Chapter Eight: Kyoshi Island

"You four have some explaining to do." A man said, sternly.

The four were currently tied to a big pole, blindfolded, and surrounded by an entire village. "If you don't answer each and every question, we'll throw you all back in the water with the Unagi." A female voice said.

"Would someone please take these blindfolds off?" Mikeal asked. "Yeah, show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka shouted.

Mikeal felt a pair of hands touch the back of his head and untie the blindfold. The person took it off, allowing Mikeal to finally see after about 20 minutes of darkness.

The person who took off his blindfold was a girl with white makeup covering her face, along with red makeup covering her lips and her eyes. She was wearing a long, green dress along with a black chest plate and black gloves.

She threw the blindfold by his feet and began to walk away. "Thanks." He said. She ignored him and walked back to the rest of her group, who all had identical makeup and clothing on.

Everyone else's blindfolds were off as well, allowing everyone to see the exact same thing as everyone else.

"Who are you?" Sokka inquired. "And where are the men who ambushed us?"

"There were no men. We ambushed you!" The girl in front said. "Now, tell us who you are and what you're doing here."

"Wait a second! There's no way a bunch of girls took us down." Sokka said.

The girl in front went up and grabbed his coat, pulling his face in towards hers. "A bunch of girls, huh? Well, Guess what? This bunch of girls are gonna make sure the Unagi has a good meal tonight." She said with an angry look on his face.

"No, No, don't throw us in the ocean! Please just excuse my brother. He's just an idiot sometimes." Mikeal said.

His sexism not only cost him a pair of pants, it could now cost them their very lives.

"It's my fault." Aang stated. "I'm sorry we came here. I just wanted to ride the Elephant Koi."

The man stepped up. "How can we believe you? How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies? Kyoshi Island hasn't been affected much by the war, and we intend to keep it that way!"

Aang's face lit up. "This island is named after Kyoshi? I actually know Kyoshi!" Aang said.

'Who is Kyoshi?' Mikeal thought.

He could only hope that this would end well and they wouldn't end up as Fish Food.

The man scoffed. "How could you possibly know Kyoshi? Avatar Kyoshi was born on this island 400 years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

Aang paused for a moment before speaking out again. "I know her because I'm the Avatar." He said.

The people who were gathered around them gasped. Some whispered to the person next to them.

"That's impossible! The Last Avatar was an Airbender who disappeared 100 years ago!" The girl in front said, raising her fist.

"Yep!" Aang said, smiling. "That's me!"

"Throw the imposters to the Unagi!" The man said before walking off. The girl in front gave a signal and almost immediately, all the girls in make-up came forward, putting their fans in front of them.

Mikeal moved his head next to Aang's, making sure his mouth was close to his ear. "Aang, I don't mean to rush you into anything, but now be a good time to do some Airbending. Please?"

Aang suddenly jumped up into the air, breaking his ropes. He slowly floated down as everyone watched in awe.

"It...it's true. You are the Avatar!" The man said. "Told ya. Now…." He said, reaching into his clothes. "Check this out!"

He pulled out his marbles and spun them around in his hands using Airbending. He looked around, making a face of excitement as he showed off his trick.

Everyone in the village cheered loudly, clapping and shouting.

"Can we be untied now?" Sokka asked.

The Next Day

It was quite early in the morning. Mikeal sat by Katara, who sat by Aang. They had their legs crossed as they examined all the deserts they had on the table in front of them. "Dessert for breakfast, huh? This place is pretty cool!" Mikeal said, picking up one of the cakes and examining it. "Yeah they are! They sure know how to train an Avatar." Aang said.

Mikeal bit into the cake in his hand. "Oooohhh yeah.. these… these are some pretty good cakes." He said, his mouth full. He picked up his cup of water and took a sip, washing down the cake. He couldn't remember the last time he had cakes of any kind. It was like his mouth was entertaining paradise after spending years and years away from it.

"Katara, you gotta try these!" Aang exclaimed, handing her a different kind of cake. "Alright. Maybe just a bite." She said, taking it from Aang's hand. She took a bite of it. Her face lit up with amusement before she grabbed another cake and started to eat it too. Mikeal chuckled.

"Sokka, come eat!" Aang said, looking at the teen brooding in the corner. "There's plenty for all of us!"

"I'm not hungry." He said, irritation in his voice. "But you're always hungry!"

"Don't mind him, Aang." Katara said after she swallowed a mouthful of water. "He's just mad because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday."

Sokka stood up. "No! They just..snuck up on me!" He defensively exclaimed. "Yep. And then they kicked your butt."

"Sneak attacks don't count!" He yelled.

"Calm down, brother. Just accept your defeat and eat some cakes." Mikeal said. "In fact, I think it'd be best if you went and apologized for underestimating them yesterday." He said before biting into another cake.

