I was in a celebrational mood because of Chinese New Year and felt the need to post the new chapter. Note, the celebration for Chinese New Year lasts for like a week. So here it is, hope you like it.


We came to a wooden door which he slid open revealing a small room which was decorated with water tribe objects. Centered in the room was a fire with a pot hanging above it with rope from the ceiling. The ground was covered with a bamboo sheet and animal skinned rugs with four seat cushions around the fire. The walls were covered in animal skins, water nation weapons, and traditional clothes that looked like they were used in important ceremonies. There were jars and chests on the ground, probably filled with belongings or medication provided by the sisters that lived in the area.

"Bato, it looks like home!" Katara said overjoyed as she stepped into the room. Sokka soon joined her and they both admired the room, feeling the fur rugs with his hands and staring at the weapon.

"Everything's here, even the pelts!" Sokka shouted out after making sure that they really were the real deal.

"Yeah, nothing's more comforting than dead animal skins" Aang said obviously not comfortable in the room being the peaceful monk he was. Momo, who was sitting comfortably on Aang's arms, jumped onto a bear pelt and poked at its head. The bear's mouth closed scaring the poor lemur and retreated back to Aang. I rolled my eyes and took Brianna from Gin's back then placed her onto the bear pelt, using its head as a pillow for her. I turned to Gin just as he returned himself into the charm. I noticed Bato's shocked expression. I soon realizing that I hadn't properly introduced myself.

"Forgive me for not properly introducing myself," I said as I bowed "I'm Rebecca and the girl sleeping is my partner Brianna. We are the Girls of One Nation. It is our duty to protect and serve the Avatar and his companions."

"I see," Bato said still a bit confused but seemed to understand the situation more.

"Perhaps you have heard of the Girls of One Nation," as I said his it seemed to catch his interest as he looked up at me with complete shock "that is the name we are addressed by in this world."

"Well now I'm really impressed," Bato said as he looked over at Katara then Sokka. "Traveling with the Avatar was impressive enough but to be assisting the Legendary Girls of One Nation too?"

"Oh well, we're not that impressive" I said feeling embarrassed from all the praise. "After all we are still learning to control our abilities."

"Never the less it is an honor to be in your presence," Bato said, bowing his head. I looked over at Brianna and saw her toss and turn into an awkward position. Having grown bored of the whole conversation, Katara went ahead and lifted the lid of the pot to see what Bato had been cooking. A sweet and sour aroma suddenly filled the room as the steam and rose to the ceiling. The smell filled my nose and I struggled to breath. I held my breath afraid that if I breathed through my mouth I would taste the food.

"No way, stewed sea prunes?" Katara said with a hunger in her eyes.

"Help yourself," Bato said with a small smile, happy to be able to eat with company.

"Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things" Sokka said with a small chuckle. Without hesitation Katara took the spoon and started filling bowls with the liquid and offered them to Aang. The curious monk looked down at the bowl soon realizing that it wasn't something that he would want in his mouth or stomach. He gagged a bit before sitting down and placing the bowl to his side completely untouched. Katara then offered me a bowl but I just shook my head.

"I'm not hungry," I said and shook my head. I had lost my appetite from the smell.

"Bato, is it true you and Dad lassoed an arctic hippo?" Katara asked which get the three to start reminiscing in their past.

"It was your father's idea. He just dragged me along. Well, the hippo did the dragging" Bato said after thinking back. I looked over at Momo and saw him tasting the bowl of rejected stewed prunes. The lemur's strands of hair stood out, spat out the juice then began attacking the bowl with a paw.

"Hey, I ride animals too" Aang said ready to share his own story. "One time there was this giant eel..."

"So who was it that came up with the Great Blubber Fiasco?" Sokka asked Bato, not realizing that he had interrupted Aang. Bato's eyes widened as he let out a laugh.

"You knew about that?" Bato asked surprised.

"Everyone does," Katara stated.

"What's that story?" Aang asked feeling a bit left out.

"It's a long one Aang, some other time" Sokka said completely brushing him off. Aang's expression became more depressed as he began to feel isolated from their conversations. While the three of them continued to talk Aang started to look around the room and came upon a strange looking head ornament. He reached out to grab it but I stopped him before he could, seeing how it looked fragile.

"You probably don't want to touch that," I advised him. He gave me a sad smile but nodded his head then walked toward a corner. I quietly took a seat next to him as he got comfortable hugging his legs. We remained silent as we watched the three engrossed in their own little world. "You okay," I asked him in a low whisper. He didn't respond and just shifted his view to the bamboo mat. I could feel the tension in the air along with the smell of prunes. Ugh, I wanted to gag. I felt Aang grab at my sleeve and clenched at it. I glanced up at his face and saw his disheartened face. I took Aang by the hand and gently held it. He buried his face into his legs but squeezed my hand tightly. I leaned my back against the wall while I listened in on the other's conversation. Aang and I said nothing to one another but occasionally squeezed one another hands, as if saying we were still there. The warm air was all too comfortable and I could feel myself drifting into sleep. My eyes were feeling heavy and my mind was getting hazy. I knew it was a critical time for me to stay awake, but it seemed that my body hadn't gotten enough sleep.

