Chapter Text
The four of them stood on Pakku's boat, Appa swimming next to them as they chatted for the morning before preparing to part ways. A group of people from the Northern Water Tribe decided they would travel to the Southern Tribe to help rebuild and for Pakku to possibly reconnect with Katara and Sokka's grandmother. Saiya isn't what you would call a people person, so she hung back by Appa, feeding him some of the cabbages they found someone selling at the North Pole. Saiya feeds Appa the last cabbage and he groans in protest to which Saiya just chuckles.
"Sorry, buddy, no more!" She puts her hands up to show him she's not hiding any and Saiya thinks if sky bison could roll their eyes, Appa would. She pets Appa, laughing at his antics, as Aang approaches her.
"We're saying our goodbyes and Master Pakku says he has something for you," Aang tells her, and she gives Appa a few solid pats before walking over to where Katara and Sokka are already standing. Satisfied that everyone was there, Pakku starts giving them their parting gifts. He gives Katara a small vial of water from the oasis, which supposedly has unique properties.
"What does that even mean?" Sokka whispers next to her and she just shrugs. Next Pakku hands Aang scrolls like the one Katara stole from the pirates forever ago. Well, it was only maybe 2 months ago, with everything that's happened it feels like forever. Lost in her thoughts she doesn't even realize Pakku's now moved to stand in front of her and Sokka elbows her to pull her back to reality.
"As an honorary member, you should know the ways of the order," Pakku hands her a box with a lock on it, the key on a string resting on top, "I'm entrusting you to keep the secrets in the box protected." He squeezes her shoulder and smiles, "Say hi to Liang for me." She nods and grabs the key off the top of the box before heading over to Appa. Sokka follows behind her soon after and she gives him a curious look.
"That was fast?" She says and he drops his head.
"Yep." He says simply, popping the 'p', and Saiya lets it go. They walk up Appa's tail onto the saddle and turn back to the ships.
"Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the 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 tells them and Aang gives him a bright smile and a thumbs up, Sokka gives him a small wave and Katara gives him a big one, while Saiya bows lightly.
"Thank you for everything, Pakku," "Thanks!" "Thank you! Say hi to Gran-Gran!" "Thank you, Master Pakku!" They all call out and Aang settles down on Appa's head, "Appa, yip yip!" Appa raises out of the water and sets off for the Earth Kingdom. Katara waves down at the boats until they're almost out of view before sitting down next to Saiya, Sokka sitting across from them. Saiya pulls out the small envelope she still had inside her bag and sets it next to her before starting to unlock the box. As she fiddles with the lock Katara secretly pokes at the envelope and spots the green and white letters, but can't make out what they are.
"What did Pakku give you?" She asks and Saiya finally manages to get the box open.
"I think it's information on the society my dad was in," she pulls out the letters and books inside the box. None of the books have titles, only the bottom of the spine is stamped with the pattern of a lotus tile. There's a small book titled 'How to play Pai Sho" and a few small trinkets in the box. Saiya pats everything down back into the box and reaches for the envelope, resting it on top and going to close the box but Katara snatches the envelope out.
"What's this?" She asks and Saiya snatches it back.
"Be careful with that!" She chastises which grabs Sokka and Aang's attention. "Remember when Pakku pull me aside after you guys had practice, the morning of the invasion?" She asks and Katara and Aang nod, Sokka doesn't but he doesn't say anything so Saiya continues, "well, he wanted to talk because he knew my dad, they were both members of the White Lotus." Saiya shares and all of their eyes widen, "my brother is in Ba Sing Se, he has a tea shop that he helps refugees at and gives information back to the White Lotus." She pulls the passports out of the envelope and shows them, all of them confused to see Saiya's face on it. "He tried to get me, my mom, and himself to Ba Sing Se before he had got drafted. He got the passports made but he never got to give them to us before he had to leave." She tells them, staring at her mother's face on the passport. They sit in silence for a moment before Saiya puts the passports in the box and locks it, putting the box in her bag and the key around her neck.
