The Deserter

In a forest, Momo and Happy leaped from tree to tree with Carla following close behind. They flew back through the air as they came across a guide in a four-way intersection. 
The gang walked to one side of it. 
"This should give us a good idea of what's around here." Lucy said. 
"Hopefully it'll be a town that won't have any trouble to run into." Natasha commented. Steve looked at her incredulously and said, "It's our job to help when people need it." 
"See if you can find a menu. I'm starving." Sokka said, wiping his mouth. 
"Obviously." Gray commented. 
"I'm kinda hungry too." Natsu admitted. 
"I bet we'll find something to eat here." Aang excitedly said as he ran up to a poster. 
"What is it?" Wendy asked. 
"It says 'The Fire Day's Festival'. It has Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders and magicians." Aang told the group, then turned to Lucy. 
"This would be a great place for me to study some Firebenders." Aang said as he looked up at the others. 
"You might want to rethink that." Erza said. They all came over to her. 
"Hey! A poster of me and Lucy!" Aang excitedly said. 
"That's not a good thing. This is a wanted poster of you two." Ray informed his long-time friend. 
"We should keep moving." Katara voiced her own concern. 
"But I have to learn Firebending at some point and I think fire should be the third element Lucy should bend. This could be my only chance to watch a master up close." Aang argued.
"I don't think fire should be my third element." Lucy told the others.
"Why not? I use Fire Dragon Slayer magic and I'm not a bad guy." Natsu said.
"Aye. You should also consider deciding your third element soon." Happy added.
"You know what, I guess we'll check it out." Lucy said causing Aang and Natsu to rejoice.
"Are you sure about this?" Gray asked.
"Yeah. You really wanna walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired up with their...fire?" Sokka walked over to them and questioned.
"I'm always fired up with my fire." Natsu said.
"If we're going to do this, we need disguises." Ray told them. 
"Yeah and if there's trouble, we'll always leave." Katara said.
"Yeah. Because we ALWAYS leave before we get into trouble." Sokka sarcastically said.
"Be quiet unless there will be trouble for you." Erza threatened.
The gang walked out onto a small rise. They look down at the Fire Day festival and Aang turned to Appa, Momo, Happy and Carla.
"You four should stay out of sight while we go to the festival." Aang said.
"Very well." Carla nodded in understanding.
"Please be careful in there." Happy said as he, Carla and Momo hide in a bush. Appa followed their example and hid behind another bush, though it didn't go as well. 
"Let's get going." Ray undid a strap and attached his Fire Nation armor to his body. Sokka, Katara, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Lucy all put on a cloak and threw the hoods over their heads. Aang pulled his orange over shirt over his head and twisted around with a smile.
"It's like you're a whole different person." Gray said sarcastically while Lucy, Katara and Wendy giggle.
"You ready?" Ray asked, walking ahead of the others. The group followed him in.
Fireworks went off as the group entered the town. They looked around to see people playing, laughing and having all sorts of fun. 
"I think we need new disguises." Wendy said the obvious. 
"You're right." Katara agreed. 
"Where are we going to get masks like those?" Sokka rhetorically questioned.
"Get your genuine Fire Festival masks here!" A man at a mask stand shouted.
"That was surprisingly easy." Natsu said.
The gang then grabbed some masks. Lucy chose a lady with makeup while Katara chooses another lady with makeup. Natsu picked out a orange dragon mask. Gray selected a white bird mask. Erza grabbed a purple tiger mask. Wendy chose a green lion mask. Sokka inspected a blue smiling mask with yellow furs standing on end. Finally Aang chose a red frowning mask. Lucy took the smiling mask off Sokka and the frowning mask off Aang. She then placed the correct masks on the correct faces.
"Hey, I think they have some food." Aang pointed to a booth and said.
"Finally!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Score!" Natsu hollered as he ran past the others.
"What do you have?" Sokka asked the merchant.
"Flaming fire flakes. Best in town." The merchant proudly proclaimed.
"We'll take em." Natsu and Sokka said at the same time as they took the small bag and start eating the fire flakes. Sokka screamed as the spiciness and the freshly warm fire flakes burned his mouth. Natsu on the other hand kept eating.
"Hot! Hot!" Sokka screamed.
"Flaming fire flakes? Hot? What do you know?" Katara sarcastically reminded.
"Idiot." Gray said.
"At least Natsu's enjoying them." Wendy pointed out.
"Aw, yeah! Tastes like fire! You gonna finish those?" Natsu asked. Sokka gave him his fire flakes and he kept eating.
"Hey, look!" Aang said. They all turned and saw a small stage. It was clearly a kids show based on the amount of toddlers sitting in front. A small puppet of the Fire Lord then appeared.
