He immediately knew something was strange, for one he felt fine-no aches no pain- even his chi paths felt relatively OK. He sat up observing his surroundings as he realized he was in his bed, only to feel a tingling sensation coming from his right arm. He stood up to hopefully shake the warmth of sleep from his body, as he looked down to see a dragon tattoo on his arm glowing slightly, only to watch stunning as it peeled itself from his arm, floating happily as it proceeded to wrap itself around his neck.

His mind went blank.

'Th-this is impossible!' was all his poor overworked mind managed 'the only place that something like this is possible, is the-' his mind kicked into gear as turned around to look at the bed only to see…

Only to see himself sitting on the bed, as if sleeping peacefully.

The dragon vibrated pleasantly as it nudged itself against his neck as if encouraging his line of thought. "So you've realized where you are then?" an aged voice echoed through the room, as the blond looked to the right only to find and aged man staring at him.

Emphatic amber brown eyes, gleaming with amusement as the man played with his stark white chest length beard. His breath hitched as realized just who he was looking at.

"It's nice to meet you grandnephew." the man chuckled as blondes eyes grew even wider as he struggled to respond in someway, only to say something that sounded like a rabid baboon spider getting ran over by a lawnmower-and he didn't even know what a lawnmower was!

"You must be wondering why you are here yes?" Coughing into his fist the blonde regained his composure. "Cause I broke the barrier?" the former avatar seemed to smile at him as he spoke, "In a sense, you could say I am here because you broke the barrier," Roku said in a wise voice "But I do not have enough time to, beat around the bush as they say." The wizened man said his voice holding a characteristic kindness even as it took a slightly sharper tone.

"You my child have been marked as a master of your element." The blond choked on air as he held his throat. His mind raced, what was the point of "Marking" him-whatever that meant- as a master fire-bender when he couldn't bend at all?

"I assure you young one you can still bend." the old man said as if reading the blondes mind. Although the blond still glared at him as he spotted a slight bit of amusement in the eye of his great great-however many great's- grandfather. "That tattoo on your right arm is proof that you have gained the attention of the great sun spirit. If this is good or bad is entirely up for you to decide." The man sighed "Off topic, when you broke the barrier you unlike so many before kept going" the man said turning around as he looked around his room. "Everyone on the planet with the exception of air-benders and the avatar, have a specific amount of power that will flow through their bodies. The barrier is their to stop those who simply push to hard, a halfway point if you will. Marking the fact that if you meet this limit your body will simply vaporize. With age the barrier strengthens allowing more pressure to build up before it is released in the form of bending."

Amber eye's seared themselves into his mind as the old man turned to face him, a hand gesturing towards the dragon that was still snuggling into his shoulder. "That tattoo is more than just a symbol of your mastery, as it is what's keeping you alive, preventing your body from either vaporizing or simply losing your bending, while also allowing you to reach new heights…" the aged man's voice stony as he stared down at his descendant. "Do to the amount of chi flowing through your body, it has developed a newer barrier, one that you can not break the dragon simply allows you access to the small amount of extra power you have gained. I warn you do not grow arrogant! The newer power you have gained isn't even a hundredth of the power the avatar of your time will have at his beck and call." Roku sighed as he looked outside the window, his voice becoming old and weary as his life seemed to play out within his eyes.

"My time with you is ending, grandnephew. If you wish to speak more on this subject visit the fire temple on the solstice of your choosing. Before I leave I congratulate you on being the youngest person to be recognized by the spirits as a master of fire in over a thousand years." the aged man said pride sparkling within his voice as it burned in his eyes. He could see the pride burning within clearly in the old man's eyes even as the world began to blur.


Tears blurred his vision as he shot to his feet heart drumming in his ears as looked around the room. Memories of his dream bombarding him as he fell backwards onto his bed. 'Was that real?' he asked himself, only to be answered by the tingling in his right arm.

Looking down he could see the dragon's eye's glowing as if answering his question.

Glancing down he viewed his current set of attire, several wounds covered with bloody bandages he didn't remember having put on. The night before he had simply been too tired to change his clothes or apply bandages to his worn body. His current set clothes were covered in dirt and blood. The entire left sleeve was barely hanging on by a thread, while several sewing needles were sticking out of his coats sleeve.

