Chapter Text
Even with the evacuation of some of the village, there were still a lot of casualties from the battle. Half of the buildings were torn down and the rest were used as temporary medical centers or to house those who lost their homes. Kim’s currently in one of the medical centers helping bandage the arm of a little boy.
“Ryan, I’m gonna put this on your arm but it might sting a little. Is that okay?” Kim shakes the bottle of alcohol she’s holding. The little boy seems to hesitate for a second before nodding.
“Okay,” Ryan says. He’s yet to stop looking at Kim since she walked in here. Trini walks in as Kim starts applying the alcohol, and Kim motions for her to give her a second. When Kim grabs Ryan’s arm, Trini notices that the poor boy stops breathing and she can’t really blame him because if she was in that situation she would probably stop breathing too.
When Kim finishes bandaging him up, Ryan runs away to the opposite side of the room after a mumbled, “Thanks pretty lady.”
Trini laughs, “I think that little boy has a crush on you.” Kim shifts from one foot to the other and laughs awkwardly, not really sure how to respond.
“You must be the famous Kimberly Hart that Tommy keeps talking about,” Trini says.
“ And you must be Trini-” Kim says, “Wait. Famous? What exactly does Tommy say about me?”
“She says you’re pretty badass but I can already tell that from the big battle that just happened,” Trini says taking a step closer.
“I - uh...thanks,” Kim says with an obvious blush on her face. It’s now that she notices the earthbender is still wearing the same outfit from earlier. The one with no sleeves that gives Kim a clear look at her arms. I can’t make fun of Billy anymore for ogling at Jason.
“So where exactly are you from?” Trini interrupts her thoughts.
“Uhm what?” Kim wasn’t expecting a question and certainly not one about her past. She isn’t sure how much to keep a secret.
Trini takes another step forward, “You’re fire nation, but you’re not wearing fire nation clothes so I can’t tell what part you’re from, and you’re way more skilled than a regular fire nation soldier.”
“Uhhh…” Kim takes a step back and bumps into a table.
“Uhh?” Trini repeats. “What are you hiding?”
Tommy appears from behind Kim and hits Trini on the shoulder. She’s carrying some lychee nuts and pops some in her mouth before speaking. “Don’t sound so menacing,” she says and then looks at Kim, “What she’s trying to say is that you don’t have to hide anything from us. We take fire nation refugees all the time. We’re just curious.”
“Okay,” Kimberly says. She figures that they both risked their lives to protect hers so they should know. “So I’m not just a regular firebender…”
“We figured,” Tommy says.
“I’m the daughter of the firelord,” Kim says. Trini’s eyebrows raise in surprise and Tommy chokes on her lychee nuts.
“Holy shit,” Trini whispers.
“I knew she looked familiar,” Tommy says hitting Trini on the shoulder again. “You didn’t believe me!”
“Alright alright,” Trini says. “Stop hitting me!”
Kim looks at the two of them teasing each other and she gets hit with a wave of longing. She misses her friends at home and she misses being happy without this immense pressure on her shoulders. It’s probably best if they leave soon.
“I appreciate the help, but I think it’s time that we hit the road again. We can’t stay in one place for too long because then something like this happens,” Kim says gesturing around her.
“You’re not staying?” Trini asks.
“I can’t just abandon Jason,” Kim says and then quickly adds, “He’s my best friend.”
“Alright,” Tommy says and steps forward to hug her. “Just make sure you come back and visit. We could always use the help.”
Kim gives them a smile and a wave before leaving the center. There’s one more thing she has to do before they leave.
-------
Kim stands in the middle of a small forest clearing with the wind blowing her hair and a dark overcast over her. On the ground in front of her is her father’s helmet. She kneels down to set Joyce’s teddy bear next to it and then puts her hands on her knees. Closing her eyes, she sees her father’s face. It doesn’t take long before all the memories come flooding in.
She wishes so badly she could go back to when she was just a kid. The thought causes her to scoff because of all she had to go through. Her life was never good but at least she had her father. Had.
I should’ve never left your funeral. You must be so disappointed in me. You always told me I was the strongest person you knew but that was all a lie wasn’t it? I don’t know how to be strong. I don’t want to be strong. All I’ve done is make things worse. I let Joyce die. I killed her. I killed her and I killed Trent. I killed him when mother was using me like a puppet. I let her use me and I almost killed my best friend. I don’t deserve Jason’s forgiveness. This is all my fault. I should’ve been able to save them. I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m so sorry father.
Once the first tear breaks free Kim has to bend forward as the rest flow with gut-wrenching sobs. Shaking hands wipe away tears every few seconds, but the memories of her dad continue to flood her mind.
After a couple minutes she hears rustling of leaves nearby. Kim’s still sniffling quietly when Billy emerges from the trees with Jason soon appearing behind him. Billy doesn’t hesitate in pulling Kim into a hug when he sees her but at the sight of the makeshift grave, Jason stops in his tracks.
As Kim pulls away from Billy, Jason says, “I’m sorry Kim.”
“Sorry?” Kim furrows her eyebrows. “Sorry for what?”
“It’s my fault,” he says. “I should’ve left when you guys told me to. I was just so caught up in being able to act normal that I lost track of what we were doing. It’s because of me that little girl is dead.”
