Chapter 1: The Story Begins
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ammon. I'm sure you know the Avatar the Last Airbender story. But you don't know the real story, the story in which I helped Aang throughout his journey. You see, I'm the leader of a fifth nation if you will. We are neither. Waterbenders, Earthbenders, Firebenders, or Airbenders, we are sort of all of them combined. We are Avatar-like people called Naturebenders or more commonly known as the Nature Masters. I'm called the Head Nature Master. I'm sometimes called the Headmaster for short. It's a hereditary thing; I inherited the job from my father, who inherited it from his father, and so on, for only members of my family can connect with the Avatar that the Headmaster does. The Headmaster can be male or female. The only rule is that they must be the oldest or at least next in line for the throne. I'm brown-haired and about six feet tall. I have a pair of circular-shaped glasses. My twin brother Alex looks exactly like me, except for the fact that he's a little shorter and has rectangular glasses. Along with the job, I also inherited a special weapon and a special pet. The weapon was a special staff sword, a staff that's also a sword. You see, when you unscrew the top; it comes out attached to a sword blade. I can actually use it to help me bend. The top itself is in the shape of a bird's head. The head belongs to a phoenix bird, which is the special pet I inherited. His name is Fax. He's been passed down from one Head Nature Master to the next since the start. Phoenixes burn up when it's time for them to die, and then they're reborn from the ashes and have tears that heal. Thus, phoenixes were the original Nature Masters. They can bend all the elements because they are part of them. The Nature Master troops use all kinds of weapons, bows and arrows, swords, staffs, clubs, and even spears. All of which they can bend with. We allow both men and women to enlist in our forces. We Nature Masters pride ourselves on being inclusive and unbiased. We Nature Masters wear cloaks and robes mostly. We find them very comfortable. Plus, they are very useful for storing things. I can bend my sword staff into magic dust and store it in my cloak. They're also good for all kinds of weather conditions.
The Nature Master city, Ama Se, is highly secret. It literally lies underground. The gate to it is hidden, and it takes the bending of all the elements to reach it. The main entrance starts on an uncharted island in the middle of the sea. First, you must waterbend a waterfall apart. You travel down a tunnel to a dead end. You need to earthbend to continue. You exit the tunnel to a firewall that must be firebended down. You then come into a thick fog that must be airbended away. The final gate is the symbol of the Nature Masters, the symbol that is on our flag, the Element Ring, all the elements together in one mighty team. You must bend all the elements at the same time to part it. Ama Se itself is a paradise. Many refugees of the war were taken there. It's truly the safest place in the world. There are mountains, a river with a lake and a waterfall, a desert, a forest, and a grassland surrounding the city. We have six different schools. One for each element, hand-to-hand martial arts, and a general school for math, history, music, and other things. There's also plenty of farmland and markets. And the main town where most people live is always growing. We also have a library, a museum, a hospital, a theatre, a sports area for sparring matches and such, an animal refuge or a zoo, and an ancient palace with a dungeon. Also, there's a room in the palace with statues of every Avatar there has ever been, and then a room with statues of every Head Nature Master that guided those Avatars. As Head Nature Master, I can sense everything through the elements. And I know all the spirits as well as many people around the world. Ever since the first Avatar, there were the first Nature Masters. We are the people who understand the Avatar the most. And I'm the Avatar's guide and protector. It's my job to see to it that he completes his density. Nature Masters can live for quite some time. The first Avatar I ever met was Avatar Kyoshi. The first Avatar I worked with as Head Nature Master was Avatar Roku. Avatar Aang was the Avatar I was closest to. For that reason, I will now outline my version of the story. How the world nearly fell because of me.
