Greetings, one and all and welcome to the next chapter of Avatar Heroes: Tale Of A Lily.
I hope your all going to enjoy it as much as I had writing it and now on to the review.
mpowers045: Lily is definitely going to kick some ass on Kyoshi Island.
And now on to the story.
The group was sitting in a clearing, waiting for Sokka to return from gathering food for dinner, as they haven't found a town to ressuply.
Lily was looking at a nearby rock formation. She took a deep breath, concentrating power to her eyes, before releasing her breath and bobbing her head forward, but much to her disappointment, nothing happened.
"What are you doing?", Katara said, looking at what her friend had been doing for the past half hour.
"I am trying to use Heat Vision... It's not really working.", Lily said, disappointed at her failure before noticing the confused look from her friend, "It's an ability few among my people can do. It basically allows us to shoot fire hotter than the sun from our eyes."
"That's so cool... I mean hot, but Lily, you and your people are weird.", Katara said teasingly.
"You don't know the half of it.", Lily said with a self-deprecating smile, just when Sokka returned, bag with their dinner in hand.
Aang leaps off the root with his airbending, landing beside the Water Tribe siblings and Lily as Sokka digs in his bag. "What's for dinner?", the young airbender said eagerly.
"We've got a few options.", Sokka said, digging around in his bag, "First; round nuts. And some kind of oval shaped nuts? And some rock-shaped nuts, that might just be rocks. Dig in!",
Aang, Lily, and Katara look at each other then back at Sokka.
"Seriously... What else you got?", Katara said.
"I think we need to find a town and resupply our stocks.", Lily said, but the only problem about that plan was that none of them had any money, "That's it! If we get to a town, we just need to find the Job Board, every town has one of those!"
"A Job Board?". Aang said, tilting his head.
"It's a board where people put up requests, like if someone needs their roof fixed, or if they need a meal cooked, things like that.", Lily explained, "Though I am off duty if it comes to cooking... My cooking will kill us, that's all I meant."
The entire earth quakes, making Momo shriek and his hair stand up on end.
"What was that?", Sokka said alarmed, but the others were already running towards the direction the queks were coming from, "Shouldn't we run away from huge booms? Not toward them?"
The four, joined by Momo, hide behind a fallen tree and spy on a young boy bending boulders into the air and punching them into the side of the ravine.
"An earthbender!", Aang said excitedly, "Let's go meet him!"
"He looks dangerous, so we better approach cautiously.", Sokka advised by the others were already approaching.
"Hey there!", they greeted. The young boy gasps in surprise, dropping the boulder he was bending to the ground. He flees quickly, bringing down an avalanche of boulders with his bending to block his exit.
"Well, that was rude...", Lily mumbled before realizing something, "Maybe that guy lives in a nearby town, and I bet that town has a market!"
"Which means no nuts for dinner!", Katara said excitedly, as they chase after the earthbending boy.
It wasn't much later that they arrived in a mining village's, where they notice the boy enter a shop.
They entered the shop as well which was housed in a wooden building and found the boy with a broom in hand sweeping the floor.
"Hey. You're that kid.", Katara said, starling the boy, "Why did you run away before?"
"Uh, you must have me confused with some other kid.", the boy tried to brush them off.
"No, it was defiantly you we saw earthbend.", Lily pointed out.
The boy and, who Lily presumed was his mother, gasps in horror at his secret being revealed and both the door and window to the small shop are promptly slammed shut.
"They saw you doing what!?", the boy's mother said, standing by the window
"They're crazy, Mom! I mean, look at how they're dressed.", the boy pointed out. Katara awkwardly grasps at her dress, looking with astonishment at herself. Sokka quirks an eyebrow and smooths out his sleeve.
"The's wrong with my outfit?", Lily muttered, sounding hurt as she looked over her clothes followed by a heavy knock on the door.
Sokka peeks through the window's blinds, "Fire Nation! Act natural!", he said.
Haru's mother opens the door, allowing the Fire Nation tax collector to walk inside. He stares awkwardly at the five children in front of him. Haru grasps his chin and stares toward Katara, cross-eyed. Sokka eyeballs an apple. Katara hunches forward with her eyes wide open, having stuffed her mouth with berries.
Aang has his hand atop a barrel, beaming an immense toothy smile. His pose is short-lived as the barrel's lid spins, dunking Aang's hand into the barrel of water and causes him to fall down.
