Sokka
Their ship didn't take long to reach Kyoshi Island, it was a rather fast ship.
Sokka attended the final meeting of the united allies in Yu Dao with his father Hakoda, and with the presence of Avatar Aang, they finally decided to discuss the spirits war that's about to happen.
The boy Senge arrived the day before with a flying bison, and so Aang told the world leaders of his upcoming journey to the firenation, where the island on which he is supposed to meet Avatar Wan is located, The world leaders wished him good luck on his journey, and offered him escort to the island, which he refused of course, saying he can handle himself and that the boy Senge was too much to handle on his own.
After Aang provided his input and decided on leaving, the world leaders decided to discuss something else concerning The leader of The Dai Li Tolan. Tolan offered the allies leaders a solution which will resolve all their problems with Ba Sing Se, he offered that he would go back to the city and confront his uncle Long Feng, reasoning that Long Feng won't refuse to help if it's Tolan who asks him.
and so the council granted him permission to leave for Ba Sing Se, he left the same day Katara, Sokka, Hakoda, Suki, Aang and Petu left Yu Dao. Yes, Petu left Yu Dao on a mission similar to Tolan's. He's going to his homeland, the northern Watertribe, to convince Lord Hahn, the chief of the tribe to fight against the evil spirits, reasoning that as a native of the tribe and a known acquaintance of the former chief's house, the new chief will agree. and so the council granted him permission to leave as well. and so all of them left on the same day.
as for Sokka and Katara, they had a battle of their own to fight amongst themselves at the moment,
"I'm so nervous.. i haven't seen mom in forever, what's she like now? how will she receive us? my head is going to explode." Katara panicked as soon as they left the ship.
"Your mom is fine, Katara. When Avatar Kyoshi separated this island from the main land, she also made sure that it stays far far away, so that it could be safe from invaders, this is one of the safest places in the world." Suki said.
"Relax, Sweetie. If it's the way your mom is gonna welcome you back that frightens you, then rest assured. Your mom could never meet you with cold eyes, she's been dying to see you as well." their father, Hakoda told her with a comforting smile.
"Dad, please.. don't say the word 'die' again, we've seen enough death as it is." Sokka said, looking at Suki who offered him a reassuring smile.
"Yeah. Sorry." Hakoda apologized.
They made their way through the village, Kyoshi Island was a rather small island yet so well protected, with the Unagi diving beneath the surrounding waters and the formidable warriors known as The Kyoshi Warriors guarding the city day and night. Sokka saw little children playing in the streets, caring nothing for the world, Sokka remembered the days of his childhood, not caring for the state of the world, not having nightmares about your loved ones getting killed by evil spirits and evil firebenders, those were the days. Now everything is so dark, so frightening and so cruel.
Sokka sighed sadly, he wished it were otherwise, but it all he could now was to make sure that his loved ones stay safe, that's all that matters.
they finally made their way to the house his mom is supposed to be at, a house given to Hakoda by Mayor Oyaji, looks cozy enough. Sokka thought as he inspected the house.
"Your move, Sweetie." Sokka heard Hakoda say to Katara, who stood at the door not moving a muscle for a couple of seconds, eventually she sighed and then she knocked on the door three times.
"Who's this?" A familiar voice from inside asked. No, that's not Mom's voice.. that's Gran Gran. Sokka thought with shock written all over his face, Katara looked at him and he saw that his expression mirrored hers. Hakoda's as well, apparently he doesn't know that she is here.
"It's me, Mom." Hakoda said. Sokka heard someone hover to the door from inside, she opened the door and they got full view of her, she looked at Hakoda with joy in her eyes, with Hakoda mirroring her expression as well.
"S-Son.." She said trembling, she couldn't look elsewhere but at him.
"Yes, Mom.. it's me." Hakoda said, his eyes watering as well.
Katara was the first to come out of her daze, "GRAN GRAN!" She shouted and ran to hug her, their grandmother reciprocated the hug, Sokka couldn't help but join the hug as well, not soon after, Hakoda joined.
"Y-You.. are alive as w-well.. YOU ARE ALL ALIVE! MY CHILDREN! I missed you terribly.." Gran Gran said, no one could measure the amount of happiness in her voice.
