DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING... :(
So, here it is... my first ever published fanfic. I've been reading stories on this website for about a year now, so I thought it was about time I wrote one. I hope it isn't too bad. FYI, I'll be publishing chapters weekly. Please R&R, and be don't worry about insulting me, I'm Toph! :)
Remember... ^^THe SHaDoWPuPPeTTe iS aLWaYS WaTCHiNG^^
I have a dream
A song to sing
To help me cope
With anything
If you see the wonder
Of a fairy tale
You can take the future
Even if you fail
Twenty year old Korra Ice looks out the window of her bedroom, watching her mother waterbend an ice surfboard and set out to sea. Making sure no one notices, she summon three messenger hawks. The birds coo quietly as she gives them each a separate scroll to deliver. She kisses each of the hawks on the beak while whispering the names of the people they're delivering to, "Zuko Prince… Aang Avatar… Jet Free…"
A Few Days Later…
Up in the mountains of the South, a hawk lands on a branch growing out of the cliff's side. A flying lemur, who was eating fruit nearby, spies him and carefully takes the scroll from its pouch before shooing it away. Carefully holding the scroll in his tail, the lemur flies up above the clouds to an ancient temple. He flies into the stables, where a man clad in orange and yellow is brushing the fur on his flying bison. The man turns and, upon seeing his pet approaching, holds out his tattooed arm as a perch. It decided to land on his bald, tattooed instead. Annoyed, the man pulls the lemur down by his tail.
"Hey, Momo," the man scratches the lemur behind his bat-like ears. He sees the scroll and tries to pry it out of Momo's grasp. "What you got there, buddy?"
The two fight over the message until Momo spots a fruit nearby and lets go, leaving the man to fall on his back gracelessly. He makes a frog face before opening the scroll. His face slowly turns from annoyed to shocked, and at the end of the letter he is shaking from excitement. He jumps up off the floor and rides an air scooter out of the stables. After whistling shortly, he grabbed a wooden staff leaning against the wall in the temple. As he neared the exit of the temple, the scooter thinned and eventually couldn't hold his weight any longer, so he settled for a sprint. He ran right off the edge of the cliff's edge, making sure to hit his staff against the ground so that wings sprung out of the side of the staff to form a glider.
He swiftly flew down to the Southern Ports, smiling from ear to ear, with Momo swooping in not far behind.
"Prince Zuko," an elderly man called in a sing-song voice from the kitchen. He walked to the table occupied by his old group of friends, the White Lotus.
"Uncle," the youngest member face-palmed, grumbling. "I've been Fire Lord for over twenty years now, do you really have to call me that?"
"You will always be a prince to me, my nephew," he replied. He cocked an eyebrow, smiling smugly. "You still act like one."
This caused the whole table to break out in sniggers, except for Zuko, who had a slight blush dusting his right cheek. He cleared his throat loudly, silencing the elders.
"Anyways," he said forcefully. "What did you need, Uncle?"
"Ah, yes," Iroh paused for a minute. "I need some help making this next batch of tea..."
"You need help making tea?" Zuko said disbelievingly.
"Yes," Iroh defended, feigning innocence. "A poor old man like me often forgets things..."
"Forgets how to make tea?"
"Please?"
Zuko glared daggers at his uncle, before grudgingly getting up and stalking towards the back of the shop. He glanced behind him to see Iroh following with an exaggerated, but triumphant, smile on his face. His goofiness caused the younger to smirk, rolling his eyes as he turned back around muttering, "Whatever, crazy old man."
The two went into the kitchen, only to see the tea already being made. Zuko leaned back against wall, crossing his arms as he eyed the whistling old man.
"Alright, Uncle," he said accusingly. He noticed how Iroh kept his hands behind his back, out of Zuko's sight. "What's really going on? It must be important if you couldn't say it in front of the White Lotus."
"Oh, nothing much," Iroh shrugged. "Earlier today I received a messenger hawk from a... certain lady friend of yours?"
Iroh winked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows dramatically. However, Zuko didn't understand.
"Mai?" Zuko raised his eyebrow, uncrossing his arms. "That's what's so important? Uncle, we're divorced, and I have more important thin-"
"Not Mai," Iroh corrected. He held the scroll out. "A certain special lady friend of yours."
Zuko looked questioningly at his Uncle, who simply gestured for him to take it. He reached out hesitantly, confused by who the letter could be from. He read through the letter quickly, eyes widening upon seeing who it was from. He looked up quickly to see a nod of confirmation.
That was when Iroh saw his nephew at his happiest. Zuko's face broke into a wide grin, and his eyes were almost shining as he ran his hands through his dark hair.
"I already have your things packed," Iroh grinned as he held up a bag he had kept behind his back with the scroll.
Zuko hugged him tightly, briefly saying, "Thank you, Uncle," before heading out the door with his pack and the scroll held tight in his grasp.
"Gentlemen," he said in a rush. He bowed, still trying to be respectful. "Excuse me, but I have to go. Important last minute business. Thank you, and take care."
