Kali leaned against the railing of the front of the Shoeboat. A cool breeze blew the smell of the salty sea in her face and fluttered her hair while the sun beamed down, warming her. She doubted she'd ever truly be comfortable out to sea (the vastness of the ocean was mildly terrifying to her in those moments when she saw how isolated the ship looked out on it, with no land in sight), but today seemed the perfect day for sailing. Adding to her good mood was the fact that Uncle had promised to teach her Pai Sho today. Zuko had reluctantly given her half of the day off from work, thanks to Uncle's continued urging. She smiled to herself.
Zuko stood staring ahead through his telescope. Uncle arrived on deck and Kali looked at him expectantly. Uncle smiled at her, then stopped. He sniffed the air, inhaling heavily, then frowned at the horizon.
"There's a storm coming," he said, matter-of-factly, "A big one."
Both Zuko and Kali looked at him in confusion.
"You're out of your mind, Uncle! There isn't a cloud in the sky!"
Uncle glanced at Zuko.
"There's a storm blowing in from the north. I recommend we head southward."
Zuko walked over to him.
"We know the Avatar is heading north, so we will do the same."
Uncle looked up at him now, a worried look coming over his face.
"Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew!"
Jee strolled out of the ship's main entrance to the interior and stopped to watch them, a look of concern crossing his face.
"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" Zuko said angrily to his uncle, then glared at the crew. Noticing Jee's expression changing from concern to open resentment, he narrowed his eyes and strutted across the deck to stand with his face shoved into Jee's. Speaking in a low voice, he said,
"Finding the Avatar is more important than any individual's safety."
He looked the crew over once more, stopping on Kali long enough to give her the look she now considered to be her own personalized version of his scowl, then stormed off inside, slamming the door behind him.
Kali followed him with her eyes, her good mood now vanished. She joined Jee and Uncle where they stood hesitantly.
"He doesn't mean that," Uncle said worriedly, "He's just all worked up."
Jee's face revealed he was unconvinced. Neither was Kali. Then Uncle turned to her, obviously anxious to change the subject,
"So, how about we get started with that game of Pai Sho?"
All seemed like a normal day for the now growing group surrounding the Avatar. The group had started the day doing a little bit of shopping in a village, but Fire Nation guards had startled them enough that they returned to Appa and decided it was safest to take refuge for the night. The last thing they wanted right now was a fight. So, once settled in a quarry of some sort, Katara and Masami settled into making dinner with some vegetables they had been able to buy before they had gotten spooked. Sokka and Jet praticed sparring nearby, and Aang brushed Appa. The group sat down to eat once the girls had finished the meal, and then talked around the campfire until decently late into the night. Katara and Jet snuggled into their sleeping bag, Sokka in the middle, and Aang and Masami on his other side.
Sleeping so close together, Masami noticed when Aang started to toss and turn. He normally wasn't very active, but had they been back in the trees sleeping in their bed, he probably would have knocked Masami to the ground. Once his knee hit her back on final time, he jerked awake sending Momo skirting down the sleeping group one-by-one.
"What's wrong?! Did we get captured again?" Sokka asked groggily, holding up his weapons. Jet pulled one of his tiger hook swords, holding it in front of he and Katara. Masami blinked, and rubbed her eyes as she looked around, but saw nothing.
"It's nothing, I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep." Aang said, his voice sounding almost defeated to Masami. That seemed to be enough for Sokka, Jet too. Katara glanced at Masami, then at Aang but said nothing. Masami furrowed her brow, placing her hand on the ground behind Aang as she leaned in a bit so she could talk softly.
"Hey. You...Is everything okay? You haven't been sleeping very well." She had the knee marks on her back to prove it. Her mid-sentence stumble made her frustrated but she made herself get through the thought all the same. Aang glanced at her, but rolled his head around to face the other way.
"I'm fine. I just need to get some rest." He answered, his voice quiet. She felt her brow wrinkle further. Before she could say anything else, Sokka sat up again.
"You guys wanna hear about my dream?" He asked, Katara rolled her eyes and pushed her head further into Jet's arm. Masami looked at him with a quizical expression.
"That's okay. I didn't wanna talk about it anyway." Sokka added, flopping back onto his sleeping bag. Masami wasn't sure about this whole thing, but if he didn't want to talk that was okay. She laid back down, and did her best to sleep through his tossing the rest of the night.
The following morning, the group rose with the sun and started collecting their things.
