Inner Turmoil

Since Zangpo had told the old innkeeper that his parent's would be coming the next day, he finally had a reason to leave Gaoling. The goodbye was rather tearful on Toph's end, much to her embarrassment. The two weeks he and her have been hanging out have been amazing for both of them, but she understood he had to move on eventually. She bid him goodbye with a surprisingly strong hug from the little girl, after making him promise that he would return to visit her every once in a while.

That promise was one he intended to keep. Toph was his best friend, after all. And though he didn't know it, she would be thinking about him every night as she lay in bed, hoping that he would come back to her safe and sound.

Once he left Gaoling, he had decided to journey north through the mountains. Zangpo eventually wanted to visit the fabled city of Omashu, but that was a long way. He had no idea how long it would take him to get there, but that was half the fun of a journey. The boy was sure that he'd have many exciting experiences along the way. With any luck, he'd be able to gain valuable bending experience, too.

The airbender had formed a routine for the morning. After he awoke, he would meditate for a little while, practice his bending, and then eat breakfast. If there was any water readily available, he would add a bath to his routine.

After a few days since he left Gaoling, he had felt quite lonely. Zangpo was surprised that Toph would have such an effect on him, he wasn't used to missing someone's presence. But eventually, as the days passed, the boy began to get used to being alone on the road again. It was therapeutic, in a way. Just him, his thoughts, and nature.

His bending has progressed nicely, as well. After his meditation wasn't the only time he trained, experimenting with his bending was a great way to pass the time. Yangchen's journal gave him much material to work with, offering him many of the lost teachings of the air nomads. Not only has his skill with bending improved, but his control as well. Zangpo's air condensing exercises had been tough at first, however, after some practice, he could condense air much more easily. 

Within seconds he could compress an air-sphere the size of his fist into just smaller than a marble. Whenever he did form one of those little deadly marbles, they looked like perfectly round pebbles of white agate.

That's not all he had practiced with his air condensing ability, either. With enough practice, he was able to flick little rocks and launch them with powerfully compressed air, effectively turning them into little missiles. The last time he tried that technique, he managed to imbed an innocent little gray rock half a foot into a taunting tree with a loud thud.

With a little more practice, he bet that he could turn that little trick into a feared ability.

Ever since he had opened up to Toph about his past, he wasn't as angry at his parents anymore. However, he still had those dark thoughts every once in a while, thoughts telling him to return to Burroo and lay waste to everyone there. The sad part was, it wasn't the thought of such a horrifying action that stopped him from doing so, but it was that he simply didn't care to. Zangpo wasn't holding onto those feelings of resentment anymore, or any of the feelings associated with his village. It was as if he merely stepped away without looking back, like he crossed a bridge and burned it behind him.

He simply didn't have any desire to go back. The past was behind him, and the future was in front of him. The boy no longer had any reason to live in the past, so he walked forward with a smile on his face.

As he walked through a quiet mountain pass, Zangpo got an eerie feeling. He felt as though someone was watching him, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Pausing mid-step, the airbender took a cautionary look around himself, his gaze sweeping over the many ridges and shadows of the rocky cliffs.

Not wanting to get caught off guard again like he had with Toph the first time he met her, the boy closed his eyes and began to feel the air around him with his air-sensory technique. At first he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, but just at the edge of his senses, was a man hiding behind a large rock a ways ahead of him. If Zangpo didn't know he was there, the man would have likely jumped him as he passed.

"I know you're there!" The airbender called out, crouching low with one of his hands out in front of him while the other was over his head. It wasn't the most intimidating of stances, but he was working on it.

Almost thirty seconds later, he began to hear a chuckle and then watched as a burly man walked out from his hiding place behind the boulder. "I admit, you got some good senses, kid."

"What do you want?" Zangpo asked calmly, not afraid of some bandit. He couldn't help but sigh, though. This was the second time he's confronted by bandits and thieves, was this going to be a common occurrence? With the war going on, people were desperate.

"What do I want? Hmm," the bandit pretended to think about it. "You look like you're well off, so I bet you got some stuff in that bag you got there." He motioned towards the bag Zangpo carried over his shoulder.