It begins like this. For many generations, the Nature Masters assisted the Avatar in keeping peace among the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. But all that changed when the Firelord became greedy and attacked. Only with help from the Avatar, the grandmaster of all the elements, could we Nature Masters hope to stop them. But when we needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years of fighting have passed. And the Fire Nation is getting closer to victory in the war. The Nature Masters may soon be the only thing standing against them. Over those hundred years, I've been searching for the Avatar. But I had other problems to worry about as well. Two years ago, Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe and his men left their homes to help fight the Fire Nation in the Earth Kingdom, leaving me and some of my troops to watch over the tribe and his two young children, Sokka and Katara. Some think the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and the cycle is broken. Katara, however, refuses to believe that. I believe she's right to do so. For I know, he's out there somewhere. And I'm going to find him. And when I do, I will see him through, and the world can be saved again. All the fighting and searching I had done for the past hundred years wasn't really good for me. My twin brother Alex then suggested that I take a vacation and relax. I decided to visit Katara and Sokka. It had been a while since I had seen them. Plus, I wanted to help Katara more into becoming a master Waterbender. So that's where Alex and I went. Katara was very happy to see me. She ran up and gave me an enormous hug. Sokka was too, but he didn't want to show it a whole lot, partly because he wanted to be the one to lead the village, but whether he liked it or not. His father left the village under my charge. Their mother got killed many years ago in a Fire Nation raid. Sokka said he wanted to go fishing. Katara and I wanted to join him. So off we went. Sokka is a very prideful young man. Whenever he saw his reflection in the water, he would flex his muscles. Meanwhile, I was trying to teach waterbending to Katara. I could tell she had talent. All I needed to do was bring it out in the open. "All right, Katara, try to use waterbending to catch a fish," I told her. First, I wanted to give her a demonstration. I spotted a fish and began to explain what I was doing. I raised the water surrounding the fish and formed a bubble around him. Katara was indeed impressed. She gave it a shot herself. She successfully caught a fish. "Sokka look at this," she said. But Sokka was too busy preening to pay attention until Katara accidentally ran her bubble into Sokka's spear tip. "Why is it when you two play with magic water? I get wet," Sokka said. "It's not magic, it's…." Katara began. "Waterbending, an ancient art unique to our culture, I know," Sokka finished. "But what about Ammon? He's not Water Tribe, but he can do it." "Yes, but Nature Masters didn't invent waterbending, Sokka," I explained. "You see, we've had to learn the arts from those who are native to them. We are native to nature itself." "Kind of like the Avatar has to," Katara said. "Yes, you see, to master the arts of an element truly. You must be a native of the element or learn from a native. That's why the Head Nature Master can't just teach the Avatar everything. But rather see to it he gets the proper master to teach him." I said. "Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah, we get it," said Sokka. "You'll have respect for the art of bending one day, Sokka," I said, frowning at him. Though I have to admit, I sometimes had my doubts. If there's one thing, I knew about Sokka. The most important person in his world is himself, but I was sure he'd learn humility one day. But until then, I'd just let him be. I didn't have much time to really think about that because, just then, we got caught in some rapids. Sokka started paddling like his life depended on it. And it almost did. But thinking quickly, I began to use waterbending to get us out of that mess. I raised the water directly beneath us and raised us into the air. Then we began to fall downward. I frantically called up the water to catch us. It did, but then we hit an iceberg, and the canoe smashed to pieces. We began to fall into the open water. I quickly formed an ice piece for us to land on.
When we landed, Sokka was furious. "Okay, I see why my dad let you look after us. So that you could scare me out of my mind," he shouted. "Oh, come on, Sokka, that was fun," Katara said. "I'd rather say exhausting," I said as I dropped my head onto the ice. I hadn't done serious bending like that for a while, so I was a little exhausted. "Of course, scaring me is always exhausting," Sokka said. "He did save our lives, Sokka," Katara said, getting a little mad at her brother. "Oh, sure, you're only defending him because he's been teaching you waterbending, Katara. Leave it to a girl to defend a teacher." Sokka said. He was also a very sexist kind of person, as no one knew better than Katara. She always hated it whenever he talked like that. She could not be held accountable for her actions; standing up, she shouted at her brother. "That does it; you can find your own way home. You're the most sexist, immature, I'm embarrassed to be related to you. You know, ever since Mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier." Katara shouted. As she was shouting, she was performing some accidental waterbending. She began to carve at the iceberg behind her. "I've even had to do all the laundry. Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT." She shouted. "Uh, Katara," Sokka said, noticing that Katara was cracking the iceberg behind her. But Katara wouldn't listen to him. She was madder at him than I'd ever seen her. "Uh, Katara, behind you," I finally said. Katara listened to me and turn around. The iceberg was coming down right on top of us. Quickly I step forward and bent the iceberg away from us. But it still caused a huge splash and wave. It caused us all to fall flat on our stomachs on the ice. When it all settled, Sokka finally said. "Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Katara." "You mean I did that?" she asked. "Yep, I told you, you had talent," I said proudly, patting her on the back. I was proud that Katara's inner talent was coming out.