He rushed out of the Jasmine Dragon, looking up and down the streets of Ba Sing Se. Not far down the road he saw an ostrich-horse tied up. He threw the pack up onto it, made sure it was secure, and untied the horse. He took off the flashy armor and outer robes, settling with the simpler inner robes to make the trip quicker. To make sure no passerby's noticed him, he let his hair down and tucked his crest in his pocket. Then he jumped on the horse and took off, ignoring the person shouting behind him.
"I'll return it!" he waved farewell to his chuckling Uncle. "I swear by my honor!"
In the forests, the leader of the "Freedom Fighters" swings across vines through his treehouse village, ignoring the protests of his companions. He pushes his way past the others as he tried to reach the elevator.
"Sir, there's a group of Fire Nation thugs-"
"Take a group and scare them off, maybe bring a few back here for interrogation. Try not to kill anyone, though, you know we've changed our ways."
"Hey, man, let's go get a drink-"
"Sorry, not right now. I'll double the booze next week, just for you."
"Dude, where you going-"
"I got an urgent message, I'm taking a vacation. I'm going back to Ember Island."
"Ember Island?!"
"What about what happened last-"
"Don't worry, I'm sure she's over it by now..."
"Well, tell us about the feisty fire ladies when you get back!"
"Whatever, man!"
"Good morning, Sir-"
"Morning, Longshot," he called, finally reaching the lift. He slid down the rope, jumping off about halfway down and running through the forest. He finally reached a small town in the outskirts of the woods. He took off down the streets, looking for any type of transportation. "Hey! Can't a guy get a lift around here?"
No one noticed him, they just walked past him chattering amongst themselves. Frustrated, and somewhat insulted, he kicked over a nearby cart full of cabbages. The old man who ran the stand started chasing the cabbages downhill, crying all the way down, "My cabbages! My cabbages! My-"
"Oh, no you don't," grabbing his one of his swords, he hooked the elder by his belt loop and started to drag him back uphill. He tied each of the mans arms to the cart before roughly jumping into the back. "I've got places to be, and unless you want me to tear your cabbages to shreds, you're gonna stop crying and cooperate!"
Instantly the cabbage man fell silent, his face starting to pale in fear for his dear cabbages. The passenger smirked proudly, a blade of grass sticking out of his mouth.
"Well," he shot at the elder. He pulled out a cabbage on the end of a fishing pole, waving it in the air enticingly. The old man perked up instantly, trying to reach for it, but unable to move his arms. "Are you gonna deliver, or no? Forget your cabbages, I have a wedding to get to! Come on, nearest port to Ember Island, ASAP!"
He waved the cabbage in front of the man, gripping the side of the cart tightly. He laughed as they took off at lightning speed through the streets.
"Look out!" he warned the crowd. He swore under his breath as a few people were run over, apparently with slow reflexes. He swore under his breath, "Just like an ostrich-horse with a carrot..."
On the docks of Ember Island, Asami Sota and Opal Earth have been dropped ashore. At the sight of their best friend, Korra, they raced down the dock shrieking, "Oh my Gods!"
"I missed you," Korra laughed, then she paused. "Oh no…"
The girls hummed, "We're…"
They chanted in unison, clapping their hands and stomping, "Water, Earth, and Fire! We're the greatest, bestest mates!"
Korra flexed, "I'm tough!"
Asami posed, "I'm tall!"
Opal jumped, "I'm tiny!"
They all hugged, "And we're gonna rock this place!"
They laughed and started walking down the beach together, the girls sharing stories about their trip to the island. They're conversation went from passing by herds of elephant koi, to sailing through the serpents pass, and eventually ended around throwing some flirts overboard. They were already nearing Korra's beach house when they decided to stop and rest. Suddenly, Asami grasped Korra's hand and gasped.
"Korra," she whispered, eyes shining. "It's beautiful!"
Opal gazed longingly at the diamond ring. She moaned, "I want one."
"He did well," Asami laughed, releasing her hand. "Didn't he?"
"I'm getting married tomorrow," Korra sighed dreamily. "I'm so glad you're here, because I have a secret and I can't tell anybody else."
They paused to look at each other, Korra grinning widely. Suddenly, they got the wrong idea.
"Korra!" Opal knelt down with one hand over Korra's stomach. "You're knocked up?"
"No!" Korra exclaimed. She blushed, shaking her head madly. "No, no, no! I've invited my dad to my wedding."
"You are joking!" Asami's hands flew up to her mouth.
"You found him at last?" Opal smiled, her arms crossed over her heart.
"No!" Korra grunted. Why was this so hard to explain? "No, no, no, no, no, not exactly. Okay, you know what my mom always said when I asked about my father."
Both girls shook their heads, allowing her to continue. Her voice raised to a false dreamy tone.
"'It was a summer romance, and he'd gone long before she realized she was expecting me.' Well, I always accepted that that's all I'd ever know. Well, I was ransacking some old trunks and I found this."
After checking to make sure no one was looking, she reached into the sack she had dragged along with her. She sat down on a rock at the edge of the sea, and pulled out a box of old water tribe scrolls. Asami and Opal just gave her confused glances, sitting down across from her.
"It's the scrolls she wrote in the year she was pregnant with me."
"Korra!" Asami whispered, shocked.
What is Korra doing with her mother's diary, and why are the guys in such a rush? We'll see next week... or will we?