Monday, December 27, 2010

An Early Christmas Present

A/N: This was written for the Winter Wonderland challenge. I was given the characters Molly Weasley (Percy's daughter, not mother) and Lysander Scamander and the prompts frozen lake and lost. I hope you guys enjoy it!

An Early Christmas Present

Molly looked around at the wintry landscape. She had been sitting by the lake for over an hour now. Earlier, there had been a group of fifth years sliding around on the ice, but they'd gone back up to the castle at least half an hour ago. This had left her alone in the freezing cold. Not even her little magical fire was helping ward off the frozen air as the sun began to sink below the horizon.

She brought her gloved hands up to her face and breathed on them, hoping it would warm both her hands and face.

Lysander should have been here a long time ago! She would have to go in soon. It wouldn't do for the Head Girl to be caught out after dark.

She couldn't help but be a little worried. Lysander Scamander had been her best friend since he started Hogwarts in her second year, and he'd never just leave her out in the cold.

He probably got distracted by nargles or something. Molly thought as she rolled her eyes and grinned.

After another five minutes, she finally began to make her way back to the castle. She was almost to the Ravenclaw common room when Lysander was suddenly coming towards her. The first thing she noticed was that he was very out of breath. He seemed to have been running for a while.

“I'm so sorry,” he gasped as he bent over and put his hands on his knees. “I wanted to give you your Christmas present early, but I must have misplaced it. I've been searching for it everywhere and only found it a moment ago.”

That was when she noticed he was holding a somewhat large wrapped package.

“It's okay,” Molly assured him even though in reality she had been a little annoyed, “I don't have your present though. It still needs to be wrapped.”

“That's fine,” Lysander shrugged, “I wasn't expecting it.” He held out the gift to Molly. “Here. Open it.”

She took the package from him. It wasn't small but not really large either. It was rectangular in shape, and Molly couldn't help but suspect that it was a book. Those were what she usually received as presents.

As she carefully removed the paper, she discovered that she had been right. The writing on the cover revealed the book to be The Truth About Nargles by Luna Scamander. Molly smirked a little as she looked up at her best friend.

“Maybe you'll actually believe me now,” Lysander grinned, “Mum's self-publishing it. No publisher would agree to it. She thinks she can sell enough to make a decent profit though. There are people out there who are open-minded.” The look on his face told her that she was not included in this open-minded category.

“I told you before,” she laughed slightly, “It's not that I don't believe in nargles, it's just that I need proof of them before I say they're definitely real.”

“Well, you need to get started on that book then,” he told her.

“I'll read it tonight,” she nodded as they began to make their way towards their common room.

When they'd reached the common room, and were preparing to go their separate ways, Lysander leaned down to kiss Molly's cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Molly,” he smiled at her.

“Merry Christmas, Lysander,” Molly felt a blush begin to rise on her cheeks. She couldn't determine the reason why though. It wasn't the first time he had done that, but this time felt different for some reason.

Molly would never admit it to anyone, but when she'd went to bed that night (after reading a chapter or two of the book as she had promised) she dreamt that she was standing in the common room with Lysander just as before. Only this time one thing changed. He kissed her on the lips instead of the cheek. She had a hard time admitting it to herself, but she would have preferred that outcome.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

A:TNG One-shot: Crushes

Avatar: The Next Generation One-shot

Crushes

It was a bright, sunny day on Kiyoshi Island. The perfect day for four little girls to go for a walk all by themselves. The freedom of going places without their parents was still relatively new, and they quite enjoyed being able to talk about things in the nice outdoors without their parents and siblings around.

"He is so cute!" Ayame was the youngest of the girls at six (although Ichiko was only a month older). She was already boy crazy, a trait inherited from her mother, Ty Lee, and she was gushing about her latest crush.

"Boys aren't cute." Ichiko was still in the "boys-have-cuties" stage. "Boys are dumb and stupid."

Ai, the oldest at ten, decided that now was the time for her revelation. "A boy asked me out, and I said yes." She expected them to be shocked, but she wasn't expecting Ichiko's shock to become laughter. It caused Ai even greater embarrassment, and she blushed.

Nine year old Kazuna hit Ichiko for her tactlessness. How mean of her to make fun of Ai! This was a huge deal for her. "That's awesome Ai!" Kazuna assured the princess. "I can't believe that one of us has a boyfriend now."

"Hopefully, she's the only one for a long, long time." Could Ichiko not let it go?

"He's really nice, Ichiko." Ai defended herself. "Just wait until you get a boyfriend."

"Not gonna happen." Ichiko sounded very proud of herself. "I'm never going to go all stupid for an idiot."

Ai smirked, "Just wait and see, Ichiko. Just wait and see."

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

A/N: This was written for the Christmas 2010 challenge.

Ron glanced around the living room he was currently sitting in. He'd been to Mr. and Mrs. Granger's house several times before of course, but he'd never seen it quite like this. There were the Christmas decorations he was familiar with such as the tree with all of it's ornaments and garland and the lit star on top. There was even one of those little barn type things with all of the people and animals standing about. He believed they were called nativities.

However, there were some decorations that left him quite puzzled. What was that little doll with the pointed ears and the shoes that curled up on the end? And he couldn't for the life of him figure out what that little deer with the red nose that lit up was all about.

After a few moments, Hermione entered the room holding two steaming mugs. As she smiled and handed him one, he discovered that it was hot chocolate. He happily took a sip as Hermione began talking, “My parents say that dinner will be ready in about half an hour. We'll just have to find a way to pass the time until then.”

“Hey, Hermione,” Ron asked as he made his way back over to the little stuffed deer, “What is that thing?”

“Rudolph, of course,” she said as if this was common knowledge. Then, something seemed to dawn on her, “Oh! I suppose you wouldn't know who Rudolph is, would you?”

Ron shook his head in response.

“He's one of Santa's reindeer,” Hermione explained, “He helps guide Santa's sleigh.”

“Reindeer? Sleigh?” Ron questioned.

Hermione sighed, “What's the simplest way to explain this.” She thought for a moment and then began to speak again.

