The Firebender

Chapter 2: The Runaway

Water, Earth, Fire, Air

Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the avatar master of all four elements could stop them but when the world needed her most, she vanished. A hundred years passed and my cousin and I discovered the new avatar. An airbender named, Steven. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Steven can save the world.

August 2, 1245

Just last night we landed in a remote land in the Fire Nation; far from any civilization. Steven found a cave for us to stay in and we used our sleeping bags to rest. The night was long and tedious. Just the feeling of being here makes my skin itch; I'm a nervous wreck and barely got any sleep last night. But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is finding Steven a firebending teacher as soon as possible.

So before we left to search for his new teacher we had to borrow some clothes that were hanging on a clothes line. I may not like the Fire Nation but their outfits are alright. Steven and Pearl had to wear headbands to hide their tattoos but it was a good fit.

Now the only thing left was for us to search.

"Come on Connie!"

Connie closed her journal to see Steven smiling down at her. A smile of her own grew as she tucked the book into her sleeping bag. He offered a hand and helped the older girl to her feet. After months of traveling he had grown to be an inch taller than her; only slightly noticeable.

"Where are we going, Steven?" She asked as he pulled her out of the cave.

Amethyst jumped in between them; wrapping an arm around both their shoulders. "The day is young Connie and we're going to explore!" She snickered at the glare Steven was giving her for breaking them apart. "What? You didn't think you'd be going anywhere without me did you?"

"…No, no," Steven played it off. "Just thought you'd be sleeping in today,"

"Are you kidding? This is the Fire Nation; they have the best kinds of food," Amethyst pulled away and started running towards civilization. "Let's go!"

Steven and Connie smiled at each other before chasing behind their rowdy earthbending friend. Lion yawned, rolled over, and continued to sleep through the children's shouts.

"They better not get into any trouble," Pearl huffed as she prepared dinner by the fire. "Maybe you should follow behind them to make sure they don't do anything stupid. Amethyst is there but you know how she is," She bit her lip; stirring the noodles that stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Sapphire sighed; brushing dirt off her red dress as she stood up from the log. "I suppose,"

"You should take off you necklace," Pearl spoke in a hushed whisper; knowing how sentimental it was to the waterbender.

Sapphire ran her fingers over the betrothal necklace her mother gave to her before she passed. It was the only memory she had.

The waterbender shakily removed it with much remorse. "Yeah that would be pretty obvious wouldn't it," Sapphire gently tucked it into her dress pocket. "Well I'm going to catch up with them; do you want anything while I'm in town?"

Pearl shook her head. "No, just make sure they stay out of trouble and don't let them stay out too late,"

Sapphire nodded, and then headed in the same direction of the children.

The citizens moved out of the way as a short curly haired girl ran past them at full speed. Her light red headband strings whipped wildly behind her as she dodged the many obstacles in the crowded market. Fellow residences shouted at her as their groceries fell to the floor due to her haste. A loud 'sorry' was shouted over her shoulder as she slide under a food cart and broke left.

"Get back here!" A loud booming voice demanded which only caused her to run faster.

Her aching legs became noticeable when she finally came to an abrupt stop. The short girl cursed under her breath when she was met by a brick wall. She bounced on her toes restlessly as she contemplated her options. The stolen goods in her left hand weighed her down as she tried climbing the steep wall on an impulsive thought.

"Halt," Her shoulders tensed when a voice called to her. "Turn around and put your hands in front of your face where we can see them!"

The girl turned around to face her captors'. Three men, ages unknown, stood before her in their Nation's police armor. The bright red flame symbol was on the front of the iron grey fighting attire; a black helmet covered their faces and hid their identities.

"Stop!" One of them shouted as the runaway reached into her bag of stolen goods.

She pulled out a bottle with dark red liquids inside. "I'm just getting a drink of some tea," The bottle was brought to her lips as she took three sips. "Ahh," She sighed; relived as the cool liquid ran down her parched throat.

"You've had your drink now put your hands on your face," Guard number two demanded.

The runaway placed the bottle back and raised an eyebrow. "Put my hands on my face?"

"Yeah, now do it!" Another one shouted.

She frowned. "Are you sure you want me to do that?" Her hands began to move upwards.

"Yes!" They all hollered; annoyed by her foolish tricks.

"…" The curly haired girl shrugged. "Alright,"

Her right hand moved to her face but came to a stop by her mouth. She took a deep breath and released a powerful flame from her lips. The guards shrieked back in fear; covering their heads to avoid the heated attack. A smirk rose to her face as she jumped over the distracted guards with much grace.

She landed on her feet but continued to run in another direction.

One of the guards emerged from the flames and saw her. "That way,"

"Oh come on," She huffed, annoyed, as they began chasing her again. "This isn't fun anymore!"

Too busy looking behind her she didn't notice the girl in front of her before they collided. A grunt escaped her mouth as she fell backwards onto the ground; another body landing on top of hers.

"Ouch," A voice said.

