Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Child of Two Nations
Book 1 – Water
Chapter 5 – The King of Omashu
Following the path, the gang were walking up towards a hill, with Aang in the lead, followed by Katara, Sokka and Sorin, with Appa and Momo trailing behind them. After reaching the top of the hill, Aang spreads his arms wide.
"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" Aang called out as Katara, Sokka and Sorin look out to see the entire pyramid structured city, which is surrounded on all sides by steep canyons and an enormous gorge. The city's three gates are composed of massive blocks of stone, each five feet thick and over thirty feet tall. "I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi."
Katara looked very impressed at what she saw "Wow. We don't have buildings like this in the South Pole!"
"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka voiced his amazement.
"Well, let's go, slowpokes! The real fun is inside the city!" Aang excitedly said, then leaps off the top of the hill with his airbending, landing a few meters below and in the snow and is starting to slide down.
Katara stretched her arm out to him, halting Aang with her cry "Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."
"You need a disguise." Sokka added seriously.
Aang looked up at them "So what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?" He asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.
"Actually, I may have a solution for that." Sorin spoke up, turning his head towards Appa, who looks at him with a grunt.
A moment later, Aang was now wearing a tall wig made of Appa's fur, thanks to the help of Sorin, and some rope to keep the hair on. The dualbender placed his hands on his hips, looking quite proud of his work. Aang wiggled his nose under a patch of Appa's fur, serving as a mustache.
Aang began scratching underneath the wig "Ugh. This is so itchy. How do you live in this stuff?" He asked the bison, who slowly turns his head toward Aang and snorts at him as if he was scoffing. Standing nearby, Sokka is sitting on a rock with Katara standing beside him, arms crossed.
"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather." Sokka said.
"Technically, Aang is 112 years old." Katara stated.
"Funny how things work out there." Sorin commented in amusement.
Aang nimbly kicks up his staff and spins it rapidly around before placing it upright on the ground to be used as a walking stick. He hunches his back and leans heavily on his staff like an old person.
"Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits." Aang said in an old man voice, shuffling towards the city while Sokka and Katara questioningly look at each other as Sorin snickered, covering his mouth.
Afterwards, the gang began walking down the long path to Omashu, while Appa stayed behind for obvious reasons and Momo hiding inside Aang's wig, as per Sorin's suggestion.
"You guys are going to love Omashu." Aang told his friends as they walk towards the gate, then Aang looks over his shoulder at Sokka "The people here are the friendliest in the world.
"Rotten cabbages!" Aang's eyes widen in surprise as he hears the harsh voice of the sentry guard. The quartet stops walking as they see three guards and a cabbage merchant with his cart in front of the closed gate of Omashu. The guard began speaking harshly "What kind of slum do you think this is?!"
The guard then squishes the cabbage he is holding and knocks another two cabbages out of the merchant's hands. He proceeds by earthbending a rock under the cart, catapulting it high in the air, making it tumble down the chasm with all the cabbages.
"Noo! My cabbages!" The merchant cried while leaning over the rim of the path, dramatically waving his arms in despair. Katara, Sokka, Sorin and Aang look over the rim, their mouths open in shock, as a loud crash is heard.
"Just keep smiling..." Aang reminded while broadly smiling; somewhat nervously.
Aang walks over to the guards, Katara and Sokka give each other an uneasy look. Katara flashes her teeth in an awkward way and chuckles uncomfortably, while Sokka merely raises a doubtful eyebrow and Sorin had a deadpan look as they followed. Aang limped towards the sentries at the gate. The earthbender guard steps to the front and raises a boulder out of the ground before Aang and levitates it above his head.
"State your business!" The guard demanded aggressively with a glare.
Aang quickly runs from underneath the boulder and toward the guard as he halts right in front of the surprised man, poking his chest while speaking in an old man voice "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours!" The boulder came crashing down due to the guards lack of concentration beside Katara, Sokka and Sorin as they jump up slightly from the impact. The guard looked taken aback by the threateningly pointing finger just centimeters from his face "I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"
Sokka had his eyes and mouth wide open in shock at Aang's audacity to talk to the sentry like that, and Katara was shaking her head with eyes wide open in shock while Sorin just blinked in complete utter disbelief.
