So it will be a Triple Feature! My editor pulled through, lol. Well here is the last chapter for 2013 unfortunately. But it is a good one to leave off with. I do hope you all have enjoyed these set of chapters and that you enjoy this one as well :D

Chapter 16

The Celebration

I had already woken up and was meditating, a habit I had formed in the past two weeks, when I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," I said and opened my eyes. I stood

"Hey." It was Koluk. "You ready?"

"Just about," I said. I grabbed my robes I had gotten from the palace. I was already wearing the first two layers, so I just pulled on the last. "Okay, now I'm ready.

We walked swiftly through town. Since it was still only an hour after sunrise, most people were using the holiday to catch up on their sleep. I saw a shadow following us in the alley ways. 'Hana' I thought. 'Does she really need to follow me still? She already knows everything.'

We continued to the edge of Hydronia until we got to the bottom of Gaofeng where the pass started. Lina was sitting under the archway that was the entrance to the mountain pass.

"Hey, Lina," Koluk said.

"Oh, hello," she said and stood up. She walked up the pass with us.

"So, Hyriu, are you nervous?" Koluk asked.

"Um, a bit," I said.

"Do you have your performance planned out?" Lina asked.

"Yes, I practiced it yesterday, and Daminao gave me a few

notes," I told them.

"Who is this 'Daminao' anyway?" Koluk asked. "I've heard you mention him a few times."

"He is one of my air bending friends, and the most intimidating-looking air bender I have ever met," I explained.

"How can an air bender be intimidating," Koluk said. "I don't get it."

"Oh, trust me. You'll get it," I told him.

We were about half way up the pass.

"Koluk, have you ever seen the Shui Temple or Heiwa Valley?" Lina asked.

"No, this is my first time also," he said to her.

We got the top of the pass. The balcony was empty. We went through the tunnel, and the air grew warmer. All three of us were dressed up for the celebration. Koluk had a neat and formal wolf tail hair style. He wore robes colored in several shades of ice blue, so he looked like a walking glacier. Lina had her hair braided with blue ribbons in a fancy style. She wore light purples mixed with dark blues. We reached the open air porch and were met by a group of people. There were the monks, the Royal and Hydronia Courts, along with some of my friends, and Hiko, who had come earlier with Wei. We walked to the balcony and saw the whole of Heiwa Valley.

"Whoa," they both said as they stood there in amazement.

"Ha ha, yes. It is an amazing sight, isn't it?" Master Sonam said.

"Hello, Lamara," I said.

"Hey, guys," she said.

Just then, I saw something approach from the sky. It was an air bender on a glider. The air bender landed, and it was Daminao. He had a Northern Temple style glider, with rectangles, and the cloth was a deep green that was faded and worn. The wood was made of palm tree and was light and strong.

"You are late," Monk Yami observed.

"Oh, yes. Sorry about that. I got distracted by watching the clouds in the sky," Daminao said sarcastically and flashed a crooked smile at me.

Monk Yami gave a disapproving look.

"So, Daminao, you do have a glider?" I asked with a smile.

"Of course I do. How else would I get around quickly?" he said to me. "Who are you two?" he said to Koluk and Lamara.

"My name is Lina. I assume you are Daminao?" she said, holding out her hand. He shook it and nodded. "Well, Hyriu described you very accurately."

"I get what you said now," Koluk said to me. "I didn't think it was possible, but he's almost scary looking."

I laughed.

"So, shall we go see Hyriu's performance?" suggested Master Sonam.

"Yes, let's do that. Hyriu, you will be performing for us in the center of the valley, unlike your usual practice area," Monk Dadao said.

We took a sky bison down to the field. it was exactly like the field I had been practicing in. There was a tower near by, jutting up from the dense forest that surrounded the stone field. There was already a crowd there. We joined them, I was nervous now that I saw the crowd. I walked to the center of the field which had been prepared for me.

"Hyriu, you may begin when ever you are ready," Chief Arnook said.

