Disclaimer: I don't own AtLA.

This is sort of a replacement for 'Imprisoned' in canon. They'll be visiting Kyoshi Island soon enough and crossing paths with Kaito again, but he's uninvolved in this one. King Bumi will be in the story eventually, awhile from now I expect.

Yangchen, as it turns out, is a Tibetan baby girl's name meaning: The sacred one

Kesi: Arabic-Swahili girl's name meaning: born to a troubled father (in troubled times in some translations)

Hami: Muslim boy's name meaning: protector/defender

Trigger for mentions of slavery

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Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Eight

Liberty 1

She was Yangchen, and this was to be her first act as a fully trained Avatar. She arrived atop her bison, Ashura at the small shore side city-state of Tizocha in the Earth Kingdom a week after being declared fully realized. She was accompanied by her retinue, her lemurs, Pik and Pak, and Master Boma who had been her guardian throughout the seven years she had spent studying the elements. Becoming fully realized in less than seven years was a tremendous achievement, one almost unheard of for an Avatar. The shortest time recorded was Avatars Kesi and Hami, who had both taken nine years, and according to legend, the First Avatar had mastered the elements in under a year. A few other Avatars had studied elements in conjunction with each other during times of great crisis, but those were different circumstances.

Everyone declared that it signalled great things for her era, that she had learned so quickly without a disaster necessitating haste. Yangchen hoped they were right. She was eager to make a difference, to prove herself worthy of the power and responsibility she had been given.

To prove herself worthy of Kito.

Her earthbending sifu was strong, passionate, clever, stubborn and unyielding like all earthbenders were. He was a once-in-a-generation prodigy of his element, the nephew of the Queen of Omashu.

And he loved her as much as she loved him.

Yangchen left her dearest friend from the Temple, Aishi, her lover, her waterbending sifu Taqqiq of the Southern Water Tribe, Kito's non-bending twin sister Kishi, and her firebending instructor, Shei, back at the city with the people. She was disappointed that Master Boma insisted on accompanying her. He made it clear, despite her belief, that he did not feel her ready to act as the Avatar alone. His lack of faith in her abilities, even when she had mastered all four of the elements stung, but she was sure that when she dealt with the vengeance coming from the sea that the king's fortune tellers spoke of, he would trust that she really was ready.

When she felt the intensity of the grief radiating from the enormous, enraged spirit that seemed as if his skin was formed from volcanic rock, she realized that she was not ready at all. She had never felt such sorrow and helpless rage in all her life (this one, at least), and she had no idea how to begin reasoning with a soul so aggrieved and blinded by pain and anger. She had communed with the spirits before, been trained by Master Boma and learned the same lessons every Air Nomad did in childhood, as well as those needed by the Bridge Between Worlds, but none of them had prepared her for this. The giant spirit knocked her aside when she tried to speak with it, sending her crashing painfully into the ground, and Yangchen's eyes closed as the impact knocked her unconscious, hearing Master Boma yell her name as her vision turned black.

Skies Above Saigai Island, Fire Nation: Winter 99 AG

Anji's eyes snapped open as Yangchen's closed in the dream-memory and for a moment she searched for Master Boma, convinced he had just yelled for her. Then her gaze settled on Azula and Zuko, curled up under blankets in Appa's saddle, and she realized that she was Anji, not Yangchen, and Master Boma had been since long before she was born. The rest of Yangchen's retinue were long gone too. She was not in the Earth Kingdom, attempting to stop a vengeful, grieving spirit from taking out his pain on a city-state and those within, but in the skies above the Fire Islands, seeking an inhabited island to land on.

Anji let out a shuddering sigh, rubbing tiredly at her face. Dream memories of her past lives were always disorientating, and rarely restful. She wondered, sometimes, if she would be absorbed by the memories. There were so many past Avatars. What if Anji ended up disappearing under the onslaught of memories, and completely lost that small sense of self she had that wasn't 'The Avatar'? It was an unpleasant prospect, and probably unlikely. No other Avatar had suffered such a fate, after all. The possibility still nagged at her.

If Kelsang were still alive, he would have been able to comfort her. If not him than one of the nuns or her agemates in the temple. Anyone of them. Their simple presence had anchored her to the present, a silent reminder that she was Anji of the Air Nation now, not Yangchen or Roku or Szeto or Kyoshi or Kuruk. Anji. But they were all long gone, and she was the last now. Azula and Zuko were her family now too, but they could not replace what she had lost.

