Did a quick edit to clean up some typos and continuity errors, nothing major. Thanks for reading!
"It's not like Aang and Katara to be this late…" Suki craned her neck to see through to the front of the café.
"Ahhh, Katara's probably just taking forever to get her hair loopies perfectly symmetrical." Sokka suggested whilst stuffing his third breakfast roll down his throat.
"Hey guys!" The younger couple arrived on queue and sat down across from Sokka and Suki. "Sorry we're late…it was kind of a long night."
Sokka wiped his mouth with his arm, "She better not mean what I think she means," he said, pointing across the table at Aang, "You may be the Avatar, but she's still my little sister!"
"Sokka!" Katara and Suki yelled simultaneously. He raised his hands to suggest his innocence before gesturing towards Aang, as if to say I'm watching you, kid, before bringing his focus back to his plate.
The girls rolled their eyes in unison and moved on from the subject.
"So, are you guys ready to hit the beach and relax for the next few days?" Suki asked, stretching her arm around Sokka and squeezing his neck in excitement, "It's been so long since we vacationed."
An unsettling silence fell over the younger couple, both thinking back to the subject of Aang's horrible dream the previous night.
"Can't wait!" Katara finally said, "It's always nice to get the gang back together again. Speaking of which, where are Toph, Zuko, and Mai?"
"Toph said she'd rather go toe to toe with a herd of platypus bears than spend a week surrounded by sand and water." Sokka explained.
"And Zuko said that the beach isn't really Mai's favorite setting." Suki added.
They all shrugged and continued eating their breakfast, exchanging stories and catching each other up on their lives since last they met.
Aang swallowed his last pastry and took a deep breath before slouching in his seat, completely satisfied. "Ahh, that was great!"
"Yeah, thanks for breakfast, Sokka." Katara dabbed her mouth with a napkin, a wry grin crossing her face.
"You're very wel- Wait, what?!"
"You're not going to make your little sister pay for her meal…"
"Well I suppose…"
"And, uhh, I'm providing the transportation." Aang grinned, quickly standing and escorting Katara outside.
"That's true, but…hey wait!" He looked at Suki, "Do you believe this?"
"Don't look at me, boyfriend." She said, playfully, before kissing him on the cheek and joining the others outside.
Stone-faced, Sokka rummaged through his pocket until finding enough money to pay the bill. He threw the coins on the table and sulked the entire way out to Appa.
Ember Island had become one of the top vacation spots in the world ever since the Harmony Restoration Movement. Citizens of all nations visited to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, sun, sand, and social culture. The sun's warmth shone on the foursome as they searched for the perfect area to set up.
"How about here?" Suki suggested.
"Hmm…too crowded." Sokka insisted, "Let's keep moving."
"This looks like a good spot." Aang said, a few moments later.
"Too sunny."
"Isn't that why we brought an umbr-?"
"Keep moving!"
"Ahh, look! The perfect spot!" Katara ran over to an area of baron, untouched sand before anyone else could claim it. "Not too crowded, some nice shade from those trees…"
They all looked at Sokka.
He thought for a moment, examined the area. "Too sandy."
"Just sit down!" They all yelled and quickly set up their blankets.
It took a few moments to get situated, but before long they were all fully relaxed and enjoying their first day of vacation.
Sokka positioned himself on the sand, face tilted towards the sun, hand intertwined with Suki's, "All I need to make this day perfect is an ice cold drink with one of those small little umbrella's in it."
Katara laughed, "I'll go get us some refreshments."
" Best. Sister. Ever."
"So a margarita for Suki, a strawberry daiquiri for Sokka, a pina colada for myself, and a virgin for you, right, sweetie?" They all shared a laugh at the underage Avatar's expense.
"It would be irresponsible for me, as the avatar, to drink alcohol anyway, Katara" Aang yelled as he floated in the water; Momo, who resting on his chest, squeaked in agreement.
"Whatever you say, Junior." Katara teased as she made her way to the small refreshment hut across the street from the beach.
