Work Text:
"Oh, look, a rock... and another... and another!"
Aphelios sighs as he follows after Taliyah’s antics. They have been travelling the Earth Kingdom for days, finally arriving at one of the former Fire Nation colonies located west of the continent. After their last encounter with some Fire Nation soldiers, he wanted nothing more than to have some time for themselves.
Aphelios motions towards his companion to look towards him, pointing towards his center indicating his empty stomach.
“Oh right, sorry about that,” Taliyah replies sheepishly. “Let’s go find a place to eat.”
Aphelios nods, and both benders explore the various restaurants this town has to offer.
Aphelios was born in the Northern Water Tribe alongside his twin sister, Alune, as prince and princess. However, they were both born differently. Alune was born very sick, and many people of the tribe, including their mother and Chief Diana, thought that she was going to die. In desperation, Diana brought baby Alune to the sacred Spirit Oasis, praying to the twin spirits of the Moon and the Ocean to save her. The Moon Spirit Tui heard her pleas and blessed the young baby with health while turning her hair pale white.
Aphelios had a very different story, for he learned that he was the Avatar.
However, he showed worrying signs early in life. While Alune was a master of waterbending even at an early age, Aphelios had shown no mastery of it whatsoever. His attempts to mimic his sister’s movements were futile, the water he tried to move not budging at all. Discouraged, but nonetheless motivated to serve his community, he decided to train using weapons instead, becoming comfortable with using a boomerang.
Chief Diana became worried about this, for she had never learned of an Avatar who couldn’t bend, especially their native element. She had expressed her concerns to Senna, a trusted member of the secret organization the White Lotus, but all she offered was to have patience and hope that the young boy would eventually be able to move water. Diana decided to take her advice, only for disaster to strike not long thereafter.
An entire naval battlefleet of Fire Nation ships made their way towards the Northern Water Tribe, their leader making it all the way to the Spirit Oasis to kill the Moon Spirit. In the assault, they had even managed to burn Aphelios’ throat, causing permanent damage to his vocal cords. Diana, after driving out the firebenders with her scimitar, mourned the loss of their Moon alongside her twins. However, vengeance overcame grief as she had decided to take matters into her own hands.
After a lot of back and forth, the three had all come to a decision: Alune would return part of her life back to the Moon Spirit. Meanwhile, Diana finally revealed to Aphelios his Avatar status, insisting that he pray to the Ocean Spirit La to grant him their power in order for him to access his waterbending. Aphelios accepts and, after submerging himself in the Spirit Oasis’ waters, the Ocean Spirit gave him a part of their power, his hair turning pitch black. Immediately, Aphelios was thrust into the Avatar State for the first time, the Ocean Spirit helping to wipe out the Fire Nation army from their home. This event caused many of the sacred temples around the world to light up, announcing the return of the Avatar once more, who many thought had died with the Air Nomads.
Aphelios still mourns the death of his sister to this day, but at least her spirit lives on in the moon. Whenever the moon is bright, she projects herself to the physical world throughout her brother’s journey, guiding him to where he needs to go. Aphelios, in turn, decided to dedicate himself to learning more about the Spirit World in order for him to visit her there as well.
As long as Alune is by his side, he is never truly alone.
After mastering waterbending thanks to Alune and Diana’s guidance, Aphelios’ next goal was to learn earthbending, the next element in the cycle.
Aphelios had set off from the Northern Water Tribe as soon possible after the Fire Nation’s attack on their city. He had always lived a sheltered life from the war, so seeing the damage firsthand, and after learning about his duty as the Avatar, has reinvigorated him to fulfill his destiny to bring peace to the world. After a tearful goodbye to Diana, he set off towards the Earth Kingdom in hopes of finding an earthbending teacher.
This goal turned out to be harder than he thought. After travelling through many towns, he has come to learn that earthbenders are vastly different than waterbenders in many ways. Their techniques involved tougher and more abrupt movements instead of the flowing and graceful way of moving that waterbending entails. He recounts this to Alune once night falls, and she agrees that these earthbenders are probably not the right teachers for him.
After travelling to many different towns and helping those from the Fire Nation along the way, he arrives at one far off village isolated from the rest of the world. It was a quaint little place near Si Wong Desert, and the people there were friendly towards him and gave him a nice welcome. One of those people, was a nice young woman named Taliyah.
She was an interesting case in this simple town of nonbenders. She had arrived a few days after him, visiting her family members after travelling throughout the kingdom. Taliyah lives a nomadic lifestyle to that of an Air Nomad, travelling to help as many people as she can from the Fire Nation, but her earthbending abilities speak otherwise.
It’s what caught his interest once he got to know her. Her earthbending is unlike any other he had ever seen. Taliyah had a way of weaving the earth in a much more elegant manner compared to her counterparts. At the time he didn’t know how she learned to bend this way, but he was sure that this was a good sign that she was a good fit to be his earthbending teacher.