"Yes, Gran Gran.. we're here." Sokka said, they were all broken out of their daze a moment after and broke the hug, as they were disturbed by a glass of water that fell on the floor, another presence made itself felt, she was standing their with her mouth agape, looking at them in disbelief.
"K-Katara.. S-Sokka.." she stuttered, unable to move.
"Mom.." They both said in unison.
Katara didn't take long to recover and ran towards her mother engulfing her in a fierce hug, Sokka ran towards her afterwards, Kya wrapped her arms around both of them with tears streaming down their cheeks.
"My Children.. I thought i lost you.." Kya said tearfully, not soon after Hakoda and Gran Gran joined the group hug, it finally felt like Family again, none of them were hurt, none of them were taken by the dark tornado that ran all over the world, they were safe, that's what matters. that's all that matters.
Tolan
Ah, it's always pleasant laying your eyes on those magnificent walls. and since i haven't seen them in a while, might as well stare at them for some time. Tolan thought as he finally arrived at the great earth kingdom city of Ba Sing Se, he left this city a prisoner and returned a triumphant war hero, such a journey it's been so far for him, and he's been proud of every second of it, multiple times he could have been killed, but he held on, he endured, and above all he survived.
As soon as the world leaders granted him permission to leave for Ba Sing Se, he went to The port and took a ship to Ba Sing Se, they dropped anchor near the city and continued on foot until they reached the outter walls, there he was immediately recognized by The Dai Li agents who welcomed him back and escorted him safely to the palace in the upper ring.
He arrived at the palace and entered, looking healthy and clean, a sight that confused his uncle Long Feng as soon as he saw him.
"I see your abductors did a fine job at taking care of you." said King Long Feng as soon as Tolan entered the palace. a smile appeared on Tolan's face as soon as he noticed his beloved uncle standing on the front balcony of the royal palace.
"What can i say? when you are as charming as i am, it's very difficult for your enemies to harm you." Tolan boosted confidently as he took the stairs to get to his uncle's side.
Long Feng chuckled, "I see you haven't changed a bit." he said, and as soon as his nephew reached him, he engulfed him in a formal hug, that lasted for a couple of seconds, "It's great to see you again, My Nephew." Long Feng said, somewhat emotionally.
"You too, Uncle." His uncle inspected him for a long while, as if checking him out for the first time, "Not even a single battle scar. It's like you were fighting a bunch of Lily Livers." Long Feng said sarcastically after the inspection.
Tolan sighed as his mood soured, he wasn't fond of being reminded of that battle, "I was one of the lucky ones." Tolan said, looking at the ground in sadness, the horrid voices of his comrades still piercing through his skull, getting torched or losing an organ, it was too much. The Battle of Yu Dao was too much.
His uncle noticed his sudden mood change, he put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey.." he started, "I know how wars can leave one scarred on the inside." He used his finger to lift Tolan's chin so he could look him in the eyes, "But it's in the past now. We benefit from the past by learning from it, not by reliving it." Long Feng said, Tolan considered his words for some time as they grew silent for a while.
Long Feng then decided to break the silence, "Alright. Since you don't wanna come inside, i am just gonna get in and ask the servants to prepare a cup of tea." He said as he turned around to get inside the palace, Tolan just smiled and followed him.
"Last time i saw you, you were just the interim Earth King, how's life as The Permanent Earth King?" Tolan asked as he walked behind his uncle.
"Do you want the public answer or the private answer?" Long Feng answered with a question.
"Both." Tolan said.
"Well, The Public answer is, i am enjoying myself as the earth king, the people are living in peace and prosperity without the firenation meddling with us." Long Feng said.
"And the private answer?" Tolan inquired when Long Feng stopped talking.
Long Feng stopped at the living room and took a seat on the big chair while Tolan took a seat on the sofa, he heard his uncle sigh before speaking, "The Private answer is, this is only how the rich people of the upper ring think. unfortunately, the middle and lower rings don't fare the same way." Long Feng said.
"How do you mean?" Before Long Feng could answer, a servant girl came to the room with a tray that contained two cups of tea, she placed the tray on the table and looked at Tolan as she did so, she then straightened up and looked at Long Feng,
"Anything else, Sir?" She asked.
"No, That will be all. Thank you, Aalyah." Long Feng said, waving for the girl to take her leave and she did so but not before sparing another look at Tolan who looked back at her with confusion.
