Prologue:
No one's P.O.V- third person
"Aang, be careful!" Katara cried. Aang, who had been scaling a bit of a cliff, looked up in surprise.
"Why?" he asks.
"In case you've forgotten, Twinkle Toes," Toph began. "You kinda got hurt pretty bad in Ba Sing Sea." Aang scowled.
About 2 weeks earlier, Team Avatar had been in Ba Sing Sea, trying to stop the Fire Nation princess, Azula, from taking over the earth kingdom capitol. They were about to succeed, when Aang went into the Avatar State, but all hope was immediately diminished when Azula shot him in the back with lightning, expelling the avatar sprit from the world- forever.
However, using water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole, Katara brought Aang back to life, allowing the avatar spirit access back into the physical world. Aang was displeased with himself for not stopping Azula, and, despite the other's protests, believed it was his fault that the earth kingdom capitol fell.
Chapter 1:
No one's P.O.V- third person
2 days later, Team Avatar was traveling through the sky, disguised as a cloud, thanks to Aang's airbending.
"I think I see a cave down there!" Aang whispered.
"Shh!" Sokka whispered back, clearly annoyed. Team Avatar landed, and Sokka said:
"Nice job on the cloud cameo, but next time, can we disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut?"
"Whose gonna hear us, the birds?" Toph asked sarcastically.
"Hey, we're in enemy territory!" Sokka hissed. "Those are enemy birds!" One of the birds promptly jumps on Sokka's head and gives a weak cry. Everyone giggled, except for Sokka.
Aang, Katara, and Toph make their way into the cave, only to have Sokka jump headfirst in front od them, and sit up, with his hair very disheveled. They all stand in the middle of the cave.
"Well team, this is it." Sokka says enthusiastically. "This is how its gonna be until the day of the invasion. Hiding in cave, after cave, after cave…" Sokka's enthusiastic behavior faded away, and was replaced by depression.
"Sokka, we don't have to become cave people, what we need is some new clothes." Katara tells Sokka, motioning to her ripped and burned dress-thing.
"Yeah," Aang agreed. "Blending in is better than hiding out."
"Besides," Toph added. "They have real food out there, unless anyone wants to stay here and eat cave hoppers." She proceeds to hit the wall of the cave with her fist, causing lots of cave hoppers to jump out. Momo jumps on a cave hopper and begins eating it, only to stop and look up at the group with big eyes. Sokka sighs.
"Sorry, looks like we got outvoted." Sokka tells the lemur, then turns to the rest of the group.
"Alright," he said. "Let's go get some new clothes."
So they went to someone's house and stole their clothes. Easy enough.
But the real trouble came when Sokka, Toph, and Katara, went into a steakhouse for a bite to eat. Aang, being vegetarian, said that he'd go find some lettuce leaves to eat, but was taken into a fire nation school, when the principle mistook him for a student.
The teacher asked him to remove the headband that he was wearing, but Aang said that he had a scar and asked to keep the headband on. The teacher grudgingly agreed, and asked what his name was. Thinking fast, Aang told her it was Kuzon, and turned towards the class. A few of the students stuck out in his mind.
A very pretty girl called On Ji, a nasty boy called Hide, who, Aang learned later, had a hobby of getting kids expelled. Aang made a mental note to tell the teachers or somebody about this kid. Later that day, Aang overheard something that made him stop cold. It was Hide.
He was chatting with his nasty buddies, and saying that he thought that the avatar was still alive.
"It just makes sense," Hide was saying. "He managed to steer clear of the Fire Nation for 100 years; I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was somehow still alive."
Aang shivered. It couldn't be a coincidence that Hide thought that the Avatar was still alive the day Aang went to a Fire Nation school. Aang later learned that Hide's father was a nobleman, which just added to his growing feel of unease.
Chapter 2:
No one's' P.O.V- third person
Aang survived the day, however, and despite the fact that a few people had suspicions that the Avatar was still alive, even had fun. He returned to the cave where they were camping out, splattered from head to toe in mud, and very late.