The boy narrowed his eyes even further at the man's words. "What I have is mine and mine alone. Trust me when I say that it's better that you walk away now." 

Laughing at the airbender's warning with his head thrown backwards, once he calmed down, he asked, "Is that a threat, boy?"

"Yes."

Smirking at the kid's threat, he slipped into a horse stance that Zangpo easily recognized from the many spars he had with Toph. "Then I guess I'll just take what I need off your corpse!" The bandit shouted, quickly launching the boulder beside him at the boy.

Without even flinching, Zangpo made a half-circle motion with one of his hands before thrusting it out towards the incoming boulder.

With his element bending to his will, a rod of visibly dense air rocketed towards its target. The rod penetrated the rock easily. Once the condensed air reached the center of the boulder, the airbender clenched his hand into a fist and watched with a satisfied smirk as the rock exploded into small pieces. What he had done was simple, he merely decompressed the air forcefully, thus causing the air in the rock to expand enough to destroy it. 

The burly earthbender was surprised, he didn't understand what happened. With the large rock obstructing his view of the kid, he couldn't see the boy do anything. He assumed that he was an earthbender as well, that was the only reasonable explanation the man could come up with.

Growling, the bandit kicked the ground and fired multiple columns of earth towards the boy. He may be an earthbender, but he's still just a kid. The man thought to himself.

Using his bending to increase his speed, Zangpo skillfully weaved around the oncoming projectiles, moving closer to the man with each step. The level of calmness in the boy's eyes unnerved the bandit greatly, just how could he move so fast? It was unnatural…

Beginning to panic as the boy got closer, he launched even more projectiles at incredible speeds, throwing in the occasional spike erupting from the ground. But everything the man sent towards him, he just dodged with ease. The kid didn't even look concerned, he just marched forward at a consistent pace with a cold look in his eyes.

Since this man wanted to kill Zangpo, then he would easily return the favor. As the airbender approached a couple of meters away from the burly bandit, he began to quickly rotate his hand, siphoning the very air out of the bandit's lungs.

Grasping at his throat in an attempt to stop the air from leaving his body, the man's fearfully widened gaze looked towards the now identified airbender with a silent plea. However, Zangpo had no sympathy for the man. He was a killer, that much was proven by the way he attacked him with no hesitation. Who knew how many innocent people he had killed before this? Filth like that didn't deserve to live.

At least… that's what the boy reasoned. Little did he know, rationalizing murder was a very, very slippery slope. While the boy was convinced in his own way that he was doing the right thing, the dark seductive voice in the back of his mind was overjoyed.

For this man's death was but a mere stepping stone on Zangpo's path to power…

Insistent on watching as the bandit clawed at the ground while he died, the boy felt nothing for him. There weren't any regrets or even doubts in his mind. It was as if he just didn't care.

Does this make me a bad person? He wondered, waiting for the man to still. Zangpo didn't have to wait long, soon enough, the man died right before his very eyes. Would Toph be disappointed in me?

Toph liked to play tough on the outside, but he's gotten to know her. She had let her rocky walls fall before him on more than one occasion. She was a good person at heart, a forgiving person. Would she even want to be his friend if she knew that he was a murderer? The girl knew that Zangpo had killed his father, but she also knew that it was an accident. He hadn't told her of the three men he had killed before he met her. And here he was, killing once more.

She'd be so disappointed in me… 

Figuring that he'd cross that bridge when he got there, the airbender grabbed a few measly copper coins off the dead earthbender and continued on his way. He didn't know how many people traveled along this path, but he didn't want to be around whenever someone inevitably came across the body.

A few hours later, he came to a crossroads. There were two signs: the one on the left read 'Foggy Swamp,' while the one on the right read 'Plains Village.'

Foggy Swamp was further north, which was in the same direction as the city of Omashu. The path towards Plains Village went east. He had heard stories of Foggy Swamp while he was in Gaoling. The stories always came from drunk travelers that stayed at the inn, so he didn't know how reliable they were, but the place seemed to have quite the reputation.