What's her problem? he thought as he took his cup and his uncle did the same, both of them sipped their tea at the same time.
"Still imitating me like when you were a little boy." Long Feng said with a chuckle, Tolan looked at him with confusion until he realized what he just did.
He smiled at his uncle, "I guess it comes naturally." He said, taking another sip of his tea.
Long Feng took another sip as well and then asked, "So, where were we?"
"The middle and lower rings have some problems." Tolan reminded.
"Oh, Yes.." Long Feng took another sip of his tea before he continued, "There has been talks of an uprising in the lower and middle rings, ever since you disappeared a couple of months ago, The Dai Li has gotten weak, that stupid new leader i appointed, Kanto. What a stupid youngman that is."
Tolan swallowed his tea uneasily, "Kanto is the leader of the Dai Li, No wonder they became so weak." He said.
"Yes, and the sad thing is, he is the smartest of the bunch."
"That can't be true. What about that other youngman that i used to admire.. Kunyo." Tolan asked.
"I thought of him too, but The Dai Li agents seemed to like Kanto. actually, i am not very sure how you are going to return to your position, they seem to like him so much."
"I'm pretty sure they like me more." Tolan said confidently.
Long Feng smirked, "Found your old cocky self already?"
"Did i ever say i lost it?" Tolan asked rhetorically with a smirk of his own, Long Feng nodded at him proudly, Tolan suddenly remembered why he came here in the first place and decided to bring it up.
"That's not what i came here for though, Uncle."
Long Feng frowned as he was very confused by that statement, "What?" He asked.
Tolan sighed as he was about to give a speech, "The reason i am here.. is because the world leaders asked me to persuade you to join the fray. this isn't about The Firenation anymore, Uncle. The Avatar informed us of an even greater danger. a danger that's coming from the north and south poles, The dark spirits are coming, they are going to kill us all if we don't band together and face them." Tolan said.
Long Feng stayed silent for a while, it was a lot for him to take, "The Dark Spirits?" He finally spoke, he looked very confused as if he was questioning whether the person in front of him was really his nephew.
"I understand if you don't believe me. you know that i don't believe in these things either. but i've met The Avatar, and even though we've had our differences, i know that he would never lie to us about such things. The Dark spirits are real, and they are coming for us all. we need to stand together and even then we won't stand a chance but at the very least, Ba Sing Se will restore its honor among the rest of the world. we will no longer be referred to as the city that stood with Ozai, we'll be referred to as the city that fought for the living." Tolan finished.
Long Feng listened to the entire thing, never once interrupting him, unfortunately that didn't mean he believed him at all, he kept snapping his fingers in front of Tolan's face,
"Hey.. Hey.. Tolan there? I thought the allies brought me back my nephew, not some superstitious imbecile." Long Feng said, looking to be genuinely believing that it's not Tolan in front of him.
"Uncle, Please listen to me-"
"Ah, Ah! I gave you a chance to speak, you blew up that chance by speaking nonesense. now it's my turn." Long Feng said interrupting Tolan.
Tolan sighed heavily and motioned for his uncle to start speaking, Long Feng didn't wait for long,
"I know you mean well, Nephew. and that's always been your problem. you never listen to reason, you always listen to that naive heart of yours, i told you time and time again, using your heart is not the way of The Dai Li. For Twenty Five years i've been trying to teach you, if you never learned the lesson by now, you never will, we don't listen to nonesense, all we have is our job, and right now our job is to protect this city from harm, not to spread false rumors that could bring it all into chaos, you do understand what a foul rumor like this could do to my position, don't you? an uprising that could take everything away from me.. that could take everything away from US! JUST LIKE THAT!" Long Feng roared as he snapped his fingers again to show him that it could all go away in a flash,
"I've spent too much time to gain the trust of the council of five, to gain the trust of the high lords of Ba Sing Se, and that trust was built on a promise that i will keep them safe, that i will use all my power to ensure their safety. what do you think they would do if i told them that a.. a mystical being beyond my power is coming for them? all that trust, all those years of hard work will turn into dust. is that what you want? Is that truly what you want?" Long Feng finished with a question keeping his intense stare on Tolan whose confidence never wavered for a second.
"If it means the survival of our people, then i am all for it." Tolan said calmly.
Long Feng lowered his head and massaged his temples, sighing heavily, "Why are you so stubborn about this?" He asked.
