Return to Me
Avatar Roku
Aang was trying to convince Appa to go ahead and leave without the others. He was not going to risk the lives of his new found friends or his Ava. The sky bison was not budging no matter what Aang said or did. He was beginning to get frustrated when a familiar voice startled him.
"Trying to leave me again, are you?" Ava's voice was cold. He could tell she was displeased with his decision, but he just couldn't….
"Ava, you have to understand…", he started but was quickly pushed to the ground and on his back before he could complete his sentence.
"You really think that I would be okay with you leaving me behind? Not knowing where you went to…You are truly willing to put me through that again?", she sounded hurt.
"I would never want to hurt you in that way EVER again. I just don't want to lose you…it was hard to think that I was going to live on in a world where I would be separated from you again….", the young boy hung his head as she allowed him to set up. He was pleased when she lifted his chin and looked him directly in the eye.
"I already told you once before that I was willing to follow you until the ends of the Earth…", she smiled, "And I plan on keeping that promise, even at the cost of my happiness and possibly my life."
"Don't say things like that…I don't want to think about that possibility", Aang whispered as he silently gave into his soul mate. They began to try and pull Appa in the direction of where they needed to go when Sokka's stern clearing of his throat caught their attention. They sheepishly smiled at each other as they rounded the bison to face off against the water tribe boy and his sibling.
"And just where do the two of you love birds think you're going?" he huffed with his hands on his hips. Ava couldn't help but laugh and was shortly followed in by Katara and Aang.
"Truly, Sokka? You really think that you can tell your elders what to do?" she teased.
Sokka blushed as he remembered that Aang and Ava were both over a hundred years old and he was more or less as infant compared to them or Ava at least. Aang still acted like a child. It was then the group jumped and huddled together as all four were startled by the village headman telling them that if they were to make it to the island that Aang had spoken of, they would need to leave immediately because it was a long ride. They said their very short goodbyes and continued on their way.
The ride was terribly boring to say the least until Aang had convinced Ava to tell her adventure stories about her campaigns against the Fire Nation. He quickly regretted it as he noticed that behind her smile as she tried to make the stories listener-friendly she had to have experienced some horrible events. Her eyes were no longer bright and carefree from what he remembered long ago. She had grown up but was trapped in a teenager's body. Most people wouldn't complain but she was forced to continue on as others around her aged and died. It wasn't fair. He tried to change the subject but Sokka kept on and finally got her to admit that she had been held captive by the royal family of the Fire Nation for about three years until one of their own helped her escape.
"You were their prisoner?" Sokka was shocked.
"Yes, I was for a time. A few years, but during that time they had actually come to trust me. I had mixed feelings about it at first. The Fire Lord was only a prince then and his wife was very caring. I couldn't believe that she was a part of that crazed family. She was sweet. Her son, he was amazingly gentle. His demeanor reminded me of someone from long ago…I want to say he reminded me a bit of Roku. Her daughter on the other hand….", Ava shivered at the thought of the strange girl's cold eyes, "She was evil incarnate I swear. Everyone was afraid of her except the Fire Lord at the time and Ozai."
"How could a little girl be evil incarnate?" Katara was genuinely curious.
"She was sadistic. She loved torturing the animals they were stupid enough to keep giving her and her elder brother especially. She would do things to set him off and she took pride in upstaging him in front of Ozai. Azula would get a natural high off of hurting others, but it was divine pleasure torturing Zuko…" Ava paused when she noticed the others tense.
"You're joking right?" Aang tried to reason. How could someone like Zuko have been a gentle anything…
"I have heard of how he has become. I honestly cannot blame him after what Ozai did to him. Have you three not heard the story?" the girl seemed surprised by their reaction.
"Have you not heard our stories about how he has tried to kill us and capture Aang more than once?" Sokka shot back. He was done talking about this.
"As far as I can tell from his attempts he did not have any intentions of killing you. Aang is all he wants. He was banished from the Fire Nation by his father to search for the Avatar. Everyone thought it was just busy work to keep him away, but seeing that you have returned has given him false hope. Ozai has no intentions of taking his son back, that I can assure you. I am still certain that he killed his father after making him name him as the Fire Lord. The old man who travels with Zuko, his name is Iroh. He is the eldest and the true Fire Lord heir, but he was skipped over when he failed to capture Bei Sing Se. Ozai waltzed in and took over…their father was found dead in his room not too long after he had changed his decree that Ozai be named Fire Lord instead of Iroh. I am not wholly convinced by their diagnosis of natural causes", the Chalice scoffed.
"What do you mean you don't think he has any intentions of killing us?" Sokka was back in the conversation. Her statement made him curious.
