Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Duty Versus Love ❯ Conflict of Elements ( Chapter 24 )

Chapter XXIV: Conflict of Elements

 

The next day, Sokka, Suki, their daughter Michiko, and Toph went with Aang, Katara, and Anil to see Aang's newest child. Sokka came with only one grumble about Fire Nation babies, and Suki subsequently smacking him upside the head.

This time, Aang and Katara had Sho to themselves, so it was much easier for Aang to start bonding with his son.

“He really is cute.” Katara said.

“But not as cute as Anil is, right?” Suki asked.

“Mother bias.” Katara said. “But Sho is still adorable. He has really beautiful golden eyes and Aang's nose.”

“Which is just another way of saying there ain't a lot of Aang in him.” Sokka translated.

Suki glared at her husband. “Are you trying to find new ways to get smacked?”

“Geez, Suki, it's not like I'm trying to imply that the kid is not Aang's…” Sokka immediately trailed off, glancing nervously at the Avatar.

Aang sighed. “It's all right, Sokka.” He said, staring down at the infant in his arms. “This was so much easier with Anil. With Anil, I was at Katara's side through the whole pregnancy and was as eager as her for him to be born. But now this baby has been given to me. It's not easy to make the same connection.”

Katara placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. “It's because you weren't there during the pregnancy.” She said. “Just give it some time.”

“I wonder if the other women have given birth yet.” Aang wondered out loud, and then trailed off. Katara glanced at Aang with worry. He had been acting strangely all morning, and Katara could not figure out why.

“How many women did you get pregnant again, Twinkletoes?” Toph asked.

“Five.” Aang answered. “Both women from the Water Tribe, and both women from the Fire Nation, but only one from the Earth Kingdom.” He paused thoughtfully again. “I'm worried about her.”

“Who?” Sokka asked.

“Ming. The Earth Kingdom woman carrying my child.” Aang said. “I've had more bad updates about her than all the other women combined. The pregnancy is hard on her. The Earth King has even begun offering her family greater compensation in the event of her…” He trailed off. He had just heard the news from Zuko that morning, and was still stewing over it.

“Aang, do they think the pregnancy is a danger to her life?” Katara asked.

Aang stared down at Sho. He knew that it was extremely important to stay and try to bond with Sho, but he couldn't abandon his child's life… or Ming's life. “I have to go to Ba Sing Se… today. Maybe I can help. Will you come with me?”

Katara kissed Aang. “There was never any question.”

~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Lady Nera and her husband returned for Sho, Aang gave them his apologies, but it was necessary for him to leave. They accepted the child and assured Aang that he could visit any time he was in the Fire Nation.

After that they said good-bye to Zuko and Mai, and left to get Appa.

The massive Sky Bison was on the Palace Grounds with Zuko's young dragon, Kin. Zuko had the dragon under constant protection since the dragon was too young to know his kind's form of Firebending. He and Aang had made the hunting of dragons illegal and punishable by death. (The punishment was Zuko's idea, not Aang's.)

Kin was still young and highly playful, crawling all over Appa, who tolerated the young dragon's antics.

The sight of Kin happy and well put Aang at ease, but he couldn't help growing even more worried about the fate of the Sky Bison. Now that the Airbenders were coming back, Aang's next priority was to work on saving the Sky Bison. A several year old world-wide decree in Aang's name was still standing, calling all people to be on the lookout for any possible Sky Bison. But, so far, it had yielded only false claims.

Aang petted Appa, and raised an earthen platform so that everyone could get into Appa's saddle. Once everyone was settled, Aang leapt onto Appa's head and took the reins. “To Ba Sing Se, Appa. Yip-yip!” He said, and Appa took off quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~

Late that night, Aang gave up his spot on Appa's head to Sokka so that he could get some sleep.

Aang slept against Katara, but no one else could sleep.

“It's strange, don't you think?” Katara spoke. “Four pregnancies go well and are about as easy as pregnancies can be, but one goes completely wrong.”

“It's probably not that unusual.” Sokka said. “With that many pregnancies, odds are that at least one of them will go wrong.”

“I don't know. Maybe there is something to this.” Toph said. “Think about it. The Fire Nation offered two women. Both got pregnant and had easy pregnancies. Fire and Air are compatible elements because fire cannot exist without air. There were three Water Tribe women, including Katara. All three got pregnant and had easy pregnancies.”

“That's easy for someone who's never been pregnant to say.” Katara said.

“I mean there were no complications.” Toph corrected. “Water and Air are also compatible elements. They are mixed together so thoroughly that you can't have one without the other.”

