By Luna Silvereyes
Author's note: I do not own any of the Avatar Characters used in my story. I only own Lily, Katie, Kathleen, Nancy, Les, Father Dennis, Patrick, and whomever else you don't recognize from the show.
Chapter1: A Strange Surprise
Lily returned to her house with a heavy heart, eyelids and feet. Her eyes were sore, she was out of breath from blowing the whistle constantly and she felt as though she were about to collapse at any moment as she pulled into her street from her job as a referee down at the high school. Being a referee wasn't as bad as taking orders down at the local Burger King. That was humiliating enough, being jeered at by the lucky rich kids who came to the place every night with their girl and boy friends. A lousy minimum wage of two-fifty an hour was barely enough to live poorly on. Candy bars, popcorn and macaroni was about all she could afford outside of necessities, such as toothpaste, toiletries, clothes at the donation center and taxes, lots and lots of taxes.
She screeched to a halt as a cat darted across the road. She sat gripping the steering wheel and panting with frustration. She was at her last nerve and wanted nothing more than to turn on her favorite Friday night program and watch what she lived for, for an hour or so before her mother returned home. Avatar-The Last Airbender, her favorite show. She loved coming home on Fridays, switching it on and following the adventures of Aang, Sokka, Katara, Momo, their newest member, Toph, Prince Zuko and Iroh. Zuko was her favorite character because they both had had traumatic experiences in their lives over the past few years. For her, it had been the death of her father. For Zuko, it had been the Agni-Kai and the scar. That plus the banishment made things so much worse and she marveled at his ability to adapt to whatever came his way.
She sighed happily as she anticipated the show. Tonight would be a re-run because of some delays at the studio she'd read about online. She'd make due as well as some popcorn as a rare treat anyway. She pulled the car into the driveway and shut the engine off, leaning back against the torn upholstery and closing her eyes for a brief second. She couldn't wait to be audience for an hour unlike her job as a referee. There, the volleyball players called her names, made fun of how she dressed, and hated her judging. The people on the Avatar show didn't shun her appearance. She felt as though they were her friends.
She opened her eyes, opened the door and patted 'Old Charlie' on the hood. That's what she called the old bug. She'd gotten him for peanuts and now she was paying the price. She thought she was getting a great deal when she forked over five hundred for it. It was some deal all right. The seller got five hundred clams and she got a tin can on wheels. He was a sad sight. His paint was chipping, the transitions about shot, the door rusting off its frame and the wheels held together with scotch tape.
" What I wouldn't trade you for." She muttered, staring at the hood as it smoked from sudden engine implosion. It wasn't enough he needed an oil change every few weeks, he'd actually stalled on interstate 90 once when she was going to visit her pen-pal out of state.
She turned her back on the pathetic old junk heap and headed for the front door.
" Hey girlie! I hear the funnies are looking for a raggedy old girl to play the main role! Interested?" a voice yelled from the road. Lily turned her head and saw a red pickup truck sitting in the road with two teenage boys sitting in the cab. One of them was snickering in her direction.
" Get a life, mama's boy!" Lily yelled back. The boy in the truck flipped her off and drove away. Lily muttered something under her breath and fitted the key into the lock in the door so she could get in before they decided to turn around. She stepped inside, shut the door and fumbled around on the wall for the light switch.
The light flicked on and Lily sighed in relief to be home at last. She fumbled through her pocket and pulled out her shiny silver whistle. As much as she hated her job, she liked her whistle. It had cost her five dollars and to her, was worth just as much. She stuck it into her jeans pocket and took of her coat, hanging it on the back of a chair by the table. Her stomach began to rumble and she decided to start making the popcorn now before calling to check in with Kathleen. She padded toward the kitchen and flicked on the light switch.
Instantly, she froze. A strange and unsettling noise was echoing up from the basement. It sounded like voices and she quieted to hear properly.
" I think someone's in the house!"
" Quiet Uncle, you'll give us away!"
" I can't see a thing. Where's my water pouch?"
" Will you all just shut up?"
Lily felt her heartbeat quicken and she reached into a nearby drawer for a knife. The one she picked was long and sharp, used for slicing hard vegetables and whatnot. She held it tightly in front of her and began to descend the stairs to the basement. Beyond the stairs, she could see the back door leading to the yard. She hoped no one was out there. Being alone with someone prowling around your house is one of the scariest things imaginable, at least if you were a girl. Most prowlers tended to think that girls were easier targets and less likely to fight back. That kind of talk made her blood boil.