"Don't worry, loyal citizens. No one can surprise the Fire Lord." The puppet Fire Lord said.
Then, a puppet Earth Kingdom soldier rose onto the little stage with a rock in his hand.
"Oh no! Look out!" The Fire Nation kids said but the Fire Lord puppet quickly turned and breathed fire onto the enemy puppet. The kids and other citizens cheered.
"I didn't realize the Fire Lord had fans." Gray said.
"Too bad he's gonna get defeated." Lucy said before seeing Aang going somewhere.
"Aang, where are you going?" She questioned.
"I don't know, but there's a big crowd so it must be good." Aang shrugged as he kept running.
"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution." Sokka said as they made their way to the front of the crowd.
"Considering the fact it's a festival, that's very unlikely." Ray looked at Sokka and said.
When they reached the front of the crowd, they looked up onto the stage and saw a man use his firebending to pull two balls of fire from the torches at the stage's corners. Then he pulled two more balls of fire and moved them around him before bringing all four into one giant flaming ball. Then moving his arms outward, the ball of fire then burst and a flock of doves flew from the stage. Everyone watched in amazement and cheered.
"I gotta learn that trick!" Aang said.
"Thank you! Thank you! And now for my next act, I'll need a volunteer from the audience." He said as he stepped closer to the edge of the stage.
"Oh me! Me!" Aang shouted raising his hand.
"What do you think you're doing?" Erza asked as she lowered his hand.
"I want to get a closer look." Aang slightly turned and said.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Katara shook her head.
"It's better that we don't attract attention to ourselves." Lucy added.
"How about you little lady?" The magician said as he pointed to Lucy.
"Oh, um..." Lucy tried to back away.
"Aw, she's shy. Let's give her some encouragement, folks!" The magician said, turning to the crowd. The crowd gently pushed her forward. The magician grabbed her hand and pulled her up onto the stage much to Aang's jealousy and Natsu's rage.
"Aw, that could have been me!" Aang crossed his arms and complained.
"If he burns ONE hair off of Luce's head, his face is mine!" Natsu shouted.
"Calm down Natsu. I'm sure it's going to be a harmless act." Katara reassured him.
"My next trick is called 'Taming the Dragon'!" The magician said as he sits Lucy down in a chair. He then tied her to the chair.
"You will be my captured princess." The magician explained as he finished tying her up.
"Don't worry, my fair maiden! I shall tame this fiery beast!" The magician said as he threw a leash of fire around the dragon.
"It's too strong! I can't hold it!" He warned with a smirk.
"We need to help her!" Natsu shouted.
"No, we don't want to make a scene." Gray said, grabbing a hold of him.
"But what if..." Aang trails off.
"The rope! It's breaking!" The magician said distraught.
The flaming rope disappeared from the dragon made of fire and it turned towards the bound Lucy.
"No!" Aang and Natsu shouted and jumped onto the stage. 
Aang twisted his arms while standing to a mini cyclone from his hands while Natsu used his Dragon Slayer magic to get rid of the fire dragon. The cyclone knocked Aang and Natsu's masks off.
"Hey! You two trying to upstage me?" The magician questioned with a glare. The crowd started to boo in disappointment at how the act went. Aang and Natsu looked at them before they started to do a goofy dance.
"Hey! That kid's the Avatar!" A citizen shouted.
"That means the Celestial Mage is here too!" Another citizen shouted. The guards turned towards the stage.
"Time to go." Katara stated.
They ran through the crowd.
While they were running, a man gestured to them.
"Follow me! I can get you guys out of here." The man said.
"There they are!" A guard yelled. The man stood back before igniting a smoke bomb and threw it at the incoming Fire Nation soldiers.
The ten then began to run through the festive streets while the guards continued to chase them.
"Over there!" A guard shouted.
"Aang, call Appa!" Lucy yelled.
"Right." Aang took a deep breath before blowing on the whistle.
"Hope he can really hear that bison whistle!" Sokka commented.
"He did it before!" Natsu exclaimed.
"This way!" The strange man pointed to an alley and shouted.
The ten turned and ran down the alley, but stopped when they found that they had come across another squad of soldiers that cut them off. 
"Okay not this way!" The man said, regretting his choice of direction.
The man set off another smoke bomb and threw it at these soldiers before running off. They turned down an adjoining alley and gasped when they had come across a dead end. Their path was blocked by a huge cart of fireworks.
Appa then flew down.
"Appa! Down here!" A relieved Aang shouted. Appa landed between the gang and the soldiers. He then slammed his tail down, sending a shock wave that hurled the soldiers out of the alley.
