~No one's P.O.V~
At the Northern Water Tribe, the siege continued. Four fireballs streak past the sky. The large rocks causing damage to the city as the fireballs strike various locations.
Past the Tribal Chief's palace to the Spirit Oasis, Appa could be seen presiding by the pond. Inside by the Oasis, Katara sat on her knees, looking down at the two koi fish swimming in their usual circular pattern with sorrow and disapointment swirling in her eyes, "I can't believe I lost her."
Sokka sighed from his spot beside Yue, who is kneeling on the ground, "You did everything you could, and now we need to do everything we can to get her back."
Katara looked up at her brother, tears in her eyes. Despite feeling just a tad bit stressed, Aang gave her a reasuring smile, "Right! Zuko can't have gotten far. We'll find her. Y/n's gonna be just fine!" He spoke confidently, jumping back up on Appa with ease thanks to his Airbending.
Katara sniffled before she gave a quick nod and smiled, "Okay." While she got up, Momo remained motionless on the ground, only looking up at the others with large eyes as they mounted the Bison - His ears flicking every now and then.
"It's all right. You stay here, Momo, in case Y/n comes back." Katara smiled down at the lemur while taking her warm coat on again.
"Yip, yip." Aang shouted, holding the reins of Appa tightly in his hands. They could not have gotten far. That much he knew. And that was enough to keep his hope going strong as Appa took off, heading upward to a location above the oasis, a vast frozen tundra where a blizzard was raging. Unknown by them, in the icy terrain of the tundra below them, a path was visible in the snow where someone had clearly been trudging along.
~No one's P.O.V~
With the Banished Prince and the Avatar, Zuko plodded through the snow, his face partially covered by the white mask of his suit to protect him from the cold, Y/n slung across his back. Momentarily, Zuko glanced at the unconscious Y/n, her tattooed arrows glowing just as brightly as when he had first got his hands on her.
Looking back ahead of him, he did not catch the way the unconcious girl's eyebrows furrowed.
~No one's P.O.V~
Opening her eyes quickly - as soon as she felt like she was able to do so, Y/n found herself in an unfamiliar area, sitting in a meditating position on a small wooden platform in what she assumed to be some unknown location in the Spirit World. She looked around at her surroundings, which were not that of the icy tundra, but a mystical swamp dotted with trees. A large white bird of some sort flew past just in time for Y/n to spot its tail, "Guess I made it." She muttered before standing up so she could start wandering about.
Hearing an odd sound, Y/n looked to the side - spotting a figure in the distance, sitting beneath a simple wooden entranceway. The figure could be heard uttering the sound "Ohm". Y/n blinked with her head in the direction of the figure, "That was quick." She began making her way toward the figure. Getting closer to the figure, Y/n realised it was a monkey-like creature.
She stopped in front of the Spirit, pulling her lips into a thin line before she spoke, "Hello?" She continued when she got no response, "I'm sorry to disturb you. I just really need to find the Moon and the Ocean Spirits."
The Baboon Spirit held his eyes closed, but he turned his head a bit to the side and finally spoke, "Go. Away." After a second or two passed by, the Baboon Spirit opened one eye.
"You're still here?" He questioned, making Y/n blink idly at him, "Yes, I need-" Unfortunatly, the Baboon Spirit shut his eye tightly. As well as cutting her off as he spoke louder, trying to distract himself, "Ohm!" Just then, a firefly flew past, to which he pointed at the insect, "Perhaps that thing will help you. Chase it."
Without any second thought, Y/n ran after it. The mystical monkey kept his eyes shut for a second more before opening one to confirm Y/n's departure. He shook his head and breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally. Some peace."
Leaving the Baboon Spirit behind, Y/n started chasing the insect throughout the swamp and up a tree, right in its trail. She leapt up and managed to grasp hold of it and was delighted in doing so. However, her delightful smile faded within seconds as she landed on a tree branch which instantly shriveled up and disappeared entirely under her feet, causing her to fall. The girl let out a yelp but did not let go of the firefly while she fell into the water.
