Chapter 53: Bittersweet

"Well, you see... Aang is a boy. When a child throws a tantrum, it is bound to end quickly, too, *Khaannnk* and those spirits told me they wanted to have fun!"

Still within the metal casket with his head sticking out, Bumi explained as 'simply' as possible.

"What spirits?" Nik being the only acquaintance of the Mad King inquired from the group.

"Spirits around us! Look into Aang, so many spirits!" Bumi chuckled before scowling, his quick change in temper making others step back slightly as he shouted, "Go, hurry! Help him after he makes short of that filthy mayor and my stepson Zhao!" He still continued the joke... or probably lived it. Now, Nik didn't know if Bumi was joking about slamming Zhao's mother or actually did it... or believed himself to have tapped Zhao's mother. But he wasn't going to question the sanity of a man locked away for years with his limbs cut off and probably tortured more than one's imagination.

To his words, Aang issued a roar. His voice was distorted as if multiple individuals roared through him and suddenly, the platform all the earthbenders and firebenders stood on grew out to cover the entirety of the men inside, only leaving their faces out as they revealed the expression of terror. This was more prominent in Ukano who had never faced a real battle in life and the Earthbenders who found out that they could no longer bend away the rocks and ground covering them as if they belonged o a higher force.

Floating, his glowing body visible to all in Omashu, Aang raised his hands high.

"Ohh! That's a slammer!" Bumi's eyes widened.

"A what?" Katara exclaimed.

"He is going to crush them!"

"Avatar! Do you wish to provoke the wrath of Phoenix King?" Ukano shouted as he felt himself being squeezed by the ground, tiny pebbles digging into his flesh slowly as his expression turned ugly with pain. His words only increased the cruelty of Aang's execution as the boy lost in power clenched his fists, making everyone in his hold scream out in pain.

"Aang! Don't do that!" Katara rushed out from behind the pillar, shouting at the top of her lungs.

*Thmp*

She was instantly captured by an equally fatal grip of the earth. Her voice was stuck in her throat as Sokka's eyes widened.

"Katara!" He shouted, rushing out.

"Wait, he's going to—" Nik hurriedly called out only to see Sokka, too, caught in the hold of the earth similar to how Katara was stuck. The siblings' expression turned pale while Suki looked at Nik.

"I've been attacked by that glowing bald kid twice now. Don't look at me," Nik's lips twitched. Although the attacks were nothing more than collateral damage but they still counted in Nik's mind.

"He respects you," Suki began walking with a determined expression. Seeing this, Nik suddenly questioned, "Hey, Suki... if I have to take you to someplace nice, would you find it agreeable?"

"What kind of question is that?" Suki frowned but her mind seemed to have already formed a suggestive conclusion for her as she blushed and scowled at the same time, "Focus on snapping Aang out of his anger."

"Just answer me. Yes or no?" Nik pursued.

"Fine, yes. If we survive not getting crushed by Aang, you have my blessings to take me to someplace nice..."

Nik smiled and nodded. This was just an insurance for the roles were reversed. He once carried Suki on his back while trying to escape Unagi, thinking that if only he had explicit permission then he could have sent her and himself to safety in the personal space. Now, she carried him into the source of danger ironically but he also had the approval so things didn't seem too bad.

"Wait... Bumi is Aang's friend, maybe he could," Nik looked back only to find the earthen floor smoothened out as there was no hint of Bumi anywhere near the pillars.

'So much for a crazy earthbender talking about seeing spirits,' Nik pursed his lips and instantly felt cold, making him look in the direction of the stare as he found Aang gazing in his direction.

"We are in his range... all the best," Suki whispered. She, too, felt nervous while slowly walking towards Sokka and Katara.

"Aang," Nik called out, not knowing what to say exactly. He never thought of making the boy empathize with the culprits who decimated his tribe and crippled his friend. Nik realized that if he had this much power... he may have not been as passive as he is now.

"Or whatever you are," Nik added, causing a low growl to escape Aang's lips, "Can you really stomach bloodshed? Because the Aang I know cannot. He's a gentle boy... who likes to ride Otter Penguins. Elephant Koi fishes, too... if it wasn't for that Unagi. At least, if you want to kill someone, do it in the moment of lucidity so that you don't regret it."

