knowlee- *peeks in cautiously* H-h-hi! Sorry for the long wait. I got caught up with other things *coughschoolcough* and didn't exactly get this chapter done when I wanted to. I also would have gotten this in a couple of days ago, but I had school assignments that needed to be taken care of. Well, I better stop keeping you from reading it anymore. Here's chapter 3 to Elements Book 1: Water!

P.S. Oh and if you guys see any typos or anything you think needs to be added or changed, please don't hesitate to tell me. I want to become a better writer, so please tell! Thankies!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade nor its characters. Nor do I own the Avatar elements in this story or its universe. I do, however, own Uncle Brian in this chapter. (Unless he really does have an Uncle Brian... ^^;)

Previously on Elements...

"Did you get him?" Tyson asked, panting in between words.

Daichi continued to stare at he place the boy left and then looked back at his comrades. "No, he took off."

He then remembered back to what the blonde-haired guy told him, '"What's it's like to be the last of your kind, but there's nothing you can do to help me or the rest of the Water Tribe."' Could it be?

"Hey guys!" the redhead called out.

"What is it?" Chief asked.

"I think that waterbender we were chasing... I think that he was the last waterbender left here in the South Pole." he answered.

"Why would you think that?" the airbender asked.

"It was something he said that may me think that he may be the last one left here." Daichi replied.

"The last waterbender of the whole South Pole? Wait a minute! If he's the last waterbender, then he's gotta be the one that's the keeper of the elemental beast, Draciel!" Kenny exclaimed.

Daichi and Tyson's eyes widened and Daichi looked over to where he last saw the possible Draciel keeper.

"Well, if he is..." Tyson concluded. "Then he'll have to come with us! He has to help us stop the Fire Nation from taking over the entire world!"

With Tyson's statement having been said, Daichi had a funny feeling that this wasn't going to be easy.

Elements

Book 1: Water

Chapter 3:

Taking A Stand/The Journey Begins

"Mommy! Mommy!"

A little boy, probably around seven or eight-years-old was running through the snow pathways amid all the chaos that was occurring around him. He was desperately searching for someone; namely his mother. Up ahead he saw the familiar cloth of his and his mother's tent.

"Mommy!" he called out for the third time.

He ran through the cloth flaps covering the entrance to their home and came face-to-face with a strange man in red standing in front of the one person he was looking for.

"Mommy?"

The other two people inside the tent looked over at the blonde-haired boy. He gulped. Something definitely wasn't right.

"Mommy?" the boy asked while his blue eyes darted back and forth between her and the scary-looking guy. "What's going on?"

The mother took a quick look at the man who had intruded upon their home and then looked at her son. "It's okay sweetie. Just go get your uncle. Mommy will take care of this."

The boy looked at the strange man and his mother for one last time, turned on his heel, and ran straight out of the tent. Without stopping or looking back, he ran directly to where his uncle was fighting against another of the strange men in red.

"Uncle Brian! There's some strange man in the tent with Mommy!" he called to him.

His uncle's eyes widened at his words. He quickly dispatched his opponent and ran past his nephew heading towards his sister's tent. The little boy turned to follow him. He began to trip over his own two feet in his effort to keep up with the adult in front of him. They reached the tent and burst in only to find something that they both wished hadn't happened.

"Judy!"

"Mommy?"

The boy, having aged a few years, jerked up from his slumber drenched in a cold sweat. After taking in a few calming breaths, he wrapped his arms around his legs and hugged them tight. He'd had that dream again.

Sighing, he ruffled his mass of blonde hair, stood up, and went to get his clothes. Flashes of the dream appeared in his head as he got ready for the day. He sighed again.

It had been two days since he had met those two benders and their friend. They had seen him waterbending, which wasn't a good thing. If they found this place and even breathed a word about what they had seen, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Max! Are you awake?" he heard his uncle call out to him.

Max threw his hooded jacket over his head and exited his sleeping quarters. He walked into the next room where he found his uncle sitting down eating breakfast. Only when he had taken his respective seat did he talk to him again.