Y/n let out a groan, lying on her back in the water, the firefly having escaped her grip once her back connected with the hard ground. It flew away as she tried to reach it again, "Oi! Come back!" She shouted and stood up. Gripping her hair, the girl let out a frustrated groan. She lowered her gaze, looking down at the water that still moved from her fall. And when it calmed down, a familiar figure formed in a reflection in the water, making her smile and sigh in relief, "Roku."
The past Avatar smiled softly up at her, "Hello, Y/n."
~No one's P.O.V~
In the real world, Zuko continued his trek through the icy tundra with the Avatar on his back. His fierce eyes were narrowed to keep the wind out of them. However, that was completely forgotten when his eyes widened at the sound of the ground he stepped on, the ice laying beneath the snow beginning to crack beneath his feet. A sharp gasp escaped him in surprise at that.
His wide eyes trailed along ahead of him as the ice began to splinter and cave in. Even in his tired state, Zuko was being forced back into high alert as he began running, racing through the snow. And yet, the caving ice caught up to him and the impact of the ice caving in threw him off-balance.
Zuko was thrown several feet away and landed roughly in the snow, losing his grip on Y/n, that slid through the snow, and kicking up a cloud of snow. The cloud dissipated, allowing Zuko to see Y/n lying in the snow a little away from him.
Zuko lifted his head and looked at the scene. He turned his head back a bit to take a glance at the aftermath of the cave-in, and the ground severely disrupted. He turned his gaze back ahead of him, a breath of relief finally escaping him at the sight. He spotted a cave off in the distance.
"Shelter." He breathed out before quickly getting up. He grabbed Y/n by her robes and dragged her into the cave. There, he dropped her on the ground, he kneeled down behind her and pulled her hands behind her back before shrugging the rope he had rolled up across his shoulder off. He worked quickly to tie the Avatar in place.
~No one's P.O.V~
"Roku, the Water Tribe's under attack. I need to find the Ocean and the Moon Spirits." Y/n pleaded with the past Avatar, looking down at what was supposed to be her reflection in the water.
Roku remained silent for a few seconds. The water suddenly went up to form a physical form of the past Avatar instead of the reflection, "The Ocean and the Moon are ancient spirits. They crossed over the Spirit World to the mortal world very near the beginning. There is only one spirit I know of who is old enough to remember." Roku spoke wisely as ever, watching the young Avatar with vary eyes.
"Who?" Y/n perked up - If it meant they had a chance, she would take it.
Roku closed his eyes, "The spirit's name is Koh, but he is very dangerous. They call him the Face Stealer." Y/n's eyes widened, a slight look of being horrified, "When you speak with him, you must be very careful to show no emotion at all. Not the slightest expression, or he will steal your face."
Y/n lowered her gaze to her feet in the water, narrowing her eyes as if thinking it through, but calmly nods when she had thought it through, understanding the situation.
It simply had to be done.
And honestly, how hard could it be for her of all people?
~No one's P.O.V~
In the cave, Zuko was keeping warm with Breath of Fire while Y/n, now completely tied up, remained in the Spirit World. Zuko glared at the Avatar, annoyed beyond belief, "I finally have you, but I can't get you home because of this blizzard." He grumbled while lowering his hands from his face.
Dropping his hands down onto his thighs, he pushed on them while moving to stand up, he looked outside the cave, "There's always something. Not that you would understand." Briefly, he glanced back at Y/n, "You're like my sister." He sighed through his nose, looking back ahead of him, "Everything always came easy to her. She's a Firebending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born."
"I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong." He turned fully around to look at the unconscious Avatar, "It's made me who I am."
~No one's P.O.V~
Back in the Spirit World, Y/n walked up a giant tree. She moved quickly and quietly, vary of the creatures lingering around in the Spirit World. Seeing the entrance to the cave Koh can be found in, Y/n stared into the darkness and slightly stepped toward the cave but stopped when she heard a creepy noises.
She glanced to her left noticing that the noise wasn't coming from the cave. Y/n smiled and sighed in relief when she saw what had made the sound, "You're just a curly tailed blue nose."