“Jason it isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known...” Kim trails off when she realizes the hypocrisy of the moment. “It’s not your fault,” she repeats.
“It’s not your fault either,” Billy says. “You guys can’t take the blame for everything. A lot of bad stuff is going to happen that we can’t control and if you take the blame for every decision then we’re not going to get very far. I don’t know about you guys but I really like what we’re doing and I’ve never had friends as amazing as you guys. You guys are amazing.”
“Thanks Billy. You’re pretty amazing too,” Kim says as her and Jason envelops him into a group hug.
When the hug has ended and they’re all wiping away their tears, a hawk flies down and lands on Jason’s shoulder. He almost jumps in shock at the sudden bird perching on his soldier.
“Why is there a hawk on me,” he says standing very still. Kim smiles and approaches them cautiously.
“Her name is Junior,” Kim says petting the hawk.
“Okay… but why is she on my shoulder,” Jason says.
Kim shrugs, “It’s a messenger hawk. She could be useful, so don’t complain that she’s taken a liking to you.” That seems to calm Jason down as he visibly loosens up.
-------
Trini and Tommy are sitting on top of a fallen wooden pillar in the midst of the main building rubble. They look onto the village as they pass a bag of lychee nuts amongst themselves. Trini was gone for weeks before she came back and saved Tommy’s life, so having Trini beside her gives her a huge wave of relief.
“I’m really glad you came back when you did,” Tommy says.
Trini scoffs, “I can’t leave you alone for two seconds.”
“I was worried about you. You were gone for a really long time. Thought you finally got discovered this time,” Tommy says.
“Do you really have such little faith in me,” Trini tries to joke but after realizing Tommy still has that worried look on her face she’s more serious. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re my best friend Tommy.” There’s a moment of sincerity before Tommy’s worried face contorts as she tries to hide her amusement.
“Best friend?” Tommy laughs. “I’m your only friend!”
Trini swipes the bag of lychee nuts from Tommy’s hand and chucks it away causing Tommy to yell, “Hey!”
“I try to be genuine for once and this is what I get in return?” Trini says.
“Aww I’m sorry Trini! You’re my best friend too,” Tommy says pulling Trini into a tight hug and then proceeding to pat her head even though Trini has the deadliest glare on her face. Tommy grins at her in response until Trini sighs and gets up to get the lychee nuts.
When Trini comes back Tommy asks, “So what did you find on your adventures?”
“I found another storage house,” Trini says passing the bag to Tommy and sitting down. “It’s the biggest one I’ve seen. All the smaller houses eventually transfer their things into this one.”
“This is great!” Tommy jumps up. “If we hit that one, it’d set back the fire nation for a while!”
“More than a while,” Trini says, “but there’s no way that we’d be able to do it on our own.”
Tommy sulks for a little bit before an idea pops into her head and she’s her usual bright self again. “Why don’t we go ask my new friends? I bet the avatar could do this whole mission on his own.”
-------
Alpha almost sounds like he’s purring as Kim rubs his belly. Team Avatar’s previous campsite is a slightly ruined due to their unforeseen attack earlier that week, but that doesn’t seem to bother Jason who is sprawled on top of all of their forgotten sleeping bags. Billy’s the only one really packing things up like they’re supposed to be doing.
“Where’s our next destination avatar?” Kim asks.
Jason sits up with an exaggerated groan and says, “We head back to the mainland I guess.”
“Actually, I think we should head back to the airbending temple,” Billy says.
“What? No way, there are still people who need our help,” Jason says.
“And I get that, but there is only so much airbending I can teach you Jason. I’m not an airbending master and you need to master all the elements if we have any hope in defeating the fire nation once and for all,” Billy says.
“He’s got a point,” Kim says. “But we also can’t just leave these people defenseless.”
A voice from startles Kim from behind, “ What if you slow them down?” She turns around to see Trini walking towards them with Tommy close behind her.
“What?” Jason says finally standing up.
Tommy says, “We’ve been making plans to attack Fire Nation storage houses. Where they keep all their weaponry and food, so that they’d give the villages some time to recover. That’s what Trini was scouting out for, and she found a golden opportunity. We didn’t think we’d be able to attempt an attack until a month or two, but with the help of the avatar we can do the mission in days, and even better, we can attack the biggest storage facility.”
They all consider the offer for a moment before Kim says, “What’s the plan?”
“We blow it up,” Trini says.
“Really?” Jason says, exasperated, but Billy seems thrilled at the prospect.
“We have a lot of blasting jelly,” Trini says with a shrug.
Tommy glares at her as she speaks, “It’s a little more developed than that. It requires stealth, but yes essentially we’d be blowing it up.”
“If you help us with this, it’d set back the fire nation from the villages, and give you some time to master airbending afterwards. It’s a win-win,” Trini says.
Kim, Jason, and Billy look at each other. Billy’s clear excitement and Trini’s logical explanation fades away all concern Jason had about the mission.
After a nod from Kim, Jason says, “Alright. We’re in.” Tommy smiles as she shakes Jason’s hand and Trini sighs in relief at the agreement.
“The blasting jelly is at my place but I’m gonna need help bringing it over. There’s a lot,” Trini says.