Appa then struck his tail and took off into the air once again. The soldiers ran back down the alley. But before they could fire, the man ignited one more smoke bomb and threw it into the fireworks. The small explosive caused a massive bang as fireworks shot out of the cart.
"Nice touch setting off those fireworks." Natsu complimented.
"You really know your explosives." Sokka said.
"I'm familiar." The man said as he turned to the group.
"You're a Fire Nation soldier." Erza said.
"Ex actually. His name's Chey." Ray introduced the man to the rest of the group.
"How do you know his name?" A confused Wendy asked.
"I've encountered a lot of people from the Fire Nation who don't agree with the war. He's one of them." Ray explained where he encountered Chey before.
It wasn't long before the group found a spot to land.
"I serve a man. More than a man really. He's a myth. But he's real, a living legend. Jeong Jeong the Deserter." Chey continued. "He was a Fire Nation general...or was he an admiral." Chey said rubbing his head.
"He was high ranked. We get it." Gray muttered.
"Yeah! Way up there! He couldn't take this madness anymore. He's the first person to ever leave the army...and live." Chey said with a proud look. "I'm second, but you don't get to be a legend for that. It's okay though. Jeong Jeong's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad, but he's enlightened."
"You mean there's a Firebender that's not with the Fire Lord?" Lucy asked.
"Forgetting about me." Ray shot Lucy a look.
"Sorry." She quickly apologized.
"Great! We've gotta meet him! He can train me!" Aang excitedly said.
"We're not going to meet some crazy Firebender." Sokka firmly said as he thought that it sounded nuts.
"He's not crazy! He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar and even the Celestial Mage! That's why I followed you to the festival." Chey reminded Sokka. 
"We thank you for your help, but we must get to the North Pole by morning." Erza informed him.
"Erza, this could be my only chance to meet a Firebender that would actually be willing to teach me." Aang pleaded.
"It can't hurt just to talk to him." Katara said as she stood up.
"Well..." Erza was cut off by an annoyed Sokka.
"That's what you guys said about going to the festival! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?" Sokka shouted.
"Because you're annoying, we hate listening to you and we don't care what you say." Happy said. Sokka glared at him before pouting.
Just then a spear flew out of nowhere and in a flash men wearing straw hats and light armor dropped down. 
"Don't move." One of the men warned.
Later on the men escort the group and Chey through the forest.
"Jeong Jeong told you not to look for the Avatar and the Celestial Mage!" The man scolded Chey.
"Wait. You know these guys?" Wendy asked.
"Oh yeah! Lin Yee's an old buddy. Right Lin Yee?" Chey looked to the man behind him and asked.
"Shut up! Keep moving!" Lin Yee ordered.
The nine look to each other as they continued to follow.
"Go on. He sees you only." Lin Yee said.
"That's okay. We can talk later." Chey said to Aang and his friends.
"Is that where Jeong Jeong? I need to talk to him." Aang asked as he moved down the path. Lin Yee stopped the boy with his spear.
"No, you wait there." He then pushed Chey with the broad wooden side of the spear and said.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine. He's a great man." Chey said, looking back.
The Fire Days Festival was long over, but the events of the night didn't go unreported. Zhao interrogated the soldiers with Shasta by his side. 
"So the Avatar and the Celestial Mage were here and you let them slip away." Zhao sounded angry as he said this.
"Yes sir, but other than that the festival went off without a hitch." The captain said with a bow of his head. The giant torch fell behind them.
"No fights. Theft was way down." The captain continued.
"I don't care about your local crime rate! Which way did they go?" Zhao shouted before questioning.
"They headed into the forest. Up the river I suspect." The captain said as he pointed in that direction.
"Ready the riverboats. We're going after the Avatar and the Celestial Mage." Zhao ordered.
"Here we go again." Shasta sighed.
Back at Jeong's Jeong's camp, Chey came walking out with a disappointed look on his face. When he walked up to the group's bungalow, he walked right inside.
"What happened?" Lucy asked.
"Can we see Jeong Jeong now?" Aang questioned.
"He won't see either of you. He was angry that I brought you both here. He wants you two and your friends to leave immediately." Chey explained.
"Finally! Let's hit the road." Sokka said as he sat up on his cot.
"Why won't he see us?" Aang asked, turning back to Chey.
"He says you're not ready. He says you haven't mastered Waterbending and Earthbending yet. He also said that the Celestial Mage hasn't mastered Waterbending and is not ready for Firebending." Chey said.
"Wait. How does he know I'm supposed to master Waterbending and then Earthbending?" Aang asked.
"He saw the way you walked into camp. He can tell." Chey told him.
"I'm going in anyway!" Aang said, standing up.
