5
Hoshiko was gently awoken by someone shaking her hammock, she opened her eyes to see it was Katara. "Come on, Hoshiko." She said, "We're leaving."
"Already?" Hoshiko questioned sleepily, rubbing one eye as she sat up. Katara nodded and Hoshiko huffed out a breath. "Okay, I'm getting up." She hopped out of her hammock and onto the floor. She grabbed her bag, which she filled with clothes, food, and other basic necessities, and slung it over her shoulder. She followed Katara onto the deck where Sokka, Aang, Pakku, and most of the water benders were waiting to say goodbye. Pakku stepped forward holding a brown bag, smiling at the four of them.
"Katara," He said, pulling out a vial-like amulet from the bag, "I want you to have this. This amulet contains water from the spirit oasis." He handed it to her, "The water has unique properties. Don't lose it." He added sternly, but he smiled as she stepped forward to give him a small embrace.
"Thank you, Master Pakku." Katara said, leaving to get on Appa.
"Aang," Pakku called next, pulling out a box with the insignia of the Water Tribe on it, "These scrolls will help you master water bending. But remember, they're no substitute for a real master." Aang glanced back at Katara before he bowed to Pakku gratefully, "Hoshiko," Hoshiko's ears pricked at the sound of her name, not expecting anything from Pakku. He pulled out a small, blue box, "This is a little gift from Shin-jii and his men." She accepted the box and opened it, finding a small necklace with a crystal hanging off of it, "It is a water crystal, one of the rarest kind. In our tribe, it is normally a good luck charm to those who need it. They also wanted me to tell you that they 'hope you find your friends and family.'" Hoshiko smiled up at the old man, "I also wish you luck on your journey."
Pakku held out his hand for her to take, and Hoshiko stared at it for a moment, before walking up and embracing him. He jumped at the gesture, but hesitantly returned it, "Thanks, Pakku. And tell the others 'thank you' for me if you get the chance." Pakku nodded and she released him, she bowed respectfully towards him and he smiled.
"Sokka," Pakku said. Sokka eagerly stepped forward, hoping to receive a gift like the others did, instead Pakku just patted his shoulder, "Take care, son." Pakku walked away and Sokka sulked as he climbed onto the bison, "Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There, you'll be safe to begin your earth bending training with King Bumi." Aang nodded once.
"Appa, yip yip!" Aang said, snapping the reigns on the bison's horns.
"Say hi to Gran gran for me!" Katara called as they shot off into the air. Hoshiko watched as the ship became smaller and smaller as they flew off into the distance. When the ship was nothing more than a dot on the water, she turned around and slumped against the saddle, sighing. Katara looked to see Hoshiko with a slightly shocked look on her face, "Is something wrong, Hoshiko?"
Hoshiko looked over at the water bender, "Hm? No, no, everything's fine." She said, dismissing her with a wave, "I guess… I'm just a little anxious."
"About what?" Katara asked, Hoshiko shrugged.
"I have no idea." She said.
After flying for about three hours, they reached a shore, where Sokka saw the walls surrounding an Earth Kingdom base. He jumped up excitedly, "There it is!" He exclaimed. Hoshiko saw a tower protected by a round wall, the base itself was small, but she expected as much, for it must've taken a lot of stone to make the halls so high.
They landed at the top of the wall, where someone stood waiting for them. They jumped off the bison saddle, stretching out their limbs, jumping when a voice called out to them.
"Welcome, Avatar Aang!" He said, they looked to see a middle-aged man with brown hair and a long brown beard on his face. He wore an Earth Kingdom General uniform, and was clearly an earth bender by the fact he didn't wear shoes. "I am General Fong." He greeted, him and his soldiers bowing deeply to them, "And welcome to all of you! Great heroes! Appa. Momo. Brave Sokka." At the mention of his name, Sokka smirked and puffed out his chest, "The mighty Katara."
"Mighty Katara?" Katara repeated, "I like that." Booming sounds were heard and the group looked to see Earth Kingdom fireworks- fireworks that only worked when earth benders shot them into the air- going off behind them in an amazing display.
