Change The Narrative

Change the Narrative

If people knew the truth, they would call her a selfish monster.

But Katara had sacrificed anything for the world, for an ungrateful husband!

This time she would always choose herself first!

Here is a little one-shot of my anger about what happened to Katara in canon.

I want to give her the end she deserves, so I hope you enjoy it!

Katara knew it was time for her to die.

She felt it in her old bones.

Alone she lay in her bed at the South Pole and watched how the snow was falling.

At least she would die seeing the beauty of her homeland.

It was a good death.

The old woman blinked tears away and tried to be positive about her nearing death.

She would see Sokka, her father, her mother and Gran-Gran again.

It was good.

She had lived a long happy life.

Something burning and unsettling spread through her chest as she thought this.

Was it a happy life?

How often did she and Aang argue over simple things?

How often did she beg him not to play favourites with Tenzin? Yes, their youngest was an airbender, but what about Bumi and Kya? They were his children too.

But no!

The Air Nomad legacy was more important than their two oldest children and their pain.

Once upon a time when she was a young girl and fantasized about the man and family one day she would have, she never would have guessed how she became the kind of mother, who didn't fight for her children.

Who didn't call out her husband for his wrongdoings?

However, she had so with Aang. Since she had met him, she always had mothered him, shielded him from things which didn't fit his narrative.

He was the Avatar, the only hope to end the war, with a track record of running away.

They couldn't lose him, so she had protected him the best she could.

And she did so to her children.

No wonder Bumi and Kya didn't even visit her and Tenzin didn't have much of a relationship with her.

Where did she go wrong in her life?

When did she become a shadow of herself in the name of love?

Why did she even choose Aang?

Was it because of Aunt Wu's prediction, she would marry a powerful bender or because she had a feeling Aang...deserved her?

He loved her and had ended the war.

Was it so bad to give him a chance?

Sadly after sacrificing her best years for him and being rewarded to die alone without her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren around her, it may have been the most stupid decision she ever made.

Spirits, was she a bad person to think that?

She loved her family, really she did, but deep down she had to admit...she wouldn't do it a second time.

Katara wouldn't sacrifice herself, her ideals, and her dreams for Aang's dream.

She had her whole life given and given and was now at the end of it rewarded with nothing.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, as she slowly closed her eyes.

Soon she would join her loved ones...

Just...

If she could...

If the spirits were so kind...

If dear Yue heard her...

She wanted a second chance.

She wanted to live a life for herself and herself alone.

Katara had given in this life all and more...was it so bad that she wished for a second chance to get it this time right?

Was she selfish?

Maybe.

Surely.

But anyone had a point in their life where they had to put themselves first.

Her only regret was that she did not realise it sooner.

Katara closed her eyes and felt the last beats of her heart.

Never noting how the moon was shining brightly down at her...

***

She felt pain in her head.

Katara hissed and touched her forehead.

Why did she get a headache?

Where was she?

She blinked to banish the shadows before her eyes.

Slowly she could see.

Ah yes.

She was outside General Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se.

The waterbender had seen Aang walk out and wanted to join him.

It was high time that she gave Aang her answer about them being a couple.

She had been unsure a few days ago, but now with the war over...why shouldn't she give him a chance?

He was standing at the balustrade watching the setting sun, it was the perfect moment.

As the waterbender made her first step towards him, an avalanche of emotions and vision filled her whole being.

Katara gasped quietly, trying to make sense of this.

It was too fast and also too slow...however, she felt it in her bones...whatever she had planned kissing Aang and getting together with him...it would be the worst decision of her life!

No, she didn't want what she had seen.

How could she sell herself, her principals, and her honour for a guy?!

How could she be together with someone who would play favourites with their children?!

No, absolutely not!

Whether this was a vision from the future to save her from this faith Katara didn't know, but what she knew she wouldn't make the same mistakes twice!

So angry she walked up to Aang and tapped his shoulder.

The Avatar turned smiling towards her. He seemed so happy and hopeful and looked at her like she had hung the stars and the moon.

For a second she flatter, which only made the vision come forth again and made her anger tenfold.

Oh no!

Not with her!

"Aang.", she began. "I don't love you and I never will! Stop pestering me about us being a couple! If you don't accept my feelings I will waterwhip you do your next incarnation, do you understand me?!"

To say he was shocked was the understatement of the century. She could formally see the heartbreak in his eyes and how he tried to speak up, maybe to guilt trip her, however, she wasn't having anything of it.

"Nothing you will say and do will ever change my mind! So don't even try. I will go back with Sokka to the South Pole and rebuild my home. That's where I belong!"

Dramatically she turned around and entered the tea shop again.

The others tried their hardest to seem like they hadn't listened in, yet Katara saw through them.

She sends them all an annoyed look.

"What?!"

No one said anything for a few seconds before Toph snickered: "Oh sugar queen, I hoped you had it in you."

This makes Katara smile.

***

The next months of her life Katara rebuilt with her father and Sokka their home. 

The Nothern Watertribe had tried to turn the South into a second North, except Katara was having none of it.

As a war hero, master waterbender and daughter of the chief she used all her power to stop this chances.

She was a force of nature!

No one had a chance against her.

Her family was so proud of her and she was satisfied with herself.

Yes, this was where she belonged.

Helping people and not being the soulless, passionless arm candy of Aang!

Katara was happy.

A voice inside her told her how she deserved it.

***

A year later found Katara as ambassador for her people at the first peace summit.

She was happy seeing Zuko again, they had written to each other, yet seeing each other in person was much better.

He had become her best friend.

And her wall against Aang.

As Avatar he was at the peace summit too. Of course, he tried to talk with her. Tried to sway her, saying he missed her and wanted to be friends again.

She saw right through him. Aang still wanted her.

Thank the spirits for Zuko having her back and distracting Aang.

When they enjoyed together a cup of tea in General Iroh's tea shop she thanked him for his help.

Awkwardly he waved it away.

It was nothing.

He and Mai had broken up and the black-haired girl wasn't happy about it.

Even if she and Aang weren't exes, Zuko knew how frustrating it was to have a person follow you like a shadow and demand to be together again.

In comfort, she petted Zuko's hand and told him he did the right thing to end things with Mai.

If she couldn't accept a no was she a good girlfriend?

A little crooked smile formed on Zuko's lips, and her heart stopped for a second, as he thanked her for her words and friendships.

Then he asked her to join him in the search for his mother.

***

Being with Zuko on a life-changing field trip again was... exciting.

They still worked flawlessly together, like when they had hunted down the murder of her mother, but now they were friends.

It changed a lot of interactions.

They were playful with each other.

Zuko was the only one who ever laughed at her jokes.

They were there for each other.

In the long days when they hunted down one clue after another and Zuko seemed to lose hope, Katara reminded him to never give up.

They shared the workload.

It was amazing not mothering someone and having someone help her around camp.

They were getting closer to each other.

They shared things they never told anyone.

Zuko told her how he got his scar and Katara hugged him, wishing Aang had killed Ozai.

Wishing Ozai was before her and making him pay for hurting her best friend!

Sometimes they just stared at the stars, inventing constellations, their hands inching closer.

Something new was born between them.

Katara didn't know what it was, but she would enjoy it.

It made her feel good.

After weeks on the road, they finally found Ursa.

And also a society of hiding airbenders.

Katara couldn't help but laugh in utter glee.

***

Was it really that surprising that Katara and Zuko fell in love with each other after their journey?

When she kissed Zuko for the first time, it was like coming home. 

Warm, welcome, familair, intim.

It was the best sensation in the world.

Something inside her told her this was how it was supposed to be.

After two years of dating and being the ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe in the Fire Nation, they married.

All their friends and half of the world were invited.

Yes, even Aang.

Aang was so grateful to Katara and Zuko for having found his people and was busy with the air nomads to rebuild their society, and seemed to finally let go of Katara.

Now they really could be friends.

***

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, master bender, war hero and Fire Lady became a living legend.

Not only the people in the Fire Nation adored her, but she used the power she wielded to make the whole world a better place.

She was the one who came up with the idea of Republic City, a place where all nations could live in harmony.

She revolutionized the art of healing with her bloodbending.

She installed fountains and aqueducts everywhere she could, so people had clean water.

Statues were built and universities, streets even neighbourhoods were named in her honour.

Katara taught new generations of waterbenders like her daughter Kya and people formally fought over to learn from the Fire Lady.

When their oldest daughter Izumi became Fire Lady, Katara and Zuko retired to Ember Island to live out their twilight years in peace.

They often had visits from their friends and families.

Their son Lu Ten, a nonbender, had married a waterbender named Mizuki and had with her five children.

So the proud grandparents helped their son and daughter-in-law raise the rascals.

It was fulfilling.

As Aang then died and was reborn as Korra from the Southern Water Tribe Katara and Zuko moved to the South to teach the new Avatar.

Korra loved Katara and Zuko like grandparents and loved hearing about their adventures.

After Korra goes to Republic City to learn airbending from one of Aang's sons he had with one of the hiding airbenders, the pair returns to Ember Island.

Zuko died a few months before her.

Katara followed him after the birth of their third great-grandchild.

Both died surrounded by their big and bustling family.

As Katara died, her oldest great-granddaughter, who was named after her held her hand, she couldn't help but feel happy.

She had lived a long and wonderful life.

Soon she would be together again with her beloved husband and her family.

And so the greatest and most beloved Fire Lady died in peace with no regrets in her heart, her story being told for thousands of years to come.

***

The Legend of Katara became a tale which young girls loved.

From a simple waterbender to a master, war hero and ruler over a nation, who changed the world only a few ever could.

It showed all girls, that they could do anything they wanted.

They could reach their goals and go even beyond.

This was Katara's legacy.

As it should have been.

If you liked this one-shot and want more Zutara, a badass OC, personal growth for Aang and the Gaang being amazing check out Yin and Yang! 

Click on my profile and leave a comment.

I hope you liked this little One-Shot!

Let’s now scream together in the comment section how Katara deserved better and if it’s not canon we will give it to her in fanon! :D

Yin and Yang: Book 1.09

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Hello guys, sorry for the long wait. 

This chapter is probably not my best, but I don’t know anymore what to write, so there.