“The Muggle version of Santa rides a sleigh around the whole world in one night, and he has nine flying reindeer that pull the sleigh through the sky-”

Ron's laughter suddenly interrupted her, “Flying reindeer? Is that really what Muggle children are told? How did you believe that?”

Hermione glared at him. “If you must know,” she replied indignantly, “Almost all Muggle children, at least in certain parts of the world, believe this. Besides, what were you told as a child?”

Ron finally calmed down enough to speak, “We were always told that Santa apparated wherever he needed to go. It makes way more sense than flying reindeer. Plus, he could apparate back to the North Pole to get the rest of the toys.”

“But that doesn't make sense either,” Hermione replied, “No one can apparate that far.”

“Makes more sense than flying reindeer,” Ron muttered.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and continued, “As I was saying, Santa has eight reindeer. They're all listed in the song.”

“There's a song?” Ron asked in slight disbelief.

“Yes,” Hermione responded before she began to sing the opening lines of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen.,
But do you recall?
The most famous reindeer of all?

“The most famous of all?” Ron questioned.

Hermione nodded, “That's Rudolph.” She pointed towards the little deer that Ron had been looking at earlier.

“Why is he the most famous?” Ron asked.

“Listen to the song, and you'll see,” Hermione told him.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names;
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.

“Reindeer games?” Ron laughed as Hermione sent him a glare.

“That still doesn't explain why he's so famous,” Ron said after he'd quelled his laughter.

“Shh, just listen.”

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
You'll go down in history.

“And that's how Rudolph became famous,” Hermione said once she'd finished the song.

Ron just looked at the little Rudolph doll for a moment before declaring, “Muggles have strange stories.”

Hermione laughed a little. “Maybe they do, but they're nice stories. You should see the movie.”

“There's a movie?” Ron asked with raised eyebrows. Hermione nodded her head. “Let me guess,” Ron said, “It's the same story as the song?”

“More or less,” Hermione shrugged, “We could watch it later if you want.”

“Sure,” Ron said before turning towards the doll with pointed ears. “So, what's this?” he asked.

Hermione smiled before she began explaining Santa's elves.

A/N: This is actually my first Harry Potter fanfiction in a couple of years. It was a lot of fun to write. My chaptered fanfiction (it's Avatar: The Last Airbender) that I'm currently writing has been difficult to write lately, so it was nice writing this which was a lot easier. I hope you enjoyed it!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

A:TNG One-shots: Insults

Author's Note: I haven't been too good about posting these here.  There are four more to go after this one.  I think this is actually the shortest of them all.  Also, sorry that a new chapter of A:TNG hasn't been posted in a while.  This next chapter is really hard for me to write.  I should have a Harry Potter Christmas one-shot up tomorrow hopefully though.

Avatar: The Next Generation One-shots

Insults

"He's weird looking." Those were the first words out of four year old Kazuna's mouth the first time she saw her little brother, Kuuya.

"He's a newborn baby, honey." Katara smiled at her daughter as she held her newly born son. "That's what newborns look like."

"He'll grow. Someday he'll be the same age you are now." Aang assured his daughter.

"I'm sure I'll have a new way to make fun of him by then." Kazuna told her parents cheerily. "Ichiko said you always need insults ready for siblings."

Aang and Katara just smiled at each other and shook their heads.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

A:TNG One-shot: A Baby's Cry

Avatar: The Next Generation One-shot

A Baby's Cry

A baby's cry was not a pleasant sound. Zuko had discovered this with the birth of his first child.

With his first child, however, crying was only something that happened when she had a wet diaper, needed to be fed, or another necessity.

His second child was now a couple of months old, and it seemed that his favorite pastime was crying.

It was two in the morning, and the Fire Lord was walking down the hall to his son's room. Sure, as the Fire Lord, he and Mai could have hired a nanny, but they'd both agreed they wanted to care for their children themselves.

Zuko made his way to his son's room only to find his diaper dry. He knew he couldn't be hungry. Mai had fed him just a few minutes before.

"You've got to be kidding me." Zuko muttered to himself as he rocked his son back in forth trying to get him to sleep.

Zuko wasn't happy about the many times he'd been woken up tonight. He had a very important meeting the next day!

Finally, Akatsuki was asleep. As Zuko watched him after lying him in his crib, Zuko decided that maybe the crying was worth it.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

A:TNG One-shot: Aw, Sibling Love

Avatar: The Next Generation One-shot

Aw, Sibling Love

"Boo!" Three year-old Ichiko jumped out at her twin brother. She laughed to see him jump in the air.

"I hate you!" Ikuo yelled at his sister. Ichiko could tell that she'd made him mad. Ikuo was an earthbender, and his anger was currently making the ground shake slightly. He was an incredibly gifted earthbender especially for a toddler. He was the son of the greatest earthbender ever after all.

Sokka, currently on baby-watching duty alone, came into the room after hearing the commotion.

"Ikuo, you don't hate your sister. You're just mad at her."

"But she always scares me. She's mean!" At her brother's words, Ichiko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Someday, Ikuo, you'll realize just how much you love your sister." Sokka told his son. "I know I did."

Ikuo looked at his sister, and then turned back to his dad.

"Maybe when she's dead." Ikuo joked, or at least Sokka hoped he was joking. Ichiko pushed her brother and crossed her arms, offended at his words. Sokka just smiled. He knew it may take a few years, but someday his children would realize just how much they meant to each other.

A:TNG Chapter 20: The Battle Begins

Author's Note: I wanted to get this chapter up over a week ago, but because of work, it didn't happen. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long. Enjoy!

Avatar: The Next Generation

Chapter 20: The Battle Begins

Ikuo spotted Ayame ahead of him, and he ran up to meet her. Ayame turned towards him, startled at the sound he was making in the otherwise quiet hallway.

“I see you're ready,” Ikuo murmured as they walked. It was a somewhat odd thing to say, but his mind didn't usually want to work right when he was around Ayame.