It truly spoke volumes when every inch of what was once silver accents on the fabric had been died a horrifying shade of red.

The matter was resolved in a few minutes as he walked back into the room freshly bathed, along with a clean set of his normal clothes and fresh bandages. He calmed himself before turning around and heading to the staircase that lead into the control room, only to stop when he noticed the girl from before-he still hadn't learned her name- siting of to the side cleaning the room while organizing the books that had been laying around on the floor in several stacks.

Clearing his voice to get her attention he was rewarded with a loud "EEP" as the girl jumped into the air clearly having missed his approach. Blushing the girl seemed to curl into herself as if trying to hide within her own shadow. "Hello miss?" the girl blush increased realizing she had yet to introduce herself.

"Amala, my name is Amala." the blond smiled while on the inside he was contemplating on what to call himself now since his own name was taboo… What was that funnel he had seen in the water called again? Oh yeah! "Nice to meet to you Amala, my name is Naruto." The girl smiled slightly her brown eyes glowing was very pretty sight something that red sparks within her eyes did nothing to diminish.

"So what are you going to do now?" The maelstrom asked the young girl's eyes dimming slightly, as she thought over the question. "I was, I was hoping I could travel with you?" Amala said hope managing to worm it's way into her voice. Raising an eyebrow he responded "Well if you want too, but before that we need to get rid of the brand on your neck." the girl tensed putting a hand top of the slave brand. "Y-you know what it is?" he blinked slightly before nodding as he answered "Well yeah… why do you think I want to get rid of it? As long as you have that on your neck you'll never be fully free. When it's gone you'll be free to do whatever the hell you want without worry."he announced with a shrug, the girl seemed hesitant but nodded in agreement.

Seeing her agreement he turned away and began walking towards, the earthen latter/stairs he had made to dock the Island. Taking a deep breath the blonde forced the earth to shift back into place bending the ropes that had been lodged into the side of the mountain back towards the island. He was grateful that he had the forethought to attach a metal hook to the end of each rope.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was easier than he remembered from when he put them there in the first place. Allowing the glass to fall back into place, the control room was now completely isolated from the outside, before he locked the glass into place with a deadbolt through the bottom of the frame. Grinning he walked gracefully back into the center of the room, where the magnetic center of the island laid.

Pushing said center up the Island rose into the sky at a rapid pace, before he looked to some of the maps littering the room. Making the necessary calculation he adjusted the island so it was on a direct course for a mountain near a village, which was a much easier process now that he actually knew his position.

He would stock up their give Amala a chance to leave, if she didn't then they would both go towards the fire nation. His eyes hardened as he moved away from the magnetic center. He had a lot of questions and feeling that a lot of the answers laid within the fire nation capital, while the rest would be answered on the solstice of his choosing. As he turned towards Amala he was met with a stunned stare, as she struggled to speak. Wait a second, when he woke up he assumed he had only been asleep for a day or two, but he was walking around like nothing had happened.

Even with the amount of bending he had done taking on the army he should still be catatonic… with that though all the pain, he had been subconsciously ignoring since he woke up ripped through his body like it was cheap paper eyes rolling into the back of his head as he fell to the ground.


Amala stared still stunned by his example of bending to make the Island actually fly! So stunned that she Barely managed to catch him before his head collided with the stone floors. Sighing the looked down at the boy whom she owed her life and gave a soft smile.

He had saved her life in more way than he knew by simply taking her with him, the old man who had been generous enough to buy her having died recently. He had been kind choosing her for the precise reason that she reminded him of his granddaughter who had moved into Ba-sing-se. The man who had become similar to a father to her, also had one other grandchild as well, a grandson whom he never spoke of.

The reason why became clear, when she met him. He was vile man who if it weren't for the old man Tsumi whom had suddenly become quite imposing, the so called grandson might have taken what was left of her innocence right then and their. With the old man's death and the absence of his granddaughter, the grandson had the right to hold onto her like a possession until the granddaughter claimed her.

She had been hiding in the kitchen of the diner, crying when the fire nation soldiers barged into the house. As it turned out the grandson had sold out the village, to the fire nation giving away patrol schedules and other such things. Turning what would have been a hard fought battle for the fire nation into a slaughter.

