~~AUTHORS NOTE~~

**Okay. So I am editing my story Blazing Crystal, and have decided to make a new story url with the edits as I go. I accidentally deleted the word document for chapter one when I started editing las night, and freaked out (thankfully I restored it) so I am going to post my fixes as I go. My one goal is definitely to not leave this story unfinished. I am leaving up the old chapters in the old story. The context will be the same, but the writing style will be much different! I'll post chapter once they have been freshened up. But like I said, nothing about the direction of the original story will change. I just really wanted to fix it before finishing it.

-Faithy Waithy

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

Chapter 1: Frozen in Ice

From the oldest of times, many have said that water and fire don't work together. Water is fire's enemy and fire is water's downfall. Two opposites that cannot coexist. Enemies.

My sister and brother always agreed that fire was the most evil thing in the world. Even while sitting by our poorly made campfire in the snow outside of our family tent, the flames would be glared at through the night despite the warmth they had to offer.

When I was younger, I agreed with my family and the people of my tribe. Fire was dangerous. Fire would only cause harm.

In other words, the Water Tribe and Fire Nation would always be enemies for all eternity. Opposites would never be able to live in harmony. Of course, there was no reason to argue against this. The ones who firebend had destroyed my once strong tribe and left us in remnants. The waterbenders of our tribe had been slaughtered or imprisoned over the hundred year war. My mom was dead... my father was away fighting in the Earth Kingdom... and I had a scar that would forever mark me as a victim to the enemy.

There was a time when I despised fire as much as my people and family...

However, one cold day, my spite towards the harsh element and those who controlled it changed forever…

I could recall the very day my life changed. The day a young airbender appeared… the day my destiny was sealed…

And it all started with an old mirror that once belonged to my mother.

Looking at my reflection in the small wooden handheld mirror, the faded glass did little to hide the image before me. I placed the faded blue wooden comb down on the low table inside our tiny tent that we called home, and stared at the image before me in dismay. I was sitting cross-legged at the table, trying to avoid the bitter cold world and constant stares outside for as long as I could. I pressed my hand gently on the discolored flesh of my tan neck. A scar stretched from the tip of my collar bone up to the space below my right cheekbone, the color of it a faded pink. With the tan skin around the discolored and tight flesh, the scar was hard to miss. Staring at my face, I wondered just how much more beautiful I would've been if the blemish was not there. My sister always assured me that my beauty was not affected by the scar and many young warriors from the tribe had definitely noted my beauty over the years to our father.

However, to me, the scar was a horrible reminder of my past, and my failure to protect the mother I loved.

I was burned when I was nine… I tried to suppress the memories as much as I could. In the months after, my father had tried to request a healer from the Northern Water Tribe to come see if they could repair the damage, but a few weeks after his request we earned a message that our allies up North were not willing to spare their own due to the war. I was now fifteen, and while the burn had healed over time, the scar remained to always remind me of the darkest day of my past. And to remind me that we truly had no allies...

An image of the terrifying man with a flame suddenly shot through my mind involuntarily.

"Mommy! No! Mommy!" My child-like voice cried.

The middle-aged man with black hair, dark red armor, and cruel gold eyes snarled. "Step aside!"

"No!"

"Then I'll kill you girl!"

Fire shot in my vision. Gasping, I dropped the mirror as the memory of a piercing flame struck through my mind. The glass did not break thankfully. I shook.

No Crystal… Calm down… Don't let the memories return.

The tent flap to our home was pushed aside suddenly, and cold frigid air rushed into the room. I shivered, but thankfully the memory of the burning flame dimmed with the chill.

"Crystal! Are you going to hide in here all day?! Katara and I are going to get some fish for dinner later, so come with us. You don't want to sulk in here forever, do you?" Sokka's voice caused me to grimace. I'd had a feeling my twin would eventually arrive to drag me outside. My family didn't like me hiding from the world.

Standing, I turned to look over at my brother.

