(I do not own avatar cries or any of it's merchandise. However I do own the characters Luther, Yan, Craig, Dira and Leah. Please contact me if you wish to use these characters in you own stories, thank you.)

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(This is what happens when the narrator and some friends become trapped inside the world of the avatar. Some romantic moments are included.)

(I got the idea from the song 'Riot' and 'Animal I Have Become' by 'Three Days Grace'. Please tell me if this sounds too much like a song fic.)

Avatar - The Last Airbender

Chapter 1: Right In The Middle Of Things: part 1

Really, the day just started pretty normal. The sun shone a red sheet across the clouds. It was going to rain soon. I sat up from my bed and stretched. I looked at the clock and noticed the time.

"Eleven o'clock!!! Aw, man. That's twice this week I've missed school." I sighed. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I quickly put on my clothes and rushed downstairs. Craig (The cool tempered, well rested type of guy, with a great sense of humour) and Leah (A girl who could make good friends without saying a word) were there. Trailing behind were Luther and Dira (The two local comedians and the friendliest pair anyone could meet). Had everyone missed school today? What was going on?

"Hey, Yan, how are ya?" Craig said, ruffling up my already messed up hair. I pushed his hand away gently and allowed the four of them to come inside the house. I was usually like this to my friends, but if I don't know you or I don't like you, I simply push you away and shut the door. Everyone automatically jumped onto the couches in the living-room. Craig flicked through the channels to find nick-toons or something. There was a new program coming on called 'Avatar: Last Airbender'. the whole bunch, me included loved anime, and the storyline behind this was pretty ok. I walked in calmly and sat on a wooden chair, because there was no space on the couches.

Eventually, we reached the channel, but something was wrong. The screen was black. Dira checked around the T.V. to see if it was still switched on. She made a puzzled look and nodded. All of a sudden, the screen began to change. The screen was now displaying the snowy fuzz you get when there's no signal. There was a massive screech and a bright flash. When I took my hand away from my face, everyone was gone. Then there was another screech and another light, then everything turned black.

I awoke in a small wooden bed, with nothing more than a towel and some cases to rest on. My arms felt heavy and the most annoying thing was that the person above me was snoring louder than a fog horn. I looked up and was just about to tap his shoulder when I noticed that it was Luther. What happened and where were we? I felt as if the room moved from side to side, as if it was in the ocean. I shook my head, smiled and went over to the mirror.

"Aah! What the hell am I wearing!!??" I shouted, waking up Luther, who also seemed puzzled. I was in a large red suit. Beside the mirror was a red and white helmet, with red horns, and above me was a large flag with a symbol on it. The symbol looked like a flame. I had seen this before on adverts for…Avatar!!! Suddenly, I was struck by a thought. Was the Avatar a real person? Were we now part of his story? Me and Luther ran outside and looked around us. We were in an iron clad ship. There was one other boy there. He had a scar which covered a large area of his face and he seemed to be training. We watched him for a while, hesitating to ask where we were, when he shot a punch high into the air. A bolt of fire emerged and engulfed the air around him. He continued to punch and kick wildly, sending bolts of fire in every direction. My face seemed to darken as I realised what had happened. The things he was doing were not possible from where I came from…the world where I came from. We weren't even in the same world as before. Where the hell were we?!

I ran back to my quarters and lay on the bed. After a couple of hours trying to think of what to do, the ship ground to a halt. We had hit land, or what seemed to be land. Again, I ran outside onto the deck. We had smashed into an iceberg. I had a sudden thought. This would be a perfect chance to get away from here. I could put my belongings in my sack I used for a pillow and jump behind the iceberg before anyone notices I was even gone. I did exactly that. With my rucksack ready and everything set, I took a great running leap over the edge of the ship, plunging into the icy cold water. I only stayed in it for about ten minutes, because my body couldn't take the cold. I sat on a drifting piece of ice and took hold of my chest, shivering.

It wasn't long until I could hear voices. Someone was rowing towards me. I slowly opened my eyes and looked upwards. A young boy had outstretched his arm to me. He was wearing a large blue coat and some blue gloves to match. Still shivering, I took hold of his hand. As he pulled me up, I saw another person. A girl. She was beautiful. She was also wearing a blue coat and blue gloves. The boy threw me onto the boat and pulled a blade to my throat.

"Ok, fire-bender! What are you doing here and where are the rest of your soldiers?!" he shouted, edging the blade closer and closer.

"What? What do you mean 'fire-bender'? What IS a fire-bender??" I asked, putting my arms into the air. The girl stepped in and pushed the boy aside. She looked down and gave a stern look.

