CHAPTER RATING: T (Language)
A/N:
Chapter 42: Sozin's Comet, Part I: "United We Stand"
"You're on the fast track to your destiny, Avatar." Zhéng Gú Shén said to him.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Aang asked.
"It's just that…It's just been a really long time. And I'm only here to help, I swear." She floated around him. "Destiny is way more powerful than me, and she's told me that if I mess something up, I'm gone. Gone forever, poof! I won't be able to watch you here, or there, or there!, or there!, or there!" it related while pointing in different directions. Aang turned, but she vanished, and all he saw was the emerald grass and silver clouds of the Boundless Sky. "I swear to you that I'm only here to help." the disembodied voice came.
"And exactly how, are you helping?" He shook his head.
"At this point in time...Time, funny. A funny thing. An ever flowing stream that waits for no one. You know, there was a famous guy who once said: 'You never step in the same river twice.' Telling, isn't it?"
"What's your point?" Aang snapped.
"Once you've done something, once you've stepped in a river, a ripple is created. That ripple disturbs the entire river, even if only by a little. And as the river moves, you can't create the same ripple twice…Or something like that, I really don't know, honestly. I'm just trying to sound smart."
"So why am I here?"
"I'm gonna tell you, what I'm gonna do. What I need to do. What you need me to do." It clapped its hands and grinned. "Time just passes us by, like nothing. Anything else you want to share with me before we get started?"
"I have no idea what you just said. But I hope you're not lying to me."
"Trust me. There's no reason for me to do that. Scout's honor!"
And the Trickster snapped its fingers.
…
"I call it: The Swiss Army Staff!" A balding man with a messy hair ring across his cranium shouted. "Where did I get that name, you ask?" He stared at Aang with eyes behind large, thick welding goggles. "I honestly have no idea! Why don't you give it a try?!"
He stretched his hand towards Aang, who stared at the offer with a blank expression.
"Avatar Aang?" Mei Shan shook him lightly. "Are you feeling alright?"
Aang shook his head. "Yeah. I'm fine." and took the staff into his hand.
"This is Chang." The old man bowed. "He and others took refuge in the Northern Air Temple after Sozin's genocide. And while they did somewhat defile our Inner Sanctuary there, we were taught compassion, and could not turn them away, they've been living among us since then. Strange, I know. But we have used their technologies to further our own abilities." she leans closer to Aang, and whispers: "He walks the fine line between genius and insanity, and I think he's tipping towards the former."
Aang laughed and turned to her. He noticed that she was no longer in the traditional Air Nomad robes, but what appeared to be a skin tight jumpsuit, colored in orange and yellow like the original articles of clothing.
"You're wearing…?" He asked.
"Oh. This is also an invention of the old man." she moved her arms to the side, revealing flaps of fabric that connected the outfit from under the arms to the sides of the legs. "A form-fitting wingsuit. It allows us to fly without our gliders, in case we ever lose them. Would you like a demonstration?"
"Uh...Sure." Aang nodded.
"If you two would follow me." Aang finally had time to look around since waking from the haze of the Trickster's abilities to alter time. The courtyard of the Western Air Temple seemed unrecognizable.
Fire Nation zepplins and war balloons were on one side of the temple, docked into another suspended part of the structure. Water-Tribe Marines painted their faces with white, blue, and black hues on another platform. And Earth Kingdom Warriors trained with each other, letting out grunts of pain from the sparring.
There were hundreds-if not thousands of people here. As many benders as regular men and women, willing to die for their freedom. Willing to give their lives to change the course of history.
And what he saw when he looked out over the cliff was almost more beautiful than anything else he'd ever seen.
Like eagles, they soared. Flying through the air, they lived out what Monk Gyatso had taught him. They were free. His people, the Air Nomads were free. He couldn't help but feel water build in his eyes, and tried his best to wipe them away without drawing attention. But he nearly burst into tears when Mei Shan's arms wrapped around him.
Tears fell from his eyes and soaked into her suit.
"I can't imagine how you must feel now, at this moment in time." She cradled him like a mother would a weeping child. "A century in ice, alone. I'm glad that you are with us again."
"..." He replied.
…
When Aang found the strength to compose himself again, he was standing outside in the courtyard, with Chang's 'Swiss Army Staff' in hand.
"So, what is this thing, anyway?" Aang asked.
