Water: Twist of Fate

an "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fanfic

by Sapphire-Raindrop

Chapter 1: Grand Entrance

The forest air was hot and humid in the forest; unusual weather for so late in the fall. The birds congregated noisily in the shade, pushing and scolding to get spots out of the blazing sun. The insects—usually quieted by the chill that accompanied the fall and winter months—took advantage of the heat to relentlessly chirp and click, filling the forest with unrelenting song. The river that cut through the hiking trail gurgled as it ran by. A sturdy log had fallen across it, creating a make-shift bridge.

A teenager walked up the dirt trail, avoiding large rocks and other hazardous objects. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and she wore a tank top, shorts and well-used running shoes.

"Dakota, wait up!"

The sixteen-year-old sighed but waited patiently as her younger brother Henry struggled up the steep hill behind her. The boy panted heavily, strands of his dark hair sticking to his forehead and sweat running down his face.

"You okay?" Dakota asked.

"Why…are you going…so fast?" the twelve-year-old wheezed, and Dakota laughed, reaching out to muss up his hair as she approached the river.

"If I'm going too fast for you, just say the word," Dakota said, smirking at her brother's indignant sputters that no, she didn't need to slow down, but that she wasn't properly considering his much shorter legs. A temporary setback, he assured her, as his inevitable growth spurt would put an end to all that 'slowing down' nonsense.

Nodding along with her brother's determined excuses, Dakota lightly jumped onto the sturdy tree trunk that stretched across the river. Her lower half—honed by years of gymnastics—adjusted unconsciously to balance her weight and she darted across with ease. Henry huffed indignantly at the demonstration and jumped up onto the branch, swaying as he cautiously inched forward.

Dakota laughed at his expression and Henry stuck his tongue out at her when he reached the other side, marching by her onto the shore. The girl merely smiled and followed him as he walked up the trail.

Rejuvenated, Henry looked back at her and grinned. "Hey Coda, guess what?"

"What?"

"The final episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender came out yesterday! Mom let me stay up late so I could finish it."

"Oh really? How was it?" she asked, and Henry's face lit up at the question.

Her brother was just getting into the climax of the story when Dakota saw it: a bright blue light emanating from the partially hidden stream to her right. She stopped without thinking, craning her head to see it more clearly.

"And then, in the big final battle, Fire Lord Ozai is about to win but at the last second Aang goes all glowy and takes away his bending, which..." Henry trailed off, looking back at her in confusion when he realized she wasn't beside him. "What're you looking at?"

Dakota swallowed hard. "Hey, do you—" she began, about to point to the river when a familiar voice sounded:

"Took you guys long enough!"

Dakota looked up to see their father standing at the top of the hill, where their traditional Sunday lunch spot was marked by several large boulders. From one of those boulders, their smiling mother waved. Henry waved back, starting up the hill to meet them. Instinctively, Dakota took a step in their direction, for a moment forgetting about the blue light in favor of remembering the cookies her mother had brought along for the occasion.

But just as she was about to take a second step, the light pulsed, like a weird sort of call to action.

In an instant, Dakota made her decision and called out to Henry:

"Hey, I need to go to the bathroom real quick. Can you take my backpack?"

At the mention of 'bathroom', Henry hastily grabbed her backpack (which held their lunches) and scampered away up the hill, carefully skirting the sharp rocks that littered the trail. For a moment, Dakota found herself watching her brother's dark hair blow around wildly around his head as a breeze blew. Their mother rose to her feet to give him a hug when he reached them, listening as he most likely explained why Dakota was staying behind. Her father laughed at Henry's words and gave Dakota a cheeky salute that made her roll her eyes.

It was then that Dakota turned to investigate the source of the light, stomping through the scratchy brush until she reached it.

The water was eerily calm, the surface glassy and pristine. It seemed harmless enough, aside from the strange electric blue color, and her curiosity was piqued. Years of encouraged caution fought for dominance as she sat there, trying hard to resist the urge to touch.

Dakota's need to explore got the better of her, however, and she tentatively dipped her hand into the water.

The moment she did a low ringing erupted in her ears and the world around her dipped out of focus as something grabbed hold of her hand. She couldn't scream, couldn't struggle, because the ringing in her ears made it hard to think. It made it impossible to speak, it made it hard to breathe.

