Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

Mondays. Who in their right mind liked Mondays? People who actually had contentment in their lives. Ha, that's a funny joke. How many people were contented with their lives in this world? A hand full, at the most? Most people I knew weren't contented. Everyone always talked about all the problems they had and how nothing was working out the way they wanted. It just seemed like everybody got stuck doing a job they never wanted. They were stuck going through the motion in a life they never wanted to live. They stopped chasing their dreams and settled. I didn't think anybody felt contented. I knew I didn't. So, in this sad life of discontentment, what could we do?

Escape.

Escape into the worlds of fiction. There was enough entertainment in the world to drown out everything else. When your own life was too miserable, there they were, ready to take you away. They were full of characters that were more amazing than anyone that you would ever know. Their lives meant something; they made impacts on the worlds they lived in, while you're here doing...taxes or math homework. What could the dull, dreariness of your life compare to the exhilarating lives of these characters? But by following them along on their journey, you could be there with them in spirit. To take it a step further, how many people would not give up everything they had to be there with them, going on those amazing and thrilling journeys? Unfortunately, that was impossible. It didn't stop them from dreaming, though. Or me, for a fact.

So, as I sat there in fourth-period math, I debated the likelihood of someone being transported into another universe, one that contained a fictional world. Could a device be created that would allow people to go to another universe? Did these universes that these characters live in exist, or were they just an imagined world? A world, which even if we could go to different universes, we would never be able to find since they never existed in the first place. But maybe we could find them. Some people speculated that these worlds of fiction come through the cracks of the universe, seeping into the minds of people who can hear them. I'd like to think that they exist out there, somewhere, just waiting for us to find them. I would jump at the chance to live in a fictional world. They just seemed so much better than the one we lived in, more dangerous but better. Not that I hated my life. It was fine, average, boring. I had friends if that's what you would call them. I made nice grades and was very smart, or maybe I just really liked learning. I didn't get bullied or noticed by anyone, even my own friends forgot about me most of the time. Not that it bothered me all that much. Maybe made me a little lonely, but I knew it was just because of how quietly I behaved. I didn't want to be quiet; I wanted to talk to people and be friendly. I just felt trapped, like I couldn't say anything because I was the 'quiet' girl and that's how people saw me. I felt I couldn't be anything else. In my mind, though, I soared. Maybe that's why I dove my life into fictional worlds. I spent more time with fictional characters than I did with actual people. Yet who could blame me? Hang out with a hormonal, immature teenager or a 900 year old time lord that travels the universe saving thousands of people; I think the choice is pretty obvious.

The school bell rang overhead, signaling the day had finally ended. I deeply sighed in relief at being let free. I closed my notebook and shoved it into my backpack. I grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair. I slipped it on before slinging my bag over my shoulder and heading out of the classroom. The hallway was packed, forcing me to walk slowly with the flow of people. I rolled my eyes and wished that they would walk faster so I could get home and relax. Once I got out of the busy hallway, I made my way outside to start the one-mile trek back to my house. It was still pretty chilly outside, as it was only the beginning of March. March 4th to be exact. 15 years after the day I was born. Not that it was a big deal; a few people had wished me a happy birthday, mostly acquaintances that had seen a notification from Facebook. I wasn't a big birthday person. So what? I was exactly one day older than what I was yesterday. It's not like we magically grow a year older on that exact day. We grew throughout the year, so what made today any more special than all the other days. Perhaps I only felt this way because I never really celebrated my birthday. Anyway, that was just my opinion on the matter.

I wrapped my jacket around me as the cold winter wind bit into my skin. I wished that the wind would just stop; that chance was relatively small, considering I lived in the flat Midwest and, as always, the wind never stopped blowing. Besides the chilling wind, it was a pretty nice day out. The sun shone brightly in the sky, and no snow laid on the ground making my feet cold. It was quite peaceful, as well. I could hear the birds singing to each other and the tree branches swaying in the wind.

Several minutes later of walking, I arrived at my house. It was a nice house that we had moved into not that long ago. It had six bedrooms, three of which were unfinished in the basement. It wasn't exactly what we were wanting, but we settled. I walked in through the garage that contained no cars at the moment, showing that my mom and dad were both not home and that I had the house to myself. I enjoyed the time I had by myself at home, and after school seemed about the only time that I ever got it. My brother, as much as I loved him, acted super hyperactive. Ever since he started going to school, he had only gotten worse at home. He behaved nice and calm at school, so when he came home he let out all the energy he hadn't used at school, which was a lot. So I enjoyed the alone time where I actually got peace in this house, with no one watching me or judging me. It was the only time I could be free and myself.

