A/N: Hey everybody! So this is a fanfic that just came to me and at first I just wanted to forget it but after thinking it over I decided "eh, I'll give it a shot." So I hope you like it because that will determine whether I can finish it or not.

Chapter 1-

Narration - Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and the center of it all, the source that gives power over these, the very thing that existed since the beginning of bending…Ki, Chi, or life force energy.

Long ago before bending even started, the only known element that could be manipulated was Ki. The energy within a person as well as the energy all around the physical and spirit world could be controlled if a person learned how to do it. There were numerous Ki users among the world, and although humans were capable of manipulating Ki to a certain level, the spirits' control over energy was extraordinary. That all came to an end when the Lion Turtles gave humans the ability to bend the elements. Although this was a temporary gift, it eventually became permanent after the Avatar separated the dark spirit from the light spirit and accidentally plunged the world into darkness.

As benders continued to increase, Ki users began to decrease. After the spirit world and the physical world were separated the use of energy was reduced to an ability meant to help manipulate the 4 elements. Eventually Ki was no longer viewed as the 1st element but a long forgotten ability meant for outcasts, failures or freaks. Without the connection to the spirit world, not many people valued the ability to access the energy from their own life force even though the Avatar himself was a Ki user.

This led to the remaining Ki users becoming corrupt and wanting to exert their powers by trying to conquer the world. All the benders stood together and with their mastery over the natural elements they managed to overpower the Ki users. Over the decades the Ki users were eventually eradicated until there was only one unknown Ki user left: the Avatar. The Lion Turtles gave bending to people all over the world and thus the four nations were created. Legend says that someday Ki users will return and they will be extremely powerful. After many centuries, 2 young boys were born with the ability to control energy.

But after a terrible incident the Ki brothers were separated from their family and each other. One of the Ki users was found by an Air nomad and taken in to the Air nation. There he was raised by monks and trained to use his life force energy to manipulate Air as well as an air bender. This young boy was friends with many air benders but his best friend was an air bender named Aang. This young Ki users' name was Gohan. These two have been friends since childhood. They were raised by the same Air bender- Monk Gyasto.

When the boys were 14 they were told about Aang being the Avatar and that he, along with his friend Gohan, would need to save the world one day, but in an attempt to avoid his destiny, Aang fled from the Southern Air Temple; leaving behind his master and his best friend. Sometime later Gohan left the Southern Air Temple in search of Aang. He searched for days but never found any sign of his lost friend. Gohan continued to look for Aang until a few days after he turned 15 when a very important event occurred that hurled Gohan and his dragon companion, Icarus, into the Spirit World where they remained as they healed unconsciously...until now.

One day, a boy named Sokka and a girl named Katara who were siblings from the Southern Water Tribe were fishing; after a small disagreement and bad canoeing, the siblings stumbled upon a large iceberg that was glowing. It was a little transparent so the inside could be seen. Inside the iceberg were a large 6 legged creature and a boy who was in a meditative stance with glowing tattoos on his hands, and forehead. The Water Tribe siblings stared at the iceberg when the boy's eyes suddenly opened.

"He's alive!" gasped Katara. "We've got to help him!"

Katara grabbed her brother's war club and ran towards the iceberg. "Katara stop! We don't know what that thing is!" cried Sokka as he ran after his sister.

Katara ignored her brother's words; she skipped across some ice and arrived at iceberg the boy was trapped in. She started beating the ice with the war club as Sokka appeared next to her. After a few whacks, the iceberg cracked and opened from the inside out. As the iceberg cracked from the bottom to the top and exploded, a pillar of bluish-white light shot into the sky. It went so far beyond the eye could see and it ripped a hole straight to the spirit world. This stream of energy grabbed a boy and his dragon, pulling them into the physical plain and dragging them towards the split iceberg.

Meanwhile on the water, an iron battle ship with a spiked prow sailed the ocean. Steam blew from the ship's funnel.

On the foredeck a teen dressed in red, with shaven head aside from the ponytail of black hair, stared at the energy beam ascending to the heavens. He had a scar at the left side of his face all around his left eye and his eyes were amber color. Next to him was his lieutenant and best friend, a lavender haired teen standing slightly taller than him wearing a blue armor with a scar over his right eye. His hair was also in a ponytail and he had light blue eyes. Unlike his friend's scar that covered the left side of his face, this teen's scar was shaped like a lightning bolt. He also had a sword strapped to his armour. The two teens gazed at the pillar of light with curiosity. "Finally," said the teen dressed in red. "Do you think this is it?" asked the lavender haired teen. "It has to be…Uncle, do you realize what this means?" asked the first teen.

Behind the teens was an old man wearing similar clothing to his nephew, sat cross- legged at a low table while drinking tea and playing a checker like game. The front part of his head was bald while he had long gray hair in the back; part of tied up behind his head and a thin pointed beard. "I won't be able to finish my game?" the old man asked.

"It means that our search is about to come to an end," the teen explained, making his uncle groan. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!" reasoned the nephew as he looked into the distance as the pillar vanished. "I sense two powerful life forces from where that light is; perhaps one of them is the one we seek," said the lavender haired teen.

"Or it's just a celestial light," the old man argued. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you boys to get overexcited over nothing," said the old man as he moved a piece in his game. "Please, sit. Why don't you two enjoy a cup of jasmine tea?"