"Look at those clouds, Buddy! Should be some smooth flying!" Aang said from the driver's seat of sorts. Masami looked up at him with a small smile, looking over her shoulder as Katara shook their provisions bag, and it was empty. Feeding more mouths meant they went through food faster, it was something they were still having to adjust to.
As they boarded Appa to go find a market, Sokka stopped them.
"Guys, wait! This was in my dream! We shouldn't go the market!" He said suddenly,
"Why? What happened in your dream?" Katara asked, leaning towards him.
"Food eats people!" Sokka added, his voice serious. Masami raised an eyebrow. "Also! Momo could talk! You said some very unkind things!" He told the lemur, who lowered his ears. Despite Sokka's cryptic warning, the majority ruled that the market trip was necessary.
Pai Sho was a pretty awesome game, Kali decided. She and Uncle had spent a couple of hours playing the game before she'd had to leave to begin cooking lunch. According to Uncle, she'd picked it up really quickly. She'd always enjoyed games that involved logic and Pai Sho was all about strategy. Uncle had already started teaching her different strategies to try and pointing out the various options the game allowed.
She had just finished the noodles when Garron came dashing into the kitchen.
"Kali, c'mon! You don't want to miss this! Jee looks like he's about to get into a fight!"
He then dashed back out the door and Kali took the noodles off the stove and followed him hurriedly. A fight? With who? She hastily walked outside just in time to hear Jee say angrily, "What do you know about respect?!" and see Uncle Iroh behind him attempting to signal him to stop there. Jee took a step toward Zuko, who was facing away from him with his fists clenched. Jee was challenging Zuko?!
"The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard-working crew to your esteemed uncle, shows you know nothing about respect!"
Zuko swung around to face Jee, taking a fighting stance. Jee mimicked the stance and they advanced on each other. Their armor clanked as they held their arms against each other, steam and smoke beginning to rise between them as each tried to outlast the other. The rest of the crew looked on eagerly and Kali glanced from one hard face to the other, wondering who would win if this went any further. Fortunately, it didn't.
"Enough!" Uncle said loudly, forcing them apart and standing slightly between them, "We are all a bit tired from being at sea for so long. I'm sure that after a bowl of noodles, everyone will feel much better."
Kali seriously doubted that but took the cue to hurry back to her cooking, glancing over her shoulder as she headed down the stairs. The two would-be combatants stomped away from one another. Kali looked up at the dark horizon ahead of them. Uncle Iroh had been right about the storm. A sinking feeling crawled down the back of her spine. And after a bowl of noodles, she still didn't feel better.
Once the group landed a little ways outside a port village, Masami felt a little on edge. She knew this time of year in fishing villages like this. It was not unlike where she had come from, but it didn't matter. Her uncertainty over nothing would slow down the group and they didn't need that. She swallowed the nagging in the back of her head and she kept up with them as they split up to shop. She and Aang went one way to find things suitable to feed Appa, Katara and Jet looked for supplies for them and Sokka was left in charge of groceries. Masami wasn't sure about letting Sokka choose their food, but no one else seemed worried about it.
All the same, as they found things that seemed good and fresh, they ended up getting a little more than just lettuce for Appa. Which ended up being a good call since Sokka came back to them empty handed with a smile and a shrug. Masami put her hand over her face, and told him she'd take care of it. Once she met up with the boys again, all they had bought this time was small pieces of candy. Masami wasn't displeased with this purchase though, the candy was surprisingly tasty.
As they found Katara and Jet, it seemed Katara was worried about the same thing she had been and was looking at melons. She didn't seem pleased with how they sounded, so as the merchant nagged about them truly being fresh she turned and asked the rest of the group. Without being able to get a consensus, they passed on the melons.
As they walked away, the merchant managed to land Jet a nice kick in the pants that got the group walking a little faster. But, the food they had been able to get had taken the rest of their money. Jet and Sokka discussed what to do,
"We could work some kind of odd job or something." Jet suggested as they sat on the side of the dock.
"That could be something, yeah..if we could find something safe." Sokka added, reclining on his hands. All eyes looked up as a bickering couple wandered by.
"You shouldn't go out there! The fish can wait! There's going to be a terrible storm!" She cried, waving her hands at the man.
"You're crazy! It's going to be a nice day! No clouds, no wind, no nothing! So quit your nagging, woman!" He shot back. The group watched, trying not to stare but not really being able to stop.
