Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of its characters.
Three years later…
"Firbender." Whispered a watertribe boy, "Nobody make a sound."
His sister however, exasperated at her brother. "You're making a sound!"
"Shhhh!" They shushed her as they had seen a shadow behind a door.
The watertribe boy then whispered, readying his weapon. "That firebender won't know what hit 'em."
The doors had slowly opened and revealed a girl standing there, her eyes were wide with shock at the three people. "Uhm…" She hummed as Sokka, Aang, and Katara stared at her.
"I knew I wasn't the only one!" screamed a bald-headed boy with a blue arrow tattoo visible on his head. He ran towards the girl and wrapped his arms around her, "I told you guys someone had to have survived."
The girl blinked several times as she looked down at the boy, who looked at her with wide eyes. "Uh… Who are you?" She managed to ask before looking behind her for a quick second.
"I'm the Avatar! Avatar Aang!" said the younger boy, spinning around into the air with his airbending.
"Really? I thought the Avatar was dead! This is great news, but sorry to be rude for a minute… But do you guys have any food?"
"We were kind of going to ask you the same thing." The watetribe warrior then ended up answering.
The other watertribe member, a female, had walked over. "Are you an… airbender?" She asked with curious eyes.
"Oh, well, uh…" the girl mumbled as they then heard a groan behind her. "My friend is pretty weak and she needs some food. Please can you help us?"
"Katara, do we have any food?" Aang asked, now concerned about the girl's friend.
With a sigh, Katara folded her arms and tried to remember. "Well, we have some potatoes and vegetables and can make a stew, but we have no meat."
Sokka frowned, "Then that isn't stew. It's a vegetable and potato soup."
"Its better than nothing!" Aang countered, "And I don't eat meat so that's good for me!"
The girl they had met nodded her head, "That's better. Some soup would really help her." She turned and walked back inside the sanctuary and they saw a girl with long, brown hair lying down the center of the room in a sleeping bag. Aang had sat next to the girl, her eyes closed and her breathing slow and almost painful. "All I have been giving her is water, but we ran out of food a couple days ago."
"You two came here? But how?" Katara asked, now knowing they weren't from the temple. Aang frowned, now realizing that these two must not be airbenders.
"We came by airship." The girl said as she grabbed her friend's hand, trying to give her a sign that she was still here.
"Why is she so weak and you aren't?" Aang asked, "You look fine."
"Oh, well I am pretty hungry believe you me. Its just my friend was fighting before we got here, we have only been here for about two weeks. Her injuries have healed thanks to my medicine, but since we ran out of food, it didn't help speed her recovery." The female explained as Katara, who they didn't notice who left, came back with the ingredients for the food.
"I'll start making the food, can you guys see if you can find some meat?" asked Katara, in which Aang slightly frowned.
Sokka grinned, "Sounds good to me!"
They soon heard noises and a shadow appeared at a window, they looked over and saw it was a winged lemur looking at them with rather wide, green eyes. His ears flopped down on his back when he noticed that they were staring at him. "Lemur!" shouted the Avatar.
However, Sokka then had the same reaction. In fact he was drooling, "Dinner…"
Both boys had lunged at the small animal with their arms visibly outstretched towards the lemur as they rapidly close in on him. He bristles like a cat and dashes away from them, screaming and bolting out of the temple. "Wait! Come back!" the twelve-year-old called out to him.
"I wanna eat you!" Sokka yelled with the same enthusiasm as they went out to the entrance hallway.
Katara and the girl shook their heads and sighed, "What's your name? My name is Katara." The blue-eyed girl introduced.
"My name is Fuuka, but you can call me Fuu for short." Said the girl with a smile, "And my friend is Chiyo."
"I don't mean to pry, but you said your friend was fighting. Who was she fighting?" asked the waterbender, somewhat curious and cautious to who these girls were. Fuuka, who they had meant, seemed friendly but they didn't know if she wasn't who they thought she was.
Fuuka had blinked twice and then nodded her head, understanding. "I think it would be best to discuss this when the boys come back. They have every right to know." Katara couldn't argue, she agreed as she stood up. "Do you need any help?"
"Yeah, I'm going to get some firewood. You can come with me, but you don't have to leave her." Katara said but Fuuka shook her head.
"It's okay. I can't let you do all the work by yourself, you are helping her after all." And on that note, the two walked together outside the temple and had a little chat.
Meanwhile, Aang was at a stone clearing that has an ascending stone staircase. He was chasing lands on the ground for the lemur and even resorted to pounce him, but misses. It then ran through a curtain made of decaying tent material or drapery. "Hey! Come back!" He said as he follows the lemur to the other side of the curtain. "Come on out, little lemur. That hungry guy won't bother you anymore." As he approaches another drape, parts it, and walks through. He drew a sharp breath from what he saw. Firebender uniforms and skeletons covering the floor of a decaying building. "Firebenders? They were here?" He said out of surprise. At the back of the grotto lied the skeletal remains of a monk. It was bathed in the sunlight coming from above, for he had obviously fallen in combat fighting against a rather large odds. Aang had stared at the necklace, now knowing who it was. "Gyatso…" He mumbled as he fell to his knees, desvastated.
Sokka, now arriving, pulled back the curtain. "Hey Aang, you find my dinner yet?" He asked as he then saw the young monk's head in his hands, crying. "Aang, I wasn't really going to eat the lemur, okay?" He tried to calm him down before he sees the skeleton and does a doubletake. "Oh, man... come on, Aang, everything will be all right. Let's get out of here."
The older boy puts his hand on Aang's shoulder as the arrow on Aang's head begins to glow a beautiful, ethereal blue. Aang's face, his eyes are glowing brightly in an angry expression as he lifts his head. Sokka gasps as he looks on in alarm.