I took a deep breath. I tied a cloth around my face so only my eyes were showing. I wanted them to see exactly how I would be doing my performance, even though they all knew it was me. I lifted up a stream of water and swirled it around myself. Then, I lifted up a second stream and swirled it around with the first. I began to move the water together into a large sphere of water that I moved around myself. I froze the water so a ball of ice hovered in front of me. I clapped my hands and shattered the ice ball and melted the pieces, then evaporated them so a cloud of stream enveloped me. I slowly lifted up my hands, creating a funnel of air that blew the steam away. I blew up a large cloud of dust. I did several air bending forms blowing dust away creatively. Then, I lifted my self up with air and shot a few blasts in to the on-lookers so their hair and cloths were ruffled. When I landed, I shot a blast of fire over their heads. I did a few more simple fire bending moves I knew, which was a very short list. After I had done a few good fire blasts, I began to bend all three elements at once, creating a show of lights, wind, and dust. I fire bended using water bending and air bending to create a tornado of fire and steam. Then, I made an ice wall in front of myself. I shot it with a blast of fire, creating dazzling lights and a cloud of steam over the heads of the audience. I flipped around, shooting fire and launching water. I mixed air and fire making a whirlwind of flames. Then, in a swirling motion, I ripped off the cloth and made a small ring of fire on the ground around myself. The fire cast dark strange lights on my face though, according to Daminao, so it was hard to see my face clearly. Finally, I lifted my hands up and slammed them down, causing the flames to brighten and grow, casting an orange light on my face so it shown clearly and was unmistakable. I stood there for a moment. Everyone began clapping.

"Well, Hyriu," Chief Arnook began, "that was most impressive. I think that will be truly dramatic to watch."

"Yes, I agree," said Wei.

"Hyriu, that was pretty awesome," Koluk said.

"It was fantastic and beautiful to watch," Lina said.

"That wasn't too bad," Lamara laughed.

"Well, I think we all agree. It was very good, but I have a celebration to host, so good day to you all. I must be off," Arnook said and left along with most of the Royal Court.

Pakku walked up to me. "You should know, Hyriu, some of us do not think it is a good idea for you to reveal yourself to everyone just yet. I ask you to use caution, after everyone finds out who you are; they will never look at you the same again or interact with you the same again. People who hated you before will love you now, but they will only love Anzen Hyriu, not Hyriu Jingshen. People will be jealous or envious of you and might try to attack you. That boy, Taruk, comes to my mind. He will be most unhappy, I think. I could see the city splitting in half, those who adore you, and those who envy or fear you. It could spark a battle, perhaps even a civil war in Hydronia. I told Chief Arnook my thoughts. He said I was over thinking things and had too much imagination. He is being blinded by you. He thinks if he reveals the Anzen, people will praise him as one of the best Chiefs ever. Don't get me wrong. He is not a greedy man, but he can not help himself. He is so fixated on the idea that you will bring only hope and happiness, even though you yourself told him that you can't end the Hundred Year War. He sees only the best outcome of this event. So remember this, when it comes down to it, he cannot force you to go on that stage. He cannot force you to reveal yourself. The choice is yours to make in the end. Please make the right choice, or if you do reveal yourself, always remember who you are. The spirits in you do not define you; you are Hyriu Jingshen who also happens to be the Anzen. Don't let it go to your head. Still be Hyriu after today. Still be you. This is your first true test as the Anzen, as the safety net. If the spark of war is ignited, do not let it catch fire, or we all will be caught in the blaze," Pakku looked me in the eyes. "Please, remember what I have said when you are about to walk on stage."

"I will remember, Master Pakku," I said. "I promise I will do what I think is right."

"Good, I know you will do your best," he said and walked off.

As he left, behind him I saw a figure in the crowd of air benders; the person was wearing a hooded cloak. At first, I thought it is was the Robed Man, watching me. Then, I realized that the person's cloak was dark blue.