“Well we’ve got a lot of muscle,” Jason says, “and by muscle, I mean mostly Kim.”
“I can help with the explosives,” Billy says a little too cheerfully. “I don’t really remember my dad ‘cause we were separated when I was young but what I do remember is that he loved looking for cool things in the mountains and most of the time it involved blowing it up. I’m really good at building things, and uh bombs. Not that I have ever tried to explode things before, especially so close to the air temple because that would be wrong...”
Jason laughs, “What Billy means is that we’re here to help in any way we can.”
“Alright Trini. Lead the way,” Kim says.
-------
They’ve been traveling quite a distance and Kimberly is very confused because she didn’t realize Kyoshi Island was large enough to have mountains. But here they are, hiking their way up for what seems like ages. She looks over at Jason and is glad to see she’s not the only who feels like they’ve been going to the middle of nowhere.
“Hey Trini, where exactly are we-” Jason tries to say but is cut off when Junior lands on his shoulder again. “Where does she even come from?”
“Junior seems to really like you,” Billy says.
Jason starts petting the hawk and Tommy mumbles, “I wish I had a cool pet.”
Trini makes a sudden stop almost causing Kim to collide with her. “We’re almost there,” she says pointing downwards. They’ve made it to the top, revealing a circular area surrounded by these mountains. Right under them is a waterfall that forms a stream leading into a cave on the opposite side of them.
“You live there? That’s so cool! It’s like a secret lair inside of a mountain,” Billy says.
“Yeah me and my roomate,” Trini says already making her way down with the others following close behind.
“I said that at first too Billy,” Tommy says. “Trini, why do you always get all the cool things? You’ve got the lair, the earthbending. You’re like a more badass and gay version of me. Minus my amazing charm, of course.”
Trini raises an eyebrow before earthbending the ground from underneath Tommy causing her to fall onto her butt. Her mouth drops open in disbelief before she’s standing up and laughing again. The group having stopped their hike to witness the showdown.
“You’re just jealous because I make all the ladies swoon,” Tommy says with a flick of her hair.
“Who says I don’t make all the ladies swoon too,” Trini smirks. “Let’s not forget who asked who out here.” Kim almost trips on a branch but composes herself enough to not seem suspicious.
“I’m sorry what,” Jason says. “I’m confused.”
Me too buddy , Kim thinks.
“Oh, me and grumpy goblin over here used to skadoodle,” Tommy says. Trini scrunches her nose in disgust.
“We used to date. Don’t listen to her,” Trini says. “My point was that Tommy was head over heels for me, so she has no right to claim she’s a lady killer.”
Tommy scoffs, “I am a lady killer!”
Kim laughs at the exclamation, mostly due to relief but partly due to Tommy yelling it right before she trips and almost falls again.
“It’s not my fault that I fall too easily,” Tommy says.
Trini stares back with a blank expression, clearly not understanding the pun.
Tommy grumbles, “I can’t believe I ever dated you.”
“Same here,” Trini laughs and then turns around to start walking again.
“Why am I friends with you again?” Tommy asks.
“My secret lair?” Trini says.
“Ah yes, now I remember,” Tommy says.
-------
It only takes a couple more minutes for them to walk into the cave and face the brown door that looks hundreds of years old. Okay maybe a slight exaggeration, but the door is overrun with moss and almost blends into the cave walls if it weren’t for the dark brown wood peeking underneath. Trini grabs the latch and knocks on the door three times with a pause in between the second and third knock.
The group hears various unlocking noises and Kim is left wondering who Trini’s roommate is. She honestly should’ve asked Tommy earlier if Trini was single or not because all these new bits of information are going to give her a heart attack. When the door opens to reveal an old man, all of Kim’s worries disappear.
The long, grey hair and beard give away the man’s loss of youth yet he wears a warm smile on his face. The green robes he’s wearing would normally indicate he’s from the earth kingdom but Kimberly recognizes his face.
“Hello Trini,” he says before giving the others a polite nod. “I see you brought some new friends today. Would you guys like some tea?”
“Yes please,” Tommy says and everyone else mumbles in agreement.
“I know you,” Kim says. “You’re General Iroh. You used to work for my father.”
“Please call me Iroh. My military days are long over,” Iroh says with a chuckle. “Come on in.”
They all squeeze through the door and are pleasantly surprised by the interior. Kim was expecting a dusty cave, so the wooden floors and furniture are a nice sight. The walls and roof, however, are made of stone and the reasoning is made clear when Iroh uses firebending to light the stove and get started on his tea.
Tommy is already making her way down the hall while the others are still observing the living room and standing awkwardly at the door because they are unsure of what to do. Trini motions for the rest to follow her until they’re all facing an empty wall. She earthbends a door-shaped hole in the wall revealing a secret room and Billy, unable to contain his awe, let’s out a gasp.
“Pretty cool right?” Tommy says as she plops onto a couch on the side of the room. The table in the middle has a huge map on it with markings all over that eerily remind Kim of her mother’s war room. The right wall has the couch Tommy is currently laying across with a door next to it, the left wall has a large trunk and more seats, and the back wall is completely covered with filled bookshelves.
“Didn’t peg you as a reader,” Jason voices what Kim was thinking. He lingers by the door while Billy and Kim move to the right of the table to get a closer look at the map.