The stories said that Foggy Swamp shows you your deepest fears, your future, and your past. They say that the angry spirits that live there feed off of one's pain brought on by the memories shown.

Zangpo didn't know if he believed such tales, but the swamp was along the way he was headed. Depending on the size, he could just go around, but he'd have to see how large it was first to see if it was worth it. If the swamp was too vast, the airbender would rather just go through it.

Heading down the winding path towards Foggy Swamp, the silver-eyed boy's thoughts kept returning to the man he killed just a few hours ago. Did the man have a family waiting for him back home? It was likely, after all, everyone had a family. Even Zangpo did, however much he wished that he didn't. Everyone was a son, brother, daughter, sister, uncle, cousin, father, mother, etc… They all had families.

The more he thought about it, the less he cared. It was either him or Zangpo, and Zangpo was the one who came out on top.

Death was a common thing in this war-torn world. People lived, and people died—that's life.

The young airbender hasn't had any easy life, constantly defending himself and dealing with the cruelties and unfairness of the world. He was only eleven, yet, his view on the world was through the eyes of an abused angry animal.

He had a lot of traumas to work through, but the boy knew one thing, and nothing would ever change his mind: the strong ruled the weak.

In his twisted view of the world, the Fire Nation had every right to wage war on the other nations, to share their greatness with the world. They had power, and they weren't afraid to wield it.

That was why the Air Nomads were wiped out, because they were weak. They had power at their fingertips but they were too weak to wield it; too scared to wield it. Airbenders were pacifists, that is what Yangchen's journal had taught him. They squandered what they had and just rolled over for someone stronger than them.

Thinking about how weak they were made Zangpo angry. He was an airbender, but by no means was he going to be weak like his ancestors were, he wasn't just going to roll over for anyone. No, the angry boy was going to prove to the world that airbenders were something to be feared, he was going to give them a real reason that they were wiped out. If they wanted to believe that airbenders were a threat to the other nations, then that's what they would get.

There would be no more hiding.

Sure, he wasn't that strong yet, but he was strong enough, and he would only grow stronger. If he couldn't defend himself against those that blocked his path to greatness, then he didn't deserve to be great at all.

With his mind made up, he walked on purposefully, only wishing that another bandit would cross his path.

***

The Foggy Swamp was before him, vast and intimidating. Going around would add weeks to his journey. The boy wasn't in a rush, but he didn't like wasting time. A small part of him was even curious about the rumors of the swamp. If they were true, what would it show him?

After checking his supplies and making sure he had everything he needed for his excursion, he took a few calming breaths and stepped towards the flooded woods.

Zangpo didn't like the feelings of wet shoes, he doubted anyone did. So as he sat on a log deep within the dense swamp, the airbender began to brainstorm. How could he pass through the swamp without having to walk through water the entire time?

He thought about 'flying' through the woods, if you could even call it that, but Zangpo trashed that idea. There's no doubt that he could hover around, but it would exhaust him too quickly. He didn't have much control with that ability yet, he'd only overexert himself and potentially make his journey even longer.

What if I stepped on patches of thick air atop the water's surface? Now that was an idea, not a great one, but an idea nonetheless.

With nothing to lose, he allowed his foot to hover over the water while forming a compressed air pocket directly underneath his foot. Pressing down, he was able to stand on it with a little bit of active control. Doing the same with his other foot, Zangpo nearly jumped for joy as he stood on the water, if it wasn't for the amount of concentration he exerted.

He did a couple little experimental hops and steps to see if it was good to go, and to his great satisfaction, he could actually use his bending to walk on water.

"I'm a genius!" The boy shouted, throwing his fists up in the air with a wide smile. Grabbing his bag off of the log he was just sitting on, Zangpo continued on his way.

***

The airbender didn't know how much time had passed because of the lack of sunlight, but it felt like he had been walking for a while. The swamp was eerie, and more than once he thought he saw something move within the shadows. 

