A/N: I hope everybody had a lovely holiday. Consider this chapter a gift from me to you. It's basically twice as long as the first chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. Not super happy with it, but that's what happens when it's a lot of exposition. I promise there will be more action next chapter! And feel free to ask any questions you have about this AU. As my friend pointed out, this crossover is a bit ambitious. I'll try to answer every question I get as long as it doesn't spoil anything. I'll usually answer them in the author's note at the end of the chapter.
I know I've been talking too much, so enjoy!
Percy drew his sword, but was promptly hit in the arm, causing Riptide to be knocked out of his hand and onto the white sand. The girl's grey eyes flashed in anger and she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him with one smooth motion. Her fan pressed hard against his neck. Men rushed forward to his aid, but each were individually stopped by the warriors. Even though many of the men were big, they were overtaken easily.
Percy laughed. He was trying to diffuse the tension, but came out as more of a nervous chuckle instead, "This is all just a huge misunderstanding. We're not a threat to you guys," he winced at the word 'guys.' "Erm... ladies. Look, we were just trying to get away from that... whatever it is. The spaghetti, or whatever you said. We were just trying to save ourselves -"
The girl started to bind his hands rather roughly and shoved him forward, "You better get your story straight soon," she said as they walked them up a path through the trees to the center of the town.
"What do you mean?" said Percy, "That's our story. That's the true story." He saw a large pole and a group of men standing next to it. He looked even further up the pole to see that at the top was a statue of Avatar Kyoshi, dressed exactly how the warriors were. The girl pushed him down so he was sitting with his back to the pole and she tied him to it. The rest of the crew were lined up against a tall wooden fence. All of their arms were tied behind their backs, and the warriors held on tight to their biceps. Why am I the only one tied up to the pole? thought Percy grumpily, What does she got against me?
Kassuq made eye contact with Percy. He looked pointedly down to a container tied around his waist. He still had some bending water left. Percy gave a very slight shake of his head, hoping that they could be able to negotiate with them.
The girl stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. Her face was pale white, and her lips and eyes were exaggerated with red makeup. She had long golden hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Percy had to admit it - she was very pretty. And he had never seen hair like hers before. His opinion of her was a little soured by the way she had tied him up, however.
"The problem with your story is that it doesn't add up," she said, " Why were the Fire Nation attacking you? And you weren't in danger of the Unagi until you came close to the bay. You guys put this whole island in danger. The last time the Fire Nation got that close to our island, it was burnt down."
Percy looked around. Almost all the buildings were completely intact. "It looks pretty fine to me?"
The girl glared at him and landed a kick to his side. It was just a warning kick, sure to leave a decent sized bruise but no real lasting damage. He groaned in pain, "What the heck, lady?"
"Are you always this stupid? The island was obviously rebuilt. I feel bad for the crew that has you as a captain," she said.
"Wait, back up. Captain? I'm not the captain. Arrluk..." he trailed off, desperately searching for him in the line of his crew. He wasn't there. In fact, it looked like a whole third of the crew was gone.
"He's not here," he said softly. The men looked around, confirming it for themselves. Percy knew that the crew wasn't going to get out of that situation unscathed, but he would have never predicted the extent of how many men they would actually lose.
The girl's face softened a little, but she did not relent, "I assumed by the way you commanded the crew," she said, then sighed, "Why were you being pursued by the Fire Nation?" she asked again.
Percy looked over to his crew, but none would meet his eyes. He searched desperately for a good answer to tell her. He knew that if he were to tell her the truth, it would not turn out well for them.
"We sailed too close to Fire Nation waters," he said finally, "They didn't like that."
The girl narrowed her eyes and leaned down so her face was inches away from him. Her grey eyes were incredibly intense, and Percy could smell the earthy scent of her makeup. A strand of golden hair fell so it was in front of her face and tickled the tip of Percy's nose, "What's your name?" she asked, almost whispering.
"Um, Percy."