As Katara and Fuuka were walking back to the temple, laughing about something they had talked about and as they passed the statues in in the Them Sanctuary, they stopped in front of Roku. The eyes were lit up with the same blue light as Aang's and so did the eyes of all the other statues in order around the room. They looked at each other, but Katara knew it had to be about Aang. They both dropped the firewood and raced from the room
A whirlwind formed around the boy and the air was swirling fast around the bones lying on the ground. The Avatar crouched, his hands balled into a fist and eyes and arrow continuing to glow, the wind started to pick up an almost disastrous speed around him.
"Aang! Come on, snap out of it!" Sokka tried to reason with him. A light blue energy sphere surrounded Aang and it had begun to expand, knocking Sokka back out of the building. "Aaahhh!" He screamed as the energy sphere expands to the point where it blows most of the building apart, sending smoke and debris high into the air. The watertribe boy lands outside the building.
Aang, now partially obscured by the energy sphere and the maelstrom, continued to remain in his unconscious state. Katara and Fuuka joined Sokka behind some rubble, all of them shielding their faces from the wind. "What happened, Sokka?" She asked her brother.
"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso." explained Sokka as his sister appeared shock.
"Oh no, it's his Avatar spirit! He must have triggered it! I'm gonna try and calm him down." Katara told them her plan.
Fuuka grabbed onto Sokka, afraid of being blown away as Sokka had one arm around her and the other onto the rubble, trying not to get them blown away. At first, he had blushed at the girl's action, but tried to remain serious. "Well, do it before he blows us off the mountain!"
His sister slowly approaches Aang, struggling against the wind, as Aang and his energy sphere slowly rise into the air but ends up getting blown back and caught by Fuuka, who was still holding onto Sokka as he was holding onto a rock. They all cling together, desperately. "Aang, I know you're upset…" She shouted calmly. "... and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I, we're your family now."
At the end of Katara's statement, the Avatar began to descend when she finished. His feet alight on the ground as the wind dies away. His eyes and arrows are still glowing as the three teens had run over to him. Fuuka stood back a little as Sokka, in a gentle voice, spoke to him. "Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise."
His sister takes one of Aang's hands in her own. The glow instantly fades from his eyes and arrow markings. Grief-stricken and exhausted, he collapses into Katara's arms and she holds him around his shoulders as they kneel on the ground. "I'm sorry." Aang said in a tired voice.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." She cooed.
But it didn't stop Aang from being sad, "But you were right. And if firebenders found this temple that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last airbender." Katara holds him tighter and Sokka puts a hand on Aang's shoulder.
"Not really." Fuuka spoke as all three of them looked at her.
"What do you mean?" Aang asked as the girl looked away.
"Well…" Fuuka continued on as they looked behind her to see an amber-eyed girl.
"Fuuka is an airbender." Chiyo said which Fuuka turned around in surprise.
Aang's brown eyes lit up, "I knew you were an airbender! It was the only way you could get through that part of the temple."
"Well, I didn't really know until I had to sneeze." The brown-eyed girl laughed with her hand on the back of her head.
Sokka looked at the girl behind them with squinted eyes and then that's when it clicked, "Your eyes, your Fire Nation!" He pointed at her in which caused Katara and Aang to gasp.
"I'm not a bender and as far as the Fire Nation is concerned, I lost my citizenship three years ago." Chiyo explained as she held onto her side.
"What do you mean?" Aang asked, but Chiyo broke down in a coughing fit.
"Let's go back inside so I can make the stew." Katara suggested as Fuuka helped Chiyo back inside.
Once the food was done and the bowls were filled, Chiyo took a sip and sighed of relief. Sokka was watching her with suspicious eyes. "So what do you mean by what you said earlier?" Aang seemed to be cautious, his own distrust for her evident since finding Monk Gyatso and what the Fire Nation had done.
"I use to be an assassin for the Fire Nation when I was young." Everyone gasped, except for Fuuka, at her confession. "When I was seven, a man broke into my home and was trying to kill my younger sister. There were some people who wanted to overthrow Fire Lord Azulon and hated my father and thought that if they killed my sister that it would shake them up." Chiyo stared down at the food, her eyes looking at the floating vegetables. "And I killed him to protect her and that's when they realized that with my height and build, I would make the perfect person to kill those who were in inside groups to kill the Fire Lord and all his royal subjects."
Katara placed her hand over her mouth, "That's horrible. You were just a kid."
Chiyo smiled at her, feeling that the distrust they had for her was slowly dissipating. "I know, but I had to do it. When I turned I believe to be 10, I had my last mission for a long time until I was fourteen."
"What mission was that?" Sokka asked, now curious. Fuuka had a sad smile on her face as she had seen the sullen look in her friend's eyes.
"To kill my best friend." She found the strength to say it.
The trio looked at her with question and sympathy. "But why?"
"It's a long story but I told Fire Lord Ozai that I wouldn't do it and so he was going to have me killed, but I had escaped thanks to Fuuka. I would've been a goner." Chiyo said as she smiled at her.
Sokka then ate more of his soup, "But how did you guys get here?" He said with his mouthful.
"Well," Fuuka decided to explain with her eyes looking at the fire, "we took a ship to the Earth Kingdom, but there were wanted posters of us everywhere. We were on the run for three years. A couple of weeks ago, things were getting worse and then that's when I thought "Well they would never find us in the Air Temples" and that's when we found out that an important General was coming to the town we were in by airship and we ended up stealing that and we ended up here."
