While Korra, Roku, Kyoshi, and I protected Fan, who was taking a much longer time to create a passageway compared to the previous three times I'd seen him, Korra slowly moved towards me while lunching waves jets of water into the stampede from a nearby well of water Kyoshi created after she uplifted enough earth. "Um, A-Aang, can I ask what you mean when you say you're not the same Aang? Did you mean it in a literal way or a figurative way?" Asked Korra with a raised eyebrow as she curiously gazed at me, causing me to inhale a deep breath before exhaling, releasing a powerful breath that momentarily forced back the horde of monsters, giving us a brief respite.
"I mean literally, Korra… It's not just that I'm not as wise or as knowledgeable as the Aang, you know. I'm fundamentally different; my personality, experiences, and past… Everything is different." Fixing my sleeves, I looked at Korra, who furrowed her brows before tilting her head in confusion. "I don't know whether to question you considering our crazy situation, but how do you know for sure? I'm from a time period after you; who knows how you could've changed since then." Asked Korra as she skeptically gazed at me while aggressively kicking, launching multiple jets of water at the approaching stampede of spirits, knocking tens of them back.
"That is a fair assumption; I can and will very well change in several years… How about this, then, Korra? Ask me something from my younger days… I'm 23, just so you know." Thrusting my palms forward, flinging nearly a hundred spirits into the air and off the mountain, I glanced at Korra, waiting for her to ask questions. "Hmm, well, what's the na–" "Appa." "H-How did you even know I was going to ask that?" Asked Korra in disbelief as she stared at me while continuing to repel the relentless onslaught of spirits, causing me to flash a small smile. "Okay, then, when did you and Katara, you know, become one?" Asked Korra with a mischievous smirk.
Inwardly, I couldn't help but chuckle at how bold she was to ask such a question, though I only showed a confused expression. "That is a rather sensitive and private subject, Korra; however, I'll have to refuse as I do not know who Katara is." My response did more than just surprise Korra; she was utterly shocked at my somewhat genuine response, so much so that she stopped attacking and just looked at me, forcing me to deal with her side as well, which wasn't a problem. "Y-You don't know who Katara is? S-She's your wife; T-The two of you got married! I-I don't know when that happened, but you met her when you were 12!" Stated Korra loudly in disbelief as she eyed me while I shook my head in response. "I've never met a woman named Katara, Korra… I assume she's from the Southern WaterTribe, though?" Glancing at Korra, who remained speechless for several seconds while Fan broke the silence.
"Everyone, quickly hurry through the passageway! Jathr is under attack!" Yelled Fan loudly as he grabbed our attention, prompting us to look at him, just as he stepped through the passageway he finally finished creating. Just as I was about to force the stampede of spirits away, Kyoshi beat me to it and pushed all sides of the mountain we stood on far away, leaving just a small piece of the mountain in the middle where we stood. Glancing at Kyoshi, who holstered her fans, she was the first to walk through the portal, followed by Roku, who gave us an encouraging look. Allowing Korra to step through the portal first, I followed right behind her, only to experience an instant shift in gravity as I fell through the sky; however, my focus was instantly drawn to the massive tree before my eyes.
The tree was utterly massive, easily larger than any mountain I'd ever laid eyes on, and its canopy was even more extensive as thousands upon thousands of branches extended in all directions; the tree's leaves were a vibrant bluish-white, seemingly signifying its potent vitality, yet I furrowed my brows when I noticed some of the leaves were green, similar to the cracks in the sky and the spirits from where we'd just come from. "Though this view is still wonderful." Even though it had some imperfections, the view was still breathtaking; unfortunately, I wasn't able to gaze upon it for long, as among the four of us, only Roku and I had flight capabilities.
"I've got Korra, Aang. Catch, Kyoshi." Said Roku lightly as he caught Korra in his arms while two massive bursts of flames erupted from the soles of his feet, creating just enough force to keep the two of them afloat. Suspiciously nodding at Roku, as I felt he might've been a bit uncomfortable being so close to Kyoshi, I used my bending to speed up my descent as I swiftly neared Kyoshi, who remained completely calm despite falling to her supposed death. "Would you mind extending a hand, Kyoshi?" Outstretching my hand to Kyoshi, who firmly grabbed it, I unholstered my glider and summoned a powerful gust of wind to slow our descent, causing it to visibly strain and bend underneath the excess weight, though it managed to survive as I flew the two of us towards the tree where I saw Fan running across the branches. 'How did he get to the branches?'
Shaking my head, I flew towards Fan and gently dropped Kyoshi above him while I landed beside her. "No offense, Kyoshi, but have you ever thought of perhaps shedding a few pounds?" Glancing at Kyoshi while we ran on either side of Fan, she gave me a blank look, causing me to hum quietly to myself. "What are we doing here, Fan?" Asked Kyoshi firmly as she looked at Fan, who glanced between her and me before gesturing to the tree's base, where we saw a horde of what looked like ants attacking the trunk. "Jathr is the pillar of all existence; if it's destroyed, everything will cease to exist, so we must protect it… That is why I was tasked with summoning the four strongest Avatars… Father Glowworm has extended his range of influence and strengthened his cult; the guardians of Jathr are now not enough to resist his onslaught." Said Fan with an unsightly expression as he gazed downwards, causing Kyoshi and I frown.
"If that is so, we shouldn't waste time… I hope after this you will adequately explain everything, Fan." Nodding at Fan, I wasted no time and ran to the side before leaping off the branch, with Kyoshi following a little after me. Grasping my bo-staff, I made myself as aerodynamic as possible as I speedily fell towards the base of the tree where most of the spirits congregated; just before I slammed into the ground, I swung my bo-staff, creating a massive explosion of air in the center of the horde, dispelling thousands upon thousands of them.
Gracefully landing on the ground, I swung my bo-staff again, launching a powerful gust of wind that enveloped the entire area within a vortex, slowing Kyoshi's descent as she gently landed beside me. "For an Air Nomad, you're awfully violent, Aang." Said Kyoshi lightly as she glanced at me while stomping her foot on the ground before thrusting her fans forward, causing a mountain to erupt from the ground. "Well, that is quite the pot calling the kettle black, no?" Chuckling at Kyoshi, I swung my bo-staff, dispelling the numerous spirits with powerful gusts of wind that cut through the horde, though even with the two of us, it would take a while before we defeated them. "Besides, there was an Airbender even more violent than me, no?" "... That is true." Said Kyoshi with a slight nod as the two of us fought back to back, though eventually, after a few minutes, we got new reinforcements.
With a mighty fireball that reminded me of Sozin, just even more powerful, Roku landed beside Kyoshi and I while a jet of water snaked through the horde of spirits, dispelling tens of them before Korra landed with us. "So now we're fighting more spirits? I would like an explanation for my efforts." Said Roku with a slight frown as he punched the air, firing massive fireballs into the horde of spirits. "Yeah, what if we're just being used or tricked? It's already happened to me once, and I hated it." Remarked Korra in slight annoyance as she kicked, utilizing the dew on the leaves to dispel many spirits. "We all feel the same, Roku and Korra… Let us get through this, and then we shall receive answers."
With the four of us working in tandem, our chemistry in sync despite fighting together for the first time, we made relatively quick work of the horde of spirits that probably amounted to nearly a million, if not more; after twenty minutes of non-stop bending, I dispelled the final spirit, causing Korra to sigh in relief before she plopped onto the ground in exhaustion, though she wasn't the only exhausted as so was Roku. "I'm too old to be fighting this intensely."