The dust was still settling over the city, but Aang rested only long enough to catch his breath, and landed in front of Bumi so abruptly a guard flinched and rushed up with his spear, only to breathe with relief.
"Bumi!" Aang blurted. "Wait. If you surrender right away, then he just… keeps it. He keeps Arzayanagi."
Bumi's eyes flicked to the smoke-scarred middle tiers, then to the bridge where Lord Arza now looked like a person-shaped punctuation mark at the end of a sentence nobody wanted to read.
"I don't think I can take it from him, Aang," Bumi said, voice clipped. "And their commander doesn't seem like a very patient man."
"But maybe I can," Aang insisted, words tumbling over each other. "I can steal it. If I get it away from him, you won't have to surrender!"
Bumi huffed, a short, humorless sound. "The Fire Nation has thousands of soldiers down there," he said, jabbing a thumb toward the valley. "Even if you snatched that horrible thing, they'd still burn us to the ground, unfortunately. Most of my people already ran for Ba Sing Se. I am staying behind for the ones who can't leave so easily."
Aang's stomach clenched. He hated that Bumi sounded right.
He took a step closer anyway, lowering his voice. "I need a plan, though. I'm quick, but I don't think I'll make it just flying in and poking around for it or whatever." Aang drooped forward letting out a long exhausted breath that swirled the nearby dust away. "Is there anything you can do? Like, a distraction? Or a secret tunnel that comes out right under the commander's tent?"
"I could bend a tunnel, but they'd roast me for the trouble," Bumi said like it was a silly idea. "Ah, thank you," he quickly said as he accepted a large folded white cloth from a nervous servant. But then Bumi's gaze sharpened, like he'd just slid a puzzle piece into place and didn't love the picture it made. "Actually, maybe I could bend an even better tunnel."
Aang was hopping on the balls of his feet like he was ready to take a tunnel just about anywhere so long a Bumi made it.
"Under the palace," Bumi said. "Deep under. There's a cave."
Aang blinked. "A cave?"
"A sacred cave," Bumi corrected. "With unbendable crystal walls."
Aang stared at him like he'd said 'unboilable water'. "How can crystal be unbendable? It's… earth. Isn't it?"
Bumi's smile twitched, the goofball trying to peek back out of the serious. "That's the fun part," he said. "My theory is it isn't really earth at all. I think it's growing out of something. A crack. A gate. A leak from the spirit world."
Aang's skin prickled. The word gate felt like someone had plucked a string inside his chest.
Bumi leaned in slightly. "If you want an idea that isn't just 'run at the enemy and hope they all miss,' you go sit in that cave and listen. Spirits can hear you very well in a place like that. If any have any ideas for you, that's where you'd be able to hear them too. And I'm sure the earth-attuned spirits are quite riled after that attack."
Aang swallowed. "But how do I get there?"
Bumi shrugged. "On foot, it's a long way. Gets blocked off all the time. But lucky you, I can practically swim through the earth. Hee-hee!" He glanced toward the palace balcony where a guard was approaching with a reverently carried pair of sandals. Glittering gold and purple with large puffy fuzzballs on the toe straps. Bumi's eyes softened for just a heartbeat. "I'll drop you off on my way to wave the ol' white flag, it's the least I can do after you saved my people from getting torched in their homes."
Aang's throat went tight. "Bumi…"
"Don't look at me like that," Bumi snapped, then immediately looked annoyed that Aang had gotten to him at all. "I'll be fine, Aang. The Fire Nation still accepts surrenders without much fuss. The worst of it's already passed."
Bumi slipped the sandals on as the soldier laid them down gently before him, and they squeaked clownishly loud as he slid his feet into them.
They were… truly horrible.
Bumi beamed at them with absolute pride, making a warbling squeak as he took two steps to make sure they were still entirely irredeemable. "Ah, my lovelies, how I've missed you," he said with a deep satisfaction. Bumi cleared his throat. "Okay," he said brightly, as if he was about to show Aang a new game instead of walk into a surrender. "Come closer, Avatar."
Aang stepped forward.
Bumi grabbed him by the wrist, pulled the boy into a one-armed embrace, lifted his hand like he was bracing against an invisible ceiling, and twisted his shoulders.
