Wishfull-star: Thank you!


Eventually, she went to lunch, but Hahn wasn't there. Ace stood near the door, silent and trying to not get lost in thought over what he continued to forget, even in conversation about the thing he was forgetting. It was so strange, and annoying. The princess said it was nothing bad, which was a relief. But why forget something good? It didn't make sense to him much, but he couldn't make sense of what he didn't know, didn't remember.

It was lonely in the dining hall, and Ace thought the food looked really good. "You can have some food from the cabinet over there. That's all for the guards." Ace nodded and went to look, finding some actually nice food. He gladly ate a roll with a jelly inside. Then he went back to his post until more people came in. Ace moved to stand beside her, since he was her guard against anyone who was threatening.

He knew none of these people and felt he was not up to this job, but there were plenty of guards in there now, so Yue invited Ace to sit down so they could speak of his teaching desire. Ace nodded, and they spoke about he best way to go about teaching large numbers of people. It was different for Ace since he was the only one who had learned, he didn't learn with more people.

They both agreed that smaller groups would be best instead of a ton of people crammed in. Ace felt good to plan with someone professional, and it made him feel really supported in his cause, and that he really was helping the whole tribe by spreading the art of chi blocking. A guard asked him it he could show them what chi blocking looked like. He didn't do so without Yue's permission, and needed a dummy. Someone volunteered and it was over before anyone could really see him jabbing. The guard collapsed into Ace's arms so he didn't fall to the floor. He laid him down.

"Whoa. That's crazy!" the guard who asked said in shock. Ace flushed and they expressed the desire to learn how to do that as well. More people to teach. Well, he felt good that he really would be helping others in a way that wasn't only self defense but actual combat. He left at the end of the day, and had dinner with his brothers, who were very curious about his time with Yue. he talked about it, maybe when it was confidential, he didn't know.

Yue was easy to talk to, but it didn't seem easy for her to speak up with others like Hahn.

-x-

"I'm really gonna do it this time."

"Don't do it, you idiot! What will you do when you're not yourself anymore? You gonna forget all about it?"

"C'mon, it's been a long time since Wan. I'm going back to see how it is."

"It'll be shocking, you haven't been back for centuries!"

"Stop worrying! I'll be back... eventually."

"Idiot…"

Ace woke and rolled over, annoyed with the dreams that give him no information about anything other than snippets of conversation. Pretty useless when he had no context. He was sure the dreams would be interesting if he could see anything. It was snowing heavily outside, and he was glad he could stay home all day.

His week with Princess Yue was nice and all, but it just wasn't a fit for him, and he wasn't pressed to continue to do it. His next best offer was to teach her official guards how to chi block. Then she could have even stronger guards. The chief and princess were not offended, which was a complete and utter relief for Ace.

So, for the first step in the right direction, Ace told all of the people who wanted to train to start getting more in shape, going to yoga to start off. You needed to be fast and flexible to dodge and twist easier, be unpredictable with your movements. The soldiers were all in shape, so they just had to work on flexibility.

Some were annoyed with the process, but seeing Ace do flips and all that fancy stuff made them think it was cool to learn, too. So, everyone worked on stretching and flexibility while Ace did the same with Roger. Marco and Thatch had already been working on flexibility, so Ace was teaching them how to do handstands to begin.

Marco was amazing with how fast he caught on. Ace was kind of jealous, it took him a long time to get to this. "Don't feel bad, you had no teacher," Marco pointed out. Ace nodded, knowing that was true. Tama was upset with him not teaching the children, and he felt bad about it, but all the adults agreed that it was best to not teach children.

Thatch wasn't doing as well, but he also wasn't as interested as Marco, so it was fine. He didn't feel overly upset with not doing very well. He mostly brought them out snacks. It was nice when Ace and Marco could both do flips and tricks. It was fun! They had competitions with one another, and Ace felt like a kid, goofing off.

He was with Roger a few days later, Ace having a bunch of notes written by the generous princess Yue on how to teach this. Roger would be doing much of the speaking, but for the parts Ace would, he had notes to help. So, here stood the first group of soldiers, all having done a while of stretching and making their bodies handle dynamic movements.

Ace taught them the basics on moving fluidly after awhile of stretching. They all did their best, and Roger told them to not do more than their body could handle. By the end, many were sore, but many were able to do assisted handstands, already physically trained from just being soldiers. They all helped one another balance on two hands while being there to spot them or help them if they wavered.