"Airship? Wow." Aang sighed, "That's what they must have used to wipe out all the airbenders." He frowned at the thought as he then looked at Fuuka. "But good thing I'm not the only airbender." Aang's eyes lit up at a thought, "I can teach you airbending moves! This will be fun! I will be someone's sifu."
Chiyo smiled as she could see Fuuka was just as excited, "So, that means you want us to travel with you?"
"Well, you guys can't stay here." Katara then spoke as she took everyone's empty bowls. "And I think Fuuka should master airbending."
Sokka, although reluctant, agreed. "Yeah and we can keep a watch on you two. You may be girls, pretty ones, but you're Fire Nation which makes you quite on the crazy side."
"Sokka!" His sister hissed, "Don't mind him."
Chiyo chuckled, "Don't worry. I would feel the same way if I was in his shoes."
"Look how big our family has gotten! Although, the girls are out numbering the boys now." The Avatar made note, "But that doesn't matter! It's going to be great!"
Chiyo and Fuuka both nodded as Katara smiled at Aang's beaming grin. "So, where are you heading to?" asked Chiyo.
"To the North Pole. I haven't mastered all the elements and so I have to learn water, earth, and then fire." Aang explained, "But since it's so far, we'll be taking pit stops just to make sure we can keep our necessities filled."
"Well, we can contribute." Fuuka said as she looked at Chiyo who gave her a nod. Reaching in her pockets, she pulled out a brown pouch with gold pieces spilling out of it. Sokka, Katara, and Aang looked at the shiny gold coins with awe. "We made enough money to survive, but since were always on the run we didn't have a chance to stock up and there are no stores here… So yeah." Fuuka laughed nervously as they all oohed.
Sokka picked up a piece, "Do you know how much meat we can buy with just one coin?! We'll never be hungry!" Katara then snatched it out of his hand and the pouch. "Hey!"
"We can't just buy meat with it. Sometimes we have to buy disguises and other things, this isn't meat money!" She yelled at her brother in which made Fuuka and Chiyo chuckl. Embarrassed, Sokka just pouted and poked the fire. "We should be leaving anyway."
Chiyo nodded, "Let's pack up."
Aang was standing once again in front of the statue of Avatar Roku. Katara had walked up behind him, "Everything's packed. You ready to go?"
The Avatar continued to look at the statue as he replied, "How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?"
"Maybe you'll find a way." She optimistically said as they both turn around to see a familiar furry creature in the doorway of the temple. Sokka desposits a bunch of fruits and nuts at his feet and begins to eat hungrily as the lemur daces away. Chiyo had crouched down as the Lemur approached her, her amber eyes wide with curiosity.
"Hey little guy."said Aang as the lemur scurried up his chest to perch on his head. "You, me, and Appa. We're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together. Katara, Sokka, Chiyo, Fuuka… Say helot o the newest member of our family." He approached them all, the lemur on his arm.
Fuuka rested her hand on the lemur's head, petting him between the ears. "What are you going to name?" asked Katara.
Surprised as the small animal jumped off him and returned later with a fruit, Aang had found the perfect name. "Momo."
The fruit that Momo had gotten had been stolen from Sokka, who was poised to bite a fruit that was no longer in his hand. Chiyo, Fuuka, Aang, and Katara began to have a fit of laughter as they soon climbed aboard Appa and left the Air Temple.
"Wow, everything looks so small from up here." Chiyo said as Fuuka curled up in a corner, afraid. "Fuuka?" Chiyo looked to her right to notice the girl wasn't beside her but in a corner next to Katara, who gave her a surprised looked as she was sewing Sokka's pants. "Are you sure you're an airbender?" Chiyo came to question as Fuuka gave the girl a menacing stare. "All right, all right."
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Sokka grinned, moving towards Fuuka.
The girl gave him a curious look, "How are you going to protect me without any pants."
The boy yelped as he kept his shirt over his underwear just incase he didn't make a mistake.
"Momo, marbles please." Aang said to the lemur had it scrambled into his shirt while making noises. He came out with a marble and hands it to the avatar. The boy, who was now smiling eagerly and cupping the marble in his two hands, made his way to the waterbender. "Hey Katara! Check out this airbending trick!"
The boy suspends the marble between his two hands and makes it whirl around and around in mid-air. He is grinning happily at Katara, wanting her attention. Katara, however, is preoccupied, though, and does not look up from her sewing. "That's great, Aang." said the blue-eyed girl, who spoke rather absentmindedly.
Chiyo felt bad for Aang, he was crushed because he didn't notice. "You didn't even look."
She then stopped sewing and looks at him, "That's great!" Fuuka wanted to laugh, but kept it in as she looked at Sokka who continued to sit in the space between her and Katara… pantless.
"But I'm not doing it now." Aang points out as Sokka then moved back to the left back corner of the saddle, lolling with his arms crossed casually behind his head.
The watertribe boy waved his arms dismissively in Aang and Katara's direction, "Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."
Aang wasn't sure if it was Katara or just all the girls made an atmosphere that felt like it was below zero. Katara had stopped her needle in midair and turned towards her brother, her face a mixture of anger and annoyance. "What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?"
"Yes, explain Sokka." Fuuka added, now annoyed and not even afraid of the height. Chiyo looked at the boy at the corner of her eye as Aang watched on, entertained and yet scared for his male friend.
"Simple: girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things." Sokka gave his explantion which made the cold air decrease even more.
Fuuka scoffed as Katara feigned happiness, "All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" She glowers at Sokka and throws his pants at him.
The blue pants hit him on the head, "Wait! I was just kidding! I can't wear these!" He sticks his arm through the big hole in his pants. "Katara, PLEASE!"