"Apologize? Not a chance! Why should I?" He exclaimed.

"Because it's the right thing to do. And you should be the first to know how important doing the right thing is."

"Well, I'm not going to! You can forget it!"

Mikeal sighed. He hated how he was acting like a baby. He expected him to be mature and to have gotten over it already, but he was mistaken apparently.

"Fine. If you won't apologize for yourself, then I will." He said. He chugged the remaining water he had and gently set the cup on the floor. He stood up and walked over to Momo, who had a large pile of cakes and other foods. Mikeal smiled and squatted down to rub the lemur's, who gladly let it happen.

"Save me a few cakes for when I get back. Thanks. See you guys later." He said, walking out of the room.

He exited the house and looked around.

It was a bit cloudy out, but the sun still shined through the gray clouds.

He walked to the left and saw people repainting the Kyoshi statue, making it look as if it was brand new.

He didn't know much of the Avatar, other than the fact that she was an Earthbender and that she was 7 feet tall, if he remembered correctly. Some kid started telling him about her, but only said those two things before leaving.

"It's The Avatar!" He heard a female voice say from behind him. He turned to see a bunch of young girls crowding around the house he had just left. They saw Aang looking out the window and started yelling and screaming in excitement. Aang waved, which made them yell louder.

Mikeal rolled his eyes and left the scene to continue his search for the Kyoshi warriors.

Truth was that he was very impressed by the girls. How they took him and the others down so effortlessly and quickly, how they snuck up on all four of them without making a sound, how they managed to not smear their makeup while fighting.

He was just amazed by them. And intimidated as well. But, to be fair, who wouldn't be? They could kill him in a few seconds if they really wanted to.

What could he say? They were just amazing.

He looked around the village for a long 5 minutes and didn't see a single one of them. He was wondering if he'd have to ask someone of their location.

Just then, he saw something out from the corner of his eye. Way down at the other side of the village, he saw one of them. The dress and the makeup and everything. She walked into a small,brown house next to some trees.

Mikeal smiled, thinking that more of them would be there, training or something. He began to jog to the house, passing by several people and waving and smiling at them.

He made it to the trail that led to the house and walked on it. He walked up to the house. It had no door, so he could see inside. Sure enough, at least 9 of the warriors were in there, training on a large, dark green mat with fans in their hands. It looked as if they were doing some kind of dance. He liked it.

He walked in, looking as casual he possibly could. "Hey there!" He said. They all looked at him and stood in a non-defensive manner. "Sorry to interupt your training session here. Just wanted to say a few things."

The girl in front, who was leading the training session stepped forward. "It's no bother. We just started not too long ago. Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you were friends of The Avatar." She said.

"Oh, that's alright. We came onto your island uninvited and all. I think I would've done the same thing. That is if I could, of course." He replied, chuckling a little bit.

"So, what is it you wanted to say?" She asked, putting her fists on his hips. "Oh, um.. Look, I just wanted to apologize on behalf of my brother. Y'know, the tall guy with the man bun? I know that he was a jerk who said a few sexist things to you all and, really, I don't think he was right to do that. I tried to get him to come down and apologize himself, but, of course, he was too stubborn to do it himself, so...here I am. So, yeah. I'm sorry. I think what you guys are capable of is… well, just awesome. And you all have my respect."

The girl in front smiled, along with a few of the others. "That's sweet of you. You have my respect as well." She stuck her hand out, putting her fan down. Mikeal returned the smile and reached his hand out, grabbing hers and shaking it. "That's great to know. Maybe I can get my siblings and the Avatar down here later so they can introduce themselves properly. And don't worry. I'll tell my brother not be a total-"

"Hello, ladies!" Sokka exclaimed, walking in. "Speak of the devil.." Mikeal muttered. "Why, hello brother! Why are you here?"

Mikeal let go of the girl's hand and turned to face Sokka. "I was here apologizing for you, like I told you I would." He answered. "Why are you here?"

"I was just looking for a place to get a good workout. Gotta build the muscles somehow, right?" He asked as he stretched his arms and touched his toes.

"Well, you're in the right place." The girl in front said.

Sokka stood up and began stretching his legs. "Y'know, I should be holding a grudge for what you guys did yesterday, but considering that you're a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

Mikeal sighed and put him face in his hand, walking backwards and sitting on a nearby bench.

He JUST apologized for Sokka about his sexist behavior and now he's back at it again. "Oh, I should hope so. A big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance." She said, sarcastically. "True, but don't feel too bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my whole village." He said with a smug look on his face.

Mikeal snickered, trying to hold back a full out laugh.

While that was technically a true statement, he and Sokka were the only two "warriors" in the village. Of course he was the best of the two.

