Earth Kingdom Chronicles Collection

by The Tale of Aang; Azula; Toph; Sokka; Zuko; Katara (retail) (epub)

  No matter how far or fast we went, it kept finding us! I finally guided Appa up a high mountain to a steep cliff.

  It followed us to three different places before we finally decided to stand our ground and see who or what it was. Turns out it was these three Fire Nation girls who we had dealt with in Omashu, including the Firebender who had chased Bumi and me through the Omashu mail chutes. They began galloping toward us. Toph unleashed some spectacular Earthbending moves to block them, but they dodged the huge rocks and kept on coming. It was clear to me that we weren’t going to stop them. So once again we climbed aboard Appa and took off.

  I know how tired I am. I can only imagine how exhausted Appa must be, carrying all of us, flying all night with no sleep. Hmm … I wonder why it feels like we’re flying downward? Appa! He’s dozing off! Okay, now we have to land, no matter what. Appa needs to rest!

  On the ground, Katara and Toph started arguing about whose fault all of this was.

  “If this is anyone’s fault, it’s ‘sheddy’ over there,” Toph yelled, pointing at Appa. “He’s been shedding his fur and leaving a trail for those girls to follow!”

  I can’t believe my ears! That’s so unfair! I don’t care if she is my Earthbending teacher. Nobody talks about Appa like that when I’m around. “How dare you blame Appa! He saved your life three times today! You always talk about how you carry your own weight, but you don’t. Appa does. He carries your weight. And you know what? He never had a problem flying when it was just the three of us!”

  Oops. I think I went a bit too far. I didn’t really mean it. I’m just exhausted, and I don’t like anyone saying bad things about Appa. Still, I was a bit harsh. … I wonder what she’ll say. …

  “See ya,” she said finally. Then she picked up her bag and disappeared into the forest.

  “I can’t believe I yelled at my Earthbending teacher and now she’s gone. I just tossed away my best chance of beating the Fire lord, of saving the world … of doing my job as the Avatar.”

  “I was pretty mean to her too,” Katara admitted. “We need to find her and apologize.”

  The worst part is, it turns out Toph is right! Appa is shedding like crazy. Now that I look I can see his fur everywhere. I need to come up with a plan. …

  First we washed Appa’s shedding fur off in the river so that he wouldn’t leave another trail. Then I told Katara and Sokka to take Appa and go find Toph. Meanwhile I grabbed a bunch of Appa’s fur and flew around, leaving a fake trail in a totally different direction. This way if the tank follows the fur, it will be way off course. I hope I can make things right with Toph, but first I’ve got to stop those girls.

  After flying around spreading Appa’s fur, I landed in this town in the middle of nowhere. It’s completely deserted. I should probably leave, but the thing is, I can’t keep running forever, can I? I can’t lose sight of my bigger mission. The time has come to face whoever is after me.

  I think I’ll just sit here and wait for them to find me, and find out what they’re after. What’s that sound? It’s the Firebender! “All right, you’ve caught up with me. Now, who are you and what do you want?” It’s time to settle this once and for all.

  “Don’t you see the family resemblance?” she asked. Then she covered one eye with her hand and said in a low gravelly voice, “I must find the Avatar to restore my honor.”

  Zuko! She sounds just like him. And now that I look closely, she looks kind of like him too. Is she Zuko’s sister? Did they send her to track me down now? Did something bad happen to Zuko, and she took his place? Come to think of it, I haven’t run into Zuko in a while. … Wait a minute, why am I worried about Zuko? He’s devoted his life to trying to capture me for the Fire Nation. Besides, I’m the one in danger! I wonder if she’s as powerful as he is.

  “So, what now?” Let’s see what she’s made of.

  “Now it’s over,” she said. “You can run, but I’ll always catch you.”

  Like brother, like sister. “I’m not running.”

  “Do you really want to fight me?”

  “Yes, I really do.”

  Okay, I know I didn’t say that. Who—Zuko? Where did he come from? Has he been following me too? Are they going to team up against me?

  “Back off, Azula,” Zuko threatened. “He’s mine.”