Aang, trying to lighten the mood, mentions. "Don't worry, Sokka. Where we're going, you won't need any pants!" He gives a pull on the reigns and Appa and swoops down in the sky, glowering .
All five members of the group had jumped off the saddle and onto the beach once the bison landed on it. They looked around, Chiyo smiling as Sokka then speaks up. "We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?"
"He's right. At this rate we won't get to the North Pole until spring." Katara said as Chiyo and Fuuka looked at each other and then back at Aang.
The younger male shaded his face and looked out over the water, "But Appa's tired already, aren't you boy?" The bison clearly wasn't tired and everyone knew it, but the Avatar decided to try to make it convincing still. "I said, aren't you boy?" He nudged Appa, who yawns on cue, but still doesn't convince everyone he's actually tired. The boy sticks his thumb in the bison direction as a "good boy" gesture.
Sokka and Fuuka looked at each other, even though she was still pissed by what he said earlier, they knew Aang was lying. "Yeah, that was real convincing. Still, hard to argue with a ten ton magical monster."
Chiyo, however, was not giving up. "What's the real why we're here Aang?" She asks with her arms folded.
"What about my airbender lessons?" Fuuka questioned, but Aang's mind was in another world.
He gasped excitedly and points toward the water, "Look!" A giant koi fished jumped out of the water, startling Fuuka who ran behind Sokka and used him as a shield. "That's why we're here…" The Avatar stripped down into his underwear. "…Elephant koi. And I'm going to ride it. Katara, you've gotta watch me!" He dived into the water and a second later, leaped out against with a shocked expression. "COLD!"
Chiyo, Sokka, and Katara all looked at each other wryly as Sokka makes a "he's crazy" signal by twirling his forefinger next to his head. "I'll keep you safe, Fuuka. I am a man after all!" He mentions as the girl is still behind him and grabbing onto his arms.
Meanwhile, Aang was swimming out into the bay before he dived under water and catches hold of the elephant koi. The giant fish leaps out the water with Aang riding on its back, his hand grabbing the dorsal fin. The fish dives back into the water, carrying Aang with it.
Katara watched an, an excited look on her face as she atched his current antics. All of them on the shore watched Aang as he rode the back of the elephant koi. Laughing, he waves at Katara who returns the favor. "Woo!" She yells.
"Yeeaaaah! Woohoo!" Aang laughs, ecstatic as he rides the giant koi fish. A couple of other fish follow behind, leaping in and out of the water.
All the giant koi fish dive underwater. "He looks pretty good out there."
"Yeah, it actually looks fun!" Chiyo beamed, "Way to go Aang!" She shouts as she waves, both her and Katara looking at her excited even though they weren't even riding the koi fish.
Sokka remains nonplussed and Fuuka still afraid, "Are you kidding? The fish is doing all the work." He says with a protective arm around Fuuka who buries her face in the boy's watertribe clothing. "Fuuka, if you want we can go sit down somewhere." He tries to help her as she shakes her head.
"Wow." Chiyo whistles, "Fuuka afraid of a fish? I thought I wouldn't see the day." She jokes with her arm folded as her friend cuts her a glare.
"Be quiet, Chiyo!" She mumbles as she clinged onto Sokka for dear life.
Her friend rolled her eyes, "Its not like the thing is going to reach the shore. Its all the way over there and look, Aang is still alive."
"No, Appa! Don't eat that!" Katara then says which makes Aang disappointed that she is no longer watch him.
"Aww, man…" He mumbles sadly as koi that he is riding, veers off to the right. A shadow under the water is visible and approaching the remaining elephant koi.
Sokka sees it and yells, "There's something in the water!" Fuuka opens one eye and looks and gasps at the huge shadow.
Katara, hearing the commotion, runs up beside Sokka back on the beach. "What's wrong?"
"Aang's in trouble." Sokka explains as he yells again, "Aang!"
Chiyo and Katara look at each other then back at Aang, "Get out of there!" Katara screams as Chiyo removes her bow from her back and slides an arrow against it and pulling the string back. She aims it towards the shadow and fires, Aang looks surprised and then notices the arrow going towards a direction not too far from him. When he sees it after turning slowly, his eyes widen and he screams in panic.
"Aaahhh!" screamed the boy as he leaps to the surface of the water and begins to run towards the shore. Chiyo arrow had hit the enormous fish, but it hadn't done much and continued to follow the avatar until he reached the shore, running heard first and full force into Sokka, who protected Fuuka, by making Aang hit his back and he lying ontop of the frightened girl.
Katara and Chiyo run to where they are at while Aang is putting his clothes on while Sokka is helping Fuuka up and making sure she is fine. Chiyo watched as the fin turns and slowly heads back out to sea until it isn't visible. "What was that thing?" Katara then asks.
"I don't know." Aang replies, still afraid.
Fuuka brushes the dirt off her clothes as Sokka wipes his hand together, "Well, let's not stick around and find out. Time to hit the road."
"I agree with Sokka." Fuuka nods her head, still afraid of the giant fishes.
Out of the blue, green clad warriors fall on all of them except Chiyo who doged just barely. Sokka was grabbed under his arms from behind, Katara had a hood over her head, the other warrior just grabbed Aang by the shirt and bound and blindfolded them. Chiyo had another arrow ready as they all slowly tried to approach her. "If you even touch me, I'll shoot each and every one of you." She says with her eyes narrowed and the sound of the bow stretching as she kept the arrow ready, but everything went back when one warrior had hit her in the back of her head.
Everyone was blindfolded, but they were very much awake. "You five have some explaining to do." It sounded like a man that was speaking.
"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi." said a girl's voice, her threat made Fuuka whimper.