The one named Prince Zuko turned around and quickly addressed his uncle, "I don't need calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar!" Zuko then turned to his lieutenant and ordered, "Tell the Helmsman to head towards the light!" "Yes Prince Zuko," answered his lieutenant as he turned to enter the ship. "Trunks, you don't need to be so formal with me," said Zuko. "You and Uncle Iroh are the only ones on this ship who can address by just my name; after all you're royalty just like me."

"Banished royalty," said Trunks.

"My point is you don't need to call Prince Zuko just like I don't need to call you Prince Trunks; because of how close we are. You know that right?" asked Zuko.

Trunks turned towards his best friend/fellow Prince and smiled. "I know," he said before going to relay Zuko's order to the Helmsman.

Back at the iceberg, the energy pillar was lowering the boy and his dragon down gently, but as it began to fade they started to fall faster. Inside the iceberg, the powerful force of light started to decrease as Katara and Sokka stared at the remainder of the blue light that swirled around the opened ice. The tattooed boy soon stood up from his meditative position, his eyes and arrow tattoos were glowing brightly. He was wearing a red and yellow monk clothes.

Being cautious, Sokka raised his spear at the boy and shouted, "Stop!" The blue light soon faded completely and the boy stopped glowing. The boy then passed out and fell over, but Katara quickly caught him. She rested the boy on the ice just as her brother started poking the boy's head with the butt of his spear. "Stop it!" Katara said as she pushed her brother away.

The boy began to wake up, his eyes slowing opening revealing gray pupils. His eyes began to focus on the image of the girl he was in the arms of as the wind blew her hair. "I need to ask you something..." whispered the boy.

"What?" Katara asked with concern.

"Please...come closer..." the boy whispered again.

"What is it?" Katara asked again.

After a short pause, the boy's were suddenly fully opened and there was a big smile on his face. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?" he asked excitedly, now fully conscious.

"Uh...sure," answered the Waterbender. "I guess." She took a step back allowing the boy to gently float to his feet, alarming Sokka.

"What's going on here?" asked the boy.

"You tell us," said Sokka as he poked the boy with his spear. "How'd you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?"

"I'm not sure," answered the bald monk as he swatted the spear away. Suddenly a large crash sounded from inside the iceberg where the second boy and his dragon crash landed. The three kids looked towards the iceberg. "What was that?" asked the boy. The Water tribe siblings shrugged. "Is someone else in that iceberg?" asked Katara. "Only one way to find out," said the monk as he climbed into the iceberg followed by Katara and Sokka.

Inside the iceberg, they saw a small purple scaled dragon with four horns, wings that were small for its body, and a tail. On top of the dragon was a spiky black haired boy about their age wearing an orange gi, a long sleeved blue under shirt, wristbands, boots, and a red headband on his forehead. He also had a large sword with a round stone on it's hilt in a black sheath strapped to his back. The three kids stared with curiousity as the boy started to stir awake. "First a bald kid from an iceberg, and now a spiky haired kid falls from the sky," said Sokka to his sister. "Is this the beginning of another fire navy invasion?" Katara nudged her brother in response. The boy lifted up his head, revealing his face as he groaned, "What hit me? And how did I get here? Where am I anyway?" He opened his eyes, showing his black pupils as he scanned the area.

The monk's eyes grew wide as he recognized his long lost friend. "No way! Gohan, is that you?!" asked the monk. "That voice, it can't be," said Gohan as turned towards the monk. "Aang, it is you! I've found you!" The two friends ran and hugged each other.

"It's so great to see you!" said Aang.

"It's great to see you too pal!" Gohan said before he punched Aang in the arm. This gesture of friendship confused the Water tribe siblings. "Ow!" replied Aang. "That's for leaving without me," said Gohan before he hit Aang in the arm a second time. "Ow!" Aang complained rubbing his arm. "That's for not telling me that you were going to the South Pole so that I'd know where to find you!" explained Gohan. "I wasn't planning on coming here… I don't know how I got here actually," replied Aang. "Weird, I don't remember how I got here either," said Gohan. "So how long have you been searching for me?" asked the bald monk. "Days. Everybody's probably worried sick about us, especially Gyasto," answered Gohan. When he saw the sad look on his friends face he decided to change topics. "Hey Aang, where's Appa?" Right on cue, a low animal groan was heard from inside the iceberg.

"Oh!" Aang gasped before he suddenly began climbing the ruined iceberg. Gohan soon went after him, followed by Katara and Sokka. Aang jumped over the ice crater and landed on a large furry animal. Gohan went next to his purple Dragon and check if he was ok.

"Appa! Are you alright buddy?" Aang asked the giant beast.

"Icarus! Come on, time to wake up!" said Gohan.

Aang struggled to lift the large animal's head while Gohan was shaking the dragon. "Wake up, buddy," said Aang as he continued.

Katara and Sokka just stared in shock as the boys tried to wake up their unusual pets. Suddenly the large animal opened its mouth to lick Aang, while Icarus stood on his back legs and licked Gohan's face. "Haha! You're okay!" Aang cheered as he hugged the beast. "Alright Icarus, I'm happy to see you too," said Gohan. The large animal had six legs, two horns on his head, a large arrow on his head, white fur, and a big flat tail.

"What are those things?!" asked a puzzled Sokka.

"This is Appa, my flying bison," answered Aang.

"And this is Icarus, my magic Dragon," introduced Gohan.

