Disclaimer: LEGO owns Bionicle, and Bryke and Nickelodean downs Avatar: The Last Airbender. I own nothing.
Kopaka found the ocean's taste to be strange. Well, more of a feeling than a taste. The further north he traveled, the warmer the waters grew. Its energy brushed against his submerged palm, making it glow with the reflective sunlight of a new day. The slight irritation from the contained minerals were nothing next to the newfound warmth reminding him of Tahu.
Kopaka tried not to complain. The only other time he had replenished himself was back at the South Pole, absorbing the energy of nearby fish and snow before the emergence of the white light. Katara, Sokka, and Appa looked right as rain after a night of lying down to what seemed like recharging themselves. Kopaka did not question it. His companions awoke onto a new beach with different trees, rocks, and even water waving over him-
Splash!
"Sorry, Kopaka! I was practicing!" Katara said from further down the beach.
Sokka's voice followed. "Yep, get used to that happening."
After wiping his mask dry, Kopaka tried not to freeze Katara with her water tendril. Sokka kept closer to dry land, cooking a fish or two. Since their encounter with the Kyoshi Warriors, neither asked about their target. They didn't have to, since said target had gone to the other archipelago in the distance, wherein it laid a town on its beach. Catching up with the ship earned the day they had lost, and Kopaka's mask noted it wouldn't go far in its damaged state.
In the meantime, Katara and Sokka dug into their fish while Appa ate a nearby bush for nutrition. Kopaka didn't regard them, deep in his thoughts for a while. Maybe a bit too deep, as his finger absently trailed along the sand.
"... you ready, Kopaka?" Katara eventually said. Kopaka, only hearing his name, found her peering over his shoulder. "Hey, what's that?"
"Come on! What are you two doing? A day's already passed! It won't be long before we miss that ship and…" Sokka himself said, stopping when he looked over Kopaka's other shoulder. "Huh, looks kinda familiar."
"Girls. Mask," Kopaka explained as best as he could.
"I wonder what they say," Katara said about the three lines of circular symbols Kopaka wrote, the same lines he had read on that mask Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors showed him.
"Koti. Mahi. Turahni," Kopaka read aloud in his tongue. His companions didn't understand, but he did, hearing each word's true meaning echo in his mind.
Koti. Unity.
Mahi. Duty.
Turahni. Destiny.
The first stood out in his mind. The old one on the black ship said it clearly in Kopaka's tongue. Kopaka knew he heard those words before. In his dreams? Maybe from before, if there was anything. Like the word "Toa," the three words fell on the tip of his tongue. If Kopaka just thought long and hard about it, maybe he could-
"Well, that sounds very interesting, but we gotta get going. You can worry about your special circles later," Sokka said. He stepped back from the interrupted Kopaka's glare. "Uh, forget what I said!"
Kopaka had to after a shadow covered what he wrote. They all looked up to the dark clouds hovering above. Then, a million drops struck and trickled down Kopaka's raised shield. Katara raised her hand to form a shield of rain with her "Waterbending," as it was called. Appa, with all his fur, was well protected.
"Oh, c'mon!" moaned the unprotected Sokka. His expression said he never experienced anything like this back in his icy cold home.
"It should be alright Sokka. Don't you remember what dad said from his travels? A little rain won't hurt," Katara assured.
"Easy for you to say! Ugh, it's already getting into my clothes!"
"Hold on, let me try something." Katara swung a free hand to bend the rain.
"Katara, wait-!"
Expecting it this time, Kopaka tilted his shield down to the oncoming splash.
Tahu hated the rain. Each individual drop was a stab at his power and sense of purpose. Not even his new mask's speed could avoid them completely. It did let him watch the rain fall at a snail's pace. He didn't stay in it for very long, having zipped off the ship's deck where he had been all day and back into its hull in a heartbeat.
Going so fast, he also saw the confused crewmembers he passed. One or two were on patrol, and a few more had been grouped together. The latter group were probably talking about him again. While nothing new, Tahu had heard more than enough after being ordered to not leave the ship. The past night and day impacted Tahu. Especially since he hit a wall at a turn.
And at another turn.
And at another turn.
And at another turn.
Tahu grunted, his shoulder hitting the wall one last time. He was not completely used to this new power. Still, it was more manageable than months of practicing with the other mask that let him levitate.
"What was that?" Tahu heard from behind the wall. The Avatar.