"What are you saying?" Katara whispered in fright, her expression turning more worried.

*Thck*

Suki and Nik were instantly encapsulated by earthen sludge as it turned hard again making Suki glance at Nik oddly.

"I tried, now let's go," Nik frowned. He wasn't going to wait any longer.

"Aaaannngggggg!"

A loud, shrill shout broke the tense situation. The voice caused Aang's motion to turn sluggish while the orb of wind around him faltered momentarily, making Aang almost dip down.

A lone, tiny figure hurriedly escaped a mature woman's grasp a little away from the entrance of the palace generally unaffected by the destruction. His hair was short and his eyes uncharacteristically grey onyx. He ran in full sprint, his face dusty due to the cloud of dust from the breaking rubble and his eyes marred with tears. Although quite far away, Ukano could register the hint of shout and he shivered, "No... Tom! Run away—"

Yet, Aang suddenly snapped his head in the boy's direction while clenching his fist, making Ukano cry out in despairing pain.

"Stop already! Stop hurting my father and others! Aren't you the Avatar? Avatar helps people! I let you borrow my toys so you owe it to me!" Tom-Tom screamed, a shadowy figure already chasing after him before quickly catching up and hugging him in a tight embrace.

"You're stupid, and worthless," Mai stated softly but her embrace tightened as she pulled back instantly but Tom-Tom only struggled, "Let go— Aang! Come on, man! I thought you were going to give me a full course on dancing!"

Aang's body in the air visibly shuddered as the glow on his tattoos and eyes began to fade away.

The whip of wind calmed down but the hold of earth had already turned many tormented unconscious. However, quite a few Earthbenders who remained conscious felt their strength being able to seep into the ground once again, allowing them to bend away from the hold of rocks over them, something which caught Zhao's attention instantly.

On the other hand, Aang slowly descended until his eyes revealed his pupils again. He barely stood on the ground before buckling down on his knees and then his hands as he struggled to stand but the moment he looked up at Katara and others, seeing them in the state he had put them in, Aang lost his consciousness, falling onto the ground with a soft grunt.

"Ukano, order your men to release all of us. This is the best—" Zhao only began as he regained his hope only to fall deeper into despair.

"The key should be— Phoenix King's Supreme might, right? Wake up you Oaf Ducks! *Khnk* *Khnk*"

A chuckle interrupted Zhao's callous shout as clarity returned to the eyes of the Earthbenders who looked around in confusion before their eyes fell on the much familiar face surrounded by a metal casket.

---

A string of mews was passed soon enough stating how the King of Omashu had been kept a captive and the fact that almost all the prisoners were being controlled by the men of Phoenix King using 'dark magic.' That was the only way to explain hypnosis to commoners of the city.

However, the change in rulership did not affect the lives of citizens. The addition of the surrounding villagers that were supposed to be dead— did.

"Rou... my Rou..."

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"Stay away from me!" A boy screamed in fright, tears trickling down his face as he called out, "I want to go back to sister Mill!"

The boy named Rou wasn't alone. Many others boys and girls refused to even come close to their 'parents' whom they did not know about at all. Rou looked away, taking a series of steps back as the almost disfigured man who had kept a stoic heart felt it getting stabbed multiple times. Tamashi's soul felt crushed at this point.

He had once argued that his son was getting what's best for him...

But now...

He only regretted not fighting to keep his child with him.

The large hall of the palace was filled with this emotion. Fear from children and regret of parents. Both sides cried for they could do nothing.

"Why don't you go meet them?" Katara whispered as she stood next to her brother. She was positive that Sokka had only revealed such a bitter expression once he was made the chief of the village that almost made them give up on the hope of even imagining about the fate of their father.

"And say what?" Sokka looked from the side.

"You don't have to say anything... but we all cannot be this glum, right?" Katara forced a smile, "And even if we didn't make any mistakes, the fact remains that the end result would have been the same. In fact, we are quite lucky to be still alive."

"You guys didn't make any mistake... I did. If I wasn't caught, Nik wouldn't be beaten up. Aang wouldn't have been forced to attack us, too... and that kid, Tom-Tom... he wouldn't have risked his life.