"BECAUSE IT'S REAL, UNCLE!" Tolan roared as he rose up from his chair and paced around the hall with his eyes never leaving his uncle's,
"What do you think the people would do if they figured out on their own that there is indeed a mystical being coming for them? Supposedly i agreed with you that we should keep the whole thing a secret, Do you think the allies will leave us alone as soon as they know you are not to join them? They will send their own men to the city to spread the information and before you know it, you will lose the support of all these rich imbeciles you are trying not to lose.." Tolan said, trying to knock some sense into his uncle,
"The Lords of the free world have put my trust in me to let Ba Sing Se join the fight, and i'll continue to try as hard as i can to make that happen. No matter the odds." Tolan finished, looking at his uncle with determination.
The duo kept staring at each other for some time, until Long Feng broke the stare as he stood up as well and came close to his nephew and stared at him again.
"It's been fifteen minutes, it's time."
Tolan looked confused at his uncle, "Time for what?" Tolan asked, and as soon as he did, he finally felt dizzy, his vision started getting less clear by the second, he stumbled and used the chair to keep standing,
"What did you do?!" Tolan asked, something isn't right with him.
"Don't be too dramatic, it's just a sleeping potion, you'll be fine.." Long Feng reassured, he then changed his tone and became angrier as he continued,
"You thought i didn't know of that Spiritual mumbo jumbo the avatar is blabbering about? i knew the council of the allies sent you here to negotiate with me, and i knew you would be too stubborn to understand how dangerous it is for a rumor like this to spread. so i thought.. why don't i imprison you until these shenanigans are over? A better solution for everyone, don't you agree?"
Tolan felt his senses become numb as he fell to the floor and was about to give in to unconsciousness but that didn't stop him from speaking,
"I thought i could save you, Uncle.. but now, you.. y-you a-are.. beyond saving.." He said quietly and sadly before closing his eyes and giving in to slumber.
Aang
"There it is, Senge. We finally made it, you can quit whining now." Aang said teasingly as the island appeared from afar.
"You are talking as if i wasn't whining for a reason, we've been searching for this island for two days, what did you expect me to react?"
It's true, Aang left the city of Yu Dao three weeks ago as soon as Senge brought him his new bison, The Spirit that told him of Avatar Wan's location didn't tell him the exact coordinates of the island so Aang had to search for it for two days.
"You might have a point. but don't blame me, blame that new bison of yours, she isn't the most agile, you know." Aang mumbled the last bit, instantly regretting it as he knew his words might have heard the bison's feelings, and he was sure of it as soon as she growled angrily followed by Senge's gasp.
"You are such an insensitive brat." Senge said angrily, and Aang didn't bother to scold him as he knew he was the one at fault.
He patted the bison's head smoothly, "I'm sorry, Girl. i am just.. not used to riding any bison other than Appa. he was my best friend.. i am sure you understand." Aang whispered sadly to her. The Bison growled again, but this time it was a sad one, as if she was consoling Aang, which made The Avatar feel even worse, there he was saying bad things about the bison and now she's consoling him.
He patted her head again, "Thanks, Girl. i am sure we'll become best friends eventually. just give it time." Aang said sweetly to her, which she reciprocated with an understand growl.
"So, since you have finally warmed up to her. aren't you going to give her a name?" Senge asked, which startled Aang to no end.
he turned back sharply to look at Senge, "I didn't give her a name yet?" He asked completely shocked.
"Uhm. Yeah.. i didn't wanna bring it up because you looked so grumpy all the time, but now since you've finally become more cheerful, might as well give her a name." Senge said matter-of-factly.
Aang stayed quiet for a time, how could i forget to give my new bison a name? he completely forgot about it since he's been busy getting incredibly fidgety and nervous over this meeting with Avatar Wan, as a matter of fact, he's still very nervous and fidgety, but as soon as he laid eyes on the island that he's about to land on, he forgot about all his worries as if there were some calming spiritual energy around these parts. maybe..
But anyways, he should give the bison a name before he lands on the island, but what name could that be? What..
YES! THAT'S IT! He thought excitedly as he finally came up with the perfect name.
"Abby. That's her name. Abby. Do you like that one, girl?" Aang asked, and The Bison growled in delight.