Sokka, infuriated, now speaks. "Show yourselves, cowards!" All of the blindfolds were removed to reveal five, young girls dressed in green. Their faces are painted white with red around their eyes, and they carry fans in their waistbands. "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?" Fuuka and Chiyo glared at him in the corner of their eyes. Will his sexism ever stop?
One female stepped forward and shook her fist at him, "There are no me. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"
The boy laughed in disbelief. "Wait a second, there's no way a bunch of girls took us down."
The girl who spoke before grabs him by the collar and shakes him. "A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's gonna eat well tonight." She threatened.
Fuuka shook her head as Katara quickly tried to defend her brother. "No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes."
Aang sighed as he then apologized. "Its my fault. I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."
The old man pointed at the Avatar in a rather accusing manner, "How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies? Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!"
"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" Aang said both surprised and interested.
"Ha! How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries." The man said in a matter-of-fact tone.
The monk looks down toward the ground and then back at the old man, "I know her because I'm the Avatar."
Everyone, other than the gang, had a look of shock and disbelief. The female, who threatened Sokka, shook her fist at Aang. "That's impossible! The last avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."
Aang grins widely. "That's me!"
"Throw the imposter to the unagi!" The man ordered before walking away as the female warriors took on a fighting stance. Each warrior has two open fans in her hands. The four warriors move menacingly toward the helpless trio.
Chiyo looks at Aang at her left. "Do something Aang!"
"Yeah Aang.." Katara said tersely, "… do some airbending."
On cue, Aang breaks his bonds and shoots himself into the air and backflips over the top of Kyoshi's statue. There was an amidst of 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the gathered crowd, which now includes other members of the village. The leader of the female warriors and her warriors gaze in shock and amazement at Aang."It's true… you are the Avatar!" The man said in surprise and happiness.
Aang, realizing that he now has an audience, pulls the marble out from under his shirt. "Now... check this out!"
Chiyo groans, "If he wasn't a cute kid, I'd hit him." She mumbles as Katara snickers.
"I wouldn't blame you. These bonds are killing me." Katara sighs as she hangs her head.
Since there was 100% proof that Aang was the Avatar, they were giving a little luxury. They were given a house to stay in and a table covered with plates and plates of different foods. A village had placed another plate on the table in which made Aang throw his arms up in the air happily. Chiyo, Katara, and Fuuka stared at the food for a while, unsure what they should eat first. "All right! Dessert for breakfast!" The twelve-year-old cheered as he then began stuffing his face and talking with his mouth full, "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar!"
Chiyo, Fuuka, and Katara also began eating. Chiyo eyes nearly watering up, "This is so delicious! What is this?!" She said out of excitement as Aang looked over to inspect it.
"It looks like Pau buns!" He said as he then took one and took a bite, his taste buds tingling with delight. "Ohhh, these are so good!" He then picks up a bun and then offers it to Katara. "Mmm…. Katara you've got to try these!"
"Well, maybe just a bite." Katara said as she takes the bun from Aang as Momo takes the chance and snatches another from his otherhand.
Fuuka on the other hand stopped eating and looked at Sokka. Before she could even ask, Aang had beat her to it. "Sokka, what's your problem? EAT!"
The boy was sitting hunched over in the corner of the room, sulking. "Not hungry."
Fuuka frowned at the boy's behavior as Aang peered around Katara's head, shocked. "But your always hungry!"
"He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday." His sister had caught on to his terrible mood.
"They snuck up on me!" He tried to clean it up.
Katara shrugged and spoke rather smugly. "Right. And then they kicked your butt."
Her brother got up angrily, "Sneak attacks don't count!" He paced around the room, gesticulating wildly to the air. "Tie me up with ropes! I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any girls." Sokka said as he paced around to the breakfast table and ferociously grabbing sweets off it. He lowers his voice, muttering to himself. "Who do they think they are anyway?" He grunts and shoves a candy into his mouth. "Mmm… this is tasty."
"Wow." Chiyo said as she poked some of her chicken , "That was quite a show."
"Yeah," Aang agreed, "but what's so angry about? It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment."
Fuuka stood up, "I'm going to go after him before he gets himself in trouble." She explained as Katara looked up at her.
"Thanks, it saves me the trouble."
Fuuka had caught up with the watertribe boy and panting once she was next to him. He looked at her with a curious look, "What?"
"I know you are upset about the Kyoshi Warriors," She managed to say once she caught her breath. "But its nothing to be upset over."
"Of course it is! I'm a guy, I'm supposed to rescue girls, not get saved by them!" He pointed out, his sexism did grate her nerves, but she still tried to find her best interest at heart by cheering him up.
Fuuka gave him a small smile, "You rescued me and I'm grateful for it."
Sokka raised a brow, "When?"
"When I was afraid of the giant fish in the ocean. You shield me when Aang ran into us, you're not weak…" Her eyes widened and then she immediately looked down, now feeling embarrassed, "to me."
His eyes had softened, "Well… I do try my best." Said Sokka, now somewhat gloating.
The brown-eyed girl smiled, "Then why don't we go back and eat?"
"I still have some work to do." He continued to walk as he approached a house, in which Fuuka followed him. He opened a door and peered inside, the fan warriors were drilling. He grins, puts his hand up, and enters their dojo. Fuuka, nervous, follows behind him and looks around. "Sorry ladies! Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lessons." His voice is quite arrogant as he stretches his arms and waist. "I was looking for somewhere to get a little work out?" He bends over and grabs his knees with his hands.
"Sokka!" Fuuka said, now offended that this is what he came to do.