My brother was tall and lean. He had chin length messy brown hair he kept tied back in a ponytail and soft blue eyes. He was my age (being my twin of course), although he was born first so that made him my older brother. We were definitely fraternal though. I was pretty, while he was handsome. Also, our bodies were definitely not the same. He was taller than me by a good five inches and pretty strong despite his scrawny arms. I was also thinner than him, had teenage curves, and my brown hair flowed freely below my shoulder blades. We both had the same colored skin though, and we were alike in some ways. We both loved our little sister, were determined to take care of our grandma, and wanted nothing more than to protect our tribe from the Fire Nation.

I tried to push aside the memories of my past. Smirking, I spoke, "You mean you're going to try and get some fish."

He wasn't amused, more focused on my previous demeanor. He could tell I was upset about something. It didn't help that my hand hadn't moved from the scar on the right side of my face. "You okay?"

Taking my hand away from my flesh, I nodded, grimacing at his perception. "Yeah… Sorry. Just got lost to my thoughts."

He nodded, and then walked over to me. I felt his hand touch my face and his thumb brush the mark on my cheek. Closing my eyes, I felt tears fill them as the memory tried to come back to me. I held them in though. I didn't like crying, especially in front of my family.

"I heard you scream last night. You're having nightmares again…? You're seeing mom's death, aren't you?" He frowned. "Maybe if you talk about that day… Maybe it will help…"

I flinched. "I… I can't," I whispered. "You know that…"

He sighed. They had tried to get me to talk about the events leading up to mother's death for years, and I never spoke to them about that day. All the tribe knew was that my mother and I had been in our igloo home at the center of the tribe when the Fire Nation came, a fire started inside the interior, and my father had run inside to find me burned and unconscious over my mother's dead and bloody body. The igloo home had melted that day… And it was probably for the best… I would have not been able to live in the place my mother had died.

Grabbing Sokka's hand tenderly, I pulled it from my face but held it enjoying my brother's warmth and kindness. "I'm okay, Sokka… It was just a bad night. You don't have to worry about me... You're only an hour older anyway."

He rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away. "That still makes me your older brother, and as your older brother I'm supposed to worry."

I tried to change the subject. "Worry more about our little sister. She's the one that gets into trouble every five minutes."

Sokka sighed. "Yeah… Guess that's what we get for having a waterbender in the family." He extended his hand towards my forehead then, flicking me at the center. I winced and rubbed the spot pouting at him. "You better start cheering up, or I'll tie you upside down to a pole."

"That sounds brutal…" I muttered. Then I let out a heavy breath. "But you're right. I could probably use some fresh air. I'll meet you down by the canoes. I'm going to make sure Gran Gran doesn't need anything before we go."

He nodded. "Don't be too long. I'll go find Katara before she freezes the whole camp."

As Sokka turned and walked off to go find our little sister, I watched him go with a half-smile. If only he knew he had more than one sister who could waterbend.

Katara had found out she was a bender at a very young age. When she was four she had a small temper tantrum that resulted in freezing Sokka's feet to the ground. My sister was the talk of the tribe for years, being the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe. The Fire Nation had either killed or captured the others. The day the Fire Nation came for Katara was the day my mother died sacrificing herself to save both Katara and I. They had heard about our tribe having a waterbender amongst us, and they came to destroy the bender. My mother lied to them and paid the price.

It was after my mother's death, and being burned, that I developed my waterbending abilities. Or at least discovered I had them. It happened on a cold dark night, after I'd had another nightmare about my mother's death and couldn't sleep. It had only been a week after the attack, and I couldn't get the traumatic memories out of my head.

That night I stumbled outside of the village, my face and neck still bandaged from the burn I'd received. There was also a burn on my waist, and the fabric hitting against it caused discomfort. I hadn't let that stop me from my night walk. I knew I wasn't supposed to be out of bed, and I was certain if Bato's wife and children found I was not in their tent where I had been staying to heal, they would all quickly scramble to find me. I was being kept away from Sokka and Katara because of the gruesome sight on my face. Bato's children had all been old enough to handle the ghastly sight left by war. His two sons and his daughter were my company through the weeks that I healed.

It was late though as I made my way out of the village that night, and the family were all sleeping. In the light of the moon, I found myself stopping and standing on the middle of a snowy hill a good half a mile from the village. Then I cried out to the ocean and the moon spirits in fury, "You should've helped her! She didn't deserve to die! She respected you two so much and you let her die!" It was with rage that I fell on my knees and slammed my fists into the snow. That was when I caused an icy path to shoot from where I stood almost ten yards towards the ocean. The ice shined from the light of the moon, and I knew the element that formed was all because of me. I had felt the connection. The power.