"Percy," she smiled, "You promise that you're telling the truth?"
He nodded, "Pinky swear."
"Okay. Then you won't mind this," she said, then stood up abruptly and turned to a group of men, "Search the boat."
"No, wait" Grover spoke up, "That's not necessary." Percy gave him a confused look, but he continued.
"I didn't want to play this card. I never wanted any special treatment, but..." he took a deep breath, "I'm the Avatar."
The girl looked at him, incredulous, "You," she said, "need to shut up, because you're crazy. Boys, search the boat. Girls, take the men somewhere they won't cause any trouble."
Every year in their village Arrluk and his crew would dock in the fishing bay to restock their supplies and trade with the local merchantmen. Sally would never let Percy out of the house when the crew were in town. They lived in the fishing village alongside the coast, and the week that Arrluk's crew returned, their village was crawling with sailors. Percy's mom would often grumble to herself about the visitors, but Percy never could understand what the big deal was.
One year when he was twelve, he decided that he was old enough to find out for himself who these men really are. While his mother considered the men a threat to their safety, Percy had no idea why he should be so afraid of them. So, he did what he always did - he decided to see for himself. He devised up a plan - not a very complicated plan, but still - and tried to find the perfect day to set it into motion.
"Can I go to Grover's house?" Percy asked his mom when she was at her busiest. She sat at her table with different types of shells and rocks atop of it, sorting them into little piles according to color and size. She was the best jewelry maker in the whole Water Tribe and was especially famous for her engagement necklaces. In the spring she always had large orders of necklaces, as the warm weather seemed to melt the ice from the young Water Tribe men's hearts, and couples made arrangements for summer marriages.
"You know how I don't like you going out when the sailors are here, Percy," she said absentmindedly. She took a piece of string and wrapped it around a blue rock in the shape of a crescent moon.
"I promise I'll just go straight to his house and back," he said, "I'll steer clear of any soldiers."
The biggest problem in Sally and Percy's relationship was trust. Sally simply trusted Percy too much. Which, of course, almost always led him to getting into trouble.
Sally obliged, and Percy did go to Grover's house. It was his first stop, after all. Percy loved going to Grover's house. He grabbed a handful of old vegetables that his mother would have thrown out and took them to Grover's caribou-goats. He always made sure to give something to Leroy, a grey caribou-goat with curly horns and long, gangly legs. He would never tell the other caribou-goats this, but Leroy was his favorite.
"Grover!" called Percy, petting Leroy through the wooden fence that kept him in. Grover peeked his head out of the front door.
"Your mom let you out?" he said, looking at him in awe.
He nodded, "I told her I was just gonna stay at your house. But we're actually gonna go meet the sailors."
Grover's closed the door slightly so only his eyes were showing, wide with disbelief, "We can't go meet the sailors! They're drunks and they're violent, that's what everybody says. And some people even say they're..." he gulped, then beckoned Percy closer. He leaned in so that his forehead was resting against the wood, and Grover whispered into his ear, "Some people even say that they're pirates."
Percy's face erupted into a huge grin, "If you're trying to deter me, it's not working," he said to him, "I actually want to meet them even more now."
Percy helped Grover sneak out. He had, at first, refused to go with Percy. He relented when he realized that Percy was going no matter what Grover did. So he bucked up and declared himself "Percy's Protector."
"Did you honestly think that I was going to let you go meet pirates without me by your side, protecting you? Yeah, right," he said as they walked towards the fishing bay where Percy's father used to work. They settled on a distance far enough away to be safe from the sailors, but close enough to still seem them.
The boys peeked out from behind a cart filled with fish. The smell was rancid, but the boys were too anxious to even notice it. They watched as the sailors milled around the ship, a large black vessel called The Anticlea. It stood out like remarkably against the white backdrop of the snow and the sky. Percy could understand why his mother wanted him to stay away. The boat was a menacing sight and he had seen nothing like it in the Water Tribe, but that made him all the more curious about the ship. He convinced himself that they actually were pirates - they must have been. Percy watched intently as men carried cargo from the boat and brought supplies back on it. As two large men stumbled down the dock carrying a chest on their shoulders, he could have sworn he saw a glint of gold.