"Settle down, old timer." The guard spoke in a calmer tone.
Sorin decided to play along and walked up to Aang "Sorry about my grandfather, he can be a bit much, especially after being woken up early."
"It's fine. Just tell me who you are." The guard said.
"Name's Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third." Aang greeted as Sokka raises a questioningly eyebrow while Katara walks up beside Sorin, smiling friendly. "And these are my grandkids."
"Hi, June Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you." Katara greeted with a wave "This is my half-brother, Zane Pipinpadaloxicopolis." She gestured to Sorin, who bows his head in greeting.
The guard pensively rubbed his beard, while eying the three children before him, then pointed at Katara "Well, you seem like a responsible young lady. Help your brother keep your grandfather out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!" The guard steps aside and motions at the city's entrance.
"We will." Katara answered as the four began to move towards the wall.
"Wait a minute!" The guard grabbed Sokka by the shoulder and the three stopped, worried for a second. "You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag." Sokka's eyes change from fright to disbelief and annoyance while Aang removes his shoulder bag.
"Good idea!" Aang agreed and he threw his bag at Sokka where it hit the side of his head and fell over the older boy's shoulder and into his hands. Sokka shoots Aang an annoyed glare over his shoulder.
They turned back to the wall before them, bearing the Earth Kingdom's symbol, and suddenly the wall before them split in half to expose another wall, which also split to expose another, which split last as the water tribe trio stared with wide eyes and open mouths, Aang smiling behind them as the clay buildings with green roofs were exposed, all built up the side of the mountain peaks within the city.
The four walked through the now open gate, the walls shutting one by one behind them. Suddenly Momo's ears pop out of Aang's wig. The guard that granted them entrance, eyes widen in surprise. He tries to keep an eye on Aang as long as he can, but the airbender is obscured from his view by the closing gates. The gang pulls up at the parapet at the rim of a nearby chasm. Sokka and Katara are excitedly taking in the city spread out before them, while Sorin smiled at the sight as Aang pulls up next to them, Momo's head now entirely popped out of his wig. He leans on the rim as well and joins the siblings in mouth open gazing at Omashu's scenery. The city appears to have an intricate system of chutes. The aqueduct like structures are built over and beside the houses with typical green roofs.
"This is the Omashu delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down." Aang explained.
"Great, so they get their mail on time." Sokka said in an unimpressed tone.
"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes..." Aang revealed while squinting his eyes mischievously.
"I don't like the way you're grinning right now." Sorin deadpanned.
Somehow, Aang had convinced the Water Tribe siblings and the Dualbender to jump into one of the carts to use the mail system as a slide. But now that they were all in the cart looking down at the steep chute, where Katara and Sokka were having second thoughts while Sorin chose to embrace it.
"One ride, then we're off to the North Pole, Airbender's honour." Aang promised, raising one finger to emphasize his words as they all climbed into the chute, which was now rocking back and forth, creaking.
"This sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second thoughts!" But as soon as Katara finished her sentence, Aang leaned forward, tipping the balance of the box, sending it down the slope at a tremendous speed, making Katara scream out her last word.
"Geronimo!" Sorin screamed out with laughter.
Aang began laughing happily, with Momo in Aang's wig, holding on to the hair, squinting his eyes due to the wind while Katara is screaming in fear, Sokka gritting his teeth in terror. Sorin was still laughing as they went around a bend and follows it down the slope. The chute they are riding pulls up next to a parallel one, where a cart with a rack of six spears is racing down. The cart of the quartet pulls up next to the cart with the spears and they all stare at it, no one making a sound. They race past it and both tracks join together. Sokka and Katara scream as the two chutes merge into one chute with the spear-cart behind them, but quickly gaining. Sokka hears it coming and turn around. He gasps and ducks just in time to avoid being skewered by the spears. Katara turns around, and screams in fear as she sees the weapons so close. When Sorin saw what was behind them, he paled before frantically tapping Aang on the shoulder, which made him turn as well to see what the commotion is all about.
"I'm on it!" Aang begins to rock the cart. Hitting each side once, the cart flies out of the chute and onto a roof, where it continues its descent.