Either the spirits had granted me the ability to bend, or I'd had it in me all along and it finally came out from my fury.

Over the next few years I'd practiced in secret. If the village found out I could waterbend, I feared they would all hate me for not being strong enough to save my mother at the time. It was better that my waterbending was kept a secret... I was the only one to know... And I was okay with not having more attention on me than I already did. I was glad to grant Katara the title 'Last Waterbender of the South Pole.'

Putting my fur coat and boots on, I walked out into the freezing cold air for the first time all day. I found my Gran Gran seated with a group of the village elders and women near the home of Bato's family, sowing clothing and chatting about the tribe. Walking over to her, she looked up and smiled kindly to me with her loving faded blue eyes. "There you are granddaughter. I was just telling Kieda how beautiful your singing voice is."

"Stop bragging Kanna. We've all heard Crystal's singing and I do agree it's the best in the village. You can stop throwing it in all our faces," a woman in her early forties spoke. Kieda was a friend of my mom's before the last raid, and also Bato's wife. After my mother's death, she helped my Gran Gran raise us while her husband and her two sons ran off to play warrior in the Earth Kingdom. She saw me as her daughter… of course I knew why… they all hoped I would marry her youngest son.

But there was no way I would. I would not have my path chosen for me.

"I'm not that good," I blushed, wondering when these people had heard me sing anyway. Then I recalled I'd been singing the other night while I was cooking dinner. How many people had heard me? I was suddenly flustered. "Um… I just came over to tell you I was going with Sokka and Katara to fish. Do you need anything before I go?"

Gran Gran shook her head. "No dear. Go have fun with your brother and sister so I can brag about you more."

Blushing with more intensity, I nodded and quickly ran off through the village to get away from the crowd that started to whisper as soon as they believed me out of earshot. I was certain they had heard me scream from my night terror as well.

It was just about noon by the looks of it. I had been hiding away a little longer than I thought. I'd only ate some seal jerky for breakfast, so I knew I would definitely be hungry for dinner. However, I was aware that by the time we ate it would probably be sunset. And that was if we caught any fish. I really hoped my dad would send a warrior home with supplies soon, because our provisions for the tribe were running low.

Running through the village, I saw the small igloo for tribal meetings that were rarely held was still standing. My dream last night had shown me otherwise. Our tribe had once been made up of igloo homes for everyone, but with the raids on our people we were forced to relocate often and tents became an easier method of moving. Plus, most of our igloo homes had been created by waterbenders, and with Katara being the last (other than me) no one had bothered to try and make more.

Tents weren't awful… But Igloos definitely were warmer when it came to blocking wind.

Eventually I reached the entrance of the Southern Water Tribe, and passed the snow tower my brother made the other day. Since father was gone, my brother liked to feel as though he was the protector of our tribe. Apart from our village elders who were too old to fight, Sokka was the oldest male of the tribe and this made him feel the Tribe's wellbeing was his responsibility. He always hoped one day he would be elected chief after our father. Although I teased him about it, I knew deep down he had the heart of a leader and would be a powerful chief one day.

Leaving the village at last, I walked around the very poor snow wall that surrounded our tribe and headed towards the watery channel that led to the ocean one way, and towards more streams the otherway. Katara and Sokka were at the canoes already, arguing about something like always as I walked over.

My sister glanced over at me upon hearing my approach in the snow and looked relieved. She knew I would take her side.

Staring at my sister, I envied her flawless skin and unmarked beauty. She was my size in height and weight, but her dark brown hair was longer than my own. She always kept hers in a braid though. I liked mine to hang loose because it gave me more warmth. Her watery blue eyes were a tad darker than my own… more mysterious.

"Crystal! Glad you're here finally. Can you please help me out! Tell our fearless leader that there's probably more fish downstream than up."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "My instincts tell me we should go upstream."

Smiling, I said, "Your instincts almost got us killed last week Sokka. I say we go down stream, but you're the boss."

