The waterbender and the airbender worked hard at the bamboo for two hours. With one last huff, Aang sent the water flying, and it slashed through the last section of the pole. Katara gave a good jerk at the stout pole and it crackled and broke. She pulled it in into the cage and Aang sized up the hole. "With one more bar out, I think I can squeeze through."

Toph groaned, covering her face with her hands.

The pair got hard to work once more, and it took them nearly two and a half hours to get through the second bar. As they finished, Sokka glanced up to notice that the sky had flared to a pink-orange hue, and the light was dimming quickly from the sky.

"Can you guys pick up the pace?" he urged with a wild hand gesture.

Instead of replying, Aang pulled the bar out with a grunt of effort and handed it to Katara. Suddenly, there was another thump on the top of the cage, followed by the inevitable violent rocking, forcing them to cling to the bars to keep from being tossed around.

This time a very different, much older voice mocked the prisoners. "What are you plannin' to do when you get out of there? Fall?"

The young Avatar smirked up at the windthrower that stood above, sneering down at them. He stuck his head and shoulders out through the bars, allowing himself to get a better look at their tormentor. Making eye contact, he stared pleasantly at the green-clad warrior.

"Yep," Aang replied with an equally mocking grin, and promptly squeezed through the hole.

Aang heard Katara yell his name as he fell, but he had no time to yell back, because the windthrower was upon him in an instant. The man lunged forward, trying to grab him, but was surprised when he found he was clutching air. Aang had sprung off a branch and away. The windthrower gave quick chase, shouting the alarm at the top of his voice as he went.

The bellow of a ram's horn sounded, spurring the Avatar to even greater speeds as he flung himself from tree to tree.

Despite his agility, Aang quickly found he was surrounded by windthrowers, and, matching his abilities, they caught him with relative ease. He was pinned to the trunk of a large oak by four strong warriors. He lay there, panting, but didn't struggle.

From within the crowd of warriors that crouched on and hung from the trees surrounding him, a woman approached Aang with caution. She seemed to be some sort of leader. Her garb, like the little boy the gang had first laid eyes on, as well as the rest of the Avatar's pursuers, was green and made from an assortment of tree leaves and mysterious thread. Her skin was streaked with some sort of brown dye, no doubt allowing for excellent camouflage in the trees. Around her neck, she wore a wooden-beaded pendant, one the Avatar recognized as an airbending nun's. It bore the symbol of the Air Nomads.

Aang still made no move against the men restraining him, but beamed up at the lady with an innocent, joyful expression. He resisted the urge to compliment her on the speed and accuracy of her warriors, knowing that this was neither the time nor the place to wallow in his glee. Despite this, he felt like leaping up and down and zooming through the sky, shouting aloud with pure exuberance. He was no longer alone!

The matriarch scrutinized him up and down with a quizzical look, eyeing the misleading Fire Nation schoolboy's clothing he wore.

"I am Akiko, Matron of the Windthrowers." The woman began her statement in a strict, yet dangerously calm tone of voice, "It is clear that you are a windthrower as well. I wasn't aware the Fire Navy recruited traitors."

At this, Aang didn't hesitate to protest loud and clearly, his silver eyes blazing with an indignant gleam. "I am not from the Fire Nation. I'm an airbender, just like you! I demand you let me and my friends go free."

To his surprise, the woman laughed. She crossed her mud-streaked arms across her chest and stared at him skeptically. "So, you give us a little display and a chase, and you immediately think we will release you? Tell me, if you are not of the Fire Nation, why are you dressed in their clothing, as well as all your friends?"

"My friends and I are traveling in disguise. We are going to meet a group of our allies to mount an attack on the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Such fantastic tales from one so young. Have they brainwashed you?"

Aang shook his head, frustrated. This was tougher than he had thought. Suddenly remembering Appa and Momo, he inquired, "Where have you taken my bison?"

"Oh," the leader nodded, "That great flying beast. He was quite hard to overcome. We have never seen a beast of that size with fur. Only the Fire Navy's Komodo Rhinos, and they are only half his weight!"

The young Avatar frowned. Never seen? The Air Nomad's entire culture was based around partnership with the Sky Bison. It was clear that these people had been forced to adapt to their new surroundings, and in the process, lost many of their customs in the process. These were no longer the airbenders of old, and Aang again felt the pang of disappointment grip his stomach. With less enthusiasm, he repeated his inquiry. "Where have you taken him?"

The woman looked at him quizzically, her gray eyes flashing. "It took many of our warriors to detain him. He has magnificent strength."

Horrified at what Appa's fate might have been, Aang lunged against the men restraining him, who grunted with the effort of holding him down, his eyes glinting with unbridled anger.

"If you've hurt him, I'll…!!"

The woman held up a hand. "Peace, boy, your animal wasn't harmed. He and that small cat creature you brought are in holding cells similar to yours. Of course, your ('bison', did you call it?) is confined in one of our caves."

"Appa hates being underground."

The protest slipped out before Aang could stop it.

Akiko blinked, masking her surprise with a raised eyebrow. She said nothing.

It was several more moments before the tide of panic that had flooded his mind retracted, and when it was gone, it left the airbender feeling drained. "Please," Aang continued, "Let us go. My friend Sokka; he and Katara are brother and sister. They are part of the Southern Water Tribe, and they live at the South Pole. Their father is Hakoda, and he is the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. He is meeting with us on an island so we can mount our attack to stop this war. The blind girl, Toph, she's my earthbending master…"

The woman snorted with disdain. "A little girl? A master?"

Aang blinked. "You'd be surprised," he said simply. He took a breath, and began again. "And I'm from the Air temples that you…well, I guess they're your ancestors, now…came from. I'm the Avatar." When only a perplexed silence followed, Aang added, "But I guess you don't know that, if you've been isolated from the outside world for a hundred years."

"Tell me, Avatar," Akiko began after a moment, and the expression on her face was thoughtful, "Why do you wear a head covering?"

Aang smiled obligingly. "To hide my identity, of course." he replied.

The matriarch waved a hand, and one of her warriors dropped from the trees to stand on the tree limb beside her. "Then you won't mind if it's taken off?"

Before Aang could even reply, the man stepped forward and whipped the headband off, revealing the tip of his blue arrow in full glory.

A scattered gasp went up among the ranks and was silenced by the matriarch's quick gesture.

Perhaps, Aang thought with a sparkle of excitement, Not all of the Air Nomad culture has been washed away.

Akiko remained silent, seemingly contemplating over the believability of his story. Finally, she selected three men and gave them their orders. "Go and retrieve the three other prisoners, and bring them to our camp. I am interested in learning more of his story from the others, and I think The Elders can shed some light where none shines. Put a cloth in this one's mouth so he cannot speak, and put them in the prison cells."

As Aang was forcibly gagged using his own headband and toted off toward the windthrower's camp, he mentally admired Akiko's strategy. If he hadn't been telling the truth, Sokka, Katara, and Toph would have made up another story, hoping it was similar to his. But he wasn't worried. Telling the truth may have just helped them find a path out of their terrible situation. Even if the detour ahead was a long one, he was confident that they would get onto the right road soon.


A/N: Hey guys! I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I'm currently working on Chapter three, but no promises as to when it will be up! Have a wonderful week!