“Yep,” she replied a little shortly. He could tell by the look on her face that she was in an extremely bad mood. Who wasn't right now?

Suddenly, he knew he had to do what he'd been to scared to do for the past year. The problem was his mouth and vocal cords were refusing to cooperate with each other.

They continued down the hall in complete silence. It was beginning to become slightly awkward. Finally, Ikuo gave up on even trying to form words. He put his hand on Ayame's shoulder to prevent her from moving forward. She looked up at him in surprise. Her eyes widened as she saw him beginning to lean towards her. Before she could react any further, his mouth was on hers.

He could feel her freeze in shock as soon as their lips were touching. For a second or two, he thought she would pull away. He wouldn't have been surprised if she'd slapped him and stormed off. She surprised him by actually deepening the kiss after her initial shock had worn off.

After a moment or two, Ayame broke off the kiss and crossed her arms across her chest. “About time, you idiot.”

“What?” he asked her in slight confusion.

“I've been waiting for you to do that for over a year,” she explained in exasperation.

“Really?” he asked in shock.

“Yes, really!” Ayame threw her hands up in frustration, “Are you capable of speaking more than one word?”

“Yes,” Ikuo wanted to add more, so he could prove his point, but nothing seemed to want to come out.

Ayame seemed to have become amused by now. She was smiling at him slightly as he tried to figure everything out in his head.

“Don't you have something you want to ask me?” Ayame said with barely contained laughter in her voice.

“Huh?” Ikuo asked. Then it dawned on him. “Oh! Ayame, will you go out with me?”

“Finally,” Ayame said half in exasperation and half in happiness, “Yes, Ikuo. I would love to go out with you.”

“Great,” Ikuo replied as a large smile spread across her face.

“I see we're back to the one word responses,” Ayame smirked as she took his hand and led him down the hallway again. She was beginning to give his sister a run for her money in the sarcasm department.

He walked happily down the hallway with his new girlfriend. For a moment, he'd managed to completely forget why they had both even been heading down the hallway in the same direction anyway.

XX

“Make sure you don't leave here,” Zuko told the children sternly.

They had all finally gathered in the bunker. The children were all huddled in a tight group on the ground. They seemed to feel safer if they were in a small, condensed group. Their parents stood over them as they gave them a quick lecture over safety, as if they could get away with anything while they were locked away in this place.

“There will be guards outside of the bunker,” Aang explained, “Don't allow anyone in, even if they claim to be on our side. One of us,” he motioned to the other adults standing around him, “will come and get you all. Don't open that door unless you know for sure that one of us is on the other side.”

The kids all nodded. The younger ones were all crying while the older ones struggled to hold their own tears back.

“Haruki will be right outside the door,” Zuko continued, “He'll let you know if anything happens. You can trust him.”

Zuko looked at Haruki, who was standing near the door, as he spoke. Haruki looked down, unable to meet his girlfriend's father's eyes.

The children exchanged tearful goodbyes with their parents before they left, locking them in the bunker.

“How long do you think we'll be in here?” Kuuya whispered. There was really no need to be quiet. The enemy was no where near them, at least not yet, and even if the enemy was right outside the door, they'd have to shout to be heard. Still, all of them felt compelled to whisper.

“I don't know,” Ai replied, “But it will probably be a while. Anyone know of a way to pass the time?”

They all looked around at each other. No one said anything.

“All right then,” Ai continued after a pause. She sighed in exasperation, “I guess we'll just sit here then.”

XX

Azula's face broke into a cruel smile as she began to make out the outline of the palace in the distance. She turned towards her father and saw a similar cruel expression on his own face. He grinned at her, “Finally, the time is here to take back what is rightfully ours.”

She allowed herself a small chuckle. “It will be a day to remember, father,” she said as she spotted Zuko's army marching towards them.

Ozai also allowed himself a small, cruel laugh before yelling, “Attack!”

XX

“What do you think is happening?” Ayame whispered to the others. They were still huddled in a tight group.

“No idea,” Hajime answered.

Kazuna held her two-year-old brother, Yuuga, on her lap as she tried to calm him down. He hadn't stopped crying since their parents had left them there. Ichiko felt as if she was about to lose her mind from all of the crying. It didn't help that the four-year-old twins, Toya and Sugi, also looked close to tears at the moment.

Ai reached over for Yuuga. “You need a break,” she explained when Kazuna gave her a questioning look. It was true that Kazuna was beginning to tire of her useless attempts at comfort, but she was still reluctant to hand him over to Ai. Nevertheless, a moment later when Kuuya's cries seemed to become even louder, she handed him over to her friend.

“I hate being in here!” Ichiko said through clenched teeth.

“We all do,” Ikuo send a glare towards his twin sister.

“What do you think the chances are of Haruki letting us out?” Ichiko asked Ai who would obviously know him the best.

“I'd say none,” Ai answered as she hugged Kuuya to herself, “He wouldn't disobey my father. He knows he'd never see me again, whether I live or die, if he did. In fact, he probably wouldn't live.” Then, she went back to comforting Kuuya.

“Wouldn't he want to listen to you though?” Ichiko continued on, “I mean, you could get mad at him too.”

“I think I'd be a lot more forgiving than my father the Fire Lord,” Ai said.

Ichiko sighed, “There's no way we're getting out of here, is there?”

“I would say not,” said Hajime as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand in an attempt at comforting her.

“Hey!” Akatsuki exclaimed as his head suddenly jerked up from where it had been resting on his hand, “Ikuo, has you're mom taught you any metal bending?”

“A little. Why?” Ikuo asked before it finally dawned on him what Akatsuki meant. “No way! I'm not any good yet. It won't work.”

“I don't care,” Ichiko said with sudden excitement in her voice as she stood up, “You're trying it.” She grabbed a fistful of Ikuo's clothes and pulled him up. “If you screw this up, you're no longer my brother.”

“If that's the case,” Ikuo grumbled as he made his way towards the door, “I'll screw up on purpose.”