“Some of those are strategy or earthbending books and scrolls. The others are all Tommy’s,” Trini says as she grabs a smaller map. Kim’s so glad that she looks up in time to see Tommy’s embarrassed face.
“That was supposed to be a secret! I have a badass reputation to keep up,” Tommy says.
“What reputation?” Trini scoffs under her breath at the same time Billy says, “Books are badass.”
Tommy seems torn for a bit before saying, “You’re right, Billy.”
“Can we be book buddies? I have a lot of recommendations,” he says.
Behind him Trini mouths nerd at Tommy but Billy looks so excited that Tommy just sends a glare in her direction and says, “Sure Billy, I’d love to.”
Trini clears her throat. “Okay so here’s the deal,” she says pointing to a spot on the large the map as everyone gathers around her, “this is where I found the storage house we’re hitting.”
Junior flies off Jason’s shoulder and lands on the map, almost as if she’s listening in. On both the large map and the one Trini is holding there are a lot of markings so she must have been doing this for a long time.
“I have a couple of boats that we can use to get the bombs there but we’re gonna have to split up in pairs because every boat needs someone to control it and we can take turns,” she continues. Billy is already grabbing Jason’s arm so they can partner up, “and since we have an odd number that means Iroh’s going to be coming with us.”
“Dibs on Iroh,” Tommy calls out. Trini gives her a weird look so she explains, “What? The old man appreciates my jokes unlike some people.”
Trini shrugs and then turns to Kim, “I guess that leaves you with me.” Kim smiles in return but she’s panicking on the inside.
As she places the small map on top of the big one she says, “Here’s a close-up of what we’re looking at. The base is right here next to the water so we don’t have to carry the bombs anywhere. The coast is covered with trees so they shouldn’t see us coming.”
The door opens behind them which startles the group but it’s just Iroh walking in with a tray filled with tea cups. He hands Trini and Tommy their cups first, each of them having matching cups with the letter T on them that Kim finds adorable.
“Are you related to Trini?” Jason asks as Iroh hands the rest their tea.
“Oh no, I met Trini when I saved her from some bad men who were after her. We both wanted a place to hide so we decided to stick together,” he says. The smell of the tea is really nice and Iroh must have noticed Kim admiring it because he says, “Good right? It’s my famous jasmine tea.”
“It’s great, thank you,” Kim says.
“Iroh, are you alright with going on a mission?” Trini asks.
“Of course, I told you not to worry so much. If you need my help I’m there. I’m old but that doesn’t mean I can’t still kick some butt,” he says with a chuckle. “You know back in my prime, I was the best firebender there was. Now it’s probably you I guess,” Iroh says pointing to Jason.
“Actually that would be Kim,” says Billy.
Jason scoffs, “Excuse me? I’m the avatar.”
“Jack of all trades. Master of none,” Kim says with a smile. Tommy erupts into giggles.
“I’m so glad Trini if finally making friends,” Iroh says causing Tommy to laugh harder.
“Iroh!” Trini yells.
“What?” Iroh says, “You’re always so broody all the time.”
“Okay thank you so much for the tea,” Trini says shoving Iroh out of the room. When the door closes she turns to Tommy, “I don’t brood, do I?”
Tommy gets off the couch and gives Trini a pat on the shoulder. “Yes,” she says before going to stand near the map.
Trini sighs, “Anyways, I know how to get us there but there are a lot of fire nation soldiers so I’m not sure what our best plan would be.”
Jason leans over to get a closer look at the small map and asks, “What is the structure of the building?”
“Metal. I won’t be able to bend while I’m in there,” Trini says.
Jason thinks for a moment. “How good are you at bending?”
Tommy speaks up. “Really good! She’s one of the best earthbenders out there. She even won,” she starts to trail off when she sees Trini glaring at her, “uh.. Competitions.”
Kim makes a mental note of that hesitation. Clearly Trini doesn’t want the whole group knowing about something.
“Okay here’s what I suggest,” Jason says in what Kim dubs his leadership voice. “Me and Trini will draw out their forces by distracting them in front of the main entrance. We can use the tree coverage to our advantage. Meanwhile, Billy, Kim, and Tommy can go in through the back entrance. You’d set up the blasting jelly and then run like hell out of there. Kim can light it. Me and Trini will be far away enough so we’re not affected by the blast. Iroh will be at the boats prepping them so as soon as he sees the blast we can book it. I think it’s better for Alpha to sit this one out as we don’t wanna draw too much attention to ourselves, and they’ll definitely see a gigantic dragon coming.”
Everyone nods in approval. “Alright let’s do this,” Trini says.
-------
It’s late afternoon when they start prepping the ships for their mission. Well more like Kim, Trini, and Jason are doing all the heavy lifting while the rest laze about. Billy and Tommy are sitting side by side with a book in between them while Iroh sits on a log behind them. Once Kim is finished with her ship she plops down next to Tommy.
“Were you ever planning on helping?” Kim asks.
“Nope,” Tommy says while flipping the page, “Heavy duty is not my forte, Kimmy.”
“Sorry Kim,” Billy says.
“It’s alright Billy. You always do the packing up for us. You deserve a break,” Kim says before turning to Tommy. “You, however, have no excuse.”
