"More furious." Zuko called out, "Imagine striking through your opponents heart."
Aang responded with a groan, "I'm trying!"
"Now let me hear you roar like a tiger-dillo." Zuko shouted back.
"Zuko... sweetie I love you but how is that gonna help? Is the firelord afraid of animals? Because I know a guy that can make this war a lot easier. Aang how about you try... hmm." I looked over at the other's watching Aang's training, "Yo Katara can you help me real quick."
"Sure."
"Okay Zuko... you pretend to be big old fire daddy and you've captured Katara here."
"What?" Zuko and Katara said at the same time.
"Its called motivation... now Aang use your firebending to threaten Zuko to give her back."
"Uhh okay..." Aang walked over to Zuko and put his hands up in the air, "give her back."
Zuko rolled his eyes, "no... rawr."
"Aang please save me!" Katara said batting her lashes.
Aang lashed out flame from both his hands, "take that Firelord!"
Zuko stepped back, "this is stupid."
"Aang your form was great!" I said, "about let's take a break- I'll make some watermelon juice!"
"Oh that sounds delicious!" Aang gushed and ran over to me.
Zuko crossed his arms, "If you all want to be lazy then fine- go ahead."
"Zuko's right we have been lazy lately, but I know just the thing to change that-" Sokka ripped off his shirt " Beach party!"
Katara took to the water while Suki relaxed. Aang constructed a great Appa out of sand which Toph quickly outdid with her sandbending. Sokka also made a blob out of sand and seaweed- which was apparently supposed to be Suki. I looked for sandshells by the shore.
"I'm naming this one- Fai.." I said holding up a seashell with a small crack. I proceeded to throw it in the sea "take that!"
Suddenly Zuko came rushing in and burned up the sand sculptures. The sun gleamed against his pale skin.
"What are you doing!" Aang shouted.
"Teaching you a lesson!" Zuko spat before setting the Appa sculpture a blaze. Embers sparked like dust in the air as Zuko continued to shoot flames at Aang.
"Zuko stop it!" I screamed grabbing his arm. But he just kept going after the Airbender.
"Idiot.."
I tried to chase after Zuko but he kept moving. My feet felt nearly dead by the time they dashed off all the way inside the Summer house of the royal family.
"(Y/N) go away- I'm trying to show Aang why he shouldn't slack off." Zuko pushed forward launching a swirling flame at Aang.
"Enough!" Aang shouted and summoned a great wind which blasted Zuko and I out of the house.
"What's wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang." Katara scolded Zuko. I layed next to him in the sand- dust all over the hem of my dress.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with all of you? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only three days away?" Everyone turned to Zuko, "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"
"About Sozin's Comet ... I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came." Aang said.
"After?"
"I'm not ready. I need more time to master firebending."
"And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too." Toph added causing Aang to grimace.
"So, you all knew Aang was going to wait?"
"Honestly if Aang tries to fight the Firelord now. He's going to lose" Sokka added "no offense"
"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the Comet 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 said.
"You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine. The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back." Zuko began to recount the story- Ozai didn't want to take over the Earth Kingdom he wanted it destroyed.
I felt the shock blaze into my heart like the comet would blaze over the sky. I couldn't stop thinking about it- all those people.
"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'd lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."
"I can't believe this-" Katara trembled.
"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil"
"What am I gonna do?" Aang muttered.
"I know you're scared, and I know 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."
"Why didn't you tell me your dad's crazy plan sooner?"
"I didn't think I had to. I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait." Zuko defended.
"This is bad... this is really really bad." Aang muttered kneeling down.
"Aang you don't have to do this alone..." Katara comforted.
"Yeah, if we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down." Toph declared.
"All right! Team Avatar is back! Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Fire again. Fan and sword." Sokka hyped up holding a leaf sword.
"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." Aang reassured leading us all into a hug- except for Zuko.
"Yeah!"
"Alright!"
"Zuko... get over here your part of team which means team hugs!" I chripped.
"Fine... but I get to stand next to (Y/N)"
Appa then flew in and knocked us all over.
"Now let's get to work!" I shouted.
~
Zuko was using up the training area to teach Aang about redirecting lightning. I waited by the shore looking out to the sea.
The way the waves hit like thunder against the sand- it was so beautiful.
"You've come a long way haven't you (Y/N)." I thought to myself, "but there's still more to go." I turned towards Zuko.
~
"Gather round, Team Avatar." Sokka drapped a watermelon over a stick. "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. Then, Katara, (Y/N) 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."