"Not bad, not bad!" Sokka said, smiling at the treatment they were getting.
"And who is this you've brought with you?" Fong asked, stepping forward, closer to Hoshiko. She turned to him and bowed respectfully.
"My name is Hoshiko, sir." She said, "I am a simple Shinjun who is here to help the avatar in anyway I can." The general smiled down at her, and took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles. Hoshiko blushed at the gesture; she had never been treated with such respect.
"Truly, the avatar brings great heroes." Fong said, "The kind-hearted Shinjun, Hoshiko. Welcome." Hoshiko smiled sheepishly at him.
Hoshiko, Katara, Aang, and Sokka sat in the head office of the base. General Fong sat at the desk in front of them. Behind him were two maps: one of the Earth Kingdom, the other of the world. The room was decorated in a traditional Earth Kingdom style of spheres with square centers. Soldiers stood at the door of the room, watching as the conversation between the group and the general took place.
"Avatar Aang," Fong began, "We were all amazed at the stories of how you single-handedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet at the North Pole." Fong stroked his beard thoughtfully, "I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power." He looked over at Aang, "It's an awesome responsibility."
"I try not to think about it too much." Aang replied, shrugging. General Fong smiled kindly at him.
"Avatar," He said, "You're ready to face the Fire Lord now." Aang's eyes went wide.
"What?! No, I'm not!" Aang said.
"Aang still needs to master all four elements!" Katara said.
"Why?" The general questioned, "With the kind of power he possesses," He stood from his seat, "Power enough to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the Fire Lord now!"
"But, sir, the thing is," Sokka said, "Aang can only do those things when he's in the avatar state."
"See, it's this special state where-" Aang said.
"I'm well aware!" Fong interrupted snappishly, "You're eyes and tattoos glow, and you're able to summon unbelievable power." He walked over to the world map, "Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reached their shores. But with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon," He pointed his finger to the base they were at on the map, moving it toward the Fire Nation, "We could cut a swathe right through to the heart of the Fire Nation."
"Right…" Aang began, "But I don't know how to get in or out of the avatar state, much less what to do once I'm there."
"So it's decided then." Fong said, turning to face them, "I'll help you figure out how to get into the avatar state, and then you'll face your destiny." Their eyes widened and they all stood up.
"No, nothing's decided!" Katara said, "We already have a plan. Aang's pursuing his destiny his way."
"Well, while you take your time learning the elements, the war goes on." Fong said, "May I show you something?" He gestured to the window and Aang followed him toward it, "That's the infirmary," Fong said, talking about the building they were looking at. Aang saw many soldiers badly injured, with many bandages covering their wounds, "And those soldiers are the lucky ones. They came back. Everyday the Fire Nation takes lives," He said, turning to the avatar, "People are dying, Aang! You could end it. Now. Think about it." Fong turned away and walked back to his desk, "Soldiers, take them to the rooms we had prepared for them." The soldiers at the door nodded and led the group through the hallways of the tower until they reached a small bedroom, with four beds, two on one wall, one on another, and on the other. Everything was in green, and glowing emeralds were the only light in the room. The soldiers left as everyone chose a bed.
Katara and Hoshiko took the two beds on one wall, Sokka took the bed across from them, and Aang took the bed in between. After packing and relaxing for a few hours, Aang left the room, saying he'd be back in a moment.
And he was, he opened the door and walked to his bed. He sat down and stared at the floor, "I told the general I'd help him." He said, "By going into the avatar state."
"Aang no!" Katara said, "This is not the right way!"
"Why not?" Sokka asked from his bed, "Remember when he took out the Fire Navy? He was incredible!"
"Sokka's got a point." Hoshiko said, "If Aang can take out so many Fire Navy ships in such a small amount of time, it'd be easy for him to take down the Fire Lord."
"There's a right way to do this," Katara insisted, "Practice, study, and discipline."
"Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord!" Sokka retorted. Katara glared at him and jumped to her feet.
"If you meatheads want to throw away everything we've worked for, fine!" Katara said, "Go ahead and 'glow it up'!" She stalked away from them, heading for the door.
