- Third POV -
"Where are you hiding him?" Asks Zuko angrily as he surveys the crowd of villagers, who fall completely silent. Without warning, he extends his arm out into the crowd and grabs Kanna, holding her by the hood of her parka.
"He'd be about this age, master of all elements?" He shoves Kanna forcefully back into the crowd. The elderly woman shudders in fear and embraces Katara, while Katara shoots an angry glare at Zuko. Receiving no response, Zuko swings his arm out and releases an arc of fire that passes just over the heads of the people, causing them to cover their heads and cry out in fear.
"I know you're hiding him!" He shouts at the crowd. Sokka runs over and picks his club up, most of his war paint having come off at this point. He lets out another battle cry as he charges toward the prince. Zuko swiftly turns around just as Sokka approaches. He ducks under Sokka's wide swing and hurls the warrior forward. Sokka lands on his butt in the snow and is quickly forced to dart from his spot when Zuko fires a blast at him. He spins to the side and tosses his boomerang at the enemy who barely manages to miss getting hit by the weapon. Zuko growls and glares at Sokka in anger at the near hit; he follows the course of the weapon until it vanishes before looking back at Sokka in anger. One of the village boys tosses Sokka a spear.
"Show no fear!" Exclaims the little boy. Sokka handily catches the weapon and charges at Zuko once more. Zuko breaks the spear with his forearms, pulls the remains of the weapon out of Sokka's hands and pokes him thrice in the head with the blunt end. Sokka falls to the ground as Zuko snaps the spear in two and tosses the pieces to the ground on both of his sides. Sokka rubs his head in pain. Then, a sparkle of light shines briefly in the distance and Sokka's boomerang spins into view, unnoticed by Zuko. The weapon strikes Zuko on the back of his helmet with a loud cling. He is momentarily pushed forward by the unexpected blow. Zuko rearranges his helmet and growls at Sokka. The boomerang has plummeted into the ground in front of Sokka's feet. Enraged, Zuko readies two fire daggers.
Meanwhile Aang is rapidly riding on a penguin toward the battle scene. He holds his glider horizontal on the animal and he has a determined look on his face. His tongue is out of his mouth in pure concentration. Aang takes his feet out from underneath him, tossing Zuko off his feet. Speeding past him, Aang soars into the air as the prince lands on his face, his legs in the air. He spins around a few times before coming to a halt in front of his men, his helmet landing on his butt as they watch. Aang rides speedily toward them, still mounted on the penguin. The children cheer upon his arrival. They are showered in snow as Aang rides past, however, after giving each other silent, unamused looks for a few seconds, they begin cheering once again, shaking the snow off. Aang comes to a halt and stands up. The penguin crawls out from under him, tossing him off. Aang falls on his butt, blinking stupidly. Aang smiles at the penguin when the animal quacks at him before waddling away.
"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka" Says Aang cheerfully.
"Hi, Aang. Thanks for coming" Responds Sokka moodily. Aang looks back at the Fire Nation soldiers, while Zuko just got back on his feet again. Upon his signal, his men spread out, surrounding Aang while Zuko assumes a fighting stance. Aang assumes a fighting stance as well, he holds his staff firmly in front of him as he is being surrounded by the soldiers. He sweeps the ground side-to-side with his staff, showering the men with snow. He subsequently slams the ground, sending a rush of snow at Zuko who braces for the impact. After being sprayed with snow and heating it up so it would melt off, Zuko looks up angrily.
"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" Says Zuko shocked.
"Aang?" Exclaims Katara surprised.
"No way!" Shrieked Sokka bewilderd.
"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating. You're just a child!" Snaps Zuko angrily. Aang and Zuko are moving about in a circular pattern, both awaiting the attack of the other.
"Well, you're just a teenager" Replies Aang nonchalantly. Zuko launches a series of fire blasts at Aang in anger at the remark, who defends himself by twirling his staff, dissipating the flames. While Zuko is attacking Aang, the villagers are watching directly behind him. Zuko fires another blast at Aang, who twirls his staff once again to ward the attack off. The villagers cower as the flames stream through the air over their heads. Aang widens his eyes in horror at the sight of the frightened villagers and immediately ceases to defend himself.
"If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" Aang holds his staff in front of him as an offer, making sure Zuko understands that he doesn't want to continue fighting. Zuko's men are still surrounding him, spears poised. After a brief moment of hesitation, Zuko erects himself and nods in agreement. Aang is apprehended by Zuko's men, who take his staff. Katara runs forwards as they lead Aang away.
"No! Aang, don't do this!" Pleads Katara.
"Don't worry, Katara. It'll be okay. Take care of Appa and Mizuki for me until I get back" Responds Aang calmly. He slightly gasps when he is shoved on the walkway. Katara's face contorts with sadness and fright.
"Head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home" Demanded Zuko to his staff as he glared at the Avatar. He was almost sure that he heard him say 'Mizuki'. No, it can't be. He must be imagining things again, ever since Mizuki's parent's got killed and she went missing he couldn't stop thinking about her.
❀❀❀
"We have to go after that ship, Sokka. Aang saved our tribe, now we have to save him. And! We need to find Mizuki and Appa" Says Katara in a determined tone meanwhile Sokka is carrying a pack.
"Katara, I-" Sokka gets cut off by Katara.
"Why can't you realize that he's on our side? If we don't help him, no one will. I know you don't like Aang, but we owe him and-" Before Katara can finish her sentece Sokka cuts her off.
"Katara! Are you gonna talk all day, or are you comin' with me?" Says Sokka in an annoyed tone while pointing to a canoe floating in the water. Katara immediately grins and gasps in happiness.
"Sokka!" Shouts Katara out of excitement. She rushes towards Sokka and hugs him.
"Get in, we're going to save Mizuki and Aang" Says Sokka while he pushes Katara away.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Asks Kanna accusingly. The two siblings turn around, look at her and try to act as innocently as possible.
"You'll need these. You have a long journey ahead of you" Kanna smiles warmly at her grandchildren while holding up their sleeping bags. The siblings glance at each other in surprise as Kanna walks over to Katara.
"It's been so long since I've had hope, but you brought it back to life, my little waterbender" Kanna hugs Katara who at the end takes the sleeping bag out of her hands. Then Kanna turns around to face Sokka.
"And you, my brave warrior, be nice to your sister" Kanna hugs Sokka, who's slightly embarrassed but pats her back anyway.
"Yeah, okay Gran" Answers Sokka, he smiles broadly when she releases him.
"Aang is the Avatar. He's the world's only chance. You both found him for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his" Explains Kanna. The two siblings look at each other uneasily.
"There's no way we're going to catch a warship with a canoe" Says Katara while pointing at the ready canoe. Suddenly, Appa appears over an icy hill on the horizon. He makes his presence known by growling, next to Appa stands Mizuki, who is happily waving at the siblings.
"Mizuki!" Yells Katara out of excitement. Sokka turns around as soon as he hears Katara yelling 'Mizuki'. To his surprise the girl had arrived together with Appa. He grins and waves at her, Mizuki happily returns the gesture.
To be continued
Word count: 1414
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The dualbender (atla) book 1
Fantasy[completed] [currently under editing] Mizuki is a girl who lost her parents to the Fire Nation when she was twelve. After two years of hiding, escaping and trying to survive she found the Avatar with some help of the two Water Tribe siblings. She de...