"Why are you keeping the passports?" Sokka asks.
"Just in case," Saiya says vaguely and Sokka shrugs, looking back to the water and Aang turns back to steering Appa. Katara, however, gives Saiya a strange look before looking forwards again, leaving Saiya to stew in her thoughts. They sit in silence for the rest of the flight, which surprisingly isn't that long. The base is easy to spot, with tall imposing walls and lots of commotion in and around it. Aang slowly descends Appa to the center of the base where a group of soldiers stands with who Saiya assumes is General Fong.
"Welcome, Avatar Aang!" Fong cheers and the soldiers clap, "I am General Fong, and welcome to all of you, great heroes! Appa, Momo, valiant Saiya, brave Sokka, and the mighty Katara!" At the informal titles, the gang feels confidence flood them.
"Mighty Katara? I like that!" Katara says smugly and suddenly fireworks go off around them. The look around and even the ever-humble Aang looks a little smug at the welcome display.
"Not bad, not bad!" Sokka muses and Saiya nudges him jokingly.
"Let us not waste any time!" The General announces and escorts them into the large building in the center of the base. They walk into a war discussion room and are gestured to sit down while Fond walks to the table at the front of the room, diagrams behind him.
"Avatar Aang, we were all amazed at the stories of how you singlehandedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet at the North Pole," Fond says and besides her, Aang cringes, "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," Aang says in a casual tone but Katara and Saiya share a worried glance.
"Avatar, you are ready to face the Fire Lord now!" Fond cheers and all four of their jaws drop to the floor.
"What!? No, I'm not!" Aang gasps.
"Aang still needs to master all four of the elements!" Katara says and Saiya glances at Aang to gauge his reaction. Is he still against firebending?
"Why? With the kind of power he possesses, power enough to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the Fire Lord now!" Fong says gleefully and they all share a look.
"He could only do that because he was in the Avatar state, not to mention the spiritual mojo involved," Saiya says.
"See, the Avatar state is where I'm-" Aang starts but Fong puts his hand up.
"I'm well aware! Your eyes and tattoos glow and you're able to summon unbelievable power. Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reach their shores," Fong draws a line on his map beside him, "But with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon, we could cut a swath right through to the heart of the Fire Nation!" Saiya gulps and Sokka glances at her nervously.
"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 argues, standing up, and Fong claps his hands, standing up as well.
"So, it's decided then. I'll help you figure out how to get into the Avatar State and then you'll face your destiny," He announces and they all stand up next to Aang.
"No, nothing's decided. We already have a plan. Aang's pursuing his destiny his way." Katara says forcefully and Fong puts his hands up in surrender.
"Well, while you take your time learning the elements, the War goes on, "Aang gulps, shrinking at the idea, "May I show you something?" Fong asks as he already starts to lead Aang to a window, "That's the infirmary, and those soldiers are the lucky ones," Aang's eyes widen, "They came back. Every day, the Fire Nation takes lives. People are dying, Aang! You could end it, now. Think about it." Fong says, picking his hand off of Aang's shoulder. He walks away and Aang watches him leave, looking downcast.
"I'm not a fan of this guy," Saiya whispers to the other two who nods in agreement. They all walk over to join Aang as another soldier walks towards them as well.
"I'll show you to your place of stay." The soldier says curtly and escorts them out of the center base to a smaller house just above the courtyard. He swings the door open for them, revealing a room with four beds against the wall in the back and a short table in the middle. While it's not as nice as the palace rooms they were staying in at the North Pole, it's better than camping. They all shuffle in and the soldier closes the door behind them. Still on edge from the talk with Fong, they set up their belongings quietly. Aang breaks the silence first.
"I'm going on a walk," He says, leaving quickly as the others share a glance.
"I think Fong got to him," Katara says, upset but Sokka shrugs.
"The guy has a point, every day the Fire Nation kills more and more," He looks to Saiya and cringes, "no offense."
"None taken," She says blankly. While she's proud of her heritage, she's not proud of her nation and has distanced herself from the idea of it. Hearing people disgrace it has become second nature to her.
