The GAang and the Fire Nation School

Chapter 11: The Last Moments of Peace

Oh no, such a bad name for a party chapter?! How can you do this TMT?! Well, cause I wanted to, lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

I do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender, oh, and Happy Late Halloween!


This party was one event that would be impossible to forget.

The Flamios, the band that played there, had been practicing hard in case they had to play at another secret party and made a new song that the girls loved. It involved them to play twice as hard, but the way it was played made the girls there love them. Most of the girls would gather around them and scream at them for playing such good songs. It was lucky for them to be out of range, or else they would grab them and do spirit-knows-what to them. Who knew people playing the sungi horn, oud, flute, morin khuur, and percussion drum at the same time in a way where you can listen to it perfectly could get you so many fans?

The food there was phenomenal. It made you wonder where the people got them and how. Fruit pies, jelly-filled bread, creamed cookies, hippo cow ribs, opossum chicken legs, and fried shrimp were only a few of the wide variety that everyone was able to bring to improve the party. There was so much that even Wan couldn't get his hands on at least 1 of everything. Their were many drinks as well. Tomato juice, apple juice, orange juice, mixed juice, family special shakes, and water were what filled up most of the available drinks. The only thing that could be the downside of so much food and drinks was that people could end up throwing up or having stomach aches and have to go to the bathroom so badly. Luckily, all of the hosts (Otin, Moto, Feri, and On Ji) knew this and were able to get bathroom stalls just right outside the cave's back exit.

Many fired appliances were placed neatly along the wall and lit up the entire cave. A few of them were lanterns, others were open torches. They made it seem like it was in the middle of the day when it was actually at night. Even the open entrance, where the night sky was, seemed light from the high number of torches and lanterns hung along the wall.

The best thing about this party was that no one was shy. Everyone did something: ate, danced, listened in front rows, or went to the bathroom. Many of the girls were even brave enough to ask Kuzon if he could give them some new dancing moves he knew. He did without hesitation, but that led to Amaya being a bit jealous, and the jealousy usually made her take a big drink of water. Wan was always around the tables where the rations were. Whenever he would stop being full, he would grab another thing to eat and wait after a few minutes, listening to the Flamios as he did. Midori was actually having a great time as well. Some of the guys were asking to dance with them, but she refused and made her hard to win.

But while Kuzon, Amaya, Wan, and Midori were enjoying themselves, Keiji was forced to push the crate even more within the cave.

"Why...do...I...need...to...push...this...still?!" asked Keiji in between pushes. Gramps followed him slowly as he pushed.

"I can't party like there's no tomorrow since I don't know if that's true, so I wanted to see if I could be noticed as the weird-but-nice elder along these youngsters," replied Gramps, still following. "And my way to do that is to be something this town doesn't have!"

Keiji stopped pushing after Gramps finally told him to stop by tapping his shoulder with his cane. Keiji was brushing off some of his sweat on his forehead. "And what's that?"

"I thought to myself that if I could impress myself to a bunch of smart and experienced traveling kids, then I could definitely do the same to a bunch of money-carrying and idiotic kids at a wild party." Gramps opened the crate with his cane. Inside were a bunch of rocks, of course, but on top of that was a jar on top of a paper. After removing both form inside, he moved 1 or 2 rocks and pulled out a wooden chair.

"How'd that fit in there?" asked Keiji.

"Life's a mystery," Gramps simply replied.

Shutting the crate again, he put the jar on the table that said on the outside said "copper here" and the paper, that ended up being the kind that can stand on its own, said "ThE aMaZiNg MiNd ReAdEr!!"

"Why did you write those words all weird? It looks like a baby tried to write that," asked Keiji, pointing at the note.

"What? Isn't that how they're spelling words these days?" asked back Gramps, placing the wooden chair in between the crate and the wall.

"No...but at least it's still readable. But you're really gonna charge these guys to freak them out?"

"I could be one of the richest guys in the Fire Nation if I made a copper piece for every person I freaked out. Besides, we could use the extra change from these hooligans who have no adult supervision."

"Gramps, you, as my actually great-great-grandfather, have officially crossed the line to where you're not normal at all."

"I'll take that as a compliment!"

Keiji face-palmed his face. Gramps had been weird, even to him, most of the time, but this time was a bit too much. Standing next to Gramps to see what would happen next, he kept his eyes half closed to avoid direct eye contact with anyone while his Gramps started to call out random people to see if they wanted their minds read. Soon, however, some people started to come, and the empty jar started to fill with copper pieces for every person who came.

Wan continued to stay near the food table. He was starting to eat less and less, but he still ate whenever his stomach stopped complaining about having too much in there. He occasionally would say to those who would come by and grab a treat near him. One of those ended up being Midori.

"Hey Wan, I see you're on a diet," she said, sensing him still eating.

"Oh come on, you know you want to eat everything too," Wan replied after swallowing another piece of a creamed cookie. "You're just trying to go with the flow."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you don't dare to be different. You don't want to be a maverick because you want to be like everyone else."

