Hey! So this is the first chapter of a story I've been playing with for a while. I recently read Lyralocke's Parlor Tricks and I just loved the concept of taking the story of A:tLA and putting it into a totally new setting. I'm not really a big fan of AUs typically, so I understand if any of you guys are skeptical of this, but I really, really like it, so maybe you'll agree? Comment and let me know please! And be honest, because I really do care what you guys think, believe it or not.
Anyways, in regards to the story, the basic idea is that it's the same sort of plot as the original show, but set during World War II. Ozai is like Adolf Hitler, trying to control the world. He wipes out the Air Nomads like the show and everyone's freaking out until (buh buh BUH!) the Avatar shows up to save the world! YAY! I kept the names and such the same because I'm not creative enough to come up with my own. Oh, and I'm sorry to say that I sorta used Lyralocke's idea for making Appa into a dog because, frankly, it'd be rather strange if there were to be a random flying bison travelling around Europe in the 1940s. Just my oppinion, though.
Uh, so far as who's who country wise, it's something along the lines of the Fire Nation being Germany, the Water Tribes being like Scotland and England, the Air Nomads were scattered around Holland and Belgium maybe, and the Earth Kingdom is like pretty much the rest of Europe. This is all a great big guesstimation. That's just kinda roughly what I was thinking, but nothing's set in stone, so let me know what you think by commenting on this here nifty story mabob.
One last thing I feel I just NEED to address: accents. So, since it IS set in Europe, they would probably all be speaking different languages and have accents and all that wonderful stuff which, normally, I LOVE, but for the purpose of this story just confuses things. Feel free to imagine people with accents if you'd like to. I added some common British phrases and such because I felt I ought to, but I don't really see them with accents, but whateves.
Okay, that's all! Read and enjoy! And make sure to comment! I really want to know what you guys think. It was just an idea I had, so lemme know if I should continue or not. Thanks a ton!
Katie
P.S. I really want to make it clear that I don't hate Germany or Jewish people or anything, so I'm sorry in advance if my writing happens to come across like that. I don't have any sort of political or racial oppositions like that, I promise, so I'm sorry if this offends anyone. I really don't think I said anything offensive, but if I did on accident, let me know! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! AHHH! Okay. Now go read. AND COMMENT DARN IT! :)
Chapter 1:
"I can't believe you would just go off—"
"Sokka—"
"—You just think you're so smart, like you know what you're doing—"
"Sokka—"
"Well, news flash, Katara! You're 15! You don't have a clue!"
"SOKKA!"
"WHAT?"
"SHUT UP!"
"Did you just—"
"Sokka, I could do without the lecture, thanks. I know it was dumb and I won't do it again. Just… relax, okay?"
"Katara, don't tell me to relax!"
It was no use. He was in brother mode. Katara rolled her eyes and pressed her face against the cool window. Houses and trees zipped by as they sat in their little compartment on a train to somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
It wasn't like she'd done anything life threatening. She'd wanted a bit of fresh air, so they'd walked to the end of the train and out to the back of the last cart. It wasn't as though she'd tried to throw herself off. She'd just gotten a little too close to the edge and her brother had nearly had a heart attack.
Needless to say, he'd grabbed her arm and practically dragged her back to the compartment where they'd sat for the past three quarters of an hour as Sokka lectured his sister on safety and awareness and being alert. She'd ignored most of it.
"Katara, are you listening to me?" Sokka snapped.
"No." The unenthusiastic reply was met with the sound of disturbed air as Sokka let out an exasperated breath. Katara ignored this, too. "How much longer?"
The girl had asked this ever since they had boarded the train. Sure, she loved train rides, but this was unlike any of the other trips she'd taken. She wasn't going on vacation to somewhere new and exciting. She was being forced to move to a little town that wasn't even granted the privilege of a place on any sort of map to stay with her grandmother. This was not a trip evoking anything more than extreme ennui from the girl
Sokka glanced at his pocket watch, a gift from his father he cherished more than life itself. "About an hour."
Silence fell in the compartment. Sokka unfolded the newspaper resting in the unoccupied seat next to him. Katara continued to watch the blur of farms and foliage visible outside the train.
