It's Thursday, and damn it all if I don't have to go and run my guts out again today for XC practice. Ugh! I guess that's the price I have to pay for being able to eat as much as I do and shite. Oh…and sorry about confusing Ty Lee with Toph. My bad! I don't have cable anymore and I never got to see those two characters so I was a bit confused as to their roles and such.

Anyhow, I'm back again with another story installment to Aang and Niko's adventures. Everyone has been really supportive thusfar, and I appreciate everyone taking the time to review my work. Take care and enjoy.

Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar. (I notice that my disclaimers are getting rather short.)

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The fire had gone out a few hours before, but Aang had died out before then. He just didn't have the concentration at this time to fire bend…and he was slightly scared of his own powers since he burnt Katara that one time. But this was an emergency and Aang would do whatever it took. But now, he was in dream land…

Dreamscape

"Yippeeeeee!"

"Wahoooooooo!"

Aang and kid Bumi had found a new set of slides and were testing out an even faster method of travel…or fun, whichever you wanted to term it as. Bumi had thought of another way to make the earth kingdom chutes more fun…wheels! He and Aang had strapped wheels to the bottom of the carts and then set off down the tracks.

"Aang, duck!"

"What…agggghhhhhhhh!"

Aang had turned around to grin wildly at Bumi for a moment, when a giant face appeared in front of them. When Aang turned around, he was sure that they would crash into the face and screamed…

Back to Reality

"Aaaaaaaggghhh!"

Aang sat up with a start. His face was drenched in sweat, and he was breathing heavily from the dream he had.

"Whew," Aang breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that it was just a dream, "But that was still so cool!" Aang once again managed to put a positive spin on things even when it terrified him. "I'll have to tell Bumi about that wheel thing next time I s-..."

Aang trailed off as he remembered what had happened the night before.

"Niko."

Aang spun around on his butt to look across the other side of the fire pit. It had long since gone out, but the sun was up and shining brightly. The magnificent orb of flame warmed the young Avatar as he saw that everything was as it should be. The fire was out, the chest was still there, Niko was gone, the birds were chirping…

'Niko's gone!'

Aang shot up into the air with a burst of bending and landed in a rush of dust and pebbles. Where could someone go who was injured as badly as Niko apparently was the night before? Aang took note that all of Niko's clothing were gone.

"At least he's not running around naked." Aang outwardly thought.

"No I'm not quite up for streaking at this hour of the morning, thank you very much."

Aang fell over in shock and landed on his face as he tried to locate the familiar voice. Scrambling back up, Aang held his nose and mouth with both hands and tried to get the pain to go away. The next sounds Aang heard didn't help much.

'Laughter.'

Yes, laughter. And not just regular laughter, but full out belly laughter. It was the kind of laughter that would make your sides hurt before too long and your whole body would shake with the effort. It reminded Aang of the foolish predicaments Sokka used to get into. But the voice was what really added insult to injury. As Aang's vision came into focus, blinking his eyes repeatedly to get rid of the involuntary tears that were clouding his vision, Aang came across a person he thought might not have lived through the night. And if Aang had his way soon enough, he might not live through the next ten minutes.

There stood Niko, in all of his silvery-haired glory, bent over double while threatening to die on the spot from laughing so hard. He looked…healthy; and alive! Aang couldn't believe his luck. Here was a man who had nearly gone through a life and death experience from being possessed by…something…and all he could do was stand there and laugh at Aang's misfortune as if nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry Aang…ha ha ha ha…but I…he he he he…just couldn't…cough cough ha cough…help myself again. Gasp You're just too easy too…uh oh!"

"NIKO!"

Niko's face couldn't help but remained amused at the young Avatar. Not only was Aang's face red enough from the fall he took after his shocking wake up call, but now he was fuming like a mad badgermole who had found firebenders occupying their tunnels. The boy was just too comical as he stood there fuming.

"Now Aang," reasoned Niko, "Let's not be hasty here…"

"Ghaaaaaaaah! I'll get you for that. Come here you little…"

Niko never got to finish his plea for reason as he was too busy running around in circles from an enraged Avatar. Lucky for him, Aang wasn't using his other bending skills and relied only on his airbending to propel him around. Aang was chasing Niko around, throwing curses and other profanities his way. Niko knew that Aang would calm down soon enough, but for the time being Niko would prefer if he was not caught by the young Avatar in training.