Suddenly out of nowhere, thick dark vines descended upon him from the canopies above. Panicking at the unexpected threat, he began to run, propelling himself forward with his bending. However, more and more vines seemed to come out of the darkness around him no matter where he went.

"Alright you green bastards, you wanna play? Let's play." The airbender ground out, deciding to take a stand.

Launching dense wind blades left, right, and center, he began to cut every vine that came near him into pieces. After what seemed like a lifetime, the hostile vines stopped coming, and he allowed himself to rest.

As he sat on a little rock formation that came up out of the water, his eyes scanned the shadows for any more incoming threats. "What the heck was all that about?" He wondered aloud, his fingers twitching in anticipation. Out of all the rumors he heard about the swamp, never once has he heard that it attacks people. 

Maybe this swamp really is haunted by angry spirits? 

Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear the gentle sound of an erhu until he was beginning to nod off to sleep. Recognizing the sound for what it was, Zangpo called out to the darkness surrounding him, "Hello?! Is anyone there?!"

But he received no answer in return, only the soothing music from a traditional instrument he recognized all too well. 

Back when he was in Burroo, there was a traveling man that came through a few years prior. He was kind, and carried an erhu with him. More than once, the man played for the village children in the few days he was there. Zangpo always loved his music, it was the most beautiful thing he's ever heard.

And here the airbender was, years later in the middle of some dark creepy swamp, listening to the beautiful sound once more. Hopping off the rock, he went deeper into the swamp in search of the source of the gentle music.

His feet carried him forward without any real direction. Swiping his arm at the thick vines in front of him, he cut them from his path as he stepped inside a wide open area. From the large clearing in the canopies above, the silver glow of moonlight shone down upon him. Looking around, he tried to find the direction where the music was coming from, but it was coming from all around him.

"Hello?!" He called out again, hoping whoever was playing the sorrowful melody could hear him. Soon after the words left his mouth, Zangpo felt a presence behind him. It was a similar feeling to when he first sensed Toph when she was spying on him, but it felt more malignant, almost like when he felt the bandit's eyes on him.

Whipping around with a heavy gust of wind ready to be released at his fingertips, what he saw cut the wind from his sails. All of his momentum seemingly vanished at the sight that lay before him.

"Dad..?" The boy uttered quietly, his body locked up in shock upon seeing his dead father standing before him. His head was still bloody and his neck was red, purple, and swollen; it was most certainly broken.

His dad stared at him with cold dead eyes, freezing him under his flat gaze. "You murdered me," He spoke after a moment, his voice chilly and emotionless. "You murdered me and you left your poor mother to deal with the aftermath all alone."

"I-I-" Zangpo didn't know what to say. How was he here? Why was he here? Before he could successfully come up with a response, his dead father spoke again.

"We should have killed you when we had the chance," He hissed angrily. "You know, many nights your mother and I had discussed your death… whether or not we should just kill you and be done with it."

The young airbender did know that. More than a few times he had laid awake crying long into the night because he had heard his parent's whispers. He feared that if he were to fall asleep, that's when his parents would strike. The earliest memories he had of such things were when he was five.

"You do not deserve to live while I lay buried and dead!" His father continued, screaming at him like had used to not so long ago.

Zangpo felt warm tears prickle at the edges of his eyes, but he held them back. His father had made him cry enough in his life, he wouldn't allow him to make him cry in his death.

"You're right, I did kill you." The boy whispered thickly, raw anger lacing through his words.

His father narrowed his eyes at his son's words. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said, I did kill you. You're not here. You can't hurt me anymore." The airbender wasn't afraid of his parent's any longer, he had no reason to be. They were weak, after all. While he, was strong.

Not liking his son's answer, the man's vengeful spirit suddenly rushed towards the boy with an angry roar. "AAAAAAAAHHH!"

Only now did Zangpo realize the spirit didn't have any legs; flying towards him with a savagely twisted face. "YOU'RE DEAD!" The airbender screamed with all his might as the spirit approached. Zangpo successfully merged his emotion and his bending.

