Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Child of Two Nations
Book 1 - Water
Chapter 4 – The Kyoshi Warriors
"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka asked Aang, looking away from his map.
"Well... I know it's near water..." Aang answered as they were already flying over an endless stretch of water.
"I guess we're getting close then." Sokka said flatly, while Sorin snickered softly to himself as he is reading a book and Katara was preoccupied with sewing a hole in Sokka's pants. Aang turns his head back watching her along with Momo who was sitting on Aang's left shoulder.
"Momo, marbles please." Aang requested. Momo dives into his shirt and emerges, handing Aang two small, gray marbles "Hey Katara, check out this airbending trick!" Using airbending, Aang manages to spin the two marbles quickly along an equatorial plane as he grins happily.
"That's great, Aang." Katara said nonchalantly, taking no notice and continues to sew.
Aang looked disappointed and stops performing the trick "You didn't even look."
Katara stopped and looked at him "That's great!"
"But I'm not doing it now." Aang said, sounding dismayed.
Sokka waves his arm breezily at Aang as if he is trying to shoo him away "Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."
Katara casts her brother an annoyed glare; speaking irritably "What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?"
"Simple." Sokka started, lazily resting with his arms behind his head. "Girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things."
Sorin shook his head in disappointment, not looking up from his book as he turned a page "And that's why he is single."
Katara suddenly smiles and speaks sarcastically "All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" She showed the hole in the pants, then angrily tosses them in his direction. The pair of pants hit him in the face, covering it.
Sokka quickly scrambles to free himself "Wait! I was just kidding." He sticks one arm through the large hole in his pants "I can't wear these! Katara, please!" He begged, then looked at Sorin for help but the dualbender ignored him and continued reading his book.
"Relax Sokka. Where we're going, you won't need any pants!" Aang yanks Appa's reins to the left, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Appa picks up speed as he flies across the ocean.
Soon enough, Appa swooped out of the sky and landed on the beach of a crescent-shaped island. When they landed, the group have dismounted from the saddle and onto the ground.
"We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?" Sokka asked.
"He's right. At this rate we won't get to the North Pole until spring." Katara added while Aang is looking at something, his hand held against his brow.
"But Appa's tired already, aren't you boy?" Aang asked. Appa does not react at all apart from a mild grunt, which comes across less than convincing. Aang nudges Appa against his front leg with his elbow "I said, aren't you boy?" Appa puts slightly more enthusiasm behind his response the second time by grunting louder and opening up his mouth wide as if he was yawning. Aang smiles over his shoulder at the duo.
"Yeah, that was real convincing." Sokka commented sarcastically "Still, hard to argue with a ten ton magical monster."
Aang runs toward the shore, takes a sharp breath and points excitedly "Look!" In the water, an elephant koi jumps out and back in, creating a giant splash. Katara and Sokka were in awe while Sorin looked amazed at what he saw "That's why we're here." He starts to disrobe while more koi fish jump out of the water "Elephant koi, and I'm gonna ride it. Katara, you've got to watch me!" Aang runs up and dives in. As soon as he submerges, he jumps out again "Cold!"
Katara and Sokka, still standing on shore, exchange glances while Appa walks away, clearly taking interest in something else. Sokka makes a circular motion with his left hand around near his left temple, signaling to his sister that he thinks Aang is crazy, which made Sorin lightly elbow his arm to make him stop.
Aang is swimming toward the deep waters of the bay where the koi fish are. He dives under and immediately appears again, now holding on to the back fin of one of these giant animals as it jumps out of the water before diving again. While Sorin smirked softly, Katara smiles broadly and impressed at the sight of Aang riding the koi fish while Sokka stares at the scene with an uninterested look upon his face and his arms crossed. Momo is jumping excitedly up and down as Aang's koi fish reappears again, as the young airbender began waving at his friends while laughing.
Two other koi jump out of the water behind him to the left and right. Aang is still laughing loud with excitement as they race through the water, playfully jumping out the water before diving.
"He looks pretty good out there." Katara complimented.