Sokka pouted at me, and then threw his spear in the boat. Katara giggled from my comment, seeing it frustrated him. Sokka had a hard time arguing with me, especially because he was always concerned about my mental state, and gave in. "Fine," Sokka muttered. "We'll go down. Get in before I change my mind."

Katara and I clambered in the small wooden canoe, and I saw my sister shoot me a grateful glance, glad I'd chosen her side. As Sokka pushed us off the snowy shore, I watched him jump in the canoe and grab a paddle. Grabbing the other one beside me, we began to paddle our way down stream while Katara kept an eye out for fish. It was thirty minutes after reaching the deeper water that Katara shouted, "Found one!"

Sokka and I put our paddles down and carefully looked over the side. There were about five or six below us, and though they were small they would do for now. Sokka handed me my own spear, and we both pointed our weapons down toward the water. From the corner of my eyes, I watched as Katara tried to use waterbending to get one.

Looking back at the fish, I went to stab one with my spear. The fish easily dodged and I growled in frustration.

"Nice try Crystal, but watch and learn. This is how you catch a fish."

Rolling my eyes, I took my spear back and watched my twin brother concentrate and point his spear down at the water. As he did this, I noticed Katara was having much greater success than us with her waterbending.

As Katara formed a tight water ball around one of the fish and managed to lift it from the stream, I smiled approvingly at her. She had really improved since the last time I saw her bend. I knew my abilities were just under hers, only just starting my own practice six years ago. She had a few more years than me, and also more time to learn. I had to practice often at night in secret. One of the reasons I slept in so late this morning…

"Sokka! Look!" My sister exclaimed.

My brother ignored her as he continued to look at the fish and raise his spear. "Shh, Katara… You're gonna scare it away. Mmm… I can already smell it cooking."

"But look, Sokka! I caught one!" My sister exclaimed. I smiled from her delight as she moved the ball of water back and forth in the air with a fish swimming inside. Sokka suddenly thrust his spear up, the end hitting the water, popping the ball, and causing the fish to fall. Water fell on Sokka in the process and he gasped at the cold element. As this occurred, I leaned forward quickly and caught the fish before it fell back into the water. It wriggled in my hand but I was too hungry to let it escape.

As Katara began to whine to Sokka, I placed the slimy cold fish in a satchel Sokka had brought to put our catch in.

"Ugh! Why is it that every time you play with your magic water I get soaked?" Sokka snapped.

"It's not magic," Katara snapped. "It's waterbending, and it's-"

"Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah-blah-blah. Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

"It's not weird, Sokka," I defended, crossing my arms. "It's a beautiful skill that-"

Sokka interrupted, "What would you know about it?"

I flinched. I shut my mouth quickly. I wasn't ready to confess to anyone I had been keeping secrets for the last six years. "Nothing," I lied. "I'm just saying that Katara's ability is a beautiful thing, and one day in the future you'll be really glad she has it."

"I just said it was weird. You don't see me or you bending water around."

"You're calling me weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water," Katara snapped.

Sokka scowled, "That was one time!"

The boat suddenly lurched forward, and I fell back in the canoe from the impact. Katara scrambled to grab the side, while Sokka tried to get his own bearing.

The current had picked up, and we were suddenly headed towards a very large iceberg. "Oh no!" I shouted, managing to sit back up. Sokka was quickly at the back of the canoe using a lever to change direction.

"Watch out! Go left! Go left!" Katara cried, and I shrieked as our canoe barely missed the berg. Cold wind hit my face as we traveled quickly downstream and I prayed to the spirits we would be safe. As we dodged more icebergs and cold water splashed on us, we ran out of water and reached a barricade.

"Crap! Get ready to jump!" Sokka's order had Katara and I prepared as we came up on the merging icebergs ahead. We eventually crashed into the center iceberg that had connected with three other ones. Just as our canoe hit the ice and shattered, we jumped out and fell on the cold surface before us.

As Katara and Sokka began to argue again while we gathered ourselves and stood up, I looked at the stream that completely surrounded us. I watched pieces of our broken canoe drift away. How were we getting home from here? I suddenly feared I would have no choice but to try and bend us to the side, and I really didn't want to have Sokka furious with me when he learned about the ability I had kept from him.

"You call that left?" Katara snapped.

Sokka scowled. "You don't like my steering. Well, maybe you should have waterbended us out of the ice!"