Katara thought about when Hama showed her that a skilled Waterbender could pull water out of thin air. And also the time that Aang showed her that he could use a combination of Waterbending and Airbending to breathe underwater.

“But, for the Earth Kingdom, two women were offered. One didn't become pregnant, and the other is having a difficult pregnancy. Earth and Air are opposites. There is obviously an elemental compatibility issue going on here.”

“You know, that actually makes sense.” Sokka said. “Cross-cultural marriages are rare, and marriages between opposing nations are even rarer.”

“Well, yeah.” Katara said. “The Air Nomads are practically gone, so the Earth Kingdom people can't marry them. And the Fire Nation and Water Tribe have hated each other for over a century. It's going to take many years for us to forgive the Fire Nation enough to start allowing marriages between our two nations… if it ever even comes to that.”

“Exactly, there's nothing to disprove the theory.” Sokka said smugly.

“You can't say that!” Katara said. “Besides, this is an innocent child we are talking about!”

“We're not hoping the baby is going to die.” Toph said quickly.

“Maybe it will just be a non-Bender. You know two opposing forces will cancel each other out.” Sokka said.

“I hope so.” Katara said, gazing at Aang. She knew that he would be devastated to lose a child, so she silently prayed to the Spirits to have mercy on the poor innocent child.

~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived in Ba Sing Se the next day, and Aang regretfully turned down the Earth King's invitation to join him for lunch at the Palace in favor of going to see Ming.

Unbeknownst to the Earth King, the members of the White Lotus were keeping their eyes on all the women since they knew the incredible importance of the children carried by them. Ming was a native from Ba Sing Se, so Iroh was the one who was watching over her.

So Aang's first stop was to The Jasmine Dragon.

Iroh greeted them warmly as they entered and exclaimed about how big Anil was getting. Once the Dragon of the West had finished tickling under Anil's chin, making the young boy giggle and squeal, he turned his attention to Aang. “I suppose you are here for Ming?”

“Yes. How is the baby? How is she?” Aang asked.

“The baby is yet to be born, but it should be within a few days.” Iroh said. “But Ming fares poorly. She is ill, and I fear that if her illness continues, she will not be able to give birth.”

Aang didn't say anything for several moments. “Are there any options for when a woman can't give birth?”

“None that allow the mother to survive.” Iroh said. “The only other option is to cut out the baby.”

Just the thought of cutting into someone made Aang sick. It made him even sicker to think that, if it came down to that, he wouldn't be able to save both. Either both would die, or just Ming would die. If he weren't an Air Nomad, Aang supposed it would be easy for him to say `let the mother die for the child's sake'. But he couldn't in good conscience exchange one life for another.

“The illness. Perhaps it can be healed with Waterbending.” Aang said.

Iroh shook his head. “I've all ready spoken to some White Lotus members who are healers from the Water Tribe. Their powers were not enough. They could only slow down the illness, not cure it.”

“So… if Waterbending were more powerful, it might help?” Aang clarified.

“Theoretically.” Iroh said.

“Then it is settled.” Aang said. “I will attempt to heal her.”

At first, Katara thought that he had misheard her husband. But one look at his face confirmed that he was serious. “Aang, you can't possibly…”

“I've used healing powers before.” Aang pointed out.

“To heal wounds.” Katara finished. “Healing wounds and curing illness are two entirely different matters! Curing an illness takes advanced knowledge of the flow of Chi within a person's body. Even I can't heal much more than a cough of a fever.”

“But I do have advanced knowledge of Chi flow.” Aang said, taking her in his arms. “I have to try, Katara. I can't just sit back and let someone die when I may have the power to help them.”

Katara sighed. “Fine. But I still think an experienced healer should watch over you, in case something starts to go wrong.”

“Okay.” Aang agreed. “Iroh?”

Iroh nodded. “I'll get one of my friends from the White Lotus and lead you to her.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Iroh, the White Lotus healer from the Water Tribe, Aang, and Katara walked into a house in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se.

The healer led Aang into one of the backrooms. As soon as he saw her, he knew that it was bad.

She looked so bad; Aang thought she was all ready in labor. She was pale and gasping for breath, and a cold sweat poured heavily down her face. Another healer stood over her, running glowing water over her to slow the progression as much as possible.

Aang moved forward quickly. “Was I too late? Is she in labor?”

“My Lord Avatar,” The healer acknowledged without looking up at him. Aang didn't mind, since she was busy concentrating on her patient. “This is not labor. Her illness drains her like labor, but this has gone on for weeks rather than hours.”

Aang drew some water from the source the healers were using. “Stand aside.” He said.

The healer stared at him, confused, and then bowed as she backed away from the sick woman.

