Heroes of the Wind Chapter 1, a Legend of Zelda + Avatar: Last Airbender Crossover fanfic

(Katara's voice)

Water

Earth

Fire

Air

(Tetra's voice)

Wisdom

Courage

Power

(Unison)

Long ago, before the first to bear the mantle of the Avatar, the great power of the world

was to be questioned. The Triforce was created by the goddesses to bring balance

to the great warriors of the world. Even unto today, generations of people, good and evil,

dream of the power of the Triforce.

But few understand the true purpose of the three golden triangles, which grant the holder

Vast Wisdom, Insurmountable Power, or Unstoppable Courage. Now, as the Great War of the Elements

nears its end, the Hero of the Past and the Hero of the Present speed toward one another.

(Tetra's voice)

For the secret of that is…

(Katara's voice)

…the true Triforce…

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

HEROES OF THE WIND

Chapter 1: Funeral for a Friend

Joy filled Katara's heart as she helped Prince Zuko make sure Azula was properly restrained, though the uncrowned Fire Lord was reduced to a wild-eyed, crying, helpless wreck. It was over. It was finally over. They had done it, and the war was truly over.

Her father, Haru, The Duke, and Iroh had returned to the capitol just moments ago with news of Ba Sing Se being back under the control of Bumi and the Earth King, and even better news: word had spread that Fire Lord Ozai, or Phoenix King Ozai as he was calling himself toward the end, was dead at the hands of the Avatar.

"I hear you did well, Zuko," Hakoda said as he approached the two teenagers.

"Katara was the one who defeated her, not me," Zuko said, gingerly touching the still tender scar on his chest.

"He's being modest; he softened her up, and then saved my life," Katara said, touching her most unlikely friend's arm.

"Then I owe you great thanks, Prince Zuko," Hakoda said, taking Zuko's wrist in a shake. "And I'm certain the Avatar will thank you as well upon his arrival."

"That reminds me," Hakoda said, turning to his daughter. "When Avatar Aang arrives, send him my way after you've seen to any injuries he probably had received," He said, crossing his arms with a smug look on his face. "I've been meaning to discuss Water Tribe courting procedures with him since after Ba Sing Se fell to Azula."

"Leave him alone," Katara said, flushing slightly. "Besides we're not courting…"

This caused both males in her presence to snort. "Sure, Katara, and I have a perfect complexion," Zuko smirked.

"We're not. We had a conversation to clear everything up during the play we saw at Ember Island," Katara responded with a huff.

"What kind of conversation?" Zuko asked in a worried tone.

"He thought we were going to get together after that kiss during the invasion," Katara explained, hugging herself. "I hadn't had time to really think about how I felt about the whole situation and told him that. I told him it wasn't the time."

"What did Aang do after that?" Hakoda asked as Zuko turned away, rubbing his face.

"He kissed me again," Katara sighed, "I told him again that it wasn't the right time and left. He should have realized that we had a war to fight. It wasn't the right time for that kind of thing."

Hakoda sighed and rubbed his eyes as Zuko turned back to the girl. "What were you thinking?!" the Fire Prince exclaimed.

"I was thinking Aang didn't need a distraction when he was fighting a man who had obvious greater experience in combat," Katara said, sounding foolish even to herself.

"Katara… do you know what my biggest drive was when I was out fighting?" Hakoda asked, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders. "I knew you and Sokka were waiting for my return, that you would be there to welcome me with open, loving arms."

"Aang still has that…" Katara said softly.

"Knowing your best friend is waiting for you is a totally different, and might I say lesser, feeling than knowing that the woman you love and loves you back is waiting to hold you after a hard fought battle," her father explained.

"This doesn't leave this group now… but when it comes to women, guys are sensitive creatures," Zuko explained, "face down tyrants and war lords with no problem, but face rejection of the woman you love is a one-hit kill."

"But I didn't reject him…" Katara responded with wide eyes.

"Katara… honey, you did," Hakoda said slowly.