But just then, something was glowing blue below in the water. I could feel something was rising to the surface. "Hold on, you two," I said, waterbended us backward. The minute we were safely out of the way. The giant thing that was glowing blue pop up to the surface, it was a giant iceberg. I suddenly felt a great tremor in the elements. I was feeling a presence that I hadn't felt in years. "Ammon, are you okay?" Katara asked, looking a little concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just feeling a tremor in the elements," I responded. Then I took the time to look properly at the iceberg. And I saw him. Frozen in the iceberg was a bald young boy with arrow tattoos. "Aang," I said under my breath. I then water surfed up to the iceberg. Katara followed me, hopping across some pieces of ice. "Katara, what are you doing, we don't what that thing is," Sokka said as he followed his sister. But she wasn't listening to him. And the point of fact, neither was I.
When I reached the iceberg and got a closer look, tears came to my eyes. "It is you, at last, I've found you, Aang," I said quietly. "Ammon, what's going on who's in there?" asked Katara. "Stand back, I'm going to open it" I said. I rose up into the air and sliced the iceberg down the middle. There was a blinding flash of blue light, and I landed next to Katara and Sokka. When I could see again, I saw Aang standing up in the Avatar State. The Head Nature Master has a similar state called the Headmaster State. It's when I'm at my strongest and all my power is unleashed at the same time. Also, I call upon the power of all the Headmasters before me. But instead of glowing blue like the Avatar, I glow green. Suddenly Aang stopped glowing, and he fell unconscious. I quickly ran up and caught him in my arms. Tears began to pour from my eyes. After a hundred years of searching, I'd found him at last. I had begun to think I'd lost him forever. Aang's eyes began to flicker and open. "Ammon," he said. "Aang, I was so afraid I'd lost you forever," I said and hugged him. I was so happy I found Aang again. I'd forgotten all about Katara and Sokka. "Ammon, you know this boy?" Katara asked. "Oh yes, please forgive me, I should've introduced you," I said, standing both me and Aang up. I cleared my throat. "Aang of the Southern Air Temple, this is Katara and her older brother Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe," I said. "Katara, Sokka, this is Aang." I could see the twinkle in Katara's eyes and in Aang's eyes when they saw each other. Katara was about fourteen years old, and Sokka was around sixteen. Aang was about twelve when I last saw him. And he didn't look any older now. I guess he must have been preserved in that Avatar iceberg. Now that I thought about it, it didn't surprise me that it took me this long to find him. He was in the Avatar State in an iceberg created by the Avatar State at the bottom of the ocean. The Head Nature Master and the Avatar have a strong connection. Usually, I can sense when the Avatar is in trouble and where he is. But considering the circumstances, I wasn't surprised that all I could sense was that he was alive.