"Where have you been?" Katara asked him. "We've been worried sick!"
"I enrolled in a fire nation school!" Aang told them enthusiastically.
"You WHAT!?" Sokka screamed.
"I enrolled in a fire nation school," Aang repeated. He told them all about what happened, leaving out the part about Hide telling his friends that he thought that the Avatar was alive.
"And I'm going back tomorrow." he said
"Aang, are you sure that's a good idea?" Katara asked him.
"Sure it is." he said. "I've already got a picture of Fire Lord Ozai." and pulled a picture out of his bag. Suddenly, Sokka's eyes lit up.
"Hey, while you're in the school," he began, "You could learn all about the fire nation!" So it was decided. Aang would go to school to learn about the fire nation. Little did they know that was a very bad idea.
The next day, Aang went to school again. The teacher announced that they were going on a field-trip to learn how the Fire Nation made weapons.
Towards the end of the day, the girl named On Ji came over to tell her that she liked the funny dance he did earlier. Aang thanked her and told her that he could show it to her sometime, but then her boyfriend Hide showed up, and got really mad at Aang, because he was jealous of all the attention On Ji was giving Aang, and tried to beat him up.
All those encounters with Zuko finally paid off, though, and Aang was able to dodge his attacks easily. But when Hide accidently punched one of the beams holding the place together, it was dented, and Hide told the teachers Aang did it. The teachers and workers where really mad at Aang, but because On Ji said that Hide did most of the damage to the factory, they let him go with a warning. But some of factory workers were clearly displeased that Aang had gotten away with just a warning.
The bad luck came, when Hide, still mad at Aang, hit him in the back on the exact spot Azula had shot him. He arched back and had a flashback of when Azula shot him, as well as the aftermath. He put his head in his hands and composed himself.
"Are you alright, Kuzon?" one of the kids called out.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Aang replied through gritted teeth, and began to walk up the crest of a hill, blinking back tears.
Chapter 3:
No one's P.O.V- third person
He was not ok. His back was killing him. So when On Ji came up to see what was wrong, Aang tried to wipe away the tears, but it was too late. On Ji saw.
"Kuzon, what happened back there?" she asked.
"Nothing." Aang said, but On Ji could detect the pain laced in his voice. "I took first aid." She said.
The next 5 minutes where spent with On Ji trying to get Aang to take off his shirt so that she could get a look at his wound. It wasn't going very well though. Aang was very stubborn.
"See, look. I can stand." Aang stood up, on, what On Ji suspected, was pride alone.
"See, I'm completely-." Aang broke off midsentence, groaning in pain.
"Ok, ok, you win." He said once he'd sat back down, and, with some difficulty, pulled his shirt over his head to reveal bandages covering most of his torso.
On Ji covered her mouth in shock.
"Kuzon, you look like you've been in a fight!" she cried.
"Yeah, you could say that…" Aang said quietly.
"Some fight." On Ji said.
Then she noticed the pale blue tattoos running up and down his arms.
"Kuzon, what's with the tattoos?" she asked. Aang suddenly became aware that he didn't have his shirt to hide his tattoos. He was officially screwed.
"Well, um, see the thing is…" Aang began, only to sigh in defeat moments later.
"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone?" he asked her. On Ji nodded, wondering what the heck was going on.
Aang created a mini tornado in the palm of his hand. For a second, On Ji didn't know what was going on. Then, realization hit her.
"You're an airbender?" she asked him quietly. Aang nodded.
"But the last airbender was-" she began, but Aang cut across her.
"The Avatar." He finished.
"You're the Avatar?" On Ji asked. Aang rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I'm the Avatar." He said tonelessly. On Ji suppressed a squeal.
"That is so cool!" she whispered, her eyes dancing with excitement. "I'm hanging out with the Avatar!"
