Kyoshi Island

"You have no idea where we're going do you?" Sokka huffed as he looked on the map. He wasn't even sure where they were now. He rolled his eyes as he got the response of where they were going was near water. All three looked out to the horizon where there was nothing but water. "Well I guess that means we're getting closer."

Aang couldn't help but watch Katara as she repaired her brother's pants. He felt guilty not giving her a chance before, but he believed in allowing this girl into his life. He was going to need all the allies he could afford since he was truly the last airbender.

"Momo, marbles please", he announced triumphantly. He smiled as the lemur dug around in his robes to find the marbles. "Katara, look at my new trick!" He was disappointed to see that she was not really paying him any attention. Perhaps he was wrong about them developing any kind of bond and her family talk…pfff.

"Well are you not excited now, knowing that Aang is alive somewhere in this world?" Bhumi gleamed. He had been trying to convince Ava of this all along. He knew that Aang would not willingly abandon the girl.

"Yes but my patience grows thin. I have been home for a couple days now and I have not heard word of the Avatar being amongst us again", Ava huffed as she sat outside on the patio in her usual couch.

"You must be patient and you must be strong. Why don't you rest and simply revel in the fact that you are no longer alone in this world. Not that you truly were to begin with", the king offered and walked with his escort back into the palace.

Ava sunk into her couch and closed her eyes. Bhumi had not allowed her a moment's peace to meditate and she knew why. The last time she tried to meditate was at the Great Library and she pushed herself to exhaustion. He wanted her to be at her strongest so that she could handle the emotional stress of seeing Aang again after all the years of suffering without him. She began to doze off, enjoying the rays of the sun more than she had in a very long time.

"We made a pitstop yesterday!" Sokka pointed out as the party looked out into the ocean on the beach, "Don't you think we should be going to the North Pole already?"

"Yeah, we won't get there until Spring at this rate", Katara sided with her brother.

Aang was growing weary of their constant complaining and bickering. If they weren't fighting with each other than they were teamed up against him. "Appa needs a break, don't you boy?" He had to nudge the flying bison in the ribs to get him to yawn, but it was obviously not convincing enough for the siblings. Aang kept looking out into the ocean trying to see any life of the legendary giant Koi fish. He was going to bring her here one day. They had made plans to ride the fish together. The Avatar made a promise to himself and to Ava wherever she was at, that he would still keep at least one promise to her. He was going to ride the giant Koi fish.

Ava shot up from her nap and began yelling for Bhumi. The king had reached her sooner than expected. "Kyoshi!" she started to get up but began to feel weak.

"You never listen do you? I'll send word to Kyoshi to send the Avatar here, but don't meditate or do anything that will drain your energy even more!" the king ordered.

"That's like asking me not to breathe!" Ava countered, "He's alive; just let me go to Kyoshi."

"No and as leader of your Order I declare that you stay put. Don't make me pull out the sutras to keep you confined", he growled as he walked away. So the day had come when he would meet his old friend once more. He sent a messenger to Kyoshi with haste, but even then he knew it would take at least a day and a half to get there from Omashu. He only hoped that Ava could reserve her strength for that long. He really didn't know how to use the sutras for the Chalice.

"Look!" Aang shouted as he pointed out to the ocean. A giant Koi fish jumped out of the water. The siblings stared in awe. These fish were about as big as the whales near their lands. "Elephant Koi fish that's why we're here." Aang undressed and began running to the water. He screamed as the cold water hit his flesh, not realizing his counterpart in Omashu got the chills in that instance. Aang dove under the water and in seconds he was wind surfing on the back of a giant Koi fish. He looked to the shore and was pleased to see both of his companions were watching him this time. He continued to stay on and became disappointed when he looked to the shore once more and saw that Katara was running into the forest and Sokka was no longer looking. He contemplated to himself trying to remember why he allowed them to accompany him in the first place when he heard Sokka yelling his name. He looked to the shore and both siblings were jumping around like they were excited about something. He waved back and was suddenly thrown into the water. His Koi fish disappeared. After gaining his senses back he realized that the sun had disappeared. When he looked behind him to see where it had gone he saw a huge fin standing out of the water. He realized that there was something other than the Koi in the ocean. He began swimming as fast as he could trying to use his airbending techniques to get to the shore as fast as he could. He slammed right into Sokka sending them both back quite a distance from the shore towards the edge of the woods.