"Maybe we should find some shelter." Aang asked his voice a little scared sounding. Masami looked at him, but before she could speak Sokka spoke up.
"Shelter from what?" He asked, looking back at the couple.
"My joints say it's going to be a storm! A bad one!"
"Well it's your joints against my brain!"
"Well, I hope your brain can hold those fish, cuz I ain't comin!"
"Then I'll find a new hauler and pay him double what you get! How do you like that?" The man shot back, and Sokka shot straight up from his sitting position, running towards the man; he was closely followed by Jet.
"I'll go!" He said,
"Me too." Jet added, standing behind him.
"I'll take you both." He responded, barely looking at the group.
"What? You said get a job, and he's paying double!" Sokka responded to the looks,
"Double? Who told you that nonsense?"
Kali listened worriedly to the sounds of the storm pounding against the ship. At one time, she'd been unable to even approach any body of water bigger than a creek. She'd seen how powerful and destructive water could be. But, together with Masami, she'd learned to cope with that fear to a certain degree. The fact that she'd volunteered herself to sail on the ocean for weeks on end had been a big step, but a necessary one. Now as she listened to the storm bombard the old, creaky ship, she clutched at herself and tried not to let her fear overtake her.
Finding herself shivering from chills going up and down her spine, she walked down toward where she knew the rest of the crew was probably gathered around a fire. Everyone was looking at Jee when she entered the room.
"I'm tired of taking his orders and I'm sick of hunting his Avatar! I mean, who does Zuko think he is?!"
"Do you really want to know?"
Everyone in the room, including Kali, who had just started down the stairs, turned, startled, to see Uncle Iroh standing in the doorway. Kali was surprised she hadn't heard him come in right behind her.
"General Iroh, sir." Jee stood uneasily, "We were just-"
"It's okay," Uncle interrupted him, calmly, "May I join you?"
"Of course, sir."
Kali and Uncle pulled up chairs beside the already crowded circle around the fire. Uncle sighed as he sat down.
"Try to understand. My nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much."
The crew stared at Uncle intently and the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of the storm pounding the ship and the crackling fire. Kali leaned forward, still holding herself and trying to focus on the story instead of her fear. Maybe she'd finally learn what exactly Zuko's deal was. Who knew? Maybe what she'd overheard him talking to himself about would make sense too after this. Uncle began his tale.
Everything about this seemed to be making Aang nervous.
"Sokka, maybe this isn't such a good idea." He tried as Sokka and Jet loaded the ship. Sokka looked over his shoulder,
"I agreed to do this job, I can't back out because of some bad weather." He responded, handing some cargo to Jet as they put it below deck. From the shore,
"The boy with the tattoos has some sense! Maybe you should listen to him!" The woman spat at her husband. The man looked up, approaching Aang.
"Boy with tattoos? Airbender tattoos, well I'll be a Hogmonkey's uncle! You're the Avatar, ain'tcha?!" He questioned, sounding impressed. Masami looked at Katara as she nodded in affirmation. This was the first time they hadn't been attacked for Aang being the Avatar, it set Masami on edge offering up that detail so easily. She seemed to have the right idea about it,
"Well don't be so smiley about it! The Avatar disappeared for 100 years! You turned your back on the world." The man said, putting his finger in Aang's chest. Before she could stop herself, Masami lifted water from the ocean, brought her arms up like she had been practicing and dislodged the man from his position in front of Aang. The suddenness of the blow caused the older man to loose his footing. Masami said nothing, but kept the whip up so the man knew she meant business.
"Touch him again." She hissed. The man, seemingly startled, pulled himself up slowly.
"Aang would never turn his back on anyone." Katara urged, her voice steady as she seemed to try to be stopping a fight.
"Oh he wouldn't, huh? Then I guess I just have imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering." The fisherman shot back, wanting a fight.
"That's not true." Masami urged, she wasn't sure of the whole story but she knew Aang wouldn't do that, right? But before she could turn around, Aang was panicked and gone. Katara looked back at the old man to retort but before she could address him again Masami had thrown him into the water.
"You're a bastard." She snapped, her sanguine eyes never leaving his face as she spoke. She looked over to Katara, "I'm going to go find him." She nodded, but looked back at the boat, conflicted. Masami read it in her face, speaking to her again. "You stay here with her in case he comes back?" She suggested, pointing to the fisherman's wife. Katara nodded, and Masami tore off to go find Appa and go after Aang.
