang said excided. "Hey, me too!" Chong said. "Uhhh, I know. You just said that." "Oh….nice underwear." Chong said looking at Sokka. 'This guy's not very bright is he?' Azula thought as Sokka became slightly uncomfortable and scurried back to his clothes to put them back on.
After about a half hour, Sokka had returned slightly agitated. Everyone was resting by Appa as they listened to some of the stories the nomads had to tell. Some of them were interesting but many sounded made up. "Hey Sokka! You should hear some of these stories! These guys have been everywhere!" Aang told him. "Well, not EVERYWHERE little arrow head. But where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and song." Chong said.
"They said they'll take us to see a giant night crawler." Aang told Sokka. "And on the way, there's this waterfall that creates a never ending rainbow!" One of the nomads known as Moko added. "Look, I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara and Azula are busy I guess it's up to me. We need to get to Omashu. That means no sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows!" Sokka told them. Azula rolled her eyes.
"Whoa. Sounds like someone's got a case of destination fever. You're worried too much about where you're going." Chong told Sokka. "You've got to focus less on the where and more on the going." Lilly added. "OH! MA! SHU!" Sokka said agitated. "Unfortunately, my wet blanket of a brother is right. We need to get to the city of Ohmashu so that Aang can learn earth bending from King Bumi." Azula explained to Chong. "Well sounds like you're headed to Ohmashu." Chong said causing Sokka to angrily face palm.
There's an old story about a secret pass. Right through the mountain!" Chong told them. "Is this real or a legend?" Katara asked skeptically. "Oh it's a real legend! And it's as old as earth bending itself." Chong explained. Chong then began playing his guitar and started singing a song about the cave's story. "Two lovers~ Forbidden from one another~ A war divides their people! ~ And a mountain divides them apart~ Built a path to be together~ and then I forget the next few lines, then the rest go's SECRET TUNNEL~ SECRET TUNNEL~ THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN~ SECRET~ SECRET~ SECRET~ SECRET TUNNEL! Yeah!" After Chong was done singing everyone except Sokka applauded. Sokka stood unamused. "I think we'll just stick with flying. We've dealt with the Fire Nation before. We'll be fine." Sokka said. "Yeah. Thanks for the help but Appa hates going underground, and we need to do what makes Appa most comfortable."
Ten minutes later
"LAUNCH!" The Fire Nation lieutenant ordered. The troops under his command then fired dozens of catapults at the flying bison, forcing Appa to dodge what seemed like an endless amount of fire balls. Each one narrowly missing them. The four of them held onto Appa's saddle for dear life as they screamed their heads off.
Ten more minutes later
"Secret love cave. Let's go." A defeated Sokka told the nomads as he and the others walked past them covered of smoke and ash.
"So how much further are we to this tunnel?" Azula asked after about ten or twenty minutes of walking. "Actually it's not just ONE tunnel. The lovers didn't want ANYONE finding out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth." Chong explained. Sokka and Azula stopped dead in their tracks. "LABYRINTH?!" They asked in shocked unison. "I'm sure we'll figure it out." Chong said casually. "All you have to do is trust in love. According to the curse." Lilly added causing Sokka and Azula to stop dead in their tracks as everyone else passed by. The two exchanged a quick glance at each other before looking back forward. "CURSE?!" They screamed in unison. After five more minutes of walking, they reached the entrance to the tunnel. "Hey, we're here!" Chong said happily.
"So what exactly IS this curse?" Sokka asked. "According to the curse, only those who trust in love will be able to make it through the caves. Otherwise you'll be trapped in them forever." Chong explained. "And die." Lilly added. "O-oh yeah, and die…..hey I just remembered the rest of that song!" Chong flicked a few strings of his guitar. "AND DIIIIIIEEEEEE!" Azula cringed and rolled her eyes.
"That's it! There is NO WAY we're going through some cursed hole!" Sokka shouted. "I actually agree with Sokka. This place gives me a bad feeling." Azula said. "Hey, someone's building a nice camp fire!" Moko suddenly said, pointing to some smoke in the distance. "That's not a camp fire Moko." Katara told him. "It's the Fire Nation. Their tracking us." Sokka said. "And judging by the look of the smoke, their closing in fast!" Azula added.
