Lightning Generation Origin

-Maya's Point of View-

It only took us a matter of minutes to pack up camp, and then resume our travel. We're now up in the air once more, heading towards the north. Appa flew above a sea of clouds so that we could get some cover and refrain from being noticed, since I'm sure that, that crazy prince would still be down there trying to catch us.

The flight was kind of quiet as everyone tries to get a breather from the recent happening. That was until Katara broke the ice and said, "Aang... I still owe you an apology. You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger. I'm sorry."

We all looked at her and then I scooched in and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's okay Katara." Aang replied. "Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?" she continued.

Speaking of the scroll, I wonder if Momo was able to catch it.

"Is that really how you feel?" Sokka suddenly said while waving the scroll he was holding in front of Katara's face. "The scroll!" Katara exclaimed as she tries to reach out for it. Sokka then backed away and blocked Katara from coming near. "First! What did you learn?" he asked. "Stealing is wrong," Katara answered.

He smiled at her sister as he handed over the scroll. "Unless it's from pirates," Katara said mischievously. Aang and I giggled at Katara's statement. "Good one Katara," Aang said.

Sokka looked at her sister angrily and then Katara said, "Relax! I'm kidding! I won't do this ever again, I promise." Sokka leaned back and replied, "You better not."

"But how did you get this Sokka?" I asked. "I didn't. Momo handed it to me when he landed on top of my head," he answered. "Great job buddy." Aang praised the lemur that was on top of his arm.

Great job indeed! Now we all get to be happy!

"Where do we go now?" Katara suddenly asked. "That commotion back in the river already consumed a lot of our time. We better keep heading north for now and camp out when Appa's tired." Sokka answered. "You okay with that buddy?" Aang asked Appa. The bison then roared an answer.

And just like that, we're on our way to the north pole once again. Geez it's only morning and I'm feeling so tired already.

________________________________________

-Iroh's Point of View-

We're out here on the waters once again, heading north, trying to catch the Avatar. It's been hours since that commotion back in the river occurred and since then Zuko hasn't talked to me yet.

I tried starting a conversation with him but I guess it's best to just let him cool off. He's definitely mad at me for some reason.

It's already past noon and we've just had lunch. I went straight to my quarters and sat on the bed. I still can't forget the face of Maya. Seeing it up close, she really does resemble Anika, as well as her father...

I paused for a moment from my thoughts and then I suddenly stood up.

From the looks of it, Maya doesn't know how to firebend, which is quite understandable since she grew up in the southern water tribes, and it's also for the best that she doesn't know how. It seems as well that she doesn't know who I was.

I went to my small dresser and grabbed five papers. In each paper, I wrote the same letter that reads,

Dear friends, it is I, Iroh. Bumi has already met Anika's daughter. She goes by the name Maya, and he was able to acquire information from her. It seems like it would be useless anymore to look for Anika. She has already been dead all along.

As much as it would be honorable to mourn a master's death, right now is not the right time for that. For now, I am writing these letters to you all because I need your help.

First of all, I would like to apologize for keeping this information a secret from you my brothers. Anika wanted it to be that way to protect her daughter. I hope you all would understand. You might be wondering from who does she want to keep Maya away.

She's keeping the child away from its father. I will disclose to you all who Maya's father is...

I paused a bit before writing his name... and then I proceeded to write it and finish off the letter.

It is essential you help me keep her away from the capital city of the fire nation. She's now wandering around with the Avatar, traveling the world and helping him. They are heading north in hopes to look for a waterbending master, who would teach the avatar waterbending. I am counting on all of you, in honor of our sister's name. Let us make sure to protect the legacy she has left behind.

Your friend, Iroh

After writing the letters, as usual, I tried to sneak them in and send them secretly to my fellow brothers from different nations.

I watched the birds fly away and then I quickly went back to my quarters, before anyone could see me.

___________________________________

-Zuko's Point of View-

I wanted to talk to my uncle so I decided to go to his quarters when I suddenly see him come out while holding some papers in his hands.

I quickly hid behind a wall and secretly followed him behind. He went to the messenger birds' cages and one by one placed the letters in the five birds' carriers and sent them away.

As soon as he did that he hurriedly went back. I quickly grabbed a rope and caught one of the messenger birds before it can fly away any further.

However, the bird was very stubborn and it tried to free itself from being tied down. "Stop fighting it you stupid bird!" I shouted while trying hard to bring it down to the ground.

After a few minutes of struggling, I was finally able to catch it, but its messenger canister opened midway causing the letter to get ripped in the process.

I hurriedly went to catch one of the halves while the other half was blown away into the sea. I glared at the sea and then at the bird.

"What are you hiding uncle?" I asked myself as I look at the torn letter. I placed the bird back in his bird cage.