This was the first time Masami had ever steered the bison alone, but she was doing fair until the rain started. The rain made her panic, reminded her of home. She swallowed, hoping she could get out of this mess soon. She flew over the mountains surrounding the town and she could barely make out the opening in the rocks on the other side of the rock face. She thought it was worth a looking at, and she flew the bison towards it. She ran inside the cave, shaking the rain out of her hair. Appa entered the cave behind her, but as she looked in the small cavern she found Aang sitting cross legged on the floor.
"I'm sorry for running away." He whispered, keeping his head low.
"He had no right to say any of that." Masami put in, her tone clearly put out.
"He was right." Aang insisted, his tone not lightening up at all.
"What do you mean? He was just a mean old man, don't let him think you did anything wrong." She didn't like Aang being so sad.
"I don't want to talk about it." Aang uttered.
Masami swallowed, "Is this about why you haven't been sleeping? Please, let me help." She tried, wanting to understand what was wrong. His cinereal eyes met her garnet ones.
"It's kind of a long story...I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar. I was playing with some other kids just outside the South Wall. I was trying to teach them how to do the air scooter..."
Kali sat quietly between Sal and Kahn and tried to imagine a cheerful, 13-year-old Zuko without a scar and with a normal hairline. It was very difficult. The crew sat solemnly, captivated by the tale Uncle was telling. When Zuko was 13, he'd wanted to sit in on a war council his father, Fire Lord Ozai, was holding. Since he was the heir to the throne, he felt it would be a good idea to start learning more about how things worked in the Fire Lord's chamber. Uncle had allowed him to accompany him into the chamber with the promise that he remain silent, in order to avoid offending any of the council members. Unfortunately, (go figure, Kali thought) Zuko had not remained silent.
During the meeting, the subject of a dangerous battalion of Earth Nation troops located in a key area had been brought up. One of the generals, older and evidently prestigious, had recommended sending in a division of young, relatively inexperienced soldiers against the hostile force. In other words, the young division would be sent on a suicide mission; an intentional sacrifice.
"You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?"
Zuko had stood, outraged. He'd challenged the general. Kali thought of the Zuko she knew. Cranky, selfish, displaying no sign of caring about anything or anyone other than his quest to capture the Avatar. Yet he'd stood angrily (there was something unchanged) once, in a fit of patriotism and genuine compassion, and striven to defend a division of soldiers against one of their own generals (a man who clearly outranked him). Kali felt her chest tighten and looked down to see her fists clenching hard on the side of her seat as outrage filled her as well.
"Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out and there were dire consequences," Uncle said sadly, "After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Zuko's outburst was an act of complete disrespect and there was only one way to resolve this."
Some of the men gasped and Uncle paused in his story to close his eyes wearily. Kali looked at the faces around her, waiting for an explanation. Finally, Jee spoke up, sounding reluctant.
"Agni Kai. A fire duel."
Uncle looked up and nodded slowly.
"That's right. Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see that it was not the general. Zuko had spoken out against a general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father."
There was silence for a moment again as they all took this in. Kali shuddered, knowing how painful it would be to have to duel a family member. Not that her own father and she had ever had a relationship like family members, but she imagined Zuko and his father had. How could the Fire Lord do that to his own son?! The outrage grew within her and then frustration joined it as she tried to understand the logic.
"I don't understand," she said suddenly. Uncle and the rest of the crew looked at her as she stared at Uncle's face. She struggled to think of a good way to explain why she didn't understand.
"Why…how does the room he spoke in matter more than the person he insulted? And why would…a father want to fight his own son if he could avoid it?"
She looked around, hoping she hadn't made a fool of herself. Sure, she'd be mad if people starting acting up in her war room but then again, wasn't debate supposed to be part of what a war council was all about? And even if some young upstart challenged an old, experienced guy in her war room, let them handle it. Just make sure they don't handle it in her room and make a mess! She felt slightly relieved to see she wasn't the only one looking questioningly at Uncle. Uncle sighed.
"An act of disrespect against someone in someone's house is automatically an act of disrespect to the host, regardless of who the disrespect was intended toward, but, I agree, that it would make more sense to first and foremost work things out between those who had the disagreement. As for your second question," his face saddened, "I do not have the answer."
Kali furrowed her brow and came to two quick conclusions. 1) Respect was overrated if such an innocent act could cause such a terrible response and 2) the Fire Nation's system, as far as handling disputes went, was stupid.
Masami started a fire with Aang's help as he started his story. They each sat facing each other, Momo was in his lap. Appa dozed behind them, and Masami sat facing Aang with her elbows resting on her knees. He had her undivided attention. She mindlessly fiddled with the curls hanging down her back as she did often when she was thinking.
As Aang spoke, she could picture this scene nearly vividly. A group of monks playing together, all boys of decently varying ages. Aang had apparently always been a talented bender so he was showing his peers somethings he had learned, other things he had come up with on his own. One of the boys tried and failed to be able to master the air scooter, no matter how easy Aang seemed to make it look.
"You kind of have to balance on it like it's a top." Aang added as the boy pulled himself off the ground.
"Man, that's hard." He said, rubbing his head. Another boy spoke up, excited to find out that it was in fact something Aang had come up with, rather than learned. But before anything else could be said, Aang was pulled away by a group of elders, and Gyatso. Masami heard that name for the first time that night, but she learned just how important he was to Aang in just the way he spoke of him. Aang was taken before the group of elders, and he was told to be the Avatar. Masami felt her chest constrict at the idea of a 12 year old being told that the world was on his shoulders, simply because he'd picked some toys out from others.
"I fear that war may be upon us, Young Avatar." The elders told him. Masami felt herself want to cry as Aang spoke, she didn't know how anyone could handle that news. Let alone a child, a child who was her friend. She watched him as he spoke, his shoulders lowered and his eyes downcast. He proceeded to tell her that people he had once considered friends treated him differently, they wouldn't let him play with them anymore. They couldn't because it wasn't fair that the Avatar was that much better of a bender then they were. That too angered Masami, but she kept her mouth shut.
The name Gyatso came up again, and it seemed he was the only one who treated Aang the same once he was the Avatar. But, it wouldn't last, the Elder Monks took it upon themselves to decide what was best for Aang, because it was best for the world. Gyatso had tried, but failed to appeal his case, and they were separated.
Before Masami could say anything, Aang was on his feet. He tore around the room, frustrated. "How could they do that to me? They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!" The arrows on his head started to glow, and the winds in the cave picked up. Masami squealed lightly as cinders from the fire struck her in the arm. She brushed them off, and Aang turned around at her distressed noise, the glowing ceased. He dropped to the floor again,
"I'm sorry." He trailed off. She shook her head,
"I'm fine." she answered with a smile, "Is that all that happened?" He shook his head, pulling his knees up to his chin.
"Please, father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"
"You will fight for your honor."
"I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."
"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!"
"I won't fight you."
"You will learn respect and suffering shall be your teacher."
The words rang in Kali's ears as Iroh recounted Zuko's exchange with his father in the arena. She stared ahead, not really seeing, as Iroh told them of how the Fire Lord had scarred Zuko, then banished him from the Fire Nation. Her fingers had turned white from clenching the side of her seat and she felt as though she would burn up from all the anger she could feel boiling up inside of her. How could anyone do that to their own child?! Her thoughts went to her own father, then returned to Zuko as Uncle continued his story. The Fire Lord proclaimed that Zuko had shown shameful weakness for not fighting him. He'd declared that Zuko could only return to the Fire Nation and regain his honor by capturing the Avatar. Shameful weakness?! Her thoughts raced .
She looked up as Jee spoke.
"So that's why he's so obsessed. Finding the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."
Uncle shook his head.
"Things will never return to normal. But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Zuko hope."
Suddenly, there was a loud crack, the sound of some horrific catastrophe occurring above them, and the ship shook.
"I never saw Gyatso again." He explained, going on to tell her things she hadn't known about how he had come to be with Sokka and Katara.
"So..you ran away?" She asked, her voice not judgmental but there was a question to it.
"And then the Fire Nation attacked out temple. My people needed me and I was there to help. The world needed me and I wasn't there to help. That fisherman was right! I did turn my back on the world!" His head started to glow again and Masami reached for him, around the fireside.
"Aang, please. Don't do this to yourself." She begged, holding onto his right wrist. He picked up his head, the glowing spread to his eyes too, interesting and terrifying all at once, Masami mused.
"You can't change the past, I know that's not what you want to hear. But you're here now. People believe in you, I Believe in you. You're a sign of hope that there is still good in this world." She pleaded with him, and finally he relented; something in him did. His head lost the glow, and his eyes were the ones she'd grown used to.
