꧁ chapter four ꧂
the avatar state

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"PRINCESS MEILUNA, I want you to have this," Pakku spoke as he held up a small vial, "This amulet contains water from the Spirit Oasis. The water has unique properties, don't lose it"

Meiluna kindly accepted the amulet and gave him a hug,

"Thank you, Master Pakku"

Meiluna was eternally grateful to Pakku. He had helped convince her father that she had to play her role in ending the hundred year war. Her father was still furious, though he tried not to show it. He didn't say goodbye. Even so, he also didn't make any effort to stop her from getting on the Avatar's bison.

Meiluna tried her best to understand where he was coming from. He had just lost his eldest daughter and now she was leaving him too. She knew that was why he was so upset by her actions. It didn't make her feel much better when he refused to acknowledge her after her decision was made. She just prayed to the Spirits that he would forgive her when she made it back home.

All she ever wanted was for him to be proud of her.

"Katara, Aang, these scrolls will help you master waterbending," Pakku smiled at Katara, "But they are no substitute for a real master"

Aang accepted the scrolls while looking up at the girl next to him lovingly.

"Sokka," Pakku patted him on the shoulder, "Take care, son"

Pakku turned to face the others,

"Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base, east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There, you will be safe to begin your earthbending training with King Bumi" Pakku explained whilst pointing in the direction they needed to go.

"Appa, yip yip!" Aang said as Appa began to fly away.

"Say hi to Gran-Gran for me!" Katara yelled out.

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"There it is!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing towards the base as Appa descended to land where General Fong and his soldiers were stationed.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang! I am General Fong, and welcome, to all of you great heroes! Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara," General Fong welcomed as he turned to bow to Meiluna,

"Princess Meiluna, it is an honour to see you here too"

She returned the gesture politely,
"Thank you, General"

"Mighty Katara? I like that" Katara remarked, feeling pleased.

Fireworks went off as the earth bending soldiers launched them into the air.

"Wow," Meiluna admired the view in the sky, never having seen anything like it before, "It's beautiful"

"Not bad, not bad" Sokka admitted, viewing the display.

Katara noticed Meiluna's smile falter as she kept her eyes trained on the display.

She moved closer to her as she spoke quietly,
"Meiluna, are you okay?"

The Princess faced Katara, looking into her eyes which were full of concern.

She forced the smiled back onto her face,
"Of course"

Katara's expression remained the same as she watched Meiluna. Her smile was bright, showing off her perfect, white teeth, but her blue eyes that were once so bright, didn't match.

"You can talk to me"

Meiluna remained indifferent. She didn't want to burden Katara with all of her feelings. What good would that do? She probably had more important things to worry about, they were in the middle of a war, after all.

"Don't worry about me, Katara"

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"Avatar Aang, we were all amazed at the stories of how you singlehandedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet at the North Pole," General Fong praised as he stroked his beard, "I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility"

"I try not to think about it too much" Aang shrugged off casually.

"Avatar, you're ready to face the Fire Lord now" General Fong continued calmly.

"What? No I'm not!" Aang shouted, feeling alarmed.

"I bet Katara could take him out right now!" Meiluna added.

Aang turned to look at the girl, feeling offended,

"Hey!"

"Aang still needs to master all four elements" Katara tried to reason with the General.

"Why? With the kind of power he possesses, power enough to destroy hundreds of battle ships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the Fire Lord now!" General Fong argued.

"But sir, the thing is, Aang can only do that when he's in the Avatar state" Sokka explained.

"See, it's this special state where-" Aang began.

"I'm well aware! Your eyes and tattoos glow and you're able to summon unbelievable power" General Fong interrupted sharply,

"Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reach their shores"

General Fong pointed his finger at the map, moving it from the Earth Kingdom base toward the Fire Nation Capital.

"But with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon, we could cut a swath right through to the heart of the Fire Nation" He concluded happily.

"Right, but, I don't know how to get in or out of the Avatar State, much less what to do once I'm there" Aang spoke doubtfully.

"So it's settled then. I'll help you figure out how to get into the Avatar State and then you'll face your destiny" General Fong said as the four stood up in dismay.

"No, nothing's decided. We already have a plan," Katara retaliated, "Aang's pursuing his destiny, his way"

"Well, while you take your time learning the elements, the war goes on," General Fong shook his head as he turned to Aang, "May I show you something?"

He led the Avatar toward a nearby window before continuing.

"That's the infirmary, and those soldiers are the lucky ones," He gestured to the weak and injured soldiers, "They came back. Everyday, the Fire Nation takes lives, people are dying Aang! You could end it, now. Think about it"

With that, General Fong left Aang to consider his offer.

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"I told the General I'd help him, by going into the Avatar State" Aang said as he sat up on his bed.

"What?" Meiluna asked, looking surprised.

"This isn't the right way to do this Aang!" Katara added.

"Why not? Remember when he took out the Fire Navy?" Sokka reminded everyone while resting on his own bed, "He was incredible!"

"He was pretty amazing" Meiluna nodded, unable to disagree.

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

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

"If you two meat heads want to throw away everything we've worked for, fine, go ahead and glow it up" Katara said frustratedly, throwing her hands up in surrender as she exited the room.

Meiluna looked to the two boys who stared back still in shock at Katara's outburst.

"She probably right," Meiluna spoke hesitantly, "Right?"

Aang shrugged while Sokka waved his hand dismissively,

"Trust me, Aang can handle it"

Meiluna wasn't all too familiar with all this 'Avatar business', so she couldn't exactly decide what the right thing for Aang was. But she liked to think Sokka had an idea of what was best.