"If you aren't a fire-bender, what type of bender are you?" she said calmly. I stood up and did a random fighting pose. I put my hands out straight and closed my eyes. Calmly, I took a breath through my nose, exhaled through my mouth and thrust my right hand forwards. There was a massive crash and I opened my eyes. Part of one of the passing icebergs was blow right off. The girl looked at me and smiled.

"You're an air-bender? Why didn't you just say that? Let me introduce my self and my brother." she pointed over to the boy, who was frantically swinging his blade at a fish.

"That's Sokka, my brother, and I'm Katara. What's your name?" she asked kindly.

"My name's Yan. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble." I answered.

"Nah, it's ok…" said Sokka, taking another swipe at the water. "besides, you could help us with a little something…like GETTING AWAY FROM THOSE ICEBERGS!!" I turned and saw the wall of ice we were heading towards and tried what I had done last time, but it wouldn't work.

"Why can't I do that any more? What's going on?" I shouted, before everyone was forced to jump onto a passing iceberg. We looked onwards and watched as the canoe was smashed into pieces against the ice wall. However Katara was looking somewhere else. There was a boy frozen inside the iceberg we were on. He looked as if he was meditating, and there were glowing marks on his head and arms. They looked like arrows. I examined the iceberg for a moment, then snatched Sokka's boomerang and began to hack away at the iceberg.

" Hey, be careful! I can't make another one of these!" Sokka said, taking the boomerang back and stuffing it into his pouch. Suddenly, there was a bright flash and the light shone straight up past the clouds. I put my feet firmly on the ground and covered my face, getting ready for whatever came out. However, instead of a danger, out came the boy. The markings on his body were no longer glowing and he was unconscious. Katara rushed past me and lifted the boy's head. After a minute or so of us staring, the boy opened his eyes slightly.

"What's going on? Where am I?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting upright. Sokka and I looked at the boy with a raised eyebrow.

"You're in the South-Pole," Katara stated. "and you just burst out of a chunk of ice. We should be asking you what's going on." Then there came a loud roar from behind the sheet of ice. Suddenly, the boy jumped up with a smile and ran around the other side of the iceberg. Katara and I followed him and were shocked by what we saw.

"What the hell is that! Do you own that?" I said, pointing at the massive, fluffy, white creature in front of me.

"Yeah, this is Appa. My flying bison. Oh, and I'm Aang by the way. Who are you?" he replied kindly. I once again raised an eyebrow and pointed out Appa to Sokka. He looked up and cowered back with a squeal. Katara smiled with wonder.

"I'm Katara," she said, giving a kind bow. "and these two are Sokka, my brother and Yan, an Airbender." Aang looked up at me and smiled.

"Wow! Another Airbender, here? Why would an Airbender be in the north pole, and why is he wearing fire nation clothes?" Aang asked, looking me up and down trying to suss out why I was so different.

"I'm wearing fire nation clothes because I come from the fire nation, and I'm only here because me ship was sailing somewhere close by." I replied, going over and stroking Appa's fur. Sokka suddenly pulled his blade to my throat again.

"what do you mean your ship was sailing nearby! I bet you're trying to lead the fire nation right to us, traitor!" I gave Sokka a angered look and pushed him away to the edge of the iceberg.

"I don't want to hurt anyone! I don't even know what I'm doing in a place like this! I shouldn't be here! I should be at my house right now having breakfast! Stop accusing me of being everyone's enemy, please!" I shouted as the wind around me seemed to get stronger.

"Yan, stop it! You're going to hurt someone if you don't cool your temper. And Sokka, get a grip! Just because he's not from around here doesn't mean he wants to hurt anyone! Leave him alone!" shouted Katara. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to clear my head. Sokka just turned around and looked for more fish. Aang suddenly passed right in front of me, making me fall over onto my back. He was riding a ball of air!

"No way, another Airbender! How many of you guys are there?" Sokka said, lifting his first catch of the day and dropping it into the straw basket he took from his pouch. Aang turned and smiled kindly.

"I think there's around fifty of us, why?" he asked.

"There's only five of us, including me. Is something wrong?" I asked, giving a puzzled look towards Sokka. Katara turned away slightly with a small frown.

"it's just, we thought that all the airbenders were gone. They disappeared near the start of the war." she said, hanging her head low.