The firebender opened her red eyes; they widened. A girl who looked her age was lying on top of her due to the fall. She had long blue hair, bangs covering her eyes, but from where the runaway was laying she could barely see soft blue irises. She was wearing a simple fire nation dress and black pointed shoes.

"S-sorry," The runaway gulped; a flush rising to her already colored face.

Sapphire felt her breath hitch when she saw the adorable girl beneath her. "S'okay," She managed; getting up when she noticed their position. "Let me help you—"

"She went this way!"

Sapphire and the runaway heard the loud voice shout. It sounded like they weren't too far away and would be here soon.

"Are they chasing you?" She raised an eyebrow as she helped the runaway to her feet; noticing her short height.

"Kind of, yeah," The girl shrugged nervously. "…I-I should go before they find me o—"

Sapphire grabbed her hand. "Wait," She bit her lip. "I'll hide you,"

The runaway smiled gratefully. Sapphire quickly shoved her under the table cloth that belonged to the fruit market. She stood in front of it, hiding the runaways shadow with her layered dress. Her hands busied themselves by tossing an apple in the air; pretending to examine it.

"She was just here!" She heard a guard say.

One of them looked at her. "Have you seen anyone running through here lately, miss?"

"I think she went that way," Sapphire pointed ahead of her where a large crowd of people were shopping for food.

"She's trying to lose us in the crowd," The tall guard said. "Thanks for the help; let's go boys,"

The three police officers turned abruptly and ran in the given direction. Sapphire sighed in relief and moved out of the way. The runaway hesitantly emerged from her hiding spot.

"Thank you…" The curly haired girl smiled. "Usually people never help me let alone hide me; what's your name?"

The waterbender hesitated. Sapphire was a Water Tribe name and it would surely give away her identity. But something about this girl made her feel relaxed; like she could trust her.

"…Sapphire," She went out on a limb.

The shorter girl nodded, the smallest hint of a real smile twitching on her lips. "That's such a pretty name…I'm Ruby," The girl replied.

Sapphire tried the name on her tongue. "Ruby," She hummed. "Why were those people chasing you?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Y-you don't know?"

"No but," Sapphire grabbed a piece of paper that was pinned to the store wall. "I'm guessing it has to do with this wanted poster of you—"

"What!" Ruby huffed as she snatched the paper. "I don't even look like that," She crumbled the flyer and tossed it behind her; a thought suddenly came to her. "Wait; if you don't know why I'm wanted then you must not be from here,"

Sapphire itched in her spot. Maybe this girl was smarter than she thought.

"You must be from the colonies," Ruby settled. "Yeah that's it; you guys live far out of town so you have no clue what's going on in the big city,"

Or maybe not.

"Yeah th—"

A voice interrupted her. "Sapphire,"

She looked to her left to see Steven, Amethyst and Connie walking over to them. Steven was the one to call her name.

"Hey guys," Sapphire waved; watching the way Ruby itched in her spot. "I was just about to look for you; Pearl doesn't want you all staying out too late,"

Amethyst huffed when they reached her. "That loser needs to learn to have some fun," Her purple eyes shifted to the stranger. "Who's this?"

"Ruby," Sapphire said effortlessly as she pointed to the shorter girl.

Steven bowed politely. "Nice to meet you, Ruby," He rose. "I'm Steven and this is Connie,"

"Hello maim," Connie said automatically.

Amethyst nodded at Ruby. "And I'm Amethyst," She looked back at Sapphire. "How did you even meet her? I thought you were looking for us?"

Ruby clenched her fists and looked away.

"Oh," Sapphire sent the runaway a soft smile. "She was helping me find the fruit cart, right Ruby?" She gave her a look.

Ruby nodded curtly. "Y-yeah, she seemed lost so I helped her out," She shrugged.

"Yeah well we should go," Amethyst turned around and started walking. "Come on; before Pearl blows a fuse or something."

The smaller children agreed but not before saying farewell to Ruby.

"I should go to," Sapphire hesitated; not wanting to leave the girl alone. "Will I see you around?"

Ruby smiled. "I hope so, thanks for helping me out,"

Sapphire nodded. She started walking away; getting lost in the crowd as she drew further away from Ruby. She felt strange. There was something about Ruby that called to her but Sapphire could wait to find out.

If it's meant to be then fate will find a way.

Ruby watched Sapphire fade into the crowd. Now that she was free where would she go?

"Now what," She sighed; messing with her curly hair.

Her eyes fell downcast and widened when something caught her attention. A blue Water Tribe betrothal necklace lay beneath her feet. Ruby picked it up as she kneeled on the ground. Her calloused thumb ran over the Water Nation symbol sketched into the center. She frowned.

Sapphire.

"That's a water tribe name," Ruby whispered, she gripped the necklace tight before shoving it into her pocket. "I knew there was something about her,"

Ruby started running in the direction she had seen the group go.

Hope you guys like this chapter. I know there are a lot of questions but they will all be answered as the story goes on. I'm starting to like it because Avatar was my favorite show for years and I love this cross over. So please review and tell me what you think I'll see you guys later.