Ace was happy with the outcome of the first class, and in came the second, where it was much the same. Most had been watching the first class, so they got right into it. And after that one, Roger took Ace to dinner to celebrate their first class. The teen was extremely satisfied with how things turned out.

He did good, for his first try ever, he did good enough for him to be proud, and not embarrassed at any mistakes. "Thank you so much for helping me. It means so much," Ace said sincerely. Roger just laughed, and said he was benefiting from it, too. Everybody was. Stronger soldiers was stronger defense. Ace smiled and nodded in agreement, knowing that was very true.

The classes continued once every two days for recovery of any strained muscles. But the soldiers were all very dedicated. Ace was proud of their commitment, and how they did stretching and endurance on the days off. Roger was proud of them, too, and there was an over all feeling of pride in the dedication of the protectors of the tribe.

All because of Ace. He had been the start of this all. It boosted his confidence and self-esteem, sky rocketing them, almost. Still reserved with strangers, and still a tad insecure when he went to bed at night, but over all, he was in much, much better shape than he had been before the classes. Before he got friendly smiles and greetings, shaking hands and patting his back.

It was wonderful, and Ace couldn't see himself being happier than he was now. He was a normal human, but still made a difference, even without being a bender or dragon.

-x-

"Ace, I'd like to have a formal dinner with you and the soldiers, as well as Marco and Thatch. To celebrate the success of the soldiers, those who have finally been able to block chi. As a thank you, as well. It's fine if you decline," the chief said, with princess Yue smiling behind him. Ace smiled and said he was fine with that.

He could see almost an air of pride on both of the royalties faces. "Thatch will want to help with the cooking, if that's okay," Ace added. Arnook promised that was welcome. Ace then went to find Marco, who was working on repairing part of the walkway that had been damaged by a stray turtle seal, one who was frightened and had gotten trapped in the canal and had a freak out.

"Marco!" Ace called, running over. Marco smiled and looked up. He had started doing construction, since he was talented at making compact ice that was able to repair any broken ice fixtures. "Chief Arnook wants to have a formal dinner for everyone working on chi blocking and wants you and Thatch to come."

The blonde smiled an almost watery smile. "Are you okay?" Ace asked in worry. Marco got up and hugged Ace tightly.

"I'm so proud of you," he said in a choked up voice. "You've improved so much, and it's like you're a new person." Ace was surprised before he gave a watery smile, too. He said it was all thanks to him being kind to a skittish dragon, terrified of the world. "And that skittish, terrified dragon is now you. A caring, confident man who wants to do his best in all things, and is accepted by everyone here."

Ace laughed, and said he wasn't welcomed by one: Hahn. "Who cares?"

"Not me," Ace said with a smile. Marco laughed, and Ace sat next to him while he repaired the walkway, and then they went to find Thatch at his work, making cookies at the bakery. He liked to cook meals, but he got to do that at home. Now, he worked at a bakery, making treats with the scarce ingredients the water tribe had for such things.

He was so happy to be welcome to help make the food for the feast, and was just as happy for Ace, if not less emotional, in his improvements as a person, not just with chi blocking or teaching. Ace blushed at the praise, but it felt damn good. He slept peacefully, and for the first time, did not go to bed feeling worried the next day he'd screw something up.

"They just throw it around like it's nothing!" Ace's voice said angrily, looking at a hot spring that had many other strange creatures in it. A creature with a lemur face but bipedal body said he shouldn't have gone back at all. "I was curious, but now I'm just annoyed."

The lemur man said, "Well, things have changed." A couple flying creatures passed overhead, many very large. He looked in the water and saw he was a white and red dragon, and looked irritated. "Just ignore the humans. They're stupid creatures. Wan taught them nothing in the end. Ah, I miss Stinky."

Ace sighed. "Yeah, he was a great man. Too bad his desire was never truly fulfilled," the dragon said in a truly sad voice. "He could have come back here, but he didn't." The lemur man said it was his choice. Being in that world may have been stifling. And he could never get back to where he came from. "I know, I know."

The tone of voice didn't sound like Ace at all. He sounded frustrated and annoyed, something Ace didn't hear himself say much. Whatever happened to Wan was upsetting and what he went to see was irritating.

"Some day, I hope things go back to how they were before. When both worlds mixed. But humans are violent; even now, when the Avatar is there. It's just sad. I miss that world. It was nice and comfortable. This place is beautiful and huge and all, but it's lonely."

