20 Chapter 20: Departing from Friends
When the gathered Fire Nation soldiers heard the weird command of what appeared to be their captain, they began second guessing themselves and started discussing among themselves.
[Didn't captain Hong tell us we would be destroying this place after he got what he came for?... Why is he telling us to retreat now?]: fire nation soldier (A/N: I don't remember if he had a name in the series, and I don't feel like looking for it since he didn't have much screen time… But if you guys know it, I can go back and edit it to the correct name)
Soren watched over the soldiers as they began discussing in hushed whispers, and seeing as they might begin suspecting his true identity, Soren made a hasty decision to show a bit of force as he began gathering fire around his right fist and with a strong stance, Soren threw his fist forward while channeling chi into it as a huge wave of fire began to spew out over the soldiers drawing their attention as Soren shouted with a deep and gruff tone trying to match how the captain sounded.
[What are you fools doing!?... I said to retreat, yet you stand around like a bunch of idiots!]: soren
Upon seeing such a huge wave of fire, the soldiers began moving back as they feared being roasted alive by such strong flames, and with that, a lot of the suspicion have began to disperse, but all of it returned when the shout of a man resounded from behind their "captain" as an older gentleman wearing nothing but a pair of cloth underwear appeared while shouting towards his men.
[Men!... Don't fall for these deceitful tactics of the Avatar's group!... They knocked me out and stole my uniform!... Continue the attack as planned!]: captain hong
Just as the fire nation captain spoke out, he threw a ball of flames towards Soren, who just dispersed it outward with his hands clasped together before using the earth around him to shake the captain's stance before attacking him with a fireball of his own.
[Y-You!... How is it possible!... You're not the Avatar!]: captain hong
[It's none of your business!... But to entertain your question… The Avatar wasn't originally able to bend all of the elements]: soren
Soren then took advantage of the captain's dazed state to land a devastating blow that took him out, sending him tumbling down the mountain side.
[Well I guess it's time for phase 2… Sokka! Begin the next phase!]: soren
Soren quickly removed the armor that was weighing him down before running back towards the air temple just in time to watch Sokka come in on an aircraft that floated in the air using fire to heat the air inside a balloon like cloth. Soren then watched the counterattack commence with Sokka leading the attack, while all the children began helping out using the gilder sticks to keep themselves in the air.
[That looks fun!... maybe I can use one of those gliders to attack the soldiers from above with my fire]; soren
Soren then ran towards the storehouse and found a spare glider that was black in color, and after giving it a couple of spins in the air above his head, Soren jumped off the ledge of the temple as he began plummeting towards the ground, and using his chi to spew fire from his mouth, Soren was able to rise high into the air before he began gliding towards the attacking force of the Fire Nation.
[Aang, look!... It's Soren!]: katara
Katara was the first to see Soren flying in towards the heart of the Fire Nation soldiers, and just as Aang was about to use his own glider to go help out, he witnessed Soren spewing a bunch of flames from his mouth like a geyser as it began forcing the soldiers to protect themselves from such an immense heat as they began retreating back.
[Yeah!... We got them running with their tails between their legs!]: sokka
Sokka began cheering for his brilliant idea, as he continued to fly further into the enemy side that appeared to be in full retreat, but he went a little too far, and a full retreat turned into an ambush, as molten rock was launched towards the airship using catapults that were loaded with boulders before being superheated by a group of firebenders before being launched towards the air temple.
[Sokka!... Retreat!... We can only do so much now, and what we need most is to make sure that the Fire Nation can't get anymore information!]: soren
Just as Soren spoke about keeping information out of the Fire Nation's hands, an idea came to him involving the smell of rotten eggs, and as the ship began making a crash landing, Sokka steered it towards a gaping crack in the ground before abandoning the airship with the old man as they watched it fly into the crack before the entire crack caused a chain reaction explosion that sent the Fire Nation soldiers fleeing, as all of the war machines that they brought with them ended up destroyed.
[Sokka!... Are you guys okay?]: soren
Soren began gliding around Sokka and the old man as they hung from a rope tied around Sokka's ice pick that he used as a weapon and it happened to work great as climbing gear to keep you from falling to your death.
[We're fine… But a little help is always appreciated!]: sokka
Just as Sokka spoke, Aang had come flying in and used his airbending to launch both Sokka and the old man back up to solid ground, while all of the residents of the Northern Air Temple began to gather around to thank Aang and the others for their hard work.
(A/N: I know that some of you will flip out that Aang is getting credit even though he did nothing in my story, but Aang is still the Avatar, so even if he does nothing in cannon and lets his friends do all the work, as long as he was present and did the smallest amount of work possible, he would still be named for credit, and this is also where Soren will split from team Avatar for quite a few chapters and make his own path as he searches for the last two lion turtles)
[Thank you, Avatar and friends… Without you guys, I don't know what would have become of this place… I know I did a bad thing, but you have to understand that I was forced to do it, but now that I know we can fight back, I will use my head to invent things to repel the fire nation!]: old man
[As long as you vow to never make anything for the fire nation again, I think we all can forget this ever happened in the first place]: aang
[Yeah!... And we kicked some fire nation butt, today!... Hahaha!]: sokka
Sokka began throwing jabs at the air as he reminisced on his tact and bravery during the fight, while Soren was preparing to return the gilder he borrowed.