"Wow! The best of your whole village, huh? Oh, maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a demonstration." She said with a smirk on her face. Sokka froze up for a second, looking rather surprised that she said that. "Oh...well, I mean I-"

She turned to face all the other Warriors. "Come on, girls! Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?" She asked. They all nodded while giggling.

Mikeal laughed as quietly as he could, knowing that Sokka was about to get his butt kicked. He wanted to stop it all and save him from the upcoming humiliation, but he didn't. He needed to be taught a lesson. And the only way he saw that happening was by these girls kicking his butt. Again.

"Alright. If that's what you want, then I'd be happy to." Sokka said. He stepped back and got into a stance. "Now, this may be hard, but try to block me." He said. He then threw a jab her way, which, of course, she easily blocked by holding her arm out and letting him run into it.

Sokka stepped back. "Hm. Good. Obviously, I was going easy on you."

"I'm sure you were." She said as Mikeal struggled to hold back a laugh. He felt bad for laughing at the fact that Sokka was about to get beat up again, but at the same time, he couldn't be happier that he might not be as sexist and might have different views.

"Let's see if you can handle THIS!" He threw a kick at her, but she went under his leg and used her upper body to send him flying up. He landed on his back as the other Warriors laughed at him.

"That Does It!" He yelled. He instantly got up and charged at her, his arm raised.

She grabbed his arm and started spinning him around, oftenly changing directions.

After a few moments of Sokka being spun around and him yelling, she finally stopped and took off the ropes that tied his shirt around his waist. She tied it around his right arm and his left leg, leaving him hopping around. He eventually fell over, his face filled with a mix of surprise and humiliation.

"Anything else you'd like to teach us?" She said, sarcastically as everyone else laughs at the Water Tribe teen. Mikeal didn't laugh, but couldn't help but giggle.

He stood up and made his way to his Sokka. He untied his hand and his foot. "You shouldn't have done that, brother." He said.

Ignoring him, he immediately stood up and stormed out of the building. Mikeal walked behind him. "Where're you going?" He asked. "To the house." He muttered under his breath, not turning his back. "Okay. Love you, Sokka!" He shouted. He got no reply.

Suddenly, Mikeal thought.

What he just saw was incredible. She got him. She got him good too. He thought that maybe, just maybe, he could pull some of that stuff off too.

It made perfect sense to him. He, Aang, Katara, and Sokka were just getting started on a journey that's bound to take long. And they were bound to face some enemies and threats to them. Of course, he can't show his Firebending to them or anyone, but maybe he could fight big enemies the way they do it. He liked his idea. It would benefit him a lot.

He decided to ask.

He walked back inside. "Excuse me?" He said, getting their attention again. "Yes?" The girl in front replied.

"So, I was wondering if um… well….I'd like if...maybe uh...yo-"

"What do you wanna say? Just say it, please." She said.

Mikeal cringed at how he fumbled with his words. He took a breath and put exactly what he wanted to say in his head, ready to say it.

"Can you teach me your fighting style?" He asked. The girl crossed her arms. "You want to be taught?"

Mikeal nodded.

"But why?" She asked.

"Well, umm… Sorry, what's your name?" He asked. "Suki." She answered.

Mikeal gave a small smile. "Okay. Anyway, Suki, the reason I'm traveling with the Avatar is because we need to get to the north pole so that he and my sister can learn Waterbending. And I figure that they'll be enemies on the way. Y'know, people with the intent of hurting us. And Sokka and I aren't benders.. and Katara isn't that great of a Waterbender yet. Aang could probably do something about threats, but he's only one person. But if I can fight like you guys, we'd have a better chance of, y'know, accomplishing our goal of getting there."

Suki looked down, thinking of what to say to him. "We don't usually train outsiders. Let alone boys." She said.

Mikeal kneeled down, showing her as much respect as he could possibly show. "It would be an honor and a privilege if you taught me your ways. Please. I won't let you down."

A few moments of silence passed before Suki spoke up. "Okay. Only because you asked so nicely." She said before turning to the others. "Why don't you all take the day off. I'd rather train him alone for now." She said. They bowed and began to walk out of the building.

Mikeal stood up and smiled at the warriors as they passed him. One leaned over and brought her mouth close to his ear. "good luck. you'll need it." She whispered before leaving the building.

Before he knew it, it was just him and Suki. "Thank you, Suki. You have no clue how much this will benefit me and my group." He said.

"You're welcome. You better do everything I tell you to do and I don't want to hear any complaints. Understand?"

Mikeal nodded as Suki smiled. "Great. Let's start off with you doing some exercises."

This Took A little while to make, but here it is! Sorry to end so abruptly. Chapter Nine will take plafe directly after this and will most likely feature the end of the episode.Anyway, thank you for reading and I'll see you all in the next chapter :)