Aang stepped next to her. She was so ill that she was incoherent. She probably didn't even know that he was there. He held the water over her in preparation for Bending. He closed his eyes and, using slow and deliberate movements, slowly traced the Chi paths of her body, searching for any blocks or disruptions.

As he suspected, there was a massive energy block around her womb. Aang furrowed his eyebrows. “This is my fault. Because of the opposing nature of our elemental heritage, her body views the baby as a foreign object to be eliminated, like a growth eating away at her from the inside. But there is something else at work here, something spiritual. The unborn child has the protection of the Spirits. Now she is at war within herself. Let me see if I can…” The water began to glow silver as he infused it with healing powers. Several seconds later, the water stopped glowing.

“What's wrong?” Katara asked.

“The block is still too strong.” Aang said. “I'll have to use the Avatar State.” He closed his eyes once again and focused his power. He opened his eyes just as the brief glow of his eyes and tattoos flared. The water was infused with the healing power of the Avatar Spirit, and the water began to glow, much brighter than normal.

Katara gasped out loud when she saw this. She was the only one in the room able to recognize what had just happened. After all, the only other person in the room that had been there when she last saw water like this had been dead at the time.

“It's Spirit Water!” Katara gasped. “Aang! You are able to create your own Spirit Water!”

“Spirit Water?” Aang asked, staring at the glowing water. “You mean the water you used to… `heal' me after Azula shot me with lightning?”

“Spirit Water is typically water that has been blessed by the Moon and Ocean Spirits, allowing it to gain powerful abilities in times of need.” The Northern Healer said. “However, legend says that the Spirit of the Planet was the source of all the other spirits' powers. So it makes sense that the Avatar would retain some of the Spirit's powers.”

Aang concentrated on repairing the energy around Ming's womb. To his relief, her pain ended and she was all ready looking much better. But he knew that this was just temporary. He had, perhaps, given her and the baby one day. “Katara… is there any way to cause labor to begin unnaturally?”

“A few ways.” Katara said. “The easiest way is with an herbal mixture, but it's usually only used on women who are overdue.”

“The baby doesn't have that long.” Aang said. “The sooner the baby is born, the better.”

“We understand, Lord Avatar.” One of the healers said, examining Aang's handiwork. “You destroyed the spiritual protections around the unborn child. She is no longer at war within herself, but now her body is free to attack the baby.”

Aang hung his head. “It was all I could do.”

“You did the right thing. At least now they both have a chance at surviving.” The healer said, turning to the other. “Get the herbs mixed and ready. We're going to induce labor and speed it up as much as possible. Avatar Aang, perhaps you could make some more Spirit Water before you leave… in case we need it?”

Aang nodded and quickly converted the remaining water into Spirit Water, and left with Katara.

The Gang waited outside. “Is she all right?” Suki asked, holding Anil.

“Aang was able to temporarily relieve her pain, but they are inducing her labor right now.” Katara said, taking her son.

“Inducing labor?” Toph questioned.

“It means forcing labor to begin so that the baby is born on our terms.” Katara said.

“I can't be here.” Aang said suddenly, shocking everyone. “I can't do this… not again.”

“Okay, then we'll walk around the city and get some fresh air.” Katara said optimistically.