"Men, you'll be going off to combat soon. It's important that you be prepared for anything." A soldier stood before many others, giving them a talk with his finger raised in the air. As he spoke suddenly, Aang, Sorin, Katara, and Sokka come in riding the cart between the soldier and the warriors.
The warriors gasp in surprise as the cart ricochets and continues moving. The cart with the quartet breaks through the railing closing off the other chute and crosses the track, knocking over one of the supply carts, spilling a load of pumpkins all over the ground. The knocked over cart lies on the track, where another incoming cart crashes into it. The four continued down the rooftops before they finally rejoined a chute and continued on down it.
"Aang, do something! Use your airbending!" Katara panicked.
"Yeah! Good idea! That'll make us go even faster!" Aang airbends behind him.
They pass by a restaurant, where a couple is eating together. They look up in surprise at the kids flashing by while the waiter dashes over to see what is going on. As the slope flattens out, the kids cry out in alarm as they are moments from colliding with the motionless cart in front of the bender. The earthbender on duty at the station sends it on its way, briefly relieving the quartet in the speeding cart. Much to the riders' horror, another cart instantly pops up from the tube below the bender. Before it can be moved, the kids' cart crashes into it, catapulting them and their cart into the air, high above a lower level of the city. Aang airbends the cart in front of them as they fall, making them drop back into the cart. The kids ride down several roofs, leaving damaged tiles in their wake. Inside a craftsman's home, where the man whistles serenely as he puts the final touches on a vase. The cart flies through one window, ricochets off of the floor where the vase is, smashing it and making the riders grunt, and flying out the window opposite. The craftsman peers out the ruined window as a dust cloud emerges, revealing that the cart has crashed against something else.
"Sorry!" Aang called to the craftsman.
They land on a balcony and slide through another house. Emerging on the other side, a bearded cat chases Momo around Aang's wig until the lemur pushes it off. The cart smashes through a parapet and drops vertically out of sight. The same cabbage merchant that had his cabbage cart thrown into the abyss earlier, now cuddling a cabbage at a replacement cart. Alerted by something coming from up above, he walks from underneath the cart's roof to check it out, and gasps in horror as the kids' cart drops on it, smashing the replacement cart to pieces and scattering what intact cabbages are left all over. Aang, Katara, and Sokka are in a tangled heap by the remains, while Momo elegantly floats down, and Sorin was in a pile of wood with his legs sticking out.
"My cabbages!" The merchant shouted, his hands on either side of his head before he turned angry to the four on the floor. "You're gonna pay for this!"
Sorin groaned as he was now standing up straight, only to see several soldiers had surrounded them. Aang sat up behind him and the Dualbender turned to see that Aang's disguise pretty much gone, revealing his youthful face and airbending arrow.
"Two cabbages please." Aang said with a sheepish smile.
"We're in so much trouble..." Sorin mumbled at the current situation they were in.
The four children were now in the palace, taken by the guards, and in a large enormous room. The first watch guard slightly moves aside to let the four children pass. Sokka looks very uneasy, Katara looking at the floor with a frown, Sorin tried to keep calm and Aang looked guilty as he stood beside them. The elderly-looking king looks at them questioningly, arching an eyebrow and grunting in wonder as the four children are being pushed into a kneeling position by two guards.
"Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretences and malicious destruction of cabbages." One of the guards explained.
"Off with their heads!" The cabbage merchant demanded, jumping agitatedly up and down, waving his left fist in the air. "One for each head of cabbage!"
"Silence! Only the King can pass down judgment." The guard ordered and both turned to the King "What is your judgment, sire?"
The king squints his eyes and grunts pensively as the four children uneasily eye each other. Sokka letting out whimpering noises, Katara had here hands folded in front of her and her eyes twinkling hopefully. Sorin kept an uncalculated and straight look on his face and Aang is the only one who keeps staring at the side, one eyebrow arched and pouting. The king eyed Aang even more, even when he began to whistle nonchalantly.