"Katara, I'm just being realistic!" Aang called after her, "I don't have time to do this the right way!" The door slammed and Aang slumped his shoulders. He sat back down on the bed and sighed heavily. Hoshiko looked at the young avatar and then looked back to the door. She got up from her bed and walked out. She found Katara near something of a balcony, looking up at the starry sky. It overlooked the courtyard of the base, where they could see soldiers on patrol.
"Katara?" Hoshiko called, she glanced at her before turning her attention back to the sky. Hoshiko sighed and walked up next to her, leaning against the railing. "Look, I can understand your reasoning for not wanting Aang to do this. Taking shortcuts is never a good idea if you want to get something done right, and this is exactly that. A shortcut. They're not always the best ideas, but they get the job done. I want this war to be over just as much as the next person, and if Aang being in the avatar state is the fastest way to end it, then I'm all for it."
"It's not that." Katara said, "You've never been up close to him when he's in the avatar state. It's scary."
"So, you don't want him to do this because you're scared?" Hoshiko asked, raising one eyebrow in a dubious kind of way.
"Well… Yes and no." Katara answered, "It's just… When Aang goes into the avatar state… One time, when we were visiting an Air Temple, Aang found the skeleton of one of the monks, surrounded by Fire Nation soldier uniforms. He went into the avatar state, because he had lost the people he loved. Seeing him in all that rage and pain is really awful. I just don't want Aang to go to such extreme measures to defeat the Fire Lord." Hoshiko smiled softly at her.
"Aww, you care about the little guy, don't you?" She cooed, patting her head in a teasing way. Katara pushed her hand away roughly, though the smile on her face said she was amused. "I understand, Katara. But you gotta know that, in order to get things done," Her hand unconsciously went to the back of her neck, "Sometimes, a price has to be paid." Her fingers touched the edge of a scar on her skin, "Do you understand?" Katara looked at her and nodded. Hoshiko smiled at her, "Good. Now, let's get you back in the room. It's late, and I'm starting to get tired." Katara smiled and nodded, following her back into the room.
Hoshiko, Aang, Katara, and Sokka followed General Fong to a small veranda near a water fall close to the base. They met with the soldier's herbalist, who welcomed them. He prepared a pot of tea and had enough made for only one cup. He took out a small, brown square from a jar and placed it in the pot of tea.
"This rare chi enhancing tea is a natural stimulant." He said, pouring the tea into the cup, "In an ordinary warrior, it improves strength and energy tenfold." He pushed the cup in front of Aang, "In you, it may induce the avatar state." Aang took the cup and looked at the clear, brown liquid.
"Tenfold energy, huh?" he mused aloud as he took a sip. The group waited with baited breath for Aang to glow, but nothing of that sort happened.
What did happen was Aang becoming unnaturally hyper, riding his air scooter all around the veranda, his voice very high and loud as he spoke and rapidly asked questions, "Is it working? Is it working? I can't tell! Somebody tell me if I'm in the avatar state, 'cause I don't have a good feel of myself! Am I talking too loud?" He kept on riding around on his air scooter, Hoshiko pulled her ears down and held them next to her face as he kept going.
"I guess he could talk the Fire Lord to death." Sokka said sarcastically as Aang flew around behind him, and crashed into a pole. Fong kept stroking his beard thoughtfully, his eyebrows furrowed.
Sokka had brought them back to the base. He stood in front of Aang, Katara, Hoshiko, and General Fong out in the courtyard. "Maybe I can shock you into the avatar state." Sokka suggested.
"I love surprises!" Aang said cheerfully, giving him a thumbs-up. Katara covered his eyes and Sokka motioned for Hoshiko to come over. He whispered something to her and she nodded, bending up shadows around him to give him something of a tentacle-like appearance as Sokka stuck Momo in his shirt so the lemur's head would be where Sokka's was. Katara removed her hands and Momo screeched at Aang as Sokka leaned forward, his hands going in the same direction as the black tentacles. Aang yelped and flinched at the sight. He looked down at his tattoo, and saw it was still normal, "Still not glowing."