The other sighed, looking sympathetic. "You know you could make friends here, right? I get you liked Wan, but you don't need a human to be friends with. There are plenty here, you're not alone at all. If you go to the human world, you will be very alone, Sun." Ace sighed and laid his head down.

"Maybe if I forget, then things would be better."

"No way! What if you end up someplace terrible?!" Ace knew that was true. It could happen. He admitted that he agreed. But he would always end up where he'd come from. He'd burn for billions of years more. One human lifetime was a blink in the grand scheme of things. He had no support by anybody, but he wanted to try. So he would.

Ace jerked awake, the dream being so vivid. Thatch was up and reading in bed silently while Marco slept. The cook asked if he was okay. "Another weird dream, only I saw stuff now, too. It wasn't just voices. I finally saw them," he said brightly. What an interesting dream! He wanted to write it down in case he forgot, but he would tell Thatch now so someone else knew it.

He quietly explained the dream to him, and the older man said it would make an awesome story to tell. "I wish I had cool dreams like that." Ace asked what he dreamt about. "I had a dream a shrimp was my roommate, but it wasn't here. And you guys both hated that I moved out and to someplace else with a giant shrimp. You were so both offended."

Marco was awake when he snorted. Ace laughed, too. "My dream is cooler."

"Very true. I had a dream where I was a phoenix in another life. I was a pirate. It was interesting." Thatch demanded to know why they had interesting dreams while he had a giant shrimp! The other two laughed as they ate breakfast, in a great mood, the feast and celebration being that night at the palace.

Later, Ace stood at the edge of the city, looking at the seemingly endless tundra, and in the direction the spirit forest was. He wondered if those dreams were some bit from the spirit forest. Maybe there was a mystery hot spring there, and he made up the characters. It made sense he played a dragon, though, since he had been one many months ago.

He didn't stay too long before he decided to go on his run. But when he came back, he was surprised to look down at the training area and see a giant furry thing. He walked down the long staircase, which had railings and rope to tie around your waist so you didn't slip and fall, like many had before. You had to go down slowly.

Peeking over the wall, he saw the huge, six legged creature was now in the waterway with three people on it, all young. Preteens and teens, so younger than Ace. People watched the creature swim in the canal. Must be cold for the poor thing, but it was huge! Did it swim all the way here?

"That is the Avatar," Pakku said from beside him. Ace bowed and greeted him. "You should be less formal with me by now." Ace smiled and apologized. But he was surprise the Avatar was there. "He's most likely here to find a waterbending master. Either myself or Shanks. The feast in your honor will most likely be rescheduled to have one for the Avatar's welcome." Ace was okay with it. He would still have the feast, just not that day, which was just fine. He said that, and Pakku invited him to come, too.

"Really?"

"You are an important figure right now." Ace blushed, and said he just wanted others to be stronger. "Which is why you are important, as you are succeeding at that." Ace smiled, and Pukku left. Ace watched from the bridge as the thing passed below. Interesting. But why was the Avatar so young? It was weird.

Later that night, Ace went to the feast he was invited to, and felt bad he couldn't bring his brothers along. They weren't upset with it at all. He could tell it was sincere, and they were truly happy for him being included. He sat in the back of the room with all of the important people. There were a lot.

He blended in until his tablemates started gushing about their success in the chi blocking, while others were bummed they weren't there yet. Ace said he learned the slowest. He was going slow and steady. "But you had nobody to teach you."

Ace wasn't sure what to say, so he just said they weren't in a hurry right now. And they were all strong with their weapons and many with waterbending. "I guess," one said. Ace suggested they all practice together and without Ace, getting in more practice between sessions. Some said they'd been doing that while many had not.

"Practice makes perfect, right?" Ace asked with a light smile. They nodded, and all looked forward to being able to actually disarm firebenders. They just had to be fast and flexible enough to get them before they burnt any of them. Fast and smart to predict moves.

"How did you learn it? Do you know?" Ace shook his head. He didn't remember how he first learned or who taught him. "Well, if it was an enemy, that'd be pretty funny." Ace agreed with a nod. It would be funny to take out any enemy who taught him this completely useful power. Extremely powerful even without needing to be super strong or a great waterbender.

The feast began soon, but first there was speech to be had about the Avatar's arrival, and seeing two from the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka and Katara. They traveled a long way to get here on that big animal. Someone said it was a bison, but it was a strange one, strange but interesting!