The king raised a finger "Throw them..." Sorin, Sokka, Katara, and Aang gasp in worry "A feast!" The guard gasps and the merchant grasps his head with both hands in dismay upon hearing the king's verdict. Sokka is smiling as Sorin scratched his head in confusion, while Katara darts a questioningly look toward Aang, who arches his eyebrows in wonder.
True to his word, the four were sat down at the end of a long table revealing all sorts of different dishes and teapots. Momo eats a lot of the food, chittering contently. As the four sat together, the king is standing behind their chairs.
"The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts." The king leaned in over Aang, grabbing the chicken leg that is on his plate, holding it in front of him "So I hope you like your chicken with no skin."
"Thanks, but I don't eat meat." Aang said with a frown.
"How about you? I bet you like meat." The king turned to Sokka on Aang's other side, then stuffs the chicken into Sokka's mouth, who eats it appreciatively, and walks over to his own seat.
"Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?" Katara asked to Aang as she turns circles with her index finger beside her temple, implying the king is crazy.
The king turned and walked to the other end of the table to sit in his own chair "So, tell me young bald one. Where are you from?"
"I'm from... Kangaroo Island." Aang lied, hoping to not draw suspicion.
"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hoppin!" The king said with an eye on the four of them.
A moment of silence occurs, someone nearby lets out a coughs. The four children are looking straight at the king with blank faces until Sokka bursts out laughing. Sorin, Katara and Aang look at him, still with a blank expression.
Sokka stops laughing, looking unsure "What? It was pretty funny."
The king lazily stretches his arms, and yawns "Well, all these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to hit the hay." He said while eyeing the children with a weird expression as he leans to the left on his chair. Suddenly, he hurls a chicken leg at them. Aang nearly tumbles off his chair in reflex of catching the chicken leg in a small airball. The guards gasped in surprise after what they just witnessed. The king gestures to Aang "There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender." He decisively stands up "The Avatar!" Aang looks shocked as he quickly stops bending and puts his hands behind his back. The chicken leg falls on his plate as the king sits back down "Now what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pipinpadaloxicopolis?" He asked with a satisifed smile.
Aang stood up, throwing his hands in the air "Okay, you caught me. I'm the Avatar. Doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out." He looks underneath the table "No firebenders here. So, good work, everybody!" He then pulled Katara, Sokka and Sorin into a hug "Love each other, respect all life." The four began walking backward toward the exit "And don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!" As they near the guard at the exit door, the two men cross their spears, effectively blocking their paths.
"Oh, boy... We're doomed..." Sorin gulped.
"You can't keep us here!" Katara accused to the king "Let us leave!"
The king questioningly picks up a lettuce leaf from his plate and waves it in the air. "Lettuce leaf?" He took a bite of the lettuce he was holding.
Sokka holds his hand for his mouth; whispering "We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts."
"Tomorrow the Avatar will face three deadly challenges." The king suddenly declared "But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."
The guard leaned next to the king "My liege, do you mean the good chamber, or the bad chamber?"
"The newly refurbished chamber." The king answered, looking at him.
"Wait, which one are we talking about?" The guard further asked, raising a finger.
"The one that used to be the bad chamber." The king smiled and then looked unsure "Until the recent refurbishing that is. Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them." He muttered to himself as the guard scratched his head. "Uh, take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!"
The children and their guards walk out of the room, where they reach a wall, which cracks and moves down, revealing Aang with Momo perched on his shoulders, Katara, Sokka and Sorin. They are roughly pushed inside, and the wall is immediately bent up again after them. The room has three green beds in the center with three green drapes hanging from the ceiling above them.
"This is a prison cell? But it's so nice." Katara admitted as they looked around.
"He did say it was newly refurbished." Aang remembered as Momo jumped off his shoulder and ran onto a bed.
"Nice or not, we're still prisoners." Sokka reminded them.
"I wonder what these challenges are gonna be." Aang wondered in worry.
"We're not sticking around to find out. There's gotta be some way outta here." Katara said.
"How? There's no way out of here unless it's by earthbending." Sorin added.
Aang looked around, then excitedly pointed at something at the other side of the room "The air vents!" As they looked, the hole looked very small. Aang smiles happily, staring at the hole, while Katara and Sokka eye each other in wonder, and Sorin sighed while shaking his head.