The monkey turned its head toward Y/n, exposing that it had no face. Y/n let out a yelp in shock, and jumped backwards. Y/n looked back at the large tree ahead of her and took a deep breath and then she spoke, with her and Avatar Roku's voices combined, "Show no fear. Show no emotion at all." Reminding herself of that, she felt ready.
Y/n stepped into the cave below the tree with a straight face, "Hello?" She called out as she walked down the long, spiralling tunnel, "I'm looking for a spirit named 'Koh'." As Y/n said the spirit's name, some "roots" on the ceiling began to move. Y/n looked around the unfamiliar environment, sensing movement, but saw nothing. But she was sure something was lurking in the dark.
Y/n froze right then and there, her eyes shooting to the side as if trying to see something behind her. She could feel it. Something was staring right into the back of her head. A moment later, a white face emerged from the dark shadows behind her, with gray patches around its eyes and luscious, blood-red lips, which smiles.
Suddenly, a huge centipede-like body arced around Y/n and appeared in front of her face. The white, clown-like face of Koh was inches away from Y/n, who kept a straight face despite the Spirit's attempt to scare her. Around the spirit's face are eight additional legs. Koh started circling Y/n, its creepy smile remaining on its lips, "Welcome!"
Y/n kept her face straight. The spirit hanging from the ceiling in front of Y/n, who bows with her hands clasped in front of her in a gesture of honor, "Thank you." The Avatar responded emotionlessly.
Koh wheeled around Y/n to look at her from behind. His voice was low and melodic, almost purring, like it was trying to lure prey in, "My old friend, the Avatar. It's been a long time." He hummed.
"You know me?"
Koh, facing away from Y/n, spoke, "How could I forget," He switched with a "winking" effect, as if some sort of nictitating membrane closes briefly over the old face to reveal a new one, to a mad face of a middle-aged, mustached man with thick eyebrows, long mustache, and beard, "You?!" His voice boomed, "One of your previous incarnations tried to slay me! Nearly eight or nine hundred years ago."
Y/n looked up at the spirit, confusion wanting to make itself known on her face, "I didn't know that. Why did he, or I, try to kill you?"
Koh switched to Ummi's scared, sad face, "Oh, it was something about stealing the face of someone you loved." He mentioned. Y/n stared at the face she was met with, somehow feeling familiarity with it, finding comfort in it.
Suddenly, and completely out of nowhere to get her attention, Koh's face turned malicious and switched to a baboon's while laughing. Y/n kept a straight face while not taking her eyes off Koh as he circles around her, "Of course, that's all behind us. Why should I hold a grudge against you for something in a past life? After all, you're a different person now." Koh spoke into Y/n's ear from behind. Y/n felt Koh's cole breath on her neck, "You've come to me... With a new face." Y/n closed her eyes and took a deep breath at the words that were whispered into her ear.
~No one's P.O.V~
In the real world, Zuko saw Y/n's deep breath. He thought nothing of it and turned his attention back the entrance of the cave, where he could see the snowstorm raging on, "Guess we'll be here awhile." He sighed.
Meanwhile, in the actual snowstorm, Appa was flying through it. Yue spoke up when she noticed Katara's worried face, "Don't worry, Prince Zuko can't be getting too far in this weather." She reassured the girl, who probably felt guilty for letting Zuko get away in the first place.
"I'm not worried they'll get away in the blizzard. I'm worried that they won't." Katara responded while lifting her gaze from the ground beneath them.
"They're not going to die in this blizzard." Sokka stated firmly, on a constant look out for the two.
"If we know anything, it's that Zuko never gives up!" Aang shouted from his spot on Appa's head with the reins in his hands, "They'll survive, and we'll find them." He concluded, eyes filled with certainty.
~No one's P.O.V~
In the Spirit World Y/n continued her talk with the face stealer, Koh. He circled loosely around Y/n as he spoke. His eyes were zeroed in on Y/n's face, "It's been a long time since I've added a child's face to my collection." Koh started, his face now that of an owl, "So... How may I help you?" He asked.
"I need to find the moon and the ocean." Y/n responded neutrally. Koh stopped in front of her briefly as he responded, "Their spirit names are Tui and La, push and pull." He continued to circle the girl, faster this time, "And that has been the nature of their relationship for all time."
