A/N. I'm sorry for not posting these last few days, had some things I had to take care of! And with the holidays and such, I'm not sure I will post before the new year! Anyway, a shorter chapter, just over 4000 words, but it will be important.
The moment the balloon touched the ground, the airbender jumped out of it, cushioning his drop with some bending. Squinting his eyes to the morning sun, he deeply inhaled the morning air. Not slowing down, he began to walk towards the forest line. She had to be here. There was no other choice.
Two weeks. Two weeks of none stop travelling, stopping at every settlement. Asking if someone had seen a woman with blue eyes. They didn't dare give any other description, in case someone would put two and two together… they had visited every town, every village, every settlement, every hut! Everywhere, it was the same.
Mistrustful eyes looked them up and down as they asked the question, then a sullen shake of the head. The bolder ones would just say, "no, sorry". And then there were those who would be just rude, telling them to fuck off.
Torture… That was the only word Aang could use to describe these last two weeks. His mind had been playing horrible tricks on him, imagining the most gruesome scenarios in which Katara could be at this very moment… He tried with all his might to ignore the shouts in the back of his head, those repeating the words Azula had spoken to him at the invasion. Sokka was right, the princess would keep Katara safe, because she knew that as long as the waterbender wasn't harmed, but still out of reach, he would not fight.
That had to be her goal… It had to be. Sokka was right, and the voices in his mind were wrong. They had to be.
"Great Spirits Twinklestoes, slow down." Toph grumbled behind him. Aang ignored her, pushing the vegetation out of the way. To be honest, the blind girl's presence had been comforting… To some extent. He may have spoken three sentences to her in total… We are at… We are going to… Tell me when you feel something important…
Meals were taken in silence, and to be honest, Toph was the ideal travel companion for his mood. She didn't mind being ignored, or the constant travelling. She was just there.
Aang was no fool and knew very well why Sokka had suggested that the blind girl came with him. Of all their friends, he suspected that Toph would be capable of holding him back in a fight. Not by reason, but by sheer force. So that was the aim of his friend… To keep him from doing something stupid.
"So, will you tell me to what spirit forsaken island you've brought me today?" Toph walked after him, whistling softly.
"Kirashi." He grumbled lowly, trying to stay calm. This was the last island of the Eastern Archipelago they had to visit. If he couldn't find Katara here, they would have to get to the colonies. But of course, Katara wouldn't be here. Days ago, he had come to realize how futile his mission was…
Azula would keep Katara close, to make sure that she wouldn't escape. His wife would be wherever that bitch of a princess would be. And Azula would be in Fire Fountain. It was the only city that had declared for that would be grandiose enough for that… that… for her. He should be at that siege, breaking down the walls… Instead, he was here, in a forest on this spirit forsaken island.
Deep down, Aang knew that Sokka had been right, and that to keep Katara safe… He shouldn't be in a ten-mile radius of Fire Fountain. But that didn't make it any easier. To his relief, his friends had not asked about… About what he had said. He had seen the questioning looks from Sokka, Suki and Zuko, but no one had asked what he had meant by the threats he had uttered.
For he knew that they wouldn't like the answer.
I will show the world why the Air Nomads were pacifists.
If they had hurt even a hair on Katara's head… Oh, he would show them. Those dark thoughts had been with him ever since that morning at the caldera when they had told him. He had heard the shouts, the cries of fear when he had made those threats. But he didn't care. The Avatar, supposed to be a beacon of peace and tolerance, would have to take a back seat. Now, the world was dealing with Aang.
"Kirashi? Isn't that the place where we first came to the Fire Nation?" Toph's voice sounded behind him, as he crossed a small clearing in the forest. Yes. It was. He had kept this place as the last settlement they had to visit before having to go to the colonies… Because it brought back memories he would rather place in a safe little corner of his brain, hidden from the emotions that were raging through his brain at this very moment.
It had been the place where he had shown his friends the other side of the Fire Nation… Where he had just been able to be Aang, dancing and enjoying himself at a party, without all the duties pushing him down towards the ground… The place where Katara had told him for the first time she loved him…
"Didn't you two fuck after the party?"
Aang pursed his lips together with such force that he noticed the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. Yes. That too. After fleeing the dance party, they had waited until Sokka and Toph had gone to sleep… And they had found an abandoned shepherd's hut… It had been the second time they had slept together, and to be honest, the first time he had really put effort into to make it good for the both of them…
Don't think about that.
Yeah… He had also locked away those memories… Because he refused to let them be tainted by what his imagination was conjuring every single minute of every single day.
"Well, I know you did, but that isn't important. There is only one town on the island, so let's get this over with." Toph still spoke, even without getting an answer from him. This had also become a habit in the two weeks they had spent with each other. Him, ignoring every sentence, every joke and every little tease, only answering when it was needed.