Tommy shrugs while Trini comes up behind her. “She’s always been lazy,” Trini says. “The ships are ready. Are you guys good to go?”
“We can not leave,” Iroh says.
“What? Why not?” Trini says.
“I am missing my white lotus tile! We can’t go on this long trip without some pai sho,” he says.
Trini lets out a sigh. “Are you sure you aren’t sitting on it?”
“What? Why would you ever suggest such a thing,” Iroh gets off the log, waving his finger. “I have never in my life-”
A white lotus tile lays where he was sitting. “Oh,” he says and lets out a chuckle. “My mistake.”
Trini shakes her head fondly, “Alright let’s head out.” Everyone makes their way to the boats. Trini gets on the boat before Kim and flourishes her hand out towards Kim while bowing down.
“May I escort you to the mainland, princess?” Trini asks and when she looks up Kim can see she’s smiling. Kim laughs but takes the hand anyways. There is no way she’s going to turn down being able to hold Trini’s hand.
There isn’t much space on the boat but while Trini does the actual sailing things to get them moving, Kim sets up a small area for them to sleep. She has no idea what Trini is doing but Kim hears her grumble something like, “I wish we had a waterbender to make this go faster.”
When they’re a little ways away from shore, Trini stops fussing around and looks out to see how the rest are doing. Iroh and Tommy’s boat is to the left of them. He seems to already be setting up a pai sho game. To the right of them, Billy waves at Trini with a smile but Jason looks uneasy. Thinking it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if Billy is happy, she turns her attention to Kim who is setting something up on back of the boat.
“What’s that for?” Trini asks.
Kim jumps, a bit startled. “I made a makeshift bed. You said this was gonna be about two hours, so I thought we could take turns napping.”
“Oh thanks,” Trini says. She isn’t sure what else to say so they both kinda stand there awkwardly until she speaks up again. “You can go first,” Trini says.
“No, it’s okay you can go,” Kim says going to sit on the side of the boat.
Trini asks, “You don’t want to?”
“No, I probably won’t fall asleep anyways,” Kim says.
Trini raises an eyebrow. “Is my boat not up to your royal standards, princess?”
“Oh my god, I should have never told you who I am. Go to sleep,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
-------
Trini wakes up to a dark sky and a clear view of the constellations. If it weren’t for the mission ahead, it would be peaceful. They’re lucky the skies are clear tonight, or else this journey would’ve been a lot more difficult.
Slowly getting up from her comfortable sleep, she hears quiet snoring a couple feet away from her. Turns out Kim did end up falling asleep and in a very uncomfortable position as she leans on the side of the boat with her head lobbed forward. Trini grabs a pillow and lays it next to her so she can gently lead Kim onto it.
The others are wide awake. Billy and Jason are practicing airbending. Iroh somehow has a cup of tea in his hand even though Trini is pretty sure they left the necessary materials for tea at home. Tommy excitedly waves at Trini and points in front of them. She squints in the general direction but all she sees is blue. Just as she’s about to turn back to Tommy she sees a green line on the horizon. They’re close.
Once the boats hit the shore, Trini figures it’s time to wake up sleeping beauty. Trini squats down to wake her up but is stopped by how peaceful Kim looks. The wind blows on the bandages slightly and Trini wonders what’s underneath them.
Growing up as the daughter to that monster must’ve been terrible for her. Images of Trini’s parents flash through her mind but she pushes them away. It’s at this moment with the moon illuminating the broken girl that Trini decides she wants to stick around. Broken girls have to stick together.
Trini lightly shakes Kim’s shoulder and whispers, “Come on, princess. You have to wake up.”
Kim wakes up nicely, much to the surprise of Jason who is walking to their boat with Billy right behind him. She’s slightly confused until she catches up with her surroundings.
“I totally didn’t fall asleep when I said I wasn’t going to,” Kim says with a sheepish smile.
“Mhm, sure you didn’t,” Trini says offering her hand to Kim to help her up.
Jason almost looks insulted. “How come you didn’t burn her eyebrows off?”
“Jason keep your voice down,” Tommy whispers. Trini turns around to see Tommy and Iroh behind her.
“Sorry,” he says as everyone gets closer together. “Alright, you guys remember the plan right? Me and Trini cause a distraction while you guys set the charges. Iroh will be waiting here by our getaway boats.”
Everyone nods along and are about to break away when Billy puts his hand in the middle. Trini and Tommy look at each other as Kimberly and Jason also remember to put their hands on top. Just go with it , Kim mouths at the two so they obey.
Billy has a huge smile on his face as he says, “Okay on the count of three we yell Team Avatar!”
“Oh my god,” Trini mumbles under her breath.
“No yelling,” Tommy says.
“Right sorry. On the count of three we... quietly yell Team Avatar,” he corrects. He counts down and they all whisper, “Team Avatar” except for Trini who finds the whole thing ridiculous. She’s already making her way down before everyone finishes wishing each other good luck so Jason has to jog a little to catch up with her.
After a moment of silence between them, Jason tries to strike up a conversation. “So,” he starts, not really sure what to say to fill up the awkwardness, “where are you from?”
“Earth Kingdom” she says. Trini doesn’t even look in his direction.