I made a quick pit stop at my bedroom, throwing my bag and jacket inside, before going to the kitchen. I desperately needed to eat some food and stop my stomach from rubbing itself raw. I usually didn't eat the nasty school lunches that were served, instead I waited until I arrived home to eat. I opened up the fridge, only to be disappointed by the food stored within it: some milk, some leftovers, and some other non-appetizing food. Instead, I went to the cupboard and pulled out a package of ramen noodles, the food I usually ended up eating most days. I wasn't the healthiest person, but these days who really was. Being healthy took too much time to fit into people's busy schedules, and who even knew how to be healthy anyway, it's not like they taught it to you in school.

The crinkly packaging rustled as I pulled it open. I peeled back the plastic, uncovering the dry noodles within. I pulled the slab of noodles free and set them down in a bowl, which I had pulled out from a cupboard. The noodles sat there, waiting to be covered with water that would never come.

My breath was taken away as an unexplainable pain shot through my body. I slammed up against the counter, unable to support myself, as excruciating pain echo through my being. Knifes dug themselves into every inch of me; the pain was sharp and blinding. My eyes rolled back and my nails dug into my palms. My legs collapsed underneath me, sending my arms flying wildly around; they tried to stop the fall, but all they managed to do was knock off the bowl that sat on the counter. The uncooked contents spilt next to me. My head hit the ground with a hard thump sending my world spinning around me. The raging sharpness that filled my body left me blind to my surroundings. My body twisted and contorted in an attempt to get away from the source of this agony. Blinded with the pain that had filled my body, I failed to notice the room around me slowly fading away. Then, as quickly as it had come, the pain disappeared from my body. No relief set in as the ground disappeared from beneath me and left me falling through the air. I let out a scream, maybe for someone to hear me or maybe because screaming made me feel like I had a little more control over the current situation. The wind whipped around me in the pitch black darkness. The dark left me blind to my surroundings. Fear in my heart ran like wild stallions that trampled over hope. I closed my eyes and waited for the landing that would surely be my demise.

.

I felt no impact of my body on a solid ground, but I knew that I had stopped falling; the air no longer whipped past me. Even if I had landed, I still couldn't will my eyes to open up and take in my surroundings. I feared that when I opened my eyes, I would see that I was dead. After a moment of sitting there, though, I realized that if this was the afterlife, then it was very cold and snowy. My hand clutched around cold crystals that covered the ground. It was soft, fluffy, and packed together at the force of my hand. It was definitely snow. I felt snow under my hand. So, either the afterlife had snow, or I wasn't dead. I slowly opened my eyes, afraid of what I would see when they opened. A bright light streamed in my retinas and blinded me. My eyes gradually focused, and I saw a white thing hovering in front of my face. I jump back slightly at the invasion of the object, and now that I had some distance, I could see that the object was actually a spear and at the end of the spear stood a boy about my age. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I had seen him before. His eyes stared down sending non-exist daggers towards me as his mouth moved up and down; he was talking. Oh, he was talking to me!

"Huh? Sorry, were you talking to me?" I asked him with innocent sincerity while I modestly pointed at myself. If I hadn't been so freaked out by the currents events, then I would have chuckled at his expression he made towards my comment. His scowl deepened, but I could see a slight pull at the corners of his mouth, telling me that he was slightly amused by my actions.

"Yes," he replied to my question slightly annoyed. "Now, as I was saying before, who are you? What are you doing here? Are you with the Fire Nation?" His stare hardened and became deeper with each question that he asked. My eyes widened with fear and my mouth dropped open. I didn't have any answers to his questions; they left me baffled. My mind had only caught on to one thing: the Fire Nation? No. No freaking way. I must have misheard him. I looked back at him and realized where I had recognized him from. Avatar the Last Airbender. No way. This, this, this was crazy! I was dreaming. I must have had a seizure and this was a coma induced dream. Did seizures even put people in a coma? I didn't know, but what I did know was either I was dreaming or I was insane. I looked around at my surroundings and that's when I realized, this was a cartoon. And I didn't mean Avatar the Last Airbender, I knew that was a cartoon, but the area around me looked like an actual cartoon. What was even weirder, was that I hadn't noticed it before. Even now, it was like my mind wanted me to forget that the world was supposed to look different from this. It's like I knew it looked like a cartoon, but I didn't want to know that it looked like a cartoon.