Ten minutes later, they emerged into a small plain, with on one side the forest in which they had landed, and on the other, cliffs that fell down straight towards the ocean underneath. Aang made his way to the edge of the cliffs, overlooking the vast ocean that stretched for hundreds of miles. If he guessed correctly, Wulong Peninsula was somewhere behind the horizon to the east… It would have been a beautiful place, if his mind was not so troubled.
Glancing at the sky, he knew that any moment, the monsoon season would begin here. The dark grey clouds that gathered above them held the promise of interminable rains, and Aang feared what that might mean… Not only for the people of these islands, but also for Zuko's efforts to take Fire Fountain. Would the city also be a victim of the great rains? Would the camp around the city be flooded?
That was of no concern for him today, however. Letting his eyes rove over the coastline, he found the place they needed to go.
But it looked… Well, not how he remembered it.
In his own time, when he had visited Kuzon on this island, the town had low walls, dusty streets that would turn muddy during this season… And the town had felt old and alive, vibrant in an old way, with its street musicians and the festivals…
Then, a few months ago, when they had come here a few days after he had woken up from the coma, the town in itself had not changed much in appearance, but it had lost all its charm, having suffered the rules and laws of the three previous Fire Lords… He had tried to show the younger generation that it was still possible to find joy in your own way… But it had not been the same.
But now? Now, he didn't recognize the town that lay a few miles away on the coast. First of all, the walls were nearly thrice the height they had been, far larger and wider than they had been… There were high towers, moats and far more things Aang didn't even know the name of…
It was a fortress. The little old town he had known and loved was gone and was replaced by yet another example of the violence he hated so much…
"That feels like a bitch of a fort." Toph came to stand next to him, and to be honest, it surprised him that she was able to sense the walls from this distance. Opening his mouth, the airbender decided against asking her how she knew. It would not only have no purpose, but it would also kind of insult her bending prowess.
"They even made it earthbending proof." The blind girl rolled her misty eyes, "The foundations are vitrified rock. They melted the rocks with firebending. So, that means that the whole wall is built upon a solid block. No way someone can bend all that mass."
"I could." He grumbled, putting his hands deep in the pockets of the black trousers he was wearing.
"Even you could not Twinkletoes. You would need the Avatar State to do so."
Aang gritted his teeth. Those bastards had hesitated to grant him access to the Avatar State during the fight with Ozai, of course, they would not give him the power to get those walls down. They would be all over the fact that he wished to use that power for his own personal reason. Even if those reasons were understandable. More than understandable. He refused to believe that no Avatar would do that same thing as he was doing at this moment.
Kuruk had sworn revenge against Koh the Face Stealer for what he had done to Ummi. At least, the Water Tribe Avatar should understand his feelings. Spirits, if he got his hands on Azula…
Balling his fists, he shrugged. It wasn't important that Kirashi was fortress city now. It was just another place they would need to check. That was all. He began to walk towards the city, hearing the blind girl come along behind him. He had met some of the people from Kirashi back at Wulong… Well, it had been only Furzo, but it had been clear that there had been others…
He had been told that what had happened after their visit… And seeing how the city looked, he could only feel anger. Anger at what he had done, how his selfish intentions had meant death and suffering for a whole town…
He had only wished to see the old Fire Nation once more… Just once. To see young people dance and laugh and be happy… Just so that his own heart would not bleed out seeing how much had been lost. But his actions had cost this town so much… Their young people had been enlisted, the older generations would curse his name for the rest of their lives. Avatar Aang, the one that had cost them their son, their daughter, their sister or their brother…
As they neared the town, the trees disappeared around a mile away from the walls. In their place, a wide stretch of open ground led to the fortifications, clearly intended to force an attacking force into the "killing zone". Letting his eyes gaze over the walls, from time to time Aang could see the flicker of a spear point in the sun. It was guarded… heavily. He had not seen what Fire Fountain looked like, as the others had forced him and Toph to disembark with the balloon a few hours before the landing.
But Iroh had told him that of the territory Azula controlled without a doubt, Kirashi was one of the bigger garrisons. The old prince had said that the garrison would be around two thousand soldiers, enough to pose a real problem if you tried to get in. That was also one of the reasons they had kept it as the last settlement in the Fire Nation they would have to check.
They approached the place from the north, walking towards the great squat gate built deeply inside the walls. It was at this kind of moments Aang regretted not having Sokka with him. His friend would immediately try and find a way inside the town.
