Hello guys, sorry for the long wait.
This chapter is probably not my best, but I don't know anymore what to write, so there.
Also, I want to inform you, that if this fanfic doesn't get any comments I will abandon it.
Would not be the first one I do so.
I see you reading it, I just want some feedback.
I know it's probably a bit boring because Hua is just added in the episode but I can promise you we will have a big canon divergent soon.
I'm just saying wait till The Blue Spirit then things will change. :D
So please be patient, comment, motivate me and we can arrive at this point in the story.
Now have fun with the chapter.
Book 1.09: The Two Scrolls
Water.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony.
Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished.
A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua.
And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they're ready to save anyone.
But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.
The day for our young heroes started with two panic attacks from the Avatar and Daimon.
Aang was pacing around on Appa's saddle, breathing heavily, while Hua had wrapped her arms around her knees and was swinging back and forth.
You could hear her mumbling something about the world being so doomed.
Katara looked worried at her young friends as Sokka called out from his place on Appa's head: "Would you sit down, Aang? If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off. What's bugging you two anyway? Hua looks like she is ready to fall over."
"It's what Avatar Roku and Daimon Lixue said.", answered Aang worried." We are supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives."
Jokingly Sokka told them that they only needed 112 years to learn air- and earthbending, he was sure they would master the other ones by next summer.
This was when Hua stopped her manic back and forth swinging to glare at Sokka: "I don't know if you noticed, I'm not exactly a master earthbender. What I can do I learned while helping construct buildings in the Lower Rings of Ba Sing Se, from Bumi and inventing moves I copied from other bending. I still need a master for earthbending too."
"You never told us this.", said Katara softly.
She saw in Hua's twisted face how she disliked talking about it.
"That my family was poor. Poorer than poor? Yeah, I don't like to think about that.", grumbled Hua.
The Daimon looked at her knees to not see the pitiful glances of the others. They could never understand how it was to grow up never being full, wearing clothes which didn't fit and working the whole day to help bring money home.
If she had looked at her friends she would have seen that they didn't look at pity at her. They looked sad for her, that she had such a hard start in life.
No wonder she didn't like to talk about it.
"Hua at least started learning airbending with me.", tried Aang to change the subject. It was the least he could do. "But we haven't started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole. What are we gonna do?"
"Die.", proclaimed Hua drier than the dessert.
"You know, not even I feel optimistic enough to talk back.", admitted Aang.
He sat down beside Hua and together they swayed back and forth.
Not that Sokka didn't understand that these two had a huge responsibility, however, reducing themselves like this was not the way.
So he called out to his sister, in hopes she could cheer them up.
This was Katara's thing, not his.
"Calm down, it's going to be okay, Hua and Aang.", told Katara. She kneeled before them, taking a hand each. "If you want, I can try to teach you some of the stuff I know."
"You'd do that?", chorused the Avatar and Daimon with hope in their voices.
Their friend agreed and told them they needed to find a good source of water for practice.
Always the jokester Sokka said they could probably find a puddle for them to splash.
The puddle turned out to be a huge waterfall with a river.
The girls and Aang made ecstatic faces, as Sokka frowned and murmured: "Nice puddle."
How the universe loved to prove him wrong!
Appa flies down into the river and creates a huge splash that soaks and almost knocks Momo off the rock he is standing on, turns over, and floats on his back. Jaiyi, who had hidden behind Hua, made a fox laugh at her lemur friend. Momo was just cooing embarrassed.
Aang wanted to take a bad with Appa too, but was reminded by Katara and Hua why they were here.
It was time to practice waterbending.
Sheepish he dressed himself.
Meanwhile, Sokka wonders what he should do, while they practice and Aang tells him he could clean the dirt from Appa's toes.
Strangely Sokka agreed.
Maybe he was that utterly bored.
Whatever, like good students, Aang and Hua sat down beside the shore and looked up at their teacher Katara as she explained their first lesson.
"This is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect. So don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away.", reassured Katara, while the younger ones nodded. She moves her hands back and forth and makes small waves in the water."Just push and pull the water like this. The key is getting the wrist movement right."
Hua and Aang stand up and copy what Katara is doing.