"So it's my fault?"

Oh boy… Another fight. Their arguments were daily, and had gotten much worse since dad left three years ago. At once I tried to intervene, but they both shot me looks that clearly said to stay out of it. I stepped back covering my face in disbelief.

"I knew I should have left you home. Leave it to a girl to screw things up," Sokka muttered.

"Hey!" I cried. "What's that comment supposed to mean? You invited us!"

Katara was furious and yelled, "You're the most sexist, immature, nut brained… Ugh, I'm embarrassed to be related to you! Ever since Mom died Crystal and I have been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!" As Katara shouted this, Sokka and I watched with horror as she threw her hands out in rage. The iceberg behind her was beginning to crack in half, and every time she moved another crack would form. Water also started to hit at the surface causing the berg to tremble.

"Uh… Katara…" Sokka began, while I tried to step over to grab her and calm her.

"I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT!" Katara was still screaming and the iceberg was splitting even more into two.

"Please… Let's all just calm down. We're tired and hungry. Why don't we-"

The iceberg suddenly split and opened right in the middle cutting me off. A huge gust of air flew at us as this occurred and I was flung onto my back. The impact hurt, and I winced from the pain. As the ice below us stopped shaking, I looked up to see Katara and Sokka were standing once more after they too had lost their footing. Sokka quickly helped me up, then muttered to Katara, "Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Katara."

Katara gawked. "You mean... I did that?"

"Yup… Congratulations."

We all stared up at the cracked iceberg then, and as we did I noticed something. There seemed to be a glowing blue form inside the icy prison, and by the silhouette of the form I could tell it was a person with some giant beast behind him. They were frozen solid.

"There's something in the iceberg," I whispered.

"It's a kid," Katara exclaimed, then grabbed Sokka's club from his back without permission.

Sokka shouted after her, but Katara ignored him and ran to the iceberg wall. She stared inside it for a moment, trying to get a closer look. I started to walk forward to help her, but my overprotective brother grabbed me by the forearm and forced me back. "No Crystal. Stay back before you get hurt." He made his way instead to the iceberg in my place.

Crossing my arms, I was slightly irritated. I understood I was damaged, but that didn't make me weak and useless. You get burned one time and that labels you as someone prone to danger for the rest of your life...

With a sigh, I walked up to them anyway. Sokka needed to calm down. I wasn't helpless.

Katara was continuously whacking the iceberg with Sokka's club by the time I got beside her.

"Katara! Careful!" All I could picture was our icy surface snapping and us falling into the freezing waters below. I had almost drowned in the past before, and I really didn't want a repeat of that terrifying experience. I honestly only remembered falling through the ice… after that was a haze… I really didn't need a repeat.

"He's alive! We have to help him!" Katara was frantic as she chipped ice away little by little. Looking into the berg, I did notice blue eyes were glowing back at us.

"We don't know what that thing is!" Sokka cried.

"For once, I'm siding with Sokka on this, Katara… Normal things don't glow like that. I say we get away. It could be dangerous," I urged. Shivers raced down my spine at the unknown entity inside.

Katara ignored the both of us. She eventually managed to crack the ice and another gust of air blew at us. We covered our faces from the strong cold burst. As we did I saw nothing but blue light from the cracks of my fingers, and I saw this light stretched towards the sky in a giant beam. It was something I had never seen before… spiritual… and powerful...

When the bright stream finally stopped, and we got our vision back, we looked up in shock to see a young boy walking out of the iceberg. The strange markings on his hands and head were glowing.

Sokka got in front of Katara and I to block us from the bald kid who looked no older than twelve. "Stop!" Sokka ordered as the glowing boy approached us. Then his blue glow faded and he slumped over unconscious. I was amazed that even without the glow, he had a blue arrow tattooed on his bald head, and one on each hand. Katara noticed he was going down and caught the kid just as his head was about to connect with the ice.

What. Just. Happened? I was frozen in complete shock.

Sokka had at some point grabbed the water tribe club Katara had stolen and poked the kid with the end of it.

"Stop it!" Katara ordered, shoving the weapon off the young boy.

As the boy began to regain consciousness, his eyes slowly opened a crack, and I heard him whisper to Katara, "I need to ask you something."