Aang began getting dressed as he admitted he had no idea what that creature was. Sokka pretended to be the leader again and stated that the party should leave as soon as possible. Suddenly they were surrounded by warriors in green, holding golden fans. Before any of them could make a move the Avatar party and Momo were tied up and blindfolded. As they were walked to their new destination, Aang noticed that it was not too far from the shore. He was sure that they were being led to a village. The three were tied up to a post and told nothing until an older man's voice began speaking:

"You three have some explaining to do", he stated matter-of-factly.

"And if you don't answer all of our questions, we're throwing back into the water with the Unagi", a female growled after him.

"Show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka demanded. Aang and Katara quietly hoped he would shut up after the blindfolds were taken off, but to no avail. "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?"

"There are no men, we ambushed you. Now tell us, who you are and what are you doing here?" she demanded back.

"Wait a minute, there's no way a bunch of girls took us down", Sokka was beginning to get cocky.

"A bunch of girls, huh?" the female warrior grabbed him by his shirt and got inches within his face, "The Unagi is going to eat well tonight."

"No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it!" Katara interjected, "My brother is just an idiot sometimes."

"No, it's my fault", Aang admitted, "I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the Elephant Koi fish."

"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" the man demanded, "Kyoshi has stayed out of the war so far and we intend to keep it that way."

"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" Aang had completely forgot that the island was named after one of his previous lives.

"Ha. How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here almost 400 years ago. She's been dead for centuries", the man belittled the young boy.

"I know her because I am the Avatar", Aang smiled. He enjoyed the reaction he received from the warrior girl, stating that there were no airbenders left. He inwardly smiled more when the village leader still did not believe his claims and ordered that he and his companions be sent to that serpent in the ocean.

"Aang, do some airbending", Katara whispered to the boy. She was surprised he hadn't done so already.

Aang lifted himself into the air while pushing the warriors away with his air blast. He somersaulted towards the statue of Kyoshi that was atop the gate into the village and severed the ropes used to bind his hands. He slowly descended and landed in front of the audience of villagers. The headman stared in awe and admitted that Aang had to be the Avatar. It was not long before word of the Avatar's return reached Omashu.

"My Lady!" one of the soldiers ran up to Ava who was on her way down to Bhumi where he kept his pet Flopsy.

"Yes, is there something the matter?" She was worried something happened to her dear old friend.

"The Avatar has returned. He is currently in Kyoshi", he smiled but was confused as Ava began running away in the direction of the king.

When she reached the layer where Flopsy was kept, she stormed in. "Bhumi, you fiend! You swore you would send word to Kyoshi, to Aang that I was here. He is still in Kyoshi!"

"Yes, you figured that out this morning, remember? You have to give it time. I sent one of my fastest messengers, but it will still take a day and a half at the least for him to get there", Bhumi simply stated as he rubbed Flopsy's tummy, "Give Auntie a kiss would you?"

"Flopsy, you know better. Don't you dare come near me…Flopsy!" Ava yelled as the pet licked her from head to toe, "Go back to your daddy."

Bhumi started laughing his signature laugh and Ava couldn't help but smile. She was getting close to having Aang again, the only problem was she that she was scared.

"Are you frightened about seeing him again?" Bhumi gestured for her to come and sit next to him and lay on Flopsy's stomach.

"What if those feelings aren't there anymore, Bhumi? What if he had done as Kuruk had done?" she admitted.

"I highly doubt that Aang's affections for you could be wiped out so easily. He was always very protective and admiring of you. It used to make me jealous that someone as young as him knew who he would have by his side throughout life", the king grabbed her hand and wrapped it in both of his, "I swear to you, Chalice, if he is nothing short of wonderful, I'll kill him."

Ava laughed at her friend. He always knew the right thing to say and when to say it, even if she didn't want to admit that he was right at the times that he was when she was in a fit about her situation.

"Quit dwelling on the past my dear. Go pick out something new to wear for when he does arrive. I have a feeling as soon as he hears the news that you live, there will be no stopping him from coming to Omashu", Bhumi smiled as he got up from Flopsy's stomach. He aided Ava up as well and began walking with her, their arms linked, back through the palace to the tailor so that the Chalice could look even more beautiful to Aang now than she did before.

