Chapter Text
The crispness of early morning air crept its way up, along with the sun rising slowly yet proudly over the mountains.
Such a sight would have been very refreshing for the young airbender currently soaring through the sky, had the imagery of a bright, glowing, orange-yellow ball of fire not brought his thoughts back to the reason he was flying out here to begin with.
Sleep had been scarce for Aang over the past couple of nights. He, of course, was the Avatar. The person who was destined to one day wield all four elements and protect the balance of the world, like every reincarnation of Avatar before him. However, Aang had recently made the unsettling realization that he was under far greater pressure to learn those elements than most of those past Avatars. He, along with Katara and Sokka - two people he'd come to consider family now - had discovered that a comet was drawing near, expected to pass by the world at the end of the next summer. When it arrived, Fire Lord Ozai would draw from its incredible power to become stronger than perhaps any firebender before him ... strong enough to finish off the century-long war waged by the Fire Nation, once and for all. Should Aang not learn all of the elements and defeat him before that, even he would be unable to bring the world back from such devastation.
And considering it was only last week that Aang had started learning how to bend his second element, water ... needless to say, the stress he was currently feeling was considerably high. The entire world was depending on him. Yet he still had so far to go in so little time. He hadn't even reached the age where most Avatars learned they are the Avatar! He still had no knowledge of how to earthbend or firebend, and his waterbending skills were still basic, despite how quickly he was learning and catching on.
He'd been plagued by a nightmare or two as well, in which he witnessed the Fire Lord succeed in his goal and everyone he cared about perish. The latest of which was what shot him awake at the brink of dawn under an hour ago. Katara, as usual, offered her ever-kind and gentle words of wisdom and reassurance, promising Aang that she believed he had what it took to succeed. And Sokka ... definitely tried to do the same, and Aang appreciated the effort at least.
But comforting as they were, the two of them couldn't get Aang back to sleep, and the airbender told his friends that he needed to take a flight to soothe his nerves.
Which brought him here, high above the trees and mountainous landscape. The terrain looked a bit on the softer side, with light blankets of mud coating the dirt beneath, and several bare patches in between the dense clumps of trees. A bit of extra sunlight decorated the flora, reflected onto it by the wide, shimmering river that ran through the region. The only artificial creation in sight was a small black-and-red tower that stood in the distance. He had already flown over some of this on Appa as he and his friends continued their journey up north. It was a nice source of familiarity to Aang, during a time where his thoughts could linger on little outside of an unfamiliar, uncertain future.
Aang felt his breathing begin to steady. He gently closed his eyes and let the gusts of wind carrying him brush against his face, flapping through his traditional airbender attire as he soared. His grip on his trusty glider was firm and unwavering, as his fists and fingers eased up on their trembling. With there being nothing up here that he could possibly crash into for quite a ways, the budding Avatar just gave himself over to the will of the wind.
It's okay ... You're gonna be fine ... Aang told himself. We're already so much closer to the North Pole. We'll find a waterbending master there. And then we'll find an earthbending master ... after I've mastered water ... how long will that take? Weeks? More? A-And then what about the rest of the elements? What if they take even longer? No ... I-I can't waste any more time ... If I do, I-I-
The stressed child's grey eyes snapped open with a gasp as he felt himself veering sharply downhill. He made a sharp jerk of his upper body to realign himself, trying to calm down as his expression settled slightly.
Realizing that he may need to take it even easier, Aang made a gradual descent towards a nearby plateau of bare rock. He performed a small swoop to get himself in a vertical position, and his boots clicked as they touched down on solid earth once more. With a deft twirl, he retracted his glider into a staff, resting it gently nearby.
The normally outwardly upbeat boy wore a look of solemn contemplation. He stared out and drank in the scenery, deep in thought as the wind ruffled the red of his upper wear. As he saw the few fluffy white clouds in the sky passing by over him, he thought back to his carefree days at the Southern Air Temple, over one hundred years ago. The very idea of it being that long ago made Aang's skin crawl. He remembered when he flew and glided through identical clouds, the rush it gave him, not having to worry about anything other than winning a race against his fellow airbenders, or whether or not he would like what the cooks made for dinner. He recalled a particularly foul helping of onion-banana juice the monks once decided to try out ... the reception all around ensured that it wasn't served again.
But that was then. Now, all of that was gone. Because of his own choice to run away from it all, abandoning his calling when he was most needed. And now, he had one hundred years' worth of responsibilities to make up for.