The group agreed, and wordlessly followed Katara down the street.

~~~~~~~~~~

They eventually made it to a small park in the Middle Ring. They decided to stop and spend some time together as a family. Or, as much as they could with people pointing at them excitedly. Aang was impossible to hide, after all. And after they noticed Aang, his family was impossible to miss.

Despite knowing that he should feel stressed, it had been a long time since he had felt so carefree.

It was an unusually cool summer day, so it was absolutely perfect in the shade. He smiled to himself as he watched Katara with their son. She held him so that he was on his feet, but she was still supporting him. He still wasn't ready to take his first steps, but Katara said that it was only a few weeks away now.

Aang sighed. He was getting bigger so fast. It seemed like it was only yesterday that he was a tiny newborn. And now he was crawling, scooting, and standing on his own.

Katara let go of him, and he stayed balanced for several moments before falling on his rear and converting to his standard mode of movement: crawling.

Within moments, he was at his father's side. Aang smiled and lifted the boy so that he could sit on his chest.

Anil leaned forward and grabbed Aang's nose, and laughed. Katara also laughed, leaning over to pry Anil off Aang's face. “Anil! We don't grab dada's nose!” She scolded playfully.

Anil squealed, and to the shock of everyone in the group… “Dada!”

Both Aang and Katara froze as he repeated the word twice more.

Aang and Katara glanced at each other. “Did he just…?” Aang began.

“He did!” Katara embraced her son. “Oh, Anil! Your first word!”

Aang joined in the embrace. “I'm his first word!” He whispered to himself in amazement.

Obviously realizing that he had done something pleasing, Anil repeated “Dada” over and over again.

People who were near-by shouted their congratulations to the young parents while others rapidly spread the news about Anil's first word, which was still being parroted by the boy.

“He's not going to shut up now, is he?” Sokka asked, holding his daughter.

“He just knows that he's done something good.” Katara said.

“Got that right.” Aang said, taking the boy from Katara. “That's right, Little Man. I'm your Dada.”

Katara leaned closer to him. “That's right, you are.” She kissed him.

Several moments later, Anil realized that his parent's attention wasn't on him anymore, and he fell asleep against his father's chest.

However, Aang and Katara's small moment was interrupted.

“Um, excuse me, Avatar Aang?” A voice said. Aang sighed, and pulled away from his wife. It was probably just some fan.

He carefully held his sleeping son to his chest so that the boy would be undisturbed when he moved, and he sat up, glancing at the strangely familiar woman. “Yes, can I help you?”

“I'm… I'm not sure if you remember me…” She began. “We met almost eight years ago… the Serpent's Pass?”

Both Aang and Katara were more attentive now. Upon hearing about the Serpent's Pass, they remembered her.

“Oh Spirits! I remember!” Katara gasped.

“Yes! You're Ying! Hope's mother!” Aang finished.

Katara stood and took her hand. “It's so good to see you again!”

“Likewise.” Ying said. “So, I've heard all the good news. I mean… who hasn't?” She bowed to them. “Congratulations on your marriage and the birth of your son.”

“Thank you.” Aang and Katara replied, smiling.

“It couldn't have happened to two better people.” Ying said. “Avatar Aang, you led us safely through the Serpent's Pass. We never would have made it to Ba Sing Se safely without your help. And Lady Katara, when I went into labor unexpectedly, you helped me deliver my baby. My family is in your debt.”

“It was no problem at all.” Aang said.

“How is Hope?” Katara asked.

“Oh, she's right over there.” Ying pointed and called. “Hope! Come here! I want you to meet two very important people!”

Instantly, a young girl of seven years rushed over to her mother's side, and in the true fashion of a seven year old, said. “You have a big arrow painted on your head!”

Katara started laughing, while Ying gave her daughter the `look'. Hope shrank under her mother's gaze, knowing that she had done something wrong. “Hope!”

“Sorry, Mama! Sorry, sir.” She said, sounding contrite.

Aang joined in his wife's laughter. “It's all right.” He said, knelling down. “I do have an arrow on my head, don't I? But it's not painted. It's a tattoo.”

“You mean it's there forever!” Hope gasped.

“Yes, it's there forever.” Aang replied, staring at the girl in amazement. He had never really thought of how much he had grown since waking up in a war-torn world after a hundred years of being in the iceberg. After all, he was still in the prime of his youth at nineteen years old. But, looking at this girl, he realized that he had been there at her birth! He remembered the day she was born! And now she was seven years old. That made him feel ancient.

“Hope, can you guess who these people are?” Ying asked. Hope shrugged. “This is Avatar Aang and his wife, Lady Katara.”

Hope looked at her mother. “Really?” Ying nodded, and the girl looked at Aang. “Mommy told me you were there when I was born, and that you helped name me!”

“I guess I did.” Aang said thoughtfully. Hope had been named after Aang, who had been in the middle of an emotional collapse after losing Appa, had told the small family that seeing their love had given him hope again. Thus, they named their baby girl Hope.

“Can you really Bend all four elements?” Hope asked.

Aang laughed, and he told her that he could do that, and more. He handed Anil carefully to Katara to give the girl a short demonstration of his Bending abilities.

 

LES: I'm going to end it there because this chapter was getting too long. I'm still flip-flopping about how big of a role I want Hope to have. She could just have this small cameo, or she could become a bigger character later on. Oh, and Aang feeling older from seeing Hope is based on my own experience with my twelve, nearly thirteen year old cousin. I was eight when he was born and I remember it. Now, seeing him as almost a teenager… it makes me feel old all the time! For God's sakes, I remember the sickingly cute nickname we gave him as a newborn! (One good thing: always reminding him that I knew him as a baby by calling him by said sickingly cute baby name.) Also, what is happening to Ming is somewhat based on what happened to me when my mother was pregnant with me. My mother and I have different blood types, so there was a chance that when my mother was pregnant with me, her body might see me as a foreign object and attack it. She had to take shots to suppress her immune system so that it wouldn't attack me.