Also, I want to inform you, that if this fanfic doesn’t get any comments I will abandon it.

Would not be the first one I do so.

I see you reading it, I just want some feedback.

I know it’s probably a bit boring because Hua is just added in the episode but I can promise you we will have a big canon divergent soon.

I’m just saying wait till The Blue Spirit then things will change. :D

So please be patient, comment, motivate me and we can arrive at this point in the story.

Now have fun with the chapter.

Book 1.09: The Two Scrolls

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

The day for our young heroes started with two panic attacks from the Avatar and Daimon.

Aang was pacing around on Appa's saddle, breathing heavily, while Hua had wrapped her arms around her knees and was swinging back and forth.

You could hear her mumbling something about the world being so doomed.

Katara looked worried at her young friends as Sokka called out from his place on Appa's head: “Would you sit down, Aang? If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off. What's bugging you two anyway? Hua looks like she is ready to fall over.”

“It's what Avatar Roku and Daimon Lixue said.”, answered Aang worried.” We are supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives.”

Jokingly Sokka told them that they only needed 112 years to learn air- and earthbending, he was sure they would master the other ones by next summer.

This was when Hua stopped her manic back and forth swinging to glare at Sokka: “I don’t know if you noticed, I’m not exactly a master earthbender. What I can do I learned while helping construct buildings in the Lower Rings of Ba Sing Se, from Bumi and inventing moves I copied from other bending. I still need a master for earthbending too.”

“You never told us this.”, said Katara softly. 

She saw in Hua's twisted face how she disliked talking about it.

“That my family was poor. Poorer than poor? Yeah, I don’t like to think about that.”, grumbled Hua.

The Daimon looked at her knees to not see the pitiful glances of the others. They could never understand how it was to grow up never being full, wearing clothes which didn’t fit and working the whole day to help bring money home.

If she had looked at her friends she would have seen that they didn’t look at pity at her. They looked sad for her, that she had such a hard start in life.

No wonder she didn’t like to talk about it.

“Hua at least started learning airbending with me.”, tried Aang to change the subject. It was the least he could do. “But we haven’t started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole. What are we gonna do?”

“Die.”, proclaimed Hua drier than the dessert.

“You know, not even I feel optimistic enough to talk back.”, admitted Aang.

He sat down beside Hua and together they swayed back and forth.

Not that Sokka didn’t understand that these two had a huge responsibility, however, reducing themselves like this was not the way.

So he called out to his sister, in hopes she could cheer them up. 

This was Katara's thing, not his.

“Calm down, it's going to be okay, Hua and Aang.”, told Katara. She kneeled before them, taking a hand each. “If you want, I can try to teach you some of the stuff I know.”

“You'd do that?”, chorused the Avatar and Daimon with hope in their voices.

Their friend agreed and told them they needed to find a good source of water for practice.

Always the jokester Sokka said they could probably find a puddle for them to splash.

The puddle turned out to be a huge waterfall with a river.

The girls and Aang made ecstatic faces, as Sokka frowned and murmured: “Nice puddle.”

How the universe loved to prove him wrong!

Appa flies down into the river and creates a huge splash that soaks and almost knocks Momo off the rock he is standing on, turns over, and floats on his back. Jaiyi, who had hidden behind Hua, made a fox laugh at her lemur friend. Momo was just cooing embarrassed.

Aang wanted to take a bad with Appa too, but was reminded by Katara and Hua why they were here.

It was time to practice waterbending.

Sheepish he dressed himself.

Meanwhile, Sokka wonders what he should do, while they practice and Aang tells him he could clean the dirt from Appa's toes.

Strangely Sokka agreed.

Maybe he was that utterly bored.

Whatever, like good students, Aang and Hua sat down beside the shore and looked up at their teacher Katara as she explained their first lesson.

”This is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect. So don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away.”, reassured Katara, while the younger ones nodded. She moves her hands back and forth and makes small waves in the water.“Just push and pull the water like this. The key is getting the wrist movement right.”

Hua and Aang stand up and copy what Katara is doing.

“Like this?”, asks Aang.

“That's almost right. If you keep practicing I'm sure eventually—”

Katara can’t finish even her sentences as Aang calls out that he is doing it. 

His waves were even bigger than Katara’s!

“I got it too!”, chirps Hua happy. Her waves were higher than Katara’s, but tinier than Aangs. “This feels a bit better than airbending.”

“Wow, I can't believe you two got that so quickly. It took me two months to learn that move.”, tells Katara surprised.

It’s…a bit weird to see both Aang and Hua having success on a move she worked so long on.

“Well, you had to figure it all on your own.”, begins Aang.

“We are lucky enough to have a great teacher.”, ends Hua with a smile.

Touched Katara thanks them.

“What now Sifu Katara?”, questioned Hua her best friend, as Aang nodded along.

Aww, this made Katara feel all fluffy inside being called Sifu. She hardly was a master but Hua and Aang saw her as one.

Precious darlings!

“This is a more difficult move. I call it streaming the water.” She moves her hands and raises a stream of water from the river into the air and moves it around. “It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if-”

The waterbender stops talking as she sees how flawlessly and fast Aang executed this move, even Hua was faster and more elegant than her. Both children let the water flow back into the river, while Katara's orb splashed down the ground.

She felt…annoyance rise in her.

How could Hua and Aang get this so fast?!

“Nice work.”, she praises them and then frowns at Aang. “Though the over-the-head flare was unnecessary.”

Aang says sorry but begs for more move, Hua is right along with him giving Katara the best puppy-seal eyes.

A bit unsure she shows them the move she was still working on. The idea was to create a powerful wave. Sadly Katara fails.

Curious Aang and Hua copy her, a big wave and a medium-sized wave, form, mesh together and race down the river. 

Poor Sokka falls victim to it.

Excited Avatar and Daimon ask for more moves, but Katara annoyed about their success tells them practice is over.

Sokka agreed since their merged wave managed to make their bags with supplies float down the river.

Both kids say sorry, they didn’t mean to, but Aang was sure they could find somewhere to replace their supplies.

Defeated Sokka murmurs how his life was hard enough when they were just airbender and earthbender and sank down the river.

***

Luck was on their side.

They found a little harbour with market stands not that far away from their camp.

The only problem was the folks who wandered around.

A lot of armed men staring at the quartet. 

Hua, Sokka and Katara looked nervous while Aang looked around in wonder.

The Daimon was glad that she left Jaiyi with Appa. She had a feeling these friendly people would do anything to get the pelt of a ninetails.

Currently, they were waiting for Sokka to return with their supplies.

He comes out of the shop and signs: “We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely.”

Sadly this advice came too late since Aang bought a bison whistle, which even didn’t work.

All gave him annoyed looks and Katara told Aang she would hold into the money now.

Our quartet started walking again and passed where a man was talking in front of his boat docked in the water.

“Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!”, advertise he for his shop aka. boat. The man wearing an earring zero in on them and runs up to them. “Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're the world-travelling type. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?”

“Sure! What are curios?”, ask Aang innocent.

The earring guy blinks confused.

“I'm not entirely sure. But we got 'em!”

He puts his hand on Aang's shoulder and smiles, walking him into the ship. The others follow them.

Inside the ship they spread out, to look around.

Hua was looking at some pretty hair ornaments, only listing with half an ear how someone wants to buy Momo, when she wanders over a shelf.

There already was Katara browsing it as she let out a gasp: “Hua look!”

“Is this a waterbending scroll and firebending scroll?!”, said Hua surprised.

Neither expected to find something like this here.

Katara picks up the water scroll, while Hua the fire scroll.

“Look at this, Aang. It's a waterbending and firebending scroll!”, calls Katara for the Avatar, who joins the girls. “Check out these crazy moves.”

Aang turns to the captain, excited, wondering where he got these two scrolls.

The captain takes the scrolls from the girls, putting them back in their places and tells them he found the water one up north and the fire one, and gave them a nice firebender.

For free.

That’s when Sokka realizes: “Wait a minute ... Sea-loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise and pet reptile birds? You guys are pirates!”

“We prefer to think of ourselves as "high-risk traders."”, tells him earring pirate, friendly an arm around Sokka's terrified form.

Meanwhile, the other three wander over to the counter, where the captain stands behind.

“So, how much for the, uh, traded scroll?”, asks Katara.

“I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless of course, you kids have four hundred gold pieces on you right now.”

Oh by the spirits no, they would never get the scrolls like this.

So Hua did something she hadn’t done in a long time.

Casual she walked over to the shelf and faster than lighting put the scrolls in her bag.

That’s when Katara walks over and looks stupefied at the missing scrolls on the shelf.

She looks at Hua as her friend nods and pats her bag. Katara smiles, giving her a thumbs-up and calls for Aang to leave the pirate ship.

The boys follow the girls out back into the street, wondering why all of a sudden they wanted to leave the ship.

Neither Hua nor Katara gives them a clear answer about just how they felt weird on the ship.

They were still too close to tell the boys what they did.

Luck again wasn’t on their side, because the pirates noticed the theft and chased them all over the harbour.

The bender used their elements to slow them down, but in the end, they fled all together on Aang's glider.

It was a wonder how this was possible.

Soon they reached their campsite.

They were now safe.

“I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible.”, said Aang putting his glider away.

“Yeah, that’s why we did this!”

Excited Hua and Katara show the scrolls to the boys.

“No way!”

“Aren’t they great?”, asks Katara rhetoric.

“No wonder they were trying to hack us up! You stole their waterbending and firebending scroll!”, scolds Sokka.

“Actually it was me!”, admins Hua. “Not the first time I stole something.”

“What really?!”

“Sokka, if you grow up so poor as I am then sometimes you have to steal to get food for your little brother.”

“Also if Hua hadn’t grabbed them, I would have done it.”, tells Katara. “I prefer to think of it as high-risk trading.”

Aang laughs: “Good one, Katara.”

Seeing how Sokka still wasn’t happy with them Katara asked him where he thought the pirates got the scrolls from.

They probably stole it from a waterbender master and a firebender one.

“It doesn't matter.”, makes Sokka clear. “Hua, and you put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes and some fiery, sparkly flames.”