"Where were you yesterday?"

Max cringed at the question. There was no way that he could tell him what happened yesterday; especially his uncle of all people.

"Around." was all he said.

"Uh-huh." his uncle replied, not completely believing him.

Max lowered his head to avoid his uncle's gaze that came up to look at him sternly. He knew that when his uncle was talking to him like that it only meant one thing: his uncle knew.

"You know, it's not good to lie to your family members like that." the man said to his nephew.

Max narrowed his eyes, "How do you know?"

The man across from him placed the bowl he was holding down onto the table and looked at him. "The hunters noticed a slew of snow that had fallen off of a nearby mountain and it didn't appear to be naturally made."

Max growled inwardly. Why didn't he think of that? Since the hunters know the lay of the land, it would be easy for them to spot something out of the ordinary. He was in for it now.

"Max..." his uncle sighed. "You know I've told you that you mustn't waterbend. Especially when the Fire Nation is still patrolling these waters. It's not safe for this village and it's people."

"So your saying that for everyone else's benefit, I should keep hidden a part of me that I want to share with other people." Max clenched his fists. "I get tired of playing this role! I want to be me!"

Suddenly the bowl that his uncle had been holding earlier shattered, the water within it spilling onto the floor. His uncle looked from the now broken bowl to him.

"I'm sorry Max, but I don't want to lose another family member to that-"

"Oh so you're saying that it's my fault my mother's gone!" Max interrupted.

"No, I'm not saying that-"

"Yeah, well it certainly sounds like it!" Max cut off, anger seeping into his words.

Max stood up quickly and walked to the tent entrance.

"Where are you going?" his uncle asked, stopping him in his tracks.

"I'm doing my chores!" he answered angrily.

With that said, Max stormed out of the tent and out into his village.

Daichi and Tyson huddled closer to the small fire that Chief had made a few minutes earlier. The three boys gazed, hypnotized, into the flame's blended colors as they thought about their current situation.

"So, are you absolutely sure that the guy we saw is the last waterbender?" Tyson asked the young energybender.

"Yes, Tyson. Why would he say that otherwise?" Daichi answered.

"True. But that would still doesn't explain why he would say that. I mean, shouldn't there be other waterbenders around? He had to learn how to waterbend, even though he used basic techniques, from somebody, right?" Kenny rambled.

"I guess so. But either way, we've gotta find out where he went so we can find the keeper of Draciel." spoke Tyson.

"But if what he said about the waterbenders is true, then he's gotta be it!" said Daichi.

"Either way, we've still gotta find him." Tyson stated.

Silence descended upon the trio as they enclosed themselves in their thoughts. They shattered out of their confinements as they soon heard footsteps heading in their direction. Tyson quietly doused the fire and the three scattered like mice, desperately trying to find a place to hide from the intruders.

Once hidden, they heard the footsteps stop and voices began to emerge.

"You sure that water tribe village is this way?" one of them asked.

"Yes, sir. Scouts report that they've stayed in the same exact spot since last year." someone behind the first one answered.

"Good. Let's go give those water tribe members a little surprise." the first one said back.

The men began walking off towards the direction where the waterbender boy had dissappeared earlier. Tyson, Daichi, and Kenny crept out of the shadows. They looked at each other and nodded. They knew what they had to do. Jumping to their feet, the three took off after them.

Max picked up the buckets that were filled to the brim with water and started to carry them over to his home. He sighed. He knew that once he got back, his conversation with his uncle would pick up right were he left it. He growled and narrowed his eyes, frustrated at everything.

Why? Why couldn't he be who he wanted to be? Yes, he understood why he had to keep his waterbending a secret, but it was a part of him and he couldn't stand to have to pretend to be something he wasn't.

He reached the outside of his home and placed the buckets next to the door. His right hand layed down on his stomach. It was all because of this thing, not just his waterbending, that the Fire Nation attacked his village. Why they wanted it, he wasn't quite sure, but he knew that it had something to do with the fact that it could stop the war going on and end the Fire Nation's conquest.

