Chapter 11: City of Omashu Again

'Nina, what is a Timer?': soren

Soren had never heard of the term "Timer", but assumed it had something to do with keeping time, and just like he expected, Nina informed Soren that a Timer was something to keep time, and let you know when a certain amount of time has passed. Soren then watched as a mechanical virtual timer appeared flashing in Soren's view with the numbers "00:03:00:00" being stationary as Soren had yet to begin his ride on the Unagi, and after seeing this Soren began swimming out towards the sea as he also noticed Aang not too far away from him appearing to be waiting for something in the water.

'All I'm gonna say, is Aang better not steal my quest and make me fail, or I'm gonna hit him with a rock the size of a house later on today': soren

After a few minutes of waiting, Soren noticed that the group of onlookers that Aang had brought with him had started to disperse leaving Aang to be a bit melancholic due to losing his first ever fan base since coming out as the Avatar, and at that moment, one could tell that the little bit of fame the young Airbender felt was a whole new world to him, and now that it was being ripped away by a bunch of little girls thinking he was now boring made Aang rethink his position in the world as not some famous person, but as someone meant to bring peace and harmony to the world.

[Hey Aang!... Where did your fans go?]: katara

Katara shouted from the shoreline as Aang perked up and noticed Katara standing there with a look of worry on her face, and seeing that even though fame comes and goes, friendship last forever unless you break it forcefully, made Aang rethink just exactly what his priorities were, and that was friendship over everything else.

[They left me… They said I was boring]: aang

[Hehe… Well Mr. Boring, get out of the water before you catch a cold]: katata

Katara was subtly flirting with Aang even if she didn't notice it, and Aang seeing Katara as a love interest made him blush even if he didn't notice the slight flirting as he started to swim back towards the shore, but was soon being surrounded by a dark pool as a Black fin sprouted out in front of him making the Unagi's presence known.

[Aang!]: katara

[AHHHHH!!!!... Katara! Help!]: aang

Before Katara could do anything, Aang grabbed hold of the Unagi's whisker as it's head raised out of the water bringing Aang along with it, and using the highly pressurized water kept in its mouth, the Unagi tried to spray Aang and kill him with the water blast, but Aang swiftly went into action as he used the air and his weight to swing out of harm's way on the Unagi's whisker, but the slipperiness of the whisker made Aang fall back into the water as the Unagi went in to eat Aang whole, and Katara made it just in time to grab hold of Aang. Just as the Unagi was going to eat both Katara and Aang, Soren used Earthbending with his arms as he made the lake bed spike up and stab the Unagi harming it, but the Unagi saw this as nothing but and annoyance and turned its attention to Soren letting both Katara and Aang escape.

[Soren!... Don't try and fight that thing! You're out of your element, and it's in its home]: katara

Katara tried to get Soren to run away, but seeing his chance to ride the Unagi as it tried to swallow him seemed quite tempting, and as the Unagi tired to engulf Soren, he swam as quickly as possible to the side, and made it just in time to dodge the Unagi's attack, and he grabbed hold of the Unagi's whisker just like Aang did, making the Unagi angry as this was the second time today someone grabbed its whisker, and as it raised its head from the water to attack Soren, Soren used his weight to swing over to the other whisker before grabbing hold of it and swinging up to the head of the Unagi as he stood firm and pulled on the whiskers of the Unagi to fall under his command.

[I hope he'll be alright]: katara

Katara looked on as Soren began riding the Unagi as his face showed a smile, and the timer that was blinking with the numbers "00:03:00:00" began to count down as Soren saw the notification from Nina ring off in his head.

{Timer has begun… Soren, you must stay on the Unagi for 00:02:59:55 if you wish to complete the quest}

'This will be a piece of cake!': soren

Soren then regretted his thoughts as the Unagi dove under water taking Soren with it in hopes of drowning Soren out, but after a few seconds the Unagi came back above the water due to Soren yanking on its whiskers to the point of almost ripping them off, and making it scream in pain.

[ROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!]: unagi

... On the coast of Kyoshi Island ...

[Uncle, how coles are we?]: zuko

[We should be reaching Kyoshi at any moment, Prince Zuko… But I gotta say, you shouldn't worry so much, and sit back to have a cup of tea]: iroh

[Now is no time for tea!... The Avatar is roaming the world becoming stronger by the second, and you want to sit down and have tea?... I need to capture the Avatar as soon as possible and return home a hero!]: zuko

[Ah, what's so great about being a hero anyway… You don't get anything special, rather you get stuck with no peace and quiet due to people wanting to visit you]: iroh

Iroh took a sip from his cup of tea while reminiscing about his days as a hero who almost conquered the great capital Ba Sing Se, but this led to the memories of his lost son and he became more silent. Soon, one of the soldiers came in and informed both Zuko and Iroh that they have arrived at their destination and Zuko gave the order to have the Rhino riders move out as they began surrounding Kyoshi Island from the back as to no alert the Avatar or any other Island member of their arrival.

[Alright men!... Spread out and surround the village… Wait for my command before moving in to attack]: zuko

[Yes Sir!]: soldiers

Soon the village was surrounded and Zuko began his attack by giving the signal for the others to move in, and in seconds the entire village was scattering while the screams of the people rang through the village alerting Aang and Katara who were still supervising Soren and his monstrous ride.