"Hi, guy…." Aang began, but he was interrupted by a giant sneeze. He was launched into the air, I'd say, twenty feet. I supposed that he had been holding that in for years. When Aang returned, he finished. "Hi, guys." "You just shot, like, ten feet in the air," Sokka said, utterly shocked. "Really, it felt higher than that," Aang said, looking up. "You're an Airbender," Katara said, amazed. "Sure am," Aang said. "Great, you're an Airbender. Katara is a Waterbender, so together, you can just waste the whole day," Sokka said. "You're a Waterbender," Aang said, amazed. "Well, sort of, not yet" Katara said. "Yeah, I've been teaching her, and she has done well so far," I said. Then suddenly, Aang remembered someone. "Appa," he said and turned and ran. We ran after him, and sure enough, there was Appa. He was Aang's airbison. I was pretty glad to see him too. Every Avatar had some animal guide that they took care of. I knew someone else who would be happy to see Appa too. I opened my cloak, and from a thing of bending dust appeared Fax, my phoenix. I sometimes keep Fax in my cloak where he can be safe. And he doesn't mind it. Phoenixes have the ability to change their size. Fax can grow big enough for me to ride on him. Or he can shrink to a size where he fits in my pocket.
"Hey buddy, are you okay?" Aang said. Appa slowly rose as if he had just awakened from a long nap. So that didn't surprise me at all. When Fax and Appa saw each other, they were happy. Aang offered Katara and Sokka a ride home. We all decided it would be all right. We all got on Appa and were ready to fly. "Appa yip yip" Aang said. But Appa was still tried. He jumped into the air and fell into the water. Thus, Appa was going to swim us back to the village. I admit it was nice riding on Appa. Darkness fell, and Sokka went to sleep. "So Aang" Katara said. "Yeah" "With you being an Airbender and all, I was wondering if you know what happened to the Avatar". "Oh, I never knew him. I mean, I knew people who knew him, but I never did," Aang said. "Okay I was just wondering. Goodnight," Katara said. "Goodnight," Aang said back. Katara then lay down to sleep. I knew, of course, that Aang was lying. The reason why was obvious to me. Because he never wanted to be the Avatar. I didn't want to tell Katara and Sokka either, though. Partly because I wanted to keep Aang's return a secret for as long as possible, I knew that if the Fire Nation heard that the Avatar had returned. We'd have half of the Fire Nation army on our tails quickly.
But Katara didn't seem fooled by our lies. "Hey, Aang, why do you get some rest, I'll drive," I offered Aang. "Thanks," Aang said, and he laid down and went to sleep. "Hey Ammon, you knew the Avatar didn't you," Katara asked me after Aang was sound asleep. "Of course, I knew him," I said. "Well could Aang be the Avatar?" she asked. "Why do you ask that Katara" I wondered. "Well, the blue lights and all," Katara replied. I sighed. "I can see there is no fooling you, Katara," I said at last. "Alright, I'll tell you, but you must promise me you won't tell anyone." "I promise, Ammon," Katara said. "Very well, yes, he is. He didn't tell you because he never wanted to be the Avatar. And I'd didn't want to say because if the Fire Nation hears, he's returned. Half of the army will be on us." I explained. Katara seemed to understand, and I trusted her. She had wisdom beyond her years. It was late when we returned to the village. I made sure the kids would be alright for the night. And I went to my own cot and went to sleep. I woke up early the next morning and went off somewhere clear from the rest of the village. As soon as I felt I was alone, I sat down and began to meditate. I closed my eyes and began to breathe slowly. I wanted to think for a minute about what my next course of action should be. Sometimes when I'm feeling this way, I call upon my father's spirit. "Father, I'm in need of your wisdom and advice" I began to mutter. "What can I do for you, my son?" I heard a voice ask. I opened my eyes and saw my father's spirit sitting opposite me. He had no glasses, brown hair, and a small beard. He wore the same kind of cloak I was wearing. He had his hood down. "Father, I have found the Avatar," I said. "That's excellent son, now the world can be saved," he said. "Yes, but I'm not sure what to do now," I explained how I wanted to keep Aang's return a secret in order to keep him safe from the Fire Nation. "Ammon, as long as Aang is with you, I have no doubt he'll be safe." My father said. "Yes but I just don't want to take a chance," I said. "He is the first Avatar that I'm starting along his path, you know." "Ha ha, son every Head Nature Master feels this way with their first full Avatar. I know I did with mine."
