Naruto squeaked in alarm as he was suddenly awakened from his slumber. My eyes narrowed as he wondered what made Aang jump like that. He watched as he let go of Appa's reins, hanging his head down, unaware that he had awakened the blonde. Glancing at the others, he saw that Katara had woken up as well.
They shared a look before walking up to Aang.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Katara questioned as she went to stand on his left side. Naruto went to his right, silently watching the interaction.
"Nah, it was just a nightmare." He mumbled. Naruto tilted his head as He looked at him. He seemed to get a lot of those. After a few seconds of silence, he seemed to change his mind and began to speak.
"I was in the Avatar state, but I was outside my body watching myself. It was scary...I was scary." He finally announced. Katara put her hand on his shoulder comfortably as he nudged his shoulder lightly.
"There's nothing to worry Aang; it was just a dream," Katara confronted him; Naruto smiled slightly before deciding to go back to sleep.
Soon Katara and Aang returned; the bald one seemed better; Katara sat near Naruto as they continued their journey.
"Wake me when we get there," Naruto mumbled tiredly. Seriously, he needs more sleep. Katara just giggled at his laziness before beginning to stroke his head as he was resting his head on his hands, using them like a pillow. Sokka began grumbling to their side.
"Why can't I get that kind of treatment?"
"Shut up, Sokka."
"Why exactly are we going to this place again?" Naruto questioned, almost falling asleep.
"Aang says we need an escort to Omashu, last time we were there didn't go that well," Katara explained.
"We don't need an escort; we can perfectly do it on our own," Naruto grumbled before falling asleep.
Later
"There it is! The-Oof!" Naruto cut Sokka off with a punch to the gut as he woke him up from his slumber. Naruto sat up, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep out of them before looking over the side of Appa's saddle.
"Oh, we are here," Naruto stated simply, staring at the earth base as they flew closer and ignoring Sokka's muffled grunt of pain. Katara just sighed at the blonde. What? He woke me up.
Aang landed Appa on the base courtyard, and they all scrambled to get off. Naruto stretched his numb legs out, trying to get some feeling back into them as a bearded man approached them.
"Welcome, Avatar Aang! I am General Fong." Fong and his entourage of earth benders bowed in greeting. Naruto shot them a peace sign before going back to his numb legs.
"And welcome to all of you, great heroes! Appa, Momo, Brave Sokka, the Mighty Katara, and the Ferocious Naruto." He said in greeting. Naruto snorted at the 'Brave Sokka' part. Katara smiled in a pleased fashion from next to him.
"The Mighty Katara? I like that." She stated. Naruto rolled his eyes before shooting her a smirk.
"You would; personally, I think I should be called the Supreme overlord of Awesomeness," Naruto said, nodding his head with finality. She rolled her eyes at him this time before bumping his shoulder lightly. Naruto just shrugged. It was true.
Suddenly their attention was drawn over to fireworks that began exploding behind them. Geez, they were really going all out with this flattery thing.
"Not bad, not bad," Sokka said with a giant grin. He obviously loved the attention. Naruto looked over to the General and crossed his arms.
"Okay, what do you want?" Naruto questioned with a frown. He knew this routine. Flatter the targets before asking for something in return. Not that he's ever done this before. Of course not.
He just smiled at him, a glint in his eyes, before motioning towards the doors behind them.
"Please, this way."
"Avatar Aang, we were all amazed by the stories of how you single-handedly wiped out an entire fire navy fleet at the North Pole. We can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility." General Fong commented, stroking his beard. Naruto mentally facepalmed. He's only making this worse. Naruto saw Aang's slight wince at the words before he shrugged it off.
"I try not to think about it too much." He responded with a small smile, knowing Naruto had done the majority of the work, and after he killed the general, he was forced into Avatar State to take care of the others. The General smiled back at him before continuing.
"Avatar, you're ready to face the fire lord now."
...
...
...Eh?
"WHAT?!" Aang and Naruto shouted at the same time. This guy's crazy! Aang' hasn't even started to learn earth bending and his water bending needs work too.
"No, I'm not!" Aang protested, obviously agreeing with his thoughts.
"Aang still needs to master all four elements!" Katara interjected. Naruto nodded his head.
"Yeah, no offense to Aang, but I think he's gonna need a bit more than air before we go against the fire lord," Naruto added. Fong just sat there calmly, staring back at them, his smile gone now.
