Chapter 6: New Ozai
Smokestacks poured thick and black onto a blue sky from the city of Earth. A wall of dark steel tore through the idyllic mountain scene, surrounding it and entrapping its occupants. A red banner bearing a black insignia hung proudly above the gate as smaller red flags flew from evenly spaced watchtowers. Upon a small rock outcropping stood Aang looking out at the city solemnly. Behind him stood Katara, Sokka, and Proto. Momo was perched on Proto's head and Appa stood behind them.
"I can't believe it," Aang began. "I know the war has spread far, but Omashu always seemed… untouchable," he said turning to face his companions.
"Up until now, it was. Now Ba Sing Se is the only great Earth Kingdom stronghold left," Sokka said while crossing his arms.
"This is horrible. But we have to move on," Katara said moving to stand beside Aang. She had a point; they couldn't fight an entire occupation.
"No. I'm going in to find Bumi," Aang said with conviction.
"Aang, stop!" Sokka said. "We don't even know if Bumi's still…"
Aang turned on him, not at all pleased with the implications. "What? If he's still what?"
"… Around," Sokka said half-heartedly.
"I know you had your heart set on Bumi but there are other people who can teach you Earthbending," Katara tried to reason.
"This isn't about finding a teacher. This is about finding my friend," Aang countered.
Proto walked past Sokka and stood on the other side of Aang and took a knee, the front of his helmet facing the city bringing Momo to eye level with Aang.
"Best not to go alone," his gravelly voice came. "We have a lot of ground to cover," he said before standing up and beginning to walk.
Near dusk, the group found themselves on a ledge directly beneath the city.
"A secret passage? Why didn't we just use this last time?" Sokka asked. Proto would have to inquire about "last time" at a later date.
With a clang, Aang pried open the sewer lid, allowing a foul-smelling liquid to pour out. "Ugh!" Sokka recoiled in response. "Does that answer your question?" Aang asked with a smirk before jumping inside, followed by Katara and then Sokka with Proto bringing up the rear.
Whilst climbing through the sewers Aang and Katara used air bending and water bending respectively to prevent the sewage from touching them, while Sokka had to deal with the backsplash, sputtering the whole way. Sokka acted as sort of a break for Proto as by the time the sewage reached Proto it was down to his ankles.
With a burst of air, the sewer cover that led onto a street was lifted up from below by Aang who then climbed out, Katara quickly following suit. "That wasn't as bad as I thought," she said. Then Sokka stood with a groan and shuffled towards Katara, absolutely covered in sewage. Katara quickly hosed him down as Proto climbed out himself. A moment later Aang blew him dry with a gust, revealing two pink aquatic creatures attached to his face. Sokka's reaction was loud and panicked, the exact opposite of what they wanted.
"AAGH! They won't let go! Help!" he exclaimed, tugging on them to no avail. Aang shushed Sokka by shocking him out of hysteria after pushing him into a wall.
"Stop making so much noise!" Aang reprimanded. "It's just a purple pentapus," he said. Sokka didn't seem too convinced until Aang got one of the pentapusses to release, leaving a star-shaped mark on his face.
Proto saw his motion tracker light up. Without a sound, he stepped into the shadows and vanished.
"Hey!" came a voice. A trio of guards, two with spears and one a fire bender, strode towards the now group of three. "What are you kids doing out past curfew?" Aang ducked behind Katara and Sokka, the latter of which had his brow furrowed.
"Kids? Proto doesn't look like-" Sokka said but cut himself off after finding that Proto had vanished.
"Sorry, we were just on our way home," Katara said as Aang popped up and smiled with Katara and Sokka, his arrow now covered by a head wrap. The trio turned and walked away to an unspecified destination.
"Wait," The leader said. Proto reached for his glaive. "What's the matter with him?" the guard asked. Katara glanced at the back of Sokka's neck, realizing there were pentapus marks on the back of his neck.