The airbender let out a shuddering sigh, trying to calm his nerves.
"Excuse me."
Aang was more startled by the new voice than he should have been, jumping up a couple of inches. He twisted his head around behind him, and he was greeted with the sight of a pale man he'd never seen before. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, sporting a long, green tunic with white stripes on its edges, and dark tan trousers with brown boots. His hair was done up in a queue, and he had a rugged moustache and goatee. There was a neutral look on his face, matched by his unassuming posture and flat vocal tone.
"Uh ... hi," Aang said awkwardly. "Can I help you?" The young monk's stress aside, he was always willing to give some assistance where it was needed. Although this man's sudden appearance was definitely strange, considering Aang didn't see any vehicle or animal he could have used to get here. Maybe he was a hiker of some kind?
"Yes, pardon me, boy," the man's gruff voice responded. "But are you, by any chance, the Avatar?"
The question's tone sounded as nonconfrontational as the man's overall demeanor looked. Nevertheless, Aang sighed internally, a tiny pout appearing on his face. Even in his efforts to get away for a little while, his role was brought up. For what reason, he was sure he'd find out. He made an effort to not let those negative feelings show, and his eyes became more open and inviting.
"... Y-Yeah. Yeah, I am," he replied.
The man grunted in response, closing his eyes with a nod.
"Well then," he said. His eyes opened again. This time, they weren't so neutral. They were suddenly filled with determination, anticipation, and, strangely, regret. "I'm deeply sorry for this."
Aang felt a chill go down his tattooed spine.
But before he could react in any way, rocks suddenly and sharply burst out from the ground right at his feet and shot up. They climbed up to just above his knees within a second, before sharply tightening around his legs, rooting the airbender firmly in place.
"Wha- HEY!!" Aang shouted, waving his arms to avoid tipping over in his pure shock. "What are you doing?!"
He reached down to grasp one of his legs, grunting as he tried to yank it out of its new stony vice. But it was too tightly anchored down. He wriggled and tugged the other leg, twisting his waist and clenching his teeth, but the stubborn stones only barely buckled.
Throughout this ordeal, Aang saw nine more figures emerge into his field of view, coming to join the original stranger atop the plateau. They were all men of different ages, each sporting identical clothing, with varying degrees of facial hair. Some wore their hair in queues like the first man, and others let it flow free, while one's head was completely shaven.
Two of these men had their arms raised and their fingers tensely curled in. They pulled their hands back a bit and further tightened their fingers, which was followed by a tightening of the rocks around the boy's legs.
Aang gasped and shouted in discomfort, realizing just how this was happening.
"Y-You're ... You're earthbenders?!" he shouted.
The earthbenders simply closed in on their new target. They moved slowly and cautiously, like hunters approaching a downed animal that could pounce back at any moment.
The first man Aang had spoken to stepped forward as well. "We'll try to make this as painless as possible," he uttered solemnly, not a trace of satisfaction in his voice. "Just please hold still."
"Clearly you don't know me well," Aang snarked back.
The master airbender wound his arms up and spun them in a grand circular motion, creating a huge gust of wind that knocked down several of the approaching earthbenders. Others, though, reacted quickly enough to bring up shields of rock that absorbed the attack, keeping them on their feet. They then made a swift push of the shields with their fists, sending those rocks right at the pinned Avatar.
After a sharp hitch of breath, Aang sucked in as much air as he could into his lungs. With an overly loud exhale, he unleashed another powerful burst of air out of his mouth, directed at the ground beneath him. Upon impact, the sheer force of the blow was enough to send him flying meters high, shattering his rock restraints into pieces.
"Catch him!" one earthbender yelled.
Multiple rocks were sent darting right at the airborne Avatar, who frantically kicked and airbended them away as he fell. When he was getting close to hitting the muddy ground, two large boulders were about to smash into him from his left and right sides. Mouth dropped in fear, Aang extended his legs into a split to halt their momentum just long enough to fall beneath them as they collided.
The boy crashed ungracefully into the ground, his side sinking very lightly into the thin layer of sludge. As he groggily looked up with a groan, he saw all ten earthbenders zipping their way towards him, moving to surround their target on all sides.
With a deft motion and thrust of his limbs, Aang spun himself back onto his feet. He lowered himself into a combat stance, raising his arms and doing his best to harden his grey gaze. The men did the same, and the boy tensed up and took a step back, his heel brushing through the mud.
