Book One: Spirits

A paper lantern moved slowly toward Kari. She recognized it instantly as the one belonging to Huwei, as it was marked with the symbol of death. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears. There was a slight tugging sensation at her chest as though she were drawn toward the light. Suddenly, the lantern burst into flame, but the symbol remained, glowing a bright white. Then, she was hit with a barrage of images - places, people, objects - it was nearly impossible to separate one thing from the next. However, the final flash left an impression: the face of Huwei.
Karizibi awoke with a start, but not sure why. She remembered having a strange dream, but her mind was like a sieve when it came to details. Shaking it off and deciding to say nothing, Karizibi cleaned up to start her day.

“Rikkako?” Pong had finally gained the courage to approach her. “I’m sorry about everything. I was being stupid and overreacted. I really do appreciate your friendship.” He pulled his half of the necklace from under his shirt, showing her that he was still wearing it. “Friends?” he asked, hopeful. The previous day’s events, and watching Rikkako nearly escape injury, had put everything into perspective for him.

“Yes, of course.” Rika replied, turning away quickly in hopes that he wouldn’t notice she wasn’t wearing her necklace half. Moving closer to the water she had found, Rikkako dropped her bags. While getting ready to switch her bending water for something fresh, she tried to slide her half of the necklace out of the bag and tie it on without Pong noticing, but wasn’t aware of just how obvious she had been.

“Why didn’t you have your necklace on?” Pong questioned.

“I, just...Go look at the piglamgs!” Rika hollered before storming off.

Pong was left to entertain himself. Although unable to find the piglambs Rikkako had mentioned, he did notice an interesting scene in the distance. Kari was dancing with fire dangerously close to a cart selling some sort of produce.

“What kind of cabbages are those?” he could hear Shu asking. “What do you like most about cabbages? In your opinion, are cabbages the best kind of vegetable?” The man could hardly get a word in, but just as he turned to answer the young girl, the cart was set on fire. Pong hurried over to try and help, but before he could get there, Shu erected a large earth wall and completely crushed the cart.

“I put it out!” she yelled excitedly, hopping up and down.

“I’m so sorry!” Kari plead with the merchant, who fell to his knees.

“MY CABBAGES!” he could be heard screaming. “Just...Just leave!” bowing their heads, Kari and Shu sulked away.

“Are you alright?” Pong asked the cabbage merchant when he finally made his way over. The man was unable to respond as he was sobbing hysterically. Pong simply knelt down and hugged him. Becoming awkward rather quickly, he stepped away. Pong offered the man five jaio, bowed, and walked away to find Shu and Kari.

“Why would you do that?” he demanded.

“I was just trying to put the fire out.” Shu replied innocently.

“And we apologized!” Kari added. “I would never intentionally do something like that. I was dancing and the fires got out of control.”

“Well...” Pong was still angry with the two, but because he believed them, couldn’t find anything to be mad at. “Just be more careful next time!” he yelled before storming off. As soon as he were out of sight, the two girls began to laugh, high-fiving each other.

Everyone returned to the caravan, sensing that it would be time to leave soon. As Karizibi approached, she noticed a man in United Forces uniform speaking with the conductor.

“Ah, here they are!” the conductor gestured to the group of four children. “These are the civilians who helped apprehend the criminals!” The man turned to face them.

“Goro said you did a good job.” he smiled. “My name is General Quaang. I had a question for you children. Did you happen to notice that anything was taken?”

“No,” Kari sighed, still sore over the previous day’s escapee. “However, there was a man who, before getting away, jumped from the supply cart. When we asked the guards, the only thing found to be missing was water.” The general signaled some of his men, asking them to check the supplies.

“Did you get a good look at him?” was General Quaang’s next question.

“That’s probably a better question for Shu.” Kari gestured to the young earthbender. “I asked her to go speak with him after we suspected he was sneaking around the previous night.” Shu told the general what she could and gave him the name the prospective thief had given. By this time, Quaang’s men had returned with a paper and a box.