The strange energy was pulling Dakota in, allowing her only a few moments of terror before she was yanked headfirst into the bright blue light. She expected her head to hit the riverbed but instead she continued to fall. She felt cold and then very hot, weightless and then so heavy that it was no wonder she kept falling.

Suddenly, the light faded. She opened her eyes only to find herself high up in the air, with no ground beneath her and nothing to hold on to.

Screaming, she dropped like a rock towards an ocean that was ringed by icy glaciers and snowy cliffs. There was a dark ship nearby, and it got larger and larger as she fell.

At most, five seconds passed before she hit the water, and those seconds were both the longest and shortest moments of her life.

The wind whipped past, tearing through and quickly breaking her hair free of the flimsy elastic that kept it in a ponytail. The air was frigid, and she shuddered at the thought of just how cold the water would be. Her only hope was to somehow make it to the ship; less a ship and more a machine built for war, with bright red flags. There was a black symbol on the flag that was vaguely familiar but she didn't have time to focus on it.

Dakota hurriedly put her hands out in front of her and flung her legs upward so that she didn't land on her stomach, not quite making a proper dive but it was better than if she had just done nothing. It still hurt, though, sending jolts of pain through her shoulders and face. She let out an involuntary scream underwater, bubbles floating upwards towards the surface.

Without actively thinking, Dakota began blindly kicking and pulling with her legs and arms, trying to conserve her air for as long as she could. Her lungs ached and burned, and just as she was about to start panicking her head emerged from the water. She choked and gasped for breath, struggling to stay afloat.

It wasn't until she had taken several gulps of air that the noticed the ship approaching her position. Several soldiers in dark red and black armor lowered a buoy of sorts and she desperately grabbed hold of the flotation device when it came close enough, her entire body shuddering as she was slowly pulled out of the frigid water.

Zuko, banished Prince of the Fire Nation, stood at the front of his ship and glared at the Southern Pole glaciers. His left eye and ear were surrounded by a gruesome scar, one that continued to haunt him even after nearly three years. The rest of his head was bald except for the high ponytail that whipped around in the wind.

His armor was insulated enough that he barely felt the cold that permeated the air. His lips were tight in anticipation and his eyes widened at the sight of an electric blue pillar of light flaring up in the sky—it came from the direction of the Southern Water Tribe's village, he was certain of it. Zuko's eyes narrowed as his uncle Iroh ambled out of the door, blinking and yawning.

"Uncle, look! It has to be the Avatar!" Zuko pointed viciously towards the light. Iroh hummed thoughtfully.

"It certainly is a strange sight, Prince Zuko, but how can you be sure?"

"What else could it be?" Zuko snapped, the end of his ponytail flicking around to brush against his unmarred cheek as he turned to stare at the bright light once more.

The sounds of faint screaming filled his ears, then, and he looked around in confusion, wondering who could possibly be screaming. It seemed to be getting louder and after a second or two he looked up—

—only to jump back from the railing as a blur of blue and red fell, mere feet from the metal railing of the top deck, and hit the water with a loud splash.

Unaccustomed to the surge of unease rising in his throat, Zuko rushed to the side to see what the object had been but here was nothing but a large circle of rippling water marking where it had been. He squinted, trying to see what could have possibly fallen, and saw a shadow of arms and legs beneath the water, pumping furiously to try and get to the surface. A person?

Zuko looked up from where they had appeared, only to see clear blue skies and nothing to give any sort of hint to how he or she had appeared. Did it have something to do with the Avatar's light?

The crew had already released a rescue buoy and the prince leaned over to watch as a slender and shaking girl heaved itself onto the circle of foam, clinging helplessly as the men on deck quickly began reeling the buoy in. Zuko's eyebrow rose in speculation at the outfit she was wearing; a bright red shirt with no sleeves, and shorts that barely reached mid thigh. What kind of clothing was that? And in the South Pole, no less?

Iroh peered over Zuko's shoulder curiously at the girl as she was pulled onboard by the crew, his expression softening into concern as she collapsed onto the metal surface of the deck. Her sand-colored hair—even darkened by the water, it was a hair color that Zuko had never seen before—was soaking wet and stuck to the nape of her neck and her cheeks. Zuko waved the other men away with an order to set a course to the Southern Water Tribe and faced the girl with a scowl.

