The dualbender (atla) book 2

Chapter 19 - banyan-grove tree

"Yeah, the center...it's the heart of the swamp. It's been calling us here. I knew it" States Aang.

"It's just a tree. It can't call anyone. For the last time, there's nothing after us and there's nothing magical happening here!" Protests Sokka annoyed throwing his hands up in the air. As Sokka finishes his tirade, a seaweed monster jumps out from the water. Team Avatar huddles together and screams, separating as the monster begins to attack them.

The seaweed monster goes after Sokka first as the four teenagers split up, each running in different directions. Sokka is picked up and swung around, only being released as Aang uses airbending to slice part of the monster's arm off. The monster goes after Aang, flicking him away into the surrounding trees.Sokka is fighting with the vines that had him captured only seconds ago, and so intent was he at destroying them, he failed to notice a column rising behind himself. The column attaches to the seaweed monster and Sokka is swiped from the ground.

Katara comes to his rescue this time as she slices at the monster's arm. It did not have the desired effect, as more vines grew to patch up the hole her waterbending created. She manages to push the monster back a little, however it is not long before she is flung away. Mizuki begins to cut the limbs of the monster, only for them to grow back within seconds.

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Appa's still escaping from the people trying to hunt him down while Momo throws objects at them, attempting to slow them down. One of these items was a shirt that belongs to Sokka. The shirt hits Due's face.

"Now, what would a lemoo need a shirt fer?" Says Tho confused before capturing Momo with a net.

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After using a tornado-like airbending move, Mizuki freezes Sokka in place before shooting him with water, expelling him from the monster's body. The fight ends as Katara begins to waterbend repeatedly at the monster, slicing through the vines and not allowing the monster to regenerate. A person is seen inside the monster, bending the vines.

"There's someone in there! He's bending the vines!" Shouts Sokka. With a final slice, Mizuki cuts through the mask on the seaweed monster, the whole top half falling off. However, this does not stop the monster, and vines spring out of the marsh, capturing Mizuki high on a pillar. Aang jumps over to the monster and rips apart the vines with the use of airbending.

"Why did you call me here if you just wanted to kill us?!" Aang glares at the man angrily.

"Wait! I didn't call you here" The vines drop to reveal a slightly larger man wearing nothing but a leaf loincloth.

"We were flying over and I heard something calling to me, telling me to land" Protests Aang.

"And I kept on hearing a voice talking to me!" Exclaims Mizuki annoyed.

"He's the Avatar, she's the dualbender. Stuff like that happens to us a lot" Explains Sokka casually.

"The Avatar? Dualbender? Come with me" States the man. Team Avatar begins to follow the man through the swamp.

"So, who are you then?" Asks Katara while the stranger bends a vine out of the way.

"I protect the swamp from folks that want to hurt it, like this fella with his big knife" Informs the man.

"See, completely reasonable" Says Sokka before putting his machete away.

"Not a monster, just a regular guy defending his home. Nothing mystical about it" Sokka turns to look at Mizuki, as if he's trying to brag about him being 'right'. In response, Mizuki sticks out her tongue.

"Oh, the swamp is a mystical place all right. It's sacred. I reached enlightenment right here under the banyan-grove tree, thanks to the swamp's spirit" Mentions the man as he approaches a incredibly big tree.

"I heard it calling me, just like you did"

"Sure you did. It seems real chatty" Mocks Sokka.

"Sokka!" Scolds Mizuki while elbowing Sokka. Team Avatar and the man reach a huge tree in the middle of the swamp, the banyan-grove tree.

"See this whole swamp is actually just one tree spread out over miles. Branches spread and sink, take root, and spread some more. One big, living organism. Just like the entire world" Informs the man.

"I get how the tree is one big thing, but the whole world?" Says Aang, who's a bit skeptical.

"Sure. You think you're any different from me or your friends or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together. You can feel everything growing. We're all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree"

"But what did our visions mean?" Asks Katara curiously.

"In the swamp, we see visions of people we've lost, people we loved, folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to them. Time is an illusion and so is death" Explains the stranger.

"Visions?" Asks Mizuki as she recalls a memory.

"Yes, this swamp is territory of a great spirit. We call him the eagle because of his appearance. He's in control of every single vine of the banyan-grove tree" States the man. Upon hearing this, Mizuki raises an eyebrow. A spirit, who's in control of a tree, and has something to do with visions? Could it possibly be-

"But what about my vision? It was someone I had never met" Mentions Aang.

"You're the Avatar. You tell me" Chuckles the man.

" Time is an illusion...so, it's someone I will meet" Figures out Aang. The man grins and nods in agreement.

"Sorry to interrupt the lesson, but we still need to find Appa and Momo" Points out Sokka.

"I think I know how to find them" Says Aang as he kneels down and places his hand on the tree.

"Everything is connected" Mutters Aang as a certain amount of energy travels from Aang's hand to Appa's location. Aang closes his eyes and is able to see Appa, who's being captured by a group of men. Aang quickly opens his eyes.

"Come on! We've got to hurry!" Exclaims Aang.

To be continued

Word count: 1.023