"Are you kidding?" Sokka said, lazily gesturing at Aang in the water. "The fish is doing all the work."
"Does look like fun, though." Sorin commented with an amused look.
"No, Appa! Don't eat that!" Katara cried before she turned to run towards him, disappearing out of sight. A widely smiling Aang is atop the fish, and notices Katara runs off inland.
"Aww man." Aang groaned, disappointed as the smile having faded off his face.
Sorin continued watching as two of the koi fish, including the one Aang is on, turned away and suddenly the dark shadow of a large body appears beneath the water's surface directly behind the koi fish.
"There's something in the water!" Sokka realised as Sorin frowned in worry. The koi fish attempts to leap out of the water only to be pulled back under the surface by something unknown. Aang is still surfing on the koi fish's back, smiling widely, unaware of the danger. Katara reappears next to her brother again while Momo is screeching in alarm.
"What's wrong?" Katara asked.
"Aang's in trouble." Sokka answered.
"And he doesn't even know!" Sorin pointed out.
"Aang!" Sokka shouted.
"Get out of there!" Katara screamed.
Aang grips the dorsal fin of the fish, his smile having now faded. He looks surprised at the commotion on the shore. Katara, Sokka and Sorin are motioning for him to exit the water by flailing their arms and calling to him from far away. Aang, believing them to be cheering him on, waves only to suddenly be hurled off the koi fish, into the water when the koi fish is being pulled under, and Aang plunged into the water nearby, then resurfaces and gasps for breath as the massive dorsal fin of the unknown creature emerges from the surface directly behind him. Aang turns around, suddenly alarmed by the sight as he lets out a scream.
The dorsal fin of the creature swerving off to the side as Aang uses airbending to run across the surface of the lake at lightning speed, his feet treading water, the creature following him in hot pursuit. Sorin decided to move as he rushed into the water, diving into it and resurfacing as his feet were now surrounded by a block of ice as he used the water to shoot forward. He then threw his fists forward, unleashing multiple fire blasts towards the fin, causing it to change direction as Aang manages to escape to shore.
Sokka suddenly grows alarmed as Aang collides straight into him, having reached the shore safely as Sorin landed nearby, the ice melting off his feet as he sees the giant fin vanish below the water's surface. Katara runs to where her brother and Aang have come to a halt. Sokka is leaning against a tree trunk, a trail marking where his body slid across the ground while Aang is seen dressing himself as Katara and Momo approach the two.
"What was that thing?" Katara wondered.
"I don't know." Aang admitted.
"Well, let's not stick around and find out. Time to hit the road." Sokka decided as he rubbed his hands.
"I second that. We may have overstayed our welcome." Sorin agreed, approaching the group.
They didn't even take one step before suddenly several female warriors clad in green kimonos descend from the treetops ambushing the quartet. The women quickly encircle the group and take them out. Sokka is pulled back and knocked over.
Katara is pulled by her arm. As she leans in to maintain her balance, someone pulls her parka over her head and pulls her down. Aang is distracted by Katara's struggles, giving the opportunity to another female warrior to grab him by his collar. As one of the warriors approaches Sorin, he used his scabbard to strike her side but another warrior grabbed his leg, which threw him off balance as he fell forward and was dragged off. Momo flies up screeching from his shoulder, only to be quickly caught in a bag, only his head still protruding. A bound and blindfolded Momo, Aang, Katara, Sorin, and Sokka are thrown on the ground in a line, each grunting when they hit the ground. They are surrounded by the female warriors.
"Or we could stay a while..." Sokka muttered.
Afterwards, the group are still blindfolded as they are now tied to a large wooden pole. The bagged Momo stands on the ground in front of Aang.
"You have some explaining to do." A man spoke up, clearly to the quartet
"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi." A young female voice added.
"Show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka demanded. The blindfold was suddenly removed, revealing five girls in green kimonos and wearing white and red face paint standing in front of the tied-up group. There was also an bearded man amongst them "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?"
"There were no men. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?" The lead warrior questioned, taking a step further towards them and gesturing heavily with her clenched fist.
