Chapter 2 is here! After getting 2 reviews on the first chapter, I think I might finally understand the importance of a good review. Thank you C-Lif3 and lizy2000! Well C-Lif3, I noticed that you said that the conversations were confusing; I hope that this will not be the case in the future. Thank you both for the input!
Rated T for violence, language, and adult references
Disclaimer: We all wish we did, but sadly, none of us fans own Avatar the Last Airbender, and I am no different.
Chapter 2 – The Boy(s?) in the Iceberg
Flashback, Unknown POV
"Do it again." The red dragon demanded. Following its instructions, the boy turned around and let loose another fireball.
"Better than yesterday." The blue dragon praised.
"When am I going to begin learning the bending forms?" The child asked.
The red dragon turned his head towards him, "We are dragons, we do not know and forms, and therefore cannot teach them to you." He replied.
The boy furrowed his eyebrows. "Then why can't I go and learn with the other Sun Warriors?" he asked, his gaze facing the children training below.
The dragon seemed to sigh before answering. "You know why, child." The boy lowered his head in defeat.
South Pole Seas Katara POV
The canoe floated slowly over the water as we 'fished'.
"I'm not gonna lose this one. Watch and learn Katara, this is how you catch a fish." Sokka boasted, holding his spear above his head.
I sighed. Why did I go with him again? Looking into the water in front of me, I saw another fish swimming lazily in the water. I glanced at my hands. Maybe... I removed the glove from my left hand, and waved it carefully above the fish. The water, fish inside, slowly rose from the sea.
"Sokka! I caught one, look!" I said happily.
"Shh, you're gonna scare him away. Mmm, I can already smell it cooking." Sokka said, not paying any attention to me.
"But Sokka I caught one!"I insisted.
Sokka ignored me and raised his spear, popping the water bubble and losing the fish.
"Hey!" I shouted.
Sokka sputtered as he tried to comprehend what had soaked him. "Why is it every time you play with magic water, I end up wet?" he complained.
I huffed, "It's not magic water, its waterbending!"
Sokka rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, it's an ancient art unique to our culture, blah, blah, blah. I'm just saying, if I had weird powers, I'd keep them to myself." Sokka argued.
"You're calling me weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water." I said smugly.
A harsh bump distracted us from the argument. We were caught in the rapids! Acting quickly, he grabbed a paddle and started furiously steering away from any ice platforms.
"Watch out!" I shouted at him. "Left! Go left!" I told him.
He takes a right of course. The canoe was soon crushed in between 2 icebergs. Sokka groaned.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "You call that left?" I said sarcastically.
"You don't like my steering? Well maybe you should have waterbended us out of the ice." Sokka said.
I stood up. "So it's my fault now?"
Sokka slumped "I knew I should have left you home!" he said angrily. "Leave it to a girl to mess things up!" he complained.
How dare you! "You are the most sexist immature nut-brained – I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been running around playing soldier!" I threw my arms back.
Sokka backed away. "Uh, Katara?" He yelped, pointing to behind me.
I ignored him and continued my rant. "I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Not pleasant!" I screamed at him raising my arms and throwing them back again. Sokka looked scared now.
"Katara! Settle down!" Sokka pleaded desperately.
"No! I'm done helping you! From now on, you're on your own!" I threw my arms again, and the iceberg behind me split with tremendous force.
The iceberg exploded, pushing our ice platform far away from our previous position.
"Okay, you've gone from weird, to freakish Katara." Sokka said to me.
"You mean I did that?" I asked him.
"Yep, congratulations." He said sarcastically.
In front of us, the ice started glowing mysteriously. Suddenly, a large iceberg rose magnificently in the wake of the broken ice. Inside, a large beast was silhouetted above a boy in a meditation pose. Above the creature, another figure was suspended in the ice. The eyes of the boy below opened, glowing with a powerful white light.
My eyes widened. "He's still alive! We have to help" I grabbed Sokka's club off of his back and made my way over to the glowing iceberg.
