Chapter 72

Once, when he was only five years old, Monk Gyatsu had taken him to the peak of a mountain.

Airbending had come easily to Aang, and he was definitely among the most skilled of his age group. Yet that did not mean everything came to him without difficulty. The day before, Gyatsu had deemed him ready to attempt his first glider flight.

They had spent the whole day on the ground first, running through the techniques that would guide the air around him to flow in the direction he wanted, until the sun had been just about to set. Gyatsu had offered him a practice glider staff, taken him to a small ledge just above a pool of water, and instructed him to jump.

Aang had done so without hesitation, as children often did, but panic had immediately jolted through him as he felt that something was wrong. There had been a tear in the practice staff, hidden from sight whilst folded, and its sails could not catch the wind properly. Both Aang and the staff crashed down unceremoniously into the water.

Gyatso had swiftly rushed down to help him, but after confirming that Aang was unharmed he'd been unconcerned. He laughed it off, repaired the tear in the staff, then handed it back and prompted Aang to try again.

But Aang couldn't.

The moment he'd stepped up to the ledge, the drop beneath him had seemed to grow in height before his eyes. Fear had overcome him, and he stepped away with teary cheeks, fully expecting to see Gyatso's disappointed face when he turned around. Would his teacher be ashamed of his student's cowardice? Annoyed by his disobedience? Angry at his failure?

Yet Gyatso had not been disappointed. He'd place a hand on his shoulder as he guided him back to the temple, and promised that tomorrow they would overcome this hurdle together.

At the top of the mountain, the wind flowed fiercer and more freely than Aang had ever felt before. The cold seeped through his robes and into his bones, but Aang had not minded it. He felt a sense of rightness that his young mind had not had the words for.

It was energetic, primal, wild, and yet by contrast still so peaceful and gentle; like a great tiger lounging peacefully in a tree. Gyatso had tied a rope firmly around Aang's stomach, checking the knot no less than three times over, then nodded sagely, and handed him the same glider staff from yesterday.

"Open it." Gyatsu had said. "Let it catch the wind, and carry you up. I am here, and I will not let the sky take you away."

Aang looked uneasy. "Can I use a different staff?" He asked.

Gyatsu smiled, as if he had anticipated the question. "What is wrong with the one you have?" He asked patiently.

"It's broken." Aang replied. "It should be thrown away."

Gyatsu did not look perturbed. "Was broken." He stressed, opening the glider to show the stitch he had made yesterday.

"Yet that does not mean it has lost its worth. It is true that it let you down yesterday, but this staff has changed since then. With a little care and effort, what was broken has been repaired." He ran a hand across the stitch.

"The past has not been forgotten. The scars of its failure may never fade. But that does not mean that a failure is all it shall ever be. It may yet still be the wings that allow you to fly."

"How can you be sure?" Aang asked, hanging on Gyatso's every word, yet still doubtful of the glider.

Gyatso smiled at him. "We can never be sure, Aang. Life is full of surprises. Yet if you do not give it a chance, how can it ever prove that it has become worthy of your trust?"

He held out the glider staff to Aang again, and hesitantly Aang took it. He stood, shot Gyatso a nervous glance, and then, gingerly, flicked the glider open.

The wind caught it immediately, and Aang was lifted ten feet into the air before Gyatso's rope snapped taunt. Like a kite, Aang hung in the sky, feeling the rushing of the winds around him and the weightlessness of true flight.

A wide, goofy grin spread across his face as his heart swelled with the sensation of freedom unlike he'd ever felt before, and he whooped in pure joy! Flying was amazing! Even just hovering a little above the ground like this, Aang felt so light and untroubled!

He floated there for ten or so minutes, giggling whenever Gyatso wobbled the rope to send him darting around like a dragonfly, until finally his teacher reeled him back in. There was a twinkle in the old monk's eye as he spoke to him.

"So Aang, do you still want another glider?"

Aang shook his head quickly and held his staff tightly, almost possessively to his chest. Gyatsu laughed, and patted his head.

"Good. Now come, let's get some lunch."

"I'm starving! When can we get some lunch?"

Aang shook his head, the daydream dispelled by Sokka's words. There was no wind underground, no comforting breeze, and a part of Aang couldn't wait for this whole rebellion strategy meeting to be over so that he could go outside again. Yet his wisdom curbed that instinct. Bumi needed his help, and the only way to do that was to pay attention and work with the rebellion to iron out the details of their escape plan.

A plan that revolved around trusting the same boy who'd hunted them halfway around the world.