“Interesting,” he spoke, looking things over. “Keng appears on the roster, but it could be a fake name. Additionally, it doesn’t appear that there was anything stolen. However, this box was added.”

“Wait!” Pong exclaimed. “That box looks familiar.” The group had to admit he was right.

“That box looks like the one that was stolen in Republic City! What’s in it?”

“That’s the thing,” the General Quaang unlatched it. “It’s empty”.

“No!” Pong’s face fell, but Kari also noticed that the military man looked nervous.

“Something wrong, general?” she pressed. The man appeared to be debating with himself.

“Due to this turn of events, we’ll need to keep the caravan held here until a full investigation can be completed.”

“What?” Kari all but screamed. “Sir, you are aware that we are traveling on behalf of the Avatar. We need to get to Ba Sing Se as soon as possible.”

“I am aware of the Avatar’s...Situation.” the general turned to her. “However, what was in that box is a matter of national security. Should it fall into the wrong hands...We could have a serious problem.”

“What was in the box?” Pong’s spark seemed to have returned.

“I’m afraid that I am unable to discuss that matter at this time.” No one seemed to take this response well. Regardless, all bowed to one another and attempted to return to their cars. However, Kari and Pong both noticed something wrong on their way: there was a gentleman in the cargo car, digging around

“Hey!” Karizibi yelled up. “What exactly do you think you’re doing up there?” Startled, the man looked down, but his demeanor shifted from worry to amusement quickly.

“What’s it matter to you kids?” he laughed, about to return to his task. Kari produced a flame in the open palm of her hand.

“Out of the car.” she commanded. “Now.” Whether it was her expression or her threat was uncertain, but the man suddenly seemed more than happy to come down. Shu and Kari both recognized him as a passenger in the luxury car. “Now, I’ll ask you again,” she smiled. “Why were you in that car?”

“Because some of my cargo is missing!” he looked frantic. “I had a box-”. Rikkako stopped him with a raised hand.

“It’s gone.” her words were blunt. “And the military is now involved. Do you have any idea who might have stolen it?”

“Lots of ideas,” the man nodded. “But no one person specifically”. The group groaned.

“This would be a lot easier if we knew what was in the box.” Kari eyed the man.

“I c-can’t t-tell you.” he stuttered out. Obviously dissatisfied with this answer, with a swift movement, Rika bent a water tentacle into tripping the man. “What was that for?” the fear was evident in his voice.

“I was hoping a fall would loosen your tongue.” Rikkako bent over him. “Perhaps you need another?”

“I don’t have the authority to tell you!” he squeaked.

“Who would?” Kari demanded.

“I-I don’t know. Probably the general. Just please don’t hurt me!”

“I’m not gonna hurt you.” Rikkako rolled her eyes, helping him up. As they were about to send him on his way, Kari and Shu got a better look at how he was dressed. Although he wore the clothing a noble would, he seemed to have no idea how to wear it correctly.

“Who exactly are you?” Karizibi began to examine him more closely.

“My name is Shamar.” The man’s voice was still trembling. “I’m a chemist. I was put on the train to deliver an item for the Earth Kingdom’s military and the United Forces.”

“So it’s a weapon.” Rikkako cut in.

“I never said that!” Shamar waved his arms frantically.

“Let me get this straight” Kari placed a hand on her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

“You’re sent to deliver an important military item that may or may not be a weapon, and you decide it would be a fine idea to place it in an unsecured caravan completely unsupervised?”

“I assumed it would be better guarded!” he attempted to explain.

“You know,” Rika rolled her eyes. “We’ve been having a lot of issues with authority figures acting stupid lately.” The group nodded in agreement.

“Hey, Shu,” Kari returned to her examination of the man. “Does this man look like a noble to you?”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Shu smiled. “I haven’t seen you at any of my parents’ parties. And your clothes are clearly too large for you.”

“I didn’t come from money.” he tried to explain. “I’m good at my job and managed to acquire moderate wealth through my work.” Kari and Shu looked to one another. Neither could sense a lie, but his story didn’t add up.