The ground opened in a spiral, his feet in visually accosting sandals the drill bit that pulled them deep and fast into the earth.
Aang yelped as the palace floor became an almost freefall chute, stone flowing like water around them. They dropped into darkness that smelled of freshly turned earth, and it got cold fast, but that hardly bothered Aang. And then the tunnel smoothed, angled, and suddenly they were sliding more than falling, Bumi steering them like he'd been born to badger moles.
Aang's voice vibrated along with him. "Bu-u-u-mi-i-i, thi-i-is i-is a-a-awes-o-ome!"
"You're darn right it is!" Bumi said smugly.
The tunnel spit them out into a chamber that made Aang's breath catch.
It wasn't big. Not like a giant natural temple that had come to his mind. It was more like the earth had decided to carve out a cozy little crystal break room any passing earth bender could pop in and gather their thoughts at.
Every wall but the one they entered through shimmered with a glossy muted green.
Not the warm green of trees, or the bright green of new grass. This was jade-green, deep and glassy, with veins of lighter color snaking through it like frozen lightning. The crystal grew in plates and ridges, crawling up the walls in stubborn, angular blooms like it was searching for sunlight but didn't know it was far away. It caught the faintest of lights and held them, staying dim and eerie but navigable even without a light source.
In the center was a shallow pit, round as a bowl.
Bumi released Aang's wrist and dusted his hands. "Here."
Aang turned in a slow circle, eyes wide. "This is… weird."
Bumi nodded, pleased. "Oh yes, super weird. Been here since before Omashu was founded, so they say."
Aang stepped toward one of the crystal ridges and instinctively reached with his mind, curious.
Nothing.
He tried again, pushing, the way he'd seen earthbenders push at stone.
The crystal didn't even pretend to care.
Aang frowned. "Is it really unbendable? I haven't learned earthbending yet."
Bumi took a solid stance, punching fist forward, but only a few bits of grit from their tunneling moved, and the jade-like crystal couldn't be bothered to even shake a little. "Yep, still unbendable." Bumi leaned over the little pit and peered into it like he expected it to answer him. "Anyway, legend says Avatar Kyoshi learned something important by meditating in there."
Aang perked up. "Really?"
Bumi shrugged. "Or she just thought it was a great place for a nap. Hard to tell with that Kyoshi. The ol' girl didn't write much of anything down—completely irresponsible, if you ask me."
"I'm sure she had her reasons," Aang dismissively whispered, but crept over to the shallow pit and swallowed a nervous laugh. "If sitting in this pit is a prank of some kind I'm gonna be really mad at you."
"Hah! Wish I'd thought of it," Bumi said. He adjusted the white flag under his arm. "Well, I have to go play nice with the spear chucking maniac. You have a nice sit. Clear your head."
"Yeah," Aang's brow furrowed with sadness. "Bumi, please be careful."
Bumi paused at the tunnel entrance, looking back. For a moment the goofball drained away, leaving only a king with soot in his beard and a city in his hands. "I've lasted this long, haven't I?" he said quietly. Then his grin snapped back into place like a mask he refused to stop wearing. "Also, if that madman burns me to a crisp, please take care of my sandal collection. They need daily cleaning and reassurance."
"But I don't even know where you keep—!"
Bumi vanished into the tunnel with a laugh that echoed off the crystal and came back sounding tinny and strange.
Aang stood alone in the dim green hush, and for a few seconds he just listened.
The cave had a voice, and it wasn't from wind. It wasn't dripping water or creaking rock. It was a low, almost-subsonic hum, like the crystal was just a little bit alive. Aang stepped into the pit, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes. That's where the hum was the loudest.
He tried to breathe and meditate like Monk Gyatso had taught him.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The war is not in here.
The smoke is not in here.
The spear is not in here.
Ploop.
Aang's eyes snapped open.
A single droplet of water fell from a jade-like stalactite overhead and hit the crystal with an unreasonably loud and distracting sound.
He closed his eyes again.
Ploop.
Aang popped one eye open and stared at it like it was personally insulting him.
He tried again, forcing his shoulders down. "I swear that wasn't there before," he whispered, rolling his eyes at his foul luck. "Just ignore it, Aang, you're the Avatar, you got this, you can totally meditate and stuff."
Ploop.
His closed eyes twitched.