Like a sonic boom, the boy's wrathful yell erupted from his mouth with a terrifying force. His scream ripped apart the ground between him and his father like it was wet parchment. The sound reverberated through his bones, shaking him to his core as he emptied his lungs. For the first time since he had read Avatar Yangchen's journal, he finally understood the pain and rage she felt when she split the ocean with her voice.

Almost instantaneously as his yell reached the angry spirit, his father's form ripped apart and vanished as if it were mere dust in the wind. The boy's yell didn't stop there, though. The trees behind where his father had been were ripped from the ground with ease for what seemed like a hundred meters, the water splitting just as easily as the thick trees had. 

For a moment, Zangpo couldn't hear anything except his own heartbeat. Thump. Thump Thump. And ever so slowly, sound began to return to the world around him. Just like before, he found himself alone in the wide clearing with the beautiful sound of an erhu playing all around.

Closing his eyes, he began to try and slow his beating heart as he took deep calming breaths. Adopting the breathing exercise he normally reserved for meditation, he was able to calm himself in no time at all.

"You deserve power…"

Hearing a woman's voice, his eyes snapped open. Only this time instead of his dead father being there, it was a beautiful teenage girl that looked to be at least three years older than him. She had silky black hair tied up in a topknot held together by a golden flame, and the most enchanting golden eyes that Zangpo had ever seen.

"Not only do you deserve power, but you have the strength to take it." She continued, her voice smooth as silk. Unable to look away, he could only watch as the mystery girl walked towards him with a slow and measured gait.

Zangpo was entranced, he had never seen anyone so exotic. Though he had never seen anyone from the Fire Nation before, it was pretty obvious the girl before him was Fire Nation. She wore shiny black armor with golden trims and some type of red clothing underneath. The fire emblem was present on her head, her collar, and her belt. Whoever this girl was, he felt that she must be important somehow.

"Who are you?" He forced out, finding it difficult to talk to the girl in front of him. Instead of answering, she just let out a quiet tinkling laugh that sent shivers down his spine as she came closer.

Once she was within arms reach, she placed one of her delicately manicured hands on his shoulder and stopped beside him. He could feel the heat coming off of her hand through his clothes. Strangely, it wasn't an unpleasant heat, but a comforting one. 

"Power deserves power, Zangpo…" She whispered into his ear sinfully. "We could rule together, you and I… you just have to prove it to me…"

And just like that, she let go of his shoulder and walked past him. "Wait!" He called out, finally freeing himself from his stupor to turn around. Alas, the girl was gone.

Who was she? Her voice was so familiar, but he knew that he had never met that girl before. He definitely would have remembered her. Rubbing his shoulder where the girl had placed her hand, Zangpo was surprised to find it was still warm.

The airbender remembered the rumors that he heard back in Gaoling, and he was starting to think they weren't just rumors. Seeing his father as a vengeful spirit certainly added some credence to the stories, but what about the older girl he saw? Some of the rumors did mention that the swamp also showed one their future… Was that girl someone he was going to meet? 

What she said about him deserving power and him having the strength to take it was very enticing. Power is what he wants, after all. But what did she mean about them ruling together? Zangpo admitted that ruling does sound quite appealing, but is it something he wants? What even was he and her supposed to rule over? The world? The Fire Nation? If he was going to be a ruler, then he at least wanted to go big or go home. 

Deciding to think it over some more later, the boy picked a direction and started walking, hoping that he'd find the source of the music. The music felt like it was all around him, so he was just trusting his intuition.

Soon enough, he came across another clearing, only this one much smaller than the last, with the moonlight only shining down on one spot. There at the edge of the clearing, was a familiar man with an erhu; wearing a straw hat and as blind as he was the last time the boy saw him.

"You again?" Zangpo asked, surprised, still wary of the disappearing man. He wasn't sure if this was another illusion by the swamp or if it was really the old fisherman he met before.

"Good to see you again, son." The blind man voiced with a chuckle, his voice just as rough as he remembered.

Good to see you again? Did this blind old guy just make a joke?

Before the boy could comment on his attempt at humor, the man continued, the melody he played with his erhu shifting into one of seriousness. "Everything that follows, is a result of what you see here." 