"Hana," I said aloud.

"What," Lamara said.

"Hana!" I said and pointed.

Hana looked over and took off running.

"Oh great," Koluk said.

"Who the heck is Hana?" Lamara asked.

I heard Lina and Koluk quickly explain to Lamara and Daminao as I ran towards Hana.

"Hana stop!" I shouted as Lamara joined me.

"So it's your crazy stalker girlfriend," Lamara noted as we ran through the crowd of confused air benders.

I saw Daminao fly by overhead. I used air bending, so I ran faster. Hana was pretty fast and had a head start. We were running along a path in the thick jungle. It wound and turned. I came around a bend, Lamara close behind. The path straightened out all the way to the Shui Temple. I could see the whole path, and Hana was no where in sight.

"She must have gone into the trees," I said, out of breath.

"We'll never find her on foot, and the canopy is too thick to see through from above. She won this round," Lamara said holding her knees. After a pause she said, "You want to play air ball?"

I gave her a weird look before finally giving in, "Sure."

We went back with the others.

"Hey, you guys want to play air ball?" Lamara asked.

"I'm guessing you didn't find Hana then," Koluk said.

"Sure, I'll play air ball," Daminao said.

"Nope, she got away," I said to Koluk.

"So are we just supposed to watch you play air ball?" Koluk asked as we started toward an air ball field.

"Course not, you can play too," Lamara said and grabbed his arm and pulled him, "Come on, Lina and Hiko. You guys can play, too."

I laughed, and we all reached a field, "So, how is this going to work?"

"Um, how about you and Daminao against Hiko, Koluk, Lina, and me?" Lamara said.

"Uh..?" I looked at Daminao.

"Unless you're afraid?" Lamara challenged.

"I'm not afraid. You're on!" I said back.

We got to the nearest field. It was rectangular field of grass. There were many wooden poles all around the same hieght but no two were exactly the same. At each end was a square with a circular hole in it. The rules were to get the ball through the goal to win. We split up into our teams and played several rounds. After getting knocked off the wooden poles multiple times, Hiko decided to just watch. For the most part, we were pretty even. Even when Daminao and I found really good ways to work together. No doubt Lamara's guardian, Master Sonam, had taught her how to play fiercely. After we lost track of who was winning, we decided to see what the festival in Hydronia had in store for us today.

We walked down into Hydronia, which was alive with activity. Tents were set up all over town, but mostly in the center where there was a huge space for big events. A large stage had been set up for me, Pakku, and the other water benders. It was close to the Grand Hall and the northern border of town. We met up with Fai, Tekton, and, surprisingly, Hana. We all walked through the maze of tents, looking at all of the games and attractions. Lina dragged Fai off somewhere. Tekton and Daminao seemed to be getting along well. Since they were about the same age, I wasn't surprised. I was getting jumpy and nervous. Hana noticed this.

"Don't worry, Hyriu. It will all be fine." She leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "As long as the Avatar doesn't come back, we shouldn't worry," she said, quoting what Arnook and Wei had said several times.

She gave me a sly smile. I stopped walking abruptly. Koluk, Tekton, and Daminao noticed that.

"Hyriu, you alright?" Koluk asked.

"Uh, yeah, I just…I haven't eaten anything, and I am really hungry." I said, kind of truthfully.

"Oh, me too. Why don't we go get something to eat?" Hana said.

"Oh, uh, really?" I said, seeing no way out.

"Hana? Hana?" someone called, and then Hana's mother, Meili, broke through the crowd. "Ah, Hana, there you are. I'm sorry, Hyriu, but I'm going to have to steal her from you."

"Oh, it's no bother at all, really," I said politely.

"Oh, you're so sweet. Hmm have a good day Hyriu," she said and walked off leading Hana.

"You too," I said to her. "Thank the spirits; I thought I'd never be rid of her."

"Well, I'm hungry," Koluk said. "So can we go get some food?"

"Sure," I said.