This was proven to be the case when some Fire Nation raiders came to the village. Apparently, word got out of Aphelios’ travels and the appearance of a lone waterbender with a crescent moon tattoo on the outskirts of a sandy village was something that caught the Fire Nation’s eye. Aphelios always carries around water with him in a water pouch alongside his childhood boomerang, which he has used to surprise his opponents on occasion. However, he was still having trouble fighting in the grueling heat.
Taliyah, however, was magnificent. The way she bent rocks around her to launch at the enemies, the way she moved the ground to stop their advance, the way she surfed along walls she crafted herself. Her movements were elegant, yet also patient as she waited and listened for the perfect time to strike. It was a beautiful display of earthbending, unlike any he had ever seen.
And so, after they had defeated the raiders and run them off from the village, Aphelios had kindly asked her (more like begged in a handwritten note), for her to be the earthbending teacher for this generation’s Avatar.
And Taliyah, being the kindhearted soul that she is, happily agreed.
Now that he has an earthbending teacher alongside his travels, the issue he had been dreading throughout his entire journey has finally caught up to him: finding a firebending teacher.
Aphelios has had no trouble with his other teachings. Waterbending is a breeze thanks to Alune and the Ocean Spirit’s power that helped him unlock it. He continues to practice with Alune’s spirit once night falls, something that scared the heck out of Taliyah the first time she saw her.
His earthbending training might’ve had some bumps, but he’s come a long way. Taliyah, as expected, is an excellent earthbender and teacher, and has managed to help him move around the earth in a way that feels natural to him. More than anything, he appreciates her companionship in his journey, something that even with Alune’s presence he lacked in his long travels.
Even his spiritual training had come far. He constantly meditates and goes to the Spirit World in order to talk to Alune. Going to the Spirit World feels like second nature, although connecting with his past lives was another issue entirely. He’s been more comfortable getting into the Avatar State thanks to Alune’s help rather than his past lives helping him. Nevertheless, incredible progress had been made in a short timeframe.
However, their progress has reached a halt. The Avatar is supposed to learn all four elements, and with the Fire Nation currently at war with the entire world, finding a firebender willing to break away from their country’s war efforts in order to help him will be next to impossible.
This situation is where Aphelios and Taliyah currently find themselves in. The city of Qayanvi sits in this awkward state of returning to being part of the Earth Kingdom yet having much of the Fire Nation culture still present within its people. It gives the city a unique identity, but nonetheless Aphelios keeps an eye out for anyone still loyal to the Fire Lord.
After finding a restaurant to dine in, Aphelios opens his map, sighing as he looks at the islands that form the Fire Nation. If he even attempts to travel across their borders, he would be captured on the spot.
“Hey Aphelios, I’ve been thinking,” Taliyah starts. “Maybe we don’t need to sneak into the Fire Nation. We could try travelling to the colonies to find someone to teach you.”
Her plan sounds solid on paper, but he can’t help but have some doubts. “I am not so sure where the people’s loyalties lie. The firebenders stationed on those colonies would have to be working for the Fire Nation army in the first place. Even in this city, I would not be surprised if there are still residents that would turn me in the first chance they get.”
Taliyah frowns. “You may be right. At least this city was liberated years ago so we could start our search here.” In their travels, Aphelios had managed to teach Taliyah a fair amount of sign language and she has managed to be good enough to read full sentences now. “We would have to gauge their opinions of the war. They can’t all be loyal to the Fire Nation, right?”
Taliyah doesn’t sound so sure of herself. Aphelios sighs as he stares at the map once more as they wait for their food. Just then, some burly looking men in green clothing enter the restaurant, their loud voices echoing as they take their seats on a table behind theirs.
“I’m telling you! This new guy, the Winner he calls himself, is gonna make it to the top of the Earth Rumble this time,” one of the men says in an excited voice.
“Nah, the Boss has it in the bag,” the other man replies. “He’s never lost a fight before and some chump from a pirate port isn’t gonna change that.”
“You’re delusional.” Aphelios sees the man roll his eyes. “I’ve heard this guy’s one of the toughest fighters out there. I bet the Boss’ firebending doesn’t stand a chance.”
Both Aphelios and Taliyah share a look at that, their interest piqued after hearing that anecdote. The waiter comes in to bring them their food and drinks, but after the pleasantries they subtlety try to listen to the men’s conversation once more.
“Just because the Boss is some hotshot firebender doesn’t mean he can’t be taken down,” the man continues.
“We’ll just have to see what happens then. The Boss’ performance will speak for itself,” the other man shrugs as the waiter arrives to bring them their food as well.
“Aphelios.” He shifts his gaze over to Taliyah. “A firebender here, fighting in an underground fighting pit. Should we look into it?”
Aphelios thinks it over in his head. On one hand, this “Boss” sounds like a tough guy, perhaps with an attitude of previous earthbenders he had encountered that didn’t suit his earthbending training needs if he’s fighting in an intense fighting pit.
On the other hand, he doesn’t have any other options.
“It is a chance that we have to take,” Aphelios replies.
