DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Avatar. All of the characters in this story belong to Nickelodeon. But the plot is mine, no matter how overused it is. Bwahahahaha...okay then.
AN: This is by LittleMissMartini who is partners with LadyFireCat, who edits her stories because LittleMissMartini is rather hopeless at it. PS: I do not know every little thing about the Avatar. I'm just a girl, who watches the show, and is not a huge dork about it. Those who complain...you're dorks :)
Chapter One: It's A Hard Knock Life
The sky was a brilliant blue, and fleecy clouds drifted serenely past the flying bison taking up most of the sky. Perched on this enormous creature was a relatively strangely dressed boy with an arrow tattooed to his forehead, a girl dressed in a warm dress, a sweet-looking girl dressed in green with a film over her eyes, and a grumpy-looking boy sweating his butt off in a sweat-drenched parka.
"I'm sweating my butt off", Sokka complained loudly. Katara wrinkled her nose as she fanned herself.
"Good to know," she told her brother. She turned to Aang. "Hey air bender, send a few swirls over this way, huh?" Aang lifted his head to look at her blearily and feebly waved his hand a few times in no particular rhythm, sending small wisps of warm air their way.
"I'm hot," he grumbled, speaking the obvious. "And I'm really bored. Hey Sokka, how you doing with that dare of yours?" Sokka glowered at him. The three had dared him some hours before to sit for six straight hours in his parka, to test his manly ability.
"I'm doing just dandy, for your blue-tattooed, bald, big-headed information. Just fiinneee and dandy," he spat, and whipped around to stare in the other direction, which happened to be at Appas butt. Aang chortled so much he rolled right off the bisons big head and went shooting straight toward the water below.
"Oh my God, Aang!" Katara screamed, rushing on her knees to the side of the carrier. Sokka, however, seemed to be entirely unconcerned.
"What happened?" cried Toph, alarmed. Stupid air. Wish I could SEE!
"Aang, he fell," Katara shouted, panicked. Far from being scared, Toph just grumbled.
"Big deal, he can fly. He's a big boy now, mother," she said, and leaned back against the pack triangle.
"Have you ever noticed, that whenever we go anywhere, we usually end up flying over water?" Sokka asked no one in particular. "It's kind of funny. Say, do we have any food?" He left Katara hanging, horrorstruck, over the side of the carrier and crossed over to their pack of supplies.
"Relax," he mumbled through a large chunk of salted seal jerky. "He's an airbender, he's probably surfing or something. By the way, this is really good!" He happily shoved another piece into his mouth and chewed ecstatically. Suddenly, with a whoosh Aang reappeared, dripping and without his shirt.
"You guys!" he shouted. "I'm gonna land Appa! The water's great! How about we have a little break?"
"You--you--" Katara was lost for words, and was quivering with anger. Aang glanced at her.
"What's eating her?" he asked Toph. She shrugged and blew at her fingernails.
"Everything eats her," she answered nonchalantly.
"You had me worried to death!" Katara exploded, ranting. "You just fall off of Appa and now you're all flying and saying we're gonna swim!" Aang backed away.
"Um, sorry?" he offered timidly. "How about we land and have a niiiicccee looong cooollddd swim?" Katara huffed and sat back against the pack triangle with Toph.
"That sounds good," she muttered grumpily. Toph grinned.
"Are you kidding? That sounds awesome!" she cried.
"Whoooooohoooo!" Sokka whooped. As soon as they landed on the beautiful white sand, he jumped off and headed straight for the clear blue water.
"Aaaaarghhh!" he shrieked, and started to hop up and down, clutching a burnt foot.
"Aaaauuggghhh! The sands really hot! Hot, hot, hot, hot! Gahh!" He tripped over his own foot and went sprawling headfirst into the water. He rose halfway, only to be forced into a faceplant by a large wave. He stood, dripping and glowering.
"You tricked me, you little--" His sentence was cut short by another enormous wave, knocking him over and curling playfully around him, pulling him further into the water. Aang, Katara, and Toph laughed so hard their stomachs felt like they would digest themselves. Meanwhile Sokka fought against the water, slapping his hands everywhere, trying desperately to get back to shore before another wave got to him.
"How 'bout a little help!" he yelled, bobbing around in the water. Aang and Katara collapsed into fits of laughter again. Katara pulled off her heavy dress-like parka to reveal her white torso wrap and linen underskirt over leggings. Toph, in her similar torso wrap and linen sarong, was practically jumping with anticipation. Aang conjured up air scooters to escort them across the hot sand that had fried Sokkas feet.
"About time," Sokka shouted, floating on his back in the water.
"This feels really nice," Katara said happily, splashing her brother. She had apparently forgotten all about her former hissy fit.
"It would feel nicer if it wasn't splashing me!" Sokka said, trying to use one hand to propel himself away from the offending droplets of water and ending up in the way of a large wave. Aang, meanwhile, was riding on his air scooter on the water.
"Hey guys!" he shouted, "Check this out! I'm scootering on water! Yeah, bet you can't do this--whoa!" A seagull swooped down very near his face and caused the scooter to rotate at top speed.
"Yaaaaaahhhhh!" he shouted gleefully. "Woot!" Katara rolled her eyes.
"Show off!" she shouted. Aang grinned impishly.
"Only because you can't do it!" he yelled back, bouncing over a wave and attempting to catch a seagull. Katara drew water from the ocean and sent a strong jet towards Aang, blowing him into Sokka, who had drifted away from them. Toph felt them through the sand in the ocean floor, and splashed at them too.