  Just back away slowly. The last thing I need is to face two Firebenders at the same time. Still, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to fight me as a team. They don’t seem to like each other very much. It must be tough for Zuko to have a sister who seems so coldhearted. Wait a second—do I actually feel sorry for Zuko? Is that possible?

  “I can see you two have a lot of catching up to do,” I said. “So I’ll just be going.”

  I guess I shouldn’t have said anything. Just then, both Zuko and Azula turned toward me.

  I can’t escape. I’ll have to battle them both. Zuko looks more anxious than me. Is he afraid of his sister? Azula is just smiling—her smile makes my skin crawl. There’s no way out of this without fighting—I just hope I have the strength to make it out alive.

  Azula just struck—but not me. I’m okay. She’s attacking Zuko! Why are they so bent on attacking each other? Never mind, there’s no time now. I have to protect myself.

  Actually, I think the only thing keeping me alive this long is their desire to fight with each other—they keep forgetting I’m here! Wow. Azula just blasted Zuko through the wall of an abandoned building! I guess I actually do feel sorry for him. His sister is totally ruthless, and obviously a much more powerful Firebender than he is.

  AHHH! I guess since Zuko’s still recovering from Azula’s blow, she can concentrate on me. I’m trapped in the corner of the blazing building. Stay calm, Aang. Just think—wait, where’s that water coming from? It’s splashing out the flames! “Katara!” Boy, am I glad to see her. Sokka’s here too. Okay, Azula, watch out now. I’ve got backup.

  Azula’s holding her own against us. Gosh, she’s really powerful.

  Wait—why is the ground suddenly rumbling?

  “I thought you guys could use a little help,” Toph said, sending an Earthbending wave at Azula.

  She’s back! Boy, am I glad to see her! When this fight is over, I owe her a big apology. And a big thank-you. But first I have to survive this battle.

  Just then Zuko’s uncle Iroh showed up and helped Zuko to his feet. Then something kind of weird happened. It was like we all realized that Azula was trying to take on the whole world, and that even though we aren’t all on the same side of this war, we needed to unite against her. So Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, his uncle, and I formed a circle around Azula.

  “I know when I’m beaten,” she said. Finally she was surrendering!

  But it turned out that she wasn’t finished quite yet. She blasted her uncle with a bolt of lightning, and before we could get her back, she vanished. Katara offered to help heal Iroh with her powers, but Zuko refused her help. I can’t believe he won’t even work with us to help someone he loves. He probably feels humiliated and frustrated by having a sister who’s trying to destroy him. But why can’t we work together against her? It’s strange—for a long time I feared Zuko, and now I kind of pity him.

  Sokka, Katara, Toph, and I scrambled onto Appa, and off we flew. Before we settled down for some much-needed sleep, I apologized to Toph and thanked her for coming back.

  “Let’s see if you still thank me after tomorrow, twinkle toes,” Toph said as she slipped into her earth tent. “That’s when we begin your Earthbending lessons.”

  Chapter 5

  “Good morning, Earthbending student,” Toph said.

  I leaped to my feet and snapped to attention. “Good morning, Sifu Toph.”

  “Hey!” Katara shouted, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “You never call me Sifu Katara.”

  Oops! “Well, if you think I should …,” I replied, then I turned back to Toph.

  “What are you going to teach me first?” I said, barely able to stand still. �
�Rock-a-lance? Making whirlpools out of land?”

  “How about we start with ‘move a rock’?” Toph suggested. “The key to Earthbending is your stance,” she continued. “You must be steady and strong. Rock is a stubborn element. If you are going to move it, you’ve got to be firmly rooted—like a rock—yourself.”

  I watched Toph grip the ground with her toes, as if she were growing right into the earth. Then she swung her arms in a fluid motion and sent a huge boulder flying into the cliff wall. It exploded into a million pieces.

  Man, she’s good!

  “Now you give it a try,” Toph said.

  I turned toward another boulder and set my feet. Steady, strong, stubborn, I thought. Then I swung my arms toward the boulder.

  WHOOSH!

  I went flying backward through the air, far away from the boulder I was trying to move. I landed fifty feet away from the thing, and it hadn’t even budged!

