The Bender and the Egg
Chapter One: Meet the Guardians
Long ago, there were believed to be people who possessed the ability to manipulate the elements- water, earth, fire, and air. Not everyone had this ability. It seemingly was passed down by blood.
There was only one person in the world that could bend all four- the Avatar. He alone could keep peace in the world.
The benders were assisted by fierce warriors, unable to bend the elements but skilled in the art of physical combat.
Slowly, these 'benders' died out, and warriors like the ones aiding them slowly became fewer and fewer. No one knows why, or how, they ceased to exist.
Not many people know about this history, and there are few books on the subject. But they were real, and their spirits live on in our hearts. And recently, new data has been found...
-x-x-x-
Deep in the heart of Japan, there is a school called Seiyo Elementary. This school is famous for its strange occurrences and a prestigious club called the 'Guardians.'
Just three years ago, a group of Guardians graduated. They were the first to have a joker in addition to a king, queen, ace and jack.
True, the group had its issues. For example, it is rumored that a strange blue-haired, cat-eared man continuously broke into the Royal Garden's roof and loved to play with string. Hoshina Utau, a famous singer, claims to be close friends with the guardians and a sister to the cat-man.
There were numerous reports of flying people and random glitter on the ground during the few years the Hinamori Amu had worked as joker. All went unnoticed by the staff.
New guardians are found each year when a member graduates. Slowly, the guardians became what they are today.
"Zuko, the king's chair." a tall boy with black hair and a scar over his left eye introduced himself. He was quick and to the point.
"I'm Katara, the queen's chair. It's nice to be back for another great year!" a girl just a little shorter than Zuko said. She had long brown hair that was down, and two sections from either side of the front of her head were pulled back into loops. She was sweet and motherly.
"And next, because he wants me to introduce him, my brother, the jack's chair, Sokka!"
A boy the same height as Katara took the microphone next. He had a small black ponytail in the middle of his head. He cleared his throat.
"That's right, I'm Sokka, it ends in an -okka! Young ladies, I ROCK YA!" He called, poetically at first and then slowly louder, screaming at the end. All the girls screamed, all the boys facepalmed. Sokka was the school clown, and all the girls worshipped him, practically like a god.
Suddenly, a short girl with her jet black hair pulled back into a bun stomped up to Sokka and snatched the microphone out of his hands, making the whole room fall silent. Who was she?
"I am Toph Beifong, ace's chair. I may be blind, but I can 'see' perfectly fine, with sensors on my feet." she stood on one foot, stuck the other out at the audience, and wiggled her toes. She continued,
"And because of that, I am the best student in the world! Don't you dunderheads ever forget it." she stomped off the stage, a furious Katara running after her.
A short boy, bald with funny arrow tattoos running all down his forehead, arms and legs sweat dropped as he walked calmly to the microphone from the side of the stage. Murmurs rose from the crowds.
"I'm Aaaaah, aaah, aaahhhh-CHOO!" he sneezed loudly into the microphone, which magnified it a lot and made him jump ten feet in the air, at least. Sokka was amazed.
"You just sneezed! And flew ten feet in the air!"
"Really?" the new boy asked. "It felt higher than that."
"Whatever." Sokka walked away and the new kid, who looked to be about Toph's age, turned back to the students.
"I'm Aang, the joker!" he sniffled stood straight up while rubbing under his nose. A single music note played from somewhere right as he finished. The room was dead silent for a moment, and then suddenly everyone was laughing and clapping.
The curtains closed, and Zuko and Aang walked off.
-x-x-x-
Backstage, Aang called,
"Katara? Toph? Where are you guys?" He took a step forward. As soon as Aang's foot hit the ground, Sokka scurried out from behind a curtain, holding a metal boomerang up high in the air.
"KYAAAAA! SNEAK ATAAAAACK!" he screamed, but Aang just calmly stepped to the side, leaving Sokka to smash into an unsuspecting Zuko with a satisfying crunch.
"Oof!" Zuko said, as Aang sweatdropped.
"Sorry Sokka, sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out loud." he said, and walked into the royal garden.
-x-x-x-
Katara followed Toph all the way out into the Royal Garden. She sat down at the table and glanced at Toph, who was fuming and talking to her shugo chara, Ishi.
"It's not fair!"
"It's PERFECTLY FAIR, TOPH! What would you expect them to do? You called them dunderheads, for the spirit's sake!"
"Why can't I just be a real bender? This is the ONE THING I actually ENJOY, and yet it doesn't even EXIST anymore because of some idiots a hundred years ago that decided to wipe them out!" Katara, who had observed this expression of anger, stepped forward and put her hand on Toph's shoulder.
"It's okay, Toph. We're all here for you- me, Sokka, Aang, and Zuko- and you're never alone. I know you miss your parents, but-"
"I DON'T MISS MY PARENTS!" Toph screamed, tears falling heavily down her cheeks. "That's the one reason I ran away! I'm free now, and I can take care of myself!"
Katara sighed and glanced at Ishi. When she nodded, Katara leaned over and gave Toph a big hug.
"I'm sorry," she whispered into Katara's shoulder. "But thank you."
"Toph, we're all here for you. That's something you should never forget."
-x-x-x-
"It seems as if the Guardians are fresh and new. We may have a challenge with this group."
"Father, what do you mean?"
"It means we have to deploy more people into Seiyo to collect data and eventually stop them." he brought up a hologram of a short girl with her hair in a bun over the projector, and opened up the databank.
"This one looks particularly strong," the man continued. "Toph Beifong. Blind, but wears high-tech sensors on her feet to help her 'see.' She will be our first target."
"Shall I go, father?"
"Yes. Create a small team consisting of only the elite, and enroll in the school. From there, do everything you can to capture the girl, but bring her alive." the girl bowed.
