Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Avatar: The Wind on the Waves ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 16 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The descent was slow going down the steep side of the canyon. Aang had carried Katara down with him part of the way with airbending, but despite the width at the top, the sides were becoming more and more narrow. Soon, there was not even any room for Aang to airbend properly, forcing them to half climb, half slide their way down.

The very bottom of the gorge widened, but it was a maze of caves and rocky overhangs obscuring the sky. Spirit energy hung thick in the air like desert sand settling after a dust storm. It was difficult to see, but Aang was unsure if he should firebend light for them; it might upset the spirits.

“Aang! Look!” Katara pointed ahead of them.

Along the craggy edge of a cave, three tiny little green lights danced and bobbed slowly in the air. They looked like glow bugs, but there were no bodies from which the light was emanating. Cautiously, Aang held out his hands to cradle one. It hovered over his palms, casting its light on them before suddenly zipping into the cave. The other two lights followed suit.

“Come on!” he gestured to Katara. “I think they want us to follow them!”

They hurried into the cave, led on only by the soft lights ahead of them. Aang tripped on something small that sounded wooden, but he didn't stop to see what it was. The deeper they went, the higher the stone ceiling rose up above them. Katara struggled not to run out of breath, but the stale air she was breathing in was not helping.

A cold, refreshing wind gusted against them before dying down again. The tiny lights stopped in mid-air, waiting for their followers. Aang was confused at first by the sudden stop, but as soon as he put his hand to the wall to catch his breath, he realized why.

The darkness concealed everything to the naked eyes, but Aang earthbent a view of his surroundings when he touched the wall. No more than 5 steps ahead of him, the narrow passage came to an abrupt end, dropping steeply into a huge open cavern. Dimly, he could make out some boulders that seemed to be in a more man-made arrangement than a natural one. Only along the left and rightmost parts of the room were stalagmites and stalactites left completely untouched.

“Aang?” Katara said softly. “Why did we stop?”

As if to reply, the dancing lights fluttered up to the ceiling of the great hollow and hovered there. Their lights grew brighter, gradually illuminating the room. Aang and Katara rubbed their eyes, needing a moment for them to adjust to the light. When they could finally see, the sight before them took their breath away.

The hollow was like a large courtyard with all of the important areas of a temple combined. Grass could not be grown without sunlight, but in its place were arrangements of cave moss in garden-like boxes. The back wall of the cave had been fashioned into polished slabs, a place for the elders to sit and speak with any who asked their consul. A kitchen-like area on the right side included just about everything with the exception of ovens. The left side had several crudely hewn tables, little more than circular slabs jutting up from the floor.

It was the expanse of the middle floor area that remained empty. The ceiling above it was higher than any other part of the cave. Along its edges, there were racks for storing gliders and even one for battle fans. It was here that the airbenders had been able to practice their art despite being situated deep in the earth.

Aang picked Katara up and airbent them safely to the cavern floor. They moved about inspecting the place cautiously, weary that they may disturb the spirits.

Upon closer inspection, the initial aged beauty of the place began to crumble. Katara wandered through the kitchen area, trying hard not to tread on the shards of broken dishes, though such was nearly impossible. The circular slab tables, Aang realized, had once been used for Pai Sho as well as for dining, for a few faint markings remained on their surfaces.

But there was a sickening trend to everything in this place; from the smallest trinkets to the grandest structures, absolutely all things had been scorched black. Adding to the disturbing disarray were the dry, crumbling remains of long-deceased airbenders.

Aang drew in a deep breath, willing the Avatar Spirit not to rise with his anger. Still, Katara had seen the azure glow of his arrows and quickly came to his side. Although he had felt this anguish, this furor before at Southern Air Temple, the scene of tragedy was no less agonizing.

“Aang…” she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“They just…” he stammered in barely contained fury. “They just—killed everyone! Destroyed everything! They didn't even think of taking them prisoner at all!”

He collapsed to his knees, covering his face and sobbing like a child. Katara, who had not relinquished her grasp on him, knelt beside him and pulled his face to her shoulder.

“And it's my fault…” he said brokenly. “If it wasn't for me, they might've taken them prisoner! They killed—everyone except me, the one they wanted in the first place!”

“Aang, stop it!” she held him tighter. “Listen to me. As long as you don't forget them, your people will never really be completely dead. Their memory is alive, with you!”

She held him a little away to see his tear-stained face.

“And their will be airbenders again…” she added, her own eyes pooling with tears, but a gentle smile breaking through. “I'll help you… I promised you I would.”

Two of the glowing lights had descended beside them, and when Aang and Katara turned to look at them, they shifted into shimmering human shapes. Their features became clearer, those of a man and a woman; unlike the other spirits they had encountered earlier, the intense fear was not present in these two. Instead, there was a stillness and peace about them; it reminded Aang of being in a cloud, only not so cold.