"It's a multi-tool!" Chang exclaimed. "Well, more like a multi-weapon!" He pointed to a series of bumps where Aang's hand held the staff. "Every one brings with it, a different weapon." Aang ran his fingers down the series of buttons. "Go on, give one of them a try!"
Aang pressed down on the first one. With a snap, a point sprouted from the tip of the glider.
"Ah! The spear!" Chang cheered. "I hope you know how to use it!"
Aang ran his eyes up and down the weapon. Even without a memory, he knew that he could use it. It just felt right. And he smiled as he thought back to how Zhéng Gú Shén had helped him in the past. It was apparent that not everything he was taught about the Trickster Spirit was true.
"Yeah. I know how." He lowered the spear, and thrust it forward before turning on his left foot, and bringing it down. He pressed the button again, and the blade receded.
"Excellent! Now, the next one!" Another press, a large, heavy curved blade took the place of the spear point. "Ah ha! The Guandao! Or 'Reclining Moon Blade!' Give it a swing!"
The weapon felt nimble and light, despite the fact that the blade seemed large enough to cut a horse in half, Aang held it at good back, the blade facing the ground, then brought it up, and thrust it forward. And then, just as immediately, brought the blade up and slashed down with a diagonal swing.
He pressed it again to let the blade recede. He turned and bowed to Chang.
"Excellent!" Aang could see the joy in the old man's eyes. "Now, this next one is particularly amazing, let's have a press-"
"Hey, Aang! What you got there, buddy?!" Sokka shouted from behind. Aang turned to see him and Zuko walking towards him with their own swords, Sokka with his black meteor-metal blade, and Zuko with his twin scimitars.
"Chang's Swiss Army Staff. It's really cool." Aang replied.
"Yeah, we can see that." Zuko nodded. "We saw you training, and we thought maybe we'd enjoy a sparring session."
"Great!" Chang shouted at the top of his lungs. 'I'll gather everyone for the spectacle!"
"Do we really want to make this public?" Zuko asked.
"Come on, why not give everyone a show before the big invasion? Sokka reasoned.
"Fine. You're on." Zuko conceded.
"I'm looking forward to it." Aang smirked.
This was the least he could give them. Because he knew, this show would be the last show for many of the men and women here today.
…
Sprouting from the white marble floor, and extending across the white chasm towards the other side of the mountain, the Earthbenders erected a stadium that had enough room to fit every person at the Western Air Temple.
The gathering was a spectacle unlike any individual Nation had seen. Sparring sessions from every nation were held. From the Water-Tribe, A mesmerizing display of ice and water that was dazzling to the eyes. From the Fire Nation, A classic play that was passed down from one playwright to another. From the Earth Kingdom, An EKBF(Earth Kingdom Bending Federation) Battle Royal, where Toph emerged victorious, and from the Air Nomads, a riveting exhibition of the ancient game of Airball.
The horizon grew tired with the passage of time. The orange light covered the entire stadium as a man stepped into center-stage.
"Ladies, and Gentlemen! And now!..." An out-of-place announcer's voice boomed through the structure with the sound waves carried by manipulated air currents. "This. Is. Our main event of the evening!"
...
Aang, Zuko, and Sokka stood inside a makeshift tent, a curtain hanging from its entrance, blocking them from view. Together, they looked at each other, not a single one of them thought it'd be a spectacle like this.
"You're fine with this?" Zuko asked Aang.
The Avatar nodded.
"Two on one?" Sokka asked.
"I can handle it." Aang nodded. "Don't hold back." He looked towards them with eyes made of stone, and determination just as tough. "Give me that, at least." He gripped his staff.
"I promise." Zuko assured him. "No holding back." He held onto of one of his scimitars.
"Yeah." Sokka unsheathed his sword, looked at the blade, and sheathed it again. "We respect you enough to do that."
"Thanks." Aang said. He turned with his staff in hand, jumping on the balls of his feet, preparing himself for the match to come.
…
"This is a two on one non-bending exhibition, set until all but one of the combatants are no longer fit to compete, or surrender of their own volition…" The Announcer's voice pierced through the black curtain. "Introducing first…"
"See you guys out there." Sokka grabbed the curtain with his hand, ready to pull it away.
"...From the Southern Water-Tribe, The Ultimate Strategist, The Meteor-Taming, Sword-Smithing, Boomerang Throwin', Master Beatin', THE MAN WITH THE PLAN: SWOOOOORD MAAAAA~STER SAHHH~KKA!"