"What do you want with me?" he demanded. "Who are you?!"
Though no verbal response came to his cries, a few of the earthbenders' faces took on a subtle look of sadness. It was almost unnoticeable with the adrenaline rush Aang was experiencing. But it didn't appear to indicate that these men were going to back down in any way.
Rather, three of them looked at each other, nodded, and then began waving their wrists in rigid motions. As they did so, the mud beneath them began to shift and crawl. Aang could feel it moving around at his own feet as well, and when he looked down, he was frightened to see it rise up and begin coiling around his ankles. The airbender rolled away before the substance could get a solid grip, leaving the "tendrils" grasping at nothing.
The nearest earthbenders dashed towards him in response. Near the end of his roll, Aang swept out a leg and spun it around in a full circle, spinning on his other heel. It formed a ripple of wind that smacked into the earthbenders' feet and tripped them over. Aang then sprang up in a huge leap, cleanly soaring over the fallen foes.
I don't know why these guys are after me, but I just wanna get out of here! Aang thought. He'd fight them however much he needed to, but not only did he not like his odds in a ten-on-one fight, but the compassionate boy was getting the sense that these opponents were attacking him out of necessity rather than desire. Whatever the case, surely once he landed past this group of ambushers, he could flee into the trees and hide-
"AAH!!"
Something clasped itself around both of his ankles, squeezing them together and yanking him down mid-leap. He let out a loud yell as he made very rough impact in the dirt and mud face-first.
"Nnghh ..."
Aang rolled onto his back and reached up to soothe his aching head. But time would not permit even that luxury, as he felt the bindings at his feet, which he saw were rocks that had been bended into "cuffs", be accompanied by another clump going for his shins.
With big, panicked eyes, Aang darted his head around as the earthbenders closed back in on him quickly. The one that had bound his legs contorted his hands to tighten the grip, squeezing a hiss out of Aang. He used his free hands to crawl away from further attempts to restrain him, including more tendrils of mud forming around him. Contorting himself up into a ball, the nimble young airbender pushed his palms off the ground and vaulted himself towards the earthbender controlling his leg binds. He landed on his bound feet, only to spring off them and propel himself forward, followed by doing the same with his hands again. His heart raced as he dodged and veered his way around other earthbenders' attempts to stop him, by means of either more stone projectiles or sludge coils.
With one final handstand and push, Aang managed to slam his feet into the face of the earthbender holding his legs. The man yelled and his hands went loose, and Aang was finally able to slip his feet free.
The boy panted wildly as he landed on a hand and knee, his anxiety rising more and more by the second as this fight went on.
"Stand down, Avatar!" an earthbender shouted. "Don't make us hurt you more than we have to!"
"You don't have to do anything!" Aang yelled back. "Just tell me what this is about!"
By this point, seven of the earthbenders had caught up to the increasingly-frantic Avatar. One of them summoned rocks to cover over his fists, charged, and swung out at the boy. Aang ducked low and slid himself behind the man, swiping an arm to push him away with some air power. He then immediately had to deal with a thick tendril of gunk that was being flung at him, using more airbending to fire the material back in the attacker's face and blinding him long enough to deftly sweep his leg. Aang jumped up to deliver a double-kick with his heels to the next assailant's chin. He backflipped and spun circles with his legs in midair, demonstrating agility that would put a professional dancer to shame, creating more gusts of wind to hold back the other earthbenders.
As two of his opponents a bit further off fired large rocks at him, Aang sprang over the projectiles, bouncing off each chunk of weaponized earth, getting closer with each bound to the earthbenders firing them. With one more dive, the spry airbender reached out, grabbed both of their heads in his hands, and smashed them together. The men let out highly undignified grunts as they were unceremoniously knocked out.
Unfortunately, as Aang landed in a squat and whipped himself around, he discovered too late that one of the earthbenders had been hiding out of sight, waiting for a proper opening.
That realization came when a massive boulder crashed into him.
"OOF!!"
The slam was brutal for the young Avatar. His limbs flailed weakly as he slid back into the blanket of mud, his right side getting caked in the substance.
"Nnnhh ..." Come on, get up, get up! He sloppily rose to a knee. He felt his whole body trembling as his hands tried to press off the ground to push him back up. The effort required to do even that was tremendous. That last hit took a lot out of him.