"Abby? stupid name. but she seems to like, so who am i to care? but if it were up to me though.. i would have named her Juicy or Pepper. Yeah, Pepper is a nice name." Senge said.
"Good thing it's not up to you." Aang mumbled dully as they finally landed on the island at what seemed like a beach.
Aang and Senge both used swift airbending moves to get off the bison's back and land on the sand, then all three of them walked together to search for the temple on foot, they kept walking through the trees, trying to find any sign of life around these parts, but after thirty minutes of searching, they came to a halt.
Senge sighed, "There seems to be no one here."
"Let's just keep looking." Aang said, resuming the search. Aang finally caught glimpse of something from afar.. no, not something.. someone, in fire sage costume.
"Hello! Fire Sage!" Aang called to him. The Fire Sage turned back to him, looked at him with confusion, he had a grey goatee but the roughness of his face gave away that he is an old man, Aang and Senge ran to him with their bison in toe.
"How may i help you, Children?" The Fire Sage asked.
Great he seems helpful enough, since when do i meet helpful people, life is getting stranger by the second. Aang thought.
"Do you serve in a temple nearby?" Aang asked.
"Yes. And who might you be?" The Fire Sage asked.
"My name is Aang, I am.." Aang thought about telling him his status but he halted himself, but the fire sage's eyes widened anyways.
"You are The Avatar?!" He asked, looking to be completely shocked.
"No.. He is not-" Senge was about to say, but Aang stopped him.
"There is no point in lying now.." Aang said, sighing. "Yes, my good sir, i am The Avatar. Are you going to turn me in to your Firelord now?" Aang asked.
The Fire Sage smiled, "We don't serve The Firelord, Avatar Aang. We serve you. we've been expecting you for some time." The Fire Sage said.
"E-Expecting me?" Aang asked, looking at Senge who shrugged helplessly in return.
"Yes. We serve The First Avatar who informed us of your arrival some time in the future. he knew you were going to seek his help sooner or later, so he informed us some months ago of your arrival, and here you are. my happiness cannot be measured right now." The Fire Sage said looking somewhat excited.
Aang was shocked by the sight and even more shocked by the words, "Avatar Wan informed you of my arrival?" Aang asked.
"Yes. I am sure The High Sage will be pleased to be informed of your arrival, would you be so kind as to follow me to the temple?" The Fire Sage asked with a smile.
Aang and Senge looked at each other, "What do you think?" Aang asked him.
Senge sighed, "I don't know. he seems honest enough. But there is a way to know if he is telling the truth or not. your bison.. i mean Abby.." Senge said with a snort, "She would know if he is telling the truth or not." Senge said.
Aang nodded, "Alright.." Aang said then he looked at the sage, "What's your name, Friend?" Aang asked.
"My name is Shyu." The Sage said.
"Alright, Shyu. we can't be too certain of your honesty so we'll have to test it.. Abby, come over here." Aang told his bison and she immediately hovered to his side, which didn't faze the sage one bit.
"We're going to test your honesty. my friend Abby over here knows if people are telling the truth or not. and if you are indeed telling the truth, then we'll follow you to the temple. is that acceptable?" Aang asked.
"Very." The Sage replied with the same smile on his face.
"Lovely. Now, repeat what you said earlier." Aang said.
Shyu did as he was asked, he repeated the same words he said earlier about Avatar Wan telling them of Aang's arrival and that they have been expecting him at the temple. after he finished, they waited for Abby's judgement.
Which was Approval as she licked the Sage's face. "I guess that means she likes me." Shyu said wiping the saliva off his face.
"Alright, We are coming with you." Senge said immediately after, Aang nodded, and then both of them followed the sage to the temple.
They arrived at the temple which looked incredibly beautiful from the outside to say the least, and even better from the inside, as they entered they found the walls decorated with paintings of previous Avatars and they had a great painting of Avatar Wan in the center, it was the first time Aang laid eyes on him, he looked very elegant and at peace with his bending, Aang kept staring at the bending until the high sage interrupted his train of thoughts,
"Hello, Avatar. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Aang turned around sharply, started by the woman's voice. She was a middle-aged woman, no more than forty years old, but the look on her face gave away so much wisdom and intelligence beyond her years, The Avatar composed himself before answering.
"The Pleasure is mine, High Sage." Aang replied.