"I trained Zuko myself in hand to hand, non-bending combat", Ava quietly stated, "I know his attitude and I have bared witness to his rage, but it is nothing compared to Azula."
"To be honest I am not entirely interested in how to read the guy…all I know is he is bad news", the water tribe boy growled.
"I cannot say that I am wholly disappointed that you don't want to hear what little wisdom I have on the matter…but it would be wise for you to heed what I say to you", Ava glared daggers in Sokka's direction, "That boy has suffered greatly by the hands of the man who was supposed to protect him, you have no idea what he has gone through."
"He has no idea what his nation has put US through", Katara seethed as she began to stand up for her brother.
"I had anger towards ALL fire benders at one point too, until I realized that not all of them truly support what Ozai is doing. His son being one of them, even though he has not admitted it yet, he knows that the way the world works now, is not how it was supposed to be. If anyone should be bitter towards that wretched pyro-maniac race, it should be Aang and I. They EXTERMINATED our people. We are all that is left of the Air Nomads", Ava snatched her staff up from her side and took off to fly for a bit. She needed to after that discussion.
"Hey wait a minute! Where are you going? We need you!" Sokka called out to her retreating form. He and his sister had dumbfounded looks on their faces as they looked to the Avatar for some kind of answer.
"She'll be back. She won't go far. I think she needs to sort some stuff out by herself right now", Aang sadly stated as he returned to his post on Appa's head to guide the bison.
"Aren't you going to go after her?" Katara quietly asked as she walked up behind him.
"I'm not going to pretend to know how she feels. I wasn't with her in the Fire Nation and perhaps she would not have even been there if I had done what I was supposed to do to begin with. I was basically asleep in that ice for a hundred years. She lived each day with no explanation as to my disappearance and grieved over the loss of our people", he admitted, "When she is ready to talk to me, she will, that's how we have always done it."
"Alright…", Katara patted her friend on the shoulder and went to chew out her brother.
Sokka was furious. He was angry that he had brought up the whole situation, but he was also angry because Ava just left instead of explaining herself.
"You're a genius you know that?" Katara growled as she smacked him upside the head. Her anger did not dissipate even at the glaring look he gave her as he rubbed the injured area on his cranium.
"Look I had no idea and I thought she could give us some insight on how fight the Fire Nation… How was I supposed to know she developed a crush on that freak Zuko", he began pouting as he crossed his arms and turned away from her.
"You really are thick-headed aren't you?" his sister continued, "She didn't develop a crush, Zuko was like family to her."
"Yeah well how do you think that goes with her lover boy over there?" Sokka sneered.
"He seems pretty upset about it but at the same time she would have not have brought it up if you hadn't pressed her for it!" Katara reasoned, "Look just no more Fire Nation stories, okay?"
"Fine", he huffed, "But I don't see why you think I should apologize to her!"
"I didn't say you had to apologize to her. Is that a guilty conscious, Sokka?" his sister hinted.
"Quit playing mind games with me, Katara. I'm really not in the mood. I feel bad enough about it as it is. I never meant to cause Ava pain", he finally relented.
Ava was allowing her mind to clear and putting it on auto pilot as she made a special trip to the Spirit world. She needed guidance from the Chalice before her. Unfortunately it was not the former Chalice she ran into first.
"Koh, you startled me", she said void of any emotion.
"My dear Chalice, do you really think I want to steal your face? I am your protector, what good am I if I kill the charge that I am sworn to guard?" the man's handsome face laughed.
"I'm sorry it has been so long since I visited", Ava smiled and hugged her guardian, never being bothered by the fact that he was a murderous giant centipede with the ability to steal another living being's face as soon as they showed emotion. He squeezed her firmly with his body as he encircled her to him.
"I have missed you my Chalice", the face smiled.
"I wish you would use your true face with me, Koh. I would never betray your secrets, not even to my Avatar", she smiled again as she pulled away.
"Not intentionally anyway", he changed his face again to that of a mask, "What ails you my lady?"
"Zuko is after Aang. I love Aang, but I love Zuko as well. He's the closest thing I have to a son… you know that…", she began to cry.
"You were caught in this once before you know…when your Avatar Kuruk came after me, shortly after I killed his beloved Ummi, when your heart was broken and you passed back into our realm. He wanted me dead and you being you, well…let's say that he was unsuccessful", the face changed again to one that could show laughter.
"Please, Koh. What should I do? I try not to recall that life…", Ava stated sadly.
"You stood up to him, told him that it was not truly right to beget death with death and that the Spirits were few and far between and to kill one another would throw everything into chaos. Which is still quite true… perhaps your beloved godson still has use in this world yet? One that even your Avatar now must respect."
"I cannot be at odds with him…"Ava stated, "The world was chaos the last time we were at odds with each other."
"Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, due to the fact that I loved seeing it and having you depend solely on me, there was madness in our realm which spilled over into the humans' world…not that I truly care for the humans", Koh stated.
"You always have the 'nicest' things to say…", Ava laughed at her guardian.
"Go back now my Chalice. I sense your Avatar misses you terribly", Koh scoffed as he gave her one final squeeze before sending her back to her body.
Aang was beginning to get nervous. He knew that they were getting closer to the island and he needed her help getting in to Roku. It was then he sensed her easing presence, assuring him that she was on her way back to him. He sat back against the saddle, sighing. This was becoming complicated and fast. He didn't know that she had a personal relationship with Zuko, but then again it would never had happened if he had assumed his duties properly before.
Ava quietly soared up beside Aang with her flyer and settled next to him. Not a word was spoken between the two for a few moments until she leaned against him.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner about my relationship to Zuko", she whispered.
"You would have never had to have one if I had done right by the world and by you…." He whispered back pulling her to him and kissing the top of her head as he tucked her under his arm, "I promise I will never leave you to deal with everything alone again."
"Ava, can I talk to you for a minute, please?" Sokka shyly asked.
"Alright…", she moved to the saddle to sit next to his sister, who seemed to be encouraging him to talk….
"I'm sorry for bringing up your captivity in the Fire Nation and I am especially sorry for the way I spoke about Zuko…", he mumbled.
"I accept your apology for having me tell you some things that I had not even had a chance to tell Aang yet…", she huffed, "As far as Zuko is concerned I know you are not truly sorry, but…that will be a work in progress…"
"It will take me AND my sister a little bit to get past what the Fire Nation did to us and our tribe….", he stood his ground, secretly earning the respect of both females sitting in front of him, "But hey it's like you said….a work in progress."
They shook hands with a weary smile gracing both of their features and agreed to put it behind them until after they completed their current mission. It seemed that it would be smooth sailing…well almost…Sokka and Katara noticed that Zuko's ship was close behind them on the sea…somehow.
"Did you tell your little Fire Nation boyfriend where we were going?" the Water tribe boy shouted, wincing as his little sister's hand graced the back of his head once more.
"Do you think she would really put Aang in danger like that?" Katara growled. She smiled only half a second at the Chalice's approval. "Fireball!"
"I'm on it!" Aang shouted back with a determined look on his face. Ava knew she had to help her Avatar and began to use air bending to change the cloud covering so that hopefully the small Fire Navy ship would not be able to target them so easily. It was working well until the smell of the "Hot Stinker" hit her nostrils. She was a little distracted by the smell and then Aang's announcement of something "bigger" did not help.
"A blockade?" Sokka's mind began to race. He looked to the disoriented Chalice and his little sister who seemed she was going to puke her guts out from the smell of the fire ball that Zuko sent at them.
Ava couldn't help but worry for her godson as she realized that him traveling through Fire Nation waters would warrant his arrest. She knew Iroh would not allow him to do such, but the ship was not wavering it's steadfast pursuit of her group. She looked to the blockade and could only imagine what self-righteous general was guarding the aquatic territory. Only one came to mind…her mind was distracted by her group's sudden decision to run the blockade. All she heard was her Avatar's familiar "Yip, yip."
"Aang! More fireballs!" Ava screamed as she ducked her head and proceeded to pull the water tribe siblings down with her as her Avatar used every decisive move he had with Appa to prevent their injuries. It unfortunately could not prevent the bison's and the others tried desperately to put the fire out on Appa's side as they pulled higher into cloud coverage. The fireballs did not stop and soon Sokka was flying mid-air out of Appa's saddle with Ava not far behind him on her staff. Aang felt the panic in his soul mate's emotions and turned the bison almost immediately after realizing the loss of one of their companions. Ava steadied him as she dropped him into his sister's embrace on Apppa's saddle and landed herself as they made way directly for the blockade. She took hold of the reins as her Avatar did an amazing move and blew through the fireball that was aimed directly at them. She looked directly into General Zhao's eyes and looked back as she saw her godson, Zuko stare in an almost dumbfounded look back at her. She held her Avatar close as he flew back into her as they continued on.
"You enjoy these sick games of me almost losing you don't you?" Ava whispered in his ear as she held him close.
"I will do whatever it takes to protect you", Aang sighed as he leaned back into her embrace.
"Let's not do anything that risqué again? Are we agreed on that?" Ava looked back to her Avatar after looking behind them to see that Zuko's ship was allowed to pass. 'Zhao has something in mind', she thought to herself as she looked at Aang once more.
"Agreed…but seriously, love, you need to tell your godson to lay off a little", he weakly smiled as they made their way to the island they had both seen in their vision.