Last of Our Kind

I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender or the following quote.

"The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly; who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at best know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
― Theodore Roosevelt

Enemy of my Enemy

"This should bring your fever down."

Katara pressed the damp cloth to Sokka's forehead. The fifteen-year-old had been shivering, coughing, and sniffling since the night before and his condition only seemed to be getting worse.

"You know what I love about Appa the most?" Sokka said in a hazy manner. "His sense of humor."

"That's nice. I'll tell him."

Appa gave a loud groan, causing Sokka to break out into chuckles.

"Classic Appa."

"How's Sokka doing?" asked Aang.

"Not great," said Keng. "His fever's getting higher."

"That storm really did a number on him," Wenona added.

"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea," Aang continued. "But I found a map. There's an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."

"Aang, he's in no condition to travel," Katara protested. "Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be fine by tomorrow." Suddenly, Katara started coughing.

"Not you too!"

"Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fi-" She cut herself off with another bout of coughing.

"That is just how Meat-Head started," said Wenona. "Now look at him. He thinks he's an Earthbender."

"Take that, you rock," Sokka slurred.

"A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense, too," Aang concluded. "I'm going to find some medicine."

"I'm going with you, Cue-ball," Wenona insisted. "Keng, you stay here and make sure these two are safe."

Keng gave a mock-salute.

Aang had just picked up his glider when there was a sudden flash of lightning.

"Uh, maybe we should go on foot?" Aang suggest. "Hold on."

Wenona wasn't sure what to expect when Aang suddenly took her by the wrist and shot off like a firework, sending her flying back as he ran at an impossible speed. Wenona was too shocked to scream as Aang raced them both up the side of the mountain to the herbalist institute. Once they arrived, Aang led the incredibly dazed and very ruffled Wenona inside where they met an old woman.

"Hello, we're sorry to barge in on you like this, but we need some medicine for our friends" Aang said quickly. "They have fevers and they were coughing-"

"Settle down, young man," the herbalist said in a slow voice. "Your friends are going to be fine. I've been up here for almost forty years, you know. Used to be others, but they all left years ago. Now it's just me and Miyuki," she added, petting her cat.

"That's nice," Aang said dryly.

"Wounded Earth Kingdom troops still come by now and again, brave boys, and thanks to my remedies they always leave in better shape than when they arrive."

"That's nice," Wenona repeated. "Are you almost done?"

"Hold on, I just need to add one last ingredient." She began to walk amongst the plants. "Oh, sandalwood…oh, er, no, that won't do. Banana leaf? Ah, nope. Ginger root? Uh-uh. Oh, where is that pesky little plant?"

Aang and Wenona both facepalmed as the woman took forever to find whatever it was she was looking for.

"Ah! Here's what I was looking for. Plum blossom."

"Finally," Aang muttered.

As soon as the woman added the flower to the little bowl she was mixing, Aang came forward to take it.

"Thanks for all your help," Aang said, but the herbalist suddenly swatted at his hand with her mixing spoon.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Taking the cure to my friends."

The woman looked startled before giving a light laugh.

"This isn't a cure," she explained. "It's Miyuki's dinner. Plum blossom is her favorite."

"But what about my friends?" Aang pleaded.

"Well, all they need are some frozen wood frogs. There are plenty of them down in the valley swamp."

"And what exactly are we supposed to do with frozen frogs?" Wenona asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Why, suck on them, of course."

"Suck on them?" the two kids repeated in disbelief.

"The frog skin excretes a substance that will cure your friends. Be sure to get plenty because once those little critters thaw out, they're useless!"

There was a pause as the young friends stared at the old woman.

"You're insane, aren't you?" said Aang.

"That's right," the woman said. "Well, don't stand there all day! Go!"

She punctuated the demand by jabbing her spoon at Aang, accidentally splattering him with the plant-based cat food she'd been making.

Aang led Wenona back outside. The wind had started to pick up, the sky was dark, and rain had begun to fall. Suddenly, a couple of arrows shot out of nowhere and managed to pin Aang's feet to the ground. Just then, a volley of arrows came at them which Aang managed to deflect with his Airbending.

Aang and Wenona looked up into the trees and saw a group of people in dark clothes holding bows and arrows.

