How did this chapter get this long? :P I've no idea, but I won't complain!

Thanks to Spirit-of-the-Rain, Mrs. 11th, and toavoidconversation for reviewing the prologue! Love you girls. *showers with hugs*

So this chapters takes us forward three years, where the story properly started, at the end of Pemiri's waterbending training. And something huge happens at the end of the chapter which will really kick the story off.

Enjoy! :)

The waterbenders began to advance on the girl standing in front of them, water patiently swirling around them as it waited to be commanded. Despite the oncoming threat, the girl didn't look up, merely kept her hands together in a meditating stance while her feet were firmly planted on the icy ground.

Suddenly, the first waterbender made his move, but when the whip of water made a beeline for the girl, she leapt into the air and forced the water to part before sending it in two different streams towards two of her four opponents. After that she continued to twist through the air along with the movements of the water she was deflecting and directing.

As she thrust her arms upward, a huge coil of water wrapped around one of the waterbenders and then froze, locking him in a prison of ice.

Meanwhile, the spectators watching were discussing every move the girl made.

"She never speaks a word while she's bending."

"It shows concentration, and a lack of a need to verbally prove herself. That's a good sign."

They fell silent once more as the remaining three waterbenders closed in all at once. The girl with the long braid of brown hair merely set her mouth into a determined line, her arms working, pulling a huge wave of water and bringing it down to crash on their heads. Before they could recover, the wave separated into three, and began to lash at them in quick, painful jabs. The girl allowed herself to smile a little as her body twisted to channel the water's path, before her hands and feet shoved through the air, driving the water right into the men.

The waterbenders fell to the ground, knocked out or close enough, as the girl came to stand at ease once more, visibly tired. Her hands came together in a sign of respect, the arrowheads on each of them pointing in towards each other.

"Very good, Avatar Pemiri," The waterbending master said in congratulations. "I believe I can teach you little more."

Pemiri slowly walked forward, coming closer before bowing to him respectfully. "Thank you, Master Keltang. You have taught me a lot in the three years I have been here."

"You are ready to learn Earthbending now...though our tribe will be saddened to see you and Sister Aisa leave us," Keltang told her, and Pemiri looked up at him with a wide smile.

"We will return and visit, I promise, Master," She said earnestly, her eyes darting to Aisa, who was watching her with pride.

"I look forward to it."

Pem sighed as she packed up her clothing and belongings into a large bag that would fit on the saddle of their flying bison.

"Sad to be leaving?" Aisa asked knowledgeably from the doorway.

"This has been our home for three years...I'm going to miss it," Pem replied as she zipped up the bag and turned to face her traveling companion.

Aisa's expression became mischievous. "And of course it has nothing to do with that boy Tyson."

Pem froze and laughed despite herself, looking upon her teacher with new respect. "How do you always know everything?"

The old woman laughed as well before brushing some of the girl's hair out of her eyes. "Because I just do." Pem could feel herself being studied. Over the three years, she and Sister Aisa had been recommended to grow their hair back over their foreheads, so that they could hide their Airbender identity if needed. After all, the blue arrow tattoos that identified airbending masters were not subtle.

Aisa's fingers pushed back Pem's hair to reveal the large blue arrowhead that had been mostly hidden, and Pem did the same to her as they exchanged a smile.

"Just because they're hidden, doesn't mean they aren't there, Pem," Aisa told her wisely, and the young woman nodded. "Now, get some sleep, we're leaving for the Earth kingdom in the morning. Master Ponshi is awaiting our arrival at Omashu."

The Avatar nodded, yawning, and she crawled into her bed in the hut she shared with Aisa in the Northern Water Tribe city, knowing that it would be the last time she would do so for years.

Pemiri tied the bags and supplies to Felo, their flying bison who wore the same arrow mark on his forehead as the airbenders who rode him, and smiled thankfully when the job was done. She leant back against his warm and comforting fur and shut her eyes contently.

"Hey Pem."

The voice made her eyes snap open, and she grinned when she saw Tyson standing a few feet away, the adorable smile she loved so much on his face.