"Why? With the kind of power he possesses? Power enough to take down hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes? He could defeat the fire lord now!" He insisted, raising his voice as he stood up. Naruto glared at him. This guy was too pushy for his liking.
"But sir, the thing is Aang can only do those things while he's in the Avatar state," Sokka explained.
"See, it's this special state where-." Fong cut off Aang's explanation with a wave of his hand.
"I'm well aware. Your eyes and tattoos glow, and you're able to control unbelievable power." He forgot to add the part where Aang's mouth glows too. He also said the word power way too much. Someone's a control freak.
"Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reached their shores. But, with you leading the way as the ultimate weapon, we could cut a path right through to the heart of the fire nation." He stated, pointing at the map. Aang rubbed the back of his head before responding.
"Right, but I don't know how to get in or out of the Avatar state, much less what to do when I'm there." He stated, looking down at the floor with a frown. Naruto put his hand on his shoulder before looking up at General Fong. He just stared back at them before abruptly nodding.
"So it's decided then. I'll help you get into the Avatar State; then you'll face your destiny." He basically decided for them. Naruto glared at the guy.
"You can't tell us what to do. And I doubt you could really help anyways!" Naruto protested. This guy's idea of help probably would've been to throw Aang off a cliff and expect him to go into the Avatar State.
"Yeah, we already have a plan! Aang's pursuing his destiny his way!" Katara added as they all stood up. Naruto smirked at the general and crossed his arms. Yeah, tell him, Katara!
"Well, while you take your time learning the elements, the war goes on. May I show you something?" Fong pointed over to a window and motioned for Aang to follow him. Naruto went to follow them, but Aang just shook his head. He stopped in Naruto's path, staring him down for a second before nodding with a sigh.
He walked back over to where his friends were and sat down with a huff.
"I don't like this Fong guy," Naruto said with a glare. Katara nodded in agreement as Sokka just crossed his arms.
"I don't think it's a bad idea. But, whatever Aang decides, we need to support him." He insisted. Naruto looked over in the direction of Aang.
Katara, Sokka, and Naruto all sat around the room that General Fong had set up for them. Aang hadn't come back after going off with him, and Naruto was beginning to get worried. He absentmindedly stroked Momo's head as they all waited.
The door suddenly opened as Aang walked in, a frown on his face. Naruto quickly sat up to face him as he sat down on a bed.
"...I told General Fong that I'd help him by going into the Avatar state." Aang finally said. Naruto gaped at him. No way!
"Aang, no! This is not the right way." Katara immediately protested, him nodding at her side.
"Why not? Remember when he took out the fire navy? He was incredible!" Sokka interjected as he lay on a bed. Naruto shot him a glare, about to give him a piece of his mind, when Katara cut in.
"There's a right way to do this; practice, study, and discipline." Katara insisted. Naruto cringed. Okay, she wasn't helping that sound like the 'right way to him. Sounded pretty boring. But! Aang didn't need to be forced into doing this early. All kinds of things could go wrong if he didn't master the elements before trying to master the Avatar state.
My thoughts drifted back to this morning on Appa. Sure he didn't want Aang to fear the Avatar State, but he didn't want him to feel like he had to force it to solve the world's problems either.
"Or, he could just glow it up and stomp that fire lord," Sokka added lazily. Naruto groaned.
"Men, I swear you guys have a one-track mind," Naruto mumbled. He was hoping it was just Sokka. Katara suddenly stood up in frustration.
"If you two meat-heads want to throw away everything we've worked for, then go ahead, glow it up!" She exclaimed before marching out of the room angrily. Aang reached out for her.
"Katara! I'm just being realistic! I don't have time to do things the right way!" His shouts fell on deaf ears as Katara slammed the door behind her. Naruto sighed before standing up to go after Katara. Aang turned to him with a begging look in his eyes.
"Naruto..." He muttered. Naruto could see him basically pleading with him to understand, and he did. He understood why he wanted to end things early, but he still knew that this wasn't right.
"We didn't go through everything, so you could just throw it away," Naruto said before walking out of the room. Was that a low blow to both the boys? Probably. But they were both being idiots anyways.