"I don't think anyone should get to tell Aang what is and isn't his destiny," Katara says pointedly and Sokka shrugs again, not wanting to argue further.
"I'm gonna try and find a food market," Sokka says, though they both know he's just jittery and wants to do something, so they let him leave the small house and finish setting up their stuff for the night. Saiya pulls out the box Pakku gave her and starts reading some of the letters. Upon further inspection, they're updates from Liang. There's nothing deeply personal, just updates on refugees and an apparently corrupt government. She gets engrossed in the letters and doesn't notice Katara grabbing the passport from the open box and inspecting it.
"Your mom is really beautiful," Katara says, clutching her necklace and Saiya smiles sadly.
"Yeah," Saiya mumbles, looking at the passports conflicted, "I miss her a lot." Katara catches the look in Saiya's eyes and debates prying before finally caving.
"You want to leave for Ba Sing Se, to be with your brother, don't you?" Katara asks but they both know it's rhetorical.
"Aang is learning how to control the Avatar state right now, he doesn't need a firebending teacher. If you can even call me that," Saiya looks wistfully to the letters from her brother, and her heart aches, "I know it's selfish to abandon the Avatar just because I want to see my family..." Katara puts the passport back and fully sits up.
"It's not Saiya, I almost did the same!" Katara grabs Saiya's hand, "We'll miss you. All of us. But none of us can stop you from helping your family." The girls sit in silence for a moment before Saiya puts the letters back in the box and locks it, draping the key around her neck. "Think about it, you're welcome to travel with us forever. But if you want to go find your family no one will force you to stay." While the sentiment means a lot to Saiya, she doesn't feel like missing her friends is the biggest drawback. What if this plan falls through, and Aang has to learn firebending? Is it selfish of her to abandon her position as one of the Avatar's masters just to find her brother? She isn't even a master herself. The girls say nothing more to each other and go to their separate chores. Saiya reading through the material in the box and Katara sewing their clothing. Sokka returns not much later and tells them about what he saw around town. 'Ah' Saiya thinks, 'he left to scout the town, not find food.' The protectiveness of that makes her heart long for her big brother even more. They all get ready for bed as Aang finally comes back.
"I told the general I'd help him, by going into the Avatar State," Aang says, hollow, and while Katara gasps Sokka says nothing and Saiya pinches the bridge of her nose. She's caught herself doing that often nowadays.
"Aang, no! This is not the right way!" Katara argues and Saiya can feel an argument coming up.
"Why not? Remember when he took out the Fire Navy?" Sokka asks and Katara glares at him for bringing it up. Saiya's surprised he brought it up in the first place, they both agreed quietly to not mention it again as to avoid bringing up the death toll Aang caused.
"There's a right way to do this. Practice, study, and discipline!" Katara yells at Sokka but it's more directed at Aang.
"Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord!" Sokka counters and Katara throws her hands up in annoyance.
"If you two meatheads want to throw away everything we've worked for, fine, go ahead and glow it up!" Katara rolls over in her bed, putting an end to the disagreement. Aang sits down on his bed sorrowfully before looking to Saiya, who still hasn't said a word.
"What about you?" Aang asks her and she looks to the box with the key to finding her brother, and back to the Avatar, she promised her father's spirit that she would protect.
"Part of being the Avatar is making these decisions for yourself." She says pointedly and lays down, shutting down any followup questions that were on Aang's tongue.
The next day is exhausting. Katara decides to join them for their "Avatar state training", as they're calling it, even though she disagrees with it. They try everything for tea, to scaring Aang, to some strange concoction that they all could agree was just hot mud. They spend the whole day trying different methods that all end in failure and Saiya can see it wearing down on Aang. She even tries teaching him some breath meditations that she knows that only ended in him feeling calm, but not very Avatar-y. They go to bed with a thick tension between the four of them. Come morning the next day and Aang and Sokka are already gone. Saiya must have slept in because when she wakes up Katara is already dressed and doing her hair. Saiya glances around the small house for any sight of the boys before getting up and stretching.