"Uh, I think you dropped this," Aang said, holding up one of the arrows he had detached from his boot.

The archers then began to advance on them as Wenona helped Aang free his other foot. The two began a mad dash over to the cliff's edge, narrowly dodging the arrows. Aang pulled Wenona onto his back as he launched them off the cliff; Aang managed to cushion their fall by leaping onto the treetops, resulting in many scrapes and scratches for the two of them. Somehow, the archers had managed to follow them into the trees. Aang managed to get them out of the trees, landing in an icy pond.

"A frog!" Aang exclaimed as he pulled up one of the frozen creatures.

Wenona kept urging Aang to run, but he continued to try and get as many of the frogs as he could, despite the fact that the archers were closing in on them. Wenona had just managed to pull Aang away from frog-gathering when an arrow suddenly pinned Aang's wrist to a log. Wenona tried to pull the arrow out but two more arrows snagged the shoulders of her tunic. Within moments, the two friends were being hauled into a Fire Nation fortress.

Aang struggled against his chains as Admiral Zhao entered the cell.

"So this is the great Avatar," Zhao drawled. "Master of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide-and-seek is over."

"I've never hidden from you," Aang responded harshly. "Untie me and I'll fight you right now!"

"Uhhh, no. Tell me, how does it feel to be the only Airbender left? Do you miss your people?"

Aang hung his head sadly.

"Oh, don't worry, you won't be killed like they were." Aang looked up angrily at that. "See, if you die you'll just be reborn and the Fire Nation would have to begin its search for the Avatar all over again. So I'll keep you alive. But just barely."

"At least let my friend go!" Aang pleaded. "Wenona hasn't done anything."

"Oh, you see that's where you're wrong," Zhao said with a sadistic glint in his eye. "She committed an unforgiveable act. She was born a Waterbender. Her kind are a rot I intend to remove from this world. Forever."

As Zhao began to walk away, Aang summoned a full breath of air and blew it at Zhao, sending the man crashing into the far wall.

"Blow all the wind you want!" Zhao snarled as he straightened himself up. "Your situation is futile. There is no escaping this fortress and no one is coming to rescue you."

With that, Zhao slammed the door behind him and moved on to the next cell where Wenona was chained up in much the same way as Aang.

"So, it seems the Fire Nation missed a few Southern Waterbending savages," Zhao remarked as he entered the room.

"The only savage around here is you, Fire Nation scum!" Wenona snapped.

Zhao responded by backhanding her across the face.

"Unlike the Avatar, your life is expendable. I'd be a bit more careful with your words if I was you."

"It's a good thing you're not me, then. Otherwise I'd have drowned myself because of how ugly I'd be." Wenona smirked.

That seemed to tick Zhao off even more and he sent a blast of fire directly at her face. Wenona closed her eyes, waiting for the pain of the fire to hit her, but it never came. Zhao realized something was wrong and tried again, this time Wenona saw the fire come within mere inches of her face only to suddenly dissipate as if it was hitting a wall. That's when Wenona remembered the necklace. Avatar Setna herself had given it to her.

"Though flames lick at your skin or earth bury you, you shall not be harmed." That is what Setna had told her. At that moment, Wenona thanked Setna and every guardian spirit there ever was for the protective symbol. If she hadn't had it, then she would assuredly have been at least grievously injured.

"Maybe I can't kill you," Zhao said in a threatening tone, "but I doubt you'll survive being locked in here without food or water. Good riddance, Waterbending freak."

He stormed out of the room, leaving Wenona to wonder if she would actually be able to get out of this situation.

Unbeknownst to either Wenona or Aang, a figure in a blue mask was stealthily making his way into the fortress.

The first indication Aang had that something was going on was the weird sounds coming from outside the door. The second was when someone in a blue mask entered the room and drew his swords. Aang screamed, thinking the person was going to attack him, only to stop when he heard the clink of metal and realized the newcomer had cut the chains. The person then sliced the manacles off of Aang's wrist and feet.

The person then began to head for the door.

"Who are you? What's going on?" Aang asked. "Are you here to rescue me?"

The person stopped and gestured for Aang to follow him.