"Katara, you should try one of these" Aang handed a dessert to Katara after taking a bite of one of the many different delectables put in front of them by servants of the headman. Sokka sat in the corner pouting, still upset about getting jumped by the female Kyoshi warriors. Finally he grabbed a handful of goodies and stalked away.

"What's he so angry about? It's great here!" Aang stated as he stuffed his mouth full of a berry pastry. He wanted to stay because for some reason he felt closer to Ava than ever before here. Like she had been here once before, and in an instant he was in a trance:

It was the dark of night when a ship arrived at Kyoshi. A cloaked figure stepped off of the ship and was escorted by some of the Kyoshi warriors. When the figure was brought to the headman, the hood of the cloak was removed. It was Ava and she seemed very upset. Her face was soiled from dirt and dried tear stains. Her brown eyes were not dancing with the amused undertone that he always found in them. She did not even speak as she was addressed.

"Aang?" Katara's voice cut through the memory. "Are you alright? Did you hear what I said?"

"Sorry, no, I was just really enjoying this pastry", he lied, "What did you say?"

"Don't get too comfortable, because it's risky for us to stay in one place very long", she mentioned again.

"I'm sure we'll be fine", Aang talked more to himself than to Katara, "Did you see how happy I'm making this town?" His motives were not for the town. Since he had this vision perhaps it was something of Ava. He needed to investigate it. He assured Katara that he would not let the role of being Avatar get to his head and stood up from their conversation. He looked out the window to help him think, who did he need to talk to about the vision he had just had? That's when he heard it, a gaggle of shrieking girls waiting to follow his every step. He took this as a welcome distraction at first but towards the end he was getting annoyed. He wanted to figure out what his vision meant but did not want to involve the siblings until he had an idea of what was going on. It wasn't until he had come to a head with Katara about leaving that he knew he really needed to get down to the truth. He needed to know if there was a chance that she was alive…

Suki, was teaching Sokka the ways of a Kyoshi warrior. During one of their breaks they began talking about his adventure with the Avatar. When he spoke of Aang and his loss of Ava, Suki hugged his neck with tears in her eyes.

"The Chalice lives!" she shouted, "Where is Aang, we must tell him at once!"

"Wait, Suki! What do you mean the Chalice lives?" Sokka grabbed her by her arm, "I need to hear the story before you find him. I need to know if we are talking about the same person, because he can't….he won't survive another disappointment regarding her."

"Over a hundred years ago, about the time of the Airbenders Genocide, a young girl came to stay in our village. My grandmother was a young girl training to become a Kyoshi warrior at the time. She was asked to help escort the girl here, all she was told was that the girl was very important. She found out later from the headman's son, my grandfather, that the girl's name was Ava and she was the Chalice", Suki smiled, "Although I am not sure where she was taken to, I only know that a couple days later she was escorted from here further into the Earth Kingdom."

Sokka hugged Suki and together they took off to find Aang. Sokka was excited to know that Ava had at least not perished in the Genocide. During their search they were stopped by the headman. He stated he had great news to give to the Avatar. Suki assured they would give it to Aang. The headman handed a letter to the warrior and walked away. Sokka snatched the letter from Suki and opened up much to her dismay.

"Ava is alive! And she's in the kingdom of Omashu as the king's guest and has been so for the last hundred years!" Sokka started hopping up and down. "We have to find him!"

"Suki! Someone said they just saw Fire Nation soldiers headed up this way!" a villager called to her.

"Looks like we'll have to have the happy ending later", Sokka looked at Suki who nodded her head in agreement and they ran back to rally the other warriors.

Katara was trying to revive Aang from his recent bout with the Unagi. He had gone to ride the Unagi to impress some of the village girl and he wanted her to come. At first, she refused citing that he had let his new celebrity status get to his head. She finally had to admit to herself that she was worried about the boy and showed up to apologize. He apologized as well and on his way in from the water the Unagi finally showed. Aang did end up riding him but at the great risk of his own life. Katara could feel water in his chest and started working on getting it out.

"Welcome, Lady Ava, your former master Gyatso asked that I take care of you until your escort from Omashu arrives the day after tomorrow", the headman bowed to the young girl in front of him.

"If you would Lady, this way", a warrior urged the girl on.