Iroh's voice came from the same direction. "Must be the men. No doubt, they're preparing for music night."
"You have a music night?"
"Oh, yes!"
"Uh, sir?" said the guard by the door of the Avatar's cell.
Tahu focused his mask back into its main shape, hoping to bring some familiarity to the guard. "Do you know where Zuko is?" Tahu asked.
The guard blabbered about the prince being on the bridge. Tahu focused more on the conversation behind the wall, hearing Iroh say, "Your friends from the South Pole tried to rescue you, again."
"Yeah, I figured. I heard Appa. He's my flying bison, by the way," the Avatar had said.
"Yes, quite the animal guide you have. Not unusual since past Avatars used others. He was quite ferocious. He alone put the rhinos through the ringer. I bet he won't stop chasing you until he sees you again."
"Does that mean you'll let me go and see him?"
A pause. "I'll talk about that with my nephew."
"Sir?" Tahu heard the guard say again.
"Nothing. I'll go look for him. Thanks," Tahu said and turned to leave.
The cell door opened, letting out the smell of tea. "Ah, Tahu! I didn't expect you to be here," said Iroh, who held a tray in his hands.
"I thought Zuko would have been here." Tahu paused to regard the guard who informed him. "I was told he's on the bridge."
"Good, I can't finish this tea on my own!"
With the guard locking the cell door, Tahu followed Iroh up the ship. He didn't worry much about the crew's stares, many of them being the same ones whom he passed on his way to the Avatar's cell. Iroh's voice greeted the crew, as well as announced his presence and Tahu's upon reaching the bridge. "Ah, Zuko! There you are! I have some tea for you to try!"
Zuko didn't turn from the map in the bridge's center, as if he didn't hear his uncle. Tahu didn't need a special mask to notice the prince trying to stand steadily over the map. "Lieutenant, are they still following us?" Zuko asked for what might have been the fifteenth time.
Lieutenant Jee said from the map's other side, "They are, Prince Zuko. One of our men spotted them on an archipelago several kilometers away. They're probably resting at the moment, but…"
"But they could still come after us," Zuko said, voicing Tahu's own thoughts. It was then the prince finally turned. "How are the repairs coming along, Tahu?"
Reminded of his original reason for being out in the rain, Tahu stepped up to the map. "I spoke with the engineers. What we have won't help. They said we'll need better materials to completely fix the damage. For now, they're scrapping something to fix the remaining damage."
"And how long will that take?"
"Another day. Maybe two at the most."
Focused on Zuko pinching the bridge of his nose, Tahu almost forgot about Iroh until the older man stepped up beside him and poured some tea. "Actually, this may do some good. It may be a good time to head out and replenish our supplies. I believe everyone is due a break."
Zuko frowned. "A break? Uncle, we can't-"
"As Tahu said, the ship still needs repairs. It won't be good for the crew if they stay inside the whole time. It may do some good for all of us."
Still frowning, Zuko said, "... Alright."
"Great! Now, how about some tea?"
It wasn't long until Tahu tasted Iroh's tea. Even after two years, Tahu never enjoyed its steaming and sweet taste as the human's had. Well, save for Zuko, quietly standing by his map. "He looks like he hasn't slept," Tahu told Iroh in his corner of the bridge. Before being discovered, Tahu himself had slept for who knows how long to understand it. Since then, every human he had met did not sleep as long but required it on a daily basis.
Iroh sighed once they were out of earshot. "No, he hasn't. This journey will only grow more problematic later on. For now, he needs every break he can get."
Tahu agreed for different reasons. "Those three will still follow us."
"Yes. It's why Zuko is so anxious to leave. However, we cannot do anything without those repairs. Hopefully, they will need to resupply and may come nowhere near us in this weather. All we have to do is rest, and keep an eye on the Avatar. That reminds me, I have to brew another pot!"
'Again? How much tea can one so little drink?' Tahu thought but kept silent.
Once Iroh left, Tahu smacked his metal lips a little, both in concern of what may happen and to get rid of the tingling sensation left by the tea. "I probably should wash it out," he grumbled at last to the sound of the rain pouring on the ship's hull.
AN: Just a possible preview for the latest chapter of my Bionicle/ATLA crossover, Bending the Legend. It's not much and bits may be changed in the finished chapter, but I hope you like it. Take care.
Raika out.