"What war? Actually, never mind. The airbenders are all still there. They just don't socialise much with the neighbouring nations. I'll take you to see them one day, you'll see." Aang seemed so confident for such a young boy, and so full of energy for being stuck in an iceberg. Katara sighed a quiet "ok" under the whisper of the cold wind.

"you guys look lost. You need a ride. I'm sure Appa will let you come with me. Right buddy?" Aang continued. He jumped high into the air and landed on the large saddle on top of Appa. I nodded and tried the same, but stumbled as I attempted to land. I was shortly followed along by Katara and Sokka, who just climbed onto the saddle using the icy ledge. "yip yip!" Aang shouted, and Appa took to the…water. He jumped and then exhaustedly landed into the water.

"Oh, yeah…"Flying bison". Real impressive" Sokka remarked sarcastically, making unoffending finger gestures. Aang, Katara and I looked at Sokka with annoyed faces, indicating that his sarcastic joke was not funny and was only offensive towards both Aang and Appa.

Finally, after travelling across the water for around an hour, we came to the edge of a small village. The houses were all made of ice, just like the igloos back in our south pole. Katara jumped off Appa with a gleeful smile and hugged the nearby old lady.

"Gran-gran! It's good to be back. Did we miss anything?" She said. The old woman looked upwards and smiled.

"Oh, no, no, no. You haven't missed anything," she turned to me and Aang and smiled an even wider smile. "And I see you have brought two handsome young boys back with you too. One of them likes you, I can tell." Upon hearing this, Aang and I gave a slight blush. To tell the truth, I liked Katara. I know it had only been an hour, but still, she was a good looking girl. I added a grin to my face, hoping it would cover up the bright red blush. Part of me felt slightly embarrassed and the other part of me said that I was relieved to have that off my chest. That night, I slept well…

The next day was bright. I awoke early to the sound of laughing children and the soft breeze of the cold, southern air. Yawning, I pulled myself out of my bed and rubbed my eyes. Katara and Aang were already awake. Maybe I wasn't awake as early as I thought. However, Sokka was not in sight. He must have still been in bed, snoring like Appa. I looked to my left and there was a set of clothes. A thick blue jacket, some thick blue trousers and a pair of woolly boots. Also, there were a pair of blue gloves. It was the same clothing that everyone else was wearing. I shrugged my shoulders and put on the clothes. They were surprisingly light for their size.

I walked outside and took a breath of fresh air. Aang was showing his staff to the younger residents of the water village. He tapped the back of the stick lightly and four red wings sprouted from the top and bottom. I watched in amazement as Aang jumped up and soared through the air, holding onto the top of the wooden staff. However, I didn't watch for long. I felt insignificant towards him, despite the fact he was only twelve. I turned and practiced whatever basics I could make up.

The first was a straight punch forwards. I took a deep breath and thrust my right hand downwards and then upwards. There was a huge gust of wind and the snow in front of me blew into a great lump about twenty feet from where I was standing. I continued to practice basic punches until I was ready to take on more challenging moves. One of which was a jumping roundhouse kick I'd learned from Tai-Kwon-Do back home. Again I took a deep breath, then forced myself as high as possible, spinning to gain altitude, and then spun a final turn and flailed my leg outwards from my body. The force caused me to stumble slightly when I reached the ground. It was only when I stopped to wipe the sweat from my brow that I noticed Katara. She looked as if she'd been watching for some time.

"You're still training, aren't you?" she asked. I scratched my head and nodded. She smiled back and giggled. "so am I. I still need to find someone to teach me water bending properly." I wondered for a moment what she meant by water-bending.

"Water-bending? What's it like?" I asked. "you think you could show me one or two things?" Katara blushed a little and smiled a little more. She ran towards me and grasped my hand, then pulled me along for a few meters.

"Come on, I'll show you what I know." she shouted. I guess I smiled a bit. Maybe this would be my chance to find out what was going on. I followed Katara until we reached a small, open area of water. She put her hands in front of her and moved back and forth. The water began to ripple, then wave gently with her navigating. "come on, just let the energy go to your arms and move the water. It's pretty easy."

I walked over and set my arms out. I could feel them become light and I took suggestion that it may be the power she was talking about. Pushing and pulling slowly, the water began to move gently, then harder until it became a wave which capsized over me, knocking me onto the ground. Katara gave a giggle and helped me up.

"Looks like you already mastered that too much," she said sarcastically. "Now for something I haven't fully mastered yet. It's called the water-whip. You have to put a bit of concentration…"

"Like this?" I asked forcing a long strip of water quickly back and fro through the air. "Katara, I need to ask you…what's going on. Why is Sokka so afraid of the fire nation? What did they do?" Katara looked at me with a confused face.

