Chapter 1

The Boy In the Sandbar

Disclaimer

No matter how much I haggle with my copper pieces, I cannot and do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or its characters.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he failed. As the years passed many other Avatars rose to meet the encroaching threat. One by one, the Fire Nation prevailed over each Avatar, eventually losing sight of the cycle. After decades of silence, the people began to give up on waiting for a sign of the new Avatar. Some began to doubt their existence, others decided to take matters into their own hands.

Three years ago my father took the remainder of our tribe on a perilous journey south in hopes of freeing some of the Earth Kingdom Colonies. He and his fleet reported regularly messenger birds. However, a year ago those messages suddenly stopped. Fearing for the worst my sister and I have set out to finish our father's work.

On the sandy shore of a deserted island lay the body of a teenage boy. Covered in bandages and a tattered cloak, he lay facedown in the sand, drenched in seawater. In the distance, two figures trudged through the fine sand. A boy and a girl, both in their teens, wearing dark cloaks to shield themselves from the heat.

Upon noticing the unconscious boy, she motioned to her companion to follow. She raced over flask in hand and tried to resuscitate him. Clearing the water from his airways, she placed her ear on his chest and listened. Seeing that he was alive and breathing, the pair carried him with great care to an area shaded by the trees. As they sat in the shade, the girl could help but wonder what ill fate befell the poor boy.

He had fair skin and dark hair, characteristics often associated with Fire Nation citizens. His clothes were tattered and worn, so it was almost impossible to discern where he was from. He had a sharp jawline, but gentle features. She would say he was handsome but half of his face was heavily bandaged. In fact, most of his left side was heavily bandaged. From his face to his torso, to the entirety of his left arm. Even his right hand was wrapped tightly.

"Hey, Katara, how long are we gonna watch that kid?" the boy called.

The girl rolled her eyes, "I don't know, maybe when we're sure he's not dead, Sokka." she sassed her brother.

Sokka walked over to her, "I don't like it. He looks awfully Fire Nation to me, and I would rather we not eat fireballs when he wakes up."

Katara rolled her eyes again. "You think everyone looks Fire Nation," she thwacked his forehead.

"Ow," he rubbed the developing welt. "I'm just saying, you can't be too careful y'know?" he walked away with a shrug.

Katara sighed, returning her attention to the boy.

Suddenly, his eye fluttered open. He rolled on his side coughing out sand and water. He then fell flat on his back again, heavily gasping for air. Hearing the commotion, Sokka walked over. He prodded the boy's head with the butt of his whale tooth spear until Katara swatted him away.

The boy's uncovered eye slowly opened again. He slowly blinked, adjusting to the noon sun. His amber eye carefully taking in his surroundings. Noticing Sokka's scowling face, but more importantly Sokka's whale tooth spear, he scurried back, colliding with the tree.

As he rubbed the back of his head, Sokka turned the pointed end of his spear towards him. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he demanded.

Katara pushed away her brother's spear, giving him her signature death glare. She turned back to the boy and gave him a warm smile.

"Hey, are you okay?" Her eyes were full of concern.

He nodded quietly, still rubbing his head.

"What's your name?"

He thought for a moment. Then answered softly, "Toyoshi"

"Is that your real name, or a fake one?" Sokka raised his eyebrow.

Katara elbowed her brother. "It doesn't matter, whatever his reasons, at least we have a name to call him."

Toyoshi sat up, wincing in pain, he opted to lean on the tree. "Thank you for helping me. I would repay you, but it seems the waves washed away what little I had…" He paused, frantically patting his clothes. He breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled out a pearl dagger and pendant. Sokka immediately pulled his sister back, readying his spear. Toyoshi set the dagger down beside him and put the pendant on.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. This dagger is a treasured gift from my Uncle. I was worried I lost it."

"It's fine," Katara gave Sokka another sideways glare and sat down beside Toyoshi. "My name's Katara, and the idiot with the pointy stick is my brother Sokka."

Toyoshi sat up and bowed his head, placing his open hand upright above his right fist. "Thank you, Sokka and Katara for saving my life."

"Oh, don't worry about it too much," Katara smiled.

Sokka eyed Toyoshi's gesture, "That greeting, you're a from the Fire Nation, aren't you?"

"Ah, yeah. I am. But.."

"Nope, that's all I need to know, Katara we're leaving." Sokka scooped up their belongings and stormed off.

"But…" Toyoshi protested.

"Katara, now!" Sokka yelled, already quite far up the shore.

"Wait Sokka. At least let him explain himself." she gestured towards Toyoshi, "He seems polite enough, maybe he has a good reason for being all the way out here."

"Really? Let some Fire Nation kid, covered head to toe in bandages, armed with a dagger, explain himself?" Sokka crossed his arms.

"Yes, he might need our help!" She pleaded.

"Katara, please, he's Fire Nation. Don't you care what his people have done to us?!" he spat bitterly.