Sokka stares at them in disbelief "Wait a second." He amusingly glanced to his right to where Sorin stands as if he is looking for confirmation, now speaking mockingly "There's no way that a bunch of girls took us down."
"Sokka, if you don't shut up, I'm gonna smack you into next week!" Sorin warned unhappily.
The lead warrior grabs his collar angrily "A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi is going to eat well tonight."
Katara leans forward in her bonds, pleading and apologetically "No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes." The female warrior released Sokka, but still stares at him in dismay.
"It's my fault." Aang spoke up, which the four teenagers looks surprised at Aang's words as he looked sorrowful looking "I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."
"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" The man demanded, pointing at the quartet "Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!"
The lead warrior then pointed at Sorin accusingly "And we saw your friend firebending the unagi!"
"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" Aang said, a brightened expression on his face.
"Ha!" The man laughed humorlessly "How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."
"I know her because I'm the Avatar." Aang said in a soft, calm voice, which surprised the man.
The lead warrior howevere, was not convinced by Aang's statement, shaking her fist to emphasize her words "That's impossible! The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."
"That's me!" Aang admitted, smiling sheepishly.
"Throw the imposter to the unagi!" The man ordered, pointing at Aang. The female warriors immediately retract their metal fans from out of their belts and slid them open. Ready to counter any sudden attack, they threateningly start to move forward and surround the bound friends as the man turned to step out of the way.
Katara leans forward in the ropes, glancing to her right where Aang is bound to the pole. "Aang, do some airbending." She said nervously.
Aang looks questioningly at Katara for a moment, then bends over before pushing himself off the ground. He leaves a large dust cloud as he shoots in the air, stretching out his ropes, using one of the outstretched fans of the statue to snap them in half. Now completely free of his bonds, he tumbles elegantly over the statue. Aang lands gently on the ground in front of the surprised crowd, his robes still fluttering in the air. The elderly man and female warriors all stare at him in shock. A lot more people have gather around to see what is going on.
"It's true, you're the Avatar!" The man was in awe at what he saw.
"Now..." Aang pulls his marbles out from underneath his robes "Check this out." He performs his trick again, letting the marbles spins around really fast between his hands. Grinning and blinking like a fool, he looks at the crowd, hoping to impress them.
"Aang..." Sorin groaned while shaking his head.
The villagers began to cheer, even a young man in the front starts to emit a high pitched squeal while widely tossing his hands up in the air in admiration. He gets so overexcited that he starts to foam, fall forward and faints; the rest of the villagers just keep on cheering.
"Even if you are the Avatar, you're travelling with a firebender." The lead warrior reminded.
"That is only half true." Sorin retorted, as he managed to wave his arms, causing nearby snow to form into water, that sliced his bindings away while burning the ropes on his wrist at the same time "I'm also a waterbender." He revealed, much to the warriors' complete surprise "But I prefer to be called a 'dualbender'."
The next day, the group are now in a nice house where Aang, Katara, Sorin and Momo are sitting at a long table. A villager places another dish on the already richly filled table. Aang and Momo are very excited to see the display of decadent desserts in front of it, but Katara supports an uneasy look while Sorin didn't seem to mind.
"All right! Dessert for breakfast!" Aang throws his arms in the air while Momo digs in and chitters. Katara pokes one of the squishy looking, orange puffs with a flat top in front of her, then picks up and closely investigates the dessert she just pokes as Sorin eats another without a care. Aang on the other hand does not share her reluctance and starts stuffing his face, two desserts at once. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar!" He said while stuffing his face.
"Aang, don't talk with your mouth full." Sorin lightly told him off.
Aang seemingly ignored the dualbender "Mmm..." He offers one of the desserts he is holding to Katara "Katara you've got to try these!"
Katara puts down the orange dessert, accepts the dessert Aang offers her and takes a bit "Well, maybe just a bite."
