Chapter 27 - Bumi

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- Third POV -

"Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade. I hoped the Avatar would be less predictable" Said the king as he continues attacking Aang by sending a few boulders his way. Meanwhile, Aang just keeps on avoiding and evading.

"Don't you have any surprises for me? Sooner or later you'll have to strike back!" Exclaims the king. Aang uses his staff to helicopter into the air. The king bends a large boulder into the ceiling, raining rocks onto Aang, knocking him from the air. Aang charges at the king on foot, but a series of bending attacks leaves him flat atop a large rock pile.

"You'll have to be a little more creative than that!" Shouts the king. Aang bends an air scooter and charges forward on it, throwing a huge air blast at the king as he comes. The king throws up a stone barried and the blast deflects to both sides of it.

"Did someone leave the windows open? It feels a little drafty in here. Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?" Says the king mockingly while sending more attacks towards Aang, sending him across half of the arena.

"How are you going to get me from way over there?" Asks the king. Aang charges forward on foot again, using airbending to accelerate his speed but the king softens the arena floor with his earthbending, leaving him sunk to the waist. The king bends two stones to collide on the spot but Aang pops out at the top of them when they meet. Aang who's visibly angry now bends the slab the king is standing on all the way back to the back of the arena. The king bends the largest boulder yet to come at Aang from behind but Aang does an air-assisted back flip over it. The king continues earthbending, he cracks the floors and walls of the arena, tearing out a huge chunk of the wall and balcony they had been standing on.

 Seeing on what is coming, Aang gasps and runs in tight circles, conjuring a tornado. Once the king flings the huge boulder at Aang, it is caught in the tornade and instantly whips around right back at the king. The king bends it to sand before the boulder can smash him. But before he can recover, Aang attacks from the top of the tornado, landing at the king's feet with his staff poised to strike. The king's arms are raised as if surrendering but a small pebble falls onto Aang's head, drawing his attention to the large rock suspended over both of them.

"Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart. You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question" States the king while tossing the rock aside. The king bends himself up to the balcony where Mizuki and the two siblings had been waiting, almost completely encased in the creeping crystal. Aang follows the king and airbends himself onto the balcony.

"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests!" Shouts Aang angrily.

"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?" Answers the king.

"Oh, come on!" Argued Sokka while Mizuki sighed.

"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What...is my name? From the looks of your friends I'd say you only have a few minutes" Says the king as he walks away.

❀❀❀

"How am I supposed to know his name?" Asks Aang while turning around to face Mizuki, Katara and Sokka.

"Think about the challenges. Maybe it's some kind of riddle" Replies Katara.

"I got it!" Beams Sokka, Mizuki looks at him with a surprised look on her face.

"Yeah?" Answers Katara.

"He's an earthbender, right? Rocky! You know, because of all the rocks" Exclaims Sokka while Mizuki blinks in confusion at his suggestion.

"We're going to keep trying, but that is a good back-up" Continued Katara while Mizuki nodded in agreement.

"So back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall, I saved his pet and I had a duel" States Aang

"And what did you learn from those challenges?" Asks Mizuki in an attempt to help Aang.

"Well, everything was different than I expected" Concludes Aang.

"And?" Asks Katara nervously as the jennamite continues to grow.

"Well, they weren't straight forward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would. I know his name" Says Aang confidently as he turns around to confront the king.

"I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges. As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities" Says Aang while the king starts to laugh with an odd snort.

"Bumi, you're a mad genius" Exclaims Aang happily and he hugs the king who turned out to be his childhood friend Bumi. Mizuki smiled warmly at the Aang who had found his old friend Bumi.

"Oh Aang, it's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit. Literally" Says Bumi as he smiles at Aang.

"Uh, over here!" Interrupts Katara.

"Little help?" Asks Sokka sheepisly. Bumi breaks the crystals using earthbending, making pieces fly everywhere. He catches one of them. Mizuki happily stretches her arms and Sokka sighs in relief.

"Jennamite is made of rock candy. Delicious!" Beams Bumi as he takes a bite into the crystal.

"That's why it smelled so good!" Gasps Mizuki. She grabs a small piece of crystal and starts eating it.

"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?" Asks Katara.

"Who are you calling old? okay, I'm old" Says the king while making gestures with his hands to emphasize his words.

"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang who you where?" Asks Sokka confused.

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with other people. But I do have a reason. Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years that you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating the Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius. And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation" Explains Bumi. Momo climbs onto Aang's shoulder,

"And you'll need Momo too" Says Bumi, Mizuki takes a step forward and clears her throat.

"I understand why you've made Aang do these challenges. But why did you make me solve those riddles? If I may ask" Asks Mizuki curiosuly.

"After all, it's your duty to guide the Avatar on his journey to master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. I just wanted to make sure you where capable of thinking outside the box. You'll need to face many difficult situations in order to help Aang. But I believe you can do it Mizuki" Answers Bumi in a serious tone.

"I see, I'll do my best to help Aang master the four elements and defeat the Fire Lord. I promise" Replies Mizuki as she bows in front of the king.

"Thank you for your wisdom, but before we leave. I have a challenge for you" Says Aang as he grins happily.

<time skip>

Somewhere in Omashu there are two people riding down the mail system until a cloud of dust is raised and a crash is heard.

"My cabbages!" Shouts the cabbage merchant.

To be continued

Word count: 1238

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