"If you think we're gonna fit through there then you're crazier than that king." Sokka stated harshly.
Aang looked to him "We can't, but Momo can." He happily points in front of the lemur, who is lazily lying on the bed, licking a half-eaten apple. His belly protrudes from eating so much. Aang appears at the side of the bed "Momo, I need you to find Appa and bust us outta here!" Momo looks up surprised to his friend, blinking and chittering softly. Then, the lemur is pushed inside the tube by Aang, shoved back and forth a few times, much to its displeasure with Aang standing on a chair as he tried to fit Momo into the vent "Go on, boy, get Appa!"
"Aang, stop trying to stuff Momo into the vent." Sorin deadpanned, walking over to the two and pulled Momo out while Aang looks down, discouraged.
"Eh, how was Appa supposed to save us anyway?" Sokka asked as he was relaxing on one of the beds, while Sorin goes to lie down on his bed, with Momo resting next to him.
"Appa is a ten ton flying bison, I think he could figure something out." Aang thought.
Katara moved to her own bed "Well, no point arguing about it now. Get some rest, Aang." Aang walks toward his bed "Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow."
Aang sadly sits on the side of his bed, looking down. Sometime later, Aang is now lying on his bed, snoring loudly and drooling on his pillow. The room is only dimly lit, casting a somewhat green glow. The wall behind Aang opens, revealing a guard. The crunching sound of the earth being moved wakes Aang, who quickly raises his head and glances around, seeing the other three beds completely empty.
"Sokka? Katara? Sorin?" Aang then turned to face the guard "Where are my friends?"
"The King will free them if you complete your challenges." The guard answered.
"And if I fail?" Aang asked, looking unsure.
"He didn't say." The guard extends his arm "Your staff please?"
Aang lifts his staff with his foot, grabs it, and spins it around, places it upright next to him, before tossing it to the guard. He was then escorted back into the throne room where the King was waiting, his usual green outfit was gone and was now replaced with a purple robe.
"First, Avatar." The king raised his arms "What do you think of my new outfit? I want your honest opinion." Aang blankly stares at the king. Someone coughs during the ensuing silence. "I'm waiting."
"I... guess it's fine." Aang muttered scratching his head.
"Excellent! You passed the first test." The king declared.
"Really?" Aang asked in surprise.
"Well, not one of the deadly tests." The king waved his finger from side to side, emphasizing his words "The real challenges are much more, uh, challenging."
Aang suddenly dashes forward to the surprise of his two guards. Using his airbending, his speed is enhanced as he quickly crosses the distance between him and the king. Aang halts in front of him, the wind passing over them.
"I don't have time for your crazy games!" Aang said aggressively "Gimme my friends back! We're leaving!"
"Oh, I thought you might refuse." The king replied as a wall opens, revealing Katara, Sokka and Sorin struggling in the grasp of a guard. Aang turns to them "So I will give your friends some special souvenirs. Espeically since you brought a firebender to my kingdom!" Aang looks back at Bumi as the guards slip rings made of rock onto Katara, Sokka and and Sorin's fingers. Katara's ring was colorued green while Sokka and Sorin's are blue. "Those delightful rings are made of pure genemite, also known as creeping crystal." The ring glows and tightens around their fingers. Sokka is now frantically trying to remove it from his finger. Katara tries to pull it off as well, both are unsuccessful, but Sorin did no attempt as he saw it was useless to try "It's crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate." He glances toward the trio, where Sokka's ring glows and expands toward his hand.
"Ah! It's already creeping!" Sokka exclaimed in panicked tone.
"I'll do as you want." Aang accepted the terms.
The king however grinned evilly as the children and the king were are at a cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Aang is standing on a flat rock with a waterfall in front of him. In the waterfall, there is a ladder, and above the ladder hangs a rope. Sokka, Katara, Sorin and the king are on a balcony, where the latter is looking over the rim. Sorin, Katara and Sokka are guarded behind him. The jennamite ring has already expanded to engulf part of their right forearm. The king lets out a laugh, then glances back at the siblings and the dualbender with a grin on his face. The jennamite glows and creeps a bit further on the arms of Sorin, Sokka and Katara, as the king is looking out toward where Aang is standing.