"Right," said the warrior, clearly skeptical. "And this is Katara, my magic flying sister." Appa then suddenly sneezed, launching mucus right at Sokka. "Ewww! AAHH!" cried Sokka as he rubbed his face on the ice floor. Gohan laughed at this.

"Don't worry, it'll wash out," assured Aang.

"Ugh!" moaned Sokka as the snot stuck to his hand.

"So, do you guys live around here?" asked Aang.

"Don't answer that!" said the angry Water Tribe Warrior to his sister. He glared at the boys and pointed his spear at Aang. "Did you see that crazy column of light? They were probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!" "Oh yeah, I'm sure they're Fire Navy spies," Katara said, clearly mocking her brother. "You can tell by the evil look in their eyes." Aang and Gohan responded simply by smiling innocently. "The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. We didn't catch your names."

"My name's Gohan," the spiky haired boy introduced. "And I'm A…aaahhh…aaahhh…aaahaaahaah AAAAAACHOOOOO!" The monk sneezed, launching himself high off the ground, surprising the Water Tribe siblings. He then slid back down the iceberg and finished his introduction before rubbing his nose. "I'm Aang."

"You just sneezed…and flew ten feet in the air," commented an amazed Sokka.

"Really? It felt higher than that," Aang said.

"Probably up to twelve feet," said Gohan.

"You're an Airbender!" Katara gasped in realization.

"Sure am," answered Aang.

"So you two are close friends?" Katara asked from observing the two boys. "Really close," answered Aang. "Close enough to be brothers," said Gohan. "Are you an Airbender too, Gohan?" asked the Water Tribe girl. "No, I'm an Energy Bender," replied Gohan. Katara stared wide-eyed at him while Sokka wandered to the edge of the iceberg holding his head. "Giant light beams, flying bison, magic dragon, Air and Energy benders; I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense." Sokka then realized that he had no canoe to get home with and that he was stuck in the middle of the ocean.

"Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a ride," offered Aang before he hoisted himself onto the bison's head. "We'd love a ride! Thanks!" said Katara. She then took Aang's hand, allowing him to pull her onto Appa's saddle. Gohan had placed Icarus on the saddle and sat next to Aang. "Icarus is probably tried from our trip; he'll need some time to rest before he can fly again. You coming Sokka?" he asked the Water Tribe warrior.

"Oh no…I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster," stated Sokka.

"That's not very nice," said Gohan.

"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come and give you a ride home? You know, before you freeze to death?" asked Katara.

Sokka opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Gohan said, "Your sister's got a point." Realizing that they were right and that Appa was his only way home, climbed onto the saddle and sat next to his sister. Katara had an anxious look on her face while her brother wore a grumpy look on his. Icarus sat behind them where he was sleeping soundly. "Ok. First time flyers, hold on tight!" instructed Aang before he shook the reins on Appa horns and shouted "Appa, yip yap!" Appa responded by flapping his tail and jumping into the air as if he intended to fly, but he quickly descended to the water and started to swim. "Come on, Appa. Yip yap." Aang tried once more to get his bison to fly but to no avail. "He must be tired too," suggested Gohan.

"Wow. That was truly amazing," Sokka said sarcastically. "Appa's just tired," Aang assured the Water Tribe siblings. "A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky." Katara started looking around until she noticed the bald monk gazing at her with a huge smile on his face.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" asked Katara to Aang.

"Oh, I was smiling?" asked an embarrassed Airbender.

"Ugh," groaned Sokka as he laid back and stared at the sky. Gohan nudged his best friend/brother and whispered in his ear, "Seems to me that someone likes a certain someone else." "Shut up," said Aang as Gohan laid back and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile…

The Fire Navy ship continued it's journey towards the iceberg. With the sun setting, most of the crew members decided to turn in for the night. However the two Fire Princes stood on the deck of the ship, still waiting to find their target while staring off into the horizon. The two removed their armor and wore red robes as if they planned on sleeping, but their faces showed that they had no intention of it. Iroh was standing behind them looking tired. "I'm going to bed now," Iroh yawned. "Good night, Iroh," said Trunks. "Yep. A man needs his rest. Prince Zuko, Prince Trunks, you both need some sleep," Iroh said. The two teens continued to gaze onward as though they hadn't heard him.

"Even if you're right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Fire lord Ozai, Fire lord Azulan, and even Fire lord Sozin all tried and failed." Iroh explained. "Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does," Zuko said to his uncle. "This coward's hundred years of hiding are over."

"Don't worry Iroh, we're not tired yet," answered Trunks.

Iroh decided to let them be, seeing as they wouldn't budge, and left to get some sleep. He sighed and went inside the ship.

After Iroh left, Trunks turned to his friend and said, "We should get some rest. Even if we find the Avatar, there'd be no point in trying to capture him if we're exhausted when we face him." "It's fine Trunks, I don't need any sleep," replied Zuko. "Maybe so, but it's still better to rest before you face an unknown opponent in battle." Trunks advised. "Don't worry, just get thirty minutes of rest and then we'll swap. Deal?" Prince Zuko sighed and said, "Deal." He then turned to enter the ship. "One more thing Zuko…" said Trunks getting Zuko's attention. "The Avatar might not be the only unknown opponent we face in battle."

Zuko waited for Trunks to say more, but he left it there. The Prince nodded at his lavender haired companion and entered the ship. As the day turned to night, only one thought was on Prince Trunks' mind. "Could there be another Energy bender out there?"