"They're gone to talk to Fong," Katara supplies, and Saiya gives her a noise of acknowledgment before grabbing her clothes from her pack and changing. It's been long enough that Katara and Saiya no longer feel weird changing in front of each other, the lack of privacy that comes with traveling on a bison across the world makes it a little difficult to be modest. The girls still demand that Aang and Sokka leave for a bit while they change, but since it looks like it's just them that day Saiya changes into her everyday clothes. Now that they're in the Earth Kingdom Saiya can wear her usual grey pants and orange cropped shirt and she sits next to Katara at the mirror to braid her hair. They chat casually and Katara suggests they take a look around the base. Saiya can hear the hidden meaning behind it, of Katara not wanting to be around Aang and Sokka as they pursue what she thinks is the wrong path. The girls spend the morning looking around the base but are quickly bored. It's a military base, sure, but they were hoping for at least a pretty view but it's just stone as far as the eye can see. As they walk back to the home they're staying in the sound of earthbending becomes louder and louder. Saiya brushes it off as something Aang's doing, or maybe military practice, but Katara seems concerned. When they get back inside Saiya lays down on the bed dramatically while Katara sits down gracefully.
"There's nothing to do here," Saiya complains and Katara sighs. Sounds of fighting punctuate the silence and Katara cringes at every one. "I wonder what crazy thing they're trying to do now," Saiya says and Katara stands up, picking at the hems of her outfit nervously.
"Maybe we should just make sure Aang's okay," Katara says, grabbing her waterskin off the table and looking to Saiya. She nods and grabs the three daggers off the table before slipping them into their compartments on her waistband before following Katara out. Their home is sat at the top of the base so it only takes a quick jog before they get a good view of the absolute mess in the courtyard.
Sokka's running down the stairs, taking 3 at a time, as Aang airbends his way around soldiers who are.....attacking him? Saiya stumbles for a moment as Katara continues to fly down the stairs and she takes in the full picture. Yep, Fong is definitely attacking Aang, Saiya thinks to herself before jumping down the stairs to meet Katara and Sokka, softening her fall with a gust of fire. Sokka watches her land just as he grabs hold of his boomerang.
"The general's gone crazy! He's trying to force Aang into the Avatar State!" Sokka tells them before sending his boomerang flying and running off to help Aang. Katara runs off to help Aang and Saiya busies herself with taking down the soldiers on the sides. The large coins of earth roll towards the others and Saiya sweeps her leg on the ground knocking the five earthbenders flat on their backs. They gasp as the wind gets knocked out of them and Saiya moves on to the other row in the same fashion but in the middle of her sweep, her leg is encased in stone. Pushing her chi to her foot the stone explodes from the energy of her fire and she continues on. The soldiers trap Katara in between the earth coins and Saiya runs for her. She knocks the earthbenders down with three more blasts of fire, releasing Katara who sends a water whip for Fong.
"Maybe you can avoid me ... but she can't!" Fong announces from his high ground on the stairs. At the twist of his hand, Katara sinks into the ground just past her shins.
"I can't move!" She screams and Saiya runs out for her but once again stone traps her feet. Just as she breaks one foot free the other gets another layer of stone wrapped around it, creeping up to her mid-thigh.
"Don't hurt her!" Aang yells as he sends a kick of wind that Fong easily blocks. For the attack, Fong sinks Katara waist-deep.
"Katara! No!" Sokka calls out and tries to reach for her but Fong traps his steads feet, sending him flying into the gap of the earth coin. The hole tightens around Sokka and traps him in it as he struggles.
"Fong! Stop this!" Saiya yells and sends a punch of fire to Fong and dodges swiftly and raises his hand. Before Saiya can react the earth below her reaches up and captures her hand in the motion, leaving her in a stretched out position with one hand jutted out and one foot planted on the ground. Next to her, Saiya can hear Katara's panicked breath.
"Stop this! You have to let her go!" Aang cries and Fong's face develops a wicked grin.