Katara looked at him with both bewilderment and curiosity. "What?"

His eyes opened wide then, and I noticed they were of gray tint. The kid was wearing a yellow shirt with an orange shawl on top and trouser pants the same color as his shirt. He had an orange belt around the waist. His shoes were brown and a little pointed at the ends. He was definitely a foreigner by the way he was dressed, his skin tone, and the fact that he had no hair to shield him from the freezing South Pole temps.

"Please come closer," the boy begged.

Katara bent her head down so she was closer to hear what he so desperately needed to say.

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?!"

I was stumped. I blinked a few times trying to understand what I had just heard. Did he just… ask to go penguin sledding? Was he delirious? I shook my head in utter disbelief. Who was this kid? He just came out of an iceberg and now he wanted to go penguin sledding?

He was crazy!

Katara and Sokka started to question Aang. He was to his feet now and looked totally out of it. He didn't quite understand how he had gotten stuck in the iceberg, or how long he had been there. He then shocked us even further when he let out a sudden sneeze and flew up into the air almost a hundred feet. I shrieked as he fell back towards me and jumped out of the way. My heart pounded wildly at what I had just seen.

He was an airbender…? I had thought they were all extinct. I was baffled by the discovery before us.

A moment later a groan sounded, and the boy who introduced himself as Aang gasped with thrill. He ran back into the broken berg and a moment later a huge animal was coaxed out to follow.

I stumbled back at the sight of the creature he told us was named Appa. The huge massive beast that was probably eight or nine feet tall, with white fur, six legs, two horns, and a brown arrow pattern shooting to his head, let out a groan in greeting.

Aang informed us that Appa was a flying sky-bison, and that they were common to the people of the Southern Air Temple. I couldn't believe what he was saying. Were there still really airbenders? Where were they hiding? Or was this kid the last of his kind?

I was so perplexed by the events unfolding. My brother was defensive. My sister was thrilled.

Eventually Aang gave us a ride on Appa so we could get back to the tribe. He spoke to us for a little bit about not remembering much past waking up and seeing us. He told us he and Appa had been flying from the temple, a storm had hit, and after that he drew nothing but a blank. After we spoke to him for a few more moments, telling him our names and trying to get more information about his home, he passed out from exhaustion before we could figure much out. Appa kept us floating through the stream. We had been told he could fly, but I assumed the creature was as tired as Aang.

Aang rested against Katara and snored softly as we sat in the giant leather saddle of the furry beast with a wide tail.

"He seems like a good kid," Katara said.

Sokka was too busy trying to control the giant reins attached to Appa's horns to respond to her.

Looking at Katara, I asked instead, "But you don't find all of this odd? He was trapped in an iceberg for who knows how long and he comes out perfectly fine? He should be dead, not wanting to go penguin sledding..."

"Crystal's right, Katara. This guy shouldn't be trusted. For all we know he might be with the Fire Nation!"

At the mention of the Fire Nation, I felt my scarred flesh tingle. Goosebumps went up and down my spine as a memory of that horrible day flashed through me again.

No… Stop… Ignore…

However, the last thing I wanted was to get involved with the Fire Nation again. I knew from the darkness of my past that they were all savages who cared for no one but themselves. Touching my scar again, I closed my eyes as the memories tried to come again. Honestly, the terrifying day may have been easier to forget if I'd never been cursed with the mark that would forever remain.

When we got back to the water tribe, Sokka carried Aang on his back from Appa towards the village, while Katara carried the young boys wooden staff. I guided Appa over to the entrance of the village and told him to wait outside. I wasn't even sure if the beast understood me, but he did not follow me when I went through the entrance so I assumed he got the picture.

Since we had no fish, and there was a new mouth to feed, I knew I needed to slip away and try to catch more fish. We had to eat something other than sea prunes and seal jerky. As Sokka went to put Aang on my sleeping bag, which I told him to do when he asked where he should drop the stranger, Katara went to go tell Gran Gran and everyone who had started to gather with curiosity what had occurred. They had all seen the blue light from earlier, and they were terrified. While Katara calmed them down, I grabbed a small bag and walked back out of the village towards the stream we had just come from.