'I hope that you still have some energy left after this Aang, became we still have a lot of work to do.' Niko thought as he dodged yet another dive-tackle from Aang, sending the little Avatar skidding nose first into the dirt again. Niko chuckled at the sight. 'Now he really does look like a badgermole.' No time to think now though, as Niko took off through the woods towards his home with a very dirty, very miffed Aang following close behind. The cloud of dust the two kicked up could be seen weaving through the forest.

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"Are, gasp, you, gasp, done, gasp, yet?" Niko managed to get out between his now most important activity…breathing.

"Mummmmblllllll, bubbbblleeee, pblllllleelellelel!"

Niko was sitting on top of a still struggling Aang…in the river. Aang's head was below water now and he was still trying to get back at Niko for his behavior earlier that morning. They had chased each other all over the swamp, with Aang even getting one foot stuck in the bubbling tar pits for a few moments while taking a turn too fast after Niko. The two warriors had nearly exhausted themselves chasing each other over rocks, into holes, across streams (which Niko was glad that Aang was not in the presence of mind to use his water bending or he really would have a job on his hands) and generally everywhere else they could possibly go. They were now back at the stream which ran just a small ways downhill from Niko's cliff-side home. Niko had finally managed to maneuver himself behind his young attacker and force his head into the cool water. He was hoping that the need for air and the shock of the glacier-cooled stream would bring Aang back to reality. It turns out, that he was right. As soon as Aang realized that he needed to breathe, he stopped his incessant struggling and relaxed while mumbling something incoherent. Niko took that as a good sign and released his grip on Aang's bald, but now much cleaner, head.

Gasping, Aang's head shot out of the cool water and he clawed his way to the shore. Both combatants, now thoroughly soaked and tired, lay on the bank breathing heavily and staring at each other, as their heads were turned that way. At first, their looks were all business, still alluding to the possibility that they would go at it again. But that all changed. First, the stare was broken, as someone blinked. Then their bodies began to tremor, and their mouths started to curl up on the ends. Finally, the two burst at the seams and began to laugh at each other's state of dress, dirt, and just outright foolishness. Thus is the mark of two true friends was forged.

Calming down after a moment of mirth and laughter, the two friends sat up and began their conversation anew. Aang was the first to speak,

"Hey Niko," Aang said, causing Niko's right eyebrow to raise up in an intrigued manner, "What was that whole fainting thing all about? I mean, you looked absolutely amazing when you were fighting those two orb-thingies."

"I suppose I did, and thank you Aang for your concern. I'm sorry about scaring you like that, but I can't control how I react sometimes. But I tell you what…if you bend this water from our clothes , I'll tell you what my powers are all about, why some of me glows, and why I collapsed like I did last night. Alright?"

Aang nodded vigorously and began bending the water from their clothes and depositing it back in the river. With this done, the two walked to a large flat-topped boulder downstream some ways. Aang, of course, whirled himself up to the top with his airbending, while Niko scrambled up just like a spider would. They sat facing each other, Aang in his cross-legged form and Niko leaned back with one leg held straight out and the other leg cocked at just over ninety degrees.

"First off Aang, let me thank you for taking care of me. I saw the fire in the morning and my sandals and shirt were back on my back. Usually I wake up cold and tired, but this time I was good and warm from your fire. Thank you."

"You did the same for me," replied Aang, "Besides, it was the right thing to do."

"Not everyone would have done so Aang. It shows your great character and strength."

Aang looked puzzled at this. "My strength? What do you mean?"

Niko looked bemused again. "Aang, you are the Avatar. You carry a great burden on your shoulders at this time. But you are also considered to be one of the most powerful benders on the face of the planet, if not the most powerful even now. But your bending power is not where your true strength lies."

Niko went on.

"You have a gift Aang, a gift of kindness and joy. By allowing your heart to stay as pure as it has you have harnessed your inner strength more than you could realize at this time. You care for people unconditionally, expecting nothing in return for your actions. You will understand over time that this is a true gift and in times of crisis, will make you truly powerful."

Aang nodded slightly, as he was still somewhat confused at Niko's statements. Maybe one day he would understand, but as for right now, Aang only wanted to hear about Niko's answers to his questions.

"But of course, I'm sure you've heard enough praise for today. I don't want your head swelling up." They both chuckled at this, "So I guess its time I explained myself to you."

"I am, what my people call, a Style Bender. I know, it sounds a bit silly, but let me explain the principles behind it. Style Bending is not an elemental form, but rather an inherent ability that everyone has, yet very few can harness. In my family, this ability has evolved over time and become exceptionally stronger than any others within our knowledge."