After they finish their meals, they approach the two men and Taliyah asks for the location of the Earth Rumble. They gladly gave them one of the flyers, the event located in an underground arena. She gives them her thanks, and the duo make their way towards the pit, a small spark of hope lighting Aphelios’ chest.
The Earth Rumble was filled to the brim with spectators… for the back rows of the stadium. A square stage was set in the middle as crowds of spectators scream and cheer over the fighters. A giant stone stand is placed for the host to speak from, their voice booming throughout the stadium.
“I wonder why these seats are empty,” says Taliyah as the duo sit down on the front row. Her question is immediately answered by a giant boulder crashing right into the seats next to them, destroying them in the process.
“Oh, I see…” Taliyah’s face pales, but nonetheless they remain in their seats.
“Alright folks settle down!” The host shouts over the screaming of the audience. “We have a new fighter in the ring. Give it up for the man known as the Winner!” A huge, muscular man dressed in a fancy coat and hat waves towards the crowd.
“Let’s see if he lives up to that title, eh?” The host points towards the other end of the stadium. “Versus… the Pit Professional!” An equally buff looking woman walks up to the stage, the crowd’s excitement continues as they chant her stage name.
“To any newcomers here, the rules are simple: knock the opponent off the stage and you win. Now let the match begin!” The host earthbends to jump back to his stand, and the fighters duke it out, launching boulders and stone pillars at each other.
After watching them fight, Aphelios doesn’t think he enjoys this type of sport. The bending shown is even harsher and wilder than what he’d seen before and used just to try and get a cheap shot at the opponent to knock them off stage. He looks towards Taliyah to gauge her reaction and sees her wincing at the violence in front of her.
“I hope this ‘Boss’ appears soon—” Taliyah rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. “—if only so that we can get out of here as soon as possible.”
Aphelios nods his head. Soon enough, the Winner manages to take out the Pit Professional, the crowd cheering for the man as he smiles and waves to his audience. Aphelios watches more battles go through like that, other contenders vying for victory only to be swept away by the Winner’s attacks. Aphelios and Taliyah both check out after some time, only keeping an eye out for any stray boulders that head their way.
“Alright folks, for our final battle of the night, we have our reigning champion enter the ring!” That gets their attention as they look back towards the stage, a red cloaked figure climbing the steps. “A firebender born in the Earth Kingdom continent, give it up for the beast-boy bastard, the Boss!”
Aphelios stares as the Boss sheds his cloak, revealing a tall muscular man with sideswept, burgundy hair and a scarred face. He wears an ostentatious red furry coat, making him seem bigger and more beastlike, perhaps to sell his beast image. The crowd’s cheers seem louder than before as the man walks up to the Winner.
"This is the best the Rumble has to offer?” The Boss shouts loud enough for the audience to hear him. “This is gonna be a piece of cake.”
“Those are fightin’ words,” the Winner growls. “Can’t wait to break your face in.”
“Love to see you try.” The Boss smirks, raising his arms in an aggressive stance.
“Begin!” The announcer shouts, stepping off from the stage to his podium.
The Winner moves first, bending the earth to create boulders to launch them at his opponent. The Boss’ eyebrows furrow in concentration as he focuses on his movements, outmaneuvering the incoming boulders. Aphelios can’t help but be impressed, thinking that the Boss may not be as hotheaded as he presents himself. Sick of this strategy not working, The Winner changes tactics and decides to tilt the stage, hoping to get his foe off balance. It does manage to catch the Boss by surprise, but he manages to stand tall through every shift and change of the ground.
“Argh, enough of this!” In a fit of rage, he starts to shift the ground underneath him as stone pillars erupt in a line towards his opponent. However, Aphelios notices the Boss’s expression change, a gleam in his eye as he smiles at his adversary’s brashness. Before the pillars could reach him, the Boss launches himself in the air in a burst of flames, not only dodging the incoming attack, but catching the Winner off guard. Aphelios’ heart beats rapidly in his chest as he finally witnesses what he’d been hoping for throughout this entire tournament.
“This is gonna hurt!” The Boss propels himself with his firebending and with his increased speed, manages to land a successful punch at his opponent strong enough to launch him off the stage. Aphelios is shocked. The Winner, who was undefeated up until this point, was taken out so easily.
“And it looks like the Boss does it again, folks!” The announcer proclaims, the audience cheers reaching new heights as their favorite fighter triumphs in the end.
“That was…” Aphelios looks towards Taliyah as she struggles to think of what to say. “Well, I have to admit that it was impressive. He seems to know his fights better than he lets on.”
Aphelios nods his head, looking back towards the stage. The host is currently handing the Boss the championship belt as well as his earnings. He smiles and waves to the audience, which Aphelios can’t help but find a little charming.
“Now then, to make things more interesting…” The host starts, apparently not done with the spectacle. “I’m willing to offer up this sack of gold for anyone who can defeat our champion! Do I have any volunteers?”
The entire stadium goes silent, a first for the boisterous crowd. The Boss himself lets out a yawn, confident that no one would dare face him after he took out his opponent so easily.
However, Aphelios wasn’t just anyone. He decides to stand up and raise his hand.