"Only you got to start immediately, I've spent 100 years searching for him," I said. "I know that your time is different from mine. But there's a reason for that because you're different from me. You can handle this. You asked me questions like this over the 100 years you were searching for the Avatar. 'How can I be sure to find Aang before the Fire Nation?' I always told you if you couldn't find him, the Fire Nation wouldn't be able to either. Besides the Fire Nation is going to find out sooner or later, like when you start finding Aang some bending teachers." "I understand Father, thank you," I said after a moment's thought. "I'll just do what I know I must." "That's my boy, do well, and remember I'm always with you. Goodbye, my son." With that, my father's spirit vanished. Tears had come to my eyes as I watch where he was. I really did miss having my father around. Alex came walking right up behind me. "Hey bro what are you doing over here?" he asked. "Mediating" I responded. "You talked with Dad again didn't you," he said. "Yes, how could you tell anyway?" I asked. "You've got tears in your eyes. You only get tears in your eyes while meditating when you talk with Dad." Alex explained kneeling down beside me. "It's nothing to be ashamed of; I'm the same way too."
"Thanks, Alex, how's Aang?" I asked. "Oh, he's fine, he just woke up. But I think he had a bad dream last night. That's why I came to find you." He said. "Really, well I'd better go see him," I said. I got up and quickly headed for the village. I got there in time to see Aang fly up with his glider. "I don't believe this, humans can't fly," Sokka said. "Guess again Sokka, Airbenders are the best human flyers in the world," I said. "But they're not the only ones. Using my cloak, I can do the same thing Aang's doing." I could tell that Sokka didn't believe me. In order to prove the point, I burst into the air. I was flying right alongside Aang. We began to do tricks together. The Air Nomads had all kinds of figure flying contests. And the Nature Masters sometimes were able to compete. When we landed, we got a feast of applause. "That was incredible guys," Katara said. But Katara's grandmother, Kanna wanted to have a word with Katara before she got to her chores. I walk over to listen in. "Don't you see Gran Gran?" Katara said. "I finally found a more permanent bender to teach me." "Katara, I warn you not to put too much faith in this boy." Her grandmother said. "But I know he's the real thing, I can sense he's filled with much wisdom," Katara said. I looked over at Aang and he had his staff stuck to his tongue. I just had to smile. "Katara," I said. "What you sense in Aang is something that has yet to sprout." "What do you mean?" Katara asked. "What I mean is that Aang is filled with wisdom that needs some time and chance to grow," I explained. So Katara went to do her chores. I had to consort with my officers. "Alright boys report, Alex any sign of a Fire Nation ships nearby?" I said. "Yes one, but that's the good news," Alex said nervously. "What's the bad news?" I asked cautiously. "It's Prince Zuko's ship," Alex said. "What, Prince Zuko, the former heir to the Fire Nation throne" "I'm afraid so Ammon," Alex said. "How many troops do we have guarding the village Alex," I said quickly. "At least 100 troops" Alex reported. "Good that should be enough, I hope" I said. "Alex how far is Zuko from here?" "I don't think he's knows where we are" Alex said. "Fine, Larry, have the men standby just in case we need to defend the village." I ordered. "Yes my master" Larry said.
I decided to talk with Aang. Katara was with me, I had to let Aang know what was going on. "Ammon, has no one really seen an Airbender for a hundred years?" he asked me. I knew I had to tell him the truth. "I'm afraid so Aang." I said. "I haven't even seen any Air Nomad for a hundred years. Not until I found you." "Aang, do you know that there's a war going on?" Katara asked. "What war?" Aang asked like he was very surprised. "How long did you think you were in that iceberg Aang?" I asked. "I don't know, a few days maybe" Aang said very confused. "How about a hundred years?" I said. "The war started right after you disappeared. And it's been going on for the past one hundred years. And also in that time, I've been searching for you." "But we've had friends all over the world even in the Fire Nation. I've never seen a war" Aang said. "The key word Aang is had" I said. I could tell Aang was very bothered by this news. "I know that you're a little shocked by this news," I said. Suddenly Aang saw a penguin. "PENGUIN" he shouted and chase after it.
