Fight 68: Advent of the Phoenix King
Aang was practicing his firebending under the stern eyes of his teachers. However, his flimsy arches of fire were not the least bit up to par.
"More ferocious! Imagine striking through your opponent's heart." Zuko barked. Aang turned towards him, throwing his arms down in a frustrated gesture.
"Ugh! I'm trying!" For the fundamentally pacifistic Avatar, that was a truly tall order. However, firebending was energy, drive, force, assertiveness, willpower, aggressiveness. Hence the need to beat that all-too-gentle nature of his into shape. And THAT was proving to be a tall order for the two professors. How to motivate a kid with no real will to try? How to make him understand this lack of motivation was directly linked to the lack of growth in his firebending? That was what Chenlian was currently agonizing over while leaving the teaching itself to Zuko.
"Now let me hear you roar like a tiger-dillo!" The prince demanded next. Aang obeyed, stretching his arms, his voice and the jets of fire coming out of his mouth and palms far too weak. The child sheepishly grinned. "That sounded pathetic! I said roar!" The young man lashed out. His pupil tried again, this time scarring Momo who scurried towards Zuko and hid behind his legs. This time, the teachers nodded in approval at the size and intensity of the flames. Katara chose this moment to offer some refreshments.
"Who wants a nice, cool glass of watermelon juice?" She held watermelons with straws in them. Jumping on the chance to have an additional and unearned break, the very self-indulgent avatar named himself and tried to rush towards the rest of their group that were all lounging on the stairs and watching the training.
"Hey, your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!" Zuko grabbed the back of his workshy disciple's robes, effectively stopping him. Aang still made to run towards Katara, hoping to shake free of his grip but he was much too light and lacking in raw power and Zuko easily pulled him up. The child slumped down in disappointment, dangling in the air. They looked much like a mother cat angry at her rambunctious kitten and holding him up by the neck.
"Come on, Zuko. Just take a break. What's the big deal?" Suki nonchalantly backed Aang.
"Fine." The prince reluctantly released the airbender who dashed to Katara... only to be stopped by Chenlian this time.
"No, you can't pamper him." She smiled fiercely, holding the monk's bald head in an iron grip. Now this was much like a lioness keeping her child in place under her large paw. Her claws were still retracted but the sense of danger that smile inspired was enough to make the boy shrink in fear. Seeing that, Chenlian heaved a sigh. She knew that fear was not enough. Aang had to be properly motivated and needed praise, or rewards. That was what she had learned by watching Katara's waterbending lessons. "Aang, if you can perform up to standard until the end of the lesson, Katara will give you praise and a kiss on the cheek along with your watermelon juice." Right, such things should be much more effective if they came from the girl he liked.
"WHAT?!" Both Aang and Katara exclaimed simultaneously. But in contrast to the boy's jubilant and expectant smile, the girl was so shocked and flustered she let the fruit fall. After what she had said at the theater, doing that kind of things was...
"Make the sacrifice, Katara. This is for Aang's sake. Aang, you WILL do your absolute best if she agrees, right?" She turned his face to her and he gave a huge nod. Her hand left his head and plopped on his shoulder. "So there, you have it." She grinned. Aang mustered his best puppy eyes at the waterbender.
"Wait, Chenlian! That's-!"
"It's only on the cheek. You can give one even to a friend or a brother, right?" The female firebender grinned wider.
"But Chenlian, isn't it your duty as his teacher to praise and reward him?" Sokka pondered, unwittingly helping his sister who nodded along. The avatar glared at him.
"It would be a lot more effective if it's Katara, for reasons you should know. Besides..." She pointed at Zuko with her thumb. He had the nostalgic face of a wrathful deity. Half was him going along with his girlfriend's plan that he had deduced, but the other half was his real feelings. Thanks to that though they recalled how jealous of a man he was and scrapped the idea of Chenlian kissing another boy (even just on the cheek) lest his fury be unleashed at them. They nodded understandingly. Better be safe than sorry.
"Okay, okay, I get it." Ka tara surrendered. And so Aang worked his hardest for the remaining of the lesson. The second it was over though, he dashed away and gleefully accepted his reward. Katara was quite awkward but didn't seem to hate it which reaffirmed Chenlian's belief that they should be fine once things settled down.
Still, the mahogany-haired girl could not help but find it strange. She was certain she had told everyone about Ozai intending to use the comet to destroy everything... so why did Aang need that much incentive? Why weren't they all more perturbed? Why were Zuko and her the only ones who seemed to be taking this seriously? They couldn't have forgotten... right? It was then Zuko touched her shoulder and asked to talk to her while pointing to the forest.
"Abandoning us and your student for some undisturbed smoochy time?" Sokka taunted.