“Ah, looks like we have a new challenger, folks! From the Water Tribe no less!” The crowd starts to murmur, curiosity peaking at seeing this stranger in blue clothing wanting to go up against the Boss.
“Aphelios?!” Taliyah exclaims. “Are you sure this is the best way to get his attention? We could have just walked up to him after the tournament was over!”
Admittedly he was probably too impulsive in his decision, but nonetheless nods towards Taliyah. He doesn’t know if they’ll get another chance to talk to him. The Boss could disappear from the arena entirely as soon as the tournament ends to not talk to anyone. He could also leave early in order for his identity to remain a secret. It has not passed his attention how none of the fighters have used their real names.
Aphelios makes his way from the stands towards the steps that lead to the main stage. He notices the Boss looking at him critically, eyes drifting up and down his form. Perhaps he was looking for weaknesses.
In any case, Aphelios decides to try and walk up to the man to communicate him, but before he could the hosts shouts a “Let the match begin!” and leaps from the ground to his podium once more. Aphelios then realizes what situation he put himself in.
“Well, you’re far from home, aren’t cha?” The Boss says, hands on his hips as puts on a confident smile. “Now what’s a guy like you doin’ in a place like this?”
It was common for people to underestimate Aphelios when they didn’t know his Avatar status, and it looks like the Boss was no different. The firebender doesn’t even take on a defensive posture as he looks at Aphelios expectantly. Nonetheless, he decides to take this opportunity to communicate with the Boss by pointing towards his throat and shaking his head.
“Oh, you can’t talk?” Aphelios shakes his head. “Ah, well uh… let’s see if I can…”
The Boss starts to move his hands and fingers in various gestures. Surprise floods his face as he realizes the Boss is attempting to communicate with him in sign language. Granted, he could barely read the sentence as “hi, how are you?” as his movements were sloppy at best.
Nonetheless, Aphelios can’t help but let a small smile grace his features, which the Boss immediately lights up at.
“Hey, you two! You’re in the middle of a fight!” The host whisper yells. “So, get on with it!”
The Boss seemed annoyed at being interrupted, although Aphelios isn’t sure why. As a pit fighter, he was expecting his opponent to immediately launch himself towards him. His previous interactions with the Winner had him throwing insults with no remorse. When it comes to Aphelios, however, he doesn’t seem that interested in throwing the first punch.
“Ah well, we gotta give the people what they want.” The Boss shrugs, finally getting into a defensive stance, smirk still in place. “Show me what you’ve got, Mooncake.”
Not knowing how to feel about the nickname and unable to correct him, Aphelios decides to ignore that last part for now. He doesn’t want to fight the man in front of him, but there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to communicate with him. Due to the pressure of the host and the crowd, it looks like they’ll have to battle it out for now.
Aphelios decides to open his water pouch, choosing to bend with water. He doesn’t want to reveal his identity as the Avatar since it tends to bring unwanted attention to the towns that he visits (Taliyah’s village being a prime example), so he decides to fit in with his Water Tribe appearance and bend with his native element.
The Boss’ eyes seem to sparkle with excitement as he finally decides to light up his fists on fire. He charges at the waterbender but is suddenly halted in his movements by water slicing through the air in attempts to push him back.
The battle becomes a blur after that. A back and forth between Aphelios’ waterbending pushing back the Boss’ attempts to close the gap. Fireballs and water slices are thrown in a manner that resembles a dance, a desire to force the opponent back while maneuvering each other. Fighting the burly man firsthand has shown him how much technique he subtly puts into his attacks.
The Boss’ himself seems to be having the time of his life, his smirk not once leaving his face while his eyes track his opponent critically. Aphelios himself can’t help but feel that same adrenaline coursing through his veins, fighting an opponent that doesn’t want to capture him reinvigorating his love for bending.
However, the fight must come to an end eventually. The Boss manages to finally see an opening to get up close after dodging one of Aphelios’ water whips. Aphelios doesn’t suspect much from his movements until the Boss manages to get close enough to Aphelios and grab onto his arm.
“Sorry ‘bout this, Mooncake,” the Boss whispers into his ear as he takes advantage of Aphelios’ shock by throwing him hard out of the arena, using his firebending to propel his toss even further to ensure his victory.
Panicked, Aphelios instinctively earthbends to cushion his impact towards the wall. He hopes that the impact looks more like he crashed into it instead of it looking like it had been bent by someone. It seems to have worked, since the audience is mostly focused on cheering for the Boss’ victory rather than paying attention to Aphelios’ impact on the wall. After shaking his head and rubbing the back his neck, he breaks away from the impact point and stands up to look towards the stage only to see the Boss looking directly at him, eyes wide in surprise.
“Aphelios!” Taliyah runs up to him from the stands with concern written all over her face. “Are you alright?”
“I am fine,” Aphelios signs, wincing at the slight headache he’s receiving. “Perhaps this was not the best idea after all.”
Taliyah sighs exasperatedly but gives him a smile. “I can at least compliment you on your quick thinking with your earthbending, but your landing technique could still use some work.”
