Hello fellow readers! Sorry for such a wait for this chapter!

I actually love this chapter a lot! It's probably my favorite one so far.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Song of the Chapter: Castle On The Hill by Ed Sheeran


"Well, are you going to sit or not?" Aang chuckled gestures for the siblings to sit which they reluctantly did.

It silent for a few moments before Azula spoke "So you're really the Avatar?" She questioned with a rise eyebrow, her calculating eyes scanning the older monk.

Aang smiled widely "Sure am!"

"And you're really 100 years old?" Zuko adds with narrowed eyes.

"142 years to be exact!" He replies with a wide smile. The siblings side eyed each other in confusion. This cheery guy was the all mighty Avatar? He wasn't threatening at all, not even close to be intimidating. Though they knew they shouldn't try to provoke him.

"So, how did you know we were coming?" Zuko asks.

Aang's smile dropped and was replaced with a firm line "I received a vision from the spirits two nights ago, you two are are looking for something aren't you?"

Zuko nods his head slowly at the Avatar, if the spirits were involved there was something more to this vision.

With a rush of wind Aang and the Fire Siblings were brought to their feet "Come, we have much to discuss." With that the Avatar began walking out of the room not waiting for the two to follow.

"There are many things you should know about the Southern Water Tribe." Aang begins.

"Wait how did you-"

"The spirits know all and well, I'm the bridge between our two worlds, they tell me a lot." Aang says with a knowing smile.

"To understand how I came to find the lost tribe, I must tell you of my time before being trapped in that blasted iceberg for many long years"

The siblings nodded for him to continue, eagerness in their eyes to hear how the great Avatar survived all those years frozen.

He began leading them past several rooms, many training rooms, others meditation rooms, and some empty closets, not long after walking the stone hallway they came across the Air Nation room where Aang paused.

Zuko and Azula walked into the room, their eyes wandering around glancing at everything they could. There were many Air Nation relics hanging on the walls, sitting on shelves, or simply laid against a corner. A large air emblem rug sat on the wooden floor.

An open window let in air that blew against wooden windchimes giving the room a soothing feeling.

"As an infant the monks knew I was the Avatar, so when I came of age they tested me to see if their suspicions were right. Choosing some toys never seemed like the ideal way to see if a child was the Avatar to me but tradition is tradition." He says gesturing to the toys of his childhood that sat on one of the shelves, a burlap cloth display.

The Avatar Relics represented each of the four nations; a clay turtle, a pull string propeller, a wooden hog monkey, and a wooden hand drum all scattered throughout the room, each in a different place ensuring that the Avatar would be the only one to pick those items.

Gyasto stood quietly behind the infant airbender who was placed amongst the thousands of children toys in the room. He nervously watched as Aang made attempts to stand and walk, something he was just learning to do. The room was tense as everyone present watched, waiting to see what would happen next. The elder monks sat carefully watching the child as he took wobbly steps towards one toy, then another, and another.

Their suspicions were correct, they had found the next Avatar.

Zuko picked up the drum and twisted causing the wooden beads to hit the drum, small thumps echoed the room. " They were of course right and began their airbending training as soon as I was able to. I didn't know better, I just assumed I was more gifted than others. A few years later I became a master airbender and earned my tattoos"

The sibling's eyes wandered, staring at the blue arrows on the Avatar's head.

"It was when I was the age of twelve that it was revealed that I was the Avatar" Aang chuckled darkly "It was the most terrifying day of my life."

Azula rose an eyebrow and crossed her arms "Terrifying to be the most powerful being on earth? How is that so bad?"

Aang smiled ruefully at the fire princess "The weight of the world was suddenly thrown onto the shoulders of a twelve year old boy. I was frightened and unsure so I did the only thing I knew I could do, I ran."

Aang quickly tightened Appa's saddle making sure it wasn't tightened too much. Appa let out a loud groan causing Aang to use his bending to propel himself in front of the bison's face, hanging on by one of his horns "We have to be quiet boy, no one can know we're leaving."

A soft groan was Appa's response as He pet his friend's soft forehead "I know, i know, I want to say goodbye too but it'll be too hard. Besides the monks would never let me leave.

The young boy placed himself on top of Appa's head "Come on boy, yip yip!"

The bison took off into the air, Aang glancing back once more to his home watching as it got smaller and smaller the farther away they flew.

He turned both siblings to exit the room and continue to walk down the stone hallway "I left on my sky bison Appa, I'll introduce you guys later, and soon we were off the island and in the middle of the ocean. I had never left the temple before so I didn't really know where to go."

They began to pass the earth and fire nation rooms "Would it be the Earth Kingdom or The Fire Nation? Maybe even the Northern Water Tribe? I could learn to master other elements while I was away." They past the Northern Water Tribe room. Zuko glanced back to see the fur rugs, drums, and water bending scrolls.

"I never really got to decide before a storm hit. To this day it was the most powerful force of nature I've ever experienced. It was also the first time I entered the Avatar State."

They stopped in front of a wooden door, plain and almost easy to pass by. "I saved myself and Appa but trapped us in a frozen prison."

Aang frowned and shook his head, memories of that night flooding his head before a soft smile graces his face "Many years later, I was awoken from my frozen prison by a moppy headed water tribe boy who was my age as well."

