Stella's Confession and More Firebenders

"Stella! Stella! Stella, where are you?" Katara yelled as she made her way through the thick forest. She had been looking for Stella for almost an hour now. Wherever she was, she wasn't going to make it easy for Katara to find her.

Katara couldn't blame her. After what Sokka had said about Stella, the waterbender wasn't surprised that she hadn't ran towards the ocean instead of into the forest. Katara didn't care if Stella was a firebender and a waterbender. She only cared that she was alright.

"Stella, answer me!" She was becoming more discouraged every time she yelled out her friend's name. "Maybe I should go back."

"And leave Stella alone in the wilderness?" Katara turned around and saw Aang standing right behind her with a smile. "I don't think so." Katara gave him a big hug.

"But how did Sokka…"

"Ow! These thorns hurt!" Sokka said as he pulled himself through the bushes. "I only came along because I was worried about you." Katara smiled at her brother. Sure, he could be pigheaded at times, but he had a kind heart somewhere in that warrior body of his. "Don't worry. We'll find Stella. We won't let her get hurt."

"Sokka, thank you," Katara said.

"Let's keep going," Aang said. "It'll be dark soon. The sun is about to set." Katara nodded.

As they continued through the forest, they finally came upon a small lake. On the other side of it was Stella, sitting on a boulder with her knees brought up to her chest and her head resting on he knees. She was trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall out of her eyes. As she stared at her reflection in the lake, voices of people calling her half-breed echoed in her head. Then Sokka's face reflected in the water as Stella remembered his harsh words.

"She almost killed you, Katara! She's not our friend! She's the enemy!" Stella waved her hand in anger and Sokka's reflection disappeared. She started crying as she buried her face into her arms. "He was right," she said to herself. "I'm nothing but a monster."

"Stella," Katara whispered. She moved out of the trees towards the crying girl. She tried sneak up quietly, but she snapped a twig while walking which immediately alerted Stella. They stared at each other for a moment until Katara started moving towards her.

"Stop," Stella uttered. "Don't come near me. I'm not safe." Katara continued to walk towards her. "I said STOP!" Katara stared at Stella as she buried her face in her arms again. "Please, Katara. You can't stay with me. I might hurt you."

"But, Stella, that was an accident. I'm fine."

"What if it happens again? What if I really hurt you? You need stay away from me." Stella stopped crying when she felt Katara's embrace.

"It's alright, Stella. I'm not going anywhere. I said I would be your friend. Friends don't abandon each other. And friends don't keep secrets either. Please tell me. I'll listen no matter what it is."

Aang and Sokka listened in the bushes behind them. Sokka was about to walk out, but Aang stopped him. "Don't you want to hear what she has to say?"

"Let them talk. We can hear them. Besides, I don't think she'll tell us anything if you're listening."

"What's that suppose to mean, Aang?"

"Shh." The two boys sat in the bushes waiting for what Stella had to say.

"You can tell me anything, Stella," Katara said. "I don't mind." Stella stared at Katara and wiped away her tears.

"Well, it's really cloudy. I don't remember much. It's just little bits and pieces. My mother was a waterbender and my father was a firebender." Katara gasped. So I was right, she thought. That's how she can bend water and fire. "All I remember is my mother. She was so kind and beautiful. She was a powerful waterbender. But all the people in my village hated her and me because she fell in love with a firebender. I can still hear them calling me a half-breed.

"There's something else. Something horrible happened. I don't remember what it was but I know it was my fault. That's why I had to leave. My mom told me to be strong, but I couldn't take it." Stella started crying. "I couldn't listen to it anymore. Then…I can't remember anymore."

"It's ok," Katara said. "We're going to find out what happened. We won't ever leave you, Stella. You guys can come out." The two girls watched as the Sokka and Aang struggled out of the bushes, covered in thorns and twigs. As they tried to pick them out, Stella and Katara started laughing.

"Well, I'm glad someone is amused by this," Sokka grumbled. "Listen, Stella. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I don't hate you. I'm just cautious about people. Forgive me?" He stuck out his hand, but Stella hugged him instead of shaking his hand.

"Yes, Sokka. I don't hate you either. Can we be friends?" Sokka smiled and started blushing. But when they realized what they were doing, they quickly separated. "So, everything's ok?"

"Yeah, we're cool," Sokka said. "Just don't get too carried away with your powers. Let's go back to the hotel." As they walked back, Aang started talking to Stella.

"Don't worry. When we find a waterbending master, you can learn to control your powers with me and Katara. Then we can find a firebender to teach us how to control fire."

