The Start of a Great Adventure

-Maya's Point of View-

Aang and I were dragged to the inner part of the ship and we went to the ship's deck. Aang was placed in front of the scar-face, and I was placed behind him.

The scar-face jerk stole Aang's glider and examined it.

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father," he said.

"That's not even yours..." I mumbled.

He looked at me angrily and then he continued.

"I supposed you wouldn't know of fathers— being raised by monks," he said to Aang.

Okay, that's it. He's gone too far! His insensitive, jerk, abominable attitude is getting on my nerves and I can't take it anymore!

I took the chance to kick him on the thighs while everyone was busy focusing on Aang. He let out a huge growl filled with pain while kneeling on the ground.

"YOU COLD-BLOODED JERK!" I shouted at him.

His soldiers suddenly pinned me down to the floor.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Aang shouted.

That freaking hurt you bastards! I swear that I will perish you all, once I get out of this bind!

"You're a feisty one, and a loud one too," The scar-face said as he walked towards me. One of the soldiers raised my head and then the boy held onto my cheeks with his one hand.

"Remember, you are not my target, but you have something that I am curious about. Once I got what I want from you, I can easily dispose of you at any given moment," he said as he released fire out of his other hand while placing it near my face.

"NO!" Aang shouted once more.

"You better behave, little girl, before I throw you out to the sea and let you freeze to death!" he said and then he threw my face to the floor.

"Maya!" Aang shouted. "Don't you dare hurt her!" he yelled at the scarred boy's face.

"Take the Avatar to the prison hold, and take this staff and that girl to my quarters," he ordered. He gave the staff to an old man and then the old man passed it on to another soldier.

"Hey! You mind taking this to his quarters for me?" the old man said.

Two soldiers pushed Aang down to a bunker of the ship and we were both looking at each other, but it was stopped when he was already out of sight.

I was still down on the ground. I couldn't believe it! I was so afraid that my legs are still shaking up until now. The soldiers stood me up and held my arms.

They forced me to walk. We passed by some stairs, took some turns, and then we stopped in front of a metal door. They opened it and then they pushed me inside.

"Ugh!" I said as I fell to the room's floor. "These men don't know how to carefully handle a woman," I said as I stood up. I wasn't able to stand properly because my hands were still tied behind my back, good thing I managed.

When I got up, I looked around the room, and boy was it so hot in here! The only light sources were the candles, a small horizontal window on one wall of the room, and two red lights at the corners of the room.

There was also a big red tapestry of the fire nation symbol and the room was drenched in the color red.

The door suddenly closed behind me and I heard the voice of that scar face again. I looked back and behold, there he was, holding the door shut.

"So tell me... Where did you get the royal necklace?" He said as he held my mother's necklace in front of him.

"Why do you even want to know?! It's just a necklace!" I argued.

"This necklace is a sacred memoir of the royal family from the fire nation! You are not someone deserving to have possession of this. Where did you steal it?" he said as he pounded his fist against the wall.

"I didn't steal it! I swear! It was just given to me!" I said as I took a step back.

He started walking towards me, still with the necklace in his hands.

"Then who gave it to you? Tell me..." He questioned. I didn't want to tell him that it was from my mom. It will only complicate things even more! I don't even know how my mom got it! And he's telling me it's from the royal family of the fire nation?! I didn't even know that!

YOU SURE DID LEAVE A BIG THING HUH, MOM?

"I-I...." I was about to answer when suddenly a soldier barged inside his room.

"Prince Zuko! The Avatar has escaped!" the soldier said.

Wait a minute... PRINCE?! HE'S THE PRINCE OF THE FIRE NATION?! And what was that? It has only been minutes since Aang and I got separated and now he has escaped already? That was quick.

Zuko didn't say a word. He sighed and then he took Aang's glider and pushed me towards the soldier.

"Take these two down. Don't let the Avatar see them," he said, and then the soldier dragged me away.

I kept on looking at him and he also looked back. I saw that he left his door open and then he placed my necklace on top of a small wardrobe.

The soldier pushed me and then we went down the stairs.

A few minutes later we were back at the ship's deck and we were headed towards the bunker where they brought Aang.