“These are real waterbending and firebending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang and Hua to learn waterbending! Also, Hua needs to learn firebending like yesterday, where else should we find help for her to do it?!”, challenges him Katara.

The oldest boy just waves it away with a whatever turning his back on them.

“Well, what's done is done. We have them, we might as well learn from them.”, told Aang.

The three benders decide how Hua should have a go first with her firebending scroll.

Katara holds it open for her, as she examines the forms.

“Okay, the first one.”, the Daimon mumbles. “A simple Fire Punch. Seems good enough.”

Nervous Hua faces the water, while all her friends look equally nervous on.

Would she bend fire and get it out of control?

Or would she master it?

With a deep breath, Hua goes through the steps and then…flame shoots out of her fist!

All exclaim in surprise.

“I did it!”, shouts Hua happy. “I firebenden!”

“How does it feel?”, asks Katara.

“Good, better, like how it’s supposed to. Oh let me try the next form.”

The next hour or so they watch how Hua performs the firebending forms flawlessly and with elegance.

Aang was reminded of when Kuzon would bend for them and Katara and Sokka saw for the first time how fire can be pretty.

Hua herself feels at complete ease.

It was how it should have been, first learn fire then the next elements in her Daimon Cyle.

She has a feeling she will now learn air and water better.

After Hua finished her set again, Katara called out for a break.

She sees how her best friend was breathing heavily and was sweaty. So she gives her one of their water bags and Hua gulps it down.

They decided now it was Aang and Katara's turn to use the waterbender scroll.

It works…not well.

Katara was so determined to get the water whip down, that she shouted at Aang as he tried to help her.

Seeing how she hurt the feelings of her friend, she apologises and gives him the scroll.

She doesn’t want to do anything with it more if it turns her into this jealous bitch.

In comfort, Hua pats the back of her best friend.

The Daimon can understand her feelings well. If Aang starts one day to learn earthbending and he is better than her, she would be angry too.

What was done was done, for today's practice was over.

They all needed to calm down.

***

Hua was currently dreaming about eating the biggest mochi of her life when she was rudely woke up.

“Huh, guys what's wrong?”, she yawned, then frowned.

Where was Katara?

“She took the scroll!”, answered Sokka her unspoken question. “She's obsessed with that thing. It's just a matter of time before she gets us all in deep-”

More he can’t say as a pirate throws a rope around his arms and drags him forward. He rolls away and charges at the pirate while another two pirates capture Aang and Hua in a net each and drag them away.

Offended Sokka asks if he is not good enough to be kidnapped and gets as a reward kidnapped.

A while later, Aang, Hua and Sokka, bond by their wrists, and stand with the pirate on one side of the shore, while Prince Zuko and his man are on the other. Katara was bonded on a tree.

Prince Zuko praises the pirates, while Katara says sorry to Aang and Hua. 

All was her fault.

The Avatar and Daimon try to reassure her that it is okay, but Zuko's uncle just says to Katara that it was indeed her fault.

Now the pirates and Prince Zuko argue about who should hand over their bargain chip first.

This uses Sokka to his advance, telling the pirates how Aang and Hua were the Avatar and Daimon and how the Fire Lord would pay them more gold, than the two scrolls together.

The deal was off and fighting started.

Prince Zuko and two of his soldiers send a blast of fire at the pirates. 

The pirates jump back and Earring Pirate runs out, throwing smoke bombs and jumping into the cloud as the fight ensues. Some of the soldiers run out to Hua, Sokka and Aang, who are struggling with their ropes, but are stopped by several pirates, who also throw smoke bombs down. 

“Okay, let’s try this!”, Hua mumbles to herself.

She concretes and burns her robes off.

“Nice! Sokka, Aang, where are you?!”

“I’m here Hua!”, she hears Aang from somewhere on the left.

“I don’t know where I am.”, comes from Sokka, somewhere on the right.

“Let’s just get out!”, advises Hua.

After a few seconds, she was out of the smoke, followed by Sokka and then Aang.

They run the shoreline down and find Katara who was trying to push the pirate ship into the water.

The three join her in trying to push the boat, but can't.

“We'd need a team of rhinos to budge this ship.”, bemoans Sokka their fate.

“A team of rhinos, or three waterbenders.”, corrected him Aang.

Katara looks touched at the Avatar, while Hua gets in position.

“Let’s do it guys, push and pull!”

Hua, Aang and Katara push and pull the water until the boat rises up.

They board the ship and sail through the river.

The Avatar sees how the pirates are following them in Zuko's ship and begs Sokka to go faster.

He admits he doesn’t know how, since the boat isn’t Watertribe.

Several of the pirates jump onto the ship but are quickly swept away by Aang's waterbending. 

Two pirates go after Hua but she spins herself around and sends a fire whip after them. This shocks the pirates so much that they fall over the ship.

Determined, Katara performs a perfect water whip to throw the last pirate off.

Aang and Hua congratulated her on her water whip, and Katara admits she wouldn’t have got it down without Aang's help.

Sokka meanwhile was being held in place by two pirates and begs them to stop congratulating each other and help him.

This time Hua water whips at the Pirates, who let go of Sokka, and one goes even overboard.

Earring Pirate turn to Aang who whistles in his Bison whistle.

The pirate was more than confused, but this gave Sokka the chance to throw him off the ship.

Then Katara calls out to them.

They are nearing a waterfall!

Thankful the watertribe girl has an idea and together with Aang and Hua they push and pull the water again, creating a vortex which stops the ship.

Their triumph was short-lived since the enemy boat rammed them and all four fell off the ship and down the waterfall.

However, they are lucky as Appa, with Jaiyi and Momo, appears and catches them on his saddle.

Fast they flew away.

***

Safe and sound Team Avatar-Daimon flies throw the clouds.

What a day they had and it just started!

“Aang, I still owe you an apology.”, begins Katara. “You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger, I'm sorry.”

“That's okay Katara.”

“Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?”

“Is that really how you feel?”, asked Sokka sarcastically holding the water scroll up.

“The scroll!”

Her brother puts his hand in front to keep Katara from grabbing it.

“First, what did you learn? Hua, you listen too, alright.”

“Stealing is wrong.”, chorus the girls together.

Katara takes the scroll back and adds cheeky: “Unless it's from pirates.”

This makes Aang and Hua laugh.

“Good one, Katara.”

Previous

Next

!!ON INFINITY HIATUS!!

Yin and Yang: Book 1.04

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.04: The Warriors of Kyoshi

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

Since they had left the Southern Air Temple some time has passed.

For a few days, Aang dragged them around from one place to another to ride different large animals.

If they keep this rhythm they would reach the Nothern Water Tribe at spring!

The only good thing was, how Aang finally had started to teach Hua airbending.

It was going…okayish.

Because it was her opposite element and she should actually first learn firebending, Hua didn’t make great signs of progress.

The most she could do was create a small breeze.

Aang wasn’t a great help either, since he wanted to shove the air nomad philosophy down her throat, then actually teach her airbending.

For this, they argued even more than normal, because Hua was sure she didn’t need to embrace this for airbending, but Aang insisted she needed to let go of earthly things and other stuff, which goes against her earthbending.

When you earthbend you...just do it!

No other angle, no other way... just move these rocks and be done with it!

Poor Katara had to keep them apart and play mediator since Hua was this close to burying Aang and his stuck-up-my-philosophy-is-better-then-yours-skit.

The moment of camaraderie and understanding they had shared in the Southern Air Temple was totally forgotten.

They were back on their normal I-hate-her/his-guts behaviour.

Anyway, currently they were flying over the waste ocean.

Hua and Katara were each patching up some of their clothes. They worked each one a pair of clothing from Sokka.

Jaiyi was leaning on Hua, letting out a cute yawn as she looked at how the girls sewed.

Aang, with Momo on his shoulder, guided Appa somewhere, while Sokka looked in frustration at their map.

Only with half an ear did the girls listen how Sokka questioning Aang's navigational skills and the airbender just cheerfully stating at least they were on the ocean.

Then the younger boy called out for Katara about something.

"That's great, Aang.", humoured Katara, still concreting on her sewing.

"You didn't even look.", whined Aang.

Katara looks over at Aang and attempts to show enthusiasm.

"That's great."

"But I'm not doing it now."

"Just let it go, your crush on her is embarrassing as hell.", mumbled Hua annoyed, only loud enough for Katara to hear, stitching up a hole in the shirt.

Her friend hit softly with her elbow her side in reprimand.

Okay, Hua got what Katara meant, but how couldn't she say nothing about Aang's crush on Katara?

You had to be blind as a badger-mole to not see it.

He was so not subtly about.

Hua bet even Momo and Appa knew!

It was just embarrassing and uncomfortable for anyone, not that Aang realised it. 

The black-haired girl had asked Katara over dinner a day or two ago how she could stand Aang's blunt ways to impress her.

If a guy she didn't like would act that way towards her, she would bury them alive.

Katara had explained to her, that it was just a puppy crush, Aang would eventually get over it, when he realized that Katara would never show any interest in him.

The waterbender wasn't into younger boys and it would be just plain creepy if a 14-year-old dated a 12-year-old.

No matter the gender!

Hua really doubted that Aang would be so self-reflecting.

As Sokka liked to call him, he was an airhead, he saw only what his narrative supported.

Never mind how the real world and people worked.

One of the reasons why Hua couldn't stand Aang's guts.

She was like her element, down to earth. She saw the things for what they were and didn't dream something up.

Oh well, as long as Katara didn't have a 180-grade change in personality, then Aang's crush would have to die.

You COULDN'T be this dismissive and blind to the feelings of another...or?

The Daimon was brought back from her musings as Sokka told Aang: "Stop bugging her, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."

What the?!

Together the girls stopped sewing and looked with anger at the older male. Even Jaiyi stopped leaning on Hua, her hackles raised.

"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?", asked Katara with an icy tone.

"Yes, please share your wisdom with us, I can't wait to hear it.", added Hua growling right along with Jaiyi.

"Simple. Girls are better at fixing pants than guys and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that.", explained Sokka calmly. "It's just the natural order of things."

Oh, he didn't just say this?!

As if they had agreed on the girls smiled at Sokka. 

"All done with your pants!"