It was a hot summer afternoon and the line for drinks stretched all the way out of the door and around the corner. Katara took her place at the back and patiently waited for her turn in line. Inch by inch she slowly approached the counter. Eventually giving in to the boredom, Katara found herself eavesdropping on nearby conversations just to pass the time.
"So, did you hear the big news?" A dark haired girl a few places ahead of her asked her friend.
The friend shook her head.
"Apparently the Avatar is here!"
"Really!?"
The girl nodded, "You think I can get him to teach me some bending?" She smirked.
Katara's eyebrow twitched, but she took a deep, relaxing breath to calm herself. She refused to be bothered by petty conversations on her vacation, so she turned her attention from the girls and back towards the beach where a cooling breeze floated off the water.
"You are with the Avatar, no?" The man in front of her, a Fire Nation citizen, turned and asked.
She nodded.
"He and Fire Lord Zuko are doing great things, bringing honor back to the Fire Nation. You should be very proud." He smiled and bowed his head before turning back in line.
She couldn't help a small smile from crossing her face as she stared out over the beach. It was gratifying to hear such a genuine appreciation of their efforts. It's nice to be reminded of why you do what you do.
Over on the corner of the street sat a man in ripped clothing, a sparrowkeet on his shoulder. A small, dinky cup sat at his feet, looking for any extra change from passerby's as he played a beautiful harmony with his bamboo flute. Every four or five people would throw a copper coin in the cup and continue on their way – there were more important things on their minds: finding a good spot on the beach, catching a giant wave, getting enough hours of sunlight.
Katara lifted herself onto her toes, craning her neck to see how far she was from the counter. She knew she should help the man, but she was also really thirsty.
"Gah,"She reluctantly left her spot in line and approached the man, grabbing three silver coins from her pouch and dropping them in the cup. They made a hollow jangle as they landed in the empty goblet. The man nodded his thanks and continued playing, his sparrowkeet contributing a note here and there until the song had ended.
"Thank you so much for your generosity, miss. Nakama and I were beginning to lose hope there."
Katara laughed as the little bird flapped its wings and chirped its thanks. "You're very welcome; thank you for playing such beautiful music for us all." She pet the bird with her finger.
"Uhh, here, let me give you something for your kindness."
Katara refused, "That's not necessary, sir, your music was more than enough."
"No, please," He insisted, grabbing a small mug from inside his pouch and filling it with liquid from a canteen around his waist. He handed the small mug to Katara. "It's hebal tea…iced."
"Well I could go for some tea." Katara said, looking over at the refreshment line that seemed to have tripled since she left.
She took the mug and drained the tea in just two gulps, "Tastes very…unique. What type of tea did you say this was?"
"Herbal. Handpicked from the mountainside."
She went to place the mug back on the man's cooler but missed and watched as it fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry, I don't know how I…"
"No worries." The man said, bending over to pick up the mug.
She took a step back and tripped over nothing in particular, staggering a few paces before catching herself. Her mind felt slow, like her body was moving faster than she could think. She looked up at the man, who just stared back, indifferently, the mug still cradled in his hand.
"Did you…" Her voice sounded distant, "Did you drug me?"
He struck before she could react. Three, lightning quick, jabs to three different pressure points on her back – her body went limp and began to fall to the ground only to be helplessly grabbed by the strange man. An awful sensation raced up her spine – it was familiar… she had been chi blocked.
"Aan…gggg!" She tried to yell before a hand was placed over her mouth.
"Did you hear something?" The old Fire Nation citizen turned to ask the young water tribe girl, only to realize that she was gone. He quickly looked up to where he heard the commotion and saw her struggling with a strange man.
Adrenaline kicked in, helping her fend off the effects of the tea. She bit the hand and freed her mouth for just a moment, "Aang!" She screamed again, before being gagged with a rag. She continued to struggle as much as she could before being dragged to a nearby alleyway.
Back on the beach Katara's scream was barely audible, but something else caught Aang's attention, as he peacefully floated in the salt water. A man ran towards the beach, desperately waving his arms.
"What's going on over there?"
"I don't know," Sokka said, standing and blocking the sun from his eyes, "Think we should check it out?"
Suki saw where they were looking, "Isn't that where Katara went to get drinks?"