Hoshiko removed her shadows from Sokka as he stumbled backwards, not used to having Momo replace his head. He fell over and Hoshiko snickered slightly at the sight. Fong kept stroking his beard thoughtfully.
Fong had brought them deeper into the tower at the base, where their spiritual consultant, a simple Earth Kingdom monk, had Aang wear a large, green hat with leaves, a long, furry, blue cloak, a red clothing bottom, and a small pouch that looked like it had seen better days. "You are wearing a ceremonial piece of clothing from each of the bending nations." He said as he stood at a podium with a large dish in front of him, "Now, I will join the four elements into one! Water," He poured water into the dish, "Earth," He emptied a smaller plate of dirt into the dish, "Fire!" He grabbed a torch off the wall and dipped it into the dish, "Air!" He pulled out a small pump and pushed out air into the dish. He picked up the dish and raised it above him, "Four elements together as one!" He threw the contents of the dish onto Aang, who quickly became covered in the brown muck.
"This is just mud!" He said to the old man.
"So, do you feel anything?" The man asked. Aang was silent as he held up his hand, his nose twitching. Everyone looked to see if this technique had really worked, only for Aang to sneeze, unconsciously using air bending to make the mud fly off of him and onto everyone else. General Fong lifted his hand up to wipe away the mud on his face and in his beard.
"We have to find a way." He said.
Hoshiko walked along the railing of a balcony at the Earth Kingdom base. She had a moment to herself with Aang and the others resting up. She looked up at the sky and saw dusk was approaching, she put her hand over her heart and sighed, feeling it beat softly in her chest. She felt strange, not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. She was glad she was helping the avatar and glad that she was able to get a chance to find any of her friends and family other than Xana, but she was still upset about the North Pole. She felt strange, knowing that she couldn't see her again, but also knowing she wasn't dead. Now, in order to speak to her friend at all, she'd have to pray to the moon spirit. She almost laughed at the concept, praying to a friend.
She heard voices and looked to see Aang and Katara near the balcony she walked on, she stopped walking and eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Can we talk about something?" Katara asked.
"Sure." Aang said.
"Do you remember when we were at the air temple and you found Monk Gyatso's skeleton?" Katara asked, "It must've been so horrible and traumatic for you. I saw you get so upset you weren't even you anymore. I'm not saying the avatar state doesn't have incredible, and helpful power! But, you have to understand, for the people who love you, watching you be in that much rage and pain is really scary."
After a moment, Aang said, "I'm really glad you told me that. But I still need to do this."
"I don't understand." Katara said.
"No, you don't understand." Aang said, turning to her, "Every day more and more people die. I'm already a hundred years late. Defeating the Fire Lord is the only way to stop this war! I have to try it."
"I can't watch you do this to yourself." Katara said solemnly as she walked away, "I'm not coming tomorrow." She turned around to face him, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Aang bid sadly. He turned back to the balcony again and stared at the sunset. She kept walking along the railing and Aang noticed her as she approached him, "Isn't that dangerous?" He asked her, "It's a fifty-foot drop."
"I'm fine." She said with a smirk, "As it turns out, I have a fantastic sense of balance." She stood on one foot and hopped her way over to the young air bender to prove her point. Aang laughed a little as she came over, "See?" He smiled at her before dropping his gaze and looking out at the sea again.
"Hoshiko, can I ask you something?" He asked, Hoshiko nodded and sat down on the railing, her feet hanging a few inches from the ground.
"What is it?" She asked.
"It's about your past, in the Fire Nation." Aang said.
"Ah," She said, "Well, what about it?"
"Were you really a slave?" Aang asked, "It's just… when I was a kid, slavery was a horrible thing. It was unthinkable, in any of the four nations. I just find it hard to believe that the Shinjun tribe was enslaved to the Fire Nation."
"Well, you better believe it, buster." Hoshiko said, "It's been a hundred years since that time, and time changes a lot of things." She looked down to her lap, "When I was younger, I was a completely different person. I was ignorant, and I was content not knowing what went on outside our tribe's boundaries. But after everything the Fire Nation did what they did, I had no choice but to change."
"What do you mean?" Aang asked.