"Aang!" Lucy called out as she followed him.
Ray walked after them a few seconds later.
Aang walked down to Jeong Jeong's bungalow and waited a moment while taking a deep breath before going inside. Lucy went inside as well and they part a curtain and walked in with a smile. Then they saw that Jeong Jeong had his back turned while sitting in the lotus position behind a wall of candles. 
"Get out." He said.
"Master, I need to learn Firebending." Aang told him.
"Only a fool seeks his own destruction." Jeong Jeong said as he kept meditating.
"But I'm the Avatar and Lucy's the prophesied Celestial Mage. It's our destiny to..." Aang was interrupted.
"Destiny? What would children know about destiny? If a fish lives it's whole life in this river, does it know the river's destiny? No! Only that it runs on and on out of it's control! It may follow where the river flows, but it cannot see the end. It cannot imagine the ocean." Jeong Jeong stated.
"Okay, but it's the Avatar's duty to master all of the bending disciplines and it's the Celestial Mage's duty to learn at least three of them." Aang said.
"To master the bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself. But you have no interest in this, so I have no interest in you." Jeong Jeong growled.
"Sir, Aang needs to learn it at some point. This could be his only chance." Lucy pointed out.
"Are you both deaf? How can I teach the Avatar if he refuses to listen? Before learning Firebending, he must learn Waterbending and Earthbending. Water is cool and soothing. Earth is steady and stable, but fire...fire is alive. It breaths, grows. Without the bender, a rock will not throw itself but fire will spread and destroy everything in it's path if one does not have the will to control it. That is destiny! Neither of you are ready! You're both too weak!" Jeong Jeong shouted.
Then the temperature in the bungalow began to increase. 
"I'm sorry, what was that?" A voice demanded. The three turned and saw Ray standing at the entrance. Jeong's Jeong's eyes widened in shock as he realized who was speaking.
"Are you seriously calling the Avatar and Celestial Mage weak? I'm disappointed, Jeong Jeong." He shook his head.
"Please forgive me, I meant no disrespect." He apologized. 
"Wait, hold on. Why's Jeong Jeong apologizing?" Lucy asked, surprised.
"I taught this guy Firebending when he was younger." Ray informed the two. He then got down to Jeong Jeong's level and made eye contact with him.
"Now you will teach the Avatar Firebending or should Roku find out about what you said." Ray insisted. His eyes widened.
"I will teach you." Jeong Jeong admitted defeat. 
"Really? That's great." Aang said, snapping Jeong Jeong back to the physical world.
Jeong Jeong then groaned as he looked away from the smiling Aang.
"I don't think I'm ready for Firebending yet." Lucy confessed.
"I would not think you are, but I am certain you are ready to master this." Jeong Jeong took out a bronze colored key.
"A Gate Key!" Lucy yelled.
"Yes. At first, I would think you are not ready for this but you would need to wield it at some point." Jeong Jeong explained. 
"Use this Celestial Spirit well." He added handing the key to Lucy.
"Thank you." Lucy bowed in appreciation.
"So when do we learn Firebending?" Aang asked.
The next morning Lucy was beginning a contract with her new Celestial Spirit. Natsu laid on the ground with Happy sitting on his stomach. Gray laid on a boulder in nothing but his boxers. Erza checked her equipment. Wendy watched Katara practice her Waterbending while Sokka sat on a rock trying to catch some fish. Aang stood on a rock in front of Jeong Jeong with Ray to his right. He was overseeing Aang's firebending training.
"Widen your stance." Jeong Jeong ordered.
Aang shuffled his feet and spread his legs further out. 
"Wider!" Jeong Jeong then ordered.
"Bend your knees." Jeong Jeong said.
Aang lowered most of his body as he followed his instructor's command.
"Now concentrate." Jeong Jeong said.
"Good, good." Jeong Jeong said as he turned and walked.
"Now what?" Aang turned his head and asked with a raised brow.
"Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Look at your Waterbending friend. Is she talking? Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he's doing." 
"Hey!" Sokka shouted from his rock, clearly offended by that.
"At least he's telling the truth." Gray said, causing Sokka to glare at him.
"But what am I concentrating on?" Aang asked, confused.
"You must feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of fire. Yet, it is in complete balance with nature." Jeong Jeong said as he gestured to the rising star. 
"So when do I get to make some fire?" Aang asked.
"Concentrate." Jeong Jeong ordered.
Aang breathes embarrassed. Natsu, Gray, Katara and Sokka laugh, causing him to glance over to them.
"You four shut up. It's not that funny." Lucy said. They stopped and Aang turned back then started to shake as he tried to maintain focus even though there was a blush on his cheeks.
