trans_9 | Emergence [Open]

There is a faint wind blowing all of a sudden, just a breeze. Perhaps from one of the many vents around the ship? Most likely, it isn't even worth noticing, but the sharp whistling of the wind makes it sound as if somewhere it's blowing through a crack in stone.

Where exactly is it coming from?

Katara feels the wind, and feels wistful now, remembering she hasn't really had a chance to FEEL an air current. She hasn't come to the city that often, and even so she hardly ever feels anything like that. But now, feeling it, she feels a longing in her heart, a faint hope that maybe she just overlooked, and maybe he WAS here. She turned to the stone where she felt the current, investigating.

Where WAS that wind coming from?

Following it leads to a small doorway set in the room that leads to another part of the Statuary. Emblazoned on it are four very familiar symbols.

Air. Water. Earth. Fire.

In fact, the entire design of the doorway is familiar in design. It looks like something that would be in one of the Air Temples. It leads to a tunnel.

Katara approached the doorway and found her heart thudding in her chest. When she saw the all too familiar symbols, it definitely skipped a beat. For a moments he felt home, or at least in one of the airbending temples, except she wasn't in the Sensorium. This WASN'T her imagination though, this was actually happening. She didn't think Stacy could remake things based on their memories.

At least, she hoped that wasn't the case, because that was both intrusive and really creepy.

Katara started to walk down the tunnel, wondering what she would find next.

The tunnel...opens up to a very familiar chamber from the Southern Air Temple. It rose up and up to a massive ceiling that seemed an impossible distance away, and spiraling down, down, are statues of Avatars past.

Here, it's just like it was when she saw it last, all of them posed in a placid gestures, in the order of the Avatar cycle, Earth, Fire, Air, Water, faces calm and gentle or harsh and stern, but all of them with stone eyes carved in a way to look wise.

In the center of the spiral on the floor, there are the last few Avatars, Yangchen, Kuruk, Roku, and...

There is one that wasn't there before.

Katara is shocked to see the Southern Air Temple backdrop that wasn't pulled from her mind. Then again, that was the shock: it WASN'T a backdrop, it was really there. What did that mean, and why could this place pull things that were in different worlds? Katara didn't get it, but was drawn to it at the same time. She hadn't visited this temple since Aang found the bones of Monk Gyatso, and she had wanted to get a better look at the Avatars.

She examined them now. She had only heard bits and pieces of Yangchen and Kuruk, and of course Warrior Kyoshi and Avatar Roku. But to Katara's surprise, there was one more figure. It was one that, unlike the others, lacked a look of aged wisdom, but was no less impressive: he stood strong and tall, and eluded a maturity that transcended his age. Katara lifted her hand to touch the arrow on his head, and found she was trembling a little. Her heart felt heavy, but happy tears spring to her eyes.

"Aang," she whispered, smiling. "I knew you'd make it."

Whenever this place was preserved--or copied--if that were the case, it must have been from her future. The statue had been carved when he was older--and taller than her now--but he still relatively young compared to the other statues of Avatars carved while in their prime, largely because the world had not wanted to forget the fact that the Avatar that had stopped a hundred years of war had been hardly more than a child.

Unlike the other statues, his had the slightest of peaceful smiles in its stone features, as if the sculptor just couldn't bear to leave out some indication of his true character.

But who had carved it if the Airbenders were all gone? Was this the real chamber, stolen away from their world or a facsimile?

"You really shouldn't wander around alone," says a gentle voice, near the doorway, but when she looks, she'll see that Jaime Reyes' eyes are pretty much transfixed on the the statues here. It is certainly an impressive sight.

Katara startled, and wiped her eyes vigorously. "I'd be able to take care of myself fine!" she answered hauntingly, a little embarrassed to be caught like this. He must have seen her crying and thought she was lost. There was no way she'd ever be that emotional!

Then she saw who'd said it. "Oh, hi Jaime," she said. "I thought you were another adult, thinking the poor little girl shouldn't be wandering around. But you don't have to worry. I'd be more than capable of taking someone if they fought me...and especially if it were here."

Katara observed Aang's statue. It was him, make no mistake, but why did he look so different? He looked older and taller. But Aang hadn't aged overnight when she saw him. What did this mean? She stared at the statue, almost transfixed.

"We had someone die before, after wandering off. He was armed and a soldier and everything. The whole point is it could happen to anyone--even I don't wander around alone that much."

Which implies certain things about himself.

"They get like that a lot with us kids. It's best to just ignore it and try to keep acting responsible until they get it." He snorts. "And sometimes I have the opposite problem, where they trust me with all these responsibilities because of how I act and forget I'm still just sixteen, so it surprises them when I act like it."