“We’re going to need you to come take a trip with us.” Kari informed Shamar. “I believe you should speak to the general.”

At the base, the five were greeted at the gates by guards.

“Where do you think you’re going?” one demanded.

“We’re here to see General Quaang.” Kari met his gaze evenly.

“And what makes you think he’ll want to see you kids?” the guard snorted.

“We have the owner of the box.” Kari thought this would have done the trick, but the guards only shrugged to one another, clearly having no clue what she was talking about. She slapped her hand to her face. “Just tell the General what I told you.” Several minutes later, they were being escorted into the compound, through a few corridors, and to the general’s door.

“So, you brought the box.” General Quaang eyed the man. “I didn’t know you would be on board.”

“I was instructed to be discreet.” Shamar explained. “The hope was that if I slid through without you noticing, others wouldn’t notice either. The plan, as you are aware, failed.”

“Do you think one of the members has it?”

“That would be a safe assumption. I imagine their plan is still the same.” The two adults went on in this manner for a few minutes while the four children watched, bored and unable to decipher any context or information. Finally, the general turned to the four children.

“I know this has little to do with your quest for the Avatar,” he started. “However, I still must ask. While you’re on your travels, please keep an eye out the contents of this box. If you find them, get them back to me as soon as you are able.”

“I’m not searching for anything until I know exactly what it is I’m looking for.” Kari crossed her arms.

“Inside that box was a faster burning black powder formula, notes on its creation, and several samples. Although that might not sound like a large concern, it’s highly a explosive formula. In the wrong hands, this could cause serious problems.” He paused, waiting for a response, but the group was silently. “Actually, we suspect the group you battled in Republic City is the same group who stole this formula.” Broke the silence only to fall into another awkward silence. “Are you willing to help?” Karizibi sighed.

“Yeah. Sure. Why not.”

“In that case, we see no reason to continue to hold up the caravan. I will pass the word to the conductor and you should be leaving soon.”

As they approached the caravan, the group was shocked to see Pong in a rage.

“You put that poor creature down!” In front of one of the caravan cars, a small group sat braiding each others’ hair, as well as the wool of a pig lamb. They were covered in flowers and dressed in ratty clothing. They seemed to be nomads of some sort.

“Woah, man.” one of the nomads tried to soothe Pong. “Relax”.

“You set that poor, innocent creature down!” the young earthbender seethed.

“We’re just trying to bond with mother earth.” one of the women explained, dreamily. Pong simply snatched the piglamb from their hands.

“Well, lamby doesn’t want to bond with you!” He lowered his voice and could be heard grumbling something about “stupid hippies” as he returned the piglamb to its car.

The group didn’t arrive at their next location, a fishing village, until sunset. After eating dinner at a small restaurant, the group was about to head back to the caravan for what they hoped would be a peaceful night. Unfortunately, that’s when they noticed a cloaked figure on the dock. Everyone seemed to realize at once that the cloaked man was Keng. As soon as he noticed the group, he darted into a nearby ship.

Shu reacted first, knocking a nearby man in the water with an earth blast. Acting quickly, Rikkako came up with the idea to freeze the man in the water, trapping him. Kari followed suit, knocking another pirate into the water with a fire blast, which Rikkako was also able to freeze. Stepping around Pong and Rikkako, Kari unleashed her fire whip at the first pirate she could get to, knocking him down. He would choose to lay there for the remainder of the fight. As Kari turned to face the next Pirate on the dock, she barely dodged a sword attack. Rikkako came quickly to her aid, a tentacle in the water swinging at him and sending him sprawling. One man remained on the dock and chose to flee into the boat. Rikkako and Kari were in hot pursuit, Rika making it to the door first. She noticed the man reach to open a cage with a large animal inside it, but her attempt to trip him came just a few moments too late. Although she was successful, the cage swung open enabling a massive platypusbear to emerge.