Lily reached the bottom step, brandishing the knife before her into the impending darkness, expecting something horrifying to suddenly leap out and start slashing through her neck. Nothing emerged however and she stepped onto the threshold of the basement and studied the dark room. She couldn't see anything yet. She hoped that when she turned on the basement light, as she was about to do, that she'd imagined it all out of hunger and that nothing was wrong. The light flicked on.
At first, Lily thought she was sleepwalking. But when she went to pinch herself and scratched herself with the knife instead, she knew she was fully awake. Her pupils were dilating; she could feel it. She wanted to believe, but she didn't, wanted to not to see, but she did.
The Avatar characters were all sitting in her basement, staring wide-eyed at her. She knew every one.
" Good Lord!" she exclaimed, lowering the knife. " I know you!" she yelled, pointing to the group.
" You know us?" the boy with the arrow tattoo on his head piped up.
" How could you know us?" a little girl with black, stringy hair and misty eyes remarked, her arms folded and her feet up against the wall as she lay staring at Lily, though not really seeing her. Lily dropped the knife to the floor and moved forward into a chair, facing them.
" I know you." She repeated, coming out of the temporary trance she'd been in. She was regaining her senses now and beginning to realize that this wasn't a reality show with hidden cameras. There was no one on earth who fit the archetypes of the Avatar cast so perfectly. They all continued to stare at her.
" I really do know you." She said with more sincerity in her voice. Across the room, a man with a topknot in his hair and fire nation armor scowled at her. " How do you know us?" he growled. " Prove it."
Lily narrowed her eyes to mere slits. " Fine." She murmured. She got to her feet and looked at everyone in turn. She could simply name off the names, but that was boring. The characters were as follows: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Momo, Zhao, Iroh, Suki and Zuko. But she wanted to make this interesting. She took a deep breath and pointed to Zhao.
" You." She said. " You are Admiral Zhao, supposedly dead at the North Pole after having been dragged beneath the sea by the ocean spirit." She pointed to each and every character with a brief description: " You are General Iroh, retired and sometimes known as 'The Dragon of The West'. You are fond of Ginseng Tea and Pai-chow. Your favorite gambit is the lotus tile.
" You are Toph, blind daughter of a wealthy earth kingdom dweller and commonly known as 'The Blind Bandit', expert at Earthbending and currently training the avatar.
" You are Katara, expert waterbender and trainer of the avatar as well. You wear your dead mother's necklace as a reminder of her.
" You are Sokka, brother to Katara and companion to the avatar. You are a warrior who hates firebenders.
" You are Suki of Kyoshi Island. You are a warrior and very proud of your ability to skillfully defeat any boy in combat and you began your warrior training at the age of eight.
" You are Aang, the avatar and the last Airbender. You are currently mastering waterbending and working on earth. You own the only remaining known winged lemur, Momo and the last Sky-bison, Appa.
" Finally, you are Zuko, exiled prince of the fire nation for doing what you believed was right and just."
Lily concluded with a prompt nod and folded her arms. Everyone present stared at her, bewildered.
" How did you know all that?" Sokka exclaimed.
" How did you know I started my training at eight?" Suki demanded.
" How did you know I wear my mother's necklace as a reminder of her?" Katara yelled. Lily simply smiled. " Dear, dear people. I am a friend. I welcome you, with the exception of one simple question…WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING IN MY BASEMENT!"
" We're sorry to intrude, but we don't know either." Aang said amiably, stroking a contented Momo. Lily sighed and rubbed her head with her hand. " So you don't know what you're all doing here and I'm now stuck with eight new people to take care of? Oh boy." She collapsed back into the chair. " Please tell me I'm dreaming. I can't afford to care for all of you." She moaned. Katara moved closer to the chair. " We can leave if we have to. We don't want to be any trouble. The fire nation can't find the avatar." She said.
" Since when do we take orders from Water tribe peasants?" Zuko snapped.
" For once I agree with him!" Zhao yelled.
" Was I giving orders? Or are you firebenders dumber than I thought?" Katara retorted angrily.