Y/n kept her eyes ahead of her, "Please. Help me find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if I don't get their help."
Koh had turned away from Y/n so that she could not see his face, he changed his face to that of an old man and spoke, his voice echoing slightly towards Y/n below him, "Oh, you think you need their help." He lifted an eyebrow, his eyes shooting to the side, "Actually it's quite the other way round."
In an instant, Koh turned and bolted to Y/n, stopping just short of the young Avatar; with an angry blue ogre-like face with red eyes and upright fangs, "Someone's going to kill them!" Y/n closed her eyes briefly to recompose herself before he facial expression could break. She opened them to look at Koh, "What do you mean? How can I find them and protect them?"
Koh remained in front of Y/n as he flipped back to his white face, "You've already met them, actually." He backed away and once more moved to look away, turning his back on Y/n, "Tui and La, your moon and ocean, have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other, push and pull, life and death," Y/n listened closely to what the spirit had to say, and slowly her expression changed, "Good and evil, yin and yang."
At his final words, Y/n's eyes widened upon finally realizing what he was talking about, a flashback of the white and black fish circling each other in the pond and the vision she had of them as they turned into the yin and yang symbol just before she entered the Spirit World, "The koi fish!" Hearing the emotion in Y/n's voice, Koh quickly reeled around to stare at the now expressionless face of Y/n, "I must be going now."
Koh flipped to the face of a bald, young man, "We'll meet again." Koh muttered as he receded into the shadows of his home as Y/n walked out of his cave. Once out, Y/n ran away from the front of the tree that is Koh's lair. She stopped short when the ground met water and talkd down to the the water, "The spirits are in trouble, I need to get back to the physical world." Her image in the water once again turned to the one of Roku. The Avatar smiled at Y/n and nodded, "A friend is here, to guide you back." Roku's image disappeared and to replace it was a panda.
Y/n turned around with large and happy eyes, "Hei Bai!" The spirit groaned as Y/n jumped onto him and set off.
A few moments later, Y/n arrived back at where she started with Hei Bai's help. She jumped off of the friendly panda spirit and walked the few steps to the exact place she once stood in, "This is where I came in, but how do I get back?" She asked, the question directed at no one as she looked around. She turned back to Hei Bai as the spirit moved to stand on his hind legs. He opened his mouth and sent a beam of energy at Y/n, whose eyes widened before she disappeared from the Spirit World.
~No one's P.O.V~
Y/n sucked in her breath as she gasped, finding herself to be back in the physical world. She sighed in relief and looked towards the water ahead of her, smiling at the ball of fur in front of it, "Momo!" The girl grinned and went over to him. She frowned a little upon getting no reaction from the loving and playful lemur, and as she went to pet him, she realized why.
Her hand was see-through, "Oh no..." She bit the inside of her cheek, "Where's my body?" The question just barely left her mouth before she found herself to be surrounded by a blue energy which carried her into the air. She flew over the city of the Water Tribe, heading in the direction of a cave. She entered the cave, briefly filling it with light.
Her eyes snapped open. She instantly tried to move but found that she couldn't. She flipped herself to sit up, attempting to get out of her restraints. She halted, her eyes connecting with Zuko's. The male snorted, "Welcome back."
Y/n smirked in return, "It sure is good to be back!" She announced before allowing herself to fall back down onto her back, kicking both of her feet in Zuko's direction, sending a powerful blast of air at him, making him hammer into the cave wall while blowing herself out of the cave and into the snow outside. Y/n breath in the cold air, before trying to wriggle through the snow to create some distance between her and Zuko.
However, that attempt was brought to an end when she was pulled up from the ground by the back of the collar of her robes, "That won't be enough to escape." Zuko snarled and Y/n turned her head to look at him, but her eyes quickly shifted to something behind him, "Appa!" The Sky Bison landed at that very moment. Zuko dropped Y/n to get into a battle stance but before anyone else had a chance to move, Appa slammed his tail against the ground with a groan, blowing Zuko back against the cave, effectively knocking him out.