Naruto found Katara sitting on a balcony outside. She was staring up at the moon. Naruto walked over and sat next to her, noting the aggravated frown on her face. They sat in silence for a few seconds before she spoke up.
"Why do boys feel the need to do everything with power and glowing abilities?" She groaned out in frustration. Naruto sighed and shook his head.
"Testosterone, ego, pigheadedness, take your pick," Naruto responded with a shrug. She snorted in amusement before nodding.
"I remember when Sokka got a cold when we were little. He was so stubborn that he didn't mention it to anyone, and he just kept trying to push his way through it before mom finally caught him after he passed out. She didn't let him out of the house for at least a week after that." Katara said with a giggle. Naruto laughed as well. That sounded like him. It got silent again as their minds went back to Aang.
"I know what you said this morning was true. Aang's done a lot of good in the Avatar state, but it is scary no matter what we say. But it's not scary because of what he does; it's scary because I see all the rage and pain in his face. That's what scares me." Katara explained as she hugged herself. Naruto looked down to the ground as he thought about it. Looking back over at Katara, he shot her a small smile.
"Well, why don't you try to explain that to him? I think it might help." Naruto offered. She seemed to think about it before smiling back at him. Okay, that's enough of this topic for him. Standing up, he brushed the dirt off of his pants.
"I gotta go train." Katara stood up as well and tilted her head at him.
"Is...is it okay if I can watch for a while? I don't think I really want to go back to the room right now anyways." She said with a small shrug. He smirked at her and nodded his head.
"Sure thing, maybe we could even spar."
...
The following day both Katara and Naruto showed up with bruises all over their bodies. Sokka gave them a look as if to say, 'What the hell were you two doing?' with Katara telling him that it wasn't his business.
"This rare chi-enhancing tea is a natural stimulant. In a normal warrior, it improves strength and energy tenfold. In you, it might just induce the Avatar State." A man explained as he dropped something into a pot of tea before pouring it out into a cup. Katara, Sokka, and Naruto sat behind Aang as he was handed the cup.
"Tenfold energy, huh?" He muttered in thought before taking a sip. Their only warning was a twitch of his eyebrow before the tea kicked in. Suddenly he disappeared from his spot only to reappear, scootering around them and on the ceiling with his air ball at top speed. Naruto got dizzy just watching him go around, and around, and around...yup; he was going to be sick.
"Is it working, is it working?! I can't tell! Somebody tell me if I'm in the Avatar State cause I don't have a good view of myself! Am I talking too loud?!" Aang shouted in an insanely high voice.
"I guess he could talk the fire lord to death," Sokka grumbled, laying his head on his hand. Naruto stared at the tea with a contemplating look when a hand suddenly grabbed the top of his head.
"Yeah, no. You're definitely not getting any of that." Katara stated as she looked over at him. Naruto shrugged with a sheepish smile. What? It looked fun.
"Maybe I can shock you into the Avatar State," Sokka said as he stood in front of Aang. Aang smiled in excitement as Katara covered his eyes.
"I love surprises!" He insisted. Naruto placed Momo on the top of Sokka's shirt as he ducked his head down. Katara immediately uncovered Aang's eyes. Right as he opened them, Momo screeched in his face.
"AAH!" Aang screamed as he fell backward before glancing at his hands. He held them up towards the still Momofied Sokka.
"Still not glowing." He stated simply. Naruto laughed as Sokka fell to the side.
"I don't see what's so surprising. They look exactly the same anyways."
"You are wearing a ceremonial piece of clothing from each of the bending nations. Now, I will join the four elements into one! Water, earth, fire, and air! Four elements together as one!" The old cook announced before throwing the vat of mud onto Aang, who was dressing in funky clothes. Aang looked down at himself.
"This is just mud." He said observantly. The man raised a brow at him as they all waited.
"So, do you feel anything?" he questioned. They all held their breaths as Aang held up a finger, his nose twitching. Suddenly he let out an air-enhanced sneeze, launching the mud at all of them. Naruto leaped out of the way as the mud made contact with Sokka, Katara, and General Fong. Hmph, that guy deserved it.
He wiped the mud off of his face as Katara just water-bent it off of herself.
Later
"We have to find a way."
"What's wrong?" Naruto questioned, already rolling up the scrolls. Katara sat down on her bed with a dejected look on her face.