"Whatever you say isn't going to turn me into a pig though." She grabbed a plate and placed some fruit pie slices on it. "Even if I dare myself to be different, I'm not going to act like you."

"But everyone loves a guy who can eat anything made!"

"Any treat anyway. Anyway, have you seen the other guys?"

"Nffyah."

Wan spat out some crumbs on Midori. Her eye was twitching from having crumbs on her. Wan, embarrassed, grabbed a towel and brushed some of the crumbs off from her hair as she flicked the crumbs away from her shoulders.

"So was that a 'yeah' or 'nah'?" asked Midori, still annoyed with talking to a pig.

"It was a 'yeah'. Keeje, or whatever his name is, is with Gramps. They're getting some attention somehow, I can't see from here." He broke into a whisper. "Katara is chatting with some people, and Kuzon is showing some of the people some new classic dance moves."

"Do you know any dance moves?"

"What? What would make you think that?"

"Well...don't people in the Water Tribes have rituals often?"

"No, not at all, what makes you think that?"

"That's what my parents told me. They told me the Air Nomads played pranks, the Fire Nation harmed the harmless, and the Water Tribe danced. I guess they just assumed."

"That's what happens when you ask a question to someone who doesn't know. Well, I do know some,but I don't want want to be showing off on a full stomach."

"Show me Snoozles."

That made Wan spit out his next bite. He turned to face her in shock.

"You want me to show you?!" he asked. "Forget I said that."

"Oh come on!"

"No!"

"Fine." And with that, Midori showed her little spoiled girl look and crossed her arms. Boy, she looks frustrated, he thought. She probably just wants to embarrass me though.

"I'll tell you what," began Wan, "I'll dance with you when a new song plays."

"Really? Thanks Wan!" She said that as she were to hug him, but she simply turned her back to him, secretly blushing. "But no tricks on me!" Wan said again.

Meanwhile, Kuzon was still showing some of the dance-loving kids the stuff. He showed them some of the moves he'd shown before, such as the Phoenix Flight, and some new ones. One of the new ones was what he called "Walking on Rolling Water" in which he looked like he walked forward, but moved backwards instead. It looked strange but oh so yet fun to do. Many of the people asking were girls, including On Ji, who didn't attempt the moves. They just liked to see their crush dance like there will be no problem in the future.

But while they were having fun, Amaya was lonely. Last time, before she danced with Kuzon, she sat with Wan and Midori, but this time, she was stuck drinking a few cups of water. Secretly, she was really jealous. She didn't want to be in the group full of girls who obviously liked Kuzon since it would seem weird, but she didn't want to be left out. If only--

"And Amaya here will help me!" she heard suddenly.

She turned to her left to find Kuzon next to her with a bunch of girls following him around. The girls kinda seemed jealous that Amaya was going to dance with Kuzon again. Amaya was blushing to see Kuzon asking her to dance with him for a second time.

"Come on, I need you to help me show them the next dance," said Kuzon, offering his hand to her. "It's what people look like when they're training. Besides, you looked lonely."

"But...uh..." She was no good at coming up with excuses, especially in this type of situation.

"You've done it before, come on."

Nodding, she took his hand. They headed for the middle of the cave where most of the dancers were at. Like last time, he started to whisper to her what he wanted to do.

"We're going to fight each other without bending," whispered Kuzon. "It'll be more of a performance, but people would like that."

"How're going to fight?" whispered back Amaya.

"How a Firebender would fight. Last time we had to mix it up because I didn't know how to be a full Firebender."

Nodding again to Kuzon, they took fighting stances. They slowly took steps to the side. Just imagine your fighting Zuko again, said Amaya to herself. Their wrists were connected and ready to strike. "Pretend we're training," Kuzon whispered to her again. "Just without the bending."

A crowd was gathering around them, just like last time. It seemed like it was going to be a repeat, but they weren't just dancing this time, they were also fighting for real. Kuzon made the 1st move and attempted to trip her using his foot. Thanks to her waterbending reflexes, she stepped back and attempted to make a cutting movement with her arm at Kuzon, making it looked like she was going to waterbend. Side-stepping it, he attempted to kick again, this time, for her head. He had faith in Amaya and knew she would dodge anything he would throw at her. But just in case, he wouldn't go all out.

Lowering her body, she evaded the kick and made a low kick of her own at his foot. It tripped him down, but he landed quickly on his hands and leaned forward, looking sorta like a front-flip on the ground. Turning to face her again, he wished to himself that he could firebend, but Amaya needed to waterbend to defend, and that wouldn't be the best choice when you're in enemy territory. They circled each other again in the same stance as before.

"Are you okay?" whispered Amaya, looking a bit worried from that last attack.

"Don't worry about me; worry about yourself," replied Kuzon before attempting a jab to her shoulder.

While they continued to perform as if they were all in a fighting school, Keiji watched from Gramps' "business" crate. The way the 2 fought was with no hate at all. No desire to defeat the opponent. No desire to even hurt the opponent. Yet despite those lacks, they fought well and hard. It's like they trust each other enough to fight like that, thought Keiji. They must be more than friends, but they don't look like it outside. Unless...