Fūjin, the wind spirit of the Fire Nation, the one primarily worshipped by the disciples of the Western Air Temple, twirled around her, ruffling her hair and clothes. It was as if he were embracing her. As though he sought to comfort her, to assure that she was not entirely alone in her grief for her people. The spirits mourned the loss also. She could sense it whenever Fūjin's breeze swept past her, feel his sorrow for his lost chosen and those of his fellow wind spirits.

It was sunrise when Anji woke, and her two companions also stirred soon after she finished her prayers. After Azula and Zuko preformed their own morning prayers to Agni and the Island Spirits, they ate a small meal consisting of fruit before landing on Saigai Island to restock. After the best part of a fortnight of flying almost non-stop save for river washes, they were running low on supplies.

It was a small island, originally controlled by the Nachibana clan, connected by a land bridge (courtesy of one of Anji's long ago predecessors) to the agriculturally rich Taeyong Island (also formerly under Nachibana rule) and north-east of Crescent Island. Saigai itself was mostly worthless, except for a rich mine in the long-dormant volcano. The mine and the fertile soil of Taeyong was also the most likely reason the Coalition had bothered to take over them over. Saigai, the larger of the pair by several square miles, was the one with a settlement on it, Taeyong only having farms.

On seeing the blue banners decorating the two islands during their reconnaissance sweep and noting the closeness of Crescent Island on the map, Azula had suggested they go there instead. Zuko even proposed the two girls seek training from the Fire Sages instead of trying to hunt down the mysterious and clandestine Sun Warriors, but Anji had refused, putting her foot down firmly.

Crescent Island was the capital of the Fire Nation. It remained under the Sages' control, resisting attempts at conquest, but no doubt there were many enemy spies hidden within, searching for a way to bring down the rulers of the Fire Islands. News of her finishing her firebending training would spread rapidly, and the Water Coalition would arrive with a full fleet and drown the people living there in their own blood before she was prepared to fend them off. Anji couldn't risk it. Only the hidden city of the Sun Warriors was concealed enough for them to stay long enough to allow Anji and Azula to master firebending.

She explained her reasoning to her companions. Although both were disappointed, they acknowledged the validity of her argument, and so the pair acquiesced.

They set down on the opposite side of the island to where the settlement they had spied while flying over the island, hiding Appa in a clearing. They left most of their things on his back, and Anji unwound Momo from her neck and placed him on her bison's head.

"Stay here with Appa, alright Momo?" The tattooed girl ordered him firmly as she stroked his head gently. The little lemur-bat chirruped happily, and she smiled and kissed his soft nose before turning to her animal guide to give him instructions. "We won't be long. If a stranger comes, fly up to the clouds and wait until you hear my whistle, okay Boy?"

Azula and Zuko had grown used to their doyenne treating her animal companions as if they were humans, and indeed, certain actions by the pair did give the impression that they were far more intelligent than regular beasts, and so did not react. Azula was busy checking she had money, fingers smoking slightly while Zuko redid his topknot, mildly reassured when his fingers brushed over the protective symbol carved into it by his grandfather, Azulon. Azula liked to scoff at such things, but Zuko knew that she often touched their aunt's protection bracelet for comfort when nervous. The pair were trying their best not to show their shared anxiety at the prospect of walking into an occupied town. The island was too small for them not to stand out, but they had little choice in the matter.

The young Avatar finally left her animals' side and came over, wearing a scarf over her head to hide her head-arrow, a pair of fingerless gloves hiding the tattoos on her hands. She hadn't wanted to cover them, protesting that they were sacred symbols of her heritage, but had given into Azula and Zuko's argument that news was surely spreading by now of the Avatar's return, her description with it. If she went around showing off tattoos worn only by a single living person, the full force of the Coalition would fall upon them as soon as they could reach wherever they were, and destroy anyone who got in their way. The possibility of innocents or her companions being harmed on account of her was unacceptable to Anji, and she agreed to disguise herself. She drew the line at growing out the hair shaved off the front of her head however. It would, she informed, them, affect her connection to the winds. The scarf was bad enough, in her opinion.

"Ready?" She asked brightly, though her cheerful tone couldn't hide the dark circles underneath her grey eyes. The siblings knew that she wasn't sleeping, and when she did drift off, she slept badly. But she ignored or shut down their efforts to talk to her about it, and anyway, what could they say to help? For the world it had been decades since the Genocide of the Airbenders. For Anji it hadn't even been a month yet. She had the right to grieve for her unimaginable loss, but she was the Avatar, and the world couldn't afford for her to take the time she needed to do so. All they could do was be there, and be willing to listen if she ever wanted to talk.