Katara got silent.

"So what if he doesn't seem like a monster? Maybe his dad is, maybe he's got a brother in the army who slaughters Earth Kingdom families and comes home a hero?!" Sokka stormed back over.

"What are you trying to say," Katara's eyes narrowed.

"I'm just saying, even nice people can end up being inherently evil. It's just in their blood okay? If they really cared they'd stop this war and return our family home." Sokka turned away angrily.

"I know, okay? Don't you think I'm upset? Don't you think I hate them too?" her voice dangerously low, "But I can't march around like some warrior who thinks he's big while treading over wounded people."

Sokka crossed his arms again.

"Because, then, we'd be just as bad. If not worse than the Fire Nation." She touched the silver pendant on her neck, "And I won't become that."

Sokka came over and comforted his sister. "Look, I'm sorry. I know these past few days have been a little rough. But Y'know, I'm just afraid of losing you too."

Toyoshi coughed, earning him a glare from Sokka. "Ahh… um, excuse me," He cleared his throat, "Uhh, so, listen. I'm kinda banished. Like I'm separated from the Fire Nation."

"Why?" Sokka asked pointedly.

"The thing is, I'm not too sure. But let's just say, I don't like what my people do either."

"What about your wounds?"

"Oh, these?" He looked dejectedly. "My house burned down a few days ago."

Sokka eyed him warily, "I see,"

Katara elbowed him, "That must have been horrible."

"Yeah, it's been pretty rough lately. I've been trying to get to Ba Sing Se, but there's a lot of Fire Nation between here and there."

"Really? Why?" Katara asked

"Well, my Uncle told me to go there. He said it would be the best place for me to hide."

"Hide? From who?"

"Erm, well I guess the Fire Nation, in general?"

"Wait wait wait," Sokka waved his hands. "Why on earth would you be wanted by an entire nation, no less your homeland?!

"Well, your guess is as good as mine. One moment I'm living a happy life, then all of a sudden, BAM! My world is engulfed in fire, literally."

"Well, that's too bad." Sokka motioned for Katara to follow."Anyway, we're busy. Good for you, you lived, but we are needed elsewhere."

Katara caught his hand before he could walk away. "Wait."

"Katara, we need to leave. You said we'd make sure he's not dead, and he isn't. Now we have to go before…" he paused, eyeing Toyoshi. "Before we miss our 'assignment' he hissed.

"No. Listen Sokka, I know you like to listen to your instincts, and sometimes, they are right. But I have to listen to mine, and something is telling me that we can't leave this kid here."

"Katara," Sokka pleaded with his sister, "Now is not the time! If we argue any longer, we're going to miss our chance."

"Then let's take him with us, we can argue later!"

"Katara, look at him. He can't protect himself, let alone follow us on our mission." Sokka rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Ha! So you admit he's helpless!"

"Yes, but only because he'll be a burden to us!"

Through all this, Toyoshi stood up quietly to intervene."Um… Excuse me…" he whispered meekly.

"WHAT?!" they both shouted at him.

Toyoshi shrank back a little, "Umm.. well… let's see… how do I put this…" He took a shaky breath, "First of all, I'm not a kid. Despite my appearance, I am 16."

He flinched, expecting a harsh response. Hearing silence, he opened his eyes slowly. "Er... The other thing is, I can fight. I just don't have my weapon of choice anymore."

Katara looked smugly at her brother, "See? He won't be a burden."

"Yes, but he also just proved he can handle himself," shooting a smug look back.

"Well, he can't fight yet, but if we bring him along and give him a weapon, maybe our mission will be more successful." she reasoned.

"Pfft, you're telling me, to let some Fire Nation kid, watch my back? Wow, Katara, I knew my instincts were bad but sheesh." Sokka scoffed harshly.

"Augh! You're so insufferable!" she marched over to Toyoshi.

"Well, whether you agree or not I'm gonna go with Toyoshi here, and do this mission a million times better than with you!" She threw her arm roughly over his shoulder, causing him to wince a little.

"Fine, whatever, enjoy getting caught by the Fire Nation." Sokka shrugged, walking in the opposite direction.

"I will!" She shouted back at him. "C'mon, Toyoshi, we're going." She latched on to Toyoshi's unbandaged arm.

"Uh, okay…" he mumbled. Letting his feet follow his captive arm.

Toyoshi prayed silently that her brother would continue to talk her out of it. But he soon realized that the opportunity to turn her down had passed, and now he was going, even if she pulled his arm off along the way.

After a few minutes of hastily dragging him up a rock hill, they finally stopped behind some bushes. The hill overlooked a small Fire Nation outpost. A dark monolith of forged steel nearly fifteen stories tall, it rose sharply out of the lush undergrowth. There were guards stationed all around the perimeter, on the balcony of every floor, pacing the length of the building in groups of two to three. Their tight-knit security making break-ins near impossible.

