Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

". . . I am going to do a sequel under the name Eyewitnesses Account: Code Black, which is being written and will have the first chapter up within the month."

Huh, (looks away) I really should not promise things like that, it seems. Sadly, school started back up again just a few short weeks after I put up the information about the sequel and poof suddenly I didn't have time to do anything (glares at the very large, very annoying, and totally incomprehensible pile of homework).

So, sorry for not getting it up in a month.

Eyewitnesses Account: Code Black

Part 1

"Many years ago there was a spirit who wandered these lands, bringing fear and confusion in his wake," Old Storyteller Lan said as he leaned down slightly in his chair, his sightless eyes gazing through the children into another time, "Even today, after so many years, its name still puts fear in our hearts."

Wind and rain rattled at the shutters, causing the children to glance nervously at the window. The storm blowing over their small town was especially vicious today. Hail came down in hard sheets and the children were glad that they were inside.

One of the children, a little boy with dark brown hair and pale green eyes, interrupted the storyteller, "Storyteller Lan, who was this spirit?" he asked.

Lan frowned slightly, looking past them as he dragged up his memories, "No one really knew back then, when he first appeared, but it was the Blue Spirit."

The children gasped. The Blue Spirit was something of a legend. To the children, the spirit sounded like a made up boogieman meant to scare them, but to the adults it was all too real.

"It all started about twenty years ago, on a night very much like this one . . ."

0~o~0

Rain and wind billowed through the small town, bringing down hail and water in bucketfuls. The people of the towns rushed too and fro, securing their wares and making sure that nothing was going to be destroyed by the storm. Unknowingly, two strangers walked among them.

"Do we have to be here, Uncle?" the younger growled, glaring around at the people surrounding them. Mud soaked their clothing and packs, showing that they had been on the road for a long time without rest. This should have been the first indication that something wasn't all was right, but the townspeople paid no attention two them, too concerned with what they were doing.

The older man shook his head in exasperation and leaned toward his nephew with a soft murmur. Whatever he said must have clamed the younger man, but it didn't stop him from glaring.

Rounding the corner they came upon the towns one inn, no more than a small house with bedrooms for rent, and slipped inside.

"See, my boy," the older man grinned, "I told you that they would have a place to stay."

The boy snorted, glancing around with a sneer as they approached the older lady behind the counter, "Not much of one."

The boy's uncle ignored the complaint in favor of smiling at the inn keeper, one Mrs. Ajala, and pulling out a pouch of coins. "My fair lady, we are but humble travelers hoping to pay for a room for the night to escape the rain. Would you happen to have a room for two open?"

Ajala eyed the two of them suspiciously. It was not often that travelers came through their town, and even fewer were 'humble travelers', but business was business and she accepted the coins offered.

"Down the hall, first room at the end," she rasped, glancing at the door as another loud boom echoed through the small inn.

"Thank you," the older man smiled and gestured for his nephew to follow him, "See, I told you. All you have to do is ask nicely."

The young man snorted and crossed his arms defiantly.

They disappeared down the hall and into the room. Ajala thought no more of them till morning.

But by the time she remembered the two strangers, it was already too late. They were gone, as well as many supplies from the town.

All throughout the town the story was spread: A demon had been seen, perched atop Mrs. Ajala's home, highlighted in the light from the lighting for a split second, and then was gone.

The boy and the old man were never seen again.

0~o~0

"The Blue Spirit is a creature of the shadows and night," Storyteller Lan whispered, leaning toward the children, his blind eyes wide, "And his victims are never chosen by logic. Sometimes it was the poor, sometimes the rich. The honest, the dishonest; No one was free of his reach."

0~o~0

Charan grinned as he tossed the bag of coins he had 'acquired' that day into the night air. The old man that he had stolen them from looked like he could go without a few meals anyway. All in all, it had been a good day.

Charan turned the corner, deciding to take a back ally that night in order to get home faster. No one would dare attack him anyway, not with the two swords on his back gleaming faintly in the moonlight. Those, too, he had acquired in not so honest ways, but it wasn't like the previous owner would be needing them.

Whistling happily Charan strode confidently through the darkened street, fantasizing what he could buy with the small bag of coin. It wasn't much, true, but a warm meal that wasn't wet mush was always well received.

The clatter of a rolling rock, however, brought him out of his imagination with a jerk. His hand automatically flew to the handle of his swords, eyes narrowing, "Who's there?"

Nothing moved or made a sound. Charan frowned, silently hoping that it was just an animal or something. Maybe he shouldn't have taken the back ally . . .