Well that wasn't mysterious at all… Zangpo thought to himself. Was he talking about the visions he saw? His father and that girl he met?

"What do you mean?" He asked confusedly, not wanting to make any assumptions.

"I'm sorry, but my responses are limited. You must ask the right questions."

The right questions… What? What kind of questions was this old fisherman expecting exactly? However, just as last time he spoke to him, he didn't really answer his questions before, either. 

"The visions that the swamp showed me, what do they mean?" Zangpo inquires curiously. They only just recently happened, so he hasn't had the time to really break them down yet, not that there was much to break down with the Fire Nation girl. She obviously knew about his goal to be the most powerful bender in the world.

Smiling softly, the old man seemed to think before answering. "The universe likes to communicate with us in mysterious ways… What we see isn't always what the universe means. Interpretations are fickle things. The visions that came to you are hints, quick glances into your subconscious and your very future." He finished softly, playing his erhu seemingly without a single care in the world.

Surprisingly, his answer wasn't completely useless. He did provide the airbender with some insight. Glances into my subconscious, huh? Is that why I saw my father? What about the girl?

"Who was the girl that I saw?" The boy asked, eager to gain some clue about her. He didn't know why, but for some reason, she just felt really important, somehow.

"I'm sorry, but my responses are limited. You must ask the right questions." The old man repeated stubbornly. Zangpo just looked at him with a raised eyebrow, beginning to grow annoyed with the man's lack of simpleness. Why did everything have to be so mysterious with him?

Disappointed, silver-eyed boy began to think about his next question. Everything that came to mind were questions about his visions, though. Should he ask questions about his purpose or goals, instead? 

After a minute of contemplation, Zangpo finally found a question that he struggled with. "Am I on the right path?" He asked hesitantly, still struggling with an internal debate on whether or not he should be doing whatever it takes to be the most powerful bender in the world.

Hearing his question, the blind fisherman stopped playing his erhu and seemed to stare right at him. For a moment, he didn't say anything, but then he spoke with an almost proud tone. "That, Zangpo, is the right question."

And with those words, he began to slowly dissipate, fading out of sight and into the night.

The boy was shocked, his mouth hanging open. Was that one of the swamp's visions as well? Was he a spirit? Dozens of questions flew through his mind, and he couldn't even answer a single one of them.

Sighing to himself and feeling tired from everything that happened to him that day, Zangpo walked away in search of a nice dry spot to set up camp. He was walking for half an hour before he came across a dry rock formation that barely sat out of the water. It wasn't too comfortable or even large of a spot, but it would have to do and he wasn't picky.

Taking out a bread roll and some cured meat, the boy had a quick dinner before climbing into the sleeping bag he bought before leaving Gaoling.

It didn't take long before sleep took him, and for the first time since leaving Gaoling, he slept well and peacefully. If one were to walk up on the sleeping boy and see his expression, they'd see a small smile on his face as his dreams were filled with a certain golden-eyed Fire Nation girl.

***

Zangpo felt a lot lighter the next day, as if he wasn't bogged down so much anymore. Though he didn't know it, his confrontation with the vision of his father had healed some of the trauma in his mind. The young airbender confronted the very thing he feared the most and had won.

The morning happened as it usually did: meditation, training, and breakfast. Only this time, the boy was sporting a smile the entire time. He felt good.

After he packed up his supplies, Zangpo went in the direction where light seemed to shine the brightest through the treetops. If that meant what he thought it meant, then the trees were becoming less dense, and he was approaching the end of the swamp.

He couldn't have been more than a couple hundred meters from the swamps edge when his luck seemed to suddenly run out. Out of nowhere, just like before, thick green vines started to attack him again. However, this time, the vines didn't seem to be alone. There, a handful of meters away from him, rose a large mossy swamp monster out of the water.

Now that he could see his opponent clearly and he wasn't being attacked from the darkness like before, Zangpo noticed that the vines seemed to follow the monster's arm movements.

He's controlling them. The boy realized, getting ready for what he believed to be a fight for his life.