My attention was drawn back to 'Sokka' when he shouted at me, "Answer my questions!"

"Sokka!" shouted a girl coming out of the crowd and standing next to Sokka. "Leave the girl alone! She obviously is scared out of her mind, and you standing there barking out threatening questions isn't helping." The girl, that I recognized as Katara, came over and offered her hand to me with a kind look in her eyes. I took her hand, and she helped pull me up to my feet, for which I was glad for because my bottom was becoming an ice cycle. "I'm Katara, and the jerk that was talking to you before is my brother, Sokka."

"I'm not a jerk!" Sokka yelled from behind her. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother, while the first smile that I've had here appeared on my face.

"I'm Rachelle," I introduced myself and gave her a warm smile, one which she returned to me.

"Rachelle," she rolled my name over her tongue like it was a puzzle. I could see her thinking, but whatever her thoughts were, she seemed to think better of it and shook her head. "Here," she grabbed my hand and pulled me along, "Let me take you to get some warmer clothes." She was right about me needing some warmer clothes: it was freezing here (I mean, it was the South Pole so I suppose that made sense). Even though it had been chilly outside back home, I wore only a thin sweater, a pair of black leggings, and a pair of boots. I wasn't even wearing my jacket anymore because I took it off when I got home. My mind couldn't wrap itself around the situation as I let Katara lead me. What was happening? Was Katara leading me through her village? Katara. What? What was this? I breathed heavily and with each puff came a white fog. The cold tickled my nose. This cold definitely felt real, but this wasn't real? It couldn't be.

Katara led me to a tent which she pulled me inside of. She let go of my hand and went over to a chest before pulling the top open. She moved around some objects inside of it before pulling out a blue, thick coat, then she handed it over to me. "Here, this should keep you plenty warm." I took the coat from her while thanking her. I put on the thick coat and almost immediately started to feel warmer. I pulled my hair out from under the coat as I turned around to see Katara again. She now had gloves in her hand that she passed to me. "And here are some gloves." There was a generous warmth to her eyes as I gratefully took them from her, giving a small nod of appreciation. She leaned up against the wall as I put on the gloves, "If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?"

I felt my heart rate increase at the question but I tried not to falter, "I'm..." What did I say? I definitely didn't look like I was from a Water Tribe, and I obviously can't be an Air Nomad since they're all gone, except for Aang, of course. That just left the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom, and since I had feeling that being from the Fire Nation wouldn't go over all that well, I guessed that left the Earth Kingdom. "I'm from the Earth Kingdom."

Katara's eyes lit up with excitement when she heard my lie, "Really? That's amazing! What are you doing here?"

I gulped, "Oh, um, you know, wanted to travel the world, ha, ha." I was surprised she couldn't see my guilt in my eyes, because I felt like it poured out of me. I didn't want to lie to her, but what choice did I have? What was I supposed to do? Say 'oh yeah, you know just coming from a different universe where your whole life is a story for other people's enjoyment,' because I'm sure that'd go over great. Besides, I still believed that this was just a dream and nothing more, so it didn't even matter anyway.

"Wow! That has to be incredible. Where all have you been?" Katara stared questioningly at me. She had excited curiosity written across her face, and it stabbed me in the heart.

I scratched the back of my neck while giving a nervous chuckle, "Ha, you know. Here, there, everywhere." Luckily for me, I think Katara got that I wasn't all that comfortable talking about my so-called 'journeys' and changed the subject.

"Hey," she changed the topic, stepping away from the wall towards the door. "Do you want to go check on the other visitor with me?" She gave me this warm look as if to say 'don't worry'. My heart, that had been doing backflips with worry, was put at ease from her kindness. Not completely at ease, but it was better.

I paused and bit my lip. I felt like I couldn't let anything slip, but I was curious to see if she was talking about Aang. "You guys have another visitor?" I tiptoed to ask her. It's probably Aang, well hopefully it's Aang, but for all I knew it could be some random person.

"Yeah, and you'll never believe this." Katara turned around and took my hands. A mischievous glee completely filled her eyes. She acted like she was about to tell the greatest secret in the world. "He's an airbender!" She smiled with so much passion that it was contagious, and a smile crept up onto my face.

Aang was here, that's a relief. So, this must be the first episode. I shifted my genuine smile into a bigger smiled as I faked a surprised look, "An airbender! No way. He can't really be an airbender."