Aphelios lets out a huff, then looks back upwards only to see the Boss is no longer there. Worried, he quickly run up the stairs in the stands in order to get a better angle to view the stage from. The burly fighter seems to have taken off in a rush, for he is no longer present in the stadium.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Taliyah says as she catches up to her friend. “What is going on?”
“The Boss. He is gone," Aphelios signs. Taliyah’s eyes widen as she looks back towards the stage, the host giving out his final goodbyes as the tournament ends and the audience starts to filter out.
“Let’s get out of here. Maybe there is a chance he is still around the area outside,” Taliyah says, leading the way toward the stadium’s exit.
Aphelios nods, and the duo make their way outside in the hopes of finding the firebender while they still can.
“Oh, Phel. I am sure you will be able to find him.”
Unfortunately for the duo, they could not locate the Boss after the fight, who seemingly disappeared out of thin air. Aphelios isn’t sure how that’s even possible, given that he was wearing red clothing that contrasted with the green of most people that live in the city, but nonetheless their search was unsuccessful. The pair had decided to go back to their campsite on the outskirts of the town, figuring they could try and search again in the morning.
While Taliyah guards his body, Aphelios does his nightly routine of entering the Spirit World. After taking a meditative stance, his eyes and tattoos begin to glow, and his mind is transported to the wild and mysterious world that the spirits reside in. He had visited enough to know where to go, the temple that used to house the Moon and Ocean Spirits now occupied by his sister’s ghost.
“I am not so sure,” Aphelios responds, sighing as he sits next to Alune on the steps of the Marus Omegnum’s entrance. “He seemed friendly towards me in the beginning, but he left as soon as the fight was over. I do not understand his intentions.”
Aphelios’ spirit has the benefit of not having to deal with physical constraints, such as the burn marks on his throat that prevent him from talking. It was a pretty good motivator alongside seeing his sister for him to practice entering the spiritual realm.
“Hmm… Is there anything that could have caused him to leave so impatiently?” Alune questions while petting a spirit in the shape of a cat that had wandered towards them in curiosity earlier.
“It could be anything.” It could have been once he got his money, he was satisfied and left. It could be that he didn’t see Aphelios as a worthy opponent anymore and therefore not worth his time. It could even be stage fright, although that last one seems unlikely given how easily he responded to the audience.
But then Aphelios thinks towards that last look that he gave him, the shock in his eyes as he stared down at him from above. Aphelios didn’t quite know why he was looking at him like that at the time, but after thinking it over the answer seemed obvious.
“Phel?” Alune asks after seeing her brother’s expressions morph from pensive to fearful. “What are you thinking?”
“I think… he figured out who I am. He must have noticed how I earthbended to cushion the impact of the wall.”
Alune hums, expression souring. “Do you think he would cause you harm with that information?”
Aphelios isn’t sure. The underground fighting ring could be filled with criminals looking to sell him out. The Boss didn’t seem like the type of guy to rat him over to the Fire Nation, but he’s only known the man for a few short minutes. He could be doing anything with this information as he sits here in the Spirit World.
“I may have to leave early just in case.” Aphelios says, standing up. “I do not want to take any chances while my body is in the physical world.”
Alune carefully places the sleeping spirit cat aside from her lap, and stands up as well, her long, white dress unfurling beneath her. “I understand.” With sad eyes, she hugs her brother’s spirit. “Goodbye, Phel. Remember, I am always with you.”
Aphelios hugs his sister back, pushing back the tears threatening to escape. After they separate, he gives one last wave to her as he closes his eyes and thinks back towards his body back in the physical world. His spirit lights up and begins to fly towards the sky.
As Aphelios’ spirit returns to his body, he immediately realizes his environment isn’t in the same state as it was when he left.
For starters, a rock wall was put up around him, blocking his view. Noises of rock and boulders crashing into each could be heard, with human grunts and shouts along with it. He decides to lower the wall with a downwards arm movement in order to assess the situation.
A massive fight broke out while he was out in the Spirit World. Various rock formations have been formed, as well as various bodies knocked out on the ground. Currently, Taliyah is standing in front of him in an all-out battle against ten other men. He’s unfamiliar with most of them, but one he recognizes as the host from the Earth Rumble and another as the Winner, although that name doesn’t really apply to him anymore.
The moment Aphelios lowers the wall surrounding him, all eyes turn toward him.
“Aphelios! Thank goodness you are back! I could use the backup,” Taliyah shouts as she looks back towards the intruders.
“Listen here, girl,” says The Winner, anger flooding his features. “We’re takin’ the Avatar with us, and you’re going to let us. Unless you want to lie face down on the dirt permanently.”
“Uh, Jack. Don’t you think that’s going a bit too far?” The Earth Rumble host pipes up. “We could deliver both of ‘em to Tahm and still be filthy rich.”
“Shut it!” the Winner, Jack, shouts. “This day has gone long enough! I will not accept anything other than the Avatar within my grasp, and if that means killing some earthbending girl, then so be it!”