"I explained to Aang why it's scary. But he's still set on doing this. I told him I wouldn't go with him tomorrow. I just can't watch him do that to himself." She sighed, looking down. Naruto nodded in understanding.
"I get it, don't worry. I'm sure he'll come to his senses. He just needs to process everything right now." Naruto offered with a smile. She sighed again and nodded, but he could tell she didn't really believe him. He snuffed out the lights with a wave of his hand and lay back on the bed.
"Try not to worry too much about it right now, Katara. Good night." Naruto muttered before closing his eyes, vaguely hearing the whispered response in return as he drifted off to sleep.
Naruto gasped as he sat up in bed. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he clutched his chest tightly. What was that all about? He hadn't had a dream like this in forever. Naruto shivered as the wind blew through an open window in their room.
Lying back down on the bed, Naruto shifted around, closing his eyes and trying to fall back asleep, but he could tell it was futile. It seemed it was morning. His mind drifted back to when he used to have nightmares as a kid; he would always...nope! I'm not a toddler anymore! I'm not gonna...!
"...Naruto? What's wrong?" She questioned. He huffed before turning on his side to face away from her.
"I...had a bad dream." Naruto finally mumbled in response. It was silent behind him for a second before a stifled giggle made him turn back with a glare. Katara was covering her mouth as her face shone with amusement.
"Hmph, whatever!" Naruto grumbled at her teasing face, going to head back to his own bed. A hand on his shoulder stopped him as Katara finally calmed down.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you, I swear! It's just; sometimes I forget you're only 15." She offered with a shrug. Naruto tilted his head in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" Naruto questioned. She just shook her head and motioned for him to lie back down. Naruto stared at her in suspicion before obliging. Suddenly a loud crash echoed from outside, making him jump in alarm. What was that?!
Naruto quickly ran out of the room and headed towards the courtyard where the noise came from. Just as He arrived, he saw Aang standing in the middle of a circle of earth benders.
"Men, attack the Avatar!" Naruto heard General Fong yell out, making his eyes widen in alarm. What?! Naruto jumped off the balcony and landed next to Aang, kicking a blast of fire out at the first earth bender in reach.
"What the heck is going on here, Aang?!" Naruto questioned as he ducked underneath a flying rock.
"I have no idea!" He insisted. Suddenly Fong jumped out of a hole from the tower in front of them and landed roughly on the ground, making them jump out of the way as a wave of the earth came at them.
"What're you doing?!" Aang asked angrily. The man just smirked at them.
"I believe we are about to get results." That is all he said. Naruto stared at him incredulously. This was all to get Aang into the Avatar state?! Naruto looked over at Aang with a glare.
"I told you so!" He just groaned in annoyance before they were forced apart by a circular rock. Now, Aang was lucky. He had the fancy-smancy dance moves that let him dodge most of what came at him. The blonde, on the other hand, well, let's just say Naruto was gonna feel this in the morning.
Naruto grunted in pain as a boulder suddenly slammed into his gut, sending him hurling towards another. Naruto quickly shot fire from his feet to counteract the force and rolled away from other rocks. Disks were flying from everywhere. Naruto bent over backward with a squeak as one came dangerously close to taking his head.
Glancing over at Aang, Naruto noticed that he had a lot more earth benders on his tail. It was actually pretty impressive how he managed to leap through the center of the disks like that. His attention was drawn back to the flying rocks as Naruto shot his flame-covered fist out, destroying the one in his face. Naruto started running forward, and power slid under the legs of some earth benders before sliding his legs out and tripping them.
"You can't run forever!" Naruto looked back over to see Fong attacking Aang.
"You can't fight forever!" He retorted, jumping out of the way as Fong threw a punch at him.
Naruto groaned in frustration. Aang, you just jinxed us!
Naruto panted in exhaustion as he leaped out of another rock's path. Seriously, this was not fun. Another earth bender suddenly appeared before him, rock overhead. Just as he was about to crush him brutally, a water whip hit him on the head, sending him to the ground.
Naruto sighed in relief. Katara joined the fight. She ran over to him and held out her hand, a concerned frown on her face.
"You okay?"
"I've been better," Naruto grunted in response, grabbing her hand and pulling himself up. They both stood back to back as earth benders surrounded them. Suddenly General Fong appeared in front of them with his annoying face. He glanced back at Aang, who had somehow gotten on the balcony.