Before we got to the bunker's entrance, I looked back at where we came from, and from up on the ship's bridge, I saw one of the windows glowing with orange light. It was going on and off. I figured that it could've been Aang fighting that Zuko prince.

I didn't want him to be the only one doing the fighting, so I looked back to where we were heading, I calculated the actions that I'm gonna do, and when the timing was right...

I ducked down, tripped the soldier who was holding me, and when he hit his face on the floor. I used his sharp helmet to cut the rope that was tying my hands.

I quickly ran towards Aang's glider and when I got it, I suddenly heard Aang's voice from up the ship's balcony.

I looked up and when I saw him, I yelled his name and threw the glider in the air. Aang jumped from the balcony and he flew, trying to catch the glider.

He was able to get it, but Zuko was just right behind him and he grabbed onto Aang's ankle, that's why they both went crashing down the ship's deck.

"Aang!" I shouted. I ran as fast as I could towards Aang who was slowly trying to get up when Zuko pulled my hair and locked his arm around my neck.

"Ah!" I screamed.

"Wait! No! Don't hurt her!" Aang said as soon as he got up.

"If you want her safe then you better behave young Avatar," Zuko said.

"No Aang! This is your chance! You have to fly back to the village!" I argued. I wasn't able to say anything more because Zuko gripped my neck tightly.

Zuko walked towards the edge of the ship.

"Surrender now Avatar! Or this girl meets death!" he said as he taunted to push me off the ship and into the waters.

"No... Aang... Go..." I tried so hard to say.

Just when Aang was about to speak. We heard a large growl from the sky and it was Appa! He's flying!

"What is that?" Zuko asked.

"Appa!" Aang exclaimed and then I felt Zuko's grip loosen a little bit so I took this opportunity to hit him in the face with my head and I got away from him.

But he was still able to catch me because I was slow enough to run away. He held me by the elbow and I tried to fight back.

Even though I wasn't born a bender, my mom still taught me hand-to-hand combat techniques, so I learned a few.

I grabbed his arm that was holding me, twisted it, and then I made him kneel on the floor. I was so caught in the moment that I underestimated my strength and the strength of a well-trained fire bender.

"Even if you're a Prince, you would still have to bow down sometimes..." I teased.

"Yeah, but I will never bow to the ones like you!" he said and then he pulled my arm and threw me off the ship.

"Ah! Gack! Ack! Help! Aang!" I said as I tried to swim above the water. I don't know how to swim! Help! Somebody! I'm drowning!

"Maya!" I heard Aang's voice.

I tried shouting back his name but the water was so cold and its as if I was being pulled down.

I tried my best to stay above water but I couldn't move. My clothes became heavier when they got wet and it made me sink even deeper.

I reached out my hand to where the light was but I was already far away from the surface and I felt my consciousness drift away from me.

Is this it? Will I die here? I thought to myself...

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-Aang's Point of View-

This fire bender pushed Maya off of the ship, and I couldn't believe I just stood there.

I'm still not getting any of this! Why is the fire nation attacking the water tribes? And why does he want to bring me to the fire nation?

I tried jumping towards the water to save Maya but he stopped me.

"You're not going anywhere. You're playing with me!" he said and then he started shooting fireballs at me.

I tried evading them and blocking them with the use of my glider but it slipped out of my hands and fell somewhere on the ship's deck.

His fires were continuous and without my glider, I wasn't able to block them. All I could do was to dodge but then I was out of options when I was pushed to the edge of the ship.

He shot his fire again and this time, without any glider to block it with, I closed my eyes and used my arms instead, and the fire hit me.

I fell to the sea and I started losing consciousness. All I could hear was Katara's voice calling out my name.

"Aang! Aang! Aang!"

It kept on repeating and repeating until I suddenly opened my eyes.

But what is this? My body is moving but I am not in control of it.

I can see what I was doing but I don't feel myself doing it. As if there was someone else who was in control of me.

I saw Maya from beneath the water and my body water bent her out. I water bent out of the ocean too.

What is this? I can water bend now? How am I doing this?

I created a swirl of water that brought me up in the air. Then after that, I carefully landed down on the ship's deck, I placed Maya's unconscious body just beside me, and then I used the swirled water, formed it into a circle and I whipped the fire nation soldiers off the ship, including that scar-face boy who was after me.