XX

It was a scene of utter chaos. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be dead bodies. Neither side seemed to have a higher death toll than the other, not that it was easy to count from the emaciated bodies that covered the ground all over the capital city.

A spectator of the battle would view two very well-matched forces fighting in a battle that seemed to be going no where. The Fire Nation Army had numbers on their side, but the rebels made up for that with their determination. It seemed that the forces would destroy each other and leave no one left to actually be declared a winner.

In the five hours that had past, the Fire Nation Army had stopped the rebels from advancing further into the capital, but they hadn't succeeded in pushing them back either.

At this point, there was no telling which way this battle would go.

Author's Note: Only two chapters and an epilogue left!

A:TNG One-shots and Drabbles: Aang's Return Home

Author's Note: I just remembered that I never posted these here.  I have eight one-shots/drabbles that take place in the same universe as A:TNG.  I'll be posting those here over the next several days.  They're all very short.

Avatar: The Next Generation One-Shots/Drabbles
Aang's Return Home

"Daddy!" A two-year old Kazuna ran towards her father. He'd been away on "Avatar business" for the past week.

Aang lifted Kazuna in the air and hugged her as Katara came out from the kitchen. Aang's smile became even bigger, and Katara's smile lit up her face.

"Aang," Katara ran to her husband. They hugged with Kazuna between them. The group hug lasted for quite a while. Aang and Katara finally pulled apart slightly and kissed.

"Ew!" Kazuna voiced from between them. "If you're going to do that, put me down first."

Aang and Katara laughed as Aang sat Kazuna on the floor where she proceeded to play with her toys.

Aang and Katara turned back towards each other.

"I love you." Aang told Katara, pulling her in for another kiss.

"I love you too." Katara answered just before her lips touched Aang's.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A:TNG: Chapter 19: Love Isn't a Weakness

Author's Note: So much for this chapter being longer. That didn't happen.

Also, I'd planned on having this chapter up last weekend, but school was crazy last week. Pretty much all I did was go to school, come home and do homework, and then sleep. Then, my whole weekend was focused on Harry Potter (I loved the movie!), and seeing my best friend for the first time since August. So, most of this chapter was written over this week. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Avatar: The Next Generation

Chapter 19: Love Isn't a Weakness

“I have some news,” Aang told his children, “We're all going to the Fire Nation for a visit in a week.”

“All of us?” Sugi asked in excitement.

“Yes,” Katara told her daughter, “All of us. Even Aunt Toph and Uncle Sokka, Suki and Kaimu, and Ty Lee and Haru are coming with their kids.”

“This is awesome!” Kazuna yelled in excitement. She had seen Ichiko and Ayame just a few months earlier, but none of them had seen Ai in over a year now. With so much happening in the Fire Nation, none of their families had been very willing to travel there.

“But I thought you guys said it was too dangerous,” Saki said, “Why are you letting us go now.”

Aang spoke up, “It's been so long since you guys have seen Mai, Zuko, Ai, Akatsuki, and Akiyoshi, and Yuuga can't even remember them,” he motioned to the now two-year-old child that was watching the conversation with interest, “Your mother and I think it's about time we went again.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Kazuna repeated to her parents as she got up to hug them. This was difficult since there were also seven other children trying to do the same thing. She was so excited to see Ai again. She was also looking forward to seeing Akatsuki. They'd been writing to each other a lot over the past year, and she couldn't wait to actually get to talk to him.

XX

Kazuna ran towards Ai as soon as she came into sight. “I'm so glad to see you!” she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her friend. Ayame soon joined in the hug, but Ichiko stayed back. After a few moments, Kazuna turned to her, “Come on, Ichiko.” She held out her arm, gesturing for Ichiko to enter the hug as well. Ichiko just shook her head with a look on her face that said, “no way.” Finally, Kazuna was able to pull her into the hug with Ai and Ayame's help.

“You guys are such saps,” Ichiko said when they'd finally broken apart, but she had a smile on her face as she said it.

Kazuna couldn't wait to catch up with Ai, but as soon as Ai had begun telling them the latest about her boyfriend, whom they had yet to meet, Kazuna caught sight of Akatsuki who was currently in a conversation with her younger brother Kuuya. He didn't seem to be paying much attention though. He was looking her way, and smiled as soon as he saw that she was looking at him. She smiled back and waved which caused Akatsuki to blush a little.

Ai leaned over to whisper into Kazuna's ear, “He's been talking about you all the time this past year. He's completely infatuated with you.”

Kazuna found herself blushing at Ai's words. It wasn't anymore than she'd expected. After a exchanging a few letters with Akatsuki, she'd thought that he might have a crush on her. Still, she wasn't exactly sure how to handle it now that they would be staying in the same place. She liked him as a friend and everything, but he was only ten years old after all.

XX

Azula proudly stood as they watched the army marching past them. It had taken over a year, but the time had finally come. A month ago, Ozai had told Azula that he felt that their army was ready to fight Zuko and his army.

It was taking a while to gather their army together since they were so scattered across the nation. They had gradually been gathering troops as they neared the capital. They weren't far now, and they had a fairly substantial number of their troops with them already. It wouldn't take long before they were noticed by one of Zuko's men. It didn't matter. They weren't hiding anymore. Judging from the size and talent of their troops, Zuko would need all the extra time he could get anyway.

XX

“My Lord,” Zuko turned as he heard one of the servants address him, “General Eun Mi wishes to speak to you sir. She's says it can't wait. It's something about Ozai and Azula.”

Zuko hadn't even waited for the guard to finish speaking. He took off towards the room where Eun Mi, one of the top ranking generals in the Fire Nation army, was waiting for him.

“You have information?” Zuko asked her before the door had even swung shut behind him.

General Eun Mi looked at him with a grave look on her face. “Yes,” she began, “Azula and Ozai are leading their army towards us as we speak. I already have troops surrounding the capital, and even more on their way to meet them. If everything goes well, they'll be defeated before they even reach the city.”

“But things never tend to go well when it's war,” Zuko said with sadness in his voice.

“No, they don't,” the general agreed.