"Katara! Wait! We don't know what that thing is!" Sokka shouted at me.
Upon reaching the iceberg, I gripped the club and hit it with all of my might. It cracked but didn't break. I hit it again. The crack grew larger. I hit it a third time. Whoosh! A large blast of air emerged from the iceberg, almost blasting me and Sokka entirely off of the iceberg. Above it, a shining beacon of light shot into the sky.
Zuko's Ship Unknown POV
A few miles away, a Fire Nation ship was sailing between the constant maze of icebergs. A young man stood upon its deck, witnessing the bolt of light that signified the avatars release from his icy prison. He narrowed his eyes.
"Finally." He said. "Uncle Iroh, do you realize what this means?" He asked, turning to an old man sitting on the deck, playing a game with some cards. "I won't get to finish my game?" He remarked, looking at his nephew.
His nephew turned back to the light, ignoring his uncle's remark. "This means my search is about to come to an end." He finished. His uncle sighed and continued his game. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source, it has to be him!" he reasoned.
"Or, it's just the celestial lights; we have been down this road before Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing." His uncle said wisely. "Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?" The old man invited.
This only served to make Zuko angry. "I don't need any calming tea!" He shouted. "Helmsman, head a course for the light."
Iroh's game tiles rippled as a blast of air spread itself over the deck of the vessel.
Iceberg Katara POV
Shortly after the rush of compressed air had passed, a boy, eyes glowing, climbed to the crest of the ice. "Stop!" My brother demanded, brandishing his spear. He glared menacingly at Sokka and I, and then fainted.
Rushing over to the wall of ice, I managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Sokka, idiot he was, started poking him with the butt of his spear.
"Stop it!" I told him. The mysterious boy groaned and opened his eyes.
"I need to ask you something." He said.
"What?" I asked.
"Come closer." he requested.
"What is it?" I asked again while leaned in.
"Will you go penguin sledding with me?" he said, suddenly energetic.
"Sure, I guess?" I replied uncertainly.
He seemingly floated from the ground, landing on his feet. His skin was slightly pale, and his stature was short. Large grey eyes peeked out from underneath the large blue arrow on his forehead
"What's going on here?" he asked, taking in his surroundings.
"You tell us! How did you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?" Sokka asked while poking him with his spear.
"I'm not sure." He replied. A low grumbling distracted us from our conversation. "Appa!" the boy shouted, scrambling up the ice wall.
We rounded the corner of the ice wall. My jaw dropped as I took in the scene playing out before me. The kid was trying to lift up the lip of some enormous beast. The animal yawned as it awoke, lifting him up on its tongue. "You're okay!" the boy said laughing.
"What is that thing?" Sokka asked as we rounded the corner.
Aang looked at us, "This is Appa, my flying bison." He replied cheerily.
Sokka stared at him. "Right. And this is Katara, my flying sister."
Appa started to growl, breathing in large of amounts of air. He bared his teeth, and released a large glob of green snot from his nose. The snot hit Sokka directly. I watched in disgust as Sokka tried, unsuccessfully to wipe the snot from his clothes, making various strange noises along the way.
"It'll wash out." he said, grinning "So," Aang started, "do you guys live around here?"
"Don't answer that!" Sokka cut in. "Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy." Sokka said.
"Yeah I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy, you can tell by that evil look in his eye." I said sarcastically. "The paranoid brother is my brother Sokka, you never told us your name." I said.
"I'm Aa-ah-ahh-ahhh-Achoo!" The force of the sneeze blew the boy high into the air. He descended and slid down the ice safely in front of us. "I'm Aang." He finished.
My brother looked at him in disbelief. "You just sneezed, and flew ten feet in the air!"
Aang looked up, "Really? I felt higher than that."
I gasped in realization. "You're an Airbender!" I said in amazement.