"Maybe they are pirates," he whispered to Grover.
"Pirates, eh?" said a deep, booming voice behind them. The boys jumped up and flattened themselves against the cart. The voice belonged to a huge man. He had dark skin and long hair pulled back into a ponytail. The most threatening thing, however, was a long scar that ran down his cheek.
"Oh, don't be scared," he said to them, "We aren't pirates, not exactly."
"If you aren't pirates, then what are you?" asked Percy, stepping a bit forward from the fish cart. Grover was still right up against it, though. He looked like his back was glued to it.
The man bit his lip in concentration, "Sailors," he said, "Adventurers," he added with a smile. He stuck out his hand, and Percy shook it, "I'm Arrluk, captain of the Anticlea."
"Why is it called the Anticlea?" asked Grover while he shook his hand.
"It's my mother's name," said Arrluk, "And I loved my mother, and I love that ship. Maybe some day, when you boys are a little older, I'll take you on an adventure with me."
From that day on, every year the boys would go back to the fishing grounds and talk with Arrluk and all of the other sailors. They went aboard the ship many times, and sometimes they would help out, whether it was cleaning or managing the supplies. He looked forward to their visits every year, and every year he waited for the one day that Arrluk keep his promise and take Percy on an adventure.
The crew were stripped of their weapons and stowed in a stable, hands still tied behind their backs. There were two girls guarding the entrance, but obviously didn't find the men much of a threat. They were enthralled in deep conversation and occasionally laughter would break up their chatter. Although the girls seemed to be having a good time, it really did not lighten the mood of the crew one bit. They all sat in the hay, feeling utterly humiliated.
Grover sighed, "You just had to pinky promise."
"Excuse me?" said Percy, "You're the one who was all, 'Oh, I'm the Avatar!'"he made sure that his impression of Grover was squeaky enough to offend him.
"Hey! I was just trying to help. You never know, they could've bought it. The Avatar is back, I could easily be him," he said.
"Except that the Avatar is an airbender," said Percy.
"So?" replied Grover.
"So you look like a scruffy kid from the Northern Water Tribe. Not a bald, airbending monk."
Grover narrowed his eyes, "What are you trying to say?"
"Guys, I really don't think that's important right now," said Kassuq, "What we should really be worried about is what they're going to do with us when they find all the Fire Nation weapons on the boat."
They didn't have much time to mull that over, as the girl who had interrogated Percy returned. Percy sat up a little straighter to get a better view. She stood in the doorway and conversed with the two guards. The sun illuminated her hair so it looked golden against the white of her skin. Percy told himself to snap out of it - the girl he was staring at so intensely could very much be the girl to get them killed.
The guards nodded and opened the doors all the way. They ushered the crew out into the open and lined them up against the barn. The girl was there, along with the men she told to search their ship. A couple other warriors ambled around casually, clear that they weren't there to help out, but were waiting for a show. Someone should get those girls some popcorn, thought Percy, Everybody knows that this will be entertaining. The girl who had interrogated him walked up and down the line, glaring at each other them individually. Grover looked over at Percy, with a look that said something like, I think she found the weapons. Percy gulped and averted her eyes when she came close.
She finally stopped pacing and stood right in front of the men with her hands on her hips. "Percy," she said, beckoning him forward. He sighed and stepped forward.
"I know that you aren't the Captain, but I'm going to assume you're willing to speak on behalf of the crew?"
He nodded, "If it's okay with everyone else?" he looked around at the men, but none spoke out. Percy shrugged.
"You say that you mean this island no harm, right?" she said to him. Percy nodded once again, his fingers twitching behind his back. He felt utterly helpless under her gaze.