"I trust you"

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"Katara?" Meiluna called out as she entered their room, Sokka and Aang were nowhere to be seen.

"Right here" Katara raised her hand, laying down beside Momo.

Meiluna made her way over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"How can they be so dumb! Aang's not going to be able to control himself, it'll be a disaster!" Katara let out an annoyed huff after venting her feelings of frustration.

"Boys are stupid," Meiluna stated as Katara snorted, "And I don't really think there's anything we can do to stop them, but we're only here to help, aren't we?"

Meiluna paused, watching Katara sit up.

"You're right, Luna, we should at least make sure Aang's okay" Katara smiled before getting up.

She didn't seem to mind when Katara called her Luna. It reminded her of Yue.

Katara reminded Meiluna of Yue so much, through her caring and motherly nature. She admired her, like she did with her sister. Katara had travelled the world with the Avatar, she stood up to Master Pakku, making her so brave in Meiluna's eyes.

She made her feel safe and loved, and that was something Meiluna adored about her.

"Katara?"

Katara turned back around looking to the Princess questioningly. Meiluna felt a blush coat her cheeks, feeling embarrassed about what she wanted to say.

"Do you think you could do my hair?" She asked shyly, pointing meekly to her head, "I've never done it myself before"

Katara smiled as she nodded quickly, walking over to sit behind Meiluna. She handed her hair ornaments to her before turning back to face forward. Katara delicately used her fingers to comb through Meiluna's dark hair that fell down her back, ending right above her waist.

She liked how it felt, it was soothing and comforting to feel the serenity of the simple action.

"I didn't tell you the truth before"

Katara furrowed her eyebrows,
"What are you talking about?"

"I told you I was okay," Meiluna sighed, "I don't think I am"

"I know" Katara told her quietly.

"I miss my sister," The Princess admitted softly.

"She was so brave for what she did," Katara spoke.

"She was"

"You are too," Katara told her, "I know she would be so proud of you for fighting for your people"

Meiluna felt her eyes water slightly,
"Thank you Katara"

Katara pulled Meiluna's long hair into a high ponytail, leaving the front white pieces out to frame her face. She grabbed one of her ornaments, securing the Princess's hair in place. Both girls stood up ready to find the Avatar when Katara abruptly wrapped the girl in a tight hug. Meiluna instantly did the same.

She felt complete solace in Katara's arms.

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"What's going on?" Katara asked frantically as she and Meiluna bumped into Sokka.

"The General's gone crazy! He's trying to force Aang into the Avatar State" Sokka replied equally as frantic, pulling out his boomerang.

Katara and Meiluna looked at each other nervously before they ran off in different directions trying to avoid the attacks. General Fong spotted the two waterbenders and immediately summoned earth coins to stop them in their tracks.

"Maybe you can avoid me but they can't!" General Fong told Aang as he pointed towards the two girls.

Meiluna turned to run away but was instantly surrounded by large coins when she suddenly felt her foot sink into the ground.

"I can't move!" Katara yelled out, struggling to break free.

"Don't hurt her!" Aang shouted worriedly as he clenched his fists and jumped to send a gust of wind at General Fong.

The General summoned an earth wall to block the air and sent Katara and Meiluna waist deep into the ground.

"Katara! Meiluna!" Sokka called out, riding his ostrich horse towards the girls, but General Fong managed to sink the animals legs into the ground, flinging Sokka into another large coin.

Aang rushed to General Fong's side, grabbing at his arm.

"Stop this! You have to let them go!" Aang begged.

"You could save them if you were in the Avatar state" Fong pressed.

Aang felt tears form in his eyes.

"I'm trying," He watched Katara sink lower into the ground up to her neck, "I'm trying!"

"I don't see glowing" General Fong demanded.

"Please!" Meiluna cried out, feeling the earth constrict her neck.

"You don't need to do this" Aang continued, falling to his knees.

"Apparently I do" General Fong replied scornfully.

He clenched his fist sending Katara and Meiluna completely underground. Aang tried to grab Katara's hand, but failed as he let her slip out of his grasp.

He felt anger bubble up deep inside him as turned to face General Fong, eyes and tattoos alight.

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"Avatar Aang! Can you hear me?" General Fong pleaded with Aang, trying to gain his attention, "Your friends are safe!"

He moved his hands and brought Katara and Meiluna back above the ground.

"It was just a trick to trigger the Avatar State and it worked!" General Fong laughed maniacally.

Aang swivelled around on the air vortex he created and landed on the ground forcefully, causing a flurry of dust to spread. Fong was sent back several feet while Katara and Meiluna remained rooted to the ground.

The dust cleared to reveal the broken earth in ruins around them. Aang began to calm down from the Avatar State and eventually fell to the ground in exhaustion.

Katara ran up to him giving him a hug while Meiluna wiggled her way out of the ground and rushed to Sokka, helping him out of the coin he was stuck in.

"Come on" Sokka gestured for her to follow him and mount the ostrich horse.

Meiluna took his hand as he helped her to jump up behind him on the animal, holding onto him tightly as they rode up to where Aang and Katara were talking to General Fong.

"You're out of your mind!" Aang exclaimed angrily.

"I guess we'll figure it out on the way to the Fire Nation" Fong spoke, ignoring Aang's outburst.

Sokka and Meiluna arrived behind the General, as Sokka clubbed him in the head, knocking him out cold.

He looked up and saw the other soldiers staring,

"Anyone got a problem with that?"

The soldiers all quickly shook their heads before one approached the group of four.

"Do you still want an escort to Omashu?" He asked.

Katara looked around before answering for everyone,

"I think we're all set"

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