"Yeah, and I did a great job being the Avatar in Ba Sing Se." Aang thought to himself.
"What happened in Ba Sing Se?" On Ji asked, shaking Aang out of his stupor.
"Did I say that out loud?" he asked. On Ji nodded, trying to keep from smiling. Aang sighed.
"I'll admit, it's not exactly my favourite story, but here we go…" Aang said. On Ji sat cross-legged, beckoning for Aang to start his story.
"My friend Katara and I were fighting Azula." he said. On Ji was shocked.
"The princess Azula?" she asked.
"The very same." Aang replied beginning to talk to his hands now more then On Ji. He waited a moment before continuing.
"The battle was going well, and we were winning." he continued. "But then everything changed for the worse when Zuko joined the fight. They were just too tough, so I went into the Avatar state, and-" Aang gestured to the bandages covering most of his stomach. He took a moment to compose himself, and then faced On Ji, revealing tears starting to prick his storm grey eyes.
"When Azula shot me with lightning, she blocked my seventh chakra, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy." he said in a voice he's fighting to keep steady.
"Without the Avatar state," he continued, his voice wavering more and more with each word. "I don't know if I'll be strong enough to beat the Fire Lord." and swallowed hard. On Ji was silent, not really knowing what to say. She decided to stay silent and just wait for Aang to talk, considering he clearly didn't want to right now.
A few seconds later, Aang looked at On Ji.
"Um, I know this is kinda late, but my name is Aang." He said, blushing ever so slightly. On Ji grinned.
"My name is On Ji." She said. They were silent for a few seconds, neither of them knowing what to say, when a flicker of worry flickered across Aang's face.
"You're- you're not gonna tell anyone I'm the Avatar, right?" he asked uneasily. On Ji shook her head.
"No, I won't tell anyone about your identity." On Ji promised. Aang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks." He said, and with the same amount of difficulty, put his shirt back on.
"You really should see someone about that injury, though, Aang." On Ji said as they began to walk down the hill. "Lightning is very lethal." Aang rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, never would've guessed lightning would be lethal." He said sarcastically. On Ji stifled a laugh.
"But you are right about the medical attention thing, though." He said as they continued to walk down the hill. "I guess I'm lucky that Katara is a healer." A touch of bitterness entered his voice.
"Because we wouldn't want anyone to know the Avatars alive!" On Ji heard him say to himself. "Because it's great that the whole world thinks I'm dead!" Aang continued to mutter to himself, till finally On Ji couldn't stand it anymore. She stopped.
"You hate it, don't you." she said. Aang looked away.
"People already though I'd failed them when I disappeared." he said. "Now it's happened a second time. I may never get to redeem myself." and started walking back down the hill.
On Ji grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
"You already redeemed yourself." she said to him. "You came back." and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, making him blush.
Chapter 4:
No one's P.O.V- third person
Aang came back to cave late. Katara looked at him.
"How was school?" she asked him casually. Aang faced her.
"Bad." He said and then sat on the cave floor. Katara looked surprised.
"But yesterday you seemed so happy and now-"
"It just wasn't a good day. Okay?" Aang spat then walked outside. Katara locked eyes with Sokka.
They walked outside to find out what happened.
"Aang, what happened?" Katara asked. Aang locked eyes with her.
"I got into a fight." he said without looking at either of them. Katara looked surprised.
"But, all those encounters with Zuko, and the Dai Li, and Azula-" she began, but stopped when she noticed the look Aang was giving her.
"Who was the fight with, Aang?" Toph asked. They all jumped.
"Where did you come from?" Sokka asked Toph. She pointed to the mouth of the cave. "There." she said.
"Now Aang, who was the fight with?" Katara prompted.
"Just some kid called Hide." he said without meeting their eye.
"Then why-" Katara's eyes widened. The way Aang was sitting, the timid gestures, she couldn't believe she didn't recognize it. She dropped her gaze.
"He hit you, didn't he?" she said softly. One look from Aang told her the truth.