All for a high ranking position in the fire nation army, while also revealing that the guards to the town had denied him entrance for weeks. Having taken a liking to Amala, they weren't about to allow him to do anything with her or too her. The idea had been to prevent his entrance until Tsumi's granddaughter managed to arrive.

She remembered the feeling of the world collapsing when grandpa Tsumi's grandson, had marched into the diner dressed in full fire nation regalia. He proceeded to torture her, she thanked the the spirits that the now named Naruto hadn't noticed the many holes within her clothing, or seen the burns the man had inflicted with a searing hot piece of scrap metal. Heated by one of the fire nation soldiers that the grandson-whose name she had done her best to obliterate from her memory,- had sent away just as he was about to "finish the deed".

She remembered the hope that had torn through her when the pan had seemingly flown into her hand, she remembered the fear when the traitor didn't stay down. Then she remembered the tears she had shed when, the man dropped to floor, the wound in his heart still smoking as his body hit the floor. A blond angel standing their with a blade glowing a mysterious purple as the blood of the bastard turned to a mist as it evaporated.

She remembered tackling the angel to the ground and crying for what seemed like hours. She remembered the resurfacing fear that made it's way through her body when the door slammed open. Terror overwhelmed her while the blond simply stayed calm pushing her out the window as they escaped, before giving her the dagger still glowing with heat before he scrambled up to the roof of the diner.

He had told her to run, to get to safety…

Despite what had happened, in her life allowing her to see how stupid it was she couldn't but take that as a challenge. After all it wasn't like frail girl could make any sort of difference, on the bloody place called the battlefield. It was that common assumption that made her blood boil. If a boy only a few months older than she could make a difference then so could she!

And make a difference she did.

She had freed the smaller groups of prisoners hidden all over the town ignoring the large explosions, that showed the boy was making a difference as well. She had managed to get the rather large amount of earth nation citizen all the way over to the town hall, hiding away behind the pillars waiting for just the right moment to go and free the other prisoners.

She remembered the feeling of terror invade her body when the speaker had caught a glimpse of one of the younger hostages she had freed, as he dashed between hiding spots. She remembered the uncaring that took hold of her, the uncaring for whether or not, she got out of their alive as long as she made a difference. She used the purple dagger to catch the light making herself a much more appetizing target than the young boy.

She remembered the feeling resignation that overtook her body, resigned to dying by the speakers by the speaker's hand, only for what almost looked to be the hand of god to slap away the soldiers sending them flying in every direction. She remembered the giddy feeling that rampaged through her when the boy simply demolished most of the soldier within seconds.

She rushed over to the prisoners cutting their bindings as soon the entirety of the village was freed, only to watch with amazement as the blond fought on even ground with a man who looked to be almost on the level of an elite fire-bender.

She remembered as the village agreed to one final last stand, not willing to let a small child be the only one to fight that day, not willing to let his sacrifice be in vain. She remembered the silent tears she shed as she watched the boy tear them apart, like one of the spirits of legend. She watched him pull the power into a roaring dragon unwilling to give ground to the army before it. She remembered catching him once before as his legs gave out from beneath him. The sun fading in the background as they marched into a dust cloud.

She remembered, the amazement that made her heart beat faster as she laid eyes on the strangest Island she had ever seen. She remembered how she had to help him into his bed, before going to bed in a guest room.

And she knew as she looked down as his face putting him back into his bed, swiping lock of blond hair away from his face.

Amala knew that no matter what she would follow him for as long as he allowed her to do so.


So yeah this is just a filler chapter in all honesty, you get to see some of the newly named Amala's past, and her point of view on what happened in past few chapters.

For those of you asking about the Italics… well for the first chapter it just kind made sense, and the rest well... Originally it would have tied into a sort of plot Idea I had but I realized it was kinds stupid, to just keep using Italics until the Gaang showed up. That along with the people who just don't seem to like it have convinced me to just stop using them with the exception of characters being in the spirit world, and or flashbacks.

So yeah thank you for voicing your opinion and if there's anything else that bothering you about the story just tell me about it and I'll see if I can fix it.

Have any questions? Just Pm me or Review and I'll do my best to get back to you.