Suddenly the old man came rushing down to them, screaming for Aang. "Avatar, Avatar! There's a man, he just took a your friend – he dragged her into that alleyway!"
"Katara!" Sokka yelled, rushing over to where the man pointed. Aang bended the water and shot himself out of the ocean and onto the beach, right on Sokka's heels.
"Avatar help!" A plea came from back behind them, towards the beach.
Aang turned and saw a young Earth Kingdom couple waving frantically to get his attention, and pointing towards the water, terror written on their faces, "Our child is caught out there, please save him!"
He looked out at the ocean and saw the small child, no older than eight, struggling against the strong waves. Katara, he thought as he temporarily froze – knowing what he needed to do, but not wanting to make the choice.
"Go Aang, we'll get Katara!" Suki yelled back as she and Sokka hurried up the beach.
He nodded, turned towards the water and bended a board of ice that he jumped on and rode out towards the child. The boy was close now, still struggling, about to go under. Aang dove into the water and propelled himself at the child. "Don't worry, kid, I've got…" He reached out for the little boy, but just before he could grab him he saw the airbender child that he couldn't save in his dream. The wave took the boy under; the parents watched in horror and began to sob on the beach.
No. Aang dove beneath the surface, just as he had in his dream. The boy was reaching out to him, trying his best to stay close. He reached out and wrapped his hand around the boy's tiny wrist and pulled him into his body before kicking back up to the surface.
"GASP!" They both swallowed the fresh air down into their lungs as they broke the surface, but the ocean was unrelenting. Another wave quickly pulled them back under, plunging them deep into the ocean. Unwilling to be denied, Aang focused his energy and entered the Avatar state. The boy watched, wide-eyed, as the avatar's eyes and tattoo's began to glow, lighting up the ocean around them.
The entire beach was now watching tensely as he and the boy rose up, out of the water. They began to cheer as he and the boy made their way back to shore when suddenly, Aang was back in his nightmare. The boy wore the same robes as the child in his dreams. The beach was replaced by the burning Air Temple.
"No! It's just…"
"Oh no!" The citizens yelled in horror as Aang fell out of the Avatar State and dropped out of the sky, back into the ocean below. He desperately tried to re-enter the Avatar State but it was of no use, his energy was being blocked somehow.
He looked down at the boy; he was struggling, swallowing a lot of water. The child returned his gaze, desperation filled his big, innocent eyes.
Using all of his remaining energy, Aang waterbended he and the boy back into the air. The coast was far now. He took the child and threw him out into the open air in front of him before bending an incredibly powerful gust of air that pushed the child halfway to the shore. He then spun and kicked a current up the water that ripped through the waves and carried the boy the rest of the way, back safely into his parent's arms. Everyone on the beach watched in awe at the sheer power of his bending. He remained in the air just long enough to see the reunion before losing consciousness and falling back into the crashing waves.
Sokka and Suki rushed towards Katara, directed by citizens that had seen the encounter. The man had thrown Katara over his shoulder and weaved in and out of the streets trying to lose his pursuers, but with no luck.
They chased him into a small market that led to nowhere.
"Take the high road." Sokka yelled to Suki who nodded and broke away.
The man reached the end of the street and turned, contemplating his options.
"We've caught you. Now give me my sister before I turn her avatar boyfriend loose on you."
The man smirked and took off towards a small alleyway between two buildings – Sokka just smiled as Suki flipped off of the roof of a nearby building and landed directly in front of him. He threw a quick jab with his free arm that was easily blocked and countered by Suki, pushing him back into a corner.
"It's over." Sokka said.
"Not yet, children." The man spat, "This is only the beginning."
Sokka scoffed at the cliché and cautiously watched as the man slowly rested Katara's limp body onto the ground. He leaned in close to her, whispered in her ear, and smiled before flipping away and escaping up a nearby building.
"Katara, are you okay?" Suki knelt next to her injured friend before Sokka rushed over and embraced his little sister.
"I'm fine," She said, weakly, "He chi blocked me."
"What did he want?"
"He didn't say, but…"
"What?"
"Nothing." She lied, "Where's Aang?"
