Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh or Avatar the last air-bender. I'm simply a loyal fan to both.

Note: Sorry for the exceedingly late update. There are several stories that I've been meaning to get back to but have been way too busy to re-read them all so I can find out where I left off. But, as a small tribute to the awesomeness that is 'The Legend of Korra' that just finished its glorious second season, I wanted to at least make a quick update for this while I'm trying to decide which story to update next and which ones I should go ahead and delete. Anyway, please enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 4

At last, their unusual band reached the cavern and filed inside one by one while giving Appa a wide berth due to his enormous bulk. It took them awhile to convince Appa to go in but once they did, it was nearly impossible to see anything in front of his large form. Not only because he took up so much space, but because it was also growing steadily darker the further in they went.

That's when both Zuko and Aang created a fireball in their hands once they progressed deep enough into the caverns that hardly any natural light could reach. The two of them then took the lead along with Gunter, who was serving as their guide. Although the others still felt a bit awkward by being led by a bunch of strange kids they had just met. And even though they didn't seem much older than Yuri, it was obvious that they had experienced their share of hardship; though the same could be said about Yuri's group who likewise shared that same poise won only after facing many trials together...

"Dude..." Sokka whispered to his sister and pointed over his shoulder, "That blonde kid won't stop glaring at us. Then there's that grumpy-looking guy too. Are you sure that they're the good guys?"

Katara shook her head, "I don't know Sokka, but they're the only ones around here who have someone who can talk to us. I think that we've been blown into some isolated country that no one has ever been to before, not even us. And we won't be able to find our way out of here until we find out where we are exactly. Not to mention figure out if the spirits are behind that strange storm that dragged us here."

"That's true but-" Sokka began when they stopped.

"This spot looks good," Zuko called back to the others, "Appa should be safe here while the rest of us go into town. And Aang has his Bison whistle in case we need him."

Toph nodded and pointed, "Yeah, and there's another exit right over there so if we need Appa he'll be able to find the way out on his own."

Aang rubbed Appa's nose and said, "Don't worry buddy, as soon as we know where we are, we'll come back for you and continue our journey, ok?" In response, Appa grunted before dropping down with a large thud and curling up despite his discomfort of being in this cave. His face almost frowning too at the indignity of being left behind, as usual.

"Gunter," Gwendal asked, "What did he say?"

"He told his erm...Sky Bison to stay here and the girl Toph said that there's another exit nearby," Gunter translated.

Gwendal nodded, "Alright," then, after exchanging a quick glance at Toph and Zuko added, "Actually, can you ask those two if they would be willing to wear cloaks? People are going to notice that their hair is black and not to mention that-" but the rest he left unsaid because it seemed pretty rude to ask Zuko to cover his scar when it was clear that he wasn't the type to hide who he was and what he had endured from others.

Gunter nodded and left to go ask when Katara stopped him with a sharp tug on his robes, "Wait a sec-"

"Yes? What is it?" Gunter asked mildly.

"Um, listen, I hate to ask but my brother was wondering..." she asked somewhat sheepishly, "...what's up with that blonde boy, Wolfram? He's been acting really weird around Sokka and snapping at him whenever he tries to talk with your King over there. Granted, Sokka can be pretty annoying-"

Looking over and seeing what she meant, Gunter laughed and explained, "Don't worry, Wolfram is always that way since he gets jealous easily of anyone who tries to get close with His Highness. It's something we're used to by now. Although I wish he would grow out of it. For goodness sake, Wolfram is nearly eighty-five years old now..."

Katara blinked, obviously confused, so she asked, "Hold on, how old is Wolfram again...?"

Equally as confused, Gunter replied, "Eighty-five. Why?"

Snickering to hide her alarm, Katara laughed nervously, "Sure he is. I mean, Aang is only one-hundred and thirteen but he was frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years..."

Equally as puzzled, Gunter asked, "That can't be right. I'm well over a hundred and fifty and your companion hardly looks any older than a thirteen year old human."

"'Human'? What the heck are you talking about?" Sokka asked, walking over to them, "You say that almost like you're-"

"Well I'll be, there really is another exit over here," Gwendal mused, turning to call back to the others, "We can leave the caverns through here."

Toph snickered, "Well duh, you should have been able to figure that yourself ponytail," she said, knowing perfectly well that he wouldn't understand her but Toph could clearly sense that he was an Earth-bender. And wordlessly, they followed Gwendal and Toph as they led the way outside, blinking as they stepped out into the bright sunlight.

"Looks like we're in the clear now," Conrad stated after closing the door behind them once they rented a room at the inn, "Now we can see to our unusual companions."