Karizibi pushed Rika out of the way, not able to see what was going on inside the ship, accidentally placing herself between the waterbender and the bear. In an attempt to scare the animal back and injure the man, Kari made the very kick Shiro had taught her, unleashing a cone of flames at the two for moderate damage, but the bear seemed unphased. He swung and snapped at the firebender, but all his attacks were dodged easily. Rikkako sprinted past the bear, mostly dodging a clawed paw on the way, realizing her friend would need help. Unfortunately, her attack against the beast only did a small amount of damage. Kari hurled her fire whip at the bear, scorching it badly, but not enough to deter it from attacking her. Two angry swipes was all it took to render her unconscious.

Shu, who chose to remain on land, was forced to face off against two earthbenders: the one she had knocked off the boat and another that took his shipmate’s place at the bow. Pulling earth from the ground to wrap around her hands like gloves, she dug in with Pong. It was at this moment that the two men trapped in the ice were able to break free, climbing back onto the dock and pushing them back even further. Between the two, they were able to erect earth walls that prevented any of their earthbending enemies from attacking. Their focus was then turned to the remaining man on the dock, which they threw off with ease. At this moment, Pong noticed two of the pirates throw ropes off the ship.

“They’re untying the boat!” He attempted to yell to Rika. “You need to get out of there!” Letting Shu run to Kari’s side, he decided to try to further entrap the earthbenders on the ground. The boat began to move. Frustrated, Pong then turned to hurl earth at the boat, successfully splintering the wood and creating a small hole. Hearing Pong’s yells, Rika ran at the first chance she got. Because the bear was blocking the door, she only had one direction to go: up. She clambered up the stairs onto the top deck, darting between confused pirates, and to the edge of the deck. She could hear the sounds of the bear attacking the men on board before she took the leap.

Once out of the water, she focused her efforts on moving as much water into the boat as possible. Unfortunately, the ship continued to move. With the combined efforts of the earthbenders, who worked to increase the size of the hole, and Rika’s transportation of the water, the boat began to sink quickly. The platypusbear could be seen swimming away, but Keng seemed to have vanished.

Only when the boat was clearly sinking did Kari become their top concern. She still hadn’t moved, but appeared to be breathing. Rikkako was immediately at her side, attempting to heal the firebender. She was successful, but Karizibi woke up swinging, bending a fireball into Shu’s direction as she woke.

“You bitch!” the 11 year old cursed.

“What happened?” Kari demanded, sitting up, but Rika was already running out onto the water, freezing it in front of her to form a path to where the boat sank. “Wait, where did the boat go?”

“We kind of sank it.” Shu explained.

“Oh...” Kari laid back down, processing this information.

After surfacing several times, Rika reported that the only things she found in the sunken ship were arrows, random supplies and barrels of water. However, there were also a couple of barrels that seemed to have some sort of black powder in them she hadn’t cracked open yet. To be safe, Kari sent her back with a waterproof bag to collect a sample. Rikkako then took the time to properly heal the firebender before the whole group tied up the pirates and looted them. They returned to the caravan to find the chemist.

Karizibi was exhausted and decidedly cranky by the time they returned late that night.The last thing she wanted to deal with was the racket that the nomads were putting on. They had produced instruments and were creating bad music, loudly, while dancing around a fire. That gave her an idea. Discretely, she forced the fire to increase from a small campfire to a small bonfire within the matter of seconds.

“Woah, man.” one of the nomads mumbled, not bothering to move from the fire. Frustrated that her trick hadn’t worked, Kari bent the fire into extinguishing. They seemed disappointed for only a moment before continuing to dance. Karizibi cursed, heading into the luxury car where Shamar was waiting.

“We sunk a ship to get you this.” Shu informed him. “This had better be worth it.”

“What?” the chemist seemed startled, as well as a little confused.

“We found Keng getting onto a pirate ship.” Shu elaborated. “We tried to capture him, and he escaped...But not before he sent a platypus bear after us. We were forced to sink his ship. This was the only powder we found.”

“I highly doubt that this is what we were looking for if you found barrels of it,” Shamar examined the bag. “But I’ll have this tested and will let you know.” At that, everyone, excluding Shu, elected to stay in an earth tent, posting a guard.