Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.

Chapter 11. A New Home.

Year 89 AB – Spirit World, Ek'Noshi Pond.

Nineteen years had passed since Huo was placed in the pond to heal. Yan Zu stayed with his son, and Ek'Noshi kept him company along with many other spirits, which could fly and thus, arrive at the pond. Shen'Rai visited his friend from time to time, and since Yan Zu wasn't able to travel to the mortal world, the phoenix brought him a few things. Besides books to read, Shen'Rai got him a pipa so that he could play music and sing.

Spirits liked listening to the songs, and when Yan Zu didn't play and sing, he told them many exciting stories. Even though he was worried about his son, the company of the kind and friendly spirits soothed him.

"I'll sing you a shanty, which is sung by sailors and farmers to make their work less mundane," Yan Zu stated, preparing his pipa while he sat on the grass. Shen'Rai and many other flying spirits sat around him, waiting for the song to start. "The words of the song are usually changed to make the subject different each time it is sung. The version I'll sing is the one Avatar Kyoshi used to sing."

"I've got two knives that are cast in bronze,

They pierce all the way to the soul,

They draw you in with the promise of sin,

Like the moth to the flame to the coal,

I've got hair like the starless night,

It sticks to my lips when I smile,

I'll wind it with yours, and we'll drift off course,

In a ship touching hearts all the while."

Most of the animal spirits, who gathered around him in a half-circle, couldn't clap, but they bobbed their bodies in sync with the music.

"For the way I walk is lantern lit,

That leads you into the night,

I'll hold you close and love you the most,

Until our end is in sight."

Yan Zu stooped his song when everyone began to hear a loud cracking sound coming from the pond, and they all turned their heads towards it. The man squinted his brown-colored eyes for a moment. He then realized what was happening and widened them.

"I can't be," said Shen'Rai. The phoenix spirit stood up and began to walk towards the pond. "It's far too early."

Yan Zu stood up, placed the pipa on the grass, and ran up to the pond as thick vines burst through the ice, shattering it to pieces. The pieces of ice quickly began to melt, and after a few moments, the pond was once again ice-free and crystal clear. The vines coiled around Huo, pulled him out of the water, gently placed him on the grass, and withdrew into the pond.

"Huo!" Yan Zu quickly knelled right beside his son and lifted his head. Ek'Noshi herself appeared right next to the pond and approached them. "How interesting," she stated with awe in her soothing voice. "Not even twenty years have passed and he's already fully healed."

"Either his wound was much less severe or his willpower is simply amazing," the phoenix stated and chuckled. "Wei'Rai will not belevie this."

Huo slowly opened his orange-colored eyes and coughed a few times. Yan Zu was relieved his son was alright, and just like Ek'Noshi said, Huo hadn't aged a day. With his vision blurry, Huo began to see shapes and outlines. He suddenly gasped, widening his eyes, and began to look around frantically.

"Huo, it's okay," Yan Zu reassured. "You're safe now."

Huo blinked a few more times, finally recognizing his father. "D-Dad?" he asked and looked around again, albeit more calmly. He even recognized the spirit phoenix, who took him to the lion turtle. "Shen'Rai? W-Where...?"

"We're in the Spirit World," Yan Zu explained. "Your mom is not here. She escaped when Eilu freed the prisoners."

"No one is going to hurt you here," Shen'Rai assured.

Huo began to recall everything that happened. He raised his hand and touched his face. "Your wound is healed," Yan Zu said and gestured towards Ek'Noshi. "All thanks to her pond."

The boy looked at the barefoot female humanoid with light blue skin, leaves covering her eyes, and green-colored lips. He just then noticed a group of small animal spirits around them, which made his father's words, about them being in the Spirit World, sunk in.

"I'm Ek'Noshi," the spirit introduced herself and pointed at the pond. "You were brought to my pond to heal and you did a amazingly fast recovery."

"T-Thank you," Huo replied politely and slowly got up, allowing his father to help him. The boy stood there in his wet clothes for a moment and decided to approach the pond to look at his reflection in the water. He hoped that everything that happened was a bad dream, a trick of some mischievous spirit during one of their visits, but that wasn't the case. His wound was healed, and the only thing left was a pale line, which went straight down from the left side of his forehead over his eye and down his left cheek, reaching his jaw. It was clear proof that everything that happened in that forest was true.

"I'll inform my brother about Huo," Shen'Rai said to Yan Zu. "He'll learn eventually so it's better to let him know now while I'm around to talk him out of any cruel ideas."

"Okay," Yan Zu nodded and watched as the phoenix flew off.

"Is mom okay?" Huo suddenly asked worriedly.

"I can't really tell for certain," Yan Zu looked back at his son and replied truthfully. "I blocked her chi paths and she escaped. The villagers surely looked for her, but I'm pretty sure her bending returned before they managed to find her. So I'm guessing she left the village."