"Its all right." Said the head warrior as she gave Fuuka a smile before looking at Sokka, "You're in the right place." Sokka continues to stretch in front of the female warriors. "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that you were both friends with the Avatar." Her apology was sincere.
Fuuka nodded her head, "Its all righ-"
Sokka cut her off, "It's all right. I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception." He said flippantly as he rotates his shoulders.
The airbender behind him gives him a dagger-like stare in which makes him twitch slightly. The head warrior speaks with much sarcasm, "I should hope so. A big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance."
"True. But don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village." The boy lied as Fuuka slapped her palm against her forehead, unable to believe that he had taken his sexism to this extreme.
The girl leaned towards Sokka, smiling. "Wow! Best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration."
Too embarrassed for him, Fuuka slowly moved toward the exit. "I'm going go back to the house, okay?"
"Wait, why?" Sokka asked as he turned around and walked over to her. "You should watch me!"
Instead of telling him the truth of how she didn't want to see him embarrass himself, she looked at the brown-haired warrior and then back at him. "Well, I think I remember Katara and Chiyo saying they would need my help an-"
"But I protected you remember? I'm going to show them the moves that did it!" He hit his chest confidently in which made Fuuka fill a little guilty.
"But uh, you can tell me the story when you come back, okay? And I already remember how it went, so what's the point of me seeing it again, right?" A nervous smile was on her face as her friend frowned.
"All right. Becareful! If some guy messes with you, I'll show him what my fists can do." He grinned as she gave him a deadpanned expression.
"Yeah, you do that." She then waved at the other warriors, "See you then!"
And with that said, she left the dojo and dashed back to the house.
Meanwhile…
Chiyo and Katara were in the marketplace, filling baskets with vegetables and fruit. Aang walked over and tapped Katara on the shoulder. The waterbend turns around toward him, "Oh, good! Can you help us carry these back to the room? It's a little heavy."
"Actually, I can't right now." Aang replied.
Chiyo could see the anger evident on Katara's face. "What do you mean you can't?" She asked in a much irritated voice.
"I promised the girls that I'd give them a ride on Appa. Why don't you two come with us? It'll be fun!" He said as he looked at Chiyo, who was still looking at an angry Katara.
The girl picked up vegetables, "Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun, right Chiyo?"
"Uhh…." The Fire Nation girl hummed, not wanting to get in the middle of this but already feeling like she was. "Well, I don't know." She shrugged.
"Well, neither does carrying your basket." Aang shot back.
"Oh boy…" Chiyo mumbled
"It's not my basket. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon." Katara explained, her voice growing hard as she became more and more annoyed.
" I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I really like about this place." The group of girls that had been following him around all day giggled after he said that.
One girl stomped her foot in annoyance and placed her hands on her hips, "What's taking you so long, Aangy?"
"Aangy…" Katara said flatly as Chiyo bursted into a fit of laughter.
The Avatar blushed since Chiyo's laugh made him feel embarrassed, "Just a second, Koko!"
"'Simple monk,' huh? I thought you promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head." Chiyo sighed, feeling uncomfortable and unsure what to do as the two went back and forth.
"It didn't. You know what I think? You don't want to come because you're jealous." Aang accused the waterbender.
"Jealous? Of what?" She asked, annoyed.
"Jealous that's were having so much fun without you."
Katara then placed more vegetables in her basket, "Katara, that basket is looking pretty full." Chiyo pointed out, but Katara was too pissed to realize it.
"That's ridiculous!" She said about Aang's comment.
Aang then replied, "It is ridiculous, but I understand."
"Katara, let's just go." Chiyo placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
Katara nodded her head as she then groaned loudly, picks up her basket, and walks alongside Chiyo away from him. "He's a kid and he likes the attention. You have to realize him that he can't be mature all the time no matter how much you would want him to be. Besides, us girls mature faster and its hard for boys to keep up."
The waterbender sighed, "Your right, it's just annoying though."
"But don't let it show that you're angry by it. He's wrong about the way he went about it, so be REALLY nice and it will make him feel guilty." Chiyo nodded her head.
Katara couldn't help but laugh at Chiyo's enthusiasm, "I'll try it but I do have a bit of a temper…" She mumbled, surprisingly admitting such a thing.
"You didn't have to tell me. I saw it just a few minutes ago." She said as her friend slightly pouted, but the two ended up giggling over it. Chiyo didn't know what it was but she felt a friendship with Katara. She never had a female friend other than Fuuka and since Katara was much mature than her other friend, she felt like the two could form a bond.
When they reached the house that Oyagi, the man who ran Kyoshi Island, had let them stay in. They had saw Fuuka there in a fetal position in the corner, sulking. "Uhh…. Fuuka?" Katara managed to say as both she and Chiyo had placed the baskets full of food on the table.
"Hmm?" hummed the brown eyed girl which caused Chiyo to frown.
"What's wrong?" asked Chiyo as she sat near her, Katara doing the same.
"You look… sad." The waterbender placed her hand on the girl's arm, "Is there something bothering you?"
Fuuka shook her head and then turned around so her back was towards them. Chiyo tapped Katara on the shoulder and counted to three with her fingers. The watebender was confused but once one finger was up, Fuuka then began to cry. "I left Sokka in the Dojo with the Kyoshi Warriors! They're probably beating the crap out of him for being a sexist jerk, but I left him there when I should have stayed!" She then dived toward Chiyo's stomach, her friend patting her back while having a dumbfounded expression.
Katara just appeared flabbergasted, unsure of what to think or feel. "I'm sure whatever the Kyoshi Warriors do to him that he deserves it. Don't be upset." She patted the girl's back as well.
