Chapter Text
In Sokka’s opinion, it was all Aang’s fault.
Katara would say it was Toph’s, who thought it was Zuko’s, who would reluctantly point the finger at Suki, who, as the current keeper of Team Avatar’s braincell, agreed with Sokka that it was mostly Aang’s fault.
Aang honestly was just happy to be with friends.
This year’s fuck up was… something of an anomoly. Once again, it has been pretty basic. It had really started simple enough. For the past three years, the friends would get together at least once a year and go on a two week camping trip to chase after the simpler times when they slept together under the stars and were frequently being hunted by the Fire Nation. It was tradition, as was something usually going wrong.
Spirit shenanigans followed Aang like a bad taste at the back of your throat, but that had hardly stopped the Gaang from having their usual camping adventure. And things had gone well, too. Zuko and Toph had a campfire going, Suki and Sokka had already gone hunting and were dressing their kills, and Aang and Katara had three tents set up neatly around the soon to be roaring fire.
Of course, Aang chose that moment to activate whatever weird spiritual aura he had that drew craziness to him like a buttermoth to a flame. He’d wandered off into the woods and, having been gone for an usually unusual amount of time, the rest of them had set out tracking with their resident expert in Avatar tracking (as much as Zuko resented the title) in the lead.
Of course, Aang couldn’t be doing something normal.
“...Is that a polar bear dog?” Sokka finally asked while the five of them stood on the edge of a clearing, watching Aang play wrestle with a massive polar bear dog. Which, for the record, not native to the forests of the Earth Nation.
Aang hardly seemed to notice his newfound audience, too caught up in scratches and cuddles. “Aang, why do you have a polar bear dog?” Sokka repeated. Aang looked up as the group cautiously approached, weapons and elements at the ready.
“It’s okay! She’s friendly!” Aang gestured to the discarded dog saddle nearby, “There’s a tag on her saddle, her name is Naga. Come say hi!” Aang sprang to his feet, air scootering in circles around Naga and laughing as she chased after him, howling and barking with delight.
“She does seem sweet.” Katara said, stepping closer and holding out a hand. Naga stopped and sniffed Katara’s outstretched hand, tail wagging with a sudden ferocity as she bypassed Katara’s hand entirely and licked her face. “Okay, little gross but sweet.”
Beside Sokka, Suki took Toph’s hand and the two of them walked closer as well. “She’s adorable.” Suko cooed and scratched Naga’s ears. Naga chuffed and nosed at Suki’s hand before flopping over on her back and showing her stomach, to which the four of them immediately descended upon it with rubs and scratches.
“Zuko, tell me I’m not crazy. Does anyone else not find it weird that there’s a freakin’ polar bear dog in the middle of the forest?” Sokka turned to his final confidant, only to discover the treachery reigned supreme when he found Zuko already sitting down with Naga’s head in his lap.
“Okay, okay. Yeah it’s a little weird. But she clearly has an owner.” Katara pointed out, gesturing towards the saddle. “Where’s your owner, girl?”
Naga huffed again and rolled to her feet, nearly crushing the group before trotting over to her saddle and nosing at one of the pockets. Sokka wandered over, keeping an eye on the polar bear dog, before opening it up and pulling out a piece of paper. Unfolding it, he found a black and white drawing.
Four young adults a little older than them looked at the camera, eyes wide and grinning as they posed. A woman with long, dark, curly hair and some kind of mechanical glove that Sokka was itching to get his hands off draped her arm across a young man’s shoulder. He was grinning widely and had a fire ferret draped across his shoulders. Another man stood on the other end, arms crossed, eyes a little guarded. In the middle, a girl was dressed in water tribe clothing and beaming at the camera. And there, tucked into the far right side of the portrait like an afterthought was…
“An airbender?” Sokka asked, incredulously. Aang paused from where he was picking fur off his robes and wandered over, looking at the drawing. Aang’s eyes widened as he grabbed the photo from Sokka and peered closer at it. “An airbender?” Aang repeated. “He… he has tattoos like a Master, and he’s dressed like one. Maybe I’m not the last one! This proves it!”
“Slow down.” Sokka demanded, snatching the picture back. The others wandered over to look at the picture as well. “This drawing is weird, there’s no brushstrokes. Who are these people? Why are they dressed so funny?” Sokka asked, handing the picture around to the others so they could see.
“Maybe it’s a stamped image?” Suki suggested, looking closely. “It’s so lifelike though, how did they get it so detailed?” Pausing, Suki pointed out the dark haired girl with the glove. “She’s pretty.”
“The two men are brothers, I think?” Zuko added. “They look similar. The one’s probably a firebender, he’s in a resting stance.” Toph rolled her eyes and sat down beside Naga, petting her fur. “This isn’t as fun for me as it is for the rest of you.” She muttered.
“Well, the one girl has to be water tribe.” Katara suggested, fingers tracing the edge of the picture. “Her pelt’s a wolf hare and they’re not found in the Northern tribe. But I don’t recognize her. Maybe she’s Naga’s owner?”