Before anything else could be said, there was a voice behind them,
"Help! Please, help!" It was Katara, and the Fisherman's wife. The men hadn't come back from the storm yet. Aang narrowed his eyes,
"I'm going after them." He decided, rising from the ground and taking hold of Appa's reins.
"Not alone." Masami tossed in, standing as well. She didn't like the look of the storm, and hated the idea of going that close to the ocean even more, but regardless of her fears she wasn't letting Aang go alone. Leaving Katara and the woman safely with Momo in the cave, the pair set off into the mess to go find Sokka, Jet, and the grumpy old man.
As the crew and Uncle rushed towards the door leading to the deck, they were joined by Zuko. Kali, Lieutenant Jee, and Zuko led the way as they burst outside into the rain.
"Where were we hit?!" cried Zuko. Kali heard Jee respond but his words were lost to her. She looked back at the upper part of the ship where Garrow would be, then yelled, "Look!" She pointed and Zuko and the crew looked up to where they could see the main cabin wrecked and Garrow hanging from a piece of the rigging.
"The helmsman!" Zuko shouted in alarm. He, Jee, Garron, and Obi rushed towards the ladders on either side of the ship leading up to the main cabin. Kali stood horrified on the deck watching them climb as the ship was rocked viciously by waves and lightning flashed all around them. Wind buffeted them all and water washed over the decks. Hadji, because of his light stature, was knocked over by one of the waves and began to slide past her. She and Balbo grabbed him, pulling him upright to keep him from falling into the sea. She looked back up in time to see Garrow fall.
"Nooo!" she half-screamed, then watched as Zuko caught him and, together with Jee, helped him get a grip on the ladder. As they began to climb down, Kali's hair suddenly stood on end as lightning flashed out of the sky right in front of her. She stood stunned as Uncle spread his arms, caught the lightning with one, and guided it across his body with the other to send it harmlessly landing in the sea. He looked a bit singed afterward but nonetheless, he had just bent lightning! She felt her jaw drop.
Then she spotted something flying through the air.
"Look!" she shouted again, pointing, and they all looked.
"The Avatar!" Zuko said, startled.
"What do you want to do, sir?" Jee asked him.
After a pause, Zuko said, "Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety."
Kali knew she wouldn't be able to look at him the same way after this night.
"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm," Iroh counseled, smiling. Garrow, Kahn, and Balbo rushed inside to work on turning the ship while everyone else clung to the sides of the ship and struggled to keep anything from falling overboard and figure out where the eye of the storm was. Finally, Uncle spotted where it must be and sent Hadji inside to tell the others. As everyone else turned to head for shelter, a huge, powerful wave suddenly hit them full force from the side. Everyone but Uncle and Jee, who were already partially inside the cabin, was knocked off their feet and sent sliding across the ship towards the edge. Sal and Garron managed to scramble to the edge of the ship's upper half and use the wall to keep from sliding too far, while Obi held on to the opposite side of the ship for dear life. Kali slung herself sideways and hit the rail hard but managed to stay aboard. Zuko was not so lucky. He'd been knocked backwards and as he slid into the rail, he was catapulted over the side, screaming. The others rushed to the side while Kali clambered up to look over the railing after him. She searched the waters frantically until she found him struggling not too far from the ship. He was just barely staying up. Kali felt sick and empty, frozen to the spot for a moment. Then she looked at the wall beside her where one of the lines for mooring the ship hung. Barely thinking, she grabbed the line, tied it around her waist, and threw herself toward the flailing form the instant she caught sight of him again.
She hit the icy water hard and felt the shock course through her. She kicked up and managed to surface only to be knocked under again by a wave. Terror propelled her upward and panic threatened to overwhelm her as she realized how foolish she'd been. Luck prevailed, ramming him into her almost just as she reached the surface again. She grabbed onto him and for a moment they grappled, each overwhelmed by their own fear and pulling the other down with them. Then a tug at her waste, pulling her upward, reminded her why she was there and she grabbed onto him in an attempt to pull him up with her. Coughing and choking, they surfaced again as the line pulled them back towards the ship through the waves. They barely had time to breathe though when the lifeline pulling them to safety went slack and they plunged back into the dark suffocation. For a moment, they still clung together, then Zuko released and tried to swim up. His armor cut into her and she understood suddenly that with it on, they were both doomed. She could no longer tell which way was up but frantically held onto Zuko with one hand while trying to find the clasps that released his armor, yanking at anything that seemed metallic and stuck out. She felt something release as she did so and struggled futilely to tug the armor off. Then she lost her grip. She bobbed back up to the top, yelled frantically, "ZUKO!" and looked around. The line was taut again and starting to pull her through the waves once more. She reached down towards where he had been, gagging and flailing helplessly. She couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, she could only feel.