Momo sneaks up to Aang and snatches the dessert out of his other hand and quickly dashes away, who smiles at his pet. He does not let the theft bother him and quickly gabs another dessert in front of him while Katara munches down the piece of cake and reaches across the table for the same dessert Aang just took. Aang glances to his left, over the hunched Katara to Sokka. Momo appears between Aang and Katara and quickly snatches another cupcake from the table before vanishing underneath it.
"Sokka, what's your problem? Eat!" Aang suddenly said, looking to the side.
Sokka is sitting in a corner, walking with his arms crossed while staring in front of him "Not hungry."
Aang leans backward to be able to look past Katara to Sokka; his eyes wide open in surprise "But you're always hungry!"
Katara glanced amusingly at Aang, speaking in a slightly mocking tone "He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday."
"They snuck up on me!" Sokka argued.
"Right. And then they kicked your butt." Katara continued mocking him. Momo is lying underneath the table with his front paws around a bunch a pastries he collected, which Sorin glanced at.
Sokka angrily stands up "Sneak attacks don't count!" He walks out of the scene with big strides, mumbling to himself "Tie me up with ropes! I'll show them a thing or two." He comes back to the table to face Katara, Aang and Sorin. Momo grabs some more pastries that lie around him "I'm not scared of any girls." He snatches some of the desert of the table "Who do they think they are anyway?" He shoves one of the deserts in his mouth and stalks off again "Mmm ... this is tasty."
"Geez, talk about a bruised ego..." Sorin commented.
"What's he so angry about? It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment." Aang pointed out.
"Hey, don't get too comfortable." Katara warned "It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long."
"Especially when that Zuko guy is on the hunt for you?" Sorin added as Momo's arm comes into view from underneath the table. He scans the table for new pastries to snatch.
Aang lowers his arm with the pastry and offers it to Momo's grasping paw "I'm sure we'll be fine." The lemur feels the desert and quickly snatches it out of Aang's hand "Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town?" Aang moves closer to Katara and turns around to look out of the window at the statue being repainted "They're even cleaning up that statue in my honor!"
"Well, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar." Katara said, sounding slightly concerned "I just hope it doesn't all go to your head."
"Come on, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk." Aang reassured.
Aang gets up and leans on the window sill so he can look better outside. As soon as he emerges, the villagers scream with delight and admiration for him. Aang looks down in surprise to see where the sound came from, which reveals a bunch a little girls cheering for him. Aang flashes a broad smile at the girls while blushing. Katara is standing behind him with her arms crossed in disapproval. She rolls her eyes and makes a raspberry.
"Well, I'm gonna make sure Sokka doesn't cause more trouble." Sorin stood up and walked out.
Passing through the villages, some people gave their friendly greetings to Sorin but others were slightly hesitant due to the teen able to firebend. He couldn't blame them for that, even when the Fire Nation has done so much in over a hundred years. He made his way over to the warrior's dojo, and arrived to see Sokka on the ground with his arm tied to his foot with his own belt then throws him to the floor.
"Anything else you want to teach us?" Suki asked, standing over Sokka laughing but all he does is blush in humiliation as all the warriors laugh at him.
Sorin sighed to himself "Looks like a lesson has been learned, Sokka. Never underestimate an opponent, especially a girl."
Suki glanced at Sorin, then faced him fully "From what I heard, you've got some fighting skills. How about you show me what you got... Dualbender?"
"Sure." Sorin put his sword to the side, clicked his neck as he took a stance "A little heads up, I don't plan on going easy on you."
"I wouldn't want you to." Suki replied.
Sorin smirked slightly as Suki swung her fan at her opponent, who was undeterred as he moved his arm and successfully disarmed her. Suki quickly moved to strike, but Sorin quickly swerved underneath, then followed up by sweeping her legs, knocking the Kyoshi Warrior on the floor. As she attempted to get up, the dualbender had a fist outstretched at the ready, showing that he was waiting for the next strike. Suki then conceded defeat, to which the other warriors were surprised that the outsider defeated her in quick succession. Suki looked to see Sorin offering his hand to her, to which she smiled and accepted the gesture.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Suki asked him.
"My parents taught me. They said I should look for any openings and use them in the right moment." Sorin explained to her "But you and the other warriors fight with honor. That I respect."