Katara ran right after him. I decided to follow them in order to look after them. Aang was having trouble catching a penguin. "Aang," Katara said. "I'll teach you how to catch a penguin if you help teach me waterbending." "You've got a deal. Only one problem, I'm an Airbender, not a Waterbender," Aang said. "Isn't there someone in your tribe who could teach you?" "No, you're looking at the only Waterbender in the entire South Pole," Katara said with a sad look on her face. "I'm afraid so, Aang. All the rest were taken prisoner by the Fire Nation years ago," I said, remembering when it happened. "Well, what about in the North Pole?" Aang asked. "Yeah, there's Waterbenders up there," I said. "But it's not like it's just around the next iceberg, Aang. It's on the whole other side of the world." "Well, we could fly Katara there on Appa," Aang said as he turned to Katara. "Katara, we're going to find a Waterbender to teach you." "And in the meantime, I can still teach you," I said. "Okay, now, Aang, my young pupil, here's the proper way to catch a penguin," Katara said, throwing a fish at Aang. Aang got surrounded by penguins. They then got some penguins and went off. They truly were having the time of their lives. But I didn't penguin sled myself. I wanted to keep an eye out for the Fire Nation. I knew Zuko would do anything to get his hands on Aang. A few years before, Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation. As I understood it, Zuko made his uncle, Iroh (a personal friend of mine). Let him come with him to the Firelord's war meeting. He talked out of turn about how they shouldn't just sacrifice good soldiers. He was right, of course, but his father, the Firelord, was not pleased. That's why he challenged his own son to a firebending duel, also known as an Agni Kai. Zuko refused to fight his father and begged for his forgiveness. Unfortunately, Firelord Ozai was ruthless and burned half of Zuko's face. Iroh then took Zuko and left the Fire Nation. Zuko swore that to regain his honor, he would capture the Avatar.
I knew I couldn't let him take Aang from me. I could only hope and pray that Iroh was trying to talk some sense into that boy. Iroh was the older brother of Ozai, but Ozai was able to take the throne after their father, Firelord Azulon, died. I would have preferred Iroh to be Firelord. He understood the need for balance. He was my secret ally in the Fire Nation. He would have stopped the war if he was Firelord. Though I wonder if Ozai knew that, and that is one reason he took the throne for himself. I soon noticed the Fire Nation shipwreck not too far from where I stood. Aang saw it too. He wanted to explore it, but Katara explained it was from the Fire Nation's first attack on her village. I actually remembered that day. The Nature Masters assisted the Water Tribe in that fight. I had personally put that ship in the condition it was in now. I decided that I wanted to raid it and see what I could find out. "Can't we come in with you?" Aang asked me. "Aang, that thing could have booby traps," I said. "Also, we are forbidden to go in there," Katara said. "Oh, come on, we'll be all right as long as we're with Ammon," Aang said. I couldn't really argue with that. Plus, I didn't really like the idea of Aang waiting for me and the Fire Nation grabbing him when I was not looking. Therefore, I agreed to allow them to come with me if they stuck close to me. That's when we went in. I was very careful of my footing. I looked around and found Fire Nation maps and locations. I found what I came for. Then we reached the control room. Aang was so amazed that he didn't notice a booby trap button he triggered, not in time. A door shut on us, and a flare flew into the air. "Great, we'd better get out of here," I said, knowing that if Zuko had seen it, he'd be on us quickly. Aang picked up Katara. "Hold on," he said, bursting out through the hole the flare made in the roof. I followed, and we bounced down to safety. We then traveled back to the village. Sokka was suspicious that Aang might be spying for the Fire Nation. But now he was confident. "You singled the Fire Nation with that flare," he said. "That was an accident," Katara pleaded. "No, Aang is hereby banished from the village," Sokka said, going crazy with anger and hate. "You can't do that," Katara protested. "I'm just keeping the promise I made to Dad, protecting you from threats like him," Sokka said with a hint of superiority. That did it; I wouldn't stand there while Sokka beat Aang. "Not so fast, Sokka. Your father left you and the rest of the village under my charge," I said. "Therefore, I'm the one who decides that kind of thing," I said with a hint of flare to remind Sokka exactly whom he was dealing with. "I'm not going to stand to one side while you beat on a defenseless person like Aang. Aang is very close to me, and I'll do anything to protect him."