"There's something else I have to tell you," Stella said as they walked through the forest. "I knew all along that I could bend fire and water. I just didn't want to tell you because I thought you would think I was a monster. I thought I could hide it and still go on without having to be called a half-breed."

"We don't think you are a monster," Katara said. "We wouldn't have you any other way."

"That's right," Aang said. "We like you the way you are, Stella." Stella smiled at the young monk. She was glad that she had friends like Katara, Aang, and Sokka. She didn't know what she would do without them.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a fireball hit her shoulder and sent her flying into a tree. Katara quickly ran to her side. It was bleeding a little, but nothing too serious.

"What was that?" Stella asked.

"Firebenders," Sokka said as he got his boomerang out. "They must know Aang is here." Suddenly, about ten firebenders came out into the forest clearing. They all surrounded them.

"Hand over the girl," one of them commanded as he pointed to Stella.

"What? Who are these guys?" Stella asked as she got up. Aang had already started fight them with airbending. Sokka started throwing his boomerang and knocked out two guys. Four firebenders surrounded Katara and Stella.

"Surrender or we'll take you by f…" The man was cut off when Katara and Stella kicked him karate style.

"Just because we're girls, doesn't mean we won't put up a fight," Katara said matter-of-factly. They continued to fight the firebenders. As Sokka fought, one firebender aimed his fist of fire at Sokka's back.

"Sokka, look out!" Stella yelled as she threw a fireball at the soldier. Then, noticing some water on the ground, she threw it another firebender fighting Aang. The men retreated into the forest. Stella dropped to the ground holding her shoulder. Since she fought, she lost more blood and became a little dizzy. Sokka immediately ran to her side.

"Stella, are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a scratch. Thanks for caring," she said with a smile.

"I should be thanking you." Sokka helped her up and returned the smile. "Would you mind explaining what just happened?"

"I know about as much as you do, Sokka," she said.

"That's odd," Katara said as she put her hand up to her chin. "Why were they after you? The firebenders usually attack us because they're after Aang."

"I know," Aang said. "They barely paid any attention to me. What could they want with Stella?"

"Let's hope we don't find out," Sokka said. "Let's get back to Appa. We should leave right away." They all walked back to the hotel to get some sleep. They all decided that they would early leave the next morning.

"They better get back soon," Zuko yelled as he kicked a table on the ship deck. "How long could it possibly take to capture one girl?"

"I told you, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as he sipped his tea. "This girl is very powerful. Let's just let her go."

"I will not let her go, Uncle." Zuko pounded his fist on the rail. "Hiroki, can't you find a way to transport her here?"

"I don't have that kind of power unless I know her exact position. If I could only contact her and she came willingly, I could bring her here. Can I have some more tea?" Iroh poured his wizard friend another cup of tea. Zuko was starting to get annoyed.

"How can you two drink tea at a time like this? I should band the stuff." Suddenly, a man yelled that the men were coming back. "It's about time." One of the firebenders bowed to him. "Report!"

"We found the girl but we couldn't capture her." Zuko's fists lit with flames.

"If you couldn't capture her, then why did you even bother coming back?"

"Sir, we t-tried," the soldier continued. "But the girl used her f-firebending and waterbending on us. P-plus,"

"Plus what?"

"The g-girl, she was with…"

"WITH WHO?" Zuko yelled.

"She was with the Avatar, sir." Zuko stared at him and an evil grin grew across his face.

"This is perfect. The Avatar and the Angel of Darkness in one day. What could possibly be better?" He started laughing as he turned to his uncle and Hiroki.

Yep, yet another cliffhanger. What will happen next? If you have any ideas, go ahead and let me know. I might use them with your permission of course. I just got done watching the newest episode of Avatar, The Waterbending Scroll. That episode, by far, is the best Nickelodeon has produced so far. Where Zuko captures Katara and shows her the necklace just filled me with suspense. Then Katara stole the scroll…that was great. Yeah, it's a must see. They better get Avatar on DVD pretty soon. Oh, I'm so hyper now. I got the jitters.

Reviewers: Thanks for all the reviews. It really keeps me going.

Dark Devotions: Well, that's how you would usually expect it. But in this case, Iroh wants the world to be safe. He knows what Stella is capable of so he would rather have her die instead of the world.

Gohan is MINE not yours: I know. IT'S NOT FAIR! But since I'm only a sophomore in high school and my parents pay the internet bill, they control it. They think I don't need it during the summer so unless I can find away to pay for it myself (which is pretty hard when you live ten miles away from civilization and have no car), I won't be able to update any stories till about September. Hope for a miracle.