It was getting dark now, but I knew I had to help out my family as much as I could. We hadn't had fresh meat in two days and I knew we were all getting hungry. Approaching the dark waters, I used my bending to manipulate the surface and create an icy dock. Stepping further out to sea, I could see the fish grew larger as I went. I was a good fifty yards from the icy shore by the time I stopped. All around me was nothing but dark water. I tried not to think about falling in, especially since I didn't know how to swim, and stared through the darkness searching for movement. Once I saw something dash below, I took Katara's technique from earlier and tried it myself. I thrust my hand forward catching the large fish in a water bubble.

Katara didn't realize how much of a teacher she was to me. Sometimes I considered telling her I was a waterbender, but I would always stop myself. I didn't deserve the ability I had been granted… not after being too weak and scared to save my own mother…

I shook the thought.

When I finally finished, I'd managed to catch five pretty decent sized fish. Their size would be enough to last us for a few days. Walking back to land, I turned my dock back into water. With the bag on my shoulder, heavy and full, I made my way back towards the tribe.

Gran Gran was surprised when she saw all the fish I'd managed to catch and Sokka and Katara were bewildered.

"How'd you catch so many?" Sokka asked. "And such big ones also?!"

Shrugging, I set the wet bag down beside the fire. "Lucky I guess," I spoke with a shrug. Katara eyed me suspiciously, but I was already sitting by the small fire we created and grabbing a fish from the bag. "Who's hungry?"

That night after we ate and saved some meat for Aang in the morning, I rested beside Katara after we'd removed our shoes and coats. The space was slightly cramped, but I didn't mind the warmth. My brother and sister were fine with the cold, but I preferred not freezing all the time.

As we both got settled, I turned over so I wouldn't have to see Katara's questioning gaze. She was still suspicious about my lucky catch. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up the secret much longer, but I still wasn't ready to tell her. I was still too worried everyone would blame me for letting my mom die when I had the ability to save her all along...

Soon Gran Gran, Sokka, and Aang's snores filled the tent, and I tried to close my eyes so I could follow their lead.

"How'd you do it?" Katara suddenly asked. "None of those fish had spear marks in them, Crystal… Don't tell me you reached into the water and caught each one by hand..."

My body went stiff at her perception. I was sure Katara noticed my reaction since she was right beside me.

"Like I said… Just lucky," I whispered.

"You're a waterbender, aren't you?" she asked.

My eyes shut as I realized she was starting to figure it out. "Would it matter if I was?"

Katara fell silent for a moment. She turned on her side to face me more. I had my back to her though. "Yes… being a waterbender isn't something you should hide… It's true, isn't it? You can waterbend, can't you?"

"Katara…" I whispered. "I'm not talented like you. I just was lucky tonight… Go to sleep."

She let out a huff and turned her back to me with frustration. "Fine. Don't tell me."

Immediately guilt filled inside me, and I shut my eyes trying to push it back. Tell her! My mind was practically screaming at me.

I was too scared to. She'd hate me if she found out I could bend for the last six years and I never told her. I kept my mouth shut and let sleep take me over. Katara could be mad at me... This was a secret I wanted to keep to myself… There was only room for one waterbender at the Southern Water Tribe. And Katara was the best one for the job.

The next morning I woke up to find everyone was still asleep. Managing to get out of the sleeping bag without waking up Katara, and slipping on my boots and coat silently, I walked outside into the breaking dawn and stared at the colorful yellow sky with a smile. It was a new day. And I was certain a particular airbending boy would keep my sister distracted enough not to ask me again about last night.

Leaving the quiet village once more, I walked a good mile along the path I usually took and started to bend the snow around me. Lifting the water into the air, I gracefully moved my hands so that the element flowed the way I desired it to. I practiced for an hour, and after the sun was starting to show in the sky more, I decided it would be good to head back to the village before Sokka worried about me being gone.

When I got back, members of our whole village (the few male and female elders, women, and children) were crowded around our small tent. Their main focus was on a certain airbender who looked a bit surprised to see everyone gathered to meet him. As I got closer, I saw Katara and Sokka standing beside him. Katara was making introductions.

"Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, meet Aang."