Something grabbed her from beneath, pressed itself against her gut and bound her legs. She reached down, rammed her hands into something hard with hair and clasped them onto cloth. Zuko gasped and spat as he reached the surface again, his head pressed against her chest. He'd somehow managed to get the armor the rest of the way off. She clung to the rope with one hand and tried to cling to him with her other. For a while the water mercilessly smashed against them, twisted them, beat them. They gasped and choked and gasped again and choked again and then, everything went dark for her.
Flying through wave after wave, Masami tried to keep herself as focused as she could. As the bison touched down in the water, she felt herself stop breathing.
"Come on, Appa! The boat! There!" Aang cried, tugging the animal up as much as he could, clearing a path for them with his airbending. Masami was amazed at his calm. As they came out on the other side of the wave, Aang looked over his shoulder,
"Take the reins!" He called to her as he took his staff and dove straight off the creature's head, towards the boat. Before she could react at all, she was staggering to her feet and fumbling for the flapping rope attached to the creature's horns. She secured it in time to have Aang hopping back board, Sokka, Jet and the old man in tow. Masami turned Appa, and headed straight back through where they had come from, Aang occasionally having to clear waves as they did.
Before they could reach the cave, or even the eye of the storm a large wave washed over the group, the bison not being able to turn swiftly enough took on water and the rest of the group washed under with him. The force she hit the water with knocked the air out of Masami, and her eyes closed as panic seized her breathless body. She flailed in the water, trying to get ahold of herself, but the current being too strong for her. But as she started to lose the energy to fight, there was a blinding light behind her closed eyes and before she knew it she was back out of the water, in the saddle and sailing up into the eye of the storm.
So, it seemed Aang had saved her, again. Saved them all. She was right about him, she realized for sure now. He wasn't some sort of run away like he had thought. He was the hope the world needed after all, and that light that came from him could hurt, but it could also save. As they landed back in the cave, Jet and Katara kissed happily as they were reunited, as did the fishing couple. Masami and Aang checked Sokka over as well, though aside from being a little waterlogged he was fine.
"And if you weren't here now, well, I guess I wouldn't be either. Thank you for saving my life, Avatar." The old man said as he approached them from the back. Masami looked over her shoulder at him, and he looked at the ground under her gaze. He and sokka then launched into an argument about payment. Masami rolled her eyes, and Sokka tossed a dead fish her direction as the man placed it in his hands.
"Gross!" She gasped as she caught it, tossing it back at Sokka. Aang got her attention as she wiped her hand on her tunic furiously.
"Masami? You're right. I'm done dwelling on the past." He said with a smile, touching her hand lightly. Her motions stilled, and she looked up at him with a smile.
"Good, I'm glad. You were amazing back there." She answered with a sincere smile. He blushed, and before anything else was said, Sokka noticed it wasn't raining. The group decided they needed to get moving in case the weather took a turn for the worse again. They boarded Appa, took the couple back to the village and sailed off over the clouds
.
The air was cool and there was no rain. Light blinded her and she blinked up at the whiteness shining through the clouds above her. She couldn't seem to think about anything and so continued to stare, uncertain how much time passed. Dark figures surrounded her but she could only see the light. Then her eyes close again.
"Kali? Kali, wake up!"
She coughed as something warm and bitter entered her mouth. Opening her eyes, she saw the warm red glow of the ship and felt confused. Rolling back to face upward, a face finally registered in her head. Uncle Iroh.
"Kali?"
She breathed heavily and tried to nod at him. She couldn't seem to get any words out. He sat beside her and, propping her head back up, tried again to give her some tea. After a few sips, she shakily lifted her hands to take it and held it in her lap for a while, staring down at it before Uncle's urging finally made her go back to drinking it. Gradually, she became more aware of what had occurred.
"Thank you," she said weakly to Uncle, handing him back the cup after she'd finished the tea. He smiled slightly and put a hand on her shoulder.
"No. Thank you. My nephew would not be alive without you."