Last of Our Kind

In this chapter we learn more about Wenona's strange visions. Wenona finds out more about her role in Aang's life. And where does Zuko fit into this? I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender or the following quote.

"I am not made like any of those I have seen. I venture to believe that I am not made like any of those who are in existence. If I am not better, at least I am different."
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Well, That Was Weird

A metal door on a Fire Nation ship creaked open and a concerned-looking old man peered in.

"Prince Zuko, are you well?" The old man asked the youth who had yelled out in his sleep as the old man passed his room.

"I'm fine, Uncle." The young man snapped. "Jus-just dreams again."

"Would you care to tell me about them?"

"No, Uncle, I'm fine. I just need to be left alone."

"Very well." The old man responded with uncertainty as he closed the door once again.

The young man clutched at his head as he recalled the dream. His dreams had become so strange lately, ever since he found the Avatar. This dream was very unusual, and it frightened him. He had vaguely remembered a group of people; though he didn't see their faces he knew that all but one of them weren't Fire Nation. Whatever it was he was talking to them about had been cut short by shouts, cries for help. He remembered running to an open courtyard that he recognized as part of the royal palace. In the sky he saw a great, dark shape that he could only describe as 'evil'. He felt a surge of power inside of him, and before he knew it he was using Firebending to blast himself directly at the dark mass. He was engulfed in the darkness and was Firebending in all directions. The darkness seemed to fear the light of the fire. However, he felt as if he was being consumed by the void and his strength began to diminish until he was falling…

That was when he woke up with a scream. The dream had felt so life-like, as if it was more of a memory than a dream. He'd been having weird dreams and…visions of late. He had no idea what they meant but they always involved the same characters. And a name kept popping into his mind. Akari. He rose from his bed and threw on a robe and went to find his uncle, if anyone would have answers it was him.

"Prince Zuko? What is the matter?" The old man asked.

"Uncle, there is something from my dreams that I am curious about. Does the name 'Akari' have any significance?"

Iroh suddenly began to choke on his tea.

"Prince Zuko. Wherever did you learn that name?"

"In the dream, someone referred to me as Akari. Who is Akari?"

The old Dragon of the West arose from his seat and walked over to a bookshelf to retrieve a scroll. He unfurled it before his nephew. The scroll contained a portrait of a young woman, clearly Fire Nation, and very beautiful, who wore the crown of the Fire Lord.

"Fire Lord Akari, firstborn child of Fire Lord Manchu. She was quite legendary, though most of the records about her are scarce. According to the stories, she was part of a group of four young women, one from each nation, who worked together to end a great evil in the world. The events of that battle have long since vanished from history, and the only other thing we know about her is that she abdicated and gave the throne to her younger brother, Fire Lord Xiong, from whom the rest of the Fire Lords are descended."

"Does anyone know why Fire Lord Akari abdicated?"

"The legend is that she fell in love with a young man from the Water Tribe but the people of the Fire Nation refused to accept their union. Of course that might just be an old folk tale." Iroh chuckled, but there was something in his eyes that indicated that he knew more about the story than he let on.

"I see. Thank you, Uncle, this has been most interesting."

Zuko turned and left his uncle's room. After the young prince left, Iroh rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the door that his nephew had just exited through.

"Most interesting indeed."

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they?" Katara stated as the gang soared through the sky. "Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft, cottony heap."

"Maybe you should give it a try." Sokka suggested sarcastically.

"Funny, Meat-head, I was about to suggest the same thing to you." Wenona said snarkily.

"I'll try it!" Aang exclaimed. He then leapt off of Appa's head with his glider, laughing crazily. The others all looked over one side of the saddle, waiting for him to appear. Instead he soared up the other side and landed in the saddle, soaking wet. "Turns out clouds are made of water."

As Aang Airbended himself dry, Keng noticed something in the distance.

"Hey, guys, what is that?" He said as he pointed to the odd, dark shape in the distance.

"It's like a scar." Sokka thought aloud.

Wenona began to feel weird as another vision passed through her head. She was staring up at the sky as she and some others stood on the plains of the frozen tundra. Suddenly, the sky was cleft with a dark shape that tore through the blue heavens. She felt fear unlike any she'd ever known.

"Nona? You okay?" Sokka asked, jolting her back to reality.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She replied but continued to stare at the dark shape below. "Let's check it out."

They landed and it was clear straight away that the dark shape they had seen was what remained of a burned-down forest.

"Listen." Sokka instructed.

"I don't hear anything." Keng responded.

"Exactly. It's so quiet. There's no life anywhere."