Lily hides her face behind her hand as the mother continued to speak, "What do you want? I've already paid you this week!"
"The tax just doubled. And we wouldn't want an accident now would we?", the Tax Collector said arrogantly, creating a ball of fire between his hands, making everyone slightly back away, "Fire is sometimes so hard to control."
The mother and the tax collector approach the store's counter, where she opens a small chest and passes a meager handful of Earth Kingdom currency to the tax collector.
"You can keep the copper ones.", Tax collector said, dropping four copper pieces to the floor, noticing the glare Lily was giving him, "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing.", Lily told him plainly.
"Well, it looks like your looking at me, little girl.", the Tax collector told her, "Keep out of trouble, or there is going to be trouble.", and with that he left.
"Yeah, I am really scared!", Lily shouted after the Tax collector, before turning to the mother and son, "How long have they been here?"
"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships.", the mother explained.
"They're thugs. They steal from us. If your an earthbender, they take you away, like my father.", the boy added, "And everyone here's too much of a coward to do anything about it."
"There must be something we can do.", Lily quickly said, "You don't happen to know where this camp is?"
"It's a on a small island on the ocean.", the boy explained, "I have seen Fire Nation soldiers coming from that direction, and the smoke from the island is visible from the coast."
She then turned to her three traveling companions, "We need to help these people.", she said, "This is a good way to prove your the Avatar."
"I...I don't know Lily...", Aang said, a bit unsure of himself.
This took the black haired girl by surprise, "So... what?", she said, gesturing to the mother and son, "So you want to do nothing? You want to leave this people to their fate?"
"No! We are doing something! We are! We just...", Aang began, trying to find the right words, "We can't save everyone in this war..."
"Aang is right Lily.", Sokka said, coming to his friends aid, "This is not what we came here to do."
"No, your right...", Lily said, angry at the two boys as she turned away from they and opened the door, "But it's what I'm going to do."
Inside the prison island, a cart had just arrived, five prisoners, line up on the deck of the prison. Spear-wielding guards stand at either side. A prison warden approaches.
"Earthbenders. It is my pleasure to welcome you aboard my modest shipyard.", the Warden said smugly, as he paces nochalantly, "I am your warden. I prefer to think of you not as prisoners, but as honored guests. And I hope you come to think of me as your humble and caring host. You will succeed here, if you simply abide..."
The warden pauses, suddenly interrupted by a prisoner in line coughing. With no forewarning, the warden leaps into the air and aims a blast of fire at the prisoner's legs in anger. The prisoner cowers away for safety as the warden stands defiantly toward the man.
"What kind of guest dishonors his host by interrupting him?! Take him below!", the warden said very angrily, swings his arms. Some guards escort the man away, "Simply treat me with the courtesy that I give you...", but he was interrupted once again by large fire ball explosion, followed by screams belonging to the Fire Nation Soldiers.
"Now what is going on...", the Warden began, the alarm horn begin to sound all over the island. He turned to the main gate only to find the large metal door beginning to bend and collapse into itself, "Impossible..."
With one final push, the door burst open to have Lily enter through the opening she made. Landing with a fist on the ground, she send a wave of telekinetic force in the surrounding area, blowing the firebenders away.
The firebenders immediately reacted by shooting blast of fire at her, but Lily manages to dodge the incoming projectiles.
A Firebender managed to get close, attempting to grap Lily, but she spun him around knocking him to the ground. Moving forward by swirling around the flames, Lily grabs one of the Fire Nation Soldiers, throwing him at one of his comrades without breaking pace.
She jumps up, intending to smash the Warden but in her action, she is blindsided by a sudden fireball. Lily is blasted to the ground, landing roughly.
"Okay, that didn't go as planned...", Lily said to herself as she pushed herself off the ground, only to see every Firebender still able to fight aiming flaming fists at her. She couldn't help but smirk at the sight before charging at them again.
Kicking one of his feet before uppercutting him, one of them thought to be smart but found himself blasted back by a sudden gust of wind.
Lily took a moment from the beatdown to look over her shoulder to see that it was Aang who had given her unexpected help.
"You were right, Lily... As the Avatar I should help this people out.", Aang said, his staff at the ready with his back to his female friend.
"That's the Aang I have come to know.", Lily said, her fists raised, "I wondered where he was hiding."
