I'm BACK, folks! Now it's time for Chapter 11! I hope you enjoy this! Remember to R&R! It helps a ton! :D Happy Reading!
Book One: Water
Chapter 11: Tribe Feud
The sun is setting in the mostly cloudy sky and behind the setting sun is a patched up tent being jostled around from the inside and inside the tent is Sokka grunting and fussing as he tries to finish setting up the tent until the tent is finally raised and Sokka comes out of the tent.
"There. All finished." Sokka said as Katara walks over to him while carrying a pile of wood.
"Uh, Sokka, what about the tarp?" Katara asked.
"Oh, right." Sokka said as he picks up the rolled up tarp next to the tent and he throws it into the tent.
"Sokka, you're supposed to put the tarp on TOP of the tent. You know, so we don't get RAINED on?" Katara said a little irritated.
"Normally, you'd be right, but seeing how it's dry season, you're wrong." Sokka replied. "Also, the tarp makes a pretty good warm blanket." Sokka added.
"But what if it DOES rain?" Wendy asked joining the conversation.
"What if it doesn't? I would have put the tarp up for nothing." Sokka said and Katara is getting ticked off.
"UGH! You're infuriating!" Katara yelled.
"Katara, look, why don't you worry about gathering the firewood because that kindling's looking PRETTY sorry." Sokka said making Katara even more angry.
"You just have to tick her off, do you?" Gray asked.
"No. It's fine, Gray. If Sokka doesn't like my firewood, he can have it!" Katara yelled throwing the firewood at Sokka who blocks them with his hands and he gets angry.
"Fine by me! If you won't do your job, then I'll do this!" Sokka said as he yanks the rope securing the tent to one of its supports and the tent falls. "There!" Sokka said.
"Oh, brother." Gray said shaking his head.
Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Aang then arrive at the campsite while carrying food.
"Okay, guys, we got the grub if you..." Lucy cuts herself off as she sees Katara and Sokka turning from each other angry and then the four see the tent down.
"Where's the campfire?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah and what happened to the tent?" Aang asked.
"Ask Miss Know-It-All the Queen of the Twigs!" Sokka snapped.
"Oh, yeah? You're Mister Lazy Bum the King of the Tents!" Katara yelled throwing a twig at Sokka's head making Natsu chuckle and now the two face each other but Erza gets between them.
"Enough! Both of you! We're not going anywhere if you two continue to fight like this." Erza said.
"She's right. Harsh words won't solve problems, but action will." Aang said.
"Here's an idea, why don't you two just switch jobs?" Lucy suggested.
"Sounds good." Katara said.
"Whatever." Sokka said and the two begin their new work.
"Settling feuds and making peace. All in a days work for the Celestial Mage and the Avatar." Aang said.
"It must be a tough job." Wendy said.
"Even for the Celestial Mage and the Avatar." Gray said.
Aang then sees Happy and Momo trying to remove a melon that Appa is holding with the digits of his front paw and Happy and Momo are still struggling and they both try to fly away but they still can't get the melon.
"It's no use, Momo. Appa's too strong and big for us." Happy said and the two walk away depressed.
Appa opens his mouth and his tongue scoops up the melon but as he's about to open his mouth Happy and Momo quickly grab the melon and they both scurry away while Happy is carrying the melon but they run into Aang who takes the melon and he tosses it in the air and air slices small pieces of it off and the big part lands in front of Appa who eats it while three small pieces land in front of Happy, Momo, and Carla.
"Thank you, Aang." Carla said.
"You're welcome." Aang said.
"How come Furball gets the bigger piece?" Happy asked and Momo chitters to agree with the cat.
"Come on, you two. That's fair. Appa has FIVE stomachs." Aang said.
"FIVE?!" Happy asked shocked and Aang nods.
It's now daytime and the gang arrive at a rim overlooking a canyon area.
"Here it is, guys. The Great Divide." Aang said.
"Wow. I could just stare at it forever." Lucy said.
"Me too." Katara said.
"Awesome!" Natsu said looking with wide eyes.
"Okay. I've seen enough." Gray said but Erza hits his head.