Aang looked back at Chong. "So all you have to do is trust in love to get through these caves?" "That is correct. Master arrowhead." Chong told him. Azula noticed how Aang gave Katara a good look before turning back to Chong. "We can make it!" Aang said with confidence. Azula resisted the urge to start laughing and instead rolled her eyes. "EVERYONE INTO THE HOLE!" Sokka shouted. Everyone ran into the tunnel. Azula expected the troops to give chase but apparently the Fire Nation was familier with the story of the tunnel. They collapsed the entrance and everyone looked back to see the rocks falling and blocking them inside. Darkness filled the place and Azula used her fire bending to illuminate the place.
"Whoa….she's a fire bender!" Moko said in shock. "Oh no, don't worry guys she's with us!" Katara quickly explained. "Oh it's not that, we don't judge! We're ALL people after all. It don't matter who we are or where we're from. Though I DO have to say that it's really cool to meet a fire bender who's peaceful." Chong explained. Azula smiled. "Thanks for being understanding." Azula said. "No problem." Chong told her. Sokka went up to Appa and pulled out a piece of paper and brush. "I'm gonna make a map to keep track of where we've been. That way, we'll solve it like a maze and make it through." Without another word everyone went into the cave following Sokka.
One hour later
"Sokka this the tenth time you've led us to a deadend! Do you even know where we're going?" Azula asked annoyed. "This doesn't make any sense, we already came through this way!" Sokka said confused. "We don't need a map. We only need love. The little guy knows it." Chong said pointing at Aang. "Yeah, but I wouldn't mind a map also." Aang told him.
"There's something strange here. There's only one explanation." Sokka said as he turned to face everyone. "The tunnels are changing." Azula rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you're just not a bad navigator Sokka?" Azula asked teasingly. Before Sokka could respond the ground began to violently shake and roar. Azula was almost knocked off her feet. Then as quick as it started it stopped. "Okay, I retract that joke now." Azula said as the shaking stopped.
"The tunnels! There changing! It must be the curse! I knew we shouldn't have come down here!" Chong said, beginning to panic. 'Okay, this guys REALLY starting to get on my nerves.' Azula thought to herself. "You're the one guy…..who WANTED…..TO COME DOWN HERE!" Azula shouted in frustration. "Everyone be quiet! Listen!" Katara said. Everyone went silent for a moment and then they heard it. There was a strange noise coming from further down the tunnel. Whatever it was, it sounded mad. It grew louder and louder until…
"GET DOWN!" Azula shouted as a creature emerged from the darkness and flew around the place. Swooping down around some of their heads. "It's a giant flying thing with teeth!" Chong yelled in fear. As the creature landed, everyone was able to get a good look at it. "It's a wolf bat! Everyone be careful!" Azula shouted. As the wolf bat made another move at everyone, Azula tried to fight it off with her bending. She shot a stream of fire upwards at the wolf bat to try and scare it off but the creature instead swung around and made a pass at her. Azula ducked her head down and fired another blast that missed the beast but instead came close to Appa. While not hitting him, the fire scared him too much and Appa began to freak out. Appa started running around and began franticly ramming into the walls. "Appa calm down!" Azula shouted to try and calm the bison down but her words fell on deaf ears as Appa damaged the walls of the tunnel, causing the tunnel to cave in.
Aang, in a moment of quick thinking, used his air bending to push Sokka and the nomads to the other side of the collapsing tunnel and run back to Katara and Azula and tackle them to safety on the other side of the falling rocks. When the smoke cleared, a giant wall of rocks separated the two groups. "Thanks Appa….OOFF!" Azula said sarcastically. Before anyone could say anything about Azula's comment, Appa used one of his large feet to smack Azula across to the wall of the tunnel. "That's what you get." Aang told her. "Oh shut up." Azula said as she stood up and dusted herself off.