Princess Yue was announced to be turning 16, and therefore at a marrying age. It looked like most people didn't know of the engagement yet. Ace looked to Hahn, who looked completely disinterested. Poor princess Yue. The food was delicious, and Ace wished Thatch had had the chance to help cook.

Well, at the second banquet he could. And Marco would be there, too. But he was surprised when he walked onto the stage with two others, and master Pakku, who was speaking as the waterbending master and Shanks was not, told his students to begin, and the three did a waterbending performance. Man, being a waterbender would be awesome!

Then, they all ate, and Ace had a good time with his friends. Since he was younger than most of them, he didn't really consider them below him or students. There were a few older people who weren't learning that didn't like someone so young being a leader l ike this. Ace didn't feel like a leader, just a sort of instructor.

But teaching the chi blocking did mean a lot to many people who couldn't bend. After the meal, Ace went back home to tell his brothers about the meal, but he found himself wandering where he shouldn't again, back to the place he never remembered. He strode confidently inside, with no guards around.

He entered the space he always went to, and approached the pond slowly. Looked down at it, he saw a bright yellow light where his reflection should be. He crouched and touched it before one of the fish went swimming to his hand. He jerked it out and the fish resumed it's circling. The two kois were beautiful, and the swirling was cathartic.

Finding himself sitting down, he watched them until the lulled him to sleep. He only woke up when someone was shaking him. "Ace, what are you doing here?" Yue asked, looking surprised. Ace said he wasn't sure. He just wandered here and ended up falling asleep. He was embarrassed and apologized.

"Don't worry, I've had my father give you permission to come here. I doubt you'd ever harm the spirits. But it's very late, and you should probably go home," she said kindly. Ace thanked her, and got up. Sometimes it felt like Yue was older than Ace.

He walked out, and paused, the princess running into his back. "Ace?"

"I usually remember again when I'm in this spot. I hope I remember this time," he said firmly. The princess smiled, and said she'd go with him next time, and they could speak. Ace smiled at her with a nod, and they parted, Ace going home. Marco, surprisingly, wasn't there. Thatch was passed out on the bed, and Ace saw the milk was left out and had gone bad.

Well, there was no use waking Thatch up to tell him. Ace made sure it wasn't good anymore, and dumped the contents down the sink that went into the sewage system so it didn't end up stinking. Then he went to his own bed, and fell asleep, a smile on his face, remembering the trip to the pond. He didn't know why it was there, or what it was, but it was such a peaceful place, and he was glad he remembered.

-x-

The next day, Ace found that his teaching spot was taken up. There was a crowd waiting there, but master Pakku and the Avatar were training. The girl, Katara, was looking very grumpy while the Avatar was having trouble. When he was taking a break, looking irritated and frustrated with failure, Pakku turned to the group of soldiers, and offered them the other half of the courtyard.

They thanked him, and when they got there, the waterbending master responsible for teaching the Avatar erected an ice wall between them. Ace got to teaching, with those who weren't adept at it going against one another, and the more skilled were going after Ace one on one. Ace dodged each time, too fast for them, and got them all out.

"That was me going hard. I'm going to go easier. Aim for when I make my pressure points available." His first opponent missed more of the vital spots but got a hit on his arm, disabling it. He praised him, and then did it with the others once his arm was back to functioning. Many got it with him going slower. Not too slow, but not as fast as he could. "Good job! I want to show how the gymnastics part goes. Stand still, Pau." Ace did a slow flip, and when his hands were down, he pointed to the spot on the ankle that would bring him down, as on the thigh as he brought himself forward more on the flip. "See, flipping isn't just to catch an enemy off guard, you can attack even when you aren't upright."

They were all excited to try this, and each person being jabbed had someone to spot them so they didn't fall too hard. It seemed everyone enjoyed this part, since it was fun to flip but also difficult and more rewarding in a sense. Once they were done, and the next class came, Ace taught them all the same.

There was a habit of the second class watching the first so they knew what they were doing ahead of time and could spend more of the session practicing and not listening to directions. Ace was proud of all of them. It made him happy it was successful and they enjoyed the sessions and weren't bored.

Being active more than being given tons of lessons was more fun to all of them, and therefore more engaging. Yue and Roger had told him to keep things more exciting to motivate them to try harder. And they were both right. The ice wall was removed, and Ace watched the Avatar was still having trouble, but the girl had left.