With that proclamation, Jack springs into action, diving headfirst towards Taliyah. Since their campsite was next to a river, Aphelios waterbends an entire wave to push him back, getting as many of his men in the process. He manages to freeze some of them in place to buy for time, but Jack immediately breaks out of the ice.
From there, it becomes a one-on-one match between Aphelios and Jack, with Taliyah fighting the rest of Jack’s men. She was busy holding off a few of the men, but she was managing herself well enough, throwing her rocks around her and leveling the ground in order to stop their advance.
Meanwhile, Aphelios was holding his own against Jack. His opponent was focusing on knocking him out with gigantic boulders, which he had no effort breaking from the ground and throwing at him. Aphelios manages to break them every time with his earthbending and sending the remains back at his opponent. With this back and forth, however, Jack was quickly wearing him down.
Deciding to change tactics, Aphelios bends the water from the river to push Jack back, making the brawny man create walls around him to protect himself. In a sneaky move, while one of Aphelios’ arms was still shoving massive amounts of water towards Jack, he throws his boomerang with his other arm at the man’s head, bonking him and making him lose his focus. His walls go down as the water shoves him back a good distance away.
After catching his boomerang once it returns, he looks back to see Jack, pure rage on his as he shouts at him. With a harsh stomp to the ground, a flurry of spikes charge towards Aphelios. While he’s busy stopping the spikes with a leg movement of his own. He barely manages to break apart a boulder coming straight at him. That causes him to be too late to stop Jack’s incoming punch to the gut, knocking him against a tree.
Dazed, Aphelios lets out a grunt as he looks up, Jack advancing towards him with a cruel smile growing across his face. Panicked, Aphelios tries to stand up to defend himself, only to be surprised as a fireball is shot straight at Jack, knocking him to the side with a grunt.
Not sure whether or not he’s hallucinating at the moment, Aphelios turns his head from where the fireball had come from and is surprised to see a familiar face.
“Hey, Mooncake,” the Boss says. He walks towards Aphelios and raises a hand in order to help him up. “I’m glad I managed to find you guys on time.”
Aphelios hesitantly takes the hand and stands up. He looks toward the firebender’s face in apprehension, not sure how to feel about his presence.
“Uh…” At Aphelios’ expression, the man starts to feel a little embarrassed. “Listen. I’d love to explain myself right now, but I think we should probably take these guys out first. What d’ya say?”
Suddenly remembering his situation, he decides to trust the man for now and nods his head. He looks to where Jack had fallen, only to see him standing up and looking at the firebender in shock.
“Well, well, well.” The Boss walks up, crossing his arms over his chest. “You looking to embarrass yourself again? ‘Cause I’ll gladly help you with that.”
“Ah if it isn’t the champion of Qayanvi,” Jack replies roughly, frowning. “We could’ve had something going, capturing the Avatar. But instead, you decide to be on his side?! Do you know how much Tahm Kench would pay for him!?”
“Not enough for my services,” Sett replies directing his gaze towards Aphelios at his next words: “‘Cause he’s priceless to me.”
He’s used to people feeling passionate about him, the Avatar returning being a center of contention for the entire world. However, the way that he said that feels like a different sort of reverence.
Suddenly, Jack’s body is trapped on all sides by triangular rock formations, surprising all three of them. Taliyah, riding a board made of rock, slides in and lands next to Aphelios.
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Taliyah says, exhaustion layered all over her features. “I managed to tough it out with those other men, but they will be getting back up any minute now. Let’s get out of here.”
Aphelios nods towards her, but before any movement could be made, they hear crash of rocks as Jack breaks out from his makeshift prison. With a glutaral scream, he bends spikes from the ground once more, causing the trio to dodge around his wild attacks. However, this gives Jack the opportunity to close the distance to Taliyah, grabbing her by the neck and encasing her body the same way he was earlier.
“ENOUGH!” Jack shouts, enraged. “You—” he points towards Aphelios. “—are going to stand very still, or else I’ll crush every bone in her body.”
The Boss lets out a “damn it” but otherwise, doesn’t move. The rest of his men have returned to Jack’s side, looking far more beaten up than before. Taliyah herself tries to put an air of confidence, but her eyes show her genuine fear.
In that moment, Aphelios decides to do exactly as Jack says, only not for the reasons that he thinks. He looks towards the night sky, the pale moonlight shining from above a comforting sight. As he closes his eyes, he hears a whisper in his mind, giving him the key in order to access what he needs.
…I am with you…
The next time he opens his eyes, they are a bright white glow, his tattoos following right after. As he slowly rises into the air, he bends massive amounts of water from the river into Jack and his men, the former no longer having a tight grip on Taliyah. Keeping up with this momentum, he gathers all the men in a giant wave, and sends them all back towards the river, and doesn’t stop until they’re a good distance away from them, their screaming dwarfed by the sounds of the wave’s fierceness.
After making sure he doesn’t see them, he decides to let go and goes back to the ground, closing his eyes. The glow fades as he opens them, their familiar dark purple returning as he surveys his surroundings.