"It seems I've lost my lunch box key and I'm hungry. Ooo, there it is." The king points to inside the waterfall. "Would you mind fetching it for me?"
The key hanging from a chain and a vertical iron ladder are dimly visible behind the waterfall. Aang airbends to the base of the fall and plunges into the waterfall. He manages to climb up the rock face to the base of the ladder and grasp it with one hand.
"Ooo, climbing the ladder. No one's thought of that before." The king said sarcastically.
Aang swung around in the water before his grip was lost and he went flying back down towards the stalagmites with the current. Aang flew out and fell between two stalagmites and pushed his hands and feet against them, slowing his fall to a stop before he was skewered by another. He let out a sigh of relief as Sorin, Katara and Sokka smiled down encouragingly. Aang leaps from them to the stalactites above, and closer to the waterfall still high by the roof of the cavern. He stared down at the water below him, then dives into the fall while spinning around the key but the rush of the water carries him past and in a moment he shoots out again, keyless. Aang crashes into one with a groan and latched onto it before he could fall.
"That's right. Keep diving head in, I'm sure it'll work eventually." The king remarked as the crystal on Sorin, Katara and Sokka had now reached their shoulders.
Aang cuts a stalagmite with airbending and throws it like a spear at the key, accelerating it with another air blast. The stone spear snags the chain suspending the key, and carries it out of the waterfall. The spear pierces the stone wall above the King's balcony, the key now dangling right in front of him.
"There, enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back, now!" Aang shouted.
"Uh, not yet. I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsy." The king frowned, his hands clenched together. Sorin, Sokka and Katara all stare at him quizzingly.
A little later, Aang is in a large sunken enclosure in a new room, with the king, Sorin, Katara, and Sokka up above. Aang finds a lop-eared bunny perched on a rock.
"Okay, found him!" Aang called while looking at the king.
"Bring him to me! Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsy!" The king cooed.
"Come here, Flopsy!" Aang tiptoed towards the small animal until the entire pen shook when a giant creature landed behind him. It had long ears that dangled, it's two bottom fangs protruded over it's top lip and horns stuck out of it's head. It's face was black but it's body was all white. It had hands on it's front forearms and hooves on it's back.
Aang turned to look at the animal before letting out an awkward laugh. The goat gorilla creature raised its arms while letting out a loud roar. Aang leaped out of the way to avoid the arms that smashed the rock while the long-ear rabbit ran away. Aang landed in a crouch and turned as the bunny ran away crying behind him.
"Flopsy, wait! Flopsy!" Aang called, running after the bunny while the goat gorilla chased after them. The king stood laughing as he watched the three way chase. "Flopsy!" Aang changed direction as the small bunny did and the larger animal kicked up a heap of dust as it too changed course. Its teeth were bared and it growled as it chased the two. Aang glanced back at the animal with fright as the small Flopsy before him turned slightly and Aang followed. The boy dived for the floor as the small rabbit ran into small a hole in the pen. Aang slammed into the wall with his hand in the hole, trying to get the bunny before realising something "Wait a minute..." He looked towards the goat gorilla, whose tongue was sticking out "Flopsy?" Aang covered his face as the giant goat gorilla, who comes to a stop in front of him, its tail wagging happily before picking the boy up. Aang let out a cry of surprise as the goat gorilla licked his face "Flopsy!" He patted the animal's forehead.
A whistle sounded, which made Flopsy drop Aang and rush towards the king while Aang watched. The goat gorilla climbed up to the side of the pen. The king stepped to the side as Flopsy collapsed to the ground beside him.
"Awww, that's a good boy! Yes, who has a soft belly?" The king asked as he began to rub it. Flopsy kicked his foot as the belly rubs continued.
Aang jumped up out of the pen and crouched on the edge before Katara, who was mostly covered in the green creeping crystal.
"Guys, are you ok?" Aang asked his friends.
"Other than the crystal slowly encasing my entire body, doing great." Katara assured. She turned to Sorin, who was unamused as his crystal is rectangular shaped, Sokka beside him whose crystal was cone shaped. A bit of the crystal grew on the left side, which made Sokka fall to the side.