After several moments of tense silence Charan relaxed slightly. "Must have been a rat," he muttered letting go of his swords and turning to continue his trek home . . . only to freeze as his eyes locked onto a tall shadowy figure watching him from the end of the ally.

Not much could be seen from the crouched figure, the edges of its being blurring between reality and the shadows. The only reason that he had even seen the figure in the first place was because of its face.

A big, blue and white, grinning face with bottomless pits for eyes and fangs.

The Blue Spirit.

0~o~0

The next day the unconscious form of one, Charan, would be found tied up in front of the small guard house. Pinned to his shirt was a list of crimes that he had committed over the last few years. Turned out that the man was a wanted criminal in several towns in the area, but no one had been able to catch him.

His swords were suspiciously missing.

0~o~0

"Is the Blue Spirit real?" one small child asked, her eyes wide as she clutched at her doll.

The Storytellers blind eyes glinted slightly, "Real? What happened is too much of a coincidence for him not to be. No, it was real all right."

Another child shifted uneasily, "Will he ever be back?"

Pale blue eyes turned to the other child, "Who knows?"

Thunder boomed in the background as the Storyteller leaned back in his woven chair, making the children jump at the sound.

0~o~0

The villagers watched the stranger warily as he walked through the town. There was nothing that made him stand out, but the mere fact that he was a stranger made them cautious. Just a few years before the Blue Spirit had passed through their town and his effect had not yet been forgotten. They had not been fond of unknowns in their town since.

Strangers were uncommon as well. They were a small town, hardly anything worth seeing or even passing through. They didn't live near a water source and as such trade was scarce. Their little isolated community was cut off from almost everywhere, and that was how they liked it.

Straw hat pulled low the stranger stopped to buy some fruits from a few of the vendors, using his voice as little as possible and keeping his face covered. This only made the townspeople even more nervous.

"So . . ." one vendor asked as he counted out the required grapefruit for the stranger, "What is your name, stranger? We don't usually get any newcomers around here."

The unknown man hesitated for a moment before replying, fiddling slightly with a necklace that had three pendants on it, two miniature Dual Dao on either side of a black raven's feather, "Kanan, and I'm just passing though."

The vendor nodded and counted up the price, "That will be six copper pieces."

Silently the coins were handed over and the vendor accepted them with narrowed eyes, watching as the stranger walked away. There was something about the newcomer . . . something not quite right about him. He was too still when he stood in one place, never fidgeting when others would have. His silence was unnerving and the feline grace that he seemed to walk with just screamed dangerous.

No, this stranger couldn't be trusted, not one bit.

The town would be glad to see him leave.

0~o~0

The Storyteller glanced out at the storm. For a moment, it was almost as if he were looking at something in the past, "Though he has not been seen since, The Blue Spirit still walks these lands, hidden among us. Watching and waiting."

0~o~0

An old shopkeeper shifted nervously as the last customer of the day looked over his wares. The others gleaming eyes and rugged appearance put the shopkeeper on edge. The man across from him, he had no doubt, was up to no good.

It was already late. Most of the street vendors had already packed up and went home for the day, but not him. So long as there were potential customers, he was out selling. However, the approach of this man was unexpected and it made him nervous.

The man's eyes landed on an especially expensive peace of jewelry with a sneer. The dark orbs glinted with greed as he reached out toward it. The peace was especially hard to make or find; the rocks were carved through the old ways of earthbending to get their distinct shapes.

Seeing the reaching hand the old shopkeeper immediately shot out his own to grab the mans hand.

The other man scowled, jerking his hand back and out of the shopkeeper's hold, "Now see here, what is this about? I was only lookin'."

"You can look," the shopkeeper said nervously, his sense of danger spiking. Already a sense of danger was surrounding him as he glanced around and noticed that the street was empty except for a beggar on the other side of the road. It was the perfect time for a thief to strike. Why hadn't he left earlier? "Just don't touch until you've paid."

"Paid?" the other, rugged man laughed. It was a deep, amused and yet dangerous laugh that made the shopkeeper want to back away. Dark eyes narrowed on the old man as he reached into his robe, "Old man," he hissed suddenly, pulling out a knife from a hidden sheath in his belt, "I never intended to pay."

The knife swung down and the shopkeeper scrambled back with a cry of fear, his eyes closing instinctively to avoid the sight of the blade coming in his direction. He was too old to fight back, he knew. If the criminal – and he was now sure that the other man was a criminal – decided to kill him and take everything that he had made he would not be able to stop him. He should have closed shop earlier.