Ace was surprised to see Yue at the bridge that most people cross to get to the other side of the city from the main canal that lead directly into the ocean when part of the wall was opened. Apparently she was waiting for him. "How did class go?" He grinned and said everyone was doing well and having fun. "I told you fun works wonders."

"Yeah, you were right. I'm glad they all like it and aren't bored or frustrated. Everyone is really friendly to one another and want to help the ones not so good get better," Ace said. He asked what she was doing here. She wanted to take him to the pond. Ace furrowed his brows, and then smiled lightly. "I remembered this time."

Yue was happy with this, and the two of them headed in the direction Ace remembered walking before. But they ran into Hahn, who asked where they were going in a snarky voice. Ace really didn't like him, and Yue didn't seem thrilled with his company either. "I'm going on a walk with Ace."

"A walk? Where?" Yue said it didn't matter to him. It was only a walk. He narrowed his eyes, and Ace firmly said he was not competition. "I didn't think you were!" the warrior snapped back. He was the only warrior or soldier that wasn't taking the chi blocking class. He was making himself weaker than all the others, though Ace was glad to not have him in his class at all. He would be a nightmare and not encouraging.

He walked on his way - well, stomping. Both of them continued to walk, making sure they weren't followed. When they got there, Yue opened the wooden barrier blocking the pond from sight. Ace sat in front of the two fish, thinking they were beautiful. He was positive all of this was already explained to him once Yue spoke of her experience with the moon spirit.

"If I forget it, I apologize," he said sincerely. She wasn't upset and just said it was fine. She didn't mind. He leaned over the pool, and looked at the bright reflection. It hadn't gone away, and he hadn't imagined it the first time. "I had a dream, a strange one. I was in dragon form, only it wasn't my previous one. I had my own voice, and I was speaking to a talking, bipedal and large lemur. Or at least, he had a lemur face.

"We were at a hot spring, and I was talking about disliking humans and how they throw fire around. I had said I wanted to go somewhere, but the lemur didn't want me to. Said it was a bad idea. I was going far away, I think, but said I'd be back. There were other weird creatures around as well, all around or inside the hot spring. It felt really real. I was thinking it could be related to if I went into the spirit forest and saw some strange creatures there," Ace said, sounding distant.

Yue was silent for a bit, and said he could always return there and see. But Ace said he'd forgotten for a reason. He hadn't wanted to know, or something had not let him remember. "You were a different person then. Maybe you couldn't handle it at that time."

It was a good point. Ace had changed drastically since then. "That's a good point. But I don't know if I could even make it back. It was far away, and I can't fly anymore. But… I think I want to remember. Not my life before I was imprisoned, I left that all behind, but I want to know what happened to me in the forest, and how I lost the dragon part of me," he admitted. He turned to her, and asked what she would think if it turned out he was from the Fire Nation.

"Well, I don't think that matters anymore. You're not a firebender, and you've been helping us immensely. Not to mention, everyone knows what kind of person you are." Ace asked about what if he was a bad person. "You aren't. Even if you were before, you've lived a very different life since then. You've gone through hardships that shaped you, and also experiences that changed your way of thinking, and how you relate to those around you.

"Even if you were a bad person three years ago, that's not you anymore." Ace nodded. He knew that deep down. He was this person, this was the real him. At least, now it was. And he liked himself this way. Kind and very free.

He said, "In my other life, I think I was not allowed to think for myself, or speak out. When I was able to speak to the chief my real opinion, I felt overjoyed. And having Marco and Thatch helped me so much, and made me happy. If I was unable to just say what I felt then, and did not have a loving family, why would I ever want to return?" he wondered aloud. "I would not," he said firmly.

Yue smiled and said that was all he needed to know. They stayed at the pond a bit in silence, both watching the two spirits swim in an endless loop. Seemed like a boring life. But he didn't say that, not wanting to disrespect such important creatures. On their way back, Ace saw Sokka looking awkward until he saw the princess, when he brightened.

But then he saw Ace with her, and deflated. Ace just smiled, and said goodbye to Yue. "I appreciate you going to the pond with me," Ace said, and she replied it was a pleasure. He went along his way, smirking about Sokka's crush on her. It was clear from what he'd seen from afar at the banquet.

As Ace went to watch the training of the little ones Shanks was working with while Pakku and his older students were not at the moment, he saw a black cloud forming in the distance, and assumed it was a huge storm until the flying bison and Sokka and princess came to explain what the situation was. The Fire Nation was attacking.


Oh yeeeah shits about to hit the fan.