"Alright," said Tekton.

We walked to one of the tents and bought some fried squid wrapped in kelp.

"So what's going on with Hana?" Tekton asked between mouthfuls of squid.

"Uh, what do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Well, didn't you two go on a date two weeks ago?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Well then, why do you seem to always want to stay as far away from her as possible?" he asked.

"Well, um, she always has this creepy thing where she knows things that she shouldn't know, and she's always popping up in strange places," I explained.

"That's women for you," Tekton laughed. "You got a lot to learn about the dating life. The only way for you to keep your girlfriend from finding out your secrets is to not have any. You might think she doesn't know something, but she does and is probably just testing you to see when or if you'll tell her, so you probably should tell Hana everything she doesn't know."

We continued eating then walked around playing games and talking. The day dragged on and on.

I was constantly on guard for Taruk or Hana. Friends came and went, some to eat, some to play games, and some to go hang out with other friends. I won a few prizes. Koluk and I would get super competitive and, in some cases, destructive with all the arcade games. Overall, the day was fun. There were enough games, food, and friends to distract me from the troubles tonight might bring. When the sun began to set, Lamara found me eating ice candy with Koluk, Lina, and Fai.

"Hey, Hyriu," she said quietly, "It's time."

Koluk and Lina exchanged nervous looks.

I nodded and took a deep breath, "Okay, let's go."

We started to walk away, "Where are you going, Hyriu?" Fai asked.

"Oh, don't worry Fai. He'll be back after sun down. I want to show him something," Lamara said happily. She could always shake the nerves out of people with her light-hearted tone.

"Well, alright, see you later," he said.

We worked our way through the crowd to get behind the stage. I found Chief Arnook waiting, talking with Pakku and Yugoda and an angry Princess Yue.

"Hyriu!" Yue said and ran over to me. "My father's plan is foolish and stupid. You should not go through with it."

"I have already expressed my feelings," I told her.

"Father, why do you insist he do this? What do you hope to gain from it?" Yue pleaded. I had never seen her like this.

Arnook ignored his daughter and looked at me rubbing his temples. "Someone let it slip to her about your visions," he explained.

"Pakku told me everything!" she cried.

"Including his crazy thoughts of civil war?" Arnook asked her.

"Yes," she stammered.

"He told me as well," I added.

"Good, then you know the foolish ideals that run through their heads and to ignore them," Arnook said.

I heard Wei announce the young water benders of Hydronia to perform after Master Pakku.

Pakku gave me a meaningful look and walked out from behind the curtain. The crowd cheered.

"While I can see the idea of civil war might be a bit far fetched, but, Chief, can't you see what is happening? You're going so far to say this is right by ignoring your own family? How is that right?" I said to him.

"She will see my point of view after you reveal yourself," Arnook said sternly.

"Perhaps, but Pakku at least said one thing sensible to me if nothing else. You only see the best outcome of this situation. What if you don't get the desired effect?" I said.

"Hyriu, do not lose yourself in Pakku's over exaggeration, too. You are the back up Avatar. How could the people not look to you with hope?" Arnook almost shouted.

"They could be mad that you kept this secret from them all this time," Yue offered.

"Quiet!" Arnook ordered.

"But what about Hyriu's visions? You can't ignore them," Yue pleaded.

"What about them? He had visions. That is precisely what they are, visions, nothing more. They are dreams, figments of Hyriu's imagination," he said.

I was not happy with practically being called crazy, "Then how come every time I see the Robed Man, everyone around gets a cold feeling?" I asked.

Wei announced the end of Pakku's performance and the beginning of the young water benders' performance.

"I did not know this," Arnook said, caught off guard.

"That is because you have been ignoring my visions, so I didn't bother telling you since you would just brush it off as if I said the sky was purple!" I shouted.

"Well, it does not matter, you are going to reveal yourself tonight so the people can have hope again," Arnook said.

I was about to respond when the female spirit spoke to me, 'Hyriu, something is about to happen, something that will change everything.'