"How can you not be fascinated?" Erza asked.
"Yeah. This is the largest canyon in the world." Katara said.
"Hey, I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away." Gray said but then a man wearing white robes rushes past Gray and pushes him out of the way. "Watch where you're going!" Gray said.
"Quiet! If you people are looking for the Canyon Guide, I was here first!" The white robed man said.
"Canyon guide, huh? Sounds very informative." Katara said.
"Oh, believe me, he's more than just a tour guide. He's also an Earthbender and the only way in and out of the canyon is with his help. He's taking MY tribe across next!" The white robed man said and while he was talking Sokka and Natsu make mocking gestures from behind.
"You can settle down. We know you're next." Erza said but the white robed man points his finger at Erza making Natsu, Gray, and Sokka huddle in fear knowing what will happen.
"You wouldn't be calm if the Fire Nation destroyed YOUR home and forced..." The white robed man was cut off by Erza who grabs his finger and the man winces in pain as his finger is being crushed and everyone is shocked.
"If you dare point that finger at me again, I will bend it and break it off!" Erza threatened.
"Erza, please calm down." Lucy said.
"She's getting even more scary." Aang said.
"Aye." Happy said.
"I'm sorry! Please let me go!" The white robed man pleaded and Erza lets go of the white robed man's finger. "Please forgive my rudeness. It's just that my whole tribe has to walk thousands of miles to the capital of Ba Sing Se." The white robed man said.
"You must be a refugee." Katara said.
"That's right." The white robed man said.
The gang then hear someone coming they turn to see more people and they are wearing rude animal skin and they look unkempt.
"Who're they? Friends of yours?" Lucy asked.
"Don't count on that. That's the Zhang tribe. A bunch of low-life thieves. They've been enemies of my tribe for a hundred years." The white robed man explained. "Hey, Zhangs, I'm saving this spot so don't even THINK about stealing it!" The white robed man said and a huge Zhang woman walks over to the white robed man.
"Where are the rest of the Gan Jin? Still tiding up their campsite?" The Zhang woman asked.
"Yes, but they sent me ahead to hold a spot." The white robed man answered.
"I didn't know the Canyon Guide took reservations." The Zhang woman said.
"Of course you didn't. That's the ignorance I'd expect from a messy Zhang! Unorganized and ill prepared for a journey." The white robed man said.
The Zhang tribe then start grumbling angrily and a mob of Zhangs is about to commence making the gang look disconcerted but then all the sudden the earth starts to move making rocks shake and split apart and then the rocks are being lifted in the air and are thrown away by an old man wearing green clothing and a straw hat and it's the Canyon Guide.
"Sorry for the wait, youngsters. Who's ready to cross this here canyon?" The Canyon Guide asked.
"Um...I think one of them." Wendy said pointing at the man and the Zhangs.
"I was here first! My party's on their way!" The whited robed man said.
"I can't guide people who are not here." The Canyon Guide said.
"Guess you'll be making the trip tomorrow." The Zhang woman said and she and the other Zhangs start to move.
Just then the whited robed man and the gang see more people coming and the white robed man knows the people.
"Wait! Here they come!" The white robed man said pointing at the people.
The people coming are the Gan Jin tribe and they are wearing the same white robes as the man and they are walking in a stately order while having formal expressions and the Zhang woman looks in surprise and now the two tribes are facing each other.
"You're not seriously going to cave into those spoiled Gan Jins! We're refugees too! We have sick people who need shelter!" The Zhang woman said.
"Well...I..." The Canyon Guide stops for a minute.
"We've got old people who are weary of traveling." The Gan Jin man said.
"Sick people get priority over old people!" The Zhang woman said.
"Perhaps you Zhangs wouldn't be sick if you weren't such slobs." The older Gan Jin man said.
"Well, if you Gan Jins weren't so clean, maybe you wouldn't be so old!" The Zhang woman replied.
"I can smell your stink away." The older Gan Jin man said.
"Well, Aang, ready to put your peace making skills to the test?" Lucy asked.
"I don't know. A fight over chores is one thing, but these people have been feuding over a hundred years." Aang said.