Later on Jeong Jeong took Aang up the side of a mountain.
"Are we coming here so I don't burn anything with my fire blasts?" Aang asked.
"No fire yet." Jeong Jeong said as he kept his eyes on the peak.
"What?" Aang complained.
"Power in Firebending comes from the breath. That is why you must master proper breath control." Jeong Jeong said.
"You brought me here to breathe?" Aang asked in confusion and disappointment.
"Assume your stance." Jeong Jeong said.
Aang did that and Jeong Jeong said without looking. "Wider."
"But you're not even looking." Aang said. 
"Wider!" Jeong Jeong shouted. 
Aang decided not to argue and made his stance wider. 
"Now inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth." Jeong Jeong instructed.
Aang opened his mouth to say something, but Jeong Jeong could feel it coming and said, "Without talking." 
Aang clamped his mouth shut and focused on his task. Aang took in a deep breath through his nose and released it through his mouth. 
"Good. Keep going." Jeong Jeong instructed as he turned to go back down.
Aang continued breathing as Jeong Jeong continued to climb back down.
Three hours pass and the sun started to set when Aang returned from the mountaintop. 
"What are you doing here? I did not tell you to stop." Jeong Jeong looked to the boy and questioned.
"I've been breathing for hours." Aang said, starting to get annoyed.
"You want to stop breathing?" Jeong Jeong rhetorically asked.
"I want you to stop wasting my time! I already know how to squat, breathe and feel the sun. I want to know how to shoot fire out of my fingertips." Aang shouted as he threw his hands into the air. Jeong Jeong sighed.
"I had a pupil once who had no interest in learning discipline. He was only concerned with the power of fire and how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out any obstacles in his path, but fire is a horrible burden to bear. It's nature is to consume and without control, it destroys everything around it. I had four additional pupils who were actually interested in learning discipline in Firebending and I taught them how to control themselves and their firepower." Jeong Jeong explained.
While he was talking Zhao's boat floated down river. Several warriors appeared and launched their spears at the boat. Zhao saw them coming, knocked two away with his armored wrist and sent a flame with a sweep of his right hand at the warriors.
"Learn restraint or risk destroying yourself and everything you love." Jeong Jeong said.
Several hours later Jeong Jeong emerged from the tent. He found Aang still sitting on the rock as leaves began to fall off the tree.
"I thought about what you said. I promise I'll be patient." Aang said.
"We're going to work on fire now." Jeong Jeong said.
"Oh yeah!" Aang said before he remembered, quickly stood and humbly said. "I mean, let us begin." 
"Concentrate on the fire." Jeong Jeong instructed.
"Master, there is trouble." One of the warriors ran up and said.
"What's going on?" Aang asked as he broke both concentration and stance.
"Don't worry about it. Resume what you're doing Aang." Ray ordered. 
Jeong Jeong ran off as Lucy, Katara and Natsu joined Aang.
"This is the WORST Firebending instruction ever!" Aang said.
"I'm sure there's a good reason." Katara assured him.
"But I'm ready to do so much more." Aang said.
"Just concentrate." Lucy told him.
Aang reassumed his stance and began to concentrate and breathe again. The burning ring grew bigger until suddenly it burst into flames. 
"I did it! I made fire." Aang excitedly said.
"Awesome!" Natsu shouted, excited.
"That's great, Aang. But you should take it slow." Katara warned.
"Agreed. Don't mess around with this." Ray instructed.
Aang then began playing with the ball of fire by tossing it back and forth in front of him and behind him. Natsu joined in and the two unleash fire blasts in the opposite direction.
"Now that's Firebending." Natsu stated.
"Yeah!" Aang exclaimed.
"Guys! Be careful! You'll hurt yourselves!" Lucy warned the two.
"Hey Aang. Do you remember how that juggler did that fire trick?" Natsu asked.
"I think it goes something like this." Aang used his hands to send the flame out like a ring. Natsu did the same thing with his Fire Dragon Slayer magic. They smile, but those smiles faded when Lucy threw her hands up to protect herself. She didn't take the brunt of the fire, but her hands and abdomen were burned and she screamed in pain.
"Lucy!" Katara yelled.
"I did tell you not to mess around with this, didn't I." Ray reminded the two in a deadpan tone.
"Luce! We're so sorry!" Natsu shouted.
"It was an accident!" Aang tried to explain. Gray, Erza, Wendy and Sokka ran over.
"Lucy!" Gray yelled, concerned.
"Lucy, what's wrong?" Wendy asked.
"What did you two do?!" Erza demanded.
"We're sorry!" Aang shouted.
"Yeah! It was a accident!" Natsu yelled. Erza brought her fist back punching Natsu and Aang.