"Oh, great," Sokka commented passively. "The weather's supposed to improve by the end of the week. At least we won't be stuck in the house." The teenager snuck a peek at his sister over the top of the paper, but she was clearly not going to play into her brother's attempt to lighten the mood. "And, oh, here's a story about some woman who's cat got its head stuck in a marmalade jar. A marmalade jar? That's just—"
"Any news on Ozai and his band of murderers?" Katara exhaled casually, looking up at her brother with a strangely knowing expression. The train cart was suddenly very tense.
"I—er—well," Sokka stuttered, uncertain as how to go about answering his sister's inquiry. "There's not exactly—I don't—" The boy fell silent.
"I see." Her eyes fell back to the passing scenery.
"Katara?" Sokka started.
"Yes?"
But he didn't know how to continue, so he returned to the newspaper, shaking his head and muttering, "Nothing."
Silence fell once again as the train rocked back and forth along the track. "Do you think we'll ever see Dad again?"
The paper slipped from Sokka's hands in surprise. "I—what?"
"You heard me," his sister said calmly. "Do you think we'll ever see Dad again?"
Exhaling slowly, Sokka picked up the paper slowly and folded it neatly before placing it back on the seat beside him. His eyes focused on his hands to avoid the discomfort of eye contact with the girl across from him. "I was afraid that's what you said." He paused for a minute, selecting his next few words carefully. "I… don't know. We've been at war for so long, it's hard to tell when it'll all be over. All we can do is wait."
"So you're basically saying he's a goner?"
Sokka looked up, reluctantly meeting his sister's cool eyes. He saw the pain and fear that tinted the light blue and he suddenly knew what he had to say. "No, I'm not saying that at all. Katara, we're going to see Dad again. I'm positive."
"Right." The girl turned back to the window. More silence.
Sokka stood up suddenly. "Well, I'm going to go grab a sandwich from the dining cart. Want anything?"
Katara didn't even glance up as she gave a vague, "No."
With a quick nod, the boy pulled open the compartment door and slipped into the hall. In a moment, he was gone and Katara was alone.
Shifting in her seat, she drew her eyes away from the window and looked around the empty compartment. Their belongings (few though they were) had been packed into two old suitcases that were currently tucked away in the rack above the seats.
Katara stared solemnly at their only possessions. Those two suitcases, it seemed, were all they had left to their names. No house, no yard, no white picket fence or window boxes of daisies. Just two battered old suitcases filled with a few sets of clothing.
They were better off than most families, she knew. They had clothes and food and a place to stay. They had a loving grandmother who had generously welcomed them into her home during the hardships of the war. And, sure, it wasn't ideal, but it wasn't as though they were on the streets.
No, all things considered, she was pretty well off. And even though her father was fighting in the war and their mother was dead and they were forced to flee their comfortable home to move in with their grandmother, Katara was thankful for what she had, little though it may be. She and her brother were both healthy and, morbid as it was, they were both alive. That meant a lot nowadays.
But no matter how well off she was, she couldn't erase the memories that had permanently taken up residence in her brain: The Fire Nazi raiding villages, marching through the streets, flames shooting out of their palms, laughing as they watched people run and scream in terror; the sound of airplanes whirring over your neighborhood while the warning sirens blare; the whistling of the bombs and the uncertainty of not knowing where they'd land; the nervous thudding of your heart as you sat in the bomb shelter, waiting, praying to a God you weren't even sure existed for just one more day...
Katara was pulled from her reverie by shouts from somewhere outside her compartment. Curious, she stood up and made her way to the compartment door, sliding it open and peering out into the hallway.
As soon as she stuck her head out, though, a boy in a ratty sports coat and hat slipped past her into the compartment. He was quickly followed by a large mass of fur and legs that nearly bowled the girl over as she tried to get out of the way.
Once the two were in, Katara slid the door shut behind her and looked questioningly at the boy and his dog, both of which had collapsed into empty seats breathlessly.