"Please. Call me Shaman. You have nothing to be worried about, we are your allies. within these walls, there are no wars or hostilities, there is only peace and tranquility. Here, we serve The Spirits, with the spirit of light guiding us to the right path, the same one that lives within you, Young Avatar. And we shall continue to do so until both Light and Darkness fade from the universe." The Woman said.
Aang was confused by the last statement of the woman. Yes, it was no surprise for him that these sages serve the spirit of light, but what does she mean by 'Light And Darkness fade from the universe'?
"Frankly, i am not so surprised at old people speaking nonsense nowadays. but honestly, all i want in life right now is to meet an old person who speaks sense." Senge said from beside Aang, he was so lost in thought that he forgot his little friend is still beside him.
"Hey. Who are you calling old, Boy?" The Fire Sage said furiously, completely changing her earlier demeanor, Aang and Senge got scared by her new attitude, until the woman couldn't hold it in her any longer and just laughed at them, "I completely got you." Shaman said in between chuckles.
Aang smiled at her, but Senge was still fazed by her attitude, "Wow. how can someone like you be familiar with banter?" Senge asked, Aang almost scolded him for his rudeness, but the sage spoke first.
"Being constantly moody and grumpy isn't particularly written in our resume, Young man."
"Oh Wow.. you have resumes too.. this place is weird." Senge said, causing the high sage to laugh.
"You are so adorable.." She said, she changed her demeanor again immediately after and spoke to the avatar in all seriousness, "Moving on.. Avatar Wan is expecting your presence in the cavern. Please Follow me." She asked The Avatar.
"Cavern?" Aang asked, startled by the woman's change of demeanor and her suggestion.
"Yes. It's an incredibly cozy place constructed by hexagonal rock formations, There is a large pool of water lit with light shining up from below, You will be lowered down with a hammock into the water and there, you'll use your meditation skills to reach the first Avatar." Shaman informed.
Aang was bewildered to say the least, but he nodded to her anyways, after all since when has his journey been ordinary? it's always been weird.
He turned back to look at Senge, "I might stay there for a while so you better stay outside with Abby, Senge. Make sure she's well-cared for." Aang said.
"But i.. i really wanted to see this awesome spiritual pond or cavern that she's talking about." Senge whispered innocently, which made Aang smile.
The High Sage decided to answer for him, "I'm afraid The Avatar is right, Young Senge. we ought to give him some space to meditate.." The High Sage said, but then she came closer to Senge and whispered to him, "But as soon as he falls asleep, i'll take you to see it." She said which made the boy smile sweetly at her.
"You know, Old People aren't so bad after all." Senge said to her, which caused her to laugh again.
Senge then took his leave and Aang followed The High Sage to the cavern.
Aang then stood at the edge and looked inside at the pond, it was very beautiful and calm. he knew he wouldn't have much difficulty meditating in this place.
"I'm ready." He told the high sage with a smile, which she returned.
"Good Luck." The High sage said before He laid down on the hammock, and the sages lowered him down slowly, until he finally reached the pond as he touched its surface, the hammock keeping his face above water. Aang then closes his eyes, it didn't take much time for his body to fall into meditative sleep, in the water, he opens his eyes, he is in a dreamworld, surrounded by a purple light. he is looking at his own image, engulfed in a blue light.
"Is that a mirror?" He asked.
"No, i am you." Aang's eyes widened as His blue image spoke to him, but with a more feminine voice.
"No, you are not me. that's not my voice." He said, surely his voice doesn't sound like that.
"I'm your inner spirit." Aang's image spoke again.
Suddenly the image rippled and was replaced by someone he just saw earlier on a painting.
"Avatar Wan?" Aang asked with shock.
"Hello, Aang. i've been expecting you for some time. Let's go to a cozier place, Shall we?" Wan said with a smile, as Aang found himself being dragged to the spirit world.
They finally made it, to a place that looked like the most beautiful and most calm place he's ever seen. the place looked so peaceful, he wished it were his. he wished he lived in a place like this with no war or conflict to bother him.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Aang." Avatar Wan said from behind him, Aang turned back to look at him.
"It's beautiful, Avatar Wan."
"Of course, The Spirit World is much more beautiful than the human world.. Well, used to be anyways." Wan said, there was a table nearby with chairs around it, Wan walked over to it and took a seat on one of the chairs, Aang followed suit and sat next to him.