"You two shouldn't be messing around with something like this!" Erza yelled.
"Look what you two nimrods did! YOU BURNED-" Gray yelled before being cut off.
"Shut up Erza, Gray. They already feel bad enough." Ray instructed before looking over at Lucy who ran into the woods. 
"Lucy, wait!" Katara shouted before running after her.
"Wait for me!" Wendy followed Katara. 
"You two burned Lucy!" Sokka shouted.
"This is all your fault!" Gray accused.
"No actually, this is my fault. I'm the one who forced Jeong Jeong to teach Aang Firebending." Ray took the blame for this instead.
Aang and Natsu stood up and walked to Jeong Jeong's bungalow. 
Once they were gone, Ray stood up and turned towards Erza, Gray and Sokka. The three had looks of horror on their faces.
After taking the brunt of the fire, the skin on his face was burned off. His face bones were exposed.
"Based on your reactions, my face has been burned off again." He said in a casual manner.
"You don't even sound angry that Aang and Natsu burned you." Erza replied, stunned by his lack of concern.
"I'm not. Do you have any idea how often I burned myself accidentally while practicing my firebending." He explained further. "In any case, this will no longer be a concern." 
"What's that supposed to-" Gray cut himself off when his skin started to slowly grow back. 
"What the?" Erza was speechless upon seeing him recover almost instantly. 
"You can regenerate." Sokka's eyes widened at the sight. 
He had never encountered a firebender capable of self-healing. 
"Yeah, it's allowed me to survive worse injuries than this." Ray confirmed. 
He then headed into the woods to check on Lucy.
She was a creek sulking and cried in pain. Katara and Wendy walk up and sit next to her.
"Lucy, it's okay. We're here." Katara said, but she still sulked.
"Wendy, can you try and heal her burn?" She asked.
"Yeah, I think I can." Wendy nodded as she used her healing magic on Lucy's burned abdomen. 
"I hope that's better." She said.
"But her hands are burned as well." Katara added. She placed her hands on Lucy's and gently lowered them into the water. Then Lucy's hands glow and a few seconds later the burns on Lucy's hands faded.
"What? Katara, how did you..." Lucy was cut off.
"It seems you possess the ability to heal people with Waterbending." A voice said from behind them. It was Ray, Jeong Jeong wasn't far behind.
"The great benders of the Water Tribe sometimes have this ability. I've always wished I was more blessed like her. Free from this burning curse." Jeong Jeong added.
"But you're a great master." Lucy said.
"Yeah, you'll have powers we'll never know." Katara pointed out.
"Water brings healing and life, but fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces us burdened with it's care to walk on a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart." Jeong Jeong said.
Two fire balls then strike the river. Jeong Jeong and Katara jump back from the water's edge. They looked down the river to see three boats sailing up to them. Another one came straight at them, but Jeong Jeong was able to disperse it.
"Go get your friends and flee! Do not come back here or you will be destroyed! Hurry!" Jeong Jeong warned.
"But I can help you fight back." Lucy protested.
"No arguments." Ray intervened.
"Lucy, come on!" Wendy called out. The four run off.
He turned back just as three more fire balls were launched from the boats.
On the main boat, Zhao looked through his telescope when he spotted a familiar face.
The fire balls landed around Jeong Jeong before he jumped into his stance and rotated his arms in a circle before creating a huge wall of fire between him and the riverboats. The wall of fire spread across the river and caused the boats to turn towards the shore that wasn't touched by the fire. 
"Don't worry, men. My old teacher gave up on fighting a long time ago." Zhao reassured them. 
"Isn't that right, Master Jeong Jeong?" He asked.
Jeong Jeong continued to glare at him before dropping the wall of fire.
"Master Jeong Jeong." Shasta bowed.
"Shasta, my greatest pupil. Are you and your sisters doing well?" Jeong Jeong asked.
"Yes." Shasta answered.
"Enough with these ridiculous formalities." Zhao said.
Lucy, Ray, Katara and Wendy run down the path. Gray, Erza and Sokka were getting prepared to leave.
"Lucy! Are you okay?" Gray asked.
"Never mind me. We need to get out of here." Lucy said.
"Where's Aang?" Katara asked, noticing he was missing.
"Inside Jeong Jeong's cottage." Erza answered.
"And Flame Brain's sitting on that rock by himself." Gray commented.
Lucy ran over to Natsu so was sulking over what he had done.
"Natsu, I know you burning me was an accident, but I'm okay now. Can you stop beating yourself up?" Lucy asked.
"Luce, you're okay? How?" Natsu questioned, surprised.