Across the table sat the Blue Spirit, his posture so stiff from social awkwardness that it was a miracle his spine didn't crack. Next to him, Katara smiled happily and said something to him Aang didn't catch.

She'd liked him the moment that Aang had confirmed he was the one who freed him from the fortress, and seemed to have made it her personal mission to befriend the clearly socially awkward boy in the mask.

Aang hadn't told her or Sokka that he knew who the Blue Spirit was. He hadn't lied to them really, just omitted the final part of his story of how he'd escaped; the part where he'd snuck a peak under the mask.

He still wanted to believe that he and Zuko didn't have to be enemies, or could perhaps even be friends one day, but he knew that Sokka and Katara wouldn't understand. Keeping the Blue Spirit's real identity hidden at the time had felt like an unspoken declaration of trust in the angry young prince.

Now it seemed the time had come to take a gamble on that trust. Aang was under no illusion that Zuko had suddenly transformed into a saint overnight, but back at the North Pole the prince had surprised everyone when he freed the captured ocean and moon spirits from Tanya's clutches.

He had shown that, as damaged as growing up in the Fire Nation had made him, he was still capable of seeing what the right thing to do was. It was also obvious that he'd suffered for that decision: he was travelling alone now, dressed in tatty grey rags, and noticeably thinner than he'd been before.

The plan the rebellion was cooking up relied heavily on the Blue Spirit's stealth abilities, and Zuko would be in the perfect position to sabotage their efforts. All it would take was him taking off his mask and leading the Fire Nation here, and the Omashu rebellion was done for. Many would call it foolish to put so much trust in Zuko after all he'd done before, and a part of Aang couldn't help but agree.

He glanced over at his glider staff, knowing without having to open it where that little stitch Monk Gyatso had made was. If he wanted Zuko to change, he had to give him the chance to.

"… follow the staircase down on the right, and you'll reach the crystal cave." Yung finished, pointing to the map of the palace interior he had drawn out. "The entrance to the escape tunnel is right at the bottom: a doorway concealed behind a large green crystal.

Once you can confirm that it is undiscovered by the Fire Nation, head back up again and make your escape. In the meantime the rest of us will be preparing for the assault. Meet us back here, and we'll launch the attack as soon as possible."

"Hold on." Aang interjected. "Where are they holding Bumi?"

Yung scowled. "I don't know. Why does it matter anyway? He welcomed the Fire Nation into our homes: the bed he's lying in is one of his own making."

"He is my friend." Aang replied plainly. "And your king. I won't abandon him."

Yung scoffed and looked away. "Have it your way. But we don't know where in the palace he's being held. I can guess at a few areas, but we won't know for sure, and we won't have time to waste trying to find him during the assault."

"What if Blue looked around for him as well?" Katara asked.

"And suppose that he got caught doing so? The more tasks we give the Blue Spirit to accomplish, the higher the chance he'll be caught. We know where the escape tunnel is, but searching the whole palace is another story."

Katara looked at the newly nicknamed Blue, who nodded once to confirm that Yung was right.

"Okay, what if someone else went with him? They could search for Bumi, while Blue checks the escape tunnel?" Katara asked.

Yung frowned. "We're soldiers, not thieves. I don't know anyone else who could get around the palace undetected."

"Perhaps they don't have to?"

All eyes turned to Sokka, who'd adopted that pensive look he got whenever he was on the verge of a genuinely good idea.

"Didn't you say earlier that all the patrol paths have been changing since Tanya took over?" Sokka continued. He tapped a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "Soldiers are being reassigned to new positions left and right. The new status quo is bound to be unfamiliar to them too. And with unfamiliarity, there'll be mistakes. Opportunities."

Yung eyed him curiously. "What are you suggesting?"

"Do you have any Fire Nation uniforms?"

"We've picked up a couple recently. Do you think a simple disguise will be enough?"

"Right now, yes. Any suspicious behaviour can be blamed on making mistakes because we've just been reassigned to a new job."

Yung stroked his chin. "That could work. Not with too many people though. Any more than a handful will attract too much attention. We only need one person to confirm Bumi's location."

"I'll go!" Aang immediately volunteered.

"No offence, Avatar, but you are too small to be a soldier, and your tattoos are too recognizable."

Sokka stood up. "Then I'll go!"

"Sokka! No!" Katara protested. "It's too dangerous!"

Yung eyed him carefully. "Your resolve is admirable, but are you certain? If you are caught I cannot guess what fate would await you."

Sokka nodded. "I am a warrior of the Southern Water Tribes. I won't fail.

...

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