"Tyson," She said, pushing away from the bison to take a step towards him, before remembering all her responsibilities. "Hi." The boy was the same height as her, and what he lacked in physical strength he made up for with his impressive bending skills.

"You're leaving," The young man said sadly, and she nodded as she patted Felo's side.

"It was always going to happen, Tyson, we just kept pretending it wouldn't," She replied, and he sighed, clearly knowing it to be true. "But it's been fun. Really fun." Seeing his gloomy expression, she flicked a spurt of water at him, which he bended around himself and back at her, a faint smile returning to his face. "You're my water guy, that isn't going to change."

"Maybe you'll decide you like Earth guys better," He muttered, and she sent the water back at him, hitting his face playfully.

"Tyson, if mastering Earth and Fire takes me as long as mastering Water did, I'm not going to be able to come back for at least 6 years. We've got to accept that whatever we have, whatever this is, it isn't meant to be," Pemiri forced a smile at him. "There are plenty of talented and beautiful girls here. You just need to stop looking at me long enough to see them."

At that moment, Sister Aisa and Master Keltang appeared.

"It's time to go, Pemiri," Aisa said solemnly, and the young Avatar nodded before turning to the waterbending master and bowing one last time.

"Thanks again, Master Keltang," She said, and he bowed back.

"It's been an honour to teach you. And an honour to meet you both."

Aisa and Keltang bowed to each other as well before Aisa hopped up onto Felo's neck to wrap the reins of his harness, ready to steer both of them to the Earth kingdom. Pemiri looked back at Tyson, taking in his wistful eyes as they watched her. Fleetingly, she ran up to him and pressed the briefest of kisses on his lips before she pushed the air underneath her and soared into the air to land in the large saddle of the flying bison.

"You'll always be my water guy," She called out, and he smiled a little. "Find a girl who can give you a run for your money at waterbending like I can." He nodded slowly.

"Felo, yip yip!" Aisa told the bison as she flicked the reins, and the bison took off into the sky. Pem waved goodbye to Tyson until her arm hurt and then sank down onto the saddle, stretching out across the large space that was big enough to have five or six people sit in it comfortably.

She played with tiny bits of water in the air until she got bored and read water-bending scrolls instead, going over all the techniques she had mastered. The Earth kingdom would be completely different from anything she had ever known, and she had to be prepared for anything.

"Pem! Get back in the saddle, now!"

The young Avatar paid no attention to the words being spoken to her, and instead soared higher into the sky on the small red glider. A device created to emerge from a simple wooden staff, the small contraptions allowed Airbenders to manipulate the air currents underneath the glider and essentially fly with ease.

And for someone who had spent the last 2 days flying over vast ocean, there really was no better way to help pass the time. Pemiri merely smirked as Aisa tried to guilt trip her into coming down. She was having far too much fun, and with her constant need to attend to her Avatar duties, fun was something she had been missing a little.

"I'll come down, if you agree to let me take the reins while you sleep for a bit," Pem offered. She had noticed just how tired the old woman had been looking over the last couple of hours, and wanted to make sure that her only constant friend in the world was okay.

Aisa sighed, but Pem could sense a reluctant relief behind it. "Alright, Pem, you win this one. I'll sleep." The Avatar grinned triumphantly and let go of the air currents holding her, dropping down onto the saddle with a light thump that only an airbender could make. She took the reins out of Aisa's withered hands and felt pleased with herself as the Elder curled up in the large saddle and sleep peacefully.

There was something calming and tranquil about climbing over the ocean, Pem decided. The sight of nothing but water all the way until the horizon was simply so beautiful in the simplest way. She wondered what it would be like to try and bend that much water, but knew that it probably wouldn't be wise to try. One day, perhaps…

Her hand patted Felo's fur as a way of telling him what a good job he was doing, having been flying for so long. She leaned forward against his huge, furry head and closed her eyes briefly, content with the wind on her face.

"You're doing a good job, buddy, we're almost there," She said to the flying bison, who merely made a grunting noise in response.

