Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, the Last Airbender, or any of its characters, except for the kids I made up. I own them. I have the title deed right here.

Sorry, no more clever disclaimers...and Merry Christmas for those reading this.

Chapter 14: Skya's War

"They've destoryed our town..." Skya whispered to Til. "They'll pay dearly for this..."

Til heard the branches below their feet rustle and soon Skya was hanging on the trunk of the pine tree. "Skya! Don't fight them! You're not strong enough..." His heart grew faint. An invisible spark went off between the siblings. "I don't want to lose you..."

Skya sighed and lowered her head at an angle. "You won't lose me Til. I promise. I'll be fine." Without another word she was down the trunk of the tree and on her way to the Fire Nation ship on the shore.

------xXx------

"Aang...I..." Mika shifted in her spot. "I don't know if I can word it...it's hard to understand. I'm sorry."

He didn't seem to be listening well. His gray eyes were fogged with memory, as were Mika's. "It's strange," he said suddenly, "how much I miss them."

A blurred silence fell over the creek. Everything held its breath as Mika spoke. "They were all you had, weren't they? It hurts, when some thing takes them away."

"It does," Aang agreed. "But it's my fault they're gone. I should've been there to save them." Aang wiped his nose on his sleeve and sighed deeply.

"I know," she stated, "the last of their kind." Mika felt gasps fight the inside of here throat. She wanted to die, to join her family, to join those like her. But she couldn't. She was bound to Earth. She hid her head in her knees and began to sob quietly.

Shivering...trembling...everything shifting through my fingertips...Skya's demon eyes, they force me. There is nothing I can do. There is nothing I can say. Bound...held back...chained...

Thoughts overlapped thoughts between the two. As they realized, they were more alike than they had thought. Mika felt Aang's hand on her shoulder. She wiped her tears on her wrist and looked up at him.

"Mika...it's OK. Everything's going to be fine. If we sit here and cry, they aren't going to come back."

The light of day break shed over the creek and warmed the two. "You're right..."

------xXx-----

"I can't believe this, Uncle," Zuko complained. "A whole city burned and not one person found."

"Zuko!" His uncle pulled him forward as he hit the ground. A large boulder slipped right past Iroh's ear.

"Stand and deliver!" The voice was faint, but deep and carved. Zuko broke from his uncle's grasp and stumbled forward. As his scared eye focused on the figure, he made a shocking discovery. This threat was but a young girl about the age of the Water Tribe peasent he was constantly fighting, but with pointed, furry ears and a long, swift tail.

"Look at me," she demanded as she slowly walked closer. "I want to face the Bender who destroyed my home."

"What are you?" Zuko demanded as he watched the girl come closer and closer.

"Your worst nightmare come to life, Bender." The gaze became stronger. Zuko stood straight and stared at the girl's firey eyes as if hypnotized.

He kept looking forward as she circled him, Iroh in the background, watching. "You're a banished Prince? Ah...well then, I'm sorry for what has happened to you. You want to capture the Avatar. I know where he is." Her smile became more and more demonic. Suddenly she stopped and stood straight infront of Zuko, her eyes filled with lust. Her long tail curved under his chin. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Zuko, look away!" Iroh didn't dare step forward. He knew of these people. The Shamers, they called themselves. Able to pull one's deepest secrets just by looking a person in the eye.

"Shut your mouth, old man. I have no time for your games..." She glanced at his iris for only a second. "Your nephew will have to fend for himself one day, no matter how much you love him."

Zuko tensed, his whole body felt so numb. He could feel the girl occupy his heart, his mind, his body. Everything he knew, she knew too. It was the wrost feeling in the world. "...stop..." he managed to mutter.

"As you wish, Emperor Zuko." The gaze between the two dropped as Zuko fell to the floor.

"Where's the Avatar!" Zuko demanded, springing to his feet. He was careful not to look the girl in the eye. He felt shameful...she knew so much about him now.

"I don't want to tell you," the girl said teasingly. "I don't feel like it right now."

Iroh moved forward and put his hand on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko tightened his fists and pointed at the girl. "Tell me, or I'll turn you to ashes."

"Ha! You, turn me into ashes? You've forgotten already who I am and what I can do. You see, Prince Zuko," the girl bent forward and picked up a stone, "I am just as storng a Bender as you are."

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Suspence occupied the readers mind, for they longed for more. Sorry guys, I don't want to give it away just yet. Anyway, make sure you get this chapter, it's pretty important because I'll make references to it from time to time. Don't forget to review, and Merry Chirstmas.