"I'm healed and I'll explain later. Right now I need to talk to Aang." Lucy said. She parted the curtains and walked in. She was surprised to find Aang sitting behind the candles with his back to the door. 
"Jeong Jeong tried to tell me I wasn't ready, but I wouldn't listen. I'm never going to Firebend again." Aang told her.
"You'll have to eventually." Lucy said.
"No. Never again." Aang insisted.
"Aang, it's okay. I'm healed." Lucy assured him.
"What? How?" A surprised Aang asked as he glances back.
"Katara healed me. We have to get out of here. Zhao and his soldiers are attacking." Lucy said.
"Where?" Aang asked as he airbends a jump to stand.
"By the river. They captured Jeong Jeong." Lucy answered.
"We have to help him." Aang said as he rushed out.
"Then let's go." Lucy said as they leave the cottage.
At the river, Zhao and his soldiers have Jeong Jeong outnumbered.
"Look at you. You were once so great. I can't believe my former master has become nothing more than a simple savage." Zhao said, sounding disappointed.
"Zhao." Shasta warned the admiral.
"It is you who has embraced savagery, Zhao." Jeong Jeong argued. "Unlike you, Shasta and her sisters know more about Firebending." 
"I couldn't care less. Also, it's ADMIRAL Zhao now." Zhao corrected.
"Titles don't matter." Shasta said.
"Indeed. That title will not help you against the Avatar and the Celestial Mage. Do not try to fight them. You are no match." Jeong Jeong warned. Zhao scoffed.
"I think I can handle a child." Zhao said."Have you forgotten how your fight with the Celestial Mage ended?" Shasta reminded him.
"She was lucky, but luck can't last forever." Zhao replied.
"I have never seen such raw power." Jeong Jeong said as he turned away. Then he saw Lucy and Aang.
"Jeong Jeong!" Aang called out.
"We'll see. Men, take the Deserter!" Zhao ordered.
The soldiers all moved around Jeong Jeong with stances at the ready, spears pointed at him. Jeong Jeong looked between the soldiers before looking over to Aang and Lucy. Then he smirked as he knew what to do. Jeong Jeong turned a complete circle and created a barrier of fire around himself while the Firebenders shot a ball of fire. When it dispersed, Jeong Jeong was nowhere to be seen.
"It's a trick! He's run off into the woods! Find him!" Zhao shouted.
"You've been humiliated by the Celestial Mage already. Now it's my turn to fight her." Shasta said.
"Fine. I'll be more than happy to deal with the Avatar." Zhao replied.
"I guess I'll handle this woman. Good luck with the meathead." Lucy told Aang.
"Yeah." Aang said.
"Are you prepared, Celestial Mage?" Shasta asked.
"That's right. Let's go." Lucy pulled out a Gate Key. "Open Gate of the Tiger! Yin!" A woman with long black hair that had streaks on orange in it. She wore a dark orange short top with black shorts. A pair of orange stripes trailled down her arms, abdomen and face. There was a pair of catlike ears and a orange tail with black stripes. She let out a roar.
"It seems you've acquired another Celestial Spirit." Shasta noted.
"That's right and together we're gonna beat you." Lucy declared.
"This is gonna be fun. Shall we play until she drops, Lucy?" Yin asked.
"Yes. Let's play." Lucy nodded.
"I won't hold back either." Shasta released blue fire which the two dodge. 
"Yin!" Lucy called out to the spirit.
"Got it." Yin nodded as she fired a blast of energy at Shasta. She dodged, but Yin pounced on her and scratched Shasta with her claws. Shasta shot two blue fireballs and then took a step back, giving Lucy a opportunity to release a series of punches and a kick.
"You two are not bad, but I'm no pushover." Shasta informed the two.
"Neither are we." Lucy said back.
"Let us show you what we mean." Yin added as she went on the offensive again. Lucy gathered water from the creek and sent it towards Shasta, who released waves of fire. Yin fires two more energy blasts at Shasta who countered with her own attack. Lucy raised her legs and fires off several kicks, then air swirled around her and a whirlwind made it's way over to her.
"You done yet?" Lucy questioned.
"Not yet. I'll show you how serious I am." Shasta answered.
Shasta created two blue fire whips and swung them at the two. Lucy reared her arm back and threw a punch, then leaped off the ground and executed a flip kick. Yin also kicked and punched Shasta. Their fight continued for some time.
"Impressive, but this isn't over." Shasta told the two.
"Then bring it on, Sweetie." Yin said.
"We'll keep going until it's over." Lucy added.
While Lucy and Yin take Shasta on, Zhao moved towards Aang.
"While these girls are having fun, let's find out what my old master has taught you." Zhao said.
"You were Jeong Jeong's student?" Aang asked, shocked.