“Has to be.” Sokka agreed, turning back to the polar bear dog. “Is this your owner?” He asked, holding up the picture only to stop short. “There’s writing on the back. Asami, Bolin, Korra, Mako, Tenzin. Air Temple Island. ” Sokka read, giving the others a weird look. “Air Temple Island? Aang, do you know where that is?”
Aang shook his head, looking troubled. “No, I’ve never heard of it. Maybe it’s new? Maybe a couple airbenders escaped and established an island where they’d be safe? Naga, can you take us to Air Temple Island?” He asked.
Naga yawned and stood up, careful of Toph, and nosed her saddle again with more vigor. “I think she wants us to put it on her.” Suki said, her and Katara already pulling the saddle off the ground and fixing it around Naga.
“Hold on, are we really doing this? Are we seriously getting on the back of a random polar bear dog in the middle of the forest and going who knows where?” Sokka asked, yelping when Toph landed a well aimed punch on his shoulder.
“If this Tenzin’s an airbender, we have to meet him.” Zuko pointed out. Aang nodded solemnly. “I have to know, Sokka. I gotta do this.”
Sokka sighed and rubbed his eyes. Maybe a side quest might be good. Besides, weirdness was tradition. “Fine. But we’re taking Appa, not Naga.” Sokka relented, ignoring the cheers from the group in favour of pulling out the bison whistle and summoning Appa. ‘Children, the lot of them.’
A few minutes later, thanks to months of practice from being on the run, the campsite was taken back down and packed away and all four animals (Naga, Appa, Momo, and Toph) were ready to take to the trail.
And what a slow trail it was.
“Are we there yet?” Toph bitched. Due to the dense forest, they couldn’t fly without losing track of Naga. Which meant walking. A lot of it. About half an hour’s worth at this point.
“I don’t know, ask the polar bear dog.” Sokka shot back. Zuko sighed and crouched without a word, letting Toph piggyback on him as was their usual go to when alone with no royal court to gasp in shock at the Fire Lord debasing himself.
All at once, Naga took off like an eelhound, howling like mad. “Woah, slow down girl!” Aang called, air scootering after the animal. “Aang, you lunatic wait for us!” Sokka shouted. The five of them, as well as their animal companions, took to the chase.
Finally, Naga stopped in front of a stone archway covered in symbols, pacing back and forth and pawing excitedly. Sokka shared a look with Katara and stepped forward, placing a hand on Naga’s flank. “Naga, there’s no island here.” He said slowly.
Suki stepped forward to join him, circling the stone arch. “It almost looks like a doorway, though.” She pointed out.
“The stone is weird.” Toph announced, hopping off Zuko’s back and approaching the archway. She ran a careful hand over the stonework, frowning. “I can’t bend it.”
Aang hummed and assumed his stance, staring intensely at the arch. “I can’t either. And there’s a strong spiritual energy coming off it. Maybe it is a doorway?”
Sokka scooped a rock off the ground and tossed it through the opening, raising an eyebrow when the rock disappeared into thin air. “So it’s definitely a doorway. Are we really gonna do this?” He asked, already knowing the answer. Suki and Katara were already pulling travel packs off Appa and distributing them. ‘Well, that answers that.’
“It could lead to airbenders, Sokka. We have to.” Aang insisted. Naga barked and settled onto her stomach, staring expectantly at the group. “I guess. Well, let’s get this over with.” Sokka moaned. The group huddled closer together and approached the arch, Naga trotting over to join them. “Wait here, Appa. You and Momo watch the archway and make sure nothing happens.” Aang ordered. Personally, Sokka thought it was a little nutty the way Aang always spoke to the animals like they could understand, but whatever. Avatar nuttiness.
Stepping through the invisible doorway was like getting a cold blast of water from Katara that soaked Sokka to the bone. All at once, the soft grass of the forest fell away and was replaced with damp rock of a harbor, causing the group to lose their footing and collapse in a heap on the other side. Behind them, the archway stood decorated with different ruins.
“Okay, let’s never do that again.” Zuko gasped, turning a sickly shade of green. “What? No way, that was so much fun!” Aang laughed and bounced over to the where Naga had followed them through, running gentle fingers through her fur. “Is this the island, girl?”
Nearby, Sokka watched as Toph frowned and slid to her knees to touch the dirt. “Across the water… there’s something big? Some kind of massive city. But it isn’t stone and wood, at least not all. It’s… metal? And there’s these weird vibrations, like some kind of… bouncy footed komodo rhinos if that makes sense.” She muttered. “It doesn’t, if that helps.” Katara replied absentmindedly, too busy squinting across the bay at something.
“It does look like a city, but I’ve never seen one so big. Or so shiny? It’s kind of an eyesore.” Suki explained, moving to stand beside Katara and matching her frown. “Hey Aang?” She added, looking over to where he was sitting beside Toph and frowning at the dirt. “Yeah Suki?” Clearing her throat pointedly, she gestured just slightly off from where the city was in front of them.
“Was just curious. Why is there a massive metal statue of you in the harbor?”