"Wow I...I didn't know that," Katara said. "Just for wandering? What kind of place is this, that you can't even walk around by yourself without something bad happening to you!?"

Not that Katara would do it under normal circumstances, but the ship dragged her here to begin with, and now it could't even guarantee her safety from walking by yourself? There was WAY too much that could happen in this place!

"I don't normally go on by mysekf unless its to the Sensoriums," Katara said. "I only wanted to check this place out because I'm supposed to be having a team meeting here soon. I wanted to see it for myself. It would have been quick, but...then I saw that this place is actually a part of my world."

"It was a little different then. We weren't alone on the ship--there were these giant...bug-monsters. As far as we know, Stacy got rid of them all, but there's a lot of places for someone or something to hide here, so it's a good idea not to get too complacent."

Still looking around, he wanders more into the room.

"What is this place? And who are all these people? Whatever it is, it's beautiful."

Katara was NOT calmed by that news. They were invaded by giant bugs who might or might not still be on the ship?! She was going to have to start training double time now, and made a mental note to join any endurance and training sessions "school" through her way. It was important that she didn't forget all she learned. For a moment, that determination was set on her face, overshadowing her usual friendly demeanor.

That changed with Jaime's question though. She looked over at the statues and smiled. "Do you remember me telling you about someone that was like your Jesus? In my world, there is a person born who can bend all four elements and bring balance: that person is called The Avatar. They not only have all the elements at their disposal, they can also channel the Avatar state, which is a powerful incarnation where they are practically unstoppable. Their purpose is to lead the world to times of peace and understanding...and that last one there is my...friend, Aang. He's the last Airbender."

Jaime raises an inquisitive eyebrow.

"That kinda brings up the separate but related question of what an Airbender is."

No cultural reference, here, Katara. They don't have Benders in his world.

Oh boy. She was really going to have to give people a card or something when it came to explaining this. She had to do it so often, she hardly remembered who she actually told and who still needed to know. Still, she cleared her throat.

"Where I'm from, the land is divided into those who possess the ability to bend the elements. I'm from the South Pole, where a tribe of waterbenders live. Our ability is to obviously bend water: that means water can be used as a weapon in forms of whips, frozen, act as a shield, anything water has the ability to do. There's also the earth Nation, who bend Earth to their will, the Fire Nation that use fire, and the air nomads who use the air. A hundred years ago, when we were living in peace, the Fire nation attacked the other nations, starting with the air nomads. They wanted to eliminate the next Avatar, who would have the ability to prevent the Fire Nation from achieving its goals of full domination over the world. They couldn''t find him, but they wiped out the air nomads anyway. Aang is the last one, and after a long time of traveling and training to learn the other elements, he finally defeated the Fire lord and put an end to a very long and painful war that has torn families and other benders apart. Believe it or not, thsi is actually the SHORT version of the story."

Katara looked up wistfully at the statue of the latest Avatar. "And that's Aang, though older than I've ever seen him."

He's thoughtful for a moment. "Unless the ship's translation tech is messing with it, it sounds like it's giving the actual word that you're saying." Which it doesn't always do. Only if the words are the same in both languages. He's gotten good at spotting the very subtle signs that the translator is changing what someone said to something new.

"In my world, 'Avatar' or 'avatara' is Sanskrit--it means 'descent.' Like, from heaven to Earth. One of the religions in my world use it to describe the many forms of the gods they believe in, when they took human form on Earth. Is that what your Avatar is? Like a god in human form?"

Zuko appears from a hole in the wall.

No, really. There is a small vent in the wall near Katara, and after a few moments of muffled grunting and suspicious squelching noises, a hand emerges, followed by a head, and then Zuko is hanging half-out of the wall beside her, hair drenched in vent goop, still up to his waist in vent.

He looks at Katara from his rather vulnerable position and blinks, once, like an animal caught in headlights.

"Oh. Hey." he says, as inoffensively as possible.

Katara was a little confused when Jaime mentioned words, then remembered that they all came from different worlds: the comms had made it possible to all understand each other, right? And if that were the case..."Avatar" wasn't just a word known in her world. It was funny: Katara hadn't expected tha certain owrds might be the same on other worlds. And his description...

"It's a little hard for me to think of Aang that way. He's really strong in that state, and the things he can do are extraordinary. I guess, to most, yes, he would be something close to a god then. To me though, he's always just been Aang, my companion and friend, the boy that we found and released from the iceberg."

And the person I want to see most, Katara thought silently.

Katara smiled, despite being completely surprised to see Zuko there. "Hey," she said simply. "I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuko. I've been wanting to talk to you."