"I know it's crazy, but it's true," Katara vigorously grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the tent. "Come on, I'll take you to see him." I chuckled at her the enthusiasm. It had only been a few minutes, but Katara already seemed as amazing as one would imagine. We ran past a few tents before Katara tugged me into one that presumably held Aang. I hardly believed the sight of the sleeping Avatar before me. There he was: sweet, amazing Aang. Oh my gosh, this crazy. Just breath, Rachelle, it's just a dream; no need to freak out. My eyebrows knitted together in concern for the boy as he tossed and turned in his sleep. "Aang! Aang, wake up!" Katara shouted to save him from his nightmare. He sat up quickly gasping for air. If I remember correctly he was just having a nightmare about him running away and getting stuck in the ice. He looked over at Katara and me with a confused look. I gave him a small smile as his eye caught mine. He smiled back, even though he didn't have a clue as to who I was. Katara spoke, drawing his attention. "It's okay. We're in the village now. I wanted to introduce you to Rachelle. She showed up a little after you did."

I gave him a meek wave, "Hello."

"It's nice to meet you, Rachelle," Aang greeted me in his innocence, sweet voice.

I had to smile at his natural adorableness. "You too," I sang back. I had already started to feel more relaxed with this world; I tried not to let this fact make me worried or scared. After all, it was just a dream, so why shouldn't I just enjoy it. It was a pretty wondrous dream, too bad that it would end soon enough. I kept running that it was just a dream over and over in my thoughts, but that didn't stop the gnaw of doubt that sat poking at me in the back of my mind.

"Come on," we both looked over at Katara as she directed Aang, "Get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you." Quickly listening to Katara, Aang got up and put on his traditional air nomad outfit. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Katara looking at Aang's airbender tattoos that symbolized his mastery of airbending, or maybe she was just checking him out, who knows? I internally chuckled, knowing Katara checking him out was highly improbable, but very ironic considering their future relationship. Deciding that she could wait no longer, she grabbed Aang and mine's hand. She swiftly pulled us outside, barely giving Aang enough time to grab his staff. As Katara pulled us out of the hut, she led us to a small crowd that had gathered in the center of the village. I stood next to Aang in front of the crowd. Intimidation crept up my neck at the sight of their prying eyes; I felt very much like a museum piece being put up for display. "Aang, Rachelle, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang, Rachelle." Striving to not let my nerves get the best of me, I gave them a small wave before seeing Aang give them a small bow. Did I need to bow too? Maybe? Not wanting to look like an impolite idiot, I quickly followed Aang's lead and did a small bow. As I stood up straight, I hoped that it looked okay. Even though Aang and I did nothing wrong, the people pulled back from us. It was most likely because Aang was an airbender, but they could have pulled away from me since I was new and foreign. It kind of hurt to see people recoil from you, even it wasn't them necessarily being mean. I shared a concerned look with Aang.

"Uh... why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?" Aang asked while he stretched around to see if his clothes were okay. I saw an old woman step out from the crowd whom I assumed was Gran Gran.

"Well, no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years," Gran Gran said, drawing Aang's attention to her; everyone else's gazes were on Aang, though. "We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found you."

"Extinct?" Aang asked, confused by her statement. I looked towards the ground with sadness coming upon my face. It pained my heart just imagining how hurt Aang was going to be when he found out about his people. My gaze flickered up to the boy; I wished I could do something to stop him from feeling that pain, but there was nothing I could do.

"Aang, Rachelle, this is my grandmother," I looked at Katara as she introduced her grandma. I gave her grandmother a small nod of acknowledgement as to who she was and that I was saying hello. I should have said more, but I felt very shy standing here in front of the entire village. My arms were clasped in front of me and shoulders caved in. My head hung low like I was putting myself in a submissive position for them.

She looked between Aang and me before speaking to the two of us, "Call me Gran Gran."

While Gran Gran talked to both Aang and me, Sokka grabbed Aang's staff and started inspecting the object. "What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this." I rolled my eyes at Sokka. Of course, his first guess was that it happened to be a weapon and that Aang was here to attack them. Not that I could blame him after everything that had happened to him, to all of them. His dad put him in charge of protecting the village and that's what he's doing, even if he did go to a bit of an extreme.

"It's not for stabbing," Aang corrected Sokka before he airbended his staff back to him. A smile crept up on my face. Airbending! Actual real airbending! That's so unbelievable. "It's for airbending," Aang continued on informing Sokka about his staff, and with little more airbending, Aang had opened his staff and turned it into a glider with red wings.

