Balance | Old Version

Chapter 36

Elua's POV.

Katara and I run down the dirt path until we see Sokka putting away all our stuff on Appa's saddle. He hears our footsteps and quickly turns around, he looks at Katara with worry.
"Katara! Are you alright?" Sokka asks her in concern.
"I'm fine, we've got to get out of here," Katara tells him.
"Where's Aang?" I question as I look around. Sokka points towards Jeong Jeong's shack, Katara nods and quickly runs down. After a few minutes, I see Aang rush out of the shack and start to make his way to where Zhao is.

"Aang!" I shout to him, but he doesn't turn around. "Aang wait!" I shout again as I run over to him. "What are you doing?" I ask as he turns to me.
"I have to go help Jeong Jeong," He states.
"Not without me you're not," I tell him, he smiles as we both take off running into the forest.
"Jeong Jeong!" Aang shouts as we run out of the trees and onto the beach, where Zhao stands in front of Jeong Jeong.
"Men! Take the deserter!" Zhao orders his men.

As Jeong Jeong is surrounded, he smiles as wraps himself in a massive wave of flame and when it dissipates, he is gone. "It's a trick! He's run off into the woods. Find him!" Zhao shouts in anger. As his men runoff, he turns to us. "Let's find out what my old master has taught you," He says to Aang, we both look at him shocked.
"YOU were Jeong Jeong's student?" Aang asks.
"Until I got bored," Zhao says as he launches a fireball at Aang, who dodges it and another.
"I see he taught you how to duck and run like a coward. But I doubt he showed you what a firebender is truly capable of!" Zhao shouts as he launches another fireball at Aang.

It flies over Aang's head as he makes a flat, spinning tornado of air underneath him and balances himself on top of it with one finger.
"Whoa! Wild shot!" Aang says smiling, I look at him confused.
"I'll show you wild!" Zhao says as he fires several more rounds of fire, which Aang and I either dodge or break with airbending. I look around as the world is now in a haze of smoke to see that Zhao's blasts have torched much of the surrounding forest and the sky fills with smoke.
"No self-control," I whisper as Aang and I look over at the boats in the water, then back over to Zhao.

"Stand and fight, Avatar and Nadir!" Zhao shouts in anger.
"Oh, were we fighting?" I ask him with a smirk. "I thought you were just getting warmed up," I say mockingly.
"I was!" Zhao shouts as he fires many more bursts, all of which miss us.
"Is that all you got?" Aang asks him. "Man, they'll make anyone an admiral these days!" He says as he tries to annoy him even more. Zhao launches another fire blast with a noise of frustration, but Aang and I airbend ourselves up onto one of the ships before it hits us.
"Ahoy! I'm Admiral Zhao!" Aang says as he sticks his butt out at the admiral, wiggling it insultingly.

Zhao jumps up onto the main deck and launches yet another blast of fire. It sets the bridge on fire, but Aang and I jump off unharmed to the aft section.
"I don't know why, but I thought you'd be better than a banished prince," I say with a smirk, knowing it would irritate him. Zhao shouts in anger as he sends a blast, Aang's eyes go wide as he falls flat on the deck and the wall of fire passes over him and blasted a hole through the guardrail of two ships.
"Sloppy. Very sloppy," I mock Zhao. Zhao roars in frustration as he follows Aang and I around the boats, spreading fire to each of them in his vain effort to get us.

"Nowhere to run now, you little smart mouths!" Zhao says as he begins to corner us. He launches a firebolt, which we dodge by flipping over Zhao's head and landing behind him as the bridge of the third and last ship is now on fire.
"You've lost this battle," Aang tells him as we airbend ourselves into the air as Zhao sets fire to the third ship's prow.
"Are you crazy? You haven't thrown a single blow!" Zhao shouts to us.
"No, but you have," I tell him smugly. Zhao looks to his left and grimaces as he sees the three ships on fire, the first now sinking into the river.

"Jeong Jeong said you had no restraint," Aang tells him as we hop off the third ship and land in the water as Zhao screams in frustration.
"Have a nice walk home!" Aang and I shout to him as we both laugh.
"Aang, Elua, come on!" We hear Sokka shout. We both look over and see Katara and Sokka aborad Appa, we smile as we swim to shore and hop on the furry bison.
"Wait! Where's Jeong Jeong?" Aang asks them as we take off into the sky.
"He disappeared. They all did," Sokka tells him as we all look down and see the small town now abandoned and lonely.

"Aang, you're burned," Katara says. I look over to him as he looks down in surprise to see that she is right. His sleeves are torn open and there was a small burn mark on his right forearm. "Let me help you," She says as she opens her waterskin and wraps some water around her hand. It glows blue again as she places it over the burned area, she breathes and concentrates and when she lets go the wound is healed.
"Wow! That's good water," Aang says with wide eyes.
"When did you learn how to do that?" Sokka asks her.
"I guess we always knew," I tell him with a shrug, he looks surprised.

"Oh, you can do it too?" Sokka asks. "Well, then thanks for all the first aid over the years. Like when I fell into the grease briar bramble and that time I had two fish hooks in my thumb!" He says to Katara in annoyance, Aang and I look at him confused.
"Two?" Aang asks in surprise.
"He tried to get the first fish hook out with another fish hook," Katara explains.
"Oh, and the time that big snake bit me! Thanks for healing that up. That was great. Really helpful," Sokka says sarcastically, making us all laugh as Appa flies off into the sky.