It took several seconds to realize that the expected pain of the blade had never come. The old man's eyes snapped open to see the criminal looking upwards with confusion before alarm crossed his face.

"Oh no-" the criminal turned to run but a shadowed figure dropped down from above, somewhere that the shopkeeper could not see, and landed in front of the fleeing man.

The newcomer was thin and dressed all in black. A straw hat covered his head, hiding his face from view. Seeing his rout blocked the criminal snarled and lashed out with the knife, but the strike was easily avoided. The figure seemed to move like water as it spun and dipped around the knife's sharp blade, coming closer with each step and twirl. It was like watching a cat nimbly make its way around with perfect balance and precision. A cat toying with its prey. Every movement was calculated, planned. Nothing was wasted.

Once within striking distance a dark hand snapped forward and grabbed the criminal's wrist, twisting in just so to make the other drop the blade with a cry of pain. With the knife gone, there was nothing blocking the criminal from the dark figure and a second hand shot forward, touching a specific spot on the other's neck.

The criminal stiffened, his eyes wide for a moment before they rolled back into his head and he collapsed, as if boneless.

The dark figure glanced up at the old man and shifted slightly, as if just realizing that he was there. They hesitated slightly, before the figure turned and disappeared back into the shadows from whence he – assuming the shadowed figure was a he – had come.

But not before the shopkeeper had caught a glimpse of blue, hidden under the straw hat. His breath caught in his throat in realization.

"The Blue Spirit . . ." he whispered, and then fainted.

0~o~0

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Raven chanted as he packed his bags, wincing slightly as he pulled his side from stretching to far, this is just what Agent Fox meant when he said that I'm too impulsive.

Raven's mission had been to track down and infiltrate the Akhilesh, a criminal organization that had deep roots in Ba Sing Se. They had managed to crush the main body of the group, but some had managed to escape. He had been sent, as one of the best of the information gatherer's, to track down the remains of the group and send for reinforcements. He was supposed to be staying under the radar.

And then he had to go and blow it by saving that old man. Raven sighed. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole region wasn't aware of a Dai Li agent in the area within the month. Hence, his hurried packing. Hopefully this wouldn't set him back to far. If the remaining members of the organization assumed right, they might just go into hiding (not that they weren't already) and be nearly impossible to find.

Glancing around the room he had rented for the night one last time Raven sighed. It looked like it was back to the road again. He decided that it would be a good idea to get some food for the trip before he left, however. His current supply was running out.

He made his way out onto the packed streets, a slight frown marring his features as he noticed the sheer amount of people today. The noise was a loud buzz instead of the usual low murmur typical of a town like this.

Making his way toward one of the food merchants selling bread he leaned toward the man behind the wooden tabletop as he pointed toward several loaves he wanted to buy. His eyes watched the crowd warily, wondering what was going on.

"That'll be twenty bronze," the shopkeeper said, packing the bread into a small bag to make it easier to carry, "Will that be all."

Raven nodded and handed over the coins but hesitated before he could leave. He debated asking about what was going on and then sighed. He might as well.

"Is there a celebration going on?" he asked politely. No point in mocking their traditions if it was a celebration. He had seen to many fights that had happened over a misunderstanding of traditions.

The shopkeeper gave him a strange look, "You have not heard?"

Raven shook his head, "I wouldn't be asking if I already knew."

The man behind the counter hesitated before leaning forward conspiratorially, "They say that the Blue Spirit was spotted last night."

The breath in Raven's lungs froze. The Blue Spirit . . . ? He wasn't aware that Fire Lord Zuko was in the Earth Kingdom or had been through these parts . . . but what if he had come for Raven?

"Thank you for telling me," Raven swallowed. This could only mean that he was being tested. Again.

He left the town without buying any more supplies, his hand clutched around the necklace fixed on his neck, the feathers glinting a light blue in the reflecting light.

Where the Blue Spirit was, Raven didn't want to be.

Ironically enough, the story of a Dai Li agent saving an old shopkeeper was never told. Instead a much more frightening rumor went around. The Blue Spirit was back.

0~o~0

Deep within the Fire Nation, marking several scrolls with the elegant strokes of a paintbrush, Fire Lord Zuko frowned as he felt a chill go up his spine. He paused for a moment, considering what it could mean, and then sighed and went back to work.

Those chills were so common now that he didn't even wonder what caused them. He would have many more to come.

0~o~0

This will be a one-shot unless more ideas are given for me to fulfill. Thankyou all for the encouragement and reviews.