A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away …
AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER/STAR WARS
EPISODE I
Battle of the Heroes
Water, Earth, Fire, Air. On the Outer Rim Planet Elementia, the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and Air Nomads used to live in harmony... until the Fire Nation attacked. It has been one hundred years since the war began, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory. The only hope for the other nations of the world is the Avatar, user a supernatural ability called "Bending" to manipulate all four elements of the world.
As the young Avatar and his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph race to the fallen Earth Kingdom capitol in an attempt to rescue his animal companion Appa, another war quickly approaches the small planet. Two spacecrafts, one holding the Separatist Leader General Grievous and the other holding the two Jedi Knights Obi-wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker fly locked in combat.
Jedi Kenobi and Skywalker fight desperately to end the nightmarish Clone Wars by defeating the cybernetic general, but neither Jedi nor Bender would expect how quickly their two wars would combine…
"Blast, we've lost the right engine!" the Captain of the Republic Battle Cruiser Reliant cursed as the ship shook violently.
"I'm sure the ship will hold together," Obi-wan said from the captain's side, glancing out the monitor window to see the two battleships exchanging laser fire. The ship shook even hard. "I hope … where's Anakin?" Obi-wan glanced around the bridge, not seeing his Padawan anywhere.
Obi-wan quickly walked out of the bridge and found Anakin near the closest airlock pulling a compression suit over his Jedi robes. "What are you doing?" Obi-wan cocked an eyebrow.
"It's such a nice day, Master," Anakin smirked, clipping his lightsaber on the belt of the compression suit. "I thought I'd go out for a stroll; care to join me?"
"Someone has to keep you from getting yourself killed," Obi-wan sighed, taking a compression suit of his own. "Force forbid what your friends back home would do to me. Padme, I imagine, would take it well enough, but hearing Jar-Jar rant when he's in a good mood is annoying enough, let alone having him truly be angry with me."
"Let's get to it, then," Anakin said as he and Obi-wan locked in their helmets and moved toward the airlock. "To the engines?"
"To the engines, but make sure you get the enemy ship this time, Anakin…" Obi-wan nodded as the airlock sealed.
"That was an honest mistake, Master, and I was very young." Anakin forced himself not to smile.
"Two months growth does not make one not young anymore, my Padawan." Obi-wan chided, "Now, let's go to work."
---
"Damage report!" General Grievous yelled from his seat on the bridge.
"Roger, Roger, heavy damage to the starboard side from near constant Republic fire, sir," one of the droid pilots replied, "Engine status green… standby…" the droid paused for a moment when the ship shook again. "Main Engines Alpha and Beta damage critical…"
"What? How… Jedi… It must be…" Grievous growled, shaking his fist.
"Sir, damage critical, we must make an emergency landing or risk ship destruction," the droid stated, "Planet Elementia is within range, permission to begin emergency landing procedures?"
Grievous growled to himself for a moment before nodding, "Take us down."
---
"Ok, couldn't we have found some better form of transport?" Sokka said, sneezing for the fifteenth time in the last fifteen minutes. "Me and hay don't get along well…" The four were riding in a small hay wagon in route to the Earth Kingdom capitol of Ba Sing Se.
"Yeah … I got another splinter …" Toph replied at his side, holding up her bare foot, trying to dig out a splinter from the wooden plywood floor of the wagon.
"This is the best we could get guys," Katara chastised her brother and their blind companion. "Besides, we're in a hurry." She said, glancing to the still downcast Avatar.
"We'll get him back, Aang," Katara whispered, bringing a hand to rest on the young boy's still shoulders. "I…"
"Uh, Katara…" Sokka spoke up, breaking her train of thought.
"I'm trying to have a conversation here…" Katara gritted her teeth, not looking back to her brother.
"Katara…" Sokka pressed.
"LISTEN, YOU GIANT-EARED CRETIN, POOR AANG'S SUFFERING, MISSING APPA, AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS SELFISHLY COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR OWN DISCOMFORT!" She yelled, "AND I'VE HAD IT!"
"One question…" Sokka lifted his hand sheepishly.
"WHAT!" Katara bellowed to her brother.
"Is it the Summer Solstice already?" Sokka asked, staring at the sky.
Katara snapped her head around to see the massive comet crossing the sky. "What the…" She blanched as the burning object flew overhead of them. They watched as the massive object slammed into the ground.
"GET DOWN!" Sokka bellowed, tackling the whole group off the wagon as the massive shockwave sent it, the steer, and the driver flying.
"What was that?" Aang asked, looking over to see what looked like a large fortress buried halfway into the mountain that wasn't there a moment ago.