((Aang's P.O.V))

Hours went by before I had realized that Rebecca had fallen asleep. I stared at her sleeping face and gripped at her hand, no reaction. I wanted to wake her up but I didn't. She must have been tired. I still held her hand but it didn't help me feel less lonely.

"There's something I should tell you kids" I heard Bato say. "I'm expecting a message from your father." I felt my heart sink and I loosened my grip on Rebecca's hand.

"Really," Katara asked with great joy.

"When," Sokka said with excitement.

"Any day now" Bato answered them. "Your father said he'd send a message when they found the rendezvous point. If you wait here until the message arrives you can come with me and see your father again." I felt my chest tighten and I grabbed at Rebecca's hand but she didn't even move.

"It's been over two years since we've seen Dad! That would be so incredible," Sokka said before turning to Katara. "Katara," he said, asking for her opinion. I stared back at Katara, hoping that she would say no. I mean, we were supposed to be going to the North Pole together, to learn water bending together.

"I do really miss him. It would be great to see Dad." My heart sank and I felt like I was going to cry. I got up from the floor and slowly let go of Rebecca's hand. I couldn't listen to anymore of this. I left the hut as fast as I could and Momo followed me. They were going to leave me. I guess when it comes to their actual family I'm nothing. I wondered around in the cold and followed the moon to the shore. The place we had camped out before Bato had found us. I jumped onto the boat that Sokka had discovered earlier that morning. I listened to the sound of the ocean with Momo sitting on my shoulder.

"I can't believe they would leave me," I whispered to myself. I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming toward me making me look up. I saw an Earth Nation messenger riding on a ostrich horse and was riding toward me.

"I'm looking for Bato of the Water Tribe," he told me.

"Uh, I know Bato" I said. The man reached into a bag, tied to the side of his saddle, and handed a scroll to me.

"Make sure he gets this," he said before riding off. I broke the seal and opened the scroll and saw that it was a map.

"It's the map to Sokka and Katara's Dad," I said, realizing just what it was. I stared down at the map before crumbling it up and shoving it into my clothes. There was no why I could give this to him. Not if it meant I was going to lose my friends.

"What are you doing?" I heard someone call to me. I glanced over at the shore and saw Rebecca standing in the dark.

"Nothing," I lied. She didn't look like she believed me and she walked closer to the boat.

"Aang, don't be selfish" she whispered to me. "Give the message to Bato." I glared down at her and could feel tears at the edge of my eyes.

"Why should I?" I yelled at her. "They'll leave me, us, when they get this!"

"How are you so sure?"

"They said it themselves. They said," I choked on my words as tears streamed down. "She said it would be great to see their dad. They looked so happy." I wiped the tears away and weep into my sleeve. "Why does everyone leave me?"

"Aang, that's not true" Rebecca said, trying to calm me down.

"Yes it is!" I screamed. "Even you will leave me, you and Brianna." I buried my hands in my knees. "You have a family waiting for you. Once this war is over you'll leave." I could feel Momo licking my head while tried to stop crying. "I'll be all alone again," I whispered. I felt warm arms wrap around me making me look up. Rebecca held my tightly in her arms and stayed silent. I cried into her chest as she rubbed my back.

"Aang," she whispered and lifted my head to look at her. I saw tears fall from her eyes and splash onto my cheeks. "I love you," I said before hugging me again. "I'd never want to leave you. I love you Aang." I squeezed at Rebecca's back and cried even harder into her chest while she continued to hug me in silence until I cried myself to sleep.

((Rebecca's P.O.V))

"So Aang has the map," Brianna asked after I had finished explaining all that had happened since she was asleep.

"Yep," I said as we followed Bato towards the beach. "Then he cried himself to sleep and I carried him back to the hut. Luckily the others bought the story I told them."

"What'd you tell them?"

"That Aang and I were racing," I said kicking a sea shell. "Aang won, but he ran into a tree and passed out."

"Wow, I wouldn't even believe that" Brianna said rolling her eyes.

"Yeah well, you can't say you can't imagine him running into a tree."

"Okay, I won't deny that" she said with a laugh. We boarded onto the Water Nation ship before Bato and Sokka sailed us to the ocean. I could taste the salt of the sea water while the wind blew against us.

"Ice-dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust" Bato explained to us as steered the ship. "In our village it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs."

"How are we supposed to ice-dodge without ice?" Sokka asked, thinking the situation was quiet silly without there being a challenge.

"You will be dodging those." Bato pointed to large rocks coming out of the water and were tightly packed together.

"Oh hell no," Brianna screamed out. "There's no way I'm taking any part of this!"

"What are you talking about," Sokka asked. "Aren't you guys going to help?"

"Sokka, if we try and help. We'll most likely crash the ship," I said bluntly. "We have no idea how to work a boat. Asking us to help is like committing suicide."

"Oh come on, you're over exaggerating. You must know which the main sail is." Brianna and I glanced at one another then looked up at the sails blankly. "The jib?" he asked, trying again but we just remained silent. "Okay, you have to know where the steer is!"