"But I think it would be better if you left Aang," I said, turning to him. "Why?" he asked. "Because the Fire Nation will be here soon to get you, and they will kill any Airbender they see, Avatar or no Avatar," I explained. "I understand, besides I should probably get home," Aang said when a thought came to his mind. "Wow, I haven't cleaned my room for a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." "Here, take this map. It will guide you to a southern base I have nearby. You'll be safe there. I'll join you later; I must remain here to fight the Fire Nation." I said. Katara wanted to go with him naturally. However, with peer pressure from Sokka and Kanna, she decided to stay. Aang got on Appa and prepared to leave. The children of the tribe were sad to see Aang go. "Please, Aang, don't go, I'll miss you," a young girl said. "I'll miss you too," Aang said, looking at Katara. He sighed and said, "Appa, yip, yip." Appa was still tired, so they just began to walk away. "Alex," I said, leaning over to my brother. "Follow him and make sure he reaches the base." "Alright, Ammon, are you sure you'll be okay?" He asked. "Yeah, I'll be fine, now go" "As you wish, dear brother." Then he was off. I knew that Zuko was going to be there any minute. I prepared myself for him. I put on my best battle cloak, sharpen my sword, and fix on my special battle belt. On the belt were some pouches filled with assorted things I could use in battle. I walked up onto the snow wall that surrounded the village. "Larry, are the troops ready?" I asked my head officer of the village. "Yes, they're awaiting your orders, Master," he said. When Zuko's ship finally showed up, I gave the order to attack. My troops flew around the ship, and some landed on it. Then they took out the Firebenders on it. When the ship was right up to the shore, I used waterbending to turn the ship and freeze the water underneath it. Zuko was mad about that. He blotted himself from the ship right at me. I flew into the air to meet him. I struck him down with a water strike under him and an airbending blow on the side. He fell into the village, and I landed to face him. "Where is he, Nature Master?" Zuko said, and he picked himself up. "Where's who, Prince Zuko?" I said, playing with him a little. He was wearing his Fire Nation armor and helmet "The Avatar, where is he" Zuko said, getting annoyed. "He's gone, Zuko. Do you think I would let him stay here when you were coming to take him away from me? I spent a hundred years searching for the Avatar. I won't lose him again, especially to the Firelord's son. And I'm not telling you where I sent him." I said with a hint of fury in my voice. "You can't hide him forever. The only way to regain my honor is to capture the Avatar." Zuko said. "Like your father will welcome you back if you have the Avatar. Ozai is ruthless, evil and has no love for anyone but himself. He didn't love your grandfather; he didn't even love your mother. He'd only welcome you back if he thought you were useful to him." I said. "And to prove that to him, I must bring him the Avatar," Zuko responded.
