Post by Yug on Apr 6, 2013 17:04:49 GMT -5
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and I, along with my brother, discovered the new Avatar, a young Airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are passable, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to do anything right. But I believe Aang can help me save the world.
Aya and Aang ran back towards the village as the flares from the Fire Navy ship arced high in the air. The entire village was waiting for them at the entrance to the village. Sokka ran up to meet them.
"What. Were. You. THINKING!? You just-WAAH!" A group of children ran up to Aang and Aya, knocking into Sokka's legs. He straightened himself up. "Ahem, you just signaled the Fire Navy with that flare, and now you're going to lead them straight to us, aren't you?" Aya stepped in front of Sokka, staring straight at him.
"Aang had no intention of ever leading the Fire Nation to us, I assure you of that."
"Yeah, there was a booby trap and Ay-err, *I* sort of...boobied right into it," Aang piped up behind Aya. Gran-gran frowned at both of them.
"Regardless of whomever 'boobied' into the trap, neither of you should have gone on that ship! Now we could all be in danger. Aya, I thought you of all people would have known that." Aya hung her head for a second before Aang spoke up.
"Don't blame her, it was my fault. I brought her there, and I told her to come onto the ship." Sokka pointed at Aang triumphantly.
"Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy!" The little boys walked away from Aang, downcast, while a couple of little girls remained. "I said: Warriors, away from the enemy!!"
"But we're not warriors," replied one of the girls, who was picking her nose. "We're just girls."
"Grrr, fine! Water Tribe, away from the enemy!" As the girls walked away, Sokka continued. "The foreigner is banished from our village!"
Aya stepped up to Sokka until they were almost nose to nose. Aya's ice blue eyes glared right into Sokka's stony blue eyes. Sokka matched her glare. "You are making a tactical mistake. Even if you deem Aang a detriment to the safety of the village, he is still an Airbender. The world has not seen an Airbender in over a century. He can fight in ways that the Fire Navy would have never seen before."
"Even if that's true, all he's done is bring about trouble. He's been sowing dissension and screwing up the discipline of my soldiers! I'm thinking about what's best for our people, our village," Sokka growled back. "I promised Dad that I would protect you, Gran-gran, and every other person in this village. I'm doing what Dad wants; I'm protecting you from threats like him!" He pointed straight at Aang.
"How would you know what Father wants? He hasn't been here for over two years." Sokka jumped back, clenching and unclenching his jaw. "Even if Aang has caused trouble, you cannot deny that he has brought a life to the village that hasn't been here since Father left."
"Yeah, it's great that we're all having fun and laughing at how I get spit on by his bison and my garrisons get busted, but we can't fight the Fire Nation with fun and a good time!"
"You should try it," Aang piped up behind Aya. Sokka threw his hands in the air.
"Argh! You!" He pointed at Aang again. "You, get out of here! NOW!" Aya began to clench and unclench her fists. Small flurries of snow kicked up around Sokka and Aya's feet, but neither of them noticed.
"You cannot do this. Grandmother, you can't possibly think this is a good idea!" Their grandmother stepped up.
"I'm sorry Aya, but I do. You knew that ship was forbidden to all, yet you let the Airbender talk you into going. You of all people should have exercised better caution. I believe Sokka to be right in this case. The Airbender should leave." Aya's defiant expression dropped for a fraction of a second, before returning with a force.
"Fine then. Then I will consider myself banished as well." Sokka was confused and outraged. "What, you? Banished? Where do you think you're going to go?" Aya pretended to ignore him.
"Aang, you said your bison could fly, yes?" Aang had been dazed from watching the family argument unfold in front of him. "Aang!"
"Huh, what? Oh, uh yeah. Appa can fly anywhere as long as he can eat."
"Excellent. Then let's fly to the North Pole together. I can find a Waterbender to teach me, and you can still penguin sled." Aang smiled brightly but Sokka grabbed Aya by her shoulders and roughly turned her to face him again.
"Aya! Are you serious?" Anger, confusion, and a hint of desperation swam around in his voice. "Are you going to choose this kid we met less than a day ago, over the entire tribe? Over your family!?" Aya knocked Sokka's arms off of her, took one step back and crossed her arms.
"What and be vilified for making the wrong choice? I'd....I'd rather...I...I......." She hesitated, looking at Aang standing next to Appa, and back to Sokka, Gran-gran and the tribe, Sokka staring at her with a desperately confused gaze, and Gran-gran looking with a passive expression, which was a couple of shades close to regret. Aya's own haughty expression dropped a couple of degrees in intensity. "I...I.....I'll g-"
"You should stay." Aang put his hand on Aya's shoulder, then quickly drew it back, as she turned around to look at him. "I wouldn't want to come between you and your family." He walked back to Appa. Aya made as if to follow, but a gentle gust of air pushed her back a bit. "It was fun, Aya. Thanks for going penguin sledding with me." Aya's gaze softened a fraction.
"So then this is good bye." Aang looked at his feet and scratched the back of his head.
"I guess so." Aang stuck his hand out. Aya looked in surprise. Aang grinned. "You shake it." Aya gave a small smile and shook Aang's hand.
"Where will you go?" He shrugged.
"Probably back to the Eastern temple. Maybe there are some Airbenders left in hiding." He turned around and put one hand on Appa, before laughing. "Oh man, I haven't cleaned my room in over a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." He hopped up onto Appa's head. He looked at Aya, who was staring back resolutely, and down at Appa's face and rubbed his head. "Okay buddy, you ready?" Sokka crossed his arms.
"Right, let's see your bison fly now, air boy." Aang gave no sign that he heard Sokka's quip.
"C'mon Appa. Yip-yip!" He snapped the reins and Appa jumped into the air, before crashing down. Sokka snorted.
"Yeah, I thought so." A little girl broke from the crowd and ran towards the bison.
"Waaah! Aang, don't go! We'll miss you!" The rest of the children ran forward too, knocking Sokka over.
"Aang! Don't go!"
"Yeah, please stay!"
"You have to show us how to lick our elbows!"
"We were gonna have a snowball fight!"
"Aang, I'll...I'll miss you!" Aang looked down sadly at all the children.
"I'll miss you guys too. Come on, Appa." The bison grunted and began to plod away from the village. The children turned back to their parents, while Aya remained where she stood. Gran-gran put her hand on Aya's shoulder.
"He could have helped us. He could have helped me. I could have become a real Waterbender, not perform some cheap parlor tricks." Gran-gran shook her head.
"Oh Aya, even if you had gone with him, you would have never-" Aya whirled around.
"Never what? Never had become a true Waterbender? Are you saying I was incapable of doing so? Maybe I should have gone with him then, and shown you wrong!" She stalked off, while her grandmother stayed behind and shook her head sadly. Meanwhile, Sokka had rallied all the boys in the village.
"Alright men, now that the traitor has left our walls, we have to prepare our defenses! The Fire Nation could strike at any moment!" A small boy raised his hand. Sokka immediately pointed at the bathroom. "And no potty breaks during the battle! Go now!"
Appa swam in the water lazily, as Aang lounged around on his head. Appa grunted and Aang sighed. "Yeah boy, I liked her too." Appa grunted again. Then they heard the sound of motors and smelled oily smoke. Aang steered Appa onto an iceberg and hid, looking out at the massive ship, belching smoke and breaking ice as it moved. It was massive, easily twice as large as the walls Sokka had built to protect the village. It was entirely black iron, foreboding and ominous as the sharp prow sliced through icebergs and floes. Aang gasped. "The village!" He turned to the bison. "Appa, wait here on this iceberg! I'll be back!" Aang pulled out his staff, extended its glider wings and took off. Appa just grunted.
In the village, Sokka looked into the mirror. He dabbed at the traditional grey and white war paints and carefully applied them to his face. He put on a pair leather bracers and stiff leather boots. He grabbed his club and stuck his boomerang in its pouch on his back. Meanwhile, on the Fire Navy ship, a group of servants gathered around a young man. They tied on his greaves and his chest plates, along with ornate metal bracers, before placing a dark helmet over his head.
Sokka walked out into the center of the village. "Everyone, to their homes, now! Warriors, come with me to the wall. Keep a look out, and as soon as you see someone coming, raise the alarm, then get back to your families! I'll try to hold them off when they come." As he pointed and barked orders, women ran around, gathering supplies and children before ducking into tents and igloos. Fires were doused and anything flammable was moved away from the houses. Sokka stood on the wall, scanning the fog for any sign of the ship. Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, and parts of the wall began to chip and fall off. Sokka whirled around. "Everyone, off the wall and back to your homes! The Fire Nation is coming!"
"But I gotta go-"
"Go potty later, when you aren't in danger!" The kids ran off to their homes, and the shaking continued. One of Sokka's guard towers collapsed into a heap. "Oh man!" One of the children tripped. Aya saw the fallen child and ran up to grab him. He saw Aya coming and scrabbled to his feet, running home to his mom. She heard Sokka yelling. She turned and saw the massive, black iron prow of the Fire Navy ship, heading straight for Sokka.
"Sokka, get out of the way!" He didn't hear her, and posed to strike at the ship with his club. "That idiot!" Whirling her arms, Aya threw a mass of snow the size of Sokka's head at his side, knocking him away from the ship.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"Well the gigantic ship coming for you could have knocked you over, so you clearly need to stick to the ground!" The prow opened up, dropping a walkway down. As steam billowed from the entrance, three silhouettes appeared. In the center was a young man, flanked by two masked soldiers. The young man might have been called handsome, if not for the horrific scar that covered the left half of his face, the skin over his eye an angry, almost scab-like red, with his cheek and part of his ear warped and a dark pink, like raw meat. Sokka charged the armored boy with a battle cry, but was knocked aside with two deft kicks, one knocking away his club, the other knocking him face first into a large pile of snow. As Sokka kicked his legs in an effort to extricate himself, three unmasked soldiers carrying long, sharp spears, along with one more masked soldier, descended from the ship.
They assembled themselves behind the scarred boy, who surveyed the village. Everyone had hidden themselves away in their homes. He spoke to the soldiers. "Gather the villagers. Scour the place."
"Right away, Prince Zuko." The soldiers fanned out. The sounds of screaming and yells came from every home. One could hear some items breaking, some peals of flame being released as threats. In no time, the entire village was assembled before the prince. Mothers grasped their children, and Gran-gran held Aya's shoulder, and Aya stood as stiff as a board, staring daggers into Zuko's golden eyes. He took no notice of her, as he marched forward and glared at the villagers.
"Where are you hiding him?" The villagers looked at him and at each other with some confusion. Who was he talking about? His hand shot out and roughly grabbed Gran-gran. Aya recoiled, her eyebrows meeting as her lips drew back in a snarl.
"Aya, no!" She stopped, her teeth grinding and her fingers flexing and the snow around her shifting. She clenched her fists and stared at Zuko, who impassively glared back.
"Humph. He'd be about this age. The master of all elements?" He shoved Gran-gran back into Aya's arms. The villagers still gave no response. "RrraAGH!" He swung his arm out, releasing a plume of fire over the heads of the people, who cowered in fear. "I *know* you're hiding him!"
"RRRAAAAHHHHHH!" Sokka had gotten out of the snow drift and with a loud war cry, jumped at Zuko, holding his club high. Zuko turned and then ducked under Sokka, knocking Sokka's club out of his hand, and Sokka onto his back. Zuko shot a fire blast at Sokka, but he rolled out of the way and landed crouching. With a fluid motion, he whipped his boomerang from his back and threw it at Zuko, who narrowly dodged. One of the boys from the tribe tossed Sokka a spear.
"Show no fear!" Sokka caught the spear and charged again. Zuko used the bracers on his forearm to swat the spear away, breaking off the tip and another section. He then snatched the spear out of Sokka's hands, poked Sokka three times in the head with the butt of the spear, knocking Sokka over, before snapping what remained in half. Then from the sky, Sokka's boomerang came flying down and struck Zuko in the back of the head, knocking Zuko's helmet askance. Sokka smirked triumphantly; Zuko straightened his helmet angrily. Zuko's fists lit up with large flames. Sokka and all the members of the Water Tribe gasped. Aya leapt forward, but Gran-gran tried to hold her back.
"Grandmother, let me GO!"
"Aya, you can't! He'll kill you both!"
"I couldn't go to the North Pole, and now I can't save my brother!? Ridiculous!" Blinking back angry tears, Aya began to turn her free hand, but before she could bend anything, something caught her eye on the horizon. Speeding towards them was an otter penguin, and someone on its back. It was Aang. His tongue stuck out in concentration, Aang shot at Zuko like a bullet, knocking him away from Sokka and coating both of the boys in snow. The children cheered for the returning Airbender, before getting covered in snow themselves. They continued to cheer regardless. Aya was stunned. Sokka just wiped the snow off his face.
"Hey Aya. Hey Sokka."
Sokka sighed. "Hi Aang. Thanks for coming." Zuko had gotten to his feet, and gave a signal to his men. In seconds, Aang was surrounded. The masked soldiers immediately unleashed a barrage of fire blasts, which Aang countered by raising a wall of snow with his staff. A strong air blast immediately knocked them back. The unmasked soldiers charged with their spears, but they were knocked aside by a deft movement from Aang's staff, and then blown away. Zuko took up a stance and faced Aang. They circled each other, like two wolves. Zuko broke the silence.
"You're the Airbender. You're the Avatar." It was a statement, not a question. Behind Aang, Sokka and Aya gasped in shock.
"Aang?" Aya was confused.
"No way." Sokka was in awe and confusion. Aang and Zuko continued to circle each other.
"I've spent years awaiting this encounter. Training. Meditating." Zuko's frown got even more pronounced. "You're just some kid!" Aang shrugged.
"Well you're just a teenager." Zuko snarled and shot a volley of fire blasts at Aang. Aang whirled his staff, dissipating the flames. As Zuko continued to shoot at Aang, and Aang defended, Aya could only watch.
"The Avatar...All along, he was the Avatar..." The fight continued, as Aang continued to deflect shot after shot, while Zuko began to bear down on Aang even more heavily. Some of the flames Aang deflected hit some of the homes of the villagers, while others flew over the heads of the villagers, and they yelled, dropping down to the ground. When Aang saw this, his eyes widened. Zuko prepared to launch another volley, but Aang held out his staff.
"If I promise to stop fighting, will you leave these people alone?" Zuko paused, and then straightening up, nodded briefly. Two of Zuko's soldiers immediately bound Aang's hands and shoved him forward. Another picked up Aang's fallen staff. Zuko had already turned around, and was heading for the ship.
"Set a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home." He whispered to himself, "Finally." Aya and Sokka just stared at Aang, who looked back and smiled weakly. Aya could only gape before she began to yell.
"What are you doing!? You're the Avatar, you should fight them! Beat them down; make them acknowledge you as superior! Defeat them! Aang, what are you doing this for!? Aang!? AANG?!" Gran-gran and Sokka grabbed Aya's arms. Aang just smiled sheepishly.
"Take care of Appa until I get out." The walkway of the ship went back up, and the smokestacks began to billow and belch more smoke. The ship pulled away from the village, and soon disappeared into the mist. Aya dropped to her knees.
"The Avatar...So close...So...close...rrRAAGH!" Her fist slammed the ground, sending up a miniature blizzard. Sokka and Gran-gran quickly ushered the village back to their homes, where they began to make repairs. Sokka walked back to Aya and put a hand on her shoulder. Aya didn't even look up at him. "Get off me. I'm going after him."
"Aya...I-” Aya stood up and turned around, glaring into Sokka's eyes.
"I don't CARE if he's a danger, he's the Avatar! He could change everything! He could defeat the Fire Nation! I could finally find the monster who-” Sokka silenced her with his own glare, which faded to a softer expression.
"Yeah, I know. Mom." Aya's own glare cracked. "I was going to tell you to get your stuff together. I was gonna try to prep another canoe."
"And where do you two think you're going to go, with the village like this?" Sokka turned around, and Aya's glare returned.
"To get the Avatar."
"To rescue Aang."
Sokka and Aya replied at the same time. Gran-gran nodded.
"Then you'll need food and sleeping covers as well. Luckily, I have some with me right here." She handed a bundle of smoked foods, dried vegetables, and jerky, along with some full water skins and sleeping mats to Sokka. While Sokka stumbled with the burden, Gran-gran turned to Aya.
"Grandmother, I-"
"Hush child."
"Child?"
"Yes, child. No matter how strong or wise you may believe yourself to be, I'm still your grandmother, and until you're older than me, you'll always seem like my precious grandchild in my eyes. But right now, even I can see you're on your way to maturing into a strong, beautiful woman." Gran-gran turned to Sokka. "And you, my young warrior, continue to grow. Become stronger for the sake of the people you care for, and be sure to take care of your sister. Watch over her temper when she cannot. Tell your father I send him my love. And try to stay safe." Sokka blinked hard, and then kissed Gran-gran on the cheek before running off with the supplies. Aya bowed deeply.
"Thank you, grandmother." Gran-gran blinked, and then smiled.
"Sokka isn't here. He went to go prepare the canoe." Aya blinked, and then threw her arms around Gran-gran. She patted Aya on the back. "There, there child. I know you will succeed. How could you all fail, when you have each other?" Aya sniffed, then let go of Gran-gran. Her eyes were dry and her gaze was sharp. She bowed again.
"Thanks, Gran-gran."
"So, uh yeah, I just looked over the boat and the supplies, and I figure that we could catch up to them if we trained squadron of rogue penguins to commandeer the ship and send it back in our direction. Otherwise, we're pretty much sunk on this." Sokka returned, chewing on a piece of jerky. Aya marched up to him and yanked the jerky from his hand. "Hey!"
"Sokka, what are you doing? These are our supplies; we need them for later, not when your stomach decides it!" Sokka shrugged.
"Well, defending the village and risking my life is hungry business."
"Goodness, getting knocked into a pile of snow must indeed be tiring, forgive me brother. Here, have your jerky back, you jerk!" She chucked the jerky at his head, which Sokka caught in his mouth and grinned. "Yes, just like a tiger seal. Clap your hands and balance a ball on your head, and maybe I'll feed you some fish." Sokka's grin dropped.
"Hey...Ugh, you know what; we don't have time for this."
"You're right; we have no time for your foolishness."
"Ugh, no. What I'm saying is every second we waste is another second they're getting away, and another second we lose any chance of finding them, and the odds don't look so good right now, especially with this canoe!"
"Well then what do you propose? We surf? We ride an otter penguin? We...fly...We fly...Appa!"
"What?" A low bellow answered Sokka's question as Appa lumbered in their direction.
"Yes, we ride on him, and he can take us to Aang!" She walked off towards the beast, while Sokka sighed.
"You really love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?" Aya turned around and grinned at Sokka, the light behind her giving her face an ominous shadow.
"Of courshe."
Meanwhile on the deck of Zuko's cruiser, Aang watched as Zuko examined his glider-staff.
"This will make an excellent gift for my father. A pity that there's nothing I can give to my sister." He turned towards Aang. "Fathers. Sisters. I suppose you wouldn't know much about them, being raised by monks." He handed the staff to a portly old man. "Uncle, take the staff to my quarters." He pointed to the two soldiers holding Aang. "You two take the Avatar to the brig." He went below deck. Zuko's uncle scratched his belly before turning to another soldier.
"Hey, would you mind taking this to his quarters?" With that, he dropped the staff into the confused soldier's hand and walked off. The two soldiers shoved Aang towards a flight of stairs. Aang tried to keep his staff in his sight for as long as he could, until he was shoved again.
"C'mon, move it already. Today's music night and I gotta oil my horn."
One soldier marched in front of Aang, while another was behind him, making sure his bonds remained tight.
Aang grinned. "So, I guess you've never fought an Airbender before. I bet I could take you both with my hands tied behind my back." The guards ignored him. "I'm totally serious." They reached a door with a heavy lock, and the guard in front pulled out a key. "Don't believe me?" The guard put the key into the keyhole. "Just watch." Aang inhaled and let out a powerful breath, slamming the front guard into the iron door, while propelling him backwards into the second guard, knocking him into a wall. Aang stood up and smiled. "Toldja."
Aang ran out onto the deck, and ascended a flight of stairs, his hands still tied behind his back. The helmsman noticed the small figure and rang a large bell. "Alert! Alert! The Avatar has escaped!"
Sokka and Aya floated on Appa's back. Sokka was tiredly spouting words while Aya interspersed his guesses with more colorful choices.
"Ascend."
"Fly, you cursed beast!"
"Soar."
"I'll shave you and use your fur to make a whip and whip you until you fly!"
"Up-up."
"How dare you defy me, you insolent creature!"
"Soar."
"You said that already!"
"Well how many different words are there for 'up' anyway? And I don't see you helping either." Aya sniffed.
"I was providing motivation."
"Yeah, sure. Motivate him even harder, maybe even motivate him into telling us how we're going to fight a fully armed Fire Nation battleship with only you and me." Aya smirked.
"Well really, it would only be me, since you'd die right away. Honestly the best you could hope for is for them to slip in your blood. And if such is the case, I'll be sure to bend your spilt blood into something actually useful." Sokka shrugged.
"Gee, it's nice to be loved by my only family. God, I can't imagine what I'd do without you."
"You'd probably die."
"Thanks." Sokka sighed, and then began to yell out words in a slightly more invigorated fashion. "Go. Fly. Elevate." Aya rolled her eyes and began to shout more threats.
"I'll cook you into a stew if you don't move!"
"Ugh, what was it he said? Hop-hop? Snip-snap? Yip-yip?" At the last word, Appa growled and smacked his tail against the water. He leapt into the sky, and moving his enormous, flat tail like a rudder, began to soar into the sky. "Hahaha, whoa! We're actually flying!"
"Yes! The idea of being in a stew must have scared him enough!" Sokka sniggered.
"Yeah, the thought of being inside you is enough to scare anyone." Aya smacked him over the head. "Hey!"
Aang ran around the inside of the ship as soldiers chased him down. He had used a downed soldier's sharp helmet to cut his bonds and was now running around in search of his staff. So far, he had found nothing but the portly old man he had seen on the deck, currently taking a nap. Aang continued to run, then turned a corner. He saw an open room and dived in. The door closed behind him, and Zuko locked it. "Looks like I underestimated you. It won't happen again." Aang jumped as the fire blast scorched the floor where he stood a moment ago. Something mounted on the far wall caught his eye.
"My staff!" He jumped again as Zuko fired shot after shot, knocking over tapestries, a map, and a pair of matching broadswords. Aang grabbed a fallen tapestry and wrapped Zuko in it.
"Hey!" As Zuko struggled with the tapestry, Aang grabbed his staff. With a roar, Zuko burned the tapestry away, but with a deft move, Aang slammed Zuko into the wall with a gust of air and a mattress, then used the mattress to slam him again, this time into the roof. Aang bolted before the mattress hit the ground. Zuko got up, fuming and groaning.
The helmsman of the ship continued to steer the ship, unaware of the full extent of the drama that was taking place beneath him. Suddenly, the door behind him burst open, and a young boy in orange robes ran past him and broke through the window. A staff in his hand opened up to make an orange glider and he began to fly away, until Zuko ran through the door and grabbed the flying boy by his heel.
Aang felt the new weight on his leg and looked down to see a snarling, scarred face staring back. He desperately struggled to stay airborne, but his glider couldn't bear the weight and they dropped onto the deck. Zuko got up first, and took a fighting pose. "I have you now!" He shot a blast at Aang who rolled out of the way and assumed a stance of his own. The two stared each other down.
The tension broke when a loud roar echoed through the skies. Aang's face glowed with happiness, while Zuko looked on with shock. "What is that thing?"
"Appa! Oof!" Zuko launched another shot at Aang, who dove out of the way, landing hard on his stomach, his staff flying from his grasp. Zuko kicked the staff farther down the deck, before firing more shots at Aang, who rolled closer and closer to the edge of the ship, until he was holding on with his hands. "Say hello to the Airbenders." One last fire blast knocked Aang from the ship and into the water.
"NO!" Aang sunk deeper and deeper into the water, out of sight. Fire Nation soldiers began to line up on the deck and take aim at the bison.
"Aya, we have to go!"
"Without Aang? Without the Avatar?"
"We don't have an Avatar anymore, we have to go!" Just then, the water below them began to glow and bubble. Aya and Sokka gawked as the sea itself rose in a massive waterspout, higher than the ship, with Aang in the center of it, his eyes and tattoos alight. Aang landed on the ship, along with the waterspout, and with a swirling motion, the water had flooded the deck, knocking the soldiers and Zuko over the side. Some soldiers tried to get up, but one was knocked into the water after being hit in the head with a boomerang. Sokka reached out and snatched it out of the air.
"Haha, yeah! Boomerang always comes back!"
"Hmph, it was just a fluke."
"And all those other times it came back?"
"Flukes."
"Ha! It's never a fluke with Boomerang! It's like a third arm!"
"That you throw at people."
"Exactly."
As Aya and Sokka bickered, Appa landed on the deck, and Aang collapsed. His tattoos had stopped glowing. The two rushed over to Aang.
"Avatar Aang, are you alright?"
"Wh-Aya...Sokka? Wow, this is...great. Thanks for coming guys." Sokka just shrugged.
"We couldn't let you have all the fun."
"I...I dropped my staff."
"I got it." Sokka darted over to the edge of the deck, where Aang's staff was. He picked it up, but then another hand grabbed the other end. Zuko held tight, and he and Sokka began to pull on the staff, until Sokka poked Zuko in the forehead three times, forcing him to let go. As he fell, Zuko grabbed onto the anchor chain and glared up at Sokka, who smiled triumphantly. "From the Water Tribe!"
Aya helped Aang onto Appa's head, but before she could climb on, two soldiers arrived from below deck. "Like a third arm, eh?" With deliberate, swirling motions, Aya shot a tendril of the water on the deck at one of the soldiers at high speed, before freezing it. The frozen tip smashed into one soldier's gut and he fell back. "And it always comes back." She clenched both her hands, then drew them back, as the frozen water she had launched before shot back, hitting the other soldier in the back of the head. "Not bad." She clambered onto Appa. "Sokka! Hurry up!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm hurrying!" He tossed the staff onto Appa's back and scrabbled up into the saddle. "Yip-yip! Yip-yip!" Appa growled, then lifted his massive bulk into the air and soared away. Zuko's uncle pulled him up onto the deck.
"Uncle, they're getting away!" His uncle stood there, stroking his beard with one hand.
"Hmm, yes, they are indeed."
"Shoot them down!" The two synchronized their movements, and shot an enormous blast of fire at the retreating bison. Sokka shrieked, rousing Aang. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his staff, and swung it at the incoming blast, knocking it into a wall of ice and snow. An avalanche came down, blocking any waterway for Zuko's ship, and half burying it in snow. Aang cheekily waved goodbye as Appa flew further and further away. Zuko roared in anger, while his uncle scratched his stomach and shrugged.
"Well, good news for your father, Prince Zuko. The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just some kid." Zuko turned around and looked at Iroh.
"Uncle Iroh." The barely-contained rage in Zuko's voice was beginning to slip through. "That *kid* just did this. I will not underestimate him again." He turned towards his soldiers. "Dig the ship out," he cried, while pointing to the snow. He then noticed the soldiers desperately paddling to stay afloat. "Err, after you get out of the water and warm up."
Appa soared lazily in the sky as Aya, Aang, and Sokka sat in a circle in the saddle. Aya spoke.
"Avatar Aang, how-” Aang held up his hand.
"Please, don't call me that. Just call me Aang...please." Aya blinked.
"Very well then. Aang, how did you do that, what you did on the ship?"
"I...I don't know how I did it. I just sort of...did." Aya's eyes briefly narrowed.
"Very well then. Why didn't you tell us that you were the Avatar?" Aang's face turned downcast, and he pulled his knees to his chest.
"Because...I never really wanted to be." Sokka and Aya gave each other a look, and Aya cleared her throat.
"Well at any rate, you are. So it's high time you acted like one. You have responsibilities laden upon you that no one else in the world can match, foremost being we must bring down the Fire Nation's reign of terror." Aang looked surprised.
"Wait, we?" Sokka spoke up.
"Of course. What, you can't bash all those Fire Nation noggins by yourself. Besides, every group needs some muscle."
"Great idea Sokka. We can look for someone with muscle in the North Pole. That will be our first destination. There I can learn how to waterbend, and perhaps you can find a master as well. Then we'll have to find you an Earthbender teacher. Hmm, I'd rather not associate with such people, but the fate of the world depends on it. Perhaps in Omashu, we can-"
"But I never wanted any of this! I'm just a kid, and this isn't even my time, and-” Aya silenced Aang's protests with a glare.
"Want it or not, the world has been waiting for the Avatar to save them. Likewise, I have been waiting for someone to put an end to the war, so that our father can come back, and I can be free to go and..." Sokka put his hand on her shoulder. Aya cleared her throat and lowered her fists. "Well, our father will come back." Aang sighed, but Sokka just clapped him on the back.
"Cheer up. I'm sure that once you've got Air, Water, and Earth down pat, the Fire Lord will go down easy."
"Aren't I supposed to learn four-” Sokka clapped his hands together.
"Alright, so to the North Pole first then?" Aang cleared his throat.
"Actually, I was hoping we could make a couple of stops first?" Aya looked at Aang with a cool gaze.
"As long as they don't interfere too much with us getting to our destination." Aang nodded, and then pulled out a map.
"Right, so I was thinking we could stop here, and here, and here, and here, and-” Aya held up her hand.
"Wait, stop. What is so urgent at all of these locations?"
"Well, here is where we can ride the hopping llamas, and here is where we can surf on the backs of giant koi fish, and here we can ride the hog monkeys." Aya was dumbfounded.
"Are...Are you serious?"
"Well yeah, I know that hog monkeys hate to be ridden on, but that's why it's fun! And here we can ride the singing flamingo fish, and that's where the rhino-tigers live. I heard they're lots of fun to ride, and this is-" Aya groaned and rubbed her temples, while Sokka just laughed.
Aya and Aang ran back towards the village as the flares from the Fire Navy ship arced high in the air. The entire village was waiting for them at the entrance to the village. Sokka ran up to meet them.
"What. Were. You. THINKING!? You just-WAAH!" A group of children ran up to Aang and Aya, knocking into Sokka's legs. He straightened himself up. "Ahem, you just signaled the Fire Navy with that flare, and now you're going to lead them straight to us, aren't you?" Aya stepped in front of Sokka, staring straight at him.
"Aang had no intention of ever leading the Fire Nation to us, I assure you of that."
"Yeah, there was a booby trap and Ay-err, *I* sort of...boobied right into it," Aang piped up behind Aya. Gran-gran frowned at both of them.
"Regardless of whomever 'boobied' into the trap, neither of you should have gone on that ship! Now we could all be in danger. Aya, I thought you of all people would have known that." Aya hung her head for a second before Aang spoke up.
"Don't blame her, it was my fault. I brought her there, and I told her to come onto the ship." Sokka pointed at Aang triumphantly.
"Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy!" The little boys walked away from Aang, downcast, while a couple of little girls remained. "I said: Warriors, away from the enemy!!"
"But we're not warriors," replied one of the girls, who was picking her nose. "We're just girls."
"Grrr, fine! Water Tribe, away from the enemy!" As the girls walked away, Sokka continued. "The foreigner is banished from our village!"
Aya stepped up to Sokka until they were almost nose to nose. Aya's ice blue eyes glared right into Sokka's stony blue eyes. Sokka matched her glare. "You are making a tactical mistake. Even if you deem Aang a detriment to the safety of the village, he is still an Airbender. The world has not seen an Airbender in over a century. He can fight in ways that the Fire Navy would have never seen before."
"Even if that's true, all he's done is bring about trouble. He's been sowing dissension and screwing up the discipline of my soldiers! I'm thinking about what's best for our people, our village," Sokka growled back. "I promised Dad that I would protect you, Gran-gran, and every other person in this village. I'm doing what Dad wants; I'm protecting you from threats like him!" He pointed straight at Aang.
"How would you know what Father wants? He hasn't been here for over two years." Sokka jumped back, clenching and unclenching his jaw. "Even if Aang has caused trouble, you cannot deny that he has brought a life to the village that hasn't been here since Father left."
"Yeah, it's great that we're all having fun and laughing at how I get spit on by his bison and my garrisons get busted, but we can't fight the Fire Nation with fun and a good time!"
"You should try it," Aang piped up behind Aya. Sokka threw his hands in the air.
"Argh! You!" He pointed at Aang again. "You, get out of here! NOW!" Aya began to clench and unclench her fists. Small flurries of snow kicked up around Sokka and Aya's feet, but neither of them noticed.
"You cannot do this. Grandmother, you can't possibly think this is a good idea!" Their grandmother stepped up.
"I'm sorry Aya, but I do. You knew that ship was forbidden to all, yet you let the Airbender talk you into going. You of all people should have exercised better caution. I believe Sokka to be right in this case. The Airbender should leave." Aya's defiant expression dropped for a fraction of a second, before returning with a force.
"Fine then. Then I will consider myself banished as well." Sokka was confused and outraged. "What, you? Banished? Where do you think you're going to go?" Aya pretended to ignore him.
"Aang, you said your bison could fly, yes?" Aang had been dazed from watching the family argument unfold in front of him. "Aang!"
"Huh, what? Oh, uh yeah. Appa can fly anywhere as long as he can eat."
"Excellent. Then let's fly to the North Pole together. I can find a Waterbender to teach me, and you can still penguin sled." Aang smiled brightly but Sokka grabbed Aya by her shoulders and roughly turned her to face him again.
"Aya! Are you serious?" Anger, confusion, and a hint of desperation swam around in his voice. "Are you going to choose this kid we met less than a day ago, over the entire tribe? Over your family!?" Aya knocked Sokka's arms off of her, took one step back and crossed her arms.
"What and be vilified for making the wrong choice? I'd....I'd rather...I...I......." She hesitated, looking at Aang standing next to Appa, and back to Sokka, Gran-gran and the tribe, Sokka staring at her with a desperately confused gaze, and Gran-gran looking with a passive expression, which was a couple of shades close to regret. Aya's own haughty expression dropped a couple of degrees in intensity. "I...I.....I'll g-"
"You should stay." Aang put his hand on Aya's shoulder, then quickly drew it back, as she turned around to look at him. "I wouldn't want to come between you and your family." He walked back to Appa. Aya made as if to follow, but a gentle gust of air pushed her back a bit. "It was fun, Aya. Thanks for going penguin sledding with me." Aya's gaze softened a fraction.
"So then this is good bye." Aang looked at his feet and scratched the back of his head.
"I guess so." Aang stuck his hand out. Aya looked in surprise. Aang grinned. "You shake it." Aya gave a small smile and shook Aang's hand.
"Where will you go?" He shrugged.
"Probably back to the Eastern temple. Maybe there are some Airbenders left in hiding." He turned around and put one hand on Appa, before laughing. "Oh man, I haven't cleaned my room in over a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." He hopped up onto Appa's head. He looked at Aya, who was staring back resolutely, and down at Appa's face and rubbed his head. "Okay buddy, you ready?" Sokka crossed his arms.
"Right, let's see your bison fly now, air boy." Aang gave no sign that he heard Sokka's quip.
"C'mon Appa. Yip-yip!" He snapped the reins and Appa jumped into the air, before crashing down. Sokka snorted.
"Yeah, I thought so." A little girl broke from the crowd and ran towards the bison.
"Waaah! Aang, don't go! We'll miss you!" The rest of the children ran forward too, knocking Sokka over.
"Aang! Don't go!"
"Yeah, please stay!"
"You have to show us how to lick our elbows!"
"We were gonna have a snowball fight!"
"Aang, I'll...I'll miss you!" Aang looked down sadly at all the children.
"I'll miss you guys too. Come on, Appa." The bison grunted and began to plod away from the village. The children turned back to their parents, while Aya remained where she stood. Gran-gran put her hand on Aya's shoulder.
"He could have helped us. He could have helped me. I could have become a real Waterbender, not perform some cheap parlor tricks." Gran-gran shook her head.
"Oh Aya, even if you had gone with him, you would have never-" Aya whirled around.
"Never what? Never had become a true Waterbender? Are you saying I was incapable of doing so? Maybe I should have gone with him then, and shown you wrong!" She stalked off, while her grandmother stayed behind and shook her head sadly. Meanwhile, Sokka had rallied all the boys in the village.
"Alright men, now that the traitor has left our walls, we have to prepare our defenses! The Fire Nation could strike at any moment!" A small boy raised his hand. Sokka immediately pointed at the bathroom. "And no potty breaks during the battle! Go now!"
Appa swam in the water lazily, as Aang lounged around on his head. Appa grunted and Aang sighed. "Yeah boy, I liked her too." Appa grunted again. Then they heard the sound of motors and smelled oily smoke. Aang steered Appa onto an iceberg and hid, looking out at the massive ship, belching smoke and breaking ice as it moved. It was massive, easily twice as large as the walls Sokka had built to protect the village. It was entirely black iron, foreboding and ominous as the sharp prow sliced through icebergs and floes. Aang gasped. "The village!" He turned to the bison. "Appa, wait here on this iceberg! I'll be back!" Aang pulled out his staff, extended its glider wings and took off. Appa just grunted.
In the village, Sokka looked into the mirror. He dabbed at the traditional grey and white war paints and carefully applied them to his face. He put on a pair leather bracers and stiff leather boots. He grabbed his club and stuck his boomerang in its pouch on his back. Meanwhile, on the Fire Navy ship, a group of servants gathered around a young man. They tied on his greaves and his chest plates, along with ornate metal bracers, before placing a dark helmet over his head.
Sokka walked out into the center of the village. "Everyone, to their homes, now! Warriors, come with me to the wall. Keep a look out, and as soon as you see someone coming, raise the alarm, then get back to your families! I'll try to hold them off when they come." As he pointed and barked orders, women ran around, gathering supplies and children before ducking into tents and igloos. Fires were doused and anything flammable was moved away from the houses. Sokka stood on the wall, scanning the fog for any sign of the ship. Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, and parts of the wall began to chip and fall off. Sokka whirled around. "Everyone, off the wall and back to your homes! The Fire Nation is coming!"
"But I gotta go-"
"Go potty later, when you aren't in danger!" The kids ran off to their homes, and the shaking continued. One of Sokka's guard towers collapsed into a heap. "Oh man!" One of the children tripped. Aya saw the fallen child and ran up to grab him. He saw Aya coming and scrabbled to his feet, running home to his mom. She heard Sokka yelling. She turned and saw the massive, black iron prow of the Fire Navy ship, heading straight for Sokka.
"Sokka, get out of the way!" He didn't hear her, and posed to strike at the ship with his club. "That idiot!" Whirling her arms, Aya threw a mass of snow the size of Sokka's head at his side, knocking him away from the ship.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"Well the gigantic ship coming for you could have knocked you over, so you clearly need to stick to the ground!" The prow opened up, dropping a walkway down. As steam billowed from the entrance, three silhouettes appeared. In the center was a young man, flanked by two masked soldiers. The young man might have been called handsome, if not for the horrific scar that covered the left half of his face, the skin over his eye an angry, almost scab-like red, with his cheek and part of his ear warped and a dark pink, like raw meat. Sokka charged the armored boy with a battle cry, but was knocked aside with two deft kicks, one knocking away his club, the other knocking him face first into a large pile of snow. As Sokka kicked his legs in an effort to extricate himself, three unmasked soldiers carrying long, sharp spears, along with one more masked soldier, descended from the ship.
They assembled themselves behind the scarred boy, who surveyed the village. Everyone had hidden themselves away in their homes. He spoke to the soldiers. "Gather the villagers. Scour the place."
"Right away, Prince Zuko." The soldiers fanned out. The sounds of screaming and yells came from every home. One could hear some items breaking, some peals of flame being released as threats. In no time, the entire village was assembled before the prince. Mothers grasped their children, and Gran-gran held Aya's shoulder, and Aya stood as stiff as a board, staring daggers into Zuko's golden eyes. He took no notice of her, as he marched forward and glared at the villagers.
"Where are you hiding him?" The villagers looked at him and at each other with some confusion. Who was he talking about? His hand shot out and roughly grabbed Gran-gran. Aya recoiled, her eyebrows meeting as her lips drew back in a snarl.
"Aya, no!" She stopped, her teeth grinding and her fingers flexing and the snow around her shifting. She clenched her fists and stared at Zuko, who impassively glared back.
"Humph. He'd be about this age. The master of all elements?" He shoved Gran-gran back into Aya's arms. The villagers still gave no response. "RrraAGH!" He swung his arm out, releasing a plume of fire over the heads of the people, who cowered in fear. "I *know* you're hiding him!"
"RRRAAAAHHHHHH!" Sokka had gotten out of the snow drift and with a loud war cry, jumped at Zuko, holding his club high. Zuko turned and then ducked under Sokka, knocking Sokka's club out of his hand, and Sokka onto his back. Zuko shot a fire blast at Sokka, but he rolled out of the way and landed crouching. With a fluid motion, he whipped his boomerang from his back and threw it at Zuko, who narrowly dodged. One of the boys from the tribe tossed Sokka a spear.
"Show no fear!" Sokka caught the spear and charged again. Zuko used the bracers on his forearm to swat the spear away, breaking off the tip and another section. He then snatched the spear out of Sokka's hands, poked Sokka three times in the head with the butt of the spear, knocking Sokka over, before snapping what remained in half. Then from the sky, Sokka's boomerang came flying down and struck Zuko in the back of the head, knocking Zuko's helmet askance. Sokka smirked triumphantly; Zuko straightened his helmet angrily. Zuko's fists lit up with large flames. Sokka and all the members of the Water Tribe gasped. Aya leapt forward, but Gran-gran tried to hold her back.
"Grandmother, let me GO!"
"Aya, you can't! He'll kill you both!"
"I couldn't go to the North Pole, and now I can't save my brother!? Ridiculous!" Blinking back angry tears, Aya began to turn her free hand, but before she could bend anything, something caught her eye on the horizon. Speeding towards them was an otter penguin, and someone on its back. It was Aang. His tongue stuck out in concentration, Aang shot at Zuko like a bullet, knocking him away from Sokka and coating both of the boys in snow. The children cheered for the returning Airbender, before getting covered in snow themselves. They continued to cheer regardless. Aya was stunned. Sokka just wiped the snow off his face.
"Hey Aya. Hey Sokka."
Sokka sighed. "Hi Aang. Thanks for coming." Zuko had gotten to his feet, and gave a signal to his men. In seconds, Aang was surrounded. The masked soldiers immediately unleashed a barrage of fire blasts, which Aang countered by raising a wall of snow with his staff. A strong air blast immediately knocked them back. The unmasked soldiers charged with their spears, but they were knocked aside by a deft movement from Aang's staff, and then blown away. Zuko took up a stance and faced Aang. They circled each other, like two wolves. Zuko broke the silence.
"You're the Airbender. You're the Avatar." It was a statement, not a question. Behind Aang, Sokka and Aya gasped in shock.
"Aang?" Aya was confused.
"No way." Sokka was in awe and confusion. Aang and Zuko continued to circle each other.
"I've spent years awaiting this encounter. Training. Meditating." Zuko's frown got even more pronounced. "You're just some kid!" Aang shrugged.
"Well you're just a teenager." Zuko snarled and shot a volley of fire blasts at Aang. Aang whirled his staff, dissipating the flames. As Zuko continued to shoot at Aang, and Aang defended, Aya could only watch.
"The Avatar...All along, he was the Avatar..." The fight continued, as Aang continued to deflect shot after shot, while Zuko began to bear down on Aang even more heavily. Some of the flames Aang deflected hit some of the homes of the villagers, while others flew over the heads of the villagers, and they yelled, dropping down to the ground. When Aang saw this, his eyes widened. Zuko prepared to launch another volley, but Aang held out his staff.
"If I promise to stop fighting, will you leave these people alone?" Zuko paused, and then straightening up, nodded briefly. Two of Zuko's soldiers immediately bound Aang's hands and shoved him forward. Another picked up Aang's fallen staff. Zuko had already turned around, and was heading for the ship.
"Set a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home." He whispered to himself, "Finally." Aya and Sokka just stared at Aang, who looked back and smiled weakly. Aya could only gape before she began to yell.
"What are you doing!? You're the Avatar, you should fight them! Beat them down; make them acknowledge you as superior! Defeat them! Aang, what are you doing this for!? Aang!? AANG?!" Gran-gran and Sokka grabbed Aya's arms. Aang just smiled sheepishly.
"Take care of Appa until I get out." The walkway of the ship went back up, and the smokestacks began to billow and belch more smoke. The ship pulled away from the village, and soon disappeared into the mist. Aya dropped to her knees.
"The Avatar...So close...So...close...rrRAAGH!" Her fist slammed the ground, sending up a miniature blizzard. Sokka and Gran-gran quickly ushered the village back to their homes, where they began to make repairs. Sokka walked back to Aya and put a hand on her shoulder. Aya didn't even look up at him. "Get off me. I'm going after him."
"Aya...I-” Aya stood up and turned around, glaring into Sokka's eyes.
"I don't CARE if he's a danger, he's the Avatar! He could change everything! He could defeat the Fire Nation! I could finally find the monster who-” Sokka silenced her with his own glare, which faded to a softer expression.
"Yeah, I know. Mom." Aya's own glare cracked. "I was going to tell you to get your stuff together. I was gonna try to prep another canoe."
"And where do you two think you're going to go, with the village like this?" Sokka turned around, and Aya's glare returned.
"To get the Avatar."
"To rescue Aang."
Sokka and Aya replied at the same time. Gran-gran nodded.
"Then you'll need food and sleeping covers as well. Luckily, I have some with me right here." She handed a bundle of smoked foods, dried vegetables, and jerky, along with some full water skins and sleeping mats to Sokka. While Sokka stumbled with the burden, Gran-gran turned to Aya.
"Grandmother, I-"
"Hush child."
"Child?"
"Yes, child. No matter how strong or wise you may believe yourself to be, I'm still your grandmother, and until you're older than me, you'll always seem like my precious grandchild in my eyes. But right now, even I can see you're on your way to maturing into a strong, beautiful woman." Gran-gran turned to Sokka. "And you, my young warrior, continue to grow. Become stronger for the sake of the people you care for, and be sure to take care of your sister. Watch over her temper when she cannot. Tell your father I send him my love. And try to stay safe." Sokka blinked hard, and then kissed Gran-gran on the cheek before running off with the supplies. Aya bowed deeply.
"Thank you, grandmother." Gran-gran blinked, and then smiled.
"Sokka isn't here. He went to go prepare the canoe." Aya blinked, and then threw her arms around Gran-gran. She patted Aya on the back. "There, there child. I know you will succeed. How could you all fail, when you have each other?" Aya sniffed, then let go of Gran-gran. Her eyes were dry and her gaze was sharp. She bowed again.
"Thanks, Gran-gran."
"So, uh yeah, I just looked over the boat and the supplies, and I figure that we could catch up to them if we trained squadron of rogue penguins to commandeer the ship and send it back in our direction. Otherwise, we're pretty much sunk on this." Sokka returned, chewing on a piece of jerky. Aya marched up to him and yanked the jerky from his hand. "Hey!"
"Sokka, what are you doing? These are our supplies; we need them for later, not when your stomach decides it!" Sokka shrugged.
"Well, defending the village and risking my life is hungry business."
"Goodness, getting knocked into a pile of snow must indeed be tiring, forgive me brother. Here, have your jerky back, you jerk!" She chucked the jerky at his head, which Sokka caught in his mouth and grinned. "Yes, just like a tiger seal. Clap your hands and balance a ball on your head, and maybe I'll feed you some fish." Sokka's grin dropped.
"Hey...Ugh, you know what; we don't have time for this."
"You're right; we have no time for your foolishness."
"Ugh, no. What I'm saying is every second we waste is another second they're getting away, and another second we lose any chance of finding them, and the odds don't look so good right now, especially with this canoe!"
"Well then what do you propose? We surf? We ride an otter penguin? We...fly...We fly...Appa!"
"What?" A low bellow answered Sokka's question as Appa lumbered in their direction.
"Yes, we ride on him, and he can take us to Aang!" She walked off towards the beast, while Sokka sighed.
"You really love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?" Aya turned around and grinned at Sokka, the light behind her giving her face an ominous shadow.
"Of courshe."
Meanwhile on the deck of Zuko's cruiser, Aang watched as Zuko examined his glider-staff.
"This will make an excellent gift for my father. A pity that there's nothing I can give to my sister." He turned towards Aang. "Fathers. Sisters. I suppose you wouldn't know much about them, being raised by monks." He handed the staff to a portly old man. "Uncle, take the staff to my quarters." He pointed to the two soldiers holding Aang. "You two take the Avatar to the brig." He went below deck. Zuko's uncle scratched his belly before turning to another soldier.
"Hey, would you mind taking this to his quarters?" With that, he dropped the staff into the confused soldier's hand and walked off. The two soldiers shoved Aang towards a flight of stairs. Aang tried to keep his staff in his sight for as long as he could, until he was shoved again.
"C'mon, move it already. Today's music night and I gotta oil my horn."
One soldier marched in front of Aang, while another was behind him, making sure his bonds remained tight.
Aang grinned. "So, I guess you've never fought an Airbender before. I bet I could take you both with my hands tied behind my back." The guards ignored him. "I'm totally serious." They reached a door with a heavy lock, and the guard in front pulled out a key. "Don't believe me?" The guard put the key into the keyhole. "Just watch." Aang inhaled and let out a powerful breath, slamming the front guard into the iron door, while propelling him backwards into the second guard, knocking him into a wall. Aang stood up and smiled. "Toldja."
Aang ran out onto the deck, and ascended a flight of stairs, his hands still tied behind his back. The helmsman noticed the small figure and rang a large bell. "Alert! Alert! The Avatar has escaped!"
Sokka and Aya floated on Appa's back. Sokka was tiredly spouting words while Aya interspersed his guesses with more colorful choices.
"Ascend."
"Fly, you cursed beast!"
"Soar."
"I'll shave you and use your fur to make a whip and whip you until you fly!"
"Up-up."
"How dare you defy me, you insolent creature!"
"Soar."
"You said that already!"
"Well how many different words are there for 'up' anyway? And I don't see you helping either." Aya sniffed.
"I was providing motivation."
"Yeah, sure. Motivate him even harder, maybe even motivate him into telling us how we're going to fight a fully armed Fire Nation battleship with only you and me." Aya smirked.
"Well really, it would only be me, since you'd die right away. Honestly the best you could hope for is for them to slip in your blood. And if such is the case, I'll be sure to bend your spilt blood into something actually useful." Sokka shrugged.
"Gee, it's nice to be loved by my only family. God, I can't imagine what I'd do without you."
"You'd probably die."
"Thanks." Sokka sighed, and then began to yell out words in a slightly more invigorated fashion. "Go. Fly. Elevate." Aya rolled her eyes and began to shout more threats.
"I'll cook you into a stew if you don't move!"
"Ugh, what was it he said? Hop-hop? Snip-snap? Yip-yip?" At the last word, Appa growled and smacked his tail against the water. He leapt into the sky, and moving his enormous, flat tail like a rudder, began to soar into the sky. "Hahaha, whoa! We're actually flying!"
"Yes! The idea of being in a stew must have scared him enough!" Sokka sniggered.
"Yeah, the thought of being inside you is enough to scare anyone." Aya smacked him over the head. "Hey!"
Aang ran around the inside of the ship as soldiers chased him down. He had used a downed soldier's sharp helmet to cut his bonds and was now running around in search of his staff. So far, he had found nothing but the portly old man he had seen on the deck, currently taking a nap. Aang continued to run, then turned a corner. He saw an open room and dived in. The door closed behind him, and Zuko locked it. "Looks like I underestimated you. It won't happen again." Aang jumped as the fire blast scorched the floor where he stood a moment ago. Something mounted on the far wall caught his eye.
"My staff!" He jumped again as Zuko fired shot after shot, knocking over tapestries, a map, and a pair of matching broadswords. Aang grabbed a fallen tapestry and wrapped Zuko in it.
"Hey!" As Zuko struggled with the tapestry, Aang grabbed his staff. With a roar, Zuko burned the tapestry away, but with a deft move, Aang slammed Zuko into the wall with a gust of air and a mattress, then used the mattress to slam him again, this time into the roof. Aang bolted before the mattress hit the ground. Zuko got up, fuming and groaning.
The helmsman of the ship continued to steer the ship, unaware of the full extent of the drama that was taking place beneath him. Suddenly, the door behind him burst open, and a young boy in orange robes ran past him and broke through the window. A staff in his hand opened up to make an orange glider and he began to fly away, until Zuko ran through the door and grabbed the flying boy by his heel.
Aang felt the new weight on his leg and looked down to see a snarling, scarred face staring back. He desperately struggled to stay airborne, but his glider couldn't bear the weight and they dropped onto the deck. Zuko got up first, and took a fighting pose. "I have you now!" He shot a blast at Aang who rolled out of the way and assumed a stance of his own. The two stared each other down.
The tension broke when a loud roar echoed through the skies. Aang's face glowed with happiness, while Zuko looked on with shock. "What is that thing?"
"Appa! Oof!" Zuko launched another shot at Aang, who dove out of the way, landing hard on his stomach, his staff flying from his grasp. Zuko kicked the staff farther down the deck, before firing more shots at Aang, who rolled closer and closer to the edge of the ship, until he was holding on with his hands. "Say hello to the Airbenders." One last fire blast knocked Aang from the ship and into the water.
"NO!" Aang sunk deeper and deeper into the water, out of sight. Fire Nation soldiers began to line up on the deck and take aim at the bison.
"Aya, we have to go!"
"Without Aang? Without the Avatar?"
"We don't have an Avatar anymore, we have to go!" Just then, the water below them began to glow and bubble. Aya and Sokka gawked as the sea itself rose in a massive waterspout, higher than the ship, with Aang in the center of it, his eyes and tattoos alight. Aang landed on the ship, along with the waterspout, and with a swirling motion, the water had flooded the deck, knocking the soldiers and Zuko over the side. Some soldiers tried to get up, but one was knocked into the water after being hit in the head with a boomerang. Sokka reached out and snatched it out of the air.
"Haha, yeah! Boomerang always comes back!"
"Hmph, it was just a fluke."
"And all those other times it came back?"
"Flukes."
"Ha! It's never a fluke with Boomerang! It's like a third arm!"
"That you throw at people."
"Exactly."
As Aya and Sokka bickered, Appa landed on the deck, and Aang collapsed. His tattoos had stopped glowing. The two rushed over to Aang.
"Avatar Aang, are you alright?"
"Wh-Aya...Sokka? Wow, this is...great. Thanks for coming guys." Sokka just shrugged.
"We couldn't let you have all the fun."
"I...I dropped my staff."
"I got it." Sokka darted over to the edge of the deck, where Aang's staff was. He picked it up, but then another hand grabbed the other end. Zuko held tight, and he and Sokka began to pull on the staff, until Sokka poked Zuko in the forehead three times, forcing him to let go. As he fell, Zuko grabbed onto the anchor chain and glared up at Sokka, who smiled triumphantly. "From the Water Tribe!"
Aya helped Aang onto Appa's head, but before she could climb on, two soldiers arrived from below deck. "Like a third arm, eh?" With deliberate, swirling motions, Aya shot a tendril of the water on the deck at one of the soldiers at high speed, before freezing it. The frozen tip smashed into one soldier's gut and he fell back. "And it always comes back." She clenched both her hands, then drew them back, as the frozen water she had launched before shot back, hitting the other soldier in the back of the head. "Not bad." She clambered onto Appa. "Sokka! Hurry up!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm hurrying!" He tossed the staff onto Appa's back and scrabbled up into the saddle. "Yip-yip! Yip-yip!" Appa growled, then lifted his massive bulk into the air and soared away. Zuko's uncle pulled him up onto the deck.
"Uncle, they're getting away!" His uncle stood there, stroking his beard with one hand.
"Hmm, yes, they are indeed."
"Shoot them down!" The two synchronized their movements, and shot an enormous blast of fire at the retreating bison. Sokka shrieked, rousing Aang. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his staff, and swung it at the incoming blast, knocking it into a wall of ice and snow. An avalanche came down, blocking any waterway for Zuko's ship, and half burying it in snow. Aang cheekily waved goodbye as Appa flew further and further away. Zuko roared in anger, while his uncle scratched his stomach and shrugged.
"Well, good news for your father, Prince Zuko. The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just some kid." Zuko turned around and looked at Iroh.
"Uncle Iroh." The barely-contained rage in Zuko's voice was beginning to slip through. "That *kid* just did this. I will not underestimate him again." He turned towards his soldiers. "Dig the ship out," he cried, while pointing to the snow. He then noticed the soldiers desperately paddling to stay afloat. "Err, after you get out of the water and warm up."
Appa soared lazily in the sky as Aya, Aang, and Sokka sat in a circle in the saddle. Aya spoke.
"Avatar Aang, how-” Aang held up his hand.
"Please, don't call me that. Just call me Aang...please." Aya blinked.
"Very well then. Aang, how did you do that, what you did on the ship?"
"I...I don't know how I did it. I just sort of...did." Aya's eyes briefly narrowed.
"Very well then. Why didn't you tell us that you were the Avatar?" Aang's face turned downcast, and he pulled his knees to his chest.
"Because...I never really wanted to be." Sokka and Aya gave each other a look, and Aya cleared her throat.
"Well at any rate, you are. So it's high time you acted like one. You have responsibilities laden upon you that no one else in the world can match, foremost being we must bring down the Fire Nation's reign of terror." Aang looked surprised.
"Wait, we?" Sokka spoke up.
"Of course. What, you can't bash all those Fire Nation noggins by yourself. Besides, every group needs some muscle."
"Great idea Sokka. We can look for someone with muscle in the North Pole. That will be our first destination. There I can learn how to waterbend, and perhaps you can find a master as well. Then we'll have to find you an Earthbender teacher. Hmm, I'd rather not associate with such people, but the fate of the world depends on it. Perhaps in Omashu, we can-"
"But I never wanted any of this! I'm just a kid, and this isn't even my time, and-” Aya silenced Aang's protests with a glare.
"Want it or not, the world has been waiting for the Avatar to save them. Likewise, I have been waiting for someone to put an end to the war, so that our father can come back, and I can be free to go and..." Sokka put his hand on her shoulder. Aya cleared her throat and lowered her fists. "Well, our father will come back." Aang sighed, but Sokka just clapped him on the back.
"Cheer up. I'm sure that once you've got Air, Water, and Earth down pat, the Fire Lord will go down easy."
"Aren't I supposed to learn four-” Sokka clapped his hands together.
"Alright, so to the North Pole first then?" Aang cleared his throat.
"Actually, I was hoping we could make a couple of stops first?" Aya looked at Aang with a cool gaze.
"As long as they don't interfere too much with us getting to our destination." Aang nodded, and then pulled out a map.
"Right, so I was thinking we could stop here, and here, and here, and here, and-” Aya held up her hand.
"Wait, stop. What is so urgent at all of these locations?"
"Well, here is where we can ride the hopping llamas, and here is where we can surf on the backs of giant koi fish, and here we can ride the hog monkeys." Aya was dumbfounded.
"Are...Are you serious?"
"Well yeah, I know that hog monkeys hate to be ridden on, but that's why it's fun! And here we can ride the singing flamingo fish, and that's where the rhino-tigers live. I heard they're lots of fun to ride, and this is-" Aya groaned and rubbed her temples, while Sokka just laughed.