"Well, would you say that the presence of a whole arsenal of Fire Nation weapons would, indeed, put this island in harms way? Would you agree with that?" she said. Percy didn't know what to say, so he simply shrugged.
"What the spirits were you thinking? Did you honestly think that you were going to get off scott-free and we would just let you sail away?" she glared at him, "Answer me,"
"I," he gulped, "Um, we didn't think that we would meet anyone here. We just wanted to dock to get away from whatever that monster is, make some repairs and then leave. We weren't planning on using the weapons. The weapons aren't ours to use. We never wanted to put you guys in danger."
"Are you spies?" asked the girl.
"What? No. We aren't spies. We're from the Northern Water Tribe. We're just sailors," said Percy.
"So you're not spies," she said.
"No."
"So you're pirates?"
Percy balked, "Pirates?" he said, "I wouldn't call us pirates. No, we aren't pirates. We're just sailors, I promise. I know the weapons make us look, well, bad. But we're honestly not bad people. We have nothing to do with the Fire Nation, we're against them. That's why we have the weapons. We're trying to subvert them and help the people being oppressed by the Fire Nation. We didn't take the weapons to use against you or anyone else, we're trying to arm rebels in Omashu so they can take back their city."
"So you admit that you stole the weapons from the Fire Nation?" said the girl.
Percy groaned, "Yeah, I guess you can-"
"So you are pirates."
"Look, lady-"
"Annabeth," said the girl, interrupting him once again.
Percy nodded and tried to calm down, "Look, Annabeth. If you want to call us pirates, fine. But we're trying to help these people take back their city. I made a promise to them, and maybe it was a stupid promise, but I honestly don't care. They need all the help they can get to defeat the Fire Nation. I'm assuming you're against the war, right? Any person against the Fire Nation is a friend of ours. We can negotiate something, we can make a deal. Let's work together."
"I don't trust you," said Annabeth.
"I'm a very trustworthy person once you get to know me," he said, trying show her his most charming smile.
"I wasn't done talking," she said, "I don't trust you, but I do believe you. Is Omashu really occupied by the Fire Nation?"
Percy silently rejoiced in his head, thinking that his charm must have worked on her. He nodded, "It's completely taken over."
"I know some people who live there," she sighed, "I thought Omashu was impenetrable."
"We all did. But you can still help them and they may still be alive. If you set us free, we'll be able to give them the weapons they need to fight back."
Annabeth bit her lip and studied his face like he was a math problem that she was trying to figure out how to solve. Percy looked away, afraid that he was blushing.
"We can negotiate something later," she said. Percy felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. He knew that Annabeth and the warriors would be very valuable allies to them. "But right now," she continued, "We have something else to discuss."
She waved her hand to the men behind, and they walked up next to her. The were pushing a boy that looked about Percy's age. His hands were tied in front of him, however, and he wore clothes of red and black. He was short, and rather thin. He didn't look like he was a Fire Nation Soldier, but Percy assumed from his clothes that he was from the Fire Nation. He didn't look like a threat, however, be it from his short stature or the condition he was in. His clothes were in tatters and charred. His dark face was bruised and bleeding in some places, and he had wild curly hair that stuck up all over his head. Percy thought that ihis hair was messy.
The men kicked his knees out from behind him so he was kneeling beside Annabeth, "We found him hiding out in the lower decks. Said his name was Li," said one of the men to Annabeth,
"I most certainly did not," said Not-Li, "Don't put words in my mouth" It took all of Percy's self-control to keep a straight face, but he knew he wasn't doing a very good job of it. He could tell that his face was screwed up in a weird expression because he was trying so hard not to smile.
"We're pretty sure he's from the shipwreck. He's a Fire nation soldier," continued the man, trying to ignore Not-Li.
