The dualbender (atla) book 2

Chapter 15 - jings

- Third POV -

Mai dodges Katara's water whips and answers her attacks by shooting stiletto's out of the launcher attached to her leg. Katara easily defends herself by freezing the water to create an ice wall. Mai uses this time to charge Katara head on. However, Mizuki notices this and captures Mai's right arm in a stream of water before freezing it. Mai tries to break the ice, but fails. Ty Lee climbs on the platform behind Mizuki. She bounces towards Mizuki and hits her with several quick jabs on her arms. Mizuki loses control over her water stream that splashes on the ground. She tries to raise the water again, but it only moves a little.

"How are you gonna fight without your bending?" Mocks Mai as she pulls out a sai from her robe and takes aim at Mizuki. Just as she is about to throw the weapon, Katara uses her waterbending to throw Mai off her feet. Mizuki starts to panic. How was she supposed to fight without her bending? I've never done that before- Actually...now that I think about it. I did.

{flashback}

"It's not about strength. Our technique is about using your opponents force against them. Loosen up" Suki retracts her own fan from her belt and points it at Sokka, who takes on a battle position.

"Think of the fan as an extension of your arm. Wait for an opening and then..." Suki charges Sokka, but he manages to evade her attack and uses the momentum of her speed against her, knocking her on her behind, much to her surprise.

"Hmm..." Sokka looks surprised, but quickly crosses his arms and gives Suki a smug look.

"I fell on purpose to make you feel better!" Says Suki as she quickly gets up with an irritated look on her face. Suddenly Sokka turns around to see that Mizuki is entering the dojo. He starts to smile broadly.

"Mizuki! Did you see that?!" He exclaims happily. Mizuki giggles slightly and nods her head. Suki turns around to face Mizuki and gasps in shock. Suki looks at the beautiful girl standing in front of her.

{end flashback}

Mizuki takes a deep sigh. It's not about strength. Our technique is about using your opponents force against them. Wait for an opening and then... Ty Lee tries to chi block Katara as well, but Mizuki is quick to redirect her attack by grabbing her arm and throwing her opponent on the ground. Ty Lee groans in pain before standing up. Just as Mai is about to throw a knife at Katara, Sokka's boomerang knocks it out of her hand. Ty Lee and Mai turn around to see Sokka sitting on Appa's back. Sokka catches the boomerang with ease. Sokka and Appa land between their friends and opponents. As Appa lands, he slams his tail hard on the ground, sending Mai and Ty Lee flying off the scaffolding.

"Sokka!" Beams Mizuki as she gets on Appa's back along with Katara.

"Come on, let's get Aang" Says Sokka as appa ascends.

❀❀❀

After flying for a while, Katara points to her left.

"There's Aang!" Exclaims Katara.

"We can catch him!" With a growl, Appa changes course towards Aang. Azula, who's still on the offensive, directs multiple beams of fire at Aang. He spins his staff around in defense while they are still rocketing down the chute. Appa pulls up next to him.

"Hang on, Bumi! Our ride's here!" Shouts Aang while Appa avoids a blue fire blast. As Appa pulls closer again, Aang lifts up the coffin by hitting the side of the chute. Katara, Mizuki and Sokka try to grab hold of the coffin as it passes overhead, but they can't reach it. Bumi screams as he and Aang fall down. Aang moves the coffin to a more horizontal position in midair. Their fall is broken by another chute as they land crosswise on it, breaking right through. They land on another chute and start to slide down once again with Azula on their trail.

"I'll go help them" Shouts Mizuki before jumping off Appa, using her airbending to land safely on a chute. She starts using air blasts to encrease her speed. Azula creates a whirling disk of flames and sends it down the chute. It rapidly gains on Aang and Bumi. Bumi peeks at the upcoming fire disk and clenches his teeth in effort. A pillar of earth rises in the middle of the chute, protecting them from the disk. Azula gasps shocked as she notices that her path is blocked. She jumps up in the nick of time and slides down the chute on foot, while her box slams to pieces against the rock. She eventually halts in the middle of the chute, looking displeased at Aang and Bumi who continue their descent. Meanwhile, Mizuki's chute is racing down towards Azula. Mizuki jumps out of the chute before it crashes into Azula's chute. This causes Azula to lose balance and fall down.

"Well, that was easier then I thought" Shrugs Mizuki, who's standing on a roof. She quickly begins to search for Aang and Bumi.

"You could earthbend? All along?" Says Aang in disbelief.

"Well, they didn't cover my face" Replies Bumi casually.

"I don't understand. Why didn't you free yourself? Why did you surrender when Omashu was invaded? What's the matter with you, Bumi?" Exclaims Aang slightly annoyed.

"Listen to me, Aang. There are options in fighting, called jing. It's a choice of how you direct your energy" Begins Bumi.

"I know! There's positive jing when you're attacking, and negative jing when you're retreating" Beams Aang.

"And neutral jing when you do nothing!" Chuckles Bumi.

"There are three jings?" Asks Aang surprised.

"Well, technically there are eighty-five, but let's just focus on the third. Neutral jing is the key to earthbending. It involves listening and waiting for the right moment to strike" Informs the king.

"That's why you surrendered, isn't it?" Says Aang, who's starting to understand what Bumi is talking about.

"Yes, and it's why I can't leave now" Replies Bumi while Aang sadly turns around.

"I guess I need to find someone else to teach me earthbending" Sighs Aang upset.

"Your teacher will be someone who has mastered neutral jing. You need to find someone who waits and listens before striking" States Bumi while Momo lands on Aang's shoulders.

"Hey, Momo! How did you find me-" Aang stops talking the moment he sees Mizuki standing in front of him. Mizuki smiles as she waves at her friend and king Bumi.

"Goodbye Aang, I'll see you when the time is right. And you, take care dualbender" Says Bumi before letting his coffin tumble backwards. He begins his ascend of the chute. He laughs and snorts like a mad man while he uses his earthbending to drive him back to the top of the chute, leaving Aang, Mizuki and Momo behind.

"I already took care of princess Azula, she won't come after us for a while. Let's go back to Sokka and Katara" Informs Mizuki as she begins to climb the scaffolding with Aang following her.

❀❀❀

The royal palanquin is being carried out the city, flanked by Mai and Ty Lee.

"So, we're tracking down your brother and Uncle, huh?" Say Mai.

"It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again, won't it, Mai?" Smiles Ty Lee as she recalls a few memories of their childhood.

"It's not just Zuko and Iroh anymore. We have a third target now. And perhaps a fourth" States Azula in a serious tone.

❀❀❀

It's nighttime, Aang is peeking down over the gutter of the governor's house. The governor holds his wife while they are looking over the city with a sad expression written on their faces. Aang silently lands behind them and drops off Tom-Tom. Aang takes off again while the child walks toward his parents. As they hear the cooing of the child, they turn around, gasping with surprise and excitement.

"Tom-Tom!" Exclaims themother as she picks up her child into her arms under the watchful eye of Aang, who's sitting on a rood. He smiles at the happy scene of the reunited family before he takes off.

To be continued

Word count: 1.342