[I will miss you, fun flying contraption]: soren
[Ohohoho!... Well if you like it so much, then how about you keep it… It will be my gift you you for your help]: old man
[Really!?... Then I'll gladly accept it!]: soren
Soren then began using the glider to fly around while Aang finished up his business with the people living at the air temple, and after he was finished, everyone boarded Appa and began flying towards the Northern Water Tribe.
[We're almost there, guys!]: aang
Upon hearing Aang's words, Soren began pondering about how he would tell everyone what he wanted to do next, and upon being noticed by Katara, she spoke up.
[Soren, what's the matter?... You look like you got something on your mind]: katara
[Well… I don't really know how to explain this, but I think it's time that we part ways]: soren
[Part ways?... What do you mean?... Do you not want to see the world with us anymore?]: katara
Upon hearing Katara's words, both Sokka and Aang turned their attention to what was being said between Soren and Katara.
[It's not that… But I feel like I have a bigger calling right now… And that calling is telling me to explore the world on my own… I still see you guys as my friends, but I want to explore the vastness of this world on my own, and if we meet up in the future, I will definitely tell you guys about my travels]: soren
[But what about-]: katara
[No need, Katara… Soren, if you truly feel that you need to leave, then we won't stop you… But I had hoped that you would teach me how to firebend a little]: aang
[Haha… Yeah, sorry about that, Aang… But Master Jeong Jeong made me promise not to teach you… And I know the reason why… It's because I'm still just as inexperienced as you, and this departing will help me to gain this experience so that upon my return I will be able to properly teach you]: soren
[Then I wish you luck and prosperity in your journey]: aang
[Aang?... Sokka! Don't you have anything to say about Soren leaving?]: katara
[What's wrong, Katara?... Soren says he wants to leave, and it's not like he won't return… He said it himself that we well meet again, so I say let him do what he wants]: sokka
Katara was left speechless, but in the end chose to keep quiet as Soren gave everyone a bright smile before standing up with his glider in hand.
[Then I'll see you guys later]: soren
Soren then jumped off Appa and used his firebending to shoot himself up into the air as he flew off into the distance, disappearing from everyone's sight.
[Well… Let's continue towards the Northern Water Tribe!... Appa, Yip yip!]: aang
Appa groaned and flew a bit faster towards the water tribe while Soren was enjoying the cool breeze and vast landscape of water and glaciers that seemed to be never ending.
[Nina… Is there a way to tell if I am close to a lion turtle?... I was thinking as I travel, if there was some kind of tracker to find the lion turtle it would make my trip easier… Also, can I see my stats]: soren
{There is no tracker, but if you are within a radius of 1,000 km of the lion turtle, you can be notified of its presence… And here are your stats}
{Name: Soren Huang - Age: 15 - Elements: Fire, Earth
Chi: 27,000 (Current due to use: 21,456)
Blessings: Earth Lion Turtle, ######, Raava's Blessing
Skills: Firebending (Master), Earthbending (Master), Jeet Kune Do (Advanced), Metalbending (Intermediate)}
[Looks like I have grown stronger… But my Chi will need to replenish after a few hours]: soren
Just as Soren spoke his thoughts, he was jolted out of his thoughts by a system notification.
{You have entered a 1,000 km distance from the Water Lion Turtle}
[Oh?... Any specific direction?]: soren
{As I said, there is no tracker, just an information drop on it being in the set vicinity}
[I see… So seeing as I just entered the vicinity and received the notification, I can assume it's around 1,000 km towards a central direction, but the problem is that i don't know if i will be leaving the vicinity or heading towards the center if I choose a direction]: soren
After a minute of thinking about which direction he would choose, Soren made a decision and began gliding forwards while occasionally using his chi to lift himself higher into the air, and after a few hours, Soren decided to rest on a massive ice glacier to regain his lost chi.
[This is quite exhausting… I wonder how Aang and the other airbenders could do it?... But it could be due to which element I'm using to stay afloat… Fire is only creating a wave of heat that rises me into the air slightly, so I have to use a lot more chi to get high enough into the air, while Aang can use a single gust of wind to launch himself however high he needs to go]: soren
After a few hours of rest, Soren got up and was prepared to take flight again, but was quickly stopped when the ice glacier began to shake and rumble before it began moving albeit slowly.
[What the heck is going on?]: soren
Soren used his glider to take flight and watched as the glacier began moving while on the very outskirts of the glacier gigantic beast-like arms were paddling through the waters.
[No way!... It's the lion turtle!... I found it!... Hahaha!]: soren