"Yeah." Aang replied. Toph and Sokka looked bewildered. Katara looked at Sokka. He took the hint.
"C'mon, Toph." he said. "Let's go find some food."
"How many times do I have to remind you, I'm-" Toph's sentence was cut short when Sokka dragged her through the trees. Katara faced Aang.
"How hard did he hit you?" she asked as she began to help him up.
"Pretty hard." Aang said then winced. "How long ago was this fight?" Katara asked. For some unfathomable reason, Aang turned a delicate shade of crimson.
"About a hour." he said after a minute.
"Why didn't you come back sooner?" Katara asked him. Aang went scarlet.
"Um, I got lost." he mumbled. Katara stopped short.
"That's gotta be the most pathetic lie I ever heard, and I grew up with Sokka." she said. Aang turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Um, well, see, the thing is-" he began but was interrupted when Sokka came back into the cave, almost dragging Toph.
"There's this kid and he's looking for a kid called Kuzon, and he's got some solders with him. Says he sabotaged some factory or something like that, and he has a girl hostage, and she'll be put under house arrest if he doesn't show." He locked eyes with Aang.
"That's you isn't it, Twinkle Toes?" Toph said.
"Yeah." Aang replied. "That's me." and walked out to face Hide.
Chapter 5:
No one's P.O.V- third person
"Aang, what on earth do you think you're doing?" Katara asked him. Aang looked her in the eye.
"I'm facing Hide." he said, and continued to walk down the crest of the hill.
"In your condition? Are you sure that's wise?" Toph asked him.
"No." Aang replied. "But I feel like it's the right thing to do."
"I think you're forgetting that you won't be able bend your way out of this situation, Aang." Katara told him. Aang stopped.
"Yeah." He said.
"Then why are you doing this?" Sokka asked. Aang faced him.
"Because if I don't, no one will. Besides, I don't really wanna see some person under house arrest just becaus I ran away." Aang replied, and then walked over the crest of the hill.
No sooner had he walked over the crest of the hill, and then he came back.
"Okay, too many guards." he said. "Let's just leave on Appa and then-" But then a scream drowned out the rest of his words. Aang very slowly, turned around.
"No." he said to no one in particular. Hide had On Ji in handcuffs and was trying to force her to tell her where 'Kuzon' was. On Ji wasn't crying though. She was glaring daggers at Hide.
"No way am I telling you where he is!" she screamed at him.
"Look, On Ji, if you just tell me where the kid is, I'll let you go." he said as he held a key in her face. On Ji screwed up her face, and then spat a thick, slimy glob of spittle onto Hide's face.
"Yuck!" he spat. He motioned to the guards- who, upon closer inspection, weren't all guards, but some factory workers, and some of the meanest looking teachers he had ever seen, but just as bad as fire navy solders- to take On Ji away. Suddenly Aang jumped put onto the clearing. Hide grinned.
"Ah, so now your back, aren't you?" Aang narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm here." he said. Katara nudged him.
"Aang, what do you think you're doing?" she hissed.
"I have no idea." Aang said. Hide smiled an evil smile.
"You're not from the fire nation, are you?" he sneered. Aang stopped short.
"What makes you say I'm not from the Fire nation?" Aang asked, but you could detect the slight waver in his voice. Hide snorted.
"Please, how stupid do you think I am?" he asked. "You're obviously not from the fire nation or from the colonies, so where are you from?" Aang frowned.
"Why would I tell you?" he asked, then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. He had accidently told Hide he wasn't from the fire nation. But all that was nothing compared to what was about to happen.
When Aang had whipped his hand over his mouth, Hide saw a glint of blue. He thought it was just a flicker of his imagination, but now that he was actually looking for it, he noticed a small blue thing on "Kuzon's" hand. It took his a moment to realize what it was. When he did, curiosity began to take hold when he realized it was a light blue arrow.