Taliyah runs up to him and pulls him in for a tight hug. It catches him off guard, but nonetheless he quickly returns it. As they separate, he turns to look toward their unexpected ally. Aphelios can’t help but let out an amused smile as he sees the Boss gaping at him like a fish.
“Wow that was…” he moves his arms around, flustered at what to say. “… amazing!”
“You…” Taliyah looks at him suspiciously, lifting rocks from the ground in preparation. “Who are you really? Did you bring those men here to attack us?”
“Woah, woah!” He puts his arms up placatingly. “I swear, I had nothin’ to do with them! I overheard their plans and came to help you guys!”
Taliyah looks over at Aphelios. He gives her a nod, trying to signal that they can trust the man, at least for now. She lowers the rocks to the ground and crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
The man smiles somewhat sheepishly towards Taliyah, but nonetheless starts explaining himself. As Aphelios suspected, the Boss noticed the cracks he made in the wall were definitely earthbended and came to the conclusion that he was the Avatar. The man noticed that the Winner was looking at Aphelios funny when he saw him in the stands, and after receiving his winnings, decided to follow the man as he left the arena. He overheard Jack conspiring with what he assumed was his crew and setting up a plan to follow the waterbender and capture him in his hideout.
The man even got the Earth Rumble host involved, asking for other competitors to help him out in his plan. When the sleazy man approached him, he decided to accept the offer only so that he could know about their plans and stop them. The Boss managed to follow after Jack’s crew, until some of them caught wind of his actions, starting a fight with him. After beating them to a pulp, he tried to catch up to their location as fast as he could.
“And that’s when I managed to jump in on time in the fight, stopping his advance on mister Avatar here.” He finishes with a small shrug.
Taliyah hums. “I guess that sounds reasonable, so I will trust you for now.” Her gaze then turns to ice as she lifts a few rocks rapidly in a show of strength. “If I catch any funny business, just know these rocks aren’t just for show.”
The Boss starts to sweat under her intense stare but nonetheless nods his head as Taliyah lowers her rocks to the ground once more. Once his eyes meet Aphelios’, however, a bright smile is replaced instead. He approaches him and lifts an arm towards Aphelios in greeting. “You knew me as the Boss of Qayanvi, but I’d like to reintroduce myself to you. The name’s Settrigh, but you can call me Sett.”
Aphelios shakes his hand, a little more relaxed around the man than Taliyah is. Remembering their first encounter, he decides to move his hands to spell his name out. He signs every individual letter out in the hopes that Sett will be able to read it.
“A…phe… lios. Aphelios? Is that your name?” He nods. “Nice to meet ya, Aphelios. Pretty name, although Mooncake suits you better.”
Aphelios doesn’t know what to do with that information, nor does he know how to react to Sett’s obvious wink at him afterwards. Face burning in embarrassment, he shifts his gaze to the ground as he steps over to his companion. He indicates for her to introduce herself, although his gaze remains pinned to his shoes.
“Well… putting all that aside,” she starts, unsure of what just occurred in front of her. “My name is Taliyah. I have been travelling with Aphelios throughout the Earth Kingdom and teaching him how to earthbend.”
Aphelios finally lifts his gaze and sees Sett shaking Taliyah’s hand enthusiastically. “Man, I’m glad he’s got a teacher like you. After fightin’ in the pits for years, your earthbending has been the best I’ve ever seen.”
Although still wary, Taliyah seems to light up at that comment. “Well… thank you! I suppose your firebending is… better than other firebenders that we have encountered.”
Aphelios can’t help but let out a quiet scoff at that. Their encounters with firebenders range from inexperienced soldiers to elite squadrons sent specifically to capture him. Going back even further, the Fire Nation fleet’s leader that invaded the Water Tribe was one of the toughest fights he’s ever had, and Sett seems to be on par with their firepower.
Nonetheless, Sett’s smile widens at Taliyah’s praise. “Learned from the best there is.”
“Which is why Aphelios and I went to the fighting pits in the first place,” Taliyah continues, tone turning serious. “We heard there would be an firebender there who would not be a part of the Fire Nation’s war.”
She walks up to the man. Although she was several inches shorter, her fierce presence more than made up for it. “I’ve seen firsthand what the Fire Nation is capable of. Aphelios is not only the world’s last hope, but also a great friend who I know is capable of greatness. I ask you then, Sett. Would you be willing to teach the Avatar firebending, and help restore balance to the world?”
Aphelios decides to walk up alongside Taliyah, wanting to assert himself in this decision as well. He looks directly into Sett’s eyes, hoping his stare will communicate everything he feels at the moment.
Trust. Hope. Fear.
In an unexpected move, Sett gets down on his knees, bowing his head respectfully towards the duo. “I’d be honored to help you guys out, and to teach Aphelios firebending.”
Aphelios crouches towards him and taps him twice on the shoulder. As Sett looks up, Aphelios gives him a smile, putting a closed fist against an open hand and bowing his head towards him in return. Sett immediately gives him a bright grin, standing up and bringing both Aphelios and Taliyah into a bear armed hug. They both struggled to breathe a little, but nonetheless awkwardly returned his hug.