"As if! Chenlian and I need to have a serious discussion that doesn't seem possible in front of a bunch of carefree snail-sloths that do nothing but lounge around all day!" The male firebender sharply rebuked them before walking away with his girlfriend.
"Maybe Zuko's right. Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy." Sokka admitted. Neither him nor the others had taken offense from the tone and insult. Both Zuko and Chenlian tended to talk in that prickly manner. That was just how they were. Maybe it was a Fire Nation or firebender thing? It was common and they had no ill will so there was really no point getting hurt or angry over something like that. He then placed his watermelon aside and stood up. "But I know just the thing to change that... Beach party!" He exclaimed, taking his clothes off.
And so the Avatar's party stripped to their undergarments and headed to the beach. Sokka dived in the ocean. Katara waterbended a surfboard made of ice and glided across the waves. Suki was just resting on a beach mat and watching everyone. She smiled warmly as her boyfriend excitedly carried armfuls of seaweed and buckets of water to a certain place. Meantime, Aang had built a quite decent sand sculpture of Appa. Toph told him it wasn't bad, but she had been working on her sandbending... and displayed her skills by showing off an impressively realistic miniature replica of Ba Sing Se that even included an Earth King and Bosco. Aang, kneeling down to better scrutinize the details of the artwork, voiced his amazement. Toph asked Sokka to try and top that if he could. Sokka proudly presented... what Aang surmised to be a blubbering blob monster. Indeed, it didn't even look human or animal-like. It was really just a blob with seaweed for hair, stones for downturned eyes, a starfish for nose and pebbles and seashells as... a smile? A necklace?
"No! It's Suki!" The angry boy stomped the ground defensively, prompting the two other sculptors to burst into laughter and half-joke they would all understand if Suki chose to break up with him over this.
"I think it's sweet." The Kyoshi Warrior replied. Sokka ran to her, getting on his knees as he hugged his marvelous and understanding girlfriend by her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek.
"But it doesn't even look like-" Aang began but could not finish as a burst of fire destroyed the blob/Suki sculpture, sending waves of sand everywhere. The monk yelped in surprise and shielded himself. When the dust cleared, he looked up at the cliff to see Zuko running and jumping off, firebending at him at the same time. Aang started running away while evading the flaming attacks, and Zuko's chase until he hid behind his own sand sculpture. "What are you doing ?!" He yelled angrily, peeking out from behind Appa's head.
"Teaching you a lesson!" The firebending teacher shouted back and beheaded the Appa sculpture.
"I don't think Chenlian would agree to this teaching method!"Aang escaped again, and in two leaps, got onto the top of the cliff.
"Think again! That she's not stopping me means I have her endorsement!" Zuko continued firing at him, and Aang continued jumping away. The prince went after his pupil, climbing the rock face. He glanced at the trees and bushes near the cliff. Aang hadn't seen her but Chenlian was there, watching.
Zuko and Chenlian had both found it strange how irresponsibly slack everyone had been lately and wondered how to rectify that. During their pondering, they heard about the beach party. Truly... far too slack... so much it was face-palming. They absolutely needed some reality check; a strong wakeup call... but what? It was war, so Zuko suggested a fight, to attack Aang seriously, until he got serious as well. This way he should understand just how serious the situation was.
"But that's..." She could appreciate his idea but was still reluctant. The young man had realized that ever since their mock battle when she had nearly killed him, her bending during their training sessions had been much more subdued. She was holding back too much. Katara had been right. The blows Chenlian had given him had long since healed, but not her emotional wound. There was a time when she had full trust in her friends, and total confidence in her own abilities and self-control. But now she had grown fearful and uncomfortable. It was better than it had been, but she was still not quite there yet. Though at least, now, Zuko knew better than to force her hand. He gently and comfortingly held her in his arms, stroking her back.
"You don't have to do it. I can handle it alone. I should be enough for the job."
"Can you handle it when Aang gets serious?" The girl worriedly gazed at him. Her concern made him smile and savor the joy in his heart. She was worried not that he could hurt Aang, but that Aang would hurt him. She was starting to trust him.
"You can stay close and intervene only when you think it gets too dangerous for either of us."
"Well..."
"It'll be fine. You know how tough I am." He reassured her, planting a kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh, lowering her head. Zuko took that as her surrender. Then he tilted her head up and kissed her lips, having acted on impulse due to her closed eyes and lowered guard.
"Ngh-!" Chenlian's eyes snapped open. He had definitely taken her by surprise. But she recovered by the time he pulled away. "Didn't you tell Sokka you weren't going to use this for undisturbed smoochy time?"
"I didn't take you aside for that purpose specifically. We already had our serious discussion too. You can say I'm claiming my reward for my hard work, or that I'm comforting my anxious girlfriend. Although I don't think I need a reason to kiss the woman I love..."