"Everyone listen up! These two are the Avatar and the Celestial Mage! If you give them a chance, they can come up with a compromise that will make everyone happy!" Erza said and everyone looks at Lucy and Aang.
"Uh...you guys can share the Canyon Guide and travel together?" Aang suggested.
"Absolutely not! We'd rather be taken by the Fire Nation than travel with those stinking thieves!" The older Gan Jin man said.
"We wouldn't travel with you pompous fools anyway!" The Zhang woman replied.
"We are not pompous!" The older Gan Jin man said and the two tribes fight and yell at each other until Lucy finally has enough of this.
"ENOUGH!" Lucy shouted causing everyone to look at her shocked. "Here's the deal, we're all going down the canyon TOGETHER and Appa will fly your sick people and old people across! Does that seem fair?!" Lucy asked and the Gan Jin leader and the Zhang leader nod in agreement making Lucy calm down.
The old Gan Jins and the sick Zhangs are now on Appa's saddle and they both give each other dirty looks as they sit far away from each other as possible and Aang pets the bison as he groans.
"Sorry, buddy. You'll have to do this on your own." Aang and Appa grunts in response.
"This tribe feuding stuff must be serious business." Sokka said.
"You two sure it's a good idea getting involved in this?" Natsu asked.
"To tell the truth, I'm not sure." Aang said.
"Neither do I, but when have we ever been?" Lucy asked.
"Lucy is the Celestial Mage and Aang is the Avatar. Making peace with people should be their job." Katara said.
"Mostly Aang's job, but I do like making peace." Lucy said.
"Their job's gonna make us cross this whole thing on foot, isn't it?" Sokka asked in despair.
"Man up, Mister Lazy Bum. Who was the one that made us go through the forest on foot last time because of his instincts?" Gray asked.
"Me." Sokka answered.
"That's right so shut your hole or I'll shut it for you." Gray said.
"Okay, folks. Here are the bad news, no food allowed in the canyon. It attracts dangerous predators." The Canyon Guide said and the two tribes complain about this. "Oh, you babies can go a day without food. Would you rather be hungry or dead? We'll be going in ten minutes so all food better be in your gut or in the garbage!" The Canyon Guide said and the Zhangs start eating their food like slobs while the Gan Jins eat little bits of food with chopsticks and wipe their mouths with their napkins.
"Appa will take care of you guys until we get there." Lucy said to the old Gan Jins and the sick Zhangs.
"We'll see you on the other side, boy. Yip yip!" Aang said and Appa grunts and flies off.
Everyone starts to move down the steep canyon path with the Canyon Guide, Lucy, and Aang taking the lead and as they keep walking down the path the Canyon Guide puts his arm in front of Lucy and Aang making them stop and they see a break in the path in front of them and the drop is a hundred feet down but the Canyon Guide makes a motion and outstretches his arms and fists and with a grunt of effort a block of stone pushes outward from the canyon wall to where the broken path is making a new path and everyone moves forward again.
"Nice bending." Lucy said.
"Maybe you should make Earthbending your third element, Lucy." Aang said.
"Maybe..." Lucy said.
"The job's much more than bending. Folks want information." The Canyon Guide said and he turns to everyone. "Many of you probably wonder how canyons are formed. Experts tell us this canyon was most likely carved into the ground by Earth Spirits who were angry at local farmers for not offering them a proper sacrifice." The Canyon Guide explained making Katara, Natsu, Happy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Carla, and Sokka look at each other with worry and then everyone hears a rumbling sound and they see a rock slide from above and the rocks come down but the Canyon Guide bends them away into the canyon below. "Looks like the spirits are still angry. Hope you all brought sacrifices." The Canyon Guide said.
"I say we sacrifice Gray." Natsu said.
"Aye." Happy said.
"You'd be a worthy sacrifice, Flame-breath." Gray said.
"No one is sacrificing anyone, but if you two don't shut up, then I'll sacrifice you both." Erza said making Natsu and Gray huddle in fear.
Everyone keeps moving down the canyon path and they enter the canyon floor and the Canyon Guide stands in front of the two tribes and the gang.