He raised a hand and flicked his wrist, intending to airbend the jade spike dry at least for a moment. Nothing happened. Aang blinked. He tried again. A sharper motion, a stronger breath. Nothing. He stood up quickly, suddenly chilly. Even his breath control to keep his body temperature stable wasn't working. He couldn't feel the air the same way. It was there, but he wasn't touching it somehow.
His stomach tightened. "What? Bumi, if this is a prank," he whispered like maybe something hungry could be listening for him.
Aang looked down.
His body was still sitting in the pit, cross-legged, perfect posture, eyes closed and airbender tattoos faintly glowing.
"…whoa, cool!" he breathed, and then immediately clapped a hand over his mouth like he'd said something too loud in a library. "I guess... I did it?"
The cave actually looked different now that he was paying attention to it. The crystal wasn't just on the walls now. It was everywhere. It had crawled across the ceiling like a frozen tide, thickening into ribs and spines, turning the chamber into something that felt less like a room and more like the inside of a detailed work of art. Light didn't behave normally either. It smeared. It haloed. The edges of things glowed as if to point themselves out. Nothing looked quite real to him anymore.
And the droplet sound… it wasn't really from the iridescent water running down the jade spike. It was all around him.
Ploop.
Ploop.
Like something was patiently tapping a finger to his temple, waiting for him to answer back. Aang took a cautious step toward the cave entrance, then stopped, whipping around to see his empty body when he felt another presence. A rush of wind whipped through the chamber, clearly unnatural and similar to airbending at least. Dust and fine crystal grit spun up around his meditating body, forming a tight little cyclone.
Aang stumbled towards it. "Hey! That's my body! Knock it—ah, what the?!"
His body's head lifted, still looking serene. Then his eyes snapped open. They weren't his anymore, but he still felt like he knew them. They glowed with a pale, steady light that the jade green crystals greedily sucked in, glowing just a bit brighter every breath.
When his mouth moved, the voice that came out was a woman's. Low. Commanding. Powerful and sure of itself in a way that made Aang's skin crawl even though he didn't know why.
"You came earlier than I expected," the voice distantly said, like he was eavesdropping from behind a door.
Aang's heart kicked. "Kyoshi?"
She moved his body in the pit like a puppet to face him. He smiled slightly at himself. It was crooked and strange like whoever all was in there didn't know quite how to move his muscles properly. It was all a bit unsettling. Well, it was deeply unsettling, but he wasn't going to complain at his own past life.
The voice said. "Please listen, my power here fades fast."
Aang quickly said, "I need to steal Arzayanagi, can you help!?"
The word made the cave hum shift, like the crystal itself had leaned in.
"Not steal," the voice corrected, reverent and sharp, not quite cross with him. "It already... belongs to you. To us."
"It does? Er..." Aang frowned. "Okay, but how do I get it without getting roasted by a whole army of firebenders?"
"Arzayanagi is anchored," the voice said. "It exists in both realms at once. A metal shell that can contain spirits—can also be touched by them. It will always be real to you, even when nothing else is."
Aang's throat tightened. "So I can just carry it like this? As a spirit?" But his face brightened. "And they couldn't see me or stop me or anything, could they! Kyoshi, that's so simple it's brilliant! Thank you! Oh, this is perfect!"
"Yes," the voice said with mild impatience, as if it were obvious. But it was also ebbing away, drowned out by the crystalline hum as she went on, "once you have it... you can... bend... in the spirit world."
Aang perked up. "Really? I could airbend without my body?"
The voice paused, and within the slightly translucent crystals he saw an orange light rush past, dancing around under the surface, and the voice grew louder again.
"No... only fire."
Aang blinked. "Firebending? But—"
"Yes," the voice insisted, and there was an edge of eagerness that didn't fit the calm cadence. "Arzayanagi carries fire with it here... without it you are… we are... defenseless."
Aang shifted uneasily. "But I don't even know how to firebend!"
"Get Arzayanagi..." the voice said, dismissive like he should just do as he's told. "I will... guide... teach... once you have it."
Aang stared. "You can teach me firebending? Oh wow, that feels like cheating! Let's totally do that." He laughed aloud, delighted at the idea of learning from his own past life.
Aang's body in the pit tilted its head, he had to lean in close as it was getting very strained just to hear the dry whisper. "Listen... for this... for my voice... Arzayanagi binds us..."