Look at him getting all smug. Just when did he become such a smooth talker... The girl poutily glared at him, thinking she'll need to be careful not to let him wrap her around his little finger. That said, she didn't hate the man he was becoming. In Ba Sing Se, even though there was love, his eyes used to be somewhat clouded, but not anymore. There was now a strong light in them that wasn't there before. When he was a child (and until quite recently really), he was too easily swayed, idealistic, and superficial. But what he had gone through had given him strength and steadiness. Considering what he had overcome by himself, and how much he grew thanks to that, she was given to believe that she had overprotected him after all. However, it was also true that there were times when one needed help. It was truly difficult to know when to stand back and when to give a hand. Likewise, there were times, and people for whom accepting (let alone asking) help was equally difficult. If she had been more open, if she had shown more weakness, would things have been different? Would he have made other choices? Did she still have the courage to grow more open, more acceptive? Lost in thought, Chenlian unconsciously raised her hand and touched his left cheek, her fingertips tracing the scar. Zuko took her hand, kissed her palm with a loving smile before leaning in for another kiss on the lips, this one slower, deeper, longer, sweeter, and irresistibly tender.
Katara, noticing that something had gone wrong, surfed back to the shore and asked what had happened. Her furious brother (hard at work trying to mold his wrecked 'masterpiece' back into shape) replied Zuko had gone crazy and destroyed his sand sculpture of Suki. Oh, and he was attacking Aang... was merely added as an afterthought. Although Sokka obviously did not believe for a single second that Zuko could truly be after Aang's life, the fact that he cared more about his sand sculpture than his friend's wellbeing was still a bit perplexing. Still, why was Zuko attacking Aang? Katara and Toph started running towards the house, with Suki dragging her hard-to-grasp lover with weird priorities after them.
The airbender was running up a steep rocky incline, Zuko hot on his heels; bending at him. The runaway jumped off the sharp promontory point and grabbed onto the top of a trunk of a palm tree. Zuko leapt too, somersaulted, landed on the sand, rolling to spread the impact, and lost no time firebending at the top of the tree where Aang had found refuge. So Aang fled to the roof of their beach house. The Fire Nation prince jumped onto the house's railings that he scaled and flipped his way to the roof where he pushed himself up and landed in a battle stance.
"Get a grip before I blast you off this roof!" The Avatar was waiting for him in a similar position.
"Go ahead and do it!" Zuko challenged, punching and kicking bursts of fire at him.
But contrary to his attempt at intimidation, Aang did not retaliate but made to escape again, sliding down the roof. When he reached the edge he grabbed onto it and swung himself into the room through the window. He slid across the floor on his knees to hide behind a drawer. Zuko blasted an entrance through the ceiling, causing some debris to fall, and jumped in too. He warily looked around, at the ready. The monk kicked the drawer towards his teacher who shattered it with a fire-enhanced punch. During that diversion, Aang fled into the corridor. Zuko ran out of the room as well but did not chase after his prey. Instead, he created a tunnel of fire that he sent towards the child. The flames moved faster than the boy could run, and as Aang found himself being slowly engulfed by the fire, he snuffed out part of the flames with a gust of wind, creating a safe space for him to land on without get burnt.
"Enough!" Aang snapped, airbending a strong gale that extinguished all the flames and hurled Zuko backwards, blowing him out of the house and into the canopy from which he fell onto the ground. The young man groaned in pain and held his head as he slowly attempted to stand up. Chenlian ran to him and helped him up, asking if he was okay. The airbender's attack had blasted a large hole in the wooden shutter blinds and the railing of the balcony. As the rest of the group arrived and Katara (displeased as he could have hurt Aang) started questioning Zuko, the avatar jumped off from the balcony and joined them.
"What's wrong with me?!" The prince repeated, incredulous. "What's wrong with all of you?!" He stood up and threw his arm to the side in anger. "How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only 3 days away!" He criticized the indolent bunch who gazed at him pitifully.
"He's right. I DID tell you that Ozai planned to use Sozin's comet to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, didn't I? We thought you needed a wake-up call. To begin with why are you even being this careless? ...And why are you all looking at us like we're crazy?" Chenlian supportively stood by her lover's side.
"About Sozin's Comet... I was actually going to wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came. We thought for sure you were just using exaggerating things and using alarmist tactics to get me to train harder." The Avatar justified himself. "I'm not ready. I need more time to master firebending." He appeared very anxious, and lacking in confidence. Toph frankly added that his earthbending could still use some work too, making him look even more disappointed.
"So... You all knew Aang was going to wait?" Zuko derived.
"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's gonna lose. No offense." Sokka admitted.
"Why did you hide it from me?" Chenlian glared.
"You're way too brutal of a perfectionist, and you always use all means of manipulation to needle people into working harder. So we thought it was another of those tactics." Sokka explained, prompting his sister and Aang to nod... and Chenlian to shake her head in desperation.