"Maybe you can avoid me, but they can't!" He shouted. Naruto looked at him with wide eyes. Uh oh.
Suddenly Naruto felt Katara drop from beside him, making him glance back in alarm. She shouted in surprise as she was suddenly sucked into the earth up to her knees.
"Katara!" Naruto exclaimed just before he was given the same treatment. He tried pulling his legs out, but the ground had a tight grip on his legs.
"We can't move!" Katara shouted to Aang. He looked down at them with wide eyes before glaring at Fong.
"Let them go!" He shouted, jumping off of the balcony and sending a blast of air at the General, who blocked it with ease. Naruto glanced behind him as Sokka suddenly appeared, riding one of the bird-horse thingies.
"Katara! Naruto!" He exclaimed, riding towards them before his bird's legs were sucked in also. He was sent flying through some of the earth disks as the bird struggled to get out. Naruto grabbed Katara's arms, trying to pull her out himself, but she was just as stuck as he was.
"Please, you have to let them go!" Aang stated as he ran over to Fong. The man just stared down at him coldly.
"You could save them right now if you were in the Avatar state!" He retorted. Aang's face scrunched in exertion as he tried to do just that.
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" He insisted desperately, tears beginning to leak out of his eyes. Naruto squeaked in alarm as he suddenly sank down to his waist, Katara getting the same treatment.
"Aang, we're sinking!" Katara announced. Naruto struggled angrily against the earth as it continued to suck them in.
"Why do we always end up getting attacked?!" Naruto questioned in frustration. Honestly, it was becoming a normal thing.
"I don't see glowing!" Fong continued. Naruto glared at the crazy guy.
"Go shove your face in a volcano! I'm sure you'll see a bright light then!" Naruto exclaimed. He didn't want to do this to Earthbenders, but it seemed they deserved it, just as Naruto was about to grow trees and capture everyone and free Katara.
Aang's eyes suddenly turned white, and his tattoo started shining; the earthbender celebrated when Aang threw a large gust of wind, causing everyone to fall to the ground.
"Your friends are alright. I did that just to trigger the Avatar state, and it worked!" Fong shouted in glee from beside him as Naruto glared at him. There were crazy winds whipping all around them as he looked up. It was Aang. He was on top of a tornado as the Avatar state took hold of him. He glanced to his right, relieved to see Katara there too.
Naruto covered his face to block the dust from his eyes as the winds picked up around them. An arm wrapped around him, shielding him. Naruto clutched Katara's shirt as they watched Aang suddenly crash down to the ground, sending waves of rocks everywhere and destroying everything. Naruto quickly grew trees to block any upcoming rock towards them.
The winds began to settle as Aang stood in the middle of the courtyard. Naruto could've sworn that he saw some glowing thing pass into him before he collapsed onto the ground. He stood back up shakily before looking around him, surveying the damage with sad eyes. Katara and immediately stood up and ran over to him.
She hugged him as he fell to his knees.
"I'm sorry, Katara; I hope you guys never have to see me like that again." He mumbled as they hugged it out. Naruto smiled sadly at them before his attention was drawn to General Crazy again.
"Hah! Are you joking? That was almost perfect! We just have to find out a way to control you when you're like that." He insisted, smiling evilly in his opinion. They all glared at him.
"You're out of your mind," Aang stated bluntly. The man ignored him.
"I guess we'll just figure it out on the way to the fire nation-." He was cut off as Sokka suddenly smacked the back of his head with his club, knocking the man out immediately.
"Anyone got a problem with that?" Sokka questioned. The earth benders shared a look before shaking their heads fervently. They walked over to them, bowing slightly.
"Do you still want an escort to Omashu?" One of them questioned tentatively. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"We never wanted one in the first place," Naruto grumbled in annoyance. Katara just looked at them and shook her head.
"I think we've got it covered." She replied, declining their offer. They all boarded Appa and flew off. Naruto laid back in the saddle, his arms behind his head.
"See, you guys should listen to me more often. I hate escorts." Naruto stated with finality. The others rolled their eyes at him with smiles on their faces.
"Fine, you were right this time. You happy now?" Sokka asked, crossing his arms. Naruto smirked at him and held a hand up to his ear.
"What was that? You're so happy to have me around, and I'm awesome? Why, thank you, Sokka!"
"Don't push it."