Book Two: Earth
Chapter Four: The Swamp
Iroh and Zuko sat on a straw mat with the ostrich-horse lying behind them. Zuko was staring after a cart with masks, having noticed the Blue Spirit mask.
"Spare coins for weary travelers?" Iroh asked as he held his straw hat out to a man that was walking past.
The man stopped in front of Iroh and dropped a couple copper coins into the hat.
"This is humiliating," Zuko growled angrily, turning to stare at his uncle. "We're royalty! These people should be giving us whatever we want."
"They will if you ask nicely," Iroh replied then held his hat out to a young woman. "Spare change for a hungry old man?"
The woman smiled down at Iroh and withdrew a coin from her sleeve. "Here you go."
"The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your smile," Iroh said flirtatiously, causing Zuko to slap his forehead in exasperation while the woman giggled quietly.
A man with a dao sword strapped to his back walked up to Iroh and Zuko after the woman had left, a nasty smile on his face.
"How about some entertainment for a gold piece?" The man asked with a smirk as he held up said gold coin.
"We're not performers," Zuko snapped in annoyance, glaring at the man from under the brim of his straw hat and closing his hand over the hilts of his dao swords.
"Not professional anyway," Iroh said, quickly getting to his feet and beginning to sing off key. "It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se, but the girls in the city, they look so pretty!"
"Come on, we're talking a gold piece here! Let's see some action," The man sneered unsheathing his broadswords. "Dance!"
The man began slashing the ground near Iroh's feet and Iroh hopped from foot to foot to avoid getting hit.
"They kiss so sweet that you really got to meet the girls from Ba Sing Se!" Iroh sang and the man laughed as he stopped slashing his swords.
"Ha, ha! Nothing like a fat man dancing for his dinner! Here ya go!" The man laughed loudly, tossed the gold coin on the ground and walked away, unaware of Zuko glaring at him.
Iroh picked up the coin. "Such a nice man."
Zuko huffed in annoyance and put his hands in his pocket, brushing the shell in his pocket. He pulled it out and spun it between his fingers thoughtfully. Maybe he could sell it along with the bracelet for money. As soon as the thought appeared it disappeared. It seemed wrong somehow to sell something so precious.
lxxxXXXxxxl
Xena leaned against the saddle, looking down at the swamp below. I wonder what Zuko's doing. No, bad Xena, don't think about Zuko. She shakes her head to clear it which fails miserably when she wonders immediately after if he still has her bracelet. She sighs softly and runs her fingers through Appa's fur.
"Hey, you taking us down for a reason?" Sokka asked, catching her attention; Xena looked up at him and then back down at the swamp noticing for the first time how they're going down. "Aang!"
"Why are we going down?" Xena asks when Aang looks up.
"What?" Aang asked in confusion, wiping his eyes. "I didn't even notice."
"Are you noticing now?" Sokka asked sarcastically as Appa continued to fly lower.
"Is something wrong?" Katara inquired, putting down her scroll and moving over to her brother.
Aang glanced at her then back at the swamp. "I know this is gonna sound weird, but I think the swamp is calling to me."
"Is it telling you where we can get something to eat?" Sokka muttered.
"No, I…" Aang paused. "I think it wants us to land there."
"No offense to the swamp, but I don't see any land there to land on," Sokka said dryly with a small shrug.
"I don't know," Aang replied. "Bumi said to learn earthbending I would have to wait and listen, and now I'm actually hearing the earth. Do you want me to ignore it?"
"Yes," Sokka responded in a dull monotone.
"I don't know," Katara said looking at the swamp. "There's something ominous about that place."
Momo chittered quietly and Appa rumbled in agreement.
"See, even Appa and Momo don't like it here," Sokka stated, moving back into the middle of the saddle.
"Okay, since you guys feel so strongly about this, bye swamp," Aang said then flicked Appa's reins. "Yip-yip!"
Appa rumbled again and began to fly upward, away from the swamp. Xena sighed and turned to look to lean against the front of the saddle only to gasp in shock.
"You better throw in an extra 'yip!'" Sokka yelped, seeing the tornado moving towards them quickly. "We gotta move!"