"Tell me something, how were you able to bend two elements?" Suki decided to ask.
"Honestly, I don't even know." Sorin admitted with a shrug "At first, I discovered that I could waterbend. One day during training, I suddenly used firebending. Some people thought I was the next Avatar... but when I learned I could only bend just the two elements, that theory was cleared up. I just didn't expect to inherit the abilities my parents both had. But I plan to use them for good." He then noticed Sokka walking away "Apologises for his behavior. After what just happened, he might come back with a different perspective."
Suki huffed slightly "Hmph. I'll believe it when I see it."
Later that day, Sorin was in a deep meditation with his sword resting horizontally on his lap, as Suki allowed him to do so as she and the warriors continued their training but stop when they see Sokka walking in once again.
"Uh... hey, Suki." Sokka called out hesitantly.
"Hoping for another dance lesson?" Suki asked him in a slight hostile tone.
"No... I... well, let me explain." Sokka said.
"Spit it out! What do you want?" Suki demanded firmly.
Sokka looks hurt at Suki's hostility, then humbly drops to his knees in front of her "I would be honored if you would teach me."
"Even if I'm a girl?" Suki questioned.
"I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong." Sokka apologised while averting his gaze, which caught Sorin by surprise that he rose an eyebrow.
Suki has her arms crossed while looking down upon Sokka "We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone boys."
Sokka raises his head to face her; pleading "Please make an exception." He bowed once again "I won't let you down."
"All right." Suki accepted, now speaking in a friendlier tone "But you have to follow all of our traditions."
"Of course!" Sokka replied eagerly.
"And I mean all of them." Suki continued with a smile. A little later Sokka comes out in the full green dress and white face paint of the fan warriors. Needless to say, Sorin was smirking smugly with his arms crossed as he stood to the side.
Sokka was embarrassed looking down at his wardrobe "Do I really have to wear this? It feels a little..." He lower his arms in defeat "...girly."
"It's a warrior's uniform. You should be proud. The silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honour of the warrior's heart." Suki explained to him.
"Bravery and honour." Sokka repeated, standing up feeling more proud of himself now this information. Just in that moment, Aang passes by the front door looking in with interest while Sokka proudly stands up straight.
"Hey Sokka!" Aang called out, smiling broadly. Sokka winces upon hearing his name and slants his eyes and shoulders in embarrassment. "Nice dress!" Suki turns to Aang, who speeds away, and looks back to the embarrassed Sokka with a content and broader smile on her face, while Sorin snickered quite loudly at the timing.
The training had now begun for Sokka as he is performing some exercises with a fan under the watchful eyes of Suki while Sorin watched by the doorway, his back and right foot leaning against the wall with his arms still crossed.
"You're not going to master it in one day." Suki instructed "Even I'm not that good."
"I think I'm starting to get it." Sokka said as he performs a series of well executed moves with his fan "Tah!" As a last move, he closes the fan on throws it out of the dojo. The object flies straight into a tree, knocking down some of snow that had gathered on its branches. Suki peeks her head around the door to look at the hit tree
Sorin also looked outside, using his waterbending to retrieve the fan and catch it without missing a beat "Practise makes perfect."
Suki looked to Sokka "It's not about strength. Our technique is about using your opponents' force against them. Loosen up." She retracts her own fan from her belt and points it at Sokka, who takes on a battle position "Think of the fan as an extension of your arm. Wait for an opening and then..." She charges Sokka, but he manages to evade her attack and uses the momentum of her speed against her, knocking her on her behind, much to her surprise. Sorin raised a brow for a brief moment, impressed at Sokka.
Sokka looks surprised, quickly crosses his arms and looks smug "Hmm ...
Suki quickly gets up; irritated as she blushed briefly "I fell on purpose to make you feel better!"
Sokka points at Suki, exclaiming ecstaticly. "I got you! Admit I got you!" Suki grabs Sokka's pointing finger and twists it, making Sokka twitch and grunt in pain, which made Sorin chuckle softly.