"Enough, Zuko, if you want to find out what dueling the Avatar would be like. I'll show you right NOW." I said, and I released my fury at Zuko. He fought well, but I was better. I was pounding at him with air slides. I slapped him on the face with water. And caught his fire and threw it back at him. I was about to finish the fight when Aang suddenly dropped right before me. "Looking for me?" Aang said. "Aang, what are you doing here?" I asked him, very surprised. "I couldn't leave you, Ammon, or the village," Aang said. "Alex, I thought I told you to see him to the base," I said, turning to my brother. "I know, but I couldn't leave you either," Alex said. After a sigh, I stepped forward. "Alright, Zuko, let's finish this," I said. "Him, he's the Avatar. He's just a child," Zuko said. "Well, you're just a naïve teenager," I said, and I pounced dead on him. Though before I knew it, Zuko's men dragged Aang into the ship. Zuko launched back onto the ship and firebended his escape. "Noooooooo Aaaaang" I cried. I could believe that I'd lost him again. All I could do for hours was look out upon the ocean horizon. I then decided what I had. "I'm going after them," I said, walking for Appa. "Not without me, you don't," Alex said. "I want to help Aang, too," Katara said, stepping forward. Sokka came forward too. "Don't think about trying to talk me out of this, Sokka," Katara said, frowning at her brother. "I'm not going to try and talk you out of it, Katara. Actually, I want to help too." "Fine, Sokka, but you have to do as I ask, okay," I told him, ensuring he didn't cause us trouble. "Alright, so let's go get Katara's boyfriend," he said. "He's not my boyfriend," Katara said, clearly embarrassed. I decided to ignore that. "I think I still need to know if your Gran Gran, will be okay with this" I said, looking over at her. "Yes, Aang is the Avatar and the only hope for the world," she said. "I believe that all your destinies are now intertwined; please take good care of them." "I will, I promise," I said. "Good, be safe, my little Waterbender," she said, hugging Katara. She turned to Sokka. "Be good to your sister now," she said and hugged him too.
"Well, if that's settled," Alex said. "Let's all get on Appa and get Aang back." "You're right, Alex," I said. "Larry, you're in charge of the village," I told him. "Yes, Master," Larry said and bowed to me. "Okay, everyone ready, good. All right, Appa, we need you to fly, buddy, okay? Appa yip, yip," I said, and up we went. I could feel where they were, so we didn't have to look for long. Once we found the ship, I gave Appa's reigns to Alex and jump down onto it. When I landed on the ship, I got swarmed by Zuko's men. However, I didn't go down that easy. I swept them all over with an air sweep. Suddenly Aang came up onto the deck with his staff. "Aang, you're ok," I said. "Yeah, I knew you would come," he said. "You think I was going to lose you that easy," I told him. Then Zuko showed himself. "Well, well, I half expected you to come after us," Zuko said. "I can't let you have the Avatar Zuko," I said. "Then we'll have to do this the hard way," Zuko said, charging us. I ran to meet him when suddenly the ship hit a small iceberg on the left side. Aang fell overboard. "Aang, Aang" Katara cried. "No, not again, not this time," I said, and suddenly I was glowing green. I had gone into the Headmaster State. I jumped into the water after him. I began to form an air bubble around Aang when suddenly he went to the Avatar State. I had to smile. Aang burst out of the water. He waterbended that ship into a wreck until it hit and ran into a giant iceberg. I landed next to Aang on the ship. He was woozy from the Avatar State, but he was fine. Katara and Sokka jumped down to meet us. "Yeah, Katara and Sokka, thanks for coming." He said. "Hey, we didn't want Ammon to deal with this alone," Sokka said. "Get Aang on Appa now," I said. The three friends got onto Appa and waited for me. "Just go, I'll catch up," I ordered. They didn't have time to argue, so they flew off. Zuko began running up behind me. I tripped him with an air sweep from my cloak. I drew my sword and pointed it down at him. "You've lost this time, Zuko. Don't try and follow us. Because if I see you chasing us, believe me, you'll be lucky to survive," I said. I let out Fax and mounted him. I just managed to see Iroh before we took off. He and I had a mental talk. "Take care of Zuko and yourself, won't you, Iroh," I told him. "I will. He will learn soon," He said to me. "I hope so," I said, and that was the last word. "Okay, Fax, hyah." When we got up to the others, Katara had some questions. "Aang, why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked. "Because I never wanted to be," Aang said. "I know, Aang; I didn't choose to be the heir to the Nature Master throne myself," I said to him. I was trying to cheer him up a little. "Well, according to legend, Aang is supposed to learn water, earth, and then fire, right," Katara asked. "That's how it's supposed to happen," I said. "Well, if we go to the North Pole, he can master waterbending." Katara continued. "We can learn it together," Aang said, smiling. "I rather like the idea," I said. Therefore it was decided.