"So, shall we read another story?' Sokka asked as the Gaang sipped their tea peacefully.
Toph shrugged as she set her cup down on the low table. "I dunno. I'm rather enjoying the tea break from the craziness of having me falling in love with both Snoozles and Twinkletoes one after the other."
"Why don't we just read a story that has nothing to do with romance?" Katara suggested. "We've already seen stories like that."
"Yeah, maybe we'll find another 'serial-killers-target-Aang' story," Toph grinned.
"Um, maybe I'll pick the story this time," Aang said as he reached for the book and browsed through the pages, careful to avoid anything that had any implication of romance or serial killers. Finally he stopped at a certain page. "Hey, this one's called Not the Last Airbender. What does that mean?"
"Maybe it turns out the Air Nomads escaped the Fire Nation and have been frozen in icebergs for a hundred years," Sokka speculated.
"Not likely. Why don't you read the story to us, Aang?" Katara said as she settled down next to her boyfriend while he began the story.
"What are you gonna name him?" asked Katara. He snatched the food from Sokka's hand. "Momo," Aang replied. They laughed at the expression on Sokka's face.
"So this starts from back at the Southern Air Temple, when we first met Momo," Katara observed.
"Yeah, back to the day the fruit-stealing terror intruded into our lives," Sokka said as he took a pear from a bowl of fruit on the low table and bit into it, but not before making sure that Momo was not in the vicinity.
Suddenly, they heard a noise. "What is that?" Katara asked. Sokka looked down. His face clouded with worry. There, climbing up the mountain, were strange machines, machines with the fire nation emblem. "Fire benders!" he whispered. 'We've gotta leave, now!" They leapt onto Appa. "Yip yip!"
"Wow, the Fire Nation already knows we're there? They're fast," Sokka commented.
"Good thing this isn't real, otherwise we wouldn't be here reading crazy stories about ourselves," Katara said.
A white blur sped across the sky. "What was that?" asked Aang, wondering. Sokka looked as a ball of fire flew after it. "Someone on our side," he replied. "Let's go!"
"How would Sokka know that white blur was on our side when he couldn't even see what it was?' Toph asked.
"Probably because the Fire Nation wouldn't send fireballs after their own fleet, and they don't have flying white blurs," Sokka answered.
Their problems weren't over when they reached the ocean. Below them was a fleet of fire navy ships. The blur came a second time. "Appa, faster!" they zoomed ahead. Another blur. "What is that thing?" asked Sokka, bewildered.
"Yeah, what is that thing?' Sokka asked, as bewildered as he was in the story. "It's like it keeps following us around!"
"That is weird," agreed Aang as he continued the story.
They didn't have to wait long for the answer. Another ball of fire flew after it. As it flew up, they followed. Gaining speed, they saw, to their amazement, a flying bison. A girl sat on top, steering.
"I guess this is what they meant by 'not the last airbender'," Katara said.
"But how did she avoid getting killed?" Aang wondered. "None of the other Air Nomads survived."
"Maybe she was frozen in an iceberg as well and another pair of Water Tribe siblings found her and cracked her free," Sokka suggested.
Katara looked at her brother. "Normal people can't survive a hundred years frozen in an iceberg, Sokka. And there aren't many Water Tribe siblings around there."
Sensing another presence, she turned around. Looking just as surprised as they were, she spluttered, "Another…, but I thought…, never mind." She quickly collected herself. You have to leave, now. Fly ahead, I'll hold them off." "But how-"She cut him off. "we'll have time to talk later, now, just go. "But-' "Go!"
"Okay, I'm a little confused by that passage back there," Aang said as his eyes roamed over the passage again, trying to get some better sense out of it.
"Well, this is nice. She finally meets another of her people after a century and the first thing she says to him is to leave," Sokka smirked.
Seeing that he was fighting a losing battle, Aang urged Appa on. In the distance, he saw her flying bison roll to avoid a fire ball. As if by magic, the chains on two of the catapults on the ships tangled together. They were ripped off by an invisible force, then flew across the line of ships, destroying the other catapults. But they caught on one, and they fell onto the ship. The combined weight of the catapults on one part of the ship was too much, and it sunk. The flying bison sped away, and it occurred to Aang that the girl, whoever she was, must have been controlling the catapults, but hadn't meant to sink the ship. After all, air benders were taught at a very young age that all life was sacred, and she had to be an air bender, how else would she have a flying bison? One look at her devastated face as she overtook them confirmed his suspicions. But how did she control the catapults?
"Yeah, how did she control the catapults?" Aang asked as he stared at the book confusedly. "I don't know any airbending move that can rip catapults off ships."
"Otherwise he could've just destroyed Zhao's fleet back in the North Pole by manipulating their catapults," Katara added.
"Hey, maybe she's picked up a few extra skills in that iceberg," Sokka shrugged.
Katara looked at her brother again, this time with her eyebrows crinkled. "Sokka, most people don't get frozen in icebergs for a hundred years and live to tell the tale."
"Besides, the female Air Nomads usually live in the Eastern and Western Air Temples," Aang explained. "Even if she did escape from the Fire Nation, she couldn't have made it all the way to one of the Poles to get frozen in an iceberg."
"Hey, if the male and female Air Nomads live separately in different corners of the world, how do they get together and make babies?" Sokka asked.
Katara winced. "Sokka, you don't have to be so crude."
"Well, Air Nomads usually leave the air temple they grew up in when they reach adulthood and travel the world," Aang started to explain, but he was cut short by Toph.
"Why don't you just get back to the story and explain the birds and the bees later to Sokka?"
And unless she had been preserved in an iceberg for 100 years, he couldn't think of an explanation to the fact that she even existed. She was a mystery all right. A mystery that Aang wanted to get to the bottom of.
Aang closed the book. "That's it. There must be another chapter, like The Tale of Kara, but it's not out yet."
"Well, at least this story's way better than The Tale of Kara." Sokka set his teacup down on the low table and stretched his arms. "So, where did Zuko run off to this time?"
"He said something about helping Iroh with the dinner before he left. That was before we started the story," Katara said.
"Dinner sounds good. All the stories are making me hungry." And so saying, the four made their way downstairs for a delicious meal prepared by Iroh, who had great cooking skills among his many talents.
Many thanks to head19, who offered to let me use her story for the Companion! I've kept the original writing without any changes, to respect the author and preserve the story's authenticity. The second part of this fic will be coming soon, and in the meantime, you can still suggest your story to be put here in the Companion - if you don't mind a little criticism from the characters themselves, that is! Story prompts are welcome too!