"Who are you?" he barked, but the girl didn't seem to hear him, her blue-tinged lips tightly pressed together and her arms clenched so securely around her torso that it looked almost painful. Zuko growled in annoyance and drew his sword. Iroh reached out as if to bar his way but Zuko ignored the older man, placing the blade tip under the chin of the girl. At the contact she seemed to come to herself and slowly met his gaze.

There was a dull glaze to her eyes, most likely a result of the icy coldness of the water. The color of them was also strange—not to the same degree as her hair, but a much darker brown than anything Zuko had ever encountered. At the sight of his face, those eyes widened impossibly wide and her mouth fell open in shock. Zuko frowned, not liking the way her face lit up in recognition. He had never met this girl in his life—he would have remembered that hair of hers—so why should she act as if she knew him?

"I said," Zuko began, lifting the sword so the girl was forced to tilt her head upward. "Who are you?"

"D-Dakota." The girl was shivering so much that it took several tries to get the name out. Zuko ignored the small sound of concern Iroh sent his way, narrowing his eyes and waiting until she looked at him again before continuing.

"How did you get here?" he demanded.

"I don't…know. I was hiking w-with my brother a-and there was this b-blue river. I t-touched it, and I was s-suddenly falling."

Iroh moved so he was standing beside Zuko, giving his nephew a stern look. "I don't think she's an enemy, Prince Zuko. She clearly isn't from the Water Tribe, at least."

"W-Water Tribe?" The girl was confused as she blinked fuzzily at Iroh. Her eyes widened in panic as she caught sight of a few soldiers Firebending in order to fuel the rudders.

"I m-must be dreaming…it's just a TV show. I'm going to wake up…right?"

With one final shudder, the girl went limp, falling forward onto her side. Zuko stared at her, and the way she continued to shiver even when unconscious. She definitely didn't look threatening; she was the farthest thing from threatening, to be perfectly honest. Zuko felt Iroh's expectant stare and with a shrug turned to walk away.

"Just get her off of my deck."

Iroh shook his head at his nephew's tone and enlisted the help of a soldier that wasn't busy running the upper mechanics of the deck. The soldier slung the girl over his shoulder, her arms hanging uselessly against the soldier's back and the man gripping the backs of her knees in order to steady her.

The three disappeared into the lower levels, the metal door banging noisily behind them. Zuko crossed his arms over his chest and resumed his staring out to where the light had shone brightly until the girl hit the water.

Zuko had waited two and a half years for this moment. He wasn't about to give up the chance to regain his honor, wasn't about to suffer the same fate of those before him by returning home empty handed.

The Avatar would be ancient and powerful after a hundred years in hiding. If Zuko managed to bring him down his father would have no choice but to accept him back as his son.

Not only would Zuko have his father's acceptance, but he would also have his honor.

Honor was the most important thing.

Fourteen-year-old Katara of the Southern Water Tribe pressed closer to her older brother at the strange boy standing on top of the icy ridge, his eyes blue and glowing and the arrow on his forehead glowing just as brightly. There was an unnerving aura of intensity surrounding him, one that made Katara shiver. Sokka hefted his weapon, for once his face bereft of any humor or teasing.

"Get out of here, Katara," he hissed. Katara shook her head, gripping his parka sleeve tightly in her hands, refusing to budge even when her brother gave her a firm nudge towards the direction of the village.

As if sensing her resolve, the glowing boy's eyes suddenly slid closed and he fell forward, rolling down the icy slope and sliding to a stop just before reaching them. Curiosity quickly overwhelmed her trepidation and Katara moved away from her brother in order to kneel beside the stranger. He was incredibly young; if Katara had to guess she would say that he was a few years younger than she was. His face was smooth and carefree, and Katara let her hands cradle his head carefully. He was just a kid, after all.

Katara's breath froze in her throat at the sight of the blue tattoos marking his bald head and exposed hands. He was an Airbender! But hadn't the Air Nomads been declared extinct?

All of her questions were pushed aside when the boy opened his clear gray eyes, blinking slowly up at her. Katara breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of the aura from before. The boy looked up at her, a relieved smile tugging the corners of his mouth up and his brow furrowing as he concentrated on speaking.

"I need…to ask you something."

The boy seemed exhausted after even that much effort and Katara nodded, moving closer as the boy gasped:

"It's very im…portant."

"What is it?" Katara asked, and the boy's brow smoothed out as he cheerfully asked:

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"