"Uh… He has Pentapox, sir," she explained while turning Sokka to face the guardsmen, who approached to inspect Sokka's apparent disease in more detail.
"Um, it's highly contagious," Katara cautioned. Sokka, who had been staring at the floor this whole time caught on and began acting the part. With a groan, he began to wail. "Uhhh it's so awful! I'm dying!"
"And deadly," Katara added on to her initial diagnosis. Sokka began to make exaggerated coughs. While he overacted the part to a degree, he did manage to convince the guards who recoiled back.
"Hey, I think I've heard of Pentapox," the guardsmen in front said. "Didn't your cousin Chang die of it?" he asked one of the guards behind him. "We better go wash our hands. And burn our clothes," he said while turning to run with the other guardsmen.
"Thank you, sewer friend," Aang said while holding a pentapus.
"Good work Katara," Proto said after he had reappeared silently, startling all three of them.
"Er… Thanks," Katara said with a smile.
"Hang on, how did you do that? Where did you go?" Sokka asked pointedly.
"My appearance isn't exactly inconspicuous, but I was close and ready to intervene if necessary," Proto explained quickly before beginning to walk in the opposite direction of the Guards.
The group moved quickly through the dark city, ducking behind objects and allowing guards to pass.
"Let's find Bumi and get out of here," Katara said as another trio passed.
"Where would they be keeping him?" Sokka asked.
"Somewhere he can't earth bend. Somewhere metal," Aang answered, looking around. The four moved on.
As they were walking, all four of them heard the rumbling of moving rock. A boulder was headed for a group of people below them, Aang moved using air to blast the rock away. A woman's voice called them out from below. "The resistance!"
Aang jumped as projectiles thudded into the stack of wood behind him, before running. The group ran with Aang as pursuers began climbing the ladder. Katara knocked them away with a well-placed water whip before continuing to run. A woman with long raven-dark hair launched a small series of arrows at Katara who formed an ice wall to protect herself before she resumed fleeing. Aang turned as the woman jumped over the ice wall. Using his staff to direct air, he blasted supports out from under scaffolding, blocking the woman's continued pursuit. However, she threw a blade which Aang used his staff to intercept before backing away to join his party. As the four of them turned to run as a group the stone they were on slid out from underneath them. Proto instinctively jumped off the moving piece. As he landed, he heard the startled yelps of his compatriots. He turned just in time to see the slab close behind them.
Proto heard a woosh of air before he sidestepped the projectile coming his way. He caught the next one and began to heat it up orange-hot before flinging it onto the collapsed scaffolding, giving him the visual cover needed to get away from the eagle-eyed opponent. Proto jumped and vanished midway through his fall to the streets below and started his search as soon as he landed.
Deep below Omashu, Aang, Katara, and Sokka spoke with a man named Yalo.
"You're all about to come down with a nasty case of Pentpox," Sokka said, a smile on his face.
"Oof!" echoed down the hallway behind them, as one of the individuals who was supposed to watch the entrance for non-benders flew past the group and landed on the surface below with a thud and a groan. A line of fire raced down the hall from out of the darkness, separating Aang and company from Yalo. Rapid footsteps were heard as a dark figure slammed into Yalo who didn't have time to process what was happening. A glaive flashed above him and raised swiftly into the air; the blade above his chest. Yalo shut his eyes, and-
"Proto, stop!"
The killing blow Yalo expected never came. He cracked an eye open to see a robed figure standing above him, the flames beside him died out.
"He's an ally," Aang explained. "He helped us." Proto didn't say anything but he did step off of Yalo and offer him a hand. Yalo stared at it for a moment before accepting it and was pulled to his feet. A moment of awkward silence permeated the cavernous space as everyone tensely stared at Proto. "I'll go check on him," Proto said before jumping down to where the man he had thrown had landed and began healing him. Everyone looked on, fascinated as light from Proto's hands washed over the man on the ground. After a moment Proto stood, helping the man up with him.