"Hi-yaaaaaa!" Sokka shouted, karate chopping the air near Aang's head.
"Kee-YAA!" Katara and Toph joined in, slapping their hands in the water. They all laughed and shouted and started to splash each other. Good times.
"Have you spotted anything Zuko?" Uncle Iroh called in a bored voice from where he was lounging on his cot inside a large tent.
"No," snapped Zuko from where he was swaying atop a tall palm tree."How can I see anything from this stupid angle?" He peered into his telescope again. He was starting to regret agreeing to once again travel with his tea-loving uncle. But he had no choice, since he caused major trouble wherever he went and while he was good at starting it, he never quite had it in him to stop it.
"They have to pass this island to get to the Earth kingdom! It's impossible not to. The island of Karu-Loki spans from all four corners, and I should be able to see anything with this telescope. Stupid telescope!" He angrily threw the telescope down into the sand and jumped down after it.
"Patience, Prince Zuko. They must have stopped to take a break or eat. They are not built like you," Uncle Iroh said, getting out a game of chess.
"Come, sit and test your divisionary tactics," he invited. Zuko grimaced.
"Chess?" he whined. "That game's boring. Why don't we blow up a palm tree or something?" He mimed a slicing motion at the nearest tree.
"Because," Iroh said calmly, moving his pawn forward, "then the Fire Nation would know we are here and send ships to capture you. Or the Earth kingdom."
"Let me tell you a story. Long ago, this island used to be shared by all four nations, did you know that? The Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads, and the Water Tribes. This was more than 17,000 years ago, and legend has it that there used to be a certain ceremonial gathering place in the very heart of Karu-Loki, but to find it you must have peace in your heart and love for others in your thoughts. Otherwise, you can forget about it."
"What's so special about it?" grumbled the prince, flicking his queen forward and taking one of Iroh's bishops. "I bet it's some old castle where wishy-washy freaks get together to play chess." Iroh smiled.
"No, it is a place for lovers, Prince Zuko. But it is also a place where it is said to house the lost scripts of the first leaders of the four nations. The avatar can bring peace, but also destruction. While it is said you cannot have one without the other, the scripts say differently. But those who have cleansed themselves to find it, found it."
"So why is the world so messed up?" Zukko asked, frowning as Iroh's pawn took his queen. Iroh glanced at him, his nephew the very image of bored, his chin resting in his palm, his elbow resting on his knee, a disgruntled look on his face.
He smiled.
"Once having read the script, the founder at once imagines all the glory he will have, when he fixes the world. Or he becomes greedy on thoughts like how much money he will receive for it, or how others will fawn over him when he fixes their lives. The finder may not think this as diminishing the peace and love, but the island knows. You get out by the way you get it, with a peaceful heart, and loving mind." Zuko sat up a bit more.
"That's dumb," he snickered. "Then no one can find those lost script things now, because everything's so corrupted. Ha!" In one quick movement, Zuko snatched up a castle and cornered Iroh's king. Then he stood, bumping his head against the low canvas of the tent.
"It's too hot in here, I'm going to see if I can catch a fish or something," he grumbled, letting himself out of the tent and grabbing the fishing spear leaning against it.
"Be careful, Prince Zuko. Do not let others see you. The Fire Lord Ozai has sent warrants of our capture to even the remotest village on the tiniest island." Zuko sighed and looked down at the rickety spear in his hands. He used to be a prince, Prince of the Fire Nation. He used to have honor, every little thing done for him. He was a royal. Now look at him, fishing for his own food while his devil of a sister went gallivanting around the world, people bowing right and left.
"I will, uncle," Zuko said finally, gripping the spear hard and disappearing through the dense wall of trees and shrubbery. Iroh gazed after him and shook his head. This boy was more a man than the entire Fire Nation put together.
"Come on you guys, help me out here," Katara called irritably from where she was hunched over a pile of dead sticks on the shore, rubbing two furiously together. Shouts and whoops were still coming from the water, where Aang, Sokka, and Toph were having an enthusiastic water fight.
"Hey, no fair! You cant use your bending!" Sokka shouted, ducking as a stream of water was sent his way.
"I didn't! That was my mouth!" Aang shouted back, both fists in the air in victory as Sokka frantically washed his face. Toph giggled, then sent both of them flying through the air as she capulted them with earth. Katara sighed and threw down the sticks she had just rubbed into toothpicks. The wood was too dry and on the verge of crumbling, it couldn't start a fire.
"I'm going to get some better wood, if anyone cares," she said loudly over her shoulder.
"You do that!" Aang called absentmindedly, dodging a large splash from Sokka and Momo. "Hey Appa! A little assistance, if you please!" The great bison flicked his tail effortlessly and sent an enormous wave toward Sokka, flinging him into the air.
"Hey! That's not fair either! You've Appa and Toph and all I've got is Momo!" Katara sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Boys," she grumped.
Meanwhile
"Gah!" the banished prince of the Fire Nation sat glowering in the shallow water of the Bai An River. "This--is--IMPOSSIBLE!" he exploded, jumping up and grabbing the fishing spear.
He darted around, splashing and jabbing wildly at several small fish.
"I'm going to get you if--it's--the--last--thing--I--DO!" He bent over, panting. Stupid fish! Finally getting fed up and extremely frustrated, he shot a well-aimed fireball at a large carp that seemed to be taunting him. Blood and water splashed up toward him.
"Ha!" he shouted at the mutilated fish. "I got you!" As he picked up his hard-earned prize, a growl resounded from behind him.