"Everyone stand clear of the walls." The Canyon Guide said as he bends a nearby rock and throws it at the stone bridge he created earlier and destroys it and the debris from the bridge lands behind everyone and a cloud of dust is made.
"Why'd you do that?" Lucy asked.
"These people are fleeing from the Fire Nation right? I gotta make sure we're not followed. We'll be safe now." The Canyon Guide said but just then a big insect like shadow appears in the dust cloud and pincers appears from the dust cloud to grab the Canyon Guide from behind making him yelp.
"What the...?!" Gray asked and Aang Airbends the dust cloud away showing a big black insect like creature with four legs, red eyes, and a long thin mouth with teeth and the Canyon Guide is still in the insect creature's mouth while screaming.
"We gotta help him!" Wendy said.
"Right!" Sokka said as he throws his boomerang at the insect creature and it strikes the creature in the head making it drop the Canyon Guide but the insect creature goes for Sokka now and he runs for his life. "Okay, now you gotta help me!" Sokka said still running.
The insect creature still chases after Sokka but Erza slashes its two front legs with her sword making it fall to the ground and she delivers the final blow by cutting its head off but then another insect creature appears and tries to bite at Erza but she slashes with her sword while Katara bends water from her pouch and uses it to smack at the insect creature while Gray uses Ice Make: Cannon to shoot ice shots at it but the insect creature tries to bite at Katara and Gray but Aang and Wendy both shoot blasts of air at the insect creature but it charges again but then Natsu breathes fire at the insect creature knocking it back but the insect creature charges again but Lucy creates a tornado and she catches the creature with it and while the insect creature is suspended in the tornado Lucy summons Scorpio and together they shoot air at the insect creature throwing it far up the cliff and since it can't walk on walls the insect creature hides in one of the canyon holes.
"Is everyone okay?" Lucy asked and everyone nods. "Thanks for your help, Scorpio." Lucy said.
"No prob. Call me again." Scorpio said as he disappears.
"What were those things?" Aang asked.
"Canyon crawlers and there are probably more of them. UGH!" The Canyon Guide winces in pain and Wendy tries to use her healing magic.
"Your arms are broken." Wendy said.
"Without my arms, I won't be able to Earthbend." The Canyon Guide said.
"So that means..." Katara stops talking.
"...We're trapped in this canyon." Lucy said.
It's now getting late and everyone is still stuck on the canyon floor and Katara and Wendy place bandages on the Canyon Guide's arms.
"I thought the whole point of ditching our food was so that we wouldn't have to deal with those...canyon crawler things." Natsu said.
"It's the Zhangs! They took food down here even after the Canyon Guide told them not to!" The Gan Jin leader said pointing his finger at the Zhangs.
"What?! If anyone can't go a day without food, it'd you pampered Gan Jins!" The Zhang leader said pointing her finger at the Gan Jins.
"I hope you're happy. We're now stuck in this canyon with no way out!" The Gan Jin said.
"Thank yourself, food hider!" The Zhang leader replied.
"Guys, sticking together is the only way..." Aang was cut off by the Zhang leader.
"I'm not walking another step with the likes of them!" The Zhang leader said.
"Now THAT'S something we can agree on." The Gan Jin leader said.
"Any ideas?" Sokka asked.
"No bending. We have to get out of this canyon! I won't die here! I won't become part of the food chain!" The Canyon Guide said.
"See? We're going to become part of the food chain because of YOU!" The Gan Jin leader said.
"Sure! Unjustly blame the Zhangs like you ALWAYS do!" The Zhang leader replied.
"Gladly!" The Gan Jin leader said.
"ENOUGH!" Lucy shouted and everyone turns to her shocked again and Lucy is extremely angry. "I THOUGHT WE COULD HELP YOU GUYS GET ALONG, BUT I CAN SEE I WAS WRONG!" Lucy shouted as she Airbends herself to a stone balk between two canyons on either side. "We're splitting up. Gan Jins on this side and the Zhangs on that side. We're travelling in two separate lines." Lucy said and the Gan Jin leader and Zhang leader looks at each other and nod and the Gan Jins go to the right side while Zhangs go to the left side.