The next day, all of the people who were in the underground chamber were covering themselves in pentapus marks under the supervision of Sokka.
"The marks make you look sick, but you gotta act sick, too! You gotta sell it," Sokka said. An older man walked out from the crowd with a cane and a simple wooden prosthetic leg. He limped along moaning the whole way.
"Now, that's what I'm talking about," Sokka said gesturing to the older man who turned his head.
"Years of practice," he said with a smile and a whack to his prosthetic.
"Ok everyone, into sick formation!" Sokka called out, before shortly joining them.
"Aang, what are you doing?" Katara asked when she noticed Aang wasn't following them. "Aren't you coming with us?"
"No. I'm not leaving until I find Bumi," he said with determination. "Sorry Momo," he said as Momo tugged at his mouth. "I'll feed you later," he said and took to the roofs.
Katara turned to follow the crowd before she realized Proto didn't have any pentapus marks on his clothes.
"Proto, how do you plan on getting out?"
"I'll make do," he said. With a shrug Katara turned away, only sparing a glance over her shoulder to look in Aang's direction of departure before resuming her walk with the crowd. Turning back in her own direction of travel, she noticed the Proto was gone.
In a valley away from the city camp had been set up, the last fire was being prepared by Proto as Sokka watched over his shoulder.
"So when were you going to tell us that you had magical powers?" Sokka asked.
"I would have gotten around to it," Proto said plainly.
"Uh huh," Sokka said not convinced.
Proto snapped his fingers, and a flash of orange erupted from his hand and caused the wood gathered in front of him to flair to life in a brilliant orange plume before dying down to normal levels.
"And when were you going to tell us you were a firebender?" Sokka asked.
"I'm not," Proto answered calmly
"Right," Sokka said.
"Oh, give it a rest will you? There's no need for this," Katara said exasperatedly.
Aang walked into camp with a large creature. They both seemed downtrodden.
"We looked everywhere," Aang said. "No Bumi."
Katara hugged him comfortingly, and Sokka hugged the large creature as well. Yalo approached the three.
"We've got a problem. We just did a headcount," he started.
"Oh, no. Did someone get left behind?" Katara asked
"No, we have an extra," Yalo said pointing to a small child, no older than two holding onto Momo while the lemur tried to escape.
Momo made his escape when the child was distracted by Sokka's club. Being only a small child, he instinctively reached for it. Sokka however, snatched it up and held it out of reach.
"No! Bad Fire Nation baby!" Sokka said. Naturally, the child began to cry. Katara flicked Sokka's nose and he relented.
"Oh, all right," Sokka sighed while setting the club back down. Katara started fawning over the child as it played with the weapon.
"Oh, you're so cute! Ooh!" she said in an exaggerated voice.
"Sure, he's cute now," Yalo spoke up. "But when he's older, he'll join the Fire Nation Army. You won't think he's so cute then. He'll be a killer," he said grimly.
"Does that look like the face of a killer to you?" Katara challenged while holding up the child to Yalo, who only grunted.
A screech was heard as a messenger hawk landed nearby, attached to its leg was a message read by Aang.
"It's from the Fire Nation governor. He thinks we kidnapped his son. So, he wants to make a trade. His son, for King Bumi," Aang said, his eyes widening at the news.
The next morning Aang held the child in his arms and walked towards Appa. Proto was already in the saddle, Katara and Sokka were on the ground.
"You know, we're probably walking right into a trap," Sokka said.
"I don't think so," Aang retorted. "I'm sure the governor wants his son back as much as we want Bumi. It's a new day, I have a good feeling about this," he said, smiling at the child.