Hours later, when Aisa had awoken and the sky was streaked with orange and pink and purple, Pem let out a yelp of excitement when she saw a shadow of land on the horizon. She kissed Felo's fur happily before turning back to grin at Aisa. The Sister looked amused and pleased by her reaction and smiled back at her student.

"Do you see that, Felo? Land! We can all sleep when we get there!" Pem told the bison as they got nearer and nearer. Within ten minutes, they were over the land and the young Avatar had steered Felo down into the woods of the Earth kingdom. Felo let out a huge grunt that sounded like a relieved sigh as he immediately lay down on the ground, asleep. Pem and Aisa shared a look before laughing at him heartily.

"He deserves all the rest he can get," The elder of the two said as they got a fire going, and Pem nodded, grinning.

"He's an incredible force of nature, that's for sure," The brunette said as she warmed herself in front of the fire, admiring the way the flames danced. Her mind wandered as she changed the subject. "I can't wait to learn firebending." She brought her hand closer and closer to the flames before snatching it back as it got too hot.

"Do you think it will come easily to you?" Aisa asked curiously in a way that made Pem think she had her own thoughts on the subject already.

"I'm not sure…air was easy, it was free and unrestrained and that's how I love to feel," Pem replied thoughtfully, "Water was hard, because it was gentle, and that's something I wasn't. I'm more so now, having mastered it, but there's a reason it took me three years. Water is the element of change. I never liked change, and I still don't. It should have come easier to me, because it was fluid, like airbending, but it just…wasn't. Fire…it's something else altogether."

"It can be destructive and impulsive," Aisa said wisely, and Pem nodded her agreement.

"And I am neither of those things. But…like water, I haven't been able to bend fire without a teacher. With earth, I can already use it a little," Pem raised her hand towards a few stones lying on the ground, and they immediately lifted into the air and began to swirl around in tandem with her rotating wrist movements. "Is that normal?"

"Some Avatars have a limited use of all four elements from the beginning, while others can only use their initial element. It's most common for there to be a block on one element, usually in the natural opposite, such as water and fire, and air and earth," Aisa explained, and then paused as she regarded her student, "But you're an unusual case. Waterbending usually comes easily to Airbenders, yet it's obvious that the element you find most natural outside the one you were born into is earth, your natural opposite. It's interesting."

Pem nodded before hesitating and lifting an eyebrow at Aisa. "How do you know all this? I always assume you know everything, but how do you?"

"Ever since we realized you were the Avatar, when you were about five, I have been studying the Avatar history so as to be able to be the best guide for you possible."

"Oh."

They fell into silence after that, and Pem's mind was consumed by the idea that her mentor had spent eleven years of her life studying and training to be her guardian, and having spent three years in the North Pole with her, was still with her. She had devoted so much of her life to see Pem become the Avatar she needed to be…and that knowledge filled the young woman with a fierce determination to not let her down.

The next day they had opted for journeying on foot so as to go easy on the bison who had been so helpful in getting to the top of the Earth Kingdom. Aisa had spent the morning walking alongside Felo with Pemiri, but as the day had gone on, her old age had weighed down on her endurance and she opted to ride in the saddle for a while.

Pem herself had left her shoes up in the saddle because she wanted to feel the warmth of the earth beneath her feet, and untied her hair from the usual long braid so that the wind could shift through it. It was a relatively new experience, as she was used to it being either tied back or partially shaven, but she was enjoying it a lot as it waved with the wind.

Something else that was very different was the warmth of the sun on her face, an experience she had dearly missed during her time at the North Pole. She pushed up the long sleeves of her water-tribe blouse as the heat got more intense, bearing the arrows that adorned each arm.

"How far is it to Omashu?" Pem asked around midday, as she munched on some of the bread Aisa had thrown down to her.

"A long way yet," Came the reply, "The Earth Kingdom is huge, if you recall. Omashu isn't too much closer to the North Pole than our Air Temple, and you remember how long that journey took." Pem recalled being sixteen and restless as they had been travelling up to the Northern Water Tribe. She chuckled.