The man rested his hand on Aang's head; there was something in his eyes that felt very familiar, though Aang just couldn't place it. The spirit's smile was warm and relaxed. The woman's attention was on Katara, and her insubstantial fingers ghosted the living girl's face. She, too, seemed familiar… something about the gentleness of her smile and the light in her storm gray eyes… Her lips silently spoke a single word before disappearing with the male ghost.

Healer

The third little light, which had remained at the top of the cave to light it dimly, descended to floor level. Suddenly, the entire cavern was bright with hundreds of tiny lights. They twinkled in place, briefly, before ascending slowly, reaching the top of the hollow and disappearing through it. The sight drew Katara's breath away; it resembled snow glistening in pale moonlight, rising instead of falling.

Neither knew how long they had been there, watching the mass ascension of airbender spirits into the afterlife, but when it was all over, Aang and Katara found themselves in complete darkness.

“Aang…?” she whispered aloud.

Aang's arms pulled her to him. He was warm, and his sobbing has long since stopped.

“Thank you, Katara.” He said.

“For what?”

“For healing them, helping them find peace.”

“But all I said was—“

“Exactly what they needed to hear… and what I needed to hear too.”

“…”

Aang stood up, and a moment later, a tongue of fire was sitting in his palm. Katara rose as well; Aang saw the question in her eyes.

“It's ok.” He said. “They've all found peace and left this place. I don't think they'll mind me having just a little to see.”

Aang picked her up again, and with a swift running start, leapt up into the tunnel pathway they had come through. As they went along, he again tripped on something wooden on the floor. He picked it up and found it to be a glider. The wear and tear of time had left its mark upon it, but it was otherwise intact and not scorched. Aang's mind wandered briefly to the large glider back at the Northern Air Temple and smiled.

“Aang?”

“Just thinking of something. Don't worry about it.”

The trek up the canyon was much easier than the trek downward. Aang earthbent them to the rim, and they walked a shorter distance than they had expected to do. With the dissipation of the negative spirit energy, Appa no longer feared treading toward the cliff edge, and that was where they all regrouped.

“I sense great peace and relief here.” said Pathik. “Whatever it was that you did, worked perfectly!”

“It wasn't so much me as it was Katara.” Aang moved to pet Appa. “She's the one that really helped.”

Guru Pathik was returned to the temple, and Aang and Katara prepared themselves to settle the trouble near Kyoshi Island.

“We would be honored if you would come to our wedding, Guru Pathik.” Aang bowed politely.

“The honor would be mine, Avatar.” Pathik reciprocated. “Blessings and good will upon you both. Go safely now!”

The trek towards Kyoshi Island was not so long as the journey from the Northern Air Temple to the Eastern one. All the same, they made a stop in Gaoling to properly rest before dealing with the uprising. Toph was still in Ba Sing Se, but that didn't stop Aang from attending an Earth Rumble tournament and dragging Katara with him.

Initially, she couldn't see what fascinated Aang about the brutal boulder bashing opponents dealt one another, but as she glanced at him, she noted something intriguing. Aang had his feet planted against the earthen floor as he watched, and he twitched or smirked according to what the combatants were doing. Or, rather, what they were going to do; Aang was sensing every attack before it was even executed.

“Having fun?” she said.

“Yeah! How about you?”

“Not as much as you are.”

“Are you bored?”

“It's just not my thing.”

“Tell you what. We'll go see something else after this last match. Anything in particular you wanted to see?”

“We could go see a play.”

Aang shot her a horrified glance that said everything before he did.

“After the last one we went to? No way!”

“Oh, come on, Aang.” she rolled her eyes. “It's not like we're going to that play again. Besides, the Ember Island Players are in the Fire Nation, not here. Now, if they were the only ones performing here tonight, then I'd agree with you, but I seriously doubt that they're anywhere even remotely nearby. What do you say?”

Aang mulled over that explanation a bit before nodding agreement. After the tournament was over, they wandered down the arts district where two theaters each had something different going on. One play was a dramatic portrayal of the birth of Kyoshi Island. The other play—wouldn't they know it—was none other than the one performance they mutually refused to attend by the infamous group they especially disliked. The choice was very easy to make!

The Kyoshi Island play was pleasant, though Aang mused afterwards that there were a few inaccuracies to the tale. That couldn't be helped, however; after all, who but the Avatar could remember the events of a past life almost perfectly? Briefly, they considered spending the night at one of the many inns scattered about the city, but having been recognized by multiple individuals, they settled for a camp site outside the borders. Here, at least, they could sleep peacefully and privately. They soon curled up against one another and fell asleep, with Appa curled protectively around them.