"Aang?" Katara inquired, seeing how shaken up the boy seemed. "Are you okay?"

Wenona looked down and spotted some footprints in the ashes. She gave Sokka a light nudge and his eyes went wide with anger.

"Fire Nation!" He growled. "Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-" He was cut off by Katara shushing him. "What, I'm not allowed to be angry?" Wenona elbowed him the ribs.

"Shut up, Meat-head." Wenona hissed at him and then pointed towards Aang who had slumped to the ground in despair.

"Why would anyone do this?" Aang questioned as he ran his hand through the ashes. "How could I let this happen?"

"Aang, you didn't let this happen. The Fire Nation did it. It's not your fault." Keng assured him.

"Yes it is. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature, but I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the North Pole." Katara reminded him. "To find you a teacher."

"Yeah, a Waterbending teacher, but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Avatar before you?" Sokka inquired. "He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?"

"I don't know."

"Stranger things have happened." Wenona stated. "I assume."

After Aang had sat moping for a while, Katara came up with an idea.

"Hey, Aang, ready to be cheered up?" She asked.

"No." He deadpanned, only to exclaim 'Ow!' when she threw an acorn at his head. "Hey, how was that cheering me up?"

"Cheered me up." Sokka said through muffled laughter. Wenona and Katara both threw acorns at him. "Ow! Yeah, I probably deserved that."

"These acorns are everywhere, Aang." Katara explained as she approached him and handed him one. "That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday. And all the birds and animals that lived here will come back."

"Thanks, Katara." Aang responded with a smile.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by the sound of someone approaching. When they looked up they saw it was an old man.

"Hey, who're you?" Sokka asked.

The man ignored him and continued up to Aang.

"When I saw the flying-bison, I thought it was impossible." He said. "But…those markings. Are you the Avatar, child?" Aang briefly looked to Katara, who nodded, and he nodded as well. "My village desperately needs your help."

It was nearing nightfall when they arrived at the small village of Senlin. The town looked to have had quite a bit of damage done recently. They were shown into the town hall where all the residents seemed to be taking shelter. The old man and the village leader explained to them how a spirit monster named Hei-Bai was terrorizing them and kidnapping some of the villagers. Aang agreed to try and reason with the spirit, in the hopes of convincing it to stop attacking the people. The Water Tribe siblings watched anxiously from inside the town hall, ready to leap into action if needed.

"This isn't right." Sokka stated as they watched Aang advance towards the village entrance. "We can't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up."

"If anyone can save us, he can." The old man from before assured him.

"I don't like this." Keng said. "I don't like this at all."

"I hear ya, Squirt." Wenona agreed. "Something seems way off."

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone." Sokka continued.

Aang continued to yell out to the spirit that hadn't shown up yet. The sun had completely set but nothing had happened. Wenona felt more and more uneasy. As Aang turned and began to walk back towards the town hall, a large creature appeared behind him.

"Oh no." Wenona gasped.

The spirit then began to destroy parts of the village as Aang frantically tried to reason with it, to no avail. When the spirit got irritated with Aang and flung him against a building, Sokka had had enough.

"That's it! He needs help!" Sokka declared and then ran for the door.

"Wait for me, Meat-head!" Wenona yelled as she followed her brother.

"Sokka! Nona! Wait!" Katara protested.

As the two eldest siblings ran outside, the village leader held Katara back, warning her that it wasn't safe.

"Hei-Bai! Over here!" Sokka shouted as he threw his boomerang at the creature. The creature didn't pay it any mind. Sokka and Wenona ran over to Aang.

"Sokka, Nona, go back." Aang insisted.

"We'll fight him together, Aang."

"We got your back, Air-head." Wenona added.

"I don't wanna fight him unless I-" Aang started, only to be cut off when Hei-Bai came over and snatched up Sokka and Wenona. The spirit then made a dash for the forest, with Aang in pursuit on his glider.

"Sokka! Nona!" Katara and Keng yelled out as they ran outside with the villagers. The younger Waterbenders stared off at the forest entrance, hoping beyond hope that everyone would be okay.

Wenona's eyes snapped open. The last thing she remembered before blacking-out, Aang had been right next to her on his glider and had just taken hold of her hand before everything was engulfed in an ethereal mist after which she fell into unconsciousness. Wenona blinked and tried to figure out where she was. She sat up and had one heck of a head-rush. She saw that she was in some sort of a swamp-like place that was filled with amber light that created the effect of an eternal autumn.

"Sokka?!" Wenona called out. "Aang?! Anyone?!"

"It's good to see you, old friend." A voice behind her said.