"Until I got bored." Zhao admitted. 
He then sent a flaming fist towards him. Aang jumped over the flames with his airbending. Zhao sent another fire fist at him. Aang gasped and ducked under his shot.
"I see he taught you how to duck and run like a coward. But I doubt he showed you what a Firebender is truly capable of." Zhao said as he sent a double fire fist at Aang with a yell. Aang rolled out of the way. 
"Whoa! Wild shot." Aang said, looking back with a smirk.
"I'll show you WILD!" Zhao shouted. He yelled as he shot another ball at him.
Aang dodged and noticed how wild and out of control Zhao's attack was.
"No self control." Aang said as he came up with a plan.
"Stand and fight Avatar!" Zhao challenged.
"Oh, we were fighting? I thought you were just getting warmed up." Aang sarcastically asked.
"I was!" Zhao said angrily. He shot more fire at Aang. Aang dodges and he shot more fire, but it missed.
"Is that all you've got? Man, they'll make ANYONE an admiral these days!" Aang said. Zhao threw another fire ball. Aang jumped onto the first riverboat. 
"Ahoy! I'm Admiral Zhao!" Aang said as he turned around and mooned Zhao.
Zhao growled in anger before moving to jump onto the boat. When he landed on the deck he launched a fire ball at Aang, but the Airbender jumped off the roof before the flames reached him.
"I don't know why, but I thought that you'd be better than Zuko." Aang said. 
Zhao gritted his teeth in anger when Aang stood up.
"Sloppy. Very sloppy." Aang said. 
Zhao growled in irritation as Aang ran off along the boat. Then he jumped onto the next boat after Aang. Aang quickly jumped onto the next boat and turned left as Zhao sent a stream of fire after him. Aang ran into the cabin when Zhao sent in a fireball after him. A stream of fire burst through one window while Aang came sliding out of another right before Zhao sent another flow. Aang ran in front of the cabin and took a moment to catch his breath. But when he looked to either sides of the cabin, he saw that Zhao wasn't there. The admiral was waiting atop of the cabin and jumped. Aang moved to get off, but Zhao twisted as he landed before the Airbender.
"Nowhere to run, you little smart mouth." Zhao said as he assumed his stance. 
"You've lost this battle." Aang said.
"Are you crazy? You haven't landed a single blow!" Zhao questioned, before pointing out.
"No, but you have." Aang said, gesturing around them.
Zhao looked around and his eyes widened at what he had done. The boat to the left started to sink while the other two continued to burn. 
"Jeong Jeong said you have no restraint." Aang said.
Aang then jumped into the river to escape the burning boats. Zhao had closed his eyes in anger while a vein appeared on his forehead. When he opened them, he let out a yell of fury as he knew that they were right. But his anger caused the flames to grow even more. Aang resurfaced and spit some of the river water out before looking in Zhao's direction and rejoining Lucy.
"Have a nice walk home." He said.
"Aang, come on!" Sokka shouted as Appa flew down and the two jump onto Appa's saddle.
As Appa flies off Zhao witnesses their departure and let out a roar of rage as Shasta approached him.
"I hope you learned your lesson now." Shasta said. 
"They're not getting away this time! They will be mine!" Zhao shouted.
While Appa flew away Aang looked back.
"Wait. Where's Jeong Jeong?" Aang asked.
"He disappeared. They all did." Erza answered as they all looked down at the camp.
Chey was the only one left in the camp as he walked down the path. It was then that he noticed the place was empty. He looked around.
"Hey. Where did everybody go?" Chey asked. "Very funny, guys." 
The sun was starting to set as Appa flew through the air while the group talked about what happened. 
Katara looked down to Aang's arm.
"Aang, you're burned. Let me help you." Katara said as she pulled water out of the water skin and moved it around her right hand. She then placed her hands against the burn. Then taking a deep breath she focused and removed it. When the water fell away from Aang's arm the burn mark was gone as well. 
"Wow, that's good water." Aang said.
"I'll say." Lucy added.
"When you learn to do that?" Gray asked. 
"I guess I always knew." Katara said with a smile.
"Oh well, thanks for all the first aid over the years." Like when I fell into the greaseberry bramble or that time I had two fishooks in my thumb." Sokka sarcastically said. 
"Two?" Natsu asked, shocked.
"He tried to get the first fishook out with the other fishook." Katara explained with a small smile.
"Wow. What an idiot." Gray muttered.
"Oh, and the time that ming snake bit me. Thanks for healing that up. Really helpful." Sokka said.
"Sokka, enough. Katara probably didn't learn that ability back then. Stop acting like a three year old." Erza insisted.
"Sorry." Sokka said.