Niko continued after a breath of fresh air.

"Our bodies act as natural conduits for learning new styles and techniques with the utmost speed and precision. What may take a normal man or bender a year to learn, we may be able to learn in a month. And whatever we learn, we can use at a moment's notice. But anyone can learn skills, Aang. Surely you've noticed some waterbenders who know something of firebending, or staff warriors who can throw kunai darts. But that is where the similarities end and the differences begin. If you watch closely, there is always a pause between a person switching styles. It may only be brief enough for them to change stances and switch their focus, but in that time they can lose a battle indefinitely. My family has perfected the art through skill, determination, and divine intervention. As I mentioned before, we are naturally talented in the ways of style bending, but that would not make us as good as we are on our own. We are also able to channel the spirit of another within our bodies for periods of time because of a skill we inherited from a spirit."

"My great-great-great-great grandfather Tumoka Okram was once confronted by a great band of thieves and bandits while defending his village. Though he was one of the greatest Style Benders of our family he was too greatly outnumbered and Tumoka knew this. He fought valiantly, but was struck down time and time again as he fatigued more and more. Finally, when a bandit had him cornered and was about to strike the final blow, Tumoka felt all time slow and stop as he prayed for help from anyone who would listen. A great silver light erupted all around Tumoka and momentarily blinded the bandits. When their vision cleared, Tumoka stood before them a changed man. His hair had taken to flowing, like mine, and his eyes were the deepest pools of silver you had ever seen, along with his hair. Family legend states that he was possessed by some devil or demon, but we came later to believe that it was a great battle spirit that seeked purpose for its past transgressions. Whatever it was, it endowed Tumoka with a terribly great power that allowed him to wipe out the entire bandit army and save the village. But this power came at a price…for Tumoka died at the end of the battle along with all those he had killed. Where he had not learned to control the limits of his power, he had sacrificed too much of his own life force in the process. The power escaped his dying body and transferred to his son, Shokai Okram, who went on to found the principles by which the power could be harnessed and controlled. If left unchecked, the power would destroy those who it possessed. The power is only passed down within our family within the male side, otherwise if there are no males the power will skip a generation."

"The power can only augment the abilities we already have, acting like an extra set of senses with which we can detect what is happening around us. Now, the more one came into control of the power, the more they became like the power. I have taken on one of the higher control forms of power, though not the highest, as my hair is continually silver. The highest form of control has yet to be reached, and can only be achieved as the bloodline continues to become stronger. But with greater control of the power, comes a greater desire from the power to release itself from its casing…namely, my body. You are more in control, yet more out of control. You're power becomes greater, but you must not let it go on too long or become too immersed in the spirit, otherwise you will end your own life. This is why we must constantly let out some of the power in training sessions so as to not let it overtake our bodies. The more power you release at a time, the less frequent one has to fight, but the more risky it becomes to the health of that individual at each session. What I experienced last night was an extremely large level of power escaping my body at once, and therefore my body was taxed into unconsciousness. It is both a blessing and a curse, Aang, and I would not wish it on anyone."

Over the course of the storytelling, Niko's face had become stoic, and grim. But he reverted back to his usual cheery self as the story ended. It was as if Niko chose not to dwell on the possible negatives of his gift, but to focus more on the positives he has in life already.

"So Aang, do you understand what it is I do?"

Aang nodded slowly in agreement. "I think so."

"Good, because you start training tomorrow morning, bright and early."

"But I can't inherit your power?"

"No Aang, you can't. But like I said, everyone has a certain ability to learn styles. You, being the Avatar, have an ability possibly as great as our family's inherent ability. That skill, along with your bending, will make you far superior to my skill even with my extra 'spirit control'."

"That's great! I mean…the training thing." Aang said, embarrassed at his outbreak.

Niko laughed wholeheartedly. Only Aang could be so humble with so much power.

"Come on Aang, I'll race you to the clearing and back. I have to pick up the chest we left there."

"Alright."

"3…2…1…GO!"

The two friends took off faster than they had before, but this tame a game was afoot and they planned to enjoy every minute of it.

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So that's the current chapter done. I do hope you're enjoying the story. I feel sometimes that I've left some loose ends, but hopefully I'll be able to tie them off either before the end of this series or during my next back story about Niko. Anywho, cheers all.

Neal