In the afternoon, the four stood upon a platform near the Apex of the tallest mountain that Omashu inhabited. Across from them, a group of three women approached. One Proto recognized from last night. In the daylight, he could make out her sharp features. Most of her body was covered by loose-fitting clothing. 'Good for hiding weapons' Proto thought to himself. To her left was a woman with similarly dark hair and sharp features, though her hair was much shorter. She had a head ornament of some kind and her bangs framed her face. Her primarily red clothing had a yellow trim around the collar, and she looked more regal than her compatriots. 'Probably a firebender' Proto to himself. On the first girl's other side was a girl wearing loose and light clothing that exposed her mid-section. Her hair partially obscured her right eye and formed a braid that went behind her back. 'Clothes indicate a preference for dexterity and unhindered movement, possibly a firebender' Proto thought. The final girl had a partial smile on her face, but as soon as she looked at him her brow furrowed and her smile disappeared.
Above the two groups, a metal coffin was lowered. The individual inside was cackling on the way down.
"Hi everybody!" The individual whom Proto assumed King Bumi was called out before he landed behind the group opposite of Proto. He could make out brown skin and white hair, but not much else.
The girl in front spoke up. "You brought my brother?" she asked.
"He's here. We're ready to trade," Aang responded.
The girl to the right spoke up. "I'm sorry, but a thought just occurred to me. Do you mind?" She asked the girl in front.
"Of course not, Princess Azula," the girl in front responded
"We're trading a two-year-old for a king- A powerful earthbending king. It just doesn't seem like a fair trade, does it?" Princess Azula asked.
"You're right," The girl in front said. "The deal's off!"
King Bumi began to rise again.
"Woah! See you all later!" King Bumi said and began to laugh.
"Bumi!" Aang shouted before surging forward Azula reacted and sent a wave of Azure flames to stop him. Aang easily leaped over the attack and jumped onto the scaffolding, leaving Azula staring in shock. Aang launched himself into the air and spread his glider, losing the cloth that covered his head tattoos in the process. Azula muttered something to herself as Aang climbed up. She ran towards a chain but stopped when a glaive embedded itself into the planks in front of her. The girl related to the child charged Proto, a blade depositing itself into her hand. She swung at him and he used his gauntlets to block, the sound of metal clanging erupted at the point of contact. Proto pressed forward, easily overpowering the small area she had to grip her own blade.
"Mai, move!" The named Mai did just that, disengaging from Proto and ducking away. Proto would have pursued her if it weren't for the fireball hurtling towards him. Instinctively he let loose a trio of his own in response. The two attacks collided producing a blooming fireball and a concussive blast that kicked up dust and smoke. That hadn't been the reaction he was expecting, but it was good to know he could handle large-scale fire attacks. Proto braced himself and managed to stand his ground as thuds and grunts sounded off around him indicating others that had also not been prepared had been bowled over by the force. Proto charged into the cloud and grabbed his glaive, he found Aula at the other end of it and charged her, bringing his glaive down on top of her. Azula rolled away and had to jump off to one side as Proto ripped his glaive through the ground. Pressing the attack, Proto attempted to strike with the hilt but Azula proved too nimble again. Proto struck out with a leg, tripping her backward before trying again to stab her while she was on the ground. This time Azula fired a large fireball instead of dodging, and this time Proto was too close to do anything. The fireball hit him square in the chest, forcing him backward. Earlier King Bumi and Aang had dropped, but Azula was more concerned by this new opponent. She felt, no, knew that if she left to go after the Avatar she would face dire consequences for trying to abandon this fight.
"Traitor!" she snarled at Proto as her two compatriots were blasted back by Appa and landed near her. Proto didn't even flinch as Azula suddenly got reinforcements. A green orb of twisting energy formed in his hand.
"Catch," he said in a calm voice, throwing the orb which spun out in flight into a green semi-translucent set of bolas. A flash of green preceded all three of his opponents being suspended in mid-air, unable to do anything.
"What is this? What have you done?" Azula demanded.
Proto didn't respond, but instead turned and ran to Appa, Katara, and Sokka to catch up to Aang. When they finally did catch up, King Bumi was rolling himself away, laughing the whole time.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I do enjoy reading everyone's comments and I'm very grateful for the support. Let me know if you have any critiques of the writing as well. See you all in the next chapter.