  It’s just sitting there mocking me. What did I do wrong? I did exactly what Toph did, I think.

  “Maybe if I came at the boulder from another angle, I could—”

  “No!” Toph shouted. “That’s the problem. Stop thinking like an Airbender. There is no different angle or clever solution or trick that’s going to move that rock. You can’t dance around the problem like you do with Airbending. You’ve got to face it head-on. Stay rooted. Be rocklike. I see we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  Stop thinking like an Airbender? How can I do that? It’s who I am. Instead of helping me, she’s asking me to do the impossible. I didn’t have this kind of trouble when Katara taught me Waterbending—I just picked it up immediately. But this is different. And so is Toph. She’s not quite as understanding and sweet as Katara.

  Next Toph made me run through an obstacle course with a heavy stone on my shoulder. I thought I was going to pass out. Then I had to shove my hands into a barrel of sand. Toph did it easily, but no matter how hard I tried, the sand kept scraping my skin and burning me.

  Why is this so hard for me?

  Then we tried combat, and I was even worse at that! Toph lunged at me, shouting, “Rocklike!” But I flinched backward, falling back on my old Airbending habits of retreat.

  I’m not doing anything right! Maybe I should just quit before I get hurt.

  “Stop thinking like an Airbender!” Toph shouted again and again.

  I’m trying, but I’ve approached bending one way my whole life. I can’t just force my instincts to change … can I?

  After hours of practice, I finally made some progress. Toph had me toss a sack of rocks into the air, then move forward and catch it. And I did it! I kept doing it as I moved toward Toph, who was standing across the way. As I neared Toph, she lunged at me. But I stood my ground. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t jump back. I stayed rooted in my spot like a rock. Toph nodded at me in approval.

  I think I might float away, I’m so happy. Of course, that wouldn’t be rocklike.

  I didn’t stay happy for too long. We were at the bottom of a long ramp that Toph had created, and I could see a huge boulder resting at the top of it.

  “I’m going to roll that boulder down at you,” Toph explained. “If you have the attitude of an Earthbender, you’ll stay in your stance and stop the rock.”

  I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. What happens if I can’t do it? Stopping a rolling boulder seems much tougher than simply moving one.

  “Sorry, Toph,” Katara said, “but are you sure this is really the best way to teach Aang Earthbending?”

  “Actually, Katara, there is a better way,” Toph said.

  Phew! Thank you, Katara! Maybe I won’t have to stop that boulder after all. Wait a minute—why is Toph tying a blindfold around my eyes? She can’t be serious?

  “This way you’ll have to sense the vibration of the boulder to stop it,” Toph said.

  Oh, great! Big help, Katara! Now I’ll really get flattened. Okay, just take a deep breath, root your feet to the ground, and set your stance, hands extended in front of you. You are going to stop that boulder, Aang, even with this blindfold on.

  Then Toph gave it an Earthbending shove.

  Hey, I CAN feel the vibrations through my feet. It’s rolling down. I CAN feel the boulder picking up speed. It’s close, getting closer, just a few inches away. AHHH! I have to get out of the way! This rock is going to crush me! I just know it. I can’t move it! I can’t stop it. I’m just not an Earthbender—that’s all there is to it! Jump! Jump! Save yourself!

  Then the boulder rolled harmlessly past.

  “You blew it!” Toph yelled. “You had a perfect stance and perfect form, but when it came right down to it, you just didn’t have the guts!”

  She’s right. I blew it. What kind of Avatar am I?

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “You ARE sorry. You’re a jelly-boned wimp. Now, do you have what it takes to face that rock like an Earthbender?”

  Why does she have to yell at me all the time? Why does she have to make everything so hard? She treats me like I’m a little kid, and like she’s the greatest thing that ever lived. I can’t stand it anymore.

  “No,” I replied, turning away. “I don’t think I have what it takes.”

  Katara suggested that we work on some Waterbending. I honestly don’t feel like doing much of anything. But Katara’s being so nice to me, and working on some Waterbending might lift my spirits. Anything to get away from my failure for a little while. Anything to forget how much I stink at Earthbending, and how mean Toph is.