He removed his hand. He remembered his mother telling him that when he was born, the shrine that was located in his village glowed, symbolizing that he, Max Tate, was the keeper of the elemental beast of water, Draciel. That also explained why his waterbending was so strong compared to all the other waterbenders that once lived here.

He hung his head. Well, it was now or never. He took one step forward to enter the tent, but turned around sharply when he heard screams and shouts coming from the far end of the village.

His eyes widened as he ran towards them. He stopped short when he saw Fire Nation soldiers raiding some homes. No! Not again! He clenched his fists and was about to walk over to them when he noticed his uncle standing nearby. Out of the corner of his eye, his uncle gave him a look that read, 'You had better not be the reason why they're here!'

Max narrowed his eyes at him and soon found his attention diverted when he heard the leader of the Fire Nation raiders speak.

"Who is the chief here?"

Max saw his uncle step forward, "I am the chief."

The man stared him down and then smirked, "Well then, I hope you don't mind if we 'borrow' some of your supplies."

The two Water Tribe members looked simultaneously at the red-clad men who were stuffing food, blankets, water, and other various items into their supply bags. Glaring at them, Max began to walk forward, but was stopped by his uncle grabbing his arm and silently telling him 'no'.

A child's scream sounded out and they turned their heads to look at what was going on. Their eyes widened at what they saw. A young brunette girl, around 6 or 7-years-old was struggling to keep a hold of a blanket that a Fire Nation man was trying to take away.

"C'mon, kid! You don't need this anymore!" he spoke angrily to the girl.

"No, it's my favorite blanket!" she pleaded.

"Sorry, kid." the man once again spoke as he raised his hand, producing a small flame, and began to swing it towards the girl's head.

The child's eyes opened wider with fear as the flame came closer to her head. But before it could come in contact with her, a strong gust of wind came and blew the man, and the flame, away. The chief looked at Max with an accusing glare.

"What?!?" Max argued. "It didn't do anything!"

It was the truth. He didn't do anything, but, he thought, that guy probably did. He searched closely around, trying to see anything out of order (other than what was happening now), until his eyes caught hold of a trio of boys standing at the village's entrance. The soldiers' leader saw them too and called them out.

"How dare you interfere! This has nothing to do with you! Get out!"

"No!" replied the navy-haired boy in front. "You get out!"

The leader grimaced. "Excuse me, but no one tells me what to do!"

He quickly jabbed his hand forward and a powerful fireball appeared and started flying speedily at the three. The red-head standing beside the navy-headed one jumped in front and produced an energy shield which diffused the fire. Everyone stared in awe for a few moments until the soldiers began their attack. The three boys dodged the initial attack and began to launch their own.

The brown-haired one ran forward and soon found himself surrounded by soldiers. He quickly whipped out his boomerang and prepared for an attack. The soldiers around him gawked and began to point and laugh.

"What!" he asked, annoyed.

"You expect to fight us with that thing!" they laughed in return.

Angry, the boy threw his boomerang into the air when it slowly disappeared, leaving him defenseless. 'Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.' he thought to himself as the soldiers quickly began to close in on him. Suddenly out of nowhere, the weapon he had thrown earlier, came back and knocked each and every one of the soldiers on their helmets, knocking them out cold. The boy grabbed his boomerang out of the snow, grinned, and continued on to fight more of the enemies.

The red-haired boy stayed in his place watching the soldiers running towards him. He reached out to the energy underneath their feet and motioned with his arms and legs to grab it hard. Suddenly the men found themselves trapped within giant pink crystals and unable to escape. The boy smirked and ran over to join his comrades.

The navy-haired one leapt forward, heading straight for the leader. The leader launched fireballs at him, trying to divert his course. The boy quickly spun around creating an air shield to protect him. Once the fireballs stopped, he slowly landed on his feet and took off after his target. He pushed the air behind him against his body and felt himself moving faster.