He stepped through the curtain, and the audience's cheers rumbled through the stone walls like an earthquake, before dying down into a whisper.
"Introducing next…" The Announcer's voice came again.
"I promise you. No holding back." Zuko grinned, and took hold of the curtain.
"I appreciate it." Aang nodded.
"From the Fire Nation, The Scarred Warrior, The Blue Spirit, The Exiled One, The Noble Outcast, and FUTURE FIRELORD: PRRRRR~INCE ZOOOO~KOOOOO!"
Zuko stepped out to more cheers, and Aang noticed, an explosion of light, as the Fire Nation Warriors cast forth streams of flame.
"And finally…" Aang took hold of his staff, and walked towards the curtain. "Hailing from the Southern Air Temple, from the skies of the Air Nomad Monks… " He smiled as the cheers became louder. "The Boy In The Iceberg, The Rider Of The Mighty Unagi, The Walker Of The Serpant's Pass, The Savior Of The Skies, THE AVATAR: AAAAA~VUHTAAAAAAR AAAAAAAANG!"
Aang pulled away the curtain, and laid his eyes upon thousands of people, looking down at him and his two friends. A united sea of people, separated in orange, blue, red, and green.
All of them clapping and cheering.
Clapping and cheering for him.
…
"Two on one?" Toph speed through the roaring cheers to Azula and Katara. "Do you really think Twinkletoes can beat them?"
"Well, I-"
"Of course he can!" Azula interrupted Katara. "If Zuko can't beat me-which he can't, he doesn't stand a chance against the Avatar. And no offense… " she grinned at Katara. "But your brother isn't exactly a 'sword master.'"
Katara turned away with a mixture of annoyance and fear.
"Plus…" Azula added with a tug of Katara's shoulder. "We have to believe in him. Believe that he will emerge victorious."
"...You're right." Katara shrugged. "He has to win. He will win."
They looked down towards the three gladiators in this massive marble arena as a gong sounded.
…
On one side, Sokka and Zuko stared down the Avatar. On the opposite, Aang looked towards his opponents with a steel resolve. The crowd was silent in this one moment as the warriors took their stances.
Then they took off. Zuko's approach was quick. With a single slash, Aang fell back, taking a few steps before he felt another cut the wind at his side. Zuko's right hand lifted, and brought down his blade with a force that could shatter bone down. Aang brought up his staff, Zuko's scimitar cut into it like paper, but was stopped within the splintered staff.
They stared at each other, the disbelief in their faces pausing this moment in battle. The blade was pulled down further, and sparks shot out from Aang's staff as it dragged across the impossibly hard wood.
Zuko swung to his side, And planted his staff into the ground, and leapt up, delivering a kick to Zuko's chest, pushing back the Prince. The air filled with a clang as the blades of the Blue Spirit feel from his hands.
Aang took hold of his staff again, and with an overhead swing brought it down upon his foe, striking Zuko in the shoulder, and then thrusting the staff towards his sternum, knocking him to the ground.
Aang then turned to a charging Sokka, his sword held near his side, pulled closer his chest, and held back. He charged towards a readied Avatar and thrust forward. Aang jumped back, his staff, just above Sokka's blade, a moment later, Sokka swung his weapon upwards, knocking Aang's staff from his hands, and sending it flying towards the other end of the arena.
Aang moved forward before Sokka could act, and took hold of the swordsman's arm. With a blitz, Aang slammed his shoulders into Sokka's chest, and with that momentum, carried Sokka over his arm, and slammed him down into the ground.
With his opponents downed, Aang scrambled back towards his staff. As his hand wrapped around it, the gashes in the wood caught his eye, and he could feel it in his bones.
Metal.
The 'Swiss Army Staff' was only decorated with wood. In reality, it was a refined steel, crafted and folded together into an incredibly lightweight weapon.
The third button. Aang thought back to the old man's words. He ran his fingers down the series of buttons. A snap came from the staff, and it broke in two. The split fragments of the weapon fell to the ground, and through the small slots that were carved into the sides, long, curved blades emerged on both ends of the staff, on both pieces of the staff.
"WARGLAIVES!" He heard Chang's scream from the crowd. "THEY'RE WARGLAIVES!"