Suddenly a new voice cut into our conversation. "Ugh, my head hurts..." It complained. The owner of the voice, another boy, stood up in Appa's saddle. He jumped down and I got a good look at him.
He was short, almost as short as the other boy, and well-built with a broad frame. He was dressed in a simple golden tunic, with baggy red pants that looked they were about to fall off. His face was fairly handsome, marred only by the childish looks on his face. His eyes were the color of molten gold, matching his tanned skin. His hair was pulled into a ponytail, which came down to his shoulders, also the same bright gold as his eyes.
"Who're you guys? Is this the South Pole?" He asked looking between Sokka and me.
Sokka brandished his spear at him. "No, who are you? Are you from the fire nation?" he said with narrowed eyes.
He looked confused. "Umm... My name is Castro, and yes I am fire nation. What does it matter?"
Sokka scowled, "What does it matter? Did you seriously just ask that?" he said angrily.
"Sokka, calm down. I don't think he means any harm. Or do you?" I added, looking at the fire nation boy warily.
"Why would I have a reason to hurt you?" Castro said, looking at me strangely.
This seemed to calm Sokka down, though his spear remained pointed at Castro. Castro shook his head irritably, as if trying to rid himself of some irksome bug.
"Giant light beams, friendly fire nation, airbenders, I think I got midnight sun madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense." He walked over to the edge of the iceberg, only to stop and stare at the endless ocean.
"Well if you guys are stuck, Castro and I can give you a ride on Appa." Aang offered.
I took it. "We'd love a ride, thanks!" I said running over to the side of Appa to climb up.
"Oh no, I am not riding on that fluffy snot-monster, especially not with fire nation." Sokka said. At his comment, Castro scowled in annoyance and jumped in the saddle next to me, aided by some unseen force.
I looked at him. "Are you hoping some other kind of monster will take you home? Y'know, before you freeze to death?" I asked him smugly. Sokka looked like he was about to protest, then hung his head and climbed into the saddle.
"Okay, First-time fliers hold on tight!" Aang said energetically. "Appa, Yip-Yip!" Aang flicked the reins. Appa bent his legs, and then leaped into the air...and splashed into the ocean below.
"Come on Appa! Yip-Yip!" Aang encouraged.
"Wow, that was truly amazing." Sokka said from the back of the saddle. Castro and I both gave him a dirty look. I crawled up to the front of the saddle.
"Appa's just tired," Aang clarified, "a little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky, you'll see!" he finished smiling at me.
When Aang didn't look away I decided to point it out. "Why are you smiling at me like that?" I asked him.
"Oh, I was smiling?" Aang said sheepishly. Behind me I heard Sokka groan and Castro face palm. The ride home continued.
Zuko's Ship Unknown POV
Prince Zuko stood on the top of his ship, staring out at the sea beyond. His uncle, Iroh, approached him from behind.
"I'm going to bed now." He stated. Iroh yawned and stretched. "Yep, a man needs his rest." He hinted. "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you are right, and the avatar is alive. You won't find him! Your Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather all tried and failed!" Iroh said.
Zuko spoke up, "that's because their honor didn't hinge on the avatar's capture. Mine does, this cowards hundred years in hiding are over!" he spoke with conviction.
South Pole Castro POV
I awoke in a small tent. I noticed Aang sleeping next to me. Katara opened the tent flaps and walked in.
"Aang. Aang! Wake up!" Aang woke with a gasp, flailing his arms. "It's okay; we're in the village now. Get Castro up and get ready. Everyone is waiting to meet you two!" Aang stood up and started to get dressed, Katara watching from the doorway.
What a creep. Women these days. A voice spoke to me. Shut up. I told it, scowling internally. Katara left the tent.
I sat up. "Oh, you're awake. Come on, we have to go meet the village." Aang said. Standing up and stretching, I followed him out of the tent. Katara was waiting by the entrance for us.
Katara walked us over to a group of people gathered in the apparent center of the camp.