"Your shirt is also done!"

They held up the clothing pieces which had still holes in them.

"And look what a great job we did!", shouted Katara.

At the same time, the girls threw angrily the clothes at Sokka.

The pants and shirt hit him in the face, which pleased Katara and Hua greatly.

The ninetails was also happy about it, making a mocking yip at Sokka.

Freacking prick!

"Wait! I was just kidding.", whined Sokka, picking up his clothes and showing how his pants had still holes. "I can't wear these! Katara, Hua please!"

The girls crossed their arms and raised their noses to the sky. Jaiyi was right behind them with her snout up.

Huffing Hua said to him: "I have five words for you: Die mad about it, sexist!"

"Oh come on!"

"DIE mad about it, sexist!"

"Agreed!"

"Katara, please!"

"Relax, Sokka.", calls Aang back enthusiastically. "Where we're going, you won't need any pants and shirts."

Aang yanks Appa's reins to the left, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Appa picks up speed as he flies right to an island covered with mountains.

They land on a sandy beach and get down from Appa. 

The nine-tailed fox is playful chasing Momo around the shore, while Hua and the water tribe siblings stare at Aang, who is looking out the water with his hand held against his brow.

"We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?", argued Sokka.

"He's right.", agreed Katara. "At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring."

The Avatar tries to convince them that Appa is tired, however the flying bison only plays along after Aang repeats himself.

"Yeah, really convincing.", states Hua annoyed. "What animal do you want to ride now. That's why we are here aren't we?"

In answer an elephant koi jumps out of the water and back in, creating a giant splash.

All besides the excited Aang stared at it in shock.

"That's why we're here.", tells them Aang starting to disrobe himself. "Elephant koi, and I'm gonna ride it. Katara, you've got to watch me!"

Full of joyful anticipation Aang, now only in his underwear, jumps into the water only to scream how cold it is.

The others exchange glances while Appa walks away, clearly taking interest in something else. 

Sokka makes a circular motion with his left hand around near his left temple, signalling to his sister and Hua that he thinks Aang is crazy. 

In agreement, the Daimon nods.

Meanwhile, Aang is swimming toward the deep waters of the bay where the koi fish are. He dives under and immediately appears again, now holding on to the back fin of one of these giant animals as it jumps out of the water before diving again. 

Katara smiles broadly and is impressed at the sight of Aang riding the koi fish while Sokka and Hua stare at the scene with an uninterested look on their faces and their arms crossed.

Momo is jumping excitedly up and down as Aang's koi fish reappears again, while Jaiyi sits beside him, her tails swinging around her.

Laughing Aang, atop the fish's back, waves at his friends.

Katara enthusiastically waves back.

"He looks pretty good out there.", tells them Katara.

"Are you kidding?", say's Sokka unimpressed. "The fish is doing all the work."

"I'm with Sokka. If I want I could do this too.", shares Hua her thoughts.

That's when Katara see how Appa is eating something which he isn't supposed to and runs up to the bison to stop him. Aang of course see how Katara leaves the shore and doesn't look at him anymore, which makes him sad.

Sokka and Hua share a look.

Of course, he wanted to impress Katara.

Of course!

Suddenly there is a large shadow in the water, who drags down one of the elephant koi.

This alarms Sokka and Hua. Katara joins them and the three try their best to warn the Avatar, however, he thinks their frantic waving and jumping up and down means they are cheering him on.

Then Aang's elephant koi gets dragged down the water, making him fly into it.

A large dorsal fin appears hunting the Avatar down and Aang makes it like a tree, running out of the water, then crashing into Sokka.

Hua helps Sokka to get up, while Aang and Katara wonder, what the heck was in the water.

Then out of nowhere, they get ambushed!

Hua only sees a pretty face with a somehow familiar war paint dressed in green robes, before it gets dark and she is bonded.

With a thud, she falls to the ground and hears how the others are also being taken prisoner, even Momo and Jaiyi!

Their ambushers drag them somewhere and then bind them to a pole.

The quartet hears the whispers of humans.

Are they in a village?

"You four have some explaining to do.", they hear a male voice addressing them.

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi.", adds a female voice.

Sokka demands that they show themselves.

Suddenly Hua can see again.

Before them stand female warriors, the Daimon swerve she has seen this get-up somewhere, it's familiar, and behind them are people of all ages clothed in blue.

"Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?", wonders Sokka.

A warrior girl with auburn hair in a bob steps towards him her fist clenched.

"There were no men. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Wait a second, there's no way that a bunch of girls took us down.", laughs Sokka in disbelief.

For that the warrior girl grips him by the collar growling: "A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's gonna eat well tonight."

"No, don't hurt him! He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes.", explains Katara worried for Sokka's safety.

"It's my fault.", admins Aang sorrowful. "I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."

The man who is the leader of the village asks them in distrust how they should know if they aren't Fire Nations Spies. That Kyoshi stayed out of the war for a hundred years and wants to keep on doing this.

Hearing Kyoshi, Aang and Hua both lookup.

A tingle of familiarity overcomes them.

For Aang, it's like someone called his name for Hua it's like talking about an old dear friend.

For a second she sees a beautiful woman with the make-up and green robes the warrior girls wear, who gives her a smile that speaks of deep trust and companionship before her inner eye.

Then Hua is back in the present and shouts together with Aang: "This island is named for Kyoshi? We know Kyoshi!"

"Ha!", laughs the male leader humorlessly. "How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

"I know her because I'm the Avatar.", reveals Aang.

"And I'm the Daimon.", adminds Hua.

All inhabitants of Kyoshi are in deep shock. You see it in their face and enraged whispers.

"That's impossible!", shouts the auburn-haired female warrior. "The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago with the Daimon from the Earth Kingdom."

"That's us.", confirms Aang sheepishly, as Hua nods embarrassed.

Not that the male leader of Kyoshi believes them. He tells the warrior girls to throw them all to the Unagi. The warriors immediately retract their metal fans from out of their belts and slide them open. Ready to counter any sudden attack, they threateningly start to move forward and surround the bound friends.

Katara pleads with Aang to do some airbending, to show he is the Avatar which he of course does.

He bends over before pushing himself off the ground. He leaves a large dust cloud as he shoots in the air, stretching out his ropes, and using one of the outstretched fans of the statue, where they other all still bound, to snap them in half. 

Now completely free of his bonds, he lands gently on the ground in front of the surprised crowd, his robes still fluttering in the air. 

Oyaji and the Kyoshi Warriors stare at him in shock. A lot more people have gathered around to see what is going on.

"It's true ... you are the Avatar!", shouts Oyaji in aww. The Avatar really returned he couldn't believe it! "Then the Earth Kingdom girl is truly the Daimon!"

"Yes, I am!", yells Hua back.

Hopefully, they will now be released.

Well, she and the water tribe siblings and Momo and Jaiyi how to wait, because Aang shows the whole crowd a trick.

Aang gets out his marbles letting them spin around really fast between his hands. 

Grinning and blinking like a fool, he looks at the crowd, hoping to impress them. 

Indeed the crowd cheers for him.

A young man in the front starts to emit a high-pitched squeal while widely tossing his hands up in the air in admiration. He gets so overexcited that he starts to foam out the mouth, falls toward and faints; the rest of the villagers just keep on cheering.

Sokka, Katara and Hua look at each other in disbelief, while Momo and Jaiyi chitter and yip away in confusion.

Hua sums up the situation perfectly.

"What the heck?!"

***

The next day finds the Team Avatar-Daimon inside a house enjoying the hospitality of Kyoshi Island.

The villagers brought them a lot of desserts for breakfast, which Aang, Hua, Momo and Jaiyi dug in cheerfully.

As she had grown up in poverty the Daimon was thankful for any meal, but these delicious desserts were a special treat for her.

"These people sure know how to treat an Avatar and Daimon!", musse Aang happily, munching on different desserts at the same time.

Hua, who is eating a tasty cake out of cherries with cherry blossoms, nods in agreement.

"I rarely agree with you, but when you are right you are right."

"Katara you've got to try these!", hands her Aang a dumpling-formed dessert.

"Well, maybe just a bite.", says the waterbender, before she enjoys the sweet.

Momo sneaks up to Aang snatches the dessert out of his other hand and quickly dashes away, who smiles at his pet. 

He does not let the theft bother him and quickly grabs another dessert in front of him while Katara munches down the piece of cake and reaches across the table for the same dessert Aang just took. 

Hua and Jaiyi are eating together a very tasty fruit tart as Aang glances to his left, over the hunched Katara to Sokka. 

The lemur appears between Aang and Katara and quickly snatches another cupcake from the table before vanishing underneath it.

"Sokka, what's your problem?", ask Aang confused. "Eat!"

However, Sokka is a hunched figure in a corner, staring out the windows solemnly.

"Not hungry."

"But you're always hungry!"

 "He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday.", explains Katara amused, which makes Hua and Jaiyi giggle.

"They snuck up on me!", protested Sokka.

"Right. And then they kicked your butt."

In a mocking salute, Hua raises her glass towards Sokka.

"And what a butt-kicking it was, I gonna ask them to teach me some tricks!"

Angry Sokka stands up.

"Sneak attacks don't count!", he tries to defeat himself, then muttering something about robes and showing them a thing or two. He walks away only to return, taking some dessert with him and then stepping out.

The watertribe boy was determind to show his superier manlieness over the Kyoshi Warrories.

Hua didn't need to be a fortune teller to see great pain and humiliation in Sokka's future.

Well, she was all for it.

He needed to stop being a sexist.

Time for a vibe check!

"What's he so angry about?", wonders Aang. "It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment!"

"Hey, don't get too comfortable. It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long.", warns Katara.

Jaiyi eats a cupcake out of Hua's hand as the Daimon signs: "I like it here too. But Katara is right. We should soon be back on the road."

"Thanks, Hua."

"Of course."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, girls.", tells them Aang, always the optimist. "Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town? How we make them happy, Hua? They're cleaning up that statue in my honour and the little shrine of the Daimon of Kyoshi's time. The airbender! What was his name?"

"Tian Kuo.", reminds Hua, petting a full and happy Jaiyi. "Not that I'm not flattered, but we shouldn't get this over our heads."