"It could mean life or death sometimes," Zuko added before glancing up at the distance. "And speaking of returning heroes…"

"Let's go see about getting me a future son-in-law," Hakoda said, wrapping an arm around his daughter.

"Thinking a little ahead, aren't you, dad?" Katara flushed.

As they approached the landing port for the airship, an eerie feeling washed over Katara. Something wasn't right. And as the crowd made up of soldiers from all three nations began to cheer, Katara could only watch, feeling as though she was staring down a razor-sharp arrow headed directly toward her.

"Something's wrong…" Zuko whispered from beside her as the gangplank slowly lowered.

The cheering and whooping slowed to an eerie calm as Sokka, Suki, and Toph made their way together down the gangplank.

Suki's head was bowed, her cheeks wet with tears and her muscles rippled slightly as she helped to support Sokka who kept one leg off the ground. If he was in pain, he didn't show it. In fact, his face was passive and lacked any emotion at all. "What happened?" Zuko demanded softly as all eyes fell on Toph, the strongest willed of the group by a long shot. She was holding a small bundle to her chest with tears streaming from her dull, unseeing eyes, her mouth hanging slightly open with constant heartfelt sobs.

"It… it happened so fast…" Sokka said as he shook his head.

"What happened so fast, son," Hakoda whispered as he approached the trio.

"Aang did it… I managed to grab some glimpses while we took on the airships…" Sokka said in a remote, emotionless tone. "It looked bad here and there… but then Aang went into the Avatar State…" the teen gulped and gripped his girlfriend's shoulder a little tighter. "He beat Ozai hands down. The bastard didn't stand a chance. Aang had him down… looked like he was about to finish him off… then… then, it happened… it just… it happened so fast…"

"Sokka…" Zuko pressed.

"Ozai started to laugh… insane laugh … we could hear it from the airship…" Sokka began to tremble. "He said something to Aang, and it must have been bad… because… Aang yelled 'No' and… it happened so fast…"

"Aang threw a big wind gust at us…" Suki finished for her boyfriend. "It shoved our airship a good distance away and then… and then… it all exploded…" She closed her eyes tight but failed to keep the tears from escaping. "Everything for at least a mile was… completely destroyed…"

"The Sacrificial Victory Technique…" Iroh whispered as he took a step back.

"What? I've never heard of that technique." Zuko turned to his uncle.

"That is because I went to great efforts to prevent you from learning such a… foolish technique." Iroh closed his eyes.

"What does this have to do… where's Aang?" Katara asked, glancing around. "Was he hurt? Where is he, Sokka?!" the Waterbender pressed her mind, not clicking on what Suki and Sokka were trying to gently tell her. "Tell me where Aang is!"

"The Sacrificial Victory is a very difficult technique to use, almost impossible," Iroh said in a trembling voice. "It is really most effected during Solar Eclipses and even more so with Sozin's Comet. The Firebender using it knows it is only a last option when death is inescapable... They focus every bit of fire… all their anger and hatred into themselves, making themselves into living bomb. The greater the Firebender's power, the larger the explosion. It kills him or herself, and if it is big enough, anyone in range…"

"Aang saw it coming; that's why he pushed you guys away," Katara reasoned, "Did he get hurt? Where is he? Why won't you answer me?" she pressed onward.

"Aang's… Aang's DEAD!" Toph screamed, dropping to her knees as if stating the fact took what strength she had left. As she fell, the blanket in her arms opened to reveal Momo's charred remains.

"No…" Katara shook her head as she felt her blood run cold. "He's the Avatar… Aang's the Avatar… he… he couldn't… you're wrong."

"Katara…" Hakoda sad softly as he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"No!" She shook off his hand. "We have to go back there," Katara said, her eyes growing slightly wild. "You left him there! He's obviously hurt, and you have to get me there. We have to find him!"

Zuko and Hakoda barely caught the girl as she started to run past Suki, Toph, and Sokka. "Let me go!" She shouted as she fought against their grips. "We have to go back there! He's alone back there! He's hurt and probably scared! He needs me! He needs me there! He needed me there! Let me go! LET ME GO!"