"Nice going genius! How am I going to explain to my dad about the cracked canoe?" The moppy headed boy shouted at his friend who merely shrugged his shoulders.

They were so dead. It was supposed to be a quick fishing trip, just while the pack trained nothing more was supposed to happen. This was his father's prized possession and now it was severely damaged. The Chief was going to kill him.

"He's your dad not mine." His friend replied with a nonchalant shrug waving a hand in the air as he leaned back on the canoe.

"You just had to crash it into this iceberg didn't you?" He shouted once more placing his club on his shoulder with a groan. He was sooo dead.

"Yeah but if you didn't just let me steer on my own, this wouldn't have happened besides I made a pretty impressive crack in it! " His best friend replies with a grin his eyes examining the iceberg before seeing something that wasn't there before. "Hey look at that!"

He pointed towards the iceberg, jumping off the canoe, a glowing light coming from the inside.

"Hey!" The moppy headed boy shouted as the canoe shook from the his friends quickened steps then proceeded to follow.

"Woah!" They both exclaimed running carefully on the slippery ice.

"What do you think it is?" His friend asked trying to peer into the crack.

"I don't know, but let's find out!" He exclaims raising his club and bringing it down as hard as he could on the ice causing a loud crash to echo in the air.

A radiating light shot up into the air as the iceberg was cracked opened.

The boys held each other as they screamed in fright at the light as it reveals the shade of a human floating in the air, their screams getting louder.

All too soon the light faded and the human began to fall "Catch it!" His friend cried as the boy ran to catch the being.

It was a boy, almost his age in his arms, blue arrows on his head and arms. "It's...a boy?"

His friend peered cautiously behind him, weary of the new comer "Where did he come from?"

Slowly the boy with arrow's eyes began to open, they widened as he jumped backwards in shock and fright " Who are you?"

The moppy headed boy crossed his arms staring at the boy in a bright outfit "We could ask you the same thing!"

Azula rose an skeptical eyebrow "A child broke open your frozen "prison" or whatever it was?"

"It helped that he and his best friend crashed their boat into the block of ice." Aang shook his head "That's how I discovered the Southern Water Tribe."

The Avatar opened the wood door revealing ancient Southern Water Tribe artifacts. Much like it's sister tribe the designs and patterns of blankets and rugs were the same except for one thing, the wolves. They covered almost every surface of the rugs, pottery, or weapon. It was true, they really did worship the beasts.

"What was it like?" Zuko asks gazing around the room, his heart beating wildly in excitement. This was the closest thing he had come to the Water Tribe and he knew there was much more to it.

"It was unlike anything I had ever seen before." He replies with a grin watching the Prince's eyes explore the room "I was practically frozen by the time we reached the village. The boy's father welcomed us with open arms, though the rest of the village was skeptical they eventually grew to like me. I was there for a few weeks regaining my strength and slowly became part of the village."

Zuko was in awe, they easily accepted a stranger with open arms with no questions asked. It was like they didn't realize they were a lost tribe.

"I knew I couldn't stay there much longer, my Avatar duties were inevitable. So I packed up Appa and said my goodbyes. It was one of the hardest things I had to do, I had to leave behind my new family and new best friend."

"Do you have to go?" The water tribe boy asked, a frown on his face.

Aang nodded his head solemnly packing the remaining supplies onto Appa "I have to, the world needs an Avatar, I can't be selfish anymore. People need me."

"We need you as well." He friend replies quietly.

Aang let out a laugh "No you don't, you guys can protect yourselves more than I ever could."

His friend nodded his head before reaching behind him back to reveal a parchment "If you ever need us Aang, or want to find us, use this. It'll let everyone know you're family, our family"

The avatar uses his bending to land on the icy ground, taking the parchment from his best friend's hand and pulling him into a hug. "I'll miss you wolfie."

"I'll miss you too Airhead." The boy replied before pushing Aang away "Enough of that, you're embarrassing me in front of her!" Both boys eyes wandered to the young water tribe girl who wore a low bun and had the softest blue eyes, a blush covered her face as she met the boy's gaze before quickly looking away.

Aang chuckled and said his goodbyes once again before propelling himself onto Appa's head, petting the beasts head "Let's go home Appa. Yip yip!"

The villagers all waved and shouted their goodbyes as the Avatar left his temporary home.

The room grew quiet as Aang reached for a scroll sitting along a bookshelf and handing it to Zuko "Here, you'll need this once you reach the village. Along with this map that reveals the exact location of the water tribe, guard it well and don't let it fall into the wrong hands. There's a reason why it's still a lost tribe."

Zuko takes the scroll and map from Aang and carefully unrolls the scroll it revealing its contents "It's a Water Bending scroll." He states with a risen eyebrow. There on the parchment held ancient Southern Water Tribe style bending techniques, it had to have been extremely valuable to traders and pirates.

"A gift from my friend. Show this to the Cheif and he'll know I sent you."

Azula crossed her arms "What makes you so sure the chief would know?"

Aang chuckled "Because I know my best friend, and Hakota is family."


Ah so it was Hakota who saved Aang! How many of you saw that coming? Probably all of you but that's okay lol

This was a tough and fun chapter to write and I hope you all enjoyed it!

Let me know your thoughts and comments or theories you have about the story!

Until next time dear readers!