Right on time ha ha. Anyway another good chapter in my opinion, not that I think any of them are bad but this one has some good concepts. There is some mushy gushy couple stuff in this one, not much but enough for my editor to say she wants to puke when she reads it ha ha. Well I hope you all enjoy it :D

Chapter 24

Dreams of Doubt

We raced back to Hydronia. I was sitting down, still weak. Koluk sat next to me. Fai still hadn't said a word to anyone; a lot of people were worried about him. He would look at me, his face wary. Many people questioned me about what happened, but Wei told them to leave me alone, as I was still recovering. The day went by fast, and soon, it was several hours after noon. The Bei Shui Mountains zoomed by. Soon, Hydronia was in sight. We could see a crowd at the dock for the land-raft. Cries of joy and relief were heard. Taruk, Fai, Koluk, and I waited for everyone else to get off, since we didn't want to fight through the crowd. Many people cried out, asking why were we delayed. Then, Wei and Chen helped Koluk and me to our feet, and the crowd immediately silenced.

"What happened?" Koluk's mother asked.

"When these four boys went on their scouting mission two days ago, they stumbled upon a Fire Nation camp," Wei explained. "Taruk went to get help after Koluk got injured. Hyriu…"

"Fai fought off four soldiers, which is very impressive, and Hyriu fought and defeated thirty Fire Nation soldiers!" Chen cut in.

There were gasps, and all eyes turned to Fai and me. Then, a thunderous cheer broke out. People hugged me and thanked me all around.

"Now now," Wei said, quieting them down, "They have all been through a lot and need to rest."

The crowd began to disperse. Hana came over to me and hugged me.

"Are you alright?" she asked, breathlessly.

"Yeah, I'm- I'm fine," I said and looked away.

"No, you're not. Physically you might be healing, but I was talking about mentally. What happened?" she said seriously.

"The fight- it- it did something to me. It isn't like anything you'd imagine. I hated every second of it; I just wanted it to be over. I wanted the fear and worry to go away. And more than once, I thought about letting them kill me. Letting it all end. I just wanted it over. The only reason I didn't let them kill me was because I was the only thing protecting Fai and Koluk," I stopped.

"That is why people fight. Some fight because they think it is right. Maybe that's what the Fire Nation thinks. Maybe they think they're doing the right thing. But most people fight to protect their friends, family, and their home. And that's what we are doing; that makes us stronger than the Fire Nation. We fight for our family," she said to me.

I looked at her, not knowing what to say or where all this came from.

She blushed, "My dad gave me a similar speech when I asked about the war."

"Wow, well, he does seem like an honorable man," I smiled.

"So are you," she paused. "When I saw you beat Koluk after warrior training and first started liking you, it was only because of your skills, but then I started to notice the real you, and I found out who you were, who you are. I may have started out liking you for the wrong reasons, but not any more. I no longer like you because you're Anzen Hyriu; I like you because you're Hyriu Jingshen."

I looked at her, remembering Pakku's speech to me on the day of the celebration and how I shouldn't forget who I am. "Thank you, Hana. I used to think you were annoying, but now I kind of like you."

Hana laughed a bit and smiled, "Kind of?"

"Ah, so sorry to interrupt, but, Hyriu, you need to see the healers since you were kind of slashed a few times. You know, with a sword and a knife, and also some burns, so unless you want them to be infected, move along," Wei had a sly glint in his eye.

We started to walk away. I looked at him, "You did that on purpose."

"I haven't the slightest idea of what you mean," he said, smiling.

We arrived at the Healing Huts by the Gambing Palace's wall. The others who were injured also when to the huts. We were kept in separate rooms. While I was there, the court visited me along with Wei and Princess Yue. She insisted on being up to date on my visions since she had believed me the whole time. I told them about the fight as best as I could and how I had to display my skills in front of Fai. Then, I told them about my second warning; what scared me most was that I could remember the Robed Man's speech word for word. Looks of horror crossed the faces of the court.

"This is very troubling," Arnook said, "but you need your rest. We'll talk more about this after the Warrior Games end when things begin to settle down."

"Can things settle down? The Avatar has returned, and my visions are getting worse," I said.

"Still, we will talk about this after the games. Right now, you need your rest. I should expect you'd want it after everything that has happened," he said to me.

They left me alone. Tekton came in and sat on a stool.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"Good, I guess. My leg is almost healed," I muttered.

"What in the world happened out there?" he asked.

"I protected Koluk and Fai," I stated simply.

"Well, alright, but I had no idea you were that powerful," he said.

"Neither did I," I responded.

He was quiet for a moment then, "So, you ready for the Games?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," I said quietly.

"Well, I think you'll do great, considering what you're capable of." He left shortly after that.

I slept for a bit then had some soup. Fai came in with his arm still in a sling.

"How is your arm?" I asked sitting up.

He spoke for the first time in days, his voice raspy, "It's good. Yugoda said I will be able to compete tomorrow." His face was down.

