Book 1: Water

Wow, I'm behind on my writing. I really need to catch up… But, that is why I've been stock piling, so no problems for now. :)

Still amazed people are even reading this, let alone liking it, so I've got to say, I love you all. And thank you so much. :D

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Book 1: Chapter 3

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father." Zuko said, examining the carved wood. They all stood on deck, the Avatar's arms tied securely behind his back. Rhian thought it was all a little showy, but she guessed Zuko wanted to gloat for a minute. After spending over two years of his life hunting for this kid, she supposed he was entitled to that.

"I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks." Zuko continued, almost superiorly.

Rhian twitched. What did that mean?

"Take the Avatar to the prison hold," two guards pulled Aang away, "and take this to my quarters." He gave the staff to Iroh and walked away.

Iroh went to hand the staff to another soldier, but Rhian took it first.

"I'll take it, Iroh. I'm going that way, anyway." She said, brushing her dark locks out of her eyes.

"Maybe it's time for a hair cut, Rhian." Iroh laughed.

She waved him away as she headed to Zuko's room. Last time she'd let someone cut her hair, she'd wound up with an uneven shearing around jaw-length. Finally, it had grown out until it fell down her back to just below her ribs. The ends where still uneven and jagged and it did like to hang over her left eye if she didn't pin it back, but there was no way she was letting someone cut her hair again. Plus, she kinda liked it.

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When she reached Zuko's room, she lent the staff against the side table and sat down cross-legged in front of it. She didn't have to wait long. Zuko walked in, saw her sitting there with her crossed arms and stern expression and sighed angrily.

"You know, you could have carried the staff yourself, since you were coming back here anyway." She shrugged. "Just sayin'."

"What do you want?" Zuko asked, settling on his bed.

"I want to know how you're feeling about this."

"About what?"

"Well…" She said. "He's not what we were expecting."

"No. He isn't."

She was silent for a moment, thinking.

"What's going to happen to him? When we get back to the Fire Nation?" She asked, wondering how she'd never thought about this before.

Zuko wondered the same thing, apparently. "That's never bothered you before."

"I guess…" She bit her lip. "I guess, 'The Avatar' has always seemed like a pipe dream. Don't get me wrong," She said quickly as he opened his mouth angrily. "I never doubted that you'd find him, eventually. I just meant that he was always an abstract concept. Just a faceless old man you had to find. Now that he's here, it just seems… different. So, what will happen to him?"

Zuko's eye twitched. "I'm not sure. But I doubt they'll kill him, if that's what's on your mind. They'd just have to start the search all over again when he's reborn. But it doesn't matter what they do, what he looks like, or who he is. I have to take him back if I'm ever going to regain my honour." And that was that. Discussion closed.

"Okay, fine." She said, standing up. If he wants to be that way, then fine. She thought, leaving the room. There was some clanging and shouting in the distance, but she wasn't thinking enough to check it out. Instead she headed back to her room, to pick up her dual swords, thinking of practicing for a while.

She made it back to the top deck in time to see the Avatar leap off the observation deck, clutching what looked like some kind of glider. She'd been gone for a few minutes at most! How had this happened?
Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Zuko jump off the tower top after him, his hand snagging the avatars ankle. Instinctively, she went to catch him with her powers, reaching for them both and softening the blow when they hit the metal of the ship. The Avatar's glider folded back into the staff on impact.

They both got to their feet and took a stance when there was a low roaring in the distance.

"What is that?" Zuko asked.

I have no idea. Rhian thought, mouth hanging open in shock.

"Apa!" Aang called, happily. Oh, so whatever it was, it was his then. That was good to know.

Zuko took Aang off guard with a fire ball, forcing his attention back to the fire prince, and not getting burned. He was knocked back to the edge of the ship in the fray, losing his staff and having to dodge Zuko's attacks, until finally, he was knocked backwards into the freezing waters.

"Zuko!" Rhian chastised, running to the edge where Aang had fallen. Katara's voice yelled for her friend from the flying beast above.

"What?" Zuko yelled.

"Need I remind you that you just said if the avatar dies, you'll have to start your search all over again!" She snapped, shoving the fire prince hard in the chest.

Before she could yell at him more for his stupidity, there was a huge roaring of water behind the ship. Turning in shock, Rhian saw the enormous spiral of water shoot up to the sky, carrying the boy up and back to the ship. He landed lightly, his eyes and tattoos glowing with a bright blue light. Pulling the water with him in a truly incredible display of waterbending, he spun the liquid tightly around him, surging it out and knocking over everyone on the deck. Rhian went down, crashing hard into the barrier and hitting the floor with a curse.

Struggling to her feet, she watched in awe as the flying beast landed on the ship and the two teenagers jumped off, running for their friend. Aang's eyes and tattoos had stopped glowing and he collapsed to the floor, seeming exhausted. Like Rhian felt when she over exerted her telekinesis, without reaching the point of death.

Zuko! She suddenly remembered, searching around for him. He wasn't on deck. Where was he?

Looking over the edge of the ship, she found him, clinging to the end of the anchor. She sighed in relief and concentrated on lifting him up to the gap he fell through. Zuko hated it when she moved him, but she thought he probably wouldn't mind so much this time.

He reached the top just in time to grab hold of the Avatar's staff that Sokka was trying to retrieve. And to get poked hard in the head three times and fall back to the anchor chain.

"Ha! That's from the water tribe!" Sokka yelled, triumphantly.

Rhian rolled her eyes and caught Zuko again, flinging him up this time. She gave him a hand up when he landed hard on the metal floor.

"You couldn't be gentle?" He snarled, accepting her hand.

"You get gentle once. Second time I have to help you up, you get whatever the hell I give you." She said. "Go get your Avatar already."

"You don't seem to be helping with that either."

"He's getting away, while you stand here complaining." She waved her arms to indicate, and noticed she was right. Three soldiers where frozen in ice and Sokka was scrambling up the beast's tail.

Apparently one of them was a waterbender.

The beast started to take flight as Iroh came outside, rubbing his eyes.

"Shoot them down!" Zuko shouted, he and Rhian running towards the front of the ship. "Uncle, help me!"

Together, they spun and shot long streams of flame after the fleeing children. Rhian kept running forward, trying to concentrate on the beast long enough to hold it down. Even from this distance, Rhian saw the speck that was Aang jump and swing his staff hard, knocking the fire away and into the snow cliff beside them.

Rhian gasped and threw her arms over her head, cocooning herself in her power just as the entire snow bank fell down on top of her.

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It took a while and a lot of concentration to shift a tunnel out of the new mountain of snow, without letting it collapse on her. Finally, she crawled back out into the sunlight, sucking in the fresh air. She was so tired. She didn't hear someone call her name.

"Woah!" She gasped, as Zuko pulled her from the floor, holding her close and glaring into the sky.

He sighed deeply. "Are you alright? I saw you bend, but that's a lot of very heavy snow."

"Don't call it bending, it isn't." She muttered, curling up. "Where you worried?"

"No!"

"Sure you weren't." She smiled weakly, clutching her aching head with a groan. "Have I mentioned that I don't like snow anymore?"

He smirked. "So, how do you feel about capturing the Avatar now?"

"I still feel like it's more your mission then mine, but I'll admit I feel a lot better about it now." She looked over at the still huge pile of snow. "He's not exactly a helpless little kid. I think he can probably champion himself."

Zuko just grunted. Rhian wondered if she could sleep now.

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