Fuuka sniffled and wiped her tears, "I shouldn't worry then?" She asked them both as they shook their heads simultaneously. "Okay."
Chiyo stood up, "I'm going to go practice with my arrows. I feel kind of weak without all of my weapons, but I do need to sharpen on my archery." She rotates her shoulder and picks up her bow and quivers.
"All right. Don't come back too late!" Fuuka said as Chiyo waved and left and as soon as she left, Aang appeared at the doorway as Katara practiced her waterbender in the room. A plume of water rises and falls from the bowl while Fuuka, pulled out a small knife and started carving on a piece of firewood.
"Katara, Fuuka. Remember how the unagi almost got me yesterday?" He asks them as Fuuka looks up at him.
Without looking up from the bowl, Katara anwers. "Yeah."
"What about it?" Fuuka asks, still afraid at the mention of the elephant koi.
"Well, I'm gonna go ride it now. It's gonna be REAL dangerous." He added as Fuuka gulped, thinking of all the ways that he fish were going to eat the young Avatar.
The waterbender still didn't look away from her bowl, "Good for you."
Fuuka looked back surprised that Katara didn't seem to care. She wasn't the only one surprised either, Aang's face had said it all. "You're not going to stop me?"
"Nope. Have fun." She said as she didn't look at him.
Aang crossed his arms peevishly. "I will."
"Great." Katara said.
"I know its great." Aang retorted.
"I'm glad you know."
"I'm glad you're glad."
"Good!"
"Fine!" And Aang storms out the room angrily.
Fuuka looked at Katara who keeps bending the water, but then stops and looks toward the door. "What's going on?" She finally asked.
"I don't know. Aang's been really annoying lately." She managed to say as she looked at the bowl of water. "I don't know why he keeps trying to get my attention. Its so bothersome! What more does he want me to do? He has that little group of girls following him everywhere he goes, so what does he want from me?"
Fuuka had known that the Avatar had feelings for Katara, it was quite obvious but she didn't need to be the one to tell her that. Aang had to realize it and tell her on his own time, "Don't be too hard on him, okay? He's just attached to you."
"I suppose your right. I guess I've been too hard on him." She sighed as she saw Fuuka carving something, "What are you making?"
"Something to remind Chiyo of home. Even though she hates the Fire Lord, I know she misses her family." Fuuka said as Katara frowned at the word family, Fuuka didn't catch it since she was still carving. "She has a little sister named Mai and they were really attached. You know, she saved her when they were young."
Katara then bothered to ask, "What about her mother and father?"
"She doesn't really care for them. She loves them, but she resents them for making her take up that job." said the airbender, "I don't really blame her, but she's lucky to have her parents. I sure do miss my mom."
"I see." She waterbended some of the water from the bowl, "What about your dad?"
"My dad died when I was just a kid. He was a soldier for the Fire Nation and died in the war." The waterbender frowned as Fuuka remained unfazed. "You should go check on Aang. I'm really afraid that Unagi will hurt him and I know you're worried."
Katara looked at her surprised but then saw the smile on the girl's face, "Your right. I'll be back!" She said as Fuuka nodded her head until the guy was out of view.
Chiyo had been practicing a good hour in. "I have missed so much training… Can I even call myself an assassin anymore?" She laughed at herself, but then found her eyes tearing up. But then she heard a bunch of footsteps in which made her pull the arrows out of her target tree, place them in the quiver, and hide in bushes.
"I want the Avatar alive." She managed to peep and see a bald-head with a ponytail of his remaining hair. Her eyes lit up, she knew who it was but why was he here on Kyoshi Island? "You are hereby banished from the Fire Nation. You may only return with the Avatar." Ozai's voice rung inside her head. Oh no, Aang was in trouble but did that mean she would have to fight Zuko? What was she going to do?
Sneaking away as quietly as she could, she climbed up one of the trees and jumped from branch to branch so that the Fire Nation soldiers couldn't spot her or see her. They were making their way toward the town and she had to make sure that Aang and the others were safe. That means if they would have to leave without her then so be it. She could hear the war rhinos not too far from her. 'I have to hurry!'
When she finally reached the town, she scaled the walls of the houses and was on the roof. Zuko was already there and the main street was full of war rhinos. "Come out, Avatar! You can't hide from me forever!" He then looked toward his men, "Find him." They began to search the town, the fan warrior came out to attack Zuko and his arm. Even though she very much not wanted to hurt him, she felt like she had no choice. Aang, Sokka, and Katara had allowed them into their family, how could she just up and turn like that? Not only that, Zuko is only fighting them so he can kidnapped Aang and go home… Once Ozai got his hands on him…
Next thing she knew, Zuko fell off his rhinoceros which caused Chiyo to gasp, but it almost mentally reminded her that she would have to do something and quick. She saw Aang on another roof and without a second thought, she called him. "Hey!" She yelled, the boy's eyes now meeting her own. Zuko looked at her with wide eyes as she stood there, her eyes very much smiling at him but her lips just a thin line. "Its been three years, hasn't it?"
Aang had looked rather confused, not sure what to make of it. "Chiyo?" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice as he stared at her like she was a spirit. He so shocked and so confused just like she was.
"Its me… In the flesh!" She pressed her thumb to her chest, unsure of what would've been a cool thing to say. Deep down, all she really wanted was to hug him just to see if he was real.
Everyone had watched the transaction between the two as they behaved like they were the only ones there. Katara, who was not too far, looked at Fuuka. "How does she know Zuko?" She asked as the brown-eyed girl smile.
"Zuko was her best friend." She admitted in which caused the waterbender to gasp. Katara wasn't sure what to make out of this, she also questioned Chiyo's allegiance. Would she fight alongside her best friend? Or would she remain with her, Aang, and her brother. If Chiyo left, would Fuuka leave too?