"I'll take that as a yes," Aang concluded. He started to walk but then froze. "Wait! I can't leave without Nona. She's trapped here, too."

The person stopped and turned to face Aang. Aang could practically see the impatient look underneath the mask. The man clearly had only considered rescuing Aang.

"Please," Aang pleaded, "if we leave her here, she'll die. She's my friend and there is no way I could face her brothers and sister if I did leave her behind."

The person paused but then nodded in consent and the two began to search for Wenona, Aang completely forgetting about the frozen frogs that had thawed and escaped from his pockets a little while earlier. It took a bit of searching, but they managed to find the right room.

"Aang!" Wenona exclaimed as the Airbender rushed over to her.

"Just hold on, Nona," he said. "We'll have you free in a moment."

"We?" She then noticed the masked figure in the room. She didn't have time to ask what was going on before the person cut her free like he did for Aang. "Thanks," she said.

The three then began to make their escape. They had just gotten halfway up a rope hanging from the first wall when an alarm rang out.

"There! On the wall!"

One of the guards cut the rope and they began to fall, only saved by Aang creating a quick air-blast. The three then began to run towards the gate which was starting to close.

"Stay close to me," Aang said. He then sent a powerful blast of air that knocked away the group of guards.

As they tried to make it through, several guards started to attack the masked man and Wenona. Wenona, who didn't have access to any water, managed to find the small knife that she still kept tucked in her boot and managed to keep from being overpowered. Aang turned back and blasted the guards away again and then used another air-blast to get his two compatriots up on top of the wall. He then managed to Airbend himself up after them, using a spear from one of the guards like he used his staff to create a propeller. Once he was above them, he wrapped his legs around the masked person's midsection as Wenona held on by keeping her arms around the man's shoulders as Aang tried to fly them out of danger.

Unfortunately, Aang wasn't used to carrying so much weight and soon found it was getting hard to hold them, especially with the fact that the soldiers kept throwing spears in their direction. However, they managed to just make it to the top of the second wall and fended off the guards up there. The soldiers then attempted to scale the wall with ladders but the trio managed to knock them back. Aang, getting an idea, quickly pulled up the ladders and handed two of them to the masked man before using the third to launch himself into the middle of the courtyard.

"Jump on my back!" Aang ordered.

The masked man did as he said, Wenona following suit, as Aang then used the ladders to carry the three of them through the final courtyard. However, just as they were on the last one, a guard set the ladder on fire and they had to make a desperate leap for the last wall. Unfortunately, they weren't able to make it and ended up sliding down the wall into the midst of the soldiers.

The guards sent a wave of fire at them which was only held off by Aang making a ball of air around them.

"Hold your fire!" Zhao demanded. "The Avatar must be captured alive!"

Before anyone could even blink, the masked man had his swords at Aang's throat. There was a pause as Zhao and the masked man stared each other down.

"Open the gate," Zhao said.

"Admiral, what are you doing?" asked one of the subordinates.

"Let them out. Now!"

The gates eased open behind them and the three slowly backed away. Wenona kept her eyes on the masked man's blades the entire time; if he made one move to hurt Aang then she would take him down.

They were a good distance from the wall when an arrow shot out and struck the masked man in the head, knocking him out cold. Aang stopped as his eyes caught some of the man's exposed face. He then quickly Airbent up a cloud of dust to hide them and bent down to remove the mask. Both Aang and Wenona gasped in shock as they saw that their rescuer was none other than their enemy, Prince Zuko. The two prepared to flee but something stopped them. Exchanging a quick glance, they mutually agreed that, this time, the enemy of their enemy was their friend. For now.

Wenona slung the unconscious Firebender over her shoulders and together they made their way deep into the forest.

Zuko awoke to the morning light shining through the trees. What happened? The last thing he remembered, he was escaping from the fortress with the Avatar in his grasp. Then his world had dissolved into nothing but blackness. As his eyes began to regain their focus, he turned and saw a yellow and orange figure sitting just a little ways away from him. The Avatar! As his eyes further adjusted, he noticed the Water Tribe girl from before standing close by, watching him like a tiger-hawk. Not for the first time, he felt a strange sense of recognition towards the girl, as though he knew her from before, like a long-forgotten friend. But that was stupid, Zuko had no friends, least of all Water Tribe peasant friends.