"You mean that you were on that fire-navy ship, but had no idea about the war? That's not possible. The war started one hundred years ago. Not necessarily something we can just shrug off." She answered. Still, my face looked serious. I didn't know where I was, never mind what was happening here. She gave a sigh and looked down. "The fire nation attacked the other nations one hundred years ago. The Avatar, probably one of you guys, is the only person who can stop the war. If he doesn't then everything everywhere could be destroyed. We're trying to stop that."

"What!!" I I couldn't believe that I'd been taken right into the heart of a war. "Why didn't you mention anything like this beforehand?!" Suddenly I realised the look on Katara's face. She looked frightened and sad. It was just then that I took notice of my tone of voice. Katara put her head down as a tear ran down the side of her face.

"I'm…I'm sorry…" she said quietly. I walked over to her and took he hand.

"No, Katara. I should feel sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that…sorry." I replied quietly. She exchanged a smile and a hug. My face lit up bright red as she hugged into the side of me. Suddenly there was a huge gust of wind and the snow flew up onto us.

"PENGUIN!!!!" Aang shouted, running past at top speed. I shook of the snow, laughed and followed. Katara gave a giggle and followed behind me. We ran north for about ten minutes and ended up in the habitat for the penguins. There were hundreds of them all over the place, small ones and large ones. Aang once again made a sudden pass on the back of a penguin. Katara and I looked at each other with a grin.

it didn't take us long to mount a penguin. For the first time since I arrived, I actually ad fun. All three of us, Katara, Aang and I, raced down the steep, treacherous slopes of the mountains. Every once in a while, one of us would take the courage and go over a ledge to show off. Eventually, we reached the bottom of the mountain and stepped off the penguins, which waddled back up. There, Aang, Katara and myself stood staring at an old wreckage. It looked similar to the ship I was on. A fire-navy ship.

"Aang, I think we should turn back now. I don't like this place. It's a bad memory for our people, plus the wreckage could be booby-trapped." Katara said, taking some steps backwards.

"Come on Katara, if you want me to take you to the north pole, you'll have to get used to exploring dangerous things." Aang replied with a smile. Again, Katara took a step back.

"The north pole?" I asked, looking at Katara, expecting some sort of smart, yet witty answer.

"Yep." she replied. "Aang agreed to take me there to learn proper water-bending." I gave Aang a raised eyebrow, and just shrugged my shoulders. I took a few steps towards the ship. "You want to go into that thing too?" Katara asked. She seemed concerned for our safety. I looked down ant then at her.

"Aang's right Katara. You can't expect to go to the other side of the planet and not explore a little." Slowly, Katara took some steps forward. She walked behind me and grasped my hand. I looked down and she quickly withdrew her arm.

"sorry," she said, giving a small blush. "I didn't mean to put you off." I smiled and took hold of her hand.

"If you want any protection, I'll be glad to give you that." Again, she began to blush and giggled. We walked in repulsed, yet brave steps towards the gaping hole on the side of the ship. Inside, there were old burnt out, mouldy fire-nation flags like the one that hung on top of my mirror. The doors were heavy and iron. Half seemed bolted shut by old age and rot. The last room we inspected contained a stash of high class weapons which had been perfectly preserved apart from the odd rusty parts. I took hold of an old spear and snapped a string by accident. Suddenly, there was a huge crunch and some sparks flew across the room. They continued across the floor and hit a small switch. There was a flash of light and a rocket like flare sprouted out of the chimneys.

"What was that about booby-traps?" Aang asked, looking puzzled and scared. With a swift flick of his staff, Aang flew up the chimney and down the side of the boat. I, along with Katara clutching onto my arm, ran down the hallway and out of the hole, following Aang back to the village…

---------------------------------- Back on Zuko's Fire-navy ship ---------------------------

Luther sat and smiled at the old man as he placed his wooden cards down onto the table. The red light flashed threateningly across Luther's face as the young man continued to train. He was very amused by the sheer power that an element could bring. Placing down the water-tribe card, Luther took a sip of his calming, jasmine tea. The old man smiled and placed an air-temple card down. Luther grinned and admitted defeat.

"You truly do have heart while playing a good game, young boy. Tell me, what is your name?" The old man asked pleasantly. Luther exchanged a smile and laughed.

"I'll tell you my name if you will exchange your own first." Luther said, smirking friendlily, taking a sip of tea. The old man raised his eyebrow in amazement.