One soldier had moved closer to the exiled Prince, "She's a Fire Nation enemy. We have to capture her."
"I don't care about that right now!" The boy hissed at him, annoyed by the man's intrusion. Afraid, the soldier immediately made his Rhinoceros move back in fear.
"I don't want to fight you Zuko." Her voice had taken a softer tone, her eyes halfway closing as she felt her heart pacing fast. "Please, don't try to take Aang."
Suki, Sokka, and the other Kyoshi warriors remained in a defensive stance ready incase Zuko decided to trudge on. They all saw the flicker of different emotions that came across his face, "You know why I'm doing this."
"And I know why you don't have to." A faint smile appeared on her face as she held out her hand towards him, "Why destroy the world? All for honor? For the acceptance of your father? If your father didn'-"
"Stop!" He yelled as he clenched his teeth, she flinched at the anger embedded in his voice. He never spoke to her like that, these three years must've been so rough on him. How could she expect for this to be over so easily? He didn't want to hear her badmouth his father, in which she could understand, but he inwardly knew it wasn't badmouthing… It was the truth.
Chiyo closed her hand into a fist, "Then I guess… This is it?" A tear had slowly slid down her face as Aang frown at their friendship which took a deteriorating turn.
Zuko had jumped off the rhino and scaled the building that Chiyo was on, they stood as if they were going to face each other. "Why are you risking our friendship for him?!" He managed to ask as he then looked to his soldiers. "What are you standing there for? Capture the Avatar!" He ordered them as they then began to move on, fireballs being sent every which way and the Kyoshi warriors fighting together.
All the girl could do was realize if she helped Aang then their friendship, that lasted nearly six years, would be burned at the seams. If she had helped Zuko, she would still be an enemy to the Fire Nation, imprisoned until Zuko became Fire Lord, and the world would be what Ozai had always wanted. Burned to ashes with him picking and plucking the piece he wanted to remain. Tears kept pouring from her eyes as she looked at him unsure of what to do with herself, but something in her had known what she had to do and so she ready her arrow on her bow and aimed at Zuko.
His eyes had widen in shock, "This how much your father is worth?" She asked before she fired the arrow and Zuko had sent a fireball and burned the arrow to a crisp. He soon let loose three consecutive fire balls from his hands in which barely, but swiftly were dodged by Chiyo. She leaped down and grabbed two golden fans as he follow after her and throws another fireball in which she cuts in half and spreads apart with both fans, but a kick was being sent her way in which she had flicked backwards and kicked his back half through the flip in which made him crash into one of the houses.
"Chiyo!" Aang called as she behind her to see everyone aboard the bison's saddle, she nodded her head and runs up his tail. "Appa, yip yip!" The bison grunted as they flew out of the town.
Fuuka looked at Chiyo as she placed her hands on her face, not knowing whether she wanted to cry or be angry. Katara, Aang, and Sokka looked at her feeling some sort of sympathy. "I'm sorry if I made you guys feel that I would betray you, but I'm not going to let him ruin the world." Chiyo managed to say, her eyes free from tears, but her heart felt heavy. "I… I couldn't bring myself to help him."
"You did the right thing, Chiyo." Katara said as she pulled Chiyo into a hug. "What you did was really hard and we're all proud of you." She smiled, Katara had sounded like Ursa. She wondered how the woman would've felt if she had known this? She wouldn't of wanted Zuko to kill the Avatar, right? Katara's embrace had felt warm and it brought Chiyo to tears yet again, the girl now crying on her shoulder as if she had lost something precious to her forecer.
Aang suddenly dives off of Appa's head and into the bay, a determined look on his face. Fuuka and Sokka watched wide eyed, "What are you doing, Aang?!" Sokka asked as Chiyo and Katara both watched in horror as the boy disappears under the ocean water.
"But what about the Unagi!" Fuuka yelled, her hands on her cheeks in pure horror.
Several seconds had passed as the Unagi bursts out of the water with Aang riding on it. He holds both whispers and forced the fish's head toward the burning tone of Kyoshi and pulls back on the whiskers, so that the fish could spew water over the town. He manages to put out all the fires that Zuko and his army had now created and even managed to drench the Prince and his soldiers.
Aang soon jumped into the air once Appa swoops down and catches him in his front paws and flies off. Once he climbed into Appa's sattle, everyone sat there waiting for him. He expected a lecture from the water bender, "I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous."
"Yes, it was." Katara said but she hugs him in which everyone can see his face light up with joy and surprise.
"That thing was ugly." Fuuka destroyed the calm, happy-ending.
"You mean the Unagi?" Sokka asked as she shook her head, "That thing must really freak you out, huh?"
Aang grins mischeviously as he was out of the waterbender's embrace, "The Unagi sounded like it had like many people inside him. Maybe he jumps on the shore and eats people."
The brown-eyed girl screamed and then clung to Sokka, screaming as Katara nudges the boy's shoulder. "Don't tease her."
"I was just kidding! Don't be scared Fuuka." Sokka was patting the girls back as the girl shook of fear.
Chiyo grinned and leaned forward, "Unagiiiiiii!" She whispered into Fuuka's ear which made her yelp. Everyone had ended up laughing at the girl's intense fear for the fish and even of its name.
Author's Note:
Princess Serenity, I noticed that mistake and fixed it. She is indeed a couple of months older with him because I had struggled with that idea.
I hope this chapter was good and it will probably be the last one I post for a while since things are getting pretty busy for me.
Thanks for all those who reviewed, they are what inspire me!
R&R