"The Water Tribe is the next in the cycle…" Iroh said in a sad tone. "We'll have to watch for any children born today. What… what time was the explosion?"

Katara's eyes widened and dilated as the reality hit and a tempest of emotions slammed through her. "Let her down," she vaguely heard her father say through the ringing in her ears. Zuko and Hakoda lowered her to her knees as she had no strength to stay up on her own.

"Stay back, give her air," She thought Iroh said that, but she wasn't sure. "She's going into shock."

Next thing she knew, she was staring at the ground and the putrid puddle that had appeared just before her. She wasn't even aware it came from her own mouth. She wasn't really aware of anything anymore.

"It's going to be ok," Hakoda said as convincingly as he could as he held his stiffened and trembling daughter. "It's going to be ok…"

The sun shown brightly over the Fire Nation capitol the next afternoon for the crowning of the new Fire Lord. Huge crowds were gathered from all nations to witness Fire Lord Zuko's coronation. But the mood was only somewhat joyous.

All eyes fell on Zuko, who stepped out with Mai at his side. Zuko went to his knees humbly as the Fire Monks surrounded him. Cheers erupted as he was crowned and proclaimed the Fire Lord. Everyone stood to their feet and applauded him, with the exception of Katara, who hadn't spoken or made an independent move since news of Aang's death was revealed to her.

The crowd settled as Zuko stood to his feet and motioned that he wished to speak. "Countrymen, citizens of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes, allies and friends… this day, this day has been a long time coming. For one hundred years, the Fire Nation, under the leadership of my great grandfather, my grandfather, and my late father, held the world in a grip of terror. I tell you now that reign is over. As Fire Lord, I assure you all, I will lead us to work with the leaders of the other nations towards an age of peace and harmony for ourselves, for our children, and in honor of those who died to make this day happen."

Zuko's chin dropped for a moment, and he clinched his fist to stop a tremble. "We all lost friends and loved ones in the nightmare of war. We all know of Avatar Aang and the sacrifice he made. But only a handful knows of Aang himself. He didn't want to die for us. He didn't want to fight at all. All he ever wanted was to spend time with his friends, laughing and enjoying life. And while he is no longer physically with us, through the new Fire Nation, his love of life and peace will still live on."

A sad smile crossed the Fire Lord's face. "I hope I live to see the new Avatar rise to continue Aang's work. I will do everything in my power to prevent my family's greed hindering his or her caring spirit as it did Aang." He glanced around the crowd, and a smile, fully formed, crossed his features. "Judging by the look on your faces, you all agree. Now, my brothers and sisters... To the Fire Nation! To the Earth Kingdom! To the Water Tribes! To the Air Nomads! To Avatar Aang!" he exclaimed, holding up his fist, which was returned by thunderous applause.

Zuko turned and walked back into his quarters with Mai close behind. She followed him to his dressing chambers and barely closed the heavy wooden door before she had to duck his crown being thrown hard at the wall. "Zuko!" she exclaimed as she turned and pulled the crown from where it lodged itself in the wall before turning back to her boyfriend. "What's gotten into you?"

"It wasn't worth it…" he said as he sat down roughly on a loveseat. "It just wasn't worth it, Mai."

"So all that about keeping the Avatar alive through the new Fire Nation was a bunch of bull?" she asked in her usual monotone voice.

"No… it's just… it should have been me killed, not Aang…" Zuko shook his head before lowering his face to his hands.

"Then who would become Fire Lord?" Mai asked, a hint of concern in her voice as she approached him.

"I don't know… Uncle maybe… or Uncle and Aang would find someone more suitable…" Zuko sniffled.

"You'll be a wonderful Fire Lord," Mai said, sitting down beside him. "I know it, and Aang knew it."

"I just don't know how we're going to make it without him," Zuko sighed. "And I'm not talking about the countries… I'm talking 'us', Team Avatar."

"…Team Avatar?" Mai asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Blame Sokka," Zuko gave a soft chuckle.