Yuri nodded with a relieved sigh, "I'm just glad we didn't run into those psychos from earlier. Which reminds me, who do you think they were anyway?"

"Spies of King Ranjeel's no doubt," Gwendal frowned, crossing his arms, "He must of caught wind of our travels and sent spies looking for us rather than his usual soldiers. But they probably ran into these children instead of us."

Leaning closer to Aang while Yuri and his friends spoke amongst themselves, Zuko frowned and said grumpily, "This is very frustrating. I have no idea what anyone is saying besides that silver haired guy. So how are we supposed to talk to anyone besides him? I'm sure that eventually he's going to get tired of translating for us. Isn't there any Avatar powers or something you can use to help us?"

Aang rolled his eyes, "You know being the Avatar doesn't work like that Zuko. But you have a point. One of my past lives might be able to help us. Although, I'd rather see what they know first before I try anything."

"Listen to this you guys-" Katara whispered in a hushed voice, "Before we left that cavern I was asking Gunter about that guy Wolfram and he said that he's eighty-five years old! Can you believe that?!"

"You serious?!" Sokka gaped.

"Yeah," Katara replied, looking over her shoulder at Wolfram, who shot them another heated glare before shouting something at Yuri again.

"Who cares about any of that?" Toph groaned, "You think it's frustrating to you Zuko that they're speaking in a funny language, but I'm blind remember? It's bad enough that I can't see anything in this stupid room because it's all wood, but even though my hearing is pretty much amazing, I'm in the dark here too."

Zuko winced apologetically, "Oh, right. Sorry about that Toph."

"Alright," Gunter called finally, striding across the room to where they all sat gathered on one of the beds, "After briefly discussing it with His Majesty, we all agreed that it would be best if we postponed our vacation and brought you home with us to the Great Demon Kingdom to confer with His Eminence. It would be inhumane of us to simply leave you here when you cannot speak our language, but we have a device back at the castle that can serve as a means of translation for all of you. Therefore, if its agreeable to the rest of you, we can prepare our ship for departure immediately..." pausing for a moment, he added, "...but before that, we're all curious about how you came to our land in the first place, and about those skills you all displayed while contending against those men from earlier."

"Oh, you mean 'Bending'?" Sokka asked, absentmindedly scratching Momo behind the ears, "Man you people must really live in an isolated country if you've never heard of it before. But I guess the language barrier could have told us that much. Of course, I'm not Bender myself but my sister and the rest of them are. Toph's an Earth-bender, my sister is a Water-bender, Zuko's a Fire-bender, and Aang, well, technically he's an Air-bender but he's also the Avatar so he can pretty much bend all four elements..."

"Unfortunately, I have no idea what you're talking about I'm afraid. It sounds fascinating though. However, if you don't mind I would like to give His Majesty an answer about whether you will accompany us back to our Kingdom so that we might be able to communicate properly. For now though, feel free to rest here for a while while you decide."

Aang nodded with a smile, "Thanks, we'll let you know what we decide."

"I don't think we have any other choice really..." Toph shrugged, "We can't just fly aimlessly around until we find a familiar place. There's no way to know how far we'd have to travel or whether there would be any other islands to rest on along the way."

Katara sighed, "As much as I hate to say it, Toph's right. We're out of options unless Aang can come up with something else to get us back home. Maybe one of his past lives could help us."

"I should probably give it a try. I just don't know if I feel comfortable meditating in front of these strangers. Especially that one guy-" he nodded in Yuri's general direction, "-I've felt something odd about him ever since we met, some sort of strange energy that almost feels like something from the spirit world..."

Zuko blinked, "Wait, you mean you think that he's the one who-"

Aang shook his head, "I don't think so, but I can't say for sure," he yawned, "Anyways, I don't know about you guys but I'm beat. We should rest while we can and give them our decision tomorrow."

"Have we made a decision though?" Sokka asked seriously, "I'm not so sure that I trust these guys enough to just say 'ok, we'll go to your castle without really knowing anything about what's going on.' Seriously Aang, they could be hiding something from us and we're walking into their trap."

Katara snorted, "You need to lighten up Sokka. I don't see anything wrong with accepting their help. Besides, I'm curious about what they meant about being eighty-five to a hundred and fifty years old. They might have some sort of spiritual power that extends their lives and I for one would love to know their beauty secret. I mean they're all really handsome guys," seeing Aang frown when she said this Katara added hastily, "Relax Aang, I'm not into older guys."