She could see that she was the last person he expected to pop in and see, and so she helped him get out of the vent, pulling him out. She pulled water from her own carrying pouch and doused the fore nation boy with it so he was at least less sticky.

"What brings you out here Zuko?" It was a careful question, and Katara was definitely trying to be careful when it came to what she revealed to him. He was from a time before, after all.

Iceburg. Avatar. Four Nations. A war. Impromptu cryogenic stasis?

The pieces start to come together now, at least a little.

One major thing clicks.

"I can see now why you were upset at the idea of this distant, jerkface kinda God demanding obedience from the top of a mountain. In your world, you have this very powerful being walking around helping people that's just a normal guy."

"Yes, actually. Aang was always going around, helping people even when it had nothing to do with our mission. He did it because he knows its the Avatar's duty to bring balance to the world, and like me he hates to see people in pain. He was actually working on a guilty conscience, knowing that a hundred years of war had happened in his absence. That's a lot to take in for any kid, let alone one that has his power."

Katara closed her eyes. "I shouldn't have been as critical as I was- Aang probably wouldn't have done that, despite not understanding certain things about that sermon. He's a much more balanced person than I am though...I should give him credit for that."

"The thing is, it's okay, because I think it's a good thing to question blind faith--whether it's your own, or other people's. The things you said--and questioned--are things that even a lot of people who believe in God wonder," Jaime says.

"Sometimes, I've gotten really angry at God. Especially during the times I was mad at myself for failing people--when that happens I think if He's supposed to know everything, and be that powerful, why doesn't he stop bad things from happening? Why did it depend on me?"

Katara nodded. "I'm a little shocked people can have 'blind faith,' but its not the first time I've seen it happen. That kind of thing can take many forms. I've seen people blindly follow a fortuneteller's predictions in one village to the point that it could have gotten them all killed if we hadn't gotten involved. On a more dangerous note, I know that the Fire Nation usually demands strict adherence and obedience to their rules, on the basis that they are superior. Those aren't things that can be ignored."

Katara looked down a minute. "Maybe that's why I objected so strongly. The way your god was made to sound, I immediately thought of how the Fire Nation commands other people's submission, and make it seem as if you're not able to think on your own without their say so. To me, its nothing the way I expect a god to act."

As for Jaime's question, Katara thought a moment. "In a way, maybe you ARE the hand of god, or at least have to act the part. If you fail, who will say you didn't try? God isn't perfect...I don't really think anyone is."

Jaime points to her when she says that.

"That right there is what I think. It's kind of arrogant, but..."

Well. There's metahumans running around saving existence. Miracles and near-miracles happen all the time. That has to fit in somewhere.

"I've fought angels--creatures at God's right hand. One of my friends made a deal with the devil to get superpowers and only managed to save his soul through a technicality. There's Greek gods, and superhumans, and aliens--and magic. My world is complicated--maybe it's so complicated that if God stuck his nose in and tipped the scales in any way, it'd all go crashing to the ground, maybe there's rules people don't know about, that let them have free will, but free will means when people do bad things, only other people can stop them. I just figure there's things I don't know."

Jaime sucks in a deep breath.

"But I do know that no world is perfect. You had your war, and we've had our fights, again and again, but you have your Avatar and anyone else who fought to fix it, and we have people who fight to fix ours, too. And in a world where there's all this biological impossibility going on--good guy aliens that can shoot ray beams from their eyes, and living explosions, and demigoddesses, and just brave people fighting the good fight when all they really have is that they're brave and smart--maybe all of that is our God's doing. Your powerful spirit fights besides you and inspires you--maybe ours fights through us instead."

Katara thought of that possibility. It made sense, a heck of a lot more than a sermon about a jealous god. She had no idea that so many gods and goddesses could exist of course, but that was more on the list of things she was only finding out now. Who knew how many worlds were out there, and how many spirits and gods too? It just made more sense to her that if something remotely close to god was handing out justice, god would do so through people. After all, the Avatar, who could be considered a god by certain standards, never acted as such. An avatar never lorded over ordinary people, they simply existed WITH them.

"That makes a lot more sense than what I was hearing before, but maybe people need those stories for their faith. I mean, faith comes in all kinds of packages, in all types of ways. There were a lot of people praying that day: maybe those kinds of stories unite them for some reason. I don't understand them of course, but they are from your world, so maybe I shouldn't anyway."

Which Katara thought was still a little nonsense. She still didn't see what punishing people had to do with faith. When she thought about, maybe real faith was less about the spirit behind it and more about the people it inspired, those strong enough to try and save others in the face of an unforgiving world.

She'd been there once.

Emergence [Open]

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