Aang then nodded to himself and said, "I surmised as much.. Vattu destroyed the spirit world, hasn't he?" Aang asked.
Wan looked at him sadly, "Yes. This is the last place he hasn't destroyed. but it will soon follow the others." Wan said.
Aang's eyes widened, "What do you mean? I thought you were secure from all this."
"Nobody is secure from all this, Aang. Spirits and Humans alike will meet the same fate, unless you do something about it." Wan informed.
Aang listened to none of that as he finally grabbed hold of the obvious truth, "Vattu couldn't know your location in the spirit world as he's unable to sense it.. But he is able to sense mine. and so i just gave him your location in the spirit world. Right?" Aang said to Wan, looking at him in anticipation of an answer.
Wan sighed, "I should have known i couldn't keep the truth from you for long. you are obviously very intelligent to be fooled." Wan said in defeat.
Aang was furious with himself, but he had to ask the obvious question first, "Why's he even hunting The Avatars?" He asked, expecting the worst.
Wan looked to the ground sadly, "He figured out a way to free himself from the spirit world without you touching the portal. You see, the reason you are able to open the portal is because you have Raava's light inside of you, but so do the spirits of all your previous incarnations. So, he hunted and caught all of them, all but one." Wan said.
"You." Aang surmised.
Avatar Wan nodded, "I expected this to happen a long time ago, there was no escaping this, Aang. Vattu was never meant to be trapped inside that tree forever." He said, but Aang didn't listen to any of it.
He groaned in self-disgust, stood up and paced around, and then yelled to the sky, "WHY DO I BRING DESTRUCTION WHEREVER I GO!" He fell to the ground immediately after, if this was his real body, he knew there would have been tears streaming down his cheeks. who knows? maybe his real body is crying in agony right now.
"Calm Down, Aang. You are angering the spirits." Avatar Wan said, but without moving, as if he was expecting Aang to behave like that.
Aang looked around to find the plants surrounding the place are spirits and not ordinary plants, and they turned to the dark after his outburst, Aang knew the solution to such problem as he faced it before, he calmed his nerves and apologized to the plants, they immediately turned back to light.
"That's better." Avatar Wan said with a smile.
But that didn't help Aang's situation at all as he took a seat on the table again and put his hands on his head, "I don't know what to do anymore.." He mumbled sadly.
"Oh. so you are as whiny as I thought you to be?" Wan asked. and Aang brought his head up to look at him.
"What?" He asked confusedly.
"You think i haven't been watching over you ever since you were born? I've seen what you were and what you have become. and i've never once interfered in your business because i knew that you would always find a way. but now, i am not so sure anymore." Wan said looking at him in sadness.
Aang decided to control his anger for the sake of the surrounding spirits, "What do you base your expectations on exactly, Avatar Wan? Are you comparing me to the previous Avatars? because i don't recall any of them facing odds as great as mine." Aang said.
"I base my expectations on the state of the world, Aang. Your job is to defend the world from harm. and you can't do that by merely facing the odds. you do that by defeating them. destroying them once and for all. I have faced Vattu before, without the avatar state and without even fusing with Raava. i knew i was going to meet certain death, but i also knew that the world depended on me to defend it. Raava depended on me to fight for the light, and so i went there, not caring for my own trauma, not caring for personal gain or to protect someone dear to me. I lost everyone dear to me at that point. but i never gave up, i never submitted. i faced him and i beat him. with the help of Raava's light within me." Wan finished.
Aang looked at him with sadness in his eyes, "I don't have Raava's light within me anymore."
"You're wrong.. she just talked to you in the cavern." Wan said.
Aang stared at Avatar Wan, "What?"
"That reflection of yours that spoke with the feminine voice. that was Raava." Wan informed.
Aang was shocked to no end, he had a feeling it was her, but he didn't believe himself then, now he just got the confirmation.
"Why didn't she tell me that?" He asked.
"Because she's lost, trapped inside that facade of yours. you'll have to free her, or else you'll lose this war." Wan informed.
"And how do i do that?" Aang asked desperately.
Avatar Wan put a hand on his shoulder and Aang lifted his sad eyes to meet Avatar Wan's cheerful ones,
"That's where my role comes to play, Young Airbender. I will teach you." Avatar Wan said with an encouraging smile to Aang.