"I'm with Hua, it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar. But stay with her on the ground.", advises Katara.

"Come on girls, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk."

Aang gets up and leans on the window sill so he can look better outside. As soon as he emerges, the villagers scream with delight and admiration for him. Surprised he looks down and sees a bunch of girls fangirling wildly over seeing him.

He lashes a broad smile at the girls while blushing. 

Katara and Hua stand behind him with their arms crossed in disapproval. They look at each other in agreement, roll their eyes and make a raspberry.

Jaiyi just yips in disapproval of Aang.

***

As it turns out Aang is all for girls swarming him.

Hua, Katara and even Jaiyi can just look on annoyed at how he tries to impress all his little fangirls.

Simple monk, their ass.

He was just like any other boy his age.

If girls showed interest in them, they started to act like proud peacocks.

Whatever, it wasn't their problem.

So Katara and Hua with Jaiyi shop at the marketplace for supplies.

Hua gets approached from time to time too. 

The people of Kyoshi had also a great respect for the late Daimon Tian Kuo, who had been Avatar Kyoshi's best friend and companion, not only showing in the little shrine they had for him but also giving Hua their respect.

Surprisingly the current Daimon has to give autographs.

A bit embarrassed she signs another autograph for a little boy, who runs up to his mother joyfully and turns to Katara.

"I feel all weird.", she said to the older girl. "I grow up in the Lower Rings of Ba Sing Se. People don't give you any kind of second glance if you aren't from the Higher Rings."

"When they told you, you were the Daimon, people didn't treat you differently?", wonders Katara curious.

They are standing at the vegetable stand, while Jaiyi is playful chasing butterflies.

"They did, but not in such an admiring way. Remember, I lived for a time surrounded by monks. The boys were more shocked to see a female among them, than me being the Daimon."

"Was it weird?"

"Super weird. It was like they never saw a girl, which was probably true. The Air Nomads had gender separation. The monks and nuns only meet up on special events.", explains Hua. 

Katara makes a little annoyed huff.

"This explains why Aang is so eager to be surrounded by girls."

"It's getting way over his head.", agrees Hua.

 Suddenly, like talking about him has summoned him, Aang joins the girls.

"Hey, you two!", he greets them with a smile.

"Oh looks it's the peacock.", mumbles Hua to Katara.

The older girl has to stop herself from laughing, but she agrees with Hua.

"Hey Aang, can you help us?", asked Katara. She points the the three pots full of vegetables. "We need to bring this back to our room."

Holding up his hands to fob off with the offered pot Aang has the gall to say: "Actually, I can't right now."

Immediately Katara and Hua get annoyed looks on their face and Jaiyi stops to play with the butterflies to judge Aang too.

"Why? Is this simple task beneath the great Avatar.", mocks Hua with crossed arms.

"If you wanna know Hua, I promised the girls I'd give them a ride on Appa.", he huffs at her before he turns excited to Katara. "Why don't you come with us, Katara? It'll be fun!"

"What about Hua?"

"Katara, I don't want to come along.", makes Hua clear.

Watching Aang be treated like some kind of deity was not her definition of fun.

Neither was it Katara's.

"Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun, even if Hua would tag along.", tells Katara drier than a desert.

"Well, neither does carrying your baskets.", rebukes the Avatar.

"It's not my baskets. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon."

"I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet.", whines Aang. "I can't put my finger on it but there's something I really like about this place."

Out of nowhere one of Aang's little fangirls calls out: "What's taking you so long, Aangy?"

Aang, Hua and Katara turn around to face them; the former enthusiastically waves back at his awaiting fangirls, while the girls raise an eyebrow at the scene.

From Jaiyi comes a disapproving growl.

"Aangy ...", repeat mockingly the two girls of Team Avatar-Daimon together.

"Just a second, Koko!", calls Aang back to his fangirl.

""Simple monk", huh?", chorus Katara and Hua together again, crossing their arms, while Jaiyi makes an agreeing sound.

"I thought you promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head.", reminds him Katara.

"It didn't. You know what I think? You just don't want to come because you're jealous.", accuses Aang.

Okay, that was enough in Hua's eyes.

No one would accuse her best friend, because that's what Katara was, of untrue things before her.

"Oh for the love of the Spirits, no one is jealous of you!", shouts Hua, pointing a finger at Aang. "We are just annoyed! Simple monk, my behind, you act like the spirit’s gift to womanhood it's annoying as hell. Just for your information oh great Avatar, they only kiss the ground you walk on because you were once the great Kyoshi. You, right now, have to still earn this admiration. Get your stupid head out of the clouds!"

Dramatically Hua grips Katara's hands and takes a pot. The older girl managed somehow to pick up the other two and together with Jaiyi, they walked away from Aang.

The Avatar just blinks dumbfound, lost for words.

Hua really led on the smack on him this time. 

He...he really doesn't know what to think right now.

That's when his fangirls run up to him and drag him with them.

Ah, whatever, he doesn't care for Hua's opinion.

***

A while later Hua is training the airbending kata's Aang showed her, in the hope of finally getting it.

"What do you mean, Jaiyi? I'm getting close?", she asks her kyuubi.

Jaiyi barks.

Hua gets what she means.

"I know, I still suck.", groans Hua and crosses her arms. "If Aang wasn't thinking with his little head, he should teach and advise me. Stupid idiot."

The kyuubi whines in question.

"Why should I be jealous? The people treat me here with respect too."

Again a whine.

"Now, you are ridiculous! Also, I was protecting Katara's honour. Her jealousy because of Aang's little fan club is a stupid fantasy of his because of his crush on her."

The ninetails yip, which makes Hua blush.

"Okay, maybe I have a tiny crush on Katara. Who wouldn't? She is amazing and so pretty, but I know, other than Aang, that I never will have a chance. I'm happy with our friendship."

Jaiyi waves her tails around and tilts her head.

"Aww, don't look at me like that.", grumbles Hua and starts her kata's again.

This whole day was turning out to be a headache.

Maybe she pissed off the spirits in one of her past lives because she hears shouting and screaming and the unmistakable smell of burning wood in the air.

"Oh no!", she shouts, Jaiyi springing over her. "How much you gonna bet, that's Prince Zuko and his pose?"

In answer Jaiyi turns into her riding form, so Hua can mount her.

Fast they race back to the village, which is burning, thanks to the firebenders.

Hua sends as many rocks as she can at them before she finds Katara.

"There you are!", shouts Katara glad.

The Daimon jumps down from her kyuubi and embraces her friend.

"Aang, is getting Appa. We need to leave Kyoshi.", explains the older girl.

In understanding Hua nods.

Zuko would leave Kyoshi alone to follow them, it was the best way.

A few seconds later Aang appears with Appa and Momo and the girl and Jaiyi get up on the saddle.

Sokka reaches them too and they are ready to blast off.

As they fly higher and higher in the sky they can see, how the firebenders are retreating.

"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing.", tries Katara to lift up a solemn Aang. "Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed. They're going to be okay, Aang."

Unexpected Aang let himself fall from Appa's head, which made all shout out in surprise. 

They watch how the water bubbles and suddenly Unagi shoots out of the water with Aang on top of his head, holding his whiskers. 

After swaying about a few times, he sturdies himself atop Unagi's head and pulls the creature's barbels. 

Unagi opens its mouth wide and begins gushing water which rains over the town. 

The house gets saved by the water, while Zuko and his men mounted on the rhinos are completely drenched.

The prince looks humiliated and his men look surprised. 

Unagi ceases to gush water and launches Aang into the air, who is subsequently caught by an overflying Appa.

As the Avatar climbs back on the saddle he says sheepishly: "I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous."

"Yes, it was.", agreed Katara, before she embraced him, glad that he was okay.

Aang is of course in heaven and blushes up a storm.

The Daimon only rolls her eyes at the Avatar as she finally notes, what Sokka is wearing.

"Hey Sokka."

"Yes, Hua?"

"You rock the Kyoshi robes."

This flatters the older boy.

He blushes and playful shoves her away.

Hua grins, feeling lighter in her heart.

Kyoshi was an experience, hopefully, Aang learned his lesson.

Previous

Next

Yin and Yang: Book 1.02

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.02: The Avatar and Daimon return

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

Jaiyi made a yipping sound as she entered the village of the Southern Water Tribe with her passengers.

Already the members of it were waiting for the return of Hua, Aang and Katara.

“Yay! Aang's back!”

The children ran up overjoyed to them as they all climbed down from the nine-tailed fox back, however, the adults wore more stern and offended expressions.

What Katara had told Hua on their way back to the village seemed to ring true. 

How the waterbender and Aang had entered the forbidden Fire Nation ship and set off some flare.

It was still lighting up the sky behind them.

Angry Sokka made his way over to them.

“I knew it!”, he shouts pointing an accusing finger at Aang. “You signalled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?”

“Aang didn't do anything! It was an accident.”, protested Katara just as angry on behalf of her new friend.

“Yeah. We were on the ship and there was this booby trap, and, well we booby-ed right into it.”, admitted the airbender sheepish.

Now Sokka turns his anger to Hua and Jaiyi.

“What have you to say to your defence?! Weren’t you with them?! As someone from the Earth Kingdom, you should have stopped them!”

“Jaiyi and I just picked them up after the mess was done.”, explained Hua, raising her hands in defence, while her Kyuubi growled in warning. “We couldn’t do anything anymore.”

The watertribe boy just huffs, seemingly not caring how she wasn’t even on the ship to stop the mess.

Kanna aka. Gran-Gran joins them with a disappointed look in her granddaughter's direction: “Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship! Now we could all be in danger!”

“Don't blame Katara.”, begs Aang sorrowfully. “I brought her there. It's my fault.”

“Aha! The traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy.”, commands Sokka and the children walk away sad.

“The foreigners are banished from our village.”

Hua blinks, then makes an offended face. “What did I do?!”

Jaiyi growls in agreement.

“You came with him and didn’t keep an eye on him, you are at fault here too.”, explains Sokka simply.

“I’m NOT his babysitter! We aren’t even friends just…traveling companions!”

Irritably, Katara clenched her fists. “Sokka, you're making a mistake.”