0-0

Appa continued to swim through the ocean as Aang, Gohan, Katara, and Sokka rested on him. Sokka was sound asleep and snoring along with Gohan. Katara crawled over to the front of the saddle where she saw the bald monk laying back and staring at the sky beside his spiky haired friend.

"Hey," the Water Tribe girl greeted her new friend.

"Hey. Whatcha thinking about?" asked the Airbender.

"I guess I was wondering—you being an airbender and all—if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar," Katara stated.

Her response made Aang uncomfortable as he frown and sat up straight. "Uh…no. I didn't know him." The Airbender lied without looking his friend in the eye. "I mean, I knew some people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry."

"Does Gohan have any idea?" Katara persisted.

"I don't think so," Aang lied again. "We tell each other everything, so if he knew anything about the Avatar he would've told me."

"Okay. Just curious." The Waterbender decided to put it aside for now. She moved to the back of the saddle after saying, "Goodnight."

"Sleep tight," replied Aang. After she left, Aang turned to face the direction they were going. "It's rude to answer for someone else, you know…" said a voice from beside Aang. The Energy bender sat up to show that he was awake and listening. When his friend didn't respond and he saw the glum look on his face, he continued to speak. "How long do you think you can hide it from them?" asked Gohan. "You'll have to tell them eventually, it's who you are."

"I don't want to tell them about that," replied the sad Airbender. "I don't want them to reject me like our friends did. I just want them to know me as me."

"And who are you?" asked Gohan.

"I'm Aang," the monk answered nonchalantly. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell them either." Gohan just sighed as he lay back again to sleep. "You're not just Aang anymore; eventually you'll have to accept that. It wasn't right for our friends to shun you, but hiding who you are isn't the solution. I won't tell them your secret, but you should." And with that Gohan closed his eyes and fell asleep as did Aang.

The next day…

The sky was red as if the world was suddenly on fire. The air was incredibly hot, so it made breathing hard. Gohan woke up to see that he was on Icarus' back instead of Appa's. Gohan grasped his dragon as they flew through the fiery world. Suddenly Gohan looked up to see that the sun was shining brighter than usual; he also saw a second sun shining in the sky. He noticed this second sun was emitting and unbelievable amount of energy, and he suddenly felt the powers of several other beings skyrocket from down below. At that moment, he noticed that the second sun wasn't a sun at all, but a great ball of fire and it was heading right for him. Gohan tried to steer Icarus away from the plummeting fireball but to no avail. Gohan and Icarus were hit by the falling flaming rock and it started pushing the two towards the ground. They were falling at such a speed against the fireball that it was impossible to move. Gohan slightly turned his neck to look towards the Earth as he thought it would be the last time he would see it. Gohan and Icarus skin began to burn as they continued to fall; the air was even hotter than before as air started escaping his lungs.

Suddenly Gohan closed his eyes and reopened them instantly, revealing emerald pupils. His hair turned from black to gold and he was surrounded by a golden aura. Gohan then stuck out his hand towards the ground and fired an enormous energy beam. The beam hit the ground in the Energy bender's attempt to save himself and Icarus.

The ball of fire was still pushing them towards the Earth but now in the line of the energy beam. Finally the falling sun hit the ground with Gohan and Icarus still on it, on impact a huge explosion erupted and the two flyers were launched through a small portal that led to a different world. There Gohan changed back to his norm as he and Icarus lost consciousness. In this different world a lot of disfigured creatures circled the two while the energy in this world was healing their injuries. There they drifted unconsciously until…

Gohan suddenly felt something wet being rubbed against his face. He sat up startled as he struggled to catch his breath. Icarus chirped (or whatever noise he makes) expressing that he was happy to see Gohan up. The energy bender looked around and saw that he was inside a tent. "I must've been dreaming…but what was that?" Gohan thought. Icarus started licking Gohan again, making the boy laugh. "Alright Icarus, good morning to you too," greeted the spiky haired teen.

"Oh good, you're awake," said Katara's voice. Gohan looked up to see the Water Tribe siblings standing by the tent door. "Good morning guys," greeted Gohan. "Good morning Gohan," Katara returned. Sokka just grunted. "Now that you're up, you can meet the entire village. First I have some things to do, then I'll wake up Aang, and we'll meet you outside," said Katara. Gohan nodded as he put his clothes and strapped his sword to his back. As they stepped outside, Katara left to see Aang while Sokka walked towards the village where a small group of people were. Gohan then pulled out his headband and tied it around his forehead. "What's with the headband?" asked Sokka.

Gohan shrugged and said, "I've had since I was a kid. I just wear it everywhere."

Sokka nodded and took notice of Gohan's sword. "You know how to use that blade on your back?" he asked. "Yeah. I found it a long time ago; it's really heavy so it was hard to handle, but eventually I got used to it," replied Gohan. "I bet a real warrior like me could easily handle that sword, mind if I see it?" said Sokka. "I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're sure you can handle it…" warned Gohan. "I'm sure," replied Sokka. Gohan smirked as he pulled the sword out of its black sheath. "…well then here you go." Gohan said as he threw the sword to Sokka. Sokka grabbed the hilt with his right hand, but the instant he did the sword fell to the ground pulling him down with it while Gohan flexed to relieve himself from the strain caused by the Sword. "That takes a load off," said Gohan.