"Why do you have an arrow on your hand?" hide asked, speaking purely out of curiosity. Aang looked at his hand as if just realizing part of his tattoo was showing. He quickly shoved his hand behind his back, forgetting he was surrounded.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He lied. But an idea had started to form in Hide's head, and he was curious to find out whether or not he was right.
"Handcuffs." Hide ordered. "Now." As soon as the words left his mouth, two of the factory workers came of behind Aang and pinned his arms behind his back. Hide walked forward and ripped the headband off Aang's head, revealing the fact that he was the Avatar.
Hide gasped, he'd thought that the Avatar may be alive, but he didn't expect to be right.
Aang was still glaring daggers at Hide, probably wishing to bend a rock onto his head. Hide suddenly grinned like a madman.
"Release him." He said to the factory workers. They obeyed. Aang looked at Hide warily, rubbing his wrists.
"I'll make a deal with you, arrowhead." Hide said. "An Agni Kai. You win; the girl isn't placed under house arrest and is set free. I win, well; obviously you'll be taken to the fire lord." Aang stared up at Hide.
"And if I refuse?" he asked, already suspecting the answer. Hide shrugged.
"Well, you'll be brought to the firelord either way," he said. "Though if you refuse the girl gets sent to prison along with you." Aang frowned, and then suddenly smirked.
"And what do we do if it turns out I don't know any firebending?" he asked. Hide stopped short.
"You're kidding right?" he asked incredulously. When Aang remained silent, Hide burst out laughing.
"Oh, this is hilarious." He said. "An Avatar who doesn't know firebending!" Hide was laughing so hard he didn't notice the hateful glare Aang was giving him. He did, however, notice, when a gigantic gust of wind blew him flat on his back. He stood up unsteady, glaring at the Avatar.
"You wanna fight?" Hide asked, trying to sound intimidating, but the truth was, the idea of fighting the Avatar terrified him.
"If you're brave enough to." Aang said. Hide glared even harder at Aang, and launched a fireball at his face.
Chapter 6:
No one's P.O.V- third person
Aang could imminently tell that Hide had control over his firebending. Well, hurray for Hide. Aang thought. Aang was still able to dodge his attacks though, but not as easily as he had earlier. He was beginning to regret confronting Hide. He was injured, and was probably going to lose. However, he was putting up a pretty good fight.
For a brief minute, he thought he was winning. Then guards and a few fire navy soldiers joined the fight. Aang began to panic. He was going to lose, he just knew it. Finally Aang collapsed out of sheer exhaustion and pain.
Why had he gone to fight? Then the answer hit him. He was angry, at Azula, at Zuko, but mostly himself. That's why he'd gone to fight. He wanted to prove that the avatar was alive, even if it totally backfired on him. Suddenly Aang got an idea. A crazy one, but still an idea.
He got to his feet; despite the fact that his back felt like it was gonna split open, and levitated a rock over Hide's head. Hide laughed.
"So, this is how easy it is to defeat the Avatar." he gloated. "No wonder Princess Azula took you down so easily in the earth kingdom."
Aang smiled to himself. Hide was so absorbed in the fact that he thought that he'd beaten the Avatar, that he hadn't noticed the rock that was about to fall on his head. One of the guards did though, and he tried to give a warning call, but it was too late. The rock fell on Hide's head, knocking him unconscious.
The guards and soldiers and teachers tried to go and handcuff Aang, but he blew a gust of wind at them, knocking them back down the hill. Aang suddenly remembered On Ji handcuffed. He ran over to the spot where Hide had thrown her aside.
"Are you ok?" he asked her. On Ji looked at him like he was crazy.
"You're asking if I'm ok?" she asked incredulously. "What about you?"
"I'm fine." Aang said as he fiddled with the lock on the handcuffs. On Ji knew he was lying, though. It was easy to tell. It was the way he was sitting, the way he didn't move much, the list goes on.
After about five minutes of fiddling with the lock, Aang managed to break it by using earthbending.
