AVATAR: THE LAST FIREBENDER

BOOK 1: WATER

CHAPTER 1-2: THE BOY IN THE ICEBERG, PART 2

iceberg a few miles from the Southern Water Tribe; afternoon

Zuko and Iroh approached the giant sphere of ice with caution, but at the same time, both of them were eager to find out what it was, and were ready to challenge whatever or whoever was inside it should it prove to be hostile. Zuko whipped out his club, threw it high into the air, and launched himself up after it. Catching it in the air, he spun around, striking the ice several times and in several places as he fell back to the ground. Once he landed, he swung his club one more time against the ice, and he chipped it. He glanced back towards his uncle and gave him a look.

"I like that idea," Iroh replied, and the two waterbenders thrust their arms forward and stamped their feet, finishing a pose. A crack appeared in the ice below them, and it went in the direction of the sphere in front of them. It climbed up the side of the bubble, popping shards of ice out at each point that Zuko had struck it with his club as he had jumped. Suddenly, the whole bubble began to fall away, and a huge ray of light shot up into the air.

skies just south of Southern Air Temple grounds; same time

"That's what we're looking for," A female Airbender smirked as she faced her crew.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she declared to them, "I believe that our nation's 100-year search is about to come to an end!"

The crowd of warriors on the ship, which were mostly comprised of female airbenders, cheered. There were a few men, but most of them were Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom rebels. A few people, both male and female, were Fire Nation survivors that had been extorted into fighting for the Air Warrior Confederation, but none of them were benders. Nevertheless, all of them cheered, and they diverted the course of their airship towards the south—towards the light.

same ice island as before; same time

Zuko and Iroh jumped back after seeing the ice ball explode. However, only a few seconds after it began, it dissipated, and out of the mess, a young, brown-haired boy of about 16 tumbled out and landed face-down in front of them. Iroh and Zuko both approached him with caution. Iroh turned him over and noticed the airbending tattoos on his forehead and hands. They both assumed that he also had them on his feet—making this boy's nationality very clear.

"It's an Airbender," he told his nephew, and Zuko looked apprehensive.

"So he's an enemy," Zuko exclaimed, "be careful, uncle!"

"I highly doubt that he is an enemy," Iroh replied, "remember, Zuko, that it is the warriors from the Eastern and Western Air Temples that were the enemies. The female airbenders are the leaders of this world war; not the male ones."

Zuko was still slightly skeptical, and so he used the end of his club to prod at the boy, hoping that he would wake up. He believed his uncle, and no longer thought about the possibility of the boy being an enemy. He wondered now where he had come from. The Southern Air Temple's inhabitants had been wiped out years before Zuko was even born. There were a few refugees and a lot of Air Warrior outposts, but Air Nomads proper had not inhabited that region for a while. Had he come all the way from the Northern Air Temple? Was he another bender in disguise? Perhaps he knew firebending. It had been ages since any firebenders had been seen.

The boy woke up a few moments later and rubbed his eyes. He muttered a few indecipherable words and then stretched and stood up. He rubbed his eyes again to gain focus, and then he noticed the two curious waterbenders standing in front of him.

"what happened to the tribe?" he exclaimed, thinking he was at or around the Southern Water Tribe capital.

"This is not the Southern Water Tribe," Iroh replied, "This is an island a few miles north of there. I am Iroh—Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, and this is my nephew Zuko."

"My name's Aang," the young man replied, running his fingers through his short, spiky hair, "Where's Appa?"

Zuko and Iroh exchanged skeptical looks, but Aang did not seem to be directing that question at them. He turned around and climbed back into the remnants of the ice bubble that Zuko and Iroh had shattered. The other large mass was a Sky Bison. This had been a major factor in Zuko's original skepticism, as most of the sky bison in today's times were owned by the Air Warriors. However, the animals themselves did not solely serve their Air Warrior masters, and so it was not impossible to believe that there would be others who owned them.

Aang kept saying the name Appa to the animal, and so Iroh and Zuko concluded that that was its name. Eventually it too woke up, making a few grunts and growls. He then turned back to Iroh and Zuko.

"This is Appa," he told them, "you guys have seen sky bison before, right?"

"Just a few times," Zuko replied. He did not want to mention the war that the Water Tribe was waging against the Air Nomads, because he figured that Aang and his flying bison could be their ticket off of the island that they were otherwise stranded on.

Aang nodded to indicate that he acknowledged Zuko's reply, but then he jumped up into the air, whipping out a staff in the process. He flew in a small circle and then landed back down in front of Zuko and Iroh.

"Where's your boat?" he asked them, "or did you swim out here?"

"There is no way we could have swum up here without freezing to death," Iroh replied, "we were caught in an ambush and our ship was destroyed in the process."

"Oh," Aang replied, "well I can take you two back to the Southern Water Tribe on Appa if you want. I've wanted to go there for a while now, but that old war kind of kept me back."

Zuko was about to ask what 'old war', but he and Iroh both noticed that clouds were moving their way, and that meant that a storm was heading towards them. If they were lucky, they would miss it completely, but they did not want to take their chances. They alerted Aang of the incoming storm.

"Then let's hurry," he replied, climbing up onto Appa's saddle and motioning for them to follow. "The last thing I want to do is get caught in another storm. The first one was bad enough."

Zuko and Iroh both glanced at each other, but they figured they would ask him their series of questions later. Getting home before the storm outprioritized getting a few curiosities satisfied. What none of them realized though, was that the storm was not the only thing that was heading in their direction.