A.N. I am SO sorry I took so long, but we had exams last week and began the second semester this week. I have all my homework classes this semester so it'll be a while between updates, I apologize. Oh I'm ranting...enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Do I own Avatar:Lawyer, "No.": why:lawyer, "because you don't: Oh yeah...I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, but man I wish I did...darn copyright laws...

Chapter 5: The Encounter

:The next morning:

Lyra was in a peaceful slumber in one of Aunt Emmie's spare bedrooms when her door burst open, and Sokka came in.

"Get up. We're about to leave," he ordered.

Lyra just rolled over and pulled the covers over her head, "Five more minutes."

Sokka leaned down to pull the covers off of her, but was blown down to the floor by a stream of wind, "What the..?"

Lyra grumbled and sat up, "That's what you get for waking me up so early."

"How do you know it's early? You have your windows completely covered!" Sokka yelled angrily.

"It's a talent that I have as a light-bender," Lyra replied, "And judging by the light filtering through the curtains, I'd say it's around six forty-five."

"Stupid magic," Sokka muttered, then left the room so Lyra could change.

:A few hours later:

The group was flying through the air on Appa now, Lyra was still gazing in wonder at the sky.

"I can't believe we're flying," Lyra said in awe for the seventy-fifth time since Sokka had so rudely woken her up.

"And I can't believe you've never flown before," Aang said with disbelief.

"And I think that this repetitive conversation has went on for way too long," Sokka grumbled...again.

"Is he always like this?" Lyra asked.

"Most of the time," Aang and Katara replied in unison.

Lyra yawned, "Except for the whole flying bit, this is pretty boring."

Momo then leapt from Aang's shoulder onto Lyra's.

"Looks like Momo likes you," Aang said with a grin.

"It would seem so," Lyra laughed.

Sokka muttered something about 'stupid magic' for some reason.

"Still mad about that, eh?" Lyra rolled her eyes at him.

"Mad about what?" Katara asked curiously.

"Oh, when he woke me up this morning, I knocked him on his butt with a stream of wind," Lyra watched as Sokka glared angrily at her.

Katara and Aang laughed and Sokka grumbled out another 'stupid magic' comment.

Lyra lay back down and stared up at the sky.

(A.N. Since I've waited so long to write this, I'm going to give y'all a special treat that I'd planned on putting in later...oh and for this chapter the two sides of the story will interchange...)

Katara's eyes widened as she noticed something down on the ocean, "Aang! It's Zuko's ship!"

"Not today..," Sokka groaned.

"It was getting really boring anyway," Aang shrugged and got ready for the battle he was sure would soon ensue.

:On Zuko's ship:

Keely was once again leaning against the edge of the ship, but this time her face held a depressed expression.

"Miss Keely, you really should ignore my nephew's attitude. He has a reason for the way he acts," Uncle Iroh said quietly.

"I can't accept that logic unless I know what happened," Keely sighed.

"Then you should ask him," Uncle Iroh replied right before one of the lookouts shouted, "AVATAR!"

Zuko appeared so suddenly on deck, that you would think he'd just gotten there by magic. He has a very determined expression on his face.

"He looks like a dog playing fetch," Keely rolled her eyes.

"Fire!" Zuko ordered, and the crew launched attacks at the flying bison.

Keely sighed, she wished they wouldn't do this, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. Then she saw someone on that bison that she hadn't expected to be there, Lyra.

Her eyes widened in fear, they might wind up killing or severely injuring her best friend!

Keely ran over to Zuko, "You have to stop!"

"Why should I? I have to capture the Avatar!" Zuko replied with a glare.

"And I have to protect my best friend," Keely put her hands on her hips.

"Who would that be?" Zuko asked.

Just then, the flying bison landed on the deck.

"Lyra," Keely murmered as the Avatar gang jumped of the bison...

(A.N.: I was really tempted to stop here..but you got lucky and I didn't)

:Back with Lyra and the others:

Lyra looked around the ship, amazed at the number of people, "You have a lot of people chasing you."

"I know," Aang shrugged.

"Where's this Zuko guy?" Lyra asked.

Aang looked around and was surprised to see Zuko glaring at a girl instead of him, "He's over there, but I don't know who the girl is."

Lyra turned in the direction Aang's gaze was and let out an audible gasp when she locked eyes with someone she'd never expected to see again.

"What is it Lyra?" Katara asked from somewhere beside Aang.

"I can't believe it," Lyra said under her breath, "It's Keely."

(A.N. Once again the temptation to end it here was strong...but I refused the need to leave a cliffy here)

Then the memories from the last time she'd seen Keely poured into Lyra's mind.

:Memory:

They were running from those horrible fire-nation soldiers, it was nighttime and the forest was so dense that Lyra couldn't see a foot infront of her.

Stumbling, they found their way to a clearing, where they usually hung out, that had a gorgeous lake and a crystalline waterfall.

Keely pulled Lyra towards the waterfall, "This way."

"But wh...oh yeah," in the panic Lyra had nearly forgotten about the caverns behind the waterfall that no one except she and Keely knew about.

Quickly, they slipped behind the falls and maneuvered their way over to the small opening that led to the caverns.

Keely motioned for Lyra to go first, so she did, having learned long ago that Keely was a great leader and friend who would never put her in harm's way.

After she and Keely were out of that cramped area and into the open caverns, Keely used her fire-bending to light the torches they'd set up over the years.

"What are we going to do now?" Lyra asked after a long moment of uncomfortable silence.

Keely slipped into thought for a moment , then replied with a determined look on her face, "I'll go back out and lure them away while you escape out the back way."

"No...I don't want you to get caught. Plus, I can't disappear in the shadows like you do," Lyra responded, trying to convince Keely that they should stick together.

"Lyra, I know you think we should do this together, but I want to make sure you're safe," Keely paused, "And I can take care of myself, you know that. Now I'm going to cloak you in shadows, they won't fade for an hour, which is plenty of time for you to escape."

Lyra gave her a pleading look, "But.."

Keely cut her off, "Just listen to me Lyra. Once I do this, you can't look for me, ever, not even once you think you're safe, because you'll bring yourself out into the open if you do."

"I will not do that," Lyra said in defiance.

"Yes you will, and give me five minutes to get their attention before you head out," was Keely's stern reply.

"Are you sure there's no way for me to see you again?" Lyra asked, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

Keely gave her a sad look, "Only if the war ends, which won't happen until the real Avatar is found."

"He will appear," Lyra said, without a trace of doubt on her face.

"One can only hope," Keely sighed, and pulled Lyra into a tight hug, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Lyra hugged her back and kept crying, then Keely formed a complicated series of symbols, and shadows encompassed Lyra's body...

:End Memory:

A few tears ran down Lyra's cheeks, "I can't believe it's her."

She realized Keely was staring at her with disbelief etched on her pale face and she mouthed silently, "Lyra..."

A.N. Dun Dun DUN! I really hope you liked it! I think it was my longest one yet but I'm not sure, and would you please review? I'm begging you! I love reviews...and I only got, like, three new ones on the last chapter...it makes me wonder how much y'all like this story if you won't bother taking the time to review.

Reviews+Libby ..equals...UPDATE!

:Libby-chan: