Violet Parr rolled around the Eastern Air Temple, the air around her swirling in a large ball. She loved sealing herself away like this, letting the air form a protective shield around her. She never felt more secure and happy than when she was in her own little private space.

She rolled across the mountain ranges and bridges that connected them, going at a leisurely pace. Speed had never been her forte, although some airbenders were able to use their powers to propel themselves at top speeds.

Like her five-year-old brother Dash. He zipped past her, giggling. She rolled her eyes but with a smile. That kid was a whirlwind of energy. There was never a moment that he was still.

They both entered the giant courtyard in the center of the Air Temple. Her parents, Bob and Helen, were taking care of her youngest brother Jack-Jack. Violet walked over and looked at him with quiet reverence. He was only a baby, but he would grow up to be the Avatar, the most powerful bender in the world.

Knowing it was their nation's turn, they'd held a ceremony to find the Avatar. All babies born after the death of Avatar Merida from the Fire Nation were offered a selection of toys. The only one to choose the correct toy was Jack-Jack, meaning he was the next Avatar. Born to bring peace and balance to the world, he would have the ability to bend all four elements. He was the one destined to save the world from the Fire Nation's control. They were the only nation that reached beyond its borders to attack the other nations.

They'd heard of the raids on the Southern Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom. So far, the Air Temple hadn't been attacked, thanks to the fact that they'd hidden far away in the East, at the top of the mountains. They were free to raise baby Jack-Jack in peace.

Violet picked Jack-Jack up and cradled him. She hoped she would be a good enough airbender to teach him when he was old enough to start his training, although that job would probably go to Master Edna.

As if he knew what she was thinking, her father asked, "How's your training going, flower? Are you ready for your tattoos?"

Master Edna walked over. She was only three feet tall, but her presence made her the most commanding one in the room. "She's exceptionally bright. A faster learner than you ever were."

Bob laughed and tousled Violet's hair. "She always has been the smartest in the family."

"She'll have her tattoos by next year," Edna said. Violet smiled, a little bashfully. She wasn't looking forward to the overwhelming attention she'd receive at her ceremony, but she couldn't wait to get her tattoos. Then she'd be a real airbending master.

The peaceful quiet was shattered when Helen gasped and pointed at something above them. "Bob! Look!"

Fire Nation airships. Violet's heart dropped. They'd been discovered. She looked at her parents, hoping they would know what to do, but their panicked faces told her exactly how scared she should be. She'd never seen her father so frightened.

Bob and Master Edna went over to greet the ships, while Helen grabbed her children and held them close. Violet could feel her mother's heart pounding.

Hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers emerged from the airships, led by a large general and a gorgeous woman with long white hair. The general smiled cordially and introduced himself. "I'm General Waternoose of the Fire Nation." He looked around the temple, his rolls of neck fat jiggling. "So this is where you've been hiding."

"You'll leave if you know what's good for you," Bob said. His voice was steady but certainly not calm.

"There's no need to be difficult," Waternoose said. "We're only here for one thing."

He thrust his arm forward. A bolt of lightning shot out of his fingertips, aiming directly at Helen. Helen pushed her children out of the way. The lightning struck her in the ribs, and she fell to the ground, convulsing.

"Helen!" Bob cried.

He and Edna leapt forward to attack Waternoose. They spun around and brought their arms forward in a long sweeping motion, moving in perfect sync despite their differences in stature, and a tornado swirled toward Waternoose. He covered his face as the winds pushed him back.

The woman jumped into action. With a front flip, she landed behind Bob and Edna and swiftly jabbed at key pressure points on their bodies, her fingers moving efficiently and effortlessly. Bob and Edna fell to the ground, paralyzed. Edna stared at the woman in shock. She'd heard of chi-blockers, but in all her travels and years of experience, she'd never encountered one.

Violet watched helplessly as Waternoose approached. Next to her, Dash and Jack-Jack were crying. Waternoose stopped right next to Violet and looked down at her. His cold eyes sent chills down her spine.

Then he bent down and grabbed Jack-Jack, who screamed even louder. He smirked at Violet. "What, you thought Firelord Syndrome would just let your nation have the Avatar? We raided all the air temples to find him."

Violet's heart sickened. They'd done this to all the air temples.

Waternoose took Jack-Jack into the airship. Bob and Edna tried to follow him, but the other soldiers closed in and blocked them with a wall of fire. The flames swept across the courtyard. Violet could feel their heat licking her face. Several airbenders were trying to put out the fire, but the wind was only spreading it faster.

"Violet! Dash! RUN!" Helen screamed.

Violet's self-preservation instinct finally kicked in. She stood up and ran, wishing she was as fast as Dash. She spotted a glider leaning against the wall and grabbed it as she leapt off the temple.

She looked around for Dash, but she couldn't see him. Hopefully he was on the ground somewhere, running for his life, but she couldn't tell.

She glided for what felt like hours. She didn't know where she was going. She just knew she needed to get as far away as possible.

Her head was spinning, and tears were rolling down her cheeks. Looking down at the world rushing by made her feel dizzy and lost. What was she supposed to do?

She finally reached a land of green grass and rolling hills. The Earth Kingdom. Their capital, Ba Sing Se, was known as a sanctuary against the Fire Nation. Maybe she should try to land there. They'd understand a refugee running from the Fire Nation.

She landed on a small hill in the countryside. Ba Sing Se shouldn't be too far away.

A man was sitting on the hill. He jumped when he saw her.

"Outsiders!" he yelped. He pointed at her and waved his arms in a wide circle, and Violet realized too late what he was doing.

Violet gasped as stone encased her feet, rooting her in place. The stone spread up her legs and torso. Then a dull, aching, burning sensation began, starting in her feet and spreading up her body like wildfire. She could feel the stone entering and petrifying her very cells. She gasped as her chest and lungs turned to stone.

"Wait!" she cried with the last breath in her body, but it was too late. The stone closed over her mouth, then engulfed the rest of her head. Turning her into a statue.

The man stared in fright at what he'd done. Her eyes stared out at him, wild and fearful. She didn't look particularly dangerous. But he wasn't taking any chances. Outsiders were not to be trusted.

He raised up a wall of stone all around her and sealed the statue inside. Then he went on his way, whistling cheerfully as if nothing had happened.

~~~~

Ian Lightfoot sighed as he followed his brother Barley up the hill. He would have preferred to do anything else over practicing his earthbending, but he would take any time with his brother. They didn't get to spend much time together these days, since Barley spent most of his time working at a local tea shop to keep food on the table. So if Barley wanted him to train, he would do that.

They reached the top of the hill, where a large rock formation sat. They stood next to it and looked out. Ian's heart rate went up a little when he saw Ba Sing Se in the distance. Barley looked at him, and Ian could tell he felt the same way.

"We'll go there someday," Barley said. Ian nodded. Part of him wondered what they were waiting for. There was nothing for them here.

Maybe he was the one holding them back. Barley would probably leave tomorrow, with nothing but the clothes on his back, but Ian was less adventurous. Change and risks made him anxious.

He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So, uh, what are we practicing today? My seismic sense? Form?"

Barley grinned at him. "Nope! Today, you're learning metalbending! The next extension of earthbending!"

"Metalbending? Barley, I thought we were here to talk about real techniques, not myths!"

"It's not a myth," Barley said.

"How do you know?" Ian asked. "There's never been a metalbender. Ever. In history."

"It's a lost art, sure, but that doesn't mean it never existed."

Ian still wasn't sure. "What if your little role-playing game just made it up?"

"No! They did their research! They're all based on real techniques and forms!" Barley insisted. "Come on, trust me."

Ian sighed. He really couldn't argue too much. Everything he'd ever learned about earthbending had come from Barley, since their mother wasn't a bender and their earthbending father had died before Ian was born. And while he didn't think Barley's "Tales of the Four Nations" game sounded like a reliable source, it hadn't failed them yet.

Barley took a key out of his pocket and set it down on a rock. Ian looked at it nervously. "So what do I do?"

"Metal is just purified earth," Barley said. "So just try to bend the particles of unrefined earth inside the metal."

Ian took a breath. "Okay."

"Breathe. Become one with the metal. And focus. Don't let anything distract you."

Ian nodded and closed his eyes. Behind him, Barley sucked in a disapproving breath.

Ian knew that sound all too well. He sighed and opened his eyes. "What?"

"It's just…your stance. Here." Barley adjusted Ian's posture, bringing his feet closer together and straightening his back. "Remember, earthbending is about being straight and direct!"

"Okay…thanks, I guess…" Ian closed his eyes again. He concentrated and tried to engage his seismic sense, which allowed him to feel vibrations in the earth. For him, that was always a crapshoot. Sometimes he entered that state easily, sometimes he found it impossible.

Today, he managed to do it fairly quickly. He tried to search for bits of earth in the key, but he couldn't find anything.

Barley's voice broke his concentration. "You've got this, Ian! Focus!"

Ian tried to block it out, but Barley kept talking. "It probably won't be easy at first, but you just need to keep at it! Tune out any distractions!"

"Barley, I'm trying to focus here," Ian said.

"Sorry, sorry." Barley finally shut up, and Ian turned his attention back to the task at hand. He probed the key with his seismic sense, but he still couldn't find any earth in there. Just a cold, empty space.

He could feel the familiar itch of frustration in his chest. Why couldn't he do this? The feeling simmered and grew, making it even harder to focus.

After several long minutes, he opened his eyes. He stamped his foot in frustration. The ground shook. Cracks ran up the rock formation, splitting it clean in half. "I can't do it!"

Barley stayed calm, as always. "Yes you can."

"No! I can't! Because it probably isn't even possible! Because it's not real!" He knew he was probably just making excuses. But he also felt a little annoyed with Barley for putting him up to what was probably an impossible task. Even if it was literally possible, why should Ian be able to do it? He was an average earthbender at best. He didn't have the temperament for it. Barley had much more of a steady, face-things-head-on personality, which made Ian sometimes wonder why he wasn't the one born with earthbending abilities.

Barley opened his mouth to reply, then looked off at something next to Ian.

"What?" Ian asked. He looked over and saw the broken rock formation. Inside was a statue of a tall, lanky teenage girl. She looked about fourteen. Her eyes—or what Ian could see of them behind her long hair—stood out. They had a vivid realness that seemed impossible to achieve in stone.

Barley examined the statue. "Ian! I think she's alive!"

"What?!"

"I mean she's a person who got turned to stone. And you can undo it! Just try to draw out all the earth."

Ian focused on the statue. His hands were shaking slightly. There was a human being in there. What if he damaged her?

The stone melted away, and the statue slowly came back to life. The girl gasped, then started screaming. Ian and Barley jumped.

Barley put up his hands. "No! You're safe! We're not going to hurt you!" He dropped the volume of his voice as he realized yelling at her was probably making things worse. "It's okay. You're okay."

The girl gradually calmed down. Ian and Barley waited for her to tell them what she was doing here, but she just looked around silently.

"Who are you?" Ian asked finally. "How did you get here?"

She blinked, as if trying to remember. "I'm Violet. I'm from the Eastern Air Temple. We were just attacked by the Fire Nation!"

Ian and Barley bristled at the mention of the Fire Nation. Ba Sing Se was safe from raids, but their little village in the countryside wasn't. Their father had been killed during a raid, and they'd seen their fair share since.

Violet rocked herself, speaking through tears. "They took my brother! The Avatar!"

"You're related to the Avatar?" Barley gasped.

She nodded. "I have to get him back. I need to get back to the Air Temple. Master Edna will know what to do."

She looked around for her glider, and saw it lying by the split rock. The cloth had been torn to shreds by the rock. She looked at it in dismay. Apparently it hadn't been turned to stone with her.

"Do you need transport?" Barley asked. "I think I know someone who can help you."

~~~~

Buzz Lightyear entered his repair shop and took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of grease and metal. This was his favorite place in the world. He even slept here most nights, despite having a small house on the same property.

He walked past rows of vehicles he was building or repairing for customers, and headed for the back of the shop. He knelt down next to his pet project: a grand airship, built from his own hands and based on plans his friend Hamm had brought from the Fire Nation. It was the biggest and most elaborate ship he'd ever built.

He picked up a wrench and began working on the engine. This was his favorite part. All the intricate moving pieces scratched his brain like nothing else could. It quieted the noise in his head from his years of serving in the Earth Kingdom military. He'd been discharged after a few years, after a bit of a mental break. Now he spent his time out here in the quiet countryside with his machines.

A sound to the left alerted his attention. He looked up. His friend Woody had entered the shop.

Buzz greeted him. "Hey, Woody."

"Hi, Buzz," Woody said. He sat down at a table in the corner, propping his feet up on the table.

"What do you need an airship like that for?" he said teasingly. "Are you gonna go invade the Fire Nation?"

Buzz laughed and shook his head. "No, nothing like that." He didn't have any particular plans for the airship. He just liked the challenge.

"Is it ready for flight yet?" Woody asked.

"Not yet. I'll let you know when it's finished."

Woody hummed in reply, trying to appear casual, but Buzz could tell he had something on his mind.

"Is there somewhere you wanted to go?" Buzz asked curiously.

Woody's wide-brimmed hat covered his eyes, and Buzz couldn't see his expression. "Well…I was thinking about taking it around the Earth Kingdom. A fun trip, just you and me."

Buzz raised an eyebrow. Woody had never expressed interest in travel. If there was one thing Buzz knew about his friend, it was that he was perfectly content with his quiet life out here in this small section of the Earth Kingdom. In fact, he was stubbornly insistent on never leaving, to the point that other people in his life sometimes felt stifled by this.

Woody's voice took on a sheepish tone. "And well, maybe…if we happened to run into Bo somewhere…"

Buzz nodded. That made sense. Woody and his girlfriend Bo had broken up amicably a few years ago, but he knew Woody still thought about her and hoped they would reconnect someday. Bo had moved away shortly after, and both Woody and Buzz had expected her to come back one day, but she never had.

There was a knock at the door. Buzz opened it. "Barley!"

"Hey, Buzz," Barley said. "How's business?"

"Going well. Wanna see my latest project?"

He proudly showed them the giant airship. "It's not for a customer. Just something I like working on in my spare time."

Violet shrank back at the sight of the Fire Nation airship. It looked just like the ones that had invaded the Air Temple.

"That's so cool!" Barley said. "What kind of fuel does it use? Are the valves new or secondhand?"

Ian gently nudged Barley, and he got back on track. "Buzz, we really need a ride. Do you have a ship we can borrow? It's kind of urgent."

Buzz looked around the shop and pointed at a rusty, open-gondola airship in the corner. "You can have that one. After I repaired it, the customer didn't want it back. I think he was hoping I'd replace everything and make it look brand new, even though it only needed a small part of the engine fixed. He didn't pay me but he said I could keep the thing." He patted the side of the ship. "It's a bit old, but reliable."

"Thanks, Buzz! You're the best!" Barley said.

They took the ship outside. Buzz gave them a quick tour of the ship's interior, then wished them luck and left. Barley went to the controls.

"Do you know how to fly one of these things?" Violet asked.

"I've never done it, but I've read about it," Barley said. "And Buzz has talked about it enough so I think I know what I'm doing."

Ian and Violet looked at each other nervously. Ian's uncertainty made Violet even more nervous, since he knew Barley's skill set better than she did. But neither of them knew anything about piloting a ship, so they would have to trust him.

Barley pulled a few levers. The ship slowly lifted off the ground. His heart soared as the ship climbed higher. Flying an airship had always been a dream of his, and he couldn't believe he was actually doing it. Buzz would sometimes let him steer on short trips around the shop, but he never got to actually fly like this.

He let out a cheer. "Eastern Air Temple, here we come!"