A/N: Hiya this is my first Avatar fic hope you like it lol. :) I don't own Avatar, by the way, but I do own Tess, Brinn, Cally, Jan, and Mckenzie.
Tess grumbled under her breath, pulling the vacuum back towards herself and pushing it out again to get up some dog hair. She'd made a deal with her mother: if she cleaned the house, then she would get to have her friends over for the Avatar marathon tonight. They were coming over fifteen minutes before the marathon, just about… now.
Ding, dong, rang the doorbell. Tess shut off the vacuum and rushed to the front door. There was Mackenzie, standing out on the front porch in the rain.
"Hi!" Tess greeted, "Just be sure to take your shoes off." Mackenzie popped off her shoes as Tess's dog Rover came trotting up to her and wagged his tail faster than a speeding cheetah. Mackenzie cooed at the dog, getting black dog hair all over her tan capris in the process. Mackenzie giggled, and Tess frowned, chastising the dog.
"Oh don't worry, my puppy Yinda sheds on me all the time."
Tess nodded hastily, picking up Mackenzie's shoes and dropping them off in the entryway. She pushed a button on the wall and the garage opened up outside. She opened up the door to the garage, waving as her friends Cally and Jan came running into the garage, umbrella in hand.
"Hey!" shouted Tess. Cally grinned and Jan waved. Within a moment, another van pulled up in Tess's driveway—Brinn's van! Brinn was another one of Tess's friends; Brinn was very logical and analytical, somewhat like Tess.
"Brinn!" shouted Tess as Jan and Cally went inside. Ignoring the rain, Tess rushed out on the driveway to embrace her friend.
"The marathon begins in a few minutes," commented Brinn. Tess nodded; Nick had canceled Catscratch to show the entire second half of Book I: Water of Avatar, from chapters fourteen to twenty. Tess couldn't wait.
"C'mon," she said, and she and Brinn rushed inside.
"Someone turn on the T.V.!" shouted Brinn as Jan, Cally, and Mackenzie plopped onto the sofa in front of the television.
"I'll get popcorn!" yelled Tess. She tore open a cabinet and pulled out a bag of popcorn, stuffing it in the microwave. Tess didn't really care if she missed The Fortuneteller; she didn't especially like the Kataang fluff of the episode, but all her other friends did. She sighed, but brightened cheerfully when the popcorn finished cooking.
Tess opened up the bag of popcorn and dumped it into a bowl. A quick flash of lightning lit up her backyard, but she paid no attention to it. Storms wouldn't ruin her night. Oh, not at all.
"Popcorn's done," she told no one in particular as she plopped down on the floor. Cally and Jan made squealing sounds as Aang came marching proudly out of the fortune telling area onscreen, having just eavesdropped on Katara's fortune. Tess sent Cally a look.
Cally laughed at Tess' look. "Oh, you and your stupid Karu ship, Tess," she taunted. Tess rolled her eyes, taking an extra hard bite of popcorn.
After a while, a commercial break came around and the popcorn was gone. Tess stretched out her arms.
"So what d'ya think of Avatar, Mackenzie?" asked Tess.
"It's a nice show, I think, but the romance is a little bit too much for me."
Tess laughed a little. "You obviously haven't met Haru yet," Tess mused, "'cause he and Katara will hook up in Book II."
"No they aren't, Tess! Get real! Aang and Katara like each other. Duh!" spat back Cally.
"You know," Brinn said, "they're all going to have to go back to the Earth Kingdom because Aang needs to learn Earthbending, so—"
"Katara will meet up with Haru again? It's already been discussed by our beloved Karu shipper here," Cally commented dryly, glancing over at Tess. Then a suspicious look crossed Cally's face. "I thought you shipped Kataang?"
Brinn frowned. "I ship Sokka and Suki, actually," came the bitter response.
"Well—" started Cally.
Jan shushed Cally and Brinn. "It's on again! Be quiet!"
Just as the next segment of the show continued, all the power went out in the house. An explosive roll of thunder accompanied a large streak of lightning. In the dark, Tess heard someone scream. She tried to speak, but she couldn't. There was absolute silence and blank darkness all around her, and she couldn't find another living creature.
"Have I died?" Tess thought. But no, she could open her eyes again, and there was a bright light as well as a sort of reddish blur above her. Everything slowly came into focus. A man adorned in red and black armor had a spear pointed at her face, while two other men in armor conversed.
"—found them lying here in this alley, sir, just now. I have no idea who they are—"
"Peasants, perhaps?"
"Sir, their clothing is rather strange—very foreign. They might be spies. We have to hold them and custody and do a background check before letting them go, sir. It's the standard procedure in Chakin."
"Yes. Well, do that, Lieutenant."
"Or course, Admiral Li sir."
The man called Admiral Li strutted over to where Tess and a few others were lying—her friends, Brinn, Jan, Cally, and Mackenzie! Tess turned her head to better see her friends, and the armored man above her pressed his spear to her neck threateningly.
"This one's awake, sir," stated the soldier. Admiral Li turned from the other girls he had been curiously observing to Tess.
"You," he said to Tess, "stand up and state your name and Nation and business in Chakin."
Tess's eyes flicked from Admiral Li to the spear pointed at her neck.
"You heard the good sir, get up!"
The soldier hoisted her up by the arm, pushing her towards Admiral Li. Trembling, Tess stared at the dusty ground.
"What is your name, young Miss? By great Agni, speak already!" hollered Admiral Li.
Tess was still shaking; she couldn't tell this man her real name. She couldn't trust him, whoever he was.
"My name is Sakae," she said randomly. She had chosen the name just now and hoped to God that it was Asian.
"Ah, Prosperity. Rare of a female except if she marries to a man of riches or ambition. You married, Prosperity?"
"No," Tess responded. So that was what 'Sakae' meant: Prosperity.
"Hmm," commented Admiral Li thoughtfully. "Well, what Nation are you from? Who are these people?" He pointed to Tess's friends.
"I am of the…" Tess thought for a minute, "the Water Nation, though I am visiting my best friend, Jing Wei," she pointed to Jan, "who is from the Fire Nation."
'Whoa,' Tess thought, 'I know I'm in Avatar? How? I confuse myself.'
Admiral Li stroked his beard, giving a suspicious eye to Tess.
"You say your friend Small Bird is of the Fire Nation, Prosperity? Then why is her clothing so strange?"
"Oh? I, um—Jing Wei's family is very—very strange, sir. They lent me and my other friends these clothes and let us venture out for the day into Chakin."
"Ah," stated Admiral Li, still looking at Tess. "And who are your other friends?"
Tess swallowed, and pointed to Cally. "That is Kichi, sir, from the Earth Nation." Tess paused, and then gestured to Brinn. "That is An, sir, also from the Earth Nation," and lastly, Tess pointed to Mackenzie, "This is Mei Xing, sir, from my own Nation."
"Fortunate, Peace, and Beautiful Star. Strange names for strange young women, I suppose. Please, Prosperity, come with me. Men! Bring these four girls with you, if you please."
"Yes sir!"
"Of course, Admiral Li sir!"
Tess watched as the soldiers around her picked up her friends. She turned to Admiral Li as he addressed her.
"Go with Lieutenant Cong, Prosperity. He will take you and your friends to the army headquarters just outside of Chakin."
"Yessir."
Tess nodded, turning to follow Lieutenant Cong. The Lieutenant ordered his men to move forward, and they did, setting a course for outside the city.
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