“All right then,” Zuko said as he started towards the door, “Continue doing your job. I'm going to have the palace evacuated. We need to get the servants and especially the children out. Then, my friends and I will join you.”

General Eun Mi nodded and replied, “Yes, sir,” but Zuko was already gone. She hurried back to her soldiers as well.

XX

The children were told they had fifteen minutes to gather some of their things to take with them. They were being taken to a bunker underneath the palace. It was the same one Fire Lord Ozai had hidden in during the Day of Black Sun. It wasn't the most ideal place since Ozai and Azula would know where they were, but it was going to be heavily guarded, and they didn't think even Azula and Ozai's strong army would be able to break in. They didn't have any earth or metal benders like Toph.

Hajime was quickly gathering his things when he heard a knock at his open bedroom door. He looked up and was shocked to see Ichiko standing there with a small bag at her feet.

“I need to talk to you,” she said. Hajime could hear the fear in her voice.

“What is it?” he asked her as he sat down on his bed. He patted the space beside him, motioning for her to sit there.

She came over slowly and left a fairly large gap in between them. “I've been thinking,” she began and then continued slowly, “I've been kind of stupid this past year. I didn't want to admit my feelings for you because somehow I thought that would make me weak. Then, Ai said something to me last night that made me realize something. She told me I shouldn't be scared of love. She said that was what caused Azula and Ozai's downfall. They didn't have anyone who loved them enough to help them when they needed it. They only had themselves to rely on. That made me realize that love isn't a weakness. It makes you stronger. Afterward, I wanted to tell you the truth, but I couldn't get the courage to. Then, we find out that Ozai and Azula are coming, and I had to tell you I really did like you before...”

She trailed off and just looked at Hajime. He just looked back just like he had been through her whole speech, just watching her.

After a moment, Hajime leaned over and kissed her. He offered her a small smile once they pulled apart, and he took her hand. “Come on,” he said as he stood up and pulled her up with him, “We need to get going.”

They kept their hands linked together as they went to find the others.

XX

Akatsuki fumbled with the hem of one of his sleeves as he walked toward Kazuna's bedroom door. He couldn't believe he was doing this.

Kazuna glanced up at him as he knocked. She smiled at him, but he could still see the fear in her eyes. “Hi Akatsuki,” she greeted him, “You can come in if you want. I'm almost ready.”

He walked over to her bed as his knees shook. He couldn't believe he was going to go through with this. He decided to get it over with quickly. “Kazuna, I have a crush on you,” he said so quickly that the words were barely distinguishable, but he knew that Kazuna had understood because she froze.

Kazuna turned towards Akatsuki with a look of shock on her face. “What?” she asked in disbelief. She'd never thought that he'd admit his feelings like this. What was she supposed to say?

Akatsuki didn't answer her. He just looked towards the floor and tried to keep from blushing even harder.

After a moment or two, Akatsuki felt the mattress dip down beside him. His blush grew darker when he felt Kazuna's hand on his shoulder.

“Akatsuki,” she began, “You're only ten, and I'm sixteen. That's a big age difference.”

Akatsuki said nothing. He just continued staring at the floor. Kazuna's room had a rather nice carpet.

“Look,” Kazuna continued after an awkward silence, “I'm too old for you right now, but who knows what will happen when we're older.”

Akatsuki finally looked up at Kazuna in surprise. “But I'm not guaranteeing anything either,” she quickly added.

“Still,” Akatsuki spoke with a slight smile, “I can hope.”

Kazuna smiled back at him. “Come on,” she said as she stood up, “We need to hurry. We don't want the others waiting for us. It wouldn't be too great if Azula and Ozai came before we were in the bunker.”

As Akatsuki followed Kazuna out of the room, he marveled over how happy he now felt even though his home was getting ready to be attacked by his own grandfather and aunt. He knew he'd be able to win Kazuna over in time.

Author's Note: So, next chapter will may contain some fighting not much. After that though, the remaining chapters (not including the epilogue) will contain fighting. It'll be interesting to see how those chapters go since my past attempts at writing fighting/battle scenes have been pretty horrible.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

A:TNG Chapter 18: A Year of Fear

Author's Note: This chapter takes place over the course of a year. At different points in the chapter you see [number] months later, that means that part of the chapter takes place that many months after the last chapter. Next chapter will pick up a year later, and that's when the rest of the story (excluding the epilogue) will take place. Also, this chapter is extremely short. I'm going to work hard on making the next one an actually decent length. Enjoy!

Avatar: The Next Generation

Chapter 18: A Year of Fear

Posters began appearing all over the Fire Nation. There were all different types. Some were wanted posters for Azula and Ozai. Others warned of the recruiting that the two were doing, telling the people of the lies they were spreading in order to convince others to join them.

Everyone knew now what was happening. Many people lived in fear of the future.

Others grew excited and began searching for Azula and Ozai on their own. They wanted to help return them to power.

The Fire Nation was slowly disintegrating into chaos. Even the other two nations began to fear what would happen. Zuko was doing all he could to keep the nation together, but that was becoming harder and harder. Many members of the military, people with government jobs, and even his palace staff were quitting their jobs. Some supported Azula and Ozai, and some were just scared of them and what would happen if they were associated with Zuko.

The Fire Nation's relations with the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes became worse. The Earth Kingdom especially wanted nothing to do with the Fire Nation. They feared there would be another war and even began to build up their military.

Everything seemed to be falling apart.

XX

Three months later

“Why would you date him?” Ichiko asked Ayame as they left school one day, “I thought you liked Ikuo.”

“I do,” Ayame replied.

Ichiko looked at Ayame in confusion, “You never make any sense.”

They were talking about Ayame's latest boyfriend. He'd asked her out at lunch, and to everyone's surprise, she'd said yes. Ichiko didn't even know the boy's name, and she was pretty sure that Ayame didn't either. None of it made sense. Why did she just randomly decide to date this boy?

Ikuo had been there to see it too. He'd looked shocked at first and then angrily stormed off, saying something about using the restroom.