"Like this?", asks Aang.
"That's almost right. If you keep practicing I'm sure eventually—"
Katara can't finish even her sentences as Aang calls out that he is doing it.
His waves were even bigger than Katara's!
"I got it too!", chirps Hua happy. Her waves were higher than Katara's, but tinier than Aangs. "This feels a bit better than airbending."
"Wow, I can't believe you two got that so quickly. It took me two months to learn that move.", tells Katara surprised.
It's…a bit weird to see both Aang and Hua having success on a move she worked so long on.
"Well, you had to figure it all on your own.", begins Aang.
"We are lucky enough to have a great teacher.", ends Hua with a smile.
Touched Katara thanks them.
"What now Sifu Katara?", questioned Hua her best friend, as Aang nodded along.
Aww, this made Katara feel all fluffy inside being called Sifu. She hardly was a master but Hua and Aang saw her as one.
Precious darlings!
"This is a more difficult move. I call it streaming the water." She moves her hands and raises a stream of water from the river into the air and moves it around. "It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if-"
The waterbender stops talking as she sees how flawlessly and fast Aang executed this move, even Hua was faster and more elegant than her. Both children let the water flow back into the river, while Katara's orb splashed down the ground.
She felt…annoyance rise in her.
How could Hua and Aang get this so fast?!
"Nice work.", she praises them and then frowns at Aang. "Though the over-the-head flare was unnecessary."
Aang says sorry but begs for more move, Hua is right along with him giving Katara the best puppy-seal eyes.
A bit unsure she shows them the move she was still working on. The idea was to create a powerful wave. Sadly Katara fails.
Curious Aang and Hua copy her, a big wave and a medium-sized wave, form, mesh together and race down the river.
Poor Sokka falls victim to it.
Excited Avatar and Daimon ask for more moves, but Katara annoyed about their success tells them practice is over.
Sokka agreed since their merged wave managed to make their bags with supplies float down the river.
Both kids say sorry, they didn't mean to, but Aang was sure they could find somewhere to replace their supplies.
Defeated Sokka murmurs how his life was hard enough when they were just airbender and earthbender and sank down the river.
Luck was on their side.
They found a little harbour with market stands not that far away from their camp.
The only problem was the folks who wandered around.
A lot of armed men staring at the quartet.
Hua, Sokka and Katara looked nervous while Aang looked around in wonder.
The Daimon was glad that she left Jaiyi with Appa. She had a feeling these friendly people would do anything to get the pelt of a ninetails.
Currently, they were waiting for Sokka to return with their supplies.
He comes out of the shop and signs: "We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely."
Sadly this advice came too late since Aang bought a bison whistle, which even didn't work.
All gave him annoyed looks and Katara told Aang she would hold into the money now.
Our quartet started walking again and passed where a man was talking in front of his boat docked in the water.
"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!", advertise he for his shop aka. boat. The man wearing an earring zero in on them and runs up to them. "Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're the world-travelling type. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"
"Sure! What are curios?", ask Aang innocent.
The earring guy blinks confused.
"I'm not entirely sure. But we got 'em!"
He puts his hand on Aang's shoulder and smiles, walking him into the ship. The others follow them.
Inside the ship they spread out, to look around.
Hua was looking at some pretty hair ornaments, only listing with half an ear how someone wants to buy Momo, when she wanders over a shelf.
There already was Katara browsing it as she let out a gasp: "Hua look!"
"Is this a waterbending scroll and firebending scroll?!", said Hua surprised.
Neither expected to find something like this here.
Katara picks up the water scroll, while Hua the fire scroll.
"Look at this, Aang. It's a waterbending and firebending scroll!", calls Katara for the Avatar, who joins the girls. "Check out these crazy moves."
Aang turns to the captain, excited, wondering where he got these two scrolls.
The captain takes the scrolls from the girls, putting them back in their places and tells them he found the water one up north and the fire one, and gave them a nice firebender.
For free.
That's when Sokka realizes: "Wait a minute ... Sea-loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise and pet reptile birds? You guys are pirates!"
"We prefer to think of ourselves as "high-risk traders."", tells him earring pirate, friendly an arm around Sokka's terrified form.