Aang's chest fluttered with sudden hope. "That is amazing! I don't even have a firebending teacher yet. If I could learn from you, that could help me stop the war sooner, kick the Fire Lord's butt in time for dinner! Stop horrible stuff like what happened above. You're the best, Kyoshi! Thank you so much!"
The smile returned, thin as a blade.
"Yes," the voice agreed. "Fire... Lord... will pay... listen... for me..." and the voice faded completely, with his body going inert again.
Aang hesitated. Something about the way she said that was deeply menacing, but the Fire Lord had done terrible things already, at least. Either way the presence of a past Avatar was chilling, but exciting, he just didn't really process the intensity of her power until she was gone. But the image of Omashu's middle tiers disappearing under a rain of fire spears slammed into his mind again, and the awe-inspiring moment snapped away.
"Okay," Aang said quickly. "Got this. Can't even lose." And he marched off proudly, then stopped after three steps. "Er... where am I going, actually. Kyoshi...?" he tried, but she was definitely gone this time. The whirling dust devil that marked her coming had collapsed in on itself. Aang stood there for a heartbeat, listening to the cave's hum, to the much quieter ploop of spirit water, to his own thoughts thundering around his skull.
He shrugged and tried to go back up the rough stairs Bumi had tunneled them around, but in the spirit world they weren't stairs anymore. They were buried in tons of that jade green glossy crystal, choking the path completely, jagged and stubborn in a way that had to be deliberate. It seemed the cave didn't want uninvited guests from the spirit world.
Aang pressed both hands against it instinctively and tried to bend. He had to at least try.
Nothing, of course. Not like he even really knew how. He turned, panicked, and nearly tripped over his own meditating body. "Okay, think," he whispered. "I'm a spirit. I'm… a spirit. Spirits can…"
He stared at the wall where Bumi brought him in, smaller but looking smooth and untouched by bending on this side of reality. It was just a patch of normal rock, dull and gray amid all the green crystal, but it was the only thing that stood out. Aang reached out to touch it, but his fingers slid through like it was smoke.
His eyes widened. "Oh!"
He stepped forward before he could consider any dangers, and the wall swallowed him up.
The sensation was like walking through loose snow, frigid and crumbling, but it would not truly bar his way. For a second he couldn't tell up from down, and swam as much as he climbed hoping he was going towards the surface in the pitch black. At least he didn't feel a need to breathe.
Suddenly he stumbled out into the light. He was outside Omashu. Or at least sort of Omashu.
The world in the spirit realm wasn't a copy, it was more like it was enhanced in spiritual places and dulled in most others. Colors were washed out, edges blurred, everything wearing a thin, hazy veil like it was being viewed through old glass. The distant army camp glowed with faint ember-light, but the tents were more like shadows with warm outlines, and the smoke above Omashu looked like wet paint just dragged across the sky.
He was close enough to feel something pulling his attention as he bounded light-weighted but without bending across the desolate plain between Omashu and the camp. He could feel Arzayanagi now like a bright beacon. A bright, hungry thing calling to him, demanding an owner. He hurried across the spirit-hazy ground in the camp, feet making no sound. Nobody looked up. Nobody reacted. Aang confirmed with a dizzy little thrill that he was indeed invisible.
That thrill lasted exactly one second, because he spotted Katara and Sokka.
They were behind some rocks just off the road, and the weirdest part was that they weren't hiding like they ought to be. They were just sitting there. Calm-ish. Maybe a three out of ten on the scale of perturbedness. Strangest of all, they were in plain view of marching Fire Nation soldiers, and nobody seemed to care. Had they turned invisible too somehow?
Aang slowed, fully baffled, and crept closer.
"Katara?" he tried as he waved in front of her face, but there was no reaction at all in her eyes. "Sokka?" he tried again, but... he couldn't talk to them. His voice didn't seem to carry the same way here. At least he could still hear them.
"I swear, if Aang doesn't get back before Appa wakes up, we're rhino food," Sokka hissed.
Katara whispered back, tight with nerves. "He will. He has to."
"I sure hope he didn't blow up when that guy did that thing." Sokka made a miserable noise. "This is the worst."