The sword landed in the snow and slowly started to sink. Sokka struggled to lift it out but it still sunk with him pulling on the hilt. The Water Tribe Warrior grabbed the sword with his left hand and tried to lift the sword again. Gohan watched with amusement as his friend struggled to pull out his weapon. When Sokka saw Gohan's smirk, he glared at the Energy bender and released the sword. Sokka started huffing as he had exhausted himself trying to lift the sword. "Let's see…huff…if you can…huff…pull your sword out…huff…when it's buried under…huff…a hundred feet of snow!" challenged Sokka. Gohan just smiled as he walked over to where the sword was sinking, and stomped his foot to be buried under the sword. He then kicked the sword out of the snow into the air, where he grabbed it his right hand, spun it around, and pointed it at Sokka's nose before putting it in the sheath.

Sokka stared in surprise at the spiky haired teen before coughing indignantly and saying, "Whatever, that sword's not really my kind of weapon anyway." Gohan just smiled and looked to where Aang's tent was.

Inside the tent, Aang was having a strange dream of his own. In his dream, he was on Appa's saddle and flying through a heavy storm. The sky was dark and the wind was strong. Lightning flashed through the sky as the Sky bison struggled to fly. The Airbender grabbed the reins and pulled as hard as he could; trying to steer his animal friend. His efforts were useless as the two were consumed by the raging waves of the sea below. Appa struggled to remain above the waters but the stormy waters were too overwhelming. He managed to come up for air once but a little while after he did, he was pushed back under the sea. The two began to sink deeper and deeper, losing air as they sank. Aang let go of the reins as he unconsciously drifted away from Appa, who was also unconscious. As the Airbender moved further away from the Sky Bison, his tattoos suddenly started glowing along with his eyes. Aang then bashed his fists together and created a bubble around him and Appa. As the bubble began to expand, it started to freeze and harden.

"Aang! Aang, wake up!" The monk heard a voice calling him from inside his dream. He woke with a jolt as he gasped for air and tossed his covers off. "It's okay. We're in the village now," said Katara from beside him. Aang looked around and saw that he was in a tent. "Come on, get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you and Gohan."

Aang nodded and got up to put on his clothes. Before he finished, Katara got a good look at his tattoos; she noticed that they were spread out to the four limbs of his body and his head. After he finished, he grabbed his staff and Katara grabbed him, pulling him outside. When they went outside, they saw a small crowd that consisted of women of different ages and little kids. Katara lead Aang to the spot where Gohan and Sokka were waiting and placed him beside his spiky haired brother.

"Aang, Gohan, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang and Gohan," Katara introduced. The two foreigners bowed in respect. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you," said Gohan. The village however responded by shifting back a bit and giving them strange looks.

"Uh…why are they all looking at us like that?" asked Aang. "Did Appa sneeze on us?" He began inspecting his clothes. "I don't think so," said Gohan.

"Well, no one has seen an airbender for a hundred years," explained an old woman as she approached the young boys. She appeared to be the oldest in the village. "We thought they were extinct, until my grandchildren found you."

"Extinct?" asked the confused Airbender.

"How can that be?" thought Gohan.

The old woman then looked at Gohan and said, "And we know that Ki users are extinct, so meeting one is quite a rare occurrence for us."

"I prefer the term Energy bender," explained Gohan.

"Guys, this is my grandmother," Katara introduced.

"Call me Gran Gran," insisted the old woman.

Suddenly Sokka walked to Aang and grabbed his staff. "What is this? A weapon?" he asked as he examined it. "You can't stab anything with this; your brother's heavy sword makes a better weapon."

"That's because it's not for stabbing," replied Aang as he used airbending to reclaim his staff. "It's for airbending." He then opened the staff, revealing its two sets of red wings. "Magic! Do it again!" cheered one of the small children. "Not magic, airbending," Aang explained. "My glider lets me control the air around me and fly. Gohan can use the glider to fly as well, but since he's been studying and training with airbenders for years, he's learn to fly with his own energy."

"You know, last time I checked humans can't fly!" Sokka stated, clearly not believing them.

The two foreigners looked at each other and smirked. Aang positioned himself under his glider while Gohan took a stance. "Check again!" they said as they both shot up into the air. Aang soared through the sky above the villagers' heads. Gohan flew right next to him with his arms spread out. As the two soared through the air, the villagers pointed up at them in awe.

"Whoa…"

"They're flying…"

"This is incredible!"

The villagers continued to watch as the boys did loops in the air. Sokka stared at the two flying boys with his mouth hanging open. "How is this possible?" he thought.

Seeing the reaction on Sokka's face, Gohan smirked and decided to have some fun with this. "Is it possible, that two boys can fly…make a fool of Sokka, gravity defied…" the spiky haired teen sang as he flew. Sokka glared at him while some of the villagers were laughing. As the two boys continued to soar through the air, Aang looked down and saw Katara smiling. He returned the smile and didn't notice that he was headed toward a pillar of snow. "Oof!" said Aang as he crashed into the snow tower. Gohan stopped and landed beside his friend. "My Watchtower!" exclaimed Sokka as the snow buried Aang. Gohan held out his hand and Aang took it, allowing his friend to pull him to his feet. "I'll make you a new one!" promised Gohan.