'Um, yeah, I know that. I'm about to give my performance and reveal myself to everyone,' I said to her.

'No,' she said.

'What do you mean "No"?' I asked, but she remained silent, 'Why do you always say big dramatic things, but you never explain them?'

She didn't answer.

"Um, Hyriu," Lamara said, "Are you alright? You look like your having an argument with yourself."

"That's more or less true," I told her.

"Well, enough of this nonsense. Hyriu will perform tonight, and that is final," Arnook stated. "Now, I am going on stage. Hyriu you know when to come out, correct?"

I heard the crowd cheering on the water benders as they left the stage.

"Probably when you say something like 'Behold the Great and Powerful Anzen' right?" I said with a sarcastic smile.

"Something like that," he said and walked through the curtain and was met by a loud cheer.

I sat down deep in thought about everything that was going on. Pakku's words echoed in my head along with Yue's and Arnook's.

'Um, spirit lady, do you think you could help me?' I asked in my head.

Surprisingly, she answered, "I do not need to help. The decision of whether or not to go out on stage will be made for you.'

That really didn't help, so I still sat there troubled while Arnook began his big speech.

"Good evening, everyone," he began, "I hope everyone has enjoyed the celebration." He was answered by a loud cheer, "That is good, but I have one final surprise," he paused, "As you all know the war with the Fire Nation has only gotten worse. Our sister tribe in the south has been all but eradicated. All that is left of the Air Nomads dwell in the Bei Shui Mountains as our neighbors. Most of their culture has been lost forever. The Earth Kingdom is strong, but after 100 years of war, it is crumbling. I received word last month that one of the Great Three Strongholds has fallen. Gulanoth fell to the Fire Nation. Now Ohmashu and Ba Sing Se are the only strong holds left. The only thing that has kept us safe is our location. The Fire Nation showed us in the Tragedy of Lok Wa that they can wipe us out."

I swallowed, that was when my parents were killed.

Arnook continued, "This year, Sozin's Comet arrives again, and no doubt the Fire Nation have some grand evil plan to harness the comet's strength. Hope is fading. Courage and bravery are being replaced with fear. Now no one can walk through the Earth Kingdom with out a sword at his belt, or a bow on his back, else he will be attacked. The world is falling, and no one can see the bottom of the dark pit we plummet into. The world needs a safety net. And one might be in sight, a glimmer of hope shines on the horizon. I can see the source of the glow, and now I shall reveal it to you. I give you our safety net, the-" Arnook suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

I heard gasps and people cry out. I turned and looked at Lamara with a questioning look. She was looked at something behind me, something to the north. Her face in complete shock.

"Look," she said in a shaky voice.

I turned and looked to the northern edge of the city. A blue light was shinning, the source of it was on the other side of a large hill, but I knew what it was. I took off running to the hill.

"Hyriu!" I head Lamara shout.

I kept running. I charged past the Grand Hall. I raced up the hill. There were two people already at the top, staring at the sacred temple. I could tell they were spiritual caretakers of the temple. I then looked at the temple. The same temple I had seen in my first vision. The same temple Arnook had shown me after his announcement. It looked exactly like my vision; the tall spire was glowing bright blue, which meant only one thing. I turned and looked at Lamara who was standing behind me. Chaos had erupted in the crowd by the stage. Many people shouted the same thing over and over.

"Chief Arnook said there was a light on the horizon! He predicted it!"

I remembered what I heard so many people say in the last two weeks, "The time to worry was when the Avatar returned." Now, was the time to worry. Now, was when my visions were proven true. The people shouted what the light meant.

"The Avatar has returned! The Avatar has returned!"

Yes, I am leaving you all with that cliff hanger for 2 or 3 weeks. Ha ha sorry. The story will continue in January 2014 with a double feature of Chapter 17: A Time to Worry and Chapter 18: Uncertain Decisions. Happy Holidays everyone :D