"I hope you don't mind us staying here for a bit," the boy panted, scratching the large dog behind its ears. "There's a mad woman out there that nearly chucked us off the back of the train."
"I, er, guess it's okay if you stay here," Katara replied, bewildered by the current goings on.
"Thanks a ton."
But then the door was sliding open again and a very ruffled woman in a red vest was sticking her head into the compartment and glaring at the boy.
"There you are, you little—"
"Excuse me," Katara interrupted on sudden inspiration at the look of exasperation and dread on the boy's face. "But what on earth are you yelling at my little brother for?"
The woman looked Katara up and down. "Your little brother, eh?" She nodded and the woman frowned. "Well, he's been running around like a lunatic, disturbing the other passengers. It's completely unacceptable."
Katara looked abashed. "My brother? Well, I most certainly agree with you, ma'am. That is completely unacceptable." She turned to the strange boy. "Is this true?"
"Uh," the boy muttered uncertainly, clearly surprised by the girl's help. "Yes?"
"That's completely unacceptable," Katara repeated, trying hard to think of all the times Sokka had lectured her. "I let you out for a bit of fresh air and all you do is upset everyone on the train." The teenager turned to the woman. "I'm sorry, he's just a bit stir crazy from the train ride, is all."
The woman in the door squinted at the girl. "Right. Well, there's also a strict no dog policy on board, miss. The dog has to go."
"No!" the boy exclaimed suddenly. "I… uh, he's…" He looked at Katara for some help.
"He's part of a new study for, uh, the… brain. Doctors are saying that dogs help to calm children and make it easier for them to relax." Katara bit her lip, watching for the woman's reaction.
"Oh, yes," she replied thoughtfully, some of the skepticism gone from her unrelenting glare. "Come to think of it, I believe I read about that somewhere…"
Not believing her luck, she continued, "My brother gets very nervous whenever he's away from the dog." She gave a little laugh. "Just goes completely loony. You wouldn't believe it!" The woman was looking from Katara to the boy, then on to the dog.
"All right, well, if it's a medical study… I suppose the dog can stay," she finally begrudged, rather reluctantly. "But you must keep that boy under control. Children can't be running willy-nilly around the place. I simply won't have it."
Relieved, Katara nodded. "Of course not. You seem like a very sensible person, ma'am, and I understand completely where you're coming from. I promise it won't happen again." Just to add to the affect, she shot an angry look at the boy, who looked down ashamedly. "Right?"
"Yes," the boy grumbled guiltily.
"Alright," the woman concluded. "I have work to get back to. But keep an eye on that boy, or you'll both be in trouble."
"We most certainly don't want any trouble, ma'am. Thank you."
Katara watched as the woman gave one last glower at the boy before withdrawing her head from the compartment and sliding the door shut. After making sure they were truly alone, she took a seat across from the boy.
"Phew. I can't believe she actually bought that." Katara leaned her head against the wall of the compartment, closing her eyes as it gently swayed to and fro. "Doctor's study…"
The boy gave a short laugh and Katara looked at him. He blushed and swallowed loudly. "Uh, thanks. A lot. You saved my life."
It was Katara's turn to go pink. "Well, I don't know about that," she muttered, smirking a little. The train car fell silent. The girl leaned her head back once more.
"Why'd you do it?" the boy asked suddenly.
"Do what?" Katara responded indifferently.
"Why'd you make all that up? You don't even know me. Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, I just don't quite understand."
Katara thought about this for a minute. "Oh, I dunno. You don't look like a killer or anything. You were in trouble, so I helped," she shrugged.
"Oh. Well, thanks. Again."
"No problem."
Silence fell once again, though this time it was interrupted by the opening of the sliding door yet again. Both the car's occupants looked up, expecting to see the angry conductor back to tell them off for their fraudulent story.
But it wasn't the conductor. It was Sokka. He was holding half a sandwich and looking fairly disgruntled about something. "Can you believe that they didn't have Dijon mustard? I mean, what's with—" He stopped as he laid eyes first on the large dog that was sitting in his seat, then the boy he'd never before seen in his life. "Blimey, Katara, I leave for ten minutes and you manage to rally some kid and his mangy mutt?"