It was suddenly sunrise and Ava was standing on the beach, watching the Koi jump around in the horizon. Tears began to fall from her face as she fell to her knees and began screaming in agony before pushing her hands into the sand and placing her forehead on the back of her palms. 'Why?' she kept thinking ,'What happened to Aang? And why must I go to Omashu?'

At lunch she was getting annoyed because no one would tell her anything. She finally broke down in tears to the headman and begged him to tell her what was going on. He revealed to her that the Fire Nation was targeting the Avatar directly and knew that the Avatar was an airbender. They had attacked all four temples simultaneously to ensure his demise. Gyatso had sensed something was going on and made arrangements for both the Avatar and Chalice to come to the Kyoshi Island and then later on into Omashu before finally resting in Ba Sing Se.

"Where is the Avatar, my lady? He will be needed in the end", the headman questioned. He had expected a pair, not just the lonely girl.

"He's gone. I don't know where he is or if he is even still alive. He left almost two weeks ago and has not returned", Ava mumbled as she got up. She walked out of the room without even asking to be dismissed.

The next day, an escort had come from Omashu to gather Ava up and prepare her to go to Ba Sing Se. Ava was relieved to see Bhumi and anxious to be around someone who knew how she was. Whenever Aang and she would visit the young earthbender, the three of them had become as thick as thieves.

Aang awoke after spiting up the water that was in his lungs. He looked to see that he was in Katara's arms again. He teased her to reassure her that he was okay by suggesting not riding the Unagi. He was quick to come back to his senses as soon as Katara informed him that Zuko had shown up and was now attacking the village. He had to save the village and the people because they were the only lead he had going on with Ava right now. He had figured that this was a memory that was sparked by the emotional state she was in at the time she came here.

When he arrived half the village was already destroyed. He called for Zuko's attention after the young prince accused Aang of hiding behind the Kyoshi warriors. Zuko attacked and knocked Aang's staff from his hand. He picked up a pair of the golden fans laying on the ground and used them to send off a very powerful air blast that sent the prince flying into an empty hut. He grabbed his staff and began running. The staff opened in the air and he jumped on looking behind him. The village was in shambles and he was the one responsible. He met up with Katara further up the village row. Katara suggested retreat and even though he was not fond of the idea she had a point, they gathered Sokka, who upon seeing Aang said he had something very important to say as he finished climbing onto Appa. He of course got the rebuttal from Katara about how this wasn't the time or place and interrupted her speech about how retreating was the right thing.

"Aang, Ava is alive!" Sokka shouted as he handed the letter over to the Avatar.

Aang couldn't believe it. But there was something that seemed familiar about the script and he needed to know….he reached with his mind to find her as Gyatso had taught him so long ago to do.

'Ava?' he questioned.

Ava's eyes grew wide as she heard a voice, a very familiar voice inside of her head. She abruptly stopped her conversation with Bhumi and walked out of the room, ignoring the smile he gave her as he realized that Aang had found the connection between them again.

'A-Aang?' her voice answered.

Aang's eyes shot open and tears began to fall down his face. Ava was alive! She was alive and waiting for him in Omashu. He knew this island held something for him, it held on to his lover's painful memories and reawakened his connection to her.

'I need your strength to fight here, in Kyoshi', he begged, 'The village is on fire and…' A memory flashed in his mind of the Unagi.

'Use the serpent', Ava commanded, 'I'll be with you.'

"Until the end", Aang announced and jumped off of Appa and headed for the water. He ignored Katara's screams behind him. He was only under water a few seconds before he appeared atop the Unagi's head, using the feelers around its mouth as reins. He made the creature point its mouth towards the village and took advantage of the water attack that came spewing out of its mouth. Once he soaked the village and Zuko's small army he jumped into the air and caught onto Appa.

"I know, I know that was stupid and dangerous", Aang teased as he sat down between his friends. He became quiet as he listened for Ava's voice once more.

'Yes, it was, but it was also AWESOME!', her voice rang in his mind. He smiled as Sokka put his hand on his shoulder and Katara hugged him.

"You must be excited to know that Ava is alive", Sokka commented.

"It's like the world opened up to me and I am now Buddha", he grinned, "To Omashu."

'Come back to me', Ava mused.

"I'm on my way…my Ava", the boy smiled looking happily into the sunset for the first time in the last few weeks.