“No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad.”, rebucks Sokka, pointing at Aang and Hua. “I’m protecting you, from threats like them!”

“Aang and Hua are not our enemies! Don't you see? Aang's brought us something we haven't had in a long time: fun. And Hua didn’t even do anything. She was on a stroll with Jaiyi when Aang and me were on the ship.”

“Fun?!”, gasp Sokka offended. “We can't fight firebenders with fun!”

“You should try it sometime.” chimes in Aang optimistically.

For that Hua hits with her elbow the side of his stomach and Jaiyi hits him over the head with one of her tails.

“Not making the situation better!”, hisses the earthbender quietly, as Aang looks offended from her to Jaiyi.

“Get out of our village! Now!”, orders them Sokka.

“Grandmother, please.”, pleads Katara. “Don't let Sokka do this!”

“Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden. Sokka is right. I think it best if the airbender and earthbender leave.”

“Fine! Then I'm banished, too!”, proclaims Katara, she takes Hua and Aang's arms and drags them with her towards Appa. Jaiyi follows behind them. “Come on Aang, Hua let's go.”

Naturally, Sokka wants to know where Katara thinks she is going with them. The waterbender tells him how Aang will take her to a waterbender master, to the North Pole. 

Aang seems happy about it, while Hua mumbles: “Okay, no one asked my opinion, but whatever. Having another girl with us sounds good.”

Rightfully the water tribe boy asks his sister if she really would choose two strangers over them, over their tribe.

This makes Katara stop in her steps, unsure.

“Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family.”, tells her Aang.

“Stay with them, if you came with us, you only would get headaches from stopping Aang and me from strangling each other.”, adds Hua in an attempt to make the choice lighter for Katara. “If I could…I would still choose my family over anything. Don’t waste your time with them for us.”

The brunette girl looks with tears in her eyes in the equal tear-filled eyes of Hua.

How can she be so dismissive of her family, when Hua just realized how she never again would see her own? 

Katara bet Hua would give anything to be together with her family one last time.

“So, you're leaving the South Pole?”, sniffs Katara. “This is goodbye?”

Hua embraces Katara tightly and Jaiyi noses the waterbender cheek.

“Thanks for comforting me about my family. It meant a lot to me. You will always be my friend, Katara.”

Katara hugs her back just as tightly, and then the girls step away from each other, as Jaiyi joins her human side.

“Thanks for penguin sledding with me.”, thanks also Aang.

“Where will you go?”, ask Katara her two friends.

At the same time, Aang and Hua look at each other, seeming to talk wordlessly through their eyes. As much as they butt heads, no one can dismiss the fact of how attuned they are to the other.

It’s kinda funny in a sad way.

“I would join Aang and go back to the Southern Airtemple, I had people that I loved there too, then I will go to Ba Sing Se…looking if something remained from my family. Even just finding their graves.”

“You don’t have to do this alone.”, tells her Aang in compassion. “I will go with you to Ba Sing Se after we are at the Southern Airtemple.”

“Careful, people will think we are friends.”, jokes Hua halfheartedly.

Aang shakes his head and adminds. “I liked your parents, they were nice and Bai was a sweet little boy. It was fun to play with him.”

That’s when Hua realizes how Aang grieves for her parents, how she grieves for Monk Gyatsu. 

They may not like each other but have liked the family/guardian of the other just fine.

It was their right to grieve them too.

So she just nods in agreement.

Katara looks sadly on, how Jaiyi shrinks down to her fox cube size and gets picked up by Hua. She earthbends them up to Appa's saddle, while Aang jumps on his bison's head.

“Wait, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that.”, remembers Aang suddenly which makes Hua snort.

“I think we have bigger problems.”, she reminds him and then turns to the people of the Southern Water Tribe. “Thanks for your hospitality, I’m sorry we caused such problems for you.”

“It was nice meeting everyone.”, adds Aang defeated.

With a smug look, Sokka crosses his arms mocking: “Let's see your bison fly now, air boy.”

“Come on Appa, you can do it. Yip-yip!”

Aang flicks the reins, but Appa merely rises and growls.

“Yeah, I thought so!”

A little girl runs up to them telling Aang how she will miss him, Aang admins he will miss them too and as if they agreed on Aang and Hua look sadly back at Katara, who looks just as devastated at them, her hair loopies swaying in the wind.

Appa turns and plods away, disappearing over the hill.

Hua waits a few minutes before she begins: “Aang, we need to talk.”

“About what?”, asks the airbender solemnly.

“After we go to the Southern Air Temple and Ba Sing Se, we need to go to the North Pole. It’s time we start learning waterbending.”

Surprised Aang turned around, seeing how determined Hua looked.

“What? Why should we do that, we agreed to not be them.”

The girl snorts and tears start to fall from her eyes, which makes Aang's chest squeeze uncomfortable.

Hua wasn’t a crier, but today she cried more than he had ever seen her do.

It felt wrong.

“Aang, we were selfish brats, who ran away from their responsibility .”, states Hua, while Jaiyi licks her tears away in comfort. “And look what happened. The airbenders are gone!-”

“-Just because they haven’t seen an airbender in 100, doesn’t mean that my people are gone-!”

“-Aang that’s a possibility we have to face. If there are still airbenders left, then none will be people, we know. Gyatsu is for sure death!”

This made Aang twitch like he was hit and rubbed his wet eyes.

“I know, you don’t need to tell me!”, he cried out. “I ran away because the elders wanted to take me away from Gyatsu and now I will never see him again.”

“And I will never see my parents and Bai again, because we didn’t want to accept our destinies!”, shouts Hua. “Look what mess we caused, the world is at war, and innocent people die! Maybe a whole Nation died because we didn’t want to be the Avatar and Daimon and be dumb kids! The least we can do is to fix this mess, meaning we need to learn all elements and then deal with the Fire Nation!”

Aang sniffles loudly, rubbing his eyes harder.

“I know, I know you are right, this is our fault, isn’t it…but do you think it will be that easy? We learn the elements and then ask the Fire Lord to stop the war?”

“We have to accept the possibility that we may have to end the war more drastically.”, started Hua slowly.

She knows how Aang, who grew up with the airbender philosophy about how all life is sacred will react to this possibility.

“What do you mean, Hua?”

“I mean…it’s possible we need to kill the Fire Lord, if he doesn’t see reason.”

As she expected, Aang gasped in outrage and angrily waved his hand around.

“This goes against all the teaching of the air nomads, all life is sacred! I won’t kill someone only because he disagrees with me!”

“Some people can’t be reason with and we have to think about this possibility.”, she argues back. “If you can’t do it, I will kill him. That’s why there are two of us in the world…so someone can make the hard decisions.”

It’s still between them for a few seconds, grey frustrated eyes look into green determined eyes.

Then Aang said quietly: “You really would do it, wouldn’t you? You would take a human life to end this war.”

“I would take 1000 lives if this is the price for peace.”

“What kind of peace is that, what about your soul?!”

Now a bitter little smirk formed on Hua rose lips.

“You forget, Avatar, light and order, I’m the Daimon, I’m darkness and chaos, it’s in my nature. Also…I can’t kill the Fire Lord responsible for this war, so I will take it up with the current one if he doesn’t see reason.”

“So that’s it!”, points Aang an accusing finger at her. “You want revenge! You want to feel better about that we left the world alone when it needed us!”

“So what if I want revenge too?! Monk Gyatso was dear to me and I’m technically a quarter Airbender, I was airbenders in my past lives, and I want some kind of retribution for the killing of the Air Nomads.”, shouts Hua back.

Couldn’t Aang not understand her point? Didn’t he feel the same?!

“Hua we can’t just kill people because we are the Avatar and Daimon! We can’t abuse this positions.”, reminds her Aang frustrated.

He doesn’t get why Hua was now on such a warpath. She must feel so guilty to have run away and then be frozen in the iceberg.

“Spirits, you are so ensnared in your air nomad philosophy, that you can’t even see that there might be not a peaceful ending to this war. It’s going on for 100 years. A 100 YEARS! There is a lot of hate on all sides, people want retribution for the pain the Fire Nation caused. I don’t see a way how we can fix this mess without some bloodshed.”

“There is ALWAYS another way, we just have to find it!”, rebukes Aang back. “We should calm down and look at what we can do right now. As you said we have to learn the elements, but Hua your next element is fire, where do we find a fire bender for you?”

The Daimon takes a deep breath to calm down. For now, she would let it be, but she knows Aang and her have to revisit this discussion again.

“We will skip fire for now.”, tells Hua. “After fire, air is my next element, so while we travel to the North Pole you teach my air bending and then there we learn together waterbending. Then I teach you what I know of earthbending and find a master who will teach us both. And then we pray to the spirits that there is somewhere a nice firebender, who will help us.”

Aang is quiet for a second before he says: “Is this really wise to just skip an element? The monks told us that we need to follow the Avatar and Diamon cycles.”

“You forget that I’m natural chaos, the monks themselves said the Daimon should follow their cycle, but they aren’t as bonded to it as the Avatar. I think the universe will forgive me if we skip fire and learn the elements where we surely find teachers. When it’s your turn to learn fire, we can go crazy.”

“It’s not like we have a choice.”, agrees Aang. They just have to hope for the best, that Hua's plan works. “So Southern Air Temple, then Ba Sing Se and then the North Pole?”

“You got it.”

“Can’t wait, how the whole world will react when we announce we are back.”, mubles Aang looking at the horizon, like it has the answer he seeks.

“I hope there will be cake.”, jokes Hua half-heartily.

This makes Aang's smile bittersweet. “Remember how Bumi always said the cake is a lie?”

“Of course. I wonder what happened to him and to Kuzon. Do you think Kuzon participated in the Fire Nation War?”

“Kuzon wouldn’t betray us…hey maybe he rebelled, hid somewhere, had kids and this are good firebenders who could teach us!”

“One can only hope.”

After that, they both fall silent. Each lost in their thoughts.

Appa grumbles gently like he wants to comfort both humans, as Jaiyi starts to growl.

“Huh, girl, what is it?”, ask Hua confused.

It’s Aang who answers her. “Look, Hua! A Fire Nation Ship! It goin' to the village!”