"But I am older..." Aang pouted, "I may have been stuck in that iceberg but who knows how long my soul has been hanging around from all my previous lives. Heck, I don't even know when I first became the avatar; it's just always been that way as far as I know."

Smiling, Katara reasoned, "You may have an old soul, but at least you look as old as you should be. So don't worry about how old you were, just worry about how old you are, and that's only thirteen."

"Pft, enough lovey-dovey stuff," Zuko interrupted. "They're waiting for our answer."

"Right," Aang nodded after breaking eye contact with Katara and glancing back at Yuri and the others and calling, "Ok, we've made up our minds! We're going with you!"

"Once we get to the castle, Lady Anissina has a device that will make it much easier for us to communicate with one another without having me translate for you," Gunter explained over dinner on everyone's behalf. "But until then, I would like to ask that both you and-Toph was it-to keep your hair hidden until we at least make it safely to the harbor since your coloring with attract unwanted attention. There's also a high possibility that the ones who attacked you before may try to strike at us again."

Zuko nodded but crossed his arms and asked curiously, "I can understand why you're worried about those bandits, but what exactly does that have to do with our coloring again? Is it really that unusual in this country?"

"Very much so," Conrad answered and had Gunter translate for him, "Double blacks are revered in our country because of the Great Wiseman who helped the founder of our nation, His Majesty the Great One, defeat the Originators that threatened to destroy the world four thousand years ago. So anyone who wears black or has black coloring is considered to either be of equal rank to a king or at the very least very rare individuals. Many myths surround them and the unique powers that they are believed to possess so there are still those who would pay handsomely for someone or something with black coloring, especially people like the ones who attacked you that were most likely after His Highness since he is our current King and one of the only three double blacks in the entire world. That's why out here, it's much more dangerous to walk out in the open for you right now."

Hearing that, Toph snickered, "So what if they've got issues with what color hair we have? If anyone tries to pull anything, I'll just kick their butts and send them packing just like we did last time. Just watch, if those bozo's come back, I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"

"Calm down Toph, we don't want to make trouble for these guys do we? After all, they're all we have right now as far as who can help us find a way back home," Katara advised, although she sort of felt the same about not wanting them to have to sneak around just to get to their next destination. "So at least until Aang can figure out something let's just go along with them for now ok?"

Toph sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically, "Sure, whatever you say sugar-queen."

"Dang it, I can't eat with this crazy thing!" Sokka groaned and clumsily dropped his Spork with a clatter, "What the heck is it anyway?"

"It's a...spork I guess," Yuri answered with a nervous laugh and asked Gunter to relay his comment, "A cross between a fork and a spoon. Just, a word of advice though, if someone drops their knife-the sword looking utensil-whatever you do don't pick it up."

Surprised by his grave expression, Aang asked, "Why? What does it mean?"

"That you have to duel the person who dropped it. Believe me, I wish I knew that before my first duel with Wolfram but its kinda a long story."

"Oh! A duel, let's hear it!" Sokka said eagerly, "Who'd you fight? Did you win? What weapons did you use?"

Katara chuckled and looked at Yuri as she said, "Here we go again. Looks like you got Sokka back in his old warrior-mode again. We grew up while everyone was still fighting the Fire Nation and after our dad left to go fight Sokka was put in charge of protecting our village. He took it very seriously and tried to learn everything he could about fighting techniques and what dad taught him about hunting and tracking and stuff. And don't even get me started on the crazy inventions he makes or thinks up. Sokka will probably talk your friend's ear off once we get to see those inventions that your friend was talking about."

When Gunter relayed the message, Yuri seemed confused, "Fire Nation? Where's that? I've never heard of a country like that before."

"What? That's crazy! How can you not know about the Fire Nation?" Sokka remarked, "We were only fighting them for over a hundred years until Aang finally kicked their butts! Where were you guys? Oh, and no offense Zuko," he added at the end.

Zuko rolled his eyes and groaned, "Are you ever going to stop doing that? Look, I'm totally fine with it. I know my nation did terrible things but that's all in the past and I am no longer bound by what my father did thanks to Aang. As the new Fire Lord I'm going to set our people straight again but if you think I'm going to be offended every time you talk about us then this is going to take forever."

"Fire Lord? Is that some sort of title for a King in your country?" Gunter asked curiously.

Turning to Gunter, Zuko shrugged, "I guess it is but I'm still finding it hard to believe that none of you know about the Fire Nation or the War when it's been going on for so long. Even if this is some far off country then surely you must at least know about Bending, but you don't and I'm beginning to think that there's more to the reason we were brought here than I thought…"