"Come on. I'm ready for the next challenge." Aang challenged with his hands on his hips.
The king gives an evil laugh in response, and they were soon lead into a earthbending arena. Aang and the king are on a balcony overlooking the arena, Sokka, Katara and Sorin, along with a guard are on an adjacent balcony. The crystals are past their heads, leaving their faces exposed.
"Your final test is a duel and as a special treat you may choose your opponent." The king said, giving Aang to choice to fight either a man with an axe, and another man who was extremely muscular. Aang looks at them uncertainly. "Point and choose."
"So, you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?" Aang asked.
"Choose wisely." The king advised with a smug grin. Aang looked all the two men, including the king as well, pondering for a moment.
"I... choose... you!" Aang pointed to the king himself.
"Haha! Wrong choice!" The king laughed.
The four watched as the hunchbacked old man formed fists with his hands, with his robes now discarded as the king showed himself to be a powerfully built old man. Aang gasped in surprise while Katara and Sokka looked surprised, and Sorin let out an annoyed groan.
The king stomped his foot, with the earth cracking and moving towards Aang, sending him flying into the arena. The king launched from the balcony and landed in front of Aang, cracking the ground upon impact and laughed as the Avatar looked in still shock.
"You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see." The king remarked with a grin.
"Can I fight the guy with the axe instead?" Aang suggested, pointing to said man.
"There are no 'take-back-sees' in my kingdom. You might need this!" The king pointed upward, where the guard throws Aang's staff back to its owner. The king stomped his foot and threw multiple boulders at Aang, who avoided them with ease "Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade. I'd hoped the Avatar would be less predictable." The king raised another boulder and sent it away. Aang jumped out of the way, then spun his staff around to keep himself in the air.
"Don't you have any surprises for me?" The king looked up at Aang. "Sooner or later, you'll have to strike back." The king bends a large boulder into the ceiling, raining rocks onto Aang, knocking him from the air and disarmining him from his staff. The dust cleared up, revealing Aang in a small crater.
Aang quickly charges forward, which the king retaliates by stomping around himself, bending spikes of earth towards the Avatar, who had to change directions to avoid them, then jumped but was hit in the stomach by one of the blunt spikes.
"Oh, you'll have to be a little more creative than that!" The king smirked. Aang leaped down from the spike on his air scooter and sped around to avoid another random protruding rock and rode along the wall. Aang turned and flung his hand, sending an air slice. The king threw up a stone wall, which the air slice collides against, and the wind deflects to both sides of it. The king peeked his head around the stone wall "Did someone leave the windows open? It feels a little drafty in here! Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?"
After Aang landed, the king kicked the stone wall onto the ground, creating a wave made of earth that was advancing towards Aang, who attempted to dodge it but was struck and sent tumbling. The king slammed his fist into the ground, unleashing a blast of earth. Aang leaped back onto the wall, and dived forward, retrieving his staff.
"How are you going to going to get me from way over there?" The king wondered.
Aang charges forward on foot in a high speed, but the king softened the ground in front of him into sand causing Aang to sink into the sink and struggles to escape. The king bends two boulders from both ends of the arena towards Aang, who manages to spin his body just as the two boulders collided. Surprisingly, Aang appears above the rocks unscathed and unleashed an air current, sending the king towards the balcony. The king bends the largest boulder yet to come at Aang from behind but he does an air-assisted back flip over it. The boulders flew towards the king, who raised an arm to reduce the boulder into dust.
The king slid his foot on the ground, while pushing and pulling his arms, cracking the floors and walls of the arena, tearing out a huge chunk of the wall and balcony they had been standing on. Seeing what is coming, Aang screamed in shock and began running in a circle, conjuring a tornado.
When the king flings the huge piece of earth at Aang, it is caught in the tornado and instantly whips around right back at the king. The king slammed his palms together which splits it in half before it could smash him, but before he can recover, Aang appears immediately landing at the king's feet with his staff poised to strike.
Aang grinned in triumph as the King had his arms raised but he simply grinned and looked up. A small rock hit Aang's head and he looked up to see a boulder was above them both.