"Magic trick! Do it again," a little girl shouted from the crowd of people who were still watching Aang. I think at this point, basically everyone stood in awe at the magical airbending. Well, all except Sokka, but who cared about his grumpiness?

"Not magic, airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly," Aang explained to the girl, showing her what he meant by moving the glider around with his hand. I chuckled in awe; I felt just as engrossed as the children.

Sokka was not so amazed by Aang's demonstration. "You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly," Sokka declared with certainty that he was right, just like he always thinks, but he was about to be proved wrong.

Aang grinned mischievously at Sokka, "Check again." Aang launched himself off the ground and into the air holding onto his glider. With the help of his airbending, Aang soared through the air doing loops and tricks as the entire village watched him with wonder, me being one of them.

"Oh my gosh, he's really airbending," I gushed to Katara in absolute amazement, a huge smile adorned on my face.

Katara looked over at me with a similar expression, "I know!" We were both flabbergasted by Aang's airbending. I couldn't believe that I was seeing actual airbending, even if it was just a dream. Aang looked down at Katara who gave him a big smile of wonderment. I slyly grinned at the couple; they were so cute. Aang got so caught up in Katara that he stopped paying attention to where he was flying, and he slammed right into Sokka's watchtower. Everyone laughed at Aang's actions as he pulled himself free of the snow and fell to the ground with his glider.

"My watchtower!" Sokka gasped beside Katara and me as he saw his snow structure fall to the ground in clumps. I didn't know why he felt so upset about it. I didn't know how much time he'd put into it, but it couldn't have been that much considering that he had it rebuilt by the time Zuko arrived.

Katara and I trotted over to Aang, who still laid in the pile of snow. The children of the village quickly followed behind us. "That was amazing," Katara complimented Aang as she held out a hand to help him up. At the complement, Aang's face lit up as if that was the best thing anyone could've ever told him.

"I have to agree with Katara, that was pretty amazing," I praised Aang's airbending abilities. Aang gave both of us a grin as he twirled his glider shut, which caused a snow bank to bury Sokka who had been examining the damage done to his watch tower.

Sokka, the only person who wasn't impressed by Aang's display, had become even more agitated as he popped his head out from the snow. "Great. You're an airbender, Katara's a waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long," Sokka mumbled as he broke free from the snow. He stood up and brushed the snow off of his pants before he stomped away with his irritation.

Aang spun around to Katara. "You're a waterbender!" Aang shouted in excitement of learning the knowledge of Katara's bending abilities.

"Well... sort of. Not yet," Katara blushed at Aang's excitement about her bending. There was a difference between a waterbender and a trained waterbender; I had a feeling Katara didn't want to disappoint Aang by the fact she wasn't trained, especially after his impressive bending display. I felt bad for Katara, not knowing how to bend water because the Fire Nation had taken away all of the other waterbenders. It really wasn't fair; she deserved to be taught. I suppose life never promised to be fair.

"All right. No more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores," Gran Gran put her hand on Katara's back and began to motion her forward. Gran Gran paused and looked back at me, "Rachelle, would you like to help?" I think that she saw how I looked like a lost puppy dog not wanting to be left alone. I was glad to have something do, and I didn't mind helping out with a few chores. I gave her a nod of my head and jogged to catch up with them.

Katara gave me a friendly smile as I slowed to match her stride. She beamed over to her grandmother, "I told you! He's the real thing, Gran Gran! I finally found a bender to teach me." She had a skip in her step that had been created by the newfound hope that Aang had brought. I smiled; Aang had just gotten out of the iceberg, and he was already doing what he did best: giving people hope. I was happy that she was gaining hope, although I didn't know how she thought Aang, an airbender, would be able to teach her waterbending.

Gran Gran was still weary of the boy, though. Her many years of experience prepared her to be cautious in a situation like this. Not wanting her grandchild to get hurt by this airbender, Gran Gran advised, "Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy."

As much as Katara loved her grandmother, a part of her deep down knew that she had to trust Aang. "But he's special. I can tell. I sense he's filled with much wisdom," She told her grandmother before looking over to Aang. I followed her gaze to see Aang with his tongue frozen to his staff. A crowd of children circled around him and gaze up with impressionable eyes.

"Sthee? Now my tongue ith thuck to my sthaff," Aang mumbled out, trying to talk with his tongue stuck. A child next him grabbed and yanked the staff away, but Aang's tongue still stayed attached to the staff. The children burst out into laughter, with Katara and me right there with them.

"He's sure filled with something," I quietly joked under my breath, not meaning to have anyone hear my comment. Gran Gran still heard it though and gave a small chuckle.