"You know what the worst part of being born over a hundred years ago is?" said Aang. Zuko at first thought the Avatar was talking to the girl, but then realized the boy was talking to him. "I miss all the friends I used to hang out with. Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had, and he was from the Fire Nation, just like you." He turned to look at Zuko. "If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends, too?"

Aang gave a small smile and there was a moment as the question hung in the air before Zuko suddenly sent a blast of fire at him. Aang managed to leap out of the way, sweeping Wenona up in his arms as he ascended into the trees. Zuko watched on in silence as the Avatar and Water Tribe girl darted away.

Katara and Sokka had not improved and Keng was getting worried. Aang and Wenona should have been back by now. Momo was attempting to be helpful by bringing in random objects that just seemed to clutter up the room. Keng had managed to stem the fever, though, when he found a white willow tree while out fetching water; Keng remembered that Gran-Gran told him that white willow bark contains a medicine in it that can reduce symptoms of any number of illnesses.

"Here, chew on these," Keng said, placing a small chip of the bark in his siblings' mouths.

"Yay!" Sokka exclaimed in his delirium. "Candy!"

Keng and Katara simply shook their heads in amusement at him.

"Get some rest, guys," Keng said. "You need to build up your strength."

Katara gave him a grateful smile as she began to drift off.

Once he was sure his sister and brother were asleep, Keng began to look around the ruins where they were staying.

He started to collect various things from around the structure like sand, beads, anything that could be ground up into a powder and brought it back with him. He set them all out in front of him and began crushing the larger objects with a stone. Once he had an assortment of various different colors of powder he began to make a large, intricate image with it.

The image was circular in shape and contained many geometric patterns interwoven with depictions of flowers and humanoid figures. He worked tirelessly through the night to get the picture just the way he wanted. All the time he worked, he prayed that his siblings wouldn't wake up while he did this. Firstly because it would ruin the properties of the image, and secondly because he didn't want them to know he had learned about sandpainting (or, as it was called back home, snowpainting) because it was often associated with magic, something that narrow-minded people like his brother wouldn't tolerate. He'd learned about the art from Aunt Mari, the Southern Water Tribe's Prophetess and his actual great-aunt, who'd told him that she suspected he might one day become the Shaman, just like his grandfather had been.

He finished the picture by gently adding water to it, just enough so that it wouldn't blur and be ruined. He then muttered a number of prayers to the spirits who guard the South to grant power to his picture and to ensure the safe return of his sister and friend. Once he had done that, he put his fingers to one of the figures and dabbed the sand mixture onto the foreheads of his siblings, repeating the process until he had used the full extent of the image's power, at which point he swept the picture away so that its healing properties wouldn't be annulled.

He looked out the window to see the sun beginning to rise. Katara and Sokka were still asleep. Then, seemingly by a miracle, Wenona and Aang trudged into the room.

"You're back!" Keng exclaimed, running to hug his sister.

Aang walked over to the two invalids and placed a frozen frog in each of their mouths.

"Suck on these," he instructed in a quiet voice. "They'll make you feel better."

"Aang, Nona, how was your trip?" Sokka asked while still sucking on the frog. "Did you make any new friends?"

"No, I don't think we did," Aang replied as he curled up on Appa's tail.

"What's wrong?" Keng asked. "Where were you guys?"

"It's a long story," Wenona replied. "What happened in here? Where'd you get all this stuff?"

"Momo was trying to be helpful."

"Mmm, this is tasty," Sokka announced.

At that moment, the frogs thawed out and the two sick siblings realized what they'd just been sucking on and began spitting and groaning in disgust.

Author's Note: The sandpainting that Keng made is something I learned about in my Native American religions class last semester. The Navajo specifically are known for their creation of intricate designs made of sand for the purpose of healing. Likewise, white willow bark is something many native cultures have used as medicine for centuries as it possesses a form of natural aspirin. Also, I forgot to post an apology in the last chapter for my slowness in updating; it's just that I've been very busy lately, and tired, and this last week I was in Arkansas visiting my grandmother (it was SO boring!).