"My name is Iroh. If you wish, you can call me Uncle Iroh." he said with a laugh. Luther nodded and smiled.

"I'm Luther. It's good to meet someone with such high interests in gaming and such…good taste." he said, finishing his tea. Iroh looked upwards at the young man as he practiced.

"You need a good sparring partner." he said calmly. Suddenly with a smile, he looked at the unsuspecting Luther. "Maybe you and the new recruit could try something Zuko, hmm?" Luther choked and looked at Zuko. He was already in a fighting position, awaiting his opponent. Regretfully, Luther stepped in front of Zuko and placed himself in a steady stance. He had been watching Zuko practicing for a long time and took into consideration his techniques.

Without any warning, Zuko fired a long stream of fire at Luther. He dodged and thrust his left hand forwards, breathing outwards. A bolt of fire passed Zuko's head and smashed against the iron plated exterior of the ship. Suddenly, there was a bright light and a small screech. Zuko looked up and spotted the signal flare from the abandoned ship. With a sense of fright, Zuko ran over to the telescope and zoomed in on the ship. He watched as Yan and Katara ran across the plains then, looked over to see Aang using his air-scooter to pass up the mountain.

"Helmsman! Set our course as straight ahead. I've found the Avatar, at long last." Returning to look into the telescope, he zoomed in on the water-tribe village. "And I've found his hiding place…"

-------------------------------Back at the Water-Tribe Village-------------------------------------

Katara, Aang and I took a great deal of breaths when we got back to the village. There, Sokka, along with many other older inhabitants stood with stern faces.

"See Katara!" Sokka shouted angrily. "That guy IS working for the fire-nation!" He pointed at Aang, who was looking in shock. Taking account of what just happened, Aang looked down and collected his staff. He walked over to Appa and jumped on top. Katara looked over and looked back at Sokka.

"Aang didn't do anything! If it's anyone's fault, it's mine! I went with him into that ship!" She shouted back. Sokka walked forwards behind Appa, shoving me and Katara out of the way.

"Aang, if you're leaving then good riddance! I hope you freeze to death, traitor!" he said, waving his fist. Slowly, Aang and Appa stomped off into the distance. Katara and I watched helplessly as he disappeared. Suddenly, Katara's face went red with fury.

"There goes my only chance of becoming a water-bender! Thanks a lot Sokka! Hope your happy!" she shouted. I looked at Sokka with a puzzled and regretting face. I remembered the ship that I was on, and how close it was to the village when I jumped off. I had a feeling of fright and ran over to Sokka.

"What do we do now. The ship I came from would have surely seen that flare." Sokka stopped walking and listened.

"Then I guess we're gonna' have to fight the fire-nation." he replied quickly. We entered a small tent with some black, grey and white paint in bowls. There were also some clubs and spears lined across the edges. I took hold of one and spun it around, making the tent sway with wind. Looking at Sokka, I noticed the paints he was using to put on his face. I took a breath and joined him, copying the pattern he was putting on. After sorting our war-paints, we took hold of out weapons and ran onto the wall…waiting…and waiting…for the fire-navy ship to arrive…

-----------------------------------With Aang and Appa--------------------------------------

In the cold, snowy landscape, Aang sat on a small piece of ice sculpted from the water. Appa slept heavily below him.

" I can't just leave them all down there without protection. I have to help, but Sokka will just send me away again. I don't want to get anyone angry any more, but everyone's angry at me anyway, so what's the point." Aang was starting to feel depressed because he had already seemed to cause serious problems. Suddenly, he couldn't take it any more. He jumped off the ice sculpture and ran in the direction of the village, hoping that he wasn't too late to help…

-----------------------------On Zuko's Ship-------------------------------

Luther looked out over the water and at the village. He felt a sense of pity for those who lived there. Surely, the people who lived there wouldn't be able to defend themselves, and if they could, not very well. He turned and looked over to Iroh.

"Do you really think Zuko should go through with this? I mean, the village is probably unprotected. Why would someone so powerful be hiding there?" he asked, putting his hand to his chin. Iroh frowned and shook his head.

"My nephew is very impatient and has been searching for the Avatar for three years now. He wont stop for anything unless it is of the up-most importance." he said. Luther looked back to the village. He still felt that pity and fear for those who lived there. He knew how ruthless Zuko was and he knew Zuko would kill anyone if he needed to, even to get information about the Avatar.

"I'm going back to my quarters for some rest. Wake me up when we reach the village." Luther said, walking through the main entrance and into the hall. Iroh nodded and returned to his tea…