And the kids, Katara... Bumi said that recovery is possible... but how long can I wait here?"

Sokka's shoulders trembled as Katara silently hugged his shoulders, unable to even say something. They were truly left without any easy answer this time.

But Sokka wasn't the only one. He had been hypnotized and Bumi, even if called mad, had enough sense to save the actual mind behind the hypnosis in Omashu, stating that the process can be reversed. There was, thus, hope. But to fully recover from any hidden suggestion was much harder than implanting it.

Sokka could recover easily but the same couldn't be said for the children from the villages and the Earthbenders. In fact, out of all of them, Bumi was the only one who couldn't be hypnotized.

Yet, this wasn't the only problem.

"I'm sorry," Aang cupped his fist and bowed deeply to the family of three that sat silently. The palace had been repaired. Being made of rocks, it took one day for the combined efforts of the Earthbenders of the city and village to achieve the task.

Aang had been going around the entire palace, apologizing to every affected party and this particular family was left for the last. Aside from Nik, who was already recovering quite a bit after a session of Katara's healing bending technique, Aang felt uncomfortable with others. Even if Aang had raised his hand against Nik, he realized that the same comfortable feeling around Nik hadn't changed at all.

"I could have hurt you... and I wasn't in control. I let my emotions get better of me and that is inarguably error in my being..." Aang continued.

He left this family for the last because he felt guilty about this party the most.

There was a reason why Tom-Tom's words worked on Aang.

It was because Aang had found a friend in the boy similar to his age in such a short period, something that couldn't be achieved with Katara and others who were already grown-ups.

"We do not welcome you here," Mai stated concisely as Tom-Tom snorted.

"He's talking to me!" He grumbled, his tone once again childish but no one in the room doubted that the boy had guts and balls of steel, something that his father seem to lack severely. Then again, Mai, too, isn't weak at all.

With that, the boy crossed his arms, "So... you were the Avatar all along?"

A little surprised, Aang looked up.

"You're not angry?"

"No... I'm angry at my father... no, I'm angry at you, too. You said that your tattoos are normal... but they glow!" The boy managed to find problems where issues shouldn't exist but at this point, Michi spoke up, "Young Avatar... we are not angry at you. We can never be. The war has ended so... their father's actions are not justified in any manner. King Bumi has been kind enough to host us until we leave.

It is said that Fire Lord Iroh has the wisdom of sages. He might... show you a different side, a more honest side of the Fire Nation should you meet him, I hope."

"He's just a boring old man," Mai rolled her eyes but Michi instead glanced at Nik.

"If you all will excuse me. I need to pack a few things from our old room. Mai... could you keep an eye on Tom-Tom and his friend?" Michi smiled at Aang as he looked away with a guilty expression.

"Fine..." Mai dragged her words before leaning back on her chair.

As Michi stood up, she gave Nik a meaningful glance before slipping out of the room.

"Well, I am going to go rest, too," Nik patted Aang's shoulder but the boy instantly hesitated. Being left alone wasn't something he wanted but Mai seemed lost in her own thoughts and Tom-Tom wasn't willing to let go of his friend 'The Avatar.'

"Nik... what if I—"

"You won't. Come on, how rare is it for you to get so angry? And isn't your friend here to snap you out of it?" Nik smiled, "You still have to teach your friend how to dance well."

Seeing Nik persistent in leaving, Aang finally let go.

A few minutes after Nik left, Mai came to be. She glanced at her brother and Aang just...

'What are they doing?'

She was appalled.

Folding one's arms with fists up the armpits and 'flapping' the elbows similar to a catrooster is not dance!

'Wait... where did the waiter go?'

Mai frowned as she silently left the room. This time, neither Tom-Tom nor Aang raised any question since they barely registered her silent presence in the first place.

***

{A/N: This is the result I wanted from the very beginning. With a concept as murky as hypnosis and a man as manipulative as Ozai, a perfect victory this early in the story cannot be expected. I call Ozai manipulative because I have read the comics and boy he's a respectable villain in certain aspects. Certainly, being the major cause in developing Azula's twisted mind is one of these reasons.

Anyway, this bittersweet victory is also needed to push certain changes to the various characters to finally bring a change in the norm of the avatar series as destination and motivations will shift soon enough.}

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