The Water Tribe soon ran up to meet them. Katara stood by the foreigners and said, "That was amazing, you guys!" while Sokka ran to the pile of snow trying to repair the tower but the snow just fell on top of him as Aang closed his glider. "Great. You're an Airbender, your brother's an Energy bender, and Katara's a Waterbender; together you three can waste time all day long," said Sokka before he walked away.

"You're a Waterbender!"said Aang to the Southern Waterbender.

"Well...sort of, not yet," explained Katara.

"Of course you are, you just need more training," encouraged Gohan.

"Alright, no more playing," said Gran Gran to the three benders. "Come Katara, you have chores." Katara and her grandmother walked away while Gohan started rebuilding Sokka's watchtower and Aang started playing with the children. As they walked away, Katara was filled with excitement. "I told you Gran Gran, they're the real thing!" she said. "I finally found benders to teach me!" Her grandmother was not as excited as she was. "Katara, try not to put all your hopes in those boys," said Gran Gran. "But they're special, especially Aang. I can tell," replied Katara. "I sense they're filled with much wisdom." They looked back at the Airbender, who now had his tongue stuck to his frozen staff.

"Sthee? Now my sthaff ith thuck to my tongue," said Aang making the children laughed, one of them tried to pull the staff free, hurting Aang's tongue in the process. Katara looked at her grandmother nervously and said, "Well, Gohan is at least." Gran Gran just held her neutral expression.

Elsewhere…

The fire navy ship continued to sail towards the iceberg where the pillar of light appeared from. Onboard the ship, the two princes were currently training themselves. On the deck of the ship, Zuko and Trunks were sparring against four guards while Iroh observed. After launching a fireball at their opponents (or in Trunks' case an energy blast.) Iroh instructed his students to do it again. The two princes repeated they're last attack and Iroh said, "Again!" in a commanding tone. The teenagers attacked the fire guards again, who reacted by dodging and firing their own balls of fire to counter the princes attack. Zuko and Trunks quickly dodged and appeared on the other side of deck.

"No!" said Iroh as he stood up. "The power in bending comes from the breath, not the muscle!" Iroh corrected the princes as he prepared to demonstrate the proper way. "The breath becomes energy in the body; the energy goes past the limbs and becomes fire!" As Iroh finished explaining, he fired a perfectly controlled fire blast at his princes. It disappeared before it could touch them. "Get it right this time!" ordered Iroh. Trunks bowed in respect and returned to training as Zuko glared at his uncle.

"Enough!" Zuko shouted as he approached his teacher. "We've been doing these drills all day! Teach us the next set, we're more than ready!"

"No! You're impatient, Prince Zuko!" argued Iroh. "You both have to master the basics. Do it again!" Iroh commanded as he sat down. Trunks took a big inhale before he shouted "HAAA!" He then stretched out his hands towards his two opponents and fired two ki blasts at them. The blast hit the guards in the chest, knocking them flat on their backs a few feet away from Prince Trunks. (A/N: Don't worry. Ki blasts in this fanfic are mostly meant to stun people; only a few times will they be meant to kill someone.) Trunks bowed to his fallen foes before bowing to Iroh and then sitting down as well and eating a plate of food.

"See? Trunks knows how to take his time in order to improve his skills," said Iroh which made Zuko growl. "You should follow his example and complete this drill before moving on to the next level." Now angry, Zuko turned around and threw a kick which shot a strong fire blast that knock down one of the guards still standing. "The Sages say that the Avatar is the last Airbender and is friends with one of the remaining Energy benders," said Zuko as he faced his uncle. "He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements, and now we learn that he could have an Energy bender with him. We'll need more than basic firebending to defeat them," reasoned the fire Prince before he ordered, "You will teach us the advanced set!"

Iroh looked at his nephew with a stern look before turning to Trunks, who nodded. The wise fire general turned back to his nephew and said, "Very well, but first…" his face then turned to one full of delight as did Trunks. "We must finish our roast duck," said the lavender haired prince. Prince Zuko could stare in slight disgust as his companions brought out a box full of meat and started gobbling it down very fast. "You guys and your appetite…" said the fire prince as he sat to wait for them.

Back at the Southern Water Tribe Village…

It was the afternoon and the sky had no clouds to block the burning sun. Sokka was busy at this time giving a speech to his warriors in training, who also happened to be six toddlers, while Gohan sat down and watched. Gohan questioned why Sokka was trying to groom little children into fighters considering how young they were, but then he thought, "Guess you're never too young to start; I should know that." "Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a Firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight till the last man is left standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?" "Good speech, very inspirational…" said Gohan which made Sokka grin as he pumped his fist in the air.

The toddlers however didn't respond as they stared at their teacher with blank expressions. "…but these are just toddlers, so they won't understand half of what you're saying," finished the spiky haired kid, making Sokka frown. As if to prove Gohan's point, one of the small boys said, "I gotta pee!" and raised his hand.

"Listen! Until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe," Sokka said, trying to be stern. "And that means no potty breaks!" "But I really gotta go," urged the small boy, still not understanding his teacher's words. Sokka just sighed and asked, "Okay, who else has to go?" All the kids raised their hands, making Sokka slap his forehead as Gohan laughed. "You think you can do a better job teaching these kids?" asked the Water Tribesman as the children left. Gohan got up and looked towards the kids leaving. "Sure, you just need to know how to handle them," said the Energy bender.

"Then they're all yours when they get back," said Sokka. "I think I'll go fishing to clear my mind. Plus I need food."