Aang jumped down from Appa, "Y/n!" He lifted the girl up into a sitting position and hugged her close. Katara and Sokka slides off. Katara hugged Y/n while Sokka instantly went behind her to cut the ropes that still held her captive. Sokka chuckled as he stucked the rope into the large pocket of his jacket, "Hey, at least this is some quality rope!" Y/n rubbed her wrists and shook her head at him with a smile.
She then turned her attention back onto the task at hand, "We need to get to the oasis; the spirits are in trouble." She announced, briefly placing her hand on Aang's shoulder as she passed. She used her Airbending to swiftly get onto Appa's head, giving him a good scratch. She grabbed the reins but stopped when she felt her lips getting tugged down and a bad feeling in her stomach. She stood and shook her head, "We can't just leave him here."
"Sure we can." Sokka responded while getting settle in Appa's saddle, "Let's go."
"If we leave him he'll die." Aang added. Y/n nodded, "I don't want that on my conscious." She responded as she Airbended herself off Appa and went over to retrieve Zuko, bringing him to Appa.
Sokka rolled his eyes and threw his arms into the air as he watched Y/n carefully placing the banished prince in the middle of the saddle, "Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let's bring the guy who's constantly trying to kill us." He spoke with sarcasm, turning his head away in an instance when Y/n lifted her head to look at him. Appa took off without another word being spoken.
As they traveled across the sky, Y/n felt a shiver of fear travel down her back before any change happened. Then, a moment later one of her hands went to clench at her aching head. Aang hurried to her side, placing his hands on her shoulders, then, just as Y/n had fear, the moon turned red.
"Are you okay?" Sokka was the one to ask the question, directing it a Yue, who had a hand at her head as well, "I feel faint."
Y/n looked to the worried Aang and nodded, "I feel it, too. This can't be good." She stated, holding her head in one hand, "The Moon Spirit is in trouble." She muttered.
Yue shifted her gaze down onto the brown leather saddle, "I owe the Moon Spirit my life."
"What do you mean?" Katara asked, lifting a brow.
Yue gave a light smile as she started her story, "When I was born I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they're born, but I was born as if I was asleep, my eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me. That night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white. I opened my eyes and began to cry, and they knew I would live." She looked up at the others with a faint smile, "That's why my mother named me Yue. For the moon."
~No one's P.O.V~
"I am... A legend, now!" The lonely claim was made in the oasis. Zhao held the moon spirit high above him in the bag, feeling Tui squirming in it as he spoke, "The Fire Nation will, for generations, tell stories about the great Zhao, who darkened the moon." He brought the bag down in front of him, "They will call me, Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Moon Slayer, Zhao the Invincible!" The man's triumph was ruined by none other than Momo jumping on top of Zhao's head, pulling at his nose and cheeks while he tried to get the lemur off, "Ugh ... Get it off! Get it off!"
Avoiding Zhao's hand, Momo jumped and flew away, landing on Y/n's arm and running to her shoulder. Aang stood firmly beside her, with Katara and Sokka behind him. While Zhao and his soldiers ready themselves for battle, Y/n leaned on her staff, her other hand at her hip, "Zhao the Invincible was defeated by Lord Momo, it seems!" She grinned and got into a battle-stance as Zhao growled at her joke.
Then, Zhao quirked a brow, "Don't bother." Zhao snarled as he lifted the sack up threatening to kill Tui. Aang dropped his staff. But Y/n clenched onto hers, glaring at the man standing on the other side of the water. She sighed in defeat and threw her glider onto the ground which cued the others to drop their defenses as well, "Zhao, don't! You'll regret it!"
"It's my destiny, to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe." When Zhao's hand moved closer to the bag, Y/n held both hands up in front of her in a form of surrender, "You have to know... Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, including you." She shifted her gaze down to the water, "Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world."
"He is right Zhao." The man turned at the sound of his name and was not surprised to see who calmly stood near the entrance of the oasis.
Zhao rolled his eyes, "General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"
Iroh removed his hood as he calmly spoke, "I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon, too; we all depend on the balance." Iroh pointed an accusing finger at the Commander as he started to raise his voice, "Whatever you do to that spirit I'll unleash on you ten-fold!" He got into a proper fighting stance, ready to move in a second, "Let it go, now!"