It was then that a sudden rush of air fills their ears as the facility shakes. The ventilation shaft bursts off its hinges as an immense blast of coal soars into the air, crashing down into a gathered pile. Everyone present is silent, staring in stark surprise at this turn of events.
"Sokka's plan worked!", Aang said happily, "Here's your chance, earthbenders! Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"
But the earthbenders didn't move, as the only sound was the highly amused laughter of the warden, "Foolish children. You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people?", the Warden said, "Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago."
Lily looked over the prisoners, but then turned back to the Warden, "You underestimate them.", Lily told him, "A simple spark can ignite hope, the ability to derive strength from hope is mankind's greatest attribute."
"How sweet.", the warden said, "They're a waste of your energy little girl. You have failed."
"That may be... But I am going to kick all your ass's anyway.", Lily said, she was about to charge forward, a single piece of coal sails through the air and pelts the back of the Warden's head.
Outraged, the warden spins back to see who dared to attack him. One of the earthbenders stands defiantly levitating three pieces of coal above his hand.
The warden sends a blast of fire toward the young earthbender, but the fire is blocked, as another elderly earthbender raises a wall of coal in his defense.
"For the Earth Kingdom!", Lily shouted as the battle resumed.
The battle immediately flares, prisoners ducking blasts of fire and countering with fists of coal. During the battle, Lily took down one of the soldiers with a spinning kick. When she landed, she looked around for her companions, seeing Sokka snapping soldiers spears in two with his boomerang, tossing the broken shafts to Momo overhead.
"Get to the ships!", Lily shouted to Aang and the others "I'll hold them off!"
"On it, Lily!", Aang said, leading the earhbenders to the harbor.
"Do not let them escape!", the warden said, only to see Lily place her hand on the ground, levitating enough coal to form a thick ring around her.
With a big smirk, Lily fires the material rapidly at the warden and his fellow benders, knocking them across the ground and towards the edge of the harbor next to the water.
Ceasing her attack for a moment, the warden stood up to see where he stood and what Lily was about to do.
"No, please! I can't swim!", the warden pleaded.
"Don't worry.", Lily said, sending all the coal in her ring outwards, blasting the firebenders into the ocean down below, "Cowards float, or so I heard. They all float down there."
On the barge headed to their homes, one of the older earthbenders, the one who had raised a wall to defend the first earthbender attacker, approaches Lily on its deck. "I want to thank you for saving me. For saving us.", he said before introducing himself as Tyro.
"You saved yourselves, Tyro.", Lily said, "All me and my friends did was provide that simple spark."
"Thank you for helping me find my courage, Woman of Wonders.", Tyro said, "My family and everyone here owes you much."
"Woman of Wonders, huh? I can roll with that.", Lily said pleased with herself, leaning on the side rails, "So what are your plans now?"
"We are going back home, to take back my village.", Tyro said loudly, "To take back all of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!"
Lily went on to walk towards Katara, who looked distranced. "Something wrong?", she said.
"My mother's necklace! It's gone!", she said.
It had been three days since then and the group was now sitting around another campfire at night at the nearby lake. After having dropped of the earthbenders, Lily and Katara had gone back to the island only to be unable to find her mother's necklace.
Katara, who is preoccupied with sewing a hole in Sokka's pants, Aang glancing over at her from atop Appa's head, Momo perched on his shoulder.
"Momo, marbles please.", Aang said, concocts an idea to impress her. Momo dives into his shirt and emerges, handing Aang two small, gray marbles, "Hey Katara, check out this airbending trick!"
Using airbending, Aang manages to spin the two marbles quickly along an equatorial plane as he grins happily.
Katara takes no notice and continues to sew, "That's great, Aang.", she said.
"You didn't even look.", Aang said disappointed as he stops performing the trick.
At this Katara Looks over Aang and attempts to show enthusiasm, "That's great!"
Sokka waves his arm breezily at Aang as if he is trying to shoo him away, "Stop bugging her, airhead.", he said, "You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."
"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?", Katara said irritably.
"Simple.", her brother answered, lazily resting with his arms behind his head, "Girls are better at fixing pants than guys and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things."
"Last time I checked, Lily was pulling her weight more during battles than you are.", Aang pointed out.
"Lily hardly counts as a girl!", Sokka said irritable, "I am pretty sure she is just a dude who looks like a girl!... Who has a nice rack..."
He was startled when a fish nearly as long and much thicker than he was was dropped next to him.