"No need, I've already caught about 4 baskets of fish and descaled them. Now the women are busy cooking them for lunch," said Gohan.

"Yeah right, not even I can catch that many fish in one morning, let alone descale them before noon," laughed Sokka.

"You can go see for yourself; they're in that tent," said Gohan as he pointed to a nearby tent.

"Alright, let's see this large stack of fish you managed to catch," said Sokka. Gohan noticed the children coming back from their bathroom break and said, "You go on ahead; I'll stay and train the kids."

"Good luck," said Sokka.

The kids all sat down in front of Gohan, assuming that Sokka was returning soon. When they saw that he wasn't one of the kids asked, "Where's Sokka?" "He went to take a break; he left me in charge of your training," answered the spiky haired teen. "But, why don't we play a game instead?" All the kids grew excited after hearing that idea. "What game are we playing?" asked another boy anxiously. Gohan smiled at the boy's anxiety and said, "Try to see if you can copy what I'm doing." He then stood in place and started throwing slow punches and kicks. The kids watched Gohan carefully before standing to copy his movements. Gohan continued to perform fighting stances and attacks while the kids copied his movements. They played this gamed for seven minutes, which was enough time for Sokka to stare at the stacks of fish that were to be lunch and ask where this fish feast came from before being told that the Energy bender caught them all after rebuilding his watchtower, which looked magnificent.

Sokka then left to return to his students and was surprised to see them mimicking Gohan's movements. When he approached Gohan, he asked, "What's going on here?" "We're playing a game," answered Gohan. "Training methods!" answered the kids. Sokka stared with his mouth wide open as his trainees continued to perform fighting moves foreign to him. "How'd you do it?" asked the Water Tribesman. "I'm just good with kids," answered Gohan.

Just then the southern Water Tribe girl approached them. "Have you guys seen Aang?" asked Katara. "Gran Gran said he disappeared an hour ago."

Gohan pointed to the direction where some kids were sliding on Appa's tail which had Sokka's spear as its support while others were riding on Icarus a few feet from the ground. "Wheee!" shouted the children. Beside the kids was the last Airbender, who was helping to hoist them onto the Appa slide. Children laughed as they slid down the bison's tail and landed in the snow. Gohan cheered the kids on as Katara giggled at the fun. Sokka however wasn't happy.

"Stop that right now!" shouted Sokka as he ran towards the bison. He removed his spear, ruining everyone's fun. "What's wrong with you?" Sokka asked Aang. "We don't have time for fun and games with the war going on!"

"What war? What are you talking about?" asked Aang just as Katara and Gohan approached them. The Water Tribe siblings looked at Aang very skeptically. They turned to Gohan who also looked like he didn't know what Sokka was talking about. "You're kidding right?" asked Sokka. Before his question could be answered, Aang caught a glimpse of a small black and white creature in a distance from them. "PENGUIN!" shouted Aang startling the creature and causing it to run off. Aang suddenly ran after the arctic bird with great speed, leaving his brother and the Southern Water Tribe teens behind.

"He's kidding right?" asked Sokka again. Katara shrugged as Gohan shook his head no. "How can you put up with someone like that?" asked Sokka to Gohan. The Energy bender smiled and said, "Easy. We both know how and when to have fun...like right now!" before he ran in the direction Aang left in with speed comparable to the Airbender's. Katara soon went after the foreigners and found them surrounded by penguins. The two were trying to catch the penguins in order to use them for sledding, but the little creatures just slipped away from them.

"Hey, come on little guy, wanna go sledding?" Aang asked as he continued to chase the penguin. Gohan tried grabbing one by the tail but it quickly slipped out of his grasp. Aang tried to show his connection with animals to Katara by mimicking the Penguins which she giggled at.

"Aang, Gohan! How about I help you both catch a penguin if you guys teach me waterbending?"asked the Water Tribe girl. "You got a deal," answered Aang. "Just one little problem. I'm an Airbender and Gohan's an Energy bender. We're not Waterbenders."

"Isn't there another Waterbender in your tribe who can teach you?"asked Gohan. Katara's face soon turned sad as she answered the question. "No, you're looking at the only Waterbender in the whole South Pole."

"This isn't right, a Waterbender needs to master water," said Aang.

"How can there be only one Waterbender in the South Pole?" thought Gohan. "Hey, what about the North Pole? There's gotta be another Water Tribe that's full of Waterbenders up there right?" asked the Energy bender.

"Gohan's right. Maybe they have Waterbenders who can teach you," suggested the Airbender.

"Maybe, but we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time," replied Katara. "It's not exactly turn right at the second glacier; it's on the other side of the world."

"How could the South Pole and North Pole not be in contact for so long?" thought Gohan as Aang spoke up, "You forget, I have a flying bison and Gohan's got a magic dragon. The four of us could personally fly you to the North Pole. Then we could find you a master." "That..." Katara started to say before she thought about the offer. "I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before." "The best chance for you to learn Waterbending is for you go to the North Pole, and along the way you can practice your skills while exploring the world with us," said Gohan. "I still don't know," answered Katara. "Well you think about it," said Aang before he asked, "But in the meantime, can you teach us how to catch some of these penguins?"

"Ok. Listen closely my young pupils, catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art," said Katara before she pulled out a fish from her sleeves. "Observe." She then tossed the fish to Aang, who caught it and was soon surrounded by penguins. The Airbender laughed as the arctic birds swarmed him for the fish.

