The Girl He Won't Remember

Chapter 3

The quarters provided to us were almost as uncomfortable as the cell that was given to me for the short time that I was on Zhao's ship, but it was still an upgrade. It was incredibly dark, and we had a bed on each wall. Sokka instantly made himself comfortable, whereas Katara and I sat on a single bed ranting about Fong and his odd change of demeanor. Aang had gone for a walk around the base, and it took a lot of arguing from Sokka and myself to convince Katara to let him clear his mind alone.

When our ranting died off, I laid down and stared up at the darkened ceiling. I wasn't asleep, yet Sokka's voice seemed to snap me out of whatever trance I had been in. "Saki, are you alright?"

"Why are you — ?"

"Because you've been acting strange ever since you joined us," he said. "You space out a lot and become really distant. You just don't seem like... you..." I didn't need to see him to know how worried he looked. "Something's bothering you — we can tell — but you're holding it in. It's like you've changed."

"Well, it's been a decade since we've actually spent time together," I replied quietly. "Things have changed since then, Sokka."

"She's been through a lot," Katara replied in the dark. "We shouldn't keep pestering her."

"No," I said, "it's okay, Katara. I — " Aang's arrival silenced my response, which I couldn't have been more grateful for.

"I told the general I'd help him," he said, refusing to look at any of us as he sat on his bunk, "by going into the Avatar State."

"Aang, no!" Katara's words were sharp. "This is not the right way!"

"Why not? Remember when he took out the Fire Navy?" Sokka cut in. "He was incredible!"

"There's a right way to do this," she responded. "Practice, study, and discipline!"

"Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord."

"If you two meatheads want to throw away everything we've worked for, fine! Go ahead, and glow it up!" She stood and started stomping out of the room.

"Katara! I'm just being realistic! I don't have time to do this the right way!"

Sulking, Aang plopped down onto his bunk. 

"I haven't been around as long, nor do I know anything about Avatar business," I spoke up, "but I do know a thing or two about making hard decisions and doing what's right. The choice is never obvious, and there are going to be those that strongly oppose your decision. Those people will sometimes people care deeply for. I most definitely don't trust this General Wrong "— Sokka snickered at my bad joke — "one bit, but if you believe that focusing on the Avatar State is best, then you should do it. Only if it's what you chose out of freewill, and not because of someone whispering in your ear that this is the choice you want to make. Katara will understand."

"I hope you're right," he said.

"You and me both, kid."

The next morning was the beginning of Aang's "training" to unlock the Avatar State. General Fong insisted that we stay behind so that we wouldn't interfere with any progress that was made. Of course, Aang refused to participate without us by his side. Fong reluctantly agreed to this single term, but I still had to convince Katara to stay. It began with a rare "special tea" (somehow, I instantly thought of Iroh) that would enhance his chi. Fong explained that it would increase the energy of an ordinary soldier tenfold. Aang took a single sip, and the energy of baby rabaroo possessed his entire body. He was chattering more than a hog monkey and zooming around on a ball of air which Katara had explained to me was the "Air Scooter", an invention of Aang's childhood. 

"I guess he could always talk the Fire Lord to death," Sokka commented. Just then, Aang sped face first into the wooden beam behind us.

Next came a new method — Sokka's method, though I did help a little. He believed that he could scare Aang into the Avatar State, which made more sense than the tea. While Aang's eyes were closed, I helped Sokka get Momo into his shirt and take the place of his head. When Aang opened his eyes, Momo shrieked and Sokka curled his fingers like claws. 

Aang screamed as suspected, but still no Avatar State.

Momo began scratching at Sokka's face as he tried to escape the shirt, causing Sokka to lose his cool. "Stay still!" I shouted as I tried to help, but he didn't listen. He began flailing, which only made matters worse while I was trying to grab Momo from Sokka's shirt. He eventually lost his balance, and I somehow fell down with him. Momo escaped unscathed, leaving the two of us on the ground. Sokka's face was decorated with scratches, a scowl, and a humiliated blush. I couldn't help but laugh. He looked so much like his younger self, the little boy that was constantly getting hurt while playing warrior. It wasn't long before he was laughing too, and the two of us were laughing on the ground together as Aang and Katara helped us up and laughed as well. 

Fong was the only one not amused.

Last came a method that made even less sense than the tea. We were taken to a dark room that reminded me of a dungeon, lit only by candles. Aang was dressed in ceremonial clothing from the each of the Nations, all of which were too big for him. He looked like a child playing dress-up. Probably because he was a child playing dress-up. 

"Why do they think this is going to trigger the Avatar State?" Katara whispered to me. 

I whispered back, "Maybe they think it'll help him contact his past lives?"

"Well, it's stupid," she huffed. I nodded in agreement.

A man dressed like a shaman stood behind a cauldron. He poured in dirt and water, blew air into it, and dropped a lit torch into what was basically a bowl of mud. He then flung the mixture onto Aang, who replied, "This is just mud!"

"So..." The shaman arched an eyebrow. "Do you feel anything?" 

Aang didn't reply. He raised a finger as if to say 'Wait for it...' and we all stood up straight, anxious to see if something finally worked. Alas, he simply sneezed. Well, maybe 'simply' isn't the right word for it. Considering he was an airbender, it was a powerful sneeze. One that sent the mud from him to us, leaving us caked in mud.

Fong wiped the mud from his face and stated, "We have to find a way."

By sundown, everyone was exhausted, especially Aang. Thankfully, the tea was completely out of his system. He and Katara went for a walk around the base after cleaning themselves of the mud, leaving me and Sokka to entertain ourselves. We raced each other to the top of the base's tower — Sokka declared it a tie, but we both know I was the winner. As we caught our breath, I watched the sun go down over the horizon.

"It's good to see you smile again, Saki," Sokka said, smiling at me. "You look like your normal self again."

"Minus the Fire Nation clothes, of course," I teased.

We shared a short laugh, which was cut even shorter when he decided to become serious. "So what's been bothering you, Saki, really? Do you miss the Fire Nation?"

I gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, of course not," I replied. "It's just... I left behind some pretty special people, and I broke a few promises in doing so. And yesterday was a pretty important day for one of them, and I wasn't there." I sighed, "And you and Katara have changed so much. You're traveling with the Avatar for goodness' sake! It's like I don't know you guys at all."

"We could say the same for you, y'know," he smirked weakly. "Our childhood best friend leaves to live in the Fire Nation — with the Fire Lord, might I add. The only time we saw you was when you came to save our hides. Truth is, we've all changed."

I laughed and nudged him. "You sound so much like your sister." 

He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. "I'd appreciate if you didn't tell her about this," he said. "She'd never let me live it down."

"I won't tell her if you can beat me to her," I laughed, pulling away from him and sprinting away.