Element Academy: The Light of the Avatar

I'm Okay...Crystal

"She's been sleeping for too long. What if something's wrong?"

"She's going to be fine."

"What if she's not? We should-"

Crystal groans, forcing herself into consciousness...She doesn't like it that they are worrying about her....She needs them to know she is alright...

Heavy eyelids slowly lift open and her vision remains blurry until it finally settles and clears. The room is dimly lit with a lamp beside her as the only light source. The walls are dark and lined with more bookshelves, most of the bindings are worn and etched with Chinese characters. There isn't much to the room itself if you don't count the people within it. 

The concerned faces of Mahoney and Jake are the next to greet her newly restored vision. She smiles up at them with a tired grin that just can't quite reach her eyes.

"Hi."

"Hey there sleepy head," Jake greets, relief pouring out of every inch of his expression.

Mahoney, having jumped onto the bed, throws his arms around Crystal when she sits up. He holds her firmly as if not to let her go, afraid doing so would mean losing her again. "Please don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"

Crystal tenses at the sudden turn in Mahoney's actions. She always knew he cared about her, but the way he was acting feels like something different than normal.

Suddenly her arms are wrapped around him and she's clinging to him just as tightly. "I'm so sorry."

He tightens his hold for just a moment. "It's gonna be okay, just you wait and see."

She nods, the tears already welling in her eyes again.

Mahoney pulls away, only to be replaced by Jake with a hug of his own. "I know this wasn't the answer you've always been looking for, but now you know. You can move on now."

Crystal pulls back and wipes her tears away with her sleeve. "But I don't know Jake. I know her face, but I don't know her. I don't know who my dad was, if he's still alive, why she'd leave me in a trashcan instead of on the steps of an orphanage. There's so much I don't know. I have so many questions."

"It's a start though." Jake smiles down sadly at her, having gone through something similar to this when he discovered the circumstances of his own past leading up to being at the orphanage. "Once you feel better you can ask her your questions."

"She's still here?" Crystal asks almost instantly. Part of her wants to see Talula's mother again, but another part doesn't want to...another part is almost afraid to see this woman again.

"Yeah, but she keeps to herself. Page doesn't let her near this room. She's convinced you seeing her could cause you to slip into the Avatar state again," Mahoney explains from where he sits on the bed beside her.

Crystal stares down at her tear stained sleeves. She hadn't thought about that. What if she can't control her emotions to keep control of the Avatar State? Her eyebrows furrow as a million thoughts go spiraling through her mind.

No, she won't let that happen. The Benders need her to stay in control. Who knows how much time they've lost already. This isn't the time to waste even more time over her abandonment issues. She's the Avatar. She has to act like it.

Crystal looks up at Mahoney and Jake, her sudden expression of determination throwing the two of them off.

"Finding out about my past can wait. We have a bigger problem to solve," she declares.

Crystal throws the covers off of herself and onto Mahoney's lap. She stands up from the bed, relief flooding through her when she doesn't feel dizzy from the action. "Come on, we have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in."

"Wait, Crystal." Jake grabs a hold of her arm causing Crystal to look back at him curiously. "Are you okay? You're shaking this off really fast; it's okay to want some time to process all of this."

Crystal moves his hand off of her arm and takes it in her hand. "I'll be okay Jake. The world needs the Avatar. I can work things out with myself and Talula's mom after all of this is over, okay?"

"Okay," he replies. The uncertainty is clear in his eyes, but he can tell her mind is set. He knows his sister and he knows there isn't anything he can do to make Crystal stop putting others first.

"Right! So let's go cause trouble for the Underground!" Mahoney responds, catching on to what's going on.

"Don't you mean stop the trouble?" Crystal asks.

"Nope!" He replies as he hops off the bed to stand with her and Jake. "I say we fight trouble with trouble."

"Probably not the best idea." Crystal smiles and shakes her head. She takes a deep breath, standing a little taller as she turns to face the door of the room once more. "Let's go. It's about time the Avatar has a talk with Mr. Kirito-Nagoya."