“You won’t regret this guys. I promise!” Sett says gleefully.
“Welcome… to the team, Sett,” Taliyah says after separating from the hug, taking some deep breaths in the process. “We need to get a move on, though. Those men could be back on our trail, and we need to get a good distance away from them.”
Sett’s smile turns conspiratorial. “I think I know a place where we can go.”
“Settrigh, where are your manners? Help me bring out the tea to our guests.”
When Sett said he had a place for them to hide, he didn’t expect it to be in his mother’s cottage on the outskirts of Qayanvi, crammed into her sofa next to Taliyah.
“I’m on it, Ma.” Still, it was amusing (and endearing) to see Sett run around, doing as his mother says. He brings the tray with tea over to the table, taking the seat next to Aphelios.
“I hope you don’t mind that I chose jasmine tea, since it was such short notice.” Sett’s mother takes the seat in front of them, pouring the tea into the different cups.
“Oh, that’s alright ma’am. Thank you for your hospitality,” Taliyah says as she takes one of the cups.
“Anything for the Avatar and his friend,” she replies. “Now then, what bring the two of you here to my home in Qayanvi?”
Aphelios and Taliyah share a look before she starts to explain. “Well, we have travelled far and wide looking for a firebending teacher. That’s when we heard about Sett and thought—”
“—thought that I would be a good fit!” Sett interrupts abruptly. “They must have heard about my uh… construction jobs throughout the city.”
Aphelios raises an eyebrow at the man, who in return gives him a pleading look. In response, Aphelios decides to look back toward Sett’s mother and nods his head.
“Err… right.” Taliyah replies, noticing Sett’s imploring eyes as well. “So, after hearing about his… construction projects… we thought that he would be willing to teach Aphelios firebending. It’s the next element he needs to learn in the cycle.”
“You want my son to teach you firebending?” She looks over toward Sett, offended. “And you are just now telling me this?”
“This all just happened today, Ma,” Sett replies. “I swear, I would’ve never left without telling you first.”
Mother and son stare at each other, the mood shifting to a serious tone. An entire conversation seems to pass between their eyes, none of them backing down from their intense gazes. Eventually, Sett’s mother looks away.
“You’re right. I apologize.” She looks back towards Aphelios and Taliyah. “My boy will be a wonderful teacher. I have taught him the basics and the advanced techniques. Everything you need to know about fire I have drilled into his head.”
Sett lifts a hand to scratch the back of his head. “So… does that mean you’ll let me travel with ‘em?”
She gives one long look at Aphelios and Taliyah, then looks back to her son with a sad gaze. “I will miss you dearly… but I believe this is for the best. The Avatar is the world’s last hope. The Fire Nation must be stopped. If I can help by allowing you to travel the world with them, then so be it.”
She walks up towards Aphelios, grasping his hand in hers. “Please, take good care of my son.”
Aphelios nods his head. Once she lets go of his hands, he bows respectfully towards her in return.
She gives him a smile. “I believe the world is in good hands.”
After saying their goodbyes (Sett’s being more emotional than the others), Aphelios and his companions start their journey anew. He takes out his map once more, a little relieved that he doesn’t have to go through Fire Nation territory anymore. As he walks, he feels a strong, muscular arm thrown across his shoulders, startling him slightly.
“So what’s the plan, Mooncake?” Again, that nickname that Aphelios can’t help but blush at. “I wanna start teachin’ ya as soon as possible.”
Aphelios is a little flustered over the close proximity, but nonetheless he points towards the location of the Eastern Air Temple on the map.
“We’re going all the way over there? Why’re we heading over to a deserted temple?” Sett asks.
“It’s because it was the last time I saw my master,” Taliyah replies. “I met him when I was captured by the Fire Nation and was left to die in the ocean. Once I was back on land, I saved him from a snowstorm that hit the mountainside hard, and he helped me gain better control of my bending.”
Sett raises his eyebrows in surprise, which then furrow in confusion. “Uh, that’s great n’ all, but that doesn’t explain why we’re travelling the entire Earth Kingdom continent to meet with another earthbender.”
“That’s because he’s not an earthbender. Master Yasuo is an airbender.”
Aphelios couldn’t help but let out a breathless chuckle at watching Sett’s facial expressions change. Taliyah had mentioned Yasuo previously on their travels, which helped relieve some stress on whether or not he would be able to learn airbending at all. It also gave him a lot of hope in the world, learning that not all the airbenders had been wiped out in the war.
“I would love to explain more, but we have to get a move on. I still want to get a good distance away from those men as much as possible,” Taliyah says, then smirks as she starts walking ahead of them. “While we make our way towards the temple, I suggest you start teaching Aphelios firebending along the way.”
That seems to snap Sett out of his reverie as he looks towards the man he still has his arm over. As their eyes meet, Sett’s expression softens. “Yeah, I think I can do that.”
Aphelios gives him a smile in return.