"Hey Katara, on the way back from hunting dinner, I came across a hot spring.", a drenched Lily told her, having caught the fish underwater, "Want to go form a swim while the boys prepare dinner?"
"I would love to Lily.", Katara said, standing up and she followed after her friend.
"What about my pants!?", Sokka said, just as the pair of pants hit him in the face, covering it. He quickly scrambles to free himself, seeing it still ripped, "I can't wear these! Katara, please!"
"And you beter have some roasted nuts with that fish!", Lily's voice shouted at him.
The clothes of the two girls were hanging from a nearby tree and the two girls were sitting next to each other in the natural hot spring.
"This place is great...", a content Katara said, enjoying the feeling of the warm water on her dark skin.
"Yeah... If there is one thing I missed about home it's a warm water bath.", Lily sighted, looking to the star filled skies above, "... I wonder if he is still looking at the same stars..."
She turned her gaze from the stars to the friend next to her, who to her surprise was staring intensely at her body, "Katara? You alright?"
"Wow... Lily, you're beautiful... Your skin is flawless!", Katara complimented the dark haired girl, reaching out to touch her friends upper arm, feeling her trained muscles under the soft skin, "Your so soft."
"I-I am not that good looking... Not like you...", a blushing Lily said, rubbing the back of her head as she smiled sheepishly.
"So Lily, who is the guy you were wondering?", the water tribe girl asked.
"Did I say that out loud?... Oh, sweet mercy, I said it out loud.", the girl from the other World mumbled, "It's a bit weird. I know him, but I have never seen him in real life."
"Take your time.", Katara said, "It's going to be some time until the boys finished dinner."
"Alright, where to begin? I was nine years old when it first happened.", Lily began to explain.
I had woken up to find myself not in the same place I had went to sleep last night. Instead of the soft and warm bed of my room back at Sky Temple Divium, I found myself in one of the most beautiful meadows there was, a large lake could be seen, stretching to the horizon could be seen nearby from near the large oak tree I had woken up from.
She looked around, but nobody could be seen miles around. "Hallo? Anyone there?", the nine year old Lily called out, but all she heard was the wind gently breezing over the grass and through the trees.
"What are you doing here?"
The voice had come from above her belonged to a tall boy around her age. He was dressed in a dark red hoodie and black shorts along with sneakers. His hair was black and spiky in the back. But what stood out most was his particular eyes.
He had royal blue iris and sclera, four ripple-like pattern, with nine tomoe in the three circles closest to the pupil.
"I could ask you the same.", Lily said, placing her hands on her hips, "I just woke up here."
She watched the boy drop from the tree, his sneakers making contact with the grass. "You did? I never thought I would contact someone when I reached out...", the boy began, before noticing the raised eyebrow on the girls face, "My mother told me if I had trouble controlling my powers, if I found the World to be too big, then I should just imagine it being smaller. Tonight, I wanted to see what happened when instead of imagining it being smaller, I imagined it being bigger."
"What did you see?", Lily asked, tilting her head, noticing that the boy was much taller than she was.
"Everything.", the boy said, holding out his hand in greeting, "I-I never imagined I would have drawn someone into my World... May I know your name?"
"Lily, you may call me Lily.", she said accepting his hand, "What do you call yourself?"
"That's a beautiful, Lily.", the boy said with a genuine smile, "Nice to meet you, Lily. You may call me... Morgenstern."
"That wasn't his real name of course, but a family name. For nearly a year I kept meeting him in that place, which we eventually named Our Meadow.", Lily explained, as she was leaning against the edge of the hot spring, "But one day, I was unable to visit his Our Meadow, and Morgy never sought contact with me again..."
"Maybe you just dreamed it.", Katara suggested, a bit surprised at the hurt tone her friend finished the story.
"I would have thought so too, but I doubt I would have the same dream for nearly a year.", Lily said folding her right arm over her chest while propping her left elbow up on it and placing a hand on her chin, "But you weren't there. That place felt too real to be a dream... Anyways, we should head back."
Well there ya go, another chapter, hope you enjoyed. Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite or follows this story, you beautiful bastards!
As I was writing the fight scene in the Mining Prison, I came to realize that at this point in the Timeline, nothing is much of a challenge to Lily in the Avatar World... And I already have an idea how to fix that (insert evil chuckle).
If you liked what you read, don't forget to leave a review, for now I wish you all a fantastic day and I hope to see you ladies and gents, next time.