"I will." Mai shook her head before pulling her teary-eyed boyfriend into her arm. "But right now, I plan to help you mourn your friend," she whispered as she held him close.

Later that night, a small group gathered in the living room of Zuko's vacation home on Ember Island. Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, Sokka, Toph, and Katara sat around a painting of Aang as they would always remember him: smiling with a mischievous look in his big, grey-blue eyes.

They sat in silence for some time before Sokka finally broke the tension. "Hey… we ever tell you 'bout the time we snuck into Omashu?" he asked with tears in his eyes. "Aang took some of Appa's fur and made a wig and mustache. He pretended to be our grandfather… it was painfully obvious, but it still tricked the guards. I can't believe we pulled that off…"

"And remember when he got all crazy the night before the invasion?" Toph asked with a teary smile. "It was worse than Sokka on Cactus Juice."

"Yeah, it got really scary after a while," Sokka added as almost all of them laughed at the story. "He swore up and down that Momo and Appa were talking to him, and they were doing some kind of sword fight…" Sokka's eyes lit up at a thought. "What did he say? Oh, yeah, 'Toph! We're all gonna die because of your weak bladder!' That was…" He realized his error in judgment when Katara stiffened but still remained physically still and quiet.

"And then, when we got stuck in the trap when we were seeking the original Fire Benders," Zuko spoke up, changing the tense subject. "I still don't think I got all the sticky off of me…"

"This is stupid…" Katara said, standing up on her own for the first time in over a day.

"Katara?" Sokka spoke up, but she ignored him and walked outside. "Go on without us; we'll be back in a while…" Sokka said before getting up and following his sister out.

Katara numbly walked outside the house and on down the trail to the beach. She walked out till the waves washed over her feet, soaking her shoes and pants legs. She just stood there, letting the ocean lick her feet and legs before she glanced up at the full moon. "Yue…"

"DAMN YOU!!" Katara bellowed as she threw a massive water whip toward the moon. "WHY?! TELL ME WHY, DAMN YOU! WHY DID YOU TAKE HIM AWAY!?" Tears flowed from her angry eyes as she continued her futile assault. She couldn't stop if she wanted to. She continued lashing out, screaming in rage and frustration with every attack.

"Come here…" Sokka said as he approached his little sister, wrapping her in a tight hug.

Katara tried to fight for a moment, screaming in protest but finally melted into his arms, crying loudly. "It's going to be ok, Little Princess," he said, using the old nickname he hadn't used since they were small.

"It's not fair…" she sobbed into his chest.

"No, it's not…" Sokka agreed as he held her.

"I never told him…" Katara whimpered, clinging to her brother tightly as they sank to their knees in the sand. "I never got to tell him…"

"Let it all out, little sister," Sokka whispered, stroking her hair. "Let it all out…"

"I love him so much…" She cried, and Sokka clung to her tighter. "It hurts… it hurts so much, Sokka… how can I make it stop?"

Sokka didn't know how to answer; he could only hold her as she cried out her heart and soul.

Aang groaned as his eyes fluttered open. But as soon as the daze left, numbing pain cut through his whole body. "Easy, my friend…" a soft soothing voice spoke from above him. "Do not try to move. You're badly injured…"

He tried to focus his eyes on the speaker but could only make out what looked like long, golden hair and bright, blue eyes. "K-ta-Katara…" he moaned weakly with a rough voice. "Where… Kat-Katara…"

"Don't try to speak," the girl spoke in a crisp, formal yet comforting accent. "My friend found you barely alive. You are very lucky…"

"Rest…" the girl spoke softly as she touched his throbbing chest. "You're safe... among friends…"

He shifted slightly, feeling softness around him, and realized he was in what felt like a feather bed. "You're safe; rest…" the girl repeated as she stroked his cheek.

Aang finally lost the fight and drifted to a restless sleep filled with images of flames, a Fire Lord's laughter, and a Waterbender turning her back…

To Be Continued …

Next Chapter: The Avatar's Four Sword Adventure