"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet came was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war. But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse." Katara further developed their stance, dropping her head in worry.
"You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine." The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation contradicted her and told his friends about the important war meeting that had occurred the day before the eclipse, and about his father, Fire Lord Ozai's abominable plan...
It was what he had dreamed about and wanted for so many years. His Father had finally accepted him back and allowed him to take part in his war meeting and even sit at his right. The generals had thought to send more troops to quell the rebellions in the Earth Kingdom and Ozai had asked his son, who had been among the Earth Kingdom commoners, for advice. Zuko knew that the strong and proud people of the Earth Kingdom could endure anything as long as they had hope. So Ozai and Azula decided to destroy those people's hope and burn their lands to the ground. The day Sozin's Comet came, endowing them with the strength and power of a hundred Suns, they would rain fire over the Earth Kingdom lands from their airships, destroying everything. Then, all the lands would be Fire Nation, and Ozai would become the supreme ruler of the whole new world...
"I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life I struggled to gain my Father's love and acceptance. But once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. I had forgotten who I was." The Fire Lord's son concluded.
"I know more about the dangers of firebending. I was the one who advised against your learning it when even Jeong Jeong had caved in, remember? And I know you're not ready and that we're significantly rushing things. And yet you guys didn't even pause to think about WHY I needed to go that far? Did you seriously believe I was pushing you this hard just for the heck of it, or were you cowardly trying to escape reality?" Chenlian angrily questioned the boys who averted their eyes.
"I can't believe this." Katara raised her hand to her forehead in despair and dropped down to the ground on her knees, shaking her head.
"I always knew that the Fire Lord was a bad guy but his plan is just pure evil." Sokka grabbed Suki by the shoulders in a reassuring gesture.
"What am I going to do?" Aang asked.
"I know you're scared. And I know that you're not ready to save the World. But if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a World to save anymore." Zuko walked to him and spoke with all the gravity the situation demanded.
"This is bad. This is really, really bad." Aang walked away and turned his back on them. He tightly shut his eyes, gripping his head in despair.
"Aang, you don't have to do this alone." Katara went up to him.
"Yeah. If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down." Toph agreed.
"Alright! Team Avatar is back! Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Fan and sword!" Sokka enthusiastically pointed at each in turn before giving Suki a fan-shaped leaf he had just picked and picking a long blade-like leaf for himself and thrusting it in the air. The leaf was too long to support its own weight though, and the upper half just tipped over.
"Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together. But I wouldn't want to do it any other way." The young Avatar proudly declared. His comrades laughed and came over for a group hug, totally agreeing with him of course. Chenlian sighed and joined them too, knowing there was no escape, or winning against their optimism. Only Zuko had not moved. Katara told him to come over too. Being part of the group also meant being part of group hugs. He looked to the side with a 'Do I have to do this? ' expression. He had a relatively low tolerance for these sweet touchy-feely moments (unless they were one-on-one with his girlfriend) and other unity building stuff and would usually dismiss them as mushy. Well, mostly he was passionate in love, but shy in friendship.
"Zuko, you should give up sooner rather than later." Chenlian advised, clearly speaking from experience. So he yielded to the pressure and fitted in the opening made by his lover and Suki. Then all the humans got tackled down together by the sky bison that had just come flying over to them, and finally Momo chattered and stood atop the pile onto Appa's head.
After that, Zuko and Chenlian chose to teach Aang the technique he would necessarily need to know before facing the Fire Lord... how to redirect lightning. They returned to the courtyard. The child grinned in anticipation. While going through the motions, the firebenders explained the theory. If he let the energy in his own body flow, the lightning would follow it. The principle was to turn his opponent's energy against them. The Avatar started copying their movements, noting it was like waterbending. Zuko confirmed. His uncle had invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders.
"So... Have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang questioned.
"...Once. Against my father." The Fire Lord's son answered.
"What did it feel like?"
"Exhilarating. But terrifying." The prince's words caused Aang to slouch in disappointment. "You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body. But you know that if you make the wrong move, it's over."
"Heh. Well, not over over, right?" The monk laughed nervously, frightened by his teachers' caution. "I mean there's always Katara and a little spirit water action... Am I right ?" He hopefully turned to the waterbender who contradicted him. She had actually used it all up after Azula shot him. "Oh."
"You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life. Before he takes yours." Zuko said grimly before walking away.
"Yeah... I'll just do that." Aang looked terrified for a moment then looked away, clearly not convinced despite all the gravitas behind Zuko's words and expressions.