"I'm glad she's okay," Huo replied, but Yan Zu didn't hear any joy in the boy's voice. The man knew that it wasn't the end of bad news for the boy, who had no idea that his father was dead. Even though Yan Zu was a spirit and still could interact with him, Huo was alone and without a proper home. Yan Zu could not return to the mortal world with him, and Huo couldn't stay here for too long since he had a physical body with real needs.

"Huo, what happened earlier wasn't your fault," Yan Zu assured, moving closer to Huo. "Your mother was just too obsessed with her revenge. It was the only thing that mattered for her."

"Mom said you attacked her after you discovered that she and I are waterbenders," Huo said.

"I didn't," Yan Zu denied. "I tried to convince her to stop kidnapping the villagers, but she knocked me out with her bending and locked me in the basement. Luckily, Ding and a few other villagers heard an explosion in the cottage. When Ding let me out, one of the villagers said that he saw you and Hama running into the forest. Huo? What happened in the cottage?"

"Mom got mad when I lost my waterbending in exchange for firebending," Huo said, lowering his head. "She froze in ice and told she'd hurt you. I did something, but I don't know what. I screamed, sparks came out of my head, and there was an explosion. I've injured her."

Yan Zu's eyes widened. That explained everything, even Hama's scar on her cheek. "You used combustion bending," the man stated. Since Huo looked at him questioningly, he explained. "It's a form of firebending, but instead of your hands and feet, you channel your energy through your forehead. Also instead of fire, you shoot a beam, which explodes upon contact. It's a very rare and dangerous skill."

"I noticed," Huo nodded sadly.

"You didn't mean to hurt your mother," Yan Zu said gently. "Though anger, rage, and other intense emotions can amplify the power of firebending, it can lead also to a lack of control. The same goes for waterbending. If your mother caused you, an inexperienced firebender, to be angry or upset, the results were her fault."

Huo didn't say a word. Yan Zu knew that Huo felt devastated because of what happened, and he wasn't surprised. Huo was six-years-old, and such an experience was traumatizing. Yan Zu placed his hands on Huo's shoulders and crouched in front of him. "Huo, what your mother did was wrong, but I'm not without fault as well."

"Why?" Huo asked.

"I knew about about your and your mother's waterbending much earlier, but I was too afraid to talk with her about it," Yan Zu admitted. "I also learned about the kidnappings, but I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone. Not if it meant to have your mother placed in prison."

The young boy was silent. He really didn't know how to respond to this. The silence was broken by Huo's stomach, which rumbled loudly. "I'm hungry," Huo announced, and after a moment, he squinted his orange-colored eyes, realizing something. "I'm in the Spirit World, but I'm... hungry?"

"You have your physical body," Yan Zu clarified. "One of Shen'Rai's siblings took you here after... everything ended."

Huo lifted his hand and created an orange flame in his palm. It was the first time he was in the Spirit World with his bending. His stomach rumbled once again. "Try to rest for now," Yan Zu advised. "I'll think of something."

When Huo sat down on the grass, Yan Zu approached Ek'Noshi and took her to the side. "Don't tell him how long was he in that pond," he asked. "He's smart and he'll realize that something is wrong since I didn't age. I don't want him to be overwhelmed by all of this at once."

"Very well," Ek'Noshi replied, turning her head towards the boy, who got surrounded by the small flying spirits. "But he'll learn eventually when he returns to his world."

"I know," Yan Zu replied. He learned some time ago that Ek'Noshi couldn't leave the pond and visit the mortal world, so that meant she couldn't bring Huo anything to eat. "For now, let's wait for Shen'Rai and his brother."

After some time, Yan Zu noticed two phoenixes flying towards them and recognized Shen'Rai and the other phoenix, who brought Huo to the Spirit World. Shen'Rai held something in his claws, and just before he touched the ground, he dropped many ball-shaped red-colored objects on the grass.

Wei'Rai landed right beside him and spotted Huo, who sat near a small campfire. The phoenix with the blue-colored crest thought that his brother had made a crazy joke, but he couldn't believe his eyes. The pond was also back to normal, so there was no way it would be a similar-looking human child.

Yan Zu approached the two phoenixes with Ek'Noshi. "So..." he looked at Wei'Rai. "...hello again. I don't believe we had a chance to talk before."

Wei'Rai looked at Yan Zu. "Because there was nothing to talk about," the spirit replied, turning his head towards Ek'Noshi. "How that child has left the pond so early?"

"The healing process was over," Ek'Noshi replied simply. "You know that there's no way to break the ice from outside. The boy has outstanding willpower."

"Tch..." Wei'Rai wasn't pleased, but there was nothing else it could be done. Injuring the boy and placing him in the pond again was not okay. Ek'Noshi wouldn't lie about something connected to her pond, so it had to be true.