"Aang, Castro, this is the entire village. Entire village this is Aang, and Castro." Katara introduced, us bowing in turn.
So many women... Kill the kids and start a brothel! I thought I told you to shut the fuck up! I yelled internally.
The women grasped their children and held them close. "Uh, why are they all looking at me like that?" Aang asked Katara. "Did Appa sneeze on me?"
An old woman stepped forward. "Well no one has seen an airbender in one hundred years. We thought they were all extinct. Until my granddaughter and grandson found you."
Aang and looked at her in shock. "Extinct?" he echoed disbelievingly.
"This is my grand-mother." Katara introduced us. "Call me Gran-Gran." She said dully.
Gran-Gran looked at me. "Now you, Castro. Katara says you are fire nation. Is this true?" she questioned. I nodded. "Katara also says that you mean no harm. Is this also true?"
I nodded again. "I have no incentive to hurt any of you." I answered.
Sokka walked over to Aang, snatching his staff from his hands. "What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this." He said.
"It's not for stabbing. It's for airbending!" Aang replied. He opened his glider with a burst of air.
This made children giggle. "Magic trick! Do it again!" a little girl requested.
Aang smiled. "Not magic, airbending! It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly!"
Sokka scoffed, "Last time I checked, humans can't fly!" I grinned. He was in for a surprise.
Aang braced himself, "Check again!" Aang leaped into the air. He completed multiple flips and twirls while flying. He looked down and smiled down at the villagers. He then flew into the structure built on the wall of the village.
I shook my head. Sometimes Aang had a bad habit of not paying attention. I wandered over to the watchtower where he had crashed and helped him up.
"That was amazing!" Katara praised.
"I think Sokka is mad at you." I commented, looking over to where he was digging himself out of the snow.
Sokka stood up, grumbling. "Great, you're and airbender, Katara's a waterbender, together you can waste time all day long." He said before stomping away.
Aang and I looked at Katara in amazement "You're a waterbender!" He exclaimed.
"Well, sort of, not yet." Katara said modestly.
Gran-Gran walked over. "Alright, no more playing. Come on Katara you have chores." Katara walked off with her grandmother. Aang watched Katara walk away.
Someone likes her. The voice commented. Why the hell are you so talkative today? Shut up! Alright, alright! I'll shut up. It claimed. For now that is. I growled. Damn you!
Aang looked at me. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied. Aang didn't look convinced, but let the matter drop.
I sighed and walked away. I wonder what Sokka is up to?
Zuko's Ship Unknown POV
Zuko stood on his ship, facing the two soldiers that were standing in front of him. His uncle was sitting on a stool a short distance away, watching.
"Again." Iroh ordered. Zuko shot a bolt of fire simultaneously at each soldier in front of him. he dodged a bolt to his head, one to his feet, and leapt over the heads of the soldier, firing blasts of flame at them before landing.
Iroh stood. "No! Power in firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body, the energy extends past you limbs and becomes fire!" he proved his point by throwing a blast of fire in front of Zuko, dissipating before it reached him. "Get it right this time."
Zuko walked toward his uncle. "Enough. I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready." He said.
"No, you are impatient. You have yet to master your basics." Iroh stated while sitting down. "Drill it again!" he ordered.
Zuko growled and launched a large fireball from his foot. The fireball hit one in the chest, knocking him back. He strode up to his uncle. "The sages tell us that the avatar is the last airbender, he must be over on hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements, ill need more than basic firebending to defeat him. You will teach me the advanced set!" Zuko shouted.
Iroh blinked. "Very well." He conceded. "But first, I must finish my roast duck!" His uncle exclaimed, withdrawing a bowl of food from underneath his seat. Zuko grimaced as Iroh consumed the food noisily.
South Pole Castro POV
I leaned against the wall of the village as I watched Sokka give his 'lesson' to the boys in the village. He was pacing back and forth, occasionally gesturing with his club as he spoke. "Now men, it's important that you show now fear when you face a firebender. In the water tribe, we fight to the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?" He finished dramatically, staring at the children in front of him.