"You could save her if you were in the Avatar State!" Fong demands, "You could save all of them!" At this Katara sinks a little deeper, now into the ground up to her chest. The coin around Sokka tightens and even from the distance, Saiya hears the air gets squeezed out of him. The stone trapping Saiya creeps up further, now trapping her entire leg up to her stomach and her whole arm up to her neck.
"I'm trying ... I'm trying!" Aang yells, tears springing at the corners of his eyes. Katara sinks even further and Saiya can't tell what happens to Sokka before the stone creeps up and pins her neck in an upturned position, only her left hand, right leg, and head free from stone.
"Aang!" They all cry out and Aang shakes from fear and exertion.
"I don't see glowing!" Fong taunts and only Katara's head is out of the ground now. Sokka struggles to breathe and Saiya feels the stone wrap around her torso and starts to creep down her free limbs.
"Please, Aang!" Katara cries out as she watches Saiya become encased in stone and her brother's ribs crushed. Aang falls to the front of Fong and cries.
"You don't need to do this!" Aang cries and Fong glares down at him in disappointment.
"Apparently, I do." He says emotionlessly and Saiya feels the last bit of stone trap her as Katara sinks fully into the ground and Sokka yells out in pain from the earth around him trying to close completely. Saiya can feel her breath push against her face as the stone encases her face and she's never felt claustrophobic until now. She can only hear the blood rushing in her ears and she starts to panic. The earth around her shakes and she can hear crashing and yelling but nothing registers more than surface level because the sheer amount of fear in her overrides everything.
While her whole body was covered in the rock for only a few seconds, a minute at most, it feels like years as it cracks and falls around her. It falls in chunks and she crumbles to the ground, breathing quick and feeling her heart hammer in her chest. She coughs violently as the sounds around her finally hit her and it sounds like fighting. She feels hands on her shoulders and shes guided away by someone as a tremor shakes the earth.
"Saiya, breath!" Some- Sokka, she realizes with relief- yells and grips her shoulders tighter. She takes shuttering breathes in and looks up to see Aang, the kid she's come to see as a little brother, in a tornado of earth and air as the ground below him ripples.
"Oh my god." Is all she can say as she grips Sokka's forearms and watches as Katara pushes against the wind to reach Aang. In his tornado, his body jerks for a moment and the glow leaves his body as he slumps and the ground ceases it's shaking. He falls and Katara rushes to him, hugging him tightly.
"Come on," Saiya urges Sokka and the two grab the ostrich horse nearby and hop on to traverse the now rocky and destroyed courtyard. They walk up behind general Fong just as he finishes his talk about continuing to train Aang and Saiya laughs bitterly as Sokka clubs him on the back of the head, knocking him out. They glance around the nervous foot soldiers who look unsure of what to do. Their general just got knocked out, by the Avatar's friend, who the general just tried to attack. Saiya pinches the bridge of her nose again and she sets a promise to herself to break the habit.
"Anyone got a problem?" Sokka asks the crowd of soldiers who shake their heads no unanimously. Saiya, Katara, and Sokka all shoot daggers to the lone soldier who approaches them, his head bowed.
"Would- would you still like an escort? To Omashu?" He asks quietly.
"No, I think we'll be just fine," Saiya says venomously as she helps Katara and Aang onto the back of the ostrich horse and they travel back to their small house to collect their belongings. They collect their belongings quickly and Saiya is reminded of the reason they never unpack and pack light. This time she catches herself before she pinches her nose bridge and settles for angrily setting her stuff on Appa's saddle, who had conveniently landed in front of their house. The pile onto him and Sokka sends them off, Aang sitting on the saddle with them curled in on himself.
Katara and Saiya share a look and then scoot onto either side of Aang. Katara rests her head on his shoulder and Saiya wraps an arm around both of them and pulls Aang into her side. Her heart swells with pity for Aang, but also pride at his bravery. Then, her heart breaks when she realizes she very well could leave them in search of Liang. She pushes the argument in her head to the back for now and enjoys the moment shared between her and her friends.