“We need to help them!”

The Avatar and Daimon tell their animal companions to wait for them and make fast their way back to the village.

***

Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation ignores the pathetic state of the Southern Water Tribe, as he ignores and defeats the Buffon water peasant who tried to attack him and looks at the blue-clothed people.

“Where are you hiding them?”, he growls angrily.

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.

“They'll be about this age, masters of all elements?”

Forcefully he shoves Kanna back into the crowd. 

The elderly woman shudders in fear and embraces Katara, while Katara shoots an angry glare at Zuko. 

Receiving no response, the banished prince 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 them!”

Seeing that the firebender is not paying attention Sokka grabs his club again and lets out a battle cry as he charges towards him. 

However, Zuko swiftly turns around just as Sokka approaches. 

He ducks under Sokka's wide swing and hurls the warrior forward. 

Sokka lands on his rear 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. 

The banished prince 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!”

Sokka handily catches the weapon and charges at Zuko once more. Sadly Zuko breaks of pieces of 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. The water tribe boy falls to the ground as Zuko snaps the spear in two and tosses the pieces to the ground on both of his sides. 

Unnoticed by Zuko, Sokka's boomerang is spinning towards him. 

The weapon strikes Zuko on the back of his helmet with a loud cling; he is momentarily pushed forward by the unexpected blow. 

Pissed off Zuko rearranges his helmet and growls at Sokka. The boomerang has plummeted into the ground in front of Sokka's feet. 

Two fire daggers form from Zuko's hands, ready to teach the water peasant a lesson.

That’s when Aang and Hua, on the backs of penguins, slide back into the village.

They aim for the Fire Nation prince's legs and Aang takes his feet out from underneath him, tossing Zuko off his feet; speeding past, Aang and Hua soar into the air as the prince lands on his face, his legs in the air. 

Zuko spins around a few times before coming to a halt in front of his men, his helmet landing on his rear as they watch.

The villagers cheer, as Aang and Hua ride speedily toward them, still mounted on the penguins. 

They are showered in snow as Aang and Hua ride past, however, after giving each other silent, unamused looks for a few seconds, they begin cheering once again, shaking the snow off. 

Aang and Hua come to a halt before Katara, Kanna and Sokka. 

The penguin crawls out from under him, tossing him off. 

He falls on his rear, blinking stupidly, then smiles at the penguin when the animal quacks at him before waddling away.

Hua gently gets up from her penguin, who follows his friend, while the girl waves them goodbye.

“Thanks for the ride guys.”

“Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka.”, greets Aang.

“Hi, Aang. Hi Hua. Thanks for coming.”, greets Sokka back moodily.

The Avatar and Daimon look back at the Fire Nation soldiers, where Zuko just got back on his feet again. 

Upon his signal, his men spread out, surrounding Aang and Hua while Zuko assumes a fighting stance. 

They follow suit, Aang holding his staff firmly in front of him as Hua get into her preferred bending stance.

Aang sweeps the ground side-to-side with his staff, showering the men with snow, and then Hua makes a punching forward move. Little earth columns appear under the feet of the firebender and make them all fall on the ground. 

Prince Zuko is the first who regains his footing and looks angrily at these two kids.

“Looking for us?”, asks Aang rhetorically.

“Sorry for being late, if we had known you needed a beating, we would have been here sooner.”, sasses Hua with a smirk.

“You're the airbender? You're the Avatar? And you are the Daimon?”, exclaims Zuko shocked.

Not only he is shocked, but the whole village is and the Avatar-Daimon duo can hear how in disbelief Katara and Sokka are.

Slowly Aang, Hua and Zuko move in a circle motion around, ready for their enemy's attack.

“I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating. You're just children!”, growls Zuko offended. 

Now it’s Aang who sasses back: “Well, you're just a teenager.”

Hua nods in agreement.

Zuko launches a series of fire blasts at Aang in anger at the remark, who defends himself by twirling his staff, dissipating the flames. 

The Daimon raises her hands and makes the ground shake. Anyone has trouble staying on their feet, but Zuko is determined and just sends a huge fire blast in her direction, Aang can twirl it back with his staff again, however, both Avatar and Daimon see how the attack nearly reached the villager.

No, they can’t fight like that with civilians near them.

They could get hurt.

So Hua raises her hands in peace, while Aang holds his staff in front of him as an offer, making sure Zuko understands that they do not wish to continue fighting. 

“If we go with you will you promise to leave everyone alone?”, offers Aang the Fire Nation prince this deal.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Zuko nods in agreement. 

Hua and Aang are apprehended by Zuko's men, who take his staff. 

Katara runs forward as they lead the two kids away.

“No! Aang, Hua, don't do this!”

“Don't worry, Katara. It'll be okay.”, reassures Hua calmly, as she and Aang get shoved into the ship. “Please take care of Jaiyi and Appa, till we return.”

“Head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home.”, proclaims Zuko as the bow rises and closes.

A while later Hua and Aang have their hands bonded behind their backs, as they stand with Zuko and his man on deck.

“This staff will make an excellent gift for my father.”, musses Zuko, inspecting Aang staff. “I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks. Maybe the Daimon knows. Some said you had a family, before living with the monks.”

The blackhaired girl just gives him an icy glare.

Zuko commands his man to bring the Avatar and Daimon to their prison cell, then turns to his uncle giving him the staff, and asking him to bring it into his quarters.

Slyl Iroh hands the staff to another firebender, who accepts the request.

The Avatar and Daimon get roughly shoved down into the ship, while Aang tries to see in which direction they take his staff.

As they reach the prison cells Aang casually says to their guards: “So, I guess you've never fought an airbender before. I bet I can take you both with my hands tied behind my back.”

Hua makes herself ready to give Aang space to get them a chance to escape.

As the guard in front of them begins to unlock the cell,  Hua turns fast her back to Aang and they grip each other hands tightly.

Then Aang inhales deeply and unleashes a powerful breath, stunning all of them. 

The firebender before Aang slams into the door subsequently knocked out from the impact. Hua and Aang are sent several feet back, the girl slamming with her feet to the guard behind them.

They all fly back even further, where they crash into the stairs. 

This soldier is also knocked out by the impact, while Hua lifts her legs up as Aang propels them onto the deck and then kicks open a door using airbending. 

They let go of each other and quickly ran down the hallway, panting heavily. He tosses a frightened look over his shoulder, afraid that they are being followed. 

“Aang stop for a second we need to get this bonds of us.”, reminds him, Hua.

“Do you have a knife with you or what?”

“...”

“You really have a knife? Why?!”

“No time for explanation, it’s in my left boot, can you reach it?”

Of course, this is not a problem for a nimble Airbender and soon they are free from their bonds.

“Okay, now let’s get my staff!”

They start running again and encounter several firebenders, however, Aang easily airbends them away now that his hands are free.

Soon they reach a hallway with doors and each of them opens one.

“No glider here Aang.”

Surprisingly she hears him whispering a sorry.

Confused Hua titles her head, but Aang already opens the next door.

“My glider!”, he exclaims happily and enters.

Before Hua can follow him, the door closes and she hears Zuko.

Uh-Oh.

Aang is now trapped with Zuko in the room!

She needs to help, but how without earth around her?!

“Hua!”, yells Aang from inside the room. “Get on deck, I will find a way!”

Realizing that she probably would be a hindrance for Aang she yells back. “You better! See you on the other side!”

Fast Hua runs hallways and stair up till she reaches the deck.

Dumbfounded a few firebenders stare at her in confusion and she back.

“He, he, aren’t the Souther Lights lovely?”, she blabs nervous.

You can practically her crickets chirp, before the firebenders attack her.

Since there is still no earth around her, Hua can only run away and dodge and pray Aang will turn up soon to help her.

Her prayers are answered as Aang crashes with Zuko as a passenger on her deck.

This makes all halt.

Aang and Zuko slowly get up, ready to fight each other, however, they don’t have to as a loud growl catches their attention.

“What is that?”, ask Zuko shocked seeing the flying bison.

Even more when suddenly a Kyuubi jumps from the saddle to the deck and swishes with his nine-tails his man over the deck.

“Awesome Jaiyi!”, cheers Hua for her beloved nine-tails and runs up to her.

Jaiyi grips Hua by her collar and with strength and precise hurls her to Appa's saddle.

The girl lands with a thud beside Sokka.

“Welcome back, I hope you enjoyed your flight.”, jokes Sokka.

“It was something.”, she laughs nervously and leans over the saddle. “Jaiyi, get Aang!”

The Kyuubi doesn’t need to be told twice and wants to reach the boy as more firebenders burst from the lower deck, attacking the mythical being.

Now she has to defeat herself, while Aang faces off with Zuko.

Aang turns around to  Zuko and manages to deflect a firebending attack by spinning his glider around like a baton. However, he propels himself by accident into the air and lands on the ledge of the deck. He leans precariously over the side, unsteadily balancing himself, but manages to regain his balance only for Zuko to fire another blast at him. 

The Avatar twirls his glider again to deflect the attack. Two more blasts are fired his way before he loses his grip on his glider and the object spins away. 

The staff falls several feet away. 

Aang ducks, spins and leaps out of the way of blasts and lands on the very ledge, struggling to keep his balance. 

Zuko hurls more fire blasts his way. 

Aang holds up his hands in defence, but the last blast seemingly knocks him out cold and he falls backwards off the ship into the water, where he slowly sinks. 

Katara screams for him and Hua is right with her, while poor Jaiyi whines as she avoids more fire blasts her way.

Suddenly the ship is being overshadowed by a waterspout. Riding it is Aang, his eyes in a white glow as his tattoos.

Aang lands on the deck beside Jaiyi, summoning the water behind him as he brings his hands around behind his head. 

The water swirls around them, forming a protective circle, before spreading outward, knocking Zuko and several soldiers off their feet.

“Did you see what he just did?!”, shouts Katara shocked.

“Now that was some waterbending!”, confirms Sokka.

“That’s the Avatar State for you, guys.”, adds Hua impressed.

The Airbender collapses onto the ground from exhaustion, his eyes and tattoos ceasing to glow. 

Jaiyi whines and licks his cheek to wake him up as Appa growls and lands on the deck. 