"This is stressful, huh?" Gray asked.
"You have no idea." Lucy said.
"What now?" Katara asked.
"Sokka, Natsu, and Wendy, you three are going with the Zhangs. Katara, Erza, and Gray, you're with the Gan Jins. See if you guys can figure out why they hate each other so much." Lucy said.
"Sure thing, Luce." Natsu said.
Sokka, Natsu, and Wendy follow the Zhangs while Katara, Erza, and Gray follow the Gan Jins.
"I hope we can settle this feud." Aang said.
"I doubt that." Lucy said.
"Another important thing should be getting out of this canyon." Carla said.
"Aye, but the Canyon Guide's arms are messed up and the Gan Jins and the Zhangs are still at each other's throats." Happy said.
The sun is setting and Sokka, Natsu, and Wendy are in the Zhangs' campsite and they see the Zhangs setting up their tents.
"Aren't you guys gonna put up your tarps?" Wendy asked.
"What for? It's dry season." The Zhang leader said.
"Exactly." Sokka said.
"Besides, we like to use our tarp as a blanket." The Zhang leader said.
"Finally someone gets it." Sokka said.
"This is not gonna turn up well." Natsu said.
"I know that feeling." Wendy said.
Meanwhile Katara, Erza, and Gray are in the Gan Jins' campsite and they see the Gan Jins setting up their tents perfectly and the three also see the Gan Jins putting up their tarps over their tents.
"You think it will rain?" Katara asked.
"No, but you never can be too careful." The Gan Jin leader said and Katara smiles.
"I hope nothing else will go wrong." Gray said.
"I hope so as well." Erza said.
It's now nighttime and the Gan Jins, Katara, Erza, and Gray sit around the campfire and the Gan Jin leader looks around and takes out bread from his robe surprising Katara, Erza, and Gray and they see the other Gan Jins eating their food with their chopsticks.
"Would you three like some bread?" The Gan Jin leader offered.
"So it was you guys who had food!" Gray said.
"Oh, come now. You really think that tribe of thieves isn't smuggling food? Why should MY people go hungry when those sneaky Zhangs are stuffing their faces?" The Gan Jin leader asked.
"I guess it's okay if everybody's doing it." Katara said as she takes the bread and takes a few bites.
"Katara!" Gray said and then he sees Erza eating bread as well. "Not you too, Erza!" Gray said in disbelief.
"I'm hungry, Gray so either shut up or you'll be going to sleep early." Erza said and Gray just sighs. "So tell me. Why does your tribe hate the Zhangs so much?" Erza asked.
"You seem like a smart woman, Erza. I bet you would enjoy hearing some history." The Gan Jin leader said. "The patriarch of our tribe, Jin Wei was an Earthbender warrior who was assigned to an important duty, transporting our sacred orb from the Great Eastern Gate to the Great Western Gate. Taking the orb from the east to the west represents the sun rising and setting. It was our tribe's ancient redemption ritual...but as he approached the gate, Jin Wei was attacked by one of the Zhang. A vermin by the name of Wei Jin who looked at the orb with envy. The coward Wei Jin knocked Jin Wei to the ground and stole our sacred orb." The Gan Jin leader explained. "Our tribe have never forgotten. You can never trust a Zhang." The Gan Jin leader said and Katara and Gray look at the Zhang camp with hardness and hate.
Meanwhile at the Zhang campsite the Zhang leader is sitting next the Zhangs' campfire and Sokka, Natsu, and Wendy are sitting next to her and the Zhang leader takes out a leg of meat from her bag.
"Care for some meat?" The Zhang leader offered.
"Would I?" Sokka said as he takes the meat and starts eating and Natsu takes another meat and eats it as well.
"So you really did have food with you." Wendy said.
"I know. We're horrible for endangering everybody by bringing food down here." The Zhang leader said as Natsu and Sokka are still eating their meat.
"Why did you do that?" Wendy asked.
"The Gan Jins think so badly of us, they assumed that we brought food in and decided to bring food in themselves. That's why we brought food in." The Zhang leader answered.
"I have a question. When did your hatred for the Gan Jins began?" Natsu asked as he eats another piece of meat.