"Well, regardless, what now?" Yan Zu asked. "Huo is hungry. He needs food."

"I figured as much so I brought him some fruits," Shen'Rai said, pushing the red-colored objects with his claw towards Yan Zu. "We have physical bodies so we need to eat as well. It may not look like much but they're filling."

"Thank you," Yan Zu said while grabbing the fruits and heading towards Huo. The boy's eyes perked up when he noticed that his father had something he could eat.

"Here, eat up," Yan Zu said, placing the fruits on the grass, and Huo quickly grabbed them. Even though he never saw such fruits in his life, he wasn't picky. The boy began to eat the fruits and immediately tasted both sweet and spicy flavor, which was odd but not bad.

"Chew slowly, so you don't choke," Yan Zu reminded and sat down next to him.

As Huo ate, he suddenly asked after swallowing a chunk of fruit. "Is Eilu okay?" The boy remembered that he had jumped in front of her, but he didn't know what had happened after.

"Yes," Yan Zu replied with a smile. "You saved her, like a true hero."

Huo smiled faintly for the first time since he left the pond. He touched his scar once again, and Yan Zu quickly reassured. "Don't worry, scars are not that bad."

"It doesn't bother me that much," Huo replied with a slight shrug, looking at the orange flames of the campfire. "Eilu once said that girls liked boys with scars."

Yan Zu arched his black eyebrows and smiled. It was good that he wasn't physically upset by the scar, but Yan Zu had a hunch there was a mental scar deep down somewhere. "Dad? Did I have or had a sister?" Huo asked out of the blue, looking at his father. It took Yan Zu a couple of seconds to fully register the question.

"What?! Ummm... I don't know to be honest," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "I mean... if your mother had a child before she met me then maybe, but if she did, she never told me. Why do you ask?"

"When I was unconscious, I had a dream," Huo answered. "I saw a tall woman covered in black clothes with long black hair, orange-colored eyes, and very pale skin. She looked sick; her one eye was bigger, and she seemed to have a large hump on her back. She called me a brother and asked if I was okay, but she didn't see me. I called out to her, but she didn't hear me. It was weird."

Yan Zu squinted his brown-colored eyes and turned his head towards the pond. "Maybe it was the effect of the pond," he guessed and looked back at his son. "But like I said if you have a sister, your mother never told me about her, which wouldn't surprise me at this point considering she kept many secrets from me."

Huo nodded and continued to eat while Yan Zu stood up and returned to Ek'Noshi and the phoenixes. The two Fire Keepers talked with each other while Ek'Noshi stood and waited for Yan Zu. When the man finally reached them, he looked at Ek'Noshi and asked. "Does your pond creates dreams or anything of the sort?"

"No, why?" the woman asked back.

"Huo said that he had a dream about a tall, sick-looking woman with orange-colored eyes," Yan Zu answered. "She said that he is her brother." Both phoenixes heard him and immediately stooped their conversation. They looked at each other and back at Yan Zu.

Wei'Rai walked passed the man and headed towards the boy at a fast pace. Yan Zu looked at Wei'Rai and squinted his eyes. He then looked at Shen'Rai and asked. "Is anything wrong?"

"I think there might be a problem," Shen'Rai replied. "But I don't want to spread panic just yet. For now, let Wei'Rai talk with Huo."

Yan Zu looked at the phoenix with the blue-colored crest, who walked over to Huo. The boy finished eating the fruits when Wei'Rai approached him and looked at the phoenix. He noticed the blue color of his crest and realized it wasn't Shen'Rai.

"Hello," Huo greeted the spirit and stood up, bowing his head respectfully. The small flying spirits flew away when Wei'Rai gave them a glare. The phoenix leaned his head towards him and spoke. "Repeat everything you said to your father about your dream and the woman with orange-colored eyes."

Huo was somewhat surprised by the sudden request, but he complied and repeated everything. When he finished, the Fire Keeper looked concerned. He pondered intensively and shook his head. "You couldn't made it up since you never saw her before," Wei'Rai stated, speaking more to himself than Huo. "And Shen'Rai would certainly never tell anyone about her." He turned around and returned to Yan Zu, Ek'Noshi, and Shen'Rai, leaving Huo perplexed.

"He can't stay here," Wei'Rai said to Shen'Rai, giving him an upset glare. "He has a strong connection to her like we do because of your life force. That's why she mistook him for you in his dream. Negative emotions from the events in his village must have awoken the connection."

"What's going on?!" Yan Zu asked worriedly and looked at Shen'Rai. "Who's that woman?"

Shen'Rai looked at Yan Zu. "Someone who will hurt Huo if she finds him," he answered.