"Hehe! Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart." The king said wisely, then turned and threw the large boulder away which landed with a large crash. The king turned and fell backwards into the earth, leaving a human shaped hole that caught Aang by surprise, then he looked up to see the king tunnelling his way to the balcony where Sorin, Katara and Sokka are as Aang quickly joined them "You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question."
"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests." Aang shouted annoyingly.
"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?" The king remarked.
"Oh come on!" Sokka complained.
"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free." The king reassured, before asking the question. "What... is my name?" Aang looked confused as the king glanced at the trio behind him. "From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes." He then left them to ponder his question.
"How am I supposed to know his name?" Aang asked his friends.
"Think about the challenges, maybe it's some kind of riddle." Katara offered.
"I got it! He's an earthbender, right? Rocky! You know, because of all the rocks?" Sokka suggested, earning silence as a response.
"What a dolt..." Sorin groaned with a sigh.
"We're going to keep trying but that is a good backup." Katara told her brother.
"Okay, so back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall. I saved his pet and I had a duel." Aang remembered all the challenges he done.
"And what did you learn?" Katara asked.
"Well, everything was different than I expected." Aang admitted.
"And?" Katara spoke with anxiety as the jennamite grew, covering her cheek.
Aang placed a hand on chin in thought as he spoke "Well, they weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would."
"Why does this remind you of one of your old friends you were telling us about?" Sorin muttered out loud, then the jennamite grew and covered his mouth "Oh, great..." He muttered, his voice now muffled.
A huge smile appeared on Aang's face and he came to a realisation. "I know his name!" Afterwards, the group stood in front of the king who had changed back into his green robes. "I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities." The king began to laugh and snort, which made Aang smile "Bumi, you're a mad genius!" Aang ran forwards to hug the old King, who was actually Bumi.
"Oh, Aang. It's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit. Literally." King Bumi admitted as he petted his head. Sorin, Katara and Sokka walked over to them, the three of them now covered completely by the creeping crystal other then just their faces.
"Uh, over here!" Katara called.
"Little help?" Sokka also called out, with his mouth now the only thing visible.
Bumi raise his hand and balled a fist, breaking the crystals and sending pieces flying everywhere, and the king grabs a piece.
"Genemite is made of rock candy." Bumi explained, then ate the crystal with a smile "Delicious!"
Sorin picked up a piece and easily took a bite out of it "Oh, yummy!" He tucked the candy in his pocket for later.
"So this crazy king is your old friend, Bumi?" Katara asked while Momo picked up another crystal and began to lick it.
"Who you calling old?" Bumi demanded before accepting it "Okay. I'm old."
"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka questioned.
"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people, hehe." Bumi snorted, "but I do have a reason." He turned to Aang who smiled at him. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you have been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord, and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius!" Aang smiled before he clasped his hands together and bowed "And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation." Bumi looked from Sorin to Katara and Sokka before Momo jumped onto Aang's shoulder "And you'll need Momo too."
"All's well that ends well." Sorin commented with a smile, then realised something "By the way, how did you know that I was able to firebend?"
Bumi grinned at him "Well, I easily recognised you because of your mother's sword." He threw the sheathed weapon at Sorin, who caught it by surprise before looking at the king "As I knew both her and your father, young Sorin. They were good friends of mine, and you remind me of them both. I can see that you are in good hands with your friends."
"I apperciate that, Bumi." Sorin nods his head with a soft smile.
"Thank you for all your wisdom. But before we leave, I have a challenge for you." Aang said.
The Water Tribe siblings and the Dualbender stood at the beginning of the mailshot, watching as Aang and Bumi shot down them in a cart. Smiles were on all of their faces, until they heard a crash and shouting from the cabbage merchant once again.
"Not again..." Sorin shook his head in pure amusment.
End of Chapter 5
A/N: Apologises for the long wait, but I'm still going! And there we go, Chapter 5 done and dusted. With Aang and the gang in Omashu, and the Avatar reuniting with a familiar friend, who seems to know Sorin's parents. Throughout the story, Sorin will learn more about the past of his parents.
Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA or the story image, just the OC
Next Chapter: Imprisoned