"Our conflict with the Gan Jins goes way back over a hundred years." The Zhang leader said. "Our forefather, Wei Jin was leaving the west gate of our village, but then he saw a figure in the distance. It was a man of the Gan Jin tribe, Jin Wei who is collapsed on the ground. Noble Wei Jin stopped to help him, but Jin Wei tells him that he was transporting a sacred orb, a very powerful relic used in his tribe's redemption ritual. Wei Jin tried to tend to the man's wounds, but Jin Wei insisted the orb was more important and asked Wei Jin to take it back to his tribe. Kind Wei Jin promised to send help for the man as soon as he could, but as Wei Jin crossed the border to return the orb into Gan Jin territory, he was arrested. Instead of thanking him for his kind and selfless deed, they sentenced Wei Jin to twenty long years in prison." The Zhang leader explained. "The Zhangs will never forget that injustice." The Zhang leader said.
"That's terrible." Wendy said.
"Yeah." Natsu said.
"Hey, you gonna finish that?" Sokka asked pointing at the Zhang leader's leg of meat but she eats it.
Meanwhile Lucy, Aang, Momo, Happy, and Carla are looking down at the two campsites.
"Sure would be nice to be around one of the campfires, telling stories and laughing." Aang said.
"Hopefully we'll get out of here." Lucy said.
"Yeah and we can eat our weight in leechy nuts." Happy said and Momo sees a flying bug, catches it, and offers it to Happy. "No thanks, Momo. I'll wait for the leechy nuts." Happy said and Momo eats away.
"Must be lonely, isn't it? Being impartial." The Canyon Guide said joining the two.
"I wish we could help these people get along, it's almost impossible." Aang said.
"I wish that too, but our bigger problem is getting out of this canyon." Lucy said.
"I'm not so sure the two problems are unrelated." The Canyon Guide said as he falls asleep.
"This is just ridiculous." Lucy said.
"We should get some sleep. We'll find a way out." Carla said and everyone falls asleep.
The next day the Canyon Guide, Lucy, and Aang are on top of the stone balk and they see the two tribes moving through their sides.
"All clear! We're almost to the other side." The Canyon Guide said pointing to somewhere below and the two tribes are now in site of each other as their walk through their sides is at an end and Lucy and Aang find the others behind the two tribes.
"Guys, will these people cooperate long enough to get out of the canyon?" Lucy asked.
"I don't think so. The Zhangs have really wronged the Gan Jins. They ambushed Jin Wei and stole the sacred orb." Katara said.
"What are you talking about?" Aang asked.
"Yeah, what are you talking about, Katara?" Sokka asked.
"Wei Jin didn't steal the orb, he was returning it to the Gan Jins' village and he was wrongly punished." Natsu said.
"Not punished enough if you ask me, Ash-for Brains!" Gray said.
"You wanna go, Stripper boy?!" Natsu asked.
"Okay! Okay! We get it! Now we need your help. We need to get everyone together at the base of the canyon wall." Lucy said.
Aang opens his glider and and flies off and Lucy hangs onto him and the two land between the two tribes who are facing each other and are arguing again.
"Everyone, as soon as we get out of here, we can eat and go on our separate ways, but we need you all to put your heads together and figure out a way up this cliff." Aang said.
"Maybe the Zhangs can climb up the walls with their long, disgusting fingernails." The Gan Jin leader said.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't realize that to the Gan Jin, unclipped fingernails is a crime punishable by twenty years in jail!" The Zhang leader said.
"You dirty thieves!" The Gan Jin leader said.
"You pompous fools!" the Zhang leader replied and the two tribes argue again and this time Katara and Gray side with the Gan Jins while Sokka and Natsu side with the Zhangs.
"Will all of you FOCUS here?!" Lucy asked.
"It's just as I've said, harsh words won't solve problems, ACTION will!" Aang said.
"Perhaps the Avatar is right." The Zhang leader said.
"Yes. Perhaps he is." The Gan Jin leader said and Aang and Lucy smile hopefully.
"Harsh words will never solve problems..." The Zhang leader said.