Appa sensed the danger as well and began to fly faster in an attempt to outrun the unnatural tornado. As the tornado got closer the strength of the wind pulled Sokka right off Appa's saddle. Katara just managed to grab his hand, grabbing the side of the saddle to keep herself in. Aang leapt into the saddle and spread his arms to create a protective airshield as they were sucked into the tornado. Sokka grunted as he fell back into the saddle. He quickly grabbed the side of the saddle as Aang's airshield began to flicker and fade. When it dispersed an explosive force of air separated them in three different directions. Xena screamed and closed her eyes as she quickly approached the trees below .
lxxxXXXxxxl
When she came to, she was hanging upside down, wrapped in several vines. She shuddered as she realized that if one of the vines had wrapped around her neck she would have choked to death. She struggled for a few useless moments trying to get down and only succeeded in tangling herself up even more. Sighing she relaxed and tried to think of a plan. She did not have time to hang around. She had to get out of these vines and find the others. Twisting awkwardly she manages to grab one of her swords. It takes a few minutes from her upside down position to cut the vines. She shrieked once as she fell again, landing in the swamp with a splash and getting a mouthful of disgusting slimy water. She gags at the taste. Groaning, she pushes herself up out of the water and shakily makes her way to the driest piece of land she can find. She ends up sitting on an upraised root with her back against the tree trunk. Something screams nearby and her hand tightens around the hilt of her sword as she flinches. She hopes the others are okay.
'"Xena, wake up."
She stirs at the gentle amused voice. The same person laughs lightly as she groans sleepily. She opens her eyes, looking up at the pink cherry blossom tree above her. She sits up slowly and drowsily. A hand closes around her upper arm in order to help. She looked up into the smiling face of its owner.
"Zuko," She says shocked and slightly angry. "What are you doing here?"
"The meeting let out early," He said and leaned over to kiss her. She flinched back and his smile falls. "What's wrong?"
"Zuk-"
"Momma, Daddy," A child shouts, interrupting her.
A three year old boy jumped into Zuko's lap, giggling happily. His short hair was black and his skin was a tan color only a few shades lighter than someone from the Water Tribes. His eyes were a shocking shade of blue. Xena is frozen, unable to comprehend what's going on.
"Oh Agni, Drake, take it easy," Zuko tells the boy with a gentle laugh.
A woman runs up to them, lifting her skirts slightly so as not to trip.
"I'm sorry Fire Lord, he got away from me."
"Its okay, Livia."
Xena blinks in shock. Zuko, Fire Lord?
The woman relaxes at his assurance and turns towards Xena. "Fire Lady, the captain of your guard has been looking for you."
Xena's mouth goes dry. F-F-Fire Lady?'
Xena sat up with a gasp. It had been a dream, just a dream, she reassured herself. She couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed that that was it had been. Eventually her breathing leveled out and she rose quickly. This swamp had unnerved her before, but now it was scaring her and it took a lot to scare her usually. Shaking her head determinedly, she had to find her friends. Try as she might she couldn't distance her thoughts from the dream.
If Zuko was Fire Lord and I was Fire Lad, that would mean that we were married and that little boy was our son. No, no that's ludicrous. I would never marry Zuko. I wouldn't . . . would I. No definitely not.
She hadn't realized she was running until she tripped over a raised root.
"Graceful as always, Xena," A familiar voice teased.
Her head whipped up in shock, focusing on the boy that she had been engaged to. He was standing in a clearing with a warm smile, watching her with the same intensity he had when he'd been alive.
""Drake, is it really you?" She asks.
His smile turns into a confident smirk as if asking 'what do you think'? She stands and stumbles forward to touch his cheek to see if he is real. The bark of a small twisted tree is rough to the touch as the vision or hallucination vanishes. Suddenly a laugh sounds from her right and she turns quickly to see an acrobat in pink clothes leaping into the trees. Tamsin. Her feet splash into cold muddy water as she races after her, but no matter how fast she is the acrobat is faster. She's snapped out of her trance as a perfectly executed water whip snaps against her face.
"Oh, Xena, I thought you were some kind of animal."