Aang bowed to my people, and I noticed they all backed away with angst. We'd never met an airbender before, so we weren't sure if Aang was going to hurt us or not. Rumor said they were peaceful, but with a hundred years of war and bloodshed none of us knew if that held true anymore.

"Uh, why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?" The boy looked down to make sure his clothes were okay.

"Well... no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct... until my granddaughters and grandson found you," Gran Gran said, staring at the boy with a mix of suspicion and curiosity.

"Extinct?" Aang asked, not sure what to make of what she said.

Stepping through the crowd, I heard Katara say, "Aang, this is my grandmother."

"Call me Gran Gran."

Aang nodded and bowed politely to her. As he did, I saw Sokka walk over and grab Aang's staff. "What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this."

As Aang explained the glider to the tribe, I saw Katara look over at me with that same suspicious glance from before. Walking over to her as Aang began to fly in the sky and the children laughed, I saw her turn her head from me.

"I'm not talking to you," she muttered.

"Katara," I began.

She snapped her head up. "No! Don't Katara me! When you tell me the truth, then we'll talk! I don't understand why you're keeping it a secret!"

I flinched. "There's nothing to tell…"

She huffed. She turned her attention back to Aang and I backed off. There was nothing else I could do at the moment to make her understand. She'd forgive me eventually. My heart did yearn to tell someone, but I wasn't ready. The last thing I wanted was for it to get around the village. Katara was the last waterbender of the South Pole, and I was okay with everyone believing that was the truth.

As Katara went to help Aang who had crashed into Sokka's fort, I turned away and decided to just get a start on my chores. I knew the best thing to do was let Katara blow off her frustration with me.

Later that day, I noticed Katara had started to talk to me again. She couldn't stay mad at me, and deeply I was relieved. The last thing I wanted was my little sister to be bitter towards me. Maybe I would be brave enough to tell her soon that her suspicions were right, but I didn't have the courage at the moment. It wasn't her opinion about my waterbending I was so concerned about. It was the opinions of everyone else… I just wasn't ready.

She asked with an honest invitation, "I'm taking Aang penguin sledding. You want to come?"

I decided maybe some adventure would put us both in better moods. Nodding, I said, "Sure. I could use some fun."

It was with that saying that I found myself on top of a giant penguin with Aang and Katara beside me. We were sliding fast down the steep snowy mountain two miles from our tribe, and I screamed from the thrill and rush. My hair flew behind me, and the cold wind made my exposed skin numb. Looking beside me, I saw Aang and Katara laughing as well. This was the most fun I'd seen Katara have in a long time. Seeing her so spirited filled me with elation.

Eventually we got to leveled ground. We all were laughing still at this point. The penguins bucked us off as we continued to laugh, and I watched with amusement as the large beasts waddled away.

Katara stood, brushing off snow. "How was that for penguin sledding?"

Aang jumped up. "Awesome! We should go again!"

I stood, brushing off the wet snow from my own clothes. "Maybe later... We have to head back to the village."

Katara looked at the sun and pouted. "Man... Why does time always go by so fast?"

"Hey, what is that?" Aang suddenly asked. I looked at the kid to see him pointing at something.

Shooting my eyes toward the object of his curiosity, I shrunk with terror. I shuddered and backed away. The captured giant Fire Navy ship was a dark reminder of our painful past. I felt my blood run cold and my breathing hitch. The cold laughter of the man who burned me echoed through my subconscious.

Aang started to walk towards the captured enemy ship with a giant hole on its side, and Katara followed. "A Fire Navy ship, and a very bad memory for my people."

As Katara spoke, I felt the heavy pain of my past fall back through me.

The cold monster hissed, "Step aside girl!"

"Crystal... Do as he says." My mother begged.

"No!" I cried.

"Then suffer!"

Gasping, I found I was shaking as I clutched my head and tried to hold myself together.

"Hey... You okay, Crystal?" Aang asked with worry.

Katara walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. She didn't know the details, but she understood I was remembering mother's death.

"Ye… yeah," I shakily answered Aang, my voice cracking. "I just... I need to get out of here."

Katara nodded with understanding, while Aang stared at me with concern and confusion.

Without hesitation, I turned and ran from the steel black ship as fast as I could go… I tried to run from the dark memories. The tingle of my scar calmed with the greater distance I put between me and the ship.