Jason rubs the back of his head as he says, “Well… I know that but-”
“Then why did you ask?” Trini interrupts, a bite in her voice. Jason figures she doesn’t want to talk so he decides to talk about himself instead.
Jason coughs, “I’m from the fire nation capital. Me and Kim grew up together. I never really liked my father but I miss my mother and sister. Kim says she got them out of there with her friends but I still worry about them.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” Trini stops walking causing Jason to stumble.
“Well if we’re gonna fight together, I thought it’d be nice if we knew each other a little first,” Jason says, “So we could, you know, trust each other.”
“Trust each other,” Trini seems to almost laugh as she continues walking. “Nice try but it takes me a long while before I trust anyone.”
“Even the avatar?”
“It’s not the avatar bit that bothers me. It’s the rich and elitist part,” Trini says. Jason’s not really sure how to comment on that but he doesn’t have much time to think as they reach their destination.
They’re crouching behind trees for the time being. In front of them is a large clearing and then the storage house which is fortified with two towers. Fire nation soldiers mill about the towers but most of them are within the building behind the main door. The door makes up most of the wall as it’s used for getting vehicles inside.
Trini says, “We need to get the door open so we can see within the building. How are we going to cause a distraction?”
Jason doesn’t respond. He stands up and starts running to the towers as he screams at the top of his lungs. He sets the main watch towers on fire before retreating to the woods where Trini is still standing in absolute shock and her mouth hanging wide open.
“I guess that works,” she says as she prepares for the onslaught of soldiers heading in their direction.
-------
Behind the building are Tommy, Kim, and Billy with their eyes on the back entrance being guarded by two men. They all have packs with some bombs in them but they’re gonna have to restock a couple times.
“So um, how do we know when to go in,” Tommy asks.
They all look at each other and Kim shrugs.
“Jason said that we would know,” Billy says.
In the distance they hear Jason’s high pitched screams.
Kim laughs, “Guess that’s our cue.”
Kim leaps over the log they were hiding behind and blasts the two guards at the door. Billy and Tommy rush to help her but the guards are already groaning yards away when they reach her. They sneak inside to find that the storage facility is basically a hanger with armored tanks with some crates scattered throughout.
“It’d probably be better if we split up. This place is huge,” Tommy whispers.
“ No that’s a terrible idea, what if one of us gets in trouble,” Billy says.
Jason’s screams can still be heard from outside.
“Well we’re running on a timer here and this place is huge so it’s really our only option,” Kim says.
Billy doesn’t seem to like the plan but agrees anyways, “Alright you guys take the right and left, I’ll go down the middle.”
-------
Back outside, Jason and Trini are fending off the fire nation with ease. Jason notices that it’s a bit too easy. They’re supposed to be the distraction but it doesn’t seem that many soldiers are leaving the compound.
“I don’t think our distraction is working,” Jason says as he dodges another strike. Him and Trini are being circled by some soldiers.
“Guess fire nation people aren’t as dumb as they seem,” Trini smirks.
Jason and a random soldier both yell, “Hey!”
His life flashes before his eyes as Trini sends a rock flying past Jason’s head to connect with the other offended firebender’s face. Jason mumbles his thanks after recovering from his shock.
“We’re not posing a big enough threat,” she says.
“What? I’m a big threat,” Jason says, slightly offended as he redirects a firestrike.
Trini says, “We’re hiding out in the forest and not attacking them head on. They know something’s up.”
“Then we should advance forward into the clearing,” he says.
He motions for Trini to follow him and the two head out in the open space. As soon as they’re in the middle, they hear the main opening of the facility open as soldiers rush out. Trini feels overwhelmed in a matter of seconds but Jason seems to be in his element as the rush of a fight courses through his veins.
The open door allows Jason to spot Billy near the entrance. Billy seems to see him as he does an excited wave. Jason mouths, “Time?” hoping Billy understands which he does and puts up 8 fingers which Jason assumes is 8 minutes. They just have to keep up their front for eight more minutes. No big deal.
As soon as Billy is done interacting with Jason he runs for the back entrance to get his refill of bombs. Halfway through he’s yanked behind some crates as someone covers his mouth. He’s turned around very forcefully and Billy is a little annoyed at the amount of contact. Just as he’s about to speak he realizes it’s Tommy.
“Oh hi Tommy,” he says a little shocked.
“Sorry Billy,” she whispers letting go of him, “but keep your voice down. There’s six guards coming this way.”
“Oh,” Billy says. He thinks he’s whispering but he’s really not. “We can take them, maybe with a little distraction.”
They hear a chirp. When they turn to the right they’re greeted by Junior landing on a crate and looking at the two of them expectantly. Billy and Tommy look at each other and shrug. There doesn’t seem to be any other options.
Junior seems very content as Billy picks her up. He leans out from behind the crates and points at the guards approaching. Making sure that the hawk is looking, Billy whispers, “Attack!” Junior just hops and turns around to face Billy, not really getting the message.
After a sigh he mumbles, “I’m sorry Junior.” He holds the messenger hawk like a ball and chucks Junior in the general direction of the soldiers.
Chirps of betrayal bounce off the warehouse walls, but as soon as Junior gets control of her trajectory she aims for an unsuspecting guard and claws at his face. Tommy comes in from the right, driving her sword into the back of one soldier. In one fluid motion she pulls her sword out and cuts down another enemy. Billy takes care of the other three just as easily.