"That's great," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Yeah…" He took a deep breath then looked at me. "Hyriu, what was that the other day? I have never seen anyone water bend that good, let alone you. And your hand-to-hand combat skills; you're better than Koluk."

I looked down.

"So why do you hide it? Why do you hide yourself from everyone?" he asked.

"Not everyone," I muttered.

Fai straightened, "Lina knows, doesn't she?"

"Yes, so does Koluk and Hana and Tekton. Along with all the air benders and the Royal Court," I said regretfully.

"So why am I the only one that doesn't know?" Fai asked standing up, anger in his voice.

"Most of them found out by accident. Hana guessed," I said. "You have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Of course," he said, his anger subsiding.

"I am the Anzen, the Chosen Child from the Legend of Beifen," I said to him.

He didn't know how to react. At first, he was confused, then surprised, then he looked skeptical. "Prove it."

I held out my hand, and a small flame sprouted in the center of my palm.

"Whoa, that's kind of cool. That makes a lot of sense now. That's why you could take out those soldiers, but what happened to you after that? You passed out for a day," Fai said.

"Um, I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to distract you from the games," I told him.

"What about the Great Darkness from the legend?" he looked at me.

I didn't say anything, but he saw the look on my face.

"Was that why you collapsed, because of the Darkness?" he asked.

I nodded. We talked for a bit and he asked some questions but after awhile I groaned because my leg gave a slight burning pain but it faded soon.

"Oh, well, I guess you should rest. See you around." He left.

A little later, I was allowed to leave. I took it easy the rest of the day and went to sleep early.

I walked to the Warrior Training Field with Koluk and my friends. I was wearing my robes from the Gambing Palace; they had a sort of symbolism for me since I had fought my first real fight in them just like Gambing did when he was 15. We walked in the circular arena; the girls went into the stands to watch while we went into the field.

"Okay then, everyone down here signed up for hand-to-hand combat. If not, then you shouldn't be here, so leave now. If you don't show up to a fight after five minutes, you forfeit," Instructor Chen said.

"Alright then, all the fighters have been pre-matched; there will be no switching and no picking, no exceptions. Either you fight whom we say, or you don't fight at all. The first match is Fai Josho and Kuhaku Namae!" Chen announced.

Fai paled.

"You'll do great," I nudged him.

"You can beat him," Koluk said.

Fai walked up to the stage. The crowd cheered. Kuhaku got on the stage, and the crowd cheered louder. Chief Arnook stood up.

"And so let the first match of this year's Warrior Games begin!" He shouted.

They wasted no time; Kuhaku charged Fai and threw a punch. Fai ducked and rolled; he stood and kicked Kuhaku in the back. Kuhaku fell to the ground, but he jumped right back up. The crowd was going crazy. The two did a series of blocks and punches. Then, Kuhaku got a lucky shot at Fai's chest. Fai quickly recovered and tackled Kuhaku. They rolled around before Fai used his strength to over power him.

"I submit," Kuhaku said.

The crowd went crazy. Arnook held up Fai's arm.

"I give you our first winner!"

When Fai got off the stage, we rushed up to him.

"That was awesome, Fai!" Koluk said.

"Great job," I told him.

Kuhaku walked up to him, "Good match, Fai."

"Uh, thanks. You, too," he replied.

Match after match was fought. Fai was doing pretty well for the most part. Tekton was incredible. Koluk annihilated everyone he fought. I did reasonably well; I wanted to at least make it to the semi-finals. Taruk was also doing very well. Later in the day, most of everyone had fought all of their matches. I had two left; Koluk only had one. Tekton had fought all of his and won ten matches. Fai also fought all of his matches, but he only won seven, so he didn't make it to the semi-finals.

"Okay," Arnook said, "The next match will be between, oh my, this will be interesting," he looked over at me. "Hyriu Jingshen and Koluk Yonggan."

The crowd went nuts. I looked over at Koluk who was looking at me with a smirk. We walked on stage. We both had smirks on our faces; he cracked his knuckles. We shook hands, each trying to crush the others in that brief time. We looked at Arnook waiting to be given the 'okay.'

He looked at us. "Let the match begin!"

I tackled Koluk and brought him to the ground. He managed to get back on his feet. He kicked at my face; I rolled to the side. I jumped up and punched him in the face.

"Oops, my bad," I said, then elbowed him in the stomach.

He jumped on my back and knocked me to the ground. He landed a few punches, but I blocked most of them. I got up; we exchanged a series of punches. I kicked him in the back of his left knee; he got me in the chest. Finally, he did what I wanted him to do. He tried to use the 'Swing Kick' on me. I had been working on a counter move for it for a long time. He swung his leg into mine, taking my legs out from under me. I did a back flip and landed on my feet.

"Yeah," I said. "That just happened."

He had a shocked look. I took my chance; I ran my shoulder into him, pushing him to the ground and jumped on top of him.

"Give up?" I asked him.

"Not a chance," he said and kicked me, sending me to the other side of the stage. He pinned me down, put his forearm across my throat, and held up his left arm ready for a punch.