She looks up in surprise, hand to her cheek. Her form trembles as she takes in the sight of her very first friend.
"Korra?"
"Who's Korra?" She asks and just as with Drake the illusion shatters, revealing an absolutely confused Katara
Xena sinks to the ground with a sigh, rubbing at her stinging cheek. "An old friend."
"So you've been seeing them to," Katara said.
Xena doesn't answer, instead burying her face in her knees as another bout of laughing sounds from her left, this time sounding exactly like Tami and Rivon. She's shaking and Katara unused to seeing this kind of behavior from her has no idea what to do. She carefully puts a hand on Xena's shoulder and lowers herself down to give the older girl a hesitant hug. Xena accepts the hug for a few seconds before pushing Katara away, wiping her eyes and standing up again.
"We should find Aang and Sokka," She declares, voice quavering only slightly.
"Yeah, okay."
Xena takes the lead, head down as she forces her mind to clear itself. She'd be of no use to anyone if she allowed herself to be drawn into anymore visions, illusions, or hallucinations. Her hand tightens around the hilt of her sword, a focal point for her to focus on what is real and what is not. Katara doesn't say anything, watching the older girl with a tilt of her head. For the time that she had known Xena, she had yet to decipher anything about her beside her protectiveness of Aang and the intelligence that she possessed. Maybe it was time that she changed that.
"Hey Xena?"
"Hmm."
"I was just-"
Something suddenly slams into the waterbenders back, knocking her into Xena. They tumble down a large sloped root, crashing into something else before landing on a branch. Xena groans and push Katara off of her as she sits up.
"What do you guys think you're doing?!" Sokka demanded, standing up and putting his hands on his hips. "I've been looking all over for you!"
"Well, I've been wandering around looking for you!" Katara retorted angrily, standing up.
"I was chasing some girl." Aang replied as he sat up and looked to the side.
"What girl?" Katara asked curiously.
"I don't know," The young airbender said as he helped Katara to her feet. "I heard laughing and I saw some girl in a fancy dress."
"Well, there must be a tea party here and we just didn't get our invitations!" Sokka snapped sarcastically as he threw his hands in the air.
"I thought I saw Mom," Katara stated quietly as she closed her eyes and bowed her head.
"Look, we were all just scared and hungry and our minds were playing tricks on us. That's why we all saw things out here."
"You saw something too?" Katara asked her brother, lifting her head.
"I thought I saw Yue," Sokka mumbled in reply as he turned his back on his sister and Aang then whirled around to face them again. "But, that doesn't prove anything. Look, I think about her all the time and you saw Mom, someone you miss a lot."
"What about me?" Aang asked as he tilted his head slightly. "I didn't know the girl I saw. What about you, Xena?
Xena glanced at Katara before shaking her head. "Doesn't matter what I saw." She then turned to face the enormous tree that they had landed in front of. "But what does matter is that all our visions led us right here."
"Okay…so where's here?" Katara asked looking around. "The middle of the swamp?"
"It's the heart of the swamp," Aang agree, turning to them.
"It's just a tree," Sokka said spetically, crossing his arms. "It can't call anyone. For the last time, there's nothing after us and there's nothing magical happening here."
Suddenly a massive creature made of vines shot up out of the swamp. A wooden mask sits in place of a face. They scattered as it swung out with a thick viney arm. Sokka screamed in terror when the monster wrapped vines around his leg and yanked him off his feet, swinging him around. Aang reacted instantly to cut the arm with an air blast, causing the monster to drop Sokka. The monster retaliated quickly and slapped Aang into a tree. Xena shouted angrily, seeing her charge get hurt and her eyes turn silver as she charges forward, jumping into the air and slashing down at the mask with her swords. A wave of vines slams into her throwing her back into the swamp. The monster grabbed Sokka and surfed away as the duelbender splashes to her feet.
Katara surfed after them, sliding in front of the monster and cutting the arm with a blade of water. The arm hang limp for a second before the vines suddenly repaired themselves. Xena gaped silently before shaking her head, getting up, and moving forward to help Katara. She throws her swords like spear, imbedding one into the mask and the other into his shoulder. Her hands slap against the surface of the water, hardening it into a straight path at the monster. Sokka screamed as he was swung violently through the air as the monster slides backwards from the blow. Ice continues to spread until the surface of the water around it one solid thick sheet of ice.