"There it is," Katara's grip on Toyoshi finally easing up. "The western outpost, formerly home to the Air Nomads."

"Wait, the Nomads, as in the homeland of the former Avatar Aang?" Toyoshi looked back in awe.

"Yeah, the Avatar…" Katara looked down. "Hey listen, I know I kinda brought you here by force, but you don't have to help me do this."

"What? Why?" he turned to face Katara, "Is it because I am Fire Nation? Because honestly, I don't agree with this war."

"Really?" Katara let a sarcastic tone slip.

Toyoshi felt a twinge of embarrassment, "Hey! Not all Fire Nation citizens are fire-breathing bloodthirsty genocidal maniacs okay? Some of us are peace-loving poets y'know?!"

Katara burst into giggles, burying her face into her cloak to muffle the sound. At this Toyoshi turned beet red.

"You write poetry?" she said between stifled laughter.

"Er, yes. Sometimes." He shook his head, "We're getting off-topic!"

"Sorry," Katara took a steady breath, "I'm sorry, it's just that I haven't had a laugh like that in a while." She looked back towards the outpost, "Living a life like this, day to day, running hiding, stealing, sometimes even seeing someone die, it's hard to remember how to even smile anymore."

"I know what you mean," Toyoshi put a hand on Katara's shoulder, "Back home I was rarely allowed to express myself, I would have to hide or escape from my room to feel free. But now that I'm alone, I don't remember how that freedom felt. Sure, I'm 'free', but I don't feel like it either."

Katara gave him a bitter smile, "With this war, we have to stick together, otherwise we end up numb, and forget our joy. I think the same applies to you. You don't know how to feel free because you don't have anyone to share it with."

Toyoshi grinned, "Yeah," he chuckled, "I was trying to cheer you up, but it seems like I was cheered up instead."

Katara pulled him into a gentle hug. "Thanks, Toyoshi." She stood up and brushed off some leaves, "Oh, and whatever happens today, I'm open to sharing that freedom with you whenever."

"You mean like, you'll be my friend?" looked at her in surprise.

"Yeah," Katara began to feel embarrassed.

Toyoshi jumped into another hug, "Thanks Katara,"

Katara's face flushed pink, accepting the kind gesture.

"Okay! Okay! Enough with mushiness, and the hugging, and cute words!" Sokka cried, leaping out from behind a tree.

"Sokka?" They jumped in surprise

"What? When did you get here?" Katara demanded.

"Off of each other now! You're making a scene." He pried the two apart forcefully.

Toyoshi returned to a vibrant shade a red.

"Jeez, I leave you with a stranger for ten minutes and you guys start hugging!" he threw his hands up in exasperation.

"For your information, we were just getting to know each other!" Katara started, lowering her tone midsentence.

"As far as I remember, it's not normal to hug a stranger, let alone an enemy, ten minutes after meeting them!" Sokka hissed through grit teeth.

"Well, maybe we'll be great friends then!"

"Um, excuse me…" Toyoshi whispered his tone a little more forceful this time, "But I really don't think now is a good time for this!"

Sokka and Katara paused mid-sentence, realizing they'd been wasting even more precious time.

Sokka regained his composure and cleared his throat, "Anyway, we need to get those records now," resuming the conversation as if it was never interrupted. "Our scouts reported that they rotate every four hours. Seeing as it is getting close to sunset, they should be changing soon."

Seeing that Sokka had disregarded his earlier protest of involving Toyoshi, Katara and Toyoshi sat down and listened to the briefing.

"The plan is fairly simple, get in, get the records, get out, all without being seen." Sokka looked out of the underbrush, " There's a small opening of only five minutes between each shift, so we won't have a lot of time to gain our bearings. We'll have to split up and search quickly."

Toyoshi held his hand up silently, like a student in a lecture. Sokka, who had never been formally educated gave him an awkward stare. "Er, yes Toyoshi?"

"Oh, um. I think I know where the record room would be."

"Really?" Sokka gave him a skeptical look. "Where then?"

"It would probably be on one of the more central levels, halfway up the tower. I'd guess close the height we are now." Toyoshi poked his head out of the brush. "The lower floors are mostly sleeping quarters and holding cells for prisoners. The topmost is usually reserved for the higher ranking officers stationed there, like a commander or something."

Sokka and Katara both gaped at Toyoshi.

"What?" he looked at them worriedly, "Did my bandage fall off?" he felt around his head.

"No, it's just, wow." Katara still in shock.

"Oh, sorry, I was enrolled in a Fire Navy Academy before all this. Outposts and communication towers are some of the basics they teach."

"You don't say," Sokka stroked his chin, deep in thought. "You know what? I've changed my mind. You're coming with us when we raid that tower!" he latched his arm over Toyoshi's shoulder.

"But, I..." he flinched.

"Let's put the past behind us, we're going to be great friends!" Steering the baffled Toyoshi further up the hill.