The dog growled, barking indignantly. "Uh, it's sort of a long story," Katara muttered uncomfortably, rubbing her arm. "I told them they could stay in our compartment."
"Okay, wait a second," Sokka interjected. He was holding up his arms as though trying to get his bearings whilst frowning at the dog in his seat, who was now drooling happily on the swirl-patterned fabric. "Who are you, anyway?"
"That's a good question. I never did get your name." Katara looked expectantly at the boy.
"I'm Aang," the boy replied simply. "And this is Appa, my dog." Appa gave an affirmative bark.
"I'm Katara, and this is my brother, Sokka." She held out a hand genially to the boy, who shook it. Sokka copied the gesture, though he was rather hesitant to do so. It was clear he was still skeptical of the stranger.
"So where are you riding to?" he asked, taking a seat next to Katara. His eyes never left the boy.
Aang looked down. "I'm not entirely sure yet," he whispered, shrugging.
"You don't know where you're going?" Katara looked at the boy concernedly. "Surely you have to have some clue. I mean, you didn't just get on a train for fun, right?"
The boy looked up, giving Katara a grin. "Not exactly my idea of a good time," he told her before returning his gaze to his hands. "I needed to… go. I'm just not quite sure where yet."
"Well, surely you have somewhere to go? What happened to your parents? Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents?"
"They're all dead," Aang whispered bitterly. "Killed by the Fire Nazis."
"That's terrible," Katara muttered. "I'm so sorry. Sokka and I lost our mother in a Fire Nazi raid. I thought that was awful, but losing your whole family… That must be really hard."
The car fell silent as the train sped along, trees and farms and houses all whizzing by outside the window. Katara was watching the boy.
"I know!" she said suddenly, causing the other two in the compartment to jump. "You can come with Sokka and me!"
"Katara, don't be ridiculous," Sokka snorted, looking at his sister as though she'd just suggested they all move to Antarctica and become penguins.
"Sokka, you know Gran Gran won't mind. She loves guests. He can stay with us for a bit, then, when he's ready, he can take off on his own."
"Katara, can I talk to you for a moment," Sokka said through gritted teeth. "Outside."
Rolling her eyes, she stood and followed her brother out of the compartment and into the hallway.
"What's up?" Sokka asked, looking at his sister in question.
"What do you mean? He's a kid who has no family and no where to stay."
Sokka leaned against the side of the corridor and put his face in his hand. "You don't know him, Katara. He's a complete stranger, and you invite him to stay with us?"
"Yup," Katara confirmed with a firm nod of her head.
Her brother gave a loud sigh. "What if he's a spy?" he hissed in an undertone, glancing around uncertainly. "What if he's just pretending to be a poor kid and he's actually a spy?"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure Ozai would gladly hire some random kid for serious work." Katara rolled her eyes and glared at her brother. "He's not a Nazi."
"How do you know?"
"I just do, okay? He's just a kid who needs a little help, and I want to help him."
"You fancy him, don't you?"
Katara's jaw dropped. "What? Of course I don't fancy him! I don't even know the bloke!" She felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks and crossed her arms in irritation.
"But you're willing to let him into our house? Sometimes I wonder about you, Katara."
"Just trust me, okay? There's something about him… I can't put my finger on it, but something about him makes me think that he's not what he appears."
"Exactly! He's a spy!"
"No, Sokka. That's definitely not it."
"What is it, then?"
Katara looked away from her brother. "I don't know," she murmured. "I just know we have to help him." Looking back at her brother, she straightened up boldly. "And if you're not going to, then I will."
Sokka let out an exasperated breath. "Fine, we'll help him. But if he turns out to be a spy—"
"Then I will admit I'm wrong and serve you forever as your eternal servant."
"I like that. Quite a lot, actually."
Katara rolled her eyes once again and reentered the compartment. Aang was sitting on the floor, eating the leftovers of Sokka's sandwich. He looked up at her and grinned, cheeks full of food. The girl laughed, taking a seat.
Sokka wasn't so amused. "I was gonna eat that, you know," he snapped at the boy, crossing his arms.