“Ikuo hasn't said anything to me,” Ayame tried to explain, “I thought that if I got a boyfriend he might finally ask me out.”

Ichiko rolled her eyes, “I can't believe you're using that stupid jealousy thing. It never works. At least not the way you want it too. Either the guy you like isn't brave enough or really doesn't care. If he does get jealous, he's still unlikely to say anything to you.”

“You're not going to get onto me for using the other guy though?” Ayame asked. This also confirmed to Ichiko that Ayame still had no clue who this guy was since she referred to him as “the other guy.”

“Of course not,” Ichiko replied, “I could care less about him.” After all, caring had never been one of Ichiko's strong traits. “I just think this is a stupid idea.”

“You always think my ideas are stupid,” Ayame said a little indignantly.

“Probably because they always are,” Ichiko muttered as the continued toward their homes.

It turned out that Ichiko had been right. Ayame had dated the guy for about a week when she finally dumped him. Ikuo, instead of admitting his feelings, had begun to outright ignore the fact that Ayame even existed. As soon as she announced the break up, things seemed to return to normal. Neither Ayame nor Ikuo had yet to admit their feelings to each other. On that note, neither had Hajime or Ichiko.

XX

Six months later

“He refuses to meet with me,” Zuko told Aang. They were in the same room that meetings about the war had been held about two decades ago. Now, it was being used for somewhat similar reasons.

Aang was in the Fire Nation for about a week to meet with Zuko. Zuko had asked him to come after the Earth King refused to listen to Zuko. Aang's job had become very hard lately since the Earth Kingdom and Northern Water Tribe weren't wanting anything to do with the Fire Nation anymore. Aang felt, that if he didn't live in the Southern Water Tribe and have such a strong influence there, it would probably be siding with it's sister tribe as well.

“I've already tried speaking to the Earth King,” Aang sighed, “He refuses to listen. I'll head to the North Pole tomorrow and see what can be done. I can't say I have much hope though. What little trust the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes had in the Fire Nation after the war has been all but broken.”

Zuko nodded in agreement, “I can't say I blame them for hating us, but their hate is blinding them to the truth. We're not their enemy anymore. Ozai and Azula are.”

“Hopefully,” Aang said, “They'll see that soon.”

XX

Ten months later

Azula nodded her head in approval as she watched a group of soldiers train. The amount of training they'd had was sparse as they had to be careful that they weren't found. Often, small groups of them would meet in their town and practice together while Azula and Ozai traveled and made sure everything was going well.

Even though they weren't getting formal training, their soldiers were determined and talented. Azula was confident that the odds were in their favor.

XX

Almost twelve months later

Ai smiled contently as she rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. It was a week away from their one-year anniversary. She couldn't believe how long it had been!

Even though she still felt fearful every time she thought about Azula and Ozai, this had been an amazing year. Haruki always knew how to make her feel better when she began to feel scared. She'd been surprised when she'd realized that she was in love with him. It was about a month earlier. He'd been teasing her about being a princess (one of his favorite things to do) when it had just suddenly hit her. She hadn't told him yet for fear that he didn't feel the same way.

“What are you thinking about?” Haruki asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

“Just the past year,” she answered. It was basically true. She was just leaving out the part about her realizing her love for him.

He smiled down at her. “It has been an amazing year. Hasn't it?”

“Mm hm,” she murmured in agreement, “The best.” She lifted her head from his shoulder and kissed him. This continued for a while until Haruki eventually pulled away.

“Ai, I need to tell you something,” he said as he took her face in his hands.

“Okay,” she said anxious to hear what he had to say.

“I love you.” He said it quickly, and it took a moment for it to register in Ai's mind. When it did, a huge smile spread across her face.

“I love you too, Haruki.” Haruki seemed both happy and relieved at her words. He pulled her in for another kiss.

Later that night as Ai was lying in bed, she marveled over how the past year had been the best and yet most terrifying year of her life. She had the most amazing boyfriend in the world, but it was only a matter of time before her crazed aunt and grandfather tried to ruin everything.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

A:TNG: Chapter 17: I Didn't Expect

Author's Note: I got the chapter done in six days! That being said, this chapter was tough to write, and it ended up being kind of short. I hope you guys enjoy it though!

Avatar: The Next Generation

Chapter 17: I Didn't Expect

Ichiko was tossing and turning in her bed for the fifth night in a row. She couldn't get the conversation she'd had with Hajime on the beach out of her head. Her parents were concerned that she was getting sick because she was so exhausted lately. The truth was that she just couldn't sleep.

Hajime filled her thoughts almost constantly which honestly made her nauseous. She was turning into one of those girls. She hated the girls who did nothing but obsess over their latest crush or boyfriend (prime example: Ayame). She'd promised herself, and her friends, years ago that she wouldn't turn out like that, yet here she was unable to sleep because of Hajime. She almost hated him for it.

She had no choice but to finally admit to herself that she liked him. For the first time in her life, she was interested in a boy romantically. That didn't mean she was ready for a relationship though. There was no way she was going out with him. She may like him, but she wasn't doing that. She was still determined to stay single. She'd get over him eventually.

XX

“What are we going to do about this?” Aang asked Zuko. They were just leaving an important meeting. They'd gained information that Azula and Ozai were recruiting people for an army. The source wasn't aware of exactly how many people they had been able to get, but they felt it was a lot.

“I guess just wait,” Zuko sighed, “Capturing them now won't do much good because there will be other people to deal with now. We'll still search for them of course, but even if we find them, we'll have more work cut out for us. I doubt he people they've recruited will just stand by and do nothing.”

“Don't you think we should tell the Fire Nation people that something's happening as well?” Aang suggested, “We might be able to convince some people who would otherwise join Ozai and Azula to be on our side.”

“It couldn't hurt,” Zuko agreed, “We know Azula and Ozai are using propaganda. I'll see if we can get some flyers or something. We'll have to call another meeting about it.”

“Great,” Aang said sarcastically, “Yet another meeting.”

Zuko smiled at his friend for what felt like the first time in days, “I couldn't agree more.”