15 minutes later
Azula, Katara, Aang and Appa had been walking for a bit with Azula's fire lighting the way for what has already felt like forever when they finally found something. "Hey guys, look!" in front of them looked like a massive stone door. "It's the exit!" Aang said hopefully. "It better be." Azula said fed up. "Is there any way to open it?" Azula asked as she looked at the door up and down. Aang and Katara didn't hesitate and began pushing with all their might.
'Are you serious?' Azula thought to herself. "I strongly doubt you're going to be able to PUSH a seven thousand pound stone door, out of the way." Azula told them. Before Katara and Aang could react, Appa begun to roar, getting everyone's attention. "Uhh Appa?" Azula asked as Aang and Katara looked at each other. The three of them realized what was about to happen and dived out of the way as Appa rammed into the stone door and knocked it open revealing another room. "This isn't the exit." Katara said disappointed as everyone went inside. "No. It's a tomb." Aang said as the light from Azula's flame illuminated the room and revealed what looked like stone coffins inside. "This must be the resting place of the two lovers." Azula concluded.
The three of them desended down the stairs to get a closer look. They noticed that beneath the giant stone platform that contained the coffins where slabs that contained writings. "I think these writings are supposed to be their story." Azula said. As Katara and Aang looked over Azula's shoulder, Azula read the writing aloud.
"They met on top of the mountain that divided their two villages. The villages were enemies so they could not be together. But their love was strong, and they found a way. The two lovers learned earth bending from the badger moles. They became the first earth benders. They built elaborate tunnels so they could meet secretly. Anyone who would try to follow them would be lost in the labyrinth. But one day the man didn't come. He died in the war between the two villages. Devastated, the woman unleashed a terrible display of her earth bending power. She could've destroyed them all. Instead, she declared the war over. Both villages helped her build a new city where they would live together in peace. The woman's name was Oma and the man's name was Shu. The great city was named Omashu as a monument to their love."
The three stood in silence as they took in what this story meant. Azula realized that everyone was looking at something behind them. Turning around was a stone carving of the two lovers kissing and the words in between. Azula read them aloud. "Love is brightest, in the dark." Azula became silent and looked down at the ground as some thought came to her mind. "Hey, are you okay?" Katara asked her after noticing the look on Azula's face. "I'm fine Katara." "Azula, you're a good liar but I know you too well. What's wrong?" Azula forced herself to meet Katara's gaze. "It's just…I just feel that the story of the two lovers in a way mirrors our story." Azula told her. Katara became confused by this. "What do you mean?" "I mean….their people were enemies…..yet they still found each other and…fell in love. The Fire Nation has been at war with the water tribes and the earth kingdom for as long as anyone can remember and yet….we still found our way to each other and….became family." Azula clenched her other hand into a fist. "What if….what if that didn't happen? What if the two didn't fall in love but instead had fought and killed each other? What if….what if I never came to the south? What would have happened to us? To me?" Azula confessed. Katara stayed silent for a moment as she took this in and then placed a hand on Azula's shoulder.
"Hey, look at me." Azula hesitantly raised her head to let her eyes meet Katara's. "It doesn't matter, okay? What could have been doesn't matter anymore. What does matter is what is. We're here together now. Friends by chance. Sisters by choice. What could have been doesn't matter. What matters is what is." Azula smiled as a tear fell from one of her eyes. Azula whipped her face as Katara pulled her into a hug. "Thanks Katara." "No problem." Katara said as the two broke from their hug.
"How are we gonna find our way out of these tunnels?" Aang asked. "I have a crazy idea." Katara said but didn't continue. "What is it Katara?" Azula asked. Katara then looked away. "No it's too crazy." Katara said seemingly embarrassed. "Katara what is it?" Aang asked. "Well…I was just thinking…the curse says we'll be trapped forever unless we trust in love." Katara explained. "Right?" Aang said. "And here it says love is brightest in the dark…..and…..has a picture of them kissing." Katara continued. Azula suddenly realized where she was going and a small smug smirk formed on her face for a moment. Aang seemed to not get it yet. "Where are you going with this?" Aang asked. "Well…what if we kissed?" Katara finally asked. "Us? Kissing?" Aang asked surprised. "See, it WAS a crazy idea." Katara told him.