"Is it that?" Brianna pointed to the back of the ship, unsure.

"There you at least know something," Sokka cheered.

"But we what's the good of knowing what something is if we don't know how it works?" I asked him. Sokka opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. "Why don't we sit this one out," I said patting his shoulder and took a seat on the side as Brianna came to join me.

"Sokka, you steer and call the shots," Bato said, after clearing his throat. "Lead wisely. Katara, you secure the mainsail. The winds can be brutal, so be brave. Aang, you control the jib, without your steady hand we all go down," he said giving the rest of them instructions. "Your position is about trust."

"I know that! Why wouldn't I know that? I'm the Avatar! I know about trust," Aang protested while his eyes darted back and forth.

"For this to be done right I cannot help. You pass or fail on your own," Bato said taking a seat in the front of the boat.

"Aang, ease up on the jib, Katara, steady!" Sokka commanded the two. Aang, less sail! Katara, give him room!" We were headed towards more rocks. "Aang, helm to lee, helm to lee!"

"What does that even mean?" Aang screamed confused, and just randomly pulled at the rope.

"Why do you think we didn't volunteer?" Brianna shouted at Aang while the two of us held onto the side of the ship, the ride getting rougher.

"Great job," Sokka said when the sea had calmed down. I loosened my grip on the edge of the ship and looked up ahead of us.

"Oh shit," I cursed under my breath when I saw the blockade of sharp rocks up ahead.

"There's no way through," Katara screamed.

"We can make it!" Sokka shouted energetically.

"Sokka, you've already proven yourself, maybe we should…" Bato started but was cut off by Sokka.

"Aang, I'm gonna need air in that sail! Katara, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks, now!" Aang and Katara did as they were told as Sokka turned to me. "Rebecca, I'm gonna need you to dive into the water and make a layer of ice over those rocks. You think you can do it?"

"Roger," I said before diving into the ocean. When my body sunk into the water I cupped my hands over my mouth and blew out the remaining air in my mouth to give me a boost. When I approached the rocks I gathered water around my arms and flew back up to the surface. As I leaped over the rocks I took a wave of water with me and froze it, creating a sheet of ice over the rocks. I dove down to the water and landed on my feet before running out of the ship's way. I heard the sound of a splash before I saw the boat safely make it over the rocks. I let out a quick sigh of relief before I started making my way to the shore. After things got settled down, Bato prepared for the ending of the ceremony.

"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the mark of the wise, the same mark your father earned. For Katara, the mark of the brave, your courage inspires us. And for Aang, the mark of the trusted, you are now an honorary member of the water tribe." Aang stared up at Bato, feeling the guilt coming over him.

"I can't," Aang said sadly.

"Of course you can!" Katara said cheerfully.

"No, you can't trust me" Aang said rubbing off the mark Bato had placed on him.

"Aang, what are you talking about," Katara asked confused. Aang glanced up at Katara before he slowly took out the crumpled up scroll from his clothes.

"A messenger gave this to me for Bato." Katara opened the paper up and let out a gasp. "You have to understand, I was afraid you'd…"

"This is the map to our father!" Sokka screamed enraged after he looked down at the paper. "You had it the whole time! How could you?"

"Hey, cut it out Sokka" I said pushing Aang back. "He knows what he did was wrong."

"But that doesn't make it right!" Sokka said, taking a step forward.

"I never said it did," I said annoyed.

"You can't keep protecting him forever."

"Watch me," I growled at him. Sokka let out an annoyed groan.

"Why are you protecting him," he screamed at me. "He's just going to betray you. He's too selfish!" I felt my patience snap as I lunged forward and punched Sokka across the face. Sokka let out a scream and punched me right back, sending me flying to the ground. I jumped back to my feet and tackled him into the sand. The two of us rolled around on the beach, punching and kicking one another whenever we got the chance. "You probably in on it too!" Sokka screamed as he grabbed me by the collar. "And to think, I trusted you!" he muttered and clenched at the sand. I felt a jolt of pain as he punched me across the face, and blood dripped down my lip.

"Sokka, that's enough" Bato said, pulling him off of me.

"You guys can go to the North Pole on your own! I'm going to find Dad," Sokka screamed down at me angrily and threw the sand at my head. I glanced up at him then back down at the sand, and remained still.

"Now Sokka, I think you should…" Bato said, trying to calm him down, but Sokka interpreted him again.

"Katara, are you with me?" Katara looked at her brother before glancing back at Aang.

"I'm with you, Sokka" she said after making up her mind. I looked over at Aang and saw him being hugged by Brianna, no doubt wanting to cry. I glanced over at Katara, Bato, and Sokka who were walking back to the village in silence. I wiped my cheek then stared down at my blood.

"That hurt you ass," I whispered before burying my head in my knees.


Hey guys, don't forget about the Valentine's poll. Remember the poll will be closed on the 10th, please vote all my Rebecca Zuko fans.

ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO KICK SOKKA'S ASS FOR HURTING REBECCA, SAY I! Dx