"Wan' the res'?" Aang asked, offering the half-eaten sandwich to the older boy.
Smacking his palm to his forehead, Sokka groaned and shot his sister an irritated look, which only made her smile more.
"No. that's okay," he grumbled, folding his arms and slumping into his seat He once again opened his newspaper and disappeared behind it.
"So where are you from?" Katara asked the boy, watching him pluck the pickles from the sandwich and offer them to Appa.
"Uh… Omashu," he replied uncomfortably, eyes focused on the dog who was sniffing uninterestedly at the pickles.
"Oh really?" Katara inquired, perking up. "I have cousins there! I don't suppose you'd know them, though. Omashu's a pretty big city."
"Yeah," Aang muttered. "Pretty big."
"Southern Creek!" called a harsh voice from outside the compartment. "Now arriving at Southern Creek!"
"Well, that's us," Sokka said, standing up hastily and grabbing on to the bar on the luggage rack as they jerked to a stop in front of the tiny station, jostling the car. "C'mon."
He grabbed his suitcase, handing Katara hers. Katara looked back at Aang, who was watching her curiously. She cocked her head silently at the boy. He simply shook his head, standing and brushing the crumbs from his patched pants.
They all exited the compartment in silence, walking through the train to where a woman in a familiar red vest stood. "Southern Creek?" she asked the group, looking them over. Aang ducked behind Katara even though it wasn't the same woman that had chased him through the train before. The edges of Sokka's mouth turned up in a smug smile as he gave s quick nod, and the woman stepped aside, allowing them to dismount and land beside the tracks.
As the train began to move behind them, they realized that they were quite alone, though this wasn't surprising. Why would any sane person ever want to come here? That was simple. They wouldn't.
Zuko was frustrated. "I don't know why the Avatar insists on running. We both know he can't hide forever."
"Well," his uncle Iroh responded with a smile. "You haven't found him so far, so I would say his hiding skills are more superior than you think."
"I thought you were supposed to be encouraging me, Uncle," Zuko snapped. "Not cheering on the Avatar."
His uncle was focusing on the cup of Earl Gray in his hands as he said, "Prince Zuko, I wasn't cheering anyone on. I was merely making a joke." Seeing the blatant look of irritation on his nephew's face, he added to himself, "I thought it was funny."
Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Now is not the time for jokes, Uncle. The Avatar could be anywhere. We need to find him."
Iroh looked up from his tea, shaking his head vaguely at his nephew. "I understand why you are so insistent on locating the Avatar, but I do not believe that this will truly grant you the satisfaction you desire. I think I am right in saying that you realize this, too."
The teenager looked away, focusing out the window of the dining car. "The only thing I desire is for things to be like they used to be. The Avatar is my ticket home, and I will not rest until I've found him."
A woman in a red vest poked her head into the car, looking around at the many soldiers occupying the room.
"What?" Zuko snapped at her.
Timidly, the woman muttered, "I just wanted to inform you that our next stop will be at Southern Creek."
"And? We ride to Ba Sing Se, stupid girl. Why would we possibly care about some Podunk farm town?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir, I merely wished to inform you—"
"Leave my sight!" Zuko spat.
The older man shook his head and sighed as the young woman slid from the room, shaking in fear.
"What?" Zuko had turned to his uncle, glaring at him, but the man just shook his head once more. "I don't have the patience for such impertinent matters."
The train was beginning to slow, and the older man's eyes fell upon the rickety train station of Southern Creek. He watched as three children hopped from the train, a girl and two boys, landing on the gravel in a flurry of dust.
But the dust was settling to fast, the air clear in seconds. Looking closer, he noticed that the smaller of the two boys was blowing the dirt away with a puff of breath. His two companions paid no attention, but Iroh knew exactly what he was seeing.
"Well, Zuko, if it's any consolation, I believe we've found the Avatar."
Okay, so that's chapter 1! I really hope you liked it! As I've said a bazillion times already, leave me a comment and lemme know your thoughts. I really do appreciate what you guys have to say! Let me know if you think I should continue, and be honest!
Thanks a ton!