Sokka and Zuko stopped in their tracks. Aang nodded to them, and kneeled down to his new weapons. He laughed to himself again, when his hand wrapped around this weapon that he'd never seen before, his muscle memory kicked in. And it was as if he had trained with these weapons for a thousand years.
...And considering the circumstances, he probably did.
Aang took the warglaives in hand, and gave them a few swings so smooth that they barely cut the air. He pulled the blades to his sides, and nodded to his opponents, who took off towards him.
And he took off as well. Zuko and Sokka both raised their weapons, Aang dropped down to one knee, the fabric from his robe ripping as he swept Sokka's legs from underneath him. Sokka feel to the ground with a crash, and Aang turned to Zuko, their blades clashed with flying sparks, Aang's muscles twitched as he struggled to fight against Zuko's blades pushing him to the ground.
Aang moved his left hand, bringing the point of his warglaive up towards Zuko's chin, the Former Prince fell back to avoid being pierced through the mouth, a strike that would mean certain death.
The crowd gasped at the attack, Aang turned his blades vertically, and pulled them apart between Zuko's scimitars, breaking the Prince's grasp on his own weapons. The Avatar hopped up onto his feet, and delivered two kicks that knocked Zuko's breath out of his lungs, sending him skidding across the ground.
A flash.
A blur.
Aang saw him again.
...
"Pathetic." Ozai laughed. "Absolutely pathetic!" Aang stood among a huge scarlet throne room, stained with the blood of his friends, his people...stained with the sorrow of a bleeding world that was engulfed in the flames of oppression. "To think that some boy could defeat me?!"
Aang fell to a knee, his grip loosemed among his weapons that fell the ground with a clang, and shattered before him. The Firelord's laughter was louder than the burning comet soaring in the sky.
"To think that those two whores found you worthy to sacrifice their lives for you!" Aang shook his head, and returned to his feet. "Now, Avatar. You cannot defeat me. Call on them." Ozai grinned. "Call on your ten thousand lives, and meet your end."
Aang stumbled to his feet, his eyes, his tattoos, his aura began to glow.
…
Zuko lifted himself from the ground, the dust and dirt called his clothes, and from the corner of his eye, saw before him Aang, in the Avatar State.
He looked possessed. His posture was that of an ancient, unbreakable tree, strong, and unmoving. The crowd, absorbed in a silent panic.
And he moved like wind. Before Zuko knew it, his back was at the wall, his hands grabbing at Aang's arm. And in Aang's other hand, all elements collected into a swirling spike that spun like a cyclone.
"You will meet your end here, Ozai!" Aang's voice boomed through the mountains, everyone looked on in shock, before scrambling to stop him.
…
"You won't stop me, Avatar!" Ozai screamed at the top of his lungs as Aang held him against the broken palace wall. "Kill me! Kill me!" Ozai demanded. "No matter what you do, it won't stop the plans that are in place!"
"No." Aang replied, and let the elements in his hand disappear.
…
"No." Zuko heard Aang whisper to him.
"No, what?" Zuko mumbled through broken breaths as Aang's hand tightened around his neck. "What are you doing, Aang?" Time moved in slow motion as Aang held Zuko. Everyone seemed to take a lifetime to help him, even with the massive crowd of people screaming in shock, and the remnants of Team Avatar running toward him.
"That would be too easy, too kind for the likes of you, Ozai!" Aang spat.
"Ozai? And, what are your-" Zuko was able to eek out a question before he was cut off by his own breath.
"Aang! Stop!" Katara screamed as they ran towards him.
His hand began channeling, and Zuko's breath began to pull itself out of his lungs.
…
Ozai struggled under his bending. Aang smiled a sinister smile seeing the Firelord suffer. Footsteps ran towards him, he turned towards the approaching Fire Nation soldiers, and with a swing of his hand, sent a wave of air that knocked them back.
…
A wave of air blasted towards them, knocking back Katara, Azula, Toph, and Sokka. They returned to their feet, fear striking them as they saw Zuko's life being pulled out of him.
Katara and Azula looked towards each other and nodded. Katara threw her hands up, and Azula shot forth a bolt of lightning.
…
The Firelord grasped with desperation at Aang's arm, lungs collapsing with Aang's command. Then his arms froze. His body began to move by itself, but through treating muscles, Aang fought through the pain.
He dropped his grasp on Ozai, and a shock ran through him.