"Remember Twinkles, no bending." Toph whispered behind him, and the airbender nodded curtly. Yeah, that was also something the others had forbidden him from doing. Zuko and Suki had been the biggest supports of that idea. They were afraid that his bending would give him away…
"As long as you do your job." He grumbled. At the settlements where they had been turned away, Toph would have scanned the inside of the village with her bending, before they agreed to leave.
"Spirits, I called Sugar Queen Ice Queen when she was this grumpy. Do I need another nickname for you?"
Aang ignored that. Grumpy. He was far past grumpy. He knew very well that his friends weren't used to seeing him like this… Only Katara knew that he was actually able of brooding. But she was also capable of getting him out of this mood… And now, he was just spiralling down and down…
"Halt!" A voice called from above the gate, and Aang put his hand above his eyes, squinting upwards. A man, clad in armour, stood between two crenellations, holding up one hand while holding a bow in his other. The bow wasn't drawn, there wasn't even an arrow wedged on the bowstring… At least, that made him think the garrison was not that serious about its job.
"What do you want?"
Inhale… Exhale. These people were not at fault. They were just on the wrong side, not by choice… But they were forced to be here, just like he was.
"May we enter?" He called up, trying to sound as reasonable as possible.
"Orders of the governor. No one is to enter, except military personnel." The man shouted back.
Biting his lip, he inhaled deeply before speaking once more. This soldier was doing his job, but spirits, did it have to be like this?
"I just need to know if someone entered this town two weeks ago!" He shouted up, still keeping his voice as level as humanly possible.
"Listen kid, I don't know. I just keep watch over this part of the wall." The soldier sighed, not sounding unreasonable. Yeah… Aang understood that. But he needed to know. To know if Azula had lied, as they hoped… Perhaps Katara had been wounded by something, and was being treated in one of the settlements. Perhaps she had lost Appa, and she was stuck somewhere..;
But if that was the case, she would have sent a message…
"So no one entered the town?" Toph's voice called behind him.
"No. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."
"He's not lying… But I can't feel into the town due to that damned foundation." The blind girl whispered. Well.. They would have to find another way into the town. He had to check… He had to know. Gritting his teeth, the airbender nodded curtly, before turning back to the gate.
"Who has the town declared for?"
He heard the hiss from Toph's pursed lips, clearly not happy with his question, but she didn't speak up.
"Princess Azula, of course."
"Of course." Aang felt a bitter smile appear on his face, as he looked at the soldier, "Is she here?"
Oh… If she was… He would break down these walls, no matter the cost. He would break away the town, building by building, wall by wall, brick by brick. He would find Katara, even if it was the last thing he would do. He was not letting Azula get in the way of what they had earned after all that had happened. A tranquil, happy life.
"No…" The soldier looked less sure of himself, as he stared at Aang. The airbender, through his earthbending, could feel the man's heartbeat accelerate slightly, and that he had his feet turned, seemingly ready to run.
"Twinkletoes. Enough. You are scaring him."
Those words broke through, and Aang quickly turned around. What was this? He was enjoying scaring people… This soldier was nothing more than someone forced into the military, and he was terrified of him…
With one last look on the battlements, he turned around and began to march back towards the forest, over the mile of open ground. He could feel eyes watching them from the walls, clearly seeking to know what two people without clear goals were doing on that stretch of land.
"You realize you will have to act normal one of these days, right?" Toph asked when they reached the forest. Aang ignored her, falling down on a tree trunk that lay on the forest floor. Yeah, yeah, he knew. He knew that he was acting like an ass, but what was he supposed to do?
His bison was missing… Katara was missing… And his friends were doing nothing! They had sent him away! With a babysitter! What was he supposed to do? They should have let him stay, in disguise… At least, then, he would know what was happening in Fire Fountain… But no! They had sent him away as if that removed their problem.
Toph appeared in front of him, arms crossed over her chest, with an angry look on her face.
"You have been sulking around for two weeks you idiot. I have had enough of looking after you." With that, he saw her foot shoot out towards his own leg. Quickly getting out of the way, he stood up.
"Looking after me?" He hissed angrily. Aang didn't want to get into a fight, but she was pushing him ever more closely towards the edge he didn't want to fall down from.
"Yeah! Twinkletoes, you are a mess, like after the desert. You try and close yourself off, but how has that worked out for you? We are no closer to finding either Katara or Appa, and you are really getting on my nerves." The ground trembled slightly as she spoke with that irritated tone the blind girl used when she tried to stay as nice as possible, while all the while being angry.
"And whose fault is that?" Aang turned towards Toph, feeling his anger edging closer and closer to vengeful rage, "We know where she is! Azula is in Fire Fountain, and she will keep her close! But no! Here we are, in the middle of fucking nowhere, searching through places we know she isn't at!"
"Oh yay, here he is! Avatar Aang, the saviour of the world! Get over it Twinkletoes! We don't know if Azula has Katara! She always lies if Sparky is to be believed!"