The leader noticed this and knew that he had to find another approach and fast. An answer quickly appeared and he turned and launched a fireball directly at the chief and the young boy standing beside him. The airbender stopped when he saw what the man had done. The chief realized what he was doing and knocked his nephew out of the way. He was fully prepared to take the blow. 'I'm sorry Judy, for not being able to save you. I hope you'll forgive me.'

Max landed on the snow and jerked his head back to see the fireball slowly reaching its destination. 'No, not like Mom!' In one quick motion, he leapt up off his feet and pulled the snow from the ground and moved it in front of his uncle's body. The fire collided with the shield, leaving everyone in shock. Everyone's gazes shifted to Max as he moved out of his stance.

The firebender(leader)'s eyes were wide. "You! You're a waterbender! But I thought they were all taken care of years ago!"

Max looked over at him. 'Sorry, Uncle Brian. Forgive me.' "Well, it looks like you missed one."

Growling, the firebender threw more fire in Max's direction. Max jerked his body into a fighting stance and gracefully pulled his arms up and twirled around, moving the snow around his body, protecting him from the oncoming flames. Then taking the rest of the water that was left from the flame's heat, he threw his arms forward and streamed it at his opponent. It struck the firebender with such force that it sent him falling to the ground.

Once their leader fell, the followers ran with fury towards the waterbender. The waterbender shifted his blue eyes onto the oncoming enemies. He turned his body in their direction, jumped up, moving his arms upward, and formed the snow in front of him into a giant snow wave. The soldiers saw it coming and tried to run away, but it was too late to act and they were buried in it.

The leader picked himself off the snow and watched as the blonde-haired boy attacked his men. His eyes widened in shock when he saw them bury them, but they widened even more when he saw the tatoo on the boy's stomach. It can't be! He's-he's the keeper of Draciel! He had to take him down before he had a chance of stopping them.

While the boy's attention was on his men, he quickly shot a giant, fast-moving fireball in his direction.

Max's uncle saw the fireball and began running towards its target. "MAX!"

Max jerked his head to see his uncle running at him with eyes full of fear. He then felt the heat from the fireball approaching him. He turned his head and drew a sharp breath when he saw it coming. 'Mom!'

Suddenly a gust of wind blew at the fireball and directed it into a snow wall. Both Max, his uncle, and the leader looked over at who done it. The airbender had his staff pointing at them and fans protruding from one end of it. The boy then motioned with his staff and moved a big gust of air at the leader, causing him to be knocked into one of the villager's houses. The airbender assessed the situation and realized that they had to leave.

He glanced over at the waterbender and his uncle. "We have to leave, now!"

"What? You guys?" Max asked.

"Well, yeah, but you're coming with us to. It's not safe here with them knowing who you are now." he replied to Max's question.

"But-" Max protested. He didn't want to leave his home.

"No, Max, you have to." his uncle spoke.

Max looked at him. He wasn't gonna start up this conversation again, was he?

"Look Max, I know I haven't exactly been a good uncle, but I know one thing is that you aren't safe. And if its one thing that I know about your mother is that she would want you to be safe." he explained. "Don't let your mother's death be in vain."

Max bowed his head to try and hide his tears. His uncle wasn't blaming him, he just was scared to lose him like he lost his sister. "Alright, let's go."

The airbender nodded. He stood out of his stance and lifted his arm far and high enough until his tatoo showed fully. It began to glow and then slowly began to lift itself off of his skin and enlarge until it became a glowing blue dragon. Max stood amazed.

The airbender turned towards his comrades. "C'mon guys! Let's go!"

The two other boys turned their attention from the soldiers and took off to the dragon. They got on as the airbender helped Max onto it.

Once they were all on, the airbender called out to the dragon, "Dragoon! Let's go buddy!"

The dragon roared in reply and took off for the skies. The firebenders below began firing at them, but they were quickly deflected by the energy shield surrounding them. The chief watched them go sadly. 'Max, be safe, please.' A tear ran down his face.

Max looked back to his uncle, the only family he had left. 'I'm sorry, Uncle Brian.' He closed his eyes to prevent the tears from coming as he and his new traveling partners slowly disappeared out of sight.