Katara charged forward towards the trapped monster only to be repelled rapidly by vines that shot from its stomach. The monster pulled Sokka into its chest before breaking the ice that had frozen it to the ground. Aang suddenly ran past Xena and created an air scooter which he rode up to the monster's head, twisting its vines up with his airbending. Katara ran up a thick tree root and froze the vines holding Sokka prisoner. She then slashed her arms downward, using water to rocket forward and body slam Sokka through the monster. It regenerated a few seconds later and lunged forward only to have Aang slam its face into the ground with airbending. They all started to relax, thinking that had ended it when the monster suddenly sent him flying.
"Aang!" Xena shouts and with a wild battle cry, she charged forward.
Fire crackled and water hissed and steamed as her created fire whip slashed into its arm just below her sword where it still stuck out of its shoulder. Katara began pin wheeling her arms and together they two girls slash at the vines, keeping the vines from regenerating with their ferocious attacks.
"There's someone in there!" Sokka shouts and Xena catches a glimpse of the same face he must have seen. "He's bending the vines!"
Katara bended some water from the swamp then twisted around, slinging the water blade at the creature, cutting the top off. The swamp monster was still for a moment then suddenly vines rushed out from the water, hitting both girls and trapping them to a tree. Xena growled and suddenly long flames erupted around her body, burning the vines holding har and scorching the tree. She fell back into the swamp with a splash. She came back up to the surface of the water as Aang suddenly leapt forward and bended a strong blast of air at the monster, blowing the vines away to reveal a man wearing nothing but a leaf loincloth. Katara hit the water next to Xena.
"Why did you call me here if you just wanted to kill us!?" Aang demanded angrily.
"I didn't call you here," The man said in confusion, bending the rest of the vines away.
"We were flying over and I heard something calling to me, telling me to land," Aang explained warily.
"He's the Avatar," Sokka added. "Stuff like that happens to us a lot."
"The Avatar?" The man questioned. "Come with me."
"Why should we trust you?" Xena asked, arms crossed over her chest.
"Xena, you're on fire," Sokka yelped.
Xena sighs and the flames vanish leaving her and her clothes perfectly unharmed.
"Stop overreacting," She orders, wading to retrieve her swords from the swamp. "Now answer my question. Why should we trust you?"
The man shrugged in response and turned to the large tree that Aang had called the heart of the swamp.
lxxxXXXxxxl
"So, who are you then?" Katara asked as they climbed up the tree.
"I protect the swamp from folks that want to hurt it," The man stated as he stopped and gestured towards Sokka. "Like this fella with his big knife."
"See, completely reasonable," Sokka said smugly. "Not a monster, just a regular guy defending his home. Nothing mystical about it."
"Oh the swamp is a mystical place alright. It's sacred," He corrected. "I reached enlightenment right here under the banyan-grove tree. I heard it calling me, just like you did."
"Sure you did," Sokka snarked sarcastically. "It seems real chatty."
Xena slapped the back of his head as she passed, ignoring his yelp of protest.
"See this whole swamp is actually just one tree spread out over miles," The man continued to explain as they sat down on a completely flat section of the tree. "Branches spread and sink and take root and then spread some more. One big, living organism. Just like the entire world."
Aang scratched his head in confusion. "I get how the tree is one big thing, but the whole world . . ."
"Sure. You think you're any different from me or your friends or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together. You can feel everything growing. We're all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree."
"But what did our visions mean?" Katara asked curiously.
"In the swamp, we see visions of people we've lost, people we loved, folks we think are gone. The swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to them. Time is an illusion and so is death."
Xena frowned as soon as he says that and thinks of the dream she'd had about Zuko. She shakes her head slightly. It was just a dream.
"But what about my vision?" Aang asked the man. "It was someone I had never met."
"You're the Avatar," The man retorted. "You tell me."
"Time is an illusion…" He murmured. "So… it's someone I will meet?"
The man nodded his head. I'm doomed. Xena groaned and put her head in her hands.