"I had to change who I was." Hoshiko said, "I was a shadow bender, so I was a valuable asset to my master. I worked in the fields, I worked in battle. I was his weapon, and I had no way to say no to him. If I did say no, I was severely punished." Her hand went to the back of her neck, feeling the edges of a scar again. "I had to be more… unfeeling than I used to be. I had to do what I was told without worrying about the consequences, but I just couldn't do it. So when my master left to fight in the war, I ran away to the Earth Kingdom. A land that was outside their authority. I wanted to make a new life there, so I went to the North Pole. You know the rest from there." "Yeah…" Aang said, "I'm sorry it happened."
"Don't be." Hoshiko said, jumping off the balcony, "There was nothing anyone could have done anyway. You shouldn't be worrying about the past too much, there's nothing anyone can do now to change what happened. You need to focus on the now, not on the could've been. Okay?"
"Okay." Aang said. Hoshiko smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Sweet dreams, Aang." She said.
"Goodnight."
Hoshiko lay awake, staring at the ceiling. She had woken from her nightmare again, but she was worried about what would happen if she fell back into sleep. She didn't want to relive that awful day again. She looked over as she saw Aang writhing around under his sheets, sweating and moaning slightly. It seemed she wasn't the only one having nightmares. Suddenly, Aang jumped up, gasping. He panted harshly before turning to Sokka and looking back between him and Hoshiko.
"Sokka, Hoshiko." He called out quietly, so as not to disturb Katara, "Guys, wake up."
"Uh?" Sokka replied sleepily.
"Yeah, Aang?" Hoshiko asked.
"I don't think we should be trying to bring on the avatar state." Aang said.
"You sure?" Sokka asked, Aang nodded.
"Yes."
"Okay." Sokka said, shrugging indifferently.
"No, not 'okay,'" Hoshiko hissed, "Why the sudden change of heart?"
"It just feels… wrong." Aang said, "I think we should be doing this the right way. No shortcuts." Hoshiko looked at him for a moment, seeing the determination, and fear, in his eyes. She sighed in resignation.
"All right." She said, "The right way is usually the best way to do something."
"Do you think the general will be mad?" Aang asked.
"What can he say?" Sokka said, "You're the avatar. Who knows better than you?" Aang nodded unsurely and went back to bed. Hoshiko turned back into her sheets, forcing her eyes to close.
She was in a field. A field that had miles and miles of tall, green grass surrounding everything. At the edge of the grass was a forest, she could just barely see the tree line. She felt the grass tickling her skin and she laughed, how amazing it felt! She started to run through the grass, barefoot, loving the feel of the tips brushing against her.
After a few feet she collapsed into the ground, laughing breathily. She stared up at the blue sky above her, linking her fingers behind her head, making a temporary pillow. She felt so content in this one moment, she felt the only thing that would make this better was…
"Hoshi!"
She sat up at the sound of her name, she looked over the blades and smiled. She saw everyone, her father, her mother, Xana, Katara, Sokka, and Aang. They all waved to her, smiling, beckoning her over. She looked for the one who had called her, because none of their voices matched the one she heard. Xana stepped aside and she saw him. His back was to her, but she could still see his white hair, white wolf ears, and white wolf tail. He was wearing the same blue kimono shirt he always wore and a pair of black pants. She didn't need to see his face to know who he was. It was Kotaro, her closest friend, her other half, her hanbun tamashi.
She got up and began to run toward them, ready to see them all. Ready to be in the arms of the ones she loved. The sky suddenly darkened, as did the faces of her friends. Hoshiko slowed down in confusion and saw them disappear. They all turned to dust and blew away by the time she reached where their bodies would have been.
She heard a disturbing sound as the grass and trees all began to wilt and die. She wondered what made this happen and froze as she heard a familiar hiss of laughter. She turned around and saw a great, giant panther standing over her; long, inky black tentacles squirming and writhing around as the panther laughed. It seemed to have no complete physical form, as the edges of it seemed to move, as if it were made entirely of some dark, unearthly substance. Like shadow.