"That … looks dangerous …" Sokka said slowly as they all eyed the fallen fortress.
"All the more reason to check it out," Toph piped in, popping her neck.
Aang and Katara shared a glance and grin before they ran toward the smoking crater in the side of the mountain with Toph close behind. "One of these days, you are going to get yourselves killed! And I'll be the first one to laugh about it! Stupid people!" Sokka crossed his arms and turned away. He peeked over his shoulder to watch them running toward the crash.
"Oh…" He sighed, glancing to Momo seated on his shoulder. "Someone has to keep those three from getting themselves from getting killed right?" Momo cocked his head to the side. "Right!"
---
"Ok, I'm going to check this out," Aang said as the four ducked behind a rock. He opened the wings of his staff and leapt into the air only to yelp when blasts of energy shot his glider full of holes.
"Aang!" Katara yelped as she created a waterbed to cushion Aang's fall. "You ok?" She asked, dropping beside him.
"What was that?" Aang asked wide eyed and looking back at the crashed ship. "Uh oh … those don't look friendly …"
Katara glanced up in the direction he was looking and gaped at the same moment Sokka screamed. A large group of what looked like tanks hovered just above the ground and was flying toward them. "I don't say this often, Sokka …" Katara gulped as she helped Aang to his feet. "but I think you were right this time …"
"I had a feeling you'd say that just before I died …" Sokka moaned, ducking his head between his legs.
Toph yelped out and crawled backwards. "Something's right on top of us and heavy!" She whimpered as a large, dark blue robot rose above the rock and aimed its arm at them.
"No one move," the machine's synthetic voice ordered as a strange glowing object rose from its arm.
"Look, we're just passing ... AH!" Sokka yelped when an energy blast cut across the skin of his shoulder.
"Only warning. No one move." The robot ordered. "Answer. Who is leader of world?"
"Leave my friend alone, you big, dumb … thing!" Toph growled.
"Foolish human," the droid growled, moving its blaster to Toph, only to stiffen and bend backwards as a glowing, blue beam of light cut through its chest.
It sliced upward, causing the machine to spark and jerk before it fell to the side. Aang, Katara, and Sokka watched in awe as a young man stood up, his dark robes blowing in the wind as he held a small handle that projected the blue beam. His short blond hair and single pigtail on the side of his head blew in the wind as he glanced around the group. "Are you alright, m'lady?" he asked, taking Toph's hand and lifting her to her feet. "I hope you guys can speak Basic …" the warrior mumbled, shutting down his energy blade.
"Who … who are you?" Aang finally forced out, staring at him.
"My name is Anakin Skywalker, and you guys are unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time," He said before spinning around, lighting his lightsaber and deflecting a couple of energy blasts back at a pair of droids. "But right now, I think explanations are best kept for later."
Anakin pulled out a comlink and spoke into it quickly. "Master, we have a situation. I've found four humans… one second …" Anakin turned to the group and pointed at Momo, "Is he sentient?" Momo took that moment to lick his rear. "OK, we have four humans and an animal in the middle of the mess, Master."
"What? Blast, I had hoped we could keep the inhabitants out of this," a voice spoke from the communications devise. "I'm following General Grievous, Anakin; get them out of there and we'll regroup later."
"But, Master, he's got a whole army with him. Wait for me, and I'll …" Anakin started to argue.
"Don't question me, Padawan. Do as I say and keep them safe; I'll contact you when I know something else. Kenobi out."
Anakin took a shaky sigh before turning to the group. "I will explain more later, but my Master is right; this isn't the best place for you right now." He said, glancing around to see the best escape route. "Ok, follow me and stay close." Anakin ordered.
"How do we know we can trust you?" Sokka asked, causing Katara to roll her eyes.
"If you'd prefer to take your chances with the Battledroids, be my guest," Anakin smiled, motioning to the droids gathering at the base of the crashed ship. Anakin's eyes widened for a moment, and he relit his lightsaber as a pair of rolling Droidekas rolled close and began to fire at them. Anakin quickly diverted their blasts and blinked in surprise when the two droids were incased in four walls of rock.
"Now, we're even," Toph smirked at him.
"Most impressive …" Anakin smiled, "Now, let's get out of here."
---
Obi-wan Kenobi kept well hidden in the shadows as a pair of Battledroids escorted a man toward General Grievous.
"Who is this?" the cybernetic asked, turning to the terrified man.
"We found him near a damaged wagon close by," one of the droids stated, shoving the horrified man toward the cybertronic Separatist.
"W-What did you …" the man whimpered, "What did you do to my cabbages?"
"Who is the leader of this world?" Grievous asked, getting into the man's face.
"Well … um … Fire Lord Ozai rules over most of the land these days …" the Cabbage man replied nervously.