"Give up?" he asked triumphantly.

"I suppose," I said with a smile, "I submit."

Arnook held up Koluk's arm, "Your winner!"

The crowd cheered. We left the stage.

"Hyriu, that was very cool. And, Koluk, good job," Tekton said.

"That was one of the best fights I've seen," Fai said.

I won my last match, so I won a total of eight matches.

"Hey, Fai," I said as the last match was being fought, "I'm sorry you didn't make it to the semi-finals."

"Are you kidding? Before, I didn't think I would win one match, but today, I won seven. Instructor Chen said to me that the games weren't about winning, but that they were about being a better warrior, which is what you did to me, so thanks, Hyriu," he said happily.

"Why are you thanking me?" I asked.

"Because I only won because of you helping me during practice," he said brightly.

"Well then, you're welcome," I said.

The last fight ended, and Arnook announced the semi-finalists. The town was in an uproar of celebration. I separated myself from the parties, always standing on the sidelines. I went to sleep early but towards the middle of the night, I found myself sitting on the ridge where Tekton and I had sat and where the mysterious person attacked Lina and me. I sat down and meditated. Some people were still partying despite how late it was. The loud noise distracted me, so I have up trying to find any peace. I, instead, looked out over the city. It was mostly dark, but here and there were patches of yellow light where the parties were. I heard footsteps of someone approaching. I rolled into the shadows of a small hill and got into a stance.

"Relax, Hyriu. It's just me," Tekton said, "You can come out of the shadows."

"Oh," I laughed and walked out, "You just startled me."

"I figured that when you jumped," he said. "So back here again?"

"Yeah, it is a good place to sit and be away from everything," I said.

"I suppose," he said, "Are you alright, Hyriu?"

"Not really," I said.

"You want to talk about it?" He sat down next to me.

"Well, there is so much. I don't know where to start," I said.

"How about you start with why you can't sleep?" Tekton suggested.

"Well, ever since I had my first vision, I've had nightmares. A few nights, I don't get any, but that was a while ago. I get them every night now. They're horrible. I see the Robed Man killing my friends and family. I see Hydronia being destroyed by a meteor. And all these mixed with this one reoccurring dream. I am in a wrecked house; part of it is burning. And I can see a Fire Nation woman standing in front of me holding up something, I think, a sword. And every time I have that dream, it gets clearer and I notice some horrible new detail," I paused. "And they all get worse and worse. I see myself facing a giant Avatar with the Robed Man. I see all powerful spirits telling me I'm not good enough. That I will fail," I broke off.

Tekton was silent, then, "Well, I'm no all powerful spirit, but I think you are meant to be the Anzen."

"Thanks," I said, looking at the sky.

"See, Hyriu," Kyoshi said in my head, "Your friends believe in you, the spirits believe in you, I believe in you. It is only natural to doubt yourself, but don't hold yourself to these doubts. Any doubts about yourself exist only in your inner most thoughts. Banish them from your mind, and they will be nonexistent. We all believe in you."

"Yes, everyone believes in me. Everyone believes and thinks I will defeat the Darkness, but I can't beat the Robed Man with just beliefs."

"Why not?" she asked. "Why can't Darkness be defeated with belief? You may not know it, but beliefs are much more powerful than you think. If you believe you can do something, usually, you never stop trying, and you never give up. But, if you don't believe in yourself, you give up on the first try. Take your friend Fai for example. He didn't believe in himself until you helped him, and look what happened. If you believe in hope, happiness, and peace, then the world will endure. But if you believe in death, pain, and Darkness, the world will fall. The world will either endure with belief, or fall with belief. The choice is for the people to decide. If all the world gives up hope but one person, then the world will survive because of that one person. As long as there is still a tiny sliver of hope, the world has a chance. So Hyriu, you need to be that one person, when all seems lost you need to be the one person who still believes. Kan Dao has told me that before Sozin's Comet returns, the world will seem lost. Something terrible will happen, and all hope will vanish from the world. When that happens, you need to step up and believe. When the worlds falls, and it will fall, the safety net must catch it. But the safety net cannot catch it if the net is not strong enough and ready to hold it back up. So you must have hope, always no matter what, never give up hope, never forget who you are. The world will depend on you to unite it and lift it back up."

"Hyriu?" Tekton looked at me. "Are you alright? You've been quiet for awhile."

"I- I think I just need some sleep," I got up and went home shaken.

That night my nightmares were worse than ever. I saw the Fire Nation woman, except I didn't see any new detail in the dream. Instead, I felt something. I felt pain, unbearable, burning pain that was most intense on my right leg. I woke up screaming and crying with Hiko and Wei standing over me with fearful faces.

Well I think that that was a nice ending. Originally this one and Chaper 25 were just one chapter titled 'The Finals' but it was very long and had too much person-fighting-person moments so I split them up and expanded upon Hyriu and Tekton's conversation. I think the end result is much better because of that. Please continue reading, follow, favorite, and please review. Again for those of you still reading, I thank you for sticking with my story this long.