She stared up at it in fear, and then began to run away again, but a tentacle caught her and brought her up to the panther's face. Its dark eyes with white pupils stared back at her. It opened its mouth to eat her, and she screamed.
"Hoshiko."
She jolted awake, getting into a sitting position in a cold sweat. Her chest rising and falling double time as she tried to catch her breath. She looked to see Sokka was the one who woke her, and he looked surprised at her sudden reaction.
"What is it, Sokka?" She asked, trying to sound normal, but her voice shook some.
"We're going to tell the general about Aang's decision." He said, "Get dressed and meet us there."
"Yeah, okay." Hoshiko said, wiping away some of the sweat on her forehead.
"The thing is," Aang said, "I don't think we'll ever be able to trigger it on purpose." Sokka and Hoshiko stood off to the side, some soldiers a few feet behind them as they all stood in the general's office as Aang explained his reasoning, "So, I guess that's it."
"Sure I can't change your mind?" General Fong asked, looking down at the young avatar from his desk.
"I'm sure." Aang said, "I can only reach the avatar state when I'm in genuine danger."
"I see…" Fong said, "I was afraid you'd say that." Hoshiko looked at him with a raised eyebrow before she saw him earth bend the stone in his desk to push Aang out the window on the other side of the room.
"AANG!" Sokka and Hoshiko exclaimed simultaneously. The soldiers that were a few feet away grabbed them both and held them tight, refusing to let them go.
Fong walked over to the window, where Aang had used his air bending to land safely on the ground, "MEN!" Fong shouted, "ATTACK THE AVATAR!" Aang looked around fearfully as the men began to advance on him. Fong jumped down from the window, landing on some ground, using earth bending to make a small shockwave toward Aang. The air bender stood and looked at the general.
"What are you doing?" Aang demanded.
"I believe we are about to get results." Fong said. Aang watched as the soldiers around him began to bend up giant, earth kingdom stones in the shape of earth kingdom coins. They began to throw them at him, Aang using his air bending to skillfully dodge them.
"I'm not your enemy!" He shouted, "I won't fight you!" He jumped up as four more giant coins were bended at him. The one he landed on was pushed away by another, and they attempted to crush him between the ones that were beside it. Aang had carefully maneuvered his way into the small square in between and stayed still as the stones began to roll, stopping when an earth bender destroyed them. Aang skidded across the ground and stood up against the soldiers.
Meanwhile, Sokka and Hoshiko escaped the hold of the soldiers. Sokka used his legs to knock them both down while Hoshiko used her shadow bending. They ran to the window to see the soldiers bending more giant coins at Aang, who easily dodged them. He used his air scooter to try and run away, avoiding the stones that were bent up to block him, and ran toward the wall. Two soldiers on ostrich horse went after him, slicing at him with their bisento, watching as Aang avoided them and fell back. When they landed, the soldiers tried to get him again, but he dodged and fell into a stone coin. Fong bent the stone of from the ground and dragged Aang to him by trapping him in the square in the middle.
"You can't run forever!" Fong declared as he brought the stone to the ground.
"You can't fight forever!" Aang shot back. Fong jumped up and crushed the stone after Aang had left it.
"Come on!" Hoshiko yelled, starting to run down the stairs, Sokka quickly following her. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw Katara coming down as well.
"What's going on?" She asked over the sound of rock crushing rock.
"The general's gone crazy!" Sokka exclaimed, "He's trying to force Aang into the avatar state!" Sokka threw his boomerang at one of the soldiers before he could throw another stone coin at Aang. As Aang ran away from one of the soldiers, Katara used her water bending to cut the staff of the bisento the soldier held in pieces and knocking him off his ostrich horse while Hoshiko used her shadow bending to keep a few soldiers back. Sokka cautiously approached the ostrich horse and began to ride it.
Suddenly, all the stone coins began to move, forming a barrier around Katara. Aang, who had been running up the stairs to get away, stopped when he saw her.
"Maybe you can avoid me," Fong called out to Aang, "But she can't." The soldiers turned the stone coins so they formed a V-shaped wall around Katara, trapping her. Katara shot out a stream of water at the general, only to have him bend up some dirt to turn it into mud. He then used his earth bending to make Katara suddenly spin, her legs sinking into the earth. She struggled to get free, but found she couldn't.