[Aang, the village!]: katara

[I know!... Come on, we gotta go save them… Soren will be alright here]: aang

[Well shouldn't he come with?... His ability would help a lot]: katara

[Yeah, but he seems to be quite busy fighting with that monster… I'm sure once he is free he'll join us]: aang

Just as Aang and Katara were about to run off, Katara turned around and shouted towards Soren.

[Soren!... When you're done, come help in the village!]: katara

Soren turned to see what was going on and felt that he was helpless in the situation as he could leave now and lose the quest, or he could complete it and let Aang and the others save the village, and weighing his options he felt if he were to give up now and leave he might die in the process since the Unagi was extremely upset towards Soren.

[Come on you beast! Submit to me!]: soren

Soren yanked on the whiskers once more to show dominance towards the Unagi, and it just responded with more angry roars, but Soren noticed the timer was almost done as it displayed the numbers "00:00:03:02" making Soren not want to give up now and just prayed that Aang and the rest were doing fine without him.

[Men!... Spread out and find me the Avatar!]: zuko

Zuko shouted out on top of his rhino as he waved his hand out towards the small group of men gathered in that one area, and as they nodded and began to move, they were immediately stopped with the shout of a familiar voice.

[No need, I'm right here!]: aang

Aang flew in on his glider, and not too far away Katara was using the little bit of Waterbending she knew to try and put out house fires, and when she saw Zuko and a group of Firebenders attacking Aang together she jumped in to help. Sokka was another story as he was dressed like one of the Kyoshi Warriors as he wore a Green and Black dress with White face paint and Red and Black makeup on his eyes as he held his boomerang in one hand, and his hammer machete in the other.

[Suki!... I'm sorry, I didn't see you as the warrior you truly are, and only saw you as a girl… I hope if we survive this you can forgive me]: sokka

[You idiot… I am a girl… But I'm also a warrior]: suki

The woman known as Suki was the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors that Sokka had said some sexist remarks towards, and after realizing just how wrong he was, he tried to apologize, and when Suki heard the apology she responded with giving Sokka a kiss on the cheek, making him melt a bit.

[Sokka!... We gotta go! Hurry up!]: katara

Katara called out ot Sokka as both her and Aang were heading towards Appa who was growling in the distance, and seeing Aang and Katara's untimely timing, he gave a grunt before rushing off towards Appa like both Aang and Katara before they took off towards the sky and flew towards Soren to pick him up.

[I can't believe we have to leave them like this]: aang

[Don't worry Aang… This is for the best... Zuko and his men will follow us and leave Kyoshi Island alone]: katara

[Soren!... What are you doing on top of that monster!!]: sokka

Both Aang and Katara turned to see Sokka leaning over the edge of Appa looking at Soren who had made the Unagi follow his every command, and with a slight reign on the whiskers of the Unagi, Soren made it spew a rain of water over the entire village successfully putting out the raging fires all over the town. Soren saw that his plan worked and he quickly jumped from the top of the Unagi's head up towards Appa who came closer to Soren, and Sokka caught Soren as he helped pull him up.

[That was dangerous you know]: sokka

[Yeah, but I got to ride the Unagi]: soren

Soren then turned to see the setting sun as soon night would fall upon them as Aang began flying Appa towards their next destination. Soren sat down on Appa's back and began looking at the rewards for the completion of the quest, and he was quite happy with them.

{New Quest!: Water Lion Turtle - Description: Find the Water Lion Turtle and learn everything it has to offer as well as have him bestow upon you the element of Water… Time Limit: 6 Months}

'This is quite long compared to how long after Aang took after being freed from the ice to save the world… Looks like I'll be able to bend 3 out of 4 elements by the time of the Solar Eclipse hopefully': soren

Soren fell fast asleep after the exhaustion of riding the Unagi for such a long time, and after a few days of rest and fun as Aang wanted Soren to show him a few Earthbending moves to which he wasn't able to pick up anything, Soren, Aang, Katara, and Sokka arrived to the city of Omashu.

[Wow… It's been a while since I last visited]: soren

[Soren… You've been here before?]: katara

[Yeah… I grew up only a few days away from here]: soren

Soren began to reminisce on the time he spent in his home growing up, and what it was like when he took his first steps into venturing the world.

[That's great Soren… I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi]: aang

As Aang, Soren, and Katara were taking in the sights of the city from afar, Sokka was only worried about the buildings and how they didn't melt, making Soren and Aang laugh as they were far from any snow.

[Well let's go slow pokes… The real fun waits inside the city]: aang

Soren was the first after Aang to start heading towards Omashu followed by Katara and Sokka who were still surprised by such a big city outside of the only home they ever knew. When the 4 of them finally made it to the city Aang was made to wear patches of Appa's shedding fur as he now looked to be an old man with White hair and a mustache, and he played the part well when questions by the city guards, but soon after they all got in with no problems, and began sight seeing as Aang began giving the grand tour of the city, something Soren had already seen previously.

[So Aang… Tell me why we are in a mail cart right now]: soren

[Hehe… Just trust me Soren, this will be fun… I bet you haven't done this before last time you were here in Omashu]: aang

[No… This will be a first alright]: soren