"You mean kill," Wei'Rai corrected his brother. "She hates humans more than anything. If she finds out that one has the life force of the Fire Keepers... even I would feel bad for that child."

Yan Zu wasn't happy about this. "Huo said she had orange-colored eyes like him... and you," the man noted. "Did you gave her your life force as well?"

"Yes, he did," Wei'Rai replied instead of Shen'Rai, giving his brother a strange look. "I told you time and time again that socializing with humans never leads to good things."

Yan Zu wasn't completely convinced that it was the truth, but forcing the answers out of the Fire Keepers was beyond his power. Still, whatever it was, it meant that Huo was in trouble. "So what now?" he asked.

"I don't believe I'm about to say this, but he's going to live in our realm from now own," Wei'Rai stated, making Yan Zu widen his eyes. He knew that humans weren't allowed to enter their realm, which proved that the situation was really dire.

"That's something 'I' would suggest only to receive an earful from you," Shen'Rai replied. "But considering the situation, it's best to have him close to observe him."

"You want Huo to live in the Spirit World?!" Yan Zu asked in disbelief.

"You got a better idea?" Wei'Rai asked, and Yan Zu went silent. He began to pace around and think. Bringing Huo back to the physical world would be a normal course of action. However, there was no safe place for him to stay. Yes, one of the families living in the village could take him and maybe even adopt him, but it was a bad idea considering he didn't age through nineteen years. The word would spread quickly and could draw the attention of evil people.

On the other hand, in a place where no one knew Huo, the boy would have trouble finding a nice family. Not to mention, he would surely be forced to join a school where the teachers would begin their 'mind-molding' process, influencing students to develop a strong sense of nationality and loyalty to the Fire Lord.

"Calm down, Yan Zu," Shen'Rai spoke. "In a way, this is better since Huo will have a safe place to stay. We have physical forms so we have food and water there. Our realm is guarded by Sin'Bey and only beings with one of the elements can enter it. Not to mention we can defend ourselves and him as well. Nothing bad will happen to him, I promise."

Yan Zu exhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hasn't seen his son for nineteen years, and now he's being taken away from him. "So that means I cannot enter it to keep him company," he said, and Wei'Rai harshly replied. "For the better. One human is enough."

"He's not a prisoner or anything," Shen'Rai pointed out. "I'll take him with me and we'll visit you from time to time."

Ignoring Wei'Rai's comment, Yan Zu sighed. "Fine, but at least let me talk to him to explain the situation," he requested. "Oh, and don't mention how long was he in the pond or that I'm no longer alive. The boy needs a break."

"Of course," Shen'Rai replied.

Yan Zu nodded and walked over to Huo. First his mother and now this. It was like destiny wanted to punish Yan Zu in any possible way, even after death. Now he needed a reasonable explanation for all of this. "Were you talking about my dream?" the boy asked, looking at his father curiously.

"Yes," Yan Zu confirmed. "From what they told me, that woman in your dream is bad news."

"Oh," Huo's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah, Shen'Rai and his brother are going to take you to their realm," Yan Zu began. "It's not safe for you to be in the physical world for now. They have food there and water, plus it's a safe place where only beings with one of the four elements can enter."

"But that means you can't come with me," Huo noted, knowing that his father wasn't a bender. "Maybe Shen'Rai can take you to the lion turtle and he'll give you your bending back. Then you can enter the realm and be with me."

Yan Zu was amazed at how clever the boy was. "The lion turtle is... busy," he replied quickly. "It will take a long time before he can give me back my bending. Don't worry, I'll meditate into the Spirit World and appear here from time to time. Shen'Rai visited me when you were in that pond so he'll take you with him when he'll visit me." The man smiled and ruffled Huo's black hair. "You won't get rid of your old man so easy. Now come on. Let's not keep the Fire Keepers waiting."

Huo smiled. "Heh, okay," he replied and followed his father.

When they approached the Fire Keepers, Shen'Rai spoke and gestured towards the other phoenix with his beak. "Hello Huo, I'm sure my brother didn't introduced himself... his name is Wei'Rai. He brought you to the Spirit World."

"Thank you," Huo clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

"Let's not waste anymore time," Wei'Rai replied, preparing to fly away.

"Get on," Shen'Rai sat down, allowing the boy to get on his back. "Thank you again for healing me!" Huo waved to Ek'Noshi, who smiled and waved back. Both phoenixes took off as Huo waved to his father. The man smiled and waved back.

"Everything will be fine," Ek'Noshi reassured. "And thank you. Rarely I have such interesting visitors. You can stay if you want."

"Thanks," Yan Zu nodded to Ek'Noshi and looked at the silhouettes of the two phoenixes, which were getting smaller and smaller. Yan Zu always hoped that someday he'd get to visit Shen'Rai's home. However, he never expected that his son would be the one to see it and call it his new home.

Please R&R ;)