As soon as the last guard falls, Junior lands on Billy’s shoulder. He gives her a pat on the had and with a big smile he tells her, “Good job!”
“Hey Billy,” Tommy says as she looks inside an open crate, “What’s this?”
-------
Outside Jason is very overwhelmed. He doesn’t think he and Trini can take all of these soldiers by themselves. In the forest they had the cover of the trees to hide but out here they’re outnumbered. A fire strike scorches Trini’s clothes, nearly her touching skin. Jason starts to worry. He awkwardly subdues the two fire nation soldiers attacking him as he keeps checking to see how Trini is doing.
Jason’s heart drops when he looks at the facility.
Kneeling on the ground is Kim with her hands on the back of her head as a several soldiers surround her. He doesn’t know where the others are but Kim was supposed to light the bombs. Jason hears the yell before he sees the damage. Trini crumples to the ground. More soldiers pour out of the building. He can’t see how hurt Trini is. The soldiers surrounding Kim get closer.
A white haze creeps up from the corner of Jason’s vision. He sees the ground crumble beneath him and then there is nothing.
A large gust of wind surrounds the avatar, pushing Trini to the side. When she looks up from the ground she sees Jason suspended by a whirl of air, similar to a tornado, as large rocks surround him. His eyes glow white as he brings his hand up and clenches it into a fist. Inside the facility, Trini sees a dome of earth surround Kim to protect her from the soldiers.
He can earthbend?
There’s a sharp pain on her side as Trini gets up but she clenches her teeth and gets ready to fight the soldier approaching her. Just as she’s about to strike, he’s impaled by an earth spike rising underneath him. She looks up at Jason and finds him with his eyes still white. He pulls his hands in and juts them outward. Dozens of earth spikes rise from the ground. They destroy the towers and obliterate all the soldiers left.
Jason’s slowly starts descending. Trini can tell he’s exhausted as his frame sways slightly up above, so she positions herself to catch him. His eyes turn back to normal and he falls from the sky into Trini’s arms. Jason is completely passed out so she carefully lays him on the ground and walks over to Kim to earthbend her out of the dome.
“Thanks for the dome,” Kim says as Trini helps her up. As soon as Kim sees the carnage outside she goes, “Holy shit! You did all that?”
“Wasn’t me,” she says bringing her hands up, “Jason did some weird avatar magic. We have to get out of here. Whatever that was, was really cool but it probably alerted the camps nearby. Where are the rest?”
“Over here!” Billy and Tommy jog over to them.
Kim points to the scroll Billy is holding, “What’s that?”
Billy says, “I’ll explain later. Where’s Jason?”
Trini points over to the lump of a person on the ground, and they rush over. Tommy tries picking him up on her own but Jason is heavy as hell so Trini grabs his legs while Tommy holds up his upper body.
“As soon as I see you’re far enough, I’ll light the bombs and meet up with you guys,” Kim says walking away. She pulls a jar of blasting jelly out of her bag and makes a trail back outside so that she has enough time to run. By the time she’s done, Kim doesn’t see where the others are so she figures they’re far away enough. She starts a small blaze on her pointer finger, lights the trail, and runs for her life in the direction of the boats.
Halfway to the team, the building explodes causing the ground to shake underneath her. Turning around, Kim sees a large smoke cloud in place of where the building used to be.
“Take that Rita,” she says to herself.
The rest of team avatar are almost near the boats when Kim joins them.
“What happened to the boy?” Iroh asks. “Maybe I should’ve gone with you.”
“He’s okay. Just passed out, but he’s still breathing,” Billy says.
Tommy and Trini kneel down to put Jason in one of the boats, but when Trini tries to stand up she doubles over in pain. Kim rushes over to check if she’s okay. Tommy, with zero care for personal boundaries, unfastens Trini’s belt and pulls her shirt up exposing the burn on the side of Trini’s stomach.
“Trini you idiot,” Tommy says, “Why didn’t you say anything and why the hell did you carry Jason?”
“We were kind of running away and who else is supposed to carry him? Lanky boy over here,” Trini says nudging her head in the direction of Billy. “No offense, Billy.”
“None taken,” he says with a shrug. “Airbenders don’t really need muscle.”
Tommy lets out a groan of frustration and goes to get medical supplies at the back of the boat. She comes back with bandages and other medical supplies.
“I can take care of her while we’re sailing,” Kim speaks up. “I have my fair share of experiences with burns.”
Tommy mumbles, “Fair enough. I’ll put these on your boat.”
She dumps the supplies onto it and follows Iroh to their boat. They’re a lot emptier now that all the bombs have been used. Kim puts her arms out towards Trini and raises her eyebrows as if asking permission to help her. Trini nods so Kim puts an arm around her as she gets up and helps her onto their boat.
Trini winces when Kim puts her down so Kim says, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Trini mumbles as she rests her head on the side of the boat.
After they’re sailing smoothly on the water, Kim grabs a soaked rag and starts cleaning Trini’s burn. Trini is staring at her. Kim tries to focus on the wound and not how close they are to each other. Occasionally Trini grunts when she applies too much pressure and Kim whispers an apology every time.