But it was too late. Acting very quickly and efficiently, the earthbenders took action together.
They worked together to generate more coils of earthy sludge around the Avatar. They moved their wrists, fingers, and arms in elaborate, precise patterns that weren't very common for earthbenders, manipulating the tendrils to their will as they wrapped around the boy's forearms.
Aang shouted and pulled his arms back, but they weren't fast enough to escape the constriction. Worse yet, Aang could feel the wet earth sliding around his lower legs as well, binding them together tightly.
"No no no no no," Aang muttered. He pulled his arms in a rapid manner, trying to get them over his head, trying to rip each tentacle loose, but they wouldn't come off. He yanked his entire upper body left and right, only to be pulled back by more mud tentacles winding around his upper arms. Aang's toes and ankles were seized, and as the material wrapped around and covered his boots entirely and held them in the gooey blanket, the airbender was trapped in a kneeling position.
"Stop!! Nngh!!"
"Somebody cover his mouth!" an earthbender yelled, while tightening his tendrils.
Upon hearing that, Aang inhaled deeply, trying to get the biggest possible burst of air he could to fling himself out of this mess. But just as he was about to release it, a thick coil of earth was quickly wrapped around his head. The muck invaded his mouth thoroughly, clogging any and all air from escaping.
"Hauhghmmngmgh!!" Aang cringed deeply in utter disgust as the taste of the sludge completely overpowered him, letting out a guttural, garbled cry. He thrashed his head wildly, unable to stand this sensation for a second, egged on by the shifting, soggy texture in his mouth and the stench assaulting his nostrils. He whipped his fingers up to his face to pry the gagging muck away, but his wrists were nabbed by the coiling material and yanked in various directions. The viscous goop slipped in between his fingers, while more squeezed his shoulders.
The tentacle gagging him was wound around his head several more times, piling up and completely burying his mouth. "Rrrmmngphmnnnghh!!"
The rest of the earthbenders wasted no time in further coating their quarry in foul tentacles. Aang tried to get up, but he merely slipped and collapsed in an exaggerated fashion thanks to the sludgy grasp now completely coating and squeezing his legs. He wound them up for a powerful push of air to launch himself away, but he was anchored firmly in place and barely moved. The muddy brown coils traveled up his waist, tightening as the earthbenders curled their fingers, determined to not let the boy get away. Aang grunted and gurgled loudly through the gagging mud, barely audible through the substance, eyes squeezed shut, the outlines of his legs barely visible as they fought against their constricting cocoon.
"Mmmhghgmmh!!"
The tentacles soon wound around his chest, and he was unable to pry them off. Aang shook violently, twisting and lunging himself every which way, garbling nonsense, but the earthbenders' progress was not at all impeded. He moaned and scowled as he felt the filthy sogginess and warmth of the material dirtying his clothes and skin, pressing terribly into him. His shoulders tensed as his arms fought for freedom, but such struggling was rendered even more useless when a wide coil of earth was encircled around him to weld his arms to his sides.
With the force and restriction of that last squeeze, Aang's struggling sent him falling face-first into the mud. "NNMGLLGGMMLLPH!!!"
The legendary Avatar was now reduced to a sludge-caked worm from the shoulders down, wriggling and thrashing uselessly for his freedom. The constriction got worse and worse, and he began having trouble breathing once more coils went around his neck and chin, melding with the muck around his mouth. The earthbenders were standing over him now, continuing their work to keep him in their grasp, ready to be taken away for whatever purpose they had for him ... if they even intended on keeping him alive.
Why are they doing this?! Aang cried in his head. Please ... stop ...
Above his brown, muddy prison, the boy's grey eyes looked up at the first earthbender he'd come across. They were wide, innocent, and sad, shimmering brightly with fear and pleading desperately for mercy.
"Plnmmh ... nmmn ..." he gurgled.
The earthbender's face made it clear that he took no joy in what he was doing. But it also made it clear that he wasn't going to stop.
He just sighed. "Sorry, kid."
Rocks were soon to follow, bursting out from the ground and covering the captive airbender from head to toe, little by little. What minimal room he'd had to struggle was being taken, as the encasement of stone now left the boy completely immobile. He banged against the interior and gasped for breath through his nose. It was yet another layer of restraints to keep the world's most powerful child in place.
As his vision was cut off by stone over his eyes, Aang let out one more pitiful little whimper, before all of his senses went numb from the constriction ...