"...Action will!" The Gan Jin leader said and they both draw their swords at each other and cross in front of Aang and Lucy who both back off.
The two tribe leaders face each other while the two tribes watch this ready for the fight.
"To the death! Let this be the end of our rivalry!" The Gan Jin leader said.
"Wait! I take it back! Harsh words aren't so bad!" Aang said but he is ignored and the two leaders begin to fight.
The two leaders deliver several feints and thrusts at each other until they push each other back and the Gan Jin leader's lower beard falls off while one of the Zhang leader's hair braid falls off and they rush at each other again but then Lucy slams her palm to the ground creating two gusts of wind and blows the two leaders away from each other and Lucy is breathing heavily with a severe ticked off look on her face but then she looks at the Gan Jins and she's utterly shocked as she sees a wrapped blanket of food has opened and spilled contents are all over.
"Is that...FOOD? EVERYONE SMUGGLED FOOD DOWN HERE?!" Lucy asked now even more angrier and flames appear in her eyes and her skin is now red making Natsu and Sokka huddle in fear while Aang backs off. "UNBELIEVABLE! YOU GUYS PUT OUR LIVES IN DANGER BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T GO WITHOUT A SNACK FOR A DAY?! YOU'RE ALL AWFUL!" Lucy exploded.
"Lucy, please just..." Aang cuts himself off as he sees something the Zhangs have on the ground and it's what looks like a pie and Aang's eyes are now wide and his stomach is growling. "So hungry...is that egg custard in that tart?" Aang asked.
"IDIOT! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR..." Lucy was cut off by a noise and she turns to see many canyon crawlers on the cliff wall as they are attracted by the scent of food and they are now upon everyone and the tribes flee.
"That's a lot of canyon crawlers." Katara said.
"We barley survived one." Gray said as he uses Ice Make: Sword ready to fight.
"They're coming back for me! They've had a taste and they're coming back for me!" The Canyon Guide said as he backs off.
"Someone shut this guy up please." Natsu said.
"Guys, I don't care about the feud. I want all of us to get out of here safely." Wendy said.
"She's right." Katara said.
"Yeah." Natsu said.
"Okay." Gray said.
"Very well." Erza said.
"I wanna get outta of here too. I only took the Zhangs' side because they fed me." Sokka said.
"You're pathetic." Gray said and they prepare to attack the canyon crawlers.
The canyon crawlers are charging but Aang and Lucy work together to bend a gale of wind at the wall of canyon crawlers but has no effect and they charge and butt heads but Aang and Lucy jump into the air before they could reach the two and Aang blast the canyon crawlers away stunning them but they recover and charge again and other canyon crawlers attack the tribes but the Zhang leader forces one back with her curved sword while Katara uses her Waterbending to whip another canyon crawler that's attacking two Gan Jin men but another canyon crawler breaks Katara's water but Gray attacks it with his ice sword by slashing its legs and then he uses Ice Make: Hammer and crushes it but another canyon crawler is behind Gray and attacks but Erza uses Requip and enters Lightning Empress Armor and uses Lightning Magic to kill the canyon crawler and Sokka is being chased by another canyon crawler but Natsu gets in front of it and fire punches its head while Wendy delivers a spin kick but more canyon crawlers have cornered small bands of tribes.
"What're we supposed to do?" Lucy asked and she sees some canyon crawlers eating food with their faces covered in food bags and this gives Lucy an idea. "Everybody watch me! Do what I do!" Lucy shouted as she picks up a food bag and she leaps over to the nearest bunch of canyon crawlers and she throws a piece of food at them and one of the crawlers eat the food and it charges at Lucy but she places the bag over the crawler's mouth and then she catapults herself onto its back and uses the bag straps as reins.
The Gan Jins and the Zhangs work together and they do what Lucy did and now everyone is on each of a canyon crawler's back.
"Now follow me! We're getting out of here!" Lucy said as she swings a rod with a bag of food in front of her crawler and it starts following the bag of food and starts climbing up the climb and everyone else joins her while Momo, Happy, and Carla fly up and as soon as Lucy and her crawler reach the cliff she gets off. "Everyone off!" Lucy yelled and everyone gets off their crawlers.