"Aang, lightning cannot be stopped by air, water or fire, nor by another bolt. And shielding yourself with a rock carries the risk of the rock being shattered and you being hurt by the debris." Chenlian explained, returning the subject to practice. "You must either avoid it or redirect it. Lightning is a frightening power, but in order to properly guide that energy, you must remain calm, just like you would stay calm and counter when Toph would hurl huge boulders at you during your earthbending training. You will stand there without moving an inch as I send lightning your way. Of course I will not hit you. Just watch intently, and feel the power with your skin. This is to get you accustomed to the sensation, so you won't be paralyzed with fear or mess things when the time comes and you'll be able to quickly react. Absolutely do not try to redirect it now. Understood?" She was the only one able to generate lightning here so her help was essential. The young avatar nodded. The girl walked to a good enough distance, took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and her arms moving in circle, generated an electrical current. Aang's gray eyes widened in awe and terror, his heart thumping madly in his chest. Then she thrust her arm forward in his general direction.
At the end of that training, it was Chenlian who was the most exhausted. But she was also satisfied that her pupil had made excellent progress both in the form and mental aspect of the technique.
The practice went on until the evening when Sokka gathered the whole Team Avatar for some attack simulation training in a desert rocky area where no one would bother them. A humanoid figure made of rock and branches, some old worn-out dark red and orange cloth for robes and a carved watermelon for head stood at the top of a promontory. As per the strategist's orders, the teens crouched down in a circle to listen to the battle plan.
"In order to take out the Fire Lord, or in this case, the 'Melon Lord', our timing has to be perfect. First, Suki and I will draw his fire." He drew a Melon Lord head on the ground with a stick, then his and Suki's route at the left. "Then, Katara and Zuko charge in with some liquidy hot offense and while the Melon Lord is distracted, Aang swoops in and BAM! He delivers the final blow." He drew a straight light in the middle, and finally another curve on the right that he made to run across the melon head, failing to notice Aang cringing at the end of his explanation. Toph asked about her own role. "For now, you're the Melon Lord's forces."
"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?"
"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic." Sokka grinned.
"Sweetness." Toph calmly rejoiced.
"And you, Chenlian, will be the acting Melon Lord, his arms and legs. You'll also defend against our attacks, occasionally shoot lightning and fire balls and try to stop us and Aang."
"General Toph, let us do our best to defeat that foolish arrogant rabble so we can leisurely dominate the world."
"Of course, my Fiery Lady. Your word is my command." The General and Supreme Commander did a high five with devious grins splitting their faces.
Not long later, everyone was in position. Toph let out a booming, evil laugh, her arms opened up in a V-shape. She was standing in front of Chenlian and the scarecrow/Melon Lord surrounded by large boulders dripping with highly flammable black tar. Sokka, wearing his Water Tribe wolf armor, signalled the start of the operation. He and Suki, followed a moment later by Zuko and Katara made their way down their respective routes. Suddenly, three Fire Nation soldier-shaped rocks popped up and charged the commander and his girlfriend. Sokka sliced one and Suki toppled another with a kick. They moved on, maneuvering between some fire balls until a flaming boulder crashed right in front of them. Suki easily cartwheeled over it. Sokka, however, was sprawled on the ground, his face mere inches away from the flames after having clumsily but luckily tripped and fallen over, thus avoiding being crushed.
"Watch it, Toph!" He shook an angry fist at her.
"I'm not Toph, I am Melon Lord's and Her Fiery Lady's most esteemed General! I'll crush you bottomfeeders! Muahahahahaha! " The earthbender was clearly enjoying herself. She bended another boulder that Chenlian set ablaze, and hurled it towards Zuko and Katara who dodged it without pausing. She then surrounded them with rock soldiers. The two fought back to back, quickly destroying all the 'enemies' with firebending and waterbending before moving on. Chenlian hurled lightning at them, separating them. She sent a few balls and arches of fire that they quenched.
"Now, Aang!" Sokka yelled, running sword in hand while flaming rocks flew around him. Aang jumped off an outcropping, his staff over his head, ready to strike. Chenlian tried to blast him with fire but he swung his staff down, snuffing out the flames. He landed and swung again, laterally this time, sending her tumbling away. But as he raised his staff to strike the Melon Lord, his determined face softened, hostility turning into pity. He brought his staff down, only to stop inches before contact, unable to finish his move, to deliver the final blow, and finally pulled his staff back.
"What are you waiting for?! Take him out!" Zuko urged him from behind a rock.
"Do it, Aang." Chenlian ordered. Aang felt a small electric shock as she pressed her right index and middle finger against his back. It was a clear threat. He glanced back at her. Usually her implacable eyes and harsh tone that allowed no back talk would have made him assent to anything... but not this time.
"I can't." The Avatar shook his head before lowering it. Sokka walked up to him and faced him.
"What's wrong with you?!" The strategist pointed accusingly at him. "If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now!" He made a beheading gesture against his neck.