"So about another week then?"

"If we do nothing but fly and are not delayed at all, but it's unlikely, as we would have to have resting days like this one to avoid wearing out Felo," Aisa admitted, and Pem shrugged passively.

"There's not a huge rush," She said calmly, "The world isn't going to end if I make it to Omashu a little bit late."

"Indeed not."

They chatted more until the sun began to set, about various topics that ranged from advanced airbending techniques to the grandeur of Ba Sing Se. Aisa swore it was the grandest city she had ever seen, but also the most presumptuous.

"Ba Sing Se, though beautiful the one time I was there, is the pure example of why we Air Nomads stray away from worldly politics and concerns and live in our temples. There is too many falsities in every possible form…do not get caught up in their web of intrigue if you are ever there, promise me, Pem."

"I promise."

A pillar of smoke became visible to them above the line of trees, and Pem eyed it with a raised eyebrow before looking up at Aisa for her verdict.

"It seems like some kind of camp, and presumably a big one judging by the amount of smoke," The Sister deducted, "We should ask if we can join them."

"Alright then," Pem said cheerfully, excited at the thought of meeting Earth kingdom citizens, or even better, earthbenders. "Let's hope they're friendly."

The two airbenders and the bison walked on until the camp was visible in a clearing, and Pem was surprised to see the red Fire Nation flag decorating the tents, and men and women walking around in all different shades of red. When they saw the travelers, murmurs seemed to run through the large group of at least a hundred people.

One dark-haired man stepped forward with a broad and charming smile directed at Pem. "Hello, young lady," He looked up and nodded to Aisa in acknowledgement as well, "Ma'am."

"Hi…are you all from the Fire Nation?" Pem asked as her eyes travelled around, taking in all the strange sights, making him chuckle.

"Yes, we are," He said, "We're a group of benders, actually."

Pem's eyes widened as though it was her birthday, a tiny excited squeak escaping from her mouth. "You're all firebenders? That's awesome!"

The man laughed again, and rubbed his refined beard thoughtfully. "To you, perhaps…to most, meeting airbenders would be far more exciting." His eyes flicked down to Pem's lower arms, where her airbender tattoos were visible for the world to see. "Though you're wearing water-tribe clothing, I've noticed."

"We have just come from the North Pole a few days ago," Aisa explained, and he nodded with obvious interest.

"Perhaps you can tell us of your travels over dinner? If you want to join us, that is?" He looked at them expectantly, and Pem bit back the automatic acceptance sitting on her tongue and obediently looked to Aisa, who nodded with a smile, almost as eager as she was. "Excellent. I'm Zolin."

"I'm Pemiri," The Avatar said with a grin.

"Aisa," The Sister added for herself as she airbended her way off the saddle and to the ground. "Thank you very much for letting us eat with you, we appreciate it."

"Anything for fellow travelers," Zolin said casually, beckoning them to sit down amongst the others around one of the campfires, offering them bowls of hot food, meat and noodle soup, that both women accepted gratefully.

"The food is very good," Pem praised as she ate the last bit of it from her bowl.

"Thank you," Zolin smiled, "So where are the two of you headed?"

Aisa paused to swallow her food before replying, "Omashu. We're hoping to visit the Earthbending Master Ponshi."

"You seem to be getting around," He commented, "Probably originating from an air temple, then to the North Pole, and now to Omashu. Planning on going to the Fire Nation at all?"

Pem nodded. "Hopefully…but we'll be in the Earth kingdom a while…we've been in the North Pole for three years, so it's sort of nice to be somewhere new."

"And you plan on staying here for that long?" Zolin asked, and Pem tried to identify what was behind his tone. Was it surprise? Suspicion? Plain curiosity? She frowned and sucked on one of her chopsticks absently.

"Well, it will depend on how long it takes for me to learn earth-" The young woman suddenly trailed off after receiving a strangely worried look from Aisa, and just shot back a questioning one only for her mentor to ignore her. Pem had already said enough, however.