"Uh what about me?" Toph asked.
"For now you're the Melon lord's forces."
"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?" Toph gushed.
"Whatever makes the training field more realistic."
"Sweetness.."
~
To put it lightly the training didn't go well. At the end Aang couldn't "kill" the Melon Lord. He just stared- poor kid looked traumatized.
Moonlight swept over the island. I sat on the steps with everyone else while eating my rice. Aang sat away from us- I was gonna talk to him but I knew it wasn't my place.
"I have a surprise for everyone!" Katara rushed over holding a scroll.
"I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru!" Toph beamed.
"Uh, no. I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" She unravelee the scroll to reveal a painting of a baby, Look at baby Zuko. Isn't he cute?"
We all laughed except for Zuko, "Oh lighten up... I'm just teasing."
"Thats not me that's my father."
"But he looks so sweet and innocent..." Suki observed.
"Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster, and the worst father in the history of fathers."
"But he's still a human being." Aang responded coldly.
"You're going to defend him?" Zuko questioned.
"No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him, but there's got to be another way."
"Like what?" Zuko scoffed.
"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!" Aang perked up.
"Yeah, then you can show him his baby pictures, and all those happy memories will make him good again!" Zuko responded with faked optimism.
"Do you really think that would work?"
"No!"
"This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like." Aang paced back and forth.
"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."
"This isn't a joke Sokka! None if you understand the position I'm in!" Aang snapped.
"Aang.. we do understand its just..."
"Just what Katara? what?"
"We're trying to help!" She snapped back.
"Then, when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!"
"Aang! Don't walk away from this" Katara called going after him.
I rushed after her putting my hand on her shoulder, "He needs time to himself.. he'll come around soon."
~
"Okay thats everything" Sokka called down after checking Appa's cargo.
"No wait, where's Aang?" I said looking around.
We all hurried into the house to search.
"Aang? Aang?"
"Come on lazy bones let's go!" Toph called.
We couldn't find anything until we looked on the deck,
"He left his staff.. that's so strange."
"Aang's not in the house, let's check the beach."
~
"Look! There's his footprints. The trail ends here" Sokka called. Footprints lead into the sea.
"So he went for a midnight swim and never came back?"
"Maybe he was captured." Katara suggested.
"I don't think so.. There's no sign of a struggle-"
"I bet he ran away again." Toph added.
"Uh-unh. He left behind his glider and Appa." Sokka observed.
"Then what do you think happened oh sleuthy one?"
"It's pretty obvious. Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a Spirit World journey."
"But if he was wouldn't his body still be here?"
"Oh yeah.. forgot about that.." Sokka frowned.
"Then he's gonna be somewhere on Ember Island... let's spilt up and look for him." Katara ordered.
"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph launched onto his arm causing Zuko's face to go red, "What?! Everyone else went on a life-changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn."
~
"Judging by the looks on your faces, I'm guessing you guys didn't find Aang, either."
"No.. it's like he just disappeared." Zuko complained.
"Hey, wait a minute. Has anyone noticed that Momo is missing, too?" Toph asked.
"Oh no! I knew it was only a matter of time! Appa ate Momo!" Sokka jumped down Appa's throat and lifted up the tongue "Momo, I'm coming for you, buddy."
"Sokka Appa didn't eat Momo. He's probably just with Aang." Katara rolled her eyes.
"That's just what Appa wants you to think."
"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." Zuko argued.
"What should we do Zuko?"
"I don't know..." he stood up, "why are you all looking at me?"
"Zuko we tracked Aang for years.. did you forget?" I smirked.
"Yeah if anyone's got experience tracking the Avatar its you."
~
Wind flowed like waves through my hair. I looked down at the sea below. We had decided to give Zuko a shot for looking for Aang on Appa.
"Zuko, I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."
"Just trust me."
~
"And the reason you've brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" Katara asked Stepping into the establishment.
It was just as I remembered.. dusty dark smelled like hell knows what.
"June." Zuko replied pointing at her sitting at a table fighting with the other bar-goers.
"Oh yeah... that weird bounty hunter with the giant mole."
"Mole? Her skin is flawless." Suki replied.
"No, she has this giant mole creature that she rides around on."
"The shirshu. 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." Zuko added.
"I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her." Toph gushed after June threw a man across a table.
"Let's just hope she can find June.. because if not the whole world is gonna have one hell of a chance..." I muttered.
WOOOO NEW CHAPTER!! Sorry it's been so long I've been pretty busy with school hope y'all like this one!! :)