"And how did she get this?" He put his hand in his pocket, yanking the necklace out and waving it in front of Toph's face, "No one gets it! No one!"
At those words, Aang felt tears well up in his eyes. Spirits, here he was, yelling at Toph… Toph, who had been a constant help and companion, even in his most brooding moments these last two weeks… Toph, who lived to fight and make a difference, here she was, helping him, instead of being at Fire Fountain with the others…
"Sorry…" He whispered, not only for the yelling and the unkind words, but also for his whole attitude these last fourteen days…
"Oh, you don't get to say sorry. Aang, we get it. Are you so stupid that you don't realize that this affects us all? Sokka's sister is missing, and for the rest of us, our friend is spirits know where. We all love Katara, in different ways, but we love her all the same. Get your head out of your ass and realize that you don't have to do everything alone." Toph grumbled, but he heard the slight change in her tone.
"I know… I'm sorry…" He kept looking at the ground, searching his heart for a way to show he regretted what he said.
But silence reigned in the small clearing, and after a few moments, Aang looked up, to see that Toph had turned around. Taking a step sideways, he could see the look on her face.
A frown of concentration, with sudden realization in her misty eyes.
"Aang, do you have that whistle with you?"
Eh… What? Searching through his pocket, he pulled out the small bison whistle.
"Yeah, why?"
"Blow it."
Appa wasn't here. Why was she asking him to do that? But after what he had just said to her, he didn't dare contradict her. Putting the small miniature bison to his lips, he blew air into it, reinforcing the unheard sound with some airbending. This was a waste of time. Appa was with Katara, who was in Fire Fountain.
A few seconds passed. Then another few.
"No use." He grumbled, his anger returning slowly.
"Wait. Don't you feel it? Or do I have to hit you on the head during earthbending training?"
Putting his feet harder on the ground, he closed his eyes, still irritated. Letting his senses search the forest grounds, he felt the animals, the elephant bats hanging high in the trees, the ants on the ground…
And the weight of something big and heavy crashing straight towards them.
Opening his eyes in disbelieve, he began to hear the sound of branches breaking, the angry screeches of animals that were disturbed by the large animal that was running straight towards them. He couldn't see what it was… But he had a feeling…
A feeling that filled him with joy and disbelief at the same time. A feeling he didn't want to feel right here…
"It can be anything." He whispered quietly. The airbender didn't dare get his hopes up, for if he did, and it turned out to be anything other than what he hoped for… He wasn't sure if he would survive that. But if it was… If it was who, he hoped for… That meant that Azula's threats were just that… Threats…
"How many ten-ton beasts do you know?" Toph scoffed, clearly not impressed by his hesitation.
And Aang couldn't help but fall to his knees in pure relief, tears streaming over his cheeks. Something… Something that was right… Something that didn't turn to ash as soon as he looked at it…
The bison appeared at the tree line of the clearing, stopping abruptly as if to assess the situation. Aang, through the tears in his eyes, saw the big brown eyes train clear on him. A loud groan of pure relief sounded from his Sky Bison… His Appa…
The bison bordered in a straight line to him, pushing him down with a small flick of his nose and licked him all over. And for the first time in two weeks… Aang laughed, through the tears and through the horrors his mind was conjuring, he laughed.
Do you think Katara is laughing as Azula is holding her?
Do you think that the dark cell is an enjoyable place?
Do you think whatever is happening to her is… nice? I don't think so.
…
"There are rumours Roku." Wan sighed, "The spirits say the young airbender is being tormented… And not only by how he is. There are spirits whispering thoughts into his head."
That was bad… If some spirits were poisoning Aang's mind, which meant that he would think they were his own thoughts… Whatever horrors they were whispering, the old firebender knew it would mean that Aang was being tortured. They would try to make him think that Master Katara's was in danger… And the Avatars knew that the princess had not taken the girl prisoner. That at least they knew.
Azula… His great-granddaughter… And the worst of all? Roku had tried to contact the young airbender… But had found it was not possible. Was it because Aang's spirit was being rather focused on the one task at hand, forgetting his connection to his past lives? Or… And that was the worst-case scenario… Something was stopping them, making it impossible to speak to the living Avatar.
Answers :
Jjsmith103 : Exactly, On Ji is trying to figure out what the hell is real and what are lies, while Katara tries to show the girl what life could be. And Azula is perfectly manipulating the propaganda that the whole nation believes in! So that is going to be interesting in the net chapter, which will be the siege of Fire Fountain!
Lenoravampire1 : We'll see! I won't follow the comics, but I would like to show some things later on! Perhaps not in the way of a whole story, but stand alone short stories or something like that.