"Maybe I should have shot him for real. What do you think Sokka? If I keep shocking him and fiddling with him, I might be able to trigger his reality switch..." She raised her fingers that were letting off sparks, seriously considering it.
"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself." The monk justified himself. Sokka raised an eyebrow in exasperation and sliced the top of the watermelon, causing Aang to tightly shut his eyes and grimace. It was just a watermelon but he could quite clearly imagine someone's head.
"There. That's how it's done." The Water Tribe warrior showed him. The child opened his eyes in shock and disbelief. Momo started to lick the red insides of the fallen piece of fruit.
This night, Aang was sitting a bit away from the others with a contemplative – if not dejected – expression and an untouched plate of food on his lap while the others were heartily chowing down. Katara arrived with a long scroll in her hands, saying she had a surprise for everyone.
"I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru!" Toph suddenly interjected, grinning, but nobody laughed at her joke and merely looked at her and then Katara, with nonplussed expressions, without even moving a finger.
"Er, no." The waterbender replied. The others started eating again. "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this!" She unfolded and showed them her finding, the painting of a happily smiling baby enjoying himself at the beach with his arms in the air. "Look at baby Zuko! Isn't he cute?" She cooed, making her nearby friends burst out laughing... except for Zuko who had his eyes closed, obviously out of humor. Katara told him to lighten up as she was just teasing him. However, the reason for his sourness was quite different from what she had imagined.
"That's not me. It's my father." The prince revealed, stunning everyone and weighing the atmosphere. Katara rapidly rolled the scroll.
"But he looked so sweet and innocent." Suki still had a hard time believing what she had just heard.
"Well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst father in the history of Fathers." The Fire Lord's son shot her down in a deadpan manner.
"But he is still a human being." Aang countered, finally speaking up. Everyone turned to him.
"You're going to defend him?" Zuko questioned incredulously.
"No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person and the world will probably be better off without him. But there's gotta be another way." The airbender stood up and faced them. Zuko asked what other way could there be. "I don't know. Maybe we can make some big pots of glue and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore." The boy shrugged before brightening up at his own suggested peaceful method.
"Yeah. Then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again." Zuko added in the same tone. His sarcasm was obvious to almost most and made them snicker. Only Aang was naive enough to have any hope in that plan.
"Do you really think that would work?" The monk asked sincerely.
"No!" The firebender retorted, serious and stern again. Aang slumped down and sighed.
"This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like..." The last airbender paced up and down in front of them.
"Sure, you can. You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the Universe will forgive you." Sokka gave his opinion. His tone had been too light though and the Avatar, who had been struggling to control his growing temper, finally lost it.
"This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understands the position I'm in!" He snapped.
"Aang, we do understand. It's just-"
"Just what, Katara ! What?!" The angry child rudely cut her off.
"We're trying to help!" Even she was getting annoyed at his behavior.
"Then when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" He raised his arms in exasperation.
"So you're saying your own wellbeing is more important than our lives or the rest of the world?" Chenlian snapped.
"No!"
"But that's how it comes across. Indeed, it would be nice if we could think of another way. But we can't. And as long as a third option doesn't somehow become available, you have only two choices." She presented her right palm. "One is to renounce your emotional wellness to kill the Fire Lord, then only his life and your creed will be sacrificed... your life, and everyone will at least be safe." Then she showed her left palm. "The other is: you won't kill him, so he will kill you, us, and destroy the world. So tell me again, which is more important? Oh, wait! You can escape again and let us handle it if your duty as the Avatar is too heavy for you."
"I know my duty! I won't run away again! But duty or not, this is murder you're asking of me! If you want to make me a rational and cold-blooded killer, then you've got another thing coming!" The monk angrily swung his arm to the side and stormed away. As usual Katara tried to stop him, telling him not to walk away from this but Zuko advised to let him go and give him time to sort it out by himself. He also pointed to Chenlian that she had been unusually cynical but she merely snorted.
Aang went to a balcony overlooking the lush forest, and further down, the sea. He sat lotus style, meditating, before a tray of offerings consisting of some fruits, a cup of water and four lined up candles. Momo flew in and, clearly worried, touched his lap, calling for attention.
"Hey, Momo. I don't suppose you know what I should do." He wondered, petting his lemur that chattered cluelessly. "I didn't think so."
The animal lay on its side while Aang returned to meditating. Time passed and the two were fast asleep. The candles had melted almost completely and had long gone cold. Suddenly the boy opened his eyes and stood up. He walked over the tray and jumped over the balcony railing. The lemur woke up too and followed him. Aang walked down the path to the beach, however, his eyes were unfocused. He seemed to be sleepwalking. He reached the sea, Momo still circling around him, but did not stop. He went into the water and started swimming, leaving only his trail of footprints onto the sand. The Avatar appeared to be heading towards a large island that had appeared out of nowhere, with Momo flying after him...