Katara looked at us confused for a second before asking me, "Hey, Rachelle are you a bender?"

I shook my head, "No." I paused as I actually thought over the question. "Well, not that I know of anyway." Technically, I didn't know if I wasn't a bender. I probably wasn't, but it would be absolutely amazing. I think I would want to be able to bend water, or fire, or maybe air, or perhaps earth. Oh, that's too hard of a decision. I wanted to be able to bend all four of them, like the Avatar. Aang was so lucky to be able to; I was lowkey jealous. I jokingly shrugged to Katara, "But hey, maybe one day I'll magically discover I can bend an element."

.

We breezed through Katara's chores with ease. She didn't have that many left to do, just some laundry and cleaning up, and with we both of us working hard, they were done in no time. A couple of little kids kept poking their heads around to see us. Every time, I'd wave at them. They would giggle and wave back. I loved little kids; they were just so cute.

Once we had finished up, we decided to go catch up with Aang. The only problem was that, as we looked around, we couldn't find him. Seeing no sign of him, we stopped by Sokka to ask if maybe he had seen Aang. As we approached, Sokka frustratedly tried to control the little kids he was training, a task he was having no luck in doing. "Have you seen Aang?" Katara asked her brother, taking his attention off of the children. "Gran Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago."

My gaze wandered over the rest of the village while she spoke. Half of my focus was on looking for Aang, and the other half was just seeing all the village had to offer. I glanced over Aang as he emerged from a small igloo adjusting his pants. I tapped Katara on her shoulder and pointed over to Aang, "Look, there he is."

Aang smiled over at the young boys as he gestured back over his shoulder to the toilets, "Wow! Everything freezes in there!" And there was Aang's infinite wisdom. The children found it funny at any rate, and they laughed at his joke.

Aang's joke pulled the kids away from their training, which infuriated Sokka even more with the situation. "Ugh!" Sokka turned to his sister, hands clenched, "Katara, get him out of here. This lesson is for warriors only." Sokka was stopped short of saying anything else by a kid that squealed little ways away from us. The kid slid down Appa's tail that was propped up on a makeshift sawhorse, and they landed on a pile of snow. More children followed, and their joyous laughter filled the air. The laughter was contagious, and Katara and I couldn't help laughing along with them.

"Stop! Stop it right now!" Sokka yelled at all of us, causing our smiles to slide. He turned to Aang who sat on top of Appa, "What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on." A frown appeared on my face at the statement. It was the first time anyone had mentioned the war here. The fact that there was a war going on was too easy to forget out here in the arctic land. Probably not for them, but the happy-go-lucky air of the village left me blinded to the actuality of this world.

"What war?" Aang asked confusedly as he hopped down of Appa, landing gracefully on the snow. "What are you talking about?" It was in that moment I realized there was a giant beast standing in front of me, the most awesome and amazing giant beast in the entire world, but now was not the time to be excited about meeting Appa. I calmed myself.

"You're kidding, right?" Sokka asked in disbelief that Aang could really not know anything about the war. Aang's gaze moved off of Sokka and into the distance behind him.

Suddenly, Aang howled, "PENGUIN!" We all looked over to see a penguin standing on the outskirts of the village. The penguin could feel our gazes and let out a squeak before quickly waddling away. Aang wasted no time, and he ran off at an unbelievable speed towards the penguin. In another situation it would have been funny, but not so much in this moment.

Sokka apprehensively looked over to Katara and me. "He's kidding, right?" Sokka asked solemnly.

I put my hand on his shoulder. He looked over at me. "I don't think so," I said sadly and looked off at the horizon Aang had disappeared over.

.

I walked with Katara through a beach full of penguins that waddled around squawking, hoping to find where Aang had run off to. In his yellow and orange clothes, Aang wasn't hard to see up ahead; he stood out like a sore thumb from the white snow and the black penguins. "Aang?" Katara called out to Aang. Aang didn't hear her; he was too busy trying to catch a penguin, a task he was failing miserably at.

"Haha! Hey, come on little guy. Wanna go sledding?" Aang tempted the penguin before lunging forward in an attempt to catch it. While his attempt was valiant, he only fell flat on his face. As we approached him, he got up and tried to act like that hadn't just happened. "Oof! Heh heh, I have a way with animals," he joked with us, mildly embarrassed by his previous failings. He put his arms out by his side and waddled around imitating the penguins that surrounded us. "Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp! Yarp yarp! Yarp!"