…
Azula's lightning bolt seemed to intensify the lights off the Avatar State before Aang collapsed to the ground. Zuko slid back, his deep breaths filling him with life again.
"It happened again. And it hasn't happened in a long time." Katara whispered to them as the arena began to clear. "Let's take him somewhere private, and I'll explain."
…
"This has happened before." Katara sat by Aang's side, the others, leaned up against the walls, sat in chairs, or looked out the window. The Avatar slept soundly. Unfortunately, it was a slumber that couldn't be broken by anything. "Zuko, you remember, don't you?"
"Yeah." Zuko answered, and turned to the others. "A long time ago, in this same temple." Zuko chuckled to himself. "We had a sparring session, and he did the same thing." Zuko stared a home into the ground with a pause. "He almost killed me then, too."
"I talked to him that day." Katara chimed in again. "I arranged him what he saw. He said the he saw a vision. But that he didn't want to talk about it." Her face shifted towards Aang again. "All he asked was if I trusted him to protect me." she laid her hands on his. "And of course I do." She whispered more to him than anyone else.
"What could make him so angry as to almost murder Zuko?" Sokka wondered.
"If it's anything that I've experienced with him, he was hallucinating." Azula nodded to them. "Anything stick out to you, Zuz-I mean, Zuko?"
"He did one thing that I remember: He called me Ozai. Why would he even do that? He knows how much I hate my father. "
"It's fear. " Toph answered with arms crossed and a foot tapping on the ground. "Twinkletoes is scared" she pointed to Aang's motionless body. "He might not be able to answer. But his pulse says something else. "
"You're taking me that you can sense his popular is changing when he's not even conscious? " Sokka looked up from his chair.
"His heart is racing just as we talk about it now." Katara placed her hand over Aang's heart, she could feel it too, more that Toph had pointed out out. His heart felt like it was going to burst as it panicked in a steady, yet rapid pace.
"So, how do you think we fix this? We don't even know what the problem is." Sokka asked.
Katara turned to all of them, and shook her head.
"All we can do is wait for him to wake up."
…
"Disgraceful!" Ozai stood over Aang's body, his shadow casting a veil of black into the Avatar's eyes. "You were not even worth the fuss. The worry? The anxiety? Oh, I can't believe that you were so stupid!" Ozai stomped into Aang's chest. Aang headed for breath, his chest blocked with the opening of a long-healed scar.
"..." Aang couldn't find the words to speak. And then he remembered the words of an old airbender in the Spirit World. "You're wrong, Ozai." He smirked. "I'll defeat you. I'll lock you up, I'll stop you. It's my destiny." He pushed Ozai away and returned to his feet.
Aang took a deep breath.
"Even if I die, I'll be back. And Korra of the Southern Water-Tribe will have your head!" Aang felt the power in him grow. He felt ten thousand lives beckoning him to victory. And he felt unstoppable.
…
Team Avatar was still at his side hours later, some were asleep from the length of time Aang was unconscious, but everyone awake at the same time Aang was jolted from his vision, and sat up, gasping for air.
"You're finally up!" Katara shouted, jumped to him, and met his lips with hers. Blood flushed his face, and he gave a crooked smile to everyone in the room.
"We're happy to have you back." Azula whispered, took his chin with two sharp fingers, and turned him over to her with a lustful embrace of her lips.
His face was as red as the gained that burned in the brazier of the room. He looked over again to Sokka and Zuko with a weak smile against their shocked expressions.
"What?" Azula protested with a raised sunrise, and no hint of worry. "It could be our last night together. We might as well be honest with everything."
"Well, if that's the case." Toph walked to the bed, sat next to Aang, and turned him towards her.
Everyone's jaw dropped even lower than before. Aang's body became cold with the blood that flushed to his face.
"I fell in love with Twinkletoes, too." Toph grinned.
"Yeah…I guess I've got some explaining to do…" Aang managed to mumble.
"Yeah…" Zuko nodded. "Explain why you almost murdered me." Sokka looked over to Zuko with shock.
"Yeah! And then explain this!" he shouted.
PUBLISHED ON: 01/10/2016
A/N:
I like myself a good meta/fourth wall breaking joke, but believe me when I say that the joking for the rest of this story is over.
The plan is to finish the final chapters, and then publish then one hour apart from each other when it's all done.
Thanks for reading!