The next morning, everyone was in the courtyard around Appa. They had just finished loading him, making sure they hadn't forgotten anything. Sokka believed they were all set and ready to go only to have Toph contest him, pointing out Aang's absence. They all scattered and searched for him in and around the house. They found his staff on the balcony, but no sign of him, which was really strange as the airbender always took his staff wherever he went. However, since he wasn't in the house, they decided to try the beach where they found his footprints leading into the sea. Suggestions flew around. Did he go to a midnight swim and didn't return? Could he have been captured? Or maybe he ran away again. None of those sounded plausible though as there were no sign of struggle and both his glider and Appa had been left behind.
"Then what do you think happened to him oh sloozy one?" Toph demanded answers from the know-it-all.
"It's pretty obvious. Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a Spirit World journey." Despite being so sure of himself, he quickly backed down and slumped in disappointment when Zuko argued that Aang's body would still be here in that case. "Oh yeah, forgot about that."
"He might not be on a Spirit World journey, but spirits are still likely related to his disappearance... That's the only way I can explain this oddity... though that doesn't tell us much of his whereabouts." Chenlian admitted, tilting her head.
"In any case, we should make sure he's not somewhere on Ember Island. Let's split up and look for him." Katara took charge. After all, even though he was an airbender, Aang couldn't have flown away or gone very far without his glider.
"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph swiftly grabbed Zuko's arm. The rest looked at her curiously. "What? Everyone else went on a life changing fieldtrip with Zuko. Now it's my turn." She justified herself while hugging him tighter.
Sokka went along the coast with Appa. Suki and Katara chose to see the town. When the girls saw a crowd of people clamoring Aang's name they quickly ran over and pushed some people away to get a better view... only to make furious disappointed faces when they found out it wasn't their Aang but just the Ember Island players acting as Aang and Toph who were doing a publicity stunt.
Zuko and Toph had gone to search the interior of the island. They were walking between the houses with Toph telling her life story, or more exactly grumbling about her parents. She always ran away because they would never give her what she truly wanted, their love and recognition, even though they would give her anything else. Zuko, however, couldn't look or sound less interested as he only gave some non-comital answers until he finally got tired and said that while he understood she had a rough childhood, they should really focus on finding Aang. She sadly commented this was the worst fieldtrip ever before blowing her fringe in irritation.
Chenlian though remained at the house in case he returned, though she didn't spend her time simply waiting and doing nothing. Just like she used to in the past, she sent her spirit flying over the island and its surroundings.
Some time later, all members of the Avatar's party (except the Avatar himself and Momo) found themselves again on the stairs of the Fire Lord's beach house with despondent expressions and not even the slightest clue as to their missing friend's whereabouts. It was like he had just... disappeared. Toph noted that Momo was missing too, causing Sokka to go into a frenzy.
"Oh no! I knew it was only a matter of time. Appa ate Momo! Momo, I'm coming for ya, buddy!" He lifted the bison's jaw and climbed onto his tongue, trying to crawl his way in.
"Sokka, Appa didn't eat Momo. He's probably with Aang." Katara was slightly exasperated by her brother's untimely antics.
"That's just what Appa wants you to think." Sokka retorted like a detective chiding his ignorant colleague before climbing further inside. Appa closed his mouth, tired of keeping it open. Sokka's legs could still be seen flailing about.
"Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka. We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away." Annoyed, Zuko got everyone back on track by summarizing their very pressing and alarming situation. The waterbender asked him what they should do. Everyone focused on him, no longer paying attention to Sokka that Appa spat out (let slide out of his mouth with a copious amount of saliva). "I don't know." The prince stood up. "Why are you all looking at me ?"
"Well, you are kind of the expert on tracking Aang." Katara reasoned. Sokka rose to his feet as well, tried to rub off some of the spit, took a step, slipped, and fell back in the puddle of drool.
"Yeah, if anyone's got experience hunting the Avatar, it's you." The blind child agreed.
And so, this evening, Appa was flying towards the Earth Kingdom, Zuko on his head and the others in the saddle...
"Zuko, I don't want to tell you how to do your job but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there." Sokka questioned.
"Just trust me." The Fire Lord's son replied without explaining anything.
Numerous citizens were lined up on either side of the red carpet on the Fire Nation's royal plaza. They were all prostrating themselves, bowing very low at the two royal palanquins heading towards a platform built at the harbor. A single ship was docked there, with a gangway connecting the bridge to the top of the platform. The first palanquin was Ozai's. The second that was starting to lag behind was his daughter's. Noticing the increasing distance, Azula impatiently opened the veiled curtained and barked at the slowpokes to go faster. The poor bearers picked up the pace, visibly struggling. Still, the princess looked as displeased as before. Ozai's palanquin stopped at the base of the platform. A servant held the veil aside and the sovereign climbed down. But strangely enough, he was crownless. Ozai walked up the stairs to the stage. Azula quickly joined him and knelt down behind him.