"Yes," Azula nodded determinedly, drumming her fingers against the knife hidden in her sleeve. She had an atlatl strapped to her back, covered by her black cloak, embroidered with red fire lilies. Zuko gave a tense, jerky nod, also double-checking the security of his Dao swords. Like Azula, he had them hidden beneath his robe.

"Okay," Anji exhaled, before beginning to walk. "Let's go then."

"Good," Azula sighed. "I'm sick of eating fruit all the time."

"Not tempted to turn vegetarian then?" Zuko asked wryly, making her scoff and give him a pointed look.

"Are you?" She responded pointedly. He tipped his head in acknowledgement. Anji ignored them both, leading the way. The pair often argued with each other, and the Avatar had become used it. They fought, but it was never cruel, and she could tell they were devoted to each other. The arguing was simply part of their personalities. The siblings continued sniping lightly at each other as they followed her. Anji was lightest on her feet, but the pair were used to having to step lightly through forest areas when they went hunting, and had no problems keeping up with her or avoiding the various greenery that threatened to trip them.

Finally, they broke the treeline, arriving on a clifftop that overlooked the village, just beside the shore. It was bigger than they had thought it seemed from the sky, and decorated with the blue and white banners of the Water Coalition.

"Ready?" Anji repeated, sounding a bit breathless and tense. She adjusted her scarf and patted her chest to ensure her Avatar Amulet was hidden from view. In hindsight, she might have been best putting on one of Azula's tunics and pants instead of remaining in her nun's robes, having taken several pairs from the temple.

"Yes," the siblings affirmed, also tense.

"Remember," Azula added. "We get what we need and go. Keep our heads down, don't provoke anything, just grab and go." It was unneeded reminder, but this was their first contact with anyone other than each other since fleeing the water prince's ship, and they were all on edge.

"Yes," the others agreed, voices hollow and subdued. The trio climbed down the steps carved into the cliffside in a way that had to have been the act of earthbenders. When they reached the ground, the first thing they saw was the entrance to the mine, just a short bit away. Large, burly Coalition men wielding whips were ordering Fire men and several who must have been from the Earth Kingdom into the mountainside. All the workers were chained together by their hands and feet, forcing them to shuffle.

Anji let out a horrified gasp and covered her mouth in dismay, eyes fixed on the heavy iron collars locked around the miners' necks. She took several steps in their direction, thinking only that slavery was repulsive, an abomination, and she had to put a stop to it. She was the Avatar, and her predecessors had long ago (on multiple occasions when it cropped up in different variations) declared any form of possessing another human being as illegal and sacrilegious, an offence to the spirits.

'Stop them' Kyoshi's voice snarled in her ear. 'Burn them all alive for this!' Anji usually considered her Earth predecessor too violent for her tastes, but in this she agreed wholeheartedly that those despicable monsters deserved to pay for this atrocity. Her other past selves also agreed, seething with fury. White flickered at the edge of her vision as the Avatar State stirred in response to her anger.

Her friends grabbed her arms and stopped her before she took more than a handful of steps.

"Anji," Zuko whispered to her, voice tight and tense. It was obvious he was about as happy as her to say what he had to. "We can't. There are too many of them. We can't."

The young Avatar's shoulders slumped, and she sighed sorrowfully as her other selves reluctantly agreed, the white dissipating. "This is so wrong," she murmured. "This is evil. How can they live with themselves, doing this?"

"Their hearts are as icy as the tundras they were born in," Azula answered, spite in her voice as she glowered bitterly at the Tribesmen. "Come on," she urged her companions. "Let's get what we need and leave. Quickly."

If they did not hurry up and leave, Azula suspected that none of them would be able to restrain themselves from attacking the Coalition people, and they were dangerously outnumbered, Avatar or not.

Reluctantly, Anji casting a pained glance over her shoulder in the direction of the slaves, they headed into the town to find the market.

There was a large port with various ships docked, and dark-skinned men and women dressed in blue bustled around. The trio all tensed in mutual fury when they saw the pale and black-haired people scurrying around with their heads bent, shoulders painfully tense. The hierarchy was obvious, with the Water natives in fine clothes striding confidently on the cobbled streets, while the Fire citizens in attire just good enough to avoid being labelled rags all scuttled through the dirt road alongside the wagons. Few Fire children could be seen. The few in sight had adults keeping them close protectively, and were bereft of the joyful innocence children should have.

Anji felt sick with helpless anger, and her palms stung as she clenched her fists. It took her a moment to realize that her nails were digging into her skin and drawing blood.

"Let's be quick," Zuko muttered to them again, expression strained.

Reluctantly, they walked into the town, keeping in the dirty road with the other Fire citizens for discretion's sake.