As Kim applies the bandages is when she notices the old bruises. She knows they aren’t from the recent fight since they only went up against firebenders. You only get bruises like those from punches or earthbending.
Kim looks up at Trini for the first time and asks, “Why do you have bruises?”
Trini takes a moment to respond, “I didn’t always have Tommy by my side.”
Kim figures she doesn’t want to talk about it and goes back to finishing her bandaging.
“That’s the best I can do for now,” Kim says looking anywhere but at Trini until she puts her shirt back down, “but you should probably go to a healer.”
Trini’s small smile goes unnoticed by Kim but she does hear Trini say, “Thanks Kim.”
-------
On the other ship, Billy is frantically pacing back and forth. He goes to put a rag on Jason’s head and he knows that isn’t going to do anything but what else is he supposed to do? Just sit there? Absolutely not. He goes back to pacing and starts mumbling reassuring things to himself.
Minutes later, Billy hears a mumbled, “Billy?” Billy is so relieved that he lets out a sigh that he didn’t even know he was holding. He rushes over to Jason as he gets up, grabbing the rag from his head.
Jason looks like he just woke up. His voice still groggy as he asks, “What happened?”
“Heard you did some really cool earthbending,” Billy says sitting in front of him. “I didn’t even know you could do that. I mean, you sucked at airbending just weeks ago. No offense! You’ve really improved.”
Jason laughs, “It’s my avatar state. Shyu kind of mentioned it during training. My eyes get all white and glowy, and I’m at my most powerful… I don’t know, he’s not the best with words. The last thing I remember is my vision going white. ”
“Oh that’s very useful,” Billy says. “Can you do that every time we’re in battle?”
Jason scoffs, “I don’t even know how to earthbend or waterbend, do you think I know how to call onto the avatar state at will?”
“Fair enough, but you probably should focus on that. We should meet back up with Shyu when we go to the air temple,” Billy says.
“Alright,” Jason says before closing his eyes and laying down. He opens an eye to look at Billy. “You just want more sweet buns don’t you?”
“What!” Billy’s voice cracks. “No?”
-------
They’ve just finished packing Alpha for their trip, when they start heading inside Trini’s hideout where Tommy, Trini, and Iroh are waiting for them to say their goodbyes. Billy’s the first to walk through the already opened door, followed by the other two. He seems to be vibrating with excitement and Jason has a knowing smirk on his face.
Trini’s busying herself with a map, avoiding eye contact. Tommie looks a bit sad but greets them with a smile anyways. Iroh is the first one to approach them.
“I feel like congratulations are in order,” he says handing them tea. “Congrats on your successful mission, avatar.”
“Thank you Iroh,” Jason says accepting his tea.
Billy almost chugs his tea before starting to jump up and down.
He asks, “Can I be the one to tell them?”
“Sure Billy,” Jason says, not being able to suppress his grin.
After composing himself slightly Billy clears his throat, “Trini. Tommy.”
Trini finally looks up from her map at the call of her name.
Billy continues, “ Jason, Kimberly, and I would like to formally invite you join Team Avatar.”
Tommy seems to brighten up slightly at the comment but Trini snorts.
“Team Avatar?” Trini asks.
“Billy you didn’t have to sound so official,” Jason says.
“Right sorry,” he says, “I just wanted it to sound cool... like we’re a band of heroes!”
Kim moves in front of the boys, “We think you guys were a nice addition to the team, and you’re both concerned with helping out the earth kingdom. What a better way to help the earth kingdom then aiding the avatar in defeating Rita?”
“I’m in,” Tommy says barely letting Kim finish. Billy juts his fist out for a fistbump with Tommy. He tries to do the same to Trini but she only looks at his extended arm.
Trini seems very hesitant and asks, “Can I think about it for a moment?”
“Yeah sure. We’ll be outside,” Kim says.
Jason asks, “We will?”
Kim starts pushing the boys out the door to give Trini some space. Tommy excuses herself to another room to collect her things, leaving Trini alone with Iroh.
“You should join them,” he says putting a hand on her shoulder. The old man knows her too well to not know what she’s thinking.
“I don’t want to get close to anyone else,” Trini almost whispers.
“You got very close to Tommy,” Iroh says.
“Tommy is… persistent,” Trini says rising a chuckle out of Iroh.
“You can’t be afraid of the past repeating itself,” Iroh says. “Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not. It’s better to make the best of it.”
Trini stirs on the words for a moment. She doesn’t fully believe him. Not yet. But she is willing to give the words a try.
She looks up, “Are you going to be alright without me old man?”
Iroh lets out a fully belly chuckle this time as he removes his hand from Trini’s shoulder. “I’ll be alright,” he says. “A pretty, young girl like you shouldn’t be stuck in this hideout with me.”
Trini hugs Iroh which leaves him stunned for a moment before he hugs her back. As they seperate, Tommy enters the room. Trini gives her a nod and they walk outside to meet the others. They look at Trini expectantly.
“I’m in too,” she says.
Billy does a series of little claps, “Welcome to Team Avatar!”
“I am not saying that,” Trini says but gets pulled into a group hug by Tommy. They all laugh at Trini’s attempts at escape.
When they seperate Billy smiles at Trini, “You’re with us now.”