"He was going after some kid in the water when we left. C'mon, let's get you back to the beach." He picked her up and carried her back to the shore where everyone was staring into the ocean.
"What's going on?" Katara asked.
"The Avatar went out to save some kid," A nearby Earth Kingdom woman answered.
"Yeah, did he get him?" Sokka asked.
"He got the kid," The woman said, "pushed him back to the shore, but then he just fell back in."
"What!?"
The woman nodded, "a couple of people went out to look for him but they couldn't get out far enough."
"How long has he been out there?"
"It's got to be about five minutes, I'd guess."
"Suki take Katara, I need to find him."
"It's too far, Sokka! You'll never be able to swim all the way out there and carry him all the way back." Suki urged.
Sokka dropped his head. He knew she was right. "Katara, can you bend yet?"
Suki helped her to her feet. Her legs could just barely hold her weight up. She shook her head, a tear running down her cheek.
"I can waterbend," A little girl timidly approached, encouraged by her parents, "a little…"
The three shared a quick glance.
"Well we have no other choice," Sokka said, turning to the girl, "Can you push me all the way out to the last spot you saw my friend?"
The girl nodded.
Suki quickly reached out and grabbed Sokka's arm, "I think I should go, Sokka."
"What? No, it's too…"
"I'm a Keyoshi warrior, I weigh less than you, so she can push me farther, and I'm a better swimmer."
There was no time to argue, Sokka just nodded and instructed the girl what to do before turning back to Suki and softly kissing her on the mouth. "Go get him."
She nodded and looked to Katara as if to reassure her.
Katara talked the girl through her technique and before long Suki was riding a wave that took her far out into the blue ocean.
"Aang!" She yelled out, hoping for, but not really expecting a response, before diving under the surface.
The salty water burned her eyes, her nose, her throat. She frantically circled the area, searching in every direction before spotting a limp body being thrashed by the waves. She popped her head out of the water and took a deep breath before diving back under and swimming hard towards the body. She quickly recognized it as Aang and thrust herself through the warm water until reaching her unconscious friend. He floated, motionless, eyes closed, no signs of life.
She grabbed him around the waist and kicked with all of her strength. Even under water she was struggling with his dead weight. The muscles in her legs burned, but she kept kicking against the strong current. The pressure on her lungs was outrageous, feeling as if they could burst at any moment. She continued kicking, kicking, kicking until she could vaguely feel the warmth of the sun's rays piercing through the top player of water. Finally she broke the surface, allowing herself just a few deep breaths before turning towards the beach and pointing her thumb towards the sky.
Sweat saturated Sokka's face as he peered through his pirate's glass, looking for Suki. It seemed like she had been out there for hours, but, in reality, he knew that it had only been a few minutes. Finally, he saw a tiny head pop out of the water. "There, it's Suki, and she's got Aang! Quick, kid, bring them back!"
Katara, who was finaly beginning to get her chi flowing, helped the little girl bend the water and pull the two safely back to the shore. Suki crawled onto the beach and rested Aang on the sand. Katara knelt beside him and, with the entire beach looking on, began to bend the water out of his lungs and up through his mouth.
Aang woke with a cough, staring into Katara's deep, blue eyes, as he had done so many times before. "I never get tired of being brought back to life by you." He said weakly.
She threw her arms around him before kissing hard while the entire beach cheered.
"Hey," Sokka turned to Suki, "you did good, babe." He kissed her softly on the cheek and pulled her close.
"Avatar!" The young couple with the small boy approached.
Katara helped him up to a sitting position, as the boy ran up and threw his arms around him.
"Thank you so much for saving our son, Avatar." They bowed graciously, tears running down there cheeks. "We are forever grateful."
Aang nodded.
"What were you doing all the way out there anyway, little guy?" Sokka asked.
"The man said that there were turtle seals out there, and if I swam out to them they would let me ride on their shells." He said, enthusiastically.
"What man?" The boy's mother asked.
"The man who sang with the sparrowkeet."
"What!?" Katara grabbed the boy.
"What's wrong, Katara?"Aang asked, confused.
"That was him."