" I'll vouch for that!" Sokka cried, whipping out his boomerang. Aang attempted to calm the situation, but in the end, he wound up arguing as well. Only Iroh seemed to be in control of his actions as he sat, looking like he was about to doze off. Lily groaned and pulled her whistle out of her pocket. She met eye contact with General Iroh and held up the whistle, miming to blow it and that he should cover his ears. He got the message and immediately did so. Lily inhaled deeply and blew. The shrill blast that erupted from the whistle bounced from wall to wall and made every single person in the room cover their ears and retreat from the battle. Lily got to her feet, familiar instinct taking over and confidence returning.
" FOUL!" she shrieked at everyone. " MOVE TO A NEUTRAL ZONE, ON THE DOUBLE!!"
" What are you talking about?" Zhao demanded.
" Now listen here, Admiral Zhao, This is my house, my basement and for all we know, my world! Not your world! So long as you're under this roof, you follow my rules! I don't want to be a bully here; I want to try to help you all as best I can. And in order for me to do that, you'll all have to work with me to keep peace between one another. Do I make myself clear, or does my whistle have anything else to say?" she said threateningly. Zhao glared at the little silver trinket that had subdued him and grumbled to himself. She looked at everyone in turn and, one by one, they all backed away from her. Lily instantly felt drained again and she sank back down onto the chair, determined to stay there this time. She sighed.
" Why don't you all have a seat?" she suggested. They obeyed. Zhao sat down on the end of the sofa, several feet from Iroh. Zuko took a seat on the floor about three feet from the chair she was seated in. Katara and Aang sat down by the television. Sokka and Suki sat down beside the wall and Toph stayed where she was. Momo glided up and hung from the ceiling lamp.
" Comfy everyone?" Lily said. They all nodded simultaneously.
" Good. To start, my name is Lillian Lorraine Jackson, Lily for short. I will explain the basic ground rules. One: no bending."
At that, everyone began to complain. " No bending? That's ridiculous!" Toph yelled, flipping right side up. " I'm supposed to be teaching the avatar to earth bend. How can I do that if I can't teach him anything?"
" I need to waterbend! I'm teaching Aang too!" Katara complained. Everyone started to yell out their various complaints. Lily held up her hand and her whistle. " Quiet! Everybody quiet!" she ordered. When they refused to let up, she raised the whistle to her mouth and took a breath. That quieted them down enough for her to regain control. " Now listen. I will find a spot for you to bend, all of you. But for now, and until further notice, no bending! Period!"
Toph made a face. Lily nodded. " Now, rule number two: No chasing after the avatar, or, in Zhao's case, both the avatar and the banished prince Zuko in order to turn one or the other into the fire lord to gain a new rank of military expertise. Got it?" she said, glancing meaningfully in Zhao's direction. He grumbled and looked away.
" Three: Try to get along. In my world, you all are nothing but a cartoon show. If you should get outside and stopped by a police cop, you'll be arrested for weird dressing. Like I said, I don't want to be a bully, I just want to try to help you all. Now, onto the matter of sleeping arrangements. Does anyone have a preference?"
" We could just use some sleeping bags." Katara said.
" Who's we? I'll take the floor." Aang piped up.
" Okay." Lily muttered. " Anyone else?"
No one even so much as looked in her direction. She shook her head.
" Fine. I have an idea. Sokka, Aang and Zuko, you all can bunk in my sister's old room. Suki, Toph and Katara, you can stay in my room. Zhao, you can stay out here. Iroh, could you please keep an eye on him? I don't trust him with what little we still have."
" Sure thing." He said with an amused chuckle. Zhao stood up, hands beginning to glow. " I resent that." He growled. Lily glared at him, using a little trick her ex-best friend taught her; to look your enemies in the eye with no trace of any emotion except anger and pure malice. It worked every time. Zhao's eye twitched and he backed down.
" I won't tolerate any crud from you, Zhao." Lily declared. " So help me, if you even so much as threaten the others, or me, you will be sorry. Do I make myself clear? Good. Now, will everyone but Iroh and Zhao, please follow me?"
She led them up the stairs to the ground level. She tried to settle her beating heart, anticipating the test of her abilities as a referee.
A/N: I know I need to get back to writing The First Legacy. I won't shirk away from my regular schedule, but this story has been sitting in my back-up junk for months. I really want to do something with it and I might as well. I've actually only written one other Avatar story because InuYasha is so much easier for me for some reason. That's why I do much better with The First Legacy.