Meanwhile, the other three wander over to the counter, where the captain stands behind.
"So, how much for the, uh, traded scroll?", asks Katara.
"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless of course, you kids have four hundred gold pieces on you right now."
Oh by the spirits no, they would never get the scrolls like this.
So Hua did something she hadn't done in a long time.
Casual she walked over to the shelf and faster than lighting put the scrolls in her bag.
That's when Katara walks over and looks stupefied at the missing scrolls on the shelf.
She looks at Hua as her friend nods and pats her bag. Katara smiles, giving her a thumbs-up and calls for Aang to leave the pirate ship.
The boys follow the girls out back into the street, wondering why all of a sudden they wanted to leave the ship.
Neither Hua nor Katara gives them a clear answer about just how they felt weird on the ship.
They were still too close to tell the boys what they did.
Luck again wasn't on their side, because the pirates noticed the theft and chased them all over the harbour.
The bender used their elements to slow them down, but in the end, they fled all together on Aang's glider.
It was a wonder how this was possible.
Soon they reached their campsite.
They were now safe.
"I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible.", said Aang putting his glider away.
"Yeah, that's why we did this!"
Excited Hua and Katara show the scrolls to the boys.
"No way!"
"Aren't they great?", asks Katara rhetoric.
"No wonder they were trying to hack us up! You stole their waterbending and firebending scroll!", scolds Sokka.
"Actually it was me!", admins Hua. "Not the first time I stole something."
"What really?!"
"Sokka, if you grow up so poor as I am then sometimes you have to steal to get food for your little brother."
"Also if Hua hadn't grabbed them, I would have done it.", tells Katara. "I prefer to think of it as high-risk trading."
Aang laughs: "Good one, Katara."
Seeing how Sokka still wasn't happy with them Katara asked him where he thought the pirates got the scrolls from.
They probably stole it from a waterbender master and a firebender one.
"It doesn't matter.", makes Sokka clear. "Hua, and you put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes and some fiery, sparkly flames."
"These are real waterbending and firebending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang and Hua to learn waterbending! Also, Hua needs to learn firebending like yesterday, where else should we find help for her to do it?!", challenges him Katara.
The oldest boy just waves it away with a whatever turning his back on them.
"Well, what's done is done. We have them, we might as well learn from them.", told Aang.
The three benders decide how Hua should have a go first with her firebending scroll.
Katara holds it open for her, as she examines the forms.
"Okay, the first one.", the Daimon mumbles. "A simple Fire Punch. Seems good enough."
Nervous Hua faces the water, while all her friends look equally nervous on.
Would she bend fire and get it out of control?
Or would she master it?
With a deep breath, Hua goes through the steps and then…flame shoots out of her fist!
All exclaim in surprise.
"I did it!", shouts Hua happy. "I firebenden!"
"How does it feel?", asks Katara.
"Good, better, like how it's supposed to. Oh let me try the next form."
The next hour or so they watch how Hua performs the firebending forms flawlessly and with elegance.
Aang was reminded of when Kuzon would bend for them and Katara and Sokka saw for the first time how fire can be pretty.
Hua herself feels at complete ease.
It was how it should have been, first learn fire then the next elements in her Daimon Cyle.
She has a feeling she will now learn air and water better.
After Hua finished her set again, Katara called out for a break.
She sees how her best friend was breathing heavily and was sweaty. So she gives her one of their water bags and Hua gulps it down.
They decided now it was Aang and Katara's turn to use the waterbender scroll.
It works…not well.
Katara was so determined to get the water whip down, that she shouted at Aang as he tried to help her.
Seeing how she hurt the feelings of her friend, she apologises and gives him the scroll.
She doesn't want to do anything with it more if it turns her into this jealous bitch.
In comfort, Hua pats the back of her best friend.
The Daimon can understand her feelings well. If Aang starts one day to learn earthbending and he is better than her, she would be angry too.
What was done was done, for today's practice was over.
They all needed to calm down.
Hua was currently dreaming about eating the biggest mochi of her life when she was rudely woke up.
"Huh, guys what's wrong?", she yawned, then frowned.
Where was Katara?