"Sorry to interrupt the lesson," Sokka stood up. "But we still need to find Appa and Momo."
"I think I know how to find them," Aang said, shifting into a kneeling position and placing his hand on the tree. "Everything is connected…"
Aang's eyes closed and the arrow tattoos glowed for a few minutes before he suddenly shoots to his feet. "Come on! We've got to hurry!"
"Oh come on, you don't really believe this stuff is real do you," Sokka called after Aang and Katara as they race away.
"If it is then I'm destined to marry Prince Zuko," Xena snapped, pushing him forward. This stuff better not be real.
"So you agree with me," Sokka says and she lets him believe that because she really doesn't want to think of the alternative.
lxxxXXXxxxl
Aang used waterbending to shatter one of the canoes as soon as he sees them towing Appa.
"Appa!"
Xena waterbend a guy out of the other canoe before jumping onto Appa's back to cut the tow cables.
"We're under attack!" The other man in the canoe shouts then quickly bends a large wave of water at Aang and Katara. Master and student began to waterbend the wave back at the swamp waterbender and the three began to struggle against each other.
"Hey," Katara said. "You guys are waterbenders!"
"You too!" He exclaimed excitedly as he stopped bending the water and put his hands on his bare chest. "That means we're kin!"
Xena gently coax a small flame to life to burn the net.
"Hey Huu! How you been?"
Huu shrugged. "You know, scared some folks, swung some vines, the usual."
"Huu?" Sokka deadpanned.
Appa groaned at Xena unhappily, not liking her flame being so close to him.
"Its okay buddy," She reassures him, rubbing his head with her free hand.
lxxxXXXxxxl
"How you like that possum chicken?" The man named Due asked.
"Tastes just like arctic hen," Sokka commented. "So why were guys so interested in eating Appa? You've got plenty of those big things wandering around."
"You want me to eat ole Slim?" Due asked in shock as he tossed a small fish into the mouth of the catfish-crocodile lying behind him and Tho. "He's like a member of the family!"
Sokka gave a nervous smile and threw a bug at the catfish-crocodile. "Nice Slim!"
Slim jerked his head towards Sokka, hissing loudly with his mouth open.
"Oh, he don't eat no bugs!" Due said with a laugh. "That's people food!"
"Where'd you say you was from?" Tho asked suddenly as he leaned forward.
"The South Pole," Katara replied with a small smile.
"Didn't know there was waterbenders anywhere but here," Tho commented then grinned. "They got a nice swamp there, do they?"
"No," Katara said with a small shake of her head. "It's all ice and snow."
"Hmm…No wonder you left," Tho commented with a snort.
"Well, I hope you realize now that nothing strange was going on here. Just a bunch of greasy people living in a swamp," Sokka stated.
"What about the visions?" Katara asked.
"I told you, we were hungry. I'm eating a bug!" Sokka retorted, taking a bite of the insect.
"How do you explain the tree showing Aang where Appa and Momo were?" Xena asked, bending a small orb of water between her hands.
"That's Avatar stuff, that doesn't count," Sokka responded dismissively then looked over at Huu. "The only thing I can't figure out is how you made that tornado that sucked us down."
"I can't do anything like that," Huu said in surprise. "I just bend the water in the plants."
"Well, there's no accounting for weather," Sokka said with a shrug. "Still, there's absolutely nothing mysterious about the swamp."
Yeah, right. Xena glanced at the tree, shivering slightly. She really hoped that Sokka was right.
lxxxXXXxxxl
The man that had tormented Iroh earlier with his dao swords walked down the street of the small Earth Kingdom village, the full moon providing him with enough light to see as he turned down a small alleyway. A sudden noise caused the man to draw his swords as he whirled around to face the direction of the noise.
"Who's there?" He demanded warily then he spun around again when he heard another noise come from behind him.
Zuko slammed him into a pile of crates stealing his money pouch and his dao swords. He allowed the man to see his Blue Spirit mask before he ran off. He threw the man's swords into the stream as he returned to his and Iroh's camp. His own swords were by his bedroll where he had left them and after glancing at his uncle to see if he had woken in his absence, he lay down to sleep.