"I don't think it's crazy." Azula commented, giving Katara a smug look. Katara gave her a glair and Azula had to resist the urge to start laughing. "Us…..kissing…." Aang mumbled to himself. Katara let out a chuckle. "I know, crazy right." Katara said with a chuckle. Aang let out his own chuckle. "I definitely wouldn't want to kiss you." Aang said. Then a second later, he realized exactly what he said and his face reflected that.
"Oh well I didn't realize it was such a horrible option. Sorry I suggested it!" Katara said annoyed. Azula stood in complete shock and disbelief. 'What…did he just say?!' Azula thought to herself. "No No! I mean if it was a choice between kissing you and dying-" "UGH!" Aang was cut off by Katara as she could not believe what she was hearing. Neither could Azula, who was resisting the desire to punch Aang, and it was a VERY strong desire. "What? I'm saying I would rather kiss you then die! That's a compliment!" Aang tried to explain. "Well I'm not sure which I would rather do!" Katara shouted as she walked off. "What is wrong with me?" Aang asked himself. "Yeah what IS wrong with you?!" Azula asked as she smacked Aang in the back of the head, hard." "Ow!" Aang rubbed the back of his head as Azula ran to catch up with Katara.
5 minutes later
The group walked down the tunnel in silence until Azula proposed a theory. "Hey guys…I have an idea." Everyone turned to look at her. "These two lovers…..they were earth benders, not fire benders. Which meant that unless if they had a bunch of torches, they would be completely blind in the darkness when their torches ran out, right?" "Yeah?" Katara said, unsure where Azula was going with this. "So…well….." Azula was silent as she thought about her theory. Suddenly she let the flame in her hand go out, and everyone found themselves in complete darkness.
After a moment of pitch blackness, a sound could suddenly be hear above them. The group looked up to see thousands of small crystals on the ceiling of the tunnel. They went all the way down the entire tunnel and lit up the entire path. "They look like crystals. They must only light up in the dark." Aang said. "This is the two lovers found each other. They just put out their lights and followed the crystals! Azula you're a genius!" Katara said. "Thanks, now let's finally get out of here!" Azula shouted as they ran down the tunnel.
Soon enough they had found the exit to the tunnels. Appa dramatically flipped backward and laid down on his back with his tongue sticking out. Azula giggled at how dramatic Appa was being despite the fact that she felt the exact same way. "What about Sokka?" Aang asked. Before anyone could respond, the sound of large chunks of rock began moving and the feeling of the ground rumbling could be heard. Suddenly the walls of the mountain on both sides of the tunnel entrance burst and as the smoke cleared, a giant badger mole stood with Sokka riding on top of it with the nomads. "What in the name of Agni?" Azula mumbled to herself as she took in the sight before her. "SOKKA!" Katara called out happily. Sokka slid off the mole as the sisters ran up to him.
"How did you guys get out?" Sokka asked. "We discovered that the lovers used crystals that shined in the dark to find their way, and we used those." Azula explained. "Really? We let huge ferocious beasts find OUR way!" Sokka told them while looking proud of himself as he turned around to wave at the moles as they returned into the mountain. The sisters and Sokka gave each other a big hug as they were reunited and then Katara realized something. "Why is your forehead all red?" Chong came up to them. "No one react to what I'm about to tell you…..I think that kid might be the avatar!" Azula cringed at the reminder of this guy's very strong lack of intelligence and Sokka face palmed hard in frustration, leaving behind another red mark on top of the already existing one. Chong gave Sokka a confused look for a moment.
After saying goodbye to the nomads who had no interest in going to Omashu with them, Chong took some time to say a personal goodbye to Sokka. "Sokka, I hope you learned a little lessen about not letting the plan's get in the way of the journey." Chong told him and then gave him a hug. "Just play your songs." Sokka said slightly embarrassed and annoyed. "Hey, good plan!" Chong said as he began playing his guitar and walking off with his people. Azula rolled her eyes.
Not long afterwards the group came to a hill where they would see a very familiar sight. "The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about! The destination!" Sokka said as they reached the top of the hill. "I present to you the Earth Kingdom city, of Oh….oh no"