Chapter 3

该页暂无翻译

Chapter 3 Tracking the Avatar is proving to be a more difficult task than I expected. His flying bison gives him an advantage, as he is free to travel anywhere without concern for roads, mountains, lakes, or other obstacles. We followed the Avatar through as much of the Earth Kingdom as we could cover, but soon lost him in the rugged terrain. I knew I needed a vehicle that could handle any environment I encountered. I acquired the finest all-terrain vehicle in the Fire Nation. It was a huge ironclad tank, with three sharp spikes that jutted out from the front. A tall smokestack belched black fumes from its top, and the thick treads of the tires were designed to travel over rock, sand, and water. The vehicle was even capable of climbing straight up the sides of mountains! Powered by fire itself, this tank could go forever without running out of fuel. Also traveling with us were three agile mongoose-dragons. We were more than ready for our pursuit of the Avatar. We began our hunt and found that luck was on our side. A short distance from Omashu, we discovered several large clumps of thick, white fur leading in a straight line toward the mountains. I recognize this fur. It is the fur of the Avatar's

bison! Perhaps this is a sign, telling me that it won't be long before I stand before my father with the Avatar at my side. Energized by this finding, I poured more fire into the tank's engine to increase our speed. With the city far behind us, we encountered a long, flat plain that stretched out for miles, leading to the mountains in the distance. There, in a wooded area at the edge of the plain, blue smoke curled into the sky. I've found them! I pushed the machine even harder, picking up speed. A short while later we reached the remains of a campsite at the edge of the woods. Charred cinders from a campfire that had been doused in water smoked and sizzled. Impressions in the grass showed where tents and bedrolls had been set up. We are too late! They must have known we were coming and fled. But how? How could they know we were following them? Then I noticed an odd tent, made from rock, jutting out of the earth. Is the Avatar now an Earthbender too? Or did one of his party do this? Perhaps whoever created this tent could sense the vibrations of our tank rumbling through the ground. I have heard that some Earthbenders can do that. But they cannot run forever, especially not from me.

We followed the trail of fur deeper into the woods. Our tank simply flattened smaller trees, while I steered around the larger ones. As we approached a clearing in the woods, there was a flash of movement. Several people rushed around in a panic, and then I saw them—the Avatar's bison rising into the sky, with four figures mounted on its back. They headed deep into the mountains. The Avatar must think he can lose me, but he does not realize that his bison is leaving a convenient trail of fur. And of course, he has no idea what this Fire Nation tank is capable of. We arrived at the base of a tall mountain, and then began to climb—straight up! We were amazed at how easily the tank did this. When we reached a plateau, there stood the Avatar and three others. Apparently they were waiting for us—and ready to fight. Well, that's exactly what we were ready to do as well. "Prepare the animals for battle!" I ordered. I shut down the tank's engine, and the tank rolled to a stop. Then Ty Lee, Mai, and I mounted the mongoose- dragons that had traveled with us. "Ready, girls? Now the fun begins!" I threw open the door of the tank and we charged toward our enemies, riding the lizards hard. When

we came to a river the creatures reared back, splashing across the water on their hind legs, their colorful necks flared wide open. Once back on solid ground, they dropped down to all fours and picked up speed. Suddenly a jagged mound of rock sprang from the earth right in front of me. I tugged my reins hard to the left and skipped around the obstacle, but another quickly appeared before me. Again and again, rocks rose in my path, and in front of Ty Lee and Mai as well. However, mongoose-dragons are very swift and nimble creatures, and they were able to maneuver around each rock. But who was responsible for creating these obstacles? I looked around as I pulled on the reins of my mongoose-dragon. That's when I saw a girl who had not been with the Avatar and his two companions at the exchange in Omashu. She stomped her foot on the ground, and a huge wall of rock exploded from the earth in front of me. So the Avatar has found a skilled Earthbender to help him. Cute of him to think that I could be stopped by someone like her. But this is getting tiresome, and I don't plan on going around any more of these rocks. The time has come to go THROUGH them. I fired a powerful Firebending blast that leveled the

rock wall currently in front of me. Then the three of us raced forward. Seeing this, the Avatar and his companions jumped onto his bison and flew off. The cowards didn't even bother to say good-bye. We returned to our tank and continued to follow the trail of fur. It led to a clearing next to a river. Once again, we got out of the tank and surveyed the clearing on our mongoose-dragons. I spotted a saddle and the remains of food supplies, signs that they had been here. "The trail goes this way, Azula," Ty Lee announced. Sure enough, a thick trail of white fur continued into the woods heading east. I looked at the river and noticed huge amounts of fur floating in the water. Then I glanced to the west and saw a wide swath of broken branches, leading in the opposite direction from the path of fur. Why is there so much fur in the river? Of course! They must have finally realized that the beast is shedding, and that this is how we have been following them. They must have tried to wash off the creature's excess fur in the river so it would no longer leave an obvious path for us. So then why is there a trail of fur leading away