"Earthbending?" Zolin guessed, and Pem realized it would be fruitless to deny it considering how obvious it was. She nodded. "You're the Avatar, aren't you?" Another nod. "That explains a lot…why you've gone from an air temple to a water tribe to the Earth Kingdom."

"People have been wondering where the hell you've been," Another firebender put in, a tough-looking middle aged woman sitting next to Zolin.

"She's been doing her duty and learning waterbending," Aisa said in an almost defensive tone, "If they want to judge the Avatar on how she does things, they can have a go at bending all four elements themselves."

"Indeed," Zolin said with a small smile, but Pem could see a tiny spark of something that looked like disagreement in his eyes. Confused, she stood up from the campfire.

"To be honest, we've been walking all day and could use some sleep. Could we keep our bison here? We sleep in his saddle," She requested, and Zolin's eyes were immediately warm as he smiled graciously.

"Of course, consider yourself excused," He stretched out his arm in invitation, "We can always talk more in the morning."

Aisa and Pemiri both nodded in thanks before crossing the clearing to Felo and climbing into the saddle. They took out the sleeping bags and curled up in the expansive saddle, watching each other.

"Should I not have told them that I'm the Avatar?" Pem's voice was quiet and on the verge of guilty, and Aisa took a while to reply, as if trying to be delicate.

"We just have to be careful, Pem," She sighed, "Some people dislike the Avatar, and some people dislike airbenders. You're both."

"Why? The disliking, I mean, I don't understand why they would."

"Because we isolate ourselves to live a more spiritual and peaceful life…some people believe that we think ourselves better than the other nations," Aisa's answer made Pem frown deeply. Airbenders believing themselves superior? The notion was so ridiculous…

"But what about the Avatar? Why don't people like the Avatar?" The question was even more personal than the one about airbenders for Pem, and she felt a large amount of hurt settle inside her at the idea of people not liking her without even meeting her.

Aisa again didn't answer immediately. "Most people do, they love the Avatar, because you're a symbol of hope and peace and everything we want to maintain in this world. But…"

"But some people aren't like that."

"Some people don't want one person to be that powerful. Others, because of the reincarnation cycle, hold a previous wrong done by one Avatar against the current one…"

"That's ridiculous." Pem scowled, feeling insulted by the very idea of it, suddenly grumpy and irritated. She turned away from Aisa and shut her eyes before drifting off into a peaceful and dreamless sleep that eased her slightly troubled mind.

Upon waking, the first thing Pem became aware of was that she was not in the same place she had fallen asleep in. The second was that her hands were bound together, as were her feet.

Her eyes snapped open to take in the interior of one of the Fire Nation tents, and a glance to the left saw Aisa in the same predicament. Anger and betrayal began to surge through the young Avatar's blood, and she yelled out at the top of her lungs.

"Zolin!"

Within a minute, the firebender strode through the door with a cruel smirk on his face. He took in the completely restrained positions of the airbenders and Pem could see the obvious satisfaction in his eyes.

"I imagine you are wondering about the change of hospitality, so allow me to enlighten you," Zolin said, "We're an elite group, firebenders who know just how much power we hold. Firebenders are the most powerful people in this world, and if every firebender realized it, we could conquer the rest of you easily. Imagine, Avatar Pemiri…a world ruled by fire…imagine how glorious it would be."

Pemiri felt her heart fill with disgust and fear. Was that was this man and his followers wanted to do? Conquer the other nations and have complete power? People would die in the process, innocent people, and if she had any say about it, she wouldn't let that happen.

"You make me sick," She spat, "No form of bending is more powerful than another, it depends on how it is used and the bender using it. We were all created equally, and are meant to live as such."

Zolin scowled. "You're one to talk about equality, as the most potentially powerful person alive…but you see, that's the whole point of this-" He gestured to her bonds, "-our plans don't exactly agree with your Avatar ideals of peace and equality. Which is why you're now our prisoner. You and your teacher."

"If you touch one hair on her head," Pem said with dangerous calm, "I will hurt you." Aisa looked a little troubled by her words, being a airbender raised by the ideals of pacifism.