Zhao grit his teeth but eventually dipped his head in defeat. He kneeled down and released the koi fish into the oasis. However, the humiliated Commander felt a rage grow within him as he watched the two fish circle each other, Zhao hesitated for but a moment before striking the koi fish with a fire slice out of anger. Y/n's eyes widened in horror, looking on and up at the moon as it fades out and the world goes gray.
Iroh wasted no time, keeping true to his word as he jumped over the oasis to attack Zhao and his men, skillfully Firebending at them with only Zhao being able to dodge and counter once or twice before hiding behind the force of his men.Quickly realizing that he was outmatched, he ran while his men fought and were all defeated by Iroh singlehandedly.
Y/n hurried to the pond, quickly getting down onto her hands and knees as she watched La circling the now dead Tui in the water. She clenched the grass between her fingers, gritting her teeth as Irok carefully picked up the dead koi fish.
"There's no hope now, it's over." Yue whimpered, crying into her gloved hand.
Y/n lifted her head to reveal her glowing eyes and arrow on her forehead, "No, it's not over." She stated, her voice distorted as she spoke. Iroh held his arm out in front of Sokka to keep him from following Y/n as she entered the water. They all looked on intensely as Y/n remained in a meditative stance as La circled her. Then, much like Y/n's glow, La's eyes light up. Quickly, Y/n was submerged, pulled down into the water. A few seconds later, the group were all looking around as a blue lightning-like energy expand from the oasis island into the water.
The energy moved to the edge of the oasis, rising up to form a giant amphibious-like creature, facing out toward the sea, with Y/n in the center, controlling it. Fire Nation soldiers in the city were looking on at this creature's sudden appearance just like Pakku and other Northern Water Tribe members were.
Y/n started moving through the city, pausing as she passed a river, Fire Nation soldiers on one side, Pakku and his group on the other. The Water Tribe members all bow down, however the Fire Nation soldiers prepare to attack, pointing their spears at her. She shifted her arm and the creature washed away the Fire Nation soldiers. Y/n, controlling the massive creature, began to head to the ocean, laying waste to any Fire Nation soldiers on the way.
Those on the bridge and those firing from their tanks alike, they were all going down, getting washed away. By ease.
The Fire Nation ships started to leave as Y/n approached the sea and sent two or more of the fire navy ships into the ocean. Mercilessly, Y/n continued to destroy ships and drive the rest back out. Then, as another ship is about to be sliced into pieces, color was restored.
Y/n, still fused with the Ocean Spirit, in front of the Water Tribe city, looked up and noticed the moon had returned, finding its place right where it should be. The Ocean Spirit merged into the water and moved back to the city, carefully dropping Y/n off on a wall as she left the Avatar State.
Her breath shook as she exhaled and she fell onto her knees, hugging herself close.
No...
No, she didn't like that...
~No one's P.O.V~
"I've decide to go to the South Pole. Some other benders and healers want to join me. It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe." Pakku announced as he and Katara looked out over the city as it was being rebuild.
"What about Y/n? She still needs to learn Waterbending." Katara responded, looking towards Appa. Y/n had been in his saddle since yesterday, and by her side was Aang, doing his best to comfort her.
"Well," Pakku smiled down at the girl, "Then she better get used to calling you Master Katara."
Further into the temple, Arnook and Sokka were standing, looking at the moon through the open roof. Arnook hummed and closed his eyes, "The spirits gave me a vision when Yue was born. I saw a beautiful, brave, young woman become the Moon Spirit." He sighed, "I knew this day would come."
Sokka gave the elder man a glance, feeling his sorrow, "You must be proud."
Arnook nodded solemly, "So proud... And sad."
"Hey, you can talk to me, you know?" Aang smiled at Y/n. The two were situated in Appa's saddle, both leaning against the side and Y/n's head on Aang's shoulder, Momo resting on her lower stomach.
"I know." She admitted, but shifted her gaze away from the boy as she scratched Momo behind the ear making him purr. She couldn't. Because she hated that despite their victory, she was scared. So scared.
Of who she could become.