Aang's stomach flipped. He forgot Appa was still asleep. It hadn't been very long since they arrived, but somehow Sokka and Katara were waiting—pretending somehow they weren't enemies of the army all around them. He needed to hurry. It was only a matter of time before Sokka said something stupid and the jig was up.
At least he didn't have to look for Arzayanagi. It almost impatiently called to him, flashing brighter in his periphery if he dared look away from its direction, almost like it was jealous for his attention. Aang turned away from the two, had to just accept they'd be okay, and strode straight into the army camp.
It was like walking through a forest of sleeping beasts. Komodo rhinos lay in huddles, their breath fogging in pale puffs even in the spirit realm. Soldiers marched past in muffled lines, armor clinking softly, but the sound lagged behind the motion as if the world couldn't keep up with itself. Somewhere, someone laughed. It sounded underwater.
Aang followed the spear's pull to the biggest tent, a sprawling thing with heavy poles and banners that just looked like lifeless blank shadows. The tent's canvas was just a suggestion he was free to ignore and walk through. Inside, the light was warmer. It instantly dispelled that uncomfortable chill he'd picked up the instant he left his body, and the air felt thick with power.
Lord Arza sat at a table littered with maps and reports. Even hazed by the spirit realm, he looked… more solid. Rooted. Like a strong enough bender left more of an imprint on the other side.
Arzayanagi rested on the table beside him. Just sitting there. Not in a case, or guarded by dragons or anything. In the spirit world he could see flickering hints of the wraiths within dancing all around the spearhead, angry and impetuous to lash out, but he expected that already. It would be fine. Kyoshi said it would be easy, so it really ought to be.
Aang swallowed and stepped closer. He reached out, eyes darting to Lord Arza just sitting there scratching his beard. No concept of any ghostly boys lurking in his tent. The instant his fingers touched it, something slammed through him. It was a sensation so strong it made his knees threaten to fold.
Not fear.
Not pain.
Ownership.
Aang's breath caught. For a dizzy heartbeat he felt, impossibly, like the spear recognized him too. Like it had been waiting for his hand. Like it belonged there, in his grip, more than his glider staff ever did.
"What…?" Aang's eyes went wide. "This is... mine! I... I made this?"
He hadn't been led astray in the cavern, for he could lift Arzayanagi, feel it's weight diminish as he pulled it closer, like it wanted to make it easier for him. The spear rose smoothly into the air, floating in front of Lord Arza like a deliberate gesture. There was no way he would miss it.
Lord Arza looked up, but oddly slowly. He didn't reach for it. He didn't shout. He simply went still, eyes tracking the spearhead with a kind of intense focus that made Aang's skin prickle.
"Yes, my lady?" Lord Arza said quietly.
Aang blinked. Lady?
Lord Arza's gaze didn't flick to where Aang stood. He couldn't see Aang. He was speaking to the spear itself, like it was a person?
Arza spoke again, low and reverent. "I did not expect you to move on so soon. You're certain?"
Aang couldn't hear any reply. Not a whisper. Not a spirit voice. Just the hum of the tent, the faint crackle of the spear, and the distant muffled war. Who in the world was the madman talking to? Anyone at all? But Lord Arza's expression did shift as if he was expecting something.
Aang thought he should just leave, but had a ridiculous thought: Maybe I can just… nod?
He tilted the spear down slightly a couple times.
Lord Arza nodded once. "As you wish."
Aang laughed with relief, catching himself but remembering no one could hear him anyway. It was working! Somehow! He didn't know precisely what he was doing, but he was doing a fantastic job. Did Lord Arza think the spear was just going to get up and wander off on it's own? It was certainly convenient, Aang smiled smugly.
Lord Arza continued, still calm, still speaking to a weapon like it was royalty. "Do you need me to come with you? Send anyone?"
Aang panicked. No! No, don't do that!
He shook the spear quickly, an emphatic no.
Lord Arza's shoulders eased, just a fraction. "As you wish." He said again.
Aang stared, stunned. He had fully expected to be tackled by six elite guards and possibly swallowed by a komodo rhino. Instead, he was… winning a conversation using interpretive spear motions. This was the weirdest day of his life, and that was saying something.
To anyone else, Arzayanagi drifted toward the tent opening of its own accord.