With the letter in hand, I quickly returned to my quarters and read through it. I've always known that my uncle would've had friends from different parts of the world and different nations. It's not far from being real, considering how friendly he is.

But I never would've guessed what revelation this letter holds.

So Maya... That water tribe girl. She is not really from the water tribes... She's from the fire nation.

And not just a regular fire nation citizen, she's the daughter of Master Anika the great fire bender that brought back lightning generation—who was reported to be missing but is now apparently deceased.

According to the letter, Master Anika left because she is trying to keep her daughter away from the fire nation, specifically from the child's father. But who? Who's the father?

THAT DAMN BIRD! If only he didn't struggle so much then I would've read the complete letter!

I can't believe Uncle is hiding all of this from me. What else is there that he knows that he's not saying?! I have to find out who this Maya is. Who knows, she might become a useful trap for the Avatar someday.

_________________________________

-Maya's Point of View-

A day has passed since the incident on the riverside with Zuko and the pirates and now we're in the middle of the forest resting before we take flight once more.

The forest we stayed on is quite different from the usual forest because this one had taller and bigger trees with red and orange leaves. It's quite very pretty I may say.

Right now, it's already past noon and we just finished having our lunch. We were just sitting and looking around, resting before we fly away again when suddenly Aang asked, "Hey... Where's Momo?"

Just right after Aang asked that we suddenly heard Momo screaming from a distance. The lemur's voice echoed throughout the quiet forest. "Momo!" Aang shouted and hurriedly ran toward him. We closely followed behind him and we left Appa for the meantime at the camp.

We got to the place where we kept hearing Momo's voice and we saw scattered leaves everywhere. Aang looked up and there he saw three circular metal traps that were hanging from the trees. Two of those traps contained wild baboons and the other one was Momo.

"Hang on Momo!" Aang shouted and then he airbent his way up the tall trees. He managed to get Momo down gently by slowly lowering the rope tied to the cage. Once the cage was on the ground Katara, Sokka, and I, gently opened it to let Momo out. As soon as the lemur was free he suddenly started eating some lychee nuts.

It looks like the lychee nuts were the bait to trap wild animals that are lurking here in the forest. But who would do such a cruel thing, and for what purpose?

Aang went down from the tree when suddenly we heard the two baboons cry from their cages. "Alright, you too," Aang said and then he flew towards them. "This is gonna take forever," Sokka complained and then he threw his boomerang that cut through the ropes that were tied to the traps. "That works..." Aang said as he flew down.

The traps the baboons were in got destroyed as it hits the ground and they were able to escape. They hurriedly ran away as soon as they were free.

Sokka walked toward one of the traps and inspected them. "These are fire nation traps. You can tell from the metalwork. We better pack up camp and get moving." Sokka said and then we all agreed.

We went back to the camp and started packing our stuff. I tied my sleeping bags and arranged them on Appa's saddle. We were just about ready for the flight when suddenly Sokka said, "Uh-uh! No flying this time."

"What? Why wouldn't we fly?" Aang asked from on top of Appa's head. I went down to where Sokka and Katara were and asked, "Yeah Sokka? What's wrong?"

"Guys, think about it. Somehow, Prince Zuko and the fire nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa, he's just too noticeable." Sokka answered. "What? Appa's not too noticeable!" Katara argued. "He's a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head! It's kinda hard to miss him." Sokka argued back and then Appa suddenly roared.

"Sokka's just jealous cuz he doesn't have an arrow," Aang said to Appa. "Sokka, it's going to take us a lot of time to cover a far distance by foot. Flying is way faster." I said.

"Look, I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time, and walk," Sokka said. "Who made you the boss?" Katara suddenly asked with a sinister smile. "I'm not the boss; I'm the leader," Sokka replied with a straight face. "Pft- You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!" Katara teased.

Ugh! Another sibling fight. How many of these do I have to witness every single day?!

"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior! So, I'm the leader!" Sokka shouted with a high-pitched voice at the beginning and then suddenly became deep. I must say, his voice still does crack from time to time.

"If anyone from us is the leader, it's got to be Aang. I mean, he is the Avatar." I jumped in on the conversation. Sokka looked at me irritatingly and then he said, "Are you kidding? He's just a goofy kid." he pointed at Aang and we all looked at him who is now hanging upside down on Appa's right horn. "He's right!" Aang agreed.

Well... I mean he still is technically a hundred years older than all of us but... yeah he can be really goofy most of the time.

"Why do boys always think someone has to be a leader?" Katara suddenly complained. "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl!" Katara continued, teasing Sokka once more.

"I've kissed a girl! You just haven't met her!" Sokka yelled back. "Who? Gran-Gran? I've met Gran-Gran." Katara teased again. "No! Besides Gran-Gran!" Sokka shouted. "Alright, alright, stop it you two. That's enough bickering for one day." I stepped in.