"She took the scroll!", answered Sokka her unspoken question. "She's obsessed with that thing. It's just a matter of time before she gets us all in deep-"
More he can't say as a pirate throws a rope around his arms and drags him forward. He rolls away and charges at the pirate while another two pirates capture Aang and Hua in a net each and drag them away.
Offended Sokka asks if he is not good enough to be kidnapped and gets as a reward kidnapped.
A while later, Aang, Hua and Sokka, bond by their wrists, and stand with the pirate on one side of the shore, while Prince Zuko and his man are on the other. Katara was bonded on a tree.
Prince Zuko praises the pirates, while Katara says sorry to Aang and Hua.
All was her fault.
The Avatar and Daimon try to reassure her that it is okay, but Zuko's uncle just says to Katara that it was indeed her fault.
Now the pirates and Prince Zuko argue about who should hand over their bargain chip first.
This uses Sokka to his advance, telling the pirates how Aang and Hua were the Avatar and Daimon and how the Fire Lord would pay them more gold, than the two scrolls together.
The deal was off and fighting started.
Prince Zuko and two of his soldiers send a blast of fire at the pirates.
The pirates jump back and Earring Pirate runs out, throwing smoke bombs and jumping into the cloud as the fight ensues. Some of the soldiers run out to Hua, Sokka and Aang, who are struggling with their ropes, but are stopped by several pirates, who also throw smoke bombs down.
"Okay, let's try this!", Hua mumbles to herself.
She concretes and burns her robes off.
"Nice! Sokka, Aang, where are you?!"
"I'm here Hua!", she hears Aang from somewhere on the left.
"I don't know where I am.", comes from Sokka, somewhere on the right.
"Let's just get out!", advises Hua.
After a few seconds, she was out of the smoke, followed by Sokka and then Aang.
They run the shoreline down and find Katara who was trying to push the pirate ship into the water.
The three join her in trying to push the boat, but can't.
"We'd need a team of rhinos to budge this ship.", bemoans Sokka their fate.
"A team of rhinos, or three waterbenders.", corrected him Aang.
Katara looks touched at the Avatar, while Hua gets in position.
"Let's do it guys, push and pull!"
Hua, Aang and Katara push and pull the water until the boat rises up.
They board the ship and sail through the river.
The Avatar sees how the pirates are following them in Zuko's ship and begs Sokka to go faster.
He admits he doesn't know how, since the boat isn't Watertribe.
Several of the pirates jump onto the ship but are quickly swept away by Aang's waterbending.
Two pirates go after Hua but she spins herself around and sends a fire whip after them. This shocks the pirates so much that they fall over the ship.
Determined, Katara performs a perfect water whip to throw the last pirate off.
Aang and Hua congratulated her on her water whip, and Katara admits she wouldn't have got it down without Aang's help.
Sokka meanwhile was being held in place by two pirates and begs them to stop congratulating each other and help him.
This time Hua water whips at the Pirates, who let go of Sokka, and one goes even overboard.
Earring Pirate turn to Aang who whistles in his Bison whistle.
The pirate was more than confused, but this gave Sokka the chance to throw him off the ship.
Then Katara calls out to them.
They are nearing a waterfall!
Thankful the watertribe girl has an idea and together with Aang and Hua they push and pull the water again, creating a vortex which stops the ship.
Their triumph was short-lived since the enemy boat rammed them and all four fell off the ship and down the waterfall.
However, they are lucky as Appa, with Jaiyi and Momo, appears and catches them on his saddle.
Fast they flew away.
Safe and sound Team Avatar-Daimon flies throw the clouds.
What a day they had and it just started!
"Aang, I still owe you an apology.", begins Katara. "You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger, I'm sorry."
"That's okay Katara."
"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?"
"Is that really how you feel?", asked Sokka sarcastically holding the water scroll up.
"The scroll!"
Her brother puts his hand in front to keep Katara from grabbing it.
"First, what did you learn? Hua, you listen too, alright."
"Stealing is wrong.", chorus the girls together.
Katara takes the scroll back and adds cheeky: "Unless it's from pirates."
This makes Aang and Hua laugh.
"Good one, Katara."