After I did that, my eyes closed, my body felt weak, and then I fell to the floor. I slowly opened my eyes and Maya was laying right next to me, still unconscious. I tried reaching out to her but my body still felt weak and I wasn't able to move.

I felt Appa land on the ship's deck and then Katara and Sokka went down from him.

"Aang!" Katara shouted.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she helped me stand up.

"Hey, Katara... Hey Sokka... Thanks for coming," I said.

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory," Sokka energetically said.

"Sokka... Maya's unconscious..." I told him. "And I dropped my staff too," I added.

"Don't worry I got it!" Sokka replied. He ran to get my glider and then hurried back to carry Maya in his back.

Katara helped me get up on Appa's head and then when I was settled, she helped Sokka get Maya on board as well.

"She's freezing..." Katara said as she held Maya's hands.

"We'll warm her up..." Sokka said. Just then, some of the soldiers who were not knocked off the ship stood up and started walking toward us.

"But first, we have to get out of here!" Sokka continued and then he hurriedly carried Maya on top of Appa.

Katara was left on the deck, and just when the soldiers were getting close, she bent some water and aimed it at them— freezing them all up.

Hey... Not bad for a beginner.

"Come on Katara! Hurry up!" Sokka yelled.

"Alright! I'm coming! I'm coming!" she shouted back.

When Katara got on, Sokka hurriedly shouted, "Yip-yip! Yip-yip!"

Hey? When did he learn this? Was he the one who flew Appa here?

I couldn't help but smile even though I was really tired.

Appa went on soaring into the sky, and just when I thought that everything was over. I suddenly saw a giant fireball coming up against us.

In a split second, all of my energy went back. I hurriedly grabbed my staff and went to the rear end of Appa's saddle.

I deflected the fireball's path with some air bending and made it hit the iceberg that was beside the ship. A great snow avalanche was created and all of it went crashing down on the ship's deck.

We all started laughing, but then our laughs stopped when we heard Maya cough.

"Maya!" Katara shouted as she crawled towards her. I slowly went towards her as well and slowly, she started opening her eyes.

"Cold...It's so cold..." She said. Sokka then went towards her with some thick cloth in hand.

"Here wrap yourself around these," Sokka said and then he helped Maya wrap the cloth around her.

"What happened? Where are we? Where's Zuko?" Maya asked.

"Well first, you were thrown off the ship and stayed deep beneath the seafloor for like, a minute? And second, we're now, here on Appa's back. Can you believe it? He's actually flying!" Sokka said enthusiastically.

Both Katara and I giggled but it seemed like Maya was not in the mood for a laugh.

When Katara noticed that Maya was not laughing, she asked, "Maya, who is Zuko?"

Maya looked at us and she said, "He's the... Oh no! My necklace! I need to get it back!" She suddenly stood up and sat at the edge of Appa's saddle.

"Maya be careful! You might fall!" Katara said.

I sat beside her and I placed my hand on her back.

"Maya... It's okay..." I said.

"But that was from my Mom..." she said in a very sad tone.

"Here, look!" I said to her, and then I took out the necklace she was looking for from my pocket.

"Didn't I promise that I will get it back for you? Here it is! Safe and sound!" I said with a big smile on my face.

I was shocked at what she did. She suddenly hugged me and took a few seconds before she broke away from the hug.

She took the necklace from my hands and then she looked at me and said, "Thank you..." with a faint smile on her face.

I don't know why, but I suddenly felt my heart skip a beat. I felt something strange, like a connection of some kind. What is this?

"I...Ugh... Thanks," I awkwardly said.

"Maya, why is a fire nation necklace with you? And you said it's from your mom?" Katara then asked.

"Yeah, Maya... and what is this that Gran-Gran was telling us? About your life being intertwined with the fire nation? Maya... Is there something you're not telling us?" Sokka questioned him.

That's right... I only realized this now but the necklace she was looking for did have the fire nation's symbol on it.

"I'll explain everything once we get back to the village. I need to get something important," she said.

"Is it this red box?" Sokka then pulled out a red chest made out of metal with gold corners.

"That's it! Why do you have it?" Maya asked.