Katara, Hua and Sokka slide down and quickly run toward the unconscious Avatar and Kyuubi.

“Aang! Are you okay?”, asked him Katara worried.

Hua embraces her Kyuubi, which shifts back into her fox cub form, letting out a cute yawn.

“You did good, girl.”, praises Hua, giving her head a kiss. “Now relax.”

“Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Thanks for coming.”, mumbles Aang outpowerd to them.

“Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory.”, musses Sokka.

“I dropped my staff.”

“Got it!”

Sokka runs over, grabs a hold of the glider and lifts it only to see Zuko's hand firmly gripping the other end. 

The water tribe boy appears horrified as Zuko attempts to pull himself upward onto the deck. 

The two struggle for a bit before Sokka pokes Zuko repeatedly in the head with the end of the staff the way Zuko did earlier with him. 

Zuko grunts and falls backwards as he lets go of the staff. He falls off the side of the ship, but manages to grasp the anchor chain.

“Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!”, shouts Sokka in triumph.

Katara and Hua got Aang on Appa's head and Jaiyi on the saddle.

Right, as Hua climbs the Bison they get approached by fire benders.

She may freeze Sokka's legs on her first try, but Katara manages to stop the incoming firebenders.

Hua helps her up into the saddle, as the girls yell for Sokka to hurry up.

He is chipping away the ice with his boomerang and retorts that he is just a guy with a boomerang and didn’t ask for flying and magic.  He manages to break free and races up Appa's tail.

“Yip-yip! Yip-yip!”

Sokka mounts Appa, who grunts and takes flight, flying past the cabin of the ship. 

Iroh emerges on deck, having just woken up from a nap. He looks very confused after them.

As they try to flee Zuko, who was brought back by his uncle on deck, commands his men to shoot them down.

Together, they synchronize a firebending move and fire a powerful blast at the bison. 

Hua, Sokka and Katara stare at the incoming attack in horror, Jaiyi yips in fright, while Aang leaps onto the saddle. 

He opens the small tail wing of his staff and swings his glider around, using a powerful swipe of air to redirect the fireball into a nearby cliffside. 

The impact causes an avalanche of snow and ice to begin falling. The front of the ship becomes buried in a mass of snow and ice, while Appa climbs higher and higher. 

The quartet and the Kyuubi all laugh as they escape successfully. 

Aang even waves goodbye as Appa disappears around the cliff.

For now, they are safe from the firebender.

***

The sun is beginning to set as Appa soars lazily in the sky. Aang is perched on the rim of the saddle, while Sokka, Katara and Hua sit at the back of it. Jaiyi is in her favourite spot, Hua lap.

“How did you do that?! With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!”, ask Katara Aang bewildered.

“I don't know. I just sort of ... did it.”

“Why didn't any one of you tell us you were the Avatar and the Daimon?”, wants Katara to know.

She gives Hua and Aang a serious look.

The blackhaired girl signs, answering for them. “Neither Aang nor I wanted this destiny, this duty. We just wanted to be stupid kids. We didn’t realise, that it would have such an impact on the world. We were selfish brats.”

Hua frowns, while Aang nods in agreement.

“But Hua, Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar and the Daimon to return and finally put an end to this war.”, explains Katara.

“We talked about this earlier.”, tells Aang. “We were planning on going to the North Pole to find a master to teach us.”

“Isn’t the next element fire in the Daimon Cyle?”

“Yeah I don’t think we will find that fast a nice firebender who will teach me.”, reminds Hua. “The monks told me the Daimon is chaotic in nature, so we just hope I can skip this element for now and learn airbending from Aang, till we reach the North Pole for water. We will follow the Avatar Cycle.”

“So first master water, then earth, then fire, right?”

“Right on Katara.”

“Since we are going to the North Pole, you can learn with us Katara!”, uttered Aang happily.

That would be sure fun!

Katara smiles brightly, which makes both Aang and Hua blush, as she turns to her brother cheekily: “And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way.”

“I'd like that.”, mussed the older boy contends. “I'd really like that.”

“Then we're in this together!”

“All for one, and one for all!”, cheers Hua jokigly, while Jaiyi yips happy.

Smiling Aang sits down on the saddle and gets a map out.

“All right, but before we learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to. Here, here and here. ”

Curious Katara points at one location on the map: “What's there?”

“Here, we'll ride the hopping llamas.”, informs Aang, while the other three humans get surprised looks on their faces as he continues. “Then waaay over here, we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here, we'll ride the hog monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!”

For that Hua drills her pointer finger in his side and sneers: “Hey, don’t forget you have to start to teach me airbending with all these activities you have planned. I was so useless on the ship if I could airbend I would be a better help. Air is everywhere.”

“I will, I will, don’t worry.”, moans Aang, shoving her hand away. “Way to ruin someone's fun, Hua.”

“With fun, we won’t win this war Mr. Avatar.”

“Geez, you sound like Sokka, Miss Diamon.”

“Because I don’t forget that we have a big world problem to solve?! You need to take things more seriously.”

“And you need to light up more!”

The Avatar and Daimon start to bicker with each other, which just earns them unamused looks from the water tribe siblings and Jaiyi.

“Now I get what Hua meant, that if I go with them I would get headaches.”, mumbles Katara with a deadpan to her brother.

“Man, they are worse than a married couple.”, mumbles Sokka back to her.

“Don’t you know? The Avatar and the Daimon are Yin and Yang personified. Two halves of the same coin. They are soul mates and were in many of their lives a couple.”

“This two, a couple?”, says Sokka, pointing at the two kids who are arguing now about what food they should eat (how did they get there?). “Yeah, right, and the moon is in reality a beautiful and gentle lady.”

The boy laughs at his own joke, while his sister rolls her eyes.

This is going to be a loooonnnnnggggg journey with these three.

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Yin and Yang: Prologue

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Prologue

In the beginning, they were two spirits.

One of light and order.

The other of darkness and chaos.

Raava and Vaatu.

Looked into eternal combat.

Never a winner, only a short victory over the other.

No one, not even themselves, could imagine to exist in harmony together.

Then one day two humans touched the spirit's very essence.

A young man named Wan earned Raava's trust and loyalty, while a young woman named Qi saw more than evil in Vaatu, showing him kindness and compassion.

The Spirits fused with their chosen human, creating the first Avatar and Daimon.

Wan and Qi worked all their life to restore balance in the world.

They were Yin and Yang personified. 

When one pulled, the other pushed.

When one walked, the other followed.

When one lost their way, the other found them.

It was so simple to fall in love with each other.

The love born between Wan and Qi changed also the ancient spirits in them.

Something which seemed so impossible had come true.

No longer enemies, but allies, even friends.

In every lifetime after Wan and Qi, the Avatar and the Daimon were always the opposite of each other and often also lovers.

Each Avatar and Daimon together tried to bring balance between the Four Nations and the Spirit World.

It was their eternal quest, but they didn’t have to walk this way alone.

Because their other half would always be with them…

Frowning Aang looked at his mentor and guardian Monk Gyatso.

“What is it Aang?”, the elder man asked his young charge. “I know you aren’t happy with being the Avatar, but I hoped that you would feel better to know that there is another one like you. Someone who will understand you.”

Aang just frowned deeper, crossing his arms.

“I don’t like that I already have a supposed Soul Mate…It seems like I don’t have any control anymore over my life…It sucks being the Avatar.”

Gyatso tutted him gently, rubbing affectionately his bald head with the blue arrow.

“Oh my young pupil, it may be true that nearly all Avatars and Daimons were a couple, but there were a few who were just friends and completely happy with other people. You can decide if you like young Daimon Hua this way. Meet her and become her friend, more the Elders doesn’t want from you.”

The young Avatar nearly snorted at this. 

Yeah, right.

If it would go after the Elders he and the Daimon would be wed now.

At twelve years!

His childhood couldn’t end sooner for the Air Nomad elders.

He felt like crying.

He just wanted to play with his friends and goof off with Gyatso.

Was that too much?

Why did he have to be the Avatar?

“So her name is Hua, huh?”, he mumbled loudly enough, so his mentor could hear him. “Flower for an Earth Kingdom girl seems fitting. She is an Earthbender right?”

“Right, the Daimon Cyle is the opposite of the Avatar’s. Together you two will learn the four elements to become a fully realized Avatar and Daimon.”

The boy signed loudly and slouched down in his seat.

“I don’t think I will like someone who is my opposite, I mean, she probably doesn’t like to make jokes or play pranks.”

“Don’t be so sure Aang.”, said Gyatso amused. “You know opposites attract, but having things in common is good too. Just give her a chance, alright?”

***

In the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, the newly informed Daimon Hua hugs her mother, father and little brother tightly.

She wants to cry, to scream, to beg.

She wants to stay home.

She doesn’t want to be the Daimon.

All her life she and her family had struggled to make a living in Ba Sing Se.

Hua had used her Earthbending from a young age in any way to earn money for her family.

And now she would be stripped from them, brought before the Avatar of this era, and expected to work with him (even to fall in love with him!) and also to learn all the elements and somehow bring balance and peace to this world.

No, she doesn’t want to, but she knows it’s good for her family.

If in Ba Sing Se the Daimon or Avatar is born and comes from the Lower Rings their family then gets raised into the Upper Rings and becomes a noble family.

Something an Earth King some hundred years ago decided to make the city look good in the eyes of the other nations.

No peasant from Ba Sing Se should be a Daimon or Avatar. 

Yes, her family wouldn’t be anymore, hungry, cold or sick. They would be getting taken care of.

Only Hua had to pay with her freedom, with the power to decide her own faith.

It was unfair.

Why her?

She only ever wished for a simple good life.

She wasn’t greedy.

So why her?

Why her?

She kisses her brother's forehead, promising him to write as much as she can.

Somehow deep down Hua feels like this is the last time she will be with her family…

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days: a time of peace when the Avatar and the Daimon kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads. 

But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and the Daimon mastered all four elements; only they could stop the ruthless firebenders. 

But when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. 

Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. 

Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the Daimon was never reborn into the Earth Kingdom and the cycles are broken, but I haven't lost hope.

I still believe that, somehow, the Avatar and the Daimon will return to save the world.

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