As the weeks went on, Natasha became more aware of how to use her Airbending (and where and when). Recalling her previous training from hundreds of years back, she began to practice almost every night. But she began to realize how far behind she was from Aang, just by observing how he used Airbending in his every day life. Natasha would fall even further behind if she kept insisting on hiding it.
One morning, she woke up after everyone else. They were on Appa, flying. Aang was on Appa's head, Sokka was eating, and Katara was just observing.
"How'd you sleep, Natasha?" Katara asked.
Natasha yawned. "Great. It's just so bright out here."
"Well," Katara laughed, "It is daytime, you know,"
"I can tell," Natasha sat up.
Sokka started speaking. "I'm not one to complain," he said, "but can't Appa fly any higher?"
"I have an idea!" Aang said irritably. He pointed at Sokka. "Why don't we all get on your back and you could fly us to the North Pole?!"
"I'd love to!" Sokka replied sarcastically. He pointed to his back and said, "Get on, everyone, Sokka's ready for takeoff!" Momo jumped onto his back, making Sokka give the lemur a slight glare.
"Look, we're all really tired and cranky from flying for two days straight," Natasha said, twirling her hair (which, in fact, had grown significantly).
"And for what? We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe," Sokka looked around, "There's nothing up here!"
Suddenly, the water in front of them suddenly rose and hardened into ice. Aang screamed in fright, and pull on Appa's reins to make him avoid the obstacle. Then, the water around Appa's feet froze and left him locked into place. Natasha saw Water Tribe boats, which made her smile and Katara sit up in surprise.
"They're Waterbenders!" Katara said with glee. "We found the Water Tribe!"
After the Waterbenders discovered that Aang was the Avatar, they were escorted into the Northern Water Tribe.
"There it is!" Aang said, pointing excitedly.
"The Northern Water Tribe," Katara said.
"We're finally here," Sokka said, surprised.
Natasha just stared up at it in awe.
As they entered the city, Sokka saw a girl with white hair going by on a boat.
Princess Yue! Natasha thought. We're finally almost done with the first season!
"This place is beautiful," Katara said.
"Yeah," Sokka said, "…she is,"
o.O.o
"Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sisters from the Southern Tribe. And they have brought someone very special with them, some whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now… the Avatar!" said Arnook, the leader of the Northern Water Tribe.
Natasha's mind wandered. It's a little funny that they think I'm from the Southern Water Tribe… she thought. I eventually have to tell Aang and the others that I'm an Airbender… but how? As she pondered this, she got an idea.
I know what to do…
o.O.o
A few days passed. Aang and Katara were learning Waterbending from Master Pakku, and Sokka was with Yue. Natasha wandered the icy streets, thinking about her plan, when a grayish snow began to fall from the sky.
Fire Nation, she determined. This is going smoothly so far… Natasha ran down the streets (and slipped a few times while we're at it) until she came across the Waterbending school.
Aang and Katara looked at her, as if they knew what she was going to say.
"The Fire Nation's closing in on us," Natasha said.
Aang looked at her. "What do we do?"
o.O.o
After Yue led Aang, Katara, and Natasha to the spirit oasis, Aang began to meditate. Natasha sat nearby and watched him. Yue and Katara kept talking. Realizing that this was distracting Aang, she yelled, "Will you guys shut up?! He can't focus!"
"Thank you, Tasha," Aang said. He quickly returned to his meditating.
After several minutes of waiting, Aang's eyes and tattoos began to glow.
"Is he okay?" Yue said in a worried tone.
"He's crossing into the Spirit World," Katara said, "He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back to the physical world."
"Maybe we should get some help," Yue said.
Katara smiled. "No, Natasha and I are his friends. We're perfectly capable of protecting him."
Right on cue, Natasha heard Zuko's voice. "Well, aren't you a big girl now?"
"No…" Katara said, dismayed.
"Yes. Hand him over and I won't have to hurt you."
Katara stood in a defensive stance, and Natasha quickly followed Yue out of the garden.
Once they were out of sight, Natasha spoke up. "Yue," she said, "I need your help."
Yue turned to face her. "Quickly," she said.
"I need some dark clothing, and a mask, possibly…"
Yue looked at her dimly. "Why?"
Natasha lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'm an Airbender…"
o.O.o
Zuko, holding Aang by the collar, said his famous line: "You rise with the moon… I rise with the sun."
Just as Katara lost consciousness, Natasha, dressed in all black and a mask covering her face, emerged from the shadows and yelled, "NO!" as she sent a blast of air towards Zuko. He let go of Aang as the air sent him flying towards a wall.
Zuko, now in a state of confusion, looked at Natasha.
"Leave. Now." Natasha demanded.
Zuko's face turned from stunned to defensive. "While I'm at it, I could try to hit two birds with one stone…"
Natasha quickly realized what this meant. As Zuko stood, Natasha sent an even stronger blast of air at Zuko, knocking him out.
Quickly, Natasha retrieved Zuko's unconscious body and dragged it onto the snowy tundra, just outside the spirit oasis.
"Stay," she whispered.
o.O.o
Katara woke up, and suddenly became alarmed. "Aang!" she yelled. When she saw Aang, his tattoos still glowing, she became happy but confused.
Sokka and Yue entered on Appa.
"What happened? Where's Zuko?" Sokka suddenly saw Aang and repeated, "What happened?"
Natasha, back in her regular clothes, walked onto the scene, looking just as confused as the rest of them.
"But I thought…" Katara looked very confused. "What…?"
"Okay, so we all thought Aang was gonna be gone," Sokka said, "But he's not. It looks like Zuko tried, but he was stopped by something…"
Katara smiled. "The other Airbender! She came, didn't she?"
Yue looked back at Natasha and winked.
A/N: There's a turn in the storyline for you! I hope you enjoyed it! :D