"And where can we find this Fire Lord Ozai?" Grievous growled, narrowing his demonic eyes.
"I'm not real sure, but his daughter can probably be found in Ba Sing Se …" the man whimpered.
"Good enough, you will lead us there," Grievous' hiss-like laugh caused the man to whimper even more.
---
"Looks like we lost them …" Sokka breathed as the four teens and robed stranger took a rest in a small forested hollow. "Ok, Mister Airtalker, what's going on?"
"Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker." Anakin said with an annoyed glare at Sokka, "It's usually polite to introduce yourselves before interrogating someone. So, who are you all?"
"My name's Katara. This is my brother Sokka, and the Lemur on his head is Momo." Katara spoke up, elbowing her brother in the side, "This is our friend Toph, and this is Aang; he's the Avatar." She introduced, pride shining in her introduction of Aang.
"Avatar, huh? What exactly is that?" Anakin asked, unimpressed.
"Must be an alien," Sokka nodded his head.
"Sokka!" Katara hissed at her brother while issuing a glare.
"Well, I am from Tatooine, which is a few light-years away from here, almost exactly on the other side of Coruscant from here, actually." Anakin mused.
"See, told you, freaky robes, from another planet, he's an alien. Makes perfect sense, if you'd listen to me for a change." Sokka complained before stiffening, "Huh, what?"
"Technically, my friend, I am an alien to this world," Anakin laughed softly, "There are countless planets with life, and unfortunately, at this moment, they are at war with each other," Anakin nodded, "I fear that our enemy might attempt to pull this world into our Galactic Civil War."
"I KNEW IT!" Sokka pumped his fist in the air, "I knew there was life on other worlds! I knew it! I said it, but no one believed me; you all called me an idiot, but who's the idiot now, Katara, who?" Sokka laughed almost madly.
"I rest my case," Katara crossed her arms, "How do we know your not just a crazy like my dear brother here?"
"Tell me, do you know of any nation on this planet with the technology to get a craft like the one we had into the air?" Anakin asked, and the whole group grew quiet.
"The Air Nomads," Aang spoke up, not looking up, "With their Airbending, they could have …"
"Care to explain this Bending?" Anakin asked, his curiosity starting to peak.
"There's four types of bending arts," Katara started to explain, going into what Aang fondly called her teacher-mode. "Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. I'm a Waterbender, which gives me the ability to manipulate water; Toph's an Earthbender, so she can control the earth even to the point of getting around her blindness, and Aang's an Airbender. Mostly benders can only master one element, but there is one exception, Aang, the Avatar, can master all four."
"Ah, so, that explains why the three of you are so strong in the Force," Anakin nodded.
"What's that?" Katara asked.
"The Force is the energy field that surrounds and is inside all things."
Everyone looked in surprise at Aang. "I … have no idea how I knew that …"
"A part that makes Aang the Avatar is he's a reincarnation of all previous Avatars," Katara explained to the surprised Jedi.
"It seems you and this master of yours aren't the only ones that have been here before," Toph shrugged.
"My Master, Obi-wan Kenobi, could explain the Force better than I could … which reminds me," Anakin pulled a comlink from his belt. "Master, are you there?"
"Anakin, I was just about to contact you," Obi-wan's voice sounded through the comlink. "General Grievous is on his way to a city called Ba Sing Se. See if those new friends of yours can take you there."
"We're headed that way, anyway," Toph spoke up before Katara could. "We could use someone who can handle themselves as well me around here."
"Hey! I can handle myself pretty good, you know." Sokka said loudly.
"Whatever you say, Boomerang Boy," Toph smirked, infuriating the older boy even more.
"If we're going to meet up with your friend at Ba Sing Se, we better get a move on. We can get a good bit of travel on foot before nightfall." Katara said as the group climbed to their feet.
"Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Highstalker; we'll get you there in no time fast, especially since we're in a hurry to get there," Sokka said, slapping Anakin's shoulder.
"That's Skywalker," Anakin frowned.
"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Sokka said with a grin.
---
The fire crackled as Katara looked to make sure Sokka's shoulder was healed properly. "So, you've traveled around the galaxy from planet to planet as a knight in brown leather, Mr. Line Stepper? What are they like?" he asked curiously, and Aang, Katara and Toph all perked up curiously.
"Depends; which planet you want to know about?" Anakin smiled, throwing a small stick into the fire.
"How about where you were born," Katara piped in. "You don't look that different from us."