"Got anymore fish?" asked Gohan before Katara tossed him one as well, and he was soon in the same situation as his brother.

Moments later, Aang, Gohan, and Katara were sledding down glaciers on the backs of penguins. "Whoo!" They yelled as they slid downward. Katara and Gohan continued to slide downward while Aang flew off a snow ramp and sailed over their heads. He landed right in front of them before they flew off their own snow ramp and appeared beside him. The three friends laughed as they slid faster. "I haven't done this since I was a kid," said Katara. "You still are a kid!" Aang reminded her. "Yeah, sometimes you need to cut loose and have some fun," said Gohan. The three penguin sledders soon slid into an icy cave, where they raced and slid around the surface, until they finally stopped in front of a giant ship that was held up by an ice hill.

"Whoa!" said Aang as he and Gohan approached the ship. "What is that?" "A Fire Navy ship and a very bad memory for my people," replied Katara. The two boys started walking towards the ship before Katara called to them, "Guys stop! We're not allowed near it, the ship could be booby trapped!" "If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fear," advised Aang. The three friends soon entered the ship and wandered around. They eventually came across a room full of weapons. "This ship has haunted my Tribe since Gran Gran was a little girl." explained Katara. "How come?" asked Gohan. "It's from the Fire Nation's first attack!" answered Katara. "What is this war they keep mentioning with the Fire Nation?" thought Gohan.

The two boys now looked at her with very confused expressions on their face. "Ok, back up," said Aang as he picked a spear. "We have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation; we've never seen any war."

"Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?" asked Katara.

"I don't know, a few days maybe," answered an uncertain Aang.

"I think it was more like a hundred years," said Katara.

"What?! That's impossible! Do I look like a hundred and fourteen year old man to you?" argued Aang.

"Think about it. The war is a century old, you don't know about it because somehow you were there the whole time. It's the only explanation," reasoned Katara. Aang's face suddenly grew shocked before he remembered something. "What about Gohan? He's my brother and he looks just as old as I do. He didn't know about the war either and he wasn't in the iceberg with me," questioned the Airbender.

"You're right. I wasn't with you in the iceberg, but something else happened to me," said Gohan as he stared at the weapons. "Like what?" asked Katara. Gohan sighed as he explained his recent dream. "I don't remember much, but I do remember looking for Aang on Icarus when suddenly we were hit by some sort of giant fireball." Gohan looked towards at his friends who stared at him with confused looks. "I know it sounds a little crazy, but that's what happened. Icarus and I were plummeting towards the ground when we collided with some enormous fireball. We almost died..." he stopped for a moment before he spoke again "...but then I suddenly felt this tremendous surge of power! It was like one minute I'm pressed against the huge fireball and the next I'm pushing at it with my energy."

The two nodded as they gestured him to continue. "When we hit the ground, we were caught in some small explosion that consumed us completely. Before I passed out from my injuries, I saw these figureless beings circling me. It looked like I was in a different world, one where energy filled the air and this very same energy started healing our wounds."

"Sounds like the spirit world," said Katara.

"What?!" asked the brothers.

"Gran Gran used to tell me stories about the spirit world, that's just like how she described it. Which means while Aang was in an iceberg for a hundred years, you were in the Spirit world for that long," explained Katara.

The boys' faces held expressions of shock as they let all they just learned sink in. They both sat down as they held their heads. "A hundred years, I can't believe it," said Aang. "I wonder how much the world has changed from what we knew it to be?" said Gohan. Katara knelt by the boys and tried to comfort them. "I'm sorry guys. Maybe there's a bright side to all this," suggested the Waterbender.

"Well, we did get to meet you," said Aang to the Waterbender which made her smile. "There's also Sokka. He's not that bad, but he's not exactly worth spending hundred years in an iceberg or the spirit world," joked Gohan. The three benders laughed as they stood up. "Come on, let's get out of here," said Katara.

Although they intended on leaving, they started wandering the ship more than necessary. "Guys, let's head back this place is creepy," said Katara as they continued to look around. "Katara's right, there's nothing more to see here," said Gohan. Just then Aang looked down as he tripped a small wire that locked the three in a cell. "What's that you said about booby traps?" asked Aang nervously. The ship suddenly started heating up as steam blew around them. "This can't be good," said Gohan.

Suddenly a signal flare was blasted into the sky through the ceiling. The three looked out and saw the flare in the sky. "Hold on tight!" ordered Aang as he picked Katara up bridal style and jumped out the ship through the ceiling hole, with Gohan right behind them. The two jumped from the top of the ship to the bottom.

Unbeknownst to them, Prince Zuko was looking through a telescope while Trunks was standing next to him. He saw the flare in the sky before looked towards the abandoned ship where he saw Aang and Gohan escaping. "The last Airbender; quite agile for his old age," said Zuko as he observed Aang. "You were right Trunks, he's not alone. That's probably the other Energybender you mentioned." "Interesting," said Trunks. "I wonder if he'll be a challenge to me?"

"Trunks, wake my Uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar," ordered Zuko as he watched the three kids run back to the Southern Water Tribe Village. "As well as his hiding place."

A/N: Finally done! Man! This took forever to finish! Now I know you guys might have some questions and I promise, they will be answered in time. Until them ask them in the reviews so that I may see them and I'll try to answer them. Get ready for the next chapter, cause it's coming out soon. Until next time, TTFN! AntiHero out!