  “You know this block you’re having is only temporary, right?” Katara said.

  I knew she couldn’t go long without bringing it up.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “That’s the problem, Aang. If you face this issue instead of avoiding it, that’s the Earthbender way.”

  “I know! I get it, all right? I need to face it head-on, like a rock. Be rocklike. I know. But I just can’t do it. I don’t know why I can’t, but I can’t.”

  I wish everyone would just leave me alone! But of course, she won’t.

  “Aang, if fire and water are opposites, then what’s the opposite of air?”

  “I guess it’s earth.”

  “That’s why it’s so hard for you to get this. You’re working with your natural opposite. But you’ll figure it out. I know you will.”

  I never actually thought about it that way. But it seems to make sense. Maybe the key to getting Earthbending is to think and do the opposite of what I’ve always done as an Airbender. Could it be as simple as that? I think I can do that. At least I can try again.

  Just when I started feeling better, Toph started acting up. First she took some nuts from my bag without asking. I really didn’t mind that—I’m always happy to share. But then she started using my antique staff, which was handcrafted by the monks, as a nutcracker. That kind of bothered me.

  I think she’s intentionally trying to make me mad. She probably thinks it will trigger some deep well of Earthbending power or something. Thing is, I’m not really mad. Sharing is just part of who I am. But I might ask her to leave my staff alone. Maybe later—I’m not ready for another confrontation with her right now.

  Just then Katara came to tell me that she couldn’t find Sokka. We split up to search and I found him stuck in a hole in the ground. I tried to Airbend him out, but all I ended up doing was blowing dust in his face.

  “Aang, I know you’re new at it,” Sokka said, “but I could use a little Earthbending here!”

  I just can’t. What if I try and fail again? I’d feel like an even bigger loser. I suppose I could go get Toph, but that would be like admitting I’m a great big failure.

  Just then an angry saber-toothed moose lioness came looking for her cub, which Sokka had been playing with before he fell in the hole.

  “Aang, this is bad!” Sokka said, panicking. “You’ve got to get me out of here!”

  Okay, this is serious. Sokka’s life is at stake. I have to stop
feeling sorry for myself and just do what Toph’s been telling me. It’s time to start thinking like an Earthbender and get Sokka out of there!

  My feet are planted. I am not about to move, no matter what, not even now that the beast is charging right at me. Wait—she’s stopping! She’s turning around and walking away. Did I make her leave? Was my will so rocklike that she couldn’t stand up to me?

  Then Toph jumped out from behind the bushes.

  She’s been watching the whole time? “Why didn’t you help us?” I asked. I can’t believe she put us both in such danger.

  “Guess it just didn’t occur to me,” she said as she dropped a nut onto the ground and went to smash it with my staff.

  That does it. Now I AM mad. That staff is important to me and she has no right to treat it that way. “Enough!” I reached out and grabbed the staff before it struck the ground. “I want my staff back. Now!”

  “Do it!” Toph shouted, letting go of the staff. “Do it now!”

  “Do what?”

  “Earthbend, twinkle toes! You just stood your ground against a crazed beast, and even more impressive, you stood your ground against me. You’ve got the stuff! Now do it!”

  As bossy as she was being, I knew she was probably right. So I set my feet and focused my mind. Then I whipped my arms around in an Earthbending move and sent a bunch of big rocks flying.

  “You did it!” Toph cried. “You’re an Earthbender!”

  She’s proud of me! Actually, I’m kind of proud of myself. I can’t believe I did it. I AM an Earthbender. I turned to set Sokka free with an Earthbending move, but Toph stopped me.

  “You should probably let me do that. You’re still a little new to this and you might accidentally crush him.”

  Chapter 6

  Today we met this professor of anthropology who was looking for this legendary library. It’s supposed to have more books than any other in the world. Sokka thought that it might have a map of the Fire Nation, or just some information that would be helpful. So we decided to go with him to find the library. When we found the library, Sokka, Katara, the professor, Momo, and I went inside while Toph waited outside with Appa.