I started clapping politely. Sokka turned around and glared at me. "What? I thought it was good." I said, shrugging. Sokka huffed and turned back around to face the children.
One of the kids raised his hand "I gotta pee!" he exclaimed.
"Listen, until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe! And that means no potty breaks!" he said, finality in his voice.
What war? What happened while we were in the iceberg? Don't ask me, I don't have anything I want to tell you. The voice stated suddenly.
The boy persisted. "But I really gotta go." He said
Sokka sighed. "Okay. Who else has to go?" At this, the rest of the children raised their hands. Sokka face palmed.
Katara walked over. "Have either of you seen Aang? Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago!"
At this moment, Aang crawled out of the water closet. "Wow! Everything freezes in there!" I heard him say.
I smiled and walked over to him, ignoring the siblings bickering behind me. "It took you an hour to do that? Maybe I should give you some of my fire flakes!" I joked. Aang grinned and beckoned me over to Appa.
I jumped on the saddle, helping the kids up to slide off of his tail.
Sokka came over to us. "Stop!" he shouted, "Stop it right now! What is wrong with you two? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on!" he said.
"What war? What are you talking about?" Aang asked.
I furrowed my eyebrows. Please let this be a prank. I prayed.
Sokka stared at him blankly. "You're kidding right?" he asked.
Aang's eyes widened. "PENGUIN!" he yelled excitedly. He sprinted off at unbelievable speeds.
I shook my head and ran after him. After I got out of the siblings view, I started to shoot trace amounts of white flame out of my feet, increasing my speed. I sped across the snow, following Aang's trail until I found him. He was chasing penguins around, trying to catch one. I sat down, trying to catch my breath. Running made me tired, but using firebending to go faster just made me exhausted.
I sat on a hill overlooking the penguins clearing. I watched as Aang tried again and again to catch one.
"Hey Castro." I turned around to see Katara standing behind me. "Have you seen Aang around?"
"Yeah, he's over there." I said, pointing to the spot where Aang was chasing another penguin.
I watched them contently as I rested on the hill. Ah, young love. The voice commented. Back again? I am getting seriously tired of you; all these conversations are giving me a headache! I complained. Oh really? Maybe I'll talk more often! I growled. There is no reasoning with you is there? I asked it. Nope! It answered cheerily.
It was disorienting; hearing my own voice speak to me against my will. And it was always such an asshole! The voice had been with me for as long as I could remember. It was always whispering mostly violent, but useful tips. It would sometimes speak to me during combat, and sometimes at my job or during other various activities. Although it would often speak to me randomly in several meaningless conversations.
I looked towards where Aang was wrestling with a penguin. Don't want to miss my ride. I thought. I sprinted over to Aang and Katara. I quickly mounted a penguin before it could protest.
Aang grinned. "Come to join the party?" he asked.
"Wouldn't miss it for my life!" I joked.
Katara beckoned us over to a cliff. "Come on you two! The penguins are getting restless!"
We nodded. We spurned our penguins to move, and off we went. We raced down the cliff as fast as we could.
Katara laughed, "I haven't done this since I was a kid!" She commented.
I ramped and landed in between them. "You mean you don't do this every day? This is awesome!" Cackling madly, I sped down the hill. I raced into a tunnel, spinning around the outside. Once I reached the end, Katara and Aang suddenly appeared right behind me. We slid out of the tunnel on our penguins. I dismounted mine and it eagerly ran off.
You should at least say thank you! The voice said sarcastically. I ignored it and looked at the sight in front of me. A huge structure rose in front of us, suspended in the air by icicles.
Aang spoke for both of us. "Whoa! What is that?" he said in amazement.
Katara scowled. "A fire navy ship." She said gravely. "And a very bad memory for our people." She added.