Katara and I laughed at the silly boy's actions. Our laughter calmed down, and Katara took the opportunity to talk to Aang about something that had been on her mind,"... Aang, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending."

"You got a deal!" Aang accepted without hesitation, but worry fell on him as he turned the request over in his mind. "Just one little problem. I'm an airbender, not a waterbender. Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?"

Katara looked away from us as she spoke with sadness leaking from her voice, "No. You're looking at the only waterbender on the whole South Pole." I could feel the hurt in her voice, and the strength she had trying to not cave into that pain. I felt so horrible that this was the fact of her life. I grabbed Katara's hand and gave it a little squeeze. She looked over at me, and I smiled tenderly at her, telling her that it was going to be alright.

She returned the smile as Aang started talking again, "This isn't right. A waterbender needs to master water. What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have waterbenders who could teach you."

"Maybe, but we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly 'turn right at the second glacier.' It's on the other side of the world," Katara sadly explained with a downtrodden expression on her face.

A large grin appeared on Aang's face as an idea popped into his head, "But you forget: I have a flying bison. Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we're gonna find you a master!" Excitement wrapped us up with smiles on our face at the idea.

"That's..." Katara started happily, then she began to think about the whole situation, and her face began to fall. In a more uncertain tone, she continued, "I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before."

"Everyone has to leave home eventually," I told Katara, but she still looked pretty uncertain about leaving home. I didn't blame her. I still had three years back home before I had to live on my own and I was already freaking out about it, let alone having it shoved upon you like this.

"Well, you think about it," Aang smiled at Katara, not wanting her to feel the pressure to decide right now. "But in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?"

A grin appeared on Katara's face as she started talking like she was a wise old lady, "Okay, listen closely, my young pupil. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe." She pulled a small fish from her coat and tossed it to Aang. The penguins instantly flocked around Aang, hoping to get the fish he held in his hands.

A few fishes later, with guidance of the wise Katara, I sat on top of a penguin speeding down an icy hill. I clutched tightly onto its feather as I hoped I didn't get myself killed. I let out a laugh-squeal as Katara, Aang and I rocketed off an ice bank and landed on another bank below. We continued down the hills as each of us took off of separate ramps in attempts to get ahead of each other. Aang landed in front of Katara, before Katara took off of her ramp and landed in front of him. I took a big gulp as I guided my penguin to a giant ramp, which may have looked bigger in my eyes since I was about to fly myself off of it. I closed my eyes and prayed that I did not kill myself doing this. I felt myself fly off the ramp, and I slowly opened my eyes as I flew through the air. The world slowed down as I flew through the air like a magic spell had been cast over me. My face lit up as exhilaration pumped through my body. In a few seconds, I landed in front of Katara and Aang, and they quickly sped up to my sides as we all starting laughing together. "I haven't done this since I was a kid!" Katara yelled to us.

"You still are a kid!" Aang reminded her as he laughed.

I laughed jubilantly as we sped down the ice; I truly couldn't remember I time I felt this happy. "I have never had this much fun!" I yelled over at the two of them. All three of us broke off into laughter that filled the hills of ice. What I told them was true, my heart felt lighter than it had in a very long time. I never thought that speeding to my death on penguin could be so enjoyable, but it was. We continued to rocket across the frozen landscape before entering a system of tunnels. The beauty equaled the fun as the light streamed through the holes in the ceiling causing the icy snow below to sparkle like diamonds.

The three of us emerged from the tunnels, and began to slow to our descent. I stood up from my penguin and watched as it waddled away slightly dizzy from the ride. I looked over at Aang and Katara to see them staring off ahead. I followed their gazes and saw what had stopped them: the Fire Navy ship. My stomach dropped looking at it; it was massive, and this ship probably wasn't even all that big. And suddenly, things got real. They got very real, and I remembered the dangers that came with the fun, but this was just a dream, right? No fighting for me. Just internet, and school, and ramen noodles. Not the Fire Nation and being almost killed. Right?...Right.

"Whoa...what is that?" Aang breathed out. As he spoke, my attention turned to him and away from my own thoughts. My body stood on edge as it felt the apprehension in the atmosphere.

"A Fire Navy ship," Katara spoke in a deathly serious tone. Her solemn gaze locked onto the ship like it was a ghost that haunted her soul. "And a very bad memory for my people."As Katara's words settled on us, Aang began to walk towards the ship. He didn't get very far before Katara hollered at him, "Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby trapped."