"We made it!" The Zhang leader said.
Lucy then goes over to the edge of the cliff and she throws the bag of food over the cliff and the bag drops food as it falls and the crawlers go after it.
"That was smart thinking, Luce." Natsu said.
"Thought we'd never get outta that hole." Sokka said.
"I never thought a Gan Jin would get his hands dirty like that." The Zhang leader said.
"And I never knew you Zhangs would be reliable in a pinch." The Gan Jin leader said and Aang sighs happily and Lucy smiles hopefully. "Too bad we can't rewrite history. You thieves stole our sacred orb from Jin Wei!" The Gan Jin leader said as he draws his sword.
"You tyrants unjustly imprisoned Wei Jin for twenty long years!" The Zhang leader said also drawing her sword.
"Oh, come on! You two were just..." Lucy was cut off by Aang.
"Wait. Jin Wei? Wei Jin? I know those guys." Aang said.
"Yes, yes. We're all aware of the story." The Gan Jin leader said.
"No! I mean I really knew them. I may not look like it, but I'm a hundred-twelve years old. I was there a hundred years ago on the day you're talking about." Aang said. "There seems to be a lot of confusion about what happened. First of all, Jin Wei and Wei Jin weren't enemies, they were brothers, twins in fact and they were eight. The sacred orb from the legend was actually a ball and the eastern and western gates were goal posts. Jin Wei had the ball and was running toward the goal, but then he fell and fumbled it. Wei Jin didn't steal the ball, he picked it up and started running it back toward the other goal, but stepped out of bounds and so the official placed him in the penalty box not for twenty years, but for two short minutes." Aang explained. "There was no stealing and no putting someone in prison. Just a game." Aang said.
"You're saying the scared orb was a sacred ball?" The Zhang leader asked.
"Nope. Just a regular ball." Aang said.
"What about our tribe's redemption ritual?" The Gan Jin man from before asked.
"That's what the game was called, Redemption. As soon as someone got the ball from one goal to the other, everyone would shout 'REDEMPTION'! Don't get me wrong, Wei Jin was kind of a slob and Jin Wei was a little stuffy, but they respected each others' differences enough to share the same playing field." Aang said and the two leaders look at each other.
"I guess it's time to forget the past." The Zhang leader said.
"And look to the future." The Gan Jin leader said bowing to the Zhangs and the Zhang leader bows back and Lucy and Aang smile.
"Finally." Lucy said.
Later on Appa arrives at where everyone is at and he still has the old Gan Jins and the sick Zhangs and Aang hugs the bison.
"Good to see ya, boy! Did you miss me?" Aang asked and Appa licks him.
"I cannot thank you enough, Avatar." The Gan Jin leader said.
"Well, I try." Aang said as he's now drenched in Appa's saliva much to the Gan Jin leader's disgust.
"Let us travel the Earth Kingdom capital as one tribe." The Zhang leader said and the tribes cheer and they follow their leaders down the path.
"I'm coming too! I'm sick of this place!" The Canyon Guide said following the two tribes.
"I forgot he's still around." Gray said.
"That was some luck that you knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin." Sokka said.
"You could call it luck...or you could call it lying." Aang said smirking shocking everyone.
"What?!" Gray and Sokka asked flabbergasted.
"You made the whole thing up?" Natsu asked.
"Yep." Aang said.
"You did not." Katara said as she makes a devilish admiration.
"That is so wrong." Lucy said also making a devilish admiration.
"At least you lied in a good way." Wendy said.
"Normally lying is wrong, but if not for that, then the Gan Jins and the Zhangs would still despise each other. Well done, Aang." Erza said.
"Where can we get some custard tart? I'm starving." Aang said.
"We'll get something to eat later." Lucy said as they get on Appa and he flies off from the canyon.
Chapter Eleven completed! I hoped you enjoyed it. Chapter Twelve will be worked on. Before I go, I'd like you guys to tell me via review if there should be a NaLu pairing in this story because apparently people like that pairing in FanFiction. Anyway that's it for today. I'm outta here and until then, take care and I'll see you in the next chapter.