"Hey Gramps," started Keiji, patting on his (Gramps') shoulder, "do you think those 2 are together?" He knew Gramps could use his "talent" from a distance as well, just as long as they're in viewing range.

"Those 2?" asked Gramps, pointing at the 2 performing in the ways of true melee combat. "If you mean together in ruining my business, then yes, they're dragging away my copper pieces!"

"Not like that. I mean do they have anything in between them?"

"Of course they do, but it's at a difficult time. The boy wishes to tell her how he really feels, but he can't, for distractions and obstacles rise whenever he tries. She's unsure of herself, but deep down, no matter what, has at least some kind of feeling for him, and if that feeling grows, then things will turn out perfectly."

"Sounds complicated though."

"Oh of course! I had the same problem with my wife. She was the kind that knew I existed, but she had no idea that I had feelings. I had to slowly build up the relationship and then BAM!" Gramps punched his palm quick enough to scare Keiji for a moment. "Me and her were suddenly married. It's never easy though, even for the ones who fall in love at 1st sight. I don't know anyone who had an easy time trying to reveal some of their deepest secrets. It takes a lot of courage to tell the secret to the person you really want to."

"But if just seems so much easier to others."

"That's because they have more courage or less obstacles to worry about. Kuzon has to face the Fire Lord, defeat him and the Fire Nation, and save the world. Those are some pretty tough obstacles the last time I checked. On the other hand, Amaya has similar obstacles. She has to help Kuzon and help the others around her. Ooh, that had to hurt."

Kuzon just struck a good jab on Amaya's shoulder that caused her to fall back. Quick to his senses, he quickly caught her back. Noticing the position they were in, they decided to raise their hands as if finished finally. The crowd cheered for them, some giving the "all right!" whistles. Sweating from the intense fighting, Kuzon helped her back up. Maybe this is the best time.

"Uh...Amaya," started Kuzon. "Could I talk to you outside?"

Amaya nodded and followed him to the back of the cave where another opening was at. Nobody was here though since it was more cramped. From the crate, Gramps and Keiji saw the 2 leave.

"Do you think Kuzon just heard every word you said and got his courage up?" asked Keiji.

"--and you want to throw a hard ball at everyone's face that picked on you," finished Gramps to another person. Freaked out a bit, he complemented Gramps' mind reading and dropped a copper piece into the jar. "Huh? Oh, I don't know. If he did, then his hearing is real good, even in such loud areas such as this."

Outside in the night sky again, the 2 wiped off their sweat with their arms and let the cool night air relax them. Their was no path, but instead, their was a steep and rocky hill that led to the ocean. It wasn't like a cliff, but if you had no balance, you'd most likely fall into the ocean. Their were grassy areas around them, but no trees were in sight. Chuckling a bit from their dance, Kuzon started to speak 1st.

"That was some good fighting," he complemented. "I didn't know Waterbenders were good at fighting without water."

"Me niether," joked Amaya.

Kuzon took a deep gulp and started to blush. He was now sweating again, but this time, from the nervousness. Just say it; there's no one around and nothing to ruin this! His mind was at a civil war and argued back and forth.

"What was it that you wanted to tell me?" asked Amaya, straightening some loose hair of hers.

"Uh...I don't know how to start..." He walked around to where his back faced the back entrance of the party cave. "Well, I wanted to say this ever since we were in Ba Sing Se..."

He was now sweating more and more.

"Kuzon, are you alright?" asked Amaya, putting her hand on his forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

"No, it's not that!" She removed his hand from his forehead. He seemed like he was getting really frustrated. He took a deep breath and tried to like normal again. "Amaya...I mean Katara...I've known you for a while now and...I...uh..."

"What the--?" said Amaya, looking a bit upward.

"It's not a bad thing, but I really want to say this. Katara...I--"

"LOOK OUT!!"

Amaya tackled him as far as she could. Kuzon was wondering why she did that, thinking it was a hug at 1st, but saw the explosion to where he was just standing. She had must've lunged hard to tackle him this far, for they were back in the cave. Amaya quickly helped Kuzon back up, who was rubbing his head from the impact with his head and the rocky cave, and looked at the entrance to the open.

"What was that?!" asked Kuzon, almost yelling.

He got his answer when a man jumped from the top of the cave and made a terrible earthquake-like landing. His right arm and leg were...Made of metal?! He was bald and had a beard. But his most noticeable trait was the tattoo on his forehead. He just stood there for a moment, looking at them.

"Amaya, get the others out of here!" whispered Kuzon to her. "I think this guy knows who we are!"


The last moments of peace alright, then Combustion Man comes and crashes the party, even crashing Aang's and Katara's moment. He's evil alright, lol. Hope this wasn't too long for anyone, but I still felt bad for the other chapter being shorter than others. Anyway, don't hate me now because I acted like the writers for the past 2 seasons, teasing with moments like that, XD

I still ask myself is it possible to write "ThE aMaZiNg MiNd ReAdEr!!" in the Asian characters, Chinese, Japanese, etc. I don't think it's possible, but I really wanted to put that in there.

Thanks for reading, please review, and hope you enjoyed! TMT