**thanks for the reviews and keep them coming! much appreciated! :D oh, and special thanks to my friend andreea who helped me with this part because i was a little stuck ((and yes, andreea in the story is based after her, because she asked to be in it!))**
*disclaimer- i don't own avatar.**
"If you look at their trail of attacks, you can obviously see that they're heading straight for Ba Sing Se. And at the rate they're going, they'll be here by next week." Sokka was in front of everyone with a large Earth Nation map. It was after lunch, and everyone was much more level-headed. There was a knock at the door.
"Enter." The Earth King called. Sean appeared in the doorway.
"Good afternoon everyone. I brought Keek so you may speak with him." A little boy that had a patch over his right eye and was using a cane to walk, since his right leg was missing, walked into the room.
"Yes, yes. Bring him right over here." Katara got up and brought an extra chair over to the table. Sean and Keek moved to the chair, and Sean helped the boy into it.
"Hello Keek. My name is Aang." Aang was sitting next to him.
"Hi Aang." The boy answered shyly.
"Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions about yourself, ok?" The boy nodded. "How old are you?"
"8. But my birthday is next week!"
"Wonderful! Now, what was your Mom's name?" The boy frowned.
"Fitia."
"And your dad?"
"I don't know. I never knew him."
"Alright, now I'm going to ask you what you can remember from the day that the bad men attacked your village. Can you remember anything?" Aang got down to the boys level. Tears welled up in Keek's eyes. He shook his head. Aang looked around the room.
"How about you guys leave while I ask him?" He asked. Everyone nodded, and went into the conference room next door. It was just Sean, Keek and Aang in the room.
"What about now?" Aang asked. Tears were rolling down the boys face, but he told his story.
"They came around lunch time. My mom was just setting out lunch for me and my sister, when we heard screaming. Then, a man knocked our door down. He grabbed my mom's hair and dragged her out of the house. My sister and I ran after them. Houses were on fire, and so were people. I remember being terrified for my little sister, Belbel. She was only 5." He stopped.
"I'm very sorry Keek."
"They killed everyone in the town square. They kept us in there by freezing our hands and feet to the ground. Then they lit everyone on fire!" He began sobbing. Sean picked the boy up.
"I think that's enough Aang." Sean said. Aang nodded.
"Wait!" Keek stopped Sean from leaving. He looked at Aang.
"Are you the Avatar?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you save my mommy and sister from them?" Keek asked. Aang was shocked beyond words.
"Keek, let's go." Sean muttered.
"No! I want to know why! You're supposed to save people, right?" Aang nodded. "Then why didn't you?" pleaded Keek.
"I didn't know of them until yesterday. But don't you worry Keek, I promise to you that I will do everything I possibly can to make sure that they don't hurt anymore people. Alright?" Aang stared into Keek's eyes. There was silence for a moment, then Keek nodded.
"Thank you Aang." He said. Sean smiled gratefully at Aang and took the young boy out of the room. Aang watched them leave, with a heavy heart and a lot on his mind. He entered the other conference room.
"So, what's our plan?" He asked.
"We fight." Sokka answered simply. Aang nodded, knowing it was the only way to stop the hybrids.
"Excellent job Riley. I'm very impressed with your performance the past couple days." Iroh told the boy as they closed up shop.
"Thank you sir." Riley was washing up the tea pots and Iroh was wiping down the counters.
"Now, you never told me. Where are you from?" Iroh asked, just as the back door to the shop burst open. Nutashi, Liaf and Holt stood in the doorway.
"Riley, barricade the door." Nutashi ordered. Riley ran from his spot by the sink to the door leading into the actual shop.
"Liaf, get the old man." Liaf grinned.
"Gladly." He started walking over to Iroh, but stopped when Iroh began shooting flames at him. Nutashi stepped forward and stopped the flames in an instance with some water.
"Now now General Iroh. None of that." She smiled and her eyes turned icy. Suddenly, Iroh stiffened and his skin began to turn blue.
"Boys, grab him." Holt and Liaf ran over and picked up the frozen Iroh. Nutashi turned to Riley.
"Help me destroy the shop." Riley nodded and they began overturning tables, breaking dishes and destroying anything they could. When they finished Nutashi nodded.
"Good. Now, one last thing…" She turned to Riley and the last thing he remembered was the feeling of burning starting in his toes and slowly working up his body…
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