XX

Ayame watched as Ichiko paced in front of her. It was a strange sight to see Ichiko so nervous since she usually tried to hide it. Ayame sat patiently. She was beginning to get a little annoyed, but she didn't want Ichiko to snap at her for interrupting her pacing.

Finally, Ichiko turned to her, “Okay, don't laugh,” she demanded of Ayame. Once Ayame had assured her that she wouldn't, Ichiko continued, “I already sent letters to Kazuna and Ai earlier this morning.” Ayame noticed that Ichiko's cheeks had a pinkish hue to them. “I like Hajime.”

Ayame smiled, “Is that it?” She continued when Ichiko nodded, “Ichiko, we've all known that for a long time.”

“I know,” said Ichiko, “But I've finally admitted it to myself. I can't stop thinking about him,” she clenched her fists in frustration, “Gah! It's so frustrating.”

Ayame couldn't help but chuckle a little, and Ichiko glared at her. “Ichiko, there's nothing wrong with that,” Ayame assured her friend as she slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Now, when are you going to tell him?”

“Um,” Ichiko murmured, “I'm not.”

Ayame gasped in an overly theatrical way, “Ichiko! You have to tell him!”

Ichiko rolled her eyes at Ayame's theatrics, “No, I don't. I don't have to date him just because I like him.”

Ayame was giving Ichiko a strange look. She didn't seem to understand what Ichiko was saying. She probably didn't. When Ayame liked a boy, she did everything she could to make that boy like her.

Finally, Ayame seemed to recover. “Fine,” she said, “It's your business, so I can't make you do anything. That doesn't mean I'm not going to bug you about it constantly though.”

Ichiko groaned and laid back on the grass. This was why she couldn't tell her friends anything.

XX

Aang's smile grew larger when the small village came into view. He and Zuko had decided that there wasn't much more Aang could do at the moment, and Aang was finally able to come home to be with his family. He'd sent a letter ahead, so they'd know he was coming. He could see his whole family waiting for him just outside of the village.

The younger children began running towards him, with the exception of Yuuga who was just beginning to walk, while Kazuna and Kuuya came over more slowly.

As soon as Aang's feet were on the ground, he was attacked by a mob of children. He collapsed back in the snow, laughing, as his children began climbing on him. Kazuna and Kuuya even joined the fray when they reached him. Somehow, things led to a snowball fight that even Katara joined in. Of course, the water benders had a very unfair advantage.

Later that evening, the reunited family sat around the fire place. Aang smiled as he looked at his family. He was finally home.

XX

Ai sat with Haruki in front of the pond on the palace grounds. They were feeding the turtle ducks together. They'd been spending most of their free time together since they'd met.

Ai loved spending time with him. She hadn't had a boyfriend in a couple of years. She'd been too busy learning from her father what she'd need to know to rule the nation to focus on boys. Part of her felt it wasn't a good idea to get attached to Haruki. There was too much going on at the moment, but she couldn't help being drawn to him. None of her past crushes had been this strong.

She watched him as he tore off a piece of bread and threw it to the turtle ducks. He'd found her sitting here once he got off duty about fifteen minutes ago and had brought some left over bread from the kitchen with him.

Ai wanted to say something about her feelings for him, but she was scared he wouldn't reciprocate. Maybe he just thought of her as a friend. Her being the next in line for the throne didn't help either. Most guys were usually intimidated by her. If her responsibilities weren't hard enough to deal with, her father being able to lock up or banish them didn't help either.

She was still debating whether to say something to him or not when Haruki himself spoke up, “We've been spending a lot of time together lately.”

Ai just nodded. She wasn't sure what he was getting at.

Haruki continued, “It's just, when I came to work here I didn't expect your family to be like this.”

“What do you mean?” Ai asked in confusion.

“I expected the Fire Lord and his family to be slightly stuck up to be honest. I definitely didn't think Princess Ai would want to spend time with me.”

“My mother and father have always taught me that I'm no better than anyone else, no matter what my birth,” she told him.

“I see that now,” he said before slightly changing the topic, “There's also something else I didn't really expect.” He turned away from her and focused his eyes on the turtle ducks. “I didn't expect I would fall for you.” Ai could tell he was blushing slightly.

Her cheeks colored a little as well. “Really?” she asked. This was too good to be true.

He turned to her and nodded.

Ai smiled and said, “I like you too, Haruki.”

Haruki smiled, “I guess that means you'll be my girlfriend then?”

Ai laughed and nodded, “Yes, I'd be happy to be your girlfriend.”

They smiled at each other, and then Haruki leaned in to kiss Ai for the first time.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

A:TNG Chapter 16: Crushes and Armies

Author's Note: Guess what!  This blog is now caught up with fanfiction.net.  That means I won't be posting a new chapter of this story until it's also updated over there.  I'm working on the chapter now, and it will probably be up sometime this weekend.  Also, I already said on fanfiction.net that this story has six chapters and an epilogue left.  I'm planning on having it all done in about two months.  Enjoy the chapter!

Avatar: The Next Generation

Chapter 16: Crushes and Armies

It was the late afternoon when Aang saw the Fire Nation capital in the distance. Zuko hadn't known when to expect him, so he was a little surprised to see Aang gliding through the sky as he was taking a walk. Aang was a little unnerved at how tired and aggravated Zuko seemed. In the little time it had been since they'd seen each other, Zuko seemed to have been stretched to the limit.

“How are things here?” Aang asked Zuko as they walked through the palace together.

“I have some bad news actually,” Zuko paused for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about how to break the bad news to Aang. “Ozai broke out of jail the other night. The guard was found knocked out. He's woken up, but he doesn't know who attacked him. The attacker obviously made sure they wouldn't be recognized, but we're almost positive it was Azula.”

Aang sighed, “This isn't good. Who knows what they're up too. Have you gotten any leads to where they might be.”

“Not yet,” Zuko told Aang with regret in his voice. “We're searching though. We think it's only a matter of time before they let us know where they are.”