"Okay, it was a lucky shot." Suki releases the finger while smiling broadly before speaking on a more serious tone "Let's see if you can do it again." the two warriors prepare to battle again. Suki opens her fan threateningly and starts to circle around Sokka.
Sorin remained as a spectator, watched as Sokka's training was going well, even with Suki being a helpful teacher. At one point, Momo appeared and is hanging by his tail on one of the support beams of the roof. He has a collection of sweets with him which he is eating while watching the duo below him train. Suki thrusts her hand, holding the fan forward, only to have it blocked by Sokka.
"Not bad." Suki complimented with a smile. Sokka smiles back at her with confidence, when suddenly Oyaji appears in the door. Sorin, Sokka and Suki worriedly turn to him, looking alarmed.
"Firebenders have landed on our shores!" Oyaji informed. "Girls, come quickly!" Suki immediately runs to him while he turns to head back to the town.
"Hey, I'm not a..." Sokka began to protest as Momo jumps on his shoulder and pushes himself off toward the door, conceding in defeat "Oh, whatever!" Sorin immediately followed after his friend.
In the main street of the village. Zuko and three Fire Nation soldiers mounted on komodo rhinos are standing at the base of the Kyoshi statue. Sorin jumped on a roof, keeping himself hidden, and noticed who the intruder really is.
Sorin groaned in annoyance "Oh, not this guy again..."
"Come out, Avatar! You can't hide from me forever!" Zuko called out, even when several villagers began hiding in the nearby houses. "Find him."
As Zuko gives the command, the other three rhinos move into town while the Kyoshi Warriors moved into position to attack, proving to be very stealthy. Sorin moved to another rooftop as three Kyoshi Warriors come jumping toward the firebenders from atop nearby roofs, knocking off some of the riders. A Kyoshi Warriors lands in front of the lead rhino and opens her fans. The rider stabs at her with his spear. She moves to the right, disarms the rider, and jumps up to knock him off his steed with a spinning kick.
Suki runs toward Zuko, who unleashed a fire blast to which the warrior moves to the left to avoid the flames. She jumps over another blast and tries to attack Zuko from the air, but he turns his rhino. The beast slams Suki away with a might sweep of his tail, knocking her down. Zuko shoots a fire blast at the downed warrior, but right before it would have burned her, Sokka jumps before her and decimates the flames with a sweep of his fan. Sokka prepares to fight Zuko, but before he can do anything, another Kyoshi Warrior jumps of a nearby roof and knocks a surprised Zuko of his rhino; the beast dashes away.
"I guess training's over!" Sokka said, glancing at Suki before running to the downed prince.
Zuko recovers from the strike, having lost his helmet in the process, and sees Sokka, Suki, and the other Kyoshi Warrior all take on a fighting stance. Zuko pushes himself up and rapidly spins around on his hand while shooting fire out of his feet, knocking the Kyoshi Warrior back into the house and slamming Suki against a wooden pole, where she collapses in pain. Zuko proceeds with a low fire kick in Sokka's direction. The Water Tribe Warrior jumps over the fire, but as soon as he lands again, Zuko sweeps his feet from underneath him. Sokka falls in his back, and Zuko jumps over him to the middle of the street. He angrily looks around.
"Nice try, Avatar! But these little girls can't save you." Zuko called, then a small pebble smacks him in the back. He angrily looks back to see Sorin standing idly by, lightly kicking another pebble "You...!" He growled with narrowed eyes.
"You're not getting Aang, Zuko!" Sorin said as he ignites the pebble in flames and kicks it at Zuko, who knocks it down with his fire before shooting a blast of fire. Sorin bends water from a nearby bucket to disperse the flame and whip it at Zuko, knocking him down. The fire prince got back up, to see the dualbender immediately gone.
"Hey! Over here!" Zuko heard and turned to see Aang standing at the beginning of the main street, holding his staff in front of him like he is challenging the prince.
"Finally." Zuko said with finality, then commences by sending two fire balls in Aang's direction.