"Well, I was born on a planet on the other side of the galaxy called Tatooine," Anakin explained as he stared into the fire. "It's basically a big desert with a few settlements here and there. The biggest business on the planet is hydro farming and podracing. My mother and I were slaves in a small settlement on the far side of the Dune Sea. It was an ok place to grow up, and our owner wasn't that bad to us. Actually, Watto took pretty good care of me and my mother."
"You were a slave …" Katara said apologetically.
"Yeah, until two Jedi and an … well, they came and, long story short, helped me win my freedom, and then I became a Jedi." Anakin said as he tossed another stick on the fire. "After I went with the Jedi, we all traveled with Padme to her home planet Naboo, which was under siege. It was a lot nicer than Tatooine. Actually, it was very similar to this world, only greener."
"Padme?" Aang asked blinking.
Anakin flushed slightly and smiled. The blush was hidden by the firelight, but Katara caught the boyish smile. "Padme was the Queen of the planet, and the Jedi were protecting her while she was going to the Galactic Republic's Senate to request help. Padme's … very unique. She has a very strong will that's visible even in her eyes. Not unlike you, Katara." Anakin nodded to the girl. "I imagine you and her would be fast friends."
Anakin glanced upwards. "As a matter of fact, no world I've been on is exactly the same. Some similar, but you can feel the difference in the land… the air… the Force. I've been on most of the planets visible from here during the course of the war, I believe…"
"Must be very exciting to see new worlds," Katara mused. "Flying through the galaxy in your spaceships… I would love to see what it looks like from the sky, not just down here on the ground."
"Big whoop," Toph pouted slightly and glanced away.
"Have you ever seen the clear night sky, Toph?" Anakin asked with a gentle smile.
"Hello? Not sure how it is on your world, but this usually means not able to see," Toph said, pointing to her dull eyes.
"Have you been blind your whole life?" Anakin asked, ignoring Sokka and Aang's pointed glares.
"As long as I can remember," she replied shortly.
"Would you like to see, Toph, if only for a few moments?" Anakin asked, moving close to the girl.
"I can see just fine with my earthbending, thank you very much," She snapped before Anakin moved to stand on his knees behind her and gently placed his fingers on her temples.
"Relax … I'm going to let you use my eyes to see …" he whispered as he made a connection to her through the Force.
Toph's eyes widened when she saw the stars in the sky for the first time. The various white and blue sparkles decorating the dark black background, and even the green and brown trees colored yellowish red from the dancing fire amazed her. The fire itself was beyond anything she ever imagined it to look like. She never really thought of what to imagine it might look like, but she never thought it would dance on the burning wood. "It's … so … pretty …" She breathed, trying to keep the tears from her eyes and her lip from trembling.
"Would you like to see what your friends look like now?" Anakin asked with a smile.
"S-Sure …" Toph said, not able to stop a tear from escaping. Anakin glanced to where Aang was seated with a big smile, and Toph took him in for the first time from the bright colored robes to the tattoos to … "Twinkle Toes? You're … bald …"
Aang's face fell while Katara and Sokka broke out into giggles. Anakin then moved on to look at Katara. Toph smiled, taking in the slightly older girl. She looked over the robes and slender figure. Katara was almost exactly how Toph imagined her to be, with the exception of her hair. "Ok, you sold me on it …" Toph smiled. "I'm gonna grow my hair out, so you can fix it like yours. That's cool."
Then, she took sight of Sokka. Her breath hitched, and she could feel her cheeks flush. She looked the boy over intently and flushed even more before muttering a question.
"What was that? I didn't really hear that." Sokka asked curiously.
"I … I asked what color is that?" Toph mumbled. "Your eyes … what color is that?"
"My eyes?" Sokka asked in confusion. "Kind of a light blue, I guess; why?"
"It's… really nice. I like that color…" She said, flushing even more. "And the way Katara is always calling you a Giant-eared Cretin… I always imagined you having big ears, but… they're… not so bad really… I like your hair, too… um… but, yeah, I like the eye color a lot…" she rambled, flushing brighter as she continued to dig herself a hole.
She wanted to scream no and grab Anakin's hands as she felt his fingers slide away from her temples, and with it, the beautiful colors and world she'd never known faded back into her familiar darkness. "Well then, that was neat," Toph said, returning to her usual cold, tough act. "I'm hitting the sack. Night, everyone." She said, climbing into her sleeping bag and instantly building her rock-tent.
"Hey, Toph, are you…" Katara started to ask, but Toph quickly closed the entrance. "ok?"
Toph didn't reply, just curled up in her sleeping bag as her tears came at last. "It was bad enough thinking he was nothing but an outsider like me…" Toph whispered to herself. "What would a handsome guy like that see in a little blind girl anyway?" she asked before trying to force herself into sleep.
To Be Continued …
Next Chapter: Serpent's Pass