“You're probably right,” Aang said, “They'll want to fight us eventually. You have what they want at the moment, the throne, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for them now.”

“I agree,” said Zuko, “I have men and women searching for them all over the Fire Nation as we speak.”

XX

“I've found at least twenty people so far that want to help us,” Azula told her father as they sat in the forest under the cover of the trees. “Most of them were high ranking officers when you were Fire Lord and have since been demoted or kicked out the the military all together. They much preferred when you were in power.”

“Excellent,” Ozai smiled, “We'll need to gather more people though if we want to be successful.”

“They told me they had friends that were interested as well,” Azula informed him. “They're bringing them to meet with us. I don't think it will be that hard to get a fairly substantial number of soldiers. There are many in the Fire Nation who want you as their leader again. I wouldn't even put it past many of the current soldiers to turn on Zuko. It won't be that difficult to organize a full-scale rebellion against dear, old Zuzu.” She smiled with evil glee as she spoke.

“Yes,” Ozai smiled too, “We'll have the throne back in no time.”

XX

“Ikuo!” Hajime repeated for what seemed like the millionth time. He hit his friend on the shoulder for good measure.

“What!?” Ikuo snapped finally discovering that his best friend wanted his attention.

“You've been staring at Ayame for an awfully long time,” Hajime smirked at his friend.

“I have not!” Ikuo said indignantly, “I wasn't staring at anyone.”

Hajime rolled his eyes, “Of course you weren't.” He continued after a moment of silence. “I don't understand why you won't admit that you like her. There's nothing wrong with it.”

“I've known her since I was born,” Ikuo answered, “We even used to bathe together as infants. It's weird.”

Hajime considered Ikuo's words for a moment. His face scrunched up in mild disgust before saying, “Ew. Okay, that is a little weird.” There was a moment of silence before Hajime realized something, “Wait! Ichiko and I were in those baths too... I am officially disgusted.”

Ikuo laughed at his best friend, “Sorry to bring it up. Look on the bright side, we, and they, can't remember anything.” He suddenly got serious and said, “But that's not the real problem. Honestly, I don't want to tell her how I feel and have her react the same way Ichiko reacted when you admitted your feelings to her.”

“Thanks for bringing that up,” Hajime said sarcastically.

“You're welcome,” Ikuo smirked.

“I will convince you to tell her someday though,” Hajime told Ikuo.

“Good luck with that,” Ikuo said.

The two boys were oblivious to the conversation that was currently taking place between the two same girls they'd just been discussing. Ayame and Ichiko were sitting in the backyard of Ichiko's house. They had their backs against the stone wall of the house and were occasionally glancing at the two boys they could see under the trees in the distance.

“I just don't understand it,” Ichiko was saying to Ayame, “Out of all the guys in the world, why would you possibly like my brother?”

“I don't think I had much say in the matter to be perfectly honest,” Ayame snapped at Ichiko.

“No say in the matter?” Ichiko asked in disbelief, “Of course you had a say in the matter! No one's making you like him.”

“No, but that doesn't mean I can just make myself not like him,” Ayame said. She paused before saying, “And even if I could, make myself not like him I mean, I don't think I would.”

Ichiko just shook her head in disbelief, “Whatever. If you want to be with my idiot of a brother than go ahead. I just hope you don't regret it.”

“Well, in order to be with him,” Ayame said, “He's going to have to ask me out.”

“If you like him so much, why don't you just ask him out?” Ichiko asked.

Ayame's eyes moved downwards, and she spoke in a soft voice, “I'm too scared to tell him.”

Ichiko looked at Ayame in shock. Ayame never got nervous around boys. She was always flirting and seemed to know exactly what to say to them. Ichiko never thought she'd see the day where Ayame would be scared to ask a boy out. “Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say that,” she said in surprise.

“Neither did I,” Ayame said.

“Well,” said Ichiko, “If you're waiting for the idiot to make the first move, you're going to be waiting a long time.”

XX

Mai found her son Akatsuki sitting in the library reading a book.

“Akatsuki,” she called to him. Once she had his attention, she continued, “Two letters came for you today. They're both from the Southern Water Tribe.” She smiled at her son when he jumped up in excitement and ran towards her.

“Really!?” he asked excitedly as he took the letters from his mother.

Mai smiled at her son one last time before leaving him to read the letters on his own.

Akatsuki looked between the two letters. He couldn't decide which to read first. He figured the one with the messier handwriting was his best friend, Kuuya, and the one with the neater handwriting was from Kazuna. He wanted to open his best friend's first, but he couldn't help himself when he set Kuuya's on the desk and opened Kazuna's first instead.

He read it eagerly. She wanted him to write back! He hadn't actually thought she'd write him back. He'd figured that she'd just consider it weird that he'd sent her a letter and just throw it away.

He wasn't sure when exactly he'd begun liking Kazuna. When she'd first shown up in the Fire Nation after Azula's escape, he hadn't noticed anything different about his feelings for her. She was just a family friend, but by the time she returned to the Southern Water Tribe, he'd begun to feel differently. She had always been nice to him, and he thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

He'd always thought that she just saw him as Ai's little brother and didn't really pay much attention to him. Her letter gave him a little hope. Maybe someday she'd see him in a different way.

XX

Azula and Ozai were able to gather many people who were willing to fight for them. There were a lot of Fire Nation citizens who had preferred Ozai's rule and were more than willing to help him get the throne back.

Many of these people were soldiers who'd lost their jobs after the war. Fire Lord Zuko had greatly downsized the military. He said it wasn't necessary to have such a large military when there was peace.

This had left many people without jobs. Many people who had once been soldiers were now homeless and living in the streets. They were undernourished but still good fighters from their years of training in what had been the largest and most powerful military in the world.

Ozai and Azula were confident that they could build up a larger army than Zuko currently had at his disposal. In addition to the past soldiers, they were able to find a great many more Fire Nation citizens willing to help.

It wasn't hard for them to travel through the Fire Nation and meet with people without being caught by anyone loyal to Zuko. Zuko probably wasn't even aware at just how fragile his hold on the nation was.