Aang prepares to face the incoming, burning projectiles as he ducks underneath the first and uses his staff to decimate the next fire ball. He rapidly spins the staff over his head, propelling himself in the air. He lands in front of Zuko, who immediately kicks the staff out of his hands. Aang jumps up and lands between two fans of a Kyoshi Warrior that are lying on the ground. He stands up and picks us the fan with his airbending. Zuko madly charges Aang with his fist already held stretched out before him. Aang spins around a few times to create a bigger momentum and uses the extra power of his swirl to blast Zuko in a nearby house with a strong blast of air. Aang looks sad and lowers the fans. He runs down the main street and picks up his staff along the way. Aang tosses the object in the air, where it snaps open into his glider and jumps on, looking at the scene above him with saddened expression; a lot of burning houses and the Fire Nation troops among them. Aang looks back to see the burning statue of Avatar Kyoshi, which saddens Aang even more. He then saw Katara usher two small children into one of the non-burning buildings, and lands next to her.
"Look what I've brought to this place." Aang said sorrowfully.
"It's not your fault." Katara tried to assure him.
"Yes it is. These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me." Aang argued, sounding upset.
"Then let's get out of here. Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us. I know it feels wrong to run, but I think it's the only way." Katara told him.
"I'll call Appa." Aang decided sadly, hanging his head.
Nearby, a Kyoshi Warrior deflects a fire blast with her fan, and retaliates by throwing her other closed fan to the firebender. With a load clung, the object makes contact with the bender's helmet, knocking him on his behind. Sokka and Suki are squatting behind a house, with Sorin standing nearby, holding his sword out at the ready.
"There's no time to say goodbye." Suki said.
"What about, 'I'm sorry'?" Sokka offed to apologise.
"For what?" Suki asked in a mixture of surprise and confusion.
"I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior." Sokka regretfully admitted.
"I am a warrior." Suki leans over and kisses Sokka on the cheek, before continuing again. A surprised Sokka touches his cheek where Suki just kissed him "But I'm a girl, too." Sokka began to blush, while Sorin slightly smirked at what he saw. Suki stood at the alleyway, her fan slid open to fight "Now get out of here! We'll hold them off."
With that said, Sokka stands up and runs with Sorin to Appa who was lying ready a few meters further. Sorin, Momo and Sokka run up Appa's tail and onto the saddle.
Aang pulled the reins "Appa, yip yip!" Appa groans and takes off and he flies over the burning buildings and away from the island.
As Sokka removed the face paint using his sleeve, Katara moved to rim of the saddle to address a saddened Aang "I know it's hard, but you did the right thing." She gestured toward the town "Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed." She then spoke in a comforting tone "They're going to be okay, Aang." Aang looks up with a determined look on his face, then suddenly jumps off Appa, going into free fall "What are you doing?!"
Aang plunges into the water as Katara, Sokka and Sorin peering over the edge of the saddle, wide-eyed in surprise. Momo peeks over the rim as well beside Katara. At the surface of the water, a few ripples reveal the nearing emerging of something. The water bubbles and suddenly the unagi shoots out of the water with Aang on top of his head, holding his whiskers. After swaying about a few times, he sturdies himself atop Unagi's head and pulls the creature's barbels. The unagi opens its mouth wide and begins gushing water which rains over the town as the fires are put out by the rain. At the same time, Zuko is looking humiliated and his men looking surprised as they were drenched. The unagi ceases to gush water and launches Aang into the air, who is subsequently caught by an overflying Appa. Oyagi looks out of his window watching the departure of the travellers.
"Thank you, Avatar." Oyagi said, smiling gratefully.
Aang climbed onto Appa's saddle with his friends, and sat down as he spoke "I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous."
"Yes, it was." Katara replied with a smile, then suddenly hugs Aang, who smiles and inhales deeply before sighing and closing his eyes, happily. In the ocean by the island, the unagi disappears below the surface of the water.
End of Chapter 4
A/N: Phew, and Chapter 4 is here! With the group meeting the Kyoshi Warriors, and now they continue on their adventure. Look forward to the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA or the story image, just the OC
Next Chapter: The King of Omashu