Wenona snapped her head to look for the source of the voice and gasped at who she saw. It was a young woman with tan skin and rich, royal-blue eyes. She had long, mahogany-brown hair that had been styled in a topknot which was fastened with a silver crown in the shape of a lotus-blossom and encrusted with sapphires; she also had hair-loopies like Katara and Gran-Gran wore. Her clothes were rich purple with Water Tribe patterns and trimmed with thick fur. Around her neck she wore a pendant like Katara's only with a different carving. The energy that radiated off this woman was comforting and maternal, protective and reassuring. In her time, Wenona had seen only one copy of this woman's likeness, on a sacred relic that the tribal prophetess kept secure in an old box and only removed for important ceremonies.

"Mother Setna." Wenona gasped and bowed her head in the presence of the foundress of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Do not bow before me. If anyone is deserving of reverence it is you." Setna said in her gentle voice.

"Me?"

"If it had not been for you, I would never have been what I am."

"What do you mean?"

Setna knelt down in front of her and the two locked eyes.

"That I cannot tell you just yet. You will learn it over time as will the others."

"What others?"

"I can tell you this much; your destiny, and that of two other people, has been intertwined with that of the Avatar since the beginning. Originally you were four, but the Fire Nation has changed that. Only when the four nations are in harmony will the Four Sources be returned to their true status."

"Great Mother, I am afraid I don't understand you."

"You will, child. In time you will understand. I will show you something." She stood up and pointed towards a pool of water. "Look."

Wenona looked into the water and gasped in shock when she saw not her own face but that of a different young woman. She had straight black hair that had two plaited strands on either side of her face, her skin was a much darker tan than she knew her own skin to be, her eyes were the color of the night sky. Wenona felt as if she knew this girl, that she had seen her before. The reflection seemed to have a life of its own as it gave her a smug grin and rolled its eyes.

"There is so much you need to learn, Miakoda." Setna told her.

That name. It was so familiar. Wenona knew the name from the ancient language; it means 'Power of the Moon'. Despite all this, Wenona was confused. Great Mother Setna was speaking in riddles to her, she had so many questions, and above all she needed to find Sokka and Aang.

"Mother Setna, do you know where I can find the ones I came here with?"

"You came here with no one. Your brother is in the possession of Hei-Bai, and Avatar Aang is in the realm between the Spirit World and the Human World. He is currently learning what he needs for the moment, as are you."

"What else can you tell me?"

"Soon, Avatar Aang will meet his past-life Avatar Roku. On that day, you must go with him into the temple sanctuary. Once inside, you will meet someone who will be your spiritual guide."

"Who?"

"He will tell you when you meet him. For now, I must inform you of a very important mission."

"Yes?"

"It is imperative that you master Waterbending and healing, and you must do so before Avatar Aang himself does."

"Why?"

"Because, your role in his life is as a teacher and protector. You and the others have always mastered your element before the Avatar of your lifetime. It has been that way since the beginning. Just as you taught me, you must teach him."

"I…taught…you?"

"You did in your first life, Miakoda. Or Wenona, as I should call you now."

"Who was Miakoda?"

"Your questions cannot all be answered by me. I am simply here to give you instructions and to protect you as a child of my tribe. That necklace I gave you will keep you safe as long as you wear it. Though flames lick at your skin or earth bury you, you shall not be harmed."

"You gave me this." It was not a question. Wenona placed her hand to her throat and felt the sacred emblem, she had known deep down that it was this spirit who had given this charm to her and she would never take it off.

"Yes, my child, on that night when you were trapped in that blizzard."

"I knew it was you. I always knew you protected your people."

"I only wish I had the power to stop the Fire Nation from butchering the rest of the Southern Waterbenders. But sadly, even I am not that powerful." Avatar Setna was silent for a moment before her head snapped up. "Our time is drawing to an end. I bid you farewell and do not forget what I have told you."

Wenona found herself fading through a weird mist. The next thing she knew, she was walking out of a bamboo bush and being tackled by her siblings.

"What happened?" Sokka asked.

"You two were trapped in the Spirit World for 24-hours." Katara explained. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry." Wenona stated at the same time that Sokka said he really had to use the bathroom.

After the village leader expressed his gratitude to Aang for saving their village, Aang proceeded to explain to his friends that he needed to get to a temple on a crescent-shaped island in the Fire Nation in order to talk to Avatar Roku on the Solstice. Wenona realized immediately that that must be the place that Avatar Setna had told her about. Wenona knew that they had to get to that temple no matter what.

Whew, finally got this chapter done. Took me long enough. Please review.