"We'll see," Zolin smirked again and turned to go. Pem jumped into the air despite her tied limbs and used her bound hands to thrust forward, the burst of air knocking him to the ground. That was something no one realized; even a restrained airbender is a dangerous one.

"Pem, no-" Aisa cried out, but it was too late. Zolin was already on his feet, his eyes alight with a delighted fury as if he had hoped she would give him an excuse to attack. A savage flame sprung from the air towards Pem and she dodged it, all the while searching for something to cut the rope on.

But then he shot two blasts at her at once, and dodging one resulted in her jumping into the path of the other. Pem hit the ground as the intense burning pain travelled across her left arm, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Aisa also attempt to fight back, but Zolin knocked her out with a single punch and carried the old woman out of the tent. Pem groaned and spied a scythe in the very corner. She hopped over to it and cut her bonds before taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the battle now mere meters away.

This wasn't like training. It wasn't a practice, where no one intended to hurt her much. These people would kill her without blinking, and worse, they would kill Aisa with even less hesitation. And no amount of calming breaths would make her ready.

Pemiri sprung from the tent, and found herself suddenly under assault from so many different sources of firebending she didn't know where to look. She threw up an air shield which kept her safe, mostly, and her eyes found Aisa, on the ground and slowly waking up. Pem tried to get to her while also attacking the firebenders, but it was difficult to do both. She wasn't used to defending against the style of bending the firebenders used, and cried out in pain when the fire scorched her skin in at least ten different places. Before she could get to Aisa, though, she heard someone call her name, and whipped around to see Zolin leering at her with what looked like premature triumph. She wanted to wipe him out, but the pain coursing through her body as the fire she couldn't properly fend off hit her over and over.

"Now, Avatar, you'll see that we can take we want, when we want," He yelled, and Pem watched with wide eyes as he manipulated a huge wave of fire around him. She shifted her feet, swirling the wind around her and getting ready to fight off the blast, but didn't anticipate the most crucial aspect of the move until after he had released the fire from his control.

He wasn't aiming for her.

The wall of fire skimmed through the air with a deafening roar and hit Aisa before Pem could get anywhere near her. The old woman's cry rang through the night before it was suddenly silenced, and her body fell to the ground, limp and broken.

Time seemed to stop then. Pem couldn't tear her eyes away as the fire licked over the body of her one constant friend, burning and scorching, until the corpse was barely recognizable as the airbender it had been less than ten seconds previously. A noise tore through the air, a horrible broken chord that was so dissonant it made Pem want to cover her ears and scream. But then she realized that her mouth was already open, already screaming…that she was the source of the anguished cry.

They had killed Aisa. The thought circulated as some of the grief turned to fury, and the firebenders watched in horror as the girl's eyes and tattoos began to glow with an eerie pale blue light.

"She's entering the Avatar state!" Someone cried, "Retreat, she'll kill all of us!"

Most were wise enough to follow the instructions, Zolin among them, but others stayed, determined to try and bring down the Avatar who was now encompassed by a globe of energy as her feet lifted off the ground.

"You killed my teacher," Pemiri said with thunderous power, and forty voices echoed her words as every past Avatar spoke with her, "Nothing can bring her back and for that you will suffer. You will burn as she did!"

Her hands lifted and she borrowed the powers of the past Avatars to bend fire towards the thirty people standing in front of her. Her smoldering ball of flame expanded and stretched with unbearable heat until every firebender around her dropped to the ground, dead before they could defend themselves.

The light began to slowly fade from Pemiri's eyes and tattoos as she came back to earth, but being in the Avatar state had exhausted her completely, and she crumbled to the ground instantly, her body covered in burnt scars and her broken heart aching painfully even in her state of unconsciousness.

She was the only person left alive in the camp, the one living among the dead.

*hides under bed* Yes, I know, I killed Aisa, I'm sorry! But it was necessary to spur on the plot, and Pem's character. Sorry again. And we will be seeing Zolin again, I guarantee.

Now, reviews, per chance? :D

-MayFairy :)