"Sorry I'm late, Father. Good palanquin bearers are so hard to come by these days." She looked menacingly to the side. Who knew what sort of terrible punishment she would subject them too later for having failed to live up to her standards and shamed her. "So, is everything ready for our departure?" She changed the subject, now in a good mood, until her father informed her of a change of plans, shocking her. He had decided to lead the fleet of airships to Ba Sing Se alone while she would remain here in the Fire Nation. "What? But I thought we were going to do this together."
"My decision is final."
"You..." The princess rose to her feet and talked back to her father. "You can't treat me like this! You can't treat me like Zuko!" She started throwing a tantrum like a spoiled child, her face all scrunched up.
"Azula, silence yourself." He scowled at her, still, that wasn't enough.
"But it was my idea to burn everything to the ground! I deserve to be by your side!"
"Azula!" The sheer fierceness and sharpness of his voice finally snapped her back. She stilled her temper, closed her eyes and lowered her head in obedience. "Listen to me." He calmed down too. The square platform they were standing on had a golden phoenix spreading its his wings against a red background painted on the ground. Elite firebenders and Fire Sages were on either side against the railings. There were two large black pots that formed the base of two giant pillars. At the entrance of a gangway was a podium with a red cape attacked to large golden shoulder plates and a golden helmet. "I need you here to watch over the homeland, it's a very important job that I can only entrust to you."
"Really?" Azula looked up at this sliver of hope.
"And for your loyalty, I've decided to declare you the new Fire Lord." Ozai declared, turning to face his daughter.
"Fire Lord Azula?" Her head slightly turned to the side as she tried to contain her grin. "It does seem appropriate. But, what about you?" She asked concernedly.
"Fire Lord Ozai is no more. Just as the World will be reborn in fire, I shall be reborn as the supreme ruler of the World." Along his announcement, a Fire Sage clad him in the cape with the golden phoenix shoulder pads while another placed the phoenix helmet on his head. "From this moment on, I will be known as... the 'Phoenix King'!" He proclaimed, raising his arms proudly. Behind him, a huge banner was raised between the pillars bearing a phoenix motif. And inbetween the lined Fire Nation flags, soldiers raised flags with that same phoenix emblem. Firebenders poured fire into the pots. The flames rose up inside the columns and came out through several openings at the top, forming flaming wings. The citizens cheered and bowed again.
In the middle of a forest in the Earth Kingdom, the Avatar's friends arrived at a quite noisy three-storied building. They entered the rowdy tavern. Katara asked Zuko why he had brought them to this seedy place.
"June." The male firebender pointed at the woman sitting dismissively and coolly sipping her tea even as a huge burly man lunged as her. She stopped him and pushed him down effortlessly with just one leg as the man groaned. The stunned crowd gasped. June smiled smugly.
"Oh yeah! That weird bounty hunter with the giant mole." Sokka remembered.
"Mole? Her skin is flawless." Suki pondered. Displeased that a woman was acting all high-and-mighty, another macho man tried to punch her, but as she speedily moved away, he only got to destroy part of the wooden table. He kept swinging his fists at her but she would deftly avoid him, teacup still in hand. He certainly had raw power, but that was really all there was to him, not a speck of skill or agility at all. He was no different from a bull or a boar.
"No, she has this giant mole creature she rides around on."
"Her shirshu." Zuko said. "It's the only animal that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the world. It's the one shot we have of finding him." He explained. Tired of merely dodging and annoyed as there was no end to it, June threw her cup upward and then threw her aggressor over her shoulder sending him crashing into a table that the patrons scrambled to get away from. Good thing they reacted when they did as the drinks and dishes had all been knocked over. June caught her falling cup without spilling any of the tea and started drinking again.
"I don't know who this June lady is but I like her." Toph declared, crossing her arms and smiling widely.
Aang woke up in a forested area thanks to Momo having licked his face.
"Hey Momo." The boy sat up, still groaning from sleepiness, and greeted his friend. The lemur was sitting on his shoulder. "I just had the strangest dream." He looked around and a surprised expression crept over his face since he recognized none of his surroundings. "Wait... where are we?" They were on a slope overlooking the ocean, an island lost in the middle of nowhere.
Author's note: only 3 chapters until the end of the animated series!
Also, my two last reviewers - thank you unknown guest and Rubygemgreen for taking the time to review - have been suggesting that I post on AO3 as well, and I've started wondering why. I've gotten curious so I'd like to hear my reader's thoughts, including the two reviewers if they're still following the story and don't mind my asking.
Byt the way, next chapter title is : 'Fight 69: The Order of the White Lotus'