"There," he said after she'd taken her hands out of the shackles and was rubbing her wrists. "Now you go run, or walk, or whatever, just get out of here." On Ji nodded once, and then took off. Aang sighed, and, with some difficulty, stood up. He shook his head as a new wave of pain rolled in. Staggering slightly, he made his way back to his friends.
"Ok, let's just leave on Appa and just go somewhere else." He said wearily.
"Ok, where do you think we should go?" Katara asked. Aang started walking.
"I really don't care. You guys decide." He said with a definite note of fatigue in his voice. The others took the hint, and pretty just left Aang alone as they climbed on Appa and left. They did, however, make sure Aang didn't fall asleep at the reigns. But finally, when he actually did manage to fall asleep at the reigns, Katara took over steering Appa so that Aang could get some sleep. He didn't argue, and within seconds he had drifted off into a blissful, dreamless oblivion.
Chapter 7:
No one's P.O.V- third person
When Aang regained consciousness, he found out he was back in a cave. He sat up and shook his head.
"Whoa." he muttered. "How long was I out?"
"A few hours." Katara said. Aang jumped.
"Sorry." Katara said.
"Where are we?" Aang asked.
"I have no idea. We just kept flying till we thought we were safe." she answered.
"What's wrong, Katara?" Aang asked. Katara bit her lip.
"Well, it's just the way that you seemed so eager to protect the girl, even though you've never met her." she said. Aang smiled slightly.
"Oh, the girl?" he asked. "Her name is On Ji."
"How do you know that?" Katara asked. Aang suddenly started squirming, Katara took this a sign that he did not want to talk about this subject.
"Well, you remember how I told you about the fight with Hide?" he asked slowly. Katara nodded, not seeing where this was going.
"Well, I sorta left one part out…" he said, then explained about how On Ji figured out he was the Avatar. Once he'd finished his story, Katara looked like she was going to blow a gasket.
"Aang!" she scolded him. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Aang shrugged.
"I didn't really wanna hear one of Sokka's lectures." He said. Katara nodded, though she still looked a little unsure.
"Katara, On Ji won't tell anyone about my Avatar status." He said, pleading slightly. Katara hesitated, then delivered her verdict.
"Fine," she said. "I guess I can take your word for it. But what about the other guy? He's bound to tell the firelord the avatar's alive." Aang shook his head.
"He wont, actually." He said. Katara folded her arms across her chest.
"And what makes you say that?" she asked.
"If news gets out that the Avatar is alive, Hide would have to deal with other people trying to capture the Avatar." Aang said, finding it strange to talk about himself in 3rd person. Katara nodded, agreeing with Aang.
"What do we do now?" Katana asked. Aang shrugged.
"I dunno." he said. "I've spent most of this trip knocked out. You tell me." For the first time since Aang woke up, she smiled
"Well, you're the Avatar." she said. "What do you think we should do?" Aang tried to stand up, but went paper white, and had to sit back down again.
"Well, I guess we could just leave on Appa and wait for the invasion." Aang said. Katara shrugged.
"Beats any other plan we've come up with." She said.
Epilogue:
On Ji was running through the woods. She couldn't let Hide find her. When she heard the sound of rhinos, she quickly scaled a tree and hid.
How long she'd been on the run, she couldn't remember. She listened quietly to the conversation.
"We have to find that kid." The one guy said to the other. The other guy nodded. "She's the one chance we have of finding the Avatar."
With a jolt, On Ji realized that they were talking about her. She knew that, of course, but it still sent chills down her spine.
"Remember, if you do find her, don't hurt her." said a voice On Ji recognized. Hide. On Ji gritted her teeth. Hide was nasty, just plain nasty.
"And keep an eye out for the flying bison." Another voice added. On Ji suddenly grinned. Flying bison? Easy enough to find. When Hide and the others left, she jumped down from her tree, and took off running. She had to find Aang. The fate of the world might depend on it.
The End