"I can't move!" She yelled, beginning to panic.
"Don't hurt her!" Aang yelled, jumping down from the stairs and shooting out air at the general. He brought up a slab of earth to protect himself as the air moved directly to it and harmlessly past him. He moved the slab down and caused Katara to sink even further into the ground, having the stone up to her hips.
"Katara! No!" Sokka cried, turning the ostrich horse so he could help his sister. As the horse began to gallop towards the general, he used earth bending to make the horse stop and Sokka go flying into the center of one of the stone coins. Hoshiko began to go after the general as well, bringing up a wave of shadow to knock him down, but he used earth bending to bring up four pieces of stone and used them to trap both her wrists and ankles to the ground beneath her, making her unable to move. Hoshiko knew she could wriggle her way out of it, but it would take some time.
"Stop this!" Aang cried, running up to the general and grabbing his arm, "You have to let her go!"
"You could save her if you were in the avatar state!" The general said.
"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Aang yelled desperately, his eyes becoming filled with tears. "Aang, I'm sinking!" Katara yelled as Fong had her go even deeper into the dirt, making her up to her waist in the stone.
"I don't see glowing!" Fong said, trying to coerce Aang into the avatar state. He had Katara go down even further, up to her neck in the stone. She let out a yelp.
"Please!" She begged.
"You don't need to do this!" Aang cried, falling to his knees, begging the general to stop.
"Apparently, I do." Fong said solemnly, engulfing Katara completely into the stone. Aang dived after her, trying to grab her so she wouldn't be pulled under, but he was too late. Hoshiko watched as a bright light began to come from Aang's tattoos and eyes. He whipped around to the general in a furious state of anger at the loss of his friend.
"It worked!" Fong exclaimed happily, shooting his fist into the air, "It wor-her-herked!!" A sudden gust of air came from the avatar and Aang used an air bending slice to blow the general back twenty feet. The force of the wind also caused Hoshiko's cuffs to fly off, and she got up, but was frozen by the look of Aang in the avatar state. It was terrifying. She felt chills run through every part of her muscle, penetrating to the bone.
Aang used air bending to create a whirlwind around him, bringing him up high and towering over the people in the base.
"Avatar Aang! Can you hear me?" Fong called out over the wind, "Your friend is safe!" He earth bended Katara out of the ground, and she gasped, taking in deep breaths. She looked up and saw Aang in the avatar state, "It was just a trick to trigger the avatar state! And it worked!" Aang said nothing as he suddenly came down to the ground, creating an earth bending shockwave that dismantled the stones of the base and throwing stone coins into the wall and buildings, and throwing soldiers back. And what wasn't thrown back by the earth was thrown back by the shockwave of wind that followed. When the shockwave had reached the edges of the wall, the air went back to Aang as his body formed a dome of air around him, making all winds center on him as he stood.
After a moment, the air flow slowed down, and Aang's glowing ceased. He fell to his knees and looked around sadly at the wreckage he created. Katara ran over to him and pulled him into a small embrace.
"I'm sorry Katara." Aang said, "I hope you never have to see me like that again."
"Hah! Are you joking?" The general asked as he walked over, "That was almost perfect!" He began stroking his beard, "We just need to find out a way to control you when you're like that."
"You're out of your mind." Aang said, glaring at the general.
"I guess we'll figure it out on the way to the Fire Nation." Fong said. He didn't notice Sokka coming up to him on the ostrich horse, and Sokka hit him on the head with his club. General Fong instantly fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Anybody got a problem with that?" Sokka asked the soldiers, who quickly shook their heads.
"Do you still want an escort to Omashu?" One of the soldiers asked as they came forward, bowing.
Katara pretended to think about it for a moment before saying, "I think we're all set." Momo flew into Aang's arm and Aang smiled at the lemur. Hoshiko followed the group as they gathered their things and flew away on Appa.
They headed in the direction of Omashu, to find Aang's earth bending teacher.
Chapter 5! Yay!
Happy belated Holidays!
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