"Putting words in my mouth again. I'm not a soldier," Not-Li said exasperatedly, "I'm an engineer, a repair boy. Well, a repair man, if you like," he winked at Annabeth. Percy's shoulders shook with silent laughter and he looked down at the ground to try and hide how hard he was actually laughing. "But I'm definitely not a soldier. I don't agree with the Fire Nation, I just had no place to go after, well, after my mother died. It was either work for the Fire Nation or be homeless."
This caused a very awkward moment of silence. Percy felt really bad for the kid, he thought he was funny and obviously not a big-bad Fire Nation soldier. He knew that not everybody from the Fire Nation was evil, but Annabeth didn't seem convinced at all by his story. "Do you know him?" She asked Percy, "Is he a part of your crew?"
Percy shook his head and cleared his throat, "No," he said, "I've never seen him before."
Not-Li gave him a nod of his head and a look that said Sup? "I like your ponytail, man."
Percy smiled, "Thanks, it's a Water Tribe thing."
"Could you guys not," asked Annabeth, glaring at the both of them, "We're trying to be serious over here. Percy, Li was found on your boat. We don't think he's a stowaway, though. I'm pretty sure you'd agree. We think that he escaped the Unagi and went on your ship for shelter."
"Again, my name is not Li," said Not-Li, "And you can just ask me what I was doing on the boat, I can talk for myself."
"Okay, what were you doing on our boat?" asked Percy.
Not-Li shrugged, "Well, to be honest... Blondie was actually spot-on."
Annabeth gave a huge sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation, "This is why we can't have men as Kyoshi warriors," she muttered to herself, "Look, whatever your name is, you're obviously Fire Nation, so we have to do something about you."
Before she could finish her thought, a Kyoshi warrior ran towards the group. "Annabeth!" she said frantically as she ran up to her, "I was patrolling the beach from the top of the hill and I saw smoke on the horizon. It's the Fire Nation, they're coming back."
Annabeth cursed. She turned to Percy, "Do you see what you guys have done?" she cried, "You brought the Fire Nation here, putting the whole island in danger. Just for stealing some stupid weapons!"
"Well, maybe if you didn't tie us up and just let us be on our way they wouldn't have even come near you. We're the ones they want, so you should just let us go and deal with them on our own," said Percy. This caused an uproar of dissent within the crew. "We can't fight them on our own," a couple said, while other people mentioned the loss of men and the terrible condition of the ship.
"Okay, okay," said Percy, "That's a lie. We won't be able to handle a fight against the Fire Nation. But we can help you, I promise. Just trust us. Please." Although Percy's back was to the men, he could visualize in his head every single person in the crew simultaneously rolling their eyes. He realized that, once again, he made another promise - and a pretty hefty one, in fact.
Annabeth opened her mouth to talk, but was interrupted by Not-Li, who was still on the ground. "Um, what about me, guys?"
"Not-Li can help us," said Percy, "Or, you know, whatever your name actually is."
"Leo," he said, "Leo Valdez."
"Huh," said Percy, thinking that it was a really weird name, "You sure it isn't Li?"
"No," said Annabeth, "Li isn't going to help us. Percy, you and your crew will be untied and we can think of a strategy for defending the island, and assuming we all survive you can leave and be on your way. Meanwhile, Li's gonna go in the barn where we will be able to make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."
One of the men roughly grabbed his arm and walked him into the barn, which Percy guessed was the makeshift prison for now.
"Keep a close eye on him," Annabeth said to another girl who was going to guard him, "Make sure his hands stay tied."
"C'mon, does he really need to keep his arms tied? He doesn't seem like a bad guy," he said.
"We can't trust him," said Annabeth, "He's a firebender, Percy."
A/N: Thanks for the reviews that I've gotten so far, they really do motivate me a lot. As for gnatbug14's question, yes I'm going to pair Percy up with someone. There will be shipping in this story, although I do like to have it in the background a little more. There's going to be a lot of shiptease, because I like writing that kinda stuff, so you have that to look forward to!
Please review, and if you see any mistakes feel free to point them out. Reviews make me incredibly happy, you don't even know.