"It would be my honor." She said.
"Oh, and, Azula?"
"Yes, father?"
"Good luck."
-x-x-x-
All eight shugo charas of the guardians sat at their little table. When Katara had joined the Guardians, she had bought it for them so they wouldn't have to float all day.
"Is everyone here?" a chara in a blue dress asked. Six other little people nodded. "Great. We have four new additions. Let's go on with the introductions, because we didn't get a lot of time earlier."
"I'll go first!" a boy in a red cloak and brown pants answered. He had short brown hair and orange eyes, which were half-hidden behind a pair of glasses. "I'm Huo, Zuko's Shugo Chara. I represent his dream of being a Firebender! I really enjoy spicy foods and scalding tea."
Huo sat down, and another boy stood up. This one wore a blue tunic and black pants. He had a machete knife and a boomerang strapped to his back.
"Hi guys! I'm Isao, Sokka's chara. I represent Sokka's desire to be a warrior. I like meat and hunting. I'm also known as 'the chara with the boomerang.'" Isao flew in a circle before sitting down again peacefully. "I'm done now," he stated. "It's your turn, Ishi." the green-robed girl with brown hair floated towards the sky.
"Hello, I'm Ishi. My bearer is Toph, and my name means 'tough.' I represent Toph's dream of being invincible, incredibly strong, immensely powerful, and an Earthbender besides. I hope to become friends with each and every one of you, so that I won't have to destroy you." Huo sweat dropped.
"You destroy people, huh?" he asked.
"Yup!" Ishi replied, cheerfully. "It's someone else's turn now!" the girl from before wore a blue tunic that was similar to Isao's stood up. She had black hair that was tied back in two loops, one on either side of her face.
"I'm Mesi, Katara's chara. I was born from her desire to be able to go with the flow and her dream of being a Waterbender. I hope to have a great year with you all," she said, bowing and shaking Ishi's hand. "Well as it seems we are over with all the regular people's charas, let's move on to you four!" Mesi called, gesturing at three little boys and a girl who were sitting timidly and watching the others. One by one, they stood up.
"Hey, you guys are Aang's charas, right?" Isao asked. The four nodded. "Then... Why are you a girl?" he pointed to be only girl in the group, she had black hair, wore orange and yellow robes, and had arrows on her head, arms, and feet. She cleared her throat and spoke up.
"I'm Tuula, Aang's chara representing his wish to be like an airbender, able to change direction with ease and disconnect himself from the world. I only use my powers for self-defense, never to kill people or injure them irreversibly. It seems more peaceful, more feminine. Possibly that is why I am female. I wouldn't dwell on it, if I were you," she said. The next boy stood up.
"I'm Ila, and I represent Aang's desire to be strong, like a rock. He would like to be able to see things through to the end. My green robes are representative of that fact." His hair was raggedly cut, blond, and his eyes were bright green. A third boy stood up, this time wearing a light blue shirt, dark blue pants, and a belt that was somewhere in the middle.
"I'm Iko, and I was born from Aang's desire to be a Waterbender. That's all I really need to say right now," he stated plainly, and sat back down. "Your turn, Edan."
The last chara was wearing baggy black pants, a loose red shirt with a Firebending insignia on it, and had shaggy black hair.
"I'm Edan," he whispered, "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Aang's Firebending chara. I enjoy reading quietly, and I can have a terrible temper. I strongly dislike it when someone insists one element is stronger than the other. Thank you." sitting down, everyone clapped politely, and Ishi burst out,
"Nobody clapped for me!"
"You were here in the beginning of the year, Ishi. Aang's charas only arrived three days ago, and we haven't had time for a proper meeting."
"I still don't like it," Ishi huffed. The others sweatdropped.
"Just suck it up, will you?"
"NO."
-x-x-x-
The guardians sat around the table in the middle of the garden, telling Aang and Toph, their newest members, about the situation at hand.
"You remember the legend of the benders, right?" Zuko asked. They nodded. "Well, there's an organization that believes in them so much that they are trying to revive them."
"What?" Toph asked, surprised.
"This group, called Bash, thinks that they have the ability to bring the benders back," Katara explained. "They're doing this seemingly by creating X-eggs and building machines. They then capture people and use them as guinea pigs. There have been 5 Bash-related disappearances in the past month. Right now, we're trying to focus on purifying the eggs and eventually breaking into the Bash headquarters. Aang, you can character transform, right?"
"What?" he asked. "If by 'character transform' you mean suddenly be engulfed in light, change into ridiculous outfits, and get immense powers, then yeah." Sokka facepalmed at this.
"Okay, okay. You know that as the joker, your main job is to purify the eggs, right? Well, now that disappearances are becoming more frequent, we have to keep you on a busy schedule. At least an egg per day has to be purified, got it?" Aang winced.
"Sure," he said. "No problem. It'll be easy. Glad you guys added me to the team," he finished, and walked out of the garden, muttering. Suddenly, he stopped at the door, and called, "Tuula! Ila! Iko! Edan! C'mon, we're leaving." He marched out the door and all the way home, muttering the entire time…
"How am I going to purify an egg a day if I can't purify eggs at all?"
-x-x-x-
Author's Note: Hi guys! I just wanted to write a Shugo Chara/A:TLA crossover because, you know, they're both epic and deserve some more credit. This idea literally came to me in my sleep (clinche I know) and took me three days to write this first chapter, in sections, thinking of names and such. ANYWHO, I don't own either show. The characters in Shugo Chara are not replaced with the Team Avatar folks, because it takes place after the ending of Shugo Chara Party when they graduate. I'm going to try my best to keep them all in character, so please forgive me if they're too OOC!
Thanks for reading!
~Plantty