"Gran-Gran gave it to me. She told us that it belongs to your mother and that it has to be with you along our journey," Katara explained.

I'm confused... What is going on here?

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-Maya's Point of View-

Why did Gran-Gran have to tell them? What if they all get angry at me and decided to throw me off of Appa's saddle?

Do I say it? What will their reaction be? What will the Avatar think of me?

"Maya? What is it?" Katara said.

"Tell us, Maya, we can't have another secret in this group. We were already caught off-guard by the fact that Aang was the Avatar," Sokka said.

I didn't know what to do but Sokka's right. I can't keep this away from them forever.

I took a deep breath and gathered all the courage I have, to say those words.

"I am not from the water tribes," I said.

"What?" Aang asked.

"Maya, what are you talking about?" Katara asked as well.

"Did water fill up your head? Maya, we grew up together. You were born in the southern water tribe and your mother, Aunt Anika, was our mother's sister," Sokka explained.

"It's complicated," I just said and then I tucked my face in between my knees. I suddenly felt a hand on my back and when I raised my head I saw Katara, looking at me.

"We're all ears. No matter how complicated it is, we will listen," She said.

I let out another sigh and then I repeated to them everything Gran-Gran told me. When I was done telling everything, I received mixed reactions.

"AUNT ANIKA WAS FROM THE FIRE NATION?!" Sokka exaggeratedly asked.

"So mom and Gran-Gran just adopted her. No wonder why she looked different," Katara said.

"But your mother met a spirit that can grant bending? I didn't know that was possible," Aang asked.

"I thought so too, but I guess there are just many things in this physical world that we don't know about," I said.

"But one more thing, why did that scar-face guy take you in? What did he want to talk about with you?" Aang asked.

"That scar-face guy is named Zuko, and he's the prince of the fire nation," I said.

"The prince?!" All of them shouted at once.

"He wanted to ask me where I got this necklace, and he told me that this necklace was a sacred memoir for the royal family of the fire nation. He was asking where I stole it from. I told him that I didn't steal it, that it was just given to me, but I didn't tell him it was from my mom," I continued my answer.

"Wait, do you mean that..." Katara asked.

"Whatever life my mom used to have before she went to the south pole, Zuko might know something about it,"

"Wow... So could it mean that your mother was of royalty?" Aang asked.

"No," I replied. "But my father may be," I continued. "But enough talk about me... Aang! There's something you need to explain to us," I said— changing the topic.

"Yeah! How did you do that? With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" Katara asked.

What? What water?

"I don't know... I just sort of, did it," Aang answered.

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" I asked this time.

"Because...." Aang turned his head away from us, "I never wanted to be," he continued.

Silence filled the air after that. The silence was broken when Katara started speaking.

"But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war," Katara said.

"And how am I going to do that?" Aang asked.

"Well according to the legends, you'll have to first master water, earth, then fire right?" I interrupted.

"That's what the monks told me," Aang said.

"Well, if we go to the north pole, you can master water bending!" Katara suddenly proposed.

"We can learn it together!" Aang said.

I started feeling that weird feeling again. What is it seriously? I'm starting to get annoyed by it.

"Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some fire bender heads on the way," Katara said.

"I'd like that. I'd really like that," Sokka said with that creepy smirk on his face.

"And Maya... maybe we'll be able to get some information about your mom as well. If she traveled from the fire nation to the southern water tribe, she must have met some people right?" Katara said to me.

"You're right. I'm in! Besides, I have a feeling that we'll encounter that Zuko again. This time, I'm the one who's going to ask him questions," I said and smiled back at them.

"Then we're all in this together!" Katara said.

"Alright! But before I learn water bending, we have some serious business to attend to!" Aang said as he pulled out a map and started pointing at locations.

"What's in those places?" I asked.

"Here, we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then way 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!" Aang enthusiastically explained.

The three of us all looked at each other and then gave ourselves an unsure look. We know very well that those trips will delay Aang's waterbending lessons, but what choice do we have?

I just nodded my head and then I laughed at Aang.

"Haha! Alright, young Avatar, we'll visit all those places before we head straight to the north pole," I said then I placed my hand over his head.

"This is going to be the greatest adventure of a lifetime," I said to him and then I smiled.