Sokka backed away and then he said, "Look, my instinct tells me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot, and a leader has to trust his instincts"

"Okay, we'll try it your way, oh wise leader," Katara said sarcastically. "Just let it go Katara, you know how petty Sokka can get," I whispered to her. "Why are you always taking his side?" Katara asked. "I'm not taking any sides! It's just that, Sokka does have a point somehow. Appa is also getting weary of flying all the time, we wouldn't want to strain him wouldn't we?" I explained. "Besides! walking might be fun!" Aang suddenly said while holding his glider.

"Fine," Katara said and then we all followed behind Sokka who has already started traveling.

_______________________________________

-Zuko's Point of View-

A day has passed since I read that letter about Maya but I still haven't been able to discuss it with my uncle. For some reason, there's always something in the way whenever I try to approach him.

This has been bothering me for a day now and I just can't shake it off easily just like that. Whoever her father is, I have a feeling that he's someone from the royal palace as well since Master Anika lived inside the palace ever since she was 10 years old; that is according to the stories I have been hearing since I was a child. She basically grew up there and never went outside, so it has to be someone living in the royal palace.

But who? Who could it be? I only know so little about Master Anika since I was only 2 years old when she went missing. I only heard stories about her from my mother, uncle, and other people inside the royal palace. There is said to be written information about her but it is kept hidden underground in the fire sages temple. It is said to be confidential.

I've got no choice, I will have to go and ask my uncle about Master Anika without sounding too nosy.

I was walking towards the ship's deck when I crossed paths with my uncle. "Uncle Iroh." I called him. "Zuko, I haven't heard from you all day yesterday. Where have you been?" he asked. "I was in my room... planning," I said. I cleared my throat and then continued, "Uncle, there's something I want to ask."

"Go ahead my nephew, what is it?" he replied. "It's about Master Anika," I answered.

_______________________________________

-Iroh's Point of View-

"I want to know more about the legendary firebending master that brought back Lightning Generation to the present time." Zuko suddenly said. "Why the sudden interest?" I asked. "I figured that if I would someday learn how to bend lightning I might as well get to know about the master that taught you and father how to do it," he answered.

Hmm... I feel like something is up with him. I just can't quite put my finger on it. I looked at him with an unbelieving look and then quickly changed it to a bubbly expression.

"Okay, I'll tell you what I know. Why don't we continue this conversation in your quarters Prince Zuko?" I suggested. He nodded his head and we went there.

Once we were inside, we sat down in front of his small table and then we started the talk. "What do you wanna know?" I asked. "How about we start with, her family? Did she have any relatives outside the royal palace?" he asked. "None. From what I have heard from my father, Fire Lord Azulon, her house burned down with her mother, father, eldest sister, and a little brother locked up inside." I answered.

"Because of that accident, Fire Lord Azulon decided to adopt her and let her stay in the palace. There, she honed her firebending skills and eventually mastered firebending at the young age of 14." I continued. "How did she know she can bend lightning?" Zuko asked once more. "She said she doesn't know. Many believed that lightning generation is hereditary and it was first learned by a certain bloodline of firebenders in the old age called the Fintan tribe. It may be that she possesses such a bloodline that is why she was able to do it." I answered

"Was it hard to learn lightning generation uncle?" he asked. "It was impossible. Historians believed that lightning generation can only be learned by the Fintan bloodline and that it can't be passed on to others, that's why as time passed by the skill was almost put to the brink of extinction. However, Master Anika was very eager to teach me and your father. She did all that she could so that we would learn it. She found a way to teach Lightning Generation to others by unblocking a chakra point on a person's fingertips. Fortunately, that was the difference between the Fintan bloodline from the rest of the world. Their chakra points can never be blocked no matter what. Energy flows freely inside their bodies making them able to generate their energies into lightning." I firmly answered.

"I was the first non-Fintan bloodline firebender to ever learn how to bend lightning." I bragged to Zuko. "What about father?" he asked. "Though Anika was able to unblock our chakra points, it still requires a bit of understanding on how to make your energy stable and flow in one direction. It requires inner peace and patience to be able to let your energy flow easily. Your father wasn't the calm type, you know that. He struggled with it for years, and yet in the end he never used inner peace and patience to make his energy flow. He used rage and force that's why his lightnings are scattered and flow in many directions." I answered

"So it means it's possible for me to learn lightning generation?" he asked. "Thanks to Master Anika, it's not impossible anymore. Although, even if I could unblock your chakra point, there is no saying that you would be able to do it. Not without peace inside of you." I answered. Zuko stayed silent for a moment before proceeding with his questions. "What about family uncle?" he asked again. "Didn't I answer that already?" I asked back.

"No. Not family outside the palace, I meant a family of her own. Did she marry? or perhaps... had a child?" he asked. I was taken aback by what he said. I have a bad feeling about this but I hope he hasn't figured something out.