The Half of Me | Zuko

Chapter Twenty One: The Avatar State [P2]

The green clothed earth benders approached them as Appa landed in the base. It was strange to Ryoko, she had never been surrounded by these colors and felt safe. The four jump off of Appa, each stretching and scratching their bodies from the time traveling in the sky. Ryoko had never traveled on Appa for such a long amount of time and her body felt more sore than ever before. She felt the pains in her back and neck. As she cracked her neck, the General and other soldiers come up to them.

The general had a large smile on his face as he examined the group. "Welcome Avatar Aang! I am General Fong. And welcome to all of you great heroes - Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara, the fearsome Ryoko." 

"Mighty Katara? I like that." Sokka smirked with pride as he puffs his chest out while Katara smiles in satisfaction.

"Fearsome?" Ryoko grimaces at the name. Aang smiles widely at the General while Ryoko examines the man. Him and his soldiers, none of them wore shoes so they could be close to their element. He smiled kindly yet something about him was off, Ryoko just didn't know if it was because she was usually paranoid around Earth benders or if he was just unusual.

The harsh sounds of fireworks rip Ryoko from her thoughts causing her to look up into the sky. The bright colors were entrancing and made her smile, being apart of the team was something to celebrate.

"Not bad, not bad," Sokka comments. Ryoko chuckles with what was barely a smirk. Fireworks were not going to easily impress her, but they were a pretty sight. 

Inside, the general praised Aang. "Avatar Aang, we were all amazed at the stories of how you single handedly wiped out an entire fire navy fleet at the north pole." The group sits far away from the general as he sits high at his table. He smooths out his beard, closing his eyes in thought of the power the avatar wielded. "I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power." If the general had seen what Ryoko had seen, she believed he would have been left in shock. She didn't know a young boy like that could hold such power even with a powerful spirit. The general turns to Aang as he states, "it's an awesome responsibility." 

Ryoko stares quizzically at the man, a frown forming on her face. 

"I try not to think about it too much," Aang humbly replies. 

"Avatar, you're ready to face the fire lord now." The general has a prideful smile on his face as he seriously suggests the idea to him. Ryoko's eyes widen at his idea, trying to put together how he came to this on his own. 

"What?! No, I'm not." 

Katara speaks up on his left to the general. "Aang still has to master all four elements." 

"That's ridiculous. He can't face the fire lord now, he's not ready," Ryoko then says from her spot next to Sokka, annoyed with the general already. He was supposed to guide them to Omashu to get King Bumi yet here he was diverting the plans to fighting the fire lord. 

"Why not? With the kind of powers he possesses, power enough to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the fire lord now."  

Sokka spoke up this time as he tries to explain to the general the problem all of them knew. "Sir, the thing is, Aang can only do those things when he's in the Avatar state."

"See it's this special state where-" 

The general interrupts as he says, "I'm well aware. Your eyes and tattoos glow, and you're able to summon unbelievable power." The general gets up, his strong stance facing the map, one that showed the divided societies. "Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reach their shores. But with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon, we could swath right through to the heart of the fire nation."