Lord Arza stood, hands folding behind his back. He watched it go like it was leaving the nest; just a tinge of sorrow, but he had to do what was best for it. "I shall await your return, my lady," he murmured. "Our faith in your fire shall never waver."
Aang did not like that last part, but he was fine with nobody trying to stop him. He floated the spear out through the open flap. Outside, a nearby cluster of soldiers spotted Arzayanagi gliding past, they glanced to Lord Arza in the doorway to his tent, giving an affirmative nod.
The gilded House Arza soldiers immediately dropped to one knee. "Arzaya..." they whispered with reverence, like the terrible fiery wraiths, it was not pronounced quite like the spear's name. Aang really didn't like that he was missing so many pieces of the puzzle, but nobody was stopping him?
All heads bowed as he passed. Aang slowed, blinking.
One soldier whispered, clear enough even in the hazy spirit muffling, "She's awakening…" like he was excited a play was about to start. "It's really happening," he smiled at his fellows, who glared at him until he respectfully bowed low like the rest.
Aang carefully floated the spear around them like it was a very pointy guest at a party who needed space, but he gave the guy who spoke out of turn a quick nod to let him know he wasn't too mad about... whatever he was talking about. The soldiers didn't react further but for a few quiet gasps. They just stayed bowed until it passed.
Aang's skin crawled. They really, really like this Arzayanagi thing. Like wa-a-a-ay too much, he thought. Not normal at all. Definitely extremely creepy. And who are they going on about? It felt like he had forgotten something about the name Arzaya, like he knew it but someone interrupted him and it fell out of his train of thought, but it just stayed that way on the verge of understanding and refused to budge.
He hurried out of the camp toward the rocks where Katara and Sokka waited. None of the House Arza soldiers dared follow. The moment the spear's tip rose over the ridge line, Sokka popped up, saw it, and immediately did exactly what Sokka always did when confronted by something he didn't understand.
He tried to fight it.
"Katara, it knows!" Sokka hissed, yanking his boomerang up like he was about to slap a backtalking ghost with it. "It's coming to get us!"
Katara grabbed his arm. "Sokka, don't!"
"Stupid spear of doom!"
Aang swerved the spear away before Sokka could throw, and he hesitated. They still couldn't see him. He couldn't talk to them, but they could see Arzayanagi! He needed a way to say, 'It's me, please don't whack the angry killer spear'.
Aang looked down at the sand—an idea clicked. He lowered the spearhead to the ground, the tip kissed the sand and it sizzled, bubbled and went to the translucent orange of molten glass. That was some hot firebending, Aang clenched his teeth. He'd have to remember not to touch the tip.
A thin line of glass formed where the point passed, black at the edges, gleaming line down the middle. Sokka and Katara both froze, staring.
Aang drew quickly.
A nice round head.
"Wait, is this spear charades?" Sokka questioned with a wary frown. "Why's the spear of doom playing spear charades?"
"How should I know? What is it—wait!" Katara started, getting frustrated but suddenly realizing.
A smiling face. Very bald, cartoonish ears, arrow front and center.
Katara's mouth fell open. "Aang?!"
Sokka leaned in, squinting, but went wide-eyed with horror. "Wait... did the spear eat him? Oh no!" he hissed.
Katara's eyes went huge. "Sokka stop being silly! Aang's trying to talk to us somehow!"
"Why are you so sure it didn't eat him!?" Sokka whipped his head around like he expected invisible Aang to wave. "Er... either way... how are you doing that?!"
Aang couldn't answer and he didn't really want to write out his life story while he hoped no suspicious Fire Nation soldiers came to check what was going on, so he made it quick and simple. He drew another arrow pointing the way and floated the spear toward Omashu.
Katara immediately grabbed Sokka by the sleeve. "Come on!"
Sokka stumbled after her, still staring at the spear like it might suddenly decide to bite. "Okay, sure, yes, we're following the now also haunted spear of doom, we are going to live to be soooo old doing such smart stuff all the time! It's great!"
"Just follow the stupid spear," she grumbled. "It's clearly Aang doing it. I'm sure we'll be fine."
Aang led them back toward the city, toward the place his body sat in a jade-green cave with its eyes closed, and he felt a chill as he wondered who or what Arzaya was, and why it felt like he should already know but forgot. All-in-all, though, it was a very successful spearnapping.