Aang started walking towards the ship, me following. "Guys, stop! We're not allowed to go near it. The ship could be booby-trapped!" Katara warned from behind us.
Aang turned around while I kept moving forward. "If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear." He said wisely.
I called at them from next to a hole in the ship. "Are you coming or what? Hurry up!" I shouted.
Aang rolled his eyes at me and climbed up the ice, helping Katara along the way. We walked inside of the huge ship. The whole thing was made of metal, I noticed. We wandered along the corridors, exploring. We walked down a long hallway, stopping at a ladder. We climbed up, exiting into the topmost corridor not on deck. We went down a long hallway entering a weapons room at the end of it.
I picked up a sword lying in the corner. Hmm, a little heavy, but maybe I could use this! I picked up the scabbard that was next to it. I slung it over my back.
"This ship has haunted our tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl." Katara commented. "It was part of the Fire Nations first attacks." She continued.
I looked at her, "Wait a sec, what attacks? Before I got stuck in the iceberg, the fire nation didn't even have a navy!" I questioned.
Aang spoke up, "Hold on, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation." Aang gestured to me. "Neither of us has seen any war!" he said.
Katara looked at us strangely. "How long were you two in that iceberg?" she asked.
Aang spoke "I don't know, a few days maybe?" He answered.
Katara's eyes widened, "I think it was more like a hundred years!"
I scoffed, "Yeah and I'm a fairy princess." I said sarcastically.
Aang eyes widened, "Yeah, that's impossible. Do we look like hundred year old men to you?" He said.
Katara pressed her argument. "Think about it! The war is a century old. You two don't know about it because-somehow-you were in there that whole time! It's the only explanation." she said.
Me and Aang's eyes widened in horror. Aang sank down to the floor, "A hundred years. I can't believe it.
"I'm sorry Aang. Maybe somehow there is a bright side to all this." Katara said comfortingly.
Aang smiled. "I did get to meet you!" he said. Katara smiled back at him.
I looked at them both. "Fear me, for I am now a fairy princess." I joked. They laughed. "I think we ought to get going." I stated. I led the way out of the door, navigating the corridors. Aang led the way up a ladder we found. He walked down the hallway, entering a door at the end.
Katara spoke up. "Aang? Let's head back, this place is creepy." She said.
Aang continued on. SNAP! A tripwire! An iron grate closed over the door we entered through. "What's that you said about booby traps?" Aang said.
I looked around. Various valves moved and pipes steamed as the ship reacted to the tripwires purpose. A shrieking sound rang through the air as a flare cut its way across the sky.
Aang looked at Katara, "Hold on tight!" in a swift movement; he snatched her from the ground and leapt through a hole in the ceiling. I moved under the hole and shot a burst of fire from my feet as I shot out of the ship. Aang jumped down the multiple levels of the ship as he headed towards the ground. I vaulted from the top of the ship, slowing my descent with large jets of orange flame. I didn't have the energy for anything stronger. I landed next to them.
Katara stared at me in shock, "You're a firebender?"
I shook my head. "Talk later, run now!" I said. As we sprinted towards the village, I thought one thing.
We were in deep trouble.
Flashback, Unknown POV
Two dragons hovered in front of a boy. The boy looked to be about eight years old. "It is alright child, you will find a way to fend for yourself" the voice of the red dragon spoke in his mind.
Tears ran down the boys face. "Will I ever see you again?" he asked.
"Perhaps child, we will find out in due time." The blue dragon replied. "Go now, you do not want to want to go down the mountain at night." it chided.
The boy looked at both of the dragons, and bowed to them. "Thank you. Goodbye!" he said as he made his way down the side of the cliff. He had learned all he could from the dragons. Now, he was going to live in the world of man.
Hey! Its over! That was a lot longer than I expected! I wish I could have updated sooner, but almost 5000 words takes a long time! Hope you fellow Americans had a great Independence Day! If you want to, please leave a review!