Aang looked back at Katara, giving her a pointed look, "If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fear." Aang turned his back and starting walking towards the ship again. Katara looked over at me for advice. I just shrugged my shoulders, telling her I didn't know what to do either. She looked away and made the decision to follow Aang. I sighed out and followed along beside her. I knew that going into the ship wasn't a particularly good idea, but I didn't know what to do about it. It was the next element of the plot, so if they didn't go up into the ship, then what would happen? I didn't want to tempt fate, so I said nothing to stop them. We climbed into the ship through a hole in one of the forward compartments. We walked around the dark corridors inside, passing a few rooms before stepping inside of one. It was full of Fire Nation weapons, the same weapons they used to destroy people's lives.

"This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks," She explained to Aang and me about the history of the ship.

Aang stopped, and he looked at us in deep confusion, "Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. I've never seen any war." As he spoke, Katara glanced at me with a worried expression that I mimicked back to her. A veil of ignorance was being lifted, and I felt like we had to break Aang's heart with bad news.

She turned her head back over to Aang and gently asked him, "Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?"

Aang's gaze flickered between Katara and me, taking in our worry. "I don't know... a few days, maybe?" Aang answered with apprehension about what Katara might say.

"I think it was more like a hundred years!" Katara exclaimed with the realization dawning on her.

"What? That's impossible. Do I look like a hundred-twelve-year-old man to you?" Aang tried to get Katara to joke with him, but you could tell that he was seriously worried.

Katara's mind filled with cogs turning as she pieced together the puzzle. "Think about it. The war is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there that whole time. It's the only explanation," Katara told him while trying not to frighten him; the whole situation required a delicate touch.

I looked over at the boy with sympathy and agreed, "She's right Aang, it makes sense." I felt so bad for the boy. Everything was being ripped from him; everything he loved and cared about, he was learning were gone forever. I could only imagine the pain of having everything torn away from you.

Aang put his hands up to his head and walked backwards till he hit the wall. He slowly sank to the floor in devastation at this realization, "A hundred years! I can't believe it."

Katara and I went over and knelt down beside him. We both crouched there and tried to comfort him, "I'm sorry, Aang. Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all this." Katara gently smiled at him in hopes to raise his spirits.

"I did get to meet you," Aang said with a tiny smile to Katara. He realized that I was also right there, and he turned to me with the smile still on his face, "And you, too, Rachelle."

I chuckled at the afterthought flattery, "Yeah, you did." I smiled at Aang and reached down to give his hand a small squeeze, letting him know that everything was going to be ok.

Katara smiled before standing up to her feet, "Come on. Let's get out of here." We broke into motion as we readied ourselves to leave. I stood up as Katara helped Aang get to his feet. We kept on walking through the ship's corridors before Aang entered a darkened room with Katara and me following slightly behind. Shadow loomed over the walls and the lifeless stirrings of the ship left us all on edge. The longer we were here, the more it seemed like we were pushing our luck. "Aang? Let's head back. This place is creepy."

"Huh?" Aang barely got the syllable out of his mouth before his foot caught on the trip wire that waited on the floor. Suddenly, a gate dropped behind us blocking the way we came in. "What's that you said about booby traps?" Everything around us started working again, steam began to build pressure and wheels began to turn. A loud explosion echoed around the room and we quickly ran over to the window to see what happened. "Uh oh," Aang breathed as a flare rose into the sky before exploding in a shower of sparks. Aang looked up at the hole in the ceiling before turning back towards Katara and me. "Hold on tight!" He told Katara before grabbing her and launching both of them through the hole the flare had made in the top of the ship. A few seconds later, I saw Aang's arm reach down the hole waiting for me to grab it. I went over and grabbed on before Aang pulled up top.

"I'm going to take Katara down to the ground and then I'll be back," Aang told me. I gave him a small nod to tell him that was ok. I watched as he grabbed Katara and quickly descended to the ground with her. As I stood there waiting, I looked out over the ice; I knew that Zuko was out there somewhere, looking exactly where we were at. My eye caught the shiny reflection of something off in the distance and my head snapped over in that direction. I peered into the distance and wondered if that's where his ship floated. I turned back around as I heard Aang land back at the top. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I sighed before he picked me up and started jumping down the boat. In no time at all, we were at the ground where Katara stood waiting for us. Aang set me down and we started to rush back to the village. All of us wondered what would be awaiting us when we arrived. I crossed my fingers and hoped that everything would be okay.

So, I hoped you liked it! If you have any comments or suggestions just let me know by leaving a review or pm. Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter, and I hope to see you on the next.!